19x12 - We're on a Boat

[bunniefuu]

Previously on
Top Chef...

Welcome back
to the competition, Sarah.

- Thank you.
- This is it. There's no more

Last Chance Kitchen
to fall to fall back on.

You'll each have to make
a family style dish

catered to a different
family member's tastes.

I've all had that in my menu.

Do we know who this person is?

Hello? Hello!

I knew it was my dad.

You're making me cry, sweetheart.

I apologize in advance for
my sister and what she may say.

She will literally m*rder
somebody if they make me cry.

Look out, Tom.

It doesn't eat well.

Buddha's dish is ex*cuted
so well.

The tomatoes are roasted
so beautifully.

- Cheers!
- Oh.

Ugh. I just had a bite
of Ashleigh's squid.

I couldn't swallow it.

The dish that won
spoke to the challenge itself.

Buddha.

Ashleigh, please pack
your knives and go.

Five chefs remain,

to compete in
the ultimate culinary showdown.

At stake for the winner,

a feature in
Food & Wine magazine,

an appearance at the
Food & Wine Classic in Aspen,

$250,000

furnished by Sanpellegrino

and the coveted title
of Top Chef.

Chefs, this next challenge
will be your final

challenge in Houston.

Rest up tonight.
Tomorrow morning,

bright and early, you're going
to meet me down at the docks.

You may need this.

Motion sickness.

- We're going fishing.
- We're going boating, baby!

We will see you at the next one.

- Good luck.
- Thank you, Chef.

Thank you so much.
I love fishing.

That's it, guys. Final five.

I feel like I'm clawing
my way through this thing.

It's just hard in Last Chance
Kitchen,'cause you're like--

you don't have time
to overthink your dish.

It's just,
I got to learn to,

like, trust my initial instinct.

When you graduate middle school,

you think you're the sh--,

and then you go to high school

and you're a loser again.
That's where I'm at.

So, now I have to reestablish
progress upwards

- if I'm gonna stick around.
- We all have ups and downs.

My culinary career,

it's been a lot of hiding
in other people's shadow.

But I'm in the final five.

I hope you can
see it in my eyes,

'cause I've never been this
more confident in my life.

Final five, guys. For real.
Final five.

Not looking back from now.

Feeling spicy today.

Feelin' it!

BMW, take me
to the Galveston Yard Basin.

Let's go.

This is that
fish water right here.

I love it.
- Good morning, chefs.

Hello, chefs.

You fish?
- I do fish.

Top five.
- It's been a long road

to get here,
so congratulations.

Thanks.

Anyone here's gone
fishing before?

- Damarr.
- I've never had the pleasure.

All right, good.
Your maiden voyage.

I grew up south of Chicago.

There wasn't a lot
of, like, water activities

unless you count,
like, you know,

cracking open
a fire hydrant.

- We hurt ourselves a lot.
- If you haven't guessed already,

there's no
Quickfire Challenge today.

You'll need to have
a good fishing day today,

because whatever you catch
will be on the menu

in the Elimination Challenge.

That's right.
You'll be cooking with

the fish you catch,
in not just one, but two dishes.

Damn.

With two different preparations.

I know what you're thinking
right now:

"What if I don't catch
any fish?"

After we're done fishing,

you'll gut and prep the fish

that you caught,
and then you'll have an

additional $200 to split
between Katie's Seafood

and Whole Foods.

Two hundred dollars,
it's not a lot of money.

You could buy one fish

and you could just
almost blow your budget.

It's gonna be really
helpful to catch fish today.

So, tomorrow, you'll have
two and a half hours to prep

and cook at
Bludorn restaurant.

- Ooh.
- There, you'll serve your two

dishes side by side for Dawn,
the judges, James Beard Award

winner, Top Chef Chicago
winner, Stephanie Izard--

- along with the chef and owner

of Bludorn, Aaron Bludorn.

And to make it even more fun,

our other guest judge--
Oh, boy.

my good friend,
the one and only, Daniel Boulud.

Damn.
Oh, wow.

Is that a joke?

Daniel Boulud
is a culinary icon.

Now it's time
to pull out all the stops

and really push myself.

There's one or two fish

standing between you
and the finals.

Ready to cast a line?
Yeah.

Let's go fishing.

- How's it going?
- Welcome aboard, y'all.

Thank you.
- We're gonna be going for some

bull reds and gafftop catfish.

Y'all have any questions?

Not yet.

We're going after
real big fish today.

Real big.

Hey!

Rule one: stay inside the boat.

Welcome
to fishing, Damarr!

I love fishing.

I grew up in Port Douglas,
right by the Great Barrier Reef.

We have an abundance
of beautiful fish.

I'm so happy
that I've made it this far,

but at the same time,
we're going fishing now,

so gonna have some trouble

just reminding myself
that I'm in a competition.

No throwing up yet.
No sickness yet.

All good.

So, what are y'all
thinking about making?

One raw dish.
One raw dish, uh-huh.

Yeah,
and then a cooked dish.

You know,
if I'm catching a fish,

I don't want to go too crazy.

I wanna make the fish
the center of the plate.

Yeah, time, because you just
literally pulled it up.

Yeah.

Here we go, guys.

All right, y'all.

Yes!

So, we're gonna get
some live bait out here as well.

Ah! They're alive.
They're 100% alive.

Okay. Uh...

So, we're gonna cast
a few of them out,

we're going to drop
a few of them down.

I'm hoping to catch
some redfish.

It's a very meaty fish
that I've used before,

and I don't really
like catfish, so...

All you gotta
do is just watch.

You can feel the bottom.
You'll all of a sudden feel

- a stop when it hits the bottom.
- Okay.

My fishing strategy
is to do exactly what Tom says.

You're also looking
for feeding fish

on the surface,
or birds diving down.

I have no inkling
about how this works.

I'm just really hoping
something bites.

Keep your thumb on there,

that way it doesn't backlash.
You just let it out.

This moment right here,
it's gonna last forever, man.

Both of y'all, I couldn't have

did this whole
stretch without you.

This is the best part.
You just cr*ck open a beer.

Yeah, there you go.

When they start hitting,

they're gonna hit
all at once. So, just--

let's just be ready.
It's coming. It's gonna happen.

Nothing yet.

Come on, baby.
Give me a fish, baby.

There you go,
you're out there.

Someone's
got to get something.

If we're not catching fish,
might as well eat goldfish.

Ha ha ha, Dad!

Actually,
I would eat one of those.

I can feel it, it's gonna
happen, like, any moment.

If you don't catch anything,

what are you gonna
do with that $200?

Yeah. I'm gonna
have to be very creative.

This is not looking
good for anyone.

Nothing's biting, huh?
Nah.

All right,
let's reel 'em up, y'all.

We're going to make a move.
The next spot.

The next spot is
gonna be the golden spot.

Let's get fish, Nick!

Let's get fish.

We got a good
spot right over here.

All right, y'all.
We can let 'em on down.

We need fish. We got
meals to cook. We need fish.

We got folks to feed.
- Yeah.

Come on, baby.
Snap it.

Come on, come on.
Snap it, come on.

Come on.

Check that one.

Do we got a fish on?
I think it's moving.

Oh, yeah? Maybe.
I haven't, like-- Oh, sh--.

Fish, girl.

Sh--. Ah! I got a fish!

Oh, sh--.

It's a catfish!

I'm the first
one to catch a fish,

and it's the smallest
little catfish.

Need a lot more
for tomorrow, for sure.

I mean, it's seven diners.
It's just not enough.

More options would be nice, too.

Swear to God,
if I go home with a catfish.

Hey, what's that? What's that?
That might be a fish on.

Oh, that one.
Grab that spinning rod.

Get it. Get it, Damarr!

Pull it in. Lean it.

Pull back, yeah. Pull back.

Now reel down,
reel down, reel down.

Now when you drop the rod, reel.

Yeah, Damarr! Damn!

All right, good job!
Awesome.

Yanking your ingredient out
of the ocean like that,

just, like... I've never
felt anything like that.

So, these are the red drum,
the bull reds that we're after.

It's this huge,
huge bull redfish.

There you go! Yay.

Oh, man, that is awesome.

Fish on?
Oh, you're fishing now.

This is the big one, man.

He's pulling,
he's pulling back, too.

Big one.
Snapper. Damn. Wow.

That's what
I'm talking about!

Yes!

Yes.

I caught a fish.
It's a lot of fish, too.

Nick, that's a huge fish!

A bull red gets
a little gamey,

and maybe a little chewy,
but I'll take it. I need it.

Got another one on?
Yeah.

We got another one on.
They're coming through, y'all.

There goes another one.
Come on, baby. Oh!

Oh, yeah!

All right, Buddha!

We got another one on.

Doubled up right now, y'all.

Tom!
Oh, yeah.

Triples.

All of a sudden,

it's like the floodgates
have opened up for redfish.

Good job, Evelyn. Jesus.

Yes!
I feel very accomplished.

This redfish is gonna
be more than enough.

For the record,
that puts me on the board.

I'd like to be recognized,
that counts. Thank you.

You know what they say,
the smaller the fish,

the better the flavor.

You are perfectly correct.

It's very Oprah, right?

It's like, you get a fish,
you get a fish.

And, you know, I'm like,
wait a ----ing second here.

Hey, Tom, can I buy your fish?

It would kind of suck
if I didn't get to actually cook

a fish that I caught.

That's the whole point.

Better start saying
some prayers.

Sarah got one?

What bait
were you guys using?

As it's getting closer to dusk,

it's getting
to be a little bleak.

Evelyn's got one!

Beautiful fish. Bastards.

Uh, fish on.

Sarah has one.
Can I get a net?

Sarah! There it is.

Hold on. Don't lift it
out of the water.

God. Ha! Everybody's getting
a fish, I'm getting a fish.

Okay? Shorty knows how to fish.

Good job, y'all.

Reel 'em all up.
Time to go home.

It feels like
a Top Chef miracle.

Everyone caught enough fish
to cook for the judges.

Rock out
with your fish out!

Take care.
Great fishing with you.

Great job today.
- See you, Tom.

We arrive
at Katie's Seafood Market.

Well, hello, everyone.

To shop
and also fillet our fish.

I know we have the option
of purchasing other fish,

but I personally have
a lot of fresh fish.

I really want to show
the judges that

I can not only catch, but cook
my fish as well.

Hey, Buddy, I've never
butchered a fish this big.

I don't have a lot of experience
with these larger fish.

When you're focused
on local food like I am,

that's just the cross I bear.

Do you take it through
the backbone, all the way down?

I go around the rib cage.

Daniel Boulud's gonna know
if you screwed this up.

So, I cozy up to Buddy.

- But I could smoke this?
- If you can get it lit,

you can smoke anything.

Redfish, you could tell,
that's the reason why, like,

it's king of the waters.
You know what I'm saying?

It's a tough fish,
even to cook, too.

The 39-inch fish that I caught

could definitely be enough
for my cook for tomorrow.

But the bull red,
this fish is tough.

So, what I'm thinking is,
I want to get a prime redfish.

I want a smaller
farmer's redfish.

It's sweeter, it's gonna
be a lot more tender.

Hopefully it works for me.

$70.55.

I think I want
four of these guys.

How much do they weigh?

Four of 'em are going to be 3.3.

Can I get one of these?
Scaled and dressed?

I see some beautiful snapper,

I want to do a crudo.
Making two dishes,

that's going
to be hard to execute

in the time constraints.

Doing a cold dish
that hopefully

I can pre-plate will help me.

What's that, 30 bucks?

Yeah, just about.
- Okay.

For the second dish,

I'm going to make
a blackened red fish.

These are $5 each?

$5 a pound.
- Oh, great.

I'm also thinking about
using some Asian flavors

that I wouldn't normally use.

In my mind it makes sense.

Everybody ready?
Yeah, I'm ready.

Let's get out of here.
We are so dirty.

We're heading
back to Houston.

I've got so many ideas for fish.

I just want to try and put
my best ideas out forward.

Ay-ay-ay.
- Anybody else pooped?

'Cause I'm pooped.

Damarr,
I'm so proud of you.

You caught a fish,
you didn't die.

It was a great first day.

Dad took us out.

Dad took us
out today.

What's everybody thinking
for their two dishes?

- Taco?
- I'm also doing a taco.

Guess it's the taco, uh--

Taco-off?
- Taco-off.

And then I'm thinking,
like, a Mexican style soup.

Since it's the last challenge
in Houston,

it's really, I feel like,
my duty to invoke my love

for my family
in these two dishes.

Yeah, and I haven't
made tortillas.

I would love
to make tortillas.

Every challenge just keeps
getting harder and harder.

Big day tomorrow.

There's less people

to hide behind.

Winning $250,000 would

definitely change my life
in unimaginable ways.

This whole dream
of winning is becoming

a real possibility,
and the closer it gets,

I think the more painful it
is not to actually achieve it.

What you workin' on?

Getting all my produce.
I'm making my tacos

with a smoked tomato crema.

Yes.
I stepped on my chili. R.I.P.

Where's Nick's 26?
Nick's 26.

$3.99. I'm balling now.

Oh, I gotta get
my chicken stock.

I like to have contingencies
for everything that I make,

but not today.

I think that
a huge part of my problem

in the past was not doing
a good job shopping.

So, I'm really trying
to be as abbreviated

as I can with my shop.

Last challenge in Houston.

I can't think
about it or I'll puke.

Twelve
and a half minutes.

Huh. For my breakfast dish,

I'd like to pair it
with green papaya salad,

because it's so gamey.

Unfortunately,
there's no green papaya,

so I grab jicama,
and turnips, and carrots,

vegetables that I think will
liken to that texture.

Oh, see if you can
get this on there,

and this on there.

All right, that's pennies left,
right? Three pennies?

Nice.
Thank you, ma'am.

Push it to the limit.

Sarah, how you feeling
about the challenge?

Uh, I feel dead inside.

Not only did
we catch the fish,

but now we have to cook
with it in two ways,

in the same time
we've normally been given

for less dishes.

Every time I touch something,

I'm like,
Daniel ----ing Bouloud.

Oh, sh--!

I'm getting a fish
head broth going.

My first dish is
a pseudo crudo I'm making

from Gulf snapper that I got
at the fish market.

I'm calling it
pickled mustard fish

with a fermented
fish head broth.

It's not really a raw
preparation as much

as it is, like, a cook
at the table preparation.

And I'm hoping
the tableside pour over

will create a pseudo raw dish.

I know intimately
from Last Chance Kitchen

how hard it is to execute
two dishes simultaneously.

For this challenge,
you'll each be creating

two dishes for us to judge.

Pre-plating was my key
to completing that challenge.

So, that's my game plan.

One of my favorite things
about this is

the texture difference between
the fish and the tofu.

What are you makin', Evelyn?

I'm working
on my stock right now.

I'm making a Mexican fish soup.

I'm just trying to make sure
my seafood's coming through

and a little bit more chipotle.
But it's tasting good.

And then I'm making a taco
for my second dish.

I have two red fish,

which I'll be using
and highlighting in my dishes,

and then I'm using catfish
to really fortify that broth.

What kind of taco?
- The al pastor,

it's all about the marinade.

I want to make dishes
that are familiar to me,

so I have enough time
to zhuzh it up.

What's your inspiration
for your dish, man?

I'm doing two of my favorite
preparations of fish.

Yep.

I love eating it
with ginger and scallion,

and I also love eating
some fish and chips.

I'm going a bit
all out in this challenge.

Everything's very difficult
at the moment.

First time I've cooked
bull redfish.

I do hear that if you overcook
it, I can get quite dry.

For my first dish,
I'm gonna be making

a 10% kosher salt brine.

Brining the fish
retains the moisture.

I've got some seaweed,
I'm going to wrap

the redfish inside of it
with a farce

that I've made
out of shrimp.

Nick, what are you making?

I'm making a taco
and a fish cake.

I got my first job
in Jackson, Mississippi.

I really was wanting to try
to get into this restaurant.

I had to do a breadless
fish cake.

Half of this fish is going
to have to be grind,

so it holds as the binder
and it should eat like a pâté.

I'm going
to do that preparation,

Because I just want the fish
to completely shine.

Damarr, what sort of fish
are you cooking?

For my first dish, I'm not
actually cooking the fish,

I'm doing a red snapper crudo
with apple and radish on top.

I've never done
this preparation,

but I think it shows
some technique.

I'm trying to be
really restrained

and have really nice,
clean flavors.

A little more finesse.

Then the second dish,
I'm gonna do a black

and red fish but it'll go
with marinated vegetables.

I marinate my vegetables in a
Thai salad peanut vinaigrette.

Just want to try
something new with the flavors.

I don't cook a lot of Asian
food. I'm definitely trying

to show a little range as well.

My second dish, I'm hoping
that I can smoke this fish.

My other dish, I'm gonna use
the drum fish that I caught

and lightly smoke it
as a pastrami fish.

And I'm frying little dumplings
with some caraway to be

like the bread component

to what I hope will
end up tasting

like a smoked pastrami sandwich.

Buddha, how's it going?

I'm doing fish and chips,

so it's gonna be fish
inside the chip.

My inspiration behind
the dish is Daniel Boulud.

He has very similar dishes
to wrapping it up in the pastry

and potato.
Hopefully I do Daniel justice.

Not much difficulty. We have
to just cook the potatoes

and then get all
the balance of flavors right.

I am making
corn tortillas again.

I won $10,000 on it
from Chipotle,

so why wouldn't I bring
it to the party?

I only got 45 minutes,
so it's almost that time.

I have knocked out
my lemon beurre blanc,

I have the first stage
of the mushroom ragu done,

the pickled peppers are done,
but the tortillas

and the fish cakes
haven't been done yet.

It just seems like today
it's a lot more

going on than normal.

Oh, my God. Sarah!

Yeah? Oh, sh--.

Go on, girl.

That's so ----ing annoying.

Sarah, what was that?

It was just my fish stock.

Do you have more?

I do. It's just now I have half.

Whoo! Guys, come on.
Ugh. Swear to God.

Everybody's pressed for time.

Hot, hot, hot, hot.
Hot on your back.

- Everybody's running today.
- Now I'm behind.

This pan is about
to light on fire, y'all.

Thirty-five minutes left.

Working my fish and chips
right now.

I want to cook
this fish inside the chips.

me.

Unfortunately,
it's not working.

And I don't have enough
potatoes to fix this problem.

It's just gonna be served
as a crispy garnish on top.

It sucks.
Chef Daniel knows this dish,

so everything
needs to be perfect.

It's a nice table.

Very beautiful.

Very handsome restaurant
you have here.

Thank you, Chef.

I always say we stand
on the shoulders

of giants, and I certainly do.

Tom, how was fishing yesterday?

It was slow,
until all of a sudden

all the rods went off.
And we had a great time.

And there
was some catfish?

There were some catfish,
no dogfish.

I'm really behind now.

Gonna try to pull myself out.

Where you at?
What do you have left to do?

Yeah. Um--

Usually in the kitchen
I'm quite calm,

but I really
need to push myself,

otherwise I'm not gonna
to be able to get

a dish onto the plate.

I'm just at the final stages,

getting everything
finished off now.

Okay.
Wow.

Gorgeous.

- Buddha's food is beautiful.
- Absolutely, yes.

Buddha, tell us what you made.

So, I made a fish and chips,

fish wrapped up
in pastry,

together with a potato gribiche
on top and vadouvan.

Mm-hmm.

And the other fish
is a steamed redfish

with a shrimp farce,
stuffed with ginger, scallion,

radish that's been poached in a
master stock, and some pickles.

Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Buddha's bull redfish,
I think, is really stunning.

The seaweed that he poached it
in adds this beautiful,

smoky, brininess.
Very thoughtful technique.

The fish was cooked
beautifully, it was so moist,

but the sauce
had a silky texture.

Almost reminded me of thickened
broths in Chinese cuisine.

That makes it
just perfectly velvety.

I liked the ginger
and the scallion.

It was a good complement.
It was really not overpowering

the fish. Very delicate,
and the cuisson was perfect.

The moisture
in the fish was there.

The farce was really
a smart choice.

I thought it was great.

I really liked the fish
and chips personally,

because one chef here,
his most famous

dishes was the striped
bass and paupiette.

We had a whole challenge
about it, actually.

I think it's very satisfying

and I'm very impressed
that he used

the potatoes
in many different ways.

Fish is a teeny bit dry.

The fish does eat slightly dry,

but I can get over it because

I love this vadouvan
sauce that he made.

It has that great punch
of pickle, and dill,

and spices, and mustard.

That is a beautiful
flavor combination

that I will not forget.

Great, you know, tongue
in cheek play on fish and chips.

Just elevated in a way
that's playful and fun.

I think Buddha knocked
this out of the park.

That's my broth
for my first course.

I need to finish my garnishes.
Checking my fish.

Beautiful.

Thank you.

Evelyn,
what did you make?

For your first dish,

I made
a redfish caldo de pescado.

It has chipotle, cilantro oil,

and then it has
some roasted vegetables.

In most Hispanic cultures,
for a nice hangover,

they have this bring-you-back-
to-life seafood soup.

It does. I am alert.

And then for your second dish,
I have a taco al pastor.

I've done it
with roasted red fish.

On top, we have salsa avocate,
which is chili salsa

that is emulsified with avocado,
in a tortilla, obviously.

- Thank you, Evelyn.
- Thank you so much.

Good.

I really love the flavor

of Evelyn's caldo de pescado.

It's a humble dish that
I feel like she elevated,

which I think is perfect.

Evelyn promised that the soup

would wake us up, and it did.

- Still feel it.
- Yeah, it lingers.

And it is bright and fresh.

The broth is beautiful.
I think having the chipotle

gave it a little smokiness,
but I would've preferred

a little more fish in here.
I mean, it's a fish challenge.

I want a little more
than a little flake of fish.

Yeah, definitely.
What do you think

of Evelyn's taco?

That's a tasty taco.

Yeah.
- It looks so minimalist,

but even those three pieces
of pineapple that I had,

each one is packed
with so much flavor.

You get these bitter notes
along with the tang

and the sweetness of the fruit.

It's what I love
about al pastor.

I thought the tortilla
was very thick,

which sucked
all of the moisture

and the life out
of the taco for me.

I like my tacos
full of garnish.

And here it was, like, dotted.

I felt too precious
for a taco.

Both of Evelyn's dishes
were incredibly safe.

What was it like to be at this
point in the competition,

so close to going
to the finale?

Not only are you tired,

but you're feeling
like each competition

has a little bit more weight.

Reality kind of sets in.

You can't just not get
kicked off anymore,

you're going to win.

Time? 2:50.

Yeah, corner, coming in.

I'm struggling a little bit more
than I'd like to be.

I wish that I had allocated
more time to get my fish

cooked, and I would just really
like to have Padma not think

I'm a complete nincompoop.

Aw, damn it!

Oh.

Sarah yelling.

Sarah did something wrong.

Teach a man to fish,

he fishes for a lifetime.

Hi, Sarah.
- Hi.

How would
you like this poured over?

Just directly on top. Yeah.

The goal is to get some
heat on the fish.

We'll start
with the pseudo cruto.

On top is the Gulf snapper
and silken tofu.

And then the bottom of the bowl

is some fermented
greens in kraut liquid.

And my favorite part
about the dish was the texture

of the fish next
to the silken tofu.

The other dish is my ode
to the pastrami sandwich.

It's my favorite sandwich.
I pastrami-rubbed the fish,

got a little bit
of smoke on it.

On the bottom
is a carrot butter,

some Parisian gnocchi
and then kraut.

I love that inspiration.

It comes in weird places.

Thank you.
Thank you so much!

I get exactly what Sara
means about the texture

of the crudo
with the silken tofu.

It is so smooth and silky,
and there's enough texture

in the rest of the dish
to make it all work.

The broth
is absolutely delicious.

I love that she actually
had this idea to take

sauerkraut
juice and add it,

so I think it really
makes the dish.

It was so spartan,
but so much flavor.

The combination
of warm and cold,

every little element
is perfectly ex*cuted.

Wow. I love this pastrami fish.

There's so much going on
and it's such a beautiful plate.

Fish is perfectly cooked.
Spot on.

I could have just eaten
that piece of fish,

honestly, and been very happy.

Then you add in all
the creativity with the flavors

that make you feel you're eating
a pastrami on rye,

- and my mind is blown.
- I like the imagination

that went into building
that dish as a whole.

It was very impressive.

She just created something
here that will become

a signature no matter
where she goes.

Very much.

I just cooked for, like,
two of the most impressive

chefs in the world.
Another day in the life

of Top Chef. Damn.

The time
has just passed by,

and I'm starting to sear
these fish cakes,

but they don't have
a whole lot of body.

I realized that
I never made my fish binder.

Ugh. six minutes,

I don't have enough
time to go back

and start remixing
at this point.

If I don't tighten up,
I'm going home.

I do not want
to go home yet.

Six minutes,

Put this cake straight down

in the skillet. Didn't want to
----ing do that,

but I had to.

I realize that I never
added my fish binder

to the fish cakes.

They just
don't have any structure.

It's definitely not going
to look the way I want it to.

I have to start plating.

I'm throwing tortillas
on the plancha--

Hot, hot, hot!

Redfish in the fryer.

My mind is, like, going crazy.

Not looking good at all, dammit!

Oh, man.
I can't believe I did this.

Hmm.

Hi, Nick.
Hello, everyone.

Please tell us about
your dishes.

The taco is a handmade
corn tortilla.

We have some crispy redfish,

pickled peppers
and a smoked tomato crema.

The other dish
is a redfish cake,

a lemon beurre blanc
and some mushroom ragu.

How was today
for you, Nick?

This has actually
been the first time

that I have ran out of time.

I didn't get all
my herbs on the taco

and I was trying to finesse
the cake to getting it

on the plate, reshape it.

But I hope you enjoy
the flavors.

Thank you, Nick.
Thanks, Nick.

Thank you.

The crunch on the fish
in the taco is fantastic

and seasoned
really well and I love

the texture of the cornmeal.

But I think the fish
is a little overcooked.

The protein was just so dry
and almost tough for fish,

and the tortilla is also dry.
So, there's no relief.

It definitely needs
extra seasoning, extra sauce.

Missing the herbs
or something fresh was

a bigger deal than
he might have realized

because that could
have saved that dish.

And what about Nick's fishcake?

The pile that he gave us,
it wasn't a cake.

A cake holds
together, right?

When you bite into it,
I think there are a lot of great

textures and the chunks
of red fish are delicious.

There's actually really
great seasoning, I think,

on both
the Nick's dishes,

but this redfish cake
just feels rushed.

Yeah, he's grasping at ideas
and not pulling them together.

Right.

Okay. Four minutes.

Oh, God.

Whoo, that's hot! --it.

Nice job.

Oh, that's pretty.
- Hello.

Hi, Damarr.
What did you make?

The first course,
I made a snapper crudo.

Just has some marinated
green apple and radish.

And then I did
a coconut vinaigrette.

The other course
is a blackened bull redfish,

with marinated vegetables,
an herb salad, and a little bit

of the vinaigrette that
I marinated the vegetables in,

which has lots of peanut
in there as well.

- Thank you, Damarr.
- Thank you.

What do you think
of the crudo?

It presents beautifully,
but for me, the fish is bland.

Yeah, I think he needed
to salt the fish.

And the thing is, when you
have something this delicate,

it doesn't matter how much sauce
you put on it,

the fish is bland
and it's gonna stay bland.

Oh, boy.

I think Damarr's
blackened redfish is delicious.

It's really juicy inside.

Blackening seasoning
he did was fantastic.

But the thought of using
the peanuts in his vinaigrette

and grinding them in there
was his misstep on this dish.

I think had the peanuts
been left out, you'd get

a better texture with the sauce,
a little bit less grainy.

It sort of harks
at that Viet-Cajun tradition

that is very robust
here in Houston.

But we just didn't get
all the way there.

Thank you,
Aaron, for lending us

your beautiful
restaurant and kitchens.

It's an honor
to have you all here.

It's a really tough point
in the competition

because only four chefs
can go to the finals.

But we do have to make
this very difficult decision.

All right, let's go to Judges'
Table one last time in Houston!

It was really interesting to
see what each one of you did

with the fish you caught.

It's a tough one.

Lot of nerves right now,

but we got some really
tasty dishes as well.

Sarah and Buddha...

you had our favorite dishes
of the day.

Oh, my Lord.

And that means you're both
moving on to the final four.

Congratulations.
Sarah, how does it feel?

You've had quite
a roller coaster.

Yeah, I've never been
in the top, alone.

Both your dishes were really,
really delicious today.

Padma, it-- that--
Coming from your mouth,

that means the whole world.
So, thank you.

Your dishes were powerhouses.

They were packed with flavor.

That gingery broth was rich,
fresh and bright.

Your pastrami dish was
so fun and had so many things

going on, but it
all worked together.

Seasonings were precise.

- Beautiful.
- Thank you.

It's like, where have
you been all competition?

I'm glad we got to taste it.

She was hanging out
with Tom all competition.

Yes!

Buddha.

These were very
complicated dishes.

The vadouvan mustard sauce
was outrageously good.

Yes. Your fish and chips,
together with the sauce

and the pickles,
the caper berry,

that worked out very,
very well.

- Thank you so much, Chef.
- I think that the shrimp mousse

with the fish,
it was beautifully cooked.

I could have eaten a whole
plate of just the radishes

with the sauce.
I thought it was fantastic.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Stephanie and Daniel,

please tell us who won

this final challenge
here in Houston.

The chef that
we chose today presented

creativity and was the chef
who was able to showcase

the fish in the best
way possible.

And the winner tonight is...

Sarah.

Bravo!

Being in the top four,
instead of being eliminated

fourth, feels very surreal.

I just appreciate
all the feedback

and the opportunity to cook
alongside people like this.

It feels so good to win!

If I had known
it felt this good,

I would have done it
a lot sooner.

Sarah and Buddha,
you can step to the side.

Evelyn, I think you gave
us two good dishes,

but I think you played
it really safe today.

I know you can make
a taco in your sleep.

My fish was cooked fine.

It was just too much tortilla
and not enough fish

and not enough taco.

I-- I could have done more,
and that's true.

With the soup,
great layers of flavor.

I definitely had my first bite
with some serrano punch

and it woke me up and I wish
I had been hungover to enjoy

the full purpose of it.

The broth was great,
but it was a little too simple

for a top dish
made by a Top Chef.

Okay.

Evelyn...

you will also be
going to the finals.

Oh, God!
- Congratulations.

Thank you so much.
I'm coming back with a punch.

Chef Daniel Boulud,

it's mind blowing that
you ate my taco.

I'll definitely look forward
to having your cooking again.

I'm gonna put
that in my resume.

Evelyn, you can
join Sarah and Buddha.

Congratulations, my dear.

So, Nick and Damarr,
that means that the two of you

had our least favorite
dishes of the night,

and one of you
will not be continuing on

to the finals.

the two of you had
our least favorite dishes,

and one of you will
be going home.

How did the day go
for you, Damarr?

I tried to do something,
um, different.

You know, I saw the snapper,
I thought it was beautiful.

I knew I wanted
to do something raw.

It was beautifully cut,
and the fish you chose

was absolutely perfect.
It just needed

a little more flavor.

Did you season the fish at all

before it was on the plate,

or were you just
relying on that sauce

for most of the seasoning?

I guess I was trying to take

the unseasoned fish and you put
it into the sauce,

and I was thinking that
that would eat delicately

and would focus on the fish.

It was fine.

But I think you can
do a lot more.

Originally I wanted
to do a green papaya salad

with a redfish dish,
but I tried

to find a veg
that would kind of work

in a similar fashion because
I couldn't find green papaya.

Were you trying to do,
like, a pesto kind of thing?

Like when you put the pine
nuts and the basil, and--

I've made green papaya salads
in the past where I would blend

the peanuts into
the marinade for it,

and those vegetables
didn't soak in that flavor

as much as papaya
would have.

Even if all the components
had been great,

these both felt a little timid
coming especially from you.

This was obviously a fail.

Yeah.

Nick, how did today
go for you?

My time management
got the best of me today.

It was clear that there was
an issue with time management.

The fish was overcooked
and the taco wasn't complete.

The tortilla, it was fine.

But the whole thing
ate really dry.

We got basically
a teaspoon of sauce.

You should have been
generous with it.

It would have been
wonderful to have

a contrast inside of freshness.

The fish cake,
I don't know exactly

what you were
trying to do there.

I only used the chunky portions
of the redfish

and not the blended,
because I was mixing them both

so they can have
the actual fish cake,

versus what you guys had today.

Yeah. Make sense. Okay.

I loved the lemon beurre blanc,

but everything else on the
plate was just really hard

to understand in terms
of what you were going for.

We have a really difficult
decision to make.

Do you have anything
more to add?

I just want to thank you
very much for this opportunity,

regardless of whatever
the decision is.

I'm a big fan of everybody
sitting at this table.

And I just love this moment.

We're a big fan of you.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Um, I feel similarly.

I think I've grown
tremendously not only as a--

as a chef, but a person,

not only because
of the Judges' Table,

because of every single chef
I've competing against.

You know,
whether I stay or go,

it's been a pleasure being here

and just having the experience.

Really appreciate
all that you've shared with us.

We'll call you all back
to the kitchen in a bit.

Thank you.

You my big brother.

Whichever way, man.
It's cool.

All right. Yeah, brother.

Neither of you are allowed
to go home,

I don't care what
the rules say.

Yeah, no.

This is really
difficult because

the dishes just
didn't come together.

Both Damarr and Nick just
really messed up today.

And it's so sad that at this
point in the competition,

you could possibly go to
the finale and do really well,

but if you made
a bad dish today,

that's gonna
get you sent home.

That's all it takes.

Damarr's first
dish was actually--

just needed some salt
and maybe a few more radishes

and apples,
and it would've be fine.

It was just slightly
underseasoned. And--

Not slightly, it was
severely underseasoned.

Yeah.

There was definitely something
about Damarr's second dish

that didn't sit with me.
It was murky.

I really didn't understand
what Damarr was going for,

and I don't think
it was successful.

The challenge was
to highlight the fish,

and in that second dish,

I do think Damarr did better--

- Yeah.
- with his fish cookery.

Like, all I really want
to do is go back out there,

catch another big-ass fish,
and be like, "All right,

"let's-- let's cook
you at this stage,

let's cook you this way,
let's taste you this way."

Nick's taco was
just completely overcooked

and no juice, and it was just
dry and just wasn't very good.

And if you look
at the second course,

he just forgot to bind it.

I wouldn't have ever
known that was a cake.

- Yeah.
- I mean, that buerre blanc

was delicious, and the texture
of it, beautiful.

Without looking
at the presentation,

it was a pleasant combination,

I think we needed
each other, you know,

to have somebody that you can
connect with that looks just

like you, that you could
really--

You know what I'm saying?

- That you can really dig with--
- Yeah.

on a cooking level is great,
you know?

So, you just
keep on shining, man.

- But I appreciate everything.
- I appreciate you, brother.

You know, we say what's already

understood
don't need to be said.

Okay. Let's get them out here.

Fifteen chefs showed up
here in Houston,

all walking into a kitchen
with the idea that you can win.

You'll always be part
of the Top Chef family,

but only one actually will
have the title of Top Chef.

Nick, please pack
your knives and go.

No problem.

A lot of times people look
at certain things as failure.

This is not failure.

The Baker Man,

The Baker.

Right now, I'm more grateful

and appreciative than anything.

Thank y'all.
Thank you, Nick.

This has been a journey
that I needed.

All right.

And I'm coming home
with this 'ole big smile,

and I am so proud
to be from Mississippi,

but we're about
to do bigger things.

I know it's been very emotional,
very challenging,

hopefully also rewarding.

It was wonderful
to see how much you

and Nick have bonded, also.

My big brother just left.
Yeah. Yeah.

I just want to say
congratulations to all four

of you, because you have
done an incredible thing.

You've made it to the finals.

And you should know
we're taking you to one of only

two cities in the U.S.
that is designated

a UNESCO city of gastronomy.

Pack your bags,
because we are going to Tucson.

Tucson?!

We're going to Tucson!

I've actually always wanted
to go to Arizona.

Check it off.

Get some rest, do your research.

We will see you in Arizona.

Congratulations to all of you!

Yay, we made it.

Look out, Tucson!

Next time on Top Chef...

Congratulations on being
in the top four,

and making it here
to the finals in Tucson.

Welcome to Mission Gardens!

We'd like you
to make two dishes,

cactus in one dish
and chiltepin in the other.

I like it.

Lost an elimination challenge,

gotta bring all that I got.

Oh, g*dd*mn it!

This is, like, the silence
of really good food.

'Cause no one's talking,
everybody's eating.

To me, this is a perfect cake.

You guys knocked it
out of the park.

Every single dish
is just a stand out.

This is the last Judges' Table
before the finale,

and one of you will
not be continuing on.