08x09 - Feeding Fallon

[bunniefuu]

- Thank you.
- Yes, good job.

- Good job for the win.
- Cheers.

Cheers, guys.

It gets harder
and harder, but--

- Yeah.
- And for the departed.

Tre went home,
and I could've easily gone home.

My dish was probably the worst
dish I've put up all season.

I mean, I don't know how
you could make pancetta bland,

but it was.

And it crushes me
to the core

when someone says
my food is bland.

So that
won't ever happen again.

Can you walk me
through your mussel?

No, I can't,

because you're just gonna
continue to be like...

- I will not--
- "mussels..." [Mumbles]

I don't want to--no.
- I will not.

If you walk me
through your dish

and you convince me
that was Italian.

For the Italian challenge,
Antonia b*at me

with a bowl of steamed mussel
with fennel.

It's a French dish.

It's not Italian.

You don't serve fennel
with mussel in Italy.

Tell me
about your Italian mussels.

What do you,
speak softly to them?

[Speaking French]

D'accord.
D'accord, d'accord.

Mikey, how'd that feel

to be an Italian
and be on the bottom?

[Laughing]

Such a sore loser.

Super sore loser.

Me and Antonia butt heads--

two big Italian personalities

that both need to shine
for all the light,

and she's trying
to take some of mine.

He's actually the only one
who didn't say congratulations.

- Take it easy.
- You know what?

Eight Chefs remain

to fight it out
for half a million dollars

in cash and prizes,
the most in Top Chef history,

and the grand prize--

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,

a showcase at the annual
Food & Wine classic in Aspen,

$200,000 to pursue
their culinary dreams,

furnished by Buitoni,

and the title
that's eluded them all--

Top Chef.

[Rock music]

♪ ♪

When I see
the fondue pots,

I'm thinking of bell-bottoms
and heels and--

I don't know--
maybe being naked.

My parents definitely went
to, like,

a nude fondue party,
for sure.

Chefs, your challenge
is to make fondue.

Fondue is a pot
of boiling something.

You cook it in,
or you just flavor it with it,

and you eat it
out of a stick.

This isn't the '70s.

We're not looking
for bananas dipped in chocolate.

We want you
to be creative

and make us
a unique fondue.

Would you like to meet your
guest judge for this challenge?

- Yes.
- We'd love to.

Look around.

It's you.

Oh.
[Laughter]

I don't know
about this.

Like, are we really gonna vote
for each other?

Are people gonna be honest
about what they think

about the food
truthfully?

We'll each taste
everything,

and you'll vote for your
favorites and least favorites.

You can't vote
for yourself,

and at this point
in the competition,

immunity is totally
off the table.

You know what? I made
through the finale my season

without ever winning immunity.

I'm doing it just fine
without it.

And just to heat up the pot
a little bit,

the winner will win

a three-day trip
to Napa Valley.

I want to win so badly.

I haven't won any money.
I haven't won any prizes.

It's not over yet, though.

Your fondue quickfire
starts...

Now.

Veal, veal, you see veal?
Veal, veal, Rosemary?

I was born in the '70s,

so I don't really know
too many people

who've gone
to these gay fondue parties.

I've never made
fondue before.

Not my style.

I actually love fondue.

But my parents never did
fondue parties.

My mother loves
Jewish deli.

I decide to do
a smoked-salmon fondue.

I never know, like,
where these ideas come from.

You know,
it's all of a sudden

a vision of my mom eating
Sunday morning breakfast,

and now it's fondue.

Can I borrow
a handful of salt?

Yes.

The first thing
I want to do

is what Padma said
not to do.

And that is make
chocolate fondue with bananas,

because I think
I can spin it

in a way that people
haven't seen before.

I just tried out
my fritter batter,

and it tastes
pretty good.

I don't remember hearing

about a whole bunch
of fondue parties in the south.

The first thing that pops
in my head

when I hear fondue
is dessert.

Anytime that
the fellow competitors

have to judge you,

you don't know
if they're picking someone

because of their friendship.

It's rough.

Just give me the money.

I have memories of me
going skiing north of Italy,

stopping, get a little, like,
oyster, caviar,

and some fondue.

That's the memory
brought me fondue,

and that's--
I'm getting a spin on it.

Does anybody have
star anise out?

For my idea, I'm gonna draw
from southeast Asia

and bang out a pho.

Traditionally,
when you have pho,

they give you rare beef.

And it kind of swims
in this broth

and gently cooks it.

It's "phondue."

[Chuckles]




[Breathing heavily]

Oh, my God, it's--
there's no time.

There's no time
to do anything.

[Muttering]

I really want to show
the other Chefs

that I am somebody
of diversity.

So basically, what I'm doing
is a deconstruction

of a beet and goat cheese salad
with endive.

Come on.

[Laughing]

I'm gonna send Angelo, Blais,
and Dale all to the bottom.

I definitely want to taste
everyone's food.

We're all here because we all
think we're the best.

I'm a big lamb guy.
I do a ton of lamb.

Really love the concept
of my fondue,

which is a feta cheese fondue
with spiced lamb kebabs.

Five minutes left.

[bleep].

So bad.

[bleep].
Five, four, three...

Two, one.

Hands up.

I took on way too much.

I'm gonna throw this out.

Here's a toast
to all of you

who have made it
thus far.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

This is sort of chocolate
and bananas in a new way.

What I made
was a little bit

of a amaretto, chocolate,
ras el hanout, chili ice cream.

This is liquid nitrogen,
so it's very, very, very cold.

My tongue just got stuck.

You know how it does
with a popsicle?

But it's good.

Eating should be
somewhat dangerous sometimes.

This is so much fun.

It does kind of feel
like a party.

But then you have to remember,
"oh, gosh, I'm judging."

I can't just enjoy the food
like I would normally want to.

So I did, um, kind of like
an apple fritter,

um, with a little bit
of ricotta cheese

and my version of a little bit
of hazelnut and chocolate.

Tiffany's--you know,
it's kind of this

big, clunky doughnut just dipped
into chocolate sauce,

and it's just
a little pedestrian.

Get dirty.
That's a commercial right there.

- [Laughing]
- I think I've done it.

[Laughter]

So this is a take
off of, um,

goat cheese and beets
with walnuts.

I did a goat cheese fondue.

Take the endive, dip it in,
and then, when you're done,

just sh**t it
with pickled beet juice.

- What is the juice?
- Pickled beet juice.

Angelo's plate's
a little weird.

Like, sh**ting out beet juice,
and I didn't know that fondue

was supposed to be
this complicated.

I did, um,
a coconut curry.

So you have a beef tenderloin,
and you have shrimp

and a little peanuts
in there.

That beef's sort of tender.
What is it?

- It's actually tenderloin.
- It's good.

I did pho fondue.

It's a vietnamese soup.
It's a veal base.

It's got some lime,
some hoisin, and some sriracha.

- Smells good.
- [Exhales sharply]

I did a feta cheese fondue,

but I served it
with spiced lamb kebabs

with a little bit of mint
and chili.

And these
are already grilled?

Yeah, I seared 'em
on the plancha,

so they're, like, rare,
mid-rare.

I didn't like Mikey's.

If Mikey doesn't have lamb
and Moroccan spice,

he doesn't know what to do
with himself.

I did almost like a classic
smoked salmon on toast--

red onion, fromage blanc,
and creme fraiche.

Mmm, so clever.

I missed the salmon.
It's still in there.

You want me
to get it for you?

Mmm.

I made my own billini
with caviar...

- Uh-huh?

Roasted lemon.
Inside there is creme fraiche,

uh, fromage blanc,
and Bourdain--

just like that.

So the billini
should be eaten hot.

So they're a little cold
right now.

It's tough.
I don't--

you have a tough job,
tougher than we thought.

So I have a ballot
for each of you,

so make your decisions.

Cast your votes.

I feel like my dish
is a winner,

if there was a judge
that wasn't my competitors.

I think there's a little bit
of intimidation

from the fact that I know
how to do certain things

that other people don't.

It's gonna be hard for me
to win that vote.

I thought this was supposed
to be a secret ballot.

We're gonna pick the winners
and the worst dishes.

I'm gonna be honest.

I'm gonna be, like,
New York Times reviewer

up in this bitch.

[Sighs]

[Cheers and applause]

That's Jimmy Fallon there.
I love it!

Are there
pots and pans here?

What are we doing?

Let's get the bad news
out of the way first.

Fabio, Tiffany, Mike...

Your dishes
were the least favorites.

Dale, you had Mike
on the bottom.

[Laughing silently]

I'm sorry.
I don't mean to laugh.

I love Mike,
but that was bad, man.

Blech.

I didn't care
for the spice.

And with the feta cheese,
it didn't work for me.

Dale put me
at the bottom.

[bleep] Monkey.

I don't think I should be
on the bottom.

I know there were a few dishes
worse than mine.

Now let's talk
about some of your favorites.

Your top-three dishes are...

Antonia...
Thanks.

- Dale.
- Thanks, guys.

Angelo, you also were
a favorite.

Thank you.

I'm very surprised
to be on top.

But I know
I could've done better,

and I think
that's the bottom line.

I didn't get a lot of love
in this challenge.

I think that, stylistically,

I'm so different
than everyone else that's here.

I think they're
a little bit scared.

I've tallied the votes.

And the winner
of this quickfire is...

Dale.
[Applause]

I don't want to rub it
in anyone's face that I won.

They know what's up.
[Chuckling]

You win a three-day trip
to Napa Valley,

including a tour
of the Terlato family vineyard.

Congratulations.

Thank you very much.

We have
a very special treat for you.

Please head
to Rockefeller Center,

where you'll find out more about
your elimination challenge.

All right.
Thank you.

Mikey wanted
to go ice-skating.

I didn't--I don't want
to go ice-skating.

Rainbow room entrance,
here we go.

This is exciting.

All right, guys, here we go.
Stand by.



[Cheers and applause]

We walk into the hall.

I have no clue
what's going on,

though its pretty awesome to be
at the Rockefeller Center.

We're outside of the door,
and people are screaming.

We're all
a little confused.

We have no idea
what our challenge is.

It's time
for a cell phone sh**t.

[Cheers and applause]

[Beeping, g*nshots]

Tonight we've got
a very special edition

of cell phone sh**t.

Higgins, tell everybody
who we have playing tonight.

Jimmy,
tonight's contestants are

the contestants
of Top Chef!

[Cheers and applause]

I'm walking inside.
I don't know where I'm at.

And I'm turning around--
wait.

That's Jimmy Fallon there.
I love it!

I can't believe this.

There is Jimmy Fallon.

[Gasps]
Oh, my God.

It is unreal.

I'm really confused
by this.

Are we having our elimination
challenge on Jimmy Fallon?

Are there pots
and pans here?

Like, is my Chef jacket here?
What are we doing?

Welcome, you guys.

Here's how the game
is gonna work.

You're gonna pull out
your cell phone cameras, okay?

And a bunch of images
are gonna flash by really fast.

You're gonna snap a picture
with your cell phone

as the pictures go by.

And whatever you take
a picture of,

that's what you
have to cook for me

at my birthday lunch.

So you guys ready to play?
Yeah.

All right, good.
Higgins, who's up first?

Okay, Jimmy,
the first two contestants are...

Antonia and Fabio!

Come on over, guys.

Get your cell phones ready!

Go ahead and say hi.

Antonia,
where are you from?

Um, I'm from Los Angeles,
California.

- Very, very good, and, Fabio?
- Los Angeles, California.

Oh, my God.
It's L.A. versus L.A.

West coast battle right now.
Here we go.

All right,
both of you guys,

turn around,
face the 108,

get your cell phones ready.

Start the loop!

[Beeping]

Could be anything.

Wait for it.
Wait for my command.

And sh**t!

[Cymbal crashes]

Antonia, turn around.
Let's see what you got here.

I don't know.

All right, Antonia,
this looks to me...

Yeah, I hate to say it,

but, yeah,
it's beef tongue.

[Groans and cheers]

What's the matter, Chef?
Cow got your tongue?

Nope, we've got
the cow's tongue.

- Thanks a lot.
- Are you excited about that?

I'm very excited
about the tongue.

I have this smile on my face,

and I'm like,
"no problem, Jimmy.

Beef tongue, thanks."

And in my head,
I'm like, "what am I gonna do

with beef tongue?"

Fabio, let's see
what you have here.

You have a lot of pictures
on here.

You have...

Hamburger
with french fries.

Ooh.

You'll be cooking
a hamburger with french fries

on top of the burger.

And if I have to explain
to you what a hamburger is,

maybe you shouldn't be
on Top Chef.

I never done a "boorger."

"Borger." Burgers--
I can't even pronounce them.

Who are the other contestants?
Come on over.

Good to see you, buddy.

Are you guys excited
for any specific dishes?

Chicken pot pie.

Well, now that tongue is out,
I'm a little--

I'm a fan of both of you guys,
by the way--all you guys.

Thank you.

I'm actually excited
about this.

Wait for my command.
Wait for it.

Ready, aim, sh**t!

Fire!
sh**t!

Oh, man, oh, man.
We're pulling some pork.

- Yeah!
- That's a good one.

Ramen--it's just like

what you ate in college,
only it doesn't suck.

Philly cheesesteak.

- Oh.
- Real nice.

It's chicken and dumps.

[Cheers and applause]

Sausage and pepper sandwiches
right there.

Got the king!

Chicken pot pie!

That's what I'm talking about.

That's right.

I'm so excited.

This is unbelievable.
You're so excited.

You're speechless.

This is unbelievable.
Look how much--

I am over the moon.

Just yesterday,

I was talking
to Antonia and Tiffany

about chicken pot pie.

Why--

I've been talking about
chicken pot pie for a week!

She was.

This is very exciting,
then, okay.

Higgins, tell 'em the details
of this lunch.

Chefs, you'll shop tonight
and have two hours

to cook tomorrow
at Colicchio & sons

before the party begins.

Keep in mind,
Jimmy hates mushrooms,

mayonnaise,
and eggplant.

Happy cooking.
Jimmy?

Good luck, you guys.
Have fun.

Oh, and my whole family
will be there,

so no pressure.

All right, now, get out of here
and go shopping.

I'll see you guys tomorrow.
Stick around, everybody.

We'll be right back
with more Late Night.

[Whistles]

Jimmy is going to love
my chicken pot pie.

God, I have a huge crush
on Jimmy Fallon.

That was crazy.
Yeah.

I already have two wins.

If I win this challenge,

then I think
I will be perceived

as a force
to be reckoned with.

They didn't see me coming.

Where's your prime?

I'm kind of nervous.

These dudes all grew up
on the east coast.

They know what a
Philly cheesesteak tastes like,

and they're gonna let you know
if it sucks.

Do you have more
of these pretzel baguettes?

I see these pretzel rolls.

If you think of Philly,
that's kind of

the two instantaneous things
that I think of--

Philly cheesesteaks
and soft pretzels.

Y'all sell
green apples, sir?

I think we got
a team going here.

Three pound
of short ribs, ground.

I will treat this hamburger
like a meatball.

Two pound of briskets,
ground as well.

My question mark is--
will be tradition.

Not sure about that.

Got mortadella
for the burger, baby.

Ha ha ha!

[bleep] Animal.

- All right, great, that's it.
- Coming through.

All right,
let's hit it, guys.

Blaisie, we're gonna make

some lobster
and shrimp ravioli.

I love lobster
and shrimp raviolis.

Well, good thing no one's
making it for you, Mikey.

Thank you.

This is
my favorite one, actually.

It's delicious.

Are you guys ready
for ravioli?

Let's eat.

- To great friends.
- We made a-pasta.

At this point
in the competition,

you can kind of see
the mile marker,

getting to the finale.

The competitions
have been harder.

Like, this is not just--
- the level of competition.

The last season,
I didn't really think through

the pain
or the personal embarrassment

that were to come
if I didn't win

my season of Top Chef.

So now I have to win,

or else the season
wasn't successful.

Well, I love Mike's sausage...
[Laughter]

From way back.

- You experimented in college.
- I experimented in college

with sausage,
and I found that it was good.

[Yawning loudly]

Those things are tight.

No, wear those.
Whatever, man.

And have to listen
to you guys all day?

Living with Angelo--
he's such a pretty man,

with his well manicured
five o'clock shadow.

The other day,
he had on a sheer-looking shirt

that was like a purple dashiki
and tight pants on.

You look like
you got avocado on your pants.

These are Padma's pants.
[Laughter]

I still think
I'm a better Chef,

even though he is
a stunning man.

[Laughing]

All right, guys,
let's get out of here.

Let's go, let's go.

[Upbeat music]

♪ ♪

We head in
to Colicchio & son

to cook
for Jimmy Fallon's birthday.

And we have to make
his favorite dishes.

I got to make
a good hamburger.

It's pressure on for me,
you know.

Oh, God.

Chop, chop, chop.

There's
eight competitors left,

so it's really tight.

I haven't been working
towards my strength.

My strength is flavors.

First things first,

I make a spice blend
of coffee, allspice, chipotle

for my pulled pork.

I know it sounds really gross,
but I think it's good.

Yuck!

Words like "beef tongue" to me

just kind of freak me out
sometimes.

Everyone keeps telling me
beef tongue takes

four to five hours.

Richard actually tells me
how to pressure-cook it.

That doesn't have
too much water in it, does it?

Turn it down a little bit.
You want to let the steam out?

No, no, no, no.

But I'm nervous.

Like, is my pressure cooker
going to get this done?

Oh, I love Richard Blais.

I don't know
what's going on over there.

I think Richard
gives too much information.

Everyone asks him questions.

Then they execute it
correctly,

and they're in
the winner's circle for it.

I mean,
there's $200,000 on the line.

I can't risk someone doing
a better dish than me

because I'm helping them.

What do you think?

I think Jimmy Fallon's
from Boston.

I definitely want to do
my sausage and peppers

Fenway style--
shaving the peppers paper thin.

Hopefully,
he'll enjoy that.

- Salt?
- Not yet.

We have 1 hour
and 16 minutes.

[Groaning]

Are those onions cooking?

Hey, Blais,
you got a microplane?

I don't, Chef.

Like every little stony kid,

I bought the prepackaged
Philly cheesesteaks,

but I've never made one
from scratch.

Dale, do you want any
of this salt and sugar?

At this point,
I'm kind of nervous

because I'm unsure
a little bit about myself

with the seasonings.

Last challenge, someone accused
me of having bland food,

and I don't want
to repeat that.

Tiffany, are you finished
with the rolling pin?

- I haven't used it.
- Okay, that's fine.

That's fine.

So far in the competition,

I'm in the top.
I'm on the bottom.

And I feel like I'm mentally,
physically all over the board.

A good mess
is what we call it.

I'm changing up
the chicken and dumpling

because my family makes it
a little bit different.

I'm gonna do, like,

a southwestern
chicken and dumpling.

Blais,
fryer is at 350, right?

- I believe so.
No one--

I have not changed it.



- Right here.
- Okay, great. Thank you.

There's a lot of pressure,
because the thing is,

I acted
a complete fool and idiot

about getting pot pie.

But I've never made it
in two hours.

Honestly, I don't feel
like it's enough time.

Aah!

What possessed me?

Okay, come on.

Watching Carla
is like watching

a chicken with her head cut off
at this point.

I don't think
that she's gonna make it.

Time, time.
Aah!

[Indistinct chatter]

Hey, how are you?

Thank you so much
for joining us.

Oh, it's our pleasure.
Nice to see you.

Nice to see you.

Hey!

- Hey.
- Hey, what's happening?

Happy Birthday, Jimmy.

- Yeah, absolutely.
- Hi.

- Hi, Jim.
- How are you?

- Hey.
- Hey, gal.

- Hi.
- You look beautiful.

- You're looking very handsome.
- Thank you very much.

- Hi, how are you?
- Good, how are you?

Hey, darling.

We're huge fans.
We watch all the time.

You give a challenge,
we pause the tv,

and we go, like,
"what would you have done?"

"All right,
I would have done, you know,

corn flake into this."

I love that.

Behind you.



I need this for the fries,

please, guys,
leave it here.

I'm making
an American classic dish,

but I'm throwing
my own spin to it.

So this will be chuck,
short ribs, and brisket,

combined.

I'm melting the cheddar

and put it on the side,

so the guests--
they can put it

on their own burger.

You're doing a great job
over there, Chef.

I've never seen a cheese sauce
in any burger joint in my life.

So it's kind of
a little weird.

I pulled the tongue out,
and it tastes great.

It tastes nice.

So I'm feeling confident.

I said,
"I'm gonna work with it.

I'm gonna figure it out."
And I did.

- I like the tongue.
- Awesome.

Okay, you guys,
just be careful with these

'cause they move
a little bit.

- Uh-oh, here we go.
- Yeah.

[Indistinct chatter]

Chefs,
I'd like to introduce you

to your judges
for this elimination challenge.

Head judge Tom Colicchio
of Colicchio & sons,

where we are today.

The lovely and luscious
Gail Simmons

of Food & Wine magazine.
Hi, guys.

And, of course,

the very funny and handsome
Jimmy Fallon.

- Oh, thank you.
- Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Absolutely.
I wrote that. I wrote that.

Antonia,
what did you make?

I have beef tongue,

and I did a play on sort of just
a deli sandwich.

You have rye pumrnickel
underneath,

some caramelized onions,
a braised beef tongue,

my version
of a cole slaw.

The burger is made
out of, uh,

Chuck, brisket,
and short ribs--

homemade pickle,
cucumber, and pepper.

And, uh, I don't know.
You said burger.

So I don't like
if you like cheese.

That's why I put it
on the side.

I like the way
he says "boorger."

This is so nice.
Thank you so much.

- Happy Birthday.
- I'm so excited.

Let's start
with the burger.

Are you putting
that cheese sauce on?

If you want cheese
on your burger, yeah.

- That's a good burger, man.
- You think so?

It's a different type
of burger.

I mean, it's almost like
a meatloaf-ish type of thing.

The taste was a lot like
meatloaf, and the texture.

There wasn't that juiciness

that I wanted when I--
when I bit into my burger.

I'm not a fan of it.
I don't know. I don't like it.

And this cheese stuff
is just pretty gross.

I think it's nice
that he gave us an option.

You know, if we rubbed this
all over your head

and stuck you between bars,
you'd hate cheese too.

No one knows
the mayonnaise story.

- I know the story.
- You know the mayonnaise story.

The reason I don't like
mayonnaise, my wife thinks--

we had to play
in the backyard,

and I just got bored,

and I stuck my head
between these two railings.

Couldn't get my head
out of the bars.

So my grandmother goes,
"I know how to do it.

"Let's rub mayonnaise
all over his head

and slide him out."

- Wow.
- Then they popped him out.

I guess that means
that you probably like

Antonia's beef tongue,

since it didn't have
mayonnaise in it.

I really liked it.
I think this is a tricky one.

This is the curveball.

I think she knocked it
out of the park.

It all tasted
really great together.

I love the onions and pickles.
I think it was a great idea.

I think she licked
the challenge.

That's a great one.

Oh, my God.

Sorry.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.

I am excited
about my dish.

It is risky, in the fact

that I'm doing something
nontraditional,

but it's freakin' flavorful.

So a good dish
is a good dish.

- You doing okay?
- Mm-hmm.

The fact that I got
ramen noodles

makes me a little nervous.

It's rare that I just focus

on trying to deliver
something that's authentic.

But it's really important
to me to show

that I don't need a helmet,


and a flamethrower

to make my food exciting.

I think it's gonna be
Richard Blais enough.

[Timer beeping]

- Hello.
- Hi.

I'm an oodles of noodles guy.

This is my first time making
ramen without the flavor pack.

Duck legs, pork belly,
and that's a duck egg as well.

- I did chicken and dumplings--

dumplings which I made
a little bit

of roasted red peppers
and poblanos,

a little bit
of cilantro and lime.

I'm calling this one "not
my mom's chicken and dumplings."

Perfect.

Thank you.

Again with the congealed.

[Slurping loudly]

[Laughter]

That's the way they do it
in Japan, yeah.

It's considered
a compliment, you guys.

It's true, that's true.

I think Richard did
a good job.

I like the way
the egg was cooked.

It was very nice.

I think
I was expecting, like,

a smoke machine,
laser beams to come out,

as a Richard fan.

I have all his baseball cards.
I have everything, posters.

It wasn't a home run.
He bunted.

And I really wanted him
to swing for the fences.

Chicken dump, right?
You call it chicken dump?

- This is my favorite dish.
- I love the lime in it.

It tasted really delicious.

I do like spice,

but I think it was
a little bit spicy for me.

It's like tortilla soup
with some dough noodles in it.

This is the first thing
I finished,

and I'm a man of girth.

I enjoy food, but--

- man of girth was
your first album, right?

- That was my first--
second album.

- Second album.
The first one was self-titled.

No, it was a filthy title.
I couldn't say it.

Girth of a nation
was the first one.

Girth of a nation
was the first one.

- Girth, wind, and fire.
- Yeah, girth, wind, and fire.




Aah!
I need a bowl!

Can I use right here?

Yes, yes, yes.

I'm just gonna take
every measure

to make sure that Carla doesn't
come anywhere near my food.

As time is dwindling down,
I'm happy with my sandwiches.

When I put them
on the plate, I was like,

"wow, these things look good."
Like, "I'd want to eat that."

My plates aren't wiped.

[Timer beeping]
Gentle. Thank you, sir.

[Gasps]

I did it.
I got it done.

Nobody can tell me
that this is not

a b*mb-diggity
chicken pot pie.

- Carla, what did you make?
- Chicken pot pie.

Yay!
[Applause]

Oh, my God,
I think you're my angel,

because you made it happen.

And the little dust,
because I love peas,

are dehydrated peas.

It's a little pea salt.
Please enjoy.

I made
a Philly cheesesteak.

Philly, I always think
of soft pretzel rolls.

I did a shaved rib eye,

cheese sauce
instead of cheez whiz,

onions braised
in spicy hot sauce.

Enjoy.

I'm really excited
about this.

- Dale's Philly cheesesteak--

the meat was very, very tender.
I enjoyed it.

I mean,
the presentation was awesome.

Like, this should be
the greatest sandwich

of my life.

And then the salt monster
just att*cked me.

It was too much salt.

- I love the onions with
the spicy Buffalo-wi sauce.

It was just salty.
I think we're all clear.

- Mmm, sage-y.

It's comforting.
It's delicious.

I love the pea salt.

I didn't know there was
such thing as a pea salt.

Tom, what do you think
of Carla's pot pie?

Too busy eating.
[Laughter]

She delivered.
It's great.

This is so good,
I can't stop eating it.

Doesn't it--
Higgins!

Higgins, no!
Higgins, this is my--

give me that.
Give me that.

Give me that.

It's really good, Carla.

Aah.
[bleep].

As I'm putting up
my pork sandwich, I feel great,

and I think this is the first
time in the whole competition

I've felt this confident.

Don't knock that over...
Please.

[bleep]. Mikey,
you're knocking it over, dude.

I didn't knock it over.

Why you got to blame everything
on me all the time?

Why not?

[Timer beeping]

Be gentle.
Thank you.

- Hello.
- Hey, guys.

I have
a barbecued pulled pork.

I made a coffee,
allspice, and chipotle rub,

if you would.

Cooked it in ketchup,
vinegar, little brown sugar

and just glazed it
in a luscious liquid.

I have sausage and peppers,
Fenway style.

Shave all the garlic,
onions, and peppers

on a--on a slicer.

And then I made my own sausage
with some fennel, chili,

pork belly, pork shoulder,
and lots of paprika.

Thank you.

Mmm.

Angelo, home run.

This sauce is just amazing.

Coffee and dill--
it's so unexpected.

- You pull your own pork.
- I pull my own pork a lot.

But if Angelo's gonna pull it
for me, God bless him.

[Laughter]

What'd you think
of Mike's sausage and peppers?

I loved
how all the peppers and onions

were so thin
and soaked up the flavors

of the--
of the sausage.

My mom makes sausage
and peppers all the time,

so this I love.

- Thanks, Gloria.
- Sorry, mom, but--

- because you finished
a lot of Mike's sausage.

Well, I love Mike's sausage...
[Laughter]

From way back.

You experimented in college.

I experimented in college
with sausage,

and I found that, uh,
I-I-it was good.

What do you think
about the sausage?

It needs more fat.

- This was so great.
- Thanks for having us.

Cheers, and thanks to all
the Chefs for working so hard.

That was great.

- Happy Birthday.
- No, no.

- Happy Birthday.
- What is going on?

Happy, Happy Birthday.

I'm making a wish.

Happy Birthday, Jimmy.

Oh, it's gonna come true.
Yeah, that's so good.

Is this an ice cream cake?
Yes.

- I love ice--
that's my favorite!

Ice cream cakes!
You guys are the best!

I had the best birthday lunch
I've ever had,

thanks to you guys and you guys
and my family.

But I will say
that the winner of this,

uh, will also get
a cooking segment

on late night with Jimmy Fallon,
so I'll be seeing one of you

back at the studio,
and it'll be fun.

And we'll have fun,
late night style.

At this point in time,

I'm just like,
"I got to win this.

I really want to be
on the show."

Jimmy...

Tom, Gail, we got to get
back to the judges' table.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

This was super good times.

- It got really grainy
and just--

- this is the worst,
'cause I love you guys so much.

I'm gonna have to go out and
have a couple drinks after this.

How's everything
at Food & Wine?

It's quite excellent,
thank you very much.

Thanks for asking.
I appreciate that.

- Let me tell you--
this is a true story.

I did an article
for Food & Wine.

And they go, "Jimmy,
if your mom has any recipes,

we'll publish it
in the magazine."

So she calls up. She gives me
a cheesecake recipe.

They call up. They go,
"we took your mom's recipe,

and it's fantastic."

So I call her. I go,
"mom, they loved the recipe.

They want to know,
did you get it anywhere?"

She goes, "I think I did.
Let me check. I'll tell you."

And she goes, "yeah, I got it
from Food & Wine magazine."

[Laughter]
It's true.

Oh, my God.

Okay, Dale,
thank you,

because you were like,

"are you gonna use
this other piece of crust?

[Gasps dramatically]

Aah! Aah! Aah!

I just see
this big poof flopping around

the other side
of the kitchen--

"aah, aah!"

[Laughter]

It was stressful.

The whole thing
was very stressful to me.

Hi, guys.

We'd like to see Carla,
Angelo, and Antonia.

Thank you.

- Good luck, guys.
- Good luck, guys.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Chefs...

The three of you served
the best dishes

at lunch today,

so congratulations.

I couldn't even believe
what you guys did.

I just had the greatest
birthday lunch ever.

- Whew. Thank you.
- Thank you.

- The idea of coffee
and dill, cilantro--

this stuff
shouldn't make sense.

But it all did.
It all--it all--

- yeah, that almost sounds
like a dare.

- It all--
yeah, it does.

I dare you
to make that taste good.

It was savory.

Everything there
really came together well.

- Thank you.
- Carla.

I was like,
"oh, yes.

I'm gonna make
a chicken pot pie."

If you noticed,
I put some of the crust

on the bottom,
because when you--

- we noticed.
- Oh, we noticed.

- Oh, my God.
- We applaud you for that.

Is that, like,
the favorite thing ever?

That's what I'm saying.
That is my thing.

That--I tot--
when I get a pot pie,

if there's no crust
on the bottom,

I'm out.

- Yes!
- I am out.

- Yes.
- I get annoyed.

It brought back
great memories.

And you could tell that there
was love put into this.

Thank you.

- Antonia.
- Yes.

When you got tongue,
were you kind of psyched

or just like, "oh, God"?

I've never cooked
or eaten beef tongue.

I have cooked it, actually.
It's on my menu.

It's on your menu.
I saw it.

- Yeah, it's on my menu.
- I was like, "great."

- And now--no, you did
a great job with it,

especially in the time
allotted to cook it,

'cause that usually takes
a long time to cook.

You got thrown a curveball,
and you connected

and hit it
out of the park.

We actually have
a beef tongue song.

And they have
sort of championed me on.

Yeah, we did
a song last night.

Would you like
to sing it for us?

Okay.

♪ Beef tongue, beef tongue ♪

♪ beef tongue, beef tongue ♪
♪ beeeeef tongue ♪

♪ gotta make
the beef tongue ♪

♪ gotta make
the beef tongue ♪

♪ beeeef tongue ♪

This is a Top Chef first,
everybody.

[Cheers and applause]

You guys deserve to sing
and celebrate.

Jimmy, as our guest judge,
you have the honor

of announcing the winner,

who will be a guest
on your show.

The person we thought
did the best job

is...

Carla.

Yeah!
I will see you on my show.

I can't wait for you
to come on late night.

We're gonna have fun,
late night.

We're gonna have fun!

This is my third win.

I am so excited.

Thank you, thank you,
thank you.

- So awesome.
- Thank you so much.

Not only do you get to go
on Jimmy's show,

you get a six-night trip
to Hilton Tokyo...

Oh, my God!
[Squealing incoherently]

She gets to go
around the world.

Along with $5,000
for airfare,

furnished by Hilton hotels
and resorts.

Tokyo!

This is my third trip.

Please send back some
of your colleagues.

That was so good.

I won.

So they want to see
Tiffany, Fabio, and Dale.

[bleep].

- Good luck, you guys.
- All righty.

See you guys
in a little bit, papi.

- Dude, she's going to Tokyo.
- I'm going to Tokyo.

Get the [bleep] Out of here.

It's really fun to see
my colleagues

get worked up
about Carla winning

her third elimination challenge
and her third trip.

But I'm not intimidated.

You don't have to win
until the end.

Mikey, you're taking
the bottom middle today--sorry.

I'll take it.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Unfortunately,
the three of you served

our least favorite dishes
in the lunch today.

And one of you
will be going home.

Let's start with Tiffany.

Chicken and dumplings
is so much about the dumpling.

And it was, like,
a flat dumpling.

I rolled 'em too thin.
I knew it too.

So I know exactly
where you're going.

I want more
of that gravy, comfort,

dough-ball thing.

It was a different look at it.
Yeah.

Fabio, I think you treated
that Patty,

that hamburger Patty,
almost like a meatball.

It got Chuck,
brisket, short ribs,

smoked pork belly.

Just beef, I was afraid
it would be dry out.

It missed some
of that juicy, beefy moistness

that I was looking for.

It wasn't a hamburger
with french fries on it.

It was more like
a meatloaf.

But by far,
the worst thing on the plate

was that cheddar cheese.

It got really grainy
and granular and just--

- Dale.

- It's just--the salt monster
just k*lled me.

I drank a keg of beer,

and I'm currently
intoxicated.

- I-I think I was
a little spooked

from last challenge,
saying it was bland.

That's what really crushed me.

At my last challenge,
someone said my food was bland.

The bread had a lot
of salt on it,

combined with the hot sauce,

which I'm sure has a lot
of sodium,

together, it was really
just like salt lick

on top of salt lick.

I'm sorry.

This is the worst,
'cause I love you guys so much.

I'm a fan of you.
I'm a fan of you.

I'm a fan of, like--
from the show.

And this sucks for you guys.
I don't know how you do this.

I'm gonna have to really, um,

go out and have
a couple drinks after this.

Please return
to the stew room.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Hey.
- Okay.

What's the word, bird?

- It's nitpicking time.
- That's what we thought.

You know the rock salt
on the pretzel bread?

And I totally [bleep]
Just forgot about it.

My cheese sauce curdle
when it got to the table,

so that was not--
it was not pleasing to see.

It's gonna be tight.

You know, it was such
a fun birthday party,

and the food was so good.

It's gonna be hard
to send someone home.

When we're having so much fun,
you kind of forget that

there's the business end
of this thing too.

Such a bummer,
'cause it was three great ones.

Let's talk about Tiffany's
chicken and dumplings.

I think that Tiffany
masked the chicken

with everything else--

the jalapeño, the lime,
the corn, the peppers.

That's the sort of downfall

of when you're doing
food like this.

We all have sort of ideas
about what it should be like.

You think
chicken and dumplings,

that certainly
doesn't come to mind at all.

- You wanted
that doughy-ness.

You wanted that fun.
You wanted the gravy-ness.

And you didn't get that.

Dumplings just didn't feel
like a dumpling.

Let's talk about Fabio.

- Ugh, it wasn't a hamburger.
- It's not a burger.

A burger is beef, 100% beef.
It's loosely formed.

It's cooked,
and it's juicy.

This wasn't juicy.

To do meatloaf
instead of a hamburger

was like,
"oh, he went that way."

- It's just--
the focus point of the dish,

the Patty itself, fell short.
Yeah.

Dale's dish.

First bite was great.

And then the second bite
was salty.

And the third bite,
you go,

"I'm gonna ruin
everything else."

That bread had a layer
of rock salt on top of it.

The steak,
when you're seasoning it,

you have to think about how
it's all gonna come together

because you're eating it
as a sandwich.

- It destroyed the dish.
- Taste your food.

You have to taste your food.

That's like--
come on, that's day one.

[bleep].

- I guess we have our answer.
- Mm-hmm.

Ugh.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Chefs,
for tonight's challenge,

you were asked to make some
of Jimmy's favorite foods

for his birthday party,
and in each case,

your dish did not bring us
to those happy places

that these foods can.

Unfortunately for one of you,
the party's over.

Tiffany,
chicken and dumplings

is about chicken
with a rich sauce

and big, Fluffy dumplings.

It's not a clear soup
with flat noodles.

Fabio,
instead of a juicy burger,

we got dry meatloaf.

Dale, Philly cheesesteak,
too much salt on that dish--

couldn't get past that.

And we were looking for great
versions of these dishes.

We had a blast today.

But unfortunately,
there is a business end

to this competition.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Fabio...

Please pack
your knives and go.

[Softly]
Wow.

Happy as you
could possibly be.

I don't feel good
going home right now.

I wish I would stick around
little bit longer.

Got to sell that one, man.

I love you, man.
Don't cry.

- I love you, dude.
- I'm gonna cry.

Don't cry.
I'm laughing.

I love Jimmy Fallon.

But the fact that he came
on my show and sent me home,

that's not good, Jimmy.

Thank you for letting me
use your kitchen.

Amore,
I'll see you soon.

- Pleasure is mine.
- Thank you, guys.

Jimmy, I will cook
a burger for you

one day in the future,
and you will go on your knee

and beg for forgiveness,

because you
sent me home today.

[Chuckles]

The last class
of the maestro.

I'll miss you, Mike.

I'm gonna
miss you too, fab.

- Ah, you're so impressive.
- I love you, brother.

- Can I do it one last time?
- Yeah, one more time.

Bravo.

Wear it.
All right.

- I love you, guys.
- Love you, Fabio.

People should look at me
for consistency

and perseverance.

If I made it in this country

in the way
that I'm trying to do it,

the road is there, guys.

I mean, you should just
go for it, you know.

You really are the only shadow

standing
in your own sunshine.

- Next on Top Chef All-Stars...

Sesame street.
Aah!

- [Shouts]
- Cookie, cookie, cookie.

In my house,
elmo is like Elvis.

- Go, go, go!
- All right, all right.

No potato chips
in the cookies!

- This is so exciting.
- This me kind of place.

I can't even fathom
how hard this is gonna be.

Go, go, go!

This will probably be
the hardest challenge to date.

I can't do that.
I can't do that.

Everybody else is cooking,
and I'm still shopping.

Where are the tablecloths?

- I think he's going
for that late-night,

comfort, stoner food.

You ever given this guy
a urine test?