07x11 - Making Concessions

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

We will be cooking
at the CIA headquarters.

I love spy stuff.

Ed, what's your spy name?
It's Muffin Winthrop.

You know, Angelo bought
puff pastry just like John did.

He could definitely
go home for it.

For the first time
in the competition,

I feel a little bit lost.

The pastry
was a little hard.

I would have preferred
to see less disguise

and a better dish.

Wylie, please
do the honors.

Tiffany.
Yes!

In all your cases,
your cover was blown.

If there was
any disguise,

you disguised yourselves
as really poor cooks.

Alex, please
pack your knives and go.

This season,
one outstanding competitor

will take the title
of Top Chef and the grand prize,

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine

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

$125,000

to help turn their
culinary dreams into reality

furnished by Dial Nutri Skin.

Top Chef Season Seven,
Hail to the Chef.

Come on, Eddie,
wake up!

Let's go, man.
Let's go, ed.

Just two more minutes.

[Laughter]

Hey, girl.

You looking rough
in the morning.

[Laughter]

Oh, my gosh,
Eddie in my dress.

Who knows what goes on
in his mind?

He's just walking around,

and, like, all of this
nasty chest hair's out

and hairs from down--

it's, like, pretty gross.

Everybody does
want to be Tiffany.

Why wouldn't you?
Hello!

Ew!
You're nasty!

[Laughing]

At this point
in the competition,

we're just having fun
with one another.

But at the same time,
the pressure's on big-time.

There are six Chefs left.

Alex is gone.

Amanda also ended up
on the bottom.

I wasn't all that surprised.

I would like
to see her go home.

Being at the judges' table,
it was very heart-piercing.

I gotta clear my head,
and I gotta focus.

When I was young,
I used to cut out pictures

of all famous
four-star Chefs.

I'd have a room.
I'd light candles.

And every single day,
I'd go kneel

and, like, pray before them.

So this is something
I really, really want,

and it really, really
means a lot to me.

Angelo's
a little weird sometimes.

He actually reads
Anthony Robbins books,

and he talks to himself

and, like,
says mantras, like,

"you're gonna plan..."
[laughing]

Stuff like that!

All right, guys,
let's go!

Whoo! Whoo!

Hello again, Chefs.

All: Hello.

Please welcome
Chef Rick Moonen.

He is
a Top Chef MRMters alum,

as well as Chef and owner
of RM Seafood in Las Vegas.

Hello, Chefs.
How are you?

Good.

Rick Moonen
is a seafood guy,

which is pretty close
to my heart.

It's pretty amazing to me
to be in the presence

of someone so great.

I'm hoping it's gonna be
some type of seafood challenge.

Only six of you remain

to fight it out
for the title of Top Chef--

top dog...

Top banana...

The big cheese.

People are kind of like,
"what the...

What are you talking about?"

We don't want someone

who's just
a flash in the pan.

Do you see a trend here?

Your quickfire
is all about idioms...

Food idioms.

You'll each choose an idiom
to inspire your dish.

There are definitely
some funny idioms,

and some that I think
are a little risque.

"Hide the salami"...
[chuckles]

I kind of strayed away
from that one a little bit.

And the winning dish

will go into the repertoire
of Schwan's,

the country's largest
home delivery

frozen-food provider.

I think
that's pretty awesome.

I wonder, would they
put our name on it?

That would be even cooler,
you know?

"I got a frozen meal.
What you got?"

[Laughing]

Kevin,
based on the Kn*fe pull,

you choose first.

"Bring home the bacon."

I choose "the big cheese."

I don't immediately know
what I want to do with cheese,

but I like cheese.

Should be doable.

Hopefully, you won't have
to have sour grapes.

"Hot potato."

I'm trying to decide
between the fish

or the beans,

so I said,
"let's go for the beans,

and then put a fish
on top of that."

You all have
your inspiration.

Your time starts now.

[Energetic music]

Down, going down.

♪ ♪

my idiom is
"the big cheese,"

I think my dish might make
a good Schwan's frozen meal,

because the Mac and cheese
out there

in the frozen-food section--
it's a little lackluster,

and I used to be
quite the aficionado,

because before the age of 15,
I think that was all I ate.

Ed, can I use
that pepper mill?

Yeah.

I'm not a big fan
of Amanda.

She's annoying.
She's a slob.

There's no paper towels?

[Bleep].

She has no technique.

I think
she's just been lucky

the whole time
she's been here.

Behind, incoming.

A lot of people talk
a lot of trash about Amanda,

but I think
Amanda's a dark horse.

She's actually very smart,

and she just sneaks
by everybody.

Anybody have anything
in the oven burning?

I think it's a tomato skin
on the grill.

My idiom
is "spill the beans."

And dry beans can take
a little while to cook,

so I'm using canned beans.

So we really need to try
to develop some flavor here.

I don't want to be that person
on the bottom.

Hot.

I'm, like,
a very organized person.

The other Chefs seem
really disorganized.

So I feel good.

I know that I can cook
a great chicken breast

with a grape puree.

[Blender grinds]

Angelo is trying
to come back

from a particularly
embarrassing judges' table.

Angelo's a little crazy
right now.

[Laughing]

Angelo's fish--
there's a lot going on,

and eccentric people
sometimes cook eccentric.

[Shouts]

I wanted to feature bacon

as much as possible.

I have it three different ways,
and I think my dish is better.

Done playing games.

No more messing around.

I need that pepper mill
back, Amanda.

Where is it?

Ed looks
like he's about to die.

He's making
gnocchi in an hour.

Look across the kitchen,
and all I see is sweat

and a red face
pop out behind it

with, like, a crazy look
in his eye.

We're all so close
to the finals.

It's pretty intense.

Five, four,

three, two,

one--hands up!

Utensils down.

Hello, ed.
How are you?

"Hot potato" was my idiom,

and I made
a hot potato gnocchi,

spring vegetables,
wild mushrooms.

What kind of herbs do you have
in the gnocchi?

Chopped chervil,
parsley, chives.

Lovely spring dish--
thank you.

Thank you.

You had "spill the beans."
"Spill the beans."

I did a pan-seared cod over
some stewed cannellini beans

and red kidney Bean.

How did you get the beans
to cook in one hour?

I actually used
canned beans.

I really wanted
to develop some flavor,

hence the bacon.
Interesting.

This way.

I did bacon three ways.

There's a bacon puree,
chopped bacon,

and a real light
bacon froth.

I did a poached egg
and snap peas.

Kind of like a little bit
of a breakfast theme.

Exactly.

There's something
aromatic in there.

There's, um, thyme,
chervil, and chives.

There's no way that
Kevin's dish could be frozen.

He didn't take
into consideration

the guidelines
of the challenge.

Today I have, um,
pan-roasted chicken breast

over caramelized
brussels-sprout leaves

with golden raisins.

I have a red-grape sauce

and then just some fresh grapes
to kind of show off

the true texture
of the grapes.

It's interesting.

You had
"bigger fish to fry."

Fried tilapia satay,
if you would,

and then we have
an asian tartar sauce.

And I actually coated
the fish

in an ancient chinese
preparation,

where, typically, they take
glutinous rice and water,

and when it gets
really glutinous,

they coat the fish in that,
and then they fry it,

but I didn't have
glutinous rice,

so I used
cornstarch and water.

Rick Moonen
is a guru of seafood.

Unfortunately, doesn't
really say much and moves on.

I made my favorite way to make
macaroni and cheese,

which has bacon,
jalapeños, mushrooms,

cheddar, gruyere,
and a smoked mozzarella,

and I've served it
with a pork chop.

So you kept it
nice and light.

With Mac and cheese,
I figure

you either go big
or go home, so...

Which dishes
were the bad eggs?

Well, the least favorite
of mine...

Was Kelly's dish.

The brussels sprouts
and the concord-grape puree

was a little bit odd.

It just didn't sing.

Unfortunately, Amanda...

It was kind of like
a sledgehammer to the gut.

It was a real
heavy-handed dish.

For the first time,
I disagree with them.

I really thought
my Mac and cheese was good.

I'm, like, having
my own personal pity party

inside my head.

I'm like, "well, nothing
I'm gonna make

"is gonna be any good,

so it doesn't really matter
what you make, does it?"

Okay, whose dishes
were more your cup of tea?

One of my top choices
was "bring home the bacon"--

Kevin.

And you did
a really great job.

You brought it
to a new level of lightness

and balance,

and at the end, I just
wanted to pick that plate up

and lick it clean.

It was really delicious.
Thank you, Chef.

I really liked
Ed's dish as well.

The gnocchi
was well-conceived.

It was very light,

and everything
on that plate was, um--

was well thought out.

Rick, which dish would make
the best frozen meal?

It would have to be...

Ed.
Thank you.

[Applause]

Congratulations, ed.

Not only have you won
the quickfire,

but your food will be offered

through the Schwan's
home-delivery service.

All right, cool.
Thank you. Thank you.

Ed won.
You know, congrats.

I could totally see his face
on the packaging.

I think it'd look
really amazing.

He kind of does look
like a potato, actually.

[Laughs]

Are you also doing a cart?
Am I also doing what?

Cart!
Are you doing a cart?

Ed's yelling at Tiffany.
He's out of control.

[Loud clattering]

For your
elimination challenge,

you'll be cooking

for one of the oldest
sports institutions

in the country.

We're taking you out

to the ball game.
[laughs]

Cool.

I love baseball.

I mean, I'm half Dominican.
Baseball's in my blood.

Even till this day,

I still want to be
a professional baseball player.

You will be serving
high-end concession-stand food

at nationals park
during their pregame.

I think this is
gonna be really fun.

I'm hoping we get
to meet some players,

and the new stadiums
are serving

crazy delicious cuisine,

so the sky's the limit now.

You'll be working
as one team

to make
at least six dishes.

The last team challenge
didn't go well.

Then we have six separate
starches on the table.

What are you
talking about?

We're losing the subject.

Let's try to figure out if--

lord have mercy.

I hope
that doesn't happen again.

Time starts now.

All right.
All right.

I don't think
it has to be one concept,

but I do think, like,
if we all make beef,

they're gonna be like,
"wait, you were a team.

You gave us six beefs."

In this planning period,
Kelly talks a lot.

If Tiffany makes a sandwich,

does she feel compelled
to put something

with the sandwich,
like, uh, some sort of--

I don't know--
french fry or...

You know
what I'm talking about,

how normally something like
a sandwich is served with...

Something.

I'm thinking
to myself,

"oh, Buddy!"

Because Kelly's trying
to take control.

I would like to do something
cold using crab.

I was thinking
some sort of crab cake.

Can you go fish
instead of shellfish?

Yeah, I can do--
yeah.

Kelly is always thinking
about herself,

which, by the way,
is really, really annoying.

As far as the menu planning,

I don't really feel
like we're working as a team.

We're definitely
every man for himself.

Go Phillies.

Go Red Sox.
Go Dodgers?

Who?
Dodgers?

Can I have
one more chunk like that?

That's fine.
That's fine.

How big are they frozen,

into, like,
five-pound increments?

I was born and raised
in Boston,

so I'm definitely
a Red Sox fan.

Okay, I'll take five pounds.

Growing up, we'd go,
me and my dad, all the time.

So I want to make
something fried,

incorporating
ballpark flavors.

This will work.

Oyster sauce,
sesame, hoisin.

My dish is going to be
almost like a dim sum.

It's basically
the white, steamed buns

with the sweet pork inside.

You don't have
any other rolls in this--

no, we have
these hot dogs.

I'm going back and forth
from the baguette to the bun,

and it's not what I want,

but I end up choosing
the hot-dog bun.

These days at a ballpark,

you can get
pretty much anything.

I want to make
a statement,

so I'm going to make
a tuna tartare.

I'm making
a chicken skewer

with romesco sauce,

crispy potatoes,
and a smoked paprika aioli.

It's approachable.

It's something that people
are familiar with.

Some of the competitors
are doing things

that maybe I wouldn't do.

I would never do
tuna tartare.

It's not baseball food,
but we'll see.

I'm about $100 under, guys.
Uh-uh.

Got it?

We have three hours
to cook

for the concession stand
challenge.

I realize that my pork needs
a minimal 2 1/2 hours to braise.

I'm thinking that this
is a serious issue here.

In beaumont,
we have the state fair,

and there is this place

that does
Italian sausages, peppers,

and it's so freakin' good.

So, you know, I decide
that I want to do

a version of that.

Who freakin' wanted to make

these freakin' meatballs?

I decide to tartare
my tuna tonight.

I don't want to have

a temperature-sensitive
mise-en-place project

when I walk into a kitchen
that I've never seen before--

no way.

I looked around,
and Angelo's talking to Amanda.

Make sure
all the sinew's off

and just go right through it--
it's beautiful.

Angelo does want to win,
and I wouldn't trust him.

Elongate it.
It's real easy.

If Amanda listens
to Angelo too much,

she's an idiot.

I mean, bottom line is,
it's still a competition.

This one's gonna run
right down to the wire.

I want to do
these shrimp-and-corn poppers.

I decide each custom
will equal three pieces.

If you do the math,
with 150 pple,

I get to make




I'm freaking out.

I'm thinking,
"ed, was this

really the right thing
for this challenge?"

Are you also doing a cart?
Am I also doing what?

Cart!
Are you doing a cart?

Ed's yelling
at Tiffany.

He's out of control.

You fall victim
to the pressure,

then you're not gonna make
good decisions.

Thank you.

And you can be sent home
for them.

I call him
the tasmanian devil now.

He's like a Tornado that
just goes through the kitchen.

The homestretch!
Homestretch!

[Loud clattering]

Behind, behind.

Last minute's
absolutely out of control.

I'm telling myself,
"you can do it. Keep going."

All right, go team!
Let's go!

We're gonna have to,
it looks like,

run a service
out of that thing.

I don't know why
it never crossed my mind

that we would need someone
to take orders for our team.

I don't know.

That just never entered
into my thought process.

People are gonna order.

Are we just supposed
to put food out?

There's
a lot of question marks.

We're not sure
exactly what to expect,

because we've never seen
this kitchen before.

I actually can't, though,

because I have
my whole thing set up

to cook my crab cakes
in batches as we go.

I think
Kelly's very methodical,

very strategical.

She does it
in a very subtle way.

I think
it's pretty ingenious,

but I think
it's pretty ballsy too.

Mm-hmm.

Angelo steps up and says,
"I'm gonna do it."

That's it.
So now it's his problem.

There's no way
we can all do six orders

and put the food out.

Chill out, please. Chill out.
No, I don't have to chill.

I don't have to do
a [Bleeping.

The nationals' park
is amazing.

It's a beautiful park.
You can tell it's brand-new.

Our challenge today is
to cook elevated baseball food

at a concession stand.

We have decided that Angelo
will take orders,

but I don't trust him,

so I'm a little bit nervous
about it.

We need to figure out
who's doing what.

This concession stand
is tight.

We're gonna really have
to organize this

and be efficient.

I'd like to work
right here.

You're not using
that, though, right?

I just need this corner here.
Fine.

[Energetic music]

♪ ♪

how am I gonna take orders
and cook at the same time?

Ha!

Guys, we gotta talk
about this,

'cause there's no way that
I can plate and take orders.

The previous night,
you know, I stepped forward,

and I said I would expedite.

As we get to the ballpark,
I realize that,

why am I gonna put myself
out on a limb,

and then how do I know

that that person
who's gonna be plating my dish

is gonna not just concern
themselves about their dish?

Kelly, you have
a guest here. Here.

I really don't want
to go home.

So then I'm like, "okay."

I'm like,
"here's your guest check.

Here's your guest check.
And here's your guest check."

We're not doing it
that way.

That's not gonna work.
That's not gonna work.

Are you joking, Kevin?
It's not gonna work that way!

There's no way
we can all do six orders

and put the food out.

Kitchens, restaurants,
whether it's fine dining

or a McDonald's
or anything in between,

does not run that way.

There's a system.

Without a system,
it doesn't work.

We should establish
a better system.

So chill out, please.
Chill out.

No, I don't have to chill.

I don't have to do
a [Bleep] Thing.

All right.

You're the bad boy
on the show.

No, I'm not bad boy.
You're passing [Bleep] Out.

We should have discussed
it earlier.

Sometimes it's
a little but funny

when Kevin starts yelling.

You want to tell him
to calm down,

'cause he'd get more
accomplished in a different way.

I'm pissed. I mean, like,
I don't work for you.

You're not gonna pass
the pads out

and just tell us
it's a game plan.

You should have never said
last night

you would take that role.

You put yourself up
in that position,

and then today
you want to change.

It doesn't work like that.

Guys, could we just decide
on this?

Any suggestions, guys?

I'll take the orders.
Who wants to do my dish?

I mean, I'm doing
my arancinis.

Uh, I can do
your dish, Angelo.

I can cook.
I can't do that.

You can put up the orders.
Or I can put up orders here.

I don't want to get
into it with Kevin.

You know, I know
emotions are high.

It's tense right now,
you know.

The hour's just flying by.

Ed, do you want me
to show you the proportionings?

I decided
I'm not gonna do it anymore.

Are you joking?

Yeah, I'm joking.
Don't worry.

Ed's taking my dish
for this challenge,

and I'm kind of concerned,
because Ed's weakness

is that he tries
to do way too much,

so I'm not too thrilled
to put all of my trust in him.

Hey, Chefs.
How you doing, man?

Let me introduce you
to some of the players

that'll be eating your food
before the game starts.

That's Adam.

We got Matt over here.
That's John.

Three ballplayers come by--

Adam Dunn, Matt capps,
and John lannan.

It's really cool.

It's a pleasure
to meet you.

These baseball players
are pretty cute.

You don't realize it when you
see them out on the field

and they're really far away,

but when they walk right up
to your concession stand,

it makes a girl
a little weak in the knees.

Damn, you guys are big.


[Laughing]

That looks really good.

Aw, thanks.

They're the largest men
I think I've seen.

There's 25 minutes left,
and all I can think of is, like,

"tom, get the hell
out of here.

You and your tree trunks,
leave."

See you in a little bit.
Thanks.

Thank you.

Smells good
back here.

Behind.
Behind you.

Remember, we're serving
on this side over here.

Kelly, I have
an open-faced crab cake blt.

Is that correct?
Yes.

I'm a little concerned.

My bacon
is very thick-cut bacon.

There's a chance
that it might be too salty,

and I only have enough bread
really to serve it open-faced,

but I just kind of need to keep
moving forward

and not spend too much time
freaking out about it.

Amanda,
yellowfin tuna tartare,

fava Bean puree, pickled beets,
and asparagus, yes?

Yes!

As time is ticking down,
I notice my tuna's not red.

It looks a little Gray.

It's starting to oxidize--

not good.

I could have probably
helped Amanda.

She should have analyzed
the whole point

of fabricating the tuna.

She should have put oil on it
so it doesn't oxidize.

But I'm helping myself.
I have no time.

Can you and ed
give this a taste?

Sure.

Kevin asks me
to taste his dish.

I'm very honest,
not like Angelo.

It's good, but you're
not getting the salt

when you're
picking it up.

I'm sorry. Nobody is going home
'cause of me.

Chicken skewers,
red-pepper sauce,

shoestring fries--heard?

Yes, Chef.

Everyone is definitely
feeling the pressure.

There's a lot of tension.

You need all
these buns in here, bro?

I didn't expect you
to be here.

Well, do you
want me to go home?

I can go home.

Okay, let's make it work.
All right.

Angelo's pissed off, but
he's gonna take all the orders.

He shouldn't have
taken on that role

if he couldn't handle it.



About to get ugly,
boys and girls.

It got ugly the first day
you walked into this place.

Hello.

Hi, there.
Crab cake blt.

One crab, please, Kelly.

One meatball sub,
two all day.

One sub.

Service begins,
and we see lines of people.

I'm like, "okay, did all 150
show up at the same time?"

Those orders start
rolling in.

Yes, ma'am.
Crab cake blt.

Meatball.
Meatball sub, please.

Three meatballs.
Three meatballs.

Meatball, please.
Four meatballs.

Four meatballs!

Angelo starts
calling out orders.

Crab cake blt.
Meatball sub.

Crab cake blt.

And all I hear is meatballs
and crab cakes.

Kelly,
add on 100 crab cakes.

Crab, crab, crab.
Meatball sub.

Seven meatballs,
eight meatballs.

One meatball.

I'm feeling very excited
to be, you know,

among the popular choice.

Whoo!

It shows that the concept--it's
appropriate for where we are.

Meatballs
in the window!

What's up, guys?
What do you want, man?

I'll try one of each.
One of each, please.

The fans are all lined up.

The ballplayers
are in your face.

They're like,
"let me taste that.

Oh, that looks good."

Do you like this tuna?
Tuna's real good.

How do you eat this--
like this?

That was mine, man.
That's good.

Crab cake's good.

You want one?
Yeah.

Come on, take a bite.

What do you think?
Mmm!

I made it myself.
Thank you.

The skewers are awesome.

Feed me.

That's right.

Is that delicious
or what?

That one's pretty good.

The pork hoagie.
Yeah.

I'm going
with the pork sandwich.

Meatball sandwich, please.

The meatball's
my favorite.

I'm thinking about going up
there and getting seconds,

stick one
in my back pocket,

eat it about
the sixth inning.

Can I get
one fritter, please?

One fritter, yes.

Dude, these Risotto balls
are unbelievable.

You know what I think
about these things?

It's like I chewed
a caterpillar,

and it exploded
in my mouth.

Let's go get ready
for the game.

I had everything.

Was it good?

Meatball's definitely
my favorite.

You got to get
down and dirty.

You got to get down.

I need some beer.

Good?

I don't have a problem
licking my fingers.

Kelly, make sure you save
enough for the judges, okay?

Oh, yeah,
I have lots.

Guys, please make sure
you have enough for the judges.

Hello.
Hi.

I have an open-faced
crab cake blt

with a spicy herb aioli

and some sweet-potato fries
that I've seasoned with old Bay.

So, um, formed


and did a nice marinara sauce

with basil and garlic
and onions,

some Italian bread,

a basil Pesto,
and fresh mozzarella cheese.

I did a tuna tartare,

seasoned with shitake mushrooms,
fennel, meyer lemon,

and a fava-bean puree.

I know
my tuna tartare's Gray,

and I am worried
about serving it to Rick Moonen

and Eric Ripert.

They're both
famous for fish,

but I actually really
like the flavor.

Hopefully, the judges
are gonna be judging

first and foremost
on the taste.

I'm gonna tell you
something, man.

What?
Raw fish at a stadium--

that takes some baseballs.
[laughs]

I really don't want
to eat a tartare

with the color of my tuna
being so Gray.

I think Amanda did
a nice job with the vegetables.

They're cooked properly.
It adds a little texture.

Tuna tartare is excellent.

And I thought
I wouldn't have enough tuna.

If anybody ordered
the crab cakes,

please feel free to grab
one of those.

They just came
off the griddle.

Who knew bacon and crab
went together?

Oh, my God, I think
bacon goes with everything.

I think Kelly's dish
has got some good flavor.

It showed off the flavor
of the crab.

I find the crab cake
a bit salty.

If the aim
of the concession

was to get you
to drink more beer,

perfect dish.

Is this
a meatball sub?

Yes, it is.
Okay, thank you.

You're welcome.

Tiffany took
the classic Italian sausage

and brought it up
to the next level.

I find it
a bit difficult to eat.

You have to take charge.

What about your meatballs?

Meatball's excellent.
Clearly, I finished it.

Three fritters, two pork,
one pork is large.

You're getting cheap
over there.

Little more pickle?
Yeah.

That's what she said.
[laughs]

Pork.
Pork in the window.

Earlier on
was stressful,

but now everything's
going smooth.

You know, Angelo and I are
kind of joking with one another.

If you don't like it,
he made it.

No, I'm joking.

We're all
on the same page now.

The energy's great,
except from Kevin.

His perspective needs to be
more optimistic

and more positive.

Good afternoon.
This is the sweet glazed pork.

It's served in a, uh,
lobster roll,

with a spicy cucumber,
asian pear,

sesame condiment.

I have a skewered chicken.

On top will be
a little romesco sauce,

scallions,
shoestring fries,

and a smoked paprika
aioli.

Right here, we have the, uh,
shrimp-and-corn fritters.

Careful--
they're very hot inside.

Don't burn your mouth.

I feel good about the product
that I'm gonna give them.

I proved to myself

that I could physically
get these fritters done,

and I did.

I really think that ed did a
pretty good job here, you know.

I mean, the outside's crunchy.
It's got great texture.

Inside's creamy.

It stayed hot
in the middle.

The corn's nice and sweet.
That's really good.

It's spicy,
but it's not too spicy.

Anyone for chicken?

My dish is not getting
a lot of orders.

I'm a little bit nervous.
I'm not sure why.

I placed the french fries
on top

to give a little
crunchy texture to the dish.

I wanted to make a really
good bite for the judges

Kevin's chicken tastes good
because it's very moist,

but I'm not a fan of those
shoestring potatoes on top,

because they became
very soggy.

The chicken was not pushed
far enough down on the stick,

and I think I kind of impaled
the back of my throat.

Because of all
of those choices,

chicken is
the least interesting.

Why would you come to a ballgame
and order chicken?

Hello.
Can I get a sweet glazed pork?

I need one pork, ed.
One pork.

Angelo's sandwich, for me,
has way too much bread.

A hot-dog roll
is tough to use,

because it is
a little more doughy.

It's really soft too.

Nice heat to it,
but there's no finish.

The bread kills
the finish too.

It does.

Pickles are great.
They're crunchy and spicy.

The pork is so tender.
Really good sweet bun.

And we have
one more coming.

We went with the pork first

and the meatball second.

What I like the best so far
is the crab cake.

All the flavors just went
together really well.

It was cooked beautifully.

The sweet glazed pork
sandwich--

uh, very delicious,
marinated perfectly.

We're closed?
That's it? It's a wrap?

End of service,
I have very mixed emotions

about my food.

I didn't execute,
as far as presentation,

at the level I wanted to.

I'm starting
to overanalyze it,

and anxiety's setting in.

They served
a lot of people today,

and they couldn't
have done it

unless they were
working together,

so I think they did
a nice job.

Yeah, it was
a nice variety of food.

There's no "I" in team.
Let's get 'em all out here.

Come on, let's go!

First of all, for the record,
I started getting nervous,

and I'm thinking,
"okay, well,

I have to start looking out
for lf."

Love, you sleeping?

Good morning, my love.

Good morning, sweetie.

So my fiancee lives in Russia.
I live in New York.

We've only seen each other
a couple of times,

but we literally talk,
you know, every night,

for, like, five, six hours.

When we were in France
together recently,

you know, I asked her
to marry me.

I'm gonna go crazy
when I see you.

I can't wait.
Are you excited?

[Laughs]

When I win
the money for Top Chef,

first thing I'm gonna do
is get my fiancee from Russia

over here and, you know,

work out all the issues
with the visa.

That's the priority,
first priority.

I love you so much.

Mmm.
[smooching]

Bye, baby.

I love you. Bye.

...Ahead of a hitter


That's gone!
Adam Dunn with a sh*t

into the right field seats,
and that's 2-0 Washington!

Of course, of course.

Every single time.
Every single time.

Hello.
All: Hello.

We'd like to see...

All of you
at judges' table.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

one of you
will be going home tonight,

and the five remaining Chefs

will be one step closer
to the finale.

♪ ♪

Angelo, how did you wind up
running the orders?

We discussed that somebody
should take the lead,

and because
I have a sandwich shop,

I said, "I'll be more
than happy to do it."

No.
I'm sorry.

The way it happened
wasn't quite like that.

I think, somehow,
it was a little frustration

on who was gonna do it,
because something happened.

But then you came
and handed and said,

"okay, well, everybody,
do their own," right?

There's an instance
that occurred

which made me say that.
Right.

Basic--
go ahead.

Well, you can finish,
and then I could--

no, no, go ahead.

Okay, first of all,
for the record,

right when we were
ready to serve,

somebody said that they could
just come any direction,

so then I started getting
nervous, and I'm thinking,

"okay, well, I have to
start looking out for myself."

So that's what sparked this.

Yeah, he made
that decision last night.

I thought he should have
waited till today

before he spoke up and said,
"I'm gonna take it on,"

'cause you could easily say,

"yeah, I'm gonna take
the orders,"

and then realize that

you might not be able to get
your food out.

Let's move on.

We'll start with the Chefs
whose food we enjoyed the most.

Ed.

You did a terrific job.

The center stayed creamy,

which is
an amazing accomplishment.

It was almost molten.

I really applaud your dish.
Thank you.

I liked the spiciness
of the sauce,

and, uh,
it was easy to eat

and not messy.

Cool.

So, yeah,
it was a very tidy dish.

Um, Tiffany, yours was not,
but it was also delicious.

[Laughing]
So nice work.

Thank you.

For me, when I eat
a hamburger,

if some juice
is not comin' out,

I'm not really
enjoying it, so...

We all
really enjoyed the dish.

What I liked about it is
your meatball,

you could actually taste
the cumin seed.

It was really,
really flavorful.

You had to wrestle it
a little bit,

but I found that
the fun of it.

Thank you.

As our guest judge, Rick...

Well, this is
a tough call.

I would definitely line up
for both of your dishes,

but as there
can only be one...

Ed.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Just completely stoked
about winning,

especially 'cause I was
doubting myself the day before,

making all of
those little Risotto balls.

This makes it
so much better for me.

As the winner,
I'd like to present you

with a copy of my book,

the cook's essential companion:
Fish without a doubt.

Awesome.

And you've won a trip
to Australia,

including airfare.

And you'll be staying
at the Hilton Sydney,

furnished by Hilton hotels.
Cool.

I won the trip
to Australia

for these things
that totally kicked my ass.

Congratulations.
Appreciate that. Thank you.

It's awesome.

Tiffany and ed, we'll see you
at the next challenge.

Thank you.

And the winner is...

And the winner is Eddie!

Whoo!

Congrats, man.
Thank you.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

your dishes
weren't as successful.

Amanda.

I like the fact
that you tried

to do something different
in a ballpark.

I thought the vegetables
were nicely done.

I think you know the problem
with the tartare.

Yeah.

When you put too much air
with the flesh,

it oxidize
and becomes black

and gives the impression
that the fish is not fresh.

I think that had I been
doing that in a restaurant,

then I would have tartared it
that day.

I still think you
could have.

I mean, I just
got to poll your competitors.

Would you have done tartare
the day before,

or would you try to cut it
the day of?

I wouldn't have done
tartare,

and I wouldn't have done it
the day before.

I was--honestly...

I was afraid
of being in the weeds there.

We all hate
being in the weeds,

but sometimes
things are worth it.

Kevin.

I think you started off
with a really great idea,

but with all
of the different ingredients

that you, uh, pureed
to marinate the chicken,

it didn't really come across.

The chicken
was that long,

and to have a skewer
in your mouth like that,

it's not that easy.

And, unfortunately,
the fries became very soggy

because of the moisture
of the sauce.

I probably concentrated on--

I know I concentrated
on too much

of trying to get
everything in one bite

so that you get
everything all happening.

That's not
really necessary.

It just didn't work.

Kelly.

Kelly, I thought
that you treated the crab

with a good deal of respect.

I liked the flavor of it.

If anything,
it was a little soft.

What I think maybe it needed

was maybe the crunch
of the lettuce or a raw tomato.

It would have helped
to bring a better balance

and a textural integration.

I thought the crab
was very good.

However, instead of serving
a big piece of bacon like that,

maybe slice it
to make it less

of that big,
fatty slab of bacon.

Angelo, your dish.

The pork,
it was really cooked well,

but a lot of
what the final product needed

was sucked out of it,

and it ended up in this
oversized piece of bread, so...

I mean, you have
a sandwich shop.

The proportion of bread

to everything that's inside it
is so important.

It was noticeable.

There were two problems.

There was the bread,

and there was
the abundance of sugar.

Was there anything else
in there

besides the pickles
and the pork?

There was napa cabbage.
It was to absorb--

basically to cut
the sweetness.

But napa is pretty,

uh, sugary, too,
napa cabbage.

That'll be all.

[Sighs]

So...

What'd they say
about your dish?

Bread was soggy.

Had you put it
on a baguette,

I don't think
you would be able to eat it.

Who cares what you think?

We can wipe our ass
with our opinions.

Kevin.

There was too much
going on on the plate.

He had a romesco.
He had an aioli.

They're too close.
They're too similar.

Yeah, pick one.

Go with it, run with it,
do it really well.

The skewer, for me,
was too long,

and it was touching
the bottom of my mouth,

and it bother me.

I still think
the big mistake

was putting the frites
on top of the skewers.

It's like, "why?"
That was the fatal mistake.

You can't eat it.
It was like...

You got the thing
sticking in your mouth.

Put a pile over here
and call it a day.

Amanda.

It's ten pounds of tuna.
You cut it by hand.

Big problem was that she decided
to cut that the day before.

Put it through a grinder.

I was offended
by the color of that--

of the product.

I liked her vegetables.
I thought they were good.

I liked the fact
that she had an idea

to do something
that was light,

that was different.

Angelo's dish.

Part of being a cook
is you do something,

and you start tasting,
you go, "okay,

this is a little sweet.
How do I fix it?"

And he didn't fix it.

And that bread
is like a sponge,

and it drank
all the juice right away,

and it became
like a soft ball.

I liked Kelly's crab.
I thought she did that well.

The blt part was a problem.

It was the second half
of the dish.

It was bacon,
lettuce, and tomato.

The lettuce wasn't very good.
The bacon was too thick.

And the tomato was a tomato jam
that wasn't very tasty.

It was kind of like
a bait and switch, actually.

I mean,
blt is a great sandwich,

and then you don't get
a blt.

No.
It's kind of a letdown.

It is what it is.

I'm at peace with it.

Let's get them out here.

Sure.
Absolutely.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

today you went
to nationals park.

You guys had to take over
a concession stand

and give us better versions
of ballpark food.

Unfortunately,
you made a few errors.

Kelly, blt part of your dish
just wasn't right,

not the right season
for it.

The whole dish
didn't come together.

Amanda, you made an err

by cutting the tuna
a day in advance.

It oxidized.

Kevin, soggy fries

are just never gonna
wow anybody,

whether you're
in a fine-dining restaurant

or at the ballpark.

Sure.

Angelo, the sandwich
was over-sweet,

but also soggy.

♪ ♪

Amanda, please pack
your knives and go.

Thank you guys so much.

This has been
an awesome opportunity.

Thanks.
Thank you, Amanda.

I'm so grateful
that I did this.

I fought it out
for a really long time.

I'm the only sous Chef
that made it this far.

And my competition was
really, really fierce, so...

[Sniffles]

Thank you guys.

It's been awesome.

I definitely
surprised myself.

I feel like
I came a long way.

I'm gonna remember
this experience

for the rest of my life.

[Applause]

I feel like I pushed
myself harder

than I've ever pushed
myself before.

Leaving Top Chef

is, like, the hardest thing
I've ever done.

next on Top Chef...

Our challenge is to make
a dish that's out of this world.

We have
a very special guest--

buzz aldrin.

How is that feeling,
stepping out?

Magnificent.

This is
the last challenge,

and I know
it's make it or break it.

Oh.

The atmosphere
in the kitchen's intense.

It's anybody's game.

Damnit!

No.

We have a problem.