10x13 - Chefs At Sea

[bunniefuu]

Previously
on Top Chef...

I'm in the mood
for fried chicken.

Hey, bro,
this is what fried chicken's

supposed to look like.

- Whoa!
- Just put a bowl down, dude.

- Whoa!
- Relax.

They have no idea
what they have waiting for them.

They got some fried chicken
fools at this table.

My time is running out.
The oil was not hot.

It's gonna be
disgusting.

This is the worst day
I've had, by far.

What did you think
of Josh's chicken?

It had the most flavor
of any chicken on the table.

- Josie's threw me off.
- Do you want some grease?

[Laughter]
What did you think

of Brooke's chicken?

- What is the show called here?
- Top Chef.

I wouldn't even call it
The Apprentice.

[Laughter]

The winner
for the fried chicken contest...

Josh.
Thank you.

It's such a relief
to win.

I thought I'd just put
a twist on it because--

- How is that a twist?
- Yeah.

Mm.

Such a bull[bleep]er.

There was literally
a pool of grease.

I didn't have
enough time.

This seems to be happening
a lot now,

running out of time.

Josie, please
pack your knives and go.

Five chefs remain,
all fighting to win

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,

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

$125,000
furnished by Healthy Choice,

and the title Top Chef.

[Rock music]

God.

Doesn't it feel good sometimes
to dodge a b*llet?

- No, it doesn't feel good.
- [Laughs]

You're still here.

Final five.

I finally got a win,
so I feel great about that.

I think it was time
for Josie to go home.

I actually think
she should've gone home

a couple of times
before.

You two are just
way better cooks than she is.

For me, it's hard to see her
moving forward in challenges

because she's--
I understand.

But it's about the challenge,
right?

- Right?
- Right?

I am so lucky
to not have gone home just now,

and I can't
make those mistakes again.

I've been at Judges' Table,
I think, almost every challenge,

except for maybe two,
whether it's bottom or top.

- Hello.
- Oh, hi.

Chefs, tomorrow, you'll
be saying bon voyage to Seattle

and packing your bags
to get on a cruise...

to...

Alaska.

- Ooh!
- Awesome.

- Awesome.
- Yay.

[Laughter]

I've never been
to Alaska.

I've always wanted
to go and check it out.

Man, I knew I was gonna have
to take a boat at some point.

[Laughter]

Unfortunately, you guys
are not going sight-seeing.

- Of course not.
- You're the last five left.

We're expecting
some great stuff, so good luck.

See you there.

I've never been
on a cruise.

- At least Alaska's not far.
- I have never been to Alaska.

I haven't either,
yeah.

- Me too.
- I don't know if I packed

a jacket heavy enough
for Alaska.

Let's go home
and pack.

- Let's go.
- Let's go.

Awesome.

Hot fudge!

Seattle was amazing.

We had some great experiences,
but we're moving on.

I'm excited.

What's your favorite moment
or memorable moment

up to this point?

- Berry Farm.
- Oysters.

We got to experience
so much things.

Yup.

Cheers to us.

- Cheers to that.
- Cheers to that.

[Laughter]
Cheers.

From 24 chefs,

to make it
to the top five is just,

you know, that's
an incredible feat in itself.

I've got a sh*t
at winning Top Chef.

Ooh.
Gonna need that heavy coat.

- I bought "pyants."
- What?

I bought "pyants"
for "cyamping."

- That's not you.
- "Cyamping pyants."

Cruises, for me,
is more like the booze cruise.

In the army,
we used to all the time.

Army's been good
to me.

I wasn't a bad kid, but my mom
kind of signed me up for it,

and we drove to Finland--
I thought we going on vacation.

They dropped me off
at army base.

"Hey, bye, son.
Have a good [bleep] time.

Pick you up
in eight months."

And from eight months
was a year,

and I was driving tanks
and cooking.

- You're gonna need that.
- I'm gonna need that, man.

[Sighs]
I'm not a fan of boats.

You've got your Dramamine,
though, or your stuff.

Yeah, exactly.

I'm trying to not let my fear
get the best of me.

Before I came here,

my husband made me
book a trip to Catalina,

and on the boat ride,
my four-year-old son said to me,

"Mommy, I think
I'm afraid of boats,"

and I realized,
I can't do that to my own child.

I cannot turn these fears
into his fears,

and I really need to be
a stronger person for his sake.

The only really big ship
I've ever been on was theQE2.

It's, like,
a really famous English ship.

What's up, ladies?

Ready to go to Alaska?
Ready to go to Alaska.

Alaska,
here we come.

It's gonna be okay, Brooke.
Just breathe deep, baby.

- Smells awesome, doesn't it?
- Smells like the ocean.

- Beautiful, isn't it?
- It's gorgeous.

It's gorgeous.

- Wow, it looks awesome.
- It's awesome. It's huge.

We are on celebrity cruises
and the ship called Infinity.

Super-cool ship,
beautiful views of Seattle,

and going off
to Alaska.

It's super-exciting.

Jacuzzi!
There's a jacuzzi.

To make it to the final five
is a big deal.

Sheldon's my boy.
I love that guy.

He's got
really good technique.

Brooke's worked
for some great chefs.

You know, Stefan,
he made it to the finale before,

so everybody here
is super-talented.

- Cheers.
- Final Five.

Whoo!

- Hello, Alaska.
- Whoo!

I've never been
on a cruise ship before.

This ship is massive.

Everyone's having
a great time.

Whoo!

You're too close.

But I'm not gonna get
too comfortable.

We know that business
is right around the corner.

[Ship horn blows]
[Cheering]

[Cheering]

- Bye-bye, Seattle!
- Bye-bye, Seattle.

Cheers, Seattle.

The kitchen
is enormous,

and I see Curtis Stone
is standing with Padma.

He's an amazing chef,
and he looks really cute.

I wonder
what we're gonna have to do.

Please welcome your
guest judge for this challenge.

He's the host
of Top Chef Masters,

Mr. Curtis Stone.

Welcome aboard.
Nice to see you all.

- Hi.
- How are ya?

Chefs,
there's only five of you left,

and you're
that much closer

to the $125,000 prize,

furnished
by Healthy Choice,

and the coveted title
of Top Chef.

For your quickfire challenge,
you'll be cooking

for the celebrity cruises'
"welcome aboard" party.

We're giving you two hours
to complete your dishes,

but you'll need
to make enough to serve




that's a pretty tough challenge.

It's a long quickfire,
but I know

those two hours
will go by fast.

For your quickfire challenge,
you'll be working

with the non-foodie member
of the lettuce family.

If you can't tell, we're
talking about iceberg lettuce.

Iceberg.

It's kind of funny, no?
I don't think Josh got it.

He was like, "iceberg?
Why iceberg lettuce?"

Dude, iceberg "on the ship."
Got it?

Chefs, we want to see
how you can feature

this simple ingredient
in just one bite.

Chefs, while
the iceberg lettuce might have

quite a simple flavor,

it's actually
a very interesting one.

Think about the texture,
the flavor.

Serve us
something delicious.

It's crazy to think
that we're doing a challenge

using iceberg lettuce.

It's a very boring lettuce.

There's so much other lettuces
to choose from,

so it's gonna be
definitely a challenge.

Don't worry, we've brought
all your Anolon pots and pans

from the Top Chef kitchen.

Good luck.
I hope you have your sea legs.

Your time
starts now.

Good luck, chefs.

Party in the walk-in.
Oh, look at all the iceberg.

Obviously,
we're on a ship.

There can't be gas.
Everything's electric.

You have no idea
where anything is,

plus the sheer number
of plates

that I have to put together
in two hours.

This is
really difficult.

My idea is to do a play
on, like, a blt,

but have a scallop
instead of tomato.

Where the [bleep]
are the ovens?

Portions...

Oh, my God.
What a [bleep] show.

How do you change it
to Fahrenheit?

This is the ship's kitchen,
so there's no flames.

Everything's electric.

Their kitchens are built
to withstand the weather

when, you know,
the elements aren't so calm.

There's special locks
on all the oven doors,

the refrigerator.

I found it
particularly frustrating

to deal with
under pressure.

I don't know
how to work that thing.

When it comes to
iceberg lettuce, you just think

of crappy filling for a taco,
a lame salad.

We're gonna have
to take

the iceberg lettuce
to the next level.

Where are the ovens?

I love iceberg.

I have a iceberg wedge
on my menu.

I really enjoy it.

Cheese, cheese, cheese.
Have you seen any blue cheese?

So I'm thinking,
I'm gonna braise

the iceberg
kind of like a cabbage,

some kind of brined pork,

I think would be a good idea,
and potato.

They're freezing upstairs,
and, you know,

Padma should have
something warm in her mouth.

[Laughter]

- Well, cheers, Curtis.
- Cheers, Padma.

What would you do
with lettuce?

You can do all sorts of stuff
with lettuce.

You can caramelize it, you
can serve it fresh, of course.

There's a million things
to do with it.

I'm anxious to see
what they're gonna do

because they seem
pretty freaked out.

[Laughter]

Electricity--
doesn't look like it, huh?

There's some plug-ins
over there

on Lizzie's station,
I think.

- Oh, [bleep].
- I don't know if those are

the only ones that work
or not.

- See any plugs anywhere?
- Plug over here.

Look, you're dragging
your stuff in my food.

I'm so sorry,
honey.

Oh.
You can work here,

but don't--like,
don't work on top of my food.

Oh, I got it. Got it.
Got it. Got it. Whoa.

Ooh.

Sorry.

People
underestimate Lizzie.

She's just doing her thing,
and, oh, a little accent.

I don't fall for that stuff
because I have my accent myself.

I've tried that already.

One hour
and two minutes.

I hate iceberg lettuce.

I don't work
with iceberg lettuce

'cause it's pretty flavorless,
so I don't usually use it a lot.

- Of course.
- Of course what?

- Bacon.
- Hey, you got ground pork.

What are you talking about?
Of course.

I'm gonna serve
the lettuce rolls

with a bacon jam.
Surprise, surprise.

You know,
it's all gonna taste like

a wedge salad in your mouth,
basically, is the goal.

Beautiful.

To me, ingredients,
you have to treat with respect,

no matter it's the best caviar
in the world

or this boring
iceberg lettuce.

What I have in mind
is a Vietnamese lettuce wrap.

I'm gonna use
the iceberg lettuce as a base,

but I don't want anything
to go to waste,

so I'm gonna try pickling
the core of the lettuce.

It gives it different layers
of crunch when you bite it.

Whoever's got quinoa
or whatever,

it's getting ready
to boil over.

Ugh!

Yeah, just like that.
Holy [bleep] show.

The fire probably won't affect
the flavor of my sauce.

Luckily,
I look inside the pot,

and I have enough left
for my dish.

That's gonna leave
a mark.

Sheldon made a mess.

The trick here is to make
this iceberg lettuce stand out.

It's a great carrier

for something that does have
an enormous amount of flavor.

I'm dressing
my iceberg lettuce.

I'm doing a warm, little salad
with bacon,

and an anchovy
acciughe dressing.

I want it to be

small enough that you can use
a fork and eat

everything
in one mouthful.

- Two minutes!
- Ow, it's hot.

Two hours to prepare


from scratch,
with nothing prepped

and no one helping you.

That's a tough task.

At this point,
I'm honestly just throwing

my ingredients
into the lettuce cups.

One, two, three.

All right, perfect.

It doesn't look the way
I would like it to look,

but I know
it tastes good,

so hopefully
that's what matters most.

I'm gonna get
a manicure.

I could get
used to it.

Where I come from,
men don't get manicures.

[Ding]

[Ship horn blows]

[Indistinct chatter]

Well, to our first quickfire
at sea.

I'm just hoping
the only iceberg

that we see is on the plate...
Yeah.

And not in the water.

Here's to Alaska.

Bon appetit.

Oh, here comes Stefan.

- Hi. How are you?
- Hi, Stefan.

How is it working
down there?

It's about 12 minutes
from here.

So this is pastrami
and cabbage

with a roast
fingerling potato.

I braised the iceberg

with bacon in it
and pastrami,

and it has
blue cheese sauce.

It's an intense flavor.

Mmhmm.
Very nice.

Thank you very much.
Appreciate it.

- Thank you.
- That's beautiful.

I loved the fingerling potato
in there

with the ham--
mmm!

This is definitely
a comfort food.

I enjoyed it a lot.

Mmm.
Oh, my.

Hi, Sheldon.
What did you do for us?

I have
a vietnamese lettuce wrap.

Iceberg lettuce on the bottom
and then some pork

and shrimp that's been cooked
in coconut milk.

And on top, I have
pickled iceberg lettuce hearts

with some green mango.

It has
a lot of flavor.

Sheldon, were you worried
about serving it as one bite?

Because, normally, that would be
an entire lettuce cup, right?

Uh, I was worried about

if it's gonna be too much
in one bite.

I had to shrink down my lettuce
a little bit.

- Right.
- It's very nice.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Mmm.

It's bright, it's fresh.
Ooh!

I would eat a dozen of those.
[Laughter]

Lizzie works
for Traci Des Jardins

in San Francisco.
That right?

Traci was actually
on Top Chef Masters

and did really well.

She was a runner-up.
Hi.

- Hi, Lizzie.
- Nice to see you.

So today, I've prepared you
a iceberg salad

with crispy bacon
and shallots.

And finished
with a acciughe dressing.

Is a little, petty salad
something

that you would serve
in the restaurant?

Perhaps.

These are
a little bit bigger

than I
would normally choose,

but I just used
what I could find.

- Thank you, Lizzie.
- You're welcome.

I really liked it,
actually,

just 'cause it had bacon,
and I love bacon.

Hi, Josh.
What have you done for us?

So what I've done today is
a little iceberg lettuce roll.

I took the outside of the leaves
and blanched them off

to make a little roll
out of it.

I left the inside raw,

tossed in a little
apple cider vinaigrette

that I made with bacon fat
as well,

and then
a little blue cheese.

Basically,
the inspiration for the dish

was the wedge salad.

- Thanks, Josh.
- Thank you.

Thank you very much.

- He walks like a chef.
- He does.

I did like the flavors.
It was very...

- Punchy. It had a good punch.
- Yes.

Good punch to it.

- Hi, Brooke.
- Hi.

So I have a bacon, lettuce,
and scallop wrap

with some caramelized onion
and a little crunchy quinoa.

Now, am I just supposed to put
this whole thing in my mouth?

You could make it a two-biter,
I suppose.

I'll go back
for a second bite.

That's a good sign.

Thank you.
Thanks, Brooke.

The scallop's perfect.

Yes. Yeah.
It's really good.

[Laughing]
We want more.

It's always much better
with scenery like this.

- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.

You can't get
much nicer than this.

So, Curtis,
how did the chefs do today?

Well, I have to say
that every one of the dishes

that we ate,
I absolutely loved.

- Thank you.
- Thanks.

What did you think
of Stefan's?

I applaud the way
you approached the lettuce.

I think it's beautiful
when it's cooked,

and you did
a really good job

with keeping the texture,
so well done.

Thank you.

Josh, I felt like
you played it really safe.

You went
for the wedge salad,

but you did
a brilliant job of it.

You took a classic dish
and elevated it.

Thank you.

Sheldon, your Vietnamese wrap
was really creative.

You had sweet,
you had salty.

You pickled the hearts,
which gave it

a really complex flavor,
which was delicious,

as well
as a beautiful texture.

Thank you.

How did Brooke do?

The scallop
was perfectly cooked.

The bacon worked really well
with it.

I like the quinoa.

I like the crunch
that it gave us.

I just thought that it was
really difficult to eat.

Lizzie,
your iceberg salad,

I thought,
was really tasty.

I'm not sure whether you got
the one-bite thing perfectly,

but the flavors
worked really well.

Thanks.

Curtis,
please announce our winner.

That's a difficult one

'cause we were served
five great bites of food,

but there has to be
a winner.

The dish that had
the incredible flavor

and the brilliant use
of the ingredient...

Goes to Sheldon.

Well done.

- [Laughs]
- [Laughs]

That just warmed me up.

Congratulations, Sheldon,
you'll have

an advantage in
the next elimination challenge.

It feels good
to get this win.

I don't have no idea
what the advantage is,

but at this late in the game,
I'll take it.

I've made reservations
for you guys tonight

at Qsine.

But for now,
go explore the ship

and relax.

- Have fun, guys.
- Thank you.

We never really get
to take some time out, relax.

So Sheldon and I decided
to go and get a manicure.

- Your first time to Alaska?
- Yes.

First time on a ship,
actually.

- Really?
- Yeah.

I could get used to it...

- [Laughs]
- Especially like this,

getting pampered.

[Laughs]

I hate to admit it,

but I actually love
getting manicures.

Especially for chefs,

you have to take care
of your hands.

Hopefully, I don't get judged
on my masculinity.

Cheers, guys.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

Yay!
Finally, some liquor.

I wish I had somebody here,
besides you.

Wish you had
somebody here besides me?

[Laughs] Yes,
like female companionship.

Oh, yeah.

Hang out and do
a little party pants.

I got laid the first time
on a cruise.

That was from Helsinki
to Stockholm.

A girl named Sana.

Maybe one day
she will hear it

and then know
she was the first one.

Oh, God, is it beautiful.
I love it.

I just need a fishing pole
to go off the back of this.

Hey, Lizzie,
she's from South Africa.

Oh, really?
I'm from Durban.

- Oh? Where about?
- Kloof.

- Small world.
- Yeah.

- You still live in Kloof?
- No, no.

Um, actually, we've just
packed up my parents' home,

um, at the end
of last year.

It was very sad.

My dad was
an avid fisherman

and taught us to fish
at a very early age.

My father had such an amazing
passion for the ocean,

and he recently
passed away.

And it's still very, um,

you know,
it's still very raw.

So traveling by ship

to Alaska
seems very fitting for me.

It just brings up lots--
lots of memories.

Oh, yeah,
are you kidding me?

I'll never lose it.
Ah, that's good.

I can't get over
how pretty it is.

- It's amazing.
- It's really cool.

This is fantastic.

Today's actually the due date
for my baby.

I haven't been able

to talk to my wife
or anything like that,

so I don't really know
how all that's going.

I'm here to create
an opportunity

that's gonna benefit me
and my family.

This is probably the most
difficult thing I've had to do,

and I miss her.

Let me shuffle them.

I wanna go see
Sheldon's manicure, see if--

I want to see
Sheldon's manicure.

I wanna see
if he's a woman now.

[Laughing]
Kinky manicure.

Where I come from,
men don't get manicures.

[Ding]

I wonder
if he got French tips.

[Laughter]

[Bleep] show.

The scallop pasta
just didn't set in time.

I don't know
what I'm doing.

I'm just freaking out.

[Ship horn blows]

Very good evening.
Welcome to Qsine restaurant.

This is fun.

Of course it's fun.

It's kind of nice
to put on a little lipstick

and actually go have, like,
a nice night out

with my friends.

Cheers.
Cheers to that.

- Here's to...Top five?
- Top five.

- To the most awesomest--
- Top five.

- Most awesomest top five ever.
- Top five in ten seasons.

The most awesomest five
friends that anybody ever had.

♪ We're the five best friends
that anyone could have ♪

[Laughter]

Very good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.

This is our menu.

The most unique restaurant
on the seven seas.

Wow.
Look at this.

This is a really...
Pretty cool.

Cool way to do a menu.

That's really cool.

Oh, it's all upside-down.

Sort of
Alice in wonderland.

- See the chandeliers?
- I said that forever ago.

Me and Sheldon had
a whole conversation about it.

Oh, [bleep],
that must have been

when I totally stopped
listening to you.

Well, you should keep on
not listening to me.

Fried chicken.

Worked out well for you,
didn't it?

Ouch.

- [Laughing]
- Whoa. Whoa.

- Whoa.
- Be nice.

- Whoa, wait.
- I'm just kidding.

Because you got lucky once.

With a fried chicken
challenge.

Really?
You're gonna talk too?

Wait, how many challenges
have you won?

- One.
- You won one?

How many challenges
has Stefan won?

Anything else, okay,
Mr. poached pork?

- Hey, let's not go there.
- Candied cabbage.

- Candied cabbage man.
- I already pulled it out.

It's too late. What else?
Oh, and...

- Breakfast Sushi.
- Uh, Chicken Cordon Bleu...

For a fried chicken
challenge.

- Breakfast Sushi.
- What's wrong with that?

Hey, breakfast--
I don't do Sushi.

All right? How many breakfast--
breakfast Sushi.

Okay, we all have to shut
the [bleep] up for a second.

[Laughing]
It was, like, this much rice.

[Laughter]

- All right, guys.
- Oh, wow, that was fast.

Let's start our journey.

Sushi lollipops.

This is disco shrimp.

The plating at Qsine,
it's quirky, it's fun.

Oh, wow!
It's like an actual drawer.

- Look at that.
- What is going on here?

And here we have, uh,
goat cheese cigars.

These are
za'atar lamb chops.

Here we have falafel.

Enjoy your journey.
You're welcome. Pleasure.

That looks amazing.

There's a lot of stuff
going on.

This is too much for you?

- He wants to organize it all.
- I know.

I was thinking
about moving this over here,

moving this over here,

but it doesn't work
because this doesn't match

because this
is a smaller container.

What about the flavors?

The f--aww!

[Laughs]

Oh. Ooh!

Chocolate tombstone.

Tombstone?
It's good.

Good texture of the mousse.
Great texture.

Oh.

I had
this enormous wave

of panic come over me.

I get the feeling that we might
be standing up to quickly go

and start a challenge.

[Giggles]

Chefs, I hope you liked
what you tasted here at Qsine,

because tomorrow night,

you'll be running
dinner service here.

- Hmm.
- Hmm.

We'd like you to take
a classic dish

and turn it
on its head.

Want to know what dish
you'll all be making?

Surf and turf.

Brooke, you look
a little bit nervous. Why?

They're making me nervous
by fidgeting so much.

Actually.
[Laughter]

Sorry.

Now, we all know
that surf and turf

has a bit
of a bad rap,

because people would put shrimp
on top of a steak,

and that'd be it.

Your surf and turf pairing
should work together

as one single dish.

We want you
to be innovative.

You know, let the dishes
that you were served

the beautiful food
tonight on

take you
down a certain path.

Think outside the box.

Surf and turf
kind of seems old to me.

Back then, in the '70s,
'80s, and '90s,

surf and turf was cool
at, like, weddings.

It's not my favorite,
but I'm super-creative,

so I'm not really worried
about it.

Tomorrow,
you'll get

to explore the ship's pantry
and refrigerators.

And, Sheldon,
since you won the quickfire,

you'll get first pick
of your proteins.

And whatever
surf and turf proteins

you decide to use
will be off limits

for everyone else.

We're gonna let you enjoy
the rest of your meal,

and please,
be creative tomorrow.

- Good luck.
- Thank you.

- Wow.
- Hmm, hmm.

Surf and turf?

Now it's time
to think.

We don't know
what we're gonna find tomorrow.

How do we think?

It's really hard
to plan something

in your head
when you don't know

what Sheldon
is gonna choose.

[Stefan laughing]

So just pick chicken
and canned tuna.

Yeah.
Canned tuna and spam!

- [Laughs]
- Dude, you got it.

You totally got it.

Well, making whimsical,
creative,

kind of fun food like that
is not really

something that I do.

And then not knowing
what your proteins are?

This is
a multi-stepped challenge.

It's a lot of added pressure
to get to the top four.

If you could do us a favor
and choose something

really, like, crazy,
like ostrich.

- Bear.
- Bear!

Bear and alligator.
With Alaska-

You got it.
All right, done.

The gears in Stefan's head
is going crazy right now.

If you could do
anything you wanted to do,

what would you do?

I can't really pin it
down to one thing,

and I'm like, "[bleep]."

If I could pick first,

I would probably go for...
Beef.

So what you pickin'?

This pig is looking
at you over here.

[Squeals]

Yeah.

Come on, Sheldon,
quickly, choose something.

Filet?

Tick, tick, tick, tick,
tick, tick, tick, tick.

I'm trying to get inspired,
but it's difficult.

I want to choose something

that I can execute
within the time that we have.

Lobster!

Lobster tail
and beef tenderloin.

Why?

That's what surf and turf
used to be for years.

Very safe--
played very safe.

I got the pork belly!

Can I have
some pork belly too?

There's a lot.
Yeah.

I got eel and pork belly.

I'm doing pork belly
and scallops and bacon.

- Can I have half?
- Yeah.

And I'm gonna take
the pig.

Frog leg and...

I kind of want to set myself
apart with my proteins

and do something fun
and whimsical.

So I ultimately decide
on frogs' legs and mussels.

I'm not sure

if I'm totally insane
for choosing those.

Wow.

It's kind of cool,
all this stuff down there.

The warehouses are huge,

because you're gone
for 10, 15 days,

there is no, "hey,
we forgot the onions.

We forgot the bacon."

- Oh, it's so huge.
- Yeah.

There is so much food.

It's sort of this maze.

So I am actually developing
my dish as I go along

because I have no idea
what's in these rooms.

I hit a dead end.


Holy [bleep]!

Being in the bowels
of the ship,

it actually reminds me
of my days

working
at Walt Disney World.

Out in front,
it's all this happiness,

and when you're
behind the scenes,

you actually see what it takes
to put on this show.

Two minutes, Sheldon!
Two minutes!

- Holy [bleep] show!
- Come on, go!

Go, go, go!

Whoo! My God.

- Time, guys.
- Time.

[Ship horn blows]

[Laughter]

- I'll take this one.
- I'll take this.

This doesn't fit.

The goal is

to put our own take
on a very classic dish

and make it playful
and colorful,

and the vessels

are gonna play
a major role.

Doing this dish
in 2 1/2 hours

is gonna be challenging.

[Hisses]

[Squeals]

Cute!

I do it often.

I do it at home.

- So polite.
- She's so polite.

Lizzie is
an impressive butcher.

It's so funny too
'cause Lizzie is very sweet,

proper, but to actually
watch her get down

on a little pig like that
and tear it apart,

it's definitely something
you don't see every day.

Sometimes they're bigger
than I am,

so it's a bit
of a wrestling match.

The pork
and the scallop

are beautifully paired
together.

Coming behind, hot.

You know,
I had bad luck previously

with the scallops
that were not fresh.

I don't want to mess them up
for a second time.

♪ Somebody's makin'
cabbage rolls ♪

I'm gonna make, uh,
pasta carbonara,

but I'm gonna turn
the scallops into the pasta.

Do you know
how to do it?

Uh, no.

Thanks for your concern.

I wanna make it
to the finale,

so I'm really gonna push it
and do something

completely
out of the box.

I'm gonna take scallops
and blend them with gelatin

and egg whites and get it
in the fridge

to hopefully set in time.

If you're not living
on the edge, you know,

you're taking up
too much space.

That is yum.

My dish is gonna be
a ravioli with eel,

and I will have
a pork belly

braised in beer.

Ah, you [bleep] me.

Final five is not
gonna cut it for me.

I have to go
to the finale.

I was so close
last time.

I think it's time for me
to be Top Chef.

Sorry.

Brooke,
what are you making?

Frogs' legs
and mussels.

I'm not gonna braise
something

'cause that'll take
too much time.

Instead, I'm gonna
debone frogs' legs.

Yeah, that sounds
like a great idea.

I feel like
I've taken a huge risk

in my ingredients alone.

Frogs' legs
aren't necessarily turf.

I'm not really sure
how this is gonna go over.

How are you making
your dish playful, Sheldon?

- I'm not.
- You're not?

I'm kind of regretting
my decision I made

with the proteins.

I see the other chefs around me
going outside of the box.

My dish
is very straightforward.

Steak
with tempura-fried lobster.

At the roller derby,
I put out

tempura
that wasn't up to par.

This time, I just want
to execute my dish properly.

I'm kind of
sweating b*ll*ts.

I don't want to be known
as the Asian guy

that only cooks
Asian food.

Well, then,
maybe you should stop

cooking Asian food
all the time.

I'm not doing Asian,
guys.

Bull[bleep],
you're not doing Asian.

[Laughing]

Oh, yeah.

It's real crunchy.

I like my pork
really crunchy and crispy.

That's what we eat
at home.

My mom used to put
the pork shoulder in the oven

all the time,
and it's super-crunchy

and crispy and yummy.

- Come on.
- No, you can't!

- Just the didn't-burn piece.
- No.



Ah, [bleep] show.

I don't know
what I'm doing.

The scallop pasta just doesn't
have the texture that I want.

It's a little soft,
and I'm afraid

that it wouldn't be really
recognizable as a pasta.

On the inside,
I'm just freaking out.

[Crunching]

- Ooh!
- Ooh.

- Ooh.
- Have you lost a tooth?

Is that a tooth?
[Laughter]

Both: Ohh.

- Look.
- Oh, that's beautiful.

- That's a little--
- Cute!

Cute little house.

We move
into our stateroom,

and I have Stefan
as my roommate.

It's gonna be crazy.
That's awesome.

Oh, wow.

Hello.

Cheeky boy.

What are you guys
doing over here

on this part of town?

We're on a gay cruise.

It's--
[Laughter]

This is
my boyfriend Jonathan.

Party pants.

Ready
for some sexy time?

[Grunts]

[Sizzling]

Time is running out
to finish cooking

and plate up our spin
on surf and turf,

but I'm still trying
to figure out

what I'm gonna do
with my scallop pasta.

I didn't like the way
the texture

of the pasta
was coming out.

It was too soft,
so now I am scrambling

the scallops like eggs.

So it's like a play
on breakfast--bacon and eggs.

The egg whites
and the scallops themselves,

you can cook them
just like scrambled eggs,

and they will resemble
scrambled eggs

but taste like scallops.

That's really the only recovery
I can see,

you know, in the amount
of time that I have.

Really?
Josh is doing breakfast?

Come on.
Bacon again?

He only cooks one item.
Smart move.

Right this way.

Good evening.

Very nice.

The way they serve
the food here,

it's almost like
Alice in Wonderland.

And we said to the chefs,
you know,

"be inspired
by what the restaurant does,

and let your imagination
run wild."

Getting to the final four
is a major hurdle.

As much as you don't want to be
the first one to go home,

I think,
when you get down to five,

you don't want
to be the one

that doesn't get
into the final four.

It's big.
This is it.

I'm sure they're sweating it
right now.

This is, by far,
the most intricate plate

that I've ever worked with.

Don't underestimate
how many plates

this actually is, Josh.

I have a lot of components
to my dish.

I have to hit every single one
of my plates

seven times
with different ingredients.

Oh, my God, Josh.

- You gonna make it?
- I don't know.

You don't know?
Hurry, mama.

Ah, [bleep].


It is the most stressful


[Beeping]

Hi, Brooke.

I'd like to introduce you
to your judges and diners.

Hugh Acheson, chef and owner
of Empire State South.

Head judge Tom Colicchio
of Craft restaurants.

Caissie Stafford,
cruise director.

Sheldon Thompson,
hotel director.

Guest judge, Curtis Stone.

And John Suley,
Celebrity Cruises head chef.

Tell us about your dish.

It is a bed of celery root

and fennel puree,

a clarified-butter-poached
mussel,

a frog's leg
in a little beet glaze,

papadums and shallot chutney.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

I didn't know we had
frog legs on board. Amazing.

I mean, you've got
to hand it to her,

straight out of the bat,
before you even taste it.

It's really inventive, right?
Yeah.

It's really inventive,

and I think the flavors
are really good.

The frog leg
isn't the most earthy thing,

and yet adding the beet,
it actually sort of

made the dish more earthy.

It's funny, it really did
marry well as a surf and turf,

and it's
a very modern view of it.

Brooke definitely captured
the concept of Qsine

with the creativeness
of her presentation.

I think the colors look great.
It looked very appetizing.

I mean, the only negative
is this is...

- Is the greasiness of that.
- Very greasy.

- It was pretty.
- It was very pretty.

Definitely points
for presentation.

[Laughter]

Are you plating,
herr Stefan?

What?
Yeah, I'm plating on this wall.

On the back wall, yeah.
Yeah, okay.

I have to.

Beautiful.
Beautiful.

I'm pretty happy
with my dish.

The ravioli's great.
The pork belly's good.

The beer sauce
is yummy.

But in the end,
it's five people left.

You know,
they pick you apart.

There could be, you know,
one wrong item,

the rest is great,

and you
could go home for it.

[Bleep]-A.

Nice weather.
If you're a whale.

We saw
a whale yesterday.

I saw two yesterday.

I'm still waiting
for the narwhal.

I saw a seal.

It was either that
or a scuba diver.

[Indistinct chatter]

How are you?

I made braised pork belly
with beer sauce,

and the ravioli is filled
with parsnip puree and eel.

Enjoy your meal.

I feel like
it's a paint palette.

That is the greasiest-looking
sauce I've ever seen.

[Crunching]
Oh, my God.

- Ooh!
- Ooh.

- Ooh, I hear it.
- Ooh.

- Have you lost a tooth?
- Is that a tooth?

[Crunching]

That's not pleasant.

I love
that crunchy pork.

It reminds me of the roast pork
my mum used to make

when I was a little kid.

This is a bit
of a cultural thing.

I mean, if you go to Australia
or Great Britain,

and you order roast pork
in a pub on a Sunday,

it comes out with crunchy,
crunchy skin.

They call it the cracklings,
and people absolutely love it.

And I understand that,
but, I mean,

if it's beautiful people like
you with strong, fluoride teeth,

or it's a guy
with, like, two teeth,

gnawing on it
in the corner.

[Laughter]
It's England.

So it's different.

I do think Stefan
pushed the envelope.

I've never had an eel
and parsnip ravioli.

All I can taste
is parsnip.

This is what we make
over campfire in Romania.

So, John,
you cooked on land,

and now
you're cooking on sea.

What's the big difference?
It is a big difference

because you're actually,
you know, on the ocean,

but at the same time,
it's almost the same

because this is a huge,
floating island.

How big is the culinary team
onboard?

- 200 to 250.
- Wow.

We have staff from, you know,


from all around the world.

So if you want
to create a dish

that's Indian food,
we're gonna go

from one of our chefs
that's from, you know, Bombay,

or Goa or somewhere like that,
and he's gonna turn out

the most, you know,
unbelievable Indian food

you've ever had before.

Sheldon, 45 minutes
goes by real fast, brother.

It's all good.
It's all good, bro.

I thought you was
using chopsticks too, bro.

- No time for chopsticks.
- [Laughs]

You know,
I don't think

anybody's ever seen
scrambled scallops before.

I know that I haven't,

but I've been
on kind of a roll lately,

and I just hope I keep riding
that wave of momentum.

What I've prepared today
is pork and scallop.

Originally,
I wanted to do a pasta.

But, uh, I didn't like
the way it set up,

so I decided to kind of
scramble it like scrambled eggs.

So it's kind of my play
on breakfast.

There's some braised pork belly,
scrambled scallop, and bacon.

Sprinkle that on there,
get you a little texture.

- Thank you, Josh.
- Thank you.

I'm putting
a lot of bacon on that.

If he didn't say
this was scrambled scallop,

I'd never know,

but it has a sea flavor.

I think, flavor-wise,
this is packing good punch.

I don't get
enough scallop.

I think the turf
is overpowering the surf.

But, personally,
I like the presentation.

I think it goes
very much with the theme.

I think Josh is
a pretty traditionalist chef.

So to see Josh
doing a dish like this,

I mean, it is a leap of faith
on his part.

I'm actually surprised
he was able to recover from it.

But I'm pleasantly surprised
by it.

I think
he's been super-inventive.

The scallop and the pork
tasted really nice together.

I like the pork.
It's a good texture.

Yeah,
it was a good texture.

[Muttering]

[Clatter]
I'm frustrated.

The food's uninspiring.

My tempura's soggy.

It's just like
the roller derby challenge.

It's definitely
not my best work,

and it sucks
when it's so close to finale.

I'm taking you through a journey
through Korea and Japan.

Korean barbecue filet mignon

and tempura lobster
with a dynamite sauce.

And we have
some sesame cabbage,

kimchi,
and a teriyaki sauce.

Thank you.
Thank you, Sheldon.

I think Sheldon did a great
job of presentation here.

But why do people
continually think

that tempura
is a good idea?

I'm encountering softy again.

It came out of a fryer,
and it's cold,

so it had to be
sitting back there

for ten minutes
before it was plated.

I could eat his kimchi
all day, though.

Kimchi beef
and the scallion is amazing.

For me, I just didn't get
the dynamite lobster.

You're saying dynamite,
it's an expl*si*n.

It's wow,
it's big, it's huge,

you know?
And this is not dynamite.

It's difficult to see
what Sheldon was really after.

This is still harkening back
to, I think,

the origins
of surf and turf,

which is that people wanted
two different items

on the same plate--
they weren't married.

I agree,
they're not married.

I don't even know
if they're dating.

[Laughter]
They're not even talking.

They don't even
like each other.

They haven't even met.

We had a singles night
the first night--

they missed it all.

[Laughter]

The lobster
was not crispy,

and if they're gonna
call it tempura,

then you're expecting it
to be crispy.

[Beep]

My cabbage bundles,

I want to make sure
that the cabbage

is wilted
around the filling,

and that they're hot
on the outside

and warm to the center.

This is not working.
[Bleep]!

I go to pull
my cabbage rolls,

and the steamer's off.

[Bleep] kidding me.

[Beeping]

It's agonizing.
I should be plating now.

I can't leave it
any longer.

I pull my cabbage rolls
and start plating.

Ugh!
[Whimpers]

[Beeping]

I've made you
a pork and scallop dish.

The cabbage is stuffed
with suckling pig,

seared bay scallops,
and bacon.

It's finished
with a little bit of crackling.

The sauce is
a mustard sour cream,

and the pickles
are shallot and apple.

Enjoy.
Thank you.

Lizzie's dish
looks like this beautiful,

fancy, little dim sum.

The cabbage, as soon
as I put my fork in it,

the whole thing
just fell apart.

The cabbage,
it's not cooked enough,

so it's just--
it's hard to eat.

It's really chewy.
I love suckling pig.

But the thing that Lizzie's
missed on is the scallop

is overpowered
by the rest of the dish.

That being said,
it's still a really tasty dish.

I love the pickles
with it.

I think, once you get
a little bit of the pickle,

some of the apple,
some of the pork,

and some of the scallop,

I think
it's a really good bite.

All in all, I actually--
I'm enjoying Lizzie's dish.

It's not easy to eat.
It falls apart.

I liked the insides.

I like the scallops.
I like the pork.

All the elements of my dish,
they were brilliant.

Like, I had it.
I had this.

But one little mistake,
and you're out.

Frustrating.

There's a couple of things
that were almost inedible.

- It was a mistake.
- After today,

there will only be
four of you remaining.

All in all, I think
the chefs were pretty creative.

Yeah, and this idea
of creativity,

the idea of doing
something different,

it takes time to develop
something that's

that out of the box.

And so I think
for 2 1/2 hours to cook,

serving this many people,
I think they did a good job.

And some of them
really worked.

Let's talk about
who we think could win today.

I would have
to say Brooke.

You know, she took a frog leg
that is a very delicate dish.

You know, she put the beet
on there.

She put the spice
on there.

She really thought
about that dish.

I've got complaints
about the chutney.

I've got complaints
about the papadum.

But, you know, at the end
of the day, they're minimal.

You know, you always say
there's nothing new.

I would say frogs' legs
and mussels...

- That's new.
- Are new.

And I think, for the most part,
it worked.

But I think
it was out there.

I literally garnished
my last plate

just as that timer
went off.

Given everything,
I think that Josh

actually put out one
of the better dishes today.

Everything was enveloped in this
wonderful seawater goodness,

and I think, if you're
hitting surf and turf,

he hit it
out of the park.

Yeah, I was scrambling
to get it all plated.

- Literally.
- It sucks, dude. Oh, yeah.

I like the way Lizzie
approached her dish.

She cooked that suckling pig
beautifully.

That dish needed
one more element.

It needed--
it needed something

just to bring it
all together.

It was really one-note.

I think that
we can definitely put Lizzie

in the mix, though,
in the bottom--I'm sorry.

I don't think it was really
a new, modern vision of food.

It was very much leaning
on a simple stuffed cabbage leaf

that was underdone.

So is that who you think
should go home?

Lizzie?
[Sighs]

But it was all cooked,
though, wasn't it?

Yeah, but it was warm.
It wasn't as...

Stefan's dish,
I mean, the flavors

didn't capture
the surf and turf.

Not taking off the skin
on the belly

really made it
just a difficult dish to eat.

The unagi just didn't
come through in the eel flavor.

I'm with you.

I wouldn't eat
Stefan's dish again.

- That was rough, oh, my God.
- That was rough.

- That was a rough one.
- That was a rough one.

I can't get over
Sheldon's dish.

Because, listen, I mean,
tempura--you gotta nail that.

And it was
just a failure.

To me,
he chose the worst proteins

and he ex*cuted them
really badly.

It was hard to get inspired
by those ingredients also.

Well, I want to thank you all
for giving us your input.

We're gonna stay
and talk to the chefs.

Nice to talk with you.
Take care.

Bye-bye.

- It was brutal.
- That took it out of me.

[Yawning]
I'm tired.

Yeah,
that 45 minutes went fast.

Everyone plated
to the last second?

- Yeah.
- The last second.

I mean, last second.

I was garnishing
at the last second.

- Yeah.
- It's crazy.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Chefs, we asked you
for a unique take

on surf and turf.

To reinvent
a surf and turf

is actually
a really difficult challenge,

and, you know, we asked you
to think out of the box.

Some people really understood
the challenge

and did a really great job
of integrating

the surf and the turf,

and some missed the mark.

And after today, there will
only be four of you remaining.

Brooke, have you worked
with a lot of frog legs?

I've had them
on my menu.

We wanted you to push
the boundaries of surf and turf,

and you did that.
Thank you.

Talk about thinking
outside of the box, Brooke.

I mean,
you used frogs' legs,

matched it with a marsala,
and then the mussels.

I mean, we weren't
even sure whether it

did fit
into surf and turf

because a frog
is actually amphibious.

[Laughter]

I thought
you did a nice job.

The papadum
was really greasy--

I'm not sure
what happened with that--

but flavors were great.

Sheldon, how did you feel
about this challenge?

Well, I felt

that the challenge
was uninspiring to me.

I like to cook
through my ingredients,

and some
of the ingredients

before us
just didn't speak to me.

But you chose
your ingredients.

You were the first one
to choose the ingredients.

Why did you choose

filet and lobster
if they weren't speaking to you?

I felt the filet
and the lobster

I could execute.

That's why I chose
those items.

Unfortunately, today,

I think there was
a couple of things

that were almost inedible
on your plate.

It doesn't matter
what restaurant you go to.

If you get served
cold tempura that's soggy

and a dynamite sauce
that has no spice to it,

you'd send it back.

Ii think
that the challenge

was really
to reimagine surf and turf.

The main issue is

I think you imagined
surf and turf.

You didn't reimagine it,
so it's just--

it was a very tried
and true surf and turf.

Josh.

I've never heard
of a scallop scramble before,

and to be quite truthful,

when you put it
on the plate,

I thought,
"oh, my goodness.

I have to eat this?"

But I actually found
the texture and the, uh,

the flavor of the scallop
to be really fabulous,

and it worked for me.

Your pork belly was spot-on.
I mean, it was great.

The scallop--
it was a little strange.

It was the first time I'd
ever done anything like that,

so obviously...

I'd venture to say
it's probably the first person

ever to scramble scallop.
Yes.

Yeah, yeah,
it worked well

because of the sort of
nice sea creaminess

around the pork.

And I thought those flavors

were really succinct
and really nice

and really
well integrated.

Stefan.

I was really excited
when I heard you were doing eel,

because I remember from
the last season of Top Chef,

you seemed to have
a deft hand with eel.

Did you taste the parsnip
with the eel

before you made
the ravioli?

I tasted it.
It tasted fine to me.

I couldn't taste
the eel at all.

You had a sauce that,
I gotta say,

you put it
in that little beaker,

and there was
about that much grease

floating on the top
of it, um,

which is--
it's a mistake.

I skimmed a lot of them,
that pork fat off.

But, again, you have


and I'm skimming, skimming.

You guys need
to conceptualize dishes

that work under the pressures
of the challenge.

And I think
the biggest problem,

the skin just got
really hard.

Like--like...

I thought
I was gonna break a tooth.

How crispy did you want
to serve the pork, Stefan?

I like crispy pork.

I like when you bite it and it
crunches between your teeth.

I enjoy that.

I personally love
crispy-skin pork.

This was right
on the verge.

I mean,
I could hear Tom chewing

from the other side
of the table, loud and clear,

and he was the first one
to bite into it,

which made everybody else
frightened

to put the pork
into their mouth.

Lizzie.

I liked the dish.
I liked the idea.

The flavors, you know,
worked well together.

I think the big problem
with the dish is--

is when you--it kind of
just opened up and,

you know--
you know, fell apart.

It could have been tucked in
a little bit more overall

with the formation
of the cabbage roll,

but it was good,
and I loved the ambition

of doing the whole suckling pig
in that amount of time.

Lizzie,
I loved your dish,

and the way it was presented
I thought was really beautiful.

Thank you.

Curtis,
please announce the winner.

Well, the winning
surf and turf

really was a dish
that was very innovative,

it was imaginative,

and it really combined
both the surf and the turf

extremely well.

And the person
that cooked that dish...

was Brooke.

- Thank you.
- Well done.

Congrats, Brooke.

Thank you.

That feels good.
Thank you.

And, Brooke, Celebrity Cruises
will be giving you

a seven-night
Caribbean vacation for two

on their new ship,
the Celebrity Reflection.

That's ironic.

[Laughter]

Thank you.

I am ecstatic
to have won a cruise.

Being on this floating city

has shown me
that maybe my fear of boats

was all in my head.

Lizzie and Josh,

the two of you are safe
from elimination.

You can return
to the kitchen.

Thank you.

Chefs, unfortunately,
one of you

will be going home.

[Bleep] me.

Either one of us
could go home.

I just want to go
in the finale.

That's the point,
because I've been there before.

I have redemption to do.

It's already been
an honor

to actually
make it this far,

but I could see myself
going home for this.

It sucks!

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Chefs, today's challenge
was to give us

a unique twist
on surf and turf,

and you're both here
for the same reason.

We got surf,
and we got turf.

Never really
came together.

Sheldon, I'm not quite sure
why you had

a hard time
with this challenge because

all season long, you gave us
great versions of surf and turf.

You just seemed
to freeze up here.

The biggest problem was

your tempura was just
completely soft and soggy.

Stefan, really good choice
of ingredients,

but they were
two separate dishes,

and at least
for some of us,

that pork belly
was just way too hard.

Crispy's fine,
but this thing was just dense.

I hate to see
either one of you go,

but unfortunately,
one of you will not

be joining us
in Alaska.

Padma.

Stefan...

Please pack your knives
and go.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.
Thank you very much.

Thanks, Stefan.

I've cooked 65 dishes
on Top Chef.

And that's it.

Of course I'm sad.

I don't want to go home.
No.

Thanks
for the second round.

Come here, buddy.

- Thanks.
- Congrats.

Sheldon,
we'll see you

and the other chefs
in Juneau.

Thank you.

It's me.
I'm going.

- Is it really?
- Yeah.

Come here.

I've learned a lot
on this journey of Top Chef

the second time around.

The whole Top Chef thing
kind of reminds you

of how important cooking is
in your life,

and in the end, it boils down
to being creative.

It's hard sometimes to be doing
what you do every day,

and you just, you know,

got to get inspiration
somewhere.

And that stuff
is what Top Chef does to you.

- See ya.
- Bye, guys.

Have a good one.
That's a first one for me.

[Bleep]!

"Pack your knives
and [bleep] go!" Really?

[Laughs]
Bye, guys. Thank you.

I'm not going home yet.

I got one more chance
to cook.

See you on [bleep] Last Chance
Kitchen, mother[bleep].

Right now,
on Last Chance Kitchen...

Of course it is wifey.
I knew it.

We head outdoors
for the wildest challenge yet.

You look
so handsome now.

As Stefan and Kristen's
romance heats back up.

You look beautiful
as well.

It's gonna be super-sad,
but I can't wait to b*at her.

- Is divorce on the horizon?
- It might be.

- It might be divorce now.
- Yeah.

To watch,
go to bravotv.com now.

Next on Top Chef...

- Brr.
- [Laughing]

Better throw on
a couple extra underwear,

keep the package
nice and warm.

- Check it out.
- Oh, mama.

How awesome is this?

My dad would love
to watch me today.

Any news yet
on the baby?

She's dilated
and having some contractions.

Oh,
so that's any moment.

It's tough,
but stay focused.

It sucks.

I'm really pushing myself
to be creative on this one.

There's some bears
hanging out around here.

I would be a little bit
more daring myself.

At this stage of the game,
this is all about focus.

It sorta ruined the dish for me.

It's what they use
to feed the dogs.