10x14 - Kings of Alaska

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

Final Five.
[Cheers]

- Bye-bye, Seattle.
- Alaska, here we come.

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

We'd like you to take
surf and turf and turn it

on its head.

Holy [bleep] show.

Tempura's soggy.

It's definitely
not my best record.

I could be going home
for this.

It's real crunchy.

I like my pork
really crunchy and crispy.

Oh, my God.

Sheldon's tempura
is soggy.

I would say frogs' legs
and mussels are new.

Brooke's being
super inventive.

Curtis, please announce
the winner.

- Brooke.
- Thank you.

Some of the ingredients
just didn't speak to me.

When you put it on the plate,
I thought,

"Oh, my goodness,
I have to eat this?"

- I like crispy pork.
- I thought I was gonna break

a tooth.

Stefan, please pack
your knives and go.

That's a first one for me.
[Bleep].

Pack your knives and [bleep] go?
Really?

Four 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]

Oof.

Oh, my God.

Congrats, guys.

- No [bleep], right?
- Congratulations.

- Congrats.
- Top four.

Oh, man, I'm gonna miss Stefan.

- Yeah.
- I didn't realize, like,

what a kind of decent,
good-hearted person he was.

He's very good-hearted.

Yeah, he's great.

I just dodged a b*llet big-time.

Stefan was the frontrunner,
in my opinion,

to actually win
this whole thing.

It's crazy to know
that he's gone,

and I'm still here
on the top floor,

still slugging away.

I don't want to even think

of the challenges
ahead of us.

You think
we'll go fishing?

I hope we go fishing.

I wish I could call my husband
and tell him what's going on.

It would be nice,
wouldn't it?

Tell my wife
to try not to have a baby.

[Chuckles]

My wife's supposed
to have a baby,

you know,
any day now.

It's tough.

Cooking kind of takes my mind
off of it a little bit,

but as soon
as the cooking's done,

it's right back to thinking
about her and the baby.

Come.
Let's go pack.

Bye, guys.
When y'all are done,

you can come pack mine.
[Laughter]

[Horn blasts]

- It's chilly.
- Welcome to Alaska.

Never in my wildest dreams

did I think that I'd make it
to the last frontier, Alaska.

It's crazy,

and it's cold.

Brr.

Better throw on
a couple extra underwear

just so I can keep the package
nice and warm, you know.

This looks cute.
Tracy's Crab Shack.

Hey, chefs.

- Hello.
- Hello.

Welcome to Alaska.

You happy to be
off the ship?

Still kind of feel
like I'm on it.

Standing next to me is
James Beard award-winning chef

and owner of Husk and McCrady's
in Charleston, Sean Brock.

Hey, chefs.
How are you?

- Hello.
- Hello.

Sean Brock--
one of my culinary idols.

He specializes
in modernizing southern foods.

To see him standing there
makes me extremely nervous

right off the get-go.

You're standing
in front of Juneau's

number one
culinary destination,

Tracy's King Crab Shack.

Last year Alaska brought in


Jesus.

Crab meat is such
a treasured ingredient here.

Fishermen are out there
day in and day out,

risking their lives
to bring this crab to shore.

Your quickfire
is simple.

Take this near-flawless
ingredient and make it

shine in a dish.

One of my absolute favorite
things is perfectly cooked crab,

a little bit of lemon,
dipped in butter.

But that's a little boring
for a challenge like this.

I want to see
what you guys are made of.

I have never cooked
Alaskan crab before.

In Hawaii,
it's definitely a pricy item.

I'll figure it out
as I go, I guess.

Chefs,
you have 30 minutes,

and the winner of this quickfire
will receive $5,000.

Okay.

Guys,
I've been on a flight

for 13 hours
just to eat this Alaskan crab.

Please don't let me down.

Your time starts now.

[Laughing]
Layers.

We've been in Alaska

for, like, five minutes,
and we're already

into our first quickfire.

Apparently we waste no time
here in Alaska.

Tracy's Crab Shack

is like this tiny, cute,
little crab shack,

and then you've just got
this huge, big backdrop

of these really steep mountains.

You know,
just exactly what you imagine

when you think of Alaska.

That's really delicious.

So I'm thinking of doing
something that feels rustic

and filling.

So I decide to do

a king crab frittata.

Brooke, what you doing?
Making crab toast.

Crab has this buttery,
briny shellfish flavor.

I want to get those flavors
out of the crab

and really just be
as delicate as possible.

I'm working
on a really simple crab toast.

But in order to class up
this dish a little bit,

I'm making
a compound butter

with the dungeness crab.

- What's that?
- This crab is so good.

I'm not gonna have
any crab to use

'cause I can't stop
eating it.

Brooke, can I borrow
your shears?

No.
It's a competition, Josh.

[Laughter]

Behind you.

I would say my food
is similar

to what Sean Brock does
at husk,

so I'm gonna tip my hat
towards that,

make succotash
with butter-poached king crab

and bacon
and keep it simple.

You know, we're both
good, old country boys,

so I feel pretty confident
cooking for Sean.

What are you doing, Josh?

- Crab succotash.
- Sucker-Tash?

- Nine minutes.
- Are you southern?

[Chuckles]
From the deep, deep south, baby.

I almost got eliminated

the last challenge.

It was a reality check.

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

Grab the other butter?

- Here.
- Just one.

So I get this idea to use

the innards
from the dungeness crab

to make a miso soup.

I've never done this before,

but the innards
always reminds me of miso.

What are you doing
with the pine needles, Sheldon?

Some pine-smoked
asparagus tips.

I've seen this technique that
a famed restaurant Noma uses

where they take pine needles

and smoke some asparagus
on it.

That's gonna work.

It's a big risk,

but I got to continue

to push myself
and be creative.

Chefs, you have
five minutes left.

[Blender whirring]

My butter sauce
is breaking a little,

but at this point, it's not
really anything that I can fix.

The flavor's
still there.

It's just not gonna look
very pretty.

Hot.

Hands up.

Utensils down.

Hi, Lizzie.
Hi, Padma.

- What'd you make for us?
- Today I made

a crab frittata.

It has a little bit
of cherry tomato,

a touch of garlic oil,

and it's finished
with some fried capers.

Did you soak
the capers?

- I drained them.
- This crab is awesome, right?

- Yeah, it's amazing.
- Thank you very much, Lizzie.

- You're welcome.
- Hi, Sheldon.

- Padma.
- What'd you do for us?

On rainy days
like this back home,

I think of miso soup,
so I used the eggs

from the dungeness crab
in the head

to make a miso broth

alongside with some crab legs

and pine tree-smoked
asparagus tops.

Tell me about smoking
with the pine.

I've seen it done and just
wanted to try it out here.

The broth is nice.
It's a little thick.

Brooke...
Hi.

Tell us
about your crab dish.

I wanted to keep
that simplicity

of that sort of crab
and drawn butter flavors,

so I made a crab butter
with the dungeness crab,

and then I topped it off

with a warm king crab, corn,
and leek salad.

How did you make
the butter?

I used some of the shells

and actually some of the meat
of the dungeness crab.

I knew I wasn't really gonna use
the meat

of the dungeness crab
for anything else,

so I used the meat
in the butter.

It's an expensive butter.

[Laughter]
Delicious.

- Hi, Josh.
- Hey, Padma.

What did you do
with your crab?

I poached the king crab legs
in a paprika butter basically,

and then underneath
is a little succotash.

Feeding succotash
to a lowcountry boy.

[Laughter]
I know. I know.

It's pretty ballsy.

Succotash tastes
like home.

That's a compliment
in itself.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, guys.
Nailed it 100%.

So, Sean, how do you think
our chefs did overall today?

I think overall
you guys did pretty good,

considering you're cooking
in a shack.

Each dish certainly had
its ups and downs.

Which dishes
were less successful?

Lizzie, I liked the idea
of eggs and crab,

but I thought
it was a little overcooked.

I thought

there was too many capers
on the plate

and actually too many flavors
overall.

Lost the crab
a little bit.

Josh, you served succotash

to a succotash snob.

I thought
the bacon was unnecessary.

Covered up the crab.

And kind of a turnoff
with the broken sauce.

Fortunately, a quickfire's
not gonna send me home,

but still it looks
kind of poorly on me

in front of Sean Brock.

That sucks.

What were
some of the highlights?

Sheldon, I really liked
your dish.

It was simple
and highlighted

the crab
and utilized the innards

of the dungeness,
but was still interesting.

Thank you, Chef.

Brooke, I really didn't want
to like your dish

'cause it was so easy,

you know,
crab on toast,

but it was
flat-out delicious.

Sean, please announce
our winner.

The winning dish,
it reminded me a lot

of the way we cook
back in Charleston.

The crab was the star
of the show.

Utilizing the whole crab
was really, really nice.

The winner is...

Sheldon.
Good job, Sheldon.

Right on.

You win $5,000 today,

furnished by Healthy Choice.

$5,000 added on
to my winnings,

it's a great way
to kick off Alaska.

Hopefully
that will help keep me warm

here in Juneau.

Whoo!

How awesome is this?

This is fantastic.

This is my best experience
being on Top Chef so far.

Oh, mama!

For your elimination challenge,

you'll be celebrating

two of Alaska's
oldest culinary traditions--

fish and bread.

Chefs, bread was so important
to the first pioneers

of the gold rush
that they actually

carried sourdough starters
in their packs.

And, chefs, the fishing
industry has been here

in Alaska
since the 17th century.

It actually averages

over a billion dollars
a year.

And here, salmon is king.

For
your elimination challenge,

you'll be feeding
the people of Juneau

two
of their favorite ingredients--

salmon and sourdough.

Baking bread
is really difficult,

and I'm not too familiar
with making sourdough bread,

so there's a huge amount
of pressure.

Tomorrow you'll head
to the docks

to pick out your fish.

And then you'll have
three hours to cook

at the Gold Creek Salmon Bake

before the locals arrive.

You're serving them
ingredients

they're probably used
to cooking themselves

in a million different ways.

Kind of like serving succotash
to a southerner, so...

Ouch.

You have your work
cut out for you.

Chefs, a local baker
has dropped off

her cherished, three-decades-old
sourdough starter

at your home here in Juneau,
the Jorgenson house.

The winner
of this elimination challenge

will win a trip for two
to Costa Rica,

furnished
by Green Mountain Coffee.

Okay, chefs,
we'll see you tomorrow.

Take care.

How you guys feeling
about that bread?

How are you feeling
about that bread?

How you feeling
about making bread?

Since you're the baker
out of the whole...

I'm so not the baker.

I just happen to have baked
a couple of times.

Get your [bleep] together,
bro.

Get your bread-baking face on.

I'm not gonna put bacon
in my bread, I'm sorry.

You're gonna have
to do your own.

I'm not putting bacon--
I'm done with bacon apparently.

[Laughing] Oh.

Jesus Christ.

Oh, wow.

The place is nice.
Wow, it's cute.

You think we can light
the fireplace?

- It's very cozy.
- We arrive at our new digs,

and it's this really cute,
little house in Juneau

surrounded by trees.

Very welcoming.

It says,
"Letters from Alaska."

- Yah!
- [Screams]

- [Laughs]
- Oh, my God.

Welcome to Alaska.

We're in Alaska, guys.

I think you nearly gave her
a heart att*ck.

Oh, my God.

That already made
my Alaska trip.

Let's go check out
the kitchen.

- Oh, wow.
- Oh.

Here's our starter.

Nice.

Waiting for us
is this beautiful starter

this couple here in Juneau
started making

at a cooking class


Oh, that is sour.

Starter is basically a mixture
of flour and water and yeast.

A sourdough starter
can live on

to be, you know, 100 years old
or longer.

You just have
to take care of it.

It's like a child.

Yeah.
You guys look comfortable.

Nice.

Gotta get comfortable

and start baking some bread.

That's, like, starter
for, like, a million loaves.

- A million?
- 1 million loaves.

[Giggles]

There's so many elements

that affect bread-making--

the moisture content
in the air,

how cold it is,

and the flour
that you're using.

We're gonna make our dough
this evening,

and then we're gonna let it rise
and proof overnight

and then bake it tomorrow.

[Blender buzzing]
Whoa!

[Blender buzzing]

Seriously?

[Blender buzzing]

What'd you put in there,
black pepper?

Green tea and chives.

Of course he somehow worked

that Asian ingredient
into his sourdough bread.

Then dance.

He looks like he's doing,
like, Tae Kwon Do

or something.

Especially
with the slippers.

He's got this ninja way

of keeping his dough together.

It's fascinating.

[Both grunting]

Moaning and groaning.

You guys are working
way too hard for me.

I'm gonna make
two different sourdough breads,

a black olive bread,
and then the other one's

gonna be
a traditional sourdough.

They smell like olives.

Weird, these olives
smell like olives.

The sourdough will be blended

into the soup
as a thickener.

And the black olive is going

to turn into a crouton.

I've been working
in tight spaces today.

Imagine if there
were still 24 of us here.

I'm going to do
individual rolls.

I'm gonna hand-roll
each roll.

I'm gonna stuff the salmon
inside the roll.

Should I make another batch?

You think
this will be enough?

I really think
that's enough.

I guess Lizzie is
a little more nervous

about making sourdough.

Maybe something that
she doesn't do all the time.

Should I make a little more,
do you think?

I mean, better safe
than sorry, I would say.

It's pretty therapeutic
making bread.

You've gotta work
for a little bit,

then you've gotta wait
for a while

'cause you want to give
your bread enough time to rise.

[Sighs]
Now we wait.

What's worse,
watching water boil

or watching bread rise?
Watching bread rise.

'Cause you can
screw up the bread

if you don't let it rise.

When we're done
with our dough tonight,

we're gonna pack it up,

so it's ready to go
tomorrow.

But you don't want it
to be over-proofed.

[Sighs]

To be in the final four
is an honor

with the sheer amount
of talent surrounding me.

It's kind of intense.

I know I just have
to keep my mind clear

and perform.

Hurry up, bread!

[Upbeat ukulele music playing]

♪ ♪

It's the sourdough song.

[Laughter]

Sounds like
good sourdough.

Sheldon has a soundtrack
for everything

that goes on in this house.
[Laughs]

♪ ♪

- That was great.
- [Laughs]

There's a possibility
I could be in the top three.

It's crazy to think.

I'm just a kid that plays
the ukulele,

that came from this small town
out in Hawaii.

Started off as a dishwasher.

To think that I have a chance
to become Top Chef,

now that blows my mind.

Because you're having
a baby?

My wife's having
a baby.

- Any word?
- No.

Right now, my wife Courtney is
two or three days

past her due date.

So it could be, seriously,
any second now

that the baby would be
on the way.

Let's go get some fish.

- Let's do it.
- All right.

[Boat horn blares]

- Smells like fish.
- It smells like fish.

- Holy [bleep].
- What the hell?

I don't think these are meant
for small people.

I'm excited to get
the seafood

as fresh as you can
possibly get it,

but not having to actually
go out into the sea

to catch it myself.

- Boat's coming in.
- How awesome is this?

I think this is probably
the closest thing

we can get to fishing...
Probably.

- Without actually fishing.
- Yeah!

Here's your--
here's your fishing, Josh.

That's all you got.
Here it comes. Look.

This is really cool.

There it comes.

Now that's how I want
my fish delivered

every day, please.
[Laughter]

I don't know
if it gets any fresher.

[Laughter]

Whoo!

Three's so many
different types of salmon--

coho, sockeye, king, chum.

And each one of them is
just beautiful in its own way.

Oh, what's this one?
Oh...

- Hey.
- There's a big king.

A big one.

I got two varieties
of salmon.

I have sockeye,
and I have chum.

I have the idea
of making pea soup.

This type of weather,
it just makes sense.

And the chum's going to be great
for my dish.

The oiliness--
when I smoke it,

it's gonna pair great
with the subtleness

of the pea soup.

Can I have one more?
These fish look incredible.

Super clean. They don't smell
like anything but the ocean.

Come here, you.
It's slippery.

Gutting the fish is
about the easiest thing to do.

You just run a Kn*fe
up the belly,

and they'll basically
just fall out.

- Ooh.
- Oh, ho ho!

- Check it out.
- Oh, mama!

Oh...

Salmon roe, anyone?

This is fantastic.
This is my best experience

being on Top Chef so far
is out here on the dock,

cleaning these fish,
hanging out,

and having a good time.

Do you fish a lot
in Hawaii?

I used to fish a lot
growing up, yeah.

I enjoy fishing a lot.

I wish I had more time
to go fishing.

Yeah, me too.

Well, I used to go fishing a lot
when I was a little girl

with my dad.
Yeah.

He showed me how to,
like, clean a fish,

how to k*ll a fish.

Being here
on the docks today

just reminds me
so much of my dad,

who I just very,
very recently lost.

He came from a fishing family
in England.

You know, he was...

So, so very,
very special to me.

You know,
I was daddy's girl.

And...
I know

that he would love
to watch me today

and see me doing this
and to be part of it.

I'm gonna--
I'm gonna miss him so, so much.

That was amazing, huh?

Any news yet on the baby?

She's dilated and having
some contractions.

We get to the Gold Creek
Salmon Bake,

and we have three hours
to prep and cook our food.

There's gonna be a lot
of people,

and it's gonna be a hustle.

Last night I had the idea
of infusing more

of that raw sour flavor
into my soup.

It's risky, but it kind of fits
the whole theme

of my entire
Top Chef experience.

I'm making a pea soup,
but the base

of it's gonna be
seafood broth.

There's only four
of us left,

and we're all talented chefs
in our own right.

So I gotta be on top
of my "A" game for this.

Yahtzee!

This is actually the first time
I've ever made a pea soup.

It's definitely out
of my comfort zone.

Not exactly the style
that I cook.

That's the part
that I'm worried about.

My hands are so slippery.

Rinse 'em off real fast
before you cut 'em.

I mean,
that's just I do.

You can do
whatever you want.

I'm working
on a poached sockeye salmon

with seafood broth,
a mustard seed caviar,

and grilled dill sourdough.
I like bread.

I don't think I've ever worked
with fish this fresh.

I usually get good fish,
but this is just, like...

Beautiful.

I'm making a citrus
and beet glaze.

My dish today is going to be
a grilled sockeye salmon

glazed with citrus and beet,

served on a sourdough roll
with poppy seed butter.

I know that this is an amazing
combination of flavors.

- Hey, chefs.
- What's up, chef?

- How's it going?
- Pretty good. And yourself?

What are you making?

I'm gonna do a roasted garlic
and sourdough soup.

Okay.

You know,
with some seared salmon.

I'll probably do a ragout
of little beans and some clams.

Where's your bread?

My bread's actually
in the oven right now.

Cool. Any news yet
on the baby?

- Um, any day now.
- Any day now?

Apparently she's dilated and
having some contractions, so...

- Oh, so that's any moment.
- Any--any--yeah.

- Any moment now.
- Any moment now.

- Got it. All right.
- Thanks for bringing that up.

Is that--yeah.

I was gonna say, is that kinda
a distraction right now?

- It is, actually.
- Or inspiration?

Both. I mean, it's motivation
for why I'm here, you know.

It's one reason
I keep pushing, so...yeah.

- All right. Cool.
- Thanks, Chef.

- Good luck on both.
- Thanks.

- Hey, Sheldon.
- Hey, Chef.

- So what's going on?
- I'm gonna make a pea soup

with smoked salmon.
That's pretty funny.

Yeah.

No, I'm just--someone said
"what would you do?" Yesterday,

I'd say, "you know,
right now I'm feeling like

pea soup and salmon."

I swear to God.

Boom!

That's definitely a boost
of confidence.

- Sounds good.
- All right. Thanks, Chef.

Hey, Lizzie.
What are you up to?

I've got some fresh salmon.

I'm going to, um,

grill it and serve it
with some citrus-beet glaze.

- Beet glaze? Okay.
- Yeah.

Then I'm actually gonna
roast them whole.

- You're gonna do them whole?
- Yeah.

Thank God someone's
doing it whole.

And then I've got
some little sourdough rolls.

I'm gonna stuff those.

Pretty cool when it all
started like that, huh?

- It was beautiful.
- All right.

I'll let you get back to work.
Thanks, Chef.

Good luck.
Hey, Brooke.

- Hey, chef.
- Did you kind of expect

to make it this far
when you first started?

Was this--
what was the goal?

I know that I have
the experience to compete.

I mean, I feel like
I could win it.

I am actually gonna poach
my salmon

in a fish stock
that I've had going.

Okay. Why'd you go
in this direction?

Which direction?
[Laughs]

- Well...
- I felt like this...

You know, poaching it,
number one.

It does give me
a second thought.

Poaching my salmon
to order

is a really risky way to go
'cause it needs to be

sort of a perfect method.

But I don't feel like I'm gonna
have time to be searing.

I just feel like it's
a nice, little, delicate way

to serve it, so...
Okay. All right.

I don't have time
to change a plan at this point.

Okay, chefs, good luck,

and I'll see you
at the Salmon Bake.

Hot bread.

I'm running
all over the place.

I still need to grab
all my ingredients,

set up my station.


Thank you.

I don't even have my salmon
on the grill yet.

They're not even smoked.
My bread isn't sliced.

It's definitely coming down
to the wire.

Time's up,
and all the crowds come in.

All these people
expect nothing less

than perfectly cooked
salmon and bread.

But I think everything
is coming together.

[Indistinct chatter]

I have a grilled salmon
glazed with citrus and beet.

- How'd you grill the salmon?
- I grilled it on the big,

gorgeous grill over here.

I actually have never made
sourdough until today.

But we had
the best sourdough starter

I could have ever
possibly asked for.

Uh,
here we have pea soup.

The colors are beautiful.

Perfect for this beautiful,
sunny day.

[Laughter]

And this is black olives
with--

Yeah, that's a black olive
and sourdough, yeah.

The Gold Creek
Salmon Bake is

like the best picnic
I've kind of ever seen.

We do little fish frys
back home,

but salmon bake's
what they do up here.

You know, it's out
in this beautiful forest.

There's a little creek
running by it.

There are some bears
hanging out around here.

So have you ever been
to a salmon bake?

I've never been
to a salmon bake.

Did you bring
some beers?

I brought some bears
and some beers.

The bears came.

I think the mother
was kind of

wandering over here,
and she had three cubs,

and all of a sudden,
up the tree.

She wasn't invited
to the party, let's just say.

I actually--
that's my fan club.

That's my fan base,
so, you know...

[Laughter]
You're absolutely right.

Well, let's go try
some of this food.

- Hi.
- Hi. [Laughs]

Looks great.

I'm gonna introduce you
to your judges.

Chef and owner
of Empire State South,

returning judge Hugh Acheson.

- Good to see you.
- Good to see you.

Next to him, our head judge,
Tom Colicchio,

of Craft Restaurants.

Gail Simmons,
of Food & Wine magazine.

Hi, Brooke.
Good to see you again.

You remember Chef Brock
from yesterday.

- How are you?
- Of course.

And chef and restaurateur
Emeril Lagasse.

So what are you making?

I have just a lightly poached
sockeye salmon

with a little king crab
in a seafood broth,

mustard seed caviar,

and some grilled
dill sourdough, of course.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Mmhmm.
Brooke's broth is really nice.

It has a good amount
of acid to it.

I think the mustard seeds
really work nicely.

They work. They're not
the most appetizing thing

to look at
once they kind of melt down.

I thought the broth
was beautifully seasoned.

It was right on the edge,
though,

but that's how I like to eat,
you know?

Like, I like it, like,
right on the edge.

She nailed the bread 100%.

I also love that Brooke chose
to add dill to the bread.

I think the flavor's great.
It really ties in--

the flavors are great
with the salmon.

I think Brooke did
an incredible job.

The broth, man,
soaked up into that bread--

delicious.

Hi, Sheldon.
Tell us about your dish.

So the sourdough is made
from green tea and chives.

So some chum
and sockeye salmon.

A pea soup.
The base is a seafood--

king crab, shrimp, and
a little bit of salmon bones,

a wasabi pea.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Thank you.

[Laughs]
Padma, you are not making a face

that tells me
you like the bread.

I love green tea.
I love chive.

I don't like them together.

My crust was good.
I liked the crust.

But it didn't have--
it didn't have any salt.

Sheldon's salmon was cooked
really well.

It was super pink
and still raw in the center.

But there was definitely
some charred flavor to it,

unfortunately.

Pretty smoky.

I'm really surprised
that Sheldon,

he just had the salmon
in the bowl

and was just, like,
ripping it with the tongs.

And to me, that's almost
a little disrespectful.

You know, don't be like...
[Imitates crunch]

Grinding down on it
with a pair of tongs.

[Imitates crunch]
Right.

I really like the soup
a lot.

I think the soup's
too thick,

and it reminded me more
of baby food.

A good baby, healthy baby,
well-flavored baby.

- So we got some salmon.
- What kind of salmon?

There's sockeye and, uh...
What is that, chum?

Nobody cooks a chum
as a first choice.

- Right.
- In Juneau, nobody uses chum.

This chum variety,
it seems pretty cool to me.

But talking to the locals,
I learned

that they don't cook it
very often.

Why did you
also use chum?

- Uh...
- Why that?

Sheldon, what kind of salmon
did you use?

Sockeye and chum.

The locals use chum
to feed the dogs.

So a 31-year-old starter.

I know,
that's sort of exciting.

Do you have any stories
about your starters?

You know, when
Hurricane Katrina was coming,

my chef actually took
the mother, the starter,

out of the walk-in,
brought it home.

When he evacuated,
took it with him,

and fed it the whole time
'cause it was three months later

before we could open.

And when we reopened
the restaurant,

we had our mother.
Well, you say to your mother,

leave your father behind, huh?
[Laughs]

- He can save himself.
- Yeah.

Bread's fantastic.

- Hi, Josh.
- Hey.

How are you?

What I did was a roasted garlic
and sourdough soup

with a white bean
and littleneck clam ragu.

And I just slow-roasted
the salmon

in the oven at, like, 300.

And then I made
black olive croutons.

Super simple flavors,
but a lot of flavor.

All: Thank you.

Thanks for your patience.

Salmon's great,
well cooked, ex*cuted.

Yeah, I mean, I think
Josh did a great job

cooking the salmon.

His soup has
a ton of flavor.

I just don't know if the two
go together very well.

The garlic soup
is very, very strong.

It's very difficult
to taste the salmon.

I like Josh's concept
for this dish.

The garlic soup
is delicious.

I like the crunch
of the olive sourdough croutons.

He didn't just put a piece
of bread beside his salmon.

I like that Josh
went to that length

to do something different,
to push himself a little bit.

Oh, my God.
That's good.

The salmon is really--
like, it's perfect.

It tastes very fresh.

- Thank you very much.
- You bet. Thank you.

- Hi, Lizzie.
- Hello, everyone.

So sliders and pickles, huh?

Well, everybody
was doing soup,

so I wanted to do something
that was not soup.

So I'm making
a grilled sockeye

with a little bit
of citrus and beet glaze.

I'm serving it
with a little poppy seed butter

and just
a very simple pickle,

a little cucumber,
a little red onion.

Thank you so much,
Lizzie.

I like Lizzie's pickle.

I like Lizzie's bread.

Her crust is great.

She's the only one
that really got

that beautiful crust
on that bread.

I don't understand
the beet and citrus glaze.

I don't understand why
she didn't marinate the salmon

in beet and citrus
before she cooked it.

Right.

I didn't get any of the beet
or citrus at all.

She could've pushed herself
a little harder.

Well, this far
in the competition,

something as simple
as this--

I would be a little bit
more daring myself.

I love
Lizzie's sourdough though.

- The crust is great.
- Yeah.

And the texture
of the sourdough is great.

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

Enjoy it.
Oh, fabulous.

Thank you.

I'm excited to see
who the guests prefer.

- Hey.
- Hi, how are you?

- How are you?
- Good.

Who do you think
did the best job with the bread?

- Brooke's was amazing.
- Brooke's?

My family's recipe
goes back to the 1800s.

I thought they did
a great job,

even though I heard theirs
was only 30 years old.

I couldn't believe
how many salmon

were in the water today.

Like, you could almost
walk on water.

It was really, really,
really crazy.

I've never seen
anything like that.

I looked over,
fishing,

and he was tying
two salmons to his feet.

I was like,
"dude, what are you doing?"

He's like--
[Laughter]

How was your meal?

I really liked Sheldon's.

I loved that
he used some chum salmon

because usually people
around here don't use that.

And I always wondered why

'cause it's fresh
and Alaskan and amazing.

But, um, I'm also partial
to the, like--

the bearded contestants
that you guys have.

- [Laughs]
- Ah, yes.

And I'm out of salmon,
so all you get is soup.

- Thank you very much.
- Appreciate it.

- Thank you.
- Bye. Nice to meet you.

Bye, Emeril.
I love you!

[Laughter]

We have our work
cut out for us

at Judges' Table.

- Nice and squishy.
- Yeah.

This is down to the wire.

Everybody here
is super talented.

You wanna be confident,
yet the cloud

of knowing
that it could be

your time to go home
is always nerve-racking.

Chefs, we asked you
to prepare sourdough and salmon

to locals who know it
better than anyone else.

And overall, the locals
of Juneau were very impressed.

You guys did a nice job.

It's very difficult cooking
for 200 people by yourself.

It's a really tall order.

Were there mistakes?

A few here and there.

But you guys
should be congratulated

on a job well done.

Lizzie, what was it like
for you today?

Amazing.
I had so much fun.

Your sourdough roll
was great.

It was crispy.

I appreciate the fact
that you

hand-rolled individual rolls.

It shows a real talent,
a real understanding

of bread-baking.

And then your salmon,
it was nicely cooked.

It just wasn't seasoned.

You know, I felt like
I actually did

add a lot of salt.

Like, I finished the bread
with crushed gray salt.

All the fish, I seasoned it all
before it went on the grill.

Did you taste
a whole slider,

just how you
served it to us?

I tasted--
tasted all the components.

See, that's not the same.

Tasting everything together,
you have to do it.

That beautiful roll was

a substantial amount
of bread.

So when you're
eating it together,

I think you're really losing
all of that flavor

that you put into the salmon,
whatever it was.

Lizzie, I really appreciate
the fact

that you had
enough confidence

to do something so simple
in a competition like this.

But simple food is
the most difficult to pull off.

Sheldon, when I heard
you were doing

peas and salmon, it didn't
sound very Sheldon-esque.

So when I saw
your idea for the bread,

I thought,
"oh, there it is."

I don't know
if it worked.

What kind of salmon
did you use?

Sockeye and chum.

The locals
never use chum.

It's what they use
to feed the dogs.

But they thought
that yours was very delicious.

[Chuckles]

I really wish
that you'd have been

a little more careful
with the smoke.

While the fish
was cooked beautifully,

it was really,
really bitter.

Gail, what did you think
of Brooke's dish?

I think you did
a great job, Brooke.

I loved that broth.
It was beautifully made.

You could tell that
you put a lot of time into it.

My fish was just
a little overcooked.

And I know you were
doing it to order,

which was very bold.

I was a little bit flustered
at the beginning.

And it was, like,
right when I started serving.

And that's not an excuse,
but I feel like I hit a stride

very shortly after you guys
came to my table.

As chefs
and restaurateurs,

we have to be in charge
of our own demeanor.

We saw that pretty readily
on your face

when we walked up
from the table.

Brooke, I gotta tell ya,
I was crazy about the bread,

and especially when you dunk
that bread into the broth,

I loved it.
I didn't want it to end.

And that's what makes
a really great dish.

Thank you.

Josh, I'm a huge lover
of a bread soup,

especially with garlic.

And I loved the croutons.

I loved how you
incorporated that.

I thought it was clever
how you did that.

And then there was
the beautiful

cooked piece of salmon,
stunning.

I mean, it was awesome.

But it was ensconced
with these flavors

that had so much boldness
to them that it kinda got lost.

Were you concerned at all

about the balance
of your dish,

especially with the garlic

that you used
in the soup?

I felt that
I roasted it slow enough

that it took all of that
really pungent garlic out of it.

And then I thought
the sourdough would help

mellow that out as well,

with giving
a different complexity to it.

If you want a ton of garlic
in your soup, that's fine.

That's a choice you make.

Do you think
poaching salmon

is the best thing to follow up
that ton of garlic?

- Probably not, yeah.
- Probably not.

So I loved the flavor
in the garlic soup.

And I liked the cooking
of the salmon.

But you still have to think
about balancing flavors.

Sean, please announce
the winner.

We all agree
that there was one dish

that truly showcased
sourdough and salmon.

In fact, nearly all the locals
we spoke with agreed.

So the winner is...

Brooke.

Thank you.

- Congratulations, Brooke.
- Thank you.

Green Mountain Coffee
is sending you and a guest

to Costa Rica
to experience

how they score some
of their fair trade coffee.

Thank you.
I'm dying to go to Costa Rica.

[Laughter]

Thank you.

This is probably my favorite
challenge to have won.

And now to be
in the top three,

I am so, like, overwhelmed.

I just can't believe it.

Chefs, thank you.

We'll call you in a bit.

Now it's about
who makes the less mistakes.

You know?

We're all gonna
make good food.

I just felt so rushed.

Like, I should've--
I had that today.

You think you try to do
too much and then--you know?

My green tea
made no sense though.

Shucks.

They all
had great dishes,

but they all did something
that could send them home.

You know,
I think part of it is

they're just not
thinking the next step.

They're not really working
through the dishes.

But, Tom, there's
only four chefs left.

One of them's
going home tonight.

I mean, this is the moment
when you need to show us

that you can differentiate
yourself from everyone else.

Josh, I think there was
a balance issue.

But I still go back
to Lizzie's.

You know, we're getting
down to three,

and you give us
a bland salmon sandwich?

At this stage of the game,
you don't make a sandwich.

You make a beautiful,
refined dish

that screams sourdough,
that screams salmon.

What I'm most amazed about
was that Lizzie admitted

that she never
tasted it all together.

It's hard to forgive.

But I will say,
I do wanna

give Lizzie some credit

because clearly
she had some technique

in making that sourdough,

and it did
come out beautifully.

It was a sourdough
and salmon challenge.

Sheldon had problems
with his sourdough

and his salmon.

I thought his soup
was okay,

but the sourdough
was really spongy and soft

and didn't have much flavor.

The pea soup
was delicious.

He didn't handle
the salmon properly.

But the salmon was cooked,

even though that it was,
you know, a little bitter.

I loved the fact that he
created a world of bitterness.

Wow, what a day.

Sourdough song
didn't work for me.

I think
we have our answer.

[Thunder]

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Chefs, today's challenge
was to cook

with some great ingredients.

You were given beautiful,
fresh fish right off the dock

and a 31-year-old starter.

This really should be
the impetus to create

just beautiful,
beautiful dishes.

These dishes were good.

They could've been great
with just

a little bit more detail.

Josh, the salmon
was perfectly cooked,

but the garlic was just
too overpowering.

Lizzie, you made
a beautiful sourdough roll.

Unfortunately the salmon,
although nicely cooked,

just wasn't seasoned at all.

Sheldon, the salmon
was nicely cooked,

but just too much
of that bitter smoky flavor.

At this stage in the game,
it's the details

that are really
gonna set you apart.

And unfortunately,
one of you will be going home.

Padma?

♪ ♪

Lizzie, please
pack your knives and go.

Thank you.
It's been an amazing journey.

- Thanks, Lizzie.
- So nice to meet you, Lizzie.

Take care.
Yourself.

- Thanks.
- Thanks.

You know, I feel, like, a little
bit disappointed with myself.

You know, I didn't stop
to really, like,

taste my whole dish together.

It should've been, like,
a really, really great dish.

It should've--
it should've wowed everyone.

It should've won.

How could I make
such a silly mistake?

I'm gonna go home.

Oh, Lizzie.

- Oh, bye.
- Lizzie.

It's fine.
I had a feeling, so--

Mwah.

I wanna hear
when the baby comes.

You will know.
I promise.

- Love you.
- Good luck, okay?

- Okay, Lizzie.
- I'll see you guys soon.

- Bye, girl.
- Bye.

Today was, like,
one of those big days

when it's just so amazing
to just go

and see the fish come in.

And it just made me
think of home

and fishing with dad.

And, you know, just that stuff's
all so important.

Cooking isn't just
cooking to me.

It's life. It's family.
It's joy.

It's all those
wonderful things.

I can't imagine
doing anything else

but what I do.

Tonight
on Last Chance Kitchen...

Lizzie goes up
against champion Kristen

with an impressive
three wins.

One minute.

When the smoke clears,
it's one step closer

to the Top Chef finale.

And the winning chef is--

Who will it be?

To find out,
go to bravotv.com now.

Next on Top Chef...

What the hell is that?

That is a helicopter.

[Laughing] Holy sh--

Are you kidding me?

[Dogs barking]

We're going dog sledding.

Whoa!

This is the coolest thing
I have

ever done
in my entire life.

This is it.
It's the final push.

Whoa!

Roy Choi started the whole
gourmet food truck revolution.

Emeril popped out of the TV
and, like,

just slapped me
across the face.

Me? Wow.

You will be cooking
for the governor of Alaska.

We're heading
to the hospital.

The labor process
has started.

I really wanna be there.

There is so much
on the line.

This meal
that I cook today

is the most important meal
I'll ever cook in my life.

One mistake
is gonna separate

from either going home
or going to the finale,

and this is that one mistake.