19x04 - Doppelgangers

[bunniefuu]

- Are we doing the night market?
- Yes, girl.

Your very own,
Asian night market.

- We are all deep in.
- Uh-huh.

Slurp mode.

She hit the heat
and the sweetness.

Savory.

Buddha, this puff pastry
you fried.

Yup.

Frying just
made this greaseball.

I told them not to fry at all.

I got Chinese.

Pretty awesome.

I found them bland.

The potatoes, I just grilled it.

It's confusing.

The winning chef tonight is Jae.

Congratulations, Jae.

Sam, please pack
your knives and go.


remain to compete in

the ultimate culinary showdown.

At stake for the winner,

a feature in
Food and Wine Magazine.

an appearance in the Food
and Wine Classic in Aspen.

$250,000 furnished
by San Pellegrino.

And the coveted
title of Top Chef.

You know, I've been really
coasting through the middle.

It's not crushing
to my confidence,

but it just makes me question.

I'm basically doing this
for myself

because when I became a mom,

I started almost
like losing myself.

I want to remind
myself and my kids

that I'm a strong person
and that I can do this.

Good morning, chefs.

Good morning.

What's going on today?

I am walking into the kitchen

thinking that it's
going to be a great day

and I see these biscuits.

I don't bake,
I don't like baking.

I just like to get baked.

Please, welcome back your
guest judge for this challenge,

Chef and restauranteur,
Chris Williams.

Thanks for having me back.

He's doing some really
amazing work here in Houston.

It all started with
Chris' restaurant, Lucille's.

Named after his great
grandmother, Lucille B. Smith.

She was a chef
ahead of her time.

And her client list
included everybody from LBJ

to Martin Luther King
and everybody in between there.

She authored a cookbook in 1941.

She came up with the nation's
first instant Hot Roll Mix.

Sounds like
Lucille was on a roll.

Okay.

For today's Quickfire,

we want you to pay
homage to Lucille B. Smith

by creating your very
own biscuit from scratch.

But this is Top Chef.

Don't just give us
a biscuit on a plate.

We're looking
for a complete dish.

And you have just


The winner will
receive a considerable advantage

in the Elimination Challenge.

Good luck, chefs.
Because your time starts now.

Coming in hot.

Do you guys see flour?

Onions. Anyone seen onions?

- Monique, right there.
- Thank you.

Why am I helping you?
I don't even know.

I've made biscuits before,
but I need my recipe.

This is so terrifying.

From what I can remember,

your butter
needs to be very cold.

I mean, I have a pastry shop,
but we don't do biscuits.

I'm going to try
and do biscuits

with some Lardo
and an onion jam.

You are so fancy.
Can't even deal.

I'm going to
make a drop biscuit,

so hopefully,
it'll be crispy on the outside.

All the flavor
profiles that I work out of

has kind of been
informed by Black women.

In my family,
you just didn't get the recipe.

You had to make it
with them over and over again.

And that's how you
knew how to make it.

What are you
making with your biscuits?

If I can get this right,

I'm going to do like a bacon,
egg and cheese sandwich.

That sounds b*mb.

Jackson,
what are you working on?

I think I'm just going to
go kind of more classic here.

I'm going to do
a traditional biscuit.

I want it to be
layered and light and flaky.

If I'm going to eat a biscuit,
that's the kind that I want.

What are you
serving with the biscuits?

Found some ostrich,
which would be fun.

It might also be
----ing stupid to try, but...

We can't just make a biscuit.

We have to do something
more impressive than that.

So, I'm doing ostrich sausage.

I think that's really interesting

and weird in a good way.

Jackson is never confident.

Despite all signs
pointing to, he should be.

I think we got this, guys.

I'm going to go for
a sweet shortcake style biscuit.

Macerate some strawberries
and some Japanese brown sugar.

Oh, I like that.

Incorporate a little bit
of masa harina into my biscuit.

Oh, I love that too.

- You're so creative.
- Yeah.



My mom is the one
that makes the biscuits.

So just trying to
remember everything

that she puts into it, you know?

I mean, I've spent, you know,

eight and a half
years in Europe and you know,

the biscuits
and gravy thing

is not necessarily
a thing out there.

But I saw these kumquats,

so I am going to do
a sweet corn and kumquat jam.

I am debating
between sweet or savory.

- You ready?
- Yeah, let's go.

Damarr and I are
sharing an oven, top left.

We're good.

I want to get the biscuits on

and then I want to make
fried chicken with the biscuits.

Always go for fried chicken.

My strategy is I know
how to make fried chicken.

So you, biscuit.

I'm also working on
fried chicken with hot honey.

It's the only thing
I know with biscuits.

Last challenge
didn't turn out so great.

Bit intimidating
making the biscuit.

I haven't really
showcased what I can do.

I don't really make queso,

I don't really make samosas,

and I've never
made a biscuit before.

My technique is making
sure it's dry and crumbly.

Mississippi cutter,
man, trying to represent.

You had time
to find a Mississippi cutter?

yeah, I got them
all running through my kitchen.

- Oh, they're yours?
- Yeah.

Mississippi is
where my heart is.

This is the perfect opportunity

to put it on the map
in the Top Chef kitchen.

I can't screw it up, man.

I'm going in.

Hope we bake.

Now, where am I going with this?
Am I going sweet? Savory?

Does someone have
black pepper over there?

Pepper, black pepper, a lot.

Pastry is one of those things

I never know how
it's going to turn out

until I get it out of the oven.



Evelyn, what are
you going to go with?

Savory.

- Savory?
- I saw the chorizo

and I was like, "All right,
we're going with that."

After the queso challenge,

I need some
crispy cheese redemption.

I'm going to put
some crispy cheese on there

that Padma is
actually going to enjoy.

Time check, 11:11.

Please do what
you're supposed to do.

Ugh.

Five minutes away!

I need so much more time.

All right, I'm about to
do something kinda wild.

I'm pivoting
so hard right now.

Do a fried biscuit.

Oh, the biscuit
is not that great.



Still feel like I have a chance.

I'm really ----ing
nervous this thing is raw.

No, I think it
looks good, Jackson.

- Hi.
- 30 seconds.

Three, two, one, guys.

I'm so sweaty.

Ooh.

Made a scallion
biscuit glazed in hot maple

with an ostrich sausage,
crispy cheddar and fried egg.

And this is a block
of cheddar that you've breaded?

- Yeah.
- Thank you.

I did a biscuit with mushroom
maple gravy and a poached egg.

So I made a sweet biscuit,
corn in the biscuit,

Japanese brown sugar,

macerated strawberries,
whipped cream.

You make a lot
of biscuits, Robert?

I don't.

I did a fried black pepper
biscuit with apple molasses

country ham and chow chow
with moonshine vinegar.

Why did you choose
to fry your biscuit?

I wanted some sort
of textural element.

Well done.

- Jo?
- I made a biscuit.

It's with a chorizo
and vegetable hash,

spiced butter on top.

I made a buttermilk biscuit,
some crispy pork belly.

The jelly is fig, raspberry,
orange and grapefruit.

It's better known
as the frog jelly.

Is the shape intentional?

That's the map of Mississippi.

Big biscuit.

So I did a drop biscuit
with shirred egg,

smoked bacon and hot honey
drizzled over the top.

Hmm, I'm starting to get
a buzz from these biscuits.

I made a biscuit with
Lardo and then onion jam.

Thank you, Monique.

Today, I have
a buttermilk biscuit

with buttermilk fried chicken.

And on the side, you have
gochujang hot honey sauce.

Did you spend a lot
of time working the dough?

Just to shape it.

Okay.
- Thank you.

I made a buttermilk
biscuit with sweet corn

and candied kumquat chili jam.

Thank you so much.

I made a biscuit
with a poached egg

and a chorizo country gravy,
some marinated tomatoes.

- Wonderful.
- Oh, wow.

I made a buttermilk biscuit
with fried chicken,

hot honey, cheddar.

- It is very crumbly.
- Yeah.

Chris, how do you
think our chefs did overall

with this biscuit challenge?

Pretty impressive effort.

There were a few
that missed the mark.

Buddha's. It was too crumbly.

It was further
stressed by all of the things

that you put on it.

Jae, you just
overworked it a little bit.

And also, it's buried by
that huge piece of chicken.

And who else?

Ashleigh's biscuit.
It's too much pepper in there.

And deep frying that
biscuit just made it crumble.

And now for some good news.

Who had one
of our favorites, Chris?

Damarr.

The texture is right,
the temperature was right.

I thought you
did a beautiful job.

- Thank you.
- Chef Evelyn's dish.

Me?

- Yeah, girl, you.
- Thank you.

I really liked the way
that you balanced it out

with the herbs and cut through
the richness of the gravy.

Jackson, I like the fact
that you went for the ostrich.

Was that fried cheese?

Yeah, damn it.

However, there can
only be one winner.

And that chef is...

Jackson.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Congratulations,
you just won yourself

a big advantage in
the next elimination challenge.

Still don't have immunity,
so did I really win?

Take care, chefs.

I don't know about you,

but I'm ready
for a salad challenge.

Please, give a warm welcome
to James Beard Award winner,

Michelin starred chef,
Wylie Dufresne.

- Hi, Wylie.
- Hello.

Watching Wylie walk
into the kitchen, it's amazing.

He is recognized
for his restaurant,

which was WD-50 in New York,

which championed
molecular gastronomy.

And I feel like this could be

the sort of challenge
that I have been waiting for.

Before I tell you the challenge,

you should know,
this is a team challenge.

Jackson, do you remember
when I said,

you'd get a huge advantage?

You get to pick
your team member first.

And you and your teammate
will get an extra 30 minutes

of cook time tomorrow.

Okay, I'll go with Buddha.

Buddha? Okay.

Buddha, he uses a lot
of modernist techniques.

His plating is very elegant.

I just go with my gut.

The guy, who lost a biscuit
challenge is your advantage.

Everyone else,
please find a partner.

- Let's do it. Okay.
- I'm right here.

All right. Let's do it.

This challenge is about
both taste and presentation,

Oh, Lord.

What kind of science project

am I going to be
asked to do right now?

Chefs, please lift your cloches.

Wow, okay.

Now, take a bite
of the dish in front of you.

Peanut butter?

Damarr, what do you taste?

Cured fois?
Some kind of pepper sauce?

Monique, what do you taste?

Cocoa, definitely
in the crumble.

I'm definitely
not tasting the cocoa.

Either she's really off

or she has like
some super fine palate

that I'm just not
even detecting this stuff.

Wylie, why don't
you tell our chefs

what they've been eating?

The dish on the right?

I'm calling "pea-knot butter."

It's peanut butter
ganache tied into a knot

on top of a coffee cocoa soil,

a strawberry mango
sauce and fresh basil.

Oh,

And the dish on the left,
I like to call "knot foie."

It's foie gras terrine,

tied into a knot on
top of a black sesame crumb,

kimchi purée and some cilantro.

Oh.

This is like
blowing my mind up right now.

For your Elimination Challenge,

we want you
to work in teams of two

to create two dishes
that look exactly alike,

but taste completely different.

I hope everyone's
happy with their teams

because this is
a Double Elimination.

Oh, my God.

A whole team will be going home.

Oh, my God.

I'm really excited to
see what guys come up with.

It's really a good opportunity
to be playful and creative.

Have some fun with it.

We'll see you tomorrow.

Holy crap.

Okay.

I love you. Okay.

Do you have any idea?

- Like a blue crab cake?
- Uh-huh.

And maybe do
the other one apple pie?

I don't bake.
I don't bake nothing.

I'm like, so lost.

I'm just--
I really don't want to go home.

I really don't want to
make my partner do go home.

I am really
freaking out big time.

You know, daikon
looks like a noodle,

but it's actually
daikon salad.

It's not a molecular challenge,
it just has to be similar.

Yeah, I'm not relying on
----ing powders here.

- Right.
- Me and Jo are kind of like, uh.

We both don't work this way.

I have to think
backwards to start with

the visual
instead of the flavor.

So I was thinking things
that like, we can shape.

Pork belly, if we braise it
and we press it.

And then I'm thinking
a no-bake cheesecake.

So my idea is, breaking
down everything bagel

or breaking down
strawberries and cream.

I'm cool with you
taking the lead on this.

The only thing
I'm concerned about is

I don't want to add something
just for the sake of adding it.

Scallop and oyster
are very similar

in flavor and consistency.

I slice it
and then I separate them.

I actually had in
mind like a melon carpaccio

sort of thing as the sweet side.

Doing hot and cold,
savory and sweet would be cool.

Okay.

Like a shrimp toast and then
a strawberry panna cotta.

Because I think
the color on your panna cotta

matches the color
of my cooked mousse.

- Okay.
- And I have done

- a shrimp mousse before.
- Okay.

It's like a dish that we do at
the bar that I run.

Sometimes these
type of challenges, like,

I get this like mental block.

Thankfully,
we're each other's opposites.

We can set
the panna cotta in a mold

to look like whatever shape.

- I like your ideas.
- Are you sure?

Yeah.

Robert is quiet,
calm and confident.

And I am none of those things.

We need a cute name.

For our dishes
or just for ourselves?

No.

The guys are gonna
get it started.

They had to get one to
the fine dining folks.

Real cooking is
my sh--, not shapes.

Not shapes.

- I'm excited, this one's cool.
- Yeah.

We need noodles.

Noodles.

How are you planning
on doing the honeydew?

Thin slices,
so we'll peel the cucumber--

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
it will look the exact same.

Can you grab me
this instant coffee?

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

- I got daikon.
- Awesome.

We have a noodle focus.

Jae's going to be daikon,
which is going to be spiralized.

I'm going to
feature udon noodles.

Nick.

This is a perfect
marriage for cooking.

- Ten minutes!
- I've got the cornstarch,

I got the mushrooms
for the tuile.

Are you sure
about the mushrooms?

Oh, yeah, yeah.
I make it all the time.

- Are you sure of yourself?
- I'm ----ing worried.

The seasoning is
definitely on steroids.

- $243,77.
- Thank you so much.

Let's get out of here.

Alrighty, let's go.

Let's do this, bro.

Oh, God.

Let's go.

We live together
and die together.

- We die together.
- Let's do this, Damarr.

I am trying to
get this liver mousse done.

I'm going to
start the ice cream.

Heard.

Sarah, what are you working on?

I'm doing a seafood terrine,

meant to look like
Robert's panna cotta.

Oh, nice.

Can I get some allergy meds?

Sarah is a little
allergic to shrimp,

but I'm not really worried
because at the last challenge,

she, like, sucked on crawfish.

I'm about to start a mousse. Okay.

I'm going to roast
all my strawberries.

So, my main focus is
going to be my panna cotta.

- because it needs to set.
- Yeah.

I'm doing dessert,
she's doing savory.

But we're going
for the same textures.

I'm a little scared
about the gelatin.

- Ashleigh, what are you making?
- I'm doing the scallops.

Luke is doing
the vegetarian of my dish.

I've got a king
oyster mushrooms over there.

Ashleigh, how are you looking?

Looking good.

That honeydew and cucumber
look almost identical.

Perfect.

The really difficult
part of this challenge is like,

are you having to
sacrifice flavor for looks?

It's incredibly
important to win this challenge.

It's the first
double elimination.

We both know what
the bottom's felt like

and at this point,
I'm just trying to think,

"How can I not
be on the bottom?"

Oh yeah, I'm on a streak

and it's not the kind
of streak that I want to be on,

so it's scary.

I'm definitely glad
that I ended with Jae.

- Aw, thanks Damarr.
- You know what I'm saying?

You guys are
like a perfect odd couple.

- Yeah.
- Like, you're like our parents.

Yeah, oh, wow.

- Sarah's just jealous.
- Geez.

Buddha,
what are you doing?

Cooking some
strawberries very slowly

in the sous vide machine.

So we're going to be
dipping white chocolate

panna cotta into
a strawberry jelly

to make it look like a tomato.

Coming down hot.

We'll do
the pork belly flat.

Poach it.

As long as we press it tonight,
I feel okay about it.

This challenge is
all about survival.

I know how badly
Evelyn wants this.

We make those squares,

Make those squares
and they look exactly the same.

And it's not
that I don't want it,

but you don't want to be the one
to sink someone's dream.

Get that pork belly going,
It's that pot right there.

I am smoking the salmon.

Better be the best damn
cheesecake I've ever made.

I'm planning to make
coffee ice cream sandwiches.

Damarr is making chicken
liver mousse with cornbread.

Is that the color you
think it's going to be?

Yes. So it's going to be like
a-- It looks kind of chocolatey.

It's no, it's perfect.

The ice cream is
going to look exactly

like my chicken liver mousse.

Chicken liver mousse is
usually like a pinkish color

because you add nitrates.
I know that if I don't do that,

it's going to
be a shade of brown.

Which I think
Chef Wylie will appreciate.

Look at the color,
it's better now.

Yeah, that's perfect.

- Jae, what are you making?
- The daikon noodle?

- Oh, that's fun.
- Yeah.

- The thickness is the same.
- Yep.

- But the color is a little bit--
- Tumeric.

Yeah. I'm gonna put
a pinch of it.

Yeah.


I tested my panna cotta
for my ratio of gelatin

and it seems to work out.

I think if I add
my roasted strawberries to it...

Yeah.
- I think it'll make it

- really tasty.
- Oh yeah,

that color is beautiful.

It needs longer, huh?
We need to get it softer.

We ran out of time and we can't
quite get the pork belly

to be as tender
as we wanted to be.

We'll deal with you tomorrow.

I got to get
everything to your cart.

I think we're in
a very good spot.

I think so too and I just
want to taste really good.

Although, we got
little things to finish,

everything is fixable.

We're packed up, Jae.

- Let's go.
- Get out, let's go.

It's very daunting that
it's a double elimination.

And seeing that Jackson chose
me out of every other chef,

I really feel a lot of pressure.

Because it is one
of my strongest challenges

- that I can do.
- I think so too.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, pull out all
the bells and whistles.

Like technique,
for technique's sake,

we can't put on there.

I think we're both on
the same page there, you know?

I grew up in
my father's restaurant.

I'm kind of obsessed about food.

I remember during high school,

YouTubing all these
great chefs and restaurants

and Wylie was
definitely one of those chefs.

So, this challenge
was like a childhood dream.

It's a very
well thought out dish,

it just needs to
be ex*cuted properly.

Right.

Girl, I'm just-- I just,
I know I don't want to go home.

I'm not ready to
go to the dark side--

We ain't doing it.

And I don't want to go with you.

You know me, though,
I live on the dark side.

- I know, you're the worst.
- I am the worst.

I have enough positive
energy to pull us through, okay?

I know, I know.

Oh good Lord, have mercy.

- Ready, mate?
- Yeah, let's do it.

I think this is the most
difficult challenge so far.

And it's not just about
having one nice plate of food,

it has to look like

someone else's
entirely different dish.

All right, man,
what you working on first?

I'm doing the tuile.
I already got my things melting.

Tuiles are like that.
I got the bread proofing.

Yeah, Jackson's making
everything but the bagel.

And I'm making
strawberries and cream.

I would never make this dish
if Buddha weren't on my team,

but he seemed
really passionate about it.

I've never got the chance
to cook for Wylie in my life.

So, cooking for him
is a huge honor.

We're going to
mimic every single thing.

So, for the tomato
that's on Jackson's dish,

I am making a white
chocolate panna cotta

set inside a strawberry gel.
What do you think?

- Oh, yeah.
- It looks like a tomato.

- Yeah.
- For the salmon tartare,

we're going to be doing
a strawberry tartare with basil.

For the cream cheese bavarois,

we're going to be
doing a white chocolate bonbon

filled with strawberries.

This is one
of the elements of surprise

we're going to be
putting on our dish.

All right, down half an hour.

What did you guys do
with that extra 30 minutes?

Oh, we've just been hanging out,
waiting for you guys.

Yeah.

The panna cotta hasn't set.

Why don't we melt
these down super fast,

add a little bit more
gelatin and get those sitting?

I am really frustrated,

but if I decide
to change something,

we both have to change complete
components on our dishes.

So, I have to make
this panna cotta work.

If our technique
fails us, we fail, you know?

Perfect size.
Awesome, awesome.

That was exactly
what I was envisioning.

Teamwork.

Me and Ashleigh
are producing stuff

to go on each other's plates.

We have the scallop
and the king oyster mushroom

that almost look identical.

We also have carrot
purée with the kanzuri,

they are very similar in color.

As well as the compressed
melon and the pickled cucumber.

The ones with the peel on.

- Yeah.
- They look even more identical.

Being teammates for the
third time, it really clicks.

- Teamwork makes the dream work.
- That's it.

I keep having to taste
everything to make sure--

I know what's what.

I'm not going
to have any more

One hour.

Put it in.

What's your final
description right now?

So we got a goat cheese
cheesecake and apple relish.

At this point,

we know that both
dishes taste different.

So on that part
of the challenge, success.

I'm going to reset this purée

into another with
a parchment underneath.

Okay.

But my cauliflower purée
isn't as dry as I need it to be.

It's what needs to emulate
the cheesecake of Evelyn's dish.

And so it needs to be thicker.

It's fine, it's fine.

- We are going to figure it out.
- I know.

What's one of the hardest
things that you had to imitate?

The crust in the belly?

Because it's
a base of both of them.

I just want to make
sure where the texture is.

What's the toughest
component you think?

I think the cornbread
and the cake.

Like both are the
same sort of pale yellow.

To make it thin and even,

so we can cut it
after it cooks and cools.

Here is my impression of Damarr.

- Yeah, man! yeah!
- Yeah, great. Awesome.



What are you
doing over there, Jae?

No, no, no, I'm busy.
Please leave me alone.

Oh my God.

Yeah, leave that out
and start plating.

Put a little bit
of oil on the tomatoes.

Ten minutes.

Is that chive?

Yeah.

Still do a taste,
you know, just give it a mix.

Three minutes.

Wow, looks so impressive.

- Hey, chef.
- Hi, how are you?

Hi, chef.

Beautiful.

Now I can fully
appreciate the kitchen.

- Yeah.
- Oh, there, right there.

Yeah.

It's a double elimination.

- It's so hard.
- So, this is something

that's going to
really force them to think.

The two things must look alike.

And then the roe,
just a tiny bit, right?

Perfect.

It's almost identical.

This looks amazing.

There's a lot
of little details to discover.

- This is fun.
- I know, right?

Jackson, tell us
what's in your dish.

It's just inspired
by an everything bagel.

It's everything but the bagel.

So salmon tartare,
capers, shallots.

Above that is
a cream cheese bavarois.

A marinated tomato and then
a buttermilk scallion dressing

to mimic
the scallion cream cheese.

And what about this tuile?

And that is an everything tuile.

Buddha, tell us about your dish.

So we have
strawberries and cream.

We have a white
chocolate panna cotta

that's been dipped
in a strawberry jelly

to make it look like a tomato.

And then we have strawberry
bonbon and strawberry tartar.

The dressing was
actually a cream and basil oil.

And then the tuile is just
a plain sweet pastry tuile.

You know,
I was initially concerned,

maybe it would
be the same tuile.

And I, you know,
and I think it's great

that even down to the very
last detail, they're different.

The effects are great,
but it really tastes fantastic.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Thank you.
- Thanks.

That might be the best
dessert we've had on Top Chef.

That's a really good
strawberries and cream.

Well, it blows me away is
how they start with--

The idea started,

the germanation
was everything bagel.

- And then this comes out.
- Yeah, exactly.

The flavor
combinations of each dish

were so different and distinct,

but the textures
I think, were the funnest part.

- Good job, man.
- Yeah, it was really good.

I'm going to pick these
up and then this is my crumble.

And I'm going to go
right over the sesame

to kind of cover our colors,
what do you think?

Yeah.

Trying to keep
my swoosh really straight.

I don't want to
keep adding stuff.

I think that's it.

They look pretty
similar, except for the color.

There's a slight
tonality that's off,

but otherwise, yeah.

Sarah, what did you make?

I made a shrimp terrine,

it's shrimp
sausage over brioche,

toasted in brown butter

and then
a brioche brown butter crumb

and compressed
cucumbers in a pickle.

You poached, steamed?

It was a steam, followed
by a poach, if you will.

Robert,
what did you make?

Strawberry panna cotta
with creme fraiche,

Japanese brown sugar
crumble, kiwi and basil.

Did this panna cotta
set up the way you want?

I was having
a lot of trouble today,

but I think it turned out.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, guys.

We got to hope
somebody up.

I think they had a great idea.

I just don't think
they ex*cuted the main part

of the dish well.

Both domes are texturally
off in of themselves.

Sarah's is absolutely too firm
and Robert's is a little loose.

It has good flavor, though.

- It is very tasty.
- It is.

I think it didn't go terribly.

I don't think so either.

But I don't think it went well.

Pasta is ready.
Come on, baby.

- Oh, it looks good.
- Yeah.

Get the broth out.

Jae, broth is ready. I'm with
you. We're on the same team.

Good job.

- Like that looks beautiful.
- Yeah, they look similar.

Tell us about your dish, Jae.

It's a daikon salad
with walnut crumbs

and chilled jasmine lime broth.

Nick, tell us
about your dish.

I did a button mushroom
beurre blanc noodles.

On the bottom
is a mushroom puree,

red pepper coulis
and mushroom jus.

I thought it was a good move
to do two savories.

- Delicious, nice job.
- Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

These dishes
are both really good.

I think they look very similar,
taste completely different.

The only negative
is I thought the noodles

were a little overcooked.

I totally agree with that.

But her crumbs were delicious.
Like, really.

- That walnut, so good.
- Whoo.

I'm going to crisp this up,
put this on top.

It might still
equal your total size.

Oh Lord, baby Jesus,
do not take me out now.

The sauce is behind you. Okay.

Pull this sh-- off.
Pull this sh-- off.

It's gonna be fine,

we just need to
figure out the plating.

C'mon, steady that hand.

- Girl.
- I'm having a moment.

Okay, so, this
is what I was thinking.

Time is ticking down.

I'm just like,
"I'm going to plate this

and you tell me if you
can mimic it."

The puree on the bottom and
then the pork belly on top

- and then glaze it.
- Okay, center like this?

Yes, center.
Just make sure

there's enough, like, sauce.

Doppelganger.

Looks the same.

Tell me what
we're eating.

In front of you,
you have a crispy pork belly

with a cauliflower puree
underneath, crispy garlic

and then a daikon relish and
a five spice glaze over that.

Evelyn,
tell us what you've made.

What I've made for you guys
is a goat cheese cheesecake.

On top, we have a
cardamom chocolate sauce,

a sesame crumble,
apples and a champagne vinegar.

And then on top,
I have a bit of matcha.

- Look great.
- Yeah.

- Thank you both.
- Thanks a lot.

Evelyn's
dessert is pretty sweet.

As much as I visually think
they did a really good job,

I did not love Jo's pork belly.

- Like pork belly leather.
- It was, it was leather.

It was also so thin.

How do I feel better now
than when I put up those plates?

I think it's really cool to
be here while they're working.

It's terrifying for them,
though. I remember that.

Feeling that.
Four pieces?

Yeah.
How are you going

on the oil?
One spoon

- inside of each one.
- Okay.

Done. Done, done, done.

Thank you.
Ohh... Crazy sauces.

Very interesting.

Let's start with you, Ashleigh.

I prepared a scallop
with compressed honeydew,

kanzuri, toasted walnut
and apple cider broth.

- What about you, Luke?
- So I made

a king oyster mushroom with
a pickled cucumber

and a carrot puree.

And a broth of mushroom
with parsley and seaweed oil.

Whose idea was it to slice the
mushroom and slice the scallop?

It was my idea to slice
and put things in between.

- Yeah.
- That was brilliant.

Looks great.
It looked great.

Thank you, both. Yeah.

I think visually
it was a home run.

I think they're both
really good. I liked them a lot.

I love the
intensity of Luke's dish.

Ashleigh's dish,
that surprise of the melon.

I just thought it was
fantastic with the scallop.

It was very Scandinavian.

They had some positive things
to say.

- All right. This is mine, right?
- Yeah.

This is mine?

Let's hope that
they say that.

- One like this.
- Heard.

Nice job, chef.

Wow.
Oh, cool.

Wow...

Nice.
Both dishes

look exactly identical!

Damarr,
please tell us about your dish.

I did a chicken liver
mousse sandwiched between

cornbread with a dukkah
spice with tomato chili jam.

Monique?

I did a coffee
ice cream sandwich

along with
an olive oil streusel,

candied lime zest
and some fruit gel.

Really lovely.
Thank you both.

Thank you. Yeah!

I mean, aside
from the dense cornbread,

the rest is fantastic.

Damarr's chicken liver
mousse was nice and smooth.

The dukkah was so flavorful.

Monique's comes
together very nicely.

It's a lot less risky.
It's cake and ice cream.

She's not walking out on
a ledge, but it's delicious.

I mean, we felt confident
from start to finish, so.

I thought this was the
best food we've had so far.

Wiley, your presence
here has had an immensely

positive effect on our chefs.

They stepped up for you.
Yeah!

Kay. Stop.

We have
a really difficult decision.

Let's get to Judges' Table.

I've been lucky to
be here many years in a row

and this is some of the
best food I've seen.

So really, you guys should
all be very pleased

with your, your efforts.

Ashleigh and Luke and
Jackson and Buddha, please stay.

Everyone
else can step to the side.

Your two teams...

Had our favorite dishes
of the night.

So congratulations on
a job beautifully done.

Ashleigh, you look so relieved.

Yeah, it's been-- It's
been a rough couple of days.

So this was a pleasant surprise.

I felt your dish was
so progressive

and thought provoking
when it came out.

It was striking.

We couldn't stop talking
about it at the table.

The dishes you gave us tonight.

They stretched us.
They made us think the most.

The idea of slicing the scallops
and slicing the mushrooms

and shingling like that,

it really brought
those dishes together.

I thought they were absolutely
stunning and delicious.

- Great work.
- Jackson and Buddha,

your dishes looked so similar
but independent of that,

there was such whimsy
in eating your dishes.

So sublime, so delicious.
So fun.

We started digging in
and I just remember thinking,

"There's so much
to discover here."

There were so many fun
textures and also playing up,

you know, savory-sweet.
Beautiful dish.

And I think it was really
fun how you started

with classics and did
some really clever

and delicious twists
with those two dishes.

Thank you.

Congratulations to both teams,

but there can only
be one winner.

Both teams
put forth amazing efforts,

very playful, lots of fun.

The winning team tonight is...

Jackson and Buddha.

Congratulations.

Congratulations,
you guys.

And the winner is...

Keep this up. See this feeling
you have right now?

Remember it. Keep it up.

I'm winning this for my dad.
He's my mentor.

He's my best friend,
my number one fan.

He actually didn't know
that I made it onto Top Chef.

He passed away not too long ago.
So this is definitely for him.

But I hope that this
is just the beginning.

You can
step to the side, please.

And now we'd like to
see Sarah and Robert.

Evelyn and Jo.

Your two teams had our
least favorite dishes

in a very
spectacular night of eating.

One of your teams will
be going home

because this is a double elimination.

Robert and Sarah,
let's start with you.

Were you happy with the
dishes as they came out?

There was a little struggle,
especially with my panna cotta.

There was definitely a pivot
when it came to the gelatin.

Do you have a panna cotta recipe
that you use, like in your head?

Yeah.
Does it always

- include strawberries?
- No.

It's integrity was compromised,
probably by, I think,

the water of the fruit.

- Yeah.
- I mean, I thought

the flavor was beautiful.

- It just, it was a little curdy.
- Mm-hm.

Sarah, were you happy
with the texture

of your shrimp mousse?

I struggled with the
cooking aspect of that.

I'm allergic to shellfish, so...

- So then why make this dish?
- I was confident in the flavors.

Your mousse felt very
spongy and over worked.

And the
panna cotta was too loose.

So did you start off with the
idea of a panna cotta, first?

I think we started
out with trying to

replicate shapes first,
which is kind of like two

things that we could
create in a similar shape.

The shapes were fine.

I think the big issue
was both cooking mistakes.

- Yeah.
- Okay, let's talk to Jo--

Bring it on over here.

Let's bring it
on over to you, yes.

Were you happy with the
way your dishes came out?

The cauliflower potato
puree was supposed to set.

It was just too much liquid.

We kind of had to
change the plating.

I really loved your dessert.

I mean,
it was a very interesting,

very intense dessert.

My main concern
was the pork belly.

I felt it was dry.
You started it yesterday?

We started it yesterday.

We didn't feel like it
had cooked enough yesterday,

pressed it and then we
cooked it again, today.

When you pressed it,
did you take it out of

the broth when it was hot?

We cooled it
and then pressed it.

You cooled it in the liquid?

Not in the liquid.

Ahh...
In the braising.

You gotta cool it
down in the liquid.

I don't feel bad for anything
I've put out,

I think I've definitely
pushed myself

and I'm gonna
keep pushing myself.

But, yeah, it sucks
being down here.

Thank you, all.
We'll call you back in a bit.

I'm sorry, boo.

We have a hard task.

We have to send an entire
team home tonight.

On Robert and Sarah's dishes,
we have two molds

that didn't turn out the way

they envisioned them, texturally.

One was bouncy and stiff
and one was loose and lumpy.

And Sarah didn't seem
like she had a ton

of experience with shellfish.

- I mean, she's--
- She's allergic to it.

She might have gotten
in her own way a little bit

with trying to go into
unfamiliar territory.

Just thinking of something that
she could do that was round.

There was a
lot of troubleshooting.

Jo and Evelyn seemed
to be troubleshooting

to the very last minute.

They seemed like they never
quite got it where they wanted,

and they were making
these on the fly decisions.

They were trying to save
the pork belly

to the last minute,
and they knew that it was chewy.

Evelyn's dessert, although
I wasn't a huge fan of it,

wasn't a major flaw.

I just personally thought
there was too much sugar in it.

From a flavor standpoint,
I actually would eat

Robert's dessert many times over
before I ate Evelyn's.

The fact that it hit
the plate at all

felt like such an accomplishment.

- Yeah.
- Okay. I think we have

- our answer. Yes?
- Yes.

Let's get them out here.

Love you guys.
Good luck, everyone.

You know, tonight's
doppelganger challenge,

I thought, was a really
excellent challenge.

It just causes you to think
very differently about food.

But there was one thing
that both teams had in common,

and that was you made
mistakes in basic cooking.

And that's going to send
one entire team home, tonight.

Padma?

Robert and Sarah.

Please pack your knives and go.

Thank you for the opportunity.

We'll see you in
Last Chance Kitchen?

You sure will. Congrats, guys.

Thank you so much.

I love Sarah.

Like, we've formed
such a bond together.

It's okay.

And I think we both feel
like we let each other down.

Which is..

What's so hard
about this whole situation.

Oh, my God.
It's okay.

Man, that's crazy.

I don't think
this competition could,

you know, hack the iceberg
that is my self-doubt,

but I've gained a lot
from this experience

even in the short amount of time
that I've been here.

I still have
Last Chance Kitchen

and I'm going to keep going
until they make me go home.

Tonight, two chefs enter
Last Chance Kitchen.

You're not seeing double.

Robert and Sarah's
textures fell flat.

That's your sea bass?

Yes.
- Okay...

Can they cook their way
to a win without flipping out?

Find out now On Demand or
wherever you stream Top Chef.

- Next time on Top Chef...
- It's the barbecue challenge.

There's a reason why
there are pit masters.

You don't mess with Texas.

Oh, my God, that looks
beautiful!

- To the brisket gods.
- Hey, chefs, how's it going?

Sons of b*tches.

Twist!

- Let's get it.
- There's a word for this.

Tell me.
- Whelming.

Turned out
pretty well, yeah?

Yup.
- This is a dish

that if
you put this on a menu,

- this becomes a signature.
- Yee haw!

I'm not that kind of Texan.

We're gonna go
take a nap now.