08x15 - Last Supper

[bunniefuu]

Tiffany is a warrior.

She's tough.

Tiffany, your soup
arrived cold,

and it was just too sweet.

Tiffany, please pack
your knives and go.

Bye, y'all.

I was out-cooked.

She's a great cook.
She's a great chef.

She's a great person.

You never can underestimate
Tiffany.

She should be proud
of what she did,

but the three strongest
competitors

are competing right now.

Top three, here we come.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

It's back to back, you know.

I'm getting hot now.

The chef that was definitely
the most creative

is Michael.
Thank you.

I'm not worried
that Mike's on a streak.

Good for him.
He's won two challenges

in both seasons of Top Chef.

I've won eight.

I can't believe
there's only three of us.

It's weird.

There's no way
to really be like, "oh, well,

that person's obviously
going home."

It's the three of us left.

And it's kind
of like the boys' club.

They're just expecting
to dominate.

But that's not gonna happen.

Let's get out of here.

Three all-star chefs remain
to fight it out.

Only one will win
the grand prize--

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,

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

$200,000 to pursue
their culinary dreams,

furnished by Buitoni,

and the title
that's eluded them all--

Top Chef.

[Rock music]

Good morning, chefs.
Both: Morning.

I'm sure you recognize
the man next to me,

award-winning chef
and celebrated restaurateur

Mr. Wolfgang Puck.

- Good morning, chefs.
- Good morning.

He's an icon.
He's a legend.

He was the only chef
I knew

who he was
when I was a kid.

I'd never heard
of any other chef,

but I knew
of Wolfgang Puck.

You guys ready
for one more quickfire?

One more.

Today will be different
than anything

you've experienced
in the past.

We've chosen
seven classic quickfires

from the past eight seasons,

but we're gonna let you
give the challenge

to your competitor.

Wow.

Chefs, as you know,

sometimes
the simplest challenges

are the toughest one.

You know, one of them
on the table is tacos.

Which I won
in my season.

So I wouldn't mind
getting that one.

Mike, you won
the last elimination challenge,

so you'll get to pick
one of your competitors

and assign a quickfire challenge
to them.

I'm gonna pick
my cousin Antonia.

It's really, really tough
cooking canned goods,

and I don't care
whether we're cousins or not.

I'm gonna give her
something tough.

I'm gonna give her canned
foods to work with today.

Of course

he picks the hardest thing
on the table.

It's like, Mikey,
you're just not gonna

make anything easy.

So, Antonia,
that means you're assigning

a challenge to Richard.

Hot dogs.

Well, the hot dog
is pretty close,

I'm sure,
to Wolfgang Puck's heart,

being that he's Austrian,

so I hope I can pull it off.

Now, Richard,
you'll assign for Mike.

I'll give Mike...

I want this
to be a challenge to him.

I'm just remembering
from the fish fry challenge

where Mikey was saying, "I just
need six or seven saute pans."

So one pot.

Got it.

For the life of me,
I don't understand

why he gave him a pot
because giving him, like,

one pot wonder
gives him access to everything.

Blais--not the sharpest one
in the drawer.

Your time starts now.

It's always
those simple challenges

that just throw us
for a loop.

Starting with canned food

is not starting
with the best ingredients.

I immediately grab every kind
of, like, flavor

that'll incorporate
into, like,

just a beautiful
curry coconut soup.

Anyone got peanuts?

I have peanuts
on my station.

The most difficult thing
about the one pot challenge

is, like, it's hard
to do a composed dish.

It's not like you can sear

a piece of fish,
pull it out, cook your sauce,

so I decided to do a spin
on pork and beans

using the pressure cooker
as my one pot.

Now to braise pork usually takes
about three hours.

I'm gonna try to cook it
in a pressure cooker

in 45 minutes.

All right,
let's cross our fingers.

I would love to make
a fresh hot dog,

but now I have to use
the store-bought hot dogs.

I'm gonna make
my own bread.

It's ambitious,

because we don't have
a lot of time.

And then I want to make
this curry ketchup sauce

because we all associate
ketchup with hot dogs.

But to make it different,
I'm going to get some hot dogs,

chop 'em up, saute 'em
in a pan with some fennel

and celery seed, so I get
a nice, sort of spicy flavor

to this ketchup sauce.

- I'm right behind you.
- 34 minutes.

[Chopper grinding]

Chefs, can I get
your attention?

Uh-oh.

Anytime Padma walks
into the kitchen

before time's up, you know
that something is wrong.

If she tells me to start
cooking your dish--

Shh.

We're gonna let each of you

assign a classic
Top Chef twist

to one of your competitors.

You can choose
from three of our favorites.

The first--
cooking with one hand.

[Laughs]

I'm thinking,
oh, my God.

I remember this twist.

Something probably
I don't want to tackle.

The second is finishing
your dish without any knives

or hand tools.

The only thing
that is going through my head

is I cannot have utensils
taken away from me.

I need to open these cans.

- And the third--
- Uh-oh.

- Uh-oh.
- Uh-oh.

- What's up?
- Hey.

The double apron twist
from season seven.

Jesus Christ.
Twist this off.

We're gonna pick
in reverse order now.

So that means, Richard,
you assign a twist to Mike.

No utensils or hand tools.

God bless you.

We already did no utensils
earlier in the season.

And now I'm doing it
all over again.

It's nuts.
Antonia,

that means you're choosing
for Richard.

Richard, you have to cook
with one hand.

And I'll take Carla.

You guys have 30 minutes.
Richard.

These are three
of the toughest twists

that can be thrown at us.

They all suck pretty bad.

All right, so I can only use
canned ingredients

and dried ingredients.
Okay.

I'm doing
a coconut curry soup.

- Okay.
- I think Blais thought

that he stuck it to me
a little bit.

You know,
I'm just gonna cr*ck and open

my citruses on the corner
of the counter

so I can squeeze the juice in,

and my cabbage salad
is already cut.

And my pork is cooking
with the sauce.

So I'm kind
of just standing there.

You know, I went
with too sweet, girl.

Carla and I are
literally tied to each other.

So it's cutting.
[Laughs]

- Nice.
- God, that's not a bad brunoise

if I do say so myself.

It's opening cans.

Okay, okay,
let's not work like that.

Go right here.

We're like conjoined twins
at this point.

[Laughs]

[Mimics his laugh]

Mike's laughing,

and it's kind of annoying
to hear.

He's just, like,
trying to get me riled up

'cause he thinks
I'm competition.

Go away, Mike.

You know,
with no utensils

and, you know,
a one pot meal,

Mike's just kind of waiting
for the pressure cooker

to finish cooking.

I feel like I maybe shouldn't
have selected Mike to use

no hand tools.
That was a mistake on my end.

Mike, you're real busy
over there.

What do you want me
to do?

My braise is cooking.

What do you want from me?
Are you mad at me?

Just gotta hope
my pork's cooked.

So I have to cook
with one hand.

It's not easy to slice lime.

This is the toughest quickfire
challenge on Top Chef ever.

Do you think it's good?

Carla's another palate,

so it's kind of nice
to have somebody tasting it

from a fresh perspective.

I think it just tastes
like raw curry.

Well, I b*rned
the curry good.

She's very calm.
If you're gonna have

a team member,
she's the best one to have.

I want to maybe powder it
and sprinkle it.

- Exactly.
- With the peanuts.

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
And maybe with some limes.

Add some acid.
I can't use them.

Oh, 'cause it's fresh.

[Laughs]

[Laughs]

I check my meat,
I open it up,

it's not really
where I want it.

I put it back
on the pressure cooker,

try to cook it
for a little bit more

at a high temperature.

I'm just gonna gamble with it.

So I'm a little nervous
about that at this point.

[bleep] No equipment,
[bleep].

Sorry, dude.

Come on.
You can do it, though.

You got a pressure cooker,
man.

"You can do it."
[Laughs]

You know, I'm not


I think the flavors
are a little molded together.

And this is probably
the last quickfire challenge

of my Top Chef career.

So I want to win this thing.

It's tough to feel confident
about it.

I mean,
the pork's a little tough.

So I'm a little worried
about what they're gonna think.

[Alarm beeps]

Time's up.
Hands up.

So I did a curry soup

with a little bit
of canned shrimp,

andouille sausage,

and a little bit
of curry spice.

Very strong flavors, huh?

Really strong.

Yeah,
but good balance.

Thank you.

So, Richard,
what did you make for us?

Currywurst.

But I made my own bread

and then made
a hot dog stock

with a little ketchup,
mayonnaise, lots of spices.

I think I could feed that
to my kids at home.

- Oh.
- They would love that.

- That's good, I hope.
- They love sausage and ketchup.

His dish was plain and simple.
Which I'm surprised.

So I feel like I'm gonna win
this challenge.

So I tried to make a twist
on pork and beans.

I braised the pork shoulder,
chili paste,

ginger, cinnamon.

With the salad--
I like the balance.

- Yeah.
- Thank you.

Thank you, Mike.

Mikey gave it
to me twice today.

Me and Blais
got the tough ones.

Really?

Wolfgang, let's tell them
how they did.

Well, let's start
with Richard.

To me, it was a little bit
too ketchupy, maybe.

But I think, all in all,
it was a very nice sandwich,

if you want to call it
that way.

Antonia, I thought
your soup was delicious.

A little bit
too concentrated.

And, Mike,
I thought the balance

was pretty good.

The pork could have been
a little bit more cooked.

But I think, all in all,
you all did a really nice job.

So, Wolfgang, please tell us
the winner.

For me, the winning dish
was eye-appealing,

and I think it had
great flavor.

The winner is...

Michael.
Oh, wow.

Thank you.
Thank you, chef.

Congratulations, Mike.

That means you get $5,000,
furnished by Terlato Wine.

Awesome. Thank you.
I'm stoked at this point.

My mentality was come
and win as much as I can.

And I'm doing everything
that I planned on doing so far.

You got a pretty good roll
going there.

I'm trying my hardest.

The kid's just on fire.

You know,
that's two elimination wins,

a quickfire win.

The pressure's on.
I got to cook great food

tomorrow, and it's gonna hurt
really bad if I don't win.

Chefs, we have
some special guests

waiting for us
at the Cloisters

at the one and only Ocean Club.

Please meet us there.
Thank you.

Thank you.

We arrive
at the Cloisters,

and Padma tells us there's gonna
be some special guests

waiting for us.

It could be aliens.
It could be rock stars.

We expect the unexpected,
for sure.

I see Wolfgang Puck, Michelle
Bernstein, and Morimoto.

Michelle Bernstein is one of
the top women chefs

in the country.
She's awesome.

Chef Morimoto,
he's an Iron Chef.

He's just really friggin' scary.

Like, Japanese warrior.

For these three great culinary
icons, food is their life.

So your task is daunting.

Prepare and serve
their last supper.

What we want to eat
is a little bit different

than the food
that we want to cook.

Maybe Morimoto wants
a cheeseburger.

A chef saying this is what
I want to eat for my last meal,

it gives you a really good read
on their soul.

Mike, as the winner
of the quickfire,

you get to choose
which culinary icon's last meal

you would like to prepare.

I'd like to cook
for Michelle Bernstein.

On my season in Vegas.
Michelle was a judge

she said
I over-seasoned something.

So I want a second sh*t.

You also get to assign
the other chefs' meals

to your competitors.

Just to kind of mess
with her a little bit,

I decide to give Morimoto
to Antonia

because it'd probably be
pretty tough.

I'd like Richard to cook
for Chef Wolfgang Puck.

And I'd like Antonia to cook
for Chef Morimoto.

Mike is definitely playing
the game.

He's trying his hardest

to knock me down.

Richard is known to be

one of the best top chefs
of all time.

And I want to compete
against him in the finals.

'Cause I want to b*at the best.
Be the best.

- But of course...
- There's always a twist.

It's not that easy.

There'll be one final surprise
in this envelope.

Which we'll open later.

For the third time ever
in Top Chef history,

only two of us are gonna get
to that last round,

so the gravity of this cannot
be underestimated or downplayed.

I'll see you tomorrow night
at Balmoral Club.

Chef...It's an honor
to cook for you.

[Chatter]

Chef, it's a pleasure
to cook for you.

I gonna go back to my roots.

Apple strudel,

a goulash,
and some spaetzle with it.

My mother was a chef--
a hotel chef too.

- Okay, great.
- That's how I started.

Goulash was always something
really special for us.

And my father used to tell my
mother, "put more butter on it,

so it gets nice and crispy...
All right.

She was making pastries
at the hotel.

The strudel is really
one of my memories.

I don't have a recipe
for strudel dough.

We're not allowed
to carry recipes.

So the strudel is scaring
the pants off of me.

You know, we didn't have
a lot of money,

so actually picked the apples
from our trees

and made them.

It's a tough challenge

because you're asked to cook
for Wolfgang Puck

something that's dear
to his heart.

And it's just amazing
to kind of h hear him talk

about his family
and how he sort of grew up

in a restaurant environment.

No wonder he's so good.

Apple strudel
is always my favorite.

You know, because it really
reminds me of my childhood.

- Nice.
- So what do we got today?

I would choose fried chicken,
biscuits, and gravy.

Okay. Why is this dish, like,
important to you?

It's the antithesis
of how I grew up.

I'm Latin and Jewish.
We didn't eat fried chicken.

So when my father took me out

to eat fried chicken
for the first time,

I fell so in love with it when
I was five years old that...

- Right.
- I'll never forget the love.

I think you got it
pretty easy.

[Laughter]

You know, easy is
sometimes hard, but--

Well, easy is hard.

The simplest things
are the hardest.

I'm not really worried
about cooking fried chicken.

I feel like I could do
a good job of it.

I'm worried about giving her

my take on fried chicken,

'cause it's not gonna be

what she's traditionally used
to seeing.

Hopefully you like it.

Right.
Right.

So you better spend the time--

To looking
through each grain.

Yes, each grain.
Miso soup.

- Miso soup.
- Pickles.

- Pickles.
- And some sort of sashimi.

Okay.

Sometimes I think of Morimoto

as superhuman.

Right.

But when he starts telling me

these stories
about playing baseball,

coming home for dinner,
he's actually really sweet.

This was a dish
that his mother made.

Yikes again for me.
Like, double gulp.

Thank you, chef.
I appreciate it.

I may never eat Japanese food
ever again

because it may scar me
so deeply.

[Sighs]

- Good luck to you.
- Thank you. Bye-bye.

- I'll see you later.
- Good luck.

Thank you.

Mikey gave it
to me twice today.

I did not give it
to you twice today.

- Let's take a vote on that.
- What do you want me to do?

I don't want to lose to you.

I'm not gonna give you
an easy road.

I don't want an easy road.

I'm actually excited
to have Morimoto.

If I pull it off,
that's a huge feat.

This should be a walk
in the park for you.

You know, me and Blais
got the tough ones.

I mean, you think--
- [Laughs]

You're so full of--then
why didn't you pick Morimoto?

'Cause I knew Michelle
was gonna give me

the biggest challenge.
Really?

- Really.
- I'm gonna call [bleep]

on that one.

Who has the hardest dish?
That would be me.

I'm sorry.
There's no comparison

on the level of stress.

But, I mean,
I'll still kick his butt.

You know, I've never made
a biscuit in my life.

You will tomorrow.

No, I won't.

What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna do
a flaky empanada.

You know, I'm gonna take
a risk tomorrow.

I'm putting it all out there.

We're not line cooks.

We're not sous chefs.

We want to be Top Chef.

You got to be creative.

Well, I'm doing
the same thing.

I'm not going traditional
by any route.

I'm gonna change some things up,
add some flavors.

You know, if I blow it,
I blow it.

You know, Mikey,
he got a good gig

with fried chicken
and biscuits.

He doesn't have to reach
and kind of understand

a culture like me
and Antonia have to.

I think Blais thought,
coming back,

Antonia would be
his toughest challenge.

And I think that I've changed
his vision.

I'm not just crossing my fingers
and saying,

"yeah, I need this.
I want it."

I want it,
and I'm gonna take it.

Yeah, I'm tired.
I'm going to bed.

In my finale,
I was the first one eliminated.

It felt like when your first
boyfriend breaks up with you.

You wake up in the middle
of the night crying.

I don't want to feel
that way ever again.

You know, I want--
I want to do it.

I want to be there
at the end.

I feel like throwing up.

Yeah, that makes
three of us.

I'm really stressed out
right now.

[Laughs]

I don't think I've ever felt
this stressed

in the entire competition.

Our suite at the Atlantis

is just full of anxiety.

I just actually have jags
of just nervous laughter.

[Laughs]

Wolfgang called.

He asked
how the goulash is coming.

I don't know
if Mike's strategically

trying to get in my head.

It bothers me for sure.

But I'm very quick
to remind Mike

what the score total is,
and I'm on the leader board.

[Exhales]

If I tried,
I definitely could throw up.

That's gross.

- [Laughs]
- [Burps]

[Laughs]

Ring molds, ring molds,
ring molds.

I am cooking Michelle
Bernstein's last supper.

What brings her back
to childhood is fried chicken

with biscuits and gravy.

She serves it every Wednesday
at her restaurant.

I'm gonna take a risk,
and I'm gonna kind of twist up

Michelle's dish.

You know, I feel
really confident about it.

There's so many difficulties
to this dish.

It's like,
is the fish sliced properly?

Does the miso soup taste right?

Is the rice
the way he likes it?

I'm really worried
about creating a memory.

It's a bit slippery
over there.

I keep slipping
on these gizzards.

- Sorry.
- No, that's all right.

For some reason,
I've been dealt

some difficult cards.

I have to cook goulash,

spaetzle,
and an apple strudel.

The strudel poses
a challenge for me.

Never done it before.

It's something that's dear
to his heart.

And he's a legend,
so one little mistake,

tiny, little mistake,
could really ruin my chances.

It's definitely
a lot of pressure.

Antonia, didn't you have trouble

opening a pressure cooker
recently?

Yeah.

Yeah, I chocked once before

It's haunted me.

I am cooking

Michelle Bernstein's
last supper.

The winner of this challenge is
gonna move on into the finale.

This is what I came here for.

I'm here to win.
I'm not here for second place.

Hey, chefs.

- Hey, how you doing, chef?
- I'm good. How's it going?

I'm working

on Michelle Bernstein's
last supper.

She gave me fried chicken
with biscuits and gravy.

I'm gonna sous vide it.

Have you done this before
like this?

- Yes, I have.
- Cool. All right.

He's definitely questioning
what I'm doing.

I know he is, but Michelle said
to have fun with it.

Good luck.

Thank you, chef.

Now, Mike has won
two challenges in a row,

so he has a lot of momentum
going into this challenge,

and I--quite frankly, I think
he picked the easiest dish.

Hey, Richard.
Chef, how are you?

I'm good.
How's it going?

You know, the goulash
is sort of my style of food,

so that kind of worked out
for me.

Now, in your season,
you made it to the finale.

Do you think that gives you
an advantage at all?

I don't know.

You know, I mean,
Mike's on a roll right now,

so I'm a little bit
of the underdog.

Are you feeling that he kind
of has the momentum

going into...?
Oh, absolutely,

and that's fine with me.

As long as I win
on the last day, that's okay.

To get to the finale,
what does it mean

getting there again?
It means everything to me.

It'd be the biggest moment
in my professional career.

And I'm gonna cry either way.

Hopefully I'm crying
because I'm winning.

- Cool. All right.
- Thanks, chef.

Blais enjoys breaking down
a challenge,

figuring out what, you know,
the best way to go about it is.

So people who understand that
and embrace it

I think have an easier time.

Hey, Antonia.
Hey, chef.

So cooking
Morimoto's final meal.

It's a tough one.
Yes. It's a tough one.

He said that it was specifically
like what his mother

used to make for him
when he was playing baseball

as a young child
and would just come home

and pretty much just inhale
the entire thing.

And I'm just kind of stressed
about the rice.

Like, he was saying
how his mother actually sorted

through it.
Sure.

You know, to make sure
that every grain was perfect.

So that's pretty much
my nerves going into it.

You know, I want to be able
to re-create a sense

of what he expects
from this dish.

So hopefully he's out playing
baseball right now.

So hopefully
he's out playing baseball,

and as soon as he sits down,

I'll call him in for dinner.
Good. Good.

Good luck.
Thanks, chef.

So, Antonia, in a way,
the dish is very simple,

I think,
from the judges' standpoint.

If it's a good version
of all those dishes,

she can compete.

This is, again,
that chance for redemption.

You know, it means, I think,
so much more than the $200,000

to each of the chefs.

Okay, chefs,
a lot at stake here.

Cook your hearts out.
Thanks, chef.

Hamachi is just
a really nice idea

for, like,
a raw preparation of fish.

It's kind of slimy.

I slice off a piece
and put it in my mouth,

and it tastes like--
like it's about to go rancid.

This fish is disgusting.

What am I gonna do?

Blah.

You know,
as time's running out,

I'm getting ready
to unlock my pressure cooker.

I can't get
the top off of it.

I can feel
added pressure on me.

"Hey, remember when you choked
in your finale?"

It's haunted me.
I mean, I'm nervous.

Antonia,
didn't you have trouble

opening a pressure cooker
recently?

Uh, yeah.

I would definitely not want to
live in Richard Blais' brain,

'cause the guy's crazy.

He's gonna have a heart att*ck.
Got it.

I've won more Top Chef
challenges than anyone else.

But I've never won
the big game.

You know,
I've choked once before.

So, I mean,
I'm nervous.

- Looks lovely.
- I know. It's beautiful.

I'd like to introduce
all of you to Melanie Dunea,

author and photographer
of the book My Last Supper.

I know you know Michelle,
because you worked with her

on your book, correct?

I photographed her a couple
of years ago with her mom.

And we re-created
her last supper fantasy.

So it was amazing.

How many chefs
were in the first book?

- 50.
- 50 chefs.

All right. Cheers.
All: Cheers.

Thanks for being here.

Wishes for that.

Initially I want
to use hamachi,

but it does not taste like
the way it's supposed to taste.

I decide to use tuna I found
in the refrigerator.

Obviously it's not
as flavorful as the hamachi.

I'm just hoping it's good enough
to get me into the finale.

- I'm gonna use that big fryer.
- Just don't [bleep] it up.

The components seem nice.

They seem good together.

One thing
and one soup, please.

I just don't know if I've made
Morimoto's mom's bento box.

Tonight I prepared
a raw tuna, bento box-style,

pickled daikon, kawari sprout,

Asian pear,
a polished rice,

a little bit of pickled
mushroom, and miso soup.

Enjoy.
Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Everybody, this dish
is from my mother.

Would you eat a simple meal
like this at home

when you were growing up?

How does this compare?

Miso too salty.

She add a little bit
of vinegar, like Sushi rice.

But I don't dislike it.

[Coughs]
Oh, my God.

Let's get a drink.

The tuna blew out my mouth.
Completely.

Yeah,
they're scotch bonnets.

Scotch bonnets--one tiny piece
of scotch bonnet pepper,

and you cannot taste the tuna,
that's for sure.

And the season on the tuna
was sort of nice.

I gobbled up the rice,
which was delicious.

And to me, the hardest part
would have been the rice.

She actually did
the really difficult part

rather well.

I love the Asian pear

and mushroom pickle,
actually.

I thought
it was really bright.

I thought that was actually
a good part of her thing.

I think the best thing
is the eggplant.

That said, the problem I have
with this is most Japanese food

is very subtle,
and that's why it's beautiful.

And there's nothing subtle
about this.

It's gonna be a close one.

Everything's
going good so far.

My empanadas came out awesome.
The fried chicken looks good.

You know, I think
it's all gonna work.

Go.
Go to the next one.

I don't want to do
plain fried chicken

and a biscuit and some gravy
on a plate.

I want to kind of
just reinterpret her dish,

but give her
the same exact flavors.

Hi, Mike.
What did you make for us?

Chef Michelle wanted me
to make

a fried chicken
with biscuits and gravy.

So I took her classic dish
and tired to put

my touches on it.

So I have fried chicken,
a little snap-pea puree

underneath it
with a little pea salad.

And then instead of the biscuit,
I did a flaky empanada

stuffed
with a chicken egg yolk,

and it has a mustard gravy.

Enjoy. Thank you very much.
Thank you.

This is an elegant version
of fried chicken, no?

But I did tell him
he could have creative license.

How did
your mother make yours?

My mother doesn't make
fried chicken.

We're Jewish latins.

We don't know anything
about fried chicken.

[Laughs] What do you think
about the dish overall?

I was a little blown away
by the fact that he put an egg

inside of an empanada
and called that a biscuit.

But it's great.
It has a great texture.

It's soft on the inside,
and it's crispy on the outside,

like a biscuit would be.
- Mm-hmm.

My mom always tries
to stick eggs into empanada,

and I always ask her not to.

But this is good.

The batter on the white meat
was not crispy for me.

It just--it came kind of flabby
and slid right off.

Interesting way
to go about fried chicken--

sous-viding the chicken first
and then frying it.

The batter doesn't adhere--

or the flour doesn't really
adhere to the chicken.

That said, I think it's a nice--
I mean, I ate it.

I think it's a nice dish.

This, to me,

is not what I would have done,
but I love that.

Thank you.

One from there, one from here.
Thank you.

I'm feeling pretty good
about my dish.

I like to use
traditional flavors

and then use the technology

and the technique,
so it changes the experience.

I'm hoping the judges
are gonna be impressed.

Hi, everyone.
Hi, Richard.

So this is my interpretation
of goulash with spaetzle

and some frozen sour cream

that's running up
the side of the plate.

And then a strudel
with a little bit

of crumbled tarragon cream,

some maple, and ras el hanout.
Enjoy.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Mmm.
- Mmm.

Are you gonna move
to Austria?

Yeah.
Why not?

Okay, see?

Does this remind you
of your childhood?

You know, absolutely.

Goulash for us
was something really special.

We didn't eat a lot of meat.

My mother gave us maybe
two pieces of meat,

a lot of sauce,
a lot of potatoes

or noodles or spaetzle,
whatever she made with it.

I question the onion.
I think it's undercooked.

I wish the dish were hotter.

I thought the spaetzle--
it might have been a little hot.

It might have sat in the kitchen
for a long time.

I have to say,
Richard's strudel's outstanding.

The flavors, the nuts,
everything just came together

really, really nicely.

I really love
what he's done here,

because you see the touches
of what Richard really does.

But he's kept the integrity
of the dish beautifully.

Even my mother
would have approved of it.

But I hope
it's not my last dinner.

[Laughter]

[Scoffs]
God, they're gonna be like,

"Antonia, what didn't you pickle
on this plate?"

[bleep] dish
was a little cold.

It's hard doing,
you know, 8, 16 plates.

Like, the timing of it--
I don't know, man.

Oh, [bleep].

Mike grasped a lot
of the parts of what I told him.

I think
he was super creative.

He tried to be
over-creative.

We love food
like the way our mother cook.

[Sighs]
[bleep], man.

If I go home tonight,
I'm gonna be [bleep] so livid.

I'm...

Antonia--I could see where she
really did try to be delicate.

I thought her three vegetables
were beautiful,

and I really was glad
that they were there.

Richard had the goulash.

I think he really did
a great job with that,

because to keep things simple,

and he used
the best ingredients.

He had an amazing balance

between Richard's modernism

and what Wolfgang wanted
from his childhood

without messing with it.

It was cooked beautifully

and that it still reminded us
of what it was supposed to be.

Chefs...

Judges' table is starting
right now.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

As you know, only two of you
will move on to the finale.

Michelle...

Mike, two things
that we talked about

was that the chicken
had to be super juicy

and really crispy.

Not so juicy.

Crispy, yes, but the breading
was falling off.

Hadn't it been
for those two things,

I think that it would have been
really perfect.

Thank you, chef.

Richard, the goulash--

I don't know how you got
the flavors so right on.

But the spaetzle--
I thought it was really tough.

Thank you.
Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Richard, if this season
was about redemption for you,

you are one step closer.

You will be cooking
in the finale.

Thanks.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

[Applause]

Wolf was being hard on you.

He actually said his mother
is probably smiling down

on you saying,
"yes, you can cook in Austria

one day,"
so nice job.

I'm elated.

I'm through
to the final round.

Now I've gotten to where I did
on my season.

And I've accomplished
one of my two missions.

That was to get
to the final round

and be someone who's gone
through two seasons

of Top Chef
and never had to hear Padma say,

"please pack
your knives and go."

Antonia and Mike...

Only one of you
will be moving on

to join Richard to cook
for the title of Top Chef.

You remember this?

Oh, [bleep].

Chefs, you remember this?

Top Chef is known
for throwing twists

and a wrench in, you know,

whatever plan
you might have had.

I honestly have no idea
what is in the envelope.

I just don't know.

And I'm the most nervous I've
ever been in my entire life.

You know, everyone
has speculations on this.

I don't like to speculate,
but I'm sure

it's gonna be something
that's gonna make something

a little bit tougher.

I can see it
on their faces.

I'm just glad I'm not
in their shoes.

Antonia and Mike,

only one of you
will be moving on

to join Richard to cook
for the title of Top Chef.

You remember this?

"There will be
one more challenge

to determine who claims
the last spot in the finale."

Chefs, you have 45 minutes

to go back in the kitchen

and make us one bite.

Seven of us here,
seven bites--

make it perfect.

Whoever wins
is getting that last spot.

Your time...

Starts now.

One last bite--

like, end of story.

This is definitely
the most pressure I've felt

throughout the competition--
I mean, this is it.

It's very nerve-racking.

It's like,
we just finished a cook,

and I feel
like I'm definitely battered

at this point.

Behind.

It's that last leg
of the race,

and it's like...

Can I keep going?

I want to do something bold
with some textures,

but I don't want to do
something that...

Anyone else would do.

So I grab some beef tenderloin,
and I grab lobster tails.

You know, I wanted to go
with high-end product.

If you're gonna do one bite,
you want it to taste good,

so you want the best product
you can get.

Creativity--I'm gonna blow it
out of the water

compared to her.

But if she executes
a perfect fish and sauce,

she could be moving on
to the finale.

I mean, it's that close.
It's that close.

Do you have the sugar
over there?

Right here.

I find grouper.

I think to myself to do

sort of
a spicy coconut curry broth.

Do you have a peeler?

- What do you need?
- A peeler.

Uh, in my bag.

This elimination challenge,

I wasn't connected
to my dish.

Here's my second chance.

I'm just trying to put together
a very aggressive dish

to show the judges
who I am as a chef

and as a person
and what I'm capable of.

It's kind of like what we've
been doing this entire time--

just giant quickfires.
[Laughs]

I'm sweating.
My heart's racing.

I'm a mess.

But I believe in my dish.

I'll be ready.
I'll be ready.

Ah.

This is 31 challenges
just from this season,

and the only thing
in the back of my mind

is this is my last chance
to get to the finale.

Like, this needs to be good.

After cooking
for the elimination tonight,

they figured, okay, this is it.
They got through it.

And all of a sudden
coming out here

and realizing
you have to go back in,

and you have very little time

to actually conceive of a dish
and then cook it--

one little mistake
can get you ejected,

and so the pressure's
really, really high.

And don't forget
that there's $200,000 at stake.

- Can I get in the kitchen?
- I know. Right.

[Alarm beeps]

Good luck.

So I did a seared grouper
on top of a relish

of yam, apple,
and dill pollen,

finished with a little
coconut curry lobster broth,

peanuts, and cilantro.
Okay.

Since I was in the Caribbean,
I did surf and turf.

I did a tempura lobster tail

over beef tartare,
which is sitting on top

of a red chili potatoes,
and the sauces on the plate

is a black olive caramel
and a chimichurri.

So you should have
a lot of bold flavors.

Hopefully you enjoy.
Enjoy.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

I love the idea
of Antonia's dish.

I think she had something
really bright,

something that used
the local ingredients.

But it was very powerful--
the sauce.

It could be
what she was going for.

You know, with one bite,

if you can leave something
really powerful and strong,

that's gonna stand out.

I have a little bit
different opinion.

The grouper
are very simple fish.

So that's why she put
a lot of different spices

and then match
with the curry sauce.

[Laughter]

I know you cooked a perfect
fish, and you did a nice sauce.

You're gonna b*at me with it.

Honestly,
I have no idea.

[Sighs]

Let's talk
about Mike's dish.

I love, you know,
the lobster--crispy lobster

on the top.

It didn't wow me
with flavor.

I ate it before Antonia's,

which really wowed me
with flavor.

But that olive sauce
really drew me in.

When I tasted
this olive caramel

on its own,
I actually despised it.

But when I put it together with
the meat, with the potatoes,

and a little bit
of the chimichurri, it did work.

It's something
I've never seen before.

The only thing

that I was a little bit shocked
at was the differences

in the colors, and, again,
I'm visual, you guys.

Well, you eat
with your eyes first.

- That's true.
- This is kind of a totally...

Opposite sides
of the spectrum.

So very difficult.

I just don't want
to fall one short.

It's not
an easy decision at all.

If I had to eat
one of these dishes again,

I would prefer
to eat Michael's.

Okay.

Michelle, what about you?

I'm gonna have
to choose Michael's.

Morimoto?

Antonia.

I agree with you.

I choose Antonia's.

Melanie.

I think I'm gonna go
with Antonia as well.

Tom.

I prefer Michael's dish.
As one bite, I prefer it better.

So it looks
like we have a tie.

Wolfgang, what do you think?

If tomorrow I would wake up,
which flavor I remember,

it would be Antonia's flavor,

whereas Michael's tartare

was technically
prepared perfectly.

It is a very difficult decision
to make.

It sucks it comes down
to one bite.

It's like sudden-death O.T.

Sounds like
you both threw down, though.

[Sighs]

My stomach feels like
it's just being ripped out.

You feel like you want
to throw up.

Execution, creativity--

that's what it's gonna be
right now.

I can't keep still.

My toe just shaking
and tapping.

I want it so badly.

One of you
will be joining Richard

in the finale.

Antonia, you gave us
a curry dish with grouper.

Very aggressive
on the spice.

There were some great notes
in there as well,

a great use of vegetables.

It was, all around,
a good dish.

Michael, the tartare was
a little on the bland side.

The two sauces
kind of added some punch.

I gotta say, this was
a very tough decision,

and in fact this was a split,
three to four.

It was that close.

You came into this
as competitors,

you leave as cousins.

I hate to see
either one of you go,

but only one more can
come along and join Richard.

Antonia, please pack
your knives and go.

Congratulations.

Mike, congratulations.

Thank you so much.

Thank all of you.
Thank you, chefs.

- Thanks for the opportunity.
- Thank you.

It's just like having
your stomach just drop.

I'm just really disappointed.

I've been here before.

But it feels worse this time.

I mean, it's tough, but I
think that's the right decision.

The curry
was just too over-spiced.

So much work
to get so close.

And then
you just have it go away.

It's really hard.

Always a pleasure

coming to finale with you.

My daughter
is the only thing

that would probably
make me feel better now.

She's proud no matter what.

Bye, guys.

I've been here before.

Good luck
with everything, man.

It's what we wanted.
We got it.

Doing this ignites
the passion of cooking.

It reminds me of how much
I love what I do.

I just want to be a chef.

Next on Top Chef All-Stars...

We want you
to create for us

the restaurant
of your dreams.

Goosebumps.

This is it.
This is the championship round.

It's the Super Bowl.
Some of you

are gonna be working
as sous chefs.

- How's it going?
- All right. Good.

I'm in the weeds,
but you know.

In the weeds?
Why are you in the weeds?

I quit my job.
I missed my honeymoon.

I have to win this.
[bleep].

Hopefully I don't blow it
this time.

I'm really worried.
Maybe I came all the way

out here, got all the way
up to this point again,

and didn't do it again.

Two very talented chefs.

Wow, that is
a nice plate of food.

This is as good
as anybody's food in the finale.

Let me compose myself here
a little bit.

Whew!

You are Top Chef.