- Previously on Top Chef...
- Ugh.
- I'm sorry, we need
to get someone here, please.
This is very,
very important.
- Oh...
- Why didn't you guys stand up
for the freakin' shrimp?
The point is
to cook the shrimp.
[Mariachi music]
- Lindsay, she
over there talking [bleep].
I'm feeling alone.
If she had an opinion
about something, then say that.
You love driving the bus,
hitting people.
- Keith.
Please pack
your knives and go.
- Thank you
for the opportunity.
- 15 chefs remain,
all hoping to win...
A feature in
Food & Wine magazine,
a showcase at the annual
Food & Wine classic in Aspen,
$125,000, furnished
by Healthy Choice
to bring their
culinary dreams to life.
And the title of Top Chef.
[Upbeat music]
- It definitely was
an eye-opening experience
for all of us.
- Did you guys
talk about the shrimp?
Was that in there at all?
- Yeah--I mean, I had to.
- You guys
turned against each other.
- I don't feel that we
turned against each other.
Do you, Sarah?
- I was honest.
- The reason why he went home
was not because of the shrimp.
Keith stood by
the flour tortilla
and said that's the
only way he's had enchiladas.
And the team lost.
I'm okay admitting my faults
but in a group challenge,
I gotta
watch out for myself.
- Either have something
really good to put on the plate,
or shut the [bleep] up.
- Tonight I definitely see
people's true colors come out.
It's, like, turned
cutthroat all of a sudden.
It's not so...
Fun anymore.
- Walking into the kitchen,
I see this big board of chilies
and temperatures
and dollar signs.
The beginning of my career
was in southwestern cuisine,
so I love
working with chilies.
- Good morning, chefs.
All: Good morning.
- Please welcome
our guest judges,
two hot tamales
and chefs and owners
of the Border Grill
restaurants--
Mary Sue Milliken
and Susan Feniger.
- Good morning, chefs.
- Welcome.
- Hola.
- Mary Sue and Susan
from Top Chef Masters
are a breath of fresh air.
This is why
I'm here on Top Chef,
to be able to cook
for esteemed chefs like this.
This challenge is designed
to reward those of you
who have the confidence
to take risks.
Beside me is
a table full of chili peppers.
A range in degree of heat
from mild...
To incendiary.
Like the ghost chili...
The hottest chili
in the world,
according to
the scoville scale.
- The scoville scale
goes from 2,000 to millions.
Some of these things are
like eating a pile of fire.
- Your task is simple--
create a dish
highlighting one chili pepper.
There's up to
$20,000 on the line here,
furnished by
tabasco brand pepper sauces.
The hotter
the pepper you choose,
the more money
you stand to win.
- To really find the balance
and use those
super-spicy chilies
without destroying
the palate,
that takes a lot
more skill and talent.
- Just want to
remind you all,
we have to eat
so be careful.
[Laughter]
- Your time starts now.
[Fast-paced music]
♪ ♪
- As I'm tasting the chilies,
the Anaheim is the one
that has the most
refreshing flavor,
and it's definitely something
you can eat raw,
like a crudités.
So I'm not
doing it for the money.
I'm doing it
to make the best tasting dish.
- I grabbed the Fresno pepper,
because on the scoville unit,
it's one hotter
than a jalapeno.
I'm not a spice fan.
So for this challenge,
it's something that I feel
apprehensive about.
- Whoo!
Sorry, guys.
- Do you want me to move?
I'll move.
- Do you mind?
- Nope.
- You know those people
that go "aagh!"
And they put the
fire strip in their mouth?
The ghost pepper's
a lot like that.
- Hey, I got
a big box of Kosher, friend.
Usually I'm a
"go big or go home" type person,
but my stomach kind of has
issues with spicy, spicy foods.
So I went for
the 7,500 manzano.
Come on, chef,
burn your hands.
I really hope that because I
don't choose the ghost pepper
it's not
gonna bring me down.
I'm praying to win that 7,500.
That buys a lot of diapers.
- Coming up, coming up.
- 20 minutes, guys!
- I decide to make
a date and pistachio couscous.
I want to use the Thai chili
and some sort of pickling,
because it's going to
highlight the chili itself
without
overpowering the dish.
Hot!
I could win $10,000,
but more importantly,
for me,
I can win immunity.
- I'm going for irs payback.
I am definitely a spicy guy,
I got a spicy personality.
I choose the habanero because
it's my absolute favorite.
In my family it's one of
the only chilies that we use.
I have enough cans of habanero
in my apartment to last me
through the next
nuclear fallout.
- Um, I have habaneros.
I have to take down the heat,
so I'm gonna cook it in syrup.
- Ten minutes!
My mom's side has
a Korean background,
and I grew up
eating spicy food.
I wanna do
a habanero vinaigrette
with big,
bold spicy flavors.
What I like to do is
triple blanche it
and sort of remove
some of that spice,
and you still
keep the flavor.
- [Sighs]
I choose the ghost chili
because the last quickfire
I was in the bottom,
and this time
I wanna impress the judges.
That's hot.
- [Bleep] Yeah, man.
- I'm the only one that
grabs the ghost chili pepper.
I think everybody else
wants to play it safe.
- Have I told you
you're amazing lately?
- [Laughs]
- The ghost pepper.
- A million scoville units?
That's all right,
I'll stay away from that.
- Five minutes,
you have five minutes left.
- Whose pan is this?
I accidentally turned a knob.
- Coming around,
arriba, arriba.
- Cutting board salad.
[Pan sizzling]
- Hot nuts!
- I'm noticing I'm the only one
who didn't cook my chili,
and I'm worried about
how that could stand out
in a bad way.
- Tasting my dish,
it's not as spicy
as I thought it
was going to be.
Which worries me,
'cause it is a chili challenge
and you want heat.
- Hands up!
Utensils down.
- Aagh!
- Okay, don't
touch your eyes.
- I want a hug.
- [Laughs]
- Hi, Beverly.
- Hi, how are you?
I put the Anaheim
in the ssamjang.
This is like
a cream crudités.
- Are the chilies cooked?
- No, I wanted you to really
enjoy the freshness
and the beauty
of the chili itself.
- Great.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- I used the Fresno chili
that are
a little more mild.
So it's a salmon belly
seared with a Fresno chili
herb balsamic relish.
- I needed one last bite.
I hope I don't have
chilies on my hand now.
- I hope you don't too.
- Well, that's all right.
I wanted to sort of balance
with sweet and acid.
So you have a pineapple curd,
a Fresno chili
sort of slaw,
seared bay scallops,
and then a sweet and hot
glazing on top of it all.
- Yeah.
- Thank you, Richie.
- Thank you very much.
- So what this is
is buffalo hot wings.
You have tabasco sauce and
celery with seared chicken,
manzano vinaigrette.
I like the fruitiness
of this chili.
- I used Thai chili.
So I just did
a coconut soup,
fused it with
the Thai chili.
Kaffir lime, sour cream,
yuzu broth, so it's vegetarian.
- And did the money
have anything to do
with the chili
you picked?
- Kind of, sort of,
but I really like Thai chilies.
- Thank you.
- I made date
and pistachio couscous
and I did a quick pickle
of cucumbers, red onion,
and the Thai chilies.
So it's gonna give you
a little bit of a kick.
- It's interesting, 'cause
you definitely feel the heat.
- I picked the habanero.
As a kid, my dad
grew 40-50 pounds
of habanero in our backyard.
- Oh, okay.
- I owe Uncle Sam some bucks,
so I'm definitely trying to
make some paper.
It's a tomato habanero sauce,
marinated
the scallop and achiote
and sautéed it.
- Fresh tomato?
- No, they're
the canned ones.
I just kind of
popped them in the wood oven--
just get a little of, like,
kind of a smoky flavor to them.
- Achiote y naranja agria,
that combo is a smart combo.
For sure.
- Thanks.
- I used habanero.
I stuffed it
with cheddar cheese.
I really like
the sweetness of corn
with spice.
This is
a creamy lime sauce.
- That bite of habanero
had a kick.
- I prepared
a charred baby fennel
and rock shrimp composition.
There is a habanero
in the vinaigrette
and in
the rock shrimp marinade.
Tossed in a little bit
of queso fresco
and kalamata olives.
- Thank you, Nyesha.
- Thank you.
- Hi, Paul.
- You're the only one who used--
- the ghost pepper.
- Tell me it was
for the money.
- It was for the money,
and it was to test my skill.
- Good for you.
What did you do?
- I did a chilled coconut soup
with kafir lime.
- How did you incorporate
the chili into it?
- It's a ghost pepper relish
with apricots and corn.
- How much of, uh,
chili is in there?
- One pepper.
- You thought
we could handle it.
- I'm on Top Chef, so
it's, like, go big or go home.
I'm sweating because
I don't get any feedback.
I have no idea
what they're thinking.
- Tell us how
the chefs did overall.
- Some of you, I think,
were a little bit wimpier
in your use of chilies,
and some of you took it on
and made a stronger statement.
- Tell us your
least favorites.
- Beverly...
For Top Chef,
you didn't do enough with
the chili to really change it
or highlight it
or make it different.
- Richie...
I think the whole
presentation--great.
But it was just sweet and sweet
and so you lost the power
of the chili.
Chuy...
Your dish speaks to us
from the Yucatan,
using achiote.
But what didn't work
was the canned tomato
overpowered any
use of the chilies.
- I work with chilies
all the time,
and being called out
really makes me feel like crap
and I just kind of
wanna die under the table.
- Who are our
favorite dishes today?
- Heather.
The Thai chili
really brought heat to it.
Your dish was
exactly the kind of food
I love to eat.
- Thank you very much.
- Grayson...
It was really exciting
to see you take a whole habanero
and serve it as a dish.
Totally showcased the chili.
Was well-balanced
and a really smart dish.
- Thank you.
- And Paul...
I loved how you
went after that ghost chili,
had the confidence to do it,
and it was really
quite a delicious dish.
- Thank you, chef.
- One of you will
take the money home today
and immunity
in the next challenge.
- Heather, if you win,
you get $10,000.
Grayson,
you'd get $12,500.
And Paul,
you'd get $20,000.
Susan and Mary Sue,
who won this quickfire?
- The person we felt
that just completely
hit it
out of the park...
- Susan and Mary Sue...
Who won this quickfire?
- The person we felt
that just completely
hit it
out of the park...
Was Paul.
- Whew.
[Applause]
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- You win immunity
and $20,000,
furnished by
tabasco brand pepper sauces.
- Whoo!
- Wow.
[Applause]
- I took the risk
and it paid off.
$20,000 is a big,
huge confidence booster,
considering I was in the bottom
the last quickfire.
Right now I'm definitely
somebody to watch out for.
- You will be competing in
an age-old Texas tradition.
The chili cook-off.
- Whoo!
- Yeah!
- I cook a lot
of chili myself,
especially if
it's cold outside
and it's snowing.
So I'm really confident
about this challenge.
- Please pull a pot
from under your station
and open them up.
These
are your team colors.
- Blue.
- White.
- Green.
- Orange.
- I hope you like who
you're standing next to.
- Very happy.
- I'm not happy
about my team.
Richie's been in the bottom.
Beverly is very meek.
I'm hoping that I'm not
gonna have to
carry the team on my back.
- This is your opportunity
to make something
really unusual.
Every region
has its own chili.
- And the thing
I love about this challenge
is that it's
gonna test your skill
at team dynamics.
- I'm a little worried about
being on a team with Sarah,
given what happened
on the last challenge.
- Why didn't you guys stand up
for the freakin' shrimp?
- You have to be careful
making excuses.
- Yeah,
but someone's going home,
not just necessarily
for what they did.
- Her interactions with Keith
just brought the team apart.
- Chili takes
a long time to cook.
So for this challenge,
there is no clock.
All: Ooh!
- Because you'll be cooking
at your house.
All: Ooh!
- [Laughs]
- Just be ready
by 7:00 pm tomorrow
at one of Texas'
oldest sporting competitions.
The Tejas rodeo.
- Yeah!
- Yeah!
[Applause]
- I grew up going to rodeos
and to livestock shows
since I was
a little girl.
My dad was a bull rider,
and I know that he would tell me
to make sure that there's
a lot of meat in the chili.
- You'll be serving over 200
cowboys and rodeo regulars.
And they'll be choosing
the winning team.
- Jesus.
- Good luck.
- All right,
let's go to beef right now.
- 30 pounds of brisket.
- Brisket.
- 30 pounds.
- 30 pounds.
- Can somebody help me?
- Beef brisket
with a fat cap on it.
- Can I get it
with the fat cap on?
It's like a madhouse
at the meat counter.
- Don't waste your time
cutting it, I'll take it.
- Because you gotta
fight the other teams
in order to
get the meat.
I wanted it
close to 30 pounds.
- I'll take
that one right there.
- Is there any other butcher
that can help me?
- Whitney and Chris are getting
the other things for the chili,
and I'm left to
deal with the meat.
I need about
I was the first person
to come up here and ask for it.
I don't understand how we got
[bleep] out here for 30 pounds.
Do you have more short ribs?
Can I get 20 pounds?
- Yes.
- Pans for the corn bread?
You got it?
- No, I did not get those.
Thank you very much.
- Five minutes, five minutes!
- $13.99 each.
- Now we're gonna
have to find what to take off.
What are we
gonna do with all this?
- That's corn bread if we
have time--if we have money.
- We haven't got
this on through yet.
- Okay, I'm just
putting it here, all right?
- There's just
something about Sarah
that rubs me
the wrong way.
I'm already starting to
see that bitchy side of her.
- I just wanna be able to
see how much that costs.
- Can we do this
by order of importance?
- Yup, meat first.
- 200 people
is a lot to serve
and I know that
cowboys can eat a lot,
so I'm worried that
the amount of food we have
is not gonna be enough.
- Excuse me.
- Coming through,
coming through.
- Nobody take
my breast milk, okay?
- Beverly, Richie and I
all have a plan
on what we're gonna grab.
Richie grabs
all the equipment,
Beverly grabbed produce,
and I grab all of the beer.
- You bitch!
She took all our beer!
- You have to do
what you need to do
in order to succeed.
- Oh, you got one?
Nice.
- Oh, it's been claimed.
I went outside and started
setting up my grilling area,
and it is hot outside.
It has to be
Ooh.
I really want to cook in the
fireplace and use all that great
wood smoke flavor.
- This is my spot, all right?
Don't let anyone--
- This is my spot
right here.
There's not that much
equipment to use.
Just like a riot,
people take what they need.
You know,
every man for themselves.
We both have
called it out and claimed it.
- Let's set up
the prep here, Dakota.
- Yeah.
- He's using the plate
and the--both?
- Yes.
- Chris.
I'll give you a sheet pan
if you give me this grate.
- I'm the grill bitch today.
But I need
the sheet pan back.
No matter what,
I need to claim our space
in this, like, fireplace.
- Can I get a second
to figure out
which one I
actually really want, 100%?
- Sure, we'll--
I'll come back.
- It smells really good.
I think we need a girl
to sell it to all the cowboys.
- I will--
my dad was a bull rider, so--
- that's so awesome.
That is so awesome.
- Our team is making
chili con carne,
a texan beef Chuck chili
with roasted corn salsa.
We have enough charisma
in this group--nice.
- [Laughs]
- The scrappy pieces
are gonna be the braise,
and then we're gonna
do really nice back cuts
for the actual chili.
We're cooking braised
brisket short rib chili.
Braising meats is
one of those techniques
that the longer
you take with it,
the more flavor you're
really gonna extract.
We just go ahead and
go in for the long haul.
We're gonna be
up all night
making this the best chili
we can make it.
- I feel like we're
off to a good start.
- I'm gonna cook
all of this down
and make a nice, really
flavorful thick paste to
flavor all of the chili with.
- Okay.
- We're serving
a mole chili with corn bread.
Our chili is so different
from what I see
everyone else doing.
I think that's gonna
be a distinct advantage.
- How do you
want the jalapenos?
- Do you think we should,
like, roast them out first
or something, or--?
- That'd be nice.
- Oh, my God,
and it closes.
- Ho-ho! Set it and forget it.
- I'm done.
- So the next thing
we gotta do is--
- Hey, chefs.
- Tom walks in and took us
all very much by surprise.
- Chocolate in the chili,
all right.
- A little bit.
- You're
the first person so far.
- Is that right?
- Yeah.
What else is
going in the chili?
- Tomatoes, bell peppers,
onions, celery, beef stock.
And cook everything down.
- Uh-huh.
Now do you have
much experience with chili?
- Minimal.
- Good luck.
- Cool, thank you, chef.
- So that's the rest.
That's done.
- Hey, chef.
- Hi, chef.
- How are you?
- How are you?
- What's going on there?
What do you have?
- Both short ribs and brisket.
- Okay.
- And we made
a spice rub for them.
We're making a very concerted
effort to pull as much flavor
out of the meat as we can
and make a very savory broth.
And we feel really confident
about what we're doing.
- No secret ingredient?
- We can't tell you
that secret ingredient.
- Paul, you wanna start sautéing
the veg?
- Hey, chef.
- Yeah.
- Hi, Tom!
- What are you guys up to?
- We're, uh,
smoking some brisket.
- Okay.
- Yeah, and some
short ribs underneath.
Even though the guests
are choosing the winner
of the chili cook-off,
the judges are the ones
that are gonna
be sending someone
from the losing team home.
We're gonna
pickle some peaches.
- That goes in,
or is that a side?
- It's gonna be on the side.
- What's that all about?
- Well, I think you gotta really
layer the flavors of the chili.
Tom said, "oh,
you're using peaches?"
Now I'm second-guessing myself.
This could be a complete
and utter disaster.
- All right, come here.
- Whoo!
- [Laughs]
- Do it!
- [Bleep]!
- Oh! I did it!
- Look at that gigantc star.
- I'm getting very tired.
- Use your teeth.
- [Laughs]
- Holy [bleep], do it!
- [Bleep]!
- Oh, I did it!
- Oh!
- [Laughs]
- Driveth away.
- All right.
- [Screams]
Oh, my God!
- Hey, I'm a little lost.
Anybody seen the caves?
- Oh, my God.
- No?
- Where did you get that?
- Oh, I love it.
- Winding into the
late hours of the night,
we're all
kind of out of it.
- Look at that gigantic star.
- I'm so [bleep] tired.
- Several times throughout the
evening we have to remind chuy
that the beer
is for cooking
and not ingesting.
- Oh!
- [Giggles]
- I graduated high school
at about 110 pounds.
I was seriously all muscle.
- We get to hear about
of his accomplishments
or his father inventing chili.
- I have muscles in places where
I didn't even have places yet.
- I've dubbed him as "the most
interesting man in the world."
- You guys are pansies.
Come on.
[Laughter]
- Chili has this
magical thing about it
that the longer is cooks,
the better it tastes.
Would I like to be done?
Of course, but there's
no sleep till the rodeo.
Chili's an all-nighter.
- One, two, three.
The chili is finished.
Everything is tasting amazing.
I feel that our team
has made something special.
- Did you get
the cinnamon at the end?
- Mm-hm.
- I think it's really nice.
- It's the sort of chili
that you would love to eat
on a rainy day.
Is anybody trying
to sleep at this point?
- Um, I'm sleeping right here.
- All three of us
decide to stay up
because we know that
this is a competition
and we have to be
with this until the end.
- I'm actually taking a nap.
- I know my
eyes are open,
but I'm actually....
- All right.
I'm gonna go
jump in the shower then.
- Good night.
- Nighty night.
- See you in the morning.
I'll still be
picking cilantro.
- Oh, wow.
- This is the
picture of exhaustion.
- [Clears throat]
- Morning, people.
- Oh, good morning,
how are you doing today?
- Oh, just a little
ray of light over here.
Wake up this morning...
Dead tired.
How late
did you hang out?
- Oh, as soon
as you went to bed,
the bugs outside
started attacking.
- Some people didn't
even sleep all night
and I'm thinking,
"how are they gonna
"make it today?
This is gonna be
a late night coming up."
- Hey, are you guys all excited
we're going to a rodeo?
- I really am.
- I am.
- I kinda am.
- I'm excited!
- Do they ride stallions?
Like...
[Laughter]
- Oh, yeah, dude.
We're in Texas.
- [Laughs]
- All right,
you rodeo clowns,
let's mosey
on outta here.
- Whoo!
- Yee-haw!
- At this point,
we're all kind of cuckoo,
'cause we were
up all night.
- Ooh.
- But we hop in the
Toyota Siennas and head off
to the rodeo.
- Why you gotta do that?
- Sorry.
- Is this gonna be, like,
at this thing?
- They, like, "Armor All"
the [bleep] steers' coats.
- Are you serious?
- Oh, yeah.
- I think it's, like,
cold and lonely--
- Yeah.
- Being out here.
- Cold and lonely
and you could get m*rder*d
and no one
would know it.
- Let's go, guys.
- [Laughs]
- Giddy up!
I'm excited--I get
my cowgirl hat on immediately,
'cause this is
making me feel at home.
We have one hour
to prep for service.
I'm happy that we
have the time to really
heat up the chili slowly
to make sure that it
gets really hot
but doesn't scorch.
- No scorching, no scorching.
I'm on reheat duty.
It's a lot of chili to reheat
and if you're not
constantly stirring it,
you have a tendency
to burn the bottom.
I do not want all this work
and effort going out the window.
Heating, transferring,
heating, transferring.
- Ed, you're a genius!
- Oh, did I just
reveal myself to everyone?
- Thanks for the
winning secret, buddy!
- I get that chocolate now.
- Now I get
the chocolate, yeah.
- The hardest part of this
so far has been
finishing in the bottom
on both quickfires.
But, you know,
it's a brand-new day.
I think we have
a good tasting chili.
I made this corn bread,
so I feel confident
in my contribution
to our team.
- The carrot is lacking.
- Let's do some salt.
- I'm about to go back there
and grab that bottle
or "hot damn" and start
pouring it down your throat
unless you
start smiling, missy.
- Me?
- Yes.
- I've worked in street stalls
from Bangkok to 5th Avenue.
I love interacting with people,
and I'm gonna be
completely in my element.
- Save a horse,
ride a cowboy.
- What else do we got
in our magic bag of tricks?
- You wanna differentiate it
from all the other chilies.
- Good?
- I like it.
I think salt and we're good.
- Just plain scraps?
- Yup.
Tell me what you think.
The cowboys
are gonna be deciding
who wins the chili cook-off,
but the judges decide
on who is going home,
and I'm concerned about
how much heat we've
put into this chili.
I'm really hoping we don't
burn someone's palate out.
We don't have a sign
on our station, do we?
- We're gonna have a sign,
it's gonna be my loud mouth
saying everybody
needs to come over here.
- [Giggles]
- Uh-oh, here we go.
- How are you guys
doing today?
- You guys ready
to try some chili?
- Absolutely.
- We see some serious
cowboys and cowgirls
walking up.
I don't know
if you can mosey.
I'm not a moseyer, really.
I don't mosey in
my everyday life.
- Maybe we
should trade hats.
Give me my hat back.
- Absolutely.
- All right.
- Our chili has been
cooking the longest.
Just so you all know.
- Looks good, smells good.
- Nobody told me
how slippery these were.
- We're white.
Don't vote blue!
- Red team!
- There is some
soul in there.
- I grew up here
and I knew--no beans.
- This is the
authentic chili right there.
When service starts I go,
"wow, these people
are really Texas."
- Texas chili
doesn't have beans in it.
- No.
- They're, like, "oh,
is this real Texas chili?"
And I'm just, like,
"yes, sir, it is.
There's no beans
in this whatsoever, y'all."
And Sarah's milking the whole
"I'm from Houston" thing.
She's gonna charm the dudes,
Chris is gonna charm the ladies.
We have a good game plan.
Everything was
made with a lot of love
and, uh, a lot of beer
in us and in the chili.
- There you go.
- And one of them
is from Texas.
- [Gasps]
- Born and raised texan.
[Indistinct chatter]
- This is the black team.
A mole inspired chili.
- On the old cattle drives,
they didn't have the sour cream.
- Is that right?
- Yeah, they're
just ol' beef and beans.
- Seeing their demographic,
it might be a little bit
too complex
for this group.
But if we don't come out on top
from the opinion of the cowboys,
I'm hoping that the judges
see that we didn't play it safe.
- I've never tasted chili
like this before.
That's why
it's so good.
- Really?
The mole the best?
- Mm-hmm.
- Hi.
- Hey, how you doing, man?
What's up?
What's happening?
- A shiner.
- Uh-huh.
- Cheers, Tom.
- Somebody needs to
open this for me.
I don't have any feeling
in that finger.
Keep going.
A weird bagel accident.
Don't ask.
- That's a hard one.
- Oh, no.
- Thank you.
Thank you, pardner.
[Bottles clinking]
Never send a man
to do a woman's job.
- That's right.
- [Laughs]
- All right,
let's go taste some chili.
- Hello, hi.
How are you?
- We made a traditional chili,
no beans.
We did beef chuck,
the old wagon way.
Then we hit it off
with a lot of shiner bock,
reduced that.
- And your garnish?
It's a roasted corn,
we're all white onion,
avocado, lime, salt,
then a little bit of cilantro.
- Nice, nice.
- Thanks.
- Much obliged, much obliged.
- Thank you.
- It's got a little bit
of kick to it, that's--
you gotta have a Texas chili
that's got some kick to it.
- Right.
- We should cook this
for dinner with the tacos.
- [Laughs] Yeah.
- I love the depth of flavor
that they got out of it.
- Yeah, and you know,
it grows on you.
The first bite I had,
it was, like,
"eh, it's okay."
And it just--it grows.
It just gets
better and better.
- It is a little thin,
though.
I sort of wish there was
something to soak it up.
- I would have served it
with maybe a tortilla
or some chips or something--
'cause you're right.
It's got a lot of sauce.
- Vote green, vote green.
- Judges.
- Enjoy.
- Hello, welcome
to the red table.
We have a braised brisket
and short rib chili.
We built the flavors,
we built our own stock
with the bones
from the short ribs.
There you go.
- Good luck!
- Thanks a lot.
- Yee-haw!
Hey, step right up!
- Chili's back on!
- Taste our chili!
- I just don't
like the texture.
- I think the red team
has a great
kind of subtle smokiness.
- Mm-hmm.
- And just
the right amount of heat.
- It's seasoned well.
- It is.
- Yeah.
- A good amount
of cumin comes through.
But there's also
a good amount of acid.
- The texture of
the red team's chili
is a little bit
stringy for sure.
- Do y'all have any
beans in your chili?
- No beans in our chili.
- You know what?
- I have to say,
anybody who knows beans
about chili knows
chili ain't got no beans.
- Yeah! Whoo!
- All right.
- It's very spicy.
- It was spicy
but it wasn't--
- and I can taste the brisket,
I liked that.
- Remember...
Blue means best.
- Yes!
- Hi, welcome.
We have a
smoked brisket chili,
with some pickled peaches,
radishes, [Indistinct].
Just a little pickling spice,
and we're pork rinds
right on
the top of the chili.
- Nice, thank you, guys.
- I like the crunchy--
- you've got the crunchy,
you've got the
chewiness of the meat.
- You've got the spiciness.
- What's with
the pickled peaches?
It's now my official favorite
thing to eat with chili.
Delicious.
- Blue team did a great job
with vegetables, hot sauce.
The chili, mmm...
- It's got summer pickles
and pork rinds.
- Thank you.
- There you go.
- Thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- How are you?
So we have
a mole inspired chili
by using
the bittersweet chocolate,
some cinnamon,
just get the sweet in there.
And the complexity
of the flavors.
- Okay.
- Enjoy it.
- The black team's corn bread
is definitely moister,
it's got more flavor.
- Unfortunately for them,
it's not a corn bread contest.
- I just wish the black team
had made more of a focus
of what they
were going after.
- But they intended for it to be
a chili that reminded us
of mole, and that's
exactly what it is.
- Sweet!
- Ooh.
- Nice!
- Woo-hoo!
- Hi, guys.
- Thank you.
- Number five is the worst.
You should put in one.
- I wish the white team
hadn't have put
the pickled vegetables
in the chili.
- I loved the pickle in it.
I love that
acid in it, but...
I like acid.
- Yeah.
- Okay, done.
- I was afraid I was gonna
taste all these chilies
and they were gonna
all taste the same to me,
but each one was
completely different.
- I have to say I'm glad
we're not choosing the winner
'cause I think we'd have
a really hard time doing that.
- But we still have to
choose the losing team,
and that in itself
I think is gonna be really hard.
- Tom, there were
a couple of teams
that were less successful.
Who do you think those were?
- The black team...
Just ate
way too sweet for me.
- You got that sort of
chocolatey mole-ness,
but it didn't eat like a chili,
it didn't feel like a chili
and I wanted more heat.
- I feel 1,000 times better
today than I did last night.
- Yeah.
So many people came back for
seconds, I couldn't believe it.
- As much as I liked
the red team's flavor,
the shredded meat
I just didn't care for.
- It was the one I wanted
to take the least amount
of continued bites.
- Wow, we had enough.
- Yeah, we did good.
- With the red team,
I still liked the flavor--
- the flavor was great.
- More than the white team.
The white team's
didn't have any heat,
so that was
sort of flat for me.
- I think ours is
[bleep] phenomenal.
- Well, I guess we're just
gonna have to wait and see
what the diners thought
once the votes are tallied.
- It is really good.
I feel a sense
of accomplishment.
Ty-lor and I both
were in the bottom
on the first challenge,
but I will not
go back there.
Not this time.
Hell no.
[Laughs]
[Cheers and applause]
- How much more
can you throw at us?
- I feel sick
to my stomach.
- Hey, everybody!
It's time to go rodeo!
- All right,
let's go, let's do it.
- Yeah!
[Cheers and applause]
- I am the giver of life.
I am the giver of life.
- Service was
definitely difficult,
but the round of applause
was really comforting
and such a great feeling.
- Whoo!
- Tejas rodeo stampede
center stage!
- The rodeo is so cool.
I've never been to Texas--
seeing this whole new sport.
That's truly,
truly a magical experience.
[Cheers and applause]
- Whoo! Yeah!
- Wow, look at that.
- I am just
thinking about
how much I wish
my husband was here
to experience this.
It's a good thing, you know?
It's, like, I'm happy.
- It's such a happy moment,
everyone is on good spirits
and on a professional level,
it's just weird.
I'm used to
very hardcore chefs.
There's no crying
in cooking.
He'll get the chance.
- Oh, I have no doubt.
- Yeah.
- I have no doubt
in my mind.
- You're gonna
make me cry.
On a personal level,
I'm a very
compassionate person.
But you can't let your emotions
show with the rest of the group
because then they
perceive you as weak.
Now you know where
all the good spots are.
- Yeah, definitely, all
the memories that we have here.
I'll never forget.
- Yup.
- Rodeo fans,
it is now time
to introduce the 2011 Tejas
rodeo chili cook-off winner.
[Cheers and applause]
- Whoo!
- Seeing Padma on a horse,
it's like looking at Fabio
on the cover of one
of his romance novels
with his hair
blowing in the wind.
It's just pure beauty.
Am I sweating again?
- I wanna thank
everyone for coming.
It's been a wonderful evening.
Fans...
The winner of the
Is...
The green team!
- Yeah!
- Congratulations.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah!
- It feels awesome.
We knew what they like
in their chili,
and it makes me proud
to be a Texan.
Oh, my gosh.
- Unfortunately,
black team,
you served the judges'
least favorite chili,
and someone from your team
will be going home.
- My heart sinks
into a puddle of despair.
- But, we're gonna give you
one last chance to prove
that you belong here.
- Don't tell me another
wrench thrown in the mix.
We were up cooking
throughout the night already.
How much more
can you throw at us?
- Your task is to transform
that losing chili
into a winning dish.
You have 30 minutes
to cook here.
- Oh, [bleep],
what am I gonna do?
It's scary,
you're so tired
and emotionally drained.
I feel sick
to my stomach.
- Your time...
Starts now.
- Get it together.
Get it to[bleep]gether.
Running into that kitchen,
I have to draw inspiration
from the depths of my soul
that I didn't know existed.
Our teammates
are now our enemies.
We're all fighting
for our lives at this point.
- I'm a little--
really [bleep] pissed off.
- 'Cause I don't know
what I'm gonna do right now.
- Nyesha and Beverly
seem kind of defeated,
but I'm feeling confident
and very focused.
Come on,
buddy, get hot.
I'm gonna repurpose my chili
a couple of different ways.
I see fritos,
so I'm thinking I can
coat pork tenderloin
in the fritos.
It's something unique
to keep myself in this game.
Uh, 21 minutes left!
[Glass clattering]
- You okay?
- Yeah.
- Uh...
Maybe...
I'm thinking about what
I can do with the chili dish,
and it's not
coming together right away.
Can I just--take one.
- There's...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Take it, take it.
- So I start going
into survival mode.
I strained the chili and
it creates this beautiful sauce.
So I'm thinking,
"what if I crusted some tuna
in chili spices."
- It's ready...
Those to wait.
My plan is to use the gravy part
of the chili as a sauce
and do a frito-crusted
shrimp salad.
At this point I'm just
completely running on "e."
Whew.
- I wouldn't wanna be
in their shoes right now.
- I keep thinking about
if it was me,
what would I do?
What the hell
would you make?
I would be petrified.
- This is
just so intense.
I'm anxious, I'm nervous.
I want Richie
to come out of this.
He's my
best little buddy.
Richie, he would
get you--like,
"oh, I need
a kidney right now."
He'd actually take it
out of his [bleep]--
- no.
- And hand it out to you.
He would,
he's strong enough to do that.
- [Laughs]
- 30 seconds.
[Timer beeps]
- When I finish
the last plate I'm, like,
"you're an idiot, you didn't
put enough sauce on the plate."
The left side and the right side
of the brain were not speaking
to each other.
- I took the similar spices
that I used in the chili itself.
Dusted it on top
of the tuna, seared it,
and then I made a habanero
pineapple salsa on top.
- You have a frito-crusted
black tiger shrimp
with a salsa
of roasted corn
and a reduction
of the mole sauce.
- I also used fritos.
I encrusted
a pork tenderloin,
there's
a Yukon gold potato hash,
a ricotta cheese
and chili puree,
and some more of
the chili puree on the side.
- Thank you all.
[Applause]
- I was disappointed
in Richie's dish,
it lacked seasoning.
- It was very one-note,
there was no brightness
in the dish at all.
- I do think in 30 minutes
Richie did a lot.
He got potatoes,
he got cheese,
he got a breaded
piece of meat on there.
- I think Nyesha did
a beautiful job on her shrimp,
but the entire dish
needed sauce.
- It was
somewhat disappointing.
This little corn salad
that she put together.
It's just shaved
raw corn off the kernel,
that's it--
it's not dressed with anything.
What is this?
- It was almost
as if Nyesha and Richie
were embarrassed about the mole,
whereas Beverly just
made a very imaginative way
of using it,
and she
showed off her skill.
- It's a bit rich, but--
- but it's balanced.
- Yeah.
- And Beverly, you know,
she changed the flavor profile.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm worried about this dish.
I've come a long way to
spend time away from my family,
so this has to be--
I can't go home now.
- Going through all the trials
and tribulations to get here,
to fall short at this point
would really suck.
I'm good.
- You cool?
- Yeah.
- I whisper in his ear,
just "emotions k*ll."
I want Richie
to come out of this
and get to the end
of this competition with me.
To show that
we are the best.
- Are we all in agreement?
- I think so.
- Yeah.
- All right,
let's get them out here.
[Suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- The challenge was to
repurpose your chili
and turn it
into a new dish.
Beverly, you managed to
fix all the flaws in that chili,
and also come up
with a new dish.
We all agree that
it was our favorite.
You are safe.
Nice work tonight.
- [Quietly]
Thank you.
- Nyesha, your dish
we thought was nice.
It just didn't
go far enough.
You didn't use the chili
and repurpose it,
you kind of put it on the plate
as an afterthought.
You definitely could have
taken that a lot further.
Richie, imagination
wasn't your issue,
you had this great idea.
It just never came together.
The dish struck one note--
there was no acid,
there was no spice.
You guys cooked last night
all night long
and had
a good time doing it,
and I think
Stark reality set in
that someone is
gonna go home tonight.
[Suspenseful music]
- Richie...
Please pack your knives
and go.
- And thank you
for this opportunity.
- Good luck to you.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
- [Sniffling, crying]
It's me.
I love you, man.
- No, no, no, no.
- I'm sorry.
- Hey, hey,
it's all right.
Huh?
- All right.
- [Bleep] That.
[Bleep] That.
- It's too soon.
You can prep yourself cooking
all you want,
but you can't prep yourself
for the emotional strain.
It is absolutely
much harder than it looks.
- I love you.
- Richie is an amazing chef,
and I don't want him to
feel like this is a reflection
of the person he is.
- Uh, good luck, everybody.
- Bye, Richie.
- Bye, Richie.
- The words I have for Chris--
keep doing what we do.
Be the jedi you are
and make it to the finals
and win it all.
- Next on Top Chef.
- Goin' to Dallas!
- They closed the highway.
- I'm, like,
"oh, great."
- Proof of
liability insurance.
- Oh, that's
gonna be an issue.
- This is your kitchen.
- Wow.
John Besh is a handsome man.
I'm not gonna lie.
- I just pulled my back.
[Bleep]!
Hi.
I can smell the smell of money.
You can pretend to smoke
if you like it.
Man come on, this is Top Chef
09x04 - Red Hot Chili Cook Off
Watch/Buy Amazon Merchandise
Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.
Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.