04x08 - Common Threads

[bunniefuu]

[Padma]
previously on top chef:

We have in our audience
the chefs

From this season's
top chef.

What they don't know

is that they're going
to be improvising for us.

Starring spike and andrew
as vanilla love.

[Antonia]
spike...of course now
he's getting his soup.

Oh, god, if he fricken wins
for that,

I'm gonna, like,
vomit in my mouth.

[Laughing]
oh, [bleep]!

And from now on, trust me,
I'm gonna be, like--

If there's a from now on.

Jen, please pack your knives
and go home.

At stake for the winner,

A feature
in food & wine magazine,

A showcase at the annual
food & wine classic in aspen,

A gourmet dream vacation
in the french alps,

Provided
by evian natural spring water,

$100,000 To help

Turn their culinary dreams
into reality,

Furnished by the makers
of the glad family of products,

And the title of top chef.

[Rock music]

♪ ♪

[Stephanie]
so I wake up this morning
and jen's not here.

I'm starting to realize

That there are a lot
of people gone.

It's been a long haul so far
and we're only, like,

Halfway through
to get to the finals.

I've been at the top
a bunch of times

And now I know
what it feels like

To be on the edge
of getting cut.

I'm lucky to still be here,
so I just need to, like, prove

That I'm actually supposed
to be here.

[Antonia]
I wake up this morning,
like, fired up

Because I am done

Doubting my flavor compositions
in my head.

I never do it in my life
at home.

I woke up this morning

And I was, like,
[bleep] everybody.

I came here to win.

[Mark]
with every contestant
leaving the house

I'm actually feeling
that much closer

To winning the competition.

I always thought
that I would come to america

And eventually run a kitchen,

And then own a kitchen,
to convey

My style of cooking
to america.

And I think that winning
top chef

Would catapult me
in that direction.

[Spike]
all right, let's go,
party people.

va-moose!

Hello, chefs.

Hello.
Hello.

[padma]
please meet our guest judge
for this round,

Oprah's personal chef

And the winner
of james beard awards

for both cookbook writing
and humanitarianism,

Art smith.

Hi, guys.
How are you?

[Dale]
today we arrive
at top chef kitchen

And it's art smith,
oprah's personal chef.

And he's got a new restaurant
here in chicago.

He's known for simple
and healthy cuisine.

And I see that there's tons
of uncle ben's rice.

Speed and efficiency

Are highly prized
in professional kitchens,

where an entire dinner service
can crash and burn

If just one chef
on the team falls behind.

in the restaurant,

A minute to the kitchen

Is ten minutes to the diner.

so it has to be perfect
and on time.

So for your quickfire challenge
today,

you must create
a fabulous entree

In 15 minutes!



When we have one hour
to do something

In the kitchen, it's...
It's great.


Very quickly.

Everybody's running around.

This is gonna be total chaos,
total insanity.

Now we realize 15 minutes
isn't a lot of time,

So we're giving you
a helping hand

From uncle ben's.

They have a huge range
of whole grain rice products

Including microwavable-ready
rice.

it's healthy,
and what's more,

It cooks in 90 seconds.

So you'll have plenty of time

To concentrate
on the rest of your dish.

Are you ready?

Your 15 minutes starts now!

[Metal clanging]

"Just heat and enjoy."

[Richard]
my worst fear
is this 15-minute challenge.

I mean,
that's not a lot of time.

That's not really
what my style's about.

I'm a little bit
more methodical and thoughtful.

Behind.
Right behind you.

behind!

Behind you!

behind!

[Lisa]
our kitchen is insane.

There are people flying
around corners.

There are people running.

There are people
just, like, behind you,

In front of you, to the side.

[Dale]
first thing I did
was get a pan on

'Cause I know I wanted
to do fried rice.

Luckily a lot of asian food
is very quick.

It involves a very high,
intense heat.

Basically dump in a pan,
shake it up real fast,

Season it, and it's done.

[Stephanie]
I just started throwing
together some random

Sort of sauce.

Ran over to the proteins
and there's some bay scallops.

Seafood pancakes pops
into my head.

I really have no idea
what it tastes like.

I haven't tried the pancake,

But I think it looks
pretty cool,

And I think I actually tried

To make something cool
with rice.

[Spike]
I come from a greek background.

We eat a lot of stuffed peppers
and stuffed tomatoes.

I'm gonna stay to my roots
on this one,

Show where I came from,

And hopefully impress
mr. Art smith.

[Antonia]
my dish, signature, hands-down.

My mom used to cook it
for me all the time

When I was a kid,

Rice and salad.

Loved it.

The combination's flawless.

People think I'm crazy,
then they taste it

And they're, like,
"that's really good."

I'm making rice salad.

All right, you guys,
you have five minutes left.

[Richard]
this is not supposed to be

The most refined dish
in the world.

What it needs to be
is a complete dish,

And it needs to be tasty.

I think some people
in the competition

When they're faced with
speedy challenges

Like this one
forget to taste things.

You're a chef, you know?
It's gotta taste good.

[Mark]
for me, this is definitely
the hardest quickfire.

My dish is miso-glazed
turkey breast.

And I've tasted the different
components of my dish

But I never tasted it
in its entirety.

All right, everyone,
time's up!

Utensils down,
hands up.

That was horrifying.

Hi, antonia.

So this is something that I have
actually eaten

As a child that my mom
loves to make.

It's actually salad and rice
mixed together.

Oh.

[Antonia]
grilled skirt steak,

A cilantro vinaigrette,
and arugula,

Red onion,
and cherry tomatoes.

It's a strange combination,

But it's one
that I actually love.

I like the cold and the hot.

[padma]
this looks good.
what is it?

[nikki]
I've been craving fried rice.

This is, um, something
I love to eat.

I didn't use a protein.

It's all fresh vegetables.

Mushroom, zucchini,
some snap peas.

I cracked a couple eggs
in there.

And when I get fried rice,

I always put soy sauce
all over it,

So I put some on the side.

It's very comforting.

Yes, and you can put
a lot of vegetables in it.

[padma]
hi, richard.
hey padma, how are you?

What did you do for us?

[richard]
we did a little play
on steak and tomato.

So tuna steak,

The whole grain rice mixed
with the regular rice

And buttered out
with a little truffle oil

And then a yuzu vinaigrette
on the tomatoes.

I love the yuzu
on the tomato.

really great.

That's a great,
complete meal.

So I grabbed some scallops
out of the cooler,

And, um, the first thing
that popped into my head

Was seafood pancakes.

We got a korean barbecue.

Never actually made them
before,

So I just threw together
a pancake batter,

That I have a brown rice
that's in there.

Sautéed the scallops.

I didn't get to actually eat
a pancake,

But we'll see what
the texture's like.

Very clever.

Thanks.

I would love to get immunity.

It's something that
I haven't really

Even come close to yet.

Each quickfire I'm, like,
come on.

Like, let's do this.

I kind of went back
to my roots on this one.

I come from a greek family,

So I took uncle ben's rice
and stuffed a tomato.

Made a little bit of a veal,

Ruby port rice wine
vinegar sauce

To go along with it.

It's wonderful--
and because, you know,

It's, like, a very great way
to serve a vegetable.

[padma]
what did you do for us
today?

Okay, so I went kind of
southwest type of thing.

go ahead,
squeeze the lime on there.

Got some corn and some beans,
so I added some peppers

And onions which
I actually sautéed

With a lot of tequila.

Avocado cream
with a little bit of tabasco

Just to give a little bit
of heat.

Some grilled shrimp.

I think the lime
makes a big difference.

It's all about the acid,
you know?

And what happens
is most chefs over-salt food

Rather than add acid.

[padma]
thank you.
thank you.

So for today,
I did a scallop paste

And pineapple fried rice

With a grilled scallop,
chinese long bean.

And there's just a little egg
in the fried rice.

I like the long beans
because I think

They're very underused.

One of my favorite vegetables.

Thank you, dale.

Today's dish
is a miso-glazed turkey breast

On top of a warm salad
of whole grain brown rice,

Sugar snap peas
and grapes.

it's laced with a little bit
of kikkoman's

And chili.

I need a sauce.

I need sauce,
and I need

For this chicken
not to be so tough.

It's turkey.

Oh, turkey.
Excuse me.

I think the miso glaze
might've helped it out a little.

A little dry.
Little dry.

Okay.
[padma]
thank you, mark.

[art]
thank you very much.

I don't think I'm gonna be
in the top three on this one.

So I went
with, uh, the brown rice.

I actually took the wild rice,

Sautéed it in a pan dry,

And then pureed it
in the vita prep as a crust.

And to complement
that nuttiness,

The brown rice
and the wild rice,

I made an almond,
sun-dried tomato pesto

With a little bit of tarragon.

It's a little crunchy.

Yeah, that would make sense.

I think it's really clever,

But you need more
than 15 minutes

To figure out how
to make it right.

That's true.
Most definitely.

So art, I know 15 minutes
isn't a lot of time,

But who was one
of your bottom three?

You know, mark,

I really wanted to like it,

But the dish just didn't work.

you got it done
in the 15 minutes,

But was it something
I enjoyed to eat?

no.

Stephanie,

I love the idea of using
the rice in the pancake,

But the pancake was heavy.

I also thought that
the scallops were unnecessary.

[Stephanie]
I am on the [bleep]ing bottom
again,

So I'm a little bummed out.

I'll just have to make
something tasty

For the next challenge

And hope
that I get to stick around.

Lisa, you know,
it was pretty,

but I wanted it to be
more original.

The fact was I'd seen it
before.

Who did you like?

Dale.

I really loved the dish

'Cause it tasted good,

And also it was
a complete meal.

Richard,

The yuzu was delicious
on the tomato.

It was a well-balanced dish,
I thought.

[Padma]
and your third favorite.

Antonia.

you made a believer
out of me

With the rice salad.

And what makes it delicious

Is you've got the cold
and you've got the hot.

[padma]
and so who is your favorite
dish of this quickfire?

Antonia.

[Antonia]
I'm so excited to win immunity.

Honestly, it was, like,
just a total sign.

I am staying true
to who I am.

I'm staying true
to how I cook.

[padma]
congratulations, antonia.

As you know,
you now have immunity

From elimination
in the next challenge.

Being a chef,
there are lots of opportunities

to enrich the lives
of others

in many meaningful ways.

Art's organization,
common threads,

Is dedicated
to bringing families

Back to the dining table
to eat together.

Food is a common thread.

we all come together
with food.

I love that because I grew up
every single night

Eating dinner
with my entire family.

I do the same thing
with my child at home

As much as I possibly can.

And it is so unbelievably
important.

For many families,

That means learning
how to make simple, affordable,

And nutritious meals.

We want each of you
to devise a complete dinner

That's delicious and nutritious
for a family of four.

and simple enough
for even a child

To help make it
with a budget...

Of $10.

[Laughs]

and it must be a meal

that really can be cooked
at home.

How the [bleep] am I gonna buy
dinner for four with $10?

That's impossible.
Impossible.

It's not like
I'm gonna sit there

And go I'm gonna do
a lobster tureen with $10.

It's not gonna happen.

We get $10.
You make it work.

You don't have hundreds
of dollars to spend

At the supermarket
all the time.

So you'll shop today

At whole foods.

And then tomorrow,
you'll cook and serve your meals

At the washburne culinary
institute.

so we'll see you there
tomorrow.

Good luck.

That's pretty frightening.

You know, $10.

And how expensive
food is nowadays.

Today, we have a little
extra help for you.

I probably will end up

Just crying through the entire
elimination challenge.

Our elimination challenge

Is to cook
for a family of four

With a budget of 10 bucks.



I walk right in
and everyone takes

A mad dash
to the protein counter.

That's super fresh, right?

Let's see how much
four would be--total.

I'm immediately thinking
chicken is healthy,

Low fat, and cheap.

It's much cheaper
for the bone-in chicken breast

With the skin, right?

It's funny, like,
my mother was a very good cook.

She raised me pretty much
by herself.

Cooked a lot
of different styles of food.

And it kind of, like,
inspired me to work with food.

One of my cooking philosophies
is simple, old, new.

Keep it simple.

You take an old idea and you
bring a new concept to it.

That should be fine.
I'll get that. Yeah.

Just what I thought.
Everyone gets chicken.

It's an easy way out.

So I wanted to do something
different.

My family heritage
is filipino.

I've showed these guys
that I do asian food.

And I'm trying to step out
of my boundaries right now

And show them that I'm not
a one-trick pony.

And I see, like,
turkey bratwurst.

And we're in chicago.

So brats--come on.

It's what I go for.
Turkey bratwurst.

Brats.

Uh, can i...

You know what, no, I'll just
stick with this.

Never mind.

I'm a little nervous.

This challenge
is kind of hard.

I grew up eating
sort of gourmet food.

I think my mom just liked
making tasty food

And wasn't always as concerned
about healthful eating.

I really at this point

Have no idea
what I'm going to do.

Should I get these breasts
or this whole chicken?

My mind races to, like,
so many ingredients

And so many
flavor combinations.

I'm thinking to myself,
stephanie,

Stop thinking like this.

You're being crazy.

I'm shopping around and I have,
like, a mystery basket.

Like, all right,
what are we gonna make

Out of chicken, eggplant,
zucchini?



Seriously. Help!

You have edamame too?
Yeah.

I know going into it
there's a little bit of an edge

Because I'm a single mom.

I do cook meals at home
for my daughter,

And I try to have them be,

You know, kid friendly,
well-rounded.

I'm thinking stir-fry
pasta dish.

You try to give 'em, like,
a whole wheat pasta.

You throw it in there,
and they get into it.

Do you have any flat bread
or pita bread or naan bread?

Oh, nice.
Thank you very much.

I want to do
a vegetarian curry

'Cause when I'm strapped
for cash,

That's what I make
for me and my lady

Is a vegetarian curry.

We both enjoy it,
and it, you know,

It's easy--it's easy to make.

[Scanner beeping]

Oh, my god.
$10.80.

Killin' me.
Hold on.

Everybody was having
a little bit of trouble

With the budget.

Oh, my god.

I was, like, $0.23 over.

I'm, like, taking leafs

Of my bok choy off

To get like $0.23.

$0.04 over.
Jesus christ.

[Scanner beeps]

Damn you.

Tell me how much
that is.

Ooh!
Uh.

$9.02. You are correct.

Okay.
Boo-yah.

Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
Perfect.

Thank you so much.
You're welcome.

[Didgeridoo vibrates]

Perfect.

[Phone ringing]

[girl]
mama?

How did you know
it was me?

I miss my daughter
and I miss being at home.

[girl]
ma.

Yes, baby.

I can't stop smiling now.

You can't stop smiling now?
Me too.

I had a phone call with her
and she was, like,

Don't come home
unless you win.

Knock knock.

who's there?

Smell mop.

huh?

Smell mop.

smell mop who?

Get it?

no.

Smell my poo.

[laughs]
oh.

I'm gonna cook as hard
as I can every single day

Until I can't cook anymore.

bye, mama.

I love you. Bye.

Let's go!

Good morning.

[woman]
good morning.

[padma]
can you guys gather around

just for a second?

thanks.

Today, we have a little
extra help for you.

[Cymbal vibrates]

there they come!

come on over here, guys.

[man]
he's so precious.

[padma]
these are students
in the common threads program

that art runs.

Hey, guys.

[All]
hello.

I've been so focused
since I've been here.

You know, I think about home,
but I try not to.

And just seeing
all those kids come in,

It just was, like,
rush of emotion.

It just reminds me
of my daughter.

If I'm gonna get a girl,

I probably will end up
just crying

Through the entire
elimination challenge.

But, you know, if I get a boy,
I might be all right.

[padma]
these are just nine
of the thousand children

that common threads teaches.

So hi, guys.

thank you so much
for helping today.

are you excited to cook?

[All]
yes.

Jesucita, who are you
cooking with?

Mark.

Okay.

How's it going?
All right?

[art]
alex.
spike.

[art]
spike.

[padma]
spike.

Abigail.
Richard.

Nice to meet you.

Amarisse.
Nikki.

[art]
emanuel.
dale.

All right.

Andrew.
Lisa.

arlene.
stephanie.

hi, arlene.
it's nice to meet you.

I know, you're just
as tall as me.

[Laughter]

Miguel.
Andrew.

right there.

Honor to work
with you, chef.

jeffrey.

Antonia.

antonia.
come on over here.

all right.

We're really looking forward

To tasting
your delicious meals.

good luck and have fun.

We'll see you later.

Come on. I'll bring you
to the station.

Have you ever been
to california?

No. It's nice and warm
there right now.

So where
are you from?
Mexico.

nice. I'm actually
from a little place

called new zealand.

It's a long way away.

What do you think?
You like it?

Think it looks good
with the blue t-shirt

And the pink shoes.

I think we got a good--

A good color combination
goin' on.

Get--can I get a high five?

Excellent. Okay.

Me and andrew
have one hour to cook

And have our dishes
ready to go.

Do you like garlic?

No.
Garlic's goin'
in the garbage.

I'm definitely excited
to cook for kids

'Cause my girlfriend
has a kid

And he loves to cook.

And he's always like,
I want to help you.

I want to help you.

It's cool when they're,
like, you know,

Let me stir the noodles,
or let me, you know,

Put butter in,
or give me a Kn*fe.

And then you're, like, no.

But it'll be fun.

Is this it?

I'm pretty much doin' a dish
that has three elements to it.

It's roast chicken
with some black beans

And a salad of apples
and avocados and beets.

I'm a little concerned
about it.

I think beets is one
of the more forward ingredients

That are showing up
on any team's table.

This vegetable's
called a beet.

And it's a really,
really pretty vegetable.

It's one of my personal
missions in this challenge

Is to see if abigail's
gonna like these beets.

You work
with a big Kn*fe before?
Yeah.

Really?
Yeah.

I know how to, like,

Chop carrots and onions
and everything.

Perfect. I've got bell peppers,
uh, some bok choy.

You're gonna cut all of it.

The dish I'm gonna do
is pasta puttanesca

And carrot soup
with some oranges.

And I'm gonna bake
some apples.

That's a pro.
That's pro. All right.

You got yourself?

yeah, sort of.

Come over here.

Within 30 seconds

Of having a peeler
in his hand,

My kid is bleeding.

That's a minor little cut.

[Alex]
yeah, a little bit.

[Spike]
does it burn?

[Alex]
little bit.

You know what
the saying is?

You cut yourself,
it's good luck.

I'm amazed just to see a kid
cut himself with a peeler

And get right back into doing
what he needs to do.

Impressed me, uh,
tremendously.

You got a girlfriend,
alex?

No. Not yet.

Not yet. That's right.

That's the key word.

Have you had curry before?

Okay, so it's--
it's a little bit sweet.

it's a little bit spicy.

I'm a little, uh, concerned

'Cause she's never had
a curry before.

And trying new food

Can sometimes be
a little daunting.

I think making a curry
for, you know,

A family with children
is kind of a bad idea.

The idea is you create
a simple, healthy dish,

And curry
can be very complicated.

Do you like olive oil?

Amarisse and I are making
roasted chicken

And mixed vegetables.

With a tomato
and cucumber salad.

Did you taste
one of those?

Okay. Here we go.

I was raised
by a single parent.

Do you like
brussels sprouts?
No.

Yeah, most kids don't.

So that's how I learned to cook
when I was very young.

I say I was cooking eight, nine,
ten years old for myself.

You know, there was always
a meal to sit down to.

So go ahead
and start with that

And then I'll give you
something else to do

After that, all right?

I'm gonna warm up
some pans back here.

My kid sous chef is emanuel.

He's probably one of the smaller
kids there.

I was the same stature
when I was ten years old.

And my dreams of a pro
basketball career were crushed

At seventh grade

When I plateaued
at the great height of 5'5"

And realized I had to take
my dreams

Into another direction.

And food was always
a passion of mine.

Put your wet hand here.

And then over here,
you're gonna get

All that breading
on your hand. finito!

I think that unhealthy food
in america is a major problem.

Coming from a not-that-great
background

And not having a lot of money,
like, you know,

I was--i fell victim
to that too.

In high school, I was, like,
over 200 pounds.

I lost a lot of weight

'Cause I said, like,
let's start cooking food

For myself and make it
healthy.

I'm gonna be feeding them

A chicken paillard
with a shaved fennel salad.

Real simple.
Nice flavors.

We're making couscous
with veggies,

Chicken,
and a peanut sauce.

And an apple, yogurt,
and granola dessert.

So are we gonna cook
the apple?

Yeah, you're gonna make
a whole dessert.

[Stephanie]
arlene seems excited
about the food.

I think she's excited
to try some different things.



Yes, chef!

hey, richard.
chef, how are you?

Good. How's it going?
Meet chef abigail.

Abigail, how are you?

Nice to meet you.

So what are you working on,
abigail?

We're making chicken.
uh-huh.

And we're making
a salad and beans.

Okay, what's in here?

We let the onions sweat
in the pan,

Okay.

Then we put--

Did you put them on a treadmill
to make them sweat?

make 'em run around,
do jumping jacks

and stuff like that,
and they started sweating?

no?
how'd you do that?

We just let 'em...

Okay, good.

Good to see you, chef, thanks.
Come on, abby.

Hey, dale.
Hey, chef, how are you?

Good. How's it going?
Your sous chef?
Very well.

manuel, this is
chef tom colicchio.

how's it going.
you okay?
good. Yeah.

what are you working on?

Sausage with potatoes
and...um...

And apples.
Yeah, and apples.

Do you like to cook?
yeah.

what do you like
about cooking?

Eating.

Eating?
Oh, awesome.

The end result.
all right.

well, we'll have plenty
of that later.

so I'll see you
in a little bit, okay?

Hey, nikki.
hi, chef.

How's it going?
good.

this is amarisse.
amarisse.

how are you?
this is chef tom.

What are you cooking
for us today?

Well, when I was growing up,
I had to fend for myself.

and this is one
of the first things

I learned to cook.

I made roasted chicken
in a pot

With all my vegetables...

Uh-huh.
and put it in the oven

And basically took it out,
and that was dinner.

Awesome.
I'll see you later.

Thanks, chef.
All right.

Hey, mark.
g'day, tom.
how's it going?

Who's your helper?
jesucita.

Jesucita's not familiar

With the curry
that we're making today,

So it's the first time
for her.

Now, do you like
spicy foods?

okay, good, good.

So today I'm gonna stay
in the kitchen the entire time.

Okay.
so I can see
what you're doing.

But also, I really want
to check out

What your helper's
doing here.

Oh, wow.
looking forward to your food.

[Tom]
I just did a walk-through
and checked in on the chefs.

Andrew's making
a chicken paillard.

Watch your fingers.

A nice, healthy salad on top.
And it's also very simple.

Spike and his sous chef alex,

They actually have a few things
they're working on.

They have
a pasta puttanesca dish.

He wanted to get
some vegetables in there,

So he made a carrot soup.

He also did
some roasted apples.

So he really stretched
his dollar a long way.

Stephanie's serving a sauce

Made with peanut butter
and tomatoes

Over the top of couscous.

It sounds a little strange.

Awesome.

I think tom's looking
at the kitchen

To see how involved
a lot of these recipes are.

You know, the idea
was to keep it simple.

And he wants to see
exactly how simple

Some of these are.

[Stephanie]
time's ticking down
and we're ready to plate,

So I throw some more stock
in my couscous,

Just to warm it up.

It was well seasoned.

Maybe some of it
was overcooked.

All right,
let's plate our dessert.

It's really hard to say
at this point.

How much time?
Two minutes.

I've gotta get the cheese!
two minutes.

I've gotta grate the cheese.
How's that?

Good.
Bam, right?


Count slower.
Count slower!



[tom]
2...1...

That's it, go.
Ahh!

Rock on!
Rocker.

I can take it. Go.

Hmm!
Thank you.

To have tom colicchio
in the kitchen

Can be
a little unnerving.

You never know
what the guy's thinking.

Hi, guys.

[All]
hi.

So service starts,

And our guests are the kids
from common threads.

All right, so we're
serving this table

Right here, chef.

[Richard]
you know, I think
it's really cool

That abigail gets
to sit down,

And she has to describe
to her peers now,

Hey, what is it
that we just cooked?

[padma]
hi, richard.
hey, guys, how are you?

[Richard]
roast chicken with black beans,

And an apple, avocado,
and beet salad.

Abby, my sous chef,
never had a beet before,

So it was her first beet,
and she loves 'em.

Thank you.
Enjoy. Thanks.

what do you think of this?
I love the apple.

And I think the beans
add great nutrition.

oh, they're very healthy
for you.

You know what I would
change on it?

The skin.
You don't need the skin.

Do you guys like it?

Beets.

All right, big guy,
grab two of these plates.

Awesome.
Nice job.

You guys hungry?

We walk out
into a dining room,

Where we have a table
of three children

That my sous chef is going
to be sitting down at as well.

We bring a plate
over to the judges,

And tom grabs a plate while
he's hanging out in the kitchen.

What I've done
is a carb dinner.

Edamame and black beans.

And then I've roasted
chicken breast.

And I've left the bones on

So that it hasn't touched
any kind of fat.

Andrew, my sous chef, did
everything on this.

He plated it, he kind of
layered the apples.

There you go.
thank you so much.

I would like to see
a little more

Fresh vegetables
of some kind.

the chicken doesn't have
a lot of flavor.

I like this.

[Padma]
it's basically a peanut butter
and apple sandwich.

It's a great snack.
Mm-hmm.

Hey, guys, how are you?
Hi.

Here's what I've got
for you guys.

Sausage with a little bit
of potatoes, onions,

A little bit of red cabbage,
and some apples.

Is it spicy?

this might be
a little spicy.

[Dale]
I feel like it was tasty.

And I'm prepared at this point
to stand up for my dish.

[gail]
the cabbage is very strong
and very acidic.

[padma]
the cabbage is very acidic.

Usually every day in homes
you cook dinner

For two or three
different tastes.

So you have to do something
more universal.

me and my partner, dale,

We tried really hard
to make this,

And it came out good.

It's good.
It's good.

Hello.
How we doing?

[Gasps]

Oh, my god,
we get spaghetti?

I put the pasta down,
and they were, like,

"Oh, spaghetti?
Thank god!"

I feel like I have
a well-balanced dish,

And I really have stretched
my $10.

Tell us what you made today.

[Alex]
we made puttanesca--
curd soup with orange in it.

[Spike]
and we wanted to make you
baked apples.

Unfortunately, we fell
a little short on time.

We felt they were
still delicious,

Although they weren't
completely baked,

So we put 'em on the plate
and served them anyway.

Did you have fun today?

Yeah, I did.
awesome.

Mmm.
tasty.

And there's a lot of great
vegetables in here as well.

There's olives,
carrots, capers.

It's yummy.
It tastes like a puttanesca.

Mm.

Spaghetti...is the best.

These are the ones
that are going out.

I think that my meal comes out
exactly the way I want it to.

The vegetables still have
a lot of crunch.

The chicken is seasoned
perfectly,

It's cooked perfectly.

I can't imagine
sitting down with my family

And not enjoying this meal.

I was raised
by a single parent,

So I really learned how
to fend for myself.

All in a pot, roasted chicken
with mixed vegetables,

With a tomato and cucumber
salad.

I love this.

I mean, I'm a big believer
in one-pot wonders.

Delicious flavor,
it's sweet.
Mmm.

I love the story.

It's a very complete dish.

Do you guys like it
so far?
mm-hmm.

do you love
any of the taste?

[Mark]
to have tom colicchio
in the kitchen

Can be a little unnerving.

He's a very,
very well-seasoned chef.

And pretty much,
you can try your hardest

To do everything exactly right,

But you never know
what the guy's thinking about.

And he was digging the [bleep]
out of my curry.

This is my sous chef today.

Hi.

And jesucita is gonna
explain the dish

That we put together today.

We made, um, vegetable curry,
cinnamon rice,

And cucumber salad.

Thank you so much.

I really enjoyed my time
working with jesucita.

We have very different
backgrounds,

But I think her and her crew
dug the curry.

And I was excited
to introduce her to that.

[padma]
I'm kind of amazed
that they made curry.

[art]
I am too.
it's too sweet.

You've got this sweet potato,
you have coconut milk.

That peanut
also has some sugar in it.

Sure.

where's the protein,
though?

[padma]
not enough protein.

Not enough protein.
Not enough protein.

Here you go, guys.

Our dish is chicken vegetable
stir-fry

With whole wheat noodles.

There you go, enjoy.
it's great.

It's a little sweet,
but it's great.

This, I think,
trumps spike's spaghetti.

[gail]
she knows what she's doing.
this is real life for her.

What we did today,
me and my executive chef,

We did chicken paillard.

And the actual crust
of the chicken

Is with a little bit
of parmesan and basil,

Fennel, apples,

And a honey vinaigrette
that he made.

Also on the plate,
lemon chicken sauce.

Okay, so thank you guys.
Thank you so much.

The sour, delicious.

It's a well-ex*cuted dish.

They're going to eat this.
Good.

Awesome. Let's, uh...

So what do you think?

You like it?
Yeah.

You have to say yes.
[Laughter]

She can--she doesn't have
to say yes.

I mean, I think she liked
the peanut sauce.

All right, so we made
two dishes today.

Couscous that's made
with eggplant, zucchini.

And then we actually
put the chicken

Right in the sauce,
it's made with peanut butter,

And tomato, and lemon juice.

And my sous chef
put this together.

It's just some apples
that we cooked

With a little maple syrup,
and then we got some granola.

Enjoy.

I think the flavors
I made were good.

It was definitely
a healthful meal.

I hope that the judges
can appreciate that.

I don't think it tastes
that great.

[padma]
this couscous
is not done well.

That's just a telltale sign
of a restaurant chef

Who doesn't cook
at home very much.

Great job, everybody.

The kids really enjoyed
cooking with you,

and I hope you all
had fun as well.

And we'll see you
at judges table.

[All]
thanks, tom.
Thanks.

All right, guys,
let's head home.

Hey, art, what's going on?
Good to see you.
How are you?

Thank you very much.

How's it going?
How'd it go out here?

It was incredible.
It was great.

Cool.
The kids were amazing.

Yes, a lot of fun.
Super enthusiastic.

The kids were having
such a great time.

And, you know, the chefs
also really got into it.

They let their sous chefs
really work,

And sort of
really get involved.

It's just great
watching kids

Sort of work with food.

What did you like?
Nikki's dish.

She did a good job.
She presented it well.

it was colorful,
it was fun.

I thought the salad
was very simple.

It was a nice home dish.

Everybody loved
antonia's.

This was real life for her.

So I don't think
it took a lot.

you know,
it wasn't a stretch.

She said her daughter
cooks with her,

and that's one
of the dishes they do.
and what about lisa?

i--i didn't care
for lisa's dish.

That was just a bland plate
of food.

The beans--
the black beans were bland.

the edamame were bland
and undercooked.

[gail]
what about stephanie's dish?

Peanut butter
and tomato?

All right, let's go back to
judges table and get them out.

[Lisa]
I have no idea how to feel
about my food right now.

We're heading over
to the stew room,

And nobody really knows
whether they think

They've done great
or they haven't.

[Richard]
I feel good about today.

I want to win
this competition,

But just the whole experience
of seeing these kids,

Seeing antonia cry...

I want to go home,

And I want to make
some babies.

Some little blaises.

We questioned
a few of your choices.

I thought it was
really bizarre.

If you're gonna be
a great chef,

You've gotta take criticism.

[padma]
I really detested it.

I think tom
doesn't like me.
I hope you're not serious.

I don't know, how do I make
this guy happy?

[Spike]
I had the best time today.

[nikki]
I couldn't keep up
with my girl.

first, I gave her
the carrots to peel.

Like two minutes later,
she was done.

Then I gave her
a cucumber.

she was fast.

I need her
in my kitchen.

[richard]
yup--i told abigail,
I was like,

you know,
I wanna hire you.

But she thought
I was really serious.

She was like,
I'm still in school.

[Laughter]

I'm not ready--
no, I'm still in school.

[padma]
can we see andrew, nikki,
and antonia?

thank you.

[padma]
you three

Are the judges' favorite
in this challenge.

[Laughs]

It was a lot of fun.

[gail]
and the kids loved it too.

They were so proud
of the food you made.

and it really showed.

[tom]
nikki, I thought
it was very smart

That you actually did this
in one roasting pan.

I think you did
a great job with the challenge.

[gail]
what I loved
about your dish

Was that it was seasoned
so well, it was flavorful,

You balanced it out
really nicely.

You put in
brussels sprouts.

that is bold.

Yeah.

I just love one-pot wonders.

and to me,
it's very accessible.

[padma]
andrew,
speaking of accessible,

What you did was make fruit
accessible

In a savory dish.

[art]
the fennel, the orange, the way
it interacts with that dish--

It was well--well ex*cuted.

I asked
all four of the children

If they had had fennel before,

And none of them had.

They all loved the salad.
It was great.

You totally expanded
their, their culinary language.

[padma]
antonia,

We loved
your whole wheat noodles

and chicken and vegetable
stir-fry.

[art]
it was absolute delicious.

The pasta was perfectly cooked.

It was delicate enough
for any child to enjoy,

But also flavorful enough

for an adult.

[gail]
well, it just shows you
with all of your dishes,

you don't have
to dumb it down.

Yeah.

You know,
make tasty food first.

[padma]
well, as our guest judge,

it falls to you, art,
to announce

The winner
of this elimination challenge.

The winner is...

Antonia.

Thank you, chef.

[Applause]

[Antonia]
it was the best challenge
that I could have won.

Honestly, if I didn't win
that challenge,

That would have been
embarrassing.

Like the mom can't cook food
for the kids.

That one goes straight
to my daughter.

Congratulations.

now I need to ask you

to send back
some of your colleagues.

[andrew]
the golden hammer.

Um, so they want to see,
um, lisa,

Steph, and mark.

Good luck, guys.

The judges felt
that you three

had the least successful dishes
in this challenge.

Let's start with you,
stephanie.

why do you think
you're here?

[stephanie]
just talking to everybody else

About their dishes, I think

That I didn't do something
simple enough.

[tom]
the big problem
that I had

with the dish was the
combination of peanut butter

And tomatoes was just really--
and lemon juice--

I thought was really bizarre.

it just had
a off flavor to it.

[art]
I think the portion
was too large.

Um, the couscous
was not right.

What did you think of the dish
when you tasted it?

The couscous, I agree
that was probably overcooked

When it went out.

Did you use
your entire budget?

Did I use my entire budget?
Yeah.

I spent most of my budget
on the chicken, actually.

Mark,

did you taste your dish
before it came out?

Yeah.

And you were fine
with it?

Yeah.

Why do you think
you're here?

I'm a little baffled,
padma.

I think tom doesn't like me.

[Laughter]

I hope you're not serious.

I don't know--
it's undercooked,

it's overcooked,
it's too salty...

I don't know.
How do I make this guy happy?

Don't have it over-salty or,
in this case, too sweet.

you know, you make me happy
by serving me good food.

Okay.

[gail]
when we're thinking about
serving for a family of four

And getting the most nutrition
out of your food,

we questioned
a few of your choices.

I think you could have added a
lot more vegetables to the dish.

I've had wonderful
vegetable curries.

And it wasn't
just sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes and squash
are packed with nutrients,

So we totally get that,

But your choice of using
cucumber, which has not a lot

of nutritional value, as far as
a green vegetable goes,

And then not a lot
of protein--

I mean, I don't feel
that you have to put,

You know, a protein on a dish.

Like, they have vegetarian, uh,
items on menus

All over the city, so--

[gail]
no, I love vegetarian food,
absolutely.

I don't know what you mean.

Lisa.

I enjoyed my dish.

I thought
that it was very nutritional,

Balanced.

I liked
that there was

A little bit of a sweetness
at the end with the dessert.

The issue that I had
with the dish

the beans were--and
the edamame-- were undercooked

and really bland.

Like, no seasoning at all.

In terms of flavors and,
you know, something I'd learned

from the last time
I was up here

Was pay attention to the rules,
it's the most important thing,

And it was, you know,
originality, flavor,

cost-effective, healthy,

And I tried to get all
of those things.

I am sorry that you found
that the black beans

And edamame were bland.

You know, they were canned,
and that's something

That people have
in their homes.

I put my best foot forward,

I tried to keep it
super-healthy.

And I think, I think you gave us
a healthy, nutritional meal.

we just wanted to have
more flavor in it.

that's what I was missing

From the beans--
I thought they were very--

Just under-seasoned,
that's it.

And it was shocking.

Okay, thank you all.

We'll call you back

in a bit.
[mark]
thank you.

You know the drill,
guys.

I had some really strong
feelings.

The strong feeling I have
is the fact

That if you're gonna be
a great chef,

You gotta take criticism.

lisa, I could just--she was
like, really, really upset.

the fact was
the dish was beautiful.

Okay, it looked beautiful
on the plate.

It just didn't taste right.

No.
It didn't have any flavor.

In the chicken,
in the edamame--

No, it was not
a tasty dish of food.

and there were
a number of reasons

why it wasn't
a tasty dish of food.

You're always cooking
for an audience.

And sometimes,
you reach your audience,

And sometimes you don't,

And I think here--
I don't care

What audience
she was cooking for,

Bland food's bland food.

[Scoffs]

They told me
that my food was bland,

And they were like,
we were shocked,

We've never had bland food
from you before.

we can't believe it.

I tasted it, and I felt like
they were gonna be like,

It's over-seasoned, like...

Really?

Yeah, I'm telling you right now
I'm going home.

Let's talk about mark's curry
for a minute.

[tom]
it was, it was
a very sloppy plate of food.

And it wasn't appealing
on so many different levels.

[Gail]
comparing him to what everyone
else produced tonight,

I think his dish was
so lacking.

I think
the intention was good.

I wanted it to taste good
because I love curry.

But all of us have had
vegetable curry

That had different types
of vegetables,

And it was delicious.

And I certainly don't think
he spent his money wisely,

Because he gave us
one vegetable dish.

The thing that I was really
surprised is--

Stephanie, up until now,

Has been very, very sensible
in her choices.

Everything is seasoned well
and really well thought out.

I didn't find this
to be well thought out at all.

I mean, peanut butter
and tomato.

[Padma]
it's disgusting.

I really detested it.

The couscous was awful.

Couscous has been around
a long time,

okay.

It ain't that hard
to cook.

[padma]
it's not that hard to cook.

I mean, it was just
like mush on a plate.

That's not a dish
that I think

You can even improve on.

No.

Now I'm nervous.

Okay, I think we have
a decision.

Let's get them
back in here.

[tom]
so today's challenge,

we were cooking for art's
organization, common threads.

And unfortunately,
there was a common thread

Amongst all your dishes.

on some level,
it missed the mark.

stephanie,

Your dish was over-complicated.

and I think the combination
of peanut butter and tomato

Was just off-putting.

mark, I don't think you spent
your budget wisely.

And the dish just really
didn't come together that well.

Lisa,

although your attempt
to make a nutritious meal

hit on that mark,

It just lacked flavor.

we appreciate the attempt

And I'm sure everybody had a fun
time working with children.

unfortunately, a fun day
does have to come

To a bitter end
for somebody.

Mark, please pack your knives
and go.

[tom]
and just for the record,

Again, I don't dislike you.

you've been
a great competitor.

you've been fun
to be around.

and I'm sure we'll catch up
after this

And share a beer.

or a pint,
as you guys say.

Thanks.
Bye, mark.

[Mark]
I was very surprised

To be told to go home.

You know, top chef has
definitely been a stepping stone

And a very great
learning experience for me.

I'll be going home
tonight.

What?

[Mark]
if I could say anything
to my fellow chefs,

It would be,
rock on, rocker.

They're a great bunch of people
to work with,

And I definitely, you know,
learned some stuff

From these guys.

Aussie, aussie,
aussie.

Oy, oy, oy.
Oy, oy, oy,
brother.

[Mark]
I think the measure
of a really good chef

Is the ability
to get back up

And climb to the top
again.

I will just continue
to work towards my goals

Of, you know, one day
opening a restaurant.

And yeah, I'll just keep cooking
the best way I know how.

Captioning by[font color="#00ff00"] captionmax[/font]
www.captionmax.com

[Padma]
next, on top chef...

[Dale]
cooking for 14 hours
is gonna be a tough one.

[Nikki]
I'm dizzy, I'm tired,
I'm dehydrated.

[Richard]
lack of sleep affects people
differently.

[Lisa]
at this point,
I'm honestly so tired

That I'm going to need
therapy.

[Blows whistle]

[Padma]
oh, and there's one more thing
you should know.

[Spike]
the food, the decor,

The [bleep]ing wedding cake.

What are you guys,
complete moronic?

There is no fatigue.

[Lisa]
I'm like, great, I'm stuck
working with this guy again.

[Richard]
I have not seen this much
emotion from myself.

[Bleep]!

[Padma]
for more about the recipes
seen tonight,



I have a culinary boner
right now.