04x14 - Finale: Part II

[bunniefuu]

[Padma]
this season on top chef,


Up-and-coming chefs

Met in chicago
for the culinary competition

Of a lifetime.

Through 13 tough challenges,
they faced relentless pressure.

Check.

It's done.
Whoo!

[Bleep]!

Jesus christ.

My weakness is
I get a little bit nervous.

One little mistake
and you're out of here.

Did you taste this?

The rice is not done,
buddy.

Tell him it's the judges.
I need the first course.

That's pretty straight-forward
for--for you.

Who put my burner up to high?
Damn it!

[dale]
let's go, let's go, let's go.

Stop screaming.
Get the food out.

[Richard]
I don't want to walk out
of here tomorrow,

Saying, oh, that was
a good game.

I wanna win top chef.

Richard, you're the winner.

[tom]
congratulations.

stephanie. Richard.
lisa.

Stephanie.

[Laughter]

[Padma]
now three chefs remain.

A congratulations would have
been a little bit nice.

Sorry.
Congratulations.

[richard]
I'm just tired.
congratulations.

I get it, but,
you know.

You won the [bleep]ing bronze
medal--congratulations.

There you go.

At stake for the winner
of our top chef finale

In puerto rico,

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.

[Guitar music]

♪ ♪

What's up, chef?
How are you?

[Stephanie]
this is--this is it,
you know.

It's been a--i mean,
a huge long journey to get here,

I feel like we just went
through all this

To get to this point,

And now this is
the competition.

There has never been
a female top chef winner,

So, hopefully,
I will be the first one.

So you guys feel,
like, excited?

I'm excited.

I'm excited.

I'm ready to cook.

A lot's on the line
for me and my career.

But, like, there's more
at stake

Than just
my own personal failure.

You know, I mean,
this is for my wife,

And, you know, we have
a baby on the way

And a new house.

I have everything to lose
in this competition.

Cheers.
Hey, cheers,
congratulations, you guys.

[Richard]
I still can't get over
how lisa is still here.

I think a chef
has to be a leader,

And lisa's got
a bad attitude.

I don't think lisa deserves
to win top chef.

Like the--the nerves
for the last couple--

Like, not nerves,
but the feeling of like,

Did I come all this way
to not--you know,

finish what I came here
to do?

[Lisa]
I'm in the finale,

And I kind of just managed
to get through

By the skin of my teeth.

But you know what?

I don't care
that stephanie and richard have,

You know, won a bunch
of eliminations

And I've only won one.

You know what,
I'm about to b*at you, so.

Let's do this.

[Stephanie]
so we walk in,

And tom and padma are there.

And they've got three great
chefs with them,

So I'm just wondering
what's gonna happen.

Hello, chefs.

Hi.
Hi, padma.

[padma]
after 13 rounds

Of competition,
you've made it

to the final challenge,
so congratulations.

you're about to cook
the most important meal

Of your life.

Now I know
that you recognize

These three
incredible chefs

Standing before you.

We have april bloomfield,
award-winning chef

of the spotted pig.

Dan barber

from blue hill
in new york city.

eric ripert,
chef and owner

Of the world-famous

le bernardin restaurant.

Eric ripert's
a culinary god.

And this is like
the who's who of modern cuisine.

I know who all three
of these chefs are.

I know all of their restaurants.

And I respect all of them
tremendously.

[tom]
as usual,

For the final challenge,
we're keeping things simple.

we want you to create
a four-course meal

using the traditional
progression,

Starting with fish,
then going to poultry,

Then going to red meat,
and then dessert.

And yes,

you do need to do a dessert.

I was a little surprised

That they were requiring us
to do a dessert.

It's definitely not my forte
by any means.

[Lisa]
I'm not very good
with memorizing cake recipes,

And I also don't
really like to eat cake,

So I think I may have
to do things differently.

So eric, dan, and april

Have volunteered
to be your sous-chefs.

and they each have a different
selection of proteins

for you to work with.

eric, what have you got?

We have some hamachis,
snapper, clams,

Sea urchin, lamb,

Quails, lobster,
bacon, caviar.

Great.

dan.

We have some scallops,
squid,

Abalone, guinea hen,

Venison loin,
beautiful pork belly,

Duck, foie gras,
and some cured ham.

[padma]
so april,
what have you got there?

Okay, you got some
organic chicken,

You got some large jumbo shrimp,
some jumbo lump crab,

Wagyu steak,

And you have some caraquet
oysters.

We had decided
that for the final round,

the chef
with the most elimination wins

would get to choose first.

after richard's win last week,

There's a dead heat

between you, richard,
and you,

stephanie, each
with four elimination wins.

so we've got the Kn*fe block
out one last time.

so who'd like
to go first?

Stephanie can go first.

I pulled number one.

Okay, so stephanie,
you get to pick first.

[stephanie]
I'll pick chef ripert.

Pleased to meet you.
Nice to meet you.

I'll take chef barber.

So, lisa, of course that means
you and the wonderful

april bloomfield
will be working together.

[Lisa]
I get to work with a woman.

That's awesome.
Girl power.

So dinner will be
a black-tie affair

for nine diners.

so you will have
three hours today

and four hours tomorrow

before your first course
must come out.

You'll serve each course
head-to-head.

and at the end of the meal,

one of you will be named
top chef.

If you could--
lemme see what I wanna do now.

So, here is what we're doing.

[Lisa]
my basic concept
is flavors

Of, you know,
thailand, vietnam--

It's what I really
like to eat,

It's what I really
like to cook,

And you know,
it's something

That--
that I'm naturally

Pretty damn good at, so this is
what I wanna showcase.

Give that, uh,
a really good rinse.

[April]
she's doing asian.

I was a little shocked
when I got paired with somebody

That was doing asian
because I'm not--

I, you know, I'm not used
to cooking that myself.

She's definitely
got a plan.

This--this off?
Yes, all this comes off.

Take the--take the veins off.
Leave this on.

I'm not nervous about having
chef april work with me at all.

Our personalities are actually
really, really similar,

And right away,
I'm like,

You're awesome,
and I'm gonna have

So much fun
working with you.

Pull the skin
off the breasts,

Reserve the skin.

[Richard]
dan barber of blue hill,

Known for farm-to-table cuisine,

You know, a very thoughtful chef

The concept is
my journey,

So showing some
classic training,

As well as
molecular gastronomy.

The fact is,
it's not like

We really know
what the hell we're doing.

We just got this challenge
a couple minutes ago.

You know, I'm waiting
for that lightning bolt.

Just two?
Just two bags?

Yeah.
I think that's all we have.

[Dan]
now I don't know everything

He's got germinating.

I don't think he does either.

Second course
is, uh, poultry.

I'd like to do--
we'll do

A little quail breast.

The concept behind each dish,
I'm just trying

To really show off
my style of cooking,

Um, different flavor
combinations,

Just try to be
really well-balanced.

[eric ripert]
do you need the same garnish
for your lobster stock?

Yes, please.

I like the direction
she's taking.

She's keeping the menu
pretty simple.

She's, uh, not overpowering
the ingredients for the moment.

[dan]
when was the last time
you did that, huh?

It was a long time ago.

Uh-huh, well, you're honest.

[stephanie]
you sure you know
how to fillet fish?

Chef ripert knows
what he's doing.

He's been working
with fish forever.

But it's still my menu,
my kitchen,

So of course,
I just want him

To cut it the way
that I see it in my mind.

That's superb.

That will be perfect.

So I tell eric how I want him
to cut the snapper,

And then, I just sort of hover
over him.

And it's like, obviously,
the skin off that little bit.

I think he got a little,
like,

Offended for a second.

He's like, "I know."

This is just a marinade
for the beef?

This is going to be
a marinade for beef, yeah.

I think raw oyster,
lemon juice, and hot sauce.

You know, cream.

And then we're gonna freeze it
into little, uh, spheres.

Along with the stuff
that I brought from home,

We were allowed
to have one special request.

I chose liquid nitrogen.

There are probably, you know,

Less than a dozen chefs
in the country

That cook with liquid nitrogen.

There's a lot of things

That you can do
with the nitrogen culinarily.

And I'm thinking about making

Some tabasco sauce ice cream,
basically.

It's a garnish, which goes
great on oysters.

I'm not sure
if we'll proceed with it,

But I just wanted to test it.

And I brought down
the nitrogen,

And, you know,
it's, all of a sudden,

I'm doing a demonstration

For the best chefs
in the world.

[lisa]
what is it, exactly?

Oyster, raw oyster,

With its own pearls, you know,
like ice cream.

With the hot sauce.

[Lisa]
richard, definitely,
is a brilliant chef.

But richard and I are
very different.

I'm not into the molecular
at all.

I cook simple food,
and I keep, you know,

Minimal ingredients,
instead of,

You know,
overthinking things.

That's awesome.
It's awesome.

You'll be doing that--

Never seen such a technique.

As a chef, the day you don't
learn any more, it means

You so egomaniac,
you blind.

You just freeze it?

Yeah, so like ice cream,
but into pearls.

I think I just showed
eric ripert something

That he hasn't seen before.

That's [bleep]ing cool.

That's cool.

[Stephanie]
we're pretty much all business.

We're just sort of getting
things done,

But lisa and april are
definitely, like, getting along

And chitchatting,
which is a little weird.

You know, just cause

Lisa doesn't really get along
with everybody,

As some people might remember.

And how long
have you been cooking?

I had my first line cook job
when I was about 15.

Never really did anything
other than cooking.

[Lisa]
and the fact that I get along
really, really well

With chef april
gives me an advantage.

You know, if you're happy,
your food is gonna taste better.

If you're stressed out,

And freaking out, you know,
I don't cook well like that.

Five minutes!

Let's add more stock; let's do
that and add more stock.

Put those bones in,
and we'll put

A little chicken stock in it,

Just to sort of flavor
the chicken stock with this.

It was nice to have eric
help get all the prep done.

I mean, it's a lot to do
in three hours.

So it's definitely a huge help
to have him here today.

[lisa]
and the only thing
that's a big deal tomorrow

Is just getting
the dumplings made.

You know, tonight,
really, I need a night

To kind of conceptualize.
Sure.

[Richard]
there's no completed dishes,

And I don't really know
what I'm doing,

So I'm just getting everything
completed that I think

I might do.

I don't want service
to be a mess tomorrow.

[Bleep], I still got
a lot of work to do.

Okay.
I'll see you tomorrow.

I can't believe that this
is the last night

Before it's all over.

You know, at this point,

I'm just gonna do the best
I can.

And we'll see what happens
tomorrow.

Thank you
very much.

See you tomorrow.
Yup, thank you.

[Lisa]
tomorrow's the big day.
I'm ready for this.

I've been waiting for this,
and, you know, bring it on.

hey, chefs.

Come down here
for a second.

There's got to be
some sort of curveball.

Okay, listen up.

[Richard]
so when we get
into the kitchen,

There--it's just
an empty kitchen,

And there's no--none of
our sous chefs are there.

Hey, chefs.
How's it going?

what's up, chef?
how are you?

Come down here
for a second.

Okay, listen up.

Your sous chefs are not coming
into work today.

from this point on,
you are completely on your own.

the judges wanted
to make sure

that you live and die
by your own hand.

this is not only
the most important meal

you've cooked in your life,
but probably the toughest.

And whoever wins today
will have truly

Earned themselves
the title of top chef.

okay?

Yup.
good luck.

see you later.

[Stephanie]
the lack of help makes it
a lot more difficult.

Since I'm still working
through my menu

And, um, just gonna have
a lot on my mind,

Having a second set of hands
would make things easier.

So, I just have to prioritize
things.

[lisa]
it's like your sous chef
called in sick.

Huh?
It's like your sous chef
called in sick.

no show, no call,
no job.
yup.

I had fun with my sous chef.

But, you know,
now it's all me.

I'm gonna, you know,
bang this food out

And make it the way
I want it.

And it--
it's completely on us

Whether or not we're gonna be
able to make this meal.

[Richard]
this happens every day
in a restaurant.

People don't show up.

I mean, it sucks,
of course.

My food is very intricate,

And there's a lot of work
to get done, and even more so

Now that there's not gonna be
an extra set of hands.

Please watch out.

[Stephanie]
I wanna stay organized today.

I don't want to be running
around like a mad,

Chaotic woman.

Um, so I just gather
some things

And then I start making
my pasta dough.

[Lisa]
my menu's really gonna reflect
my personality.

Very big, bold,
spicy, sweet, salty, sour,

Those bright,
kind of in-your-face flavors

Is really
kind of my personality.

My first course
is gonna be,

Uh, grilled prawns.

My second course
is gonna be, uh,

Tom ka soup dumplings.

My third course
is going to be wagyu beef.

And my fourth course
is going to be,

Uh, black thai
rice pudding.

[Richard]
I'm trying to tell a story
with this menu.

And you know,
I'm trying to let, um,

The judges know that it's not
just about liquid nitrogen

And little electric smokers,

That, with some butter
and a saute pan,

I do pretty good too.

My first course
is gonna be a scallop.

My second course is
just some guinea hen meat

And foie gras.

The third course
is pork belly.

And then banana scallop

And some bacon
ice cream.

I am doing
a seared red snapper.

Seared quail breast

Over a lobster-filled
ravioli.

Medallions of lamb.

And my dessert
is a ricotta pound cake.

It's definitely
a little crazy

Being judged on dessert
as well.

I would have loved to have
just had an extra fish course

Or something like that.

Hey, richard.

Chef, how are you?
good, how's it going?

Good to see you.

How you doing?
It's going pretty good so far.

You all sorted out yet?

I'm--i'm getting there.

Well, we got a lot of things
on the stove, so--

Okay, just trying to get
an idea of what the menu is--

What your menu is
right now.

Okay, it's--it's, um,
a little abstract.

Okay.

so as far as working

On your own, it's--
you're--you're okay?

To be honest with you,
I'm in the [bleep] right now,

But, I mean, it's gonna be
tasty food, I hope.

I hope it's good enough
to win it.

good luck.
thanks, chef.

Hey, steph.

Hi, chef.
How's it going?

good.
how are you doing?

I got about five minutes
to find out

if my ricotta cake
comes out.

is it something
you've made before--obviously--

I tried it once
before I came.

it's the best pound cake
I've ever tried,

So we'll see what happens.

thanks, chef.
okay, good luck.

Hey, lisa.
How's it going?

It's--it's going
really good.

and as far as, you know,
timing and everything, you seem

To be pretty relaxed.

Yeah, I'm good.
I'm not nervous about it.

I'm not concerned
with the timing.

I'm not concerned
with anything.

Well, it sounds
like you have everything

Under control.
Hopefully.

And we're looking forward
to a great meal, so thank you.

All right.
Thanks, chef.

[Tom]
it was surprising
to see the reactions.

You know, richard is--
he's been usually calm,

But he seems very excited,

I think partly because he has
so many ideas

Running around
in his head,

And he can't keep 'em quiet.

You know,
his achilles heel could be

That he's doing too much,
but again, if he pulls it off,

This should be great.

Lisa, um, is very calm.

You know, we know
she's a tough competitor.

We've seen her
at judges' table,

Time and time again,
defending herself.

Um, and I think part
of being a chef

Is having somewhat
of an attitude and a swagger.

It helps.

I checked in
on stephanie,

And she's, um, a little nervous
about her dessert right now.

Going into the finale,
knowing that you may be asked

To make dessert and only working
through it once

Is--is just taking
a huge risk,

And, you know, it could really
come down to that dish for her.

All in all,
all three menus sound great,

And we're looking forward
to a great meal.

[Richard]
yesterday, I was using
the liquid nitrogen

For a little tabasco sauce
ice cream.

Now I'm only using the nitrogen
just to make my bacon ice cream.

What I want to show
is that,

You know, here's an application
for it

That makes ice cream better.

It freezes the ice cream
so quick

That it can't, um,
form ice crystals.

But that's not just all show.

You know, it's about
making the ice cream better.

Maybe I should have cut
my cake earlier

To see if it worked out.

Yeah, that would have been
a good idea.

I'm not feeling super-confident
about the dessert.

But in actuality,

I'm--i'm not a big
cheesecake person.

So I hope that everything
I put into this is enough,

And everybody really enjoys
all the other dishes.

[lisa]
what's wrong?

My [bleep] sucks.

No, it doesn't.

don't even [bleep]ing
say that.

it's always awesome,
steph.

No, not this time,
yo.

[lisa]
yeah, you said that,
like, three times to me,

and then you won.

Not this time.

I don't wanna hear it
from you.

I'm just frustrated.

[Lisa]
stephanie's biggest weakness
is the doubt

That she puts on herself
sometimes.

It's like,
stop doubting yourself.

Be confident.

I don't want
to start doubting myself.

I'm very confident
with my dishes,

And, you know,
my dishes reflect me,

So, hopefully,
the judges like them.

[richard]
it's tense, huh?

[stephanie]
yeah.

I'm not tense.

I was just thinking
to myself,

I wonder why nobody's talking.

[stephanie]
21 minutes.

Ten minutes, guys,
ten minutes.

[padma]
how's the menu look to you?

It looks very good.

[Richard]
I'm the best chef here.

I think I have
the most skill.

I think I have
the most ambition.

I think I'm the only one
who's a craftsman

And an artist.

I'd like to, you know,
prove to myself

That that's not just
in my head.

[Lisa]
it's been a long journey.

It feels good to finally be
at that final point.

You know, I've come this far,

And I'm definitely gonna be
the first female top chef.

[Stephanie]
this is it, you know?

This is what we came here to do.

And, you know, it's not
the $100,000.

For me, personally,
I want to be top chef,

So this is it,
meal of a lifetime.

Thank you for being here.

[gail]
to top chef.

[padma]
salud.

It's strikingly unfamiliar
to me.

I could have seconds.

It's borderline genius.
Absolutely delicious.

[Greeting each other at once]

[padma]
it sounds like
the three of you

Had a really good experience
working under these chefs.

I find it extremely relaxing

Because I have, you know,
just the function

Of achieving what I have
in front of me.

It's funny.
I had the opposite reaction.

I found it anxious.

[april]
it's kind of humbling,
you know.

You have to go ask, "is this--
is this what you want?"

You know, it's good, and she was
very assertive in that.

Hello, chefs.

Hello.

As you can see,

we've brought back

all your former sous chefs
from yesterday.

and we also have
a couple others with us:

chef alfredo ayala,

who's one of puerto rico's
most celebrated

fine dining chefs.

And of course,
to my left,

we have tim zagat,
c.e.o. And co-founder

Of zagat survey.

and our judges,

gail simmons
of food & wine magazine,

Ted allen, the author
of the food you want to eat,

And our head judge,

chef tom colicchio
of craft restaurants.

[Lisa]
it's pretty cool.

How often do you get to say
that you cooked

For this kind of panel
of people,

And they, you know,
genuinely enjoy your food?

[padma]
so richard,

Let's start with you.

tell us about your menu.

I think, um, writing a menu
is as important to a chef

as, you know, the food
that's on a plate.

it's kind of reflective
of my own personal journey

as a chef

And also kind of focus
on, uh, local ingredients.

[lisa]
my menu tonight,

It's gonna be basically
a progression

of vietnamese and thai
for the most part.

kind of take things

that you'd normally get in
a thai or vietnamese restaurant

And hopefully make
a few things

That are gonna kinda shock
you guys.

just really show myself
and my food.

And stephanie.

My menu tonight is gonna be
simple, clean flavors.

I like to use
a lot of fruit in my cooking.

I like to use a couple different
protein flavors on each plate,

and just try to really hit

every flavor point
in your mouth.

So, hopefully, that's what
I'm gonna do on each course.

Thank you very much.
And good luck to all of you.

Thank you.

[Lisa]
my first course is gonna be

The grilled prawns
with a chili-basil sauce

With some crab

And that's just for,
like, a nice crunchy dip

Into that gooey sauce-tastiness,

Home-made potato chips.

[Stephanie]
my first course, I am doing

A seared red snapper

Over a truffled
clam-and-white-asparagus broth

On some fingerling potatoes

And a green asparagus salad
on top.

[Richard]
the general goal
of a tasting menu

Is to progress, uh,
in flavor, in texture,

And in temperature.

So my first course, I'm doing
a barely-cooked scallop

With mango and pineapple
vinegar.

Super bright, bold,
clean flavors,

Which I think is neat.

Dan, on the left,
we have richard's appetizer.

you worked with him
yesterday.

Can you tell us
something about this?

It's strikingly unfamiliar
to me.

[Gail]
the texture is like black
truffle, but it's not.

[April]
the sweetness
of the mango's delicious,

and the scallop's
perfectly cooked.

If we would simplify
a little bit,

I think you'd get
a better taste.

Lisa's prawns. April?

I like the texture
that she's thought up,

With the potato chips.

She made
this red pepper-chili sauce.

It certainly has
a nice spice.

The chili sauce
from lisa is too strong.

the heat almost
takes me back

To china already.

[Ted]
stephanie's dish
was very elegant.

The truffle oil has been
definitely infusing

Over night in the broth.

It's fairly delicate.

Yeah, it is.

I think it's probably
the best of the three.

It was good.
It was almost really good.

[Lisa]
my second course
is gonna be

Tom ka gai, which is a
traditional coconut soup

With chicken.

But instead of just keeping it
as a simple bowl of soup,

I'm turning it
into an actual soup dumpling.

[Stephanie]
for my second course,
I'm doing a seared quail breast

Over a lobster-filled ravioli

With a mango lobster sauce

And a quail egg.

Right there.
Go.

My second course, calling
the dish, "which came first?"

In this case,
the guinea hen or the foie gras.

So there's some pulled
guinea hen meat

A sous vide chicken egg,

And then there's a roasted piece
of duck foie gras.

Just kind of like
a bounty of spring vegetables.

[Padma]
on the left, we have

Richard's "which came first?"

[Eric]
I like the complexity
of the dish

And the earthiness of it,

but it's hard to make
a distinction

In between the ingredients.

This is him falling in love
with the technique.

Yes, yes.

I like the--the freshness
of it.

And the foie gras
was perfectly cooked too.

Lisa's soup was
absolutely delicious.

It was really well-balanced.

I could eat a giant bowl
of this

And be completely satisfied.

I like the lemongrass.

I like the creaminess.

it kind of keeps
your palette a bit lively.

And you want
to eat more of it.

Lisa's was really excellent,
very good.

I probably would've been

Happy to have seconds.

[Eric]
I like very much
the seasoning of the quail,

Of stephanie.

[Gail]
yes.

I think the only thing that
I would have changed about it

would to get more lobster
essence in the sauce.

Was well-balanced,
it was very delicate.

and the quail
is perfectly cooked.

No one had an issue
with these leeks?

[gail]
these leeks
are driving me crazy.

A: they are completely
undercooked,

And b: it has no kind
of relevance.

Third course is going
to be wagyu beef,

Marinated in
a coriander-garlic-oyster sauce

With a nice, fresh
chayote and cucumber salad,

Some homemade hot sauce,
and some garlic chips.

My third course
is medallions of lamb

With maitake mushrooms,

Some braised pistachios,
blackberry,

And also a little
olive tapenade.

Third course,
which is the red meat course,

I'm calling "be the bacon."

It's gonna be
a super-simple dish.

It's gonna be some pickled
radishes,

A little broth
of mirin and ham stock.

And then just this luscious
piece of pork belly.

I'm surprised
by richard.

He doesn't season
the food.

[Padma]
the thing that has the most
flavor is the pickled radish.

I love the radish, though.

It's borderline genius.

[dan]
he chose a cooking technique--

Uh, was pressure-cooked.

it's not as crispy as I would
have wanted it in the end.

The broth is--
is very...underseasoned.

April, you were the sous chef
here on lisa's dish.

what did you think?

The beef flavor,
it's nice,

But it's not tender.

There's no flavor
of garlic.

But the sauce is so sweet.

[eric]
it's kind of a repeat
of the sauce from the shrimps.

[dan]
that's right, that's right.

It's just sweeter.

I actually really liked
the cucumber and chayote salad.

Because it added an acid
to the dish

That I didn't taste
anywhere else.

[padma]
did you do that, april?

Because the Kn*fe skills
are pretty good on that.

I didn't do that at all.

[Laughter]

[padma]
eric, tell me about what you
thought of stephanie.

It's a big surprise
to me

Because I would never picture
green olives and pistachios

Going--going well.

[Ted]
it's tasting a pistachio

In a way that I've never
tasted it before.

I love the green olive.

It added certain brininess

and a certain lightness
to the dish.

I thought she was going
to crash and burn

When I saw those olives.

And the second
I put it in my mouth,

i--it was like a light bulb
went on,

and I said, "oh, she's really
thought about this."

[eric]
it is the first time I hear
at the table

Everybody's using the word,
"I love."

Yeah.
We haven't--
we haven't heard that yet.

Ah, richard's dish
just needs work.

Lisa's dish is
just pedestrian.

Stephanie's is just full
of surprises and it works.

My fourth course is
black thai rice pudding

With a sour lime-mango cream,

Some crispy salsa taro,

And some caramelized coconut.

My dessert is
a ricotta pound cake

With tropical fruit

And a little banana cream.

Dessert, which is probably
my favorite going into it,

Is going to be a banana scallop
bacon ice cream.

It's whimsical,
and it's fun.

I'm really excited about it.
It's something I've done before.

[gail]
what's her chip issue, lisa?

[Tom]
she subscribes
to the whole sort of asian-y,

Some kind of crunch
in every dish.

[Dan]
it's a minor critique

In what I think is just
a really exciting dessert.

The rice,
the coconuts, uh,

They really tasted
wonderful.

And I felt
like I wanted more of it.

I kinda took
a--a mouthful,

And it kind of didn't work
for me,

and then after a few more
mouthfuls, it was like,

oh, this is
really interesting.

Dan, what did you think
of richard's dessert?

Actually, it works.

Here's an example
of his playfulness

Pulling through
in the end.

It's very important
to focus on flavors

And then, you can be playful.

Stephanie's was okay,
but it was nothing special.

[April]
the cake was nice and moist.

It's a little bit unrefined
and slightly edgy.

This was a dinner
I was waiting for

for a really long time,
and I think really,

They've all won at this stage;
they really have.

I think over the entire season
over the last several months,

We've seen these chefs grow,
we've come to know them--

Richard, definitely more
intellectual, out there;

Lisa, sort of sticking
true to herself

And what she likes to eat
and what she likes to cook;

And stephanie, who tends to have
more of a homey spin on things.

And I think we have
a very strong contrast

Of styles and of flavors,
and I think it's gonna be

A very interesting
judges' table.

[Applause]

[padma]
I wanna thank
all three of you

For a fantastic meal.

I know you all worked hard
back there,

and, uh, as you know,

We'll be seeing you
soon enough at judges' table.

Thanks.
Thank you.

Yeah, sure,
I'll say it.

I'm totally shocked
by what richard just said.

Thank you.

That was
a delicious meal.

It was fun.

it was really interesting.

[tom]
it was a great setting,

We had a lot of great chefs
there, a lot of great company,

And I think
they delivered

exactly what we expected
of them.

I think there were
some missteps along the way.

Some serious,
some small.

I always like to see
what sort of the chefs'--

Sort of what
their intentions are,

To see if they carry them
through.

Well, let's find out.

So richard, let's start
with you.

How did it go?

In the kitchen,
it went okay.

I'm hoping, generally,
it went successful

For the diners as well.

I just want to understand

the concept
behind the scallops,

what you were going for.

I mean, the first course,
I mean, I think

It has to be
an expl*si*n, flavor-wise,

And something that just kind of
wakes up your palette.

A few of us felt that
that dish lacked seasoning.

That it lacked seasoning?

Yeah, I for one, I thought
it was underseasoned.

and simple salt and pepper.

I just found it
a little bland.

Okay.

And lisa, tell us how you came
to do the prawns.

I love shrimp.

And the sauce that I made
is a very intense,

Very bold sauce,
just to kind of give you

All the different flavors
and textures

That I personally
really enjoy eating.

That was a very assertive
first course.

it was very hot.

I like to find out intention,

If that was your intention
to do it,

Or it was mistake,
I mean, it's just--

Trying to figure that out.

You guys have been telling me,

You know,
we want to see you

in the cooking,
and clearly,

I'm a, you know, spicy kind
of person.

and wanted to show you guys

What I really like to eat
and what I really like to cook.

[ted]
I wanted to say

That I really liked
the potato chips on the plate

because I thought
the way you cut them

In those squares
was very beautiful.

[gail]
stephanie,

Your first dish.

I just wanted to do
something springy

With the white asparagus
and the green asparagus.

A little piece
of snapper on top.

I also had
a truffle vinaigrette

Just to add a little acid.

It was
a beautifully presented dish.

and my fish was perfect.

I actually
really enjoyed it.

[ted]
I feel the same way.

I loved the crust
that you achieved on it.

[padma]
I thought it was lovely.

Because you had the richness,
but you didn't feel like

It was some creamy, heavy
clam chowder.

[gail]
richard, let's talk
about the second course.

Would there have been anything

That you would have
done differently

If you could do that dish
for the second time?

[Richard]
maybe it didn't need
the foie gras.

Maybe that's one of those,
you know,

A chef kind of treat

That's an indulgence
sometimes

that's not needed.

My only criticism
is that

The foie gras, the egg,
the guinea hen,

it became
sort of muddled.

I lost the integrity
a little bit

Of each individual thing.

Okay. Wow.

Lisa.

I have a feeling
you've done

A soup like this
a lot.

To me, it's like
my chicken noodle soup.

And then I just decided
that, you know what,

I want to make
a soup dumpling.

I think it was virtually
unanimous at the table

that the flavor in that soup
just blew everybody away.

The flavors were great.

There was a lot of slurping

going on at the table
when your soup came.

[padma]
stephanie.

So I did the quail
with the lobster.

I made a broth actually
out of the lobster shells

And the quail bones,

and fused it
with mango

And a little
of the local oranges.

I thought the quail
was cooked nicely.

It was very nicely done.

I thought the pasta
was flavored well.

my criticism of the dish
was the leeks.

For the life of me, I have no
idea what they were doing there.

And they weren't cooked.

They weren't cooked?

They were crunchy.

[tom]
richard, pork belly.

Yes.
I liked it.

I wanted to be minimal
with the dish

And kind of come back down

From the richness
of the one prior.

did you consider searing
that belly a little more

And getting a little bit
of crispiness on it?

It wasn't gonna happen.

I was gonna lose
the integrity of the meat

to try and get
the fat crispy.

And it wasn't worth it.

[padma]
so lisa,

tell us about
your decision to use

That beef and cook it
the way you did.

That steak
needed to be just served

Just barely seared.

It was just kind of buttery,

A little bit
of texture to it.

And just a nice balance.

Kobe beef's a little funny.

You can't treat it like
an american steak.

'cause if you keep it rare,

that fat
never gets activated.

And then it just becomes
sort of more chewy,

As opposed to melting
in your mouth.

It was the sweetness
of that sauce

That threw me off
with the beef.

stephanie, your lamb.

I really-
I was really happy

With that dish
when it came out.

And the lamb actually
was cooked perfectly,

Which I was like,
"whoo-hoo."

I think it's one of
the more creative things

That happened all night.

I've never seen
a braised pistachio.

I'd like to see more of them.

[tom]
yeah, this dish

Kind of reminded me why
you should always keep

A very open mind
when you're eating.

it was the last dish
that I tried,

And I just thought
it was full of surprises.

So thanks.

Thank you.

[gail]
richard, how did you get
to the dessert

That you did present tonight?

I eat a banana for breakfast
pretty much every day.

that's my breakfast,
and I'm out the door.

And, uh, I have made
bacon ice cream before.

[Tom]
I liked the dish.
It all made sense.

It was crispy.
The ice cream was well done.

[padma]
you won the dessert challenge

With the scalloped banana,
didn't you?

Yes, a different variation,
mm-hmm.

So lisa, let's talk about
your dessert.

This specific dessert
is made with black rice,

Lime,
a little bit of coconut,

A touch of sugar,
some salt, and mangos.

It was delicious.

Thank you.

It was a really nice,
delicious bite of food.

I loved the texture.
Overall, I enjoyed it.

Stephanie,
were you happy

with the way
your dessert came out?

I liked the flavors.

The banana cream
was just something

I was trying out today.

I wanted to have
a little bit of saltiness,

So I made
a salted banana cream.

I had some issues
with the dessert.

the cake, I thought,
was fine.

The banana cream wasn't
really identifiable.

it was a miss.

Okay.

Before we let you guys go
to deliberate,

Do you have any last words?

[stephanie]
it's just sort of funny,

When I was having dale
work with me,

and the number one thing
he said

was don't
second guess yourself.

and the dish
that I fell short on tonight,

I think the dessert
was me second guessing myself.

Um, but I think
that I'll be able

to take this and learn,
and I think I just,

Uh, am what a top chef
should be.

[lisa]
I feel very strongly

About the menu that I provided
you guys with tonight.

uh, I'm very confident
you're gonna be like,

"She deserves this win.
She deserves to be top chef.

She's, you know,
she's got the qualities."

Yeah, sure,
I'll say it.

I mean, I feel like i, you know,
choked a little bit, so...

Where do you think
you choked?

I think I overthought things
too much.

You know, I think when
I'm at my best

it's when
I'm not thinking.

and I think that, you know,
it wasn't certainly,

You know,
my top performance

That have had
so far on the show so...

[padma]
we'll call you back

When we have a decision;
thank you.

[lisa]
oh, god.
crap.

Well, that was revealing.

I'm totally shocked

By what richard just said.

He said he choked.
He said he choked.

And, you know,
in a sense,

I agree with him.

he made a few mistakes,
and I think

When he says he chokes,
you know,

He cooks the pork belly dish,

and he knows that dish
wasn't complete.

And I think we all agree.

I mean, that dish
could have been better.

He knows,
and he wants to make sure

That we know that
he's capable of taking it.

And he could have.

[tom]
you know,
lisa and stephanie both

Had a few missteps as well.

Overall, I think we had
three very, very good meals.

I would love to sort of try
to take a poll for each course.

[padma]
okay.

And see, uh,

if they all match up
at all.

So first course.

It was very tight
throughout, actually.

but on the first course,
I think lisa took it.

[Gail]
there was a lot I liked
about lisa's prawn.

I thought it was original
and interesting.

But there was a lot I liked
about stephanie's dish.

[tom]
stephanie's snapper dish

With the exception of,
you know, the truffle oil

I thought was good.

My fish was cooked perfect.

The texture on the fish,

The way it was cooked
on the inside,

The crispiness,
the elegance,

The prettiness.

So let's move on
the second course.

[tom]
I liked lisa's soup

And soup dumpling.

The soup, the flavor,
was awesome without a doubt.

[gail]
lisa's dish, to me,
was my number one.

Why? Because I liked
the flavors the most.

it was a bowl of soup
that I want to eat again.

I like richard's play
on what came first--

You know, the guinea hen,
and foie gras, and egg dish.

I don't mind it being
a rich dish.

[Ted]
well, richard's dish
was ambitious.

I think he overthought it.

All right,
so the meat course?

Stephanie's lamb dish
I thought was very good.

and again, I thought
it was very surprising.

I didn't expect it
to be good.

But I looked
at those ingredients and said,

You know,
"blackberries, pistachios,

"Olives,
and lamb, mushrooms,

Oh, boy,
this is an adventure."

And it all worked.

I love pistachios.

I've never heard

of anybody braising
a pistachio.

When we spoke
to her about it,

She knew
she nailed that dish.

This becomes kind of
a hard one for me,

Because richard's idea
was original,

But he didn't get it.

[Tom]
I think when richard
says he choked, I think that's

What he was thinking about
when he said he choked.

Yes.
He was thinking
about that dish.

I'll tell you where
I don't think he choked.

I thought his dessert
was great.
Yeah.

When are ben & jerry's
and haagen-dazs and breyers

Going to come out
with a bacon ice cream?

Very soon, I think.

any day now.
any day.

[tom]
lisa's dessert?

Hers to me was fun,
uh, interesting,

Thoughtful.

And the combination
really worked for me.

It was my favorite dessert.

[Padma]
I'm glad she made that dessert

Because it was her
best dish of the night.

I think we can probably
all agree on stephanie's

Not being our favorite
of the three.

[gail]
yes, I agree.

stephanie's dessert sucked.

but there were high points

That I think represent her
as a chef in this meal.

Like the lamb.
like the lamb.

And, to me,
like her snapper.

But who did a better meal
tonight?

Right.

And you can rank
which one did you like better.

Which is a pretty simple
way to do it,

But how much better
did you like it?

You definitely k*lled
the first and third.

and I kinda feel
like I kinda nailed

The second and fourth,
but I don't know.

Based on
the performance tonight,

I have a preference.

It was a long road
getting there,

But, yes, I think
I have a preference.

I think after this
long, long discussion,

As we hear the morning birds
beginning to chirp,

Yeah, I think I have
a preference.

Tom?

Yeah, I'm there.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

One of you
is about to win

$100,000
furnished by the makers

Of the glad family
of products,

And the title
of top chef.

[tom]
chefs, tonight
you truly cooked

a tremendous meal.

You are really amazing
competitors,

And that's why you're here.

Richard, you get a tremendous
amount of joy from cooking.

Your food is whimsical,

Playful, and sometimes
just plain outrageous.

Thank you.

lisa, asian flavors
are your thing.

It's big.
It's bold.

it's all about you.

stephanie,

You've proven
time and time again

that when we think we have
you all figured out,

You surprise us with something
from left field

That just wows us.

this was a very, very
tough decision.

It was
very difficult to make.

in the end,
we based our decision

on which meal

We would go back
and like to have again.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Stephanie...

You are top chef.

What? Really?

Congratulations.

[Applause]

Oh, my god.

Thank you.
Thank you so much.

Congratulations.

Thanks.
Thanks.

[Stephanie]
I won top chef.

Holy [bleep], really?

It's the biggest thing
that's happened in my life.

My life is about to change.
It's gonna be absolutely insane.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

Honesty,
amazing good job.

[Lisa]
I was just hoping.

In my mind I was like,

"There's a really good sh*t
that I can take this."

And then she said
stephanie's name,

And I was just like,
"[bleep]."

This whole journey's been,
you know, awesome.

I'm proud of the dishes
that I've done.

And this is what
I want to do,

And this is what
I'm always gonna do.

[Richard]
just the disappointment

Of, like, almost being there,
you know?

Losing at the last second,
it sucks.

That's why it's tough too,

'Cause you put
your whole heart into it

And then it doesn't
work out.

One thing that's good
about this

Is to kind of refocus,
you know?

Just keep doing
what I love to do, so--

The future's bright
for sure.

Cut.
[Chuckles]

Cheers.

Congrats, steph.

[Cheering]

[Stephanie]
it's really exciting
being the first female

To win top chef.

I'm so glad I was able
to pull through

And finding out that
after all this hard work,

And, you know, maybe
doubting it a little bit,

And, uh--

This is just, like,
a reaffirmation.

Like, this is what
I'm meant to do in life.