05x04 - Today Show

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

Team rainbow
is now complete!

We are the gays and lesbians
of the chefs.

[laughing]
we're so gay.

Your elimination challenge

Is to make
thanksgiving dinner

For some very special clients.

[all]
hi, everybody,
we're the foo fighters.

[laughter and applause]

The turkey's in, right?

[alex]
ariane decides
to do the turkey.

I'm a little worried 'cause
she hasn't been performing

Really strongly.

[ariane]
everybody's like,
"is the turkey in?"

I'm trying not to get angry.

I know what I'm doing.

Ariane,
who cooked the turkey,

She's been on the chopping block
the last two episodes.

Did she redeem herself?
With the turkey?
Yeah.

Start you off
with one of our banana s'mores.

Did someone offend
the s'mores guy?

'cause I think
he spit on mine.

[light laughter]

Richard, the s'mores

Were really disappointing.

Richard, please pack
your knives and go.

[crying]
I've got to try to hold
my head up high

And know that I competed
with the best.

At stake for the winner--

A feature
in food & wine magazine,

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

$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]

♪ ♪

[ariane]
it's a new day, you know.

I'm feeling I did well
with the turkey challenge.

Now I'm just like,

"let's keep it going,"
you know.

And I'm--
I'm staying positive.

I feel good.

[alex]
waking up the morning

With richard gone,

I really don't have
anybody to lean on.

Rich was my roommate, so...

It's like the first time in this
competition that I feel alone.

I got a letter from rich.

Rich left
a letter on my bed,

And it was a pretty emotional,
um, sincere letter.

I read it
to jamie and carla.

"it may sound crappy
to say this,

"but you've got a friend
out of this competition--me.

"that being said,
here's the crappy part.

[bleep] the rest of them."

[laughter]
"believe me,

"you don't get to realize
how much you really want this

"until they say your name

"and your chance to compete
is taken away.

"now you really got to take
the gloves off

And go for the win every day."

[crying]

[alex]
richard's letter
really touches me

Because being away from home
is pretty hard.

I do miss my family
and my fiancee and...

I'll be okay, though.

Um, got to concentrate
on cooking,

And that's
what I'm here to do.

[jamie]
I'm fine with being

The last remaining member,
I guess, of "team rainbow."

Um, I've made
a rainbow bracelet

[laughs]
kind of in honor.

But when it all comes down to
it, it's a cooking competition,

You know?

Maybe I'm the strongest one
on team rainbow.

I don't know.

Time to make
the doughnuts.

Let's roll
like a doughnut down a hill.

[jamie laughs]

[fabio]
we get to the top chef kitchen,

And here we go

With padma
and rocco dispirito.

He's an american chef,
italianized.

He's not real italian,

But, you know,
he has a lot of knowledge

About italian cuisine,
and he's a good chef.

I have books from him.

I appreciate
the way his cooking

Is really close
to the european way.

So I think it's gonna be
a good challenge.

Good morning, chefs.

[all]
good morning.

I know I don't need

To introduce our guest judge
for this round.

Award-winning chef

And probably one
of the most recognizable faces

In the culinary world,

Mr. Rocco dispirito.

Thank you, padma.
Hi, everybody, how are you?

[all]
good morning.

[rocco]
nice to see you.

Well, as you can see,

It's time for breakfast.

[jamie]
behind padma

And, uh, rocco on the table
is a whole spread

Of breakfast items,

And it's kind of
my worst nightmare.

I'm not a breakfast person.
I don't eat it.

Uh, I never have.

Even when I was a kid,

When I would get up
in the morning,

I would have, like,
cans of chef boyardee

And chicken noodle soup.

Like, I never ate
breakfast ever.

So, for your
quickfire challenge,

We'd like you to create
a breakfast amuse bouche.

Instead
of a sprawling plateful,

Just make
an elegant mouthful.

[stefan]
amuse bouche is a small,

One-bite-sized starter
before your dinner.

It's the showcase of a chef--
amuse bouche.

You have 30 minutes,

And then rocco and I
will come around.

He'll pick
his favorite.

[rocco]
and I love bacon.

Use bacon a lot.

[padma]
everybody loves bacon.

Your time
starts now.

Good luck.

[stefan]
me being from california,

You know, california
is huevos rancheros.

And I have this little tool
you snap on top of the egg,

And it cuts a perfect round
of the egg off.

Come on.

[stefan]
there you go.

[jeff]
well, I got
a couple things in mind.

Um, actually have
more than a couple things.

I think that's
where I'm getting stumped,

Because I'm thinking too much,

And I'm throwing all my best
breakfast ideas out there.

This is probably gonna be
the only breakfast challenge

We have, so I really want
to impress them,

And I want to do
as much as I can.

[sizzling]

[daniel]
when I was a little kid,

I used to have
a bowl of corn flakes,

Then I used to have
some zucchini flowers in a pan.

So I used to have,
like, corn flakes

And zucchini flowers.

It's gonna be crunchy,
savory in the middle,

Sweet, savory, and beautiful.

[ariane]
for my kids,

I do this stuffed
french toast,

So that's what jumps
into my head.

And rocco has mentioned
that he likes bacon,

So, of course, we're gonna throw
bacon in there somehow.

[chuckles]

[fabio]


Pbht!

[fabio]
I'm behind.

I don't have ba--bacon.
I don't have eggs.

What makes me happy
for breakfast

Is, uh, something sweet,

Like a brioche,

Some fruit, and a cappuccino.

[leah]
my favorite thing when I eat,
I like to make the perfect bite,

So I try to get
each flavor component

On my fork.

It's breakfast, you know,

So, um, I do
a bacon, egg, and cheese,

But a little--
a little different,

Like, my own spin on it.

[padma]
five minutes!

You have five minutes left!

[melissa]
[bleep], dude.

Time's up!

Oh!

[padma]
utensils down, hands up!

I like it.

Good morning,
this is rocco.
Nice to meet you.

Tell us
about your amuse bouche.

Well, my favorite thing
in the world is eggs in a nest,

So I did a little french toast
with, uh, over-easy eggs,

Some strawberries,
some bacon.

I would eat anything

Off this fried
french toast.

It was great.

Uh, I'm from l.A.,
so I made huevos rancheros.

I pulled the egg yolk out
and egg whites,

Baked it in the oven,

Like a huevos rancheros salsa
and cheese.

Beautiful
presentation.
Thank you
very much.

And you cut the top off
so nicely.

Do you have that little
special egg-cutter thing?

I do, yeah.
That's good.

I love breakfast.

I love a really hearty,
good, tasty breakfast.

So I've done
a little potato cake

With a nice fluffy
mini omelet, bacon,

And a classic
hollandaise.

[radhika]
I don't think rocco
is impressed,

Because he doesn't have, um,

An immediate reaction.

[padma]
what did you make for us?

I have a cornmeal-crusted
zucchini flower.

Uh, I love corn flakes.

It's stuffed
with a shiitake mushroom,

Egg, and, uh,
potato-bacon hash.

[rocco]
I think the problem
with corn flakes

Is that they're very sweet,

So you have to make sure
the flavors are very balanced.

I made little
stuffed french toast

Stuffed with a little
soft cream cheese,

Chopped bacon, chives,

And I made
a little chili maple syrup.

This is very well
put together.

It's just the right amount of
sweet, just the right amount--

Not so sweet.
Thank you.

Hi, jamie.

Tell us
about your amuse bouche.

So I, for one, am also a fan
of the savory breakfast.

Um, so I kind of did a play
on a blt/breakfast sandwich.

Grilled the bread,
put a little balsamic syrup

And then some
fresh basil on top.

I feel like
I want to just bite this one.
I think you should.

And it's
the best way to go.

Nicely layered flavors--
the bread did its job perfectly.

Mmm.

[leah]
I see that a lot
of other people,

They're not really doing
an amuse.

Like, an amuse is one bite,
and I see people

Doing things
that are bigger than one bite.

Like, jamie's is two bites.

So hopefully flavor
and just listening

To what the actual challenge is,
um, will help me out.

So I basically did
bacon, egg, and cheese.

I grilled the bread,

And then I panfried it
in the bacon fat,

And then
a spicy tomato sauce,

Bacon, sunny-side-up
quail egg, pepper,

And fried sage.

Well done.
Perfect size.

Well, it's an amuse bouche,
so I tried to make it one bite.

Hi, fabio.
Padma.

Fabio, how are you?
Finally,
another italian.

We have--as you know,

You're not gonna get breakfast--
bacon with me.

So we're gonna get some brioche
with a brulee banana

And some espresso cream.

You know, if you get
too much sugar, too much bacon,

You don't start light
your morning.

You're gonna be energetic,
but not too heavy.

That's true.

The espresso sh*t
is a little rich.

It's interesting that you said
you didn't want it too heavy,

Because it feels
like a pudding.

What's going on?
I just did a little
twice-baked potato,

Stuffed it with a little
creme fresh butter

And, your favorite, bacon.

I also decided to do something
a little more refreshing,

So I made you a yogurt,

Spun it into a sorbet
with some honey.

So these are
two different dishes.

Right?
Is that the idea?
Sure.

[jeff]
I was just lost for words.

I didn't even know
how to react to that.

It was a potato bite,
which was perfect,

And then it was the fruit
with the yogurt sorbet,

Which is a bite,

So it was
two too much.

So how
was breakfast?

Breakfast was good.

But only a few of you

Got breakfast
and amuse bouche together.

[padma]
all right, well,

Let's get
the bad news over with.

Who do you think
fell short today?

[rocco]
daniel, the corn flakes
were all I tasted.

I'd have like to have tasted
a little more

Of the, uh,
the zucchini flower, yeah.

Yeah.

Who else fell
a bit short?
Uh, fabio.

Sorry, it would've been
a great meal for dessert,

But for breakfast, I prefer
something a little more savory.

Perfect.
Fair enough.

[fabio]
he said something
before we start the challenge,

That he loved bacon,
and I should've listened that.

Next time I'm gonna do
a piece of toast, bacon,

Some [bleep] eggs on it,

And that probably
one of the top three.

All right,
now for some good news.

Who were
you favorites?

Uh, I really
liked stefan's.

Even though it was
more than one bite,

The container made it
a great amuse bouche.

Thank you.

One of my other favorites
was leah.

Great arrangement of flavors
in the perfect bite.

[padma]
anyone else?

Jamie,

You had a beautifully assembled
amuse bouche,

Uh, and everything
was just perfectly ex*cuted.

Thank you.

All right, rocco,
so who are picking as the winner

Of this quickfire?

Well,
if I could pick two,

It would be jamie and leah.

But if I have to pick
one of the two,

Then I'd like to pick...

Leah.

And I have
a little gift for you.

It's a copy of my new book,
rocco gets real.

[padma]
congratulations.

Thank you.
Congratulations.
It was really delicious.

This is your second
quickfire win in a row.

Yeah.

Nice, very nice.
Very well done.

[leah]
twice in a row, I mean,

It's really nice,
like, you know,

But, um, I also still want
to cook really good food.

I don't, you know, I don't want
to embarrass myself.

[chuckles]

[jamie]
I mean, I am pissed,

'cause she got immunity
last time,

And she just got it again,

And this is the second
quickfire challenge

That I have been so close,
and I haven't won.

You all know
how important it is

As a chef
to raise your profile

So that people know
about you and your cooking.

The more people
who know about you,

The more will seek out
your restaurants,

Buy your books,
and try your food.

So, for your
elimination challenge,

We want you to show us
how you would want

To introduce
yourselves and your food

To millions
of television viewers.

You must create a dish

For a 2 1/2-minute
presentation,

Suitable
for a live television segment.

[carla]
for live tv, you really
have to be spot on.

And also there--the timing
is like, "boom, boom, boom."

You have no time.
They will cut you.

You'll each do your presentation
one at a time

For the judges
here in the kitchen.

And we're also doing things
a little differently this time.

So winning
has some major advantages.

Dude, I'm, like,
scared as hell.

Like, live tv is not something
I really--

It's not something
I ever want to do.

It's not something
that comes easy to me.

The recipe should be
very easy to follow,

So the home cook
can follow along

And also to set yourself up
for success.

If it's difficult,
there are more opportunities

For you to make a mistake,

Because you'll be judged
on your presentation

And the quality
of your dish.

[fabio]
this is a really hard
challenge for me.

I have 2 1/2 minutes
to explain

Something in perfect english,
live tv, while I'm cooking.

[leah]
I'm kind of freaking out,

Like, because I've never done
a demo before.

[fabio]
there's no way
he can pull it out.

One hour--
there's no way.

[fabio]
we have $100

And 30 minutes
to shop at whole foods.

We need to come up
with a dish

That we're gonna show
in a demo.

So, first things I go--

Tuna.
[whistles, laughter]

[fabio]
I'm gonna do a salad with some
seared tuna, sesame encrusted,

Carrots and asparagus--
something real easy.

We're not doing
the same thing, are we?

I don't think so.
You're getting sushi,
aren't you?

Yeah.
Yeah, I know
what you're up to.

[eugene]
we will be demonstrating
and creating a dish

For live television.

My background--
I do sushi, so, you know,

I'm gonna do a sushi dish

Where beginning people
can do it, you know.

Fast, easy, simple,

Flavorful food.

You got any more tuna here?

He's gonna cut it
right now.

Can I get, like,
a three-pound piece?
Yeah.

Oh, you guys sell it
by blocks?

[man]
we can do that.
Really?

You know what? I'll take
a three-pound block as well.

I never knew you guys
had blocks, bro.

And if there's any way you can
cut off the chain right there.

I really want to do this little
crispy ahi tuna roll that I do.

The only problem is
I need to make sure

They have egg roll skins,
and they have good tuna.

If they don't have
those ingredients,

I'm gonna have to go
to one of my backups.

This is a competition,
so I want to make sure

I get the best product
I can get.

That tuna was expensive.

That was half my budget
right there.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

Thank you.

[alex]
I'm the only person
who has enough guts

To go out the box
and do dessert.

I decided to do
a rose-infused creme brulee.

It's almost like
if you pick dessert,

You might have,

Like, a free pass almost,

Because nobody expects you
to do a good dessert.

Thanks, man.

Six minutes, everybody.
Six minutes.

[beeping]

Yep, that's it.

Thank you.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

So a demo is kind of like
giving, like, a cooking lesson.

In my head, I'm wondering
if what I should actually do

During my presentation,

In that, should I cook?

Do I have enough time
to do that?

Do I have enough time
to do this?

You know, I don't want to run
out of time.

You have to be on time, and you
have to engage the audience.

[jeff]
my dish is
a shrimp malfuf roll

That's got big, bold flavors,

And it's something
that sounds intimidating

'cause there's
all these fancy words,

But once you actually demo it,
it's--it's really quite simple.

[alex]
right away, I need to get this
creme brulee mixture

In the oven.

It cooks for 25 minutes,


So I need to get this in
as fast as I can.

Gives it enough time
to cool it down.

[fabio]
alex is doing a creme brulee

In one hour.

There's no way
he can pull it out,

Because he has to cook it,
he has to rest it,

And it has to cool down.

One hour--
there's no way.

[jamie]
I immediately think of a dish

That I've actually done
on live television before,

Which is a frisee salad
with a fried duck egg.

The thing I'm most concerned
about is making sure

That that egg is cooked
in the 2 1/2 minutes.

[leah]
I'm kind of freaking out.

Like, I'm actually
really happy

I have immunity
for this challenge,

Because I've never done
a demo before.

I'm doing a seared duck breast
with corn and blueberries--

Weird combination,
but it works.

I've had it before.

I'm not really thinking

I'm gonna do too hot,
but I'll try, you know.

I'll try my hardest.
[chuckles]

[radhika]
I finally decide
on sweet heat shrimp.

I'm thinking

I really have to bring out
my personality.

My, like, style of cooking
really has to come through

If I'm gonna win
this challenge.

[suspenseful music]

[carla]
the first thing
that came to mind

Was a tortilla soup.

I'm thinking,
"I-I cannot be on the bottom.

I just can't."

Psychologically,
I don't think I can take it.

[laughing]
honestly, I can't take
being on the bottom.

[ariane]
I'm gonna make new jersey
beefsteak tomato salad

With watermelon, feta,
aged balsamic,

And an herb fleur du sel.

You got to keep it simple.

When it's simple,
it's still wonderful.

[daniel]
my dish

Is a ginger, sweet-soy-marinated
skirt steak.

My career dreams are kind of
similar to bobby flay's--

Have my own tv show,

My own restaurants.

I would love to act,

Make a frickin' movie,

Just 'cause
I'm very charismatic,

And I think I light up
in front of the camera.

So that's what I plan to do,

Is make you laugh
and teach you how to cook.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[padma]
time's up!

Sorry
to wake everybody up.

Ariane, I need you to wake up,
and I need to see you

Over at the other kitchen.

[ariane]
tom is the last person

I think is gonna walk
into the girls' room.

I need to wake you guys up.

You gotta be [bleep]ing me.

[stefan]
gail, padma, tom, and rocco

Walk in the room.

The main table is set up for the
person who does demonstration.

There's 25,000 different
scenarios what could happen.

You get nervous, absolutely.

I-I think
we're all freaking out there.

[padma]
ariane, what are you making
for us today?

Hi, I'm ariane.

I'm a chef from culinariane
in new jersey,

And having pride
in our new jersey tomatoes,

Today I'm doing
a jersey beefsteak tomato salad,

A little watermelon,
feta.

I'm just gonna quickly show you
how to do the basil oil.

[ariane]
the demo is,

You're showing a dish.

You need to talk about it
and cook it.

So I'm gonna make basil oil.

I'm gonna put it in.
[imitates blender]

You know, I'm trying
not to lose a finger

While I'm slicing my tomato,

And this is my chance
to show what I can do.

Everything I got here
I got in the supermarket.

So you can make this at home,

And you can really wow
your guests.

And 14 seconds
still on the clock.
Very nice.

Well, today I'm doing
a bitter-green salad

With fried duck egg,
a little bacon lardon,

Um, and some caviar.
[rocco]
duck egg?

[jamie]
I am feeling confident
going into it,

'cause I've done
live television before,

And I think that--I think it's
something that I can do well.

Just want to check on our egg.
The egg's quacking
in there.

It's perfect.

[jamie]
so then I get my egg out,

And then I notice
that everything

Is set except for the white
around the yolk.

So, either I let it keep
cooking, and I go over time,

Or I plate it.

I didn't know
what was worse.

How do you know
if the egg's ready?

[jamie]
well, I can just tell
that the white

Has set up,
so I know it's ready to go.

I'm gonna make
the people at home

Feel like
they're real top chefs, okay?

This is a perfect
little dessert

That's very simply made.

[alex]
I have problems
speaking to people in public.

I-I-I used to--I'm a chef.

I'm not a public servant
or whatever you want to call me.

How much vanilla extract
would you use?

I would do
no more than a teaspoon.

Wow, a teaspoon.

Maybe half that--
a half teaspoon.

So a half teaspoon.
A half teaspoon, okay?

Then you pour it

Into the creme brulee,
put it in the oven for 350--

Your time's up, alex.
We're sorry.

[padma]
taste it, though.
Oh, man!

It's fast.
You had it all ready.

I did have it ready,
but she's talking.

I try to talk back to her
and interact.

[alex]
finally I'm done,

And the judges taste
the creme brulee.

They're looking
at each other

Like, "uh-oh.
You know, what's this?"

Right then my heart drops,
and I know that I'm in trouble,

Because my creme brulee
wasn't set.

Hi, how are you?

What are you making
for us today?

I'm gonna take you
to the middle east.

I'm gonna do you
a little malfuf roll.

Usually malfuf is vegetarian,

But I found some shrimp that are
from the gulf of mexico,

Which is where I was born
and raised.

So I'm gonna do a little
malfuf roll for you here,

And I'm gonna make a muhammara,

Which is also a, um...
[padma]
a who's-it what's-it?

A muhammara.
Easy for you to say.

[jeff]
I'm pretty excited.

I've done actually
a fair amount of tv,

And I've done
a little bit of live tv,

And I've done plenty of demos.

And so
what you have here...

[padma]
and so that just
gets blended up into this?

Exactly, yeah.
We just kick that on like so.

And voila, what do you know?
You got a beautiful plate.

That looks
delicious.
Bon appetit, guys.

[fabio]
I watch

What other people are doing,
and some of them,

They use, like,
weird ingredient

That you
as a professional chef know,

But my mom,
she has no idea

What's going on, and she's
the one watching television.

My mom, she want to know
about tuna,

Carrots, and asparagus,
that's it.

Guys, enjoy, please.

[gail]
great.

Now, fabio,

When did you come
from Italy?

I am fresh
out of the boat.

[laughter]

Off the boat--
fresh off the boat.

[padma]
wow, that's a lot of smoke.

Why--why are
the pans so hot?

'cause I want the soy sauce
to caramelize on the outside.

Somebody should call
the fire department now.

If the alarm goes off,
we're okay.

[daniel]
here you go.
Dive on in, folks.

[padma]
that's delicious.

Yeah? Nice.

Baba booey.
Hey, now.

Wacko!

[padma]
hi.
I will make
minestrone soup.

And, um...

Ten seconds, good.

In tv time, that changes.
Boom, you're back to normal.

Swap-out.

Very nice.

See, and now
we plate that out.

That looks
delicious, stefan.

And these are crushed,
dried wasabi peas.

Wasabi peas,
I love the wasabi peas.

Yeah, I love these things,

And they're hard to get
into a dish,

So I like to crush them up
a little bit.

Now, is this sushi
or sashimi?

[eugene]
this is sashimi, riceless.

What's the difference?
No rice.

Sushi--it all depends
on what type of sushi you like.

Then here I have
some blackened habanero shrimp.

Habanero, paprika,
onion powder, garlic powder.

Habaneros
are hot, huh?

Habaneros are hot.

[padma]
ooh, that has
a kick to it!

I mean,
I love really hot food,

But this is...

Very hot.

[melissa]
tom takes the shrimp
out of his mouth,

And he's like,
"this is too spicy for me.

I can't digest spicy food."

I'm thinking,
"crap, I've blown it."

So, after that,
[beeping]

Of course, with my onions,
I would've--

You're out of--
you're--you're out of time.

Two minutes?
No, you're
out of time.

Oh.

I'm putting
rice-wine vinegar--

I'm sorry,
we're out of time.
Okay.

[bleep].
Time's up.

You know, if this were
live television,

All we would've had
is the salad

Of corn
and blueberry.

I, uh...

I don't think I'll ever want
to do live television.

[laughs]
you may have to.

Did--stefan,
you finish?

Yes.
Who didn't
finish?

I didn't finish.

My egg
was undercooked.

Like,
did they say that?

Yeah.

[padma]
let's begin by talking

About
our disappointments.

Jamie had
the duck-egg salad.

I was not excited

About tasting

That runny
egg white.

It wasn't even that
it was runny; it was raw.

Let's talk
about confidence here.

I mean, leah...
[rocco]
poor thing.

Wow.

The second she opened her mouth
and started talking,

It was just downhill
from there.

You know,
she has immunity.

[rocco]
good for her.

[padma]
yeah, I was gonna say,

"lucky leah."

I was, like, 30 seconds
out of finishing.

I don't really care.

And then
we have alex.

[tom]
I think that was
a silly choice.

I mean, you have an hour
to make creme brulee.

The dessert
did not work.

Carla had a nervous energy

That didn't make me feel
comfortable.

She didn't get through
the demonstration.

[padma]
but at least

She created
a good dish.

Well, daniel finished
his recipe.

[gail]
I think he actually had a lot
of charm, a lot of personality.

He was so lovable.

But he was
a bit of a mess.

I think his biggest mistake was
smoking out the entire studio.

And you know what?

That mugging
for the camera

Is not that good.

It's a little
over the top.

Stefan did very--

You know, fine.
He did well.

[tom]
you know, I-I think it was
a smart idea to do a soup,

And I think he also was smart
to have a swap-out ready to go.

But his personality
just wasn't--wasn't great.

Then
we had melissa.

[gail]
amazing how spicy
that shrimp was.

[padma]
you know, it's not
for a broad audience.

That's the kind of thing that
the host would probably say,

"never have that person
back on again

'cause you b*rned
the heck out of my tongue."

It's not a good sign.

Jeff had a lot of things
on the table here,

And he managed to pull it
all together.

He did it in time.

He also had a confidence that
you need to have on television.
He did.

I just never
stopped moving my hands.

They kept talking to me,
and I kept talking

And just boom, boom, boom.

[rocco]
so fabio

Is a dream guest
on a talk show.

[gail]
I wanted to hang out
with him all day.

[tom]
he kind of made fun
of his accent,

Which puts everybody
at ease.

I think ariane is someone
who hit it out of the park.

[tom]
I thought her presentation
was perfect.

I don't know.
I hope they liked it.

Well, I guess
that's what we'll do, then.

I think
it's the best solution.

Sure,
I'm good with that.

[padma]
the quality of the food

Is always
most important.

[indistinct chatter,
light laughter]

[padma]
for the bottom three,

We've decided
on melissa,

Alex,

And jamie.

And the top three are...

Jeff,

Fabio,

And ariane.

[daniel]
all right, ariane.

It's getting late,

So I'll see you all
at judges' table tomorrow.

Good night.

[eugene]
come on, guys, let's go

And get
back to the house.

[sarcastic cheering]

[jamie]
it sucks
being in the bottom three.

It really does.

When I get home,
I don't want to talk to anybody,

And I b*at myself up
when I don't do things well.

I literally get into bed,
and I cry myself to sleep.

You know,
I made the wrong decision.

I tried to do
a creme brulee.

Should I have [bleep] out

And do a salad?

Maybe
I should have,

But I wanted to do something
more than just a salad.

That's the easy way out.

You know
what I'm saying?

[ariane]
I think that some of the chefs

Are looking
at me like, you know,

"she took the easy way out."



I'm not about
to go up there

And start sauteing duck.

I think I was smart
about the whole thing.

And I know my dish
is good,

So I don't care.

And I was saying
that you seem more, like,

Happy to go home
and out of this competition

Because you're going home
to get married.

[alex]
and you're right.
That is.

This is a wonderful competition,
but this is not my entire life.

I'm getting married, yo.

In 20 days,

I got
to get married.

I got to write my vows,
all right?

[leah]
alex is getting married
in a month,

And I don't think his head
is really in the game.

And I think melissa
wants to fight for her spot.

She doesn't want to leave.

You have to [bleep]
defend yourself, dude.

You have to fight.

I mean, you are
the only person

That's gonna stick up
for yourself.

Go in there and be like,
"I'm not going home."

Like, "I don't want to go home.
I don't deserve to go home."

[melissa]
I'm gonna defend myself,

Because when you fail as a chef,
your reputation is on the line.

Like, if your food isn't good,

People aren't gonna want to eat
at your restaurant.

The scariest thing
about failing is failing.

Sorry
to wake everybody up.

Ariane, I need you wake up,
and I need to see you

Over at the other kitchen.

Tom is the last person
I think is gonna walk

Into the girls' room.

At this point, I'm just like,
"what's going on?"

Jeff, fabio...
[groaning]

I need to wake you guys up.

[jeff]
tom's got all black on.

It's like johnny cash
walking in.

Dude, it's 2:00.

[jeff]
this is not morning.

You've got to be [bleep] me.

[tom]
listen, sorry

To wake you up so early.

I hope you got
a little bit of shut-eye.

Padma told you

That you are
the top three.

What she
didn't tell you

Is that the host
of the today show

Will be judging
your dishes

And choosing
the winner.

[ariane]
nice.

Awesome.

I like that.
That's great.

We are just like,
"no way."

I do watch the today show,

So this is definitely
my challenge to take,

And I'm hoping that

Whoever is gonna be tasting them
on the today show

Just loves it.

You're gonna head over
to 30 rockefeller plaza.

You're gonna cook there.

You'll go over
to the green room,

And you're gonna
watch the host

Sample your food
and make a decision live on tv.

Oh, my god.
Okay?

[fabio]
I'm excited to be going

To the morning show.

You know, I get to see
a big studio.

You know, it's exciting.

[rhythmic bass music]

♪ ♪

[fabio]
I've never been
to sea grill restaurant,

And it looks really good.

It's the restaurant

Next to where the today show
is being filmed.

So it's like door-to-door
with the studio

In rockefeller plaza.

Good morning.
My name is jawn chasteen.

I'm the chef
of the sea grill restaurant

Of the, uh,
patina restaurant group.

If there's
anything you need,

Feel free to ask me.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[jeff]
I'm gonna be serving

A middle-eastern-flavored roll

To a bunch of ladies
with unsophisticated palates

At 6:30, 7:00 a.M.

So I'm pissed off.

♪ ♪

[ariane]
I'm very nervous.

The competition
is huge,

But I'm ready to take
on these kid chefs.

You know, it's like, "move over.
Here comes the old lady."

Whoo!
Let's do it.

♪ ♪

[woman]
hi.

I'm bianca. I'm the food stylist
for the today show.

When you are finished,
your plates must be

On this cart.

We'll take these
up to the studio

So you guys
just follow me. Okay.

[rock music]

[hosea]
we wake up, and I notice
that fabio and jeff are gone.

And it's got to have something
to do with the challenge,

Because fabio, jeff, and ariane
are the only people missing

In the house.

So we walk into the living room,
and there's a big tv set up.

[rock music]

♪ ♪

[fabio]
they made us wait
in the green room--

A beautiful room,
television.

I'm getting
a little bit nervous,

Because I'm watching
a tv show,

And my food
is gonna sit there live.

So it's exciting.

[jeff]
on a weekday, there's this many
people crowded out there?

[ariane]
yeah!

My heart starts pumping.
The adrenaline's going.

Oh, here we go.

I'm sorry.
Sorry.

She's spitting it out.

[laughter]

Really?

[fabio]
when you're a professional chef,

Somebody spit your food out,
it's bad.

[stefan]
today's kitchen.

Guys, guys.

[meredith vieira]
this morning on today's kitchen,

Top chef is gearing up
for its fifth season,

And this morning
we put 13 chefs to the task

Of making a meal for us.

Chef and restaurateur
tom colicchio

Is the head judge
for top chef.

Tom,
good morning to you.

We narrowed it
down to three,

And you're gonna make
the decision.

[radhika]
so, all of a sudden,
the tv comes on,

And we find that the winner
will be chosen on the show.

You know, of course,

I'm sure everyone
wishes they were there,

But I'm excited
for the three of them.

They're dishes are on, you know,
the today show.

[woman]
so we're making a decision
right here, right now?

I'm not a fair judge
on this one,

Because I do not eat
enough watermelon.

[ariane]
fabio, jeff, and I
were watching it,

And, um, you know, I'm first.

And they try,
and they're like, "mmm. Good."

Meredith hates watermelon.

You just
don't like it?

It makes me sick, kathy lee.
We don't want to to there.

But she tries it
without the watermelon,

And they all
seemed to like it.

Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Love it.

[ariane]
so I'm--I'm excited, you know?

And then I was just like,
"you know what?

If I don't win,
I've come this far.

[tom]
so the next one
is--is seared tuna

With, uh, asparagus
and roasted carrots

And a little
balsamic glaze.

I have no idea
what's going on.

The ladies
are tasting my food,

And I can't understand
what was going on.

They seemed fine with my food,
and I'm happy.

[woman]
so this is
a good breakfast, lovely.

The next one is a--

Is a sauteed
shrimp cabbage roll.

Wrap it in that.

[tom]
there you go.

[jeff]
they taste mine.

There's a couple mmms--
"ah, wow."

What's in it?

[muffled]
can I get something
with this.

It's--
it's shrimp, uh...

And there's,
like, gagging sound

Coming from kathy lee.
Sorry.

She's spitting it out.

Oh, my god.

[hosea]
sorry, jeff.

[laughter]

Really?

Oh, my god.
Wow.

[fabio]
when you're a professional chef,
somebody spit your food out,

It's bad.
It's really bad.

[meredith]
okay, we have to decide
right now.

[whispering]

It doesn't seem
too unusual.

[ariane]
they all huddle up,

And we're just watching,
watching,

And, you know, you hear one,
and then you hear two.

I love the originality
that number two had.

[woman]
so we have to do--
I know, I know.

[kathy lee]
you are our fearless leader.
What do you think?

It may not be
the most original, we felt.

Although they added
the watermelon,

That doesn't matter.
Good is good.

Good is good.
Number one.

Yay!

Oh, my god!

[cheering]

[ariane]
they say, "one," and I'm jumping
up and down for joy.

The guys kind of are like,
"oh, you know."

I think fabio and jeff still
think I took an easy route out.

Ah, uh,
who's number one?

[ariane]
me!

I liked them all,
personally.

Thank you!

Yeah, I'm excited, you know,
with the turkey and now this,

I'm feeling good.

I'm feeling
this is what I needed

To get me
back in the game.

Yay!

Well, how was it?

It was quite
an experience for me.

She totally
deserved the win.

She made a great plate.

It was
a wonderful experience.

Well, congratulations
to all of you.

You all did
a great job.

And ariane,
as the winner,

You get a gift
from rocco.

Nothing makes me happier
than tools.

So I went,
and I cherry-picked

All of my favorite tools.

There's about
two dozen of them.

And so, uh,
now they're all yours.

[ariane]
thank you!

[padma]
so come on up and get them.

[ariane]
this is what I needed

To get me
back in the game.

I proved to myself
that I can do it,

That I have it in me.

[laughing]
thank you.

[padma]
that's not all, ariane.

We have
one more surprise.

You will be presenting
a dish live

On the today show
the morning

After
this episode airs.

Congratulations.

Thank you!

For me, this is huge.
For me--

Just for the fact
that my restaurant

Is only 30 minutes
from new york city,

That five minutes in the
spotlight is gonna be huge.

Not only
will my family be watching,

Not only will
all my customers be watching,

It's gonna be a big moment.

I'm really, really excited.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

As you know,
the three of you

Were our least favorites
in this elimination.

Melissa,
let's start with you.

How do you think
it went?

The shrimp seemed
like it was a little too spicy

For some of you.

I like spicy food
a lot,

And I tasted
the shrimp by itself,

And then I tasted it with
the rest of the ingredients,

And I thought that everything
was well balanced together.

I have a hard time believing you
ate a few bites of that dish.

I don't think even you could
withstand that amount of heat.

I mean, that was
beyond belief.

The dish was,
in my opinion, inedible.

[padma]
the whole left side
of my mouth

Was throbbing.

[gail]
a habanero,
maybe not the best choice.

That's a pepper you don't want
people at home playing with

Unless
they're experienced.

[padma]
jamie, how did you find

This whole experience?

I just got frazzled.
You know, that clock was there.

And I know the egg
didn't set up properly.

But I wanted to get it
on the plate,

'cause I wanted
to finish in time.

Um, you know, someone
on a morning show would've said,

"can I eat that?
It's not cooked.

Is it safe?
Will I get salmonella?"
right.

[tom]
you know the other thing
you could've done?

If you knew that you had about
five seconds to get that cooked,

Flip it.

Flipped it over.

That's part of sort of rolling
with the punches.

I'm fully aware of the missteps
that I made,

And I learned
from the experience.

Like, I know what not to do
at this point.

[rocco]
you also recoiled

And folded your arms.

You got angry, I think.

I thought there was a--
there was an anger

Or resentment
that came out.

Not anger--
I think I was mad at myself

For the egg
not being cooked.

I was just kind of like,
"damn it."

Like, I-I know better.

Alex, how did you feel
about your demo?

I thought
that the easiest way for me

To get to the top
is by being a little different.

But, uh, I was
a little short.

I definitely
picked the wrong dish.

Why did you choose
a creme brulee?

You know, I wanted to be
a little different.

Um, this whole point
of this competition

Is to push
yourself.

The whole point
of this competition is to win.

I think your mistake
was you did something that--

It was impossible to do in
the hour prep time that you had.

So there was no way you
were gonna recover from that.

I don't know
what I was thinking.

I mean, it's a process that
essentially takes a lot longer

Than the time you had,
by definition.

I set myself up for failure
by just picking the wrong dish,

And this competition--

It's about being wise
on your decisions

Prior to that.

It's about thinking
things through.

I'm kicking myself
in the butt,

Because I think
this was the one time

That I should've stuck
to my g*ns,

You know, and done
something really easy.

A live television segment

Is not the time
to try something new.

Does anyone else
have anything to add?

[melissa]
I want

To be here
more than anything.

Is that
why you shouldn't go home?

I never once thought twice
about being here.

I've only ever wanted
to be here.

That sounds
like you're almost saying

That someone
doesn't want to be here?

No, I'm not--I'm just saying
that I want to be here

For myself

And about myself.

I want to be here.

[padma]
alex?

I messed up
with this challenge.

I've shown
that I can cook.

Jamie showed
that she can cook,

And melissa showed
that she can cook, too.

Right, and everybody can here.
Right, you know.

[padma]
why should you stay?

[alex]
because...

I'm a lot better

Than what I've shown you
so far.

Thank you.

All three delivered
an inedible dish.

So, on the basis
of their food,

They could all be disqualified
from this competition.

[tom]
jamie's egg

Was so close

To being
a-a good dish.

Raw egg and cooked egg--
it's not this close.

That is far.

The execution failed.

[tom]
this competition
was a combination

Of food and presentation.

Jamie, uh,
her performance

Was unforgivable.

She recoiled in anger,

And that's
a fatal flaw.

That is a disaster.

And what troubles me more
is that melissa

Still defends--I mean,
if there's anyone

Who was defensive, she was
defensive of the amount of spice

That she put in that dish.

That amount of spice
was unacceptable

By any standard.

That really
frightens me.

It's too late.
I mean, you know.

I mean...

Alex's dish
was flawed from the start.

There was no way

That he could've made that dish
and made it well

Using the time he had.

[rocco]
well, do the math.
Right.

Add up the cooking time, add up
the cooling time, setting time.

Doesn't work.
It's impossible.

It's a mathematical
impossibility.

[tom]
if this were
solely on presentation,

He probably
would've been fine,

But still, he didn't make
the creme brulee.

You know, pretty much
I was crazy

To try to do creme brulee
in an hour.

Well, I think we have
our answer.

All right,
let's get them out here.

[sighs]

[groans]
what was I thinking?

[laughter]

Ah!
Easy, easy!

Hey! Oh!
Hey!

Oh, poor you.

No, don't write
on my forehead.

I don't think leah and hosea
are a serious relationship.

It just so happens that they
have a sexual chemistry,

And that's
what we're seeing.

No!

Don't--don't write
anything Ret*rded.

It's just the letter "h."
that's all it is.

[laughing]
oh, is that
what's going on?

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

So tonight's
elimination challenge

Was pretty straightforward,
we all thought.

And there
are various reasons

Why all three
of you are here.

Melissa, you created a dish
that was way too spicy,

That would've caused
any on-air host to flinch

And react the way
I think we all reacted.

♪ ♪

Alex...

You chose
the wrong dish to cook.

You couldn't complete
the task,

And you actually never gave us
a creme brulee.

♪ ♪

Jamie...

You gave us
a raw egg.

Also, once
that happened,

You were very standoffish
and didn't really convey

Any personality
on tv.

♪ ♪

Alex...

Please pack
your knives and go.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Good luck
to you, alex.

Thank you.

Pbht!

I'm gone.

My only regret is that
I should've stuck to my g*ns,

And I would've been fine.

I tried to take a risk,

And I got b*rned for it.

Pleasure to meet you.
Pleasure, buddy.

I've learned so much within the
couple weeks that I was here.

[alex]
all right, guys.

I got to go get married.

Go get married!

[cheers and applause]

I have other things on my mind
besides this competition.

I'm thinking
about my wedding

And my fiancee.

And you can't win this
competition if you're not 100%.

[padma]
next on top chef...

Hi, guys.

Thank you guys

For cooking
for my bridal shower

Tomorrow evening.

[fabio]
there's too much vinegar,
daniel.

This is a freakin' train wreck.

Let's go.
Let's go.

Don't worry about me.
Worry about your own [bleep].

Oh, my god.

Ariane,
what's the deal here?

'cause you're
freaking me out now.

Are you ready,
or are you not ready?

All of you look
absolutely beautiful.

[laughter]

[fabio]
ha! They bought it.

We'll see
if they bought the dish.

This dish felt a little bit
like, um, old people food.

[gail]
this is not
a good start

To a new life.

[padma]
for more about the recipes
seen tonight,