05x09 - Restaurant Wars

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

Welcome to the stone barns farm
and education center.

My team is leah, hosea, and I.

I got the lovebirds.

Douche bag.

I am actually willing to put--
a douche bag?

So you're saying
I don't know how to cook?

Stefan is difficult
to work with.

And it's hard to be on a team
with him.

Do whatever the [bleep]
you want, stefan.

[ariane]
with the leg,

I clean them off the bone--

I know I have a lot to do.

Oh, I'm so not
doing it right.

The lamb is a mess.

This is just really poor
butchering here.

You all have won today.
Thank you.

See?

Ariane, the meat wasn't
properly butchered.

It wasn't properly cooked.

Ariane, please pack your knives
and go.

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]

♪ ♪

You almost done?

More than halfway.

Kind of like
here in the competition.

We're at eight.
It is halfway.

At this point,
it's not what we're cooking.

It's psychological warfare here.

Ariane was totally b*at up
for the lamb.

Hosea and leah threw her
under the bus.

[radhika]
I understand people
defending themselves,

But leah and hosea,
they definitely had a hand

In sending her home.

Go see my girlfriend.

Morning, leah.
Wassup?
Dude.

[leah]
so, waking up this morning

I just don't feel that great.

Just having to feel
somewhat responsible

For ariane leaving,
it sucks.

I just feel bad.

[fabio]
ariane, last night,

She got big,
big [bleep] stick.

She just was not
sticking up for herself.

People come and go,
this is a competition.

You can be upset about it,
and then you have to move on.

Hello, chefs.

Hello.
Hello.
Good morning.

I'd like to introduce
our guest judge

For this round, one of
the country's most successful

And prolific high-end
restaurateurs,

Please welcome stephen starr.

Hello, chefs.

Hello.

Stephen has a string
of successful restaurants

All across the country,
including morimoto

And buddakan
right here in new york.

[hosea]
stephen star is a powerhouse
restaurant operator.

He does a lot
of asian restaurants.

But what he's known for

Is just being a super successful
restaurateur.

I'm sure that you guys
all realize the significance

Of having stephen
as our guest judge.

It's time for top chef's

Restaurant wars.

Yeah.
There ya go.

Restaurant wars is a big deal
in the restaurant world.

It's huge.

Because you look like an idiot
if you [bleep] it up.

[padma]
opening a restaurant is
a very risky business.

It's not just about the food,
it's about the design,

The service, the ambiance,

And the concept.

Part of this process
is to do a tasting

For a prospective investor.

So for your quickfire
challenge,

You must do a tasting
for stephen.

[leah]
I'm nervous, I'm anxious.

Stephen starr
is freakin' big in--

And especially in new york.

I'm from new york.

I think it would be, like,
a great opportunity.

[padma]
for the tasting,
you will serve one dish

That will showcase your concept
for a restaurant.

After the tasting,

Stephen will pick his
two favorite chefs.

These two chefs will not
receive immunity,

But they will be

The chef owner of
the two restaurants

We'll be opening
during restaurant wars.

This is gonna be a hot,
bloody, nasty w*r.

In love and in w*r,

You are allowed to do
everything.

[padma]
you have 30 minutes,

And access to anything
you can find

Here in the top chef kitchen.

Your 30 minutes starts...

Now.

Good luck.

[hosea]
you see any scallops in here,

You guys?

[bleep]

[grunting]

[hosea]
the challenge is to cook
in 30 minutes

A kind of a signature dish

For a restaurant that you would
open with stephen starr.

I would like to do
a seafood restaurant

With maybe some latin
or mediterranean influence.

Any orange here?

[bleep] this.
Come on, people.

I'm gonna make a quick
sunchoke puree.

I got some salmon.


though.

To me, when you open
a restaurant,

You look at your clientele.

This is me,
this is my cuisine.

I can sell anybody anything.

It's perfect american fare,
it's a winning dish.

That--
it smells strong.

Oh, my god, it smells bad.

[leah]
I grab the red snapper,

And it smells like ass.

It's pretty skanky.

I throw it away.

My mind is blank.

I am just going with
the flow right now.

I'm just trying
to get something done.

[fabio]
there is one aspect of
the restaurant business

That has been underestimated,
which is the lunch business.

So what I decided to do for him
is a complete course

Made up by an appetizer,
a salad,

And kind of a sandwich
entree course, for the lunch.

Quickfire is never fun.
It's really stressful.

You don't realize that
you don't even taste things.

You're going so fast,
you just wanna get it

All on the plate.

I'm feeling pretty nervous.

You have five minutes left.

Behind, behind, behind you.

Oh...

[jamie]
my concept for a restaurant
is to serve seasonal

Local, sustainable ingredients.

A part of me is a little nervous
that I'm gonna get picked.

I actually don't wanna win
this challenge.

I know the leader of restaurant
wars usually goes down.

I don't even want it.

Time's up!

Hands up, utensils down.

Hi, carla.
Hi, how are you?

Can you explain what

The concept of your restaurant
would be?

Homey, rustic foods.

Foods that are celebrating
the season.

You know,
new american food.

What did you do
for the tasting?

Um, today I have

A cod that's seared in
a tomato oil with

An italian salsa
and a mache green salad.

The one thing I'm not tasting
a lot of is salt.

Okay.

Thank you, carla.
Thank you.

So what would
your concept be?

I think I'd do
a seafood restaurant.

Maybe an influence
on mediterranean flavors

And world cuisine.

So I did a dish
that I like to do

With some hawaiian fresh shrimp.

The sauce is a morel
mushroom cream sauce,

Garlic potato puree,
and some poached asparagus.

Very good, thank you.

[hosea]
I don't feel like my concept
won him over.

It wasn't like he disliked
the idea,

But I don't think
I really sold him on

A very specific idea.

Basically, what I made is,
I started with a dashi,

And I did a little, uh,
rice wine vinegar,

Uh, soy sauce, sesame oil,
some sauteed mushrooms,

A poussin that I took just,
like,

The dark meat out
and kind of rolled it

In tempura, fried it.

It would be, I guess,
asian inspired.

My mom's from
the philippines,

And I go around asia a lot.

It's--it's tasty.

Okay.

It's very good.
Thank you.

[padma]
hello, stefan.
Hello padma, how are you?

I will call it eur-american.

What does that mean?

I think I would mix some of
the old stuff from europe

With an american twist.

Because americans have
so much great stuff now.

I have a trio of asparagus.

Fried white asparagus
with a pan fried trout,

Chanterelle, and green
and white asparagus salad,

And a white asparagus soup.

Very good.
Very good.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Thank you,
I appreciate it.

I took what was, um,
seasonal to me

And what looked good
and what looked fresh.

So did what was american
and simple.

I grilled a nice piece of salmon
for you.

I did a sunchoke
and artichoke puree.

I did a nice bright salad
with some grilled corn,

Asparagus, and fennel.

For some reason,
it's a little mushy.

Thank you.
Thanks.

My background is indian,
but my restaurant

Would be globally influenced.

I did a pan-seared cod
with a little bit of spice rub.

Underneath, I have
butter-braised corn

With some sauteed spinach
and chorizo,

Which is a latin influence.

And then a little, uh,
cream sauce

Which I infused just slightly
with saffron.

Very well seasoned.

Thank you.
Thanks.

What is the concept
of your restaurant?

Um, seasonal cooking's really
important to me, so I would say

That's definitely the driving
force behind the restaurant.

Basically what we have here,

It's a little creamed corn
with bacon, some peas,

A little garlic scape,
and it's a chilean sea bass.

I just pan seared it.

And then a did
a little salad of arugula

With little cherry tomatoes
on top.

I appreciate the simplicity,
though.

It's refreshing to get something
so simple.

Thank you.
Thank you.

If you do great
with your lunch business,

You can pay off
almost all the expenses

Of your restaurant.

My restaurant will be
a mediterranean concept.

What we have over here
is a full menu,

Starting with a light carpaccio
of a swordfish and tuna.

We have pasta with salad.

We have a sandwich
of a french baguette

With imported robiola cheese,
filet mignon--

Cheesesteak.

We're having a high-end
cheesesteak, correct.

It's a little salty.

It was a little salty.

[stephen]
thank you very much.

Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
Thanks.

It's not a cheesesteak.
It's a filet mignon sandwich.

End of story.

[padma]
well, let's start at
the bottom.

Who will you not be
doing business with?

Unfortunately, jeff,

Uh, I don't think
I'm going to be

Going into business
with you, buddy.

I think if you wanted to,
like, blow me away,

Salmon wasn't the fish
to do it with.

Who else is on
the bottom list?

He had a great passion,

But fabio, it just--

It didn't inspire me
to invest because--

I just didn't get it
as a restaurant concept.

It didn't pull together
for me.

All right, now let's have
some good news.

Which two of our chefs
will be opening

A restaurant tomorrow night?

[stephen]
the first chef was my favorite.

The flavors were
the most unique,

And it represents a cuisine,
I think, that's emerging.

And that's the,
the food of radhika.

[padma]
congratulations.

Thank you.

I have a lot of confidence
because my concept

Is indian,
middle eastern cuisine,

Which I'm very familiar with.

And so who will be opening
the rival restaurant?

This chef's food was clean,

It was--it was, uh,
forward thinking,

And that's leah.

Yes.

[leah]
I'm excited and super nervous.

If the other team
does better,

Out of anyone who'll be on
the chopping block,

It would be me
more than anyone else.

It's my ass on the line.

Leah and I have a little bit of
a chemistry.

We, we like each other.

I can't let that
turn into anything.

[padma]
congratulations,
leah and radhika,

For winning.

As you know,
this means you're both

Opening your restaurants
tomorrow for one night only.

The first thing
you need to do,

Of course,
is pick your teams.

Okay, so radhika,
who's your first choice?

Jamie.

So leah,
who's your first choice?

Hosea.

Leah and I have a little bit
of chemistry.

We, we like each other.

I'm trying to not let that
turn into anything.

I, I can't let that
turn into anything

Because I have a girlfriend,
leah has a boyfriend.

Leah picks hosea.

It doesn't surprise me.

Hosea and leah are friends.

And she's picking friends
before business.

That's an issue.

Radhika, who's next?

Carla.

[padma]
leah, who's your next pick?

Fabio.

Okay, so radhika, who's
the last member of your team?

Jeff.

[radhika]
I don't care for stefan
because he's arrogant.

I have a lot of tolerance
with people,

But this guy drives me nuts.

[padma]
so leah, I guess that means--

I pick stefan.

Thanks, leah.

I could give a [bleep]
about that.

I could give a [bleep].

Please go stand
with your team.

Radhika, leah,
come get your guest books.

[hosea]
a lot is at stake if you're
the leader of the restaurant.

If your restaurant
sinks and burns,

You're probably gonna be
the one going home

Because you couldn't keep
your team focused.

[padma]
so today,
you'll plan your menus,

Shop for decor,
and choose your linens.

Then tomorrow,
you'll have $3,000

At restaurant depot
and whole foods.

Then you'll have six hours
to prep on location

At bridgewaters,
part of the family

Of restaurants including
twenty four fifth.

[stefan]
six hours to prep
and open a restaurant

In a top chef world
is not six hours.

It is crazy.
It goes by so quick.

Okay, good luck,
you guys.

[stephen]
good night.

Bye.
Good luck.

[jamie]
we have 30 minutes to start
planning in the kitchen.

I'm not so much looking forward
to opening a restaurant

In 24 hours,
'cause I know how hard it is.

I'd opened a restaurant--

Or we didn't even get opened,

'cause we couldn't get
our permits,

And I was doing that
for almost nine months.

I think you should--

I think you should stick with
the global concept.

[jeff]
with--with focus on

Old spice trade.

Okay.

Oh, that's pretty.
Perfect.

And that sounds,
like, perfect.

[radhika]
the name of our restaurant
is sahana.

In sanskrit,

It means strong,
powerful, withstanding.

Like, do you wanna do front?

I don't.

But if you guys
want me to, I will.

I'm telling you guys,
I have the least amount

Of restaurant experience.

I would be much better
in the back.

[jeff]
I wanna cook.

That's what I came here to do.

I'm not going to
the front of the house

For restaurant wars,
I'm not gonna do it.

Radhika,
it's your restaurant.

What do you want?

Well, if you want
to be running the kitchen--

[carla]
now, she has to be in charge
of this restaurant

And get her concept across,

And--and lead
three other people.

Time for you to,
you know, man up,

So to speak.

Asian concept.
Yeah.

I love asian food.

I'm comfortable
with asian food,

I don't cook asian food
every day.

I will take care of
the front of the house.
Okay.

[hosea]
I don't want leah

To get run over by
the fabio and stefan show.

This one.
Grab this one.

This one.
Something like this.

Something fancy.

All right,
but let's not do that.

We have 15 minutes, guys.

As the team leader,

Leah's gonna have to really
stand up to them,

Especially to stefan.

Perfect.
One of you boys
can carry that.

[stefan]
I'll take the teacups,

Candles, stuff like that.
Rice bowls.

[jamie]
that's too african.
That's too asian.

[radhika]
so we leave the kitchen

And we go to pier 1
with $5,000.

I've never spent $5,000
in an hour before.

We're picking up ethnic things
that match our theme,

Which is middle eastern,
indian,

The eastern part of the world.

[grunts]
sorry.

Hey, look.
[whistles]

[fabio]
I started to go around
and grab everything.

And this is the feeling
that my wife have all the time.

Beautiful.
Perfect, I love it.

I feel like we're just
wandering around in circles.

Are any candles
unscented?

Ah, [bleep].

This is all the unscented
big ones.

They're all unscented.

Man down.

Ring these up.

[sighs]

Thank you.

Coming through
with giant giraffes!

[grunts]
thank you.

[stefan]
oh, back home. Nice.

[leah]
we head back to the apartment,

Where we have to plan
our menu.

That has to be our main focus,

And if we don't have that,
then we don't have anything.

Guys, remember.
This big.

Pretty, small,
tight, and sexy.

Yeah, I know.
It's gotta be really pretty.

I know.

Leah's young.

She needs a couple more years,

A little bit more ass kicking
from somebody else.

If this would have been
my restaurant,

I would have written
the menu.

But it's a democracy
at this point,

And everybody has some kind of
[bleep] to impart.

Why don't we do this:
fabio does the amuse bouche.

I do both desserts.

[leah]
stefan, there's no way I can

Tell him what to do.

Everyone said that stefan's
extremely hard to work with.

Now I get it.

[stefan]
I'll tell you what. Guys?

I'm gonna go
smoke a cigarette.

[hosea]
all right.

[carla]
this is not my food, so--

[jamie]
I understand that.

What's something that
you would wanna do

As an appetizer,
'cause we can easily

Spice it up and add
these flavors to it.
Right.

Let me think.

Maybe just give us
a couple of ideas

So we can just, like,
dialogue about it

And figure it out.

[radhika]
as far as being

A natural born leader,
I'm still learning.

I don't want to direct them.

Jamie knows ethnic food.

I'm giving her a lot
of responsibility.

And she's taking it.

Dessert, that's carla.

I think people like sorbets.

Uh, we can come up with
some different flavors.

Will you do it?
Okay.
I'll do it, yeah.

I'll do them.
All right, you do it--

I'll do them,
yeah, absolutely.

It's nice to be
on a team with carla,

'cause she does know
pastries.

The only thing
I'm a little nervous about

With jeff is,
jeff has a lot of ideas

And he's not very good
at focusing his ideas.

So he's the one who makes me
the most nervous.

Kikiruan sorbet sounds weird
with bakla--with baklava.

Yeah, with baklava.
No.

[hosea]
he's being a [bleep]ing d*ck.

You know, like he wants
to tell you what to do

With your dish,

But he won't even tell us, like,
exactly what his dessert is.

[hosea]
stefan's just bullheaded.

He's--he's used to being
the boss all the time.

So I'm actually happy
that he's doing desserts

Because he'll be
in his little world,

And hopefully it won't
interfere too much

With what I'm trying to do.

No [bleep]ing surprise

He's the last person
that got picked today.

I feel like he--

He's actually looking for an
opportunity to sabotage people.

Nobody wants to work
with him on a team.

[sultry music]

♪ ♪

[kissing sounds]

♪ ♪

[leah sighs]

[hosea]
leah and I flirted
a little too much.

And it kind of
threw me off my game.

It's too much yuzu.

I've never even cheated on
a boyfriend before.

[hosea]
I absolutely regret it.

[bleep] damn it!

[fabio]


Yeah, 30 minutes, buddy.

Last night,

Leah and I are sitting
on the couch

For probably two hours,

And we ended up kissing.

I absolutely regret it.

I, I did not want that
to happen.

I have a girlfriend
who I love,

And I hope to be back together
with when I get out of here.

[leah]
waking up this morning,

I just feel weird about
what happened last night.

Hosea and I are not, like,
romantically involved at all.

Like, I have a boyfriend

Who I would really like
to be with

After this whole thing,

Which is probably not gonna
happen, and that's great.

[stefan]
yes.

[stefan]
there's tension between
hosea and leah.

It is distracting
to everybody and everything.

You should be concentrating
on your stuff.

I need a lot of lemons.

20 lemons.
I mean, a lot of limes.

[fabio]
leah, she's in a [bleep] mood.

He was in a really [bleep] mood.

If they don't start smiling,
we're going down.

[hosea]
the hardest part is we--

We still have to figure out
a way to work together fine.

But, uh, it's gonna affect
our work a little bit tonight.

Are we all revved up?
Yeah.

Everybody ready?
Let's get out of here.

[carla]
so we leave the house
and we jump in the sequoias.

Real plug, look at that.

Cool!
I'm gonna charge my phone.

[carla]
we've broken up into groups.

Radhika and I will go
to whole foods,

Jamie and jeff
are going to restaurant depot.

If you guys can't find snapper,

We just want something
preferably that has

The skin on it.
Okay.

[radhika]
I need skewers.

They're right by
the chicken.

Chicken, okay.

[fabio]
I am with, uh, leah.

We're going to go
to whole foods.

Other two, they're gonna go
to restaurant depot.

[stefan]
sunset lounge.

It works for me.
It works for me too.
Sunset lounge.

We settle on sunset lounge.

I don't think anyone
in the history

Of restaurant business
has come up with

Such a solid concept
in 24 hours.

Welcome to
the sunset lounge.

[laughing]

[jeff]
I'll meet you in produce.

How the [bleep]
do you get out of here?

The place is massive.

Our concept is gonna be
asian food.

It's, like, sheer panic
for the first ten minutes.

Doing a sashimi style--
you know, it's gonna be like--

Almost like carpaccio,
you know, sliced really thin.

I'll grab the onions.

I'll grab the tomatoes.

[jeff]
we're gonna do flavors of
the old spice trade.

The restaurant that I run
right now,

It's got a lot of middle eastern
influence.

I've got the right flavors.

Lamb shanks?
Lamb shanks.

You don't have any more.
No.

[jamie]
we head over to the meats,

And I'm looking for lamb shanks,
and they don't have them.

No lamb shanks.

Okay, that's a big deal.

Hey, can you check
at whole foods

To see if they have
lamb shanks?

Do you have lamb shank?

[sighs]
they don't have lamb shank.

Shank, you know what I'm talking
about, the bottom of the leg.

[grunts]

Is this the biggest size
you got?
Yup.

How did you find them?
I went in the freezer.

And then jeff comes running in
miraculously with two boxes

Of lamb shanks that he found
in the freezer.

I'm afraid that it's not gonna
get unfrozen in time.

I'm feeling a little relieved,

But also a little nervous
'cause they're frozen.

[radhika]
jamie.

[jamie]
we found the lamb.

Oh, sweet.

[fabio]
you have more red snapper

In the back?

Okay.

[leah]
I need, like, 25 pounds,
please.

Do you have everything, fabio?

We didn't get the snapper,
we went with black cod.

It's the freshest
that they have.

Ciao.
Ciao bella.

We have five minutes,
gimme those.

Carla.

Good job.

Finally.

Sweet. We're done.

[jeff]
cool.

Get down.
Look at this!

Make some room for daddy.

[fabio]
we're heading for
bridgewater restaurant.

It's the top roof.

We got the whole area
for ourself.

The area is split in two.

[jeff]
we have six hours, um,

Which seems like
a lot of time,

But I know opening
a restaurant's no joke.

It usually takes several months
to do.

Well, whose is this?
Open it, just open it.

Uh, ours--

It's all good to go.

[leah]
we're gonna serve
an amuse bouche,

Which fabio's gonna do.

Hosea's doing an app
and an entree

Of the sashimi
and the short ribs.

I'm making red curry
coconut soup,

And then seared cod
with spicy lime chili sauce,

And stefan is expediting
'cause he is doing desserts.

It's just easier for him

Until he starts
getting desserts.

And fabio is front of
the house.

[radhika]
first course, we're doing

A curried carrot soup.

Then we're doing scallop
with a chickpea cake.

Second course, we're doing
braised lamb shank

With some israeli couscous.

Jeff is doing a snapper
with organic white lentils.

Carla's doing the baklava,
the two frozen yogurts,

And a nice chocolate cake.

I kind of named jamie
my chef de cuisine,

And I can concentrate on
the front,

Make sure the whole show
is running smoothly altogether.

Leah, how wide do you want
these pieces to be?

Like that?
Like squares?

Yeah.

[leah]
working with hosea on the line
was kind of stressful

Because of what happened
last night.

I've never even cheated on
a boyfriend before.

I've never been in this
circumstance before.

So, my mind is elsewhere,
and I'm just not happy.

Can you taste this?

It needs salt.

It's too much yuzu.

[hosea]
leah and I flirted
a little too much last night.

And it kind of
threw me off my game.

And I think it's because
I'm feeling really guilty.

[leah]
start over, and put, like,

Half as much yuzu
as you put in.

All right, I can start over.

[chuckles]

Holy crap.

Carla,
you think these'll be okay?

[carla]
um, yeah. I think so.

[jamie]
the first priority was getting
the lamb in.

Lamb shanks, I mean,
they've gotta cook

At least four hours,
at least.

All right.

I get the cold skillet
really nice and hot

And start searing my lamb off.

It's definitely defrosted
quite a bit,

So I think it'll be okay.

I think this will actually be
done in time.

[hosea]
we're one hour in.

One hour?
Holy [bleep].

Can't be an hour.

Hey hosea, can you come here
for one second?

See all these, like,
little, little bones in here?

I, like, can't
get those out.

[leah]
the cod that I got was really,
really bony.

And the only way to get, like,

All the bones out was just
to cut it out.

Like, I couldn't even
take it out with a tweezer.

You're just gonna end up
shredding the fish.

I know.

[leah]
it's very, very challenging

And I'm, I'm [bleep]ing
sweating balls, dude.

Like, it's--
I'm, I'm nervous.

You could just do a "v" and not
cut all the way to the skin.

I think I'm gonna just
do that.
Okay.

This is so not
how I like to do my fish.

Leah has to hack away

At these really nice squares
of fish,

And that means
they won't cook evenly.

I'm honestly shocked,
though, that she portioned it

Before she boned it.

That's not usually
how you filet a fish.

But she's under
a tremendous amount of stress,

And she knows if
our restaurant fails,

It's her fault.

Oh, [bleep].

Whoo!

Ooh, that was the wrong thing.
Lord have mercy.

For sahana,
I was responsible for

The spiced chocolate cake
with cashew brittle,

And frozen yogurts
with baklava cigars.

The yogurts aren't set--

Well, they set up, and then
I put them in the freezer

And they're thawing.

So the freezer
isn't keeping them cold.

So I'm just not happy.

I could probably
go home because of this,

So I'm really getting scared.

Oh.
It's perfect.

Think it's good.

Not bad.

Okay.
This is just hideous.

My stuff isn't freezing.

[leah]
how long ago
did you put it in there?

Two hours ago.

I'm making panna cotta

And I'm making a, uh,
chocolate rice parfait.

I get my parfait done,
put it in the freezer,

Freezer does not work.

It's not even
coming close to freezing?

No.

[leah]
so what are you gonna do,
stefan?

I'll fix it.
[scoffs]

Of course I can fix it.

[stefan]
everything is warm
in that kitchen.

Everything is hot
and it just doesn't set,

It doesn't work out properly,

So you just gotta add
a little bit more gelatin,

And we'll go over here and play
and put it in an ice bath,

And find a solution
for something.

You fix stuff.

You, you don't
get nervous, you fix stuff.

It's on ice.
It's in the fridge.

It's getting there.
Oh, it's good now.

How are you?

I'm freaked out
about service.

Yeah?
A little bit.

Hi.
Hey.

[radhika]
the servers arrive.

I'm running around
trying to train the staff

And making sure that people
in the kitchen are happy.

They seem a little irritated
when I go back there.

Radhika, you taste this.

[carla]
I had radhika taste
the chocolate cake.

I said, "what do you think
I should do?"

I said, "does it need
more sugar?"

This is not sweet at all,
and I put ginger in it.

And so I'm gonna,
you know--

No, I think it will be good.

It's at this point,
I still have choices.

If she didn't like the texture,
I could have baked it less.

I can add more flavor,
I can do anything to it.

She's not making
any decisions,

So she's not leading.

[stefan]
hey guys, how are you doing?

I feel like
I'm behind right now.

Prep is whizzing by,
and, um, I--I get myself

In a little bit of
a time crunch towards the end.

[bleep] damn it!


Let's get this cleaned up.

I need to also
start searing fish.

Like, I have stuff
I have to do.

[leah]
half an hour before service,

I'm, you know,
I just feel super stressed.

I haven't seen
front of the house.

At this point, I just
really don't have, like,

Even 30 seconds
to run outside.

[hosea]
two minutes,
and I'm gonna start

Cleaning all that up.
All right.

Just don't get rid of
anybody's knives.

Holy [bleep].

I need another one
like that.

Feel like a hummingbird
on cocaine.

We're all setting up, man.

Cheers, you guys.
Kick ass.

[jamie]
right before service starts,
we're looking really good.

And I think we're ready to roll.
We have everything we need.

[radhika]
bye.
[carla]
bye.

[radhika]
I'll come back.

How about that?
Not bad at all, huh?

[cheering]

I'm taking the prize home
tonight.

I run the front of the house.

We can serve monkey ass
in empty clam shell.

We're gonna win this one.

I'm running the show
in the front.

You look good.

Everything's sexy
with the candles lit.

Have fun out there.

Ready?

I think it's really
undercooked.

[hosea]
all the life force of our team

Just went out the window.

[chattering]

Right this way.
Welcome to sahana.

Thank you.
Yeah.

Kashen.
Kashen.
Perfect.

You want to follow me?
Your table is ready.

We are a group of six
from wicked.

From wicked.
Oh, welcome.

Please follow me.
Thank you.

And I'll be right back
with you in a second, sir.

[hosea]
we're all really excited.

This is a big day.

Restaurant wars is,
is one of the best competitions

Of all of top chef
because we're doing what we do.

We're, we're running
a restaurant,

And this is a real expression
of who we are as chefs.

Um, we'll get you some water,
and a server will be right over.

Great, thank you.
Enjoy.

The restaurant's open.
Sahana is open for business.

The guys in the kitchen
are set up with their things.

People are trickling in,
I'm in this leadership role

And that makes me nervous.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

[jamie]
no, that's separate.

Come back with that,
come back with it.

Table six, snapper,
snapper, snapper, lamb.

This is very straightforward.

The waiters, they don't
pay attention to detail.

They just don't get it.

Look at this.

Seriously.
Can you watch it?

Hold it straight.

[jamie]
I am nervous.

But at the same time,
they don't really have time

To be training a server
how to do something.

I think radhika could have
taken the lead on that,

But I don't even know
if radhika knew how.

I don't know
where those are going,

And now they're not going
anywhere.

They're going
in the garbage.

[padma]
hi, radhika.

Nice to see you.
Nice to see you.

Welcome to sahana.

So, I'll have a server
come over,

And, um, I'll be back
to talk about the menu.

[radhika]
you grab that bread.

So take two out.

Take one for the judges,
take one for the two-top.

[tom]
is it french toast?
What is it?

[padma]
it's a flatbread.

I'm looking for maple syrup.
Yeah.

You know, I actually like
the taste of it.

It might be because
it's the first thing

I'm eating, and I'm hungry.

I like the taste of it,
and I am hungry.

So maybe, me too.
But, um--

Okay, it'll be ready in,
like, two minutes.

Okay.

We gotta get
this [bleep] out.

Judges' stuff really needs
to go out right now.

Plate it, jamie.
Okay, dude.

[jeff]
are you guys happy with that?

[radhika]
yeah, beautiful.

Go fast.

Just start.
I'm gonna follow you, okay?

Hello.

So we have curried carrot soup
with some smoked paprika oil

And a little cool raita on top.

On these two plates,
we have a chickpea cake

With a beautifully grilled
and then seared scallop,

Some masala tomato sauce,
and a fresh arugula salad.

[tom]
thank you.

[padma]
thank you.
Enjoy.

There's something that's going
on here that's really nice.

I like cucumber thing at the end
that I'm getting.

Yeah.

The chickpea cake,
I love it.

Isn't it great?

The scallops were yummy.

They were very good,
perfect.

[jamie]
take it.

Grab these two.

That's for the judges,
judges.

[jeff]
judges' out. Go, go.

Here we have a white lentil

With seared snapper,
some tomato water

And, uh, some fresh pea sh**t
on top.

Over there, we have a cinnamon
and saffron braised lamb shank

On some israeli couscous.

[padma]
how is that lamb shank?

I thought it was ex*cuted
real nicely.

I thought it was cooked well,
I thought it was glazed nicely.

I thought the lamb
was well cooked.

I liked it.
The couscous?

[toby]
tasted a little
like dishwater.

Dishwater?

[laughs]
you're rough.

Tom, what'd you think of
the snapper?

I think it's okay.

[stephen]
I don't like the tomato water
'cause I don't like my--

I don't like fish
floating in liquid.

It's where it comes from.

The snapper itself was,
was good.

A little too much liquid
on the plate.

Carla, you're up.

Two of each for
the judges next.

Two of each?

For sahana, I was responsible
for both desserts.

I'm not happy with the cake.

The cashew brittle
wasn't cooked,

And then the frozen yogurt--

The freezer is not working.

So the frozen yogurt is just
cold soup.

Is it frozen
at the bottom?

It's a mess!
It's a hot mess.

A train wreck is a-coming.

Lord have mercy,
I know it is.

We have a spiced chocolate cake
with, uh, creme fromage

And a cashew brittle.

And then we have
two frozen yogurts.

One is of fig, and one is
of minted frozen yogurt,

And some baklava
to go with that.

[toby]
radhika, can I get a spoon?

Sure.

I think I used mine
for the soup.

You don't have a fork?

It's not--
this is no big deal.

What did you think of
the frozen yogurt?

Wasn't frozen.
Yeah.

Yogurt soup?

The least impressive part of
the meal, by some margin.

It reminded me of the career
of elvis presley.

I mean, it started off
incredibly well,

Came straight out of the gate.

And it d*ed on the toilet.

That comes later.

Worst, 100%, was the spiced
chocolate cake.

Just get it off the menu.

Um, we're still...

Waiting for a table
to clear up.

So it'll be a few minutes.

Okay?
Okay, thank you.

[radhika]
people were trickling in

More heavily than
I thought they would.

And I'm running around
and I just feel

A tension in the dining room,
and so, my head is spinning

And I'm a little bit lost
right now.

No.

The hostess seemed
really intense.

Like, kind of like,
[groaning]

The hostess--
and I don't know her name--

But she didn't
introduce herself.

She needs to relax
and actually enjoy

What she was experiencing.

[jamie]
radhika seems
a little flustered.

She seems to spend
more time in the kitchen

Than she should probably
be spending in the kitchen.

She comes in,

She kind of stands with
the tickets for a while,

And I'm wondering who's out
at the host stand

If she's not out there.

How do you think
radhika did?

[toby]
you need really someone

A little more extroverted to be
the front of house manager.

You know, also she's not
on the floor a lot.

She disappears all the time.

Like right now,
she's not here.

If we were to get up
and leave right now,

We would not get
a good-bye.

Let's leave.

[stephen]
oh, you're right. You're right.

See ya.

[leah]
service so far
is going pretty smooth,

But I'm stressed just waiting
for judges to come in to eat.

[bleep], that one went out too.
Son of a bitch.

Being in, like,
the leadership role is, like--

I've never been under
this much stress.

Not really happy with my dish,
can't really change it now,

So hopefully, it'll go okay.

Cheers.
[laughs]

How is your entree?

Very delicious.
This is so good.

Thank you.
Thank you so much.

[fabio]
food is coming out.

I'm starting to go
on each single table, you know.

Charming, thick accent.

Women are kind of,

[in high pitched voice]
oh, you're italian, ha ha!

Can I light your candle?

Yes, please.
[laughs]

Good evening.
[padma]
hello.

Padma.
Hi, nice to see you.

Good evening.
Thank you, sir.

I know your name
on the reservation,

So please follow me.

[laughs]
nice touch.

[stephen]
fabio was...Fabulous.

At the door.

He's very warm.

[stefan]
hey, guys, eight amuse bouches

For the judges.

Fabio.
You bring it to fabio.

Heavy, okay?

[fabio]
what we have is
a little amuse bouche.

I wanted to create something
for you.

We have a vegetable roll
with mushroom,

Carrots, and cabbage.

The little sauce underneath
is some sweet chili,

Not too hot,
to start your meal.

[padma]
thank you.

What did you guys think about

The amuse bouche?

I've had frozen egg rolls
better.

Second rate.

Not good, not good.

The sauce tasted like
the one in the jar

That I use at home.

I liked it.
It amused my bouche.

[snapping fingers]
judges, judges, judges.

[stefan]
right now, coming right now.
Perfect.

Put, put them here.

And make sure you have nice
microgreens on them too.

Two-way sashimi radish salad
in yuzu vinaigrette,

Tuna and red king salmon.

And a curry and coconut bisque
with a shrimps dumpling.

Enjoy.
[padma]
thank you.

What did you think of the soup?

I thought it was okay,

Pretty good,
and I like the spice.

Just a little too potent.
It was quite shocking.

[tom]
the fish was fresh.

It's not bad.
A little salt would have helped.

Definitely.

Oh, you know...

[fabio]
guys, five minutes.

Let's go with the judges.

[hosea]
you got it.

[leah]
for whatever reason, like,
for the judges,

Like, I get super,
super nervous.

I wanna be proud of every dish
that I make,

And I'm definitely not proud
of the fish

That I made tonight,
so it sucks.

Braised short ribs.

Vegetable, ginger,
in a beef demi-glace.

And cod,
with fresh vegetable,

And, uh, cabbage.

Mm.

The short ribs are cooked well.

They're nice.
I like them.

It's nicely cooked.

They're cooked, they're glazed,
they're nice.

The actual cod
is undercooked.

[tom]
I don't think that's the
biggest problem with the dish.

[coughs]

It's a disaster.

It's like having a pickle.

That sauce is brutal.

Ah, it's a shame.

Fish, the fish was cooked well.

But what was underneath it
was very salty.

The greens were very salty.

I'm sorry.

There was something wrong
with the fish?

I think it's really undercooked,
yeah.

Do you want me--

[tom]
we'll need to pass.

I apologize for the mistake.

[fabio]
guys, judges.

They said they don't want it.

They don't want
another one.

The other one was fine?
No.

Undercooked.
They're eating around one.

Sorry.

That's all right,
I'm going home.

[leah]
one of my fish comes back,

And it's not cooked
in the middle.

And you know, I feel,
I feel like [bleep].

It really sucks,
you know?

Like, this is
the most important time

To be doing, um, the best
that you can do, and I'm not.

[hosea]
the leader, our chef, our boss,

Just sent out inedible fish
to the judges.

And all the life force of our
team just went out the window.

Oh, damn.

Leah, can she not check on
the fish?

I'm thinking
we're not gonna make it.

It's rough.

Now give me some lollipops.

I'll get your lollipops.

That's to refresh
their palate afterwards.

Absolutely.
Let's go.

Chocolate and rice parfait

With a grapefruit jelly
and pineapple.

And a lemongrass and ginger
panna cotta

With peaches puree
and ginger honey.

Enjoy.

The desserts are better
in this restaurant.
Much better.

Easily the best component
in the meal.

Yeah. Easily.

[padma]
of both meals?

Um, I'd probably say yes.

Stephen, what did you think
of the chocolate?

I loved it.

I loved
the crunchiness inside.

I kept wanting to eat more.

Stefan could have saved
the team.

He definitely saved himself.
He's not going anywhere tonight.

And as a final treat,
we have some, uh,

Frozen mango,

With a chocolate
and mint lollipop

With some green tea.

This is great too.
Do you know who made this?

Stefan.

That is really good.

He's good.

That is my favorite type
of dessert.

Thank you so much.

I just want something,
like, rich and delicious.

I really liked the flavor.

You can really taste
the ginger.

It was,
it was a special dessert.

Anything else
I can do for you?

No.
We're good, thanks.

Thank you for coming tonight.

Have a great evening.

We're all going down.
Yeah.

But I'm going down the hardest.

I did a bad job
with managing you.

Whatever happens falls on me.

[radhika]
so the night starts to wrap up

And I'm feeling a little
discouraged, you know.

Uh, I'm sure people
aren't happy with the service

That they got because
I couldn't be in

A lot of different places
at the same time.

I just wanna go home,
take my shoes off,

And go to sleep.

[carla]
I feel like because of me,
we could be on the bottom.

I wasn't proud of the dessert,

And I felt like
I let my team down.

He tasted the yogurt and just
said, "oh, yeah, that's bad."

The waiter said that?

Telling me that the yogurt
wasn't good.

I said, "I know it wasn't."

What did the other guests say?

The sashimi, missing seasoning
and not original.

And the fish,
four or five raw.

[leah]
service is up,

And I'm really not happy
with how I did.

And, um, the only way
that I would not be going home

Is if...The other team
did [bleep]ier than we did.

Can't wait, man.

[makes cutting sound]

It's such a relief
to be done with service.

It was--
it was a really long day.

But if the comment cards
are good,

If everything else
went stellar, then we're--

I think we'll still be fine.

We got a 3?
Any comments?

I would say a 4.

I think if you put
a g*n to my head,

Sophie's choice, right,

I'd choose sahana.

Now, thinking it over
and over and over,

You gotta weigh in
stefan's desserts.

That's the thing that's
coming into play here.

[tom]
I think we know
where dessert goes.

Factor in the, the greeting,
factor in...

The fact that he came over
and said good-bye to us,

Factor in the fact that
he was very attentive.

I think, yeah.

I think even though the food

Was perhaps marginally
better over there,

The service was a lot better
over here,

And it is
a restaurant challenge,

So I think it's kind of
in the balance.

Let's get back
to judges' table

And figure this out.

[tom]
we just never felt

That you were totally
in the game.

Did you think that

Somehow this wasn't
your responsibility to do that?

Just touch a ball.

I'll be over here.

I can handle that.
Touch a ball.

You done?
Yeah.

Jeff has magical powers.

I think he's, like,
a magician or a wizard.

Oh, my god!

[jamie]
how do you do it, dude?

My god, that's freaky.

I think he's crazypants.
He's good.

[jeff]
did he pick one?

Yes.
Go ahead.

It's the center one.

[stefan]
what the [bleep]?
I can't believe it!

How?

Jeff is freaking me out.

You're crazy.

The refrigerator
was colder than the freezer.

So your ice cream
didn't set up.

It was a mess.

It took 3 1/2 hours

To freeze a pan of parfait
this thick.

Not a single pilot light
worked in our kitchen.

[jeff]
I had one oven that worked.

It was either 5,000 degrees
or nothing.

[door creaks open]

Good evening.

Can we please see

The sunset lounge team?

Thank you.

[padma]
so tonight you guys opened

A restaurant called
the sunset lounge.

And leah, this was your baby.

So how do you think
the evening went?

You know, there was a little--
ups and downs.

Um, but overall,
I thought

It was pretty good.

This was a tough decision.
We were kind of split up here.

And, uh, the diners by a very,
very slight margin

Preferred your restaurant.

[padma]
the biggest reason

That your team was
the winning team tonight

Was because of fabio's service.

And also stefan's desserts--
and your desserts were great.

Thank you.

To me, it felt like, um,
a first night opening.

But because the front of house
was charming,

You won me over.

Thank you.

Who made the cod?

I did.

That cod overall was
the worst thing that we had,

Uh, all evening.

We all could agree
that if this didn't work out

The other way that
you would have been going home.

[padma]
as our guest judge,

You have the pleasure
of announcing our winner.

[stephen]
the winner is

Stefan.

Thank you.

[stefan]
thank god I made
two good desserts.

They were happy.

It would be my worst nightmare
to be on a losing team

Of restaurant wars.

[padma]
as the winner of
this challenge,

You'll be receiving
a suite of ge appliances

Just like the ones
you've been using

Here in the top chef
kitchen.

Congratulations.
Thank you very much.

And please send out
your competitors.

I can go home now.
I can hold my head high.

To win restaurant wars
is huge.

He's the winner of the--
with the dessert.

My dish was the worst dish
of the entire evening.

[hosea]
they said they were torn on

Which restaurant
was their favorite.

Okay, that's good.

All right, all right,
all right, yeah, here we go.

All right, let's go.
Let's go.

Sahana was the losing restaurant
in this challenge.

You were the chef owner,
this was your baby.

What do you think went wrong,
radhika?

I'm not sure.

Who did what?
Let's start there.

Jamie did the braised
lamb shank

And the carrot soup.

Jeff did the scallop

And the snapper dish.

And carla did both desserts.

Did you plan the menu,
or did you just sort of say

You take desserts,
you do the appetizers,

Do what you want?

These guys came up with
their dishes.

Did you make any of the food?

No, I just helped prep.

[tom]
so you guys conceived of

Your own dishes, right?

I'm satisfied with what I did.

It's not exactly
what I wanted to do.

Jamie, I'm just curious
about what you think.

For the stuff that
I produced,

I felt good about my food.

Personally, I liked
this restaurant better.

And it really came down
to the--

To the comment cards.

But the desserts here,
I think, failed miserably.

Yeah.

Carla, desserts?
I was trying to do
too many things.

I was trying to multitask
instead of taking one dessert,

Finishing it, you know,
doing another one,

And trying to get
the ice cream in.

Did you ask for help?

They were saying,
"carla, do you need help,

Do you need help?"

But they're also in the weeds
trying to get their--

Their stuff set.

Yes, it was a mess.

I wasn't happy with
what I put out.

But I had a good time.

[toby]
don't you think it's important

That the diner should have
a good time too?

I know!
I--I know.

I knew my dishes
were going south.

At that point, it really
wouldn't help the diners

If I was in a bad mood.

So my thing was,

I'm just gonna send you out
some love with this stuff

That I'm giving you.

How could your--
your enjoyment

Impart the enjoyment--

That is my belief, tom.

One of the reasons
the desserts failed

Was because, you know,

Those frozen desserts
weren't frozen.

She was actually spinning
ice cream as we needed it,

'cause the freezers
were failing.

[carla]
what do you do?

I had to put a smile
on my face.

You didn't see my smile,

But I'm back there
putting a smile on my face.

Then why didn't you
communicate that to radhika,

And radhika could have
put it down

And said, "yogurt soup."

You could run the menu.

At least we would have
known that, you know,

Not to expect something
that was frozen.

Right.

Radhika, do you think
you should go home for this?

Well, if it's an issue
of the front of the house,

Then it's my fault,
and if you wanna send me home

For that, then I can't really
argue with you.

You have a pastry chef,

And you see that they're having
a hard time doing the dessert,

Do you walk over there
and say,

"let's make a change,
let's do this right now,"

Or do you just
let them kind of go

And, "maybe
it'll be all right.

I'll walk away from it."

I said, "can I help you?"
and I saw that the ice--

The yogurt was loose and--

Not "help you."
do this.

No, I didn't directly say,
"okay, let's change it,

Let's do this,"
I didn't do that.

And did you think that
somehow this wasn't

Your responsibility
to do that?

No, I didn't think that.

Why wasn't it
your responsibility?

You're the ch--
the ex--

I guess at that moment,

I just thought we were all
on the same level.

I wasn't being the leader.
I wasn't being the owner.

We just never felt that
you were totally in the game

In the front of the house.

I mean, we walked out of a
restaurant without a good-bye.

We had cutlery missing,

And it wasn't replaced.

You didn't note that.

That didn't happen with
the other team.

They had
the same service staff.

I explained that
to the servers,

So that may have been
a miscommunication.

This is a pattern here.

You explained it to the servers,
but you didn't follow through.

You explained a few things
in the kitchen,

But you didn't follow through.

And a chef owner of
a restaurant,

You need to follow through
on everything.

As a chef owner,
you have to assume

No one will do
their job properly.

We'll call you back
in a bit, thank you.

[tom]
so I think jeff and jamie
pulled their weight.

You know, they're safe.

Agreed.

[hosea]
what did they say?

Well, basically,

It's between me and radhika.

Carla or radhika?

[tom]
a lot of the negative
comment cards were,

"where was the hostess?"

[stephen]
but if radhika was more
hospitable,

You would have voted for her?

She seems b*at down.

She seems like
she's just over it.

Nine episodes in,
stamina becomes an issue,

And to just advocate
all that responsibility

Shows me that she just
doesn't have the,

The fortitude to do this.

If I was in the bottom,

I would be [bleep]ing
going home.

My [bleep] was not good.
Well, they reamed me out.

It looks like the entire team
basically was on their own,

Not supervised very well
by radhika at all.

So do they all get held
accountable for what they did?

[toby]
if we had decided to judge

This challenge solely on
the basis of the food,

Then they wouldn't even have
been out here.

So I don't think
we should,

For that reason,
get rid of carla.

[tom]
two desserts.

Get one of them right.
She got both of them wrong.

Remember the cake, it's her.
That's all her.

She can't blame radhika
for the cake.

Yeah, she gave us
an excuse, but it's an excuse.

Not one thing that I did,
and I do desserts well, worked.

Anything good about dessert?
Anything good?

No, it was [bleep],
it was a mess.

The whole thing was a mess.
I knew it was a mess.

I usually make it a point
of forgoing the dessert course

At global asian cuisine
restaurants.

And the dessert at sahana
reminded me why that is.

[stephen]
if you owned a restaurant,

And your pastry chef
said to you,

"I knew it was bad
going out.

I knew it,
but I was sending the love"--

When I heard her say that,
I wanted to fire her.

Carla's explanation
was nonsensical.

I wanted to shake her
really hard.

That--that was crazy.

Keep the love in the kitchen,
send out good desserts.

I think we have
our answer.

Let's get them out here.

Restaurant wars is clearly
our most popular challenge.

Jamie and jeff,

You're probably both
very frustrated that, uh,

In general,
you performed pretty well

Through this challenge,
but you're still on

A losing team.

And I understand
your frustration.

Radhika,

Being a chef owner
of a restaurant,

Every aspect of that restaurant
needs to have one hand.

And yet, you didn't seem
to carry out

With that personal statement,

Both on the hospitality end

And organizing the menu.

You know, carla,
desserts, uh, and coffee

Leave that last impression.

And the last impression
was, uh, pretty much a failure.

Padma?

Thank you.

Radhika,
please pack your knives and go.

Okay.

Thank you for letting me
be here.

I'm glad I made it this far.

[radhika]
I don't wanna go home

For being in front of
the house.

It's a cooking competition.

Of course I'm upset that
I'm going home because of this.

Good luck to you,
radhika.

Thank you.

[tom and stephen]
good luck.

[radhika]
I'm disappointed in leaving.

In hindsight,
I would have said,

"jeff, I don't care if
you wanna be in the kitchen,

You're gonna be in the front,
I'm gonna be in the back."

Bye, you guys.

I kind of give more
than I take,

And I try to accommodate people.

I've learned a good lesson
about that, being here.

Being on top chef has made me
so much stronger.

And I have no regrets
about the things that I've done,

Except for restaurant wars.

Bye.
Bye, you guys.

Have fun.

Going back home,

I'm looking forward
to lots of recognition.

You know, I've won quickfires,
I've won challenges.

My family and friends
are gonna be proud of me

Even that I've made it
this far,

And going back
and having this experience

Will give me an edge.

[padma]
next on top chef:

It's time to meet
the opposition.

[growling]

[carla]
the past season all-stars

Come crashing through
this paper.

And then I notice andrew,

Who is one of my all-time
favorites.

[cheering]

[speaking indistinctly]

[jamie]
the all-stars are very excited.

You have spike over there,
you have andrew over there.

They're trying
to intimidate us.

I gotta kick your ass
some more.

Don't distract me.

Fabian,
you'd better watch out.
"fabian," no.

This might be where jamie
goes home.
No.

Jamie's always so poised
and so together,

And right now she's, like,
crazed.

[tom]
I'm sure it's frustrating.

This is something
you should nail.

Acid with cheese, chef? Please.
You have italian restaurant.

I'm the judge here, not you.

[padma]
for more about the recipes
seen tonight,