05x11 - Le Bernardin

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

Meet the opposition.

[carla]
past season all-stars--

Oh, my god.

I'm doing a ceviche.

[jeff]
I am also doing a ceviche.

It's gonna be
a ceviche battle.

I'll go with josie.
Wow.

[padma]
okay!
[cheers and applause]

The winner is carla.

Thank you so much.

[carla]
it's my first win.

This is
the ultimate day for me.

Ba-dow.

[padma]
jeff...

Please pack
your knives and go.

Thank you.

At stake for the winner

Of our top chef finale
in new orleans--

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]

♪ ♪

[slow guitar music]

♪ ♪

[stefan]
padma says to jeff,

"pack your knives and go."

And that was really hard
on him.

I think she just broke his back.

I do not want to be
in the bottom again.

I--and I-I was so lucky
I got to stay.

I'm so happy.

[phone beeping]

[fabio]
my first time ever
being on the bottom.

Feel like [bleep].

I want to win
elimination challenge.

I need to stick around.

[jessica]
hello?

Good morning!
Finally!

[shouting in italian]

[fabio]
I'm trying hard.

It's not just for me
that I'm here.

I got to win this
for my wife.

It's a commitment
for me.

How's the restaurant?

[jessica]
everything's good.
Everybody's good.

Amore, are you sure?

Because every time you said
everything is good--

You know that I come back,

And everything
is b*rned down to ground,

And you open up a hamburger
shack in west hollywood, right?

I have to win
the competition.

I have to. I'm trying.
I'm pushing really, really hard.

Ciao, amore.
I got to go.

[jessica]
ciao.

Love you.
Bye-bye-bye.

[hosea]
I am the last

American male chef
standing in the competition.

It's tons of pressure.

But I'll take these euros down.
They got no chance.

[carla]
I'm really excited
about my first win.

Now that I'm in the top six,
it makes me want to g*n for it,

Because I'm underestimated,
I think.

So I'm gonna use this momentum
to take me to the top four.

Hello, chefs.

[all]
hello, good morning.

Of course you know

Multi-award-winning chef

And owner of the best
seafood restaurant

In new york, le bernardin,
mr. Eric ripert.

Hello, chefs.

Hi, chef.

[fabio]
chef eric ripert

Is the god
of the french chef.

[laughing]

[hosea]
he is legendary.

This is the most nervous
I've ever been,

Not just because
he's such a good chef,

Because he cooks fish.

Eric is all
about technique

And precision.

So, for your quickfire,
we're gonna test

Precision and speed
of your technique,

In a three-round

Fish-filleting tournament.

[bell dings]

You have two whole sardines,

Plus a third one which eric
has prepared for you.

[carla]
have you seen a sardine,
a fresh sardine?

It's like a wee,
li'le fish, you know?

Oh, my god.

[padma]
you have five minutes
to clean and butterfly

Your sardines

According to eric's example.

[hosea]
the hardest part
about small fish

Is that their bones
are tiny,

And the meat
is, like, that thin.

So, like,
if your Kn*fe slips

And you cut through the fish
halfway, you're done.

You've totally ruined it.

Your five minutes
starts...

Now!

[upbeat rock music]

My hands are shaking.

This is supposed
to be your gig, man.

[hosea]
I'm the seafood guy.

Everybody knows
I have a seafood restaurant,

But I don't do a lot
of small fish in my restaurant.

I'm struggling a little bit.

[stefan]
the most difficult part
of our challenge

Is very soft meat,
there's a lot of fat.

It's just
kind of difficult.

[leah]
my record with fish

On the show
has not been that great,

So I'm hoping
to redeem myself.

My hand is shaking,
so I can barely

Get anything done.

Oh, my god.
I should just go home right now.

[bleep].

[padma]
five seconds.

[bleep].

That [bleep] just tore up.

[padma]
time's up.

Your sardine
was so beautiful.

Oh, thank you.

Yes, unlike mine.

[padma]
what happened?

Girl,
it was just so small,

And my hands
were just shaking.

It's butchered, child.
You don't have to say.

We all know
what it is!

Just make
my life easier.

[laughter]
thank you.

Thank you.

[carla]
I just pushed chef ripert on

Because mine looked like
crapola, even by my standards.

[padma]
leah.

This one is a bit better
than that one,

Because
you didn't rip.

[leah]
yeah.
But you did it on time.

Yeah.
And with no bones.

I did them
as best as I could.

[padma]
thank you, leah.
Thank you.

So you did both?

This one has
a little bit of bones.

But still,
that is pretty nice.

Thank you.

[eric]
hello, jamie.

I've never in my life

Cleaned a sardine.

[eric]
sardines are very thin.

The more
you make movement in it,

The more flesh you take.

[padma]
thank you, jamie.
Sure. Thanks.

Chef.
I know, I'm italian.

All I've been doing

First--very first two years
in Italy

Was peeling sardinas
and chopping onion.

[eric]
they--they look pretty good,
I must say, no bones at all.

No bones,
and even in the middle.

Very nice job.

Thank you.
Thank you, chef.

So I'm gonna start off
by saying

I'm very disappointed
in myself.

I do seafood,

And my hand
was shaking so bad,

So I--I'm not pleased
with my work today, but, uh...

[eric]
well, the good news,
you finish your sardines,

And it's not too bad.

Thank you very much.
Nice to meet you.

Who did the best job?

I think leah
did the best job.

Oh, really?

And fabio
also did a good job.

Who did
the worst job?

[eric]
you're looking at me

[laughing]
like you're guilty.

I will say, uh,
jamie and carla, uh...

You don't have
to explain why.

[laughing]

[bell dings]

[eric]
and we have
a beautiful arctic char.

You will have
to fillet it.

[padma]
you have five minutes.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[sighs]
really?

I give up.

[padma]
I can't,
I can't, I can't,

I can't even do this
right now.

[padma]
three, two, one.

Utensils down,
hands up.

What happened?
I don't know.

I got all nervous again,

And I kind of just gave up
pretty much.

[leah]
I don't know
why I just stopped.

I guess, mentally,
I just, like, shut down,

And I was just over it.

[chuckles]

I'm pretty upset
right now.

You cannot give up.

And I don't think leah

Put a good first impression
in his mind

About what kind
of chef she is.

[padma]
hi, stefan.

Um...

We have to take
in consideration

The fact that you left
some flesh on the bone...

Absolutely.

And that you left
some bones in the flesh.

Of course.

Well, if you're
happy with it...

I'm absolutely happy
with it.

Very good.

Thank you.

When you cut the head, I don't
know if you were in a rush

Or not,
but you basically

Cut, uh, about three
or four ounces off

Of meat here.

It's almost
like a...

A steak lost.
I agree
with you.

Hello.

There's no bones
in your fillet.

Your fillet looks, uh,
really beautiful.

It's very precise, and you did
a great job on this one.

Thank you very much.

[eric]
well...

In this round, leah,

You just gave up.

You're the last one
on this one.

Uh, fabio...

The way you filleted the fish
was not the proper way,

And so I'm sorry,
but you're joining leah.

Absolutely.

[hosea]
one euro down.

I just got to take out
the other one.

Stefan is the guy to b*at.

[bell dings]

Freshwater eel.

Ooh.

You will have to peel it
and fillet it.

This eel has been
recently k*lled.

However,

Eel, being so resilient

And having such
a strong nervous system,

May move,
as you can see.

Look, look, look.

[women screaming]
oh, wow.

[hosea]
eel--

We don't have eels
in colorado.

I look over,

And stefan's just got
this glint in his eye.

Come on, buddy.

I grew up with eel.
That's what we do in germany.

Skinning an eel
is like riding a bike.

You just got to know
how it works.

Your time starts now!

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[stefan]
the nail in the cutting board
is to pull the skin.

Otherwise
you can't pull the skin,

'cause how
are you gonna hold it?

[hosea]
yeah, that's probably
a good idea, huh?

I look over at stefan,
'cause he obviously knows

What the hell he's doing.

So I do the same thing.

I hammer it down.

Now I'm just embarrassed

I didn't think about it
right away.

[carla]
come on, hosea.

[grunts]

Finally.

Getting somewhere.

[stefan]
sorry, buddy.

Stefan's just got these two

Perfect eel fillets

On his board.

At this point,
I'm just gonna try my hardest,

And I'm not gonna give up.

[padma]
five,

Four,

Three, two, one.

Time.

[eric]
it looks like
you have done that before.

When we grew up,
we had eel.

We had to always skin eel
and clean them and...

[eric]
the fillet looks beautiful,

And your station
is very clean.

And you were at ease
in the timing.

Thank you very much.

Hello.
Well, it was
probably obvious

That I've never done
this before.

[eric]
actually, you didn't do
such a bad job.

But with your Kn*fe,

You butcher a little bit
of the flesh.

Mm-hmm.
I agree.

You were also
a little bit more messy.
Yeah.

And struggling
with that skin.
Yeah.

Thank you.

Who is our
quickfire winner?

Stefan.

You won the quickfire.
Merci beaucoup.

Congratulations.
Thank you very much.

[padma]
as you know,
it doesn't give you immunity,

But I'm sure
it's gonna give you

A really useful advantage.

Like last time.

[hosea]
hooray for stefan.

He's, like, been doing eel

Since he was three years old,
apparently. Great.

You know, and just another
reason europe's so great.

[padma]
so eric,

You have a surprise
for our chefs, don't you?

Yes, I would love to invite you
tomorrow for lunch

In our private room
of le bernardin.

Thank you very much.

You're very welcome.

Okay,
so we'll see you then.

Bye-bye.

[stefan]
it feels good to be a winner.

We have a couple more challenges
till the top four show.

It's--it's getting rough.

[fabio]
it's really good.

It's delicious.

The flavors are amazing.
Like, wow.

Congratulations.

You are the top chef.

[fabio]
yummy!

[hosea]
we're all kind of hanging out
at the apartment,

And we are having
our own quickfire challenge.

[fabio]
I'm not gonna be french.

Am I supposed to eat
the peel?

[stefan laughing]

It makes it more smooth,
a smooth experience.

You got to scoop
the banana out.
[stefan]
yeah.

But that is good,

Good texture.

You know, I would've put
a doily or something

Under here for presentation,
other than just the cookies,

'cause I want to eat these
cookies,

And I have to do that
to get at them.
[laughter]

Morning, fabio.

It's a pleasure waking up to you
instead of my wife.

Could be worse.

[hosea]
we wake up to go
to le bernardin.

I'm really pumped.

I'm about to sit down with
eric ripert and tom colicchio

And have a feast just for us.

Like,
this is such an honor.

Ooh, you look
so spiffy.

I know, spiffy.
[laughs]

Now I got to get
black socks.

[stefan]
let's go.
Time to go.

Let's go have
some fish.

Hosea, carla, leah,
let's go.

[soft rock music]

♪ ♪

Hello.
Hello.

[tom]
sit down.

[hosea]
le bernardin

Is new york's
finest seafood restaurant.

It's known for food

That looks really,
really simple

That is absolutely
very difficult to make.

So we have selected,
uh, six different dishes

That are on our menu
currently.

[stefan]
it's gonna be great food.

Eric is really cool, simple guy,
cooks great food.

Looking forward to lunch.

[man]
your first course

That you're having here--

The sourdough-crusted fillet
of red snapper,

Finished
in a tomato-basil consomme.

[carla]
it's really nice.

It's delicious.

[hosea]
the flavors all work
so well together.

A lot of thought and work
goes behind these dishes.

[man]
you are having here
the fillet of mahi mahi,

Garnished with
a matsutake mushroom salad

On a thin film of, uh, miso.

[fabio]
it's really good.

I love mushroom, and, you know,
this--this is great for me.

[fabio]
I am happily surprised

To see that the food
that is coming out

Is back to basic.

In my restaurant,
that's what I do--

Perfectly ex*cuted food,

No foo-foo,
not too many components

On the plate.

[man]
baked lobster with asparagus

In a sauce hollandaise.

[leah]
the food is amazing.

I have so much respect
for eric.

Like, I just want to give him
a big old hug.

[laughs]
he's super sweet and cute.

[jamie]
it's delicious.

But to be honest,

I'm actually bored
with this kind of food, so...

It's not something
I'm inspired by.

Probably my favorite
to this point.

Lobster was awesome,

Just perfectly cooked.

[man]
escolar, slowly poached
in olive oil,

Potato crisps,

In a light red-wine bearnaise.

[carla]
each dish is just

Beautifully presented,
just gorgeous.

The flavors are amazing.

Where are you from?

Uh, washington, d.C.

It was my first job in 1989,
washington, d.C.,

At the--
at the watergate hotel.

Oh, really?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I went
just before it closed.

Oh, yes?
Mm-hmm, when I was
in culinary school.

[carla]
while I was growing up,
I wanted to major in theater,

But now, this is what
I want to be

When I grow up--
one of his dishes.

[man]
to follow, monkfish,

Coated with, uh,
za'atar spice.

It is then, uh, roasted,

Garnished
with, uh, black garlic.

It's almost sweet.

There's a little
licorice taste in there.

[man]
the sauteed fillet
of black bass

On, uh, braised celery
in, uh, green peppercorn.

Thank you.

Mm.

[stefan]
hosea, this you like?

Oh, yeah, I love it.

[jamie]
this is definitely

My least favorite
out of the six dishes.

I think the sauce
is a little weird.

Um, I'm not really a fan
of celery anyway, though,

And then to braise it, I just--
I don't like it.

[tom]
okay, so I think

There is one more course
on the menu.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[laughter]
[tom]
thank you.

[leah]
there it is.

I guess
there is no dessert.

[jamie]
♪ dun dun duh ♪

[tom]
so, I-I hope

You've all been paying attention
during lunch,

Uh, because the six entrees
that we had

Are your
elimination challenge.

You will re-create

This six-course menu
for us.

[carla]
oh, my god.

That's like re-creating
the garden of eden.

Actually, I was not paying
really attention

To the whole menu,
I was enjoying the food.

All the ingredients
will be downstairs

In the kitchen
waiting for you.

You'll have two hours
to prep and practice

In the main kitchen.

Eric will come by
to give you some critique.

After your mise en place
is finished,

You can come upstairs
to the kitchen here,

Where you will cook the dish
for the judges.

Stefan,
you won the quickfire,

So you get to choose
your course.

The rest of the chefs
get to choose a Kn*fe.

I will pick the lobster,
my favorite.

[hosea]
I knew it.

[stefan]
I love it.

[stefan]
I picked the lobster,

'cause I love lobster,

And I already figured out
the ingredients.

That's the funny part.

[hosea]
he chooses lobster.

I think it's the easiest
of all the dishes,

And so does stefan,

And it was an easy way out.

Go big or go home,
you know?

Carla, why don't you
choose first?

[tom]
escolar.

Monkfish.

Mahi mahi.

Red snapper.

I wonder
what it's gonna be.

[stefan]
black bass.
Black bass.

[jamie]
I pulled the black bass
with the braised celery.

I don't feel great
about cooking this dish,

But I mean,
that's part of the challenge,

Is, you know, you have to do
what you're told to do.

[tom]
needless to say,

The dishes are very exacting
and precise.

So you'll need
all of your skills

To make these dishes
up to eric's standards.

The chef whose dish falls
furthest from the mark

Will be eliminated.

[carla]
I'm right down to the wire.

That fish
isn't cooked.

Ooh.
That's tough.

Clearly,
something's gone very wrong.

[funky rock music]

♪ ♪

[carla]
for this challenge,
we have to re-create

Eric ripert's dishes
to serve to the judges.

We have a tray
of all the ingredients.

And everything
is beautiful.

I have escolar
with a bordelaise beurre blanc.

I've never
oil-poached fish before.

So I'm a little nervous
about the technique.

I have to reproduce
the red snapper

With the tomato-basil broth,

Heirloom tomato,

And, uh, jellified
balsamic vinegar.

I'm really happy.
It's a great dish.

It was one
of my two favorites.

[jamie]
I have the black bass
with the braised celery.

I've never braised celery before
in my life.

And I've never made a sauce
out of serrano ham.

These are all things
that I have to figure out

In our two hours
that we have to cook.

Hosea, have you ever taken
a ham like this apart?
Uh, yeah.

[jamie]
I'm just gonna try to bang it
out and do the best that I can.

She has a lot of things to do
on that dish.

They're just standing there
watching us, too, as we do this.

[stefan]
I have no concern about
the lobster.

The sauce is basically
sauce hollandaise

And tarragon and parsley
and capers.

It's a classic french dish.

Got to just blanch them
and get all the shells off,

Especially get
this one out, see?

That's the butt.

[leah]
I have the mahi

With miso lemon
underneath

And mushroom sauce.

At my last restaurant,

I was, like,
the lead fish cook,

So I'm confident
with handling fish.

But in yesterday's
quickfire challenge,

I did not do a good job

Butchering the arctic char.

I just kind of gave up.

But obviously,
I have to butcher the fish,

And I know how to.

[hosea]
so my dish is, uh,
za'atar-spiced monkfish.

I am not schooled as a chef.

Every now and then,

It will come in to haunt me
a little bit.

I've never used
this za'atar spice.

So I don't know exactly how much
I need to put on the fish.

There's eggs

And breadcrumbs,
so I'm like,

"all right, it's got to be,
like, kind of battered

And then sprinkled
with the spices on it."

[upbeat music]

[fabio]
that's it.
I'm burning, I'm burning.

Hold on.

[fabio]
the most difficult part
to recreate the dish

Of eric ripert
is that you don't have 30 years

Of the high-level experience
in your background.

It's gonna be fabio viviani
preparing eric ripert food.

Here we go.

[bell dings]

So I hope it's gonna taste
as close as possible.

You know, we are
on the same border.

[leah]
I'm confused right now

As how he incorporated
the miso.

There's more miso
in this one.

More miso?
There's more miso
in there.

I should add more miso?

[leah]
for me, the miso
is way too strong

On its own.

So I see butter,

And I think to mix it in
with the miso.

Okay.

Hi, stefan.

One detail...

They're not cooked?
Not cooked.

At all?
But...

That's all.

Merci.

[leah]
I know it's a little...

I got a little, uh...
But just flavor-wise?

What you have to careful
is, um...

Yeah.
It's very oily.

Right.
And what you have
to be careful

Is that the intensity
of the broth...

Is that
too intense?

Yes.
Okay.

Okay, thank you.

You're welcome.

Chef.
Hello, chef.
Okay.

You're close
in the sauce.

However, you need
to bring some acidity,

Because it's
a very rich fish.
Okay.

And the fish is okay?

The fish is okay.
Okay.

Thank you, chef.
You're welcome.

[carla]
I went to
a french cooking school,

So my background
is classic cooking techniques.

And everything eric ripert
is doing is classic.

And I feel like this
is actually my comfort zone.

Taste the fish
and tell me

If I did
the crust right.

It's a lot
of za'atar on it,

And then you have to dry your
fish so the juice doesn't cook.

Yeah. Okay,
thank you, chef.
Okay?

[hosea]
eric tells me that, you know,
it's not perfect.

I know. I can tell by the way it
looks it's not right.

So the hard part for me now

Is trying to figure out
exactly how this fish is cooked.

That's the crux
of the whole dish.

If you misfire the fish,
then the whole dish is--is lost.

[eric]
chefs, you have
a few minutes left,

And I just want
to wish you

The best of luck tonight.

[carla]
thank you, chef.
See you later.

[upbeat rock music]

[jamie]
I'm getting frustrated,
because it's definitely taking

Longer than I thought
it was gonna take.

I definitely feel
a little stressed for time.

Eric didn't taste my dish
'cause I didn't have time

For him to taste my dish.

♪ ♪

[carla]
okay, time to move.

[fabio]
the two-hour preparation
is done.

We're heading upstairs,

Where each one of us has


Before get the dishes
to the judges' table.

I think this could be

A career-changing experience
for them.

And when you work
for great chefs,

It changes the way
you think about food

And the way
you approach food.

Tremendous inspiration

And influence,
of course.

[tom]
just--just the mere fact
that they're

In this kitchen cooking

Is enough to scare

The chef pants
out of anybody.

I mean, this is--it's--

It's a very tough challenge
for that reason.

[rock music]

[fabio]
I'm the first one to go.

The first thing I do
is sear the bread.

That way it will get
a little crispy.

The bread looks like
a little bit overdone.

But I think it's good.
I think it's ready.

Thank you.

[man]
from le bernardin kitchen,

Red snapper, crusted
with, uh, sourdough bread.

[toby]
so what should we be checking
for in fabio's dish?

[padma]
the bread looks
a bit overdone.

[tom]
well, it's too thick, too.

Uh, flavor-wise,
it's very close.

It's good.

I-I'm pretty impressed.

I think it's not
a bad impersonation,

But it does reveal,
I think, the extent

To which the details

Make an enormous amount
of difference.

[tom]
it's like someone
forging a painting.

It's a very good forgery,
but you got to scratch

The surface a little bit
and start seeing

The little--little things
here and there.

[upbeat rock music]

[stefan]
eight minutes, leah!

[leah]
it's hard re-creating

Chef ripert's mahi
after only eating it once.

[hosea]
four and a half minutes, leah!

[jamie]
that fish isn't cooked.

[leah]
okay, I'm gonna put it in

For, like, one more minute.

♪ ♪

[stefan]
leah, two minutes, leah!

Is it good?
[leah]
yeah.

Yeah, it's cooked.

I feel like
this is [bleep] up.

[leah]
I'm really, really nervous.

I knew that I didn't do
the miso properly.

So I'm just
kind of gonna roll with it

And put a little less miso.

I don't feel super great,
but I hope this is not the dish

That will send me home.

[tom]
you see the difference
right ahead of it.

The miso's not as thick.

[toby]
yeah, I can't--
I haven't got any.

[padma]
there is a definite flavor
difference.

Yeah.

The fish is overcooked.
Yours is overcooked?

Mine is not.

In--in eric's dish,

There's an intensity
of flavor,

Where this--
the only real flavor--

You get ginger,
and that's it.

Here it just tastes like
the dull fish I remember eating

Whenever I've gone
to the caribbean.

Here it tastes like

Some wonderful, new discovery
that I've never eaten before.

Well, coming from you...

[padma]
congratulations.

You are the top chef.

Chefs, fire
the next course, please.

[stefan]
I feel really good
about my dish.

I've seen
the other stuff going out.

I tasted eric ripert's lobster,
and I've tasted mine.

It's exactly the same.

My sauce is slightly
a little thicker,

But that can't break
the camel's back.

Sorry.

[hosea]
nice work, buddy.

[stefan]
here you go.

Have one.
Here you go.

Ah, I can see
immediately

That stefan's sauce
is not as light.

[eric]
we do it in a blender.

[padma]
ah.

And he made it
by hand.

His asparagus
are well-seasoned,

And my lobster
is really good.

[padma]
my lobster feels

And tastes
exactly like that lobster.

It's very good.

[padma]
even the thick sauce

Tastes very close.

[toby]
if I didn't know

That it was supposed
to be like this,

I'd be pretty happy
with this dish.

I mean, he's dangerously
nipping at your heels.

It's very--it's--
it's very, very close.

[carla]
I'm a little nervous
about f*ring the escolar

In 15 minutes,

Because my fryer oil
isn't hot enough,

And I need to make
potato chips

In the 15 minutes.

[hosea]


[carla]
the chips

Really got me behind.

I'm right down
to the wire.

Let's help her.
We have one minute, guys.

We have the crisp chippies?
[hosea]


[fabio]
these are the crispier ones.

Nice.
Thank you.

Because
of my fellow chefs,

My food makes it
onto the plate.

If it wasn't for them,

Honestly, I don't know
what I would've done.

[eric]
the potatoes, uh, look like

They're not as crispy
as they should be.

Well, actually,
this one is crispy.

[tom]
I actually think
this is probably

One of the more
difficult dishes,

'cause it's
so subtle.

She did
a very good job.

She's very loyal

To the original dish,

And I think
she--she got it.

[rock music]

[hosea]
I'm the seafood guy,
and I cannot allow myself

To be sent home
on a fish challenge.

I have to do really well
on this one.

I am a little concerned
about the monkfish.

It's still a little too wet,
and the crust

Doesn't have
the same color on it.

I know I missed something,

But hopefully my technique's
doing everything else

To kind of
make up for the fact

That I didn't quite do the fish
the same way.

[slow bass music]

♪ ♪

[eric]
it's close with the sauce.

[toby]
it's close
with the sauce, I think.

[tom]
what he's not close with
is the cooking of the fish.

[padma]
just looking at the fish,

It looks
completely different.

I think the za'atar

Is really, like, changing
the dynamic of the dish,

Because he applied
too much za'atar on the fish.

You see here, this dusting--
it's kind of delicate.

Here it looks
like it's heavy.
Crusted.

[tom]
the other problem
with the fish, though,

Is it is overcooked,

But monkfish
also needs to rest

Before you cut it,
and this didn't rest.

Yes, it's important
to let it rest.

He has a lot
at stake here,

Because he's a chef
in a seafood restaurant.

Oh, I didn't know that.

So, besides
getting eliminated,

He also has a staff to face
if he gets eliminated,

And he's doing
a seafood challenge.

This should be right--
right in his sweet spot.

And this is the least precise
of all the dishes.

Chefs, please fire
the last course.

[jamie]
I have the sixth course,

And I'm doing a black bass
with the braised celery.

I feel good.

I mean,
I know how to cook fish.

I check
on my braised celery.

The celery
is not soft enough,

So I decide to keep it
on the flattop.

[intense drum music]

I realize, as I'm plating it,
that the celery is too salty.

The celery is awful.

The liquid over-reduced,

And the celery
gets over-salted.

At that point,
I have to serve it.

I can't really do anything
about it.

I hope it wasn't
too salty.

The celery
is kind of blanched out.

Ooh.

The celery
is really hard-core.

It's a salt lick.

Clearly,
something's gone very wrong.

The salt aside,
I think the fish is--is fine.

It's not as crisp

As the le bernardin fish,
but it's--it's well-cooked.

[eric]
oh, yes.

It's very nicely cooked.

I think tom
is being too kind.

It's not merely unremarkable.
It's remarkably poor.

You know, it's--it's not--
it's not as easy as it looks.

It's not an easy dish.
Really, it's not.

Jamie saw you performing
a high-wire act.

You made it look easy.

She got up on the wire,
and then [hisses],

Fell flat on her face,
no safety net.

[laughs]
yes.

[dramatic music]

[hosea]
I'm not sure
what they're gonna say

About my fish.

It should've been
seared more.

Seared more?
Yeah.

We'll see.

Well, let's go back
to judges' table.

Sure.

It misses the mark.

It wasn't appetizing
to look at or to eat.

[toby]
I didn't want to eat
any more

After the first bite.

[slow rock music]

[fabio]
guys, it doesn't matter
how we do,

You rule in my world.
Yeah, say it.

[all]
cheers.

Good evening,

[stefan]
good evening.

Can we please see fabio...

Stefan...

And carla.

Thank you.

[sighs]

[leah]
that's great.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[padma]
the three of you
are in the top

Of this challenge.

That's good.

Let's start
with you, stefan.

How do you feel you did
with the dish?

I think it was pretty good.
You know, I...

I love the lobster,
I know the flavors

And the things,
and you look at something,

You taste something,
you know what it is.

So you found it
pretty easy.

No, I found it nice to cook
just stuff I-I grew up with.

The flavors were very good.

The lobster
was properly cooked for me.

Yeah, and I think the
presentation was--was spot-on.

On a technical side
of things,

The only real flaw
was the sauce was a little

On the thick side.

[padma]
fabio, did you enjoy
this challenge?

[fabio]
I loved it.

And for me,
it was an honor.

I thought you would have

A big challenge
with the bread.

I was almost convinced

That you would burn part
of the bread, which you didn't.

[tom]
it was flavorful,

Slightly different flavor,

But, uh, it was
a very good example

Of--of the dish.

[toby]
I thought it was
very impressive.

And the fish was--
was cooked perfectly.

Thank you.

[padma]
carla.
Whew!

How did you feel?

[carla]
I loved the challenge.

It was--it was really good
and an honor truly.

[eric]
I have a question,

Because, you know, we--
we say on the menu,

"red wine bearnaise,"

But it's not
a real bearnaise.

It's--
it's a beurre rouge.

It's more
like a beurre rouge.

I mean, how did you
figure it out?

What--because you did
the right thing, but...

Well, in tasting the sauce,
when it gets cold,

You--you see how much butter
is in there.

So I started
with the bearnaise,

And then I put
the veal stock in,

And then I just started, um,
sort of whisking butter in.

I liked it. Um, I thought
it was rich and powerful.

It had
a certain swagger to it.

If I had to come up
with a name for the dish,

I think I'd call it
"pablo escolar."

[laughs]

[tom]
number one,

It's got to be
somewhat daunting

To--to try to re-create
eric's dishes.

I--I wouldn't want to be
in the same position.

It's unfortunate
that we had to choose a winner,

Because you all did
a very nice job.

[padma]
as our guest judge,

It falls to you
to announce the winner.

[eric]
sure.

It was a tough call.

However, the winner is...

Stefan.

[applause]
I really appreciate it.

Thank you.

[padma]
congratulations, stefan.

Eric, you have something
for stefan, don't you?
Absolutely.

A copy of my new book,

On the line, and also,

I'd like to extend
an invitation to you

To follow me in three
of my restaurants,

Starting at le bernardin,

For one week,
and you'll be provided

With a room
by the ritz-carlton hotel.

And at the end of the week,

You will fly with me
to the food & wine festival

Of pebble beach.

How nice is that?
[carla]
wow.

How much--
how better could it be?

I appreciate it.
Thank you very much.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

Well done.
Thank you
very much.

[padma]
unfortunately, I'm gonna have
to ask you to call back

Your colleagues.

Okay.
Thank you very much.

[electronic music]

♪ ♪

He won again!

[applause]

[stefan]
I have to send you guys out.

[carla]
all right, guys,
good luck.

Good luck.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[padma]
you three were

On the bottom
of this challenge.

That means one of you
has to go home.

Hosea,

Are you surprised
to be here

Considering you work
in a seafood restaurant?

Um, somewhat surprised.

I've never cooked anything
with za'atar spice.

And so it was probably the dish
I was least looking forward

To cooking out of all six.

But, you know, it was
what I drew, and so I wanted to,

You know, go with it.

Actually, the quality
of the sauce was very good,

Uh, but the fish
was overcooked for me,

And the za'atar crust
was very thick.

So that
was overwhelming

The qualities of the--
of the fish itself.

[tom]
I think the biggest mistake

Is monkfish needs to rest
before you cut it,

And I don't think
it rested enough.

It rested for about a minute
and a half

After I took it
out of the oven.

I should've let it
rest longer.

I was really worried
about that.

Yeah.
You know,
but once it's cooked,

I can't redo it.

I don't have
another 15 minutes, so--

It's nice to hear you say

That you know the mistakes
that were made.

I know exactly
the mistakes I made.

Leah, do you know
what mistakes you made?

[leah]
when I made it,

I made it--I did butter,
lemon, and miso,

And I mixed it up together,
and so, obviously,

With the hotness
of, um, the fish and the broth,

It kind of made it
look, like, greasy

When it all
kind of got together.

And at that point,

I-I really just didn't know
how to fix it.

Um, I honestly--I really want
to know how you did that,

Because I--I'm, like--

I totally did not--

We put some, uh--we mix it
with some lemon,

And then we dilute it,

Okay.
Like a thick sauce.

Okay.
So, when you pour
the broth,

It becomes part

Of the whole sauce.

Okay.
[tom]
everything is so subtle,

And without really observing
what makes it so complex,

It misses the mark.

[toby]
my plate had,

I think, the least white miso
on it of any of the plates.

I knew that that was not really
the right way to do it,

So I just didn't want to make it
worse than it already was.

That had the effect of really
transforming the taste

Of the mahi mahi.

I just had this kind of lump
of raw, like, kind of dull fish

In the middle of my plate,

And it's actually still stuck in
my teeth, and I wish it wasn't.

[tom]
let me ask you a question.

I guess in--in the quickfire,
um, you kind of gave up.

Yeah.

Are you at the point
where you want to give up?

No, I absolutely
don't want to give up.

You know, I want to be here.
There is no doubt in my mind.

Like, I want to win.
I want to go to the final four.

I don't--I really regret
giving up yesterday

In the quickfire challenge.

Obviously, there's nothing
that I can do to take that back,

But in no way
did I give up today.

I tried my best to do--
to do that dish.

I really did.

[padma]
jamie,

Are you surprised
to be here?

No.

Tell us why.

I know that my celery,
the braised celery,

Was over-salted.

So I'm--I'm not


that I'm here.

I agree with you
that the celery--

The braised celery
was way over-salted.

I think it just
over-reduced.

I think that was
the problem that I had.

Because when I tasted it

Before I served it,
it wasn't salty.

And then as it reduced,

It just got
saltier and saltier.

If I could have,
I'd have sent it back.

It wasn't appetizing

To look at or to eat.

There was one rogue element
in the sauce.

It's kind of a metallic
aftertaste,

Almost a burnt taste.

And it just had the effect
of rendering

The whole dish
completely toxic.

And I didn't
want to eat any more

After the first bite.

I mean, that wasn't my favorite
dish that we had

Over lunch, either.

Um, it was a really hard sauce
to pick out the flavors of.

But I definitely felt like
I got the sort of fattiness

And the richness
of the sauce down,

Which is, I thought,
what I had tasted at lunch.

It sounds like you actually
understood it.

I knew the mistakes
that I made,

But I couldn't fix them
at that point.

It was too late.

Thank you very much.

Okay, thank you.

We don't know yet.

It's gonna be me.

It's gonna be me.

No, no, no.
It's gonna be me.

They hated my dish.

[padma]
I think this was the most

Compellingly difficult challenge
they've had yet.

You know, I really
felt for them.

But all three of them
made critical mistakes.

Let's just start
with hosea.

You know, if he had just
seared that fish

Before he put
the spice on there,

And if he'd looked at it,
he would have seen it.

And I think he just
missed that

When we were having lunch.

I think
that was a mistake,

And also, you know,
it's interesting to hear him say

That he knows that monkfish
needs to be rested.

'cause a lot of chefs
don't know that.

But he knows it,

And yet he didn't
give himself enough time

To let it rest.

He had plenty of time
to cook that fish.

It was not close to what
the monkfish should be

In the plate.

He did get the most difficult
component of the dish right,

Which was the sauce.

They had, like, high hopes,

Because I'm a seafood chef.

I'm like, "yeah, but I haven't
done this dish before."

[padma]
well, let's move on to leah.

Leah, by not incorporating

The miso into that broth

Just did something bland,

And misunderstood the dish
and the concept.

Why would you think that butter
was added to that miso?

It was clear, when we had
the dish in the afternoon,

There was no fat.

She's not paying attention to
something that's so important.

She doesn't--
her head's not in the game.

And--and, you know,

I just don't know,
you know,

Why she should stick around

If she's not paying attention

Or actually putting
the time and effort

Into getting things done.

[padma]
in jamie's case,

It was clearly too salty.

I think, in jamie's defense,

She really did seem
to understand

What she'd done wrong.

What's worse--

Someone who sort of knows
they made a mistake

And knows how to fix it

Versus someone
who has no idea

How the dish
is put together

And doesn't really
even get out of the box?

Well, they're two
major mistakes.

But then what
did toby say about mine?

Toby hated my dish.

No, but he said something--

He said mine
was metallic.

And he couldn't get
the fish still out of his mouth.

So it sounds like
we have a decision.

Yeah, I think
we have a decision.

I totally agree.

For tonight's challenge,
each of the chefs

Was invited into

An experience that should
alter the way you approach food

Probably for
your entire career.

Each of you made a mistake,

Either in observation
or execution.

Hosea, if you had spent

A little more time
observing,

You would have seen

That the fish was seared

Before the spice
was put on.

Leah, you weren't able
to figure out

How the miso was incorporated
into the dish

And the importance
of the balance

Between the miso
and the mushroom broth.

Jamie,

You over-salted the celery.

You knew it was over-salted.

And I think that was
the downfall to the dish.

Jamie...

Please pack your knives
and go.

Thank you for this opportunity.
It's been amazing.

It's been a pleasure to meet you
and eat your food, jamie.

Thank you.

Thank you, chef,
very much.

It was an honor.
It was an honor
to cook in your kitchen.

You?

Yeah, I'm going home.
I'm so sorry.

Team rainbow is done.

It's kind of a bummer,
but...

I formed friendships here

That I know that I'll
continue to have.

Bye, guys.
Good luck.

I'll see you soon.

I think I've grown a lot
as a chef

And as a person.

I've learned to be
a lot more patient with people.

And I think that I've learned
to respect myself

For who I am

And have more confidence
in myself as a chef.

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

[padma]
next, on top chef...

Today, we gonna decide
who the final four are.

Perfect.

I am a force
to be reckoned with.

I'm thinking I might win it.

[tom]
you have an incredible
group of people

That you're cooking for.

Please...I don't want
to be embarrassed.

Tonight has to be perfect.

[loud clatter]

[fabio muttering in italian]

I hear this commotion
in the back,

And I look over...

[groaning]

How the [bleep] I am going
to get through this night?

He didn't cook
from his guts.

The salad
looks like something

That you would get
on an airplane.

The fish is horribly
overcooked.

I tell you, I could
die happy with that.

[padma]
for more about the recipes
seen tonight,