06x04 - Vivre Las Vegas

[bunniefuu]

[Padma]

Previously



On

Top chef

.

Chefs, your mission is to report

To nellis air force base

And to prepare



A meal for airmen.

-Ok.

-Is this spam?

We got the line going

All the way around the building.

We got to get

These people through.

Laurine and I made

This pasta salad,

It's the vegetarian item.

The winner of this challenge

Is michael voltaggio.

Thanks, chef.

Who said, "let's make

A pasta salad?"

-I don't know who said it first.

-Preeti...

Please pack

Your knives and go.

[Padma]

At stake for the winner,



A feature



In

Food & wine

Magazine,



$, Of merchandise



Provided by macy's,



A showcase at the annual



Food & wine

Classic in aspen,



And $, to help

Turn their culinary dreams

Into reality,

Furnished by the makers



Of the glad family of products,



And the title of

Top chef.

It could be anything.

Well, we do know

That there's a lot

Of big baller chefs in town.

The first three chefs eliminated

Have been all females.

I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed,



But I know women rock.



And I want to see us rock



A little more,

'Cause I don't want those boys

To get their egos too full

And think

That they're the b*mb.

[Indistinct] please.

[Men cheering]

I like your rebel yell

There, son.

All right.

The wynn hotel.

-Daniel boulud.

-Uh-oh.

Of course,

The man next to me needs

No introduction.

Chef daniel boulud is legendary.

He owns seven

Award-winning restaurants,

Including daniel

In new york city,

Cafe boulud, and here,

Daniel boulud brasserie

At the wynn hotel.

Daniel boulud is one

Of the baddest

Mother [bleep] there is.

He's really identified



With taking classic french food

And putting it

Into a modern context

Without changing

The flavor profiles.

French foods have become

Popular on menus in the u.s.,

But one of their ingredients

That has been very slow

To make a mark is the snail.

Well, in french,

We say, "escargot."

[Jennifer] I haven't worked

That much with escargot.

It's a very delicate protein

That you can screw up

Really easily.

And I think whoever thought

That a snail looked good to eat

Had to be really

[Bleep] hungry.

[Laughs]

For this quickfire,

You need to make

A winning dish using snails

As the main protein.

We're in las vegas,

So this is

A high-stakes quickfire.

High-stake quickfires

Aren't only about the winner.

In fact, in this case,

It's about the loser.

The winner will get immunity.

The loser will be going home.

[Groaning]

Somebody's going home

For a quickfire,

Which-- it's kind of a first

And a totally new twist on it



That we haven't seen yet.

[Tom] you'll have minutes

To make your dish,

And then you'll serve daniel

And I right here at the table.

Your time starts...

Now.

[Ashley] whoo.

Where the [bleep]

Are the [bleep] ble--

I need a [bleep] blender.

[Ashley]

I haven't cooked



Escargot ever.



I'm cooking for one



Of the greatest chefs, period.

And I'm definitely

Really nervous.

-You got snails in greece?

-[Mike] it's a specialty

-In the island of crete.

-[Eli] is that

-What you're doing?

-Of course, baby,

-That's where I'm from.

-Thought you were

-From [bleep] jersey.

-That too.

[Mike]

My background



Of cooking is greek.



Snails are actually a delicacy



In the island of crete.

I'm a little stoked

About that, to bring

Some different flavor profiles

To the game.

Minutes.

Push it, baby, push it!

Right now I'm behind.

[Kevin]

I'm



A little nervous now.



The issue with snails is

That they really

Don't taste like very much.

So you try to add flavor

Of the snails

By boosting

The background flavors.

Ah,

Estupido.

French food is not what I do

In my restaurant, whatsoever.

So my concept

On this dish is basically

The flavors of the caribbean.

Where's my snail?

Somebody move my snail?

Ron, these are my snails.

That's my snail, baby.

No, this is my braising liquid

With the thyme

And the orange peel.

That's my snail, darling.

Oh, [bleep], my bad.

Here, take those.

-It's okay.

-I'm sorry.

I don't know anything

About escargot,

And I could be

That person going home today.

I don't think I've ever had

A faster heartbeat.

Okay, coming down the line.

Go, go, go, go.

I feel good.

I'm from france, you know.

Escargot is, like,

My whole youth, you know?

[Jesse] at this point,

I'm trying to

Just reach up through

This bog of self-doubt

I've kind

Of been swimming around in

For the past few weeks.

I feel like

I'm capable of a lot.

How much time?

Two minutes.

Five, four, three,

Two, one.

Time.

Time! Time's up!

Behind you.

[Daniel] jennifer,

What do we have?

So we have grilled ramps,

Brussels sprouts,



And chanterelle mushroom.



The snails



I just quick sauteed.

And the brown butter sauce

Has some yuzu in it.

The yuzu--

A nice acidity to it.

-[Tom] great.

-This is an elt.

It's escargot,

A little bit of mache,

And a fried tomato.

Interesting.

[Tom] great, thank you, chefs.

Thank you.

[Daniel] laurine, tell us

What you made for us.

I made a lemon risotto.

It has some spinach,

A parsley pesto,

And sauteed escargot

With garlic butter.

[Daniel] very nice.

I got snails

With a caribbean flavor,

A little bit of nutmeg,



A little bit of spice,



And I did a little bit



Of pickled mushrooms

-To go with that.

-[Tom] robin?

I did a play off of bagels,

Lox, and cream cheese.

I did a rye crostini

With an escargot that I poached.

Then I did a st. Germain

Marmalade with gooseberries.

Mm-hmm.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Chef.

-[Tom] mattin.

I made a fava bean crostini

With escargot

-Sauteed with pernot espalate.

-Okay.

It's a little soup and salad.

There's leeks,

Carrots--a

Mirepoix.



Those are some garlic croutons,

And there's also escargot

In the soup.

Very interesting.

I wanted to make, like,

A fricassee of snails.

I wanted to do it with things



That I thought are very earthy,



Mushrooms and brussels sprouts.

I'm serving it

With a bacon jam,

A candied bacon jam,

Something that sort of echoes

-Of the south, where I'm from.

-[Tom] michael?

I have some sauteed snails

Over a potato-garlic puree,

With a spring onion



And ouzo broth.

This is more of an inspiration

Of when I was in crete,

Almost all the restaurants

Have snails.

Interesting.

You guys put together

Some really great dishes.

We did have three favorites,

So, daniel...

One of our favorite dishes was

Mike isabella.

You know,

That little trip to crete,

And you brought

The entire soul of that dish.

Another outstanding dish was

Kevin's dish.

Thank you.

[Daniel]

I think you both hit us



On the head with the bacon jam.

And the third dish

Who really stand out

Was jennifer.

And you came left field

With the yuzu sauce.

It just brings

That extra dimension to it.

Thank you very much.

Can you please tell us

What your favorite was?

-Kevin.

-Thank you.

[Kevin] thank you, chef.

Congratulations, kevin.

You'll have immunity

From the elimination challenge,

Plus another bonus

That I'll announce later.

Thank you, chef.

[Laughing]

Choosing our least favorite

Dishes was

Equally as difficult

As choosing our favorite.

Jesse, ashley, and robin.

Yours were

Our least favorite dishes,

And one of you will be

Going home.

However, we're gonna give you

A second chance.

We're gonna give you

Minutes

To go back in the kitchen

And do a cook-off.

Make one amuse-bouche

Out of anything

That's in the kitchen.

One bite to save your life

And to keep you

In the competition.

And the chef

With the worst dish

Will be eliminated.

Your time starts...

Now.

[Cheers and applause]

Behind.

[Groans]

So we run into the kitchen,

And it's like a [bleep] tornado

Has gone off in there.

I got it, I got it,

I got it.

I am not feeling good.

Corner.

[Robin]

I've never worked



Fine dining.



I know what amuses are.



I've eaten plenty of amuse.



But I'm now



Rethinking everything,

Definitely tripping out.

It's a minute and seconds!

I feel pretty good

About making an amuse-bouche.

I do an amuse-bouche



At my restaurant every night.

Ten seconds.

Two, one, zero.

[Tom] okay, time's up.

That's it.

Robin, what did you make?

I did an avocado soup

With a little bit of yuzu.

I did a green apple,

And, oh, there's

Peekytoe crab in there.

[Tom] jesse?

I did a little tuna tartare

With sorrel and gooseberries,

A fried quail egg on top

And a piece of fried bread.

Okay.

I have a little foie gras

With caramelized pineapple,

Tarragon, and ramps.

Okay.

Robin,

You made an avocado soup.

The proportion was

A little off.

Could've used

A little more crab.

Jesse, loved the idea.

Proportionally a little off.

Could've used more tartare,

And the tartare could've been

A little spicier.

Ashley, great idea.

We felt the foie gras could've

Been cut a little thicker.

The same thing

With the pineapple.

The pineapple could've been

A little more caramelized.

It's very, very difficult

To send somebody home

For one bite.

But one of you

Will be going home.

Robin, jesse, ashley,

Each of you made

Our least favorite dishes

In the quickfire, and one

Of you will be going home.

This was a really

Difficult decision,

But for us, the chef

That had the worst dish was...

Jesse.

Please pack your knives

And leave.

-Thank you, chef.

-Thanks.

[Jesse]

I'm pissed.



I'm disappointed.



I'm embarrassed.

I haven't felt like myself

Since I got here.

I've been on the bottom



The entire time I've been here.



It's tough, you know?



The thing



I want people to know is

Is that I don't suck this bad.

[Scoffs]

[Ashley]

Jesse gets eliminated.



I'm glad it's not me.



I definitely feel shaken



Being in the bottom again.



I'm trying to build



A reputation for myself.

And if I do poorly,

Then it's a huge deal.

It's a huge risk being here.

For your elimination challenge,

You'll be drawing knives.

-Kevin, you will not draw one.

-Okay.

Michael, step up.

"Lapin,"

Rabbit.



-

"Meuniere."



-[Tom]

Meuniere.



"Veloute."



"Sauce americaine."



[Eli]

We started drawing knives,



And all of them



Either have



A classic french sauce,

Or it has a traditional

French protein.

-

"Chateaubriand."

-"Young chicken."

"Frog legs."

-

"Bearnaise."

-That's a classic.

[Mike]

I see



A lot of french words,

And I don't know

What half of it is.

I don't cook french food.



I'm just like,



"Oh, mm, great."

So, you know, this is probably

The most stressed I've been

Since I've been

In this competition.

So six of you have chosen knives

With popular french sauces,

And the other six chose knives

With popular french proteins.

You'll be working in pairs

To create a six-course meal

Using your proteins

And your sauces.

[Mattin]

I'm french,



So I feel almost they're making

A challenge just for me,

You know? Somehow.

So really, I mean,



This shouldn't be no problem.

You'll be serving to

A table of some

Of the best french chefs

In the world.

They will include hubert keller,

Laurent tourondel,

Jean joho, daniel.

And you'll be cooking

In the restaurant

Of joel robuchon.

[Laughs]

And he'll be there as well.

And joel robuchon was named

Chef of the century in france.

[Tom] I'm actually nervous

To eat with the man,

-Let alone cook for him.

-[Daniel] yeah, exactly.

Joel robuchon is the chef

Of our generation.

He's a mentor for our industry,



A pioneer of our craft.

This could be

The most important plate

I've ever cooked

In my career.

You will have two hours

To cook in the

Top chef

Kitchen

And then

One hour to cook

In joel's restaurant

Before serving.

Kevin, you won the quickfire.

You have immunity.

Not only will you

Not be competing,

But you will be joining us

For dinner.

You'll be eating

With this amazing

Collection of chefs.

[Daniel] make sure you have

A suit and a tie.

Yes.

The idea of eating



With joel robuchon,



It's gonna be pretty amazing.

I own every book

The man has ever written--

Including the ones

That are in french,

And I don't speak french.

Okay, chefs, you have

Ten minutes now to pair up,

And we'll see you tomorrow

At chef robuchon's restaurant.

-Good luck.

-Good luck.

Thank you, chef.

-What do you have?

-

Bearnaise.



I'm

Au poivre.

-Who's got lobster?

-I've got lobster.

Americaine.



Americaine

Is lobster.

There's immediate

Obvious pairings.

The steak



And the peppercorn sauce.



And the lobster's gonna go



With the lobster sauce.

What do you think

About trout and bearnaise?

-Trout and bearnaise can go.

-[Mike] and then we can do

The frog legs

With the brown butter.

Let's do that.

I got something I might

Be able to pull off.

-[Laughs]

-I got an idea.

[Bryan]

We pair the trout



With the bearnaise



And the frog legs



With the butter sauce,

Which, in my opinion,

Makes complete sense.

So I'm working with mike i.

Jen.

I immediately want

To work with michael v.

He has rabbit that goes

With my sauce perfectly.

I'm psyched,



'Cause I know that

We are gonna do

A banging dish together.

All right, guys,

Let's go shopping.

Let's go.

Whoo-hoo.

So we need truffle oil,

And we need--

Truffle oil,

Tomato paste, yeah.

Is this ground chicken

Dark meat?

Yeah, that's a dark meat.

We'll have a pound of that.

[Ashley] the dish that mattin

And I are making is

Poussin,

Which is a young chicken.

And our sauce is

Veloute,



The fancified french version



Of gravy.

Asparagus?

No.

No. Green asparagus is not

Good with a veloute sause.

You don't want to put

Any green in a veloute.

[Ashley]

I thought about using



Asparagus in our veloute,

But mattin was

Really against it.

And he's the frenchman,

So I'm kind of following

His lead on this.

-You want just the house bacon?

-For me, I don't need a lot.

[Mattin]

I'm responsible



For the

Veloute

,

And I'm just

Thinking right away,

"It would be the best to go

With a little bit of bacon

To make the braising."

[Mattin] we use

Everything french.

I know

We talked about it,

But we kind of

Said no, but...

Oh, yeah?

Is that how it's gonna be, huh?

[Bryan]

I know my brother



Would like



To kick my a*s



In this challenge,

And I'm not gonna let

That happen.

[Giggling]

[Laughing]

[Mike]

Jen and mike--



That's a tough, tough team.

And me and bryan, I think,

Is the other tough team.

So I think we have



The four top guys

Competing against each other

At this point

To see who's gonna have

The best dish.

And we'll see at the end.

[Hector] nine minutes!

And then I'll get

The other ones.

All right, robin,

Let's roll.

[Michael] so we have everything

On the list?

So capers

And the pearl onions?

Go.

Beautiful, beautiful.

-Whoo-hoo.

-Give me five.

[Eli]

We head back



To the

Top chef



Kitchen at the m resort.



And we have two hours



To prep everything



That we're gonna need



For tomorrow.

And then tomorrow we have

One hour to cook the food

In joel robuchon's kitchen.

So this puerto rican

And this g*y guy have

To make dinner

For joel robuchon, right?

[Laughs]

I use to do this

For a living,

Papi.

I used to do banquets like crazy

With frickin' filet--

That's all people want.

The food that I cook is

Latin american food.

I grew up in san juan,



Puerto rico.



I'm representing



A lot of people:



My cooks, my dishwashers.

I started from the ground

With them.

I think they're gonna be

Rooting for me.

Oh, that's perfect. Yeah.

Yeah? Same. Same.

You can get started

With this if you want,

And I'll start blowing out

The rest of the carcasses.

[Jennifer]

This challenge,



Michael just starts attacking



The rabbits



And butchering them down.



And throwing me the bones,



Because I need all



The flavor out of the bones

For the sauce to be perfect.

-Isn't french the best, no?

-Yeah, it's the best.

The french cooking is not

The best?

The french cooking is the best.

Let me actually come in

From this side here.

What if we were to sandwich

The filets and wrap them

So then we had skin

On both sides,

And we cut it,

And there'll be fish

In the center?

[Mike] okay.

I'm working with bryan.



He's working on the trout.



I'm working on the bearnaise.



Bearnaise

Is

Like a classic egg sauce

With clarified butter.

It's kind of, like,

Similar to a

Hollandaise.



I don't want to do



A traditional bearnaise,

So I need

To reconfigure this sauce.

[Bryan] my thought was

Doing it deconstructive,

And making it, like,

Warm mayonnaise.

[Mike] we can, yeah.

-You agree?

-I agree.

[Bryan]

Working in a steakhouse



For five years,

I made an

Eggless-style

Bearnaise,

Which is just a good alternative

To the classic.

So mike wants to kind



Of deconstruct it,

And I gave him

A way to do it.

I'm k*lling myself here.

-[Ron] how are you looking?

-[Robin] I'm great.

Totally pull me away,

If that's priority.

I got it, I got it.

I'm good.

I have made frog legs

Probably different ways,

Because I have



A lot of training



In classical french.

So hopefully,

I can knock them out.

Three and

A half minutes, guys.

-Whoo!

-Whoo!

[Ash] all right,

Spinach--refreshing.

Sauce--finishing.

[Ash]

The attitude's



Pretty serious.

And I'm sure we're

All writing our prep list

Over and over in our heads.

But the reality is, like,

We're sort of

Committed to



What we're doing now.



We only have an hour tomorrow



To put out this food,



And that's pretty much



Just barely enough time

To make the great--

Greatest dish of your life.

-You got it,

Papi.

-Getting robuchon.

[Robin] right on.

[Indistinct chatter]

-Aw.

-[Robin] love you!

[Eli]

Today is



Mattin's birthday.

The frenchman's birthday

On the french round of the show.

-Mattin.

[Cheers and laughter]

-Yeah, chase him down!

-[Laughter]

Oh, good one.

-[Laughter]

-Oh!

[Kevin]

He's turning



Years old,

And he's a little freaked out

About it,

'Cause he knows

That next year he's turning .

I'm pretty drunk,

But you know...

Go to sleep then.

No, I'm not going

To sleep right now.

[Sighs]

[Robin] come on, mattin.

[Laughter]

[Mike]

So we go to joel robuchon



At the mgm grand.



And I don't know



How to put it in words,



But it's just, like, wow.

I'm cooking in his kitchen,

And I'm cooking for him--

A guy who you'd never even

Think you could see.

All right,

Are you gonna give me one?

-Let me just

Get it all up first.

-Okay.

[Eli]

We have one hour to cook



The food, have it plated,



And then we have to take it



Into the dining room.



And I'm looking forward



To seeing robuchon



In the flesh.

I pretty much was under

The impression

That he didn't actually exist

And that he might be a unicorn.

How's the

Meuniere

Coming along?

[Robin] it's-- I got

My butter almost there.

I'm just trying to get

All the greens all together.

[Robin]

Ron is preparing



His frog legs,



And meuniere is my sauce.

The classic components are

Brown butter,

Lemon, and parsley.

And I'm making the herb salad.

You really think

This is too vinegary?

-Very, very.

-I love it.

I'll put a little bit

More oil in there.

Yeah, you worry

About your frog legs.

[Ron] I am feeling emotional

About the pressure,

Because as a haitian, you know,

We go back a long way

With the french.

We usually don't like them.



They usually don't like us.



So I'm hoping



I can give them something



You only taste in france.

And the rest is

Out of my hand.

Okay, I'm gonna work

On the fennel and apple.

All right,

Pulling the fish out now.

Bry, take a look.

Yeah.

Season it

While it's in there, too.

-Season it,

Oui oui?

-Yeah.

[Mike]

The biggest difficulties

Of this dish is gonna be

The execution of the sauce.

That's what's getting me



Really, really nervous.

It's not gonna work.

What-- just get it hotter.

We might have to end up

Just doing a

Bearnaise,

Bro.

No, we'll have

All the components.

I'm just second-guessing doing

A deconstructed

Bearnaise

.



And if I do go home,



I'm gonna tell



The culinary kids

In america:

"Make sure you practice

Your

Bearnaise.

"

It's a struggle.

We're gonna make it

Look beautiful.

We got half an hour,

Minutes.

-So you got everything you need?

-Yep.

Okay, careful, careful.

Your heat's real hot.

[Eli]

I'm working with laurine.



She has lobster,



And I'm doing



Sauce americaine

,

Which is basically,

Like, lobster bisque.

I'm gonna take these off.

[Eli] okay, let's--

It's a little cold, maybe give

It a little more heat.

My biggest concern is

That lobster can get

Tough really quickly.

And I'm worried



About reheating it



And not overcooking it.

I'm gonna stick a thermometer

In that lobster.

My other concern is



About overcoming my nerves

In terms of the caliber

Of chefs sitting at the table

That we're feeding today.

-I'd say pull it.

-I think pull it.

Hey, you're boiling

Over, chef.

-Chef.

-Huh?

Wow. So fast.

[Mattin]

I'm a little bit nervous.



I mean, like,



I'm trying to make sure

The sauce is, like, stunning.

It's just hard,

Because any veloute--

You can do it

So many different ways.

I use, like, bacon.



And would that one be the one

That will make me win,

You know?

This is very, very, very hot.

You want to leave it or no?

I mean, I don't know.

It's your call.

I'm worried

About the whole thing,

Start to finish.

So I'm letting mattin take



The lead on this.



But to be cooking



For the chef of the century,

Honestly,

I feel like throwing up.

[Mattin] I think, personally,

It's fine.

-[Ashley] it's ready?

-[Mattin] yeah.

Yeah, it's perfect.

And then tomato,

Tomato, tomato?

I think we're gonna build

Everything off the rabbit.

Michael and I are fifth

With rabbit and

Chasseur.



Chasseur

Is



A hunter-style sauce.



It is mushrooms and tomatoes,



White wine, and demi.

Taste the sauce.

I'm gonna--

I'm gonna mount it up.

-I'll be right there.

-All right.

[Michael]

Cooking



For these guys is like

A singer having

To sing for the beatles.

If they like my food,



You know,



It'll be a huge compliment



To what I've been doing



With my life



For the past years.

-Tomatoes confit ready?

-Yep.

[Hector] all right,

Steak gonna go

In the oven in one second.

[Ash] cool with me.

Don't forget about it.

All right,

I'm gonna get sauce in.

We were making

Chateaubriand au poivre,

Which is basically filet mignon

With pepper sauce.

Man, our meat's taking

Longer than I wanted.

I'm gonna crank it up

A little bit.

[Hector]

My steak's



Not coming up to temp.

Still at degrees or so.

We need to bring it to .

What's up with the beef?

Slow to come out.

Want to wait?

-I have no option.

-Okay.

[Hector]

So we have minutes



On the clock,



And I needed to let it rest



Before I cut the steak.

That is our big concern

Right now.

We need to get the steak

Out of the oven.

I got on the meat.

Okay.

[Indistinct chatter]

Thank you.

[Laughs]

I know who you are.

[Laughing]

[Kevin]

I've never been



In a situation



Where I've been



Around that much,

Just, culinary power

At one particular moment.

I look at this as, like,

A very, very rare opportunity,

So I want to take advantage

Of it as best I possibly can.

A votre sante.

[Robin] okay,

We got five minutes.

I'm gonna start

Plating greens down.

We are racing



Against the clock



At the last minute.



There's so much pressure



On today.

Greens are wilting fast

Under this heat lamp.

[Eli]

Robin and ron are hustling



Out of the kitchen.



And I see their dish



On the way out,

And they're sitting on top

Of a beautiful wilted salad

Of dead greens

And overly caked frog legs,

And it looks awesome.

[Padma] ron and robin,

I'd like to introduce you

To your diners

For this evening.

Your guest judge,

Daniel boulud,

Hubert keller,

Chef of fleur de lys,

Joho, chef and proprietor

Of the eiffel tower restaurant

Here in las vegas,

Laurent tourondel,

Chef of blt restaurants,

Your head judge,

Tom colicchio,

The lovely gail simmons

Of

Food & wine

Magazine,

And of course,

You all know kevin.

Amazed to be here.

[Padma] and our translator

For this evening, emmanuel,

And finally,

The great joel robuchon.

Thank you very much

For having us tonight.

Ron and robin, please tell us

What you've made for us.

Today we have a frog leg

Meuniere

With a lemon confit.



[Robin]

And we did a fresh salad



With mache and arugula

With some fried capers.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much, enjoy.

[Joho] seasoned well.

But it's really heavy

On flour.

Yes.

The frog legs was overcooked.

I mean, not

That they were dry,

-But they were overcooked.

-Altogether, I think there was

Some originality in the dish

And, I think, some creativity,

And I must say, frog leg is

A very difficult thing to cook.

-Right.

-Joel?

[Speaking french]

They put a lot of thought

Into this dish.

It's not easy to pull off.

It's a good dish, but...

...the flavors are

A little masked.

You can't taste

The frog anymore.

Come on, baby.

Come on, now.

Nine, eight, seven, six,

Five-- zero.

[Beeping]

Whoo!

[Laughs]

[Mike]

We finished our dish.

And I looked at it, and

I'm like, "this looks good."

Let's do it.

Let's walk around.

If they understand



Our concept



Of our broken-down bearnaise,

I say we're gonna win.

[Laughing]

So we have a warm-cured trout

In a really light brine.

[Mike]

I did



An eggless bearnaise,



And then on top



Of it some pickled shallots,

Some raw egg yolk,

A little dot of tarragon puree,

And a little fennel pollen.

So if we start

To blend all this together,

-We'll have--

-

Bearnaise.



-A

Bearnaise

Again.

-[Laughter]

We made it hard on ourselves.

Enjoy.

[Laughs]

It was a perfect translation

Of what they had to do--

Trout and

Bearnaise.

I mean,

I still have the lingering

Flavor of the

Bearnaise.

I think this dish,

For me, is simple,

But really sophisticated

And really well-ex*cuted.

I think the trout

Is cooked perfectly.

[Speaking french]

To me, a successful dish is...

...taking something simple

And making it exceptional.

A sauteed potato,

A bearnaise sause...

...there is nothing more simple.

They deconstructed it...

...they put a lot

Of thought into it.

I like it a lot.

Wow.

The base of the claw

At :.

So like this--

That's a guest right there.

[Eli]

There's a lot of nerves



And butterflies



Floating around



With everybody,

'Cause you're never

Gonna have this opportunity

Ever, ever again.

We did lobster,

Sauce americaine,



Some cauliflower puree,



A little bit



Of raw cauliflower,



And a couple drips



Of mani olive oil

Just to give it

A little bitterness.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

In general,

It's a nice dish,

But I'll tell you

What I don't like about it.

-[Padma] right.

-The lobster's tough.

And the

Sauce americaine,

For me, is too bitter.

[In french]

I think it's good work.

They succeeded in their dish.

But if you go

Into the details...

...i'm a little caught

Off-gaurd.

...because there's not

A genuine flavour...

...that it should have for

Lobster americaine.

For someone who has

No classical french training,

I think it's a very difficult

Dish to actually execute.

I have two minutes left.

[Ashley] just follow me

With the breast.

Maybe it needs some maldon.

[Mattin]

At this point,



I feel like



I have done the best



That I can do

With what I was given.

I'm standing by my dish,



You know.

-All right.

-Thank you.

[Indistinct chatter]

Mattin and ashley,

Please tell us what you made.

We have a

Veloute

Sauce.



We braised the thighs



And made a ravioli,



And it's a seared breast.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

I'm getting a lot of bacon

In the sauce.

[Padma] yeah, a lot.

[Speaking french]

The poussin is bland.

I don't know

If it's a veloute...

...or if they wanted to make it

More complex?

They've worked really hard

For not a very good result.

I think the

Poussin

Is

Overcooked.

The skin is

A little bit dry.

[Hubert] well, I think

If they would have

A real

Veloute

Sauce,

The dish could have been

Kind of a success.

I think they missed it.

The bacon overpowered

The poussin's flavor.

You know, everybody likes to say

That everything's

Better with bacon.

This is one case

Where it's not.

[Laughter]

[Michael] one minute

And seconds.

Stand by for sauce.

[Jennifer]

So we start plating.

[Chuckles]

It's really not enough time,

Especially

For who we're serving.

-[Michael] seven seconds, go.

-[Jennifer]

I don't know



How the hell



I get the sauce



On the last plate



At the last second.

I don't know how I did it.

[Michael] you got it?

Jen and I actually paired

Lapin

With

Chasseur.



We took the legs



And then wrapped



Them in a thin pastry



And crisped it up.



The racks were



Just simply



Sauteed at the last moment.

Thank you.

-[Padma] what is this?

-[Tom] mustard.

[In french]

The rabbit is always

A very difficult dish to make...

...because it's often dry

In texture.

Here you could say the rabbit

Was cooked perfectly.

It's a successful dish.

I think it was

Quite well-ex*cuted.

-Yes.

-[Tom] jen and michael--

They're young chefs,

But this is very mature work.

I agree, yeah.

Totally.

I'm at .

It's coming out.

Pull it out.

I'm just about there on sauce.

[Hector] five minutes to plate

Them plates. I'm worried.

How do you feel

About starting to cut meat?

[Hector] very soon.

We're starting to plate.

I'm waiting to the last possible

Moment to cut the meat.

We have two minutes.

I'm gonna start cutting.

Steady hands, hector.

Steady hands, baby.

I feel a little nervous



About our meat especially,



Because I'm gonna have



To cut it in a hurry.



It's not what I wanted,

But the clock

Just ticks and ticks.

-It's gonna be bloody.

-Real bloody.

I'm gonna follow you

With sauce, buddy.

[Ash] I'm starting to see

The train jump

The track a little bit.

The beef taking so long

To cook was an issue,

'Cause now there's blood



Running all over the plates,

And I feel like

I'm losing sauce.

Eight seconds?

Well, that's gonna

Happen quickly.

So right as I'm at



The last two plates,

I just take

A spoonful of sauce

And, like,

Throw it in the air,

Then hope it lands

On a [bleep] plate.

[Groans]

I really just feel

Like I want to throw up,

'Cause I see

That there's just

Not enough sauce

On these plates.

[Indistinct chatter]

We got

Sauce au poivre



And

Chateaubriand.



So we decided



To do a filet--



Which we roasted whole--



And spinach.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Thanks.

[Padma] where is the sauce?

[Gail] there's sauce,

It's just very thin.

[Tom] yeah, the problem

I have is

That the cooking is so bad.

It's brown over here,

It's red over here.

[Speaking french]

It's too bad

Because it's lacking refinement.

There's no juice,

There's nothing.

The big problem with this dish

Is it's not "au poivre".

I am amazed

At my piece of meat.

It looks like

It's been hacked with an ax.

[Speaking french]

He think you actually

Get the last slice.

I did. I got the end.

Well, they picked

The wrong lady.

[Speaking french]

Joel, how do you think

Our chefs did?

Did they please you?

[Speaking french]

I was pleasantly surprised

By the quality of...

...the work of some

Of these young candidates.

We saw some

Very successful dishes.

[Joho] this is

The next generation of chefs

In this country.

I think it's wonderful

To see that.

I'm sure we heard

These names.

We'll hear them in the future,

And that's wonderful.

[Padma] well, I'd like to thank

Everyone for being here.

It was

An unforgettable evening,

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

We'd like to see

Bryan, mike,

Michael, and jennifer.

[Bryan] thank you.

Go get 'em.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Well, congratulations.

You all did a great job,

And you have the two

Best dishes of tonight's meal.

[Daniel] absolutely.

All my french colleagues

Around the table,

I mean,

Was totally impressed.

So let's start

With the trout.

Chef robuchon was

A huge fan of the dish.

That's awesome.

And you were responsible

For the

Sauce de bearnaise?

Yes. Me and bryan sat down

And talked about it.

We just kind of--just

sh**ting ideas at each other.

I mean, we could really

Taste every element

-You put into the sauce.

-[Tom] the fish appeared

To be a very simple

Piece of fish on a plate,

But I know that it was

A little more complicated.

Yes, well, we used

The top side of each filet

And then paired

The two together,

Reconstructing the fish.

Whose concept was it

To plate the fish this way?

Ah, well...

It was his idea to cut

The fish into cylinders,

And, you know,

It came out perfect.

The rabbit dish.

For me,

The most important thing was

Breaking down that animal

And showing as much skill

As I possibly could.

The most nervous

I've ever been probably,

I have to say.

[Tom] jen, the sauce was

A brilliant idea

Of what food can be

Once you start with a classic

And move it

Into contemporary cooking.

How was it working together

For the two of you?

-Easy.

-It's hard when you work next to

Somebody

That talented to, uh--

You hope she's not gonna

Outdo you, you know?

Well, daniel,

As our guest judge,

You have the pleasure

Of announcing our winner.

[Daniel] they all show

Amazing execution,

But there was definitely

An outstanding combination.

And the winner is...

Bryan.

[Applause]

-[Tom] nice job, guys.

-Thank you.

And, bryan, as the winner

Of this challenge,

We have a special

Opportunity for you.

Chef robuchon has graciously

Invited you to stodge

For a week at his restaurant

Here at the mgm grand

In vegas.

Wow.

Thank you very much.

Wow.

[Bryan]

It doesn't really



Feel like a win,



Because it was a team effort.



But I've always wanted



To work for joel robuchon,

So it feels really,

Really good.

And now I need you

To send back

Some of your colleagues.

-What's up, guys?

-[Ashley] all right.

[Cheers and applause]

-All right, give it away.

-All right, guys.

They want to see

Mattin, ashley,

Hector, and ash.

All right.

-Let's do it.

-Good luck, guys.

You four served

Our least favorite dishes

Of the evening.

Mattin and ashley,

Let's start with you.

The

Poussin--

The way

That it was cooked,

By searing it, dried it out.

To me, the

Veloute

Was closer



To a gravy than a

Veloute.

We also picked up

A lot of bacon in that.

Was there a lot of bacon

In the braise?

I put a little bit

Of bacon in it.

It was very strong.

I haven't made a

Veloute

In a long time.

Okay.

But the asparagus wasn't

Much of a boost.

It wasn't my idea

To put asparagus.

Was it your idea to put

The asparagus

On the plate, ashley?

Sure.

I mean, yes.

[Tom] you needed to make

More of a connection--

-Maybe an asparagus

Veloute?

-I suggested it.

I mean, yeah.

It came up, for sure.

-It came up?

-To make an asparagus

Veloute.

I'm assuming

You shot that down.

-No, I didn't.

-You didn't?

No, I did not.

This is, uh--

This is also our first shot.

Well, it was

Everybody's first shot.

Yeah.

[Padma] all right,

The

Chateaubriand



With the

Sauce au poivre.

Where was the sauce?

Um, it was on the plate.

We had a big time issue

In cooking our

Chateau.

It wasn't done.

So I can't sauce

Till the plate's done.

So at the last second,

I was walking down saucing.

And I looked back,

And I saw that the plate

Really just absorbed

That sauce.

And the other problem

Is the cooking of the beef.

One of my pieces was

Completely overdone,

And it looked like

It had kind of been hacked up.

Yeah.

So I mean,

I think that, you know,

We were doing awesome.

-But my steak--

-Wasn't done.

Wasn't done, so we were waiting

And waiting and waiting.

And my mistake was

To rely on that thermometer.

I should have just pulled

It out.

That was a big mistake.

I know I got a little sloppy

On the cutting.

-Yeah.

-What did you--

Yeah, what did you use

To cut your meat with?

A long knife, you know.

Was it not sharpened?

I mean, I had two minutes

To cut, you know,

Pieces of meat.

It don't take

More than an hour

To do a

Sauce au poivre.

And it take only minutes

To roast the beef.

I mean, we were working

All the time, you know--

I'm sure, but it's good

To have a good game plan.

That's all for right now.

Thank you.

Hey, guys,

They loved everything.

[Laughter]

Was it painful?

It's painful

Because they're right.

They're pretty much,

Like, dead on,

ba*ls-to-the-wall right.

Well, I think

We can make a case

For someone from either

Of these teams to go home.

We're here to find

The best cook,

And I think in both cases,

The cooking was the issue.

Hector and ash had

Very different ideas

About that dish.

But the problem with the beef



Was that it was under-rested.

And when you cut a piece

Of under-rested meat,

The juice just bleeds right out.

And the

Chateaubriand

Was

The most simple thing to do.

Yeah, any cook who works

A buffet line

In this town can carve

A piece of meat

Better than that.

Yeah.

[Tom] in the case of ash,

Whatever sauce was on

The plate was very minimal.

-I think he understood

How to make a

Sauce au poivre.

I think he had

The method right.

It just didn't translate.

But if the beef would

Have been perfectly seasoned

And perfectly roasted,

I think it would

Have saved the entire dish.

A great sauce could not hide

The fact

That that beef

Was incorrectly cooked.

[Daniel] completely.

[Tom] ashley's ravioli,

The pasta was rolled out

Too thick.

Um, it also was dried out.

[Gail] I was very surprised

At ashley's reaction

Standing up here.

It was almost as if

She had nothing to say.

But do you think

Because mattin was french,

Then she kind of lay

Responsibility on him?

When I asked her about

The asparagus and the veloute--

I think at that point,

She was either gonna

Throw him under the bus

Or just sit there

And just shut down.

You know, this was

Mattin's moment to shine,

Because he's french.

And yet,

It didn't

Really happen for him.

-It didn't.

-And I thought

The

Veloute

Was

Just not properly made.

Yeah, no, the bacon was

The wrong move, I think.

It was a bacon cream sauce.

It was a bacon cream sauce,

You're perfectly right.

Okay, so I think

We have our decision.

-I think so.

-I think so.

[Padma] we're in agreement?

-Yes.

-Okay.

Let's get them out here.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

The challenge today was

To take classic french proteins

And marry them

With classic french sauces.

Mattin and ashley,

It was a combination

Of the cooking of the protein

And the sauce that didn't

Create a harmonious dish.

Unfortunately,

One of you will have

To go home tonight.

Hector, please pack

Your knives and go.

[Hector]

I am sad



That I'm leaving.



I expected to be here longer,

To represent

My people longer,

Represent myself longer.

All right, guys.

Oh, no.

[Hector]

A couple



Of the challenges,



I changed the way that I cook



To meet, you know,



Time restrictions,



The judges' tastes,

And I think that that

Maybe didn't play my way.

I'm a workaholic, you know?

I came to work.

I came to cook, cook, cook.



I really wish



That people could go



See what I do.

Now they can come into

My restaurant and see that.

[Padma]

Next on

Top chef...

[Bell dinging]

Who just took

All the hotel bins?

Prepping on a table and

Standing in -degree weather,

-What can you really do?

-Where's my [bleep] pepper?

Thanks for getting me

Those containers,

By the way, [bleep].

-You pushed me out of the way.

-Tastes like I just sucked

-On a piece of chlorine.

-It's disgusting.

Tom's walking away.