15x01 - It'll Take More than Pot Luck

[bunniefuu]

♪ ♪

[Tanya] I'm from Oakland,

California.

[Carrie] I'm from Denali

National Park, Alaska.

-[Adrienne] I live

in New York City.

-[man ] Mexico City.

-[Fatima] Karachi, Pakistan.

-[man ] South Side of Chicago.

-[man ] Simsbury, Connecticut.

-[man ] Coatesville,

Pennsylvania.

[Padma]

Welcome to Denver, Colorado,

and welcome

to the th season

of Top Chef.

Come on in.

There's room for everyone.

-How are you guys doing?

-[contestants] Great.

-Good.

-Any jitters? Any nerves?

-[man ] No.

-[man ] Of course.

-[contestants laugh]

-[Padma] No?

I'm always suspicious

of someone who says no.

[Bruce] I feel like I've been

training for Top Chef

my entire career.

I was nominated

when I was

for a James Beard

Rising Star Chef Award.

I competed on

Best New Restaurant on Bravo.

Jacques Pepin said that Union

was his favorite restaurant

in Los Angeles.

But to be called Top Chef?

That is what I need to hear.

[laughs]

Usually we take a moment

to get to know everyone,

but this time we thought

it'd be nice

to do something different

and get to know you

through your food.

So we're gonna have a potluck.

Oh, and by the way,

this is your first

Quickfire Challenge.

♪ ♪

In just minutes,

you'll be cooking

for the judges

and for each other.

Getting on Top Chef

is a huge feat.

I was the first Black female



executive sous chef



at Le Bernardin,

but to be

the first Black female

Top Chef?

Oh, yeah, no pressure at all.

[Padma] The person

who wins this Quickfire

will get immunity

in the next

Elimination Challenge,

so good luck.

Your time starts now!

♪ ♪

Top Chef is back,

and we're in

colorful Colorado.

Fifteen of the country's



finest chefs



are here to brave the elements

and cook the best food

of their lives.

♪ ♪

At stake for the winner,

a feature in

Food & Wine magazine,

an appearance

at the Food & Wine

Classic in Aspen,

$, furnished



by San Pellegrino,

and the coveted title

of Top Chef.

-[bleep]

-Coming in.

Meats, meats...

[Christopher] We've only been in

the kitchen seconds...

Where's the meat?

Where's the meat?

...and we gotta do a potluck.

What are you making, Chris?

-Dumplings, brother.

-Nice.

This Amish-soul-food



combination



is all about where I'm from,



in the mix of hick-stick,

dockin', Motley Crue,

with that Philly grit

at the same time.

[Tanya] I trained in France,

worked in Michelin Star



restaurants,

have written two cookbooks,

and I have my own restaurant,

so I got this.

Ain't no thing

but a chicken wing.

♪ ♪

[Tyler] I've been nominated

for four James Beard Awards.

My restaurant is in

Simsbury, Connecticut,

which isn't exactly known

as the culinary hotbed

of the United States.

[Bruce] What do you got

going on, dude?

Doing a little potato salad,

West Coast style.

-Nice. Sounds wicked cool.

-Maybe. [laughs]

In order to save time,

I'm going to bake the chorizo

in an oven in a sheet tray,

which I've never done.

Maybe I can pull it off.

YOLO, right?

I'm gonna try to make pasta.

-[Carrie] Scary. [laughs]

-Very scary.

To serve pasta



on the first challenge

is kind of like

when you're that crazy dude

coming out in a fight

and you want everybody to

be like, "Whoa,

stay away from that dude."

There's so much sweat

on my face right now.

I don't even need

to season the food.

It'll just go right into it.

♪ ♪

That's a very

special mustache.

He looks like

a Brooklyn bartender.

[Christopher]

He looks like



one of those guys

that used to

tie up the ladies

to the train tracks.

Apparently mustaches aren't

that big and popular anymore.

I'm bringing it back.

-What's going on?

-Oh, you know, just digging.

You know, I like potlucks.

My family's very Mormon.

Growing up, we shared food



potluck-style a lot,

but it was never

Top Chef caliber, you know?

It was, like,

Mormon funeral potatoes.

What are you making, Carrie?

I'm making

a grilled bruschetta.

-Grilled summer bruschetta.

-Ooh.

It's summer in Colorado,

you know?

It's added pressure



to be representing



Denver and Colorado,

so I was excited,

like, five minutes ago,

and now I'm just



scared to death.

-Joe, what are you making?

-[Joseph] I have snappers

going into

the wood-fired oven.

I grew up on



the South Side of Chicago.

My friends down there claim

that I work at all these

fancy restaurants

but I can't make

an Italian beef sandwich.

Which is not true.



I can obviously make



an Italian beef sandwich.

I want to be Top Chef

just to prove a point.

Twenty-seven minutes!

♪ ♪

[Tu] The first thing

that comes to mind, for me,

is a salad called salpicon.

All the other chefs



are cooking meat.



I want to do something



different that stands out.

Wow, this is going

really fast.

♪ ♪

[Melissa] Did you steal

all the shrimp?

I need 'em.

[Tu] I don't have shrimp.

[laughs] Okay.

I don't think there was any.

When I think of a potluck,



I think of, like,

a hearty kind of soup

would be the best way

to feed a bunch of people.

I'm gonna roast



some vegetables



and make a seafood stew.



I am the executive chef



at Bar Crudo.

I can cook seafood quickly,

and I can cook it well.

How you coming along

over there?

Um, it's gonna be tight.

[Melissa] The clock

is moving quicker

than I expected,



and I'm falling behind.

I'm mostly just worried

about the potatoes

getting tender enough.

♪ ♪

Look at that.

The judges are here.

You have five minutes left.

I taste the chorizo,

and it's crumbly

because I have seared

the living piss out of it

off the bat.

[bleep] [sighs]

I told myself I wouldn't be

the person who, like,

came in and, like, said,

"Oh, my God, it's harder

than it looks,"

but it is harder than it looks.

♪ ♪

[Padma] Time's up!

Hands up.

Utensils down, please.

♪ ♪

[Tu] Looking around,

Chef Chris made dumplings

in minutes.

Chef Joe cooked whole snapper.

♪ ♪

My dish is basically

a chopped salad.

[Gail] That's a lot of food.

Looks tasty, though.

It smells great.

[Padma] Rogelio,

why don't you

introduce yourself

-and tell us what you made?

-My name's Rogelio Garcia.

I'm coming from

San Francisco, California.

I'm the chef at the Commissary,

and before that I worked for--

at the French Laundry.

I made something



that I kind of cook



with my two kids,



uh, like a stew



when it's kind of rainy,



with chorizo, candied beans,



and then jalapenos.

My dish is my version

of potato salad.

East Coast meets West Coast,

so potatoes roasted



with green chorizo.

When you say

it's chorizo

to a Mexican,

it's definitely like,

"Hmm, I'm gonna side-eye that

because that doesn't taste

like chorizo."

My wife and I,

we own two restaurants.

Soul food meets Amish.

I did very rustic

Amish-style dumplings.

In this case, I added



broccoli rabe and mushroom.

Soul Amish--

I'm really interested

in seeing more of that.

That's pretty cool.

I made skirt steak,

kind of Fiorentina style,

with a little salsa verde



on top,



and then underneath that



is a warm salad.

Total disclosure here,

Bruce and I know each other,

but I will judge you equally

like everybody else.

-I know Bruce as well.

-So do I.

-Bruce, you get around.

-That's what they say

about me, yeah,

I do get around.

-[Padma] Joe? There's two Joes.

-[both] Two Joes.

-Non-mustached Joe.

-[all laughing]

[Joe] I saw

the beautiful snapper,

so I roasted him

in the wood-fired oven



and made a little bit

of a fennel, orange,

herb salad on top.

I'm an Italian boy,

Joe Sasto, Giuseppe.

I made some pasta.



I made a sugo out of



some pork, fennel,



and onion sofrito,

and then some

cherry tomatoes

I roasted in the wood oven

over there.

[Tyler] Mustache Joe, like,

pulled it off.

Don't make me go head-to-head

with that guy

in an Italian cook-off.

I'm Tanya Holland.

I'm the chef owner

of Brown Sugar Kitchen

in Oakland, California.

Today, I made for you

some chili honey-glazed

chicken wings

with a grilled cabbage slaw.

[Gail] I think it was

a gutsy move doing

chicken wings to start,

-but they're very delicious.

-[Tanya] Thanks.

I'm Brother Luck.

I'm the chef owner

of Four by Brother Luck

in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

-Did he just say Brother Luck?

-Is that really your name?

Brother Luck is my real name.

That's, like, the coolest

[bleep] name of all time.

[Brother] Today, I made

pork carnitas

with avocado,

currants, and pepitas.



I'm just freaked out--

-I opened

my restaurant on Monday.

-[Padma] Wow.

-Ow.

-[Brother] Yeah.

I hope it's still there

when I get back.

[all laughing]

Hi, everyone.

I'm Claudette Wilkins

from San Diego, California.

I made, today,

a mole coloradito with some



marinated skirt steak

-and a macha salsa.

-[Rogelio] I really liked

the mole.

I thought it was

really, really good

-in that amount of time.

-Thank you.

My name is Tu David Phu,

and I made

a corn salpicon today.

It's Vietnamese,



and in Vietnam



we call it goi--



we call it a salad,

and it's always chopped,

whether it's meat or vegetable.

I thought doing that dish

was really kind of bold

'cause it was very, very simple

and straightforward,

but it was well-seasoned

-and nicely done, so...

-Thank you, Chef.

I'm Laura.

I'm from Denali National Park,

Alaska.

I made a grilled eggplant

with an olive-oil-sauteed



chickpea,

-some sweet-and-sour fennel.

-[Graham] I really enjoyed

the texture

of the chickpea, eggplant,

and all these spices

-and flavors going together.

-Thank you.

My name is Melissa.

I made a pancetta

and potato chowder.

I made a broth

with red snapper bones

and then added

some smoked paprika

-and a little bit of cream.

-Are you nervous?

-Is it obvious?

-A little.

-[all chuckling]

-[Padma] It's okay.

Hi, I'm Carrie Baird

from Denver, Colorado,

and today I made

a summer bruschetta.

It's a jalapeno blueberry jam

with a sharp cheddar cheese

and a raw salad

tossed in a roasted

tomato vinaigrette.

[Christopher]

The bruschetta, I thought,



"Maybe not the best idea



for a potluck."

You know, it's not one of

those "sit out" kind of dishes.

Well, this was a great way

to get to know you all,

and we definitely

have opinions,

but we won't be

the ones judging you.

You'll be judging each other.

You should each vote

for your favorite

and least favorite dish,

but you can't vote

for yourselves.

I'm nervous that we get

to judge each other's food.

Who knows if they'll vote



for delicious food

or if they're going to be

voting for strategy.

[Padma] The tally is in.

We have two chefs

on the bottom,

and that's Melissa...

and Carrie.

Can you give these ladies

some feedback?

I did like the soup,

but I would say

that the potatoes needed

more time.

-I understand.

-[Padma] Carrie, I think

that the bruschetta may not

have been the best choice.

It was kind of very muddled.

I couldn't figure out

the flavors in there at all.

You have to have more

focused food when you're doing

something that simple.

Okay.

[Padma] The top three

vote-getters are...

Joe...

-[both] Which one?

-[Padma] And Joe...

[laughs]

-And Tu.

-Whoa.

I have to agree-- I think

those were three of my favorite

dishes as well.

[Gail] Joe, I thought the fish

was really great.

The only thing on the fish

that I would've wanted to see,

a little bit more acid,

but really, really nice dish.

-Thank you.

-Tu, what was smart

about your dish

is it really spoke

to the potluck.

-There was a lot of freshness,

a lot of herbaceousness.

-Thank you.

[Graham] Joe, I think,

talking about that pasta,

to have minutes

and put it up

and have it be

pretty darn tasty,

that's pretty awesome.

There was only one chef

with the most votes.

♪ ♪

The winner of the first

Quickfire Challenge is...

♪ ♪

Tu!

Congratulations.

[applause]

Wow. I didn't think

I would actually win,

especially

with the talent pool.

This is, like,

the first real time

I've ever won anything,

so... [laughs]

Enjoy it.

You just won immunity.

[Tu] It's definitely a pat on

the back from the other chefs.

It means people were receptive

to my type of cuisine.

This is a great way

to start off Top Chef.

Congratulations.

And now, it's time

to get to the meat

of the competition.

♪ ♪

[Padma]

Back in the frontier days,

Denver was known

as a meat-and-potatoes town.

Things have changed

a lot since then.

In recent years,

Denver has had

a culinary renaissance,

and the chefs in this town

are taking food to a new level.

So for your first

Elimination Challenge,

you'll be hosting a block party

in Larimer Square,

right in the heart of Denver,

where historic architecture

meets modern cuisine.

You'll also be combining

the past with the present

by putting your own spin

on this staple.

Meat and potatoes.

[contestants laughing]

Tomorrow,

you'll serve your dishes

to Denver locals,

some of whom will be chefs

from the most acclaimed

restaurants in town.

We'll see you there

at Larimer Square.

-Good luck.

-[Carrie] Larimer Square

is home

to Denver's crazy,



booming restaurant scene,

not to mention I worked on

Larimer Square for four years,

and now I have to



step it up even harder.

Game is on.

I'm not gonna be

in the bottom again.

♪ ♪

The first challenge

is always very

nerve-wracking.

Especially with Padma.

It's like, I'm always like--

Oh, yeah,

I bet she's gonna--

I'm like, "Oh, she's gonna

know everything,"

-so it's like...

-[laughs]

I grew up in Pakistan,

and I used to watch

BBC Food all the time.

Padma had this travel show,



and she would travel



over India.

I was obsessed.

She was actually



the only brown woman



on that cooking channel.

She's opened a lot of doors

in a lot of different ways,

and I want her

to like my food.

I do.

I want her

to respect me

as a chef.

I feel like we're all

gonna be very different...

Yeah. [laughs]

[man] Are we there yet?

How big is your restaurant

in Alaska?

Uh, it's not very big.

We cap out

at a hundred a night.

What's it called?

- Parks.

- Parks?

It's at mile

on the Parks Highway.

Ah. And what kind

of food do you do?

[Laura] It's various

Alaskan proteins.

There are seven reindeer

going to slaughter this summer,

which is great.

I watch a lot of

Alaska: The Last Frontier.

I buy all my flour on pallets

and ship it up by barge.

[Joseph] Laura seems like

she falls in line

with an Alaskan lady.

And I mean that

as a compliment.

[Laura] We don't have

Whole Foods Market

in Alaska either.

♪ ♪

[indistinct conversations]

It's absolute, total chaos.

Everyone's yelling for meat.

-Is it comin'?

-Can I get one whole one?

I decide I'm gonna do a tartare

because I think, you know,

meat and potatoes,

I think there's gonna be

a lot of heavy dishes,

and I want to do



something lighter.

Twenty-two minutes! Two-two!

That's not food. Cereal...

I'm gonna do fish caramel

on pork belly

with a sweet potato tostone.

In this dish,



I'm trying to show technique

combining different

flavor profiles.

I worked at Le Bernardin



for eight years.



I definitely think



that I bring a high level



of cooking technique,



so I have high expectations



for myself.

Seven minutes!

Where's the buttermilk?

♪ ♪

Last challenge,

I undercooked my potatoes,

and I'm not gonna do it again.

[Laura] Coming through!

Sorry!

I'm thinking street fair.

I thinking

a little Asian-inspired

flank steak sandwich

and potato bread.

Executing a yeast bread

in this limited amount of time

for people



is borderline crazy,

but I'm just gonna go for it.

Gonna turn around,

come back this way.

[Tu] What was your total,

Chef Chris?

A buck .

[sighs]

[sighs]

Tyler, that meat's

looking good.

[Tyler] Oh, yeah.

Barbecued pork belly.

Trying to do a smoker here.

I am making crispy potatoes,

sweet potato puree,

smoked pork gravy,



and charred scallion aioli.

The idea is that

it's porky, salty,

sweet-y...

[laughs] Sweet-y, smoky...

the four dwarves of pork.

[exhales]

No dish I give you

on Top Chef

is gonna be something



I've done before.

I'm trying to hit

home runs,

not singles.

♪ ♪

Do you have

the pressure cookers?

-Yeah.

-How long do you

need them for?

-There's one--

there's one more.

-I got one, yeah,

but I need more.

I'm really familiar



with these kinds of events.

So people?

Not such a big deal.

I'm gonna make

simple braised

pork shoulder

with potato, leek,



and gnocchi.

I'm already out of breath.

♪ ♪

I'm doing a lamb tartare.

Cool, I thought I was

gonna be the only one.

-You tartare?

-Yeah.

Oh, [bleep].

Joe and his mustache

also plan to do a tartare.

Joe swings for the fences.

It's just gonna be

a true Joe-down throwdown.

Battle of the tartares.

♪ ♪

[Melissa] I rarely eat potatoes,

so having

an undercooked potato

for that Quickfire

and then going to feed

people with potatoes

is not the best thing



for me.

Are you making

the pomme puree today?

-It's not gonna be

Le Bernardin style.

-Okay.

-I'm making braised

pork shoulder,

mint and fennel salad,

and then

a nice, smooth

potato puree.

Who doesn't like



a nice potato puree?

Besides me. [laughs]

♪ ♪

Ow. [bleep] me.

-Hey, Chefs, how's it going?

-Hey!

Hey, Chefs.

What's up?

Hey, Chris.

What are you making?

Pennsylvania Dutch

corn chow-chow.

What's the Pennsylvania Dutch

corn chow-chow?

Chow-chow,

in my neck of the woods,

-could be any type

of pickled vegetable.

-All right.

If you go into

the Amish country,

you just say chow-chow,

-it's always corn.

-Sure.

I'm gonna be able

to represent my family,

the heritage--

I'm gonna do the food

that I want to do,

and I'm gonna

knock it out the park.

-Thanks, bud. Good luck.

-Thanks.

♪ ♪

-Hey, Carrie.

-Hi, Chefs.

I'm doing a play

on chips and dip.

-Chips and dip?

-Chips and dip.

And then I'm gonna do

a little goat cheese dip

and a braised short rib

and pickled shallot.

How are you

finding it so far?

Good, yeah.

I knew what I was getting into.

Chef Jen Jasinski's

my mentor and friend.

Are you with Jen?

Yeah, she's great.

-Sarah Rosenberg lives in town,

so they gave me a nice heads-up.

-Got it, okay.

This idea comes from

my days at Euclid Hall,

working for



Chef Jennifer Jasinski,

and it's a duck dish,

but I'm gonna go with



a braised beef short rib.

I want to show that I can

braise short rib properly

in . hours.

-Cool. This sounds good.

-Well, thanks, Chef.

Nice chatting. Thank you.

♪ ♪

So you spent time

with Douglas Keane

-and Traci Des Jardins.

-Exactly, yes.

[Rogelio] Working for

Traci Des Jardins

and Doug Keane,

it changed my life.

I was born in Mexico City,

and my mother wanted



a better life for me

and my brother

and my sister,

so we moved



to the United States,

and I've worked in

a lot of great restaurants,

and I'm very lucky to be here.

This is a chance for you

to break into your own, right?

-Exactly, yeah.

-What are you making?

I'm gonna make

a potato croquet

with sirloin inside of it.

But you're gonna cook

croquettes tomorrow

at the event?

-Tomorrow, yeah, yeah.

-Wow.

-[chuckles]

-So, "Wow, I got an idea.

I'm gonna make a croquette

and make it impossible."

[Rogelio] Chef Tom has doubts

if I'm gonna pull that off,

but I can challenge myself

to pull it off.

Okay, Chefs, good luck.

See you tomorrow.

♪ ♪

One hour!

Anybody got space

in their oven I can share?

Are you serious?

I'm feeling

a little stressed on time,

but I'm hoping it'll work out.

I had to change my plan

because all the ovens

are being used.

Jeez.

Can't make bread in the ovens,

so I'm gonna do, like,

a pita kind of thing

in the pizza oven.

One of the things

that I am confident in

is how adaptable I am.

I live in such

a remote environment.

You can have

an entire field

of cabbages

that a moose

can come through

and eat.

Having to get creative

is something

that I'm very familiar with.

So many steps.

Behind.

Tu, can you turn on

that big pot of water

right there for me?

[Tu] Heard!

-Chef Bruce, how you doing?

-I'm all right.

[Tu] You want me to help?

You good?

Hell, yeah,

I need some help right now.

Can you, uh...

[object clattering]

I need to go to bed.

Uh, can you get a ball

of liquid nitrogen

-and [bleep] freeze these

for me right now?

-Heard, Chef.

So I finish a little bit early,

and I notice Chef Bruce

is in the [bleep].

I admire him,



and I want to go



help him out.

-Four minutes, seconds.

-Ugh.

If I were in the weeds

and I was running out of time,

I would cut down my prep

instead of having



someone else



do my work for me.

It makes you look like

a [bleep].

-Oh, you are the man, dude.

-Are you wrapped, Chef?

You [bleep] saved

my life, dude.

Good Lord!

Whoo!

Yo, check out this crib.

[Christopher] The Top Chef

house is grandiose.

I mean, you would've thought



it's, like on some,

like, MTV Cribs-type stuff.

Big room!

♪ ♪

Who's gonna

shower first? You?

That's right.

I'll do top.

I don't give a [bleep].

I need electricity.

Would anyone in the world

be happy to room

with me and Bruce?

-We're fat boys

with sleep apnea machines.

-Yeah.

I think the only person

happy was Joe,

'cause Joe



is a like-minded soul.

He's just-- You know,

he's a little younger,

so he'll have a sleep

apnea machine in about

three or four years, here.

It's the bear den.

Oh, it's like heaven.

And thank you

for all you guys

that bailed me out today.

I appreciate it big time.

It's been one hell

of a long day today.

Oh, I don't feel good about

tomorrow at all right now.

There's a possibility

that the first

Elimination Challenge

of Top Chef,

I'm not gonna have

my food ready to go.

I don't ever

want to be that guy.

♪ ♪

Oh, my God.

All the way at the end.

[Brother] Larimer Square

is restaurant row.

This is where the Broncos

actually do their parade

-after they win

a Super Bowl.

-What's up, Tu?

-You ready for this?

-All day.

Hey, guess what?

The fryers only go up to .

-Use induction.

-I don't have a pot.

-I got you.

-You do?

Yeah.

It's my strong belief

to try to establish

camaraderie wherever I can.

-When you're done with that,

you'll give it back to me, yeah?

-Yes, sir.

[Tu] So I hand

my pot over to him.

I'll just use

the induction burners

to heat up my beef stew.

I'm just gonna

re-season it,

heat it up,

get as much time

cooking as possible

so the flavors can be right.

If I don't watch it,



the stew will easily scorch,

but I'm confident.

I've done this a million times.

-I ain't serving cold stew.

-That's what's up.

[Joe] In classic Tu fashion,

you know,

he's helping everybody

get their last-minute

things together,

but I'm wondering



if that's gonna come around



and bite him in the a*s.

♪ ♪

[Fatima] Are you making

gnocchi right now?

[Bruce] I don't have a choice.

I made the dough last night

'cause I didn't have time

to make enough. How are

your samosas coming out?

[Fatima] They're good.

I'm doing a more

deconstructed version of them,

and I'm not using red meat.

I went the chicken route.

I think I'm the only one.

I'm not sure.

I had worked



for Patina Restaurant Group



for five years,

and that was

a huge chunk of my career,

but I miss Pakistani food.

I miss being able to cook

with the kind of spices

that I loved so much.

I decided to take a chance

and do it myself,

and now I have my own tent



at this outdoor food festival



in Brooklyn



called Smorgasburg.

[Bruce] You doing okay

with time?

-I could do

with another minutes.

-[Bruce chuckles]

minutes, seconds left

to have plates on the table!

Time goes so fast

on Top Chef.

-[both laughing]

-Hey, Melissa.

How's your meat doing?

Pretty good.

Needs a little warm-up,

I think.

Carrie, how you looking

on portions?

-Good for hundo?

-No big deal. [laughs]

We're on a block

that I worked on

for four years.

I see GMs

of restaurants

walking by.

-[pedestrians cheer]

-Yeah!

Pedestrians are like,

"Go, Denver!"

Nobody else is yelling



at Adrienne or Joe.

It's crazy.

-Good luck.

-Thanks, guys.

Five minutes, guys.

Oh, my God, look at them

standing at the gate.

Here they come, Carrie.

Holy [bleep] ba*ls.

Are you guys ready to eat,

like, a lot of hearty food?

It is a ginger

orange-marinated flank steak

on a potato bread.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

Yeah, yeah, have fun.

All right,

here's to a lot of meat

-and even more potatoes.

-Yeah, let's do this thing.

-See you in a bit.

-[laughs]

Bye, guys.

♪ ♪

-Hi, Padma, hi, Tom.

-Hi.

What did you make for us?

So, it's my take on a samosa.

I've got the classic

potato and pea component,

and I've added braised chicken.

I have a tamarind beet



and plum sauce



with a mint chili yogurt,



pickled chilies,



and then



crispy chicken skin.

[Padma] It looks like

a Pakistani nacho.

-There's gonna be

an avalanche.

-Yeah.

Do it, do it.

There is a lot

of different spices

going on,

-but you can

taste everything.

-Mm-hmm.

[Thomas] You get nice heat

from the chili,

and the texture's

just amazing.

Yeah, you got

that chat-patay feeling.

[Fatima] I can't believe

Padma just said

she enjoyed the samosa.

I'm very close to losing

my cool at this point.

Really nice sauce work.

I wouldn't necessarily

think meat and potatoes

with Pakistani food,

but she pulled it off.

This is a Vietnamese

beef stew called bo kho,

and it's made with five spice



and filet mignon.



The stars in this dish,



for me,

are the potatoes

and the carrots.

I think your potatoes

are pretty beautiful.

-Yeah, agreed.

-Thank you.

There is just a slight hint

of bitterness.

I think my pan is scorched.

It's the hotel pan

on an induction.

Right, on the induction.

Well, you have immunity.

So you have a little less

to lose, right?

-Thank you, Tu.

-Thank you so much.

[Padma] Bruce,

what did you make

for us?

[Bruce] So, today I'm serving

rustic potato leek dumpling

with braised pork shoulder



and crispy chicharron,

and a little

Pedro Ximenez vinegar.

-[Padma] I love the gnocchi.

-Thank you.

Tom, what did you think

of Bruce's dish?

Well, I mean,

obviously I hated it.

-[Padma] Right, right.

-It's really balanced.

[Bruce] I'm feeling on top

of the world right now,

especially after the really,

really [bleep] night

that I had last night.

♪ ♪

-Hi, Carrie.

-[Carrie] Hi, Padma.

[Padma] What are you making?

[Carrie] I made

a braised beef short rib,

served with



a lemon goat-cheese dip

and a russet thyme potato,

and pickled shallots.

I like the goat cheese.

I think it's nice.

It kind of limits

the lemon punch.

-Okay.

-The chips are burnt.

-The one that I had, anyway.

-Oh!

-[Thomas] When they get

really dark--

-[Carrie] Yeah?

[Thomas] Taste it.

They finish really bitter.

I had purposely fried

eight chips,

set them aside

in my little oven

to stay at a nice,

little above room temperature,

and feed them,

and I chose him a burnt chip?

Like, unbelievable.

-Thank you.

-[Carrie] Thanks, guys.

-[woman]

So you're from Colorado?

-I am.

-I'm down in Colorado Springs.

-Oh, wow.

-Aha.

-[Padma] Hi.

-[Joe] How we doing?

-Joe, how you doing?

I wanted to do a tartare,

brought it back

to California a little bit.

-So, dried seaweed powder...

-[Padma] Mm-hmm.

[Joe] Fermented shiitake powder.

Marinated shiitakes

in there as well.

And then finished off

with a little crumble-rumble.

-[Thomas] What's in the rumble?

-Fried onions, yeast,

and potato flakes.

-So, I just put it

all in at once?

-All at once.

-[laughs]

-[Thomas]

Go ahead, Padma.

Open wide. Very good.

Padma can't fit

all of my meat

in her mouth,

and, uh...

[snickering]

I like that

the meat's really cold.

I agree, yes.

I like that it's cold.

I hate warm, slimy meat.

-[Thomas] Yes.

-[Padma] As you...

-[Thomas] Okay.

-Cheers, guys. Thank you.

-With that,

we'll keep moving.

-[Padma laughs]

-How's it going, Brother?

-Oh, I'm awesome.

I did a purple potato puree

inspired by the columbine,

which is the state flower.

On top, I did lamb



that's been glazed



with juniper,

rosemary,

charred asparagus,

finished it

with just a little

bit of goat cheese.

-[Gail] Lamb's

cooked beautifully.

-Thank you.

And this is easily

the most colorful dish

-that we've seen today.

-Appreciate it.

♪ ♪

-How's it going?

-Hi, how are you?

-Good, how are you?

-I'm great.

[Rogelio] To highlight

meat and potatoes,

I'm frying

the croquettes

on the spot.

I want to make sure



that it's hot.

-Hey, Rogelio.

-So, I have a potato

and beef croquette,

and then the sauce



is basil, mint,



a little bit of jalapenos,



and tomatillos.

You pulled it off.

We were worried

last night.

You threw me off

a little bit. [laughs]

-I'm still rolling

them right now.

-[Thomas] No, it's really good.

I feel for these guys,

'cause I've been there.

-And a couple of them

are really k*lling it.

-Yeah.

[Padma] Hi, Tyler.

What did you make for us?

We have a sweet potato

puree on the bottom,

crispy creamer potatoes,



smoked pork gravy,

and then charred

onion-topped aioli.

It's really nice.

Textures are really great.

I like a little smokiness.

I love how crispy

the potatoes are.

The skin curling around.

I think that's beautiful.

So, did you really think cutting

your hair that way was gonna win

some favor with me?

You know, I just

wanted to tell you,

you and Bruce Willis have done

amazing things for us

follicly-challenged fellows.

-[laughs]

-Hear, hear.

-[Christopher] Hey, guys.

-Hi, Chris, how are you?

Great, just the couple

that I was looking for.

What I got for you today,

it's a potato waffle

with barbecued beef

and a corn chow-chow salsa.

-Mmm.

-The meat is more

the soul food.

The potato waffle is the fun,

funky, Pennsylvania Dutch

kind of feel...

-[Graham] Yeah.

-[Gail] The chow-chow's

great, actually.

It's got such a sweet pop,

a little bit of heat.

Well done.

-Thank you.

-[Gail] Thank you.

-I'm impressed with Chris.

-Yeah.

Let's keep eating.

I did Colorado lamb tartare.

[Joseph] There's pickled

mushrooms in there.

Parsley, lemon juice,

and the aioli on top

is kind of



a Bearnaise-style aioli.

Nicely seasoned.

It's really flavored well.

Full service, Chef.

It's a potato bread

with a ginger,

orange-marinated flank steak,



and a spicy slaw.

Did you ever think, Laura,

about putting maybe a sauce

or a base on the flatbread?

-A landing pad,

so it's easier to eat.

-Yeah.

'Cause it's kinda

all falling apart

everywhere, too.

I'm gonna change

how I plate it right now.

-Thank you, guys.

-Cool, all right.

-Thank you, Laura.

-You guys look fantastic.

-Thanks.

-[laughing] Okay.

[man] Thank you.

♪ ♪

[Melissa] I have

a little potato puree,

some braised pork shoulder.

I seared it off



in some rondeaus.

Well, these potatoes

aren't undercooked.

-[laughs] Phew.

-Nice and creamy.

I have to redeem

myself with those.

-Nice to see you.

-Nice to see you too.

Thank you.

-[Padma] Did you like that?

-No, the meat wasn't

seasoned enough.

I think it was kinda bland.

I've definitely never seen

a steak and potato

croquette before.

The meat doesn't really come

through a lot, do you think?

-It doesn't.

-Thank you, Rogelio.

Thank you.

-Looks beautiful.

-Enjoy.

This is tasty.

This is really good.

Is this something you would

serve at the restaurant?

I mean, this is a dish

I've never done before, so...

It's Top Chef,

so I'm not trying to do

tartare and crackers.

-Ooh.

-Touche.

-So, today, we have

a sweet potato tostone.

-[Padma] Ooh.

[Adrienne] And then it is

also blended with a little

of the Colorado amarosa.

To me, the tostone's

almost too sweet.

I feel like the beauty

of a tostone,

very, very savory

and salty...

In a sweet potato,

you have so much sugar.

-Yeah.

-[Padma] You know?

-It is eating very sweet.

All right, thanks.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

This is not



the first impression



that I wanted to make.

If something is leaning

towards sweet

and you're not getting

the balance in it,

that's never good.

♪ ♪

How you doing over there,

Chef Brother Luck?

[Brother] I'm good,

I'm good. Hopefully

we don't get rained on.

[Laura] Yeah.

It was very innovative,

very creative.

-Hi there.

-Hello.

-Nice late lunch.

-Did you get enough?

-You full yet?

-Yeah, exactly.

Oh, my God.

-A lot of food,

much of it good.

-[Graham] Mm-hmm.

-Any big stand-outs

for you, Padma?

-Yeah, I don't--

I'm not being biased,

but I think Fatima kind of

-knocked it out of the park.

-[Gail] It was great.

I think she did as well.

I thought Tyler's dish

was really, really good.

-That was my favorite.

-[Gail] The thing I liked

about Tyler's dish,

is it was so focused

on the potatoes

and he just built around them,

and everything had a purpose.

Joe's tartare with

the shiitake and stuff in it--

I thought that

was pretty flavorful.

I thought it was

the best of the tartare.

-[Graham]

Chris's was really good.

-[Gail] The waffle!

[Graham] The waffle was great.

It was almost like

a French fry, really crunchy.

Who are the least favorite?

[Graham] Carrie.

-My potato chip was raw.

-My potato chip was burnt.

What about

Rogelio's croquette?

I think we liked the idea,

but we didn't get

any meat flavor.

You didn't like it,

and Melissa's,

she had the pork loin.

-It really wasn't

cooked well.

-[Padma] Yeah.

Listen, guys, we better go

before it starts raining.

-Let's go.

-[Thomas]

Tornado's coming, guys.

Yeah, it just got black.

-I'll see you

at judges' table.

-Awesome.

[thunder rumbling]

That's a lot of people.

Obviously,

it's the first challenge--

Nerves are a little frayed,

but all in all

I thought it was a great start.

The chefs that had

our favorite dishes

of the day

are Tyler...

Chris...

and Fatima.

Congratulations.

Everyone else

can step to the side.

Congratulations.

[Thomas] Fatima,

I thought your dish

was really well ex*cuted.

You could taste

every single flavor.

The mint, the spices.

It had great texture.

I was happy because

you showed everyone

how good street food

can be from Southeast Asia,

-and you really nailed it.

-Thank you so much.

[Graham] Chris,

I'm still trying

to wrap my head around

the whole Amish soul food mix,

and I started to get it today.

You could tell there was a lot

of heart and soul behind it.

-Thank you.

-The barbecue stood out

among all the meat

that we ate today.

The mustard really

packed a punch,

and then it was perfectly

tempered by that crispy waffle.

Thank you.

[Padma] Tyler,

I thought your potato

was the best potato

of the whole competition.

And it was a nice

little potato b*mb.

How did you make

the potato

curl in like that?

The key is you got to pinch

every one by hand.

-Well, it was worth it.

-Thank you.

I thought the stew

was really flavorful.

Everything was well-seasoned,

and the meat just added

-that just nice punch of flavor.

-Thank you.

[Padma] Tom, tell us

who the winner is today.

You know, all three of you

had really good dishes,

but one dish stood out.

The winner today is Tyler.

[applause]

-[Fatima] Awesome.

-[Tyler] It feels great.

It's always good to be on top.

[Padma]

Congratulations, Tyler,

and congratulations

to all three of you.

You gave us beautiful food.

There's that thing about,

like, whoever wins

the first competition

wins Top Chef,

and I'm superstitious,

so I like that.

When I left, my fiancee

told me one thing,

like, "Make it worth it,"

so this is what

I came here to do,

is try to win everything.

And now we'd like to see

Adrienne...

Melissa...

and Carrie.

Let's start with you, Adrienne.

Did you want your dish

to be that sweet?

I've done this dish.

Typically, I top the tostone

with a little bit of uni,

but I thought the sweet pork

would be, you know,

a nice play on that.

I thought the tostone

was fine,

but the tostone was sweet,

and you just said it,

the sweet pork too,

so it's sweet on sweet.

[Graham] And the texture

was very off-putting.

It wasn't super enjoyable.

[Padma] What about you, Melissa?

I thought I was gonna

get to braise the pork longer

so it just got

to the perfect point,

and it ended up being

a little more chewy

than I meant it to be.

It just ate dry.

The fennel salad was probably

the best part of the dish,

but everything else tasted

like it was warmed-over

leftovers, almost.

[Graham] If you're doing

meat and potato

and you decide to do

mashed potatoes,

they have to be

the greatest mashed potatoes

in the world, you know?

It's got to stand out.

You can't really hide behind it

when there's not

that much going on.

Fair enough.

[Padma] Carrie,

what would you do

differently?

I was trying to

make a bold flavor

with my lemon goat cheese.

Perhaps it

overpowered a little.

Yeah, I agree.

That dish was all about

the lemon goat cheese.

-Yeah.

-[Thomas] And then,

I told you at the table,

I thought the chip

that I got was

way overcooked.

I think the lemon goat cheese

was a beautiful counterpoint

to the richness

of the short rib.

I just think there was way

too much of it.

I got a little excited

with the goat cheese, maybe.

[Padma] Well,

we have a lot to discuss.

We'll call you back in a bit.

We had such

a great start

to the season.

I mean, all the chefs

cooked beautiful food.

That being said,

we have to now talk about

who was the weakest.

Adrienne's potato component

was not successful.

I actually really



liked her pork

and I got the caramel.

I certainly wanted it to be

a little more complex.

I just thought

it was sweet on sweet.

I didn't think that

Carrie's was as bad

as the three of you did.

[Graham] It, was, like,

garnished with meat.

Like, instead of



a little squirt of, like,

the goat cheese on top.

It was like...

-I love a good

chip and dip.

-Mm-hmm.

This was bad chip, bad dip.

Melissa gave us

a braised piece of pork

that was dry,

and mashed potatoes.

I'm still completely

confused by why

she chose that cut of pork,

why she cooked it

the way she did...

[Thomas] There were problems

with all the dishes, but--

-We have to make a case

for letting one of them go.

-Yeah.

♪ ♪

The meat and potato,

it's such a staple of Americana,

and when you think of meat,

you're thinking of something

that's just cooked perfect

and succulent and delicious,

and I think in all three cases,

we just didn't get that.

It's always tough

being the first one out,

but one of you

will be going home.

Padma?

Melissa...

please pack

your knives and go.

[Thomas] Yeah, Melissa,

we were looking for

something unique and different,

and we got a good dish,

but it was really just basic.

You'll have a chance

to get back in

with Last Chance Kitchen,

but this year

it's gonna be

a little different.

[Padma] I hope you do well

in Last Chance Kitchen,

Melissa.

Thank you.

[Melissa] It feels terrible

to be on the bottom

and the first chef

eliminated, obviously.

I mean, what else--

how else would it feel?

-Group hug.

-Group hug.

Group hugs.

I came here to win,

just like everybody else,

and... [sniffs]

I don't feel like



I was given a full chance



to show



what I can create,

so, yeah, it feels [bleep].

I have no idea



what Tom means by saying

Last Chance Kitchen

is gonna be different,

but I'm gonna come back

and do the best that I can.

-[Thomas] Hey, Melissa.

-Oh, hi, Chef.

Like we said,

this season we're doing

Last Chance Kitchen

a little differently.

-Yeah?

-It's actually gonna start

right now.

Oh, [bleep].

This is not what



I expected, it's terrifying.

[Padma]

This season on Top Chef...

There's something

inside of us that

makes us want to cook...

Now, that's a fire!

The better chefs,

they go on a journey.

[screaming]

Flex those abs, Joe.

[sobs]

[all laughing]

They find themselves,

and they find their voice.

And then they can

actually make that

important to the world.

Whoo!

[Padma] Can I hear

your side of the story?

[laughs] Oh.

-Hot behind.

-I'm hot in front.

-Yeah, you are.

-[Thomas] We have

a great group

-of diverse people here.

-[all] We're the bears! [roar]

[Thomas] I'm expecting to see

a lot of different flavors,



different foods.

Rocky Mountain oysters.

Hope no one's allergic to nuts.

[Bruce]

Her water just broke.

[all cheering]

My son is gonna

be born while I'm here.

It's tough to stay focused.

We represent Colorado!

The more limits we give them,

the better they cook.

What the hell?

[Christopher]

Straight-up,



unadulterated funk.

-Let's battle.

-Really, really impressive.

Every single guest

almost stopped breathing.

I'm having trouble concentrating

on the food

because of your epic mustache.

You're gonna be out of control.

[Graham] They have

no idea we're here.

I'm going to declare

Top Chef Day

-in Denver, Colorado.

-It's a crazy ride.

I want to know

what's going on here.

Wake up. Get woke.

[kids shouting]

I'm pooping my pants.

[Thomas]

Nachos isn't gonna



close the deal.

It looks like

a concussion on a plate.

Welcome to

Last Chance Kitchen.

-It's about to

shake up everything.

-[Thomas] How long?

[all] Five, four,

three, two, one!

Time's up!