[Bruce] So German food.
-Ja.
-Ja.
Bruce, you gotta tell me
when I'm being an as*h*le.
and edit all my dishes
down to not everything
that I wanna do.
These individual challenges
are really tough for me.
Mama mia.
And German food didn't really
play to my strengths.
You're a guy who's got
a bag of techniques
and tools bigger
than you can lift.
It took me a while
to find my voice
and to cook simple,
good food.
But you'll get there.
Let's cheers to Tanya
for the win.
-[all cheering]
-Oh, thanks, thanks.
-Cheers.
-Thanks, guys.
[Tanya]
It feels really good.
My goal has always been
to get more equality
in our industry,
not only for myself,
but for other
young women of color
Who wants to go
to Palm Springs?
[cheers and laughter]
I didn't have the mentor
who looked like me,
who had been through
what I had been through,
and so I want
to do that for others.
-Let's go home.
-[sighs]
[cell phone rings]
-Hey, honey.
-[Bruce's wife]
So
her water broke.
Come on.
I'm at the hospital.
She's still in the triage.
This is, like,
I'm in shock right now.
Our birth mother's
water broke.
I'm gonna be a dad.
[laughs]
[sniffles]
That's crazy.
You guys got a bottle
of champagne?
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
Did you just
have your baby?
-Oh, oh, oh!
-Her water just broke.
[cheering]
This has been a really
long time coming.
Congratulations,
brother!
[Joe]
We all love Bruce.
He's kind of a father figure
in the house.
So we stay up late
to experience this
with him.
[cell phone rings]
-Hi, honey.
-[Bruce's wife]
Hi, Daddy.
-[Joe] Oh!
-[laughs]
[applause]
-Yay!
-[Bruce]
We have a baby.
I have
a
Top Chef
baby.
I'm gonna push hard
and try to win,
'cause I want him to
be able to watch this
and be proud of me.
-[Bruce's wife]
I love you.
-I love you, too.
-All right, bye.
-Bye.
[sniffles]
Wow.
[Padma]
Nine chefs remain
to compete in the ultimate
culinary showdown.
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.
♪ ♪
[Brooke]
I almost feel bad.
[Padma]
I hope they're awake.
[doorbell rings]
-[Padma]
You hear someone?
-What's that noise?
[Joe] Go answer the door.
[doorbell continues ringing]
What in the hell
is going on?
Living at the Top Chef house,
we don't get a lot of visitors.
♪ ♪
-Can I help you?
- [Padma] Good morning.
Good morning.
-Um, good morning.
-Hi.
Hopefully, they're just here
to congratulate Bruce
on his baby.
[laughs]
-What's going on?
-Hi, Bruce.
[laughs]
Brooke Williamson is
an amazing chef in L.A.
She won
Top Chef
Season ,
and her and I are
very close friends.
It's really great
to see her.
Sorry to wake you up
so early.
I'm a dad.
-[laughs]
-Huh?
-I'm a dad.
-[gasps]
Oh!
Yeah, had our baby
last night.
I thought that's
why you were here.
[Brooke and Bruce laugh]
[Brooke]
Congratulations.
She had her baby
last night.
[Padma]
Oh, congratulations.
I'm not just here
to say congratulations.
So why have
you come here?
[laughter]
[Padma]
Can you wake up
all your friends
and meet us
in the kitchen?
I'll do it right now.
-[Padma]
Congratulations, Daddy.
-[Bruce] Thank you.
You guys,
everybody up.
-[woman] What is it?
-No idea.
It's too early for this.
Good morning, Chefs.
[all] Good morning.
Please meet
our most recent
Top Chef
winner,
Brooke Williamson.
Hi, Chefs.
-[man] Hi, Brooke.
-[Carrie] Hi, Brooke.
You're probably wondering
why we're here.
Is there breakfast
involved?
You got it.
[laughter]
[dramatic music playing]
You guys are
about to compete
in a breakfast Quickfire,
featuring
-Ta-da!
-Nice!
[Padma] Nutella.
I have a tradition
with my son
where I make crepes with him
every single Sunday morning.
We call it Crepe Day,
and he always asks
for Nutella crepes.
So, I'm excited to see what
you guys are gonna do with it.
[Padma] You can use
anything in your pantry.
The chef who creates
our favorite Quickfire dish
will receive immunity
and $,
-[all exclaiming in awe]
-What?
[Padma]
Furnished by Nutella.
-Awesome.
-Your time starts now.
[Joseph] Whoo!
Slippery bear slippers.
[Carrie] Don't hurt me!
-Where are all the eggs?
-[Bruce] I got eggs over here.
I do not miss
this chaos.
[humming]
[laughs]
It's not only a race
for ingredients,
but for space.
If there's not
enough burners,
what are you gonna do?
[chuckles]
[Christopher] You're all up
in my spot, damn.
-[Joseph] Oh, is this your spot?
-[Christopher] Yeah!
-[Fatima] What are you making?
-I'm making waffles.
-How 'bout you?
-Me, too!
[both laughing]
[Tanya]
Living in Paris
when I was ,
I definitely ate
my share of Nutella.
In between
my cooking classes,
I waited tables
at a pizza restaurant.
It was a riot.
We had to dance
to Greased Lightnin
twice a night, too,
by the way.
-Can I borrow
some eggs, Bruce?
-Yeah, take 'em.
[Claudette]
I'm going to make
a blood orange crepe.
-Do it. Whoa!
-[blender whirs]
My first time, guys,
my first time.
It's good stuff.
Behind.
[Bruce] Are there
any open burners
right now?
Negative, Ghost Rider.
I'm gonna make
Nutella banana
coconut stock,
and then I'm gonna turn
that into an oatmeal.
[Carrie] Are there
any peppers of any kind?
I'm seeing everybody
make something sweet.
I'm gonna go unexpected
with a spicy and savory
eggs Benedict.
It's just a little Nutella
with strawberry jam
with a habanero hot sauce,
prosciutto,
a poached egg,
and a perfect
classic hollandaise.
I would eat this
for breakfast.
I do eat this
for breakfast.
I love it.
Coming in, Joe.
I need my board back, baby.
-You can definitely share.
-[Joe] Can we share?
Hell yeah, we can.
The way I usually like
to approach breakfast
is sitting at the bar
next to my boyfriend
ordering a Bloody Mary.
I much prefer
to drink my breakfast.
But I actually
love Nutella.
So, I'm making
a waffle version
of French toast
with savory
Nutella syrup.
The mo' butter
makes the mo' better.
$,!
Is there an open
stove space anywhere?
-[Bruce] No.
-[Joseph] No.
The hardest part
of this challenge
is working
in that space.
But I'm fairly happy
with my dish.
The waffles,
they're sweet and salty.
This little cappuccino
is gonna be
a nice, little added bonus
with a Nutella foam.
[Tanya] Nine minutes, guys!
Remember when our home
used to be our safe space?
[Adrienne] Yeah, used to be.
[Claudette] Can I have
this butter, Adrienne?
I need it.
Sorry, babe.
Keep me on
my bear cub toes.
Thanks,
Top Chef.
I'm thinking about
cooking pancakes
for my new son.
[Claudette] We're all doing it
for Baby Bruce.
-Baby Bruce!
-[Joseph] Baby Bruce!
Oy vey.
-Stiffen up.
-Give me two seconds.
One, two.
[Joseph] Five minutes left,
I taste my oatmeal.
It's kinda weird.
I made
a Nutella banana stock.
That's not a thing,
probably for a reason.
So I'm putting salt
in the oatmeal.
I'm kind of almost making
the oatmeal like a risotto,
because that makes sense
to me at : in the morning.
-
Tiempo?
-Mmm, mmm, mmm.
:.
[dramatic music playing]
Anyone see
the Microplane, anyone?
[Claudette] Microplane?
Microplane?
Seriously, guys?
♪ ♪
[Bruce] Five, four, three,
two, one.
-Time's up.
-[laughs]
Oh, [bleep]!
I have the dish composed
and ready to send out,
but I don't have the syrup
on the actual plate.
Without the Nutella syrup,
it's gonna be dry.
That's a hard $,
to lose.
sh**t.
[groans softly]
-Hello.
-[Fatima] Hello.
[Padma] Wow.
Oh, there's crepes.
-Hi, Chris, what is this?
-[Christopher] Good morning.
French toast
and in the perdu
is Nutella and coffee.
Was it hard working
in the kitchen
with eight other people?
-It was very tight.
-[Padma] All right,
thank you.
-And who made
this crepe?
-[Joe] That was me.
I put a tiny bit of Nutella
in the crepe batter
and then Nutella cherry filling
and espresso hazelnuts.
I like that
you put the Nutella
in the batter itself.
Is that a shot
of bourbon?
-[Bruce] That's me.
-[laughs]
I made some classic pancakes
with Nutella, dried cherries,
and then that is
a spiced bourbon maple syrup.
[Padma]
Is it hard to focus
on this first challenge?
No, I was thinking,
like, I can't wait
to make breakfast
for my son when he can
actually eat solid food.
I'm just gonna leave out
the spice and the bourbon.
[laughter]
It's oatmeal.
I made stock
out of coconut milk,
almond milk, and Nutella.
On top,
I toasted some almonds,
coconut, and bacon,
Did you add salt
to the oatmeal as well?
Yeah, I did add
a little salt
to the oatmeal.
I did a vanilla crepe
filled with
a blood orange paste
and Nutella
with a little bit of
whipped ricotta.
Both my kids are always
in the kitchen with me.
My daughter wanted to learn
how to make crepes.
-Crepes are
the new pancake.
-Yeah.
I like the savoriness.
Am I drinking this or--
No, that is
a Nutella syrup.
There's orange zest
and toasted walnuts
in the yeast-risen waffle
and caramelized bananas with
some toasted walnuts on top.
The banana is beautiful,
but it's very sweet.
This is French bread
griddled in the waffle iron,
Nutella hazelnuts,
and then Nutella espresso.
I didn't finish plating.
The drizzle was
very aggressive
on flavor.
That would have given it
a little moisture and richness.
-Yeah,
it's a little dry.
-Oh.
I made a Nutella
and jelly Benedict.
It's a strawberry
habanero jam
with Nutella
on the bottom,
poached egg, and a pretty
classic hollandaise.
I think the Nutella gives it
a beautiful richness as well.
It anchors the jam.
I did an almond waffle
with a Nutella yogurt spread
at the bottom.
-Greek yogurt? Or
-[Fatima] Plain.
I just did a tiny bit
of ricotta.
It's actually
a very moist waffle.
Overall, this was
some really fun,
very filling,
very tasty food.
Brooke,
who do you think
maybe didn't do as well
this morning?
Joe, the oatmeal itself
I found muddled
and a little bit oversalted.
[Padma] Who else?
Tanya, I wanted
more texture,
a little bit
more savory.
Adrienne, you were
lacking the sauce,
which is the Nutella element
that I was really looking for.
[Padma] But there is
some good news.
Carrie, I really got
the essence of Nutella,
but it was a complementary
flavor to the dish.
Cool. Thank you.
Claudette, you were
very reserved
in the Nutella
and therefore made
the whole dish
very balanced.
-Thank you so much.
-[Brooke] Fatima.
-Oh, wow.
-[Brooke] What really
did it for me
was the texture
of your waffle.
Thank you.
Brooke, who had
our favorite dish
of the day?
The winning chef today
made a dish that
really surprised me,
and that chef is
[dramatic music playing]
The winning chef today
made a dish that
really surprised me,
I felt like it was really
beautifully ex*cuted.
And that chef
[tense music playing]
is Carrie.
-[cheers and applause]
-[laughing]
-Congrats.
-Thank you.
Yeah! [giggles]
Being here,
it's just magnified
what I'm good at.
I'm good at taking something,
comfort food and simple,
and putting a really
odd twist on it.
I put pepper jam
and an egg on Nutella.
That's weird, right?
But it works.
Not only have you
won yourself immunity
-in the next elimination
-[Carrie] Yeah!
You've also won $,
furnished by Nutella.
-Wow.
-Yes!
And good luck with
the rest of the competition.
Thank you.
-Nice to meet you.
-Bye.
Well, that was fun.
Are you guys ready
for some games?
[dramatic music playing]
In just a few weeks,
the Winter Olympics
will be held
in Pyeongchang,
South Korea,
so we'll be asking you
to show a little
Team USA spirit.
♪ ♪
[Fatima] Oh, my God,
look who it is!
[laughter]
Dude, she's, like,
my favorite.
Meryl Davis is
the figure dancing queen.
I am totally fangirling
over Meryl.
%, I'm not embarrassed.
-Oh, my God.
-So excited to be here.
You guys look
like you're still
in your pajamas.
-Yeah.
-[laughter]
It was a rough morning.
Chefs, I'd like
to introduce you
to ice dancing
gold medalist,
Meryl Davis.
-Thank you. Hello.
-[applause]
Men's freeski slopestyle
silver medalist
-Hi, guys.
-Gus Kenworthy.
And two-time
Olympic skeleton racer,
John Daly. Welcome.
Thank you
for having me.
[Padma] Why don't
you tell the chefs
a little bit about
what it takes
to compete in
each of your events?
Well, one of the keys
to figure skating
is precision.
We spend hours every day
training to make sure
that our movements
are exact
and they are
of a high quality.
Ski slopestyle is basically
an obstacle course,
and you choose
which features
you want to hit
and try and do
the best tricks
that you can on them.
So creativity
comes into play,
and every course
is different.
Skeleton is a sport
where we sprint
meters,
jump on a sled headfirst,
and drive down a mile of ice.
-What?
-We go
miles per hour,
and sometimes we win races
by just th of a second.
Wow, all of these skills
are necessary
to be an Olympian.
They're also pretty important
when you're working
in the kitchen.
In teams of three,
you'll be competing
in a head-to-head showdown
that spotlights
your team's speed,
precision, and creativity.
You'll compete in
the
Top Chef
arena,
feeding diners,
the judges,
and these Olympians.
So, you can pick
your three teams
of three right now.
-Bears?
-The Bears.
-Bears.
-Foxes?
-Foxes.
-Foxes.
[Christopher]
The whole
bear clan thing
is getting to me
a little bit,
but I'm happy with
the team I got.
I think that
Claudette's great,
and Tanya is someone
that I've looked up to
my whole career.
She's a living legend
in the black chef community.
Now, in the first round,
one chef from each team
must exhibit speed
by feeding diners
in minutes.
In the second round,
another team member
will create a dish
exhibiting precision
by cooking
a protein perfectly.
We're looking for
the perfect temperature
as well as
three knife cuts:
chiffonade, batonnet,
and brunoise.
And in the third round,
one chef from each team
will be able
to freestyle it.
This is where
you'll really show off
and throw in
as many tricks
as possible.
You won't know what protein
you're working with
until tomorrow.
Okay.
-Good luck,
you guys.
-Bye.
[Carrie]
Anybody have
any dibs on anything?
I feel like speed
would be good.
Don't you feel like
your knife skills
are gonna be,
-like, the best?
-I was gonna say
you worked at, like,
Le Bernardin.
Yeah, I mean,
I could do either.
The creativity one
is probably gonna be
the most challenging.
Are you thinking
third for me?
-I mean,
you're super creative.
-I've I'm way into it.
-Get this started.
-Good job with the win!
[Bruce] Can I take
the speed round?
You guys good with that?
I'm honestly thinking
about doing
a kick-a*s, like,
mushroom and polenta dish.
It's really good
and it's really quick.
[Joseph] I'll take
the second round.
I usually do, like,
a roast chicken with,
like, honey
and salsa verde
we do it like that simple
at the restaurant.
-[Bruce]
Sounds [bleep] delicious.
-[Joseph] Third course.
I was hoping
to have pasta.
-[Bruce] Striped pasta?
-Oh, [bleep].
Like, that's gonna be
our advantage
on that one,
'cause nobody's gonna be
able to plate with you
in this competition.
I busted out
amazing Mexican flavors
on Last Chance Kitchen.
[Tanya] So, Claudette,
you're gonna do speed.
Yes. I think
I can execute this
within minutes,
minutes.
Chris, you're gonna do
the freestyle.
Correct, and because
of the location
of the Olympics in Korea,
I want to throw
some of my wife's
-Oh, yes.
-And my
and my in-laws'
family influence into that.
All right, precision.
I'm not really
that excited
about this
particular challenge.
I'm thinking of
a North African spice,
roast lamb,
some couscous
with currants,
batonnets of carrots,
and a chiffonade
of collard greens.
Okay.
I'm doing
the precision round,
and I wanted to do
that speed round.
That's really my forte.
Couscous will be
a little sweet.
The chiffonade
will be a little acidic.
Nobody really uses
these cuts anymore.
I haven't cooked like that
in a long time,
but being a team player,
I just went with it.
All that weight
from the gold medals
is gonna feel good.
[chuckles]
[both grunt]
♪ ♪
It's a buckle
wait, wait, wait,
it's a buckle.
Where's the seafood at?
You do have
fresh miso?
Beef tenderloin, whole.
For the precision round,
the judges want to see
three distinct knife cuts.
So I'm making
roasted filet,
a chiffonade
of kale salad,
brunoise of apple,
and a butternut squash
batonnet.
-The tenderloin
is like .
-Okay.
I love to look
at vegetables
and fruits
that are shaped
so differently and say,
"You know what,
I can turn you
into a pile of something
that is uniform
and beautiful."
There's something oddly
satisfying about that.
Nice.
-What you got,
Joe boy?
-Carrots.
Are you making, like,
an Asian product thing?
-I am making
an Asian product thing.
-Perfect.
To make plates
in minutes
is definitely going
to be a challenge,
but I can sear
my scallops
very quickly,
and I'm very good
at running around
the kitchen
and getting things done.
-Thank you so much.
-Thank you.
Thanks a lot.
I was always heavily
into track and field.
I would tell my mom,
"I'm gonna be
an Olympian."
Well, I guess
that changed.
What, cheese?
Do you have any bones,
lamb bones?
Smart Crackers.
Good, 'cause I'm stupid.
It's really important
when you're in competition
you keep
your blood sugar up.
Oh, cheese.
All the bears
are making sure
we get some cheese in,
protein shakes, so we're in
fighting shape tomorrow.
[Tanya] I need
this [indistinct] stuff.
[Bruce] I almost forgot,
pickled mushrooms.
-[Tanya] Thank you.
-[Fatima] Yeah.
Carrie, are there things
that you can get
going first
-and then jump in with Fati
on first course?
-Of course.
I think I'll need the most
help just with plating.
Mm-hmm.
I'm hoping all
of this gets done
within the first minutes
and then
just help plating.
When you have a relay race,
you really need to help
that first person have
everything set up for success,
'cause it's a domino effect.
As soon as I'm done,
I'll help you finish.
-Yeah.
And then we'll jump
-with him
-once we're done
with you.
-Yeah.
It's just hard.
[sniffles]
-To be here?
-Yeah.
Unreal, huh?
[Bruce] I want to fly home,
like, for a day
and hold him.
It's, like, all I need
right now.
My mind kinda wavers
back and forth
from being able to use
my baby boy
to motivate me
versus being able
to stay focused
and thinking about it
too much.
It's just crazy.
Like, I wanna go home.
I'm giving up
a lot to be here,
and I've gotta
make it worth it.
[cheering]
[voices overlapping]
[stirring music playing]
♪ ♪
[Joe]
It was awesome.
It feels so good to have
the energy of the crowd
in there.
Seeing the stadium,
the Olympic athletes,
it's like a whole
different kitchen.
Welcome to
the Top Chef Games.
As you know,
the first round
is the Speed Round.
Who on each team
will be responsible
for the Speed Round?
Bruce, Claudette,
and Fatima.
In the next round,
it's all about precision.
Joe, Tanya,
and Adrienne.
Joe, what protein
did you choose?
-Chicken, Chef.
-And what temperature
do you want
to cook that to?
-.
-Tanya?
-Lamb chops.
-And what temperature
do you want to cook
your lamb chops to?
.
? Okay.
I'm not sure
if that's what I want.
I just know how
to do it by touch.
-Adrienne?
-Filet, cooking to .
Okay, hand over
your thermometers.
-You can't use 'em.
-What? [laughs]
[Thomas] I'll come by
and take the temperature
and see how close
you get.
For every three degrees off,
you get deducted one point.
And for the third round,
you still don't know
what protein
you're working with.
-Correct?
-That's right.
[Padma] Chris, why don't
you go ahead and lift up
the cloche?
You guys ready?
-Oh.
-Short ribs, okay.
[Christopher] Okay.
Awesome, this goes
with Korean flavors.
My only concern is
I'm gonna need the full
two and half hours
to get it to that
sweet spot.
Your time starts now.
Good luck.
[cheers and applause]
[Carrie] You got two,
I got one.
[grunts]
Thank you, leave it.
Get yours going.
How many people
will get eliminated
from this?
Just one.
[Padma] One from
the losing team.
Tanya, will you go get me
the coriander, cumin, and--
-[Tanya] What do you want?
-[Claudette] Coriander,
cumin and oregano.
I'm cooking
a crispy pork belly
that is tossed
in pumpkin seed mole
and sits on top
of the corn grits.
Is this all my [bleep]?
[Tanya]
That's all your [bleep].
Getting hot.
Almost there.
I am making my polenta
with mushrooms
and pickled ramps.
It's this dish
that is so simple.
I'm pulling this dish
out of my pocket
at the right time.
[Christopher] Behind!
Behind! Behind!
It smells amazing.
[Padma]
You have minutes.
-Tanya.
-What?
I need you to cube
this cheese for me.
-All of it?
-Yeah.
[Carrie] Fati,
you're boiling!
[Fatima] Put it
to a simmer.
-[Claudette] Garlic.
-[Tanya] What?
[Claudette] Garlic,
do we have garlic?
[Tanya]
Claudette's driving
me crazy.
For all of
my precision cuts,
I really want
to focus,
but I keep getting
pulled out of my prep
[bleep] A. [groans]
Here, put it in there.
I just don't think
it's fair
that she's asking us
to help her so much.
Tanya,
get a pressure cooker.
[dishes clattering]
[Tanya] I give up.
[cheering]
♪ ♪
-[Padma] Wow,
look at them go.
-Whoo!
The hardest thing
about the speed round
is making sure that
there is enough flavor
on that plate,
because I only have
about minutes
to cook all
the different components.
I'm so determined
to make sure that my dish
is by far the fastest.
Yo, who grabbed
my pan?
-Hey!
-Oh, [bleep],
I did.
Here, take mine.
Mine are right here.
Take these two here.
[audience] minutes!
-Cheese,
where's the cheese?
-Huh?
-Cheese.
-Right there, cheese.
Oh, sorry,
sorry, sorry.
I need to lay out
the plates.
-For ?
-Yeah. I got the--
I'm gonna need
a lot of help then, girl.
Yeah, I'm here,
I'm here.
Tanya's energy
next to me
is negative
just to be negative.
I can't even ask her
for something.
Ugh. [bleep] me.
I just give up on her.
[Adrienne] Carrie plating first.
[cheers and applause]
[Claudette] Can I get service
in two minutes, please?
Claudette, you cool?
Is there anything
I can do for you
-right now?
-No, just cook.
-I'll be right there.
-Thanks, okay.
[Padma] Do you notice
that the Blue Team
and the Red Team
are both helping
their teammates,
whereas Claudette's
pretty much on her own
on the White Team?
[Joseph] Five minutes!
[Claudette]
I didn't get
to do the acid component
that I wanted to do,
so I just grabbed a lemon
and squeezed it on top
of the pork belly.
I'm rallying and making
the best by myself.
[audience] Five, four
-Service, please!
-Hands, please, servers.
-[audience] one!
-[Padma] Time's up.
[cheers and applause]
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
Thank you for wearing
red today, Padma.
[Padma laughs]
♪ ♪
Bruce, please announce
your dish for everyone.
I've prepared for you
a creamy polenta
with a mushroom ragu,
pickled ramps,
and a little
Pedro Ximenez vinegar.
-[cheers and applause]
-[Padma] Fatima.
Today I made
a seared scallop
with a coconut broth,
an avocado mint puree,
and a spicy papadum
and a few pumpkin seeds
on top.
[cheers and applause]
Claudette?
You guys have the crispy
yellow corn grits
topped with crispy pork belly
tossed in a pipian sauce.
[cheers and applause]
[Padma]
Thank you, Chefs.
I like that Fatima got
some texture in there
from the papadum,
which I thought was
the lightest papadum
I've ever had in my life.
I just thought that it needed
some more herbaceous notes
-and some acid.
-Yes.
But Fatima's was so clean
and clear what
she wanted to do.
Bruce did
a beautiful polenta.
His peppercorns
made the dish,
that and the ramps.
There was a ton
of flavor in there.
I thought it was
a delicious dish.
[Padma] Which one
did you like the best?
-The scallops.
-The scallops?
I thought
they were amazing.
Claudette's pork belly,
the flavor of the mushrooms
was absolutely amazing.
[Padma] It was a little
too rich for me.
[Gail] For me,
it felt really muddled.
It was chewy.
I wanted it crispy.
The polenta was-
I could eat that
all day long.
[Padma] All right, Chefs,
the scores are in.
Claudette,
with a score of .
you win
the bronze medal.
[cheers and applause]
Fatima, with a score
of , the silver.
[cheers and applause]
And, Bruce, that means,
with a score of ,
the gold.
[cheers and applause]
[Bruce]
Being crowned
with a gold medal
by an actual Olympian
is probably
the coolest moment
so far for me
in this competition.
Thank you, Chefs,
you can go back
and help your teammates.
[Fatima] All right,
second, girls!
[Joseph]
Go for the gold, baby!
Da Bears!
[Joseph]
Our game plan's working.
Precision on the meat
is one thing,
because you can
put that in the oven
and let it go for a while.
But you're not gonna slip
not-perfect knife cuts
by Tom Colicchio.
Some of these techniques
I do all the time.
I mean, we brunoise
all the time.
Brunoise doesn't make
food taste better,
but it makes it
look nice.
Chiffonade, it's good.
You should know
how to cut
a leafy green nicely.
A batonnet
I don't I don't
I don't know why anyone
would batonnet
anything, truly.
[cheers and applause]
The greens that are
on her plate
are the first ones,
that chiffonade.
I teach classes
at the Institute of
Culinary Education.
If I mess this up,
my students would look
at me like, "Really?"
Can you make a syrup
with mustard seeds?
I need a pan to cook
these collards in.
[Claudette] You don't have
a list of all of [indistinct]
Yeah, Claudette, I did,
but I was helping you,
don't forget, okay?
I'm not giving you attitude.
Don't get like that.
Throughout
the whole Speed Round,
Claudette needed
a lot of help,
and now I need
some help.
All right,
here's your saute pan.
Oh, jeez.
She's not really
the team player
that I expected her to be.
Tanya, flat plates?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-I'll lay them out for you.
Behind, behind.
I don't know
what she's doing.
Tanya cooks by feel
and I don't cook meat
to temp like that.
but sounds high.
Do my batonnets need
to be like an inch or--
-Like that?
-Like that, yeah.
On top of that,
nothing on Tanya's dish
is showcasing
the knife skills.
I'm worried,
because we really need
a silver or gold.
These are getting there.
-Hey, guys, come here.
-I think you're there.
-I'm gonna let it
rest for ten.
-Yeah, yeah.
Check.
-What are we going for?
-, Chef.
[Thomas]
We're going for .
, .
-[Gail] She's dying
over there.
-I'm dying for her.
[Gail] I feel
so bad for her.
[Thomas] ,
so you're degrees off.
Thank you, sir.
For every three degrees
that we're under,
my team loses
one possible point.
So now, the highest score
I'm capable of getting
from each judge
is a seven.
[Joseph] Check!
It's so stressful to me,
like, having to have
a temperature exact
without a thermometer.
Joe, what's this
supposed to be?
-.
-Okay.
No whammies,
no whammies,
no whammies.
[Thomas] , .
This is gonna be good.
[laughs]
I looks like
it's gonna get stuck
at ., okay.
It's like two points off,
yeah not bad, Joe.
Tanya,
are you ready to test?
[Tanya] Oh, yeah,
yeah, Chef.
Tanya, what temperature
do you want?
-[Tanya] We said .
-[Thomas] .
[indistinct] at ?
I don't know.
You don't know. [laughs]
[Thomas] You're about
degrees off.
-[Tanya] That's way off.
-I think it's cooked right.
-I think
is overcooked.
-[Tanya sighs]
All right, you guys,
let's start plating.
Let's start plating.
-[cheers and applause]
-Here you go.
Do you want the couscous
right in the center
for Judges' Table as well?
I can't hear you,
Claudette.
She cooked her meat right,
but for some reason,
she thought that was .
would have been
well done.
[audience] Five, four,
three, two, one!
[Padma] Time's up.
[cheers and applause]
[cheers and applause]
Adrienne, please tell us
about your dish
and which ingredient
is done in what
knife cut, please.
The dish is
a roasted filet,
chiffonade kale salad.
On top is a brunoise
of pink lady apples
and butternut squash
batonnets.
[cheers and applause]
-Whoo!
-[Padma] Tanya.
I did a North African spiced
leg of lamb,
chiffonade of collard greens
on a bed of couscous.
There's brunoise
of shallots
and a batonnet
of glazed carrots
and zucchini.
[cheers and applause]
[mouths] Thank you.
So I did a Urfa biber
roasted chicken.
a brunoise of apples,
a chiffonade of sorrel,
and a batonnet
of butternut squash
on the bottom
-to finish it out.
-[cheers and applause]
Whoo!
Thank you, Chefs,
you can go back
and help your teammates.
[cheers and applause]
[Gail] Joe did a terrific job
for the Blue Team.
I think the chicken
was beautifully cooked.
It was crispy and flavorful
on the outside,
seasoned well.
The Blue Team,
the brunoise is
pretty damn good.
The batonnets are
pretty damn good,
and the chiffonade
is pretty damn good.
Do you think
the Blue Team's
knife cuts
were better than
the others?
No, I think
Adrienne's cuts were
the most precise.
Adrienne's dish is
pretty tasty, too.
I thought Tanya's sauce
for her lamb chop
was spectacular.
[Thomas] Her lamb
is nicely cooked.
She just didn't know
her temperatures.
I'm afraid her knife cuts
are her downfall as well.
I absolutely agree.
Her knife cuts
are atrocious.
Unidentifiable.
[Padma] Okay, Chefs,
come on up.
Let's see your scores.
[cheers and applause]
Tanya, with a score
of ., the bronze.
[Carrie] So good.
Congratulations.
Adrienne, a score of .
gives you the silver.
[Adrienne]
Thank you.
That means, Joe,
with a score of .,
for the gold.
-[cheers and applause]
-Thank you.
Whoo!
I feel amazing
right now!
I know this is
a fake gold medal.
I know this is not
real Olympics,
but it's awesome.
You can go back
and help your team.
Whoo!
Two down, boys!
Two down!
-We got it, dude!
-We got it!
[Carrie]
The bears are
always confident.
They just, like,
wear it like that.
[Joseph] Your time
to shine, baby!
But sometimes
they can be
a little much.
What I'm thinking is
I'll make a linguine pasta
and I'll braise the short ribs
and pull it off the bones
-so it's, like, shredded.
-[Fatima] Nice.
And then I'll make a sauce
out of the corn stock,
some morels,
bleu cheese.
It sounds perfect, Carrie.
Go for it.
The challenge is
to be creative
and to freestyle.
In the real world,
when you want to make
a new dish,
you taste it on
your sous-chefs,
on your boss,
but here,
you have one shot.
Make it freaking awesome,
and be done with it.
Whoo!
We need to be really honest
with each other, please,
'cause I needed acid
on mine
and I know that's
where I [bleep] up.
[Christopher]
The interaction
between Claudette
and Tanya,
it's odd.
But I can't get
caught up in it.
This looks beautiful,
Chris.
[Christopher] Freestyle.
Our team is
in desperate need
of this gold medal.
I don't want to come in
last place.
Yeah, you know
who it is, baby.
Chef Keegan opened
a lot of ideas in my head
and made me think
a lot about what I'm doing
and why I'm doing it
and what tricks
I wanna bring out when.
[Joseph] The pasta
is impressive.
Whoo!
[Joe]
Pasta was accented
by that little bit of beef
in the filling and utilizing
all the carrot.
The fried carrot peels
and the dehydrated
carrot pulp,
that's really how
I love to cook.
[Joseph] It came out
super good.
A refined bag of tricks
is coming with me
on this one.
[Joseph]
It's a peasant pasta,
a poor man's purse.
[cheers and applause]
[Christopher]
Three on the plate.
-Service, please!
-[Joseph]
Beautiful plate, Joe.
[audience] Five, four,
three, two, one!
[cheers and applause]
[laughs]
[Gus] Oh, my God,
this smells so good.
-[cheers and applause]
-All right.
Today I made for you
beef short ribs
with a house fettuccine,
butter poached morels
and oyster mushrooms
with a bleu cheese sauce.
[cheers and applause]
Braised short ribs with
a ginger-scented tofu cream,
a miso caramel,
and a bok choy kimchi.
[cheers and applause]
Here we have some beef
short rib casoncelli,
paired it with some carrots,
and I wanted to utilize
the entire vegetable,
so I used the carrot tops
to stripe the pasta dough,
I used the carrot peelings
to do a little crispy carrots,
and in the filling is
the short rib,
carrots,
and the ramp bottoms.
[Gus] Beautiful.
-[cheers and applause]
-Whoo!
[both] Blue, Blue,
Blue, Blue!
Blue, Blue, Blue,
Blue, Blue, Blue!
This third round
is completely between
Joe and Chris.
I just don't like
Carrie's dish very much.
It was a very amateurish
attempt at making pasta.
Fortunately for her,
she has immunity.
I think the White Team's dish
is beautiful.
I think the taste
was the best
of the three.
Eaten alone,
that bok choy kimchi
I thought was amazing.
Gingery, spicy,
fresh, cold,
but putting the tofu on it
sort of dulled it all down.
What did you think about
the Blue Team's dish?
Clearly Joe put
a lot of thought
and a lot of skill
into this dish.
I wish that the pasta
was actually a little softer.
[Thomas] I gotta say,
for freestlying,
for being creative,
there are times
that you know
you're hitting it.
I get a sense that Joe,
when he finished his dish,
he probably just said,
"I nailed it."
Right now,
if the White Team
pulls off the gold,
I think they end up
in second place.
So this is important.
[cheers and applause]
Carrie, with a score of ,
the bronze.
Silver medal
goes to Chris,
with a score of ,
[cheers and applause]
And, Joe,
with a score of .,
the gold.
[cheers and applause]
[Joe]
I'm just ecstatic.
I've never gotten
a gold medal before.
Normally,
it's a participation medal
for being on the team.
And now we're safe
from elimination.
That little bear cub's
stepping up.
[Padma]
Thank you, Chefs,
for competing
in the first ever
Top Chef Games.
We will see you
at Judges' Table.
-Yeah!
-[laughs]
Whoo!
-Whoo!
-Go for the gold, baby!
Blue boys.
Go for the gold.
-Well
-[Carrie]
What's up, Bears?
-You [bleep] bears.
-[laughs]
-[Joe] I gotta sweep the floor.
-[Carrie] Nobody likes you,
by the way.
[laughs]
Whatever, guys.
-We're not even talking.
-What did I do?
You monopolize
the conversation
when you lose,
and you monopolize it
when you win.
So just, like,
have some empathy.
[tense music playing]
♪ ♪
[Padma] Tom,
how do you think
they did overall?
It was great to watch you,
you know,
cook from start to finish.
For the most part,
we got really good dishes.
There was a team that
clearly stood out today,
and that team
is the Blue Team.
So congratulations,
Blue Team.
[cheers and applause]
[Padma] You definitely
went for the gold.
Hard to find any flaws
in all three of your dishes.
You were so in sync,
just like
a good boy band,
-know what I mean?
-[laughter]
We had a pretty
strong plan going in.
The result was
really delicious food
right out of the gate.
I mean, Bruce,
the first dish that
you gave us, ton of flavor.
I think the pickled ramps
really made that dish.
You didn't make
something heavy,
and because
it was vegetarian,
it just started us all
off on the right foot.
-Awesome.
-Baby Face Joe,
we all were just
totally in love with
your roast chicken.
The tarragon, to me,
was what set
that dish apart.
You came close to nailing
the temperature
on the chicken,
and the knife cuts
were really, really good,
although, we did give
the knife cut advantage
to Adrienne.
She really nailed it.
Joe, with your pasta dish,
what was really neat
was that you chose
to get whimsical
and creative,
and that's what
the challenge was about.
Before we even tasted it,
we knew it was a home run
and it did not disappoint.
[Padma] Tom?
[Thomas] The chef
that won tonight
ex*cuted a flawless dish.
The winner is
Mustache Joe.
-[cheers and applause]
-As you said, brother.
-I love you guys.
-As you should.
[Joe]
The fact that
I came out on top
after being in the bottom
last week feels so good.
It's nice to have
a challenge
where they want you
to show off.
Now, I can kind of get it
all out of my system
and then be
more focused.
[Padma] Thank you,
Blue Team.
White Team,
please step forward.
[solemn music playing]
Chris, I liked all
the components a lot.
The only thing
I didn't think
the dish needed
-was the tofu cream.
-Ah.
[Gail] I agree
with you, Tom.
I had a piece
of your kimchi'd
bok choy
that still had
beautiful texture
and crunch,
but then the second piece
I ate had
the tofu cream on top
and you just lost all of that
beautiful kimchi-ness.
Okay.
Tanya,
I loved the spice rub.
I thought the sauce was also
well put together.
In terms of the knife skills,
this is kind of trivial stuff,
but the challenge
was to do it precise,
and and you didn't.
Most chefs cook with
their fingers.
They don't use thermometers.
The lamb was cooked right.
I know.
Yeah, I messed up.
It's fine.
Claudette,
the first bite
was great,
the second bite
was really good,
and then I don't think
I could have finished
a portion of your dish
because it was so rich.
I liked the flavors,
but it did need an acid.
That was the green onion,
serrano, and lemon.
Did you not have
time to put
the last component
on the dish
or you forgot?
No, I didn't have time.
I got to the end
and I asked
Tanya for something,
and she was like
[gasps]
I felt a little,
like, taken back,
that I shouldn't ask.
I ended up just
kind of banging out
the dish as it was.
[indistinct conversation]
Did you guys talk about
helping each other?
-Yes. Yes.
-So why did you feel
you couldn't ask for help?
I think it was just an under,
like, the breath comment
that was made
as I asked for help,
and, I don't know,
it caught me off guard,
because we had talked
about the tag.
No, I got
a different opinion of this.
I gave you
so much help.
I got behind
because I was helping you.
But I was gonna tag in
to help you as well.
But you didn't,
but you didn't.
Tanya, can I hear your side
of the story, please?
No.
I think it's the first time
we've ever had a no
at the Judges' Table.
Are you upset
because you didn't get
the help you needed
or are you upset
because you didn't cook
the dish--
-I'm not upset
-that you wanted
to cook?
for either of
those reasons, Gail.
Don't project that on me.
I'm not.
I'm trying to just
read the story.
I can think of a really
well-rounded dish
that I could have done
in minutes
and that would have been
really comfortable for me.
-You know, I'm-I'm--
-But you never said it.
[scoffs]
[Tanya]
I'm a team player,
and I know Claudette
feels like she helped me
but, like, I did
a lot of things for you
-You did three.
-And I asked you,
like, just to go get me a pot,
and you gave me attitude.
And, you know,
our teamwork
kind of fell apart
at that point.
♪ ♪
[Padma] Okay.
We need
to discuss things.
We'll call you
back in a bit,
thank you.
♪ ♪
Well, that was a very
informative conversation
with that team.
There was clearly
a lot more tension
than we knew
about before.
-[Thomas] Of the three
-[Gail] Mm-hmm.
I think Chris's dish
was probably better
than the other two.
He's not going anywhere,
at least in my book.
What was it
about Claudette's dish
that we all didn't like?
I thought those two textures
on the two piece of dishes
were exactly the same.
That was
the least appealing
to the eye.
I liked Tanya's dish better.
[Gail]
From a flavor perspective.
But she did not complete
the challenge,
and that's why
we're here.
Tanya,
you're really quiet.
I don't wanna
get into it here.
I don't wanna ruin
the relationship
over a comment
that was made
like, we helped
each other out during the--
It's not about
the comment.
I mean, it was
from the beginning.
But you didn't
say anything.
-Well, I mean,
it's just like--
-[Claudette] I'm open to it.
The whole thing was that
we are adults, right?
See, like, you're not
listening to me right now.
Okay, so this is
another example of that.
[Carrie] Tanya, please go.
Like, she feels bad.
-Please try.
-[Tanya] Well, no, no.
I don't need to. [scoffs]
[Bruce] Time and place
for everybody's different.
Exactly,
we're not all the same.
-[Bruce] Yeah.
-We don't all experience
the world
the same way, Carrie.
Wake up.
Get woke.
[tense music playing]
♪ ♪
[Thomas] You know, Chefs,
what I really liked
about this challenge
was the team aspect of it.
I was
a competitive swimmer,
so I'll use more of
a swimming analogy.
It's an individual sport,
swimming,
but when you come together
for a relay,
you have to rely
on each other,
and I think that's where
this team fell apart,
and unfortunately,
one of you will go home.
♪ ♪
Tanya, please pack
your knives and go.
[solemn music playing]
Tanya, your piece
was precision,
and you just were not
as precise as I think
you can be.
Thank you.
We'll see you
at Last Chance Kitchen.
-Thank you
for everything.
-Yeah.
After dealing with these
challenging personalities
for weeks,
I'm actually
a little relieved
and I'm real exhausted.
-Take care.
-Take care.
[Tanya]
I've been
in the industry
for a long, long time.
I've done
a lot of pioneering.
But there's still
a long way to go.
I hope that I can set
an example
and there'll be
more opportunities
for more women chefs,
more women chefs of color,
more chefs of color.
I'm not gonna stop dreaming
any time soon.
♪ ♪
-[Padma]
Tonight
-There's a lot of drama there
at Judges' Table, huh?
Tanya's precision problem
lands her
in Last Chance Kitchen.
Not what I wanted.
Can she learn
to make the cut?
Oops. I just got stuff
in my hair.
Next, on
Top Chef
It's time
for Restaurant Wars.
[cheers and applause]
And this year, things
are really gonna escalate.
[Carrie]
That sounds scary.
We're gonna figure
this out.
Coming in,
hot ba*ls.
-Oh, boy.
-We good?
[Joe] No.
How do we look?
-Just finish this for me.
-Is that okay?
It doesn't seem that anybody's
really taking the lead.
I don't really know
what's wrong with it.
Hi, welcome to
Common Place.
You see I got all the desserts
in front of me, right?
Why did he taste that
and think it's a good thing
to put on a plate?
Oh.
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15x07 - Olympic Dreams
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Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.
Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.