15x11 - Cooking High

[bunniefuu]

-[Adrienne sighs]

-[Christopher] The final four.

[Adrienne] Made it.

Holy smokes.

To hell we ride.

That is crazy.

[Christopher]

Being on the bottom



last week was rough.



We're at



the Governor's Mansion.



And we had to create a dish



that spoke about our journey



in Colorado



and our time here on

Top Chef.

The filling, to me,

was very off.

I made a dish out

of my comfort zone.

Chris, the raviolo

was a complete mess.

Understood completely.

I applied to be on the show

five times.

And for the first time



this season,



I'm so close to where



I can see the finish line.

I'm giving it all that I have.

Just-- Just stay tuned.

-[Christopher]

I miss Bruce, though.

-We're gonna miss Bruce.

That was like one

of those people

that always believed in me.

He'll be missed.

Now, we're in the finals!

-[Carrie] Yeah.

-Now, it's probably hard.

[Carrie] And their expectations

are gonna be even higher.

Not too long ago,

hearing how disappointed Tom was

in everyone's dish

was definitely a low point.

The food that we got today

is something that

I expect to get with

not professional chefs cooking.

It's a huge weight

off of our shoulders

to hear Tom say

that he was happy

with the food last challenge.

[Thomas] The dishes were

much more focused.

They were well-seasoned.

The proteins were all

nicely cooked.

Nice work.

[laughs]

[Joe]

I got my third win.



Feels awesome!



I set myself really



high expectations.

I wanted to get to the finals,

and I'm here.

I can't wait to show

you guys Telluride.

It's gonna be ballin'!

[laughs]

[Padma]

Four 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

,



one hundred and twenty-five



thousand dollars,



furnished by Sanpellegrino.



And the coveted title

of Top Chef.

Ooh, it's bright as hell.

[Carrie]

I love Telluride.



It's so beautiful.

I moved to Colorado

when I was

because I was a good skier,



and I thought it could



take me somewhere.

Yes!

Hands-free, baby.

Like The Fonz.

We'll be able to get

all of our stuff in here too.

[Carrie]

I found myself



not good enough.

All these women next to me

were much bigger than me,

and they had better

equipment than me.

And then, here I get



to

Top Chef,

and I'm nowhere nearly as big

as these people around me.

And here we are,

I've come this far.

And I am doing it!

There's something to be said



there that I'm like,



just because I don't



think I measure up

maybe I just don't see myself

as clearly as I should.

Do you think

the boys are asleep?

Probably.

I wonder who's coming back

from

Last Chance Kitchen

.

What if it's Brother,

and he rolled ten people.

That would be crazy.

[Man]

Welcome, chefs,



to the Madeline.

-Right this way.

-Thank you.

Here we go.

[Adrienne] Oh, man.

-[Christopher] Very nice!

-[Joe]Suave digs!

[all exclaiming]

[Christopher]

It's almost like



Fantasy Island

.

Somebody bring me my damn robe.

You might as well

had Roarke there

busting open



the shutters for you.

This is the good life, guys.

I definitely don't want

to go home now.

-[Adrienne] No.

-No.

I'm able to see the mountains

and enjoy it.

But after last week's



wake-up call,



my mental game is stronger



than everyone else's.

So, let's go.

-Oh, what's that?

-Check this out.

"Welcome to Telluride, and the

first leg of the finals.

"Tomorrow morning, meet me at

the New Sheridan Saloon.

-"Padma."

-Hmm Mm-hm.

Okay. I think it's like the

old saloon in town.

It's like a cowboy bar.

Like, vacation's over.



[Joe]

Main Street Telluride,



Old Western backdrop.

I feel like I'm about to go

to the O.K. Corral.

Good morning, chefs.

-Morning!

-Good morning!

Welcome to Telluride,

and the beginning of the finals.

This is where you'll duke it out

for the grand prize

of $,

furnished by Sanpellegrino.

Please welcome your guest judge

for this Quickfire Challenge,

Wylie Dufresne.

-[all clapping]

-Hello, chefs.

Wylie Dufresne is legendary.

He pushed the boundary of what

food is for a very

long time in New York.

He's an amazing chef,

and there's definitely

a lot of pressure

cooking for him.

How is the altitude, by the way?

-Good.

-So far, okay.

-So far, so good.

-Haven't run around yet, so--

How's the attitude?

[laughter]

I'd like to welcome you

to the New Sheridan,

which is one of the oldest bars

here in Telluride.

Back in the day,

Telluride was a frontier town

with an economy

based on gambling,

livestock,

and, of course, saloons.

In fact, Butch Cassidy

even robbed a bank

just down the street

for $,.

For your Quickfire Challenge,

we want you to create a

gastropub-inspired dish,

featuring one of the saloon's

most popular beverages,

Sarsaparilla.

Sarsaparilla was first utilized

for its medicinal properties,

and when the soda was created,

it was marketed as

a hangover cure.

We want you to use

the sarsaparilla

in a way

that's fun and exciting,

and do something unexpected.

Chefs, it's time to draw knives.

Each of you will get

to choose one item

from the four categories

in front of you.

Sweeteners, fruit,

proteins, and vegetables.

Who has number one?

Chris, you'll get to go first,

and then we'll just take turns

until everything's gone.

I'll take the meat.

[Christopher]

I picked the ribeye



because I will be able

to work with that the quickest

and it's the most versatile.

I'll have the pork.

[Padma] Who's three? Joe.

I'm not gonna let

Adrienne have the fish.

[laughter]

I know fish



is Adrienne's specialty

and I don't want the chicken.

So, I'm happy to take

the fish off the board.

So, Adrienne?

Chicken for me.

-Chris, it's your turn again.

-Onions, please.

I'll take the carrots.

I'm gonna go brown sugar.

Honey.

-Limes for me.

-[Adrienne] Berries.

Time to get funky.

Lemons!

And please pass the garlic.

Chefs, there's a lot

at stake in this Quickfire,

because the winner is going

to take home $,

furnished by our

Last Chance Kitchen

sponsors,

Hidden Valley Ranch.

So, chefs, you didn't think

it was only gonna be

you guys, did you?

-No, that'd be too easy.

-No.

So, I told you already I was

getting a lot of great food

in

Last Chance Kitchen

,

and the final battles

were no different.

So, Bruce, what happened, man?

Why you here?

Cause I wanted to come

face the bears.

Now, I know that's a lie.

[Man] What you gonna make,

Brother?

[Brother]

Something that's not gonna send

my a*s home.

[Brother] Guys, I'm gonna need

some hands for a plate-up

over here, so--

[cheers and applause]

[Thomas]

The decision is unanimous.

The winner

of

Last Chance Kitchen

is

[Thomas] Come on in, chef.

[laughter]

[cheers and applause]

Padma.

I'm back, and it feels

amazing to be here.

-Yes!

-I have nothing to lose,

and everything to gain.

My other half.

Joe Flamm is like,

my unofficial brother

from a South side mother.

I'm so happy for him.

But that means another

strong competitor is back.

Congratulations, Joe,

on winning

Last Chance Kitchen.

Thank you. Good to be back.

Chefs, your cooking

stations are outside,

and you have minutes

for this challenge.

But, Joe, you're gonna

need some ingredients.

So, you get to choose one

ingredient to steal

from each of your competitors.

Ah.

[chuckles]

[sighs]

[Carrie]

He steals my pork.



Now, I'm left with onions,



lemon, and honey.

That's not fair.

Dirty little thief!

Figured as much.

He breezes into town

like a bank robber.

I was gonna make the dish



about the carrots,

and now, I've got

to switch gears here.

Thanks, guys.

What a nice welcome back.

-[laughs]

-Yeah.

So everyone else, you only

have three items to work with,

plus whatever you can find

in a basic pantry outside.

Your time starts now. Good luck.

Poor girl has onions, lemons,

and honey, and that's it.

Coming back from



being eliminated,



it's like having



a near-death experience.

It's kind of

an incredible feeling.

I've never had



sarsaparilla before.



It's sweet but it's nuanced,



you know?

It does have some

vanilla notes to it.

[Carrie] Joe, what are you going

to make with my pork chops?

[Joe] I'm gonna roast

these beautiful

pork porterhouses

you gave me on the grill.

I'm making a berry

sarsaparilla sauce.

I'm making carrots pickled in

sarsaparilla with chilies.

Sarsaparilla almost

has a little bit

of a gingery quality

to it as well.

And that's why I wanna

use the carrots, cause I think

that combination's

gonna work really well.

Sorry, I stole your stuff!

Yeah, we'll talk

about that later.

Flamm took everything



that he wanted.

So, his dish will

probably be awesome.

[Joe] Carrie,

what are you thinking?

I'm gonna do a play

on a French onion soup.

Who has time to make



French onion soup?

So, I decide to just do the best

part of the French onion soup,

which is just the top,

with sarsaparilla,

caramelized onions,



bread, and cheese.



I have made a few toasts here,



but they're awesome.

You can't bag on it if it's

good every time, right?

[Joe] Chris,

what are you making?

[Christopher]

Chicken fried steak.

-Sarsaparilla country gravy.

-[Joe] Ooh!

I use sarsaparilla all the time



to make mustard,

sometimes to make gravies.

I'm really thinking



that this could be it,



this could be where



I win that $,.

Because back home, I need to buy

some new equipment

I'm one steak away



from victory.

Herbs. Here we go.

That's what I've been

looking for all damn day.

Joe Flamm took my carrots!

[laughs]

-I missed you, idiots.

-We know you did.

-Well, I could do a lot

of things with carrots.

-I'm the worst.

Just like I didn't want

to give Adrienne the fish!

[laughs]

[Christopher]

What are you doing, Joe?

Cold sarsaparilla soup,

-with a cured halibut tartare.

-[Christopher] My man.

It's very hot outside,

and when you're serving

something cold,

it needs to be really cold.

I can prepare it on ice

the entire time,

right up until the last moment.

That way, whatever



they're eating



will be surprisingly



chilled and refreshing.

Kind of stand out from

what everyone else is doing.

Aw, man.

You know, I love my brown sugar.

That's okay. I got a little

sarsaparilla syrup

to make up for the sweetness

that I lost.

I'm making sarsaparilla-glazed



chicken



with tomato garlic compote

and sarsaparilla sauce.

[can pops]

Sarsaparilla is perfuming



the chicken,

and I finish cooking it with

sarsaparilla root and beer.

I'm struggling with timing.

Nobody likes

medium rare chicken.

Okay, nothing we can

do for that but wait.

Ten minutes!

[Joe] Ooh, that smells nice!

It does, doesn't it?

Coming at you.

Jesus Christ.

I checked my pork.

It's not as seared as I want.

I don't know

if my pork's gonna cook in time.

If I don't cook

this piece of pork,

I'm gonna have a sauce

and some carrots on a plate,

and Wylie Dufresne looking at me

like I'm an as*h*le.

Chefs,

you have five minutes left.

Five. Heard. Thank you!

The biggest concern with



this dish is that



the bread might sog out.

I thought a lot about that,

and I grilled it really crunchy.

I'm stoked. It's great.

It's gonna be close!

[Christopher]

My wife will love me forever,



if I'm bringing home ten grand.

[Adrienne] One minute.

[Joseph] Bam, baby.

Time up.

[cheers and applause]

-[Adrienne]

Joe Flamm in the house.

-[Joseph]] Thanks.

[grunts]

Hi, Chris.

What did you make for us?

This is a potato-crusted

chicken fried steak



with a sage and sarsaparilla



country gravy.

Chicken fried steak

is a nice idea.

-It's a good pairing.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Chris.

-All right.

-Thanks.

-Yep.

Okay, Joe, tell us

what you've made.

I made a crudo

with a sarsaparilla

and fennel soup.

And then I cured the halibut



in sarsaparilla,



lime juice, and maple syrup.

That's very refreshing.

It is. Very nice.

Hi, so this is

my stolen dish today.

I did a pork porterhouse.



I pickled carrots



in sarsaparilla.

I made a sauce

out of the berries

and sarsaparilla.

-How'd you cook the pork?

-I started the pork

on the grill,

the grill wasn't quite

as hot as I would've liked it,

so I finished it in a pan.

-Thank you, Joe.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

[Padma] What ingredients

did you have?

I had the onions,

so I made you the best part

of the French onion soup,

the top!

-Wait a minute, you had--

-It's onion crostini.

Uh, the top

of the French onion soup,

-[laughter]

-Chef.

I kept deglazing



with that sarsaparilla



to kind of bloom it a little,



there's a little beef stock



in there.

[Joe] She can't win twice

with [bleep] tartines.

[Joseph] I know, right?

That's tasty. Really nice.

It was kind of a blessing

you took my pork.

-[Thomas] Focus on the onions.

-Yeah.

So today, we have

sarsaparilla glazed chicken,

garlic tomato compote



with a little bit



of that crispy



sarsaparilla skin.

[Thomas]

Chicken's nicely cooked.

-Yep.

-Very tender.

[Padma] Thank you, Adrienne.

-Thank you.

Wiley, how do you think

our chefs did?

I think they did great.

I think some of the dishes

while not wildly creative,

-were pretty tasty.

-Yeah, good stuff.

Wiley, we did have a couple

chefs that were weaker today.

Adrienne's chicken,

while very, very juicy,

didn't really say much

about sarsaparilla.

Yeah, I agree. And the tomato

that was there

was kind of lost as well.

-Who else had one of our

least favorite dishes?

-Um, Joe Flamm.

Your pork was a little

on the dry side.

-But again, the sarsaparilla

flavor wasn't there.

-Okay.

Wylie, who had some

of our favorites today?

Chris, I thought your chicken

fried steak was great.

I really liked the gravy.

I thought you did actually

-carry the sarsaparilla

through nicely.

-Thanks.

Joe Sasto, with

his soup and crudo.

The temperature was just right.

I wasn't expecting coconut

and sarsaparilla

to find their way into a soup,

and that was very

unexpected, and really clever.

Thank you, chef.

And finally,

Carrie's onion soup topper.

All descriptions aside,

it was super tasty.

Being left with just onions,

lemon, and some honey

was a challenge, and I

think that you managed

-to really let the sarsaparilla

show through.

-Thank you, chef.

So, Wiley, who had

our favorite dish of the day?

Who's winning $,?

The chef that had

our favorite dish of the day

was the chef that really

highlighted the sarsaparilla.

And that chef is

-Carrie.

-Whoo!

[laughter]

Toast.

Toast? Again?

The look on your face

when Joe took your pork,

you were like, "Oh my God!"

But you made it work.

-It was a scary moment for sure.

-You're welcome.

Thanks, Joe.

[laughs]

This was definitely



not the impression



I wanted to make my first



challenge back,



but it was a good



punch in the teeth,



to remind me of the level



of everybody's



cooking at right now.

Well, being at this altitude,

I'm sure,

everyone is feeling

a little high,

and that won't stop now.

We're going

higher than we've ever been

before.

For your Elimination Challenge,

you must create

a high-concept,

high-end dish to serve

in the highest restaurant

in North America.

Alpino Vino,

sits atop Golden Hills

in the heart of the San Juan



Mountains at , feet.

Cooking at altitude is no joke.

Everything from boiling water

to baking is going to be

a lot more difficult

than what you're used to.

Each chef will be required

to have a baked element

on your plate.

You'll also be judged by

James Beard Award-winning chef

Paul Liebrandt.

[Joe]

Oh, man.



Baking at altitude



is going to be tough enough,

but cooking for Wiley Dufresne

and Paul Liebrandt

This is a doozy.

[Padma] Today you'll have

the rest of the day

to experiment at home.

-Yes!

-Normally on

Top Chef

,

you don't get the opportunity

to test recipes ahead of times.

So, use your time wisely,

and have some fun.

All right, chefs,

we'll see you at the top.

I could like deconstruct

a Beef Wellington,

and do all the flavors of it.

-Very easy.

-I could wrap

the ribeye in pie dough.

But you gotta practice it.

Carrie and Chris

can both bake too.

For sure, they're not gonna have

no problem with this one.

Yeah, when they said, "bake",

I was like, [BLEEP].

I've read about it,

but I have never

baked at altitude.

Yeah, I was like, "Cool,

this challenge is right up

my alley", then they're like,

"You're gonna bake something."

I was like, "I'm just gonna go

back to my hotel now."

I feel like I'm on the verge

of figuring out how to execute.

As a chef, you have



so many voices



from the chefs that



you've worked for.

And it's kind of channeling

all those voices into your own.

I feel like I'm still hearing



all my chefs,



I'm still seeing their food.



It's coming together,

but not as quickly

as I would like.

This altitude

is kicking my butt.

What I really want to do

is a play on a Beef Wellington.

-A perfect Beef Wellington--

-It's really hard.

Do I have the ba*ls to cook



a Beef Wellington

for an English chef?

I don't know.

Welcome home, Joe.

Cheers, guys,

good to be back home.

[Adrienne]

Did you find cutting boards?

-[Carrie] On the rack.

-[Adrienne] Thank you.

[Carrie]

It's incredibly hard



to bake at altitude.



If you're gonna bake bread,



it takes twice as long,

it never rises because

there's no oxygen.

Let's just see what happens.

[Carrie]

When I first moved to Colorado,



I lived in Breckenridge.

I worked at a little

coffee shop, where I did

a lot of the baking there.

I do have a few tricks

in my head,

but I'm not like a badass

altitude baker.

My baking element

is gonna be

a savory profiterole, Gougere.

-[Joe] A little puff--

-[Joseph] Oh,

you're doing profiteroles?

Yeah, I don't really have many

other things in my

baking repertoire.

[Carrie]

But you've never made them,

so that makes it not

in your repertoire.

-[laughs]

-Joe, I feel you, man.

Sometimes, you just

gotta take that risk.

When you're this far

in the competition,

sometimes taking that

big risk is great.

Sometimes you just gotta



go with what you know.



And what I know is heart.



I'm making black pepper



crispy quail,



corn pudding, fava beans,



and corn bread.

A lot of family stuff.

Do you think

they feel altitude sickness?

[Adrienne]

That's highly possible.

[laughs]

Learning my food

is definitely new territory.

And I better figure it out here,

if not, I'm going home.

I'm making poached lobster

with champagne, caviar,

and pain de mie.

I do want a lighter bread.

So, I bake off a couple

of test loaves.

I've never baked at altitude.

I'm a little nervous about this.

Yeah.

-Chef!

-Hey!

-[Carrie] Chefs!

-Chefs, what's going on?

-What's up, gentlemen?

-[Thomas]

Smells pretty good in here.

Okay, chefs, so let

me introduce you

to Paul Liebrandt!

-Hello.

-[Joe] Chef.

-Hi.

-How are you?

Hello, hello.

It takes you back a bit,

when you're just prepping,

and then Paul Liebrandt

and Wylie Dufresne walk in

with Tom Colicchio.

That happens all the time.

Besides being an awesome chef,

he actually worked

at a restaurant

that was at , feet,

so, he may have

some tips for you,

if you ask nicely.

Do you guys have any idea

what you're making yet?

I'm gonna do duck

with some peas.

-Okay.

-And then I'm gonna

do little savory

kind of like profiteroles.

-What do you have to do

adapt a recipe for that?

-[sighs]

Change the baking time.

-[Thomas] That's it?

-And the temperature

that I bake it at.

And?

And I don't know what else.

When you cook with eggs,

you want to add more egg white

than egg yolk

if you're doing it at altitude.

Helps to get

the structure better.

That's good to know.

Thank you, chef.

-Adrienne, what are you making?

-I'm gonna make a little

pain de mie.

Should be okay.

Just watch out how much sugar

you put in.

Remember, we're going

, foot higher tomorrow.

And as it rests,

it's just gonna dry, dry, dry.

[sighs]

I'm gonna use that bread

as a snack and start over.

-What're you making, Joe?

-When I worked for Art Smith,

we used to make,

buttermilk goat cheese

drop biscuits.

And so I decided to go

kind of Southern.

Braised pork, a pepper jelly.

I haven't done a lot of baking,

but when I worked for Art Smith

at Table Fifty-Two,



one of my jobs was I made



the biscuits every day.

I got my a*s kicked

being chewed out by Chef Art.

I've made these biscuits



so many times,

at least I feel good about

that I can knock these out.

-Biscuits could be tricky.

-Any tips?

Maybe cornbread. Just kidding.

-[all laugh]

-Thanks.

-Chris.

-Chefs, how are you?

I did a little tester

of cornbread.

-Well, we might as well try it.

-[Christopher] There you are.

This recipe has been



in my family for many years.



My grandmother's grandmother



was doing it.



But I don't know



if it will work

at , feet up in the sky.

That's not a bad crumb.

-Crumb's good.

-Not a bad crumb at all.

So, fava beans,

corn pudding,

crispy black pepper quail.

-[Thomas]

How are you cooking the quail?

-I'm gonna fry it.

Things take longer to fry.

Remember that.

I'll keep that in mind, chef.

Thank you.

-Carrie, what're you making?

-So, what I really want to do

-is a play on a Beef Wellington.

-[Thomas] Right.

But I don't want to do

just like your classic one

that like, you know, when

I worked in high school

at a steak house they served.

I want to, like, elevate it,

so I was thinking

I could leave it open.

-A perfect Beef Wellington--

-It's really hard.

It's one of those dishes

-that, like, if you nail it--

-Yeah.

Oh, I mean, it shows

amazing technique,

so, don't be afraid

of a classic.

If I'm not pleased

with the dough,

then I'm gonna go with

this honey cornbread.

-Good luck, guys. Thank you.

-It was nice to meet you.

-See you tomorrow.

-[Thomas] Looking forward

to some great food.

-Nice to meet you, chef.

-[Thomas] See you tomorrow.

Thank you.

[Christopher] You like it?

It's not Paul Liebrandt nice.

-It's a little um Yeah.

-Raw?

Do I have the ba*ls

to cook a Beef Wellington

for an English chef?

I don't know.

If you don't nail it,

it's wrong, and then,

you know,

you're for sure going home.

[Carrie sighs]

Thank you.

[Joe] Joes on one side.

You know, Paul is going to be

the most critical

of all the judges.

-Oh, yeah.

-I feel nervous.

-[Christopher] Today?

-[Carrie] I do.

-[Carrie] I have the nervous

in my stomach.

-[Christopher] Mm.

I also have a sausage in my

pocket, if anybody wants it.

[laughter]

[Carrie]

I woke up this morning,



and I had clarity.

No fool

should cook Beef Wellington

for Paul Liebrandt.

That is stupid. It's suicide.

So, I'm not gonna do it.

In my dreams, I see this



perfectly cooked

spring veg.

And on top of that, I'm going



to put sliced ribeye

and then I'm gonna do cornbread,

but I'm gonna punch 'em out

with my ring mold,

so they're like little towers.

I see it. It's colorful,



it's Colorado,

it's Carrie, and I'm stoked.

It's like we're on safari!

[Joseph]

We're cooking at Alpino Vino,



which is the highest restaurant



in North America.

It's absolutely stunning,

you know, you have the mountains

in the background,

there's these huge canyons,



the sun's shining.

This is quite the commute

to work.

[Carrie] How are they?

They look great.

I went a little stiffer on this,

so they hold their structure

a little bit better for me.

I'm not scared about being up



on the side



of a giant mountain.

That's, you know, the fun

adventure part of it.

I'm more scared on not making



a baked good happen



in front of these judges.



I adjusted the recipe



a little bit today,

so that I'll hopefully get

a fluffier, firmer biscuit.

But that high altitude makes

it a little bit unpredictable

for everything.

[exhales]

[Adrienne] Nothing says love

like beurre monte.

I haven't had that in so long.

I used to make pounds

of beurre monté every day.

You guys know what temperature

water boils at,

at this altitude?

Go shallow and on high!

I truly believe the cornerstone

of any fine dining

is simple, elegant food.

So, that's where I'm coming.



I still need to clean and



score my foie gras,

I need to blanch my snap peas

and fava beans.

Hopefully, the cornbread's

bulletproof,

and I don't have to mitigate

a disaster.

This late in the game,

I'm constantly nervous.

[Adrienne] Are you cooking

those in foie fat?

-Yeah.

-[Adrienne] Nice.

One day,

people will give soul food

the respect that it deserves.

That's actually the concept

that I'm elevating

for my impending restaurant,

cause Southern cuisine

is the only true

American cuisine.

I love it.

I think Chris and Carrie

are playing it safe on this one.

They're both making cornbread.

In the bottom?

In the bottom. That's you.

I've never made this before,

my puffs with the cherry jam,



but I love cooking duck.



One of my most favorite smells



is the roasted duck fat.

It is intoxicating.

My intuition tells me



that this is gonna work.

Sure, it's a small risk,

maybe a big risk,

but it keeps me inspired.

Profiteroles good?

-[Joe] All good.

-Sweet.

I don't know what a profiterole

is by definition,

because, I don't know,

I'm stuffing it with like a

foie cherry jam,

topping it with cheese.

So Joe,

what are you gonna call them?

I'm gonna call them puffs.

"Joe puffs." It's a great name.

I made a sass dough to start.

[laughs]

[Christopher]

I'm concerned.

At , feet,

the whole tray

of cornbread baked

in the minutes

that I put it in.

Up here, I'm going



past the -minute mark.

I'm going past

the -minute mark.

If it's gonna take

more than an hour,

I'm not gonna have enough time

on the clock.

I am gonna be totally

[bleep] with this.

At minutes in,

the cornbread

is not even done yet.

It is cooking,

but it's cooking slowly.

It's up. Very nice.

Beautiful.

The crumb and everything

still came out perfect.

This batch of cornbread

was way better than it was

back at , feet.

Even at , feet,

you can't stop me.

[chuckles]

-Look at that view.

-It's beautiful.

[Padma] Well,

I'm feeling the altitude.

-I hope the chefs

aren't feeling it too badly.

[Gail] I know.

Quite nice.

[Gail]

Not a bad place for dinner.

I don't do this every day, no.

[laughter]

They were practicing,

doing a walkthrough,

at , feet, right?

I was very impressed

with what they were doing.

I worked in the Alps,

in Courchevel,

and that's , feet.

Oh.

-Eighteen thousand feet!

-Yeah.

My God.

This is like my sour component.

-Mm-hm. [she chuckles]

-So, it's sweet and savory.

-[Carrie] It's tart!

-It's tart

to balance out my pepper jelly,

which is going to be really

sweet and spicy.

It kinda feels weird today



to step out of

what I've known as fine dining.

[Exhales]

I haven't cooked Southern food

in years.

Oh, yes!

Mamma mia, baby.

I think Art Smith would be



really happy with this dish.

But he'd probably

still yell at me.

-[Joseph] Hi, how you doing?

-Hi, Joe. How's it going?

Hi, Joe.

-[Joseph] Padma.

-[Padma] Thank you.

[Padma] Joe, tell us what

you made for us.

[Joseph]

Today, I did a pork loin



that I braised in buttermilk,



over a pea, sorrel,



and scallion puree,

a little pepper jam on top,

and my baked component

is the goat cheese

buttermilk drop biscuit.

And how was it making

the biscuits?

Did you encounter

any challenges?

[Joseph] Last night, they were

a little too dense.

I cut the flour a little bit,

and I was pretty happy

with how they came out today.

-Thank you, Joe.

-Thank you.

[Padma] How do you think Joe did

with the baking element?

I think the flavor's very nice.

I would've called it a crumble

rather than a biscuit.

The red pepper works quite well

with it,

and you do actually

get a nice texture.

That's what I liked

about Joe's dish, there's a lot

of different textures.

I like that the peas were raw.

-I do, too.

-I think it actually worked.

Joe's dish had a nice balance

of salty, sweet, sour, bitter.

I think Joe did a good job

with the low country

and sort of elevating it.

-And it was delicious.

-And it was. Yeah.

She's copying.

[laughter]

[Carrie] It was my idea!

-I invented cornbread!

-[laughing]

I don't call myself fine dining,

but we also do

chef's tasting menus,

at my restaurant,

So, I'm a little fine dining,



but I'm not stuffy fine dining.

I'm going to channel

my inner Liebrandt,

and make this beautiful dish,

and I'm gonna nail it.

Hello, everyone!

Thank you.

[Carrie] So, today,

we have wagyu ribeye,

I served it with spring



vegetable,



foie gras,



and a honey cornbread.

What happened

with the pie choice?

I thought a lot about it,

and I didn't think it's smart

to make Beef Wellington

for, like, the most famous

English chef ever.

[Padma] Thank you, Carrie.

You're welcome.

Thank you, everyone.

Carrie's dish doesn't have

a distinct point of view to me.

They're not integrated well.

The cornbread is sort of off

on the side by itself.

Just saying eat me

when you feel like it.

[Thomas] I actually like

Carrie's dish a lot.

I don't think it has

to have a theme,

I think it's spring vegetables

and wagyu.

Carrie ex*cuted

sthe baking element,

which was the most

challenging part,

extremely well.

I think if you just eat

the cornbread on its own,

she nailed it.

Having said that,

it would've been nice

to see a Beef Wellington.

[Joe]

I am filling the puffs



with a kombucha cherry jam.

The kombucha's going to bring

a really nice, uh,

fermented funkiness to the dish.

I think this will

be a creative edge,

and bring something that I think

no one else is doing.

Puffs are money!

I would really like to make it



to the finale,



I need to just keep taking



risks, taking chances.

It's one of those things, that

as soon as you get comfortable,

that's when you go packing.

-Hi, Joe.

-Hello.

[Joe]

So, I made duck



with spring peas



and a cherry jam.



I baked a cherry puff.

Kind of like a profiterole.

I didn't want to call it that,

because to be honest,

I don't know

what the actual definition

of a profiterole is.

-You never made a-- Just a--

-[Joe] No, I haven't.

Oh, interesting.

But you know, go big

or go home, I guess.

-[Gail] Thank you.

-[Joe] Thank you very much.

Duck was cooked very nicely.

-It was rendered perfectly.

-Perfect.

The The cherry "puff"

You could tell it's been

cooked at altitude.

-Very dry, very crunchy.

-Right.

Had it been

a better profiterole,

it would've started to feel

like duck and cherry pie

in a way that, I think,

would've been very effective.

Profiterole aside,

the rest of this plate

that Joe gave us,

I felt was exceptional.

It's one of my favorite dishes,

all season, really, from anyone.

This was very good.

[Adrienne]

I'm making vinegar pearls.

Is that from Paul's book?

[Adrienne]

No, uh,

Modernist Cuisine

.

I'm actually happier

with this dish

than I've been with

pretty much any dish

that I've done so far.

Nothing like a little

fresh bread.

Instead of doing a

pain de mie dough,

which didn't work

the first time,

I made a challah dough,

and it's great.

It feels amazing

to be cooking food

that when I put up the plate,

I am really happy with.

Fine dining,



that's the food I like.

And that's what

I want to execute.

And I don't know why I was

fighting it for so long.

[Padma] Thank you.

What did you make, Adrienne?

So, today, we have

a butter-poached lobster,

with mountain bread,

and champagne beurre blanc,

finished with caviar.

How was cooking

at this altitude for you?

Instead of going

with the pain de mie recipe,

I did closer to a challah dough.

So, mountain bread is a hybrid

between a challah

and pain de mie.

Yes, it's my ode to Telluride.

Beautiful.

Thank you so much, Adrienne.

Thank you very much.

Nice to meet you.

I really loved Adrienne's dish.

It is balanced,

there's a It's buttery.

But there's there is that acid.

I liked the fact

that she adapted the bread.

You know, Adrienne put together

a competent, well-done dish.

Is it exciting? Not really.

But that said,

it's a beautiful dish

that you would expect

in a fine dining restaurant.

[Christopher] Time to get down.

Back home, the quail it's in

and out of the fryer

within a minute and a half,

two minutes tops.

I remember Chef Wylie

told me that up here,

everything at , feet takes

a little bit longer to cook.

This might be the best dish

I've put out all season long.

If I can do a high-concept

cuisine

for both Wylie and Paul,

by showing them good technique

and great flavor,

then I've done my job.

Hi, Chris.

One for you.

[Padma]

Chris, tell us what you made.

[Christopher]

A crispy black pepper quail



corn pudding, the crisp



is a butternut squash,

bacon,

and the bread is a maple

and bacon cornbread.

And do you feel it came out

exactly the way you wanted?

I stand behind that %.

-Thank you, Chris.

-All right, thanks.

The dish itself,

it is delicious.

But frying

quail is such a delicate,

small little thing.

The batter that was what

he was looking forward

to get it crispy,

but the inside of the quail,

is still taking on heat.

-Mm-hm.

-So, that balance is off.

-The long and short of it

is that the quail is overcooked.

-Exactly.

You know, I didn't mind

the crispy batter.

It was definitely salty,

but I was getting a lot

of that black pepper,

which you wanted,

and I liked it.

We're kinda nit-picking,

but you know,

my issue with it is,

I don't know if this sort of

checks the box that

we were talking about.

But flavor-wise,

it's really good.

It was great to be cooking

with you again today.

The pleasure's all on this side

of the table, Joe Flamm.

My biggest concern

is if that pork dried out.

[Joseph]

I'm a little nervous



about my dish.



This is stiff competition.

I fought back for this spot,

and I earned it,

and I don't want this

to be a one-night stand.

I'm not ready to go home.

Paul's bad guy

in

The Matrix

outfit

like threw me off a little bit.

-I was like, "Oh,



this dude's here to k*ll us."

-[laughter]

I feel like he's gonna be

the only one

at Judges' Table

who's just gonna like

light us up for five hours.

-Oh, yeah.

-And then be like,

"I'm Top Chef, go home."

[laughter]

I think collectively,

this is the best food

we've had all season.

It's good to see

you guys starting to really

cook up to the potential

that you should be cooking to.

It's gonna be tough

to send someone home tonight

because these were all

good dishes.

But we did have

three favorites today.

Joe Flamm

Joe Sasto

And Adrienne.

Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-[Joe] Thank you.

Joe, there were so many elements

I loved in your dish,

It looked so focused,

it was plated so beautifully.

And I loved how you chose

to deconstruct that biscuit.

-Thank you.

-Was this something

that you would normally do

or this was an idea

purely for this challenge?

It was more using techniques

that I had learned

and flavors that I had

seen over the years.

I think you did a great job.

Thank you, chef.

Joe Sasto.

The cuisson on your duck

was beautiful.

The skin was perfect,

rendered just right,

and with regards

to your cherry puff,

I understand it's altitude,

I would've liked to have seen

some whole cherries.

But that aside,

the dish as a whole,

I very much enjoyed.

Thank you.

The first thing that struck me

was how nicely-cooked

the duck was.

And then I just kept

discovering more things

-about the plate that I liked.

-Thank you, Chef.

Adrienne, I did really like

the way you took

sort of a classic combination

of lobster, champagne,

and caviar,

and bring sort of old friends

together in a new way.

The agar pearls,

-certainly a clever idea

that I'm familiar with.

-Yeah.

-You should be very pleased.

-Thank you very much.

Since the last time I saw you,

it felt like you'd undergone

a bit of a transformation.

The bread was a little dry,

but because it was

so covered in butter,

and then the lobster

on top, it really did work.

Thank you so much.

Paul, as our guest judge,

please tell us who won

this challenge today.

The winner was the chef

that gave us the clear

vision of high-level cuisine

and high-altitude baking.

And the chef that gave us

the most delicious dish

of the day

Is Joe Sasto.

[exhales]

-Nice, Joe.

-Nice job, buddy.

Congratulations, Joe.

I'm really excited

that it all worked out.

-So are we.

-[laughter]

With this breathtaking view



behind all the judges,



to serve them a winning dish

doing something crazy

as baking at , feet,

I mean, I'm at the highest point

I've been in my

whole career, literally.

You guys can step to the side.

Carrie and Chris,

please step forward.

How was today for you, Chris?

Today's dish was pretty much

my favorite.

One of the most delicious things

I ate all day today

-was your corn pudding.

-Thank you.

I enjoyed all your flavors,

very much so.

The bacon and the maple

were delicious.

I think your cornbread

was absolutely fantastic.

Thanks.

But the refinement of the dish,

I think, needed a little work.

The more delicate pieces

of the plate got a little lost.

Carrie, what was the concept

of your dish?

Well, I had this wagyu ribeye,

you know, and I wanted

to do spring vegetable,

I also had some foie gras,

so that's where that came in,

and then to bake

the cornbread at altitude.

The meat was beautifully cooked,

really well seasoned.

I thought was really moist

and quite good.

And I thought

the vegetable cookery

was nice as well.

It's just we're struggling with

how do you make

that more interesting

than just a collection

of ingredients on a plate?

It was very delicious,

but it wasn't as clear to me

what were your your vision was.

I really did enjoy

the dish very much,

and I'd be very, very happy

to eat that anytime.

Thank you, chef.

I don't think we've ever

been this complimentary

on dishes that have been

on the bottom before.

It says a lot about where

you guys are right now.

Thank you.

It's kind of bittersweet today,

because the food across the

board was as delicious

as this view is beautiful.

And for the first time

this season,

I feel like we just

had to nitpick.

If it's me, it's not a loss.

-Those were great compliments.

-[Adrienne] Yeah.

[Christopher]

Whatever happens, man,

I'm super proud of all y'all.

The journey, the grub

that you put on the plate today,

everything.

I guess for me it comes down

to one chef who sort of

took a crack

at the fine dining thing,

-sort of swung

and maybe missed,

-Mm-hm.

in Chris' case

Versus Carrie, who just

didn't really wanna

take a chance,

-you know?

-Right. I mean yesterday,

she had

the Baked Wellington idea,

it looked like

she was really planning

to do something

out of her comfort zone.

That said, everything she did

was so good,

and so well-ex*cuted.

Looking at the baking item,

I don't know if

Chris' baked item

was that much better

than Carrie's.

But I still think the quail

was over-cured.

His dish was far more clunky

-from a pure

cooking standpoint.

-Yeah.

But I feel like

he actually tried to take risks.

The difference between the two

is the technical ability

of what Carrie did



was far more proficient,

but again, too safe.

Yeah, this is a tough one.

You know, chefs,

coming up here at , feet

is kind of like a metaphor,

really, for what we do

day in day out,

every day we reach

as high as we can.

And once you get there,

then you push yourself

to go a little further.

We need to always

challenge ourselves,

to take what we do

to the next level.

Unfortunately, for one of you,

you just fell

a little bit short today.

Chris, please pack your knives

and go.

Chris, the dish was really,

really flavorful,

but there were a few

technical mistakes.

-Sure.

-It was great to see you cook

all this season.

I had a great time.

[exhales]

Great job, man.

Great job.

[Christopher]

It's bittersweet.

To have made it this far

is much more than



I ever expected.

-See you in Brooklyn.

-Thank you.

-[Thomas] Thanks.

-All right.

[Christopher]

One of my goals in life



was to be on

Top Chef.

The prize for me

was the connections that I made

with these other friends,



the journey that I made



from where I was five years ago



to now, and be clean,

and then being able to make it

to the final five.

To me, that's huge.



[Padma]

Next, on

Top Chef

This challenge is really

gonna take some ba*ls.

[Padma] Rocky Mountain oysters!

-Whoo!

-I hope no one's

allergic to nuts.

I've never had these before.

And they also taste like ba*ls.

Welcome to

the Alta Lakes Observatory.

Why don't you go in the cabin

and explore?

What's on the other

side of this door,

like, four grizzly bears

that we have to fight

for our next challenge?

-Wow.

-[laughter]

[Adrienne] Oh, God.

This is the fastest

I've ever done roux.

There is no such thing

as a -minute gumbo.

That does not exist.

[Joe]

My mom was diagnosed



with late stages



of lung cancer.

This is gonna be

a really hard one to cook.

This challenge brought out

the best in all of them.