15x12 - Sunday Supper

[bunniefuu]

[suspenseful music]

[Joe]

Last week,



we were cooking



high-concept cuisine

for Wylie Dufresne

and Paul Liebrandt

at , feet.

Cooking at altitude is no joke.

Everything from boiling water

to baking

is gonna be

a lot more difficult.

♪ ♪

That might have been

the hardest one yet.

The winner

is Joe Sasto.

Whew.

-Nice, Joe.

-Nice job, buddy.

[Joe]

Of all the people



to be cooking for,

for them to think

I had the best dish that day--

it was awesome.

Like, ah, let me be sad

for, like, five minutes,

and then let's be

really [bleep] excited

we made the top four.

Chris, please pack

your knives and go.

[Carrie]

To be on the bottom



is always awful,



but to be on the bottom



with my good friend Chris

is double awful.

However, I never thought



in a million years



I would make it this far.

[laughs] I hoped,

but I didn't think,

you know what I mean?

The difference there.

I'm just glad I'm not

on the bottom anymore.

-Like, are you kidding me?

-[bleep].

I feel like I've gotten

my [bleep] together

since the governor's mansion.

I've started getting

better and better,

but so has Sasto.

He's very dangerous.

Final four, again!

-Yes.

-Again!

-Hey, new final four.

-Yay! New final four.

[Padma]

Only 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,



$, furnished



by San Pellegrino,

and the coveted title

of Top Chef.

[light rock music]

[rustic music]

[Carrie]

What are we gonna do today?

Ride an elk through a pasture.

We did that yesterday.

We're doing the elk yesterday?

-You weren't there?

-I missed that part.

Feels really good to have

gone through the first

elimination

being on the top four.

I feel like this is all time--

I wasn't even

supposed to be here,

like I was eliminated.

What if we get to make, like,

a Quickfire lunch for Oprah?

Why would we make

a Quickfire lunch for Oprah?

-'Cause she lives here.

-[Carrie] She lives here.

Well, she has, like, houses.

[Joseph]

Everybody wants



to win

Top Chef.



That's why we're all here.



But, for me, a huge part of it

was just the adventure.

I used to work for Art Smith,

who's Oprah's personal chef.

We went on the show



and he was making biscuits,

and she was like,

"Everybody gets a biscuit!"

And, like,

everybody goes [bleep].

We, like, all ran out,

and gave, like,

everybody biscuits.

[Joseph]

I grew up



on the South Side of Chicago.



Really just kind of



blue-collar neighborhood.



I want to make it to the end



to experience



the whole adventure



and discovery that is

Top Chef.

It tells you so much

about yourself.

-So, you know Oprah?

-Yeah, we're homies.

[Carrie] Dude!

You're, like,

the most famous person I know.

Probably.

[laughs]

[ambient music]

What adventure awaits us today?

What if we're going

golfing today?

Or a downhill

mountain bike ride?

That would be extreme.

[intrepid music]

♪ ♪

What's up, Voltaggios?

[Padma] Chefs,

I'd like to welcome you

to the historic

Aldasoro family ranch,

here, in the breathtaking

Rocky Mountains of Telluride.

I'm sure you know these guys.

-Yep.

-Of course.

You can't mistake these guys,

the Voltaggio brothers.

Welcome back, guys.

-Thank you.

-[Joe] Hi, chefs.

-How are you?

-Good morning.

They have been in my shoes

and Michael has won

Top Chef.



Bryan has done

Top Chef Masters.

These two are a force

to be reckoned with.

Are you guys ready to find out

what your next

Quickfire Challenge will be?

-Yep.

-Yep.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

There's a clear hint here,

if you take a look around

at all of these Rocky Mountains.

This challenge is really

gonna take some ba*ls.

♪ ♪

A Colorado classic.

♪ ♪

-Whoo!

-Whoo.

Rocky Mountain oysters.

[laughter]

Great. Who doesn't like

bull's testicles? [laughs]

Hope no one's allergic to nuts.

-[laughter]

-Hey-o!

Have any of you

worked with these before?

-No.

-Yeah.

I prepared them in anticipation

for this challenge.

Good for you.

What about you, Joe?

I worked with a chef

in Florence,

and this was

one of his specialties.

I know it seems

a little novelty,

but eating stuff like this

dates back to Roman times,

and these things are actually

still eaten all over the world.

I'm excited to try it,

but, um, also

a little squeamish.

You didn't want to do it

when there were of us.

-Yeah.

-[Padma] For your

Quickfire Challenge,

you'll have minutes

to create a mouthwatering dish

with Rocky Mountain oysters.

And since good things

always come in pairs

[laughs]

We want you guys to prepare

Rocky Mountain oysters two ways.

The winner of this Quickfire

will receive an advantage

in the elimination challenge.

Good luck, chefs.

Your minutes

starts now.

[rapid dance music]

♪ ♪

[Joseph]

Using an ingredient like this--

it's tough, and honestly,

this is the one challenge

where I'm happier

to be cooking than judging.

♪ ♪

The flavor is somewhere

in between a gland and a brain,

with a little bit more

iron to it.

Joe, where are you going?

Think I'm gonna do 'em spicy,

fried over beans.

[Joseph]

It's a play-off of what



Chef Luca made me



at his restaurant.

It's ball and white bean puree

with a fried



Rocky Mountain oyster,



and then an amatriciana sauce.

When I worked

for Stephanie Izard,

she one time decided

she wanted to do testicles,

and made us try

about different kinds.

-Goat testicles

are the worst ones.

-[Adrienne] Ugh.

They remind me a bit

of cod sperm sacs

when they're in season,

which, in Korean restaurants,



usually get



kind of broken down

and stirred into a broth

to finish it.

So I'm making ball drop soup

with fried

Rocky Mountain oysters

and Rocky Mountain



oyster dashi.

Gotta go ba*ls-out, right?

God, I gotta stop

with the ball jokes.

[Padma] minutes!

[bass guitar music]

[Joseph] What are you thinking?

[Carrie] I think I'm gonna

do one tempura fried,

and the other a savory pate,

so more like a chicken liver.

A Rocky Mountain oyster



is kind of chewy,

kind of soft, kind of wet.

Their texture



is what's off-putting.

There's no fat in them.

They could be tough as [bleep].

So I'm changing the texture

by, one, grinding it

-[Joseph] Oh, h*!

-[laughter]

[Carrie] Oi!

It's gonna be great. [laughs]

[Carrie]

And then,



for the fried,



I'm gonna cut it



into little strips



and bread them,



like a clam strip,

so you don't have to have

such a big bite.

♪ ♪

Whoo! Beans on the loose.

[energetic rock music]

[Joe] What are you making, Joe?

I'm doing fried

Rocky Mountain oysters

with a bean and ball puree.

-Joe, why are you copying me?

-What are you making?

Fried Rocky Mountain oysters

with a bean and ball puree.

-[laughs]

-Damn it!

[Joe]

I have never



had these before.



I don't know exactly



what they're gonna taste like,

but I liken them much

to sweetbreads.

I've worked with



sweetbreads a lot.



They just have a



pretty wide range of uses,

and once you try them

and they're prepared correctly,

they're really good.

♪ ♪

Chefs, you have

five minutes left.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[Joseph]

I try one of them,



and it's just--

they are tough.

These ingredients,



they're really hard



to work with,



especially in such



a short time.



I'm trying to get them tender.

This is a really

difficult challenge

in minutes.

Ain't easy.

[Joe]

I haven't won



a Quickfire Challenge yet.

You know, it'd be nice

to finally take home a win

and get an advantage,

but Carrie's here.

Maybe we'll, uh,

see another third version

of, uh, the fancy toast.

♪ ♪

Ooh.

I've never made this pate.

I'm making it up as I go.

I mean,

it tastes like testicles.

I wouldn't, like,

spread it on toast or anything.

♪ ♪

-[bell clanging]

-Time's up.

Hands up. Utensils down, please.

Nice.

-[Padma] Hi, Joe.

-All right,

this is a first for me.

What did you make for us today?

I did a, uh, cornflake-breaded

Rocky Mountain oyster

and then a, uh,



white bean puree

with some brown butter-braised

Rocky Mountain oysters

underneath.

I've worked a lot

with sweetbreads,

so I kind of treated it

the same way.

-You want more?

-Sure.

-What did you use

in the breading?

-Cornflakes.

I rubbed them with mustard

and then I finished

the braised pieces

with a little bit of

macadamia nut.

-Thank you, Joe.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-Hi.

-Hi, Adrienne.

Today, we have

Rocky Mountain dashi.

The Rocky Mountain oysters

are thinly sliced, breaded,



and fried,

and then stirred into

the dashi broth,

finished with a little bit

of chili oil.

How'd you go about

putting the dashi together?

I have a little beef stock,

kombu, and bonito,

with shallot garlic Lao Gan Ma

and the oil from that

on the end.

Very clever. Thank you.

Thank you.

Chefs, how we doing?

-Pleasure.

-I made today--

fried the Rocky Mountain



oysters



in half AP, half rice flour,

and then I seared them off

in a pan really hard,

caramelized them,

and then pureed

into the puree on the bottom.

Whoa.

And then on top,

I did a amatriciana.

So, how'd you go about

doing the frying process?

Did you cook them first, or

I didn't cook 'em at all

before frying 'em.

Thanks, Joe.

-[Padma] Hi, Carrie.

-Hi, everybody.

Today, I made for you

Rocky Mountain oysters,

two ways.

On the bottom



is a pate, similar to



a chicken liver mousse.



I caramelized them hard,



pushed them through



a tamis, shallot, garlic.

And then the Rocky Mountain

oysters on top

are breaded and fried.

-Did you fry yours

from raw as well?

-Uh-huh.

I pushed these through

the meat grinder

to get the puree.

Yeah, we saw you

go on the grinder.

We thought you were gonna

make meatballs out of that.

Oh. That's a good idea.

Can I have a redo?

-No.

-[laughs]

Thank you.

[desolate music]

Michael and Bryan,

how do you think our chefs did

with this Quickfire Challenge?

It's a very difficult challenge.

I think the chefs, overall,

did a pretty good job.

I mean, any time you're working

with an ingredient like that,

it's a challenge to cook it.

So you need to do

a little bit more

to make it appetizing.

[Padma] Who had one of

our least favorite dishes?

Joe Flamm.

You know, Joe, your dish

I love the intention,

but there's a slight failure

in a fried one.

You hammered that protein,

and there's hardly

anywhere to go from there.

Carrie, the puree

on the bottom--

it was livery,

and I know that you were going

for, like, that pate

sort of feel.

The raw vegetables,

I mean, you know,

the intent there to create

a balance was really good.

I just think if it was

a little bit more balanced,

it might have been

more successful.

And now for some good news.

Adrienne, I thought your ability

to build so much flavor

in that broth, that dashi,

in the amount of time

that you had was

was really, really good.

You could also actually taste

the Rocky Mountain

oyster in there,

and I didn't mind that.

I actually thought the broth

had a good depth of flavor.

Thank you.

Joe, I thought your dish

was really well-ex*cuted.

I personally liked

the fried one over the top.

It was nice and crisp.

And the puree

was really great, too.

It created a

visually a stunning dish.

Thank you, chef.

The chef who won

really treated the protein

with the utmost respect,

elevated it,

gave us a beautiful plate,

and that chef is

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music]

The chef who won

really treated the protein

with the utmost respect,

elevated it,

gave us a beautiful plate,

and that chef is

♪ ♪

Joe Sasto.

[calm rustic music]

-[Padma] Congratulations.

-Thank you.

You've just won an advantage

in the next

elimination challenge.

Works for me.

Whoo. That's awesome.

First Quickfire win.

It's a good day.

But I've gotta watch my back.

Adrienne's coming for me.



I can just tell



by the judges' comments



that she's right there



behind me.

Who's ready for the next

elimination challenge?

-Let's do it.

-Let's do it.

[dramatic music]

Being here

in beautiful Telluride,

we thought you'd find

inspiration

up here in the mountains

for your next challenge.

So buckle up, because

it's going to be quite the ride.

Hop into your BMW Xs

and follow us, please.

[contemplative rock music]

♪ ♪

[soft dramatic music]

[Carrie]

What are we gonna do about Sasto

and his constant winning?

Sasto's on a roll.

We could break his fingers

or something.

[both laugh]

♪ ♪

[Adrienne]

Wonder where we're going.

♪ ♪

The suspense is k*lling me.

I'm just along for the ride.

♪ ♪

All right.

National Forest access.

This is good.

[electronic dance music]

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

Chefs, welcome to

The Observatory at Alta Lakes.

Why don't you go in the cabin

and explore?

[Joseph]

What's on



the other side of this door?

Like, four grizzly bears

that we have to fight

for our next challenge?

Hey, hey.

Adi!

-Wow.

-[laughter]

Look at this.

-Hey. [kisses]

-Oh, boy.

Grandma. [laughs]

I missed you.

-Oh, my God!

-[laughing]

It's me. It's your mama.

I didn't feel homesick at all

until I saw my mother.

I love you.

[laughs]

I can't believe you're here.

Yes, I'm here.

Seeing my grandma here--

you know, it's like

you felt like your head's

playing tricks on you.

It was amazing.

So good to see you.

I missed you.

So good to see you.

I missed you too.

Oh.

Hi!

[Carrie]

My mom lives in Arkansas.



I haven't seen her



in so long--

months-- and to see her there

I was not prepared



for that one.

We thought you guys

might be feeling

a little homesick at this point

in the competition,

so we thought we'd bring in

a little reinforcements for you,

and I think they've all

prepared a meal for us.

[laughs]

-That is correct.

-It smells great.

-I thought you were

gonna help me cook.

Sorry, Grandma.

Didn't mean to put you to work.

Ooh, that looks yummy.

[Joe] Oh, man.

[Carrie] What did your dad make?

What is that?

-Probably pig's feet.

-I think I see it.

[Joe] That's his jam.

Watch your back, Joe.

Here we go. Here we go.

[Joe] Holy moly.

-Is that you?

-That's me.

-You made lasagna, too?

-[laughter]

It's a lot of food.

Look at that.

Good job, guys.

[laughter]

-Remember our potluck?

-Yeah.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

We're really thankful

you took the time

to cook all this.

It looks amazing.

What do we have here?

It's, uh, gumbo.

Her dad's from the South,

so we did some southern cooking.

Uh, that's my grandma's.

What is it, Grandma?

-It's, uh, rigatoni

and meatballs.

-Mm-hm.

It's a dish we have

at every party, every gathering,

and even our picnics



we bring it.

So I thought

it'd remind Joe of home.

-[laughs]

-[Padma] Perfect.

And Joe?

Consists of pig skin,

pig's feet, neck bones,

and lasagna to feast on.

This is our traditional



Christmas, Thanksgiving meal.

-And Carrie, what's down there?

-We have, uh, beef stroganoff.

[Padma] Carrie, did you grow up

eating that all the time

-Oh, yeah.

-[Padma] Or was there

a special occasion?

Every week?

[laughter]

♪ ♪

[Padma] Okay, well,

I'd like to propose a toast.

To food and family. Hear, hear.

-[all] Cheers.

-Cheers.

[indistinct chatter]

♪ ♪

It's good stuff, Joe.

[Joe Jr.]

That's a huge compliment.

♪ ♪

[Padma]

What was Joe like as a kid?

Was he interested in food

right from an very young age?

No, I didn't notice that

so much, but he ate it.

-He loved food.

-[laughter]

When I was around or ,

my grandfather had a stroke,

and I started spending

a lot more time with him,

kind of helping my grandmother



take care of him.



Came to that point



where we started cooking



a lot more together.



I wanted to learn



the traditions.



I wanted to learn the recipes.

Joe Sasto,

you know a little thing

about pasta, don't you?

-[laughs]

-I do. I think you've had

a fair share of my pasta

this this season.

But now I see where you get it.

-Now you see

where I get it from.

-Yeah.

What was he like as a child?

He was a perfect child.

He was our first child.

And he was always



there to help.

He started cooking

in the kitchen with his mom,

like, I guess,

about five years old.

Always-- Once Mom started to

[clears throat]

[somber music]

It's hard not having her here.

She passed away from cancer

-I'm sorry.

-about seven years ago,

and, I mean, growing up,

cooking was always with her,

and eating meals like this.

Being here with

everyone else's moms

-Kinda tough.

-Definitely.

[Joe]

We're surrounded by moms,

and, uh,

we don't have ours anymore.

And, uh, I know

it's difficult for him

just as it is for me.

It kind of brings back

all those emotions of of loss.

Well, I'm sure your mom

would be very proud of you

and very happy

to see your performance so far.

Both of you.

[laughter]

What was Adrienne like

when she was growing up?

I mean, she was literally

always in the kitchen.

I didn't want her to go



into the restaurant business,

-'cause I had done it

my whole life.

-[Padma] Mm-hmm.

And every time I'd bring her

to the restaurant,

she'd wind up

in the back of the house,

and she'd be with the chefs and

"My God, I'm not gonna

be able to do this.

This kid's gonna go into it."

[laughter]

[Adrienne]

My mother



was the front of the house.

She was a waiter and a host

and then worked her way up

to a restaurant manager.

So I was pretty much raised

in the non-smoking section

of a restaurant.

And it's definitely where

I felt most at home,

so I kind of gravitated

to that environment.

She's still doing it,

loving every minute of it.

-So you proved me wrong, kid.

-I did.

-[Padma] What was Carrie like?

-She was athletic.

She was quite a skier.

She's a great skier.

She kept right up

with all of her boyfriends.

How many boyfriends

did she have?

-[laughs]

-Be nice.

[laughter]

Here, have some more wine, Mom.

[laughter]

As you guys may have guessed,

your loved ones didn't come here

to sl*ve away in the kitchen.

This is the start

of your elimination challenge.

[dramatic music]

[Padma] To make it

to the final challenges

in Aspen,

we want you to take inspiration

from the dish that your

family member made today

and create

your own version of it.

Take it to the next level.

Show us where you've come from

with this dish,

but also where you are now

in your own evolution.

Usually, the bar's raised high

by the other competitors

in the competition.

I think the bar has been

raised high

by your parents and grandparents

that are sitting at the table

right now.

Tomorrow, you'll have

an hour and a half

to prep and cook

at South Oak

before service begins.

♪ ♪

No pressure.

-No.

-None.

[laughs]

Joe, because you won

the Quickfire Challenge,

you'll get an extra minutes

of prep time.

-Whew.

-Lucky.

[Padma] So you'll have two hours

for your dish.

An hour and a half

is quite the time crunch

to get any of these dishes done.

That extra minutes,



it's gonna be real sweet.

Tomorrow, you'll serve

all the judges

and all your loved ones.

-[laughter]

-Nice.

There is no such thing

as a -minute gumbo.

Gumbo should be on the stove



for, like, hours.

Mom, you couldn't have made

a cookie?

[dramatic music]

[upbeat electronic music]

-[Padma] Take care.

-[Joseph] Thank you, chefs.

See you tomorrow.

[Adrienne]

Let's get that wine down here.

Grandma, did you meet Adrienne?

-Hi.

-Fellow South Sider.

-Yes.

-nd and Dorchester.

[Carrie]

Everyone's family



is so cute.

I'm really excited

for tomorrow's cook,

and I'm really excited

to show my mom

a new version

of a dish that we've eaten

thousands of times.

I can't believe you're here!

Were you so excited to come out?

-Yes. I was shaking. [laughs]

-I love it.

[Carrie]

The hardest thing



of this challenge is the story.

This dish is very personal.

Beef stroganoff is the dish



that my dad and I made a lot,



and a big part of why I'm here



is to make life better



for my dad.



He has to live



in assisted living,



'cause he needs help

and to be able to make him

more comfortable

and get him the care he needs

is a big motivation for me.

I'm gonna have some major PTSD

when I'm outta here.

[both laugh]

[Joseph]

So, I'm happy



I get to cook for you tomorrow.

-You don't have to cook again.

-I know,

but I feel bad that you

have to--

I mean, there's not much with

what you can do with meatballs.

No, there's a ton

I can do with that.

That's perfect.

My grandmother's eaten

at every single restaurant

I've ever worked at.

You know, she's given me



so much of her over the years.



For me to be able to give her



a little piece of me back--

win, lose, or draw,

I mean, that's that's it.

[Mary]

Your competition-- I mean,

they're class-act people.

-[Joseph] Yeah.

-[softly] But you're gonna win.

-[laughs]

-Thanks, Grandma.

Has everything come out

from your brain to the table

-the way you thought?

-Not always.

The beginning was was a mess.

-You know your flavors.

-I know my flavors.

You don't want to execute

somebody else's.

-Yeah.

-I mean, you've been in

everybody else's kitchen

but your own.

Yeah, that's true.

So do you. Do your flavors.

Show 'em what you can do.

-Hell yeah.

-And go for it.

I mean, what can you lose

at this point?

-Take a risk.

-Yeah.

[Adrienne]

Don't let the smile fool you.



She will tell you



what's going on



the only way a mom could do.

She's like,

"Get your [bleep] together."

Show who you are.

Show-- Show 'em

Adrienne Cheatham.

[Adrienne]

I wish she had stepped in,



magically, off of a cloud

and just, like, slapped me

across the face

with those comments

a few weeks ago.

Now I have quite

the high expectations to fill

with this lasagna

and pig's feet.

[Joe Jr.] I know God's with you.

Your mom is with you.

Yeah, she's definitely

been with me

throughout the whole

competition.

-Proud of you, son.

-Absolutely.

So proud of you.

-I love you.

-I love you too.

-Love you, kiddo.

-Love you, Mommy.

Oh, my baby girl.

-Thanks, Grandma.

-Don't worry--

You know, if you put

good things together,

-it's gotta be good.

-Yeah, I like that.

I like that a lot.

[upbeat music]

My God, that was awesome.

That was such a trip!

Mom, what are you doing here?

-[Carrie laughs]

-[Joseph] Your mom's so sweet.

My mom's like, "Who were

the two boys with the tattoos?"

[laughs]

[exhales deeply]

What the hell am I gonna do?

This challenge

is gonna be tough.

The lasagna



and pig's feet, gravy,

is always going to remind me

of my mom.

♪ ♪

Holidays, special occasions--



whatever it was,

that was always on the table.

-It's hard, being there

with everybody and their moms.

-Mm-hmm.

This is gonna be

a really hard one to cook.

[voice breaking]

I mean, 'cause this dish



represents so much,



and to recreate it as my own



just seems like

something that, like,

shouldn't be done.

[exhales deeply]

♪ ♪

[energetic percussive music]

♪ ♪

[Adrienne]

I've made my gumbo



with my mother several times.

My mom's been working

on this dish for

my

entire life,

and she's progressed it

and changed it.

I'm gonna show her



another change to it,



but not in flavor.

I don't want to compromise that.

Can I get, uh, two pounds

of the wild shrimp?

It actually smells okay.

I really want to elevate

my beef stroganoff

by using a game meat.

Two buffalo, one Kobe.

I cook with game meat often.



My dad's a hunter.



Buffalo's gonna represent



my dad

and his love for wild game.

Thank you very much.

I want this to be

the story of me and my family

in one perfect bite.

- minutes!

-[Joe] minutes left.

- minutes!

- minutes! Whee!

-[Carrie] minutes!

- minutes!

Does anybody know

what time we have?

[chuckles]

I'm going back and forth

in my head

over how I could do this.

I know I can't make lasagna,

because that's my mom's.

But thinking about it,

the pigskin roulade

that my dad had made

made me think of a rolled pasta



called a rotolo

with all the flavors

of the lasagna

and the pig's feet.

If you're a baby in my family,

before you have teeth,

you eat meatballs.

-[laughs]

-[Joesph]

My grandmother's dish

was meatballs with rigatoni

and tomato sauce.

My grandma said, "Stay cool,

and just cook good food."

I'm doing stuffed agnolotti

with a meatball filling

and pomodoro sauce.



I don't want to make a dish



that my grandmother



doesn't get.

I want to take the flavors

that she showed me

and use it with some technique



that I've picked up



along my way

to create a beautiful dish.

♪ ♪

[gentle music]

[Adrienne]

That was intense.



-[Carrie]

I am so drained.



-[Adrienne]

I'm emotionally



drained.

Oh, man, my mom

kicked my a*s today.

When I told her I had

gotten comments

for holding back

on seasoning and spice,

she was like,

"What are you doing that for?

Like, you've been cooking

other people's food,

and you finally have

the opportunity to do your food.

What is wrong with you?"

I was like, "Thanks, Mom."

I-- You know, I needed that.

[Carrie] Yeah.

-[Joseph] You good?

-[Joe] I'm good.

-[somber music]

-[Joe sighs]

To go home tomorrow,

I feel like,

would be the worst of all

to go home.

It's gonna be

a really, really tough,

like, emotional day tomorrow.

♪ ♪

[Joe]

I was .

My summer back

from freshman year at college,

my mom had a cold



that wouldn't go away.



Went to the doctor eventually



to get it checked,

and found out it was

late stages of lung cancer.

And then two months

exactly to the day

she was diagnosed,

she passed away.

♪ ♪

[sniffles, breathes deeply]

♪ ♪

She was the best.

I don't know about tomorrow.

I'm gonna get in the kitchen

[sniffles]

and I know she's

gonna be watching over me.

♪ ♪

And I'm gonna make her proud.

[energetic rock music]

♪ ♪

I won the extra minutes

in the Quickfire.

With only an hour and a half



cook time,



those mean everything.



I'm gonna get



everything going,



so by the time everyone else



comes in the kitchen,

I am already cruising.

Hey-o!

So, the spirit

of the original dish

is really in that gravy.

It's about layering flavors,



getting all the meat seared,



the vegetables roasted.

And then I get working

on my pasta dough.

It's my favorite thing

to do in the world.

It's an art form,

and I take a lot of pride in it.

-Hello, chefs.

-Hi.

-Nice to meet you, chef.

-Hi.

My name is Eliza Gavin.

I was on

Top Chef,

season , in Seattle.

I'm gonna let you

cook in my restaurant today,

South Oak,

and have a great time.

-[all] Thank you.

-You're gonna k*ll it.

-Ooh!

-Coming in, Sasto!

[Adrienne]

Where the hell is he? Sasto!

Your minutes are up, bud.

[Joseph] Coming in hot, baby!

How you doing?

-[Carrie] Hi, Joe!

-Carrie!

It was t*rture,

waiting minutes

while Joe gets a head start.

I'm making

buffalo stroganoff raviolo.

I need to get my pasta rested.

I have to roll it out

and then I need to stuff them.

I would give anything

for that extra minutes

right now.

[soft dramatic music]

[Adrienne]

Oh, God, this is the fastest

I've ever done roux.

It still has, like,

ten stages to go, though.

What would your mom

say about that?

Oh, she's say, "Get it done."

My mom's gumbo

has got this deep roux

that creates such

a beautiful flavor.

It's hard to elevate that

without losing the identity

of the dish.

That's the roughest-cut

mirepoix I've ever done.

I want to pull apart

all the things

that make gumbo what it is

and cook those all



individually,



try to let those flavors



stand out.



I want the shrimp to have



that nice pop,



the king crab to be



soft and sweet



from being poached in butter.

That's how I'm gonna

elevate it in minutes.

minutes.

[energetic rock music]

My grandma--

she's my toughest critic.

If I make something

she doesn't like,

she'll just pull no punches.

She'll be like, "Yeah,

I didn't really like that."

[Joseph]

I'm juicing tomatoes,



and then I'm taking that pulp,



cooking it down till I have

this super concentrated

pomodoro paste.

Let's go, big boy.

The juice from the tomatoes--

I'm gonna use that

as my pasta water.

That's gonna be



what I cook my agnolottis in,

but it's also gonna be

the base for my pan sauce.

Carrie, how you doing, bud?

You all right?

[Carrie] Come on, please.

[soft groan]

[Carrie]

The pasta dough



that I made is dry.

[bleep] this basement.

This is not a fun cook for me.

[Joseph]

You a little worried about time?

-[Carrie] Yeah.

-[Joseph] Yeah, me too.

It's hard to just

make good beef stroganoff,

let alone do it elevated.



I haven't seen



Carrie this flustered



the whole competition.

But, you know, she always

finds a way to pull it off.

Why? Why? For [bleep] sake, why?

Why? Why?

[calm electronic music]

[laughter]

-[Padma] Thank you.

-[indistinct conversation]

♪ ♪

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello, everybody.

-How you doing?

It's wonderful to have you

as part of this challenge.

I heard you guys

really worked hard yesterday.

It was our pleasure.

I got to meet three nice people.

-It was fun.

-Is there an Italian word

for the name for that dish?

The pig's foot?

Yeah, Dad's dish.

[laughter]

[rock music]

[Joe] Coming out.

Here we go. Moment of truth.

-[Adrienne] Behind.

-[Joe] All right.

I really want that crispy edge

that you find on lasagnas--

that's the best part,



after all.



But, uh, the rotolos



are not going at a speed

that I was hoping for

in the oven.

♪ ♪

Desperate times



call for desperate measures.

-You caramelizing the top?

-Yep.

I grew up in the kitchen

with my mom.

The reason I'm a chef



is because of her,



and I don't wanna go home



on a dish that's this personal.

-How's that look?

-[alarm beeping]

[Joseph] Looking great, chef.

♪ ♪

-Hi, Joe.

-Hello, Padma.

-What did you make?

-The original dish was a lasagna

with a pig foot gravy.

That was a dish, originally,

my mom used to make,

so this is very near and dear

to my heart.

I took



all of the pig skin, feet,



I braised that with chicken,



and then I made a rotolo



with some mushroom



and Swiss chard.

When I saw the spiral

of the pig skin

that you presented yesterday,

that kind of gave me

the idea for this.

I think we have

a new lasagna dish

for the holidays.

-Oh, good.

-[laughter]

Thank you, Joe.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Yeah, I think Joe has

completely captured

the spirit of the challenge,

you know?

This was something

that was inspired

by what his mom made,

a little more artsy,

a little more chef-y,

but still, you close your eyes

and taste it,

and you know exactly

what it's supposed to be.

[Thomas] It's a modern version,

but it didn't lose its soul.

The basis is there.

The flavor's there.

-There's a connection.

-Yeah.

This had every component

of lasagna.

You know, that's what

I really liked about it.

I'm curious, Joe.

When you saw that,

having served us yesterday,

presented that way,

what was the first thing

that you thought

when you saw it?

Is this gonna be good?

[laughter]

And it was excellent.

♪ ♪

[Adrienne] One minute,

seconds.

Raviolos coming along?

They're not perfect,

unfortunately, but they're good.

I hope my mom's impressed

with what she sees.

The one dish that she gets



to taste on

Top Chef

has to be freaking awesome.

♪ ♪

Hi, Carrie. Oh, hi!

[Carrie]

So, this is a beef stroganoff,

if you will.

I turned it into a raviolo.

Inside is a buffalo sausage



and mushroom duxelle.



It is served over



an herbed creme fraiche



and caramelized onion.

All the ingredients in this dish

represent a piece of me.

The buffalo's from my father.

He was a hunter.

He brought home game.

The mushroom duxelle

are for my sisters,

who live in the Northwest.

And then there's a little bit

of egg yolk on top.

That's meant to run down,

and that's pretty much

what happened

to my heart yesterday

-when I saw my mom

at that cabin. [laughs]

-Oh!

-[Mary] Delicious.

-Thank you, Grandma Mary.

I wasn't prepared to like it.

[laughter]

[Padma]

Barbara, what do you think?

I love this dish,

and Carrie can cook it

every Sunday.

-That would be

just fine with me.

-[laughter]

-Thank you, Carrie.

-You're welcome.

Thanks, everybody.

It's a nice little touch

of the egg on top.

Brings back in the egg noodle,

-which I think is, you know

-Yes.

-really, really smart.

-[Thomas] Yeah, right, right.

I love it. I mean, stroganoff's

something near and dear to me.

It's one of the signature dishes

that we have at our restaurant,

and I haven't seen it this way.

Wow. [laughs]

-[tense music]

-Ahh

This is my heart on a plate.

It's marrying Southern cuisine



with fine dining.

This is the food

that I want to create.

[alarm beeps]

Time.

[pensive music]

-Hi.

-Hello.

-Who are you?

-You look beautiful.

So do you. Love you.

Love you, Mommy.

-Oh, you're all sweaty.

-I know.

[laughs] You're okay.

You're okay.

♪ ♪

The dish is inspired

by my mother's gumbo.

The rice on the side

held in the crab leg--

I suggest you put it into



the bowl as you wish.



There's a little



barely-cooked trinity.



The shrimp is seared,

the king crab was poached

in a little Tabasco miso butter.

The andouille chips are fried

so they get the kind of Cajun

blackened look to them.

And the roux,

true to my mother's form,

-is made with duck fat.

-Yay.

I like how you treated

each component separately

so that they were all, like,

perfectly cooked.

-Distinct and separate.

-That's cool. It's a good idea.

Think you took mine and took it

to a different level, Adrienne.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

This is my hug-a-bunch.

-I love you, Adrienne.

-I love you.

All right.

-[upbeat music]

-[sniffles]

I thought it was

so well-seasoned.

I mean, just to the point

of one grain of salt

-would've been too much.

-Yep.

And it was really well-ex*cuted

and just had a ton of flavor.

You see where

the origin of this dish is,

but again, making it

more fanciful

didn't take away

from the flavor.

-Yeah.

-You've obviously seen them

from the beginning,

but for us, seeing Adrienne,

just in the last two months,

evolve into doing something

like this has been great.

[intense music]

Oh, you are sexy,

you little b*tches.

When you're cooking

food this simple,

there's nothing to hide behind.

I hope that I stay true enough



to my grandmother's vision

that when she's

sitting at the table

and eats it,

she feels her own food.

♪ ♪

[upbeat electronic music]

Hey. How you doing, Grandma?

Oh, my goodness.

Beautiful. [laughs]

Oh, you made my raviolis

I wanted to make. [laughs]

So, I was inspired by

my grandma's dish,

which was, uh,

meatballs and rigatoni.

So my take on it today--



I made an agnolotti.



I made it with my grandmother's



ravioli dough,



uh, which is a little bit



more of a rustic,



whole egg dough.

I made a pomodoro paste,

and Parmesan crisp on top,

and just a little basil

to finish.

I wanted to stay really true

to where it came from.

I'm curious about

the meatball filling.

I took ground pork

and veal on a little--

I ground some bacon in there

too for a little more fat.

-[laughs]

-I seared it off, uh,

threw some tomato product

in there while it was cooking.

It was a smart way to get

the flavor concentrated

really fast.

Thank you, chef.

I really enjoy the dish, Joe,

but it doesn't stray too far

from Sunday gravy,

uh, which is nice.

That's a keeper. [laughs]

-Thank you, Joe.

-Thank you very much.

[rustic music]

There was layers and layers

of steps

that he had to take

to accomplish this,

um, but it doesn't

appear that way,

-which I always love with food.

-[Padma] Right.

He really captured the essence

of that meatball

that we had yesterday,

and when you cut through

that tender pasta,

it was the same meatball.

You know, it--

There was something

really beautiful about that.

-We're gonna have to put it

on our ravioli recipe.

-[laughter]

I am so impressed,

what these four chefs have done

-[Graham] Mm-hmm.

-that I'm blown away.

-All four have their own

unique voice now. You know?

-They showed up.

-Like, you can see

whose food is whose.

-Yeah. They showed up.

I want to thank all of you

for being here.

It was so wonderful,

not only to get to know you,

but to taste your food

and understand

where your children

or grandchildren

are coming from.

The five of us

are gonna figure out

what the heck to do now.

-Thank you so much.

-Thanks, guys.

-Hey.

-Hi, guys.

-How'd we do?

-Oh, we did excellent.

You did so good.

-Did you have fun?

-Everybody liked it.

Oh, my golly, yes.

I was so glad to be here.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

-Whoo!



-Whew!

-[blows raspberry]

-Well

T

he challenge



was not only emotional,

but incredibly challenging.

An hour and a half



to make beef stroganoff?

I need a drink. [laughs]

[Joseph] Want a wine bong?

[Carrie] Wine bong-- Heard.

Hold this.

[laughs]

[Joe] Oh, my God.

Drink! [laughs]

[Adrienne] Joe Flamm!

[cheering]

-Love you, Grandma!

-[laughter]

[Joseph] You're up.

[laughs]

-[coughing]

-[laughter]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Tom, how do you think

the chefs did overall?

In a word, fantastic.

The flavors stayed true

to the original,

but the dishes were clearly

reimagined.

I know your family members

were really, really proud

of you.

And I want to say that I had

the greatest food of the season

from all of you

but there was one winner.

The winner for us today is

♪ ♪

[both] Adrienne.

-Oh, my God. Oh oh, my God.

-[upbeat music]

[Adrienne]

I won my first



elimination challenge.

[laughs]

Now I'm in the final three?

This one's for you, Mom.

The balance of heat, the acid,

the seasoning--

it was all perfect.

Getting that much flavor

into the gumbo gravy

while being able to separate

the proteins

-and cook those separately--

it was a great dish.

-Thank you.

You can step to the side,

Adrienne.

I just want to be clear, there

are no bottoms here today.

You guys all gave us

delicious dishes.

Joe, in a way, you had

to take inspiration

from two dishes.

You know, we had lasagna,

and then we had

this beautiful pig's feet

and rolled pig skin.

It kind of just came to me

when I saw that

roll-up of the skin,

and this was just another sign

that it's okay to do pasta here.

-[laughs]

-But I wanted to embrace

that part of the challenge.

My favorite comment

was Joe's dad.

When we asked him,

"What did you think

when you saw the dish?"

And he's like,

"I looked at it and I wondered

if it was gonna taste good."

-[laughter]

-It did taste good.

I think you did a really

good job making something

that's technique-driven,

-but you didn't lose

the soul of that dish.

-Thank you.

-[Padma] Carrie

-You tied every component

of the stroganoff into the dish.

It was really delicious.

The only thing

that I wish you had done

was taking

some of that braising liquid

and mixed it with

the creme fraiche,

as opposed to just

giving us creme fraiche,

'cause that's what's

really nice about stroganoff.

-Joe

-My grandmother brought

a very, very simple dish

yesterday,

just meatballs and rigatoni.

I wanted to stay true to that.

I wanted to have those flavors

but I show some of the technique

I've learned

by-- you know,

through the sauce.

Typically, when you make

sauce like that, it's broken.

It doesn't stay together.

And you knew that

had to stay emulsified

for the dish to be successful,

and it was.

The older generation

of cooks in the family

wouldn't know how to do that,

and that's what really

sets the chef apart

from the great home cook.

The pasta itself,

great chew to it.

The filling was

really delicious.

And then the Parmesan crisp,

I thought, added some

much-needed salt,

but it was a little thick

and kind of hard to get through.

And I think that you

really captured the spirit.

-Thank you, chef.

-As you can tell

by our comments,

this is will be tough.

[chuckles]

-[Graham] Yeah.

-We'll see you in a bit.

That'll be all for now.

Thank you.

[all] Thank you.

♪ ♪

-[Joseph] Great job.

-[Joe exhales]

This challenge brought out

the best cooking in all of them.

Took bringing their family here.

-Maybe we should've done it

in the first episode.

-[Padma] Earlier?

So what are the little things

that we have to look toward?

You know, for me,

the best pasta of the day,

out of the three,

was Joe Flamm's.

The only thing that



I didn't like



was the Parmesan crisp



on the top.

It was just a little chewy.

But it was all crying out

for some salt.

Like, the tomato sauce,

some of the filling.

On Carrie's,

instead of just giving us

creme fraiche on the bottom

with some herbs in it,

I think she missed



an opportunity



-to turn it into a real sauce.



-[Graham]

Right.

For the beef stroganoff,

you take meat and you turn it

into sauce,

and then you take that sauce

and you put it on noodles.

And we didn't have that sauce.

Joe Sasto I thought that rotolo

was cut too soon and it started



to dry a little bit.

-Curl at the edges.

-Yeah, and I understand

you want the dry edges,

'cause it mimics the lasagna,

but when he rolled that up,

he should have

put a layer of sauce over it

Brushed or napped

a little bit in there.

-and then cut it.

-Yeah.

Really,

this comes down to, though,

is you have three pastas,

and I think that one

was a little lacking.

[suspenseful music]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

You know, chefs,

these gatherings

with family and friends

revolve around food.

And these are the memories

that we sort of keep with us

and they really make us

who we are.

And it's just unfortunate that

someone's gonna go home tonight,

making a dish that

was so important to them.

♪ ♪

Carrie

please pack your knives and go.

[somber music]

[Joseph] Great job, buddy.

[Padma]

Good luck to you, Carrie.

♪ ♪

Thank you.

Thanks so much.

Carrie, we just thought

that the sauce

could have really

tied it all together,

if the braising liquid

-I understand.

Thank you for your feedback.

-Yeah.

I'm bummed, I really am.

-We love you, Carrie.

-Crush it, guys.

The hardest part

is believing in yourself.

I thought all these people



coming with this huge pedigree



behind them,



these huge resumes



and big names and--



I'm just a local girl,



you know?

But I proved them all wrong.

I proved myself wrong.

I am so much stronger



than I thought.

I am not going out sad.

♪ ♪

[Padma]

Next on

Top Chef

-[Joseph] Why don't you pop

that bottle, eh, sizzle?

-Whoo.

Final three, huh?

[Padma] Welcome to Aspen.

Come on, you son of a b*tch!

Whoa!

I am a bear

in its natural element.

Here, fishy, fishy, fishy.

We want you to make

a good impression

for the Food & Wine Classic

in Aspen.

[Thomas]

The granddaddy



of all festivals.

The fact that you guys are here

is a big deal.

No half-stepping on this one.

[Adrienne] Here they come.

[Joe] Danny Meyer.

Pleasure to meet you.

We are serving the who's who



of the food industry.

Better put on a clean pair

of underwear and buckle up.

[Adrienne]

Everything is going wrong.

This is not the day

to have this happen.

Frustrated as [bleep].

We'd love to see

all three of you in the finale,

but you know

how this game works.