05x02 - Show Your Craft

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

Welcome to new york.

We're gonna cut right
to the chase.

The chef who finishes last

Will leave the competition
right now.

[tom]
check.

[padma]
stefan, you finished first.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

I came all this way.

I don't even get to see
the kitchen.

There he is!

Team rainbow is now complete!

We are the gays and lesbians
of the chefs.

We're so gay.

[richard]
it's okay.

Corner, corner, corner.

I already get the sense

Of controlled chaos.

What was I thinking?

[gail]
the farro risotto,

Really undercooked.

[hosea]
I did a trio of smoked fish.

If this is the kind of food

That we're gonna get
all season long,

We're in for a nice ride.

Thank you.

The winner is stefan.
Thank you.

I want to be the first
european top chef.

[tom]
ariane, it was a question
of basic cooking skills.

Patrick, the inspiration
wasn't there.

Patrick, please pack
your knives.

At stake for the winner,

A feature in food & wine
magazine,

A showcase at the annual
food & wine classic in aspen.

$100,000 to help turn
their culinary dreams

Into reality,
furnished by the makers

Of the glad family
of products.

And the title of top chef.

[rock music]

♪ ♪

So far, two chefs
have been eliminated.

We started out as 17.

We're down to 15

And it's only the second
elimination challenge.

As a fellow member
of team rainbow,

I was holding out hope

That pat
was gonna come through.

From talking to ariane,

Who was on the chopping block
already,

It's nerve-wracking.

I need a couple days
to recoup.

I don't know if my nerves

Are getting the best of me
or what.

But, you know, I'm one
of the oldest people here.

And these people
are very knowledgeable.

But I feel like
I deserve to stay.

Lookin' sharp.

We got the same barber,
huh?

I got a question first.

[stefan]
the first two challenges,
I both bring them home.

And that feels good.

But I have good competition
though.

Especially fabio.

He is...
My biggest competition.

[fabio]
I'm fine with stefan
being the winner

I mean, he made a good dish.

In italian, they say

It doesn't matter
how many dragon you k*ll.

It's who take home the princess.

You know?

So I'll go for the princess.

You guys ready?

We going?
Yeah, we gotta go.

Good morning, chefs.

[all]
good morning.

I'm very pleased
to introduce to you

Our guest judge
for this round,

Celebrated new york

Restaurateur,
ms. Donatella arpaia

Of the restaurants
davidburke and donatella,

Anthos, mia dona,

And I think
I'm forgetting one.

Kefi.
See?

[laughter]

[hosea]
donatella is there with padma.

At a very young age,
she's done very, very well.

She's got some world-class
chefs working with her.

Again, we've got another
powerhouse in the restaurant.

For your quickfire,

You'll be making a dish

That new yorkers
love so much

That we spend over $100 million
a year consuming it.

And for the first time
in top chef history,

We're actually gonna have
an expert here

For you to cook against.

I am thinking it was gonna be
something with cheesecake

When I think of new york city.

You can find the best
in the world here.

[laughing]

Ah, yes!

I'd like to introduce you
to angelina deangelo

Of the world famous
dominic's

And deangelo hot dog stand
in queens.

How are you guys?

[all]
good, how are you?

With angelina,
hers is a classic.

And she's--
she's gonna throw down.

You have to compete

With angelina's hot dog.

You have to create
your own signature hot dog.

And donatella will taste
your hot dogs

And decide if any of them

Measure up to angelina's.

I love hot dog.

Do I know how make hot dog?
No.

I have no idea
how make hot dog.

I know how make sausage.

The chef with the top dog

Will win immunity
in the next challenge.

So you have 45 minutes

And your time...

Starts now!

Even before the clock starts,

I can see, like, the panic
in some people's eyes.

God, this is gonna k*ll me.

I haven't made a hot dog

Since charcuterie class
in culinary school

In, like, 1989.

I don't even care
what they taste like.

I just want two hot dogs done
and in a bun.

We have to beat
the hot dog lady of all times.

I grew up on long island.

I know where she's from.

And I know the type
of hot dog she does.

I'm gonna make this hot dog
my way and my style

With my new york flavorings.

You cannot beat
the american hot dog

Playing his own game.

Do something else.

I know how make sausage

So I am going for panini.

I'm gonna stick sausage
in the middle.

What you want me to do?

The other chef,
they were doing sushi

With hot dog in the middle.

And, you know, I'm gonna stick
with my panini.

I'm gonna have, like,
a panini dog.

So I am getting french bread.

I put in italian sausage,

I put in wisconsin
cheddar cheese.

An irish tartar sauce.

So I thought I'm gonna put
everybody in there

So everybody's happy,
the world is happy.

I thought, you know what,
I'm calling it the world dog.

18 minutes!

Hot pans!
Hot pans!

It's gonna be, like,

You didn't actually make
your hot dog.

I don't think that I can create

From scratch a hot dog,

So I've decided to incorporate

Hot dogs into my dish.

So I'm going to go asian style,

Wrap them in rice paper.

'cause I'm well-known for sushi.

They're probably gonna be,
like,

"what the hell's wrong
with you"

Or, "you're just weird."

When I was growing up,

My mom tried to incorporate
american food

Into our indian diets
as well.

So I figure I'm gonna do
an indian-inspired,

Like, kebab dog

Using some ingredients

That I brought from home.

Oh, where are you?

I can't even cut this thing.

Behind you.

My biggest problem
with this challenge

Is I've never
stuffed sausages before.

And I'm just struggling
with this.

I come up with these lumpy,
little, short sausages.

But I know they're
gonna taste good.

You don't have a lot of time
to worry about presentation.

You have five minutes left.

There we go.

[richard]
one minute, guys.
One minute.

[padma]
three, two, one.

Utensils down,
hands up!

Hi, jill.

I cooked hot dogs
with, uh,

Some chilies and soy sauce
and rice wine vinegar.

And I made a summer roll
with them.

But you didn't make
these hot dogs.

I didn't make the hot dogs.

We you concerned about
not making your own hot dog,

About that challenge?
Um, I was.

I was worried about the time.

So that was my strategy
with that.

Thank you.

Hello.

I kind of put an indian,

Kind of global spin on it.

I did a kebab-style
with lamb,

Pork, and some ground chuck.

One, two, three.

Thank you very much.
Thank you.

Hello.
[daniel]
hi, how are you?

It's a pork hot dog.

Based with horseradish,
a little mustard.

I tried to keep it,
like, traditional

New-york style, like,
flavors.

And you put your own casing?

Yeah, my own casing.

Great, thank you.
Thank you.

Hi, eugene.
What did you do?

[eugene]
I tried to go with the old
sushi effect.

I stuffed the sausages
with boursin cheese.

Finished in the oven.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Thank you.

It's a bacon and roasted pepper
hot dog.

It's got roasted poblanos,
roasted jalapenos.

A lot of bacon.

Just a touch of red vinegar.

There's a smoky flavor too.

Yeah, it's the--
the bacon was smoked.

[padma]
thank you.

[donatella]
thank you.

I thought I'm gonna mix it
all up

And call it the world dog.

The bread is french.

The sausage is italian.

The cheese inside
the sausage from wisconsin.

And then I have, uh
a german beer.

Thank you.

[carla]
I made a lamb and pork sausage.

And I have my version

Of a quick sauerkraut
with caramelized onions.

It is really moist.

Thank you.
It's really nice.

Hello, ariane.
Hi, padma.

I made a chicken sausage.

I added bacon, celery seed,
garlic, and white pepper.

It's pretty strong,
the celery, actually.

Sausage andouille.

Inside the sausage
there is some goat cheese

And roasted bell pepper.

It definitely has a definite
mediterranean feel.

Thank you.
Pleasure meeting you.

So I did pork and beef.

Seasoned it with a little bit
of smoked paprika

Lemon zest, and cayenne pepper.

[snapping sound]

I have a piece of bone
in mine.

There was ground bone
in the meat,

Which really sucks.

So, angelina,

We are ready
to have your hot dog.

Sure, why not?

Thank you.

Pretty darned good.
It's still good.

Thank you.

How did our chefs do
compared with angelina?

[donatella]
hers was great.

And some of them
did really good.

But there were definitely
some major disappointments.

Jill was
one of the worst ones.

It was a store-bought
hot dog.

Most of the contestants
did have time.

And then you didn't do
anything with it.

Stefan,

The global hot dog.

I wouldn't want to go anywhere
around the world

For that hot dog.

Whatever.
Nothing wrong with my hot dog.

I am boiling, miserable.

So who impressed you?

One of my first bites.
Radhika.

It was really moist.

I love that you embraced
the indian theme.

And it was really satisfying.

Another one of my favorites
was fabio.

I really liked the flavors.

The mediterranean feel really
carried through throughout.

It worked.
Thank you.

One of my other favorites
was hosea.

I loved your hot dog
with the bacon.

It was really good.

You had all the components
of a hot dog.

And under these
time constraints,

I thought you did
an excellent job.

Who do you think
did the best job?

The winner is radhika.

[padma]
congratulations.

After being in the bottom

At the first quickfire,
I finally proved

That I can make good food.

Well, radhika,

That means you have immunity

In the next elimination
challenge.

And thank you to angelina.

Thank you for having me here.

Bye, you guys.

[all]
bye.

I just want to open
this egg up.

I want to see
what it looks like.

[jamie]
I think there's a difference

Between playing it safe
and playing it ridiculous.

And I think that was playing it
a little ridiculous.

We all know
that new yorkers are famous

For being the toughest
of customers.

You chefs are gonna open
a top chef restaurant

In manhattan.

[chefs chuckle]

I open seven restaurants
already.

I'm 30.

Be a top chef is not just
about the food.

Bring it on.

[padma]
so your challenge
is to create

A three-course

New american lunch menu.

New american's very broad.

It's really just about
reinventing

I think,
classic american flavors.

Sort of sticking
with something simple.

You'll each be responsible
for one dish.

Tomorrow you'll have
two hours to prep

Before 50 hungry
new yorkers

Turn up for lunch.

It's individual challenge
but it's the first time

That we're really getting
to all cook together.

And the pressure's on
even more because

People we're cooking for
are going to be new yorkers.

So they're going to be
really critical

Of all the food that's coming
out of the kitchen.

Tom will be by to check on you
a little later.

And we'll see you tomorrow.

I wanna do dessert.

Do dessert?

[overlapping chatter]

I was, like, all right,

This is gonna be chaotic.

Just let the children scream
for a while.

[overlapping chatter]

I'm the chef
at the ritz-carlton south beach.

Pretty passionate about
the organization of my kitchen.

Finally, I said, "all right,
that's enough"

We all need to decide
apps and entrees.

If you want to do desserts,
over here.

If you want to do apps,
over here.

Luckily, five people
went this way

And five people went this way.

So you got five there?
That's perfect.

And then we all kind of stayed

In the middle with entrees.

Let's do it then.

Everybody's good?

[cheering and whooping]

[chattering]

We go to the grocery store

And all the soccer moms
are there

Buying their groceries.

And 15 adrenaline-filled,
young chefs

Run into the store
with their baskets.

It looks like
we're robbing the place.

I mean, just boom.

We hit the floor running.

You know, time's going.

This way.

At whole foods,
we have 30 minutes to shop

And we had 2,500 bucks
between 15 of us.

We just take it upon
ourselves

To get what we need.

Do you have crab meat?

[hosea]
I'm in the appetizer group

And I'm the seafood guy.

Everybody knows
I have a seafood restaurant.

So I'm doing a version
of a dish

That I've done before
that has dungeness crab meat.

Looking for dungeness.

You don't have that,
do you?

I have basically one choice
of crab meat.

It's in these little cans.

There's no way to test it
or smell it or anything.

I grab the crab
and I go with that.

Because it's that or I have
to rethink my whole salad.

Oh, [bleep],
I need chicken stock.

Give it to me whole,
everything.

I'll take care of myself.

I am doing beef carpaccio.

It's beautiful.
Thank you.

With spherical olives.

I am feeling confident

That my dish is gonna be
a good dish.

Light, easy, refreshing.

Perfect.

Those are beautiful.

So I'm standing in front

Of the egg aisle
of whole foods.

And they had these amazing
ostrich eggs.

So right there, I think,
original.

Great.
Cool.

Okay, a quiche.
Let's go with that.

That clicks for me.

It's beautiful.
I will make it delicate.

A beautiful, delicate quiche.



We got peanut butter,
we got mayonnaise.

We got strawberries.
We got grape jelly.

So are we checking out?

Yeah!

Just made a man happy.
Thank you.

Got a lot of food to cook.

Holy moley.

We've got two hours to prep.

It's just balls to the walls
with everyone.

We're getting what we need.

Prepping what we need done

For our new american cuisine.

I'm sorry.
Thanks.

[laughs]

I think the cohesiveness
in the appetizer section

Is great.

I think we all know
what we want to do.

I ended up doing
a chilled sweet corn soup.

When I think new american,

I think lunch.

Simple is best.

I just want to open
this egg up.

I want to see what
it looks like.

I never opened one before.

But it's an egg.

I can open an egg.

[fabio]
I see jill.

She's punching the eggs.

She's shaking the eggs.

And the eggs is not opening.

Just start.

All righty.

Jill bought some ostrich eggs,
which I thought was

An interesting choice.

Um, I think there's
a difference between

Playing it safe
and playing it ridiculous.

And I think that was
playing it a little ridiculous.

There it is.

[radhika]
is that it?

No babies?

I decided to do
a lemon meringue martini.

I'm not a baker.

This is stuff
that I normally don't do.

And I'm a little concerned.

People talk about desserts

Or appetizers or main courses--
it's all equal.

You do this for a living.
That's what you do.

You gotta be able to cook
anything and everything.

Got it?

[tom]
okay, everybody
gather around.

I got a little--
little announcement to make.

Uh, first off,
the restaurant

That you're cooking lunch
in tomorrow,

Um, it's mine.

It's craft,

My flagship restaurant here
in new york.

[cheers and applause]

[carla]
and we're, like, what?

So he is giving us
the keys to his restaurant.

And we're gonna be cooking
at craft.

I'm gonna be with you
the whole time.

Um, one other twist.

All of the diners,
the guests tomorrow coming

Into the restaurant for lunch,

They are all new york chefs
who tried out for the show

And did not make it.

Okay?

So I--I imagine

They're gonna be
super critical.

This is probably gonna be
one of the toughest crowds

That you've ever cooked for.

So finish up today.

Get a good night's sleep.

And we'll see you all tomorrow
in the restaurant.

[carla]
okay, 50 people,

Jealous, really critical.

We're kind of screwed because,

You know,
when people are coming in

And you know they want
to pick you apart,

Can you really get it right?

Good job, guys.

I want a beer.

[fabio]
in Italy, we say

"it doesn't matter
how many dragon you k*ll.

All's that matter is
who bring home the princess."

Right?
That's right.

[mimicking fabio]
the princess.
The princess.

I'm consider myself lucky.

You know, I got one

Of the other chef
is from europe.

Me and stefan,
we are together.

We're getting close friend.

Of course there
is the challenge in between.

If he win, I get pissed.

[unintelligible]

No, no, no.
Don't worry.

I'll kick you out
the show.

[eugene]
stefan and fabio

Can definitely cook
their ass off, you know?

But hey, they're not
the only ones that can.

I'm here for a reason.

Not only to better my life,

But my family's life.

[laughing]
you were stealing!

[eugene]
I'm not a conceited person.

But you know what?

The flight from europe
was pretty long here.

So, I mean, I'm pretty sure

That the flight back
is gonna be even harder.

Is it?

Yeah, is it?

Yeah, is it?

You dumb ass!
Is it?

[laughing]

Tom's gonna be particularly
tough on us.

I need a chicken.
Draggin'--let's go.

I coulda done way better
than this.

I'm comfortable for tomorrow.

I think everyone's food's
gonna be really good.

I'm very into having
a boyfriend.

I like being in relationships.

Otherwise, I'm too crazy.

I have six eggs overeasy
at once.

[leah]
are the whites all connected?

I see a lot of talking,
cuddling.

But I think they're just getting
a little bit closer

Because of the friendship.

I don't think there is nothing
going on.

Get away.

And if there is,
good for them.

I was sitting here.

I know I just wanna
sit here too.

[carla]
waking up this morning
really early.

We have to open craft.

I've just learned one kitchen

And here there's another kitchen
that we have to learn.

I'm, like, oh, my god.

This challenge is about
not getting your footing.

Even if it's perfect,

They say that is wasn't good.

All right, guys.
Ready, yeah?

Here we go.

[laughs]

We walk into craft.

And I've seen pictures
of this restaurant.

I know what it's supposed
to be about.

We're all just really happy
about this.

Cooking in tom's restaurant
for me is inspiring.

Colicchio is everything
that I want to be

In my career.

Carla, it looks like--
yeah, ever here.

Before service,
we have two hours to prep.

All I'm thinking about
is my dessert.

Cutting boards?

Are you using
this whole table?

The way it's laid out,
you know,

The appetizer people kind
of had their own corner.

The dessert people had
their own corner.

Entree people were kind
of in the middle.

Heavy stuff.
Heavy stuff.

Today's competition,
it's very serious.

Those are mine.

I brought them.

First thing I do

Is grab my soup and then
I start thinning it down.

And 'cause it's corn,
it thickens up a lot.

I think my soup's awesome.

I'm not concerned.

[fabio]
jamie, she's doing
cold corn soup,

Which is as simple
as it get.

But I have the olives
techniques.

You puree the juice

And balancing some chemical
in the olives.

You have a chemical reaction

That bring the outside
of the olives

To be solid and the inside
to be liquid.

It's a new technique.

The best will win.

So my dish is coming together.

And I get my crab out.

Taste it.

It tastes like it needs--

It needs--it needs
some seasoning.

So I added some salt,

Some pepper, some chives.

I'm really thinking

This crab's gonna be good.

And it's a version of a dish
I know tastes good.

So I'm feeling great.

This is gonna take
about an hour.

Okay.

I know that my quiche
is going to take

Approximately 45 minutes
in the oven.

I'm a little nervous
as the clock's ticking down

Because I do not want tom

To be waiting on me today.

I want to be ready to go.

I get my pies in.

That was the most important
thing.

And I'm a little nervous
about my crust.

It's flaky,

But it's just not
the perfect crust

That I wanted.

You guys have a minute

To everybody take a bite
of this?

[richard]
I tried ariane's
lemon meringue martini.

It's still a little
too sweet,

But I didn't tell her that.

At the end of the day,

It's all about making it through

And winning this competition.

Tell me.
I want--

[jill]
no, I'm serious.
I'm telling you.

No, I'm serious.
I like it.

I got all the flavors.
It does finish very sweet.

[ariane]
it does.

I'm not a big dessert person
to begin with.

So everybody does say
my lemon meringue,

It's a little too sweet.

I thought about making it again.

But I was, like,
you know what?

This is what I made

And this is what
I'm gonna serve.

If I go under,

You're all gonna hear it.

The diners are chefs

That never made it
to the show.

I think these diners

Are gonna be really,
really critical.

It's meatloaf.

I mean, you're on top chef
and you're gonna make meatloaf?

Come on.

What is that?

Like, how do you sell
something like that?

What do I think it is?
Yeah.

I think it's a piece of crap.

[carla]
tom shows up.

Here we are in his kitchen.

It is the coolest feeling
ever.

This is damon wise.

He's the chef, uh,
the chef here.

He and I will both
be expediting.

We're gonna fire the tickets

The way we normally
fire tickets here.

After the apps
on the table for ten minutes

We're gonna fire the entree.

Okay?

[carla]
now I get to have
this awesome experience

In the craft kitchen.

You know, expedited
by tom colicchio.

I mean, cool.
Pretty darn cool.

You need to communicate
so the food comes up together.

We'll also make sure
that happens as well, okay?

With tom in the kitchen,

You know that you have
to step your game up.

I need this cleared off
over here.

This is a pass.
I gotta get food outta here.

He is gonna be particularly
tough on us

Because we are representing
who he is.

He's been a top dog here
in new york

For quite some time

At craft, his world-renowned

New american restaurant.

So anything he says
I'm taking to heart.

[tom]
if you're tasting food,

Please use a tasting spoon.

Put it back in the bain marie,

Not in your mouth
and back in the dish.

Oh, [bleep].

Five minutes, guys!

I'm gonna get sea scallops.

Southern chicken
with chorizo.
Okay.

Thank you.

40 seconds!

All right, cooks,
that's time!

Okay, ordering.

We all break up
into the groups,

So appetizer group goes first.

Ordering one corn puree,
one avocado salad.

[jamie]
my dish is a chilled
sweet corn soup.

I'm definitely thinking
if it doesn't win,

I'm gonna be in the top three
for sure.

[donatella]
that's mint?
It's very nice.

[gail]
I mean, it's beautiful.

Smooth and rich.

I love the chiffonade
of the mint in there.

It's very light.

Uh, amazing.

Beef carpaccio, one avocado,
on crab.

One crab.

[hosea]
my dish is cold crab.

It's dressed.
It's diced mango.

There's some avocado
on the plate.

I'm thinking that my dish
is gonna be awesome.

I think I have a real chance
of winning this competition.

[donatella]
this is giving me

A terrible slimy feeling
on the tongue afterwards.

It has a very muddy taste.

There's something about it
that really turns me off.

The crab tasted like
it came out of a can.

It had that aluminum taste
to it.

As somebody in contention
for the show,

I feel like I would've
completely changed that dish.

[lean]
my dish is yukon potato.

And then the scallops
go on top.

Chives and green peppercorns.

It's also very '80s to me,
the presentation.

Fabio.

Yes, it's coming, sir.

My dish is beef carpaccio

With arugula salad,
aged parmesan,

Balsamic vinaigrette.

And spherical olives,
kalamata.

What did he do to them?
Oh, they're--

They're--

It's like an egg yolk.

It's beautiful.
Look at that.

He really did something
different here.

And I think it's a perfect
lunch dish.

Ordering one avocado,
one scallop, one carpaccio.

[melissa]
my dish is grilled avocado,

White peaches, nectarines.

A light balsamic vinaigrette.

[padma]
do you think this is enough

To stand out?

[donatella]
no.

No.

I coulda done way better
than this.

Sweet.
That's all it is--sweet.

[tom]
main courses,
table 160, please.

Ordering a halibut,
a quiche, and a meatloaf.

[jill]
I'm in the entree group.

I think this is a good
opportunity for me to show

A strong dish.

My dish is
a ostrich egg quiche

Using a rice and pecan crust.

I think originality

Is gonna pull some points
for me.

It tastes like glue.

Yes.

[tom]
I wanna pick up.

One meatloaf.

Meatloaf.

My dish is like
a open-face meatloaf sandwich.

I really deconstructed it.

Makin' it more new american,
I guess.

[donatella]
we keep talking about
presentation

Being sophisticated
and dated.

And I think this is--
it's bad.

One meatloaf, one quiche,

One pork, one halibut.

[stefan]
my dish is halibut.

And beautiful micro greens,
celery root, pasta.

There's nothing

I could possibly screw up
with this dish.

[padma]
that tortellini is lovely.

You don't feel--
like the quiche.

That was the cream.

That was the bad way to do it.

That was the bad way
and this is a good way.

The ravioli that were served
with it

Were really light and rich

And I thought very flavorful.

I need a chicken.
We're draggin', let's go.

Orders are coming in.

The burners are very, very,
very temperamental.

I'm falling behind.

My brothers are putting up
their dishes.

I gotta go with it.

Waitin' on you again.

[jeff]
so it's a tough service

But I'm extremely proud
that I put out

A decent dish.

Fire a chicken, meatloaf,
halibut please.

I got it.

I'm making chicken
with honey mustard and chorizo

And corn spoon bread.

The chicken is seasoned
nicely.

Mm-hmm.

[gail]
it's hard to go wrong.

Gimme a good chorizo
and I'm happy.

I have no complaints
about that at all.

[alex]
I'm serving a grilled
pork tenderloin

Over potatoes
with some fresh vegetables.

Yeah, I don't think
it's good at all.

Are these desserts ready?
First one?

[radhika]
I end up in the dessert group.

I'm doing
a citrus avocado mousse

With chocolate wontons

And a shot of chocolate milk
with kahlua.

[padma]
radhika's dessert
has immunity.

You can tell that radhika
has immunity

'cause why else would she make
an avocado mousse

It doesn't make any sense.

It's basically sweet guacamole.

Yeah.

Behind that, one apple tart,
one pound cake, right?

[daniel]
I'm making a ricotta pistachio

French pound cake
with strawberry lemon couli.

I've never made this dessert
before,

But I know how to make
a very good sauce.

[donatella]
took a new american.

It's dessert, which is not
usually their forte.

And I think he did a good job.
Excellent.

Fire banana bread
lemon meringue, please.

Lemon heard.

So I did a little
lemon meringue martini.

On the bottom of the lemon,

It's, like, cherries hidden.

A little cookie.

I'm not sure about it

'cause I'm thinking
it's a little too sweet.

I have to get over
the sugar shock first.

Hold on a second.

And I took the biggest
spoonful.

I thought that there were
some problems with it.

Fire banana bread!

[richard]
my dish is a sandwich

With banana bread,
peanut butter.

Some bruleed bananas

And some grape gelato
on the side.

This is an after-school snack.

I was just saying
my nephews and nieces

Would go crazy for this.

Apple tart, mousse,
and a lemon meringue.

[carla]
my dish is a rustic
apple tart

With a ginger and peach
infused tea.

Use of yellow cheese
and the apple chips.

I'm feeling really insecure
about this.

This little piece
of cheese

Is hanging out on my plate.

I'm a little nervous about
how it's being plated.

It looks like, you know,
a deli counter,

Sweaty piece of cheddar cheese.

[padma]
I agree, but it's light.

It's sweet.

This is one of my favorite
desserts.

Good job.
High five.

I make it through service.

Last plate for tom goes out.

He tastes all the dishes.

Everything's really tense
right now

Because it's a huge day.

[eugene]
it's quite scary watching tom
taste my food.

I--I don't want to see it.

I don't want it
to freak me out.

I actually started
to lose my mind

Thinking that I'm gonna
go home.

[alex]
we're all nervous
about the diners.

You know they're salivating
to rip us apart.

If your dish is not perfect,

One false move
sends you home.

The dishes were not impressive
at all.

It was good.
It was good.

All in all,
I was very disappointed.

As a possible candidate
for top chef,

It almost angers me
to eat this food.

It was horrible.

[tom]
okay, chefs.

Obviously there was
some missteps.

But we're gonna get back
to the kitchen

And we'll all see you
at judges' table.

Hey, how'd it go
down there?

Fine down there.

Except for the fact

That some of the food
was not so good.

Very disappointed.

They get a buzz word
like "new american"

And for some reason
that turns into clunky--

Like nouvelle cuisine--

Regional american.

We've moved so far
in the last 20 years.

And to see them just bring it
right back.

I think it's a case

Of not what you do
but how you do it.

Well, of course.

Make it delicious.
Make it good.

We know they can cook
and I don't understand.

We had such great food
last week.

I was just absolutely shocked

At how they can just
sort of change

From one challenge to the next.

So let's go back
to judges' table

And let's get them talking.

Absolutely.

Those ingredients
all should work.

Somehow they didn't.

It just didn't taste good.

I spit yours out
into my napkin.

[tom]
first, for the good news.

I thought everybody
did a great job

Getting their stations
set up.

Getting the food out
of the kitchen on time.

However, the food
that came out of the kitchen

I wasn't too impressed by.

If this is your take
on new american,

I think you set american cuisine
back about 20 years.

I think he took this challenge
a little personal.

He wasn't happy at all.

That said, I need to see...

Jamie.
I need to see hosea.

I need to see ariane.

Fabio, carla, and jill.

Okay?

Thanks.

Good luck, guys.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

I think you've already heard,
but we were

Pretty disappointed
with the food served today.

Of course there were

One or two bright spots.

Carla, why don't we start
with you.

Tom, I think you had
some really strong opinions

About carla's dish.

I did.

The pastry was really
excellent.

I wish you'd figured out a way

To work up the cheddar
into the dish a little better.

But really what made
the dish

Was the pastry crust.

It was very well done.

It was my favorite dessert.

Thank you.

Fabio.

Yes.

Honestly, I don't know.

I did some filet mignon.

Best quality meat ever.

Best parmesan cheese,
five years aged.

Six years aged
balsamic vinegar.

Every week, I sell 100
of those exact plate

In my restaurant
in california.

And is a big success.
I don't know.

You tell me why I'm here.

You're here because
we liked your dish.

[laughing]

We hadn't told you
that we didn't like it yet.

Oh, that's good.

[laughing]

I am glad you like it.

That's why I made it.

[laughing]

We all thought
it was very good.

We thought it was fresh,
it was ripe.

And your grilled lemon.

That was my favorite part.

Thank you.

But I think the real star
was the spherical olives

That you added to it.

That really took the dish
to another level.

The addition of the olives,

That would get you noticed.

So it was a good choice
to do that.

Thank you.

Jamie.

Yeah.

We all really liked
your corn puree.

Great.
Thank you.

The mint was there
but it wasn't overpowering.

It was an accent.

The chili oil was there.

It just added some heat
at the end.

I thought it was
very successful.

There's also a little bit
of texture in the dish

Which I thought
was really nice too.

It tasted just like
pure, fresh corn.

That was kind of the idea.

I just wanted to celebrate
the season

And use good product.

You did it well.

Thank you.

So carla, jamie, and fabio,

You were our favorites
at lunch today.

And donatella,
as our guest judge,

You get to announce
the winner.

Oh, good.

Well, the winner of today's
challenge was the chef

That I think surprised
all the judges.

And we all thought
it was delicious.

The winner
of today's challenge is...

Fabio.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

[applause]

Congratulations,
fabio.

[fabio]
thank you.

Thank you.
Thank you.

I'm the winner.

[speaking italian]

All right,
so the three of you

Can go back to the stew room.

Congratulations
and thank you.

Pleasure meeting you.
Thank you.

The winner.

[cheers and applause]

Now I'm tied with stefan

In elimination challenge.

I knew it.

Good job.

He won the first elimination
challenge

And I won the second
elimination challenge.

Now europe is tied up again.

I'm happy.

I won at craft and that mean
a lot to me.

[padma]
so obviously that means
the three of you

Were the judges' least favorite
in this challenge.

So let's start with you,
hosea.

What were you thinking?

Why did you make
what you made?

Um, I was looking for a light,
refreshing dish.

I wanted to do some take
on a crab salad.

I wanted to go cold.

And mangoes are in season,
so I was looking

For something light
and refreshing.

I'm actually surprised I'm here.

I thought I was one
of the winners.

And I liked all my seasonings

But I know it didn't work
together.

Obviously I'm here
for a reason.

We filled the dining room

With people that didn't make it

Into your slot.

A lot of their comments
about your dish

Actually were that...
Too sweet,

Missing a ton of salt.

There was a taste
to the crab

That tasted very off.

My issue with the dish

Is it just wasn't seasoned.

Well, that's what I was
looking for

With the vanilla citrus.

Those ingredients
all should work.

Somehow, they didn't.

Ariane.

Just wasn't very interesting.

It just didn't really
stand out to me.

What was your thinking
behind the dessert?

It's just something
that we do at our restaurant.

And something
that I'm familiar with.

So maybe I was trying
to stay a little too safe.

Did you taste this dessert
today?

I did.

I did think it was
a little sweet.

It was hard because

You keep tasting it
and tasting it.

I spit yours out
into my napkin.

Jill.

Uh, I think I went
with that egg.

Decided to put
an extra challenge

On top of myself 'cause
I never worked with it.

I mean, you took an ostrich egg

That could've been special

And really just turned it
into anything else.

It didn't--
it wasn't very distinguished.

It could've been anything.

The issue I had is that

It just didn't taste good.

The flavors didn't go
together well.

They weren't harmonious to me.

I don't know if it's just
the pressure of being here

Or I'm not sure
what's getting to me.

But I don't want to let it
happen again.

How are you gonna make it
better next time

If we keep you around?

Um...

I think...

I--I understand

The mistakes that I made
today.

But just the pressure
at the time,

Um, had the idea and...

Um...

Tried to execute it
the best I could.

Went with it.

So why don't you guys
take a break

While we discuss

And we'll call you back
in a bit.

What happened?

I'm going.
I just know I am.

All in all,
he thought, like,

We all sucked.

Is that what he's saying?

Basically "you suck.

It's not necessarily
that anything was [bleep],

It just wasn't
contemporary american.

Okay, so who's it gonna be?

You know, hosea,

It just struck me
as very odd

That he admitted that he
was somewhat complacent.

Until they said
"you three leave,"

I thought I was--

I thought my dish
was a winner.

You really had
a strong reaction

And you really were looking
forward to it.

I'm usually pretty good
at pinpointing

What I don't like
in a dish.

But there's was just something
that completely conflicted.

It certainly wouldn't
have had--

Lead me to have the confidence
to come out here

And think I was gonna win this.

What about ariane?

You know what I think
about ariane.

Bad news.

Padma spit mine out
in a napkin.

She's never done--

I think maybe she's done that
one other time.

It was overwhelming,
the sugar.

I think you're right.

It was sweet.
It was too sweet.

I knew it, I knew it,
I knew it.

I have to say

That jill's defense
of her dish

Was the lamest defense

Of any food we have had

In five seasons of this show.

I just don't see where

Her thought process is

Or where her point
of view is.

Gimme something.

Did you defend yourself?

A little bit.

I couldn't think
of what to say though.

In her mind,
in her defense,

She thought that using
an ostrich egg

Would be something
to make her stand out.

But the ingredient
wasn't the issue.

It's just this idea

That you find an ingredient

And you fall in love
with it.

And you paint yourself
in a corner.

Well, I think
it's pretty clear.

Yep.

Yes.

Okay, let's get them out here.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Today's challenge was taking
new american cuisine,

And that was
just a part of it.

The other part
was standing out.

In this city,

You really need
to do something special

To stand out in a crowd.

Hosea, you admitted that

You were somewhat complacent.

And that'll make you
yesterday's news

Faster than a new york minute.

Ariane,

In this competition,

It's too tight,
it's too tough.

And just so-so is just never,
never gonna be enough.

Jill,

Having a good idea
and using something

That's unique,
like an ostrich egg,

Is only a part of it.

The other part is take that
something that's special

And make it unique
and make it stand out.

And a quiche just
is not gonna stand out

In a competition cluttered

With a lot of talent.

But we've made a decision.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Jill, please pack your knives
and go.

Good luck to you.

Okay.

I'm disappointed.

It's a little surprising
that ariane's

Still staying since padma
spit her dish out.

Selecting the ostrich egg
to use

As the base for the quiche,

I thought it was gonna be bold
and creative.

I thought they would
appreciate that.

The didn't.

Bye.

[ariane crying]
I can't [bleep] believe it.

Oh.

Jill.

Oh, stop crying!

The worst part about leaving
like this is

I didn't get
to show off a dish

That I am 100% behind
that I really love.

And that I know I do well with.

Bye.

I really regret that.

Bye-bye.
It was nice knowing you.

Bye!

[fabio]
congratulations
for being here still.

[carla]
yes, here here.
Here here.

You do deserve it.

You are here.

[sobbing]

[jill]
being in this competition

Was definitely a find yourself
sort of situation.

Leaving top chef,

I'm gonna take
a little bit of time.

Figure out exactly what part
of the culinary field

Is gonna fit best for me.

So it's not the end of cooking
for me.

I'll always be cooking.

[padma]
next on top chef...

Your elimination challenge

Is to make thanksgiving dinner

For some very special clients.

[dave]
hi, everybody.

[all]
we're the foo fighters.

Shut up!

[leah]
shocking and awesome.

I never thought
that the foo fighters

Would be into top chef.

Why don't you have
a piece of fish on there?

Vegetarians don't eat fish
all the time.

I'm a little annoyed
with my team.

Kitchen got tore up
on the last event,

So we set something up
around the corner.

What the heck is going on?

You've got to be
[bleep]-ing me.

Things went
to just downright awful.

I ain't going home because
it's raining on my tiramisu.

[gail]
that looks like spit
on the plate.

You seem really pissed off.

[padma]
for more about the recipes
seen tonight,