06x11 - Top Chef All-Stars Dinner

[bunniefuu]

[Padma]

Previously on

Top chef

...

So, chefs, let me introduce

Natalie portman to you.

The one thing

Is I'm a vegetarian.

I'm thinking,

"Oh, [bleep]."

I'm hoping I'm gonna shine

On this challenge.

Is this on?

Oh, I'm in the [bleep] weeds.

[Mike]

Now I'm behind on time,



But do I think



I can pull it off?

Of course I can pull it off.

[Jennifer]

I have a light verjus nage.

My hands are shaking



Like crazy.

I feel like

I'm sabotaging myself.

Natalie, please tell us

Who's won.

-Kevin.

-Thank you, guys.

I'm shaking right now

Talking to you.

You made it this far,

But your performance

Is starting to suffer.

Mike, please

Pack your knives and go.

Just one person I think

Should have been

Eliminated tonight,

And that's robin.

[Padma]

At stake



For the winner,



A feature



In

Food & wine

Magazine;



$, Of merchandise



Provided by macy's,



A showcase at the annual



Food & wine classic in aspen:

And $, 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]

[Bryan]

I miss my wife.



I miss my son.



It's the first time I've ever



Been away for this long.

Hey, thatcher.

Bryan!

-Bryan, yeah. It's bryan.

-[Woman]

Bryan...



[Bryan]

He's months,



You know,



About ready to be two.

It's tough being

Away from him, you know.

He's growing so fast.

So every day, I feel like

I'm missing something.

-[Thatcher]

Miss dad!

-I miss you too, buddy.

[Bryan]

I love being here.

This is a very unique

Opportunity.

But what I hope



That this does bring,



If I can make it



All the way to the end,

Is, you know,

Security for my family.

Thank god we're

Still here, jennifer.

[Jennifer]

Mike i. Not being here



Is a pretty big deal.

I thought he would be

In the top.

Anything can happen.



I just don't want



To be in the bottom again.

I should just stop

Worrying about everybody else

And really just start

Worrying about myself.

You guys about ready

To get out of here?

It's about time.

Let's go see

What we got going on.

[Eli] this morning, instead

Of heading to the m resort

For the top chef kitchen,

We make our way

To the venetian hotel.

We are guided into a kitchen



Deep in the catacombs



Of the venetian.

And my head starts turning,

And I'm trying to figure out

Who the hell we might see today.

[Robin] wonder what they got

For us today.

[Phone ringing]

Venetian in-suite dining.

Good morning, may I speak

With the chefs, please?

Chefs, it's for you.

-Awesome.

-Hello?

Good morning, chefs,

And welcome to the venetian.

[All] good morning, padma.

There's over ,

Hotel rooms in las vegas.

And room service is



A multimillion-dollar industry.



So this morning,



You are gonna be



Making room service

For me and a very dear

Friend of mine,

Famous, bestselling



Cookbook author

And television host

Nigella lawson.

[Eli]

Nigella lawson



Is kind of a modern,

Updated, less-french version

Of julia child.

Gordon ramsay



Named a turkey after her.



She's legit.



[Padma]

You'll be making us



Breakfast in bed.

[Laughs]

[Jennifer]

Padma informs us



That nigella

Has just flown in

From overseas,

And that they want breakfast



To be served by us in bed.



[Padma]

You have minutes,



And anything you can find



Down there in the kitchen.

Then you'll have to come up

And serve us up here

In our suites.

Your time starts now.

Good luck.

-[Robin] corner!

-[Eli]

It's a smaller kitchen.



We're staggering it where



There's only two of us.



They give a time.



There's not a whole lot



Of sautee pans

And pots

And things like that.

So it's a little more frenetic.

And no plugs over here.

That's not gonna work there.

Minutes left.

I'm gonna do



What I'll eat /.



So I want to do a play



On a corned beef ruben.



Instead of using



Thousand island,



I'm gonna make



Thousand island hollandaise.

[Robin] um, eight minutes!

I can't do anything

In eight minutes.

I'm tripping over myself

Trying to get three things done.

And, you know, I've got



My grilled pineapple combo



Going here,



My blintz filling over here,



And my crepes over here.

I'm losing time.

I'm way behind.

Are you kidding me?

Talk about too big a plate.

I had envisioned two blintzes



Each on the plate.

They're getting one blintz.

Corner, corner, hot.

I am scrambling.

I could have made



That plate look tighter.

[Bleep]

[Bleep] no [bleep] pots?

Disgusting.

[Michael]

I get in the kitchen,



It's a complete disaster.

The only station

That's available is the one

Where robin



Had just finished.

It's a complete mess.

I like to work



In a clean environment.



So I spend a good



Five minutes cleaning.

And before I know it,

I look on the clock,

And there's, like,

Minutes left.

[Bleep]in'-a.

Some [bleep] spoons

Up here?

I do have

The dubious advantage

Of being the first person

To serve them.

The kitchen is located

In the dregs of the venetian.

You've, like, two elevators



And back hallways



And corridors.

It was a trek.

Room service.

Hi, ladies.

[Padma] hello, robin.

This is nigella.

Nigella, how are you?

Nice to meet you.

Hi. Nice to meet you.

[Robin]

Nigella is a beautiful person.



But, you know, it's sort



Of that stage fright

In front of, you know,

The judges.

I always just like,

"Uhh, trip."

I made one of my specialties.

It's a blintz, and I did--

I caramelized



A grilled pineapple,



And I made



A little bacon flower



With some fresh blueberries.



And I put some goat cheese



In the crepe as well,

Right into the blintz.

[Padma] great!

Thank you so much, robin.

Hey, guys, how we doing?

Good.

Thank you so much.

Breakfast, for me,

Is one of those things

I don't eat much.

I'm usually not up

By that hour.

I decided to do

A ruben benedict.

I got some rye bread,



A little swiss cheese,

Some sauerkraut,

Corned beef,

Fried egg on top.

Top it off with

Thousand island hollandaise.

This would be a really great

Sort of a hangover breakfast,

Wouldn't it?

-Yeah, totally.

-Yeah.

[Padma] great.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, eli.

Coming down.

I'm not a big fan

Of room service.

Choosing to do



Steak and eggs



Because it's



A hearty breakfast.



Um, I also just



Personally like it a lot.

What's this? You?

No, not me.

That's voltaggio.

[Michael]

As time is coming to an end,

I'm in the complete weeds.

I wrote myself

An aggressive prep list.

I'm gonna make sort of



A cuban-inspired breakfast

With rice, crispy rice,

Bananas.

I'm gonna push through

To the end.

It's not probably plated



The way I want to.



It's not seasoned



The way I wanted to.

Nothing is working for me

On this dish today.

Excuse me, excuse me,

Excuse me.

I'd rather you just

Be gone right now.

I was told to come get

My [bleep] out of the way.

[Robin]

Michael pissed me off



So much.



I don't like



Being treated that way.

I'm not going back in there.

[Bleep] suck.

This is a take

On huevos cubano.

Underneath, you have



Crispy rice, banana puree.

Some crispy bacon.

Break the egg,

Mix in the banana puree

And everything

That's underneath,

And then eat everything

Together as one.

Thing about breakfast

Is that you can eat it

At any time of the day.

Sure.

Depends how much you've

Had to drink that night too.

[Laughs] see? You've got

To think of those things.

[Michael]

They seem to be



Enjoying it.



You know, that's hilarious,



Because I know what



It was like in the kitchen.



It just shows that



If the food still tastes good

And gets on the plate,

It doesn't matter

How it got there.

-Well, hello.

-Hi, kevin.

Pardon me.

This plate is very warm,

So be very careful, please.

-Is this beef here?

-Yes, it is.

I'm from the south.

We like hearty a breakfast.

I decided to do a play

On steak and eggs

That is cooked with



A little bit of green onion



And some very intense



Aged cheddar.

It is dusted

In a little bit of coffee.

Then, on top, for the sauce

And egg component

Is a very soft

Scrambled egg

That has creme fraiche

Folded into it

To soften it up.

And everything

Is nice and warm.

-Thank you so much, kevin.

-Thanks so much, ladies.

It was a pleasure

To meet you.

[Bleep].

I work in a hotel,

And I do room service



Out of my kitchen.

My room service is good.

Ii am making

Creamed chipped beef.

It's called

[Bleep]



On a shingle



Because that's what they



Used to serve in the army.

It was basically... A shingle

Was a piece of toast

Because it was a dried-out,

Disgusting piece of bread

That looked like [bleep]

On a shingle.

[Bryan] seven minutes left.

Typically breakfast



Is something



That's done really quick.



So my dish is going to be



A warm four-minute egg

That's gonna be served

Over corn, polenta.

The immunity's gone now.

This is just simply

To make the best dish.

-[Padma] hi, jennifer.

-Hi.

Very nice to meet you.

As I put my plates down,



I see nigella just looking



At my plate like,

"What the hell did you

Just put in front of me?"

So what I made

For both of you

Is a classic

American tradition,

Something that I grew up eating.

It is creamed chipped beef,

Basically, as you know it.

S.o.s.,

[Bleep] on a shingle.

Um, with a little bit



Of toast,



Lightly baked potatoes



With some chives,

And oven-roasted tomatoes.

Enjoy.

Mmm.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, jennifer.

[Chuckling]

Well, hello.

-Morning.

-Hi, bryan.

-Nice to meet you.

-So nice to meet you.

I can smell vanilla.

Yes, there is vanilla.

Um, so what I did

Is I did a four-minute egg,

And I served it with simply



A vanilla beurre fondue.

There's also king crab,

Asparagus spears,

And a soft corn polenta.

[Padma] thank you so much, ryan.

You're welcome.

Enjoy the rest of your meal.

The vanilla has

Thrown me off slightly.

I just think, for me,

This would have been

A complete star

If the vanilla

Hadn't been there.

That's it, I think I learned

My lesson today.

Thirty minutes

Is not enough time.

[Laughs]

Okay, so let's get the bad news

Out of the way first.

Who had your

Least favorite dishes

In this challenge?

You know, for me, bryan,

I couldn't cope, quite,

With the vanilla.

And I felt that to feel like

You're breathing in dessert

And then eating crab,

It kind of threw me.

-[Padma] who else?

-[Nigella] robin.

There wasn't enough contrast

In the blintz

With the berries



And the pineapple.

And I felt it was all

Too much one note.

Hmm-mm, I wasn't proud

Of what I did today.

Now some good news.

Who had some

Of your favorite dishes today?

Kevin, your dish

On steak and eggs

Demonstrated an understanding

Of the challenge,

So I thought that

Certainly worked.

Right.

Also, eli, your take

On the reuben had wit.

I felt the tang

Of the sauerkraut

Slapped the jetlag

Out of me.

So, as our guest judge,

Please tell us who

The quickfire winner is today.

I think the dish

I've gone for

Had robustness.

So I would say, for me...

That's eli.

-Cool. Cool, thanks.

-[Applause]

Congratulations, eli.

As you know,

At this point in the game,

You don't have immunity.

However,

You'll be the only chef

From this season

With your quickfire recipe

Here in this

Top chef quickfire cookbook.

-Cool, eli.

-Cool.

[Eli]

It's my second



Quickfire win.



I do end up getting my recipe



Being the only one



Out of the season



That's gonna go



In the

Top chef



Quickfire challenge cookbook.

[Padma] so for your

Elimination challenge,

We're gonna celebrate

The crowned jewel of las vegas,

The strip.

So you'll have the opportunity

To explore some of the casinos

On the strip.

And that's where

You'll get inspiration

To create your dish.

And, to find out

What part of this world

You'll be exploring,

Please draw knives.

Let's start with you, bryan.

Mandalay bay.

Circus circus.

New york, new york.

It's a wonderful town,

I hear.

[Kevin] the mirage.

Excalibur.

The bellagio.

I know nothing



About the bellagio,

Which may be really

Embarrassing to be saying.

But I'm actually really excited



By this challenge.

It sounds like a lot of fun.

So, you'll all be catering

For guests

To a party

Of las vegas's elite

On top

Of the world market center.

[Kevin]

People is a lot of people



To do by yourself.

Not really

Very easy to do.

[Padma] please have fun.

You'll be exploring the town

This evening,

And make sure

All of that inspiration

Winds up in your dishes.

Nigella and I will

See you tomorrow night

Along with the other judges.

So good luck.

I look forward to it.

[Michael]

Our elimination challenge



Is each of us



Is gonna visit a hotel



Or casino,

Get inspiration

For our dish.

New york is the restaurant



Mecca of the united states.



People go to succeed,



And it's where



A lot of people have failed.



There's a huge



Statue of liberty.



There's a little new york city



Fire department boat

Floating in the water.

And there's a huge

American flag.

Immediately, like,



My dish starts



To come together in my head.



So I want to do something



That I think would



Kind of give a tribute



To the firefighters



In new york.

At the same time,

Put a twist on it

And cook it my way.

[Jennifer]

I love being a chef



Because I get to work



With food every day.

It allows me

To be creative.

Growing up,



I was a little confused



About what the hell



I wanted to do in my life.



I was just really



Into cooking,



So I decided to go



To culinary school.

That was really

My favorite thing to do.

And I wanted to be around it

All the time.

Oh, man.

So, I go into



The tournament of kings.



It's really fun.



It's a good time.

It's something you can go to

With your friends

And just joke around

And laugh.

-[Applause]

-I'm ready.

Where's my prince at?

-Whoo!

-Stay!

[Cheers and applause]

[Jennifer]

You're eating



With your fingers,



No forks, no spoons,

And big cups of beer.

Cheers.

I have no idea what the hell



I'm going to make.



My brain



Is just not working.

Fun times.

I'm kind of having

A little hard time

Focusing on food

Right now.

Sword in the stone.

No idea

What I'm gonna make.

Definitely interesting.

[Bryan]

So we arrive



At mandalay bay.



I look up and I see



That, you know,



All the gold windows,



And decide to, uh,



Check out the shark reef,

A very cool exhibit

Of a lot of different sharks.

And, you know,

It's like a huge aquarium.

Ah.

As soon as I walk in,



There's a note about



Sustainability.

Sustainable fishing

And sustainable

Fishing practices.

I pretty much have a dish



That's created in my head.



I feel good about



Wrapping the whole idea

Of sustainability

In fishing

And also points of, like,



Mandalay bay



That inspired me



To think that way.



And on the way out,



I get a souvenir



For my son thatcher.



I got this little



Black-tipped shark.



He's on my mind every day.

I miss him a lot.

Um, it'll be nice to take this

Home and give it to him.

I think what really

Made me fall in love with food

Was that connection

To the person.

Dale chihuly.

When I first walk into



The lobby of the bellagio,



I can't believe it.



All overhead is this



Amazing chihuly sculpture.



I consider myself an artist



More than anything.



And i, uh, found food



Along the way,



And I feel it's a really



Creative field.

I'm a huge fan of there's

No one way to do everything.

I want to make



Some of my art



Integrate it with my food



Some more,



And bring my art



Back to my food.

Look at how beautiful

These are.

Oh, this is t*rture.

Gelatin's gonna



Be involved, I think.



But I think what's gonna



Make this challenge work

Is that we all represent

Ourself in it.

-How you doing, sir?

-Thank you. Good morning.

Thanks.

[Kevin]

Pulling up to the mirage,



It seems to be that sort



Of tropical oasis

That there's all kinds

Of waterfalls

And, uh, lots of flowers.

I think it's gonna give me



More than I expected.

Whoa.

Everyone assumes that



I'm a really big redneck.



I am very much



Committed as a chef

To movements

Such as slow foods

And georgia organics.

Jump!

I definitely believe



That my culinary style



Is that less is more.

I believe in simplicity.

I don't believe



In flashy food



Or in food that is more style



Over substance.

Complex flavors

Through a subtle hand.

[Eli]

So we get



To circus circus,



And I'm expecting to see



A lot more novelty

And a lot less, like,

Just impressive, like, luxury,

Like the other casinos

Around town.

I start making



My way through,



And my brain is processing



Basically the aesthetic



Of the space



As well as the, you know,



The concept of a circus.



The colors--there's deep,



Rich purples everywhere.



And then also,



Um, you know,



Just the traditional things



That you think of



With the circus.



You know, candied apples,



Peanuts,



And cotton candy,



All these things.

I want to get the top chef title

Really badly.

I think that the trick to it is

Is just to not lose



To yourself.

[Kevin] did you go

See the circus, man?

Um, well, there's no circus

At circus circus.

[Kevin] you're like the [bleep]

Whiniest dude

About this [bleep].

No, listen, 'cause I'm totally

Like gung-h* about this.

I'm all like,

"Let's do this."

[Michael] your theme

Is so definitive.

Right, that's the--

How do you not

Get inspired by that?

[Eli] what I'm trying

To tell you

Is it's not

That black and white.

There are no restaurants.

There's no food there.

You didn't go there

To get inspired

By the food, though.

You went there to get inspired

By the scene.

Like what the place

Was all about.

[Kevin]

Eli has a funny adventure



Every time he goes anywhere.



The way he describes it,



It's as if you're standing

In an art gallery

Looking at like,

A really sad

Velvet painting.

[Eli] unfortunately,

It's not like

Big top, elephants,

Giraffes.

Like it's not a circus.

[Robin]

Eli is having a hard time



Creating a concept here



From scratch.

So I'm pushing myself

On this challenge

As much as I can,

Because I feel that



I'm still here,



And I want to stay here.



I don't want to go home.

-[Groans]

-Bryan, wake up.

Wake up.

[Eli]

We're down



To six chefs now,



And I feel like six



Is a milestone.



That's pretty cool.



This challenge



Is really all about



Inspiration and concept.

Oh, man.

At the same time, my hopes

And fears for this challenge

Are the same

As with every challenge.

You hope to win,

Your fear is to go home.

We gotta

Get on out of here.

It's that time.

I think this challenge is hard

In a couple ways.

One is the quantity

Of people.

Add into that



That you're looking



At / hours to produce.



That's not a lot of time.



We don't get to just make



Whatever we want to make.

You have to be creative

And smart about this.

The inspiration for my dish



Comes from the mirage.



The dish I'm serving



Is lightly cured



Wild alaskan sockeye salmon



With compressed



Vegetable slaw

And spicy tomato

Cucumber broth.

[Michael]

I started working



In a restaurant when I was .



I started cooking



When I was .

I think winning

This competition,

It's kind of like



Getting your shot.



I have a desire



To have my own restaurant.



Winning could or would,



Perhaps,

Get me one step closer

To that goal.

I'm gonna take the idea



Of the chicken wing,



Which is a pretty traditional



New york staple,

And put my own twist on it.

[Robin]

My inspiration



For this dish



Is this amazing



Chihuly sculpture.



I'm doing a dessert.

Panna cotta a really nice,

Summery,

Appropriate dessert

For vegas.

I want to do



This stained-glass effect



With sugar.



I haven't made it a lot,



But I don't want



To do what I know.

I keep wanting to make

What I haven't done before,

And I don't know why.

Mike, you want to be

My prince charming?

[Laughs]

[Jennifer]

I pick excalibur.



So I go back into childhood



A little bit

And remember

The sword in the stone.



And I decide to use that



As the theme for my dish.



It's really nerve-wracking.

I have three different sauces

That have red wine in it.

Not sure how it's all

Gonna come together,

But at the end

Of three hours, it will.

[Robin]

Awesome, I love



Sabotaging myself.

[Michael] eli, I'm in a circus!

[Imitating calliope music]

[Eli]

My inspiration



Is circus circus,

So I first want to do things

That remind me of,

Like, a three-ring circus.

So I incorporate peanuts



And caramel apple into a soup,



Garnishing it with



Some pulverized popcorn.



And do a little whipped



Raspberry juice

To kind of mimic

The pink dome

Out back of circus circus.

[Pop]

Eli...

[Laughs]

One hour, guys.

One hour.

[Bryan]

I pretty much have a dish



That's created in my head

That I feel good about

Wrapping the whole idea

Of sustainability



In fishing.

And also points of, like,

Mandalay bay

That inspired me

To think that way.

I'm actually,



I'm gonna cook the fish



In olive oil,



Very slowly, but warm.



I hope I do really well



In this elimination.



For some reason,



I still can't win



The quickfire challenges.

But I've won three

Elimination challenges,

And I want to win

Another one.

Can't figure out

What I need to do to focus.

[Eli]

You know, the reality is



Robin's still here.

She's oftentimes

Been lucky enough

To be the lesser



Of two evils.

Hopefully the buck's about

To run out on that one.

We're just gonna have to wait



And see what happens.



[Robin]

I think my dish is good



Because it's me

Bringing my food

To the challenge.

[Bryan]

Guys, we got three minutes

Left, three minutes.

Are you gonna take these

Over here, just like this?

I don't know yet.

[Bryan]

We pull up



To world market,



And from afar it didn't look



Like it was that big.

But it's a huge space.

This place

Is [bleep] huge.

[Michael]

Initial impression's



Just like a massive kind



Of george orwellian



Style place.



It's just immense, huge.



We're on the rooftop



Overlooking the old strip



As well as the new strip.

Just a cool energy for trying

To showcase casinos.

[Michael]

Basically,



Within this hour,

What I need to do is

Completely set up my station,

And then I've got



Pieces of chicken wing



That I have to get crispy.



So when the first diners



Actually arrive,

I'm ready to go with at least

Or of my dish.

[Eli] how much time left?

Thirty.

[Jennifer]

Because I came



Into this unfocused,



'Cause I know I have



A lot of work in front of me,



And I know it's gonna be



A hard time for myself.

I'm scrambling

A little bit.

[Robin]

It's coming



Out of the molds great.



I think my flavors are good.



The sugar did not travel.



It did not set.



And I can't use it.



I know it's not



A winning dish.

But I still love my vision.

I still love my concept.

[Eli] is it tasty?

Tastes like a peanut butter

And jelly.

[Eli] groovy, groovy, groovy.

[Jennifer]

People walking



Into a party all at once



Is a little overwhelming



When you turn around



And the space is empty,



And then you



Turn around again,

And there's just people

Looking over your shoulder,

Wondering where food is.

[Woman]

What's the challenge here?

-The mirage.

-[Woman] mirage.

[Kevin]

I thought about just putting

A picture of my dish up here

And then filling these bowls

Full of sand.

But I don't think

That would really

Win the competition

For me.

Very, very good.

[Kevin]

Thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

Hi, jennifer.

-Hi, how are you, padma?

-I'm good.

You look like

You're sold out.

Padma walks up when I have

Nothin' on the table.

Well, why don't you tell us

What you were making?

I went to excalibur hotel,

And it brought to mind

The sword and the stone.

So what I did was

Grilled some new york strip.

To act as the stone

Underneath.

I'm topping it



With some beets,



A little herbs



And truffles

And a little red wine

Beurre monte.

They are bigger bites,

Because it's medieval times.

Thank you very much,

Jennifer.

I don't know,

I think I need--

I think I need excalibur

To cut it.

[Laughter]

I'm sorry, I'm gonna have

To be very unladylike,

'Cause I can't cut it.

Mmm.

This is the stone.

[Laughs]

You get to get a little medieval

Over here, okay?

I feel--i felt ready

To be in wench mode.

Wow.

What hotel

Were you inspired by?

-I'm the mirage.

-Okay.

This is wild alaskan sockeye



From copper river.



Very lightly cured



In salt and sugar.



Um, a little bit



Of citrus zest and juice.



Sits on top of a salad



Of compressed vegetables--

Napa cabbage and cucumber.

My suggest is to eat the fish

With the salad

And then sort of take

The broth back

As that cleansing sort

Of last moment of the dish.

-Mmm, delicious.

-Quite good, isn't it?

Mm-hmm.

The combination

Of the spice and the mint

Gave it a kind of thai flavor,

Which is very appropriate

For this kind of heat.

The tomato water is just

Really just stunning.

-Hi, michael.

-Good evening, padma.

This is a boneless

Chicken wing.

I confited them very slowly



With a little bit of curry.



[Padma]

Smells good.

[Michael]

And then pulled all the bones



Out of the center.



Made a hot pepper sauce



Out of fresh pepper juice,

And then thickened it

With a little bit

Of carrageenan.

My inspiration

Was new york, new york.

Chicken wings,

New york firefighters.

It's probably something

They like to eat.

Step over here

With your plate.

This is the blue cheese

Dressing element,

Which is actually one

Of the very traditional

Condiments

That go with chicken wings.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Michael's dish,

You had the cheese texture

And you had the hot sauce

That was in the middle of it.

And i--i thought

It was wonderful.

Mmm.

I'm loving the crisp skin.

Yep.

And I love the cold

Dollop of blue cheese

Dressing.

It's a really nice surprise

With the hot chicken wings.

I found the blue cheese-

I like the contrast

Between the hot

And the cold,

But I didn't particularly

Love the flavor of the--

That cold disc

Of blue cheese.

Hi, robin.

Hello, padma.

How are you this evening?

Good.

So what have you made

For us today?

Well, I was

In the bellagio

And was inspired by

The beautiful glass sculptures

Of dale chihuly.

So I drew inspiration



From that,



And I made a panna cotta



Based on flowers.

And, um, sadly, the, um,

Dale chihuly inspiration part

Didn't work because

Of the moisture

And the humidity,

So I'm not going

To put it on the plate.

Thank you, robin.

Sure, you guys.

Thank you so much.

Bring it on.

[Laughs]

Enjoy.

I think I like the smell.

So far,

I'm liking the smell.

I'm feeling the texture

Is too ge--

There's too much gelatin.

The panna cotta's...

Way too solid.

And the syrup tastes a bit

Like the kind of syrup

You get on a slushy.

I think,

As far as inspiration,

It did work.

What she showed

Of the glass did look...

Yeah, but she

Didn't serve it to us.

-Hi, bryan.

-Hi, good evening.

What was your inspiration,

Bryan?

Uh, my inspiration

Was mandalay bay.

[Padma]

What have you made



For us today?



[Bryan]

Um, so what I made is



A escabeche of halibut.



Uh, served with



A bouillabaisse consomme,

Served with pine nuts.

Also a parsley coulee.

And also garlic chips

Over the top.

[Padma] okay, great.

Enjoy.

[Padma] you know,

When I read his menu,

And it said

"Parsley fluid gel,"

I thought,

That sounds disgusting.

-Actually, it's quite nice.

-Yeah, it is.

I like this.

I think it's got

Fantastic balance to it.

The sauce is really nice.

I think bryan's dish

Is very good.

It tastes like a really

Professional dish.

So I needed to do a play

On circus circus.

And I went a little risky,

But I feel

Totally cool about it, um--

[Padma] so what did you do?

I did caramel apple



And peanut soup.



And then did some



Pulverized popcorn on top.



And for me, circus circus



Has one huge,



Redeeming aesthetic quality,

Which is a giant,

Pink dome on the back.

So I wanted to do

A little pink dome in my cup

With some raspberry froth.

-[Tom] thanks.

-[Padma] thank you so much.

Thanks so much, guys.

I'm more frightened

Than I can say,

And I'm not gonna be

The first to go in.

I'm gonna watch your face first

As you eat.

-I don't like it at all.

-[Tom] really?

The soup

Is a little grainy,

Without a doubt.

I think it could have

Used some of, uh,

Robin's gelatin.

And I think the texture

Didn't quite work.

I admire eli's willingness

To go all-in.

You know,

It's death or glory.

Like most people

Who come to vegas,

He has gambled and lost.

All right, on that note,

Let's go back to judges' table

And hash it all out.

Okay.

Yeah, good job, everybody.

Yeah, just try not

To hurt anyone this time, eli.

I didn't hurt

Anybody last time.

Hey, you got

A big chef knife?

[Pop]

[Kevin]

I think that this competition



Is becoming



More interesting



Because the momentum



Continues to shift.

It really is every day,

Day to day

And challenge to challenge

And dish to dish.

[Michael]

And then there were six.

All right, guys.

To the top six, huh?

Congratulations

To everybody.

-Cheers.

-Whoo-hoo!

-Hear, hear.

-I love you guys.

[Suspenseful music plays]

Okay, boys and girls.

So how'd everybody's stuff

Come out tonight?

That good, huh?

Hello.

Hello.

We'd like to see kevin,

Michael,

And bryan.

Let's go.

Let us go now.

So congratulations.

You had our three favorite

Dishes at the party.

Kevin, the salmon was-

The texture was great.

And for the compressed

Vegetables,

They were really

Nice and bright

And really flavorful.

Thank you, chef.

[Tom] I particularly

Liked your broth.

All throughout the room,

You could see people

Tipping up their bowls

To finish it off.

[Laughs]

[Nigella] bryan, I thought

It was a beautiful dish.

The garlic chips were...

Fantastic.

I thought it was

Really quiet and elegant.

Thank you.

[Padma] michael...

That you managed

To take buffalo chicken wings

And rework it

And to actually, I think,

Give us something much better

Than what we're used to.

Michael, the thing

I really liked about your dish

Is that it seemed to be

Perfectly expressive

Of the kind of cooking you do.

Your food is very delicate

And sometimes

Quite effeminate.

You know,

I'm a strong believer

That, you know,

Your personality

Is definitely

On the plate.

All right, well, nigella,

As our guest judge,

You have the honor

Of announcing our winner.

Well, it is a great honor.

It's also quite difficult.

I think our winner fulfilled

The challenge perfectly.

And the winner is...

-Michael.

-Wow.

[Padma]

Congratulations, michael.

And, michael, nigella

Has something for you.

It's a lovely bottle

Of terlato wine.

And you've also won

A two-day, three-night trip

To the terlato family vineyard

In napa valley.

-Wow.

-So congratulations.

[Michael]

This was a good challenge



For me.



I had a great time with it.



I just want



To stay focused.



I don't want to get



Too excited yet.

For me, the competition

Just started.

Please send back

Your remaining colleagues,

Eli, jennifer, and robin.

[Applause]

-Hey, dude.

-Hey, bud.

So, guys...

Robin, jennifer, eli,

All three of you,

Time to line up.

-Robin, good luck.

-See you.

You can write

My name up now.

So, chefs, you had

The least successful dishes

At the party.

Jennifer, are you surprised

To be here?

No.

I really, truly didn't

Have a clear vision

Of what I wanted to do.

And I think that translated

Into my food.

And I think it was

A little boring.

Maybe it's just

A lack of knowledge

On medieval cooking.

Usually, you associate it

With a lot of spicing.

The food

Was so rank back then,

They used tons of spices

To mask it.

You know, I just wish you'd just

Took it a little further.

Yeah.

Everyone else's meat

Was tender,

And I couldn't

Saw through it.

You know,

At one stage I did say

That, actually, you need

Excalibur to cut through it.

When you said it was inspired

By

The sword in the stone,

I was thinking, well,

In that case,

If the beef is the stone,

It better not be too tough.

And it was

A little too tough.

And I didn't think

There was enough in the sauce

To--to really kind of bring

Some magic to the dish.

It was more

Spamalot



Than

Camelot.

[Padma] uh, robin.

Well, the bellagio

Was the resort I got to visit.

And it just sung to me

What I was supposed to make.

My vision and my flavors,

I was happy with.

The execution,

I didn't nail.

Yeah, what happened

With the glass?

You know, I'm not-

I'm not a sugar master.

And I was waiting for it

To get to the hard crack,

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

And I was playing

With something

I hadn't done before again-

I'm such a jerk.

You were playing with two things

You haven't done before.

You really hadn't done

A panna cotta before.

Yeah, and the panna cotta

Came out stiffer

Than I was hoping.

For me, a panna cotta,

When you put

The spoon in it,

It should have the quiver

Of, uh, you know,

A th century

Courtesan's inner thigh.

[Sighs]

But, robin, do you think

You're being influenced

By the other chefs,

And you're looking around,

Seeing some of the tricks

That they're using,

Some of the things

They're doing?

I'm envious

Of their knowledge.

And I have been inspired

By the tricks.

I would certainly

Applaud your ambition,

But, you know, the cost

Of being so ambitious

Is that you will

Sometimes fail.

Eli.

I-i'm afraid, for me,

There was too much

Clashing going on.

The textures

Didn't quite work.

I--i didn't know what

Was going on when I ate it.

You know, you had the idea

Of using the dome,

But then you covered it up,

So we really didn't see it.

It was more

Of a textural issue for me

That kind of ruined the dish.

The soup was grainy.

The peanut soup

Was fighting me,

And I even tried

To emulsify

Some caramelized

White chocolate into it,

Try to get it smoother,

But it was fighting me.

And I kind of ran out of time

On refining it.

That's what actually

Made it grainy.

That stuff-

That stuff doesn't melt.

But I thought that,

Conceptually,

What I was pretty close

To the mark.

But the dish

Was a failure.

Texturally,

It completely failed.

I really didn't like

The flavors in that dish.

I personally would never

Want to eat that again.

We will call you back

When we have a decision.

That's all for now.

Thank you.

[Nigella] thank you.

Hi, guys.

What's up, y'all?

[Exhales]

Well, obviously,

All these dishes

Had major problems.

Let's talk about jennifer.

My problem with it

Was the sauce was disappointing.

It was more of a smear,



That wine reduction.



[Nigella]

I don't see



One part of that dish

That wasn't disappointing.

I felt it was almost hostile,

That lump of meat,

With its, you know,

Brown smear on the plate.

She started off

Really, really well,

And in the last

Three challenges,

She's just been terrible.

It's a marathon,

And maybe jennifer's

Hitting the wall.

[Jennifer] I'm ready to go.

I think robin's vision

Is robin's problem.

I think she was so inspired,

That clouded her judgment,

And she ended up

Trying to do stuff

Which was technically

Beyond her.

What bothers me

About the panna cotta--

It is simple to make.

And she couldn't make it.

Panna cotta is actually

Child's play, isn't it?

It is, it is.

[Padma]

And beyond the panna cotta

And being too dense,

Even the flavor of it



Was really non-existent.

And I don't see

The dale chihuly sculpture

In that dish at all.

And the spun sugar,

Which was meant to represent

A glass sculpture, wasn't there.

[Robin] I don't know how

To play safe.

And--and I think,

You know, tom said,

"Do you feel the pressure

Of trying to cook up

To the people around you?"

And you know, yeah.

I mean, I want to...

I want to wow them too.

I think eli's wasn't a dish,

It was a fiasco.

I'd rather eat the sawdust.

He just couldn't

Pull it all together.

You have bad texture



In this grainy



Peanut butter soup,



And then you add



More bad texture



By grinding up popcorn.

Terrible execution,

Really bad textures.

I think the real problem

With eli's dish

Is it just looked

So unappetizing.

I had to bring every ounce

Of my upbringing to bear

In not spitting the bit I had

Back into the cup.

There's nothing I don't eat,

And that challenged me.

[Kevin] that dish

That you did, eli,

It was one of those dishes,

You'd make it,

And then you'd have

To remake it

And probably

Remake it again

'Cause it's

Just to complicated

To get right

The first time.

[Padma] well, I think we have

Our answer.

We agree?

Mm-hmm.

All right,

Let's get them out here.

Tonight's challenge

Was to visit a casino

And find inspiration,

Either through theme or design.

You know,

We've gone through

Either quickfire

Or elimination challenges,

But at this point,

We start separating

Just talent

From the top chefs.

Eli, you went

To circus circus

And gave us a dish

That just was sort of a mess.

Almost circus-like.

Jennifer, you went

To excalibur

And you left us

With a pretty boring dish,

And, uh,

A story to match.

Robin, in looking

At that dish,

I didn't see

Dale chihuly's work at all.

It's a lot to live up to,

But that's what

You chose to do.

It was a difficult challenge,

And one of you

Have to go home.

Robin, please

Pack your knives and go.

It's been

An amazing experience.

Thank you all.

I appreciate it.

-Good luck to you, robin.

-Thank you, thanks so much.

-A pleasure.

-Take care.

I came really close.

I mean, the fact that I made

Elimination challenges

I feel



Is a pretty good showing.

But I'm happy

That I made it this far.

I deserve to be here.

But I was trying



To impress people



With [bleep] I don't know



How to do yet.

Take care, robin.

Good job.

[Robin]

I was so concerned



About wowing,



That I forgot about



How important it was



To stay true to what



I came here to do,

Which was cook

My comfort food

And show america

That I can make it work.

I'm so excited about what's



Next for me in the food world,



'Cause I know

Top chef's



Totally inspired me.



I mean, it's been an amazing,



Amazing experience.

And I don't regret it

For a minute.

Next on

Top chef...

Chefs train for years

For this.

We're doing it tomorrow.

Really cool.

Son of a b*tch.

[Kevin]

And I'm not



Happy with myself

For making a mistake

Like that.

[Michael]

The food that kevin cooks

Is the food that I cook

On my day off.

It's nerve-wracking to see

Thomas keller.

[Bryan]

This is



Completely different.

This is the worst I've failed.