15x03 - Keep on Truckin

[bunniefuu]

[Christopher]

It never gets easier.

Like, I literally thought

I was gonna go home.

[Adrienne] I mean,

I thought it could've been me,

because we were

half and half with the dish.

The last Elimination Challenge

was at Fruition Farms.

Our favorite team

is the green team.

[Adrienne] We didn't do as well

as we expected.

You didn't seem to

really embrace the part--

the cheese part of it.

I thought of doing

the zucchini cooked

with the pecora rind,

but I rescinded the opinion

that it should be served raw.

Why didn't you assert yourself?

I was her partner on it,

and I got thrown

under that bus.

Claudette,

please pack your knives and go.

That's just not

how I get down.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

[Carrie] Nothing is predictable.

Like, I was in

the bottom twice.

And I just took that one,

you know?

-Like, that's--

-Colorado.

What!

I feel so good!

I love this dish.

It's simple

and it was just

perfectly ex*cuted.

Being on the bottom,

nobody here



was taking me serious,



but I won



the cheese challenge.

I think maybe they're gonna

notice me now.

-Cheers to you.

-Cheers to you.

-Colorado, huh?

-To Colorado.

[lively music]

[Padma] Thirteen 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.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[phone rings]

[Laura] Hello?

-[Oliver] Hello!

-Hi!

-How are you, peanut?

-Doing good.

This is the longest

period of time

I have ever been

away from my son

in his entire life.

I felt that I was



gonna be okay



being this far away from him,

and I was wrong.

I have been missing you

so much

and I just needed to

hear your voice for a second.

I was having an emotional day.

This is extremely harder

than I thought it was,

but I wanted to tell you

I love you, love you, love you.

A week before coming on

Top Chef,

I had extreme cold feet,



and Oliver



just looked at me and said,

"Don't be a quitter, Mom."

I love you so much.

-Okay, love you too, Mom.

-Bye!

I just have to remember

his voice in my head

and not give in to my nerves.

[upbeat percussive music]

♪ ♪

Hello, hello.

-Morning.

-Hey.

Please help me welcome

James Beard Award-winning chef

and Top Chef master

Lachlan Patterson.

[Laura] Nice to meet you.

[Lachlan] How's it going, guys?

Lachlan and I

actually met once before.

Incredibly talented chef.



He's just a real stand-up,



cool guy.

Eggs, ham, onions,

bell peppers, and cheese.

Does anyone know what dish

these ingredients

are usually used for?

-Denver omelet.

-Denver omelet.

That's exactly right.

[dramatic drum music]

I've had Denver omelets

all over the place,

and I really want you to

turn this dish on its head.

I don't want to see

any omelets.

But there's something

you should know.

This is a Sudden Death

Quickfire.

[dramatic music]

Of course, there's a twist.

That means

that the three chefs

who make

our least favorite dishes

will cook against each other,

and the loser

will be eliminated.

You have minutes,

and your time starts now.

Good luck.

[frantic techno music]

♪ ♪

Overwhelmed.

Tanya, what're you working?

I'm working on some crepes.

I trained in France.

I ate a lot of crepes

when I was living there.

I think it'll be



a perfect opportunity



to deconstruct



a Denver omelet.

[Adrienne] Laura,

how are you feeling

about Sudden Death?

I don't even know

what I'm doing yet.

-[Adrienne] You got this, Laura.

-Oh, my God.

Don't sweat, don't sweat.

I can't come up with

a concept.

[singing]

I'm trying to keep focused,

but my head and heart

are in Alaska right now.

Passed my station. Okay.

I'm gonna try to make, uh,

like, an eggs-in-a-hole.

The perfect eggs-in-a-hole

will be a little runny,

so it has to be perfect timing



between when it hits



on the plate

to when the judges

come and taste it.

Anybody got any salt on them?

Not over here, bud.

I'm making a fried egg

terrine.

I love eggs.

So I'm taking

a different approach

to cooking these eggs.

I'm gonna dice them,



garnish it with caviar,

and add some fresh vegetables.

And I'm the only one



doing a cold dish.

It's gonna be delicious.

Chef life, hashtag.

-Thirteen minutes!

-Thirteen.

-[Adrienne] Carrie.

-[Carrie] Yeah?

What're you gonna do?

I'm gonna do

a breakfast sandwich.

[Adrienne] Nice.

I am making a Denver omelet



breakfast sandwich,

but I'm gonna elevate it

and make it umptuous

and savory

and perfectly seasoned.

[Laura] I'm still struggling.

The most complete dish



I can come up with

is a savory French toast.

♪ ♪

I don't have any other ideas,

and I have to start this

happening now

if I'm gonna get



food on a plate.

♪ ♪

Oh, my God.

I have not made crepes

in a while.

The crepe is a little dry.



One of them has a hole in it,



but the time is running out,

and it's too late

for a solution.

-Behind, behind, behind.

-Behind.

[rock music]

Brother, what are you making

over there?

I'm smoking eggs.

[Brother] I got to spend

some time in Japan

this past summer,

learning traditional cuisine.



I'm making red pepper sauce,



smoked egg,

tempura cheese,

and tempura ham.

Bruce, what you got, baby?

Making some, uh,

ricotta duck egg

and smoked ham and gnocchi.

I'm not really

a deconstructing kind of chef.

But I'm here to grow,



I'm here to learn,

so I'm making Denver omelet

and gnocchi.

No bear's going home today!

Let me go do

some daredevil [bleep]

real quick.

-I'll be right back.

-Forty-five seconds, guys.

Whew.

-Uh...

-[Tanya] Ay-yi-yi.

Breathe, baby, breathe.

[Laura] Oh, my God,

my hands are, like, shaking.

[Adrienne] You got this, Laura.

Don't worry.

[dramatic music]

Time's up. Hands up.

All utensils down, please.

[nervous laughter]

♪ ♪

Lachlan,

this is local chef Carrie.

-Hi, Carrie. How are you?

-It's nice to meet you, Chef.

Nice to meet you too.

Tell us what we have.

Today, I made for you

a Denver breakfast sandwich.

Uh, I made a bacon pepper jam

with a soft scrambled egg

and crispy prosciutto.

-Crispy prosciutto's nice.

-Thank you.

-Hi, Tanya.

-Hi.

I made a cornmeal crepe

and it's stuffed with



Virginia ham



and gruyere cheese,



and red pepper sauce.

Is there egg in here?

The egg is in the crepes.

How come you chose

not to do the egg inside?

-I wanted to mix it up.

-Thank you.

What did you make for us?

So this is a dumpling,



stuffed with egg yolk,



wrapped in ham,

in a sauce soubise

with a little bit of cheddar.

[Padma] It's very pretty.

Hi. Sorry, I'm just sweating.

Tell us what we have.

Uh, I did a savory

French toast

with a cheddar cheese crust



on it



and crisp Serrano ham

and a fried quail egg.

Do you do

savory French toast a lot?

Never, actually.

I did a smoked

and soft-boiled, uh, duck egg,

a red pepper gastrique.



There's uh, tempura



of the cheddar and the ham

to mix with the pepper salad.

I like the tempura.

Thank you.

I've made for you

ricotta and gnocchi

that also has a duck egg yolk,



sharp white cheddar,

-and applewood smoked ham.

-Gnocchi again?

Hi, Rogelio.

[Rogelio]

I did a eggs-in-a-hole.



A little bit of cheddar



in the egg



and cooked it



with a chiffonade of basil



with a little bit of



red pepper sauce.

Is this how

you like your egg

on a egg-in-a-hole?

-No.

-'Cause the best part

of an egg-in-the hole is what?

-Runny egg.

-Yeah.

♪ ♪

Today we have

a chicken-fried ham.

There's egg white



in the batter



and egg yolk, soft-boiled,

around is the sauce.

-What bread is this?

-Uh, I also used

the brioche rolls.

Okay.

Hello, Chef. Hi, Padma.

This is a fried egg salad



with the ham and the peppers



dressed in a yellow onion



and tarragon vinaigrette.

What is popping in my mouth?

Uh, that is tobiko.

-Fresh.

-Thank you.

-Hi, Joe.

-Hello.

-What is this?

-It's a challah.

Inside, there's some



goat cheese.



I made a sauce



out of the yolk, in the center.

It's a little bit of a, uh,

pepper puree.

It's almost like a pocket.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Cheers.

You have a pain perdu with

grilled paneer, a curry leaf,



pepper and onion relish



on top.

So is there any cheddar

in this?

The paneer is standing in

for the cheddar.

Joe, what did you do?

I made a Denver panzanella.



Tossed the cheddar cheese



in there.



I made an aioli



out of the ham.

I crisped it up,

ground it down,

and I used fresh basil

to finish it out.

So where is the egg

in this dish?

The egg's in the aioli.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

[suspenseful music]

Lachlan, who had

one of our favorite dishes?

One of my favorite dishes

was Carrie's.

For a dish

that was that simple,

it was just really

well-ex*cuted.

Thank you.

Another one of our favorites

was Brother,

with the smoked duck egg.

Thought that was

just fabulous.

Thank you.

Our other favorite was Tu.

Great freshness, great acidity.

-Really well done.

-Thank you.

For me,

the winning dish today

was a dish that showed

tremendous amount

of creativity,

considering the simplicity

of the ingredients.

And that dish for me

was Brother's dish.

Congratulations.

[applause]

[Brother] Four years ago,

I was told I wasn't good enough

to be on Top Chef.

So, I've spent

the last couple years

with that itch,

and I couldn't scratch it

until I actually got

on Top Chef.

And now,



I finally won a challenge.

Keep 'em coming.

Congratulations, Brother.

Thank you.

Unfortunately,

there are a few people

who really missed the mark.

[dramatic music]

And of course, today

is not the day

to not do your best.

♪ ♪

Unfortunately,

there are a few people

who really missed the mark.

[dramatic music]

Tanya, your crepe dish.

The inside was very dry.



It was really flat.

There was no acidity.

Another one of my

least favorite dishes was,

Laura, your French toast.

The French toast to me



was a little bit thick



and heavy,

and I felt like the dish

was not very beautiful.

Another one of our

least favorite dishes was,

Rogelio, your toad-in-a-hole.

It was just not cooked well,



and that really



was difficult for me



to get past.

So, Tanya, Laura,

and Rogelio,

you'll be cooking

in a Sudden Death Quickfire.

One of you will go home

right here.

[dramatic music]

And because it's such

a big decision,

we're bringing in

some extra help.

♪ ♪

Your head judge,

Tom Colicchio.

♪ ♪

-Hey, chefs.

-How are you, Chef?

We asked you

to take a classic

and turn it on its head.

Now, we want you to make

the perfect omelet.

Now keep in mind,

we want a French omelet,

so it shouldn't be browned.

It should be really fluffy,

with small curds.

You have just minutes,

and your time starts now.

Good luck.

[Joseph] Go, go, guys!

[scattered cheering]

[Tanya] The first thing I do

is grab my pans,

and I'm so glad I did,

because they were the last two

over there.

[Adrienne] Grab the nonsticks.

[Brother] There's no big ones.

They're all dirty.

Whew. Come on, Laura.

I wish I could take

minutes and cry

and splash some water

on my face,

but on Top Chef,

you don't have



those minutes,

-[Brother] Come on, Laura.

-[Adrienne] You got this, guys.

-[Christopher] Aw, man.

He's putting stuff in it.

You should have nothing

in there but egg and salt.

Building a French omelet

with meats or vegetables--

a little risque.



It's all about the egg.

It should be that scrambled,

-creamy, semi-so--

-And that's it.

[Brother]

French omelet is all about



temperature control.

No color on the egg.

And then the one, two,

three-fold.

-That's it.

-Like, that's it.

And it's a technique that,

if you've never done,

you're gonna struggle.

[frantic techno music]

Ooh.

A little bit early

to be making that omelet.

I'm nervous, and my timing

is a little bit off.

[Padma]

You have five minutes left,

chefs.

-Don't overcook it.

-If it's done in the pan,

it'll be overcooked

on the plate, guys.

Ah, [bleep], [bleep]

[Rogelio]

It's time to flip my omelet,



and then as I flip it,



I rip it.

You're on Top Chef.

This is technique.

One mistake,

and that can send you home.

Laura, make sure

it's nice and soft.

I quickly realize

that I should have

started my eggs

at least a minute earlier.

Two minutes, guys.

Two minutes.

[Adrienne] Come on, Laura.

[dramatic music]

The minute I add

the dollop

of the creme fraiche

to the pan,



it completely liquefies



and I realize



how horrible a mistake



that was.

This is too runny.

[Fatima] Final push! Final push!

[Laura] Oh, my God.

I am so embarrassed.

[Padma] seconds. seconds.

What is she draining

over there?

-What is that mess?

-[Fatima] It's gut-wrenching.

She has been nominated



for James Beard twice,

and to watch such a giant

in the industry

doubt herself,



it's really hard.

-[Padma] Ten seconds.

-[Fatima] Fold it like a letter.

[all] Four, three,

-two, one.

-Time's up.

Hands up, utensils down.

[dramatic percussive music]

♪ ♪

[Padma] Thank you.

♪ ♪

Rogelio, did you want it

to be this runny or liquidy?

When I think of

a French omelet,

I usually think of

a little runny on the inside.

-Is there cheese in here?

-There is, uh, cheddar, yes.

Laura, is there anything

inside of it?

-Mascarpone and tarragon.

-What happened?

Uh, I just didn't

allow enough time

to finish cooking the eggs

all the way.

It's pretty raw.

Tanya, did you just

fold in raw spinach?

No, I wilted the spinach

in oil and salt,

blanched the asparagus,

and then threw it in

with the spinach.

Why did you guys

decide to stuff it,

as opposed to making just

eggs and fines herbes?

That's what I think of

as a classic French omelet.

-Really?

-Really?

Lachlan,

who is your least favorite

dish?

[dramatic synth music]

My least favorite dish today

was Laura's.

Tom, who had yours?

I have to say, you know,

Rogelio,

you had some problems

with your dish,

but Laura is still

my least favorite.

It's really undercooked.

[Padma]

Laura, I saw you plate that.

I know, I know.

I'm fully embarrassed.

It was really raw.

I was scared to eat it.

♪ ♪

Laura, please pack your knives

and go.

All right. Thank you.

So Laura, obviously

you know what happened here,

but, uh, we'll see you

at Last Chance Kitchen.

Okay. Thank you.

I'm completely embarrassed.

It's so weird when you know



exactly how to do something,

and you don't do it,

and you don't know why.

I wish I had



more opportunities



to get to know



this talented group of chefs.

-We love you.

-We love you.

And to learn from them,

but I'm thankful



for everything minute

that I got to be here.

[melancholic music]

Okay, chefs,

it's time to kick this thing

into high gear.

[energetic drum music]

Please welcome Top Chef's

season five winner,

Hosea Rosenberg.

[applause]

Chefs.

[Joe] Hosea Rosenberg.

He was in our exact spot

ten years ago.

[Tom] Yesterday, we told you

that all you had to do

was make the best

three-course meal of your life.

We're gonna add

one more course.

Hi, chefs.

I'm really glad to be standing

on this side of the table,

not on that side,

I can tell you that honestly.

It's cool to see

how successful you can become,

just from winning Top Chef.

About a decade ago,

food trucks became

a cultural phenomenon.

Food trucks,

what they really do,

is they provide

a really unique testing ground,

and so it's a great way

to launch a career.

Right after being

on Top Chef,

I actually opened

my first food truck.

And I have an empire now.

You'll be working

in four teams of three

to create a restaurant concept

out of a food truck.

Each team must create

a cohesive three-item menu

for college kids.

-[laughter]

-Oh, my God.

I feel like I have



a pretty good idea

of what college kids want,

because I went to four colleges

in four years,

and I decided

that I was gonna

drop out of college

to go to culinary school.

No one ever says,



"Oh, man, that's so cool.

You're an accountant?"

It's time to draw knives.

♪ ♪

My team is

Tanya and Joe from Chicago.

We all are kind of Americana,



and our styles,



albeit different,

could speak to

a late-night munchie

drunken crowd.

And to help get you

some diners

to your food trucks,

we've enlisted

a little social media help,

Logan Paul.

[Tom] His followers

are in the millions.

[Padma]

Eleven million, actually.

Wow.

Each diner will be given

one ticket

to exchange at a food truck,

and the team that receives

the most tickets

will be safe

from elimination.

You have minutes now

to menu plan

and check out your food trucks,

which are parked outside.

See you in Boulder!

[electronic music]

Right here, right here.

If I had to pick teams,



I would have picked

for the three of us.

I think we're gonna crush this.

I mean, what about, like,

The Hangover Cure?

We're serving college kids.

-[Joe] Okay.

-[Tyler] Cool with that.

[Fatima] What if I get

the waffle maker?

A chicken wing could be good,

grilled cheese croutons,

make smoked tomato soup.

-Let's do it.

-Let's do it.

I like it. Oh, yeah.

All right, I'm glad

we got the convection oven,

'cause for prep,

it would suck to not have that.

I love the guys

I'm working with.

Brother Luck, he has immunity,



and if we're on the bottom,

obviously, it's gonna be

between myself and Rogelio.

We call it Foodgasm.

-Foodgasm. Do it.

-Oh, yes.

Yeah, done.

But I wanna do something

that has like-- like Fritos,

or Flamin' Hots, on a sandwich.

-Do it.

-Why don't you just crunch

the Flamin' Hots

in with the cheese?

That's what I'm gonna do,

yeah.

For the past nine years,

I've been living in Harlem

and my new favorite sandwich

is a chop cheese.



It's a hamburger

chopped up

and then covered with cheese.

I mean, if we're all

gonna do sandwiches,

then we kinda

have to have, like,

a sandwich kind of theme

or a name.

Blazin' [bleep] Sammies.

-Blazin' Sammies.

-Like Blazing Saddles?

Exactly!

We'll call it Down the Chin.

It's like, when you bite

into something

and it kinda goes like this.

If you're of dirty mind,

you could think it was dirty,

but it's not meant

to be that way.

It's supposed to be

cheese and sauce,

Does that go

with some of the food concepts

-you were thinking about?

-Yeah, for sure.

-Okay, cool.

-Okay.

No more ladies

going home this week.

-Down the Chin.

-No, no, thank you.

It's one big fraternity house.

[upbeat drum music]

We might be able to use

the same bread,

if you guys are going softer

than baguette.

We are a sandwich truck.

If we use



the same type of bread,



that'll make service



so much simpler

and be another way

to kind of tie

our sandwiches together.

But I think it'd be nice

if we have the same...

-Bread.

-I think so too.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

All right,

where's the cheese?

Do you have chicken wings?

[Joe]

I lived in a fraternity house



and I did a lot of cooking,

so I know

really good munchie food.

I'm making Chinese-style,

twice-fried sticky licky

chicken wings.

Are they split?

I can split these real fast

if you'd like.

Fifteen minutes!

-Twenty pounds of that.

-I'll be back for the rest.

[Bruce] I went to college

in Jersey City.

I partied.

There's no question about that.

I was in a Jersey rock band

called "Phoenix

Rising From the Ashes."

[rock music]

Looking back now,



being a chef,



I really find it ironic

that the big show we played,

we opened up for Meat Loaf.

♪ ♪

-Nine red onion.

-Mirepoix.

-[Rogelio] Cilantro?

-Cilantro.

For the challenge,

I want to make

classic street corn salad.



Bruce is gonna make a heavy

goat cheese

with pork belly sandwich.

Brother's gonna make

chocolate fried bread,

and the salad is gonna

bring the two dishes together.

[upbeat music]

Rolling, rolling.

[Tanya] Uh, waffle batters...

I'm gonna make three.

[Tanya]

We wanted to do a version



of chicken and waffles



because college kids



are gonna love that.

When I opened

Brown Sugar Kitchen,

I opened up

in a very industrial

neighborhood

in West Oakland,

because no one would

lease to me

in the other neighborhoods

I wanted to be in.

I was kinda marginalized.



It also dictated



the kind of food that I cook.



I had no idea



chicken and waffles

was gonna become the most

popular dish on my menu.

All right, Down the Chin.

-Down the Chin!

-Oh, my God, Down the Chin.

-[Joseph] Whoo!

-[Carrie] Down the Chin.

[upbeat rock music]

-Let's do this.

-Okay, here we go.

-Chris, apron?

-Uh, thanks.

[Christopher]

Now the adrenaline kicks in.



college students



ready to get down

on some good food,

and we have / hours

before service begins.

Go, team, go.

♪ ♪

For my dish,

it's a brown butter waffle

with macerated strawberries,

a rose water whipped cream,

and a salted caramel

bourbon sauce.

[Tyler] My college experience

was very, very short,

in that, uh, one time,

I visited my friend at USC.

I lived, like,

a college life for, like,

ten years.

Running through



the streets naked,

you know, causing

all kinds of problems,

and I sang in punk rock bands.



But unfortunately,



there's just not, like,

a market for that.

I went to

the same college as Tom.

Line Cook University.

♪ ♪

[bleep],

these grills are going

so [bleep] slow.

I have worked

in a food truck before.

I definitely know about



how hard it is to set it up



and how hot it gets in there.



Everything has to work

for you to have

a successful day.

It's gonna take a second

to acclimate to the truck,

-I think... you know?

-I know.

I have to get this going

so that my pork

will be ready on time.

I'm making a roast pork

grilled cheese sandwich

with smoked gouda

and then some fresh arugula



to really cut through



a lot of that fat.

I'm getting my porchetta rub

going for my pork belly.

How was your college years,

Brother?

It was awesome.

I went to Art Institute.

I never expected

to go to college.

I was hanging out with



a lot of local gangbangers,



the local hustlers,



and there was



a classmate of mine,

and she had won

a partial scholarship

from cooking.

And I walked up



to the instructor,



and said, "Hey, Chef,



can I go to school like that?"

And he kinda looked at me

and my cornrows

and he was like, "No."

And it fueled me. I was like,



"Why not?"



He said,



"Okay, I'mma take a chance



on you, Mr. Luck,"



and I ended up winning

two scholarships

to culinary school.

Hey, Brother,

how's your dough looking, dude?

Lotta elbow grease.

[electric bass music]

♪ ♪

-[Joe] Fati.

-[Fatima] Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, yeah, right?

That's sticky-licky-

licky-licky...

-Sticky-licky-icky good!

-That's so good.

If I screw up a chicken wing,

I should go home at this point.

I have made so many



chicken wings in my life,



and I have a couple of tricks



to use.



So my plan is to do



a quick blanch



in a stock of garlic,

and the secret being

baking soda,

which kind of changes

the pH of the water,

which, hopefully,



in end result,

leaves the chicken wings

crispy and wet,

which is kind of

a really hard texture

to achieve.

[Fatima] Have you blanched

all the chicken wings?

-[Joe] Yeah, it's done.

-[Fatima] Awesome.

♪ ♪

[Rogelio] I don't think

this oven is on, man.

It's not on.

Are you kidding me right now?

Hold on.

[Bruce] Our convection oven's

not working

and I'm really worried now.



I'm familiar



with cooking the pork

in an oven like that, and now,

I've got high-end



toaster ovens to work in.

I'm thinking my pork's

never gonna cook.

Is it not working?

The one thing

I [bleep] need right now.

This reminds me exactly why

I don't wanna be

a food truck operator.

[bleep], [bleep]

Hurdles, baby. Hurdles.

[electronic dance music]

Good?

Our sign looks awesome,

doesn't it, you guys?

-It's hilarious.

-I know. I love it.

Joe's rib is down the chin

because, you know,

when you eat a rib,

you get it on your mouth.

Tanya's fried chicken,



she's going to make



her down the chin



with the syrup



that she puts on top of it.

And for the burger,

I'm gonna do

American cheese

stuffed inside the burgers.

-What's six times three?

-[Joseph] Eighteen.

I'm not just here

for my good looks, Carrie.

[Bruce] [sighs] Sucks, man.

It's fine. I cook really well

when I'm pissed off.

I keep telling myself,

"Like, let's just keep moving,"

so now, to roast my pork,



I've got to utilize this method

called "hillbilly sous-vide."

Wrap it tight



with plastic wrap,



wrap it tight with foil,

and cook it in a tabletop

convection oven.

Despite the fact

that I'm really concerned

about how long it's gonna

actually take to cook this,



I think it's gonna be good.

All right, my pork's cooking.

Whoo-hoo.

♪ ♪

-Team blue!

-Team blue!

You're my boy, blue!

For my blazing sammie,

I will be making

a Saigon meatballs banh mi.

Keep an eye on that meatball

for me, Mr. Chris.

This dish is inspired by

a dish that I had in Saigon.

There wasn't much



in that sandwich.

It was just

garnish with some cilantro

and then pickled daikon



and carrots.

Meatball was definitely

the star.

We about to destroy it?

Watch your leg.

[Christopher] My sandwich is

a Southern fish fry sandwich.

It's, uh, cornmeal-crusted

catfish and tilapia

with a jalapeno jam.

I'm gonna fry a bunch of it

in batches

so that I'm always caught up.

Some of this bread

is sweaty on the inside,

-but it's--

-Oh, okay.

'Cause it was sitting

in the sun.

Yeah. Steaming in the bags.

[dramatic dance music]

♪ ♪

-[sparking]

-Whoa!

-What was that?

-The outlet just popped

with the waffle machine in it.

[bleep], [bleep] fire's out.

Are you [bleep] serious?

I mean, it's warm, but...

[Brother]

We're trying to recover.

It's like a Twilight Zone.

Even though I have immunity,

I wanna make sure

my team walks away with a win.

-Wow.

-Cooking on a food truck.

But this is getting hard.

Man, we can't win today, man.

♪ ♪

-We've got five minutes.

-All right, I got it.

Let's pray to God

it stays this way.

Let's hope this doesn't

blow the thing.

[rock music]

Hey, yo,

trucks coming in hot!

Get your food trucks!

-[Christopher] Here they come.

-Oh, my God.

♪ ♪

Hi, everybody.

Come on in.

They're coming, guys,

all right? Like, already.

♪ ♪

Let's get started, dude.

Who wants a foodgasm?

[cheering]

Yo, I got a question.

Can you guys gather around?

What do you look for

in a college meal?

-Cheese.

-Cheese...

-Cheese, we got cheese.

-Carbs!

Carbs!

Or a smoothie, maybe.

-Organic smoothies?

-Yeah, we're Boulder.

Can we all get a quick dab

before I leave?

On three. One, two, three,

A-ta!

[Joe] Oh, we got a good crowd

out here, huh?

Fifteen!

And you're wearing

your cute hat. I love it.

[laughs]

We got two.

Thank you very much

for supporting Colorado.

Hi, judges.

You have

a pretty long line here.

We do, yeah.

It looks like everyone

is really enjoying the menu.

[Tom] No,

I think everybody's hungover.

-[laughter]

-That's right.

The first round of diners

is huge.

I think we might be



the most popular truck.

What do I do

when I'm hungover?

I find drinking helps.

We gotta move

on these chicken wings.

[Joe] Yeah, no, this-- look,

I need another minute.

How close are we

to getting our grilled cheese?

-How long, guys? One minute?

-[Joe] One minute.

One minute.

We're plating right now, Chef.

[Joe] I'm stressing out,

because there's nothing

you could do to make

chicken wings fry faster.

It's like the longest minute



and seconds of your life.

-Wings are here.

-Awesome, let's go.

All right.

Thank you all

for being so patient.

So, Tyler's doing the soup.

It's a delicious



smoked tomato soup.



We got a little bit of vodka



in the tomato soup.



Joe's doing



the sticky-licky wings.



We've got a little bit of sake



in the wings.

And then,

I obviously am doing dessert.

It's strawberries, cream,



and, uh,



a more dessert-like waffle.

Here you go, Chef.

Enjoy, guys!

Thanks for waiting!

♪ ♪

Hot soup with a crouton

is not what I would necessarily

choose at a food truck,

but the flavors in Tyler's

tomato soup are delicious.

I like that he added

the smoke to it.

Um, I wanted more croutons

because they were good.

I think Joe's wings

are delicious.

[Hosea]

Joe's wings are very good.

I love how crispy they are.

-They're tangy.

-Yeah. Great texture.

Joe's sneaking

some nutrition in here.

-He has chopped-up kale.

-Yeah, he's got a little kale.

-Waffles are kinda my thing.

-[Tom] Are they?

I'm really excited for this.

Some next-level excitement

right here.

The batter of this waffle's

really nice, yeah.

You know,

I like the caramel sauce.

Yeah.

I have no complaints

about this place.

-Hi, guys!

-[speaking indistinctly]

I need five for judges,

please.

Five all day.

[woman] I don't know.

I think this Angus beef one's

pretty good, but...

I honestly think

that it's way too much bread

for me. Those carbs...

Plates are ready.

Thank you for waiting.

[Padma] What did you make

on your menu?

Let's see. Fish fry sandwich...

Crispy fried fish

with a little bit of



a jalapeno jam



and I'm doing



a Southern red pickle.

[Tu] A meatball banh mi.

So they're braised meatballs,



and we're gonna garnish it



with a bunch of traditional



banh mi garnishes.

And then we did a, uh,

a chopped cheese from Harlem.

[Adrienne]

So the chopped cheese,



we've got Colorado beef,



chopped up.

We've got a nice cheese sauce

with some aromatics

and beer in it.

You guys enjoy, okay?

-Fried fish. All right.

-[Logan] My condiments fell off.

I'm into the pickled pickle.

This needs, like,

a lot of mayonnaise

or something.

I also feel that Chris' fish

is over-battered.

The relish isn't doing

enough.

[Logan] I wish I had more of

Adrienne's chopped cheese

sandwich.

-[Padma] You like it?

-I love it. I really do.

I would agree

that there's a lot more flavor

in this sandwich.

I can't discern exactly

what I'm eating, though.

How's that banh mi?

I like more herbs

in my banh mi.

I want more cilantro,

more basil.

The other problem I have

with Blazin' Sammies

is the sandwich concept.

They could have very easily



bought different bread.

That's what

I'm concerned about.

I thought that was very strange.

The bread does not bother me.

[kisses] I love it.

We got banh mis over here!

♪ ♪

[woman] I really wanted to like

the fried fish,

but it didn't have

enough sauce.

[woman ]

I really loved the burger.

It's got, like,

cheese in the middle.

Thirty-seven!

-Hello, everyone.

-We're gonna need

-five rounds of everything.

-[laughs]

All right,

let's look at their menu.

[Carrie] Heck, yeah!

I made a Juicy Lucy



cheeseburger



that is stuffed with



American cheese



and a bacon aioli.



Joe made



Maxwell Street-style ribs



and Tanya made



fried chicken and waffles.

-Chicken and waffles.

-Waffles.

-You like that, huh?

-Yes. I love waffles.

-Give me some waffles.

-Here we are, everybody.

Enjoy.

-I took my hat off.

-Yeah, I took mine off too.

[Logan] This makes me

the most excited so far.

Because of the amount

of food?

Yeah, and it's all just--

I feel like-- heft.

It looks beautiful.

The presentation's gorgeous.

-[Logan] Manly, yeah.

-This is Carrie's burger.

-It's exploding.

-Was dripping on my lip.

[Logan] I don't think

I've ever had a burger

with cheese in the middle.

I'm in love.

Beautifully constructed burger.

[Hosea] Chicken and waffles.

You got your next waffle, too.

[Tom] This is Tanya's,

and I gotta say,

this is really nicely made.

Got a little texture to it.

-Yeah. Waffle's good.

-[Hosea] Waffle's good.

All right, time for some ribs.

-They're soft.

-[Gail] I liked Joe's rib,

but it didn't blow me away.

I've just had more tender ribs.

I like the combination

of the mustard

and the jalapenos.

I think it's pretty good.

What I like about

Down the Chin,

all the food's dirty.

I'm pretty happy

about the wet nap situation.

Somebody's worked

on a food truck before.

Go on, try that.

Go ahead and try that.

It's not so much

of a "foodgasm,"

but it's definitely

my favorite.

That was my favorite, too.

Just step up

and hand me your tickets.

-Represent Colorado!

-[cheering]

[Brother] Our line's building.

I mean, I'm working this crowd

to get people in our line,

out of the other people's line,

and give us as many tickets



as possible.

Way to go.

Way to work it, dude.

Word.

-Hey, guys.

-Oh, you're ready for us?

Look at this.

We've been waiting,

we've been excited.

-That's what I call service.

-Get ready to enjoy

some lovely Colorado.

We're gonna start you off



with a street corn,

nibble on your ear,

elote salad.

A little bit of queso fresco,

some pepitas,

Next to that, we're gonna serve

an "Oh face" pork sandwich.

It's a grilled cheese,



smoked gouda,

uh, spicy tomato jam.

And then we're gonna

finish it off

with a little bit of,



uh, fry bread.



We did that with



a drizzle of chocolate,



and then a powdered honey



on top.

So, enjoy. Thank you.

Okay.

That's the kind of service

you need.

[Logan] Yes. Fast.

[Hosea] This salad from Rogelio

is dying for vinegar.

-Or lime juice.

-I can see pickles in here.

Yeah, I don't get it.

This salad is just--

It's slaw, right?

I don't know.

I think Bruce's sandwich

is a big fail here.

What's not to love

about a pork and cheese

toasted sandwich?

[Tom] It's-- It's just greasy.

It's fat on fat on fat.

Brother's fry bread to me

tastes stale.

Well, there's also this

sandiness-- stuff here, which--

-[Padma] What is this sandiness?

-I have no idea,

but it doesn't add

texture, really.

Honey powder,

I think he said.

Ah.

It's cute, but useless.

"Cute but useless."

Sounds like me. [laughs]

[Padma] Foodgasm did not give me

a foodgasm at all.

No. No 'gasm here.

Logan, I wanna thank you

for getting

all these people here.

-Yeah, yeah.

-It's your fault.

-Take care.

-Awesome. Bye, guys.

-Bye.

-Oh, we will.

And we have

a lot of talking to do.

Let's go back to Judges' Table

and figure out

who's going home.

[Padma] Tom,

how do you think they did?

Speaking to a lot

of the students in the crowd,

they seemed to really enjoy it.

The team who lured

the most amount

of college students

is going to be safe

from elimination.

♪ ♪

And the team is...

Down the Chin.

[cheering]

Oh, my God.

That was a twist.

[Tom] You guys did a great job.

The people that I spoke to

loved the burger,

loved the ribs,

and, uh, they were

really, really happy

with those waffles.

[Padma] Congratulations,

Down the Chin.

You're safe.

Now, the winning team today

had our favorite dishes.

And that team is...

The Hangover Cure.

Oh, my God.

[applause]

Congratulations, guys.

You guys all did a great job.

Blue team and green team,

please step to the side.

Let's start with you, Tyler.

[Gail] The soup was

the first thing we ate,

and the smoke was great,

the acid was great,

it was bright.

At first,

I was a little put-off.

Hot soup.

It was degrees.

But it was delicious.

Thank you.

Joe, I thought

your chicken wings

were really crispy

on the edges,

but it was still moist,

it wasn't overcooked.

And then that kale,

which we all

totally laughed about--

[Tom] It was so sneaky.

-It was sneaky.

-Yeah, you just snuck

nutrition right in there.

Just snuck it in.

It was a hangover cure.

That was, uh,

that was the whole thing.

[Gail] Fatima.

The strawberries

were juicy and tasty and bright

I loved the pistachio.

I loved the rose water.

There was a lot of

beautiful little details.

Everything had a purpose.

[Hosea] I thought it was

a great way to finish.

The waffles, perfectly cooked.

Thank you very much.

The winner for us

was the chef who delivered

everything we were looking for

in a food truck

but also elevated and delicious.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

And the winner today is Joe.

[applause]

I knew it!

You were worried.

You did great.

I knew it!

Finally, my first win.

That's awesome.

I was scared



coming into this,

and it's satisfying

to know that

I can cook my own food,

moving forward,

and that they might



actually like it.

-[Padma] Congratulations.

-[Tom] And I gotta say,

it's a nice recovery

after the last dish you made.

-Thank you.

-Green team and blue team,

please come forward.

[suspenseful music]

Green team,

let's start with you.

How did the day go for you?

[Brother] Absolute madness,

from the convection oven

not working

to the fryer

not getting the right temp.

I don't think we ever did

a big event with our food truck

without something

breaking down,

but being resourceful

is half the battle.

The bread sat out,

and the lard

actually warmed up.

I grew up in New Mexico.

I know fry bread.

It was dense and tasted like

it had sat for a while.

Rogelio.

That salad needed to be cold.

I mean, I think you know that,

right?

I wanted to

kinda do it, like,

maybe room temperature

with the corn

and then add the cold slaw

on the--

So you wanted it

kind of room temperature

but cold?

-Exactly, yeah.

-Exactly?

It lacked acid.

It lacked texture.

It was really wilted.

It was, I gotta say,

one of my least favorite things

of the day.

Bruce. The pork was thick,

and wasn't really rendered.

It was fatty, which is fine,

but it just was a big fat b*mb.

Yeah, I mean,

it's a rich sandwich,

but also playing to the concept

of hangover food and,

you know, but, I mean,

maybe it was a little

too much cheese.

Crispiness on the edge,

I was picking off

all those little bits of cheese.

I loved that part.

But I didn't get the arugula.

I didn't get that jam at all.

It just-- the ratios were off.

Let's move on

to Blazin' Sammies.

You all chose

the exact same bread

for all three sandwiches?

Is that right?

Yes, we wanted to keep that,

like, a common, um, component.

Why?

None of us have really

worked in a food truck before.

We thought that that

could streamline our service.

Let me ask you a question.

When you put dishes out

in your restaurant,

are you thinking

of service first or food first?

-I think of the food.

-Thank you.

Well, Tu,

there's something very special

when you make a banh mi,

and that's getting that great

French baguette, thin one.

[Tu] I don't feel like we got

the appropriate bread

that could have elevated--

made our sandwich concept

the best.

But you didn't have to do

one kind of bread...

-Yeah. I don't understand that.

-...for all the sandwiches.

The thing I love

about banh mi

is the mayonnaise, the pate,

the cilantro, the cucumber.

Where was all of that?

Adrienne.

I thought your sandwich

was good overall.

I thought it was seasoned well.

It had a good balance to it.

-It didn't wow us.

-I got those beautiful pieces

of really reduced

and concentrated tomato halves

and they were delicious.

I just wanted to bite into it

and feel like

I was getting the best damn

chopped cheese sandwich

I've ever had, and I didn't.

Chris.

I tasted your relish,

and it was yummy.

It was sweet, it was tangy,

it was sticky,

it was perfect.

I just needed

a tablespoon of it

and what I got

was an espresso spoon.

[Hosea]

Yeah, same thing. One bite,

you're already, like,

you're looking for the water.

Thank you very much.

We'll call you back in a bit.

[dynamic music]

[blows raspberry]

You know, it seemed like

both these teams

had problems right at the get-go

from the conception

of their menus.

Blazin' Sammies,

at least they delivered

a concept.

It was a sandwich concept.

They had some issues

with the bread.

Foodgasm,

I don't understand

the concept there.

I don't know

what they were doing.

You got an overly cheesy



sandwich with pork,



and you got this salad



that had nothing to do



with the sandwich,



and then you got



this fried bread

that was tough and chewy.

And so,

they just didn't deliver.

I didn't find anything

on the green team

that was in balance,

or, frankly, properly ex*cuted.

[Hosea] You can blame

the equipment

as much as you want,

but at the end of the day,



it's the decisions you make.

[Tom] The Foodgasm team,

where they really went wrong

was that salad,

because I think that was

the wedge between the two.

He wanted it cold,

he wanted it hot,

he didn't know what he wanted.

But the issue

with Blazin' Sammies

was across the board,

they made one huge

and poor decision as a group

that affected all of them

almost equally.

[Padma] I don't know.

Chris' fish sandwich

was so dry,

I don't think you can equate it

-to what Adrienne gave us.

-That's true.

That, to me,

was the worst sandwich

of the day.

Even though Bruce's sandwich

was, like--

-A mess?

-A hot mess.

To me, pretty easy.

[dramatic music]

[dramatic synth music]

♪ ♪

[Padma] While Foodgasm

and Blazin' Sammies

both had issues today,

we felt one team

struggled more than the other

and perhaps had some problems

right at conception

of the menu.

And that team

is the green team.

Blue team, please step aside.

[Tom] A lot of careers are made

on food trucks,

and they weren't made

because someone thought of

a clever concept,

and they weren't made

because someone could do

great marketing.

They were really made because

everything coming

out of that truck was excellent.

But today, one chef

just didn't bring their best,

and it's unfortunate.

Rogelio,

please pack your knives and go.

Thank you very much.

[Tom] Rogelio,

that salad needed

to either be cold or hot.

It was something in between.

It didn't really work with

the rest of the dishes, either.

I know you have

a lot more in you,

and we'll see you

on Last Chance Kitchen.

-Thank you.

-[Tom] Thanks. Yeah.

-Put her there.

-Thank you.

I never dreamed

that I would be on Top Chef.

See you at

Last Chance Kitchen, bro.

I've been through so much

to get to where I am now

that, for me,



it makes me humble



just being here.



For immigrants working



all over the United States,



I would say never give up,



follow your dreams,

be who you wanna be.

You know, you have



that opportunity here,

and don't be scared

of anything.

♪ ♪

[Padma] Tonight,

on Last Chance Kitchen...

Will Laura get past



her raw deal?

[Tom] You messed up your omelet.

It was kind of raw,

and none of us really wanted

to eat it, but we had to.

[Padma] Will Rogelio gain

the confidence to succeed?

Are you trying to

deep-fry candy?

-Yes. They're pretty hard.

-This is insane.

[Padma] Or will they crack

under the stress of competing

against Top Chef veterans?

Everyone should have

this much fun.

[Padma] Next on Top Chef...

-You see how big we are?

-Ugh!

It looks like Barbie house

threw up all over

the Top Chef kitchen.

Who don't like

a good cheeseburger?

-Pretty hard to mess up.

-[laughs]

Man, I'm being clowned

by a little kid.

[Padma]

We want you to make a meal

based on recipes



from your own heritage

[Tyler] I don't have heritage.

I'm a white boy

from Southern California.

-Here we go.

-I'm running out of time.

-Somebody!

-What do you need?

Sauce, please.

[Joseph] This is not

coming together

how I want it to.

How long? How long?

Oh, my God.