02x02 - Eastern Promise

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef,


talented chefs sharpen
their knives for battle.

They start to think
about who these people

might be and what their
abilities might be.

I have never cooked so badly in my life.

Your fellow competitors will decide
who goes to the judges' table.

They're the toughest critics.

How do I do you like at all?

I agree. The entire thing
was totally on season.

She does.

Probably one of my least favorite dishes.

You four were the bottom-voted chefs.

Every chef has a bad day.
Even top chefs have a bad day.

I totally panicked. I'm not going
to make the same mistake again.

So, Jack, chase back your knives and go.

Thank you.

Now, 14 chefs remain to fight it out.

At stake for the winner, a state
-of-the-art Kenmore Pro Kitchen.

Burnished by Sears, an editorial
feature in Food & Wine magazine.

A chance to showcase
their culinary talent

at the 25th anniversary Food
& Wine Classic in Aspen.

$100,000 to kick-start
their culinary career.

Burnished by the makers of
the GLAAD family of products.

And the title is Top Chef.

Thank you.

We are one lady down now.

It's really sad.

I really like Sergey.

It's weird to see one
of us go home, and when

it happens, you're like,
okay, this is a real

competition.

We're not friends here.

Do you guys think that the judges,
they made the right choice?

Hands down.

I dodged a b*llet, and
then dodging that b*llet,

I'm more focused, and,
you know, made the best

chef win.

That's what it's going to come down to.

Who can improvise, adapt, and overcome?

We all want it bad.

That's why we're here.

Tomorrow, guys, you better be on point.

There's no room for mistakes.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Hey, it's your 4.30 wake-up call.

We got to go.



On our way to the fish market.

Got to get up and always
be one of the best fish.

I just kind of woke up.

Oh, my God.

Like, it's chef.

What's going on?

With the stress and sleeping in a strange
bed, I started to not feel too well last

night before bed.

I didn't get a whole lot of sleep.

We have to go to the fish market.

That's the only information we knew.

We grabbed knives, had a sip of
coffee, and ran out the door.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Today's challenge is about sushi.

Preparing sushi is really difficult.

I'm not a sushi guru by any means.

And so I was feeling
a little bit nervous.

I've never made sushi.

I was really scared.

I was like, how am I going to
stay in the middle on this one?

For this challenge, you'll each get $100
to shop for fresh fish in this market.

Then you'll return to the Kenmore kitchen
where you'll have 30 minutes to create

a sushi plate.

You'll have full access to all the
Keflon cookware and the supplies in the

Good luck.

The minute that Padma said that the
challenge was going to be sushi, I said,

H-E double hockey sticks.

That's it.

I didn't feel well,
but I'm not going home.

I'm sick.

I get to be sick at work.

I'm pretty excited about
this quick fire challenge.

I mean, this is my thing.

We have black mussels
and fresh green mussels.

I know my flavor is
when it comes to sushi.

I love cooking with fish.

I love butchering fish.

I love swimming with fish.

I love eating them.

I love fish.

And I only got one fish.

I'm not big on sushi, but hopefully
I don't f*** it up when I butcher it.

At this point, I don't really care.

I just want to get through the day.

I'd like to introduce you to our guest
judge for this quick fire challenge,

corporate executive chef of Kitano
and Sushi Rokku restaurants,

chef Hiroshi Shima and his partner
and interpreter Tom Cardenas.

I was totally stoked to be able to
cook for a badass Japanese sushi chef.

You will have 30 minutes to
prepare your sushi plates

using the fish you found at the market,

all the ingredients on that back table,

as well as anything you can
find in the top chef pantry.

The winner of this quick fire cannot
be eliminated in the next challenge.

Your time starts now.

Frida contested immunity
is a wonderful thing.

It's a hall pass, a free ride,
and I definitely want to win this.

Make it a half hour.

You got to be kidding me.

Samachi.

I know I got to go all out.

I was on a chop block once.

I ain't getting there again.

I got to get immunity.

Ten minutes and a half.

Next thing you know, you turn around,

and there's like two
minutes left on the clock,

and you're like, my God,
what am I going to do?

Come on, Gaines, get it together, girl.

Hey, you guys, you have
less than ten seconds.

Four, three, two, knives down, please.

Hello?

I tried to do a replica of a
very traditional Japanese dish.

This is Michael.

Never made sushi before, you
know, just once in school,

but it's like some sushi rice
with sesame oil or sashimi tuna.

I did a little cornstarch
slurry with soy sauce,

sticking it up, wrapped up in cucumber.

Thank you.

I was just like, oh, my gosh, you know,

I'm like so out of my league.

But it looks decent, you know?

Hello, Cliff.

Here we have hamajama oysters,
marinated little ginger,

rice wine, soy, the mango,

and instead of wasabi, I used jalapeno.

When sashimi came around,

definitely nerves on end just because,

I'm telling the sushi master about sushi.

Then right here, I have
split spot prawn, hamachi,

shiso leaf, and a sweet daikon.

Here we have mia.

This is an inexperienced person's version

of just a simple sushi hand roll.

I do not want to be the one to go home.

I might not ever have another
opportunity to do this.

Okay, I'll have you.

It's like you first.

It wasn't really appealing.

We have some cured mackerel, pickled,

spicy tuna roll with
avocado inside that roll,

that crab and scallion roll.

Scallops just simply cut and
tossed with some sesame seeds.

He's very impressed with
the way you rolled it.

Thank you.

Hey, I'm just a round
-eye from Cleveland, Ohio

with no formal culinary
training whatsoever,

especially in the fine art of sushi.

But to hear those
compliments from that man

meant a great deal for me.

Okay, I did traditional sushi.

I just changed a little
bit the taste in here.

I put some olives with mackerel.

What do you want to call it?

Call it a ball.

Look there.

This is truly his first time
enjoying a flavor like this.

The olives really come
forefront in this sushi.

Suzy-lan.

This is abalone sashimi,
uni, just on rice as it is.

Scallop in the shell.

Mmm.

Mmm, ikiteru.

He feels that it's very
fresh and very live here.

If he has to pick one.

Cliff.

The combination of the
mango in the oysters,

but yet the oysters still
had the flavor of the ocean.

Cliff, congratulations.

You have immunity and
cannot be eliminated

in the next challenge.

It's a nice honor and it's
a marvelous compliment,

especially from a chef of his caliber.

And now, the elimination challenge.

LA is one of the most
multicultural cities in the world,

with over 140 nationalities
all living together.

This challenge incorporates
two more Asian influences

that make up LA's culinary scene.

Korean and Vietnamese.

All the knives on the block are
marked either with a Korean flag

or a Vietnamese flag.

You're all going to pick a knife to see
which cuisine you'll be working with.

Korean.

Vietnam.

Vietnam.

Vietnam.

Vietnam.

Korea.

If you're of Korea, please come this way.

Vietnam, please stand over there.

Your elimination challenge
is to work together as a team

to create one hot dish and one cold dish

using the flavors of
your particular country.

You'll be serving your
dishes at a charity event

called Project by Project,

which supports the Los
Angeles Asian community.

Keep in mind there'll be
other established restaurants

present at this event,

so your food really needs to stand out.

This event will be attended
by a thousand people.

My first impression was, wow,
this is going to be amazing.

I'm hugely involved with hunger issues,

and I believe it's every
chef's responsibility

to cook for people and to feed everyone,

not just the ones who can afford
to go to your restaurant and eat.

You'll be judged on how well
you use your country's flavors,

but you'll also be judged on how
well you work together as a team.

You'll have $500 for a team to shop.

The judges will pick
one team as the winner

and one person from the
losing team to go home.

It's very weird to work
as a team with people

that they don't see you as a chef.

They see you as a competitor.

We get our team together.

This went around the
table, throwing out ideas.

Me and I are painters.

The thing is that for spring rolls,

if we're making 250 of these plates,

all we have to do is make


Because all we have to
do is cut them in half.

We've got to be beautiful,
stand up, presentation.

We do this for a living. I've
been doing it for 10 years.

I feel very, very confident
about this element.

I think that braised, spicy
pork dish would be awesome.

Serving a thousand people.

You know, I want something
that's really good.

We decided that we were going
to go kind of traditional.

There's a dish that if you're Vietnamese,

you know, it's served in every
home and it's called pho.

Kind of like a homestyle, throw
it together, kind of stew.

One of the things that I always
really enjoy about Vietnamese

is their use of bok
choy and baby bok choy.

We have to use fresh cilantro.

We have to use lime. We have to use mint.

Josie worked for a Vietnamese chef.

We are so fortunate to have
a combination of people

working so well together as a team.

Myself, Elon and Frank decided to mix up

a tasty beverage concoction
for everyone to enjoy.

I just want to make sure we
have our meaning for people

who are drinking too much.

So, we start planning for the challenge.

I'm getting drunk.

We have to do this one dish.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

No, but this is what we're going to have.

Jasmine panna cotta.

We're going to have lychee curls.

Oh, oh, nice, nice.

I'm so excited to be making a dessert.

By being a pastry chef,

I have advantages in certain challenges.

Now I'm in my element.

Okay, we need the...

Why don't we just finish this menu?

I've never planned two
dishes for so long.

It's just so hard to
organize all these minds

and make them follow one decision.

You guys, are we just not
planning the menu anymore?

No, you guys, let's just finish that menu

and then we chill.

Oh, Chris, darling.

It's wrong. It's unethical.

You have to play by the rules,

and if you don't, it's just not right.

Right now, you're not looking too good.

Come on and meet us now!

For our second elimination challenge,

we have been split up into two teams,

and we are catering an
event for 1,000 people.

There's no time to fool around.

They're pretty arrogant.

They are?

I like fierce competition.

That's it.

I think I'm going to stay away
from the sanctuary for a while.

We woke up this morning,

and Team Korea is a little bit nervous.

Predominantly influenced by
the copious amounts of sangria

that we were partaking in last night.

You know, we definitely had
our work cut out for us.

White wine, beer.

It's important for me
to win this challenge

because unfortunately for me,

I've already been on the block once.

I need to make sure that Team Korea

pulls this thing down big time.

All right, guys.

Team Vietnam, we went off
to the specialty shop.

Yeah, baby.

Instantly, I thought watermelon.

Watermelon is so refreshing
and so sweet in the summertime.

Yeah.

Sweet.

We all were trying to pick
some seasonal ingredients

and bring kind of a
twist to Vietnamese food.

Hey!

We got everything we needed.

You know, those lists were so precise.

And the, uh...

What?

You're getting taro.

What's over here?

We're going to do a braised
Korean barbecue dish

with kimchi and rice.

Then we're also going to do
a cold jasmine panna cotta

with tapioca.

Ilya.

Yeah.

Did you get the lychee?

What?

Hey, we got to find kimchi.

When we were shopping
in the Korean store,

everything was a bit chaotic.

Put it in there.

All right, all right.

How much time for something?

Like five minutes, huh?

Okay, thank you, sir.

Can we put it down below?

Don't sweat.

We got the lychee, brother.

We're good to go.

All right, we have too much to do.

We've got to put something back then.

We take that up.

We're done.

Okay, we're good.

We can't.

We can't.

Thank you so much.

All right, let's get this loaded up.

I think we got a case
when we come for free.

As Otto was closing the door,

he said something like,

we got a whole case of lychees for free.

And I was thinking to myself,

did I hear this properly?

If that is what he said,

then this isn't fair.

Ladies, where do you want to work at?

Do you want to work here?

Playing by the rules is
extremely important to me.

Otto put me in a terrible position
that I didn't want to be in.

We look like f*cking cheetos.

What?

Like cheetos.

Marisa was sort of all nervous

because Otto knew that the
lychees were in the cart,

but they weren't paid for.

But I don't think he's a thief.

If anything, it was a mistake.

I felt like Marisa was
trying to point blame

so that it couldn't be
linked to her at all.

She was sort of pushing it away,

and I thought it was unfair.

We're using some coconut braised pork

and some traditionally served
over vermicelli noodle.

In this case, we're
using some raw carrots.

Jos, you've got your
eye on the to-do list,

and you've got us all doing what
we're supposed to be doing right now.

Josie was elected team leader,

the most familiar with the
product and the ingredients,

so we all put our faith in her.

I'm halfway through the basil.

Okay, cool.

I just want to make sure
that we are on the same page.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Salt, pepper, paprika, the Asian chili,

a little bit of curry.

Oh, f*ck. Where'd that pot go?

As you can see, Marisa's over
there working on a pastry,

which is her specialty,

so obviously it would make sense

to put the pastry chef
on the dessert course.

How's that cabbage
looking over there, Otto?

Yes, thank you.

Otto?

Otto, are you in this kitchen?

What?

How's the cabbage looking?

Cabbage comes going, brother.

Have you guys seen those little
packets for the kimchi powder?

Kimchi is a huge staple in Korea,

and it's a product that's fermented

for weeks at a time, underground,

so for us to try and make it in two days

was kind of pushing it.

It's a huge undertaking.

So you see some cucumbers here.

What are you doing with the cucumbers?

We have made a ginger basil syrup.

Okay.

We're going to get cucumber juice

and then add aloe juice.

So you're doing the drink
from start to finish?

That's your response to the syrup?

I'm the barwench.

The barwench, great.

We wanted to go one step further,

and we are going to have so many reasons

to entice these guests over to our table.

They are working on three dishes.

They only had to make two,

but they're actually doing a third.

Betty was working on the drink.

That's her from start to finish.

Josie seems to be the team leader.

She's definitely taken that role.

If the team loses,

I bet you there's going to
be some finger pointing.

Hey, Marisa, how's it going?

Pickle, pickle, pickle, pickle, pickle.

Um...

That's good.

One of our team members took something

from the store without paying it.

What exactly happened?

They were loading up the van,

and after they loaded up the van,

they closed it, and they said,

hey, I got an entire
case of lychees for us.

We didn't have to pay for it.

Okay.

Can I get this...

This team needs to get down here.

sh*t.

Just talking to Marisa
about this lychee issue.

We got to get to the
bottom of this thing here.

I mean, they left the store.

They weren't paid for.

At what point did you guys realize that

they weren't paid for?

Just now.

I know.

No, not you. No, don't.

I knew they weren't paid for

because Otto pulls the door,

and he told me that he
got the case of lychees

that we didn't have to pay for.

Otto, is that a true statement

that you said we got a
case of lychees for free?

That is a true statement.

That is a true statement.

Yes.

How did you know that first?

How come they didn't
know that, and you did?

I got wrapped up in this competition,

and I wasn't thinking clearly.

Right now, you're not looking too good.

Where are they?

Let's get them back to the store.

Why don't you guys get them back to work?

Thanks.

Not good.

It's a tough situation to be in.

There's no hardened and true backs here,

but now they're short one person,

and when he goes back to the store,

he can be gone for an hour or so.

There was some discussion

about the lychee being paid for,

and I felt bad about it,

but it was not his mistake.

So I took the lychee
fruit back to the store.

I'm going to have you do this,

and I'm going to come over here,

and I'm going to cut them, okay?

You're talking to me like

I'm like your 10-year-old son?

Can we calm down for one second,

and should we just do this?

Chili, aioli, done.

Money.

Money.

As soon as we have three phones,

we could use some help
on the assembly line.

We'll stick together.

We don't have them.

They're going to be
wrapped in plastic our way.

Okay.

They will not be touching.

Can I have a kiss?

Mm.

We're going to put the gelatin in.

Slightly jellified.

Slightly jellified, yeah.

As the panna cotta set,

it became clear that it
was going to be hard.

It was a chaotic day.

I don't know what happened to it.

Everything was a
whirlwind in the kitchen.

I feel so insane right now

with everything that's going on.

We're rushing to finish our dessert,

which should have been done, you know,

in the first hour of production today.

Otto had to leave to
go return the lychee.

So we lost a lot of momentum.

I don't believe there's
any tension at all

on the Korean team.

It happened.

It's a mistake.

We move on.

Let's rock and roll.

Let's bang it out.

Let's win this challenge.

Three, two, one.

Whoo!

So we unloaded the truck,

and we had about an
hour to set up our table

and to get a lot of food hot

and just start banging out the dishes.

It's nice to be a part of a team

where everybody contributed
something to our menu

and everybody is getting
stuff done for it.

We have a solid crew,

and I'm really happy
that I'm not on the grid.

Ladies, you gotta just speak.

That's a disaster waiting to happen.

That is.

How good?

It wasn't bad or difficult
to work with Otto

after having to confront him.

It was more distracting than awkward.

Welcome to the project-by-project

walk-around fundraiser

at the California Science Center.

Most of you probably know our guest judge

for this elimination, Ming Tsai,

owner and chef of Blue Ginger Restaurant.

I was ecstatic when I found out

that Ming Tsai was the judge.

I've been watching
Ming Tsai on television

for a lot of years.

Ming Tsai knows his stuff.

We really want to impress him.

Ming, what are you gonna be looking for

when you judge these teams today?

The most important thing,

as you guys already know, is flavor.

It has to taste good.

Joining us at the judge's table,

Chef Tom Colicchio

and Gail Simmons from
Food and Wine Magazine.

The doors are opening soon.

We will be back to judge you.

Good luck.

The vibe in Team Korea
wasn't a team scenario.

We started to fall a little bit apart.

Otto, let's go.

Look at this place.

We need a better knife.

That looks like s***.

Josie, it's not the knife.

You can't serve something like that.

That looks like s***.

It's the only serve one dish.

You know, we saw some of
the rolls falling apart.

In the back of my mind, I'm freaking out,

Ming Tsai.

I was like, oh, damn, I'm
the chef of this challenge.

I'm like, some of the
rolls are falling apart.

I'm freaking out.

You can do it.

We're ripped.

Yeah.

No, listen.

Relax.

It's just so ridiculous,

because I mean, it's like, okay,

we're all here in a cooking competition.

You're talking to me like I'm
like your 10-year-old son.

Okay, listen.

Why don't this...

Can we calm down for one second?

Should we just do this?

I'm going to have you do this,

and I'm going to come over here,

and I'm going to cut them, okay?

I was like, look, babe, you need to stop

and just check yourself for a minute.

Why do you assume that we're
all in this competition

and you're the only one that has skills?

I'm getting out of the way.

There's no need to get
out of the way, babe.

I'm just...

When I say, hey, it's
just because I'm talking.

F***ing spring rolls, dude.

The doors open, and whoa...

and there's so many people.

How are you?

I'm fine.

You look like a woman who
loves Vietnamese food.

We were working it,

we were saying hello to everyone.

Hi, ladies.

I love your shirt.

Like I wish we could clean this up

just a little bit so
we can put on your...

No, I think we're fine.

There's going to be a ton of
people coming here to eat,

And we're going to get kicked out.

Otto, are you asking me,
or are you just telling me?

No, I'm asking.

We had a problem.

All these personalities in the team

were just not working well together.

Well, we decided to go a little
traditional here, summer roll.

And we have a little watermelon in there,

with chili aioli on top
to give it a little heat.

You said traditional, but
it's not really traditional.

Yeah.

All right, a little twist to it.

What do we have here?

And we have a pork pho.

Pork pho.

Pho.

Yeah, a sweet pho, right?

Like thinly sliced on top of noodles.

Basically, to liven it up a little,

we put some lightly
blanched carrots underneath

to keep it nice and fresh and light.

Would you like our third dish?

Our third dish.

It's a cucumber aloe refresher.

It's a very nice little
spice, a little chili.

Ginger.

Ginger.

Ginger.

It's a very nice bowl,
but it's not traditional.

It means, but I love the flavor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Whew.

There was a little bit of
angst with the summer rolls.

I trusted them, and it
worked out in the end.

We have a lot for you to taste.

That's great.

Hi, chef.

How's it going?

Good, how are you?

Great.

We have some braised
pork over sticky rice

with some kimchi

and a lot is cheap.

It's really good.

I got to tell you, I
was a little skeptical

because the kimchi
usually takes a long time.

For a quick kimchi, it's very good.

This is a jasmine tea custard.

Then we have pink tapioca pearls

for a little contrast
and texture with a gellet

and then a candied taro chip.

I thought the dessert
was a little bit tough

and gelatin, but I knew
that we didn't have time

to redo the panna cotta,

and so I just thought
it's going to be okay.

Here's enough gelatin.

Maybe a little too much gelatin.

Pork is excellent.

Great color, great flavor.

Is this a traditional Korean dessert?

We use ingredients that were
traditional Korean ingredients.

Thank you.

Thank you, chef.

When you have people
that are knowledgeable

about food, as the judges are,

critiquing your dessert,
you want to impress them.

When I tasted the food we put out,

I really thought we had
a shot at winning this.

TV now.

Their cold dish was a
version of a summer roll.

Crunch was great and
it was very refreshing.

On the pho, I think they
fell a little short.

It was a little bit dry.

Team Korea started with a raised pork.

I actually very much enjoyed it.

And they attempted to do a dessert.

The custard was really heavy.

I love it!

I love it!

It's great teamwork, guys.

Who was responsible for
cooking the pork dish?

We just found it to be a little bit dry.

You are sitting here, lying to them.

You said that specifically.

I'm not going to get to do a he
said, she said situation with you.

I'm not going to do a he said.

Gail, in your work with Food and Wine,

you always go to these
events all the time.

How did these teams stack up,

compared to what you are used to?

I do go to these events
probably 50 to 100 times a year.

And I think that overall, they did
show us that they were on the ball.

What I found interesting
between the two teams

was the Vietnamese team,
there was a clear leader.

Josie clearly took the lead on this.

She had experience with Vietnamese food,

where on the Korean team, no
one took the responsibility.

And I think it showed a little bit.

From the culinary standpoint,

the Korean team, I thought their
braised pork was tremendous.

I thought it was well
cooked and very tender.

But the rice was mushy.

And Tom and I know
this, if you are in the

kitchen, you make bad
rice, you make it again.

Sticky rice notwithstanding,

I would have rather eaten the Korean
pork than the Vietnamese pork.

I agree with you, if you can't make
rice, you shouldn't be in the kitchen.

But I still think that
the Korean pork was

so superior in taste,
texture, everything.

The protein was definitely better.

The problem that I had was that
dessert on the Korean team.

There was so much gelatin, you know.

Patekota should be luscious and soft.

Creamy.

Creamy and milky melt.

It was a hockey ball.

There were many things about the Vietnam
dishes that weren't perfect for me either.

I really liked the
Korean team's pork dish

much more than the
Vietnamese team's pork dish.

But I think that overall,
in terms of organization

and in terms of final
execution, Vietnam did better.

You know, I'm really on the
fence about which team to pick.

I liked the Korean pork,
but I loved that drink.

Also, I just think from a
presentation standpoint, Betty.

Betty was full of smiles.

She's just a pleasure to serve you.

And I have to say that at these events,
it's a lesson in public relations.

And selling their dish.

They really did sell their dish, so I
think we also have to think about that.

I know this was a hard decision for
all of us, but we're on agreement.

All right. I'll go get them.

I'd like to see team Vietnam, please.

I'm very pleased with our group
for performance, for sure.

I'm stoked, and I'll be surprised if it
goes any differently than I expected to.

I have to tell you guys, this was
a very difficult decision to make.

Who is responsible for
cooking a pork dish?

We just found them to be a little dry.

Jesse, you were pretty
much in charge of the team.

I was elected to keep us focused.

Betty, you were responsible
for the refresher?

Yes.

Start to finish?

Yes.

Well, I have to let you know that
you guys are the winning team.

They seem very happy in there.

That sounded like celebration.

That sounded pretty good.

This pisses me off that we lost, and we
lost because we could not work as a team.

You guys did an awesome job.

Betty, that was your refresher. It
was fabulous. It really won the day.

Betty, your customer
service was outstanding.

And because of that, you are the winner.

I have a very special gift for you.

A limited edition Kyuss
Air Ceramics Sashimi knife.

There's about a hundred of these
in the world, and this is for you.

I really felt that this was a team effort,
and the fact that I was singled out,

I was honored, but I was
also a little bit embarrassed

because they deserved all the
kudos right there alongside of me.

Get out of here and go have fun.

Congrats, guys.

Good work, you guys. Great job.

And send in the other team, too.

Okay.

You are the losing
team of this challenge.

Our pork was far superior.

Rice aside, I tasted
both of their dishes,

and I felt that they
were both under-seasoned,

and I'm not being a sore loser,

but I thought the pho was a joke.

We agreed that your pork was better,
that your pork had more flavor.

That wasn't the only thing
that was at stake here.

Cliff, why do you think you're here?

Maybe we did not work together as
so much of a team as we could have.

Was there a clear leader?

Who made the rice?

I made the rice.

Did you think that was good rice?

I thought it was good rice
when it left this place, yes.

And then?

And then I thought it looked
like hell on the plate.

It was definitely unacceptable.

I would agree.

Quite frankly, we had a
major problem with dessert.

It was explained to me as
a panna cotta or custard.

It was very, very hard.

I put a teaspoon of gelatin
in for each cup of liquid.

That is the ratio that even a
pastry assistant should know.

Did you try it before you served it?

I did.

And was it the way you wanted it to be?

I did think it was a
little bit firm as well.

Unservable?

No.

Amelia, did you think that the service
is something that you would serve?

I am not big in gelatin.

It's a personal taste.

That's not what you
said when you tasted it?

What I mean is, I mean, we were sitting
there, we were tasting our food,

the savory and the sweet, saying,

oh, this is great, and we
think we're going to win.

And now suddenly, there's
a lot of backpedaling.

Marcel, what should you have?

I think that Otto probably brought the
least amount of production to the team,

especially considering Otto was absent for
an hour and a half returning the lychee,

which I also think kind of
ruined the integrity of the team.

And I have issues with
moral responsibility.

I agree.

After the lychee thing, it
was just very difficult.

Do you think that that is critical
enough to have Otto leave?

I think Otto should go home.

Otto, do you address that?

Yes, the lychee issue.

We paid the bill, we rolled the card out,

and then I said, did we pay
for that case of lychees?

And nothing was set.

You know, I could see how
you ended up in the car,

there was these lychees there, hey,
great, look what we have, we can use this.

Did you think that?

No, I didn't really think that,
Chef, but I'd be honest with you.

Marisa.

I have to sit here and look at these
judges and chefs that I respect,

and the fact that you are
sitting here lying to them,

you said that specifically.

I'm not going to get into what he
said, she said situation with you.

The lychees, they were returned.

I'm so sorry, Otto, I
like you as a person,

but this was an act of dishonesty.

You jeopardized the whole team for this.

I'm so sorry.

Anybody else feel that you put
the whole team in jeopardy?

I do.

I was under your
impression this was a team.

I don't really understand how team
members flip their loyalties on a whim.

Elan, you've been eerily quiet.

Do you think any one person
bears a responsibility here?

No.

All right, we have a decision to make.

Yeah, I think we need to talk
about it amongst ourselves.

We'll call you back
when we have a decision.

We said we were a team, and then we didn't
act like a team when we presented it,

and when we got out there, we act
like f***ing seven individuals,

and we look like hell.

Well, I'm sorry, though, I contributed
to putting a sense of judgment.

I put my name on those dishes.

I wasn't the only one to
make the rice decision,

but I was the only one to
take responsibility for it

because everybody else is
looking out for their own a*s.

It's a team.

It is.

And if you don't back your teammates,

you might as well shove
your head right up your a*s.

Let's start with rice.

Let's start with Frank.

I still think that rice is no
way good even here on the left,

and they just should not assume it.

I had more of an issue with
the Korean team as panna cotta

than I did with some overcooked rice.

That's what put me over.

Marisa said it was her dessert.

She served us some standard product,

and she says a little step.

It wasn't a little step.

A lot of step.

That was a lot of step.

The team lost because the
dessert was a failure.

So we have Frank, we have Marisa,

and then, of course, there's Otto.

My issue with Otto is whatever
he did with his leegee,

there was a cancer to the team.

He told me I got caught
up in the challenge,

and I'm embarrassed.

He would not take responsibility
for those leaving the store

without being paid for,

but he did realize at a certain
point that they weren't on the tab

and that that would have put them over.

I don't know.

I still have a major
issue with integrity here,

and if Otto doesn't admit
it and take responsibility,

it's my opinion that Marisa shouldn't go.

Let's call him out.

You are the losing
team of this challenge.

We have to send one of you home.

Otto, you're in the middle
of this whole controversy

surrounding this team.

Yes, I am.

It clearly threw the team off.

At what point were you going to say,

hey, we have some extra
stuff here, we can't use it?

When the competition started,

Marisa said we can't use those leeches.

I said, fine, we're
not going to use them.

I immediately took them and put
them down below the workstation.

The question was, someone had to
tell you you couldn't use them.

If she didn't come to you,
would you have used them?

You know, people do things
for a wide variety of reasons.

I wanted this more than
you could possibly imagine.

What the bottom line
is, it was dishonest.

I should have just came
clean from the get-go.

This action disrupted the team.

It created a situation that was
very uneasy for everyone involved.

It's how I'm fortunate that my
actions put me in the decision

to bow out of this competition.

If that's what your decision
is, we will take that.

Yes.

Otto, please pack your knives and go.

Yes.

You may all leave. Thank you.

I bowed out of the competition.

And I really had high
hopes for this competition.

I'm very passionate. I'm
very driven by what I do.

I appreciate all your
support through this,

and I'm going to head back home to Vegas.

So thank you all very much.

The lychee thing was
an error in judgment.

I regret it.

There's choices in life,

and with every single choice,
there's a consequence.

True character happens when
people pick themselves up,

accept responsibility for their mistakes,

and press on them.

I'm persistent.

I'm going to learn and grow from this

and keep pursuing my passion to dream

about hitting hunger in
this country and the world.

Next, on Top Chef.

Is the childhood memory
a drug experience?

I don't like to dislike people,

but that man is rubbing me the wrong way.

You're a selfish, self
-centered, egotistical b*stard.

I don't know whether you
think this is a joke.

It was rubbery. It was chewy.

Floppy. Really sloppy.

Hurry it up.

For more about the recipes seen tonight,

go to bravotv.com.