02x03 - Food for the People

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef,
you'll be serving your dishes

at a charity event
attended by 1,000 people.

Oh!

Can we put it down below?

Honest mistakes happen.

You're at the grocery store.

You put something on the bottom.

We look like cheaters.

This team needs to get down here.

Sh-t, auto.

Is that a true statement that you said,

we got a case of lychees for free?

That is a true statement, Chef.

Right now, you're not looking to you.

You look like a woman who
loves Vietnamese food.

This is a jasmine tea custard.

There's no gelatin.

Maybe a little too much, y'all.

Betty, your customer
service was outstanding.

You are the winner.

The fact that I was
singled out, I was honored.

We had a major problem
with the customer service.

Did you try it before you served it?

I did.

I think auto ruined the
integrity of the team.

If you ask me who I want
to go home, I will say you.

I'm not going to get into what he said,

she said situation with you.

My actions put me in a decision

to bow out of this competition.

Auto, please pack your knives and go.

Yes.

Now, 13 remain, fight it out.

At stake for the winner,

a state-of-the-art Kenmore Pro Kitchen,

furnished 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 kickstart
their culinary career,

furnished by the makers of
the GLAAD family of products,

and the title of Top Chef.

Wake up.

It's time.

I've got culinary knowledge,

and I'm best at, like, avant
-garde molecular gastronomy.

And I noticed that some
of the other competitors

don't have enough knowledge
and enough experience,

whether it's, like, working
on management as a cook

or, like, anything.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

More of the casual comfort food,

myself and Mia and Mike
have come to the forefront.

But when you're going into
the fine dining things,

Cliff, Sam, Elan, and
Emily are taking the lead.

I thought this was real good.

The day where you'd be like,

okay, get up at 1 o'clock.

I don't care about other chefs, you know?

I cook good food, and we
have a little strategy.

I want to stay in the middle

because I don't want people
to think like I'm a threat

because people will
sabotage people, you know?

I don't want to be the guy

that people are trying to knock down.

Go.

Hello, everyone.

As you know, two chefs are gone

and there are 14 of you left.

Many of you are used to cooking
for fine dining customers,

but only 38% of Americans eat
in fine dining restaurants.

We want to see if you understand

and how to create
original and exciting food

for the man in the street.

Today's quick fire challenge

is to create an original
ice cream flavor.

The second I hear it's
an ice cream challenge,

I'm so excited.

I put ice creams on almost
every single dessert,

so I'm hoping to get a
beauty on the challenge.

You can use any of the
ingredients you see

on the table behind me,

as well as anything you
find in the Top Chef Pantry.

You'll also each have access

to a Cuisinart ice cream maker.

Since ice cream takes time to freeze,

you'll have two hours and 45 minutes

to create three quarts of ice cream.

Wasn't too overly excited.

I have never, ever made
ice cream before, ever.

One more thing.

We're gonna road test your ice cream

at the Redondo Seaside Lagoon.

It's a beautiful, hot, sunny day,

so I'm sure you'll
have lots of customers.

Your time starts now.

Good luck to all of you.

We have two hours and 45 minutes

to make three quarts of ice cream.

I've never made ice cream in my life.

And I'm thinking, how in the
hell am I supposed to do this?

I've never had to make ice cream

in such a short period of time.

I couldn't heat something on the stove,

cool it down in time, and freeze it.

Avocados give a great creamy consistency,

so no eggs are necessary.

And that's the direction I went.

Don't you laugh.

Freaking fast.

I know that chocolate and lavender

is kind of a new combination

that's kind of hit a lot
of fine dining restaurants,

and so I just thought I'd go for it.

That's just not enough time.

Cream? No.

Not creams, no.

Just no.

I'm not a pastry chef, and I am diabetic.

No, so I don't eat those sorts of things.

I don't make them.

The avenue I'm gonna take
is what I like in ice cream.

There's something crunchy,
I want something soft,

and I like a little
bit of cookie in there

because I love cookies.

I'm in the breakfast
flavors, so I grab bacon,

and I start making waffles
because we have a waffle iron.

It's kind of cool, different,
completely different.

I wanted to create new flavor profiles

and make them taste really good,

so I decided to make bacon
and avocado ice cream.

F***.

Everybody's got all these
different things going on,

except I look over at Marcel,

and he's got bacon also.

I think so.

But then he had avocados and
wasn't really worried about it

because whatever he was
making was kind of gross.

What do you think, Elan?

Nice.

I'm staring this ice cream
down like it owes me money.

Yeah, you guys have five minutes.

I was actually kind of stoked

because I was one of the few people

who had the proper
consistency of an ice cream.

A lot of people's were still liquid.

I knew that Marcel's bacon
and avocado ice cream

was not going to be very well received

at the proofs and the pudding.

Okay, you guys, time's up, scoop's down.

F***, sh**.

F***.

We're at the Redondo Beach
Lagoon and the day is gorgeous

and there's children
lined up, 300 people.

I was hoping the demographic

was not going to be a bunch
of snotty little kids.

It was a bunch of snotty little kids.

I hate kids.

Okay, welcome to the Seaside
Lagoon at Redondo Beach.

This is how it's going to work.

You guys are going to serve
your ice cream to these folks.

Then they're going to vote
for their favorite flavor.

Let the fun begin.

Get brought up, get brought up.

How's that?

Good?

Oh, there you go.

It's chaotic with all the children.

This was not how I thought
this challenge was going to be.

Oh, marshmallows.

Oh, yeah, you got to have
marshmallows and ice cream.

It's cookie, graham cr*cker, marshmallow.

It's delicious, here you go.

You're welcome.

Elvis's favorite is peanut
butter and jelly with bananas.

We have Redondo Beach berry
and a homemade chocolate sauce.

My waffles and bacon, it's
like eating breakfast.

You want some ice cream?

Some of the kids love it and some
of the kids think it's gross.

But it's good, I mean, I'm very
happy with it, it's delicious.

And I love breakfast.

And what is it?

This is a vanilla bean with marshmallows,

because everybody loves marshmallows.

A little bit of avocado.

When the parents were paying attention,

I would tell them about the avocado.

But when the kids were in front of me,

I would just tell them about the
vanilla and the marshmallows.

And it seemed to be a really great hit.

All right, you ready?

Your turn.

You've been waiting for a long time.

Here you go.

I got voted with a New
York's 10, six chefs.

So it makes my ability to flirt better.

So when the mothers are coming
through with their children

and tasting the ice cream, you know,

I get them a little riled up.

gInger sn*p and lime.

I think Sam's going to win it, especially

since all the pre-teen girls figured out

he looked like Ashton Kutcher.

How's it going?

Is that avocado and bacon ice cream?

As soon as I saw my clientele, I

was a little bit concerned
and a little bit worried

that it wouldn't go over so
well with the general public.

Karen, that's the third one.

Not so much, huh?

I was standing, like, two
people away from Marcel,

and I was watching the little
kids spit out the ice cream

and then wipe their tongues
off with the napkin.

I'm thinking, you really,
really don't want to win.

Did I do yet?

It was great.

It's like, it's an important thing.

Well, I'm a peach cobbler.

I know you know what a cobbler is.

They were giving, like, voting cards,

and they had to vote their favorites.

It's kind of like a
popularity contest, you know?

I wasn't the most popular in high school,

so I don't know.

I'm serving calming chocolate
with a little bit of lavender

in it.

I did have one lady telling
me that she didn't think

there was enough sugar in it.

The last thing you need
with your four teeth

and your huge a*s is sugar.

OK, everyone, the ice cream's run out,

and we have to tally all the votes.

So I'll see in the Kenmore kitchen

and we'll announce the winner.

The official results from the ice
cream ballot challenge are in.

First, the bad news.

The first person in the bottom three

is Marisa with your
vanilla peanut ice cream.

And also in the bottom three
is Emily's calming chocolate

and lavender ice cream.

And in last place is Marcel.

I'm afraid your bacon and
avocado ice cream only

got seven votes from the entire crowd.

And now for the good news.

We have a tie for runner up.

It's between Carlos and your
avocado marshmallow ice cream

flavor and Sam with your
gInger sn*p and citrus crumble.

And the winner in first place
is Cliff with his marshmallow

and cookie ice cream.

Booyah.

Achieving immunity during a quick fire

definitely enables you to
have a lot more freedom

during the actual elimination challenge

because you don't have the
fear of being sent home.

So congratulations.

I mean, this is your second
quick fire challenge win.

And as you know, as the winner, you

have immunity for the
elimination challenge.

I'm feeling less confident
because Cliff won.

But honestly, I don't really think

it had anything to do with
the quality of his ice cream.

Let's meet our guest judge for
this elimination challenge.

Hello, guys.

This is Chef Steven Boggarelli.

He's the senior executive chef
for TGI Friday's restaurants.

Your challenge is to create
a dish that you think

would appeal to the TGI Friday's guests.

After the fiasco of the last challenge,

of course, I want to do well.

It's important.

But they came here to make high-end food.

This was not where I come from.

And I'm worried I could be eliminated.

So Chef Boggarelli, can you
tell them a little bit more

about the kind of dish
you're looking for?

Absolutely.

An area of food that our
consumers really relate to

is foods that they
used to love as a child

with a grown-up appeal.

My challenge to you is to
take your childhood favorite,

turn it into the next Wow!

TGI Friday's entrees that
our consumers will create.

We are very excited to let you know

that the winning entree will be featured

on TGI Friday's menus
in over 500 locations,

which means one of you will
get national recognition

for your entree.

Whoo!

This is my cup of tea.

This is exactly what
I do in my restaurant.

We are California comfort food.

So you have this afternoon to shop

and two hours to prep your food,

using all the appliances
and CAFLON cookware

here in the Kenmore kitchen.

You will then finish
your dishes on location

at the South Pasadena Firehouse.

I've had many firemen as friends.

I think they're, you know,
what we call the unsung heroes.

This is great, like a bunch of firemen.

How cool is that?

There's just one more piece of business

we need to deal with.

It's come to our
attention that one of you

used to work for TGI Friday's.

Mike, is that true?

Yeah, like a while ago.

I would've called it work, it
was just more like a visit.

I worked for TGI Friday's
for like a month and a half

and worked out plenty of
corporate restaurants.

I'm confident for this challenge.

I should be ready to go.

Shouldn't be sweating the time.

We just thought everyone should know

that you won't get any favoritism

and neither will it be held against you.

Good luck.

We'll see you at the fire station later.

Get to work.

This TGI Friday's challenge
sent me for a loop

because comfort food isn't what I do.

I was a little bit worried

about this challenge right off the bat.

You need more skirt steak?

My brother's a firefighter

and I'm making a steak sandwich

and I'm totally confident.

Bunch of firemen, you know?

You love like meat, potatoes.

This is not what I do.

I don't make food like this.

I'm not a mass producer.

I'm not a turn and burner

because for about six years

I've been working in fine dining.

Four stars, high class chefs,

best restaurants in whatever
town that I happen to live in.

And so I thought maybe I would go

with like a surf and turf

because I was kind of lost really.

We're shopping.

I want a beer so I got some for myself.

What the hell?

You know?

Well, it's something
actually for the kids.



I can't go over 100.

Let me see one of the cheeses.

We're good.

You took off?

I took off.

Two cheeses.

How much is the beer?

Eight bucks.

Michael, he's absolutely out of his mind.

I mean, you know, it
just doesn't seem like

he's in it to win it.

He's getting better at
getting cheese, dude.

No.

Is there cheese in the pantry?

No.

That man is rubbing me the wrong way

and I've had it up to here.

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

The TGI Friday Challenge is
based on a childhood meal

that is spruced up for adults.

The things I remember in childhood

were macaroni and cheese and fish sticks.

But I've yet to meet one person

who does not like macaroni and cheese.

It's a more zen-like way of
taking out your frustrations.

I agree.

Do it.

Hey, Betty.

Hi, Chef.

Is it against the rules
for you to taste my soup?

No, no, I can taste it.

I just can't comment on it.

Okay, I'm going to look in your eyes.

I'm going to get some sort of a...

You can't close your eyes.

That's no fair.

So what childhood memory are you invoking

to make this decision?

I am making an Alice in
Wonderland's mushroom fantasy.

It's also a really attractive dish.

It can either be served as
an entree or as a salad.

Is the childhood memory
a drug experience?

No, it's actually because of my daughter.

That's one of her favorites.

Okay, okay.

I used to watch it as well.

Hi, Chef.

Got your big bite.

Here you go.

That's a good thing
you're tasting your food.

Let's hope they like it.

The best.

Hey, Sam.

Hey, Chef. What's happening?

All right.

So you got some roast
peppers, some watermelon.

So...

Sounds different.

Yeah.

Do you have any
experience at all in PGIF?

No, I mean...

Okay, so you're kind
of flying blind here.

Flying blind.

Okay.

Chef Tom, what's happening?

So I hear you have some
experience with TGIF.

Yeah, I used to work there
about ten years, nine years ago.

Okay.

So I'm just going to make like a steak
sandwich with three different kinds of cuts.

Do you think this is stuff
that Fireman will sort of dig?

My brother's a firefighter, so...

You have too many inside tracks.

So this challenge is
they have to create a

dish that is reminiscent
of something they

had in their childhood, and they
need to recreate it for a TGIF menu.

You know, some of the
fine dining chefs are

having a difficult time
with this challenge.

You know, just because TGIF is casual
dining, it doesn't mean it's easy.

Marisa's somewhat disappointed that
she didn't win the ice cream challenge.

She's the only pastry chef in the group.

She's going right back to what she knows.

She's making it from crisp.

It wouldn't be my picnic as a
favorite, but you never know.

Guy in the bottom oven, I'll put
a note on it, but I had it at 350.

All right.

This lower oven.

Marcel, his mom made
great mashed potatoes.

He has some pork chop, and
he's doing some onion rings.

So it's fairly straightforward fare, and
I think that he's going to live or die

on both mashed potatoes.

Sam is creating a vegetarian
fruit option for the menu.

I bet you that there are plenty of firemen
that are so tired of eating grilled meat

that they may want something light,
especially if it's pretty hot out right now.

Halfway into it.

One hour left, guys.

I'm trying to think if I've
made onion rings before.

Soaked them in a little buttermilk.

I know that's, like, classic, right?

I want to win this, because I've spent
so much time focusing in on fine dining,

and if I was to lose,
like, a casual dining

challenge, that would
just be a huge blow to me.

The key to a good breading procedure
is to keep one hand dry at all times.

That man is rubbing me the wrong way, and
I really think it comes down to the fact

that he's just pontificating
to make himself

sound as though he's more
experienced than he is.

Marcel thinks that comfort food does not
sit in the same category as fine dining,

but I think the most important thing
about being a top chef is versatility.

We got everything accomplished.

Yeah, super psyched.





Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on!

Welcome to the South
Pasadena Fire Station.

You'll each have 15 minutes
to finish your dish,

and then you'll serve it
one at a time to our judges.

The firefighters are on their way, so go
up to their kitchens and get cracking.

Good luck!

We're going to have a nice day.

We'll be right back.

Hi, Tom, I'm Darren.

Hi, gentlemen.

You know, nice to meet you.

How are you?

Great.

Did you guys cook on your...

Yeah, it works out really well.

That's some great cooks.

This is what we do.

We do a lot of chicken,
a lot of red meat.

Everybody likes tripe here.

Actually, try to make
it the four food groups.

You know, get a good,
balanced dinner in there.

Ready to eat?

Absolutely.

I'm not running around
the kitchen, freaking out.

I'm not stressed out.

There's plenty of time.

It's no reason to get all flustered.

If I saw this sandwich on the
menu, I'd totally order it,

and I think I'm going to win.

I think I'm going to be up there.

I haven't carried a tray like
this since I worked on Friday.

I'm coming.

All right, fellas.

Oh, you dropped it.

You're in trouble.

All right.

No problem.

This is Michael.

This is his steak sandwich.

All right, so you're
rubbing on a steak sandwich.

You got a rib-eye skirt steak,

New York onion rings,
Monterey Jack cheddar cheese,

a little ketchup on the plate, a dip.

Enjoy.

Thanks a lot, guys.

Wow, messy.

I think they're a little bit overcooked.

So what do you think?

She's got a lot of fiber.

No.

It's greasy.

It's chewy.

It's like it's presentation.

It's very sloppy.

The first thing I do is I
take one of my onion rings,

drop it in the deep fryer,
just to see, you know,

what the temperature's
at, and it just goes...

Yeah, this fryer definitely isn't on 350.

Mike goes before me.

He fries off three batches
of f*cking huge batches

of onion rings, drops the
fryer temperature down.

He didn't change the temperature.

Marcel had a problem
with the deep fat fryers.

Instead of thinking
about how I can fix this,

he started to piss and moan
and complain about the fact

that he couldn't do what he
was supposed to be able to do.

He just did like four
batches of onion rings,

and it dropped it down.

So it dropped it down to like 200.

Elliott came back in the kitchen,

and she was like, like,
trying to help me.

She was like, Marcel, take the
onion rings out of the basket.

You know, they're going to get soggy.

No, I was like, I'm just
going to leave them, like,

in there, you know, maybe
by some slim chance,

like, that I'm going to be
able to salvage this project.

But in the end, it didn't work.

My dish was definitely still servable,

and I was able to send it
despite not having onion rings.

And I spent a lot of
time, you know, on making,

and I was disappointed that, you know,

I couldn't serve that component.

There you are, Gail.

Hi, Marcel.

Thank you, Pete.

Thank you.

How do we go?

Mademoiselle.

Excellent.

Got a little bit of mashed potatoes,

which kind of reminds me a
lot of my childhood memories.

I also did a little mushroom sauce,

some cabbage with some bacon,

and a nice hearty pork chop.

Enjoy.

Thank you.

I love it.

I love it.

I love it.

It's good.

It's good.

It's tender.

I need a punching bag, dude.

So f*cking curious.

After Marcel came back
from his challenge,

he was just hemming and hawing,

and I had it up to here.

You think it's fair that I
couldn't use a deep fryer,

but yet you guys get to use TD fries?

Yes, I absolutely think it's fair,

because I think anything
that'll f*ck you up is fake.

Oh, no.

I started having an issue with the grill,

and who do you think was sitting
there watching my every move?

The grill is not as hot as you would
have liked for it to have been.

You think it's fair that I
couldn't use a deep fryer,

but yet you guys get to use TD fries?

Yes, I absolutely think it's fair.

We have only 15 minutes
to create our dish,

so as I'm cooking, Marcel
and Betty begin to fight,

and they're very loud and
very, like, obtrusive.

Anything that'll f*ck you up is fake.

Why is that?

What did I ever, what did I do to you?

You just don't like me?

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

That's just my simple opinion of this.

Betty confronts me with a bunch of issues

that apparently had been
bottled up in the past.

I'm just astonished and
appalled, utterly appalled,

that she's trying to
calm me out like this.

Any sort of disadvantage?

Like...

Marcel, I would be happy
to continue with this

as soon as Sam is done.

I do not want to distract
from what he's doing.

Thanks, Betty.

As a professional chef, I'm
focused on putting in my product.

And I don't think anybody was as
innovative in creating the dish as myself.

This dish is the wild fruit salad.

It's marinated fruit and a
spicy, chimichurri vinaigrette.

Enjoy.

Tremendous flavoring
and bending something

that's not really classical
with the different fruits.

You know, when you go to a restaurant,

order something that
you want to eat at home,

like a steak sandwich.

You can get your straw for
that, too, if you want.

Get some bread.

I don't really have any
experience with food like this,

but I just kind of stuck with it,
because it was all very simple.

And I tried to plate it down.

Bam!

Let's go sauteer today.

Do it!

Do it!

Come on.

Chef.

Hi, guys. I'm Emily, and I made
super slim and surf and turf.

Please enjoy. Thank you.

I know, it's a little bit too salty.

It is salty, though.

Sloppy.

Apertures.

Oh, my God.

Really salty.

Amazingly salty.

I can't eat any more.

When I saw Frank's plate,

he's been waiting to pump out this plate.

This is like his signature dish.

And he pumps it up, and it looks
like it's a train wreck, man.

I feel like I'm in smurf land.

I present to you my Wonderland
Mushroom Fantasy Salad

with a mushroom duck saw
and oven-dried tomatoes.

I think this is a marvel.

It would be very, very difficult
to pull off at a restaurant.

Hello. How are you?

Thank you.

Well?

My father used to grill corn,

and he would do it after he
grilled bacon for breakfast.

So, enjoy.

Mmm.

The results of the Quick Fire Challenge

were that I have immunity,

which doesn't mean anything,

because I want to win two
challenges back-to-back.

What we have here is a grown-up
mac, cheese, and fish sticks.

We'll smoke provolone, Gouda,

and finish with maple-smoked lardons.

Spicy.

There's a little bit of a kick there.

All right, Cliff.

Don't bull guard the plate, my friend.

All right.

This is Miami-style barbecue skewer

with a little green toast

and fire-roasted tomato salsa.

I made some fish taco.

It's shrimp with tuna,
jalapeno, corn tortillas,

and some real Mexican sauce.

Hello there, Chef.

Good to see you.

So glad you came out.

Tonight, you got chicken fried shrimp.

You also have a corn, red pepper,

and lime salad along the side.

What I have prepared for you guys

is a little Mamma Mia meatloaf sandwich.

Then I got a little spicy ketchup.

It's a little bit of chlorella.

It's a little bit of a try.

I did dessert because they only
had four desserts on their menu,

and two of them were cheesecakes

and two of them were chocolates, so...

What is important to me is that
I'm not in the bottom three.

Hi, everybody.

We have a strawberry crisp
with a pecan streusel topping,

fresh vanilla bean whipped cream,

and an orange caramel sauce to finish it.

You know what? You guys need that.

Thank you.

It came my time.

Thought I had no problem.

Then I started having
an issue with the grill.

This griddle's pretty slow.

The grilled cheese were not
grilling up quickly enough.

And who do you think was sitting
there watching my every move?

The griddle's not as hot as you
would have liked for it to have been.

Sorry, did anybody here a
gnat lying around their ear,

something really annoying?

For an intimidation factor,
I'm watching her cook her food.

I just wanted to stand there,
sending her the blazing eyes.

Honestly, she threw off my game,

and so why should I not
throw off hers a little bit?

I liked the way you're adjusting that.

I was wondering how long it was
going to take you to use saute pans.

You know, now, this is fair,

because you're not able to cook your
grilled cheese on your flat top.

I wasn't able to fry my onion
rings in the fryer later.

I just wanted to get
my comments out there,

let her know that I thought we
know what was fair was fair.

I take it on myself, and I deal with it.

I specifically asked them before
the competition even began.

Can you ask him to be quiet in the
middle of my competition, please?

Stop, stop, stop, stop.

Marcel was essentially instigating

to the point where he was
trying to pick a fight.

If I were Betty, I would have
actually stopped what I was doing

and gone over and
punched him in the head.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.



By the skin of my teeth,

I got that final sandwich on that plate.

I would have been disqualified.

Every time this is something
that's bad or against me.

Which is probably a lot.

I always kind of try to help them here.

I totally appreciate that.

Marcel's been having a lot of
trouble with everyone here,

but me, because I worked prior with him

to open Latelier de Gervo-Buchon.

I was your chef.

I knew about day one.

I felt like, I don't know,

I was going to be the
odd man out or whatever.

Just love you.

First off, thank you guys
so much for your patience.

My name's Betty, and this
dish is bada bing Betty

with spicy red pepper
soup and sassy bacon.

So, enjoy.

That's delicious.

I'd actually order this again.

But you got it right.

Even if they don't love my
food, I love all you guys.

Hi, guys.

First of all, we'd like to thank

the brave firefighters of South Pasadena.

It's been an honor and a
lot of fun to be here today.

So, thank you all.

And as for you chefs,
there have been some hits

and some misses today.

We'll see you back at the judges' table.

It was rubbery. It was chewy.

This was sloppy, really sloppy.

Turn it on.

Let's talk about this challenge,

let's talk about what it was about.

We were looking for childhood favorites

with an adult twist.

How did you feel about the results?

I thought there'd be
a lot more excitement

and adventurism.

Step out and let's do something

innovative and creative and something

that's not being done.

Did you see anything
today that was kind of

sort of little different ideas that way?

Yeah, absolutely.

There was one I saw today that I thought

was really out there
and really innovative.

If I had a guess, I'd
probably be Sam's Fruit Dish.

The ingredients were
fresh. They were bold.

They were exciting, and
it was healthy for you.

It's craveable.

I love the term that you
just used, craveable.

I think that's such a great way
to talk about this challenge

because I think that's so
much of what you're doing

with TGI Fridays and what
we really were asking

the chefs to do.

Were there anything
else that you saw today

that was in that category of craveable?

Yes, that was our grilled cheese

and our roasted tomato soup.

Really?

Betty's dish.

She took what we asked her to do,

your childhood favorite,
and update it with a twist.

Can I ask you about Elon's dish?

His dish to me was craveable.

I really thought it was delicious.

The smoky corn side dish.

I thought the flavors were incredible.

It was fantastic.

I mean, it had a lot of
different layers of flavors,

and definitely was craveable.

Not enough.

He could have taken that corn

and made it into a fantastic entree.

There were a lot of positive comments

about Cliff's fish dish
and macaroni and cheese.

The fish was great. It was not greasy.

It was light.

The firemen that I was
with really loved it.

They kept going back
to the mac and cheese.

I think mac and cheese is
one of those soulful dishes

that, you know, you just carry around.

You know, why don't we call them out?

Great.

Okay.

Congratulations.

You were the top three in
this elimination challenge.

Sam, love the flavors.

Loved the fact that it was healthy.

We all really, really loved
that it was sophisticated.

It was fun. It was easy. It was light.

Thank you for doing something.

So cool on such a hot day.

It was amazing.

Cliff, all the firemen
really, really dug it.

The fish wasn't greasy
at all. It was very good.

My table sculpted down.

There wasn't anything left on the plate.

Great flavors.

Betty, I think everybody
has fond memories

of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Obviously, provided a great
little twist on the soup.

I make a roasted pepper soup,

a nice little twist of having
the portobello mushroom

and with the grilled cheese.

So, Steven, out of these three dishes,

which one will be appearing
on the TGI Friday's menu?

Betty.

Thank you so much.

You scream so loud.

I think I blew the roof
off the Top Chef kitchen.

Oh, my God. Oh, thank you, guys.

I have won two times in a row,

but I am not going to let my guard down

because there's a lot at stake here.

Congratulations so much.

Great work.

Betty, we need you to please bring us

Emily, Michael, and Frank.

Thank you.

Thank you to all of you.

Thank you.

We'll be perfect.

Thank you.

Is it bada bing, Betty?

It is bada bing, Betty!

I want to see Emily.

I want to see Mike.

Emily, I want to see Frank.

You three are the bottom
three in this challenge.

Frank, why do you think you're here?

I think a conceptual dish like mine

probably needed a lot of tweaking.

I thought all the components
individually tasted good.

I was really confused about it
from a practical standpoint.

Like I said, it's a conceptual dish.

Food is for eating.

I agree with you 100%.

You can't execute it every single time.

It's never going to happen in a
restaurant like a TGF Fridays.

And I disagree with you
under flavor profiles.

They were flat.

They could have used a
lot more flavor to it.

Emily, did you taste your
dish before you served it?

Yes, I did.

Did you taste the meat?

Yes, I did.

And you thought it was seasoned fine.

No, I did not think I
tasted a piece of the meat

and just, you know, got frazzled

and just went a little nuts.

I thought the corn was salty too.

I thought the shrimp was salty too.

I thought the whole dish.

I totally agree that it was overwhelming.

But when I was tasting
things individually,

I really felt it was pretty inedible.

It was so over salted.

I couldn't even have a bite.

It was just, I don't know.

The corn, is that fresh corn?

No, it was not.

We felt that.

The meat that you used,
what exactly was it?

It was a skirt steak.

It was rubbery.

It was chewy.

If you know what a skirt steak does,

it tends to get tough and chewy.

That's not something I would have chosen.

Michael.

Turn it on.

I could take it.

I could dish it out.

What do you think went
wrong with your dish?

I have no idea.

I mean, like, honestly,
like, I'm shocked, you know?

Because it's like, I've
worked at a lot of, like,

conceptual restaurants, I guess, like,

Fridays, Chili's, Red Lobster, whatever.

It just amazes me right
now that you just said that

you've been to our competitors.

What made you think that
that would make us stand out?

What would be extraordinary
about a steak sandwich

is a steak sandwich.

Honestly, I don't see too many, like,

steak sandwiches like that.

Why should we keep you here?

I have plenty of reasons to be here.

I mean, I love food.

It doesn't seem like you love food.

It doesn't seem like you care about it.

It's just so sloppy, really sloppy.

Well, we have a decision to make,

and we'll call you back in.

No problem.

No problem.

What did you think about Frank?

I think the positive
thing I could say was that

he had an idea and he went with it.

He should have just
really thought about it

and ex*cuted it better.

It was really misguided, and
something that conceptual,

you're talking, you know, that out there,

you've got to be an incredible
technician to pull that off,

and I don't think he is.

So what about Emily's surf and turf?

If anything, I guess just the idea

that she thought about a surf and turf,

but that's pretty much
where I think it ends.

I was the first person
at my table to taste it,

and was shocked.

I could barely get it down.

I said, oh my goodness, I can't eat this.

It's just cooking 101.

I'm sorry if you taste your food

and you know it's over seasoned.

Fix it or don't serve it.

Oh, that's rough out there.

Okay, Michael.

There's something about his
attitude that drives me crazy.

He really doesn't seem to care.

I thought he was sloppy.

I thought he was arrogant about his dish.

How bad could a steak sandwich be?

We really think about it.

How could you screw up a steak sandwich

when you had good quality
steak to start with?

Yeah.

And he found a way to do it.

He did.

He did.

I'll beat the f*ck up
all those m*therf*ckers.

I love you.

I need more booze.

Why don't you sit down by yourself?

Because I'm f*cking calm, dude.

We're going to duke it out
before this thing's over.

I thought Mike was kind
of like a Yahoo at first,

just to kind of show off.

Maybe because of the competition
or maybe who he's up against.

Maybe he gets a little
nervous and a little insecure.

Yeah, you can't leave because
you still got to f*ck.

I know.

I still got to f*cking
knock you out, dude.

Okay, I think we have our answer.

We're all agreed?

Yeah.

Okay, let's bring the chefs in.

You three were the bottom
three in this challenge,

and one of you has to go.

Yeah.

Obviously, we threw you up here
because we had issues with each dish.

Frank, you know, I guess we appreciate
the thought behind what you did.

But even then, if you were
going to go in that direction,

it needed to be so refined

that even though it maybe wouldn't have
been appropriate for this challenge,

you wouldn't have been here.

Emily, the dish wasn't edible

because of the amount of
salt that was in everything.

Every day in your cooking life,
there's a lot of pressure,

and you can't just make
that kind of mistake.

And when you do, you have to
figure out something to fix it.

You ready, man?

Yeah, what can I say?

This is rough.

I don't think I have
to say anything to you.

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

No, I don't, man.

It's hard for me, you
know, just being myself.

Tell me you love to cook.

You tell me you're passionate about it.

We're not seeing that.

We're seeing sloppy food
that's not ex*cuted well.

Just, you know, if you
want to stick around here,

you got to do a little more.

It was tough, but someone has to go.

Emily, please pack your knives and go.

Okay.

Well, y'all, it's been real.

I met some fantastic professionals.

This is one of the hardest things
I've had to do, saying goodbye.

That's the hard part, is I'll miss out
on sharing all this with everybody.

I think I have a lot to learn.

Everybody has such a
different style and background

and bouncing ideas off of
such a variety of people

has opened, you know, doors
creatively, so I'm still solving.

Next on Top Chef.

For this elimination challenge,
you must create an entree,

a side dish, and a dessert, but...

This is absolute madness.
There's just no way.

You know, nobody kidnapped
you to put you on the show.

I do want to be here, because
I really want to win it.

You assume everyone is
on the honor system?

Why not?

You never know.

I don't know if I follow.

You're saying people cheated?

I'm not going to go there.

Who?

For more about the recipes seen
tonight, go to BravoTV.com.