- Previously on Top Chef...
- The winner
of the Last Chance Kitchen is...
- I am not happy
to see Bev.
She's off
in her own Bev-land.
- Watch out for my basket.
- Sorry.
Were you guys surprised
when I came back?
- No.
- And we were all excited
'cause we thought
we were the final four.
- If I get eliminated
because Beverly takes my spot,
I am gonna be
so pissed off.
I paired it
with a smoked oyster crema.
- I'm just not a big fan
of this particular
oyster sauce at all.
- Ed, please
pack your knives and go.
- To the final four.
[Glasses clink]
- Four chefs remain,
all hoping to win
a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,
a showcase at the annual
Food & Wine classic in Aspen,
$125,000...
Furnished
by Healthy Choice
to bring their
culinary dreams to life,
and the title of Top Chef.
- It feels great
to be in Vancouver.
Yet, there's still
so much more to do.
The biggest difference
between the Sarah that walked
into San Antonio
and the Sarah now
is I've had time to learn
a lot about myself.
My goal is to stay calm
and be a really nice person.
- It's so good to see you.
- Hi.
- Paul.
- Hey, what's up?
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you.
- Come here.
- How's it going?
- Paul, Sarah and I
have a special bond.
We've been through this
since day one together.
- How are you?
- I think with Beverly,
personalities clash.
So it's a little weird
seeing her.
- You look warm.
- Yeah.
Let's get loaded up.
- Toyota time.
- I feel fortunate
and blessed
to even have
this opportunity.
My great-grandfather
on my father's side
fled from China
to the Philippines
to start a new life
for his family,
and I've always felt like
I had that responsibility,
being that
I'm his eldest grandson.
So that is what
I'm pursuing here,
trying to win Top Chef.
There's a letter.
- Oh, no!
- Oh, no.
- [Laughs]
- "Chefs, welcome
to British Columbia, Canada.
"Head up to Whistler and meet us
at the top of the mountain.
Bundle up. Padma."
- No!
- [Laughs]
- Oh, my God.
- Yes!
- It was so stressful.
Now, looking back on it,
I get upset with myself
about how upset I got
in certain situations.
- Yeah.
- It feels surreal
to be back,
especially after
the mentor challenge,
when I almost
got eliminated.
So, to win the whole thing
would mean the world to me.
- It was totally awesome.
[Laughs]
It was--it was pretty intense--
- Look at this tree.
- [Laughs]
- Sarah and Lindsay have never
respected me as a chef.
Coming from
the Last Chance Kitchen,
I really do
have a lot to prove,
but having that
second chance taught me
I have everything it takes
to be Top Chef.
- We're here.
All right.
- Wow. It's, like,
really beautiful.
- I'm glad you like
the, um, orange pants.
- Wow.
[Giggles]
[Gondola rattles]
- Whoa, this thing's fast.
- I'm going back to my...
- Wow.
- I'm not sure
what's gonna happen
on top of this mountain today.
I'm just picturing, like,
this skiing relay race
where we're
going down the slope,
picking up ingredients
to make a final dish
at the foot
of the mountain.
- You can get a little motion
sickness when you sit down.
- Yeah.
- I'm like,
"Holy [bleep]."
There's a lot of wind,
and there's a lot of snow.
Everything is just
the total opposite of Texas.
I'm glad not to be
in 115-degree weather.
But I'm also not that stoked
to be in 5-degree weather.
[Gondola rattles]
- Oh, jeez.
- [Laughs]
- Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
- The first challenge back has
a lot to do with the psychology.
I'm thinking
if I could just blow them away
the first challenge,
that would be a huge advantage.
- Hello, chefs.
And welcome
to British Columbia.
- Hello.
- Whistler was a prominent venue
for the 2010 Winter Games.
- So it's only fitting
that we're gonna start
with our very own
culinary game.
Only three of you
will move on
to the final rounds
of the competition.
There are three events.
The winner of each event
will win $10,000.
For the first event,
you'll each cook a dish
on a moving gondola.
- A moving gondola.
- [Laughs]
- [Exhales sharply]
I get motion sickness,
so I'm like, "Oh, [bleep],
what am I gonna do?"
- The peak-to-peak gondola
is the fastest unsupported span
in the world.
- [Chuckles]
Up here at 7,000 feet
above sea level,
the altitude alone
can present a challenge.
- When your gondola reaches
Blackcomb mountain peak,
you'll have to jump out,
get a new ingredient,
and use that
new ingredient in your dish.
You'll be
serving the judges
at steeps restaurant
on Whistler Mountain.
Let the games begin.
- I hop into a moving gondola.
I'm out of my element,
and I'm nervous.
I definitely feel
like I gotta get
out of my head
and just focus on the challenge.
I'm a little nauseous.
Even though I'm nervous,
I've gone too far
not to push myself through this.
I'm gonna
go with lamb for today.
[Sighs]
[Bleep].
It's crazy out here.
I gotta get ready to roll out,
pick some stuff up.
- I see more ingredients
than I thought.
So it's kind of
making my decision
of what I'm gonna make
more difficult.
Holy [bleep].
I grabbed salmon,
cut off the belly...
[Bleep], there's scales on that.
I'm not using that.
Holy [bleep], it's cold.
I can't open anything.
I am freaking out.
I'm not really finding
the one direction I want to go.
[Bleep].
- Gosh,
what do we have here?
I have to make a decision
of what I'm gonna cook.
We have two induction burners
and two saucepans, the chinois,
but real basic.
I think I'm gonna do a tartare,
just to be safe.
[Utensils clattering]
Oh, God, it's upside down.
It's really cold
in the gondola,
and I'm thinking a cold dish
is gonna be the best way to go.
So I'm thinking
something raw would be good.
Sour cream would be
a nice sauce.
Okay, still have some time.
- Whoo, balance.
I got a couple of ideas.
Cooking at high altitudes
is very different
than cooking at sea level.
Water boils faster.
Something that you do
all the time
and you think always works
quite easily
could be a disaster.
This thing moving
is not easy.
All the burners are tipped
at different angles
and keep rocking
back and forth.
So it's very difficult
for me to cook.
All right,
I'm a little nervous.
- Whoa.
Oh, [bleep].
Once we hit Blackcomb,
I have to run
out of the gondola,
pick out an ingredient
and use it in my dish.
I pick the wasabi paste.
A little bit
of a nice burning heat
would go with the lamb.
My [bleep]'s
not cooking right now,
and I'm starting to think
that maybe this isn't
the best choice for me.
I didn't get the caramelization
I want on the lamb.
So I take my lamb loin
off the lamb rack,
and I slice that in half
to get smaller pieces
so I can make sure it cooks.
There goes the bones.
- Whoa.
It is, like,
very nauseous in here.
You really have to open
each container
to find out
what ingredient it is.
So I go through
every container.
Oh, my God,
what am I gonna use?
I don't wanna use wasabi.
I don't wanna use coffee.
So I end up choosing
the prune juice.
I think that maybe
I can deglaze the chorizo
with the prune juice
to give kind of a sweetness
to the dish.
Everything freezes.
Oh, well.
And I'm thinking,
"Oh, my God."
Wow, it's really
crazy out here.
- I open the jar
with the horseradish in it,
and I think,
"Hmm, this could really
actually enhance my dish."
Okay, here we go.
I have part
of my sauce started,
which already has
white anchovies in it,
but the horseradish
would actually compliment
that as well.
I'm afraid of heights, so I'm
not looking outside right now.
- I'm really hoping
that there's some kind
of piece of produce out there.
And I just feel like
none of this is something
that I can incorporate
into what I've already started.
So I grab
the prepared horseradish.
So afraid
that's gonna go flyin'.
Horseradish--
that's a very intense flavor,
so I've decided to turn that
into a little vinaigrette.
I hope it won't overpower
what I'm already doing.
A level place to cook
is always a lot nicer too.
- Oh, [bleep],
we're moving faster.
It's really hard to plate
when things are moving.
Not my finest plate.
This plate is not right.
It's not exactly
how I want it.
It's not
the gondola's fault.
It's not
my motion sickness' fault.
It's just my fault
for not executing.
- I realize that
I didn't make enough salmon.
Oh, my God,
I feel like a wreck.
- Hi, Paul.
- Hi.
- Paul, I'd like to introduce
you to Gretchen Bleiler,
professional snowboarder,
Olympic silver medalist,
and four-time gold medalist
of the X games.
- Hello.
- Hi, Paul.
- What was the new ingredient
you picked up?
- Wasabi.
I did some lamb loin
with some lightly curried
and roasted enoki mushrooms.
There's a little bit
of wasabi creme fraiche,
and there's a light gastrique
that has fresh juniper in it.
- It's difficult to gauge time
in the gondola,
because there is no clock.
At the last moment,
I chop the pancetta,
mix it with a little bit
of the creme fraiche,
and that's my sauce.
That was a tough one.
- Hello.
- Hello.
My new ingredient
was the prune juice.
It's a chorizo sausage
with a sauce
of caramelized onions,
prune juice,
with caked gooseberries,
pickled mushroom,
and almond.
- Something else
I can make crispy?
Because it is such a risk
to serve a cold dish,
I find capers,
and I throw them in the oil
to make sure that this is
complex enough
to win the challenge.
It's gonna rock it!
Yeah!
I'm amazed
that I came up with a dish
that I would totally serve
in my restaurant...
[Laughs]
In a gondola.
Hi.
How are you?
- Thank you.
- I made a salmon tartare,
and I did a white-anchovy
horseradish,
sour cream creme fraiche,
as well
as a little crispy panko,
a little crispy
fried capers,
just a little
simple cold dish.
- Cross our fingers
and hope this is worth a damn.
As I'm arriving,
I realize that
I didn't make
enough salmon.
Oh, my God,
I am about to step out of here
and be eliminated.
And I grab the salmon,
cut it in half.
But I feel like a wreck.
Whew!
Hi.
I made seared salmon
over creamy red quinoa
with chorizo.
On my second stop,
I grabbed horseradish,
so I made a little
horseradish vinaigrette.
And I finished it
with a little bit
of, uh, creme fraiche
sour cream.
[Exhales sharply]
- Tom, what'd you think
of Paul's dish?
- The combination of things
were good flavor.
I think the meat
was under-seasoned.
But all in all,
I thought you did a nice job,
all things considered.
- Yeah.
- The meat was a bit
unevenly cooked.
But I love the seasoning
on the enoki mushrooms.
- Cool. Thank you.
- The wasabi I really love
combined with the lamb.
I never would have known
that you had cooked this
in a gondola.
- Thank you.
- Tom, what did you think
of Sarah's dish?
- I wish I tasted
more of the prune.
As you talk about the stone
fruits with this spice,
it all makes sense.
But that said,
it's a very nice dish.
- Thank you.
- That gooseberry
gives the acid to it,
and that, I think,
is the key to this dish.
- Thank you so much.
- Gretchen, how do you think
Beverly did with a cold dish?
- I love the crunch
that you gave it.
I thought that was unique,
but I wasn't
expecting a cold dish.
- I always think that a good
tartare needs to be ice-cold,
and so, you got
that part down.
[Laughter]
The flavors are great.
There's a good amount
of acid in here.
I think the horseradish
really made the dish.
- Considering you were
on a very rocky gondola,
the Kn*fe work's
pretty great.
- Thank you.
- Lindsay's dish.
- Love the combination
of the salmon
and the meat together.
The salmon
is perfectly cooked.
Under the most ideal conditions,
I don't think
you could've
cooked this any better.
- Thank you.
- I agree.
I love the combination
of the salmon, chorizo, quinoa.
Overall, I think
you did a great job.
- Thank you.
- All of you are making this
very difficult.
- Not only will
the winner win $10,000...
They'll also be the first chef
in the final round in Vancouver.
- Oh, my God.
[Laughs]
- So that person won't have
to cook in the next two events.
- Wow.
The gondola was tough,
and I can only imagine
it's gonna get worse.
So I really
want to win this.
I just have this
gut-wrenching feeling
that maybe
I didn't do enough.
- I think we all
were expecting maybe
at least one person to really
stumble, but no one did.
All these dishes were really
well thought out.
- Unfortunately, Paul,
you came in last today.
Sarah, you took third place.
- Okay.
- That leaves
Lindsay and Beverly--
clearly the two
standout dishes today,
but one's gonna take the gold,
and one's gonna take a silver.
- And the winner
of this event...
is Lindsay.
- Oh, my God.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
It feels really good
to take home the gold today.
It's gotten me off
on the right foot.
And it's awesome
that I have a guaranteed spot.
- Whatever difficulties
you found up there
is not apparent
on the dish at all.
- Congratulations.
That means you've won $10,000,
furnished by Terlato
and an a*t*matic spot
in the final three.
- Awesome.
Thank you.
- Lindsay moves on
to Vancouver.
Now it's between Paul,
Sarah, and myself,
which makes my heart drop,
because one of us
will be eliminated tomorrow.
- We'll see you tomorrow
at Whistler Olympic Park.
All:
Thank you.
- Check out our digs.
- This is what
I'm talking about.
- We check into
the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
My restaurant Aria is actually
in the Fairmont Hotel Chicago,
so I'm, like,
totally freaking out.
I'm like,
"Is this a good sign?"
- Cheers.
[Glasses clink]
- So two more.
- Yeah. Two more.
- I feel stressed,
because in this first round,
I failed so badly.
It's a wake-up call for me to
accomplish what I set out to do,
which is to win Top Chef.
I'm just looking
for closure--
either, you know, make it
or we don't, whatever,
as long as it's done.
- I didn't think it was
gonna be as hard as it was.
It's definitely freaking me out.
I'm a little freaked out.
I hope I don't mess up tomorrow.
- Tomorrow.
- So that two--
whoever's in the two,
it's gonna be, like--
- Ooh, that's gonna be
a brutal battle.
- And we know what Bev has done
after Last Chance Kitchen.
- Yeah, she comes
out of nowhere.
So you can't underestimate her
at all, you know.
- No. And I don't.
Absolutely not.
Beverly has already been
eliminated once.
She has nothing to lose
at this point.
Now Beverly is ready.
She's focused.
She is that silent horse.
She wants to be meek
and timid
and that people
don't see her,
and then she likes
to att*ck like a tiger.
- We arrive
at the Whistler Olympic Park,
and we see our judges
and a handsome young guy.
I'm not sure who he is.
- Good morning, chefs.
All: Good morning.
- I'd like to introduce you
to your guest judge--
Canadian Olympic gold medalist
in skeleton...
Jon Montgomery.
Welcome.
- Thank you very much.
Good morning, chefs.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- On Jon's winning run, he was
traveling 90 miles an hour
headfirst on the ice.
- Whew.
- In this event, you, too,
will have to move very quickly
on the ice
and adapt to the elements.
And this is your pantry.
- [Laughs]
- Uh...
- How do you get it out?
- Oh, my God.
[Laughs]
- In this event, you, too,
will have to move very quickly
on the ice
and adapt to the elements.
And this is your pantry.
- Wow.
- [Laughs]
- Uh...
- Oh, my God.
- How do you get it out?
- You better pick
your ingredients wisely,
because you'll be picking away
at the ice blocks to get them.
- [Laughs]
- Oh.
I've never used
an ice pick before.
But this is the final round,
so I imagine myself, like,
just breaking these things apart
like, uh, she-ra or something.
- You will only have one hour
to thaw your ingredients
and make them come to life
in a dish.
- Sometimes fresh food
is not available,
and flash-frozen
is the next-best thing.
At the end of the day, you just
have to make tasty food.
- I have to win
this challenge.
If Paul wins,
then it would be Beverly and I.
I'm really nervous if I have to
go head-to-head with Beverly.
She wants to prove
that she deserves to be here,
and she's a fighter.
- I've spent almost my entire
life competing on ice,
and through my efforts,
I was able to earn my country
an Olympic gold medal.
- Wow.
- I hope through
your efforts here today,
you guys can get one step closer
to your ultimate goal
of becoming Top Chef.
Good luck today.
- Thank you.
- Your time starts now.
- I run for the crab leg,
but Paul gets there first.
Oh!
A lot of the ingredients were,
like, so frozen into the blocks
I couldn't even
tell what they are.
- Come on!
I feel like I'm chiseling,
chiseling, chiseling,
but nothing's happening.
I don't even know
what it is.
It's taking so long.
I'm worried about being able
to thaw my ingredients.
[Exhaling sharply]
It's not breaking.
Ah!
- I get the crab,
which is gonna be my protein.
My adrenaline is pumping.
- [Bleep] Open!
[Grunting]
I start attacking the ice blocks
like a madwoman.
Banging it does nothing
to the ice.
Let's break the steak.
- [Laughs]
- God damn you.
- Looks like
I got some peas.
Trying to chip
as fast as I can
with a really,
really sharp object.
I look like Psycho.
- [Imitates screeching]
- I'm getting chills.
I thought we were watching
Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.
- Yeah, exactly.
[Laughs]
- Oh, dear!
- Bev, be careful
with that spike.
- Come on.
- What is that?
- Looks like I got scallops.
- I'm going
for some kind of fruit.
- I'd rather find
the ingredient I want
than just start
making something,
which is what
happened to me yesterday.
- Here we go.
[Grunts, growls]
- Let me drop
another one on that.
- Yeah, please.
Thank you, Paul.
- I'm more than happy
to help Beverly and Sarah,
because this challenge
is about the food
and not about how many
ice blocks you can smash.
- Yeah.
Yes.
Without Paul,
I don't think Beverly or I
would have any food to serve.
You're my bitch.
Aah!
[Laughs]
I was imagining ten minutes
to get my ingredients,
and it's more like
half an hour.
I am getting
really worried.
Breathe deep, Beverly.
Breathe deep.
- I see some peas
and some spinach,
and it looks like
some ancho chiles.
I choose vegetables because
they can thaw as they cook.
My plan is to make
a pea and spinach soup
holy [bleep].
Paul, what are you making?
- King crab, scallops,
mango butter, and red wine.
- Excuse me.
Can I use some of these spices?
- Uh, yeah.
- Aha, garlic.
- Hey, Sarah, you like the cold,
or you like the heat of Texas?
- I like the cold.
- Man, you're supposed to be
from Houston.
- [Laughs]
I am from Houston.
- It's cool.
You're from Chicago now.
- No, I'm not!
- I understand.
- Don't worry.
I'm an expert at this Kn*fe.
- 14 minutes.
- Does anybody have oil?
- [Bleep].
Oh, well.
I b*rned
my red wine gastrique.
I had given the rest
of my red wine to Bev.
I go with plan "B,"
which is to make a chutney
out of mangoes.
I'm just praying
that it's gonna work.
Hey, Bev,
what'd you grab?
- I'm making
a seared scallop
with a citrus red wine
reduction.
Cook this couscous.
There's no liquid
to cook with,
so I grab some ice shards
and put them in the pan.
- This is still frozen.
To my horror,
the soup begins to separate.
The cream was frozen,
and now it's broken
with beads of white fat,
like split-pea soup
gone wrong.
[Hand blender whirs]
- You have five minutes, chefs!
I blend the soup as high
as I can with the hand blender
to try to fix the problem.
I don't want to have to cook
again for the next event.
[Timer beeps]
- Time's up. Utensils down.
- [Exhales deeply]
- Hi, Sarah.
- Hi. How are you?
- Good.
What did you make?
- It's a pea and spinach soup,
flavored with turmeric,
garnished with almonds
and king crab.
- What was the hardest part
of this challenge?
- Finding the ingredients
and having everything frozen.
So, when cream is frozen,
it kind of wants to break.
- I thought the flavor
was really good.
The predominant flavor
I get is spinach.
It really comes through.
- The almonds just
seemed a little heavy
because the consistency
of the soup is so thin.
- The crab
was a great choice,
and, you know,
Paul helped you out there.
- Yes.
- Hey, Paul.
- Hello.
I did poached king crab
in brown butter
that's been spiced with garlic,
cayenne, and turmeric,
with some toasted almonds and
chutney with orange marmalade.
- I especially love
the mango and crab combination.
I thought that was actually
really beautiful.
My only issue, actually,
with the mango,
was that it was
just a little bit frozen.
- Well, I thought the crab
in the almonds was exceptional.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Paul.
- Thanks a lot, Paul.
- Thank you.
- I did a seared scallop
with a red wine
orange reduction,
buttered peas, corn,
and couscous.
- So you were hacking away
pretty wildly.
- [Laughing]
Yes. I was like...
- Were you picturing
any of the other contestants
while you were going to town
on that block?
[Laughter]
- I could think of one or two
she might want to take down.
- No. No.
- I was impressed with the sear
that you got on the scallop.
It had a lot of flavor.
The sauce was
a little bit heavy.
It made it off balance.
- A lot of your predecessors
haven't gotten couscous right,
and you did.
You really did well.
- Thank you.
I'm feeling really nervous.
I really want to make it
to Vancouver.
- We're all very impressed
with this outing.
But unfortunately,
only one of you
will make it
to the finish line.
- The winner
of this event...
is Paul.
You've won $10,000,
furnished by Terlato Wines,
and you'll be moving
directly to Vancouver.
Congratulations.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- You so deserve it.
- It feels good,
because I'm back on track.
I'm warmed up.
I'm broken in.
And I'm ready to go
for Vancouver.
- Paul, you can head
back to the hotel.
- See you guys.
- For me and Sarah,
this is our last chance
to get into the final round.
I think I have
the most drive.
I want it really bad.
- That means you two will be
cooking against each other
in the last event.
One of you will get
that final spot in Vancouver,
and one of you
will be going home.
We'll see you at the last event.
- All right.
I'm trying
to stay positive,
but I cannot believe I have to
go head-to-head with Beverly.
I'm gonna fight to make it
into the finale.
This is all or nothing.
- Oh, my God,
she has a g*n.
Oh!
Oh, [bleep].
- Looks like
we're going over here.
- I've been bullied a lot
and underestimated
throughout
this whole competition.
So it feels right
to go against Sarah,
to see who deserves to be
in the final three.
- Oh, my God,
she has a g*n.
- Oh, my God!
Do we have to sh**t
our own game?
- Hello, chefs.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- For this final event,
I'd like to introduce you
to your guest judge,
Olympic gold medalist and one
of the first women in history
to be inducted
to the Hockey Hall of Fame--
Miss Cammi Granato.
- Hello, chefs.
- Hi.
- How are you doing?
- Cammi Granato--
she's, like,
this totally badass woman.
I really don't have a clue
what's in store for us.
- Chefs,
this is your last sh*t
to move on
to the final three.
Get ready
for the culinary biathlon.
You'll have to cross-country ski
along a course
that will take you
through the trees
before bringing you back here
to the sh**ting range,
where you'll have to sh**t
for your ingredients.
- Oh, man.
- Once an ingredient's been
sh*t, it's no longer available.
Each of you will have
a total of ten b*ll*ts.
- Oh...
- As soon as you have
your ingredients,
you'll cook and serve
your dishes to the judges
in the Whistler
Conference Centre.
Only one of you
will move on,
and one of you
will be going home.
Have either of you
sh*t a g*n?
- My dad used to take me
practicing shotgun
with tin cans in the country.
[Laughs]
- I've never skied.
I've never sh*t a g*n before.
I'm feeling really nervous.
- Chefs, you've both been
great competitors.
I don't think the targets
have any judges' names on them,
but this is probably the closest
you're gonna come
to actually sh**ting and k*lling
something on Top Chef.
Good luck.
- Your time starts now.
- I really want to be
in the top three.
I can, like, feel it.
I can almost, like,
touch it, like, grab it.
- If Beverly moves forward
instead of me,
it's gonna suck.
I would never forgive myself
if that were to happen.
- I'm driving myself
to go as fast as I can.
I want first sh*t
at those ingredients.
My hat.
Aah!
Oh!
- [Grunts]
- Okay.
We're gonna go down here.
- Oh!
[Laughs]
Beverly's so far ahead of me,
she's already hit the point
where she's turned around
on the course.
- Where's Sarah?
I don't see Sarah anywhere.
I think I totally smoked Sarah.
[Laughs]
- What are you doing?
- Aah!
- Aah!
Whoa, watch out, watch out!
Aah!
Oh, [bleep]!
It seems like Beverly
doesn't mind
taking out the competition,
literally.
- Are you okay?
- [Sighs]
- Right, left, right...
- [Bleep].
Oh, my God, I don't want
to go down that hill.
- I reach
the sh**ting range first.
I have to decide quick what
ingredient I'm going to use.
Arctic char.
[g*nsh*t]
All right!
My first sh*t--I hit the target,
which was crazy.
If I keep this up,
I feel like Sarah's going down.
Uh, let's go
to celery root first.
- I need to get sh**ting.
There's such a limited pantry--
if you don't hit a target,
you're really
not making anything.
Right over there.
For some reason, rabbit is just
sticking out in my head.
It's like, "pick me,
pick me, pick me."
[Panting]
[g*nshots]
This [bleep]
has to come off.
Growing up in Texas,
my whole family
pretty much has g*ns.
I might have
a slight advantage.
[g*nsh*t]
- Push this.
- There, should be now.
[g*nsh*t]
I feel concerned, because
the more b*ll*ts I'm spending,
the less ingredients
I'm gonna have.
Come on, baby.
[g*nsh*t]
Yay!
Let's go to truffle.
[g*nsh*t]
[g*nsh*t]
[g*nsh*t]
Jeez!
My dad is not
happy with me now.
[g*nsh*t]
[g*nsh*t]
- All right.
[g*nsh*t]
[Panting]
I gotta breathe. I gotta focus.
I gotta slow down.
[g*nsh*t]
Oh.
- Got it. You got it.
- Yes!
Thank God.
- Okay, where do you
want to go now?
- All right, here we go.
[g*nsh*t]
Yeah, cabbage!
- Make it happen, Beverly.
[g*nsh*t]
Yes!
[g*nsh*t]
[g*nsh*t]
[g*nsh*t]
Yeah, hazelnut!
- You got a sh*t left.
- Only one?
- Let's go to the beets.
- I only have one sh*t?
- Yeah.
- I feel like she had
way more sh*ts than I did.
Is she taking beets?
- Come on, mama.
- [Bleep].
I have one b*llet left.
Oh!
All right,
let's go cherries.
[g*nsh*t]
Whaa!
[Laughs]
I finish first,
and I feel really great
about having a nice amount
of ingredients to work with.
I can already foresee myself
in the final three.
[g*nsh*t]
- Dead on.
Beverly finishes first,
but I'm close on her tail.
She better watch out.
There is no room for error.
- I get to the kitchen
ahead of Sarah,
and I get cooking.
I'm gonna make
a slow-roasted Arctic char
with an onion
and beet compote.
Slow roasting a fish
is taking a risk,
but I don't want to do something
that's conventional.
- I'm making braised rabbit.
My concept of the dish is to
show the rabbit in a few ways.
I want to braise the leg,
roast the loin,
and then prepare it
with kraut puree,
because it takes a little bit
of my German heritage.
Seems like
a winning combo for me.
- 39 minutes!
- I think that Beverly, after
winning Last Chance Kitchen,
is on her game, and she's
gonna be a tough one to b*at.
- I'm doing a dish I've never
done before, totally.
- Ha!
- Just something that sounded
really good in my mind.
I feel concerned,
because the pantry doesn't have
any coconut milk
or lemongrass--
the flavors
I normally build upon.
I'm banking on the fact that
I'm using a different technique
and I'm going
outside of the box.
- Are you gonna blend
right there?
You have a thing over there.
Blend. It's fine.
It's fine, but...
Beverly needs to use the
electrical outlet on my station.
I'm not sure if she remembers
that there's one on hers.
It's just frustrating
to have her in my way.
It slows me down.
- Behind you.
- Beverly, really?
I just keep my head down
and stay focused.
Bev, 11 minutes!
- 11 minutes.
- I couldn't see myself
doing anything
for the rest of my life
than cook--this is who I am.
If I can't win this,
what is there?
Bev, we have 50 seconds.
- I need to get
into the top three
to make it to Vancouver.
This is the most important dish
I've ever cooked.
[Timer beeps]
- Thank you.
- Well, both these plates
look wonderful.
Why don't you start,
Beverly?
- I made a slow-roasted
Arctic char
with the onion
and red wine beet compote,
with a celery root
truffle puree,
shaved fennel salad,
winter black truffles on top.
- Sarah?
- I did a braised rabbit leg
in red wine
with cherries and hazelnuts
and a--kind of a kraut puree.
And then there's a slice
of the rabbit heart on top.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Beverly,
what was the decision process
to do everything?
- I always thought, like,
celery root goes really well
with seafood.
- Why'd you choose
to puree it and fry it?
- Just to give it
that unctuousness
or give that sauce or, like,
you know, a puree quality
to your dish.
- Got it. Okay.
- And then I also thought
the sweetness of the onions
complemented
the beets very well,
and I wanted to do
almost like a crust on the fish.
- I like the dish.
Making the celery root
into a sauce--great idea.
You also--there's some nice,
bright colors.
The flavors all worked.
But maybe
overcooked it slightly.
- I liked the flavor combination
that you chose--very earthy.
That really
complemented the fish.
- I love when I took a bite
with all the other components
in the dish,
it added a lot
of flavor for me,
and I thought it was
really delicious.
- Thank you.
- Sarah, you took
a lot of risks here.
Number one, to make a sauerkraut
in such a short amount of time.
To braise the leg in a short
time was also very risky.
Everything worked nicely.
But I just want to know
why you chose
to approach each ingredient
the way you did.
- I kind of had
this connection
with the environment here,
with that kind of germanic,
Italian, Northern Italy thing.
- Okay.
- And so that's where
the kraut came in.
And I'm very much German,
so kind of bringing
those two ideas together for me.
- The first thing
I noticed was flavor.
The first bite,
it was just there.
And it tasted really--
like, I wanted another bite
right away.
And I like the cherry.
It added a little bit
of sweetness.
- Thank you.
- The rabbit, I thought,
was a little tough.
I know that it can be tricky,
but I wished it had just been
a little bit more tender.
- Okay.
- These are two
very good dishes.
You're not making it
easy on us, so thank you.
[Chuckles]
- Okay,
we'll see you in a bit.
- Okay, thank you.
- Thank you.
- That was intense.
- That was very intense.
- What do you think?
- I don't know--I think
it's gonna be really close.
- Let's start
with Sarah's dish.
- I felt the cherry
and the hazelnut
were just a wonderful
combination.
And simplicity--I think that's
what I loved about it.
- I liked the collection
of ingredients.
I like how she used them.
Hazelnuts were used for crunch,
and she also braised them,
and I liked that she
incorporated the heart.
- You really tasted
the cherry.
You really tasted
the sauerkraut puree.
- It was a very good
plate of food.
- But I didn't love the way
she chose to braise the rabbit,
so it was
a little bit tough
and not as enjoyable
as I had hoped.
There were a lot
of smart things Beverly did.
I love that she chose
to make seafood
paired with really
earthy flavors--
celery root, beets, onions.
- I actually really liked
the beets and onion.
I-I thought it was
really nice with the fish.
- Those are
pretty big flavors,
and I think
the char disappeared
because it wasn't
seasoned enough.
- You know, after watching them
be so competitive
and so tenacious, it's really
sad that one of them
is going home tonight.
- Mm-hmm.
- But I think we have an answer.
- Yeah.
- I think so.
- Oh, my gosh!
- Hey, how's it going?
- Hey.
- How are you guys?
Bev or Sarah--they're both
really tough competitors.
I don't know
what's gonna happen.
Did they give you
any feedback?
- I could've taken it out
just a couple minutes earlier.
- They thought that
the rabbit should be
a little bit more braised.
- But they liked
all the other components?
- Who knows?
- Sarah and I
have a special bond,
and I just hope
that I'm able
to make it
to the final round with her.
- Look at your hand.
- Oh, I know.
It's a bruise.
- You guys got in a fistfight.
[Laughs]
The most surprising thing
to me about Beverly
is how tough she is.
You know, she's fierce.
She won't go down.
- It was a tough battle.
[Suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- All of us
really just would hate
to see either one of you
leave the competition.
You cooked some delicious food
for us throughout the season.
You know, Sarah, the dish
was really well thought out.
The puree cabbage
was a different approach
to that vegetable--
it worked really well for you.
Rabbit either could've been
cooked more or cooked less.
Beverly, you went
out of your comfort zone.
We're used to seeing
Asian flavors from you,
and this one's
a little different--
kind of went in an earthy
direction with truffles
and celery root and beets.
And you chose
to almost downplay the char
and just make it soft.
I would love to see
both of you in Vancouver,
but only one's
gonna move on through.
♪ ♪
- Beverly...
Please pack
your knives and go.
- Thank you
for this awesome opportunity.
I really, um, learned so much
from this whole experience.
Thank you so much.
- Oh.
- [Muffled speech]
All right. Bye.
I think being
kicked off Top Chef
and then having
to fight my way
back through
Last Chance Kitchen...
It's not gonna be me.
I've surprised myself,
actually.
You guys are wonderful.
In the beginning, I think
it may have seemed
that I was sort of, like,
the weaker link
in the team challenges.
[Laughs]
But I think that Sarah,
Lindsay, and Paul
look at me differently.
They've seen how far I've come
and how much I fought.
It's been a long road, for sure.
- Yeah.
- You kicked ass.
Come on, Bev.
- You kicked
some hard-core ass.
- Sarah, that means
you'll be joining
Paul and Lindsay in Vancouver.
Congratulations.
- I want this so bad.
Thank you for seeing that.
- And you also win $10,000
from Terlato Wines.
- Oh, my God,
I forgot about that!
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
- We'll be seeing you very soon.
- Okay, thank you.
- We'll see you soon.
- Bye.
- See you soon.
Oh.
[Laughing]
- I'm so glad
we got to cook together
and have this
experience together.
- It was very special.
- It was very special to me.
You're amazing.
- You too.
- You're amazing.
- Sarah, you're amazing.
- All right,
I'll see you in Chicago.
- All right. See you.
Go, Chicago!
Bye, guys.
- Later, Bev.
- Here, give me a hug.
[Laughs]
- I think now I have
a lot more confidence in myself.
It's about
what you have inside.
No matter what people say,
who you are
will shine in the end.
- Next on Top Chef...
- Cheers.
- Beverly's left
the competition.
This time,
she's not coming back.
- Say good-bye
to Whistler.
- We're down
to the final three.
It's only gonna get harder.
- [Squeals]
- Switch!
- Why did I make pasta?
- Really hot!
- I think if I cut
my finger off, I'd keep going.
- To execute 150 plates--
I am sweating.
I wish I had another hour.
- Is this
supposed to be so...
- Frozen?
- Frozen?
It seemed like
an afterthought.
Like, "Yeah, I'm gonna lay this
over here because I need color."
- Only two of you
will move on to the finale.
09x15 - Culinary Games
Watch/Buy Amazon Merchandise
Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.
Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.