19x13 - Cactus Makes Perfect

[bunniefuu]

Previously
on Top Chef.

For this Elimination Challenge,

you'll be cooking with
the fish that you caught.

Pull it.
Keep pulling back.

It's massive.

That's what I'm talking about!
Yes!

- Hot-- hot. Hot on your back.
- We're now behind.

Everybody's pressed for time.

I'm doing, too, my favorite
preparations of fish.

I'm very impressed that you used
the potatoes

in many different ways.

Oh, sh--.

You add in all the creativity

and the flavors that
make you feel

like you're eating a pastrami
on rye and my mind is blown.

If I don't tighten up
I'm going home.

I do not want to go home!

The protein was just so dry.

Sarah and Buddha,

you had our favorite
dishes of the day.

Nick, please pack your
knives and go.

Pack your bags

because we are going to Tucson,

a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.

- Arizona!
- Going to Tucson!

Only four chefs remain

to compete in the ultimate
culinary showdown.

At stake for the winner,

a feature in
Food and Wine magazine.

An appearance at the
Food and Wine Classic in Aspen.

$250,000 furnished
by San Pellegrino

and the coveted title
of
Top Chef.

I came to
Top Chef thinking

that it was singularly about
cooking and food,

but has been a masterclass
in growth

not only as a chef,
but as a human being.

On top of that, my loved ones

are sacrificing a lot
for me to be here,

and I am hoping to
make this worth it

for everyone involved.

If you want to be
the best at something,

you have to sacrifice.

Time, family, money,

I have worked my ass off.

It's been a rollercoaster.

Why do I always cry so much?

In this competition

I've experienced the
highest of highs

and the lowest of lows
and everything in between.

I had to go through
the brutality

of
Last Chance Kitchen.

Being in Tucson certainly
feels like

I'm leaving a lot
of baggage behind

and I get a fresh start

with a win under my belt.

Winning
the title of
Top Chef

has always been a dream of mine.

The fact that we're
in Tucson, Arizona,

and we're going to learn
about the city of gastronomy,

these are the opportunities
that I love

and one of the
things in my life

that I'm never going to forget.

- I am...
- I am...

- I am...
- I am...

The next
Top Chef.

What's up y'all?
We all look so fresh.

I know.

This is huge.

- Oh no!
- Oh, Lord.

- Chuck it.
- Oh, no.

"Welcome to Tucson.

Congratulations on making
it to the Final Four.

Meet me downtown at El Charro.

Don't forget your knives.
Padma."

We had a two-week break

to get ready for the finals.

So, I spent that time doing
a lot of studying

on Native American
and Mexican cuisine

because it would suck
to come so far

and not make it into the finale.

- Cheers!
- We're doing it! Final Four!

- Hello, hello!
- Hey!

Good morning, Chefs.

Congratulations on being
in the top four

and making it here to
the finals in Tucson.

Please welcome local legend,

chef and owner of El Charro,
Carlotta Flores.

- Welcome, Carlotta.
- Thank you, welcome.

- Pleasure.
- Chefs, you are standing

in the country's oldest
Mexican restaurant

with continuous operation
by one family.

I hope you guys did some
research while you were away,

because this is the
last Quickfire.

It's going to be a tough one.

Over the last 100 years,

El Charro has created

some truly iconic dishes here.

Isn't it true that the
chimichanga started here?

- Most certainly.
- Wow.

- Oh, wow.
- But there might be a menu item

that's even more popular
than the Chimichanga.

We're most well-known
for our
carne seca

and it is hanging
in a cage to dry.

Whoa!

Is it always hung up there?

- Yes.
- That's awesome.

Carne seca
translates
to "dry meat."

But it's so much more than
your typical beef jerky.

And Carlotta and her
team are still drying

to meat the traditional
way out in the sun.

Is anyone familiar with carne seca ?

I'm definitely familiar
with
carne seca.

We always have that at home.

I adds a very umami
flavor to any dish.

I'm not familiar with it, no.

- Not at all, Damarr?
- No.

Let's take a walk

up the stairs and experience

the real
carne seca.

Okay, lower the cage.

This cage has approximately


so when it dries,

that becomes like 150 pounds.

The filet of the beef is
cut very, very thin.

And then we take that

and we marinate it
in the garlic,

which you can still see
it on the meat itself.

Here, take a piece.

We take this beef and shred it.

You can see even the
color is different.

And then we add equal parts
green chili, onion,

and deseeded Roma tomatoes.

That will rehydrate the meat.

It's delicious.

Yeah, and you definitely
smell the garlic.

- So savory.
- All right, chefs,

you've had a little taste of
Tucson history.

Now it is your turn.

Of course, Carlotta is providing
the
carne seca

and it's up to you to make
something amazing with it.

The winner of this Quickfire
will get an advantage

in the Elimination Challenge.

- The last before the finale.
- No pressure.

You have 30 minutes.
Better get shredding

because your time starts now!

Let's do it!

Evelyn, what you
got in the pot?

- Carne seca
and grits.
- Sounds delicious.

I was raised with
carne seca.

So I'm just trying to make
not what I was raised on.

I immediately
think of my mom.

I already hear her, like,
"The pan better be hot.

It has to be enough oil.

And you have to toast
that
carne seca

before you do anything
else to it."

But since I know this product,
my brain goes,

"Well, how can you change it?
Step out of your comfort zone."

- What are you grilling?
- I have Guajillo

and Ancho chilis
going on right now.

And how much of that
are you putting in there?

No-- Ha. So funny! This guy.

How are you using your carne seca ?

So, I'm going to be
reconstituting

a little bit of it,
tomatoes and chili

I'm gonna have
a little bit of fun with it.

I'm going to make it
look like the tostada

just fell onto the
plate upside down.

Sarah, you ever cook
with beef jerky?

Yeah. Jerky is like a pretty
popular thing in Michigan.

My fiancé got his
first deer last year,

and we broke it all down
ourselves and we made jerky.

So I'm basically going to make a carne seca gravy

trying to kind of
celebrate flavors

that go well with venison,

so blackberries and corn.

And then I found morel
mushrooms over there,

which are, like, a Michigan
magic ingredient.

Damarr, how are you
feeling about time?

I feel all right.

This is a first time
experience for me.

So, I know I'm going
to focus on trying

to do something simple
that will hopefully

be respectful of the ingredient.

Oh, that was cool.

Carlotta mentions
how they cook down

with tomatoes and
re-hydrate that way,

so I'm gonna try to follow that.



Make, like
little tostadas.

Make it any hotter.

I like things to look creative
and imaginative.

And by doing this upside
down tostada

it's going to look like
this hidden surprise.

Ten minutes guys!

I would really love

to have an egg on this dish.

But we shall see.

I feel like my dish
is very weird

and I'm very concerned that
they're going to eat it

and go, "What's wrong with you?"

Sorry all, pine nuts everywhere.

Evelyn, how did your
grits turn out?

- Delicious.
- So you're going

to win pretty much?

I grill some avocado

and kind of use that as my base

and dress that with this carne seca vinaigrette.

And after the last challenge--

It was definitely some
serious missteps.

It wasn't your best day.

I could definitely
use an advantage.

You have five minutes
left, chefs.

I try my tortillas to see if the
texture is correct

and it's not.

They're not as crunchy
as I thought they were.

Three minutes!

Not that great,

but I got something
to put on the plate.

Time's up.

Hands up.

Utensils down.

Hi, Sarah.

I made for you a carne seca gravy

over polenta with a soft egg.

We obviously have jerky
in Michigan, where I'm from.

Venison most frequently,
which is pretty lean.

I love those morels.

- Oh, they're the best.
- Very interesting dish.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Hi Damarr.
- I made a grilled avocado

with
carne seca
vinaigrette

and then fried tortillas
and grilled corn

that I also seasoned
with the shredded
carne seca.

Why did you choose
to grill an avocado?

Over the flame it kind of
makes the texture

a little crispy on the outside,

but you still get
that creaminess.

- Thank you. Damarr.
- Thank you.

- Hi, Buddha. How are you?
- I'm very good, thank you.

This is a tostada
that fell upside down.

So it's a
carne seca,
some guajillos

and some chipotle mixed
with some tomatoes,

cueso, some goat's cheese
with avocado,

and then the tostada itself.

The goat cheese gives
the
carne seca

a little bit of a gaminess.

That's good. Hope it's good.

- Definitely smoky. Thank you.
- Yeah.

What did you do for us today?

It's creamy grits
with Guajillo

and carne seca and a chayote relish.

Does it have lime?

- I put on there.
- That's very nice. Thank you.

Thanks.

Huh, that was a feast.

I think overall,
you really did

some different interesting
dishes.

There were a couple of dishes

that were less successful
than the others.

Buddha, I loved what you did,

but the tostada itself

was a little bit greasier

- than I thought it should be.
- Okay.

Damarr, the avocado,

having done what you did
with it, was very good.

Unfortunately, it could
have used some texture.

The good news is
that both of you,

Sarah and Evelyn
did really great.

Well, Sarah, it was
so different.

I want my chefs to taste it.

Flavors that I would
have never thought

would do so well.

Evelyn, I loved your dish,

and I will tell you one thing.

I will start working
with grits now, more and more.

Thank you.

Carlotta, who won this last
Quickfire Challenge?

Sarah.

Sarah, you just won yourself

an advantage in
the Elimination Challenge.

I've never won a
Quickfire before.

So to leave Houston

on an Elimination Challenge win

and to come to Tucson
with a Quickfire win

feels like a win sandwich.

Please welcome a chef

who kept me well-fed last year

and who lives right
here in Tucson,

Maria Mazon!

- Hi Maria, welcome back.
Hola, bienvenidos a Tucson!

I see you met the legend.

The biggest shoes to
fill here in Tucson

in the southwest in Arizona.

Chefs, if you didn't
know already,

Tucson is part of the
Sonoran Desert,

the most biodiverse desert
on the planet.

With nearly 3500
species of plants

and a thousand species of bees.

Love bees!

The Sonoran Desert is also home

to over 300 species of cactus,

including the Salado,

which only grows right
here in this desert.

But in addition to cacti,
the Sonoran Desert

is home to the only
native pepper

of the United States,
the chiltepin.

For your final elimination
challenge here in Tucson,

we'd like you to
make two dishes,

one sweet and one savory.

You have to feature
cactus in one dish

and chiltepin in the other.

This is definitely
a hard challenge,

and I really do not
envy you right now.

I don't know anything
about cacti

and the chiltepin is something
that's new to me.

I'm just hoping there's
something

I can relate to in there.
Just like the
carne seca.

Maria is going to take you
to Mission Garden.

And the work being done there
is what helped Tucson

gain the World Heritage City
of Gastronomy title.

There you'll be provided
with a variety

of cactus and chiltepin.

Tomorrow you'll have access
to a fantastic pantry

and three hours
to prep and cook.

And, Sarah, because you won
the Quickfire Challenge,

you'll have an additional


You are just one cook away

from the finale

and the prize of $250,000,

furnished by San Pellegrino

and of course, the
title of
Top Chef.

No pressure.

All right, Maria,

I leave the chefs in your hands.

Don't worry. I got them!

Come on, guys.
Vámonos!

Here we go, guys.

Welcome to the Mission Garden.

We have our friend, Jesús,

and he is the guru

that makes all this happen.

This place here basically
represents

the origins of Tucson,
as we know it.

In terms of archeology,
we have evidence

of more than 4000 years
of continuous agriculture

in this very spot where
we are standing.

So, you get the penca right here.

This is the
nopale.

Of course, we got
the
pitahayas,

the prickly pears,
the green and the red.

Let's start with
the green ones right here.

And you can feel free
to spit out the seeds.

- Tastes like cantaloupe.
- The barrel cactus.

They look like little,
tiny pineapples.

Try the rind,
it is very lemony.

That will give you
a really nice twist

into a lemony dish.

This is our caviar,
the chiltepin.

This will knock your socks off.
Go ahead.

There's no crying in baseball,
papi.

You know, a lot of
chilis have that

kind of fruity back
of the mouth heat.

This kind of has like a
front of the mouth heat

which is very quick.

- I like it.
- We need to move on.

Grab what you think you
need for the challenge.

And remember, sharing is caring.

I've been doing a
bit of research

on these ingredients,

but I've never actually
seen them in real life.

The raw nopales is a mixture between sorrel and asparagus.

We're here in the
Mexican garden.

We would have fruit trees,
mulberry trees,

grapes, pomegranates,
ornamentals.

I see figs. I see quince.
I see tomatoes.

I see so many herbs.

Corn, squash, and beans.

The famous three sisters.

I am trying not to
get distracted.

The challenge is still
the chiltepin and the cactus.

Ay, Dios mio.

Although I'm the only one
who has cooked

with cactus
and chiltepin chili.

I can't feel comfortable, like,
"Oh, yeah, know it."

Like, no, still a competition.

These other chefs who have
never worked with it

are going to be super creative

because they've never
seen it any other way.

As you can see, the
possibilities are endless.

Yeah, truly.

Don't overthink tomorrow.

Enjoy it. Soak it all in.

I actually have tons of
respect for you guys,

and you're now part
of my family.

- Thank you so much!
- Adiós. Buenas noches.

- See you tomorrow!
- Andale! Adiós!

Look at this pile of cacti.

Even though I don't love cactus,

I want to know more about it.

And I'm going to use
my 30 minutes to adventure.

Maria said dried
were, like, hard to work with.

I'm going to see about
candying them.

A lot of what
I know about food

is because of my parents'
passion for food.

I wouldn't keep bees if my dad
didn't do it first

and I wouldn't know
as much as I do

about mushrooms and fungi
and fermentation.

I want to get these green
chiltepin pickled,

turn them into a chimichurri.

I've decided to keep
my savory dish

as my chiltepin dish.

I'm going to make chiltepin
chimichurri over grilled lamb.

And I'm going to keep my cactus
in the sweet dish.

They're like sesame seeds,
I love sesame seeds.

As Padma knows,
when I got sent home.

I used too many of
sesame seeds, so.

- Hi!
- Hi!

- Oop!
- Oh, God!

- Oh, Lord.
- Behind you.

Jesús and Chef Maria,

they were so excited
about the ingredients,

it's kind of infectious.
So, I really just kind of

want to not only showcase
the ingredients,

but be respectful of them,

I've studied cactus and kind
of learned how to clean it.

By learn, I mean I YouTubed it.

How do you feel
about using the cactus?

I think my approach is really
to sub out ingredients

that I would use normally.

So, I'm going to make
a barbecue sauce

with the chiltepin and
the prickly pear.

I'm thinking that's going
to go really well

with a pork that I can
glaze it with--

with beans and it's full of,
you know,

these Sonora ingredients.

Anybody actually using
the
nopales?

I don't think I am.

I mean, it's essentially
the star of my first dish.

Growing up eating
nopales,

we always see it in
a very humble way.

You really don't see anybody
really trying to highlight it.

What are you making?
Nopal Relleno.

I've never done it with nopale,
so I figured

trying to do something
different with it.

First, we've got to clean them.

You know, it's another thing
that I learned from my grandma.

Abuelita, por favor.

If you've been with
me this whole time,

do not leave me today.

It's so funny because,
like, this dish

is actually inspired by my dad.

Even though he's a Chinese chef,

he made
tom yum,
I learned that from him.

That dish really sings,
it's like a lot of chili.

And that's where the chiltepin
is going to come in.

A tom yum really does showcase a pepper.

So I'll be using chiltepin

throughout the whole
dish of the
tom yum.

It's going to be in the broth.

It's going to be marinated in
the calamari noodles.

It's going to be in my pickle.

And then with the cactus
I'm making a cake

with a dried solara
fruit ice cream

and a prickly pear snow.

Buddha, what you got going?

I'm making my cactus ice cream.

I'm going to use
a barrel cactus.

You know, that's got all those
beautiful seeds inside of it.

- Yeah.
- Very similar to vanilla bean.

I pick up what
you're putting down.

If I'm knocking on the door
you better be answering.

- Thank you.
- I love cactus.

Yes, I do. I love cactus,
how about you?

Sarah, what are you
working on at the moment?

I'm getting
my ice cream base going.

For my dessert I am making
a cactus tart

with cactus caramel

and saguaro bud
ice cream.

I'm treating the cactus
like a fruit.

Oh, God damn it!

Can I get a mop?

God damn it.

I no longer have any interest
in using this churner.

If it were my call,

I'd light it on fire right now.

- Buddha.
- Sarah.

How generous are you
feeling right now?

- Not very, but--
- How do I use liquid nitrogen?

- Add it in.
- Just add it in?

Yeah. Just use your intuition.

- Don't overthink it.
- Too late.

Hey Chefs. How's it going?

- Hey, Chefs.
- So you have various cacti.

Yeah, so, I'm kind of focusing

more on the prickly
pear side of it.

I'm going to do a barbecue
pork steak.

I'm going to make barbecue sauce

with chiltepin and
a prickly pear.

- With some braised red beans.
- Okay.

And then for the dessert side,

I'm going to make a
prickly pear cake.

Okay. Well, if it's anything
like your carrot cake--

this is the best carrot cake
I've ever had.

- Thank you.
- So, you do desserts

and you feel comfortable
with that?

No, I know like three desserts

- and sometimes getting it right.
- Sounds good.

- Hello, Sarah.
- Hi, Chefs.

- You made it back.
- They can't get rid of me.

I'm doing a cactus tart
with a saguaro ice cream.

And then I'm going to do

a grilled lamb
with chiltepin chimichurri

and a vinaigrette made
from chiltepin.

This is like lightly
dried off the bush.

- So they come out looking like--
- Oh, my God, yes.

And then these are the
pickled version.

I'm going to use this
for the vinaigrette

and this for the chimichurri.

- That's all you have.
- It's all I need.

- All right.
- Thank you so much.

- Hey, Chef. How you doing?
- Good. How are you?

Last Elimination Challenge.

Got to bring all that
I got, you know.

Game face on the whole time.

So you're going
all out here?

- Yeah, you know.
- What are you making?

So, first course is going
to be a
tom yum.

I think basically the best
way to showcase chili.

And then, for dessert,

I'm going to do everything
cactus.

I'm going to be doing a prickly
pear snow as well.

- Okay.
- That first challenge

I remember you and I also
remember what you made--

Have you made a dessert
with beef before?

It's my first time.

And it really stood out.

So I'm really excited to
see what you do today.

- I'll see you later.
- Sounds good.

- Get going.
- Hey, Evelyn.

- Hi Chefs.
- How's it going?

So I have some experience
with
nopale.

Although I know how to use it
I kind of want to use it

in a different way
than what I'm used to.

- Okay.
- For my first course,

I'm doing a Nopal Relleno
and for dessert,

I'm making a sour orange curd,

and then I'm doing a
prickly pear granita.

So I was able to meet you guys
on, like, day one.

I feel like my food has
definitely changed a lot.

I'm excited to taste
the evolution of Evelyn.

Yeah. For sure.

- Good luck.
- Thank you.

All right, chefs, everything
looks great.

Looking forward to
a fantastic meal.

- Thank you.
- 30 minutes.

Damarr,
how are your beans?

A touch more cooked
than I'd like.


were still crunchy,

but things change very quickly
in a pressure cooker.

Damn it...

Now they are
soft and broken.

At this point in the competition

every little minor mistake
can send you home.

What the?

I decided to make
a purée out of the beans.

Figure I'd add prickly
pear as well.

Plan B is to turn these
overcooked beans

into bean purée.

But now I think I'm
going to have to

to quickly clean some nopales.

So, it still feels
like a full dish

and not pork with two purées
and a slaw.

God damn it.

There's only today's
cook standing

between me and the finale.

More than ever now it's
important to be flawless

Jesús made cleaning this
look a lot easier.

It's so beautiful here.

Oh, that's fun for yesterday.

Afternoon, everybody.

It's quite nice.

Well, I want
to welcome everybody.

This is our first
dinner in Tucson,

and it's also last supper
before the finale.

Thank you, everyone,
for being here.

Five minutes.

Excellent.

Looks beautiful.

Hi, guys.

What are we having?

So it's
a Mission Garden
tom yum.

- Wow.
- Like this?

Yeah, go. The whole thing.

I'm using the
chiltepin peppers.

Jesús gave us a great
tour of the garden

and wanted to bring the garden
to the plate as well.

Tom yum
usually has a lot of
aromatics inside of it,

and this one's got sour orange,

lemongrass from the garden

dumpling that's wrapped
in a turnip,

Calamari noodles, silken tofu.

And then jumbo prawn.

Have you ever used
this chiltepin before?

No. It's the first time,

- but definitely not my last.
- Hey, Sarah.

Hi. I tried to balance my love

of everything we saw
at Mission Gardens

with the chiltepin.

I wanted to celebrate
the chiltepin

in a couple different ways,

so I made a vinaigrette

that is tossed on
the grape salad

from pickled chiltepin.

And then there's the dried
in both the chimichurri

and in the smoked yogurt
on the bottom.

And what is the crunch
in your dish?

I used bread to kind of soak up

the chiltepin vinaigrette,

and then the grapes themselves
will have a crunch,

they are Mission grapes,
so they have a delightful seed.

For me, that is a
pleasant texture.

All right, chefs, you
have one more dish.

- Good luck.
- Thank you.

Thank you.

This is, like, the silence
of really good food.

Because no one is talking.
Everybody's eating.

These two dishes are
extraordinary.

- Yeah.
- They really are.

What did you think
of Sarah's lamb?

I'm not a lamb person,

but I really enjoyed
Sarah's dish.

Every texture played a part
in how you tasted the chiltepin.

This is outstanding.
It's elegant.

I could tell that she's
a gardener.

We had these grapes hanging

on the plant and
she spotted them.

And I think they do very well.

That moment of pop
from the grape

adds so much to balance the
textures of the dish.

I like the yogurt, because
it really helped

balance out that
chiltepin, each.

I think Sarah absolutely
nailed this dish.

And what about Buddha's
tom yum?

I love Buddha's dish.
I love the point of view.

I love the elegance,
the refinement,

the layering of flavors.

I think he really incorporated

the chiltepin pepper
really nicely in this.

My mouth, my tongue
is still warm

and glowing and throbbing
just a little bit.

I love it. It's just
very well-balanced.

You got the lemongrass,
we get the ginger,

we got that chiltepin in there.

Trying to make sure
everything's ready

- for that first course.
- Oh, God.

Overcooking the beans
caused me to lose time.

Coming down behind.

I'm really just rushing
to kind of

caramelize the barbecue
sauce to get in the oven.

Hopefully it'll caramelize
in time.

They look like rellenos.

That is two...

Feel like it's as good
as it's going to get, right?

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

I see a big smile, Evelyn.
What did you make?

I'm always happy. I'm cooking.

So what I've made for you today
is a nopal relleno.

So took inspiration from
a chili relleno.

And then I really just wanted
to highlight the nopal

as the star of my dish.

And then I made a
purée of shrimp

with some of the herbs we found

at the garden yesterday.

On top, you have some raw nopal

with some fresnos,
some green chiltepin,

and then some of the marigolds
from the garden as well.

- It's hot.
- Yeah. There's a

chiltepin chili oil as well.

- Damarr, tell us what you made?
- I made a pork shoulder

that's been glazed
and barbecue sauce

made with prickly pear
and chiltepin.

I also made a pikliz

that has chiltepin
in it as well.

Underneath there is
grilled nopales

and then there is
a red beans purée

underneath as well.

What is the sweetness,
is that the prickly pear?

Yes, I just replaced what
would normally be

more ketchup and brown sugar.

There is prickly pear cooked
down in the barbecue sauce,

and there's chiltepin
as a spice--

used the chiltepin as that.

All right. Thank you both.

- Thank you.
- You too.

Let's start with Evelyn's.

My first bite, it was,
like,

Which I-- I like it.
I-- it's my high.

- Yes.
- The creativity

of how it's rolled and wrapped
and how she incorporated

both chiltepin and the nopales

made me feel creatively
inspired,

but also familiar
at the same time.

And I think she really went out
of her way

in creating something very
different, elegant.

I've never had a relleno
like this,

but I could have used

a little bit more
chiltepin in here.

Damarr's pork
is beautifully cooked,

not a whole lot of sort of
chiltepin flavor in this dish.

It's kind of mild.

It was so cool to see

this hearty Southern dish,
right away,

but at the same time,
you realize that,

"Oh, there's prickly
pear in here."

I think Damarr's prickly pear

barbecue sauce is fantastic,

because of that sweetness
you get,

but it just feels completely
separate

from the other elements
that he made.

It doesn't feel like he
thought about them all

and how they played together.

They seem happy,

- you know, you can never tell.
- Sh--.

This episode
is sponsored

by liquid nitrogen.

I'm going to be using
liquid nitrogen to make a snow.

I've actually never
done that before.

It is one challenge
before the finale

and I'm here to push myself.

Sarah, how are you feeling?

I don't know.

Buddha's dessert looks like it
was made in a museum.

I feel like this ice cream

is kind of a nail in
the coffin for me,

so I'm going to be triaging
these tarts to service.

Things turned out well.

They're going to have
to walk so fast, dude.

Looks beautiful, Buddha.

- This is crazy.
- Yay!

I'll start with mine.

On the side of the plate,

I just wanted to show you guys

the little saguaro fruit
that's dried.

And so that was kind of my
inspiration for my dessert.

I turned the husk that
grows around it

into the ice cream,

and then I folded the seeds

from the cacti into it.

The tart itself is
made from cactus

and the caramel is
made from cactus.

- Buddha.
- I have variations

of cactus with cream.

On the bottom, we
have the saguaro,

it was milled and formed
into the cake.

I then have a barrel
cactus relish as well.

I've also taken the seed
from the barrel cactus

and put it into the ice cream,

almost like vanilla beans.

And then I've done a prickly
pear snow to go on top.

- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.

Sarah's dish. This-- it's
a sticky, you know,

sweet bowl of goodness.

I feel like a child.

A little too saucy for me.

It's unfortunate that
ice cream melted.

This is called June and that
flavor is all over that dish.

The way she ground
some of the seeds,

it gave the flavor to me.

This tastes like
saguaro to me.

What do you think of
Buddha's dessert?

I love the colors.
Just attractive.

And this is one of the
colors of this region.

Just pulls me in right away.

The fruit, I think,
is a superstar.

Everything on Buddha's plate

really showcases
the fruit itself.

And that was the whole point.

I did not find a whole lot of
prickly pear flavor in it.

Thought that the cream

could have used a little
bit of infusion

of the actual prickly
pear or some zest.

I think it suffers from
being too cold.

You know, when you freeze

the prickly pear with
liquid nitrogen,

it gets so cold,
it dulls the flavor.

If the judges don't like it
I really couldn't care.

I like it.

- Three minutes.
- Heard.

Cutting some grapes.

Can't wait
to finish this plate.

Go talk to the judges.

- Yeah, right?
- It's been a long day.

It's crazy to think
this challenge

boils down to two ingredients
that I grew up eating.

That's what's standing
between me and the finale.

That's all she wrote.

All she wrote.

That's beautiful, wow.

Oh, I can smell it.

- Hello.
- Hi there.

Damarr, why don't you go first?
What did you make for us?

A prickly pear cake.

It's glazed with prickly
pear as well.

On top there is a buttermilk
cheese, saguaro fruit.

And then I did some frozen mango
with pomegranate seeds.

- Evelyn?
- For my dessert,

I went for a sour orange
and sweet lime curd.

On top some meringue
with saguaro pods,

prickly pear granita.

And then I also have
some quince

tossed in a little bit of Chile pequin sugar.

- Thank you both so much.
- Thanks so much.

I think the actual cake
on Damarr's plate,

definitely has a beautiful,
subtle flavor

that I wasn't familiar with,

and then realized
I was tasting the cactus.

First thing I look
at as a baker, is pigments,

how can I combine
that to get an expression

of the Sonoran Desert?
He did this.

Damarr's cake,
there's something about it

that makes me wanna
go back and back and back.

That, for me, is a major win.

- I think I'm all right.
- I think it went well.

What did you think
of Evelyn's dessert?

I really love what she did
with the saguaro meringue.

Eating meringue,
when I was a kid,

I remember just my
grandma making it,

and I love that about this dish.

Evelyn finally gave me
that beautiful punch of color

that I was waiting for someone
to give me on the plate.

I thought it was creative,
innovative.

Evelyn did something
that I've been doing

my whole career
as a Mexican chef.

Trying to showcase
that Mexican cuisine is elegant.

I think was really subtle.
It was a nice dessert.

These are very,
very good dishes.

All the desserts today
were pretty damn good.

I feel like a prickly pear.

I think everyone
did really good.

We definitely are a group
that makes it happen.

I feel proud about
cooking
nopales.

I made good tasting food.

I had so many
tragedies happen today.

I can't believe I put food out.

What's done is done.

Yeah.

I have to say,

you guys knocked
it out of the park.

Every single dish
was just a standout,

and it's no surprise.

I mean, you've come this far

because you're really
skilled at what you do,

and it really showed today.

Evelyn, let's start
with your first savory course.

You showed us
an elevated, elegant,

fine dining version of a relleno
that was beautifully ex*cuted.

Thank you.

You completely reimagined it.

You honored the ingredients
really, really well

and put together
a really tasty dish.

That felt like you.

But it also felt like

you were really
pushing yourself today.

And that's what we want to see

at this point
in the competition.

Talk to me about your dessert.

I'm familiar
with the prickly pear,

but it's very subtle flavor,

so I wanted
to do different versions of it.

I love this dessert.
I thought it was surprising.

It really exalted
the prickly pear.

Texturally,
it was fantastic to eat.

Thank you. I think it came to me
in the middle of the night.

It had just so many
layers of goodness.

You should be very
proud of that one.

Thank you.

- Sarah.
- So, for the first dish,

she tried to celebrate
chiltepin.

That lamb was just
a vehicle for all the flavors

that I wanted to kind
of present today.

- I hate lamb.
- Oh, no.

But it was, by far,
my favorite dish of the evening.

Oh, wow. Cool.

The chiltepin chimichurri
was super tasty,

and the lamb was just
cooked beautifully.

I've never said
that in my entire life.

It's one of my
favorite proteins.

I have never seen
a salad done that way,

which I thought,
you know, set it apart.

Thank you.

Let's talk about
your dessert, Sarah.

Woohoo. My dessert
gave me hell today.

I have ice cream all over me.

It was not a great
ice cream day for me.

I agree,
if the ice cream were colder,

and you were using
liquid nitrogen,

so I'm not quite sure
how it wasn't cold.

- I just-- I panicked.
- But that's it.

I love the way you worked
the ingredients into this dish.

Damarr, how was the day for you?

There were issues
and me falling behind.

I feel like the first course,
I kind of rushed plating.

I was definitely
running around today.

Damarr, what I loved most

is how you took those
ingredients, and said,

"Okay, I'm gonna do
it my way, and here we are."

I thought the barbecue sauce
was absolutely delicious.

- We wanted more.
- You were so smart

in the way
you used the prickly pear.

Putting it into your
barbecue sauce

was fantastic,

but everything felt
a little bit separated.

The pikliz was a great vehicle

for you to really
showcase the chiltepin,

but in the form that
you gave it to us,

shredded so fine,
it didn't represent itself,

or be a vehicle
for some of the things

you could have highlighted.

The dessert,
I thought, was delicious.

I loved the crumb on your cake.

I loved the little pops of
texture and seed in your cake.

The textures of the cheese
and the pomegranate

and that amazing crispiness
of that figgy bud,

I think was--
was really smart

and it all worked
beautifully together.

You actually baked.

It's great to see you have
confidence to do that.

- I really enjoyed it.
- Thank you.

- Buddha.
- Yeah, the last one.

Hearing all these good comments,
I'm sweating.

You used that chiltepin
in the most striking way.

Every bite had a punch
of heat and so much flavor.

Such a nice interpretation
of using the chiltepin.

The broth itself
was just wonderful.

- Thank you.
- I mean, the dumplings.

I'm going to have to figure out
how to make those one day.

It's really, really
beautifully done.

Thank you so much.

That dessert,
you could tell it was the hand

of a very experienced,
technically savvy chef.

But I wanted
a little more intensity

and concentration of flavor.

I feel like
you manipulated the ingredients

in so many incredible ways.

But I didn't get
the juiciness of the fruit.

For me, as that cake warmed up,

you really did get the texture

and that draw
from the cactus itself,

and it was really,
really beautiful.

We have a hugely
important decision to make.

This is the last Judges'
Table before the finale,

and one of you will
not be continuing on.

- All right.
- Okay.

What do you want to drink?

That was the most
confusing Judges' Table

I've ever been a part of.

I hate it when everyone

is so bloody good
in a challenge.

- I'm going home.
- I don't know.

I think I could be
on the bottom, for sure--

Everybody had flaws.

I mean, overall, I think,
it's the nicest table we've had.

Yeah.

I think there's certainly
an argument to be made

for each of these chefs
to get into the finale.

I see a sense of understanding
of the ingredients.

I think that was the most
exciting thing about today.

They clearly took inspiration
from Maria and Jesús,

and they took it to heart.

Buddha's Tom Yum
was a great vehicle

- to showcase the chiltepin.
- So balanced, so beautiful.

- I mean, the dumplings.
- Buddha had my favorite dish,

but his dessert needed
a little bit more flavor.

Evelyn's nopal relleno
was absolutely beautiful.

The flavor of the chiltepin

in her shrimp bisque
was fantastic.

I would eat that dish
over and over again

and enjoy it over
and over again.

She has a respect
for that product already,

but I was glad to see
that she could step away

from that
and do something different.

She took it to the next level--

Even when they're, like,
"Oh my God, delicious."

I'm like, "But I could
have done this, this, and this."

I still don't think
it was nearly

as good as Sarah's was.

Use of the cactus
and the chili was on par

with any three star Michelin
dish that I've ever had.

I thought it was that good.

I keep going back to it.

Herbaceous and well-seasoned,

the layers of flavor,
the smoked yogurt.

Sarah's dish, for me,
was definitely

the highlight of all of them,

But I can find things

that I would improve
on Sarah's dessert.

I had a ton
of fun cooking today,

but I definitely
had a rough day.

Damarr's pork dish
just didn't rise

to the challenge.

And I don't think that Damarr

went as deeply as he could,

in exploration of the chiltepin
in that pork dish.

And that is really

what the crux
of the challenge was.

- Right.
- It was really lost.

You could not taste it

in the barbecue sauce
or in the pikliz.

I don't know, it just sucked
that I was kinda

rushing plating
on the first one.

I shouldn't have tried
to make something

that the usually takes me
two or three hours to make.

I loved Damarr's cake.

Yeah, Damarr's dessert
was better than the savory.

It was.

I personally think

that Evelyn's dessert
was the best dessert.

I almost doubled
my friend group.

- Aw!
- Oh, that's so cute!

I quadrupled mine.

This far in the competition,

we didn't see a whole
lot of mistakes,

but it seems to be one dish

that just didn't come together.

Okay, I think
we have our final three.

Let's get them out here.

Chefs, tonight's decision
was a really difficult one,

but we do have a winner.

Tonight's winning chef
delivered two exceptional dishes

that had a lot
of story and heart,

but also used
the two ingredients

in a really wonderfully
creative and delicious way.

And the winning
chef tonight is...

Evelyn.

Congratulations, Evelyn,

that means you
are going to the finale.

- Oh my God!
- Cue crying.

I made it!

I'm just so grateful for this.

You know,
to win this with nopales.

I mean--

This win is definitely
not just for me.

It's for my family.

It's for all the
Mexican-Americans out there.

- Muchas gracias.
- Gracias.

Please step to the side.

Doing it, girl!

Oh, my God.

You know, chefs, you come here,

and one thing that we tell you,
it's going

to be really, really difficult.

But the great thing
about going through it,

you've learned probably
more about yourself,

why you cook, and why
you've chosen this profession.

Unfortunately,
one person's going home,

but you didn't lose.

You gained so much more.

Damarr, please pack
your knives and go.

- Thank you.
- I'm so sorry, Damarr.

Can we sandwich?

It sucks to be eliminated
so close to the finale,

I mean, winning
was a serious possibility.

We're not going to let go.

But there are some
errors made that cost me.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.

It's such a pleasure, man.

I've had many hardships
and challenges

in my life that
have forced me to grow.

You're incredible.

And now
Top Chef
is another one of those things.

Before this, I spent a lot
of time doubting myself,

and I think my confidence
has grown tremendously.

Next time on the season
finale of
Top Chef...

Congratulations,
you've made it to the end.

Each of you'll be making
the best meal of your lives.

Look at this. Oh, yeah.

- Oh, Stephanie.
- Oh, my God.

That's Eric Ripert
I just sh-- myself.

This menu is really
about full utilization.

I'm hoping winning
is a symptom of passion.

The leaves are changing
color on the plate.

Just like Central Park.

I've got a massive arsenal

that still hasn't
been touched yet.

Oh, my heart is pounding.

I've come this far
to cook this food.

And this is my chance.
Beautiful.

It's very funny.

I actually learned
this from Chef Ripert.

Oh, yeah?

Anything you're
cautious about right now?

- All the things.
- All of it.

- Wow.
- This is incredible.

Stunning.

Wow. I mean,
this was unbelievable.

If you are the future
of our industry,

we're in really good hands.

You are
Top Chef!