- Previously on Top Chef...
- Oh, damn!
- There is no sleep
till the rodeo,
and chili's
an all-nighter.
- Just the picture
of exhaustion.
All: Whoo!
- Yee-haw!
- Give me my hat back.
- Absolutely.
- Never send a man
to do a woman's job.
[Cheering]
- I wish my husband
was here.
- There's no crying
in cooking.
- We were up cooking
throughout the night already.
How much more
can you throw at us?
- Get it together.
- Richie, pack your knives
and go.
- It's me.
- Richie's my
best little buddy.
I love him to death,
and I expected Richie
to go very, very far.
- 14 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.
- That was rough, man.
It was harsh, dude.
- Mentally, physically...
- Exactly.
- Hi, chefs.
- Hi.
- Oh, my God. Are we getting
a quickfire right now?
I can't possibly take any more
at this moment.
- I want you to get
a good night's sleep tonight,
'cause tomorrow,
you're hitting the road.
Pack your bags
and meet me...
In Dallas.
- Just fell in love
with the house
that we're staying in,
and they're
kicking us out, so...
It's unsettling.
- Expect the unexpected.
- All right, let's go.
- Let's go to Dallas.
- What is that?
What are you,
like, a hobo?
You gonna put that
on a stick?
- I'm taking my pillow.
- Dallas.
- When I think of Dallas,
I think Dallas Cowboys
rings a bell,
country singers...
Who's the one with the,
like, really...
Dolly Parton.
Isn't she from Dallas?
Have you guys every done
a 360 on the highway?
- No.
- [Laughing]
- I'm driving the beautiful
Chris, Beverly, and Paul.
- Ugly Chris.
[Laughter]
- I haven't really
hit a stride,
but moving on
to a different city,
I think it's
a great opportunity
to show I've got the skills
to pay the bills.
- Let's hit the road.
- Let's go to Dallas.
All: Whoo!
- Ready to go?
- Yeah.
- We get in our Toyota Siennas
heading to Dallas.
When I was growing up,
it was always road trips.
Faster, faster!
- If you ain't first,
you're last.
- That's true.
My brother gets carsick.
Not good.
My brother's thrown up
on me several times.
[Laughing]
- Your relationship status?
- Happily married,
one year.
We just had our
one-year anniversary--
All: Aww!
- Before I left on this trip.
I moved
to Louisville, Kentucky
seven years ago
from New York City.
I wasn't planning on meeting
this wonderful Indiana girl,
but the moment I broke down
and accepted her into my life
was the best day
of my life.
- Ty-lor, what is your, uh,
married status?
- I have a boyfriend.
- If you win Top Chef,
do you think they will have
a float dedicated to you
at the gay pride parade?
- [Laughing]
- [Laughing]
I can't laugh too hard.
I'm gonna wreck
the g*dd*mn car.
- I gained so much weight
my first year
of culinary school 'cause--
- All you do--
I did the exact same,
especially when
I did baking class.
- I was 70 pounds heavier
for about three years.
- Nah.
- What?
- Yeah.
- But big? Buff?
- No, like fat.
- Oh.
- Chef Works catalogue
came and did a photo sh**t
at our restaurant.
Seeing that go out
to millions of people,
and having friends call me
and say, "Hey, looking good
in that magazine, fatty."
That lead to losing 70 pounds
in a little under two years.
- Oh, they closed
the highway.
- Uh-oh, we're gonna
get there a lot later.
- We turn the corner,
and I see a Texas State Trooper,
and he's, like...
[Screeching-breaks imitation]
- [Bleep], man.
I've been pulled over
in San Antonio.
He wrote me
a nice, big ticket.
I remember it being
pretty expensive,
which is why I didn't pay it,
and I'm pretty sure
I have a warrant out
for my arrest in Texas.
- Texas Highway Patrol,
how you doing this afternoon?
- Um, I'm a little nervous
now that I see you.
- Go ahead,
get your driver's license,
proof of liability,
and insurance.
- Oh, that's gonna be
an issue.
- Tell you what, ma'am.
Go ahead and pull over here
on the side of the roadway,
if you would.
- Guys, we are so busted.
- What is that
over there?
- I don't know.
As soon as we get closer,
I see Padma standing
with somebody,
and I'm, like,
"Oh, great."
We're in big trouble.
- Good afternoon, chefs.
All: [General greetings]
- I wanted to add
a little excitement
to your road trip.
- [Nervous laughter]
- It's an honor
to introduce
John Besh, chef and owner
of Luke in San Antonio,
and August in New Orleans.
- We get this reflection
off of John Besh's
beautiful white teeth,
and his hair blowing
in the wind and, wow,
John Besh is a handsome man,
I'm not gonna lie.
- Hey, chefs.
Welcome to your quickfire.
- This round
of the competition
is about being resourceful
and inventive.
- Because, chefs...
This is your kitchen.
[Laughter]
- Pop your trunks.
What you see there
are survival kits.
Your challenge is to make
the best possible dish
with whatever
you find in there.
The chef with the best dish
will win $5,000
and immunity.
You have 30 minutes to cook
the best dish you can.
Your time...
Starts now.
- First thing I do
is I run to this cornfield
thinking that there might
be usable corn because
fresh is always best,
and I want to show off
to the judges
that I can be creative,
I can use
what's around me.
- Pretty dry.
- Pretty dry.
I'll see if I need
to pop it as popcorn,
but we'll see.
- Chocolate?
- It's got anything good?
- Canned fruit,
garbanzo beans,
peas, sardines.
Anybody want canned meat?
- No.
- Lemon pepper...
Our backpacks are full
of packaged, dried foods.
And we don't even have
a cutting board.
This is just ridiculous.
Got chipotle.
- How are we supposed
to cut?
- [Bleep] hurts,
that's all I gotta say.
- 18 minutes.
- 18 minutes!
- Dip mix?
Why not?
- What the hell
am I supposed to do
with a blueberry fruit strip?
- [Laughing]
- [Laughing] Guys.
I am freaking out
about this challenge.
- You get yours lit?
- The wind is blowing
like crazy,
so these burners are not
putting out as much heat
as I would like.
I've been camping
but not like this.
- 12 minutes.
- Anybody have any vinegar
or acid they're not using?
Awesome.
- Chuy, whatcha doing?
- I see black-eyed peas
and rice and trout,
and that's really
all I got so far.
- I got green chilies
in a can.
- Ooh, green chilies
in a can.
- Here you go, mister.
- Thank you, sir.
Dirty rice is one of those
symbolic, creole dishes.
You know, it needs
to be something
that's sort of,
like, southern-ish
since I know John Besh
is the judge.
It doesn't taste so bad.
- Lemon drink,
I bet you have some acid.
There's a lot
of Asian ingredients
inside of this bag.
I'm thinking Asian soup
and a lemon drink powder.
Add a little bit
of acidity to my dish.
That's [bleep] hot. Ow.
- [Laughing]
There isn't a whole lot
of inspiration here.
I see green beans,
canned tuna,
canned chicken.
A lot of food that
I would never, ever cook with
in a million
bazillion years.
- I'm really out
of my comfort zone
with all
this canned stuff.
My dad would
be proud to know
that I am using
vienna sausages.
- Oh, really?
- [Laughing]
My dad used to eat
vienna sausages out of a can,
and I thought that was the most
disgusting thing growing up.
As soon as I saw the can,
I just thought of my dad,
and I said, "hell.
I'm gonna find a way
to use these."
Nine minutes.
- This thing is not getting
[bleep] hot.
I look around,
and everyone's making,
like, mess hall food.
But just because
I'm in a campsite,
I'm not gonna make
Flintstones food.
Is anyone not using
their soy sauce?
- No soy.
- Five minutes.
- Please go, go.
- I just pulled my back.
[Bleep].
- We're gonna make it
through this, I promise.
- [Bleep] Old man, here.
- Pull it together, Ed.
- [Bleep]
Wasted [bleep] time.
The corn didn't work out,
because it's very dry,
so my idea is
to use the husk
as kind of
an element to plate it.
Smells like holy [bleep].
- Mom's gonna be proud
of this one.
- Time. Hands up.
Utensils down.
- My back's k*lling me,
I'm sweating.
This is the worst thing
that could happen out here
in a field of mud,
with the sun
b*ating down on me.
Oh, my God.
- We love Gummi Bears.
I have
a Gummi Bear addiction.
My wedding cake
was a Gummi Bear.
- I can't compute
that someone is telling me
that I should cook
Gummi Bears.
- Hello, Chris.
- Hi, how are you all?
I went a little bit
of Asian on this.
We have
a lemongrass noodle--
- okay.
- Hearts of palm,
Cranberries, peanuts,
fried the chicken,
fried some noodles on top
so you get a little bit
of crunchy texture.
- I made Chuy's dirty mouth
dirty rice.
So it's, uh--
- Do I wanna eat that?
- You do.
- [Laughing]
- Yeah, it's pretty tasty.
It's some basmati,
black-eyed peas
a little bit
of shredded beef jerky,
some, uh, green chilies.
It's mostly smoked trout
that's mixed in there.
- Dried trout, or--
- It was canned trout.
- Enough said.
- Thank you.
- It's pickled herring
with a salad of hearts of palm,
a little bit
of the herring juice, um...
- [Laughing]
- It's good.
- Is this something you cook
on a regular basis?
- Yeah, always.
I wanted to make something
that tasted a little fresh.
- Thank you.
- Yup.
- I did a play
on a soup and sandwich.
So it's a little French onion
celery soup with vienna sausage,
and then it's triple club
with tuna and sardines.
- I've never had vienna sausages
quite this way before.
- To think that
I made a sandwich
using saltine crackers
and a soup with vienna sausage
doesn't make me feel
very comfortable.
- What did you cook
for us?
- Black pepper chicken stew
with garbanzo beans.
Some plain rice in case
any of the flavors
are a little too much.
- What'd you cook
your rice in?
- In water. I wanted
to have something plain.
- Your rice
is pretty good
for the conditions.
- Thank you very much.
- I went with a, um, dried beef
and pineapple rice.
Applesauce and hearts of palm
on the side.
- What beef is that?
- That's the dried beef.
- Thank you.
- I've done a spicy,
coconut-braised garbanzo beans
with tofu, crab meat,
and for the acid,
I used a little bit
of the, uh,
lemon drink powder.
- I've never heard
of anything
being sweetened by--
- [Laughing]
- Crystal light powder
up at the top.
- That was the only acid
I had in my bag.
- So I did a beer
and peach glazed chicken
with a green bean casserole
on the side.
Then I chopped up some
of the peach fruit roll-up.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- I did a, uh,
Thai peanut soup.
I also made
crab and artichoke cake
wrapped in nori, fried,
and a little fried hominy.
Take care.
- I did some pork and beans
spiced with coffee,
and some basmati rice.
- Who knew?
- So we have a little
sweet and spicy noodles
with some crab meat,
corn kernels, green chili,
and I used some pineapple juice
to give it some acidity.
- Pineape's very sweet.
- I really did try to take out
some of the sweetness,
but when you're trying
to make a sauce out of nothing,
that's a little risky.
- John, how do you think
our chefs did
with their survival kits?
- Some of you
weren't so inventive.
Others really put your heart
and soul into the dish,
and it showed.
- Who were your
least favorites?
- Whitney,
the chicken,
the green beans
straight out of the can
just didn't
feel the love.
Dakota...
The noodles with the pineapple
and the corn,
it's really one-dimensional,
almost all sweet.
Chris...
The raw tofu
and the crab meat,
under-seasoned, just threw
the whole dish off.
- John, let's hear
some favorites.
- Edward, I thought
the attention to detail
in your dish
was really commendable.
The nori-wrapped crab cakes?
Wonderful.
Thai peanut soup?
Whole thing
worked together.
- Thank you.
- Lindsay, when I first
saw your dish,
it scared me.
- [Laughing]
- I dove in.
The sandwich especially
sent it over the top.
- Thank you.
- Chuy...
I've never had canned
smoked trout before,
and you made me
a believer.
- Thank you.
- John, tell us the winner
of the quickfire.
- For me, it's all about
the chef who really
understood resourcefulness,
inventiveness.
And it was really embodied
in one dish today,
and the chef
that made that dish...
Was Lindsay.
[Clapping]
- That had to have been
one hell of a sandwich.
'Cause it looked dry
as the Texas land
that we were standing on.
- Congratulations, Lindsay.
Not only do you win $5,000
furnished by Healthy Choice,
you win immunity in the next
elimination challenge.
- Awesome. Thank you.
Whoo!
It's truly ironic
that I would win the quickfire
with a can
of vienna sausages.
Dad, I hope you're proud.
[Laughing]
- This elimination challenge
takes place in Highland Park,
one of the most exclusive
residential areas in Dallas.
Three neighbors are having
a progressive dinner party
in their homes
tomorrow night,
and you're responsible
for the food.
- A progressive dinner
is where...
Friends that live
in houses close to each other
have an appetizer
in one house,
an entree
in another house,
and then finish up
with dessert in the last house.
- People in the south
love to entertain,
and they live to eat,
so they will have
definite opinions
about what
you're cooking.
- I have a lot
of experience
cooking for Bill Gates,
for rock stars,
movie stars.
I know just exactly
what kind of expectations
the client
is going to have.
- You first five,
from Chris to Sarah,
you'll do appetizers.
From Beverly to Ty,
you'll be responsible
for the entree.
And the last four
will be responsible
for dessert.
- I get stuck
with dessert.
Again.
[Laughing]
I'm pissed.
I didn't come here
to make desserts.
- This is an individual
elimination challenge
testing your ability
to make delicious
dinner party food.
From here, you'll check
into your hotel,
and then drive
to your clients' homes
to plan your menus.
You guys can split up
and get in your Toyota Siennas.
All: Thank you.
- Oh, wow.
- I'm taking this bed.
[Laughter]
- This is what
I'm talking about now.
- Living large.
- Living large.
- Wow, pillows.
- Feels like Dallas.
It's big,
it's opulent,
great views.
I'm gonna be happy here.
- Oh, we can play
spin the bottle
with Ed as the bottle.
[Laughter]
- We arrive
at our respective houses.
It's a very nice neighborhood.
It reminds me of
the Desperate Housewives,
where they're on Wisteria Lane,
all the wives are kind of
peeking out the window.
Definitely won't wanna
piss off the neighbors
on this street.
Hi, how are you?
- Hi, good. I'm Kim.
- My name is Chris.
It's very nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Welcome.
- Kim.
- Whitney.
- Hi.
Both: Nice to meet you.
- My background
is very different
from what I see walking
into this house.
I grew up with
a fairly poor family.
I've lived
in hotel rooms before.
And not nice ones.
- This is
our kitchen obviously.
[Laughter]
- It's really--it's beautiful.
- One thing that you may
not know about my wife is
she's a lifestyle
and entertaining expert.
- These are my books.
- Oh, wow.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
So that you know
what style we like.
But obviously the presentation
is really important,
and we want it to be
kind of like
a conversation-starter
for them.
- Is there a theme
to this event?
- Originally we were thinking
of asking you all
to make everything pink,
and then we decided
we didn't wanna do that.
[Laughter]
- I have a lot of foods.
That I don't like.
- Okay.
- I really, really don't like
bell peppers.
I'm not a big
cilantro fan.
I don't wanna give them
any food that will make them
feel self-conscious
about their breath.
- Or that would get stuck
in your teeth?
- I hate when things
get stuck in my teeth.
[Laughter]
- I think it's important
to have things
that are easy to eat.
- Yeah, I agree.
- So if it's
a unique presentation,
something they've
never seen before,
that'd be something that you'd
like to have at your house?
- I'm not
very adventurous
when it comes
to trying new food.
- What if
it's flavors of food
that you've already
tried before
just done
in a different way?
- For you, yes.
[Laughing]
- Thank you.
I'm very excited.
- Ty-lor.
- Ty-lor.
- You can smell
the smell of money.
It smells very different
than my apartment in Brooklyn.
- Spicy food
you guys, uh, into?
- I love spicy food.
- I don't like
spicy food.
[Laughter]
- I do not
like cilantro,
I might as well
be allergic to it.
- Okay.
- She doesn't
like raspberries.
- Oh, yeah, I really don't
like raspberries.
- Okay, great.
- I love beef, I love--
filet is my favorite.
- I don't eat meat.
- Oh, you don't eat meat at all.
- No.
- The husband's
a really adventurous guy.
She's high-maintenance.
This is why I avoid actually
doing these things.
I prefer them coming
to my restaurant.
I can kick them out there.
- Guys, thanks for coming over.
- Thank you so much.
- We look forward to tomorrow.
- Thanks.
- Is there anything
that you want
to maybe tell us
about your favorites?
- We like cake-balls,
we like cupcakes.
- Right.
I love fudge.
- Love bananas.
Obsessed with bananas.
- We definitely
want something
that is worth
every calorie.
[Laughter]
- So...
- I want something that's gonna
make my inner fat kid cry,
all right?
That's what I want.
I want rich, bold flavors.
- And more is better
here in Texas.
- I have
a Gummi Bear addiction.
My wedding cake
was a Gummi Bear.
A giant Gummi Bear.
- I can't compute
that someone with
that kind of elegance.
Is telling me that
I should cook Gummi Bears.
- You guys, obviously--
- push your limits.
- Just have so much fun
with it, yeah.
- Thank you.
- See ya.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- I'm looking forward
to doing my own thing.
- I feel good
about this challenge.
This is
the first time that
we don't break off
into teams,
and whatever happens
we won't be able
to blame it
on anyone else
if we don't do well.
You seen the beef stock
and all that jazz?
- Look in aisle one.
- Prosciutto, I guess,
will work.
Mrs. Whitman
just flat out said
that she's not
adventurous at all.
Can I get
a pound of that?
Only problems that I've had
in the past
cooking for these
high-end clients
is if you try
to cook for yourself
and give them
what you want,
then that's when problems
start to occur.
- Ten minutes.
- Just two big whole
filets of it.
- Ah!
The Westcotts really seem
like they enjoy cupcakes.
I have a basic recipe,
but I've never tested it.
I'm really nervous
at this point.
This is gonna be a learning
experience and a bad time.
- Do you need both
those colanders?
- No, I just
need that one.
- Can you take the other one
out of the sink then?
It feels very selfish to me
that somebody would
take over
an entire kitchen.
- Come on, sabotage.
- Oh, wow.
All right, guys.
Today we will be preparing
a progressive dinner
for Dallas high society.
Is this stuff
bothering you
right here?
- No.
- I'm making
the appetizer course and...
I'm very excited because
I'm able to cook
what I wanna cook,
and that's Italian food.
I'd like to cook
in here every day.
[Laughing]
- I have crushed
red chili flakes,
if anybody
needs a cornstarch.
I'm in the entree house,
and after being
at the judges' table before,
the last place
I want to end up
is back there, or even worse,
going home.
- Is anyone putting
blanching water on?
- Not me.
I do have water on,
but that's for my polenta.
- Okay.
- Come on, let's go.
- How's your
back feel, Edward?
- Argh. It was okay
until you said something.
Brokeback back.
- Doing the dessert
course today
is gonna be a difficult
challenge for me.
Baking is just so scientific
and technical,
that if you mess up
one little ingredient,
you're gonna [bleep] up
the whole thing.
- Chris, how did you get
your blade down?
- I don't know.
- 36 minutes.
- 36.
- God, it's hot, huh?
- Whitney, can I use
this whisk now?
- Yes.
- Aw, you [bleep].
I'm gonna push
the boundaries.
I'm gonna make a dish
that looks just like a cigar.
I think it'll be
a huge home run winner.
- Hey, Chris. Where do you
want your plates?
- Uh, right here.
Thank you, sir.
- It's a ballsy move
for Chris to do this dish.
Generally in dinner
parties like this,
you wanna
impress the lady,
'cause if you impress
the lady of the house,
the guy's just gonna
agree with it.
- Oh, [bleep].
- I'm not trying
to be a [bleep],
just I--it all has a purpose,
all those pans.
- I-I got exactly what I need.
It's not a problem.
- Do you need
both those colanders?
- No, I just
need that one.
- Can you take the other one
out of the sink then?
- Yep.
- Please? Thank you.
I'm a little
aggravated with Bev
because she's using
the entire sink,
and there's colanders
everywhere and...
It feels
very selfish to me
that somebody would go
into this environment
with four other chefs
and take over
entire kitchen.
- Where's my blanching water?
Why did you take it off?
- I said if you're not using it,
take it off.
- I was--I'm using it.
It's a blanching pot.
With water.
I'm frustrated
with Beverly
moving the pot
of blanching water.
Did you take
the strainer
that I had back there?
- Yeah, but--
sure. Absolutely.
I'm working on four
different things,
and it's, like,
"oh, Beverly.
Don't leave this mess here."
It's, like, come on.
We're all leaving
stuff everywhere.
Don't single me out.
- Come on, sabotage.
- You guys seen
a sifter of any kind?
- I saw a really little one
in that top drawer.
- I got a
panna cotta going.
Some of it's based
on what the couple told me,
some of it I ignore 'cause
they just kept saying things
like fudge and bananas.
- Holy [bleep], Ed.
- I don't wanna base
on two people's
likes and dislikes,
because what if everyone else
is expecting an elegant dessert,
and then they all get
a bowl of fudge?
I'm gonna try
and blow their minds.
I don't know if
I'll blow their palates.
- Thanks for having us.
- Thank you.
- We appreciate it.
- Thank you for being here.
- It's coming out hot.
Mrs. Whitman
said that she likes
a lot of balance.
Very hot.
Having a salad
of raw items
as well as roasted
and poached items
is my interpretation
of that balance.
- Do you entertain
a lot at home?
- We do, yes,
we entertain a lot.
We love this,
and we do it often.
- Are you both
from Dallas?
- I'm Canadian originally.
- Oh.
- Me too.
- You are, I know that.
- Wow.
- Door behind you.
- Four minutes,
Every single time I do
a service, I criticize myself.
It could've used more salt,
could've used more acid.
I always want to push
to make sure
that I do better,
'cause that's the only way
I can evolve.
- Hands are shaking.
Holy schnikes.
- I'm wondering if this dish
is gonna be cool enough that
they can say, "wow, it came
together nicely."
Or are they
gonna be, like, "wow.
What is this on a plate, and
why did you serve me a cigar"?
[Timer beeping]
- The plate isn't as beautiful
as I had wanted it to be.
Chris's cigar looks
really cool in its whimsy,
and I know that the client
wanted something whimsy,
so maybe she's not
gonna like my dish.
I've never second-guessed myself
more in my whole life.
- Hi, how are you all?
- Hello.
- Justin, when I walked in,
I saw that you had
a beautiful cigar lighter.
I figured I'd do something
a little bit unique with that.
I did roasted chicken
with corn,
wrapped around bread,
with braised collard greens.
It's in the shape
of a cigar,
and then the ash that
you're gonna be having
is cumin and sesame seed.
You can pretend to smoke it
if you like.
It's a healthy cigar
that you eat.
- I made
a Roman-style artichoke,
and then I finished them
on the grill
with a date puree, pecans,
and then fresh mint.
- I made a salad
of roasted and raw beets
with some charred chickpeas,
and a Greek vinaigrette.
- I did a seared
sea scallop
over a puree
of sweet corn.
And I served it with
a succotash of zucchini.
- I made us some
fried brussel sprouts
with some grilled prosciuttos
and madras spiced crème fraiche.
- Thank you.
- So hungry.
- Take one.
- We went to Greece
on our honeymoon,
and it seems like
everything there is so fresh.
- They got married a month ago.
- Oh.
Did you get married
here in Dallas?
- We did.
- Small wedding.
[Laughter]
- 700 people?
- Actually how'd you know?
- 800.
- I was
kind of joking.
They weren't, were they?
[Laughing]
- We had 1,200.
- I don't think
I know 1,200 people.
[Laughter]
- Chris's dish
is a bit daunting.
- The flavors
are okay, but...
The whole thing eats dry.
- The idea
of eating a cigar
doesn't really
appeal to me.
- You don't eat cigars?
[Laughter]
- You don't think
that's tasty?
- I actually don't
smoke them either.
- I think half my lipstick
is on there now.
[Laughter]
- I can walk away
knowing the flavors are good.
- I love Sarah's
artichoke dish.
It really matched
what I described.
- And the artichoke
was grilled perfectly.
- That's good eats
right there.
- I loved
Lindsay's beets.
I wasn't too impressed
by the other things
that were with it.
- A little boring.
Didn't excite me at all.
- I enjoy them so far.
- It's very colorful.
- [Chuckles]
- Oh, man.
- And you ate all
your brussel sprouts.
- Yeah, I loved it.
- Good for you.
- Yeah. Growing up.
- I love Paul's
brussel sprouts.
I do like
the combination
of the crunchy
and the--the smooth.
- Oh, I love
brussel sprouts.
Paul did
a fantastic job.
I roast mine also.
He did a much better job
than I typically do.
[Laughter]
- Definitely represents
what--what I do.
- I think one of Kim
and Justin's requests
from Whitney
in the beginning
was to have
a conversation starter.
That wouldn't have started
a conversation for me.
- I thought it came out pretty
well, and I hope they like it.
- Justin, would you
serve those dishes
at your normal dinner parties?
- I definitely would.
You know, I think some of them
were--were fantastic,
and others, you know, maybe
needed a little bit of work.
- So...Close, but no cigar?
[Laughter]
- Well, Troy and Kari,
can we go over
to your house now?
- Let's do it, y'all,
come on over.
- We're excited.
- [Bleep].
- I pull the salmon
out of the oven,
and the first
thing I notice
is the husks are
a little bit toasted,
which is a bad sign,
and I go to poke it,
and the salmon feels
slightly overcooked,
and the cheese does look
a little bit weird.
I'm feeling
pretty nauseous.
- Watch out.
A Kn*fe. Again.
- Another beautiful home.
- Holy moly, Heather.
That looks great.
Both me and Heather
have commented
that we're really happy
to be here together.
We're really
good friends,
and it's been reassuring
to have her around.
- Yours smells delicious.
- The thing about main courses
is that they're obviously
the most important part
of the meal.
I think there's a lot
of pressure on these chefs.
- g*dd*mn [bleep]
son of a whore.
Presentation is
a major factor,
whether it's
in your restaurant,
but even more so
in high society.
I know my dish
tastes great,
but it looks like crap.
- Hands up.
[Timer beeping]
- Hi.
- Hello.
- Fanciest looking family style
I've ever had.
- I made garlic and
rosemary grilled lamb chops
with garbanzo beans
and a mint chimichurri.
- I made sockeye
salmon filet,
and it's been stuffed
with a goat cheese cream,
and on top, it's just
a little cherry tomato relish
and avocado.
- I have pan-seared
diver scallops
with creamy polenta
and a xo sauce,
and crispy garlic.
- I have a spice rubbed
grilled pork tenderloin
and avocado
guacamole salsa.
- We have a roasted
filet of beef
with a vegetable mélange,
with a red wine sauce.
- That is
a lot of food.
- Chuy's salmon
is extremely mild.
- This is very good.
- I thought Beverly's
scallop dish was excellent.
I like the twist
with the white truffle.
- If I was having
a dinner party,
that's the kind of thing--
I would ring her up,
and ask her to come back
and make that again.
- This is Ty's
pork tenderloin.
It's just
a little bit sloppy.
- It's just a bit dry,
but I like the colors,
and I like
the presentation of it.
- It reminds me
of something
my parents would've made
in the '50s.
- The garbanzo beans in
Heather's dish were good because
usually they're not green
when I see them, or as fresh.
- I can't get past
the overcooked chops.
- Very tough.
- Do they like overcooked lamb
in Dallas?
- Hell no.
- Okay.
- Doesn't appeal to me.
- Mm-hmm.
- Nyesha's beef--
I wasn't excited
to dig into it.
I didn't think
it looked very appetizing.
- It almost looks like
there's blood that's decorating
the outside of it.
- No, that's a red wine
reduction, I can assure you.
- I'm excited to go
to your house for dessert.
- I'm very excited
to have you guys.
- I hope there's
ice cream.
- I have a feeling
there might be.
- It's an edible
sh*t glass.
Biggest problem
I have right now
is not having a vessel
to serve my milkshake in,
so I take my dates,
and make them
into sh*t glasses.
Little weird looking.
I hope that me having fun
and trying to be creative
doesn't put me
in the bottom.
You'll either love it
or you'll hate it.
- Wow,
this is incredible.
- Okay.
How ya doing?
You all right?
- Yup.
Dessert is not
my thing.
I'm afraid that my sponge cake
won't be spongy.
That would be
a disaster.
- I challenged
the chefs
to really channel
their inner fat kid.
[Laughter]
- That was the goal.
- Hot, hot, hot.
- Three minutes.
That's not much time.
I have mixed emotions
about this cupcake today.
There's some banana puree,
strawberries,
ice cream.
I have about 20 different things
on this plate.
I have to do
my ice cream still.
I hope that
comes across well,
and not too clunky
and cluttered.
- We'd prefer for your ice cream
not to be frozen.
- One minute.
[Timer beeping]
- The front
is the banana.
- I'm sweating
and I'm nervous,
'cause the bread pudding,
I wish it would've
been creamier.
I'm an emotional
wreck right now.
In front of you,
I have a warm banana,
Reese's peanut butter cup
bread pudding,
roasted banana mousse,
and a date
banana milkshake.
So you take the sh*t
of the milkshake,
and then you eat
the date.
- I made a strawberry cupcake
filled with banana cream,
really rich
chocolate icing,
and then a mint chocolate chip
ice cream.
- So what
I made for you is
a cardamom-scented
panna cotta,
cantaloupe consommé,
raspberries stuffed
with a basil pudding.
- I made a chocolate
sponge cake,
caramelized bananas,
and some crushed up
chocolate-covered pretzels.
- Thank you.
- Now, court,
pace yourself.
- I'm trying.
- The presentation looks like
a little elmo.
You know?
[Laughter]
- Edward's dish was
a bit jiggly looking.
- It tastes much fancier
than it looks.
- Yes, it does.
- I thought Grayson's dish
looked great.
It was a little rich for me,
I have to be honest,
for my taste buds.
- I thought it was
just impossible
to be too rich
in Dallas, Texas.
[Laughter]
- I've never had a fine dining
cupcake, have you?
- I do love
the ice cream.
- I thought
Chris's cupcake
was one of the best
I've ever had.
- Tom, what did you think
of Chris's dessert?
- You know, my mother
told me once,
if you have
nothing nice to say,
don't say anything. I'll just
remain silent right now.
- Oh, my God.
I need a beer.
- Oh, my God.
- Oh, it's so good.
- I could eat Dakota's
bread pudding every day.
- I thought Dakota's dessert
was worth every calorie.
- Thank you guys all
so much for coming,
and I-I don't envy
the decisions
you guys have
in front of you,
but we're gonna head out
and grab some margaritas, so...
[Laughter]
- Thank you all
very much.
Hosts: Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
- I still
have this feeling
that somebody's gonna go home
for making dessert today,
because that's generally
the way this competition goes,
so I'm a little nervous.
- Why that
a good dish?
- Man, come on.
This is Top Chef.
- I could've used
Chuy's dad today.
[Laughter]
- Chuy has a lot
of stories, and...
Some of them
involve his dad.
- He can build you a house,
you just tell him where.
- I like the one
where Chuy's dad
built all the furniture
in their house.
- He built every single
piece of furniture.
- That's a good one.
- Well, Chuy's dad--
he must've been like this.
- [Laughing]
Yeah, you're right.
- My dad can do anything.
My dad's superman.
My parents grew, like, all
of our food in our back yard.
- I don't think there's
any story that I can't make up
that Chuy's dad
hasn't done.
I love your dad.
That's awesome.
- What you guys end up doing
for desserts?
- I did bread pudding,
I did a milkshake,
and, um...Mousse.
You know, my biggest
worry right now
is that bread pudding,
and just the texture being off,
and I'm sure that's
what the judges will see.
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
- We'd like to see Sarah--
- oh, no.
- Grayson, Paul,
and Dakota.
Thank you.
[Suspenseful music]
♪
The four of you...
Served our
favorite dishes.
- Oh, my God.
Are you kidding me?
Oh, my God.
- Congratulations.
- Grayson, I loved
the pretzels.
I like salt with dessert.
- Me too.
- I thought it worked
really well.
It was kind of buried
in there nicely.
It was just
the right amount.
To me, that's
what made the dish.
- Thanks, chef.
- Sarah, what I liked best
about the dish was that...
The refined flavors
really worked together.
This was spot on.
- Thank you.
- Dakota...
- I thought your bread pudding
was really moist and gooey
in the center,
the chocolate was melted,
then there was the crunch
of the peanuts.
You want something
that feels nostalgic,
and feels comforting,
and I think you
really nailed it
with your dessert.
- Thank you.
- Paul, I thought that dish
was all about texture.
There were so many
little textures working.
It was crispy.
Everything on that dish
just really made sense.
- Thank you.
- John, please announce
the winner.
- The winner really exhibited
a lot of focus,
took a risk,
and listened to what
the clients wanted.
So the winner is...
Paul.
- Thank you.
- Yay, congratulations!
[Laughing]
- It feels great
to win this challenge.
It's--it's definitely
a huge boost to my morale.
- Please send back
some of your colleagues.
Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you.
- This is Top Chef: Texas,
and I'm the only one
that cooks in Texas,
so I'm gonna represent
for my state.
- It's Paul.
- Yay!
[Applause]
- Good job.
- Uh, the judges
wanna see, uh...
Chris Jones,
Ty, Chris C.,
and, uh, chuy.
- Good luck, guys.
- Good luck, guys.
[Suspenseful music]
♪
- You served our least favorite
dishes tonight,
and one of you
will be going home.
Chris...
- Just from a point of view,
I'm not sure where this thing
starts and where it ends.
I mean, there's strawberry,
there's banana,
and then there's
mint ice cream.
Just all--all over the map.
I mean...
It was almost as if you were
at a three-year-old's party,
and they had cupcakes
and all the fixings,
and some kids
just went crazy.
- I mean, they threw
a lot at us, and...
So I just wanted to kind of
get it all to them
and try and have some kind of
cohesiveness on it.
- Listen,
take their input,
but don't cave
into every whim,
otherwise you end up
with a big mess.
- Ty...
When that platter was finished
and it went out,
were you
satisfied with it?
- No.
- Why?
- It wasn't clean enough.
- To me, it was
out of proportion.
There was kind of
this mound of slaw
under these really large
pieces of meat,
and then
the large pineapple.
It could've just been
a lot tighter, a lot smaller.
- The Kn*fe skills
have to be there.
The meat was--
was kind of hacked
and stacked in a way
that didn't slice naturally.
I don't think this dish
was true to you.
- Chuy, how did you
come up with that dish?
- It's a dish that I've done
before in the restaurant.
Then it's
kind of like a play,
like, on sort of,
like, a lox and bagels
sort of tasting thing.
- I too thought of bagels
and lox and cream cheese,
but that's not
what it tastes like.
The overcooked salmon
was one major issue,
and the goat cheese,
when it cooked,
kind of takes--
takes on this mealiness.
- I think pulling it out, like,
at a medium-well temperature,
you risk not having, like,
the cheese be hot in the middle.
- If it's a dish that, because
you have cheese in there
and the way
you're making it,
you have to make
the salmon well-done
in order
for that to work,
why is that
a good dish?
- Chris...
- Well, as I was walking
through the house,
I noticed that he had
some cigar casings,
and I really wanted
to win this competition.
I figured
it was do or die.
Either they
would really like it,
or they wouldn't.
- Sometimes you gotta just say,
"you know what?
That was a great, novel idea,
but the ingredients mean more
to me than an idea."
You have to look at the
ingredients and say,
"is this the best thing
for the ingredient?"
- Right.
- It was a gimmick.
When you ate this,
you had the stringy ribs
of the collard green,
and I think that you need
to be very careful
about getting caught up
on these details like ash,
and really focus
on good food.
- We'll call you back
in a bit.
- Ugh. Well, that was--
that was nerve-wracking.
- They said that my dish
was hard to eat,
the collard ribs
were stringy,
but, you know, sometimes you're
a little too ambitious,
and you try things
that just don't work out, and...
[Exhaling]
- The thing about these chefs
sort of put together,
they're just kind of like
throwing darts at a dart board.
I mean, even listening
to chuy:
In order for the cheese
to be cooked and bubbly and hot,
the salmon has
to be overcooked.
You're gonna tell me
you can't alter the proportions
of those things
to make them cook together?
I mean, please.
- The point here--
see, Chuy wanted
to be clever,
and I didn't see much
redeeming value
in that
dish whatsoever.
Give me a break,
you're a chef,
and you're here
to be Top Chef.
- Chris J.'s cigar.
- It wasn't easy to eat,
it didn't make sense,
the ash was
so unappealing.
Eating a giant,
greasy cigar
with your fingers
at a dinner party
in an expensive cocktail dress
is the last thing,
I think,
any woman in that room
wanted to do.
- He kind of fell in love
with that idea,
and come hell or high water,
he was gonna make that work.
Well, he couldn't
make it work.
- I keep going back
to Chris C.'s cupcake dish.
There was nothing on that plate
that made sense to me.
Huge pieces
of heath bar,
and then strawberries, orange,
banana, mint chocolate chip
just sort of strewn
around the plate.
- The dish was a mess,
it was all over the place.
A cupcake on top
of really bad strawberries.
It's bad, on top of bad,
on top of bad.
- Cupcakes are one thing,
but Ty's pork tenderloin...
Um, really?
- It seemed as if Ty
just threw everything he could
sort of
against the wall.
It was just so much,
and none of it--
- So much, and nothing at all.
- Yes.
- There's just no finesse
in the cooking there.
There's no precision at all.
There's no thought.
It's--it's
very frustrating.
- Sounds like we're all
in agreement.
- Yes.
- Let's get them out here.
[Suspenseful music]
♪
- In each of your cases,
a little bit
of thinking through
may have corrected a lot
of the mistakes that were made.
Chris, you start
with a cupcake,
and really don't know how
to make a cupcake.
You still need to create
a dish that makes sense,
and not just every ingredient
that they mention.
- Ty, I think your dish
would've been much better
if you just used
fewer ingredients.
It was too many things going on,
split your focus.
The dish was
all over the place.
You know, Chuy,
you had this idea,
you claim it works
in your restaurant,
but you really--
you gave us overcooked salmon
and goat cheese, and it just
wasn't a very good dish.
Chris, sometimes
those ideas are great
and you can't
let go of them.
But sometimes
you have to.
A little editing
may have
sort of got you
off that ledge.
It's a progressive party,
and it's a
progressive competition,
and for one of you,
the progression ends here.
- Chuy...
Please pack
your knives and go.
- See you in Chicago.
- Nobody likes losing,
especially since
I was on the winning side
of two challenges.
Thanks, guys.
I would've wanted
to see myself go further,
I was having fun.
But one thing
that you really mess up
can send you home.
- In the end, it was
the overcooked salmon
in a dish that
wasn't thought through
that sent Chuy home.
- Mm-hmm.
- Aww.
- Bye, guys.
- Chuy.
- There's no shame
in going home
when you're competing against
all these great chefs here.
I mean,
really great chefs.
Being the youngest person
in the competition,
I definitely wanted
to make my mark.
Take care.
- Bye, chu-chu.
- Bye, Chuy.
- I think my dad will be
super proud I made it this far.
I just didn't wanna
go home so early.
- And tonight
on Last Chance Kitchen,
can Chuy's
culinary skills
live up to his
tall tales?
- Was not
expecting this.
- Or will Keith,
the gentle giant,
remain one step closer
to the title?
- There's one
little thing...
- To watch
Last Chance Kitchen,
go to bravotv.com now.
Next on Top Chef...
- What could be more
quintessential about Dallas
than Southfork Ranch?
- Get 'em straight
on here,
and then we blast
right in the oven.
I'm just trying
to make sure
that the steaks
are getting cooked.
- g*dd*mn [bleep]
son of a whore.
I need a medic
right now.
I'm concerned
about my hand,
and I'm concerned
about being eliminated.
- Bev's gonna be a bit
of a problem.
She's [bleep] slow.
She's been working on shrimp
for two [bleep] days.
- With 13 chefs
at your level,
really expect more.
- If I was
in a restaurant,
you'd be refunding
that money.
09x05 - Don't Be Tardy for the Dinner Party
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Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.
Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.