07x04 - Room Service

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

This too bitter?

I personally
hate chocolate, so...

Alex is a slob.
He has no technique.

I mean, I can go on
for an hour if you want.

Like, really, can my,
like, magic ingredient

be my sous chef
in my back pocket?

Kevin's got rice and beans.

Anyone else noticing

that the texture of the beans
is very strange?

Anybody notice how bland
the rice is?

Arnold, you did it for me.

Surprise, I win.

If that's what you call
Italian food,

it's almost insulting
to italians.

Tracy, please pack
your knives and go.

This season,
one outstanding competitor

will take the title
of Top Chef

and the grand prize--

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,

and a showcase
at the Food & Wine classic

in Aspen,

$125,000 to help turn
their culinary dreams

into reality.

Furnished by
Dial Nutriskin.

Top Chef season seven.

Hail to the chef.

what time is it?

I just won
the last challenge.

I guess the grill
is my friend now.

It's a good feeling

to be able to get
that shout-out from the judges,

and that recognition.

Tracey gets sent home,

and Tracey had become a buddy,

so I'm sad, but you have
to focus on the game,

and at this point,
I keep ending up in the middle,

and it ticks me off,
because I'm ready to win.

That was funny.
That's...

For my last challenge,
I end up at the bottom again,

so I'm off to a rough start,

but the other chefs
need to know

that it's not how you start
in this competition,

it's how you finish.

Yeah, no stupid food today.

All right, guys, let's go.

Time to hit the road!

So I walk into the kitchen
and see baby toys.

And I'm thinking,

"okay, they can't have us
cooking baby food."

Good morning, chefs.

Good morning.

It's a little strange
when we walk in.

Tom and Padma
are standing there,

and normally
there's a guest judge,

so I'm not sure
what's going on.

Tom and I have
a challenge for you

of a personal nature.

We both have new editions
to our family.

Tom has an eight-month-old son
at home,

and I have a
two-month-old daughter.

So for your
quickfire challenge,

we'd like you to create a dish

that satisfies Tom and I,

and also our little ones.

So you'll make a dish for us

and a pureed version

suitable for our kids.

What goes through my head
is, "oh, crap.

I've never had a baby."

I don't know
what babies like.

I'm like, "aah!"

So you have 45 minutes

d the use of everything
in the Top Chef pantry.

Oh, and is is
a high-stakes quickfire,

which means that Tom and I
will each be picking a winner

who will get $10,000.

If I won the money,

I'd use it towards
two orphanages in Thailand

that works with childr
infected with hiv and aids.

It'd be nice to win 20k.

Maybe buy myself
something nice.

A hooker
and an eight ball, please.

But immunity
is off the table.

Your time starts now.

I've never
fed a baby before.

I don't make baby food.

I practice making baby,
but not baby food.

This challenge is definitely
hitting home for me.

My wife is pregnant,

and having a child,
thinking it's a wrap.

Taking this one home.

I'm gonna roast off the duck

and do a banana polenta.

I'm confident
that it'll go together.

I need that
when you're done, please.

What?
You can take it.

Thank you.

I have a
seven-year-old brother.

When he was a baby, we used
to do a lot of vegetables.

You want to give an adult
something flavorful,

but for a baby, something
a little bit more plain.

I immediately think of doing
a vegetable chowder,

and I think it will
go over quite well.




Does anyone have
any extra veal stock?

I'd like to prove that you
don't have to have kids

to win this challenge.

So I'm making
spice-wrapped pork loin

with some fresh
ginger and lemon juice.

My first wife passed away
in a car accident.

That was
my daughter's mother,

when she was a year
and four months.

So I've been taking
care of her the whole time.

I used to cook
my daughter's baby food,

so I immediately start making

a panang curry
with some grilled chicken.

It will translate very well
into the baby food.

Kenny's dish had,
like, a brunoise

of a crunchy apple,

and there was a lot of it
in there.

I thought
to myself immediately,

like, "one of my daughters
would choke on that,"

and I thought,
"that's very unsuccessful."





Who's got a blender top?

I keep ending up
in the middle.

It makes you feel like the
judges didn't even notice you,

so I need a win.

I decided to do something with
chicken and tropical fruits.

I've never had
baby food before,

so this is gonna be
challenging.

I love educating my son,

especially with flavor,

so this is my opportunity to do
something cool with baby food,

so I know that I want to layer
it almost like a tiramisu.

It's not easy,
but I'd rather fail

knowing that
I went for it all.

Two minutes.

Oh, Tim, look what
the You did, bro.

What? What?

What? Oh, man...

That ain't me.
I didn't put pepper in anything.

That's coming from your jus.

!



Time is up. Hands up.
Utensils down.

Time's up.

There's quite a few components

missing from my dish.

I really wanted this
to be about

the baby that we have coming,
you know?

That's what I kind of
dedicated this to.

Tom and Padma
are both in the kitchen.

It's definitely embarrassing,

so I'm pretty pissed off.

- Hello.
- Hello. How are you?

So you have kids
of your own?

I do. I have two.

I have a 16-year-old
and a three-year-old.

I did grilled chicken breast,

a little panang curry sauce,

butternut squash and mango salad
with shaved carrots,

and we have a little grilled
maitake mushroom.

Thank you very much.
Thank you.

I did a little bit
of sauteed lamb

with ragout mushrooms.

Has a little bit
of shallot and ginger,

and then pureed it
into a baby food.

Thank you.

What'd you make for us?

A very incomplete dish.

Pan-seared duck
with baby carrots

and a corn and banana puree.

Did you run out of time,
or--?

Yeah.

Okay. Thank you.

Today I have a roast pork loin

with grilled peaches

seasoned with a little,
um, fresh ginger.

Oh, no.

What?

Is that a lemon seed?

Yes.

That may not be very
successful

in a baby's mouth.

No, I would say not.

Okay.

I made a chicken breast

with a yellow pepper--
orange pepper fruit compote.

I have never tasted
baby food before.

All of my kids
have four legs.

Thank you.

I heard
you have a newborn too.

Yeah,
I have a beautiful son.

Uh, his name is Jacob Elias.

My favorite spice
is actually fenugreek,

so I made an amazing
fenugreek broth.

Olive oil, poached tuna,
and tomatoes.

Really simple.

And you gave it to us
in three layers here?

Four. There's a little secret
in the middle.

Thank you.

So what I have here,
it's seared duck

with a little spinach,
basil puree,

a little dill cous cous,

and a seared
black crumpet mushroom.

Great. Thanks.

So I have here for you
a vegetable chowder,

but I have a little bit
of lobster stock in there,

grilled salmon,

and a licorice oil as well.

Licorice oil,
how'd you make it?

I took some licorice powder

and added
some grapeseed oil

and just let it steep.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Okay, so, Tom,

how do you think
our chefs did overall?

I think overall,
really well.

There were a couple of you
who didn't do as well,

so, Tom, who had some of your
more disappointing dishes?

Timothy,
you overcooked the lamb.

Not really good.

Baby food was okay,

but the adult dishes
really missed the mark.

Also, um, Alex,

I found the puree
just to be very herbaceous,

and only of the dill.

I didn't get much else.
It was also kind of watery.

How about you?

Kevin, I couldn't get over
that pool of blood

sitting under the duck.

Kelly, your meat
was cooked fine,

but it was also
a little bland.

I would just say
add more flavor.

Tom,
who were your favorites?

I would say Lynne.

I liked your dish.

I thought it had just
really great flavor.

It was seasoned well.

The baby food also
translated very nicely.

Thank you, chef.

I'm like, "oh, my God."

I'm really excited
to be towards the top,

so I'm hoping I can gain
a little bit of momentum.

The other dish
that I liked was Tamesha's.

The puree had
a little texture to it.

It wasn't completely pureed,

which I kind of liked.

I really, really liked
the licorice oil.

So nice work.
Thank you.

I liked Angelo's.

Not only because
you used fenugreek.

I also liked that your baby food
looked very elegant.

It looked special.

Kenny, I loved that you
used bulgur wheat.

I thought it was flavorful

and had a little Spice to it.

But nothing that a baby
couldn't handle beautifully,

and I thought
both of you did great.

Thank you.

So, Tom,
who's your favorite?

Who's getting that ten grand?

If I had to walk over
to one of the dishes right now

and try it again,

I would go over to...

Let's go. Let's go.

Hollandaise doesn't even
hit the plate.

Ed screwed the pooch
pretty good.

I'm pissed.

So, Tom, who's getting
that ten grand?

If I had to walk over
to one of the dishes right now

and try it again,

I would go over to Tamesha's.
Congratulations.

I would pick Kenny's.

Oh, thank you.

I'm more than ecstatic.

I want to keep
in the minds of the judges.

I want them
constantly saying Kenny.

You know,
"Kenny, Kenny, Kenny."

Holy .

I won 10,000 smackaroos.

How you doing?

There's a reason why I'm here.
Youngest in the house.

I am definitely capable
of doing really good things.

You'll each get ten grand
furnished by Dial Nutriskin.

Chefs, please welcome
Beth Scott.

She's the vice president
of restaurant concepts

at the Hilton Hotel
and Resorts.

- Hi, chefs, how are you?
- Hello.

For your
elimination challenge,

Hilton Hotels is looking for
a new signature menu dish

that's healthy
but still sophisticated.

What Hilton is looking for
are easily executable,

quick dishes that can be
served in the restaurant

for the busy traveler.

Your challenge
is to create

breakfast, lunch,
and dinner options

that do all of that.

Hilton will incorporate the
winning dish on their menu.

Chefs, you'll be competing
tournament style

in teams of two.

All teams will compete
in the breakfast round,

and we will determine
which two teams are safe.

The remaining two teams

will go on to compete
in the lunch service,

and two more teams
will be safe.

For dinner, three teams
will cook for their lives,

and one team
will be eliminated.

That's right.
Two chefs will be going home.

I look around the room,

and all of a sudden
all the game faces came on.

Please choose
your partners now.

I'm immediately
looking for Tiffany.

Tim is already paired up
with Tiffany.

Alex was like--
I was like, "oh, ."

No one really wants to pair up

with either Steve or me.

If we were to win
this challenge,

I think it would say
to the competition,

"oh, perhaps you might have
overlooked a couple of people?

Hmm?"

You will be serving right here

in the Top Chef kitchen
later today.

See you in a few hours.

Good luck.

Going to whole foods.

We plan three dishes.

We have 30 minutes and $200.

Pancetta, please.

Okay,
I know where that's at.

Okay.

Tim and I are together.

Yay.

Tim's been on the bottom
quite a bit lately.

So I'm just very concerned,

and I've taken the lead
completely.

So if I go home,

it's gonna be because
Tiffany derry made a bad move.

I am not going home
for anybody else's mistake.

Excuse me.
I'm sorry, but...

Cheddar cheese, you have?
Cheddar?

Did they give 'em to you
like that?

They didn't put 'em
in a bag or anything?

I could put 'em on ice.

Cooking in a team for me
is extremely challenging,

because I'm used
to being the boss.

And I don't want to be
overbearing.

There are
about 20 in a bag.

I've cooked
with Lynne before,

and we had
successes with that.

If Lynne and I win
this team challenge,

that would be
almost for me, like,


in a row,

so I don't know
what people might say,

but they might think I'm more
than a Louis vuitton bag.

Mint.
That's my name.

- We have chilies?
- Yeah.

You got potatoes
for the gnocchi?

Is there olive oil?

We got olive oil there.

When I became chef
at the five-star hotel

at the age of 23,

it was right after my wife
had passed away,

and it was kind of, like,
one of the first major hurdles

that I felt like
I had taken over.

It helped spark
that fire again.

No one else has been running
five-star restaurants or hotels

other than myself,

so as far as this challenge,

I feel like
I have it locked up.

Basil. Ricotta.

I'd like to get
a little maple butter.

Alex is very persistent
that he can make pancakes.

I don't want
to replicate something

that a fast food
restaurant does,

so I'm skeptical,

but I'm gonna let him do it.

We got to go to checkout.

I trust him, but at
the same time if it fails,

I'll be upset with Alex.

Beautiful.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

We walk into the kitchen,

and I see spike.
There's Mike. There's Brian.

You know,
I hold a lot of respect

for past
Top Chef contestants.

It's a tough crowd.

Good morning, chefs.

I'd like to introduce you
to your judges

and prior
Top Chef contestants,

Mike Isabella
from zaytinya restaurant.

Bryan voltaggio,
chef and owner of volt.

Spike mendelsohn
of we, the pizza.

Beth Scott, vice president
of restaurant concepts

at Hilton Hotels.

Nora pouillon,
chef and owner of Nora.

Head judge Tom colicchio.

And Eric Ripert,
our returning judge.

Your time starts now.

We're competing
in teams of two.

We need to prepare breakfast,
lunch, and dinner.

Stephen and I
want to win so badly.

Especially Stephen.

He's been on the bottom.

I want to bring
my little buddy up.

How do you know when
the hollandaise is done?

It tastes really good.

Cheese is done.
Cheese is in the freezer.

How does the texture feel?
Is it okay?

It's good.
It's very creamy.

I think our breakfast
will appeal to a Hilton guest

because it's not
just the usual...

It's a little bit different.

It's tortilla de papas,

and we do that in class
every three weeks,

so I'm totally comfortable
with that.

All right?
Yes.

- Five minutes.
- Yep.

Being that it's
a double elimination,

that's rough.

Two people in one night?

Hash.

I'm on it right now.

Our dish
is crab cake Benedict.

Tiffany's like,
"trust me on it.

We gonna get out
at breakfast.

And I said, "okay.

"You take the lead
on crab cake.

Let's do it."

I'm feeling the pressure
of Tim relying heavy on me.

And I don't want
to let myself down,

and of course I don't want
to let him down.

Is that enough sauce,
you think?

Yeah.

We put a lot of effort
into the breakfast,

because we do not want
to cook lunch.

We want to be safe
from the beginning

and just know that we're not

going into that
elimination round.

I got two more minutes
on my cakes.

Ed and I have a ton
of work to do.

Our breakfast
is super challenging,

'cause everything
has to be done a la minute.

That's enough. That's enough.
We got to start plating.

Timer is ticking down,

and Alex is just very set

on plating it this one way.

I'm mixing
everything together.

For me, it just doesn't
scream finesse.

One minute left.

Let's go. Let's go.

We planned poorly
for plate-up

everything took
a little bit longer.

Time is up.

Before you knew it,
clock's out.

Hollandaise doesn't even
hit the plate.

I'm pissed.
Hollandaise was delicious.

It would have definitely
changed the dish altogether.

There's no cake on ours.

- She say she used canned beans?
- Yeah.

They didn't have
enough time to cook them?

- Right.
- A bag of beans?

Medium gloves, please.

Tamesha is really sexy.

Obviously
she thought I was cool,

and we went from there.

Angelo is screwing around
with Tamesha.

You know, Tamesha's young.
She's green.

She's right up his alley.
You want to fight?

I'm gonna
Kick the Out of you.



She has, like, an inner lion,
that's, you know, hot.

After that,
what are you doing?

You.

You wish.

Angelo and I
are really good friends.

But there's no way
that's gonna happen.

No way.

♪

service begins

and we don't even get
the hollandaise on the plate.

I'm pissed, but I still think
we have a decent dish.

We still have more components
on that one dish

than anyone else.

So we made a spin-off
of a hash.

So it has prosciutto,

diced potatoes,
some roasted peppers,

and some onions along with
some fresh parsley.

There's no cake on ours.

There's no cake on yours?

We missed the cake.

No, we have plenty of it.

My heart drops.

I'm going, "how many
mistakes can we make?"

Do apologize.
But hopefully they'll share.

I forgot to put one of the
breakfast patties on the plate.

Makes me feel like a jackass,

because that was basically
what I was in charge of.

Oh, .

Ed screwed the pooch
pretty good.

If you can't
get food on the plate,

you don't deserve to be there.

Cake, you .

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Today we did very simple egg,
slowly cooked.

Served it with crispy bacon

and a white cheddar broth.

Thank you.

I think it's pretty cool

to serve previous
Top Chef contestants.

I've been
to Brian's restaurant.

I know the texture of my egg

is what he serves
at his restaurant,

so I know he'll probably
appreciate that.

Yeah, the yolk
is over on this.

Yeah, it's overcooked.

Yeah, but also,
you see this here?

You got to clean that off.

Mike got nailed for that.
Remember?

Yes, he did.
In the semis.

Good morning.

Good morning.
How are you?

So what we did
was a tortilla espanola

with chorizo and bacon.

The salad is an olive
and pear salad,

and obviously a play
on papas bravas.

Would you plate this
any differently

if somebody
was taking it to go?

Yes, if we were considering
a three compartment,

the papas would be on one,

the salad
would be on the other,

and the tortilla
would be in the middle

with a little bit of crema.
Thank you.

Thank you.

- Actually pretty good.
- Mm-hmm.

- The texture's strange.
- Yeah, it's off.

I don't know why.

How are you?

We made a nice, soft,
poached egg,

and we put it on herb brioche,

with heirloom tomatoes,

manchego cheese,
Spanish olive tapenade,

and some
extra-virgin olive oil.

I think this breakfast
Kenny and I are making

is appealing to a Hilton guest

because it has
a european influence,

and Hilton Hotels
are worldwide.

It's not too heavy,
but yet it's filling.

I think guests
will enjoy it.

- It's a little soft.
- Yeah.

There's no texture
at all in this.

I just think the problem
is there's too much going on.

Hey, Stephen.
How are you doing?

How are you?
Hello.

What we have here
is a poached egg,

confit pancetta,

potato rosti, grapes,
some shallots.

Enjoy.

I actually like
the confit bacon.

Yeah, I like it
because everywhere you go,

you get crispy bacon.

I would have rather
cubed the pancetta,

rendered
the fat off slowly.

- How's it going?
- Good. How's it going?

We have a bacon cheddar
whole wheat waffle.

Poacd egg,
roasted tomato salsa,

and some pickled chilies.

And then we have a mango,
lime, and mint smoothie.

Thank you.

The eggs have no seasoning.

Waffle's dense, though.
That's the only thing.

Yeah,
it's a little heavy.

What about the drink?

They taste
a little too sweet.

We did a crab cake Benedict

in the style of Louisiana,
with plenty of the capers

and the mustard,
the dijon creole,

grilled asparagus,

and then
a potato bacon hash.

And the hollandaise,

it has a little bit
of citrus.

- Thank you both.
- Thank you.

Crab cake's seasoned,
like, really well.

When you get all the elements,

the caper, the spiciness,

I mean,
pretty well ex*cuted.

It doesn't need
the potato hash at all.

No. I think it would be
much better without.

Okay, so chefs, we've talked,
and we have a decision.

Amanda and Stephen,
Tim and Tiffany,

you had our favorite dishes,

and you're safe
from elimination.

I am so excited
to put this one under us,

and I just can't
be more happy.

I mean, this w really
a jolt that I needed.

Oh!

Whoa. Okay.

I'm just thinking
it is about time!

Okay?

So I'm excited.

The rest of you will have
to move on to lunch service,

and your time starts now.

It's fine.

Andrea and I
are frustrated.

We're not getting
any feedback at all.

It's just, "go ahead,
cook some more."

So every round is gonna
get more nerve-racking,

because at the end we know
if we end up cooking dinner,

you feel like you're cooking
to not go home.

This stage,
I'm pretty heated.

I know the flavors and
cooking techniques were sound.

So to have four other people
go ahead of us

I think
is total bull.

We're both fired up
at this point,

and it's, like,
"all right, let's battle.

Let's do it."

So we're makg
a chickpea pasta.

I'm thinking the sauce
is a little too bit thick,

but, uh, I think Kenny
has a good idea

of what the judges
are looking for.

It's gonna be delicious.

- How much longer on that?
- Done.

After not nailing
the first course,

I'm fuming inside,

so for lunch we're gonna make
a simple beef carpaccio

with a kimchi vinaigrette.

Chiffonade, please.

In the kitchen,
it's super intense.

It's like you want
to get out of the pool

and there's piranhas
trying to bite you.

That's what it feels like.

- Flavorful.
- I love it.

Yeah, I do too.

Lunch is my lead
and my concept.

Is this the vision
that you're looking for?

Yes.

We're gonna do the tuna
cannelloni on forbidden rice.

For lunch, my thought
was to take a play

on canned tuna salad,

which she did, but I'm just,
like, worried

that it's too quirky
for the Hilton Hotel.

Grab some herbs.

That way
we can chop some stuff.

This round,
I'm making sure

that we get everything
on the plate,

so I'm taking the lead
on lunch.

And ed and I are making
a fresh ricotta gnudi.

We'll do fresh scallops
with the gnudi.

I cook the
Out of scallops.

I make 'em delicious.
Every time.

One minute 28 seconds.
We got to push.

Again, it's a race
against the clock.

I don't even get to taste
the scallop,

so I'm definitely worried.

Ooh.

- Hello.
- Good to see you.

How's it going, man?

First we have a beautiful,

diver sea scallops.
Pan roasted.

And it's served with a little
ricotta gnudi,

some sauteed broccolini.
Enjoy.

It's nice.

- The gnudi's good.
- Yeah, the gnudi's really good.

The gnudi's very well made.

But, I mean, if you were
to take the ricotta

and puree it first,

'cau you can tell
it's just ricotta

and it's folded in
to make a gnudi,

and then it would have had
a smoother texture.

We drop all the plates,

and I'm just thinking
it might be too simple for them,

but, as usual,
Angelo is very confident.

So today we have
slivers of beef

served with a jicama
and asian pear salad,

fresh mint, cilantro,

and kimchi vinaigrette.

So how do you think
this would travel as a dish?

I think
it would travel amazing.

The beef is something
that you could pre-do.

You know, everything's
pre-made, so it's fine.

Thank you so much.

I want some texture,
or something fried,

like crispy shallots
or something.

It's a lot of onions
in this dish.

Quite frankly,
you could take this dish

and roll it into a spin roll wrapperr

and it's portable
and easy to deal with. Yeah.

So today for lunch we did
sort of a take on a tuna salad.

But we made it look
like a little Sushi.

Inside the roll
it's got fennel,

preserved lemons,

carrots, cucumbers,

and we did a littl
parmesian tuile.

God, I want toe safe
so badly.

I just don't want the stress

of having to put my life
on the line,

especially riding
the momentum that I have.

And I'm like, "no, we can't
move on to dinner."

It's not even an option.

I have to ay in the game.
I have to.

This is--I don't see this

as an easy dish to execute.

Yeah, I don't either.

I think all the salads
are really wonderful.

- It's refreshing.
- Right. Yeah.

- How you doing?
- How are you?

So we took all the ingredients
from hummus

and put them
into a pasta dish.

So you have a chickpea pasta,

tahini sauce, snap peas,
and lemon zest.

Did you notice
there's chicken?

Chicken?

It gets lost in that--
in that pasta.

I like the flavor profile.

I have hummus every day.

On our menu,
it's our top seller, so...

We have a little,
crispy skin red snapper

with a panzanella salad

that has tomato,
cucumber, white beans,

a little sourdough.

My main concern is the fish,

because Eric is on the panel,

and he's known for fish.

So I'm just--
I'm anxious at this point.

Did you guys
cook the beans?

Oh, we didn't.

Time and budget did not allow,

but we wanted to get
some extra protein in there.

Thank you so much.

Fish is a little over,
though.

Yeah.

If I had gotten this,
I would have sent it back.

I would never send it.

He'd never send it
in the first place.

Did she say
she used canned beans?

Yeah.

They didn't have enough
time to cook them?

- Right.
- A bag of beans?

Chefs, the two teams

with the best lunches...

Are Angelo and Tamesha

and Alex and ed.

Oh, my God.

I can't believe
that we're safe.

This morning has been
a roller coaster.

Ups and downs. Twists.
Loop de loops.

Just all over the place.

Kenny won the quickfire,

but Kenny didn't b*at me
at this one.

If Kenny and Kevin are
eliminated at this challenge,

it would just be awesome.

Are moving on
to the dinner round,

and as you know,
one team will be eliminated.

So two of you
will be going home.

I'm pissed, you know?

I'm like, "I wasn't expecting
to have to go into dinner."

I've got a lot
of recognition.

I was one of
food & wine magazine's

top ten best new chefs
in America.

But these are
the bottom three teams,

and two people are going home,

and that is the harsh reality.

Your cook time starts now.

Thick but not too thick.

We're gonna mount it
with butter.

We are definitely cooking
for our lives at this point.

We're frustrated and bitter

that we have to be here
cooking this dinner,

feeling like we're on
the bottom of the competition.

I'm really heated
at this point.

We have no idea
why we didn't pass.

You know, I know
that I'm hitting flavor,

texture, temperature,
at the highest level.

And to be in a situation

where I'm potentially
gonna be going home,

I'm so pissed off right now,

I'm just ready to get it done.

How are you doing?

I don't want
to roll this out too thin.

Lynne surprises me
a little bit.

She gets pissed off at stuff.

And she's like a little kid

that goes,
"I'm just pissed off."

It's, like, "yeah, okay, it
sucks that the judges, didn't--"

like, what
are you pissed off about?

That you have to cook again,

or we have another
good dish to present?

We just have to move forward.
There's no option.

You want thai basil?

- It's thai basil. Sorry.
- Okay.

We're gonna put fennel in
and saute it, because--

is there fennel in there?

There's a lot of
cross-checking going on.

There's a lot
of communication.

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

We are on the same page.

The only thing
that's a little disturbing

is that Kenny and Kevin
are making short ribs too.

And up until this point
Kenny has been strong,

so I'm nervous.

Somebody used our...

I got the good stuff.

That's what I bought.

I looked over at
Andrea and Kelly's short ribs,

and theirs seemed like
they were boiling away,

so I'm pretty confident ours
are nice and tender and juicy,

and we have better
short ribs than them.

We'll sear off,
um, the potatoes.

We got two pair.

Yep.
Get some texture to it.

Yep.

Red curry.

Yeah, a little half thing
of bread--I got it.

You want more basil
than this?

Arnold makes really good curry.

I've made pasta
tons of times before.

I'm hoping
we can pull this off.

I've preheated the oven to 450
for my focaccia.

You guys turn
the lower oven down?

Yeah, turned it to warm.

I went back to the oven
and it was on 200.

I had it on for my bread.

Well, I didn't know that.

So I was not happy.

They turned my oven
down by mistake.

Right now the intensity
is definitely very high.

You can kind of cut it
with a Kn*fe.

You know, everyone
is very, very focused

and trying to put out
their best.

Probably could even use
a little more butter.

We're just looking
at every little detail.

Whereas we normally might
taste it two or three times,

we're tasting it, like,
ten times.

Which pot is ours, Arnold,
for the pasta?

All on the end.
Do you hate me?

No, but I'm not
putting it in yet,

because I'm not
gonna overcook it.

Lynne's biggest concern
was overcooking the pasta.

We're not gonna do it
until last minute, right?

Where are we now?

I've made pasta
tons of times before.

Fresh pasta cooks
in, like, a minute.

I'm thinking,
"oh, God, get over it.

I know what I can
and can't do."

I think it's plenty, Lynne.

Please let's move on.
Can we please just move on?

All right, if it's overcooked,
it's on you.

Okay, that's fine,
but I just want to move on.

Yeah, it's not fine,
because I'll be thrown off too.

I tell her, you know,
it's not just about the pasta.

For the last minute of the dish,

everything else
has to go on there too,

and so I'm trying
to put on show

by kind of not
being too stressed out

or put on a facade of it,
which sucks.

I'm still
not gonna put it in.

Fresh pasta 12 minutes
ahead of time?

I don't think so.

Last couple minutes,
we're tasting a lot.

Especially the sauce.

I think it has
enough horseradish.

Kenny put some more in there.

What's the acid from?
The red wine or the horseradish?

I think it's a combination

of the horseradish
and the red wine.

And I'm pissed.
I mean, like, it needs to be

a group discussion.

The short ribs,
it's all about

the jus or the liquid
that you cook it in.

It's the business.

When Kenny and Kevin
are plating their short rib,

it seems like there's
not a lot of sauce on it,

so they don't have
the business.

Are you confident?
Yes, we're good, right?

Timeline-wise,
I was freaking out.

I just really am stressed out,

because at this point I don't
trust Lynne anymore, so...

I would prefer to see
more of a glaze.

We--we were glazing it.

I had a hard time to find
flavor in that sauce.

I'm surprised that this
is cominur.

Going into service,

Kevin and I, we made it
to the bottom three,

but, you know,
for all I know,

we could end up becoming
one of the best dishes

and win the challenge.

But we have a very clean,
sexy dish.

We prepared braised
beef short rib

with some horseradish.

You have roasted
spaghetti squash,

baby carrots,
roasted potato.

There's a little bit of
tempura horseradish as well.

The braising jus has a little
bit of horseradish as well.

I'm just curious
what you were thinking about

in regards to guests, when
you were conceiving the dish.

Short ribs,
carrots, potatoes,

those are all things
everyone's familiar with.

That's something
that I want eat

when I'm staying in a hotel.

Thank you.
Thank you very much.

It's all there.

I love the crispy horseradish.

But I can't taste
that it's horseradish.

I get a little bit.

I thought the jus
was delicious

on Kenny and Kevin's dish.

- Yeah, but it was not enough.
- Yeah.

This looks pretty gorgeous.

This dish is awesome,

and if I go home for this,

then these judges
have no idea.

We have a braised
beef short rib.

It's served with a
chevre-scented polenta,

roasted shitakes,
and pearl onions.

Finish that with a gremolata.

The garnish
is picked herbs,

and some crispy shallots
for texture.

Third time's the charm.
Enjoy.

This has, like,
a real short rib, dark flavor.

They both, I think,
nailed the short ribs.

I just think the polenta
is, like, very stiff.

They're both very good,
though.

- Hello again.
- Deja vu.

Hello again.

When we drop off the food
to the judges,

I think they could go
one of two ways.

Either, one,
"what is this kid thinking,

giving me
a plate of spaghetti?"

Or two, "he's thinking
outside of the the box

"and giving us something

totally different
from all of his peers."

This is a pineapple
red curry mussel

with squid ink pasta.

It's drenched
with coconut milk

and a focaccia dusted
with coriander and cumin.

Thank you.
Thank you.

The pasta's not cooked.

The pasta, yeah,
is not cooked enough,

but the sauce is good.

The sauce
is the great balance

between lemon and Spice.

I just think it made
a little more sense

conceptually
than the other two dishes.

Okay, thank you all
for joining us.

Let's go back
to judges' table.

Whoo!

- Would you like some wine?
- Yes.

The cool thing is, like,
our starch, we made.

Our--the bread, she--
like, we made.

We flashed all our plates.

Our plates were all hot.

We didn't expect to be here,

but just didn't
see this coming.

Good evening.

Can we please see
Kevin and Kenny,

Arnold and Lynne,

and Andrea and Kelly?

Thank you.

One team had the best dish
of the day,

and one team is going home.

Nora, as our guest judge,

please announce
the winning team.

Well,
the winning team for me

is the team that had
the most wonderful flavors.

Kelly and Andrea.

Thank you.

Kelly and I
wanted it really bad,

and it was time, and I needed
some sort of validation.

Not only do you get your dish
on a Hilton Hotel menu,

Hilton Hotels has also provided
two fabulous prizes.

One of you will get
a six-night trip for two,

including airfare,
to venice, Italy,

at the Hilton
molino stucky.

And the other will get
a trip for two

to Barcelona, Spain,
for six nights,

including airfare,
at the Hilton diagonal mar.

Please come up here
and choose your adventure.

Well, right now,
I feel really great.

I have two elimination wins.

- Spain.
- Italy.

I sneak up on people
sometimes.

I've been telling
my husband for years

that I'll take him to Italy,

so he finally gets to go.

Sweet.
Awesome.

I'm going to Spain.
Super.

I have never
left the country,

so I'm super psyched
about that.

Were you guys happy
with the outcome?

I was happy with
the flavor of the dish.

I think the pasta
was probably undercooked.

I beg to differ.

I think
it was cooked beautifully.

You thought it was cooked.

You seem to be disagreeing.

I'm surprised that this

is coming to surface.

When you planned your dish,

did you do it intentionally

to have black pasta
and black mussels?

Yes.

I think aesthetically,

um, and I think
that it was a beautiful,

contrasting
color presentation.

I just thought
it was absolutely stunning.

I was happy with
the flavor of the dish.

I think it probably
could have been just refined

a little bit more.

Kenny and Kevin.

The team that won,

they did one thing
that you didn't do,

and that was they put
a little bit of glaze

on their short rib.

You chose not to.

Well, we were glazing it.

It was in the oven.
We were basting it.

We moved it to the stove.
We basted it some more.

And when it got to the point

when we felt
the sodium level was complete,

and that's when we stopped.

Did you stop glazing

'cause you thought
it was getting too salty,

or did you stop glazing

'cause you thought
it was glazed enough?

I thought it was
gonna get too salty, because--

did you think
it was glazed enough?

I thought it was
glazed enough.

Did you taste your sauce
before you put it on a plate?

Yes.

And you were happy
with the flavor?

I mean, we were both
very happy

with the viscosity
of the sauce,

the flavor of the horseradish,

we thought that
carried through very well.

I had a hard time to find

the horseradish flavor
in that sauce.

In the dish, actually.

I just want to know why

you think the dish
that you made

should keep you
in this competition.

Because I think we, uh,

we approached the challenge
really well.

We made something
that guests would like.

Uh, we know the dish
was delicious.

It tasted good.
It made sense.

You're proud of the dish?

Yes.

Arnold, why does that dish
keep you in this competition?

I brought
something to the table

that was completely different
from everybody else's.

If I were on a panel
of four judging,

I'd like to see some kind
of creativity

and kind of quirky,
avant-garde approach,

which is a direct reflection

of who I am as a person.

We'll call you in a bit.
Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.

Whoo-hoo!
That side's not fun.

- Yeah, really.
- No, it ain't.

- What'd they say?
- We don't know.

This was a long
day of cooking.

Yeah, it was
a tough challenge.

And because neither one of them
have been consistent

at this point, you know,
it's anybody's game.

We can only base our decision
on today's performance.

That said, I appreciate that
Arnold and Lynne took a risk.

Mussels
and squid ink pasta

is a hard sell
on a hotel menu.

I agree.

Squid ink
scare a lot of people.

And the pasta was not cooked,

so it's too bad,
because that pasta

could have absorbed a lot
of the sauce, being cooked,

and connect the dots
in between the beautiful sauce

and the mussels
and that pasta.

All I want to do
is represent myself.

You have.

And I didn't deviate
from that at all.

Kevin and Kenny,

I think, for me,

I would have preferred
to see more of a glaze.

, I should be on top,
you know?

I'm, like, definitely not
someone that should be,

you know,
on the Bottom.

I couldn't detect
the horseradish flavor.

The other problem I had
with that horseradish tempura

is I wish they didn't
put it in the sauce,

'cause it got soggy
when it went into the sauce.

I wish they just
kept it on top.

I think it would have been
much more successful.

If you don't tell them
how to eat it

and how it's meant to be,
you're not gonna win.

- You're not at that stature.
- Who are you?

No one's gonna listen to you.

I mean, are you crazy?
Are you nuts?

You got to tell them.

You have to instruct
your guests.

You're not one to say, like,
"well, you didn't eat it right."

Okay, okay, chef.

I'm just saying.

I know. You know.
I know.

It's quite a big decision,

because we're losing
two of our chefs tonight.

But I think we know
what we have to do.

So for this challenge,

you were asked to make
a breakfast, a lunch,

and a dinner item

that could be used
on the Hilton menu.

Each team had three chances
to avoid elimination.

Lynne and Arnold,
you went right outside the box,

gave us a great sauce,
a really delicious dish.

The only flaw was the pasta
was somewhat undercooked.

Kenny and Kevin,
we were looking

for a little more glaze
on that short rib,

and the promise of that
horseradish kick in the sauce

just wasn't there.

This is
a very hard decision.

Two of you
will be leaving.

♪ ♪

Lynne and Arnold, please
pack your knives and go.

It's been a very positive

and inspirational
experience for me,

and I'm honod and humbled

to have met u and have
worked with everybody.

I stayed true to what I do,

and I think I really put
a little bright flavor

into the competition.

What's up, yo?
Give it up, guys.

- Good job, man.
- It's us.

We're going home.

I'm sad to be going,

because I came here
to prove to myself

that I still can be the old
beast that I used to be.

I don't want to use a term

like throwing me
under the bus or whatever,

but having heard
for the first time

that Lynne wasn't pleased
with certain executions,

I'm sad that it wasn't
voiced to me,

because I was
under the impression

that everything was fine.

Letting a younger chef
take the lead,

that's my mistake,
but my love of food

tells me that there's a lot more
cooking in my future to be done.

My track record,

I went from being in the middle,
never in the bottom,

being on the winning side,

winning a challenge,

and then all of a sudden
I'm out the next challenge.

And that totally sucks.

But all I can do
is control what I do,

and whatever
other people decide,

it's on them, so...

Next on Top Chef...

This is a train wreck.

It's really difficult
to work as a team.

What are you talking about?

Let's structure
the categories.

Kenny and I
are very strong entities.

I have to step up
and be the leader.

My presence
is the Alpha male presence.

We're losing the subject.

Check the Egos
at the door.

You got to give us all a
chance, or it's not gonna work.

Somebody else has
to compromise besides us.

One minute, 30 seconds.

I just have
to have a vegetable.

- Do you want to take the beef?
- Ooh!