07x06 - Cold w*r

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

What are you talking about?

I'm not following
the team for a category.

I don't want to be judged
on the chopping block.

Let's structure
the Cate--

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!

Duh-duh-duh-duh-duh.
We have to do 34.

The egos just started
sh**ting off.

Angelo and Tamesha,

they're spending
a lot of time together.

She needs to be careful.

Please announce
our winner.

Kenny's eggplant.

You made a decision

that completely
messed with your dish.

Tim, 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.

Uh, Tim's a great guy.
I miss him actually.

Tim went home.
People are a little down.

Tim was kind of the father
figure in the house,

so everybody's
a little somber.

But I really want
to stay clear

and just focus
on what I have to do,

so I keep on changing
my strategy

and just keep on striving
for more.

The last two eliminations,
I have been in the top,

so I really am on it today.

I'm in a good place.
I really am.

So we walk
into the kitchen,

and I see Michelle Bernstein's
our guest judge.

She's an amazing,
amazing Chef

and a really tough critic.

And I see a lot of, uh...

Nasty proteins
on the table,

things that I would
never cook with.

Crocodile,
rattlesnake,

some weird eggs,
which is not really my thing.

Good morning, Chefs.

Please welcome
returning guest judge

and James Beard
award winner.

She's the Chef and owner
of Michy's in Miami,

Michelle Bernstein.

Hi, everybody.

I'm not really happy
to see Michelle Bernstein.

So you know
one of our contestants

from Miami, I gather.

I do.
I know Andrea.

But I'm sure it's not gonna
affect your judgment in any way.

It's all about the food.

Michelle and I
are both Chefs in Miami,

and there's a bit of rivalry
between the two of us.

I'm not so sure
if you sat down

at her restaurant
and my restaurant

that one would be
that much better,

so I guess I'm probably
not comfortable

with her judging me.

So Chefs these days

have the world
at their fingertips

when choosing new ingredients
to impress their diners.

So for
your quickfire challenge,

you'll be making
some delicious dishes

with these outlandish
ingredients.

Oh, my gosh.

I've never, ever ate,

or I have never cooked
any of these.

Let's choose knives
to determine

in what order you pick
your ingredient.

One.

Nine.

Four.

Eight.

Ten.

Seven.
Three.

Five.
Six.

Alex, please come
and pick your poison.

It's an easy choice
for me.

I'll take the foie.

Ah ha ha.
Frog legs. Duh.

Wild boar
sounds good to me.

Yak.

Crocodile.

Have you ever cooked
with duck white kidney?

Never in my life.

Do you know
what they really are?

Oh, God.

They're, um, testicles.

Oh, my God.

Thank God Angelo
got the duck testicles.

So I've used
duck testicles before.

I was working
for Todd English,

and we did duck consomme
with cockscomb,

and then fried duck balls,

so it was called
cock and balls soup.

Ostrich.

Rattlesnake.

I think I'll just
go with the llama.

Duck tongue.

Let me guess.

Emu eggs.

I'm assuming they're
very hard to get into.

You have 45 minutes.

Your time starts now.

♪ ♪

Some of these ingredients
are actually harder than others.

Huh.

Some of them
you don't even really know

how you're supposed
to cook them.

The emu eggs, we don't even
really know how to open it.

And now
it's really all about

sort of how innovative
can we be?

I just poked
one of the testicles,

and it's kind of soft,

and I feel like it's
very similar to a sweet bread,

so I'm going to do
a testicle marshmallow.

But 45 minutes
is not a lot of time.

I mean, one error will
just throw everything off.

I've never cooked
with emu eggs before.

So as I hack into my egg,
I'm thinking,

totally Flintstones--
Bam! Bam!

I'm like having
my own personal pity party

inside my head.

I'm excited.
I love working with Foie gras.

The past three quickfires
have not been up my alley.

This one's right there.

I want to do
a Foie gras torchon.

It's gonna be game over.

I got to choose
the ostrich,

which is the one
I really wanted.

I'm not scared of it.

I've already got
all my mise en place working,

all my sauces are working.

So I'm really happy
about that.

Chefs, can I have
your attention, please?

Please take over the proteins
to your left.

Aw, come on.

You gotta be
Kidding me.

Kelly gets my emu eggs.

I'm like, "thank God."

I kind of feel like,
"back in the saddle,"

because I get
to cook llama.

It actually
works out for me.

Ostrich meat.

Aw, .

Okay, I'm just gonna grab
my salt. I don't wanna get--

On .

So this is the yolks
and this is the whites?

Yeah.

What am I gonna do
with an emu egg?

Ugh.
So this is the yolk?

Yeah.

So I decide
I'm gonna make an omelet.

This has to be
the most perfect omelet to win,

because
it's just an omelet.

I got it.

I went from crocodile
to frog.

Not really a big leap,
no pun intended,

so I'm going to do
the same thing

that I was gonna do
with the crocodile.

Dusting it with a little lemon,
some flour,

and I'm gonna
pan sear it.

Angelo?
What?

Did I thank you
for the duck nuts?

Yeah.

They were big.

I have never worked
with duck testicles

or any testicles.

Don't know
when they're cooked enough

or overcooked.

I have no idea.

So I'm going to baste
them in brown butter

like a meuniere.



Ooh!

I've never cooked
duck tongue.

I don't know its texture,

so I'm just
like, screw it,

I'm gonna make
duck tongue soup.

I am shifting
to wild boar,

and anything
that's like a steak

doesn't frighten m

but mentally,
I'm not totally comfortable

with the judging situation,

and it's getting to me.

You have
five minutes left.

Oh, no.

Watch yourself, honey.
Watch yourself.

Behind you.

Five, four,

three, two,

one. Hands up,
utensils down.

Hello, Tamesha.
Hello.

Meet Chef Bernstein.
Hi, Chef.

Hi, nice to meet you.

I had the, uh,
duck tongue.

I, uh, pressure cooked
with chicken stock, mirepoix,

with a little bit of lime
and sriracha.

Thanks.

Hey, Andrea.
Hey, Michelle.

I had the wild boar.

I put it with a Risotto
that has dried cherries,

parmigiano-reggiano,
mushrooms, and almonds.

The flavors are beautiful.
It's a little chewy.

So I did Foie gras,

and I decided to do it
with a little bit of

the caramelized apples,
toasted pecans,

and a Brandy caramel sauce.

I have here ostrich.

So you have one
that's barded with caul fat

and one that's, uh, barded
with a little basil.

So what have you
made for us, Kevin?

So I got stuck
with the beautiful

duck's testicles.
Uh-huh.

So I cooked
it meuniere-style.

It w lightly poached
and then browned

in a little brown butter.

It's with, uh, braised celery,
beet and licorice puree.

Thank you.
My pleasure.

I knew I had to combat
the texture,

because crocodile
is very chewy,

so I marinated it
in sesame oil, ginger,

garlic, and Chiles.

You've done
a beautiful flavor.

Texture is totally off.

This is obviously
frog leg,

some tomato grits,

seared it off
with just a little flour

and some lemon.

The other side
was confit.

Uh, so I did
rattlesnake two ways.

There's a francese
of the rattlesnake,

and I made
a, uh, rattlesnake cake.

I made Aime omelet

with a little
goat cheese inside.

It dressed
with a harissa vinaigrette,

lemozest, almonds,
olives,

and a little fennel salad.

Thank you.

I ended up with llama.

I had the sauce soubise

and a leek, date,
and bacon compote.

Thank you.

So, Michelle, how did
guysin general?

I think they really
embraced the challenge.

And some of you have done
really an amazing job.

Which dishes
were least successful?

Stephen, the frog legs
were pretty much insipid.

Alex, the ostrich
was rather dry

and the rhubarb sauce
just begged for sweetness.

Andrea, the dish was fine.
It was the boar.

I think if you cooked
it just a little more,

it would have helped.

I'm just disappointed
because I know

what went wrong
was in my head,

and it sucks,
because I'm being called out

by Michelle
on national TV.

Whose dishes
did you like?

Kelly, um, what you did
with that emu egg

was pretty amazing.

Uh, it was creamy,
delicious.

It had a great balance
with sauce around it.

Tamesha, the duck tongue
was cooked

almost to perfection.

It was very smart,
it was very light.

Lastly, um, Amanda,

you did a beautiful job
with that llama.

So, Michelle,
please do us the honor

of announcing the winner.

The person that won
this quickfire,

it had a great balance
on the plate

in texture and in flavor.

And the winner is...

You could do like,
almost like a tempura

like spaetzle.

Again?
Yeah!

The person that won
this quickfire

had a great balance
on the plate,

and the winner is...

Kelly.

Congratulations, Kelly.

That means
you have immunity

in the elimination challenge.

This is
my first quickfire win,

and I'm thrilled,

because there are people
in this kitchen

that do really
complicated food,

but I won immunity.

For your
elimination challenge,

we're launching you
into a cold w*r.

You'll each be making
a dish

best served cold.

You'll be divided
into two groups,

group "a" and group "b."

Chefs in group "a"
will serve their dishes

to the judges
as well as their competitors

in group "b,"
and vice versa.

At the end
of each service,

your group will nominate
one Chef from the other team

for the win
and one for elimination.

I'm thinking that

there's gonna be
a lot of strategy involved.

If there's any inkling
to get a powerful Chef

out of the competition,

this is definitely
a way to do it.

And, Kelly,
because you have immunity,

you'll be dining
with both groups.

All right.

Let's determine your groups
with a Kn*fe pull.

Group "a."

Group "b."

Group "b."
Group "b."

Group "a."
Group "b."

Group "a."

Group "b."

Group "a."

Group "a."

Please get
in your respective groups.

We have a special surprise
for you.

You're going
on a cruise.

You'll do
your menu planning

when sailing
around the Potomac

in the u.S.S. Sequoia.

That's the maritime version
of air force one.

President Kennedy
did meetings

for the Cuban m*ssile crisis
there,

and president Nixon

negotiated a nuclear arms treaty
there as well.

Now you have the importunity
to use this historic setting

to plan
your own cold w*r strategy.

So we arrive
at the u.S.S. Sequoia,

and we're here to do
our planning

uh, for this cold w*r
challenge.

This is
actually kind of cool.

There's a presidential seal
on these glasses.

Oh, yeah?

We're in two teams,

and, basically,
each team is gonna actually

taste each other's food.

The Chefs have to decide
on who's up for the win

and who's up
for elimination.

I think the whole association
with the cold w*r

with the, you ow, paranoia
between Russia and the States

ties into the psyche
of judging each other.

I'm feeling nervous,
'cause I think

that the other Chefs
are out to get me.

El Presidente.

Hey, we're moving.

Actually, I'm thinking
about making a galantine.

I'm thinking
about going old school.

I don't think
at this point

anybody has grasped the gravity
of the situation.

No one really understands
how hurtful,

vulnerable, and scary
the impending challenge...Is.

How about you, shorty?

What are you
thinking about doing?

I'm gonna do
some tempura green beans

to give it
some nice crispiness to it.

Don't do cold tempura.

I can just grab a--
don't do it?

I'm very excited
about my dish.

I think it'll
do just fine,

what you can do is
you could do like,

almost like a tempura
like spaeztle.

I'm just hearing that Angelo's
helping the other Chefs.

That could be a bad thing.

Gotta cook your food,
not Angelo's food.

Dang, girl.

But whatever they want to do
is on them.

That's the way to do it.
It's just craziness.

I don't use a thermometer

or anything like that
for meat, either.

What kind of stuff
do you think people are doing?

I heard, um, Stephen's
doing something

with a beef carpaccio,
I think.

Kevin's doing some kind
of surf and turf.

Yeah.

Eddie and I get along
very well.

Ed is really the only person
that I trust.

There's a lot of strategy
going on,

so I need to watch out
for myself.

Again?
Yeah.

You should do
this tempura and that.

Ultimately, you know, Angelo
giving other people advice,

I don't know where that's
gonna--gonna get him,

unless he's looking
to manipulate other Chefs'

personal insecurities.

I think it's ironic
how Angelo,

who's on another team,

you know, right now,
he's strategically trying

to tell everyone
how to do their stuff.

Coaching everyone?
That's bull.

All right, guys,
let's head to whole foods.

All right, you guys,
I'll see you back at home.

I'm thrilled
that I have immunity.

Thank you.

The opportunity to taste

every single one
of my competitors' food is

in the long run
a great advantage.

Strategy's very critical,

because we're serving
something cold

for the first time,

so I think you have to have
more robust flavors.

Can I see it?

I see the sockeye salmon,
and it's sexy.

It's just vibrant in color,

and I know
that I want to do

olive-oil-poached
sockeye salmon.

Okay.

I'll take 'em all.

I'm thinking
about doing scallops

with a rhubarb jus

with a little bit
of long pepper.

What are you getting?
Scallops.

I know that my flavors
are gonna just pop.

You know, the hard part
of this challenge

is not knowing
what the other Chefs

are gonna say about my food.

Garlic,
I got extra virgin.

You know, as far
as the judging tomorrow,

I'm gonna be
absolutely fair

and only think
about the food.

I'm not even gonna think
about who's cooking it.

Bonito flakes
to make like a little, you know.

Oh, a dashi?

I was looking
for dashi.

They don't have
bonito there.

I set my heart
on filet mignon.

Now it's time
to season this thing up.

I'm thinking pickled shallots,
some crispy rice,

you know,
kind of on a Asian Twist.

Alex is saying
that if Stephen's food was bad,

he still wouldn't
vote him off,

because he loves
his personality in the house.

There you go. Good luck.
Thanks, Austin.

That's fine.

That's just one vote.

I'm about ready to
Robocut that .

I run into a few
technical difficulties.

Please, anyone?

I can probably, uh,
strangle her in a heartbeat.

We arrive
at the Top Chef kitchen

at the Hilton.

We have to make
a cold dish

for the cold w*r challenge.

I'm thinking about
spring and summer flavors.

I'm going with a fennel
and coriander crusted tuna.

It'll be really delicious.

My plan of att*ck is to put
up three beautiful tartares.

I'm still thinking
about the guest judge,

Michelle Bernstein.

Michelle and I were
kind of rising at the same time,

and then we kind of took
a different path.

I got married,
and I started having kids.

She rose up.

I was still a Chef.

I just really
wasn't in the limelight.

So I'm going
for the win today.

I really want to prove myself
with this challenge.

So the dish I'm making
is a surf and turf.

Sliced tuna, sliced veal,
tuna sauce.

This is a good dish
for the challenge,

because it's
a classic cold dish,

uh, simple food,
bold flavors.

I'm feeling
very confident.


and 14 minutes.

I'm showing two different
techniques with the lamb.

One that is cooked
a little bit more,

one that's a carpaccio

because I want the flavor
of the lamb to come through.

When the competitors
see my dish,

I hope that they get
that lump in their throat,

knowing that I'm a thr*at.

I'm just worried
that they're gonna put me

in the bottom
because of it.

I am making
a chicken galantine,

which is sort of like
a terrine of a whole animal.

I run into
a few technical difficulties.

I'm about ready to
Robocut that .

Amanda, as usual,
is running around quite a bit.

Does anyone have cheesecloth
on their station?

Please, anyone?

Just take a chill pill,
please.

I have some here,
but it's used.

Was that the last of it?
I don't know.

Amanda and I have
personality differences.

If you Gnocchi
in front of them,

they're gonna slam you
for .

I will not Up
the gnocchi.

It's not gonna
look that great.

So I just stay away,

because I can probably
strangle her in a heartbeat.

Anybody have sugar?

Can I see black pepper?

Absolutely.

How is it?

It's good.
It has a little--

it has a little bit
of heat to it.

Angelo and I are
really good friends.

I feel like
I'm on the same page

as far as his palate, uh,

is concerned
in comparison to mine.

Needs the sugar, no?

Yeah, I know,
I need more sugar.

I don't really know
what Angelo's motive is.

Perhaps this is part
of his cold w*r tactic.

Wait a little bit longer.

Just wait. It's gonna be
worth it. Trust me.

Do I trust
everybody in the house?

No. No, not at all.

There are these conspiracies,

and I'm here to play
tactical games.

I'm here to play
and win.

We got four minutes
to wrap this cart.

Taste that, Steve.

Two of
the strongest competitors

are on either team.

Kenny has won almost
as many times as Angelo.

That is good.
That's gonna be successful.

Those are
the kind of people that,

maybe if they were
out of the competition,

a lot of other people
would have

a little breathing room.

And that's a lot of power
in our hands.

Smile!
Zero!

So we arrive
in this stately room in D.C.

For our cold w*r challenge.

Who's got,
uh, Fleur De sel.

It is very serious
in there.

We are all very focused.

Everybody's worried
because we're gonna be judged

by our peers today.

The people
that are judging me

are Tamesha, Tiffany,
Stephen, Angelo, and Andrea.

I don't have any beef
with any of these people

in the other group,

so I don't think there
will be no personal att*ck

on me and my food.

Sea salt.
Thank you.

So we're up to cook first.

Part of the challenge is

when group "b"
grades group "a,"

they'll select
a top dish

and a losing dish
and vice versa.

It makes me very nervous.



I'm ready
for every battle.

There's not a battle that
I'm not ready for,

so this is just
like any other day.

I think from
a competitive standpoint,

they all have to be thinking

that Kenny gets done
pretty quick,

he's usually on the top.

You know, if they could vote
for someone to be on the bottom,

okay, the thought process
is really quick.

We want the person that

is gonna be a stud
every single day

to get out of the house.

Psst.

Salt? Pepper?

Yeah, I'm gonna
season the terrine.

Amanda comes by,
she gives me a piece

of the chicken galantine
to try.

I think there's
a little cartilage,

but I'm not gonna
say anything.

It is a game.

Five minutes, guys.

♪ ♪

Time is up,

and I'm
a little bit nervous,

because I didn't execute
at the level I wanted to.

You know, someone
is gonna go home today,

and it's gonna be
at the hands

of our fellow Chefs.

I just hope everyone's
professional enough

to make the right decisions.

Hello, Chefs.

Thank you
for joining us.

Thank you.

So are you excited to eat
your competitors' food?

Sure.
Yes, very.

It's actually gonna be
quite interesting

to be in the judges' shoes.

I know
I can be a bit harsh.

I'm gonna try not to let
my personal qualms at anybody

affect my judging.

Amanda,
why don't we start with you?

I've made
a chicken galantine

with a plum
and marsala compote,

and there's some
lightly dressed mache.

I made a surf and turf.

Tuna and veal,
romaine leaves,

pine nuts, dressed
with Mediterranean condiments.

I did a duo
of grilled lamb.

Uh, one is served
as a salad.

On the far right, you actually
have it carpaccio style.

And then we have a black-eyed
pea hummus in the center,

garnished
with a mustard seed twill.

Well, I did sous vide lamb,
beet puree,

a little tzatziki,

and a little
Pumpkin seed dust

that's added
to the whole plate.

I did a chilled cucumber
vichyssoise,

and then a vodka-cured
sockeye salmon

on top
of pumpernickel bread.

Thank you.
Thanks.

Thank you.

Let's start
with Kenny's lamb.

I thought, um,
Kenny's lamb

was a little chewy.

The experience
with the okra and the carpaccio

was not a great one.

It just turned
into like a slimy like...

I just k*lled the lamb
and ate it just right there.

Alex's dish.

I thought Alex's tzatziki,

it w kind of heavy.

The beet,
like everything else,

just needed
a little salt,

and maybe pickling that beet

or getting a little texture
by roasting or something.

I just needed a little more
of everything.

Amanda's.

The galantine itself could
do with a little bit of salt,

and it would really bring out
the flavors a little bit more.

Actually, the meat
wasn't cold enough,

and I could taste
the proteins

congealing
or coagulating.

I think that I got
a little piece of something

really hard like cartilage.
Cartilage.

I'm hoping that
the other group

sends home Amanda,

because I think we've
all had enough of her.

I think she's
just been lucky

the whole time
she's been here.

The surf and turf
from Kevin.

Kevin's dish was really
beautiful to look at,

but because of its lack
of acidity,

it kind of was one note
in your mouth.

I would like the acidity.

I'm all about using
zest and citrus

to boost up the flavor
a little bit.

Did nobody else get the Meyer
lemon slices that were on there?

I got like one--

also the tomato had
a lot of acid.

I mean, I don't, uh...
Okay.

I thought Kevin's dish
was nice.

Acidity,
I was fine with.

The Chefs are being
harsh on the dishes.

It's making me very nervous
about my dish.

I'm like, "oh, my gosh,
I mean, seriously?"

This is our final dish.

It's Ed's.

I actually would prefer
to have eaten

everything separately.

I think the pumpernickel
is like a dry sponge.

It was--
it wasn't pleasant.

And there were large segments
of lemon on there,

which he should have
like broken down.

So now we do have to choose
the most successful dish

and the least successful
from this group.

We're in a powerful position,
oddly enough.

We get to nominate
the best and the worst.

We're going to help decide
who is going home,

so I hope that everyone
will be fair.

You know, it's not easy.

As far as balance goes
and flavor,

Kevin was the winner for me.

I agree that Kevin's dish
was the most successful.

I concur.

If the pumpernickel
on here

would have been
a little bit different

then it would have been
a whole different concur,

but, um,
yes, I concur.

Kevin's dish was
definitely the star on this--

on the table today.

Might as well
eat our food, right?

What was the least favorite
dish from this group?

For me,
it was pretty clear.

I thought Kenny's dish,

I thought the vision
was convoluted.

The flavors
were very muddled.

I agree. Too many things
combating in my mouth.

Kenny's dish,
I thought it was

just texturally
unsuccessful,

and I think that that
was the worst dish.

I'm having a hard time
between Amanda's and Kenny's,

and it's hard for me
to get over the fact

that I'm chewing
on a piece of cartilage.

What's worse,
a conceptual mistake

or a technical mistake?

The technical for me
ruined the dish.

There you go.

For me, it would have to be,
uh, Kenny.

Majority rules,

and Kenny will go up
for elimination,

and Kevin will be up
for the win.

Okay.

It's time for u guys
to go cook.

Thank you very much.
Good luck.

Thanks.

After sitting here
discussing these dishes,

I really don't feel
that there was any sabotage

or any, uh, scheming.

But maybe it's my naivete.

Maybe somebody will
try and submarine me.

I still think my dish
is solid.

I really need a boost
right now.

I really didn't enjoy
the flavors.

There was a dish in there,

but it was hard
for us to find it.

I'm not really
letting Angelo bother me.

It's funny, I actually
have known him

for a number of years.

We used to date
the same girl.

Back in college,
he was going out

with this very pretty girl,

and then shortly after,
I started dating her

while she was seeing him.

It's all right. I used
to bang his girlfriend.

So it's time
for my group to cook,

and the other group
will be judging us.

At this point,
I'm worried

that my dishes
may be too simple.

People's doing trios
and duos and...

All kind of stuff.

So I started to kind
of question,

am I doing the right thing?

But it's too late
to change.



As I'm preparing to plate
the piece of salmon,

I kind of got
a little anxious,

and I wanted to amplify
the seasoning,

so I put a little bit
more condiment.

As I'm doing it, I know
that I'm putting too much,

but for some reason,
I keep on,

in the back of my mind just,

you know,
just kick it up a notch.

If I'm gonna get nailed
for something,

it's gonna be
'cause it's too intense.

Anybody know the time?
Five minutes.

After sitting out there
and seeing

all the crucial mistakes
that they made,

I'm gonna be positive
that I won't make

the same mistake.

I want to leave
my other Chefs

with a new experience
they haven't had before,

especially with using
the rhubarb and the long pepper.

There'll be a sweetness

as well as
a slight peppery note.

I feel it could be
the winning dish.



Hello, Chefs.
Hello.

You should have heard
what they said about your food.

Oh, my God.
I tell ya.

Be careful.
It's like a baby. Thank you.

For me, it's not hard to
separate my personal feelings

from the food
on the plate.

But people have opinions
about their competitors

that will be difficult
to shake

during the judging process.

Let's start
with you, Tiffany.

I did a fennel and
peppercorn crusted ahi tuna

with a gazpacho sauce

and a cucumber
and arugula salad underneath.

I did a slow-poached
sockeye salmon,

cilantro and Chile condiment
on top of the fish,

and a beautiful
pineapple tea.

I made a trio of tartares.

Tuna tartare
with red Chile oil,

a mushroom and fennel tartare
with roasted beets,

and then a steak tartare.

I prepared chilled
sliced beef,

jalapeno oil, and crispy rice
to garnish the beef.

I have lightly seared
scallops

with a rhubarb jus,

and then rhubarb that's pickled,
long pepper, and basil.

Thank you all.

Let's start with Tiffany's.

I thought the gazpacho flavors
were excellent.

I think
it's quite refreshing.

Beautifully prepared tuna.
It's perfectly seared.

How you feel
about it now?

Think it tastes good.

Andrea.

I like the flavors,

but the beef
needed more seasoning.

Definitely needed
a little something

on each component.

Stephen's chilled beef.

This doesn't
blow my socks off.

I'm not wanting to necessarily
take another bite.

I basically couldn't
taste the beef at all.

It's like that saying,
like, "where's the beef?"

Tamesha's scallops.

Too spicy.

If you don't know
what long pepper tastes like,

now you do.
I know.

It's very strange.

My least favorite thing
was the scallop.

I didn't like
the texture of it.

Like the top was cooked,

and the bottom
was like raw.

It did have
a funky flavor.

Angelo's dish.

With Angelo's dish,
the problem I had with it

is that once I took a bite,

I couldn't really appreciate
the flavor of the salmon.

We've seen a lot
of Asian stuff in this group,

and it's kind
of running together.

Who from this group
is up for the win?

Without a doubt in my mind,
it was Angela's dish.

That's the one dish
I would like to eat more of.

Bottom line.

As much as I loved
Angelo's dish,

it was just too spicy
for me.

It was overwhelming.

The only dish here
that I think I could eat

its entirety
would definitely be Tiffany's.

Tiffany's my--
yeah, my favorite.

I would have to say
Tiffany's dish.

Tiffany is my favorite.

Tiffany will be
up for the win.

Who had the least
favorite dish here?

Tamesha had
my least favorite dish.

I just thought it was
kind of a train wreck.

I'm gonna have to agree
with Tamesha,

although Stephen's
wasn't much better.

Tamesha's dish was
a little unappetizing.

Um, I'll have to say
Tamesha's dish.

I would have to say, yes,
Tamesha's dish

didn't really come together
whatsoever.

Tamesha will be up
for elimination.

I want to thank you all
for joining us today,

and we'll see you back
at judges' table.

Thank you.
Good luck to all of you.

End of service,
I have very mixed emotions

about my food,

and I'm hoping that,
you know, everything worked.

We don't know what
the other group said about u

I mean, that's
a little nerve-racking.

I had a really big piece
of cartilage in mine.

I had a really big piece
and a small piece,

and I couldn't
get past it.

Oh, my God.
And it just,

that was all I could
concentrate on,

'cause it was rather big,

and I was biting on it,
it was really hard.

When I hear that,
I'm pretty much convinced

that I'm going
back to the bottom

and I could go home.

We all were in consensus

that Kenny was our
least favorite, unfortunately.

We just felt that
there was so much going on,

and we really didn't understand
the vision.

I'm really tripping out
because I...

Didn't understand why I would be
on the bottom.

There's people that made
bigger mistakes,

but it is what it is.

It's would you rather
Kenny to go home,

or would you rather
Amanda to go home?

Who's the thr*at
in the house?

Well, see what happens.

We'd like to see
Tiffany...

And Kevin.

♪ ♪

Congratulations.

You have the top dishes.

Yay!

Tiffany and Kevin, both of
you were voted in by your peers,

but we also were pretty much
in agreement with your peers.

Kevin, one of the things
that struck the most

was the beautiful
textural contrast,

the pine nuts contrasting
with that really rich sauce.

It came together
really beautifully.

Thank you.

Tiffany.

The tuna was perfectly seared,
which is nice to see.

It was sered evenly
on all sides

this was probably the most
refreshing dish we had.

Everybody sort of wanted
to keep eating it,

and that's definitely
why you're up here.

Thank you.

Michelle,
as our guest judge,

please announce the winner
for this elimination challenge.

The Chef that made the dish
that was just delectable...

Is Kevin.
Yes!

Yeah.

Getting the win
is huge, you know.

It's a monkey off my back.

Congratulations, Kevin.
Thank you.

Thank you.
Job well done.

I'm extremely excited.

It doesn't get
much better than this.

So, Kevin, for winning
the cold w*r,

we're gonna send you
to somewhere warm.

You'll get six nights
at the Hilton Hawaiian village,

including airfare,

courtesy of Hilton hotels,

and dinner for two
at Bali by the sea.

Thank you.
Wow!

My wife and my daughter
and our new baby,

this is gonna be
an amazing vacation for us.

We need you to send back

some of your colleagues,
unfortunately.

At the same time,
I'm not here for that win.

I'm here for the big one.

And I got a trip,
six days in Hawaii.

I got you, Kevin.
Nice.

Now I got to, uh, announce
the bad news unfortunately.

The judges want to see
Tamesha and Kenny.

Good luck, guys.

Good luck, guys.

♪ ♪

Kenny and Tamesha,

the two of you are here
because your peers

elected you here.

How are you feeling
about now, Tamesha?

I'm actually quite surprised
to be here,

to be honest.

Why the choice
to use the long pepper?

I've made the jus before
with long pepper

to have that just little bit
of numbness to it,

but not enough where
it's like overpowering.

That long pepper,
really strong,

really overpowering.

Maybe I'm not sure
if there was like too much--

maybe there was
too much jus on the plate

for the amount of scallops.

It was really odd.

You cooked one side
of the scallop,

and it sat
in this viscous sauce.

It almost took on

an even more kind of
a raw texture in your mouth,

where you're almost putting

another tongue
on top of your tongue.

It was hard to get through.

There are a couple of things
that I would change,

but I do stand
behind my dish 100%.

Between the jalapeno
and ginger and orange

and long pepper
and rhubarb, sugar, vinegar,

the scallop got lost here.

There's a dish in there,

but it was hard
for us to find it.

Kenny?

I felt that,
from presentation

to the straightforward flavors,

that my dish was sound.

It's one dish.
You have two parts of it.

There was nothing
to really bridge

those two pieces together.

The seasoning
on both sides

were exactly the same.

Capers, red bell peppers,
scallions.

There was so much that diluted
those pure flavors

that we really couldn't taste
that commonality at all,

and I think it was lost.

Why do you think your peers
voted you here?

I feel that I'm a thr*at

to the other competitors
and other team.

It would make more sense

they'd try to get me
out of the picture

than it would maybe
some of the other competitors,

because I'm consistently
in the top.

Can I say something
as a person

that really just got here?

I really didn't enjoy
the flavors of the dish.

If I could sit here
and actually talk about

each piece
that was on the dish,

it would take me through
till the end of the show.

We'll call you back shortly.

That'll be all for now.
Thank you.

Thank you.

Is the Chef there?

Hey, guys.
How'd it go?

The scallops, I should have
evenly cooked them more

or just served them raw.

Kenny thought his dish
was straightforward.

There were 17 to 25 ingredients
on that plate.

How in any sense
of the word

is that straightforward?

Most of his dishes
have been very complicated,

sometimes convoluted,

but at least everything
was cooked nicely.

This was not.

The lamb itself
was kind of gummy.

It was kind of like mealy.

It wasn't very good.

And we didn't even hit
on that puree.

I didn't care
for that at all.

Couple less things
could have made it, you know,

spectacular, but it just
kind of got lost.

Tamesha's flavors
were at w*r with themselves.

They were infighting.

It just was
not a successful dish,

and it's not because of what
she tried to put together.

It's how she put them
together.

Plus the way she cooked
the scallop itself

was really off.

It was shockingly bad.

I mean, you saw everybody
go around the table and eat it.

Everybody has the same
impression, just like...

"Oh, God."

We have our answer then.

Absolutely.

Okay, let's get them
out here.

♪ ♪

For tonight's challenge,

you were asked
to create a cold dish.

Each of you came up
with something very different,

and each of you are here
for very different reasons.

Kenny, a lot going on.

Usually, you pull them
together.

Unfortunately, tonight,
this dish didn't come together.

Tamesha,
often your dishes work.

I think if you go back
and rework this one,

it might be a great dish,
but tonight it wasn't.

The cold w*r finally ended.

Unfortunately,
for one of you,

your time on Top Chef
is gonna end.

♪ ♪

Tamesha, please
pack your knives and go.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tamesha.

F-ing going home
for some bull.

Nice knowing
all of you guys.

I don't think it's fair
I'm going home tonight

for a minor mistake.

Angelo did have a hand
in Tamesha's dish,

and he tasted everything.

He knew the flavors,

and you just have to
watch people.

But you gotta be responsible
for your own stuff

and don't trust everybody.

Everybody's
not trustworthy people.

Point blank.

Come here, baby girl.

Angelo is a mentor to me,
but I wish I took

a little bit more control
over my dish.

I think I did
a pretty good job

at keeping up
with everybody else that's,

you know, 10, 15 years
of experience ahead of me,

so I'm definitely
proud of myself.

Captioning by [font color="#00ff00"]captionmax[/font]
[font color="#00ff00"]www.Captionmax.Com[/font]

next on Top Chef...

Is it cold?
No, no.

If Tiffany's fiance
caught wind of anything

that was going on,
ed would be in big trouble.

This is the first time
they've ever

handed over the palm
to anyone else.

Everyone is definitely
feeling the pressure.

Aw, man!

Pea puree.

Where the hell
is the pea puree?

Did somebody take it?

Alex, did you see
that pea puree?

I haven't seen it.

The only person
that has a pea puree

on their dish is Alex.

That bass thing on Alex's plate
is the English pea-puree.