06x06 - Penn & Teller

[bunniefuu]

[Padma]

Previously



On

Top chef...

[Mike] no way!

[Eli] is padma sleeping

In a teepee too?

-[Metal clanging]

-Holy [bleep], this is hot.

This is my idea

Of a living hell.

You have a sword?

[Jennifer]

Ron is screaming



For a sword.

I'm a little scared.

[Mike] anyone seen

The blair witch project?

[Laughing]

Tastes like I just sucked

On a piece of chlorine.

Tom's walking away.

[Padma] congratulations, bryan.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Mattin, please pack

Your knives and go.

[Padma]

At stake for the winner,



A feature



In

Food & wine

Magazine,



$, Of merchandise



Provided by macy's,



A showcase at the annual



Food & wine

Classic in aspen,



And $,

To help turn their

Culinary dreams into reality,

Furnished by the makers



Of the glad family of products

And the title of top chef.

[Rock music]

♪ ♪

Today, we are going

To represent mattin.

[Mike]

Everyone loves mattin.



I went into mattin's closet,



And I pulled out his scarves.



We were all excited



To wear his colors



And represent him.



I think that he's



A better cook



Than some of the people

That are still here.

Robin, I don't understand

Why she's still here.

She can't cook for [bleep].

[Robin] we used

To have neighbors

When we were really young

In california

And they would go

And collect rattlesnakes.

So they had, like, a wall

Full of rattlesnake pelts

And a whole jar

Full of the rattlers.

That was the coolest part--

Was the rattlers.

[Jennifer]

I think robin



Has gotten lucky so far.

And a lot of people are

Just getting fed up with it.

[Robin]

The general consensus is



I should've been



The one that was gone.



I'm proud of what



I've accomplished,



And I'm gonna probably



Be putting out

"Simple" food compared

To some other people out there,

But I think that



In and of itself



Sets me apart.

Oh. I'll say,

He packed a lot of scarves.

[Laughter]

Please help me welcome

James beard award winner,

The lovely michelle bernstein.

Thanks for having me.

Michelle's actually eaten in

My restaurant in atlanta before.

And michelle likes



Very clean and simple food,



And so we'll have to see

How that translates out

For everyone.

Las vegas is

The land of temptation,

And there's a constant battle

Between the angel

On your left shoulder

And the devil on your right.

So for your quickfire challenge,

We'd like you to make a duo

That represents

Your personal battles as a chef

Between the angels and devils

On your shoulders,

Like the battle

Between being healthy

And clogging

Your diners' arteries.

You'll have one hour,

And the winner of this quickfire

Will indeed get immunity

In the elimination challenge.

Your time starts now.

[Ash]

I decide to do



A duo of custards.

I'm taking

A pretty big risk,

But if I execute it perfectly,

I know that I'd win a quickfire

With two custards.

[Eli]

I want to do scallops



Two ways.



My devil is really fatty,



And then the angel is



Pretty much fat-free.



I deserve to win



This quickfire,

Because I'm the best

[Bleep] cook here.

-Right next to you.

-Thank you.

[Robin]

My inspiration was being



Diagnosed with cancer



And knowing



That sugar's bad for me,

But not wanting to give

Everything up.

That was my angel and demon,



Balancing the struggle

Between wanting to be bad

And knowing what's right for me.

[Michael] want me to show you

How to do it?

I know how to do it.

Shut up, you [bleep].

[Bryan]

I've won three



Elimination challenges,

But I believe in quickfires,

I've been trying to do

Way too much.

So I'm simply gonna do

A dessert

With different colors

And flavors and textures.

Well, can't lie

About that one.

[Ash] my coffee custards is not

Setting at all.

I got kind of heated eggs.

[Padma] utensils down, hands up.

[Padma] hi, michael.

-Padma, how are you?

-Good.

-Chef, how are you?

-Nice to meet you.

For my devil,

I did modern smoked salmon.

For the angel,



I did traditional,

A rillette of smoked salmon.

So it's more

Modern versus traditional.

Very interesting.

Thank you.

[Padma] hi, kevin.

I've chosen alaskan halibut,

Which is really light and fresh.

The devil part



Of this comes from pork



With deviled egg puree.

[Padma] that's a big,

Fat piece of bacon, kevin.

That's the bad part

About it.

[Padma] hello, ron.

[Ron] my devil

And angel today is

Chilean sea bass



With a carrot and yucca.

There's a lot of bones

In your...

[Michelle] ooh,

I didn't get that.

-[Padma] hi, ashley.

-I did scallop two ways.

Scallop crudo, really delicate.



My devil side,



I wanted to do something



Really salty, aggressive.

So I made a puttanesca

With a seared scallop.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-[Padma] hello, eli.

I made a radish top pesto.

My devil is

A barley risotto

With a little truffle-banyuls,

Brown butter,

And reduced cream.

So real cheap thrills.

My favorite kind of thrill.

[Padma] hi, bryan.

Representing the angel--

An all-white dessert.

These flavors are



Coconut lychee,



Lavender, and vanilla.



And then the devil part is



A rich dark-chocolate mousse.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

Hello, padma.

I have scallops two ways.

My angel is cooking

Very light and simple.

My devil is using butter.

That sauce is actually

Very addictive.

Thank you very much.

My biggest devil was time,

So I only got

One custard done.

It's a spicy asparagus custard



With a pink peppercorn



Shortbread.

You had a lovely coffee custard

On the other side.

It was delicious in my head.

In my head,

I will imagine it.

Great. Thank you.

But I think next time

I'll stick to simple things.

-Hi, robin.

-Four years ago,

I got diagnosed

With two kinds of lymphoma,

And I got obsessed with raw food

And eating healthy.

So it's arugula salad.



Everything's organic.



On the sweet-tooth side, I



Paired it with an apple crisp.

This is lovely--

Nice and simple.

-Thank you.

-[Michelle] it's very nice.

[Padma] hi, laurine.

My angel is a consomme

With chicken.

And so for my devil,



It's a saltimbocca.

Topped it with a piece

Of prosciutto.

-Thank you.

-[Padma] hi, mike.

My angel is

Cucumber-yogurt soup.

My devil side is rack of lamb



That I served over a couscous



With a little mint in there.

This is a little bit too salty.

So, michelle, who were

Some of your least favorites?

Ash, I'm really sorry.

I know that you had

The whole custard situation,

But it was a little



Too overwhelming on the heat,



And the custard was



A little runny.

Bryan...

What a beautiful concept.

I just don't think



The execution was



Maybe what you wanted.

Uh, lastly would be laurine.

Nothing new,

Nothing inspiring whatsoever



On the plate.

Who had some

Of your favorite dishes today?

Michael.

That was a bite

That transported me,

And it was ex*cuted perfectly.

Thank you.

Uh, eli.

That brown butter



On that risotto was awesome,

And then your radish pesto

Were a great bite.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Robin.

To walk into that salad

Was an absolute pleasure,

And then to contrast it

With your apple crisp,

It was really nice.

I mean, most people think

That that would be so simple,

But honestly,

You ex*cuted it really well.

Thank you very much.

Okay, so, michelle,

Please announce the winner

Of this quickfire.

The one that really showed us

The true angel versus devil...

Is robin.

[Padma] congratulations, robin.

[Robin]

And I'm, like,



Beside myself.

In less than hours,

I went from the bottom

To the top,

And that, in and of itself,

Is encouraging,

And I know

That I deserve to be here.

[Padma] robin,

This gives you immunity

In the next

Elimination challenge.

That's a pretty good way

To win a quickfire,

Just tell people

You have [bleep] cancer.

"When I had cancer,

I could eat this,

And when I didn't,

I ate this."

It's like, oh, okay.

I mean, weak.

For your next

Elimination challenge,

We have one

Of las vegas' dynamic duos.

Please help me give

A warm welcome

To penn & teller.

[Kevin]

I'm a huge fan



Of penn & teller.



I think they're hilarious.

Like, their whole point is,

Like, debunking magic

And being funny about it,



So I love them.

We're gonna do for you

What's considered by most people

To be the absolute beginning

Of all magic.

I mean, you've seen this

All over the world--

The classic version

Of the cups and ba*ls.

You take the ball,

Place it in your hand,

Vanish it,

It appears underneath the cup.

And for that center ball,

Place it visibly

Underneath the center cup.

We take the two side ba*ls

Really where we want,

Because they always regroup

Beneath the center cup.

We need an american finish,

And, of course,

Bigger is always better.

So you have a giant ball beneath

The center cup,

One more giant ball

On either side,

And, of course, for the finish,

It's a lime!

Now, the first rule of magic is

You never do the same

Trick twice, so we're going to.

We want to do a penn & teller

Version of the cups and ba*ls

Which deconstructs it

With clear plastic cups.

[Laughter]

We take the first ball,

Pretend to place it in our hand,

Had already snuck it

Underneath the first cup.

Now we're all set

For the second half--

Three cups all loaded,

Two ba*ls on top.

Take the center ball,

Place it in the cup.

Each of the side ba*ls--

We're gonna put them away.

We don't need them anymore.

We have three duplicates

In a cup.

We see ba*ls come over here.

This is not juggling.

This is called misdirection,

For I look over here,

Toss this final ball under,

One more on either side.

And, of course,

For the finish--it's a lime!

So, chefs,

For your elimination challenge,

You will take a cue

From penn & teller.

You'll be deconstructing

A classic dish.

[Michael]

Deconstruction is



To take apart each element



Of that dish

And then allow the diner

To put it together on the plate,

And that--by the time



They take the last bite,



They've tasted



The original dish

And what it's supposed

To taste like.

Pull the first knife

And tell us what you've got.

-"Meat lasagna."

-"Caesar salad."

"Shepherd's pie."

-"New england clam chowder."

-"Sweet and sour pork."

-"Fish 'n' chips."

"Chicken mole n*gro."

[Kevin]

I draw



Chicken mole n*gro.

I made a very close

Approximation of that

In the last challenge

And didn't fare so well.

-"Reuben."

-"Eggs florentine."

-"Pot roast."

-"Paella."

[Ron] I make a lot of paella.

It's on my menu.

So I feel good.

I kind of feel good.

Tomorrow

You'll be serving in pairs

To michelle bernstein,

Penn & teller,

Tom colicchio,

And back from england,

Toby young.

[Ashley]

The stakes are



That much higher



Now that toby young,

The meanest guy

In food criticism,

Is gonna be sitting

At the table.

[Padma] off you go.

[Bryan]

The elimination challenge

Is to deconstruct a classic dish

Into something

That's not recognizable,

But feels, tastes,

And smells of the original dish.

-Can you take the bloodline off?

-Yeah.

Thanks.

I'm gonna deconstruct

A traditional reuben.

I'm gonna challenge myself

By curing smoked tuna

In the same style

That you would pastrami.

Give me seven

New zealand mussels.

Eight, make it eight. I think

I got this one in the bag.

Wish me luck.

Produce guy, produce guy.

-[Eli] what's your dish?

-[Jennifer] meat lasagna.

[Eli] for some reason,

I feel like you're not

Enthusiastic about it.

-Nah.

-[Laughs] nah!

-Nah.

-[All laughing]

[Jennifer]

My whole plan is



To just get



Every single component



That I can

And then figure it out

As I get to the kitchen to cook.

What are you making today,

Sunshine?

Shepherd's pie.

What are you making, sunshine?

Uh, florentine and

Huevos.

-Do you know how to make that?

-Uh, no.

[Mike]

So I got eggs florentine.

I don't know what it is,

So I'm kind of scratching

My head,

And I'm thinking like



An omelet maybe

With spinach and stuff.

I call it

"Eggs foreign to me."

It's tough. I can't go online



And look for recipes.



Bottom line is



I'm gonna do my food,

And I'm gonna put

My little touches on it,

And I'm gonna make

My eggs florentine.

And you're gonna like it.

You know, that's that.

[Michael]

I'm having a blast



With this challenge.

I'm deconstructing

A caesar salad.

I'm baking bread.

I'm spherifying dressing.



I'm making emulsion



Out of egg yolks.

[Kevin] hey, if anyone

In here is using bread,

Don't throw away your scraps.

Kevin, I'm baking fresh bread.

You can have some of mine.

[Bryan] michael's baking his

Own bread and his own brioche.

So, you know, show-off.

It's just a loaf of bread,

Chef, relax.

My toughest competition is

Probably the voltaggio brothers.

Deconstructing food



Is something



That they're pretty good at.



I've made mole n*gro



Many times before.



I've never deconstructed it,



But I do feel like I have been



Given a second chance

To show the judges that I do

Understand what mole n*gro is.

And this time I plan on

Hitting it out of the park.

[Laurine] one hour, !

I'm still trying to put

The dish together in my head.

This challenge for me is hard,



Because



I am classically trained,

And I'm not used to

Deconstructing dishes.

I'm sabotaging myself.

[Jennifer]

My confidence



Right now--it's not great.



I just know how strong



Everybody else is,



So I'll come up



With some crazy idea

Of how to make meat lasagna

Look beautiful on the plate.

What the [bleep]?

[Ron]

To deconstruct the paella,



I'm gonna smoke the chicken.



I'm gonna make



A saffron broth,



Put some garnish



On the plate, you know,

To make it chic.

[Bleep]!

I make so many paella

In my restaurant,

So I'm confident



About creating good paella



And think this challenge is

Probably the challenge

I'm gonna win.

[Eli] I feel like ron doesn't

Really totally understand

What deconstructed means.

Just taking one component,

Removing it, and redoing it

--

Is not deconstructed paella.

I am deconstructing



Sweet and sour pork.



My digital pressure cooker



That I brought with me is



Taped up with a whole bunch



Of blue tape,



Because the careful



Baggage handlers



Have kind of given it



A licking,

So it's kind of turned

Into a franken-cooker

More than anything else.

[Ashley]

We didn't really eat



A lot of beef growing up,



Because we were really poor.

I actually really love

The flavor of pot roast

But I really hate

The texture of it,

And so this dish for me is



About execution.

-[Loud thud]

-[Bleep]!

-Oh, no.

-[Eli]

The safety latch



On my pressure

Cooker

Decides



To unleash the fury of hell

And explodes out onto me

And bryan.

-Bryan, you okay?

-Yeah.

[Ash]

This thing's ghetto.



The

Top chef

Kitchen is packed

With pressure cookers

In the back,

But he's got

His own magical one.

I don't know



What he was thinking.

I don't like chowder,

So I'm gonna deconstruct

This clam chowder

By making

A braised-fennel flan.

You know, I have my immunity.



I'm gonna have fun.

I want to just play with it.

You guys get steamed.

Most of you are soup.

[Robin] I'm not really paying

Attention

To what other people are

Doing, really.

I'm kind of enjoying

My moment of glory.

Remember to turn those off

In a minute.

I need some serious water.

I need some paper.

I'll use foil.

[Laurine]

Robin just likes



To make comments



About everything



That is going on,



And today



I'm really stressed out,



And I'm in a bad mood,



And I've, like, had enough.

I so want to make

Funny noises. Whoo!

[Laurine]

I'm really frustrated.



I have fish and chips,



And I'm having



A lot of problems getting



These potatoes



To get crispy.



So I'm pretty much standing



By the oven

And, like, babying

These chips.

[Robin] hey, laurine, will you

Pull my pancetta out?

Sorry.

I know you're busy too.

[Laurine]

Now she's asking me



To help her.

So now I'm, like, ready

To k*ll her.

Oh, you rock.

Thank you so much.

Oh, you got your [bleep]

To worry about, honey.

Yeah, well, I'm trying

To get these potatoes done.

-Hey, ash.

-Hey, chef, how are you?

You have a lot of experience

With shepherd's pie?

I guess I know the flavors.

What I like about it is

The texture

Of the mashed potatoes

With all the meat

And everything, so...

I'm gonna do like

A little puree

And... I don't know,

Some textures

And some flavors and stuff.

Really, right now you have

No idea what you're doing,

But you're doing lamb

And mashed potatoes.

I know that I'm doing lamb--

The rest of it

You're gonna figure out.

Yeah. I'll have

Something beautiful, I hope.

[Jennifer] I see chef tom in the

Kitchen talking to everybody,

And I know he keeps

Trying to talk to me

And get on my station,

But I just keep running



Away from him,

Because I don't have time

Right now to talk to him.

-Hey, ron.

-I need some luck.

Why luck?

'Cause I always make

Traditional paella.

Well, the challenge is to make

It untraditional, so...

-Any good trick?

-I can't tell you what to do.

-Oh!

-All I can do is ask questions.

-Good, good, good.

-That's all I can do.

-Hey, jen.

-Hey, chef.

I know you're busy.

I'll try to keep it quick.

So what are you reinterpreting

And what are you making?

-I got meat lasagna.

-Meat lasagna.

Yes. So basically,

I just made a pure tomato sauce.

I have flat iron steak that

I'm going to cube up and make,

And I made my own pasta.

You look

A little stressed out today.

I typically

Don't deconstruct things,

So it's a little

Out of my realm.

-All right.

-But, um...

Cool, I'll let you--

I know you're busy.

-I'll let you get back to it.

-Thanks, chef.

So how's

Your dish going, then?

Way behind.

I've worked in pretty

Traditional restaurants

My whole life,

So I'm not super excited

About deconstructing food.

......

Done!

Hands up.

[Loud sigh]

I got paella.

[Eli] I'm not trying to make

It sound worse than it is,

But you drew the [bleep]

Hardest one, probably.

Michelle, dude, her food,

She knows exactly what

The [bleep] she's talking about.

That's her dish in her

[Bleep] menu!

Here's the thing--the rice has

Got to be cooked right,

-And it's got to be crispy.

-But the rice have to be,

Like, undercooked.

[Eli] no, no, it's fully

Cooked

And then the bottom of it, like,

Gets crunchy from drying out.

What?

I'm worried

That it's gonna be too much

Like regular old paella,

Like it's not gonna be

Different enough.

[Kevin]

I don't think



Ron knows exactly



What this paella is



Supposed to be.



He has an idea of what it is

That I don't think is gonna be

The idea that they have.

Take the rice and push it

Down in the pan with oil

Till it gets crispy.

Flip it out and cut it.

And k*ll it.

You just [bleep] k*ll it, man.

Today pissed me off.

You win one,

And you feel great.

Then you're in the middle,

And you, like, doubt yourself.

Like, it's...

I know, yesterday

In the winner's circle,

Today it was like

They hate my dish.

And then robin wins next to me,

And that just [bleep] sent me

Way over the [bleep] edge.

That sent me

Way over the edge.

I was like, "all right."

That really rubbed me

The wrong way.

And now she won't

Shut the [bleep] up.

[Laurine]

I'm hoping that I can



Get out of my funk.



I need to get refocused



On the challenge,



Because tomorrow is



All about making sure

That every component is perfect.

Hey, kev, do you know

What an egg florentine is?

No, dude.

I got no idea what it is.

English muffins,

Canadian bacon.

A veloute

With swiss cheese...

-And spinach.

-Sauteed spinach. Yeah.

Okay. I think I got

All those textures.

What origin is

Chicken florentine?

Is it american? Is it french?

Is it italian?

It's not chicken.

It's just--it's florentine.

[Laughter]

-It's foreign to me.

-It's "foreigntine."

Eggs, spinach--

You know what I mean?

I'm gonna make up

My own dish.

-[Laughter]

-Oh, god.

-I saw what you were making.

[Laughter]

-[Laughing]

- Gallons of red sauce.

Not so smart.

Tonight--

The elimination challenge.

Somebody's going home.

Hopefully, it's not me.

Yeah, I've been in the winner's



Circle a couple of times,



But you're judged day to day



On your dish,

So anybody can go home

At any time.

All right, guys,

We're gonna get ready to go.

[Eli] all right.

Let's do it.

[Kevin]

We're gonna be cooking



In the marinelli's restaurant



At the m resort.



I think that one hour should be



Plenty of time

To make all this stuff--

I'm not at all concerned.

We're serving in pairs,

But we're judged on

Individual dishes.

[Michael] mike

And I are serving first.

I'm pretty confident



With this challenge.



Creating deconstructed



Plates is



Something



I'm passionate about,

And hopefully

I put up the winning dish.

[Mike] two minutes.

[Mike]

I'm not happy



With my presentation at all.



It's, like, sloppy.

But I know it'll taste good.

-[Padma] good evening.

-[Mike] good evening.

[Mike]

Toby is back.



I've seen toby



Beat up a lot of people

On previous competitions.

I'm a little nervous.

Basically,

I pulled caesar salad.

For the magicians,

I actually encapsulated

The caesar dressing.

So if you break that,

Your dressing will

Actually ooze into your lettuce

In front of you.

To your right, I made

Fresh brioche from scratch

To simulate the crouton.

On top of that,

I have a thin parmesan jelly

That's actually warm

On top of the brioche.

[Mike] I have eggs florentine.

Eggs florentine is an, uh--

Is a, uh...

Poached egg with spinach

And a mornay sauce,

So I braised some kale,

Rolled it up, cut it,

And it's garnished around

The plate

With an egg emulsion.

-Thank you.

-Thank you. Enjoy.

[Padma] did you like

The eggs florentine?

I didn't really care for it.

I mean, i--no.

It wasn't a deconstruction

So much as a reinvention

Of eggs florentine,

And I like it

The way it is.

Where are the whites?

In his attempt to deconstruct,

I think he left

A few things out.

I thought the caesar salad

Was really good.

I liked it too.

[Michelle] the execution

On this is beautiful,

And I think he really embraced

What we're doing here.

[Toby] it didn't quite explode

The way I thought it might.

If we were told

To make dressing explode,

It would really explode,

But it would also k*ll you.

[Laughter]

[Laurine]

Bryan



And I are going up second,

And the first thing I do

Is I get my oil up

To cook the fish and chips.



[Kevin]

I feel really good



About my dish.

As long as I place

The components on there properly

So that it does resemble



A reuben



With the thousand island



Dressing,

I think I'll do really well.

[Laurine]

These chips are



A little soggy,

And I'm hoping that I can

Somehow kind of re-crisp them

And get them to work out.

Well, I'll throw



It in the oven.



And it burns.



And now I'm pretty much



Down to chips.



Two great chips



For each plate.



[Bryan]

I arrive at the table,



And I see penn sitting there.



I mean,



He's a big guy, you know?

I present

This little tuna reuben to him.

I'm thinking to myself, "wow,

This guy's gonna just smash me."

I had the reuben.

I wanted to choose tuna

To substitute the pastrami.

And then I'm serving it

With warm mayonnaise, shallots,

And then also fried capers.

I have fish and chips today.

Instead of frying the fish,

I used the oil



To poach the fish.

The relish from the tartar

Sauce is actually zucchini.

The "chips" are the potatoes

With the parsley in the chip.

The only thing I'm missing today

Is a newspaper.

I didn't love the fish,

To be honest with you.

I thought the fish was dry.

I mean, that was

The big problem I had with it.

It just wasn't cooked properly.

It was overcooked.

Actually, she also

Left out the chips.

I agree.

Had she devised some method

Of deconstructing

What you call fries

And what I call chips,

I think it would have been

A much more successful dish.

[Padma] teller, did you like

The chips?

Not really.

He's still chewing it.

I thought bryan's

Tuna reuben was delicious.

You know, it made me want

To sort of scrape the plate.

If you close your eyes,

You can actually taste a reuben.

I hate to disagree

With the experts,

But I think

That it didn't taste much

Like corned beef

And sauerkraut.

Was it reuben to you?

But, of course,

I ate everything.

[Laughing]

Ten minutes.

[Ash]

I realize in plating



That my parsnip puree is



A little bit gummy,

So I decide

That I'm not gonna use it.

So I sort of reconstruct



My dish



In using the pea puree



To sort of replace

The potato texture, which is

A little bit of a long shot.

-How much time, ash?

- Seconds.

-What do you need?

-Garlic chips on top.

This way.

[Jennifer] I know

My flavors are good.

But I'm disappointed

In how my plate looks.

[Ash] if you win,

I expect $,.

Oh, this isn't winning.

I feel that

I might be going home.

[Ash]

I'm nervous



Because shepherd's pie is



An english dish,

And toby young's

Very, very british.

It's a little scary.



My hope is that he likes it,



He's happy with it.

I've done a shepherd's pie,

Deconstructed.

I did pan-seared lamb



With celery.



I also did a pea puree instead



Of a mashed potato.

And I did a deconstructed

Meat lasagna.

I made my own pasta,

And for the meat,

I used flat iron steak.

Then I did a mascarpone

Creme fraiche bechamel

And a shaved pecorino

Romano crisp

On the top to finish it off.

[Padma] thank you both so much.

Thank you. Enjoy.

Jennifer's lasagna is

Meat lasagna,

But it's deconstructed.

[Padma] and she got

That savory taste

Of the melted, browned cheese

On top of the lasagna,

That crust.

Yeah, that was

A very good move.

It's very smart.

You know, ash has got

A major issue with cooking.

I mean, look at this--yours is

Pretty raw in the center,

And that is completely

Overdone.

A classic shepherd's pie,

It's got a potato layer on top,

And then beneath that,

There is minced lamb and carrots

In a kind of nice

Meaty sauce.

Substituting

The potato ingredient

For something else entirely

Was interpreting the challenge

With a little too much latitude.

Just take everything out of

Your cooler and get out of here.

That's what I did.

Ron is serving

At the same time as me,

And I think he's having

A little bit of trouble.

He just seemed very scattered



And somewhat disorganized,

And I don't know if he's totally

Sure what he's gonna do yet.

[Eli] minutes, seconds.

[Ron] I'm stressing out,

Because I can't get my rice

To crispen up.

But it is what it is,

And I'm gonna try to make

The best of it.

[Eli] seconds.

All right,

So let's roll, guys.

I make a deconstructed

Seafood paella.

Using traditional paella,



I serve it



With, like, a garlic and oil,

A twist of--i do like

A lemon and herb oil,

And I have some peas

And some chocho.

I did sweet and sour pork.

So I made a quick pork rillette

And made them into fritters,

Basically, with a tempura.

A little broccoli puree,



And then a little raw



Broccoli salad

With a light, light,

Light citrus dressing.

-[Padma] thank you both.

-Enjoy.

What do you think

Of the paella?

-[Mouths word]

-[Tom] dry?

The rice was

Severely overcooked.

And I also am missing

The lovely crisp from the pan,

And this has no crisp to it.

And this doesn't

Seem deconstructed.

[Tom] it's not interesting food

At all.

It's a sad,

Sad bowl of food.

[Tom] I'm actually liking

The pork ba*ls.

Sweet and sour pork.

I like it a lot.

-It looks horrible.

-You think it looks horrible?

It looks like a couple

Of bulls' testicles.

Believe it or not,

I've actually had

Bulls' testicles, and...

I'll bet.

These are actually

A little big.

[Laughter]

There's something a little bit

Unhealthy and unpleasant

About sweet and sour pork,

And that comes across to this,

And I think

That's a good thing.

[Kevin]

Ashley and I chose



To plate together,

Because we have two

Of the really heavy foods.

Really, I spend



The majority of my time

Actually pulling out all my

Components that I made yesterday

And making sure they taste



Exactly where they need to be,



Making sure



That their texture is right.

[Ashley] minutes, kevin.

[Ashley]

Plating



And portions are a huge part



Of the competition.

You know, the first thing

The judges see is,

What does it look like?

Looks like a mess.

Mine's like [bleep]

Shades of brown.

[Ashley] I had pot roast.

It's a seared strip loin

With a potato puree,

Carrot foam, crispy shallots,

And a little celery salad.

[Kevin] I had chicken

With mole n*gro.

Facing you is a little bit

Of unsweetened crushed

Cocoa bean

With some chili flake.



It sits in front of a fig jam



Made with mexican coffee.

Next to the jam is

A

Croqueta

Of thigh meat,

A sauce that's based

Around romesco,

Except it's made with pumpkin

Seeds and sunflower seeds.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

I don't want to have

The other mole I've had

After having this.

I think he worked

His butt off on this plate.

My mouth is still burning

A little but not unpleasantly.

Teller just lifted

His eyebrows.

I think that's a good sign.

[Tom] he may actually talk

About it.

He may actually break

His silence to talk about it.

[Laughter]

I think ashley kicked a*s

On the pot roast.

It's beautiful.

I think that's the best

Cooked piece of meat

We've been served so far.

I think she nailed it.

[Robin]

Even though



I have immunity,



I'm still putting myself



Out there,



And I still want to do



The best I can,

And so there's

The little child in me

That's a little nervous

Right now.

Well, I got the dubious honor

Of pulling up

New england clam chowder.

Instead of making a soup,



I made a fennel flan,



And then I potato-crusted



The clams.

Enjoy.

It reminds me

Of cream of celery soup,

Rather than

A new england clam chowder.

[Toby] I found the texture--

There's something viscerally

A little bit repulsive.

It's like soup

That's been left overnight.

-That's congealed.

-[Toby] yeah.

Penn, if you were

At a dinner party

And someone served something

You really don't like,

Do you ever use

Any kind of sleight of hand

To make something disappear?

- Cop the roll and--

- [Tom] sleight of mouth.

[Padma] watch.

[Padma] oh, brilliant!

[Chuckling]

[Padma] thank you for joining us

For dinner.

It was great to see a little bit

Of the wonderful magic

You deconstructed.

And hopefully,

We'll have you back soon.

Let's go back

To judges' table.

Thanks.

Thanks for the chow.

Lovely to meet you.

I'd count the silverware

If I were you.

-[Groaning]

-Seriously.

[Michael] how do you guys feel?

I don't know

If I did it right,

'Cause I'm really not much

Of a deconstructor.

But it didn't look

Like shepherd's pie,

But it tasted like

Shepherd's pie, so...

I thought her dish looked

Like it tasted good.

Tasted good.

I thought it looked

Like [bleep]...

Not even close

To my standards.

-Hello.

-Hi, padma.

We'd like to see ashley,

Michael,

Kevin,

And jennifer.

Thank you.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Congratulations.

The four of you had

The best deconstructed dishes

Of the evening.

Michael, let's start with you.

I thought you did

A great job with the dish.

There's a use for chemicals



In cooking,



And sometimes the effect works



And sometimes it doesn't.

I think

This really worked well.

Dishes like that make me

Excited about food.

I was excited to make it, so...

Thank you, chef.

Ashley, I'm not one

For pot roast,

But you turned it into a dish



That I really



Fell in love with.

[Padma] let's move on to kevin.

[Tom] there was a lot

Of little things going on,

But it all was necessary.

Everything was in such balance



That when you were



Finished eating,

Everything just made

Perfect sense.

-Thank you.

-Jennifer.

[Toby] I was impressed

That you had

The confidence to keep it

All fairly simple.

Your tomato sauce

In particular--

Very straightforward,



Very simple, but very good.

-Thank you.

-I was actually surprised

Because yesterday

In the walk-through,

You were an absolute mess.

I mean, you were zipping

Around the kitchen.

You were running around.

I could barely talk to you

Because you wouldn't stay

In one place long enough.

So it was nice to see

That you pulled it together.

You know, you're not

Going home for this.

[Laughter]

Michelle,

As our guest judge,

Please do us the honor

Of announcing the winner.

The chef

That truly embraced

The definition

Of deconstruction is...

-Kevin.

-Thank you.

[Padma] well played.

And, kevin,

Michelle has something for you.

Sweet!

It is a set of calphalon

Unison nonstick cookware.

Ta-da!

I feel like the times

That I've gotten in trouble

In this competition

Have been the times

When I chose not to trust



My instincts.



That makes



The biggest difference,



And now having



Two elimination-challenge wins,



It just further affirms to me

That it's really important

That I cook what I believe in.

And now I need you

To send back

A few of your colleagues.

I'm just gonna do salads

And crisps from now on,

Apparently, 'cause

That's how you win things.

What are you saying?

I'm saying you did salads

And crisps, and you won,

And I should do that,

Apparently.

Well, that's the kind

Of food I like to make.

- No, it's--it's--

- That's my style.

-Guess who won a set

Of calphalon unison nonstick?

[Cheering]

-I am...

-[Robin] well done!

Whoo-hoo!

Congrats, congrats.

Um...

They want to see laurine,

Ron, and ash.

Great.

-Good luck.

-[Bryan] good luck, guys.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[Padma] so, chefs,

You three had

The most disappointing dishes

Of the evening.

Ash, let's start with you.

Shepherd's pie is a standard

British comfort food--

I was scared

To death serving it to you.

I was expecting

A mound of mashed potato.

A classic shepherd's pie

Is / potato.

Um, I had

A potato parsnip puree,

Which I'd planned

To put on the plate,

But unfortunately,

It was a little gummy.

Looking at it,

Tasting it...

I got no shepherd's pie,

I mean, nothing.

-Um...

Unfortunately, the only

Shepherd's pie I've ever eaten

Has been my own,

And I never really knew

How to make it.

So I took flavor profiles

That I thought were in it.

Very, very inconsistent cooking

On the chops.

I mean,

You cut it and plated it.

Did you notice that?

Um...

I didn't, really.

I thought they were all

Pretty evenly cooked.

All I have to say is I think

I've got a lot to show you,

And I know I'm in a group

Of some of the best chefs

That I have ever had

The opportunity to work with.

But I know that I can give them

All a run for their money, so...

Laurine, how did you find

This challenge?

Um, well, I mean, I think

This challenge was hard

Because I don't

Deconstruct food.

I think one

Of my biggest problems was

Maybe my fish was overcooked?

[Tom] the dish seemed

Little tentative.

Maybe you were sort of outside

Of your comfort zone.

Yeah, I mean, it doesn't feel

Like the type of food

-That I do.

-No.

The best part

About deconstruction is

That perfect bite

Where it constructs on a fork.

Your dish was so deconstructed

That it was almost too hard

To put it together.

[Toby] what I really missed was

The equivalent of the fries,

And just one potato chip didn't

Really do it.

I was trying to, like,

Crisp them up today.

I burned the ones

That I tried to recrisp,

And so I basically had to

Pick the best chips I had.

At that point,

Less was more.

I'd rather you guys

Had two nice chips

Than six soggy chips.

[Padma] ron.

Have you done

Much deconstruction?

Never.

I think I have the hardest thing

To deconstruct,

Because paella, it's...

Like, everywhere you have it,

They all make it different.

I think you had

A difficult time

With the challenge

From the very beginning.

You mentioned when I walked

Through the kitchen

That this isn't something

You do.

You couldn't figure out how

To sort of go about doing it.

And I think that's where

You got stuck in your head.

And I think once

You got stuck in your head,

That led to overcooking

The rice,

Plus really overcooking

The seafood too.

[Ron] yes, I know.

I know I did.

I was trying to get

The rice crispy.

It was simultaneously dry,

And yet the rice was soggy.

The end result was

Just a sort of mediocre paella.

[Padma] my problem

With your dish,

Leaving aside the mushy rice

And the overcooked seafood,

Is that you didn't manipulate

The dish enough.

[Michelle] fine. You didn't

Embrace the challenge as well,

But at least make

A beautiful rice.

Cook seafood properly,

You know?

It doesn't have to be genius.

It just has to taste

Really good.

[Padma] that'll be all.

We'll call you back.

[Ash] we don't know anything.

[Padma]

Let's start with ron.

[Toby] well, his argument was

That there is no such thing as

A standard, classic "pa-ella,"

And therefore, "I didn't know

How to deconstruct it."

We can't even agree

On how to pronounce it.

Well, I don't understand why

You're always saying "pie-eya,"

Like you want to sound spanish.

You don't say "me-hico"

Or "bar-tha-lona."

For me, I'm latin.

Of course I say "pie-eya."

And I do say "bar-tha-lona,"

By the way.

-But...

-I take it back.

Whether or not he had an idea

What a classic "pie-eya" was

Or "pie-ella" was,

Whatever you want to call it,

He overcooked fish,

He overcooked rice,

And all the other little things

That were in there

Were just--you couldn't

Recognize them at all.

There were so many

Different routes, you know,

He could have taken that would

Have been so successful.

But like I said before,

If he couldn't really grasp it

But given us

A really great paella,

It would have been better

Than what we got.

You know, ash, shepherd's pie

Or not shepherd's pie,

I just think it was

A poor plate of food.

I mean, it started off



With butchering the lamb.



The tomato,



I thought, was just terrible.

And you don't make

Mashed potatoes?

-Come on.

-It just never came together

Nor was it pulled apart

Very well.

I thought

Ash's dish is the one

I'd least like to eat again.

He kind of knew what

He did wrong, and he was

-Really hard on himself.

-Which is admirable.

I don't know

If it's gonna keep him here,

But it was admirable.

[Padma]

Laurine.

If you start out

With a dried piece of fish,

And that is the center

Of your dish,

It's all downhill from there--

I don't care what you do.

I would not have guessed

That that was deconstructed

Fish and chips.

[Tom]

But I still think



Her biggest issue was



She was just not comfortable



With this challenge.

You're not gonna be comfortable

With every challenge here,

And this is why

We do certain things

That really stretches you

As a chef.

Well, if you feel a chef's

Discomfort in their food...

You get it.

I think it's pretty clear

Who needs to go.

-Agreed?

-Agreed.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[Tom] when you talk

About deconstruction,

Every component is recognizable,

And they have

Their own distinct flavor

That, when put back together,

Create one harmonious flavor

That we expect.

That was the challenge today.

Ron, we don't think you departed

Enough from the original,

Plus you overcooked seafood

And overcooked your rice.

Laurine, I don't think

You were able to personalize it.

You didn't give us the right

Amount of chips to fish.

Ash, you didn't give us

Anything

That actually resembled

A shepherd's pie.

Overall, the dish was off.

Ron, please pack

Your knives and go.

Thank you, chef.

-Enjoyed meeting you.

-Thank you, chef.

Thank you.

It's a great experience.



I have no regrets.



A boy from haiti have no hope,



Come to america,

Um, became top chef.

If that's not

The american dream,

I don't think

There's another american dream.

All right, guys,

It was a pleasure.

[Ron]

I had fun.

To me,

That's only the beginning.

Three's lot more big stuff.

If I can be on

Top chef,



There's more to come.

Peace out.

-[Ashley] take care.

-All right.

[Ron]

If god willing,



Pick up and move on

And start over bigger than life.

I'm the luckiest man on earth,

And that's something

No one can take away from me.

[Padma]

Next on

Top chef

...

We don't have

A whole lot of kitchen space.

Right here.

Come on, come on.

We blow a circuit?

[Michael] it's basically

Impossible at this point.

If I was a judge, I would be

Heavy on critiquing me.

Boy, it is a disaster

In here.

I don't want to work

With robin.

Still better

Than the campfire.

She never shuts up.

The dish is lacking flavor,

And the fish is overcooked.

-And mine's real chewy.

-Really chewy.

-They weren't seasoned enough.

-Like little salt licks.

[Mike] I'm going home.