06x07 - Dinner Party

[bunniefuu]

[Padma]

Previously



On

Top chef

...

Four years ago,

I got diagnosed

With two kinds of lymphoma,

And I got obsessed

With eating healthy.

Congratulations, robin.

[Eli]

That's a pretty good way



To win a quickfire,

Just tell people

You have [bleep] cancer.

I have a few tricks

Up my sleeve.

How'd you do that?

I'm busy, chef.

Leave me alone right now.

My confidence is not great.

I'm sabotaging myself.

And then robin

Wins next to me.

And that just [bleep] sent me

Way over the [bleep] edge.

She won't

Shut the [bleep] up.

You turned it into a dish

That I fell in love with.

The winner-- kevin.

Ta-da!

[Laughs]

Ron, 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]

♪ ♪

[Utensil scraping]

[Ash]

I think I could



Have gone home easily,



So I'm feeling



A little intimidated



Because I didn't go



To culinary school.

Mean, but then again, you--

I think it's what you take

From culinary school, really.

'Cause you look at a chef

Like michael.

He doesn't seem like



A culinary school chief.



He seems like he was down



In the trenches.

'Cause he's savage.

I mean, he gets into it

And he just

Makes great food.

Thanks for breakfast, guys.

I want to win it, because

I can prove to other people

That a kid from the suburbs

That didn't go

To culinary school

And just worked his way up

Can actually, like,

Make good food.

[Michael]

I've



Always put cooking



Before anything else.



And, uh, I have



A five-year-old daughter



And a nine-year-old daughter.

And, uh, to be away

From my children, yeah,

It's--it's very difficult.

And that's why I think



It's that much more important

For me to do well,

Because otherwise I can't

Justify the time

That I missed

Being away from them.

[Jennifer]

I'm not feeling well.



But, um, I gotta work.



I have to compete.



I don't need any sympathy.

And I just have to try

And stay focused

And work through it.

I have worked many times



Being sick,



And that's



What you have to do.

Hopefully I can get through

The challenge

And make it to elimination.

All right, guys,

Let's go to the m resort.

-Feel okay?

-I'm gonna go throw up.

[Ashley]

She's really,



Really sick today.

And if I were as sick

As she is,

I wouldn't really want

To be cooking food.

Good morning, chefs.

[Everyone] good morning.

Say hello

To your guest judge

For this round,

Mr. Tyler florence.

He is a chef, author,

And television star.

How you guys doing?

[Kevin]

Tyler florence is a chef



I think all of us know.

We've seen him on tv.

He has a couple different

Tv shows, uh, books.

So I recognized him



Right when I got there.

This round is

All about celebrating your art

On the home front.

Cookster.com is a website

That helps the at-home cook

Find the perfect recipe

For every occasion.

So for your cookster.com

Quickfire,

You will create a dish

Using three keywords.

Your keywords will tell you

What mood,

What taste and texture,

And what kind of cuisine.

And we're gonna use

This slot machine

To choose them.

[Ash]

I would probably type



Into cookster,

Like, "lazy, broke, spicy"

Or something.

That's probably

What I'd type in.

Oh, and one more thing.

This is

A high-stakes quickfire.

But you'll find out what's

At stake a little bit later.

So, laurine,

Let's start with you.

Come up

And please pull the arm.

Ooh, "romantic, tart,

Latin american."

[Ringing]

"Stressed,

Hot and spicy, asian."

The only problem is

I don't cook a lot of asian f--

Actually, I cook

No asian food, frankly.

-"Stressed, umami, asian."

-Ahh!

-Can I re-roll?

-No.

[Mike]

So umami is



Like the fifth flavor.



It's not salty,



It's not sweet,

It's not spicy.

It's not sour.

It's--it's umami.

[Ringing]

"Adventurous,

Nutty, american."

There we go.

"Stressed, umami,

Latin american."

"Adventurous, tangy, asian."

"Stressed, umami,

Middle eastern."

[Ringing]

"Adventurous,

Crunchy, asian.

"Tired, tart, italian."

And last,

But not least...

Go, ashley.

"Blue, cheesy,

Middle eastern."

There we go.

Good luck with that one.

So you have your keywords.

You have minutes

And full use of anything

In the

Top chef

Pantry.

Your time starts now

Good luck!.

Give me some of those.

Give me some of those.

-There's another bowl!

-Yo, I want some criminis.

I immediately

Think about umami.

Umami is kind of a,



You know, earthy flavor.



So I grab mushrooms.

Yo, dog, let me get

Some of those shitakes.

It seems like everybody else



Who got the word umami

Decides to do

The same thing.

-You're taking all of these?

-Yeah, I need all those.

[Eli] I don't really care

What people think about me.

Unfortunately,



At a certain point,



You're looking out



For number one.

Get out, get out,

Get out!

[Mike]

I mean,



I've done french food,



I've done moroccan food,



I've done greek food,



I've done latin food.



I do a lot



Of different cuisines.



But, uh, asian, asian.



I don't--

I've never

Cooked asian food before.

[Ashley]

I don't really



Ever cook



Middle eastern food.



It's definitely not my area



Of expertise at all.



But I'm really glad



That I was in the top four



Of the last two challenges.

Feeling a little bit

More confident,

So I'm ready for whatever

Happens next.

Minutes to go!

[Robin]

I was super-psyched



That I actually won



The last quickfire.



But some people may not



Perceive me as...

Perhaps, deserving to be here.

[Jennifer]

I'm not feeling well,

But I don't think your mood

Should ever dictate your food.

I believe you should



Really keep your mood

And your personal life

Out of your work.

But not feeling



So confident



In my mood right now.

[Padma] you have

Five minutes left.

-[Mike] oh la la.

-Coming down!

Five, four, three, two, one.

Hands up, utensils down!

-Hello.

-How you doing, padma?

Mike isabella,

Meet tyler florence.

-How's it going?

-Good, good, good.

So I have

A raw mushroom salad

Served with some



Raw ginger, shiso,

And on top is

A yuzu emulsion.

-Tastes great.

-I appreciate that.

-Good stuff going on there.

-Thank you.

Um, well, I had a tart,

Romantic, latin.

I used goat cheese



And hibiscus flowers.

-Jalapeno vinaigrette.

-Nice job.

So I had tired,

Tart, italian.

-[Tyler] uh-huh.

-Okay.

-[Ash] so I went with--

-[Tyler] a little puttanesca?

Straight from the street

Of naples.

-That's very delicious.

-Really? Thank you.

[Tyler] yeah, nice job.

For adventurous,

I decided to do dessert,

Because I'm not a pastry chef.

I did a yuzu curd.



I also did



A whipped greek yogurt.

And I did a seaweed cr*cker

And a little

Coconut milk powder.

That's a great flavor

Combination, that's nice.

-It's good.

-Thank you, chef.

I had stressed, umami,

And latin american.

I did a mushroom ceviche.

For stressed,



I did a avocado marble.

[Clears throat]

So I took my cue

From vietnam.

So what I have here



Is a little char-grilled pork,



Some marinated daikon



And carrot,

And then I have a basic

Sort of vietnamese herb salad.

Is this a cuisine

You make a lot?

No, I never cook

Anything asian, honestly.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

What were your words?

So I had adventurous,

Uh, crispy, and asian.

I did a scallop I've seared

In sort of a bok choy.

I don't think

It's asian specific.

I think it's asian in general.

So I had a stressed,

Umami, middle eastern dish.

So I two-played with mushroom

And cumin sort of

As my earthy umami elements.

Play off the curry



Or a hash.

Curry isn't really

Middle eastern, though.

Oh, it's...

Yeah, I guess you're--

True, that's true.

Perhaps I blurred the lines

A little too much.

My key words were blue,

Cheesy, and middle eastern.

-That's a rough one.

-Yeah.

-[Laughs]

-[Tyler] that's

A hard combo, yeah.

So what I made was



Feta pudding.

I dusted

Some halibut with sumac

And a preserve lemon foam.

That's good.

Yeah, nice job.

Thanks.

I was an adventurous,

Nutty american.

The american is

Maine diver sea scallops.

For the nuts,

I used pistachios.

For the adventure,

I used some salmon roe on top.

[Jennifer]

They taste my dish,



They basically have



No reaction at all.

Pretty confident they're

Not really digging it too much.

The idea of taking

Three keywords

And really turning them

Into a dish

Takes a lot of creativity,

A lot of focus.

That being said,

I thought some dishes were

A lot better than others.

[Padma] so let's start

With your bottoms.

[Tyler] robin, it was

A bit elementary.

I think a curry oil



With a lot of salt in it



Doesn't really mean



Middle eastern.

I didn't think

Th

A

T was spectacular.

Eli, you k*lled any kind

Of umami flavor

That you'd get

Out of the mushroom

By just drowning it

In a lot of citrus.

And, jennifer, the idea

Of putting caviar

On top of scallops

I don't think is



That adventurous.

We've been doing that

In restaurants for years.

Hearing my name being on

The bottom for the first time

Is really disappointing.

And I'm just frustrated.

Well, let's have

Some good news now.

[Laughs]

[Tyler] so, uh, mike isabella,

I thought

That was really great.

It was just light and fresh

And clean

-And particularly delicious.

-Thank you very much, chef.

Kevin, the next one I want

To talk about is your dish,

'Cause of the fact that you

Can be able to perform that

Without ever

Even really balancing

Or playing

With the flavors before.

I thought

That was pretty impressive.

Thank you very much, chef.

[Tyler] michael,

The flavor profile

Of the yuzu curd,

The seaweed cr*cker,



And the delicious foam was

Just a really great

Flavor combination.

[Padma] and which

Was your favorite?

I have to say, kevin,

I thought your dish was

The best one.

[Padma] congratulations, kevin.

[Kevin]

It's very rewarding



To know

That you set out

To do something

That you weren't

% Sure

That you'd be able to do.

But then you actually

Accomplished it.

Thank you very much.

You've won

The high-stakes quickfire.

You can have immunity

Or $,

From the m resort.

I'll take the money.

All right!

That a boy!

[Kevin]

So I decide to take



The $,



From the beautiful m resort.

At this point,

I'm not concerned with immunity.

So I'm definitely

Taking the money.

[Applause]

If I were in kevin's shoes,

[Ashley]

I would have made



The same decision.



You know, we all want to live



Or die on our own dishes,



And not

Not

Go home

Because we have immunity.

So in celebration

Of the at-home chef,

We've arranged

A special little dinner party

At your place.

And you'll find out

Your elimination challenge

A little bit later.

We are gonna find out more

About our elimination challenge

After we get home.

Thank you.

I don't know what that means,

So we'll see what happens.

[Robin]

After we finish



Our quickfire challenge,

We usually would find out

About the elimination challenge,

But instead padma tells us

We're going home.

Go home and enjoy

A homecooked meal.

We should go over

To the kitchen,

See what's cooking.

What's cooking,

Good-looking?

[Mike]

It's gonna be good



To have a good dinner



To break away



From the competition.

And, uh, I know we're

All excited about that.

[Mike] so, you guys,

I just figured out

Who's doing home cooking.

[Kevin]

Everything's stocked up.



[Ashley]

There's a lot of flower



Arrangements everywhere.



And a lot of the

Top chef



Kitchen pantry items.

I think all of us agree that

We're cooking dinner

And we're cooking it soon.

[Kevin] hey, guys!

Why don't you guys

All come outside with me

Where it's less comfortable?

[Kevin] yes.

[Laughter]

[Jennifer]

It's



Mentally exhausting



To walk into a twist



Every single day

Since we've been here

Is crazy.

It screws with your mind

A little bit.

Padma's here.

She wants you guys

To come outside.

All right.

[Bryan]

I knew immediately



That we were gonna be working



On something this evening.



And we have no idea



What's in store, you know?



Really, I mean,



Every day has been different.



There's been twists already.

So I don't think

We're ever gonna know

What we're walking into.

[Padma] so in these tough

Economic times,

People are coming together

More and more

For the at-home dinner party.

And you will be

Throwing one

In less than three hours

For the macy's

Culinary council.

You remember

Tyler florence,

Your guest judge

From the quickfire.

Next to him is nancy silverton,

Govind armstrong,

Takashi yagihashi,

And, finally,

Tom douglas.

[Ash]

They all have



Their own restaurants.



Uh, nancy silverton is huge



In california cuisine.



Tom douglas too.



Big seattle name.

Yagihashi is a chef

In the midwest.

He's won a james beard award.

For your

Elimination challenge,

You'll be hosting

A dinner party

For these chefs

And your judges.

I'm really scared

About cooking for these guys.

I don't want to screw up.

Um, I don't want

To be that person

Who does a bad job

And is being ripped apart

By all these guys.

Each one of these

Culinary members is

Holding a bag

With different ingredients.

For this macy's

Come together challenge,

You will work in pairs

To create one family-style dish.

To determine

Who's working with whom,

As well as what ingredients

You'll all be cooking with,

We'll draw knives.

So, jennifer, why don't

You come up and draw a knife?

Douglas.

Florence.

Armstrong.

-Douglas.

-Yagihashi.

[Ashley] armstrong.

Florence.

[Mike]

There's only one person



I don't want to work with,



And that's robin.

She's probably, to me,

One of the weakest

Competitors here.

Yagisaki.

Yagihashi.

Robin's my partner.

Great.

Silverton.

[Ash]

I think working

With michael is gonna be

A little bit difficult,

Just because he has



So many good ideas.



So I wonder



If he's gonna be able

To work in a direction

With me.

Eli has a lot of experience

In some great restaurants.

So I'm happy



To be cooking with eli.



And I don't know that much



About govind armstrong's food,

But I do know his approach

Is pretty straightforward.

[Padma] so you all have

/ Hours to cook

Before you'll all

Be serving family style.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

[Laughter]

[Robin] there goes

The glass door.

[Bleep]

[All chattering]

[Eli]

We don't have a whole



Lot of kitchen space.



So I stake the perfect



Claim spot--

The kitchen,

Right next to the stove.

-Bang it out.

-I got the stuff.

Okay, cool.

Meet me here.

[Bryan] where you guys working?

You working on that side?

We're working

On this side, yeah.

I think we should

Prep right there.

All right, let's do it.

Or our product's going

To get compromised.

-[Robin] just grab that spot.

-I got it.

[Mike]

When I found out



I was working with robin,

I was livid, I was angry,

I was upset,

And I thought I was going home.

Robin] we got scallops, mike.

But then when I thought

About it,

I said, "let's make the best out

Of it.

You know, let me take control.

Let me do what I do."

Whether or not she's my partner

Or not,

I could do this challenge

By myself.

[Crank]

Okay, so should we

Get one of these going

-To boil water?

-I already got 'em on.

[Michael]

Ash and I set up



Shop inside



The dining room of our house.



Basically,



There's not enough stoves



To cook off of



For everyone,



So the piece of equipment



That I eye up



Are the woks



That macy's provided.

I plug in the woks.

The woks are working great.

They boil water probably faster

Than the stove that we have

In the house.

So I'm feeling pretty good

About that.

-So we can make

A fennel ravioli.

-Perfect.

[Michael]

Based



On the ingredients



In the bag,



And knowing nancy's food,

I threw in the idea

Of making a ravioli.

Ash jumped on board with it,

And we basically ran with

The idea and started cooking.

What is--are these...

I don't know.

[Kevin]

So jennifer



And I have tom douglas's bag.

And, honestly, the bag

Doesn't have a lot in it.

It's mostly asian condiments.

There's a couple types



Of miso,



There's some bok choy,



And that's it.

Looks like our only choice,

Really,

Is to go the asian route

For sure.

We got tons of beets.

We have duck for days.

What's your immediate

Thought here?

-Prawns.

-You're out on gnocchi?

You don't want to do--

No, we can do 'em,

Definitely.

Ashley actually makes

Pasta and gnocchi

Daily at her restaurant.

She's done it here before,

And she does it really well.

So I'm thinking



It's gonna work.



And I also feel like



It's gonna be



Visually stunning.

Have you ever worked

With asian before?

[Robin] yes. I love asian.

Okay, 'cause I haven't.

[Mike]

So I have takashi's bags,



And we're going through



And pulling everything out,



And there's bonito, kombu.

It's like all these products

I never use.

So...i'm--i'm stressed.

But I can't let the stress

Get to me.

You know, I'm gonna keep



Plugging away.

Rice wine vinegar.

Potential crunch,

And I think it's cheesy.

[Mike] it's cheesy.

Robin's trying to give a little



Influence here and there,

But I'm just, you know,

Kind of ignoring her

At this point.

I know she knows



I'm a better cook then her.



You know, without a doubt.



She'll listen to me



What I have to say,

'Cause it's my way

Or the highway.

[Robin] what's our crispy

Element on the plate?

-I'll figure it out.

Slow.

-[Jennifer] what is it?

-I have no [bleep] idea.

-Is it a short rib?

-Is it ribs?

-It's kobe ribs.

-Yeah, beef ribs?

Okay, that works

Even better then.

-Good. Good.

-[Laughing]

[Kevin] I know how to cook ribs.

Didn't we do this

Last night for dinner?

[Both laugh]

[Jennifer]

I was really sick



For a while.



That was a little bit



Of a struggle.



But I feel better,



Because I had



A bad morning,

I can't beat myself up

Over it.

I got to let it go

And move on.

There's the tomatoes I want.

I don't want

The cherry tomatoes.

You know, I see there's



A big bowl of tomatoes



Sitting right in front



Of my face,



So I decided that I wanted



To make a tomato chutney

And add some

Chicken stock to it

To keep it nice and light.

[Michael] slice this super,

Super thin.

-[Ash] yeah.

-And blend it in the vita-prep.

Okay.

[Ash]

Every time



I say something,



Michael has a great idea.



Like, I said,



"Grilled radicchio."

And he says,

"Ooh, asparagus coulis."

And I was like, "oh, well, yeah.

It's better.

"Let's do asparagus coulis.

Not grilled radicchio.

Duh! What was I thinking?"

So, uh, it's really fun



Working with him,



Because he's just got



A lot of good ideas.

Sometimes you gotta

Grab it and to with it, so...

Call it like a carbonara?

I was just gonna say,

Like a carbonara.

-Deconstructed.

-All right.

[Michael]

You know,



I'm kind of a control freak.

And ash, he's the number two

In the kitchen right now,

And, um, I think

If he keeps his head down

And he keeps pushing,



He's gonna be a great chef.

Asparagus sauce.

We got two hours left...

Right now.

Let's focus on what we got

Going on.

[Robin]

Mike i. Is



All about "i".



And when you work



In a team,



We're both being judged.

But we also can affect

Each other.

And I know I can put out some

Great flavor.

And if he's open to that,

Then we can do

A great job today.

Not so [indistinct]?

No, you don't--

We just don't--

We have a lot of flavors

Going on.

So the simpler,

The cleaner...

Yeah. You want it hot?

I'm gonna cook 'em. Okay.

All we gotta do is melt

The sugar.

Once the sugar's melted,

You can pull it off the heat.

[Robin]

So, you know, I mean,



Mike definitely has taken



The dominant lead

And I'm okay with that.

I mean, I don't need

To be in charge.

But I need to be a part.

Re you going--

Are you going lengthwise?

I was gonna do

Like these first,

But I should go

Long ones, huh? I see.

[Mike]

Like I gave her



Little things to do,



Things that wouldn't



Affect the final product.

And, um, throwing out

All the stuff that she's doing.

[Clatter]

-It's wrapped.

-I know.

-What is that?

-Genoa.

Hey, chefs.

-What's up, tom?

-What's happening?

-Hey, guys.

-Hey, chef, how we doing?

I'm fine.

How are you doing?

Sweatin'.

-So we're making gnocchi.

-Okay.

Pick up a couple prawns,

Scoop of gnocchi,

And ready to go.

-Prawns on top of the gnocchi?

-Yeah.

Okay.

You're giving me some weird

Feedback here, chef.

I'm just-- I'm not giving

You feedback at all.

I was just asking you

A question.

The question was

Prawns on top of gnocchi.

-That's all.

-Thanks, chef.

-Good luck.

-Thanks, chef.

Probably need more water

In there.

-Hey, guys.

-How you doing, chef?

I'm fine.

How are you?

[Mike] pretty good.

We got, uh,

Asian product today.

Okay.

So there was a lot of products

That I'm very

Unfamiliar with.

So, uh,

I'm gonna do what I can

To kind of put it together

With my touches on it.

Robin, are you used

To these flavors?

-I love asian flavors.

-You love these flavors, okay.

But, michael, you don't

Use them at all?

-Nah.

-Got it.

But I know how to cook,

So hopefully I can

Put something together.

-[Michael] smells good.

-All right, cool.

Awesome.

See you in a while.

[Mike] thank you, chef.

[Tom] hey, guys.

You ever prep over

A glass table before?

No, but we actually built

Our own kitchen in here.

And then we're gonna take

Some egg yolks--

They're in the freezer

Right now--

Put 'em inside of a ravioli

And put that

On top of the fish.

So you cut into it,

You get all the flavors

Of carbonara with the dish--

As far as timing

And getting everything out

And having pastas,

Do you think it's gonna

Trip you up

A little bit?

No, pasta's gonna be

Nice and fresh.

Probably cook it

In our mr. Wok,

Or whatever it's called,

Over there.

Okay.

Then we'll "wok" it out

To you.

[Laughs]

All right.

Behind you guys.

They're cooking inside,

In a very small kitchen,

To sort of

Put this meal together.

Kevin and jen, they're doing



A korean barbecue.



Kevin won



The high-stakes quickfire,



So he chose



To take the money.

So no one has immunity here.

So it's fair game.

One thing I found strange

Was that eli had mentioned

That they were gonna

Put the prawns

On top of the gnocchi.

Now, gnocchi,

If made correctly,

Is really soft.



There is no way the gnocchi



Is gonna support the prawns.

They should turn to mush,

But we'll see what they do

When they plate it.

-Halibut challenge.

-[Tom]

There's a lot



That they have



To do last second

To create

These platters of food,

And that's where

It's gonna be difficult.

It's only four burners



And a grill.

The chefs who can figure out

What they can do in advance

That will create

The least detriment

To the final outcome

Of the dish,

I think those are the chefs

That will have an advantage.

We're working

In the tiniest corner

In the history of corners.

This is gonna be a fast cook

Here, jen,

So we'll be--

[Jennifer] it's gonna be

On and off.

[Ash] michael's got the fish

Taken care of.

So I decide I'm gonna run

Downstairs

And just set the table.

Honestly, michael and I have



A pretty good plan.



We're clear on what



We're doing.



I can take minutes to get



The table set.

Thirty one minutes, guys.

So let's just get it

As crispy as we can.

You think that texture will

Work with the prawns on them?

Yeah, I do.

[Ashley]

For me,



My culinary style



Is that I don't like



To boss the food around.



And, you know,



We're kind of putting together

A bunch

Of random ingredients

And trying to make a dish

Really work.

[Ashley] taste it.

I think it's great.

[Ashley]

You know,



I just kind of take



A natural leadership role.

Because eli does not

Want to cook the prawns.

It's tricky business



Grilling spot prawns.



And if you



Overcook them at all,

It ruins the delicacy of them

And, you know,

Their beautiful texture

And beautiful flavor.

[Michael] only have minutes,

Right?

[Ash] yep.

[Michael]

So when it comes



Down to,



Basically, the last



Sort of minutes,



The halibut starts to crisp.

And I walk away for a second

To start something else,

And I come back

And the plancha's ice cold.

-[Ash] did we blow a circuit?

-[Bleep].

It was working,

And then it just cut off.

[Michael]

The circuits kept



Tripping.



The person that's gonna be



Held accountable



For that dish is me.

So I need to get

A finished product on the plate

And get it to the judges.

Can I jump on here, ash?

Yeah, please.

Here you go.

[Michael]

Once you start cooking



A piece of fish,



You can't stop it



And start it and stop it.

Ultimately,

With the game of temperature

That I'm playing

With the plancha,

It's basically impossible

At this point.

We're still gonna

Have to go in the oven.

[Ash]

This is getting bad,



You know?

We just got screwed

With the electrical problems.

And we could go home

For that.

Well, have a good dinner.

-You too.

-Thank you.

This piece needs to be

Trimmed up again, mike.

[Mike] ahh.

I'm gonna cry.

[Mike]

I mean, I walk up



In the kitchen,



And I see her cooking



The tuna,



And it's, like, burning.

[Sharp exhale]

I'm going home.

Everything is against--

Everything is against me.

I'm stressed

With my partner.

I'm stressed

With all the asian product.

I'm just hoping

That the judges

Like the food

I'm gonna give them.

I haven't seasoned it at all.

[Ashley]

I taste the gnocchi



When eli brings them out



To plate,

And, um, they're way saltier

Than they were

When I handed them off

To him.

Okay, these are

A little salty.

So don't--let's not

Do anything else.

So I'm definitely worried

About the salt level.

Right here?

Come on, come on.

Three minutes.

-[Michael] are they holding

Together?

-Yep.

[Ash]

The fish is a little bit



Overcooked,

But at this point,

You're stuck.

You have to serve something

Or you go home.

[Mike] seconds!

Would anyone like wine?

Please feel free.

-Any of their red wine.

-Thank you.

So tell me what the culinary

Council at macy's does.

In an effort to help feed

America's hungry,

Macy's, in conjunction

With feeding america,

Plan on serving

Ten million meals.

It's gonna be a fantastic

Opportunity for us.

As culinary members,

You really step up to the plate.

And if you go

Onto macys.com,

You can get

All the information.

[Padma] cheers.

Cheers

Down at the end there.

[Mike] here we go.

[Padma] hello and good evening.

[Tom] love that family-style

Dining.

[Robin]

You know,



It's incredibly intimidating



Feeding them



The food we're making.

And any time we're

Working together as teams,

There's an added element.

[Padma] so why don't we start

With ashley and eli?

We had, uh,

Chef armstrong.

And so we decided to do

A play on a surf and turf.

We made some spot prawns



With red beet



Creme fraiche sauce,



Gnocchi



With a little lacinato kale.

[Padma] do you have

Anything to add, ashley?

No, eli's doing the talking

For both of us tonight.

[Padma] okay.

Robin and mike.

Chef yagihashi, I got

Your market basket and your bag

And everything like that.

So, you had a lot of stuff

For me to work with.

So what we decided to do



Was marinated mushroom

And pickled asian pear roll.

And then we lightly seared

The tuna and scallop,

Chilled it.

-It's beautiful.

-Thank you.

[Mike] thank you.

So we had chef florence.

And what we did was

A pan-roasted halibut.

We served it over a yellow



Corn cake,



And on the side,



We served it with

A sherry vinegar

And chorizo vinaigrette.

Nice job.

It's gorgeous.

We received

Tom douglas's basket,

And so what we have here is

A little bit

Of very lightly barbecued,

If you will, kobe beef.

And then underneath



We have sort of a broth



Made with cardamom



And tomato and ginger

To set that off.

We had chef nancy silverton's

Bag and bin.

And we kind of made a play



On a carbonara,



So the halibut's



Wrapped in pancetta.



On top, there's



An egg yolk ravioli.

[Ash] and then we have a shaved

Asparagus and fennel salad.

Thank you very much

For all your hard work.

Prawn sashimi.

[Padma] I'm starting

With the prawns.

This is the halibut

With the egg yolk

Wrapped in pancetta.

[Tom] I like it.

It's a little mushy for me--

[Nancy]

Too much pancetta



For me, though.



I guess it didn't crisp,



You know--

[Tom] yeah, like

It wasn't cooked

At a high enough

Heat or something.

Right, I mean,

Mine's real chewy.

The halibut was

Slightly overcooked.

Pancetta

Slightly undercooked.

I just don't think

Egg yolk and that halibut is

A good idea.

[Douglass] it's interesting,

If you compare

The two halibut dishes

Next to each other,

I kind of like



This one better.



The second one



With the corn cake,



There's more flavor each--



-[Tom]

Bryan and laurine's.

-Each layer.

They were also able to get

The texture in the halibut too,

-And the color.

-Yeah.

I love the other spices

From the chorizo.

I get that paprika,

That garlic.

That kind of slightly pungent,

Smoky flavor of chorizo

Really compliments

The halibut.

How do you think

Eli and ashley

Did with your ingredients?



[Armstrong]

You know,



Once you sautee a gnocchi,



It's gonna be



Really difficult

To retain any of its

Fluffy integrity, yeah.

Anybody find

The gnocchi really salty?

-Definitely.

-Really salty, for sure.

[Armstrong] and the texture

Of them is off too.

[Toby] well, they're sauteed.

They're dense, really dense.

It was a monet--

Good from a distance,

Not too great close up.

Spot prawns, to me,

Are one of the most precious

Seafoods that we have,

And they are

To be cherished.

And they are

So lightly flavored.

They're too beautiful

To let that happen to them.

Has anyone tried

The beef yet?

Yeah, I was about

To bring that up.

Honestly,

If there's one bite here

That's really balanced

And tastes really nice,

It's the kobe.

I think that's fabulous.

That's really good

Stuff, right?

Jen and kevin.

[Tyler]

And the cardamom



Tomato broth--



Is that was that is?



[Douglass]

It's



A cardamom broth.



And that's what



I like about it

The fragrance that it

Brings to the dish.

And then they added

Some texture to it.

You know, taste and texture--

Good combination.

[Padma] takashi,

How do you think

Michael isabella,



And robin did



With your ingredients?



[Takashi]

Yeah, I think they did



Very, very well.

But if I were them,

I'm not gonna

Put the scallops and the tuna,

You know, same... Portions.

When I checked in on them,

They seemed to sort of

Not have a clear idea

Of what they were doing.

There also seemed to be

A lot of tension

Between the two of them.

But that said, I think

The dish was successful.

I liked it.

I really liked

This dish a lot.

I mean, I think that,

For me,

It all worked.

Just beets

And [bleep] prawns.

It makes sense, like,

It just [bleep] connects.

[Jennifer] I think our flavors

Were good.

[Kevin] I think so.

Our sauce is bangin'.

It was really good.

I just want to break

A piece and check it.

See how we did.

[Ash]

Michael is convinced



That his fish is



Horribly overcooked.



And he think that he's going



Home because of it.

It's michael's dish,

Conceptually,

So I think it's easy

To put blame on him.

But maybe my blindness,



Thinking of him



As such a great chef,



Which he is,



Led me to not question



What he was doing.

So it's gonna be interesting

Whatever it is.

Whatever happens.

[Indistinct chatter]

How'd you do?

Fish was over.

Fish was overcooked.

Is it?

[Bryan]

Michael had



Some technical problems.

Yeah, I'm a bit worried for him,

Just because he seemed

To beat himself up

A little bit about it.

Why? They held--

They held nice.

I don't know if it's

Still, like...

Oh.

This is the first time

I felt like this,

Because this is the first time

I've felt like I've messed up.

And I'm



Always critiquing myself.



There's times that I feel



More confident than others,

And this time,

I don't feel too confident.

Boy, it is a disaster in here.

[Laughs]

We made a good mess.

It's still better

Than the campfire.

[Mike] robin never shuts up,

So I kind of just let her talk

And...that's what

She does the best is talk.

[Robin] a chickpea fritter was

The first thing I thought of.

You know, then I didn't see

Any chickpeas around.

I didn't, you know,

I wanted to...

It's just like you have

Two seconds to think about it.

[Mike]

She thinks out loud.

So if she sees

A car going by,

Look at the car going by.

I'm gonna eat this orange.

Or she thinks

She has to go to work.

"I think I have

To go to work today."

I got stuck

On indian flavors,

And so in my brain,

I just--

I kind of just muddled it.

-I felt like such an a*s.

-Ahem.

[Michael]

I'm a little nervous



For myself at this point.



I know,



Going into this challenge,



That I haven't put



My best dish out.

You know, if I was a judge,

I would be heavy

On critiquing me.

[Mike] it's crazy, too, like how

You think you could do good,

And you can get called

In this thing.

You know what I'm saying?

That's the scary part.

Hello.

Can we see...laurine...

Bryan...

Jennifer...

And kevin.

Thank you.

[Mike] go get 'em.

Ah, this isn't looking good.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Congratulations.

You guys had the best

Dishes of the evening.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

[Tyler] everyone was

Really impressed.

We thought the food

Was absolutely delicious

-And well ex*cuted.

-Thank you.

Was there someone driving

The team forward?

I don't think so.

I mean, we worked

Really well together.

-Did you cook the beef then?

-I did.

Okay, and you kind of

Made the tomato gravy,

Which came out of

The chutney you made.

Right.

I thought it was

A delicious dish.

-Thank you very much.

-We appreciate it.

I was still eating it

At the end of the meal,

When everyone else was done.

I was like,

"Is there any more?"

[Tyler] I think you took

A doggy bag home, didn't you?

-It was fantastic.

-[Padma] so, laurine and bryan,

You had tyler's bag

Of ingredients.

Bryan took the fish.

I took care of the polenta,

The corn cake.

We both kind of worked

On the chorizo vinaigrette,

But I will say

That it was really his kind of

Driving force

On that part of it.

[Tom] from the list

Of ingredients that I saw,

I thought

You did a great job

Of editing

Those ingredients down

And just sticking

With a few things

That worked together

Really well.

Uh, we all felt

That the chorizo-sherry

Vinaigrette,

-Was a real stunner.

-Thank you.

So, tyler, as our guest judge

For this round,

You have the honor

Of announcing

The winner

Of this challenge.

[Tyler] I thought both dishes

Were really spectacular.

And that being said,

Only one dish can win,

And only one chef

Out of that team can win.

And the winning dish

Would be...

Kevin and jennifer's steak.

I thought that

Was really delicious, guys.

And, um, I would have to say

That, jennifer,

Your sauce was probably

The best part.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-[Padma] congratulations.

-Kick a*s.

[Padma] you've just won

A $, gift card from macy's.

-Shut up!

-[Padma] so come on up

And get it.

[Tyler] congratulations, huh?

A shopping spree.

Congratulations.

Very nice to meet you.

Thank you.

Besides winning my first

Elimination challenge,

Which I've been dying to do,

I got $,

From macy's.

Good job.

Kevin will probably get

A suit out of it or something.

He deserves a little

Of this $,, so...

Maybe being sick is the way

For me to win

Elimination challenges.

It's me.

-[Ashley] all right.

-[Applause]

They want to see michael,

Ash,

Eli,

And, uh, ashley.

Cool.

Good luck, guys.

What did--

Your brother's dish was

The pancetta-wrapped halibut

With the egg yolk ravioli.

And asparagus and fennel?

What was the asparagus

And the fennel portion of it?

Was it just--

I know there was like

An asparagus sauce, right?

Asparagus with the sauce,

And also the--

A couple different ways.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I don't want to discuss it.

We'll wait till

They come back, yeah?

Let them discuss it.

It's their dishes.

I'm tired of dissecting

Other people's plates.

-You didn't try it, did you?

-[Kevin] I'm sorry?

You didn't try the dish,

Did you?

No, that's

What I'm saying.

Can't pass judgment.

That's how I feel about this.

As it gets down,

There's less room for error.

I mean, there is no--

There is no room now, really.

[Bryan]

I mean, it only takes



One mistake to really go home.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

You had our least-favorite

Dishes in this challenge.

Michael and ash,

Who did what?

I cooked the fish.

I had, uh, I know

It was overcooked.

We had-- our electricity

Kept going out

-In the living room.

-[Tyler] let me tell

You something.

As a chef, we travel

Around the country

And do dinners

In the strangest places

Every week.

And we can't really take

"The power went out"

As an excuse

To someone who pays

-For a very expensive meal.

-Absolutely.

You have take control

Of your situation,

And you can't let

Those situations control you.

I think it was

The wrong fish too.

I think halibut

Is kind of tough.

To get the kind

Of caramelization you want

On the pancetta,

It's hard for the halibut

To really stand up to it.

Do you think, had it

Turned out the way

You'd intended it to be,

There would have been

Enough kind of

Differentiation of textures?

I mean, there's

Kind of a similarity

Between halibut

And the raviolo.

I knew

When I was serving it,

And I knew

Who I was serving it to,

That I had made

Some mistakes.

I thought conceptually

The dish was really awesome.

The few ideas I had weren't

As good as his ideas.

And frankly, it's hard to argue

With a great idea.

[Padma] ash, were you okay

With playing second fiddle

To mike?

It's sort of like saying

"Do you mind washing

Paint brushes for picasso?"

In my opinion.

'Cause I think, frankly,

Michael is amazing

And I didn't mind

Washing paint brushes.

[Tom] it almost sounds to me

That you're

Pretty much telling us

That you're only going to go

So far in this competition,

And that there's a few chefs

That you think are better.

I think that--

I think that I can go very far.

One thing that this competition

Has made me realize,

Is even michael,

Who I think is a great chef,

Can overcook a fish.

I can execute

As good as anyone here.

So I don't think I'm done,

And I think I can give

A good run for my money,

'Cause I make good food.

[Padma] I'd like to move on

To eli and ashley's dish.

Were you guys happy

With the dish?

Parts of it.

What part?

Uh, I thought the sauce,

Uh, and the prawns.

I thought, conceptually

And flavor-wise,

I really felt

Like the prawns made sense

With the beets.

Were you aware that not all

The prawns were cooked?

No, I was not.

I tried-- you know,

I cooked the prawns.

Um, if in my attempt

To not overcook them,

They were, you know,

Slightly undercooked,

Then, you know,

I take full responsibility

For it.

[Padma] did you look

At the prawns?

Yeah, I saw them outside.

And they looked fine?

You didn't say, "hey..."

I plated-- I plated

Probably half of them.

I mean, I didn't dig around

And touch every single prawn.

But, you know, I physically

Put half of them on the plate.

Didn't you think that gnocchi

Might be a little heavy

For an alfresco

Summer evening meal?

Yeah.

I mean, yes.

I di--

I mean, gnocchi is obviously

A little heavy for--

For-- for a, you know,

Outdoor evening,

Absolutely.

Do you feel that gnocchi is

One of your strong dishes?

I said,

"This is very salty

With the kale

And the brown butter."

And that we shouldn't--

We had to take it easy

From, you know,

In the rest of our plating

With the rest of our

Ingredients with the salt.

You know

That doesn't work.

Any discussion at all

Of not serving them?

No.

We had agreed that,

You know,

The flavor profile had

Made sense.

It may have made sense

Or not made sense.

The big problem was

The shrimp was

Really undercooked

And the gnocchi was salty

And tough.

That's what it really

Came down to.

[Padma] thank you.

So nobody has anything yet,

Right?

I may have talked myself

Into going home.

That was a classic line,

By the way.

Pretty embarrassing.

You know, ash didn't

Do a whole lot.

It sounds like michael

Really shouldered the brunt

-Of cooking this dish.

-[Toby] he sounded

Like he was michael's sous chef

Throughout the challenge.

Oh, without a doubt,

But he sounded

Like michael's comme,

Not even his sous chef.

He was more or less inviting us

To send him home

If we decided that theirs was

The weakest dish.

-We're a team.

Your mistake is my mistake.

You didn't have to say

All that stuff that you said,

You know?

Thank you.

That was--that was nice.

Michael did

The lion's share of the work,

And I think having the ravioli

Sitting on top of the fish,

Wasn't a good idea.

And I think the fish

Was overcooked.

We should allow him

Some latitude,

Because he had

The power outage,

But as you said,

Um, you know,

That would be no excuse

In a restaurant.

Why should it be

An excuse here?

If you go

To your restaurant,

And your oven doesn't work,

You don't go out

To the guests and say,

"Well, yeah, well,

The oven didn't work today."

You know what I mean?

Like--

But I didn't have

More product or time

To rectify the situation.

Ashley and eli.

If you look at the dish,

The big problem

Was the raw shrimp.

And the other problem was

The-- the gnocchi.

And ashley had her hand halfway

In the gnocchi,

But definitely

% In the shrimp.

[Tyler] they just kept

The blinders on

From beginning to end.

And to me, I think ashley

Kind of walked away from it.

Eli had some hand

In the gnocchi.

Maybe over-salting it.

If you make it,

And then the other guy cooks it

And sautees it and it's salty,

I got to imagine

Somewhere along the line,

He had a hand

In making that salty.

I guess I should have been

More clear

About my intentions

With the prawns, you know.

I don't know.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[Tom] last night's challenge was

To team up

And cook a dish for the macy's

Culinary council.

You know,

Team challenges are difficult.

When a team wins,

Everybody looks great.

When a team loses,

It is usually one person

That led to its demise.

And I think that's true

In both cases here.

Ashley, we felt

That the shrimp was

Really undercooked.

You admitted that you

Were responsible for that.

You also made the gnocchi,

Or at least had your hand

In half that gnocchi.

And it was very salty.

Just not very good.

Michael and ash,

Um, michael,

You were clearly driving

The bus on this dish.

I think, conceptually,

It was your dish,

Which was okay.

But, uh,

The halibut was overcooked,

And you admitted

To doing that as well.

Ashley, please

Pack your knives and go.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thanks for the opportunity.

It's nice to meet you, chef.

-Good luck to you, ashley.

-Take care, padma.

It was nice to meet you.

-Take care.

-Take care.

[Ashley]

I'm totally bummed.



I understand, at this point



In the competition,



You know, there's no way



To make a mistake

Without going home,

Especially with the caliber

Of chefs who are here.

But I'm disappointed.

No.

You know, I got to cook

For some great people.

Thanks.

[Ashley]

I hope I showed



That I am talented.

I think it's just gonna

Take more hard work

To get me to, you know,

The next place I want to go.

Knock 'em dead.

And I look at work

And what I do every day

As an opportunity to hopefully

Make myself better

And make the people around me



Better too.



You know,



I have a lot to learn

About food and, you know,

I'm looking forward

To what comes next.

[Padma]

Next on

Top chef...

Push, push, push!

I'm afraid.

This is a huge event.

There's going to be a lot



Of important people there.

[Bleep].

This challenge

Is nerve-wracking

Because of who

The guest judge is.

-I'm not finished.

-Hurry up!

Shut the [bleep] up, bryan.

[Bryan]

I think it's



Complete bull

[Bleep].

Be a [bleep] martyr.

I don't give a [bleep].

Eli--

Robin, you're not my mom.

Cut it out.

I don't want to be

Your mom, believe me.