[Padma]
Previously, on
Top chef...
It was just really undercooked.
Eli, please pack
Your knives and go.
As our guest judge,
You have the honor
Of announcing our winner.
-Kevin.
-Thank you.
You've won $,.
That's almost
What I make in a year.
-[Bleep].
-I'm afraid.
It's been a really
Long road to the finals.
Wash it out, give it back
To ashley. Thank you.
[Kevin]
We have four
Really good people
Who are gonna fight it out.
Relax. Relax. Relax. Re-lax.
It's not gonna be handed
To anyone.
Yes or no? You have it now.
Make the decision.
You put like one grain
Of salt on too much,
You're goin' home.
[Bleep], we're all
[Bleep] screwed.
What the-- oh, god.
[Kevin]
Bryan and michael,
When their
[Bleep]
Is exactly the way it's supposed
To be, they're hard to beat.
The food that kevin cooks
Is the food that I cook
On my day off.
-I'm not finished.
-Hurry up.
Shut the [bleep] up, bryan.
Who do I want to go
Head-to-head with? My brother.
That's my ultimate goal.
You don't have to act
Like a d*ck.
-Michael.
-Kevin.
-Bryan.
-Jennifer.
-Thank you.
-[Gavin] congratulations.
It's time to cook,
And we're all on fire.
We're all there to win.
[Kevin] yeah, girl!
These are real cooks,
Real chefs who really believe
In what they do,
And it's gonna make
For a very interesting finals.
[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.
[Folksy guitar music]
[Jennifer]
I'm excited
About the finals being in napa.
I love napa.
It's so gorgeous here.
I am on top chef for my mom.
She taught me how to cook.
For my mom, coming in tenth
Would be awesome.
But the top four
Is nothing to me.
I want to win.
[Michael]
Coming back,
The competitive level is equal
Amongst the four of us.
But the three of them are in
My way of the title of top chef.
Feelings or no feelings,
I'm going for it,
No matter what.
-What's up?
-[Michael] what's goin' on?
-How are you?
-Good.
-Good to see ya.
-You too.
-We taking a train or what?
-I guess so.
Talk to your brother?
We talked a little bit
Of trash back and forth.
Yeah. I didn't
Expect that at all.
[Both laugh]
[Kevin]
When I first came
To las vegas,
I made a promise to myself
That I wouldn't be happy
With anything less
Than making it to the finale.
My goal obviously is to win,
And I do think that
I have the ability to do that.
What's up, kev?
-Hi, guys.
-[Jennifer] how are you?
-Waiting for a train?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
-Still got the beard, huh?
There's a [bleep] facebook page
Dedicated to people
Supporting my beard.
-Are you sure?
-Yes!
What's up, guys? How you doing?
-Good. How are you?
-What's up?
[Bryan]
Being only a couple
Challenges away from the end,
I wanna win for my son.
I spent six weeks away,
And, you know,
I flew into dulles airport,
And my boy just takes off
Running to me.
That was like the coolest
Moment I've had
In a very long time.
Time away from his dad
Is time that's gone now,
So I want it to be worth
Something for him.
-Let's get started.
-I know.
[Bryan] hey, don't think about
Pushing me
In front of the train.
[Laughter]
That thing's
Picking up some speed.
We're trying to figure out
If we're getting on a train
Or what we're doing.
Padma's gonna get out
With a conductor's hat on
-And [bleep] like that.
-[Laughter]
That looks like a dining car.
[Jennifer]
Padma looks pretty good.
Padma's a hot pregnant mom.
-[Kevin] congratulations, padma.
-[Bryan] congratulations.
[Padma] thank you.
Padma's pregnant, so...
She's sporting
Her little baby bump now.
-Hello, chefs.
-Hi, padma.
Welcome to napa valley
And the first leg
Of your top chef finale.
Chefs, please meet
Michael chiarello.
He's our guest judge
For this round.
How you doing, chefs?
Welcome to napa.
So michael is the acclaimed
Owner and chef
Of the restaurant bottega,
And he's also a top chef master.
[Michael]
I did watch
Michael chiarello on
Masters.
He's an awesome chef.
He's really pioneered
Fine dining in the napa valley.
And now for your last
Quickfire challenge.
So for your last
Quickfire challenge,
You'll be cooking with napa
Valley's signature crop--
The grape.
[Jennifer]
I don't use
The raw grape itself every day,
So this is gonna be really hard.
Okay, so chefs,
You'll have a full pantry,
And you will have
Minutes to cook.
Then you'll serve your dish
To michael and me on the train.
That's right, you'll be cooking
On the napa valley wine train,
Which travels through the heart
Of the napa valley vineyards.
[Kevin]
I get motion sick
Pretty easily,
So I'm not really thrilled
At the idea
Of having to try and cook
While we're shaking about
In a train.
Oh, and there's one more thing.
This is your last
High stakes quickfire.
Take a look
At what you're playing for.
-Sick.
-Oh, wow.
[Kevin] oh! Okay.
[Upbeat music]
-That's pretty sweet.
-[Jennifer]
I want it.
I drive a chevy cavalier.
I don't even have a cd player.
I have like my high school
Mixtapes.
It's not your color, kevin.
-[Laughter]
-[Padma] that's right.
The winner of this challenge
Will be the proud new owner
Of a third generation prius.
-[Bryan] very cool.
-That's awesome.
So, chefs, good luck.
Your minutes starts now.
Alright, guys. Here we go again.
[Train horn blares]
We're having to basically
Make a dish in minutes.
The challenge is about making
The grape the star.
Some are sweet. Some are tart.
The complexity of the grape
Is a lot higher
Than just a choice
Of red or green.
[Kevin]
I might be a little rusty.
It took me a second
To kind of get back in the pace
Of the
Top chef
Way
Of doing things.
But it would be great
To win a new car.
That's a pretty sweet prize
To win.
Coming down.
[Jennifer] watch your knife,
Please.
The train moving
Adds another element.
And I'm hoping I don't slip
And cut myself.
[Kevin]
The hardest part
About it is the swaying.
Coming down, on your back.
Just has me physically ill.
Coming down.
The napa valley wine train
Is known for great cuisine.
Still, you know, I need
To find the most space to work.
-h*!
-Sorry. Door.
Michael shot straight
To the back
And grabbed the small little
Prep table in the back.
I thought about that too
When I walked in.
So I had to change
My game there,
Which kinda pissed me off.
I'm the only one
Who chose to do dessert.
So I reach for a calphalon
Unison nonstick pot
So I can set that up.
I am worried that maybe
I chose a grape
That doesn't have
The most flavor.
But there's no way
To turn back on it now.
I think I developed a lot
Of flavor very quickly.
So I'm feeling pretty good.
Kevin, michael, and bryan-
They all need to just move over.
Around.
I'm ready for a new car.
[Bell dinging, horn blares]
[Bryan] five minutes!
Guys, where did you find spoons?
[Michael]
It feels great to be
Competing again.
It forces you to put yourself
In a creative process
That is not normal in everyday.
So I'm gonna use as much
Of anything grape
As I possibly can.
[Bryan]
I'm using concord grapes.
Even though it's not a grape
That's really from the valley,
I think it'll really show off
The flavor of the grape.
I haven't won a quickfire yet,
So winning this one
Would mean a lot.
[Bleep] damn train.
[Beeping]
Alright.
Thank you.
I have a honey and fromage
Blanc mousse.
On top of that is glazed grapes
With a little bit
Of olive oil, some sea salt,
And a little bit of thyme.
-[Padma] so dessert first.
-[Kevin] exactly, yeah.
-I like the olive oil.
-Thank you very much.
Okay, michael.
I wanted to use as much
Of the grape stuff
On the table as possible,
So you have a grape leaf
That's actually stuffed
With couscous filling,
Little bit of ras el hanout.
The outside is a minus eight
Vinegar reduction.
It's very sweet and sour
At the same time.
And then on the branch
You have a kebab of grapes
And bay scallops.
-And right on the tendril?
-I grilled it on the vine.
-Thank you, michael.
-Bryan, what did you make?
So I did a roasted hen
And I served it with
Brussels sprouts
That I caramelized with bacon.
Also made a concord grape
Reduction with a little verjus
And then put back in the flesh
Of the concord grapes
-After I de-seeded them.
-With a concord grape?
-Uh, concord grapes.
-Thank you, chef.
-Thank you.
-Jennifer.
I made some sauteed
Chicken livers
With a little bit
Of steamed clams,
Macerated cabernet grapes
With wild mushroom salad
And wild tendrils.
-Thank you, chef.
-Thank you.
[Bell dinging]
Okay. So, michael,
How did you think our chefs did?
Well, I think they did
An extraordinary job.
Bravo to each
And every one of you.
Okay, let's start with kevin.
[Chiarello] very, very tasty.
Did a nice job.
I was looking for a little
More grape love in there.
-How 'bout michael?
-The use of...
Both the leaf, the wine,
And a piece of the vine--
It was very, very nice.
-[Padma] bryan.
-The concord grape.
I know you had concord grapes
To work with.
There's not a lot
Of concord grapes out here.
And the smokiness of the bacon
Came in over
The top of the grape.
Here in the valley,
You're trying to go
The other way around.
[Padma] jennifer.
The rich meats and clams
Together.
Very intriguing.
I would do that again.
You'll see at bottega one day,
You'll say,
"Ah, chiarello's bagged
My liver and clam dish."
You can have it, chef.
[Chuckles]
[Padma] chefs, you all did
A wonderful job
Celebrating the grape, but...
There can only be
One prius owner, so...
Who's it going to be?
In the napa valley,
For what it means here
To celebrate what you see
Outside here each and every day
To stand up and to tell
A story with food,
Which is what I'm looking for,
I think that...
Michael. Chef, you did
An extraordinary job
Of telling that story
From the ground up.
-Congratulations.
-Thank you so much.
Congratulations, chef.
Congratulations. Well done.
[Jennifer]
I wanted
To win the prius.
But michael won. Screw him, man.
And, michael, here's your prius.
[Laughter]
-Congratulations.
-Can you stop the train now?
I won a toyota prius.
I'm pretty stoked at this point.
I came out of the gate running.
I'm just gonna continue
To run faster.
My immediate goal right now
Is to win
This elimination challenge
And get myself one step closer
To winning the title
Of top chef.
[Train horn blows]
[Kevin] I'll send jen
A message here.
Good morning, jen.
Look at this delicious breakfast
That michael has prepared.
[Laughter]
[Cell phone rings]
-[Kevin]
Good morning, jen.
-[Chuckles]
[Jennifer]
Waking up
At the meritage resort and spa,
I'm ready to focus,
Get in the kitchen,
And cook my [bleep] a*s off.
-[Kevin] good morning.
-Morning.
[Jennifer]
My mentor,
Eric ripert,
He's extremely proud of me
That I made it this far.
Every time someone
Comes into the hotel,
"Did you meet our chef jen?
She's on
Top chef."
But second place
Is still a loser,
So I really want to win.
[Padma] good morning, chefs,
And welcome
To the rutherford hill winery.
Today's elimination challenge
Determines who will be competing
For the title of top chef.
So tonight the winery's hosting
Their season end crush party,
A winery tradition
Where employees and friends
Celebrate the bountiful crop
At the end of harvest season.
And you will be doing
The catering.
Crush in napa
Is the time of year
When they crush the grapes,
When they start making wine.
So it's a really big time
Of year for everybody.
Tonight we'll celebrate
The best of the region.
And you guys will have
An enormous selection
Of the finest local ingredients.
Except for salt and pepper,
If the ingredient
Isn't raised or grown here,
It won't be available to you.
You'll each create two dishes
For a party of people.
Having to make two dishes
For people,
Doing the party, making sure
Everything's perfect--
It's gonna be very, very tough.
[Padma]
One dish has to be vegetarian,
And the other must feature
A local protein.
You'll shop
At a local farmer's market,
And then you'll head over
To brix restaurant
Where you'll have five hours
To prep and cook
Before the party tonight.
[Kevin]
I don't wanna count
My chickens before they hatch,
But I cook % locally
At my restaurant in atlanta,
So this challenge,
In many ways,
Plays directly into
My strong suit.
We'll see you later
This afternoon at the party.
-Good luck.
-Good luck, chefs.
[Jennifer]
We pull up
At long meadow ranch and...
It is this cute little farmhouse
That is just filled
With all of the produce
That looks like they just
Picked it this morning.
This is red wine vinegar?
[Bryan]
I love going to the market.
I chose to place
My restaurant where I did
Because I wanted to be closer
To agriculture.
So for me, this is a lot of fun.
This is [bleep] where
It's at, man.
Whew. That's delicious.
[Jennifer] what's bryan
And kevin using again?
Beef and beef.
What am I going to use?
I just don't know
What I wanna do.
I have about million
Different ideas
Running through my head.
-Trying to decide?
-Yeah.
-Protein?
-I'm trying to decide.
I ended up deciding
To go with duck.
So I have ideas.
It just needs to be edited down.
You're just buying
Some of everything?
Just buying-- just buying stuff.
Ten minutes left, guys.
[Michael]
That's in the first box.
Didn't I have
A rutabaga in there as well?
-I'll take nine dozen.
-Nine dozen.
It's very rare
That people get to eat
Farm fresh eggs.
So for my vegetarian dish,
I wanna cook a perfect egg
And basically create like
An egg custard
When you cut into it.
At this point in the game,
I think you'll need a little bit
Of that wow factor
To stand out from the rest.
I'll barely have enough.
[Kevin]
Michael's dishes
Are very complex,
And I know that michael
Has called me out
For being too simple sometimes.
So I want to beat him to show
Him that simple cooking can win.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
[Kevin] at the end of the day,
It's all about flavor.
[Bryan]
We walk
Into brix restaurant,
Which is set in the middle
Of this beautiful vineyard.
Going into the kitchen,
It's really cool.
There's plenty of equipment.
There's a wood-burning oven,
Which is awesome.
We have to make
Portions of food,
Two different dishes.
You're not just
Showing up to cook.
You're showing up
To basically cater a party
And do everything yourself.
My list is pretty long
For today.
So I need to get
My foie gras going.
I need to marinate it,
Roll it up,
Vacuum pack it,
Cook it, chill it, process it,
Re-roll it, and get it chilled
Before service.
-How you lookin'?
-I'm in the [bleep], of course.
[Kevin] you got
Your plan finalized?
Uh...yeah, hopefully,
It all works out. [Laughs]
[Chuckles]
[Jennifer] I
'M just trying
To forget about
That it's an elimination
Challenge
And that this is the end
For one of us.
After that wood burns down,
The coals are gonna get
Really hot,
-So you can grill on it, so...
-Okay.
[Jennifer]
We're giving each other tips,
And it's not,
"I hope you
[Bleep]
Up."
This is, "I hope you do
The best you can today...
But I wanna beat you."
For my protein, I'm gonna use
Grass-fed short ribs.
First thing I do
Is I'll start de-boning 'em
So I'll be able to braise 'em
A little bit faster.
This challenge for me is more
True to my style of cooking.
Knowing michael--
I don't know
If he puts that much thought
Into local agriculture.
So I'd call this one
My challenge.
-[Michael] what?
-Uh, talking to my squash.
[Chuckles]
There's definitely
A sibling rivalry.
There's no question.
The right thing to say is
"Great, that's my brother.
I'm proud of you."
But truthfully,
I want to beat bryan,
And I'm not gonna play nice.
So somebody's gonna get
Their feelings hurt.
This is sugar, okay?
You see this?
Yeah. Is that leading up
To a sabotage?
-What?
-Nothing.
-[Tom] hey, kevin.
-Hey, chef, how's it going?
Good. So has the time,
Concerning the five hours,
Altered your ideas
Of what you're gonna make?
It doesn't alter my ideas.
The thing that concerns me
Is that grass-fed beef
Can take a little while
To braise,
And since I'm making a brisket,
I'm concerned
With my time frame on that.
My vegetarian dish
Is fairly simple.
Carrot and beet salad,
And also used the tops
Of the carrots
To make a salsa verde
To dress it with.
Alright, lets get back to work.
See you later, yeah.
-Hey, jen.
-Hey, chef, how are you?
So what were you thinking
About in your time off,
Knowing that you were
Coming here?
I was trying
Not to think about it
-So I wouldn't be too nervous.
-Too nervous?
So what are we looking at?
For my vegetarian dish,
I'm doing a local skyhill
Goat cheese,
A mousse with
Butter braised radishes.
For my protein I'm doing
Salmon creek duck
Over the wood fire grill,
Brown butter foie gras
Vinaigrette.
Okay.
So I'm gonna have
Duck all over the plate.
Awesome. Good luck.
We'll see you later.
Thanks, chef.
-Hey, bryan.
-Chef, how are ya?
-I'm good. How's it going?
-Good.
-Alright.
-I chose to do a pasta.
It's goat cheese ravioli.
I'm gonna be serving it
With a puree of delicata squash
And then finish it with
A little bronze fennel frond.
For my other dish,
I'm doing a braised short rib.
I'm serving it
With cranberry beans,
Herbal beans, haricot vert,
A puree of celery.
-Figs?
-The figs I'll use as a glaze.
-Looking forward to eating.
-Thank you.
-See you later.
-Great to see you, chef.
-Hey, michael.
-Chef, how are you, sir?
-Good. You alright?
-Yeah. Absolutely.
I bought some foie gras.
I bought some beautiful eggs.
I'm gonna make
A vegetable pistou.
Okay.
This is coulis
Of heirloom tomato, fennel.
I'm gonna finish it
With some fennel pollen,
So it's served like a warm
Vegetable stew.
So you eat everything together
In one dish.
-True.
-And then the other dish,
Making basically
Just a terrine of foie gras
And then finish it
With a turnip soup.
Cool. Alright, I know
You're busy. I'll see you later.
Thank you, chef.
It's fall in napa valley,
So it's only fitting that
We're having a crush party.
-Checked in with kevin.
-
Behind.
[Tom]
Braising short ribs
In five hours
Is a tough thing to do,
But we'll see.
Jen--she seems a little
Nervous about the time.
But we've seen her
Like this before.
It's that nerves that gives her
The energy that she needs
To get through.
The brothers voltaggio,
Their food's
A little more complicated.
It's pretty obvious that they
Wanna win for a lot of reasons,
But family bragging rights
Probably goes a long way too.
Two hours!
Is this gonna be hot enough?
Oh, [bleep]!
No, we probably need to feed it
Some coal and some charcoal.
I noticed
That the coals are dying.
[Bleep, bleep, bleep,
Bleep, bleep].
So now I'm going to confit
The duck breast
Using the fat to cook it in.
But not getting the duck
On the grill
And getting the smokiness
Into it definitely sucks.
[Bleep]!
[Bryan] what's the clock say?
[Michael] [bleep] in minutes.
[Bryan] are you kidding me?
We're all kind of running
Around--we have a lot to do.
[Michael] how's that brisket
Over there, smokey?
[Kevin] uh, not tender yet.
That's okay.
Tender or not,
That mother-[bleep]
Is headed to the table.
-[Michael] you gonna make it?
-[Bryan] close.
There's obviously the pressure
Of getting to the finale
On your own,
But michael and I both want
The other one to come too.
So if one of us has to go home,
It'd be disappointing.
You're gonna make it, though.
Neither one of us
Wanna go home at this point.
But would I feel a sense
Of relief if he leaves?
Absolutely.
Family or no family,
We're all here to win.
[Michael] five minutes.
[Michael]
The major concern
That I have is
Whether or not those poached
Eggs are gonna be finished.
You know, I'm gonna open up one
Of these eggs when time starts,
And it's either gonna be
Okay or it's not.
You know, it's up to the egg
At this point.
We are about to start
The crush party.
It is a great,
Fun time in napa.
Watch your back!
This is something
That everybody
Looks forward to all year long.
Right now
I'm a little stressed out
Because I wanna be in the
Final round very, very much.
[Chopping sounds]
[Kevin]
It was fun to compete
With all these guys.
It's not gonna be great to have
To send somebody home tonight.
-Are you ready to go?
-Almost.
[Michael]
So I crack
One of the eggs and...
Fortunately for me,
They come out perfect.
I pull the foie gras out,
And I slice into it.
The terrine
Was ex*cuted perfectly.
And I feel great about my dish.
[Kevin]
The last few moments,
I'm tasting everything.
It's really well-seasoned.
In my opinion,
It's really, really delicious.
But I think everyone
Has really good stuff.
And then I look up,
And the guests are arriving.
And then the judges get there,
And it just really sinks in
That it's serious now.
This challenge is
What gets you into the finale.
There's a lot at stake.
[Jennifer]
Time's up.
People to feed.
They're ready to pounce
On our stations.
Actually, if you could get
The bowls laid out,
I could get the food
To you faster.
I'm just, I mean--
It's a little intimidating
And scary.
Yes, this is grass-fed beef.
This is
Scottish highland cattle.
-[Jennifer] enjoy.
-[Woman] thank you very much.
-Hello, bryan.
-Hello.
[Padma] I'm gonna introduce
Our judges for this round.
Our head judge, tom colicchio.
Hello, chef, how are you?
Hello, chef. How are you?
We have lovely gail simmons
From
Food & wine
Magazine.
-Hi, bryan. Welcome back.
-Thank you.
And returning
From our quickfire,
We have michael chiarello.
-Chef.
-Chef. Good to see ya.
So why don't you tell us
What you made for us today?
Well, the first dish
I'm plating for you here
Is a goat cheese ravioli.
And I added
Some maitake mushrooms
And some bronze fennel,
Which are just gorgeous.
So I used the maitakes
As the fondue for the ravioli.
[Padma] and what's this?
[Bryan] a short rib dish,
I made a fig puree
And then added it
To the braising liquid.
I made a ragu
Of cranberry beans,
Haricot vert, yellow wax beans.
And also there's
Some wild arugula there.
Thought that would be nice
To finish the beef.
-Thanks.
-Thank you very much.
-Good luck.
-Thank you so much.
Great to see you.
[Padma] should we start
With the ravioli?
[Tom] sure.
[Gail] the flavor of the squash
Is beautiful, delicate.
[Chiarello] textures. He nailed
The texture on that.
Mm-hmm.
[Chiarello] the sauce itself
Is slightly bland.
Yeah, it could even just use
Some crushed black pepper.
Well, it needs salt and pepper.
Salt and pepper, yeah.
[Padma] bryan's short rib
Also needs a touch of salt.
-Or is it just me?
-No. It does.
Because when I got
A grain of salt,
It really brought
The whole dish up.
-[Tom] yeah.
-[Laughter]
[Michael] who wants to lay
These bowls out?
I'll make you guys work for it,
I mean...
You're eating the food for free,
You know what I mean?
My soup tastes
Really, really good.
So I'm excited, because
I don't normally cook like this,
And I think learning that I can
Create that same wow factor
With just fresh ingredients
Will change my focus on cooking.
-Do you find this challenging?
-Challenging?
To have people
Staring at me?
-[Laughter]
-Yeah.
-Hi, michael.
-[Michael] hey, padma.
[Padma] what have you done
For us today?
I have two dishes
Like everybody,
First one being my vegetarian.
We got these beautiful
Farmed eggs from the market.
Just lightly poached
As a vegetable pistou.
There's zucchini, squash,
Eggplant, tomatoes.
Cooked down in tomato coulis
With some fennel...
And then some raw
Squash flowers.
My other dish, I made a torchon
Of california foie gras.
And in the bowl what's white
And kind of looks like a turnip
Is actually a pear,
And what's red
And looks like a pear
Is actually turnip...
Braised in red wine.
And then I made a turnip soup
Only from the greens
Of the turnips.
-Thank you so much, michael.
-Thank you, chef.
A right, I'm closed, guys.
Sorry.
-[Man] come on!
-[Laughs]
[Tony] oh, this is marvelous.
What a wonderful dish.
The turnip was amazing
On top of that foie gras.
It was really good.
[Gail] all right, let's start
With michael's egg.
[Tom] the flavors are nice.
I like the combination
Of the egg and the vegetables.
But the egg actually almost
Overwhelms the vegetables.
I think the vegetables
Were cut too small.
Good point. Yep.
I like mine just slightly
More cooked.
-That...
-[Tom] yeah.
-...is not appetizing to me.
-Yeah.
[Gail] let's move on
To michael's
Foie gras turnip and pear.
A combination of the pear
And the turnip, the turnip soup,
And the foie gras together
In your mouth,
It just kind of melts together,
And the sum of its parts
Is much greater
Than everything individually,
And I think that's the intent.
Just a touch less sauce
Would have let the foie gras,
Which is really the king,
The hero of this dish,
Be the finish in my mouth.
[Man ] napa valley's
Just a wonderful place.
I think they did a great job
Of really capturing
That spirit of harvest
And just making some
Beautiful, beautiful food.
The polenta is pumpkin polenta,
So you just ate pumpkin
Again that you liked.
Anytime we cook
For a large group of people,
I'm always extremely concerned
With not just impressing
The judges.
If we're cooking for the people,
Then we're cooking
For the people, you know.
There's so many people
That are in napa
And the surrounding areas
That have spent their lifetime
Dedicated
To growing grapes
And making fine wine.
And so this is celebrating
That craft.
-Hey, guys, how are ya?
-Hey, kev.
The first dish
Is my vegetarian dish.
What I have is a salad
Of beets and carrots
In a honey vinaigrette
With a puree of carrot tops
And san andreas cheese.
And then my meat dish
Is a braised grass-fed
Beef brisket
With a pumpkin polenta.
I shredded the meat
Because I like
The ropy, soft lusciousness
Of brisket
Rather than like a big chunk
Of it, per se.
And then I'm topping that
With a root vegetable salad.
Thank you, chef.
It's good to see you again.
Kevin's brisket--i just
Want a huge plate of it.
-In fact, I might take yours.
-[Laughs]
-Do you like cheese?
-Mm-hmm.
The colors on kevin's
Vegetarian dish
Are strikingly beautiful.
[Padma] it's a simple dish
But seasoned in the most
Complex, robust way.
It's a brilliant, brilliant
Use of local ingredients.
It's perfectly seasonal.
[Padma] and now,
On to this ropy brisket
With pumpkin polenta.
Hmm. Ropy is sort
Of a perfect adjective.
[Chiarello] yeah.
I really, though,
Am digging kevin's polenta.
I love the texture of it.
I think it's great.
I think that makes the dish.
Although, I'm still not a fan--
The beef almost has,
I hate to say--
Almost like a tinny quality.
[Jennifer] everything
That we're all using
Is within miles of here.
-Wonderful.
-[Man ] delicious.
You're all talented.
Everything is absolutely
To my liking right now.
I am happy with the confiting
Of the duck.
The ducks from this area
Have such a great
Intensity of flavor.
So it's just as good
Cooking in its own fat...
Maybe even better.
-Hello, jennifer.
-Hi.
In front of you right now,
We have the vegetarian option
Which is a local skyhill chevre
With creme fraiche
And lemon zest,
French breakfast radishes,
Honeycap mushrooms
That are lightly roasted,
And basil.
Here, for my protein,
This is called the whole duck.
I braised the legs in the duck
Stock that I made this morning.
I confited the breast in its
Own fat that I rendered out.
We have delicata squash
That is lightly pureed.
I'm putting a brown butter
Foie gras vinaigrette on top.
Nice and unctuous.
Good for the baby.
Thank you.
And I planned for the chevre
To go with your chardonnay
And the duck to go
With the pinot.
Thank you.
[Jennifer] thank you very much.
Enjoy.
[Man ]
Jen's duck was just-
It hit it out of the park.
It was spectacular.
And it sort of had
The whole package.
A lot of them were great
And inspired,
But I thought
There was a little bit
Sort of lacking in acidity
In some of them.
All right, so jennifer's
Goat cheese and radish dish.
Well, there's no lack
Of salt in this.
-[Tom] exactly.
-Whoa.
I do like the basil in that.
That has a nice note.
[Tom] basil is nice.
I like the composition.
I like the idea of goat cheese
And earthy mushrooms
And then, you know, radishes.
The mushroom-
I didn't quite understand
How I thought it would work
Inside the dish.
But when I had it with
The goat cheese and the radish,
Again, it was a foot
In each season,
Which is what harvest
Is all about.
[Tom] true.
[Chiarello]
You know, jennifer's duck dish
I thought had a lot
Of really nice elements to it.
What I liked about it
Is often, when you have duck,
It's all masked with some,
You know, sweet flavors or--
This tastes like duck.
I mean, it's really got
A good sense of...
It's very ducky,
And I like that.
[Gail] well,
It's a local quacker,
Not raised on a massive farm
Somewhere.
And I appreciate the use
Of the entire duck.
I mean, this is all about
Sustainable cooking
In the napa valley.
The sonoma duck
Does have a duckiness.
Mm-hmm.
[Man ] all the food
Was pretty good.
I think the best, by far,
Was bryan.
Just had better flavor,
Better texture
Than the other dishes.
I started with kevin.
He's still my favorite.
You know, I enjoyed
Michael's pistou.
He did the poached eggs.
Nice to see that
Beautiful orange yolk.
I'm really impressed by the food
That came out of the kitchen.
I think they did a great job.
Service for me
Goes better than I expected.
-You're a genius.
-[Laughter]
I don't really feel like I'll
Have anything to defend today.
I think some people here
Played a little safer,
And for me, I'm thinking like,
This is in the bag.
[Kevin]
Only three of us
Can be in the final,
The very last hurrah, and, um,
Somebody really, really
Talented is going home.
-Good luck to you.
-Thank you.
-Good to meet you.
-Thank you, guys.
The judges picked mine
And jen's and bryan's
And michael's food consistently
The entire season.
So it's really gonna be
Interesting
To see what happens.
[Bryan]
So we enter the
Wine caves at rutherford hill,
Which is really cool.
It has barrels
That are just running--
Like, you can't even see
How far deep.
I've only been
In a wine cave once,
And this one-- it's gorgeous.
[Michael]
We walk in,
And there is tony terlato
Himself.
His name's on the bottle,
So he's a pretty intimidating
Person in the wine world.
Please... Sit down.
So in the wine tasting,
Tony has pulled together for us
Four terlato wines,
And they're all really good.
[Terlato] the idea
Of all of these wineries,
It's to make wines
That work together with food,
Because I believe that wine
And food belong together.
[Jennifer]
I don't really need
Alcohol right now but, um,
Also relaxing
And trying to have some fun.
What's the alcohol level
On the pinot?
[Laughter]
Still, I'm not buzzed
After tasting.
I've got
A pretty high tolerance.
[Chuckles]
-Hi. Good evening, chefs.
-Hello.
Thank you all
For a really lovely meal.
We would like to see all of you.
-All right, thank you.
-Thank you.
-Let's see.
-Good luck.
Whew.
[Padma]
So first I want to start off
By saying what a wonderful
Season it's been.
[Tom] the professionalism
That each of you
Have shown throughout the season
I think made us all very proud,
And it continued today.
I think each and every
One of you
Showed an enormous amount
Of respect and restraint
Representing the napa valley.
[Padma] kevin.
Your vegetarian dish
Was stellar.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Top to bottom.
There's not a single thing--
It was perfectly seasoned.
[Tom]
It was a study
In simplicity.
And I'm sure that maybe some
Of your competitors up here
May look at that dish and go,
"Come on, it was a roasted beet
And a roasted carrot
And some carrot tops-
What's the big deal?"
But sometimes restraint
Goes a long way,
And it was just well done.
I thought it was
Pretty bold of you
To serve the brisket that way.
Did you think that your beef
Was tender enough?
[Kevin]
It still had a little
Bit of toothsome quality to it,
But I didn't think
That it was tough, per se.
I thought it looked beautiful,
But it was more tough
Than I expected my brisket
To be.
[Tom] at the end of the day,
Were you % jazzed
By the dish, % jazzed by it?
You know.
I was actually
Really happy with it.
Given hours, you'd cook it
The exact same way.
I don't know, you know,
That's a good question.
Knowing that I was putting
The soft polenta underneath it,
I felt like if it was too soft,
The entire texture of the dish
Would have become
Essentially mush.
[Padma] bryan.
I chose for the vegetarian dish
To do something that would
Showcase fall flavors,
And I knew that it would require
A level of simplicity.
I didn't think
It was simple at all.
I thought there was a lot
Of subtlety to the dish.
The pasta dough
Was absolutely perfect.
[Padma]
The pumpkin
Was really delicious.
I could have used
A little more seasoning
On that mushroom sauce, though.
Walk through the beef dish.
For the beef,
I chose short ribs.
I didn't have
A whole lot of time
To actually make
This dish happen,
The same thing we were just
Talking about with kevin's dish,
So I chose to take it
Off the bone
And braise it with a few figs.
I was surprised
At the level of flavor
And tenderness you got
In such a short period of time.
[Tom] I think we all liked
The dish,
But I think the dish
Was advertised
As being glazed with fig?
Yes. I glazed the beef
As I was plating it.
I could see the figginess
In that glaze,
But I didn't taste it,
And I really wanted to,
'Cause I know that right now
They're at their peak.
Michael, the pistou soup,
Where'd you find inspiration?
I didn't have all those
Little tricks and things
That I normally have with me,
So I was finding it
Naturally in the food.
The pistou, I knew
It was gonna be a push
To try and brunoise
All those vegetables.
[Padma]
Did you ever think
You didn't need to
Brunoise the vegetables?
Not so much.
The texture
Was a little bit lost
Because they were so small.
And maybe making them rustic
Would have added,
Not detracted from the dish.
[Padma] the white of my egg
Was really, really colorless
And really liquidy.
Maybe I didn't shake it
In the spoon long enough
To get the excess
Off the outside of it.
You knew that we were
At the table,
And I'm not quite sure why
You didn't pay more attention
To make sure that didn't happen.
The other dish,
I liked playing with the fact
That the pear looked
Kind of like a turnip
And the turnip looked
Kind of like a pear.
And the foie gras
Was just there
To be like that fatty finish
To, like, a hearty soup.
I mean, I enjoyed
The dish a lot.
I was so surprised
At how all those elements
Came together in my mouth.
To me, there was
A lot of bitterness in the soup.
-Sure.
- [Gail] you finish the pear
And the turnip and the foie gras
Long before you finish the soup.
So then you were sort
Of just left
With nothing to eat with it
To counterbalance it.
You know, it's funny,
'Cause I had like five terrines
Of foie left
After it was all over,
But, um...
Yeah, I was nervous
About having enough food.
And that's really what
It boiled down to.
-[Padma] jennifer.
-[Tom] the goat cheese dish.
Interesting combination.
And I say that in a good way.
I've never had basil
And goat cheese as an herb
And a cheese together
Ever in my entire life.
And that little touch of basil
And the citrus together
Was beautiful.
But I felt there was
A touch too much salt.
Too much salt?
Was it the flake salt
That you used?
Yes.
I wrestle with that salt
All the time,
Because you put it in
And then you taste it,
And then it doesn't melt
Right off the bat,
And then five minutes later,
It finishes melting.
And why did you choose the duck,
Of all the proteins available?
I felt that I could
Utilize the whole bird,
Every part of it.
We all,
Each and every one of us,
Commented on the great...
Duckiness.
I mean,
The duck really came through.
When I did the walk-through,
You told me you were
Gonna grill the breast.
Why did you change it to confit?
Because when I went over
To the grill-- my mistake,
I wasn't paying
Too much attention to it--
The coals got too cool.
And by the time it came back up,
It wouldn't have been suitable.
What would you have preferred?
I would have preferred
To have grilled it.
I wanted to get a little
Of that smoky flavor into it.
Well, obviously,
We have a ton to discuss
And a really big decision
To make.
So we'll see you in a bit.
Thank you.
That was fun.
Yeah, that was a [bleep] blast.
Well, obviously, we have
A really big decision to make.
It's not about
Whether there was a dish
That was wrong or right-
Every dish was right.
It's more of a nuance
Of who made the bigger mistake.
Okay, let's talk about
Jennifer's dishes.
I love the goat cheese
That she used.
I thought she was very smart.
Just got a little bit salty.
But in its simplicity
Was an idea that was so striking
That you really took notice.
I would love to see
Jennifer's duck dish
As she originally conceived it
With the grilled duck
And the crispy duck skin on it.
I think it could have
Went a long way.
[Gail]
The best part
Of that dish
Was the foie gras vinaigrette,
And we only got
A tiny drizzle of it.
But I thought
That was quite delicious.
I think she was still
Thinking through it,
And it just never came
Together for her.
It's just about...
You guys, like, pushing me
To go further
And to do better things.
So thank you for that.
[Padma]
Let's move on to michael.
This is what I really enjoy
About young, brash chefs
Who are just willing
To risk it all.
You take the first bite and go,
"That's a little bitter."
You mix a little foie gras
In there and go,
"That's rich and nice,"
And then the next bite
You get some of the pear
In there,
And, oh, wow, now I see
Where he's going with this.
I just felt like
At the end it was just bitter
Because there was so much more
Of the soup than anything else.
[Bryan] they're disagreeing
On a lot of different things.
They're disagreeing
Across the board.
But that's what food is.
It's interpretation.
-[Bryan] exactly.
-[Steve] right.
Let's talk about his egg dish.
[Tom]
The egg was just not
Separated properly,
And he was very sloppy
When it came to presenting it.
And the egg was too big
Of an egg,
And it overwhelmed
Everything else on the dish.
Okay, let's talk about
Bryan's two dishes.
I totally fell in love
With bryan's ravioli.
It kind of swept me away.
The goat cheese was beautiful
And really added a sourness.
-I thought it was great.
-[Tom] overall, though...
The dish needed
A little salt and pepper.
What about bryan's other dish,
His beef short rib?
I liked the dish,
And I think that the fig
Somehow got lost
In that braising liquid.
But it was a very nice dish.
I think bryan took two dishes
With a high degree
Of difficulty,
And I think he delivered.
[Padma] let's move on to kevin.
What I really love
About cooking--
You take two ingredients,
Beets and carrots,
And you make a dish out of it.
It takes a huge amount
Of nerve to do that.
[Gail]
There was a ton of flavor
In those carrot tops,
And that was something
Kind of new for me,
To just see how much
Can be done with something
So sort of simple.
What's the tooth word
That you both used?
-You used it too.
-The what-word?
-Toothsome.
-[Michael] I like that one.
[Kevin] toothsome is like--
I know that you're gonna say
That it wasn't tender,
And I'm gonna call it toothsome.
That way, you can't actually
Argue with me.
-Like...
-[Laughter]
So what about kevin's brisket?
[Tom]
All in all, I thought
The flavors were every good.
I still can't get past that
Stringy texture of the beef.
It's nice to listen to kevin
Wax poetic
About his intentions,
But it needed more time.
[Bryan] we've all brought it
To a level
Where it's gonna be
Very hard across the board.
I think what's happened in
The past, it's been very easy.
Yeah, there's been--
There's been enough shite
On the table
To justify
Like who belongs there.
I think we have a decision.
-Yes, ma'am.
-Absolutely.
Yes.
Tonight's challenge
Was really to celebrate harvest
And celebrate crush.
Coming here,
Our expectations are high,
And we got exactly
What we expected.
I wish all four
Can go to the finale,
But we can only bring three.
[Padma]
Michael, who is the winner?
The winner of tonight's
Elimination challenge
Is the chef that made the most
Of the farmer's market,
Seasoned their food as close
To perfectly as possible
To really let
The ingredients sing.
[Suspenseful music]
That chef...
Is bryan.
-Congratulations.
-[Padma] congratulations.
Good job, chef.
I'm very excited. [Laughs]
Not a little bit.
I'm very excited.
Having not gone to elimination
Throughout
The entire competition
Makes me feel really good.
Nice work.
[Bryan]
I'd love to be able
To win this, you know?
I'd love to be able
To come home to my wife
And tell her that, you know,
That it was worth it.
Challenges behind me.
Just one more. I can survive.
[Suspenseful music]
Tonight's challenge,
In all three of your cases,
You performed very well.
Some of your dishes, there
Was just something missing.
Kevin, your vegetable dish
Was a perfect example
Of how to take
Simple ingredients
And make them shine.
On the other hand, the beef dish
Was a little
On the stringy side.
Michael, on one hand,
I thought the foie gras dish
Was a great example of going
Out there on a limb
And making it all work.
On the other hand,
The egg dish--
A mistake was made where you
Didn't take the extra step
To make sure that that egg
Was clean and ready to serve.
Jennifer, you seemed
A little scattered,
A little unsure of yourself.
Letting fire die out when
You want a grilled duck breast
Just kind of tells me
That something was...
Not, not happening for you.
But the duck dish
Was a nice dish.
The flavors were good.
The goat cheese dish,
On the other hand,
Was a little on the salty side.
Tough decision...
Again, you were just great
All season.
I would be happy to eat
In any
Of your restaurants anytime,
But unfortunately, we can only
Have another two more
Go into the finale.
Jennifer...
Please pack your knives and go.
-Chef, thank you.
-I'm sorry, jennifer.
Padma... Goodnight, gail.
[Jennifer]
This experience
Has been so much fun.
It's really pushed me
To become...
A better chef
And to want to learn more
And to become more creative.
Boys, love you guys.
And I'm...
Sorry that
I'm not in the finals.
[Padma] kevin and michael,
That means
The two of you will be
Going on to the finale.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
[Kevin]
I'm really happy
To be in the final three.
But bryan and michael
Are extremely,
Extremely talented cooks,
Two of the best I've ever met.
And they're not
Gonna play around.
So it's not gonna be easy.
So long.
You serious?
I'm out.
I really wanted to win.
I wanted to be there at the end.
I wanted to be named top chef.
Get some real rest, you know?
[Jennifer]
I'm really happy that
I ended up making a lot
Of really good friends.
Goodnight, good luck.
Love you all.
It's hard when you know
That you can do better,
But you don't have any time
To fix it or to change it.
Congratulations.
Congratulations
To you, too, sir.
Whatever, man. Congratulations.
[Laughter]
-Hey.
-Yeah, dude.
Thanks, man. You too.
You too,
Congratulations to you, brother.
[Jennifer]
I'm definitely
Proud of myself.
I made a lot of really
Good food here.
But it's just hard.
I'm just mad.
I just wish I did better.
Next on
Top chef...
[Kevin]
The pressure of this
Challenge is overwhelming.
[Bryan]
There's only gonna be
One winner,
And I'd like it to be me.
Bring it on.
Anxiety has started to set in.
It's anyone's game
At this point.
[Bryan] go. Go, go, go, go.
I thought it could use more fat.
It's a gimmick,
And we don't need gimmicks.
It looked like I need
A hatchet to cut it.
God, it's like a blind date
You just don't wanna go on.
[Bleep]
[Suspenseful music]
You are top chef.
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06x13 - Culinary Olympics
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Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.
Show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges.