02x05 - Social Service

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef, you'll be
serving your meal at the fitness camp.

The entire meal must
not exceed 500 calories.

The nutritionist is going to have to
sign off, and we can deviate from that.

The first day's batch of the
meringues failed miserably,

and so I had to start over again
from beginning with the cookies.

You assume everyone is on the
honor system, but you never know.

We would like to treat
you guys all to pizza.

Pizza and pizza!

You are the winners for this challenge.

You're saying people cheated?

I'm not going to go there.

I'll go there.

I put two additional
tablespoons of sugar in.

Other people are saying they
know what the rules are.

I know, but I didn't.

We can go on all night long,
and we've just got to end this.

No one's going home tonight.



At stake for the winner, state
-of-the-art Kenmore Pro Kitchen,

furnished by Sears, an editorial
feature in Food & Wine magazine,

a chance to showcase
their culinary talent

at the 25th anniversary Food
& Wine classic in Aspen.

$100,000 to kick-start
their culinary career,

and title is Top Chef.

With a

The morning after Camp
Glucose I was feeling

all sorts of distraught and disappointed.

And this is the first time
I was on a winning team

and it was kind of taken away from us.

It is really, it's all, it's up to me.

We all have to find another net.

I am not a cheater.

My error was a mistake.

And I needed to approach the challenge

with as much focus as I possibly can.

When I heard that there
was this controversy

at the judges' table,

it was just sad to know that everyone was

sacrificing each other for
the sake of themselves.

Marisa and I have been really
good friends through all this.

We're the only ones that
really trust each other.

Okay guys, let's go.

Hello everyone, welcome
to the Kenmore kitchen.

There are still 12 of you
remaining in the competition,

fighting for a place
in the top chef finale.

Our guest judge for this
round is Michelle Bernstein.

Michelle's a chef and
owner of Mises in Miami

and consulting chef
for social restaurants

here in LA and in Miami.

The guest judge for today
is one of my favorite chefs

and fellow South Floridian,
Michelle Bernstein.

I have seen her in
Food and Wine magazine,

which is my Bible.

This round deals with leftovers.

The real test of a great
chef comes in being creative

with very difficult ingredients.

Your quick fire challenge
is to create a dish

using at least one of these
ingredients on the table here.

These are the leftover
parts of the animals.

Every one of these ingredients
has been a part of my career

since the beginning.

Quite a few of them are
on my menus right now.

This kind of food is a very hard sell,

so you have to add something to it

to make it a little sexier.

And for some of these ingredients,

it takes a long cooking time.

So let's see what you got.

You have two hours to cook

and then Michelle will taste your food

and make her judgment.

The winner will be the only
chef immune from elimination.

Basically, Opal are all
the parts of the animals

that no one ever wants to use.

Although in fine dining restaurants,

you'll find that they
make their presents known

on every single menu.

Okay, everyone ready?

Your time starts now.

I'm thoroughly excited
about the challenge

because I know a lot of
different flavor profiles

for these items that
we're sitting up there

and I'll be able to build
a dish around those.

I went straight for the pink feet,

but two hours to cook Opal

is not really a whole lot of time.

Our cell went for that pig's blood.

It kind of looks like a
vampire, don't you think?

My whole theory was go with what you know

you love the oxtail and the sweetbread,

but I'm definitely down to the wire.

Right now I'm going to
clean the sweetbreads

and give me...

Sweetbreads are the length of the veal.

In French cooking, we use a lot of these.

These items can be tough cuts in me,

have to be soaked or braised
for long periods of time.

If I lose this quick fire,
I'll be pretty upset.

Even though I haven't
worked with them a lot,

I know what flavors should go together.



Who has a whole container of garlic?

Lots of people were feeling sweat.

People tried to cook things
that were difficult to cook

in such a short amount of time.

I was proud right now.

Okay, your time is up.

Utensils down.

Hands up, please.

Let's see what everyone's made.

I've done an arugula mascarpone tart

and a catfish head basil soup.

Soup's nice.

So I went ahead and used
the beef cheeks today.

Made some homemade pappardelle noodles.

Lovely. Thank you.

Hello.

Hello. I did kidney and sweetbreads

and I just started
cooking them very natural.

Sear them with butter,
chives and parsley.

Did you soak them?

I didn't soak them.

Hello, Sam.

Hey, how are you?

I flavored sweetbreads
with Chinese five spice

and then did it in a beignet style

and then it's finished with
a sweetened soy basil broth.

Did you punch them first?

I actually brined them
in milk, salt and sugar.

Thank you. Very nice. Thank you.

Came together in the
end just as I wanted to.

It was completely
enthused with the flavor.

I made a dill sweetbread schnitzel.

Pork split is obviously in the sauce.

Nice crunch to the sweetbreads.

Here we have sauteed sweetbreads

and in the middle we have a
sweet sandwich of braised oxygen.

Mmm, your oxygen is really good.

It's really good.

I cook it every day,
so you wouldn't have.

I used the veal tail and veal tongue

and I made a stew.

It's got really nice flavor.

Thank you.

Hi, Mia.

I went back to my roots.

I made some braised pig feet

with some sauteed arugula
and some homemade cornbread.

Did you find that you didn't have
enough time to cook it or yours?

I think that I accomplished my goals.

Okay.

Hello, Josie.

If you look at the plate, you'll
see a lot of action going on.

The sauce is a carrot broth

to over a little bit of potato puree

and tripe cracklins.

You're probably wondering
why I sliced the oxtail.

It's because I didn't really
have enough time to braise it.

I knew that I was cheating the clock

by trying to bust out oxtail.

It was a bad decision.

I chose fish heads and beef cheeks.

And so what I decided to do was
a fish and beef cheek brutal

with hand rolled black pepper fettuccine

and roasted vegetables.

The lemon zest really comes out.

Here we have a sauteed sweetbread

with a garlic, cilantro, lime sauce.

Very nice flavor.

Thank you, thank you.

It's sweet breads that have
been dusted with almonds.

What acid did you use?

Champagne vinegar.

Very nice.

I'm very confident because
I know that this is

something that is absolutely delicious

and the flavor is cool.

Farewell together.

Lovely. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Michelle, what did you
think of this challenge

and have our chefs ex*cuted it?

When I walked in and I saw
all of these ingredients,

all of this awful on the table,

I was a little nervous.

But I was very pleasantly surprised

that I found a lot of it tasty,

innovative where it should be.

The worst were the ones that
I found the hardest to eat.

Josie.

The oxtail, I went to eat it.

I couldn't chew it.

If that ever happened in my restaurant,

they would send back the dish.

That was my first time that I was
called out in the bottom three.

I didn't realize how
comfortable the middle was.

I just made the wrong decision.

Elia, your kidneys
tasted so much of kidney.

They weren't cleaned properly.

No sauce was even attempted.

You made something that I
love to eat, hard to eat.

If this woman for real,

I'm supposed to make kidney
taste like olives with a sauce,

I cook my products to bring
the best flavor of them out

and don't hide it with a sauce.

And now for the good news.

Who really impressed you?

Cliff, you cooked your
oxtail beautifully.

It was delicious.

Sam, you did a great job.

Innovative, beautifully ex*cuted dish.

Lastly, Alain, your
flavors were beautiful.

Very, very well done.

Who have you chosen as your
narrator of this quick fire?

Due to the ideas behind the whole dish,

the winner is...

I just feel like I hit the
nail on the head with that one.

I was excited about my dish.

She was excited about the dish.

I'm really excited to have immunity.

Congratulations.

You've won yourself
freedom from elimination.

And to find out what that
elimination challenge is,

you'll all have to meet us tomorrow,

bright and early, at Social
Restaurant in Hollywood.

We don't really know what to expect.

We're all left completely clueless.

It's kind of like being
asked to go on prom

with somebody that you're
not totally interested in.

But you're like, okay.

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to the ballroom
at Social Hollywood,

where Michelle is the
consulting executive chef.

Today, Jennifer Coolidge is
holding a private six-course lunch

for 60 of her closest friends.

Your elimination challenge is
to devise and cook that lunch.

How cool is that?

It's Jennifer Coolidge
with all of her friends.

She tells us we're doing
like a six-course tasting

for 60 people for Stiffler's mom.

And it's like, wow, I always
wanted to meet Stiffler's mom.

Jennifer is here to enjoy
your food, not to judge you.

To please any crowd, especially this one,

everything has to be timely and perfect.

As you already know, this
round is about leftovers.

So you'll only be able to use
what you can find in the kitchen.

The remains from a
busy dinner last night,

as well as some other product in
the pantry and the refrigerators.

The kicker of the whole challenge

is we're still going
with a leftover theme.

We must walk blindly into a
kitchen we've never seen before

and pull out a six-course tasting menu.

There is another element
to this challenge.

You'll be working in pairs.

So find a partner and team up.

Right now, let's go.

Mia was standing right next to me,

and we just locked arms
and decided to take it on.

After the whole Betty
judging table incident,

I was really shocked when Mia
put her arms around Betty.

I don't know if Mia is a
phony person in general,

but I think that that says
a pretty big statement

about her character.

As I'm looking around, Frank asked me,

if you want to be my partner.

It was kind of like
being asked to go on prom

with somebody that you're
not totally interested in,

but for fear of not having
anybody else to go to prom with,

you're like, okay.

The odd mixes were
definitely Mike and Elan.

Michael and I get along very well,

and I was excited to work with him.

I thought we'd have some
cool ideas together.

I need one person from
each pair to come forward

and choose a knife.

There'll be a number on the knife,

and that is the course
that you will be cooking.

Hold on.

Number one.

Okay.

Marcel and Frank are on the first course.

So Cliff and Sam, you
have the second course.

Elan and Michael are
cooking the third course.

Mia and Betty, you'll be
cooking the fourth course.

Josie, Marisa, you're
cooking the fifth course,

and that leaves Leah and Carlos
cooking the sixth course.

Michelle, you have one
more surprise, huh?

The winner of today's challenge

will actually come to the
Sagamore Hotel in Miami

to work with me on the South
Beach Food and w*r Festival.

The prize for this challenge
is an incredible opportunity

to get your name out
there and do networking,

meet people. It's awesome.

You will have three
hours to prepare lunch,

and you will have 20
minutes to plate each dish.

If you don't get your course out on time,

it cannot be served.

Considering what happened
on the last challenge,

I'll be staying with you in the kitchen

to keep an eye on what's going on.

Let's get going.

All right, we're gonna decide

who what courses we're
all doing, you guys.

Betty and I try to call
everybody over to the table

to say, hey, what is
everybody planning on making?

You guys, can we please discuss

what the courses are?

And everybody's telling us,
well, we're not gonna stop.

We're gonna go on the walk-in

and see what's in the walk-in first.

We have that pineapple, too.

Ten chefs run into the walk-in

and they're standing around
looking and grabbing.

We could do like a beet, salmon,

like candied walnut or something.

We were all very surprised to see

that there was tons
of protein and produce

and not just leftover things.

Me and I talked about
wanting to do a Napoleon

and make it a really lovely presentation.

So we found some puff pastry.

I think we should just keep it simple,

maybe like garlic, ginger, scallion.

Frank and I decided to
do a salmon tartar dish.

I began to pull my knives
out of my bag when I see...

Frank is really butchering the fish

and I'm not impressed with
his fish-flaying technique.

I'm sure that Marcel's
knife skills are wonderful.

In my vast years of experience,

I have taken a knife to more fish

than anybody in this challenge

or all of them put together.

So I figured I was the
right person for the job.

Sam and myself are going
with a scallop and a flaw.

All of a sudden, they start cooking.

You're like over there smoking a cigar.

You're doing really good.

If I didn't have this damn
immunity, I'd help you.

Cliff and I are both workhorses.

We just got our head down.

We're chopping away.

He knows that immunity doesn't
affect the way that I cook.

So what are you breaking?

Baked paella in little dishes.

Usually you make paella in a paella pan

and you don't really stir it that much

and it gets crusty on the bottom.

We've got some partially cooked risotto.

We're going to put them to these.

Okay.

You do them?

Lay them on sheet pens
and bake them in the oven

so they get sort of crusty.

Hot on top.

Mike came up with just
as many ideas as I did.

I think his cooking has really become

more refined and elegant
since he's been here.

You're the fourth course, right?

Yeah.

How are you cooking the duck?

Thinking I'm just going to keep it simple

on the duck, salt and pepper,

and then that balsamic red wine,

finish it with some black peppercorns

and some butter to give
it a nice little shine.

We wanted to do sort of
like our take on a Napoleon

with pan-seared duck breast,

with puff pastry and sauteed green beans.

Betty and Mia, they're like doing

this puff pastry contraption.

It looks like they're starting
their duck a little early.

Duck traditionally is served rare

and if they're going to let that sit

and then they're going to refire it,

it's not going to be rare.

What are you doing there?

What are you guys working on?

Well, we're going to bring you
a trio of palate cleansers.

We're going to go with a
fresh fennel apple salad

with citrus.

Sauteed pineapple salad a little.

Okay.

And then we're going to do
like a little fruit salad.

Josie and Marisa had an
idea to do a intermezzo.

Normally, fifth course is a protein

and a dish to me is unsuitable.

Okay, Oya.

Hey, Chef.

We're making a chilled
pomegranate juice with mint.

Okay.

Like a shot.

Girls brought up the idea
of making like a shot

with pomegranate juice

and then we mixed orange juice and basil.

Some of the strategy I
don't quite understand.

I don't even think they've
spoken to each other

about how the courses are
going to work together.

I think they're so
focused on the ingredients

and cooking you're not
thinking a step ahead.

Mia and Betty are working
on the stock Napoleon.

Napoleon is typically a dessert

and it's layers of
pastry and pastry cream

and they're working on
a savory version of one.

I don't know if the pastry is
even necessary at this point.

I think some of the dishes are
going to be very difficult to plate.

For instance, Josie and Marisa,

they're doing some vegetable
things and little courses.

So it looks like they're doing
something rarely complicated.

Elia and Carlos have a trio of desserts.

Again, very difficult to plate that dish.

It's going to get tense in about an hour

when they start realizing
they have like an hour left

to complete their dish.

It just has this raw onion flavor.

I'll cut it down.

But I think we should use it.

You make one and I'll make one, okay?

It's fine.

When it came time to
make our salmon tartare,

Frank decided to come
up with a little bit

of a kind of just gnarly sauce

and I didn't agree with the flavors.

It's good, it's subtle.

But I think I like mine better.

We each made a tartare recipe
to mix with the salmon.

Oh yeah.

I think it's awesome.

Can you taste these real quick?

We asked for outside opinions.

Do you think the flavor?

Sometimes we're at a dish.

It's just too oily.

Dude, I agree.

I kind of like mine a little bit more.

Fine.

It was an easy decision for
Cliff because he liked mine.

Frank is offended because
that was the opportunity

to put his name on our dish,

and it just fell short.

Elia, what are you making there?

Juice.

Why?

Because we're doing
something similar, so...

It's going to go in here like this.

No, I know, but did you know
that we were doing a drink

in a shot glass?

No, I didn't know it was a drink.

I didn't know it.

We were going to make
a cucumber prickly pear

drink with basil,

but Carlos and Elia were also planning

on making a basil drink.

They're doing pomegranate juice

in a shot glass with basil.

Who?

The dessert.

Um...

Yeah.

We really don't feel that
it's smart to do two drinks

back to back containing basil

and being served in shot glasses.

So, Josie and I decided
to do a coconut, lime,

and prickly pear drink
and serve it in spoons.

Do you have pepper ground?

Who's got salt?

Is anybody going into the convention

at any time real soon?

I'll take that as a no.

It's intense.

It's busy.

We're getting things done,

but there was definitely
a lack of working together

as a cohesive team.



Everybody's running
around, chicken middles,

guys falling, heads cut off.

It's just total chaos,

whereas my service was very regimented.

Hey, everybody.

Hi.

I just want to say thank you, thank you,

thank you for doing this.

My friends are all out there,

and I just want you to
know that I'm just thrilled

to be part of this.

I hope you like it.

I know I will like it.

All right, it's time.

I was just in a state of wonder.

It was almost embarrassing
to have those plates go out.

We're at social.

We're preparing a lunch for 60 people.

Hi.

How are you?

We have three hours to execute.



You had 20 minutes in
which to plate your food.

Tom's in there more.

Make sure that everybody's
playing by the rules.

It was a big challenge.

As soon as I put this
chip into the plate,

you can take it.

As the first course,

Frank and I had the
opportunity to set the pace

for the rest of the menu.

Our execution of service
was just on point.

We did salmon tartare with
avocado and red onion.

And we also did salmon
mousse with chives on top.

And then the beets are sliced thinly.

And lastly, we have
beet greens on the top.

I hope you all enjoy it.

This is so beautiful.

To put something sweet like the beet,

without a lot of texture,

with salmon that doesn't
have any texture,

it's not the greatest combination I eat.

Oh.

Go.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'll get the flop.

So, Frank and I are really
excited about our dish.

We have these two wonderful
plate presentations.

We couldn't really meld
them together on the plate.

So, we had them separate on the plate.

Can we start taking these plates, please?

The salmon are both feeling confident,

but you never know.

You know what the judges are looking for.

Like, you can't be too sure.

So, you guys had two tiny tastings.

The first was seared scallop
with a confit of serrano ham.

The second was seared foie gras
over a oyster mushroom crostini,

finished with a fig gastrique.

Well done.

It was a real sense of
accomplishment, you know,

working with Cliff.

The response was great to our dish.

I was really proud.

Oh, my God.

The scallop was amazing.

I like that. It's really good.

I think that was just very
interesting and different.

I really enjoyed that.

Oh, it's cooked perfectly myself.

Yeah, it's very tender, isn't it?

I like the frost side.

Bravo.

Thanks.

When Michael and I were plating,

everybody's coming over to
see how they can help us.

It's really great to see
everybody get together like that.

Remind them that the
inner plates are very hot.

We're just, like, so stoked on our dish.

It looks pretty tight.

I talked with the canned glucose.

I described the dish,
and it didn't work out.

I ended up on the chopping
block, so I was like,

Elon, you take this one.

Hello, everyone.

Hi.

We have for you paella made
with lobster and shrimp

and mushrooms.

It's baked in the oven to sort
of replicate the crustiness

on the bottom of a paella pan.

And on top is a soft shell crab.

What do you think?

I think it's great.

It's beautiful. It's hot.

I like the strong flavor.

They want a little saffron happy.

Yeah.

But it's very nice.

It was interesting the way
they baked off the paella.

The risotto was very crisp.

It kind of matched the
texture of the soft shell.

Everything looks amazing
and impressive so far.

Nice job, guys.

Thanks.

We're doing the fourth course.

Betty really wants to go
with height on the plate

and give something that's
really visually pleasing.

I'm more concerned with how it tastes.

I thought that it was
going to be a bad idea

to put all that pastry on the plate,

especially since we were doing
the mashed sweet potatoes.

But part of being a
team means compromise.

Can I get somebody to help on duck?

Honey, can you help on duck?

Betty and Mia, their dishes
just weren't on point.

The puff pastry had no
business being there.

It was strange.

It was almost embarrassing
to have those plates go out.

Go, go, go, go.

Wow.

Thank you.

Greetings.

Thanks.

We prepared for you a
pan-seared duck breast

with a balsamic merlot reduction,

sweet potatoes, pan-sautéed green greens

with a tiny bit of preserved lemons,

butter, and fresh thyme.

I was so proud of what we'd accomplished.

That duck was delicious.

Thank you.

I thought it was veal.

Because duck, when it's cooked properly,

should have a very pink center.

It should be medium rare.

I don't know why they're sitting
on a huge piece of puff pastry.

I agree.

It's like three times the size of this.

Yes.

Well, the duck should be
the main event in this dish,

and it's just not.

I didn't mention the puff pastry.

I love that.

Some of these don't have enough in them.

I suggest we wait for the squeeze bottle

to go back a little more.

Our course is a little bit
more complicated to plate,

only because it's very delicate.

Just like that, that's too much.

When we got to Josie and Marisa's,

I looked, and I was just
kind of in a state of wonder

why they had chosen a salad

with some pink spoons thing
I thought tasted like s***.

It's like an intermezzo.

I don't understand it.

Hello, everyone.

What Marisa and I have
presented to you today

is what we call the awakening trio.

We wanted to give you something
that was a little bit wider.

Pineapples give you a
little bit of acidity

and also a little color contrast.

Prickly pear and coconut soup

and then something
crunchy with the fennel.

So, enjoy.

It's very disconnected to me.

Would you send it back?

Well, no.

I just don't know.

I don't know if I would ever order it

because I don't know what it's going for.

At this restaurant,

we really pride ourselves in
the ingredients that we use.

I just feel that the
things that I thought

that are really exciting to use
were brought out to the table.

I had a lot of proteins in-house

that would accommodate
a wonderful dinner.

I'm a little disappointed, honestly.

I didn't really feel like
my palate was cleansed.

I felt like in trying to deviate
from a standard palate cleanser,

we sort of missed the mark on what
that course was supposed to accomplish.

These are ice cream.

Yeah.

Our final product is three-piece dessert.

Ellia, you got the ice cream? Good.

I think we're doing pretty well.

I don't like people helping me too much

because too many hands just freak me out.

I don't even think that being in
the bottom three is an option.

Oh, we're missing juice.

Oh, sh*t.

They got grapes on?

There was an extra juice here.

Somebody take it.

Thank you.

Ice cream, ice cream.
Put an ice cream on it.

Quick, quick, quick, quick.

We send all our plates out,

and three minutes later, one
of the servers comes back

with one of the plates with two
shots and a new set of ice cream.

I'm like, who put that shot there?

Where's the clock? Your time is up.

The plate can't go out.

Oh.

I am absolutely horrified.

I knew there was an extra
glass inside, sweetheart.

It's my phone.

I don't mind going home
because it was my mistake,

but I didn't like the feeling that they
could send Ellie home from my mistake.

We served a chilled pomegranate
and orange juice with basil.

Filo dough with a mascarpone
cream, champagne grapes,

green grapes topped
with another filo dough,

and then a big sauce on top.

Some of you got apple
sorbet with pistachio,

and some of you got pineapple
sorbet with pistachio.

Here's your surveillance.

It has a very off-putting flavor.

It tastes like it sat out for
too long to be done, right?

It's not very sexy to f*cking
have greens out of your mouth

while you're in a dinner date.

Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight.

I just want to thank Social
for hosting this event.

And most of all, I just really
want to thank these amazing chefs

for doing such an incredible job.

I don't have much to do with
the decision-making tonight.

You know, I used to
work in this building.

It used to be a pool hall.

I was the cappuccino girl here.

I got daily complaints that I
didn't give anyone enough phone.

So I shouldn't be the
authority on anything.

So good luck and thank you.

It's just so rewarding.

At the end of the day, you really
feel like you've worked hard

doing something that you love.

I think we all brought things
that we know to the table

to make it just explode.

I'm very, very proud of
everything that we do.

Whoever goes to Miami, enjoy
it and think of everybody else.

It was a bad choice, and
it wasn't even caught.

If you're not proud of
it, just don't put it out.

Forget about just getting by.

You think you're going
to win with that dish.

So that was quite a lunch.

Some ups and some downs, that's for sure.

I mean, I was in the
kitchen, and as leftovers go,

they had it pretty good.

You don't normally find this type
of food in your refrigerator.

What better than coming to a kitchen

filled with the freshest,
most amazing ingredients

that honestly is like a
cook's or chef's dream?

You know, there was some
beautiful baby purple art chokes

nobody used.

Duck confit.

No one used duck confit.

No one used it.

It was everything from our social menu.

I'm a little bit upset.

Without limitations,
without restrictions,

this was their chance
to really impress us.

I thought this would just
be a paradise for them

where they could just
knock themselves out.

I get a sense that no
one's trying to win,

that they're all just trying not to lose.

Some of the choices they
made were a little confusing.

You know, it's pretty clear that
these guys didn't work together

in creating this menu.

Of course, there were some
lovely things on these plates,

but some of them shocked me to
the point where I got angry.

For some reason, the three
things are the two things.

They said, give me one good thing.

Well, when I think of Mike and Elan fish,

that was one thing.

It was hearty.

One really good thing.

Great flavor of fun.

They overused saffron.

Okay, you know, a couple things.

But you know what?

It was delicious, and I wanted to eat it.

Salmon cliffs, foie
gras, and scallop duo.

Very beautiful.

It was.

The foie gras was really nice.

The fig was beautiful.

The scallop, perfectly
ex*cuted, and that was lovely.

I think it's quite clear
who the top two dishes are,

so let's call those two out first.

So congratulations.

Yours were the two best dishes.

On the scallop foie gras dish, tell
us sort of how that came about.

We thought that the
creaminess of the scallop

and the creaminess of the foie gras would
kind of lend themselves to each other.

The foie gras was really well cooked.

We all agreed.

The foie was awesome.

I would have liked to see
you take those ingredients

and make a dish of it, as
opposed to keeping them separate.

Put them together.

All in all, it was successful.

You guys did a great job.

I want to hear more about
Michael and Elan's dish.

We were both in the walk-in, and
Elan spotted the soft shell crabs.

We weren't sure what we
were going to do with it,

and I said, hey, look, there's risotto.

How did it turn Spanish?

I work in a Spanish restaurant, so
I'm very familiar with those flavors.

Pimentón and lots of saffron.

But it was great.

It was delicious, and the soft
shell crab was cooked perfectly.

The consistency of the soft
shell, which was perfect,

was the same consistency as your rice.

Crispy on the outside,
juicy on the inside,

and it was like a creme
brulee to me, and I loved it.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Overall, you guys did a great job.

But among the four of you,

we had to choose one
to be the winning dish.

And our choice...

is the paella with Michael and Elan.

Congratulations, you dish won.

Thank you. Thanks.

Michael, how does it feel
to be at the winning table?

Feels good.

Sam told me, man, just start
throwing it out there, you know?

Just by a little say from the beginning.

Michelle, you have the privilege

of picking the winner of this challenge.

Obviously, I have to
go with who I thought

inspired the dish the most.

And the winner is...

Elan.

Congratulations.

I'm very excited because I'm
going through Miami with Michelle.

It's a great opportunity. I'm very glad.

Thank you all very much.

I'd like you to send back

Betty, Mia, Marisa,
Josie, Carlos, and Elia.

Thank you.

You're here because yours

were the bottom three
dishes in today's lunch.

I mean, we were really
disappointed with these dishes.

Mia and Betty, were you
guys happy with your dishes?

I was so proud of my dish.

I went on the walk-in
and cried afterwards.

We put out a good product.

I was proud of myself today.

If you could have taken
one thing off that dish,

what would have been?

The perfect pastry.

I would have cut it.

It was a bad choice, and
it wasn't even cooked.

And one thing that irks
me is when I see pastry

that's not brown.

There was a lot of things
wrong with this dish.

I mean, if we start to finish.

The duck was overcooked.

There's not even a fine line
between too rare and overcooked.

Definitely issues with the dish.

Could have been good.

It wasn't.

Josie? Marisa?

Well, we knew immediately that
we wanted to do an intermezzo.

Whose idea was it to make the
prickly pear with the coconut?

It was our idea, you know.

And we went into the walk-in together.

And you both walked in there and said,

hey, great prickly pear coconut.

No, no, we looked at the
things, and then we said,

okay, well, what can we do with it?

When you saw the outcome, did
it remind you of anything?

Pepto bismol, maybe.

What made you two do a
three-component dish?

Well, there was some
discussion about doing a salad.

There was some discussion
about doing a cheese.

And we wanted to give you
something more than that.

And did you think that these
three components went together?

All three of them had citrus in them.

You know, the prickly pear,
we thought, was unique.

I serve fennel salad at
the restaurant I work.

You know, it was waterlogged,
and that was a mistake.

How about the one with the pineapple?

It's goat cheese and pineapple.

We wanted to do something
with a little bit of cheese.

So you thought that would stand out

and sort of set you apart
from the rest of the dishes?

We thought that we would
be able to accomplish

what our goal was, and that
was to put out something

that would be able to
cleanse your palate.

Forget about just getting by.

Do you think you were going
to win with that dish?

Ellia and Carlos, who made the juice?

Uh, I made the drink.

Where did you find the pomegranate?

From a jar from the pantry.

Did you guys taste the juice?

It tasted like it sat out

for about 24 to 48 hours and went bad.

What made you do three things?

Since they had five courses,

we wanted to give them a
small amount of little things

so that everybody could be
intrigued and not overwhelmed.

I don't understand why you wouldn't focus

on doing one thing really well

as opposed to three things
where one was really good.

We felt like all three were good

until that plate came
back with the mistake.

I thought we had a chance to go to Miami.

The three courses you chose

had no connection between them.

We made that mistake.

They have to have a common thread.

And now you're just saying
you made some mistakes.

The decision-winning didn't get married.

Do you still think you
should go to Miami?

Hindsight's 20-20.

These are about choices.

Someone's got to say,

hey, that looks like peped up business.

We can't serve that.

Let's fix it.

Let's fix the problem.

If you think the pastry's not right,

we got to fix this problem.

Taste the juice. If you
don't like it, fix it.

If you thought it was fine,
your taste is somewhere off.

So we have some things to talk about.

Why don't you guys head
back in the kitchen

and we'll call you back out.

The first thing they teach
you when you become a chef

is if you're not proud of
it, just don't put it out.

Again, it's bad choices.

There's something wrong
with Mia and Betty's dish.

Mia's sister goes, yeah, it
wasn't something I wanted to do.

Carlos and Elia, they were both
really happy with what they did.

Elia and Carlos believed in that juice.

That juice is unacceptable.

I think they came along to the idea

that maybe they should focus
on one thing and make that.

Yeah, right.

There are redeeming qualities
here and there about some dishes,

but it's very hard to find
redeeming qualities about others.

Talking to Marisa and Josie, if
you look at their ingredients,

they actually didn't cook anything.

I have to say, there was no focus.

There was nothing
cohesive about the dish.

I wish we got a little more
information as to who was responsible

for the overall outcome of the dish.

They're banding together,
but one person's responsible.

So who's going to go home tonight?

We have a decision to make, but
I think I know where we're going.

Your three dishes were the
worst in this challenge.

What it ultimately comes
down to is choices.

It's not only important what you choose,

but what you choose not to do.

Mia and Betty, when you start a dish

and the choice that you make
is presentation before flavor,

you're going down to Dead End Street.

Carlos and Elia making the
choice to do three things

that really don't complement each other

as opposed to one thing really well.

Probably not the best choice.

Josie, Marisa, you know, I'm
not sure which one of you

was ultimately responsible
for the choices you made,

but you had three hours
to prepare your dish

and you didn't even cook anything.

That was the downfall.

You had a tough decision, Ray.

Marisa and Josie, please
pack your knives and go.

It's been a pleasure, really,

and you'll definitely see me around.

I've made a few wrong
decisions and I know that.

Top Chef isn't just about cooking,

it's about the choices that we make.

It's been challenging and
it's been educational,

so thank you.

Thank you all.

Thanks.

It was a pleasure
working with all of you.

What does that mean?

Josie and I were going home.

Why would you be so hard?

It is very hard to see that
Marisa and Josie eliminated.

I was in shock.

I mean, Josie wanted to go all the way,

so seeing her leave made me actually cry.

It was my first time in
elimination challenge.

I was on that chopping block.

The first time.

And you're going to send someone
with so much talent home?

It's been tough, but it's been great.

And if I had to do it all over again,

I certainly would do it again.

I would just make a few
different choices, that's all.

It's hard to walk away when you
know that you're so talented

and you just made a bad decision

and it's like that decision
costs you your whole life chance.

I can't hear to win it.

I had a lot of confidence
going into this competition

because I know how damn
talented I really am.

Next on Top Chef.

With the elimination challenge,
you'll be cooking a cutting edge.

It's going to be an extremely
difficult challenge.

Well, now just give
them a shot of vinegar.

And the air started to
lose it a little bit.

I guess I'm probably not
Frank's favorite at this point.

I will beat you so bad that your
mother will not recognize you.

It's like Betty Crocker with
Charles Manson had a love child

and he's cooking for me.

For more about the recipes seen tonight,

go to bravotv.com.