08x03 - New York's Finest

[bunniefuu]

Jen went balls out.

She went hard, but they were like

"we just don't like it."

No way.
It wasn't bland.

I will fight to the death
on this.

Oh, wow.

Jen, please pack
your knives and go.

It's [Bleep] Bull[Bleep].

Not even close to being even
close to the [Bleep] bottom,

not even [Bleep] close!

Jen going home--
it's definitely

the biggest shock
of the competition.

Jen's a lot stronger of a Chef
than Jamie is.

I think everyone knows that.

And then I cut myself,

and I left
to go get stitches.

The fact that there was, like,
a choice to go,

you should have just bandaged
it up and worked through it.

Jamie didn't need to go
to the hospital for her finger,

end of story.



for half a million dollars
in cash and prizes,

the most in Top Chef history,

and the grand prize--

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,

a showcase at the annual
Food & Wine classic in Aspen,

$200,000 to pursue
their culinary dreams,

furnished by Buitoni,

and the title
that's eluded them all--

Top Chef.

Walking
into the Top Chef kitchen,

I'm just like, "holy [Bleep]."

David Chang
is basically the man.

He's built
a restaurant empire

faster than anybody,
and his food's delicious.

Meet Chef David Chang,

one of New York City's
brightest culinary stars.

He's the Chef and owner
of all the Momofuku restaurants

as well as Ma Peche.

- How you guys doing?
- Good morning, Chef.

This quickfire will test
your skill and talent

against the clock.

First, we're gonna split
into four teams of four.

You walked in here
in a random order,

and that's how
we're gonna split these teams.

Angelo,
you and the three people

on your right are one team.

This is
a really strong team.

You know, Tiffany's very,
very well trained.

Mike Isabella's really good.

Angelo, you know,
he wears his pants

a little too tight for me,
but he's a great Chef.

Dale, you and the three people
on your right are a team.

Antonia, same for you.

Stephen,
that leaves the four of you.

I'm really happy to work
with Blais again.

Tre is an animal
in the kitchen.

Stephen, you know,
is just Stephen.

He'll be able to open
a bottle of wine for us.

First, we'll test
your skill.

As a team, you'll need
to simultaneously prep

three ingredients.

- Prepping mise-en-place
is the lifeblood

of every restaurant,
including ours.

I'll be going around

to make sure
it's up to my standards.

David Chang is a badass.

So to have him
walk amongst us

and sort of look
over our shoulders,

it is nerve-racking.

Next, we'll test talent.

After you finish
your prep work,

each team will be responsible
for one dish,

using all
of the ingredients.

The first team that finishes
all of their prep work

will hit this red button.
[Buzzer sounds]

That'll start
a 15-minute clock.

- [Exhales deeply]
- Having 15 minutes,

it's definitely possible
to create an amazing dish.

But you might not have


You could have five minutes.

Oh, and to make it
really interesting,

there will be no immunity
given for this challenge.

But each member
of the winning team

will receive $5,000.

[Cheers and applause]

Awesome.

Pick a station
and put on your aprons.

Ready, set, go!

Take all the fat caps off.
I'll peel the bones.

Do you have a peeler?
Are you gonna use a peeler?

I have a peeler, yes.

Guys, dig deep.
Five Gs, huh?

Me and Angelo
att*ck the racks.

Tiffany hops right
onto the artichokes,

and Fabio
starts crushing garlic.

I got two down.

I've been doing Greek food
for over five years.

So there's been a lot of lamb
in my career.

And you're gonna come back
and scrape, right?

Yes, sir.
You know it.

I come from a restaurant
where we have butchers.

So I'm kind of looking
at this like,

"oh, I got to do it now?"

[Laughs]

This is so much fun.
[Laughs]

Is anybody else having
a really good time right now?

Oh, man.

I'm extremely excited
about this challenge,

because I learned a technique
to French lamb.

You just hammer the meat
in between the bones,

and it actually comes off
super clean,

like, in no time.

Thank you.

On our team,
Antonia and Jamie

power through the garlic,

and Casey is just k*lling
the lamb.

I don't think Casey Thompson
has ever been able to live down

the haunting season three
relay race.

[Sniffles]

I think she's really happy
that it's not an onion.

Turn my head this way,
and Antonia

is peeling the garlic
one by one.

We have 400 cloves of garlic--

not gonna work.

I'm beautiful.

I get down 40 garlic cloves
at a time.

[Whistles]
Done.

- Check.
- Oh, my God.

- They're good on the garlic.
- Yes.

Our team is ahead...
Boom.

Fabio's done with the garlic.
[Bleep].

We got to move, guys.
We got to move.

We can smash it, right?
You can smash the garlic.

I'm smashing it.
I'm smashing it.

Stephen's just like,
doo, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo.

So I'm getting worried.

Watch out.

My hands are all fat.
I can't--

they've got fat
all over them.

Our team doesn't seem to be
dealing with speed very well.

Are you kidding me
right now?

I have no idea
what Tiffani is doing.

But if the green team
hits the button

anytime soon,
our team is gonna be [Bleep].

Dig deep.
Come on, baby.

Chef Chang, done.

What about the lamb, Chef?

- Looking good on the lamb.
- Thank you, Chef.

[Grunts]

Check, please!

You're good to go.

I'm coming. I'm coming.
Garlic's done.

All right, check, check.
All: Check, check, check.

This is good.
This is good.

Go.
Yes!

- Go hit the button.
- Go.

- Hit the red button.
- I got it.

[Bleep].

Clock starts now.

They hit it.
They hit it. They hit it.

Now the clock has started,


and everyone
just starts to panic.

[Bleep].
Push, guys, push.

Push, push!
Last one.

Just because you finish first

doesn't mean you're gonna
come up with the best dish.

So we have lamb
with herbs, butter.

I'm gonna cook it
in butter, oil.

You guys are good
on the artichokes.

Good on artichokes.

Casey, just [Bleep] Chop
that [Bleep] Up.

We need 30 seconds, guys.
We're finished in 30 seconds.

- This is not happening.
- Lamb's done.

Yeah, they look good.
You're good on the lamb.

Thank you, Chef.

Blue team's good on lamb.

- Check garlic, please.
- Garlic check, please.

Garlic check, please.

Big chunk up top.

Come on, Chang!
Come on!

- Once more, man.
- You're k*lling me.

Chang keeps on hosing me
on how fine the garlic is.

Chang, what the [Bleep], man?

It's like,
"I got to start cooking."

All right, blue team's go.

Blue team,
go, go, go, go, go!

We've got 12 minutes left,
and our team

just goes at it.

Go, go!
Go, come on.

We got to go.

Dale, are you done?
Check. Check, please.

You guys are good
on these lambs.

- Perfect.
- Chokes.

- Go.
- Go. Go.

Okay, guys,
take a deep breath.

We've got ten minutes to make
this dish [Bleep] Perfect.

Ten minutes.

Damn...

We are behind.

We decide lamb carpaccio
is what we're going to make,

because it is raw,

and you just slice it
really beautifully

and put it on the plate.

Perfect. You got it.
That's beautiful.

Push, guys, push.

Chili aioli
I'm gonna fry the lamb chops.

There's just no time for there
to be a democracy.

I'm taking the lead and letting
everyone know what to do.

Go get the plates.
Go get the plates.

Here we go.
Chef, Chef, Chef, Chef.

- You're good on garlic.
- All right, let's go.

Artichokes.
Go.

All right, go. Go.

We choose lamb carpaccio,

because we don't have time
to throw lamb in a pan.

Guys, eight minutes!
Eight minutes!

Set up our station
for presentation, yeah?

Guys, I need to start
seasoning this beef now!

We're plating
over here, okay?

All the other Chefs and teams
are engaged in cooking.

But we have the advantage
of finishing first.

And I feel really confident.

Yeah, perfect, great.

One minute.

One minute left.

- Can I plate this?
- Plate, plate, plate.

- Can I plate this?
- Plate.

- I think if we use artichokes
three ways--

I'm crisping some up
just for a little crunch.

Yes, okay.
Hurry up. We got 30 seconds.

Come on, baby.

- Let's take it off and clean up
the edges, so it's like--

- four, three, two...

Utensils down!

- Great job, guys.
- Whoo!

That was awesome!

How you guys doing?

- Hey, Chef. How are you?
- Tiffani...

We have a lamb carpaccio
with artichoke chips,

also, a raw artichoke salad,

a really beautiful
garlic oil

poured over the top.

Thank you.

All right,
so we have a crispy lamb chop

with many different textures
of artichokes,

raw, crispy, and also braised
with a chili aioli.

What's the spice?

Little bit of garlic,
little bit of fish sauce,

little bit of lime juice.

Thank you.
Nice job.

He said, "nice job," man.
It's David [Bleep] Chang.

- Hello, ladies.
- Hello.

And gentleman.
[Laughter]

- And gentleman--
I'm sorry, Dale.

[Chuckles]

- We've made
a lamb carpaccio--

uh, crispy capers,
a little shaved reggiano,

fresh herb salad.

- It's raw?
- Yeah, it's raw.

Thank you.

So we have
a beautifully cooked lamb,

cooked in thyme and garlic

covered
with tandoori-spiced yogurt.

And underneath,
we have slivers of artichoke.

- Thanks, guys.
- I feel good.

The lamb
was cooked perfectly.

It's 5,000 bucks
in my pocket.

David, how did they do
in this quickfire?

It was incredibly difficult,

and you guys passed
with flying colors.

Who were
your least favorite dishes?

One of my least favorite
dishes was the red team.

The parmesan
and the parsley

overwhelmed everything.

My other least favorite
was the green team.

I felt that the thyme
and the dill

sort of blew out
the yogurt.

We finished first,
but, uh, on the bottom.

It's truly embarrassing.

Now let's hear
about your favorites.

The white team...

The carpaccio was a very
unique way to serve lamb raw.

It looks straightforward,
but deceivingly complex.

We're just like, "yes!"

And my other favorite
was the crispy lamb chop.

You have
a lot of bold flavors,

so it was
a very, very tasty dish.

- Thank you.
- David, who's the winner today?

The team that showcased
the best technique,

skill,
and culinary knowledge,

I thought, was...

The blue team.

Congratulations.

Congratulations. Not only
have you won the quickfire,

but each of you
will take home $5,000,

furnished by Buitoni.

The money's nice, and
the thrill of victory is great,

but I think, for me,
most importantly,

I've gained
a little bit of trust

from the people on my team,
'cause I did take the lead,

and it feels really good.

There's a fish
in my glass.

Oh, my goodness.

What the [Bleep]
Is going on?

New York is considered
by many

as the restaurant capital
of the world.

The next challenge
will allow you to experience

the elite restaurant
as an insider.

Each group will dine

at one of New York's
finest restaurants

and get to experience the food
of an award-winning Chef.

Then tomorrow
you'll each prepare a dish

the Chef would be proud
to put on their menu.

As groups,
you'll now draw knives.

Mike.

You should know something
about that.

Yes!

For me,
David Chang's an idol.

Ma Peche
is eclectic Asian food

and straight up yummy.

- Townhouse, David Burke--
I'm excited.

I'm like, "modern American
cuisine I can do."

- Marea's style
is Italian-focused,

and Michael White is one
of the top dogs right now.

- I'm familiar with some
of the avant-garde techniques

of Wylie Dufresne,

so I feel super confident
about this challenge.

You are working
as individuals.

Your teammates
are your competition.

That's a little scary,
because in our group,

Dale has the best chance
to win.

His style is American,
just like David Burke's menu.

And two of you
will be going home.

I'm pretty freaked out.
I'm like, "wow."

They're not playing around,

so we're just gonna have
to bring our "A" game.

- Double-elimination challenge,

and I have to cook
French and Vietnamese food.

[Scoffs, chuckles]

Have a wonderful dinner.

- Welcome.
- Thank you.

Right this way.

After we leave
the Top Chef kitchen,

we head out to some of the best
restaurants in New York City.

- Welcome to wd-50.

Welcome to Marea.
If you'll follow me.

Thank you for joining us
at Ma Peche.

- How are you?
- Great. Thank you.

I'm just so unbelievably
excited for this.

Wow, we have to go
pretty high on presentation.

- Mm-hmm.

How you doing, Chef?
Awesome to meet you.

David Chang comes out.

I think my leg is, like,
tapping underneath the table.

Like, I'm so excited.

The premise
of this restaurant

is to do
French vietnamese food.

And, uh,
excited to have you.

Awesome.
Thank you very much.

It's a pleasure.

Mmm.

Pickled watermelon,
uh, fried crispy yuba.

This is ingenious.

You have the depth
of the sausage,

but then corn kept coming
back into play, you know?

The arugula goes great too,

'cause you get the pepper notes,
and it cleanses.

It's a really smart dish.

I'm surprised you never
thought of it.

Angelo is just annoying.

Something about people
who talk too much

that just irritates me
a little bit.

Sugar, vinegar,
soy sauce just reduced down

till it's, like, a thick--

- I'm just like,
"oh, shut up."

Fluke.

Fluke with pistachio
and strawberry.

- Mm-hmm.
- It's delicious.

He uses
sicilian pistachios too.

Yeah.

Fabio, he's gonna make
a little pasta,

gnocchi.
[Tiffany laughing]

Actually,
I won't make pasta.

It's just kind of like,
"what direction do you go in?"

We probably got
the best restaurant, guys.

We did,
I mean, if you ask me.

Good evening.
How are you?

- Good evening.
- Welcome to Marea.

Chef Michael white
visits our table,

and it is an absolutely pleasure
to meet him in person.

He is an outstanding Chef.
It's gonna be a great time.

Tonight we're gonna cook you
just a few things

that will be available tomorrow.

You'll see kind of
a wide range of what we do--

uh, coastal Italian,
plenty to work with,

and, uh, I look forward
to seeing you tomorrow.

- Thank you again. Take care.
- Thank you very much.

Just got to do
a [Bleep]Damn good dish, man.

Sea urchin on a crostini.

This is awesome, guys.

Sea urchin's
not my favorite.

- You don't like sea urchin?
- I said it's not my favorite.

Taste this, man.
It'll change your mind.

Stephen happens to eat
at Marea quite often.

Right now
Marea in New York is,

I mean, regarded as
one of the top restaurants.

He can be kind of arrogant.

And they're doing something
that America loves,

Italian food,
but they're putting

a completely different spin
on it.

I'm not gonna be educated
by Stephen.

I have my own palate.

Sea bass
with a mustard vinaigrette

and a sturgeon caviar.

Bon appetit.

Looks beautiful,
very fresh, man.

This is delicious.

Marea's very elegant,
very simple.

The challenge worries me,

because sometimes
I need editing.

Restraint is where
I'm gonna have to be careful.

- Fish is cooked just right.
- It's fantastic.

- Cheers.
To Wylie Dufresne and wd-50.

- To the best challenge.
- Best challenge ever.

- Hello, Chefs.
- Hello, Chef.

- Welcome to wd-50.

- Thank you.
- Nice to see you guys.

We got a nice menu
planned for you.

Hope you guys enjoy it.
Thank you for having us.

It's our pleasure.
We're happy to have you guys.

- At wd-50,
Wylie Dufresne is known

for his modern techniques
in molecular gastronomy.

My food is very different.

But this is an opportunity
for me

to marry classic
with modern.

Wow.

Perfectly ex*cuted mousse
in a way I've never seen.

So light and Fluffy.

The first course
that we receive

is Wylie's aerated Foie gras.

To be able to have dinner here
is such a pleasure

and, like, such a privilege.

I'm getting very inspired.

His food--
it's, like, what I do.

Things are not always
what they seem.

The scrambled-egg block
is, like, so awesome.

I read
in an interview somewhere

that Wylie loved eggs

and that eggs were
his favorite thing to eat.

After the egg course,
I decided,

if I was gonna go for broke,
I'd go for broke

on something that he'd love.

I wasn't scared
until I'm eating the food.

And now I'm like,
"oh, my God."

Feeling a little nervous.

I'm looking at the menu,

and my style
is so different from his.

I'm not so sure
I can pull this off.

And this is when we break out
the pens and the pads.

- Hi. Hi.
- How you doing?

Welcome to New York.
Thank you.

We're gonna have some fun,
ask some questions,

and, uh, we got
some treats for you, so...

- Thank you.
- Thanks.

- Hello. Good evening.
- How are you?

What's that?

A specialty
for you guys this evening.

There's a fish in my glass.

[Laughter]

Oh, my goodness.

What the [Bleep]
Is going on?

If the cocktail
is any indication

of what we are gonna
have to cook like,

then we're in trouble.

Our scallop Benedict

and sea urchin sabayon
this evening.

We all kind of begin
to understand

that David Burke's food
is very whimsical, very playful.

- Crisp and angry lobster.
- No way.

Are you serious?

My style's wacky,
and I love the food

that I'm eating right now.

Lobster firecracker
as well there.

Oh, yes, they are.

Oh, my gosh,
with the tentacles in it.

I'm concerned
and overwhelmed.

Everything that Chef David
is sending to us

is larger than life.

The dessert could be
really cool.

- Come on.
- Seriously?

Roasted rack of lamb
with roasted octopus.

But he starts off
with these very basic things

and just starts
to have it grow.

It was really fun today.

- Let's go do it.
- Great dinner.

- Here we go.
- Let's do this.

Maestro.

Gentlemen.

- This guy, this guy--
I would take--

look at him.
Beautiful.

Things are looking good
for me,

and I want to knock it
out of the park on this one.

Marea is fine dining,
suit and tie,

and it's something
that I'm all about.

Fashion's become, like,
a major obsession of mine.

Could be worse.

Could be cocaine or heroin,
so, you know.

If you really guys
don't want me here,

it's okay--
I understand it.

It tastes like a head shop.

Right behind you.

Today we're cooking

in New York's
most exclusive kitchens.

We have to produce a dish

worthy
of that restaurant's menu.

- All right, you guys.
- Okay.

I got this side
over here, dude.

Two people are going home.

All three of the guys
that's on my team

are very strong competitors.

I'm not ready to go home.

So I'm definitely gonna
bring it today.

Mmm.

- Tre?
- Yes?

- [Bleep].
- Really?

Does anybody have
a corkscrew?

What you're doing one
already, uh, Stephen?

[Laughs]

Oh, [Bleep].

I don't know if I'm gonna be
able to do it with this [Bleep].

I really want to impress
David Chang

doing his style of food.

- I like it.
- It's cool, right?

It's interesting.

Tiffany's doing raw fish
with, like, two elements on it,

so the dishes
are probably taking her

about eight minutes to make.

I think Angelo's the guy to b*at
in this challenge.

So if I could b*at him
at his own game,

it makes it
that much better.

It's hot in here, huh?

Doesn't taste like curry.
It tastes like popcorn butter.

It looks like
popcorn butter.

So I'm gonna make
popcorn with it.

Everyone has, like,
these crazy ideas.

My whole thing is like,
I want to take peas and carrots

and turn it into
a two-Michelin-star dish.

If Top Chef has taught me
one thing,

it's that
sort of adaptability

to be able to put out
a great dish.

Ooh, look at that,
double yolk.

We got twins
over here, hey.

In the last challenge
for the finale,

Casey and tried
sous vide meat, and, um,

that didn't work out
for me.

I do more comfort food,
so I'm hoping

that I've stretched myself
enough to make this a dish

that would be on
Wylie Dufresne's menu at wd-50.



- Richard, is there a reset
switch on a vita-prep?

- Oh, my God.
- I don't believe so.

It might be too hot or just--
did you check another outlet?

Yeah, I'm checking
another outlet right now.

Nothing's working.

Stephen is kind of
out of place.

And it looks like
he's never gonna make it.

You can kind of see him
start to sweat a little bit.

- This thing is, like,
the vita-prep from hell.

All right,
who's grabbing food?

Two people are going home.

But Marea's right up
my alley.

Some people do call me
the black Italian.

[Laughs]

- It's tasty, dude.
- Mushroom.

I'm from Texas.
I love steak.

There's fish out there
that represent steak.

So the star of the dish
is swordfish.



Welcome to our first meal
at Marea.

Can't put my hands up
right now.

You know Tom Colicchio,
head judge,

Chef and owner
of craft restaurants,

Kate Krader, the restaurant
editor of Food & Wine magazine,

Tony Bourdain,
author of medium raw,

and, of course,
Michael white,

Chef and owner
or Marea restaurant.

- How's it going?
- Hi.

Hello, Chefs.

I prepared a grilled piece
of swordfish,

two different variations
of artichokes,

a panna cotta of mushroom,

basil oil on the bottom.

I prepared
a seared branzino

with, uh, caponata,
prosciutto vinaigrette,

and a glaze around the plate.

I did a, uh, crudo
of Spanish mackerel

with onions shaped
in the form of a squid

stuffed with, uh, veal shank.

I have
a coho salmon condito,

black mission figs,
broccoli rapini,

and fennel pollen
over the top.

Cheers.
Thank you.

The skin is nice and crispy
on spike's fish.

Texture
is very important to me,

whether it's in a pasta.

In the South of Italy,

they're putting bread crumbs
on things.

Caponata usually
is not so loose.

He didn't do himself
any favors

using the word caponata.

- We're predisposed now--
- right, exactly.

I think Richard's dish
is really elegant

and really tasty.

When we make shards of bread,
we do it like this.

We don't cut it and dice.

We pull it out,
and we tear it.

- I think it's good.
- It's beautiful.

It's really flavor-forward.

Let's try Stephen's salmon.

The garnish is nice.

But it's aggressive,
don't you think?

Like, it's, like--
that's a lot of fennel pollen.

It tastes like a head shop.

[Laughs]

Aesthetically,
Tre, uh, is on the money.

The hallmark of Italian food
is simplicity.

Nicely cooked.

Tre's panna cotta
is delicious.

It's tasty.

It's fun to see all
the different things they did.

They went
in slightly different ways

that maybe reflected
their personality.

And some of them worked
really well.

All right,
let's get up out of here.

Not bad for an Italian.

[Laughs]

This is number two
of four?

We're going to Ma Peche?
Yeah.

I wouldn't want to be
thrown in

any of these kitchens.

My biggest challenge
is to please David Chang.

It's like, to us,
an Asian grandma

to make fresh pasta
and ossobuco and please me.

This is double elimination.

So if you really guys
don't want me here,

it's okay--
I understand it.

Ay.

This river fish--
it's just intoxicating.

I add some white chocolate,

because I think
it's really ballsy

to just put white chocolate
with fish and meat.

I want this dish to be

the best dish I've ever cooked
in my life.

Thanks for having us, David.

We got
four beautiful plates.

I made a barbecue sauce
throughout the lamb,

the braised pistachio
with peanuts,

and I made my own ricotta.

I made the crudo
summer flounder

with pickled radish,
peach puree,

a little spice with chili.

We have a, uh,
warm sockeye salmon.

I lightly cured it,
and I'm serving it over

a charcoal eggplant
with some tomatoes

with some pickled peaches.

- There's turmeric-marinated
fish with dill,

cilantro, salmon roe,
smoked chorizo,

and white chocolate.

- Thank you, everybody.
- Thank you, guys.

I think Angelo's dish

was really creative,
very flavorful.

Putting white chocolate
on this fish sounds crazy,

and I think it has
an exciting flavor to it.

I like the salmon roe.

The flavors were all bold,
were all very balanced.

And it's this sort of style
that I like,

and it was
a very innovative dish.

I hate that part.

- I like Mike's fish
very much--

flavorful,
but not over the top.

Almost everything here,
except for the salmon,

were components he had
in dinner.

So it's a very solid dish,
I think.

Love the eggplant.

I think it's really great.

I just have
a very difficult time

trying to figure out
Fabio's dish.

It's definitely heavier.

It combines
a lot of ingredients

that I would never
put together.

I sense a, uh,
really talented cook

who got hopelessly lost
in a forest.

I think Tiffany's dish
is good,

but I think it's missing one
thing that really takes it up.

This is also a crudo dish

that you might see
at Daniel, or--

- yeah.
A lot of restaurants.

Yeah.

Everything was tasty
and flavorful,

some more than others.

But nothing that I would be
embarrassed about.

Let's go together.

Yes.

Going in,
two, three, four.

Going in.

Now we're going
to townhouse.

Yeah, David Burke's
restaurant.

David was, like,
the first pressing

of celebrity Chefs.

- His food was always just
avant-garde and out there.

I hate pepper mills.

What do you think?
Hot.

How do you think
I should cut it?

Okay, um, I need your opinion
really quick.

Dale, whom I love,
wants me to taste

every component of his dish,
but here's the thing--

Dale had everything
but the kitchen sink.

- Would you guys put a little
into the French-toast batter?

To be really honest,
I'm a little concerned for him.

- David, how you doing?
- Nice to see you.

Two, one, done.

I have a roasted veal loin

with peanuts and popcorn
and French toast,

corn puree,
and a thyme caramel.

I have two purees.

One is a pea puree,
carrot butter,

a little bit of mint oil,
seared scallops,

and a little bit of
pickled carrot on top.

This is called
a Halibut scallop.

So it's Halibut seared
to look like a scallop

on top of a bit
of tapioca pearl.

The puree around
is a ginger-carrot emulsion.

It's a smoked tomato
and bacon soup.

And then you have
an heirloom tomato salad

with smoked burrata,
little roasted oven tomatoes,

and charred-onion vinaigrette.

Thanks.

As far as Jamie's dish goes,

does the addition of smoke
add anything to it?

Does it make
the tomato better?

Could have been better.

Could have been
more creative and more--

more wow factor,
for my style, anyway.

It seems like Dale has
a sweet dish

that just has veal on it.
I like the combination.

I like
what he was thinking about.

The French toast
is too sweet.

- I think Casey had
a brilliant idea--

so smart.

- What was it called--
scallop Halibut?

- "Scalibut."
- A "scalibut"?

That's what I called it.

The look of it is a look

that we could put on a menu.
Yep.

The fish
is beautifully cooked.

- It's delicious.
- Mm-hmm.

Antonia wasn't shy
with the salt shaker.

I like assertive seasoning.

I like the peas and carrots.
It's playful.

I could fit that
onto my menu.

I do like the dish a lot.

You think it's too salty?

No, I don't,
but I like salt.

It's a tough challenge.
It's tough to try

and emulate
somebody else's menu.

A lot of the stuff
is playful,

but it's half the battle--
you got to actually execute it.

I don't hardly taste
the smoke.

It's really subtle.

I'm concerned about the soup.

It might be a little bit
too simple.

It's super subtle.

It's double elimination
so it's nerve-racking.

Let's go find out.
What the heck?

Tiffani is showcasing
technique just to do it.

- I find that the melon--
the intruder at the party.

- We used to do short ribs
like that--it was so good.

Marcel had beef with Wylie.

And I don't really know
if it's even valid.

He could be making it up
for all I know.

- It's ironic to be cooking
at wd-50,

'cause one
of Wylie's sous Chefs

accused me
of culinary plagiarism.

You know,
and as a young cook,

I used to get upset
when I would learn

that other Chefs had been doing
the same dishes.

- Pineapple.
- Pineapple? Oh, nice.

Good call.

Now here I am in wd-50

having to create a dish
in their style.

I mean, it's too much.

You can't even write
this sort of stuff.

- Time?
- Five minutes.

This is all
coming out, right?

I'm making a sunny-egg dumpling
with braised pork belly.

I don't know
Wylie's techniques.

And it's a double elimination,
so I think

that it's not wise
to play Wylie's game.

I want to stay true to who I am
and be inspired by Wylie.

It'll be interesting to see
what this food's like.

So that's--I mean, this is
a very difficult challenge.

I probably should not have
frozen my melons.

If I over-execute it,
that's a flaw, for sure,

and I should edit.

But I can't stop myself.

I look over
at Tiffani's dish,

and she's, like, showcasing
technique just to do it.

She's not really
thinking about the diner

at the end of the day.

- Well, hello.
- Thank you for having us.

You guys still hungry?

- Yes.
- We saved the best for last.

Thank you.
[Laughs]

Wow.
Looks great.

- I made my version
of breakfast--

a sunny-side-up egg dumpling,
a braised pork belly,

milk-style ramen
with bacon, beef,

and some pork.

So three different
heirloom melons,

vacuum packed,

hit with a little bit
of liquid nitrogen and broken,

and then powdered
ham and cheese.

I did my version
of shrimp and grits

with corn
and infused shrimp

and then the poached shrimp
on top.

I made a, uh,
vadouvan lamb

with a little bit of,
uh, tzatziki,

pickled red onion,
and anti flatbread

inspired by your aerated foie
the other day.

All right, thanks, guys.
Thanks a lot.

I think, uh,
Tiffani lost control

of this mission
on the launchpad.

I find that the melon,
which is a major component--

the intruder at the party.

I would have liked
to have seen her

pare one or two things
off that plate.

It felt just a little murky.

- Mmm.
- That's nice.

Nice runny yolk.
We like that.

I love Dale's dish.
He took a lot of chances.

The broth
tastes like breakfast.

It's really cool.

I see what you mean,
like buttered toast almost.

- Like toast, yeah.
- Yeah.

I think this dish
hits on a lot of levels.

I agree.

Carla did a nice job
with it.

I think it's just
a little bit safe,

but very well prepared,
good, good technical eating.

I think given
Carla's background,

this was a smart way to go.

Marcel's dish
was a lot more restrained,

a lot more timid
than I thought it was gonna be.

Even Marcel's, uh,
cucumber was bland.

Marcel's embraced
the equipment back there.

I'm not sure in this case
he's used those techniques

to improve the dish.

I think, in a way,
they were all very successful

in grasping the philosophy
here at the restaurant,

taking something familiar
and trying to play with it.

But some of them
are actualized,

realized
a little bit better.

Nicely done, kids.

Thanks, guys.
A pleasure. Take care.

Thank you for having
a great meal with us.

Thank you, guys.

Hell of a challenge,
hell of a challenge.

You should have seen me
using the circulator, y'all.

[Laughter]

Gets the goggles on,
puts the gloves on.

[Laughter continues]

We'd like to see Dale,

Angelo, Antonia,
and Tre.

Thank you.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

You four have
the favorite dishes

of the New York Chefs
you cooked for today.

- Thank you.
- You guys did a great job.

You came to cook
in some of the best kitchens

in New York and really
impressed the Chefs over there,

so nice work.
Thank you so much.

The winner of this challenge

will get a six-night trip
to New Zealand.

- Wow.
- Oh, my God.

- Wow.
- Whoo-hoo.

Antonia,
you did a really nice riff

on peas and carrots,
which was very much

in the David Burke zone,
and the flavors were delicious.

Thank you.

Angelo, I'm a big fan
of David Chang,

and I eat
at his restaurants a lot.

And your dish
was really exciting.

I think that shaving
white chocolate on the end

was kind of genius.

- Thank you so much.
- Tre.

I think the focus was put
on the fish being the star,

and, uh, the kitchen
was absolutely fabulous.

I really felt like
I was in a lamborghini.

I think the fish
was the star,

and the fish was perfectly done,
so nice work.

Thanks, Chef.

Dale.

Were you aware
that Wylie Dufresne

is a notorious egg slut?
I am aware of that,

and I think a lot
of Wylie's food has restraint.

So I didn't bring any
of his actual techniques in,

because I wanted to restrain
myself from adding to the plate.

I think
at the end of the day,

you can have every trick
in your bag,

but if the food
doesn't taste great...

So nice job.

Thank you.

Kate, who's the winner
of this elimination challenge?

You guys really all did
a good job

channeling
your different Chefs,

but the Chef who just did
a marvelous job

representing the kitchen
they were cooking in...

Is Dale.

Thank you.

- I knew you hit it with that.
- Thank you.

Thank you, Chefs.
Winning feels great.

It's my first win
of this competition.

So now, you know,
these dudes know I'm for real.

Congratulations, Dale.

You get a six-night trip
to the Hilton Auckland

in New Zealand,
plus $5,000 for airfare,

furnished
by Hilton hotels and resorts.

Thank you.

Going to New Zealand, baby.
Pack up your bags.

I also need you to send back
some of your colleagues.

Who is it?

- Yay.
- Ah!

Good job, Dale.

Um, so they want to see

Stephen, Tiffani,
Fabio, and Dale.

- All right.
- Stand up, guys.

Stand up.
Fight hard.

- Fight hard,
but not too hard--be nice.

Don't pull a Jen.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

The Chefs at each
of your restaurants

felt that you had
their least favorite dishes.

And, unfortunately,

two of you
will be going home.

Fabio, let's start with you.

- You know, honestly,
Asian--

vietnamese and French
is not my expertise area.

Smarter people than you or I
have had a very difficult time

trying to figure out
David Chang.

Painters sometimes,
when they lose their way,

tend to overpaint.
Yeah.

The ingredients
that I used in my dish,

they're all ingredients
that he's using in his menu--

the peanuts, the oils,
and the plum,

everything,
and I overdo it.

Texturally,
too much fat on the lamb,

and I thought the cassoulet
was over-reduced.

I thought it was sticky.

I wanted more of a sauce,
but not to be completely dry.

But I didn't see
a lot of sauce in Chang's dish.

But if you're making a dish
that calls for that,

it has to have that.

Stephen.

Right now I'm feeling
a lot of different emotions.

One is frustration.

I consider myself
to be an expert

in Italian food and wine,
and I completely blew it.

What do you think
you did wrong with the dish?

I put too much
on the plate.

I had components as part
of my mise-en-place

that should have never
made it to the plate.

It could have been
an amazing dish.

And in my mind,
it could've won.

I felt an overwhelming flavor

and scent of,
like, sandalwood,

a perfume-y flavor that
was really unpleasant for me.

It's a shame, because,

you know, it was
a beautiful piece of salmon,

and it was
really nicely cooked.

It could have been
a really beautiful dish.

Tiffani, do you think
going into Wylie's kitchen,

it was easy to get seduced
by everything that was going on

and try to do too much?
Clearly.

For me, that's the most
disappointing part of this,

just 'cause my food tends to be
very sort of stripped down.

Texturally,
the whole thing fell apart

because it was just watery
and mushy.

Let's move on to Dale.

Townhouse, it's like food
with jazz hands.

[Chuckles]

So trying to embrace
the sense of humor and kitsch

of the restaurant--

I had the whole popcorn
and peanuts thing going on.

What I don't understand
is David usually starts off

with a very sort of
classic point of view

and then riffs on it.

You had peanuts.
You had popcorn.

You had French toast.

What's the inspiration here?

I don't know
where it comes from.

I think the inspiration
actually came

from a dish of mine, and it was
buttermilk French toast

with, like, a banana,
black pepper caramel.

You're talking
about a breakfast dish?

- Yes.
- I think that's the problem.

You gave us a breakfast dish
with veal on it.

- Thank you, Chefs.
- Thank you.

Thank you.

We don't know yet,
obviously.

Everybody has a couple
of imperfections here and there.

And, um, maybe was
a little too much going on.

You know,
I think this is one

of the most interesting
challenges we've ever done.

But, unfortunately,

some of these Chefs
just didn't hit the mark.

The problem with Dale's dish
was it just didn't taste good.

- He cooked the veal properly.
It was well-seasoned.

It was cooked right,
but it's just--

it was way too sweet.

I think Stephen
just got overexcited.

He knew he was at Marea,

and he's so good
at that kind of food.

He did a nice job
cooking his fish.

It was poached in olive oil.
It was perfectly done.

The Pesto was well made.

Parts of that dish
were very good.

But it was unpleasant
to eat.

I think the fatal flaw

was all those different
aromatics coming together

almost came off as, uh,
perfume-y.

You know what was totally
missing from Fabio's dish?

Confidence.

He had all these
Asian ingredients,

but you didn't taste them.

I think he purposely
stayed away from it.

There was too much fat left
on the lamb

and then there was just
too much going on.

You got cheese.
You got this nut cassoulet.

You got the lamb.
You got tomatoes. You have corn.

And it's like, really?

It's a fine line sometimes
between homage and parody,

and I think that
what Tiffani did here

crossed the line into a parody
of what Wylie does.

I think it was one technique
too much.

The compression of the melon--
that was a great idea.

I think using
liquid nitrogen to freeze it

was her downfall.

- Yeah, it's not like
I [Bleep] Up--

- so, no, I think you're fine.
- We'll see.

Okay, so I think
we have our decision.

- Yep.
- Let's get them out here.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Chefs, today's challenge

took us to four
great New York restaurants

with four exciting
New York City Chefs

to create a dish that
they would put on their menus.

Unfortunately,
for the four of you,

it didn't happen.

Stephen, you may have great
knowledge of Italian food.

I have great knowledge
of led zeppelin.

Doesn't make me Jimmy page.

Dale, didn't quite see
your starting-off point.

But if it was the circus,
we ended up

with caramel popcorn
and not much of a surprise.

Tiffani,
we felt you gave us

just a poor facsimile
of a Wylie Dufresne dish.

Fabio, ultimately,
you were just

very heavy-handed
with the dish.

A lot
of different combinations

with nothing really
hitting the mark.

Unfortunately
for two of you,

you'll be going home.

Stephen and Dale...

Please pack
your knives and go.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you.

I'm very disappointed
to be going home this early.

I'm a little embarrassed.

This is new ground for me,

because I'd never been
eliminated.

I was the runner-up.
I just didn't win.

Actually being told
to go home--

it's gonna take a little bit
to get over.

Chefs, it was
an absolute pleasure.

It was mine.

The Stephen
from Top Chef season 1

probably would have k*lled
this challenge.

I was cooking
a lot more back then.

But this competition
is filled

with some
of the fiercest competitors

in Top Chef history.

I simply wasn't up to par
with the rest of the Chefs.

I'll see you soon, lady.

[Applause]

It was wonderful
to put a Chef coat back on,

rock and roll in the kitchen,

and if I made it through
this past challenge

and maybe got another couple
under my belt,

who knows what
would have happened?

I love Top Chef,
and fair is fair.

I got eliminated.
I'm gonna learn from it.

And, you know,
maybe I'll come back

for Top Chef 16,
you know, seniors.

next
on Top Chef all stars...

Cooking at the U.S. open
is radical,

a beast.

- Oh!
- It's just a cluster[Bleep].

We got to go.

We go for the k*ll, yeah.

Is Angelo helping,

or is he trying to
get people eliminated?

[Grunts]
I'm extremely upset with Jamie.

Yo, I need
the pressure cooker, Jamie.

What are you doing?
That sucks.

It just felt heavy.

He did sort of phone it in.

It was
a little bit flaccid.

Angelo sabotaging
his teammates.