09x08 - Tribute Dinner

[bunniefuu]

- Previously on Top Chef...
- Argh!

- This is a double
elimination.

We all have to judge

the three dishes
that are gonna be in the bottom.

- This is not
like cooking normally.

This is the hardest thing
I've ever done.

- That is raw
as the day it was born.

- All Dakota had to do was
cook the venison properly.

- Ed, Ty, congratulations.

- We gotta make a decision.

- Okay.
- You guys...

- No, no.
No, stop, stop.

- ...don't speak up.
No, you stop.

You're not my sous chef.

I don't need you to come to me
and ask me a thousand questions.

- That just
really hits me,

because I have
a really strong work ethic.

- Dakota, Nyesha...

- She should not
be going home...

- No.
- ...That's all I gotta say.

Ten chefs remain,

all hoping to win a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,

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

$125,000 furnished
by Healthy Choice

to bring their
culinary dreams to life,

and the title of Top Chef.

[Theme music playing]
- Holy crap.

That's an emotional
roller coaster.

- I'm gonna be alone in my room
over there now.

I definitely think Heather

crossed the line
at the judges' table.

Some people misinterpret
my humbleness as being weakness.

The universe is full of karma,
and it's very powerful.

It always
comes back to you.

- Good evening, chefs.

- Hi.
- Hi.

- We have some more business
to take care of.

- Please God, don't let us cook
any more tonight,

and get us out of this kitchen,
because it's 140 degrees.

- We'd like you all
to pack you bags.

We're going to Austin.

- Yay!

[Cheers and applause]

- Yes! Finally!

- I love Austin.

There's a lot of music,
there's a lot of food.

It's just
a really fun city.

- We're going to stay
at Paul's house.

- Oh, [bleep] pressure.
- [Laughing]

- I feel more pressure now.

I have to represent
my city well.

So, I'm like sweating balls
at this point.

Bring it on home
to Austin.

- [Cheers]

- Hometown, Paul.
You made it.

- Yes!

- Here we go.
Lock it up, load 'em out.

- Get that bitch in the car.

- Back seat again.

- We load everything
into our Toyota Siennas,

and we're ready
to hit the road.

So, bring on Austin.

- Ready.
- Ready.

- Yeah.
- Wooh!

- Pictures up, rolling.
- [Laughing]

- We've had a lot
of handsome judges, I thought.

- Oh, indeed.

- What kind of guy are you
looking for, Heather?

- Funny.

I like tall,
dark hair, usually.

It's difficult to have
a long relationship

because I've been
so career focused.

I'm 40.

And where would I be if I had
started a family 10 years ago?

I think about it a lot.

- All right.

You have one night
with John Besh.

- [Laughing]

- Or you win $5,000
and immunity in the next round.

- I'm gonna take John Besh.

[Laughter]

- So Paul,
if you are on match.com...

- Oh...

- Do you think
we'd be compatible?

- If, like, Malibu was a girl,
and you were the boys.

- Why do I have to
be the girl?

- Well, you're prettier.

- Chris Crary got the nickname
Malibu because he's beautiful.

He's very concerned
about his hair.

And Malibu just suits him.

- I'm a little
exposed here.

- When's the last time
you had gym time?

- Oh, it's been a while.
[Laughter]

- Wow!
- Wow!

- This is like
the governor's mansion.

- The Driskill Hotel
is pretty insane.

These rooms are crazy.

Everything is covered
in a very Texasy motif.

- Do you like the fur?

- Ooh, that's nice.

- Ooh, is that fake
or is it real?

- Me as a guest judge.
[Laughter]

I moved to Austin
to change my lifestyle.

Between the ages
of 15 and 22,

I'd sell weed for my friends
so I could have extra money.

And I just woke up one morning,
my apartment is trashed.

I had dogs, and they've
[bleep] everywhere.

And I decided that I needed
to do something with my life.

That's when I started
to pursue my culinary career.

And it helped shaped me
into a stronger person.

- Let's go cook.

- Here we go.

- Oh, man.

Tom doesn't usually grace us
with his presence at quickfires.

I have a feeling that
this one is going to be crazy.

- Welcome to Austin, chefs.

- Thank you.

- Austin, Texas is a hot spot
in the world of technology.

And technology is gonna play a
big role in this next quickfire.

The social network, Twitter,
gained popularity here in Austin

at the South by Southwest
Festival in 2007.

Now, it's part of everyday life,
and it's a worldwide phenomenon.

- The two of us get
challenge ideas and suggestions

all the time
from our Twitter fans.

And now we're gonna
let them get in on the fun.

- At Moto, during service,

we actually Twitter
back and forth with the guests.

We have real-time
photos going up

of the food
that we're serving,

and that gets
people interested.

- For the first time ever,
the fans will be deciding

what you chefs
will be doing,

and it's all live as
the quickfire is taking place.

- Wow.
- [Laughing]

- As our Tweets roll in, we'll
call the ones out that we like

while you're cooking,
and the execution is up to you.

- My God.
[Laughs]

This is pretty
freaking cool.

I'm just
crossing my fingers

that a Tweet doesn't
come through

that says, "Make your dish
into baby food."

- The chef who wins
will take home $10,000,

but not immunity.

Tom, let's see
what our fans want.

- Denton Diddy.
He says,

"Everything
is better with bacon."

Well, let's see
if that's true.

- All right, chefs.
You have 45 minutes

to cook a dish
with bacon in it.

Your time starts now.
Good luck.

- Whoo, sorry.

- [Laughs]
- Anybody seen miso?

That's actually a softball
that they're throwing us,

because bacon is just
every chef's guilty pleasure.

It's so salty, and sweet,
and delicious.

- You all ready
to cook bacon?

- We're gonna
ask for some twists now.

So got some great ideas,
so, uh...

- I love bacon.

I get a pressure cooker on,
and I start braising pork belly.

I don't have any experience
with pressure cookers,

but I'm gonna have to
make this work.

- Hot pan.

Bacon should be
its own food group

because
it's damn delicious.

I'm making a very simple
corn puree scallop bacon.

So I can give myself
a little leeway,

because I think there's
gonna be some changes.

- That's a good one.
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.

- All right,
listen up.

- Oh, no.

- Habitat 67.

Do a hash--
for a hashtag challenge.

So you guys have to
make a hash

as one component
of your bacon dish.

- Oh, no.
- Oh, Jesus.

- The dish I'm making
is bacon pate

and pairing it
with soft shell crabs.

The dish was gonna be just
a quick expl*si*n of flavor,

but now I've got to stop,
and I got to do this hash

without muting
the other flavors.

- Right behind--hot, hot.

- 28 minutes.

- Can I use
some of this oil?

- You can do
whatever you want.

- I'm very German, and one thing
that is always in our house

is potato pancakes.

It actually complements
my dish even more.

As long as I don't have to
incorporate a cupcake, I'm okay.

- We have 15 minutes left,

and that's when I decide
to open up the pressure cooker.

Hopefully the bacon
is braised enough.

So I open it,
and it is tender.

So I'm like, yes.

- All right, guys.
Here's another twist.

- Awesome.
- Oh, [bleep].

- Pretty in blue says,

"Every chef needs
to pick an ingredient

and hand it off to somebody else
to use in their dish."

- [Chuckles]

- Here, tomatillo.
- Heather.

- Ah, [bleep].
[Laughing]

- Here you go.
[Laughing]

- Here.
- Thanks. Maple syrup.

- Malibu Chris gives me
a bottle of sriracha.

[Bleep].
Why did you do that to me?

- Sorry.
It was right there.

- Which kind of throws me off,
because that's definitely not

anywhere near the direction
that I'm going.

- Someone give me something.

- Hey, I'll give you
a lemon for butter.

- I don't think
it works like that.

- Lemon.
- I took your oil.

That was simple.

- The least you could've done
was open this for me.

- That's what
southern gentleman do?

- That's just what
men in general do.

- Oh.
- Oh.

- There you go.

- All right.
Limes, done.

- Hi, Ed.

I pick a sriracha.

It's spicy, it would kind of
go with anything.

- Take scallion.

There's nothing in my dish

were sriracha is gonna
do any justice.

- I love Ty-lor,
he's a great guy.

But, man, you suck.

[Groans]

- I still have to get
the tomatillo on the plate,

so I puree it...

And use it kind of
like a sauce.

- Hands up.
Utensils down.

- [Laughing]

It's k*lling me,
it's so stressful.

Whatever.

My plate is kind of
a jumbled up mess.

- So, do you
come here often?

- Ladies and gentlemen,
help me welcome...

- Oh my God.
- [Applause]

- This is really happening.

- Hello, chef.

- Hey, Beverly.
How's it going?

- I really wanted
to highlight the bacon itself,

so I did a crispy
pork belly with corn,

bell pepper, habanero,
and potato hash.

- Thank you.

- We have a corn puree
with bacon

and butter poached potato hash,
seared scallop,

with a little bit of cayenne
to bring out some spice.

- There's something salty.

Do you have--sort of salt...
[Indistinct]

- No, sir.

The dish probably
could have won

if I wouldn't have over-salted
those damn potatoes.

- When you said bacon,

I immediately thought about
making bacon jam.

I did a smoked
paprika quail.

I poached some of the potatoes
in the bacon jam itself,

and there's a leek hash
underneath.

- There's a potato and coco nip
hash on the bottom.

A braised bacon
and mustard spread.

Over that,
soft shell crabs,

which has been
deglazed in sriracha,

which was the ingredient
that I was given.

- Who gave you
the sriracha?

- Uh, Ty-lor did.

I think he thought
I was doing Asian foods,

so he gave me sriracha.

[Laughter]

- I did a burrata
stuffed squash blossom

with a bacon
and zucchini hash.

- It's crispy.
- Thank you.

- So I did a bacon wrapped
monkfish over a potato leek,

and bacon hash
with some clams,

and then passion fruit
braised bok choy

and some maple syrup
that Lindsay gave to me.

- I think it works really well.
Surprisingly well, yeah.

It's interesting.

- I made a shrimp puff,
I put a little fig in there,

then I did
a bacon hash cake.

- Why are you calling it a puff?
- Yeah.

- I wanted it
to get in your mind

that it was
light and fluffy.

But I don't know.

- I made a maple glazed bacon
with a bacon and kale hash.

I wanted you to have
a little bit of the bacon

with also the hash,
the same time.

- Paul.

- So, I did bacon
several different ways.

There's just bacon fat
on the plate,

there's crispy bacon,

there's also a chorizo
and mushroom hash.

- Very interesting.

- I feel like maybe
they don't like or get

what I tried
to put on the plate.

- Tom, how did
our chefs do today?

- All in all,
I thought the food was,

for the most part,
pretty exciting.

- Who were
the least favorites?

- Grayson,
that shrimp puff thing

was really just
like a wet mousse.

And I know you worked
some bacon into the puff,

but then you just had
one little strip of bacon

over the top of it.

So that dish wasn't really
that successful to me.

- Chris J.,
the scallop was well-cooked.

You incorporated bacon
rea,

but really, really salty.

- Ed, you burnt your hash.
It was really bitter.

That really
threw the whole dish off.

- I have not been on the bottom
of a quickfire.

It's not a good way
to start a trip to Austin.

- And who were
the standouts?

- Beverly, nice job.
It was subtle.

It had just one piece
of pork belly.

It had a lot of flavor.
Nice work there.

I liked
Sarah's dish a lot.

Really subtle, not a ton
of over-the-top bacon,

but just enough
to give it some smokiness.

The fritter
was nicely fried.

- I really want to win
the 10,000.

I haven't won
any money yet,

and I'm worried that
I'm gonna go home empty-handed.

- Another favorite was Paul's.
Really unusual dish.

And when you look at it,
blackberries and asparagus

and clams and bacon...

And it shouldn't work,
and it does.

- Tom, please
announce the winner.

- One dish really stood out,
and that would be...

That'd be Paul's.
[Applause]

- Thank you.
Thank you so much.

Winning this challenge
is very exciting.

I pull a lot
of energy and strength

from knowing
that I'm from here,

and I need to make sure
that I show well.

I just wanted
to win in Austin.

Just one challenge
in Austin.

- Congratulations, Paul.

You win $10,000
furnished by Healthy Choice.

- Paul,
you're up to $30,000,

I think you need
to take these guys out

for a drink pretty soon.

[Laughter]

All kidding aside,
chefs,

the drinks are on us
at the hotel bar.

Don't go too crazy,
but have a good time.

- We'll see you later.
- See you later.

- Hey, guys.
Welcome to Austin.

- Cheers!
- Cheers, guys.

- Top 10
top chefs in Austin.

- Yeah.

- Thank you, Tom.
- Thanks, Tom.

- Why are the girls and guys
all separated?

I mean, come on.
- [Laughing]

- Let's mix it up.

- Come sit between us.
- There you go.

- So, do you
come here often?

[Laughter]

[Soft music]
- Oh, here it goes.

- Oh.

- Oh, setting the mood.
Hey, ladies.

- [Laughing]

- It's making me sweat.
[Laughs]

- Ladies and gentlemen,
could you please help me welcome

legendary music icon,
Ms. Patti LaBelle.

- Oh, my God.
[Applause]

- Wow.
- Wow.

- Hi, everybody.

- Oh, my God.
This is really happening.

It is really freaking cool
that Patti LaBelle was here.

I mean, she's an icon.

- [Plays piano]

- Ah.

♪ He met marmalade

♪ down in old New Orleans

♪ strutting her stuff
on the street ♪

♪ she said, "hello, hey Joe,
you wanna give it a go?" ♪

♪ hey hey gitchi gitchi
yaya dada ♪

♪ gitchi gitchi
yaya here ♪

- Awesome.

- ♪ Mocha chocolata
yaya ♪

♪ creole lady marmalade

♪

- Whoo!

♪ Ah ah ah ooh

[applause]

Thank you.
Thank you.

- Hi, guys.
All: Hi.

- Hello.
- Hey, girl.

- Oh, crap.
Here comes the challenge.

- Chefs, please meet legendary
singer, cookbook author,

and our guest judge
for this challenge,

the amazing Patti LaBelle.

[Applause]

- Thank you.

- Patti and a few
of her friends

are joining us
for dinner tomorrow night.

Patti, who taught you
how to cook?

- I learned to cook by watching
my mother, my father,

my aunts
as a very young girl.

They cooked from feeling.

And I think
all cooks have soul.

I don't care
if you're black, white,

pink, or green, or whoever.

- Now we want to know who first
taught you how to cook.

Who started you
on your culinary journey?

- My grandmother was such
an influence in my life.

I love to sit
and talk with her

when she was
getting dinner ready.

So, I always look back to that
and say maybe without her,

I wouldn't have such a love
for being in the kitchen.

- Tell us your story
tomorrow night

by serving a great
tribute dinner.

- When you're learning
how to cook from somebody,

there's a connection.

When I would go
to my grandparents' house

as a little girl,

I saw that they made everything
from scratch.

It makes me emotional
talking about it

because now my grandparents
are getting older,

and I know that they're not
gonna be here forever.

The best way to show
where you come from

and who you are
is in the food.

And that's why being a chef
is so important to me.

[Exhales]

- You have two hours to cook
tomorrow night

before serving the judges,
Patti and her friends,

here at the Driskill.

Good luck.
We'll see you tomorrow night.

- Thank you.

- Good luck,
good luck, good luck.

- Can I get some rib eye?

I learned how to cook
from my mom.

There's five kids
in my family, so, you know,

my mom made a lot
of one pot meals,

and beef stroganoff
was one of the things

that I loved the most.

Two rib eyes,
the big ones in the front.

- Got you.

- 20 minutes.

- I'm cooking
for my grandmother today.

Probably the number one
person in my life

that had to do with food,

and she always used to
cook steak dinners.

- 3 1/2 pounds.
- Okay.

- Can you just point me
to a cheap bottle of Cab Sav?

Growing up in a household
that always cooked

definitely made me
more excited about cooking.

About how much is one?

- Almost a pound.

- I use to stand next to my dad
when he was grilling.

I loved it.

I was a total daddy's girl,
so I know I wanna grill rib eye.

That's good, what you got.

The only thing
is everything is very lean.

- Five minutes.

- You really want
a lot of marbling.

So, I'm getting a little
nervous at this point.

- No hands.

- The cut of meat,
I don't even know what it is.

- It's bigfoot.
[Laughter]

- [Laughing]
"It's bigfoot"

- Is this your pictures,
Beverly?

- Oh, yeah.
That's my family.

My son was only like
four months old.

This competition is

one of the hardest things
I've ever done in my life.

This has been the longest time
I've been away

from my husband
and my son.

And on top of that,
there's definitely

a lot of bullying
going around.

But I have to keep it
in perspective.

This is for my family,
and they keep me motivated.

- So Patti LaBelle is going to
be our guest judge tonight?

- Isn't that sweet?
- That's crazy.

- She was awesome.

- Who's your inspiration?

- I had a Japanese housekeeper
when I was...

- You really?

- Yeah, I did
when I was a kid.

And was
my favorite thing.

What about you,
what's your dish?

- My grandma
was actually, you know,

we were kind of poor
growing up,

so we actually didn't
buy a lot of meat.

So she'd make all these
like vegetarian soups.

When I was a kid I spent so much
time with my grandmother,

she kept me from being
too much of a delinquent.

She was the one
that was like,

"Keep your hair clean,"
or, "Shave your stupid beard."

So I'll make
something vegetarian

even though I don't
cook a lot of vegetarian stuff.

- That's pretty cool.
- Yeah, you know.

- That'll take some balls.
- You know, I got balls.

- Yeah.

- And I'm gonna show them.
- Okay.

- All right, everybody.
Let's go cook.

- I got my banana!
I'm good to go.

- Hey, Bev.
- Yes?

- I see two coolers over here
with your name on it.

- Today, we're cooking
at the Driskill Grill.

Two hours to prep and cook
seems like a long time,

but it goes by
very quickly.

- So it would be the smallest
steak dinner ever seen.

- I get a lot of inspiration
from my grandmother.

I always had very warm memories
of her cooking for me.

So, I'm making
a version of adobo.

Adobo is a Filipino dish.

We'd probably eat adobo
once or twice every week,

and it's the first thing

that she ever
taught me how to cook.

So I'm doing
a little play off of that.

I'm gonna give it
some hill country Texas flavor

and do it with quail.

I just remember
her food was delicious.

- An hour!
- One hour.

- Hot behind, guys.

- Chris,
what are you making?

- I'm doing
a little homage to...

- Did you say you're Amish?
- Homage.

Yeah, I'm Amish.

I am from Ohio.

My uncle is the one
who inspired me to cook.

When we would
go fishing together,

he'd show me
how to cook the fish.

Wow, it almost looks fake,
doesn't it?

He would do all these techniques
and things I'd never seen before

because my mother was not
a very good cook herself.

- Oh, my gosh,
it's really red.

- Fire in the hole.

- My mom is the reason
why I love cooking.

I don't think I would
be a chef now,

had it not been
for my mother.

Seeing her in the kitchen
inspired me.

I wanted to be like her.

I wanted to be a housewife.
[Laughs]

Hot pan coming through.

I'm making braised short ribs,
"kalbi Jim,"

and we only
have two hours.

So, I'm actually gonna
pressure cook my short ribs

because it worked really well
in the quickfire.

- Like that?
- Yup.

- I gotta
squeeze through real fast.

Thank you.

- My grandmother
always makes stuffed cabbage,

and my grandfather
makes homemade sausage,

so I'm filling it
with some sausage.

- It's gonna go
down to the wire today.

- Is that beef stroganoff?

- Yeah, making it
with rib eye, though.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

While I'm cooking the beef,
I realized it's kind of spongy.

I'm hesitant to use
the pressure cooker

because the previous challenge,
the judges dinged me

for cooking duck legs
in the pressure cooker,

which they thought
were stringy.

- 15 minutes.

- So I try and braise it
to try and caramelize it.

Rescue, rescue, rescue.

That's what I'm trying
to do right now,

because I know my beef
is not good.

- Ooh.

- 2:43, Chris.

- This is a real
tribute dinner

to all the influences
that each of these chefs had.

- For me, it would
definitely be my mom.

I would make Portuguese
kale soup with chorizo.

- Oh.

- Real simple, deep flavors,
and say, "Here's for you mom."

- Ready?
- I am ready.

- Chefs, I'd like to introduce
you to your judges.

Of course, you remember
the amazing Patti LaBelle.

Head judge Tom Coliccho.

And judge Emeril Lagasse,

host of Hallmark Channel's
Emeril's Table.

And I'd also like to introduce
to you to Patti's friends

Nadine and John.

Please tell us
what you've made.

- So my inspiration
is my grandmother,

who I call mommy two.
I mean, she's my mom too.

And every Friday night,
had steak and potatoes,

so I really wanted
to do something

to play along with that,
but I made it miniature.

I thought that would
be really neat.

Fingerling potato with sour
cream, chive and bacon,

asparagus and carrots,
New York strip,

an A1 demi-glace,
and hon shimeji mushrooms.

- I was inspired by my mom,
who's an amazing cook.

My mom was the queen
of one pot meals.

So I did a take
on her beef stroganoff.

I made an herbed spaetzle,

roasted wild mushrooms,
and a citrus crema.

Both: Thank you very much.
- Enjoy.

- Thanks.

- I like Chris's idea here.

Meat and potato,
and like I get it.

But I don't know
if I would have used

the A1 and the demi-glace,
but, you know, that's just me.

- The vegetables are excellent,
and it was quite tender.

- I love the presentation.
It was very petite and pretty.

- Mommy two,
that was for you.

- Heather's dish,
the cut of meat--

I don't even know
what it is.

- It's bigfoot.
[Laughter]

- [Laughing]
"It's bigfoot."

- I feel like I'm at a banquet
in one of those hotels

that you would drag me to.
- Me?

- I don't even wanna know
the rest of that story.

[Laughter]
- I do.

- Right behind you, Paul.

- As I'm plating,

I'm thinking it's not
the most beautiful plate

because of the colors.

It's a little
on the darker green side.

Meanwhile, Paul's dish
is gorgeous and vibrant,

so I feel really worried.

- Okay.

- Mm, smells good.

- The person who taught me
how to cook was my grandmother.

She used to make
chicken and pork adobo,

so I decided to do it
with a quail.

I stuffed it
with ginger rice.

I put a little bit of coconut
vinegar and then tomatoes,

and I'm serving that
with green mango salsa.

- My grandmother makes
stuffed cabbage every year.

My grandfather, 84, he still
makes sausage to this day.

So, I made a quick pork sausage
and filled the stuffed cabbage.

Spinach with brown butter,

and a little bit
of a cheto balsamico.

- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.

- Well, Sarah did
a great job with this.

Really clean flavors.

You know, you think of
stuffed cabbage as being heavy,

and this is really
light and nice.

- And the way she did it
with the brown butter

is a little sweet,
but I like this cabbage.

- Whoever taught her how
to do this ought to get a nice--

a nice big hug and kiss,
because it's great cooking.

- To 375-ish?
- Yeah.

- I really enjoy
what Paul did here.

I like that
he used the mango.

I like the use
of herbs in the dish.

- I am not a quail girl.

I didn't get to the rice because
the quail knocked me out.

- Patti, Tom and I are coming
to your house for dinner.

What are you making us?

- Fried chicken cabbage,

and macaroni with eight cheeses
with lobster and shrimp.

- Sounds good.
I'm coming.

- Oh, you better be.

- Are you kidding me?
With bells on.

- Yes, LaBelles on.
Hey.

- Do you know
how much time is left?

- Four minutes.

- As I finished cooking,

I see a little of the albumin
coming out in the salmon,

which is white, fatty stuff
that comes out of the fish

when it is cooked
at a high heat.

Behind corner, hot.

So I just try
to scrape it off.

Hopefully the judges
aren't gonna notice.

- Switch.

Oh, my, gosh,
the ribs are delicious.

It has that Korean taste to it,
but it's not straight up Korean.

I think my mom
would be proud.

[Beeping]

So my inspiration
is my mother,

and one of the favorite things
I grew up with

was kalbi Jim,
steamed and braised short ribs.

So I braised that
and pressure cooked it.

The puree is a edamame
horseradish scallion

with hon shimeji mushrooms.

- My inspiration
was my Uncle.

You know, he really inspired me
to use fresh fish.

He had this amazing
brown sugar glazed carrot,

which I kinda changed into
a puree with a little curry.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Chris' dish--I love the carrot
puree, but the fish was fish.

- I don't like
the carrot puree

because it doesn't
taste like carrot.

It tastes like
a bunch of other things.

I'm not a fan
of the dish.

There's too much going on.
The herbs are way too big.

The salmon was cooked
too quickly,

that's why all the white
albumins were coming out.

- That was a little
unappetizing.

- Job well done, Beverly.

The meat was tender.

- It's so good.

- She used
the pressure cooker.

- I'm sure
Beverly's mother did not

present her
short rib like this,

but yet the essence
of the dish is there.

And there's texture,
there's color.

What else can you
ask for in a dish?

- I think my dish may be
a little bit too simple.

Its rice,
egg and veggies,

there's nothing else
on the plate.

You know, I'm the only one
that's doing a vegetarian plate,

so it's a little scary.

[Beeping]

The last two.

- My inspiration today
were both of my grandmothers.

One of my grandmothers
is Greek,

and the other one
is very southern.

So this is a trout spanakopita.

And it has
a za'atar beurre blanc,

crispy leeks,
and rainbow trout roe.

- So my inspiration
was also my grandmother.

This dish is called bibimbap,
basically, a humble Korean dish.

So, you have
on your plate

some pickled carrots,
pickled cucumbers.

You have some sautéed zucchini,
a fried egg,

a rice Patty on the bottom,
some Korean chili sauce,

and some nori on top.

So, please enjoy.

- In Lindsay's dish, the roe
is very much like caviar.

The first time I ate caviar
was with Emeril.

- It was either caviar
or chips, right?

[Laughter]
- It was chips and caviar.

I said, "I don't like it,
but I'm starving."

I ate that caviar,
and I love it.

It was beautiful.

This reminds me of it,
Emeril.

- I love the crispiness
of the trout.

I love the roe,
but there's too much butter,

and so it
shut down the dish.

- I'm allergic to egg, but I...
- Oh, okay.

- ...absolutely loved
Ed's dish.

The flavors
were so authentic.

- This played right into
the story of his grandmother.

I loved it.

- Ty, has like all his little
stuff and it looks awesome,

and I have like
a 12-ounce steak,

so I'm a little bit worried
my portion size was too big.

- Wow.

- My, my, my.

- My inspiration, and who taught
me how to cook, were my parents.

What we eat in Wisconsin
is meat and potatoes.

Yes, I realize this is
a gigantic cut of meat...

- Girl, yeah.

- ...but this is how
I learned how to do it,

so that's what I did.

It's a rib eye, and then
I grilled some vegetables.

I made
a German potato salad.

Enjoy.

- My inspiration to cook
was a woman named Machiko

that was
my Japanese nanny.

One of my favorite things
that she used to make

were panko crusted
chicken tenders.

I prepared for you a buttermilk
battered chicken tender

that's been fried
in duck fats

that's sitting
on a nest of pickled peaches.

Thank you very much.

- What did you think
of Ty-lor's chicken tender?

- It's beautiful.
- It is.

- Beautiful food.

- [Laughing]

- You can tell that this dish
means a lot to Ty.

I mean, the story that he told
of his nanny cooking for him

was really sweet,
and I think she would be

really be proud
of him tonight.

Where did you get your musical
start, was it in church?

- Mm-hmm, when I was
a shy 15-year-old.

My choir director
put me out there,

and I got a standing ovation,
and it was on after that.

- You know, Grayson just made
the dish that she probably had

every, you know,
Saturday night at home.

- And this thing was like she
was cooking for a family of 20.

- I think it's an appetizer
in Wisconsin.

- Right?

- My cut of meat
was very stringy.

- It was gristly.

- Mine was like
this much on a plate.

- Huge.
- So, I did Wisconsin style.

I really feel like every
component that I put on my plate

was delicious in its on way,
and the flavors were on,

and I'll fight for that.

- Nice job.

- You know,
I loved hearing

all the different
personal stories from our chefs.

- Their hearts
were on those plates.

- There were some chefs
that just got

kinda stuck in their
grandmother's kitchen.

- And the ones that stood out
really just sort of

modernized it, and really
just brought the dish to life.

- The sockeye salmon,
but I think it might have went

a little over
because it started to really...

- Don't be overcooking
Ms. Patti's salmon.

- I didn't think
the beef was trimmed.

- That plate
didn't flip me.

- I expected
a lot more from you.

- This actually goes out

to everyone that inspired us
with the dishes today.

- True dat.

- This was not
just a challenge,

this is an homage
to these people that you love.

They're the founders
of why we're here.

- I agree.
- Cheers.

- Cheers.

- You know all the people
that inspire these dishes

are people that are, like,
love us and care about us,

and they don't care
what you do.

They just want you
to be happy, you know.

"Are you happy?"

That's how the phone call
always goes.

- Always.
- Yup.

- Patti LaBelle
is awesome and beautiful.

- Did you see that
her toenails were painted

to match Padma's shirt?

- I did see that.
- Oh, yes, they were.

- Chris, you saw that?
- The same exact shade.

- Good evening.
- Good evening.

- Hello.
- Hi.

- We'd like to see
Grayson, Heather, and Chris.

Thank you.

- Good luck, guys.
- Prepare yourselves.

- [Laughing]
- Good luck.

- I don't know
what to think anymore.

- [Bleep].

- Have they ever
called bottom first?

I don't think so.
It's always top first.

[Suspenseful music]

♪

- Chefs, we asked you to cook
a dinner paying tribute

to the person
who taught you how to cook,

and tonight
your tributes fell flat.

You three served our least
favorite dishes of the evening,

and one of you
will be going home.

- Are you guys
surprised at all?

- I think that
the flavors were there.

I purposely gave you
a huge plate

because that's how
we eat in Wisconsin.

- Grayson, now, I didn't think
the beef was trimmed.

I expected
a lot more from you.

- I actually trimmed off all of
the outside of the rib eye,

and I felt confident cooking it
the way it should be.

- It was very
sinewy and spongy.

- Sorry for that.

- This dish
that you grew up with,

why didn't you think to use that
as a starting point

and then go into
a more modern direction?

Did it cross your mind
at all, I mean, why--

what was the thinking
behind it?

- I mean, I really
took it literally,

and, I mean, obviously,
I shouldn't have.

- Chris, the dish
was just seared too hard,

so the outside
got really dried out,

and it was just
seared too fast.

- There's a little
white layer of albumin,

which made it
slightly unappealing.

- Yeah, I did notice that,

and I tried to scrape
most of it off.

- Chris, I also think
that the dill

really overpowered
what you were trying to do.

- I thought I had
a lot of flavors on the plate.

I do--I do agree I had,
you know,

maybe too many herbs
and too large.

- I mean, we're talking
literally pieces like this.

When I got
that shocking dill,

it just changed
the whole palate of things.

- I loved the potatoes.

I didn't care
for the salmon.

It was just like basic.

That plate didn't flip me.

- Heather, beef stroganoffs
are the starting point,

and it just kinda
went awry from there.

- And then those dumplings,

they felt dry and chewy
and overcooked.

- Got it.

- I thought I had
bigfoot on the plate.

I don't know
what that was.

Both meats were so gristly.
I couldn't cut it.

- I'm not sure what you did
with that meat,

how it was cooked.

If it were braised,
it wasn't cooked enough.

And if it wasn't braised,
it was cooked too much.

So it's somewhere
in between.

- Yeah,
I second-guessed myself.

I was--I was afraid
to use the pressure cooker.

- So you were trying
to go with braised?

- Yeah. Yeah.

I should've put it
in the pressure cooker,

but I didn't because I put
the duck in the last time,

and it was--
the meat got stringy.

- I mean, Beverly used
the pressure cooker,

and...She's not here.

- Thank you.
That'll be all.

- Well, it's not
good news for us,

but it's good news
for some of you.

- All right.
So they'd like to see

Beverly, Sarah, and Ed.

- You guys
are on the bottom?

- Congratulations.
- Yeah.

- Go get 'em.

[Suspenseful music]

♪

- Congratulations.

You three served
our favorite dishes.

- Thank you.

- Congratulations.
- Really nice work.

I mean, you took
these ideas that you had

at a very
sort of young age

when you were just
kind of thinking about food,

and to see you use that
as a starting point

and then really
just took it from there

and gave us beautiful dishes
that clearly meant a lot to you.

- You put your heart
and soul on the plate,

and I thought Ed's dish
was very amazing.

With the mushrooms
on top,

it reminded me
of meat, of course.

It was just
a beautiful presentation.

- Thank you.

- You know, Ed this is your
second time on the top.

You're on a little bit
of a roll.

How does it feel?

- Let's keep it that way.
[Laughter]

- Beverly.

- Presentation
was quite beautiful.

I mean, when you
look at the dish,

you look at the whole dish,
everything had a purpose.

I don't think you could
look at the dish and say,

let's take something off
to make it better.

I'm sure your mom is very proud
of the work that you're doing.

- Thank you.

- Sarah, a lot of
technique in that dish.

I was impressed.

You could've bought
the sausage, but you didn't.

The whole thing
just worked.

- Thank you.

- You know, again, all three of
the dishes just hit that mark.

You know, there are times when
you get a dish and you just--

you know,
you remember it,

and you remember these dishes,
so congratulations.

- Patti,
please announce the winner.

- Okay.

- Sarah.

- Oh, my God.

- You are the winner.

- Thank you.
Oh, my God!

[Applause]
Oh, I needed this.

- I woke up and said,
I need a win.

I need a win really bad.
Thank you.

- Thank you very much.

Please return to the kitchen.

- Thank you.

- Yay!

[Applause]

- Congratulations.
- Oh, it's so good. Thank you.

This is one of the best
challenges for me to win.

I was very inspired,

and I'm just happy
that now my grandparents

have definite
bragging rights

for all their friends
for a long time.

- Congrats.
- Thank you, guys, thank you.

- Heather, Grayson, and Chris
all made fatal errors tonight.

- Heather's steak
was completely overcooked,

and everything else
just fell apart from there.

The two sauces
just didn't work.

- I agree.

- She had this gristly,
greasy piece of rib eye

that she clearly
knew she messed up.

- How could she not?

- Chris, I think, suffers
mostly because of his salmon.

- It wasn't off or anything,
it was just not great.

I like the potatoes,
and that's really bad

for me just
to like a potato.

- It did seem
a little unappetizing

with the white parts
leaching out.

- Yeah, the dish could've
been just cleaner,

and I think that dish
suffered from

things just got thrown on
a plate and see what happens.

And I think
Grayson's plate

suffered from
a lack of imagination.

We're looking for more.

- She didn't freestyle
or anything to make it current.

- The dish that she put out
for us this evening--

no way could win Top Chef--
just no way.

- Well, I think
we have our answer.

Are we in agreement?

- Absolutely.

- Yes.
- Okay.

Let's get them out here.

[Suspenseful music]

♪

- Chefs, for tonight's challenge
you were asked to create a dish

that would pay tribute
to the person

who taught you
how to cook.

Chris, that dish
had a lot of mistakes.

Too many ingredients
on the dish,

herbs being too large,
salmon being seared too much.

The dish
just didn't work for us.

Grayson, at this stage
of the competition,

you just need to push it
a little more

and give us something
that is above and beyond.

Heather, sometimes when you
have an original plan,

and you get thrown off, you got
to rework the whole thing.

Your dish missed the mark
in the cooking of the steak.

It's very difficult
to send anybody home

for such personal
experiences,

and I think we all
are very happy

that you shared those
experiences with us,

but it makes it even more
difficult to send someone home.

- Heather, please pack
your knives and go.

- Thank you.

This has been
an amazing experience.

Thank you.

I figured it was coming.

I made this dish
specifically for my mom,

and that's what's
so upsetting to me.

- Heather--she went home
for overcooking the steak.

- [Gasps]
- Bye.

Don't be upset.

It's--it was
a crucial mistake.

- Heather reaped
her own karma.

Nobody else told her
what to do,

and she's going home
for what she did.

I'm sorry to say,

but there is a personal
satisfaction with that.

- I'm gonna
miss you guys terribly.

This experience has already
changed me as a chef.

I love you guys.

It has been
the most fulfilling

and rewarding experience
I have had in my career.

To be able
to make it this far--

it's something
that I'm very proud of.

- Tonight
on Last Chance Kitchen...

Going for her second win,

Nyesha is determined to prove
she packed her knives too soon,

and Heather, the queen of mean,
looks to redeem herself

in this epic battle to get back
into the competition.

- And the winner
would be...

- To watch
Last Chance Kitchen,

go to bravotv.com now.

Next, on Top Chef...

[Smoke alarm beeps]
- Oh, we got a fire.

This is a monster
of a barbecue.

Brisket, you're on the ground.
- [Bleep].

- You're gonna love it.

It's gonna be
like sex in the mouth.

- I start to feel
a little dizzy.

I'm so sorry.

[Trays clatter]
- I'm pissed off.

I would've pushed through it.
And what's wrong? Is she dead?

- Does anybody find the white
team's ribs really salty?

- I don't wanna
eat that right there.

- It was a very French
grandmother's roast chicken.

- But it was so salty.
It was--it was really inedible.