07x05 - Farm Policy

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

Two chefs
will be going home.

Double elimination?
That's rough.

Two people
in one night. Whew.

I'm immediately looking
for Tiffany.

Tim is already
paired up with Tiffany.

Alex was like...

I was like, "oh, ."

Can we please
just move on, please?

All right, if it's overcooked,
it's on you.

Okay, that's fine,
but I just want to move on.

Yeah, it's not fine,
because I'll be thrown off too.

Angelo's screwin'
around with Tamesha.

You know, Tamesha's young,

she's green.
She's right up his alley.

Let's go, let's go.

Ed screwed the pooch
pretty good.

There's no cake on ours.

There's no cake
on yours?

If I had gotten this
at Le Bernardin

I would have
sent it back.

Well, the winning team
for me is...

Kelly and Andrea.

Wow.

Lynne and Arnold,

please pack your knives
and go.

This season,
one outstanding competitor

will take the title
of Top Chef

and the grand prize,

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine

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

$125,000 to help turn
their culinary dreams

into reality,

furnished
by Dial Nutriskin.

it was kind of
a somber mood in the house,

uh, this morning,

knowing that Lynne
and Arnold are gone.

As you're on longer,

you build
more relationships,

so it starts to affect
you a little more

as different chefs leave.

It's always important
to take the first step,

you know what I'm saying?

Take action,
don't hesitate.

Make people Chase you.

You don't have
to chase people.

Angelo and I are
really close.

For me, it's very easy
to go talk to him,

because I look
up to him,

sort of like
my role model.

Just focus
on what you want.

It's your perspective that's
gonna get you through okay?

Tamesha is really
the only person

that I really feel comfortable
hanging out with.

Uh, but I also feel
attracted to her,

because I see a lot
of myself in her,

so I kind of think
there's this like

inner...
Inner passion, I think,

but she holds it in,

and that's really something

that I'd really love
to extract from her.

I see, um,
Angelo and Tamesha

spending a lot of time
together.

I think Angelo is
sort of like trying to imitate

Tony Robbins really well.

But I think
she needs to be careful

because sometimes the fact
that he's helping out so much,

it might be
his strategy.

It seems like it's gonna be
a fun challenge.

Yeah.

I've been hangin' out
with Tiffany a little bit,

and, uh, she's...
She's really funny.

She's got just such
a-a great laugh.

You know,
she's always smiling.

She's very upbeat,
you know.

You can tell this girl
really cooks from the heart.

You know,
like fried crocodile.

- Mm-hmm. I heard it's good.
- Yeah.

Tastes like chicken
is what everybody say.

Ed is really
the only person that I trust.

We'll sit and
talk about New York,

and I'll tell him
about Texas,

and it's just...
It's fun.

And he's silly,

and it's a different kind
of atmosphere

from everybody else's.

Go Texas.

I'm takin' a shower.

All right, guys,
let's go. Vamanos.

Is that some crabs?

Live Blue Crab running
and screaming across the table.

Wow, that's priceless.

- Good morning, chefs.
- Good morning.

Good morning.

Please welcome
James Beard award winner

for outstanding chef
in America,

and also chef and owner

of the inn
at Little Washington,

Patrick O'Connell.

Welcome.
Thank you.

Great to be here.

Good morning, chef.

Patrick O'Connell
is a five-star,

five-diamond chef.

I was lucky enough
to cook for him

at the Bocuse d'or,

so I'm pretty excited
to cook for him again.

For your quickfire
challenge today,

we've got crabs.

Well, I had crabs,

so it just brought back
bad memories.

The Maryland Blue Crab

is one of the most popular
local treasures.

Absolutely.
I grew up in Maryland,

and ate them
in bushel baskets

as a little boy.

They're alive
and waiting for you.

Awesome.

Your time starts now.

♪ ♪

I see people running up
there with their hands,

and they're like...

Come on, little guy.
Come on!

I'm like, you might
want to get a pair of tongs.

Bite you, brother.

Crabs, they will bite
the hell out of you,

and it hurts.

It's chaotic.
There's crabs everywhere.

People are breaking crabs,
cracking crabs.

It's flying all over,
left, right.

I got crab
Everywhere.

My concept
for the whole dish is basically

I'm taking
a Thai flavor.

Add some old bay seasoning
to the top of them,

and I bake them
in the oven.

I'm feeling
super confident.

Is there any more
mangos back there?

Take one.

My whole concept
is built on flavor.

It's just a beautiful
Blue Crab broth

infused with lemongrass,
ginger.

Ed is working next to me,

and he actually
surprised me,

because he did
something more asian,

and I did something
less asian.

He is trying to b*at me
at my own game.

Not a lot of meat.

I used the ones
in the can back there.

Ha ha!

This is crazy.

I use crab, but in Miami,
we have stone crabs,

which are gigantic and much
easier to get the meat out of.

There's not a lot of meat
in Blue Crabs.

I have never, ever
picked a crab in my life.

I was allergic to them
at one point,

so I never ate 'em.

Now I'm just like, W.T.F.?

Tamesha, leave time.
You got pick 'em.

And here, you just
want to remove the back,

and then I pick
the meat out.

Angelo is a mentor
to me,

but I think his personality
might throw people off,

to each his own,
but for me, it works.

All right, thank you.

Whoo!
Hot damn.

I'm thinking about creating
beautiful tasting plate.

A little sh*t of soup,

a little open-face sandwich,
a little refreshing salad,

and something that's
very custardy.

Everyone else
is gonna be freaking out

and stressing
just getting one dish out.

Huh.

And I pretty much
can get out three.

You know, I'm
just a beast in the kitchen.

- You havin' fun yet?
- You too.

I'm trying to figure it out
as I go.

What comes to my mind
immediately

is to do
a crab chowder.

There's a lot of pressure,
you know,

thinking about
how far I've come to get here,

all the family
that's back home--

my wife and my daughter.

I was on the bottom
last night,

and I have no plan at all
of being on the bottom today.

Hot.

I am going to make a sauterne,
ginger, and juniper gelee.

The thing is alive.

Everyone's got pots
and court-bouillons going,

poaching up crabs.

Tim's cleaning
like 25 crabs

or something like that,
you know.

He's a Maryland boy,

so it's like religion
where he's from.

Hey, Tim, can you
come clean these crabs

for me, please?

I grew up in Maryland,

so I picked crabs
almost every Sunday.

Maryland crabs,
which are some

of the best crabs
in the country.

So I'm going clean,

not dressed all up
with asian influence.

I'm feeling good.

♪ ♪

four, three,

two, one.

Utensils down,
hands up!

Not my best work.

What are you
talking about?

Let's structure
the categories.

Negative.

Kenny and are
very strong entities.

I have to step up
and be the leader.

My presence
is the Alpha male presence.

We're subject!

Hi, Tiffany.

Hello, chef,
how are you?

I did a little bit
of a hot and sour crab soup,

and I reduced the sauce down
so it's pretty strong.

Got you a lot of crab
on top for you.

You did.

- Hello.
- Hello.

I made a nice marinated
jumbo lump crab

with some fresh Thai basil.

Sort of Thai-inspired?
Absolutely.

This is a Blue Crab broth.

It's, uh, infused
with lemongrass,

ginger,
and a mix of spices.

I did steamed
beer crab

with a little avocado,
passion fruit.

Just simple and clean.

Don't have to do
a lot to our crabs here.

I wanted chef O'Connell
and Padma

to really taste
the Maryland crab.

That's the star.

Give it the microphone
and let it sing.

I have a crab salad
rolled into sweet bell peppers,

and then a little
brandy basil dressing.

I made a crab chowder,

and I had some lemongrass,
ginger, cardamom,

and coconut milk.

- Unusual and intriguing.
- Thank you.

What I have here
is crab salad.

The bottom is a sauterne,
ginger, and juniper gelee.

Wow.

Is that a wow, yes, yummy,
or a wow...?

It's pungent.

- Kevin.
- Took a very American approach.

Blue Crab chowder.

The garnishes are
potato, celery,

and then espelette oil
to give a little bit of heat.

What I have here
is a warm crab salad

with a citrus gastrique

that I infused
with mexican red chiles.

I feel not great
about my dish.

I know that the flavors
are good,

but in the back of my mind,

I feel like
I did too much.

Not your mother's
crab salad.

Um, I actually prepared
the crab three different ways.

I made a korean chili
crab bisque,

and little bruschetta
Thai basil,

and then I did
this warm crab

with a little sesame
and butter

with some mango cream
chile aioli.

I'm looking at my plate, and
I'm looking around the room,

and I'm like, "who's gonna be
able to touch this dish?"

Which chefs had your
least favorite dishes?

Andrea's dish
with the weight of the potatoes

overwhelmed
the delicacy of the crab.

It wasn't news to me,
so I kind of took

my bottom three status
and put it behind me

because I'm like, "just get me
to the next challenge

so I can rectify this."

Amanda's dish
with the fascinating gelee

was out of balance.

Kevin's dish
illustrated confusion

and the crab got lost.

This is four challenges
in a row

that I've been
on the bottom.

It crushes me.

I'm starting
to doubt myself

and doubt the reasons
why I should even be here.

Who were
the success stories here?

Ed's dish did
a wonderful job

bringing out
all the natural components

to the crab
in the Thai-inspired dish.

I loved Kenny's trio
of crab tastes.

I also especially
liked Angelo's dish.

It was extremely delicate

and showed off the crab
very nicely.

Will you please announce
the winner

of this quickfire?

It is the dish
that best showcased

the taste of the crab,

and that person is...

Ed.

Congratulations.

So I just won
my first quickfire,

and I'm feeling
that I'm coming

out of my Shell
a little bit.

Um, I'm feeling good.

Hopefully, it'll continue
to keep going for me.

You have earned yourself

immunity
in the next elimination.

Good.

Ed wins the challenge,

and had some asian influence,
of all things,

so I was wrong.

I should have put
some soy sauce in there.

For this
elimination challenge,

we'll be giving you an abundance
of local ingredients,

this time,
down on the farm.

You'll travel
to Ayrshire Farms,

Virginia's first
totally certified

organic and humane farm.

You'll be creating a meal
for 40 local chefs and farmers.

And for the first time,

you'll all be working
in one single team.

You'll be putting out
a minimum of six dishes,

family-style.

I would rather it be
an individual challenge.

We have a lot of egos
in the house,

and we're all gonna be
working as a team.

Each one of you
is responsible

for something
on that table.

And for this challenge,

you won't see
your ingredients

or your cooking equipment
until you get there tomorrow.

You will, however,
have a mobile pantry

from the back
of one of your Toyota Siennas.

We'll see you at the farm.

Thank you.

When we get home,
we all get together

and try to come up
with a game plan

of how we're gonna
execute our menu.

There's six dishes
being made, right?

You have proteins,
produce, starch.

I think 'cause
there's 12 of us...

Six dishes?

First thing is we should
pull names, okay?

And then I think we should
also pull a course.

Pull names for teams or--

because I'm not pulling
names for a team.

I'll pull a name
for a dish, for a category.

I don't care what
the other teams are doin'.

Let's structure
the categories.

There's no other way.
That's my point.

Kenny and I are
very strong entities.

And I'm in it to win it,

I have to step up
and be the leader.

Why take the risk

when it's not specifically
saying "and dessert"?

I really want my presence

to be
the Alpha male presence.

No one's gonna b*at me
in that area,

because there's a level
of leadership that's there.

Guys, we're losing
the subject!

Let's try
to figure out if--

lord have mercy.

Angelo and Kenny
are getting heated,

because they want their way.

That's irrelevant.

No one is wanting
to compromise

but we can also decide that it
doesn't have to be teams of two.

We could do
teams of four.

Personally, I don't care
who's with me.

I think that
gets very confusing.

Doesn't make any sense.

'Cause it's the same--
wait, wait!

It's the same thing.
No, it's different.

We could all put out
a nice fresh fruit platter

to kind of represent
all of us as dessert.

- No, negative. Negative.
- No!

You've heard the term
"too many cooks in the kitchen."

Well, we have 12 chefs
trying to decide

exactly how we're gonna
pull off this meal.

There's gonna be, like,
four cast-iron pans.

There's gonna be one person
who has to work the grill...

They gotta give us
all a chance

to cook something up.

We're all there
to cook something.

I know,
but it's not gonna work.

Somebody else
has to compromise besides us.

I just have to have
a vegetable.

You want to take
the beets?

- That's irrelevant!
- Guys!

I don't think we need
to do a dessert.

Let's structure the courses,

whether there's
a dessert or not,

and then we should just get
into pairs and it's that simple.

I don't think so.

This is a train wreck,

because it's really difficult
to work with all these people,

and there's
not a flow going on.

You guys say
that you're gonna do lamb,

and then you have
your starch, your veg.

Then we have six separate
starches on the table.

What are you
talking about?


really is not--

it's not that much.

Check the egos
at the door

and come together
as a unit.

We're not gonna get
anything accomplished.

It's like trying to bang
your fist

through a concrete wall.

That's something
that's not necessary.

No, I'm not saying
that it is necessary,

but I think if we get there
and find we could do one.

Angelo's gettin'
a little worked up.

I disagree.

I'm not a pastry chef.
I'm not gonna put myself--

he's kind of like, you know,
getting all aggressive.

But Kenny,
he's a great leader.

Um, he's calm,
he's cool, he's collected,

but he's fierce.

How about this?

Who wants to work together
with the same partner

they had yesterday?

- That's fine.
- Yeah.

I'm up for workin'
with somebody else.

I mean, no offense.

I'm just saying
I'm game for anything.

Everyone was set on
working with the same partners

as what they had
for our last challenge.

I didn't really care
to work with Alex again.

He's just annoying.

He's just--he gets
under my skin a little bit,

but I have immunity,
so let's go.

There you go.

Okay, so it is
what it is.

So we all break,
change our clothes,

break out
into teams of two.

Everybody's arguing over whether
they're gonna do protein,

whether they're gonna do starch,
whether they're gonna do veg.

The team has ultimately
one or two

dishes coming.

We won't know
until we get there

how many platters
we're gonna have, though.

But I feel pretty comfortable
teaming up with Tiffany.

Familiar with Tiffany,

so we can work
well together.

It's not really team,
but it is.

Like, it's team in that
it needs to flow together.

I'm not quite happy
working with Tim.

In the last
elimination challenge,

you know, it was
a lot on me.

Honestly, the way
I'm looking at it is

I really don't have
a partner.

I just think
especially since

you have immunity,
we work 100% as a team.

You know
what I'm saying, right?

Oh, yeah.

I'm not happy just because

I wanted to pick Tiffany,

so we were again stuck.

She was stuck with Tim,
I was stuck with Alex.

But me and Tiffany,
I think we'd work--

we, uh...
We get along really great.

Compile. Keep going
with the list.

I want your--

your ideas too.

I think last night
and yesterday

was a really tough day.

Everybody was just yelling
and screaming.

My grandparents raised me
in Barbados.

They were Christian,
and they were very strict.

I've always acted
more mature than my age.

Everybody else
is older than I am.

We are grown enough
that we should

act like civilized
human beings

and come to some
kind of peace that way.

Ahh.

We pile into the vans.
It's pretty tense.

We have no idea
what our ingredients are.

We don't know what
we're gonna be cooking on.

We don't know anything.

We arrive.

As we pull in,
everything is green

and beautiful and lush.

It's very picturesque.

There's horses.

But I'm anxious to see what
we have to work with.

What are you guys taking?

- What do you guys want?
- What do you guys want?

I'd prefer the pork loin,
but you have that in your hand.

Somebody else has
to compromise besides us.

This is really crazy.

We're gonna have to work
as a team,

and that becomes apparent
really quickly.

We'll take the beef.
We will take the beef.

And then we'll take
the pork loin.

Okay.

It's a hard environment
to cook in.

We see propane grills

with some, like, lava rocks
in them,

and a couple
of hot plates.

There's not much.

Nothin'.
I got nothin'.

- Got salt, butter.
- Tomatoes over here,

and there's tomatoes
up there.

The Toyota mobile pantry
was off the hook.

There's spices, some oils.
You know, it's crazy,

'cause you had everybody
grabbin' from it.

I just want to make sure
no one steals my grill space.

We're also, you know,


We all need space.

We'll share it with someone
if we need to.

I got it.
It's mine.

Uh, people
are pretty fierce.

We're fighting it out.

Or are there
more chopping boards somewhere?

Should I try the onion first,
get a little flavor in there?

I'm paired up with Kevin.

Right now, he doesn't have
the confidence

in what he's putting out,
uh, for whatever reason,

because he's made
some bad judgment calls.

So at this point,

I know that I just need
to take over the situation.

Strawberry rhubarb jam?
Yep.

A nice hot and
sour eggplant.

Kind of have
our game plan.

We have a lot of produce
in front of us.

Kenny wants to make
his hot and sour eggplant,

and I said I want to make
cauliflower couscous.

Hopefully,
it all comes together.

Anybody got
extra chicken stock?



I mean, we're gonna have to take
this off the bone, I think.

Andrea and I are working
as a team,

and I'm gonna be
responsible for making

the accompaniments
to the meat.

There's just no herbs.

I feel like
it's in a ball.

Individually, I am
responsible for the pork loin

and the sauce
that accompanies it.

It's the easiest thing
to screw up

in this sort of situation.

The biggest challenge for me
right now

is that it is
freezing cold,

and my thin blood from Miami
is not lovin' it,

and our concern is
keeping the food hot.

We have portable burners,
but they are small.

Are you using
any of the leeks?

Yeah, I'm using the leeks.

My planning with Stephen
goes really well.

I'm gonna do
a vegetable minestrone.

It's somewhat pedestrian,

but I'm trying to really have
a nice, robust, rustic flavor.

Does anybody know
what time it is?



My goal today is to take
something as simple as a salad,

but show how many
different components

you can fit
into a salad.

I don't want to be
a forgotten side dish.

I want to be
the forefront-runner.

Tim, what you
got workin' on?

What you got over there?

I got turnips,
beets, and asparagus.

Tim's taking up a big chunk
of the vegetables

that are available to us.

How do you feel about, uh,
us giving you all the beets

and you giving us the turnips?
Uh...

'Cause we don't have
any vegetables left.

I just have to have
a vegetable.

Kind of had my mind set
on doing some turnips.

Can we switch?
Can I do beets then and...?

I don't care.

We're worried
not having enough food.

Kelly comes over
and is like,

"Tim, you got all the beets."

I was like,
I'm not happy with this.

I'm not happy
with it at all.

You want to take the beets?
Bring me the turnips.

This is all we have.
Of course.

The turnips are gonna be
in the style of what?

I'm gonna roast 'em down.
What do you think?

Tim's having some problems
trying to figure out

exactly
what he wants to do,

and I'm really trying to
just let him do it himself,

versus the challenge before
where I'm kind of telling him

what it is we need to do.

So I'm happy
with doing my own thing.

Mm. Mmm!

- It's good.
- Wow.

Tamesha's working
on her cherry compote.

It's really tart
and luscious.

I mean,
it's just super sexy.

And I'm working on my duck.

I butchered it perfectly,
I marinated it,

and I rendered out the fat,
I let it rest.

I cooked it more.

I basically made love to
that duck to be honest with you.

- Who's is this?
- That's Tim's.

All right,
well, we gotta share.

No, we don't.

Ed and I are working
on one composed dish.

We're stuffing a filet
with a stewed ratatouille

and a scrap sauce.

This is right up my alley.

I like working outdoors.
It's beautiful.

I mean, how could you pick
a better kitchen

than God's great outdoors?

America's got
some problems, y'all.

But we're here to solve 'em.

Ooh!

That was all
the, uh, cauliflower we have?

Hold on. What,
the wind blow it over?

I was just chopping,

and I guess
you had it on the edge.

- You sure? You sure?
- Yeah.

Angelo wants
to scoop it up,

but, you know,
I'm not gonna use it.

There's nothing
we can do with it.

We're out in a cow pasture.
I mean, there's all kind

of little creatures
crawling around.

There's no way I'm using
cauliflower off the ground.

So I run over
to the Toyota mobile pantry.

There's some zucchini squash
and then broccoli.

I've never done this before
with broccoli,

so it's a big gamble,

but I need
to take a risk.

It's time.
We're really here to compete.

But that size,
it's gonna take forever.

But it is pork.

No, I know,
but I mean...

Given the constraints,
it's .

- That's true.
- It's very windy.

The pork loin
is quite big,

and I'm really concerned

about not getting
a good sear on the grill.

Is it gonna be hot enough?

Is it gonna take
too long?

It ain't gonna happen.

There's way
too much wind.

I don't think
it'll get hot enough.

On these grills?
You're pushing it.

Since I've been
in the middle so much,

I'm always second-guessing

and trying
to figure it out.

Ultimately, you need
to stand up there

and feel good about it.
You do it.

I decide to take
the large loins

and cut them down
into four pieces,

but I'm not sure that's,
like, the best way to go.






Oh, baby.

I don't think
it's bitter.

I think it tastes
like a turnip.

We're going back
in the oven.

Initially, I was doing, um,

a turnip mouselline,

and I was a little hesitant.

I just thought it would be
a little bitter.

I was also concerned
with the temperature.

The beets good, but you're
gonna overcook the potatoes

if you don't separate
from the beets.

The beets gotta cook
a lot longer.

I'll put 'em back
in the oven.

Could have got cold,
could have got a little gummy,

so I said,
you know what,

we all looked at what I
had done and had cut 'em

and said that looks good
like that.

Look, we're
in the country, right?

This is a country dish.

- There you go.
- You're on the right path.

Let's just season it up
and serve it like that.

All right, I'm feeling good
about this.

Man, that mousseline
I wasn't feeling.

This is...Progresso.

Progresso, eat your heart out,
all right?

This is some soup.

I feel totally confident.

Like I did
a really good job.

I think my soup tastes
really delicious,

so think I'm good enough,
strong enough,

fast enough.

I should win something
eventually.

The grill at this point
is just stacked with pots.

Want to make sure
the pork gets cooked in time

and the weather elements

are not cooperating
at this point.

I have a bit of time

while my beets are roasting,

so I decide to make
a strawberry rhubarb crisp

just so that our meal

has a little sweet finish
to it.

It's always a risk.

I know the history
on Top Chef

that sometimes sort of doing
the extra dish

is the exact thing
that sends you home.

I was like, "that's
a lot going on for a salad."

And he's like,

"oh, you know, I'm not worried,
I'm not worried.

You know, it's good.
You know, I'm ready to go."

♪ ♪

three minutes!

♪ ♪

anybody seen
brown sugar?

♪ ♪



Hello.

Yes. Cheers.

Nothing is cooked uniform.
That's a problem.

The rusticity of everything
is shocking.

Really, and that--
it says a lot.

It's a bit of a missmash.

Oh, look at this.
Oh, look at this.

Oh, he really gonna
look like Isaac Hayes now.

Isaac Hayes, for real!
Damn!

Damn, girl.

How did you get that
in your suitcase, man?

That's the whole suitcase
right there.

Kenny's, you know,
that's my man.

Isaac Hayes, and just looking
at him like, okay.

Chinchilla on there.

Kenny, I refer to him
as big daddy.

Black magic,
black lightning,

black Angus.

Come here, sunshine,
let me see you.

- Oh ho ho ho!
- Whoo!

He's a beast.
Yes, he is.

He's--he's smooth.

I think he's just
sort of like suave,

and, you know,
he's got the moves.

I'm just too sexy.

I want
to win the challenge,

because I want
to be able to show,

you know, the world
that, you know, wow,

"no, Kenny didn't cook
the main entree,"

but to be able to come up
with something

that took over from,
like, Angelo's duck

or Andrea's pork

or Ed's beef.

It would be
a huge accomplishment.

Thank you.
How are you today?

Cold.

We are serving
family style.

It's like
a Thanksgiving dinner.

You know, the whole beef,
starch, veg, sauce,

blah blah blah.

How did you like
cooking in this environment?

It's a little bigger
than the kitchens we're used to.

Just a little bit.

But the scenery
is beautiful.

Beautiful!

Thank you all very much
for this wonderful meal.

Thank you.

When I see what
everybody else has done,

I walk away.

I'm feeling confident

that I did some solid, good food
on this day.

So everything
we're eating came from here?

That's right.

Patrick, what did you think
of Amanda's soup?

The rusticity of everything
is shocking.

I'm-I'm find with
the rusticity of it,

I don't like the carrots
to be so hard.

But nothing is cooked uniform.

You can't have
leeks that are small

and onions that are small
and celery

and then a big chunk
of carrot that doesn't cook.

Exactly, which is hard
to get in the mouth also.

Stephen's salad
left me cold.

Wet and heavy
and overseasoned.

And the bowl
is not a good choice for it.

This is one thing
that makes me nuts.

Just bruised up lettuces.

You're not paying attention
to your lettuces,

and that ruins
a salad for me.

Yeah.

Kevin and Kenny's
couscous and curry is lovely.

Very, very hot.

I have no problem.

I expect my curries to be hot
and my beer to be co.

I like the combination,

because the couscous
has a cooling effect.

Exactly.

What about the turnips
and asparagus

that Timothy
put on this plate?

They didn't register
with me.

I don't think they registered
with any of us.

- That's a problem.
- Mm-hmm.

The overall impression
is it didn't make one.

It's a bit
of a mish-mash.

- Tiffany's collard greens.
- They're undercooked.

Greens, where she comes from,

greens need to be cooked.

These would classify
in the deep South

as undercooked.
Undercooked.

Yeah. You're right, yeah.

All right, let's g-o.

The pork loin
was delicious.

I really enjoyed it.

I thought it was cooked
perfectly, and--

yeah, and I liked the--
the beets and apples with it.

They were cooked
also perfectly.

No, they did
a nice job with that.

What about Angelo
and Tamesha's duck?

I like the duck.

I think they did a nice job
with the duck and the cherries.

The asparagus, it doesn't have
a whole lot of flavor.

I like the seasonings
on the duck.

Cinnamon, ginger,
and cherries

is a beautiful combination.

You put au jus on after
I put the duck down, right?

Yes.

Eric, what did you think
of the beef

that ed and Alex
put forth?

The quality of the meat
is exceptional.

I'm not a fan of--
of stuffing

the...The meat
with ratatouille in the middle.

It doesn't bring anything
to the--to the meat.

We learned
that stuffing technique

from the french by sticking
the truffle in the center.

Truffle is different
than ratatouille.

We didn't have any truffles
here today, I'm sure.

See, I want to take
my hat off,

but I think my hair's
gonna be all messed up.

What do you think?

I think overall,
they did a nice job.

Some better than others,
and some fell flat.

Kelly also put together,
I think,

a great dessert.

And she didn't
have to do this.

This was
kind of extra credit,

and I thought
it was really good.

- Yes, just right.
- Yeah.

And the whipped cream, uh,
is interesting to me.

With basil and lemon zest.
I thought it was really nice.

Everyone seems satisfied.
Mm-hmm.

You're shaking
your head yes.

Absolutely.

Well, the proof
is in the pudding.

Look, I ate everything.

Come on, guys,
let's get out of here.

Let's get warmed up.

Let's go back
to judges' table

and hear
what they have to say.

It's out of my hands now.

They're gonna analyze
every aspect and taste.

Well, the flavors all mesh
well together.

Yeah.

If I could
change anything,

I'd like my pork
to be cooked a little less.

Good evening.

Good evening.

We'd like to see Kevin,

Kenny, Andrea, and Kelly.

Thank you.

♪ ♪

so congratulations.

You had the best dishes
this afternoon.

Kevin, tell us
about your couscous.

Uh, well,
it originally started out

as cauliflower couscous,
but, um,

I don't know
if Kenny knocked it over

or if wind knocked it over,

but I looked over,
it was all on the floor.

Maybe it was fortuitous.

When you chose vegetables,
were you happy with that,

or did you feel that you'd
rather had a protein,

something to...?

I was definitely happy
that, um, we got vegetables.

I thought that would be
more of a challenge.

I think it worked out well.

Your couscous
was also done perfectly.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Tell us about your curry.

Um, immediately
when I saw the eggplant,

I wanted to kind
of come out

with something that had
a big burst of flavor.

Uh, it was
kind of cool outside,

so I figured some,
you know, some Spice

would kind of keep you warm.

It had
a nice spike in it.

That's high praise,

'cause usually she's
kind of tough on curries.

Yeah.

Tell us about
the pork loin, Andrea.

I was little nervous
about the temperature.

Initially,
they were big pieces.

I cut them down
into four.

For the sauce, I wanted it
to get a little sweetness,

so I did add
a little bit of sugar.

I actually
liked the sauce.

I thought it was
one of the--

I think it really
made the dish.

I loved the dish
as an overall,

and I thought, um,
the beets and apples

complemented the meat.

The sauce brought a tiny bit
of acidity,

which was perfect also
for the beets as well.

It was a nice surprise.

A sort of elegant, rustic

kind of farm appearance.

Thank you.

I also appreciate
that you did a dessert.

Andrea and I both thought
if one of us had time,

we did want to give
something sweet at the end.

The four of you
actually worked together

to make a beautiful
meal for us.

- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.

But as you know,
there can only be one winner.

Patrick?

Well, the very first thing
I tasted

was a dish that was striking
in its clarity.

It was also
beautifully balanced

with
the accompanying dish,

and it was...

Kenny's sweet and sour
curried eggplant.

Oh, .

The beast came up
with a win on that one.

Everything was very good.
It just really stood out.

Thank you very much.

Now I need you guys
to send back

some of your colleagues,
please.

Hey.

Give it up
for big daddy.

Um, the judges
want to see Tim,

Amanda,

and Stephen.

The bottom?

I would never
came to my mind.

Like this--
they can't be serious.

Sorry, guys.

♪ ♪

today we had
a lovely meal

in a really beautiful setting,

and because
of that fact,

the mistakes on that table
were glaringly apparent.

Timothy,
let's start with you.

How do you think
it went for you today?

It could
have went better.

Initially, I was gonna do
a mouselline,

and then once we started
cutting and roasting them,

I made a decision that
we should leave them whole

and just mix them and go
with that as the starch.

So you didn't do
the mouselline?

No, we didn't do
the mouselline.

So basically
it was the turnips

and the potatoes
and the asparagus.

Right.

They were cut so...
So tiny,

and you couldn't really
taste the turnip.

Okay.

And the seasoning too was...

Was kind of bland
as well in the dish.

Okay.

You didn't mention
asparagus

when you were talking
about the dish,

but I know it was there.

How did it
just get onto the plate?

All white to me
just wouldn't

have been appealing
with turnips there,

so I added a little asparagus
for color.

You're telling me
at the last second

you also threw asparagus
in there

'cause you didn't
like the color?

I mean,
you didn't like the dish.

You were trying to figure out
how to fix it,

and I don't think you did.

Okay.

Stephen.

There are two approaches
to serving a salad.

In a bowl
is the worst possible way.

A plate allows you to sort of
continue to toss it

and enjoy it
as you eat it.

And to dump
a gloppy dressing on,

it's rather
like a concrete truck

pouring on top of silk,

and it did not work.

I actually went as far as
to do two different dressings,

wanted to try and incorporate
some texture,

which I used raw apples
and cucumbers.

It's interesting. You say
you wanted to add crunch

by using apple,

but then you gave us
a big slice of apple,

so if you were using apple
in the place of croutons,

I would have thought
a nice dice

scattered
throughout the whole thing

would have given it
that effect.

Amanda.

What is a minestrone
to you?

In a minestrone
that I've made,

it has beans, pancetta,
parmesan rind, vegetables.

In a minestrone, you don't
think it has pasta too?

I've actually only made it
with just, um, chili beans

and not with pasta.

When we cook, why do we
cut things uniformly?

So they all cook
the same way.

Why did you
not cut things uniformly?

Yeah.

You know, it just--
it felt...

I don't know,
it felt amateurish.

It was grandmotherly,

as though grandma might have
done it with her a*.

Didn't quite
have the polish

that you would expect
from a chef.

We'll see you
back here in a while.

Are we stewing some more?

- Yes.
- Indeed.

Want to tell us
about 'em?

They said
it was amateurish,

and I was like, "ouch."

We'll see.

Well, all three chefs
made some mistakes.

You know, Stephen's dish,

the problem I had
wasn't so much

that there
was a lot of stuff there.

It was the way he chose
to present it.

It was all jumbled up.

You couldn't figure out what,
you know, anything was.

You had this big hunk
of an apple.

You can have 20 ingredients
in there,

as long as there doesn't appear
to be 20 ingredients in there.

I think he had 3 1/2 hours.

He was trying to put all
the techniques that he knows,

everything that he can do
into that salad,

and that was the mistake
that he made.

Overthought
and overdressed.

Over--exactly.

And I was trying
to be like,

"it is what it is,

"but I'm gonna make it
something it isn't.

"And here you go.
I'm gonna throw that in.

And now I'm gonna throw--
look at that! I got that."

Let's move on
to Tim's turnips.

I think once he made
a decision to puree them

and he started out
with a small vegetable,

that's what
you're stuck with,

and I don't think
he thought about that.

Oddly enough, a puree
would have been, uh,

very ideal in relation
to all the other foods

we were eating.

To me, it was invisible.

That work that he did
for three hours

was not representing
anything in the plates.

Amanda did seem
a little perplexed

to be in front
of us again.

Her dish was
kind of on the bottom

because of the carrots.

I don't think she thought
about how they would cook.

I had the problem also

with the name of the soup.
The minestrone.

Yes.

It was absolutely
not a minestrone.

I was so concerned
about developing,

like, a depth of flavor
in the soup

that I wasn't paying attention
when I was cutting.

Dummy.

Well, I think we have
our answer.

Yes.

♪ ♪

there's a cause and effect to
everything we do when we cook.

When we make one choice,

it affects
the outcome of the dish,

and I think
in all three cases,

that's where the dishes
kind of failed.

Amanda, you have to know that

when you cut one part
of the vegetables

larger than the rest,
it's gonna cook differently.

Stephen, I don't think you
had the confidence

to just give us a nice,
perfectly dressed salad.

You went overboard,

and the salad came out
overdressed and weighted down.

Timothy...

You moved in one direction
to make a puree,

and then in midstream,
you made a decision

that I think completely
messed with your dish.

You didn't give us
the nice roasted flavors

that we were expecting
from a roast vegetable dish.

We had a great day.
We had a great meal.

Unfortunately, someone
still has to go home.

♪ ♪

Tim?

Please pack your knives
and go.

Thank you.

I am disappointed
that, you know,

I lost the challenge today
with turnips and potatoes.

Wish I could have gone out

on overcooking a piece of lamb
or something like that.

Thanks.
Appreciate it.

Good luck
to you, Tim.

All right.

Make sure you season
your food, guys.

But however, I'm blessed.
I feel good.

I'm going on vacation.

No!

I get to live another day
and cook another day,

so I'm not gonna be hard
on myself.

Saying good-bye was tough,

but it's not one of
those good-byes that's forever.

Keep the love train rolling.

And I'm looking forward to
picking up the phone

and growing old
with these folks.

Y'all have fun.
Enjoy the competition.

Don't take it too seriously,
and have fun.

Salt and pepper.
Peace.

Later, chef.

That's just
how the dice rolled.

You can't always roll 7 or 11
first time around, but...

It's all good.

Next on Top Chef...

Everybody's worried.
We're gonna be judged

by our peers today.

- How is it?
- It's good.

- Can you taste this one?
- It's not right.

Angelo's helping Tamesha
and Stephen.

Just give it five minutes.

He definitely has
some sort of game plan up here.

Just wait. It's gonna
be worth it. Trust me.

Perhaps this is part
of his tactic.

Amanda gives me a piece
of the chicken to try.

I think there's
a little cartilage,

but I'm not gonna
say anything.

It is a game.

I just thought it was
kind of a train wreck.

The beef
needed more seasoning.

It kind of was one note.

The chefs are being
harsh on the dishes.

I'm like, "oh, my gosh."
I mean, seriously?