07x09 - Restaurant Wars

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef...

Our challenge
is to choose a country

and cook representing
that country.

The difficulty
in cooking Brazilian food

is I don't know
that much about it.

Aw!

Alex won the last challenge

and I think it was bull.

Alex.
Did you see that pea puree?

I did not.

I didn't even know
he was making a pea puree.

The ultimate to me
is have immunity

but still win.

Please announce the winner
for this elimination challenge.

It's Tiffany.
Yes!

Stephen, your rice was just
an absolute mess.

Stephen, 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.

Top Chef Season Seven,
hail to the Chef.

Ooh, morning.

My little buddy, Stephen,
went home.

I'll miss him.
It's sad.

But the best of the best

are definitely
in the competition.

And I'm starting to believe
that I can do it.

I mean, I'm still here.

I'm pretty perplexed
at this point.

I don't know why I end up
in the middle all the time

because of my age
and my experience, you know,

being an executive Chef.

It's just time to unleash
the beast.

All right, guys, let's go.

Head 'em up, move 'em out.

We walk in to
the Top Chef kitchen

and I see red and blue
aprons and blindfolds.

That means--
oh, God.

If you haven't guessed,

this week's challenge
is the tag team cook off.

Each team has 40 minutes
to make a complete dish.

Each Chef will have
ten minutes to cook

until all four Chefs
have finished cooking.

I saw this challenge
before.

That relay was awesome,

but I remember going, "wow,
that's pretty cool."

You'll also be wearing
the blindfolds in front of you.

And by the way,
there's no more immunity.

However, the winning team

will split $10,000,
furnished by dial nutri skin.

I'm broker than broke
right now.

So $2,500 would be ♪ sweet ♪

please draw knives.

Blank.
Blank.

First choice.

Second choice.

Kevin and ed,
you get to pick your teammates.

Kevin, you're up first.

Kenny.

Kenny and I are good friends.

We are close
in this competition.

Basically, the only person
I trust is Kenny.

Ed, who's your first pick?

I'm gonna take Tiffany.

Ed chooses Tiffany first.
Of course.

I was hoping to work
with Tiffany

throughout
this whole competition.

She's super intelligent,

and she definitely
knows how to cook.

Kevin.
Kelly.

I'm gonna take Angelo.

Amanda.

Alex, you're with Ed's team.

I can care less being picked
first or last.

It really doesn't make
a difference to me.

I was forced to take Alex.

I know that Tiffany
and Angelo and myself

are kind of all
on the same page.

But Alex,
I'm not sure where he is.

You have 45 seconds
to decide

which order
you'll be cooking in.

Go.

The problem
I'm concerned about is that

sometimes when my plate--
yeah, it looks pretty,

but it doesn't eat well.

I can go for it then.

And do you wanna close?
What do you think?

Bring everything together?
I'm last.

Everything should be
laid out for me.

There should be
no interpretation.

It should just be
heat things up,

maybe cook a fish
or cook a meat,

and then just plate it.

Take your positions.

If you aren't cooking,
put on your blindfolds.

Your time starts now.

Back home, you know,
at my kitchen,

they call me
the preppin' w*apon.

I'm super organized
and I can just crank out

a lot of prepping
in a short amount of time.

I'm a little nervous
with going first.

I think it's a lot of pressure
on me,

so I have to pave the way.

I have to make sure
they know

what I've set up for them.

I throw some saute pans
heating up

so they don't have to wait
two minutes

for the saute pan
to get hot.

I'm thinking we can do
some kind of pan seared snapper

with, like, a nice dashi
kind of sauce.

I'll leave the head
for the fish

so they know
what kind of fish it is.

Making a mustard cream sauce

and then there's some
beautiful freshwater prawns.

Everything
is showing the picture

uh, what's gonna be
the final dish.

Hoo.

It looks like Kenny
is going for capellini pasta

with a mustard cream sauce
and shrimp.

First thing I do
is blanch the pasta.

I get a pan down,
saute the mushrooms.

As I watch Amanda,
I'm just smiling.

Like, she knows that
the first thing she has to do

is blanch all the pasta.

I see some kind of broth,
I see the fish.

I'm like, "all right."
It needs to get seasoned.

I season it with
just a touch of salt.

We have 30 minutes,
basically.

Why are you touching the fish?
Leave the fish alone.

I notice
a very aromatic broth.

So either it could be
a sauce

or it could be
a poaching liquid.

Maybe we'll do a poached
red snapper.

I taste everything
that they've done.

The sauce is great.
The shrimp looks great.

Tomatoes are cut,
they just need to be dressed.

There's basil there
so I go ahead and pick that

and crisp up some parmesan.

The station was
a big wreck.

I think the tasmanian devil
just came through.

I have no idea
what the direction is

but I need to make sure
that we're gonna win this,

this challenge.

I had salt there.

I take a minute and I sort of
read the whole story.

I find some prawns, pasta,
and a tomato salad.

So I start to sear
the prawns.

You have time.
You have plenty of time.

Kelly's doing great.

She's doing exactly
what I hope she had done.

You got it, baby.

I'm tasting everything

and the fish
is already salted,

which absolutely
makes no sense to me.

Time is running out
and I'm just, like,

I gotta make this thing
happen.

I actually add some
dill and cilantro

just to brighten it up,
to balance out the saltiness.

Come on, Kelly,
let's go

bring it home, Angelo.
Three, two, one.

Your time is up.
Go, Kelly.

Yeah!
Let's go, Kelly!

So, Chefs.

Here to taste your dishes
and cast her vote,

we have
an extraordinary guest.

Please welcome
speaker of the house...

Nancy pelosi.

Hi. Nice to see you.

Padma brings out
our special guest judge

and it's Nancy pelosi,
which I'm thrilled about.

This woman is awesome.

She's the first female
speaker of the house

and I'm really proud
to be cooking for her.

She's next in line
to be the president

after the vice president,
and she's our guest judge.

This is pretty,
pretty amazing.

We are so honored
to have you here.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you, Padma.
I'm delighted to be here.

I've been a foodie
for a long time.

And as speaker,
any meetings that we have,

our motto is,
"first, we eat."

Kevin, would you
explain your dish to us?

We made a sauteed shrimp
over angel hair pasta

with a mustard sauce,
marinated tomatoes,

and crispy basil.

You never know
if you're definitely safe.

You know,
I hope that they like it.

Because ultimately,

I was responsible
for seasoning it

and putting it together
at the end.

Coming from San Francisco,
where Top Chef began,

this reminds me of home
with all the natural products.

Al dente angel hair
is almost impossible to achieve.

That in itself is a feat;
It's delicious.

Blue team: Thank you.

Ed?

We have a red snapper
with an aromatic broth,

wilted greens,
and maitake mushrooms.

I hope that they find
the umami delicious.

The fish looks like
it was cooked perfectly.

I hope it's a $10,000 dish.

I thought it was delicious.

It is very wholesome.
It's a little--

maybe salty, it is the word.

Freakin' Alex.

No one likes salty dishes.

But it is delicious.

Thank you.

It's very hard.

I enjoyed them both
very much.

I think that the advantage,

and it would only be
a slight advantage,

would go to...

Team blue.

Congratulations,
blue team.

That means you'll be sharing
your $10,000 prize

furnished by dial nutri skin.

It's my first win
in the competition.

I'm so excited,
and I get $2,500.

But, you know,
now I've got theaste of it.

Now I just want more.

Speaker pelosi,

it was a great honor
to have you here.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Padma.

It was my pleasure
to be here,

and again, congratulations
to all of our participants

and, uh, best wishes
as they go forward.

We all wanted $10,000.

Alex completely ruined it.

We could have had that.
Our dish was tight.

It was good, minus the salt.

It jt seems like
it's gonna be

a crasd burn situation.

It wouldn't be a complete
season of Top Chef

without, say it:

Restaurant wars!

It would be great
to do a sweep

from the relay race
to restaurant wars

to let Angelo know
that he's not the only one here

that is, uh,
organized and disciplined.

You'll be taking over
redwood restaurant

at bethesda row,
Maryland.

Each team will be responsible
for a three-course menu

with two options
for each course.

Everyone must be responsible
for a dish.

We're stuck with
the same teams we had

and I'm very concerned
about Alex

because we're only as strong
as our weakest link.

And your guest judge...

Will be Frank bruni.

Former restaurant critic
of the New York times.

Frank bruni is notoriously
the toughest critic ever.

Whew.

Frank bruni,
he'll put you on blast.

Kind of intimidating.

We have two special guests.
Hi, guys.

Hi, Chefs.
Hello.

Please help me welcome
bill and John terlato,

president and vice chairman
of terlato wines from napa.

We have a couple of
special prizes for the winner.

We're also providing the wines
for restaurant wars

and we'll be dining tomorrow
as well.

Good luck to you all.
Thank you.

So we get in
the Toyota sienna,

so then Angelo and I
go on over to whole foods

and Alex and Tiffany
are going to restaurant depot.

What are we doing?

You need to just do your own,
your own list.

Well, but I think you still
need to write it down

so that we don't miss anything.

I'd rather not his hands be
crazy into it.

I hear murmurs that
Alex is not really involved.

Angelo and his team
are gonna figure out

how to do it without him.

I think it's wrong.

When you work together,
you work together as a team.

We all question
Alex's ability

to basically cook.

So we decided to make Alex
front of the house.

Come on, tiff.
Let's go look at this fish.

Oranges, rosemary--

get the lamb chops, please.
Okay, we got it.

Listen, are they nice,
though?

We didn't have time
to write down a shopping list.

So hopefully we'll be able
to find the things that we need.

Very happy to be
on the blue team at this point.

Kenny and I are kind of like,
"whoo."

Good, we're not gonna
Make it.

We'll cut back.
All right, so take those back.

We're, we're gonna be good.
It'll be good.

Ha ha! There you go.

First thing,
we need to finalize the menu.

This menu has to be practical
and has to be perfect.

I will head this up,
okay?

You do the butchering
of the proteins.

Absolutely.
Beautiful.

I am the executive Chef.

He didn't explicitly say,
"you are Chef, you are this,

da da da."

It just naturally fell
into place.

Two looks better.
Let's do two.

First course,
we have a tomato confit soup

and Tiffany's carpaccio

of yellowtail snapper
and black bass.

For the second course,

striped bass
with chorizo and clams.

Ed's dish is slow-baked
turbot.

Entrees are going to be
sauteed rib eye

and then lamb with
the pea puree.

One hour and 21 minutes,
all right?


Thank you.

My team nominates me for
the front of the house,

which I'm nervous about.

So I'm thinking a cold soup
and a dessert

because it's something that
I can execute

before I head out, uh,
to the front of the house.

It's too hot.
More acid?

Maybe.

It looks Ret*rded.
Take that one off.

Want the whole medallion off.
All right.

Kenny is assuming
that executive Chef role.

And for the first course,

Kelly is doing
the chilled corn soup

and Kenny is doing
a beet salad,

then I'm doing the Virginia
strip steak,

Kevin is doing the halibut.

The last course, Kelly is doing
the chocolate ganache torte,

Kenny is doing
the cheese course.

You don't have to square
the meat unnecessary.

If that makes sense.
Yeah, I know.

Well, that's what I'm saying,
so.

I see Alex messing up.

Butchering is a timely thing

and it's all I needed him
to do.

Jesus Christ.

All this over here is ready.

All right.

These two hours have gone
very, very well.

We have time to spare

so we're feeling good
about today.

But I'm watching Alex

and he's still butchering
this fish.

Is the lamb marinating?
Yes.

It just seems like
it's gonna be

a crash and burn situation.

At this point,

I'm very, very nervous.

The other team seems
so organized.

It seems to be going
very smooth for them.

We are running around.

I still have my, uh,

Have the potatoes,
we've got the toasted walnuts.

We have the Walnut oil.
Time's up.

Time's up.
All right. Let's do this.

Let's get out of here.

We arrived at redwood
restaurant and bar,

which is just beautiful.

The name of my team's restaurant
is evoo.

Evoo is extra virgin
olive oil

because
we really wanna extract

true mediterranean flavors
from our menu.

So, guys,
let's just pick a station

so we can all start working,
please.

Guys, we take this side,
you guys take--

naw, I got this.
I got this right here.

Okay, we'll take this side.

Any new kitchen
is a challenge.

You gotta kind of
figure it all out.

But for us, being right next to
the other team

and actually being intermingled
makes it tough.

Alex.
Yes.

Alex, get towels.

I'm just gonna put this
all together

and then you can organize it
however you want.

I'm real nervous about
leaving the kitchen.

I have to be at
the front of the house.

It requires that I trust
my teammates,

but my goal is to
get this done

so that I can get out
to my dining room

and set it up exactly
the way I want it.

Definitely no salt.
Very clean.

Alex, what's your e.T.A.
On that lamb, please?



It's 30 seconds too long.

I got my way.
You know what I'm saying?

What is this, L.A.?

I realize that
the striped bass

that Alex cut for me
is not correct.

There's scales and there's bones
all in the fish.

I had to do all the fish
over again.

Scales and bones.

It's not--scales and bones.

Three hours, guys.
Three hours.

Grab
Real quick.

Our restaurant name
is 2121,

which is actually the address
of the Top Chef house.

I feel great about
my team that I'm working with.

We're communicating
exceptionally well.

This can go a little bit longer
in the, uh, fryer.

It's really good.

The blue team is very
comfortable where they are.

Absolutely.

If you send it down to me now,
I'll do it now.

Watching them work,
I mean,

they're very confident,
comfortable.

They seem like they're
whistling Dixie over there.

But I think
it's always a dangerous thing

to be too confident.

I'm using
a wood burning grill

I've never used before.

You gotta stay on top of
this grill.

Yeah, but--
I mean, I was.

Every grill
has its own personality

so I'm trying to figure out

how to successfully execute food
in a new space.

Don't worry.
I mean, I was on top of it.

I've been feeding it.

Not as fine.
You want it thicker?

I can do that. Yeah.

Perfect, thank you.

Like, everything
we've done over today.

Everything.

To see Angelo get
this ramped up, it's crazy.

This isn't gonna work.

It's not gonna work,
please.

He's usually
a very calm person.

You know, it's interesting
with Angelo and I

both acting as executive Chefs
in restaurant wars.

We finally came to a head.

The best against the beast.

Alex, service. No--

just no talking
in the kitchen, okay?

No talking in the kitchen.
Please.

I don't think
they trust me.

That's bull.
I'm better than that.

There's not gonna be
many people in the kitchen.

Don't worry.
I'm gonna blast somebody.

This is restaurant wars,
this is elimination.

Being an executive Chef,
you know,

just trying to survive.

You don't wanna see me mad.

This is not for the vip table.

We gotta go.
We gotta go.

I got it.
Alex, Alex, Alex.

Angelo's spinning around
with his head cut off.

Huh?
What the heck is this?

One of the difficulties
of restaurant wars

is you're front of the house,
you know,

runners, bussers, servers,
you have to set this up.

Elan.
Elan, nice to meet you.

I'm not in my element.

I've never put a suit on

and actually worked
the dining room.

And I don't wanna go home
for something that

I've never claimed to be
a master at.

My husband usually does this.

This is my first try at it.
Um...

I'm the Chef here.

You guys are helping me out
today.

It's gonna be a lot of work.

Everything is gonna be
precise.

The staff comes in,
talk to them for a little bit,

I give them
some marching orders.

No, no, make it new.

Pull everything off,
pull everything off.

And get in there.
Use your elbow.

Please feel free to ask,

and you're not bugging me
or anything.

Seats too.
I want these seats wiped down.

This needs to be
a brand-new table.

That's what
I'm trying to explain right now.

Okay, so it's gotta be
brand-new.

Just do it.
And do it quick. Quick.

Rapido. Mucho rapido.

I'm a very nice boss.

All my employees will tell you
that they love me.

And if you believe that,
I have a bridge to sell you.

You guys got ten minutes
to finish this whole project.

Ten minutes.

What are you laughing at?
Okay, you want five?

Okay, you guys,
we have the food.

For the beef,
it is a strip steak

that is, uh, from Virginia.

The wait staff is really
important in any restaurant.

They are your representative.

Which is why we do
a tasting with them.

They need to be inspired.

They need to be as excited
about the dishes as you are

'cause that will translate
to the guest.

This the other fish course?

Wild striped...Bass.

We don't test the servers
on the food.

It's usually pretty critical,

but I was so descriptive that

they knew exactly
what to do.

What you don't see here
is gonna be the steak.

When it's done,
spike the Out of it.

These are here for a reason.
Use them.

Alex is very rude
with the service team,

so he's in there
kind of going in

with some kind of
bad negative energy.

Whose wine key is this?
Mine.

It sucks.
I like it.

Kenny,
do you have our clock?

This says 12 minutes.
Yeah, that's it.



Clams are almost done.

Man, they're six minutes.

Guys, let's cook like
it's our last day living.

Let's go, baby.
Push harder than hard.

Hard.

The name of the restaurant
is evoo.

It is mediterranean inspired.

If you see me seating someone
and you have time

to run over and help me
pull a chair out

for one or two of
the guests--

go.
Uh!

Hey, we have diners.
We're open.

All right, guys,
are we ready?

Good evening.
Welcome to 2121.

Ladies, welcome.
How are you?

Ready or not,
guests are coming.

It's fast. Really fast.

We filled that dining room
with a blink of an eye.

I mean, I know we are live
with two tables.

We are live with two tables.

These are all cold.
You can put them on the pass.

So what are we missing?
Three crudos.

Three crudos.
Yeah.

Okay. Don't worry about it.

We had crudos issues
right away.

The server completely forgets
to put the crudos on the ticket.

I need three crudos
for a mistake.

Okay, I need three crudos
on the fly, please.

I'm gonna give you
three bass.

Dino, are you listening
to me?

Guys, move.

The servers
are getting yelled at by Angelo.

Dino.
No thumb on the plates, sir.

Not your first day, is it?
Might be your last.

Leadership doesn't mean that

you're the loudest voice
in the kitchen.

As any operation,

we already have
a little snafu.

It's flying in as we speak.

Is there a hostess stand
or do we just...

So we just stand around.

Hi.

Thank you, sir.
No problem.

Is he here?
Okay, vips are here.

Fantastic.

Uh, welcome.

Welcome to evoo.

So Alex,
I'd like to introduce you

to Frank bruni,
esteemed former

New York times food critic.

Frank bruni is a pretty tough
restaurant reviewer.

It's intimidating.

Especially me being up front
not wearing my Chef whites.

What we've done is
we've taken a little bit of--

Freshest seafood we could

and put in
a mediterranean influence.

And we hope you enjoy.

Well, we'll take two
of everything.

Consider it done.

This fish is ready to go.
Is it seasoned?

Here, tiff, right there.

Table 50, vip.
That is our judges.

That is two of everything.

Service isn't going the way
I had anticipated,

but we have to focus on
the judges' table

at this point in time

and make sure that these dishes
are perfect for them.

Welcome, Frank.
Thank you.

So, ladies,
what we have over there,

it's a confit of tomato soup.

On top is a little bit
of olive crouton.

And for the gentlemen,
what we have is a crudo of fish;

black bass
and yellowtail snapper,

and a little summer salad
right on top.

Why is that a summer salad?

Because it sounds better
than microgreens.

Okay.
Mm-hmm.

Tiffany missed
the subtlety here.

It is amazingly salty.
I think it's borderline.

Ladies, what do we think?

Frank, do you like
Angelo's soup?

You eat that and you think,
you know,

I wanna taste
Angelo's cooking.

I think his cooking
could take me

in some interesting
directions.

Vip table, table 50.

It's not for the vip table.
Oh, okay.

What is this for?

There's a little problem
with Alex pushing tickets

to the right time.

And, you know,
that's the kind of stuff

that's detrimental
to a restaurant.

Go. Go.

How are we doing?

Oh, we're just on
the first course.

I want my second course.

Oh, food's coming, Tom.

Sorry to hang up on--
oh, no, it's not.

Let's bump the big pick.

Let's go right into
the judges'.

Two and two, oui?

Two turbot, two bass.

Angelo's spinning around
with his head cut off.

Huh? A bass soup?
What the heck is this?

It's just a mess.

I don't even wanna
look down there.

Let's go.
Gentlemen, follow me.

So, ladies, what we have

is a pan seared striped bass.

It has littleneck clams
and a little fennel salad.

And for the gentlemen,
we have the turbot

and then we have an eggplant
braised with

a little bit of tomatoes.

I really, really like
Ed's fish dish.

There's nothing
overly aggressive

about the way it's soft
and seasoned.

This tastes mediterranean.

It's really nice.

I think Tiffany's fish

was just a little bit
overcooked.

But I like the flavors.

I think this is,
I mean, a nice recovery

from the first course.

I like the chorizo presence
in this a lot.

E.T.A. On, um,
lamb and beef?

Yeah, let's do it.
Let's do it.

Here you go.
We gotta go, we gotta go.

Chef ed, how long this--

I got it Alex, Alex, Alex.

Judges are coming
right after.

Yes, please.

Okay, so we have here,

it's a braised, uh,
broiled pork chop.

Pork chop?
Pork chop. Lamb chop.

Let me try this again.

What we have over here
is a pan seared lamb chop.

It's sitting on
an English pea puree

with bacon and a little
parmesan foam.

And for the gentlemen,
we have the rib eye

with Idaho potatoes,
walnuts, fig marmalade,

and red wine jus.

Thank you.
Thank you.

I thought the lamb
was beautifully cooked.

What I wish Alex had considered
in this dish

that he didn't was texture.

How is the steak, Tom?

I don't love it,

but the Walnut and the potato
I actually like.

Except for the figs,
I'm not getting

the mediterranean
from this dish.

Yeah.

Everything was seasoned well
and cooked well.

The turbot was wonderful.

Well, that's what
we love to hear.

I think the service has been
a hit and miss, you know?

My water glass
is close to half empty.

I mean, that's kind of, like,
you know, service 101.

Let's let us also not forget

that Alex told us
we were having pork

when we were having lamb.

I think the team
really was focusing on

their kitchen efforts

and left what was going on
out here

a little bit unattended.

We didn't get a hello
at the door,

but let's see if we get
a good-bye.

All right.

Let's go see what
the blue team has for us.

You didn't do
a Thing.

Your ass should be going.
You didn't do a Thing.

I need a steak mid-rare
on the fly, please.

I'm having trouble
with beef.

Overcooked.

Amanda, it's a recook.

Babe, your temperatures
are going

a little on the high side.

It's because I was resting
them underneath here.

I'm cooking grass-fed beef
for the first time,

which is like cooking
a wild animal.

Keep an eye on it,
all right?

This beef is weird.
And it's my only dish.

I'm in trouble.
I hope I can fix it.

How are you enjoying
your entrees so far?

Oh, you haven't even
taken a bite.

I'll just come back.

It's absolutely risky
in restaurant wars

to take a leadership role.

I'm nervous.

Good evening. Welcome.

Thank you.

The judges come through
and I'm there to greet them.

And I think
that's really important

because people want to feel
warm and welcome hospitality

when they come to
a restaurant.

Our cuisine
is what we're calling

progressive American cuisine,

a menu that speaks
of the moment and of the season.

I might be a little clumsy

but generally
feel really good

about the service that
I'm providing them.

I notice the cheese course

as well as
the dessert course.

I have to say,
I'm excited about, yeah.

Okay, guys, judges are in.

Two salads and two soups.
Perfect, perfect, yeah?

I'm not bringing my ego
to this particular challenge.

The reality is,
what's the best for the team?

So my two dishes
are based on a concept

that we created as a group.

Kevin.
Yo.

I need those dressings.

Egos were checked.

Padma and Tom
have a chilled sweet corn soup.

It has a crab salad
that has a little jalapeno,

red onion, fresh chervil,

and then there's a chervil oil
drizzled in there.

And, uh, Frank and Gail
have a beet, uh, salad.

The beets have been
confited,

served with some fresh endive,
candied almonds,

a little pickled kumquats
in a warm chorizo dressing.

That's really good.

What did you think of the soup
that Kelly made, Tom?

Not a lot of corn flavor.

Also, it's very thin.

There's just no flavor
in this dish.

I do like
that Kelly used crab,

so there's this seasonal
localness.

And then there's the corn,
which isn't seasonal right now.

Which is, I think,
why it also had no taste.

Three months later,
great dish.

This broth doesn't add
anything to it.

Kenny has loaded this salad
with a lot of stuff.

I don't, I don't know who it
was that said it in fashion

when they said, if you're
a woman getting dressed,

take off one accessory.

Coco chanel.

I think he needed
three or four accessories

from this dish taken off.

All right, judges' beef.

Give me fish, come on.
Uh, there's too much sauce.

Too much of the other .
Redo that.

Get that broth
Out of there.

Wipe that really good,
please.

Hi.
Ooh, that is pretty.

So this time,
Tom and Padma have

a New York strip steak
with swiss chard,

maitake mushrooms,
and sunchokes two ways.

And Frank and Gail
have a pan roasted halibut,

some slow cooked white beans,
and a fennel marmalade.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

That is good.

What do you think of
the steak, Tom?

It's cut too thin
so you can't get

that rich, you know,
crust on the outside.

You can look at it
and know you're not gonna get

the pleasure from it
that you want.

Amanda did a great job
with the sauce.

It has a nice sheen to it.
I mean, it's a good sauce.

I just wanted to check in

and see how you're enjoying
everything.

Okay, thank you.

The steak, we both had it,
we really enjoyed it.

But we thought that maybe
it was a little bit

more done than we had wanted.

I think this is really pretty.

It's very pretty.
I love the orange.

Kevin did the halibut.
Kevin should paint.

I think there's
a lot of flavor in here.

I think the fennel flavor
is so present in this dish.

It's a really good sauce.

Yes.

Frank bruni said
the halibut--

how beautiful it was.

Excellent, thank you.

All right.

Guys,
just a couple more tables.

Let's push these.
Kevin, one cheese, please.

I know that the dangers of

taki on
the executive Chef role,

other Chefs in the past
have, you know,

have been eliminated.

So I'm not gonna
let the team down.

It's just a matter
of executing.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

Trying to take
a two-prong approach

to dessert tonight.

Um, one is
the crisped aged goat

served on
a strawberry-rhubarb relish

with a little fresh arugula.

And then for the sweeter end
of things,

we have a dark chocolate
ganache tart.

It's served with a blackberry
chocolate chunk ice cream.

This is pretty rich.

I loved the salt
in Kelly's chocolate tart.

I loved the crust
on Kelly's chocolate tart.

The ganache was creamy
and silky.

The ice cream had no flavor
whatsoever.

I don't, you know...

Is it me, or that a massive
piece of goat cheese

to serve for one person?

What did you think of
the cheese, Frank?

This is awful.

It's soapy
and the crust is so salty.

It's a horror show.

Who was the executive Chef
on this team?

Kenny.

Oh, he was.

Well, as far as
restaurant wars goes,

this is a pretty good showing.

Both teams had more success
with fish

than with some other things.

Evoo's--
hate the name--

their turbot I thought
was a sensational dish.

Where's the, uh...

Kevin's halibut here
was quite good.

Here you go.
Thank you.

Merci, Chef.

In both restaurants,
we had some dishes

that were real embarrassments.

I mean,
this goat cheese monstrosity

in front of us right now.

The first two courses
they served,

that beet salad
and that corn soup

were also pretty flawed.

The big miss was Tiffany's,
uh, crudo dish.

Over-salted, overdressed.

What did you guys think
of the service at 2121?

I actually liked
Kelly's demeanor a lot.

She was a lot less nervous
than Alex.

I like that she was
at the door to greet us.

She checked in on us.

Its been a pleasure
meeting you.

Thank you so much.
I appreciate everything.

Both restaurants and teams
failed in one of the same ways,

which was each
of them at the start

announced the theme or intention
of their menu and restaurant,

and then didn't
keep to it at all.

They were happy.

Everything went smooth
as possible.

Alex, at the end of the night,
tells us,

you know,
everything went well.

I was like, I don't know
how much of the story

is 100% true.

Said we did a good job.

I think
it was great.

Let's head out
to judges' table.

All right, guys,
come on! Let's go!

Made it
through restaurant wars.

Good evening.
Hello.

We would like to see
ed, Tiffany, Angelo, and Alex.

Thank you.

Like, I don't think
I've ever been this confident

going into
an elimination challenge.

I'm just confused, like...

There's a pretty good chance
that we're on the bottom.

My mind will be
Blown.

If we're on the bottom?
Yeah.

Blown.
Yeah.

♪ ♪

I want
to congratulate you,

because you are
the winning team.

Shut up.

Are you joking me?

Oh, my gosh!

Alex, you seemed
a little bit too nervous.

At one point, you told us
we were getting pork.

We were getting lamb.

I was pretty
cool and collected

everywhere but your table.

I don't know
what happened.

Angelo, I liked your soup.

I did. I thought it had
a lot of flavor.

It was very pretty.

Okay, thank you.

Tiffany,
you had the bass.

The crisp skin
could not have been done better.

It was just a really,
really satisfying dish.

Thank you.

Compliments to you,
ed, also for the turbot.

I took one bite of it.

I thought, this is an absolutely
perfectly cooked piece of fish.

Thank you.

Who was responsible
for the lamb?

Uh, Alex did
come up with the lamb dish.

When we got
into the kitchen,

Ed and I just tackled
the lamb dish.

Well, I thought the lamb
was nicely cooked.

Peas were great,
sauce was nice.

I really enjoyed
the dish a lot.

That's good to hear.

Frank, you have the pleasure
of announcing the winner.

I think for the dish

that most of us
remembered best

and would run back
and order soonest...

♪ ♪

ed, you're our winner
tonight.

Cool.

Thank you.
Appreciate it.

I am the winner
for restaurant wars.

It's a major challenge,
and I took first.

Thank you.

Congratulations, ed.

You've also won a trip

to the terlato vineyards
in napa,

and to get you started...
Frank?

Please come
and get your wine.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

Great work.

I pushed myself.
I got it done.

On top of that,

I got this huge bottle
of terlato wine.

Like, three liters
of this kick-ass wine,

which I can't wait to dive
into that thing head first.

It's Eddie.

Well, so the judges
want to see restaurant 2121.

Good luck, guys.
Good luck.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

♪ ♪

you are the losing restaurant
in restaurant wars,

and one of you will
be going home tonight.

From my perspective,
sitting back in the kitchen

and watching
the other team executing

and the miscommunication,

I'm pretty shocked,
I mean...

As diners
in a restaurant,

we don't care or judge

on the communication
in the back of the house.

What we judge on
is how the food tastes,

how the service runs,

and that's
why you're here.

Kelly, you were
a very, very warm server.

There were some moments
when you got nervous.

It was a clumsy charisma
that you had,

but it was a charisma,

and I think that really helped
the evening go more smoothly.

Thank you.

Do you always make
your corn soup that thin?

Um, I prefer my soups
to be on the thinner side.

It was almost tough
to tell

that that was
a sweet corn soup.

Sure.

Kenny, you did the beet salad,
start to finish?

Yes.

This salad is
a great example

of me just wanting you
to reel it in,

take two ingredients off.

Felt like
this was a beet salad

done through
the guise of hamburger helper.

Wow.

You had the halibut?

Yes, ma'am.

The fish
was nicely cooked,

and when your dish
arrived,

we all sort of smiled.

We wanted
to dig into it.

Amanda.

The problem is I don't think
a jus can save a piece of beef.

What I had
was a little overcooked,

a lot under-juicy.

It was like having
a great pair of shoes

with a really mediocre suit.

You know, it's
not gonna save the suit.

Wow.
I'm sorry, I...

I'm shocked
that it was overcooked.

The greens were
really, really tough.

Yeah. No, I agree.

And you'll hear that
from all four of us.

That wasn't really
where I was going with it.

Moving on
to the cheese course.

I like some
of the ambition you showed

in coming up with a version
of a cheese course,

but the execution of it,
eww.

Comes down to execution,
what's on the plate,

but the reality is,
we all cooked our dishes.

The other team, you know,

there isn't a representative
on the team

that did not
cook their dish.

If Angelo wasn't
a beast in the kitchen

and Ed wasn't a beast
in the kitchen, okay?

They would have never got
through it.

Tiffany brought in a very
strong side with garde manger,

ex*cuted very well,

and they said, we don't
want to deal with him.

Let's put Alex in the front.

So are you saying that Alex
did not conceive of that dish?

He did not conceive that dish,
absolutely not.

Who did?
Ed and Angelo.

Then why did they let him
do the dish?

Because they don't have faith
in his cooking ability.

So am I hearing
that you guys really think

Alex needs to go home?

Absolutely.

I'll say it.
I'll say it to him.

I'll say it in front
of anyone.

Alex needs to go home,
bottom line.

We'll call you back
in a bit.

Thank you.

Bunch of bull.

Can we
just be honest here?

You didn't do .

You didn't do nothin'.
I'm gonna call it right out.

You didn't do
a Thing.

Your ass should be
going home.

Let me tell you somethin'.

Your group even threw you out
under the bus!

Your group threw you
under the bus!

Your ass should be gone!

You didn't do
a Thing.

Oh, stop.

Get the
Outta here, man.

We were very forward
of who did what,

and they acknowledged that.

They knew exactly
what Alex did.

No, this is
the Ing reality.

This
Is the reality.

The reality is each person is
to conceive a Ing dish.

Yes or no?

Yes or no?

Coming up with a dish
is not Angelo creating,

you know, saying, okay,
I'm gonna take your lamb,

and I'm gonna put
the Ing thing together.

Everyone is supposed to have
their hand at prepping.

Did that mean that I was
gonna sit back and say,

"okay, well, Kelly,

I'm gonna go ahead and prep
your whole Dish"?

They asked me
to filet the fish,

they asked me to scale
the fish,

they asked me to do this.
This is what I did.

And I did what I could
do with it.

There's no need
to justify anything.

Bull.

It's Ridiculous.

Kelly's soup
was really thin.

It had no flavor at all.

I thought the crab
was kind of flavorless as well.

Soup should be
creamy and rich.

There's gotta
be something more

than what she gave us
in that soup.

Amanda was responsible
for just one dish,

and she didn't
get it right.

There was something
not savory,

not appealing,
and not satisfying

about the meat that Amanda
cooked tonight.

Kevin didn't do
a lot of work.

Bit what he did
was really delicious.

Right, I can't see sending
him home for that dish.

Kenny served up
two really poor dishes,

the goat cheese
and also the beet salad.

I think that there were
two things

that Kenny did tonight.

I think as a leader,
as the Chef of the team,

he did work well.

He got everyone organized,
he kept them on track,

and I have to commend him
for that,

because that is
not an easy thing,

and it's something we have
sent people home for

in the past.

The other team
have questions

about what Alex did
and didn't do,

but they understood
that if the team prevails,

everybody's safe
for one night.

Yeah.
Yeah.

I think
we do have an answer.

I agree.
Mm-hmm.

♪ ♪

well, Chefs, the flow
of your dinner was great.

Unfortunately for you,

evoo just had a better menu
with better food.

Kevin, we all enjoyed
your halibut dish.

Kelly, you were great
up in the front of the house,

but your corn soup
was a little thin in texture

and also thin in flavor.

Kenny, we admire the fact

that you took the team
on your shoulders.

The two dishes
that you produced,

the beet salad
and the goat cheese dish,

didn't really work.

Amanda,

one dish,
but a couple of mistakes.

Unfortunately, one of you will
be going home from this team.

♪ ♪

Kenny, please
pack your knives and go.

All right.
Thank you.

I'm kind of in awe
right now.

Going home.

To not be on Top Chef
anymore is hard,

because the reality is Alex
didn't prepare his food at all.

There should have been
more dialogue about that.

Bye, guys. Later.

I hope that
the best Chef wins.

The beast is gone.
It's anybody's game.

It's anybody's game,
definitely.

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next on Top Chef...

Walking in
to see that seal,

so many people will
never get to do

anything remotely like this.

We're really at the CIA!

Ed, what is your spy name?

It's muffin winthrop.

You know,
Angelo bought puff pastry

just like John did.

Could definitely
go home for it.

For the first time
in the competition,

I feel
just a little bit lost.

Director of the CIA, Leon panetta

I know what it is.

For once I know something you don't.