22x02 - Brunch à la Boulud

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Top Chef.

Welcome to
Top Chef Destination Canada.

We want you to create
dishes that represent

the five regions of Canada.

Sauce working,
it's really, really intricate.

A lot of technical detail.

The fact that he could
nail a consommé this well in

a time restraint,
he's made me proud.

Okay, so I broke
the cutting board.

My puree.

Oh, God.

I realized my potatoes
had been overboiled.

The potatoes
reminded me of boxed potatoes.

I did not enjoy
anything on Mimi's plate.

Oh, my God.
Am I missing one?

Oh, my God.

Looking at
the complexity of the dish,

where was the time spent?

Oh, my God.

The winning chef is...

Vincenzo.

Mimi, please
pack your knives and go.

Fourteen chefs
remain to compete

in the ultimate
culinary showdown.

At stake for the winner,
the largest prize package

in Top Chefhistory.

The grand prize of a quarter
of a million dollars,

furnished by
Saratoga Spring Water,

the official water of Top Chef.

Delta SkyMiles
diamond medallion status,

and $125,000 to spend on
travel with Delta Airlines.

A feature in Food & Wine
magazine,

an appearance at the
Food & Wine Classic in Aspen,

and for the first time ever,

the winner of Top Chef
will headline their own

exclusive dinner at the historic
James Beard House in New York

and the title of Top Chef.

Arms wide up.

Reach for the sky.

I'm really glad
that last week is behind me.

I'm equal parts
embarrassed and grateful.

Flush everything out.

Getting another chance
to prove myself

is probably the biggest reward

I've gotten from
a mistake in a long time.

Open your pelvic floor.

And who knew Massimo was a yogi?

We're back. We're back.

- Pumped up. I can feel it.
- We're back.

-I like that.
- So how's everyone feeling

after the first
elimination challenge?

Great. It's very real now.

All right, chefs. Gail is
here for a very special reason.

When I heard what
today's quickfire challenge was,

I had to be here.

I even brought
a fellow Canadian with me.

Chefs, you may
know today's guest judge,

best known as Twyla
from Schitt's Creek.

Oh, my God.

Please welcome to the Top Chef
kitchen, actor Sarah Levy.

Hello.

My wife is gonna freak out.

Schitt's Creekreally reminds
me of my own family sometimes.

Indian families
are families of chaos.

I don't know if you all
understand the significance of

Schitt's Creek
to every Canadian.

It's a great show.

-So good.
- I love to cook food.

I love to eat food.

You're gonna fit right in.

I can't wait to see
what everyone comes up with.

All right, chefs,
it's time to get a little messy.

When you think
of a dish in Canada,

what's one of the first
things that comes to mind?

Poutine.

A plus. Bravo.

The dish is simple.

It's French fries, cheese curds,

topped with brown gravy.

The whole bite all
together is perfection.

Never made poutine.
Not a day in my life.

I don't know what
the hell is in that sauce stuff.

Gail, how do
you like your poutine?

Preferably at 3 A.M.

There are so many different
ways you can get it now.

Each poutinerie does
it a little bit differently.

I kind of love it all.

For today's Quickfire Challenge,

you all are gonna put
your own spin

on this Canadian classic.

You can take your poutine
in any direction you'd like,

but it must include
a starchy vegetable base,

a sauce,
and a cheese, of course.

And whoever presents
the perfect poutine

will pocket $5,000 in
quickfire quick cash,

courtesy of the Wells Fargo
Active Cash Credit Card.

- Let's do it.
-No pressure,

but all of Canada is watching.

You have 30 minutes on the clock
to show us your poutine.

Your time starts right now.

What do we got?

Cream, milk.

What's your favorite poutine?

I like traditional.

I don't want to just
do traditional French fries,

because I'm assuming everyone's
gonna be doing French fries.

This is very,
very difficult to reinvent.

Anything that's iconic,

you want to respect the dish,
but also the original.

Doing a little fondant potato,
that way I can do pan sauce

instead of having
to do a gravy as well.

Make sure they're all the same.

I'm gonna use yucca just because
I think it gives a little bit

of different texture,
nice and crispy.

Skrrt!

We call cheese curds in Quebec:
fromage squeak-squeak.

Making a poutine
that is better than

the real thing
I don't think is possible.

So, we're gonna make
a mornay with some gruyere.

- Hell yeah, Massimo.
-What are you gonna do?

I'm doing a very Latino poutine.

Using plantains.

I'm gonna do a seco sauce,
and I have to still go

- get my cheese, actually.
- Hell yeah.

I've got some russets.
I'm gonna do a mushroom poutine.

My poutine is more
on the traditional side.

I don't think this
is the kind of thing

that you really eat
sober all that often.

Yeah, poutine
can be really heavy.

You need something
to cut all the fat.

Behind you.

This version
is a little lighter because

the mushroom gravy,
it's like a light brown gravy.

Time flies.

-Anyone seen scallions?
-I have some.

Take it all,
I'm not using it anymore.

- I'm taking it all, girl.
- What are you making, Bailey?

Like an Asian and Italian spin.

I always cook with an Italian
hand, but my background prior to

that was cooking at Parachute,
which is very much Korean.

I'm gonna do like
a kimchi sauce with mozzarella.

It's such
an unlikely combination.

I'm a little nervous.

I'm gonna try to make a quick
stock out of my shrimp shells.

- All in 30 minutes?
- Leave me alone.

Hot things, hot things.

Right behind,
right behind, right behind.

Oh, potato down.



Massimo, that does not
look like a traditional poutine.

Ha-ha! I'm doing a ballotine
of crispy potatoes.

I'm doing something wild,
but that's fine because

Massimo means
maximum in Italian.

Can I slice it like a puck?

They could've named me Daniel,
but they named me Massimo.

I won't have long to set it.



- I love poutine.
- Oh, really?

Saucy, messy, finger food.

I'm making a parmesan
gruyere cheese gravy with

a scallion pancake almost,
but with a yucca in it.

Scallion pancakes was always
a snack that my mom would make,

but moms don't give out
any measurements or anything.

It's all about
touching and feeling,

and I'm just like,
I need things in grams.

Stop shaking the table.

Oh, baby,
I'm getting my steps.

I'm getting my steps.

Ooh, yum.

I'm making a fondant potato,

creating like a little
pan sauce with a gravy.

Oh, yeah.

- Nine minutes, guys.
- Yes, chef!

There is an art
to a great French fry.

I start in cold water,
cook them for a few minutes,

strain them out, dry them off.

Can I get in the fryer
after you?

- No, she already asked.
- Okay.

Who's the stuff that's
sitting in there?

Corwin's.

My biggest concern
is getting in the fryer.

Are you in the fryer?

Oh, there's a fryer open? Great.

Who's on the left there?

Chefs, you have
five minutes left.

- Paula, you out?
- Yes, I'm out.

Gonna flash freeze my fries

so they cook a little crispier.

Somebody
coming out of the fryer?

Yes, I'm coming out.

Yeah.

Two minutes! Two minutes!

I look around at
everybody else's dishes,

and they've all made these

gorgeous Michelin star poutines,

and I'm like,
what the [bleep] is that?

I'm like, what did I do?

Poutine, it has to be
full and covered in gravy,

but I don't
want it to be too mushy.

One minute, guys,
let's go!

Being from New York,
I call it Sunday sauce,

but today it's
gonna be Sunday gravy.

- Plate, plate!
- Chefs, ten seconds!

I want to win this
quickfire, desperately.

Five, four,
three, two, one.

Chefs, time's up, utensils down.

All right. Yes.

Corwin, come on up.

So, I made you a twice-cooked
potato drenched in cornstarch.

My sauce is made of
caramelized onions, garlic,

and a sauce that we use
in Jamaica called browning,

and then just finished
with cotija cheese and chives.

Kat.

- Thank you.
- This looks familiar.

So, I definitely went
the traditional route,

crispy potato,
mushroom gravy, smoked soy,

- regular cheese curds.
- You're from Wisconsin,

you know a cheese curd or two.

I know my way
around a cheese curd.

Twelve more to go.

I'm like really
trying to pace myself.

Shuai, come on up.

I did a soy sauce fondant potato
and a cheese sauce of fontina,

smoked cheddar,
and cheddar curds.

Were you worried about

getting that potato
soft in time?

I practiced a lot at home,

assuming there was going
to be poutine on it.

Wow.

I made a potato in
the style of a tostone,

fermented soybean and mushroom
cream, and some burrata.

I made a sweet potato fry
with a gumbo gravy

and cheddar cheese curds.

I've never eaten so much poutine
with a knife and fork before.

I know.

My poutine
is inspired back at home.

It's a secco poutine.

As a starch,
I use the green plantains.

The gravy, what we call secco,
is the base of the stew.

The cheese
I use is cotija cheese.

And are the plantains,
are they fried

- or are they done in the oven?
- No, they're fried.

- They're fried.
-Yep.

Massimo?

No pressure, Canadian.

I made a potato roulade
with a sauce mornay

and a beef reduction.

You just piped the mornay
and rolled the potato?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Big shot.

So, I made you a potato
and tomato gravy with parmesan

mousse, lemon oil,
and basil to finish it off.

Thank you.

I made yucca fries seasoned
with injera and aji amarillo,

paneer cheese,
and some fried kielbasa.

Good heat in there.

Made you one bite
because I knew you were

- about to eat a lot.
- Thank you.

I made a scallion yucca pancake
with Gruyere cheese sauce

on the bottom and
then some chili oil around it.

What about this pancake?

What was
the inspiration for the dough?

Growing up, my mom makes
a lot of scallion pancakes,

so I really wanted to
make something very familiar.

For India, we love chaat.

So this is a poutine chaat,
fingerling potatoes with

a minced cilantro
and serrano chutney,

and then a crispy
enoki mushroom on top.

Because in chaat,
there's always something crispy

on top to finish it off.

All right, Cèsar,
what did you make for us?

CÈSAR: Fingerling potato
that's been fried, roasted corn,

cilantro mayo, espuma made
of cotija cheese, and poblano.

This poutine is called
poutine a la stroganoff.

I made a stroganoff sauce
with chanterelle mushrooms

herbs and sour cream.

All right, Bailey,
come on up.

I made a Korean
street food-inspired

shrimp arrabiata poutine
with a little bit of mozzarella.

Thank you, Bailey.

Thank you.

Sarah and Gail,
how do you think our chefs

did with this
poutine quickfire?

I think everyone
rose to the challenge

and created
some incredible dishes.

I have to say, you guys
might be the quickfire kings.

Almost all of them
were really delicious.

Unfortunately,
there were a few poutines

that fell just
a little bit short.

Henry, your sauce was great.

So cheesy, a little spicy,

but the pancake,
to me, felt spongy.

Bailey, we loved
your French fries.

There were just a lot
of elements going on,

and they got a little lost.

Paula, although I did
appreciate the flavor,

I just felt the secco
was just a little too wet

for the French fry.

Let's switch
to some good news, shall we?

Sarah, who had one
of our favorite poutines?

Massimo.

It really gave the flavors

of true poutine in
a very beautiful package.

- Thank you.
- Kat.

While yours was definitely the
most traditional interpretation,

that mushroom sauce
with the smoked soy

gave it so much depth.

Thank you.

Shuai, I mean a perfect fondant
potato, that nice creaminess,

and then the glaze
just veiled right over it.

- Well done.
- Thank you.

Sarah, who had
our favorite poutine of the day?

The chef we picked
did something creative,

but also kept the essence
of poutine,

and that chef is...

Shuai.

Congratulations, Shuai.

You just won $5,000
in quickfire quick cash.

Well done.

I won some money.

All that practice paid off.

That's the most money
I've ever won in my life.

I've literally won zero money
in my whole entire life.



Absolutely.

I think I'm going to
take my wife on a nice vacation.

She sacrificed so much to
help us open these restaurants.

- She deserves it.
- Congratulations.

Now that you've tackled

one of Canada's
most beloved traditions,

it's time to tap into
a Canadian food tradition

that isn't as well-known.

I'm pretty sure that he needs
no introduction at all.

See, we don't even need the rub.
We don't even need it.

Hello, hello!

World-renowned chef and
restaurateur, Daniel Boulud.

CÈSAR: Daniel Boulud.
We got to cook for him? No way.

And he looks so fly.

- Good afternoon.
-Good afternoon, chef.

Whoo.

When you think of Canada,

what's one of the first
ingredients that

- comes to mind?
- Maple.

Maple syrup. You're right.

If you didn't grow up here,
you might be a little

less familiar with
a centuries-old tradition

- called the sugar shack.
- No clue.

Sugar shacks were small
wooden buildings

where on a maple farm,

sap from the maple trees
were turned into maple syrup.

What started as small shacks

have turned into
huge dining halls

where it's not uncommon to
find an entire big brunch menu.

Daniel, have you ever
been to a sugar shack?

Oh, yes.

It's always a feast.

It's the best.

For your elimination challenge,

you'll be working in
two teams of seven.

Each team must create
a brunch menu,

and each team member
is responsible for one dish.

And in celebration
of the sugar shack,

every dish must
have a maple component.

Brunch is exciting,
and I love souffle.

At brunch, you know, having
a little something souffle.

You're putting the seeds
in the brain.

-I don't know.
- What else do you like?

Chefs, it's time to draw knives.

Two.

I have
my eye on a few people.

Massimo is
very classically trained.

Cèsar is very talented.
Tristen has a ton of knowledge.

I would be very happy
to work with any of them.

All the ones over here,
and then all the twos over here.

Stacked, stacked.

My team has a vast
cultural background.

I'm really
excited for it, actually.

I like what I'm seeing.

Each team will have
time to menu plan before

heading to Whole Foods Market.

Tomorrow,
you'll have two hours at

Daniel's restaurant,
Café Boulud.

One chef from the winning
team will be the winner,

and one chef from the losing
team will be eliminated.

We'll see you tomorrow,
and good luck.

- Have fun.
- Good luck.

- Thank you.
-Thank you.

Let's go.
On a hop, on a hop.

Real quick, can we just come
up with the progression first?

Yeah.

The tricky thing about
maple syrup is overuse.

Seven courses in a row,

that becomes
a little challenging

because it's the same flavor.

I was thinking,
like, a really lightly

maple-cured salmon,
almost like a crudo.

- That could be first.
- That'd be good.

Okay, so, I would
really like to make a congee.

-Love that.
-Delicious.

Then I could do a really
kick-a*s fried chicken with

shrimp paste marinade
and maple chili honey glaze.

Can we have one scribe for now?

Do you want to be the scribe
just to map out the dishes,

and then we'll all
kind of circle back?

I think there
should be something sweet,

or two sweet things at the end.

- I could do something sweet.
-What do you think?

I was going to do a maple tart,
like maple and pineapple,

- with the ice cream.
- Pineapple?

I definitely want to do,
like, chawanmushi--

You can make


Yeah, I think so.

Chawanmushi has such
a small margin of error.

Well, it's one batter

- and you just pour it over.
- For sure.

I just want to make sure that

it doesn't
sink the team at all.

I was thinking I'd do
tandoori fried chicken.

- Oh, yeah.
- With a scallion corn cake

and a maple tandoori butter.

I was thinking of
something that doesn't

involve any----ing
stove time at all.

- Like egg in a hole?
- Yeah. Let's do that.

All right,
either the steak and eggs

or I'm going
to do a French toast.

I think do a French toast.

I run a hotel with
two restaurants.

I can execute this...

All right,
so I'll be the sweet one.

Does anyone
want me to make a souffle?

You know how to make a souffle?

- Yes.
- Uh...

I've worked brunch in a hotel.
I'll----ing send it.

Me? I'm not going to
make a souffle for Daniel.

I'm going to
make him steak and eggs.

Souffles are super difficult.
They're super delicate.

He has immunity,
but in a team challenge,

any kind of downfall
falls on the rest of us.

If we could----ing pull
that off, that's technique.

- That's super difficult.
- Yes, chef.

If Daniel Boulud asks for a
souffle, he's getting a souffle.

- Guys, we got to go shopping.
- Let's do it.

- Straight eggs.
- Edible flowers.

Six pounds of ribeye, please.

- You're getting beef, too?
- You know it.

- Are you doing steak and eggs?
- Sort of.

I'm going to make syrniki,

which is a Russian brunch dish,
which is my favorite.

I love maple syrup.

I actually spent my childhood
tapping birch trees

on the edge of Moscow.

Everybody had
the same 200 rubles a month,

which is about $20.

So, by necessity,
you had to go out into nature

and find what
you needed to survive.

I'm super excited to
share this unique brunch dish.

Anya, how are you doing?

I'm good. I'm almost done.
I'm going to grab some oranges.

Again, I'm doing
something I don't normally do.

I helped design the pastry menu
at my restaurant,

and I think tarts with
a little egg custard

could be a great way
to incorporate maple.

Seventeen minutes!

Damn, no callbacks? Rude.

How many minutes remaining?

-Seventeen!
- Seventeen!

- Thank you!
- Thank you, callback!

Cornflakes, cornflakes.

Thinking about
the tandoori fried chicken,

this dish started it all for me.

I was actually a banker,
and then 2008,

market crash happens,
and I get walked off my job,

but I was so happy
that I was, like,

freed from corporate America.

I have to go with
the honey crunch cornflakes.

I transferred to cooking

because our family is
obsessed with food.

Eight years ago,
when I first started my pop-up,

I made some Indian fried chicken
with leftover chicken thighs,

got voted one
of the best sandwiches

in the city of Chicago,
so it has basically built

the restaurants
that we have now.

This has got to be a no-brainer.
I have to do it.

- You got extra ginger?
- Yes, sir.

- Is that enough for the crew?
- I think so.

Six minutes, everyone!

Whoo!

What's the nicest
salmon you got, the coho?

I've never done a maple cure,
but generally, a cure has salt

and sugar, so instead of
the sugar, I'm using maple.

They didn't have arctic char,
so I got salmon.

- Works for me.
-I think it'll be cute.

The hardest thing
about using maple syrup

is applying it to savory dishes.

You don't want
it to be cloyingly sweet,

but you also
want it to be present.

Rock and roll.
All right. Guys, budgets?

- Yeah, we're good, guys.
-All proteins are up.

We're about $100 away, guys.



We did it!
Nice budgeting, guys.

All right.

What's up, y'all?

Oh. Uh-oh.

- What's up, chef?
- Come on over.

I bet you weren't
expecting to see me here.

No.

So you all just had
$2,500 for this challenge.

Well, you're
not done spending just yet.

Okay.

When you have the Wells Fargo
Active Cash credit card,

you're a two-percenter.

Each team will receive 2%
of their initial budget

to shop at St. Lawrence Market
for additional ingredients.

- That's $50 per team.
- Okay.

What is coming?

There's a twist,
and I'm not falling for this.

Here's where things
get a little sticky.

- Ooh.
-Each team will be

shopping for ingredients
for the other team.

-Ooh.
- Okay.

Oh, no.
This could go really bad.

Your competitors must
incorporate whatever you buy

for them into at least
one of the brunch dishes.

-Okay.
- What you buy is important

because the winning team will
take home $35,000 courtesy

of the Wells Fargo
Active Cash credit card.

Whoa!

That's a little more than 2%.

Good luck, and for real this
time, I will see you tomorrow.

- CÈSAR: Let's go.
-I want to be nice.

Now the strategy begins
as a team.

Are we going
to be naughty or nice?

I'm not trying to, like,
screw them, screw them,

but at the same time,
like, we don't have to

- give them a layup.
- No.

They have Massimo there.

Yeah, Massimo, yeah.

Ideas? Uh...

Or tripe. Or any offal.

Or liver.

Want to buy them a whole pizza?

That is the best idea
I ever heard.

Let's go.

CÈSAR: Hold hands.

Find your safety friend.

How much is the cooked lasagna?

Cooked lasagna seems
just like a little dash of evil.

- Yes.
- I'm good with it.

- Two.
- Two, please.

This is $35,000.

To think that the other
team is just going to be

like, "Let's give them
something nice to cook,"

I think that's all bullsh--.

Yes! Cheese!

What do you mean?

The other team's
buying us, looks like pasta.

- All right.
-What are we going for?

Can I get
half of a pizza?

Everybody loves pizza, but
I don't know if everyone's going

to love it having to incorporate
it into a brunch dish.

We're getting three
slices of pizza at $6 each.

Meet us by the front.

We're going to go
get some candy.

Candy corn? Candy corn?

Go.

What is this?
I don't even know what this is.

- Red hots.
- You've never had a hot sauce

with red hot candy?

- Keep your voice down.
- You're screaming.

Get down. Get down low.

- Hey!
-Run away!

What are you doing?

I see Massimo
standing near candy,

and he has this diabolical
laugh that you can hear on

the other side of
St. Lawrence Market.

We've got to pivot.
We're not going in the middle.

Let's meet them
right where they're at.

Okay, we still have time.

Let's go
look for truffle oil.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Truffle oil
doesn't impart any flavor

that makes something great.

I'm feeling like a saboteur.

It's about to get weird.

One, two, three.
Team Brown!

We're streaking away.

They're in
for a serious surprise.

No running
in Daniel's restaurant.

CÈSAR: We got to
exchange stuff, y'all.

- There you go.
- All right.

Gather around for the exchange.

Gather around. Exchange.

- Pizza?
- Pizza.

We got candy.

We got pizza and candy.

- What is that?
-Pasta, all right.

I will use this to
reduce my sauce.

Okay.

I wouldn't say this is
the worst Christmas ever,

but it's probably
the weirdest Christmas ever.

- White truffle oil.
- You want to put in souffle?

Oh, in the souffle? That could
be nice with the cheese.

Is that all?
That's all you guys got for us?

All right, guys.

Candy, that's you, babe.

Okay,
what do we do with pizza?

Should I dice it up
a little bit or something?

- Yes. You're good with it?
-Yeah.

Double starch sandwich, baby.
Let's do it.

Instead of
doing a toad in the hole,

now I'm making a pizza
toast toad in the hole.

I'll just shove
it between the bread.

We'll make it great.

All right, I'm going
to get my cure on, y'all.

Lana is making
a maple cure salmon

with a savory maple crumble.

- So smart.
- Yo, try this.

Can you get the maple in it?

- The maple is definitely there.
- Yes.

-Cèsar?
- Yes?

How are the biscuits, papa?

- Coming out nice.
- All right.

I'm making the poached lobster

in a citrus maple butter,

as well as maple
biscuit and maple hollandaise.

How do you feel
about this dough?

Looks good.
Don't keep working it.

- Yes, chef.
- Just make it nice and...

- Yes, chef.
- ...fluff-ay.

Zubair, what are
you making right now, brother?

I'm making my dredge

for the tandoori
maple fried chicken.

Zubair's doing
his famous tandoori chicken,

scallion corn cake,
and a spicy maple butter.

Back in the day,
I used to help him

with his pop-ups
every now and then,

so this will work beautifully
with the maple syrup.

- Spicy, chef.
- Spicy. We like spicy.

Spice is never meant
to be the star of the show.

Spice is what
makes other things better.

Knowing how to subtly use
spices is what he needs to do.

I've got to get
this pork rendering

with some onions,
garlic, some ginger.

Tristen is doing
a maple jerk steak and grits.

I'm making a maple
tamarind pork chawanmushi.

Pork takes really well
to sweet things,

and I think
this is going to be a hit.

Thank you for the candy, honey.

You're welcome.

I'm taking all
the candy for my French toast.

I love this. It's amazing.

I start to
dilute peach gummies

that I'm going to have to put
into syrup to make meringue.

This can turn out very sweet.

The candy corn,
I'm going to do a crème anglaise

with bourbon and maple.

The problem is...

Oh, all right.

Making a mess right now.

Katianna, what you doing?

I'm making a brunoise,

a little preserved
mayo lemon for my tartare.

I'm making a maple
cured salmon tartare

with a whipped silken tofu.

And Kat's making a congee
with a maple bacon chili crisp.

One of my first restaurants,

my externship when I was
a culinary student,

was at
a California French restaurant.

One of the first things
I did there was make a tartare.

I'm going to
start making the cream.

I'm making syrniki,

which is essentially
a fried cheesecake

and a whipped maple syrup.

That looks beautiful.

We're on the way.

Right now, I'm marinating
my chicken and cryovacing it

to get all that flavor into it.

This chicken actually
runs in our restaurant.

I am the chef owner of June with
top chef alum, Evelyn Garcia.

Everyone thinks me
and Evelyn are married.

Our staff hates it,
but we just laugh all the time.

I grew up eating
a lot of General Tso chicken,

and so I really wanted
to make a fried chicken

with a maple glaze
as an inspiration for me.

This is very hot,
this is very hot, hot, hot.

What you working on,
Mr. Immunity?

A souffle,
as per Chef Boulud's request.

Ah, of course.

I'm doing a maple
and cheddar souffle.

Massimo is doing steak and eggs.

Steaks look ready to grill.

And Bailey is making
a maple tart

with pine nuts
and a brown butter sauce.

I'm going to be making
a maple custard filling

for a tart.

The filling is going to be
where the maple comes out

the most in the tart.

Feels very Canada to be
making a maple tart.

And then I'm also using cornmeal
and honey in the filling.

It creates
a little texture and grit.

That's delicious.


first service, guys!

I'm testing one of
my scallion corn cakes.

They're looking pretty good.

Open your mouth.

Oh, my God.

Hey, Anya,
my sauce thickened with lasagna.

Wow, it's delicious.

I think
the lasagna really helps.

And then we got
edible pine cones.

We've been able to bring a few
special ingredients from home,

and one of the things
I brought was pine cone jam.

It's something really
unique and traditional

in Siberian culture.

Love it, love it.

Be careful.

Pizza. How are you
doing this pizza again?

I'm going to put
it in between the toast.

What do you need, brown team?

I need to get the bechamel on.

Okay, flour, butter?

And then just
a little cream from Paula,

- if she can spare that.
-Heard.

Because of having
to [indistinct] pizza,

Tristen is making my bechamel.

The end goal is to win
this challenge

and the only way to win that

is to kind
of work together as a team.

Bailey, anything
you need me to do?

I'm a little
behind my tarts, but...

why don't you help
plating first course?

-It's all you.
- Oh, sh--. [bleep].

My mix just broke on me.

I have a big problem,
I have a big problem.

I need to make more filling.

The cornmeal
is sinking to the bottom,

so I have to restart.

me.

I don't even know if
I'm going to finish this.

Bailey, Bailey, Bailey.

I need help.

I have a big problem,
I have a big problem.

I need to make more filling,
this just broke on me.

I don't have
the main components ready,

and I'm feeling the pressure.





Am I going to have


It looks like it's whipping.

I hope so,
I really----ing hope so.

It's amazing.

I'm invited
to my own restaurant.

I know,
thank you for hosting us.

What is your go-to brunch item?

- I don't go to brunch.
- You don't go to brunch?

- I hate brunch.
- Okay.

- I hate doing brunch.
- Classic Tom.

Classic Tom.

Do you have
those little Red Hots?

I do, you want them?

Yeah, I can use them.
Yeah, I can use them in jerk.

Thank God because I was about
to turn it into a syrup

for the [indistinct] as well.

In my jerk sauce,

I actually am going
to use some cinnamon candies

that was gifted.

It ended up
being a blessing for me.

That's genius of
you to add those in, honestly.

All right guys, first course,
five minutes.

Five minutes. Heard, chef.

Shuai, did you taste
the maple in that dish?

-On your dish?
-Yeah.

Yes, it's light but it's good.

I don't think
you need too much more.

-Okay.
-Look at us.

We're on Top Chef and
making some pizza sandwiches.

Oh, food is here.

Thank you so much.

- Good morning.
- Good morning, chefs.

Lana, can you tell us
about your dish, please?

I made a maple cured salmon.

There is a maple vinaigrette,
Meyer lemon slices,

and everything
bagel spice on top.

And Shuai?

This is supposed to be
a toad in a hole.

It has a maple and
togarashi-cured yolk,

a little bechamel on the bottom.

The toast itself is slathered
in a miso maple butter.

And then the green
team surprised me

with some delicious pizza
from the market.

I've incorporated that
inside the toast,

like a pizza sandwich.

- Your eggs is runny.
- It's beautiful.

- Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you.

Thank you, chef.

The togarashi with the maple
on the bread is very good.

Yeah. Gail, did you get
enough pizza in Shaui's pizza?

- I got plenty of pizza.
- Okay.

And it sort of works.
I mean, it's not bad.

The toad in the hole was good.

That was,
I think that was fantastic.

Lana did a great
job with her salmon.

Maple flavor was there,
but not too pronounced.

- It's a little [indistinct].
- Yeah, it's subtle.

I think more than that,
it would get too sweet.

- Syrniki!
-Syrniki!

- They look great.
-Right now,

we're getting
our chawanmushis ready to steam,

so we have to wrap them,
going straight into a 212 steam.

Our pork is great,
the maple steep is great,

but I don't have
any cooked eggs,

and I've got roughly


I've got to go into the oven.

Anything you need me
to get ready for you?

Follow me right now.

At this point,
I'm freaking out mentally.

Two, four, six, eight.

I'm going
to pass you the chicken.

You'll put the chicken
on the corn cake, okay?

-Got you.
- One minute.

Yogurt can go on the plate.

Some onions over here.

- More, more, more.
- On the biscuit.

I wouldn't hate more.

- Hi, chefs.
- Hi, everyone.

César, let's start with you.

Can you tell us
about your dish, please.

Yeah, so we have
a curry biscuit.

We have
a citrus poached lobster,

and then maple hollandaise.

-Zubair.
-The scallion

and corn pancake with
a tandoori maple fried chicken,

little pickled red onion
and charred corn on top,

and then there's maple
in the yogurt sauce

that's on the side.

It's a sweet maple yogurt.

This is the quintessential
brunch. Thank you, chef.

- Appreciate you.
- Superb.

- Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

The chicken is delicious.

It is caramelized by the maple.

We can see the spicy.

Zubair's dish is really,
really, really flavorful.

The spicy and maple
work really well together.

It's really delicious.

Boulud said it's
a quintessential brunch dish.

César's dish was really great,
too, in a totally different way.

Lighter, a little fresher.

The lobster's beautifully
cooked. I like the hollandaise.

The biscuit's not great.
It's a little dense.

It's dry.

Almost like
it's been overworked.

Is this a steak off?

This is a steak and eggs off.

Add a little bit of texture.

Put some raw lemon.

Put some maple leaves.

-Four minutes.
-Time for third course.

Can I get
my steaks up to the front?

They need,
like, 30 more seconds.

Third tray is undercooked,
and I've got under two minutes.

My chawanmushi
didn't set in a couple.

This is embarrassing.

Like, you're going down
on steamed eggs.

All right,
I need to start carving steak.

Peach first,
then meringue, right?

Yes, sir.

Garnish right over the steak.

- Unwrap, unwrap.
- Unwrapping.



Pull all the ones
you need out.

-We need 16. 16, chef.
- It's a mess.

- Five, four, three, two, one.
- Fill them, now.

Corwin didn't finish his plate.

ing damn it,
I'm----ed. [bleep].

Thank you.

Do they mean
to have the plastic on that?

Oh, because they steamed it,
like, a chawanmushi.

-Oh, chawanmushi.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.

God damn it.
They gave Daniel the worst one.

Corwin, let's start with you.
What did you make?

So, I made a rum maple tamarind
glazed braised pork belly.

It comes over top of
a steamed chawanmushi

with sesame seeds and scallions.

- Tristen?
-What I have for you

is steak and eggs,
jerk strip loin,

dukkah and maple jus gras
on top, rice grits.

Those have scrambled eggs
and cheese in those.

We got some,
like, cinnamon candies,

so I use that in
my jerk seasoning.

- Paula?
-All right,

I got some peach gummies
and also some corn candy.

So, what I did is an acorn
candy and maple creme anglaise.

The French toast is
peach and orange with maple.

The meringue is an Italian
meringue with peach gummies.

- Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you.

Tristen's dish.

The meat is
beautifully seasoned.

-And cooked.
- Right, beautifully cooked.

Sarah, are you getting
much maple?

Yeah, actually.

I actually find
that Tristen's seasoning

- is helping the maple cause.
-Right.

I like Paula's French toast.
It's very, very sweet.

But it's a very satisfying dish.

She had to incorporate
candy corn and gummy peaches.

I actually love the way
she incorporated it.

Yeah.

It's a textural thing for me
with Corwin's dish a little bit.

Some of the pieces are a little
dense or a little chewy.

My chawanmushi is set
really, really nicely.

I see that yours was not at all.

His is definitely
more mushy than chawanmushi.

His is definitely more mushy.

But I think
he sort of over-spiced it.

So much clove.
My mouth went numb.

Execution was
a little rough for him.

That's sh--ty.

It just cost
my team 35 G's potentially

and I'm ready to just
follow my sword

and take it on the chin
like a champ.

I have more tart shells
in the oven

and I have my maple
custard filling, so I'm okay.

Me and Zubair are having
a fried chicken off right now.

Ooh, she hot.

This oil is hammered.

Frying up my chicken
for my chicken and grits.

Between Zubair's
tandoori seasoning

and my shrimp paste

Like, ripping hot.

The oil is more used now.

I am worried, but I already
committed to this oil.

It smells like farts.

We've got 10 minutes.

Will you lay
my bowls out please?

I feel like I can't
- ing taste anything.

So, I made a mix of
white soy and maple

and added that
into the vinaigrette.

Go with bacon after
he puts down the chili crisp.

I'm gonna try to go
like a tighter mound on top.

I'll follow with garnish.

Wow. Look at
the little maple leaves.

- Hello.
- Hello.

All right, Kat,
let's start with you.

I made a congee.

There is a chili crisp
and a maple bacon,

a jammy egg that's been
marinated in soy and maple.

- Katianna.
- This is salmon tartare.

It's been cured
in maple and sea salt,

house made furikake
with toasted nori

and then we have some
daikon maple leaves.

Thank you very much.

With Kat's dish, it's something
I would never have ordered

on a menu
and it is delicious.

There's sweetness in the congee.

The egg is also
cured in maple syrup.

But the heat playing off
that sweetness, I like a lot.

This is a good hangover dish.

It is a great hangover dish.

If you're hungover, this
is what you want right here.

I liked Katianna's dish.

It's light and flavor-wise,
altogether,

I think it comes
together really nicely.

I wish it had a little
more maple in the dish.

Compared to everything
that we're getting,

- it's very subtle.
-Yes.

- hot open.
-Going in.

Three minutes!

Coming down, please.

Anya, how are you feeling
about the maple flavor?

I feel great,
it's in everything.

Just the glaze.
Where's your glaze?

- Right here.
-Just over chicken?

Yeah. A good amount.

I'm just going to put it on
top of each one of those guys.

One minute.

I just inhaled that.
What is that?

- Fish sauce and lime juice?
- You b*stard.

Stay.

Hands up.

Oh, my God. A little
pine cone on top. That's cute.

Have you ever
had one of these Tom?

No. They're good.

- Hello, chefs.
- How's it going, judges?

Anya, can you tell us
what you made please?

Yeah, so I made
a traditional syrniki,

fresh cheese from Canadian milk,

macerated strawberries,
and then a whipped maple syrup.

And on top here,

it's a traditional
Siberian jam pine cone,

and you really taste the forest.

- I've never had that.
- Yeah.

- It's delicious.
- It's really good.

- All right, Henry.
- So I made you fried chicken

and then you have a plant on
the bottom

with a chicken stock gravy,

and then a maple chili
ginger honey

that goes
right over the chicken.

- All right. Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you so much.

- Enjoy.
- Thank you very much.

What did you think
of the pancake?

I like this a lot.
Pine's nice.

I like the little bit
of lemon in the background.

It tastes like cheesecake,
which is interesting.

I'm going to put
cheesecake in my pancake.

- Yeah.
-The pine cone

was a trip.

I've never eaten
something that reminded me

so much of a smell.

I didn't think
I'd be eating the smell.

The syrniki,
it's the kind of dish

if your lover brought
this to you...

- Yes. You'd be like--
- ...you'd be happy.

I wish the piece
of fried chicken I had

was a little moist,
but I like that gravy.

I think the gravy's
actually pretty flavorful.

I'm looking for more maple
flavor.

I got so little gravy.

You're all
talking about this gravy.

There was a pool of it.

Mine is not a pool.

Mine is what
I would call a driplet.

The chicken
is the problem for me.

It's not
the interior of the chicken.

I find it has flavor.
It's the outside of the crust.

I find it to be dry
and slightly crumbly.

The oil was
maybe a little too hot.

It darkened a little
too much the crust.

Two minutes, 30 seconds.

Let's go. Final push, guys.

Ah!

Don't scare them.

All right, let's go.

The nature of the game
is speed here,

so I had to pull out
my tarts a little earlier

than I would like to.

I think this
one's really pretty.

There are ones that could
use a little bit of a glow-up,

I'd say.

All hands on deck.
All hands on deck for him.

- Can you finish this, please?
- Yes.

The beef, I want it like this,

- very close to the eggs.
-Got it.

Just clean up the outsides.

Okay, we need
to wipe this plate.

- 35.
- Come on, come on, come on.

- Get the sauce.
- Stop it.

Let's----ing calm
the [bleep] down over here.

Okay, let's go. Let's go, guys.

All right.

Vinny made a souffle, interesting.

I think he ate a little bit of,
how do you say, brown nose?

- Brown nose. Yes.
-You're right.

Thank you.

- Good afternoon.
- Hello.

All right, Massimo, can you tell
us about your dish, please?

Steak and eggs, classic.

Very gently fried egg,
wild spinach, and a bordelaise.

So the sabotage
ingredient that I got, lasagna.

It's in the sauce.

Vinny, tell us
about your dish, please.

So, I made a cheddar
and maple souffle.

My little sticky situation
ingredient was truffle oil,

so there should be some slight
truffle oil notes in there.

When Chef Daniel
asked for a souffle,

I have to make him a souffle.

That's very nice, Vinny.

Thank you, chef.

-Bailey.
- So, I made a maple tart.

It is a set maple custard.

I have some whipped yogurt with
a little maple in that as well,

and then some maple, brown
butter, flambéed pineapple.

- Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you.

Thank you very much.

The souffle?
I loved the souffle. Yeah.

Daniel,
how is the souffle made,

especially and solely for you?

It's not too eggy.

The truffle oil is not
a problem,

which is, thank God.

But it's definitely there.

-For sure.
- Barely, but enough.

I taste the maple,
I taste the cheddar,

I taste the white truffle,
but they're in balance.

Yeah, that was ballsy.

I mean, when else am
I going to get to do it?

Massimo's steak
and eggs is very savory.

The egg is cooked beautifully.

For steak and eggs,
it's actually pretty delicate,

which I like.

I love that it's not
a big, thick steak.

I think
the dish is lacking maple.

It's lacking maple.

Whoa.

Moving on to Bailey's tart dish.

The maple was there,

but doesn't necessarily
come through as maple, per se.

It just feels sweet.

Which is to say it's not there.

The tart was underbaked.
All I taste is flour.

I just don't think it's
maple forward enough.

me.

We clearly had some highs
and lows on both sides.

Where did we have
some standout dishes?

Zubair's dish was one
of the standouts for me.

My favorite dish,
also on that team,

- is Shuai's.
-Yeah.

Anya's dish was unique.

I'll remember that dish.

- Yeah.
-Everything was good.

It's hard to pick
an absolute standout dish.

Which team,
overall, do you think

did a better job
incorporating maple?

I feel the brown team.

I think there was
many more memorable moments.

I agree.

The only problem I have is,

I think one of
the worst dishes was Corwin's.

Daniel's wasn't even set.

That can it brings this team
down a little bit

So, judges table?

- Yes.
- Thank you.

All right, chefs. Overall,
I thought it went really well.

The majority were all dishes
I'd want to eat again.

I think you all really
put a good foot forward.

All right,
brown team, please stay here.

Green team,
you can step to the side.

Congratulations, Brown Team.

You just won $35,000

courtesy of the Wells Fargo
Active Cash Credit Card.

We did it, dude.

$5,000 apiece.

Honestly, it wasn't
an easy decision,

but really what it came down to

was your team used
the maple in the best way.

Daniel and Sarah,
as our guest judges,

you have the honor of announcing
our winner this evening.

The winning chef gave us
a dish that was delicious

and put the maple forward.

And the winner is...

- Zubair.
- Thank you, thank you.

Zubair, congratulations.

Thank you. Thank you.

You just won immunity in
the next elimination challenge.

Thank you.

There was just so much balance.

There was heat, there was spice,
it was bold, it was fiery.

I thought it was flavorful,
it was crispy.

You know,
it checked all the boxes.

I thought
the pancake was really good.

Maple came through.

Thank you so much, chef.

This chicken has been
responsible for us

to have three restaurants now.

It's the starting point
of my journey,

and it makes me so happy
that it's this one

that gets me
my first win on Top Chef.

All right, Brown Team,
you can step to the side.

Green Team, please step forward.

Green Team,

your team had some of
our least favorite dishes

of the day and one of you
will be going home.

Henry and Bailey, you had our
least favorite dishes

from your team.

Henry, let's start with you.

Can you just walk us
through the dish?

My first thought was
General Tso chicken

with maple glaze, chili.

Have that balance.

Was your oil
the temperature you wanted?

I was using
the same oil as Zubair.

Got it. Okay.

You said you wanted to
do with General Tso chicken,

but I didn't
get that from this dish.

I should have
definitely put more sauce

onto the chicken itself
and dipped it in there.

My piece of chicken
was actually tender inside.

It was just the outside
that felt a little dry.

The crust was
brittling out of the chicken.

- Okay.
-Gail...

what about Bailey's maple tart?

I was excited about
the idea of a maple tart.

We got no maple.
How did you make the filling?

Eggs, sugar, maple, honey.

- Why honey and maple?
- Why honey and maple?

I was worried
about the viscosity.

I thought that it might not set.

And an extra egg.

- Noted.
- The tart was very shallow.

The dough was thick.

When it comes to dessert,
you want that to give you

a little bit more love
than what we got.

Okay, chefs, we'll call you back
in a little bit.

- Thank you.
- Thanks.

Listen, Bailey,
I'm impressed by the way

you pushed,
by the way you persevered.

You did something really
ambitious.

I saw you push.

- And cheers to that.
-Cheers to you.

I was hoping so much
when I saw that tart,

I was just going to get punched
with some maple in that

and I was disappointed
to not taste any of that.

If that tart
was baked much longer,

she would develop
flavor in that tart.

We ended up
with almost raw dough

and something just overly sweet.

I mean, like,
we slammed the fryer.

- Yeah.
- We k*lled it.

Yours had like marinade
and stuff,

so that could also
contribute to coloring.

I don't understand. Like, he
talks about General Tso chicken,

but we got chicken that
didn't resemble that at all.

Maple flavor, I think
that was maybe in the gravy,

but they weren't too much.

And Gail was complaining,
where's my gravy?

And we all had a problem
with the chicken skin.

- That crust, it was just dry.
-Yeah.

All right,
I think we have our decision.

- Mm-hmm.
- All right,

let's get
the chefs back out here.

You know, chefs,
you're not going to come here

and just kind of make dishes.

You're going to be challenged

and we didn't find
that maple flavor

in either one of your dishes.

Kristen.

Bailey, please
pack your knives and go.

Thank you so much
for the opportunity.

It's not over yet.

We'll see you in
Last Chance Kitchen.

Thank you, chefs.

Thanks, Henry.

I just think I didn't cook
the food that I really know.

Aw.

Pastry is far from
something I do every day,

but I'm still proud of
the work that I did here

and the way that I pushed
myself out of my comfort zone.

Bye, y'all. Thank you.

Last Chance Kitchen...

I'm hopeful. I just gotta keep
myself mentally in the game.

Tonight,
Bailey's maple tart lands her

inLast Chance Kitchen.

- I had enough brunch.
- Me too, Tom.

Will her next dish
be sweet enough

to drizzle past
the reigning champ?

Grab this for a second.

Watch now on Peacock
or bravotv.com.

Next time onTop Chef...

we want you to create

your own version
of a Jamaican patty.

But of course, make
your own dough from scratch.

It's madness.

$10,000. I just want it.

It looks a little crumbly.

A lot of dough
on the line, right?

-All right, dad jokes.
- Tough crowd.

Like the surface
hockey is played on,

we want each of you to create
a dish that is best served cold.

- Yes!
-Chef's on ice.

If you don't know how to make
ice cream,

you make
afraid over there.

Anya's from Russia.
She takes whole glaciers down.

Two torches is better than one.

Oh, hoo-h*.

Starting to melt.

Sharing a table with Massimo

is like being in
the middle of an earthquake.

This did not work.

It didn't really release
a lot of flavor.

- It is kind of a mess.
- We're eating a mess.

Yeah.