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Top Chef S22E09,
Top Chef Season 22 Episode 9

#TopChef
#PrimeUSTV

Category

😹
Fun
Transcript
00:01We're open!
00:02Let's go!
00:03Let's do this.
00:04Yep.
00:05It couldn't get more beautiful.
00:06Stunning.
00:07So Chawai is from the house.
00:08Haven't seen him.
00:09I thought he would be at the table greeting us.
00:11They want three of each?
00:13Yeah.
00:14Chawai, we have a problem.
00:15I know we're in the weeds.
00:17I got a call from your mom.
00:19Ma, what's going on?
00:21My father, Russell, passed away.
00:23I was told to stay, and I listened to my parents.
00:25Flora and Fauna, you had our favorite restaurant
00:28of Restaurant Wars.
00:29Tristan.
00:30You've done dishes where they hit you on the head
00:33with big, bold flavors, and yet this was as subtle
00:35as it gets.
00:36That just shows range.
00:37The winning chef for us today is Tristan.
00:40Woo!
00:44MDC.
00:45Everything you guys have mentioned,
00:47it could have been fixed by me.
00:49Paola, please pack your knives and go.
00:51Thank you, chef.
00:55Seven chefs remain to compete in the ultimate
00:58culinary showdown.
00:59At stake for the winner, the largest prize package
01:02in Top Chef history.
01:04The grand prize of a quarter of a million dollars
01:07furnished by Saratoga Springwater, the official
01:09water of Top Chef, Delta SkyMiles diamond medallion status,
01:13and $125,000 to spend on travel with Delta Airlines.
01:17A feature in food and wine magazine, an appearance at the
01:20food and wine classic in Aspen.
01:22And for the first time ever, the winner of Top Chef will
01:25headline their own exclusive dinner at the historic James
01:28Beard House in New York.
01:30And the title of Top Chef.
01:40The Magnificent Seven.
01:42It's crazy to be this far, yet still seems so...
01:45Far?
01:46Far.
01:47At this point, my attitude has changed and I'm doing it less
01:50for me and more in memory.
01:52The meaning of this competition has been a steadfast goal of
01:56trying to cook for representation, to create a stepstone
02:00for people behind me.
02:02Since losing my father, Russell, in the middle of restaurant
02:05wars, it is changed.
02:08He said make it worth it, so that's what I'm gonna do.
02:11I'm happy to cook today.
02:13Otherwise, I would have walked out the door.
02:22Uh-oh.
02:23Oh, why are they here?
02:24Why are you guys all here?
02:25Good morning, chefs.
02:26Oh, boy.
02:27Good morning.
02:28Seeing Tom and Gail, I'm just like,
02:30oh, crap, what are we gonna get into now?
02:32Something's intense about to happen.
02:34You might be a little surprised to see Tom and Gail
02:36this morning.
02:37Any guesses why?
02:38No, but it's scary.
02:40We don't want to miss out on all the fun.
02:43That's right.
02:44Because from now on in, we will be here alongside Kristen
02:47judging the rest of the quick fires in Canada.
02:49Oh, fun. Awesome.
02:50We are going to factor in both the quick fire
02:53and the elimination challenge in deciding who stays
02:56and who goes home.
02:57Oh, okay.
02:58Understood.
02:59We're down to the final seven, so we want to factor in
03:01your entire performance.
03:02Quick fires have been difficult since I got back
03:05from Last Chance Kitchen, so I am feeling pressure
03:09to get it together.
03:12For this quick fire challenge, you're going to have to flex
03:15your muscles.
03:16Surprise.
03:17Love a muscle.
03:18Please welcome your guest judge from Prince Edward Island, chef and
03:35professor at the Culinary Institute of Canada, Ilona Daniel.
03:39Welcome.
03:40Thank you for having me.
03:41I'm excited to be here today.
03:42Happy to have you.
03:43Just off the coast of Eastern Canada is a little place called
03:46Prince Edward Island.
03:47It's also known as Canada's Food Island.
03:49Is that right?
03:50You bet.
03:51With a thousand miles of coast land, we have some of the best
03:54lobster, oysters, and our favorite is our mussels.
03:58Prince Edward Island actually produces over 50 million pounds
04:02of mussels each year.
04:04And they can be found on the menus as some of the best restaurants
04:07all over the world.
04:09Our mussels are grown in what we call socks and they're suspended
04:13in the water.
04:14This protects them from being eaten by predators, but it also helps
04:18to keep them tender and it's a beautiful thing.
04:22For your quick fire challenge, we want to see what you can do
04:25with these beautiful mussels in just 20 minutes.
04:29Thanks.
04:30PEI mussels, the best mussels in the world.
04:34They're huge.
04:35They're delicious.
04:36They're giving us 20 minutes?
04:38That's a tough one.
04:40We usually see the white wine steam mussels.
04:43We don't want that.
04:44You're going to be judged on creativity as well as how well you
04:47cook the mussels.
04:48So go after it.
04:50Prince Edward Island mussels don't take very long to cook,
04:53but the difference between one minute can be a tender morsel
04:56of oceanic juiciness to a rubber bullet.
05:00As always, you'll want to impress because the winner of this
05:04quick fire challenge is going to take home $10,000 in
05:07quick fire, quick cash.
05:10Chefs, you have just 20 minutes on the clock and your time
05:13starts now.
05:16That was my turn.
05:17Suckers.
05:20The bus bucket.
05:21All right, honeys.
05:22Share the wealth.
05:23Of course.
05:25Oh, my apron's inside out.
05:27This doesn't matter anymore.
05:28Asimo, how often are you cooking with mussels?
05:30Only one during season, chef, and only one during PI.
05:33Mussels are not as easy as people think.
05:3630 seconds is enough to overcook.
05:38Bucks!
05:3930 seconds of undercooked mussels is enough to make somebody
05:42violently ill.
05:45Cooling them off in a little bit of a water brine because I'm
05:47going to make a zucchini blossom sandwich.
05:50What about yourself, Lana?
05:51I like a mussel.
05:52Definitely one of my favorite things to eat and cook.
05:55Historically, quick fires are not where I'm shining the
05:58brightest, but definitely the fact that they are going to be
06:01judging the whole package adds a whole other level of pressure.
06:05Almost making like an Italian hero, but with mussels on toast.
06:10I'm from New York, and we love Italian subs.
06:13I'm just going to steam my mussels so I can open them.
06:17I don't think anyone else is going to want to do something like that,
06:19so I think it'll kind of set me apart.
06:21I'm going to say a small prayer.
06:23You feel me?
06:24Right behind.
06:25My biggest concern on this challenge is that we cannot do a
06:28white wine garlic mussel dish, so time to pivot.
06:34Yes, girl.
06:35I'm cooking the mussels with tequila and green apple jalapeno.
06:40Agua chili, I guess you could call it.
06:42Do you know what it is?
06:43I don't know what it is.
06:44We're just making something.
06:45It's got to be good, I think.
06:46Holy .
06:4815 minutes.
06:50Trying something weird.
06:51Something stupid.
06:52Something tells me that's not the case.
06:55Because I really want to make the mussels a star,
06:57I am going to just use zucchini and mussels as the base of this dish.
07:02I'm going to try to wrap the mussels in zucchini blossoms and tempura fry them.
07:07Squash blossoms aren't something I use a lot,
07:09but they have the ability to house flavor really well.
07:12All right, guys, 12 minutes.
07:14How do you feel about this timing?
07:16It's getting crunchy.
07:17What are you going with, man?
07:18Like a mussel larb.
07:19I don't think larb is the first thought anyone has when thinking of mussels.
07:23Typically, it's done with ground meat, but I'll be able to make the flavors bounce out.
07:27I'm going to just steam them with some beet juice, reduce that down with coconut milk.
07:30See where that gets us.
07:3130 minutes is tough.
07:3220 minutes, like, come on, man.
07:34You have no time to think.
07:35You have to just do.
07:37I think the sweetness of the beets with spices blends well with mussels.
07:41I love cooking them over fires.
07:43See if I got time to do that.
07:44Troy, what are you doing?
07:45Just making a temporary wok station.
07:48The wok station is looking pretty good.
07:50Throwing some minced and doing their aromatics of ginger, scallion, bird-eye chilies.
07:56A lot of the Chinese cooking, especially stuff that I learned cooking with my mom and my grandma,
08:01it doesn't need a lot of ingredients.
08:03You'll have tons of flavor and layers of depth in that dish.
08:06Come in hot, just pans.
08:08Trying to avoid the traditional steaming as much as possible.
08:11I'm cooking the mussels in a nest of herbs.
08:13They're going to pick up that natural perfume and infuse the way I want them to.
08:17745.
08:18Oh, hi, guys.
08:22Oh, what are you doing, Masi?
08:23Frying squash blossoms today?
08:24Yeah.
08:25I only cook with them a few weeks out of the year when they come from my mother's garden.
08:28I see my friend Massimo is doing zucchini blossoms as well.
08:33This is probably more in his wheelhouse than it is mine.
08:36He always tends to go in more of a classical direction.
08:39We'll see how they compare.
08:43Tress, what do you think now that they're taking the quick farts into consideration?
08:46Honestly, I thought that was always the gig, so no different for me.
08:49Yeah, I think for me it just pushes me more.
08:52I'm making a little bit of a mix that I'm going to fold in with the mussels.
08:56Some olives, some capers, roasted red peppers.
08:59It's flavors I like.
09:00It's punchy.
09:01Let's see if this works out.
09:02Jessie, you have five minutes.
09:04Five.
09:05Cesar.
09:06Oh, that's good.
09:08It's getting messy.
09:09Beats all over my hands and all over the station.
09:12But I have, like, no time.
09:13Like, I got to go.
09:17Two minutes.
09:18It's looking great.
09:20Hurry my hands.
09:24This is what I envisioned.
09:25This is my dish.
09:28I wish I had more going on here.
09:31Get on the plate.
09:32It doesn't feel like a complete thought of a dish, but it tastes really good.
09:3915 seconds.
09:40Five.
09:41Four.
09:42Three.
09:43Two.
09:44One.
09:45Time's up.
09:46Utensils down.
09:47That was fun.
09:48Good job.
09:49All right.
09:50Two.
09:51One.
09:52Time's up.
09:53Utensils down.
09:54That was fun.
09:55Good job.
09:56All right.
09:57Two.
09:58Two.
09:59Two.
10:00Two.
10:01Two.
10:02Two.
10:03Two.
10:04Two.
10:05Two.
10:07Thank you, chefs.
10:08Tell us about your mussel dish, please.
10:09I just made a little bit of a scallion ginger mussel.
10:10There's Chinese cooking wine, soy, ginger scallion, a little cilantro for garnish.
10:14Some nice heat in there.
10:15Mm-hmm.
10:16Thank you, chef.
10:17Cesar, come on up.
10:18These mussels steamed in beet juice and then a little bit of coconut fat, served with some
10:23grilled toast.
10:24And how is it with the 20 minutes on the clock?
10:26It's so crazy.
10:27Yeah.
10:28Okay, Vinny.
10:32I did mussels in the style of larb, stressed in just the vinaigrette of the liquid, and I
10:36took the mussels and roasted them in a bed of all these herbs and then just garnished
10:40with some pickle chilies.
10:41All right, Bailey, tell us about your dish.
10:43I just cooked the mussels with onion and mezcal.
10:46I used some of the liquor to make a black garlic aioli, and then a chilled apple broth.
10:51And how long did you cook your mussels for?
10:53About two or three minutes.
10:54So 20 minutes, fine.
10:56Sure.
10:58Tiniest little carrot.
11:00This is just a PEI mussel rolled in zucchini flour.
11:03Underneath is a mussel emulsion, and then there's just a little zucchini salad on top
11:08of it, also dressed with a little bit of mussel juice.
11:10Have you ever made anything like this before?
11:13No.
11:15All right, Lana, explain what you made for us.
11:18Mussel toast, inspired by an Italian sub.
11:21There's a garlic mussel juice aioli, copa, mustard, olives, and some capers.
11:29I think mussels, especially ones from PEI, can be really creamy and luscious, and I think
11:32it would be a nice pairing.
11:33Right on.
11:34All right, Massimo.
11:35All right.
11:36Explain to us what you made.
11:38A smoked mussel sandwich with tomato emulsion and, of course, zucchini blossoms.
11:43So why did you go with the zucchini blossom on this one?
11:46I thought it would be clever.
11:47Apparently, I wasn't the only one.
11:52Alona, how do you think our chefs did overall with their mussel quick-fire challenge?
11:56I liked that some played on the sweetness of the mussel and some worked with some of
12:00that umami, so it was really interesting.
12:02Yeah, they definitely flexed their culinary mussels.
12:05They sure did, Tom.
12:08I love it when you do dad, Tom.
12:10Oh.
12:11Let's start with some good news this time.
12:13Alona, who had one of our favorite dishes?
12:16I really enjoyed Lana's dish.
12:19There was a real wonderful intensity of brininess.
12:24What I loved about it is this idea that you start with an Italian sub and delivered it.
12:28A little caper, a little vinegar, a little tomato.
12:30Who doesn't like an Italian sub?
12:32Exactly.
12:33Gail, who else had one of our favorite dishes?
12:37Vinny.
12:38I love that you had this idea of larb.
12:40It was perfectly easy to eat on that endive.
12:42I thought it really worked.
12:43We asked for something different and unique, and you delivered on that.
12:47Tom, who else had one of our favorite dishes?
12:50Tristan's.
12:51It was crispy, as advertised. Mussel was nice and juicy and plump.
12:54Also, I love the fact that you took the mussel juice and turned it into an emulsion, a vinaigrette.
12:58Real good use of the product.
12:59Yeah.
13:01And we also had another favorite.
13:03That was Schweiss.
13:04Oh.
13:05Flavor-wise, I thought it was fantastic.
13:06You packed a ton of flavor into that broth.
13:08Thank you, sir.
13:09All right, Alona, who muscled their way to the top of this quick-fire challenge?
13:13Oh, God.
13:14The dish that was full of that briny, delicious ocean flavor that I would love to have again and again is...
13:22Lana.
13:23Congratulations, Lana.
13:24You just won $10,000 in quick-fire, quick-cash.
13:29Dope.
13:30First quick-fire win.
13:31Yeah.
13:32Congrats.
13:34How much money so far?
13:35$25,000.
13:36There you go.
13:37A tiny little bite like that really just won me $10,000 in 20 minutes.
13:41I feel very proud, and it will count into my elimination challenge.
13:46It's definitely a good day to have a good day.
13:49That means, unfortunately, Cesar, Massimo, and Bailey, you had our least favorite dishes.
13:55Cesar, we'll start with you.
13:56The sweetness in the coconut and the beet really helped out the mussels.
14:00It just felt a little bit flat and needed a little something more to it.
14:04Massimo, good idea.
14:05Unfortunately, there was another zucchini blossom that was a little better.
14:08Also, when we talk about mussels, you want to evoke that flavor of the ocean, and the seasoning was a little bit missing.
14:14Bailey, the cook of your mussels was quite beautiful.
14:17Yeah.
14:18It just felt a bit incomplete, like you didn't have time to fully give us what you had envisioned.
14:23Yeah.
14:24Alona, thank you very much for being with us and bringing your beautiful mussels.
14:28Thank you so much for having me. It was a wonderful time.
14:31Tom and Gail, I'll see you guys later.
14:33Everyone out of here.
14:34Bye.
14:35Go.
14:38You all flexed your mussels really well, but on the next elimination challenge, you might find the mission slightly impossible.
14:46Just give me one second and I'll be right back.
14:48Oh.
14:49Oh, geez.
14:50Up, up, up.
14:58Is this poisonous?
15:00What?
15:01Laser.
15:03Maybe it's finally time for the Top Chef rave that we've all been waiting for.
15:09Guys, we need an adult.
15:16Oh, my God.
15:18Watch the lasers.
15:19Watch the lasers.
15:21In heels, too.
15:22In heels.
15:23Yes.
15:24Yeah.
15:31The hell just happened.
15:32What's up, chefs?
15:33It's your boy Greg Tarzan Davis here from Mission Impossible.
15:36Oh.
15:37And your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a dish that delivers on that impossible mission intensity and features a stunt.
15:45Not only will you be taking a culinary leap, but each of you will be given a chance to perform a real-life, hard-pounding stunt, if you want to make the best dish possible.
15:55Dope.
15:56In a Mission Impossible movie, we do our own stunts, a lot of them.
16:00And I can tell you from experience, it's not easy.
16:04So, if you're feeling brave enough to put it all on the line, there are two advantages up for grabs.
16:10Kristen will fill you in on the rest of the details.
16:12I can't wait to meet you all tomorrow and taste what you come up with.
16:16Go ahead, chefs.
16:17This message will self-destruct in five seconds.
16:28As Tarzan just mentioned, for this elimination challenge, we want to see your stunts on a plate.
16:34I did not dream of being a superhero spy.
16:37I dreamt of being a chef, and I'd like to stay in that lane.
16:39The literal definition of a stunt is an unusual or difficult feat requiring great skill or daring.
16:48Oh, Lord.
16:49Okay.
16:50A stunt on a plate?
16:51I feel like all my food is so straightforward.
16:53No stunts involved, you know?
16:55No animals harmed in the mate.
16:57Well, actually, some animals harmed, right?
16:59All right, and now for the fun part.
17:01Like Tarzan mentioned, there are two advantages available.
17:05And they both entail braving the edge walk of the CN Tower here in Toronto.
17:14Does anyone not like heights?
17:15Depends on the type of height.
17:17I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of falling.
17:19Yeah.
17:20I wouldn't say scared of heights.
17:21I'm not scared of heights.
17:22I'm not scared of anything, but I'm uncomfortable.
17:25The edge walk stands 116 stories above the city.
17:30I'm uncomfortable in situations where there is a bit of height.
17:34For those that complete the full 360 walk around the edge will receive an advantage.
17:40And those of you who decide to up the ante that perform the lean forward and the lean back on the edge stunt will get a second advantage.
17:50So who thinks that they want to do it?
17:54Everyone.
17:55Yes.
17:56Once that's all done, everyone will head to Whole Foods Market where you're going to have 30 minutes and $200 to shop.
18:02The next day you'll have two hours to cook and serve.
18:05Your guest judges will include actor and self-proclaimed foodie Greg Tarzan Davis, who you just met on the screen.
18:11Two-time Top Chef winner Uda Lowe.
18:14Wow.
18:15As well as chefs Patrick Criss and Benit Pandey, the executive chef at the gorgeous Sky High restaurant, ERA at The Well.
18:24You want to win this one because there's $10,000 up for grabs for the winner.
18:29Have fun.
18:30You'll be just fine.
18:31It's very safe.
18:32Good luck.
18:33And we'll see you tomorrow.
18:38All right.
18:39Here we go.
18:40Here we go.
18:41This is going to suck.
18:43They're going to be up there in a second.
18:44Cool.
18:45Cool.
18:46Cool.
18:47Cool.
18:48Cool.
18:49Cool.
18:50Cool.
18:51It looks a lot higher than when you walk closer.
18:52Oh.
18:53Cooling myself up.
18:54This is no problem.
18:55I got this.
18:57Let's do it.
19:05This is the quietest I've ever heard Mossimo and the piece is actually quite nice.
19:09Oh my God.
19:10Holy .
19:11Oh.
19:12Oh.
19:13Oh.
19:14Mossimo, get away from the window.
19:15Don't look down, Mossimo.
19:16Okay, Bailey.
19:17Come on out.
19:18Okay.
19:19Got it.
19:20Oh.
19:21You realize you're safe.
19:22So I feel super invigorated.
19:23Oh my gosh.
19:24I'm focused on my rope and my little steps.
19:25Welcome to the Edge Rock.
19:26How are we feeling?
19:27Woo.
19:28Woo.
19:29We are currently 1,168 feet above the ground.
19:32Now, if anyone's already feeling extra spicy out here, why don't we take a look down?
19:33Ah.
19:34Nope.
19:35Not feeling spicy.
19:36Woo.
19:37Feeling actually pretty bland.
19:38Let's go.
19:39Let's pick it up.
19:40Let's pick it up.
19:41Can we go on a little walk?
19:42This is fun.
19:43I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I.
19:45Patrick Cris, Patrick Cris, Patrick Cris, I have to do this.
19:47I'm cooking for Patrick Cris.
19:48He's a big deal.
19:49I need an advantage.
19:50Oh my gosh.
19:51Oh, my gosh.
19:52Oh my gosh.
19:53I'm coming a little more.
19:54Ah, no.
19:55I'm done cooking.
19:56Oh.
19:57I'm doing this.
19:58Up my food.
19:59A little bit.
20:00Oh my gosh.
20:01Oh my gosh.
20:02Oh.
20:03Oh my gosh.
20:04Oh my gosh.
20:06Oh, before I go on a little walk, I'm doing this.
20:09Oh my gosh.
20:13Oh my gosh.
20:14Chef's walking.
20:16All that sense of fear is kind of gone.
20:18And you're just like, you can't believe this view.
20:21Now that we have made it to a new side of the tower,
20:23I think we're ready to keep it going with another challenge.
20:25Bailey, show us how it's done.
20:27Go, Bailey.
20:28Happy.
20:31I did not do well in the quick fire,
20:32so I really want this advantage.
20:35There is no way that I am not doing this.
20:38Woo.
20:39Woo.
20:40Woo.
20:41Woo.
20:42Yeah.
20:43You got it.
20:43Now, Massimo, you want to give it a go?
20:47Push your black rope out.
20:49Slowly lean into it till all of that weight is on your shoulder.
20:53Jesus Christ.
21:03OK, Massimo.
21:05Lean into it till all of that weight is on your shoulder.
21:09Jesus Christ.
21:11Christ.
21:13You got it, Massimo?
21:15That's what I'm doing.
21:16I leaned it.
21:17If that doesn't pass, I have children to think about.
21:20I'm not hanging off a cord on a CN tower.
21:24Cesar?
21:25You got it.
21:26There you go.
21:27Woo.
21:28Woo.
21:28Lotta, you want to give it a go?
21:31Oh, girl.
21:32I don't know about that.
21:34Nope.
21:35I'm sorry.
21:35I'm squared.
21:36I don't think that I would be able to hang with the Mission
21:39Impossible crew.
21:40I almost can't even watch the other chefs because I'm so
21:43scared for them.
21:44We've done our lean forwards.
21:47Let's do this lean back.
21:49The rope holds, like, thousands of pounds.
21:51But, you know, your brain is not letting you go of that rope.
21:55Try.
21:56Put it here.
21:57There you go.
21:58Yeah.
22:03Has everyone had a chance to take a look up yet?
22:0630 minutes extra cook time.
22:08Hell yeah.
22:10I wish I would have got to 30 minutes, but the stunt I am about
22:13to achieve will be even more incredible within the time frame.
22:17Big congrats for completing the edge walk.
22:19Those who did the lean back and the lean forward,
22:22congrats on your extra 30 minutes of cook time.
22:25Congrats, guys.
22:26And for those of you who just completed the edge walk with me,
22:29which is all of you, here is another advantage.
22:31Yay!
22:33For completing the full circle on the edge walk,
22:35each of you have earned 75 extra dollars towards a specialty shot.
22:38Ooh.
22:39Exciting.
22:40I want to go dance.
22:41All you, boo-boo.
22:42All you.
22:43All right.
22:44Let's go.
22:45Let's go.
22:46How are we feeling for today?
22:48I wish I had half an hour more, but the $75 will go a long way.
22:52What did you settle on, Massimo?
22:53I'm going to do some more en croûte.
22:54I like cooking proteins and pastry,
22:56so I decide to make a fish en croûte
22:59that is absolutely impossible to do within two hours.
23:02This is me pulling a stunt.
23:04I have to make my dough.
23:05Then I have to cure my salmon.
23:06I have to make the muslin.
23:08My mom, she has like a crippling fear of heights.
23:11She wouldn't have even gone up.
23:12Older I get, the more I'm turning into her.
23:14My mom's awesome.
23:15She's always pushed me to be my best,
23:18and I've always ate good growing up, that's for sure.
23:21I'm excited to see what kind of seafood they have.
23:23When my mom fries fish, she fries whiting.
23:25Oh, I love to go whiting.
23:26I've been thinking about doing this dish
23:28that's like a fish mosaic.
23:29I just want to bring the flavors of fried fish
23:31to something that doesn't look like that,
23:33so the stunt is illusion.
23:35Oh, my God, look at this store!
23:38It's got mice on it.
23:39Oh, that's cute, honestly.
23:41Here's the seafood place, amazing.
23:46Let's go.
23:48We don't have like stable or anything.
23:50There's rockfish.
23:51Beautiful.
23:52Tell me about the char.
23:53So the char is from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
23:55It's 100% indigenous fish.
23:57Let's do a pound and a half.
23:59Let's eat a steelhead.
24:00It would be 82.80.
24:02Can I say that I'm hooked?
24:04Ooh, it's cute.
24:07Hello.
24:09Oh, wow.
24:10Feels good in here.
24:11Oh, yes, please.
24:12What are you looking for over there?
24:13I'm looking for a duck for my turducken.
24:16Traditionally turducken,
24:18you shove a duck in the turkey
24:21and then you shove a chicken in the duck in the turkey.
24:24So turducken.
24:26Nothing trashier than a turducken on Thanksgiving,
24:28which I love.
24:29Let's see.
24:30So I have gluing meat together.
24:32It's risky.
24:33It's dangerous.
24:34It's a stunt, right?
24:35So we're here for it.
24:37You can't get this at all in the States anymore.
24:40And I got stracchino.
24:41You have everything I want here.
24:43Oh, my God.
24:44I'm never leaving.
24:45I want to have to pry her fingers
24:47off of that cheese counter.
24:49What's the cheese for?
24:50So I'm going to make sort of like a crisp ballet lasagna
24:53that looks like a tiramisu.
24:55Awesome.
24:56I know.
24:57Doing a tartare.
24:58What do you think?
24:59Strip loin or tenderloin?
25:00Tenderloin.
25:01Nice and tender and very lean.
25:02You're at 73.
25:03Okay.
25:04Come on down.
25:06Hell yeah, brother.
25:07That was awesome.
25:08All right.
25:09To Whole Foods we go.
25:11Excuse us.
25:12I'm so sorry.
25:13Ooh.
25:14A lot of running.
25:15Ooh.
25:16I feel like I like that.
25:18Chris, I want you grabbing.
25:19Chicken wings.
25:20I would appreciate if they were just the flat ones.
25:22I'm having a hard time kind of conceptualizing this.
25:25I just know I want to do some sort of stuffed chicken wing
25:30with sausage.
25:31But I'm really trying to think through my stunt
25:33and the best way of delivering it.
25:35It's a cool challenge if there was a touch more time
25:38to conceptualize it.
25:40Five minutes.
25:46More than everything.
25:48200 on the dot.
25:49Talk about my budgets.
25:51Whole food drift.
25:56Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop.
26:02You guys ready?
26:04Oh, yeah, Chef.
26:05Me too.
26:09Maximo, don't burn down this restaurant.
26:15And we're off.
26:16Let's go.
26:17We're going.
26:18I'm so strong.
26:19We're off.
26:21How you feeling about your stunt?
26:22My stunt is that it's going to look like
26:24you're eating a tiramisu.
26:26But instead, it is going to be savory grapes.
26:29Oh, nice.
26:31Hey, Lana.
26:32Banana.
26:33Hi.
26:34What are you working on?
26:35I'm doing a fish torchon.
26:36And hopefully, it's going to taste like my mom's fried fish.
26:40Not having an extra 30 minutes and serving first.
26:42What I need to focus on is getting my fish
26:45into the seasoning mix.
26:46Oh, yes, it's a little browned.
26:47Hell, yeah.
26:48Rolled into torchons and into the sous vide.
26:50That's paramount.
26:53Oh, nice catch.
26:55It was giving Mission Impossible.
26:57Masi, what you working on?
26:58I'm getting started on my pastry dough.
27:00Nice.
27:00That usually takes about 24 hours of rest to do properly.
27:04With my fish en croûte, I do not have any time to lose.
27:07What are you going to do to make sure your dough's ready?
27:09I'm going to roll it out a little bit.
27:11And I'm going to chill it in ice.
27:12A freezer will freeze the dough.
27:14And putting it in the fridge, it won't be ready in time.
27:16Big, big deal.
27:17I have to be surgically precise.
27:19One misstep will affect the whole dish.
27:22A lot of pressure.
27:27Benny, how are you doing, chef?
27:28Doing good.
27:30Chugging along here.
27:31I was doing good.
27:33I'm pretty excited for this challenge.
27:37I love to be playful with food.
27:39I'm going to set up the smoking gun so we can do some theatrics.
27:41I'm not necessarily more comfortable than some elimination challenges,
27:44but still not quite there, that's for sure.
27:50Lana, how's your ternes rolling up?
27:51They're rolling up.
27:52They're quite thin, but they look cute.
27:54If I can just get them cooked off and sliced, I think it'll be all right.
27:58What are you making, Cesar?
27:59Cured arctic char.
28:00It's going to be a tartare of that with a turmeric custard and a fish twill.
28:04Arctic char with a custard, I think, is an interesting combination.
28:07I'm making a miniature CN tower.
28:10I have this idea of plating my dish in, like, a tall glass,
28:13and that could represent CN tower.
28:15Maybe, like, you're breaking into it, shatter the glass,
28:17which is going to be a fish twill, and you're going to rescue the arctic char.
28:21It's mission impossible.
28:25Troy, what is your stunt for today?
28:27Serving turducken that's not traditional turducken.
28:29Chicken comes with bones, then you've got to take it out.
28:32If you ever had turducken, it's all overcooked.
28:34Having to pull that out perfectly, that's seemingly impossible.
28:37I am now starting to glue all the poultry back together
28:42into a Frankenstein poultry.
28:45This should work.
28:46I'm doing myself an emulsion.
28:51Jess, what are you working on with your chicken?
28:53Very meticulous task of deboning chicken wings.
28:56I want to give these the occasion spin to it.
28:59I finally come up with an idea for this stunt based on Mission Impossible.
29:05When someone pump their arm full of a virus to transport it,
29:10all right, it's going to have to be enough.
29:12I'm stuffing the chicken wings with a virus of chicken mousse.
29:18They only have 30 seconds to go through an obstacle to get the antidote,
29:22which is the sauce, before it becomes too cold.
29:25I don't always like to use, like, prime cuts of things.
29:27I grew up on chicken wings and other parts,
29:30so I like to kind of show that part of it.
29:33If I crumble, I know she's kind of wet.
29:39Normally my mom batters the fish in, like, a cornmeal, fish fry.
29:44I want to bring that textural component into the dish,
29:47but it's not crisping up.
29:49My ratio's off.
29:50I feel like this just needs to cook off the butter, no?
29:52Did you put too much butter?
29:53I thought I didn't.
29:54I put almost one-to-one-to-one,
29:56which is what I usually do for crumble.
29:58It won't say fish fry if there's no crunchy element to it.
30:02Ow.
30:03My hand.
30:04Why?
30:05Why?
30:06Why?
30:07Anyone seen the paper towels?
30:17It's not my best work.
30:18I'm worried because I don't think my crumble is going to get crumbly
30:21because I put too much butter inside of it.
30:23Cesar?
30:24Yes?
30:25Do you think if I add some tapioca malodextrin to this,
30:26it'll crumble it up?
30:27Is it fat?
30:28There's butter in here.
30:29Yes.
30:30I love Cesar.
30:31Tis our fan club.
30:37This is to resemble laser beams, if you will.
30:40I dyed it green with herbs.
30:41There's always laser beams and people have to dodge them.
30:44For my stunt, these breadstick lasers are going to sit on top of the bowl.
30:48Then they're going to have to reach through the laser beams to get the golden key.
30:52After they get the key, then they can break the lasers over the tartare and enjoy it.
30:56I don't know where the this idea came from.
30:59And now you're just going to take those and make beet puree, right?
31:02No, that would be the three-star way.
31:04How's your crepes, Bailey?
31:06They're cute.
31:07How's your sweet en croute?
31:08Coming along, coming along, coming along.
31:10Normally, an en croute this size takes about half an hour to cook.
31:15Handshaking.
31:16With 32 minutes, I get the fish en croute in the oven, which means I'm going to be carving at the very last second.
31:22Masi, we're 30 out. You good?
31:24Nervous.
31:32Nice view.
31:33Yeah, it's a great view.
31:34Wow.
31:35Bennett, thank you so much for having all of us.
31:37Fantastic setting.
31:39I have a feeling, Tarzan, you're going to be looking out my left just wanting to jump off something.
31:44I am tempted.
31:45You know, Tom Cruise put that adrenaline bug in me, so I kind of want to jump right now.
31:51Wow.
31:52Yeah.
31:53In honor of Mission Impossible and you being here, we wanted a stunt along with every dish.
31:58What would you do?
31:59This is, like, tailor-made for you.
32:02I've always had this envision of making a floating island.
32:05The dream was that the meringue actually floats with helium.
32:09I will say, y'all pantry looks way different from mine.
32:1520 minutes, guys.
32:17I'm doing a seafood boil style sauce.
32:20Going to represent the south.
32:22Lana, what you doing with your little cutie things?
32:24I'm trying to fill my hearts.
32:25I guess that's what we're all looking for.
32:26You know.
32:27I thought heart-shaped pipettes would look super cute because this is a dish for my mom.
32:31What's that you're filling it with?
32:33One's going to be hot sauce and the other one's going to be cocktail sauce.
32:36Giving fish basket vibes once.
32:37Oh, all right.
32:38All right.
32:39So I'm doing bechamela in between my layers right now.
32:47The crepes are going to be layered like lasagna.
32:50Let's do this one first.
32:51I'm happy because I know that it's going to support the structure.
32:55I don't know if this is going to look like a tiramisu, but whatever.
32:58This is much better.
33:01See?
33:02The custard, it's nice and rich and sweet.
33:07The turmeric gives it a really beautiful yellow color.
33:10You kind of balance a little bit of that sweetness from the custard.
33:14I'm doing a dill and cilantro salsa, keeping it bright, keeping it acidic.
33:1828 minutes.
33:19Oh, my God.
33:20This is so ridiculous.
33:21I love it.
33:22The trickiest part about this, after it's all been seasoned and dusted,
33:25is rolling a super tight tube of meat, basically.
33:30I know it all sounds really gross, but it's going to taste good.
33:34Jesus Christ, Chua.
33:36Big boys.
33:40I slice my torchons into rounds.
33:42It looks dope, man.
33:44Oh, my God.
33:45Getting that beautiful mosaic that I worked so hard to achieve.
33:48So cute.
33:49The cornmeal is crunchy.
33:52We're not there yet, but we're almost there.
33:54I want the crust to be really crispy and beautiful golden brown.
33:57I want the fish inside the pastry to be rosé.
34:01Three minutes.
34:02How's it looking?
34:03Good?
34:04Here comes the slice.
34:05Right at the end.
34:07All right.
34:08We're set up for success over here.
34:10First slice, absolutely perfect.
34:13How much time's left?
34:14One minute, 30 seconds.
34:16Back, back, back, back, back.
34:18Now is go time.
34:1920 seconds.
34:20He's good.
34:21We're good.
34:22Okay.
34:23Oh, man.
34:24That was a hard one.
34:25Yeah.
34:26Wow.
34:27Hello.
34:28Hi.
34:29Hello.
34:30Hello.
34:31The gun.
34:32Massimo, tell us about what you made for us and what the stunt is.
34:34Kind of went with more of a literal sense of a stunt.
34:35So I decided to cook you a trout en croûte.
34:37There's a huge variable of success that is out of your control when you cook a protein
34:41in pastry.
34:42The dough was made today.
34:43A emulsion with saffron and a fondue tomate.
34:44Louis the 15th.
34:45I love this guy.
34:46My favorite of the Louis's.
34:47I love you.
34:49Bon appétit, guys.
34:50Lana, can you tell us about your dish and your stunt?
34:51Yes.
34:52You got to follow up to that.
34:53You know what?
34:54They're used to it.
34:55They're used to it.
34:56They're used to it.
34:57I am trying to recreate my mom's fried fish basket.
34:59So it's a torsion of fish.
35:01The sauces are like choose your own adventure.
35:02One's a hot sauce.
35:03The other one is cheese.
35:04The other one is cheese.
35:05It's cheese.
35:06It's cheese.
35:07It's cheese.
35:08It's cheese.
35:09It's cheese.
35:10It's cheese.
35:11It's cheese.
35:12It's cheese.
35:13It's cheese.
35:14It's cheese.
35:15It's cheese.
35:16One's a hot sauce.
35:17The other one is a cocktail gelee.
35:19On the side is tartar sauce hollandaise and a cornmeal crumble.
35:24So a stunt would be like illusion.
35:26The idea is when you eat it all together, it's supposed to taste like my mom's fried fish.
35:29All right.
35:30Thank you, chefs.
35:31Thank you very much.
35:34Buddha, if I remember correctly, you've made a lot of en croup.
35:36How's Mossimo's?
35:37I thought it was fantastic.
35:38I mean, two hours to make pastry, bake it, fill it up.
35:41I mean, produce to him.
35:42I think it's executed great.
35:44I think it's seasoned well.
35:45It's very tasty.
35:46It's a big stunt.
35:47No, but it's a big risk.
35:48First take.
35:49Don't go back and do this again.
35:50Ran out of time.
35:51The sun is going down.
35:52You got to get the shit.
35:53Got to get the shot.
35:54You got to get the shot.
35:55Mission accomplished.
35:56Feel good about it?
35:57Yep.
35:58Tarzan, let's start with you on Lana's dish.
36:01I love the heart behind it.
36:04No pun intended.
36:06It really brought me back to New Orleans.
36:08And I thought about my mom's fried food, and it just didn't hit the mark for me.
36:13For me, it was this fried pile of cornmeal.
36:16It tasted raw.
36:17Yeah, the crumble was a big no.
36:19The seasoning was good, but I never got what she wanted to execute.
36:24She tried to deconstruct the fried food, and the fried part didn't work.
36:26You know, it tasted like my mom's fried fish sandwich.
36:29Oh, yeah?
36:30Remember how we said we're going to make it small and cute?
36:35Well, that didn't happen.
36:36I'm trying to see if I can get them to look like the CN Tower.
36:39Five minutes, Cesar.
36:41I feel like I should cut them smaller, but, like, it.
36:44Cesar, all of his dishes are so dainty and beautiful, and then I've got this, like, thick slice of tiramisu.
36:51But I think they look super cute.
36:53So I hope the judges feel the same.
36:56Is that your fish twill?
36:58Yep.
36:59These twills are cooking quickly.
37:01Some of them are burning.
37:03Too hot.
37:04Too hot.
37:05So I have to, like, pivot.
37:08I grab some nonstick pans, and I'm just going to have to do these individually.
37:11One minute and 22 seconds.
37:14The twill, I can't rush it, but I also need to rush it.
37:17I'm pretty pissed at myself.
37:27The twill looks sloppy.
37:29I wanted to take more time on the shape and, you know, make them beautiful, but time got away from me.
37:46Oh, wow.
37:47Now I think this is tickling my fancy.
37:50I was like, ooh.
37:51Wait, is this not dessert?
37:53I think that's the trick.
37:54I think it's supposed to look like dessert, but it's not.
37:57Bailey, tell us about what you made and your stunt.
37:59So I made tiramisu fagazzi.
38:02So I made a porcini crispele, norcina sausage, bolognese,
38:07bechamela layered in with just a little bit of truffle,
38:10and then a finishing olive oil powder to look like the powdered sugar.
38:15Cesar?
38:16This is a miniature CN Tower.
38:18So your mission is to break into it through the fish twill that's on top.
38:22Inside you will find arctic char.
38:24Your secret weapon is going to be sauce.
38:26So make sure to grab one.
38:28The arctic char is surrounded by a turmeric custard.
38:31What's the sweet taste in this?
38:32A little bit of romaine jam, and then there's a little sweetness in the custard.
38:35Ah, okay.
38:36Thanks, Al.
38:38Mm-hmm.
38:39Patrick, how are you finding Bailey's dish?
38:41My first bite, I thought it was quite tasty.
38:43I thought it was seasoned well.
38:44It is very satisfying in terms of that rich umami meatiness.
38:49Crepes are a little thick and doughy, but I love the idea of serving us a savory dish that looks like dessert.
38:54I feel deceived, though.
38:55Betrayed?
38:56Yeah.
38:57Yeah.
39:00Martin, are you enjoying the sweetness of Cesar's dish?
39:02The oil from the twill melt with the custard.
39:05Don't bring everything together.
39:07The fish was handled really nicely.
39:09The presentation was great, but it needed some acidity to cut through that sweetness.
39:12Yeah.
39:13You find the twill be somewhat burnt.
39:15And mine's inconsistently cooked.
39:16I'm a big sweet person, so when I taste the sweet, I was like, ooh.
39:19And the fish was good.
39:20But together, I don't know.
39:21You prefer your sweets after the fish course.
39:23Yes, exactly.
39:25Yours look really cute, though, too.
39:27Yeah, I like the colors.
39:28I did have a different idea of what these stunts were gonna look like.
39:32Hopefully somebody has, like, the sparklers in the next booth so I can at least say, whoa, there's some danger.
39:38Watch out.
39:41This is to resemble the laser beams, if you will.
39:45Did I think I'd be making laser beams out of Crassini breadsticks on Top Chef?
39:49No.
39:50But always something different, so here I am making lasers.
39:55I'm gonna deep fry my chicken wing.
39:57Time?
39:58I've got seven minutes.
39:59Pre-plating the beef tartare and putting little pockets of foie gras mousse inside of it.
40:04Oh, yeah, that's great.
40:06Duck is, like, a nice medium.
40:08Mousse is cooked through, chicken is cooked through.
40:09Oh, that does look good.
40:11How are your chicken wings, Jeff?
40:12Oh, they look good.
40:13Cooked through and very small compared to yours.
40:16Time?
40:173.20.
40:18I'm decanting my sauce into my pitchers, and I am placing the dry ice into my Dutch ovens, which will create a mist.
40:30All right, guys, 54 seconds.
40:32I use dry ice for presentations every once in a while, but timing on it could be really finicky.
40:39Five, four, three, two, one.
40:47Smells good.
40:48Pretty.
40:49Excuse me for reaching.
40:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
40:51I feel like this is gonna self-destruct any second now.
40:52Vinny.
40:53Okay, here we go.
40:54All right, judges.
40:55For your mission today, you need to try and extract the key out of the lasers.
40:56Oh, the lasers.
40:57While this smoke is going.
40:58I got the key.
40:59Why don't you acquire the key and get through the lasers?
41:00It is a beef tartare with marinated beets on top, the flavors of harissa and preserved Meyer lemon, with a little bit of foie gras mousse inside.
41:09I'm sticking with my trashy fantasy theme this whole entire season.
41:14I made a tartare with marinated beets on top, the flavors of harissa and preserved Meyer lemon, and a little bit of foie gras mousse inside.
41:22Swag?
41:23I'm sticking with my trashy fantasy theme this whole entire season.
41:28I made a turducken.
41:29So it's chicken with a turkey mousse and then a duck breast in the middle.
41:33There's a whipped potato and leek.
41:35Underneath it, it was chicken gravy.
41:37Now on the side is buttered peas and carrots.
41:40Tristan?
41:41So this is chicken impossible.
41:43The chicken wing stuffed with a virus of crab and dewy sausage and a chicken mousse.
41:48You need to pour the antidote on it.
41:50You have 30 seconds to get the stuff out or else your sauce will get too cold.
41:55It's frozen.
41:57I'm frozen.
41:58I'm frozen.
41:59I think I already have.
42:00Well, you have 30 seconds.
42:02There we go.
42:03Thanks, Tristan.
42:04We failed.
42:05The antidote, it's an American flavored like a vacation seafood boil.
42:10Thank you, chefs.
42:11Thank you, chefs.
42:12Sorry.
42:13The dry house has already made it frozen.
42:18It's completely frozen.
42:19Vinny's.
42:20It's just completely frozen.
42:21It's totally frozen.
42:22Vinny's.
42:23It's totally frozen.
42:24If the mission was to make the ice pop out of raw beef.
42:37Awesome.
42:38Yeah.
42:39Nailed it.
42:40The only thing I got is foie gras.
42:41My initial bite was a little bit of mousse and that was it.
42:43I ate it before it got frozen.
42:44There was some acidity in the pickled vegetables on the top.
42:46Tartartar was fine.
42:47The foie gras mousse was fine.
42:48But in terms of the story, I was blown away.
42:51The key, the lasers, if he levitated away from the dry ice, it could be a very interesting
42:56dish that we were looking for.
42:58I would like to eat it.
42:59Here.
43:00It's totally rock solid.
43:01It's frozen.
43:02Oh, no, no.
43:03Martin, how are you finding Schweizer's dish?
43:07He had a nice crispy texture, but I would love more of the veg for the portion of the
43:13meat.
43:14The turducken is well constructed.
43:16Executing that in two hours, it's pretty good.
43:18But I don't really know what the stunt is.
43:19The stunt wasn't there for the audience, so.
43:21It's not much of a stretch.
43:23Anyone want to slice a turducken, there's plenty.
43:25Buddha, did you like Tristan's version of his Houston crab boil?
43:28It was tasty, textural, low-seasoned.
43:31The dish had a point of view.
43:32It was delicious.
43:33I thought the sauce was the best thing we ate today.
43:35It was, like, restaurant-ready.
43:36Yeah.
43:37There's, like, a lot of smokiness.
43:39There's a lot of Vietnamese herbaceous notes.
43:42Flavor-wise, I thought it was the best dish.
43:44But then his trick, he couldn't pull it off.
43:47I think if we gave him a take-two, he would have did better.
43:49Yeah.
43:50My sauce froze in my little presentation, but...
43:55Whoa!
43:56We did have some good, tasty bites of food.
43:59You know, we got some tasty food.
44:00Just a lot of stuff didn't really fit the challenge.
44:02There are only, really, a couple standout dishes,
44:05and the quickfires are going to come into play.
44:07Bennett, thank you for having us.
44:09Beautiful restaurant.
44:10Martine, Patrick, thank you for being here.
44:13The rest of us should all jump off the building.
44:14Two judges' table.
44:16Don't forget the parachute.
44:18Safety first.
44:19Tristan, Bailey, and Mossimo, please stay here.
44:38The rest of you can move to the side.
44:40The three of you are standing here because you had our favorite dishes of the day.
44:49Congratulations.
44:50Yay!
44:51Massimo, I've done wellingtons before inside the Top Chef kitchen.
44:58It's definitely a very hard thing to do, and I thought you did extremely well.
45:01When you said that you made your own dough, I almost fell off my chair.
45:05This was me running through a wall for you.
45:07Was the dough the first thing you started to make?
45:11Yeah.
45:12I ended up putting it sous vide, rolling it out, and chilling it in ice water.
45:15Clever.
45:16The dough is the magic in that dish.
45:20It means the world.
45:21Bailey, did your dish turn out how you wanted it?
45:24I was very happy with it.
45:26Your dish was so satisfying.
45:28Rich and heavy in all the really great ways.
45:31It was just like the savory bomb that you expected it to be.
45:36When it came out, it almost felt like it was a stunt double.
45:39Stunt?
45:40I don't trust you anymore because I kept seeing the tiramisu.
45:44But once I got past it, I had to say, listen, you're not eating sweets.
45:48The dish itself was really good to eat.
45:51Tristan, could you tell us a little bit more about how you came up with that dish?
45:55There was a Mission Impossible where there was a virus, and the only way to transport the virus was within themselves.
46:00I feel like the stunts in Mission Impossible are always like so fiddly work.
46:03So I wanted to add my technique that I've learned growing up.
46:06And then I just wanted to put you guys on a clock like you put me on a clock all the time.
46:09I really enjoyed the flavors that you had.
46:13Hearing more about the story, that's really cool.
46:16That means a lot.
46:17The flavors were absolutely delicious.
46:18The sauce was beautiful.
46:19In fact, Patrick thought the sauce was the best thing he tasted.
46:22Hold it.
46:24Tarzan and Buddha, as our guest judges, you get to announce our winner.
46:28The winning chef today took a risk and gave us a delicious dish.
46:34And the winner is...
46:41Massimo.
46:42Thank you, guys.
46:44Bye.
46:46In hockey, they say you got to learn how to lose before you learn how to win.
46:52And the competition started off, I wasn't getting the success I wanted.
46:56I fell at the bottom a few times, and now I'm on cloud nine.
47:01Massimo, congratulations.
47:03You just won $10,000 and two tickets for you and a guest to go to the premiere of the new Mission Impossible movie, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
47:11Cool.
47:12Thank you so much.
47:14We'll be sitting next to each other.
47:16Awesome.
47:17All right, chefs.
47:19Three of you can step to the side.
47:20Thank you very much.
47:21Lana, Vinny, and Cesar, please step forward.
47:33Chefs, the three of you had our least favorite dishes of the day, and one of you will be eliminated.
47:38Lana, let's start with you.
47:48What was in the crumble?
47:49I made a crumble with AP cornmeal, the spice blend, some butter, and then I cooked that down, and I folded in a little bit of malediction to give it like that powdery kind of look to it.
48:01When you say you cooked that down in a saute pan?
48:03No, I put it in the oven.
48:04I baked it.
48:05The big problem is that the cornmeal never became hydrated at all.
48:09Okay.
48:10Felt like the cornmeal was a bit dry and crunchy sandy.
48:14It was just that connection between the fish and the fry that I really couldn't get because they were textually off for me.
48:20Totally.
48:21Vinny, how'd the day go for you?
48:23The day went well overall, but I think timing was a little frustrating on my end.
48:28I slowly saw the tartare start to freeze in front of you.
48:31How long was the dish on the dry ice?
48:34Ninety seconds, maybe?
48:35Dry ice can freeze a thin layer of raw beef in ten seconds.
48:40I enjoyed it, the smoke and everything. That was so cool.
48:43But oftentimes in movies, we just have the big action stuff and there's like nothing behind it.
48:47And I feel like that's what happened in this situation where we couldn't eat the dish.
48:51Cesar, are you surprised to be standing here?
48:55My storytelling didn't do so well.
48:58Cesar, if you came to the table and said your stunt was to take salmon and turn it into a dessert, you would have nailed it.
49:03The dish was exceedingly sweet and the fish twill, it was burnt.
49:07The dish suffered from the need for some editing.
49:11There was just so many contrasting flavors.
49:14I felt the turmeric custard was just a little bit too overpowering.
49:17But was there a specific sort of flavor profile or sort of cuisine that you were looking at?
49:22I was just playing off of fresh flavors and textures, but I guess, yeah, it didn't come together.
49:28All right, chefs. We'll call you back in a little bit.
49:36It's hot.
49:37Shucks.
49:38Hot.
49:39Mm-mm.
49:40Mm-hmm. It's my time.
49:42Congratulations.
49:43Yeah.
49:44Congrats, Moussmo.
49:45Congrats, Moussmo.
49:46You're okay.
49:47I'm scared.
49:48You should be fine.
49:49You won your quick fire.
49:52You're only taking that into consideration.
49:54We'll see.
49:55When you look at Lana's, outside of McCormier, which was a glaring problem, how was the rest of the dish?
50:00The description that we got was that she was trying to create an illusion. I mean...
50:04What's an illusion?
50:05There was no illusion to it.
50:06No.
50:07If I ate it with my eyes closed, I would never have gotten that.
50:10I would be upset that I spent a lot of money for this dish.
50:13I'm so angry with myself.
50:15Yeah.
50:16It's like running the marathon and then you're ten feet from the finish line and you fall flat on your face.
50:19Oh, and then we got frozen tartar.
50:21Oh, my God.
50:22You should have served a chisel with it. We could have chiseled it out.
50:24It was so delightful.
50:25It could have been a good stunt.
50:26Yeah.
50:27When you can't actually eat a dish, what do you do with that?
50:30It's very hard to watch someone make an error like that with the dry ice because I don't feel like he would be in the position that he is right now if that wasn't the take on it.
50:38It just feels like he was sabotaged at the end by the evil genius who came in and froze everything.
50:44Mm-hmm.
50:45Being at the bottom for the quickfire, I was like, I need to make sure everything's good.
50:48Yeah.
50:49And then with the extra time, I just, you know, I don't know. It sucks.
50:53Cesar's dish.
50:54Mm-hmm.
50:55Overwhelmingly sweet and confused.
50:57Also burnt.
50:58Very burnt.
50:59Although I love the sweetness of it.
51:00Yeah, for dessert it's good.
51:01Yeah, for dessert it's great.
51:02For dessert it's great.
51:03Tartar, it is not.
51:04Not.
51:05I don't see where it was going flavor-wise and I don't see where it was going stunt-wise as well.
51:10But listen, we also have to factor in the quickfires.
51:14Mm-hmm.
51:15Lana won the quickfire and it was excellent, her dish.
51:18Yeah, great.
51:19So is it okay to say she's safe?
51:21Yeah, I think so.
51:22I would say so.
51:23Mm-hmm.
51:24Vinny was in the top for his muscle larp in the quickfire.
51:27Right, and Cesar's on the bottom and on the bottom.
51:30The thing that I'm struggling with a lot is the fact that on Top Chefs you can serve a dish nearly impossible to eat and I still didn't enjoy it.
51:39But there's two parts to this challenge and I think his stunt was very good.
51:43I completely agree.
51:44I think it's me.
51:45I think I got you beat.
51:46You?
51:47Oh yeah.
51:48You really don't know.
51:49I won't know until I'm walking out that door.
51:51Let's get the chefs out here.
51:53Chefs, you had to actually conceive the stunt that clearly pulled some people out of their comfort zone.
52:12For the most part, you really didn't deliver either on the story, the stunt, or the execution of the dish.
52:19Here's the one.
52:27Cesar, please pack your knives and go.
52:32Cesar, we've got a chance to get back into it.
52:34to it.