- 4 hours ago
Top Chef (2006) Season 23 Episode 5
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00:15Previously on Top Chef.
00:16These dishes are legacy dishes.
00:18We want you to take one of these side dishes
00:20and turn it into the star of the dish.
00:22Damn.
00:23Time, baby, let's go.
00:24Let's go.
00:25How are you doing, all right?
00:26I don't know, no.
00:27I'm actually going to braise the okra.
00:30I like it.
00:31I know I'm a hater of okra.
00:32You cooked it right.
00:33I like it.
00:34The winner is Chef Seeger.
00:37Seeger, congratulations.
00:39Oh my God, it's ice cold.
00:41It's a punch in the gut.
00:42What do I do?
00:43I don't understand what I'm eating.
00:45She said it was sausage.
00:47Brittany, please pack your knives and go.
00:52Eleven chefs remain to compete in the ultimate culinary showdown.
00:56Woo!
00:57At stake for the winner, the grand prize of a quarter of a million dollars provided by
01:02Graza Olive Oil, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, plus an appearance at the Food & Wine
01:07Classic in Aspen, their own exclusive dinner at the historic James Beard House in New York,
01:12and the title of Top Chef.
01:28Marathon on a Sunday.
01:30Is it Sunday?
01:31It is.
01:32How's your arm?
01:33So I really just feel like, with like the tension and just like everything that's going on, it's just like
01:38festering in, in this area.
01:40My arm is not getting better.
01:43I hope in like a couple days, some of this will start to subside.
01:46You look?
01:47Yeah.
01:47Yeah.
01:47But I'm just taking my Chinese herbs.
01:50My family has been so supportive.
01:52Justin's been so supportive.
01:53I really still want to be in this competition.
01:56I'm just going to take it a challenge at a time.
01:59I never thought I'd say I'd rather be running on the highway.
02:11Me too.
02:12What happened?
02:13I don't know.
02:14I choked.
02:14Honestly, I'm really proud of you for wearing jeans.
02:17Just like, out of your comfort zone.
02:19Yeah.
02:19It was a big move.
02:21All right.
02:21How's everyone feeling?
02:22Good.
02:22Yeah.
02:23So y'all feeling fortunate to still be in the competition?
02:27Oh boy.
02:28Fortunate.
02:28Uh-oh.
02:29Yeah.
02:29Uh-oh.
02:29That's interesting.
02:30Please welcome to the Top Chef Kitchen, North Carolina native, stand-up comedian, writer,
02:35and actor.
02:36Get out of here.
02:37Fortune Feimster.
02:39Oh my God.
02:40Oh my God.
02:41Kristen.
02:43How are you going?
02:44Good to see you.
02:45Good to see you.
02:46I love Fortune.
02:48What's up, chefs?
02:49I watched all of her comedy specials.
02:52What you guys bring into the table?
02:54Oh no.
02:55I think I'm also really funny.
02:57You do a little comedy?
02:59I don't know.
03:00Mm-mm.
03:04Comedy is your bread and butter.
03:06It is.
03:06Cooking for people is your love language.
03:09Doing comedy is how I try to make people happy.
03:12Which is why I teamed up with Comic Relief.
03:15It's a great charity that uses comedy and laughter to inspire people to help kids.
03:21They work with organizations to address childhood poverty and ensure that kids don't go hungry.
03:28Obviously, it's a very serious and important topic, but one we want you to highlight through food and laughter.
03:34So today, Fortune and I will be putting your improv cooking skills to the test.
03:38Ooh.
03:43Having to improvise in this competition really is never easy.
03:46But for today's challenge, you're going to be doing just that.
03:50You guys are going to be making dishes that feature basically whatever we want you to do.
03:55Okay.
03:56Now I'm really scared.
03:57I actually brought some friends along.
04:00They're the toughest critics you'll probably ever face.
04:05Jose Andres.
04:06Thomas Keller.
04:07Marcus Samuelson.
04:08Oh, welcome!
04:10Did I forget to tell you?
04:11They are children.
04:14Welcome.
04:16Kids are ruthless, and so I know they're going to be coming in hot.
04:22We need to learn a little bit more about you all, right?
04:25So, what's your favorite things to eat?
04:26My favorite food is, like, sushi.
04:29Wow.
04:30Sushi?
04:30Okay.
04:31Pepperoni pizza and Cheeto puff.
04:33You like that crunchy, like, what do you call it?
04:36Puffified.
04:36Okay, puffified.
04:38Wait, I meant a new word.
04:39Hey, got you.
04:40Do you guys have favorite places to visit?
04:43Colorado.
04:44The Big Apple.
04:45All right.
04:45What would be y'all's favorite holiday?
04:48Christmas.
04:49Oh, everyone's Christmas.
04:50All right.
04:50So, now that we know a few things about our new friends here,
04:53we want you to make a dish featuring some of their answers.
04:56I feel like it was pretty cool that they all said Christmas.
05:01I feel like we have to have that.
05:03You know, you guys are very skilled.
05:05What about Colorado?
05:06Christmas in Colorado.
05:08Can be interpreted in so many different ways.
05:10I have never been to Colorado in my life.
05:12Wait, I have an idea.
05:13Hold on, wait, the chefs need one more.
05:17Should we say puffify?
05:18Yes.
05:19Oh, yeah.
05:21I don't even know what puffified is, but a kid's imagination is everything that you want as an adult.
05:28So, I'm going to embrace it.
05:30So, we want a dish to be Christmas, Colorado, and puffified.
05:36Puffified.
05:37All of the words are for you to interpret however you want.
05:39The chef that proves that they have the comedic and culinary chops will win $10,000 in quickfire, quick cash.
05:46Oh, yeah.
05:48Provided by the active cash credit card from Wells Fargo.
05:51If I win, I'm getting a vasectomy.
05:52That's right.
05:54All right, so, y'all have 30 minutes on the clock and access to anything in the Top Chef pantry.
05:59Okay, your time starts now!
06:04All right, here we go.
06:06Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
06:08Yeah, let me get in there.
06:10Coming through, coming through.
06:11Anyone got extra melting cheese you want to share?
06:14What is puffified?
06:16I don't know.
06:17I feel like I'm going to vomit.
06:18I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with.
06:21Me too.
06:23What are you working on?
06:24I'm going to try and do a souffle.
06:26Colorado, lamb.
06:28Duh, will the kids like it?
06:30At their age, I wasn't picky.
06:32I was like, we didn't have lamb, but we had goat, and I love goat.
06:36I'm making shepherd's pie.
06:37I'm going to incorporate some eggs in my potato topping so it puffifies.
06:42Yes, it is a little ambitious, but I love that it's up for interpretation.
06:47How often do you get to cook for kids, man?
06:49Not that often.
06:50When I was a kid, my mom, also known as mommy, was always like, you're going to eat like what?
06:55A real human, an adult eats?
06:57Like, high-fiver old man crunchy cereal is the way to go.
07:00So I'm kind of baffled.
07:02I'm going to go sweet for these little kids.
07:05I do know one thing.
07:06Kids love sweet things, of course.
07:08I'm going to make a little white chocolate custard
07:11and some other surprises.
07:13Hey, I'm going to step out.
07:15All this running around is making my arm rage.
07:17All right, cool.
07:17Do you need anything from me, Chef?
07:18No, no, thanks.
07:19Just this way.
07:21I was already worried going into the challenge this was going to happen.
07:25I'm stepping out.
07:26Super bummed.
07:27There's money on the line, but I just need to rest my arm and be ready for the elimination.
07:32She needs to walk away.
07:33She did?
07:34Yeah, Jen's out.
07:35Okay.
07:39I'm going to make a Christmas dinner.
07:42So ribeyes, some potatoes, got some ketchup.
07:45I am going to do some baked cheesy grits with some crispy chicken tenders.
07:50Do you cook for children a lot, Oscar?
07:52I do not, actually.
07:54I don't have kids.
07:56My restaurant, there's like one high chair for a child just out of courtesy.
08:01I have a good name.
08:02It's Puff Puff Past the Pizza.
08:05In Chicago, that's a thing you get like at the corner store called the Pizza Puff.
08:08I'll use this puff pastry.
08:10There's going to be some color in it for Christmas.
08:12I don't know.
08:12It's a lot.
08:13That's cute.
08:14What are you working on?
08:16Some puffy chicken meatballs.
08:18I wanted to do Christmas, Colorado, and I think of the snow time, I think maple syrup.
08:23One of the biggest things about being a chef is knowing your audience.
08:26They don't like fussy food, and so that's why I wanted to do an ice cream today.
08:29I have a nine-year-old son named Brandon.
08:31He's Brandon number two, and I have Caden.
08:34He's about to turn seven.
08:35You know, my kids come to the restaurant all the time.
08:37He's like, Dad, can I have some french fries?
08:39All kids love dessert.
08:4219 minutes.
08:43There's going to be some good stuff, y'all.
08:45Props for the chef.
08:46That's right.
08:46Give him some props.
08:47Props for the chef.
08:49I miss my baby.
08:50I actually had a dream last night that I had a six-month-old baby.
08:55If I had all the money in the world, I would have like three, four kids.
08:58I want a big family.
08:59But like, I am so poor on this show, I have not won any money, and it would be very
09:05nice
09:06to go home, which is a little something.
09:08I'm all about practicing, not about making.
09:10Seeger, there are children present.
09:15Puffifying over here.
09:16You see that?
09:17Yeah!
09:17Puffifying!
09:19Puffifying pizza!
09:20Look at all that cheese, huh?
09:21I love cheese!
09:22Hey!
09:23What are you making, baby?
09:25Fried chickens and chips.
09:25Yeah.
09:2716 minutes, y'all!
09:29That's really quick.
09:30Should we try to make it harder?
09:32Yes.
09:33How about we pick a random ingredient?
09:36Should we go to the pantry?
09:37Yeah.
09:38Okay.
09:38Maybe we should bring a different ingredient on.
09:41Keep in mind that we still have to eat this.
09:43Mm!
09:43Corn!
09:44We love corn.
09:45Do you like corn nuts?
09:46Corn nuts?
09:46Like, what do we...
09:47What do we mean, corn nuts?
09:48All right, chefs, we have a little bit of a twist for you.
09:51Yay!
09:51The kids want to add one more ingredient to the dishes.
09:55Are you serious?
09:56Corn nuts!
09:58What?
09:59Corn nuts?
10:00Oh, my God.
10:01Man, they're with me today.
10:04You can come up and grab it.
10:05We have a ton.
10:07Who needs corn nuts?
10:08I'll take corn nuts.
10:09Corn dogs?
10:11Corn nuts don't go with Puffify or Christmas.
10:14How are you about to use these corn nuts, dude?
10:15I have no idea.
10:16That's something I didn't see coming.
10:18We are definitely all improvising.
10:19Corn nuts is going to be a nice little crunch to something.
10:24This is Top Chef.
10:26They can handle a corn nut.
10:2912 minutes, y'all!
10:30You got that!
10:32Woo!
10:32You got it!
10:33Seeger, how are you going to work Colorado into your theme here?
10:36Some sorghum as my, like, puff and mountain.
10:40Puffing sorghum is really easy.
10:42It'll puff like popcorn.
10:43And then I take a little cute piece of mint on top to make it look like a tree.
10:47It kind of looks like the landscape of Colorado.
10:49How's everyone feeling?
10:51Feeling great!
10:52Heck yeah!
10:54How about pomegranate?
10:55Do you think pomegranate is Christmassy enough?
10:57I think that works.
10:59None of it makes any sense.
11:00But anyway, I feel that the dish needs something green.
11:04I'm thinking about pine trees.
11:05I take a little rosemary and I fry it up.
11:10Winning dish.
11:11All of the words are inspiring me.
11:13Going to do a gravy for Christmas.
11:15A palm souffle for the puffy.
11:18I'm puffifying so hard.
11:20Why am I making a souffle?
11:21Brandon's using the ISI.
11:23Uh-oh.
11:24Puff Colorado.
11:26Here comes ice cream now.
11:27Yeah.
11:29Four minutes!
11:30Four minutes!
11:31Good.
11:32I'm on it.
11:33This is a quick action dish.
11:34Time's running out.
11:36I drop it in the fryer.
11:37And the puff pastry starts leaching out.
11:40I'm trying to like pat some of the oil off it.
11:42But it's just like soaking it up.
11:44The wheels are coming off.
11:48Oh, look at those tendies!
11:50Tendi.
11:51One minute!
11:53Corn nuts!
11:55Oh my God, this is stressful.
11:57Three, two, one!
12:00Time's on potential sounds!
12:02Woo!
12:03I'm excited to try y'all's food!
12:13Jen, you okay?
12:14Do you want to sit?
12:16I can stand.
12:17Are you sure?
12:18Yeah.
12:19You guys thirsty?
12:21We got some boss water over here.
12:24Brandon, let's start with you.
12:26Here we go.
12:27Yes!
12:27Oh yeah, starting with ice cream, baby!
12:31Part of the puff, obviously, nitrogen.
12:33Colorado vanilla ice cream.
12:35The snow reminds me of eating ice cream for some reason.
12:38As a family, we love to put maple syrup on top of vanilla ice cream.
12:41Just dig in there, you'll see Nutella, caramel.
12:43Then also the corn nuts on top, just to finish for a little savory bump.
12:46I don't think I've ever had syrup on ice cream.
12:48Yeah.
12:48That's a nice idea.
12:49Maple syrup's the best.
12:50We got fortune's ice cream dance.
12:52Oh yeah.
12:56Sherry, come on up.
12:58It's fancy.
12:59Ooh.
13:00Very fancy.
13:01I made you guys a puffified chicken with cheesy rainbow grits and Christmas flavors.
13:08What's this?
13:09That's a rosemary.
13:10Like a Christmas tree.
13:12I thought you were trying to feed me a leaf.
13:13It's a very strong flavor.
13:15Gwen.
13:18Wow.
13:19It looks good.
13:20I made you guys a ribeye and then we have cheesy potatoes on the side.
13:24I'm thinking like cold, it's wintry.
13:27Honestly, I have no words.
13:28That's what I thought.
13:32All right, Rhoda.
13:33Ooh.
13:35I see puff.
13:36Yeah, this is definitely puffy.
13:38I made a potato souffle.
13:40You have lamb shepherd's pie with crushed up cornets.
13:44First time having lamb.
13:46It's lamb.
13:46It's what you're eating.
13:47I see the Christmas kind of.
13:49It reminds me of charcoal.
13:51Wait, I wonder if that was an excuse for a bean bird.
13:55Okay, Oscar.
13:57I'm calling this chill little dish poof, poof, past the pizza puff.
14:02It's very poofy.
14:04It has some basil.
14:05It has ricotta cheese.
14:08Cool.
14:08Thank you, Oscar.
14:10Lawrence.
14:11Hey, kids.
14:12Oh, there's one of these.
14:14Oh, that's snappy.
14:15We have a sweet and sour fried chicken.
14:19We also have some puff rice with corn nuts.
14:22It's puffified.
14:23This is a vibe.
14:24A vibe.
14:26Justin.
14:28So we have a mountain of puffy potatoes with a little cheesy snow and chicken tenders that
14:34I fried with the corn nuts.
14:36That's a nice savory dish.
14:38Okay, Cigar.
14:41Yeah.
14:42For you, I have a little peppermint and white chocolate creme catalan.
14:46On top, you've got corn nut mountains, a little bit of puffed sorghum.
14:51Tiny popcorn.
14:52Strawberry and pomegranate.
14:54Uh-oh.
14:55Knock you off your seat.
14:56So good.
14:57Ready?
14:57That's okay.
14:59Yeah, Bob.
14:59I blame that on you.
15:01Uh-oh.
15:03Great.
15:04I love the little popcorn.
15:05Mm-hmm.
15:08This looks so good.
15:10So your puffy component is actually going to be the turkey meatball.
15:13And then for Christmas, a warm, cozy feeling.
15:15Hence why I made you a soup.
15:16And corn nuts are sprinkled throughout.
15:18A lot of flavor.
15:19He likes this.
15:19Thank you all very much.
15:22We got one more.
15:23Listen, this is going to be the fun one here.
15:25Pizza.
15:26It is a puffified pizza with pita bread, a little bit of anandouille sausage, and then
15:29on the side, a little bit of more cheese that you can sprinkle on there to mimic snow.
15:34Think after-school snack.
15:35You did good.
15:36Who's eating the fruit?
15:38Me.
15:39Oh.
15:39Not me.
15:43I was very impressed.
15:45Every dish I ate, I was like, feels like I'm in Colorado right now.
15:49I think I did really great.
15:50Yeah?
15:51You guys won them over.
15:52Not an easy feat.
15:54Now that we've lifted you all up with so much positivity, let's talk about our least favorites.
15:59Mm.
15:59Oh.
16:00Anna-Kate, who had one of your least favorite dishes?
16:02I hate to say it, but the mashed potatoes and lamb.
16:05Oh, no.
16:06Rhoda.
16:07Rhoda.
16:07As soon as you said lamb, I was like, you lost these three.
16:12The mashed potatoes felt a little bit waterlogged, and we weren't able to actually really enjoy
16:17the souffle portion of the potato.
16:19And, Wolfie, you had another least favorite dish.
16:22Which one was that?
16:23It was the puffy pizza.
16:24The puffy pizza.
16:25I don't know how to describe it, but it was just yuck.
16:30You know, I think, Oscar, it ate very, very greasy.
16:33I think it really soaked in a lot of that oil, which was unpleasant.
16:36Yeah.
16:36And, Kinsley, who was one of your least favorites?
16:41The chicken and the grits.
16:43Cherry.
16:44When I tasted the grits, I didn't like it.
16:46It tasted, like, sweet.
16:48It kind of threw the balance off a bit.
16:51We did also have some favorites.
16:53Anna-Kate, who was one of your favorite dishes today?
16:59The ice cream.
17:00The maple syrup on it just made it really good.
17:03Glad you liked it.
17:04The cornuts weirdly worked really well on that.
17:07Yeah, it worked.
17:08It was perfect.
17:08Kinsley, who else had one of our favorites?
17:12Cedar.
17:13I liked the peppermint and the little tiny popcorns.
17:17It did feel like Christmas in your mouth.
17:19It looked like Christmas.
17:20It ate like Christmas.
17:22I'll take it.
17:23Wolfie, who else had one of our favorites?
17:27Jonathan's Pizza.
17:28There, Jonathan's Pizza.
17:30You guys knew your audience.
17:32Yeah.
17:32I really liked it because the ham was really good.
17:38On the count of three, we're going to scream the winner.
17:45One, two, three.
17:47Ice cream!
17:50Well done.
17:51Congratulations.
17:51You just won $10,000 in quick fire, quick cash.
17:54Yes.
17:55I haven't won anything yet.
17:56I've been kind of hanging out in the middle.
17:57So this is a confidence booster.
17:59It's been a long time coming.
18:01Feel good?
18:01Yes.
18:02I'm going to take my kids out to ice cream.
18:03That's right.
18:04Brandon, Kaden, this one was for you.
18:06So you're not the only one walking away with $10,000.
18:09NBCUniversal is going to donate $10,000 to Comic Relief.
18:12Amazing.
18:12Win-win-all right.
18:14Very cool.
18:16Nice job, y'all.
18:17You guys were awesome.
18:18Thank you very much.
18:19Fortune, thank you very much.
18:20Thank you, Kristen.
18:20You're on babysitting duties.
18:21Oh, good.
18:23Bye, everybody.
18:24Come on, you guys.
18:25Let's go.
18:25Bye, everybody.
18:28While this competition is rapidly accelerating, today, we're going to slow things down.
18:37North Carolina is home to the largest outdoor center in the region.
18:43The U.S. National Whitewater Center is home to the world's largest human-made whitewater river,
18:49made specifically for rafting.
18:52So are you guys wondering how that connects to slowing down?
18:54Yeah.
18:55For your elimination challenge, we want to see you create an elevated dish showcasing dehydrated components.
19:01So I don't know if anyone's outdoorsy, but dehydrated meals can be small and lightweight,
19:06easy to prepare, easy to carry on your backs on long hikes.
19:09In recent years, the culinary world has also started to embrace dehydrated foods,
19:14from dehydrated meringue foam to edible soil.
19:17This technique can be seen on menus around the world.
19:20Anyone here avid dehydrators?
19:22Yeah, that's me.
19:23Yep.
19:23At my restaurant, we definitely use dehydration for getting crispy garnishes, preservation.
19:30The only thing I'm worried about is the humidity here in Charlotte.
19:33Dehydrated stuff does not like humidity.
19:35You can dehydrate something like a kale chip in as little as four to six hours,
19:39or something with a higher moisture content, like an apple, might take 24 hours.
19:44These dishes don't necessarily have to be all made of dehydrated ingredients, but you definitely want to feature them.
19:49Because dehydration is a very long process, you're going to have 75 minutes here in the Top Chef kitchen to
19:55choose whatever you want from the pantry and get the dehydration process started.
19:59After that, there's really not much else you can do other than wait.
20:02So we're going to help you fill your time.
20:04You're going to be going to the U.S. National Whitewater Center for some outdoor fun.
20:08Oh, cool.
20:08Yeah.
20:09Oh, that's cool.
20:10Is there a lazy river?
20:12Yeah.
20:13Tomorrow, we'll be back at the Whitewater Center, where you're going to have one and a half hours to prep
20:17and cook.
20:18Jen, you feel good going into it?
20:20Yeah.
20:21I'll just push through.
20:23Okay.
20:24Your 75-minute dehydration prep starts now.
20:28Oh!
20:30You want to throw that in here?
20:32Spill it up, we'll do whatever you want.
20:36Hey, chef, don't forget to grab your dehydrators.
20:39Facts.
20:43You meringuing it up with all those eggs there, my boy?
20:45Yeah, I think so.
20:46I'm making a meringue for the first time since culinary school, probably.
20:49We're just making it happy.
20:51This is kind of crazy to make one component of your dish stand out as a dehydrated component.
20:58I'm going to do my meringue now.
20:59I immediately start thinking about doing a pavlova.
21:01I'm doing lime, I'm doing berries, I'm doing peaches.
21:04I'm going to add some lime zest to my meringue.
21:07Hopefully, my dish will kick my brother's asses, too.
21:10I'm going to make a rice, and I'm going to turn all these different things into little powders,
21:15so this way they can see the colors and they can taste all the different little flavors.
21:19Brandon, what are you using the pineapple for?
21:21I'm about to start making some fruit purees.
21:25I know I want to focus on a dessert because you can add so many more dehydrated elements.
21:31I'm thinking of a pavlova, which is an egg white meringue that is dehydrated.
21:35So right now, I'm going to pour some sugar into the egg whites.
21:38I think he's making a meringue.
21:40I see him over there doing the same thing.
21:41Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
21:42If there's any possibility that he's doing a dessert, I am not going to go head-to-head with him
21:47on a dessert
21:47because I know he's going to kick my ass, for sure.
21:49Are you doing pavlova?
21:51Tell me the truth, yes or no?
21:52Damn.
21:53I need to think about a plan B.
21:55I got to do something that's a little bit more interesting than what Brandon's going to do.
22:07Focus right now, focus.
22:09Brandon's doing a dessert.
22:10Oh, really?
22:11I got to change my vibes.
22:14My brain's going crazy.
22:15I'm still going to dehydrate my meringue, and I'm going to try to use it as a component of my
22:18dish,
22:19but I'm also going to dehydrate other items so that I can come up with a savor dish.
22:22That's gorgeous.
22:24Your brother's definitely not doing that.
22:26Thank you, bro.
22:27Oh, shh, what am I doing?
22:2945 minutes, y'alls.
22:34I'm basically dehydrating some ingredients that you normally find in an adobo sauce.
22:40It's a great thing to have a head start on the dehydrating process,
22:43but also whatever you choose today to be dehydrated, you're locked in on that.
22:49Oh, there's going to be some funky stuff.
22:52I used to make this dish for a restaurant by Jose Andres.
22:55It's in Las Vegas, and we used dehydrated squidding to season our fish.
23:01We'll see where that takes us.
23:05Working on the foundation for my sauce for my dish.
23:08One of my lowest moments during the competition so far has been the sides challenge.
23:13It was a really, really rough week for me.
23:15Did you think it was an entree?
23:16In all honesty, I was trying to just make the colors just the main character on the whole entire dish.
23:21The biggest part of it was it's so salty.
23:23I expected this competition to be hard, and it is.
23:25I think one of the tricky things about dehydrating certain products is obviously going to be the water content.
23:30Bangor Brawl, I know, is going to deliver on flavor, and it's not going to be something that the judges
23:34are going to be expecting.
23:35This smells really good, Anthony.
23:38So what's the idea?
23:39Then you're going to dehydrate your base and just...
23:42Yeah, dehydrate the paste and use it as a base.
23:44Bump up that flavor.
23:45Oh, yeah.
23:4621 minutes!
23:49You have immunity.
23:50How do you feel about that?
23:52Honestly, I didn't think about it until right now.
23:53Me either.
23:54I didn't even remember.
23:55Thanks.
23:57I've never dehydrated my mom's mole, but we're going to do it today.
24:00You think she's going to say something when she finds out about that?
24:02This is a good idea.
24:03I love mole, and I think, okay, I can make, like, the mole paste.
24:07I'm hoping I can get a leather out of it.
24:09I'm hoping I can get a powder out of it.
24:10I'm feeling strong about this.
24:16My arm's so up.
24:19As much as it sucks for me to have, like, this radiating pain, the elimination challenges are kind of different
24:26for me,
24:26because, you know, I'm not, like, running around, and I'm just going to power through.
24:30Do you have any idea other than just a dehyde pantry?
24:33I want to bake focaccia and a dip or something.
24:37I don't know.
24:38I got pomegranate molasses.
24:40What I'm going to do is try and dehydrate this into a glass.
24:43Oh, so cool.
24:43I'll break it up.
24:44I'll put it on top of, like, a salad.
24:45What are you dehydrating?
24:47Smoke kalamata olives.
24:48Yeah.
24:49And then I'm going to use that to crust my fish with it.
24:52It would be kind of cool to make a olive salt.
24:56Do you think there'll be any children judging this challenge?
24:58I think you're clear.
25:01Five minutes, everybody.
25:02Damn, brother, look at you.
25:04Phase one.
25:05We'll get there.
25:07One, two, three.
25:11One minute.
25:13Uno minuto.
25:17Go enjoy some fun outdoor activities.
25:21Yay!
25:25Woo!
25:29Zip line crew.
25:30The Whitewater Center is sick.
25:32I think everyone needed to go out and let off some steam.
25:35Woo!
25:37Woo!
25:38Woo!
25:39Oh!
25:39I think a lot of us are just in our heads, so it's something exciting and can take your mind
25:44off of this competition for a second.
25:46Woo!
25:47Woo!
25:49Woo!
25:51Woo!
25:56Woo!
25:58It's like, damn!
26:02It's a nice break to do something else other than worry about the challenge.
26:08Woo!
26:10Woo!
26:10Just being outdoors and hanging out with my new best friends.
26:14Oh, my God!
26:17Experiencing something cool with them is really special, and I'll never forget it.
26:21We made it!
26:23That was a lot of fun.
26:24How many feet did we go?
26:25Four?
26:25Oh.
26:25Oh, please.
26:39Does anybody feel like they're really swinging for the fences in this one?
26:43I am not.
26:45My dish is very, very simple.
26:47Like, it's fish and sauce.
26:49I've started this competition with back-to-back elimination wins, but I haven't had
26:55any luck since, so I'm really hoping I nail it on this challenge.
27:01I think this is an easy challenge to overthink.
27:04100%.
27:04Yeah.
27:0590 minutes is good enough to make a dish, but it's not enough, like, if you up something,
27:10you don't have time to go back and redo it.
27:12You have one shot to get it right and put it on the plate.
27:15Yes.
27:21All right, chefs, let's go!
27:28They're nice and dry.
27:30I'm very happy how all the moisture is out of my dehydrated elements, because I'm going
27:35to blitz them and put it in the rice for my titka, which is a braised pork dish.
27:41It's like a veggie lettuce.
27:47The pomegranate glass looks really nice.
27:49It's still a bit soft, but I think as it cools down from the dehydrator, it's going to crisp
27:53up really nicely.
27:57The pineapple leather is good.
28:00Oh, , but the pavlova is no good.
28:03It's too moist.
28:05It's just not going to work in this humidity.
28:08I'm freaking out.
28:17Oh, , the pavlova is no good.
28:22It's just like they say, you can't polish a turd.
28:25Come on, bro.
28:26What's up, man?
28:27What are you suffering on right now?
28:28My big pavlova didn't really work out.
28:32I know a dish is here.
28:33It's just important that I put it together before the time is up.
28:36Right behind.
28:41I made a mole in a dehydrator.
28:44Mole just is a festive thing.
28:46It reminds me of being a kid, and it represents who I am as a chef, so I think this
28:50is a really
28:50solid idea.
28:51I got some grits that I'm going to cook off.
28:53It's going to be a mole, grits, and lamb.
28:55And I'm going to make, like, another sauce, so that when I pour my mole, it kind of takes
28:59a mother mole and makes a new mole as well.
29:04Hey, what you got going on, bro?
29:05I'm going to start reinforcing the base of my sauce.
29:08It's inspired from a trip I went on to Africa.
29:11We visited this village, and it had a bunch of dried fish.
29:14So I'm using those flavors as inspiration.
29:16I would say the trip to Cameroon definitely changed my culinary viewpoint of how I look
29:20at food and how I like to handle food.
29:21The flavors, techniques that are used, the ingredients, some things I didn't even know existed.
29:27What are you working on?
29:28Just roasted chicken stock, but then I'm going to turn that into XO, just using the dry ingredients,
29:34dried shrimp, dried scallops.
29:36Oh, okay.
29:36The Carolinas are really, really humid.
29:39It's a death sentence to try to keep the pavlova in good quality.
29:42The immediate thing that I was thinking was making a moon rock with hazelnut and fuitine,
29:48brown butter, and tapioca maltodextrin.
29:50So I have a dehydrated element, kind of like a dehydrated rock.
29:55Here's my matcha muffin mix.
29:56I know I can get a muffin made within 30 minutes.
29:58That's what Top Chef's about, is pivoting.
30:01I'm not trying to go mano y mano on a dessert with my brother.
30:04I know he's going to crush me.
30:05Yeah, don't do it.
30:06I got these dehydrated strawberries that I've crusted my swordfish with.
30:11I'm going to smoke them for about 10, 15 minutes.
30:13Going to the smoker.
30:15It's going to get a little Cheech and Chong in here.
30:17Cheech and Chong.
30:17Just please.
30:23Sorry, Rhoda.
30:24I'm doing a consomme because I wanted to mimic the rafting that took place here.
30:29Jennifer, how you feeling?
30:30Feeling all right.
30:31We're in the Midwest.
30:32We make a ton of whitefish dip.
30:34We use a bunch of dehydrated elements in our dip.
30:38So I just thought that that would be a good vessel.
30:41Love that.
30:41How'd the focaccia turn out?
30:43Feel pretty good about the focaccia.
30:45I'm going to marinate this pork,
30:47and then I'm going to put it in the vacuum sealer.
30:49We're at 42 minutes, guys.
30:5042!
30:56So this is my dehydrated tomato twill.
30:59It's going to be a garnish.
31:00I'm trying to hold myself back from adding more things to this dish.
31:04I'm just adding a little basil puree to my summertime cassoulet.
31:09I think I suffer from second guessing.
31:12Sometimes less is more.
31:13It's like what Coco Chanel used to say, right?
31:15It's not what you put on is where you take off that makes the outfit.
31:23I'm about to strain my sauce and let it keep going while I work on other components of my dish.
31:28I'm using the kosher salt and sugar to pull out the moisture from the fish and put flavor in,
31:34but also give a nice little texture to it when it's cooked.
31:37I'm going for medium, medium rare.
31:42You want to skip dinner and go there?
31:44Yeah.
31:44I kind of do.
31:45This is so pretty.
31:47Gorgeous.
31:48Look at this setting.
31:50Welcome, everyone.
31:51Katie and Joe.
31:51Thank you for being here.
31:52Thanks for having us.
31:53Thanks for all the hospitality so far.
31:55Savannah, what a pleasure to see you again.
31:57I feel like you manifested us in North Carolina.
31:59That means so much.
32:00I'm really excited to be here.
32:02How do we all feel about dehydrated food?
32:05I'm excited to see, like, who uses restraint.
32:07Exactly.
32:08You don't want it to feel gimmicky.
32:09And you want it to have purpose being dehydrated, so I hope they're able to figure that out.
32:14Lawrence, how do you plan on using your dehydrated items, buddy?
32:15I'm making a trail mix.
32:17I'm doing a brassica salad.
32:18I got some apricots.
32:19I got some cherries.
32:20I'm thinking about outdoors.
32:21I'm thinking about kind of being woodsy and stuff like that.
32:23Yeah.
32:24I think this is kind of on theme with all that.
32:26It's always high risk doing something baked, but muffins are looking great.
32:31I'm super pumped about it.
32:32This is my garlic chip.
32:34So this is going to go around the monkfish to have a little bit of architectural dehydrated component.
32:43Two minutes, 25 seconds.
32:4820 seconds.
32:4920 seconds.
32:513, 2, 1.
33:01Here we come.
33:02Okay.
33:07All right, Anthony, tell us about your dish and your dehydrated elements, please.
33:10Okay.
33:10So some coho salmon that's cured on top, dusted, is a togarashi.
33:14So dehydrated scallion parsley, cilantro, lemon lime, and orange zest.
33:18The rice is picked up with dehydrated smoked oysters.
33:22And then the broth, it's a banger broth.
33:24I made the paste and dehydrated it the whole entire time and then refortified it.
33:28Okay, Justin.
33:29I grilled a New York strip that was marinated in a little dehydrated olive.
33:34The sauce is like an exo-style steak sauce.
33:37And then on the side, some marinated and dehydrated mushrooms, citrus, fried leeks.
33:43Brandon?
33:43I'm going to ask you to pick up the little rock that is on the plate.
33:46That's hazelnut and brown butter.
33:48I think of moon rocks whenever I think of something dehydrated.
33:50That's kind of like the savory bite.
33:51This is a dessert.
33:52We have a little matcha cake.
33:54I paired matcha with strawberries.
33:56On top, you will see a yuzu meringue.
33:58The crispy meringue is actually pink peppercorn meringue.
34:00Great, thank you very much.
34:02Thanks.
34:02Justin, I'm glad to see you brought the shorts back.
34:04Great.
34:04I feel like myself again.
34:06Thanks, guys.
34:07Good job.
34:10I think with Anthony's dish, it was very well executed.
34:14And I think that a lot of the magic with the dehydration was happening in the sauce.
34:18The sauce on Anthony's salmon was definitely the star here.
34:21Bright, complex, incredibly memorable.
34:24I really like it.
34:25My salmon's cooked perfectly.
34:27Fantastic.
34:28I felt good, you know?
34:29I had a lot of dried components.
34:31Justin's sauce.
34:32It's rich.
34:33It's fatty.
34:34It's salty.
34:35It's delicious.
34:35Interesting.
34:36I really found the sauce to be very overpowering.
34:38It's good, but there's too many ideas happening here.
34:40I've got everything on the plate, which is always important.
34:43I think Brandon was trying to show off a little bit.
34:46I think he executed it well.
34:48I just, I don't know that I would have picked that flavor profile.
34:51And being told to eat the one part just to make sure maybe that we got it.
34:56I hate when dishes come with instructions.
34:58Yes, I do too.
34:58It really bugs me.
35:03Sherry, is this the best vinaigrette ever?
35:06No, I think mine is better.
35:07Damn!
35:08Fine, fine, fine.
35:1031 minutes!
35:13I really want to have the squid ink stand up to the monkfish.
35:17I like monkfish because it's got a very delicate texture, but it can stand up to really strong sauces.
35:25I'm going to sear it on the squid ink side to create this dramatic black squid ink texture.
35:31I want to wait to sear my fish pretty much at the last second.
35:36A little bit of drama!
35:40Fish looks beautiful.
35:41That's all I care about.
35:46Ooh, that bitch is cold still.
35:47The lamb is 60 degrees.
35:49That is crazy low.
35:51The oven is at 350.
35:52The heat's just not introducing it to it quick enough.
35:54So I'm starting to get a little nervous because time is winding down.
35:58To the wire.
36:00I crank up the oven.
36:02There's a timer, but there's a risk it can overcook.
36:06240, y'all!
36:12I wanted to give a campfire look to it.
36:1551 seconds.
36:1651.
36:17Okay.
36:203, 2, 1.
36:25Next flight's coming.
36:29Dramatic.
36:31Wow.
36:32In front of you, you have a pan-seared sea bass with a summertime cassoulet.
36:37I finished the fish.
36:39I used a smoked Kalamata olive crumble.
36:42I dehydrated the tomato skins.
36:44Then on the very top of it, you have a potato and tomato chip.
36:49I have for you today a brassica salad with trail mix
36:53and a creamy sesame dressing.
36:56What's on the top?
36:57Oh, yeah.
36:57That's a pomegranate glass.
36:59Pomegranate molasses and glucose.
37:00I dehydrated that into a sheet.
37:02So for you, I made a smoked swordfish covered with dehydrated strawberries.
37:06Then there's a jicama and mandarin orange salsa under it with mizuna leaves.
37:11And then on top is a lime meringue.
37:14I dehydrated as well.
37:19Sherry's dish is very good to me.
37:21Yeah.
37:22I agree.
37:22The fish is cooked beautifully.
37:24I love the olives that were spread on the skin.
37:26Yes.
37:26I really love the olive sea salt on top.
37:29And I like the tomato potato chip.
37:31I agree.
37:32I feel great.
37:33I know how they feel.
37:33That's a problem.
37:34I think that Lawrence's salad, it's a little overdressed in my opinion.
37:38I like the flavor of Lawrence's pomegranate glass, but like it made no sense in the context of the salad
37:44and it also gets stuck in your teeth.
37:46This dish feels like Lawrence went to the salad bar, took too many ingredients, put it in his pack, and
37:50then it got a little wet when he was out there grafting.
37:52Ouch.
37:53You know what Lawrence's dish really needs?
37:55A dehydrator.
37:58From a front of house perspective, Jonathan's dish would have read great on the menu if it was cooked properly.
38:03I feel like he was going for like a swordfish al pastor thing because you get the chilies in the
38:09crust.
38:10The green sauce I thought was great.
38:14What did you have dehydrated, Jen?
38:16Onions, peppers, lemons, ton of herbs.
38:20I want it to be like really nice and bright.
38:22I want my smoked catfish dip super whipped and airy and vibrant from all the dehydrated items I put in
38:30there.
38:30Just going to put this back in.
38:33Coming down.
38:34So in Vietnamese, we call this caramel nuk mau, which just literally stands for color water.
38:41Got the mollet to put on top.
38:43Got the asparagus, mushrooms, got my paste.
38:47Behind.
38:48Coming through.
38:48Coming through.
38:50Oscar, your timer.
38:51Oh, what the?
38:53Oh, holy crap.
38:55The timer had been going on for a while.
38:57I kind of lost track of it.
39:01This lamb.
39:02It's over.
39:03It's done.
39:04Seven minutes, chef.
39:05Seven minutes hurt.
39:06This is like my biggest fear.
39:08It's overdone.
39:17Is it done?
39:19It's overdone.
39:20Oh, no.
39:20Don't say that.
39:21I'm brushing on some mole.
39:23Okay.
39:24I'm hoping this mole is delicious enough that they don't notice that it's overcooked.
39:27But at this point, I'm throwing up a Hail Mary.
39:29Yeah.
39:30Got it.
39:30Yes.
39:3115 seconds.
39:32Good.
39:36Three, two.
39:42That looks like a secret dish.
39:44A little splitting.
39:44A hundred percent.
39:46Whoa.
39:46This monkfish?
39:47That is not cooked right.
39:49Is it raw?
39:50I don't want to eat that.
39:51Ew.
39:51No.
39:52Mm-mm.
39:54Okay, Rhoda, tell us about what you made, please.
39:56So I made a roasted monkfish with adobo sauce.
39:59There's a dehydrated squid ink on the top of the monkfish.
40:03A squid ink adobo sauce on there as well with garlic chip.
40:07Rhoda, did the dish turn out as you intended it?
40:09Yeah.
40:10I really wanted that sauce to, like, stand up to the monkfish.
40:14For you, I did poached chicken and more alcohol.
40:17Wrap those in spinach.
40:18All the veg is semi-dehydrated.
40:20With that, you have a consomme that was clarified through a raft.
40:24A raft.
40:24Oh, good one.
40:26Okay.
40:26We're picking up what you're putting down.
40:28Oh, yeah.
40:29Today, I made a lamb chop with yellow grits, asparagus, and then I made variations of mama's mole.
40:35Some get completely dehydrated, turned into a powder.
40:37And on the side, you might see, like, a little leather.
40:39I wanted to treat that like an after-dinner snack.
40:42Thank you all very much.
40:44Good job, y'all.
40:46Good job, Rhoda.
40:47Rhoda's monkfish texture is very off to me.
40:50And it's, like, half-cooked and very spongy.
40:53Mm-hmm.
40:53And that fish is not forgiving.
40:54And it's leaching water, which is also breaking the sauce.
40:59Yeah.
40:59There's no color, no crust on that.
41:01Yeah.
41:01The best part is the chip.
41:03The garlic chip.
41:03I think it's a good chip.
41:04She has delivered some really technical, well-cooked, executed dishes.
41:08And then you look at today's dish with the monkfish, and it was none of those.
41:12It's a very, very odd dish.
41:13Maybe I went to simple.
41:15I tasted my monkfish.
41:17It tasted fine.
41:18Secret dish is interesting.
41:19It's very beautiful.
41:20But I'm perplexed by the technique.
41:22I think this just tasted like you were eating a bunch of raw vegetables.
41:26It seems catered to almost like someone on a specific diet.
41:29Yeah.
41:29Mm-hmm.
41:30Spa food.
41:32Dehydration challenge doesn't mean you have to dehydrate everything in the dish.
41:35I think you went a little too far.
41:37I didn't get any feedback, so that just makes me feel a little uneasy.
41:40You know, Oscar played stuff too well in advance.
41:43It just solidified.
41:44That and the lamb is hammered.
41:45I'm sorry.
41:45This is so overcooked.
41:46It's ridiculous.
41:47While he definitely nailed the dehydration part with the mole, the grits were totally congealed.
41:52Yeah.
41:53I will say, this little leather thing on the side, I love.
41:56I'm skipping all this and just going for the sweet treat.
41:58Yeah.
41:59Every time, I'm like, I'm not going to read their faces.
42:01I'm not going to read their faces.
42:02So, I don't know.
42:03It felt good, I guess.
42:07My glasses.
42:08Woo!
42:10148.
42:11Heard.
42:1440.
42:23Hi.
42:24Hello.
42:25How are you doing?
42:25I'm on a steroid now.
42:27Okay.
42:27So, we'll see.
42:28So, I made smoked catfish dip with a bunch of dehydrated herbs and focaccia with sesame seeds,
42:36poppy seeds, and some of the lemon that I dehydrated.
42:39I made for you a coconut braised pork belly with some charred radicchio and a Thai basil chimichurri.
42:47I really wanted my dehydrated components to come out in the rice, because if I put them in the braise,
42:53it would literally get lost in the sauce.
42:57I saw Tom eat all of the pork belly.
42:59That's a good sign.
43:01Gem's dip is good.
43:03It's flavorful.
43:03I liked how she made it with all of these dehydrated ingredients.
43:06I think that's cool.
43:07If you're going to do something like catfish, I think it takes confidence.
43:11And I think the execution is really good.
43:13Do what you do.
43:14Do it well.
43:15This is what she does.
43:15I feel like I'm too hard on myself.
43:17I don't know.
43:18It's so hard to tell with them.
43:19And what about Gwen's?
43:21I thought every single component of this dish was really delicious.
43:24Sauce is really good.
43:26The pork belly is cooked really well.
43:28This is a fantastic dish.
43:29I like that sticky sauce on the pork belly.
43:33I thought it all went together.
43:34I think overall I made a tasty dish.
43:37It started out good and ends good.
43:39It did.
43:39The middle was a little rough.
43:41Where like some of the higher highs were, the lows were quite low.
43:44This is really eye-opening on this side.
43:46Savannah, thrilled to share a meal with you.
43:48Thank you so much.
43:49Katie, we'll see you at one of your restaurants very soon.
43:51Yeah, looking forward to it.
43:53Joe, ready to ask all your questions?
43:55Let's go, chef.
43:56Let's go.
44:04Chefs, there were some really tasty dishes, but the mistakes are not.
44:07The dehydration is still basic cooking things tripping some of you up.
44:11So we'd like to speak with Anthony, Sherry, and Dwen.
44:17The rest of you can step to the side.
44:21The three of you are standing here because you had our favorite dishes of the day.
44:28Congratulations.
44:28Good job, guys.
44:33I feel like where the three of you were very successful is if you take all the dehydrated elements out,
44:39those dishes would fall completely flat because you needed them in order for things to work.
44:45Sherry, your dish, everything about it was working together.
44:48You pack so much into your plates, but everything just, like, comes together.
44:52When it's working, it's really working.
44:54I knew that the flavors were there.
44:55My dehydrated items worked out the way that I wanted them to.
44:59That was a dish that I would go into a restaurant and order time and time again.
45:04Anthony, your fish was beautiful.
45:07That banger sauce was exactly that.
45:10It was a banger.
45:11All of the elements that you layered into the paste to make the sauce took center stage.
45:17The paste turned out really well when I made it here, and I was like, okay, I just need to
45:20let it dry out in the dehydrated as long as possible just so the flavors can keep concentrating down.
45:25I don't have to worry about burning or over-charmization or anything like that.
45:28It was really complex.
45:29It was a beautiful sauce.
45:30And, you know, that cuisine relies so much on those dried ingredients because they're preserved and dried for a reason.
45:35So it's the perfect time to pull it out.
45:37Dwayne.
45:38I thought your pork belly was delicious.
45:40Oh, thank you.
45:40Walk us through how you made your rice.
45:42I am the rice, dedicated rice cooker of my family.
45:45And so thinking about dehydrated components, I put dried bonito, ginger, dried shrimp, lemongrass, lime leaves.
45:53Now that I know that, like, your whole family thinks you should be the one cooking rice, I understand why.
45:58I mean, the rice was the star, and you know that.
46:01Joe, as our guest judge, you get to announce our winner.
46:04The winning chef today gave us the most excitement out of their dish using dehydrated ingredients.
46:10And our winner today is...
46:20Anthony.
46:20Oh, .
46:22Congratulations, Anthony.
46:25Didn't see that coming.
46:26Okay.
46:27Heard.
46:27I'm legit surprised.
46:29I love the sauce.
46:30I can't get over how amazing that was.
46:32You just won immunity in the next elimination challenge.
46:35Thank you very much.
46:36I learned from this challenge to stay the course and just try and cook food that's true to yourself.
46:40Good job, man.
46:43Next, we'd like to see Lawrence, Rhoda, and Oscar.
46:50Oh, my God.
46:52Oh, .
46:53The three of you had our least favorite dishes of the day, and one of you will be eliminated.
47:07Lawrence, are you perplexed as to why you're in the bottom?
47:10In terms of approaching the concept and the challenge, I thought I embraced it.
47:14I think you embraced the dehydration.
47:17The salad itself, it was quite overdressed.
47:20It ate a little bit greasy.
47:22It was almost like a pomegranate caramel and less of a chip.
47:25And this is what we're saying, this is the basic technique, overdressing the salad.
47:28It wasn't your best work.
47:31Rhoda, how did you feel when you put out the dish?
47:35I felt good about it conceptually.
47:38Like, it made sense in my head.
47:39How did you cook your fish?
47:40Did you just bake it?
47:41No.
47:41I roasted it on the side of the squid ink.
47:45Really?
47:45Huh.
47:46I think we were surprised that it wasn't, like, seared, like, golden brown and crispy.
47:50It felt raw and spongy.
47:53Did you cut into one?
47:54Mm-hmm.
47:55And it was proper.
47:56I mean, I ate a piece.
47:58We also were confused a bit about the sauce.
48:00You coated your monkfish with the squid ink, and then you also had squid ink in the sauce.
48:04It just kind of became black and wet.
48:06It didn't bring the flavor.
48:08I thought the garlic chip was tasty.
48:12But against all this other stuff, it didn't really make sense anymore on the dish.
48:17Oscar, did your dish turn out how you wanted it to?
48:20No, not really.
48:21I mean, obviously I'm here.
48:22How did you want to cook that lamb?
48:23I wanted to go medium rare, like, right at the top of medium rare.
48:27Next thing I know, it's, you know.
48:28It's 140 degrees.
48:29Yes, Chef.
48:30That one little piece on the side, the real dehydrated piece.
48:32I thought that was fantastic, but the lamb is so overcooked, there's nowhere to go from
48:36there.
48:37I understand.
48:37I agree with everybody that it was overcooked.
48:40The lamb belly, I did think, was rendered really well.
48:43There were some problems with the grits, and it was like scrambled eggs.
48:47Yeah.
48:48All right, Chefs, we have a lot to discuss.
48:49You can exit the kitchen.
48:51Jen, could you please stay here with us?
48:52And then everyone else can exit.
49:03How are you doing?
49:04When I'm in the cook, like, I'm just moving, right?
49:07And like, so I'm not in that much pain, then it's like, all the adrenaline's gone and like,
49:11you know, and then I can feel it.
49:12If you want, you can decide to leave the competition with the idea that you'll be invited back whenever
49:18you want to compete again, because we certainly don't want to see you putting yourself through
49:22pain and making it worse.
49:23Yeah.
49:23And you bowed out of two quick fires already, and we can't let you do that again.
49:26Right.
49:27You don't have to decide right now.
49:29You can head back to Stu and think about it.
49:31Okay.
49:31We'll call you back in a little bit.
49:32All right, thank you.
49:33Thanks.
49:37Mama needs a drink.
49:39It's really hard because you get out of this chaotic moment.
49:42And even if you're confident, you start going, something's wrong.
49:45They're not eating at all.
49:46I don't know.
49:47It sucks.
49:48An overdressed salad isn't as bad as a hammered piece of lamb.
49:51Right.
49:52Thinking about the issues I had with Rhoda's dish and Oscar's dish, I can sort of put Lawrence
49:57to the side a little bit because his salad wasn't, let's say, as offensive.
50:02It's tough to think, like, who did the worst at executing, you know?
50:05I actually think the lamb, he knew it was overcooked.
50:08Right.
50:09But what do you do?
50:09Yeah.
50:11Just give us mole?
50:12The only thing that does it for me on Oscar's is just that little thing you put on the side.
50:15That little dehydrated.
50:16And that was dehydrated.
50:17At least there was one good thing on that dish.
50:19Yeah.
50:19I don't know.
50:19But when Rhoda was like, no, no, no, I tried a piece of fish, and it was great.
50:23That's the most concerning part for me.
50:26Yeah.
50:26She talked about roasting this.
50:28I don't know how it was roasted.
50:29No, if it was roasted, it was in a pan that wasn't too hot, overcrowded the pan, and immediately
50:33started to steam.
50:33Steaming.
50:34Immediately.
50:34But did anyone taste all the things that she had dehydrated?
50:37No.
50:37I didn't get all those ingredients.
50:39Not at all.
50:40Do you still think that Oscar's flaws were more severe than Rhoda's?
50:47Hello.
50:48Are you okay?
50:49Yeah.
50:50Just come talk to me.
50:53They want me to probably go, but I do have a choice.
50:57Like go home for your safety?
50:58Yeah, like self-care.
51:00They will 100% invite me back.
51:03What does your gut tell you?
51:04I really don't know.
51:06I need you.
51:06I mean, I don't know how, you know, how much pain you're in.
51:09Still pretty up there.
51:12We feel confident with who we're eliminating?
51:15Yeah.
51:15All right, let's get the chefs out here, and then we can also find out what Jen has decided
51:19to do.
51:28So before we get into it, Jen, have you made up your mind if you'd like to stay in the
51:33competition,
51:33or would you like to go?
51:38I'm gonna stay.
51:40Are you sure?
51:41Yeah.
51:41I feel like I worked really hard to get here, and I think I should, I should stay and push
51:46through.
51:46Just to be very clear, if you do have to set out from any part of the competition,
51:50Quick Fire Elimination Challenge, you will be asked to depart.
51:54So you've got to take part in everything.
51:56Understood.
51:57Okay.
51:58Honestly, I was super torn.
52:00I wasn't in the bottom today.
52:02That would have made a choice so much easier.
52:04But during stew, I told the chefs what I was being asked.
52:09Jen just has to make a pretty quick decision about whether she's staying or going.
52:12You're staying.
52:13It's too soon, Jen.
52:15Just put your station next to my eye for Quick Fires.
52:17I got you.
52:17We can each take an item off your preference.
52:20Yeah.
52:20Yeah.
52:22Thank you, guys.
52:23I feel really good about the decision that I made.
52:29Lawrence, Rhoda, and Oscar.
52:31One of you will be going home.
52:34Chef, the reason you're here is just basic cooking mistakes.
52:37Unfortunately for one of you, this mistake is gonna get you sent home.
52:47Rhoda, please pack your knives and go.
52:51I think it really came down to the fish cookery.
52:54The whole dish conceptually just didn't work.
52:56We'll see you in Last Chance Kitchen.
52:59I'm feeling a little crushed and defeated.
53:02I came on to this feeling really strong.
53:06Oh, my God.
53:10I am going to channel first and second elimination challenge Rhoda into Last Chance Kitchen.
53:16I'll see you soon, okay?
53:17Yeah.
53:19I've already proven that I can beat all these guys twice in a row.
53:23I know I can do it again.
53:25This is not the end for me.
53:26I know it's not.
53:31Tonight, Rhoda's fish dish sends her to Last Chance Kitchen.
53:35Can she reel in redemption and defeat the reigning champ?
53:38Oh, my God.
53:39Watch now on Peacock or bravotv.com.
53:45Next time on Top Chef.
53:46I hope you guys got some rest because you're not going to get much in this next challenge.
53:52Ooh, baby.
53:53Yeah, baby.
53:54Look at this.
53:54Smelling good.
53:55Yazzar.
53:56If we're roasting the whole hog, I don't want to be pigeonholed into the pork line.
53:59That's a death sentence.
54:01I bet you that's the first Spuma ever on a barbecue.
54:04I would not bastardize the tradition of whole hog barbecue for a win.
54:09Oscar, where you at?
54:11To have all of these pit masters voting on the spot, I'm scared.
54:16I enjoyed some more than others.
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