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Top Chef - Season 23 - Episode 07: Desserts Fit for a Queen EngSub
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00:00We'll see you next time.
00:15Jen, if you do have to set out from any part
00:18of the competition, you will be asked to depart.
00:21OK.
00:22Previously on Top Chef, it's time to barbecue.
00:25Yes.
00:26Barbecue, we have Seeger, who's like,
00:27I've done it a million times.
00:28And two teams of five.
00:30You're going to have all night to smoke a whole hog.
00:33OK.
00:34This should just lift right up.
00:35It's whole hog for a reason.
00:37It's not whole hog separated into parts.
00:39She feels good.
00:41Look at that, bro.
00:42Well, because Seeger obviously knows a lot about pork.
00:45Vote for your favorite.
00:48Where Lawrence won me over was all the different iterations
00:50of the pork loin.
00:52Seeger, I think of pork, little and dry side.
00:54Hey!
00:55Three for three.
00:55Three for three, baby!
00:56Sweet, baby!
00:57Come on, baby!
00:58Go!
00:59And the winner is?
01:01Lawrence.
01:02Nice.
01:03Good job!
01:04Seeger, please pack your knives and go.
01:10Nine chefs remain to compete in the ultimate culinary showdown.
01:14Woo!
01:16At stake for the winner, the grand prize of a quarter
01:18of a million dollars provided by Graza Olive Oil, a feature
01:22in Food & Wine magazine, plus an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic
01:25in Aspen, their own exclusive dinner at the historic James Beard House
01:30in New York, and the title of Top Chef.
01:47It feels like we've been here forever.
01:49For real.
01:50How you feeling about it?
01:51I feel good, actually.
01:53Yeah.
01:53They like my food.
01:55I know I'm in the right direction.
01:56Yeah.
01:57But what am I doing where I'm not locking in enough
02:00to, like, actually win the challenge?
02:02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:02I still feel very confident in myself.
02:04And I think it's not just about me.
02:07It's just for the Vietnamese community.
02:09It's for all the female chefs.
02:10It's for my family.
02:11There's so many reasons as to why I want to win this.
02:14I want it really, really bad.
02:16All right.
02:17You ready to go?
02:19Oh, yeah.
02:20Oh, yeah.
02:23Oh, yeah.
02:29That's happening.
02:31Yeah.
02:31Something's happening.
02:32Oh, wow.
02:33Wow.
02:34Like what I've done with the place?
02:36Ooh.
02:37Nice.
02:38Cracker barrel.
02:39Oh, , oh.
02:41Are you ready to bring a taste of the country
02:43to the Top Chef kitchen?
02:45Yeah.
02:45Absolutely.
02:53Cracker Barrel.
02:53Since 1969, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
02:56has been a beloved destination for crave-worthy comfort food
03:00and a warm, nostalgic atmosphere.
03:02Here in the Carolinas, there are over 60 locations alone.
03:05That is a lot.
03:06Anyone been to a Cracker Barrel?
03:08Yeah, absolutely.
03:09I like their hamsteak.
03:11The hamsteak.
03:11Oh, the hamsteak, last thing.
03:12Dude, the hamsteak is great.
03:13And then the pancakes with, like, the crispy edges.
03:15So good.
03:16Ooh.
03:16Yeah.
03:17Depending on what time you drop by,
03:19you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner,
03:21thanks to their all-day menu of homestyle country favorites.
03:25So today, that's exactly what you'll be doing.
03:29You're going to be cooking up a complete day's worth of meals.
03:33But we want you to create something that isn't already
03:35on the menu, so a new country classic.
03:38Gotcha.
03:38And yes, I said, we.
03:40You know that.
03:41I can't eat alone.
03:46Come in.
03:48Turn it up.
03:49Hi.
03:50Hi.
03:51Hey, how's it going?
03:52Madison LaCroix and Craig Conover from Southern Charm.
03:55How's it going?
03:56Hi.
03:56Hey, how's it going?
03:57I mean, when we talk about Southern hospitality,
03:59how do we not talk about Southern Charm?
04:02We're honored to be here with y'all.
04:03And here in the Carolinas, we're all about Southern hospitality.
04:05So who would we be to not show up with a gift for you?
04:08Very sweet of you.
04:10Is that a gift for you or for us?
04:11We're going to find out.
04:13Yeah.
04:14So let's see what you brought.
04:19Oh, yeah.
04:20Dude.
04:21As you know, this is the peg game.
04:23It's a staple at Cracker Barrel.
04:25Yeah.
04:25Instead of the classic knife pull,
04:27it's only appropriate we do a peg pull.
04:29Makes sense.
04:30You'll be working in teams of three for this challenge.
04:33Lawrence, come on up.
04:34First peg pull.
04:36Ooh, Top Chef Lawrence.
04:39Hello.
04:40Oscar.
04:41Here we go.
04:42Lawrence has been a quick-fire champ.
04:44I'm pumped.
04:45Here we go.
04:47Yellow.
04:48Green team.
04:50Green.
04:50Another green.
04:51Ooh.
04:51Orange.
04:52All right, orange is complete.
04:53It's the international team.
04:57Yellow, last member of the yellow team.
04:59Come on, brother.
05:00This is the first time I am in the same team as Brandon.
05:02We both know our cooking styles.
05:04We got that twin language, homie.
05:06All right, we're good.
05:07All right, Justin.
05:08Last member of the green team.
05:09Are y'all happy with your teams?
05:11Yeah.
05:11Yeah, for sure.
05:12Each of you will be responsible for a course.
05:14Breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
05:16And then you'll have 45 minutes to prepare the three dishes.
05:1945.
05:20Great.
05:21That's wonderful.
05:22That's like a lot of time for a quick-fire.
05:23Sounds like it.
05:24Really?
05:24Yeah.
05:25A lot.
05:26Well, we think this challenge might be fixing for a twist.
05:30Uh-oh.
05:31She's seen that coming.
05:32Man.
05:33Oh.
05:34Life in the South is really all about slowing down.
05:36So only one chef from each team can cook at a time.
05:40Oh, yeah.
05:43Everyone's processing a little bit.
05:45Damn.
05:47So do you split the time evenly, or do you give more time to one of the rounds?
05:51Okay.
05:52Each dish can be served as it's ready.
05:54You'll present your dish, and we'll taste it right on the spot while your next teammate gets going on the
05:58next dish.
05:59Up for grabs is $12,000, thanks to Cracker Barrel.
06:03Damn.
06:03You'll have three minutes right now to discuss who's doing which dish and your strategy.
06:09Starting now, come grab your menus.
06:11I got breakfast.
06:11You guys, you want to grab one?
06:12Yeah.
06:13I could do lunch or breakfast.
06:15I'm down for breakfast.
06:16Yeah.
06:16Okay.
06:16Can I do lunch?
06:17Yeah.
06:18Yeah.
06:18I'll do breakfast.
06:19Can I get lunch?
06:20I want to do a fry.
06:21A green tomato BLT.
06:22Are you okay with dinner?
06:23Yeah.
06:23Yeah, I guess so.
06:24We have technically 15 minutes each, but 15-minute dinner is tough.
06:28They better keep to their minutes.
06:30I hope they do.
06:31I still don't know what I'm doing.
06:32You have one minute.
06:33Heard.
06:33When I cook, I just, like, at my own pace, you know?
06:36Yeah.
06:36No rush.
06:37I was thinking about lunch, doing, like, a fried green tomato, like BLT.
06:41Oh, yeah.
06:42You can do fried oysters.
06:44I wonder if I make a batter, if I could just give you my batter then.
06:4715 seconds.
06:48I want to make sure we leave you with enough time.
06:50I think I can get breakfast done in less than 15 minutes.
06:54You're good at doing that s***.
06:55Three, two, one.
06:57All right, done.
06:58You have 45 minutes on the clock.
07:00Your time starts now.
07:01Let's go, Oscar.
07:03Let's go, let's go.
07:04All right.
07:04Let's go, Justin.
07:05Let's go, Justin.
07:07Come on, Brandon.
07:08Let's get it.
07:08Take it home, baby.
07:09Let's go, Oscar.
07:11Oh, this is sweet.
07:13You're very welcome.
07:17Vamos, vamos, vamos, vamos, vamos.
07:19What are you making, Oscar?
07:20Pande elote.
07:21It's like a corn pancake almost.
07:24We got 15 minutes of pop, but I'm thinking breakfast should be quicker.
07:28And if I can give them five minutes extra, I think it gives our team a good shot to win.
07:3240 minutes, Oscar.
07:35That was good.
07:37I'm making a hash brown.
07:38I'm making eggs.
07:40Brandon, you keeping this one classic?
07:42Yes, chef.
07:43A little egg benedict.
07:44This is really cool to watch how fast they're going in.
07:47This is high level.
07:48Hollandaise is kind of a fancy, brunchy thing.
07:50A little hot sauce.
07:51But you can make hollandaise in less than five minutes with the friction and the heat from the blender.
07:56Eight minutes, push it.
07:57Yes, chef.
07:59Let's go, Oscar.
08:00You got this.
08:00I'm there.
08:01I'm there.
08:01I am making my favorite diner food, corned beef hash.
08:06That sounds good.
08:07Hash browns.
08:08I'm going to try to give each of us 15.
08:10Five minutes on the clock.
08:12Justin, what are you cutting?
08:13Some cubed steak.
08:14Nice.
08:15I don't have enough time to sear the steak, so I tossed it in the fryer.
08:19Just had to get that beef cooking.
08:20Let's go, Justin.
08:22Come on, Brandon.
08:22Let's go.
08:24Ooh.
08:25A flip.
08:27Ah!
08:27Look at that timing, baby.
08:31Nice.
08:32We're plating.
08:34A little maple.
08:35Let's go, Justin.
08:37Tell me when it's done, please.
08:39Cherry, let's go.
08:40Let's go.
08:40Let's go.
08:41Oh, okay.
08:43Chicken stock.
08:45Oscar, what did you make for breakfast?
08:46Pan de elote.
08:47I haven't been to Cracker Barrel.
08:49I saw the picture.
08:50Super inspired.
08:51It's a corn cake.
08:52Throw some berries in it, a little bit of maple, and then shaved piloncillo.
08:55Like, nice little sweet bite.
08:56Really good.
08:57Great job.
08:58I've never had this before.
08:59A little salty, a little sweet, a good little crunch.
09:02Oscar's corn cake is still eating, like, a good hearty pancake.
09:06Yeah, yeah.
09:07You're at 30 minutes, Sherry.
09:09We're doing good.
09:09Walking plates.
09:11Hurts.
09:1230 minutes left on the clock.
09:17This looks fantastic.
09:18Beautiful.
09:19This is my kid's favorite meal.
09:21I call it rushed hash browns and shortcut hollandaise.
09:24Did you know immediately what you wanted to make?
09:26100%.
09:27I'm very impressed.
09:30You're welcome.
09:30Really well cooked.
09:33Come on, Justin.
09:36Oh, God.
09:37Spoiler alert.
09:38The beef is overcooked.
09:39Jesus Christ.
09:41All right.
09:42Justin's going over his 15 minutes.
09:44DeWine needs to get going, and being fast is, like, one of my weaknesses.
09:48So I'm worried about literally everything.
09:51Come on, Justin.
09:55Are you done?
09:56Yeah.
09:57Okay.
09:59Go.
09:59What's up, Justin?
10:01It's going to take a second for myself.
10:06Let's see.
10:08What'd you make for breakfast?
10:09The one thing I saw that the cracker bowl didn't have was corned beef hash.
10:12So I made a mustard sabayon, hash browns, and New York strip for the corned beef.
10:17Hmm.
10:17Did you do, like, a pastrami seasoning on the outside, or what'd you do?
10:20Yeah, I'd toss the beef in, like, brown butter with rye.
10:23Great.
10:23I think you need to sit.
10:24You need to...
10:28DeWine, you plan on doing 15 for a team evenly?
10:30I'm going to try and do 10.
10:31Cooking in the Top Chef's Kitchen is, like, combat cooking.
10:34This is ridiculous.
10:36I want to make sure Jen gets 15 minutes to execute her dish.
10:40I just really want to keep this simple.
10:42Trying to make a batter to fry some green tomatoes.
10:47Really?
10:47Anthony, what are you doing?
10:48Uh, same thing as you, dear.
10:49Oh, all right.
10:51Oh, now DeWine's nervous.
10:52I can see it.
10:52Because he's trying to copy me.
10:54Oh, ho, ho!
10:55I'm doing a cornmeal base.
10:57I think DeWine's doing tempura.
10:58So maybe that'll help me pop up.
11:00Just a classic Southern way of doing it.
11:03Sherry, how you feeling?
11:04Good.
11:05Soup is a perfect lunch food.
11:07I know I'm not going to be able to develop the flavor that I want in 15 minutes,
11:12but then I see shrimp base.
11:14Let's go.
11:15It's a really concentrated shrimp flavor that's going to be so good with my cornbread.
11:21Sherry, save me that batter, yeah?
11:22Save you the batter, wait.
11:24Is there steak in the fridge, you know?
11:26I didn't even.
11:27Anthony, if you find some steaks in there, pull them for me.
11:29I got you.
11:3218 to go.
11:34Nice and golden.
11:35Hey, DeWine, there's a bunch of country ham in that bus tub.
11:38Perfect.
11:40I'm looking for bacon for my BLT, but country ham is maybe even better, because I don't have
11:46to cook it.
11:47Come through, brother.
11:48Let's go.
11:48Start platin'.
11:49Already platin'.
11:50All right, let's do it.
11:51That's what I'm talking about.
11:53Platin'.
11:53Hit me.
11:54I'm done, go.
11:56Oh, boy.
11:57Last to start, first to serve.
11:59That's our girl.
12:02Come on, let's go.
12:03Come on up.
12:04Yes.
12:05Yes.
12:06Let's go, baby.
12:08Oh, everyone.
12:10Yeah, I love it.
12:13DeWine, what'd you make for lunch?
12:15Fried green tomato sandwich.
12:17How'd you choose the meat?
12:19I was looking for some bacon, but I think the country ham actually works out much better.
12:22Mm-hmm.
12:24Come on, Jay.
12:24Start cooking.
12:25Let's get it.
12:25Let's get it.
12:26So, all right, chefs, in front of you have a fried green tomato and country ham, open-faced
12:30sandwich, a little bit of salmon roe.
12:32There's avocado.
12:33All right, Sherry.
12:34I made a crab and shrimp bisque with a whole cake.
12:38Crab and shrimp bisque?
12:39Did you have, like, shrimp cells?
12:41There's shrimp paste.
12:42Shrimp paste was a very smart play.
12:43Thank you so much.
12:44It's a lot of flavor to bring in in that short of time.
12:46Where's the tequila?
12:47I know, right?
12:48Woo!
12:50Wow.
12:51You got 12 minutes left?
12:52Those batters working out for you?
12:54It looked beautiful.
12:55Thank you, chef.
12:55Perfect, dude.
12:56They both did a batter-based thing, so we're gonna do some chicken tendies.
13:00I'm trying to be smart about this cook, so I'm gonna reuse the batters from both Oscar
13:04and Sherry's dishes.
13:06Tendies in 10 minutes, absolutely.
13:08Lawrence, let's take these twins now.
13:10Start cooking.
13:11Come on, let's go.
13:12Next, next.
13:13I'm gonna use the tri-tips.
13:14They're super small.
13:15They're gonna cook really fast, so I'm gonna make a smothered steak.
13:18I'm using the Wynn's batter to fry my oysters.
13:21Everything I do has to be quick, so I get my oysters in her batter.
13:26I fry a few just to see.
13:29Wynn's batter was really great for her fried green tomato, but for these oysters, it kind
13:35of made everything too wet.
13:36Adding some cornmeal to get some texture.
13:4010 minutes.
13:41Jesus Christ.
13:42You got this.
13:44Woo!
13:46One other way to make a gravy.
13:47This is exciting.
13:48Don't burn your hair.
13:55We're good.
13:55I want to make sure I don't overcook the chicken, because once it's overcooked, it gets dry.
14:00This looks perfect to me.
14:01Sweet tea!
14:02I'm gonna use the sweet tea to incorporate a little southern charm.
14:06We're gonna make a little five-spice sweet tea syrup with it.
14:09Let's go!
14:11I'm sweating over here.
14:12Plenty of time, Jake.
14:13Two minutes on the dot.
14:14You got it.
14:15Let's go.
14:15It's game time.
14:17Pick up, pick up.
14:19This is critical how flavorful this is.
14:21Woo!
14:22Let's go!
14:25The rocking's getting a little heavy in the middle.
14:43All right, Lauren, tell us about your dinner dish.
14:46So, we have fried chicken tendies with five-spice butter and five-spice syrup.
14:53You checked the internal temperature?
14:55I did not check.
14:56Oh, you know what that means?
14:57You know what that means.
14:58Uh-oh.
15:00Is it under?
15:02Oh.
15:03All right, thank you.
15:04Yeah.
15:05Oh, my bad, guys.
15:06It's all good, bro.
15:07All right, y'all.
15:08You have a smothered steak in front of you with a bourbon pan gravy.
15:11This is like dinner after a long day, something quick, all made in the same pan.
15:15Would you ever do, like, a mashed potato under something like this?
15:19100%.
15:19If we had 20 minutes each, there would have been mashed potatoes on the plate.
15:24Good job, bro.
15:25I did a cornmeal battered oyster with lemon pepper and creamed corn.
15:31What's in the batter?
15:33The wind's batter and added cornmeal and flour to it.
15:35Okay, great.
15:39With these team challenges, obviously, there are definitely highs and lows on every single team.
15:44Madison and Craig, which team cracked under pressure?
15:50Our least favorite team today was the green team.
15:54Justin, I thought it was cute, but the meat was a little tough.
15:58Yeah.
15:59I will say that my favorite for lunch was on the green team, though.
16:02The sandwich was incredible.
16:03We thought you did an excellent job.
16:05I think, Jen, had you made your own cornmeal batter, it would have gotten more crispy, but it just kind
16:10of all felt a little bit wet.
16:11Gotcha.
16:12The win is going to come down between the orange and the yellow team.
16:15The breakfast over on orange team was Oscar.
16:17That was my favorite dish of the competition.
16:20Cracker Barrel prides itself on its crispy pancakes, too.
16:22You just nailed it.
16:23It was really, really great.
16:24And then on the yellow team, we had Brandon.
16:26I did appreciate not overly greasy, crispy hash browns.
16:30I absolutely loved that.
16:31I think my son would just devour.
16:34That brings us to lunch.
16:37Sherry.
16:37In that amount of time to have that much flavor, it was really shocking.
16:40I really enjoyed eating your dish.
16:42Thanks so much.
16:43Anthony, there's a lot going on.
16:45I love the idea of fried green tomatoes, especially when you add a little kick to it.
16:50You kind of won me over with that.
16:52And that brings us to dinner.
16:55Lawrence.
16:56That's him.
16:58I like the sauce.
16:59I like the butter.
17:00There are so many opportunities to make sure the chicken was cooked.
17:03No, I love it.
17:04Jonathan.
17:05I thought the flavor was great.
17:07I personally loved it, but I think if you would have cooked the beef a little bit less,
17:11it would have been a perfect dish.
17:12And I chose the thinnest pieces because I wanted to make sure they were cooked.
17:15Well, you accomplished that.
17:17The winning team gave us a crave-worthy menu and some brand-new classics.
17:22And the winning team is...
17:29The yellow team.
17:30Yes!
17:31Congratulations, yellow team.
17:34We're going to bring you home.
17:35You just won $12,000, thanks to the generous folks at Cracker Barrel.
17:39So that means $4,000 each.
17:42Congratulations.
17:46Lawrence, if your chicken was cooked, you would have won.
17:48I know.
17:49I haven't won a quick fire yet.
17:51This was my chance.
17:52Oh, dear, my God.
17:53Sorry.
17:54Lawrence, you had time.
17:56Why didn't you cook the chicken?
17:57Madison and Craig, thank you for being here.
17:59It was an honor to be included in your guys' challenge.
18:01We know how important this is to y'all.
18:02Thank you so much.
18:04Thank you, guys.
18:11Chefs, you are cordially invited to the celebration of the season.
18:21Please help me welcome your next guest judge, actress, singer, and Top Chef superfan, Melissa
18:29Benoist.
18:30Welcome.
18:31Hi.
18:34Holy this is amazing.
18:36I'm a huge Supergirl fan.
18:38I'm so pumped, you guys.
18:39I've watched the show since season one.
18:42I even wrote a letter to get on the show and said how much I loved it.
18:46I'm such a superfan.
18:47I need you guys to know.
18:50So you may have seen her work on Glee, Supergirl, and most recently, Waterfront.
18:54Yeah, and now I'm really happy to be here in the Queen City with you all.
18:58Did you guys know that the city of Charlotte was actually named after a queen?
19:01Sophia Charlotte Mecklenburg Straylitz.
19:04That's a mouthful.
19:05You've already made breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
19:08And do you know what Queen Charlotte loved the most?
19:13Brunch.
19:13Brunch didn't exist back then.
19:16It was dessert.
19:18Oh.
19:18She loved decadent desserts.
19:22Oh, wow.
19:23I just hope we don't have to make a cake.
19:24I don't like making cakes.
19:26I know how to do it.
19:26I just hate making them.
19:28I went to culinary school for the International Baking and Pastry degree.
19:31So in my mind, we have to make a dessert.
19:33It's really important that I show that skill level.
19:36My palms are sweaty.
19:37That is some table.
19:39Wow.
19:40I'm pumped.
19:41I love dessert.
19:42Do you?
19:42No, I hate dessert.
19:44Growing up, my family wasn't big on sugar.
19:47Very health conscious.
19:48So I just never developed a taste for it.
19:51Not a cavity at 43 years old.
19:53Thanks, Mom and Dad.
19:54Queen Charlotte really loved celebrating and throwing a ball.
19:58Especially if it was her birthday.
20:01Oh, good God.
20:02Back in 2018, the city of Charlotte celebrated their 250th anniversary with a large party.
20:09Pastry chefs at Johnson and Wales University made enough sheet cakes to feed 3,000 people.
20:16And also, it just so happens that this year is the 20th anniversary of Top Chef, so we're kind of
20:21celebrating a birthday, too.
20:23Wow.
20:24And as you can see here, this incredible taller-than-me cake is full of delicious, beautiful Southern desserts, all
20:34known throughout North and South Carolina.
20:36For this elimination challenge, we want you to create a dessert fit for a queen.
20:42Oh.
20:43Oh, me.
20:46You'll each select one dessert from this display to inspire your dish.
20:50But you are a very talented group of people, so I think that would be a little bit too easy.
20:56There we go.
20:57There we go.
20:58Come on, here we go.
20:59Give it to me.
20:59This party starts in a little over three hours.
21:04Oh.
21:04Oof.
21:07Damn.
21:08I know.
21:09After those three hours are up, 60 superfans will enter the kitchen to celebrate and try each of your desserts.
21:17Did you say 60?
21:1860.
21:19Six-zero.
21:19Hurt.
21:21My head is spinning.
21:23But that's not all.
21:26Oh, come on.
21:27Oh, boy.
21:28You said you were a fan.
21:30Yeah.
21:31You're doing this to us.
21:32The superfans are going to hold the power in determining who the winner of this challenge
21:38will be.
21:38What?
21:39F***.
21:42Desserts for 60 Top Chef fans.
21:44So you know they're going to be picky as hell.
21:46We have Benet wafers, apple stack cake, coconut cake, caramel cake.
21:50My personal favorite, banana pudding.
21:52Facts.
21:53100%.
21:53Yeah.
21:54Just let the two of them go first.
21:55There's no point.
21:56I love all y'all, but I also play football.
21:58My top favorite dessert in the world is banana pudding.
22:02All right.
22:03Ready?
22:03Three, two, one.
22:05You might want to go.
22:07Oh, f***.
22:08Nobody got in my way.
22:10Got it, boy.
22:12That banana pudding was coming to daddy.
22:14Hey.
22:14That was civilized.
22:15Yeah.
22:16Yeah, sure.
22:17Yeah.
22:18Justin, do you like ambrosia?
22:20I'm going to learn to love it today.
22:21Baking cakes in that short amount of time, there's so many things that can go wrong.
22:25So chilled fruit salad, lots of ways you can shake that tree.
22:29Chefs, just remember, this is a party.
22:31Show off and give them something impressive.
22:33Make all of us superfans proud.
22:46Let's go, baby.
22:48Let's do this.
22:49You ready?
22:49Yeah.
22:50Say, Benny, pineapple.
22:51No.
22:51Cool.
22:52I'm looking for bananas.
22:53Anybody seen the bananas?
22:54They're over here, buddy.
22:55Is there stuff in those fridges?
22:56We are hosting a party of superfans in three hours, which is insane.
23:03Also, uh, like, dessert.
23:07What am I doing?
23:09We don't get to go to the market and buy stuff.
23:11I'm not even going to have time to, like, conceptualize my dish.
23:13No.
23:14We're in the storm.
23:15Time starts.
23:16Get at it.
23:17Oscar, how are you feeling?
23:19Emotionally, spiritually.
23:21All the above.
23:22All the above?
23:22All right.
23:23Pull out a couch.
23:27The Atlantic Beach Pie is a salty cracker crumb, whipped cream, and lemon and lime custard.
23:35I have Atlantic Beach Pie every Thanksgiving.
23:38I'm going to do a layered dessert of salty crackers, the lemon curd, and yuzu jelly.
23:45I reluctantly do dessert, you know, and I really feel like I'm going to have to channel my
23:50grandmothers, try to remember the things I grew up eating.
23:53So a little traditional, a little weird.
23:55I'm actually from a very small town called Statham, Georgia.
23:59Only one grocery store in town.
24:00My dad owned it, and that was the name of it, the grocery store.
24:04I'm excited for the different layers.
24:06Oh, .
24:10A lot of eggs.
24:12I'm no pastry chef, but I've done my chair of pastries.
24:16The sunker is between a cobbler and a fruit tart.
24:19I have a really good pie dough recipe.
24:22When you grate the butter, you have these perfect little nuggets that create pockets of air on
24:27the dough.
24:28It's going to be super flaky and delicious.
24:29Oh, snap.
24:32Ah, shells.
24:33Lawrence, what you making?
24:35I'm going to make a tres leches.
24:36It's the last thing that I had with my wife before I left.
24:38I think I'm going to turn this coconut cake into a tres leches, make a coconut cream and
24:43condensed milk soak.
24:44I want to make it a bit of my own.
24:46So I hope it's good.
24:47Sorry, babe, if it's not, you know?
24:48Wait, don't you have immunity as well?
24:50I do.
24:51Are you happy you're getting it for this challenge?
24:53I'll take it for any challenge.
24:57Apple desserts are normally my favorite to eat.
25:00The apple stack cake reminds me of my great-grandmother.
25:03She would just have like a tower of pancakes, paper thin as if they were crepes almost.
25:09I want to cook with this memory of her.
25:11That's going to make her proud.
25:12You got to get these apples diced.
25:13I want the semi-froid to have a good amount of apple flavor and also texture.
25:17I want to try and represent the apple as many ways as I possibly can.
25:20There'll be a spiced apple butter and then a apple gel.
25:27Hey, y'all, I feel nervous.
25:29I know, right?
25:30I got the little ugly duckling cake.
25:32The Moravian is a sad little dense take, you know?
25:37Like it needs a little makeover.
25:38I got all the breads.
25:39There's a lot of cinnamon notes.
25:41There's raisins.
25:41So I'm thinking right off the bat, capirotada.
25:44It's like a Jalisco-style bread pudding.
25:46With the s'mores cook-off, Tom loved a little spice in it.
25:49So I'm going to make a little pasilla powder.
25:51Why not?
25:51I like a little spice, a little sweet.
25:53Kind of like me.
25:54Hey, love that.
25:56I've got chocolate chest pie.
25:58There's not really enough time to make a pie crust.
26:00So this is going to get baked like this, and I'm going to crumble it later.
26:03So I call this the Top Chef Pie Dough.
26:11Are you good at baking, Duane?
26:13I like desserts that I'm, like, cooking.
26:15Chef desserts.
26:16Yeah, chef-y desserts, exactly.
26:17There was a restaurant I worked at in France.
26:19I had a Dolce Leche Sabayone, and it was, like, the best thing ever.
26:23So having the caramel cake, I could really use that as kind of, like, the star.
26:28The caramel cake is what a caramel cake sounds like.
26:31It has layers and layers of caramel with vanilla cake inside.
26:35But I want to take a Vietnamese spin on it.
26:38I went to Vietnam, and I saw this woman grill bananas and made this, like, tapioca pudding,
26:43and it was so fire.
26:46So I'm making this vanilla pandan rice, and I think that would be a nice base of my dessert.
26:52Ooh, pandan?
26:53You want to try it?
26:54It's super hot.
26:55Careful.
26:57That's pretty good.
26:58It's not too sweet, you know?
26:59No.
27:00Which is the biggest Asian compliment you can give.
27:02But I need this to be sweet.
27:04Ambrosia salad is really big in Michigan.
27:07I'm going to do it pretty close to the original.
27:10Jello, whipped cream, fruit.
27:12So it's really just a sweet, cold fruit salad.
27:17Something our parents probably used to eat.
27:19Yeah.
27:21This is based for the Simefredo.
27:24That blast show don't play around, does it?
27:26Sheesh.
27:28Doing a play on banana pudding.
27:30I want to get some roasted bananas.
27:31I got my brown butter working.
27:33The dessert I'm going to focus on is a banana misuse.
27:36Let's go.
27:38Back, back, back, back, back, back.
27:40Two hours and eight minutes left.
27:42That oven's not as hot from opening and closing it.
27:45It's not going to stay hot.
27:46Justin, I'm about to go in there, okay?
27:48It's at 400.
27:49You're good.
27:49I have five trays to go in.
27:52Every two minutes, somebody's opening
27:54and slamming the doors closed,
27:55which kind of sucks for me.
27:57The worst thing that could happen
27:59is putting these galettes in the oven
28:01and the temperature being too low
28:03and all the beautiful butter
28:05just oozing out of the pastry.
28:08So I crank up my oven,
28:10praying for the worst, hoping for the best.
28:14What is it?
28:15How you say it?
28:16Preparing for the worst.
28:17Uh, preparing for the worst
28:20and hoping for the best.
28:23One hour and 43 minutes
28:25till the super fans arrive.
28:28Ugh!
28:28I want to maximize the flavor and texture.
28:31Oh, shoot, who's black bananas?
28:33Roasting the bananas with the skin on,
28:34you get this banana liqueur
28:36and it's really, really flavorful.
28:38Yeah, these are nice.
28:41Anybody, I can't open her?
28:43Yeah.
28:43Oi.
28:44Thanks.
28:45Anybody have a dessert I could use?
28:46Got you, Justin.
28:47I got some whipped cream for you.
28:48Oh, you're the best.
28:50Ambrosia salad has a lot of different elements.
28:52You know, I still have a lot to get done.
28:54I'm not panicked just yet,
28:55but it's slowly creeping up.
28:57What do we do now?
29:00What are you working on?
29:02A salted dulce de leche sabayon.
29:05I'm really hoping that my sabayon
29:07is going to just encompass this entire dessert.
29:11Needs to be sweeter.
29:13I might just throw this whole thing in there.
29:15The best way for me to kind of utilize that
29:18is to put it in an ISI container
29:20so it has this, like, airy, foamy mouthfeel.
29:24That makes me sound really bougie.
29:26Done.
29:28I'm doing good.
29:31This is agar agar.
29:32It's a gelling agent.
29:33I'm going to try and gel this apple cider,
29:35see if it works.
29:39One hour!
29:41I notice Oscar still doesn't have
29:44his bread pudding in the oven.
29:45He has a deep pan.
29:46It's difficult to get that amount cooked
29:48in the proper amount of time.
29:49Got faith.
29:50Don't cheat yourself in the foot.
29:52Bake it off for 40 minutes.
29:5930 minutes!
30:01Sherry, how are they looking?
30:02You tell me.
30:03Look at this.
30:04That's beautiful.
30:04Oscar, what you doing
30:05with them pineapple tops, bud?
30:07I was going to make myself a little hat.
30:09Oh, you're so cute.
30:11Okay, so pie crust is done.
30:13I'm making my chocolate sabayon.
30:14Now I need to whip some whipped cream.
30:17Hey, Brandon, how do you make whipped cream, bro?
30:19Equal parts sugar and water
30:20bring to a boil and cool down.
30:22No hesitation.
30:24My goal is to get more votes
30:26than my brother,
30:27but he's literally
30:28a high-caliber pastry chef.
30:30Jonathan, you're boiling over.
30:31Am I really?
30:33Yeah, I turned it off.
30:36Oscar, is your bread pudding
30:37going to be done in time?
30:38It's close.
30:38Boom.
30:39Pour.
30:40Pour.
30:41This way?
30:41Yeah, so just like that.
30:43Yep.
30:43And then you're just going
30:44to keep on pouring slowly.
30:45Okay.
30:46I want to manipulate
30:47the ingredients of ambrosia,
30:49so I decided to use liquid nitrogen,
30:51but I've never done it before.
30:53Dang.
30:54Am I doing it right?
30:55Yeah, you are.
30:56Liquid nitrogen will give me
30:57a new twist
30:58and make it a little bit lighter.
31:01Sherry, you making cotton candy?
31:03Yes.
31:04So I think it's kind of skewed.
31:08Oh, my God.
31:10Hey, y'all,
31:11six minutes till we serve.
31:13Time to start plating.
31:18I'm real sweaty.
31:20Textures on point.
31:22Flavor's there.
31:29Hello, everyone.
31:30How y'all doing?
31:32Hi, guys.
31:32Hey, everybody.
31:34It's got a lot of soul, you know?
31:35The bread pudding
31:36is a little bit loose
31:37at this point.
31:39My whipped cream's been sitting out
31:40and it's warm.
31:41It's not a California 10.
31:42It's a Midwest 10.
31:44Not what I want,
31:45but, you know,
31:45I gotta sell this ugly little dish.
31:49Minute 36, Chef.
31:51Minute 36.
31:52I just wanted to say that.
31:53Thank you, Chef.
31:54I appreciate you.
31:59There you go.
32:02Let's go.
32:04We are open.
32:07Put a little whipped cream
32:08on top of that
32:09and then it's ready to go.
32:10The party has started.
32:13Welcome to Top Chef.
32:14How are you?
32:15I do.
32:16Judges, I have for you.
32:19Coconut chest leches.
32:20I am a real super fan.
32:22Been watching this
32:22since day one.
32:23I'm going to be dreaming
32:24about this
32:24for the rest of my life.
32:26Oh, my God.
32:27I wasn't going to miss this.
32:28Yeah, it's awesome.
32:29Glad you could join us.
32:30There are super fans
32:31in the Top Chef kitchen.
32:32It really is like
32:33you're in the arena with them.
32:34Having the super fans vote,
32:35it's a lot of different palettes.
32:37I hope I survive radon.
32:39It's so surreal being in here.
32:41Dreams of true.
32:43Wow.
32:44Look at this party.
32:46Oh, cotton candy.
32:47It does feel like a party in here.
32:49Yeah, it does.
32:49They was like,
32:50Mommy, it's a cooking show.
32:51I was like,
32:51don't you ever say that.
32:52This is more than a cooking show.
32:54So, shall we start trying?
32:56Yeah.
32:57How's it going, judges?
32:58Hello, Anthony.
32:59How are you?
32:59Which dessert did you have?
33:01Apple stack cake.
33:02So, apple semifredo,
33:03dried apples on the inside,
33:04apple coulis on the bottom,
33:06spiced cake with a little bit of molasses,
33:08and then two types of apple butter.
33:10Why did you choose the apple stack cake?
33:11It reminded me a little bit of family.
33:13Very good.
33:14Wow.
33:16Several different types of apples in here,
33:18a nice crunchy crust.
33:20I highly recommend.
33:21You could always give me a full set.
33:22Okay.
33:23Are you grilling him
33:23with all the judging questions?
33:25All the questions.
33:26So, this is my version
33:27of chocolate chest pie.
33:29Truly,
33:29my grandmother did make this for us,
33:32but she made the old school version.
33:33This is my version.
33:34We have a chocolate sabayon,
33:35and we have a chocolate custard.
33:36There's a little bit of pate soup gray
33:38that I've crumbled up,
33:38and then some candy kumquats.
33:40How would your grandmother feel
33:41about kumquats and...
33:42She would go crazy.
33:43Thank you, Jonathan.
33:44You're welcome.
33:44Pleasure.
33:45After 20 years of watching this show consistently,
33:48to be like,
33:48okay, I'm in the kitchen now.
33:50And everything's as good
33:50as I thought it was going to be.
33:51Yes.
33:52Hi, Lauren.
33:53Hi, judges.
33:54Dessert inspo was coconut cake.
33:55My wife loves coconut.
33:57Tres leches was the last meal we had
33:59before I came here.
34:00I wanted to make this for her.
34:02The coconut chrys leches.
34:03And this little sugar twill,
34:05It's regular sugar,
34:06but it's toasted coconut inside.
34:08That's sweet, indeed.
34:09Nice.
34:09Thank you so much.
34:11So far, my favorite
34:12has to be Lawrence's.
34:15His ability to blend
34:16those flavors effortlessly
34:18was fantastic.
34:20Okay.
34:21Good start.
34:21Yeah, I think it's a great start.
34:23Melissa,
34:24is this living up
34:25to all your, like,
34:25top chef wishes?
34:27I do keep feeling
34:28like I want to look in the camera
34:30and be like,
34:30it's really cool
34:31to actually taste the food.
34:34So let's start with Anthony,
34:36the apple stack cake.
34:37The flavors were actually really nice.
34:39I liked that Anthony's
34:40dessert wasn't too sweet.
34:41Yeah.
34:42The apple really came out for me.
34:44Each bite just had
34:45a lot of different textures
34:46and layers to it.
34:48Did you also make
34:49the ice cream from scratch?
34:50Yeah.
34:50Great execution.
34:51I feel like it doesn't
34:52always turn into ice cream.
34:53There we go.
34:55Jonathan had this great story,
34:57but what he made to me
34:58was chocolate pudding
34:58with whipped cream.
34:59Right.
35:00I think I was looking forward
35:01to having something
35:02with more substance.
35:03Yeah.
35:04I did like the kumquat, though.
35:05I love orange
35:06and chocolate combination.
35:07Of course,
35:08we have more chocolate.
35:10Lawrence with the coconut cake.
35:12He actually made a nice cake.
35:13I want more coconut.
35:14Oh.
35:15I get it.
35:15It had that, like,
35:17young, sweet coconut flavor.
35:19But I loved the texture,
35:20and it was a nice crumb.
35:22Yeah, it was nice to make a cake.
35:23You got the moisture
35:23of the coconut cake down there.
35:24You really did.
35:25Thank you so much.
35:28The Moravian cake
35:28kind of looks sad up there
35:30all lonely,
35:30and so I wanted to do,
35:32like, that 80s movie
35:32where they give someone
35:33a remake,
35:33and all of a sudden
35:34they're, like,
35:34the talk of the town.
35:36The super fans have a vote,
35:37and I'm a schmoozer,
35:38so, I mean,
35:39they're eating it up.
35:40You made a lot, too.
35:41You know,
35:42I'm gonna take some of this
35:43back to the loft later,
35:44and we're gonna have a good time.
35:45Hopefully they fall in love
35:46with my spiel.
35:48I hope y'all enjoy.
35:49Here's rum,
35:50a cup of rice.
35:51You know,
35:52it's where my mind is right now.
35:53I should be on a beach
35:54drinking a rum drink,
35:55not here.
35:57Working my face off.
36:03Round two?
36:04Onward.
36:05Love the flavors.
36:06Thank you so much.
36:07Hi, Dwayne.
36:08Hello.
36:09Your reference was caramel cake.
36:12Yes.
36:12So, it's rice I cooked
36:14with pandan and coconut,
36:16and then we have
36:17roasted bananas.
36:18How did we get
36:19from caramel cake
36:20to pandan rice pudding
36:21with roasted bananas?
36:22I knew I wanted to make
36:23a salted dulce de leche foam,
36:25and then I went backwards
36:26and, like, okay,
36:27what goes well with that?
36:30This is so good.
36:31But you can secretly
36:32stash our dishes for later.
36:34Hi, Jen.
36:35Hello.
36:36My inspiration was
36:37Atlantic beech pie,
36:39layers of citrus in there,
36:41so a Meyer lemon curd
36:42and a yuzu jelly,
36:43and then my two crunches
36:44were saltines
36:45and graham cracker
36:47with pretzels.
36:49Citrus-y.
36:49Yep, yuzu.
36:50Thank you, Jen.
36:51Thank you so much.
36:53Jen's is, like,
36:54a flavor bomb.
36:55This foam,
36:56it's delicious.
36:59Hi, Justin.
37:00Hi, guys.
37:01How y'all doing?
37:02I got ambrosia salad.
37:04I have cherry granita
37:05at the bottom,
37:07roasted pineapple,
37:08brown butter walnuts,
37:09toasted coconut,
37:10and then a raspberry
37:11whipped cream.
37:12Wow.
37:13Brown butter marshmallows
37:14as well.
37:15Thanks, y'all.
37:16There's just something
37:17missing in bringing it
37:18all together.
37:19What do you think
37:19of Gwen's dish?
37:20The pandan.
37:21Gotta be honest,
37:21I was, like,
37:22a little confused.
37:22You are not
37:23the only one.
37:24I did not find it
37:26visually appealing.
37:27It had no caramel.
37:29It almost felt like
37:30Gwen wanted to do
37:32the pandan rice pudding,
37:33and then she was, like,
37:34we're gonna just, like,
37:35chew horn it into this.
37:36We're gonna finish it off
37:38with some
37:39dolce de leche foam.
37:40So this is where
37:41the caramel is coming from.
37:43And then Jen
37:44with the Atlantic beach pie.
37:46I loved it.
37:47I liked it, too.
37:48I liked it, too.
37:48The yuzu was a little assertive,
37:50but I liked that.
37:51I also really appreciated
37:53the yuzu citrus,
37:55how powerful it was.
37:56How much does the anxiety
37:58of this affect
37:59your ability to focus?
38:00It's insane.
38:01It's been wild.
38:03Well, the ambrosia,
38:04the ratios were off.
38:05It wasn't enough cream
38:06to all the different things.
38:07That was a hot mess.
38:09Actually, a cold mess.
38:11Texturally,
38:11there was really nothing there.
38:12It was all crunch.
38:13Justin put everything
38:14in liquid nitrogen,
38:15and when you freeze things
38:16to that temperature,
38:17you dampen the flavor
38:19it's too damn cold.
38:21Ooh.
38:23Let's start round three,
38:24shall we?
38:25I don't know how
38:26I'm going to vote, though.
38:27I really am.
38:28I know.
38:28I know.
38:28I'm waiting for that to happen.
38:30You've got three in mind.
38:30That's the real one.
38:32Hi, Sherry.
38:33Hi.
38:33So my dessert
38:34was a stunker,
38:35and I decided
38:36to make a cherry,
38:38blueberry,
38:39and strawberry compote
38:40inside the almond pate brise,
38:43and then a passion fruit mousse.
38:44That was my way
38:45of making it a little Brazilian,
38:47and cotton candy to finish.
38:48I saved the best-looking galettes
38:51for the judges,
38:52but I did notice
38:54the crust was a little bit thicker
38:56than the other ones.
38:57Mm, maybe that wasn't the right move.
39:00Thank you, guys.
39:03The passion fruit on the bottom,
39:06that's the best.
39:07Wow.
39:08What'd you make for us?
39:09The Moravian
39:09was the inspiration for today.
39:11The one redeeming thing it had
39:13was, like, cinnamon and sugar on top,
39:14so right away,
39:15I thought about capirotada.
39:16This is a dish from Jalisco,
39:18where my parents are from,
39:19so it's kind of like a bread pudding.
39:20It has raisins,
39:21a lot of cinnamon.
39:22Thank you, Oscar.
39:23Thank you all very much.
39:24Thank you very much.
39:25It's so good.
39:26I wish we could add seconds.
39:28Do I have deja vu?
39:30My twin brother is over there.
39:32We are going head-to-head today.
39:34Chef, how goes it?
39:35Hello, Brandon.
39:35Welcome.
39:36Last but not least.
39:37Here we have banana masseux.
39:39My favorite dessert on the planet
39:41is banana pudding.
39:42My second favorite is tiramisu.
39:43What I wanted to do today
39:44was combine them both.
39:44So at the bottom,
39:45you'll find roasted banana
39:46and fresh banana compote
39:47layered with your traditional
39:49sabayon.
39:49Use vanilla wafers
39:50to dip in the espresso syrup.
39:51Touch of whipped cream on top.
39:53Did you try Jonathan's dessert?
39:54No, not yet,
39:54but I can't wait.
39:55Okay.
39:56Everybody's been super confused.
39:58Thank you, Brandon.
39:59Wonderful.
40:00I'm a Southerner,
40:01and the banana pudding
40:01is a big thing.
40:02Yeah.
40:02It's really good.
40:05Sherry's galette
40:06was undercooked.
40:08Like, the rest of it
40:09actually was quite good.
40:10The thing that I did appreciate
40:12about Sherry's dish
40:13are the little pops
40:14of the passion fruit
40:15and then the curd
40:16and the berries.
40:17Everything had a little point
40:18of tartness to it.
40:19The dish was flavorful.
40:20I feel like,
40:21who doesn't look at cotton candy
40:23and doesn't smile?
40:25Moving on to Oscar.
40:26Broken whipped cream.
40:27It was over whipped.
40:29That was the thing
40:29that made you mad?
40:30Do you see how thick
40:31he baked that?
40:32I know.
40:33Yeah.
40:33I think the problem
40:34with Oscar's
40:34is to eat more custard.
40:35It wasn't pudding-like,
40:36it was bread-like.
40:37Yeah.
40:37And then I put a little rum
40:38in the dulce de leche
40:39because also I want to be like,
40:40we like to party, too.
40:41You know what I mean?
40:42What about Brandon's?
40:42Brandon's is very good.
40:43There's the right amount
40:44of cake to banana to cream.
40:46Even though it was the last,
40:47and I don't know
40:48if I could have put
40:49another bite in my mouth,
40:50I wanted to eat more.
40:51It was really tasty.
40:53This is really good.
40:54Oh, good.
40:54I'm so glad you like it.
40:55So, if you haven't voted yet,
40:58I would highly encourage you
40:59to go place your votes
41:00because we are nearing the end.
41:04We all voted for the hand person.
41:06Yes, I mean.
41:07Did you all discuss?
41:08No.
41:09It just felt like home.
41:10It tasted like home.
41:11Yeah.
41:13How about the coconut?
41:15So loved it.
41:16Loved it.
41:17With that banana pudding.
41:18Really, really, really good.
41:19Really good.
41:22So, what was your least favorite?
41:24The ambrosia salad.
41:25Too much things
41:26just going on in that one.
41:27Anybody a fan
41:28of the bread pudding?
41:28I like that.
41:29I like that.
41:30Yeah.
41:31Even the broken whipped cream on top.
41:32Yeah.
41:32Yeah.
41:33Yeah.
41:33Well, we're not technical like that.
41:35He's like,
41:35that's the wrong answer.
41:36Well, thank you for your opinion.
41:41If you all want to move to the side
41:42so you have a good view
41:44of when we announce our winner,
41:45that would be fantastic.
41:47All right, chefs,
41:47you can come join us
41:48in the center, please.
41:49We cut the anticipation
41:50with a knife.
41:52So, chefs,
41:53the votes are in.
41:58The top three vote getters
42:01are
42:10The top three vote getters
42:13are
42:16Lawrence
42:22Anthony
42:26and
42:28Sherry.
42:30Thanks, guys.
42:35By one vote.
42:37Wow.
42:38Wow.
42:39The winner is
42:41Anthony.
42:42Congratulations.
42:46One single vote.
42:48Seriously.
42:50Congratulations, Anthony.
42:52It is nice to have immunity,
42:53but at the end of the day,
42:54like, I'm just trying
42:55to cook good food
42:55no matter what.
42:56Everything after that
42:57is icing on the cake.
42:58No pun intended.
43:01All right,
43:02so we all got to go
43:02so we can get set
43:03for judges' table.
43:04Thank you for being here.
43:21You know,
43:22great night.
43:22For the most part,
43:23the desserts were really good.
43:25As one of the super fans,
43:27it was a treat for me
43:29to be here.
43:30You really pulled it out.
43:31Anthony,
43:32I will say
43:32you were definitely
43:33on the top for us, too.
43:34It was beautiful.
43:36As much as you cooked
43:37the apples,
43:38it didn't turn into applesauce,
43:39so you could still see
43:40the pieces of apple
43:41and you had the texture
43:42in there as well.
43:42If you were craving
43:43an apple dessert,
43:44you hit the spot.
43:44Mm-hmm.
43:45Thank you very much.
43:47Justin,
43:48Oscar,
43:49and Gwen,
43:49please stay here.
43:50The rest of you
43:50can move to the side.
43:54So the three of you
43:55had our least favorite
43:56desserts of the evening,
43:57and one of you
43:58will be eliminated.
44:00Were you all happy
44:02with what you were putting up?
44:03I mean,
44:03there was definitely
44:04some decision fatigue.
44:05Sixties just sounded so big.
44:07Before even tasting it,
44:08I saw the pockets
44:09of unsoaked bread
44:11plus undercooked
44:12soaked bread.
44:13Had you just made
44:14a smaller amount,
44:15it would have cooked
44:15more consistently.
44:16Absolutely.
44:17My big problem was
44:18your whipped cream
44:18was broken.
44:19Yeah,
44:19so I was trying to,
44:21like,
44:21make sure that the dessert
44:22itself was good.
44:23To you,
44:24it was wrong.
44:24I just heard it.
44:25I just saw Sherry's
44:27so colorful dish,
44:28and I was like,
44:28I need to put something
44:29on top of it.
44:29Never compare yourself
44:30to other people.
44:31Ever.
44:34Okay,
44:34Duen,
44:35remind me how you got
44:36from caramel cake
44:37to your dessert.
44:38I wanted to really
44:40kind of focus
44:41on the dulce de leche foam.
44:43I wanted a lot of caramel,
44:45but without it just being,
44:46like, sugar bomb.
44:47I was missing
44:48the caramel stickiness
44:50and that flavor.
44:51My issue was that
44:52the rice pudding
44:52had very little flavor.
44:54I struggled to find
44:55any reference
44:56to caramel cake.
44:57I got pandan,
44:59rice, banana.
45:00Texturally,
45:00it was kind of soft
45:01on soft on soft.
45:03You're right.
45:03I think I probably
45:04took my interpretation
45:05maybe a little too far.
45:08Justin,
45:08you put all the toppings
45:10in the bottom,
45:11and then you just
45:11piped some cream on top,
45:13and so you didn't
45:13really have this bowl
45:14of fluffy, creamy goodness
45:16that is ambrosia salad.
45:18Yeah.
45:18Liquid nitrogen's tricky.
45:20The dessert was so cold,
45:21you couldn't taste it.
45:22I had the same issues.
45:23It was just hard to taste.
45:25Yeah.
45:25There should have been a gap
45:26between plating
45:27and serving.
45:30We'll call you back
45:31in a bit.
45:31Thank you very much.
45:36I know.
45:37I don't like this.
45:39I think all three chefs
45:40had technical
45:41and conceptual issues here,
45:43and some of them
45:44a little bit of both.
45:45When you're in the bottom,
45:46you're kind of aware
45:47of why,
45:48and there's no hiding
45:48behind any of it.
45:49Nope.
45:50Serving broken whipped cream,
45:51it's just like,
45:51I don't get that.
45:52It's such a major fail.
45:54If I had to choose a dish
45:55that I would eat again,
45:56it would actually be Oscars.
45:58Okay.
45:59I don't have the eye
46:00to look for broken whipped cream.
46:01I really liked the flavors.
46:03For all the dishes
46:04I've done before,
46:05like, whatever the challenge is,
46:07I've layered that
46:07in so many different components
46:09of my dish,
46:10and I just didn't do that
46:11this time.
46:12Part of me just doesn't believe
46:13that Gwen's was the dessert
46:15inspired by the caramel cake.
46:16The dish was so poorly executed.
46:18The banana was just, like,
46:19gray and completely soft.
46:22And then the pandan
46:24had no flavor.
46:26I've made myself home
46:27at the bottom.
46:28I got a pull-out couch,
46:30getting a cable next week.
46:32The flavor wasn't there
46:34for me in justice.
46:36All the components
46:37just were completely separate
46:39and also tamped down
46:40by the temperature.
46:41He was doing an interpretation
46:42that wasn't good.
46:43Right.
46:44For that reason,
46:44it didn't even give me abrosia.
46:46The dish that you gave me
46:47at the very end
46:48was so good.
46:49What do you do
46:49with this Gary Busey thing
46:50over here?
46:51My jaw's doing something weird.
46:52I don't know.
46:53Don't bring attention to it, okay?
46:55I have this whole face thing
46:57going on
46:57that I'm not sure
46:58what's happening.
46:59I can feel, like,
47:00my left side pulling
47:02in a way
47:02that is super uncomfortable.
47:14Pastry is the Achilles heel
47:15of so many savory chefs.
47:17It kind of hurts
47:17when you've got to go home
47:18for doing something
47:18that you really don't do
47:19day to day.
47:20But that's how it is
47:21here in Top Chef's Kitchen.
47:29Justin,
47:31please pack your knives
47:32and go.
47:35Justin, overall,
47:36just way too cold.
47:37Couldn't taste the dish.
47:38But we'll see you
47:39in Last Chance Kitchen.
47:39You got a shot
47:40at getting back in.
47:40Thanks, guys.
47:41It's been a pleasure.
47:42Thanks.
47:42Appreciate it.
47:43It's not the best
47:44feeling in the world.
47:45You're kind of numb
47:46for a second.
47:47Damn, bro.
47:48That does not feel good.
47:50No.
47:50Oh, my gosh.
47:51That was awful.
47:54No.
47:54No way.
47:56It sucks leaving Jen,
47:58but she's been killing it.
47:59Hopefully this will be
48:00a little bit extra motivation
48:02to keep cooking strong.
48:04Not that she needs it,
48:06but watch out for her.
48:07Oh.
48:07All right, guys.
48:08Bye.
48:09Take care, Jen.
48:10Take care.
48:10See y'all.
48:12There's Last Chance Kitchen,
48:13and there's a path
48:14to work my way back up
48:16in the competition,
48:16and I'm going to do just that.
48:18Should we wrap this up, guys?
48:19Let's wrap it up.
48:20Hello.
48:21Hello.
48:22How's it going?
48:23Hello.
48:24Good.
48:25Can you all come back
48:27to Judge's table for me, please?
48:29Yeah.
48:30Yeah, sure.
48:32Oh.
48:41Before you leave for tonight,
48:43we would all like
48:44to congratulate you
48:45for making it halfway
48:46through this competition.
48:47That is no easy feat.
48:48Jen, how are you feeling?
48:50Too many emotions going.
48:52Are you okay?
48:53Physically?
48:54I don't know.
48:55I don't even know.
48:56Okay.
48:56I'm like,
48:57something's going on
48:58with my face, yeah.
49:00It has been a tough few days,
49:02but it's only to get
49:03more challenging from here.
49:06This is right about the time
49:07everybody starts talking about
49:08this is the hardest thing
49:09I've ever done.
49:10There are only eight of you left,
49:12which really could only mean
49:14one thing.
49:16It's time
49:17for Restaurant Wars.
49:21This time around,
49:22we decided to get
49:22straight down to business.
49:24I am so ready
49:26for Restaurant Wars.
49:28And now for the nitty-gritty.
49:31In two teams of four,
49:32you will be responsible
49:33for creating
49:34your own restaurant concept
49:35in just over 36 hours.
49:38That's like trying
49:39to build a house
49:39in 36 hours.
49:40You just don't do things
49:41that way.
49:42You'll need to assign
49:43an executive chef,
49:44a floor manager,
49:45and two line cooks.
49:47And then together,
49:48you're going to have
49:48to come up with
49:49a three-course menu
49:50featuring at least
49:51two options
49:51for each course.
49:53We're going to allow
49:53you all to decide
49:55how you want to divvy up
49:56into your two teams.
49:57So go ahead.
49:58You can get into two teams.
49:59Oh, man.
49:59Oh, look at that.
50:03You guys want to be
50:03on the same team.
50:04Oh, wow.
50:05Lawrence has been winning.
50:06Anthony has been winning.
50:07Sherry hasn't won yet,
50:08but everyone's scared of Sherry.
50:10She is such a beast
50:11in the kitchen,
50:12and so I know
50:13I'm just in a team
50:14with winners.
50:14Who's coming to this side?
50:15We are.
50:16Who's coming to the dark side?
50:17Interesting.
50:18That was easy.
50:19We kind of just split
50:20the line right in half.
50:21We did a lot of nothing there.
50:26Tonight, you're going
50:27to have an hour
50:27to create your concept
50:29and plan your menus.
50:30That's not all.
50:32Of course.
50:34We're going to add
50:35one more element this year.
50:38You're also going
50:39to be fielding
50:40takeout orders.
50:42We all know.
50:43We've all done it.
50:44We all do it, right?
50:45In the real world,
50:46I wouldn't do
50:47takeout orders
50:47on week one,
50:48let alone day one.
50:50How do you all feel
50:51about being on a team
50:52with one person
50:53that has immunity?
50:54Math-wise?
50:55Math-wise, not great.
50:56Doesn't work.
50:57Yeah.
50:57Focus on winning.
50:58And the prize
50:59for the winning team
51:00this year will be epic.
51:02Ooh.
51:02Ooh.
51:03Do tell.
51:04You know I can't tell you yet.
51:05Epic.
51:06Yeah.
51:06Okay, Chefs,
51:07time to start planning.
51:08See ya.
51:08Can't wait to see
51:09what you need.
51:10Get out of here.
51:10Good luck.
51:15Guys,
51:16I don't know
51:16what's going on
51:17with my face,
51:18so the medic
51:19is going to take me
51:20to the ER
51:21to get it checked out
51:22and just make sure
51:23nothing crazy is happening.
51:25Sorry, guys.
51:26Yeah, I'll see you
51:26in a bit.
51:27Take care.
51:27All right.
51:28Love y'all.
51:29Yeah, it's good luck.
51:30See you later.
51:30Yeah, we'll see you.
51:31Yeah, we got you.
51:32Don't worry.
51:32We got you, Jeff.
51:33Maybe you're playing
51:33the hell out of it.
51:34Oh, yeah.
51:35I got an idea already,
51:37so...
51:37Cool, great.
51:42I think you should be a GM.
51:44I was thinking
51:44she's the exec chef
51:45that expedites.
51:46Me and Jonathan are cooks,
51:47because I don't foresee
51:48Jen line cooking.
51:49Let's just hope
51:50that she's okay.
51:56Hey, Justin.
51:57We just want to give you
51:58an update on Jen.
52:00Oh, goddammit.
52:01I think because of
52:02everything that's been going on,
52:04we have to ask her
52:05to leave the competition.
52:06Like, it's just
52:06for her own well-being.
52:08She is 100% invited back
52:10on another season,
52:11but for right now,
52:13I don't think it's
52:14the best thing for her.
52:18Um...
52:21She deserves to be here,
52:23and she's doing so well.
52:24Yeah.
52:25Oh, god, if you cry,
52:26I'm crying.
52:30It's pretty shocking.
52:34Because you are
52:35the last person
52:36that was eliminated,
52:36we're offering you
52:38that spot back.
52:41Completely up to you.
52:44Yeah, I'd like to talk to her.
52:46Of course.
52:46For sure.
52:47Okay.
52:47This is a super big decision,
52:49and I just really need
52:50to touch base with Jen.
52:52Hey.
52:53Well, I'm not having a stroke.
52:55Got all kinds of things
52:57attached to my fingers
52:58and my chest.
52:59I don't know what's wrong
53:00when they end up to happen.
53:01Am I right?
53:02So, we should just go home
53:04and get you better.
53:07I mean, you do
53:08whatever you think
53:09is best for you.
53:12I just...
53:13My cards were on you,
53:14and now, you know...
53:17Jen's health comes first.
53:18You know, she's the most
53:19important person in my life.
53:21There's no way I'm staying
53:22in the competition
53:23with Jen in a hospital room.
53:26You know, we'll just
53:27figure things out together.
53:28Okay.
53:34Tonight, another shocking twist
53:36rocks Last Chance Kitchen.
53:38It's a surprise return
53:39as two chefs clash for a comeback,
53:40and things get weird.
53:42I'm glad I'm not cooking.
53:43Watch now on Peacock
53:45or bravo tv.com.
53:48Next time on Top Chef.
53:50Hey, chef!
53:51It smells like
53:51Restaurant Wars in here.
53:52Before you made all these,
53:53did you test one?
53:54Shut up, Tom.
53:55Let me do my thing.
53:57Hey, Brandon,
53:58I just need your help
53:58with a little bit of knife work, please.
53:59I'm blown away.
54:01We're about to start service.
54:02Stop talking and start working, bro.
54:03I'm working, dude.
54:04This is my worst nightmare.
54:05Oh, my gosh.
54:09We have a reservation for five.
54:11It's been 40 minutes
54:12since we sat down here.
54:12This is ridiculous.
54:14It's a very fine line
54:15between the winner and the loser.
54:18It could go any which way.
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