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Top Chef Season 23 Episode 9
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00:00I'm ready to pull up.
00:02Jen is okay right now, but we have removed her
00:05from the competition.
00:10Seeger is now on your team, and we continue on
00:12with Russian Art Wars.
00:14Carolina Queen, Tierra Reina.
00:18Okay, I see you.
00:19I just got a lot of knife work that needs to be finished.
00:21This is my worst nightmare.
00:24What dish did you make?
00:25So I made the cheese pops.
00:27She's going everywhere?
00:27She's on every single table, yeah.
00:28The flavors are very good.
00:30Everything pops, and the winning chef is Gwen.
00:33Unfortunately, you don't get immunity.
00:34Dang it.
00:35That's all over.
00:36We have a reservation for five?
00:38It's been 40 minutes since we sat down.
00:39This is ridiculous.
00:40Gesserts are out.
00:42Does anyone have clumps of uncooked rice?
00:44Mm-hmm.
00:45You can't do anything to fix that.
00:47Brandon, please back your knives and go.
00:49It's not over just yet.
00:50You're heading to the finale of Last Chance Kitchen
00:53that's happening right now.
00:54Oh, okay.
00:54I'm gonna come in there on fire.
00:59Seven chefs remain to compete in the ultimate culinary showdown.
01:03Woo!
01:04At stake for the winner, the grand prize of a quarter of a million dollars provided by
01:09Graza olive oil, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, plus an appearance at the Food & Wine
01:14Classic in Aspen.
01:14Their own exclusive dinner at the historic James Beard House in New York, and the title
01:20of top chef.
01:28How you feeling, my guy?
01:30I'm feeling all right, you know?
01:31It is what it is.
01:32It's such a double-edged sword right now.
01:34I want to feel happy, but my brother's gone.
01:38I haven't spent this much time with my brother since we were kids.
01:42It feels heavier and heavier the less people that are here.
01:46Hi.
01:48Hi.
01:48Hi, guys.
01:48Hi.
01:49Oh, hello.
01:49Wow.
01:50That was a very difficult restaurant wars, and right now, thanks to the active cash credit
01:55card from Wells Fargo, Brandon is in Last Chance Kitchen fighting for a spot back into
01:59the competition.
02:00I'm waiting for his comeback.
02:02Whoever that winner is, that's it.
02:06No more Last Chance Kitchen.
02:08Once you're out, you're out for good.
02:10Okay.
02:12Heard.
02:12I know everyone's probably tired.
02:14You have a million thoughts running through your heads, trying to guess what's going to
02:17come next.
02:18Yeah.
02:18But it's time for you all to pack your bags and go, because we're going to hit the road
02:25to head to Greenville, South Carolina.
02:27Holy crap.
02:28Yeah.
02:28That sounds amazing, but they wouldn't come into the studio room and just tell us that
02:33we're going to South Carolina.
02:35I actually think hitting the road is cause for celebration, don't you?
02:38I love a celebration.
02:39And as you know, nothing brings Southerners together quite like a good party.
02:44Oh.
02:45Oh.
02:45Oh, boy.
02:46Oh.
02:48Wow.
02:52Hi, guys.
02:53What's up?
02:53Hey.
02:54A very familiar face that I'm sure you need no introduction to, but welcome season 22 finalist,
03:00South Carolina local, and your guest judge, Shuai Wong.
03:04What's up, y'all?
03:04How you doing?
03:05Good job, man.
03:08As you can see, Shuai brought a sign-up sheet.
03:10Just a tiny one.
03:11Tomorrow, acclaimed local restaurateur, Karl Sobosinski, is opening the doors to his flagship
03:16restaurant, Sobeys, in the heart of downtown Greenville.
03:19For your first quick fire and elimination challenge in Greenville, you all are going to host the
03:24ultimate dinner party.
03:26Oh.
03:26Okay.
03:27For your quick fire challenge, we'll be kicking off the party with a pre-dinner cocktail hour
03:30with some appetizers.
03:32With a twist, of course.
03:33Lovely.
03:37Did you know down here mayonnaise is considered the unofficial sex mother sauce?
03:42Oh, I knew Duke's mayo.
03:44Let's go, baby.
03:44No mayo is more famous in the Carolinas than Duke's.
03:48Duke's mayo got its start in Greenville, South Carolina by a woman named Eugenia Duke in 1917.
03:55Damn.
03:56I love Duke's so much.
03:58I got a tattoo here because it's always in my veins.
04:02I love it.
04:03So, in honor of that, you're all going to have to create appetizers featuring Duke's mayonnaise
04:08for your quick fire.
04:08All right.
04:09Let's go.
04:10You'll serve the 12 diners past app style for cocktail hour.
04:14You are going to have a second to sign up for your dishes, but you're going to do it
04:17right now.
04:17We don't want to see like five dips or multiples of dishes.
04:20We need variety.
04:21And this is an individual challenge.
04:23The winner is going to get $10,000.
04:25Oh.
04:26Awesome.
04:27Gwen, since you won Restaurant Wars, you'll be able to select first and then you'll choose
04:31the next person.
04:32That person will choose the next and so on and so forth.
04:34Okay.
04:35All right.
04:35Come on up.
04:36Okay.
04:37I don't even have time to think what I want to make, but we're chefs.
04:41We think on our feet.
04:42I'm going to make a croquette with a tomato barbecue aioli.
04:46I have a great idea in my head of what I'm going to do.
04:48Shrimp toast.
04:49All right.
04:51Dwayne.
04:52Look.
04:52Come on.
04:53Come on.
04:54Come on, Dwayne.
04:56My name is Lawrence.
04:57And I'm going to be making shrimp toast.
04:59Oh.
04:59Ooh.
05:00Who are you choosing?
05:01Anthony.
05:03You picked my dish, actually.
05:04I said I was going to make that.
05:05I was going to make it.
05:07I was like, damn.
05:08Uh-oh.
05:09I wasn't prepared for him to take shrimp toast, to be honest.
05:13Crab dumplings of sorts.
05:14All right.
05:14Who's next?
05:15Kerry.
05:16I'm going to make a twice-baked potato.
05:18Okay.
05:19Who's next?
05:21Mi amiguito.
05:22Hey.
05:22Hey.
05:24I'm making a pimento cheese toston with some country ham.
05:27Nice.
05:29Jonathan.
05:30BLT.
05:31Yeah.
05:32Let's see.
05:32You're up.
05:34Crab grabiche.
05:34Oh.
05:35As you can see, there are eight slots, but seven of you.
05:38The chef who re-enters after Last Chance Kitchen is going to fill in that remaining slot.
05:43Oh.
05:44Great.
05:44But that was just the quick-fire cocktail portion.
05:47And now it's time for the main event.
05:49And as any good host knows, for a successful dinner party, you need to ensure all courses are covered.
05:54Hello.
05:56Oh.
05:56Oh, Jesus Christ.
06:02For your elimination challenge, the diners will make their way down to the restaurant, and you'll each need to serve
06:08one course for the ultimate dinner party.
06:10Someone has to be responsible for a rock horse, a salad, a soup, seafood, grain, poultry, red meat, and dessert.
06:20Ugh.
06:21This is an individual challenge, but you're all collectively working together to make a dinner menu that feels like it
06:26makes sense.
06:26Your mind just wants to relax, and now we're making decisions for an elimination, so it's like, you gotta keep
06:33your jug half full so you can keep your cup half full.
06:35It's one of those days.
06:36When we started with you, and now we're gonna go in reverse order.
06:40Plot twist.
06:41All you gotta do is put your name, you don't have to write a dish.
06:45And make sure you take note, the earlier the course, the less overall cook time you'll get.
06:50Seeger, since you were the last to choose, you're the first one here.
06:53Cool.
06:53Getting picked last for the apps really paid off, because I got first choice of whatever I wanted on this
06:58menu.
06:59Why poultry?
06:59I like cooking chicken.
07:01Okay.
07:01Lovely.
07:02Jonathan.
07:03Ah, this is a tough one here.
07:06Damn.
07:08If I pick raw, I know I could prep that in an hour, whether it's an oyster, a crudo.
07:14Ceviche.
07:15Okay.
07:16Carne.
07:17Yeah.
07:18Why red meat?
07:18The thyme, and I kinda have something in mind that I wanna do already.
07:22Okay.
07:22Seafood?
07:23You have something in mind?
07:24Not yet.
07:25Okay.
07:27I wanted seafood, but I switched it up for salad.
07:30Lawrence.
07:31Okay.
07:32Soup?
07:32You like soups?
07:33I like soups.
07:33Eat a lot of soup?
07:34I haven't done a soup.
07:35All right.
07:35Grain or dessert?
07:37Definitely grain.
07:38Definitely not dessert.
07:39Oh boy.
07:40I definitely didn't wanna do dessert.
07:41If Brandon comes back, he gets his redemption.
07:44And if someone else comes back, well, sucks to suck.
07:48Tomorrow, you'll head to Greenville where you're gonna have 30 minutes and $1,200 to
07:52shop at Whole Foods Market.
07:53That does have to cover both quick fire and elimination dishes for all of you.
07:59Oh boy.
08:00That budget's tight.
08:01You're gonna prep both your quick fire dishes and your elimination dishes.
08:05At the one hour mark, you're gonna have to leave the kitchen to start your tray past apps.
08:09We'll see you in South Carolina.
08:11Good luck, Chefs.
08:12Can't wait to try y'all too.
08:12Bye, guys.
08:14I don't know why it's so aggressively large.
08:16Like, what was the point of that?
08:17I think it looks great.
08:17Go ahead.
08:18Bye, everyone.
08:19Bye.
08:22The budget kinda makes me wish I would've got a salad.
08:25I think we're gonna have to brainstorm this menu, right?
08:28Yeah.
08:28So it's cohesive.
08:29Ready to get going?
08:30Let's do it.
08:31Let's hit the road.
08:32Okay.
08:39Do folks know what they wanna make?
08:41Yeah, let's just run down the menu.
08:42If we're gonna go protein heavy, we gotta think about that.
08:44I will also say you will be judged solely on your dish.
08:47Yeah.
08:50Yeah, so you don't wanna conform too much to where it's not you on the plate.
08:54Uh-oh.
08:55Uh-oh.
08:56Here we go.
08:57Oh, .
08:58I can't.
09:00Oh!
09:05Roda's back!
09:07Roda's a beast.
09:08She won the first two elimination challenges.
09:11She set a record.
09:12My knees start shaking.
09:13Like, pressure's on.
09:15Freaking beast!
09:16Damn!
09:17I'm back, baby.
09:18I can't believe it.
09:20The reality is setting in that, man, like, I'm doing this again.
09:24Last Chance Kitchen was hard.
09:26Yeah.
09:26Brandon showed up.
09:27Yeah, I bet.
09:28Brandon not making it through Last Chance Kitchen.
09:30I know he's gonna want me to push even harder to win this Top Chef title.
09:34He fought.
09:35That's awesome.
09:36For us, right now, it feels like ages ago all this.
09:39Yeah.
09:40All those butterflies, I can feel it creeping up again.
09:43But we'll have fun.
09:44Welcome back.
09:45Welcome back.
09:46Yeah.
09:47I love this challenge, by the way.
09:49I love everything about cocktail parties.
09:52You can, like, move around.
09:53You can socialize.
09:54Or you can sit in a corner and pet a cat.
09:57I don't know.
09:58So I'm gonna do smoked trout.
10:00That's great.
10:01Nice.
10:01And then this is .
10:04That's gonna be awesome.
10:05If anybody can do it, it's you.
10:08Yeah.
10:08We thought about doing a Sunday supper.
10:11Oh, okay.
10:12Whatever that means to you.
10:14All right, y'all.
10:14Well, it's time to get to South Carolina.
10:16Welcome back.
10:19I still can't believe I'm here.
10:20I woke up this morning.
10:21I'm like, wait, I'm going back to see my fria.
10:23Yes, you are.
10:35Oh, my God.
10:36It just looks beautiful.
10:39Welcome to Greenville, the land of opportunity.
10:48Look at how beautiful.
10:50This is gorgeous.
10:51Yeah.
10:51It's really pretty.
10:53So how do you guys want to split the budget today?
10:56I think $150 per chef is the fair way of going about it.
10:59We're doing this so everyone stays within $150.
11:02Yeah.
11:02We are shopping for both the quick fire and the elimination.
11:06And we have $1,200 as a group, but some people have red meat.
11:10Some people have salad.
11:12Those things are gonna cost different amounts.
11:14We're gonna have to compromise and share ingredients where we need to.
11:18I was debating on whether or not to even add a protein to my salad.
11:21I'm doing dessert.
11:22Eat and mess.
11:23It's egg, sugar, fruit.
11:25How many eggs do you need?
11:2718.
11:28Okay.
11:29I wish that I had any other course than dessert.
11:33I want to make something simple and not fussy.
11:39Let's go.
11:41Grab from the back.
11:42Grab from the back.
11:43Grab from the back.
11:44Digger, my purse.
11:45Ow!
11:46Welcome back to Whole Foods, Rhoda.
11:48It's like I never left.
11:49I know, right?
11:50Oscar, what do you have on your list that's really expensive?
11:53The short rib.
11:54To make these dishes, my goal is to have everything I want and then a wish list.
11:58$42.48.
11:59All right, I'm gonna do that right now and get the rest of my stuff and I might come back
12:01for
12:01them if I need them.
12:02All right, thank you.
12:03Hopefully there's a little bit of extra budget.
12:05Probably gonna use like eight of these eggs.
12:07So if you guys need any more, let me know.
12:08How much eggs do you need?
12:09Like 24.
12:10Never mind.
12:11I'm gonna get an 18 and a 12.
12:13These are for my chicken corn soup.
12:17Ingredients.
12:17Chicken.
12:18Good.
12:19That is within budget.
12:2120 minutes on the clock.
12:23Four lobster tails, because I'm on a budget.
12:26How much would that be?
12:2731, thanks.
12:28Yeah, I'm gonna take that.
12:29Thank you so much.
12:31That's right, Basil.
12:32Tomatoes look good too.
12:34For the dinner portion, I'm going to do a tomato and watermelon salad.
12:39Whether or not to put protein on there depends on my budget.
12:42I would like to do king crab, but you know.
12:44You got a budget, right?
12:46You're right.
12:46I do have a budget.
12:48This would make the dish so good.
12:50Why do I have to share my money right now?
12:52If I have some money to spend, I'll circle back.
12:54So instead, I grab Dungeness crab, which still has a great amazing flavor, but it is a little
12:59easier on the wallet.
13:00Nine minutes, yo!
13:02Jonathan, are you done?
13:03Yeah.
13:04Hey, fellers.
13:05What's up?
13:06Should we start going?
13:07No one go over 150?
13:08No, I'm good.
13:09I'm actually, I have about $20 left.
13:11We're looking okay.
13:12How much is yours so far?
13:1381.
13:14Just to make sure everyone needs to write down the number where the last person stops,
13:18and then add 150 to that.
13:19Yeah.
13:20Seeker was at 279.
13:21Lawrence, thank you for taking charge, brother.
13:23I love that, man.
13:24All right, 860.
13:25Good job.
13:25Jonathan!
13:27What do I have left?
13:28About 15 bucks.
13:29I didn't get the second pack of short rib.
13:32It's going to be literally to the bone.
13:35Guys, we have 70 cents.
13:3671 cents.
13:37How much is the stock of corn?
13:38That's 69 cents.
13:38Get a corn.
13:39Boom.
13:39We're at 199.98.
13:41Yay!
13:43We got to within 2 cents of our budget.
13:46Thank you all.
13:47Appreciate it.
13:57Pro day all day.
13:59Let's go.
14:00How much?
14:01Yeah.
14:03We're in single digits, and the realization of somebody going home tomorrow really sucks.
14:08Guys, there's no Last Chance Kitchen.
14:09There's no Last Chance Kitchen.
14:10Being in Last Chance Kitchen, though, it's like you already died.
14:14That's how Seeker came back.
14:15Yeah.
14:15It was scary.
14:16It's just the ghost.
14:17You're fearless.
14:18There is this kind of emotional journey that we're all in as well, where it's like we're
14:21so removed from our families.
14:23100%.
14:24If I win the title of Top Chef, my niece, she'll lose it.
14:28Her name is Ava, next to Taylor Swift.
14:31I'm her second favorite person in the world.
14:33She has cerebral palsy, and she's a badass.
14:36She's got a great sense of humor.
14:37She's crazy smart, and she calls me Uncle Goat.
14:41Not because I'm the greatest of all time, but for no reason at all.
14:44Very appreciative that I'm here.
14:45Got to cook with y'alls, and the next one will be fun.
14:48It's a concept we can all get behind.
14:50Yeah, Sunday Supper Club.
14:51That's it.
15:16Let's get this going.
15:18So nice to hear your voice in the kitchen.
15:20Oh, hi.
15:20I'm starting on my smoked trout dip with a hot oyster cracker actually made with oysters.
15:26Yeah, I'm a little nervous.
15:27I ain't gonna lie.
15:28You smoked us in the first two.
15:30I don't even remember that.
15:32I remember it.
15:33We all remember it.
15:34We're gonna get the potatoes going so I can start doing other means and plus.
15:38For the quick fire, I'm making a twice-baked potato.
15:41How long is that gonna take?
15:42Like, 20 minutes?
15:43So I am gonna prep a lot of my main course on the first 16 minutes.
15:48So right now, I'm gonna try my poblanos so I can feel them, get them soft.
15:52Go, go, go.
15:54Oscar, how you feel about Dukes, my boy?
15:56Love Dukes.
15:57There's no better, like, street snack than, like, corn and mayo.
15:59So I'm gonna take a little cue from Mesquites.
16:03So I'm gonna put it on a tostone because I grew up in a neighborhood with a lot of Puerto
16:05Rican neighbors.
16:06Logan Square, baby, you know what time it is.
16:09Growing up in Chicago, I was always surrounded by a lot of different nationalities.
16:12And I think my food style is the same.
16:14I really like to remix things.
16:15I take the best parts of things and put them together.
16:17It's a little hybrid of a dish that represents all the places I'm from and everything I'm doing.
16:21Hell yeah.
16:22I'm gonna get started on my dessert as soon as I feel good about my...
16:29White bar.
16:30Sierra, how you doing?
16:31I'm getting these eggs peeled so I can get my grabiche set for the first course.
16:37Grabiche is a French aioli-based sauce.
16:41A deviled egg's a deviled egg, but when you get, like, crab grabiche, you know what I mean?
16:44Maybe you're...
16:45Maybe you should be in the French Riviera eating this.
16:47Stay tuned.
16:48You might even get to see one made here.
16:49Dwayne, how you feeling?
16:51Awesome.
16:51This pancetta is gonna go in my croquettes.
16:55Everyone's favorite pasta app, the croquettes.
16:57Baby, the base of it is bechamel.
17:01The Duke's mayonnaise is going to go into two different types of aioli.
17:04So I feel really good about making this dish.
17:06Duke's mayo, baby!
17:09Start making some shrimp toast.
17:10Shrimp toast is a sensitive word over here in Andrew's world.
17:13But it's okay.
17:14I'm gonna start working on some of the flavorings for my filling for the dumpling.
17:18For the quick fire, I'm gonna do a crab dumpling.
17:20I want it to be a lot of flavor concentration in one bite.
17:23That Duke's mayo is gonna have some richness along with the cream cheese.
17:27I actually want a little bit of gushing to happen.
17:32We have 47 minutes.
17:34Woo!
17:37I got my eggs working for my first course.
17:40So I'm just gonna go ahead and grind our meat for our tartare.
17:43Since we have that hour to prep our hors d'oeuvre, I'm gonna utilize some chunks of time in there
17:47to get ahead for my steak tartare dish.
17:49Here's a little trick to clean your meat grinders.
17:52Throw some ice in there.
17:57This thing just crapped out, huh?
18:00My bad.
18:01Quick little detour, if that's okay.
18:03So now I got the bacon going for my bacon jam.
18:06I know Gail loves deviled eggs.
18:08So for my quick fire, I'm gonna make a BLT deviled egg.
18:11I just wanna make Gail happy.
18:12Everything you got, give it to me right now!
18:14Sorry, you gotta talk to, you know, sometimes it doesn't cook faster, but you know, it helps.
18:1936 minutes.
18:21I'm working on my oyster cracker.
18:23Wow, oyster crackers, damn.
18:25I think my oil just needs to be a little bit hotter.
18:27And hopefully it gets nice and crispy, fries up nice.
18:31A little adjustment here and there, never hurt nobody.
18:36I burnt myself, can I go home now?
18:37I'm making the base of my croquette.
18:40So I'm adding flour, and then slowly going to start adding milk.
18:4523 minutes.
18:4523 minutes.
18:46Thank you, Duane.
18:47How are the potatoes, Sherry?
18:48They're soft enough for me to cut them.
18:50I'm so busy.
18:51I still have to get the potatoes out, dust them in potato starch, fry them, back to my
18:56station, and fill it with steak tartare.
18:59I have to focus on my appetizer, especially if I wanna win $10,000.
19:04It's all good.
19:06You're gonna get those things set in time?
19:08Uh, that's a good question, isn't it?
19:09I hope so.
19:10In concept, ahead of time, you know, oh yeah, I'm gonna make these purses.
19:13But doing it in real time, while staring at a clock, knowing that every minute and second
19:17counts, and my hands are a little fumbly.
19:19I'm struggling getting this to the finish line.
19:22Ah!
19:23You good, Jonathan?
19:24Uh, the sugar was burning on the outside.
19:26So, I'm saving the bacon jam by splitting it out into another container.
19:31Good thing I walked over there.
19:32It was almost an LT deviled egg.
19:35Mmm.
19:36Oh my god, it's right there, dude.
19:37Right there.
19:40Gin o'clock?
19:41Gin o'clock it is.
19:43Oh, look at that.
19:44Best mood.
19:45Hello.
19:45You're about to get very busy.
19:49Awesome, thank you.
19:50Carl, thank you very much for hosting us and the chefs.
19:53A pleasure to be here.
19:54This whole thing is about a Southern dinner party, and without all of you being here, we
19:58have no credibility.
19:59So, thank you for being Southern and for being here.
20:01Cheers, everyone.
20:02Cheers.
20:03Cheers to South Carolina.
20:0510 minutes.
20:05Okay, I'm trying not to shake here.
20:07I'm sweating, I'm shaking, but I'm here, my boys.
20:12My standard in pimento cheese is yours.
20:15Truthfully.
20:16You are the pastry chef here.
20:17Yeah, exactly.
20:18I'm a pastry chef.
20:19Five years now.
20:20Five years?
20:20Yeah.
20:21So, we have about five minutes until all the little bites come out.
20:25Remember how you and I said we're going to use our extra time from this to prep for
20:28our, uh, first courses?
20:30Yeah.
20:32It's a labor love.
20:33I just don't want to cut any corners and half-ass it.
20:34I need this 10 G's, baby.
20:37Yeah, we're almost.
20:39Good.
20:39Lord have mercy.
20:49So, just pace yourselves.
20:50We have eight hors d'oeuvres, and then we're going to go right into the eight courses.
20:54So, it's a full meal.
20:55Great.
20:56Hope everyone likes mayonnaise.
20:57Preaching to the choir here.
20:58Hello, hello.
21:00Everyone.
21:00We come bearing gifts.
21:01Hi, Anthony.
21:02Hi, Jonathan.
21:03All right.
21:03So, here I have a BLT deviled egg.
21:05So, there's a little bit of bacon jam, slowly baked tomato, and a little bit of, uh, bib
21:10lettuce on top.
21:10And you, Anthony?
21:11Uh, so, I have a crab dumpling right here.
21:13A little bit of chili on the inside and, uh, Duke's mayo.
21:15So, it's going to be nice and running when you bite into it.
21:17Hello, everyone.
21:18Beautiful.
21:18Thanks, Anthony.
21:19You got to do a little claw motion here to pick it up.
21:21Okay.
21:23Exactly.
21:24Thanks, Jonathan.
21:24You're welcome.
21:25Yummy.
21:26You think it went great, right?
21:27I think it went really well.
21:29We don't know the results for the quick fryer because the clock's running down for the
21:32elimination challenge.
21:33I need to finalize the salad dish.
21:36I like Anthony's a lot.
21:37It's really crispy.
21:38It has a lot of flavor.
21:39Great balance of crispy and creamy and all the delicious things.
21:42Anthony spoke to my heart.
21:43Yes.
21:44I would have more if he doesn't have eight courses in front of us.
21:45I know.
21:46I know.
21:48I thought Jonathan's was flavorful.
21:50I love that bacon jam at the bottom.
21:52I thought that was spot on, what you would expect from a southern deviled egg.
21:56I agree.
21:57I totally forgot to add a little bit of Tabasco in my mix.
21:59Oh, for the heat?
22:00Yeah.
22:01Oh, my guy.
22:03Normally, when I make shrimp toast, I make my own bread and it actually fares really well
22:07in the fryer.
22:08This one, I'm worried about the bread being a little bit too greasy.
22:10We're going to start plating.
22:1260 minutes just flew by, huh?
22:14I know.
22:1530 seconds, Sherry.
22:1630.
22:19Hands up.
22:20Let's go, baby.
22:23Hello.
22:26Okay, Sherry, what did you make?
22:28So I made a twice-baked potato with a onion and scallion aioli topped with steak tartare
22:34and a crispy potato.
22:35Great.
22:35I made a shrimp toast with the shrimp paste in the middle and then also a shrimp salad
22:39on top.
22:40Help yourselves.
22:41I love the texture of it.
22:42Thank you, Chuck.
22:43A little baked potato.
22:45Oh, that's adorable.
22:47I was really impressed with Lawrence's shrimp toast.
22:50It's really hard not to get it, you know, too greasy or too heavy, especially the mayo
22:53and everything else.
22:54And the weight of the shrimp salad on top.
22:56Beautifully constructed.
22:57Chicken going in.
22:59You know, I think where Sherry missed, I needed a little bit more aioli in the mayonnaise
23:03that she talked about.
23:04Right.
23:04Could have had a little more, like, pop to it.
23:06Yeah.
23:06But, like, I think it was a really, like, nice, clean can of it.
23:09Yeah.
23:10I'm straight into making fish mousse.
23:139.30, y'alls.
23:159.30.
23:16The chalkiness of an overcooked yolk is gross to me.
23:20The fudginess, I like, because it actually adds another layer of texture when you mix
23:25that with, like, a nice Dukes mayonnaise, and so I'm feeling great.
23:29How'd the croquettes come out?
23:30They're beautiful.
23:32I just want to make sure they don't burn their mouth off.
23:34They're looking like eggs with crispy on top.
23:36Seager, if you could take a peek.
23:38Looking good, chef.
23:40Putting on a little crispy ham.
23:45Okay, Oscar, what did you make?
23:46Uh, so what I made today is a pimento cheese tostone.
23:49I grew up in a neighborhood where there was a lot of Puerto Rican people, and I fell in
23:52love with tostones at a young age.
23:53Nice.
23:54So I made a pancetta croquette, and at the bottom, it's going to be a Carolina gold aioli
23:59and on top with horseradish and lemon aioli, all with Duke's mayo, of course.
24:03Seager?
24:04I did crab graviche in the style of, like, a deviled egg.
24:07So it's crab, Duke's mayo, and a bunch of other beautiful little things.
24:10You can feel free to pass them out.
24:11Great.
24:15Hello, hello.
24:16There you go.
24:17Thank you, chef.
24:17Enjoy, everyone.
24:19I have to cook it.
24:21Mm-hmm.
24:21Dwen's dare, I say, is, like, too much mayonnaise.
24:24Like, the flavor is mayonnaise inside.
24:26It's like deep-fried mayonnaise almost.
24:27Deep-fried mayonnaise would have been...
24:28I mean, delicious.
24:29It would have been enough.
24:30I crushed it.
24:32What did you think of Oscar's pastoni?
24:34Pimento cheese is a really good texture, and he really, obviously, tastes mayo in there.
24:38I love that he used the cotija cheese, because it kind of gave it that extra salt that you need.
24:43I'm a little biased, but it was banging.
24:45What about Seager's?
24:46I don't like it at all.
24:47It was super salty.
24:48Like, I was like, oh.
24:49Yeah.
24:49That's just, like, soupy.
24:50Yeah.
24:51It was so grainy.
24:55I'm just doing a little quenelle of the smoked trout dip.
25:03Hi, everybody.
25:04So nice to see you again.
25:06It's nice to be back.
25:07So I made a smoked trout dip with oyster cracker.
25:11The oyster cracker is actually made with oysters and some cornichons.
25:16Glad to see you.
25:17Thanks, Rhoda.
25:18Thank you so much.
25:19I like Rhoda's, but it's almost a little salty.
25:22Yes, it is.
25:22But I like it.
25:23It's really crispy.
25:24Yeah, it's a very interesting cafe, but it's a little salty.
25:26Yeah, a little salty.
25:27My first course, overall, it worked out.
25:29Right now, I am getting my lemon pith started for my dessert.
25:41I'm going to take these back, okay?
25:42Absolutely.
25:42Is it more fun being on this side of the table?
25:44Yeah.
25:45Less stressful, I guess.
25:47Coming down.
25:49Back, back, back, back, back, back, back.
25:50We got to get our next course up.
25:52Yeah, for sure.
25:53Not to rush you, but hurry the up.
25:55Quickfire right into elimination challenge.
25:57The timer's running the entire time.
25:59My brain is at full capacity right now.
26:01Ooh!
26:02We got a rocket.
26:10All right, man.
26:11You know what?
26:12We're being a little nervous.
26:13Yeah, man.
26:15Are we throwing a dinner party, or what?
26:17What in the pickled watermelon do you have going on there, brother?
26:19You got the nail on the head.
26:20It's going to use ingredients that
26:21reminded me of summertime with my family.
26:23Oh, nice.
26:24I'm going to do a tomato and watermelon salad
26:27and Dungeons Crab with the ground butter and Burberry.
26:29That's going to really just be a nice, jolting flavor.
26:32It's a salad, so I don't want it to be too boring.
26:34Yeah, yeah, come on.
26:36I got crostinis in the oven.
26:38I'm making a steak tartare with a cornichon chimichurri.
26:42I need to push.
26:43I already ground my meat.
26:45Hell yeah.
26:45Now I'm working on my chimichimmy, cornichon,
26:48parsley in there.
26:4856 minutes, Anthony.
26:56There's a chicken corn soup that I'm
26:58making from my childhood.
26:59My Chinese name is Long.
27:02In Cantonese, tong is soup.
27:04This could be Long's tong.
27:06Why?
27:06That's what my dad used to say to me
27:08when I wouldn't drink my soup.
27:09I love that.
27:10Long tong.
27:12The only time he did not have to say that
27:14is when he made chicken corn soup.
27:17And I wanted to do a sexier, kind of elevated version of it.
27:20I'm going to get some aromatics.
27:22Should be good.
27:23So this dish was a classic in my household growing up.
27:27I'm making a stuffed pepper with a lobster musseline.
27:31I'm adding a little chicken thigh just to add a little more protein.
27:34And I think it's going to be incredible.
27:36My mom was a single parent of three kids in Brazil.
27:40Money was tight, and she knew how to make very little go a long way.
27:44This whole competition has been about, like, bringing both Brazil and these fine dining
27:49kitchens in New York together.
27:52I'm not going to tell you what to do, Duane, but you might want to give this just a little
27:55stir, just so it cooks a little more evenly.
27:57Yeah, I got you.
27:58I'm doing a seafood rice, and then I'm doing a dashi burmante.
28:02I never ate rice that had butter and seasoning and salt.
28:07Like, that's kind of blasphemy in Asian culture.
28:10It's actually more intimidating to cook for my family than the judges.
28:12No lie.
28:13But there's something very warming about butter and rice together.
28:17I'm smashing lemongrass.
28:19Smash that .
28:20Don't bring Duane out, dude.
28:21Just thinking about Duane stressing me out.
28:23No, not today.
28:25We're friends today.
28:27Seeger, how you doing?
28:28Looking great.
28:29I picked poultry, and I'm making chicken Vesubio with peas, some beautiful fried potatoes,
28:34the jus.
28:35It's homey.
28:36It gives that, like, Sunday supper roast chicken vibe.
28:39I'm really going to season these and get them in the oven, and then I'll be off the
28:41burners.
28:42Heard.
28:42Red meat, it's filling, takes time.
28:46I am making a short rib sancocho.
28:48Sancocho's a Colombian dish.
28:49It's a very humble dish, so you need to make sure you're...
28:51It's hitting.
28:52These double-cooked days, they're a challenge, and if you're mentally not
28:56in it from the bat, you're just going uphill the whole way, so I'm just trying to keep
28:59it in cruise control and every now and then give it a little gas.
29:02It's usually, like, soupy, but I want to make it a little bit thicker.
29:05Is the inspiration me, chef?
29:07Uh, yeah.
29:08Brody, you happy with dessert?
29:10Did I have a choice?
29:11I am making Eaton mess.
29:14I've got nothing done, except for starting on the lemon pith.
29:17It's been triple blanched, cooking in simple syrup, but I'm not too worried about it.
29:22I know I have plenty of time.
29:24Now I'm going to get started on my meringue.
29:26Got something burning.
29:28Oh, .
29:28Let me make sure I didn't burn my crostinis.
29:30I forgot my crostinis are still in the oven.
29:33They are way too dark.
29:35I have no more bread, so I need to think about a plan B. Sherry, is that your baguette?
29:41Are you going to use all of it?
29:41Some of my crostinis got burnt, so I just want to reprep them.
29:44Uh, you can take some.
29:45We're family, you know?
29:46Oh, we are now, forever.
29:47I'm just so relieved.
29:51This is an individual challenge, but we work together as a team.
29:54At this point, we cannot walk away.
29:56We need to stay right here and watch our little babies.
30:00Coming down corner hot.
30:02You want to try?
30:07Good?
30:08No more salt?
30:09There's a touch, yeah.
30:10Damn.
30:10So good.
30:12How's long soup coming out?
30:14All the elements are coming together really well.
30:16You got this really cool chili oil I made?
30:18Yum.
30:19So good.
30:19Is it good?
30:21No, that is only reserved for my own food.
30:23Oh, okay, fair.
30:24Sorry.
30:25I'm just getting my meringues like a little flattened and maybe like a little thinner
30:29so that they finish quicker in the oven.
30:32These chefs where I left them off, you know, I missed three huge challenges.
30:37There's not as much sugar that I usually put in here because I want the sweetness to really
30:42come through with the berries and the whipped creme fraiche.
30:45I'm kind of like dealing with like survivor's guilt.
30:48It's really overwhelming, but I still have to put out my best.
30:52I want them to stay pristine white.
30:55Let's go.
31:00Would you like another drink, Gail?
31:01You know, I'm good right now.
31:02Are you sure?
31:02It's a long day.
31:03You know, when I get loaded.
31:05Just get loose.
31:05Can you imagine how good it would be?
31:06This is what the fans want.
31:08Of course.
31:08Just you, me and Tom, smash it apart.
31:11Corn is looking nice.
31:13Got my pea puree done.
31:15Peas are finely blanched.
31:16Juice cooking down.
31:17It's called liquid gold.
31:19And they got a little date with the judges table.
31:23How did the watermelon come out, Anthony?
31:25Oh, it came out okay.
31:26I'm going to compress them with a little bit of sugar.
31:28I wasn't able to find a really overly sweet watermelon, so I decided to compress them.
31:32It's going to help work in that flavor, but then also it's going to help with the texture
31:35of the watermelon as well.
31:36Coming down.
31:37Hot.
31:38That rice looks great, Gwen, as always.
31:40I am the rice whisperer.
31:42I have a little bit of seafood in my dish, but at the end of the day, the main component
31:46are grains.
31:47So, Carolina gold rice is definitely meant to be the start.
31:51If you don't fluff it, it all sticks together.
31:5537 minutes.
31:56It's right around the corner.
31:56Yep.
31:59How does it look?
32:00It needs a little bit to go, but I just want to make sure it wasn't, like, burning,
32:03you know what I mean?
32:04No.
32:05And burning up.
32:06The sancocho, I think it needs a little seasoning, so I hit it with some more.
32:11Damn it, not my turmeric.
32:13Oh, God.
32:14I just got turmeric.
32:15And, you know, you look good than yellow.
32:17I do, I do.
32:18Season to the T. A, B, C, always be seasoning.
32:23Sweet.
32:24Pretty.
32:26Beautiful.
32:28You're welcome.
32:29What a great space, Carl.
32:31Thank you, Kristen.
32:31Really, really beautiful.
32:33Apologies in advance for what your kitchen looks like after this.
32:35We take no responsibility.
32:37So much fun on this side of it.
32:39Isn't it?
32:40You guys are super, super funsies.
32:44What's wrong?
32:44My meringues, they're a little soft, but they're going to dry out, right?
32:47They're going to get there?
32:48The meringues aren't getting crispy.
32:51Is it wet underneath?
32:52It's, like, sticky.
32:53Can you flip it to start it to dry?
32:55Yes.
32:56I think there's not enough sugar in the meringue that it's not crisping up.
33:01I'm going to have to put them in a dry heat oven.
33:03Coming back into this was something that I really wanted.
33:06You know, I fought for it.
33:08My dessert is probably not the best reflection of that feeling.
33:14We're going to hope for the best.
33:24I just need to get my meringues crispy.
33:26How's it looking?
33:27I'm hoping that it dries out a little bit more.
33:30There's a dehydrator right next to my station,
33:32but I don't have any more eggs to whip,
33:35so I don't have any other choice but to wait it out.
33:38Dehydrator.
33:39Do not disappoint me.
33:41We have 47, all right, Sherry?
33:4347.
33:44Anthony, what we got on time?
33:45We have 17 minutes.
33:46Lovely.
33:47Going in the walk-in.
33:48I commit to plating my dish in the walk-in.
33:51This way everything stays cold.
33:53This shows my level of commitment to executing this dish perfectly.
33:57This is Top Chef, baby.
33:58We can't mess around.
34:00Last in a minute.
34:01I'm going to add exactly what I needed to add.
34:05Beautiful.
34:05Everything's got bread.
34:06Everything's got garnish.
34:08Hands up.
34:08Hands up.
34:09All right, first group.
34:10Good luck.
34:15Oh, wow.
34:17Beautiful.
34:18Hi, chefs.
34:19Hello, chefs.
34:20Jonathan, what did you make for your raw course?
34:21I made a steak tartare.
34:23There's a little bit of an egg yolk emulsion on the bottom,
34:25and then you have a cornichon chimichurri,
34:27some crispy shallots, and a toasted baguette.
34:30Anthony, tell us about your salad course, please.
34:32I wanted to kind of use ingredients that we would normally have
34:34from the garden back home where I'm from in Maryland.
34:36Nice heirloom tomatoes, some watermelon,
34:38pickled watermelon rind,
34:39and then you'll have like one nugget of dungeness crab,
34:41just because in Maryland we love crab.
34:43I love the pickled watermelon rind.
34:45It's like a bread and butter pickle almost.
34:46Yeah.
34:47The tomatoes were seasoned,
34:48the watermelon was really beautifully compressed.
34:50It's just the crab and the lettuce felt out of place.
34:54I thought the tartare was very well done,
34:56and I enjoyed the chimichurri with that.
34:58Seasoned really well.
34:59I really like the chimichurri.
35:01It was a little bit spicy, so I love it.
35:05Okay, now what do you really think about it?
35:08You know, man, you know.
35:09Yeah.
35:09I was a little confused with Anthony's just one piece of crab.
35:13Having said that, the crab is delicious, though.
35:15Crab's delicious.
35:16Crab's delicious.
35:16But you end up like wanting more like...
35:19Mm-mm.
35:19You know, it's just out of balance, this dish.
35:21This is probably the best steak tartare dish
35:23I've ever done in my life.
35:24Perfect time to do one.
35:26The texture of this tartare is great.
35:27The dressing was delicious, nice and light.
35:28I mean, that cornichon chimichurri was great.
35:30I've never seen that before,
35:31and it had a real punch to it.
35:33It was great.
35:34Let's go, baby!
35:36Duane, what rice is available?
35:38I have jasmine rice available.
35:40Okay.
35:41With the amount of short rib that I got,
35:42is this gonna be enough?
35:43I'm like, you know what?
35:45I may need some rice.
35:46You have that rice?
35:47Yeah, here.
35:49Just bring everything to your station.
35:51I don't need it.
35:51Got it.
35:51I checked my Carolina gold rice,
35:53and it all tastes really great.
35:55I still have my bag of jasmine rice,
35:57so I'm more than happy to give it to him.
35:59Yeah, pot for rice.
36:00There we go.
36:01Rice is just like a blank canvas,
36:03like homey, cozy.
36:04So I'm like, whew, it's gonna be enough.
36:06I'm gonna start plating right now.
36:08I want to make sure the proportions
36:09of everything eats really well.
36:11Something fitting for a Sunday supper.
36:13Four minutes.
36:14Let's go.
36:16Tulsa verde is gonna go down first.
36:17All right.
36:19It's gonna stay hot.
36:21It's looking very Brazilian, isn't it?
36:25Ninety seconds.
36:26Beautiful.
36:29All right.
36:30Great job, guys.
36:31Good luck.
36:31All right, let's go.
36:34Soup and seafood.
36:35I love a soup.
36:36Thank you very much.
36:37Oh, wow.
36:38This looks amazing.
36:40Hi, chefs.
36:40Hi.
36:41Hi.
36:41This is a chicken corn soup
36:42with some seared chicken,
36:44a marinated bok choy,
36:45an egg drop stock,
36:46grilled corn,
36:47and a little bit of dried scallops.
36:49I made the lobster musseline
36:50stuffed inside of a poblano pepper.
36:52I made the corn ragu that's underneath it,
36:54and then I'm serving it with a salsa verde.
36:57I can see a Brazilian flag right here.
36:59I'm Brazilian as well.
37:00Oh, great, yeah.
37:02And I can see you put your heart here.
37:04Everything is in the point for me.
37:06It's beautiful.
37:07I actually do not normally like corn in my soup,
37:09and I love this dish.
37:12I thought it was really good.
37:13The texture was really nice.
37:15All the textures, all the flavors,
37:16it was a little bit more complex
37:18than I've ever tasted a corn soup before.
37:20I'll take a couple of quarts of that home with me.
37:22Yeah.
37:26Oh, good job.
37:28What did you think of Sherry's dish?
37:30All of the flavors came together.
37:31I love spices, so it was great.
37:33The texture of the mousse was phenomenal.
37:36I mean, could it be a little more lobster-y?
37:38Yes, but we had the budget.
37:39The texture of Lawrence's soup was fantastic.
37:42The egg and the corn, the bok choy,
37:45and then it had so many layers in its flavor.
37:47I think it all worked well together, yeah.
37:4919 minutes, y'all.
37:51All right.
37:51How y'all doing over there, y'all?
37:53I am cleaning out my berries,
37:55and then I want to macerate them
37:56with just a little bit of sugar,
37:58a little bit of vanilla.
37:59We have three plates coming,
38:01so we're going to have our grain, poultry,
38:02and red meat.
38:03Buckle up.
38:04Or unbuckle, perhaps.
38:05Stretchy pants time.
38:06Yeah.
38:08I'm going to sear my scallops,
38:09and I'm actually going to fold them into my rice.
38:12Six minutes, y'all.
38:14Feeling good?
38:14I'm working on the veg for my sancocho.
38:17I'm ready to plate.
38:17I'm going to give them a piece of breast,
38:19and a piece of thigh,
38:20so they get a little taste of Chicago.
38:23Rice is perfect.
38:24Oh, I'm sweating so much it's in my eyes.
38:27150.
38:30Herbs.
38:30Salt.
38:31Perfect.
38:32Top behind.
38:34Let's go.
38:36Boom.
38:38Let's go, baby!
38:42I remember here, we got a rice dish and a rice dish.
38:45Sometimes you gotta shake your head and go,
38:46Yeah.
38:47Don't know.
38:48Oh.
38:49I just don't know.
39:01Do you want to tell us about your grain course, please?
39:03I have a seafood rice with an herb salad,
39:06and then on top is going to be a dashi ber monte.
39:10Okay, poultry dish, please.
39:11I did chicken Vesuvio, so it's a pan-roasted chicken.
39:14We have a pea and parmesan puree, some fortified chicken jus,
39:18and then the potatoes blanched, froze, and then fried.
39:21Oscar?
39:21My red meat today, I chose short rib.
39:23It's out of sancocho.
39:24It's a Colombian dish.
39:25It's a little bit soup here, but I've made it as a stew before.
39:28There's some yucca, butternut squash, and carrot,
39:30and I love a canvas of rice.
39:32Did you guys talk about both serving rice?
39:34Um, you're making a good point right now.
39:37Yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:38Hey, what's up with the rice dish?
39:39Bro, I got grains.
39:41What's up with your rice dish?
39:44Dwyane, I really enjoyed that.
39:46Being married to a guy from Charleston,
39:48his mom cooked a lot of dishes like this,
39:50filled with seafood, and it was very seasoned.
39:53I loved it.
39:54I really liked the different textures in there.
39:56The dashi ber monte came out really nice.
39:58Yeah, delicious.
40:00Seager's was perfectly done.
40:02It's a very simple dish, but it's a nicely cooked chicken.
40:05The chicken is moist.
40:06The chicken's skin is delicious and salty.
40:08It's crispy and crispy.
40:09Oscar.
40:10It was not my favorite.
40:12A little too much going on on the plate for me.
40:14The rice was a little too bland.
40:16I think it really would have eaten better if it were soup,
40:18so you could really gather all that flavor.
40:20For me, the rice is kind of muting everything.
40:22A big component of sancocho is rice,
40:24but I feel like the plate needed more flavor to it.
40:27Understood.
40:29Great, thank you.
40:30Thank you, chefs.
40:33Oscar, how do you feel, my boy?
40:34I should have kept the rice off.
40:36It would have been enough with the veg.
40:37I made that last decision move.
40:39There is so much going on in Oscar's bowl.
40:41There's something in there that's bitter that is off-putting.
40:44It's all turmeric.
40:46Yeah, that's what I think it is.
40:47I'm just waiting for dessert.
40:49The meringue is a little softer than I would like.
40:51The meringues are not going to be the texture that I want them,
40:55but I know that all of my other components are still good.
41:00I want them to be, like, kind of smaller and more bite-sized pieces.
41:04A little bit of berries, a little bit of creme fraiche.
41:17Wow.
41:18Here we go.
41:19Yep.
41:23I decided to do eat and mess today.
41:26I have soft meringue with some whipped cream fresh, lemon pith, and fresh berries.
41:30What did you call the meringue?
41:32Soft meringue.
41:32Mm-hmm.
41:33Is it because you couldn't take it all the way?
41:34I didn't plan it to be soft.
41:36Uh-huh.
41:37I'm looking for some texture.
41:39You wanted the meringue to be a little crunchier?
41:41Crispier, yeah.
41:42Why specifically the pith?
41:43It's kind of like a cheat.
41:45It adds, like, this nice bitterness.
41:47You know, I like the bitterness of the lemon pith.
41:49I think that was smart to kind of make it not too sweet.
41:51Great. Thank you, Rhoda.
41:52Thank you very much.
41:56Rhoda, how was it?
41:57How'd it go?
41:59I wish my meringue that crispy.
42:02If you're gonna use something so bitter, like the lemon pith, you gotta find more sugar somewhere.
42:06Yeah.
42:06To offset that.
42:07And creme fraiche isn't gonna do that.
42:08Mm-hmm.
42:08It just didn't quite get there.
42:10Yeah.
42:10So, we'll see.
42:12Well, the great mark of a successful dinner party, I think, is the company.
42:16Thank you all for being here.
42:17Carl, thank you very much for having us.
42:18We should get set for judges table.
42:20Let's do it.
42:20Let's do it.
42:21A lot to talk about.
42:27To another cook, y'all.
42:28Yup.
42:29Yeah, buddy.
42:30I'll tell you one thing that I didn't like.
42:32Quick fire, straight into elimination challenge.
42:34Oh, my God.
42:36Is anybody worried?
42:38I mean, one of the first person was just like, this is my least favorite.
42:41I would have loved to, like, remake my meringues if I was able to get extra eggs, and it's just...
42:48Oh, I had some eggs, girl.
42:50So, anyway.
42:51Yeah.
42:52You should have said something.
42:53I should have said something.
42:54Yeah.
42:54You're right.
42:55But, you know, like, obviously, like, I had my faults on my dish.
42:59You present that alone?
43:00Yes.
43:01Yeah, that's the worst.
43:02Yeah.
43:03I don't know.
43:03I feel like a lot of us feel very 50-50.
43:05Yeah.
43:06We're in the middle right now.
43:14Just for your quick fire, we asked you to create hors d'oeuvres for a cocktail hour.
43:32It worked really well together.
43:45And another one of our favorites.
43:48Oscar's toast, don't I?
43:49The toast, don't I?
43:49The toast, don't I?
43:49It was nice and crisp.
43:50It wasn't messy, easy to handle.
43:51Nice job.
43:52Thank you, chef.
43:53Flavors were on point.
43:54Great job with the pimento cheese.
43:55I know a little bit about it down here.
43:57And we had one more.
43:58And that belonged to Jonathan.
44:00Nice.
44:01The bacon jam.
44:02It was such a great surprise.
44:03A lot of flavor in that little bite.
44:06And it was perfectly mayonnaise.
44:08I was thinking about you when I was making it.
44:09I was like, is there enough Dukes in here?
44:12Shuai, as our guest judge, you have the pleasure of announcing our quick fire winner.
44:15For us, the person who gave us the perfect bite for cocktail hour is...
44:22Anthony.
44:26Thank you, Lawrence, very much for making me do the crab dumplings instead of the shrimp toast.
44:29I wouldn't be here without you.
44:31Anthony, congratulations.
44:31You just won $10,000 courtesy of the active cash credit card from Wells Fargo.
44:36Thank you very much.
44:37Thank you all very much.
44:38Which brings us now to the dinner party.
44:44We'd like to speak to Oscar, Jonathan, Lawrence, and Rhoda.
44:51Four of you can stay here.
44:53The rest of you can move to the side, please.
44:58The four of you are standing here because you had our favorite and our least favorite dishes of the day.
45:06Golly.
45:08One of you will be the winner.
45:11And one of you will be going home.
45:21Jonathan, let's start with you.
45:23How do you think your dish turned out?
45:25Full disclaimer, I loved the flavor of the dish.
45:28I plated the entire dish in the walk-in to make sure that it was the right temperature.
45:32Lawrence, have you ever made this type of egg drop soup, especially with the char that you put on it?
45:36No, I mean, traditionally it's a very kind of like one-note soup.
45:40Well, Jonathan and Lawrence, the two of you, had our favorite dishes of the day. Congratulations.
45:46Oh.
45:48Jonathan, I really enjoyed your tartare.
45:50Plating it up in the walk-in probably made a little bit of a difference.
45:53Good job.
45:53Your conichon chimichurri was absolutely beautiful.
45:57It was punchy, it was zingy, fatty, in all the right ways.
46:00I think my blood pressure's evened out now, I'm good.
46:04Lawrence, you know me, I love a good broth.
46:06I made broth all the time last season, so I really appreciate the viscosity of it,
46:10just a lot of flavor in there, a lot of different textures in there, and it was very nice.
46:13He gave us a beautiful broth, and everything else was just gravy.
46:18Well, soup.
46:19I really appreciated how you treated the chicken,
46:22and the fact that the skin was still crispy while it sat in that broth.
46:25It was quite an addictive bowl.
46:26Thank you, thank you.
46:27Carl, as our other guest judge, you have the pleasure of announcing our Elimination Challenge winner.
46:32It was unanimous.
46:35The chef that had the winning dish.
46:41Lawrence.
46:42Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
46:46I win!
46:47Yay!
46:48Long!
46:50Tongue!
46:52Lawrence, congratulations.
46:53You just won an advantage going into the next challenge, which you'll find out about not now.
46:58Naturally.
47:00So that means Oscar and Rhoda, the two of you, had our least favorite dishes of the day, and one
47:04of you will be going home.
47:06Oscar, walk us through how you arrived at making this dish, and why you made song kocho in this way.
47:10I love the dish. A lot of these dishes I make are not really well represented.
47:14I hear you and I appreciate you want to bring light to some of these more humble dishes, but what
47:19needed to be right about the dish was proper technique.
47:21Yeah.
47:22There wasn't a lot of seasoning inside the short rib, so it feels like it almost did not absorb any
47:27of that liquid.
47:27And then the rice was bland and really overcooked.
47:30The rice was definitely not the move.
47:33All right, Rhoda, how did the day go for you?
47:36What happened with the meringue?
47:37Um, I don't think I added enough sugar. It just didn't quite get crispy.
47:42You had four hours, no?
47:43I did.
47:44And you didn't have time to remake it?
47:45I didn't have enough eggs to remake it.
47:47Yeah, I think Sherry had, like, six eggs left.
47:49And you didn't even think to try to use the six eggs to make something?
47:52Like, we were just talking about it in the stew, and I didn't realize that...
47:55Oh, so you didn't know that there was six eggs?
47:56I didn't know that there was six eggs.
47:58It just didn't live up to probably what you wanted or what we wanted.
48:03All right, thank you. We'll call you back in a little bit. Thank you.
48:10I still can't figure out what she did for four hours.
48:12I don't think she knows even.
48:13Four hours.
48:14Okay.
48:15That was...
48:16All right. That was rough.
48:17That was long and hard.
48:18Food is subjective, but, like, also there's some things that aren't subjective.
48:21It hurts. It's, like, it's almost like being a child and being caught doing the wrong thing.
48:25Right, right.
48:25And you have no excuse because you did it.
48:28Clearly, Oscar and Rhoda had a lot of issues.
48:31Where do you want to start?
48:32I think Oscar's issues started with his sauce and ended with his rice.
48:38Oscar came to the table and they both realized in that moment, oh, wow, look at us. We just made
48:42rice.
48:42And that's the reason we gave them categories, so there were no repeats.
48:45Correct.
48:46And it's bad rice.
48:47Meat was bad, too.
48:48Yes.
48:49But also, it's just bland. There's no flavor at all.
48:51And then, too many components on the dish that didn't come together.
48:56Could I have done more in the four hours?
48:58A hundred percent.
48:59But, like, some things just don't click.
49:02She made creme fraiche cut berries and a dehydrated meringue for four hours.
49:06That didn't work.
49:07Which didn't work, yeah.
49:08Knowing she just came back from Last Chance Kitchen, would have expected a little more boldness, a little more thought
49:14process.
49:14Where are you?
49:16Being quiet over there.
49:17No, I'm thinking.
49:18It's actually really, really tough because I have gone back and forth countless times.
49:23I need to sit with my thoughts in the dark for a second.
49:25Yeah.
49:25Yeah.
49:26You want to be proud of what you put out there, you know?
49:28You missed that opportunity and it's like, it's a little bit unblast.
49:32All right, let's get the chefs out here.
49:41This all comes down to basics, like knowing how to make a proper meringue, or knowing how to braise something
49:45and get flavor in it, and knowing how to cook rice.
49:47And today, some won't be going home for just making basic mistakes.
49:55Oscar, please pack your knives and go.
49:58Oscar, beef was not cooked directly, but also, there was a rice dish, a grain dish, and you choose to
50:04take that same course and put it into yours as well.
50:06It just really didn't make sense.
50:08Nice to meet you.
50:09It was really such a pleasure getting to know you.
50:12Hey, we're going to go to the dishwasher today.
50:14Currently at this moment, it sucks a little bit, but there's so many different levels of winning in this competition.
50:20We hug now.
50:21We hug.
50:21We're huggers.
50:22From individual quick fires to team things.
50:25Well, it's Rhoda.
50:27No, I'm just kidding.
50:28It's me.
50:29Aw, Oscar.
50:30Who am I going to bully now?
50:32Aw.
50:32It's been a pleasure, y'all.
50:33There's this camaraderie when you're, like, basically locked up with all these crazy talented people.
50:39You're going to be sorely missed.
50:40Don't say that.
50:41You guys are going to make me cry.
50:42You guys are going to make me cry.
50:43Even in the low points, this has turned out to be a great experience, you know?
50:48Rhoda gets to live another day, so she better go kick all these people's asses.
50:52Vamos al mundial.
50:54Love y'all.
50:55Vamos.
50:56Later, y'all.
51:00Next time on Top Chef.
51:02My favorite quick fryer of the season.
51:03Ooh.
51:04The mise en place race.
51:05Love it.
51:06But with a twist.
51:08Oh.
51:09What?
51:10Yeah.
51:13I might be a better chef than I am a fisher.
51:15Bass or buck?
51:18Hello, fishies.
51:21Beautiful piece of fish.
51:23It's a classic, simple dish.
51:25This thing is awesome.
51:29I know.
51:30All right.
51:31I am a golfer.
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