Previously on Top Chef...
Everybody's worried.
We're gonna be judged by our peers today.
Just wait. It's gonna be worth it.
Angelo's helping the other Chefs.
You've got to cook your food, not Angelo's food.
I'm feeling nervous 'cause I think
that the other Chefs are out to get me.
What was the least favorite? Kenny's dish.
Flavors were very muddled.
I just thought it was kind of a train wreck.
Please announce the winner. Kevin.
Yes!
Tamesha, please pack your knives and go.
This season, one outstanding competitor
will take the title of Top Chef
and the grand prize...
A feature in Food & Wine magazine
and a showcase
at the Food & Wine classic in Aspen,
$125,000 to help turn their culinary dreams
into reality,
furnished by Dial Nutriskin.
Top Chef season seven hails to the Chef.
♪ Top Chef 7x07 ♪ Power Lunch Original air date on July 28, 2010
-- sync by elderman -- -- for www.addic7ed.Com --
Oh, really?
It was a long time coming.
I'm happy, uh, I finally got that win.
The last challenge,
I wasn't on the bottom because of my food.
I do consider there might be some strategy being played.
It's, would you rather Kenny to go home,
or would you rather Amanda to go home?
Who's the threat in the house?
But I'm just too much a beast in the kitchen to go home.
With Tamesha leaving the house, I'm upset.
We definitely had close ties.
But, I mean, you know, it's just, this competition,
you can never really feel comfortable.
Angelo helped Tamesha and Stephen
during the cold war challenge.
Tamesha was on the bottom,
and Stephen's food was bad.
So it's just something that's in my head--
are you really helping me,
or are you trying to hurt me?
Hmm.
All right, guys. Let's go do this.
Walking into the Top Chef kitchen,
I see a very young man with a Congressman pin on
and this big cloche.
So I'm really excited to see
what the heck this challenge could be.
Good morning, Chefs.
Please welcome Aaron Schock,
representative from the 18th district of Illinois.
Good morning, Chefs.
Good morning.
He's currently the youngest Congressman in the house.
When you become a new member of congress
and win your election,
the first day is spent on ethics.
Believe it or not,
a good portion of that discussion is about food.
Basically, the ethics committee wants to make sure
that there's not too much undue influence
between the elected officials and the paid lobbyists
here in Washington D.C.
So in order to abide by all these rules
but still get all of these power players
into one room,
Chefs and caterers have found an interesting solution.
The humble toothpick.
To make sure our elective representatives
aren't swayed by lavish meals,
any food served to a member of congress
must be served on a toothpick.
Gourmet dishes have been whittled down to bite-size.
It does make a little bit of sense
that you can't buy somebody dinner
unless it's on a toothpick.
Because lobbyists could buy themselves some laws
if things like this weren't put into place.
For your quickfire challenge,
you'll be devising a delicious hors d'oeuvre
that packs the punch of a full dish.
And this is also a high-stakes quickfire.
The winner will receive immunity
and $20,000.
My husband and I have a restaurant for seven years now
that has been struggling.
And I have a family to provide for.
So $20,000 would help, you know, pay off some debt.
You'll have 30 minutes.
Your time...Starts now.
It's running of the bulls.
Everybody's full-on attack.
We're just all fighting for the protein.
There any protein left?
No proteins?
Everything that is on that pick
has to pack a punch.
Because it's so small, it's very difficult.
So I decided I wanted to do spiced shrimp and salmon
with a mojito relish.
Kind of infusing a cocktail in with this bite as well.
The idea of a toothpick,
you need to make sure that everything
sort of sticks to the toothpick.
So I'm gonna make a seared Bay scallop
with salted watermelon and a watermelon vinaigrette.
I'm tasting my food as I go,
and I can reseason if I need to.
Time to get ready. Time to go, go, go.
I can kind of feel it in my stomach,
like, "oh, my God. Oh, my God."
Am I gonna get 20k and immunity?
Yeah, you know? This is a great dish.
I'm making a fillet and scallop surf 'n' turf
with potato cake and bearnaise sauce.
If I pull this off,
I should have a really good chance at winning.
Hey, somebody's bacon's burning.
I think Steve is a really talented culinarian
but overdoes it a little bit on the plate.
He's doing everything he could possibly fit on a toothpick.
Think he has a little too much going on.
I'm great at party foods.
You know, half my menu is canapes.
What I'm gonna do is a pan-seared scallop,
and I'm gonna make a little thai basil essence.
It should be a really good dish.
I'm making a crispy pork roulade
that has a little prosciutto,
some wensleydale cheese, and a little almond.
When I used to work with Italian restaurants,
we used to do something similar to this.
So I know exactly what I want to do.
I notice Amanda. She's right on the side of me.
She doesn't seem like she really knows what she's doing.
I don't automatically have an idea.
So...I decide to do the lamb kabob.
Making hors d'oeuvres. I really don't like it.
I think it's boring.
12 minutes.
I make plenty of hors d'oeuvres
'cause we do a lot of group business.
So I'm doing a cheddar pecan waffle
with buttermilk fried chicken and maple white gravy.
May I borrow your black pepper?
Yes, ma'am. I'll bring it back.
The concept is a little bit of soul Southern food on a stick.
Who wouldn't like that?
All you, all you, all you.
I actually wanna be creative,
so I decide to roll shrimp into slivers of pineapple.
What I realize is the pineapple's too damp,
so as I'm rolling them
and I'm trying to cut them in almost a sushi-style fashion,
it's falling apart, so that's not gonna work.
No lettuce, huh?
It seems like such a simple quickfire challenge.
But I'm having a hard time conceptualizing everything.
I can see the dish,
but I don't know how to transport the dish
onto a stick.
Five, four,
three, two,
one. Hands up.
Utensils down.
Good afternoon. Hi, Kevin.
I made a grilled pork kebab.
On the bottom, creamed onion and bacon,
Sherry jus.
Wow.
I have buttermilk fried chicken
on a cheddar waffle.
We did two different styles of tuna.
One is a crunchy confit,
and the other one is a grilled piece of tuna.
Hopefully, you get all the umami flavors.
I'm definitely trying to sell them on the dish.
Let's see if it happens.
I do like asia without the long plane flight, though.
It's a nice touch.
So what I prepared is a crispy pork roulade.
I have a little prosciutto, a little dates,
and a little wensleydale cheese in the middle.
Thank you.
So I have a little lamb kabob
with fried heirloom cherry tomato
and a salsa Verde.
Truth be told, lamb is one of my favorites.
This is a politician.
He's very good he's smiling.
So is it in the top? It's anyone's guess.
I did a tandoori Spice sockeye salmon and shrimp kabob
with a mango mojito relish.
Getting your liquor and your meat
all in one toothpick's pretty clever.
Congratulations.
Hi, Angelo. How are you?
I actually went old-school.
I brought the cucumber cup back.
And I fused it with a spiced shrimp and cashew.
Very simple.
I'm actually a little bit embarrassed.
It's not very modern to use a cucumber,
but I'm like... The flavors are so amazing
that I have to put something up.
Well, I have a little tarragon bearnaise sauce
with scallop, beef, and a little crispy potato on the bottom.
It's very good. It was very meaty.
Like to give some substance. Yeah, that's nice.
He just went, "mmm... meaty!"
I was like, "I'm in there for 20k, yo!"
So I have a pan-seared scallop
with crispy bacon and strawberries
and a little basil essence.
I've made for you a nantucket Bay scallop, nice and sweet.
I've served it with a salted watermelon
and a watermelon vinaigrette.
Great.
Who had the most difficulty in today's challenge?
Alex.
It was kind of a lot of favors going on,
and I didn't enjoy it especially.
Ed, uh, I liked the look of it
a little bit better than the taste of it.
Kelly.
I thought it lacked a little flavor.
Being in the bottom sucks. I'm really upset about it.
Next challenge, I really need to be thinking
about big and bold flavors that will stand out.
Whose dishes did you like?
Kevin, you were the first item I tasted,
and I thought about it all the way around the room.
Well done. Thank you.
Angelo. Wow.
Your cucumber dish with the shrimp on top
was like fireworks in my mouth.
Thank you. Stephen.
All I could think of when I saw yours
was..."Wow. There's a lot on that stick."
I really enjoyed that. Thank you.
As our guest judge,
why don't you announce the winner?
Well, Padma, the winner is...
Angelo.
Don't get me wrong.
I really wanna enjoy it and take it in and live it,
but if I live it too much,
it's not gonna get me one step closer.
So my brain is automatically,
"okay, let's move on. It's time to move on."
Not only do you get immunity,
you get $20,000, furnished by Dial Nutriskin.
Angelo wins again? Yeah, I'm pissed off.
Um...He keeps doing the same things over and over again.
I know my dish is good,
but if they like eating chinese food all the time,
then so be it.
I mean, they're stuck on it, so that's their problem.
You're not on the bottom. Okay.
You're not on the bottom. Stop it.
If Tiffany's fiance
caught wind of anything that was going on,
ed would be in big trouble.
For your elimination challenge,
you'll be taking part in an old-school political tradition--
the power lunch.
The power lunch is where deals are made,
bills are brokered,
and a good meal can make negotiations run very smoothly.
You'll be taking over one of the prime restaurants
in the lunch scene...
The historic palm D.C.
I actually have eaten at the palm quite a few times
here in D.C.
Kind of a tradition with my family,
and we'd get a big 4-pound lobster,
and they'd put it down in the middle of the table,
and we'd all share.
You'll serve 24 diners each
using five of the main ingredients on their menu.
And to find out what you'll be working with,
please draw knives.
Lamb chops.
Lobster.
Swordfish.
Porterhouse.
Salmon.
I pull salmon, then a million things go off in my head--
you could serve it raw, medium-rare, well-done,
poach it, grill it.
I have a big decision to make.
Salmon.
Swordfish.
I work in a seafood restaurant,
so I've been like having this recipe
that I've been wanting to pull out for swordfish.
I'm excited.
Porterhouse steak.
Lobster.
Lamb chops.
This is not a head-to-head challenge.
You'll be competing against all the other Chefs,
no matter which protein you have.
And the palm will provide your proteins.
Good luck!
Two more.
Whew!
That's a lotta Prep work.
I used to work lunch in downtown San Francisco.
Power lunches are all we did.
I have three great power lunch salmon dishes.
So I feel like this might be my day.
Think I'm gonna go with the first one.
I draw lamb, um... And Kenny draws lamb.
So I think it's gonna be pretty interesting.
He's a great friend,
but I have to be competitive towards everyone.
Thank you very much.
15 minutes!
That's a one-fiver.
My plan is to do something
that doesn't traditionally go with swordfish.
Such a bargain shopper.
I don't like the way swordfish eats.
I don't like the texture of it.
So it's gonna be rough.
But there's no crying in the kitchen.
Let's go!
We arrive at the Hilton kitchen.
I open up that fridge, I'm just like...Whew!
To be honest with you, I've never seen a 4-pound lobster.
Those claws are almost as big as my hand.
Oh, my God!
Looking around the kitchen,
I see everybody with their protein.
The fish is already cut.
Porterhouse steaks are already in cryovaced bags.
And I'm realizing
that I'm at a huge disadvantage right now
because of the size of these lobsters.
My plan is to first do an olive-raisin tapenade.
I know this recipe off the back of my hand.
I'm at my station just cutting,
and Ed's like, "those frickin' mutant lobsters!"
And he's running by or something,
and I'm like "what's goin' on?"
Like I still feel like I'm lost.
I'm like, "okay, well, maybe I need to work
a little bit faster."
These pieces are huge.
Two people could dine on this.
They gave me these dinosaur-style
portions of salmon.
I'm all over the place.
I don't even know what I'm gonna do.
But it'll come to me.
Hour 15!
I've never cooked a porterhouse steak before.
So I have zero intention
of serving a porterhouse in an elimination challenge.
Amanda's taking her meat off the bone.
It's not technically a porterhouse anymore
if you take the bone awa
she will end up with a bunch of New York strips
and a bunch of fillets.
We were asked to cook at the palm their protein,
so I think it's not a great move.
I'm making broiled lamb cops
with goat cheese and olive rissole.
I've worked in center city, Philadelphia.
I had the mayor come into the restaurant...
Almost once a week.
So I have a good understanding what they're looking for.
So ed and I are pretty deep in the weeds,
trying to dig out of our own grave.
I'm gonna do a butter-poached lobster.
To be honest with you,
I'm not too familiar with the power lunch.
I'm just going with the concept of accessible and flavorful.
Somebody's burning bacon.
It's not burnt.
My dish is hand-roasted swordfish.
Typically, it's served with some sort of tropical salsa.
So I am taking it into a different direction.
I'm gonna finish it
with a vanilla Bean mustard beurre blanc.
It's something that I've done before,
and it tastes good.
Five minutes!
Angelo, are you using all of them?
Ha.
Doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
Honestly, like I've spent most of the time
breaking down all of these lobsters.
Who has the plastic wrap? I'm using it right here.
I'm starting to freak out
because I don't have a lot of time
to be working on these things tomorrow.
One minute, guys.
Three, two, one.
Let's go!
Wow.
I still haven't figured out what I'm doing.
That's my problem.
You haven't figured out what you're doing?
You don't know what you're making?
I have like too many ideas. I have one of those
stupid Too many ideas.
You gotta figure out what you're gonna do first.
What are you gonna do?
Well, I'm just going with what you said.
You gotta commit. I know.
I need to get the flavor set with the salmon.
I just really have to make it happen.
I have these English peas, but they're .
They're the same ones that ed got?
I can't decide what to do.
I hope it don't Bite me in the ass.
I thought I saw you having peas on.
That was me, but that was for my pea puree.
Is it cold?
No, no. It's warm?
Yeah, it's warm. Okay.
You know, I hang out with Tiffany a little bit.
I think I tend to trust Tiffany more
than anybody else in the house.
If...For some odd reason that I'm on the...
You're not on the bottom. Okay.
You're not on the bottom. Stop it.
The thing taste good... Then you won't have a problem.
The hardest challenge is I'm starting to doubt myself.
But she makes me feel good. Stop doubting yourself.
Ed and Tiffany kind of are tight,
and I'm pretty certain that if Tiffany's fiance
caught wind of anything that was going on,
ed would be in big trouble.
A few people think something's going on between ed and I.
But ed is not flirting with me.
I got a man.
But it pisses me off, though.
My pea puree.
Where the hell is the pea pur?
Did somebody take it? Did you see that pea puree?
Our challenge is to make a power lunch
at the palm restaurant.
We arrive, and it's just classic, you know?
The walls have caricatures all over them
of all the famous people that have eaten there
and politicians.
It feels good.
This is enough space for 12 steaks, isn't it?
No. That's about 8.
Hello.
Chefs, can you gather around, please?
Good morning. I'm Bruce bozzi.
My great-grandfather co-founded the palm in 1926,
and this is the first time we've handed over the kitchen.
And if that's not enough pressure,
Chef Tom colicchio will be back here
to keep an eye on things for me.
Day we have a totally booked lunch
with a lot of important, important customers.
So please, please don't let me down.
This is the first time he's ever
handed over the palm to anyone else.
Everyone is definitely feelin' the pressure.
The winning Chef of today's challenge
not only gets their winning dish
on our menu here in D.C.,
but your face on one of these walls--
prime real estat all right!
All right! Yeah!
I think about my shiny, smilin' mug on that wall.
I would Love it.
Good luck. Thank you.
Amanda, you gotta get these
at least side by side or something
so that we can move.
I think Amanda needs to go home.
She's not very experienced,
and she shouldn't be here right now.
Can you cook closer to your station?
Yeah, okay.
You guys have salt?
She doesn't bring salt or pepper with her?
Tough. You know, we're competitors.
I-I need it. Set it here.
I think Kelly's using way too much salt
and not very willing to share.
'Cause I'm gonna need salt.
I'm not gonna be like, "nope, no salt here."
That's stupid. You've used all the salt?
I only brought enough for myself.
I figured out what I'm gonna make.
I'm gonna make a pea puree, first thing.
If it works, I'll use it. If not, I toss it.
It's a little risky, 'cause my whole game plan
was based around pea puree.
How's it going? Wonderful, Chef.
I'm just here to see how you guys are working the line
and handling the pressure.
Cooking with Tom in the kitchen,
I was very, very intimidated.
Hot pan. Hot, hot.
I'm making sicilian swordfish
and I want to make sure that the fish
is properly cooked. I'm gonna use this right here.
Oh, you're back here. I got a broiler right here.
I'm good. Oh, there you go.
I'm in an area-- I'm totally isolated by myself,
and it's really nice.
They'll get me off my game
when they start runnin' around too much.
You're killing me, smalls.
Guys, try to keep the kitchen a little clean.
I know we're busy, but you know, wipe down on the stoves.
Kelly, you got an extra butter?
I do.
The dish I'm preparing is a pepper rack of lamb.
Last time I did lamb, it was for cold wars.
That didn't fare as well as I'd hoped.
So now I'm really looking forward to being able
to bring this lamb to another lel.
Damn it!
How we doing, Chef? Just checkin' things out.
Dude, where's my pea puree?
Where is my pea puree? It's not there.
It's gone. Did you happen to see that pea pure
that I put--I put it in a cooler over there?
I haven't seen anything. I'm sorry.
Where the hell is the pea puree?
Did somebody take it?
Steve, did you take my pea puree out of that cooler?
We had three-- no, I did not!
I did not touch your pea puree. My fish was on top, Chef.
Alex, did you see that pea puree?
I did not. I did not use any peas.
The only person that has a pea puree on their dish is Alex.
It was not made the day before.
Alex didn't conceptualize his dish until the day of.
It would really piss me off if Alex stole my pea puree.
Eddie, I looked. I couldn't find it.
That's really Up.
Alex. You want broccolini?
I'm like, ed, calm down.
You have to just do something else.
I have broccolini left.
You know, I'm just trying to get him to focus back
on what he needs to do.
I'm aggravated and pissed off,
but I don't have time to be looking for this thing.
So I'm gonna have to come up with a substitute.
Kenny and I are making lamb.
The lamb that I sous vide looks pretty good,
but I need to reat it.
When you're doing that, you wanna make sure
you don't go higher than the temperature
you originally cooked it at.
But I'm able to work through those things,
and I'm pretty confident
I have a better meal than Kenny's.
Let's try to tell the truth, senator.
Amanda, how much time? Can't see the clock right now.
You got a minute left.
Mr. "I'm a politician, I like everybody."
Okay, Chefs, I'll be tasting your dishes as well.
Look at this.
Each dish should be judged individually.
It's not protein against protein.
Hello.
Chefs, I'd like to introduce you to the diners
joining us today.
At my table, we have senator mark Warner
from Virginia.
Mika brzezinski,
Joe scarborough, host of morning Joe.
Hi, guys.
John podesta,
President of the center for American progress.
Uce bozzi, executive vice president
at the palm restaurant.
Gail, who's over there?
This is Kelly O'Donnell,
capitol hill nbc correspondent,
Luke russert, also an nbc correspondent.
And savannah guthrie,
nbc news white house correspondent.
And you may recognize art Smith,
Chef and owner of art and soul
here in Washington, D.C.
Well, we both prepared a porterhouse steak.
Mine is on the bone.
It's served with a roasted shallot demi-glace
and a fresh salad of arugula, endive, and crispy potatoes.
I have prepared what I'm calling
a duo of New York steak and filet mignon.
I opted to take the meat off the bone.
The garnish on the side is pommes parisienne,
cherry tomatoes, and arugula. Thank you both.
Let's try Amanda's porterhouse.
I think both pieces of meat, they really have good flavor.
Her sear is delicious.
There's great seasoning and salt.
I liked it a lot.
I liked the draping of the meat over.
Let's try Kelly's food next.
This is like half a cow.
It is, it is.
This is a lot more Texas than D.C.
Do you think that was intentional,
to go that salty?
I think she was probably worried about under-salting.
Kelly's really does jump out at you
and I think it's, for me, at least, more enjoyable.
In '95 when I first came to congress,
and everybody was having huge steaks.
We were all drinking red wine, smoking cigars.
The world's changed.
Time, tiff? Two minutes.
My main concern is that
the swordfish is gonna be cooked properly.
But I feel good about the components of my dish,
for the most part.
Time's up!
Let's go.
I have the swordfish
that has a little bit of a olive and raisin tapenade.
And on the side I have a little broccolini
and just a touch of bacon.
I have the swordfish as well.
It is pan-seared.
It is served with an israeli couscous
done in a Risotto style
with a vanilla Bean mustard beurre blanc.
Thank you both. Thank you. Enjoy.
This is Andrea's swordfish
with couscous Risotto.
It's really sweet.
You feel the butter.
You know that there's some calories in this.
I'm fearful of what it might to do me.
I know, and that's a valid fear, right?
I don't know if I expected the vanilla.
At first I thought it was interesting,
and then it was like... Not.
I do think it's a very strong taste,
but I kind of didn't mind that.
I think Tiffany... Gave it some zest.
She had a lot going on here, but it does work.
It's so distinct.
I've never had anything like this.
Had the fish been cooked just a little bit less,
I think this would have been a wonderful dish.
I know that I overcooked the fish.
Like I know without a doubt at I'm on the bottom.
It feels worse to know that I know this dish
and that I've done this dish.
43 seconds.
Thank you very much. Gorgeous.
What's your favorite burger? I go with the Obama one.
Yes. That's a good one too.
Okay, um, I have a pan-seared salmon
and a warm vegetable salad.
I've tossed spinach and arugula.
And I have a lightly applewood smoked piece of salmon.
It's sitting on black forbidden rice
underneath that is a little English pea puree.
Thank you. Thank you. Bon appetit.
Let's all start with Alex's salmon.
I love the sweetness of the pea against it.
It worked instead of having to put lemon on.
The portion is perfect.
You'll walk out of here
feeling like you've had a great meal.
You won't feel gross.
Let's try Stephen's salmon now.
I find it messy, where our other friend...
It was in symphony.
Presentation-- I mean, Stephen's,
I'm pretty disappointed.
It's got a heaviness to it. Yeah.
You have about 2 1/2 minutes left.
Can you slide down?
What's the time, what's the time?
What's the time?! 35 seconds.
Last few minutes were outta control.
I'm scrambling to finish right now.
I can barely sauce the plate.
It's a complete nightmare.
Angelo.
We have a butter-poached lobster
served with a salad of jicama, asian pear, arugula.
The froth over the lobster is a lobster-scented stock.
Ed. So what I have here
is a slow butter-poached lobster ballotine
with a smoky eggplant caviar
and English pea asparagus fricassee.
Enjoy. Enjoy.
All right, let's start with Angelo's
butter-poached lobster.
I'm having a chewing issue.
Okay, all right. I'm not alone in that.
The foam...Is strange.
I don't know that I'm a foam man.
Uh, maybe the Top Chefs are doing it in Europe,
Spain, or wherever.
I happen to like the presentation of Ed's plate.
I think the lobster looks very fresh.
I enjoyed the lobster.
It had flavor right off the bat.
I actually most enjoyed the eggplant.
I thought it had a nice smoky flavor to it.
The peas are the weakest piece of this dish.
They're not necessary. I agree.
I prepared a peppered lamb double chop.
One is boneless and one has one single bone.
We have a fig pistachio bread pudding fig jam, broccolini,
and a vanilla morel demi-glace.
I prepared a double-cut lamb chop.
It's been broiled.
It's served with braised lamb shoulder
and olive and goat cheese rissole,
tomato concasse that's been pureed,
and a little bit of mache salad.
Thank you very much.
Let's start with Kenny.
The sauce is very interesting. It's sweet but--
maple syrup. Yeah.
It's a fig jam that he's piped out.
Some spinach leaves I would have loved.
Little bit of greens.
So Oscar for best actor.
Supporting cast was not there.
Let's talk about Kevin's lamb next.
Mine is actually overcooked.
The meat had a little toughness that I...
Yeah. I found hard to get through.
But other--the balance of it was good.
The flavor's so strong,
there's nowhere on the plate to go for a break.
Everything is just zing-zing.
It's a beautifully silky smooth puree of fire.
And I love spicy food.
Thank you guys so much for coming.
Thank you all very much. Thank you.
Thanks, guys. Real treat.
Tom. Hey, sir, how you doin'?
How was it back there?
Well, a little sloppy.
Running around a lot, kinda throwing things around.
Not everybody, but a few.
Coming from a human side,
from a side where food is love,
there was love in some of those dishes.
What y'all sweet-sweetin' about back here?
None of your business. I came back here to find out.
You gossipin'? No.
I just wanna now who the Stole my puree.
Everyone's kinda talkin' about it.
Alex had a pea puree,
and supposedly, someone saw it in the blender.
If Alex stole Ed's pea puree,
it's kinda grimy.
I think we know who we need to talk to at judges table.
Yeah. Sure.
Okay, let's go.
Hit me like a ton of bricks.
It's already cooked to medium-rare.
Mm-hmm.
My sense of humor is a great gift for me.
I use it to get through hard times.
I use it to celebrate good times.
Being on the bottom...
Some people might...Pray.
Steve was like, "let me tell you about being on the bottom."
In actuality, I really was listening to what he was saying.
But what I found myself to focus on...
Focusing on these words...
!
Really?
Stop it!
The seminar was ridiculous.
Those words...
Are gonna get me through.
I almost peed my pants.
Who could have taken it?
The only two people who could have...
Oh, that's who you thinks took it?
Some people think I took Ed's pea puree.
But you know what?
It's really coincidental that ed couldn't find his puree.
I didn't even know he was making a pea puree.
Can we please see Alex,
Tiffany, and ed?
Thank you.
Good luck, guys.
The three of you
have the best dishes in today's power lunch.
Oh, Jesus. Oh, my God.
Whoo!
Tiffany, are you wiping away tears?
Yes, I am!
I had already put up in my mind
that I was on the bottom.
I knew the flavor was there,
but I thought, um, that I cooked my fish a little too much.
It wasn't dried out, and the reason being
is that you cooked a little too soon.
Everything that you put into it had moisture,
and some of those juices released a bit.
It added a lot to it.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Ed.
I walk into the kitchen, I have these huge things.
They look like volkswagens. Ha ha ha!
It was really well done.
I know you felt very challenged,
but you didn't show it in the plate.
Thank God.
Alex.
I mean, I'm very surprised to be here.
When I heard salmon, it's such a diverse fish
that I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it.
You know, Alex, what I enjoyed about your dish
was that beautiful piece of fish cooked perfectly
and that wonderful pea puree that you put on that plate
that you swirled it across it.
I mean, I could have just eaten a whole bowl of that.
That was absolutely delicious.
It was simple, but yet it had great flavor.
Thank you, Chef. Art...
You have the honor of announcing the winner.
I enjoyed all three dishes,
but you know, there always is the person
that did the best job.
I'd have to say the dish that I really, truly
loved and enjoyed was...
Alex.
Congratulations, Alex.
Thank you. To have art Smith say
that he would just eat a plate full of your food...
There's nothing better
than people wanting to eat more of your food.
You get your dish on the menu of the palm D.C.
As well as your portrait on one of their walls.
Love it. Thank you.
It's pretty cool to have this mug on a wall.
You gotta cook from your own heart and your own soul.
It's gotta be your own food on the plate.
Now I need you to send back some of your colleagues, please.
Thank you. Nice meeting you, Chef.
And the winner is Alex.
Thank you.
With how silky and delicious his English pea puree was.
I'm like, this is Bull.
To be able to complete this English pea puree properly,
there's no way he had that amounof time.
They wanna see Kelly, Andrea, Kevin.
Kevin, Kelly, and Andrea,
you have the worst dishes in today's power lunch.
Let's start with you, Kevin.
What did you put in that tomato concasse?
Tomatoes, garlic, and a little bit of red Chile flakes.
None of us could figure out what it was
because all we got was heat.
It just hit me like a ton of bricks.
Did you taste it before you-- I did, I did.
And you didn't think it had too much Spice?
No. I thought everything together tasted good.
I guess the biggest problem I had with the dish
was the lamb itself. It wasn't seared nicely.
One chop was really overcooked. I prefer it medium.
I think when it's mid-rare
it tends to be a little bit fatty.
I felt the lamb--the bones weren't properly cleaned,
so to me that sent a message--
was there enough care put in the dish?
Andrea.
Swordfish.
It's not a fish that I cook often.
It's not a fish that is a favorite of mine.
You know, when you made the statement
that it's fish that you normally not cook,
obviously, it's reflected in the dish.
The couscous, it was very kind of gloopy,
and it was overcooked.
You know, in hindsight,
perhaps a fresh salad would have been better
with a heavy fish.
What really hurt the dish was the vanilla--
it was way too much.
The mustard and the vanilla Bean
is something that I've done before
and has been successful-- not that it's an excuse.
If we wanted to taste the food that you cook
every day that you're used to,
we'd just come to your restaurant.
Kelly.
I really wanted to present a dish
that sort of paid homage to the steakhouse
and traditional flavors that go with steak.
So you really don't know why you're here.
'Cause you did all that, but you did one other thing too.
I think my food might have been a little salty.
Oh, yeah. Ha. That's why you're here.
I mean, I understand the mistake that I made, you know.
And quite frankly, I understood it as the ples went out.
Unfortunately, the salt, layer after layer,
became a fatal flaw. Sure.
You know, a bit of a slap in the face.
Thanks. That's all.
We'll see.
What happened?
It was too salty.
I think, honestly, my biggest mistake was...
I've been feeling like when I--
oh, this sucks.
Kelly didn't share her salt.
I guess that's what happens when you don't share.
She deserves to be on the bottom.
There were lots of mistakes on those plates today.
I think they were just nervous about the time.
Andrea's swordfish, at one point,
was up under the heat lamp for 7, 8 minutes
just sitting there.
That explains a lot, actually. Well, sure, sure.
Just because you as a Chef may not eat these foods
does not mean that gives you the excuse to do them poorly.
Kevin--I get the flavors,
I get the idea, but...
There was nothing that held that dish together.
Kevin, I can feel that...
I think his intentions were good.
He just didn't know how to pull it off.
Common sense. Common sense mistakes.
You sous vide stuff because it's idiot-proof cooking,
it's something that you put it in, you forget about it.
Then you gotta take it out and you have to sear it.
It's gotta overcook
because it's already cooked to medium-rare.
It felt like they just weren't paying attention.
They got distracted, they got sloppy.
Kelly started layering on that salt like crazy.
Over-salting--that's as common sense as it gets.
Everything on that plate was a salty mess.
You know, what concerns me when food is over-salty,
you think about the palette of the Chef.
When I taste over-salted food, it makes me question the Chef.
I just don't think she has a palette.
I've tried to play the game, you know,
and like season to what I thought they wanted
because they--I thought they wanted aggressive flavors.
And when I cook my food,
that's like very delicate,
but they think it's bland.
I think we know what we have to do.
I think so.
All right? I agree.
Okay, let's get them back here.
So for this challenge,
you were asked to create a power lunch.
Unfortunately, a lot of your dishes
left us wanting to take a power nap.
Kevin, the lamb was cooked
when it came out of the circulator.
By putting it under the broiler, especially a broiler that hot,
there was no other outcome
except for overcooking that lamb.
Kelly....
Overly salted food just completely ruined the dish.
Andrea...
You gave us a dish that was totally unfocused,
but it was really the vanilla that completely ruined the dish.
Unfortunately, for one of you,
your time on Top Chef is gonna end.
Andrea, please pack your knives and go.
It's all right, guys.
Come on.
Don't cry.
You know, I'm disappointed, because I don't feel like
I really got to truly show myself,
but I think that my issues were more mental
than anything else.
I respect the judges,
and they have really developed palettes,
and that's awesome.
But I don't need four people behind a table
to tell me that I can cook,
'cause I already know that I can.
That'll be all. Thank you.
It's me.
Hug it out. You know we will.
It's a game,
so I guess, you know,
I didn't play the game well today.
Good luck, guys.
I didn't wanna go home this early,
but at the end of the day, I can't change it at this point
so I move on.
Captioning by captionmax www.Captionmax.Com
next on Top Chef...
We're serving some ambassadors from the world.
As I get Brazil, I'm like, "jesus,
do they even have a cuisine?"
Oh! Ah! Gotcha this time.
Alex gets really aggressive.
I'm surprised that he's still here.
! When you watch Alex cook,
he's, like, throwing darts at a wall
and hopes it works, and it doesn't work.
Five minutes!
People are starting to put out their plates,
and I'm still making the salsa.
I think Alex needs more focus in the dish.
I don't feel China less is well represented.
I think amand's beef bourguignon needs beef.
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