Everyone like Carla. I mean she's a great cook
she's a great person.
She's like the mother of everyone here, you know?
Carla, really, the downfall was the pork was
just really undercooked.
Carla, please pack your knives and go.
The judges made the right decision.
I didn't have a winning dish.
It was hard to see Carla go.
We support each other.
I feel like a little piece of me is kind of leaving.
I'm just sad about that.
- So what went down? - Honestly,
when we got in there, they were just saying
what was wrong with each of our dishes.
It was more or less like,
"y'all just need to step it up."
For some reason, after the fire,
my head was just all over the place.
It's kind of, actually, the same thing that happened to me
in my finale, where I made it to the final four.
But I could never find the right groove
throughout the competition.
The bottom is like mush,
and the top is like rock.
And now I'm completely second-guessing
everything that I'm doing.
They don't want the classics.
Evolution, man.
We just gotta keep evolving our food.
I feel like I'm on a roll.
I beat Mike Voltaggio and won 10 Gs.
You know, I won the elimination challenge.
I beat Blais. And I feel like
I'm finally getting back on track.
All right, guys, let's go.
Four All-Star Chefs remain to fight it out.
Only one will win the grand prize--
a feature in Food & Wine magazine...
A showcase at the annual food and wine classic in Aspen...
$200,000 to pursue their culinary dreams,
furnished by Buitoni...
And the title that's eluded them all,
Top Chef.
♪ Top Chef: All-Stars 8x14 ♪ Island Fever Original Air Date on March 16, 2011
-- sync, corrected by elderman --
Sunshine.
- You sleeping in? - Mm-hmm.
The winter bear here?
It feels great to be in the final four.
What time is it?
Obviously it's time to go.
But you really have to be focused at this point.
I'm one step closer, but I've still got
a couple ways to go.
And all I can focus on is the next challenge ahead of me.
Let's go see what today holds.
I'll guess it's cooking with not enough time,
not enough equipment, and a twist.
In the middle of nowhere.
We get to the Atlantis kitchen,
and it's Padma and Lorena Garcia.
We just see stacks of plates and aprons.
So I have no idea what we're doing.
Welcome to the Bahamian Club
at the Atlantis.
I'd like to introduce you to Lorena Garcia.
You'll be able to see her
on NBC's new competition show,
America's Next Great Restaurant.
- Welcome. - Thank you.
This quickfire challenge is about consistency
and precision.
Anyone can get lucky and make a memorable dish just once.
But a great Chef makes that dish
exactly the same every time.
Consistency is an important part
of running a great restaurant.
Because you want to make sure that
if you come back for a dish that you enjoyed,
that it's exactly the same experience the next time.
The restaurant here is full of hungry diners
waiting to eat.
For your quickfire challenge,
you'll divide yourself into pairs.
Antonia is my cousin.
But at the end of the day, she is the black hammer.
And the black hammer sends people to the losers circle.
Each team must make 100 identical dishes
in one hour.
The pace of trying to put together that many plates,
and have each one of them taste and look the same--
I don't even know if we'll be able to do it.
There's a number on each of your plates.
Lorena and I will just randomly pick numbers,
and those will be the plates that we taste.
The winning team will take home $5,000,
furnished by Chilata Wines.
Your time starts now.
Mikey Mikey, where you at dude?
Regardless of the boys grabbing each other first,
I would have went for Tiffany.
I was thinking, like, cold filet salad,
lots and lots of herbs, spices. Mm-hmm.
She's very calm, very collected, great technique.
So working with Tiffany, great pair.
I'll give you half... tomorrow.
Me and Blais-- obviously, we're the favorites.
The girls know that, we know that.
I think if we win this challenge,
it's gonna crush them.
- You want me to make pasta? - Yeah.
Can you do it? Yeah.
Let me make bolognese, you make pasta.
Okay? Yeah.
Don't get confused by the technique.
It's about the plates being perfect.
We're going a pork bolognese
with fresh macaroni and pecorino cheese.
To make pasta from scratch in an hour
is pretty much almost unheard of.
So I'm gonna work my ass off to get there.
How you looking over there? I'm good man.
Just developing some flavor.
I'm disappointed that I didn't win the last challenge.
You know, second place sucks.
But my record for this season, quickfire-wise,
is four wins-- never bottomed.
I'd love to win this quickfire
and just build momentum,
and spread intimidation amongst the other Chefs.
Remember, we're only doing 100 plates.
It's really not that much meat.
We're gonna do a seared beef tenderloin salad
with lentils and celery leaves.
- The churri's ready to go. - Okay.
I'm getting a nice char on the meat.
Tiffany's making the chimichurri.
It's really flavorful.
Everything is cooked in one batch,
so everything across the board is gonna taste exactly the same.
I need to plate 100 plates for the diners,
and we have four components.
So plating is gonna take a little bit longer.
So I start plating immediately.
- Do you got water on? - Coming down.
What we're attempting is much more ambitious
than what the other team is doing,
which we refer to as slice and serve.
When someone doesn't really know what to do--
sear tuna, put a salad on it.
Seared beef, mango salad.
It's go time.
We gotta go, Mike.
You know, we have a few minutes left.
The girls look like they're just about done.
Me and Richard are running around like crazy.
Okay, we gotta go.
Consistency-wise, they're looking for
the same amount of food on each and every plate.
Be careful of the big pieces of prosciutto.
It's definitely more of a catering or banquet work.
And I'm not too sure that we're gonna actually get it done.
To do pasta in an hour is a feat,
but I feel like our plating was much more difficult
than scooping bolognese onto a plate.
Try to hit the smaller ones.
Time's up. Hands up, utensils down.
Time runs out. I'm looking at the plates.
It's tasty and delicious.
I want to get a big bowl of it.
The plates look the same. I'm happy.
I'll pick a very special birthday in my family: 2/20.
62 and 89.
So this is a pork bolognese,
a sauce that usually takes a long time to make,
with fresh macaroni. I made the macaroni myself.
You know, we thought one sauce, one batch.
That way it keeps the flavors nice and consistent.
Presentation-wise, the plates look pretty similar.
How did you portion each dish?
We had, like, a serving spoon.
One little spoon, then we came back along
and just, you know, tightened it up a little bit.
Actually, for 100 dishes,
I think that you have the consistency of the pasta,
so it wasn't overcooked. I liked it.
Thank you, both.
It's well-seasoned.
And I really enjoyed the spices.
They put some love into that.
Very good. Let's see what they have next.
So we did a filet salad.
I made a spice rub with a little bit of star anise,
a bit of dried chiles for the beef.
All these plates seem to look very similar, which is good.
And the cold dish, was that part of your strategy?
- Yes. - It was.
I mean, we wanted to do something
I like the idea that they were actually consistent,
in terms of the slice of meat.
It's the same amount.
And, you know, when you have four components,
it is a challenge, so well done. Thank you.
If I had to do Antonia and Tiffany's dish,
I probably could have sent Richard to the store
to go pick up a six-pack of beer
so we could celebrate the win after I did it by myself.
Red team rocks.
- Kudos to the Chefs. - Kudos.
Okay, Lorena, how do you think
our Chefs did overall?
I think that our Chefs did really, really well.
You managed consistency,
which is very important.
For the blue team, I believe
the ragout was very well-conceived.
The flavors were there. You got a little kick there,
I figure for the spices that you used.
For the red team, even though it was a cold dish,
it's easier to plate, in terms of 100 dishes.
You have different components,
which actually made it a little bit harder.
As our guest judge,
please tell us who the winner is.
As a Chef and a restaurateur,
I'm gonna base my decision on consistency,
and, of course, the flavor.
The punch of flavor has to be there.
I will have to give it...
To the red team. Yes!
This feels fantastic.
And I think Mike and Blais are sour grapes,
salty losers.
Ooh, they were mad.
Good job, guys.
Are you serious? A beef salad wins?
Pbbbt. Whatever.
- Congratulations, ladies. - Thank you.
It was a little bit of a "in your face" kind of moment.
We just have to keep that momentum going.
And for a female Chef to win Top Chef would be rad.
Antonia and Tiffany, you've won $5,000,
furnished by Chilata Wine. Thank you.
- I see smoke over there. - Whoo!
Padma in a bikini. Good morning.
There are sharks out there.
So are you guys ready for your elimination challenge?
The Commodore of the Nassau Yacht Club
has invited his friends to a very exclusive lunch
on the Islands to celebrate the club's 80th Anniversary.
It's high society, and there'll be high expectations.
The theme for the party is "Deserted Island."
And that's exactly where your elimination challenge
will take place.
Deserted Island?
My fears are that maybe we'll have nothing.
You know, this could be Lord of the Flies.
We're gonna have to go catch a wild boar and kill it.
The most notable ingredient that you're gonna find
in the island is conch.
You definitely want to incorporate
this favorite ingredient into your dish.
Conch's not a very popular item.
It is one of the signature dishes out here.
So before I came to the Bahamas,
I was practicing and working on some dishes.
It's a very difficult product to work with.
Okay, Chefs, get some rest. See you tomorrow.
- Thank you. Bye. - Bye.
I'm not sure what to expect today.
I'm gonna have to thread this needle just right
to make it to the finals.
I'm more prepared coming to the Bahamas.
I have 20 pounds of conch in my freezer.
I've been baking bread. I'm growing a beard.
All the things you should do to prepare for the finale.
I think that the tough part
is gonna be the amount of people,
and then what equipment do we have to cook?
Do we have a fryer, do we have a grill,
do we have a fire? Pressure cooker.
I think there's definitely gonna be cooking elements there.
'Cause then if not, everyone's gonna do a civiche.
Coming back and beating some of these elite guys,
I'm coming in the way I should have come in in Vegas,
and I should have came in in New York--
dominating the competition.
But at least I have the opportunity to start like this
in the Bahamas.
Now that I've made it past where I ended my season at,
I feel like it's a testimony of
you can do anything that you want to do.
- Let's go, guys. - I'm that small-town girl.
Like, when you're in the situation and go,
"I don't think I'd ever be able to do that."
And winning the Top Chef title would mean
anything is possible.
- Oh, Jesus. - Whoo!
- Hi, Chefs. - Put us all to shame, Padma.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
This is Captain Andy.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
We meet Captain Andy,
aka Sammy Hagar's twin brother, maybe--
and Padma in a bikini, hanging out by a boat.
So, uh, good morning.
He's gonna take you to your deserted island.
Your time starts exactly when
your feet hit the beach.
Oh!
We're looking forward to a delicious lunch.
Good luck. Bye.
Thank you.
Hasn't been our first boat ride, has it, guys?
Nope.
The experience has been tremendous.
I want one of those.
I'm excited, and a little nervous as well.
Are we gonna have equipment?
Is there gonna be no equipment?
All I really know is that we have to use conch.
I really practice techniques--
dishes that I can do with conch.
There it is.
I see smoke over there.
Okay, guys, so this is, like, some campfire stuff.
It's obviously we've run onto a beach, and we cook.
Know what I mean? Oh, .
We're in trouble.
I'm trying to stay cool, calm, and collective.
I'm thinking we're not gonna be cleaning our own conchs,
and breaking them apart.
Everything's gonna be there. Everything's gonna be fine.
Everything will fall into place.
We jump into the water because
you always want to be the first one in those boxes
to really have first pick at protein.
When I came up out of the water, it was like D-Day.
I felt like I was storming the beach at Normandy.
Oh, my God!
And we see our ingredients, and it's some beautiful,
amazing product.
- Wow. - That's gorgeous.
I see spiny lobster, snapper, grouper.
I don't see any conch. Where's the conch?
That's the conch.
That's for the conch. We gotta go get it.
- Oh, no. - Oh, my gosh!
This is ridiculous.
I have never gone snorkeling.
We have to go and get our own conch in the ocean!
Wow.
There are sharks out there, I'm pretty sure.
Mike, you know how to use this?
Uh, no.
I'm going in.
I don't want to see Mike Isabella topless.
And you don't either.
I swam when I was younger, so I'm a pretty strong swimmer.
I was out of breath more than I thought I was gonna be.
Like, you know, you hold your breath,
you dive down, you grab the conch.
Then you're, like, treading water,
and you're trying to put the conch into a net.
It was hard.
I definitely know that I need at least ten conch.
That way, I don't have to come back in the water
and spend too much time fishing around.
The first conch that I actually see
is, like, a little too deep for my own swimming skills,
and I'm, like, struggling to grab this conch.
And it's comical.
Although in my head, it's not comical.
I'm pretty scared. I can swim,
but it's definitely not my strong point.
I'm a hot mess out there.
Whoo! Finding the conch isn't too difficult,
but there were some slippery suckers.
The snorkeling thing is just--
it's not working out for me,
so I end up just taking it out
and just holding my breath.
Which...it was actually pretty cool.
I really forgot that we were in the middle of a challenge.
I'm, like, "holy cow. Okay, I need to get back up on shore."
I've never worked with conch before.
- How many you get? - Ten.
Nice job, Antonia.
We have to make a lunch dish,
and incorporate the conch.
I don't know how much meat I'm gonna be able
to get out of these shells.
I just hope that I can do it right.
- How much time, Tif? - 2:56.
Can opener?
Mikey, if you got a can opener, can I borrow it?
I don't have one.
No electricity, no gadgets, no toys,
no liquid nitrogen.
This is, like, survivalist cooking here.
I mean, it's really, really tough.
A wood-fire grill, some pots and pans,
and a table. And that's it.
This grill is all offset, like, .
Amazing!
I don't like the sand.
It's gonna be a big miracle if we don't get
any sand in our food.
There is no way that any food
is not gonna have any sand in it.
Oh, my God! I know. It's everywhere, man.
- . - He's a slippery sucker,
isn't he? I'm getting it.
Calm down, dude. Calm down. You got this.
Conch is a sea snail.
And my plan is bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
Break that shell open as hard and fast as you can.
Belt that, Richie!
But I don't have a lot of experience
with how to open up a conch.
I've never done it before
because we can't get conch in the shell back home.
Got it. Got it.
You could really kinda hear this sort of orchestra
of conch shell shucking that's going on.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Click, click, click.
Conch is a spiral,
and they all wrap their whole body around.
And the hot water is gonna kill it like it would kill a lobster.
It'll loosen 'em up in the shell,
and I can pull 'em out a little bit easier.
If you drop 'em in boiling water,
they come out a lot quicker.
I can't get these friggin' things to come out whole.
Not a lot of meat, for a big conch.
I'm about to go island style.
I've never really worked with conch.
Come on, you little slippery sucker.
Come on.
Jesus!
This is actually taking longer than I expected.
I'm running behind a little bit.
How many I need?
If I continue to struggle the way that I'm struggling,
it could be a disaster-- a total disaster.
I need more wood.
I'm gonna need, like, flame. The guests start to arrive,
and I'm totally in the juice right now.
But there's nothing you can do if there's no fire.
Oh, that's the best one I got all day.
Our challenge today is to cook a lunch with conch
for the Nassau Yacht Club.
It's their 80th Anniversary.
You got some nice conch, Mikey.
Yep, yep.
Aaaah...
I pulled him out!
I'm, like, "whoo-hoo!" Kind of excited.
Oh, they're still alive.
Once I'm done with the conch,
I totally wipe down my whole table.
The conditions are rough. You don't want someone
to get sand in your food.
Oh, Richie.
And the grill is not that hot.
I'm gonna want it a little bit hotter.
Can you use a little more heat?
I could definitely use more heat.
I'm gonna need it for when I'm searing you know, fish.
At this moment, completely opposite of what I was feeling
in our last elimination challenge.
This is a dish that I like.
My concept is to keep the conch fresh.
I want to do, like, a tartar of conch.
Does anybody have a machete?
I want to make a rich lobster nage.
I'm really going for strength, and fresh and brightness.
I want to push myself, and to do something different
than everybody else.
I'm gonna do a conch and coconut chowder.
I really want the coconut to stand out.
I have a coconut cream that I'm incorporating.
I'm also shaving fresh coconut.
And I'm gonna do the conch civiche.
So you're gonna have conch two different ways.
One hour and two minutes.
You using lobster or no? Yes.
Now I'm just exhausted.
My back hurts, my arms hurt,
my legs are killing me.
Running through the sand, and the dehydration--
I feel like I'm 70 years old.
I said to myself, if I ever cook on a beach
in this competition, if there's seaweed
or banana or anything like that around, I was gonna use it.
So here's my opportunity. Absolutely.
I just really wanted to take this whole challenge,
and have it really inspire me with all the local ingredients.
I'm gonna do some wrapped grouper.
I'm gonna make a warm conch vinaigrette,
like a butter sauce.
I gotta take a sweet local pineapple,
cook it, and take all the sweetness out of it
so it's savory.
As long as I execute it right, it'll be good.
Anyone has parsley out?
The challenge says we have to use conch.
It doesn't say it has to be Caribbean.
It's kind of a play on linguini and clams,
but linguini and conch.
I grew up on Long Island, so...
I think conch is to the Caribbean
what clams are to the Northeast.
One of the things that I noticed
when I harvested the conch
was how beautiful the inside of the shell is.
And I'm gonna use the sweet potato
to sort of mimic linguini in this classic dish.
These sweet potato noodles are really risky.
These really have to taste like pasta.
- Chef jackets. - Where's my Chef coat?
Where are the plates? Behind the vegetables.
Mike, you don't have any more?
I cut all primal cuts, and I threw a lot of scrap out.
All right.
I don't really pay attention
to what other people are doing
because I really don't care.
18 minutes, Blais. Got it.
Tif, did you say you were using your nonstick?
I need one.
Antonia's cooking her food.
She masks the flavor of the conch.
It's a nice piece of fish with a sauce, like, "yay."
She's just doing the same food, no matter what it is.
What the heck am I looking for? Sugar.
I think there's an added pressure on me.
Because I lost my season, I know the gravity of this.
No, I can wait till you're done.
Take it, I'm done. Take it.
That's kind of the motivating force for me,
you know, that all 14 of these plates
have to be spectacular, or I'm going home.
I need more wood. I'm gonna need, like, flame.
Yeah, I need more heat.
I have worked for, you know, amazing restaurants,
and the most challenging station that I worked
was the wood-burning grill.
It's not easy, by any means.
I really want to make sure that every piece of fish
is cooked the same.
I don't need a flame. I just need it to be hot.
It's not melting the butter.
When I was on the Las Vegas season,
we cooked in the desert one time,
and we had that open-pit fire.
I'm stoked to see what our cook space is gonna be.
- I don't care-- - You know what it's gonna be.
Aw.... No way!
You kind of figure out what you could do,
and how you can do it, so I definitely learned from that.
I can cook anything and make it happen.
We've got ten minutes to go--
the guests start to arrive,
and I'm totally in the juice right now.
But there's nothing you can do if there's no fire.
Is it hotter, Antonia?
I'm gonna need, like, hot, hot, flaming, flaming.
- It's beautiful. - Yes, it is.
Thank you so much for letting us join you,
celebrating your 80th Anniversary.
Cheers. Thank you.
To 80 more.
As time is winding down, I taste the conch by itself.
I'm really surprised by how mild the flavor is.
But the flavor is good.
I enjoy dishes that have two different temperatures.
Soups that have a little bit of a cool finish.
Which is why I'm putting the civiche on top
of the soup.
How many members do you have at the yacht club?
Around 475.
And I have the privilege this year to be the Commodore.
And you are the ex-Commodore, correct?
Five years ago.
How long is the reign of each Commodore?
The reign.
We are elected for one year. We can do another year,
but it's two years maximum.
Our mayor in New York, he decided that
he wanted to run for another term and change the law.
So if you're the Commodore, you can change the law
and go for three.
I'm wondering if it's easier
to do it in New York or in the yacht club actually.
Mikey, I love you.
Antonia, I love you. Love you.
I hate everything that I do as soon as I do it.
I think it's an artistic trait that, just--
I want to just--I made it. I want to just smash it.
Antonia, time? You've got 5:25.
Now I'm kind of seeing what my competitors are doing,
and that makes me nervous because
there's lots of tropical things going on.
There's fish in banana leaves,
and there's coconut milk--
I missed the memo.
I did a Hamptons dish
instead of a Caribbean dish, so I'm nervous.
- Hi, Richard. - Hi. How are you?
I'd like to introduce you to the Commodore
of the Nassau Yacht Club,
his wife Beatrice, and all their friends.
And, of course, you know your judges.
Gail Simmons, Tom Colicchio.
And you remember Lorena Garcia from yesterday.
What did you make for us today?
I'm a Long Island boy,
so this is my version of linguini with clams,
but linguini with conch.
It's a sweet potato linguini. Enjoy. Thanks.
Is your lobster undercooked? Did he mean it that way?
Yours is much less cooked.
We eat a lot of conch here,
and we don't eat it cooked, you know.
We like the conch salad, and then it's Conch.
But it's really very tasty. Good flavor.
I think Richard did a very good job.
I like very much the mushroom with the conch.
The pasta was, you know-- when you think about
making pasta on a beach--
think about it. He didn't buy the pasta.
It didn't come in a box.
He actually made it on the beach.
I think it was just raw sweet potato.
No, no, no. He made pasta.
I thought it had a crunch to it.
Really?
I think it's just ribbons of sweet potato.
So ingenious.
It is just sweet potato, yeah.
- Which is kind of brilliant. - Amazing.
Are you making a dark and stormy?
It's gonna be like that in a couple of hours.
It's, like, freezing cold.
It's a storm getting ready to come down.
It's beginning to get very, very windy.
It's getting harder and harder cooking on the beach.
Tony's being very modest.
He hasn't told you that he's a past world champion
in the sunfish class.
- Three times. - Three-time world champion.
This is a great way to celebrate it then.
Salud! Salud!
Finally, the fire is lit a little bit more.
So I'm really just hoping that, execution-wise,
everything is going well.
I want the plates to look nice,
but I also want my fish to be cooked properly.
I pushed as hard as I could today.
I really hope that they like the dish.
Today I did a seared snapper
with a little bit of conch tartar.
Almost like a civiche.
It's a lot of the local vegetable
that was supplied.
Enjoy. Thank you.
Oh, my God. Whew!
The civiche on top is the one that has--
It's the civiche, yeah.
As soon as I put a bite in my mouth,
it was a punch right there, and I loved it.
What Antonia did here was conch, Bahamian style,
because it's very spicy.
We love spices in the Bahamas.
I think Antonia's food is great.
I love the taste. Beautiful.
Antonia did a delicious dish here.
The problem is just the conch is cut so small,
you close your eyes and put this in your mouth,
you are not gonna taste conch. No.
My fish was overcooked.
And yours seems to be undercooked.
Mine's undercooked.
I think you guys might just miss the rain.
Yeah.
Everyone is standing around me,
and I'm wanting to scream out,
"can y'all step back for a second
and let me finish my plate?"
I think everyone's just so nervous.
It's very tight.
I've got so much time left.
By the time I finish with everything,
I have about two and a half minutes.
The diners are finishing up with Antonia's dish.
Too early.
The flavors do change when it's hot and cold.
So I'm very concerned about the soup.
Hello, hello. So I did a coconut chowder
with a little bit of snapper and conch.
I did conch two ways.
One is a soup conch,
and then one is a conch civiche.
I garnished it with a little bit of fresh coconut cream.
Thank you.
I'd have liked the chowder if it was hot.
Why is it cold?
I don't think this was ever hot.
I don't think it was ever hot.
No, maybe not.
I like it because she did a civiche on top.
Mango and cilantro, I mean, they got me right there.
So I'm a fan.
I thought it was unexpected,
and I really enjoyed the mango and the sweet potato
and the coconut.
For me, it's even too sweet.
It's a nice dish.
But it's just the flavor hasn't been developed enough.
I grew up sailing at a yacht club in Canada,
on the Great Lakes.
We sailed these hilarious little boxes.
What were they called?
One child at the age of eight
could sail that themselves.
Although we did a lot of capsizing.
Got this.
Elliot went home in the first challenge
for the banana-wrapped fish.
But I mean, her dish was elementary.
I mean, it was not cooked through, had no flavor.
It's a really classic dish, but with my little touches
and flavor profiles that I put in there,
I really feel like I took it to the next level.
So it is a refined dish, but it is a peasant dish.
Finally.
How you doing?
Today I tried to use as much local ingredients as I can.
So I have a banana-leaf steamed grouper.
I serve it over a little bit of braised pineapple,
so it's a little bit savory-- it's not sweet.
And then on top I made a warm conch vinaigrette.
So hopefully you enjoy, okay? Thank you very much.
Mmm. Smoky.
The fish, although very well cooked,
was a little bit overwhelmed by the pineapple,
the banana leaf, and the butter.
This dish does not need butter.
It already has enough richness and earthiness.
I quite enjoyed Michael's fish.
To me, it was well-- it was very well cooked.
I loved what Michael did here.
I'm sort of obsessed with that braised pineapple.
Michael was right.
He described it as being savory.
It had a sourness.
He took a risk here, and I'm so glad he did.
I didn't pound it at all. I just diced it.
I want to get the momentum going.
I'm not winning every challenge,
and at this point in the game,
not winning this one would really be devastating.
Mikey, really, tell me what you think for real.
I didn't eat it together.
But I mean, I think all the flavors work.
You know, I mean, it makes sense.
Lobster jus, seared fish.
It's a giant sense of relief when I'm done.
And then all of a sudden it's, like,
there's only gonna be three of us tomorrow.
All that anxiety comes rushing back to me.
I'm really proud of them. They did a beautiful job
in difficult circumstances.
They really embraced the challenge,
and I think we have a very tough decision ahead.
Commodore, Beatrice,
thank you so much for allowing us
to celebrate with all of you.
Let's get back to the judges' table.
All right, guys, let's get out of here.
I just thought I had a good dish.
And then you get, like, a smack in the face.
Yeah. What's wrong with you?
We see all these islands. We even see, like,
the real Gilligan's Island, so it's pretty cool.
We're thinking who amongst us
would be what character from that show.
So I'd be the Professor, of course.
I'd probably be the skipper, 'cause I'm the big, old guy.
Then you'd have the two girls. We'd have ginger and Mary Ann.
Tiffany would be Ginger. She kind of reminds me of a ginger.
I don't know why. She just looks like a ginger.
Gilligan was Carla.
Apparently, I'm Ginger.
I don't really know why.
I don't wear evening gowns.
- It was un-- - It was really--it was really...
The weather was perfect.
Getting that conch out, though, I was, like...
Getting 'em out of the shell was a pain in the ass.
Did you taste my conch?
I did taste your conch, Mikey.
Was it cooked enough?
I though it was cooked enough.
I don't know, man. I'm just nervous.
I'm actually happy with my dish.
I did exactly what I said I was gonna do,
and what I wanted to do. I liked it.
Richie, you feel good?
No. I never feel good. You know that.
I definitely did something in a different direction
than the three of you.
Like, I went different flavor profile.
It was too classic.
Yeah, potato noodles are super-classic.
What's wrong with you?
- Good evening. - Good evening.
We'd like to see all of you. Thank you.
Let's go see what they have to say.
Only three of you will be moving on
to compete for the $200,000, furnished by Buitoni.
You guys did a great job. What was really impressive,
besides the food, there was not one grain of sand
in any of the dishes.
It was a tough challenge, and you guys really did a great job.
- Antonia. - For me, especially coming out
of the last challenge, I felt giving you this
was a direct reflection of me being out there today.
It's where my mind went
with the conch and the sauce and the fish.
You found a very nice balance
into the sweetness, the spiciness.
I think it was right on.
- Thank you. - It was a good dish.
I wish the conch were cut a little bigger,
so you can get more of the conch flavor.
It was cut the same size as the brunoise
of everything else, and it got a little lost--
you had to really fish for it.
I did like the amount of sear on the fish.
I thought that was great, but my fish was overcooked.
Paul, who was sitting next to me--his was undercooked.
I didn't like the conventionality of it.
Out of all four plates,
I would say yours was the most predictable
in presentation
in a way, I actually find that to be a compliment.
And I know it might sound crazy,
but I look at it like that's my style of food.
You know, I want you to look at a dish and say,
"that is exactly the way Antonia cooks."
Four elements on a plate, well done,
and something that I want to eat in those surroundings.
And that's what I feel like I did today.
Richard.
Hopefully, I'm showing a sense of authorship
and uniqueness.
From my season, getting back, getting another chance to win
would be the proudest moment of my professional career.
Well, your pasta was quite unusual.
I actually thought it was pasta at one point.
I mentioned that I couldn't believe
you actually made pasta, 'cause it was tender.
I didn't get crunch in it at all.
So it was a nice little plate. I really enjoyed the dish.
Richard, you certainly didn't use ingredients
that I would associate with being right here,
in terms of the location.
For example, the mushrooms, fennel seed.
But it really worked.
I think the conch, you cooked it to perfection.
I got to the lobster, but it was undercooked.
Tiffany.
I feel like I did a good dish.
Sometimes I do some stuff, I'm, like,
"what in the world was I thinking?"
But everything today made sense for me.
I thought that everything inside was cooked perfectly.
I loved the combination of the conch with the fish,
and the cilantro did it for me. Thank you.
I loved the idea of the chowder,
and I really liked how you used the conch
in two different ways, but did you mean for it
to be hot or cold?
It was hot when it came off the fire.
Why was it cold?
It really did get windy
when I was plating.
It's just the way it all went down.
The flavors were there.
It was bold, and a little bit of spice.
The cilantro was nice. The basil was nice.
The only thing I found, it was a little on the sweet side.
Mike?
I felt like I really embraced the challenge.
I thought it was a fun
Caribbean-influence style dish
that I used a lot of local ingredients.
What were the spices the you braised
the pineapple in, exactly?
A curry mix.
I thought that pineapple was amazing.
I thought it was a really interesting dish.
- I'm trying. - I enjoyed the banana leaf--
the smokiness that you got from that.
It really gave it almost a mysterious flavor.
The only problem I had with the dish was the butter.
When you think of tropical flavors,
butter doesn't come into play anywhere.
But that said, I liked it. Thank you.
Please return to the stew room.
Thank you.
Now I know why you're stressed before judges' table every time.
- Why? - I just thought I had
a really good dish, and I thought
I just had a shot to win.
But then you get, like, a smack in the face.
Well, we have to decide who's moving on
to the final three.
I mean, it's not gonna be easy.
All four of these dishes were good.
They all did exactly what we asked them to do.
More or less, they all did a pretty good job
using the conch.
I really like how Richard used the conch.
It really was reminiscent of clams.
A beautiful segue for him to kind of connect
where he's from, and where he is right now.
I thought the flavors were all nicely put together.
You know, the twist with the sweet potato,
I thought that was nicely done.
I think he did a nice job with this.
Even though it was a well-conceived dish,
the lobster-- there was some inconsistency.
You had a great piece of lobster--maybe mine wasn't--
yours was undercooked. Yeah.
We all had some issues. I had--
obviously, two people had slightly undercooked lobster,
which I don't believe.
Let's talk about Antonia's dish.
I really liked the consistency.
The viscosity of the sauce was right there.
Even though the conditions were not the best.
I think her conch was the least impactful
of all the dishes.
And that was because it was cut so small,
you could barely tell what it was.
She wanted to make her food,
and we might not have thought it was the most creative,
the most unusual...
but there's something to be said for pleasing your customer.
She made that table very happy today.
And they're native of the islands,
so they know how to eat conch.
I love Tiffany's concept.
I love what she had in mind to do.
The balance of the flavors were there.
I was able to taste the conch,
and I was able to taste the fish.
It just missed.
The flavors didn't come together.
And there was an overall sweetness to the dish
that I didn't care for.
If we had eaten Tiffany's chowder
the way she had intended it, piping hot,
it would have been a different dish.
But that's what's bizarre about the whole thing.
How do you take cold civiche and put it into a hot soup?
I don't get it. It's weird. It's strange.
I found Mike's dish unusual,
and that's why it worked so well, because he found a way
to incorporate flavors that I would never put together.
Pineapple, pancetta, the conch,
and the banana leaf itself.
I think it was a little bit greasy,
but that could have been from the butter.
That's probably what threw me off.
I like when I dig into something,
and I taste it--I have to think about what I'm eating.
You're looking at the plate, and everything that's on there
is making that work.
I don't know.
It's so hard to tell who's-- who's gonna win and lose.
Well, I do think we have a decision.
Yes.
Okay, let's get them out here.
♪ ♪
Chefs, today's challenge was to create an elegant meal
on the beach for the Commodore and his guests
to commemorate the 80th Anniversary
of the Nassau Yacht Club.
And I have to say we all agree
that you guys did a fantastic job.
It was really difficult to pick a winner.
There was on Chef who had a really unique dish
and I think showcased conch
in the most creative way. And that Chef is...
Michael.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
I'm just so happy right now.
I got two down, and two to go.
And I'm ready to kick ass.
Thank you very much. I appreciate it, everybody.
I'm showing Blais that
I can compete with him, and even beat him.
It's hard to celebrate when you're alone.
Maybe it wasn't a fluke that I kicked Mike Voltaggio's ass.
Maybe I am a different Chef right now.
You know, I'm ready. I want to be Top Chef.
Cheers.
♪ ♪
So this was a very difficult decision.
But in the end, the majority of us thought
that one dish was just a little less successful
than the rest.
Richard, the flavors were really great.
I love the way you used the conch.
Unfortunately, some of your lobster was
just a bit undercooked.
Tiffany, you gave us a wonderful chowder,
a lot of different things going on.
However, today your soup arrived cold,
and it was just too sweet.
Antonia, you gave us a very simple
and straightforward dish,
but it was just bursting with flavor.
It was a little on the spicy side,
and there were some inconsistencies in the cooking.
Unfortunately, one of you has to go home.
♪ ♪
Tiffany, please pack your knives and go.
Thank you.
Thank you so much. It has been a pleasure.
It hurts of course.
I hope to see all of y'all in Dallas one day.
I feel like the dish was a good dish.
But I was outcooked, and that's the bottom line.
Her dish was just a little on the sweet side for me.
It didn't all really work.
It's you?
Everyone here has worked for
some pretty big-name Chefs.
I have not worked with one big-name Chef.
I've been self-taught.
I was doing good till the last...
You did a great job, Tif.
You're amazing. You really are.
Be proud.
Give each other a run for the money.
$200,000, that's a lot of money.
Bye, y'all.
I feel it's important to keep going.
Sometimes you don't get to where you want to go,
but I know you get much further than you were before.
Next on Top Chef All-Stars...
Your task is daunting--
their last supper.
Oh, . This is definitely the most pressure
I've felt throughout the competition.
I mean, this is it.
Mikey gave it to me twice today.
I don't wanna lose to you.
This should be a walk in the park for you.
I'm gonna call the on that one.
No equipment mother.
Didn't you have trouble opening a pressure cooker?
It tastes like it's about to go rancid. Blecch.
We know that something is wrong.
- I'm sorry. - Uh-oh.
Whoever wins is getting that last spot.
- Remember this? - Oh, .
For more about the recipes seen tonight,
-- sync, corrected by elderman -- go to bravotv.com.