Top Chef (2006) s12e09 Episode Script
Big Sausage
1 - That was a brutal chop block.
- We knew it too.
It was gonna break up the family.
Yeah, of course.
The last challenge, we had to cook for Top Chef super fans, and I won.
It feels awesome to win another challenge after my big win at restaurant wars.
So I have a little bit of chorizo-marinated mussels.
- Fantastic dish, Doug.
- Awesome, thank you, guys.
I feel like Adam never found his groove here.
I saw Gregory prancing away with his coconut and all this stuff.
Padma hooked him up.
- For sure.
- That was intense.
Good job on the first one back, man, being on top.
In the last challenge, there was some big changes.
I was the first chef to be eliminated in Boston, which sucked, but I fought my way back into the competition in a sudden death quickfire.
George, the rabbit was perfectly cooked.
You would get my vote as well.
Good job.
Welcome back.
Katie, pack your knives and go.
How you two feeling? All right? - Yeah, I mean - That was kind of rough.
It's not fun on the bottom.
You never know what's gonna happen.
You know, I've taken George down once.
If I have to take George out again, I'm ready to.
Then there were six.
Six chefs remain to compete in the ultimate test of culinary skill.
At stake for the winner, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the food and wine classic in Aspen.
$125,000 furnished by healthy choice, and the title of Top Chef.
Hey.
Wake up.
Lazy .
Katsuji is the most bizarre person I've ever met, but he's probably my favorite person in the house.
I don't know why.
Time to make the doughnuts.
Doughnuts? Me and Katsuji will probably be friends for the rest of our lives.
That's scary and sad.
But, I mean, when it comes down to it, it's a competition, and I just came off of two wins.
Definitely got some momentum going for him.
Home stretch.
Is anybody missing home? I really miss my family a lot.
Like, my wife, she's seven months pregnant.
So she's seven months pregnant, has a baby, and running a restaurant.
- Yeah.
- And you're here.
I'm out here.
Leaving my family for such a long time, it is very stressful, but winning Top Chef will mean I will be able to provide a better life for them.
Better house, better school.
And I want, down the road, my daughters to see me on Top Chef and feel proud.
You know, I just want to leave that legacy for my family.
All right, guys, about that time.
- Y'all ready to go? - Let's do it.
Thought rich Blais was gonna come make us bologna sandwiches.
Who's this guy with padma? That guy is huge.
Huge.
Did I say he's huge? - Hello, chefs.
- Hello.
Please help me give a warm welcome to New England patriot's great rob gronkowski.
Hello, chefs.
I love football.
I'm a huge Washington redskins fan.
But I hate the patriots, and now gronk, one of their star players, is here.
Like, great.
Do you mind if I call you rob? I know everyone calls you gronk.
Yeah, yeah, that's fine.
I like that.
You can call me honey.
All right, honey.
I would've never guessed that you are such a gourmand.
You know, I love my foods, but I'm Polish, and I want a Polish sausage today.
- That's what I want.
- It's time to feed the big guy.
Chefs, for your quickfire, you have one hour to make the best possible sausage you can from scratch to feed rob and me too.
I have a feeling you eat a lot.
Yes, I eat a lot.
I need a big sausage.
Me too.
Whoops.
Honey.
- Stop embarrassing me.
- Okay, all right.
Chefs, good luck.
Your time starts now.
there's a lot of back fat.
We can all share.
I played football in high school freshman year.
I actually got my leg broken.
Football has not been my sport.
I'm definitely a much better cook.
Oh, my God.
People spend generations perfecting their sausage, and making a really great sausage in an hour is actually a little bit tricky.
I got plenty of pork shoulder if someone needs some.
What makes a good sausage is definitely texture.
If you overcook it or if you don't emulsify it enough, the texture's off, so I'm just trying to keep it simple.
We do a lot of sausages at my restaurant, so I think I'm gonna take this one home.
- You got some pork? - I got pork.
Give me some pork.
I'm gonna pork you.
You're in line, buddy.
Well, there goes a Greek sausage.
No lamb.
We got venison for some reason.
They don't use venison in Greek? No, señor.
I got veal, and I got pork.
I'm thinking breakfast and eggs.
He's a big guy.
They like simple food.
don't overthink it.
Put this in pork fatback, and that'll make it a little juicier.
I want to do, like, a, obviously, Latin-inspired sausage.
I'm doing Peruvian chorizo.
It's gonna be spicy.
It's gonna be a big sausage with a punch of flavor.
He's gonna, like, get punched by my sausage.
Katsu, what the hell are you doing? I'm trying to cool down the sausage so the fat doesn't break.
When you're grinding meats, you want to keep it cool, and liquid nitrogen, since it's almost -300 degrees, it helps you to grind and emulsify the fats and the meats together much, much easier.
Greg, what's--what's up, bro? What's up? I'm making a chiang mai-style sausage.
It's got fish sauce, curry mix, lemongrass.
This is the best sausage dish, not just the best sausage.
Oh, now you're getting cocky.
What are you guys talking about? I'm gonna go for an Asian-style sausage today.
Put some shrimp paste in there, grind up some garlic, some ginger, pork butt, and some back fat.
It's pork sausage, homey.
35 minutes, guys.
It's a sausage party here.
Mei and I got to represent the girls.
I'm gonna make a spicy wild boar sausage, but I'm definitely struggling, because the meat's just not grinding properly.
It's a mess right now.
30 minutes.
Yo, Doug, how you doing over there? I've definitely made sausages, but not like this.
In this amount of time, the trickiest part of making sausages is just getting it stuffed correctly.
You have to stuff it tight enough that the casing is stretched thin so it pops when you eat it and it doesn't, you know, feel like a used condom.
Sorry, mom.
.
You just put the tube in like this? Yeah.
- That's it, right? - Yeah.
I'm starting to freak out a little bit because I'm looking at all the other chefs, and they're moving along.
- Yo, bro.
- What's up? For this thing, do you have to put this cap back inside? Yeah, of course.
.
I'm ripping the casings.
There's pockets of air going into the sausage.
Damn it.
The sausage is ballooning.
It's puncturing.
14 minutes.
And I'm running out of time.
I'm wasting too much time trying to put these things in casings.
I got to use plan b.
Time is ticking.
To hell with this.
- We're going sausage patties.
- Seven minutes! Behind.
Feeling good.
Finally I get my sausage together.
They're tiny.
They're little guys.
So my biggest concern is that the sausage just isn't big enough.
- No casing, Gregory? - No.
You know, I'm seeing a lot of really small sausages, I see a lot of sausage patties, and if one wins, I'm gonna be super bummed, because to me this challenge was all about doing a proper sausage, and I think that I have that.
You have a little salt over here? Five minutes.
You have five minutes left.
- He's making burgers.
- It's not a burger, dickhead.
I look over.
I see that everybody put their dish in buns, and everybody's using a bunch of different fancy garnishes.
I kept it real simple.
I hope it's not gonna cost me.
four, three, two, one.
Hands up.
Utensils down.
- Jesus Christ.
- Wow.
- Come this way.
- This looks good.
- Doug, meet rob.
- Doug, what's up, man? - How you doing? - Doing great.
It's a pretty traditional sausage.
I braised it in a little bit of beer and onions with some mustard.
Just kept it super simple.
Tried to make it as big as possible for this guy.
Dang, man.
It is pretty big.
This would be a good pregame meal for sure.
There you go.
I made a wild boar and pork sausage, and it's got lentils with a crudites of raw cucumbers, fennel, and red onion.
I like it.
Little fancy with this leaf.
- That's beautiful.
- Thank you.
So today I made a pork sausage with ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and on top, we have some avocado-coconut puree and a yuzu aioli.
That is good sauce on that sausage.
- Thank you, Mei.
- You're welcome.
Hi, Katsuji.
Meet rob.
What's up, rob? Ah! So I did a Latin-inspired sausage.
Has a little bit of habaneros, a little bit of cumin, coriander, ginger, saffron arroz on the bottom.
So this is a fine Spanish dish.
I don't know if I'd say it's fine.
- It's a comfort food.
- It's a comfort food, you know? Hi, Gregory.
What kind do we got here? What's here? Northern thai influenced sausage.
It's made with kaffir lime, chilies, lemongrass, garlic, finished with a little cucumber and carrot salad just for some freshness.
As you chew it, it gets spicier and spicier.
Not bad.
- Hi, George.
- Hi, how are you? Good.
This looks like a burger.
I was having a hard time with the casing, and I had to make a decision.
So I have a little sunny-side-up egg, a little potato hash, and then a pork and veal sausage Patty with cumin, coriander, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
I'm a huge football fan, but can't say I'm a fan of yours.
- What? - Oh! Whoa.
What not to say to a judge.
- Washington redskins.
- Washington redskins.
You know, but I got to be real too.
We beat your team when we played 'em two years ago.
- Oh, yeah, we're-- - Ooh! Oh, my God, he is the one judging our food.
Maybe that wasn't such a great idea to piss him off.
I think I'm gonna go with Stephen king.
I love his movies.
You're gonna splatter blood on the judges? Duh, duh, duh, duh so, rob, how do you think all of our chefs did overall? Unbelievable.
I'm glad I got to taste that many sausages, 'cause they were all good.
So let's get the bad news out of the way.
All right, Melissa, I was emphasizing a big meal, 'cause I got big, big muscles.
Look at those babies.
I'm just gonna have to pass.
Who else was maybe less successful? Oh, man, Gregory.
With all the spices and the toppings on it, I just don't think it was the best out there.
Okay, so that leaves us with some good news, guys.
Yes, yes.
Doug, it was very delicious.
The onions and the little seasoning on top, it was an a-plus.
Thank you.
George, we were a little confused at first if you actually made a sausage or a burger, but it was very delicious when we tried it.
Thank you.
There's one negative about him.
- What? - He's a redskins fan.
- With all due respect.
- Hey, I understand.
The winner of this quickfire does receive immunity in the next challenge.
Gronk, who had the best quickfire dish? This dish, I probably would never get tired of it.
- George.
- George.
Yes.
Whoo-saw.
To win this quickfire and get immunity on my second elimination challenge is very reassuring that I do deserve to be here.
George is a big competitor, for sure.
Having him back, the stakes got higher.
That was one of the best breakfast sandwiches I had.
Breakfast is my favorite meal, and it's the way to start off the day.
I will buy your Jersey tomorrow.
Well, thank you for joining us, rob.
Hey, no problem.
Appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Boom.
Thanks for feeding these muscles.
Thank you, guys.
Chefs, for your elimination challenge, we're browsing for some best sellers.
Please welcome your guest judge, bostonian and award-winning chef, Tony maws.
Being here in Boston, we're getting all these history lessons.
And now we see a lot of different authors on the bookshelf, and I'm thinking, "definitely wished I paid attention a lot more in high school.
" Hi, Tony.
Welcome.
Good to be here.
Tony maws--he's James Beard-awarded chef.
Big guy in Boston, so it's pretty intimidating to see him here.
Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan poe, Nathaniel hawthorne-- these literary legends all call New England home.
Growing up here in New England was a huge inspiration for my food, everything we do in the restaurant, just as it was an influence on the writing of these authors.
These writers will serve as inspiration for your culinary creations, and your dish must celebrate one of their works.
You can choose any piece of writing, be it a novel, a short story, or a poem.
The diner should also be able to visually see the story on the plate.
This can be demonstrated by presentation, cooking techniques, textures, or flavors.
Tomorrow, you will have three hours to prep and cook at steel and rye restaurant and bar.
You'll serve your dishes to a dining room full of notable authors and literature buffs, as well as the judges.
Make your high school English teachers proud.
All right, guys, it's time to hit the books.
Gregory, let's start with you.
Which author would you like to take on? I think I would love to be inspired by Edgar Allan poe.
Katsuji? I think I'm gonna go with Stephen king.
I chose Stephen king because I love his movies.
I really want to take his crazy mind and then take my anger and my craziness in my food and create something super cool.
- George.
- Let's go with Dr.
Seuss.
Please don't give us any green eggs and ham.
Mei? I think I want to go with Henry David Thoreau.
Are you familiar with his work? Uh Just a little bit.
Melissa.
I think I'll go with Nathaniel hawthorne.
Dougy, that means it's just you and Emily.
Yes, I'm feeling great about getting the depressed chick poet from the 1800s to be inspired by.
Awesome.
Do you know any of her poems? I think you have some reading to do.
Take a moment to study up before you go shopping.
Remember, this challenge will get you a step closer to the $125,000 prize, furnished by healthy choice.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Good luck, guys.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, chef.
Emily Dickinson.
Thanks, guys.
Leave the kid from Texas Emily Dickinson.
She wrote pride and prejudice, right? No, I think that was Jane Austen.
What about you, Mei? How you looking? - What's your guy? - Henry David Thoreau.
Wasn't Henry David Thoreau a vegetarian? He was all about nature and the woods.
Just reading about Henry David Thoreau and the book walden, he talks a lot about nature, so I want to go vegetarian for this challenge.
What are you thinking, Gregory? Edgar Allan poe-- the raven is the most popular poem, so maybe a bird and, you know, like, a dark sauce.
What are you thinking? I think I'm gonna go with bring me the sunset in a cup.
- That sounds nice.
- Something romantic.
And her stuff is, like, simple, but deep.
Something romantic.
Look at you, lover boy.
- Did you call me little boy? - No, lover, lover.
Lover boy? I think I'm gonna go with Carrie.
Duh, duh, duh, duh - Carrie, really? - Yeah.
You gonna splatter blood on the judges? Get pig's blood.
So let's do it, guys.
Who's gonna clean this place, by the way? I picked the classic Dr.
Seuss book one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish because I love cooking seafood.
Let's get some branzinos.
I'm trying to picture a cartoon on a plate, so all I'm thinking about in my head are different color combinations I can put on the plate.
I just won a quickfire.
I got this fire in me.
I'm gonna cook my ass off.
34 minutes! - Give me one more.
- Red radish.
Are we making the same dish, dougy? I'm just copying you.
This is a tough one for me because Emily Dickinson poems are, you know, just a few lines, but the one thing that really jumps out at me is the phrase "bring me sunset in a cup.
" So with the notion of trying to plate like a sunset, I feel like a carrot soup would be a great way to go.
I'll take this one and that one.
I had to read Nathaniel hawthorne in high school, and I felt inspired by the blithedale romance.
It's about a community that lives on the blithedale farm, their ups and downs.
So I wanted to build a story around the farm and the seasons.
And I think I got it all.
But to transition from spring to fall all in one dish, I'm taking a big risk right now to pull that off.
- It's gonna be tough.
- Five minutes.
Katsuji's dish looked like a massacre on a plate.
There's potential for the charred onion soil to be a lot of technique and not a lot of flavor.
Today we have three hours to create a dish inspired from a great literary work.
I read a lot of these works in boarding school.
I actually went to the school that dead poets society was filmed at, and such a close-knit setting was really easy to kind of open up and just be myself.
I experimented with homosexuality, and I definitely feel very grateful that it was so easy for me to come out, so it's really cool to flash back to this amazing period of my life.
It's go time.
- Lot of knife work today.
- Yeah.
The raven is just such an amazing story of, you know, darkness and love.
The raven is about a man alone in a cabin, mourning for love on a snowy winter's night when a raven comes to his door and torments him.
Every ingredient actually tells an important part of the story.
I'm using grilled cornish hen to represent the raven.
I'm using parsnips and beets to represent snow and love.
And I'm also going to do a nori technique, which will represent this blackness overclouding this man's soul.
Katsuji's a perfect choice for picking Stephen king.
What, 'cause I'm a sick person? Yeah, 'cause you're sick in the head, my friend.
Thank you, sir.
I'm making a fabada.
It's a Spanish dish that's like a stew with short ribs, veal osso buco, and with a red beet puree.
The red beets represents the blood that is dumped on Carrie at prom.
It's just gory.
I want to make people say, "," in a good way.
Behind you.
- George, how's it going? - So far, so good, bro.
I'm glad I picked Dr.
Seuss.
There's a lot of great books he's had, and I remember reading them as a child.
I see Mr.
George, with immunity, is going with a pan-fry fish and squid.
Boring.
You picked Dr.
Seuss.
Make a statement.
Hot, hot, hot.
2 hours and 30 minutes.
I feel like if you're gonna do a carrot soup for tom colicchio, it has to be one the best he's ever had.
I really got to get as much carrot flavor as I possibly can, just like Emily Dickinson did in her poems, you know? Like, how much can you get out of one line? So I have raw carrots, carrot juice.
I'm grilling carrots.
I just want to develop as many layers of flavors as possible, and I can plate it like the sunset.
I got flavor.
- Hey, chefs.
- Hey, chef.
- Hey, George.
- Hey, chef.
- How are you? - Good, how's it going? You know chef Tony, Tony maws? - Yeah, how are you doing, chef? - What are you working on? One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.
Uh-huh.
I kind of have, like, some mussels, some clams, and some calamari, and then as far as the colors go, I have Peruvian purple potatoes that play the blue role.
Got it.
And then I have some, like, roasted red peppers to play the red role.
Was this challenge hard? Like, trying to tell a story through another story? Yes, you know, like, you don't want to be too literal, but at the same time, you do have to portray the story on your dish.
All right, cool, but you have immunity, so you're not going anywhere.
- Good luck.
- Thank you very much.
I look forward to trying your dish.
Absolutely.
Thank you, sir.
- Hey, Mei.
- Hi, chef.
- How is your author? - Henry David Thoreau.
- Okay.
- He was vegetarian.
So I'm gonna be doing roasted vegetables with charred onion soil and tom kha snow.
How are you gonna make this sort of visually astounding? I kind of drew how I was gonna-- - oh, wow.
- Oh, wow, look at that.
That is visual.
I'm actually not really artsy, but, I mean-- well, that's pretty impressive if that's not being artsy.
- Good luck.
- All right, thank you, chef.
Working for Michael Voltaggio has definitely made me the chef I am today, and the way Michael makes food is very artistic, and I've learned a lot of that style from him.
So one of the visual elements for my dish is a charred onion soil.
- Soil.
- Soil.
I charred some onions, blended that to a powder, added some butter, bread crumbs.
And it looks like soil.
So what are you doing, Melissa? So I have Nathaniel hawthorne.
I got really inspired by his novel the blithedale romance.
And it's about a community that lives on a farm, and they're just trying to better the world.
And one of the major themes is the seasons, so my dish is gonna be just like a spring vegetable garden with seared Halibut.
And so it's gonna look really bright initially, and then I'm gonna have a dark mushroom broth that's gonna represent the darkness of fall.
I want my plate to look like a garden, and Mei's decided to do a vegetable garden too, so I need to execute a perfect dish.
Good luck.
I forward to trying it.
Thank you very much.
Mei and I--we've become really good friends in the house, but it's a competition.
I want to win this.
Okay, chefs, everything's looking great.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Good luck, everybody.
- Katsuji, where's the nitro? - Right to the mixer.
12 minutes, guys.
12 minutes.
You still blending? I have one more to go in, then I'm done.
Tom, what did you see in the walkthrough? Well, you know, I think the chefs are actually doing a pretty good job.
They've managed to tell some stories, but, you know, the proof is in the pudding, as they say.
I think that's Shakespeare, actually.
Three minutes.
- You have any vinegar? - Yeah, right here.
Presentation is very important.
Everyone's actually eating with their eyes first tonight.
You know, I haven't won an elimination challenge for quite some time, so I definitely think this is my chance.
Wow, three hours pass so fast, dude.
Let's go, guys.
Server, please.
- Here we go.
- Hello.
Guys.
Francis.
Francis lam-- he's a very important figure in the food world.
He came out to our food festival in Portland last year, so I'm really excited to be able to cook for him again today.
So for my inspiration today, I chose the raven by Edgar Allan poe.
It's definitely a poem of love and desperation, so we have seared beef tenderloin, grilled hen, parsnip puree, beets, and crispy nori.
The hen, obviously, grilled to represent the raven.
Beets representing the blood, the love, the care for lenore.
The mash represents the last bit of hope in everything.
His will to remember is stronger than his will to forget.
- Wow.
- Great story.
Every bit of this dish has a purpose for the story you're telling.
I was worried that you gave us all this meaning, and when I tasted it, it would feel forced, but it has great flavor.
I actually think that the nori sort of ties everything together.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
Tony, are you happy with the doneness of your meat? I would've like to seen a little bit better technique with the meat.
He had an opportunity to keep it rare based on the story, and you can see that my piece was medium, medium-well.
- Mine is cooked beautifully.
- Mine was too.
But in a restaurant setting, cooking well for four out of five people, to be Frank, isn't good enough.
No.
I don't know if this is trying to be a representation of a raven on the plate.
- It's a bit of maybe-- - it does strike me, though.
I go with these.
You take those four.
- And here he is.
- Wow.
- Hi, George.
- I have Dr.
Seuss.
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.
So I kind of play on that with some calamari, mussels, clams.
There's a seafood emulsion on there and a pan-seared branzino.
I put, like, some purple potatoes, some red peppers, a lot of different colors, so that it would be a little bit more vibrant, kind of like how Dr.
Seuss' style was.
This dish feels and tastes very beautiful, very delicious, very classic.
In a way, it's a little bit buttoned up.
I agree with you, Francis.
I think the dish tastes fantastic.
I think it's seasoned well.
It just feels a little tight.
I want you to go a little crazy.
Like, of all the books-- no, you're right.
You're right.
Thing one and thing two are really tasty.
- They're just not susie.
- Right.
All right, thank you so much, George.
It works for me.
Everything goes together really well.
- Really does.
- Yummy things are everywhere.
Yummy things are everywhere.
The hardest part about putting a story on the plate is, when you set your plate on the table, the judges should already know what literary work you're inspired by with no explanation at all.
So my author was Henry David Thoreau.
I used his book walden.
During his days there, he does a lot of farming.
Also Henry David Thoreau is a vegetarian, so today I have roasted vegetables with a charred onion soil and a tom kha snow.
So was this a snowy night on walden pond? So when spring arrives, he watches the pond melt.
There's potential for the charred onion soil and the tom kha snow to be a lot of technique and not a lot of flavor, but I'm actually tasting both in a really subtle, gentle way, and I think they complement the vegetables nicely.
Thank you.
Think the lemongrass is really beautiful, and the tom kha and the coconut really comes through.
If you put this dish on a menu in a restaurant and said, "this is roasted spring vegetables, walden pond," you could get away with that.
I think, number one, it's really flavorful.
You tell a story, and you had the technique to pull it off.
Thanks, Mei.
- Thanks.
- You're welcome.
- That was good.
- That was really good.
I'm happy we're getting good dishes.
Mei's Thoreau dish, I thought, was fantastic, and I like the color.
- Yeah, yeah, it was great.
- It was really bright.
- I liked it.
- Delicious.
When I'm building the plate, I feel really good about this dish, but I worry that they might not see the fall aspect.
There's still always this little knot in my stomach whenever I see these judges.
Hi, today I had Nathaniel hawthorne.
The dish is based around the blithedale romance.
It takes place on a farm, and it's about a community that tries to better the world.
You're having a seared Halibut with spring vegetables, but we have morels, charred baby corn, asparagus, peas.
One of the major themes in the book revolves around seasons, and so the tableside mushroom broth represents the fall overcoming the spring.
It's pretty light.
You kept everything really light and Frank, but then decided to char the corn.
Why? That represents a bit of the darkness of the fall.
They all hate each other by the end, so Well, they may hate themselves by the end of that book, but I will like this for a long time.
You talked about having this really light, spring flavors, and then finishing with something dark and fall-like, and you really nailed it.
It's hard to roast Halibut and actually keep it moist inside.
- My piece is beautifully cooked.
- Thank you.
You kept it clean enough where the vegetables are really actually, to me, more the star, but not overwhelming the fish.
- It's well done.
- Thank you, Melissa.
- Thank you so much.
- Very well done.
- Thank you.
- These dishes are really good.
It's the best that we've had all season.
- I guess Katsuji's next.
- He's gonna go big.
I hope he goes big.
When I'm looking at Katsuji's dish, I don't know what to think of it.
It looked like a massacre on a plate.
Presentation is making a statement, you know? This is not playing it safe at all.
This is as out as I can be.
It looks like somebody just got killed on this plate.
Where's my server? Server! Getting cold, man.
.
You know, I'm nervous now, and I hope the judges get it.
- Here we are.
- Thank you.
There we go.
So this is actually inspired by I forgot.
Oh, man.
I have no idea how we're gonna go about sending someone home.
- I feel pretty good.
- I feel good.
Everybody feels good? That's no good.
Come in.
If a book was to be written by me, it would be called wrestling tigers, because I'm all about overcoming odds in an awesome way.
Sorry, dude, I got to get this done.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- .
Like, if a book will be written about my life, it will probably be called the curious case of chef Katsuji tanabe from a Mexican kosher restaurant catholic immigrant in a new country.
- He's been rude to me all day.
- Oh, Off.
See? You see what I mean? It will be about sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll.
There's the Gore I've been waiting for.
So this is actually inspired by I forgot.
- Stephen king.
- Stephen king, I'm sorry.
With the book of Carrie.
This is embarrassing.
And I took a dish that my mom would make for me.
White beans, chorizo, jamon serrano, and then short rib, veal osso buco with a red beet puree and hot sauce.
The mother being represented by the beef short rib and the daughter being represented by the veal osso buco.
The beets represents when they pour the pork's blood on top of her.
Then I have some chili sauce.
That represents, like, the anger that she has inside of her to make everybody just pretty much die.
Congratulations, you've made probably the most unappetizing looking dish I've ever seen in my life.
Boy.
I don't know if it's good or bad in this case.
That could be good.
- Boy.
- I don't know.
There's actually something about it that I don't find unappetizing.
I mean, the beet is so vibrant.
I liked that there was a discordance in your dish, because it is a horrifying story.
Yeah, the meat's nicely cooked.
It has good flavor.
There's good heat in it.
I do wish that the sauces were thinner.
I didn't interpret them at all.
Sauces--I thought they were purees.
What do you think your mom would say about this dish? My mom would say that I'm a sick person for doing the explosive plate.
Thank you, Katsuji.
Thank you chef, thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I actually think that given the challenge, Katsuji executed - Yeah.
- His inspiration beautifully.
- Yes, without a doubt.
- Absolutely.
He got--he got it.
I'm nervous.
My so simple.
- Do you get lots of carrot? - Yeah, it's very carrot-y.
Following you guys.
I've made lots of soups before, but I've never really tried to bring in deep, deep flavors out of one particular vegetable, so I'm very nervous about my dish.
- Hi, Doug.
- Hi.
I had Emily Dickinson.
One of the phrases that popped out at me was "sunset in a cup," so I thought for colors I'd do sunset in a bowl.
It's kind of a grilled carrot bisque with grilled carrots, orange, a little cumin vinaigrette, radish, and some dandelion.
I think your carrot soup is delicious.
I appreciate the fact that you do really get a strong carrot flavor.
There really is an intensity, a depth in the dish, and of all the dishes we were served today, it really popped.
Thank you.
I got married on Martha's vineyard, so not far from here.
And there's a beach in menemsha that you go to.
Everybody watched the sun go down, and when the sun goes down, everybody stands up and applauds.
And I would applaud this dish.
I think, it's not showing off, it's about taking a few humble things and making them delicious.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Doug.
You can go back to the kitchen.
Thank you, guys.
It's such a great feeling to go for something and not only have it taste good, but the judges loved it.
There's no better feeling.
They didn't say anything bad about mine.
Say anything bad about mine.
- Same with mine.
- We're .
I have no idea how we're gonna go about sending someone home.
This is hard.
I'm not as concerned about picking someone to go home as I am about picking a winner.
I think that's gonna be our challenge today.
- How you guys feeling overall? - I feel pretty good.
- I feel good.
- Everybody feels good.
- That's no good.
- That's bad.
That's very bad.
I want to talk about who we all think should win this challenge.
Clearly we had so much lovely food.
I think Mei's dish was thematically really beautiful.
She took an image from walden and really tried to portray the idea of the pond in the winter and snow.
Her dish was delicious, but she not only connected the work that she had to do to the dish, also connected the author.
I think you also have to talk the same way about Doug's carrot soup, because he had balance.
He had good technique.
That little bit of vinaigrette, by the way, I think was really key.
And then his interpretation to the story-- there was emotion on that plate, and I think he did a really fantastic job.
Carrot soup.
I'm ready for a beer now, George.
I think it's easy to argue the same for Melissa.
I think she did a beautiful job with that Halibut, and I also was totally taken by the way she presented her vegetables.
- They're like little jewels.
- They absolutely were.
And gave it something more substantial than the dishes she's given us in the past, but was still beautifully and very technically executed.
We can totally take away George because he had immunity, and while his dish was delicious, we were all underwhelmed by his presentation.
Now we have to talk about who should be going home.
I think Katsuji had craziness and anger and blood and the stuff on there-- okay, cool, but then you got to eat it.
- It's mess was a mess.
- Yeah, listen.
He did what he's been doing all season long: Big, bold, crazy flavors.
I personally like Katsuji's dish.
Katsuji's hot sauce was kind of crazy and awesome.
At first, I was like, "whoa, what is going on?" And then I just kept going back for it and going back for it.
Katsuji is a chef who really cooks with his heart on his sleeve at all times.
He really believes in the food that he cooks, and I adore that about him.
Gregory--cooking chicken and beef together doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.
For the most part, he pulled it off.
I mean, he had the one overcooked piece of meat.
That, to me, was the one blemish on that plate.
I will say, out of every chef, Gregory's dish did not visually say anything about poe or the raven.
The diner should be able to tell by looking and tasting and smelling your plate exactly what piece of literature you were inspired by.
I explained every single ingredient and how it related to the story, and they were just like, "uh, okay.
" That's tough when you put food that, you know, you actually care about it, you know? Like, they were nice.
- I think we have our answer.
- Mm-hmm.
We always joke around about us saying, "I took the risk," but when we get up there, you sink.
I mean, I took a risk and made all vegetables today.
That's not a risk.
They respect it when you make vegetarian.
- It's fearless.
- If you pull it off.
- Hi, everyone.
- Hi.
We'd like to see all of you.
Thank you.
Let's do it.
chefs, you know, I think some of you have had problems in the past with sort of your food's kind of been all over the place, but this was all really, really good.
That, and the fact that when I looked at the challenge, I was like, "this is hard," and you didn't seem to have problems with the creative side of the challenge.
Everything kind of worked, and you told your stories.
And I was really happy to be on the receiving end of such great food today.
Mei, Melissa, Doug, the three of you served our favorite dishes of the night.
Doug, how was this experience for you today? I was pretty skeptical at first, but I'm just like, "oh, I'm just gonna focus on the carrot," and then I started really having fun.
Mei, were you at all worried about doing a strictly vegetarian dish? Yes, at first, but I feel like, you know, at the end of the day, I'm really happy with what I did today.
Melissa.
I really felt very inspired by this challenge, 'cause I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do.
We were so impressed with how you all took this challenge to heart, but ultimately, there can only really be one winner.
Tony.
Deciding the winner was quite a challenge, but there was one dish that stood above the others that was as close to a flawless dish that I've had in a really long time.
- Mei, you're the winner.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations, Mei.
- Thank you.
Mei, that dish was so evocative.
It really gave us a sense of where Henry David Thoreau wrote, and more than anything, it was the most delicious, satisfying plate of vegetables I've ever eaten.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I'm really excited that I won this one.
Being on the bottom of the last challenge, that was the biggest low point that I had in this competition, so it feels good to win the best of the best dishes we put out all season.
Because the food was so amazing tonight, it makes our next decision that much more difficult, but one of you will be going home.
Gregory, we should be able to see what your inspiration is on the plate.
Yeah.
You did have two different proteins.
Were you worried that the raven would be lost on us? I really just kind of tried to pick apart the poem as much as possible, but I really wanted to make a dish that was cohesive as well, and I feel both the raven and the man are two important pieces of the story.
I understand the symbolism, but I'm not sure what that brings to the plate.
Katsuji, I love the idea of it, you know, but it felt like it was pulling in a lot of ways and that you're conflicted about it.
I took a huge risk in making it so explosive.
As a chef, you want to always create an experience, so I think I accomplished that.
The sauce was really thick.
You can do a beef sauce that's not pureed-- it's more of a juice-- and get a much more vibrant sauce.
Chefs--I think too often we stay in our kitchens with our head down, trying to create great food, but often, I think some of the best moments that we can have when it comes to finding inspiration is getting out of the kitchen.
So today's challenge was a fun one and difficult one.
Unfortunately for one of you, today's your last chapter.
today's challenge was a fun one and difficult one to find inspiration in great works of American literature.
Unfortunately for one of you, you just wrote your last chapter.
Katsuji, please pack your knives and go.
That's great.
Katsuji, your interpretation was as good as anybody's.
Unfortunately the food just didn't hold up.
The beet puree was really thick.
It was a little messy, but early on, you seemed like you didn't think you were gonna get very far.
And look around, you're still standing here.
It's pretty far into the competition.
Congratulations.
Like I said to chef, I was like, "I thought it was gonna be one of the first week or the first day.
" I was like, "this is pretty amazing.
" I'm grateful for the experience.
Well, you know, you do have one more shot to get back in through Last Chance Kitchen.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, everyone.
And please keep cooking like this.
I'm leaving super, super sad, but at the same time, I'm super proud that I was here.
That was rough.
Come on, buddy.
Come here.
We're all great chefs, even me.
You know, the guy who serves tacos? Is still a great chef.
It's not gonna be the same without you.
- No.
- It's not gonna be the same.
What are we gonna do? You guys.
14 years ago, literally, I arrived with nothing.
The fact that I own my own restaurant, that I'm on TV talking about my story, it's such a good feeling.
You just don't want to let it go.
You know, I put myself on the line every single challenge, and I want my daughter to watch this show and see me as something that she could be proud of.
Tonight on Last Chance Kitchen I don't think I've ever seen a chef use as many ingredients as you do.
Can Katsuji finally learn to edit his food? I can taste victory.
It's a combination between Katie's tears and Adam's sweat.
Or will Adam and Katie beat him at his own game? It's missing something.
To find out, go to bravotv.
Com.
Next on Top Chef The only pantry you'll have access to is the ingredients from these emerson college students.
What the hell does this kid eat? - Yikes.
- Barf-o-rama.
Sweetie.
Chefs, we want you to take inspiration from Julia child.
This is the biggest challenge so far.
Come on, baby.
Now it's down to five.
Everything you do is very crucial.
Did your mother enjoy putting carrots in her coq au vin.
It's just overseared and undercooked.
I'm definitely on the bottom.
I think we're all there.
The technique of cooking your meats were all off.
- We knew it too.
It was gonna break up the family.
Yeah, of course.
The last challenge, we had to cook for Top Chef super fans, and I won.
It feels awesome to win another challenge after my big win at restaurant wars.
So I have a little bit of chorizo-marinated mussels.
- Fantastic dish, Doug.
- Awesome, thank you, guys.
I feel like Adam never found his groove here.
I saw Gregory prancing away with his coconut and all this stuff.
Padma hooked him up.
- For sure.
- That was intense.
Good job on the first one back, man, being on top.
In the last challenge, there was some big changes.
I was the first chef to be eliminated in Boston, which sucked, but I fought my way back into the competition in a sudden death quickfire.
George, the rabbit was perfectly cooked.
You would get my vote as well.
Good job.
Welcome back.
Katie, pack your knives and go.
How you two feeling? All right? - Yeah, I mean - That was kind of rough.
It's not fun on the bottom.
You never know what's gonna happen.
You know, I've taken George down once.
If I have to take George out again, I'm ready to.
Then there were six.
Six chefs remain to compete in the ultimate test of culinary skill.
At stake for the winner, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the food and wine classic in Aspen.
$125,000 furnished by healthy choice, and the title of Top Chef.
Hey.
Wake up.
Lazy .
Katsuji is the most bizarre person I've ever met, but he's probably my favorite person in the house.
I don't know why.
Time to make the doughnuts.
Doughnuts? Me and Katsuji will probably be friends for the rest of our lives.
That's scary and sad.
But, I mean, when it comes down to it, it's a competition, and I just came off of two wins.
Definitely got some momentum going for him.
Home stretch.
Is anybody missing home? I really miss my family a lot.
Like, my wife, she's seven months pregnant.
So she's seven months pregnant, has a baby, and running a restaurant.
- Yeah.
- And you're here.
I'm out here.
Leaving my family for such a long time, it is very stressful, but winning Top Chef will mean I will be able to provide a better life for them.
Better house, better school.
And I want, down the road, my daughters to see me on Top Chef and feel proud.
You know, I just want to leave that legacy for my family.
All right, guys, about that time.
- Y'all ready to go? - Let's do it.
Thought rich Blais was gonna come make us bologna sandwiches.
Who's this guy with padma? That guy is huge.
Huge.
Did I say he's huge? - Hello, chefs.
- Hello.
Please help me give a warm welcome to New England patriot's great rob gronkowski.
Hello, chefs.
I love football.
I'm a huge Washington redskins fan.
But I hate the patriots, and now gronk, one of their star players, is here.
Like, great.
Do you mind if I call you rob? I know everyone calls you gronk.
Yeah, yeah, that's fine.
I like that.
You can call me honey.
All right, honey.
I would've never guessed that you are such a gourmand.
You know, I love my foods, but I'm Polish, and I want a Polish sausage today.
- That's what I want.
- It's time to feed the big guy.
Chefs, for your quickfire, you have one hour to make the best possible sausage you can from scratch to feed rob and me too.
I have a feeling you eat a lot.
Yes, I eat a lot.
I need a big sausage.
Me too.
Whoops.
Honey.
- Stop embarrassing me.
- Okay, all right.
Chefs, good luck.
Your time starts now.
there's a lot of back fat.
We can all share.
I played football in high school freshman year.
I actually got my leg broken.
Football has not been my sport.
I'm definitely a much better cook.
Oh, my God.
People spend generations perfecting their sausage, and making a really great sausage in an hour is actually a little bit tricky.
I got plenty of pork shoulder if someone needs some.
What makes a good sausage is definitely texture.
If you overcook it or if you don't emulsify it enough, the texture's off, so I'm just trying to keep it simple.
We do a lot of sausages at my restaurant, so I think I'm gonna take this one home.
- You got some pork? - I got pork.
Give me some pork.
I'm gonna pork you.
You're in line, buddy.
Well, there goes a Greek sausage.
No lamb.
We got venison for some reason.
They don't use venison in Greek? No, señor.
I got veal, and I got pork.
I'm thinking breakfast and eggs.
He's a big guy.
They like simple food.
don't overthink it.
Put this in pork fatback, and that'll make it a little juicier.
I want to do, like, a, obviously, Latin-inspired sausage.
I'm doing Peruvian chorizo.
It's gonna be spicy.
It's gonna be a big sausage with a punch of flavor.
He's gonna, like, get punched by my sausage.
Katsu, what the hell are you doing? I'm trying to cool down the sausage so the fat doesn't break.
When you're grinding meats, you want to keep it cool, and liquid nitrogen, since it's almost -300 degrees, it helps you to grind and emulsify the fats and the meats together much, much easier.
Greg, what's--what's up, bro? What's up? I'm making a chiang mai-style sausage.
It's got fish sauce, curry mix, lemongrass.
This is the best sausage dish, not just the best sausage.
Oh, now you're getting cocky.
What are you guys talking about? I'm gonna go for an Asian-style sausage today.
Put some shrimp paste in there, grind up some garlic, some ginger, pork butt, and some back fat.
It's pork sausage, homey.
35 minutes, guys.
It's a sausage party here.
Mei and I got to represent the girls.
I'm gonna make a spicy wild boar sausage, but I'm definitely struggling, because the meat's just not grinding properly.
It's a mess right now.
30 minutes.
Yo, Doug, how you doing over there? I've definitely made sausages, but not like this.
In this amount of time, the trickiest part of making sausages is just getting it stuffed correctly.
You have to stuff it tight enough that the casing is stretched thin so it pops when you eat it and it doesn't, you know, feel like a used condom.
Sorry, mom.
.
You just put the tube in like this? Yeah.
- That's it, right? - Yeah.
I'm starting to freak out a little bit because I'm looking at all the other chefs, and they're moving along.
- Yo, bro.
- What's up? For this thing, do you have to put this cap back inside? Yeah, of course.
.
I'm ripping the casings.
There's pockets of air going into the sausage.
Damn it.
The sausage is ballooning.
It's puncturing.
14 minutes.
And I'm running out of time.
I'm wasting too much time trying to put these things in casings.
I got to use plan b.
Time is ticking.
To hell with this.
- We're going sausage patties.
- Seven minutes! Behind.
Feeling good.
Finally I get my sausage together.
They're tiny.
They're little guys.
So my biggest concern is that the sausage just isn't big enough.
- No casing, Gregory? - No.
You know, I'm seeing a lot of really small sausages, I see a lot of sausage patties, and if one wins, I'm gonna be super bummed, because to me this challenge was all about doing a proper sausage, and I think that I have that.
You have a little salt over here? Five minutes.
You have five minutes left.
- He's making burgers.
- It's not a burger, dickhead.
I look over.
I see that everybody put their dish in buns, and everybody's using a bunch of different fancy garnishes.
I kept it real simple.
I hope it's not gonna cost me.
four, three, two, one.
Hands up.
Utensils down.
- Jesus Christ.
- Wow.
- Come this way.
- This looks good.
- Doug, meet rob.
- Doug, what's up, man? - How you doing? - Doing great.
It's a pretty traditional sausage.
I braised it in a little bit of beer and onions with some mustard.
Just kept it super simple.
Tried to make it as big as possible for this guy.
Dang, man.
It is pretty big.
This would be a good pregame meal for sure.
There you go.
I made a wild boar and pork sausage, and it's got lentils with a crudites of raw cucumbers, fennel, and red onion.
I like it.
Little fancy with this leaf.
- That's beautiful.
- Thank you.
So today I made a pork sausage with ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and on top, we have some avocado-coconut puree and a yuzu aioli.
That is good sauce on that sausage.
- Thank you, Mei.
- You're welcome.
Hi, Katsuji.
Meet rob.
What's up, rob? Ah! So I did a Latin-inspired sausage.
Has a little bit of habaneros, a little bit of cumin, coriander, ginger, saffron arroz on the bottom.
So this is a fine Spanish dish.
I don't know if I'd say it's fine.
- It's a comfort food.
- It's a comfort food, you know? Hi, Gregory.
What kind do we got here? What's here? Northern thai influenced sausage.
It's made with kaffir lime, chilies, lemongrass, garlic, finished with a little cucumber and carrot salad just for some freshness.
As you chew it, it gets spicier and spicier.
Not bad.
- Hi, George.
- Hi, how are you? Good.
This looks like a burger.
I was having a hard time with the casing, and I had to make a decision.
So I have a little sunny-side-up egg, a little potato hash, and then a pork and veal sausage Patty with cumin, coriander, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
I'm a huge football fan, but can't say I'm a fan of yours.
- What? - Oh! Whoa.
What not to say to a judge.
- Washington redskins.
- Washington redskins.
You know, but I got to be real too.
We beat your team when we played 'em two years ago.
- Oh, yeah, we're-- - Ooh! Oh, my God, he is the one judging our food.
Maybe that wasn't such a great idea to piss him off.
I think I'm gonna go with Stephen king.
I love his movies.
You're gonna splatter blood on the judges? Duh, duh, duh, duh so, rob, how do you think all of our chefs did overall? Unbelievable.
I'm glad I got to taste that many sausages, 'cause they were all good.
So let's get the bad news out of the way.
All right, Melissa, I was emphasizing a big meal, 'cause I got big, big muscles.
Look at those babies.
I'm just gonna have to pass.
Who else was maybe less successful? Oh, man, Gregory.
With all the spices and the toppings on it, I just don't think it was the best out there.
Okay, so that leaves us with some good news, guys.
Yes, yes.
Doug, it was very delicious.
The onions and the little seasoning on top, it was an a-plus.
Thank you.
George, we were a little confused at first if you actually made a sausage or a burger, but it was very delicious when we tried it.
Thank you.
There's one negative about him.
- What? - He's a redskins fan.
- With all due respect.
- Hey, I understand.
The winner of this quickfire does receive immunity in the next challenge.
Gronk, who had the best quickfire dish? This dish, I probably would never get tired of it.
- George.
- George.
Yes.
Whoo-saw.
To win this quickfire and get immunity on my second elimination challenge is very reassuring that I do deserve to be here.
George is a big competitor, for sure.
Having him back, the stakes got higher.
That was one of the best breakfast sandwiches I had.
Breakfast is my favorite meal, and it's the way to start off the day.
I will buy your Jersey tomorrow.
Well, thank you for joining us, rob.
Hey, no problem.
Appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Boom.
Thanks for feeding these muscles.
Thank you, guys.
Chefs, for your elimination challenge, we're browsing for some best sellers.
Please welcome your guest judge, bostonian and award-winning chef, Tony maws.
Being here in Boston, we're getting all these history lessons.
And now we see a lot of different authors on the bookshelf, and I'm thinking, "definitely wished I paid attention a lot more in high school.
" Hi, Tony.
Welcome.
Good to be here.
Tony maws--he's James Beard-awarded chef.
Big guy in Boston, so it's pretty intimidating to see him here.
Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan poe, Nathaniel hawthorne-- these literary legends all call New England home.
Growing up here in New England was a huge inspiration for my food, everything we do in the restaurant, just as it was an influence on the writing of these authors.
These writers will serve as inspiration for your culinary creations, and your dish must celebrate one of their works.
You can choose any piece of writing, be it a novel, a short story, or a poem.
The diner should also be able to visually see the story on the plate.
This can be demonstrated by presentation, cooking techniques, textures, or flavors.
Tomorrow, you will have three hours to prep and cook at steel and rye restaurant and bar.
You'll serve your dishes to a dining room full of notable authors and literature buffs, as well as the judges.
Make your high school English teachers proud.
All right, guys, it's time to hit the books.
Gregory, let's start with you.
Which author would you like to take on? I think I would love to be inspired by Edgar Allan poe.
Katsuji? I think I'm gonna go with Stephen king.
I chose Stephen king because I love his movies.
I really want to take his crazy mind and then take my anger and my craziness in my food and create something super cool.
- George.
- Let's go with Dr.
Seuss.
Please don't give us any green eggs and ham.
Mei? I think I want to go with Henry David Thoreau.
Are you familiar with his work? Uh Just a little bit.
Melissa.
I think I'll go with Nathaniel hawthorne.
Dougy, that means it's just you and Emily.
Yes, I'm feeling great about getting the depressed chick poet from the 1800s to be inspired by.
Awesome.
Do you know any of her poems? I think you have some reading to do.
Take a moment to study up before you go shopping.
Remember, this challenge will get you a step closer to the $125,000 prize, furnished by healthy choice.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Good luck, guys.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, chef.
Emily Dickinson.
Thanks, guys.
Leave the kid from Texas Emily Dickinson.
She wrote pride and prejudice, right? No, I think that was Jane Austen.
What about you, Mei? How you looking? - What's your guy? - Henry David Thoreau.
Wasn't Henry David Thoreau a vegetarian? He was all about nature and the woods.
Just reading about Henry David Thoreau and the book walden, he talks a lot about nature, so I want to go vegetarian for this challenge.
What are you thinking, Gregory? Edgar Allan poe-- the raven is the most popular poem, so maybe a bird and, you know, like, a dark sauce.
What are you thinking? I think I'm gonna go with bring me the sunset in a cup.
- That sounds nice.
- Something romantic.
And her stuff is, like, simple, but deep.
Something romantic.
Look at you, lover boy.
- Did you call me little boy? - No, lover, lover.
Lover boy? I think I'm gonna go with Carrie.
Duh, duh, duh, duh - Carrie, really? - Yeah.
You gonna splatter blood on the judges? Get pig's blood.
So let's do it, guys.
Who's gonna clean this place, by the way? I picked the classic Dr.
Seuss book one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish because I love cooking seafood.
Let's get some branzinos.
I'm trying to picture a cartoon on a plate, so all I'm thinking about in my head are different color combinations I can put on the plate.
I just won a quickfire.
I got this fire in me.
I'm gonna cook my ass off.
34 minutes! - Give me one more.
- Red radish.
Are we making the same dish, dougy? I'm just copying you.
This is a tough one for me because Emily Dickinson poems are, you know, just a few lines, but the one thing that really jumps out at me is the phrase "bring me sunset in a cup.
" So with the notion of trying to plate like a sunset, I feel like a carrot soup would be a great way to go.
I'll take this one and that one.
I had to read Nathaniel hawthorne in high school, and I felt inspired by the blithedale romance.
It's about a community that lives on the blithedale farm, their ups and downs.
So I wanted to build a story around the farm and the seasons.
And I think I got it all.
But to transition from spring to fall all in one dish, I'm taking a big risk right now to pull that off.
- It's gonna be tough.
- Five minutes.
Katsuji's dish looked like a massacre on a plate.
There's potential for the charred onion soil to be a lot of technique and not a lot of flavor.
Today we have three hours to create a dish inspired from a great literary work.
I read a lot of these works in boarding school.
I actually went to the school that dead poets society was filmed at, and such a close-knit setting was really easy to kind of open up and just be myself.
I experimented with homosexuality, and I definitely feel very grateful that it was so easy for me to come out, so it's really cool to flash back to this amazing period of my life.
It's go time.
- Lot of knife work today.
- Yeah.
The raven is just such an amazing story of, you know, darkness and love.
The raven is about a man alone in a cabin, mourning for love on a snowy winter's night when a raven comes to his door and torments him.
Every ingredient actually tells an important part of the story.
I'm using grilled cornish hen to represent the raven.
I'm using parsnips and beets to represent snow and love.
And I'm also going to do a nori technique, which will represent this blackness overclouding this man's soul.
Katsuji's a perfect choice for picking Stephen king.
What, 'cause I'm a sick person? Yeah, 'cause you're sick in the head, my friend.
Thank you, sir.
I'm making a fabada.
It's a Spanish dish that's like a stew with short ribs, veal osso buco, and with a red beet puree.
The red beets represents the blood that is dumped on Carrie at prom.
It's just gory.
I want to make people say, "," in a good way.
Behind you.
- George, how's it going? - So far, so good, bro.
I'm glad I picked Dr.
Seuss.
There's a lot of great books he's had, and I remember reading them as a child.
I see Mr.
George, with immunity, is going with a pan-fry fish and squid.
Boring.
You picked Dr.
Seuss.
Make a statement.
Hot, hot, hot.
2 hours and 30 minutes.
I feel like if you're gonna do a carrot soup for tom colicchio, it has to be one the best he's ever had.
I really got to get as much carrot flavor as I possibly can, just like Emily Dickinson did in her poems, you know? Like, how much can you get out of one line? So I have raw carrots, carrot juice.
I'm grilling carrots.
I just want to develop as many layers of flavors as possible, and I can plate it like the sunset.
I got flavor.
- Hey, chefs.
- Hey, chef.
- Hey, George.
- Hey, chef.
- How are you? - Good, how's it going? You know chef Tony, Tony maws? - Yeah, how are you doing, chef? - What are you working on? One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.
Uh-huh.
I kind of have, like, some mussels, some clams, and some calamari, and then as far as the colors go, I have Peruvian purple potatoes that play the blue role.
Got it.
And then I have some, like, roasted red peppers to play the red role.
Was this challenge hard? Like, trying to tell a story through another story? Yes, you know, like, you don't want to be too literal, but at the same time, you do have to portray the story on your dish.
All right, cool, but you have immunity, so you're not going anywhere.
- Good luck.
- Thank you very much.
I look forward to trying your dish.
Absolutely.
Thank you, sir.
- Hey, Mei.
- Hi, chef.
- How is your author? - Henry David Thoreau.
- Okay.
- He was vegetarian.
So I'm gonna be doing roasted vegetables with charred onion soil and tom kha snow.
How are you gonna make this sort of visually astounding? I kind of drew how I was gonna-- - oh, wow.
- Oh, wow, look at that.
That is visual.
I'm actually not really artsy, but, I mean-- well, that's pretty impressive if that's not being artsy.
- Good luck.
- All right, thank you, chef.
Working for Michael Voltaggio has definitely made me the chef I am today, and the way Michael makes food is very artistic, and I've learned a lot of that style from him.
So one of the visual elements for my dish is a charred onion soil.
- Soil.
- Soil.
I charred some onions, blended that to a powder, added some butter, bread crumbs.
And it looks like soil.
So what are you doing, Melissa? So I have Nathaniel hawthorne.
I got really inspired by his novel the blithedale romance.
And it's about a community that lives on a farm, and they're just trying to better the world.
And one of the major themes is the seasons, so my dish is gonna be just like a spring vegetable garden with seared Halibut.
And so it's gonna look really bright initially, and then I'm gonna have a dark mushroom broth that's gonna represent the darkness of fall.
I want my plate to look like a garden, and Mei's decided to do a vegetable garden too, so I need to execute a perfect dish.
Good luck.
I forward to trying it.
Thank you very much.
Mei and I--we've become really good friends in the house, but it's a competition.
I want to win this.
Okay, chefs, everything's looking great.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Good luck, everybody.
- Katsuji, where's the nitro? - Right to the mixer.
12 minutes, guys.
12 minutes.
You still blending? I have one more to go in, then I'm done.
Tom, what did you see in the walkthrough? Well, you know, I think the chefs are actually doing a pretty good job.
They've managed to tell some stories, but, you know, the proof is in the pudding, as they say.
I think that's Shakespeare, actually.
Three minutes.
- You have any vinegar? - Yeah, right here.
Presentation is very important.
Everyone's actually eating with their eyes first tonight.
You know, I haven't won an elimination challenge for quite some time, so I definitely think this is my chance.
Wow, three hours pass so fast, dude.
Let's go, guys.
Server, please.
- Here we go.
- Hello.
Guys.
Francis.
Francis lam-- he's a very important figure in the food world.
He came out to our food festival in Portland last year, so I'm really excited to be able to cook for him again today.
So for my inspiration today, I chose the raven by Edgar Allan poe.
It's definitely a poem of love and desperation, so we have seared beef tenderloin, grilled hen, parsnip puree, beets, and crispy nori.
The hen, obviously, grilled to represent the raven.
Beets representing the blood, the love, the care for lenore.
The mash represents the last bit of hope in everything.
His will to remember is stronger than his will to forget.
- Wow.
- Great story.
Every bit of this dish has a purpose for the story you're telling.
I was worried that you gave us all this meaning, and when I tasted it, it would feel forced, but it has great flavor.
I actually think that the nori sort of ties everything together.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
Tony, are you happy with the doneness of your meat? I would've like to seen a little bit better technique with the meat.
He had an opportunity to keep it rare based on the story, and you can see that my piece was medium, medium-well.
- Mine is cooked beautifully.
- Mine was too.
But in a restaurant setting, cooking well for four out of five people, to be Frank, isn't good enough.
No.
I don't know if this is trying to be a representation of a raven on the plate.
- It's a bit of maybe-- - it does strike me, though.
I go with these.
You take those four.
- And here he is.
- Wow.
- Hi, George.
- I have Dr.
Seuss.
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.
So I kind of play on that with some calamari, mussels, clams.
There's a seafood emulsion on there and a pan-seared branzino.
I put, like, some purple potatoes, some red peppers, a lot of different colors, so that it would be a little bit more vibrant, kind of like how Dr.
Seuss' style was.
This dish feels and tastes very beautiful, very delicious, very classic.
In a way, it's a little bit buttoned up.
I agree with you, Francis.
I think the dish tastes fantastic.
I think it's seasoned well.
It just feels a little tight.
I want you to go a little crazy.
Like, of all the books-- no, you're right.
You're right.
Thing one and thing two are really tasty.
- They're just not susie.
- Right.
All right, thank you so much, George.
It works for me.
Everything goes together really well.
- Really does.
- Yummy things are everywhere.
Yummy things are everywhere.
The hardest part about putting a story on the plate is, when you set your plate on the table, the judges should already know what literary work you're inspired by with no explanation at all.
So my author was Henry David Thoreau.
I used his book walden.
During his days there, he does a lot of farming.
Also Henry David Thoreau is a vegetarian, so today I have roasted vegetables with a charred onion soil and a tom kha snow.
So was this a snowy night on walden pond? So when spring arrives, he watches the pond melt.
There's potential for the charred onion soil and the tom kha snow to be a lot of technique and not a lot of flavor, but I'm actually tasting both in a really subtle, gentle way, and I think they complement the vegetables nicely.
Thank you.
Think the lemongrass is really beautiful, and the tom kha and the coconut really comes through.
If you put this dish on a menu in a restaurant and said, "this is roasted spring vegetables, walden pond," you could get away with that.
I think, number one, it's really flavorful.
You tell a story, and you had the technique to pull it off.
Thanks, Mei.
- Thanks.
- You're welcome.
- That was good.
- That was really good.
I'm happy we're getting good dishes.
Mei's Thoreau dish, I thought, was fantastic, and I like the color.
- Yeah, yeah, it was great.
- It was really bright.
- I liked it.
- Delicious.
When I'm building the plate, I feel really good about this dish, but I worry that they might not see the fall aspect.
There's still always this little knot in my stomach whenever I see these judges.
Hi, today I had Nathaniel hawthorne.
The dish is based around the blithedale romance.
It takes place on a farm, and it's about a community that tries to better the world.
You're having a seared Halibut with spring vegetables, but we have morels, charred baby corn, asparagus, peas.
One of the major themes in the book revolves around seasons, and so the tableside mushroom broth represents the fall overcoming the spring.
It's pretty light.
You kept everything really light and Frank, but then decided to char the corn.
Why? That represents a bit of the darkness of the fall.
They all hate each other by the end, so Well, they may hate themselves by the end of that book, but I will like this for a long time.
You talked about having this really light, spring flavors, and then finishing with something dark and fall-like, and you really nailed it.
It's hard to roast Halibut and actually keep it moist inside.
- My piece is beautifully cooked.
- Thank you.
You kept it clean enough where the vegetables are really actually, to me, more the star, but not overwhelming the fish.
- It's well done.
- Thank you, Melissa.
- Thank you so much.
- Very well done.
- Thank you.
- These dishes are really good.
It's the best that we've had all season.
- I guess Katsuji's next.
- He's gonna go big.
I hope he goes big.
When I'm looking at Katsuji's dish, I don't know what to think of it.
It looked like a massacre on a plate.
Presentation is making a statement, you know? This is not playing it safe at all.
This is as out as I can be.
It looks like somebody just got killed on this plate.
Where's my server? Server! Getting cold, man.
.
You know, I'm nervous now, and I hope the judges get it.
- Here we are.
- Thank you.
There we go.
So this is actually inspired by I forgot.
Oh, man.
I have no idea how we're gonna go about sending someone home.
- I feel pretty good.
- I feel good.
Everybody feels good? That's no good.
Come in.
If a book was to be written by me, it would be called wrestling tigers, because I'm all about overcoming odds in an awesome way.
Sorry, dude, I got to get this done.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- .
Like, if a book will be written about my life, it will probably be called the curious case of chef Katsuji tanabe from a Mexican kosher restaurant catholic immigrant in a new country.
- He's been rude to me all day.
- Oh, Off.
See? You see what I mean? It will be about sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll.
There's the Gore I've been waiting for.
So this is actually inspired by I forgot.
- Stephen king.
- Stephen king, I'm sorry.
With the book of Carrie.
This is embarrassing.
And I took a dish that my mom would make for me.
White beans, chorizo, jamon serrano, and then short rib, veal osso buco with a red beet puree and hot sauce.
The mother being represented by the beef short rib and the daughter being represented by the veal osso buco.
The beets represents when they pour the pork's blood on top of her.
Then I have some chili sauce.
That represents, like, the anger that she has inside of her to make everybody just pretty much die.
Congratulations, you've made probably the most unappetizing looking dish I've ever seen in my life.
Boy.
I don't know if it's good or bad in this case.
That could be good.
- Boy.
- I don't know.
There's actually something about it that I don't find unappetizing.
I mean, the beet is so vibrant.
I liked that there was a discordance in your dish, because it is a horrifying story.
Yeah, the meat's nicely cooked.
It has good flavor.
There's good heat in it.
I do wish that the sauces were thinner.
I didn't interpret them at all.
Sauces--I thought they were purees.
What do you think your mom would say about this dish? My mom would say that I'm a sick person for doing the explosive plate.
Thank you, Katsuji.
Thank you chef, thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I actually think that given the challenge, Katsuji executed - Yeah.
- His inspiration beautifully.
- Yes, without a doubt.
- Absolutely.
He got--he got it.
I'm nervous.
My so simple.
- Do you get lots of carrot? - Yeah, it's very carrot-y.
Following you guys.
I've made lots of soups before, but I've never really tried to bring in deep, deep flavors out of one particular vegetable, so I'm very nervous about my dish.
- Hi, Doug.
- Hi.
I had Emily Dickinson.
One of the phrases that popped out at me was "sunset in a cup," so I thought for colors I'd do sunset in a bowl.
It's kind of a grilled carrot bisque with grilled carrots, orange, a little cumin vinaigrette, radish, and some dandelion.
I think your carrot soup is delicious.
I appreciate the fact that you do really get a strong carrot flavor.
There really is an intensity, a depth in the dish, and of all the dishes we were served today, it really popped.
Thank you.
I got married on Martha's vineyard, so not far from here.
And there's a beach in menemsha that you go to.
Everybody watched the sun go down, and when the sun goes down, everybody stands up and applauds.
And I would applaud this dish.
I think, it's not showing off, it's about taking a few humble things and making them delicious.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Doug.
You can go back to the kitchen.
Thank you, guys.
It's such a great feeling to go for something and not only have it taste good, but the judges loved it.
There's no better feeling.
They didn't say anything bad about mine.
Say anything bad about mine.
- Same with mine.
- We're .
I have no idea how we're gonna go about sending someone home.
This is hard.
I'm not as concerned about picking someone to go home as I am about picking a winner.
I think that's gonna be our challenge today.
- How you guys feeling overall? - I feel pretty good.
- I feel good.
- Everybody feels good.
- That's no good.
- That's bad.
That's very bad.
I want to talk about who we all think should win this challenge.
Clearly we had so much lovely food.
I think Mei's dish was thematically really beautiful.
She took an image from walden and really tried to portray the idea of the pond in the winter and snow.
Her dish was delicious, but she not only connected the work that she had to do to the dish, also connected the author.
I think you also have to talk the same way about Doug's carrot soup, because he had balance.
He had good technique.
That little bit of vinaigrette, by the way, I think was really key.
And then his interpretation to the story-- there was emotion on that plate, and I think he did a really fantastic job.
Carrot soup.
I'm ready for a beer now, George.
I think it's easy to argue the same for Melissa.
I think she did a beautiful job with that Halibut, and I also was totally taken by the way she presented her vegetables.
- They're like little jewels.
- They absolutely were.
And gave it something more substantial than the dishes she's given us in the past, but was still beautifully and very technically executed.
We can totally take away George because he had immunity, and while his dish was delicious, we were all underwhelmed by his presentation.
Now we have to talk about who should be going home.
I think Katsuji had craziness and anger and blood and the stuff on there-- okay, cool, but then you got to eat it.
- It's mess was a mess.
- Yeah, listen.
He did what he's been doing all season long: Big, bold, crazy flavors.
I personally like Katsuji's dish.
Katsuji's hot sauce was kind of crazy and awesome.
At first, I was like, "whoa, what is going on?" And then I just kept going back for it and going back for it.
Katsuji is a chef who really cooks with his heart on his sleeve at all times.
He really believes in the food that he cooks, and I adore that about him.
Gregory--cooking chicken and beef together doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.
For the most part, he pulled it off.
I mean, he had the one overcooked piece of meat.
That, to me, was the one blemish on that plate.
I will say, out of every chef, Gregory's dish did not visually say anything about poe or the raven.
The diner should be able to tell by looking and tasting and smelling your plate exactly what piece of literature you were inspired by.
I explained every single ingredient and how it related to the story, and they were just like, "uh, okay.
" That's tough when you put food that, you know, you actually care about it, you know? Like, they were nice.
- I think we have our answer.
- Mm-hmm.
We always joke around about us saying, "I took the risk," but when we get up there, you sink.
I mean, I took a risk and made all vegetables today.
That's not a risk.
They respect it when you make vegetarian.
- It's fearless.
- If you pull it off.
- Hi, everyone.
- Hi.
We'd like to see all of you.
Thank you.
Let's do it.
chefs, you know, I think some of you have had problems in the past with sort of your food's kind of been all over the place, but this was all really, really good.
That, and the fact that when I looked at the challenge, I was like, "this is hard," and you didn't seem to have problems with the creative side of the challenge.
Everything kind of worked, and you told your stories.
And I was really happy to be on the receiving end of such great food today.
Mei, Melissa, Doug, the three of you served our favorite dishes of the night.
Doug, how was this experience for you today? I was pretty skeptical at first, but I'm just like, "oh, I'm just gonna focus on the carrot," and then I started really having fun.
Mei, were you at all worried about doing a strictly vegetarian dish? Yes, at first, but I feel like, you know, at the end of the day, I'm really happy with what I did today.
Melissa.
I really felt very inspired by this challenge, 'cause I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do.
We were so impressed with how you all took this challenge to heart, but ultimately, there can only really be one winner.
Tony.
Deciding the winner was quite a challenge, but there was one dish that stood above the others that was as close to a flawless dish that I've had in a really long time.
- Mei, you're the winner.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations, Mei.
- Thank you.
Mei, that dish was so evocative.
It really gave us a sense of where Henry David Thoreau wrote, and more than anything, it was the most delicious, satisfying plate of vegetables I've ever eaten.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I'm really excited that I won this one.
Being on the bottom of the last challenge, that was the biggest low point that I had in this competition, so it feels good to win the best of the best dishes we put out all season.
Because the food was so amazing tonight, it makes our next decision that much more difficult, but one of you will be going home.
Gregory, we should be able to see what your inspiration is on the plate.
Yeah.
You did have two different proteins.
Were you worried that the raven would be lost on us? I really just kind of tried to pick apart the poem as much as possible, but I really wanted to make a dish that was cohesive as well, and I feel both the raven and the man are two important pieces of the story.
I understand the symbolism, but I'm not sure what that brings to the plate.
Katsuji, I love the idea of it, you know, but it felt like it was pulling in a lot of ways and that you're conflicted about it.
I took a huge risk in making it so explosive.
As a chef, you want to always create an experience, so I think I accomplished that.
The sauce was really thick.
You can do a beef sauce that's not pureed-- it's more of a juice-- and get a much more vibrant sauce.
Chefs--I think too often we stay in our kitchens with our head down, trying to create great food, but often, I think some of the best moments that we can have when it comes to finding inspiration is getting out of the kitchen.
So today's challenge was a fun one and difficult one.
Unfortunately for one of you, today's your last chapter.
today's challenge was a fun one and difficult one to find inspiration in great works of American literature.
Unfortunately for one of you, you just wrote your last chapter.
Katsuji, please pack your knives and go.
That's great.
Katsuji, your interpretation was as good as anybody's.
Unfortunately the food just didn't hold up.
The beet puree was really thick.
It was a little messy, but early on, you seemed like you didn't think you were gonna get very far.
And look around, you're still standing here.
It's pretty far into the competition.
Congratulations.
Like I said to chef, I was like, "I thought it was gonna be one of the first week or the first day.
" I was like, "this is pretty amazing.
" I'm grateful for the experience.
Well, you know, you do have one more shot to get back in through Last Chance Kitchen.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, everyone.
And please keep cooking like this.
I'm leaving super, super sad, but at the same time, I'm super proud that I was here.
That was rough.
Come on, buddy.
Come here.
We're all great chefs, even me.
You know, the guy who serves tacos? Is still a great chef.
It's not gonna be the same without you.
- No.
- It's not gonna be the same.
What are we gonna do? You guys.
14 years ago, literally, I arrived with nothing.
The fact that I own my own restaurant, that I'm on TV talking about my story, it's such a good feeling.
You just don't want to let it go.
You know, I put myself on the line every single challenge, and I want my daughter to watch this show and see me as something that she could be proud of.
Tonight on Last Chance Kitchen I don't think I've ever seen a chef use as many ingredients as you do.
Can Katsuji finally learn to edit his food? I can taste victory.
It's a combination between Katie's tears and Adam's sweat.
Or will Adam and Katie beat him at his own game? It's missing something.
To find out, go to bravotv.
Com.
Next on Top Chef The only pantry you'll have access to is the ingredients from these emerson college students.
What the hell does this kid eat? - Yikes.
- Barf-o-rama.
Sweetie.
Chefs, we want you to take inspiration from Julia child.
This is the biggest challenge so far.
Come on, baby.
Now it's down to five.
Everything you do is very crucial.
Did your mother enjoy putting carrots in her coq au vin.
It's just overseared and undercooked.
I'm definitely on the bottom.
I think we're all there.
The technique of cooking your meats were all off.