Top Chef (2006) s12e15 Episode Script
Mano a Mano
My name is Katsuji tanabe, and I sell tacos in Beverly Hills.
I'm Adam Harvey.
- Keriann Von Raesfeld.
- My name's George Pagonis.
I have three restaurants.
I am feeling wildly under-qualified right now.
My name's Mei Lin.
I'm working for chef Michael Voltaggio.
He's molded me into the chef I am today.
Gregory Gourdet.
I worked for Jean Georges, one of the world's greatest chefs.
If you're gonna come for me, you better come correct.
Chefs, only one of you will walk away with the title of Top Chef.
Tonight on the finale of Top Chef.
They traded wins all season long, and now the best of the best go head-to-head.
Definitely feeling a lot of pressure.
Something's burning! Mei Lin, strong from the first challenge, wowed the judges all season with her technique.
The winner of the first elimination challenge is Mei.
It's really flavorful, you tell a story, and you had the technique to pull it off.
Even though I've won a lot of challenges, Gregory has won more, but I feel that I'm ten times the chef that I was when I first walked into the Top Chef kitchen.
Congratulations, Mei.
You will be going on to Mexico.
Being a protege of a chef that won this competition, obviously, I don't want to live in his shadow forever, so I'm here to conquer it all.
I'm here to win Top Chef.
Mei is definitely my biggest competition.
And Gregory Gourdet's worldly flavors made him a clear frontrunner.
The chef who I think did the best job is Gregory.
Gregory.
I won a series of challenges all in a row right from the beginning, and to be really honest, you know, things got a lot harder for me.
Gregory, I think you played it a little safe.
But here in Mexico I really felt like I got my groove back.
- It's Gregory.
- Thanks, chef.
I'm ready to take this all the way.
I'm ready to win this.
Congratulations, Gregory, you are going to the finale.
I'm not holding anything back.
This is the clash of titans.
Tonight, one chef will win the grand prize: A feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the Food & Wine classic in Aspen, $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, and the title of Top Chef.
Congratulations.
Very proud of you.
We did it.
Congrats.
I knew we were gonna be in it.
No, seriously, I thought I was going home.
Doug, please pack your knives and go.
I avoided elimination for the second time in a row.
I am so relieved and so excited 'cause I'm here in the top two.
Cheers to the next round.
- May the best man win.
- Yeah.
Having made it this far, it's a proud moment.
All right, let's go.
This is what we've been fighting for.
Off to our last Top Chef challenge.
As we head out, it's extremely dark and very early in San Miguel De Allende in Mexico.
What could possibly be going on right now? You know, we're speculating as to what's in store, but, honestly, we have no idea.
We just know that it's going to be crazy.
Oh, God.
Hot air balloon? Oh, .
That is not happening right now.
- Oh, no.
- We might die today.
Up, up and away.
Here we go.
Holy .
Oh, my God.
We're so high up.
You're crazy! - I'm gonna lose it.
- Hold on for dear life.
Ahh! This is absolutely nuts.
I still can't believe that I'm here.
The end goal of my career is to be a chef of many different restaurant concepts, and I think winning Top Chef will allow me to set a foundation for that plan.
Did you ever think that first day when we were, like, doing our first quickfire i mise en place challenge that you'd make it this far, that it'd be like this? After all the things that I've given up in life to become a chef, you know, my years of rebelliousness, ignoring my family wanting me to be a doctor or a lawyer, and you know, winning this competition would make it worthwhile.
I just want to show everybody that I chose the right career path.
Looks like we're heading down.
Yeah, we're coming down.
Who's down there? Is that Tom and Padma? Oh, God.
It's coming.
- All right, let's go.
That was so much fun.
Hello.
- Hi.
- Padma.
Welcome to Vinedos Azteca in beautiful Queretaro, Mexico.
How was your balloon ride? It was insane.
It was a very beautiful way to see the city.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- It was very amazing.
Gregory, Mei, the two of you have done incredibly well over the season.
Challenge after challenge, just really just putting together some great, great dishes.
But only one of you will win the $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice and the coveted title of Top Chef.
Tomorrow night you'll cook your final meal.
And for your challenge, we want you to create the meal of your lives.
No small feat.
Now, chefs, listen.
Cook your heart out.
Cook the best four dishes that you can possibly cook.
You don't want to wake up the following day and think about what you might have done.
Understood.
You'll cook in two of San Miguel's best restaurants, and once again you'll have the opportunity to assemble a team.
You'll be allowed to choose only two sous chefs.
Gregory, let's start with you since you won the last challenge.
Um, Doug.
Dougie is definitely my boy, and it'll be really great to kind of represent Portland together.
Mei, who would you like first? I'm gonna go with Melissa.
Duh.
Of course I'm gonna go with Melissa.
You know, I wouldn't have picked anybody else.
Gregory, your second choice.
George.
George has a great grasp of flavor, so I'm very happy to work with him again.
- All right, Mei.
- Rebecca.
I plan to make a dessert, and Rebecca has that pastry experience.
I want to thank all the sous chefs.
Good luck, guys.
Tonight you'll have one hour to shop in town and source ingredients through your restaurants.
Tomorrow you'll have five hours to prep and cook before service begins.
Mei, you'll serve first at Cent'anni.
And Gregory, you'll serve second at the restaurant at Sollano 16.
Joining us for the meal are Hugh Acheson, Gail Simmons, and Richard Blais, along with some very notable chefs and critics including Tracy Des Jardins, Sean Brock, Michael Cimarusti .
And Gavin Kaysen.
These are, like, michelin star chefs.
I need to put out the best food of my life.
Chefs, only one meal separates you from the title of Top Chef.
- Good luck.
- We'll see you tomorrow.
Oh, my God.
Off to the mega.
Crazy, bro.
Last challenge, Mexico.
This is it, huh? Yeah.
It's kind of scary.
All right, so this is what I got.
Shrimp broth with green chorizo and nopales.
For the fish course, I'm gonna make a carrot ginger puree cooked down with vinegar and sugar so it's just like a bright, like, really bright counterpoint.
Got to find garnishes for the duck.
But the kimchi butter is simple.
The carnitas is gonna be cooked with tamarind, soy, garlic, onion.
Are you going with water or stock for the congee? Uh, both.
Half--half stock.
These dishes are reminiscent of who I am as a chef.
You know, a lot of it comes from my Chinese heritage.
How do you guys feel about, like, a chipotle pepper in the congee? - Like, a chipotle pepper - Like, the smoked? Like, chili sauce? But I also want to incorporate a lot of these ingredients around us here in Mexico.
I can run and grab things through the aisles pretty fast.
Perfect.
I'll just buy all the ducks.
Need avocado, garlic, ginger, pomegranates.
There's huitlacoche.
Oh, yeah, there's huitlacoche.
Octopus? I'll do octopus.
In Boston, I created lots of Asian food which is what I do, but here in Mexico, I've been doing really well cooking with these amazing Mexican ingredients that I've found a new love for.
I don't know.
I got short ribs.
I mean, go short ribs.
No one's really done 'em right yet, so So for this last challenge, I'm digging into something new with these Mexican ingredients and kind of creating a couple dishes on the fly.
I really want to show my diversity and prove that I'm not a one-trick pony.
15 minutes left! You know, I thought our final meal in Boston was the most important meal of my life.
This is the most important meal of my life.
Want me to go find nuts and sugar? Yeah, we need sugar.
Dessert, it's not really my specialty, but during our break before coming to Mexico, I actually worked the pastry station at chef Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant where people were doing a lot of different new techniques.
And you know, that really kind of inspired me, so it's go time.
I'm ready to bang out some desserts.
Looking for Mexican chocolate, and I can't find Mexican chocolate in Mexico.
This is really cute.
- I got the jicama, huitlacoche.
- .
- Yeah, we're done.
- Whoo.
- Senor, cusco chocolate? - Chocolate? Si.
Chocolate para mole.
Expecting to be in the Top Chef finale, I knew mole would be a winning dish.
Ah, yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
The mole is my secret weapon.
I know that I'll be able to impress the judges with this dish.
- We did it, buddy.
- Thanks, guys.
Back here again.
What are we gonna eat? We're gonna make you guys dinner.
I think I got everything I need.
I bought the entire store.
I got octopus.
- You got octopus too? - Yeah.
Octopus battle.
Perfect.
Second? Shrimp and green chorizo soup, and then beef short ribs with mole for the last course.
Oh, .
You're making mole? - Yeah.
- God.
Just listening to him describe his menu to me, I feel like Gregory's pushing himself in a different direction.
Your meal is pretty Mexican inspired.
Yeah.
I mean, he's really going for it.
The only way I'm gonna win is to showcase a lot more flavor and technique.
It's gonna be good.
I'm not gonna sleep tonight.
Do you think it's risky using a lot of new ingredients? - Of course.
- That's totally unheard of.
I have not played with liquid nitrogen like that before.
Oh, God.
- Hola.
- Hi.
- Hey, guys, what's up? - Hi.
All right, so what's the game plan? Becca, you're gonna work on dessert.
Melissa, start - with breaking down the duck.
- Okay.
I'm gonna get started on the octopus.
It's the morning of the finale dinner, and the pressure is on.
We have five hours to cook the best four-course meal of my life for a room full of very intimidating chefs.
Are you guys excited for cooking all the chefs today? Yeah.
It's, like, all of our careers, you know? I'm just so pumped for this.
Like, I've been ready.
It's all about the title.
It's all about the title.
So breast stock.
You want me to roast these bones? Drop them in the fryer, easiest way to roast bones.
Throughout this entire competition, a lot of my critiques from the judges have been that my food has been subtle and clean.
But in my menu today, I'm giving them bold flavors that they've never seen from me before.
The octopus course, the first course, is gonna be the hardest plate up.
Okay.
There's a million components in it.
For my first course, I'm gonna be making octopus with a fish sauce vinaigrette, avocado, and coconut.
This dish reminds me a lot of home.
Growing up, I remember having a similar dish, and it just really wowed me.
I want to start to get the jus on, and then you can start on congee.
Know you know how to make congee.
I do.
For my second course, I'll be serving congee, which is a rice porridge.
You know, actually I was really reluctant on making a congee for my final meal.
I made a traditional congee for our first challenge, and I didn't want to be repetitive.
Reinventing congee.
There's no such thing in Mexican culture, but I'm incorporating some Mexican flavors into it.
This time around, I wanted to utilize carnitas, scallion puree, chili, egg yolk, and peanuts.
I think this version shows a lot of maturity.
I grew up eating porridge with 1,000-year-old duck eggs.
That's my favorite.
Oh, we're adding huitlacoche to the duck.
- Huitlacoche.
- Okay.
For the third course I had Melissa start breaking down those duck breasts while I make the kimchi butter, braised lettuces and huitlacoche which is a really delicious fungus that grows on corn.
Kimchi 2.
0.
It's, like, on a whole 'nother level.
Becca, the ice cream? - I'll work with you.
- Perfect.
Rebecca's working on the dessert which is a strawberry lime curd with toasted yogurt, milk crumble, and mint.
I have not played with liquid nitrogen like that before, so I will get everything ready, - and then we'll do it together.
- All right, sweet.
This dessert is definitely gonna be unique.
Toasting the yogurt and using the liquid nitrogen to create lime curd shows a lot of modern techniques.
- How many charges, two? - Three.
It's a perfect example of who I am as a chef and where I'm gonna be in the future.
Yep.
That's the perfect texture.
Behind you.
I'm making kimchi butter right now.
- It's got to be tight.
- Keeping it tight.
Like a puppy's butthole.
It's gonna be so good.
Dude, huitlacoche's probably, like, the coolest thing I've ever seen.
My duck dish makes me a little nervous because mixing huitlacoche with kimchi, I think that's totally unheard of.
- It's gonna be spicy.
- Spicy? - I just see all the seeds.
- Oh, God.
But this is my final meal here on Top Chef.
I need to show that I'm doing things that are creative and innovative.
Yeah, right? Let's blend it.
Hello.
Hi, chef, how are you? - Hey, Mei, how's it going? - Good.
Everything's working out according to schedule.
The first course is gonna be octopus.
Okay.
I'm looking at that grill over there.
- I hope you're grilling it.
- Uh - Actually I'm--I'm not.
- You're not.
Okay.
All right.
My competition is, though.
Your competition is? Okay.
We're actually going head-to-head on the first two courses.
Okay, he's doing octopus, and he's doing congee as well? No, he's doing a stew, so soup Oh.
Got it.
Got it.
Okay.
Throughout the entire season, Gregory and I have gone head-to-head quite a few times, and he beat me quite a few times, so this is redemption time for me, and you know, I'm hungry to win.
Are you doing dessert or doing four savory? - I am doing dessert.
- You're doing dessert? Okay.
I want to show that I can do dessert.
- Got it.
- I'm not just savory, so Okay, good.
So you're feeling pretty good right now? I'm feeling really good, yeah.
- Thank you so much, chef.
- Yeah.
Good luck.
- Great.
- Thank you.
Hey.
Get to work.
Cute.
- Gregory.
- What's up, g? - Let's go.
What's up? - All right.
Here's our list.
Everything's on the wall.
I have full confidence in my sous chefs.
My strategy is to really utilize the best of their talents to execute my vision.
Okay, so I got dish by dish, every step, everything that we need to do.
Everything that needs to be grilled is all you, Dougie.
Everything that needs to be butchered is all you, George.
Got the Texas guy on the wood grill, - the Greek guy with the fish.
- Okay, let's go.
So, George, I think first thing, I don't know if the octopus is gonna take the longest.
- Okay.
- For my first course I'll be serving grilled octopus, avocado, prickly pear, and passion fruit.
George was eliminated for over-charring his octopus, but I know he has the basic technique of getting it tendered down, so I'll be personally finishing my octopus myself.
These are the only shrimp that we're gonna use - for the internal garnish.
- Okay.
And we're gonna keep all these shrimp head and fry those.
- Okay.
- For my second course I'll be serving shrimp broth with green chorizo, cactus, and fried shrimp heads.
I used the green chorizo in our chocolate quickfire and won, so I know that I'll have a great dish with the green chorizo again today.
All right, what else needs to be grilled? - Pineapple.
- Got it, buddy.
- I'm on that next.
- For my third course I'll be serving striped bass with tomatillo and pineapple in a really delicious carrot sauce that's gonna add a little sweet note to my dish.
I love spicy, sweet combinations.
This will be an amazing highlight for the fish.
Hey, Dougie, would you take this fish out on a date? I'm breaking down some pasilla chiles for my mole, one of the great Mexican sauces.
Mole's really not traditionally served with beef short ribs, but we're gonna mix it up a bit today.
In many levels I'm going out on a huge limb making mole.
You know, it involves over 30 ingredients.
To be able to get them to all sync together takes a very refined hand.
- How's your mole coming along? - It's coming.
That's got to be the star, buddy.
Yeah, I know.
You know, I designed the menu based around what's here.
Today I wanted to embrace the ingredients that are around us.
This menu is an all-new menu for me.
Every single course is based on Mexican ingredients and Mexican flavors.
I think it's very important to live in the moment.
You can't hold on to the past.
That's the way I live my life, and I want this meal to be a celebration of that.
Do you want the pineapple seasoned and oiled before I roast, or go dry? A little bit of oil.
- A little oil and salt.
- Gregory.
- Hey, chef.
- How're things looking? Um, things are looking very delicious.
Yeah? Okay.
I--instead of trying to scramble for a bunch of familiar ingredients, I--all the ingredients I've fallen in love with since we've been to Mexico, I really wanted to highlight as much as possible in my own kind of style.
Do you think it's risky using a lot of new ingredients that you've only seen for a couple days now? - Of course.
- Yeah? Of course, but I mean, I definitely want to show you guys that I'm a versatile chef.
- Are you nervous right now? - Am I nervous? - You nervous at all? - Of course, chef, - I'm extremely nervous.
- All right.
Can't you see how fast I'm talking? Yeah, I mean, you know, this is it, you know, like, this is the one, so - I'll let you get back to it.
- Thank you very much, chef.
- Yep.
- See you in a bit.
There have been times in the competition where I've definitely played it safe.
I'm going out on a limb because I know, to beat Mei, this meal has to be different.
It has to stand out.
Hopefully they get what I'm trying to say.
- This is sweet? - What? It's sweet? The last minute, I start to get nervous.
I don't even want to touch it.
It's smoking.
I don't even want to touch it.
Frying hot.
- 25 minutes, guys.
- 25.
All right, eat up, guys.
It's beautiful.
Yeah, dude, the octo is perfect.
That's delicious.
Thank you, honey.
Looks good.
How are you feeling about this moment? This--there's a ten-- there's a tension in the air.
This is their whole career coming down to a couple plates of food.
Just looking at the menu, I see this very interesting combination of Mexican and Asian ingredients.
The congee with carnitas? - I'm excited about that.
- Yeah.
Absolutely.
- 15 minutes, guys.
- 15.
Dude, you realize Gregory and I are going head-to-head? My octopus is gonna be ten times better.
My octopus dish is really bold.
I think it's gonna surprise the judges.
It's gonna punch them in the face with flavor.
I'm gonna kick his ass, and I'm gonna win Top Chef.
Dude, I can't believe this is happening right now.
I know, right? Here we go.
- All right, good luck.
- Good luck, honey.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Beautiful plate.
- Hello, Mei.
- Hi, everyone.
Tell us what you made for your first course.
So today I made octopus with a fish sauce vinaigrette, avocado, and coconut puree with some herbs.
Enjoy.
This is one of the most beautiful plates - from her that I've seen.
- Wow.
It's gorgeous.
There's a lot of big flavors in here.
Like, my mouth is, like, salivating right now.
It tastes so bold and bright.
- There's a depth to it.
- There really is.
This is one of the most flavorful dishes - we've gotten from Mei.
- I'd have to agree.
I mean, the vinaigrette does give it a little bit of punch.
There's a lot of umami in it.
The basil with the mint and cilantro, those three things - together are really good.
- It's delicious.
It's flavorful, but it's a little tough, a little dry.
It's a little overcooked.
Yeah.
Okay, so then congee is next.
So it's, like, a little bit of everything.
You just stir everything around? Stir it.
Congee, it is a peasant food.
It's rice porridge, but it is very much a part of who I am, you know? I eat it on a weekly basis.
Melissa, you follow with sauce.
Mei's next course I am really excited about.
- Hi, Mei.
- Hi.
For my second course, I decided to make a congee served with some carnitas, some scallion puree, homemade hot sauce, Japanese peanuts with lime spice and an egg yolk.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
It's warm and gooey.
It has a lot of flavor.
I actually think this congee is better than the first congee she made in Boston.
I do too.
It's really, really delicious.
I think it's just a perfect balance.
It pulls at the heartstrings.
It shows off her heritage and her background, so I think it works.
Oh, my God.
We need to be ready in five minutes.
Oh, really nice duck here.
Two more minutes in there? - And a rest.
- Yeah.
We'll use the crispiest ones.
Duck first, or Duck first and then the kimchi and then the sauce.
My duck dish is kind of out there, but everything tastes great together.
Let's go in 30 seconds.
I made a kimchi butter that I'm mounting into the braised lettuces, and I mean, I've definitely personally have never seen that before.
I decided to make a duck with some braised lettuce, kimchi jicama, and some huitlacoche.
Thank you so much.
When I had that first bite of this kimchi sauce and the huitlacoche sauce together, I was concerned that they were fighting each other.
But the more I eat it, the more it kind of all goes really well.
The duck's good.
I'm not sold on the rendering of the fat.
Maybe a misstep in texture.
There's a lot of sort of really interesting moments here.
The jicama is just-- it's a nice little crunch.
It's just so unexpected.
There might be a little bit too much huitlacoche to kimchi for my personal taste.
It's not over until she serves dessert.
Yeah.
So it's just yogurt in the canister? Yogurt, crema, lime, ice.
- Uh, this is sweet.
- What? This yogurt, it's sweet.
Yeah.
Last minute, I tasted the dessert and start to get nervous.
Yeah.
Definitely need to add more of the yogurt lime rocks.
I need something tangy to make it balance.
Well, this dessert better be really delicious because otherwise it's going to count against her.
If you're a savory chef, you're not a pastry chef, I wouldn't do one.
- I would go with savory.
- Yeah.
Perfect.
Everything's pretty sweet.
- That's gonna balance it out.
- Oh, it's perfect.
That could have been disastrous.
Out of all the dishes in my menu, this is the dish that I'm truly, truly proud of.
I'm just hoping that the judges will love it.
- Yay.
- This is it, guys.
This is it.
Wow.
It's beautiful.
I don't even want to touch it.
It's smoking.
So today I made a strawberry lime curd with some toasted yogurt, a milk crumble with bee pollen, and yogurt lime ice.
- Thank you, Mei.
- Thank you.
This competition is the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life.
I'm really glad that it's over and I can finally breathe for a minute, but judges' table is right around the corner.
- Ugh.
- Oh, my God.
Well, at least it's over.
It's over.
- The toasted yogurt - Yeah.
That smoky flavor on the side of that plate is amazing.
I think it's spectacular.
Just all the different textures, the milk crumble's awesome.
Best dessert I've ever had on Top Chef, and number two, she was very smart doing dessert.
I take it all back.
This is strong.
It's a very strong ending.
I think Gregory has his work cut out for him.
One down.
Ah.
All right, guys, we're gonna check the short rib braise.
I'm getting these carrots in.
I still need to make the carrot sauce.
We're getting down to the wire, boys.
As the last moments of prep expire, I feel very confident about the menu that's about to go out.
This is the final meal that stands between me and that $125,000.
I just got one thing to add to this mole then I can let it sit.
Thank you.
Interestingly, Gregory chose to not do a dessert.
- Mm-hmm.
- Bold.
That is bold.
- The menu looks really tasty.
- It does.
The prickly pear, the passion fruit, the chorizo, the poblano.
A lot more Mexican ingredients.
- All Mexican ingredients.
- Yeah.
He's going whole hog.
You think he's taking a risk, though, by going totally native? Is it way out of his wheelhouse? He typically cooks Asian, but it should be good.
He's a good cook.
Octopus, please.
Octopus.
George, he did a great job with the octopus.
It's a fun dish.
It has tons of great texture from the xoconostle.
Flavors are right, so I feel like we're off to a good start.
Come on, Gregory, you got it, buddy.
Win this .
- That's beautiful.
- I love the way this looks.
Yeah.
Gregory, tell us what you made.
For our first course, we have some grilled octopus.
And I kind of wanted to play with the fruits that were given here, so I choose the prickly pear with xoconostle, the passion fruit, and then some fresh cashew milk.
Thank you, Gregory.
Mmm.
Nervous.
Of course you're nervous.
This first course from Gregory is just sublime.
Yeah.
I think it was refined.
It was, like, elegant.
There was a real balance of flavor.
It's just a great example of "look for inspiration, you'll find it everywhere.
" The dish itself is just a powerhouse.
What I liked about Gregory's dish is that he was able to put together all the ingredients that I wouldn't have been able to and still make a cohesive dish in terms of how delicious it was.
This is getting me pretty excited about the next three courses here.
I know.
Dougie, the shrimp is great.
I'll start chopping your shrimp heads.
I'm very confident about this dish.
I think the shrimp flavor's amazing.
I love the tang from the grilled cactus, and I love the crunch from the crispy shrimp heads.
Here it comes.
Thank you.
It's brothy.
For our second course, I created a soup.
I discovered green chorizo while here in Mexico, so I was inspired by the classic combination of shrimp and chorizo.
So today we have a very flavorful shrimp broth.
We have some pickled nopales and some crispy shrimp heads as well.
Thank you.
I honestly feel like I'm sitting here eating a bowl of gumbo.
Yeah? Like, I feel like I'm in Louisiana.
It's got the shellfish.
It's got a little bit of spice.
It's got sausage.
It's got the cactus playing the role of the slimy okra.
And the crunch of the crisp shrimp body.
How do you feel about the shrimp shells being in this broth? - I haven't decided yet.
- Yeah.
They're a little bit coarse, you know? They kind of scratch your throat.
Not having the benefit of using all these ingredients all the time, I think this is where you run into a problem.
This is imbalanced.
As much as we probably all agree that Gregory's first course was better, I would say Mei's second course was much better.
This thing is naturally playing out to be quite a contest.
- Yeah.
- It sure is.
Yeah.
Start the fish.
Getting my third course together, I realize I've made my carrot sauce wrong.
I've failed to add vinegar and sugar.
I have to do something to help the viscosity and flavor.
- .
- What do you need, brother? Sugar.
This sauce is a huge component of my dish.
There's a lot at stake here.
And I have to fix this.
What really gets me jazzed is watching this young talent just emerging.
You guys are the future.
Personally I like them both too, but I don't think that it-- Church bells.
And there's no rhyme or reason for it.
So we should expect a lot of this? Oh, yes.
All things were equal except for those two moments.
I think that-- And Gregory's shrimp-- Wow.
Okay.
Dude, quasimodo is in the house.
Obviously it's 8:12.
It's just part of San Miguel.
What did you say? Oh, my God.
I'm feeling a little bit nervous about my fish course.
I failed to add sugar and vinegar to my carrot sauce in the beginning cooking stages.
- What do you need, brother? - Sugar.
So at the last minute I decide to add sugar to my carrot sauce, and I hope that it'll fix this.
Gregory, I'm Freaking out.
- I don't know what - I'm freaking out too, bro.
- Perfect.
- I think it's cooked right.
- Yeah, it's cooked right.
- Perfect.
The fish is perfect, Gregory.
Let's go.
- Touch of olive oil? - Yes.
I taste my carrot sauce, and it's a little bit too sweet.
I think I've added too much sugar, so I add a pinch of salt, and I hope that with the tomatillo sauce, it'll finally balance out.
- We got to go.
We got to go.
- Yeah.
I'm scared for my boy right now.
Yeah.
Hello.
For the third course we have some striped bass, some roasted carrots, some radishes, some pineapple, kind of just inspired by fruits and vegetables that I found here in Mexico.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
I know Gregory didn't do a dessert, but this dish is sweeter than Mei's dessert.
The green, I suppose, was the tomatillo, but it didn't have that presence like tomatillo should have.
It did not.
It did not step up at all.
I don't know.
It just-- the dish, unfortunately, just didn't work for me.
This dish looks like it is from a completely different chef than the last two courses that we had.
Oh, my God.
This is it.
Let's go, Gregory.
Come on.
It wasn't that fish dish, that's for sure.
There's, like, real Mexicans out there.
- Really? - I didn't think about that.
You know, after serving that overly sweet fish course, I'm kind of in a panic.
I really need to get my act together and kick ass with my fourth and final course.
Feeling okay? Yeah.
Feeling pretty good.
I like this dish.
Fortunately, I nailed this mole, and I think this dish is really going to be an amazing finale.
Final dish.
Yeah.
Nervous about this.
For our fourth course, I was definitely inspired by mole, which I think is one of the greatest sauces of all time.
I know that short rib isn't a very traditional meat to pair with it, but I thought the beef would stand up very well to it.
- Thank you, Gregory.
- Thank you very much.
Wow.
It's so tender.
- I love the way it looks.
- Look at that.
It smells really good too.
This is spectacular.
Full flavor, stunning long-lasting flavors.
All the flavors are what a mole should have, and I'm kind of blown away by that.
Job well done.
I thought it was delicious.
I loved it.
It's a really, really good dish.
The depth of the flavor of the mole, as someone who has been making it all his life, he certainly studied up on it and did a great job with it.
The beef is perfectly cooked.
Sweet potatoes are a great accompaniment to this.
I love that he fried the skins.
Making a mole is, like--it's like tradition, and every household has a different type of mole.
It's so interesting that he took a huge risk and make his mole and come out amazingly.
Of all the courses Gregory gave us tonight, this short rib was by far the star.
You end on something you know like Mei did.
The something strong, something with a takeaway, and he's leaving us with that, that's for sure.
Both chefs walked out of the kitchen knowing that they're putting a winner on the table.
Yep.
Well, I mean, this is obviously gonna be a really heated judges' table.
Thank you for joining us for both beautiful meals.
Salud.
Thank you so much for all your help.
It was very risky to create a Mexican menu, but I've cooked my heart out.
Now it's just up to the judges and fate to see what's left for me.
Hey, what's up? How'd it go? Uh, good.
- How was your dessert? - Good.
Oh, nice.
Chefs, we'd like to ask you both a few questions.
Please come to judges' table.
Thank you.
Chefs, we were obviously very impressed with your work all season long and with this meal as well.
How are you feeling right now? Uh, really nervous, anxious.
Um, uneasy right now.
This afternoon when I did a walkthrough, you were cool as a cucumber back there.
Yeah, but that was when I was working.
- Okay.
- I was working.
Gregory, hardest thing you've ever done in your career? Yeah, in my life, I think.
I mean, I, like, got sober five and a half years ago, and like, that was actually a lot easier than Top Chef.
Wow.
It's honest.
Gregory, I thought your meal overall was really, really strong.
I thought it was a beautiful ode to the place where we are in Mexico.
Thanks, chef.
Gregory, I loved your first course.
That octopus was tart.
It was sweet, delicious.
It was absolutely stunning.
Just so taken aback by the maturity of the dish.
Thank you, chef.
Mei, let's talk about your octopus.
That dish visually took my breath away.
I enjoyed the dish.
I just found it to be on the dry side.
Were you happy with the octopus? - I was, yeah.
- How did you cook it? I braised it in red wine vinegar, and I actually fried it.
I agree that the octopus was a little chewy, but I dug it.
Gregory, tell us a little bit about your second course.
I mean, I always love, like, a really great shrimp broth, and then just the green chorizo and cactus, I just fell in love with it.
Gregory, I love the idea of combining the shellfish with the meat in the chorizo.
I had a problem with the shrimp heads because I feel like I still have a little shard sticking to the back of my throat.
Okay.
I have a feeling you want this dish back.
You'd want to work on this one.
I do.
I definitely do.
It just didn't come together.
- But Mei, that congee, though.
- Yeah.
Can we talk about this congee? It was a really great dish, and I think it just told your story through.
I like that it was the first thing I ever ate from you and one of the last things I ever ate from you.
For me, changing it today, putting it into Mexican flavors, I think it fit the scene.
Let's talk about your third course.
I was inspired by tomatillos, carrots, pineapple, and again, I'm just speaking to where we are.
I got sweet, sweet, sweet, and sour.
The dish ate very, very sweet.
Okay.
Mei, I'd never had braised lettuces, huitlacoche, and kimchi with jicama.
A lot of wild flavors, not sure where the inspiration was.
I ate the dish.
I thought everything worked.
As much as I like the dish, it was still your weakest dish of the night.
Gregory, that brings us to your fourth course.
Your mole was outstanding.
It was so complex and rich.
It really showed that you were pushing yourself.
You edited this thing perfectly.
Did you look at this and say, "it needs something?" Like, when I have mole, I'm like, "this is, like, a perfect dish," but the only thing I can think of was, like, the sweet potatoes, just like a little bit of something kind of chewy and sweet.
I just couldn't get enough of it.
You want perfect in cooking, - that was it.
- Thank you very much, chef.
Mei, your fourth course was beautiful.
Everything that's right about modern food was in that bowl.
I thought this was the best dessert I've ever had on Top Chef, period, and I would say it's one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life.
Damn.
It was your best dish of the night.
- Thank you, chef.
- Thank you, chefs.
We have some things to discuss.
That'll be all for now.
.
I'm so sad about my soup.
I'm sad about my octopus.
I don't even know where we start.
We had two great meals tonight.
You still need to look at the dishes from start to finish, head-to-head.
Mm-hmm.
For first course, I thought Mei overcooked her octopus.
I thought it was dried out.
I thought the rest of the dish was really lovely.
I thought Gregory did a better job.
I thought that was really good.
I mean, I could argue that Mei's octopus was the biggest technical flaw of the night.
On the other hand, for their second course, I think putting those shrimp heads in the broth was a fatal mistake of Gregory's.
That dish did not work.
To me, Mei's congee in terms of flavor was perfect.
Third course.
The flaw in Mei's menu - was with the third course.
- Yeah.
There was a bit of a kind of wateriness between the huitlacoche sauce and that kimchi.
If you're gonna go head-to-head, I thought the duck was better than the fish.
You make a fish dish, it's about the fish.
That dish was not about fish.
It may come down to the fourth course then.
The fourth course for both of them tonight was by far their strongest course.
- Yes.
- Yes.
They left us on the highest high.
Mei's dessert, I absolutely loved it.
Presentation was stunning, flavor was stunning.
Gregory's mole, um, again, we all were just raving about the mole.
I'm with you on the fourth course from Gregory, no question.
Mei, I think the congee and the dessert she had were flawless.
I think they each had two flawless courses.
- Didn't you, Richard? - Yeah.
I mean, I found Gregory's menu more inspirational.
Gregory has this global perspective in the way he cooks, and it is brilliant, but I don't think ultimately it was as successful as Mei's.
This is a close one.
It's really close.
This is a close one.
All season long, you guys have just been surprising, stunning often, but what really gets me jazzed is watching this young talent just emerging.
I guess I can only equate it to watching The Ramones at Cbgb's or seeing Springsteen at the Stone Pony.
This raw talent-- no, seriously, raw talent.
You guys are the future.
You really are.
Mei and Gregory, one of you will win the $125,000 grand prize furnished by Healthy Choice, and of course the title of Top Chef.
Mei You are Top Chef.
I am Top Chef.
Thank you, chef.
My parents are definitely gonna be really proud of me.
Michael Voltaggio's gonna be really proud of me.
But most of all, I'm really proud of myself and where I am right now.
How do you feel, Mei? I don't know.
It was an honor to eat your food.
- Congratulations.
- Honor to cook for you.
You know, I'm very honestly disappointed, but I'm someone who really believes in change and personal growth, and you know, I really do believe I found that on Top Chef.
You are so unbelievable.
Thank you very much.
Congratulations.
I just keep having "holy " Replayed in my head.
Holy .
Holy .
Holy .
Holy .
I heard your dessert was ridiculous.
- Good job.
- Chef, holy .
Chef, I'm gonna pass out.
I don't even know what to do right now.
Stop calling me "chef.
" You're the chef now.
You're the Top Chef.
Oh, chef! Oh, my God.
- To Mei.
- To Mei.
Whoo! Mei needs more champagne.
To learn more about the chefs, go to bravotv.
com.
I'm Adam Harvey.
- Keriann Von Raesfeld.
- My name's George Pagonis.
I have three restaurants.
I am feeling wildly under-qualified right now.
My name's Mei Lin.
I'm working for chef Michael Voltaggio.
He's molded me into the chef I am today.
Gregory Gourdet.
I worked for Jean Georges, one of the world's greatest chefs.
If you're gonna come for me, you better come correct.
Chefs, only one of you will walk away with the title of Top Chef.
Tonight on the finale of Top Chef.
They traded wins all season long, and now the best of the best go head-to-head.
Definitely feeling a lot of pressure.
Something's burning! Mei Lin, strong from the first challenge, wowed the judges all season with her technique.
The winner of the first elimination challenge is Mei.
It's really flavorful, you tell a story, and you had the technique to pull it off.
Even though I've won a lot of challenges, Gregory has won more, but I feel that I'm ten times the chef that I was when I first walked into the Top Chef kitchen.
Congratulations, Mei.
You will be going on to Mexico.
Being a protege of a chef that won this competition, obviously, I don't want to live in his shadow forever, so I'm here to conquer it all.
I'm here to win Top Chef.
Mei is definitely my biggest competition.
And Gregory Gourdet's worldly flavors made him a clear frontrunner.
The chef who I think did the best job is Gregory.
Gregory.
I won a series of challenges all in a row right from the beginning, and to be really honest, you know, things got a lot harder for me.
Gregory, I think you played it a little safe.
But here in Mexico I really felt like I got my groove back.
- It's Gregory.
- Thanks, chef.
I'm ready to take this all the way.
I'm ready to win this.
Congratulations, Gregory, you are going to the finale.
I'm not holding anything back.
This is the clash of titans.
Tonight, one chef will win the grand prize: A feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the Food & Wine classic in Aspen, $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, and the title of Top Chef.
Congratulations.
Very proud of you.
We did it.
Congrats.
I knew we were gonna be in it.
No, seriously, I thought I was going home.
Doug, please pack your knives and go.
I avoided elimination for the second time in a row.
I am so relieved and so excited 'cause I'm here in the top two.
Cheers to the next round.
- May the best man win.
- Yeah.
Having made it this far, it's a proud moment.
All right, let's go.
This is what we've been fighting for.
Off to our last Top Chef challenge.
As we head out, it's extremely dark and very early in San Miguel De Allende in Mexico.
What could possibly be going on right now? You know, we're speculating as to what's in store, but, honestly, we have no idea.
We just know that it's going to be crazy.
Oh, God.
Hot air balloon? Oh, .
That is not happening right now.
- Oh, no.
- We might die today.
Up, up and away.
Here we go.
Holy .
Oh, my God.
We're so high up.
You're crazy! - I'm gonna lose it.
- Hold on for dear life.
Ahh! This is absolutely nuts.
I still can't believe that I'm here.
The end goal of my career is to be a chef of many different restaurant concepts, and I think winning Top Chef will allow me to set a foundation for that plan.
Did you ever think that first day when we were, like, doing our first quickfire i mise en place challenge that you'd make it this far, that it'd be like this? After all the things that I've given up in life to become a chef, you know, my years of rebelliousness, ignoring my family wanting me to be a doctor or a lawyer, and you know, winning this competition would make it worthwhile.
I just want to show everybody that I chose the right career path.
Looks like we're heading down.
Yeah, we're coming down.
Who's down there? Is that Tom and Padma? Oh, God.
It's coming.
- All right, let's go.
That was so much fun.
Hello.
- Hi.
- Padma.
Welcome to Vinedos Azteca in beautiful Queretaro, Mexico.
How was your balloon ride? It was insane.
It was a very beautiful way to see the city.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- It was very amazing.
Gregory, Mei, the two of you have done incredibly well over the season.
Challenge after challenge, just really just putting together some great, great dishes.
But only one of you will win the $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice and the coveted title of Top Chef.
Tomorrow night you'll cook your final meal.
And for your challenge, we want you to create the meal of your lives.
No small feat.
Now, chefs, listen.
Cook your heart out.
Cook the best four dishes that you can possibly cook.
You don't want to wake up the following day and think about what you might have done.
Understood.
You'll cook in two of San Miguel's best restaurants, and once again you'll have the opportunity to assemble a team.
You'll be allowed to choose only two sous chefs.
Gregory, let's start with you since you won the last challenge.
Um, Doug.
Dougie is definitely my boy, and it'll be really great to kind of represent Portland together.
Mei, who would you like first? I'm gonna go with Melissa.
Duh.
Of course I'm gonna go with Melissa.
You know, I wouldn't have picked anybody else.
Gregory, your second choice.
George.
George has a great grasp of flavor, so I'm very happy to work with him again.
- All right, Mei.
- Rebecca.
I plan to make a dessert, and Rebecca has that pastry experience.
I want to thank all the sous chefs.
Good luck, guys.
Tonight you'll have one hour to shop in town and source ingredients through your restaurants.
Tomorrow you'll have five hours to prep and cook before service begins.
Mei, you'll serve first at Cent'anni.
And Gregory, you'll serve second at the restaurant at Sollano 16.
Joining us for the meal are Hugh Acheson, Gail Simmons, and Richard Blais, along with some very notable chefs and critics including Tracy Des Jardins, Sean Brock, Michael Cimarusti .
And Gavin Kaysen.
These are, like, michelin star chefs.
I need to put out the best food of my life.
Chefs, only one meal separates you from the title of Top Chef.
- Good luck.
- We'll see you tomorrow.
Oh, my God.
Off to the mega.
Crazy, bro.
Last challenge, Mexico.
This is it, huh? Yeah.
It's kind of scary.
All right, so this is what I got.
Shrimp broth with green chorizo and nopales.
For the fish course, I'm gonna make a carrot ginger puree cooked down with vinegar and sugar so it's just like a bright, like, really bright counterpoint.
Got to find garnishes for the duck.
But the kimchi butter is simple.
The carnitas is gonna be cooked with tamarind, soy, garlic, onion.
Are you going with water or stock for the congee? Uh, both.
Half--half stock.
These dishes are reminiscent of who I am as a chef.
You know, a lot of it comes from my Chinese heritage.
How do you guys feel about, like, a chipotle pepper in the congee? - Like, a chipotle pepper - Like, the smoked? Like, chili sauce? But I also want to incorporate a lot of these ingredients around us here in Mexico.
I can run and grab things through the aisles pretty fast.
Perfect.
I'll just buy all the ducks.
Need avocado, garlic, ginger, pomegranates.
There's huitlacoche.
Oh, yeah, there's huitlacoche.
Octopus? I'll do octopus.
In Boston, I created lots of Asian food which is what I do, but here in Mexico, I've been doing really well cooking with these amazing Mexican ingredients that I've found a new love for.
I don't know.
I got short ribs.
I mean, go short ribs.
No one's really done 'em right yet, so So for this last challenge, I'm digging into something new with these Mexican ingredients and kind of creating a couple dishes on the fly.
I really want to show my diversity and prove that I'm not a one-trick pony.
15 minutes left! You know, I thought our final meal in Boston was the most important meal of my life.
This is the most important meal of my life.
Want me to go find nuts and sugar? Yeah, we need sugar.
Dessert, it's not really my specialty, but during our break before coming to Mexico, I actually worked the pastry station at chef Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant where people were doing a lot of different new techniques.
And you know, that really kind of inspired me, so it's go time.
I'm ready to bang out some desserts.
Looking for Mexican chocolate, and I can't find Mexican chocolate in Mexico.
This is really cute.
- I got the jicama, huitlacoche.
- .
- Yeah, we're done.
- Whoo.
- Senor, cusco chocolate? - Chocolate? Si.
Chocolate para mole.
Expecting to be in the Top Chef finale, I knew mole would be a winning dish.
Ah, yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
The mole is my secret weapon.
I know that I'll be able to impress the judges with this dish.
- We did it, buddy.
- Thanks, guys.
Back here again.
What are we gonna eat? We're gonna make you guys dinner.
I think I got everything I need.
I bought the entire store.
I got octopus.
- You got octopus too? - Yeah.
Octopus battle.
Perfect.
Second? Shrimp and green chorizo soup, and then beef short ribs with mole for the last course.
Oh, .
You're making mole? - Yeah.
- God.
Just listening to him describe his menu to me, I feel like Gregory's pushing himself in a different direction.
Your meal is pretty Mexican inspired.
Yeah.
I mean, he's really going for it.
The only way I'm gonna win is to showcase a lot more flavor and technique.
It's gonna be good.
I'm not gonna sleep tonight.
Do you think it's risky using a lot of new ingredients? - Of course.
- That's totally unheard of.
I have not played with liquid nitrogen like that before.
Oh, God.
- Hola.
- Hi.
- Hey, guys, what's up? - Hi.
All right, so what's the game plan? Becca, you're gonna work on dessert.
Melissa, start - with breaking down the duck.
- Okay.
I'm gonna get started on the octopus.
It's the morning of the finale dinner, and the pressure is on.
We have five hours to cook the best four-course meal of my life for a room full of very intimidating chefs.
Are you guys excited for cooking all the chefs today? Yeah.
It's, like, all of our careers, you know? I'm just so pumped for this.
Like, I've been ready.
It's all about the title.
It's all about the title.
So breast stock.
You want me to roast these bones? Drop them in the fryer, easiest way to roast bones.
Throughout this entire competition, a lot of my critiques from the judges have been that my food has been subtle and clean.
But in my menu today, I'm giving them bold flavors that they've never seen from me before.
The octopus course, the first course, is gonna be the hardest plate up.
Okay.
There's a million components in it.
For my first course, I'm gonna be making octopus with a fish sauce vinaigrette, avocado, and coconut.
This dish reminds me a lot of home.
Growing up, I remember having a similar dish, and it just really wowed me.
I want to start to get the jus on, and then you can start on congee.
Know you know how to make congee.
I do.
For my second course, I'll be serving congee, which is a rice porridge.
You know, actually I was really reluctant on making a congee for my final meal.
I made a traditional congee for our first challenge, and I didn't want to be repetitive.
Reinventing congee.
There's no such thing in Mexican culture, but I'm incorporating some Mexican flavors into it.
This time around, I wanted to utilize carnitas, scallion puree, chili, egg yolk, and peanuts.
I think this version shows a lot of maturity.
I grew up eating porridge with 1,000-year-old duck eggs.
That's my favorite.
Oh, we're adding huitlacoche to the duck.
- Huitlacoche.
- Okay.
For the third course I had Melissa start breaking down those duck breasts while I make the kimchi butter, braised lettuces and huitlacoche which is a really delicious fungus that grows on corn.
Kimchi 2.
0.
It's, like, on a whole 'nother level.
Becca, the ice cream? - I'll work with you.
- Perfect.
Rebecca's working on the dessert which is a strawberry lime curd with toasted yogurt, milk crumble, and mint.
I have not played with liquid nitrogen like that before, so I will get everything ready, - and then we'll do it together.
- All right, sweet.
This dessert is definitely gonna be unique.
Toasting the yogurt and using the liquid nitrogen to create lime curd shows a lot of modern techniques.
- How many charges, two? - Three.
It's a perfect example of who I am as a chef and where I'm gonna be in the future.
Yep.
That's the perfect texture.
Behind you.
I'm making kimchi butter right now.
- It's got to be tight.
- Keeping it tight.
Like a puppy's butthole.
It's gonna be so good.
Dude, huitlacoche's probably, like, the coolest thing I've ever seen.
My duck dish makes me a little nervous because mixing huitlacoche with kimchi, I think that's totally unheard of.
- It's gonna be spicy.
- Spicy? - I just see all the seeds.
- Oh, God.
But this is my final meal here on Top Chef.
I need to show that I'm doing things that are creative and innovative.
Yeah, right? Let's blend it.
Hello.
Hi, chef, how are you? - Hey, Mei, how's it going? - Good.
Everything's working out according to schedule.
The first course is gonna be octopus.
Okay.
I'm looking at that grill over there.
- I hope you're grilling it.
- Uh - Actually I'm--I'm not.
- You're not.
Okay.
All right.
My competition is, though.
Your competition is? Okay.
We're actually going head-to-head on the first two courses.
Okay, he's doing octopus, and he's doing congee as well? No, he's doing a stew, so soup Oh.
Got it.
Got it.
Okay.
Throughout the entire season, Gregory and I have gone head-to-head quite a few times, and he beat me quite a few times, so this is redemption time for me, and you know, I'm hungry to win.
Are you doing dessert or doing four savory? - I am doing dessert.
- You're doing dessert? Okay.
I want to show that I can do dessert.
- Got it.
- I'm not just savory, so Okay, good.
So you're feeling pretty good right now? I'm feeling really good, yeah.
- Thank you so much, chef.
- Yeah.
Good luck.
- Great.
- Thank you.
Hey.
Get to work.
Cute.
- Gregory.
- What's up, g? - Let's go.
What's up? - All right.
Here's our list.
Everything's on the wall.
I have full confidence in my sous chefs.
My strategy is to really utilize the best of their talents to execute my vision.
Okay, so I got dish by dish, every step, everything that we need to do.
Everything that needs to be grilled is all you, Dougie.
Everything that needs to be butchered is all you, George.
Got the Texas guy on the wood grill, - the Greek guy with the fish.
- Okay, let's go.
So, George, I think first thing, I don't know if the octopus is gonna take the longest.
- Okay.
- For my first course I'll be serving grilled octopus, avocado, prickly pear, and passion fruit.
George was eliminated for over-charring his octopus, but I know he has the basic technique of getting it tendered down, so I'll be personally finishing my octopus myself.
These are the only shrimp that we're gonna use - for the internal garnish.
- Okay.
And we're gonna keep all these shrimp head and fry those.
- Okay.
- For my second course I'll be serving shrimp broth with green chorizo, cactus, and fried shrimp heads.
I used the green chorizo in our chocolate quickfire and won, so I know that I'll have a great dish with the green chorizo again today.
All right, what else needs to be grilled? - Pineapple.
- Got it, buddy.
- I'm on that next.
- For my third course I'll be serving striped bass with tomatillo and pineapple in a really delicious carrot sauce that's gonna add a little sweet note to my dish.
I love spicy, sweet combinations.
This will be an amazing highlight for the fish.
Hey, Dougie, would you take this fish out on a date? I'm breaking down some pasilla chiles for my mole, one of the great Mexican sauces.
Mole's really not traditionally served with beef short ribs, but we're gonna mix it up a bit today.
In many levels I'm going out on a huge limb making mole.
You know, it involves over 30 ingredients.
To be able to get them to all sync together takes a very refined hand.
- How's your mole coming along? - It's coming.
That's got to be the star, buddy.
Yeah, I know.
You know, I designed the menu based around what's here.
Today I wanted to embrace the ingredients that are around us.
This menu is an all-new menu for me.
Every single course is based on Mexican ingredients and Mexican flavors.
I think it's very important to live in the moment.
You can't hold on to the past.
That's the way I live my life, and I want this meal to be a celebration of that.
Do you want the pineapple seasoned and oiled before I roast, or go dry? A little bit of oil.
- A little oil and salt.
- Gregory.
- Hey, chef.
- How're things looking? Um, things are looking very delicious.
Yeah? Okay.
I--instead of trying to scramble for a bunch of familiar ingredients, I--all the ingredients I've fallen in love with since we've been to Mexico, I really wanted to highlight as much as possible in my own kind of style.
Do you think it's risky using a lot of new ingredients that you've only seen for a couple days now? - Of course.
- Yeah? Of course, but I mean, I definitely want to show you guys that I'm a versatile chef.
- Are you nervous right now? - Am I nervous? - You nervous at all? - Of course, chef, - I'm extremely nervous.
- All right.
Can't you see how fast I'm talking? Yeah, I mean, you know, this is it, you know, like, this is the one, so - I'll let you get back to it.
- Thank you very much, chef.
- Yep.
- See you in a bit.
There have been times in the competition where I've definitely played it safe.
I'm going out on a limb because I know, to beat Mei, this meal has to be different.
It has to stand out.
Hopefully they get what I'm trying to say.
- This is sweet? - What? It's sweet? The last minute, I start to get nervous.
I don't even want to touch it.
It's smoking.
I don't even want to touch it.
Frying hot.
- 25 minutes, guys.
- 25.
All right, eat up, guys.
It's beautiful.
Yeah, dude, the octo is perfect.
That's delicious.
Thank you, honey.
Looks good.
How are you feeling about this moment? This--there's a ten-- there's a tension in the air.
This is their whole career coming down to a couple plates of food.
Just looking at the menu, I see this very interesting combination of Mexican and Asian ingredients.
The congee with carnitas? - I'm excited about that.
- Yeah.
Absolutely.
- 15 minutes, guys.
- 15.
Dude, you realize Gregory and I are going head-to-head? My octopus is gonna be ten times better.
My octopus dish is really bold.
I think it's gonna surprise the judges.
It's gonna punch them in the face with flavor.
I'm gonna kick his ass, and I'm gonna win Top Chef.
Dude, I can't believe this is happening right now.
I know, right? Here we go.
- All right, good luck.
- Good luck, honey.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Beautiful plate.
- Hello, Mei.
- Hi, everyone.
Tell us what you made for your first course.
So today I made octopus with a fish sauce vinaigrette, avocado, and coconut puree with some herbs.
Enjoy.
This is one of the most beautiful plates - from her that I've seen.
- Wow.
It's gorgeous.
There's a lot of big flavors in here.
Like, my mouth is, like, salivating right now.
It tastes so bold and bright.
- There's a depth to it.
- There really is.
This is one of the most flavorful dishes - we've gotten from Mei.
- I'd have to agree.
I mean, the vinaigrette does give it a little bit of punch.
There's a lot of umami in it.
The basil with the mint and cilantro, those three things - together are really good.
- It's delicious.
It's flavorful, but it's a little tough, a little dry.
It's a little overcooked.
Yeah.
Okay, so then congee is next.
So it's, like, a little bit of everything.
You just stir everything around? Stir it.
Congee, it is a peasant food.
It's rice porridge, but it is very much a part of who I am, you know? I eat it on a weekly basis.
Melissa, you follow with sauce.
Mei's next course I am really excited about.
- Hi, Mei.
- Hi.
For my second course, I decided to make a congee served with some carnitas, some scallion puree, homemade hot sauce, Japanese peanuts with lime spice and an egg yolk.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
It's warm and gooey.
It has a lot of flavor.
I actually think this congee is better than the first congee she made in Boston.
I do too.
It's really, really delicious.
I think it's just a perfect balance.
It pulls at the heartstrings.
It shows off her heritage and her background, so I think it works.
Oh, my God.
We need to be ready in five minutes.
Oh, really nice duck here.
Two more minutes in there? - And a rest.
- Yeah.
We'll use the crispiest ones.
Duck first, or Duck first and then the kimchi and then the sauce.
My duck dish is kind of out there, but everything tastes great together.
Let's go in 30 seconds.
I made a kimchi butter that I'm mounting into the braised lettuces, and I mean, I've definitely personally have never seen that before.
I decided to make a duck with some braised lettuce, kimchi jicama, and some huitlacoche.
Thank you so much.
When I had that first bite of this kimchi sauce and the huitlacoche sauce together, I was concerned that they were fighting each other.
But the more I eat it, the more it kind of all goes really well.
The duck's good.
I'm not sold on the rendering of the fat.
Maybe a misstep in texture.
There's a lot of sort of really interesting moments here.
The jicama is just-- it's a nice little crunch.
It's just so unexpected.
There might be a little bit too much huitlacoche to kimchi for my personal taste.
It's not over until she serves dessert.
Yeah.
So it's just yogurt in the canister? Yogurt, crema, lime, ice.
- Uh, this is sweet.
- What? This yogurt, it's sweet.
Yeah.
Last minute, I tasted the dessert and start to get nervous.
Yeah.
Definitely need to add more of the yogurt lime rocks.
I need something tangy to make it balance.
Well, this dessert better be really delicious because otherwise it's going to count against her.
If you're a savory chef, you're not a pastry chef, I wouldn't do one.
- I would go with savory.
- Yeah.
Perfect.
Everything's pretty sweet.
- That's gonna balance it out.
- Oh, it's perfect.
That could have been disastrous.
Out of all the dishes in my menu, this is the dish that I'm truly, truly proud of.
I'm just hoping that the judges will love it.
- Yay.
- This is it, guys.
This is it.
Wow.
It's beautiful.
I don't even want to touch it.
It's smoking.
So today I made a strawberry lime curd with some toasted yogurt, a milk crumble with bee pollen, and yogurt lime ice.
- Thank you, Mei.
- Thank you.
This competition is the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life.
I'm really glad that it's over and I can finally breathe for a minute, but judges' table is right around the corner.
- Ugh.
- Oh, my God.
Well, at least it's over.
It's over.
- The toasted yogurt - Yeah.
That smoky flavor on the side of that plate is amazing.
I think it's spectacular.
Just all the different textures, the milk crumble's awesome.
Best dessert I've ever had on Top Chef, and number two, she was very smart doing dessert.
I take it all back.
This is strong.
It's a very strong ending.
I think Gregory has his work cut out for him.
One down.
Ah.
All right, guys, we're gonna check the short rib braise.
I'm getting these carrots in.
I still need to make the carrot sauce.
We're getting down to the wire, boys.
As the last moments of prep expire, I feel very confident about the menu that's about to go out.
This is the final meal that stands between me and that $125,000.
I just got one thing to add to this mole then I can let it sit.
Thank you.
Interestingly, Gregory chose to not do a dessert.
- Mm-hmm.
- Bold.
That is bold.
- The menu looks really tasty.
- It does.
The prickly pear, the passion fruit, the chorizo, the poblano.
A lot more Mexican ingredients.
- All Mexican ingredients.
- Yeah.
He's going whole hog.
You think he's taking a risk, though, by going totally native? Is it way out of his wheelhouse? He typically cooks Asian, but it should be good.
He's a good cook.
Octopus, please.
Octopus.
George, he did a great job with the octopus.
It's a fun dish.
It has tons of great texture from the xoconostle.
Flavors are right, so I feel like we're off to a good start.
Come on, Gregory, you got it, buddy.
Win this .
- That's beautiful.
- I love the way this looks.
Yeah.
Gregory, tell us what you made.
For our first course, we have some grilled octopus.
And I kind of wanted to play with the fruits that were given here, so I choose the prickly pear with xoconostle, the passion fruit, and then some fresh cashew milk.
Thank you, Gregory.
Mmm.
Nervous.
Of course you're nervous.
This first course from Gregory is just sublime.
Yeah.
I think it was refined.
It was, like, elegant.
There was a real balance of flavor.
It's just a great example of "look for inspiration, you'll find it everywhere.
" The dish itself is just a powerhouse.
What I liked about Gregory's dish is that he was able to put together all the ingredients that I wouldn't have been able to and still make a cohesive dish in terms of how delicious it was.
This is getting me pretty excited about the next three courses here.
I know.
Dougie, the shrimp is great.
I'll start chopping your shrimp heads.
I'm very confident about this dish.
I think the shrimp flavor's amazing.
I love the tang from the grilled cactus, and I love the crunch from the crispy shrimp heads.
Here it comes.
Thank you.
It's brothy.
For our second course, I created a soup.
I discovered green chorizo while here in Mexico, so I was inspired by the classic combination of shrimp and chorizo.
So today we have a very flavorful shrimp broth.
We have some pickled nopales and some crispy shrimp heads as well.
Thank you.
I honestly feel like I'm sitting here eating a bowl of gumbo.
Yeah? Like, I feel like I'm in Louisiana.
It's got the shellfish.
It's got a little bit of spice.
It's got sausage.
It's got the cactus playing the role of the slimy okra.
And the crunch of the crisp shrimp body.
How do you feel about the shrimp shells being in this broth? - I haven't decided yet.
- Yeah.
They're a little bit coarse, you know? They kind of scratch your throat.
Not having the benefit of using all these ingredients all the time, I think this is where you run into a problem.
This is imbalanced.
As much as we probably all agree that Gregory's first course was better, I would say Mei's second course was much better.
This thing is naturally playing out to be quite a contest.
- Yeah.
- It sure is.
Yeah.
Start the fish.
Getting my third course together, I realize I've made my carrot sauce wrong.
I've failed to add vinegar and sugar.
I have to do something to help the viscosity and flavor.
- .
- What do you need, brother? Sugar.
This sauce is a huge component of my dish.
There's a lot at stake here.
And I have to fix this.
What really gets me jazzed is watching this young talent just emerging.
You guys are the future.
Personally I like them both too, but I don't think that it-- Church bells.
And there's no rhyme or reason for it.
So we should expect a lot of this? Oh, yes.
All things were equal except for those two moments.
I think that-- And Gregory's shrimp-- Wow.
Okay.
Dude, quasimodo is in the house.
Obviously it's 8:12.
It's just part of San Miguel.
What did you say? Oh, my God.
I'm feeling a little bit nervous about my fish course.
I failed to add sugar and vinegar to my carrot sauce in the beginning cooking stages.
- What do you need, brother? - Sugar.
So at the last minute I decide to add sugar to my carrot sauce, and I hope that it'll fix this.
Gregory, I'm Freaking out.
- I don't know what - I'm freaking out too, bro.
- Perfect.
- I think it's cooked right.
- Yeah, it's cooked right.
- Perfect.
The fish is perfect, Gregory.
Let's go.
- Touch of olive oil? - Yes.
I taste my carrot sauce, and it's a little bit too sweet.
I think I've added too much sugar, so I add a pinch of salt, and I hope that with the tomatillo sauce, it'll finally balance out.
- We got to go.
We got to go.
- Yeah.
I'm scared for my boy right now.
Yeah.
Hello.
For the third course we have some striped bass, some roasted carrots, some radishes, some pineapple, kind of just inspired by fruits and vegetables that I found here in Mexico.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
I know Gregory didn't do a dessert, but this dish is sweeter than Mei's dessert.
The green, I suppose, was the tomatillo, but it didn't have that presence like tomatillo should have.
It did not.
It did not step up at all.
I don't know.
It just-- the dish, unfortunately, just didn't work for me.
This dish looks like it is from a completely different chef than the last two courses that we had.
Oh, my God.
This is it.
Let's go, Gregory.
Come on.
It wasn't that fish dish, that's for sure.
There's, like, real Mexicans out there.
- Really? - I didn't think about that.
You know, after serving that overly sweet fish course, I'm kind of in a panic.
I really need to get my act together and kick ass with my fourth and final course.
Feeling okay? Yeah.
Feeling pretty good.
I like this dish.
Fortunately, I nailed this mole, and I think this dish is really going to be an amazing finale.
Final dish.
Yeah.
Nervous about this.
For our fourth course, I was definitely inspired by mole, which I think is one of the greatest sauces of all time.
I know that short rib isn't a very traditional meat to pair with it, but I thought the beef would stand up very well to it.
- Thank you, Gregory.
- Thank you very much.
Wow.
It's so tender.
- I love the way it looks.
- Look at that.
It smells really good too.
This is spectacular.
Full flavor, stunning long-lasting flavors.
All the flavors are what a mole should have, and I'm kind of blown away by that.
Job well done.
I thought it was delicious.
I loved it.
It's a really, really good dish.
The depth of the flavor of the mole, as someone who has been making it all his life, he certainly studied up on it and did a great job with it.
The beef is perfectly cooked.
Sweet potatoes are a great accompaniment to this.
I love that he fried the skins.
Making a mole is, like--it's like tradition, and every household has a different type of mole.
It's so interesting that he took a huge risk and make his mole and come out amazingly.
Of all the courses Gregory gave us tonight, this short rib was by far the star.
You end on something you know like Mei did.
The something strong, something with a takeaway, and he's leaving us with that, that's for sure.
Both chefs walked out of the kitchen knowing that they're putting a winner on the table.
Yep.
Well, I mean, this is obviously gonna be a really heated judges' table.
Thank you for joining us for both beautiful meals.
Salud.
Thank you so much for all your help.
It was very risky to create a Mexican menu, but I've cooked my heart out.
Now it's just up to the judges and fate to see what's left for me.
Hey, what's up? How'd it go? Uh, good.
- How was your dessert? - Good.
Oh, nice.
Chefs, we'd like to ask you both a few questions.
Please come to judges' table.
Thank you.
Chefs, we were obviously very impressed with your work all season long and with this meal as well.
How are you feeling right now? Uh, really nervous, anxious.
Um, uneasy right now.
This afternoon when I did a walkthrough, you were cool as a cucumber back there.
Yeah, but that was when I was working.
- Okay.
- I was working.
Gregory, hardest thing you've ever done in your career? Yeah, in my life, I think.
I mean, I, like, got sober five and a half years ago, and like, that was actually a lot easier than Top Chef.
Wow.
It's honest.
Gregory, I thought your meal overall was really, really strong.
I thought it was a beautiful ode to the place where we are in Mexico.
Thanks, chef.
Gregory, I loved your first course.
That octopus was tart.
It was sweet, delicious.
It was absolutely stunning.
Just so taken aback by the maturity of the dish.
Thank you, chef.
Mei, let's talk about your octopus.
That dish visually took my breath away.
I enjoyed the dish.
I just found it to be on the dry side.
Were you happy with the octopus? - I was, yeah.
- How did you cook it? I braised it in red wine vinegar, and I actually fried it.
I agree that the octopus was a little chewy, but I dug it.
Gregory, tell us a little bit about your second course.
I mean, I always love, like, a really great shrimp broth, and then just the green chorizo and cactus, I just fell in love with it.
Gregory, I love the idea of combining the shellfish with the meat in the chorizo.
I had a problem with the shrimp heads because I feel like I still have a little shard sticking to the back of my throat.
Okay.
I have a feeling you want this dish back.
You'd want to work on this one.
I do.
I definitely do.
It just didn't come together.
- But Mei, that congee, though.
- Yeah.
Can we talk about this congee? It was a really great dish, and I think it just told your story through.
I like that it was the first thing I ever ate from you and one of the last things I ever ate from you.
For me, changing it today, putting it into Mexican flavors, I think it fit the scene.
Let's talk about your third course.
I was inspired by tomatillos, carrots, pineapple, and again, I'm just speaking to where we are.
I got sweet, sweet, sweet, and sour.
The dish ate very, very sweet.
Okay.
Mei, I'd never had braised lettuces, huitlacoche, and kimchi with jicama.
A lot of wild flavors, not sure where the inspiration was.
I ate the dish.
I thought everything worked.
As much as I like the dish, it was still your weakest dish of the night.
Gregory, that brings us to your fourth course.
Your mole was outstanding.
It was so complex and rich.
It really showed that you were pushing yourself.
You edited this thing perfectly.
Did you look at this and say, "it needs something?" Like, when I have mole, I'm like, "this is, like, a perfect dish," but the only thing I can think of was, like, the sweet potatoes, just like a little bit of something kind of chewy and sweet.
I just couldn't get enough of it.
You want perfect in cooking, - that was it.
- Thank you very much, chef.
Mei, your fourth course was beautiful.
Everything that's right about modern food was in that bowl.
I thought this was the best dessert I've ever had on Top Chef, period, and I would say it's one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life.
Damn.
It was your best dish of the night.
- Thank you, chef.
- Thank you, chefs.
We have some things to discuss.
That'll be all for now.
.
I'm so sad about my soup.
I'm sad about my octopus.
I don't even know where we start.
We had two great meals tonight.
You still need to look at the dishes from start to finish, head-to-head.
Mm-hmm.
For first course, I thought Mei overcooked her octopus.
I thought it was dried out.
I thought the rest of the dish was really lovely.
I thought Gregory did a better job.
I thought that was really good.
I mean, I could argue that Mei's octopus was the biggest technical flaw of the night.
On the other hand, for their second course, I think putting those shrimp heads in the broth was a fatal mistake of Gregory's.
That dish did not work.
To me, Mei's congee in terms of flavor was perfect.
Third course.
The flaw in Mei's menu - was with the third course.
- Yeah.
There was a bit of a kind of wateriness between the huitlacoche sauce and that kimchi.
If you're gonna go head-to-head, I thought the duck was better than the fish.
You make a fish dish, it's about the fish.
That dish was not about fish.
It may come down to the fourth course then.
The fourth course for both of them tonight was by far their strongest course.
- Yes.
- Yes.
They left us on the highest high.
Mei's dessert, I absolutely loved it.
Presentation was stunning, flavor was stunning.
Gregory's mole, um, again, we all were just raving about the mole.
I'm with you on the fourth course from Gregory, no question.
Mei, I think the congee and the dessert she had were flawless.
I think they each had two flawless courses.
- Didn't you, Richard? - Yeah.
I mean, I found Gregory's menu more inspirational.
Gregory has this global perspective in the way he cooks, and it is brilliant, but I don't think ultimately it was as successful as Mei's.
This is a close one.
It's really close.
This is a close one.
All season long, you guys have just been surprising, stunning often, but what really gets me jazzed is watching this young talent just emerging.
I guess I can only equate it to watching The Ramones at Cbgb's or seeing Springsteen at the Stone Pony.
This raw talent-- no, seriously, raw talent.
You guys are the future.
You really are.
Mei and Gregory, one of you will win the $125,000 grand prize furnished by Healthy Choice, and of course the title of Top Chef.
Mei You are Top Chef.
I am Top Chef.
Thank you, chef.
My parents are definitely gonna be really proud of me.
Michael Voltaggio's gonna be really proud of me.
But most of all, I'm really proud of myself and where I am right now.
How do you feel, Mei? I don't know.
It was an honor to eat your food.
- Congratulations.
- Honor to cook for you.
You know, I'm very honestly disappointed, but I'm someone who really believes in change and personal growth, and you know, I really do believe I found that on Top Chef.
You are so unbelievable.
Thank you very much.
Congratulations.
I just keep having "holy " Replayed in my head.
Holy .
Holy .
Holy .
Holy .
I heard your dessert was ridiculous.
- Good job.
- Chef, holy .
Chef, I'm gonna pass out.
I don't even know what to do right now.
Stop calling me "chef.
" You're the chef now.
You're the Top Chef.
Oh, chef! Oh, my God.
- To Mei.
- To Mei.
Whoo! Mei needs more champagne.
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