PADMA: Previously on Top Chef: World All-Stars...
We're having a battle of the Wellington.
Eh, Welly.
This is also
a double elimination.
Not good.
Ali, what are you doing now?
Cauliflower and onion puree.
TOM C: I just found it under-seasoned.
The yogurt is so bland.
- That's cauliflower. - It's cauliflower?
Yeah.
It's raw.
There's no time to reheat.
It is under, and it eats under.
BUDDHA: That is textbook.
The nori was a beautiful twist on it.
The team that put together the best dishes: the Green Team.
- Yeah! - [chuckling]
Sara and Amar.
Please pack your knives and go.
Last Chance Kitchen. It is the finale.
♪
PADMA: Only four chefs remain to compete
in the ultimate culinary showdown.
At stake for the winner: a feature
in Food & Wine Magazine, an appearance
at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen,
$250,000, furnished by Saratoga Spring Water.
And the title of Top Chef: World All-Star.
♪
[uplifting music playing]
♪
ALI: I try to work out every morning.
Growing up, I used to love sports.
I was not a foodie person.
I used to love sandwiches only,
and my friends at school loved the sandwich that I had,
so my class, even the faculty, were buying sandwiches from me.
I was making 150 sandwich a day.
This is where I discovered my passion.
So, just thinking of winning Top Chef: World All-Stars
give me goosebumps right now.
TOM G: Good morning, sunshine.
- Good morning, gorgeous. - Did you just made your bed?
Yes, absolutely. Oh, my [bleep].
[laughing]
- Top five? - Top-- top four.
- How about that, huh? - It's top four,
but it's technically top five.
I mean, one comes back, so...
I know. I'm going with five.
Who do you think is coming back?
TOM G: We have Dale, which did this before.
- GABRI: Yeah. - He knows the trick.
Even you make it all the way
to Amar and Sara, it's a tough one.
And we have Nicole, you know?
All-Star winner. 30,000 years of experience,
- so... yeah. - How many years?
Uh, about 30,000.
[both laughing]
She is going to kill you.
[lively music playing]
Hello, hello.
What got you into cooking, Buddha?
My dad's a chef.
My dad's family, there's 12 of them,
are boys, and all the boys are chefs.
It was probably something I couldn't have escaped, really.
Growing up, my dad invited me into the kitchen.
He was cooking this Chinese omelet. It was incredible.
He was flipping this whole thing.
It was slow motion in my memory.
From that moment, I wanted to be a chef.
When I was 12 years old, I started cooking.
Haven't stopped since.
ALI: This has been one hell of journey.
- BUDDHA: Mm-hmm. - ALI: So, this would be
- the last challenge in London? - Last challenge in London.
But I'd love to go to France.
That's for sure.
♪
Hit it.
- [majestic music] - [laughing]
- Ah. - Oh, wow.
- Hey. - Good morning, chefs.
- Good morning. - Good morning, Padma.
I see you guys seem
- to have gotten some rest. - Yeah.
- Kind of. - That was a really tough
Elimination Challenge, and I can tell you
it's not gonna get any easier from here.
- We bet. - It's never been easy.
But the winner of Last Chance Kitchen
has been crowned, and one chef
will be returning to the competition right now.
PADMA: Any ideas who you think is coming back?
Maybe Charbel?
PADMA: Please welcome back to the competition...
the winner of Last Chance Kitchen...
- Hello, boys. - GABRI: Oh, Sara.
Oh, my God!
Those boys thought they were rid of me.
I'm back, bitches.
All right, chefs. This is it.
I wanna see three dishes from each of you.
I wanna keep it simple, delicious, that's it.
- That sure is charred. - Yeah, look at that.
I know that this cabbage is perfect.
TOM C: The cabbage, I like a lot. Really smoky.
And then you get sweetness from the apple.
The winner of Last Chance Kitchen...
is... Sara.
[contestants applauding]
- Welcome back. - SARA: Thank you.
I'm ready to win. I'm inspired.
There is, like, a fire goin' on
inside of this belly right now,
and it's not heartburn. [laughs]
- Hello, Buddha. - ALI: That's your place.
- TOM G: Come in the middle. - SARA: Thank you.
Welcome back. How does it feel to be back?
It feels good. I'm, like, staring at this deli
behind you and, you know...
[laughing]
All right, chefs.
It is time for your final Quickfire
here in London.
Who's ready to break the mold?
I've been breaking the mold a couple times.
♪
Chefs, I would like to introduce you
to your guest judge today.
He is the co-founder
of Benham & Froud,
the team who has revitalized the jelly craze.
Please welcome one half of Bompas and Parr, Sam Bompas.
- Welcome. - [applauding]
Thanks for having me here. It is a real joy.
So Sam, I wanna know how you got interested in jellies.
So I've been jellying for 15 years now.
Myself and, well, my best friends,
wanted to do something fun on the weekend,
and we thought jelly held the key.
Now, I know jelly can be temperamental.
Yes, there's always a little bit of jeopardy with jelly,
and the key to that is getting
your gelling agents just spot on.
Too much, and it's like eating a bouncy ball.
Too little, and you're left
with an embarrassing puddle on the plate.
You want a little quiver in your jelly.
- Jiggly-jiggly. - There's gotta be a wobble.
[Padma laughing]
For today's Quickfire Challenge,
you must create a dessert
that incorporates jelly, and you must also use a mold.
Now, you don't necessarily have to use
the mold exclusively for the jelly.
So, here's how it's gonna work, okay?
You'll have 30 minutes to start your desserts.
Then we will let them set for one hour.
We'll come back, and you will have a final 15 minutes
to de-mold and plate your desserts.
There's no way that I'm gonna set a jelly
in a mold in this sort of time,
so it's so important to be strategic in this.
The winner will receive an advantage
in the Elimination Challenge,
your final in London.
All right, chefs. Good luck.
Your time starts now.
♪
BUDDHA: Anyone got gelatin? Own up.
There's gelatin on the thingy here.
[whistling]
Sara, what do you think of this challenge?
SARA: I mean, everybody loves gelatin.
Let's get down to the jelly.
Gelatin can be finicky.
Who has agar?
- Me. - I coulda guessed it.
But Tom loves those gels.
And Buddha might just faint from, like,
the sheer love of the molds. [snickers]
Are you so excited about a mold challenge?
Uh, yeah, I'm pretty pumped.
I'm gonna do an orange blossom, but actually make a blossom.
I love molds, but there's not a lot of time,
so I am gonna use a mold to make ice cream,
but I'm gonna set the jelly inside of a cup.
I think it is a nice take on two different things.
Gonna make it look like a blossom, but use orange.
I'm gonna be trying to do layers.
I'm gonna be doing orange blossom panna cotta
with orange jelly, fresh orange segments
and orange blossom and saffron ice cream.
SARA: 15 minutes left to cook.
GABRI: I love eating jelly.
...and I let it slightly burn because
the loose gelatin needs to have bitter notes in it.
So, I add in the gelatin, and I pour it
into these beautiful flower molds.
Hopefully, it's going to set. Hopefully.
TOM G: I'm gonna make a goat cheese panna cotta,
and then I'll make a little gel.
I think goat cheese panna cotta
is really cool, and it's just funny to eat,
'cause it looks like a vanilla panna cotta, but then
you bite inside and, "My God, that's goat cheese inside."
What kind of mold are you using?
As a kid, I always said I want to be a chef or a clown.
They're not that fun as I thought it is,
so chef it is. [chuckling]
I just try to cool down as fast as I can.
Ten minutes everybody!
♪
ALI: Yes, baby, this is the last Quickfire in London.
- GABRI: It's crazy, right? - ALI: Crazy.
GABRI: What are you making?
So, my plan for the molds,
I'm gonna be using two kinds of molds.
Normally, jellies takes, like,
up to four hours minimum until it sets,
but I'm gonna be using small molds
so my dark chocolate crémeaux sets perfectly.
Then I'm gonna be doing my black currant jelly
and let it set in the fridge.
So, one hour, I hope it's going to be enough.
♪
SARA: I actually fed Jell-O shots to Padma one time.
We called it jiggle juice.
SARA: A lot of Maker's Mark.
- No? - No?
SARA: Too much booze? Sorry, Padma.
Yeah, this time I'm not makin' jiggle juice.
I'm making basil buttermilk Jell-O.
I'm hoping that I can impress the judges
by doing a layered jelly.
Sara, what kind of mold you use?
Like, a demi-sphere.
I think it'll cool quickly.
TOM G: I make a little gel.
Six minute, guys! Six minutes!
♪
Gabri, how are you feeling about time?
I'm always rushing, buddy.
You cannot have tres leches without the cake.
I'm gonna make sponge cake. It's a very simple cake.
You can cook it in the microwave.
GABRI: I'm working on my sauce.
I'm gonna be having blackberry coulis.
I think I can make it in time.
- TOM G: How is everybody? - BUDDHA: Been better.
SARA: How many cooks does it take to warm a blast chiller?
To ruin a kitchen? One.
Forty seconds.
[epic music playing]
♪
ALI: Okay, guys, we have to wait now.
We have one hour to have our Jell-O set.
I hope.
SARA: Come back here, and I'll tell you
- about Last Chance Kitchen. - Let's do it.
SARA: So, Charbel, me, Amar.
Charbel and I moved on.
♪
PADMA: Previously on Top Chef: World All-Stars...
♪
Let's check on our jellies!
GABRI: My jelly-jelly.
I'm super stressed right now.
You only got 15 minutes left to plate,
and if your gelatin is not setting,
I mean, there's nothing you can do.
ALI: Woohoo! It set, baby!
It worked!
[breathing heavily]
[bleep] My dulce de leche panna cotta isn't set.
GABRI: Isn't that setting?
There's no time to wiggle-wiggle anymore.
One, two... I don't know what to do.
I mean... [chuckling cynically] Mommy.
[emphatic music playing]
How about you, Tom?
Feeling excellent. Everything wiggles on my plate.
So I decide in the very last second to put some popcorn.
Which gonna be a little bit of a crunch.
It makes a lot of sense, in a weird way.
Tom, what are you doing right now?
- None of your----ing business. - BUDDHA: Okay.
You have five minutes.
- Party's on. - [groovy music playing]
BUDDHA: My jelly, lookin' pretty good.
♪
BUDDHA: That'll look good.
Needs to temper a little bit.
SARA: Everybody good?
I have a lovely cake.
Didn't sound enthusiastic.
You wanna see it? You have to pay it.
Well, there we go.
I made a mess with this challenge.
I mean, I just scooped this panna cotta from the mold,
and I covered it all with my sponge cake.
Cannot fool anyone.
Chefs, you have one minute left.
[suspenseful music playing]
PADMA: 30 seconds.
♪
Three, two, one.
Hands up. Thank you.
They look pretty.
All right, Gabri, please bring up your dessert.
- Here. - PADMA: Thank you.
GABRI: I made today dulce de leche panna cotta,
which is on the bottom and also on the top.
Dulce de leche custard, a strawberry
with-- with raspberry coulis, and mint.
Which is the molded part of your dessert?
The-- the flower mold. It's in the bottom.
- It's in the bottom? - GABRI: Yeah.
SAM: I've been digging around for it.
I can't see much flower.
They didn't set.
- SAM: Mm. - Okay.
- Thank you, Gabri. - Thank you.
There you are, then.
- I see the quiver. - ALI: Yeah.
PADMA: I see the shake.
ALI: I have prepared a set crémeaux of dark chocolate
with gelatin, black currant sauce, macerated berries,
and black currant jelly with pistachio crumble.
SAM: I've gotta say, you've got a really good wobble on there.
This just makes me smile, as well.
Thank you.
- SAM: Gorgeous. Very pretty. - PADMA: Ooh.
I made a goat cheese panna cotta
with cherry jelly in the center
and beetroot discs and curry popcorn
and then side of gel to cut the fattiness.
PADMA: Are these beetroot discs your jelly?
TOM: I have the beetroot disc as a jelly,
and panna cotta itself is only made
- with gelatin of course as well. - SAM: Mm.
Thank you, Tom.
Pretty.
- Wowza. - The ice cream is shaped
as an orange blossom, but it's a saffron ice cream.
On the bottom is an orange blossom jelly,
and an orange blossom panna cotta on the bottom.
SAM: It's hard to put your spoon into it
'cause there's so much going on, it's really gorgeous.
He came armed to the teeth with molds.
Yeah. [chuckles]
PADMA: Where is the jelly?
I used orange Jell-Os
on the bottom of it.
- Mm. - Thank you.
I have made a layered buttermilk strawberry jelly
with fresh berries, a little ginger and pecans.
There's a layer of strawberry basil jelly on the bottom.
SAM: The strawberry layer looks very delicate, doesn't it?
PADMA: Any other flavoring in the bottom layer?
SARA: There's a little fennel powder and black pepper.
- PADMA: Thank you. - SAM: Thank you.
♪
I thought the challenge was very difficult,
but there's some swashbuckling flavors,
sensational presentations, and it was a delight to eat.
Of course, there were a couple
that were less successful than the others.
[ominous music playing]
Gabri, with the dulce de leche.
I enjoyed eating it, but I just wanted to see
more of that mold and more of the jelly being proud.
I agree.
PADMA: Who else?
SAM: Tom, I salute your ambition
getting that many different gels on a plate,
but I think just more consideration
of how the flavors could all work together
would really elevate the dish.
- And now for some good news. - We're gonna start with Ali.
I think one of the dangers with making a jelly
is the dish can be a little bit boring,
and there was not a moment where I was bored eating that.
In fact, I kept wanting to return.
I love the flavor of that black currant,
and I thought your chocolate was luscious.
- ALI: Thank you. - SAM: Sara's, with
the buttermilk strawberry jelly.
I couldn't resist wielding my spoon,
and going in again and again and again, and hats off to you
as you actually managed to get a layer in there.
I loved your use of spices and berries
- with the buttermilk. - Thank you.
- And that leaves Buddha. - SAM: I loved your approach.
Putting the jelly on the bottom and then focusing
the mold-making with ice cream was a fantastic move.
Saffron and orange blossom
are a beautiful, classic combination.
- Thank you. - So, Sam,
who had our favorite jelly dish today?
The chef who really delivered on this challenge,
who used a mold exceptionally, and put smiles on faces, was...
[suspenseful music playing]
- Chef Buddha. - [applause]
PADMA: Congratulations, Buddha.
I'm the winner.
Three in a row now, so let's go for another one.
PADMA: You just won yourself an advantage
in the next Elimination Challenge.
- Thank you. - PADMA: Sam, I wanna thank you
for being here. It's been a real pleasure
- to have you. Thank you. - SAM: Thank you.
[group applauding]
All right, Chefs. There is only one challenge
standing between you and the finals in Paris.
- Oof. - Are you ready?
- Absolutely. - Yeah.
Good, because things are about to get tricky.
Tricky.
♪
In 18th century England,
a fashionable person's taste
was always under scrutiny.
One of the greatest representations
of good taste at dinner
came in the form of trompe l'oeil ceramic.
♪
- Trompe what? - A what?
It's trompe l'oeil or trompe l'ais?
Trompe l'oeil means to fool, or trick the eye, in French.
[chuckling]
In the 18th century, you would see
a variety of porcelain items on the table
made to look like food or animals,
to spark conversation among the guests.
[laughing]
There is a long global history
of optical illusion in the arts.
Thought-provoking chefs like Andoni Luis Aduriz
have created visually stimulating dishes
that trick the eye.
For your final Elimination Challenge here in London,
we are taking a cue from a Top Chef: France challenge.
And impress us
with your very own trompe l'oeil dish.
If you want to make it to the finals in Paris.
The way I like to cook, I'm never tryin' to trick somebody.
I don't know what to do.
PADMA: It's up to you to decide
how to interpret this challenge.
Whether you want to create something
that looks like one food item versus another,
or you want to create something
that looks like a very realistic object.
We want to be fooled. We literally want to be tricked.
We do serve, on the ship in an ash tray,
a cigar which is obviously not a cigar.
It's all funky and funny. This challenge is made for me.
Today, you'll have £300 to shop at Whole Foods Market.
Then, tomorrow, you'll have three hours
to prep and cook at Hatfield House,
which is also where Queen Elizabeth I
learned she would be queen.
To help your vision come to life,
we'll provide you with a variety of molds for this challenge.
- [chuckling] - You'll be serving
a table of some of the best chefs in the UK,
including two Michelin-starred chef
and restauranteur, Jeremy Chan.
- Wow. - No pressure.
And Buddha, as the winner of the Quickfire Challenge,
you'll get an additional 30 minutes to cook.
After you're done shopping at Whole Foods,
you get to go to Dishoom for dinner.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Best of luck. I'm rooting for you.
- Bye. - Let's get out of here.
[upbeat music playing]
Honestly, I have no idea what I'm making.
I have never done trompe-l'oeil,
but I always try to manipulate the eye
or the senses of my guests.
It's not an easy one.
Normally, these kind of dishes
takes time to think or create one,
and now I'm just trying to come up with at least
one simple idea that I can execute
because I have to shop for that dish
in a couple of minutes.
Ah, this challenge.
What are you thinking, Gabri?
You know, the...
No. What is... [laughing]
The thing that you-- you're scrub the dishes.
- Oh, you're gonna make a sponge. - Yes, exactly.
In my season of Top Chef: Mexico,
we did this exact same challenge,
but it was a Quickfire Challenge.
I made this recreation of the sea.
It taste like mandarin.
The flavors were good, but I was in the middle.
I didn't win. This time it's completely different.
In the top, it's going to be a--
a layers of-- of, uh, cap--
capers, cheese and-- and a lot of herbs.
My very first job in the kitchen was a dishwasher,
so I want to recreate that origin with this dish, you know?
And I know who I am, because I remember where I came from.
I'm celebrating it because...
that wanted to become a chef,
and here I am in Top Chef: World All-Stars.
Actually, I think I'm gonna make, like, a Scotch-Brite.
- [laughing] - ♪
I'm doing just, like, an array of different things
that just look like each other.
So, it's gonna look like a charcuterie board.
It feels unreal to be so close
to the very end and the title of Top Chef: World All-Stars.
Honestly, this challenge is, like...
They just keep getting more trickier, don't they?
If I were to be sent home, it would be a nightmare,
but I don't plan on that.
[intense music playing]
[scratchy hip-hop music playing]
[laughing]
I know everyone's sh--ing themselves right now,
but I'm feeling good 'cause it's my sort of challenge.
GABRI: I'm looking for some herbs.
TOM G: Gabri...
[Tom G laughing]
ALI: Sara, what you doing?
I'm making matzah ball soup,
but it's gonna look like a tamale.
It's not really my style, but...
you know, it's Top Chef season 20.
I'm feeling mediocre confidence,
but I made matzah ball soup in Macao,
and that was the challenge that sent me to the finale.
Maybe history will repeat itself.
Ali, what you thinkin', buddy?
To be honest, I'm still thinking what I'm gonna do.
I don't have a clear plan yet.
This is the first time I don't know what am I doing,
and I'm shopping at the same time.
I'm just looking for stuff that might inspire me.
I'm just enjoying my last day in London.
Let's see what happens.
Ay-ay-ay.
Something with seaweed.
Just because I like the section, to be honest.
I want to make caviar, but it's made out of seaweed.
It's super sustainable, and being raised
on a winery in a small village,
sustainability is extremely important.
Even the shirt I wear right now, um, my mom made it.
I have by now five shirts. Thanks, Mom.
But I want at least 10 more. Just saying.
ALI: Tom, how are you feeling?
I'm living the dream. Ali, you have an idea now?
I'm thinking to do something like a plant,
but it's not a plant. Boom, I have an idea.
It will taste like falafel.
I can make something that looks like a garden.
I'm just looking for black olives and pickled walnuts.
TOM G: Seven minutes, Chefs!
[suspenseful music playing]
All the best. Hope it goes well.
Thank you so much.
BUDDHA: That is it for the last time.
- GABRI: Thank you. - BUDDHA: Thank you
and good night, London.
You've been amazing.
♪
[relaxing music playing]
- BUDDHA: Cheers everyone. - Cheers. Top five.
On to top five, huh? It's a pleasure to meet all of you.
This is the last time we are all gonna dine together in London.
Tomorrow, one of us will be gone. It is bittersweet.
What's been y'all's favorite challenge so far?
I love Gaggan. For me, Gaggan was mind-blowing.
- Hey, guys. - Hi, Chef!
Thank you for cooking for me.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
I've had a lot of lows
'cause I miss my kids,
but challenge-wise, high moment for me
was spankin' y'all's ass on lamb.
Come on, Sara.
- That's it, that's it. - Check.
- That's check. - [whistle blows]
- We got winners. - [cheering]
- [whistle blowing] - [bleep] yes!
- Yes! - [laughing]
You didn't clean the lamb rack.
You just----in' destroyed the lamb rack.
I actually-- I hate you guys,
because you left me with the lamb.
ALI: It's not me, it's Tom.
You both! It was you both.
- You're----in' pigs. - [laughing]
Being here, competing with you guys,
this is completely different experience, you know?
Competing with top chefs from all over the world,
I have pushed myself way more than my season.
So I'm very happy and blessed to be here.
Uh, as a chef and as a person as well, of course.
I'm happy that I made it this far,
but this is not enough.
Tomorrow is a really big day.
There are so many things on stake,
going to Paris, the finals.
I need to make it happen.
All right, Gabri. Thank you, Gabri.
You're welcome, guys. You're welcome.
Let's get out of here.
[exciting music playing]
♪
This is gonna be the last challenge in London.
I feel a lot of pressure, but I think that's normal.
It's just the last challenge before Paris, so...
My concerns today are straightforward.
I don't wanna go home.
I'm kind of surprised to see what Tom does.
His pressure is that this is the type of food he does.
This is not the kind of food that I do.
♪
SARA: Wait a second. It can't be.
♪
Wow. It looks like a castle.
- It's a house. - What do you mean it's a house?
Hatfield House is stunning.
SARA: This is pretty cool.
BUDDHA: This is crazy.
I don't know who is doing their gardening,
but there's probably about a hundred people on the payroll.
[chuckling]
[intense music playing]
Okay.
♪
- Beautiful kitchen. - SARA: I know, I love it.
ALI: Do you have aluminum foil?
Overtop.
On Top Chef: MENA we have never had
this kind of challenge, but I'm looking forward
to put the "Ali" in the "finale."
[chuckling]
♪
- How are you doing? - GABRI: Rushing, rushing.
I'm gonna make a sponge scrub,
but inside of the sponge is going to have a lamb tartar.
It's also going to have the foam of the soap
with cheese and with macadamia nuts.
[magical sound effect]
Look, that's beautiful. [chuckling]
When the judges try my dish,
[upbeat music playing]
I'm making a garden, so I'm gonna be doing soil.
I'm gonna use different shapes of, uh, falafel.
Like a layered garden that has different textures
and different colors.
Once you eat it, you think
Middle Eastern partfait.
My second soil going to be herb soil.
I have two kinds of soil.
Bottom is bread crumbs, a panko,
toasting it and mixing it with herbs,
and my other soil is going to be on top.
That's going to be made with black quinoa.
If one of these layers is not good,
it will affect the taste of my whole dish.
I'm making a caviar dish without using caviar.
On our cruise ships, we serve caviar on the beach.
It was one of the coolest experience a guest can have.
Tom, what sort of caviar are you using?
TOM G: Seaweed.
To make seaweed look like caviar,
you have to make a caviar gel with agar-agar.
This is my caviar.
It's basically three kinds of seaweed
with fish stock, soy sauce and wasabi.
My dish kinda look like a caviar can on the beach.
It looks like caviar, and it literally tastes like caviar
without being caviar. I think it's super cool.
Looks quite disgusting, but it's quite tasty.
[lively music playing]
What are you working on?
SARA: I'm making tamales.
Gringo Jewish tamales.
- [laughing] - It's gonna look like a tamale,
but it's gonna be a matzah ball.
This kosher salt's pulling all the blood out of the marrow.
That right there, it's like heaven to me.
I'm making my potato croquettes to look like a black truffle.
I'm doing some pork rillette that I'm gonna dip
in cherry jelly to make it look like a cherry.
- You made pork rillette? - BUDDHA: Yeah.
So, pretty much, it's gonna be look like a--
just bunch of ingredients and a glass of red wine.
It's almost like a charcuterie board where you've got bread,
I'm gonna make look like it's all porcini mushroom,
goats cheese olives, a glass of red wine, black truffle.
It's gonna be a potato and Wensleydale cheese croquette.
Why'd you decide to make a dinner plate?
I'm not just gonna go for one dish that just looks different.
I wanna make sure that I push myself.
My biggest concern is being able to get all these
small dishes done in three hours for Michelin-star chefs.
If everything goes well, I think it's gonna be
a real amazing dish.
Ali, what are you doing?
I'm just doing my falafel.
Gardens, there's always ta-- turtles, you know?
Gonna be using liquid nitrogen to shock-freeze it,
and I'm gonna fry it last minute before serving.
[dinging sound]
GABRI: Two hours!
Isn't this crazy how close we are to...
It is crazy, girl.
What should we do when we get to Paris
since neither of us have ever been there?
BUDDHA: Making goat cheese olives.
I like to play with seaweed a lot.
Buddha, what are you using your extra time for?
Uh, [scoffs]-- everything. [laughing]
So much to do.
Yeah, I'm making, uh, bread that's, hopefully,
is gonna look like a mushroom.
SARA: It's not a sponge, but it's delicious.
I'm going to set some gelatin molds,
because normally in matzah ball soup,
you'd find big chunks of mirepoix.
When they pour the hot stock over the gelatin, it will...
- Melt. Oh, nice. - SARA: Melt, yeah.
I just don't like the molds.
I actually think the molds take away
from my vision, but everybody else is doin' it.
Shouldn't I be doin' it?
♪
[upbeat music playing]
- SARA: Gabri? - Yes?
- SARA: Tamale? Kinda? - Yeah.
Matzah ball soup.
Buddha, what are you doing next?
Getting ready to dip
the cherries in my olives.
I wanna try and use a lot of coloring
into my dishes that's natural.
So, the squid ink is gonna bring the black,
and the beets are gonna bring the-- the red to the dish.
Gabri, how're you feelin'?
GABRI: Good. Good, good.
A little bit of pressure, but, you know.
- SARA: You got this. - It's a challenge.
You always feel the pressure.
SARA: It's kinda ugly, isn't it?
I don't like 'em.
They don't make much sense,
but I feel like I just need to do something
to elevate the food.
But it's delicious.
It's what matters.
Thirty minutes left.
Ali, what you got goin' on back there?
No, they're in the garden. Garden turtles.
But hey, if these turtles takes me to Paris,
I'm gonna buy a big turtle, and I'm gonna name it Amar.
[exhaling sharply] I'm burning. [exhaling sharply]
I need to remove all the edges from my bread.
It's going to be this lamb tartar in the center
surrounded by brioche.
I'm going to cover it with crispy parmesan cheese,
and then on top, I'm going to add...
So, it's going to be good.
SARA: Mm, it tastes like a sponge.
- [Gabri laughs] - That's delicious.
- GABRI: You like it? - Yeah. Nicely done.
[inspiring music playing]
PADMA: This is a beautiful place.
GAIL: It's extraordinary.
Incredible, isn't it?
Steeped in history. Feels like
the perfect place for this challenge.
♪
This is it. Our final challenge here in London.
The chefs had to make a trompe l'oeil motif.
I've seen it too many times when it's not well-executed.
Yeah, and the problem is most of these you need
a lot of trial and error.
You need to work through these several times
before you get it close to being right.
This challenge is very technical, but I wanna taste
some good food at the end of the day.
We're definitely on the right side of the table today.
[laughing]
[intense music playing]
Gonna make a puree with it.
It's gonna be the bottom of the caviar dish.
I think almond and seaweed is probably
one of the best combinations.
It's absolutely tasty.
At least in my opinion.
I want to point it out how valuable
and beautiful seaweed is,
so what is now most important for me
is to get this dish just as strong as the message.
[speaks Spanish]
SARA: It works. This is how matzah ball gets made.
[timer beeping]
[suspenseful music playing]
PADMA: Ah, I can smell what it will be,
which is matzah ball soup,
but I'm not sure what it was supposed to be.
Maybe sushi? I don't know.
RAFAEL: It looks like bone marrow.
- GAIL: A tamal? - It is a tamale.
I'm gonna ask you to pull the banana leaf off,
and you sauce right on top of the jellies.
It's a matzo ball made with duck fat,
poached chicken and lots and lots of herbs.
Why is the broth so acidic?
SARA: There are bone marrow and apple salsa on the bottom,
and there's a little matzah in it.
PADMA: And what were the little leaves?
SARA: One was, like, a carrot gelée
and one was, like, an onion jus,
and so when you poured it, it should have melted them all.
PADMA: All right, great. Thank you, Sara.
- Thanks, you guys. - Thank you.
♪
- You know each other well? - Yeah.
You talking to each other just with your eyes.
Twenty seasons of giving each other looks.
- Will you share? - I liked the dumpling
and the braised chicken inside.
I thought that was a clever way of making your matzah ball soup.
Where the visual falls apart is I just don't know
what that jelly on the bottom was supposed to represent.
One of them was a celery gel,
because you start the base of the stock
with carrot, celery, onion--
All right, all right, okay.
But I don't know what that had to do with the tamal.
GAIL: Nothing. But I loved
all of the texture, the vegetables in it.
Mm-hmm. I thought it was actually pretty tasty.
It actually reminded me of, like,
- a Swiss broth. - Yeah.
[suspenseful music playing]
TOM G: Buddha, what are you doing right now?
BUDDHA: The wine is made
out of beef, onion and beetroot juice.
There's so many components to this dish.
They're makin' me nervous now.
I need to make sure that I don't stuff up anything.
Even though I've got an advantage,
I've planned that advantage
to use up every minute of that time.
It's kinda like you're fighting for your life now.
[Buddha sighing]
TOM G: 25 seconds, my man! Push!
BUDDHA: Gabri, what you got there?
GABRI: Soap.
[gasps] [bleep]
The cheese foam was too hot.
It just splashed all over the plate.
But it goes with the concept.
♪
[timer beeping]
So, are you looking more towards the...
visual aspect or the taste aspect?
GAIL: Well, I think it-- both, right?
So, it has to deliver visually,
but taste good. And here we are.
- PADMA: Hello, Gabri. - GABRI: Such an honor
- cooking for you guys. - RAFAEL: Thank you.
This is a dirty plate.
♪
PADMA: Hello, Gabri.
What was the inspiration behind your concept?
I made for you today a dirty plate with a sponge.
This is a sponge to scrub the dishes.
- Dirty plate with a sponge. - PADMA: All right.
- TOM C: Okay. - [laughing]
Oh, so the sponge is a sponge.
- Exactly. - Yeah, a dirty-- yeah, yeah.
It takes me a minute, people.
GABRI: This is a lemon brioche with lamb tartar
and macadamia and parmesan foam.
JEREMY: It's actually quite tasty.
- Thank you, Gabri. - Thank you so much.
Gabri's idea of doing a dirty plate, that definitely worked.
I loved the humbleness of the story,
and I think it's something we can all relate to.
Those yellow and green sponges are something we've all
spent a lot of time with.
I think his idea was very tongue in cheek. Very sweet.
His good flavors are coming through,
and I have to say, it's pretty clever.
- Mm-hmm. - TOM C: Putting herbs on top,
a great way to get that color and the texture,
but it needed to be in a mold so it went really to the edge.
It could've been done a little more precise.
- Yeah. - I agree. I didn't think
it was technically that precise.
But when I eat it and I close my eyes,
it's a tasty plate of food.
- TOMMY: It's classic cooking. - Yeah.
♪
Ali, habibi, almost there?
I have so many steps
for plating, you know?
I need to take my time in piping
because if the thickness of a layer
is not complete, this dish will not be balanced.
I need to make it look perfect, like a proper garden.
TOM G: 15 seconds.
♪
- [timer beeping] - [exhaling]
- It's a dragonfly. - PADMA: You have a dragonfly?
- GAIL: Yeah. Or a butterfly. - TOMMY: What's the other shape?
- PADMA: I just have two turtles. - TOMMY: Wow, I have one too.
- TOM C: Yeah, me too. - YUMA: There's a little turtle.
I know what it is, actually. It's the bottom of the ocean.
Ali, what do you have for us?
What I have prepared for you today
is inspired from a top view of a garden.
You have different layers, just like our mother earth.
I have prepared falafel, sumac mousse,
chickpeas and quinoa mousse.
GAIL: What's the layer at the bottom? The sort of dry--
ALI: This is another type of soil, herbs and breadcrumbs.
- It is breadcrumbs. - Thank you, Ali.
ALI: Thank you.
I do find parts really nice,
- but there's a lot going on. - Yeah.
A lot of flavors. And the thing I struggle with,
though, is the crumb at the bottom.
I just find it a bit drying.
Maybe too much hummus inside.
A bit too much creamy. But it's falafel with hummus.
- Yeah. - YUMA: It's spicy, it's crunchy.
It's a very authentic dish.
It gave me the feeling of eating a really well-done falafel
that was very herbaceous and had a little tang.
TOM C: It's not enough of a trick.
When you look at a garden, right,
you see the tops of the vegetables,
but you see the whole piece of radish
or carrot out of the ground.
JEREMY: There's trick of the eye,
and there's inspired by a garden.
- Yeah. - This is inspired by a garden.
Yeah, exactly.
Every now and again, I just look up,
and I'm like, "Wow, look at the ceiling."
GAIL: I know. The ceiling is spectacular.
[captivating music playing]
Tom, you got four minutes left.
Oui. It's all different seaweeds.
One is really sour, one is quite sweet,
and this one here is blended nori and chili.
It's gonna be the sand of the beach today.
I decided at the very last second
to put a lot of sand on the ground
so it looks like a real beach,
but it's very important, the consistency.
Ah, it looks like----in' proper caviar.
I feel a lot of pressure,
but you don't come that far, you know,
with all the burns and cuts you have
to go out on the last challenge before Paris.
[tense music playing]
[timer beeping]
Caviar in the bag.
[groovy music playing]
Does anyone wanna take a guess?
TOMMY: Yeah, there's little shells and starfish.
These look like little snail eggs.
- TOM C: Could be caviar. - PADMA: Tom,
what is this supposed to look like?
A can of caviar on the beach, yeah.
Do you eat caviar on the beach often?
Um, yes, actually I do,
because we do caviar on the beach as an event,
so we go out with surfboards,
and we serve the guests caviar and champagne.
And we always serve it with a almond cream.
Gives this rich and fattiness to it.
I think seaweed is a beautiful product
which needs to get elevated,
so I made you a seaweed fish stock caviar,
light almond cream for the sand,
and underneath is a seaweed salad.
JEREMY: Remind me what the pearls are made of.
The pearls are seaweed. I made a fish stock.
I took some nori and a little soy sauce
just to get the saltiness into it.
- Thank you, Tom. - Thank you.
- JEREMY: Thank you. - Enjoy.
[inquisitive music playing]
At the beach, you definitely know
when you get that mouthful of sand.
- PADMA: Sandy. - It was incredibly sandy.
But I love Tom's message, and this idea of seaweed,
the humblest ingredient, standing in for
the most luxurious.
It's the most technical one
where you'd expect a trick-of-the-eye dish to be,
but I find the texture of the pearls kind of gummy.
Seaweed, it-- it should be full of umami,
but in order to do the trick of the eye,
you need to use a lot of chemicals,
and those things take away from flavor.
TOM C: Visually, it looks like a tin of caviar,
so, I mean, I think he-- he nailed that.
- Yeah. - But the almond cream
has nothing to do with seaweed.
I can't figure out
- the link between the two. - I think it would've been
more of a trick if that caviar tasted
something that wasn't at all reminiscent of the ocean.
I totally get what you mean.
BUDDHA: How do you think it went?
I'm not sure if they like it.
If you don't like seaweed, there's a problem.
BUDDHA: Four minutes left. Getting out my bread.
Yeah, I'm still got a couple things to go,
but I've got all my components done, so I'm super happy.
I wanna make sure that I show everything that I can do.
Almost there.
And guarantee my spot in Paris.
I gave it my best shot.
♪
[timer beeping]
♪
[suspenseful music playing]
That's pretty cool.
[chuckling] Yeah. You've got my attention.
- TOM C: Sh-- just got serious. - RAFAEL: I have a little feast.
This looks like a glass of red wine and truffle.
Pâté, sherry.
JEREMY: I feel like you're in
- a French bistro. - Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
Buddha, tell us about your dish.
It's called "What's For Dinner?"
I've got a glass of red wine,
which is beef and onion broth.
The porcini is bread with bone-marrow butter.
Black truffle, it's potato
and Wensleydale cheese croquette.
The cherry is a pork pâté.
Sticks are made out of, uh, grissini.
- GAIL: Beefy. - Ah.
PADMA: And the olive?
The olive is goat's cheese.
A little squid ink for color.
- Thank you, Buddha. - Thank you.
PADMA: Impressive.
[chuckling]
Sitting here, it felt like a still life to me.
- PADMA: Totally. - TOM C: Oh yeah.
You know, it really felt like a painting.
And the thing that it looked like, obviously,
was totally different than what it tasted like.
I could really relate to it. Like, being a chef,
and, like, late night having a glass of wine
and some things you pull out of the fridge and eat together.
I felt like I was having that experience.
The broth, I think, is the thing we've had today
with the most flavor, out of everything.
You know, it's got depth to it, and it really is tasty.
I loved the truffle that tasted like a potato croquette.
It was so good that I thought, um,
I can eat the toothpick as well, but--
[judges laughing]
♪
PADMA: What do we think about the meal overall?
All of them did an incredible job.
It was a pretty tough challenge.
But overall, it was incredible to taste
and see how far you can grow your ideas.
I love how much this brought out the chefs' creativity.
I think there was some really good inspirations,
but some of the other dishes maybe
were a little overcomplicated.
I think at the end of the day, it's food,
- and it should be delicious. - TOM C: Hear, hear.
Thank you all for dining with us.
We have to decide who's going to Paris.
Let's get back to judges' table.
♪
[tense music playing]
I have to say, it was a very tough challenge for all of you.
And not everyone will make it the finals.
Gabri.
And Buddha.
♪
You are moving on to Paris. Congratulations.
[Gabri laughing]
[uplifting music playing]
- We're going to Paris. - Yeah, buddy.
Buddha and Gabri, you can stay here.
The three of you, please step to the side.
This is team Wellington.
- Yeah. - Definitely, yeah.
- How does it feel? - It feels great.
[laughing]
- Have you been to Paris? - Never in my life,
and it's always been a dream for me.
Let's talk about your dishes.
Buddha, did you know what you wanted to do right away?
When you started talking about, like,
the 1800's and the house,
I kind of thought about medieval times,
so that's the theme that I went for.
I think there was a lot of people that overthought this.
And I think you actually held back, and it was actually smart.
Every object now was a trick of the eye.
When it first came to the table, what really struck me
is that it looked like a scene from a renaissance painting.
Everything was executed really well. Really good job.
- Thank you. - PADMA: I loved the cherries,
and I loved the attention to detail.
GAIL: The wine, that ended up
being this very rich
beef and onion broth,
it was probably my favorite, just, bite of the whole day.
- Or gulp of the day. - Thank you.
PADMA: Gabri, walk us through your dish, please.
GABRI: I started off a dishwasher in this career,
so I decide to make, uh, this, uh, lemon brioche sponge.
And, well, all the elements just came together.
I thought it was a clever trick.
Since I did say, like, any old object, I thought
you fit that brief perfectly.
It showed us a deeper side of your story,
but above all, it looked like a sponge.
And the lamb was seasoned very well.
There was so much flavor in that parmesan sauce.
Really unctuous and pretty delicious.
It was really great. The messiness I liked.
You know, it was a lot of salty goodness there.
JEREMY: I liked the use of the herbs.
It was actually one of the tastiest dishes.
- Thank you. - Jeremy, as our guest judge,
you have the pleasure of announcing the winner today.
You both did an amazing job, but the challenge here today
was to see which chef cooked
the most delicious food and truly tricked us.
And the winner today is...
♪
Buddha.
[triumphant music playing]
Congrats.
Congratulations, Buddha.
BUDDHA: Top four!
But not just top four. Four in a row.
Feels so good. I can't believe it.
Still blown away, but you know what?
Journey's not over yet. I've got Paris, I'm so close.
I'm just so grateful to be able to do this.
A memory that I'm going to keep for a lifetime, so thank you.
Buddha, we will see you and Gabri in Paris.
- [both] Yes. - [laughing]
You can step to the side.
The rest of you, please come forward.
[suspenseful music playing]
Sara, Ali and Tom.
The three of you had our least favorite dishes,
and one of you will be going home.
♪
Tom.
- Hi. - [laughing]
Have you ever made this dish before?
Uh, no. I have it in my head since, like, half a year ago.
I was on a seaweed farm in Norway,
and I got really inspired.
I loved the fact about sustainability.
It was well-executed, visually.
It looked like a tin of caviar, and obviously it wasn't.
I love the idea of using seaweed.
For me, I didn't think the flavors came across
in a balanced and-- and tasty way.
My main issue is that
it didn't taste different enough
from what it looked like.
If you're trying to fool me that it's caviar,
then you shouldn't make it taste like the ocean at all.
I thought the almond cream just got in the way of everything.
You were on the right track,
but I think you just overthought it.
The usual. I overthought...
a lot.
Sara, how did you find this challenge?
I found it difficult.
I think because
it's just not my thing.
I think of all the dishes,
it was one I could eat again and again.
I've never had matzah ball soup.
You definitely did a good job in terms of taste.
The soup was delicious.
- Good. - But for me,
I think you could've taken it a lot farther.
I thought it was maybe a sushi roll.
You're not following through
on the sleight of hand or the sleight of eye.
Why was it jellied, and what does
- that have to do with tamal? - I saw everybody else
with their tricks and I was, "I gotta do somethin' too."
So, sorry, y'all.
Ali, tell me how you came up with that dish please.
I wanted to do something like a garden,
but resembles a falafel.
There was some breadcrumbs on the bottom.
What was that supposed to be?
So, basically, it resembles the bread in it,
so you can have the falafel with the bread,
with the hummus, with the roasted veggie mousse,
and the sumac and everything, and you can eat it all together.
And you thought that that worked texturally?
- Not hundred percent. - Just checking.
Those breadcrumbs tasted almost raw.
- They weren't seasoned enough. - Understood.
Flavor-wise, I really liked how it expressed your heritage,
and there were a lot of explosive pops of flavor.
I can make fun about the turtles.
Yet to see one in my garden,
but I'm sure there are turtles in gardens.
But you don't see cut vegetables in the garden.
The quinoa, it looks like quinoa.
It doesn't look like soil.
The trick side could have gone a lot further.
We have a really important decision to make
because only two chefs from the three of you
will be moving on to Paris with Buddha and Gabri.
That'll be all.
SARA: Good job.
♪
El gato, I'm very proud of you.
- I mean it. - Congratulation, guys.
- Well done. - BUDDHA: Thank you.
Well done, well done.
I really enjoyed that challenge, to be honest.
I hate to say, like, I think I'm safe, but I don't know.
They-- We'll see.
I think, really, the only dish that I would wanna eat again
that I think was seasoned well and was delicious was Sara's.
Right. Sara's dish--
although not my idea of a matzah ball soup--
it still was probably the best tasting.
It just fell apart when it came to the actual challenge.
Yeah, I agree with them. I totally agree with them
with every single detail they said about my dish,
- I 100 percent agree with them. - Mm-hmm.
And I'm thinking that I'm gonna be going home.
I liked Ali's dish, except for the sandiness on the bottom.
But until I got to the bottom, the other layers were delicious.
GAIL: But it had a real issue when you went to eat it.
Your last bite was just a mouthful of bland breadcrumbs.
Yeah, Ali's was too much.
It was too heavy, it was too intense almost.
He didn't really manipulate anything.
He didn't manipulate anything.
I really don't wanna go home,
but I had a big thought behind this dish.
Did I execute it well? Probably not,
but I stay behind my dish today. That's fine.
I think they liked a lot of stuff on your plate.
- They did. - Honestly,
I fully overthought it.
Tom's dish looked like a can of caviar.
I mean, that part he got.
But it really didn't taste like seaweed.
And then he used fish stock.
Which made it taste more like caviar.
The whole concept became very murky.
I think the social message became the exercise.
It was almost as if he was blinded by it.
It's almost like Tom overshot, and Ali undershot
the trompe l'oeil part of the challenge.
- Yeah. - PADMA: Correct.
If I go home today,
it was an honor. I mean it.
I'm quite proud to be another top five.
I think we have our answer, yes?
- Yes. - Yeah.
- Yes? - Yes.
Let's get them out here.
[suspenseful music playing]
Chefs, this challenge was difficult,
but I think you made it harder by overthinking it
and really not following through.
And so, unfortunately, someone has to go home for that.
Tom.
Please pack your knives and go.
Thank you. [sniffles]
Thank you.
JEREMY: Best of luck to you.
Pleasure to get to know you, Tom.
- TOM C: Tom. - Tom.
It was a pleasure.
TOM G: Thank you.
[melancholic music playing]
Top Chef is a beast, and I'm very happy
to be selected for it, to be honest.
You're talking about the 16 best they could find
in the world, but it's sad to go now just before Paris.
There he comes.
Ay-ay-ay.
Sh--.
Can't wait to see you.
I learned a lot about cooking
and about myself.
BUDDHA: To Tom.
...but tell me who can show so much expressions,
uh, like a chef.
So, I feel like it's the best job in the world,
and I'm not gonna damn change, that's for sure.
Bye, Tom.
♪
[crickets chirping]
We're going to Paris.
- [Sara whoops] - GABRI: Look at me now.
El gato is now...
If you'd asked me the day I showed up
if I would be here, I would've said absolutely not.
I'm gonna go, I'm gonna fight,
I'm gonna out-baguette all these boys.
I'm super pumped.
- I'm really proud of myself, so. - ALI: You should be.
- It's gonna be epic. - And tough.
I am gonna bring that little je ne sais quoi.
We are going to [bleep] Paris.
GABRI: Yeah, man. Yeah.
I'm going there with full speed.
I wanna do my thing, I wanna cook the things I love,
and I'm gonna take the title of Top Chef: World All-Stars
back home to Jordan.
To Paris, baby.
See you guys in Paris.
[uplifting music playing]
[laughing]
- [music falters] - SARA: I'm still runnin'!
Out of breath.
PADMA: Next time on Top Chef: World All-Stars.
Welcome to Paris.
BUDDHA: Oh, my God, it's the Eiffel Tower.
For your last Quickfire, you'll do the infamous wall challenge.
Baby car.
I don't think we're on the same page.
We want you to create a Michelin star-worthy dish.
Oh, wowzers blowzers trowsers.
SARA: You didn't feel that move?
ALI: We are cooking on the cruise of Alain Ducasse.
- That's an honor. - It's amazing, right?
You all proved that you deserve to be right where you are.
PADMA: We have a very difficult decision to make.
♪