Previously on Top Chef.
Let's get cheesy!
This one is tricky, tricky, tricky.
My potatoes didn't set.
We're all doing croquettes.
I know, it's a croquette-off.
I'm testing out the little marinated cheese,
so hopefully I do the maker really proud.
Michelle's dish, I thought, was----ing fantastic.
I don't eat a ton of cheese in my regular life.
I don't think crab rangoon salad
- when I think gorgonzola. - I didn't get the cheese at all.
The winner is...
Michelle.
Kenny,
please pack your knives and go.
Twelve 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 Springwater,
and the title of Top Chef.
Chefs, there won't be any Quickfire challenge this week
because we're building to something big.
Tonight, you'll have to pack a bag
because we are heading to Madison.
As you journey from Milwaukee to Madison,
you'll be driving along the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail.
Known as America's architect,
Wright designed iconic structures known to most of us,
from the Guggenheim Museum in New York
to Falling Water in Pennsylvania.
Your trek will begin at Burnham Block,
six prairie-style homes that are the earliest example
of affordable, small-scale dwellings,
and ending at UNESCO World Heritage Site, Taliesin,
an 800-acre property
where you'll get an exclusive tour of his home
and his drafting studio.
- So cool! - Let's go.
My dad is an architect.
His aesthetic is in the realm of Frank Lloyd Wright design.
It's very minimal, sharp, and clean-cut.
I definitely have a passion for architecture
and my OCD 100% comes from my dad.
One recurring design theme that you'll see
in some of the structures along the trail
is the duality of compress and release.
When you enter one of his buildings or rooms,
the ceilings start very low
and they compress you into the space
and then release you into a more open space
- in the center of the room. - Wow.
And this is where you all come in.
For your Elimination Challenge,
we want you to create two dishes
inspired by the creations of Frank Lloyd Wright
and the theme of duality.
This challenge leaves a lot up for interpretation.
It is a little bit outside of my realm of cooking.
I don't know why this was aligned,
and why the Lord allowed it, but I'm happy I have immunity.
These dual themes we want you to create for us
scan be his compress and release philosophy.
They could also be one of your own.
Light and dark, large and small, whatever you choose.
But don't worry, you won't have to make
the two dishes on your own, because guess what this is?
- Team challenge. - Nailed it.
Go ahead and pair up with whoever you want.
Yeah.
I don't really know a lot about Alisha.
I just know that she definitely has that Chicago toughness.
- Team Chicago. - Yeah.
Feels right, yeah.
We were on the bottom of the last elimination,
so if we had a team name, the Power Bottom.
Yeah.
Hey!
Let's do it.
Charly, are you nervous
to be cooking with Michelle, who has immunity?
I'm not worried about losing. We're just trying to win.
- Good answer. - Good attitude.
Charly, it's your lucky day
because Michelle's immunity is extending to you.
Come on.
There's a very good reason for this
because this is a double elimination.
Double elimination is terrifying,
but I'm also happy that if I don't go home,
we'll be top ten.
I mean, this is a competition.
I want people to drop like flies.
Tomorrow morning, get into your BMW X1s
and hit the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail.
Once you finish the tour of Taliesin,
you'll head to Whole Foods Market to do your shopping.
The following day, you'll have three hours to prep and cook
at Riverview Terrace Restaurant at Taliesin
before service begins.
Riverview Terrace also happens to be the only restaurant
that Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed,
so this is going to be special.
You'll be serving Tom, Gail, and I,
and your guest judges,
Top Chef World All-Stars winner, Buddha Lo,
and three-Michelin star chef...
Dominique Krenz.
Oh, my God!
No, I win with her.
Dominique Krenz, the queen of the badass of the chef.
I respect her so much.
I really want to make my best food ever tomorrow.
The winning team will receive $10,000
from our friends at BMW.
That's what's up.
And the chef on that winning team with our favorite dish
will receive immunity in the next Elimination Challenge.
And lastly, I'm going to grab some dossiers
with more information that you're going to need
for your road trip tomorrow.
Have fun, drive safe,
and we'll see you a little later.
Thank you. Thank you, Chefs.
Take me to Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Block.
- Let's go. - Oh, that's really cool.
Let's roll.
It's go time.
This is some real old man stuff coming in.
What, we got double glasses on.
All right, guys, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
- the Burnham Block-- - Are you going to read to us?
The earliest sample of affordable small-scale dwellings
designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Do you guys have an idea that's coming together?
We're trying not to jump the gun right away.
- Same. - And really just,
like, get inspired, you know?
Me and Kaleena both don't want to come up
with a concrete dish just yet.
We really want to go through all the properties
and build inspiration that way.
I don't think it's going to be about
who can make the coolest - ing, like, sphere.
- Yeah, exactly. - I think it's going to be
- about who has the best story. - Really great point.
There's a lot on the line,
and we've never really gotten to work together at all
or even next to each other.
This is a whole other level of relying on one another.
This is a Rasika and Danny challenge, but you know what?
They might get carried away with, like--
- Spheres. - Technique, you know?
Yeah.
Are y'all excited for this challenge?
- Oh, yeah. - I'm hyped.
This is the stuff that turns me on.
Oh, right here?
This is a sexy house.
- The slats are amazing. - I love the red.
It reminds me of Shinshoji Temple.
Yeah! I don't know what that is, but that sounds right.
- What do you think? - I just love how
the grass comes up,
because it has a play on the greenery, too.
I love that!
Burnham Block is so personal
because I grew up in the projects,
but my parents never showed that too much.
I never thought I was poor.
The beauty of these affordable housing projects
really comes from the people, with their music,
with their food, with their cultures.
So, I love seeing the buildings be as beautiful as they are.
And I love the wood, like the browns.
And that's reminiscent
- of chicken and eggs. - Chicken and eggs.
It has these color references.
See how slender the stair is?
Maybe I'll do a biscuit and use some of the open cuts.
We're gonna frickin' win this challenge.
Yeah, for real, for sure.
This is a great base for our idea of our dishes.
Just beauty and affordability.
Wow!
The way that it's open that way
gives you the feeling of space, even though it's small.
- Totally. - Makes me think about "flava."
- Flava. - Flava.
As chefs, we use the ingredients
to create emotions for other people.
Architects share the same passion.
Frank Lloyd Wright was also pushing the boundaries
and making something interesting and different.
It's like pistachio color.
Very earthy. It's like natural colors.
All right, let's go, guys.
I'm really excited to see Madison.
Just 30 more minutes.
Oh, lovely.
At least we're driving in luxury.
I'm getting a full massage right now.
Look at the water!
He had a vision for the city of Madison,
a curvilinear gathering place
linking the shore of Lake Monona to the state capital.
- Hello. - Hello, hello.
- Hi, everyone. - Hi.
Welcome, chefs, to
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.
Here's a really unique location
because you've got urban landscape on one side
and natural landscape on the other, Lake Monona.
Wright was very interested in creating
what he called the wedding between the two.
Just something that I noticed
is that everything is in circles,
so, like, he had a clear thought
of how he wanted to do his structures.
That's right. Usually one main form
repeated throughout the design.
And circles, I think, were the ultimate challenge for him,
getting away from right angles.
- Yeah. - When was his birthday?
June 8, 1867.
Gemini. Gemini.
I've always hated Gemini.
- I'm Gemini. - Interesting
Are you all ready to go inside and see the building?
- Yeah. - Let's do it.
Gemini women are different.
Thanks for the add-on.
Gemini women are different, though.
They are!
This is gorgeous.
We've got a drop ceiling here.
Deliberately Wright.
And then, moving you into the main attraction ahead of us.
Whoa, whoa.
- Oh, my gosh. - Wow.
Where you feel the drama
and the openness of the lake views.
This is so cool.
Have you seen-- Your pasta, you don't have to
You can make like a-- - A dome.
Like, you make like...
- There's, like, things swimming. - This is beautiful.
It makes you feel like you're on a cliff
standing over the lake.
It's just like so many different things
are coming into play as far as inspiration goes.
It's crazy to feel so inspired
and then still struggle a little bit to relate it
to what you want to put on the plate.
This is my favorite one so far.
When these challenges are so open-ended and so broad,
it's almost more difficult.
I just want to thank you for coming
- and I wish you all good luck. - Thank you.
Eagle One has left the building.
- Hello. - Hello, hello, hello.
Chefs, how are you? I'm Fred Frizzolo.
I'm the Vice President of Preservation and Collections
for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
Why don't we head on inside?
Oh, wow.
That's gorgeous.
I'm too big. I'm too big. I'm scared.
The main principle that Wright incorporates into his work
is to appreciate the nature of the materials.
He didn't feel you should cover up beautiful wood.
You should let the stone express the stone.
I bet it's super cozy when it's cold.
Oh, man. I love this kind of stuff.
It is electric.
There are so many dualities throughout Taliesin.
The compression and release is there.
Perfection and imperfection is there.
Even in his color tones.
Cherokee red.
So many similarities from Burnham Block
to the Monona Terrace.
Everything is seemingly similar,
but strikingly different.
And so, that is the title of our duality concept.
I wish we could play it on some of this plateware in this house.
I know!
This is so cool.
Welcome to the drafting studio.
In 1932, he established
an architectural training program
and Wright invited young men and women to come
and join him here at Taliesin to learn the way
to practice his organic architecture.
Architecture apprentices is a cool idea.
It just reminds me of, like, staging as a chef.
I staged at a few restaurants in Boston.
It's something that you do to get you well-rounded.
The little touches of red are just incredible.
I can tell you, it truly is a magical place.
Well, chefs, I'm gonna leave you here
to draw inspiration from this amazing space.
- Thank you for coming. - Thank you so much.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
We, as chefs, are always constantly trying to find
the duality between land and sea and our food.
As we're starting to bounce ideas off of each other,
I feel like I'm getting to know Alisha a little bit more.
I don't want to say land and sea.
I want to say land and water.
But water reminds me of, like, a water faucet.
I think you're taking it too literal.
We're figuring out how to, like,
mesh our two different styles together.
We have, like, pages written about dualities and ideas.
- We wanted to-- Yeah. - We need to hone this in.
We could say land and sea, but really, like,
where we got our inspiration for the sea
was the fact that we were literally surrounded by water,
and his whole idea was bringing nature inside
and bringing the land and water together.
We've both been playing the middle.
I just want to prove to myself
that I can hang with some of the best chefs in the country.
I mean, if we go home for these dishes, I would be very upset.
I would be disappointed in myself.
You know, in cooking, we think about what's the opposite?
Sweet and savory.
Also something that's not very familiar
and do something that's very, a little bit more familiar.
Yeah. That's duality right there.
- They're gonna look the same. - Yeah.
You're gonna bite into it and go, "Oh, sh--",
it's two completely different things.
Yeah, exactly.
This challenge is super unique
because there's no limitations to what we can cook.
We just have to show duality.
Everything's gonna be plated the same way,
but the colors are different.
So you're going with green colors, I'm going with reds.
And the duality of going to yours, it's heavier.
- It's heavier. - It's spicier.
What we really want to do is,
like, showcase what we learned at the Burnham Block.
This is an opportunity to speak out against injustice
and how money could help change it.
The concept of building these affordable housing structures
is really moving.
I think it also shines a light
on who we are as creators.
So, we're trying to showcase poverty and wealth.
I keep thinking about, like, peasant ingredients.
Like leeks, potatoes.
Turning that into something
that's a little bit more elegant.
What's your thoughts as far as,
bringing that towards the wealth side?
We didn't see it at Burnham Block,
but every other place has had a major water feature,
so I really want to lean in, I think, to seafood.
Seafood is considered a luxury item.
Caviar to me symbolizes, like, ultimate opulence.
I agree.
I got really super inspired by the Burnham Block.
What I'm thinking is having that black rice
to kind of emulate dirt.
So we'll use that djon djon,
which is a Haitian kind of mushroom that you steam.
So then maybe I'll use that in my biscuit
and we can have a duality in multiple ways.
Burnham Block, it immediately reminded me
of a chicken dish that I grew up eating.
Chicken and eggs also has these references.
He then tells me he has an idea about utilizing egg
from a dish in his childhood.
I'm gonna go with making a mushroom biscuit,
creating some of those lines that we saw, like,
on the slats in the biscuit,
and then filling it with chicken liver.
- I really love our idea. - I think it's gonna be good.
I really love our idea.
Let's think about, like, who are we?
I mean, like, you're very, like, bubbly.
Yeah.
And me, I'm very more straightforward.
I have a darkness inside me for sure.
This dish will represent who I am as a person.
I consider myself a person that is very lighthearted and round.
I'm getting round.
It makes me think about this dish, fiore,
like stuffed pasta and roll it into a spiral.
Okay. Like, me, I'm thinking of, like,
a dessert around chocolate.
Like, so, first, the duality is gonna be
- sweet and savory. - Yep.
I'm gonna do land mushroom and goat cheese cheesecake,
- cornmeal crust on the bottom. - I like that!
We decide that she's gonna do sea,
I'm gonna do land.
So, I'm making a mushroom and goat cheese cheesecake.
And I'm making scallop aguachile.
It's taken us, like, a little bit of time to get there,
but I'm, like, actually really excited about our idea.
I think maybe we do use a bigger circle for yours.
We're gonna play around with it.
We'll only be able to do that when we plate tomorrow.
If Dan is like, "Oh, yeah, I've been to this Whole Foods!"
I'm gonna be like, "Dan, stop."
Ooh, I've never been to this place. I'm into this.
Oh, go, go.
Can I get 20 pieces of these guys right here.
What are you doing?
- Uh... I don't want to tell him. - It's like that, huh?
Manny?
All right. Gotta find my Amanda.
Where's Dan-Dan? Dan-Dan!
Can't find my partner. Dan?
- Amanda! - Yeah! I'm right here.
There you are.
Yeah!
In a team challenge, you have to have teamwork.
We have a lot in common already.
We are both nerds,
so I feel like we can get on the same wavelength here.
We are Damanda. Damanda.
- All right. - Where are we at?
This one is,
I want to say 50, and this one's like 20.
The way I feel about caviar
is if you are going to use caviar, use caviar.
- Right, yeah. - I do not spend a lot of money.
I mean, I think we're gonna be fine.
- Yeah, okay. - 13 minutes, chefs!
13 minutes!
They never listen to me, I swear.
What was that?
I'm using red lentils instead of yellow lentils
- for my dal. - Fantastic.
We're gonna play on the emotion
of uncomfortable and being comfortable.
Laura is making dessert that is built with
pieces of phyllo and a pistachio cremeux.
That is more nostalgic and well-known to people.
I think we can get dry-aged. Let's get three pieces.
Just like the ones that have the best marbling. Yeah, thank you.
And then I am making a dry-aged ribeye with tempura maitake.
I can't find the pastry flour I want.
I'm gonna try an unbleached cake.
I'm trying to do a dish
that actually makes people feel uncomfortable,
so I can make a tempura sauce and then thicken it
with a spice that is called wild pistachio.
It's not actually pistachio at all.
Laura brought it from home.
I've never used it, I've never tasted it,
- but I trust her palate. - That's it.
Five minutes, guys!
- Where the [bleep] is my cart? - It's right there.
Oh.
It's okay, that's why I'm here.
- Oh, there it is. - Hey!
- Oh, dude. $399. - $399.74.
Let's go!
Wow-wee-wow! Hey!
- Beer 30! - Yay!
Beer!
This is a very big challenge for us.
Like, we are able to work as a team,
we have great dishes.
Like, you can tell that all the chefs get on that team spirit.
For Kevin and for me, we're like,
so what do you understand about duality?
You guys are like polar opposites in personality.
That's why we connect so well as well.
Because we're very complementary to each other.
- I love that. - It's great.
It's great. How often do we get the chance to, like,
be in someone's, like, this is their home?
Just wanted to, like, really take it all in for a moment.
Laura and Savannah, I can see the balance
because Laura is such a perfectionist
and then Savannah is a little bit more relaxed.
Two different styles of cooking and energy.
I mean, that property was incredible.
The chairs in his kitchen, like, I almost took one of those.
One of those things almost came home with me.
Rasika and Danny, they're going to be dangerous.
- We need to make sure that-- - Focus, focus, focus.
I can't imagine any team here doing, like,
poor enough to get sent home even though it's,
like, someone's going to get sent home.
Kaleena, y'all have an idea that you'd like to share?
Yeah, we don't really want to share though.
I'm afraid that, like, if we talk about it,
we're going to feel less about it
and I want to go into tomorrow feeling the way
that I feel right now about it. Does that make sense?
- A hundred percent. - I completely agree with you.
This is a competition based on our craft and our careers.
It's nothing against anyone else.
It's more, we don't want to lose focus.
- Yeah. - Sorry, just touched your foot.
Don't do that.
There's so many aspects and directions
that we can each come from.
It's just going to be wild to see the end results of it.
Yeah.
We don't have to rush, we just have to be efficient.
Oh god, this is a tight squeeze.
So I'm getting ready to prepare my dal, Danny.
I'm going to start my base.
Pretty much follow our game plan
of getting that quenelle molds done.
- Yep. - I'm basically making a dal
that's going to be in our quenelle mold
with a carrot puree and consomme called rasam
and beetroot that's been poached and pickled.
Yeah, I just want to keep everything aromatic,
not too spicy, but help complement Danny's dish.
Danny is making a spinach scallop mousse
with a zucchini puree
with some pickled and compressed zucchini batons
that's going to match my beetroot.
This is not an easy dish by any means.
There's a lot of technique involved in it.
We're trying to just be intentional.
Hopefully, we hit the nail on the head.
We want the judges to feel
that our dishes cannot live without each other.
Hey, mama Michelle, what's your guys' duality today?
We're doing a play on the chicken and the egg.
Which came first?
Ooh, I always think the egg came first.
- Charly, what's yours? - I'm doing the egg.
I'm going to make an egg mousse.
Oh, that's beautiful. That's how I want it to be.
Growing up, we would eat fried chicken
with stewed sweet apples.
And so, I'm going to zhuzh that up a little bit
- for the judges today. - I love it.
The chicken will be ready in 40 minutes, chef.
Sounds good. Perfect.
Use your power. Use your power.
There we go.
I used to run an Italian restaurant for four years.
My dish is going to be more opulent.
I'm using seafood
and ingredients that are typical of wealth.
Making a little potato tuile.
Creating something humble, yet still incredibly beautiful.
Even though it's super humble,
there's a ton of technique going on here.
Now, I'm going to take the potato skins
and make a mousse out of them and set it with carrageenan
so that it sets almost like a flan.
You really got to concentrate and make sure
that things taste exceptionally flavorful.
- Totally. - I'm going to take leeks
and we're going to pipe the flan right on them
and then roll them up into a cylinder.
That's some Buddha stuff.
Hey, Manny. I'm sheeting my pasta now,
- so I'll be done in about five. - Heard.
Our team is going to be dark and light.
He's cooking a chocolate dessert
and I'm doing pasta with chicken.
The main color of the sauce is white.
It's a poulet au vin jaune.
- Did I say it right? - Yeah, you said it.
I'm making a fiore. It's like a spiral.
The circles of the Monona Terrace being a labor of love
of Mr. Wright is something that brings me to pasta
and this particular shape.
Ooh, it's a little dry.
You're going to break the table, bro.
I'm working with a linebacker right now.
I can rest my wrist after we're done.
The whole table is moving and I'm like, okay, dude, okay.
Yo, Rasika, I think this is it here.
I'm coming, I'm coming.
Wow.
It's .25 millimeters wide.
We're doing these planks of both root vegetable and zucchini
and it's really important
that they are all cut exactly the same.
Let's spend 10 minutes dicing.
- Yeah. - At 1:25 as scheduled,
- we start dipping. - Yes, chef.
Danny and I align
because we've both worked at the French Laundry,
but I'm not making just any kind of fine dining food.
I'm making my food, which is traditional Tamil food
and elevating that.
I need you to tell me if this is too spicy.
It's not too hot. It's got heat.
- That's your Amma's-- - That's my Amma's rasam.
Medicine right there.
My grandmom is always guiding me
like Ratatouille on my head.
This is fun, dude.
One hour 40.
Hot!
I want you to taste my pistachio.
- How is it? - Oh!
It's like tobacco. It's like tobacco.
This spice makes me a little uncomfortable.
Hopefully, that shows.
Or maybe hopefully it doesn't. I don't know.
My grandma smokes cigarettes and it reminds me of my grandma.
Okay. I'm going to strain this so I can pass it to you.
This is for tempura sauce in my dish,
so I actually pass that off to Laura.
She has more experience with the wild pistachios,
so she's seasoning this.
I have a roshi done. We have mushroom powder done.
I have at least another 20 until I can think about ribeye.
I'm actually building a house.
I'm using layers of phyllo to create this beautiful
architectural structure through a dish.
- Nice. - Hot, hot, hot. Hot, hot, hot.
Oh yeah, chef.
I am very excited about my tuilles.
All right. Making potato salad and then I'm building my guys.
- Sounds good. - So right now,
I'm working on my chocolate mousse
and I'm going to start a nice sexy tuile,
like, the wow effect.
Sexy.
Pump me up!
Precision is going to be so important on this dish.
Except I can't cut a----ing cucumber straight.
Great. Great, chef. Just kidding.
We have plenty of time. Let's take our time, not rush.
Lots of confidence, chef.
We both feel comfortable prepping
and executing our dishes.
I'd just like to start plating around the same time.
I got to get the scallops frying
and then I'm going to go into making aguachile.
These oysters are nice. I love working with shellfish.
You don't want to move too fast.
It's a very delicate protein.
You want to treat it very delicately.
- How you feeling? You're good? - Yeah.
While I have fewer components that I need to work on
for my dish, mine are a little more time consuming.
I'm working on the crust for my dessert right now.
That looks great.
I'm going off of memory for this recipe for the crust.
I know what the texture is supposed to look like
and I feel very confident in the flavors that I'm using
and what I need to do.
How long do you need to set your cheesecake?
Probably a couple hours.
I need to freeze it first so I can cut it nicely.
- You need a couple hours? - It'll be fine.
Just as long as it sets, that's all.
I'm just pulling out my cannolis.
This is the tricky part of it.
Yeah, it's not going to work the way I want it to work.
Dan, do you need help?
I just got to get this done.
If this mousse doesn't set up,
that's pretty much the structure of my dish.
It's not cold enough.
Super duper.
Oh God, please be with me,
because I've never done this before.
I'm making rectangular biscuits for my dish,
in keeping with the shapes of Burnham Block.
I have never made a mushroom biscuit,
but the idea of this biscuit is very genius.
I got puffed rice.
- How's it taste? - Puffy.
- Taste puffy? - Yeah.
Let's go, baby. 29 minutes.
Yo, Charly, how does it feel to have immunity, baby?
- Immunity don't mean nothing. - That's what I'm saying, man.
We're trying to get the number one spot.
It's not going to work the way I want it to work.
It's got to get colder. It's just not cold enough.
You sure you don't want to use nitrogen?
Could I pour the liquid nitrogen
- in the pan underneath it? - Yes.
All right, let's do that.
I've never used liquid nitrogen before,
but Amanda is my girl. She's helping me through it.
It will freeze.
Hopefully that'll give it enough structure
that I can roll it up and move forward.
Stop, stop, we're good.
I'm troubleshooting something that I shouldn't have had
to spend the time troubleshooting.
You're right, it froze, we're good.
- It's a beautiful view. - Feels like
we're somewhere important, for sure.
Yeah. Merci.
- Oh, the chairs. - Amazing chairs.
To be sitting at the table
with the two of you, Buddha and Dominique,
I think is probably what I'm most excited for.
I'm so excited. This is one of my favorite architects also.
The food is our art,
and I think that what we do on the plate
is almost like building architecture.
- Right. - For some crazy reason,
I love double elimination challenges.
You're just a masochist.
It's all about teamwork.
Are they able to take their understanding of duality
and translate it in a way that makes sense in food?
Well, we're going to find out.
- We're going to find out soon. - Let's do it.
Laura, look.
Great, beautiful, gorgeous.
Phyllo house, it's like cookie house.
Frank Lloyd Wright was focusing on using similar shapes,
and I want the little house that I'm going to build with phyllo
to have almost a similar shape.
Inspired by the Burham Block.
So, it goes like this, and then we build it.
- Stop. Stop, stop. - Or smaller?
- I think a little smaller. - I think smaller.
- It's like two bites. - I agree, yeah.
- Dip, you shake. - Yeah.
- Give it a little one of those. - Okay.
Architectural elements that we want to bring,
we're going to do a mousse.
We spike them all with toothpicks,
and then we dip them in the chiffon,
which is basically like a French glaze.
It's going to give it this white veil effect.
I mean, they're coming out beautiful.
Dude, that aguachile, I'm excited about it.
I want to make these shrimp look absolutely beautiful.
You've got about 30 minutes left, by the way.
I need to finish getting these baked.
I need to finish my white chocolate crumble,
which is in the works, and then
cut my cheesecake, but I'm almost there.
I really need to focus on the plating,
that's what it's going to really come down to,
to make sure our dishes translate well.
I'm going to go in the freezer with this to set it.
And then, we're going to punch it.
Kaleena's dish is going to be compressed,
where it's going to be really tight,
and then mine is going to be more open
and more spacious on the plate.
I don't think I'm going to have as much
time as you are, but I'll be fine.
Oh, that makes me----ing nervous.
But I'm starting to feel
like we're not really working as a team.
So we're just putting a little piece of red pickled pepper.
FLW's stamp, man.
On all his buildings that he sealed,
these little squares on the outside, so.
- Beautiful, guys. - Oh, my God.
I'm ready.
Time, time, time.
Good job, y'all.
- Shall we? - Shall we?
Food is coming.
Oh, my God, I'm so excited.
- So excited. - Doppelgangers.
Oh. Okay.
- How are you guys doing? - Hi, chefs.
Can you tell us what you've made?
So our concept of duality today
is seemingly similar, but strikingly different.
And it represents us as chefs.
We'd love for you guys to start with the left, the green.
It's scallop, zucchini, and chartreuse.
Whereas my dish, it's a dal filling in a quenelle
with butternut squash and carrots
and then you have variations of beetroot.
And then the pour is a rasam.
It's kind of like an Indian consomme.
- Thanks, chefs. - Thank you so much, chefs.
Seemingly similar, but strikingly different.
- Did they achieve that? - I think so.
Yep. Texture-wise, definitely similar.
Completely different dishes.
It looks striking when it came to the table.
It felt architectural. It felt designed.
Here, you see this structure, and it's like, bam, you know?
It's also what I feel with the food right now.
What I really loved about Rasika's dish
was the level of spice and the level of acidity.
And it also had a lot of different textures.
It was a real contrast to Danny's dish
because Danny's dish was so mild in a way.
Good start.
- Danny, how was seeing Buddha? - It was dope.
Starstruck! I was starstruck.
I'm going to drop the pasta.
Do you want to keep watching these?
Yeah, yeah, I got you.
So, buddy, what you working on right now?
I'm working my farce.
And then, I'm going to reduce that chicken
to bring back for a fortified flavor.
- That's going to be my farce. - You don't want to reduce that?
I do need to grab some first for this, then reduce the rest.
The time that I'm dedicating for the farce
is not the time that I would normally dedicate.
Right now, it feels like
I may have bitten more than I could chew.
One minute, 45 seconds.
Got it, got it.
Oh my God, I'm so shaky.
I know, me too.
Come on, then!
All right. That was tough.
Thank you.
Me and Amanda took a lot of our inspiration
for our duality with the Burnham Blocks.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings
that were meant for low-income housing.
There's like three ingredients to this whole dish.
Potato, leeks, and kombu.
We have a leek cannoli with a potato mousse,
brown butter, and potato foam,
potato tuile, and then a potato and pickled kombu salad.
And then my dish is wealth,
so I am using more luxury ingredients like scallop,
caviar, and some roe, and angel hair pasta.
- Thank you very much, chefs. - Thank you so much.
Love you. You're my fave.
Dan's just-- I like his story.
I like what he's thinking.
Taking the low-income housing Frank Lloyd Wright was known for
and trying to get that onto a dish.
I think that's clever.
Yeah, the problem with the dish is the leek
- needs to be cooked more. - Yes.
And these little crispy things are very, very salty.
The seafood was cooked really nicely on Amanda's dish.
The pasta's made very well.
The roasted scallop is beautiful
on my dish and so is the lobster.
I feel like both Dan and Amanda
overthought trying to make the plate look beautiful
and deconstructed for lack of a better term,
when it really didn't need to be.
- Can't worry about it now. - It's already done.
What's done is done.
You guys want some potato chips?
And now I'm making my sauce poulet au vin jaune
for Manny's pasta.
We're helping each other. We're a team today.
Focus. Each one counts.
Serving a true Michelin star chef.
- Each one counts. - Don't worry. Got it.
Kaleena, I'm gonna do it like this.
Heard. Sorry, I don't have time right now.
All right, that's fine. I'm gonna do me then.
Please, please, please.
Time's definitely ticking.
I have my cheesecake out of the freezer.
The crust came out way too hard
and the cheesecake basically didn't quite set
to the point that it should have.
We got 15 minutes.
Had to pivot a little bit on the circle
because it wasn't coming out right.
Can you get out of the way, please?
[bleep]. Okay, we don't have precise cuts on these
and the whole point of our dish is precision.
I feel like we're just two separate chefs,
like, plating and doing our own food.
Kaleena, this is why I was asking you to come with me
- while I was plating. - Yeah. I hear you.
So we're gonna have to plate together.
Just get yourself in a good spot, please.
Come back here. Come back here.
Why would I come back there?
Why does that make any - ing sense?
It is frustrating. Someone needs to be in control
and someone needs to fall back.
This chef is about to come out in me.
Sharp, coming around the corner.
It shouldn't be us against each other.
It should be us against the problem.
All right, Kaleena, we gotta talk.
- How are you looking, Kevin? - Good, good, good.
That's gonna be the farce, right?
That's the farce, yes, chef.
Now, I reduce my chicken stock.
Okay, perfect. Vamos, vamos, vamos.
I need you to breathe.
No, I need to get this done and I need you to,
literally stop stressing me out right now.
Kaleena. Hey, listen to me, please.
We're a team. We need to work as a team.
I'm gonna be fine. I just need you to--
I know, but when you rush through,
that's why we don't have precise cuts on these
and the whole point of our dish is precision.
I'm frustrated.
I feel like someone's gotta be in control right now.
You're right, you're right.
It was a little uneven, so I just trimmed it down, okay?
Those look good. Much better. Thank you, chef.
- I know. Thank you. - Okay.
38 seconds.
Can you wipe this plate, please? This plate.
It's okay.
Hi, guys.
Can you explain the duality theme
and then what each of you have made?
We were, I think, most touched and most impressed
by Frank Lloyd Wright's use of nature.
The minute we went into the Monona Terrace,
that was instantly what I thought.
So, we wanted to do a play on land and then sea.
For me, I made an aguachile.
I poached the shrimp very lightly.
So the cucumber, I actually took oysters
and I made, like, a brine out of it.
With the dessert,
I have a mushroom and goat cheese cheesecake.
There is a sesame and nori tuile on top,
some candied mushrooms and a little bit of spruce syrup.
And what was on the base of the cheesecake?
Cornmeal crust and then the cheesecake is set on top of it.
Okay.
- Thank you, chefs. - Thank you.
I can't even.
I like the mushroom cheesecake idea
of Kaleena's dish, but that bottom crust is just so bad.
It's like a hard tack. Put that in a MRE.
Is it the duality of the cheesecake is very soft
and then...
No, I don't think they were going for that.
- Okay. - But yeah, they did that.
Alisha's dish, find really disappointing.
- Yeah. - This is like, you know,
first-year culinary student trying to make a fancy dish.
I'm having a really difficult time
just even seeing any form of that inspiration
that they were speaking of.
- It clashed. - Everything's clashing.
Their dishes within each dish is clashing.
I was definitely rushing around in the last minute, but, like--
I expected that we were gonna do it
more together, but that's on me.
Hopefully, someone else messed up or something.
Now, I'm working on the sauce for the beef.
What'd you do? Just watered it?
- Yeah, just added some water. - So good. It's really good.
Everything looks okay. Flavor is here.
Nine minutes, Manny. Nine minutes.
- Nine minutes, heard. - You okay, bro?
I'm a little concerned about the top.
I'm flipping them to cook the top a little more.
I'm definitely a little worried that the pasta is not as thin
as I would have liked, especially on the sealing side.
I'm gonna boil them a little bit more.
I pressed it as much as I could,
but I know that if I notice it,
the judges, they're definitely gonna notice it.
Taking pasta. Beautiful.
On the side, like Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright.
45 seconds.
- Put some more, put some more. - I'm on it. I'm on it.
- I'm done. - Me too. Me too.
Just careful. They may be a little slippery.
All right. Get some dessert.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Very nice to see you here in the middle of Wisconsin.
So, what did you make for us?
We decided to go with our duality.
It's light and dark.
Mine was light, so we have chicken and mushroom fiore
and bubbles of sauce poulet au vin jaune.
- I'm practicing my French. - Well done.
My dish, it's a warm praline chocolate mousse.
I really want to work like this shape of the triangle
because it means like the strength
and I feel like the world today,
we really need to be better and stronger together,
love each other.
- Thank you, chefs. - Thank you so much.
- Very nice to see you. - Nice to see you.
Bye.
I love the story, but I don't know, it's...
- It's a good story. - It's a good story.
It just doesn't have a happy ending.
Yeah. Manny didn't really bring out the techniques
that were needed for this dish.
Pasta's not well made at all. It's not cooked enough.
That farce, it was just tuna fish texture.
Yeah.
I thought that Kevin's dessert was actually delicious.
It's very smart. It's elegant.
I think it has the right play of soft textures
and crumbly textures.
I felt that there was another layer of this dish
and I think that's why I love it so much.
The dishes that we've seen from Kevin in past challenges,
he went simple, but he could never execute his simplicity
and I feel like for once,
the simplicity came together with technique, with balance.
I think one nailed it, one didn't.
Bro, I'm very happy for this day.
- Today was amazing, man. - Voila.
I am trimming my chickens as nice
and precise as I can get them.
Ooh. You gotta go smooth, smooth.
How you doing? Do you need something?
I don't need anything. I'm just really not enjoying this at all.
Me too, me too, baby.
Thank God for immunity, really.
Oh, sh--. Grab me a charger.
Dude, you got 40 seconds.
- Charger. - Where?
I'm filling my eggs with egg mousse using the ISI
and my ISI runs out.
Sh--.
Anybody know what chargers are?
Now, I'm scooping out foam
from the top of my egg mixer.
Having immunity is great, but I still want to show my best.
Hey. Wow.
- Hi, everyone. - Hello, chefs.
Can you tell us what you've done?
What we have is a play on the chicken and the egg.
What I've done is a black mushroom
Haitian rice called djon djon.
It's a whipped egg mousse-like item.
Shards of chicken skins, pickled mushrooms, and peas.
Today, I did the chicken portion of our chicken and the egg.
This is a play on a childhood dish that I grew up eating.
I did a mushroom biscuit
with chicken liver mousse in the center,
sous-vide chicken breast, topped it with stewed apples,
and then chicken fried chicken skins.
- Thank you, chefs. - Thank you.
- What do you think? - Seasoning's really good.
I'm not sure if I was a huge fan
of having an eggshell on my plate,
but I love the idea of it and the concept.
Technically, from an execution standpoint,
I think there's a lot of flaws.
The rice, totally inconsistent, but really satisfying.
The first bite on both dishes
was just like a nice spoonful of good food,
but when you really break it down, technically speaking,
I mean, Michelle's biscuit's incredibly crumbly, dry.
I think the flavors are delicious
and it's complex to do.
If you're going to talk about a chicken and egg dish,
- is this an egg dish? - No.
- This is a rice dish. - It's a rice dish.
So, your concept of chicken and egg,
I don't think you delivered on the egg at all.
But, you know, both Charly and Michelle really represent,
you know, cooking with love. I can feel that.
Five minutes left, so let's go.
The little roof. Ten seconds.
We're good, girl. Two, one, up.
Up, hands up. Here.
Thank you.
This is very similar to the structure of the house
And I think that's really nice.
- Hi, chefs. - Hi.
We really wanted to lean into
compression and release.
The compression is an emotional feeling of
being a little bit uncomfortable before you get the release
of walking into a much wider space.
You have dry-aged ribeye with tempura maitake
and a beet daikon oroshi,
and the sauce is a traditional tempura sauce
that is thickened with wild pistachio,
which is a spice that is not super common,
so that is uncomfortable.
And then, you get the opposite dish.
It's actually a sweet dish.
And the connection between the two dishes
is actually the pistachio.
So, you get the phyllo pistachios from Turkey
and pistachio foam and a sauce of raspberries.
It's something that's lighter
and makes you feel like you are in relief.
- Thank you, chefs. - Thank you very much.
I like the story of both of them. I'm just confused.
Do you think there is a story of duality here or no?
I did understand the dark,
slightly uncomfortable assertiveness
that we tasted into the familiar sweetness of the dessert.
Without that full description, I'm still losing the duality.
It went over my head. I can happily admit that.
I feel like, technically speaking,
just as two stand-alone dishes,
Savannah's dish needed acid and Laura's dish was familiar.
I like the raspberry, however, it was incredibly sweet.
The beef is nicely cooked and the tempura is crispy.
I like Laura's dessert. I think it's good, too.
A little on the sweet side, but it's good.
Listen, I am happy for immunity
because I struggled with this challenge.
- Really? - Yeah.
I definitely wanted to explain
why I decided to do the things I did, but I was just like, eh.
I felt like my brain was short-circuiting.
I have to admit, Chef Krenz was so welcoming
and kind and engaged, and it was hard not to just talk to her.
Yeah.
She wanted to understand our stories.
Me being kind of the older generation, you and I, maybe?
Yes.
I am so taken and so grateful
to be able to be here today with the next generation.
To see what they're doing is very inspiring.
I'm so proud of the next generation.
They're doing some amazing things.
Oui, chef. Yes.
On my last one-and-a-half eggs,
my ISI went out.
- Your ISI went out? - Oh, no!
I think we all can agree that we have one clear winning team
and one clear losing team.
There's no argument here.
I had a hard time really beating up another team
when we know who's losing.
I agree. Shall we?
Let's go dance now.
It didn't go very well for us.
This is the first time that
I feel like I messed up technique-wise.
The crust was definitely hard.
I'm not really sure what went wrong with that.
I'm most upset with myself.
This is stupid. - It's not stupid. It's fine.
I'm not 100% solid on my mousse.
I don't think I'm the only one that wishes
they would've had an extra 30 minutes.
Oh, God!
The judges would like to see Danny and Rasika
and Kaleena and Alisha.
Thank you.
What does that mean?
You never know.
Top and bottom.
I don't think they do that.
I agree.
Good luck, guys.
We ride together, you know what I mean?
Chefs, you represent the teams who had our favorite dishes
and our least favorite dishes of the day.
Alisha and Kaleena...
please pack your knives and go.
Chefs, your story never really came together,
but there was a lot of technical issues with the dish.
The crust on your cheesecake was really hard,
very difficult to cut.
And the aguachile just didn't eat well at all.
Not enough chilies in the aguachile
and the dish just really was flat.
As a team, especially in a team elimination,
you both needed to make sure
that you were lifting each other up
and that's the most important time.
Thank you, Chef.
Chefs, we will see you in Last Chance Kitchen.
There's a shot to get back in.
- Thank you. - It's not over. Thank you.
Thank you. It was an honor to cook for you guys.
- Thank you, chefs. - Thank you both.
- Good job, guys. - Good job, guys.
Oh, you guys knew we were going home.
No! No, for real?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
It's devastating.
Not only did I have a bad cook today,
but I don't feel like I've done enough
to showcase myself in this competition.
I'm just so disappointed in myself.
I don't think we cooked together as a team at all
and it was a team challenge.
We'll see you all later.
I just think we failed today, and that really sucks.
I need to be able to focus on Last Chance Kitchen,
get myself motivated again, and hopefully that will happen.
Congratulations, Danny and Rasika.
Oh, my God.
- You should celebrate. - Wow.
Okay. Shaking things up a bit.
- We win! - Let's go!
We were just so into this challenge
and for them to notice that, it's huge.
- We're hyped. - Yeah, we're hyped. We're hyped.
We all know you cook tasty food,
but can you make it creative, can you make it beautiful?
That's why you're here
and that's why you won the challenge.
Some days are close
between the multitude of dishes we eat,
but today was not one of those days.
You both truly shone today.
- Oh, my God. - Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
As our winning team today,
you won $10,000 from our friends at BMW,
so if you split it equally, that's $5,000 each,
I assume you're going to do.
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We'll take it.
But only one of you will take home immunity
going into the next Elimination Challenge.
The favorite dish for all of us
was a dish that really represents duality.
All the texture, the surprises, the beauty.
The winning chef today is...
Rasika.
Let's go, chef.
- Oh, my God. - Let's go, chef!
- Oh, my God. - Let's go, dude.
Both dishes were really good, but I gotta say that sauce--
- What did you call it? - Rasam.
The rasam, just put it over the top.
Oh, that's my grandmom's. Oh, my God, she'll be so happy.
I feel emotional.
It's not every day that you see someone making
traditional Tamil food on a competition or anywhere
in the US, so the Tamil people will probably be proud.
Keep cooking like this, please.
There's been so many times when people don't get
the South Indian food that I cook,
and the fact that they got it, I'm just like-- Yeah.
All right, guys, we get to play one more week.
That's how this is. That's all it is.
It's like we get to play one more week.
- Yo, top ten is dope, dude. - Top ten.
- Top ten, guys. - Oh, my God, guys.
Hi!
- Hi, Chef. - Wow.
Hi! How are you guys?
I know it's a little bit of a tough day, obviously,
seeing two of your fellow chefs go home.
We did want to give a little insight because today was tough.
I'm not gonna sugarcoat it.
The food just did not come
to the level that it needed to come.
You're never gonna be put in these situations.
No one's gonna tell you
to cook a Frank Lloyd Wright themed dish.
This is the opportunity to be pushed to another limit
and come out even better.
That first instinct of what you want to make
or what brings you joy or what tells us more about you,
that is the seed of inspiration.
Take that and then just make it work for the challenge.
Honestly, thank you so much.
This is exactly what I think we needed to hear
and I don't want to waste it.
Do whatever you gotta do to make sure
that you have the longevity to tell your story.
- Appreciate it, Chef. - Great.
I think that's too much information now.
Now, you're on your own!
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Tonight, Kaleena and Alisha's lack of teamwork
brings them to Last Chance Kitchen.
I'm not gonna give you sh-- this time, Chef. I will not.
Can they put their differences aside
as they both battle the reigning champ?
You sound like you're feeling good over there.
Watch now on Peacock or wherever you stream Top Chef.
Next time on Top Chef...
You're gonna shop for your ingredients
before you hear your challenge.
- On your left! - Sorry, sorry, sorry.
- Go, go, go, go, please. - Excuse me, sorry.
- Let's get this party started. - Ooh-wee.
I have so many things that I just can't use.
Everything about this is weird.
It's one of Wisconsin's
most beloved traditions, the Supper Club.
Hi, everyone. Welcome, welcome.
Let's roll! I don't like it, I love it.
This felt very of the Supper Club.
Laura, let's get cooking. Let's get cooking, Laura.
Laura, cook, please.
It's really overcooked. It's not even close.
The fire is burning. I love it.
It was mid, you know?
Next, you're gonna call it meh. Oh.