Previously, on Top Chef...
Maria, please pack your knives and go.
I think she has more to give.
No, no. Don't start, don't.
I think she should stay.
Jamie, are you saying you want to quit?
No, I don't want to quit but I would q-quit for her.
Let me pack my knives with grace, okay?
I love you.
She deserves a second chance. I got one already.
Except that you don't make that decision.
What is this salty discharge?
[all laughing]
Come this way, here. You have to stop giving up your place,
because you deserve it, just like I do,
just like Gabe does, just like Shota does.
Aw.
Hi. Hi! I know it's been an emotional evening.
I want you guys to get a lot of rest,
because we have one more Quick Fire in the Top Chef kitchen,
and then we are going to the coast.
-Amazing! -Yes!
So, pack And prepare to win.
Thank you, Padma.
[all cheering]
I'm so happy!
We are goin' places!
Yeah, we are.
About to see some things. Let's go.
Let's get out of here.
Four chefs remain to compete in the ultimate culinary showdown.
At stake for the winner,
a feature in Food and Wine Magazine,
an appearance at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen,
a quarter of a million dollars,
furnished by San Pellegrino,
and the title of Top Chef.
♪♪♪
I can't believe it's only four people left.
Hang-out room is definitely a much quieter place.
I know, right?
I had a big goal of being top four.
I think, when I first started, I was focusing on the challenge
more than focusing on food that I want to cook.
Now, I'm just like, I'm gonna do the stuff
I learned in Japan and I'm gonna give it everything I have.
We're driving to the Coast today.
Ready to live my best Goonies life.
Yeah, right?
[both chuckling]
We're approaching the finale and, you know,
I'm incredibly homesick. I miss my family.
It's really tough, but at the same time,
I can become the first Mexican-American Top Chef.
That's motivational for me.
♪♪♪
Oregon trail!
Mosey on up here!
Like my new ride?
-[all] Yeah! -As you can see,
we have our Culinary Mayor of Portland,
-Gregory Gourdet. -Good to see you all.
-So few of you left. -I know.
We are about to saddle up for the final leg of this journey,
to the title of Top Chef, but we can't leave Portland
without introducing you to a culinary trailblazer
right here in Portland.
Please welcome award-winning chef, Vitaly Paley.
[all clapping]
Hello, welcome.
Thank you so much for having me.
Chefs, Vitaly Paley is truly a Portland pioneer.
Before Portland was even on the food map,
Chef Vito was here, creating a foundation,
which is today, the Portland culinary scene.
He's a very important mentor to me and I call him my uncle,
so I'm very happy he's with you today.
Thank you, Gregory.
Your time here on Top Chef has been eventful, to say the least.
Yes.
You've bled, you've sweat. How does that feel?
I'm just amazed to be here at this spot.
In the first Quick Fire, we were, us three as a team.
Yeah, Quick Fire one team right here.
Who cooked the fish?
-Well, we all did, actually. -We all did.
You all cooked one piece of fish?
[all] Yeah.
Besides this guy, here.
Yeah!
[all laughing]
And now, I'm afraid it is time for us
to say farewell to the city of roses,
but we had to do one Quick Fire here before hitting the trail.
♪♪♪
In the mid-1800s after economic depression,
Settlers were seeking a new beginning,
but there was only one way to travel
from Missouri to Oregon, the Oregon Trail.
I'm sure you all remember playing
the Oregon Trail video game as kids and dying from dysentery.
[chuckling]
But in actuality,
the Oregon Trail was quite a serious thing.
It was a vicious journey that took four to six months.
-Dang. -Without refrigeration,
and only very few places to get supplies,
preparing food for the journey was vital to their survival.
For your Quick Fire challenge,
we want you to create a modern dish
using only the ingredients that the settlers
would have had on the Oregon Trail.
Each person would have had a stock pile of items
such as flour, lard, coffee,
molasses, dried fruit, meats, and herbs.
Chefs, the pantry will be off-limits this challenge.
We want to see what you can come up with
using these staples from that historic journey.
The winner of this Quick Fire
will earn an advantage in the next Elimination Challenge.
You have 30 minutes to create your modern Oregon Trail dishes.
Giddy up, your time starts now. Good luck!
♪♪♪
-Wow. That whole thing, eh? -Oh, yeah.
There were no things like regular oil or fresh citrus.
I have to be creative,
imparting flavors in ways that I wouldn't have even thought of.
-Bring it on. -This is a weird way to shop.
Whiskey, just to have it.
I am missing soy sauce, sake, miso, mirin,
Japanese ingredients in general.
[laughing]
I'm gonna do a parsnip puree with boiled hazelnuts
and salmon tossed in jerky salt.
Oh, that's cool.
I'm gonna blend the jerky
and cure my portion of salmon in it,
giving it kinda that smoky, umami flavor.
Did you get the whiskey to drink
or are you going to cook with it?
I'mma cook with it and then drink it.
When I was growing up, we had a walnut tree
and I used to eat fresh walnuts.
I was thinking about making a play on Romesco,
but with walnuts.
-You need the salmon? -Yeah.
Here you go.
I'mma do, like, a walnut pepper sauce,
grill the salmon, and do a parsnip crisp.
-Nice. -Gonna get this going.
20 minutes, guys.
-No. You want some lard? -I got some.
Thinking of the 1800s, campfire cooking comes to mind.
Now, I love to go camping and during the pandemic, you know,
the kids and I camped in the backyard a lot.
I saw you pick up that trout.
Yeah, I'm gonna do a little campfire trout
with some root vegetables roasted in lard.
All season long, I've been in the top dishes in Quick Fire,
but haven't won. So, I'm hoping
to finally get one under my belt.
The lard smells delicious.
Where can I go?
I mean, just go in.
People on the trail really ate for survival.
So, I'm making a trail ride porridge
because it's something that's really hearty.
I'm gonna experiment with putting
a fish flavor base at the bottom of my porridge.
Dawn, what are you missing from your ingredients?
Oh, real acid.
Yeah! Yes! Yes!
My dish really needs fresh acid, and there isn't any,
but there is citric acid.
Dawn, did you get citric acid?
Yeah, I did. Here.
One wrong move with citric acid and you can't turn back.
I put it down there so I don't use it like it's salt.
-Ten minutes left. -Ten minutes, heard.
[knife clanging]
♪♪♪
I wish I had lemons. I love acid
'cause it breaks up the heaviness of anything.
I realized there's cranberries. They're sweet, but they're tart.
So, I threw that into my sauce to try to brighten it up.
Ah, so hot. Can I get a little?
Yeah. Oh, sorry, I'm just throwing sh-- in there.
You're good. I like it when you throw things.
Ow! Thank you, all, for shoving my sh-- way to the back.
That wasn't me, Chef, I promise.
Can't hold me down.
Five minutes, guys.
♪♪♪
Coming through.
The salmon looks nice. As a dish, I actually really like it.
I don't really care about the advantage.
I care about blocking Gabe,
so he doesn't get a win in a Quick Fire.
God, I'm such a [bleep].
Three... two... one.
Time's up! Hands up, utensils down.
[exhaling]
♪♪♪
Jamie, come on up.
You got it, Jamie.
I got this. My belly gots it.
[all laughing]
Thank you. This looks beautiful.
I made a pan seared salmon with a walnut pepper sauce.
What's the acid in your dish, Jamie?
I put cranberries in there and then I used lemon oil.
What's the crispy stuff on the top?
That's parsnip.
What did you make for us, Shota?
I did jerky cured salmon with parsnip apricot puree.
I'm curious about jerky cured salmon.
I got the beef jerky and I grinded it up,
and I just, kinda, cured it.
Let it sit for about ten minutes.
I made a trail ride porridge with fire roasted curry squash
and a hazelnut and bacon relish.
In the porridge, I have dried herring.
30 minutes is not a long time to cook the squash.
-How did you do it? -Fire roasting.
Shota helped me with that,
he pushed my pan all the way in the back.
I didn't push it.
I think she means that in a good way, Shota.
Oh, I got you, girl!
[all chuckling]
Wow.
This dish is meant for a hearty appetite.
Go big or go home, right?
This is a campfire trout
with an Oregon trail salsa macha.
Since there's no cooking oil,
I used the lard as the base of the sauce.
What is the acid in this dish?
I took some of the lemon syrup and cut it with citric acid.
Thank you so much.
I'm actually very impressed what you guys
have been able to accomplish in a mere 30 minutes.
Thank you, Chef.
There were a couple
that were less successful than the others.
Shota, the salmon ate a little dry.
I don't know if it had something to do with the curing
-in advance of cooking it. -Understood.
Dawn, that dish really could have been more successful
if you had used that herring as a counterpoint to that porridge.
I agree. Boiling the fish with the porridge
really made it too fishy. We did love the other two.
We thought your dishes were creative,
and most of all, modern.
Gabe, I could easily see setting up camp for the night,
getting that trout nice and crispy,
with that beautiful, green lard oil.
That citric acid displayed the modern technique,
yet hidden under the tone of the whole dish.
Thank you, Chef.
And Jamie.
The salmon was cooked great. The fried parsnips on top
really added that textural element.
This is a modern take on what you would find on the trail.
There is bits of sweetness, there is bits of acid,
and altogether, it worked really well.
Thank you.
Vitaly, as our guest judge,
you have the honor of telling us who won this Quick Fire.
The chef who won the challenge today showed the versatility
of the ingredients in a modern way,
and that chef is...
♪♪♪
Jamie.
Wow!
[all clapping]
[mimicking guns]
[laughing]
After the last challenge, I needed that boost of confidence.
Being in the top of the Quick Fire
is where I typically hang out.
Damn it, Gabe.
I just never win.
Gregory and Vitaly, thank you so much.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Chef.
[clapping]
-Thank you. -See you on the coast.
Please give a warm welcome
to your guest judges for this week,
Mr. Dale Talde, and Chef Ed Lee.
[all applauding]
Hey, guys.
Final four, huh?
All right, let's cut to the cheese.
I mean, chase.
[giggling]
Cheese.
♪♪♪
In case you haven't guessed it,
today's elimination challenge is all about...
-Cheese. -Cheese.
There's someone who has a message for you,
who definitely knows their way around cheese.
Three star Michelin chef,
and the recipient of 2016's World's Best Restaurant,
Massimo Bottura.
[speaking in Italian]
Oh!
Oh man.
Welcome to Kitchen Quarantine.
Massimo is one of the chefs I look up to,
just the way he went for his dreams
and when people told him that it's not the traditional way,
he still kept on doing what he wanted
and just very creative.
I actually read about this dish.
I was inspired by the way he used one ingredient in many ways
and pushed the boundaries of doing something creative,
and that's what I wanted for myself.
[clapping]
Chefs, in Emilia-Romagna, Parmigiano-Reggiano is king,
but here in Oregon, it's all about the cheddar.
Near the Oregon coast,
Tillamook Creamery 160,000lb of cheese per day.
-Wow. -Yes, they do.
For your elimination challenge, you get to go there
and tour the Creamery and get some amazing products,
which you'll then use to put your twist
on Massimo's acclaimed dish, featuring cheddar five ways.
Melt it, fry it, bake it, foam it,
I'm really curious to see what you guys do.
Think about, also, the flavors
that are going to accompany the cheese as well.
This has to be a fully formed dish.
It's not just five techniques of cheese.
It's the last four. You have to wow us.
Tomorrow, you'll have three hours
to prep and cook at Tillamook Creamery.
There, you'll be serving the all-star judging panel,
as well as Tillamook's executive chef, Josh Archibald.
Jamie, as the winner of the Quick Fire challenge,
you'll have an extra 30 minutes to cook.
Thank you.
Good luck, chefs, I'll see you tomorrow.
-Thank you. -Good luck, chefs.
Ready, chef?
Let's go to the coast!
[whistling]
A full-body massage going.
-Ah, so nice. -It's pretty nice.
Great for a long drive.
♪♪♪
I was like, "Ah, crap, what are we going to do with cheese?"
Five types on a plate,
do I know how to do that many things with cheese?
-I eat cheese. -I eat cheese a lot.
[both giggling]
We made it to the coast, guys.
♪♪♪
Ah, there's a person in the lobby.
Welcome to Tillamook Cheese. My name's Liam,
I'm a cheesemaker here at Tillamook,
and we'll be taking you through our cheesemaking process.
-Cool! -Very excited, thank you!
Come on.
Look at my shoes.
All right. Let's go.
Get that cheddar!
♪♪♪
It smells so good.
You can smell it, it's kind of a sweet smell.
I love learning about food. I have made cheese before,
but I've never seen an operation so big.
Here we are, we're up on the cooking vats.
This is where our process begins in cheesemaking.
We make both white and yellow cheddar here.
We use Annatto, which is a coloring
that comes from a natural, tropical flower
and we add just a tiny bit of that to our milk.
Is that the only difference between white cheddar
and yellow cheddar is the color?
Yeah, we make our white and yellow cheddar all the same.
Pretty cool.
Let's go, uh, taste some cheese.
♪♪♪
Mm.
We're going to start from young, go to old.
Start with medium, generally four to nine months old.
Cheddar, in Japanese cuisine, I personally have not seen it.
So, this is going to be interesting.
Moving on down the line,
sharp cheddar cheese, about a year old.
Wow. The most interesting part about the cheesemaking process,
for me, is the aging.
You're starting to get a little sulfur notes,
which tend to give a savory flavor, eggy, custard, almost.
Mm, yeah. I'm impressed.
Moving onto Maker's Reserve.
So, we're almost ten years old here.
Mm, yum, yum, yum, yum.
I really love the nuttiness of the Reserve cheese.
It's so yummy, but I'm nervous about cooking with it.
I don't really work with cheese unless it's mac and cheese, aah!
-Thank you, Liam. -Thank you so much.
My pleasure!
♪♪♪
I was thinking apples and cheddar.
Cheddar is the workhorse of cheeses,
but making that the star of the dish is difficult.
So, I'm trying to stray away
from including a protein in the dish.
Medium cheddar.
I definitely want to do a very clear dashi that's cheese,
but Japanese cuisine is very delicate
and so, I have to make sure this doesn't taste rich, creamy.
This is the price.
Oh, sh--.
Wow. I'm gonna make it Asian-style.
And then, infusing it in some sort of dumpling or dough.
I'd like to get some of this medium-white cheddar.
I would like to pay homage to my home town
by highlighting some flavors
of Philadelphia cheesesteak using rib-eye.
Thank you so much.
♪♪♪
Cool.
Lovely.
Ooh.
Oh, man. That looks nice.
After arriving to the Surfsand Hotel,
there is a million thoughts going through my head.
-That's cool. -We should go check it out.
All right, let's go.
Cannon Beach is absolutely breathtaking.
It's such a great change of scenery.
This is dope.
You guys feel like Top Chef has changed the way you cook?
For me, it's just, like,
solidifying a place for my style.
It gives me the confidence to continue to do it.
In my career, my skills were not appreciated
the way other line cooks were.
Not only am I a woman in the kitchen,
but also a Black woman in the kitchen.
There's a part of me that felt that maybe,
I was not good enough.
I cook with my heart, and I always have, and sometimes,
there's a place for it in the world, and sometimes,
you have to create your own system to do that.
There's definitely an inequality,
but I am here to change that.
I really would like to help a few more chefs
that look like me achieve their goals,
and winning Top Chef will help me do that.
You guys want to get some rest?
-Yeah. -Ready to mosey on?
Get ready for tomorrow.
♪♪♪
It smells cheesy in here!
Cool, cool, cool.
This is going to be a fun challenge.
Yeah.
You're using sea bass?
Yes, I am. For me, cheese is heavy,
but I think sea bass is light and doesn't taste strong to me.
What kind of cheese are you using today, Jame?
Cheddar, all the cheddar.
I also have a cheddar Reserve Szechuan sauce,
and a sharp cheddar chili oil.
And it's, like, a good pairing with noodles
so a cheddar paetzle, that's like a noodle to me.
I don't eat that much cheese.
This is a hard competition for me.
Fish and cheese are not paired.
Maybe I should go out on a limb and do that.
Sorry, I'm like, trying to balance my life.
What is your, uh, highest priority prep-item, Dawn?
Well, I'd really like to sous vide my rib-eye in whey
for about 30 minutes. I'm inching closer to the finale
and this cheese challenge is standing in the way of that.
It happens to be the one that I feel is the most difficult.
Ugh. I have never done cheese five different ways,
but this is paying homage to something I love,
ode to Philly cheesesteak. Get that cheddar, baby.
♪♪♪
Cheesy!
My dish name, it's called Cheese-So-Yummy,
or Cheesus Christ. I'm trying to think
about which one to go with.
-[giggling] -Sorry. Thank you for laughing.
I'm gonna make some dashi stock with the reserve.
Dashi is, technically, soup stock.
I definitely want to do a dashi ,
but using that umami of cheese, you know, in a smart way.
Japanese cuisine doesn't use cheddar,
so this is definitely a little bit of a challenge for me.
I'm gonna add the dehydrated tomatoes,
mushrooms, and kombu inside, and let it steep
and slowly add the aged cheese in, while I adjust the flavor.
Look at this. Ooh! Cheesus Christ!
Two hours, nine minutes.
I've got some apples to roast,
but I can't roast until my cheese oil is done.
I'm trying to showcase multiple cheeses in the same dish
without being too rich, too heavy, and monotonous.
That's what makes this challenge very, very difficult.
Wow, this corer is a game changer.
I am making apples and cheddar.
Cheddar cheese is not a traditional Mexican cheese,
but it's Tex-Mex. This beautiful, slow-roasted apple
is gonna shine as a protein.
These are my apples,
they're going into a calcium solution to set the pectin,
so that when I cook them, they don't fall apart.
I love the science behind cooking.
I got a Masters in Engineering,
but all the while, I was working in restaurants,
so there was this parallel path.
Engineering has definitely helped my cooking.
I mean cooking is thermodynamics and that's the first class
you probably fail at engineering school.
Still cooking some moisture out,
the cheese is starting to caramelize a little bit.
Using the natural acidity and textures of the apple,
I want it to be like it's a piece of cheddar
with all of the cheddar oil that I am roasting and basting in it.
So, I'll let that carry on for a little bit.
Hey, chef.
Hey, Chef, you caught me.
Caught ya! Like, "boo!" So, let me guess, you're making cheese.
Yes, and I'm going to also be paired with cheese.
You're making cheese and cheese?
Yes, with another component of cheese.
[laughing]
That's good. That's only three ways, you've got two more.
[both laughing]
So, my inspiration was a Philly cheesesteak.
I like where we're going.
I'm serving rib-eye that I'm going to just sous vide
-partially in whey. -Okay.
To give some milky flavor. I have a reserve cheese foam,
and I'm also going to baste the rib-eye in this cheddar oil
-that I'm making here. -Okay.
And I'm using Gruyère that I'm gonna fry.
Okay.
Yeah, it's gonna be a cheese puff.
-Got it. -And then I'll add
a vegetable component to kind of give some brightness.
Sounds good. I'll let you get back to work.
All right, thank you.
Hey, Gabe.
You're ready for some more cheese?
Uh, I have a feeling I'm gonna have my fill of cheese.
-What are you up to? -You know, apples and cheddar
are one of my favorite combinations.
So, I'm really just doing apples and cheddar on my dish.
Okay, two things I didn't hear. Mole or chili.
There is some chili,
but I am trying to not burn your guys' face off this time.
All right!
But, um, there's definitely Mexican flavors in here.
There's some Morita chillies in here,
my cheese curds are going to be dusted in hoja santa,
a traditional Mexican herb,
it's going to have some nice color on there.
You know, I'm just going to do what I do,
and hopefully you guys will enjoy it.
-All right, thanks. -Thank you, Chef.
Hey, Shota. So you probably don't use
a whole lot of cheese in your cooking.
Uh, not a lot, but I think, honestly, being on Top Chef,
like, being pushed out of my comfort zone to do something
I'm not used, I'm enjoying it the most.
Well, that's what it does.
You can come in and say, "Well, I do what I do,"
you're going to hit a challenge and it's going to trip you up.
Yeah, so this is a manju .
My chef used to do it rolled in with mushrooms,
carrots, pistachios, and cheese curds inside,
and I have a cheese dashi that I made.
-Okay. -That I'm going to starch up,
pour it over with a cheese miso, smoked cheese oil.
Okay.
And a cheese tuile that's going to go on top of it.
-Sounds good, good luck. -Thank you very much.
One hour, nine minutes.
-Hey, Jamie. -Hi, Chef.
What are you making?
I'm gonna do, like, a Szechuan reserve cheese sauce,
-and then sea bass. -Oh, sea bass.
-Yes. -Okay.
Yes, it hopefully comes out, I don't know.
Do you do a lot of cheese and sea bass dishes?
Uh... This is the first time,
I'm gonna see how it's gonna work.
What everybody's scared of is what I've seen already.
Right, right, exactly, yeah.
So, now I'm, like, going in, don't be like.
I'm still like that, but yeah.
You've already done it. Isn't that bad. It's okay.
Sounds good.
-[laughing] -Good luck.
Thank you.
All right, chefs, good luck.
-Thank you, chef! -Goodbye, chef.
Make it cheesy!
Part of the challenge was inspired by Massimo Bottura,
his five ages of Parmesan cheese.
This is as much about a thought process,
about approaching an ingredient as it is about cooking.
You could say, "Well, why would we give them cheese five ways
"with only four contestants left," and a lot on the line.
I think it's going to push almost everybody
out of their comfort zone
and that's what you want to see right now.
How's it going, Shota?
Looking good. This dashi combination really excites me.
You mind trying this?
Maybe add more cheese?
Sh--
This batch, figure this out.
You mind trying this?
Maybe add more cheese?
Sh--
My biggest concern is incorporating cheese
into my cuisines.
Smoked cheese oil, just a drizzle on top.
There's a part of me that feels like it might be too Japanese,
and people might not understand the perspective.
Do you mind trying it?
That would, kind of, break my heart.
Do you think I should put more cheese?
Because I don't want it to be heavy.
No, I think it's good.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
♪♪♪
Right now, I am putting a little glaze
I made out of apple juice, vinegar, and some chili.
These apples are slowly roasting.
There's a lot of expectations of what Mexican food is,
and I am trying to present that in a new light.
So, the cheese curds are breaded in masa.
I've dusted them in some hoja santa powder,
and then, in the salad,
I am using some fresnos and some chili serranos.
What are you working on, Dawn?
Searing some leeks.
and making the filling for my Gruyère right now.
For this challenge, I conceptualized a dish
that would not eat heavy.
I definitely think it's cheese-forward,
but I have 15 things to accomplish
and they all have to be on the plate. Cheese Louise.
-Less than 30 minutes. -Aah!
Now this is funny, we're really eating in the factory.
It's the factory.
[chairs scraping]
-Hi, girl. -Hi!
And welcome to Nina Compton!
[all] To Nina Compton!
-Cheers. -Thank you.
-Thank you for having us, Josh. -So excited to have you.
The chefs were tasked with doing cheese
in five different preparations on one dish.
I'm excited to see what they've done,
and if they maintained the integrity of the cheese itself,
because that's what we're so passionate about here.
Tom, what did you see in the walkthrough?
-Cheese. -I'm sure!
[all chuckling]
Dawn, can you taste this real fast? It's my Reserve sauce.
Tastes like peanut butter, for some reason.
Uh, it's the cheese, and I've got a little sesame paste.
-Okay, okay, yeah. Okay. -Yeah?
Shota, what do you have over there?
This is the tuile.
These tuiles are coming out nice.
I gotta start really focusing right now.
There's ten minutes left, I haven't starched up my sauce,
I haven't fried my dumplings yet.
I need to make sure this doesn't melt on me.
I got a lot to do.
Jamie, can you pretty please help me here?
Do you mind putting those dumplings crease-side up?
This is the first time I'm running behind
on plating a little bit. I think I'm good after that.
-Thank you so much. -[alarm beeping]
Beautiful. Hi, Shota.
Tell us what the five techniques you used for this cheddar are.
I actually went really traditional, uh, Japanese.
Tofu cheddar manju with aged cheddar dashi,
smoked cheddar oil,
cheddar tofu miso, and a cheddar tuile.
-Thank you so much, Shota. -Thank you.
♪♪♪
Mmm.
-Wow. -It's delicious.
-Wow. -Do you like it?
-I loved it. -I love it.
Yeah, I think it's so good.
I've never had anything like this.
I love all the textures, especially that dumpling.
I think it's really inventive.
Give this challenge to 100 different chefs,
-you'll never get this dish. -No. No.
I thought his dish was very beautiful,
-I thought it was delicate. -I really enjoyed seeing
the cheddar move into a Japanese-inspired dish.
Just an incredible dish all the way around.
He gave us something that was just so original.
♪♪♪
Hotel pan coming though.
I really like to sous vide my rib-eye and steak in whey.
Whey will impart a really interesting flavor
and whey will also tenderize the protein.
I need to cool these off. They're too hot.
I just want to gentle water bath cook.
I can't drop my rib-eyes in there and walk away
because it's very hot.
I put myself at risk of not cooking my rib-eye properly.
♪♪♪
Part of the beauty of eating cheddar is, you know,
that melty, ooey-gooey deliciousness.
I am going to pray to the cheese Gods of Tillamook
to keep it hot and warm for me.
-That's it. -[alarm ringing]
♪♪♪
-Ooh la la. -Hi, Gabe.
Tell us about the five ways you used this cheddar.
I love the affinity of cheddar and apples.
I roasted some of the Reserve cheese to extract the oil,
and I used that oil to roast the apples.
There is a white cheddar foam,
cheese curds that are masa-fried,
a sauce of apples, bacon, and sharp cheddar,
and then finally, a chip of cheese and apples.
-How did you roast the apple? -The apple is nixtamalized to
harden the pectin, and then that allows me to
just roast it longer without losing the structure of it.
-Thank you so much, Gabe. -Thank you.
What do you think of Gabe's dish?
I think it was beautiful, and his technique is spot on.
-I loved that roasted apple. -That apple was phenomenal.
That apple showed so much technique.
It was a beautiful dish, I think he did a really great
job manipulating the cheese in so many different ways,
but that really bright, tart, pickled apple just
-blew everything out for me. -Yep, yep.
I loved it. The acidity, I loved that in this dish.
Gabe went for it. His dish is showing us
why he is here in the top four.
Pushing. I'm about to dry my steaks and let them rest.
Going to try to form these Gruyères as fast as I can.
-Jamie? -Yeah?
Will you have a second to help me plate?
-Yes. -I have to fry these
Gruyères real quick. I'mma plate right here.
-I'm gonna clear all of this. -Okay.
Do you have enough time for yourself, Jamie?
-Ah, I'm gonna get there. -I am tired of racing the clock
and I still have not done my Gruyère
Oh, sh--. I feel threatened by this challenge.
♪♪♪
I'mma plate right here. I'm gonna clear all of this.
Will you just help me portion? Flanks like that.
-Got it. Okay. -I hate racing the clock.
Okay, it goes that, then, um, the tomato.
Inconsistencies in my plating,
it's been my downfall this season
and there really is no room for that anymore.
Crumble, crumble, you can put that.
Thank you. Six seconds.
♪♪♪
[alarm ringing]
Hello! This is very hot.
Ooh. That looks crispy.
-What? -Is that Gruyère?
-I want the crispy guy. -Oh, my God.
You didn't get a crispy guy?
-Hi, Dawn. -Hello, hello.
When I heard the challenge was with cheese,
the first thing I thought of is a cheesesteak,
because that's what I grew up with.
I basted the steak in cheese oil.
I have cheese salt on top of the rib-eye.
I have a Gruyère of cheddar and cheddar-jack.
Oh, this sh-- is hot.
An extra sharp Reserve cheese foam,
and a soubise and cheddar sauce.
-Thank you, Dawn. -Thank you.
-Who missed an ingredient? -She did.
-What did you not get? -The Gruyère.
All you've gotta do is get 12 of these things on a plate.
Dawn's dish- when you say
"I'm inspired by a Philly cheesesteak,"
it needs to taste as good as a Philly cheesesteak, and
-I think she fell short of that. -I love the pure cheesiness.
In terms of flavor and cheese, it's really punchy,
but when you look at, from the first dish to now,
the range of technique is a little bit lackluster.
Dawn's food makes me happy, and we can nitpick all the little
things about it, but the sauce? Fine, it's a little grainy,
but you know what I'm gonna do with this?
-[laughing] -The Gruyère was delicious.
-Like, it was so cheesy. -That Gruyère missing on
Brooke's plate may send Dawn home.
I think it went well.
Aw, now I gotta focus on myself.
I was helping other people. Time got away from me.
I was supposed to thin out my sauce with a broth
and I didn't have time to do that.
Ooh, I made myself fall behind.
♪♪♪
[timer beeping]
♪♪♪
Hi, Jamie. What did you do for us?
So, I did pan-seared sea bass and a crispy cheddar
and I made a spaetzle with the Reserve.
I did a spiced cheese sauce underneath,
with a little toasted sesame seeds.
I made a cheese broth and I poached a bok choy on it,
and I pickled the cheese curd.
Why did you decide to do this with fish?
Cheese is very heavy, so I wanted something light.
-Thank you so much. -Thank you.
Josh, I'm curious.
Do you guys serve a lot of fish and cheese together?
We don't, um, and it can be a stretch
that she did an incredible job cooking that piece of fish.
The crispy cheese bits on top of the fish
is absolutely delicious.
I've never had that before, and I think it works really well.
-I like it a lot. -[laughing]
You know, this idea of trying to work a protein into the dish
I think was a big mistake. You don't need a protein.
It could have been a pasta dish. But I don't think she showcased
-five cheeses very well. -The sauce made no sense to me.
Like, focus on one thing, but all those ingredients together,
it didn't have any cohesion for me.
But I think this dish was bold for Jamie to do,
and I think she stepped out of her comfort zone.
I think the dish was good and I would eat it again.
It's very challenging when you're in the situation,
to use such a singular ingredient
and highlight it in so many different ways
but still have a dish that feels like you.
It really pushes you out of your box,
and you really have to get creative.
We have four chefs with four very specific points of view,
and that's fantastic.
It also gives us a lot to think about.
Let's get to Judges' Table.
♪♪♪
I think this is an interesting challenge,
because it'd be one thing to say
"take cheddar cheese and make a dish,"
and then of course whoever makes the best dish kinda wins, right?
But it's who used that ingredient the best,
five different ways.
It's a different type of challenge.
It's almost a study.
-It's a meditation on cheese. -Yeah.
We did have four very distinct dishes today,
but there was one dish that stood out above the rest.
The winning dish today showed this person could take cheddar
and evolve it into their own cuisine,
but still give us a delicious dish.
And the winner is...
♪♪♪
Shota.
Congratulations, Shota.
Not only did you win this elimination challenge,
but you've won $10,000 from our friends at Tillamook.
$10,000, yes! I'm not broke anymore.
Well, you know, a little less broke.
There's a big part of me coming onto Top Chef that I was, like,
worried about trying to not do anything too Japanese
because it might be hard to understand.
And the crazy thing is, after you tasted a few bites,
you felt like the cheddar belonged in there,
which is a crazy thing to think about,
because it's so antithetical to Japanese cooking.
It really felt like you went out on a limb today, Shota,
and I'm so glad you did. Don't underestimate us.
We are here for it.
I like the way you were thinking there.
Taking a dish that is made with tofu and thinking,
"Okay, I can substitute cheddar in there,
I can get flavor in there," I think you nailed it.
It means a lot to me to win on that dish today,
so, thank you very much.
You can step aside, Shota.
You know, when it comes to the final four,
it's always tough, because everything's so good.
Whoever goes home today should go home knowing
there was still great food on that plate.
♪♪♪
Let's start with you, Gabe. Walk us through your dish.
I really wanted to show some technique
with the apple and cooking in the cheddar fat.
I love the idea of you stepping outside
of what you normally have been giving us.
These are the risks that, in this competition,
get you to the top.
The technique you showed today, Gabe,
on so many of the components you gave us,
was staggering, beautiful.
And such distinct uses of the cheese
that I was really, really impressed.
Thank you.
My problem with the dish is it wasn't cheese-forward.
The best piece of the dish was the apple.
That said, I really liked the dish.
I mean, to me, it was a composed cheese plate
before the dessert in a tasting menu.
-Dawn. -Yes.
I love the starting point, Philadelphia cheesesteak.
We all know it, but we asked you
to do cheese five different ways,
and three of those ways were sauces.
So, for me, it was, like, a missed opportunity
to do something a little more creative.
Now, one person did not get a Gruyère.
This keeps happening, you know?
You gotta pay attention to the stuff.
I really don't know how I did it.
I checked every one, and Jamie was helping me.
I checked it too.
Just letting you know, one was missing.
That's ----ed up.
Dawn, the sauce was grainy.
On top of missing a component,
those are the details that, if you want to win,
you have to identify them and overcome them.
The Gruyère was absolutely the star of the day.
-Thank you. -But not everyone got it.
-I'm really glad it wasn't me. -Me too.
I like the way you cook. I like your flavors,
and everything you cook is well-seasoned.
The soubise in the little carafe,
I had to drink it afterwards, it was so good.
The Gruyère was probably the best bite of food
-I had all night. -Thank you, Chef.
Jamie.
I thought the spaetzle was really good.
I thought your fish was beautifully cooked,
and the crispy bits on top were really nice.
The sauce, because of all the other ingredients in there,
it lost its cheesiness. I know the five things you did,
I just didn't see them amped up enough
to make them distinct and really special.
-Okay. -Of all the dishes today,
you had the most ambitious ideas.
If Shota's dish came from Japan
and Dawn's dish came from Philadelphia,
like, your dish came from outer space.
I think it's great, but the one thing you have to be careful is
if you are gonna go out there,
you have to have the technique to back it up.
There were a lot of zany, beautiful moments in that dish,
but I found the sauce to really eat like tahini.
It wasn't cheesy at all.
Thank you so much for this glorious cheese dinner.
We'll call you back in a bit.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
Good job, man.
♪♪♪
You know, what I love about this challenge
is that it's not just about making a successful dish.
It's to use one ingredient and show it to us
in five very different, interesting ways.
Gabe put together a really solid dish.
It was just simply out of balance.
He gave us a beautiful study of cheese and apples,
but I definitely don't see how all of the elements
really went together to form one cohesive dish.
At this point, there's no room for mistakes.
Mistakes get harder to eliminate.
Yeah.
We all know Dawn did not serve Brooke
the Gruyère that we all loved.
One of the ways I judge food sometimes
is by the number of involuntary noises you make.
With Gabe, everything was like, "mhm," "hmm," "interesting."
It was really intellectual.
But Dawn's food-- and I know it has flaws--
but it just made me go, "ahh."
-Her food gives me a hug. -Yes.
If Dawn can't get every element of her dish onto plates,
I have to question if she can move on.
When you hear people talk about
"fish and cheese don't go together,"
Jamie's dish is the reason why
people talk about it in that manner.
The fish was the biggest problem in Jamie's dish.
The fish was the best part of her dish.
The fish in itself, but not in context--
No, no, I understand, I know.
It did not belong in that dish.
Right, but it was the best part of that dish.
The sauce didn't taste like cheese,
it tasted like sesame something,
and it was really heavy and just not cheese-forward at all.
And I hate that for her,
because when she was cooking Vietnamese food,
it was so good, and she just got flustered by the cheese.
I knew my dish was wacky. I just was stressed and, like,
"Ah, fish and cheese, what were you thinking?"
But I was like, "All right, you did it."
Well, I think we have our answer, yes?
-Yes. -Let's get them out here.
♪♪♪
You know, chefs, this challenge starts a world away in Italy,
with a fantastic chef who decided to do a study
in Parmigiano-Reggiano, and it was successful
because he still retained the inherent nature of that cheese.
Unfortunately, our least favorite dish tonight
lost the sense of what that cheddar is all about.
♪♪♪
Jamie, please pack your knives and go.
I want to thank you guys for this opportunity again,
for you guys to understand now, my wackiness. I am wacky.
Jamie, it was an absolute pleasure
having you on Top Chef.
You are zany and crazy. Never change.
-Embrace the wackiness. -Yes!
I can't wait to taste your food in your restaurant very soon.
I can't wait, too.
Drunk, drunk, drunk, lit, lit, lit,
-every single one of you. -[all laughing]
Whiskey on me!
-We can't wait for that either. -Thank you.
Thank you. Well, I guess we can clear out the room
like I cut the cheese.
-[laughing] -Thank you.
[giggling]
I am definitely proud of myself.
I did pretty well, I filled my heart.
It's me. It's okay.
I did grow as a person throughout this experience,
but I think I'm good with the competitive cooking for now.
I'll never forget cooking with you on the first day.
I mean, you literally told me, "I'm so nervous!"
[all laughing]
Shota, Dawn, and Gabe, you guys are badasses.
Bye, guys.
-Bye. -Bye.
I will be in Vegas waiting for you guys.
We're gonna get lit.
I'm out, bitches.
[giggling]
Next time on Top Chef...
-There's a squid hole! -Bingo!
-If you dig it, they will come. -[laughing]
Since we're here on the coast,
it only seems right that we pay homage to James Beard
by cooking with one of his favorite ingredients.
Dungeness crab.
Ow!
Good thing I'm tough, huh?
-[crunching] -This is not formal dress food!
-Wow. -You still have it on your nose!
Whoever makes it out of here will go on to the finale.
Excuse me.
One tortilla short.
There was a missing tortilla.
This is a $250,000 mistake.
♪♪♪