- It's time for the Super Bowl and nothing goes better with the all-American pastime than good food! The remaining chefs battle it out in a Super Bowl-themed cook-off against seven all-stars from previous seasons.
- Carla feels like she dodged a bullet. Leah tries to deal with having made out with Hosea. Stefan walks around pretty pleased with himself. Seven left.
Quickfire Padma greets them with Scott Conant, an Italian restaurateur. They'll be playing football squares. They get food groups crossed with an ingredient. Fabio gets vegetables and isn't excited about it. "There's no reason to eat vegetables when there's meat and fish around." Padma reveals all the ingredients. It's all oats. Guess who sponsored this quickfire? No one gets immunity.
They have 45 minutes. Jamie does coconut and oat-crusted shrimp. Hosea makes wiener schnitzel. Jeff beats the crap out of some chicken and plans three dishes. (Carla says he's unable to "quiet the creative monkeys.") Leah goes with fish covered in oats and Hosea notes her fish deboning issues. Fabio fries eggplant rolled in oatmeal. Stefan made banana mousse with oatmeal. Jeff does fried zucchini, grits and fried chicken.
Tasting time Fabio thinks Scott makes fun of his food. Scott didn't like Leah's (her fish was overcooked), or Fabio's (too many oats) or Jeff's (too heavy). "Sometimes doing too much can put you behind, I guess," Jeff says in a moment of rare insight.
Scott liked Jamie, Carla and Stefan. The winner is Stefan (whose head swells to nearly fill the room - he's won five challenges back to back, he notes).
Elimination Challenge Padma sends them to the stew room for a surprise. It's chef coats made up like jerseys.
Back in the kitchen there are football helmets everywhere. Padma calls it "Top Chef Bowl." They meet the opposition: Andrew (who Carla loves, season 4), Josie (2), Andrea (1), Spike (4), Camille (3), Nikki (4), Miguel (1).
They'll be dividing according to teams, with food provided to go with the team, and cooking against an All-star. Stefan picks the Cowboys and Andrea (who, Fabio notes, was kicked out early). They get to pick the rest. Dolphins - Josie and Jeff. Packers - Fabio and Spike. Seahawks - Hosea and Miguel. Giants - Leah and Nikki. 49ers - Jamie and Camille. Saints - Carla and Andrew (she's thrilled).
They'll be competing in front of culinary students. They'll have 20 minutes to make a dish inspired by the region of their team using the food provided. They have two hours to plan and test cook.
Fun side note: Josie played for a woman's pro football team. All the food they bring has to be raw.
Hosea calls Miguel "Chunk," which was his nickname during his season.
Andrew reminds us how much fun he was: "Dear season five, if you don't bring your A Game you're going to get f---- stopped and I will be peeing on your bodies."
Spike and Andrew are happy to be in front of the cameras again, acting like conquering heroes. Tackling is involved.
Morning of the challenge. (Fabio mentions that his mom is really sick and needs medical care. As if he weren't easy enough to root for.)
Carla gets "centered" on the couch.
They arrive at the Institute of Culinary Education. They're feeling the spirit of team. The crowd includes many other past cheftestants.
The rules are: the chefs cook head to head with judges' votes worth 7 points and 5 fan tasters awarding 3 points. Padma is wearing a tight referee shirt. Somewhere, Ed Hochuli is jealous.
Leah and Nikki are up first. Nikki made chicken livers with goat cheese. Leah made NY Strip, creamed corn and snap peas. Leah gets seven points from the judges. Nikki gets three from the fans.
Hosea and Miguel are next, trading smack talk. Miguel made cedar plank salmon with noodles and mushrooms, Hosea made a crispy salmon roll. Hosea gets the touchdown and field goal, all 10 points. "Chunk" gets zero. Andrew plays with his food, live crayfish. Carla and Andrew are next. She makes a fast gumbo and he makes crayfish crudo. Carla gets unanimous judge approval for 7 points. Only one fan votes for her.
Next are Stefan and Andrea. He makes a duo of meat on two different salads while hitting on her. She makes tex-mex chili.
They split the judges but all five fans take Andrea. Stefan loses all 10 points. (Back in the kitchen, no one believes him when he says he lost. He can't believe he lost to the "nuts and grains" girl.)
Camille and Jamie are next. Camille made a sweet potato and miso mash with crab. Jamie thinks those flavors are weird together. She made crab cioppino with olives and basil. They split the judges but Jamie takes all the fans.
Jeff goes against Josie. They both make ceviche, but Josie's looks sloppy to Jeff. Jeff's has sangria sorbet with his. Josie wins the judges and the fans.
It's close going into Fabio versus Spike. It's 26 to 34, with the home team ahead.
Spike made venison with port reduction, Fabio made venison with mustard sauce and a salad with cheddar (because they have Green Bay, after all). Fabio loses the judges for over-cooking the meat, but he wins the fans and that clinches it, 37-34 the current season wins.
Thanks All-stars, you're losers! Again!
Fabio, Stefan and Jeff are on the chopping block.
Back in the stew room Padma comes for the winners: Hosea, Carla, Jamie and Leah. (3 out of 4 are wearing headbands -- all but the bald guy.)
Carla draws raves. Tom applauds Hosea's cooking of his seafood. Tom says Jamie's was one of the better dishes of the evening, even though he didn't vote for her. Scott compliments the way Jamie cooks. Scott announces the winner: Carla. She wins two tickets to the Super Bowl. Touchdown, Carla!
They send out the losers. Fabio tries to explain for his over-cooked meat, saying that it was done when he plated, but over-cooked by the time it rested and they ate it. Scott puts Fabio in his place ("I'm the judge here, not you, relax"... "you failed, that's your fault, that's not our fault"), not understanding that Fabio is the one everyone likes.
Stefan, in his first chopping block moment, gets ribbed for losing to a competitor he picked.
Jeff can't believe he lost to hot ceviche. Toby says Josie's had a more authentic taste. Tom calls his "watered down."
Tom tells Scott that these are three of their strongest competitors. They bash Fabio's wilted salad. Tom notes that Jeff precooked his shrimp, which isn't a ceviche either. Back in the stew room, Stefan thinks he'll be fine.
Verdict time. The knife-packer is: Jeff. He shakes the judge's hands and Fabio thanks them for the second chance.
"I really thought that Fabio was going to go home. I guess I've learned that my brain works differently than a lot of chefs. I have a problem just keeping it simple," Jeff says. "I'm more than disappointed with myself and I think it's something that's going to stick with me for at least a decade. I really thought I had what it took to be a Top Chef."
Next week: Eric Ripert brings eels. During eating there are some "ews." Toby says that "Obi-wan Kenobi over here was a bit disappointed with this challenge."
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