- It's time for the big city chefs to head to the country. The remaining chef'testants must shop for the freshest of ingredients at Blue Hill Farm and then work with what they have to create a feast for the farm workers themselves.
- Leah misses eliminated people (and the point of the competition, apparently) and Hosea says he's gunning for arrogant, obnoxious Stefan.
Quickfire Challenge
They arrive in the kitchen and Hung is there. Fabio thinks it's going to be a fish meal, because Hung loves using fish. Padma gives them a talk, saying chefs should be able to work with anything. She reveals a table of cupboard and pantry staples like pumpkin pie filling, chili in a can and peanut butter. Their challenge is to make something with no fresh ingredients. And, in honor of Hung, the fastest contestant in Top Chef history, they only get 15 minutes. They nearly beat each other up grabbing for stuff.
Hosea ends up with Spam.
They take turns in interviews whining about how they're used to always having the freshest ingredients. Stefan wants Hosea's Spam and even though Hosea is mad that Stefan's "boyfriend" Fabio wouldn't share his artichokes, Hosea says yes.
Judging
Leah made waffles with strawberries and sausage. Stefan make baked bean soup with spam and grilled cheese. Fabio made roasted artichoke mac and cheese. Radhika made a red bean dip. Hosea made sweet pea soup with spam and pork rinds. Jeff made fried conch with coconut sauce. James made a bruschetta of garbanzos. Ariane made an open-faced turkey Spam sandwich with gravy. Carla made an Asian salmon cake with fried green beans.
Hung was disappointed by: Leah, Radhika and Jamie.
The good ones: Hosea, Stefan and Jeff.
The winner is: Stefan. Hosea makes a "d'oh!" face and wishes he hadn't given up his Spam, probably the only time he'll ever have that thought in his cooking career.
Elimination Challenge
They'll be going back to basics. They draw knives: chicken, lamb, pig.
Ariane isn't happy being with the "lovebirds" Leah and Hosea.
They have to make a seasonal meal around their protein. They're cooking lunch for 16 people per team, including dessert. Jamie worries about cooking with Stefan.
They go back home and brainstorm.
With chicken, Stefan railroads Jamie, but thinks she's adorable when she's upset. Carla says she can't create in that energy.
Radhika, Fabio and Jeff work on "pig."
Jamie brings Stefan the menu with some changes that she and Carla made. He refuses to change anything, even though he has immunity.
5 a.m.
Hosea thinks their dish isn't seasonal enough. Ariane goes along with the new plan to roast lamb.
Carla, Jamie and Stefan get in the car, unsure of even what their dish is. They realize they're not going to Whole Foods. Instead, it's Dan Barber's Stone Barn education center out in the country, a farm. They'll be shopping with the farmers. Jeff realizes the menu they've written will have to be restructured. They'll be cooking for the farmers and chefs that work there.
This seems to make up for the less-than-fresh quickfire. Jeff starts thinking fried green tomatoes, which he thinks no one else will go for.
Team pig hangs with the live version of their entree.
Stefan cuddles with live hens while another one attacks Jamie.
With three hours to go, they head to the kitchen where the food is all laid out. The teams adjust their menus.
Team Pork- Seared pork loin
- Sausage ravioli with pesto
- Fried green tomatoes
- Grilled corn salad with bacon
- Creme brulee
Team Chicken- Chicken cutlet
- Lemon-herb roasted chicken
- Chicken ravioli soup
- Nectarine and strawberry tartlet
Team Lamb- Roasted duo of lamb
- Heirloom tomato salad
- Rosemary and garlic mashed potatoes
- Swiss chard
- Summer berry trifle
Ariane breaks down the lamb but says she's never worked with baby lamb. Leah worries that doing only the salad and dessert isn't enough.
Fabio is baffled that Radhika took an hour to husk and roast 10 ears of corn.
Tom stops by. He doesn't understand why Team Lamb would take the meat off the bone or why Team Chicken would go with soup when it's so warm out. He's not impressed with Team Pork's simple creme brulee plan. Ariane struggles with tying the roasts, rushing. Leah finally pitches in.
Everyone plates.
Chow time. They eat outside at picnic tables on the farm. You can practically smell the hay.
Jamie worries hers is too simple and they won't "get it." They present their dishes.
Padma doesn't understand the point of making soup on an 85 degree day. Dan thinks the chicken is nicely roasted. He likes Jamie's concept.
They don't like the butchering of the lamb and the farmers think the roasting was slightly out of season. Tom says it was no way to "honor the lamb." In the kitchen, Hosea reassures his team.
Padma thinks the pork team's pesto is overpowering. Toby, not content to simply agree, spits out a soundbite: "The pesto is the big bad wolf that has blown this pig's house down."
Padma thinks the star of the pork plate is the fried green tomatoes.
Dessert time.
Tom is impressed with Carla's tartlet crust and the use of thyme. The creme brulee is too sweet and heavy for a hot day. Dan thinks the trifle is just "unappealing" to look at and reminds him of cafeteria food. Back at the kitchen, Padma comes for Jamie, Carla and Stefan while the others stew, surrounded by Glad products.
Judges' Table
Congratulations. They're the favorites. They all claim they worked together. Dan announces the winner: All of them. Jamie and Stefan hug. Carla is excited about her first win. Padma asks for both other teams.
Pork and lamb take their places Padma tells them they both did poorly. Toby asks if someone specifically decided to remove the fat from the lamb. Dan says that's the most flavorful part. Jeff 'fesses up. Tom calls Radhika out for not doing much.
Tom asks why they pounded the lamb. Ariane says they thought they had to tenderize it. Dan says by definition baby lamb is tender. Padma asks why Ariane was the only one on the lamb. After a long pause Leah says they all helped. Tom says he thought the butchering was amateur. He thinks Leah's rolling was poor as well.
Padma sends them all away. Hosea reports that it was brutal.
Padma thinks there are a number of chefs that qualify for elimination. Toby makes a sexual analogy about the pork, saying he didn't even get to first base with it. Even in context, it makes no sense. As unhappy as they were with the lifeless pork, it's overshadowed by the far worse lamb.
Dan says there was little thought behind the lamb dish. Tom suggests sending Radhika home for doing too little. He thinks Ariane did a disservice to the leg of lamb and that Hosea should have jumped in. (In the stew room, Hosea and Leah whisper.) Padma defends Ariane to Toby. As she tells him Ariane has cooked well in the past, he says that the guideline is they just judge based on each effort. It is. They think Leah didn't do much and knew it, letting Ariane take the blame.
The Moment of Truth
Tom gives a speech about chefs having a connection to the ingredients. He tells Radhika they didn't think she contributed much. Tom commends Jeff for his tomatoes, which are the reason why the Pork team is not the losing team. He recaps Leah's and Ariane's faults and chastizes Hosea for not helping.
And the knife packer is: Ariane. Padma tells her it was a pleasure having her there.
"I don't think it's fair that I'm going home. There are other people that I think didn't work as hard. Leah was not a good team player, and neither is Hosea, he's a wimp," Ariane says, still in relatively good spirits.
Jamie, who earlier said Ariane was the best team player, is shocked she's going home. Ariane remembers her journey, of starting on the bottom, rising to the top and now faltering. "Just knowing that I can take on a situation and handle it, the best I can, I think my family will be proud and that's what counts," she says.
Next: Restaurant Wars!
"This is just hideous," says Stefan. "This is so not how I like to do my fish," says Leah. "Leah knows if our restaurant fails, it's her fault," says Hosea. "I don't really feel like I have control over things," says Radhika. Leah talks about being close to Hosea and, in the next scene she is, lying smooshed against him on the couch, saying she wants to sleep right there. Hopefully his girlfriend (and her boyfriend) won't watch that one.
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