- It's time to load up 'em up and ship 'em out when the elimination challenge calls for feeding the famed Thunderbirds - the Air Force's most elite demonstration team. The chefs are given limited time and supplies to create a plentiful meal for the masses at Nellis Air Force Base. Mark Peel, owner of Campanile restaurant in Los Angeles, guest judges.—Anonymous
- At the house, Jen C. is peeved that the ladies lost the bachelorette challenge. Laurine admits she's a little intimidated by the competition. Preeti, Laurine and Jesse have lost two people from their room. Jesse isn't happy she's been on the bottom for nearly every challenge.
Quickfire In the kitchen, chef Mark Peel (who was in Top Chef Masters) is waiting for them, along with a mountain of different kinds of potatoes. Peel explains he began his career as a vegetable boy for Wolfgang Puck. The challenge is to make an outstanding potato dish. They have 45 minutes.
Ash sets off to make sweet potato ice cream and Jesse goes for sweet potato soup. Preeti goes to use Kevin's water, like he said she could, but it isn't where she thought it was and she ends up using Ashley's. Preeti says it's an honest mistake, but with 13 minutes to go, Ashley starts swearing and yelling about not having any boiling water. Jen C. says she wouldn't have been as nice as Ashley was in that situation. Ash worries that his ice cream isn't freezing and Jesse finds that she put way too much cayenne in her soup.
Ash ends up serving a chilled sweet potato "custard." Peel likes Preeti's potatoes and veggies. He thinks Mike I's pototes cooked risotto style are a little salty. Padma gets a pistachio shell in Eli's dish. Peel notes that Jesse's soup is spicy.
Peel says his least favorites were Eli's faux mashed potatoes, which were too sweet, and Ron's overcooked and bland yellow tail and Jesse's too spicy soup.
His favorites were Jen's mussels, a good combination of flavor, texture and color; Ash's custard (he's trying to keep from laughing so hard he can't make eye contact); and Ashley's potatoes and mushrooms. He says the winner found the essence of the potato: Jen.
Mike thinks it's favoritism.
Elimination Challenge.
Padma introduces a special guest. An air force colonel walks in. Dave Belote is the commander at Nellis Air Force base. He gives them their orders: report to the base, where the Thunderbirds fly out of, and prepare a meal for 300. They'll be working in a single team with four hours to cook. But they won't find out their ingredients or cooking equipment til tomorrow. Michael V. is psyched, the V's younger sister is an airman in the Air Force.
The cheftestants head home and have a team meeting. Mike I. suggests Jennifer lead things because she has immunity and they work in teams of two to make seven dishes. Everybody pairs up and Jesse and Ron end up as the last two unpicked and Ron admits being nervous about the pairing.
They start early in the morning to have lunch ready by noon.
At the kitchen there is tons of canned food and hot dog buns and condiments and no stoves or pots, instead there are industrial sized cooking cauldrons.
Kevin divulges that he was in the ROTC in high school and has cooked in a military kitchen before.
They get to cooking.
Preeti says 9/11 made her want to be a chef.
Jen keeps a close watch on everyone.
Hector explains that hot food makes you sweat and cools you down, so his spicy chicken is a good idea.
Ash's father and brother were in the Navy, so he's trying to impress.
Preeti and Laurine are making farfalle pasta salad to have something vegetarian.
They all start worrying about the fact there's only one skillet. Ron mentions that Bryan and "Frenchie" need to use it to make bechamel.
Jen runs a tight ship and Ash is impressed with how she keeps on everything. At one point she tells Hector to stop talking and get cooking.
With one hour left, Jesse is waiting for the skillet that Mattin is still using.
Time runs out and it's time for a Gladware montage of Saran wrapping and tinfoiling.
They get driven to the hanger in a convoy, which Mike I. finds cool because it's like "going to war or something."
Jen shepherds things as they set up two buffet lines to feed everyone. Ash and Jen don't need to do anything to their bread pudding so they volunteer to help restock for others.
Preeti is worried about her pasta salad with Laurine is less fancy than everybody else's. Eli wonders why Ron is serving clam chowder in 150 degree heat. Mike V. refuses to pre-prep his food, insisting on making each dish as they're serving.
The judges and troops arrive.
The military folk include people who have just returned for overseas and some about to leave, along with some families. All the cheftestants talk about how honored they are to be cooking for the military.
The judges get their food. The Mikes made Greek salad with cucumbers, chickpeas, olive and olive oil-poached shrimp. Laurine and Preeti made pasta salad with broccoli, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Ron and Jesse made a New England-style clam chowder with roasted corn. Hector and Robin made a three bean chili with roasted chicken. Eli and Kevin made Georgia style braised pork shoulder and potato salad. The colonel is psyched to get some Southern food. Kevin says every man in his family before his generation served and he says it's important they get a nice time. The Mikes also made braised pork belly with a soy and mustard sauce and peanuts, served on lettuce leaves. Byran and Mattin made roasted beef strip loin with mushroom demi-glace and cauliflower gratin.
The diners rave and the judges are impressed they made it work. Tom thinks the strip is cooked well. Gail thinks Laurine and Preeti did a "half-job" and it's not very inspired. They like the chicken chili, and so do a lot of the airmen. Tom thinks the clam chowder is a little thick but good. Padma questions the chowder choice, but an airman from Boston is psyched.
Tom thinks the shrimp in the Greek salad is undercooked.
Ash and Ashley made chocolate bread pudding with peanut butter sauce. The colonel loves it. Mark Peel thinks it's a little dry and Gail thinks it's dense but good.
Dinner is done and the colonel tells them a little about the people they served, including a guy who got married three weeks ago and is shipping out in two weeks. The tells them they "delivered in the best sense of military accomplishment." They get rousing cheers.
Some of the chefs (including Ron and Robin) tear up and Ron calls it the best experience he's ever had in his career.
Back in the stew room, Padma comes for the Mikes and Eli and Kevin.
Judges' Table
Kevin cooked the pork and mentions his family does competition barbecue and he made it how they make it when they don't have time to do traditional bbq. Tom finds the Mike's use of slab bacon for pork "very cool." Mike V. says they sort of each did their own dish, with him taking pork and Mike I. taking Greek salad.
Mark Peel announces the winner as someone who presented a dish with great color, flavor and texture. Mike V. wins. He's excited this evens him up with his brother.
They're told to send out Preeti and Laurine and Mike I. is told to stay put. He's "livid" to be in the winner's bracket and loser's.
Tom notices that Mike seems pissed to be out there. He admits he is. He says he only made the salad because there was extra time and he was trying to help the team. Mark Peel says it was still his responsibility and it ended up bland. Mike I says he's made at himself more than anything.
Tom asks point blank who said "let's make pasta salad." Neither Laurine and Preeti remembers who suggested it. Laurine blames the lack of quality ingredients while Preeti defends it and claims it was better than a lot of the other dishes, specifically ragging on the clam chowder.
Padma asks Laurine why she didn't try to cook a winning dish. Laurine says she forgot about the competition, then realizes she's given a bad answer. "It was a bad answer, it was a bad dish, it was a bad idea," Tom says.
Peel asks them between the two of them, who's better. Neither woman answers. Tom says he's getting the sense that neither of them wants to win and they're just trying to get by.
They send them away.
Preeti and Laurine report to the chefs that the judges were trying to get them to turn against each other and they refused.
Back at Judges' Table, Tom says he'd be OK with any of them going. He's irritated that Preeti didn't know her dish was bad, but Gail is upset Laurine forgot it was a competition.
They rip Mike I for making a throwaway dish with unappealing shrimp.
On the chopping block
Tom recaps, saying for the most part the food was very good. But Preeti and Laurine's was "uninspired" - which he says at least Laurine got, but Preeti didn't.
And the knife packer is... Preeti.
She says: "I got to know the competition and the competition seems a lot stiffer than it's been in past seasons. I think I've really learned a little bit about what matters to me. At the end of the day I really want to please the customer and I don't think, what crazy cool thing can I make?....I don't have any regrets, I feel like I gave it my all...it reminds me how much I love what I do."
Next week: Tom announces they'll be cooking for some of the best French chefs in the world, however for the Quickfire the winner gets immunity, but the loser is going home.
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