- The competition is heating up as this week's challenge is based on the Bocuse d'Or - one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions founded by famed chef Paul Bocuse. His son, Jerome Bocuse, guest judges along with special guest, renowned American chef Thomas Keller.—Anonymous
- It's last challenge in Vegas time. Kevin, Jen, Eli and the Voltaggios remain of 17.
Eli mentions (again) that he's the youngest one there at 25 and then we learn that he's known season four runner-up Richard Blais since he was 17 and was the best man at his wedding.
Jen thinks she's been unfocused and is hoping to get it together.
Padma greets them in the kitchen with James Beard Rising Star chef winner Gavin Kaysen, who represented the U.S at the Bocuse d'Or, an international challenge in classical French cuisine.
Quickfire Challenge Make a protein inside a protein inside another protein. (Like a turducken, which is what Jen jokingly says that she is going to make.) The most common method is called a ballantine. It took him four months to perfect his Bocuse-winning dish. They have 90 minutes.
Padma says the winner will get a significant advantage.
Kevin sees what the V boys are doing and thinks they're over-aiming.
Kevin tells us that he and Eli knew each other before the competition, and he thinks they're "ballsy" for making home cooking on Top Chef.
Michael thinks that Jen has offered all she can.
Tasting time. Eli made a play on a Scotch egg: a bacon-crusted breakfast sausage with a six minute egg center.
Michael V. made a poultry terrine of chicken with turkey and bacon mousseline. Gavin pronounces it "Great." Jen went with calamari steak, scallops, salmon, shiitake, shiso with rice noodle salad.
Gavin asks why she choice seafood. She says it's her "stronger point." After tasting Padma smiles at her and says "welcome back."
Bryan V. made a rack of lamb with merguez sausage wrapped in caul fat. He served it with an array of sauces.
Kevin made cornmeal-fried fillet of catfish with scallop and shrimp.
Bryan thinks Kevin has "a little bit less finesse," but he says simplicity is OK if what you put out is done well.
Gavin says Kevin's was a little over-cooked. Kevin disagrees.
He liked Bryan's lamb. He liked Eli's concept. He calls Jen's a "successful dish." He thinks Michael's was a terrine of chicken (two poultries, which it was) and not a ballantine. In voice over, Michael says indignantly that Gavin didn't say to make a ballantine, but if he had, Michael's would have been as good as Gavin's Bocuse d'Or winner.
Gavin announces the winner: Jen.
Elimination Challenge Padma announces they'll be participating in a Top Chef version of the Bocuse d'Or, creating a "regal" presentation platter with one protein and two garnishes. Gavin says the garnishes have to use a lot of technique and method. As an example he cites taking zucchini and weaving it into a basket and putting something in that basket.
They have a choice of lamb or salmon and they'll be plating in front of the judges. Eli worries about the "elaborate decadence" of the challenge. They have four hours to cook tomorrow.
Padma tells Jen she gets an additional 30 minutes tomorrow. She freely admits she's slower than the guys and needs it.
And of course there's one more thing...they'll be cooking for 12 judges, including representatives of the American Bocuse d'Or team. One is the only American-chef to have simultaneously two restaurants with three Michelin stars: Thomas Keller.
Kevin says Keller's book "French Laundry" changed his life.
The criteria are taste, creativity and execution. Padma tells them every element must be perfection.
Off to Whole Foods. (Jen goes over her $300 budget.)
They get back to the house where everybody stays up to plan their dishes, except Michael, who goes right to bed.
Eli brings in a DVD of the competition Gavin gave them. It shows people cheering in a crowd, like at a soccer game.
Kevin asks how to cook sous vide, something he's never done before and Bryan helps, saying his brother might not have done the same.
The next day they're off to Alex in the Wynn.
The mood in the kitchen is quiet.
Eli is making sausage-wrapped lamb loin, carrot puree, tomato-piquillo canape.
Tom drops by the kitchen with Thomas Keller. Kevin is totally intimidated. Tom tells them they wouldn't have sprung the challenge if they didn't think they could handle it.
Michael feels confident because he's done culinary competitions before. He's making salmon with cauliflower chickpea tart and zucchini tzatziki.
Jen is making salmon and caviar, shrimp flan and truffle, celery root and shiitake.
Bryan knows he's pushing the envelope and is worried about finishing his braise in four hours when it typically takes ten. He's making crusted lamb loin, lamb shank, crepinette and orzo au gratin.
Kevin is sous vide-ing his poached lamb loin, sherry-glazed beet and asparagus in sunchoke cream.
Michael says "the food that Kevin cooks is the food I cook on my day off."
Tom comes by again. Kevin thinks Tom gives him funny looks when he describes what he's doing (which Tom does).
Tom tells us that he's not sure why Kevin is deviating from his usual game. He thinks Jen seems nervous. Tom thinks Eli needs to pay attention to the details.
Tom tells them he's adding more pressure: the winner will receive $30,000 from the M Resort. They all pause to contemplate the life-changing effects.
The diners arrive.
Kevin says he knows the challenge is partly about presentation, but he's not going to do that, instead he's going to present complex flavor in a simple presentation.
The judges for the challenge are Tom, Padma, Gail, Jerome Bocuse (the son of the competition founder) and a bunch of other culinary luminaries including Daniel Bouloud and Thomas Keller.
Kevin goes first. His food is pretty but not artistic. Daniel likes the lightness of the garnish. Thomas says it's a little "elementary" for the time he had.
Michael brings out his platter next. It's clean, geometric and pretty. Traci des Jardins, the chef of Jardiniere says the flavors were really "disparate." Tom asks where you find cauliflower and caviar in Mediterranean food, which is what Michael said he was going for.
Alex Stratta, the owner of the restaurant they cooked in, finds a small bone in his fish - an automatic killer in the real competition. Daniel thinks he had a "total lack of harmony" in his composition.
Bryan has four minutes left and is way behind, so Jen offers to help him plate (she says she's worried for him). He sees mistakes as he's taking the platter out.
Thomas Keller asks how he made his garlic chip and compliments the technique. Keller was impressed with the presentation but thinks the lamb was undercooked.
Eli presents his lamb. Jerome immediately says it's undercooked. Tom thinks it's poorly cut. Padma thinks the flavors are nice. Daniel thinks he had some good ideas but failed on his technical production.
Jen thinks her salmon is 98 percent there, which she's worried isn't enough. Traci thinks it isn't well thought out and her salmon is a little undercooked. Jerome says his is perfect. Padma calls it the "most intriguing visually."
The judges raise a glass and Gail says given that they only had 12 hours from start to finish, she's proud of them. Thomas Keller also says it's a great accomplishment.
The judges give the cheftestants a round of applause. Padma announces one more surprise: one of them will be awarded a spot to represent the U.S. at the 2011 Bocuse D'or. Kevin is beside himself.
Back in the kitchen, they clean up and Bryan mentions to his brother that it could be the last time they cook together.
In the stew room, Eli says he'd be proud to lose to any of them.
Padma calls for all of them at the final Vegas Judges' Table.
Tom asks Michael about his not quite Mediterranean food, saying parts of the dish were well done, but he didn't get the direction.
Jerome Bocuse tells Bryan parts of his lamb were underdone and that Kevin's was simple and Jen's salmon was cooked unevenly.
Gail tells Eli there were big pieces of fat in his sausage. Tom says the lamb was really undercooked.
Tom wraps up by saying he's had absolute pleasure watching each of them cook through the entire season and he has respect for all of them.
Back to the stew room, where Kevin kicks himself for not using enough technique.
The judges discuss. Padma thinks Eli's lamb was the worst, but Gail liked his sauces.
Tom thinks Kevin's would be dismissed immediately in a competition, but Jerome says that the fact it was cooked correctly would give him an advantage.
Tom thinks Michael showed a "tremendous amount of technique." Gail thinks his protein was perfect, but his garnish was weak. Padma reminds them of the bone.
Tom thinks Bryan's was on the bottom, but would win on technical merit if he'd cooked it right.
Verdict time.
Tom reminds them that the winner is in for the final on top of everything else.
Jerome announces the winner: Kevin. He looks like he's about to faint.
Jerome gives him a Bocuse d'Or jacket and some reading material. "I guess what Top Chef taught me was to trust my instincts," he says.
He goes back to the stew room to wait for his fellow finalists.
Tom says it's going to be hard to see one of them go, but he recaps their faults. He tells Eli they were impressed with the amount of work he put into his dish. He tells Jen they liked her flavor, but the cooking was uneven.
Tom tells Bryan the chefs applauded the work he put into his dish.
And the knife-packer is: Eli.
"I can stomach that I got this far. I'm not in a situation where I pooched it and went home early," he says. "The people who beat me I think are fantastic chefs so I don't harbor any negative feelings about it."
Tom tells Jen and the Vs that he knows it's hard for them, but they should be happy they're going to the finals. The finalists get choked up saying good bye to Eli.
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