- The chef'testants get crabby this week when the quickfire requires them to cook with mounds of D.C.'s most famous ingredient, the blue crab. For the elimination challenge, they go to a Virginian farm to cook with fresh ingredients.
- Tamesha tells us it's easy to talk to Angelo because she looks up to him. For his part, he's comfortable with her, because he's attracted to her and sees a lot of himself in her.
Kelly thinks Angelo is trying to influence Tamesha out of strategy. Meanwhile, Ed and Tiffany are enjoy each other on a New York level. (Sounds dirty, but isn't.)
Quickfire Challenge They're greeted by a creepy crawly display of crab along with James Beard Award-winner, Patrick O'Connell and Padma. Angelo overshares, telling us he had crabs, so it brings back bad memories.
Everyone gets to cooking.
Ed and Angelo work next to each other. Ed goes more Asian, Angelo goes less. Andrea has a hard time getting meat out of the blue crabs. Tamesha has never picked a crab before, because she was allergic at one point, so Angelo shows her how.
Tim, who's from Maryland, has no problem picking the crabs clean.
Padma calls time.
Tiffany presents hot and sour soup. Ed made jumbo lump crab with Thai bail. Angelo made crab broth with lemon grass and ginger. Tim made beer steamed crab with avocado and broth. Stephen made crab salad in bell peppers with brandy basil dressing. Tamesha made crab chowder with ginger and cardamom. Amanda made crab salad with ginger and juniper. Padma calls it "pungent." Kevin made blue crab chowder. Amanmda made crab salad with cirrus gastrique with chiles. Kenny made crab three ways with Korean crab bisque, crab bruschetta and crab with sesame. He thinks he's got it in the bag.
Patrick names the least favorite: Andrea's with potatoes overwhelming the crab. It's not news to her. Amanda's is knocked for her gelee and Kevin's is cited for confusion. Kevin notes that four challenges in a row that he's been on the bottom.
The best were: Ed, Kenny and Angelo. The winner is "the best that best showcased the taste of the crab": Ed. And the Kenny v. Angelo rivalry lives on. Ed gets immunity.
Elimination Challenge Padma tells them they're traveling to Virginia's first humane, organic farm to create a meal for 40 farmers. They'll be in one team, putting out six dishes, family style. They don't get to see the ingredients or cooking appliances until they get there the next day.
Back at the town house, they try to game plan. Kenny and Angelo immediately argue over whether they should be in teams or not.
Stephen suggest a fruit platter for dessert and is shot down.
They continue arguing over who's doing what. Kelly thinks Kenny is a great leader, "calm and fierce" but Angelo isn't.
They finally agree to work in their previous teams of two.
Tim is happy to be with Tiffany, but she's not happy to be with him. Ed isn't happy to be with Alex, but he's trying not to care because he has immunity. Tiffany and Ed would rather be together.
The next morning, they start early.
At the farm, they have 3 hours to cook. They immediately start claiming ingredients.
Kenny and Kevin are together. Kenny thinks Kevin isn't confident and he has to take over. Andrea is doing the pork loin and the sauce and she's freezing cold.
Tim is using the turnips, beet and asparagus. Kelly tries to bargain for some beets or turnips. Tiffany, his partner, lets him deal with it. Angelo is fired up by Tamesha's cherry compote and he tells us about cooking his duck slowly, saying he "made love to it."
All of a sudden, Tamesha drops most of her dish on the grass. Angelo wants to pick it up, but Kevin starts over.
Andrea worries the pork loin is too big to sear properly. She cuts it down.
Tim pulls his cauliflower out before he planned, calling it done.
While she has time, Kelly makes a strawberry/rhubarb crisp. Tim tells Stephen he thinks he might be over-salading.
The diners arrive (wearing scarves).
Tom doesn't think Amanda's soup had uniform pieces. Padma isn't a fan of Stephen's salad with balsamic onion, egg, apple and cabernet vinaigrette dressing. Tom is irritated that the lettuce is bruised.
They like Kenny and Kevin's curry couscous. Tim's turnips aren't impressive.
Tom says Tiffany's collard greens are undercooked. Andrea's five spiced rubbed pork gets raves from Eric Ripert, and Padma likes the roasted apples and beets with it.
Tom likes Angelos' duck. Eric thinks Ed's ratatouille isn't his fave.
They really like Kelly's dessert.
Back in the stew room, Andrea wishes her pork were cooked less. Pamda comes for Kevin, Kenny, Andrea and Kelly.
They had the best dishes. Kevin tells them about his cauliflower hitting the floor. Padma likes Kenny's curry, which Tom points out is high praise. Tom tells Andrea her sauce made the dish. Eric says he loved the dish. Padma appreciated they made a dessert.
And the winner is "a dish that is striking in its clarity", Kenny's curried eggplant. Tom reiterates that it stood out.
They go back for: Tim, Amanda and Stephen.
Tim is shocked to be on the bottom.
He tells the judges about changing his mind from a mousseline. Tom questions his additions to the dish.
Patrick tells Stephen serving his salad in a bowl was the worst way to serve it.
Eric questions leaving pasta out of her minnestrone and Tom asks why she didn't cut her veggies uniformly. Patrick calls it "amateurish" and "grandmotherly."
Tom doesn't like how Stephen's was presented. Eric doesn't think three hours of work was represented in Tim's plate. Eric is upset that Amanda's minnestrone didn't fit form.
On the chopping block. Tom recaps sins.
The knife packer is: Tim. (Bit of an upset? Talk amongst yourselves.)
"I'm disappointed that I lost a challenge today on turnips and potatoes. Wish I could have gone out on overcooking a piece of lamb or something....however, I'm blessed, I feel good, I'm going on vacation."
He thinks these aren't temporary friends and reminds everyone to salt and pepper.
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