- The chef'testants are tasked with making something out of nothing on the open water for this week's Quickfire.The chefs then head to Ellis Island where they are surprised with their family tree and are tasked with creating a dish based on their heritage.—Anonymous
- After the surprising departure of Dale, Richard is bummed that he's gone. He tells Tiffany she's invincible. At the bar after, Antonia calls her daughter and gets choked up.
Five remain.
Mike is reserving his celebration until the final four.
The next day in the loft, they try to guess what their next challenge could be. Richard just wants it to be under 50 plates. They're trying to figure out what they're waiting for.
"Is Padma coming here?" Antonia asks. Then Padma walks in and calls them up to the roof.
Antonia thinks they're going to have a Quickfire on the roof in which they have to base jump and fry and scramble an egg before they hit the ground.
Quickfire
Padma tells them they're taking a ferry to Ellis Island, where she and their guest judge will meet them.
They arrive on the ferry and there's a note waiting for them. They have to cook on-board with what they can find. There are hot dogs, ramen noodles, a nacho bar and fruit. So essentially they're cooking dorm food. They have from the moment the ship's horn blows until it blows again.
It sounds and they race for it.
There's no cooking equipment, no cutting equipment. Antonia sets about trying to make a grilled cheese on the hot dog griller. Richard goes for the hot dogs and just happens to have an MRE army ration bag with his knives. Of course he does. It automatically boils in a bag. Carla's trying to make an orange salad.
They keep looking out the portholes to figure out how much time they have. . Mike makes a soup out of pork rinds and hot dog bun bits. They start to pull in to dock. They jockey for the microwave. Time's up.
Mike's not happy with his. "I wouldn't serve that dish to my cat," he says.
Padma joins them with Dan Barber, the chef and owner of Blue Hill. He likes local and sustainable food, which Carla thinks is funny because they only had processed food.
Richard worked with him as his sous chef in his finale.
Richard serves a hot dog and beef jerky sandwich with jalapeno, pork rinds, lettuce and apple. Tiffany made nachos and popcorn with fruit. Mike mocks her. Mike serves his "peasant style soup" with bread, cheddar cheese and sour cream. Antonia enjoys how he tries to sell it. Carla serves her orange and papaya salad. Antonia made grilled raisin bread with munster.
Dan announces his findings. He didn't like Tiffany's ("too much like a throwaway"). He thought Richard's was tasty and creative. He says Mike's should have "sunk the ship." Dan calls Antonia's technique "smart" and Carla's salad "innovative." The winner is Carla.
Richard scowls. "I'm a little bitter about it. It was sliced oranges with some candy on top. I don't get it," he says.
Elimination Challenge
They're supposed to make a dish based on their ancestry. Padma announces they hired a genealogist who researched each of them. There are special guests to help them go through the documents.
They don't recognize all of them at first, then Carla sees her husband. Tiffany gets her mom and immediately bursts into tears.
Antonia also gets her mom, so does Mike, who says he hasn't seen his mom is like six months. Richard gets his five-months pregnant wife.
They sit down to go over the ancestral findings.
Richard can't stop rubbing his wife's belly. He mentions his mom died two months ago. Richard learns he's mostly Irish and his family is from Worcestershire and he has a chemist in his family.
Tiffany's mom suggests okra. At first she shies away because she know Tom doesn't like okra, then she decides to go for it.
Carla learns her ancestor was in the Civil War, among the last slaves to be freed. Another owned a business. Carla tells her hubby she did horribly on the Southern food challenge.
Mike reads that he's pure Italian. His mom raised him alone. He doesn't cook Italian food because his grandmother died when he was a kid and it reminds him of her.
Antonia reads that she's ¾ Italian and one-quarter Jewish. She finds that Mike is her long-distance relative from Sicily. "My crazy arch-nemesis is my relative," she realizes.
They head off to shop.
Back at the loft, Mike and Antonia are feeling the familial bond. They look through old family pictures and find one of five-year-old Mike in spandex in a dance show. "That's my cousin. Go, Mikey," Antonia says.
The next day, they wake up to find a DVD and keys. They hop into a Toyota Highlander hybrid to watch Padma on the DVD -- she tells them the winner of the challenge gets the SUV.
They head to their restaurant to cook. Carla is making braised pork shoulder with fried grits and biscuits. She's using liquid nitrogen.
Tiffany is making braised short ribs, oxtail marmalade, stewed okra and rice.
Antonia is making braised veal with risotto. She mentions her dad just had more radiation for prostate cancer.
Richard is making braised short rib with fried bone marrow, corn puree and pickled "glass worts" also known as sea beans.
Carla checks her biscuits but the oven doesn't seem to be on.
Mike is now rooting for Antonia, who feels confident about her dish.
The diners arrive, including everyone's family member.
Mike serves pork ragu, potato gnocchi with burrata cheese. Tom tells his mom Mike's had a lot of problems with gnocchi but this one's good. Mom says he topped grandma.
Antonia's mom says they had a restaurant in Beverly Hills when she was a kid. She serves her veal.
Mike's mom likes it. Tom says it's "packed with flavor."
Tiffany serves her braised short rib with mustard greens cooked in pig feet and stewed okra. Tiffany's mom says she used to make it. Tom says Tiffany made okra that he likes.
Richard is super nervous cooking for his wife, who he says is more competitive than him. Richard explains he's honoring his Irish heritage with a steak and potatoes theme.
Carla's husband says they met on Match.com and married eight months later.
Carla doesn't think hers look as pretty as she wanted.
In the kitchen they graze on each other's food. Antonia likes Carla's grits and biscuits. Richard thinks they're all good.
Carla serves. Mike's mom has grits for the first time. Dan likes that Carla used a shoulder of pork. Her husband Matthew explains that Carla likes to create food memories. Tom worries about judges' table. Gail says it's up in the air.
After dining, they applaud the chefs. The cheftestant's families give them a recap of how their food went over. Richard's wife assures him he's safe. Mike's mom thinks Mike should win.
Back in the stew room, they share a champagne toast. They report what their families said.
Padma comes for everyone.
Judges' Table
Gail tells Carla she loved her broth and biscuits. Dan compliments the pork. Tom says the corn was a bit tough. Carla says she used liquid nitrogen on the grits. Tom says it worked together.
Dan compliments Richard's thoughtfulness. Tom says it was very well thought out.
Padma says she was courageous to serve risotto. Gail says it was perfect.
Tiffany waits to hear Tom says he liked the okra and it wasn't slimy.
Gail tells Mike his was "soulful and satisfying." They commend him for listening to his mom. Mike gets choked up. He explains he never cooked Italian. Gail says he did his grandmother proud.
Padma sends them away.
The judges discuss. Tom loved the risotto. Gail says the veal alone was a hair salty. Tom thought Mikes was delicious. Dan says he could have used less meat. Tom loved the sea beans on Richard's. Tom says Carla's broth was great but the garnish got lost. Tom says there were five really, really great dishes.
Verdict Time
The winner of the challenge and the SUV is: Antonia.
Padma gives her the keys. She's in the final, which will take place in the Bahamas.
Tom immediately tells Mike he's safe and will be moving on. Richard looks like he's going to puke.
The cousins hug it out in the stew room.
Tom recaps, but has nothing negative to say about anyone.
"Richard, please pack your knives..." Padma says. "....You're going to the Bahamas."
He almost passes out. "Why would you...?" he says, then stops himself and manages a thanks.
Padma says both Carla and Tiffany's names. They're both going. They couldn't decide.
Back in the stew room the ladies walk in serious then jump up and down.
There's lot of screaming and yelling.
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