The Taste (2013) s01e04 Episode Script

Last week Two cooks were sent home.
This was not your night.
You're just not ready for this, my friend.
Renatta, we're gonna have to say good-bye to you.
Tonight, the heat continues to rise.
Come on, baby! - Have a glass of wine.
- Cheers.
Yeah, we're gonna be cracking another bottle.
One cook will win immunity That was sexy.
This is crazy.
- Ugh.
- Goes well with the wine.
Two cooks will be sent home.
It was an unpleasant mouthful of food for me.
Just cook some (bleep) good food.
That's it.
Welcome, fellow cooks.
And congratulations on surviving the first cut.
Just 14 of you remain in the competition, all hoping to become the winner of The Taste and walk away with $100,000 provided by Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise and the all-new 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid.
The only thing that can make delicious food even better is the right glass of wine.
So for today's team taste test, you'll be working with daring pairings, choosing the right combination of food and wine.
Judging today is sommelier Andre Mack and chef David Kinch.
For today's team tasting, you must create a perfect pairing to eat with Alamos Malbec.
This is a full-bodied, rich style wine.
You must create a dish involving at least one of five secret ingredients, individually selected by us for our respective teams' kitchens.
All of you must prepare one spoon for each of our guest mentors, but each kitchen will choose only one spoon to be tasted blind by David and Andre.
The cook who prepares the spoon that David and Andre like best wins immunity, meaning they cannot be sent home tonight.
But the team that wins gets the benefit of David and Andre's assistance in the kitchen later, a big edge.
Let's get cooking.
Each mentor got to select five ingredients for their team.
Ooh! Go, Team Gold.
Think at all times of the wine and just keep it in your head.
Have an idea.
And we don't want the wine to taste too acidic in contrast, okay? Pairing food and wine, even though it sounds simple enough, um, it's really not.
Oh, yes.
Oh, my God.
That's a Michelin Two-Star chef up there.
He likes clean, big flavors.
We want David and Andre in our kitchen.
I mean, you get to learn from a Michelin Two-Star chef, you know? I felt really good with our five items.
Um, and we only had to use one.
But I was excited to see figs.
I wasn't exactly stoked.
I looked over at Tony's ingredients, and it was a big pile of meat, and I kind of wanted to be over there for a minute.
Getting immunity, it really could have helped me out.
This is a very robust and forgiving Argentinean wine.
It can really take a kicking.
My recommendation would be to stay in the neighborhood of Argentina.
Big hunks of robust meat, strong flavors.
Let 'em know what they're eating.
That's not what I wanna cook right now.
David is one of the best chefs in the world.
If you don't know anything about wine, you are in a very bad place.
Uh, David Kinch is a great friend of mine.
I know him very, very well.
I know what he likes.
Cook your protein perfectly.
I'm not a wine connoisseur by any, you know, sense of the word, but I'm excited about the opportunity to learn from Ludo about it.
Cheers, guys.
Cheers.
I have no strategy.
Just cook some (bleep) good food.
That's it.
All right.
Let's do it.
Come on, baby! So I'm looking at these ingredients, and I'm thinking, "What am I gonna do with these things"? I've never seen them before.
But it's really important to me to win immunity.
No, no.
Let me show you.
Let me show you.
You just Do your dish, please.
My strategy is only to help Sarah, because she was the weakest link.
And, you know, she's a home cook.
Take it like this.
Like this.
Take one charcoal.
Go, Sarah.
Go, go.
Chop it! Chop it.
Break it.
Harder, okay? Ludo's definitely spending most of his time with Sarah.
He is definitely, uh mentoring her.
Cooking is about to be gentle, not aggressive.
- You need to feel it.
Are you feel it? - I feel it.
So you have your sauce, you have your lamb Mushroom, good.
Gonna garnish it with a little bit of the, uh, mushroom.
And then a little bit of the berry that's come inside there on top of it.
I'm making a crusted lamb loin, little bit of rosemary, mint, thyme, a little bit of fennel, a little bit of pink peppercorn.
The fact that I was in the bottom four last time, I I definitely want this immunity.
So what do you have on your plate? You have the, uh, Asian baba ghanoush? So I'm gonna cook a five-spice and bonito flake-crusted short rib.
It's very basic, very simple cooking.
You know what we should put over there? I mean, just me, but maybe a little touch of smokiness.
- Yeah.
Great idea, chef.
Thank you.
- You know? Guys, make sure to taste what you're doing! Have a glass of wine and taste it! I'm feeling really good about my team.
I'm worried about sustaining.
I don't want to lose anybody yet.
I don't want to lose anybody ever.
So what's the plan? A Mexican-influenced dish with a chocolate, uh, molé, roasted, uh, poblano chilies, little bit of chorizo, and, like, a blackberry salsa.
- Lot going on there.
- I know.
You're confident? No, I don't have to ask that.
It's not Anthony's kitchen.
It's my kitchen.
45 minutes.
I'm making a Thai beef salad, because it pairs really well with the Malbec that we had today.
What are you doing to that thing? What's your plan? I'm gonna marinate the steak.
So I'm gonna use a vacuum sealer.
I feel most passionate about Uno.
Anyone who goes head-to-head with her is, uh, likely to find themselves in trouble.
Hopefully no one else is using steak.
I feel kind of selfish right now.
You're always about you.
Are you scared? I'm so scared.
Uno has a very distinct way of cooking, and it's always Asian.
And eventually, that's just gonna get tired.
I like you That you drink while you're, uh, while you're cooking.
Let Let this be an example.
How you feelin' about your, uh, uh About your spoon? I like it.
Well, I like it, too.
Okay.
- Whoa.
Whoa.
- Whoa, cowboy.
Where you going? - Hello.
- Hello.
Just Just looking around.
Just Just paying a visit.
Hi, guys.
How How goes it? Hey, what's going on? Hello.
Mmm.
Guys, when you do it right, when you do it not right Uh, that's nice.
Uh Bonito, eh? Drinking, cooking You know, I don't know what's gonna be at our next door.
May I? That chocolate is problematic for me.
The The sweetness.
- Really? - Bitter chocolate would work.
You know, super dark, bitter chocolate.
I just don't It's not like I don't like the dish, - I don't like the chocolate chocolate.
- I understand.
I'm just telling you what I think.
All right.
Well, tell me how you feel about the chocolate.
That's (bleep) money.
My star right now is Jeff, hands-down.
You guys tasted his? He's got the seared steak, the burnt fig and wine reduction with the bone marrow.
I'm not 100% trusting with Jeff.
Him and Malarkey are very, very close, so I have to play it safe, too.
Going for the filets and, uh, the figs just to top it off.
What do you think? Ooh! I like that.
Just a little, uh, red wine-braised, uh, bone marrow, with, uh, you know.
See? See? See? Come on.
I'm liking this.
I'm liking this.
I'm liking this.
In terms of confidence levels, my kitchen is not as strong.
It is sad that our teammate had to leave us and we're now down to three.
No, leave that for a while.
Make your marinade up first.
All right.
Okay.
I'm making a harissa seared lamb chop with crispy lemon zest goat cheese balls.
I Oh, my God, - it's I love it.
I love it.
- Okay.
- Whoo! We love to hear that.
- I'd put a teeny bit of salt.
- A teeny little bit of salt.
- A teeny bit of salt.
Okay.
Tell me what you're thinking and what you're doing.
Well, I cooked off a piece of the lamb.
Huda knows how to deliver food.
And I just want her to do it.
And then I was gonna put a A bit of mint actually in the meatball.
So that way, you get the nice flavors with the fragrance.
I love that.
I love that.
You know, those little lamb meatballs will be so good with the wine.
Now remember, ladies, you've all gotta taste each others'.
Works with the wine for me.
- Okay, now has everybody tasted everybody's? - Yes.
What do we think? I liked yours, you know? A lot.
I want immunity more than ever on this challenge.
I want Ludo to pick my spoon.
I like it, but it is too sweet.
The spoon decision moment is generally all about ego.
"Mine's the best.
" "Mine should go forward.
" Me, me, me.
I personally vote for mine based on what I think you would like, but - You didn't try mine yet.
- Oh, yeah.
I think Gregg just comes off as a (bleep).
The other contestants here are insanely talented, and I feel a lot of pressure to perform.
Lauren wants to win.
She's like a fresh young plant, just drinking up the sun and the rain.
We should cut into this one, right? I need to have the best spoon.
I need that immunity.
I'm thinking hers still had a wonderful flavor - to keep in with the wine.
- Yeah.
- Nobody's doing anything like it.
- Yeah.
- And we go with my dish.
- Awesome! May I start around you? It's like a good neighbor.
Uno's dish was great.
But did it pair with the Malbec? Not so much.
I think that my dish had the best pairing with the wine.
I won't take a risk.
I mean, I think it's too spicy for the Over there.
Flavor? This one is better.
Okay, listen to me, guys.
Plate yours.
Plate yours.
Plate your spoon.
Gregg's just tasted like wet wood.
My spoon was the strongest.
I'm just glad that Ludo stepped up and allowed the the best dish to go forward.
It didn't explode in my mouth.
It didn't have any "wow" factor.
I think we should go with that one.
Nigella thinks that my spoon should go up, so of course I'm thrilled.
Quickly, put a teeny bit of I think a bit of cilantro, too.
All right, switch it out.
Who's up? We want those guys on our team for an individual challenge.
Somme and a chef for a wine pairing challenge? That's invaluable.
This is never gonna be easy over here.
Okay, since you went the last time, maybe we should take turns.
I think my dish spoke to David's palate a little bit more.
But I'm not gonna make an argument with everybody.
I think this is the perfect pairing right there.
I think that there's too much fat going on.
I think that those sauces clash.
We went in this as a team.
I fought for the better dish, and mine was the better dish.
It's a simple as that.
The pairing This is the best pairing right here.
It just gets lost.
All you taste is bits and some paste, and it just coats your mouth in a funky way.
Chef, make the call, please.
Chef, make the call.
We gotta go.
Okay, we gotta go, man.
I mean, chef, make the call.
We gotta go.
Chef.
Chef, make the call, please.
Chef, make the call.
We gotta go.
- Get a plate, Adam.
- What? Adam's plating.
Adam's plating.
Brian stepped up and really backed my dish.
It was just the perfect thing to go with that Malbec.
- Good job.
- Whoo! Cheers, guys.
I put Adam up.
You got next time.
I put Adam on the board, but Khristianne - is shooting me some evil glares.
- I'm over this.
Khristianne Her dish was crap.
It's as simple as that.
Go, Team Green.
Team Green! Whatever.
Any amateur cook could have done better.
I think I think we've got a really good contender.
Erica's spoon was put forward.
There was certainly an argument for going with Huda, but it was about the pairing.
This is a big deal for me because Ludo saw something great in my dish.
So I choose Gregg because I want him to just shut up his mouth.
Very Tres distingue.
We were looking for a strategy to win.
We were looking to sneak in under the wire with something markedly different.
Good luck.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I'm thinking, please pick my spoon.
I just need that immunity.
Well, it's got a pretty good flavor.
- Balance is pretty good.
- Little bit of bitter in the background.
- What do you think that tang is? - Is that lamb? If it's lamb, it's got, like, something tangy.
It's like some cheese.
It's definitely got some acid to it.
I'm feeling confident about what I made.
I'm definitely sure this is the spoon that's getting immunity.
That one's a lot different than the first one.
This is a soy sauce or something? Maybe a little little bit less obvious, you know, with the red wine match.
Very well balanced seasoning in that one.
- All right.
Yeah.
- Let's get the next one.
It's nerve-racking.
The whole team's fate hangs in the balance based on your spoon.
It's got some spice on that one.
It's cooling it down, the cucumber.
It's cooling kind of has a cooling element on my palate.
And it's reminiscent of a chimichurri.
Yeah.
No, totally.
(Bleep).
Next, please.
You know, I really felt really strong about my dish.
I've done the wine pairings.
I worked really hard on that dish.
I built flavor.
I I went through like four different pans just on one sauce.
Really sweet.
And he says the one word.
I hear "sweet.
" And I'm like ugh.
Sweet, but a little bit foiled, I think, uh, by the by that bleu cheese.
It was really pungent cheese.
There is, like, a steak saucey kind of character to that.
It's pretty rich.
It's very rich.
What do you think? I mean All right.
Somebody kept saying I have only three people left, so I really want to win.
Okay.
Okay.
Close decision.
We have one.
Yeah.
I believe so.
And the winner is Ludo.
- Yeah! - Go, guy! Thank you.
You know, I'm not a sore loser, but Gregg has a tiny tad bit of arrogance.
I'm not surprised, because my dish came out amazing.
It was awesome.
Congratulations.
Oh, Gregg.
"I'm so great.
I am a cooking God.
" Ugh.
He's just someone that I wanna hit all the time.
This axis of evil that we're talking about here, you know, Ludo, Gregg, and David I'm not happy.
Andre, David, please go and join Ludo's winning kitchen.
Thank you.
Well, congratulations, Gregg.
You are immune from being sent home after the solo taste test.
But I'm afraid you're not all so lucky.
Tonight we are gonna send two of you home.
For tonight's solo taste test, we're urging you to think outside of the box by creating food and wine pairings involving one of four different wine styles Choose your wine carefully and present us with the most compelling combination you can.
Since the four of us are gonna be tasting this thing blind, we've gotta get out of here.
- You have one hour.
- Good luck.
It's a little nerve-racking, because, you know, two people go home.
I'm going with, uh, I decided to go Chardonnay.
I mean, I'm thinking seafood.
We got the Dungeness crab.
I'm going after a little, uh, kind of a traditional bouillabaisse.
So I'm gonna make a lemon, um, zabaione, uh, with some fresh berries.
I'm gonna incorporate some of the German Riesling.
I figure that most people will go for the Chardonnay, because it's easier to pair with things.
I know that I'm not great with wine, so it's a gamble on my part, 'cause I think I'm probably the only person picking this wine.
- What's your game plan? - I'm using the Chardonnay.
I'm doing a vanilla bean-poached Chilean sea bass with a goat cheese and pine nut, uh, ravioli with a sweet pea puree and artichoke salad.
Now artichokes tend to be un-wine-friendly.
They taste great, but sometimes they make wines taste really tinny and makes everything sweet.
It's actually been shaved very thin, raw.
It's gonna be good.
Being in bottom four last week was rough, you know? Made me realize that I really wanna be in this competition.
I'm not gonna be in the bottom ever again.
Is that a lot of vanilla bean there? - It is.
- Pretty strong? - But it usually tends to work pretty good.
- Okay.
I am making a pork shoulder braised in cream and lemon and sage with a smoked, uh, tomato jam.
I thought I'd go for duck Robust, bold, spicy, just like me.
I'm hoping to get another star Or two Or maybe three.
I'm doing a poached salmon with curry beurre blanc and a little clam salad.
- How's it going? - I don't know.
You know, I don't know too, too much about wine.
What do you think? How long is it gonna cook your fish? Does it take to cook your fish? Um, I don't know, because I think we're gonna do something new that I haven't tried.
So you're going out on a limb.
You're gonna do something you haven't tried before? - Yeah.
Why not? - All right.
- But this is a a challenge - I'm a home cook, so It's a challenge that you can be eliminated from.
- I know.
- Okay.
That's gonna be bolognese? Yes, chef, for the Barolo, I'm gonna make fresh tagliolini.
- You're gonna make pasta in an hour? - Yes, chef.
Holy cow.
This is big.
I am making an orange miso-glazed sea bass.
To kind of go with the sweet, I thought I'd do, like, a savory noodle of some sort.
So maybe I'm thinking like an udon noodle, so I wanna try to pair something that was gonna pair with Chardonnay.
A lot more people went with the, uh, Chardonnay.
Well, it's easier.
I was gonna do rack of lamb, seared and roasted with, um, broiled in almonds and bacon after it comes out.
David Kinch tells me that he wants me to start the lamb at, like, 27 or 28 minutes left on the clock.
Don't Don't turn it up.
- Don't turn it up.
You gotta trust me on this.
- Are you sure sure? You know what, David? There's a time limit here, so you have to marry those two things together.
It's just too rare, chef.
- Keep telling you, you're fine.
- Oui, chef.
- You seem really worried.
- I am really worried.
I'm making a potato gratin with fennel, leeks, and a little bit of duck fat.
It's being braised with a cherry red wine sauce and some, uh, blood sausage, boudin noir, and a quail egg on top.
I have a lot of pressure on me.
I've set the bar super high with those two gold stars last week, and now I have to really I have to If not hit that same level, I have to beat it.
I'm feeling really good about this one.
This is game on.
I am not losing.
I need to have the best spoon.
I'm here to win 100%.
This is my best spoon yet.
Those gold stars are mine.
Tonight's Hellmann's Blue Ribbon moment, where Huda brings out the best in her dish.
I was gonna put a bit of mint actually in the meatball.
Well, mint is great.
Very nice.
- Mmm! - Yeah, it should be very good.
I'm excited.
To celebrate Hellmann's 100th birthday, we have asked you to submit your blue ribbon recipe, using Hellmann's as the key ingredient.
And I'm here with Nick, who's used Hellmann's to take his lobster sliders from good to the best.
Why is this the winning dish? Perfect for a Sunday afternoon brunch.
It's lobster, celery, all mixed in with Hellmann's.
- It brings out the creaminess.
- I love it! For full details, visit ABC.
com/thetaste.
Team, 9 minutes, 44 seconds.
Oven's (bleep) sucking.
Whoo! Oh, fire.
Now you're cooking with fire.
Clean your station.
Clean everything up so all you have to worry about - is finishing and presentation.
- Got it.
Okay.
I'm freaking out.
Shoot.
How do you think the sauce turned out? - Honestly? - Yes.
Bangin'.
Five minutes to go.
Just make sure everything's perfect.
I pull my lamb out of the oven.
It's just about as raw as it went in.
Come on, baby.
Oh, my gosh.
Cilantro, cilantro.
Where'd my cilantro go? I'm hoping this is a winning spoon.
Ohh.
- We taste every spoon.
- We have no idea who cooked it or what we are eating.
Each mentor must select which spoon was our best taste Yes! That's my girl.
And more importantly, our worst taste to put in the bottom four.
- Whoa! - Oh, this is just unbelievable.
We ready for this? This is our California Chardonnay.
This dish is a perfect foil for the Chardonnay.
I love the I love the burnt cauliflower or the charred cauliflower.
It's too much acidity in that for me.
I think it was a big mess in the spoon.
A big mess, but when I drink the wine, I like it.
It's a Barolo? I have immunity.
At this point, I really just want their respect.
It's a fantastic pairing with the wine.
It's subtle, and I made that pasta by hand.
What do we have here? Did I just have a bolognese? Is that wine bolognese? Who goes Barolo and says "Pair it with bolognese"? Um Too obvious.
(Bleep).
What I really appreciated It wasn't drowned in sauce.
Not bad for a one-hour bolognese.
I am pairing Chardonnay with a miso-orange sea bass with some udon noodles.
Somebody made pasta today, and somebody else did not make pasta today.
Ugh.
This is not going well.
- I don't love the dish.
I don't I - But it goes with the wine.
- It's okay with the wine.
- Pairing's good.
I love the citrus with this wine.
But you almost use the wine to get the taste out of your mouth.
Oh, God.
The Napa Chard is kind of bright, crisper style, and so I thought seafood, and I went for it.
Seafood is a bit overcooked to me.
- I love the dish.
- I like the dish also.
That's what I could eat a bowl of.
I thought that was great.
I want a crust of bread and mop it around in there.
I'm okay with this dish.
I don't know.
It needs a teeny bit more balance for me.
I'm pretty experienced with wines, so I've chosen the cotes du rhone with a boudin noir a blood sausage.
I think I have this in the bag.
Mmm.
- Blood pudding.
- I love that dish.
Yeah, but you know what my problem, Tony? You have no way you can do a blood pudding in one hour.
So somebody used a sausage that was already made, - so that's not fair.
- What do you mean? So chorizo - They don't make their own chorizo? - Yeah, but listen They're not curing their own ham? The boudin noir, the blood sausage, was the main protein here.
- That's not fair.
- That is a completely unsensible point of view.
I'm not gonna give you the legion d'honneur for this dish, okay? But I'm pretty happy about it, all right? And it goes well with the wine.
I definitely want to impress again.
Poached salmon with a little clam salad and, um, curry beurre blanc.
- Ugh! - Loses the shellfish - Salmon was not right.
- Oh, my God.
- No.
- Hate it.
Wow.
Not my proudest moment.
She told me, "I didn't season my salmon.
" - It's okay.
- Farmed salmon with no seasoning probably tastes a lot like cat food.
Well, at least her or him cooked the dish, you know? We're doing this We're gotta So I give a better note to that than to the blood pudding.
I think I'm gonna be on the bottom one with this lamb.
I think it was just too undercooked.
I mean, it was beyond rare.
It was blue.
- Quite a bit chewy.
- I'm 100% sure I'm going home.
I mean, it's sort of classic.
And with a wine like this, it's a big dish.
- Yes, oh, it is.
- It's a classic - Classic French.
- Yeah.
I'd be very happy with that.
Yeah.
Dad is a very talented, talented man.
Once again, Chardonnay? - Chardonnay.
- Representing the great state of California.
- I want this badly.
- I want to make Anthony proud.
Is it duck again? - I don't know what the (bleep) is going on here.
- Crap.
- Huh? What's going on here? - A lot.
- Chicken and Chardonnay? - It's the chicken and the egg.
It's the chicken or the egg.
Get it? I didn't think that far.
I think this dish is very, um intellectuelle.
- Intellectuelle.
- Mm, pseudo.
Let me finish.
Can I I agree with Ludo.
I agree with what Ludo has not said yet.
- I agree with that.
- I cannot say nothing, Nigella.
You always cut me, you know? I think the dish is very intellectuelle.
It makes you think a lot.
I don't know what to think, but after thinking, I say, why not? Why not chicken, egg, with Chardonnay? I am making a very dangerous, risky dish.
I'm going sweet, so it's a gamble on my part.
Oh, it's a very sweet Riesling, isn't it? Ooh.
I would never pick this one.
I don't like to drink sweet wine with dessert.
I don't like it.
"I don't like sweet wine.
" "No, I don't like sweet wine either.
" - Ooh.
- That's sweet on sweet.
Yeah, sweet on sweet.
C'est ne pas.
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet.
Ugh! I am feeling super confident.
Pretty much in my head I'm guaranteed that I'm gonna be one of the top.
I made a pork shoulder braised in cream and sage and lemon zest.
That's going to match really, really well with the wine.
I'm enjoying this.
That had really good flavor, but it was horrendous-looking.
Even though I'm not a big wine connoisseur, I don't feel like I'm at a disadvantage because I know I have a palate.
This Chardonnay is gonna be great for Dover sole.
- Pea puree.
- Peas.
Sweet.
C'est ne pas.
Don't work at all.
I feel transported back to 1986.
I can remember my hairstyle.
- It works with this.
- It does.
- So, yeah, there goes Yeah.
- It works with this well.
I feel like I have a lot to prove right now.
I'm not 100% confident in my food, but I'm not gonna be in the bottom today.
Yeah, this is simple, but it's good.
Maybe a little bit more salt, but Hey, look, it hit the cotes du rhone - Hit it.
Hit it.
Hit it.
Hit it.
Hit it.
- Right in the zone.
It's good, yeah.
The fig and beef combination were absolutely wonderful.
- Yeah.
- They were very good.
This is the Barolo.
The Barolo really had that punch and the boldness.
Full-bodied, you get woodsy.
You get cherry notes.
- Mm.
- The puree was parsnip? - Yep.
- I think it's parsnip in there.
- And it was delicious.
- I thought that was sexy.
I think, yeah, it goes great with the wine.
- That was a beautiful pairing.
- Yeah, I could do with another one of those.
We are back to the Chardonnay.
Vanilla bean-steamed Chilean seabass with a, uh, goat cheese and pine nut ravioli.
It's crisp.
It has some oak to it.
I felt pretty confident going into it.
- Ugh! - Goat cheese.
- Vanilla.
- Somebody put fish and goat cheese and vanilla? - I call it.
I taste it.
- No.
Who would do that? - Who's Who'd do goat cheese and fish? - Right here.
Right here.
- He's just getting more - This is ridiculous.
I mean, if somebody did that from my team - Go home.
- Oh.
Oh.
One more note.
- Go home.
- If this was from Ludo's team - I mean, fish, goat cheese? - He will personally send you home.
Fish? Goat cheese? No.
Shawn's pissed right now, dude.
- He left? - He's not even here.
He's pissed.
What's up, papa? I'm I'm I'm thinking about leaving.
I mean, I This is I don't get it.
I don't I don't I don't Really, I don't understand it.
You know what I'm saying? My thing is that I don't I'm I need to figure out would I want to go here or just be I mean, just say, "Thank you very much.
I appreciate it," and walk away.
Don't walk away because you know what? You've come this far.
You're very proud.
You're very good at what you do.
And you have that right to have a voice to say exactly how you feel without taking them down bloody style.
I think we all know that at this point, anybody can go home.
I don't even have strong suspicions of who did what, really.
It's gonna be a big surprise to me when we, uh, see who's behind the doors.
- All right.
- Let's take a look.
The six of you cooked our best and worst dishes.
Of course, we still have no idea who cooked what.
I feel confident.
I am so I I feel very confident with her being here, so I can't believe either of my two are in the bottom.
I know what they can do.
One of you guys cooked me my least favorite And one of you cooked what I thought was the best.
- Oh, what's gonna happen? - What's gonna happen? Ooh.
Nice.
Well played.
Well played! I'm feeling better.
I'm not.
Nice play.
Feels good to pick your own, huh? Let's see who cooked my best one Oh, nice.
You got two chances to get one of them.
And, my, uh, worst one.
(Bleep).
Yeah! Oh, shut up.
That's gotta hurt.
I'm just very surprised to see Sarah over there.
I mean, I did not like this dish at all of Sarah.
Very, very sad.
C'est la vie.
I'm very excited to see a star above Khristianne over here.
Definitely two contrasting dishes.
So let's see how it played out here.
And that's ka-ching.
Thank you.
I love your food, and I'm so proud to have you - on my team.
- Thank you, chef.
I'm just boom.
Ready, guys? - Oh, my.
- Tony.
Well, you don't want to look away, Shawn.
Hmm.
Huda, Sarah, Shawn, Erika, you are our bottom four.
But before we decide what to do, in your cases, let's talk about the dishes we got from the two winners.
Khristianne, you wanna tell us a little about what you made? I made a duck two ways.
Underneath actually the duck breast is a braised duck leg, and I braised it in some of the Barolo.
Let me ask you something.
No, you cannot have her come join your team, Ludo.
Sorry.
He don't know nothing about French food, this one.
- Oh.
- Because that is so French.
- You try to please me? - Maybe.
This dish pleases everyone.
This dish is really good.
Thank you.
Ninamarie, could you tell us, uh, about your dish? It is, um, braised pork shoulder, braised with cream, lemon zest, um, sage.
- Beautiful.
It was beautiful.
- Ah, beautiful.
Nice.
- Thank you.
- I'm very surprised to see a woman cooking that.
I'll be honest with you.
For me, it's more - No, it's more masculine.
There's smokiness.
- Yeah.
It made me think about more about the guys.
I do tend to cook a little on the masculine side.
- What does that mean? - I don't know what it means.
She's challenging your sexist preconceptions, man.
Congratulations, Tony.
You and I both took our own person, and congratulations to you, Ludo, for picking my team member.
Very excited about that.
Yes.
Good job, guys.
So Who got the gold star? - Two and two.
- Two and two! - Oh, congratulations! - Thank you.
Huda, Shawn, Sarah, Erika, you are our bottom four.
Two of you will be going home tonight.
Huda, Shawn, Sarah, Erika, you are our bottom four.
Before we make any decisions on who to save and who to send home, let's take a look at, uh, what you made us.
Huda, you wanna talk about your dish a little bit, please? Absolutely.
So I made a lemon zabaione, and then I was mindful of the fact that you guys didn't like sweet on sweet, so that's why I paired it with the tart berries.
When you explain it, I get it.
I did think at the time, the blackberry and the lemon zest - did save it and did give it the sharpness.
- Oh, no, not at all.
Not at all.
It did not save it.
I mean, it's so sweet.
It's so sweet.
I mean The dessert itself was pleasant.
It was a very unfortunate, uh, wine pairing.
- When you see the dish the way it played - He's got two down here, so he's gonna argue real hard against you.
Next time, Riesling like this, you might wanna think about a big boiled, you know, hunk of pork, some sausages, and some pickled cabbage.
You know, some Sauerkraut.
Erika, your Your dish was my least favorite.
Can you tell us a little bit what What was going on here? Um, well, it's a miso and orange-glazed seabass, with on sesame udon noodles.
Chilean sea bass, you mean.
Between me and Chilean sea bass, there is no love.
Let's put it that way.
Please be advised in future, if there is a future.
It was just very one-dimensional to me.
It was not far off from the pairing, but you're missing a little bit of something spicy, a little.
Shawn, if I can just talk to you, so when I ate it, everything mushed into one, and I was so overpowered by vanilla.
When those who haven't got the experience or the lightness of touch to it It just crumbles down, it falls down, and it becomes almost like joke cooking.
The flavors didn't work together.
- And what fish did you use? - I used Chilean sea bass as well.
- Ohh.
- But what we have, chef Come on, Shawn.
What else is there? I mean, you know? Huh? But take something else? But I mean But on the real, you know, you guys are saying to me that, you know, the flavors don't match, and I had two I had a great chef with me.
I had a sommelier with me.
And when I went over their menu, they said perfect things.
Yes, but you've used too much.
Ludo does vanilla with fish, but it's about the lightness.
- Palate is not just about what ingredients.
- So you think - so right now it's about your palate.
- It's about the balance.
What? - You feel bad? - Right now it's about your palate.
It didn't work for me.
Okay.
It was an actively unpleasant mouthful of food for me.
- Okay.
- So I would have to come down strongly on Nigella's side on on this dish.
Your dish is too refined for these people on the table.
No, no, no, Ludo.
If we backtrack to when you tasted that dish, I have a direct quote from you right here.
"If this is somebody from my team, I will send them home.
" Ludo chose Sarah.
That's gonna be a hard one to get out of, Ludo.
What do you mean? You want to talk for me? - No, no, I - You want to cook for me? I would love to hear what you have to say, Ludo.
Okay.
You did pick your own teammate as the worst.
Okay, man, I know, okay? Just (bleep) shut up, man.
I know.
I know.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Sarah? - Yes.
- What happened to you? Um, well, I tried something different.
It was something that I've never done, but I started with the clams, which I steamed in a started with shallots, garlic, a little bit of ginger and butter, and then the Chardonnay, and then I took that liquid to poach the salmon in.
I really did not like it.
Poached fish is very difficult to do.
And it's cooked perfectly.
I mean, it's a Three-Star Michelin fish I have here.
Beurre blanc.
Yes? You don't agree? Carry on, and then I won't interrupt you.
Yeah, but don't do that now.
So, you know, I would appreciate when I say something, you know You know, I work in the Three-Star Michelin restaurant, you know? - And that is how that technique - No, I'm not going to interrupt you.
It was very bland, and that's the problem.
The salmon was overpowering the dish and the wine.
- May I just say may I No, please - But I'm not finished yet.
I'm not finished yet! - Ludo, I'm - This was a good idea.
Should have worked.
Didn't work.
I did not like it at all.
It was just salmon fishy.
I didn't like it.
All right, guys, you are the bottom four.
Two from Nigella's kitchen, two from Ludo's kitchen.
Step back in the hatches, please.
Hi, guys.
- Hi! - Hi! Aw, hon.
I thought it was a bad pairing.
A very bad pairing.
It was too sweet.
I mean, you have sweet and sweet.
Let's see what happens.
I'm proud of my dish.
I didn't feel like mine was a disaster.
I didn't get that from them, so that's good.
How drunk would you have to be to enjoy these dishes in ascending order? This crap I think she's got She's earned herself another opportunity to cook in this kitchen.
I don't want to go home.
I'm not ready to go home.
I don't want to go home.
I want to stay here so badly.
I didn't feel this spoonful was created by someone with a palate who was gonna make it work together.
This gentlemen is is eas is truly No, he's pissed me off today.
No, he's capable He's capable of Just let me just stop to think about him.
I'm relaxed, you know, inside.
I'm pissed, but that's the difference.
I think Shawn is not the worst one here.
I do not feel Huda should go home.
That's one I like the least, and that's the one I like the second least.
For the first time in the competition, guys, I agree with my good friend Malarkey! Yeah! I think I think we're making the right decision.
I mean, I feel good about that.
I think this is fair.
- Bada bing.
- Bada bing.
I can't say it's good to see you back, because this is not a pleasant experience or any of us present, and it's particularly painful for me and Ludo.
Much as it pains me to say it, one of those who we're sending home is from my kitchen.
I don't want to be in this position any more than you two want to be.
We decided, between the four of us and unanimously Huda, you're safe.
Now, Erika, that means I'm afraid you're going home.
At a personal level, I'm very sorry about this, because what you made for the team taste test - was incredible.
- Thank you.
Mm.
Mwah.
Honey, I know I know you can do this.
I really do.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- And if I can ever help, you let me know.
Thank you.
I think that this has been such a great experience.
Of course I'm sad to leave.
I really wanted to at least, you know, have a little bit more time with Nigella.
Hey.
Hey.
Ma Sarah, I'm very surprised to see you here.
I mean, your dish was very, uh, very bland.
Shawn, welcome back.
I was very disappointed with you again, Shawn.
Seriously.
I was not a big fan of your dish, and I think everybody here on the table It was not just me.
Do you remember what I said to you, Shawn? If I see you again here, I will let you go.
I'm a man of my word.
- So I need to let you go.
Sorry.
- I No problem.
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
Bye! No regrets at all.
I mean, I You know, I had a good time with some good people.
I I do not feel they made the right decision, though, and I'm too talented to be going home.
But, Sarah, we need to talk.
'Cause I think you have great skill, I believe in you.
I think you can go way until the the end and final.
I'd like to interject that the decision to save you was unanimous here.
Thank you very much.
I'm really thankful that I'm still here.
I definitely don't want to be in the bottom ever again.
I lost one contestant.
You know, it's always sad - to lose somebody, you know? - Yeah, I lost my second, you know.
I would like to point out that not one of my team has been even seriously considered for elimination at any time.
That I have seen none of them in there with a red star over their head.
All right, guys.
Congratulations.
Good work.
I hope that tonight there will be drinking, eating, and frolicking among you.
The great sandwich challenge starts now! - Cheers.
- To victory.
If you can't make a sandwich, then what the hell kind of chef are you? - Go big or go home.
- No, no, no, no, no, no! He's giving me the eye.
I can't get one of my (bleep) dishes done.
It is like Hunger Games up in this place.
I'm not here to for babysitting you, sweetie, okay? I am not gonna let this opportunity slip through my hands.
- I love this.
- It's like it was symphony in my mouth.
My chicken's raw.
(Bleep).
It was not good.
What went wrong here? We all had problems with that dish.
I don't understand what's wrong.