The Taste (2013) s01e07 Episode Script

(Anthony) Last week, the pressure reached boiling point.
(Explosion) - Ugh.
- Oh, God.
You just fell flat for us.
Not good enough.
Tonight, it's the semifinal.
Let's go.
Just four cooks will secure a place in the finale.
Who will make it? Ahh! Get out of my kitchen, please.
Don't cross the (bleep) line.
Tonight the cooks must seduce our taste buds with just one bite - I want to have sex right now.
- But please not here, huh? (Nigella) And leave their sexy in the spoon.
I'm feeling a little romantic.
Ooh.
Now that's sexy.
(Anthony) The fight to get to the finale starts now.
This pissed me off.
You fear this guy.
He should go (bleep) home, your guy.
(Brian) Yeah! Thinning out.
Thinning out.
(Ludo) Come on, guys.
(Anthony) Welcome to the semifinals.
As you see, there are only seven of you left.
And regretfully, we'll be sending three more home tonight.
(Nigella) I'm not at all worried about having only one person in my kitchen because any one person can win.
Only four of you will make it to next week's finale.
(Brian) Tonight we have an appetite for seduction.
(Ludo) Today's guest mentor is Ingrid Hoffmann.
(Applause) (Brian) For today's team taste test, all of you must prepare one spoon, but each kitchen will choose only one spoon that Ingrid will be tasting blind.
Next week is the finale, so there's no immunity for tonight's team taste winner.
(Brian) That's right, Gregg.
Nothing for you, buddy.
However, as well as Ingrid's help in the team kitchen later, the winning cook gets to take home a mountain of the same top-of-the-line cookware you've been using in your kitchens here.
(Sarah) I know of Ingrid Hoffmann.
I think she's great.
And I love having a guest mentor in the kitchen.
We have each chosen for our teams the five ingredients we think make for the most seductive eating experience.
You must use at least one of them as a key ingredient in your spoon.
You have one hour to cook.
I'll be honest.
I'm not the queen of seduction.
If you think the last challenge was out of my comfort zone, this, I think, is even more out of my comfort zone.
I made a vow of purity when I was very young, and I'm still a virgin.
This is really about you the sort of food that people shut their eyes and they taste and they just think - it's taking them somewhere different.
- Mm-hmm.
I want to make it to the finale so bad.
People have really rigid ideas of, you know, what's seductive.
So now I've got Diane.
That's it.
There is no plan "B.
" It's It's all about Diane now.
Do you see anything here you want to play with today? I think I want to go with a little bit of truffle, and I'm gonna go with the prawns.
Okay.
And they're still alive.
Yeah.
All right.
Now that's sexy.
(Both laugh) Have any idea what you want to do? Team Ludo, my team, we have have three.
Don't go too fancy.
Maybe a fish, you know, poached in champagne.
Really that classic French thing.
(Paul) To me, none of those ingredients really speak seduction.
What would seduce me is a hot dog and French fries, you know? (Laughs) Semifinal, guys.
You (bleep) up, you go home.
Um, I mean, I picked things, you know, people think about when they go to Valentine's.
We gotta take it up a notch.
And it's gotta be something that's, like, "Damn, that's sexy.
" I mean, there's no holding back here, all right? We're down to seven spoons.
Three of them are going home.
It's a big, huge cut.
My two kids are just on fire right now.
I mean, they should just crush this one.
Knock it out of the park.
Let's go! For today's seduction challenge, I immediately thought about my girlfriend.
She always asks for seafood.
So I'm gonna do, like, a taste of the ocean.
(Jeff) I'm gonna go oysters.
You know, oysters are sexy.
All right, you got passion fruit, yuzu, ponzu.
Make it as girly as you possibly can, dude.
(Jeff) It got to a point where it was, like, what else could we put on top of this oyster? You know, where Brian's like, "Flowers!" I'm like, "Right on.
Why not?" Are you kidding me? I mean, that's so 1980s.
So what does all this mean to you? It's probably one of the most important things I'll ever do in my life.
I want to be that inspiration person who's been on the bottom and had to really, uh, fight just to get back on top.
Where was the bottom for you? Penniless two years ago and living out of a bag for months.
(Anthony) This is the most important thing in her life right now.
She is a very, very capable cook, and I just really want Diane to go all the way.
It means a lot to her.
I'm gonna get Ludo's team all fired up.
Chef.
Uh, you know you're supposed to be in the kitchen teaching your cook and mentor them.
Well, I don't know They keep winning, so, uh, you keep putting 'em on top.
Did you win your challenge with your (bleep) team, huh? - You got what it takes? - Okay, can you just get out of my kitchen? Don't cross the (bleep) line.
(Ludo) I mean, Malarkey just scream in the kitchen, try to be funny, but he's not.
I'm sure, he's, uh, jealous, a lot, about me.
Ludo, this is supposed to be about love today, my friend.
Love.
I'm not your friend! - Ahh! - (Ludo) Never! You gonna work on this one? - Yes.
- Okay, good.
(Paul) Ludo's focused on the one thing that he thinks might be the winner of the challenge.
The other two dishes are just on the side in case everything else fails.
You're gonna do a truffle with what? - Probably crab, scallops, something.
- Okay, yeah.
I mean, yeah, seafood.
I mean, I agree with you.
I find land animals to be kind of very masculine.
And then I find things that come from the ocean to be very delicate and feminine.
So I'm gonna make a warm dungeness crab and truffle salad with a shaved seared scallop on top.
- We're gonna do a great idea.
- You're gonna put jalapeño with this? - Yeah.
- I love that.
(Sarah) I am going to make a panna cotta.
And instead of doing, like, a salted caramel, the caviar is gonna act as the salt.
Caviar for dessert is very sexy.
Yeah.
Oh.
Chef is not very strong.
Maybe you're stronger than me, no? No, no, no.
You gotta do that.
You're so smart, Sarah.
Sarah.
(Laughs) I feel like Ludo is teaching me a lot about being a chef.
I'm going to make Ludo proud.
(Laughs) (Brian) Cream, berries.
They're gonna make dessert for sure, aren't they? Mm-hmm.
Let that baby drop in.
Nigella and I are making Italian kisses.
Italian kisses are basically, like, batter, deep fried.
I'm gonna put the Sambuca in the batter so that you can get a hint of Sambuca flavoring.
(Nigella) Sambuca has led to more seductions Mmm.
Than most drinks.
Aside from the fact that I've taken a vow of purity, I'll make sure to use that advice in the future.
I'm very proud of you, Lauren, for making it into the semifinals.
I never, ever thought that I would have this experience where I'm cooking with Nigella.
I hope I can continue to make her proud.
In a perfect world, couples shouldn't fart in front of each other for there's gotta What is the grace period? Can never fart in front of it your lover.
- Ever.
- Ever.
I like the cut of your jib.
(Laughs) We're at ten minutes! Everybody plate their spoon, guys.
You, too, Paul.
Okay? - Yes, chef.
- You never know what can happen, okay? Kill it.
Kill it.
Kill it.
All fair in love and war, and this is war, my friends.
We cannot let this douchebag Malarkey win this thing, you understand me? Yes, chef.
My team make me proud.
And I think my team can go on till the end, you know, together.
It's a little better with the sauce all over it? It's great.
(Diane) Today is the day that determines who's in the finals.
And I want to be one of those four.
(Gregg) Lots of truffles.
Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Focus.
Finesse.
I want some finesse.
Gregg I have a hard time to manage him.
He need to listen to me.
And if he do that, he's going to win this competition.
So good.
But I'm going with this one.
No disrespect.
(Khristianne) Jeff picked to shuck an oyster and put edible flowers.
Give me a break, kiddo.
(Brian) I said, "Let's just make this the most over-the-top, daytime soap opera dish you've ever had in your life.
" - Okay, you a minute left.
- Oh, dear.
I taste Sarah's spoon, and I think my food is better, but I don't think it's good for team morale to have my dish going up, like, five times in a row, four times in a row.
I don't care about what happened before.
It's now.
Taste the flavors? I'm horny.
- What it mean, horny? - I love it.
Horny? It means I want to have sex right now.
- But please not here, huh? - Okay.
- Thirty seconds! - Oh! - Where is the sauce? - Quickly, quickly.
Where is your sauce? It's here.
Sarah or Gregg? I mean You know, it's Ludo's call.
- (Sarah) I love it.
- (Paul) I think it's really good.
- We go with that? - That's really sexy.
- It's, like, caviar dessert? - You don't mind? No.
No, I don't mind.
We good with that? We decide that we're gonna use my spoon to represent our team.
And I think it could win it for us.
(Gregg) Let's go, Sarah.
You got it.
(Brian) Five, four This is do-or-die time.
Three, two Time for the victory, Malarkey! One! Whoa! (Brian laughs) Bam! (Sarah) Gregg has won three in a row.
I want to keep it strong, and I think it could win it for us.
The cookware is awesome.
I would love to take some of it home.
(Jeff) It feels great to have my spoon tasted.
We're all here to win.
(Diane) I'm hoping that she's gonna like my spoon.
It's good by anyone's definition of good.
I'm ready to be seduced.
Okay, let's start with this one.
Now we'll see what Ingrid thinks of the over-the-top oyster.
(Ingrid) Passionfruit Actually nice because it didn't overpower the oyster.
Oysters are sexy.
I love everything about it.
It was nice and soft and fresh, so I could eat that and feel sexy.
Just like sex.
Sex on a spoon.
I want to win for my mentor.
I want to take this competition down.
I can taste some of the truffle.
Not sure.
Something is covering the lobster, though.
Could be mushroom? I'm going to make Ludo proud.
Caramel.
I'm not a fan of caramel.
Sorry.
Maybe I should go with Gregg.
I knew it.
Ooh.
It's got a nice spice kick in the back.
(Ludo) I think we made the right decision.
(Lauren) I'm totally happy with my finished spoon.
I mean, I made it with Nigella, and that's crazy.
Saucy.
Crunch.
Interesting, but I can't tell what the protein is.
Hello.
It's dessert.
This is gonna be hard, guys.
As far as achieving the sexy, the sensualness Ludo's kitchen.
- Oh, my God.
- (Sarah) Aah! - Oh, my God.
- (Ludo) Good job, guys.
I feel amazing.
Gregg's been winning these challenges for us time in and time out, so I'm happy that I can take one for the team.
But, you know, it's It's my dish that's at the top.
(Brian) The fact that Team Ludo has won four times in a row, it just shows Ludo is really heavy-handed on the influence.
(Anthony) I was very unhappy with Ingrid's choice.
Diane in general is a stronger cook.
(Ludo) Two professional chef and one home cook.
I guess I'm a good mentor, you know? (Anthony) Thank you, Ingrid.
Please go and join Ludo's winning kitchen.
(Brian) And, Sarah, congratulations.
You have won a mountain of cookware.
For tonight's solo taste test, you must create the most seductive spoon of your lives.
And to help us get in the mood, pair your spoon with something to sip on.
(Ludo) Before you get cooking, we are going to send you to the local farmers' market.
To stock your pantries with the freshest organic local produce.
And when you get back, you have one hour to cook.
We'll see you at the tasting.
Good luck.
It's off to the farmers' market.
(Man) Farmers' market? (Diane) Farmers' market.
Enchante.
- (Laughs) Why, thank you.
- Right there.
(Jeff) We're going to the farmers' market in the new Ford C-Max hybrid.
The cars are awesome.
I would love to win one.
(Diane) We didn't have a lot of time.
It's like trying to think quickly on your toes.
- I'll take these.
- (Man) Do you have brioche? Are you worried about the semifinal? No.
- Foot activated.
- That's pretty neat.
Hands-free.
How do you shut it? - Check that out.
- That's dope.
It's like magic.
The challenge is seduction.
We have to pair our seductive spoon with a drink of our choice.
Uh, it's so subjective.
Who's being seduced? Who's seducing? What What's going on here? It's It's all an interpretation of what seduction is.
It's hard.
(Pops) (Grunts) (Laughs) I feel like I'm probably one of the most seductive people that I know, but yet, you know, I think to myself, you know, what does that mean? To me, the challenge meant a sort of classic canon of caviar, champagne, buttery, nongarlicky dishes.
The Valentine's Day menu, okay? - You don't have a spicy salsa.
- I like spicy as sexy.
- Yeah, look, we all like spicy.
- I guess you're, like - but onion breath is not not sexy.
- No.
I'm making octopus today.
It's gonna be a Mexican spicy octopus stew.
I may not be an expert in the art of seduction, but I do know food.
It's so cute.
I think an octopus is a very sexy animal, you know? It's very seductive.
I've never even eaten octopus.
But I've been making dishes that I feel uncomfortable with since day one.
I think a lot of people think dessert is quite sexy.
(Inhales sharply) There's nothing sexy about a dessert.
Zero.
When I think of things that are sensual, give me a good chocolate dessert.
It could be a risk.
I'm going balls out.
For me, classic French with a twist, - that is very sexy.
- Yes.
That That's where I'd go.
Angel-hair pasta in an uni butter with, uh, with caviar on top.
And that's freakin' hot.
I'm making fresh pasta, uni butter, and caviar.
I'm really trying to keep it simple.
My mentor's getting kind of tired of me flying off the handle and doing experiments.
I like seafood.
I like light.
- (Ludo) You know what? You know what? - I like sensual, sexy.
I agree with Brian.
For the first time on the show, I agree with Brian.
For me, something sexy is seafood.
Delicate for me.
Delicate? What's sexy about delicate? - Yeah, really? - Delicate is sexy.
You want the guys who take you, like, hard, and don't be, uh, gentle with you? Yes.
Okay.
(Anthony and Brian laugh) So what is your game plan today? I'm gonna do a mussel.
- To me, that's very sexy.
- Yeah, I agree.
You know, like the broth, like, you know, dipping the crusty bread in it.
I like that.
I think it sounds very sexy, so far.
Good.
- Do you cook to seduce? - Yeah.
Oh, this is what you're gonna do with the plum - That's what I'm gonna do with the sangria.
- Yeah, the sangria.
Uh-huh.
Usually, like, you think seafood and white wine, which is a little bit boring.
But I was gonna just muddle it with red.
That's sexy.
A little sashimi today.
I think it's pretty sexy, sensual.
Some uni in there.
Some people serve it on top of naked women.
I'm built on subtle flavors and little hints of things.
You know, uh, to me, um, a perfect piece of raw fish is sexy.
I'm gonna make a cocktail.
Hopefully they'll dance together in your mouth.
I'm gonna make a sexy seafood uni dish, crab, and egg 63, which is sous vide poached quail egg.
It can either go with a champagne or a sake.
The whole dynamic of the kitchen's changed.
I think everyone's feeling pressure.
Ludo's team's not feeling it.
It's a freakin' party over there.
There is a third person in your kitchen that we never, ever see Paul.
So I'm doing king crab, octopus, because it's an aphrodisiac-a.
Artichokes, deep-fried butter.
I hope it's gonna explode in the mouth a little bit.
Ooh.
I just hope the verbena doesn't really, you know, those bubbles are gonna take the flavor out of this leaf really fast.
Well, if you're just gonna put the garnish in at the end, - it should be okay.
- Yeah.
I'm ridiculously nervous.
I've been here this long.
To not go to the finals would be just a disappointment.
How you doin', pops? (Gregg) I'm great.
How are you? I'm doing good, honey.
- Some wicked beans right there.
- You like it? (Nigella) Three people going is a huge slice - (Brian) Yeah.
- Out of what we've got.
We have some, like, I will say, like, four or five cook that deserve to be in the final.
But there just four four four spots.
Ideal final Diane, Khristianne, Jeff, and Lauren, I'm saying.
Lauren? (Laughs) (Brian) Tonight's Hellmann's blue ribbon moment where Lauren brings out the best in her dish.
You make some sea salt brittle, and we'll have a crumble on top.
Then we've got this voluptuous sauce, we've got this airy puff, and then we'll have a bit of Crunch.
Mm-hmm.
- Oh, my God.
That's divine.
- Yep.
(Paul) Ten minutes, guys.
We're in the semifinals.
Three people go home, leaving only four.
Oh, boy.
I am so close to the $100,000 prize.
I always make it work.
It's anybody's game.
Try to stay to the end.
Right behind.
I'm making a big mess.
My deep-fried butter, it leaked out.
I'm just gonna go with a, uh, lemongrass and ginger Pink ginger beurre blanc.
A little less creative, but just as delicious.
(Gregg) Come on, baby.
(Lauren) I'm thinking of all the drinks that I've ever had that make me feel frisky, I guess, and I guess Tequila would probably be the one.
I would serve this to my boyfriend.
(Ingrid) Six minutes, guys.
The octopus is tougher than I anticipated.
Maybe I should've done something I knew how to cook.
You shouldn't be safe, you know? A safe dish is gonna get you sent home.
(Nigella) I know.
(Man) Two minutes, guys.
Two minutes.
Ooh! You just spilled the wine all over your food.
Yeah.
I thought the dish was good, you know? But you may never know.
I don't know a ton about sex, but, uh I do know when something looks sexy, so Tell me those tentacles don't look sexy? (Ingrid) Five, four, three, two Time's up, guys.
- Cheers, cheers, Lauren.
- Here's my Tequila.
Tequila! (Laughs) I know if I had this, I'd probably go home and have sex.
It's firstly champagne and oysters, and then it's the chocolate.
And then it's time to go get a little bang, bang, bang, bang.
- Thank you.
- Good luck.
Oh, Gregg's hugging the guest mentor again.
That's weird.
- Okay.
- All right, you guys.
- Let's keep it cordial.
- Back to thunderdome.
- Let's keep it cordial.
- No.
(Brian) We taste every spoon.
We have no idea who cooked it or what we are eating.
Each mentor must select which was our best taste And I pick Jeff again.
And more importantly, our worst taste, to put in the bottom four.
(Whispers) Seduction.
My goal is really to be in the top four.
Three of us are going home.
This spoon is the most important spoon of my life.
Today I went for a very small spoonful of uni with snapper, sweet jalapeño sauce, shiso, and lime.
(Nigella) Raw fish.
What is this, like, Margarita-esque? Uni, essence of the ocean.
A seductive spoonful.
I find it a seductive spoonful.
It's raw.
It's not like he used a lot of technique for do this spoon.
I didn't just cut a piece of fish and put it on the spoon.
- I was looking for a higher bar.
- Yeah, exactly.
Love Tequila.
I really like my dish.
I tried something entirely new, and it's really good.
I like the heat.
The fried tortilla chip.
- Yeah, what you are thinking? - Weak.
Oh, man.
Like, why did I put the corn chips on there? Like, I knew corn chips weren't sexy.
Like, even I know that.
- This one did not hit where I I - (Nigella) For me, it didn't fit the bill.
It doesn't It's not sensual for me.
But the spoon was good.
- Stewed octopus definitely puts me in the mood.
- (Brian) I love stewed octopus.
I'm so confused.
And I think the octopus is very sexy.
The tentacle of octopus, you can think whatever you want, you know? - You imagine? - I I wanted octopus.
- You have so many, uh - I consider octopus, uh I'd like more octopus.
I'd like more sticky fried octopus.
Touching you everywhere, touching you? Ludo! (Laughs) Mmm.
Someone's gone dessert.
(Diane) Desserts can be seductive.
They're gonna like my dessert, damn it, if it kills me.
The sour cherries come out of a jar.
For me, chocolate and berries - is very is a tacky thing - (Nigella) Yeah.
We're doing All the chefs for Valentine's Day.
(Nigella) Yeah.
You know what I mean? It's enough.
Chocolate/red wine's a classic combination.
I don't like chocolate and cherries together.
I don't like chocolate and fruit together.
I'm dying.
I'm dying.
I don't want Anthony to be disappointed in me, ever.
- This is interesting.
- I know.
- Wow.
- Wow.
(Paul) This challenge it's the most nerve-racking one because it really will decide who is gonna make it into that final four.
A little bit of octopus with king crab That's seduction at its best.
(Mouth full) More octopus.
- King crab.
- Mm.
If you're gonna do octopus, you gotta nail it.
But I love crab.
I love octopus.
I love citrus.
The drink, actually, has got quite a lot of creativity in it.
Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
Now we're talking.
Oh, ho, ho, ho.
(Khristianne) It was all brought together The egg, the uni, the caviar.
All that seafood goodness It's like it's sealed with a kiss.
Merci, Nigella.
Ohh.
Merci.
Ooh.
- It had some egg, but the egg - (Brian) The egg, the egg - but it was like a jelly of egg.
- You know what I liked about that egg? - Ohh.
- I mean, seriously, - but just a pleasure in the mouth.
- (Nigella) It was.
I am a big, nasty slut.
Take me now.
(Laughs) When I heard that from Anthony Bourdain, that's like a dream come true right there.
(Brian) The last one was a little seductive, like, "Hey, I'd like to.
" This one was like, "Now.
" (Laughs) (Gregg) No one wants to follow Khristianne's dish.
She used a lot of the same components.
If you don't like it I'm sorry.
Mmm.
It felt really flat.
It's quite eggy, isn't it? Eggy or creamy.
There's something very ri - I like this dish a lot.
- (Ludo) I like it.
I I would like a teeny bit more salt.
- A little touch of salt, yeah, I agree.
- Teeny bit more salt.
I didn't season it perfectly.
Such a stupid mistake.
It hit the sweet spot.
I love the people who use uni.
Uni is sex, man.
Plump, semi-engorged sacs of eggs Who doesn't like that? What kind of wine is it? Ooh, la la.
What is that? (Anthony) Maybe it's sangria? - No, it couldn't be.
- (Brian) No.
I want to pair the mussels with sangria for me, that's a seductive experience.
Good, you know, mussel.
(Anthony) Oniony.
Not quite cooked enough, the leeks, you know? I like seafood with red wine.
I like it, actually.
It's the taste of a potential finalist.
- That mussel was absolutely perfectly cooked.
- Cooked perfectly.
I don't get the drink, though.
- No, yeah, the drink is - The drink is absolutely wrong.
- The drink - No, but I like the dish.
- Yeah, but that's good, but it works.
- Okay, but listen.
Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot.
This Can I just tell you, - Listen, stop interrupting.
- (Brian) Get it.
Get it now.
Get it.
You interrupt and then say "Let me talk.
" No, I don't.
I don't.
You always ignore, Nigella - We were talking.
We were talking.
- Get him, Nigella, get him.
- Nigella, you always interrupt me all the time.
- We were talking.
We were talking.
We can go back to the to the camera and go re-roll.
You always cut me, too, Nigella.
- Seriously.
- I do? Yeah, you do, a lot.
I cannot listen to you anymore.
- I was agreeing with you.
Stop it.
- (Brian) Be very comfortable, good dishes No, I don't want to I don't want to listen your your stuff because you're going to, after, mess my brain.
- Wait a minute.
- It's gonna cloud his cloud his judgment.
Oh, no.
But wait a minute.
We are all in some murky way and for different reasons, we all kind of liked this dish, didn't we? - Yeah, I like it.
- Yeah, I like it.
- No, I like it.
- No, you don't like it.
(Sarah) I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I was thrilled.
I feel like, at this point, there's a chance that I could be on the top four.
And it feels beyond great.
Guys, obviously, we have much to discuss here.
Thank you.
See you, soon.
(Brian) Good luck.
Not the words I wanted to hear on the last Oh, man.
- Whew.
- Not what I wanted to hear.
- (Sarah) That was crazy.
- (Lauren) That was nuts.
Hey, Khristianne, way to get - the gold, gold, gold star, girl.
- (Sarah) Yes! No, you don't know, though.
You don't know.
They all loved it.
There's an obvious gold star in the room, and everybody else is up on the block.
(Khristianne) I can never be so confident, 'cause you just may never know.
I don't know a lot about seduction, but I know Tequila works.
If I can just make it to the finals, I feel like I can prove myself.
(Diane) We're waiting, and it's the worst friggin' feeling I've had in a long time.
I want to be in that finale real (bleep) bad.
I want to take a moment to tell you about our partner, Ford Warriors in Pink.
Over the past 18 years, they've dedicated more than $115 million to a cause very close to my heart which is breast cancer research and education.
They've created this gorgeous "Courage in the Kitchen" apron in the colors of plum, bleu-gris, apricot, and raspberry.
Delicious looking, isn't it? Ford Warriors in Pink will donate 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of this apron to support breast cancer charities.
And you can even choose your favorite charity from those listed.
Thank you for your support.
We need it.
We're gonna lose three cooks tonight.
We're gonna start losing one good cook after another.
It's awful.
Time for argument, uh, is over.
The time for speculation is over.
Whatever will be will be.
- Let's take a look.
- It's time for that.
Let's see who makes the finals.
- (Anthony) Wow.
- (Nigella) Right.
(Whistles) So what does this mean? Jeff, Lauren, Diane, Paul, Khristianne, uh, did not expect to see this lineup necessarily.
Two of you will join Gregg and Sarah in the finals.
(Gregg) We're safe.
We're in the finals.
You're in the finals.
Come here.
(Laughs) Wow.
(Laughs) (Brian) Some of you made our best dishes, and some of you made our worst dishes.
Of course, we still have no idea who cooked what.
Let's find out.
I had a definite favorite and a definite least favorite.
Interesting.
Boom.
Nice.
Wow.
The best Khristianne.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you, sir, so much.
Love Love the way you cook.
Paul All right, I can't stand the suspense, man.
I want to bring Jeff up on to my favorites.
Come on.
I picked Khristianne and Lauren.
Bam.
There you are.
Sorry, Lauren.
Okay.
Jeff and Diane.
Boom.
All right.
So Jeff was my favorite.
Diane, I'm not happy about seeing you with a red star over you.
I can't wait to see my, uh, best one and my worst one.
Khristianne.
Three star, Khristianne.
(Brian) Three stars, Khristianne.
- Thank you so much.
- Your dish was amazing.
- (Brian) Nice.
- Your dish was amazing.
It was.
I think it was the best dish in this competition - since the beginning.
- Thank you, chef.
(Brian) Knockin' it out of the park.
Knocking it.
Definitely Definitely will date you tonight.
If I eat that, I will go with you.
(Brian laughs) Let's see what, uh, the gold stars prepared for us.
Now in Jeff's case, that's a That's a mixed bag.
So, Jeff, I chose yours as my favorite.
It was like, uh, the kiss of the ocean for me.
Tell me about it.
To me, sensuality is less in your face and more of the whiff of perfume walking by you.
The delicacy of raw fish, uni, jalapeño, soy, and a little bit of shiso vinaigrette is is just that.
This, I felt, had that perfect subtlety.
- So thank you.
- Thank you.
Khristianne, I'd like to point out that you are the first contestant that got three gold stars.
- Nice work.
- Thank you so much.
- You have been killing it and killing it.
- Thank you so much.
As Ludo had said, this was probably the best dish of the entire competition.
You have everything for win this competition.
It It combined that subtlety, that simple beauty, but there's a hint of the stripper pole in here as well.
(Brian) Yes.
You got some stripper pole in there.
I lust after this dish.
This is how much we love this dish.
We haven't even asked you what's in the dish yet.
- So walk - Oh, yeah, right.
Walk us through the dish.
Could you, please? I made my own tomato paste.
Simmered it down with crab shells, shrimp shells, mussels, and the uni with egg 63.
And then I did a coconut disc.
Yes, yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
You will be absolutely in the finals.
Please join Sarah and Gregg.
Thank you so much.
(Gregg) Oh! (Claps hands) - Oh, my God.
Super.
- Hey, girl.
Oh, my God.
You're a finalist.
You, too, girl.
- You.
- Boom.
You got three stars? How does it feel to get three stars? I have none so just tell me.
I couldn't believe it.
They just said the nicest things.
I couldn't even say anything.
- Jeff got a bad and a good? - Yeah.
- Okay.
- Gold and red.
Jeff's staying.
He's never been in the bottom.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Three of them are going home.
It's a big, huge cut.
(Nigella) We've gone beyond sending home good cooks.
We're moving into the great cooks now.
(Anthony) Before we make any decisions on who to save and who to send home, let's bring out our least-favorite dishes.
Oh, Jeff.
I don't know what happened, man.
I'm a big fan of you.
- I am.
- Thank you.
I really don't like too much about this dish, Jeff.
It was more the texture of the fish.
It's an okay dish, but for me, it's very safe.
At the end of the day, I I loved it.
I was with Nigella the whole way.
You know, it was up there with one of my favorites.
I though you described this dish beautifully, but this dish was not transporting me anywhere.
It was not putting me in the mood.
- Not a fan of this dish.
- I understand.
So why should we keep you around till next week? I'm a professional chef.
I have three restaurants.
But that doesn't mean that, every day, I can't learn from, you know, the four of you.
And I want to continue to learn.
Uh, Lauren, walk us through the dish real quick.
When I think of seduction, the first thing that comes to mind is something, uh, with a lot of spice because it awakens your senses.
My goal was to attempt to cook octopus for the first time.
And I'm proud of myself again Had you ever cooked octopus before? I've never even eaten octopus.
- You've never even eaten octopus before? - (Ludo) No.
- If the spicing had just been turned down a notch - Yeah.
It would've had a more seductive edge to it.
Points to you for cooking octopus so well your first time out.
That was a very wonderfully foolhardy and dangerous thing to do that you pulled off.
I just, I don't have any fear.
I want to get my hands dirty and I I want to show you what all I can give.
Diane, I thought the texture was great.
It needed some sort of a spin to it to to win me over - Texture's amazing.
- You know? Well, for me, chocolate is so sexy.
And this is a A chocolate pate with creme de cassis.
My spoon as just so unbalanced.
It was so cherry.
The chocolate got lost in there.
I mean, I think this was was accomplished very well.
It fell within classic lines.
I'm surprised to see you here for this dish because no one's really been creaming it out of the park on desserts so far, yet you went ahead with a dessert.
I want this because I want to have a life-changing experience.
And I'm cooking and fighting for my life to stay here.
Paul, I was not getting much flavor out of this.
The king crab always gets things going for my fiancee.
I threw the octopus in for the aphrodisiac effect.
The artichoke's in there for something for that, uh, champagne to wash away.
- So that's where I was - (Nigella) I hate to tell you, but for many people, artichokes, they give them gas.
So that would not be a really great (Laughter) I think that's just you, Nigella.
I've never had that problem before.
See? This was an over-intellectual dish for me.
Uh, I thought the pairing was not working for me at all.
Your octopus was just bubblegum.
Paul, I'm very, uh, I'm disappointed.
For me, it was just no feeling.
It was missing something of it.
I think this dish really doesn't represent me in the best way.
It is a complex dish, and I think I deserve another chance for the next round.
(Anthony) Fair enough.
There will be some furious argument here, I suspect.
I think so.
Uh, each of us has something at stake.
Each of us have very strong opinions on how this should go.
Three people going home.
One of you will join Gregg, Sarah, and Khristianne in the finals.
So we'll see you in a while.
Back in the hatches.
(Lauren) This is it, folks.
This is the end of the line for three really talented people.
Congratulations.
- (Gregg) What happened? - You're in the finals! Paul's dish It's no nowhere's ville for me.
That's just not a seductive dish.
You know, we can all agree on that.
You know, the only thing I could say in the defense for myself was I was like, "It was seduction.
"I'm cooking for, you know, my fiancee for "the first time or the 300th time, "you know, king crab's gonna do it.
That's gonna drop the panties.
" I was surprised it was Lauren did that.
And I love how she wants to learn.
I think the only safe one here - is Mr.
Gold and Red Star over here.
- Yeah, Mr.
Gold Star.
That's the only thing.
You've got one judge Even though we said that last time.
You had one judge that thought you were the best.
I chose Jeff as my favorite.
Jeff's a good cook, you're right.
But now I was expecting more from him.
What did he say about yours? Why is it the worst? He said he didn't like the texture.
(Anthony) When I tasted Jeff's dish, first thing I wrote was, in quotation marks, "Really, dude?" This pissed me off.
This guy didn't try.
(Brian) Diane has been in the bottom.
- She's hit and miss.
- Oh, no, no, no.
She's not hit and miss.
- No, no, no, no, no.
- She was in the bottom once.
- Yeah, that's it.
- She's not hit and miss.
Even though I chose this as my least favorite, she intrigues me.
- Her cooking gives me something - Me, too.
- that's not what the competition's - Her food her her food - (Ludo) Yeah.
- At this point, it is.
(Nigella) It's got such soul.
The dish you pick as your favorite, Nigella, you're now turning your back on.
I've got no vested interest.
I happen to love Jeff.
- But - I love him.
No, okay, but I could not sleep at night sending Diane home.
I'm not feeling good right now.
I am scared.
I am so nervous.
As much as she wants to say that she, like, - she did this with the cherries - Yeah, but she cooked the cherry I ate I ate a bunch of the cherries yesterday.
- That's the exact same flavor.
- Okay, your guy Your guy cooked nothing.
Jeff was point on.
I thought it was one of the best.
Your guy did nothing.
Nigella thought it was one of the best.
- It was easy.
It was easy.
- You fear this guy.
- It was easy.
- You fear this guy winning the competition.
Your guy's was easy.
You do not fear her.
- Professional chef, he do that? - That's your game you're playing right now.
He should go (bleep) home, your guy.
Oh, that's what you're trying to do, Ludo, right now.
- Shush.
- Yeah, that's my worst dish.
- Sorry.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- I don't like this feeling.
- Yeah.
All right.
The judges have made their decision.
- Let's do this thing.
- Bring 'em.
(Nigella) Hi, guys.
Welcome back.
Jeff, Lauren, Diane, and Paul This has been really tough.
We've each got someone here, and the standard has been high.
So we have no choice but to send three of you home.
I think we all agree on this one.
The spoon was not, uh, good enough.
Paul, I'm sorry.
We need to let you go.
So sorry about that.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
Sorry.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- It's been a pleasure, guys.
- (Nigella) Thank you.
- It's been an absolute pleasure.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
Yeah, Paul is very elegant.
Thank you, Paul.
(Sighs) It sucks.
You know, I tried.
I tried my hardest.
It was a challenge every day for me to even get this far.
But who else do I know that got to spend weeks with Tony Bourdain and Nigella and Malarkey and Ludo, you know? That's something I'll never forget.
The next decision was also unanimous.
Lauren, we have enjoyed cooking with you.
We've enjoyed watching you blossom.
We thank you so much.
Thank you all so much.
Come here.
Listen, you You've really got what it takes.
Thank you.
I've so enjoyed you.
Let me give you just a little You've really got what it takes.
Carry on quickly.
- Thank you, Nigella.
- Really, really.
Bye.
Thank you, sweetie.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
(Brian) Great job.
- Thank you so much.
- We're all so proud of you.
I feel honored.
Thank you, darling.
I just wish I could spend more time with Nigella.
- I want you in my kitchen.
- Aah! (Laughs) (Brian) Whoa! She's given me so much encouragement.
I don't mind your spit.
So have a bite and then hand it over.
Oh, you're right.
It's good.
I'm very proud of you, Lauren.
Thank you.
My experience here has changed my entire life.
- A lovely girl.
- Oh, she's wonderful.
- Lovely girl.
- Yeah.
(Lauren) I love you, Nigella.
All right, this was not a unanimous decision.
This was not an easy decision.
To say that, uh, the discussion on, uh, this decision was heated would be an understatement.
Two very good cooks.
But at the end of the day, um Diane You're not going anywhere.
(Gasps) You're staying right here.
(Laughs) Good job.
(Jeff) I mean it.
- That's awesome.
Good job.
- (Anthony) Jeff (Laughs) You deserve it.
They got us, Jeff.
They got us.
They smelled the blood and they attacked, my friend.
- Jeff, you're a great cook.
- (Ludo) No, that's not the problem, Jeff.
You know it.
You know it.
We all know it.
You You're a terrific cook, a terrif A terrific chef.
We've really loved your food.
Uh, an excellent showing here.
I had a great time working with you.
You've got a huge career ahead of you.
Thanks, guys.
- It's been a pleasure.
Thank you.
- Jeff.
- Chef.
- It was a pleasure.
Love you, man.
(Applause) It does suck.
You know, I think I took a chance today.
Hey, I got to the semifinals.
I went home on a good note, you know? I'm happy to bow out and let the others go.
We know you can do great things here.
You've done 'em in the past.
Uh, I have every expectation you'll do it again.
You will be joining Gregg, Sarah, and Khristianne in the finals.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Congratulations.
Well done, Diane.
Well done.
We sent three good cooks home.
Doesn't feel good, does it? (Anthony and Brian) No.
Congratulations.
Get some rest.
We'll be seeing you in the finals.
Nice work, Khristianne.
Nice, nice work.
This is do-or-die time.
After eight weeks of competition, only four of you remain.
Tonight One of you will be the first-ever winner of The Taste.
Get ready.
Get set.
Go.
Rock 'n' roll.
This is it.
This is it.
Whoever makes a mistake is going home.
Every single second counts.
Boom! Boom! Boom! All of 'em are gonna choke.
Last spoon of the whole thing.
Beautiful.
They were all awesome for completely different reasons.
None of us know who has won.
Let's get it over with.
(Nigella) The winner of The Taste is