The Taste (2013) s01e08 Episode Script

1 (Anthony) Welcome to The Taste.
It's the finale.
Last week, one kitchen had a devastating loss.
Nigella has no cooks left in her kitchen.
I'm all alone.
After weeks of fierce competition, only four cooks remain.
(Khristianne) I'm the personal chef to Charlie Sheen.
I breathe, live, sleep, love food.
(Gregg) I started cooking when I was 15 years old, professionally.
I've won three team challenges in a row.
(Whispers) Mine's the best.
(Sarah) I'm the only home cook in the finals.
Oh, I'm on fire.
I'm going to make Ludo proud.
(Diane) I'm a chef consultant.
This competition is mine.
Why do you gotta fight about it? 'Cause I'm a (bleep).
Team Diane.
Yeah, for sure.
(Anthony) Tonight there will be only one winner, selected totally blind.
Ahh.
This is it.
- Ready for this? - Totally.
Your team's gonna choke.
- Thank you, darling.
- Who's gonna win it for you? - Gregg.
- Gregg? - And Sarah.
- And Sarah? We're all gonna die, but not today.
(Brian) There we are.
There we are.
(Applause) Make it your day.
(Khristianne) Going into the finals, I mean, I It's so surreal to me.
(Diane) I am so nervous about the finals.
I am two challenges away from the trophy.
This is do-or-die time.
(Sarah) I'm just so happy and thrilled to be here.
I cannot believe I've made it this far.
I feel amazing.
(Gregg) I've worked really hard to get to this point.
I'm gonna bust out any tricks I have up my sleeve.
I'm a finalist, you know? No one can take that away from me.
(Anthony) Welcome.
Tonight one of you will be the first-ever winner of The Taste.
(Brian) One of you will be leaving here tonight with $100,000 provided by Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise and an all-new 2013 Ford C-Max hybrid.
(Nigella) And not forgetting The Taste trophy.
Having a nice brand-new car and $100,000 I would feel free for the first time in my life.
For the team taste, you're going to Spain for inspiration.
Tapas.
Today's guest mentor is one of the world's greatest chefs and my very good friend Jose Andres.
Whoo! I don't get starstruck, especially with the people I work with, but with Jose Andres I couldn't believe it.
His food is blatantly magical.
So, Jose, tell us as only you can about tapas.
Tapas is a celebration of life The small dishes that families, friends celebrate.
For today's team taste, you must prepare three spoons for Jose to taste blind.
Each spoon must hold a tapas bite featuring at least one of these three ingredients.
There's mozzarella cheese Yeah! Iberico ham, and spot prawns.
You must use all these ingredients.
(Brian) The cook who prepares the spoons that Jose likes least will be eliminated from the competition.
(Diane) Being in the final four, and you go home? That's terrible.
That's terrifying.
That's a feeling I just don't want to have to go through.
Just three of you will go on to cook in tonight's solo taste test, where Jose will be helping you all in the kitchen.
Because Nigella has no cooks left in her kitchen, she'll be acting as tonight's floating mentor.
Jose, we'll see you later.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- So long, chef.
(Ludo) So, guys, you have one hour to cook.
Let's go to the kitchen.
- How you doing? How you doing? - Nervous.
Now there's the most difficult part, guys, okay? One of you or maybe two of you are going to go to the final.
There's no tomorrow.
All right, have you ever eaten at Jose - Yeah, The Bazaar.
- Have you eaten there? - Probably like twenty-something times.
- No way.
- Do you know how much I love him? - Mwah.
You know, like, purposely, I would go to Vegas and eat at Jaleo just to go to his restaurant in The Cosmo? I know Jose very, very well.
My hope, of course, is that the other guys are gonna fall all over themselves - trying to out-molecular the guy.
- Okay.
Don't think too much.
Texture, flavor That's it.
He'd get mad if I do a foam? No, of course not.
Do it.
Or maybe taking a chimichurri, just nice plating.
- He likes the chimichurri.
- And he loves citrus, too.
- He loves that balance.
- He loves citrus.
I know so much about this man.
Don't be scared, you know? Do your thing.
It's time for Ludo to be down to one member.
I'm telling you, all of 'em are gonna choke.
(Nigella) You've got one hour.
Go! (Nigella) Till now the team taste test has been a great platform for risk taking, because, at worst, you're just not gonna get immunity.
But when you're up for elimination, it takes a very, very brave cook to put something a bit risky, and yet it wouldn't really be sensible to play it safe.
Three spoons, one hour.
Really? My head is going a thousand miles a minute, seriously.
The final four at this point, anybody could take it.
Can you throw that on the fire? - Yes.
- Just boil it.
So I want to do, uh, the spotted prawn with a little marinade over basil puree, I want to do a quail egg with the jamon and some caviar, and also a burrata with, like, a mint and walnut base.
(Anthony) Done with the walnuts? Yes, baby doll, thank you.
All right.
That's Mr.
Baby Doll to you.
Sorry.
Mr.
Baby Doll.
It's very mild.
Think I'm gonna have to add some fresh basil to that.
That's okay.
Mild is good.
Go with mild.
All right.
What are you using butter in? I'm poaching the shrimp in the butter.
He hates butter, man.
- You gotta go olive oil.
- (Ludo) Malarkey, you cooking today? You gotta go olive oil.
Malarkey is cooking! Talk to me about the mozzarella some more.
The mozzarella, I'm just gonna make a balsamic.
We're thinking to go with, like, a cold tapas for the mozzarella, a take on bacon and eggs with iberico ham He loves a good, rich tomato sauce and for the prawns, to do a chimichurri but also to put a little molecular gastronomy in there, just for a taste.
Explain this to me.
- Tapioca maltodextrin.
- Yeah, yeah.
It works, you know how usually starch thickens water? Yep.
Uh, it's a one part starch to the tapioca will thicken fat, but when it hits your mouth and it hits liquid, it will turn back into fat.
So we're making olive oil powder, is that what Yes, sir.
Because of Jose Andres, I knew how to use the tapioca maltodextrin.
Everything the alginates, the calciums, the spherification I learned it all from him.
Like, I idolize him.
It's a dangerous game - Yeah.
- Going into molecular.
We're less than 45 minutes! Okay, wait.
8 ounce of mozzarella.
Put in the saucepan here.
(Ludo) For the first time in the team challenge, if you are in the bottom, you go home.
Gregg have a lot of technique, so he's going to put himself in the final.
So my goal today is to really support Sarah and to have two guys in the final.
So the shrimp We're gonna do a shrimp tartare, I think.
- Okay.
Okay.
- Maybe it's better.
I am going to make a mozzarella mousse, iberico ham-wrapped date that's stuffed with cheese, and, like, a chorizo cream with the spot prawn raw and a little bit of orange segment.
Put in the saucepan here.
Put 6 ounce of cream.
What you going to put with that, Gregg? It's gonna be a piece of shrimp that's gonna be poached in that sauce.
I'm planning on making a mozzarella mousse with marcona almonds, preserved lemon, and then a shrimp broth with a, like, a little potato chip and some caviar, and an iberican ham broth with a poached egg, so like ham and eggs.
- Right, Gregg? - Oui, chef.
- Huh? - Oui.
Ludo is in an easy position because he knows, whatever happens, he's gonna have someone in the final.
Malarkey and Tony could well be out of the final, so for them, things are harder.
(Nigella) Thirty minutes.
Halfway through.
Thirty minutes to go.
Okay? Whisk it.
Whisk it.
Okay? Hello, chef.
How are you? Good? You want some help? You look relaxed, chef.
- Yeah.
- You were working too hard.
I am.
So are you going Spanish or are you going something else? I'm doing Spanish, because if I go French, he's gonna know it's me.
Don't talk with him, Sarah.
Don't say anything, Sarah.
Sarah, you have one chef.
Just one chef, Sarah.
(Anthony) I really, I thought, at this point, I am counting on someone misjudging the situation, misjudging Jose.
We're being really smart.
Everybody else is going full Spaniard.
They've got their lips just totally aimed towards, uh, Jose's ass directly.
I'm sure his ass is very tasty.
I'm sure it tastes like iberico ham and caviar.
(Laughs) Okay, that looks perfect.
Just make sure you mound Mound the salt so he feels it.
Okay, do you want the tomato in there? Yeah.
Perfect.
See? That's a beautiful dish.
He will love that.
They're over there (bleep) around with croquetas and getting into all sorts of nonsense.
We are hitting him, at, uh, right in his happy zone.
(Nigella) Beautiful.
Do you think your bread should be thinner? - It's pretty Those are pretty thin.
- Cut thin.
Can you get heartier? I think you got a lot of fruits, a lot of lights, a lot of lights, a lot of lights.
Got the egg.
Got the egg.
Got the egg.
We've got no pork.
We need Pork, egg, egg, shrimp, shrimp, shrimp.
Today I I did not eat breakfast.
I I did not sleep well last night.
I am extremely nervous because I know that Khristianne should win this, and if she lost in the mentor challenge and got eliminated from this, I mean, it's horrible for her.
And it's It's a bad reflection on me, obviously.
- How are you gonna do the grape? - Peel 'em.
- I only need - I I got seeds.
I only need It's fine.
I'll cut 'em in half and - Paring knife.
- This is it.
This is it.
This is it.
That's good.
It's good.
Perfect.
So now It's getting there, I think.
(Gregg) I think Sarah's being taken out of her comfort zone.
Her ideas are little bit more simple.
But Ludo kind of steps in, and he's like - Take that.
- Yep.
Slice it and put here, okay, Sarah? "No, no, I've got ideas.
We're gonna do this, this, and this.
" So I'm, like, (bleep).
Now I have to compete against Ludo.
- What is it? - It needs salt.
- It's a A burrata and cream.
- Oh.
I added a little gelatin.
I'm just gonna foam it.
I've done it before.
Are you sure it's going to work? I'm just scared it's not going to work.
Like, it's going to work right, you're sure? Uh, I'll bloom some gelatin.
Yeah, yeah, Gregg, but you're sure it's going to work? Yes, chef.
Sarah, ca va? I'm on my own over here.
Eight minutes.
What the (bleep) you doing, Gregg? It's It's gonna be basil, too.
Ah, it taste bad.
I mean, it's missing something.
- I didn't taste at all.
- Yes, chef.
I really feel like it could be any one of us that get eliminated.
Whoever makes a mistake is going home.
It's not enough, Gregg.
It's not enough.
This spoon is not enough.
His biggest weakness of Gregg is flavor.
His food don't have enough flavor.
I don't think it's enough to win with that.
You got any ideas for me in five minutes? I am I'm t I'm thinking.
I don't think that's enough to win with that.
You got any ideas for me in five minutes? You know, take a piece a piquillo pepper, - Piquillos pepper.
- Yeah, I got - You got some? For what? - I got - For what? For where? - For the mozzarella.
Yeah, but you need to put some more.
I did not taste it.
- Yes, chef.
- I did not taste it.
That's the problem.
- I did not taste it, so - Yes.
Yes, chef.
More.
Yes.
Just stay with us, baby.
Just (bleep) stay with us.
Don't melt, don't travel, don't wander, and you're gonna bring us all the way home.
Do we need zest on any of these? - Do we need zest on the grapes? - Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.
Finish that.
Finish that.
Finish that! Go, go, quick.
Does it taste all right? Taste it.
Taste it.
- Don't get too carried away.
- Mm-hmm.
Oh, wait.
Ooh.
- (Bleep).
- All right.
We're all right.
Thirty seconds.
You're fine.
The only way that the wheels could fall off is something terribly goes wrong, something gets overseasoned, something breaks.
Watch your bread.
You're beautiful.
- Fist bump.
- All right? Yeah.
- You can put a touch of caviar on top.
- Yes, chef.
- Five, four - Put it on the plate.
Put it on the plate.
- Three - Put it on the plate.
Put it on the plate.
- Real quick.
Real quick.
- Two, one Stop.
Yo! - Gorgeous.
Nice work.
Nice work.
- Thank you, sir - So much.
Thank you so much for your help.
- Oh, God.
We're all gonna die, but not today.
Not today.
Not today.
Right now four is gonna become three, and I am I'm I'm terrified, completely.
Slowly! Precious.
I hope to be the first winner of The Taste.
Winning three team challenges in a row (Chuckles) I'd really like to bring it home.
(Sarah) This challenge, it's not about winning.
Whoever has the worst spoons goes home.
And I don't want to go home at all right now.
Welcome back.
- Happy to be back.
- All right, everyone.
Jose is gonna taste your tapas.
He has got absolutely no idea who has cooked what.
The cook whose spoons Jose likes the least will be eliminated.
Looks so beautiful.
Let's go for it.
Three spoons.
This has gotta be the hardest challenge yet.
My heart's pounding, my knee's shaking.
(Coughs) E Everything went white, and I thought, (bleep), I could be going home.
I think when dishes have certain amount of acidity, - really they are very alive.
- Yeah.
And I love things that are alive.
Really, really good.
(Whispers) Bam.
Hmm.
The thing I didn't enjoy, I don't know if it's a parsley, garlic, uh, cilantro kind of a sauce.
I don't know if I goes well with with the citrusy flavor.
Eggs, the ham, the tomatoes, everybody, when you grown up in Spain, we We grow up eating this kind of dish.
I mean, I saw him close his eyes on that That final dish that he had of Khristianne's, and I was like, "High five.
Let's just do this.
We are We are on path.
" Overall, a very good A very good showing.
(Khristianne) That's probably the biggest compliment I've ever gotten in my whole career.
I am I'm sweating bullets.
I'm hoping that if I even have a little tiny slip, that someone from the other kitchens is gonna slip a lot harder.
It's so much mozzarella, that I'm not able, really, to decipher the other ingredients.
A perfectly cooked prawn.
I sense the tomato.
What happened is, kind of, the tomato is almost wresting It's taking flavor away from the prawn.
I convinced Diane to put the tomato caviar on the shrimp.
I'm like, "Oh, my God.
She's gonna get kicked off because of something I made her do.
" Proportions are key to everything in life, and especially in cooking.
A bit less of bread, it give me the option maybe to taste the other ingredients.
I really think I'm going home right now.
This is no joke.
I think I'm the strongest cook here in the competition.
I lived in Barcelona.
I worked in a Spanish restaurant.
I know a lot about tapas.
I had a good understanding that I knew what What he would want.
My mouth really enjoys the very pleasant, uh, simplicity of the mozzarella.
I wish I found there a touch of acidity.
The crunchiness I found was like a A disk of potato.
The proportions didn't allow me, really, to do a perfect match with the prawn.
The quality of of the cooking of the prawn is a 10.
I cannot do it any better.
He's going to win this competition Gregg.
A very nice crunchiness.
I enjoy it.
But I will say that these three together, almost like in a symphony you have the moment, are these the same notes? That is maybe not the most interesting moment of the symphony.
When you have a great ingredient, why are you gonna complicate them? I'm absolutely the underdog.
It's so incredibly nerve-racking.
This one was I would say, very enjoyable.
Maybe if we didn't have the skin on the tomato, it will be even more It's supposed to be more pleasant.
- Let's go for this one.
- Down the hatch.
This is almost like, uh, like a seviche.
I only wish that they had slightly more acidity come in with the sauce.
I hope that I'm sticking around.
I wish that the date was smaller so my mouth will be able to taste it with more refinement.
It didn't allow me to fully enjoy the taste.
Oh, my God Sarah, she's gone.
I do need to remind you, the cook whose spoons Jose likes the least will be eliminated.
That's gonna be a big kick in the gut.
In this food I taste a lot of enthusiasm in this food.
(Gregg) I'm safe, you know.
There was a couple of, like, disasters over there.
Sarah specifically The seviche didn't have enough acidity, the date was too big.
I didn't have any of those comments.
(Khristianne) I don't want Gregg to win.
I mean, I just don't think he deserves it.
(Sarah) I can only hope that my name is not chosen and that I'm safe.
(Diane) Like, I really believe that I'm going home right now.
I screwed up my cook here.
You know, I've I've led her wrong.
I know Jose better than anybody here.
It's a hard decision.
Really close.
(Jose) I can't look.
I'm going for this one.
The cook whose spoons Jose likes the least will be eliminated.
(Jose) It's a hard decision.
Really close.
I know that if my name does come up, I will be devastated.
I can't look.
I'm going for this one.
Gregg! Ludo.
Oh, my God.
(Chuckles) Thanks, man.
(Ludo) I was in shock.
I mean, seriously in shock, when I saw him to take Gregg.
Thank you.
Thank you, chef.
Today was a bad day for Gregg, you know? That's the way it is.
(Applause) (Sarah) Gregg is the one going home.
It's bittersweet.
I just feel sad about it.
Oh, my God.
(Laughs) (Khristianne) I love that it was Jose Andres.
If there was one guest judge to send Gregg home, that it was him.
I don't feel like I made any mistakes out there today.
(Sighs) I was the only one out there by myself.
You know what I mean? I did it myself.
And I'd rather lose doing it myself than win having my hand held.
(Anthony) Congratulations.
Sarah, Khristianne, Diane This is it.
And because this is your last time ever cooking in the Taste kitchens, there a few people who want to come and cheer you on.
(Cheering) My girlfriend and my best friend I mean, I couldn't be more ecstatic.
(Cheering continues) I am really happy that my family is here to support me today My fiance Leo and my dad, whose never seen me do anything like this before.
Um, I don't even think he still believes that I actually am a chef.
(Cheering continues) I'm so excited that some of my best friends are here.
I'm just elated right now.
(Cheering continues) Yeah! This is the most important solo taste test of the competition.
You must create three separate but complementary courses.
You have two hours - Yes.
- To cook.
Please choose a glass of wine for us to enjoy with your spoons.
Because you have made it this far, all of you have the help of the magnificent Jose Andres.
That in itself is a lifetime of amazing experience for me.
- Good luck.
- Let's go get 'em! (Cheering) (Ludo) Ooh, stressful.
Stressful, stressful.
I was in shock when Gregg went home.
I was not expecting to see a home cook in - Still in it.
- In the final.
What's your menu? We are doing an arctic char over a fingerling and mushroom jalapeño salad, and then a seared duck breast over a braised fennel with a Pinot noir sauce, and then a beef tenderloin over a creamy shallot confit with a little bit of bacon and a little bit of nuts.
- A challenging menu.
- Yes.
(José) It's looking good.
When did you begin cooking? Just a few years ago.
- Like three or one? - Yeah.
Yeah, like three.
- You never cook before? - Mnh-mnh.
(José) Sarah I'm very impressed.
She's very calm.
But I don't know if she's calm because she's in control or she's calm because still, she's kind of lost.
I don't know.
Okay, that's done.
That's done.
What else? I definitely didn't think I was gonna make it this far.
To be top three, to be this close It's in It's a crazy feeling.
(Brian) Khristianne has just, throughout the whole entire competition, just has proven to us just, like, how much she wants it and how good she is.
So I want it I want it so much for her.
And what I like about her, she have a lot history to her.
All the time, she talk about where she come from, and it's cool, I love it.
I like that, too.
She never forgot where she from.
What are you gonna be doing? This is for the, uh, the kabocho squash celery puree - Okay.
- With coconut.
What is the inspiration for that? I'm part Portuguese, part Filipino, so I'm trying to bring two worlds into it.
Khristianne understands who she is, where she's coming from.
And she wants to tell her story through the dishes.
We're gonna do a progression between air, land, and ocean.
So something from air, which is a duck, something from the ocean, and something from land, which is the beef.
(José) That's great.
I love you're bringing your Your background, your history - Thank you, chef.
- Where you come from.
Thank you, chef.
People don't think about this as an ingredient, - but it's a very powerful ingredient.
- Of course.
Diane looked the most stressed, didn't she? - Diane looks like a deer in the headlights.
- Yeah.
I want her to win.
I'm nervous.
You know, I just want to survive.
- My, you're moving.
- I am.
- You're quick.
- I have to be.
Oh, what are you planning to do? I'm starting off with a smoked sea urchin in a sea urchin mousse with, uh, coconut-and-butter-poached lobster and some caviar.
The second spoon is pan-seared sea scallops with a quail egg.
Then the last one is a porcini halibut with a, like, a rich lobster stock, uh, shiitake mushrooms, and, uh, bok choy.
Oh, wow.
Can I tell you, I'm really impressed? You are trying to put all of those things in a spoon.
I won't try.
I will do it.
Jose comes up to me, tells me that's a lot of flavors to put on one spoon.
With all the challenges with people telling me in my ear, "Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm," and I listened a couple times, and when I listened I tripped and I ended up in the friggin' elimination box.
And this time around, I'm like, "You know what? "I'm gonna go with my gut, "I'm gonna go with what I believe in.
I know what I do is right, and I'm gonna do it.
" You use, uh, the smoker often? No.
- First time? - Yeah.
I was so scared the first time in my life I used this.
I'm gonna make it work.
I think Diane is really taking a big risk by going out from her comfort zone.
Are you not afraid that you're taking a risk of using a technique you never used before? - No.
- You aren't You are not afraid of that? No.
You can only learn if you make mistakes.
Three women finalists.
- Three women.
- With completely different backgrounds.
(Anthony) A private chef, the chef, and the home cook.
One hour left.
- Go time.
- Rock 'n' roll.
Oh, no.
That's not good.
It's too cooked.
It's very intense in here today.
But it should be, right? So proud of you.
You're doing really, really well.
I just hope it tastes good, ma.
- It's gonna taste great.
- It smells good.
It smells good.
Everything you've put in has been phenomenal.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
- Yeah, it looks awesome.
It's actually seriously nerve-racking that my friends are here.
Right now it's great for support, but at the same time, I'm trying to concentrate, so it's definitely overwhelming.
Where am I going? What am I making? What am I making? What am I making? (Brian) Having Jose Andres in the kitchen, Khristianne can't even speak looking at him.
That's, like, her favorite chief of all time.
Take a look at that.
You see the trophy? Yes, chef.
- Ooh.
- It's gonna be yours.
I don't know.
- And a car.
- And a car.
And $100,000.
- And that, too.
- Go, go.
(Laughs) Who's gonna win? Me.
I'm gonna win because I am that good.
Everybody's looking really good right now.
This is the finale.
This is the most important moment of their lives.
Having the set of three spoons is gonna make it complicated.
It's not really three opportunities to impress the judges.
It's three opportunities to screw up.
Yeah, I know.
That's true.
It's extremely important for all three dishes to be perfect today.
I am completely feeling the pressure right now.
Everything is riding on three spoons.
Everybody here is really talented.
They know a lot more than I do, but for me, keeping it simple has worked.
This is my advantage, is cooking simple.
Mmm.
That's good.
Why did I have to pick the most (bleep) complicated (bleep)? Five minutes left.
Spooning up in the kitchen for the last time.
- You are ahead of the game.
- I think so.
You're You're working with two pros, and here the home cook already is almost finished.
Three minutes left.
Thirty seconds left.
(Crowd cheering) Less than thirty seconds.
Once again, it's coming down to the last three seconds.
Every single second counts.
(Cheering) Five, four, three, two, one.
(Cheering) (Nigella) May the best taste win.
(Brian) Tonight's Hellmann's blue ribbon moment, where Khristianne brings out the best in her dish.
- You find the little basil leaf? - Yes, sir.
This is it.
This is it.
This is it.
- This is the best flavor.
Eat one.
- Oh, yeah.
Good one.
(Lowered voice) Boom! Boom! Boom! (Anthony) Here's how the winner is selected.
We taste each finalist's sequence of three spoons.
As always, we are tasting blind and have no idea who cooked what or what we are eating.
When all of the spoons have been tasted, we each secretly award one set of spoons a best ranking, and one set of spoons a worst ranking.
The cook whose spoons receive the highest collective ranking, wins the competition.
I gave it all I got, down to the last, last drop.
I am so proud of myself right now.
I sure as heck do not want to lose to a home cook.
- Y'all ready for this? - Ready.
I don't think my heart's ever pounded so much.
I thought I was gonna pass out.
That was very nice.
Everything work well in this spoon.
I mean, uni, lobster, caviar.
I start to relax a little bit.
But they got two more spoons to go.
Okay It's I'm into the next spoon now.
That shouldn't have worked, uh, the richness and the sweetness of the scallop with, uh, something as luxurious as an egg, - but that kind of That kind of worked for me.
- (Nigella) No, it really worked.
(Ludo) It is good, but it's missing something.
- Yeah, it is.
- Just something to just To rise the dish, you know, just to And it was so rich, the first one, - that it makes it come down a bit.
- Can I finish, Nigella? I was not finished.
- Ohh! Do it.
Do it.
- Yeah, he was thinking.
Ludo's thinking.
Don't interrupt his His train of thought here.
- No, it's okay, Nigella.
You know I like you.
- I do.
But it's missing little, uh, thing to bring the spoon, you know, more, like - Yes.
- All right.
Third spoon.
(Brian) Great broth.
(Ludo) Great flavor.
- Mm.
Lovely flavor.
Nice bit of vegetable.
- (Anthony) Coconut? I would've never picked those three in a row, and it worked for me.
I am feeling pretty good right now.
What I'm grasping on is that I've cooked everything perfectly.
(Nigella) Here we go.
(Khristianne) I'm biting my tongue and I'm biting my cheek, I'm biting my fingers.
I just don't know what to expect.
Duck? It's like a mini duck pancake or something, isn't it? I like the flavor, I just wish there was more duck.
I perhaps would've liked a tiny bit of cilantro.
It was good, but, you know, good wasn't good enough.
It had to be the best.
I'm moving on.
- Mmm.
- Perfect - Is that baby octopus in there? - Yep.
It's like the soupe de poisson of my youth.
Very really good.
- I feel like I'm back in Antibes, you know? - (Anthony) Yeah.
- That spoon was perfect.
- Yep.
Much better.
But then again, there's still a third one.
I'm a bit worried, because Nigella doesn't like purees.
- This is one of those dishes - (Ludo) It's good flavor.
That they got too much puree in it for me.
- Yeah, me, too.
- No.
- (Nigella) Yeah, I thought the sweet puree - Look, look - Nigella, you don't like sweet.
- No, no, no.
- In everything sweet - Yeah, but it was too much.
I'm saying I like the puree, but it had to be a whole lot less.
Was there a bit of vanilla? - I think so.
Something sweet there.
- Yeah.
- Because It was sweet, eh? - Yeah.
It was sweet? You think it was sweet? Watch out for Nigella.
She will cut a bitch.
- You're sweet.
- I know.
You're sweet, Ludo.
See, Malarkey? You finally like me.
(Laughs) I find a new friend on this show.
I love it.
I mean, to start with duck, it was brave.
- This was not a conservative, uh, array.
- Yes.
That second spoon was perfect.
- I love the second spoon.
- Absolutely flawless.
Hands-down, second spoon was awesome.
As far as in my head, it's 1 out of 3.
That's how it sounded like.
It feels so odd to be having our last spoons ever.
- This is it.
- I know.
The judges are about to taste my spoons, and that's when it all really hit me.
Like, this is a very, just, intense, intense moment.
It feels so odd to be having our last spoons ever.
- (Brian) This is it.
This is it.
- (Anthony) I know.
I'm depressed already.
(Sarah) I think the mentors will like these spoons because they're simple.
That's what's gotten me here.
Ooh, spicy.
Mm.
What is that? - Protein? - Is that sweet potato? Potato, salmon, mushroom, jalapeño.
(Nigella) I needed something to marry all the flavors together.
They were all individual flavors I need something just to marry it together.
I agree with that.
There was something There needed to be a combining element.
In France we do a lot of potato salad with fish.
So, yes, this dish is really for me a memory of France.
So that felt really good.
Next.
It's duck.
(Nigella) It's very French.
What is this, a trip down memory lane - for Ludo here going on? What - Who is lovin' Ludo? I mean, look, it's a It's a very simple spoon, this one.
Red wine, celery, and duck, that's it.
Good flavors.
Last spoon of the whole thing.
Mmm.
Beautiful.
Is there, like, a sauce soubise? - Yeah.
- 'Cause I am These are really simple, blunt It's just simple.
Blunt combinations of flavors here, but, man, they're really hittin' me right front and center.
I think there's something very charming about the simplicity of the of this trio.
Yeah, but it's a pretty conservative (Ludo) It's conservative.
Exactly.
But everything is well-executed.
I'm feeling so emotional.
But I think I definitely held my own today.
(Anthony) Sarah, Diane, Khristianne If you could excuse us.
The rest of you can stay.
We'll see you in a little while.
(Cheers and applause) (Brian) Oh, gosh.
Mama.
You know what? I'm just happy that there wasn't really anything bad about anyone's dishes.
No.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm having a lot of trouble looking at these three, okay? Each cook had one flawless spoon, I thought.
- (Brian) I I agree.
- I could viciously argue any one of these.
No, it's a struggle, huh? It's a huge struggle.
Those two hours went by like it was, like, a minute.
I felt really I had time.
You went, "I had time.
" (lmitates gunshot) - I had time.
- Do you feel good about what you guys made? - I do.
- Well, I gave it all I got.
I know.
We all did.
Oh, I'm gonna stress out.
Now's the time to lock in our decisions.
- Hang on.
Let me just really, really - (Brian) I'm in.
Okay.
- That's a yes? - Yes.
It's very, very intimidating, but I want this so bad.
I do.
I want this more than anything.
(Voice breaks) There's no words.
(Sarah) I've worked so hard in this competition.
And it all comes down to this.
Locked.
- Locked.
- (Brian) Locked.
- Hallelujah.
- Let there be a winner! Ahh! Get it done.
Ahh! (Anthony) If I was watching the show at home, I'd be rooting for Diane, because she's both skilled and because she wants it so badly.
(Brian) It would mean the world for me to have the winning cook.
Khristianne deserves it.
She's killing it.
She's got the style.
She's got the finesse.
(Ludo) I think it's pretty amazing to have a home cook in the final.
You know, so I'm I'm, too, am very proud of that.
If they had to lose, I think both Ludo and Brian would rather Diane were to win.
They don't want to lose to each other most of all.
(Brian) It's over.
There's something to be said for everyone.
There was It was amazing.
It was tough.
It was not This was brutal.
All of these were great.
I think we've all locked in our decisions, and we do really need to confront what we've done.
Ready? (Cheers and applause) Diane, Khristianne, and Sarah (Cheers and applause continue) You should all be very, very proud.
Congratulations.
Incredible work.
To get this far, to do so well, all of you We salute you.
One of you is about to win $100,000 provided by Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise and the all-new 2013 Ford C-Max hybrid, and of course the magnificent Taste trophy! (Cheering) Lovely! Yeah! Yes! We don't know which of you has cooked what, and what's more, we don't know how each of us has voted, so it's absolutely as much a surprise for us.
First of all, we're gonna find out who has come in third place.
But good luck to you all.
Okay, you ready? I'm ready.
Okay, so for third place - (Nigella) Sarah.
- Aw, Sarah.
You know what, Sarah? (Cheering) (Cheering continues) I am.
I'm Thank you.
I still feel incredible.
There's no room for any sadness or Or just any disappointment.
- Thank you so much.
- Sarah, you did amazing work.
To hear Ludo say that I'm proud of my girl Sarah just melts me, and it's just a moment that is always gonna be with me.
Thanks, Sarah.
(Whistling) (Cheering) Whoo! You ready for this? Let's get it over with.
I'm dying.
(Nigella) So this is it.
After eight weeks of competition, the winner of The Taste is (Brian) Khristianne! Yeah! Yes! (Cheering) Yes! Yes! Yes! (Laughing) Aah! (Anthony) Congratulations.
(Cheering continues) (Cheering continues) Thank you so much.
(Cheering continues) (Brian) The fact of the matter is she just dominated the entire competition.
She was always in the top.
Bar none, the best in the competition.
Just really, really proud of her and everything she's done.
You did so well.
You came so far.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations.
I'm so proud.
(Diane) I'm going home with so much pride that I made it in the top two.
- I love your food.
- Thank you.
It's just an amazing feeling, and Khristianne deserves it.
She really does.
Here's your winner! Yeah! Hold it up! (Cheering) Nice! It's surreal.
You know, these things do happen.
And these things do happen to people like me.
Wow.
Thank you so much.
(Laughs) You know, I didn't want to do this, but, Ludo, you see this right here, Ludo? (Ludo) Malarkey, I mean Whatever.
But Khristianne I'm very happy for her.
She well deserve it.
It is a good and noble thing to cook well.
Congratulations, Khristianne.
We salute you.
Good night.
Good night.
(Cheering) (Anthony) Good night.
Good night, everybody.