Top Chef: Just Desserts (2010) s01e09 Episode Script
Ben and Sylvias 61st
Previously on Top Chef: Just Desserts [Sugar vase shatters.]
Oh, my God.
Morgan bumps into my sugar vases.
[Bleep.]
.
I'm [Bleep.]
.
I'm sorry.
My biggest competition is Yigit, and I think he's really struggling.
Yigit, you look a little flustered.
I apologize.
I'd love to see him go home.
And the winner tonight is Zac.
Thank you.
Eric, your lack of creativity was disappointing.
Please pack your tools and go.
Now four pastry Chefs remain to compete for a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine festival, a German-engineered, sport-injected Buick Regal, and $100,000, furnished by Godiva Chocolatier.
Who has the creativity, the skill, and the drive to win Top Chef: Just Desserts? [Upbeat music.]
Top Chef: Just Desserts 1x09 Ben and Sylvias 61st [sighs.]
I have a bad feeling about today, because I definitely had a large bump in the road last challenge.
It was definitely a blow to my self-confidence.
I'm really not recovered physically or emotionally and I'm having a very hard time.
At this point, if I were to not be able to go to the finale, I would be devastated.
I really wanna win this, because Top Chef's never had a winner from San Francisco or a gay Chef, so today I have to be focused 150%.
The loft feels really empty this morning.
And I feel lonely.
Mm.
I miss my friends.
I miss my son.
At this point, I think there's an alliance of three versus me.
They have their little whisper conversations.
I'm like, "what's going on?" "Oh, nothing.
" I'm sick of these people Selfish little brats Let's go.
Which is why it's gonna feel great when I beat them.
Let's do it.
Today, as we go into the Top Chef kitchen, there's a giant pile of Godiva boxes.
And on top of that, lo and behold, the man is standing there-- Monsieur Francois Payard.
Good morning, Chefs.
All: Good morning, Gail.
He's also my old boss, and that makes me really nervous.
Please say hello to your guest judge for this round, James Seard-award winner, Chef/owner of Payard Patisserie and Bistro in New York and Las Vegas, Chef Francois Payard.
Francois Payard has a reputation as being a very, very tough cookie-- no pun intended.
So I'm scared out of my pants to cook for.
Chefs There's only one round to go before our finale.
It's been a long journey, and we've had the privilege of getting to know each one of you through your food.
Godiva's belgian heritage has helped to make it the leader in premium confectionaries around the world.
So for today's quickfire, you're gonna tell us your life story through a box of Godiva chocolates.
Yeah.
Each of you will need to make four unique chocolates that represent four unique milestones in your life.
One of them will need to represent a moment that you cherish above all others, your golden moment.
When I used to work with Daniel, we used to do bonbon service for all the tables.
So I feel like I have a good chance to redeem myself in this challenge.
And there's one more thing.
The winning Chef's chocolate story will soon have a national audience.
Godiva will develop a piece inspired by your winning recipe to be sold in over 250 stores nationwide.
That's amazing.
Like, talk about having a-a nationwide reach.
You have two hours.
Your time starts Now.
- Whoa! - Thank you.
Go, diva.
Oops.
Sorry.
Ah.
To make a chocolate truffle, chocolate has to crystallize.
the cocoa butter has to solidify.
That's how you get a wonderful texture.
It's a delicate balance.
Each truffle represents a different person in my life, because it's not just about me, it's about my support group.
We'll see how that turns out.
In proper bonbon technique, you usually take about two to three days.
So this is really gonna be a challenge.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Coming through, coming through, coming through.
The first thing I start to do is get my creams and my fusions going, so I can start emulsifying all my ganaches.
Coming through.
Once the bonbon molds are coated with the white chocolate, I'll fill them with the ganache and then tap them out.
Need to melt for temper time.
I do not want to disappoint Monsieur Francois Payard.
Being the multilingual person that I am, I moved to Brazil early on in my career to work at Payard Patisserie and Bistro.
I married a Brazilian woman-- totally beautiful woman.
A defining milestone in my life was my marriage.
That relationship didn't work out, so that truffle is going to incorporate a little bit of bittersweet ganache.
One hour, guys.
For my business, I make a lot of truffles.
And it's definitely an art form.
I decided to do one in the shape of a baseball I'm doing something, uh, with a caramel corn and peanuts.
Symbolizing the bond that me and my dad have over baseball.
45 minutes.
Cuarenta y cinco minutos.
Ah, looks good, looks good.
My golden-moment truffle is in honor of the birth of my son-- easily the most joyous day of my life.
My son's name is Dorian Aen, which means "the golden gift of peace.
" When I think of Aen, I think of green tea.
So I've got a green tea and white chocolate butter ganache.
Chai tea, orange flower, and then I've had many golden moments in my life.
But I wanted to signify the moment I fell in love.
My boyfriend and I, we actually met at Dolores Park.
We ended up sharing a croissant with an almond butter and honey filling.
To signify that, I'm making a milk-chocolate truffle with almond praline and caramelized honey.
Did it boil? Did it boil? It is about to now.
You didn't do anything to it, did you? I'm just, you know-- spin it.
That's okay, right? Yeah, that's fine.
20 minutes.
My golden moment is about my parents.
I want to celebrate their 35th anniversary.
My mother loves dark chocolate.
And my father loves pretzels.
I'm doing a dark-chocolate ganache with a pretzel crunch.
Mm-hmm.
Delicious.
My golden moment is when I started my business.
There's a lot of good times, but it's been very challenging.
So I'm making rocky road with marshmallows and roasted almonds and leaving it kind of bumpy-looking, because it's definitely been a rocky road.
[Laughs.]
Looking at Danielle's truffles, it's ridiculous.
Wack job I don't get her.
Danielle reminds me of a cartoon character.
And that's what her food's like.
Danielle, you can't cook.
You look like Marilyn Manson.
Please go home.
- 15 minutes.
- Oh I went to go get a piping bag from where they should be in the pantry.
[Bleep.]
.
Ugh.
And they were gone.
What happened to the frickin' blowtorch that was here? So I asked, "hey, does somebody have the piping bags?" Nobody answered me.
Looking around, and I'm like, "Zac, do you have the piping bags?" "Yeah.
" Tedious bull[Bleep.]
.
Hey, Zac.
[Bleep.]
Yourself.
I'll take all your [Bleep.]
, throw it in the [Bleep.]
Trash, watch you cry yourself to sleep.
When I finally go to unmold my strawberry bonbons, I tap it, tap it, tap it, and I'm furious because it cracks, and I throw my entire mold in the sink.
I don't have time to remold it, so I throw them in the silicone molds, hoping that they'll set up, so at least I can roll them into truffles.
And then I just pray.
I'm always the first one finished.
Chefs, five minutes.
The last five minutes are crazy.
All I need is one more, one more.
By throwing them in the blast freezer, chocolate contracts.
That normally takes a couple of hours.
I just poured chocolate in there 15 minutes ago.
There we go.
Big money.
Last minute.
Come on, guys.
This is not gonna work.
At the last moment, I checked the strawberry ganache in the freezer.
There's no way that's gonna come together.
It's just not setting up.
And I'm definitely mad at myself.
Ah, no way.
Time's up.
I got three good ones.
The other ones broke.
Earlier, I wanted some, and somebody took the whole roll.
Really? So when I got a whole roll, I kept it.
- God.
Shut up, Morgan.
- You shut up.
- Hi, Zac.
- Hi, Gail.
Chef, an honor.
So tell us about your box of chocolates.
My milestones are really my friends and family that I keep with me every day.
The milk chocolate, um, that represents my sister and brother-in-law.
I grew up in Maine.
We have great wild blueberries.
And she married a gentleman from Virginia, so Virginia peanuts.
The rolled truffle is green tea with a hint of lemon.
That represents my best friend Nica.
Every week, we get Sushi, and she orders a diet soda, takes the lemon, and she throws it into my green tea.
It's, like, our tradition.
Then what I call the South Pacific-- lemongrass, lime, a little ginger, and, um, it's representing Reed, my best friend.
It's too flat.
Finally, my golden moment, my parents.
This is their 35th wedding anniversary.
I-I made a, um, pretzel and feuilletine crunch on the bottom.
And then a 72% dark-chocolate ganache.
Very interesting, this one.
Thank you.
Chef Francois Payard, this is Danielle.
Hi, nice to meet you.
Starting with this one, it's, um, kind of representing all the family vacations we took to Hawaii.
So there's, uh, a pineapple jam and a coconut ganache.
The next one with the heart represents my niece.
She was born on Valentine's day.
And we always call her Hannah banana.
So I did a roasted-banana filling with milk chocolate.
This one that looks like a baseball represents my dad and just the bonding that we've had over baseball.
It has caramel corn and peanuts.
Really like the playfulness of this one.
And the crunchy of the popcorn.
It tastes like a baseball stadium, in a good way.
Final one--my golden moment is a rocky road.
It's representing my business that I started last year.
- Well, thank you, Danielle.
- Thank you.
I know so much more about you now.
Morgan.
There's a lot of emotion in that box.
Bear with me while I try to hold this together.
It was in culinary school that I learned the love of pastry.
To represent the birth of my passion, I've made a passion-fruit and milk-chocolate bonbon.
To represent, uh, my marriage, an acai rosewater jelly.
And underneath, there's a small layer of bittersweet ganache, as it did not work out.
Okay.
Probably one of the most trying moments of my life, this adventure here on Top Chef a mendiant and the rocher inside.
The mendiant represents the two plates of pressure from both sides just crushing my soul.
My God.
Morgan's won, like, three times the amount of money of anyone here, and he's still just, like, grumble, grumble, grumble, you know? It's just, like, good grief.
My golden moment is, uh, the birth of my son.
I've made a green tea and white chocolate butter ganache.
My son's name is dorian zen.
When I think of zen, I think of green tea.
Green tea's strong.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Morgan.
Hi, Yigit, how are you? I am a little intimidated, to say the least.
When Gail and, uh, Francois approach, I definitely start to feel flutters in my heart.
My fourth little paper cup's empty.
It's certainly not helping my ego at this point.
Well, one of my chocolates is sadly here, because I wanted to make a very soft creamy filling for Chef.
And when it unmolded, they crumbled.
The second chocolate I have represents me moving from turkey to America, which was a huge point in my life.
That has an apricot pate de fruit, 'cause in turkey we grow lots of apricots, and a little hint of, uh, orange-flower water.
My first pastry Chef introduced me to buddhism, so I wanted to have a delicate ganache that has kind of a crunchy texture, 'cause, you know, buddhism-- you kinda of get through your crunchy core to get to your soft center.
This one is white and a little bit sweet, you know.
You like-- you're on the sweet side.
- And my golden moment-- I think chocolates equals love.
And I wanted to make one for my boyfriend.
So I made an almond praline and caramelized honey ganache.
And I hope you enjoy.
- I like this one.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
I think Yigit's falling apart.
You know, like [Scoffs.]
You can't finish your truffles? Come on, man.
Pull it together.
I don't wanna win by default.
Francois, how do you think our Chefs did with their Godiva chocolates? Some fell short, and some did very beautiful chocolate.
Yigit, because you cannot finish, you cannot be judged.
Zac, I really like what you did, but you really have a sweet tooth.
Pretty much all of your chocolate was much more sweet chocolate.
I wish to have stronger flavor behind it.
So that leaves Danielle and Morgan.
They're both very, very good.
You know, Danielle, it was very interesting flavor.
I love the popcorn one, but I really like the one with pineapple.
It was very interesting.
Thank you.
- Morgan's chocolate was very nice-looking.
I love them, but the green tea was a little bit too sweet for my taste.
It was both very, very good, both very, very different.
If I have to choose one, I may choose Morgan.
Congratulations, Morgan.
- Thank you.
- Morgan wins Again.
[Laughs.]
And has no, like, emotion whatsoever.
It's just annoying to have someone that's, like, so, like, grr, bah-humbug.
You know, really? Chef Francois, if you had to pick one chocolate from Morgan's to make available nationally in Godiva stores across the country, which chocolate would it be? If I have to choose one, at least it was a Top Chef one, with a touch of salt on the top, it was a very good combination together.
Thank you, Chef.
The box should say "Morgan Wilson's chocolate" and then have a picture of his face going For your next elimination challenge, we have a very special guest.
In walks the cutest elderly gentleman I have ever seen in my life.
A very handsome group of Chefs.
Chefs, I'd like you to meet Ben.
Hello, Chefs.
My wife and I are preparing the celebration of our 61st anniversary.
And that's why we came to you.
Chefs, for this elimination challenge, you're each gonna make them an anniversary cake.
I met my wife at a beach party that I attended reluctantly.
One of the young women wearing a very bright-yellow two-piece bathing suit said, "I'm tired of laying around.
I'm going swimming.
Who wants to go with me?" I jumped to my feet.
And it took two years, and we were married.
Ben's friends will be hosting a party to celebrate their anniversary at their Beverly Hills home.
The winner of this challenge will receive $15,000, furnished by Dawn Hand Renewal.
All right, Dawn.
You will be judged on the overall look of your cake and, of course, the flavor.
Good luck.
$200 goes very quick.
This is it.
There is no hiding anymore.
One of us is gonna go home today.
So we're all definitely very nervous.
It would have been nice to see those before.
I'm pissed off at myself after today's quickfire, but at this point, the goal at hand is so close, I just really have to go into my zen place and try to hold it together.
13 minutes, guys.
La da Dee, Dee Dee Dee Dee dah the thing about Morgan is he works very, very quickly, and he uses a lot of technique.
Six minutes.
But I think he's overconfident.
- Thank you so much.
- Yep.
It's a long way to fall if you're always kind of on the top.
You know, people think I'm the underdog, but maybe I kind of like that.
Kind of be, like, a little stealth just, like, zoom, you know? Like, I'm kind of okay with that.
I would love for you all to spend a little bit of time with Ben and his wife, so here they are.
All: Hi! Oh, God, I don't even know why I didn't see this coming.
Our elimination challenge is to make an anniversary cake for Ben and his wife for their 61st anniversary.
We have ten hours today, and tomorrow we have two hours to finish.
Oh, God.
This is not my challenge.
I have definitely never made a cake like this before.
Ay yi yi.
I am incredibly nervous.
After this, it's going to be the final three.
So the stakes are raised.
Whoo! The pressure's on.
- Hi, Chefs.
- Hey, Gail.
I would love for you all to spend a little bit of time with Ben and his wife, so here they are.
All: Hi! [Laughter and applause.]
Duh.
It's Sylvia Weinstock.
Oh, God, I don't even know why I didn't see this coming.
[Laughs.]
Sylvia's back from the third challenge.
The flavors have to sing to you.
It's a huge deal to make a cake for Sylvia Weinstock.
She is the cake queen.
I'm gonna leave you all alone together, and I'll see you guys tomorrow.
I can't wait to see what you make.
Take care.
So now we're gonna brainstorm.
I love lemon.
Yes.
- And he loves chocolate.
- Oh So that might help you in something.
The dress I wore was gray, but I carried pink roses.
We just knew that we were compatible.
And, of course, let's not forget chemistry-- very important.
Sex is a wonderful thing.
[Laughter.]
Love you.
When the beach party broke up, Sylvia and I ended up at her cousin's apartment in each other's arms-- - smooching.
The word was "smooching" at that time.
- Under a piano-- what kind of piano? Well, it had to be a grand then.
It couldn't have been an upright.
It had to be a grand to be smooching with you.
We are the luckiest people.
We love each other.
We have six grandchildren Three married daughters, and we're looking forward so much for your creations of an anniversary cake.
- Thank you.
- Absolute pleasure.
It was a pleasure to meet you.
Always.
Thank you so much.
No smooching under the piano.
[Laughs.]
We've moved on, honey.
No one can be grumpy in their presence.
They're just amazing.
Okay, I'm ready to cook.
I like the sort of smooching under the piano.
This cake could make or break my Top Chef adventure.
And I love the pink flowers.
I have to make it into the finale.
So it's the most important cake I've ever made.
2 hours, 28 minutes, guys.
I would like Danielle and Yigit and myself in the final.
Morgan, when you're done, I will be happy to take that Hobart from you.
Zac, he's the most likely to throw someone under the bus.
Whose bowl on the Hobart is this? - Mine.
- Can you do something with it? To make it into the finale, Zac would turn your oven off, set your mise-en-place on fire, and stab you in the back.
Sylvia Weinstock mentioned she wore a gray wedding dress, so I'm like, "I'm gonna make a gray cake and do pink roses.
" You know what? They remind me of my grandparents.
I want to do two cakes-- one for Sylvia and one for Ben, bound together by the passion-fruit ice cream which represents their passion.
I've been accused of not having enough punch in my passion fruit.
That's punchy.
Zac keeps running over to Yigit, like, "what do you think about this?" Where's the roll? And, "pss, pss, pss, pss, pss.
" I'm a big [Bleep.]
Queer.
Nice.
I know that they're friends and two-thirds of team diva, but if Zac doesn't do well, there's nothing Yigit can do for him.
Hey, Chefs.
Hello, Chef.
- Zac, how are we? - I'm good.
Yeah? So what are you gonna do? - I'm gonna do a three-tiered round cake.
But that's gonna be not as kitschy as the normal Zac cake.
So no disco dust on that cake? No disco dust.
All right, Chef, thank you so much.
This is a pretty daunting task, you know.
To make a cake for Sylvia Weinstock would scare even me.
It's nice to see Zac's going out of his comfort zone a little bit.
I think he's really adapting to the challenge.
You know, we're not gonna see the traditional Zac.
He's really cooking for, you know, the client, and I think that that's great.
Morgan, were you surprised when it was Sylvia that walked in today? It totally made me have to, like, go back and revamp my whole cake, uh, 'cause I've made a cake for her before.
And if I didn't learn a lesson there, then I deserve to lose.
- Best of luck.
- I appreciate it, Chef.
I think it's great that Morgan actually listened to Sylvia last time, and he's not using fondant.
He's going all butter cream.
Smart move.
- Chef.
- Yigit.
I want to make them two simple cakes, so for her, I'm actually just gonna go very classic-- lemon cream, raspberries, and citrus butter cream.
And for her husband, I'm gonna make dark-milk-chocolate mousse, and inside, I'm gonna make a very thin layer of, um, white-peach pates de fruit.
That's pretty ambitious.
I do feel that the competition of Yigit's cake might work against him.
So hopefully, Yigit's cake isn't too fussy and too complicated that Sylvia's turned off by it.
- Hey, Chef.
- So tell me about the cake.
I'm gonna do chocolate.
And I'm gonna do a sour-cherry jam and then, uh, butter cream.
Some of the competitors are doing two different cakes.
Sylvia does like super, super amazing cakes, but she also likes simplicity.
Look forward to trying your cake tomorrow.
Thank you so much.
I feel like Danielle thinks of herself as the underdog in this competition.
She's been in the bottom a lot.
She really wants to be in this finale, and I think this is her chance to really show that she belongs there.
All right, Chefs.
Good luck.
Can't wait to see what you guys make tomorrow.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Good night.
Thank you, Chef.
I get my base assembled.
[Sighs.]
And then I look at the cake, and I'm like, "this is not what I intended.
" I'm so stupid.
And there's really no peddling back at this point--I can't remake that bottom layer.
Top Chef: Just disaster.
I'm just gonna have to go all-out on the rest of the cake.
Half an hour! Piping bags? Anyone have the roll? I tried looking for them.
I didn't see them.
Ohh.
Morgan has this thing where he thinks people, like, hoard stuff.
You know, earlier, I wanted something, and somebody took the whole roll.
- Really? - I got a whole roll-- - I just think it's funny that you would make a big deal about it, and then you'd go take all the-- I mean, like, do you need all of those? Why should I continue helping people in the way that I constantly have when all they do is [Bleep.]
On me? That's the way you guys play.
You just get it right back from me.
- Oh, God.
Shut up, Morgan.
- You shut up.
Then he's like, [deep voice.]
"Well, that's the way you guys are doing it.
" It's like, oh, my God.
I'm sick of your [Bleep.]
.
I'm just, like, over it, you know? If you want to, like, act like a jerk, then just stay over there, 'cause I really don't want to deal with it.
Stupid [Bleep.]
.
- I'm just scrambling to bubble-wrap my cakes.
I don't want them to be damaged in transport.
Does anyone else need bubble wrap before I kill it? I've definitely had a bad run of luck lately.
But at this point, there's no room for mistakes.
As far as assembly of the cake, I feel good.
I have plenty of time to put it together tomorrow.
My concern is the texture, because my cake is already baked.
At this point, that's completely out of my hands.
30 seconds! We head to Ben and Sylvia's dear friend's house to assemble our anniversary cakes.
Oh, you are so kind.
It's beautiful and faces out on a pool.
Oh, it's like Christmas.
Hopefully, you were good this year, Danielle.
So we have two hours to get the cake done.
Beauty, eh? Doesn't take me two hours to pipe Shell borders.
It's literally 30 minutes of work.
Yigit, do you want to keep your stuff in my cooler for the time being? Sure, thank you.
Morgan finishes early, which, you know, we're all kind of surprised.
- Oh, Morganza-- always the showman.
- Maybe he should be double-checking his cake, because it looks way too simple for me.
[Laughing.]
That's not a good laugh.
Something tells me that this is not gonna fit in.
I realize that I'm not gonna put out a gorgeous cake for Sylvia Weinstock.
So I decide, "you know what? I'm just gonna have to go Zac.
" Disco dust comes out.
White chocolate is all over the place.
There's brittle on it.
Do you think there's too much? You might want to ask that question differently.
[Indistinct chatter.]
They had their first kiss under a piano.
So the guests start to arrive.
And it's kind of nice to see smiling faces and describe your anniversary cake.
They are just the most adorable couple, ever.
- Sylvia! - Oh, Sylvia! Happy anniversary.
Thank you so much for having us at your beautiful home.
This is a really special occasion.
Well, for Sylvia, we would do anything.
I think it's time that we all eat some cake.
Let's do it.
Hi, Morgan.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
You met on the beach, so I wanted to do shells.
And after the beach party retired, they shared their first romantic moment under a baby grand piano.
I wanted to bring the wedding bouquet, so I thought, "oh, we'll fill the piano with pink flowers.
" You did a great job.
Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
The yellow is Sylvia's bikini top.
[Laughing.]
I love that! I really like the fact that Morgan created a three-dimensional, like, topper, with the piano motif, the bikini top.
Whether or not you lost your top on the first date, we don't want to know.
But it was a nice touch on the cake.
It's a work of art.
I like the texture of the yellow cake.
I like the chocolate cake too, by the way.
And I'm not a chocolate lover.
I thought Morgan had the best presentation.
I agree.
- Hi, Danielle.
- Hi.
You wore a gray wedding dress.
I made it gray.
And then I think we were all kind of inspired by the cute under-the-piano kissing story, so I did piano keys going up the cake.
And you held pink roses, so I did pink roses.
At the top, I did three large roses and then six small for your three children and your six grandkids.
That's just sweet.
- Thank you so much, Danielle.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, darling.
[Indistinct chatter.]
Mmm.
- The chocolate sponge is very moist, you know, and, uh-- - and the filling flavor comes out.
It's very good.
We don't like the color.
It's battleship gray.
Maybe that's a reference to 61 years married.
That's like a battleship, right? - [Laughter.]
- Thank you! - I'm just saying, like-- - I think it's more like a love boat, Johnny.
- Here you go.
- Thank you.
Enjoy.
You're welcome.
- Hello.
- Hello, Sylvia.
Nice to see you.
Oh, my.
You know, Sylvia pulled Ben into the water to go splash and play, and I just love the idea of the splashing and the whimsy in the water.
And the black and white pulling in the piano theme to it.
Zac, his cake is the Christmas tree I didn't want mine to be.
He will have to sell his cake to get into the final three.
The white chocolate is a Sea foam, and also a kind of play on your bikini strings - Ohh.
- Ms.
Weinstock.
The cakes inside, I did two, which are meant to complement each other.
I did a passion-fruit ice cream to tie the two of them together.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations.
Flavor-wise, I think it's delicious.
Visually, this was a cake-tastrophe.
I think the presentation of the cake is totally his personality, right? But I cannot say that it is my favorite presentation of a cake.
The guy's creative, but it's not elegant enough.
Yeah.
You eat with your eyes first.
If it's not appealing, you never want to buy it.
It would be a great bar mitzvah cake.
I really appreciate the fact that Zac incorporated a hazelnut praline into his passion-fruit ice cream.
To be surprised by a texture makes me happy.
Do you like the chocolate sponge? The taste of the cocoa powder is almost burned.
I have an aftertaste in my mouth.
But the yellow cake was actually quite nice and moist.
I made something different The story of my life.
- Hi, Yigit.
- Hi, Gail.
Since you guys talked about meeting at the beach, I made two different colors of butter cream to give it a sand texture.
And I made some pink flowers.
I actually made two different flavors of cake.
I'm really sorry.
This is not coming out too well.
I'm feeling really confident, yet the only thing that lingers in mind is my lemon cake.
When I try to cut it, pates de fruit is actually a little bit difficult to get through.
And I'm afraid that it might actually end up being a texture that I'm not too happy with.
- Thank you.
- It's an honor.
Thank you very much.
The creme fraiche sorbet is really super creamy.
Yes, I like the sorbets.
But I think, when it comes to the cake, that pates de fruit is pretty tough.
I think he was trying to be too complicated, too many layer.
It's like a woman who wears all her jewelry to the occasion.
Don't do it.
But I think, when it comes to the presentation, it was pretty nice-- the idea of having more layers, more layers.
And definitely having Sylvia's glasses on there.
I think it was kind of a nice little signature there.
I loved Yigit's cake.
I thought it was fantastic.
- Did you try hers? - Oh, yeah.
That's delicious.
What's that crunch in there? Those little crunchy balls.
I really, really want to be in the finale.
I feel really confident about what I did.
And luckily for me, you're always being judged on what you present to them right now.
You could have done the most amazing things this whole time, and if you made the ugliest cake they've ever seen in their life, you're gonna go home.
If anyone wants to try mine.
I have not put out a good product--I know it.
Make sure you get some brittle.
[Laughs.]
But I think I deserve a spot in the top three.
I would rather have the cake scream Zac than be in a culinary no-man's land.
I don't think Morgan deserves to go to the finale.
It was a white cake with a piano on top.
I thought it was all too safe.
I really have no idea how today is gonna play out.
It's not part of my character to jump up and down and sing show tunes.
You're in this competitive environment.
Rituals tend to be that thing that keep you comfortable, that keep you in that space that you've been successful in.
It has become an absolute ritual.
I'm the last person to leave the loft.
Every single time, I close the door.
I'll do everything that I need to do to win.
Let's do it.
I want to win.
[French accent.]
Can't mess with tradition.
This competition is, like, climbing.
There's, like, this big, difficult thing in front of you, and the fear of falling off it and getting seriously [Bleep.]
Up makes you shake.
And it's just like learning what the challenge is.
And you're looking at the challenge going, "uh" And then you have to compose yourself, focus, so that you can get to the top safely and finish.
And the higher you get, the bigger the fall.
Exactly.
To survival.
Hey.
Come on.
To survival.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
So today's challenge was to design an anniversary cake for Ben Weinstock and his famed wife Sylvia Weinstock.
The winner of this challenge will receive $15,000.
And three of you will go on to our Top Chef: Just Desserts finale.
Danielle, let's start with you.
I think yours was very imaginative in having actually the piano keys, and thinking in the steps and going up the cake, I think.
So that was pretty brilliant.
I have to say that when I take the first bite of your cake, it was very moist, and the flavor was very, very good together.
Thank you.
Danielle, when you think about the color gray, though, in the spectrum of colors of food, gray is really an unappetizing color.
Sylvia mentioned her colors, and she wore a gray wedding dress and pink roses.
I kind of liked that when I thought of the color combinations.
I--I don't know.
I kind of like gray now.
It's kind of my thing.
The reference that Sylvia said was, "it's battleship gray.
" Yigit.
When we met with Sylvia and Ben, they really wanted to be about their story and about representing their love.
And almost kind of start to cry, actually.
So I figured that Sylvia wanted something that's warm, and I think that has quite a story in it too.
We had spoke on it yesterday, Yigit, how it came through the kitchen.
And you know, I could just listen to you talk, I was like, "what? More? More? Really, more?" Is this the same cake? You over-thought it.
I think you made it too complicated.
I am happy, though, that you flavored your butter cream, Yigit.
Nobody else really thought to do that.
It was actually a flavor element, and I thought that carried through, and that was good.
You know, when I was looking at it, it was, for me, the most elegant one.
You know, it was very, very nice.
The glasses was very nice.
I love your top.
You did what-- the chocolate on the top was very nice, very well-balanced.
Thank you, Chef.
I think for all of us, it was just the pate de fruit.
That didn't work.
And it wasn't even the flavor so much as that texture.
It made such a distinct separation in the cake that it forced the cake to sort of fall apart.
And it's not something that I've ever done before, actually.
I usually do make a fruit compote, and, you know, it's just I-- I guess wanted to take an extra step.
Morgan.
I loved that you was much more simpler on your idea.
I like the piano on the top.
But the panna cotta was missing a little bit of acidity.
When it came down to the texture of the cake, I must say, the chocolate one was actually a little dry.
You tied in the beach with your Shell border.
Shell border was uneven, and we could actually see the spacing between the cakes, like there was a black mark, like a shadowing.
That kind of threw the balance of the cake off a bit.
Zac.
I mean, I struggled on this one.
Um, Sylvia is a force to be reckoned with in the cake world.
So how do you make a cake for her without insulting her? And, you know, I just had to gravitate towards where I was comfortable.
You were thinking maybe the layers and the marriage and the years, but altogether, I think, when you have several layers of cream, several layers of genoise, altogether, when you taste it, I think it's more moist.
So I think that was a winning point in your cake.
- I respect the fact that you, like-- you brought them back to their childhood.
But I don't think it really represented where they are now, you know? It would have been great to figure out how to do all that in a more mature way.
Everything just got the best of me, and it turned out a complicated mess.
However, every day I've come in with excitement.
I've been excited to be here.
And it's a great learning experience, and I think there's people who play it safe.
I'm just gonna say it, you know.
It really-- it upsets me that, you know, Morgan won $20,000 in the chocolate fashion challenge.
Couldn't care less.
Won the Godiva challenge.
Couldn't care less.
It's not part of my character, um, to jump up and down and flail and sing show tunes.
I--I don't think it's polite to go, "ha! I won!" You know, I would rather remain composed than freak out like a little girl.
Okay.
We have to make a decision right now of who's gonna go on to our finale and who's gonna go home.
So please return to the stew room, and we'll call you back when we've made our decision.
Thank you very much.
[Whispering.]
Suck it, Zac.
It's personality.
It's not personal.
- Dude - You know.
He's like, "oh, you know, it's not personal.
It's personality.
" It's like, "yeah, and yours sucks.
Go buy a new one.
" Well, we have a really big decision to make now.
And I think he executed it to the best of his ability this time.
He is the flamboyant artist, right? And I think now he started putting everything together.
And as he was doing it, I think he was just talking back to himself.
The flavor of the cocoa burned and everything.
Though the sorbet was very good.
But, like, we say, you know, it's all about the cake.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Zac was Morgan.
Morgan seemed to have really held back.
Kept it really simple.
The look of the cake, I think, was the most appropriate for Sylvia.
Yeah, when it comes to more appropriate, I kind of agree.
And again, it's true that when you go so simple, it has to be perfect, right? And it was not.
Going to the flavor, Morgan's cake really wasn't my favorite.
It was kind of bland to me.
And then there was the color of Danielle's cake.
You know, in Danielle's defense, that was, "oh, everybody liked gray.
That's what they wore.
That was their dresses.
" Yeah, but she's not making their wedding cake in 1940.
She's making their anniversary cake today.
But when we taste the cake, you know, the cake, it was incredible.
The flavor was really there.
Yigit's cake.
Yigit made his cake on the outside with Zac's mind inside.
Too bad, you know.
It was much too complicated.
And, to tell you the truth, I don't remember the cake.
I think the flavors muddled and, like, canceled each other out, you know? There was too much going on and, you know, you said you can't remember the cake, but what I do remember is that pates de fruit.
And I remember that I didn't like it.
Sounds like we have a winner and a loser.
Let's bring them out.
[Suspenseful music.]
Chefs, first we'd like to say how proud we are of all of you.
You've all done a really tremendous job and have really made me proud to be a pastry Chef.
You all deserve to be in the finals.
But unfortunately, only three of you can go.
Francois, as our guest judge, please announce the winner.
Our decision was very complicated.
You know, between the cake, the look of the cake, the taste, we all agree the most delicious cake was Danielle.
[Applause.]
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I won! Hurray! Thank you.
Congratulations, Danielle.
You just won $15,000, furnished by Dawn Hand Renewal.
- [Laughs.]
- And You're going on to our finale.
I feel so good.
Regardless of what happens, it's an honor to be, like, wow, you know, I'm in the top three.
I made it this far.
Two of you will be joining Danielle in our finale.
Unfortunately, one of you will be going home.
Morgan, we feel you've played it too safe today.
At this stage of the game, you have to cook to win.
Zac, we've always been very excited to see how Zac brings Zac to the table.
But unfortunately, you put a little too much Zac into Sylvia and Ben's cake.
Yeah.
Yigit, you've shown us a glorious range of skills.
Unfortunately, there's one technique you're yet to master: The art of restraint.
Zac Your dessert just didn't measure up.
Please pack your tools and go.
Mmm.
I wasn't surprised I was eliminated.
I made a cake wreck.
[Laughs.]
I'll see you soon.
I'm surprised that the judges didn't bring up how rubbery Morgan's cake was, though.
I love you, baby.
I love you too.
Kick some ass.
The disco dust is under my station if you guys need it, all right? I've loved every second of this competition.
Bye, guys.
Bye.
I've loved every twist, and I can't wait to see what happens after this.
I'm so invigorated as a Chef.
But I have some new tricks, and I'm ready to go out there and kick some ass as a pastry Chef.
Have disco dust, will travel.
Next time, on Top Chef: Just Desserts - Uh-oh.
Aah! Ohh.
I'm busting out all the stops.
Danielle's an idiot.
[Laughs.]
Yes, Chef! I'm Phoenix rising from the ashes.
I smell $100,000.
Oh, my God, they totally just died.
I would order this on a menu.
First course, Danielle.
The sorbet is very icy.
It really tastes damn good.
That is just unbelievable.
It's quite impressive.
One of you is the first winner of Top Chef: Just Desserts.
For more about the recipes you've seen tonight, go to bravotv.
com.
Oh, my God.
Morgan bumps into my sugar vases.
[Bleep.]
.
I'm [Bleep.]
.
I'm sorry.
My biggest competition is Yigit, and I think he's really struggling.
Yigit, you look a little flustered.
I apologize.
I'd love to see him go home.
And the winner tonight is Zac.
Thank you.
Eric, your lack of creativity was disappointing.
Please pack your tools and go.
Now four pastry Chefs remain to compete for a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine festival, a German-engineered, sport-injected Buick Regal, and $100,000, furnished by Godiva Chocolatier.
Who has the creativity, the skill, and the drive to win Top Chef: Just Desserts? [Upbeat music.]
Top Chef: Just Desserts 1x09 Ben and Sylvias 61st [sighs.]
I have a bad feeling about today, because I definitely had a large bump in the road last challenge.
It was definitely a blow to my self-confidence.
I'm really not recovered physically or emotionally and I'm having a very hard time.
At this point, if I were to not be able to go to the finale, I would be devastated.
I really wanna win this, because Top Chef's never had a winner from San Francisco or a gay Chef, so today I have to be focused 150%.
The loft feels really empty this morning.
And I feel lonely.
Mm.
I miss my friends.
I miss my son.
At this point, I think there's an alliance of three versus me.
They have their little whisper conversations.
I'm like, "what's going on?" "Oh, nothing.
" I'm sick of these people Selfish little brats Let's go.
Which is why it's gonna feel great when I beat them.
Let's do it.
Today, as we go into the Top Chef kitchen, there's a giant pile of Godiva boxes.
And on top of that, lo and behold, the man is standing there-- Monsieur Francois Payard.
Good morning, Chefs.
All: Good morning, Gail.
He's also my old boss, and that makes me really nervous.
Please say hello to your guest judge for this round, James Seard-award winner, Chef/owner of Payard Patisserie and Bistro in New York and Las Vegas, Chef Francois Payard.
Francois Payard has a reputation as being a very, very tough cookie-- no pun intended.
So I'm scared out of my pants to cook for.
Chefs There's only one round to go before our finale.
It's been a long journey, and we've had the privilege of getting to know each one of you through your food.
Godiva's belgian heritage has helped to make it the leader in premium confectionaries around the world.
So for today's quickfire, you're gonna tell us your life story through a box of Godiva chocolates.
Yeah.
Each of you will need to make four unique chocolates that represent four unique milestones in your life.
One of them will need to represent a moment that you cherish above all others, your golden moment.
When I used to work with Daniel, we used to do bonbon service for all the tables.
So I feel like I have a good chance to redeem myself in this challenge.
And there's one more thing.
The winning Chef's chocolate story will soon have a national audience.
Godiva will develop a piece inspired by your winning recipe to be sold in over 250 stores nationwide.
That's amazing.
Like, talk about having a-a nationwide reach.
You have two hours.
Your time starts Now.
- Whoa! - Thank you.
Go, diva.
Oops.
Sorry.
Ah.
To make a chocolate truffle, chocolate has to crystallize.
the cocoa butter has to solidify.
That's how you get a wonderful texture.
It's a delicate balance.
Each truffle represents a different person in my life, because it's not just about me, it's about my support group.
We'll see how that turns out.
In proper bonbon technique, you usually take about two to three days.
So this is really gonna be a challenge.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Coming through, coming through, coming through.
The first thing I start to do is get my creams and my fusions going, so I can start emulsifying all my ganaches.
Coming through.
Once the bonbon molds are coated with the white chocolate, I'll fill them with the ganache and then tap them out.
Need to melt for temper time.
I do not want to disappoint Monsieur Francois Payard.
Being the multilingual person that I am, I moved to Brazil early on in my career to work at Payard Patisserie and Bistro.
I married a Brazilian woman-- totally beautiful woman.
A defining milestone in my life was my marriage.
That relationship didn't work out, so that truffle is going to incorporate a little bit of bittersweet ganache.
One hour, guys.
For my business, I make a lot of truffles.
And it's definitely an art form.
I decided to do one in the shape of a baseball I'm doing something, uh, with a caramel corn and peanuts.
Symbolizing the bond that me and my dad have over baseball.
45 minutes.
Cuarenta y cinco minutos.
Ah, looks good, looks good.
My golden-moment truffle is in honor of the birth of my son-- easily the most joyous day of my life.
My son's name is Dorian Aen, which means "the golden gift of peace.
" When I think of Aen, I think of green tea.
So I've got a green tea and white chocolate butter ganache.
Chai tea, orange flower, and then I've had many golden moments in my life.
But I wanted to signify the moment I fell in love.
My boyfriend and I, we actually met at Dolores Park.
We ended up sharing a croissant with an almond butter and honey filling.
To signify that, I'm making a milk-chocolate truffle with almond praline and caramelized honey.
Did it boil? Did it boil? It is about to now.
You didn't do anything to it, did you? I'm just, you know-- spin it.
That's okay, right? Yeah, that's fine.
20 minutes.
My golden moment is about my parents.
I want to celebrate their 35th anniversary.
My mother loves dark chocolate.
And my father loves pretzels.
I'm doing a dark-chocolate ganache with a pretzel crunch.
Mm-hmm.
Delicious.
My golden moment is when I started my business.
There's a lot of good times, but it's been very challenging.
So I'm making rocky road with marshmallows and roasted almonds and leaving it kind of bumpy-looking, because it's definitely been a rocky road.
[Laughs.]
Looking at Danielle's truffles, it's ridiculous.
Wack job I don't get her.
Danielle reminds me of a cartoon character.
And that's what her food's like.
Danielle, you can't cook.
You look like Marilyn Manson.
Please go home.
- 15 minutes.
- Oh I went to go get a piping bag from where they should be in the pantry.
[Bleep.]
.
Ugh.
And they were gone.
What happened to the frickin' blowtorch that was here? So I asked, "hey, does somebody have the piping bags?" Nobody answered me.
Looking around, and I'm like, "Zac, do you have the piping bags?" "Yeah.
" Tedious bull[Bleep.]
.
Hey, Zac.
[Bleep.]
Yourself.
I'll take all your [Bleep.]
, throw it in the [Bleep.]
Trash, watch you cry yourself to sleep.
When I finally go to unmold my strawberry bonbons, I tap it, tap it, tap it, and I'm furious because it cracks, and I throw my entire mold in the sink.
I don't have time to remold it, so I throw them in the silicone molds, hoping that they'll set up, so at least I can roll them into truffles.
And then I just pray.
I'm always the first one finished.
Chefs, five minutes.
The last five minutes are crazy.
All I need is one more, one more.
By throwing them in the blast freezer, chocolate contracts.
That normally takes a couple of hours.
I just poured chocolate in there 15 minutes ago.
There we go.
Big money.
Last minute.
Come on, guys.
This is not gonna work.
At the last moment, I checked the strawberry ganache in the freezer.
There's no way that's gonna come together.
It's just not setting up.
And I'm definitely mad at myself.
Ah, no way.
Time's up.
I got three good ones.
The other ones broke.
Earlier, I wanted some, and somebody took the whole roll.
Really? So when I got a whole roll, I kept it.
- God.
Shut up, Morgan.
- You shut up.
- Hi, Zac.
- Hi, Gail.
Chef, an honor.
So tell us about your box of chocolates.
My milestones are really my friends and family that I keep with me every day.
The milk chocolate, um, that represents my sister and brother-in-law.
I grew up in Maine.
We have great wild blueberries.
And she married a gentleman from Virginia, so Virginia peanuts.
The rolled truffle is green tea with a hint of lemon.
That represents my best friend Nica.
Every week, we get Sushi, and she orders a diet soda, takes the lemon, and she throws it into my green tea.
It's, like, our tradition.
Then what I call the South Pacific-- lemongrass, lime, a little ginger, and, um, it's representing Reed, my best friend.
It's too flat.
Finally, my golden moment, my parents.
This is their 35th wedding anniversary.
I-I made a, um, pretzel and feuilletine crunch on the bottom.
And then a 72% dark-chocolate ganache.
Very interesting, this one.
Thank you.
Chef Francois Payard, this is Danielle.
Hi, nice to meet you.
Starting with this one, it's, um, kind of representing all the family vacations we took to Hawaii.
So there's, uh, a pineapple jam and a coconut ganache.
The next one with the heart represents my niece.
She was born on Valentine's day.
And we always call her Hannah banana.
So I did a roasted-banana filling with milk chocolate.
This one that looks like a baseball represents my dad and just the bonding that we've had over baseball.
It has caramel corn and peanuts.
Really like the playfulness of this one.
And the crunchy of the popcorn.
It tastes like a baseball stadium, in a good way.
Final one--my golden moment is a rocky road.
It's representing my business that I started last year.
- Well, thank you, Danielle.
- Thank you.
I know so much more about you now.
Morgan.
There's a lot of emotion in that box.
Bear with me while I try to hold this together.
It was in culinary school that I learned the love of pastry.
To represent the birth of my passion, I've made a passion-fruit and milk-chocolate bonbon.
To represent, uh, my marriage, an acai rosewater jelly.
And underneath, there's a small layer of bittersweet ganache, as it did not work out.
Okay.
Probably one of the most trying moments of my life, this adventure here on Top Chef a mendiant and the rocher inside.
The mendiant represents the two plates of pressure from both sides just crushing my soul.
My God.
Morgan's won, like, three times the amount of money of anyone here, and he's still just, like, grumble, grumble, grumble, you know? It's just, like, good grief.
My golden moment is, uh, the birth of my son.
I've made a green tea and white chocolate butter ganache.
My son's name is dorian zen.
When I think of zen, I think of green tea.
Green tea's strong.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Morgan.
Hi, Yigit, how are you? I am a little intimidated, to say the least.
When Gail and, uh, Francois approach, I definitely start to feel flutters in my heart.
My fourth little paper cup's empty.
It's certainly not helping my ego at this point.
Well, one of my chocolates is sadly here, because I wanted to make a very soft creamy filling for Chef.
And when it unmolded, they crumbled.
The second chocolate I have represents me moving from turkey to America, which was a huge point in my life.
That has an apricot pate de fruit, 'cause in turkey we grow lots of apricots, and a little hint of, uh, orange-flower water.
My first pastry Chef introduced me to buddhism, so I wanted to have a delicate ganache that has kind of a crunchy texture, 'cause, you know, buddhism-- you kinda of get through your crunchy core to get to your soft center.
This one is white and a little bit sweet, you know.
You like-- you're on the sweet side.
- And my golden moment-- I think chocolates equals love.
And I wanted to make one for my boyfriend.
So I made an almond praline and caramelized honey ganache.
And I hope you enjoy.
- I like this one.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
I think Yigit's falling apart.
You know, like [Scoffs.]
You can't finish your truffles? Come on, man.
Pull it together.
I don't wanna win by default.
Francois, how do you think our Chefs did with their Godiva chocolates? Some fell short, and some did very beautiful chocolate.
Yigit, because you cannot finish, you cannot be judged.
Zac, I really like what you did, but you really have a sweet tooth.
Pretty much all of your chocolate was much more sweet chocolate.
I wish to have stronger flavor behind it.
So that leaves Danielle and Morgan.
They're both very, very good.
You know, Danielle, it was very interesting flavor.
I love the popcorn one, but I really like the one with pineapple.
It was very interesting.
Thank you.
- Morgan's chocolate was very nice-looking.
I love them, but the green tea was a little bit too sweet for my taste.
It was both very, very good, both very, very different.
If I have to choose one, I may choose Morgan.
Congratulations, Morgan.
- Thank you.
- Morgan wins Again.
[Laughs.]
And has no, like, emotion whatsoever.
It's just annoying to have someone that's, like, so, like, grr, bah-humbug.
You know, really? Chef Francois, if you had to pick one chocolate from Morgan's to make available nationally in Godiva stores across the country, which chocolate would it be? If I have to choose one, at least it was a Top Chef one, with a touch of salt on the top, it was a very good combination together.
Thank you, Chef.
The box should say "Morgan Wilson's chocolate" and then have a picture of his face going For your next elimination challenge, we have a very special guest.
In walks the cutest elderly gentleman I have ever seen in my life.
A very handsome group of Chefs.
Chefs, I'd like you to meet Ben.
Hello, Chefs.
My wife and I are preparing the celebration of our 61st anniversary.
And that's why we came to you.
Chefs, for this elimination challenge, you're each gonna make them an anniversary cake.
I met my wife at a beach party that I attended reluctantly.
One of the young women wearing a very bright-yellow two-piece bathing suit said, "I'm tired of laying around.
I'm going swimming.
Who wants to go with me?" I jumped to my feet.
And it took two years, and we were married.
Ben's friends will be hosting a party to celebrate their anniversary at their Beverly Hills home.
The winner of this challenge will receive $15,000, furnished by Dawn Hand Renewal.
All right, Dawn.
You will be judged on the overall look of your cake and, of course, the flavor.
Good luck.
$200 goes very quick.
This is it.
There is no hiding anymore.
One of us is gonna go home today.
So we're all definitely very nervous.
It would have been nice to see those before.
I'm pissed off at myself after today's quickfire, but at this point, the goal at hand is so close, I just really have to go into my zen place and try to hold it together.
13 minutes, guys.
La da Dee, Dee Dee Dee Dee dah the thing about Morgan is he works very, very quickly, and he uses a lot of technique.
Six minutes.
But I think he's overconfident.
- Thank you so much.
- Yep.
It's a long way to fall if you're always kind of on the top.
You know, people think I'm the underdog, but maybe I kind of like that.
Kind of be, like, a little stealth just, like, zoom, you know? Like, I'm kind of okay with that.
I would love for you all to spend a little bit of time with Ben and his wife, so here they are.
All: Hi! Oh, God, I don't even know why I didn't see this coming.
Our elimination challenge is to make an anniversary cake for Ben and his wife for their 61st anniversary.
We have ten hours today, and tomorrow we have two hours to finish.
Oh, God.
This is not my challenge.
I have definitely never made a cake like this before.
Ay yi yi.
I am incredibly nervous.
After this, it's going to be the final three.
So the stakes are raised.
Whoo! The pressure's on.
- Hi, Chefs.
- Hey, Gail.
I would love for you all to spend a little bit of time with Ben and his wife, so here they are.
All: Hi! [Laughter and applause.]
Duh.
It's Sylvia Weinstock.
Oh, God, I don't even know why I didn't see this coming.
[Laughs.]
Sylvia's back from the third challenge.
The flavors have to sing to you.
It's a huge deal to make a cake for Sylvia Weinstock.
She is the cake queen.
I'm gonna leave you all alone together, and I'll see you guys tomorrow.
I can't wait to see what you make.
Take care.
So now we're gonna brainstorm.
I love lemon.
Yes.
- And he loves chocolate.
- Oh So that might help you in something.
The dress I wore was gray, but I carried pink roses.
We just knew that we were compatible.
And, of course, let's not forget chemistry-- very important.
Sex is a wonderful thing.
[Laughter.]
Love you.
When the beach party broke up, Sylvia and I ended up at her cousin's apartment in each other's arms-- - smooching.
The word was "smooching" at that time.
- Under a piano-- what kind of piano? Well, it had to be a grand then.
It couldn't have been an upright.
It had to be a grand to be smooching with you.
We are the luckiest people.
We love each other.
We have six grandchildren Three married daughters, and we're looking forward so much for your creations of an anniversary cake.
- Thank you.
- Absolute pleasure.
It was a pleasure to meet you.
Always.
Thank you so much.
No smooching under the piano.
[Laughs.]
We've moved on, honey.
No one can be grumpy in their presence.
They're just amazing.
Okay, I'm ready to cook.
I like the sort of smooching under the piano.
This cake could make or break my Top Chef adventure.
And I love the pink flowers.
I have to make it into the finale.
So it's the most important cake I've ever made.
2 hours, 28 minutes, guys.
I would like Danielle and Yigit and myself in the final.
Morgan, when you're done, I will be happy to take that Hobart from you.
Zac, he's the most likely to throw someone under the bus.
Whose bowl on the Hobart is this? - Mine.
- Can you do something with it? To make it into the finale, Zac would turn your oven off, set your mise-en-place on fire, and stab you in the back.
Sylvia Weinstock mentioned she wore a gray wedding dress, so I'm like, "I'm gonna make a gray cake and do pink roses.
" You know what? They remind me of my grandparents.
I want to do two cakes-- one for Sylvia and one for Ben, bound together by the passion-fruit ice cream which represents their passion.
I've been accused of not having enough punch in my passion fruit.
That's punchy.
Zac keeps running over to Yigit, like, "what do you think about this?" Where's the roll? And, "pss, pss, pss, pss, pss.
" I'm a big [Bleep.]
Queer.
Nice.
I know that they're friends and two-thirds of team diva, but if Zac doesn't do well, there's nothing Yigit can do for him.
Hey, Chefs.
Hello, Chef.
- Zac, how are we? - I'm good.
Yeah? So what are you gonna do? - I'm gonna do a three-tiered round cake.
But that's gonna be not as kitschy as the normal Zac cake.
So no disco dust on that cake? No disco dust.
All right, Chef, thank you so much.
This is a pretty daunting task, you know.
To make a cake for Sylvia Weinstock would scare even me.
It's nice to see Zac's going out of his comfort zone a little bit.
I think he's really adapting to the challenge.
You know, we're not gonna see the traditional Zac.
He's really cooking for, you know, the client, and I think that that's great.
Morgan, were you surprised when it was Sylvia that walked in today? It totally made me have to, like, go back and revamp my whole cake, uh, 'cause I've made a cake for her before.
And if I didn't learn a lesson there, then I deserve to lose.
- Best of luck.
- I appreciate it, Chef.
I think it's great that Morgan actually listened to Sylvia last time, and he's not using fondant.
He's going all butter cream.
Smart move.
- Chef.
- Yigit.
I want to make them two simple cakes, so for her, I'm actually just gonna go very classic-- lemon cream, raspberries, and citrus butter cream.
And for her husband, I'm gonna make dark-milk-chocolate mousse, and inside, I'm gonna make a very thin layer of, um, white-peach pates de fruit.
That's pretty ambitious.
I do feel that the competition of Yigit's cake might work against him.
So hopefully, Yigit's cake isn't too fussy and too complicated that Sylvia's turned off by it.
- Hey, Chef.
- So tell me about the cake.
I'm gonna do chocolate.
And I'm gonna do a sour-cherry jam and then, uh, butter cream.
Some of the competitors are doing two different cakes.
Sylvia does like super, super amazing cakes, but she also likes simplicity.
Look forward to trying your cake tomorrow.
Thank you so much.
I feel like Danielle thinks of herself as the underdog in this competition.
She's been in the bottom a lot.
She really wants to be in this finale, and I think this is her chance to really show that she belongs there.
All right, Chefs.
Good luck.
Can't wait to see what you guys make tomorrow.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Good night.
Thank you, Chef.
I get my base assembled.
[Sighs.]
And then I look at the cake, and I'm like, "this is not what I intended.
" I'm so stupid.
And there's really no peddling back at this point--I can't remake that bottom layer.
Top Chef: Just disaster.
I'm just gonna have to go all-out on the rest of the cake.
Half an hour! Piping bags? Anyone have the roll? I tried looking for them.
I didn't see them.
Ohh.
Morgan has this thing where he thinks people, like, hoard stuff.
You know, earlier, I wanted something, and somebody took the whole roll.
- Really? - I got a whole roll-- - I just think it's funny that you would make a big deal about it, and then you'd go take all the-- I mean, like, do you need all of those? Why should I continue helping people in the way that I constantly have when all they do is [Bleep.]
On me? That's the way you guys play.
You just get it right back from me.
- Oh, God.
Shut up, Morgan.
- You shut up.
Then he's like, [deep voice.]
"Well, that's the way you guys are doing it.
" It's like, oh, my God.
I'm sick of your [Bleep.]
.
I'm just, like, over it, you know? If you want to, like, act like a jerk, then just stay over there, 'cause I really don't want to deal with it.
Stupid [Bleep.]
.
- I'm just scrambling to bubble-wrap my cakes.
I don't want them to be damaged in transport.
Does anyone else need bubble wrap before I kill it? I've definitely had a bad run of luck lately.
But at this point, there's no room for mistakes.
As far as assembly of the cake, I feel good.
I have plenty of time to put it together tomorrow.
My concern is the texture, because my cake is already baked.
At this point, that's completely out of my hands.
30 seconds! We head to Ben and Sylvia's dear friend's house to assemble our anniversary cakes.
Oh, you are so kind.
It's beautiful and faces out on a pool.
Oh, it's like Christmas.
Hopefully, you were good this year, Danielle.
So we have two hours to get the cake done.
Beauty, eh? Doesn't take me two hours to pipe Shell borders.
It's literally 30 minutes of work.
Yigit, do you want to keep your stuff in my cooler for the time being? Sure, thank you.
Morgan finishes early, which, you know, we're all kind of surprised.
- Oh, Morganza-- always the showman.
- Maybe he should be double-checking his cake, because it looks way too simple for me.
[Laughing.]
That's not a good laugh.
Something tells me that this is not gonna fit in.
I realize that I'm not gonna put out a gorgeous cake for Sylvia Weinstock.
So I decide, "you know what? I'm just gonna have to go Zac.
" Disco dust comes out.
White chocolate is all over the place.
There's brittle on it.
Do you think there's too much? You might want to ask that question differently.
[Indistinct chatter.]
They had their first kiss under a piano.
So the guests start to arrive.
And it's kind of nice to see smiling faces and describe your anniversary cake.
They are just the most adorable couple, ever.
- Sylvia! - Oh, Sylvia! Happy anniversary.
Thank you so much for having us at your beautiful home.
This is a really special occasion.
Well, for Sylvia, we would do anything.
I think it's time that we all eat some cake.
Let's do it.
Hi, Morgan.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
You met on the beach, so I wanted to do shells.
And after the beach party retired, they shared their first romantic moment under a baby grand piano.
I wanted to bring the wedding bouquet, so I thought, "oh, we'll fill the piano with pink flowers.
" You did a great job.
Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
The yellow is Sylvia's bikini top.
[Laughing.]
I love that! I really like the fact that Morgan created a three-dimensional, like, topper, with the piano motif, the bikini top.
Whether or not you lost your top on the first date, we don't want to know.
But it was a nice touch on the cake.
It's a work of art.
I like the texture of the yellow cake.
I like the chocolate cake too, by the way.
And I'm not a chocolate lover.
I thought Morgan had the best presentation.
I agree.
- Hi, Danielle.
- Hi.
You wore a gray wedding dress.
I made it gray.
And then I think we were all kind of inspired by the cute under-the-piano kissing story, so I did piano keys going up the cake.
And you held pink roses, so I did pink roses.
At the top, I did three large roses and then six small for your three children and your six grandkids.
That's just sweet.
- Thank you so much, Danielle.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, darling.
[Indistinct chatter.]
Mmm.
- The chocolate sponge is very moist, you know, and, uh-- - and the filling flavor comes out.
It's very good.
We don't like the color.
It's battleship gray.
Maybe that's a reference to 61 years married.
That's like a battleship, right? - [Laughter.]
- Thank you! - I'm just saying, like-- - I think it's more like a love boat, Johnny.
- Here you go.
- Thank you.
Enjoy.
You're welcome.
- Hello.
- Hello, Sylvia.
Nice to see you.
Oh, my.
You know, Sylvia pulled Ben into the water to go splash and play, and I just love the idea of the splashing and the whimsy in the water.
And the black and white pulling in the piano theme to it.
Zac, his cake is the Christmas tree I didn't want mine to be.
He will have to sell his cake to get into the final three.
The white chocolate is a Sea foam, and also a kind of play on your bikini strings - Ohh.
- Ms.
Weinstock.
The cakes inside, I did two, which are meant to complement each other.
I did a passion-fruit ice cream to tie the two of them together.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations.
Flavor-wise, I think it's delicious.
Visually, this was a cake-tastrophe.
I think the presentation of the cake is totally his personality, right? But I cannot say that it is my favorite presentation of a cake.
The guy's creative, but it's not elegant enough.
Yeah.
You eat with your eyes first.
If it's not appealing, you never want to buy it.
It would be a great bar mitzvah cake.
I really appreciate the fact that Zac incorporated a hazelnut praline into his passion-fruit ice cream.
To be surprised by a texture makes me happy.
Do you like the chocolate sponge? The taste of the cocoa powder is almost burned.
I have an aftertaste in my mouth.
But the yellow cake was actually quite nice and moist.
I made something different The story of my life.
- Hi, Yigit.
- Hi, Gail.
Since you guys talked about meeting at the beach, I made two different colors of butter cream to give it a sand texture.
And I made some pink flowers.
I actually made two different flavors of cake.
I'm really sorry.
This is not coming out too well.
I'm feeling really confident, yet the only thing that lingers in mind is my lemon cake.
When I try to cut it, pates de fruit is actually a little bit difficult to get through.
And I'm afraid that it might actually end up being a texture that I'm not too happy with.
- Thank you.
- It's an honor.
Thank you very much.
The creme fraiche sorbet is really super creamy.
Yes, I like the sorbets.
But I think, when it comes to the cake, that pates de fruit is pretty tough.
I think he was trying to be too complicated, too many layer.
It's like a woman who wears all her jewelry to the occasion.
Don't do it.
But I think, when it comes to the presentation, it was pretty nice-- the idea of having more layers, more layers.
And definitely having Sylvia's glasses on there.
I think it was kind of a nice little signature there.
I loved Yigit's cake.
I thought it was fantastic.
- Did you try hers? - Oh, yeah.
That's delicious.
What's that crunch in there? Those little crunchy balls.
I really, really want to be in the finale.
I feel really confident about what I did.
And luckily for me, you're always being judged on what you present to them right now.
You could have done the most amazing things this whole time, and if you made the ugliest cake they've ever seen in their life, you're gonna go home.
If anyone wants to try mine.
I have not put out a good product--I know it.
Make sure you get some brittle.
[Laughs.]
But I think I deserve a spot in the top three.
I would rather have the cake scream Zac than be in a culinary no-man's land.
I don't think Morgan deserves to go to the finale.
It was a white cake with a piano on top.
I thought it was all too safe.
I really have no idea how today is gonna play out.
It's not part of my character to jump up and down and sing show tunes.
You're in this competitive environment.
Rituals tend to be that thing that keep you comfortable, that keep you in that space that you've been successful in.
It has become an absolute ritual.
I'm the last person to leave the loft.
Every single time, I close the door.
I'll do everything that I need to do to win.
Let's do it.
I want to win.
[French accent.]
Can't mess with tradition.
This competition is, like, climbing.
There's, like, this big, difficult thing in front of you, and the fear of falling off it and getting seriously [Bleep.]
Up makes you shake.
And it's just like learning what the challenge is.
And you're looking at the challenge going, "uh" And then you have to compose yourself, focus, so that you can get to the top safely and finish.
And the higher you get, the bigger the fall.
Exactly.
To survival.
Hey.
Come on.
To survival.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
So today's challenge was to design an anniversary cake for Ben Weinstock and his famed wife Sylvia Weinstock.
The winner of this challenge will receive $15,000.
And three of you will go on to our Top Chef: Just Desserts finale.
Danielle, let's start with you.
I think yours was very imaginative in having actually the piano keys, and thinking in the steps and going up the cake, I think.
So that was pretty brilliant.
I have to say that when I take the first bite of your cake, it was very moist, and the flavor was very, very good together.
Thank you.
Danielle, when you think about the color gray, though, in the spectrum of colors of food, gray is really an unappetizing color.
Sylvia mentioned her colors, and she wore a gray wedding dress and pink roses.
I kind of liked that when I thought of the color combinations.
I--I don't know.
I kind of like gray now.
It's kind of my thing.
The reference that Sylvia said was, "it's battleship gray.
" Yigit.
When we met with Sylvia and Ben, they really wanted to be about their story and about representing their love.
And almost kind of start to cry, actually.
So I figured that Sylvia wanted something that's warm, and I think that has quite a story in it too.
We had spoke on it yesterday, Yigit, how it came through the kitchen.
And you know, I could just listen to you talk, I was like, "what? More? More? Really, more?" Is this the same cake? You over-thought it.
I think you made it too complicated.
I am happy, though, that you flavored your butter cream, Yigit.
Nobody else really thought to do that.
It was actually a flavor element, and I thought that carried through, and that was good.
You know, when I was looking at it, it was, for me, the most elegant one.
You know, it was very, very nice.
The glasses was very nice.
I love your top.
You did what-- the chocolate on the top was very nice, very well-balanced.
Thank you, Chef.
I think for all of us, it was just the pate de fruit.
That didn't work.
And it wasn't even the flavor so much as that texture.
It made such a distinct separation in the cake that it forced the cake to sort of fall apart.
And it's not something that I've ever done before, actually.
I usually do make a fruit compote, and, you know, it's just I-- I guess wanted to take an extra step.
Morgan.
I loved that you was much more simpler on your idea.
I like the piano on the top.
But the panna cotta was missing a little bit of acidity.
When it came down to the texture of the cake, I must say, the chocolate one was actually a little dry.
You tied in the beach with your Shell border.
Shell border was uneven, and we could actually see the spacing between the cakes, like there was a black mark, like a shadowing.
That kind of threw the balance of the cake off a bit.
Zac.
I mean, I struggled on this one.
Um, Sylvia is a force to be reckoned with in the cake world.
So how do you make a cake for her without insulting her? And, you know, I just had to gravitate towards where I was comfortable.
You were thinking maybe the layers and the marriage and the years, but altogether, I think, when you have several layers of cream, several layers of genoise, altogether, when you taste it, I think it's more moist.
So I think that was a winning point in your cake.
- I respect the fact that you, like-- you brought them back to their childhood.
But I don't think it really represented where they are now, you know? It would have been great to figure out how to do all that in a more mature way.
Everything just got the best of me, and it turned out a complicated mess.
However, every day I've come in with excitement.
I've been excited to be here.
And it's a great learning experience, and I think there's people who play it safe.
I'm just gonna say it, you know.
It really-- it upsets me that, you know, Morgan won $20,000 in the chocolate fashion challenge.
Couldn't care less.
Won the Godiva challenge.
Couldn't care less.
It's not part of my character, um, to jump up and down and flail and sing show tunes.
I--I don't think it's polite to go, "ha! I won!" You know, I would rather remain composed than freak out like a little girl.
Okay.
We have to make a decision right now of who's gonna go on to our finale and who's gonna go home.
So please return to the stew room, and we'll call you back when we've made our decision.
Thank you very much.
[Whispering.]
Suck it, Zac.
It's personality.
It's not personal.
- Dude - You know.
He's like, "oh, you know, it's not personal.
It's personality.
" It's like, "yeah, and yours sucks.
Go buy a new one.
" Well, we have a really big decision to make now.
And I think he executed it to the best of his ability this time.
He is the flamboyant artist, right? And I think now he started putting everything together.
And as he was doing it, I think he was just talking back to himself.
The flavor of the cocoa burned and everything.
Though the sorbet was very good.
But, like, we say, you know, it's all about the cake.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Zac was Morgan.
Morgan seemed to have really held back.
Kept it really simple.
The look of the cake, I think, was the most appropriate for Sylvia.
Yeah, when it comes to more appropriate, I kind of agree.
And again, it's true that when you go so simple, it has to be perfect, right? And it was not.
Going to the flavor, Morgan's cake really wasn't my favorite.
It was kind of bland to me.
And then there was the color of Danielle's cake.
You know, in Danielle's defense, that was, "oh, everybody liked gray.
That's what they wore.
That was their dresses.
" Yeah, but she's not making their wedding cake in 1940.
She's making their anniversary cake today.
But when we taste the cake, you know, the cake, it was incredible.
The flavor was really there.
Yigit's cake.
Yigit made his cake on the outside with Zac's mind inside.
Too bad, you know.
It was much too complicated.
And, to tell you the truth, I don't remember the cake.
I think the flavors muddled and, like, canceled each other out, you know? There was too much going on and, you know, you said you can't remember the cake, but what I do remember is that pates de fruit.
And I remember that I didn't like it.
Sounds like we have a winner and a loser.
Let's bring them out.
[Suspenseful music.]
Chefs, first we'd like to say how proud we are of all of you.
You've all done a really tremendous job and have really made me proud to be a pastry Chef.
You all deserve to be in the finals.
But unfortunately, only three of you can go.
Francois, as our guest judge, please announce the winner.
Our decision was very complicated.
You know, between the cake, the look of the cake, the taste, we all agree the most delicious cake was Danielle.
[Applause.]
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I won! Hurray! Thank you.
Congratulations, Danielle.
You just won $15,000, furnished by Dawn Hand Renewal.
- [Laughs.]
- And You're going on to our finale.
I feel so good.
Regardless of what happens, it's an honor to be, like, wow, you know, I'm in the top three.
I made it this far.
Two of you will be joining Danielle in our finale.
Unfortunately, one of you will be going home.
Morgan, we feel you've played it too safe today.
At this stage of the game, you have to cook to win.
Zac, we've always been very excited to see how Zac brings Zac to the table.
But unfortunately, you put a little too much Zac into Sylvia and Ben's cake.
Yeah.
Yigit, you've shown us a glorious range of skills.
Unfortunately, there's one technique you're yet to master: The art of restraint.
Zac Your dessert just didn't measure up.
Please pack your tools and go.
Mmm.
I wasn't surprised I was eliminated.
I made a cake wreck.
[Laughs.]
I'll see you soon.
I'm surprised that the judges didn't bring up how rubbery Morgan's cake was, though.
I love you, baby.
I love you too.
Kick some ass.
The disco dust is under my station if you guys need it, all right? I've loved every second of this competition.
Bye, guys.
Bye.
I've loved every twist, and I can't wait to see what happens after this.
I'm so invigorated as a Chef.
But I have some new tricks, and I'm ready to go out there and kick some ass as a pastry Chef.
Have disco dust, will travel.
Next time, on Top Chef: Just Desserts - Uh-oh.
Aah! Ohh.
I'm busting out all the stops.
Danielle's an idiot.
[Laughs.]
Yes, Chef! I'm Phoenix rising from the ashes.
I smell $100,000.
Oh, my God, they totally just died.
I would order this on a menu.
First course, Danielle.
The sorbet is very icy.
It really tastes damn good.
That is just unbelievable.
It's quite impressive.
One of you is the first winner of Top Chef: Just Desserts.
For more about the recipes you've seen tonight, go to bravotv.
com.