The Listener s05e07 Episode Script

- Hey, guys! - Hey, are we late? Oh, no, no.
- Leave your shoes on.
- What did we miss? - (Greetings) - You just missed the intros.
No big deal.
They just started cooking, guys.
Marcel's gonna knock it out of the park tonight, I know it! - No way, Mr.
Oz.
Raven all the way.
- Raven?! Ha-ha.
You know what? Gabriella is my favourite, although I do think she's starting to crack under the pressure.
- A little bit.
- Right? - Yeah.
- Now you too, huh? Come on.
- OK, it's on! - Everyone shut up, shut up! Welcome back, everyone, to the nail-biting, live to air semi-finals of Five Star Chef.
Each of our contestants was informed earlier today that black truffle would be the surprise semi-final ingredient, and now they are battling to complete their unique dish on time.
Gabriella Zimmer! (Cheers and applause) - Raven Masters! - (Cheers and applause) - And Marcel Beaumont.
- (Cheers and applause) While they work away, let's check in with our head judge, - Gustov Main.
- Just get on with it, Desmond.
All right.
And joining him today, we have two very special guest judges.
From Masterchef Canada: Claudio Aprile! It's great to be here tonight.
- And of course, Alvin Leung.
- Very exciting.
Ooh, I love Alvin Leung.
- I love him.
- Mm-mm Tough love all the way, that's what they need.
All right, gentlemen, what do you think of our three semi-finalists? Where's your money tonight, Claudio? Do you think Gabriella can make a comeback? Raven is the true artist here.
Raven, OK, all right.
Alvin? - Marcel.
He's hard to beat.
- All right.
Do you agree with that, Gustov? Look, only two contestants can make it to the finals tonight.
It isn't about winners, it's about losers.
Too hot in the kitchen? Get out.
The kitchen takes no prisoners, as I like to say, Alvin.
- No pressure on Marcel, huh? - What? He can take it.
He's a culinary god.
All right, Marcel, what do you have planned for tonight? Black truffle, that should be right up your alley.
I'm preparing truffle-infused braised tenderloin - with savoury black truffle meringue.
- Hmm, sounds amazing.
Raven and Gabriella are gonna have a tough time topping that one.
No chance.
Can't be done.
Well, we have our judges' take on things.
Let's check in with our other contestants.
Of course, we have Gabriella over here - What? - (Groaning) Marcel! Are you OK? Marcel! Marcel! - What happened to Marcel? - He just collapsed.
- See that? - Um - Call 911! - Um Give him some air! We're gonna take a break and we'll be right back after this commercial.
All right.
- What? - Come on, that's gotta be a publicity stunt, right? People are tweeting about it.
They're freaking out.
There's a medic on set.
Hopefully the medic can stabilize him in time for EMS.
- Oh, geez.
- What? What is it? Someone just tweeted from the audience.
I think Marcel's dead.
What? Did you see that show Five Star, last night? - Yeah, yeah.
- There's buzz all over.
- That guy Marcel was poisoned.
- Yes, I heard it on the way in.
Has anyone reached out to the coroner's office yet? Yeah, they said they need to wait to analyze the stomach contents.
- Do you think the rumours could be true? - I think rumours are just rumours.
Until the coroner comes out with something definitive, we need to treat this like a suspicious death.
Turns out the deceased has family in high places.
Yeah, Senator Peter Beaumont.
- Marcel was his nephew.
- OK, so I'm guessing the Senator made a few phone calls upstairs and We can't be caught flat-footed on this one.
If it turns out that Marcel really was poisoned, we need evidence already gathered, witnesses already interviewed, and possible motives across the board.
- Alex is already on the scene.
- We'll head over now.
- I'll start gathering background.
- Great, thank you.
Do you really think that someone would murder someone on live television? Gives a whole new level to reality TV.
I understand this is an inconvenience for you, Mr.
Werther.
Everything must be returned in its original, pristine condition.
- This kitchen runs on precision.
- OK, we will do our best.
- You will? - Yes, but this is still a police investigation.
If you'll just excuse me for a minute? - OK.
- Thank you.
Jessie Werther, the show's culinary manager.
He's in charge of everything in the kitchen, and "control freak" doesn't cover it.
- OK, so what do we have? - I'm taking the food and equipment back to the lab and testing it for toxic substances, see what I can find ahead of the report.
You know, maybe we should grab the footage from last night's show.
Maybe there's some shots they didn't air.
Already on it.
I'm going to use it to track everything that Marcel touched or ate.
- What about the contestants? - Everyone including the judges gave statements to uniforms last night and were sent home.
OK, well, we'll set up interviews with anyone who had contact with Marcel or access to the kitchen.
Do we have anyone else? Gustov, the head judge, is supposed to be around here somewhere, and over there, you will find Desmond Mansfield speaking to yet again another reporter.
I haven't been able to get a word in naturals Excuse me! Each item must be individually wrapped to avoid damage.
Culinary equipment can only work at its best if flawless.
Did I mention that guy's a bit OCD? - Thanks, Alex.
- Yeah, no problem.
So, Five Star Chef fan, what do you know about Desmond Mansfield? Well, he's not just the host, he's also the creator and producer, and also an accomplished chef in his own right.
Marcel Beaumont died doing what he loved to do.
The world was robbed of a great talent.
Mr.
Mansfield? We're IIB.
We'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's OK.
Of course, but I have to admit, these rumours of poisoning I find them pretty hard to believe.
Surely Marcel's death was just a terrible tragedy.
Well, we're still just gathering facts at this point.
All I know is what you must have seen on TV: Marcel was fine one moment, and then he just Collapsed.
Huge relief.
Just glad it's over.
How was your relationship with him? Can't say I knew him that well.
Some contestants you connect with quicker than others.
Backstabbing bloodsucker.
There were no personal issues? Every season has its prima donna, but it's nothing new.
Mr.
Mansfield, the network's on the line for you.
I really need to take this.
The live finale is tonight and I have an extremely concerned broadcaster on my hands.
You're going through with the finale tonight? Marcel's death was horrible, but I see no reason why Raven and Gabriella's dreams have to die with him.
Ratings through the roof.
Huge for my career.
Do you know where we can find the judge, Gustov Main? In his dressing room, probably.
Oh, but I have to warn you, he took Marcel's death pretty hard.
You might find him a little Less than sober.
Gustov took Marcel's death pretty hard.
I couldn't say the same thing for Desmond, though.
He thought he was a backstabber and he was glad it was over.
So Desmond may have had something to do with Marcel's death? Yeah.
But he's pretty happy with the ratings.
Gustov Main Let's see what less than sober means.
Enter! Do you know I specifically asked not to be disturbed? We're with the IIB, Mr.
Main.
We'd like to ask you a few questions if that's OK.
Oh, police.
How unappetizing.
Excuse My current state.
Ghastly business, watching a man die.
I understand this must be very difficult for you.
When I say the kitchen takes no prisoners, I don't mean it literally.
You don't suspect foul play, do you? Right now we're just collecting statements and gathering evidence.
We heard there was some bad blood between Marcel and Desmond.
You know anything about that? Of that I have no idea.
I loathe Desmond, almost as much as I loathe brutality.
We communicate as little as possible.
What about Raven or Gabriella? Do you think either of them had any reason to want Marcel dead? I wouldn't wish to speculate.
Only Raven can win now.
Some people believe that Raven's the new front-runner.
Do you think she felt threatened by Marcel, that maybe she couldn't beat him? Raven is a great artist, but hasn't the drive to want something so badly.
Marcel, now, he was the one with the real killer instinct.
I truly mourn his death.
Terrible thing.
Shocking.
Only food can heal such wounds.
Ah (throat clearing).
- I shouldn't.
I'm on duty, I - Eat.
Or I will invoke my right to remain silent now and forever.
That is amazing.
High praise from an officer of the law.
It's a little dish I picked up in Thailand.
Can I get the recipe? No, that's fine.
It's really good, though.
Thanks.
- Hey, Oz.
- Hey, Tia.
So, according to the internet, apparently Raven is now the hands-on favourite to win this whole thing.
Looks like Adam was right.
What? You're not telling me something.
What? What aren't you telling me? Tell me! - It's no biggie.
- What's no biggie? Well, I just I was talking to Sandy last night Sandy? You still talk to Sandy? Yeah.
Just because you guys broke up doesn't mean we have to.
I called her to talk about the show and, you know, what happened, and we started reminiscing about how we all used to watch together - Uh-huh? - And she said she's been meaning to call you about something, that the two of you need to talk.
Need to talk? Talk about what? Like talk talk? About us? Is that Does she want to get back together? - Did you get everything? - I didn't - Is that what she wants? - I have no idea, to any of the above, and I really have to go, but - just give her a call.
- What? And try not to drive yourself crazy about it.
Too late.
- Hey, Alex.
- Hey.
Uh, coroner's report is in.
- OK.
- Michelle, Marcel Beaumont died of an atypical reaction to an allergen and we found small amounts of peanut protein in his stomach contents.
So Marcel died of a peanut allergy? Most definitely.
You figure the coroner would have noticed that.
That's where the atypical part comes in.
Usually, an allergen causes hives first, systemic swelling, a closed trachea, and then finally asphyxiation.
But if the person has an underlying cardiac condition, the passages to the heart can swell closed almost instantly.
See how Marcel grabs his chest before the counter? Right.
His coronary artery just closed up.
Death occurred before any typical allergy symptoms - had a chance to appear.
- So his death was an accident.
One of his ingredients contained a peanut product by mistake? Even if he was careful, a poorly cleaned bowl could end up with some peanut residue on it.
Those would all be my conclusions under normal circumstances, that Marcel's death was a consequence of a simple but tragic mistake.
- But? - But I spent the whole morning with Jessie Werther and he is the man that stocks and cleans the set kitchen and I don't think that Jessie Werther makes mistakes, really.
Ever.
There's absolutely no way, under any circumstances, that a dirty dish, spoon, pot or pan has ever appeared in my kitchen.
Ever.
- Even if it was highly unlikely - Impossible.
What about the hundreds of ingredients in that kitchen? Maybe one of them contained - a peanut product.
- Firstly, people with severe food allergies aren't allowed on the show.
You can ask Desmond.
- OK, we will.
- And secondly, contestants don't share ingredients.
Each station is stocked with products selected by that contestant personally, and at Marcel's station there were no products with peanut products listed on the labels.
How could you possibly know that? I scan them once, I know.
Now, I must insist that everything your officers confiscate be returned in pristine condition for the finale.
I'm afraid that that's just not possible.
We'll supply a list of everything we take, so that you can replace it.
- And why would I need a list? - There's hundreds of items.
An officer with short brown hair, mole on his upper right lip, badge number 3478901, confiscated a set of four stainless steel nesting bowls, three acrylic cutting boards, three immersion blenders, two mandolins, a Japanese knife set consisting of a two-inch paring knife, four-inch filleting blade, seven-inch cleaver - as well as six stainless - OK, I think we're beginning to understand.
You got a photographic memory? The correct term is eidetic recall.
Oh, y you know, a memory like that would be very useful to our investigation.
If you're suggesting I remember seeing anyone contaminating Marcel's food, you're mistaken.
We're suggesting that you might have seen something that maybe you don't even realize is significant.
Do you remember seeing anything unusual - in the past few days? - Of course.
One sees unusual things every day.
Lately, there's been a few.
Toby? - Are you sure you're OK? - Yeah, yeah.
His, uh, memory capacity is much bigger and quicker than mine.
Reading him was like being inside of a rapid-fire slide show.
So this guy, um he really remembers everything, like everything everything? People born with eidetic recall remember each moment of their lives as clearly as any other.
They remember what day of the week they met someone ten years ago.
They remember what they were wearing the last Wednesday of each month.
He's also incredibly detail-oriented.
Eidetics tend to be perfectionists.
The two trades go hand in hand.
That's means if Jessie says that there is zero chance that Marcel ingested peanut residue in his kitchen accidentally, then Then it's safe to assume that the exposure was intentional.
Someone knew about his allergy and used it to poison him.
When you read Jessie, did you get anything useful? Any indication who might've done something like that? I asked him if he had seen anything unusual in the past few days, and that's when, uh, I got more than I could handle.
I saw a car with a lot of parking tickets on it, A bent spoon This might be small stuff, I don't know, but just came at me so quick.
Just 'cause Jessie's got a perfect memory doesn't mean that Toby does.
An eidetic mind would theoretically upload with blazing transfer speeds.
I also saw Marcel confronting Desmond.
Marcel had a book with Desmond's photo on it maybe.
Like this? Yeah, that's it! Desmond's new book.
I hear it's amazing.
Sales certainly are.
He's making a ton of money.
There's nothing controversial I could see when I looked into it, but there was something interesting I found when I tried to vet Desmond's CV.
Desmond is a very successful restaurateur now, but all of these places he cooked in early in his career were hot spots on the other side of the world that opened and closed within months.
It's almost impossible to confirm that he actually worked at any of them.
So you think Desmond fudged his CV, that he's not quite the Five Star Chef he's letting on to be? If there's a connection between Marcel and the cookbook Did Desmond know about Marcel's allergy? Jessie said people with food allergies weren't allowed on the show.
We'll take a crack at this Desmond Mansfield, rattle his cage, see what comes out.
Meanwhile, the other two contestants are down in holding, I want you to take care of them, and get Alex to find out how on earth Marcel ends up with peanut residue in his system.
- I'll let her know.
- Thanks.
You know, I think Raven had the most to gain from Marcel's death.
Maybe she couldn't take the heat so she decided to kick the front-runner out of the kitchen.
Sorry to keep you waiting, miss Masters.
This shouldn't take long, we just have a couple of questions for you.
Anything to help.
But do you really think someone killed Marcel on purpose? It's beginning to look that way, yes.
Who would do something like that? That's why we believe that you have the most to gain from his death, now that you're front-runner.
You haven't had a whole lot of success before the show, Right? This is your big break.
I try not to think about those things.
Honestly, all I care about is the dish in front of me Making it the best it can be.
Cooking is an art.
You can't think about winning.
Yes, but it's also a competition.
That's gotta mean something.
Winning means a new life.
Marcel didn't play fair.
We've heard that Marcel wasn't the nicest competitor.
Did you have any issues with him personally? Personally? No.
Horrible guy.
Crushed her heart.
How about anyone else on the show? There were tensions sometimes between all of the competitors.
- OK.
- Thank you for your time.
She wants to win a lot more than she's letting on, and I don't think she liked Marcel, to be honest.
I got something I think I saw in Jessie's head as well Gabriella slapping Marcel.
Let's bring Gabriella in.
Hey! Thanks for coming in.
Ah, you must be the inspector.
Yeah, Brian Becker.
Listen, sorry about this, but when a cop's gotta eat, a cop's gotta eat, right? - Fry? - Uh, no.
Thank you.
- You sure about that? - Thank you.
- OK.
- Look, I've already talked to two other officers today and You can imagine things are a bit crazy back at the studio.
Yeah, I bet.
Listen, Just tell me what Marcel knew about this book.
We'll call it a day.
I have no idea what you mean.
Hm 'Cause see, I think it's in your interest to level with me, 'cause we had a little look at your CV and it's full of what you might call filler.
I believe that would be your word against mine.
Yeah, maybe.
But, you know, a couple of well-placed tweets claiming falsified credentials, sponsors walk away, ratings nosedive, someone finds himself Working the fry station.
- Are you sure you don't want one of these? - OK, OK.
- 'Cause they're fantastic.
- No.
OK, OK.
Marcel went digging.
He got to one of my old assistants, who claimed to have created all the recipes in the book.
- Any truth to that? - Everyone uses assistants.
It's standard practice.
But if word got out the man was threatening my brand.
That so.
- So what did he want? - A guaranteed win.
I told him that voting had very strict criteria, and even if I wanted to, there's no way I could fudge with the results with so many hard-core fans watching.
So maybe you just thought it was less risky to fake his accidental death.
Peanut allergy perfect murder weapon, right? - Peanut allergy? - Yeah.
Is that what killed him? Look, I had no idea.
You sure about that? We make all the contestants fill out an insurance form.
I'll have 'em sent over.
There's no way the box beside "Peanut allergy" is checked off.
If Marcel had a peanut allergy, he lied about it.
Kept him to himself to get on the show.
- Sorry if I seem um, upset - There you go.
Thank you.
It's just been a hard couple of weeks.
I understand.
We just have a couple of - questions for you.
- OK.
We understand that you and Marcel had a public confrontation in the days leading up to his death? Um, yeah, it was it was nothing serious, though.
It was, you know, the pressures of the competition.
I apologized afterward.
What was your relationship like with Marcel? We understand that a few other people had issues with him.
Oh, yeah, no, we got along fine.
At first.
We shouldn't be doing this.
I can't lose focus.
This is real, Gabriella.
Were the two of you involved? Is that what the argument was really about? It was a fling.
It was meaningless.
Neither one of us took it seriously.
It's over.
Go back to focusing on the show.
You picked me up and dropped me just to throw me off my game! Your, uh, performance suffered on the show over the past few weeks.
Would you blame that on what happened with Marcel? No.
I have only myself to blame for that.
Were you aware that Marcel had a peanut allergy? No.
Absolutely not.
Terrible, terrible accident.
I don't know, she seemed pretty upset in there.
I thought that she was about to confess.
I think she believes Marcel used her and toyed with her to push her out of contention, you know, break her focus.
Mm-hmm.
And it worked.
I mean, she was in the running until a couple of weeks ago.
Once in a lifetime opportunity just crushed.
Yeah, but she seemed genuinely convinced that the death was an accident - and she didn't know about the allergy.
- (Beep! Beep! Beep!) - Alex says she has something.
- Mm! Nnn I don't OK.
- Hey! Eh-eh, hey! - Oz, hey! - Fancy running into you here.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Wow.
Getting a coffee? - Yeah.
- Yeah Hey you know, Tia had mentioned that you, uh - You wanted to talk to me about something? - Yeah, I did.
I just I thought you would I just thought you would call.
No, I was thinking about what it could have been that you possibly wanted - to talk to me about and, um - Oz This is going to be hard for you, probably, but you know.
I was thinking a lot about I mean, I just don't think - Oz.
- You know I've been thinking a lot about, um.
- Hey, there you are.
- Hi.
Sorry I'm late.
Um Oz, you remember Hunter? You guys met at Sage and Tyler's wedding.
Oz! Of course.
Nice to see you again.
Sandy says great things.
Y hi.
Oh this is the thing you wanted to talk to me about.
- Hunter.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I just I wanted to tell you myself, um Hunter and I are getting married.
A.
.
Wh What is it? Um.
I'll I'm going to give you a call.
- Yeah - Nice to see you again.
I isolated the source of peanut contamination.
There was a small amount of unfiltered peanut oil in the dish that Marcel was preparing just moments before his death.
You can see him taste the mixture here.
You sure there was nothing else in his station that would've had peanut residue on it? Just these three items tested positive: the eggs, the whisk and the bowl.
So, first I retrieved the eggshells to check for evidence of hypodermic penetration and there were no holes, no peanut oil residue.
- Very thorough.
- Yeah.
That ruled out the eggs which left one of the two cooking implements as the primary source and then I found this - Am I missing something here? - Gaining something, actually.
Each of the contestants were given three whisks but Marcel's station had four and the fourth was the largest, which any seasoned chef would select - to whip up a fluffy meringue.
- Right.
And in anyone else's kitchen that wouldn't mean much, but in Jesse Werther's We may have just found our murder weapon.
We have an extra whisk, peanut oil residue, three people with motive, but no one we can actually prove knew about Marcel's allergy in the first place.
Alright so we need to figure out who put the contaminated whisk at Marcel's station.
I re-checked with all the witnesses.
No one saw anybody headed to the kitchen set with an extra whisk.
Hm.
So where do we go from here? I think there's only one place to go: think I've gotta go back inside Jesse's perfect mind.
Are you sure you want to do that? Uh, who knows what another high-speed download could do to you? I'll slow him down, I'll pick my questions a little more carefully.
I think if there's anyone who knows how the extra whisk got into the kitchen, it's Jesse.
You don't have to do this, you know that, right? Honestly, I think it's the best shot we got.
OK.
I'll get him back in here.
OK.
She's engaged? She never told me.
Three months after we broke up.
Our relationship is barely in the grave and she's already stomping all over it.
So how did you leave it? Are are you still friendly? Actually, I invited her and her fiancé to watch the Five-Star finale at your house.
OK.
That's Great.
Mmm It's going to be a disaster.
First word that came to mind.
- And she's here - Who, Sandy? - Oz, be careful what you say.
- What are you, my mom? Coward.
- Hey, was that Tia? - What? Oh, tha w There's a lot of girls in here.
It's hard to keep track.
I just wanted to come by and say I'm sorry.
Mm.
You didn't need to do that.
Yeah, I did.
I'm sorry that you had to find out that way about Hunter and me.
I knew it was going to be a bit of a shock, that's why I wanted you to call so I could try and take the sting out of it.
Really? 'cause it kinda seemed like you couldn't wait to tell me.
Like you were just rubbing my face in it.
Are you serious? I kinda hoped you'd be happy for me.
Well, I'm happy.
I'm ecstatic.
You know what? I should MC your wedding.
I could even take you down the aisle, wouldn't that be nice? I could just hand you off, give you over.
Here, Hunter.
Have at it.
I wanted you to know because you're still really important to me, Oz.
I'm sorry.
I made a mistake.
A what? Good talk, Sandy.
Say hi to Hunter for me.
'Cause that's a name.
There's absolutely no way an extra whisk was accidentally placed at Marcel's station.
Yes, you've convinced us of that, Mr.
Werther.
That's not what we're implying.
Right, we're just trying to figure out exactly how it got there.
Someone must've snuck it in after final set up.
What's the final set up? I check the kitchen one hour before the show.
Immediately before staff lunch.
Is the studio usually empty during that time? For the most part, yes.
Sounds like a good time to sneak something onto the set without anyone noticing.
Do you remember seeing Raven or Gabriella at that time? I saw Raven after lunch, headed into a dressing room.
- You're OK? - Sorry, yeah.
I've just been - getting these headaches.
- The last time we met.
- I remember.
-'Course you do.
Um, is it unusual for Raven to shut herself in a room before the show? No.
She usually spent that hour alone.
What about Gabriella? Did you see her after the final set up? Yes.
I saw her briefly.
On my way to lunch she passed me in the hall.
Uh, so she didn't have lunch with you guys? No.
But I wasn't surprised.
She seemed extremely nervous that day, even for her.
Do you have any idea where she was headed? No.
I have no idea.
- What made you think she was nervous? - Couple of things.
(Michelle): Toby.
I just these headaches.
Sorry.
Mr.
Werther, you've been very helpful.
Yeah, that's all for now.
Thank you.
Look, I'm OK.
The pain is temporary.
Well, I don't need to be a mind reader to know that you're lying, Toby.
Yeah, but I got a good read.
It was worth it.
I saw Gabriella walking down the hallway towards the stage and it looked like she had an apron rolled up underneath her arm.
Yeah, big enough to hide a whisk? Yeah, it looked like it.
I saw Gustov a few steps behind her.
So he must've seen her.
I got dibs by the way on whatever he's cooking next.
I've no idea where Gabriella was coming from or going to on the night in question.
She seems barely aware herself of these facts 5/8ths of the time.
You can't think she killed Marcel.
Did you know about the affair? Even I couldn't insulate myself from that particular piece of scuttlebutt.
It ended quite predictably, I hear.
Do you think she was angry enough to kill him? Angry enough? Quite likely.
Confident enough? Definitely not.
Not unless someone put her up to it.
Woman's a doormat in search of a door.
Alright.
Thank you for your time.
So, Gabriella had motive and opportunity, but Gustov doesn't think that she had the guts.
- Yeah, not on her own, maybe.
- OK, but when you read her she seemed convinced that Marcel's death was an accident, right? Yeah, I know.
- I think it's worth a second look.
- Alright.
I don't know why you've brought me back here, I told you everything I know.
Where were you yesterday when everyone else broke for lunch? Um.
I don't know.
I don't remember.
Never should've done it.
Never forgive myself.
You don't remember? Well, sometimes people do things they wish they hadn't.
Especially when they're hurt and angry.
Set up to take the fall and played again.
If there's someone else involved in this, you should let us know.
Someone left a basket in my trailer, I don't know who.
It had oil and a whisk in it.
You have to believe me.
I don't know where it came from.
Now I wasn't trying to kill Marcel, I just wanted to wreck his chances the same way he wrecked mine.
How is peanut oil supposed to ruin his chances? Because everyone knew he was going to make his signature dish.
Which is? Black truffle meringue.
I'm sorry, I don't think we follow.
Oil is meringue's worst enemy.
I could kick myself for not having figured this out sooner, but then again, I always have been better in the lab than in the kitchen.
So how is planting a whisk with peanut oil on it supposed to bring Marcel down, exactly? That's the tragic part.
It didn't actually have to be peanut oil.
Any oil would do.
Proteins are made up of amino acids, some that are attracted to water, others that are repelled.
So, beating the whites makes the water-loving bits stick to the water and the water-hating bits cling to the air, So the more you beat it, the more the whole shebang fluffs up.
Like this.
Voilà.
- Impressive.
- But then when you add the smallest amount of oil to the chemical mix, the proteins line up and coat the bubbles and you end up with goop.
So that tiny bit of oil would've ruined - his black truffle meringues.
- Kicking him out of the finals.
And serving up some sweet revenge for Gabriella.
Gabriella was telling the truth.
She didn't meant to kill him.
Whoever set her up may have.
What is it? I got a glimpse of something in my first read of Jesse's that I can't quite put my finger on.
You want to read him again? Yeah, look.
I know it's a long shot but it might be the missing in all this.
- You want to risk it? - I mean, do we have a choice? There could be another victim on live tv tonight.
The real killer's still out there.
I'm sure you realize I have a finale to prepare for in mere hours.
Everything must be perfect, everything depends on exactitude.
We apologize, this won't take long at all.
Look, in our first interview I asked you if you had noticed anything unusual - in the past few days.
- Uh-hu.
Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to discuss those things.
We could just go over those things one by one, slowly and carefully.
That would be great.
OK.
But There's a lot of odd things stored up My brain stores everything, it doesn't mean it's important.
It it might help.
Just tell us what stood out to you.
Alright.
I cracked open a double-yoked egg approximately 3:15pm, last Tuesday.
Although I don't see how it could be relevant.
Don't worry about it, just keep going.
I discovered a bent spoon Wednesday afternoon.
How anyone can misuse utensils like that is beyond me.
- What else? - A woman visiting the studio wore the strangest hat.
The next morning at 8:00 a.
m.
I unpacked a semi-final ingredient.
That was a surprise.
- 45 minutes later - Wait, wait go back.
The semi-final ingredient, - black truffle? - Exactly.
I didn't even know what it looked like until I saw it - on the show the other night.
- They're a kind of wild fungi.
Grow on the roots of oak trees in Italy and France.
Common before the first world war, now extremely rare.
Hunted with pigs.
Or dogs.
Look like black lumps.
Why were you surprised that it was chosen as a semi-final ingredient? Because black truffles are easy to work with make everything taste better.
Usually the contestants have to use a very difficult ingredient in the final stages of the competition, right? The chefs need to prove they can make a silk purse from a pig's ear.
One season, it was a pig's ear.
There wouldn't be much of a challenge.
No, and strongly favoured Marcel because of his signature black truffle meringues.
Who picked the semi-final ingredient? Desmond.
Invariably.
- Alright.
- (Both): Thank you.
OK, so I'm not exactly a five-star chef.
You're going to have to run this by me again.
Gabriella told us everyone that everyone knew Marcel would make his signature meringues as soon as black truffle was named the semi-final ingredient.
So then whoever picked that signature ingredient they knew that Marcel would do the meringue, that the oil would ruin the dish, he'd be kicked out of the competition And they set Gabriella up to pull the trigger.
And that person was Desmond? Apparently he always picks the surprise ingredient.
Question is, did he know that it would kill him? No see, cause when I interviewed him he denied any knowledge of the allergy and he had proof to back that up.
Right, but you didn't have Toby with you.
I mean, we didn't get a read.
Alright well, release Gabriella, bring Desmond back in here.
It's two hours before the finale.
I don't care if you gotta hold his feet to a hibatchi, I want him in that box right now.
Thank you.
You understand I'm supposed to be on live television in less than an hour? Millions of people are going to be tuning in.
Right, but not to see Marcel.
You made sure of that, didn't you? I have no idea what you mean.
He was trying to blackmail you into the win.
He was going to ruin your career.
So you planted the peanut oil in Gabriella's dressing room and set her up to kill him.
I had no idea he was allergic to anything.
Then why did you pick black truffle as the semi-final ingredient, knowing that he would make his signature meringues? Black truffle are you sure? That's like handing him the win.
Or maybe you just pretended to pick the surprise ingredient.
Picking them week after week, that requires culinary skills.
Skills that you've been faking since the beginning of your career? I'm a businessman, OK? People aren't going to buy into my restaurants if they think I can't cook.
Who picks the ingredients? Who chose black truffle for the semis? Don't make me repeat myself, Desmond.
I loathe repetition.
It's black truffle, end of conversation.
- Gustav, the judge? - Yeah.
He was never even on our radar.
Yeah, well, the first time I read him he seemed genuinely upset that Marcel died.
Right, maybe he also didn't know about Marcel's allergy and just wanted to knock him out of the competition.
Well why wouldn't Gustav want Marcel to win? Remember I got that read of him in his trailer, "Only Raven could win now.
" At the time I thought he suspected Raven.
Well maybe she was his motive.
Well he did it for her, - He sabotaged a competition.
- Or he killed him.
Guys the finale starts in 15 minutes.
No evidence, nothing to trigger an arrest warrant.
Then find some.
Accident or not, Gustav's paying for Marcel Beaumont's death.
- (Door bell) - Come in! (Opens the door) Did they come? Are they here? Sandy sent her regrets.
Come on, it's starting.
Welcome to the very special finale of Five-Star Chef.
Before we start the show, let's take a moment to acknowledge the untimely death of Marcel Beaumont.
Marcel was a marvelous cook We need to somehow prove that Gustav planted that oil in Gabriella's dressing room.
Gabriella said that she threw the bottle out.
Yeah Forensics was looking for it but I don't think they're going to find any fingerprints.
From my read of Gabriella, the bottle of oil didn't look like it came from a store.
It had no labels on it, it looked more like a vial.
Yeah, maybe it came from a large - Wait - What? Did you figure it out? Thai noodles.
When we went to Gustav's trailer, he made thai noodles.
- Thai cooking uses peanut oil.
- That's right.
He had that big bottle of it.
If we can get a sample of that oil to Alex, maybe she can match it to the oil that killed Marcel.
There's no time Maybe she already did.
The finals of Five-Star Chef.
It's going to be an exciting night, so be sure to stick around after the break.
Is that Michelle and Toby? What are they doing on live TV? Wha No! What? You're going to have to come with us.
Uh, sounds lovely, dear.
But I'm a tad occupied at the moment.
Yeah I think you've got bigger problems than judging a cooking show right now.
It's you who sabotaged Marcel.
You wanted Marcel out of the competition, you got Gabriella to do it for you.
And why would I do that? Because you wanted Raven to win but she was losing out on the vote week after week.
Nothing but accusation.
- Where's your proof? - Thank you.
We matched the peanut oil that killed Marcel with the oil that we found in your room.
Artisan oils have a very distinct makeup.
We know it was you.
You must believe me.
I I had no idea the oil would kill the man, I was as shocked as anyone else.
Can I have a moment, please? (Clears his throat) OK, OK.
I know this is less than appropriate Miss Masters.
Roll, roll, roll.
Go live on this.
Go, go! But it might be the only chance I have to tell you (Crunch) You're the best chef I've ever come across.
Sheer genius.
An unadulterated artist, whom I couldn't sit by and see outshone by mere charm and panache.
- Thank you.
- Plus I loathe meringue, don't you? The very idea.
Well Looks like the kitchen takes prisoners after all.
And now, this week only, 0% financing on Best reality TV ever.
He'll drop away with a car.
Drop the mic.
Gustov plead guilty to manslaughter charges.
So, he really didn't mean to kill Marcel? Nah, he's just sick and tired of the most cutthroat competitors winning.
Well.
It was still a very stupid thing to do.
Hey.
Yeah, well, people hurt each other without meaning to all the time.
Sometimes you don't even realize you're doing it.
I'll be right back.
- Am I missing something? - Real reality.
Hey.
Um - Thanks for dropping by.
- No, I'm actually I'm glad you called.
I really didn't mean to rub it in the other day.
Maybe I could've handled it better.
Yeah, that.
Or I acted like a complete idiot.
I was jealous and I'm sorry.
It was a stupid way to react.
But if it makes you feel any better, it's (Exhales) it's because you're still important to me.
That means a lot to me.
I just want you to be happy.
Maybe I'll come to your wedding.
Invite me.
If only to threaten Hunter with evisceration if he ever does you wrong.
I know you're going to find the right person someday, Oz.
You'll make her the happiest woman in the world.
(Exhales) Sync & Corrections by Wolfen