- The chefs are given a slab of meat they must clean and butcher in their quick-fire challenge. Then, itÂ's a blast from the past in the elimination challenge, and one chef is history.
- With just one more person to go before the final four, Stephanie kicks off the episode noting that there's the potential for an all-women top three. Then it's time to go look at a lot of meat. They visit Allen Brothers, a butcher business. They will be cutting dry-aged ribeye. They gear up and head to it.
They're confronted with a rib rack - a honking huge piece of meat. They get 20 minutes to break it down into seven chops.
Spike is feeling confident because both of his grandfathers were butchers. Stephanie is swearing up a storm. Perhaps her grandfathers were sailors.
Time's up and they pack up their steaks and head back to the Top Chef kitchen where even more meat awaits them. Also, Chicago chef Rick Tramonto.
Padma reminds them this is the last round before they head to the finals in Puerto Rico.
Their Quickfire is to cook a perfect steak. Richard laments that he doesn't have two hours to cook his in a slow water bath at 60 degrees. They all use slightly different approaches.
Tramonto doesn't even taste the steaks as he cuts them open and looks at them. He gets Richard and Stephanie for poorly butchered steaks and under-doneness. Spike and Lisa are lauded for their butchery and cooking. Antonia is complimented for the crust on her steak and proper cooking.
Spike wins.
Elimination Challenge.
They'll be taking over Tramonto Steak and Seafood the next night. Each of them will be responsible for an appetizer and an entree. Spike gets to pick his first. Tramonto beseeches them to take care of his customers.
Back at the townhouse, they eat steak.
Spike says he thinks Stephanie is the top female chef.
The next day they go to the restaurant and Spike picks the tomahawk steak from the day before. He also takes frozen scallops as the other chefs grimace at the fact they're frozen.
Stephanie is cooking a tenderloin and sweetbreads as an appetizer. She says they don't sound appealing, but if done properly they're "like a chicken McNugget."
Lisa is making peanut butter mashed potatoes.
Spike looks at his scallops and finds they're torn and soaked with moisture. He has to dry them out with paper towels so he can sear them.
Tom stops by to check in. When Richard tells him he's doing tenderloin with potatoes and turnips. Tom says that's "pretty straightforward" for him. It eats at Richard. He interprets it as Tom thinking he's playing it safe.
Tom raises a handsome eyebrow at Lisa's peanut butter whipped potatoes. Lisa picks up on his trepidation.
Spike is still trying to salvage his scallops.
Tom announces that he'll be expediting the meal, which means that he's coordinating the timing. The chefs are fired up.
Spike continues to dry out his scallops.
Richard talks a lot about how bad it would be to go home so close to the end.
They meet the VIP guests: past season winners Harold, Ilan and Hung. (One, two and three.)
The judges sit down and order a tasting menu, despite there not being one. Lisa made grilled and chilled prawns. They wonder why it's cold. Richard made hamachi with crispy sweetbreads, a twist on an Italian dish. They really love it. Spike's scallops are served with hearts of palm and mushrooms. They judges don't love it. Stephanie serves crisp veal sweetbreads. They judges rave. Antonia make warm mushroom and artichoke salad with a poached egg. Not great, but a perfectly cooked egg.
Tom good-naturedly harangues Richard for taking too long preparing his beef filet, potato puree and turnips with pickled Brussel sprouts. They don't like that it's served separately. Lisa serves N.Y. strip in caramel sauce with peanut butter mashed potatoes. Tramonto loves it but Gail doesn't. Spike's entree is the tomahawk with sweet potato puree. They think the puree is too sweet. Season Two winner Ilan is finding something negative and snottily superior to say about every dish. Stephanie sends out her tenderloin with mushrooms in an apple sauce. They love it and eat the whole thing. Antonia has a chef crush on Tom as he sends out her bone-in ribeye and shallot gratin. Ilan says he loves the meat, but says it's too rich.
They're done with service and now it's time to make food for Tom and head back to the sweat lodge. Lisa tries to pretend she hasn't been completely unpleasant and toasts everyone.
Padma comes back and asks for everyone. Judges' Table.
She asks each chef how they think they did. They tell Richard his appetizer was better than his main course. Tramonto praises Stephanie for her sweetbreads. Padma doesn't hint that they also loved her tenderloin. Tramonto says he struggled with Lisa's appetizer and "wanted to hate" the peanut butter. Tramonto also raves about Antonia's steak. Gail says Spike's steak was cooked well. Tom asks Spike why he didn't send back his frozen scallops. He says they were terrible.
Tramonto tells Spike it was his responsibility to tell a vendor he can't accept frozen scallops and Spike says back that "they were in your walk-in and it should never make it in your walk-in." Tom looks like he's going to die of embarrassment at Spike back-talking a guest judge.
Back in the stew room Spike says he can't believe he said that about the walk-in.
The judges discuss. Stephanie was Tramonto's favorite. Gail says Richard's appetizer was the best dish of the night. Tom says Antonia's steak dish was the best steak of the night. They get to Spike. Tom says he had big issues with both of his courses. Tom is bothered by Lisa's cooking because she seems "slightly apathetic" about it.
They debate between Spike and Lisa for elimination. Both are criticized for not putting enough work into one of their courses.
Padma brings them back out.
Tramonto announces the winner: Stephanie. She gets a copy of his new book (she has the old ones). And a suite of GE monogrammed kitchen appliances. "That's really fu-fricking exciting," she says.
Richard is sent to Puerto Rico for the best appetizer, as is Antonia for the best entree.
Spike and Lisa remain.
Tom points out Lisa has been on the bottom five times and Spike seven times. Lisa looks like she's making diamonds in her mouth. Tom tells her to try harder.
Padma announces the result: Spike is out.
He says good-bye. "It sucks that it had to end like this for me. Of course I wanted to be the Top Chef, but it's not going to stop me from my goals. I'm still going to excel in my career and in this business. It's not going to hold me back at all. I don't give up. I have a lot of strive. It's hard to put me down."
The four remaining celebrate. Wine is opened.
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