"Chefs, unpack your knives." "We're giving you a second chance." "[overlapping chatter] Ggod!" "When you say "All-Star," it means you're the best." "I mean, that's a stacked lineup." "Come on." "Come on, baby, come on." " I came this close." " So close." " Really close." " That close to winning." "Make it happen." "Make it happen." "I'm back because I should have won." "Slow down, slow down." "[Mumbling gibberish]" "This is the biggest season so far." "In the culinary capitol of the United States," "New York City, head judge Tom Colicchio," "Food  Wine magazine's Gail Simmons, and world traveler and best-selling author Tony Bourdain will demand the highest standards." "It was such a smart dish." "It was horrifying." "We know you're talented Chefs." "That's why you were asked to come back." "We need food!" "Watch out." "We gotta move, guy we gotta move." "What the [Bleep]?" "There's a reason why we're the All-Stars." " The best Chefs." " The cream of the crop." "They're putting some high stakes out there." "The biggest prizes we could possibly win." "With half a million dollars in cash and prizes at stake, they'll do whatever it takes to stay in the game and compete for the grand prize-- a feature in Food  Wine magazine, a showcase at the annual Food  Wine classic in Aspen," "$200,000 to pursue their culinary dreams, furnished by Buitoni, an Italian masterpiece, and the title that's eluded them all..." "[All cheering]" "Top Chef." "[Rock music]" "♪ Top Chef:" "All-Stars 8x01 ♪ History Never Repeats Original Air Date on December 1, 2010" "♪ ♪ [upbeat music]" "♪ ♪" "I'm Tiffani Faison." "I was neck and neck for the finale in the first season." "Oh, wow." "I was definitely known for being incredibly competitive, really aggressive." "You're a snake." "Sssss!" "Harold, you are the Top Chef." "I love competition." "I'm gonna cook my nuts off." " Hi." " Hey, Tiffani." "I literally just got here." "How are you?" "I'm Stephen Asprinio, hospitality entrepreneur." "I have standards, unlike you do." "You're a tool and a douchebag." "You will not succeed, and you will fail horribly." "After Top Chef season one," "I opened my first namesake restaurant," "Forte di Asprinio, which was consequently named one of the top ten best new restaurants." "Now I'm here, Top Chef All-Stars." "I'm not nervous, because I'm never nervous." "Not winning Top Chef was really harsh, and it made me really, really angry." "Well, hello." "Oh, my God." "Yay!" "And this time I will win." "I'm just letting you know right now." " Is that Elia?" " Oh, my gosh." "Hello!" "I knew marcel was gonna be here, but I hope he matured." " Good to see you." " Good to see you." "When I originally, you know, was on Top Chef during season two," "I was kind of seen as a threat." " You're a selfish, self-centered, egotistical bastard." "I will beat you so bad that your mother will not recognize you." "Ilan, you are Top Chef." "I was young, capable, talented, and creative, and that intimidated a lot of other contestants." " How are you?" " 'Sup, girl?" "Good to see you." "How you been?" " Awesome." " I was impressed to see Tre." "Tre is an amazing Chef." "He's a beast, and he's probably my biggest competition." "You like my stuff?" "[Laughs]" "I got eliminated from season three of Top Chef." "Are you ready to throw down, man?" "Always." "[Laughs]" "I did go home too soon, and I've been training hard to be a force to be reckoned with." "I ain't playing around this [Bleep]." "[Laughs]" "I'm Dale Levitski." "I'm the Executive Chef at Sprout in Chicago." "I am Casey Thompson." "I am the Executive Chef of Brownstone Restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas." " Hi." " Hi, baby." "Casey..." "You've been a fierce competitor this entire competition." "Dale, you're cooking with a ton of confidence." "Thank you." "Hung, you are our Top Chef!" "I made one or two little mistakes in the finale, and that's how tight this game is, so this time I don't want to make any mistakes." "I'll sleep in the same room with you." " [Laughs]" " Whoa, that's what I said." " Good to see you." " What's going on, man?" "How's it going, Dale?" "Good to see you." "Hi." " It's been a while." " I know." "And the one who really took the lead, I think, that was Richard." "Richard." " Richard." " Richard." "I think most people remember my season for me losing my season." "I feel like I, you know, choked." "Stephanie, you are Top Chef." "What?" "Really?" "I've decided to come back, because just as not winning" "I describe as my saddest professional moment, winning would be my proudest professional moment." "[Upbeat music]" "My name is Spike Mendelsohn." "I currently live on Capitol Hill." "I've got two restaurants there." "I was a little kitchen rat in New York City before the show, and now, like," "I've kind of bloomed, and I have a career." "Aah!" "I had a feeling you would be here." "Spike and I have, like, a love/hate relationship." "Well, maybe you should be considerate about other people's opinions." " Did I say I would do it?" "No." "You said you wouldn't do it." "Really?" "I did?" "Just really quick--you're not allowed in my bathtub." " Smokey wokey foamy?" " Yeah, smokey wokey foamy." "I'm gonna beat spike, only because it's his karma." "I'm Dale Talde, season four." "If you got something to say about what I did, then say it to me, bitch." "That's bull[Bleep]!" "[Bleep]!" "I hate losing." "[Laughs]" " What's going on, girl?" " Hey." "Being on Top Chef definitely helped elevate my career, for sure." "It was crazy." "I mean, people came from all over the world, actually, to meet me." "I don't remember you guys all being so tall." "Honestly, I'm here to kick ass this time." "Sky House." "We're going up, but it feels like we're going to Hell." "I made it through the finale in my season, but this time I'm gonna win." "I'm like the underdog, you know?" "Italian dog, a good one." "One person that I don't want to see-- uh, I had a few issue back in the days with Marcel." "What happened when you got hit with the bottle?" "I heard--I read it." "You're [Bleep] trying to bring up all this, like, drama?" "You want to talk about when they shaved my head?" "You want to talk about when they pinned me down?" "What else do you want to talk about?" "I'd talk to you about your season, but I never watched it." "He was a little cocky, a little too loud for my taste." " [Laughs]" " Fabio." "I open the elevator." "First two people-- Jamie and Marcel." "And I'm like, "here we go."" "I'm not gonna take a bunk bed ever again." "I squashed my balls on season five, and that is not gonna happen." " Yeah!" " [Laughs]" " Hoody-hoo, hoody-hoo!" "Hoody!" "Hoody!" "Hoody!" "Hoo." " Hoody." " Hoo." "Congratulations, Carla." "Come here and get your keys." "I'm all about harmony and peace." "My challenge this time around is to cook from my heart, and I'm not gonna be intimidated by someone else's food." "Not gonna do it, not gonna do it." "Last time on Top Chef, I was known as a very strong, confident, aggressive female in the kitchen." "Are we good?" "We can have this conversation later." "Let's talk about food and focus on this, all right?" "Thank you." "This time I want that to shine through again." " I'm Elia." " Jen." "As I look around the room," "I think it's a strong pool of Chefs that are here." "The strongest competitor in my eyes is Jennifer Carroll." "She's got a massive pedigree, and she's someone that I definitely have my eye on." "Baby, oh, good to see you." "[Laughs]" "I'm Mike Isabella, season six." "I'm a machine." "Pull through like always, baby." "Pull through like always." "Jersey's that small little city that kind of controls America." "I'm [Bleep] real, doggie." "You know what I mean?" "I'm opening up my own restaurant right in the heart of D.C." "I came back to cook, show you what I got, so I'm ready." "I'm ready to rock and roll." "It's showtime, baby." "I'm back for redemption." "I was sick for the finals of season seven, and I was this close." "It just feels like somebody's stabbing me in the stomach." "It's time to make it right." "It's time to cook my heart out." "I'm definitely ready for this, guys." "I brought a lot of advil this time." " How are you?" " Nice to meet you." " Hello!" " How are you?" "I'm good." "[Laughs]" "The lineup is an All-Star cast." "I mean, I am just happy to be among the chosen." "From Beaumont to New York City." " Good to see you." " Good to see you." "[Overlapping chatter]" "There's all elite Chefs that are here-- owners and execs, and it's a tough lineup." "So, yeah, it's gonna be tough, but I'm tough too." "Guys, you got to get some coat right here." "It really hits when we put on our coats." "It just became real." "I'm kind of thinking, "oh, crap, what did I get myself into?"" " Nice coat, yeah?" " [Laughs]" "I walk into the Top Chef kitchen, and it's like stepping into a ring." "Heading into the kitchen, I feel nauseous." "Like, my ears are burning, and I'm hoping that I can continue to breathe, in through my nose and out through my mouth." "Welcome back." "[Chuckles]" "You were considered some of the best, but none of you took home the grand prize." "To beat every Chef standing in this kitchen will be an extraordinary achievement, so it's fitting that this season, there's much more at stake than ever before." "We're handing out half a million dollars worth of cash and prizes with the Top Chef taking home our biggest grand prize ever, $200,000." "Oh, my God." "Having the opportunity to win this is huge." "We never got prize money." "I actually got second in season two and never won anything." "You guys ready to get started, then?" "I'm always ready to compete." "Bring it on." "I'm seeing people freaking out." " Tre, how's our pork?" " This is not cooking." "This fell on the [Bleep] floor." "I gave you four." " Come on." " It fell on the floor." "You guys ready to get started?" " Yes." " Let's do it." "Chefs, every time I see you, I hear on and on, your season was the best, your season was the most challenging." "Time for talk is over." "Time for you to prove it now." "For your quickfire challenge," "Chefs from each season will work as one team to make one dish." "That dish should represent the city where your season took place." "This quickfire is a battle between the seven seasons for bragging rights." " That's what I'm talking about." " [Laughs]" "This is the moment we've all been waiting for." "There's been a lot of talk about what season's the best, and this day, the food will speak on its own." "Members of the winning season will get immunity." "I would personally be very embarrassed to go home first." "And now that immunity is at stake for the whole team, it's a huge deal." "The kitchen is outfitted with the latest G.E. Monogram equipment." "Your time starts now." "[Overlapping chatter]" "I'm gonna make mustard ice cream." "Okay, you want to use some of these fresh, for the relish?" " I don't think so." " With four people, you have so many different voices." "You don't want to do, like, a saute, of something warm on top of it?" "That doesn't usually go on a hot dog." "But you realize that Chicago dogs would be the best way to represent our city." "You're making a fresh sausage, yeah?" "Yes." "To make a piece of sausage in 25 minutes, it's unbelievably nerve-racking." "In this competition, you have to take a risk." "I'm thinking, okay, D.C., Maryland, crab cakes with old bay spice, rockfish." "Skin crispy?" "Maybe just cook it more on one side, oui?" " Of course." " Beautiful." "I mean, 25 minutes-- it's not like I could do an ice carving of George Washington." "What kind of acid are you thinking?" "We got lemon in there." "What do we have?" "We usually do capers and things like that." "Beautiful." "Perfect." "All right, I was thinking about us doing, like, a trio of apples." "Like, one of us does, like, a little, like, soup." "And that way, we're each doing something separate, so we're focused on something." "I can make, like, pasta with caramelized apple and crispy bacon." "I think to represent New York, it's apple, apple, apple, apple, big apple, New York." "You're doing applesauce as a garnish?" "No, I might not." "No, you do it." "Our team, we really were just kind of doing our own thing." "I just think I'm a stronger Chef than my other two teammates, so I really was just focusing on what I was creating." " Fabio?" " Yes?" " Where's the flour?" " It's over there." "Close to the vacuum sealer." "Team New York, they're doing something with apples." "I get it." "It represents The Big Apple." "Get it." "But each person did their own dish." "It's a very bold way to go, because all of those flavors better go together." "I have cilantro that we'll pick right out of the pot." "He's doing the pork." "Mangoes, habaneros, pork, and plantains." "That's Miami all day long." "There's only one avocado left in house for what I need to do." " Oh, great." " Our season was the best." "I mean, we hear it on the street." "We hear it from everyone else." "Now it's time to prove it." "It's a whole new ball game." "The kitchen's ridiculous." "It's like a real kitchen." "It's not season two anymore." "Elia and I decide that fish tacos with an apple wrapper are a great way to represent L.A." "We're definitely representing our region." "Yeah." "Not to mention it's really easy to make in 25 minutes." "Let them just chill for a second." " Is this yours?" " No." "Behind you." "Here, here, here, here." "Somebody turned my pot off." "I'm looking around and seeing people freaking out, like we're all gonna die today." "Behind, behind, behind, behind." "Back, back, back, back." "Fabio took it." "Casey, over here." "Put it back where it goes!" " Come on." " Yeah, they're delicious." "Try it." "Like it?" "[Bleep] Perfecto, no?" "These we don't need, so just save the good shrimp." "Do you have any chili flakes here?" "I'll get it for you." "Cioppino is very representative of San Francisco." "Fresh seafood is part of the local cuisine there." "Cucumber." "Stephen is a little rusty, but Stephen and I are, like, the original gangsters in this." "Cucumber, yes." "Tomato, yes." "Three herbs, uh, clams, and shrimp." "Top Chef season 8, 10, 14, whatever, we got you." "Season one, bitches." "Do you have any sock at all?" "Behind, behind." "Team Vegas, all the way." "For Vegas, you know, there's not a lot of culture, so we decided to go with the old-school" "Italian mobster scene that was controlling the casinos with all the Italian food." "[Bleep]!" "Nine minutes!" "My season's the most intimidating because of me." "That's why." "I got a little bit of butter right here also." "So many people have come up to me and just said, "the Vegas season was the best season,"" "so I want all of the other cooks here to feel that way too." " Take 'em out, strain 'em?" " Yep, yep." "We got 7 1/2 minutes left." "7 1/2?" "I'm making the liquid nitrogen mustard ice cream, and I'm really happy that there's a nitrogen tank there, but it's very, very low pressure, so it's taking a long time to extract any of the liquid nitrogen." "To no one's surprise, you know," "Professor Blais, what he's doing, he's breaking out the liquid nitrogen." "I mean, the man's a genius." "Five minutes." "You have five minutes left, everyone." "As I'm walking, I actually get bumped by Stephen, and I don't even think he knows." "And the fish falls on the floor, and I'm like-- it's like a juggling act." "I'm trying to grab for it." "This fell on the [Bleep] floor." "I gave you four." "You have four." "It fell on the floor." "At this point in time, there's three minutes left." "Is there another fish there or no?" "No, there's no more." "I'm destroying this fish, but I'm just trying to do it quick just so I can put up a plate." "All right, just go for two portions, yeah?" "Yes, two portions." "That's it." "At this point, it's just advantageous for you even to just put anything on the plate." "I gotta get the pork in the oven." " Out of the oven?" " I gotta get it in the oven." "In the oven?" "This semi-thick piece of pork tenderloin-- it's just not cooking." "Tre, how's our pork?" "If you can get it here with 40 seconds left, we're good." " Getting the bowls." " Go, go, go." "Antonia, we need the bread." "We got to plate." " Aw, [Bleep]." " Aw, [Bleep] pain." "It hurts." "Eight seconds." "I'm barely even getting the food on the plate." "My brain is just like-- it's almost like I'm gonna blow a gasket." "Time's up." "Hands up." "Utensils down." "That mother[Bleep] dropped the fish." "I know." " Hi, Tiffani." " Hi." "How's it going?" "We wanted to speak about the seasonality of cooking in San Francisco as well as the classics." "We made a cioppino gazpacho." "And we did some sourdough fettunta, also from the region, as a garnish, with a little garlic and olive oil." " Great." "Thank you." " Very good." "Thanks." " How's it going?" " Hello." "Considering we had L.A., we decided to, uh, represent with some shrimp tacos." "We did some guacamole." "That's an apple wrapper." "Why'd you choose to use an apple wrapper?" "It's light and fresh." "Do you like it?" " You'll find out later." " Oh, I guess so." "[Laughs]" "Marcel might be 30 years old but he's still acting like he's 22 years old." "He still has that mentality of a spoiled brat." "'Cause we're in Miami, and I think one of our seasonal themes was pork," "Tre grilled a pork tenderloin." "I made an avocado-lime puree." "Casey made some tostones and a mango habanero sauce as well." " Thank you so much." " Mm-hmm." " Hi, guys." " Hi." "Hey, Padma." "The dish is a Chicago-style hot dog." "We constructed-- I made the sausage." "It's pork, a little bit of bacon." "Whose idea was the mustard?" "It was mine, 'cause I feel like you can't do a dish that represents Chicago without representing the avant garde." " Great." "Thanks." " Thank you." "I don't know." "Hot dog with mustard gelato?" "I would go back and get my pasta again, but that's just my opinion." "We decided to showcase the apple, because that's how we started." "So that's a trio of apple." "That's a lightly curried gingered apple soup with spiced almonds." "I made the fresh pasta, a little spicy sausage with caramelized apple." "And I'm showcasing the rib eye, and I did an apple, walnut, and blue cheese slaw." " Thank you." " Thank you." "Interesting flavors." "Hmm, "interesting"..." "That's the kiss of death." " Hello, Mike." " How you doing, Padma?" "Season six, Las Vegas." "Mike made some pasta, and I made a little bacon lobster carbonara." " So you made the pasta?" " Yeah, I made the bucatini." "Great." "Thanks." " Thank you." " Thank you." "You guys look familiar." "D.C.'s known for their crab, their fish." "You know, I tried to kind of play off of that crab-cake essence." "Thank you." "I really want immunity." "I'm ready." "Bring it on." "God darn it, bring it on." "Let's tell them how they did." "All I'm thinking is, "what is inside of that tray?"" "[Bleep]." "Wow." "Are we really gonna do this?" "Tom, let's tell them how they did." "Bad news first." "Marcel and Elia, the shrimp needed more seasoning." "It was really bland." "The apple was just a hair too thin." "What you really wanted was to pick it up like a taco, but it was very hard to do." "Tiffani and Stephen, the flavors were good, except way, way too much raw garlic." "Season five, you gave us three different dishes." "They weren't really tied in together very well." "Two of the three were so-so." "The curried soup I thought was very good." "But you're only batting .333." "Not in this competition." "I know my soup is damn good." "My dish was better than the two of theirs." "Season seven, a tiny bit too much salt." "And now our favorites." "Tre, Casey, and Dale, the pork dish represented Miami really well." "The habaneros came through nicely, really great flavors." "Thank you." "Chicago, really inventive." "I was also happy to see the mustard ice cream." "Nice work." "Season six, the flavors were great." "The pasta was really well made, cooked perfectly." "Great dishes all the way around." "But I have to say, the dish that won clearly presented their city very well, had a ton of flavor." "The dish for me that won it..." "Goes to Chicago." "Whoo!" "[Applause]" "Whenever you win the first challenge, it says, "catch up."" "It was amazing." "I'm back, son." "This is how we do it." "I was surprised when we lost." "[Sighs] [Bleep], [Bleep]." "So they did a sausage with mustard." "[Whistles] Big whoop." "Congratulations, season four." "All of you win immunity, and none of you will be going home tomorrow." "So are you starting to get that competitive edge again?" " It's been there." " Yes." "Good, because it's time for your elimination challenge." "Thank you, guys." "You bought us dinner." "How nice." "All I'm thinking to myself is, "what is inside of that tray?"" "You all know what it's like to hear me say, "pack your knives and go."" "And I'm sure none of you want to be the first to hear it this season." "Go ahead." "Lift them up." "[Bleep]." "Wow." "Are we really gonna do this?" "Ay yi yi yi yi." "I see the reason I did not win season three of Top Chef staring me in the face." "In front of you are the ingredients that sent you home." "Your challenge--make the dish that sent you packing, but this time make it great." "You can improve upon the dish, but you can't stray too far from the original dish." "This is your opportunity to redeem yourself and prove to us that you're an all-star Chef." "You'll have three hours tonight." "Then tomorrow you'll have two hours at the historic Russian tea room before the guests and judges arrive." "Joining us at judges' table this season will be Tony Bourdain..." "Oh, good." "Anthony Bourdain, he will tear you a new one." "He takes no prisoners." "Your time starts now." "Got it, got it, got it." "Good, good, good." "I can't believe I have frozen scallops again." "I'm reliving this nightmare." "It's the great scallop-gate with Rick Tramonto." "Well, with all due respect, they were in your walk-in." "It should never make it in the walk-in if it's not high quality." "I'll take the shot, but you better take the shot that you used 'em." "I'm a man of many tricks." "I'm going to try to mask the flavor of the scallop in every which way possible." "Ah-ah!" "I'm good, I'm good." "The dish I got kicked off for was miso butterscotch scallops." "Anthony Bourdain was right." "It's one of the worst dishes on Top Chef." "Butterscotch scallops-- who came up with this dish?" "That's me." "It looked like a melted candy bar." "But when the concept's bad just from the jump, there's no saving it." "This time I just need to make less butterscotch." "Don't undercook your peas." "No, no, no, no." "Fabio, do you have lobster in your dish?" "Uh, I have two." "How many you need?" "I had to re-create some caserecci with crawfish and crab stew." "If I can have two, that will be perfect." "I don't think there was nothing wrong with that dish." "But I guess it were, because I went home." "To be eliminated twice for the same dish, you gotta be stupid, then." "Anybody have chicken jus?" "Does anybody have cilantro?" "My biggest challenge is, there are three dishes that I have to do instead of one that aren't my own." "I was eliminated for not spending enough time in the kitchen and focusing on wine service." "This glass right here will be a Rose." "And we're gonna get it done with or without Stephen right now." "I am cooking a dish that I have never really done, but you have to really deal with the cards that you're dealt, and I'm gonna go with the flow and do my best." "Stephen is a great front-of-the-house guy." "He's a great dresser." "But I don't think he came out of no trenches." "I think he just came out of..." "Macy's Day Parade or something." "Two hours!" "Hot down the line." "Behind." "I have to re-create a red snapper that's been steamed inside a tea leaf." "And I strongly believe that I shouldn't have been eliminated." "It was almost a little overpowering in the mediterranean flavors." "Really?" "I didn't want you to say, "this is Hawaiian."" "I wanted you to say, "this is Elia's dish."" "Okay." "I thought I did a great job the first time." "I decided to be be very true to the ingredients and modify them as little bit as possible." "This time, I am stuffing my piece of red snapper with cured bacon, so when it gets steamed, that flavor's gonna get into the fish." "Hey, Blais, I'm sorry to bother you." "Do you know how to make this thing actually vacuum..." "Yes." "Instead of it doing what it's doing?" "My dreading this dish is a little different." "I went home for making Eric Ripert's dish, black bass with braised celery, badly." "I hated the dish in the first place." "The braised celery was way oversalted." "I mean, that wasn't my favorite dish that we had over lunch." "I decided to take the celery and sort of turn it into a celery hash." "It would really suck to go home for cooking Eric Ripert's food bad twice." "It's weird." "It just doesn't taste like anything." "Like there's no depth?" "Agave nectar?" " Is it all right now or more?" " A little bit more." "Right there." "Perfect." "Thank you." "Angelo is impressing me." "He's making these noodles." "They look really great." "Of all the people in the kitchen," "Angelo has spiked my curiosity, so to speak." "Ramen, like Spanish ramen or like dry ramen?" "Japanese ramen." "It's so important that the texture just really has a nice bite to it, because within the ramen, you have the chilies, the salt, and the spice." "I think it's a pretty solid dish." "Now I want to win." "I want to win." "[Whistling whine]" "Yo, don't [Bleep] Blow us up over here, okay?" "[Whistling whine]" "How did you know how much to put in?" "I didn't." "When it got crazy, I just turned it off." "[Both laugh]" "He's just making stuff." "Must be nice." "Dale is kind of playing around, basically." "You hungry?" "I got some right here." "They're looking pretty good." "Baking off with muffins and just doing some crazy stuff because he has immunity." "Want some cornbread?" "Mike, are you gonna use all of these leeks?" " No, you can have some." " Can I just have some?" "I'd say a couple." "I went home because I made a vegetarian dish." "I tried to do braised leeks." "I got the toughest challenge." "I mean, I'm competing against people who got sent home for pork belly and fish." "I'm just debating on right now if I should smoke this [Bleep] Or just let it be." "[Bleep], I knew I forgot to do something today, and that was smoke my leeks." "[Laughing]" "You know, when you have carrots, potatoes, and leeks, it's--you know, there's only so much you can do." "You know, roast a leek, grill a leek, braise a leek, but it's still a leek." "Coming out hot, guys." "Hot." "I was thinking if I should sous vide the duck breast tomorrow." "The first time around, the dish was too salty." "This time around, it is not gonna be over-seasoned." "Looking around, I feel pretty confident that I'm gonna be on the top of this challenge." " Do you have malt-vinegar powder?" " Yes." " 26:08." "In the moment of the finale," "Casey encouraged me to do sous vide meat, which was just way off of my game." "How much influence did Casey have?" "She made a lot of suggestions, for instance, the sous vide." "I was like, "okay, I'll try that."" "I know about it." "I don't do it." "Well, I don't blame Casey at all." "This time, you will see me cooking my food." "Hot!" "Sesame seeds-- anybody got those on?" "Marcel, those look really cool." "Thanks." "This is what fresh pigeon peas look like." "That's what fresh pigeon peas look like?" "Spike, he's lucky." "He has immunity, so he's taking his scallop and trying to have it disappear so that nobody knows that they are frozen." "I just soaked it in, like, a lime vinaigrette." "He is so sneaky and devious." " Oh, right." " [Laughs]" "I'll just carry these into the fridge." "Everyone here thinks they're gonna make it to top five." "Somebody's going home." "I'm hoping it's not me." "I don't think it'll be me, but, uh, somebody's going home." "Time's up!" "The fish was kind of raw." "It feels like a dish that someone gave up on." " It looks like an inside-out animal." "I hated the whole dish." "That's a little harsh." "I mean, someone's gotta go home first." "You went home on the finale?" " Mm-hmm." " Me too." "Yeah, I know." "I saw you with your shaved head." "You had a good head for that, though." " Yeah, it just is round, right?" " Yeah." "We don't think you have the balls to shave your head." " You don't-- you guys don't know me at all." "You're gonna look good." "They're like, "we want to shave marcel's head." "What do you think?"" "Cliff wrestled him down to the floor." "So he didn't allow it." "[Bleep] Outta here, dude." "What's your [Bleep] Problem?" "I was a lot younger." "I was 23 years old." "So I shaved it." "Aah!" "And I think in these past four years," "I've really come into my own." "I really did mature." "I want to show the judges I'm here to bring a much more mature level to this competition." "Two hours to prep at the Russian Tea Room." "I have immunity, but I have to prove to myself that I can conquer these frozen scallops." "Hey, Chefs." "How's it going?" "Hey, Tom." "The kitchen's a little tight, so what we're gonna do is, we're gonna split you into two groups." "That's nine right there." "We have nine right here." "Okay?" "First group will be cooking first, serving first." "Second group will be cooking second." "So we figured by now, you probably know each other fairly well, but you still haven't tasted each other's food." "So today we're gonna give you an opportunity to really size up the competition." "When you're not cooking, you're gonna be dining with the judges, get a chance to have each other's food." "You can comment if you like or not, okay?" "To actually taste a composed dish of the competitors is priceless." "To give you an extra incentive, the winner of this challenge will receive $10,000." " Wow." " Whoo!" "$10,000 for me is a large chunk of my yearly salary." "That really does add much more pressure." "I'm gonna win." "So, group one, you're cooking." "Group two, come with me." "I have three dishes to execute." "I have three dishes to plate." "That's a lot." "I gotta make--uh, do this, make a sabayon, make a lobster salad." "Dale, you using the fryer?" " I'm in it right now, yeah." " Oh, when you gonna be done?" "The flavors are spot on." "I love the dish that I'm cooking, and I'm ready to come out victorious." "13 minutes!" "Did anybody grab that blowtorch?" "Oh, never mind." "My new train of thought coming back into the game this time is to push up until the end, so I'm gonna be plating all the way to the end of the challenge." "You all remember Anthony Bourdain." "Host of Travel Channel's No Reservations, and author of Medium Raw." "And, of course, back with us as usual," "Gail Simmons of Food  Wine magazine." "Great to see you all." "Man, this is the first time I've actually had the opportunity to dine with you guys, out of, like, all the different seasons, yeah." "It's a steamed fish." "It has to be in a very simple, old-school presentation." "And I think everything is coming together beautifully." "Two minutes, guys, two minutes." " Oh, you've got to be-- - 2:09. 2:09." "I'm concerned about Stephen, for sure." "Stephen, what do you need?" "You have to be in the window." "I know." "Oh, it has to be in the window?" "We're down to, like, 15 seconds, and Stephen is still putting major components on his plate." "Yeah, [Bleep] It." "You have seven seconds." "Let's go." "Things are about to go out to the diners, and they're not at the level that I'm used to serving." "That's time." "No, that's time." "Come on." "Richard is finishing his dish with a few last drizzles." "Time's up, dude." "[Alarm beeping]" "Blais is over there foaming his dish to order." "You have to be ready to go." "This is gonna be a bit of a trip down memory lane for all of us..." "For better or worse, right?" "Hopefully for better." " We're hoping better." " Hoping better, yeah." " I'm hoping better." " Oh, I remember that dish." "Oh, we can hear them?" "Without any notice or warning, there's a big-ass television with some really loud voices coming through on that tv." "Oh, we're watching?" "That's nerve-racking." "Everyone was eating our dishes, and I'm sure they did not know that we were standing there, watching them." "I want to try Elia's dish." " What is this?" " It's a scale." "Oh, yeah." "Yeah, I know." " It's definitely a scale." " It's a big scale." "That's bad." "I can't do this." "I don't want to hear them talking bad about anybody else's dish." "I don't want to hear them talk about my dish." "Tom, what was Richard Blais' original dish?" "It was braised pork belly." "It had a very light, thin broth." "You don't ever see that on pork bellies." "None of the other dishes I tasted after it even came close to it." "To sort of eavesdrop on a table eating your food and to hear them say great things, it was probably one of the most gratifying moments" "I've ever had iny career." " Angelo's." " His pork belly was solid." "The flavors wereeally there." "I think it was really in balance and harmonious." "I liked it a lot." "It's damn good." "It's very tasty, really good flavors." "I liked it a lot." "One of my favorites." "Dale's scallops." "The scallops were nicely cooked." "They're well-seasoned." "To me, there's this great expression in the Marine Corps-- get yourself un[Bleep]." "He un[Bleep] this dish." "[Laughter]" "Scallops and butterscotch, okay?" "That--that-- that's a problem." "[Laughs]" "Carla, what do you think of Tiffany's halibut?" "I think the fish is a little overcooked." "It's actually, like, one of my favorite sauces or broths to have, and I thought it could have used just, like, a little bit of sugar." "Tre's dish." "I wasn't a huge fan." "The almond-macadamian toast, when you eat it with the salmon," "I feel it overpowers it completely." "Tiffani's." "I think Tiffani's dish is very mediterranean, and I like the flavors." "It looked pretty." "She kind of did, like, a kimchi marinade, which kind of threw me off." "A little bit different, and I wasn't expecting that." "Stephen had to improve upon the appetizers." "It was just very swampy and muddled, and it just was really just kind of all over the board." "The way it looks, everything about it, it's just not for me." "There are people in the kitchen and there are people at this table who could have solved this problem." "He did not solve this problem." "Some of the diners are talking about their personal disdain for the dish, and it hurts a little bit." "Fabio's pasta." "I liked the basil." "I just don't get it sometimes when, like, it's fried on top." "It's like, "do you really want to eat it, or do you just want to push it aside?"" "And I don't get the paper, but" "It's there just in case you want to roll it up and smoke it." "[Laughter]" "I hated the whole dish." "I keep tasting it." "I keep poking it just to make sure that I actually hate it as much as I think I do, and I really, really, really hate it." "It looks like an inside-out animal." "It's--it's--it's-- it's appalling." "Wow." "Bourdain say some stupid comment, so I make sure that after," "I will let him know what I'm really thinking about it." "You all right?" "Yeah." "What's going on?" "Bourdain said he never had such a bad plate of pasta." "Stop it." "What did you think of Elia's dish?" " And me?" "My dish?" " They're doing it right now." "Come watch it." "No, I can't." " Why?" " I can't deal with it." "The fish was kind of raw." "I honestly just didn't really get it." "It feels like a dish that someone gave up on." "And to have something so watered down with no personality is-- is really disconcerting for me as a Chef." "That's a little harsh." "Elia's a friend of mine, and hearing the comments around her fish, I'm worried." "I can feel my palms getting a little bit sweaty." "We'll need you to go back to the kitchen." "Thank you very much." "Put my coat on and go back into the kitchen." "It's like, let the games begin--everybody's pumped." "Full Rocky soundtrack playing in my head." "Let's go." "Where are the cutting boards?" "Ooh, this is nice." "Scallops." "Yeah, they're still frozen." "After tasting the other Chefs' dishes," "I'm a little nervous." "Their food was really good." "The first time around, my pork belly was overcooked." "I can cook pork belly, and here's my chance to prove it." "I think all of the flavors are there." "It's gonna taste good." "It looks good." "I am more than happy with it." "I think I'm on the top." "14." "Oh, I've never cooked fish like this." "Are you making fun of my dish?" " It's gonna look great." " It's very good, Jamie." "Yeah?" "It's not too salty?" "My biggest concern is being the first person eliminated, obviously." "That is definitely the thing freaking me out the most right now." "I still hate this dish." "I don't like my dish." "But that's what's going." "You don't?" "No, I'm just in my head." "I'm in my head." "Yeah, don't do that." "It's weird to sit with the judges now." "There's a lot of feelings hurt." "And then you know that the other contestants, they're gonna watch you talk about their dishes." "It's just a bad situation all around." "What did you guys think about hearing all the feedback in the kitchen?" "I know he hated it." "Oh, right for it." "[Fabio groans]" "This is like the beginning of the most uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner ever." "Truly, like, it's hard." "[Laughs]" "Can't make everybody happy, can we?" "Underneath you." "Coming through." "12 seconds, guys." "12 seconds." "[Indistinct chatter]" " Cheers." " Salud." " Yeah!" " Family-meal time." " Oh, they do have-- - oh, no." " Told you." " They do watch?" "[Gasps]" "My stomach just drops to my feet." "These Chefs were able to see us talking about their food." "They are gonna just rip us to shreds." "Everybody's working their ass off and I won't let anybody make fun of me because it's a very serious matter." "What were you thinking?" "It was horrifying." "Now it's your turn to do the roasting." " What is this?" " Bass." "Nobody's shy about the flavors so far." " No, these flavors are great." " I mean, they're strong." "Antonia's dish." "I thought it was fresh and tasty, and I loved the grind." "You know, I could have ate it all by myself." "Damn, girl." "I'm wondering, "did I have the same dish?"" "For me, it was a little incomplete." "I just--it wasn't one of my favorites." " Scallops." " Mm-hmm." "Spike's scallop ceviche." "It was a good-tasting dish, but I could have lived without the scallops." " That was the point." " Oh, right." "This is the famous frozen-scallop dish, isn't it?" "He just robbed the bank." "It's perfect." "It's really smart." "Correct me if I'm wrong." "Is this the craftiest [Bleep] Who's ever been on this show?" "[Laughter]" "I threw the bait in the ocean, and they bit." "The dish that Jamie gave us-- she really wanted to make this her own." "And I think she was very successful at doing that." "Thank God." "I mean, I thought it was excellent." "I enjoyed it." "I thought Mike's dish was a good revamp." "The colors are nice." "The leeks were very nice." "They almost melted in my mouth." "I thought it really showed a lot of finesse and elegance to it." "I thought it was visually the prettiest dish." "Dale's lobster." "I honestly just could not get past that dumpling." "It was just pasty, and I couldn't get it out of my head." "The flavors on the plate were very nice." "The dumplings I didn't like at all." "Carla's dish6" "I thought the flavor of the steak was nice, and the potato, I mean, it has this sort of thing that you know you want." "My first bite of the meat was at the nerve ending, so that was an unpleasant experience." "Oh." "Oh, my gosh, the dagger in the heart." "There is no doubt that Casey improved on this dish, and I hope she's breathing a little easier now." "She redeemed herself here." "Marcel's dish, it threw me off that it was that strong, the vanilla." "It's like taking a vanilla bean and..." "[Makes sucking sound]" "He's really got balls to put something like this out." "Yeah." "The only thing wrong with Jen's duck dish was the duck." "It wasn't-- it wasn't there." "I was just surprised." "Like, I was waiting to be, like, schooled by Jen, like--like, completely, like, blown." "And there were just maybe a uple technical errors that I was surprised by." "I am shocked." "I can't believe this is happening." "This sucks." "We'll see you all and your colleagues at judges' table." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thanks." "Great to see you." "All right, guys, let's get out of here." "Let's go back." "Come on, dirty south." "Let's get out of here." "I hate-- I hated doing that." " It's just--I don't even like being on that side." "I don't like being on the judging side." " It was uncomfortable." " It was very uncomfortable." "If you cook something in the oven and start to spill oil, the plate gets all dirty." "Papers just look nicer than the dirty plate." "This is the part that I'm not looking forward to-- the waiting and the heart racing." "What happened with Richard?" "I don't even know." "He was plating after the time limit." "Richard went over time." "It's time." "[Alarm beeping]" "He was so focused," "I don't think he necessarily heard "time is up" all the way." "Good evening." "We would like to see..." "Spike, Jamie," "Richard, and Angelo." "Thank you." "Richard, we brought you out here because we wanted to acknowledge that you made a great dish, but you've gone over your allotted two-hour cook time." "I'm not aware of that." "I actually saw the tapes at the very end of the cook time, and you clearly were plating after the clock ran out." "And to keep this fair, you are not eligible for the win." " Okay, thanks." " Sorry." "I'm back." "No, they, uh--they said that I was finishing plating past the beeper on the, uh, cooking time." " Get the [Bleep] out of here." " I'm very serious." "Tom said he looked at the tape and that I was finishing a dish past the time." "So rules are rules, and that's fine." "But I'm a little-- obviously, I'm pissed off about it, you know?" "Congratulations." "The three of you did a great job." "Jamie, that fish was beautiful-- super-crispy skin." "The celery tasted great." "Is this something you think you'll serve now?" "Absolutely not." "[Laughter]" "Angelo." "Thinking back to Singapore, what you really fell in love with was the watermelon tea, and you had to kill it to make the dish better." " I applaud you for doing that." " Thank you so much." "Spike." "Dude, your main ingredient was basically crap, and yet you pulled it out." "It was a really smart way to deal with a seemingly insurmountable problem." " Nice job." " Thank you." "Thank you." "Tom, who's the winner of tonight's challenge?" "The dish that we all agreed was the best dish-- it was close enough to the original, but also, it was new." "It was fresh." "It was exciting." "Most importantly, it was delicious." "And we all agree the winner is..." " Angelo." " Me?" "Congratulations, Angelo." "You've won $10,000, furnished by Buitoni." "Thank you very much." "Wow." "I'm feeling really honored that I won." "Look at the talent here." "I mean, some of these Chefs are the best in the country." "I need you to send back some of your colleagues." "Thanks." " Thank you." " Thank you." " Yeah?" " What's up, guys?" "Yeah, I won this one." "[Applause]" "You know what?" "I disagree with the judges' decision." "I feel Richard being disqualified was bull[Bleep]." "He obviously had the best dish." "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news." "The judges want to see Fabio," "Stephen, Elia." " Here we go." " Good luck, guys." "Chefs, the dishes you prepared tonight have put you up for elimination a second time." "Stephen, walk us through your dish." "The first time it was done," "I wasn't really around that much." "I was more involved with the management team in the front of house." "I'm curious about it." "Was it a riff on a soup dumpling?" "The colors there were kind of monochromatic." " That's, in my mind, fine." " And texturally?" "It was what it was supposed to be-- a little crunchy scallion, soft noodle, and the broth." " Ever had a good soup dumpling?" " Second dish." "I made an excellent sabayon, in my mind." "Nice amount of ouzo, soy, balance it." "I added a little bit of sweetness to it as well." "The proportion of egg roll to the stuffing, sabayon to oyster, broth to mushroom and egg" "I think the proportions were all just off on the dish." "Elia." "I just kept it simple with the cards like I did last time, and I added fennel." "I felt good with the flavor of my sweet-pea puree." "And I felt very, very well about my snapper jus." "My piece of fish was quite raw." " Raw or medium?" " In the center." "No, not medium-- rare, very rare." "You didn't think it was raw?" "I was pushing for medium." "That's not what I asked." "When you opened it up, did you think it was cooked properly?" "I didn't put my knife in the middle of all of them." "Yeah, well, see, it wasn't inside the fish." "It was actually the top of it that wasn't cooked at all." " Really?" " Yes, really." "The leaf that I had here is thicker." "It took longer in the steamer." "You didn't have to steam it." "There's many ways of doing this." "Did you test one out before you" "I got a sense of a talented Chef who saw an obstacle and never got off the ground." "You were your own worst enemy." "Fabio." "When we were, all of us, in New Orleans, the only thing that you guys pointed out was that it was too light of a stew." "I--honestly, I was happy with the outcome of the dish." "To me, it was just exactly overdressed, you know, overdone." "The presentation-- what were you thinking?" "I mean, it was brown." "It was wet." "It was horrifying-looking." "Sir, I'm telling you something." "I agree to be criticized in a constructive way." "And that's what you did through the meal." "Some comment that you did about my food, if we weren't in this situation, we would have a different problem." "But if this dish was in a humble, chipped, China bowl," "I would have been a lot happier than the paper." "That wouldn't make any sense." "It's a peasant food." "It was not meant to be fine dining." "It was meant to be with the paper." "Even when you make a dish like that, you still want to be able to pick out individual flavors and nuances." "And that wasn't there." "All right, we'll call you back when we have a decision." "Don't eliminate me." "I have a lot more to do." "I mean it." " What are we, uh-- - what are we doing?" "You guys get in a fight?" "I may be the worst Chef in here, but I won't let anybody make fun of me, because it's a very serious matter." "You know, everybody's working their ass off, and everybody has a bad day." "Elia's dish--there's so much that you could do with the dish, but she decided to do almost the exact same dish she did before and not improve upon it." "I mean, you sit there and "improve upon the dish."" "She refused." "She shut down." "Didn't look good." "Didn't taste good." "It wasn't cooked right." "Yeah." "I should have tasted several of the dishes." "Yeah, I should have." "Fabio--I don't know what the problem there was." "He made some very bad decisions." "That dish, which I hated so much, he didn't make a decision." "Is it gonna be a gumbo, or is it gonna be a pasta dish?" "It's too muddled." "You know, you could have made the sauce and then still kept all the ingredients separate." "At the end, put them together." "There was no nuance in the dish at all." "You can criticize my job as much as you want to." "That doesn't take away that I'm still very successful in what I'm doing." "What about Stephen?" "I thought the oyster sabayon, proportionally, it was a-- it was a mess." "That could have been handled a different way." "He didn't have a grasp on what it was supposed to be, so he couldn't change it to make it better." "You know, I'm sorry you're reminding me of this." "As I'm eating it, I was-- my mind was drifting back fondly to my last colonoscopy." " [Laughs]" " It was that bad." "Well, I think we've made our decision." "Agreed." "All right, let's get them out here." "[Suspenseful music]" "♪ ♪" "Chefs, the challenge was to take a dish that you were sent home for in your respective season and improve upon it." "It was a chance at redemption." "And, unfortunately, we felt that these dishes were not improvements." "Fabio, even though the pasta was well-made, we felt that the presentation was a little clunky." "The sauce was too thick and heavy." "Elia, the tea leaves that you used to wrap the fish, it may have been a little thick, but a Chef of your caliber should be able to deal with a variation of the ingredients." "Stephen, all the dishes were out of balance." "They lacked a certain focus." "There was just a murkiness to them all." "We know you're talented Chefs." "But, unfortunately, we had a decision to make." "Elia, please pack your knives and go." "Okay." "Thank you." "I'm really, really upset." "I came here sure I was gonna make it really far, and this is a huge slap in the face." "I'm going home." "Are you [Bleep] me?" "The first to go home, it's almost not worth that you came." "Good luck." "You know what?" "None of us doubt you." "[Applause]" "I'm just humiliated, that's all." "No, you're not." "As much as you say," ""I don't care what people think,"" "you take it to heart." "And I'm just really disappointed." " This season on Top Chef All-Stars..." "Behind!" "It's not called "Top Chef mediocre."" "No, it's "All-Stars."" "You better bring the best." " [Laughs]" " Watch your back." "Whoo!" "The challenges are brilliant." " Match point." " Yeah!" "Did you bring your sleeping bags?" "I could whip your cute little ass." "You guys can't believe how excited I am for this lunch." "[All screaming] No!" "This is me kind of place." "We have to cook head to head against Hung." "I don't know if it's the pressure of the challenge." "Sorry, Padma." "I love it." "I don't know if it's the pressure of the challenge." "People just start to break down." "She had to go to the hospital." "Nobody knows how to [Bleep] hustle all of a sudden?" " Bang it out!" " Fire everything." "I'm against you." "You're against me." "We're all against each other." "We are going down like a sinking ship." "There's people up there ready to walk out." "You just want to choke the guy." "You're putting [Bleep] words in my mouth right now, and I don't appreciate that." "It's your ass on the line if I mess up your dish-- end of the story." "This was a terrible thing to do to a beautiful piece of veal." "You did a poor job." "No one wants to say anything because you're a time bomb." "It wasn't appealing." " It spiraled out of control." " I completely blew it." "Why would you do that?" "You guys are smart enough." "You're the judges." "Oh, wow." "For more about the recipes seen tonight,"