Top Chef

- Previously on Top Chef... - Argh!

- This is a double elimination.

We all have to judge

the three dishes that are gonna be in the bottom.

- This is not like cooking normally.

This is the hardest thing I've ever done.

- That is raw as the day it was born.

- All Dakota had to do was cook the venison properly.

Ed, Ty, congratulations.

We gotta make a decision.

- Okay. - You guys...

- No, no. No, stop, stop.

- ...don't speak up. No, you stop.

You're not my sous chef.

I don't need you to come to me and ask me a thousand questions.

- That just really hits me,

because I have a really strong work ethic.

Dakota, Nyesha...

- She should not be going home...

- No. - ...That's all I gotta say.

Ten chefs remain,

all hoping to win a feature in Food & Wine magazine,

a showcase at the annual Food & Wine classic in Aspen,

$125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice

to bring their culinary dreams to life,

and the title of Top Chef.

== sync by elderman ==

Holy crap.

That's an emotional roller coaster.

- I'm gonna be alone in my room over there now.

I definitely think Heather

crossed the line at the judges' table.

Some people misinterpret my humbleness as being weakness.

The universe is full of karma, and it's very powerful.

It always comes back to you.

Good evening, chefs.

- Hi. - Hi.

- We have some more business to take care of.

- Please God, don't let us cook any more tonight,

and get us out of this kitchen, because it's 140 degrees.

- We'd like you all to pack you bags.

We're going to Austin.

Yay!

Yes! Finally!

I love Austin.

There's a lot of music, there's a lot of food.

It's just a really fun city.

- We're going to stay at Paul's house.

- Oh, pressure. -

I feel more pressure now.

I have to represent my city well.

So, I'm like sweating balls at this point.

Bring it on home to Austin.

- Hometown, Paul. You made it.

Yes!

- Here we go. Lock it up, load 'em out.

Get that bitch in the car.

Back seat again.

- We load everything into our Toyota Siennas,

and we're ready to hit the road.

So, bring on Austin.

- Ready. - Ready.

- Yeah. - Wooh!

- Pictures up, rolling. -

- We've had a lot of handsome judges, I thought.

Oh, indeed.

- What kind of guy are you looking for, Heather?

Funny.

I like tall, dark hair, usually.

It's difficult to have a long relationship

because I've been so career focused.

I'm 40.

And where would I be if I had started a family 10 years ago?

I think about it a lot.

All right.

You have one night with John Besh.

- Or you win $5,000 and immunity in the next round.

I'm gonna take John Besh.

Oh...

- Do you think we'd be compatible?

- If, like, Malibu was a girl, and you were the boys.

- Why do I have to be the girl?

Well, you're prettier.

- Chris Crary got the nickname Malibu because he's beautiful.

He's very concerned about his hair.

And Malibu just suits him.

- I'm a little exposed here.

- When's the last time you had gym time?

Oh, it's been a while.

- Wow! - Wow!

- This is like the governor's mansion.

- The Driskill Hotel is pretty insane.

These rooms are crazy.

Everything is covered in a very Texasy motif.

Do you like the fur?

Ooh, that's nice.

- Ooh, is that fake or is it real?

Me as a guest judge.

I moved to Austin to change my lifestyle.

Between the ages of 15 and 22,

I'd sell weed for my friends so I could have extra money.

And I just woke up one morning, my apartment is trashed.

I had dogs, and they've everywhere.

And I decided that I needed to do something with my life.

That's when I started to pursue my culinary career.

And it helped shaped me into a stronger person.

Let's go cook.

Here we go.

Oh, man.

Tom doesn't usually grace us with his presence at quickfires.

I have a feeling that this one is going to be crazy.

Welcome to Austin, chefs.

Thank you.

- Austin, Texas is a hot spot in the world of technology.

And technology is gonna play a big role in this next quickfire.

The social network, Twitter, gained popularity here in Austin

at the South by Southwest Festival in 2007.

Now, it's part of everyday life, and it's a worldwide phenomenon.

- The two of us get challenge ideas and suggestions

all the time from our Twitter fans.

And now we're gonna let them get in on the fun.

At Moto, during service,

we actually Twitter back and forth with the guests.

We have real-time photos going up

of the food that we're serving,

and that gets people interested.

- For the first time ever, the fans will be deciding

what you chefs will be doing,

and it's all live as the quickfire is taking place.

- Wow. -

- As our Tweets roll in, we'll call the ones out that we like

while you're cooking, and the execution is up to you.

My God.

This is pretty freaking cool.

I'm just crossing my fingers

that a Tweet doesn't come through

that says, "Make your dish into baby food."

- The chef who wins will take home $10,000,

but not immunity.

Tom, let's see what our fans want.

- Denton Diddy. He says,

"Everything is better with bacon."

Well, let's see if that's true.

- All right, chefs. You have 45 minutes

to cook a dish with bacon in it.

Your time starts now. Good luck.

Whoo, sorry.

- - Anybody seen miso?

That's actually a softball that they're throwing us,

because bacon is just every chef's guilty pleasure.

It's so salty, and sweet, and delicious.

- You all ready to cook bacon?

- We're gonna ask for some twists now.

So got some great ideas, so, uh...

I love bacon.

I get a pressure cooker on, and I start braising pork belly.

I don't have any experience with pressure cookers,

but I'm gonna have to make this work.

Hot pan.

Bacon should be its own food group

because it's damn delicious.

I'm making a very simple corn puree scallop bacon.

So I can give myself a little leeway,

because I think there's gonna be some changes.

- That's a good one. - Mm-hmm. Yeah.

- All right, listen up.

Oh, no.

Habitat 67.

Do a hash-- for a hashtag challenge.

So you guys have to make a hash

as one component of your bacon dish.

- Oh, no. - Oh, Jesus.

- The dish I'm making is bacon pate

and pairing it with soft shell crabs.

The dish was gonna be just a quick explosion of flavor,

but now I've got to stop, and I got to do this hash

without muting the other flavors.

Right behind--hot, hot.

28 minutes.

- Can I use some of this oil?

- You can do whatever you want.

- I'm very German, and one thing that is always in our house

is potato pancakes.

It actually complements my dish even more.

As long as I don't have to incorporate a cupcake, I'm okay.

We have 15 minutes left,

and that's when I decide to open up the pressure cooker.

Hopefully the bacon is braised enough.

So I open it, and it is tender.

So I'm like, yes.

- All right, guys. Here's another twist.

- Awesome. - Oh, .

Pretty in blue says,

"Every chef needs to pick an ingredient

and hand it off to somebody else to use in their dish."

- Here, tomatillo. - Heather.

Ah, .

Here you go.

- Here. - Thanks. Maple syrup.

- Malibu Chris gives me a bottle of sriracha.