Quickfire Challenge. The guest judge is Stephen Starr, owner of successful restaurants like Morimoto and Buddakan, and it's time for restaurant wars. The quickfire challenge is to do a tasting for Stephen, as if he's a potential investor. They have thirty minutes to create one dish to show off the concept for the restaurants they hope to open one day. The two winners will be the head of the two teams for Restaurant Wars. The bottom two are Jeff, who made salmon and an artichoke salad, which Starr felt was too pedestrian. Joining him is Fabio, who did a lunch concept with a Carpaccio, salad, and a filet mignon sandwich, and Starr didn't get the concept. The top two are Radhika, who made a globally influenced (mostly in terms of spices) pan-seared cod with corn, spinach and chorizo, and Leah, who had no idea what to do and no overall concept, but somehow threw together a tempura poussin with dashi, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar.
Radhika ends up with Jamie, Carla, and Jeff. No one really wants to be in the front, so Radhika takes it on. Jamie seems to plan most of the menu, with Radhika's blessing. Their restaurant's name is Sahana (Sanskrit for strength) and the concept is "Old Spice Trade" (I don't know). Their menu is curried carrot soup, grilled scallop with chickpea cake, braised lamb shank, seared snapper, baklava, chocolate cake, and frozen yogurts. During prep, Jamie worries that the frozen lamb shanks won't thaw, and Carla is annoyed that Radhika is not even in the kitchen at all, and when she does venture back for a minute, won't make any decisions. The judges like most of the appetizers and dishes, although they aren't crazy about the snapper, since it's floating in some sort of tomato water. The desserts are a disaster; the cake is badly flavored and the frozen yogurt isn't frozen. The diners are not impressed with Radhika's hostessing skills, since she keeps disappearing into the kitchen for no apparent reason. In fact, the judges leave while she's in back doing nothing.
Leah gets Hosea, Fabio, and Stefan. Meanwhile, Leah's team goes with an Asian theme, but Leah struggles to avoid getting steamrollered by the Stefan/Fabio team. Fabio volunteers to do front of house and Stefan says he'll do the desserts but won't tell anyone what he has planned. And then late at night, Leah and Hosea smooch on the couch, which leads to some weirdness between them the morning since they are both in relationships with other people. They settle on the name Sunset Lounge (which sounds like a bar you'd find adjacent to a truck stop, and is way too close to that Don Henley song). Their concept is Asian, and their menu is egg roll, sashimi two ways, short ribs, coconut curry bisque, seared cod, chocolate parfait, and panna cotta. Not quite sure how the desserts fit into the concept, but okay. Stefan will be expediting until the dessert orders start rolling in. Stefan has some troubles with his desserts but he tries to improvise, and Leah and Hosea both seem nervous and tense. Leah screws up filleting the fish. The first few dishes are passable, but not great. The short ribs get good marks, but the cod is raw in the middle, and the sauce with it is inedible. Bad times. Stefan's desserts get the highest marks for both meals.
At Judges' Table, the judges reveal that Sunset Lounge won mostly due to Fabio's service and Stefan's desserts. The diners preferred their food by a small margin. Leah is told that if their team had lost, she would have gone home. Stefan is named the winner. When the Sahana team is brought out, Radhika explains who did what. Carla gets all cuckoo crazypants talking about how she put love into her dishes, even though she knew they sucked. Colicchio takes Radhika to task for not seeing there was a problem with dessert and just telling Carla to change things, as well as her poor front-of-house performance. He also thinks Radhika just seems beat down and tired, and she is told to pack her knives and go.
Check out the show's official site for exclusive video, photos, blogs and more, sign up for the Top Chef fantasy game and revisit the most heinous past cheftestants.
How have I never noticed before this that Jeff winks at the camera in the opening credits and the editors put in a little "ting!" sound effect? That is awesome.
Morning. Hosea's reading a book on the balcony (and how refreshing to see someone on a reality show reading a book for pleasure), and Stefan comes out and asks if he's almost done. Hosea says he's almost halfway done, just like the competition! I would think that was scripted, but it seemed pretty genuine. Carla interviews that it seems more like psychological warfare than a cooking competition at this point, and gives the example of Ariane, who got thrown under the bus by Hosea and Leah at Judges' Table. I get what Carla is saying but A) Ariane could have stood up for herself more and B) I'm not sure what everyone expected Hosea and Leah to do. Carla's the only one who will flat out tell the judges, "I screwed up!" and while that may be noble, it's also not the smartest move strategically. I don't think the judges were fooled - they just determined that Ariane was ultimately responsible for her own food, and should have refused to cook the lamb if she didn't know how to prepare it properly. Radhika also thinks that Leah and Hosea were responsible.
Back out on the balcony, Hosea says that when he gets home, the first thing he will do is see his girlfriend. Hey, here comes Leah! That conversation quickly ends. Leah interviews that she feels bad this morning about what happened with Ariane. Fabio and Jeff magically appear on the balcony and Fabio says that Ariane "got the big shit stick." Leah coolly says that Ariane didn't stick up for herself and then interviews that this is a competition and people will be leaving, and you have to learn to move on. I never would have predicted that they would be setting Leah up as the season's villain. Or co-villain with Stefan.
Quickfire Challenge. The cheftestants enter the kitchen to find Padma with the guest judge, Stephen Starr, a very successful restaurant owner. Hosea explains that Starr owns a lot of Asian restaurants but is mainly know for his success in the biz. Padma announces with a great deal of enthusiasm (especially for her) that Starr's presence means that it's time for RESTAURANT WARS! The cheftestants clap and smile, because they've been waiting for this. Starr reminds them that success comes from not just the food, but also the décor, the service, and the ambience. For the Quickfire, they will create one dish to showcase their prospective restaurant concept. Starr will pick his two favorites. The winners don't get immunity, but they will be the owners of the two restaurants for the Elimination Challenge. Padma tells them that they have thirty minutes and can use whatever they can access in the kitchen, and sends them on their way.
Everyone immediately runs to the fridge to get proteins. Fabio wanders over to another bank of fridges, opens a door, closes it, wanders a few steps, and then comes back but can't open the door again. He's like a cartoon character. Hosea explains that he's hoping to do a seafood dish with either Latin or Mediterranean influence. Jeff is making a sunchoke puree with salmon. Sunchokes are so two seasons ago. He interviews that he can sell anyone anything. That explains why he's won so many challenges. Oh, wait. Leah wants to make red snapper, but the fish they have in the kitchen smells bad (won't make a snapper joke...resistance...so difficult), so she's forced to ditch it and scramble for something else to make in the short time she has left.
Fabio interviews that no one takes the lunch business seriously, and they should, so he's making up a dish consisting of an appetizer, a salad, and a sandwich for lunch. Radhika doesn't like Quickfires, probably because she's been shown to be kind of slow and methodical in her cooking, and those qualities don't work with Quickfires. Jamie interviews that her restaurant concept involves local and sustainable food, but she doesn't even think she wants to win because the leader in Restaurant Wars usually goes home. Plating, running, plating, garnishing, and time's up!
Carla is up first. Her restaurant concept is homey, rustic, and seasonal food. She made cod seared in tomato oil with Italian salsa and a mache green salad. Starr's only comment is that it lacks salt. That seems to be a theme this season. Hosea explains his concept of Mediterranean seafood, and presents his dish of shrimp with morel mushroom cream sauce, garlic potato puree, and poached asparagus. I don't really get how garlic potatoes are Mediterranean. I guess the garlic makes it so? Starr says it's good, but Hosea doesn't think he sold the restaurant concept well enough.
Leah (who is really starting to bug me with her blithering) made a tempura poussin with rice wine vinegar, dashi, and soy sauce. She explains that it's Asian-inspired because her mother is Filipino and she's spent time in Asia. Asian-inspired seems like a pretty lame restaurant concept. Leah seeks reassurance from Hosea, because she thinks Starr's response was awful. Hosea tells her that it's fine and she gives him a big hug. Oh, I just remembered why I don't like Leah. She's the one that said she needs to have a man to flirt with or she gets restless. Apparently, she also needs a man to build up her self-esteem. That's just sad.
Stefan calls his style EurAmerican, and wants to mix old European styles with new American food. His dish is in the cute three-cup bowl that Jeff used last week, and it includes fried white asparagus with trout, asparagus salad with chanterelles, and white asparagus soup. The judges have no comments.
Jeff says he wanted to cook whatever was fresh. I think some of these cheftestants need to revise their concepts; everyone seems to be doing "fresh and local," which is great, but won't differentiate you from the crowd. Anyway, Jeff made grilled salmon with sunchoke and artichoke puree and grilled corn and asparagus salad. Sounds delish. Padma eats some of the puree right off the knife, which is bizarre. Starr says that "it's a little mushy," but doesn't specify. The asparagus? The salmon? Don't know.
Radhika explains that her restaurant would be globally influenced, not just Indian. She made pan-seared cod, butter-braised corn, spinach and chorizo with cream sauce that's been infused with saffron. Starr pronounces it "very well-seasoned" and Radhika is pleased. Jamie spits out her "local and seasonal" trope again, except it's interesting that she's serving Chilean sea bass, which is neither local and, while not endangered, is not as eco-conscious a choice as other proteins might be. [Warning: links to a PDF file] I don't know if Jamie doesn't know or doesn't care. She's added creamed corn, bacon, peas, and garlic scape to her dish, and added an arugula salad. Starr likes the simplicity of her dish.
Fabio explains that lunch business can pay your bills, so he made a tuna and swordfish Carpaccio, roasted vegetable salad, and a filet mignon sandwich. That sandwich looks awesome. Starr says it's a cheese steak sandwich, and it's a little salty. Fabio interviews angrily: "It's not a cheese steak. It's a filet mignon sandwich. End of a-story."
Starr is ready to announce his winners and losers. He puts Jeff on the bottom, because he made boring salmon. He also didn't really understand Fabio's restaurant concept. He doesn't understand lunch? Fabio probably should have been more specific, like only make pasta dishes, or only make sandwiches and salads or something. The first favorite is Radhika, because her flavors were unique and her concept is one that Starr feels is emerging. Radhika interviews that she's confident because she knows Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine, so her restaurant is going to be awesome. Starr announces that Leah will be opening the other restaurant, because her food was "clean" and "forward-thinking." Leah is pleased, but nervous, because she knows that if her team loses, she'll be the one going home.
Elimination Challenge. As the winners of the Quickfire, Radhika and Leah get to do a schoolyard pick. Radhika chooses Jamie and, of course, Leah chooses Hosea. And then she's all grinning. Just do it already! Hosea interviews that he and Leah like each other but he doesn't want to and can't let it go any further, since he has a girlfriend and she has a boyfriend. Stefan interviews that Leah is picking friends instead of the best cooks, but maybe she's also considering who would be easiest to work with, STEFAN! Radhika picks Carla and Leah picks Fabio. Interesting that neither chose Jeff. I think Jeff's done all right, even if his dishes are a bit complicated. But he certainly can get food cooked on time, right? Radhika chooses Jeff last, so Leah gets stuck with Stefan. Radhika interviews that Stefan drives her nuts, so she didn't pick him. Stefan interviews that he really could give a shit about being chosen last. Hosea interviews that if your restaurant fails, the leader usually goes home. Padma explains that today they will plan their menu and buy decorations. Tomorrow, they'll shop for food, and then cook and serve. Stefan interviews that six hours to prep is not nearly enough time, and it will be crazy.
Radhika's team starts planning. Jamie interviews that she tried to open a restaurant, and it never even opened due to permit, but that took nine months. They quickly decide to keep the global concept, and Jeff suggests focusing on "Old Spice Trade." I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds good. Radhika has the name: Sahana, which is Sanskrit for strong and powerful. Radhika asks Jeff to do front of house, but he's reluctant. Carla says she has no experience with the front of house. Plus, she's nuts. Jeff interviews that he came to cook and that's what he plans to do. Jamie asks Radhika what she wants, and Radhika says that it's her restaurant so she'll do front of house. Carla interviews that Radhika has a huge job ahead of her, and needs to man up. Radhika does seem hesitant and doubtful. I would have liked to see Jamie as the leader. I think she would either be really awesome or a total disaster, but it would have been interesting either way, instead of wishy-washy Radhika.
Over on Leah's team, Fabio says that if they're doing an Asian concept, he probably won't be that helpful in the kitchen since that's not his bag, but he could do front of house. Hosea interviews that he doesn't want Leah to get run over by Fabio and Stefan. Maybe that's Leah's problem, dude? Stefan tries to bully her into a dish choice and Leah overrules him quickly, so maybe she'll be okay. The cheftestants gather their things and head to Pier One for shopping.
At Pier One, Radhika's team grabs all sorts of Middle Eastern and Indian-themed décor. Stefan goes on a quest for unscented candles. Both groups manage to spend their allotted $5,000 in one hour. Radhika's group seems to have a lot of giant wooden animals, like giraffes. I don't know how many giraffes live in the Middle East, but what do I know?
Back at the apartment, the teams start planning their menus. Stefan reminds his team that their food needs to be "pretty, small, tight, and sexy." There are so many jokes that could be made there, but I'm pretty sure they're all quite sexist, so I'll refrain. Stefan starts an interview and actually sounds reasonable for a minute because he says it's not his restaurant, and they need to use democratic means to decide the menu. Then he ruins it when he says, "Everyone needs to have some bullshit input." Oh, Stefan. So close to being an actual team player. Stefan says that he'll do both desserts, and Leah gets frustrated with him and stomps out all passive-aggressive. Just tell him what he's doing and that's the end. Stop being such a (pardon the expression) girl about it. Would Stefan try to pull this shit if Hosea were the team leader? Maybe, but Hosea would tell him to stuff it.
Over at Radhika's team, Carla is worried since she doesn't really cook their style of food normally. Jamie asks for a couple of appetizer ideas, and says they can take any type of food but add Middle Eastern spices to it and make it fit the concept. She wants to talk it out, but Carla is silent and Radhika is busy writing God knows what. Radhika admits in an interview that she's not a natural leader, so she's abdicating a lot of leadership to Jamie, who seems to have no problem with that. Carla has an idea to make sorbets, which don't seem to fit the concept. She agrees to make them, and Jamie interviews that Carla is great with pastries. Which she's not making. I feel like this team is headed for failure. Jamie continues in her interview that she's the most nervous about working with Jeff because he has a lot of ideas but has a hard time focusing them.
Leah and Hosea sit inside and discuss how annoyed they are that Stefan won't tell them what his dessert is. Can't Leah demand that he tell her? It is her team. Hosea interviews that he's happy Stefan will be off in his own world doing desserts. And then Hosea tells Leah that he thinks Stefan will actively try to sabotage people, and that's why he was last picked. No, I think he was last picked because he never shuts up and he's a bully. Hosea might be reading into that a little too much. Where's his tinfoil hat? Or, excuse me, his Gladware hat? And you know how we know Stefan is evil? Because he's SMOKING! Never mind that a minute ago, Leah said she wanted a cigarette.
Late that night, porn music plays and the camera zooms in from a distance and finds Leah and Hosea lying on top of each other on the couch, fully clothed. It's a pretty intimate moment though. They whisper and kiss (apparently - you can't really see anything but the microphones are turned up to Jesus and you can hear smooching noises). Leah girly-voices that she wants to sleep right there on the couch because it's comfy, and then we fade out. So that was it! I mean, yes, if I were Leah or Hosea's partner at home, and I saw that, I'd be pissed. But the previews made it out like they were going to totally do it, and that was mild at best. Unless more happened off-camera.
The morning, people are getting ready for the day. Hosea interviews that he and Leah kissed somehow, but he never actually says that he made a mistake or takes ownership of it. He does say that he regrets it and he loves his girlfriend. I wonder if that worked. Hosea tries to ask Leah if she's okay but she clearly doesn't want to talk about it (at least on camera) and blows him off. Leah interviews that she's not involved with Hosea, and she really wants to be with her boyfriend after the show, but she knows that probably won't happen now. She's pretty emotional while talking about it, and I have to imagine they did these interviews on the day of the competition, so she's clearly not in the right headspace to compete. Stefan interviews that there's tension between Leah and Hosea, and it's distracting. Fabio interviews that they were both in shitty moods, and he worries that it will take down their team. Hosea admits in an interview that it's going to affect their work. The cheftestants pack up and leave.
Carla explains that she and Radhika are going to Whole Foods and Jamie and Jeff are going to Restaurant Depot. On the other team, Leah and Fabio are going to Whole Foods and Stefan and Hosea are going to Restaurant Depot. Stefan and Hosea settle on the name Sunset Lounge for their concept. Let us count the ways in which that is a terrible name. First of all, what does it have to do with Asia? Unless it was maybe a bar for soldiers during the Vietnam Conflict. Second of all, it sounds like a restaurant that would be attached to an all-night truck stop, where you could buy speed and wet wipes when you paid your bill at the counter. And third of all, it also brings to mind Don Henley's song "Sunset Grill," which is just bad times all around. I don't know if Leah had any say in this decision; it's not shown but presumably she was okay with it. Ugh. It's horrible. Hosea interviews that he thinks their concept is really solid. Asian-inspired? That's a solid concept? Is he slow or just deluded?
At Restaurant Depot, Hosea picks up some tuna while Jeff assures us that he knows Middle Eastern flavors, since that's what they do at the Dildo Beach Club. I'm sorry. I have to call it that. It's like when you have a song stuck in your head and if you just sing it all the way through once, it goes away. I hope that will get Dildo Beach Club out of my head. Jamie goes looking for lamb shanks, but they don't have any. She calls Radhika to see if they can get lamb shanks at Whole Foods, but no luck. Jeff manages to find a box of them in the freezer. Jamie's concerned that they "won't get unfrozen (thawed?) in time" but they don't have any options at this point.
Fabio and Leah are looking for red snapper (refraining from snapper jokes...now) and are forced to substitute black cod, because it's the freshest they have. Both teams finish shopping, check out, and head to their restaurant to start prepping.
The decorations and plates and everything are delivered, so both teams get to setting them up. And it's time to reveal the menus! For the Sunset Lounge, Fabio will be making an egg roll amuse bouche in addition to his front-of-house duties. Hosea is making sashimi two ways and short ribs. Leah is making coconut curry bisque and seared cod with spicy lime-chili sauce. Stefan's two desserts are revealed to be a chocolate parfait and a panna cotta. Stefan will also be expediting, since he doesn't need to cook anything until the end.
Over at Sahana, Radhika explains that they're making curried carrot soup, grilled scallop with chickpea cake, braised lamb shank, seared snapper, baklava, chocolate cake, and frozen yogurt. Radhika plans to let Jamie handle the kitchen while she's out front. Interesting that Radhika doesn't really go into who's making what (other than Carla for desserts). I didn't realize until the end of the episode that Radhika didn't actually make any food. For her own restaurant.
Hosea asks Leah an innocuous question about his dish and she gets all stand-offish and bitchy. In an interview, she explains that she's never cheated on a boyfriend before, and she feels terrible, so her head isn't in the game. She tastes Hosea's sauce (ew, not like that, perv) and kind of throws a fit about it, so he says he'll make it over from scratch. Hosea interviews that he and Leah flirted too much (at that point in the interview, he clearly didn't know what they had caught on camera, because that's a really weird way of putting it) and he feels guilty.
Radhika and Fabio start setting up their restaurant. Back in the kitchen, Jamie starts cooking the lamb, which needs to cook for four hours, so she's a bit nervous. Over on the other team, Leah is having trouble boning her fish. Why does everything I say about Leah sound like a double entendre? I don't mean it. Anyway, Hosea tries to help her and advises her to just cut out the bony parts, or she'll shred the fish. The problem is that if she cuts out the bony parts, the fish may not cook evenly. Hosea interviews that Leah did a bad job filleting the fish, and that's part of the problem here, so she's clearly off her game and stressed out.
Over at Sahana, Carla is having trouble with the desserts. In particular, the freezers aren't cold enough so her yogurt isn't setting the way it should. She's worried she might get sent home over it. At Sunset Lounge, Stefan notices that his desserts aren't freezing either. Instead of just putting it back in the freezer, he realizes that he needs to fix it by any means necessary. He creates an ice bath and puts it back in the fridge, which he thinks will solve the problem. Note the different in their approaches: Carla did nothing, really, and Stefan figured out a creative solution.
The servers arrive, and Radhika says that she was training them while still trying to manage the kitchen, although we don't see her doing much of either task. She tastes Carla's cake and says she thinks it's fine. Carla emphasizes that she can still make changes now, but once the cake is baked, it's all over. Radhika just says it's good and leaves the kitchen to go taste the wine or something. The juxtaposition of those shots made it seem like Radhika's off getting wasted while her team works hard, which wasn't the case, but I get the message the editors are sending.
Sunset Lounge team is freaking out with thirty minutes left. Hosea is behind, Leah hasn't started cooking fish, and no one has checked out front of house. Everyone runs around. Fabio gives the servers some last-minute instructions and Radhika does a toast with her team. Jamie interviews that her team is looking good. Radhika wishes them luck and promises to come back. But WILL SHE?
Fabio has put on a cream-colored suit and somehow doesn't look like the ice cream man. It's cute! I didn't realize how tiny Fabio is before. He's like a miniature chef. In an interview, Fabio says he's running the front, and they could "serve monkey ass in empty clam shell - we gonna win this one!" The time winds down and the diners are set to enter the restaurants!
Radhika and Fabio start seating their guests. I feel like in seasons, they have spent a lot more time on the décor of the restaurants, and getting the diners' opinions, but I guess that doesn't factor into the elimination so they kind of skipped that part. Hosea interviews that Restaurant Wars is the best competition of the season because they get to really showcase themselves as chefs in a natural setting without weird product placement or manufactured twists. He doesn't say that last part but you know he's thinking it. Radhika seems to be spending more time staring at something at the hostess podium than interacting with her guests.
Sahana has some trouble with their servers. Radhika barks out some orders on her way out of the kitchen and Jamie complains that the servers don't get it. She pulls a plate back and wipes it down while yelling at the server for messing it up. Jamie interviews that Radhika should have spent more time training the servers, but she may not have known how. So maybe she shouldn't have been front-of-house then. Jamie bitches that the orders are all screwed up. Sahana doesn't seem to have an expediter in the kitchen. Radhika kind of stands there and stares at the orders but doesn't really do anything, plus she needs to get back out front.
The judges (Colicchio, Padma, Toby Young, and Stephen Starr) show up at Sahana first. Radhika has the server take out the bread appetizer, which is whole-wheat naan bread with garlic oil. Colicchio asks if it's French toast. Padma and Starr like it, but they also admit that they're hungry, which might be skewing their perceptions. There is some confusion in the kitchen while plating the judges' meals, but they do get out to the table. Radhika explains that they're serving a curried carrot soup with smoked paprika oil and raita. There is also a chickpea cake with seared scallop, masala tomato sauce, and arugula salad. Colicchio and Starr both love the soup. They also enjoy the chickpea cake. A random diner loved the scallops.
The course is served: white lentil tabouli, seared snapper, tomato water and pea shoots. I don't know that I would get excited about something called tomato water. There has to be a better name for that element. The other entree is cinnamon and saffron braised lamb shank with Israeli couscous. The judges agree that the lamb is prepared well, but Toby Young thinks the couscous tastes like dishwater. Colicchio say the snapper is just okay, and Starr objects to the tomato water. See? It probably tastes like it sounds. It sounds like when you go to put ketchup on your burger and you forget to shake the bottle so just the watery stuff comes out first? That's tomato water to me. But I'm no Top Chef. A random diner agrees that the snapper was good but there was too much liquid on the plate.
Now it's time for Carla's desserts. She interviews that the chocolate cake was not great, and the cashew brittle served with it wasn't cooked. It does look quite gooey, and as the name suggests, you kind of expect brittle to be...brittle. The yogurt is still not frozen, so it looks more like yogurt soup. Radhika tries to help Carla get some acceptable food into a bowl, and in an interview Carla giggles that it's a hot mess and a trainwreck is coming. The desserts are served anyway. Radhika explains that it's a spiced chocolate cake with crème fromage and cashew brittle. It's really more of a cupcake, which might explain why it was dry. There are also a fig frozen yogurt and a mint frozen yogurt, served with baklava cigars. Toby Young asks for a spoon - apparently they took his when clearing the table and didn't bring another one for dessert. Colicchio is also missing utensils. Starr says they should eat it quickly, since it's melting, but Colicchio says he can't, and that's Radhika's problem. Meanwhile, Radhika is back in the kitchen doing nothing. No one is impressed with any of the desserts. Toby Young says it was the least impressive part of the meal, and makes a reference to Elvis's career: started off well, and died on the toilet. He gets an assist from Stephen Starr on the last part. A random diner says the frozen yogurt tastes like lotion and another says they need to take the spiced chocolate cake off the menu.
Radhika is having trouble managing the seating. In an interview, she admits that she's a little bit lost. Various diners say that the hostess seemed kind of intense, not friendly, and like she wasn't enjoying herself. Jamie interviews that Radhika is spending more time in the kitchen than she should, and keeps standing there staring at the tickets instead of going to the hostess stand. The judges are also unimpressed with Radhika's performance. Colicchio points out that Radhika is MIA once again, and they could leave right now without getting a goodbye. They decide to do just that, and sure enough, Radhika is hanging out in the kitchen and misses their exit.
Now it's time for the food at Sunset Lounge. Leah interviews that service is going well, but she's nervous about the judges. She's not used to being in a leadership role, and she's also not happy about her dish (the fish that had to be sliced into), but she's hoping things go okay. Fabio goes from table to table laying on the charm, and even he admits that he speaks with a thicker accent because he knows people like that.
The judges enter and Fabio seats them. Stephen Starr is five minutes from hiring Fabio to work as a greeter at one of his restaurants, I think. The amuse-bouche goes out, and Fabio explains that he made it, and it's a vegetable roll with mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and sweet chili sauce. Padma asks for reactions. Colicchio says he's had better frozen egg rolls, and Starr agrees that it was second-rate. One diner says the sauce tasted jarred, but another diner says that it "amused [her] bouche." Fabio goes into the kitchen and calls for the appetizers, which is tuna and salmon sashimi with a radish salad and yuzu vinaigrette. It's accompanied by coconut curry bisque with shrimp dumplings. The judges think the soup is fine, and the sushi is also fine, but not overwhelmingly great. One diner agrees that the sashimi is underseasoned.
Leah interviews that she's not proud of her dish, but she sends it out anyway. Fabio introduces the braised beef short ribs with ginger, vegetables, and a beef demi-glace. The other entree is Leah's seared black cod with fresh vegetables and Chinese cabbage. The judges agree that the short ribs are cooked well and glazed nicely. And then the cod. It's undercooked. Stephen Starr puts a bite in his mouth and then coughs, because the sauce is so tart. He says it's like eating a pickle. Toby Young says the dish is a disaster. Fabio notices a problem and asks what's wrong. Padma says the fish was undercooked. Fabio offers to replace it, but Colicchio says it's not necessary. Fabio apologizes and brings the dish back to the kitchen where he drops the bomb on Leah that the judges hated her dish and refused to eat it. Leah apologizes to Stefan and says she's going home. Hosea tries to comfort her but she kind of pushes him away and pouts. Hosea interviews that their leader just sent out an inedible dish, so all the life force of their team disappeared. Stefan asks why she didn't cook it, like that's helping.
Fabio delivers the desserts. It's a chocolate rice parfait with grapefruit jelly and pineapple, and a lemongrass and ginger panna cotta with peach puree and ginger honey. The judges are really impressed, and agree that the desserts are the best part of this meal, and possibly of both meals. Colicchio announces that Stefan might have saved his team, but he definitely saved himself, and he won't be leaving tonight. Fabio delivers the final treat: a frozen mango, bitter chocolate and mint lollipop with green tea. The judges love the lollipops. The other diners all have great things to say about the desserts. Fabio asks if the judges need anything else, and they say they're all set. Big contrast to how their meal ended over at Sahana.
Post-meal, Radhika tells Jamie that anything that went wrong was her fault, and if anyone goes home, she will. She interviews that she couldn't be everywhere at once (yet somehow Fabio managed it, but I guess that's why you don't put your team leader out front). Carla thinks a loss will be her fault, because her desserts were so bad. Carla confesses to Jamie that even the waiter told her the desserts were bad. Saucy waiter!
Leah wants to know what Fabio overheard about the food. Fabio gives it to her straight: the sashimi was underseasoned, and many of the cod dishes were raw. Leah interviews that the only way she'll be saved is if the other team did worse than she did. Hosea interviews that he's relived that service is over, and he thinks if the comment cards are good, his team will pull out the victory. Various diners fill out comment cards but we don't really get to see what they write.
The judges mull over the meals. Stephen Starr says that he's leaning towards Sahana, but Stefan's desserts make him kind of lean the other way. Colicchio reminds everyone to factor in the greeting and service, and Fabio wins hands down. Toby Young thinks the food may have been marginally better at Sahana, but the service was leaps and bounds better at Sunset Grill, and the challenge is to run a restaurant, not just cook food. They head to Judges' Table.
In the Stew Room, the cheftestants discuss how crappy their equipment was. On top of the freezers not working, the pilot lights kept going out on the stove, and the oven temperatures were uneven. Padma comes in and asks to see Sunset Lounge. It kills me how Fabio, every time he stands up, straightens out his tiny suit jacket.
At Judges' Table, Padma asks Leah how the evening went. Leah says there were ups and downs, but she thought it went okay. Colicchio says that the judges were split, but by a very slight margin, the diners preferred Sunset Lounge. Padma says that Stefan's desserts and Fabio's service won the competition for them. Toby Young says that Fabio won him over. Padma asks about the cod. Colicchio says that the cod was the worst dish from either team, and if their team had lost, Leah would be going home. Leah: Marked for Death. Then again, I thought that about Lisa last season, and she made the finals. Stephen Starr gets to announce the winner, which is Stefan. Padma says that he gets a suite of Sheinhardt Wig Company appliances. The Sunset Lounge team is excused and asked to send in the Sahana team. In the Stew Room, Leah says that her dish was the worst, and Hosea says that it was a close decision. Jamie thinks that's good, probably because it means that all of their dishes weren't a total disaster.
Team Sahana faces the Judges' Table. Padma asks Radhika what went wrong. Radhika, looking totally drained and exhausted, says she's not sure. She runs down everyone's responsibilities: Jamie did the lamb and the soup, Jeff did the scallop (not Jamie?) and the snapper, and Carla did both desserts. Padma asks if Radhika planned the menu, and she says they came up with their own dishes. Radhika admits that she didn't make any food. Jeff says he's satisfied with what he made, although it wasn't his theme. Padma asks for Jamie's opinion, and Jamie says that she liked her dishes too. Stephen Starr says that he liked their restaurant better, but it came down to comment cards and the dessert failure.
Carla is asked to defend her desserts. She says she was trying to do too many things at once, and her teammates offered help, but she knew they were busy with their own dishes. She admits that her dishes were a mess, but she had fun. Toby Young asks if the diners should also have a good time and Carla screams, "I KNOW!" Whoo! Dial it down there, Sideshow Bob. Carla thinks that being in a bad mood makes her dishes worse, so she tried to "send out some love" with her food. Colicchio doesn't quite get how Carla's mood affects her food, and Carla snaps, "That is my belief, Tom." The look on Colicchio's face is AWESOME! He looks annoyed, perplexed, and a little dubious like maybe Carla is an actress playing a role or something and not a cheftestant. Padma points out that the frozen desserts weren't frozen. Jamie defends Carla, and says she was spinning yogurt as needed. Carla says she didn't know what else to do, so she just smiled. Colicchio says that Radhika should have given it a different name, like yogurt soup. Carla agrees. Colicchio asks Radhika if she should go home. Radhika says that if the problems were front-of-house, then they are her fault. Colicchio asks why Radhika didn't step in when Carla was having problems. Radhika says she offered to help but Colicchio, clearly losing patience with her, says she should have stepped in and told Carla what to do. He wonders if she thought that was someone else's job. Radhika says she wasn't being a leader at that moment. Colicchio says that Radhika wasn't on her game as front-of-house, and points out that they were missing cutlery that was never replaced, and they left without a goodbye. He adds that the other team didn't have these problems, and they had the same servers. Radhika says she might not have communicated well to the servers. Colicchio thinks there's a pattern of Radhika not following through with her tasks, and Stephen Starr says that a good owner assumes that no one will do their job properly, and follows up. Radhika looks like she's about to pass out from exhaustion. Or possibly boredom.
They dismiss the cheftestants to discuss who will be eliminated. Colicchio thinks Jeff and Jamie pulled their weight and the others agree. Back in the Stew Room, Carla says it's between her and Radhika. The judges say that the comment cards were asking where the hostess was. Colicchio thinks Radhika seems beat down and over the contest, and she abdicated a lot of responsibility, which doesn't bode well for her future. Starr says that the team members were left to their own devices. Toby Young doesn't think they should get rid of Carla, because they made the team decision based on factors other than food. Colicchio can't get over that Carla couldn't even get one of her desserts right. In the Stew Room, Carla says that she didn't put out anything good, and every element of her dish was a mess. Toby Young says he always skips dessert at global/Asian restaurants, and now he knows why. That has nothing to do with anything. Shut up, Toby. Stephen Starr brings up Carla's bizarre "sending the love" rationale, and says it made him want to fire her, and also shake her really hard. He concludes, "Keep the love in the kitchen; send out good desserts." I think I like him better than Toby Young.
They call the cheftestants back out to announce who was eliminated. Colicchio says that Restaurant Wars is their most popular challenge, and he knows Jamie and Jeff must be frustrated at performing well individually and still being on a losing team. He tells Radhika that, as owner, she didn't make a personal statement or take a leadership role. He tells Carla that dessert leaves a final impression, and the final impression was failure. And yet, Padma tells Radhika to pack her knives and go. She thanks the judges for the experience.
In her exit interview, Radhika says she's disappointed to leave for a non-cooking reason, and she knows now that she should have made Jeff be out front, whether he wanted to do it or not. She was too accommodating, but now she's stronger and has learned a lesson. She thinks her family and friends will be proud of how far she made it. I'm sure they will.
The cheftestants from seasons past sure have run the gamut. Wax nostalgic with our Top Chef: Sweet and Sour Cheftestants gallery.