By Kim
The cheftestants travel by helicopter and dog sled to meet Tom and Padma on a glacier and participate in their final Quickfire: make a dish using only ingredients found in the dog sledding camp, so not a ton of fresh foods other than fish and eggs and limited produce. Brooke and Sheldon both do halibut while Josh does (surprise!) breakfast. Tom determines that Brooke's is the most sophisticated and layered.
The final three return home to find that Emeril and guest judge Roy Choi are cooking them lunch. As they eat, Roy Choi talks about how he was a loser until he saw Emeril on television cooking short ribs. Emeril talks about how he started washing dishes in a Portuguese bakery and the chefs taught him how to bake. As you might expect, the Elimination Challenge is to cook a dish that represents the defining moment in their culinary history.
In between prep and actually cooking, Josh's baby -- a little girl named Georgia -- is born.
The judges are Gail, Tom, Emeril, Wolfgang and guest judge Roy Choi. Sheldon made pan-roasted rockfish, spot prawns, baby vegetables and dashi. The judges think the fish is all cooked perfectly and love the presentation, but Sheldon oversalted the food, and Tom laments that it could be the one mistake that keeps Sheldon out of the finale.
Brooke made braised chicken, grilled quail with carrot barley and pickled vegetables. The judges love the homey flavors and the variety on the plate. Their one critique is that the quail is slightly overcooked, but they don't seem too upset about it.
Josh made foie gras three ways: torchon, pan-seared and profiterole. The judges like some of the flavors but Tom thinks that Josh pushed a little too hard, especially since it's nearly impossible to make a torchon in one day (according to Tom).
Brooke wins by unanimous decision. The judges have a tough time deciding between Josh and Sheldon, but ultimately they send Josh home. I'm not surprised; his final dish was not his food at all. There was nothing about it that seemed like what Josh has cooked this season. Now he heads to Last Chance Kitchen and Brooke and Sheldon head to the finale.
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