Seven chefs are left, and Nina is bummed again because she was on the bottom. The college challenge was the hardest for her yet and it wiped out Justin, one of the top competitors. Back at the chef house, Stephanie chats with her boyfriend on the phone. He is also a chef and she wants to prove to him that she can win the whole thing.
Nicholas is still pissed with Carlos, who accused him of "stealing" an oven when that’s not really how it went. Nicholas says someone can cook like an asshole but he’ll cook with integrity and "be a gentleman about it." Isn’t the first rule of being a gentleman not to brag about it and call someone else an asshole? I wouldn’t know, I’m asking.
The chefs walk into the kitchen to see a barrel full of crawfish, which are crawling all over the place like the nasty little hos they are. Guest judge John Besh isn’t fazed. He congratulates the remaining chefs, and then Padma tells them about a traditional Southern Louisiana dish called "Etouffee," which means "to smother." It’s a rustic crawfish stew that sort of smothers the little crustaceans, I suppose. They have 45 minutes and the winner gets immunity. Shirley goes to work picking crayfish off the floor but Stephanie is in a much worse spot, being allergic to any kind of shellfish that turn red in water. EpiPen at hand, Stephanie goes to work making her stew.
Nina won a lot of money last time she cooked for John Besh, so she hopes for the best. Carlos has no idea what an etouffee is so he’ll just be doing his own thing. Nicholas is working at a redemptive cabbage stew, while Shirley crafts a Singapore style etouffee that she used to make for her husband. The chefs offer to help Stephanie out so she doesn’t swell up and/or die. Brian calls crayfish the poor man’s lobster.
The 45 minutes are up and Nina presents her dish first: a pici pasta with a crawfish broth. Carrie also made a broth with whole crawfish, cherries and white wine. Nicholas made that cabbage thing with shrimp mousse and brandy. Nicholas doesn’t think Padma likes any of his food. Shirley made rice, for a more traditional take that Padma and John seem to like. Her Singapore style stew goes over well. Brian made a stew with crab meat and a crawfish sitting on the side like the bowl is his hot tub. Carlos made kind of a soup with the crawfish on the side and Padma has to explain what "to smother" means. He sheepishly says maybe it’s the chorizo. Stephanie’s bisque with gnocchi could very well have been sabotaged by Nicholas.
John Besh tells the chefs that the etouffees that were the most successful were the ones that coaxed maximum flavor out of the shells. Carrie, Nicholas, Stephanie, and Carlos have the least successful dishes and barely smothering anything. Brian’s luscious sauce, Nina’s flavorful handmade pasta, and Shirley’s velvety broth were hits. Shirley wins the challenge and immunity, securing her spot in the top six.
Padma moves things right along saying that New Orleans is a city that never needs an excuse to have a party. Since this show is one that can turn anything into a theme, it’s a great fit. For this occasion-less party, the chefs are cooking a dish highlighting two different kinds of seafood for 200 guests at Mardi Gras World. Padma faked them out at first, telling them there will be 1,000 guests. That is too many. As a treat, John Besh cooking for them that night at his home.
Chef Besh cooks for them home-style and allows all of them to admire his beautiful hair and wife. They sit around the table and talk about feelings and John Besh tells them about cooking from the heart.
The day, instead of getting proteins from Whole Foods, the chefs hop into this giant seafood truck. It’s just sitting out there in the parking lot and it’s a little eerie. Nina gets wahoo and shrimp. Shirley decides to do tuna and Amberjack ceviche with an Asian flair. Nicholas is doing oysters three different ways. Brian is doing swordfish and shrimp sauce. Stephanie has chosen oysters and tuna, while Carrie is making oysters and flounder and possibly tuna. Carrie is poaching her fish and turning it into a fritter, which Shirley doesn’t think is showcasing the local seafood.
Nicholas chooses to shuck his own oysters, which is time-consuming. Carlos is trying to redeem his fish slicing techniques and asks Nick for a sharper knife but Nicholas doesn’t help out. Later, he decides to lend Carlos his sharp knife, which is a precious wedding gift. Shirley is also working with keen knife cuts for a cold dish, like Nicholas and Carlos. Time is running out and the chefs work on putting their dishes into little plastic cups and plates.
The crowd streams in and fills up the tent set up for a no-particular-reason-party. The judges come in to have a beer and discuss the pitfalls of this challenge. Tom advises failing big rather than being stuck in the middle, but that could just be the beer talking. Stephanie is batch-frying her oysters, which is causing a very long line at her station.
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The judges visit Brian’s station first, and he has prepared a Swordfish with a shrimp and sweet onion puree with a fennel Daikon relish. Brian notes that while cold dishes are safe, you have to hit a home run with only seven contestants left.
Nicholas is visited by Padma and Hugh . His dish looks nasty in that cup. He presents oyster leek soup, oyster champagne emulsion, and oyster green apple yogurt with cured Amberjack on top. Hugh says it’s technically sound but not exciting. A party-goer says she is not impressed with Nick’s soup and her friend says he gives points for foam because he’s from 2006.
Carrie’s flounder croquettes with an oyster emulsion are . Carrie worries that her fritters don’t feature the fish enough. Fritters are for scraps. One person at the Seafood Council party says she’s allergic to seafood. Why the fuck would you even go to that party, then? Maybe she’s someone’s wife.
Shirley’s tuna and amberjack ceviche is examined . The guests really like it, as do Hugh and Padma. Nina serves her dish to Tom and John Besh . It’s a marinated wahoo with salsa verde, tomato sauce and pickled vegetables. Chef Besh says it’s seared perfectly, and the diners comment on the personality of the dish coming out. The Seafood Council talks to the chefs , schmoozing and laughing at their own jokes like a bunch of jerks.
Carlos’s Amberjack ceviche hits the judges’ palettes with its shrimp relish. Hugh Acheson says it’s under seasoned and needs acid. Tom wants to see it cut thicker. Stephanie and her fried oysters and tuna are up . Tom and John seem to like it. When all is said and done, John Besh says the diversity of the Louisiana seafood was highlighted. Meanwhile, Nicholas discovers that Carlos hasn’t taken the best care of his precious, sharp knife, leaving it out with dried and crusty pieces of fish stuck to it. This is why we can’t have nice things, Carlos.
Nicholas is a real brat about it, and acts like the noble victim. He’s just so tired of being nice and he’s not going to do it anymore.
Back in the stew room, the chefs rehash their experience on the water and then turn their attention to the monitor with the judges’ forced conversation on it. They say all the dishes were good but they wanted to see more seafood. John Besh said the ceviches were very safe, but Nina’s was good and they like that she chose the wahoo. Shirley’s ceviche was also solid and highlighted both fish used. They also like Brian’s dish and his perfectly cooked swordfish. Stephanie pulled off a fried oyster. Carlos’s dish is problematic, not highlighting the fish enough. Nicholas has some conceptual issues, and some trouble showing personality in the oyster trio. Carrie’s croquette didn’t show off the flounder at all.
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Padma brings Stephanie, Nina, and Brian in first to announce the win. The judges tell Stephanie they were initially skeptical of her fried oyster but she pulled it off. Brian’s sauce is out of this world and cooked really nicely. Nina’s ceviche highlights the wahoo so nicely and brings out a lot of flavor. To my surprise, but not the surprise of the voting viewers, Stephanie wins this challenge. She does not have to wallow in her tomato sorrows with John Besh.
Nicholas, Carrie, and Carlos face the judges and while I would like to see the Nick/Carlos rivalry end, I think it will be Carrie for turning her fine fish into garbage. Carrie is under fire first, for overworking and hiding her gentle fish. Tom says this isn’t about technique, it’s about highlighting the seafood. Carlos experiences the heat , for combining nice flavors but only giving them a "kiss of fish" in the dish. Nicholas had a nice complexity but not enough acid and the textures were unappetizing.
This is Carrie’s first time in the bottom, but I don’t remember her shining on the top, either. The judges agree that almost all three dishes hid the fish and were boring. Nicholas whines like a bitch in the stew room.
After re-hashing each dish’s problems and breaking the chefs down, Padma tells Carrie to pack her knives and go. She’s done floundering in the middle, looks like. Padma is really sad, almost teary-eyed, telling Tom she will miss her in the kitchen. Tom callously says that turning fresh seafood into old seafood was "not so smart." What a dick.
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