- Come on in.
winner-take-all.
- Three of the season's hungriest chefs
face off for another chance at the title
of Top Chef.
- With a new baby at home,
can Bruce keep his head
in the kitchen long enough
to bring home the big prize?
- Winning "Top Chef" is everything.
- Or will Restaurant Wars champ
Joe Flamm prove that he was cut too soon?
- Stir, Joe. Ow!
- Or can Brother-- who's already survived
four "Last Chance Kitchen" battles,
win the round that matters most?
- Sorry, Bruce. - Sorry about what?
- You ain't taking this.
- This is "Last Chance Kitchen,"
brought to you by Hidden Valley Ranch.
♪ ♪
- I'm really stoked that I got
to the top five in "Top Chef."
I've got a whole new chapter
starting in my life.
I just had a son. I haven't met him yet.
And I want him to be proud. I want my wife to be proud.
I'm coming to "Last Chance Kitchen" to win.
I'm gonna bring it hard and get my ass back
into the competition. - Hey, Bruce.
Welcome to "Last Chance Kitchen."
- [laughs] Yeah. - You didn't think
you'd be here, did you? - I didn't think,
you know, walking in in the beginning of the season,
but there's some super strong chefs here.
- Mm-hmm. Well, we're almost there.
This is the "Last Chance Kitchen" finals.
So any idea who you're up against?
- I have not a clue. - Let's see.
- Ohh! - Oh, I know you didn't
think I was done. - Double trouble.
- Actually, it's two. - [laughs]
Da bears.
- Da bears! [laughter]
- I feel like both of these guys cook
great food with lots of flavor.
We've become such close friends.
This is gonna be a tough challenge.
- Hello.
- So the three will compete in the first round.
And then the chef with the two best dishes
will move onto the next round,
where you'll battle it out for the one last spot
into the finals of "Top Chef."
- So Bruce is gonna be tough. This dude
made pasta in the middle of the woods on a mandolin.
Like, who does that?
I know that he's got some weapons.
But I gotta cook my food. It's what's keeping me moving.
Sorry, Bruce. - Sorry about what?
- You ain't taking this.
[laughter]
- So Bruce, how bad do you want this?
- I want it really bad. - He wants it really bad.
- Yeah. - Okay. Joe?
- I feel like I went out way too early.
I gotta see the end of the road.
I feel like I got so much more
good food to cook, man. - Okay. Brother?
- Chef, I'm just hungry. - You're just hungry.
- I'm hungry and I'm eating them.
- He's been killing it right now.
"Last Chance Kitchen," he sailed through four rounds.
- I don't doubt it. - So, Bruce, listen,
I know you're a talented, but I don't think
we've seen your vision yet.
You've made a lot of simple mistakes.
- Chris, you sweating over there?
- I'm gettin' moist. - Yeah.
I'm there, dude. Sh--. Damn it.
This isn't gonna ----ing work. - In my mind, you're here for
simple technical things - Technical flaws, yeah.
- Very simple things. - In the last
elimination challenge, I just felt like an idiot.
I know how to properly cook barley.
I just ----ed it all up. - You know, you guys
are all pretty good friends, huh?
You got pretty tight.
So what's up with this bears thing?
- We had a room called the Bear Den.
- It was me, Bruce and Tyler.
- He was one of the original bears, right?
- Yeah. - There's Papa Bear.
- All right.
dubbed our room the Bear Den
'cause we're three of the bigger dudes in the house.
- Da bears. - Feel good, brother.
- Err! - Go bears.
- So it was like a man cave but different.
- But different. - Yeah.
- Somehow I got roped into this bears story.
I'm a big dude, so I don't mind being a bear.
- Listen, this is just too good to resist.
So today, you three bears will make a dish
that I think will be just right.
Any guesses? - Honey.
- Bear. - Porridge.
- Porridge? Come on. [laughter]
- Goldilocks, come on. A little too hot,
a little too cold, just right.
Listen, the great thing about porridge, it's a blank slate.
There's so many different directions you can go in.
You can go savory, you can go sweet,
you can go the direction of congee.
In fact, I have a porridge on my menu right now.
It's mixed grains cooked in beet juice
with smoked monkfish and a horseradish confit.
It actually is the best seller on the menu.
So, you know, don't give me the typical breakfast gruel.
You have 30 minutes on the clock.
And your time starts...now.
- Go, go, go! [cheering]
- What do we got?
- Is that farro, Bruce?
- I've got farro and barley. - Do it, do it.
- I choose barley and farro because I want
my barley redemption and also, I love
the flavor of the two grains.
If I can do this right,
I'm gonna get really nice variance in textures.
That's how bears do it.
Just step on it.
- What'd you grab, Brother? - Uh, white quinoa.
- Quinoa.
the first thing that pops in my head
is the old cafeteria lady with a cigarette
and then she's like, "There you go. Keep going."
Most porridges are very bland, so I've got to add flavor.
How do I get the acid in there?
How do I get the sweet in there?
How do I get a crunch in there?
- Is there any saffron? Saffron?
- Saffron is in the spice rack.
- It's in the corner.
- I don't even really know what porridge is.
I've never made a porridge before in my life.
- You got it? - Yep!
- Oh, sh--. That's the most expensive porridge ever.
- How much did he put in it? - The whole ----ing thing.
- Are you serious?
it's like, all right, something I do make
that's kinda like porridge is risotto.
Risotto's a no-no on "Top Chef."
You know, everybody gets sent home for it.
I got sent home for it. Just head down,
trying to make sure I nail this ----ing risotto.
- So Bruce, what happened, man? Why are you here?
- 'Cause I wanted to come face the bears.
- Now I know that's a lie.
No nobody wanna go to "LCK."
This is not my time to go. I've set myself a goal.
And I'm gonna make that goal happen.
These two bears-- about to get the buckshot.
- Joe, what base are you using?
- I'm using barley. - Is it in the water?
- Nope. Think it should be?
- Get it in, Joe. You want it soft.
- [whistles]
- That stove looks real little with them all three
standing next to each other. - Yeah. Rawr.
I'm rooting for one of the bears to win.
As an original bear, I definitely wish
I was competing in this one. We knew from the start
we were born to be bears.
Bear down. - [vocalizing]
When I get, like, stressed on the line,
and it's like, need to find that groove,
I just start, like, singing.
[humming]
And you just kinda find that groove.
And you just start going, you start cranking
and, like, everything just starts flowing.
- ♪ This is a ba, ba, ba ♪
- The singing. [laughter]
- What are you making, there? Looks like a steak,
not a porridge. - Steak porridge.
- Steak porridge. - Classic steak porridge.
It's a New England dish. - Chop it really fine?
- Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, that's good.
- That's me. - This is you?
- Yes, Chef. - You're making barley?
- Yeah, barley porridge. - Is this a--
a quick barley? - No, it's a regular barley.
- Really. - Yeah.
You think it's gonna cook in--
- I feel good. I wanna prove this one to Tom.
The more doubt he has, the more optimistic I am to show him.
- What porridge are you making? - I'm using white quinoa.
And then I did a chutney of apples,
cranberries and cherries. - Okay.
- I'ma work all that together. - All right.
- Chef, not right now. Please, do not give me
any emotional terrorism.
I don't have any time for regrets today.
- What are you making, Chris? - So I've got a farro
and barley porridge with mushrooms and bacon.
I'm doing kinda bacon and scallops.
A little bit of espelette pepper and then I've got
some pickled mustard greens
and some radishes and watercress going on there.
So I'll just be kind of layering it as I go.
- All right. - 14 minutes. Oh, my God.
This is nerve-racking. - Quinoa, chutney, sugar
I don't wanna serve Tom the traditional breakfast,
so I need to think outside the box
and I see the Chilean sea bass.
So I'm like, perfect. That'll give this dish
a very unique balance.
- Brother, what's that? - Sustainable sea bass.
- Nice. That's a fat steak of sea bass.
Holy sh--, it's beautiful. - Actually, it looks good.
- I've never made a dish like this before,
but I'm pushing myself.
I think that's the beauty of this competition,
is to become a better chef, not stay the same.
- You gonna wear a wig for judging?
- Yes, I have my goldilocks wig
ready to go.
- Yeah, Joe. Stir it, Joe. - [kisses]
- Yeah, ow!
- I grew up cooking in a house full of people.
My mom is one of nine children,
so if there's not people, like, yelling at you
and nagging you while you're cooking,
it, like, feels weird and unnatural.
- You need a glass of wine or something, Joe?
- I would like one. - Yeah?
- Nebbiolo, maybe? I don't know.
- [laughs]
- Nine minutes, guys. Nine minutes.
- Nine minutes. I thought she said five minutes.
I almost pooped a little.
♪ Almost pooped a little in my pants ♪
- I taste my porridge, it's delicious.
Grains are exactly how I want them.
They've got a nice pop to 'em. I feel like
this is gonna be a strong, winning dish.
- How's that coming? - Yep.
- It's there? - It's not there.
It's still got a little chew to it.
- A little chew to it?
- It'll be nice and al dente. I hope.
Otherwise, I'll be eating steak and going home.
- Maybe.
Plating already. - Starting the plating.
- Okay. Wow. Seven minutes left.
- Seen a torch? - Uh, I have not.
- I wanna go off the idea of an oatmeal brulee.
I mean, I always like the texture of caramelizing
brown sugar on top of a grain.
It gives you that crunch as you get into it.
And it also adds some sweetness.
- I feel like Brother's taking a good direction with his dish.
And then I see him bruleeing brown sugar
over the top of his porridge and I don't understand it.
I don't know how that's gonna fit.
- Three minutes!
- Yeah, I think Joe's realizing his barley's not going to cook.
- It's a hard grain to cook in this amount of time
unless you pressure cook it. - Yeah.
- I want back in this thing so bad.
I got cut halfway through this adventure,
and I really, really wanna see it to the end.
But my barley's not done.
And I have to start plating now.
It's crunch time. - Cook it to the end, Joe,
cook it to the end.
- One minute, Chefs.
- Oh, Brother had his bowls in the oven.
- If Goldilocks was tasting my dish right now,
she wouldn't even have eaten anybody else's stuff.
She would have just walked up to her bed
and got down on some Chilean sea bass
and white quinoa porridge.
- Guys, you got 30 seconds. Uhh, this is so stressful.
- Bruce, did you make pasta? - I did.
[laughter]
Pasta again?
- Final moments as I'm plating, I tasted the grains,
I think they're perfect.
I'm just hoping Tom agrees with me.
- Ten, nine, eight-- all: Seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one. [cheers and applause]
- Da bears.
- Hey, Bruce. - Hey, Chef.
So I made a porridge of farro and barley
with wild mushrooms and bacon, served with
seared sea scallops, a poached egg
and pickled mustard greens.
And break the egg in. - Mm-hmm.
You cooked barley in the last challenge.
It wasn't cooked. - Right.
- You came right back to do it again.
Why'd you think it was cooked this time?
- The last time I cooked it,
I cooked it more like a risotto.
And there wasn't as much liquid
per barley in the ratio.
- Great. Thanks. - Thank you, Chef.
- Hey, Brother. - Hey, Chef.
So I did a, uh-- - [laughs] What did you do?
- Uh, it's a white quinoa porridge
cooked down in cream, finished with beurre blanc,
a citrus-seared Chilean sea bass
and there's a chutney of cranberry, apples, pine nuts,
a little bit of ginger.
First inspiration was oatmeal brulee.
- Right. I had to go from oatmeal brulee
to fish and chutney. - [laughs]
It's "Top Chef." - And it's a leap of faith.
- All right. Thanks. - Thank you, Chef.
- Chef. - Joe.
- So I did kind of a Milanese-style porridge.
- Milanese style, okay. - Which, I don't think
is a thing, but now it is.
So I did a barley, I cooked it risotto style
in a saffron broth.
I made, like, a tomato and veal compote
I did seared steak on top.
Just cooked it down with the saffron,
finished with butter and parm salt.
Left it al dente. - Why'd you go
in this direction? - I'm not really
familiar with porridges.
But I do cook risottos, so that's kinda
where my mind went right away.
- Great. Thank you. - Thank you, Chef.
[humming]
- I gotta say, these dishes were all really good.
And any one of these dishes could've got you
back into the competition, but obviously,
there's only two going forward.
Joe, a good take on risotto Milanese
The grains actually got cooked.
They were chewy, but they were cooked.
The herbaceousness of the tomato I liked a lot.
It was just tomato. It had a lot of
background flavor in a very short time.
- Bruce, your dish was really rich.
The mushroom gave it some background flavors,
bacon for a little smoke.
Scallop kinda got a little lost in there.
But I thought it was a nice dish.
- Thank you. - It was enjoyable.
Brother, you used white quinoa,
but you caramelized the top.
You added a beautifully cooked piece of fish.
And the chutney, it was really bright.
So you had a lot of different contrasts going on.
Really good balance. - Thank you, Chef.
- My favorite...
Brother's. [applause]
- Thank you, Chef.
Booyah!
Got another one. One more to go.
Come on! - Brother, you're the first
person moving onto the finale of "Last Chance Kitchen."
One more to go and you're back in the competition.
- Thank you, Chef. - Okay.
- This is awesome. Feel like a prize fighter.
- Sadly for one of you, your journey to get back
into the competition ends here.
Again, I thought they were both really good,
but one of them, I thought, was a little better.
And unfortunately...
Bruce, you can join the rest of your competitors here.
- Ah, yeah. - It was a nice dish.
- All right, brother. [applause]
- Kill it, guys. - It's your boy.
- It was a nice dish with great flavors,
but Joe's was really spot on. - Right.
- So you can join everybody here.
- I feel like I went out with a great dish
and that feels much better than going out with
my last dish in the elimination challenge.
So I got to the top five. I'm proud of what I did here.
Now it's time to go back home and meet my son.
- All right. [sighs] This is it.
One of the two of you are going in.
- Ready, baby?
I'm ready to do this. It's me and Brother.
It's all on the table. - One round left
before you make it back in. - Let's do it.
- And we're starting right now.
both: All right. - Come on.
- You guys just sit right there.
- Okay. - Don't you move.
Next, on "Last Chance Kitchen"...
Only one chef will rejoin the competition
and head straight to the finals in Telluride.
- Get out my way, big dog. It's my shot.
- Safe! - This is my last one.
If I don't get it through today, I'm done.
- There. - Ooh.
- And the winner of "Last Chance Kitchen"...