- The competition blasts off this week as an astronaut orbiting Earth blinks onto a large screen, instructing the chefs on this week's elimination challenge -- to come up with space food creations that do not taste like moon rocks. The winner will have their dish served in space.—Bravo Publicity
- Open with the requisite comments about being late in the show and there only being four contestants left. There is only one challenge left in DC before the finale. Kelly misses her husband. Angelo tells us about his divorce and his passion for cooking.
The contestants arrive at the kitchen for the Quickfire Challenge to find bottles of wine and Food & Wine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin. Padma tells them the challenge will be to pair a wine with a dish Cowin (who Ed is Facebook friends with) will judge. Angelo is easily the most excited, calling wine one of his passions. Padma then tells them the winner of the challenge will win six nights in London.
Kevin picks a Merlot and goes with a braised pork belly. Kelly selected a zinfandel and is going to make spiced wild boar tenderloin. Angelo has gone with Evolution white and foie gras. Ed is making a rib eye with a red. Tiffany picked a shiraz which she will pair with a rib eye. Kevin figures with only minutes remaining that his tenderloin won't be raised in time. He grabs a quail.
Judging time: Cowin says Tiffany's "Cocoa & Black Peppar --Crusted Wagyu Tenderloin with Spring Risotto" is "cooked beautifully." There is no fooling her when she comes to Kevin and his "Grilled Quail with Shaved Apple, Fennel Salas & Apple Vinaigrette." Cowin said "but the quail is quite delicate, really." Next is Angelo's "Sauteed Foie Gras with Black Salt & Fennel Salad," which Cowin calling "interesting." Kelly's is called "Wild Boar Tenderloin, Blackberry Conserve, Mache, Blue Cheese Emulsion." Ed's is "Grilled Wagyu Rib Eye with Spring Potato Risotto & Mushroom Ragout."
Cowin says Kevin's was the least successful pairing and Kelly's wasn't much better. She really liked Angelo and Tiffany's dishes and ends up picking Angelo as the winner. At this point Padma tells the gang that for the first time in show history the final challenges will take place in Singapore. Everyone is excited about this prospect. Padma says the final elimination challenge will be explained at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
At NASA they are greeted by Tom and Vickie Kloeris, who is the head food scientist for the program. We cut to video of two astronauts explaining the challenge from space: They will be designing a dish to be taken into space. Since it must travel to zero gravy, it should be light on sugar, not have many big pieces and preferably be spicy. The eight tasters will include astronauts and scientists, including Buzz Aldrin.
During the shopping trip Ed says he wants to go Moroccan. Tiffany is looking for white fish. Kevin mentioned hearing the astronauts say they like thing that are comforting.
The guys start cooking. Tiffany has some mussels which she puts into the fridge to get cold. Angelo tells us he is incredibly focused, while Kevin is a little worried his dish is too mainstream.
Tom arrives for updates. He raises an eyebrow when Angelo says he's doing "Ginger-Lacquered Short Ribs & Horseradish Crème Fraiche." Kelly (a space geek) is doing "Pan-Roasted Halibut with Artichoke & Fennel Barigoule." Ed's title is "Yogurt-Marinated Rack of Lamb & Grilled Satay of Lamb." Tiffany is making "Pan-Seared Alaskan Halibut with Coconut Curry, Steamed Mussels & Jasmine Rice." Kevin's taste of home is "NY Strip with Bacon-Jalapeno Marmalade, Corn Puree."
Disaster strikes for Tiffany after Tom leaves. She finds her mussels are frozen and she won't be able to use them.
Back at the house Tiffany is worried about losing her mussels. Kevin says he is going to keep fighting, just like his mother did when they took her off life-support (I'm not making that up, he really said that). The contestants get a surprise: The winner this week will win a car.
The final hour of prep is done in the somewhat cramped kitchen at the Regan International Trade Center. Tiffany's plan it finish off her broth differently and just continue sans mussels. Angelo is concerned his dish is too sweet. Ed is rolling the dice and leaving a layer of fat on his ribs.
We meet the judges. Tom, Padma, Aldrin, Kloeris and Eric Ripert are joined by Anthony Bourdain and two other astronauts, Sandra Magnus and Leland Melvin.
Kelly's dish is tasted first. Tom thinks it's nicely cooked. Magnus likes the crunchiness of the artichokes. Ed's lambs are tasted second. Ripert thinks it is "too complicated," but Bourdain completely disagrees, thinking Ed captured the tasted of Morocco. Kevin is third. Kloeris doesn't think Kevin's onions could be well-maintained for the trip to space. Tiffany has added pea shoots to her dish and Ripert doesn't see any connection with her ingredients. Aldrin likes Angelo's dish a lot but Ripert thinks it's too acidic. Again, Bordain disagrees with Ripert.
At judges table we basically hear much of the same from the tasting. It doesn't sound like anybody's dish was poorly received. Everyone is blown away by how well Kelly's artichokes were cooked. Ripert is the most critical, particularly of Ed. Bordain thinks Kevin choice of sirloin was a little safe. After the contestants leave it sounds like for the most part everybody made strong dishes. The judges all seem to find positives in each dish. Decision time: The winner (who gets the car and a chance to watch a shuttle launch) is Angelo, who is overwhelmed by the honor of having his food chosen. Next we hear the eliminated contestant: It is Tiffany, which prompts Kevin to immediately whisper to himself "Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank you." Tiffany is weepy and everybody talks about how great she was.
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