Top Chef ™

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Week:

Blind Taste Test

Kristen Kish: "For today's Quickfire Challenge we gathered a wide range of ingredients to test your taste buds. You will each have 5 minutes, blindfolded, to guess as many as possible of the 26 foods. Afterwards, you will each be able to use all the ingredients that you guessed correctly, along with a limited pantry, to prepare a dish. The more ingredients you guess, the fewer your restrictions. There will be a $5,000 prize for the blind tasting and a further $10,000 cash prize for the best dish."

The 26 ingredients were:

Anchovies

Bacon

Cheddar Cheese Dill Edamame Flank Steak Gooseberries Horseradish Italian Parsley

Jalapenos Kalamata Olives Lemongrass Mussels Nutmeg Okra Pork Chop Quinoa Rosemary

Salmon Tofu Umeboshi (plums) Vadouvan Watermelon XO Sauce Yuzu Za'atar

Results:

Dan and Savannah tied for last place with 9 out of 26 guessed correctly

Danny correctly guessed 13 of 26 and Laura got 15 right.

Manny was far ahead, correctly guessing 23 of 26.

What the Top Chef ™ Chefs prepared

Laura

Mussel Escabeche with Umeboshi and Rosemary Cracker

Danny

Grilled Flank Steak with Jus and Okra

Savannah

Fried Pork with Two Sauces

Dan

Grilled Flank Steak with Scrambled Eggs

Manny

Salmon Crudo

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Rated Best dishes

Grilled Flank Steak with Jus and Okra

Danny

Judges: "Danny, I don't know how you made that watermelon a one, but I loved it. That's what reminded me of a one with watermelon in it.

"My only little thing is I wish I could have tasted those ingredients a little more."

Mussel Escabeche with Umeboshi and Rosemary Cracker

Laura

Judges: "I thought it was really nice. Yeah. I like the herbaceous notes and the sweetness you got from the watermelon."

"I love the contrast of the mussels and the gooseberries. Really creative thinking."

Fried Pork with Two Sauces

Savannah

Judges: "Savannah, with a limited pantry, but I think it served you really well. The pork chop was beautifully cooked. Breading was light, crispy, not greasy at all."

"I second all that. I like the sauce, and not because you're playing to Wisconsin, but I just thought it was really good Caesar with Cheddar cheese, really good."

Danny's Carrot Slaw

Rated Worst Dishes

Dan

Grilled Flank Steak with Scrambled Eggs

Judges: "Dan, just tell me everything that was wrong with your dish."

Dan: "It was a train wreck."

Gail Simmons: "I know you can cook. We'd never know today."

Guest Judge: "There was a smell that came up that just didn't make me excited to eat."

Dan: "Oh, God. It was that bad?"

Manny

Salmon Crudo

Judges: "You know, I struggled a little bit with some things. The salmon was a little bit one dimensional. It was just sort of sliced and put on the plate."

"Manny, I know you have a palate. You know you got 23 of the ingredients. You've got to taste the dish together. As soon as you put the salmon in your mouth, it's not seasoned. It's like you taste it right away. It's bland."