#2883 Top Chef S22E13: Milan Dollar Baby

0:00Ben Mandelker: It's so important to have life insurance. I have a policy. I want to make sure that the people that I love and I care about are taken care of if, God forbid, something happens to me. It sometimes can feel like a really scary thing, but it's not scary. Life insurance, it's so important.

0:17Ronnie Karam: Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy, 100 % online.

0:22Ben Mandelker: You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same-day coverage.

0:25Ronnie Karam: There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions. You can get up to$3 million in coverage. Some policies are as low as$30 a month. And you'll get your lowest rate from their network of trusted carriers. Take 10 minutes to get covered today with life insurance through Ethos. Get your free quote at ethos.com slash crappins. That's E-T-H-O-S dot com slash crappins.

0:50Ben Mandelker: Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Full disclosure, everyone. Ernesta sent us five rug samples, and we have not been normal since.

0:59Ronnie Karam: My office needs a new rug, and I'm scared of picking the wrong color and then having to look at my mistake every single day. That is the worst.

1:06Ben Mandelker: Well, guess what? What's really cool about these samples is that they are not just like little tiny chips. They're 12 by 12 squares. So you see the actual color and full size instead of just on a screen.

1:15Ronnie Karam: So I just took the samples and I put them in my office, and I've been doing laps with them. Morning light, lamp light next to the couch, away from the couch.

1:23Ben Mandelker: It's like you're hosting a reunion, Ronnie.

1:25Ronnie Karam: I was sure it was going to be the Paula that I loved. And then I thought, no, I think it's going to be the Claudia. I think the Claudia is going to win.

1:33Ben Mandelker: I was really hoping the Ariana would win for you, mainly just because of Ariana.

1:37Ronnie Karam: Well, the Claudia looks like it's been there for years. I didn't even have the Ariana on my short list. Now I'm going to need to add that one in there and start this all over again. Thanks.

1:44Ben Mandelker: Well, here's the good news. When you do order your rug, it gets cut to the inch for the room. And what I like is that I'll know the color is right before I spend a dime on the rug.

1:54Ronnie Karam: Visit Ernesta.com and order five samples for only$10, and you'll get$50 towards any rug of your choice. That's E-R-N-E-S-T-A dot com.

2:19Ben Mandelker: Oh, I mean, what's your crap? Who cares what happens when there's so much that happens? Hello, and welcome to Watch What Crappens, a podcast about all that crap on Bravo that we just love to talk about. I'm Ben Mandelker, and joining me today is the hilarious and wonderful Ronnie Karam. Hi, Ronnie. How you doing? Well, hello, Benooney Tunes. What you doing today? Just here to talk Top Chef with you. Before we dive into that, we have a show in Seattle this Thursday. We're recapping The Real Housewives of Miami. And then next Thursday, we have our final show of the year, live show that is, here in Los Angeles.

3:00Ben Mandelker: Come to our grand finale. We're most likely going to be recapping The Valley, unless something changes. But it looks like it's going to be The Valley. Tickets to both shows are at watchwhatcrappens.com, or I should say ticket links are. If you are one of those people that's like, I want to go, but I can't get in my friends to come because your friends are stupid. Come alone. It's okay. You will meet friends. And even if you don't, you'll have a great time. Solo things are really fun to do. So go get your tickets. We're going to have a great final two shows of the year. Also, come join us on Patreon.

3:30Ben Mandelker: Patreon.com slash watch what crappens. We have all sorts of fun reward tiers. There's crappens on demand where you can watch us, not just listen. and the Crap is on Demand stuff, like this show, for instance, is Crap is on Demand. After a week, it will be free and live on YouTube, but if you want to get it fresh, it's with Crap is on Demand. And even more fun is that we are doing, for our bonus episodes, we're doing daily recaps of Love Island on Patreon all season long. So we're having a lot of fun doing that, talking all sorts of shit about those kids. And we don't even care. We don't care that they're kids.

4:05Ben Mandelker: We're talking shit. So go join us at Patreon. on. And that's basically it. And today we're talking Top Chef. And since this is our food oriented show of the week, I just want to give one final shameless promotion of my Substack because I put my whole Norway trip up there on Substack. So go to nbdfancy.substack.com if you want to read about everything I ate in Norway. And with that, shall we get on to the penultimate episode of Top Chef Destination Canada, Ronnie?

4:32Ronnie Karam: Yes, I would love to. But I also want to take a second to thank our listener, Michelle. Michelle made an entire Google spreadsheet of all of our episodes time coded out, which is absolutely insane. We need to add this to our website. Can we can we, Daddy Ben? Yeah, we can add that. Michelle, email us. Yeah, she emailed it to us. It's here also. Yeah, I answered it. So you probably didn't see it. Ben, check the email. I'll send it to you right now so you have it. Thank you. Okay, so this lady made an excellent spreadsheet. It has all the episodes. So if you're looking for any episode every season, we're trying to get our backlog put up on our site.

5:10Ronnie Karam: But we'll definitely have this to supplement that because it even has all the old ones when we would do like three different shows in one episode. It has time codes for like when we start what episodes and what we cover in those episodes. I mean, it is great. So, Michelle, thank you. Such work went into this. So thank you so much. We'll see her in Seattle this week. So thank you, Michelle. You're a hero. You can also find that over on the Watch What Crap and subreddit, which I believe she posted it on there, too. So thank you so, so much. That's wonderful. Yeah, that is fantastic. I'm always impressed by our listeners.

5:44Ben Mandelker: They do such amazing things.

5:45Ronnie Karam: Yeah, that's pretty amazing. Okay, so let's get on with it. We are in the semifinale of Chopper Sheffin. Why are y 'all bringing Olympiads on here?

5:54Ben Mandelker: Every two years, they do the Olympics episode. It's always so dull. Why in the finale?

6:00Ronnie Karam: it's like the end of the most serious time and you guys are like let's have a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing fuck around and hold things

6:08Ben Mandelker: yeah let's have the let's okay your future on this show cooking in the finale is all going to depend on how a bobsledder decides what you made yeah

6:19Ronnie Karam: a bobsledder trying to figure out what the fuck broccolini is okay yeah

6:24Ben Mandelker: can we not I mean I know that NBCU always has to promote their upcoming Olympic Games, but it's 20, what year is it right now? 2025? The Winter Olympics are not until they're not, the Winter Olympics are like nine months away.

6:41Ronnie Karam: Whatever year it is, it's the final one of the world. Oh, by the way, it's something we didn't, no, finish what you were saying.

6:47Ben Mandelker: No, I literally said that. It's like, the Winter Olympics are like nine months away. Do we have to start promoting them on Bravo right now on Top Chef at this moment? Please.

6:55Ronnie Karam: Yeah. Never mind. I'm not going to say what I was going to say. I want to know. So yeah, here we are. No, I'll tell you later. I'll tell you later. It's, it's, it's, I can't say it on, on TV, on, on YouTube. The biggest channel in the world. Listen, we're on the largest network in the entire world right now. YouTuber. Okay. So Bailey's like, Bailey's the first arrive at the Delta one lounge. She's like, I'm so undisbelieved that this is even my life. I've come back as new Bailey. still hunched over still making lasagna but although inside the gears are turning different i don't know what to tell you i hope to find a way to make some penny pasta today

7:34Ben Mandelker: she's like i've watched top chef since the first season with my mom you know shui was like well i watched it with my grandmother shui who's just doing everything short of like bringing a little granny wig like dressing up like the grandma and into the woods right

7:54Ronnie Karam: Cesar's like We didn't even have TV when I was growing up So my grandmother reenacted every episode

8:01Ben Mandelker: My grandmother would invite three chefs over Every single night And made them stand on each other's shoulders And the one at the top was the top chef She said look at that Now you're watching Top Chef

8:12Ronnie Karam: And then Cesar comes And he's like Yeah like it's hard to tell Like getting from day one where you're gonna fall but I'm in the top four. I can't believe it. I'm here. I did it. Glow lights turn on under him.

8:27Ben Mandelker: They're like, sir, are you growing a rutabaga under your bar stool? The Delta One Lounge is lenient, but not that lenient. We're going to have to remove your rutabaga.

8:36Ronnie Karam: So Schweiss next, and he's like, I've never been to Italy. Grandma, grandma. Oh my God. What I've heard is Italy has a lot of grandmas. I cannot wait.

8:45Ben Mandelker: I hear they call it grandmas nonas in Italy, which is funny because I call my grandma, grandma, grandma, grandma, grandma.

8:52Ronnie Karam: My grandma really makes me feel focused. I'm going to kick everybody's ass.

8:58Ben Mandelker: Tristan shows up and he is more somber because his dad or his stepfather, who basically his dad died in the middle of the season. So he had to sort of go home and deal with that. But now he's fighting for him. So now we have Tristan who is here to say, I've been here in your shoes before, Gus. It's a lot. You're doing great. But it's actually her doing the whole spiel of like three chefs remain, Saratoga Water, Chipotle Family of Foods, BMW, the best car in the entire world, and now one of you is going to win the title of Top Chef.

9:28Ronnie Karam: So welcome to Milan, everybody, the last stop on the road to becoming Top Chef. Now let's go to our final quick fire of the season. If you've done your research, you know here in Milan, there's grandmas, there are grandmas, and also lots of risotto. Okay, rice and polenta are king. And the dish they're most known for is risotto.

9:51Ben Mandelker: Now, as this is your last quick fire, sorry, it's just, it's very emotional because it's the last quick fire we're going to have. So it just, it gets me a little bit. Anyway, risotto. So we're all going to make risotto. And for your final quick fire challenge, we want you to make your very own risotto in 35 minutes. I feel like that's a very short amount of time to make risotto, right? That is a bullshit. They are setting them up for failure.

10:15Ronnie Karam: Yeah, the time limits on this show make me crazy. Like, I don't care who can cook the fastest. I get it's a competition, but why does it need to be a speed competition? Risotto needs time. Okay? It needs time. That's it. I want to see risotto taking time.

10:30Ben Mandelker: It's like in that famous play, Gary Glenn Ross, A, B, R. Always be risottoing, okay? You can't just rush it. You have to take the time and always be doing it. Risotto is for closers.

10:44Ronnie Karam: So, Tom's like, what? You guys? Risotto doesn't wait for anybody okay you know it needs to be served right away you know risotto will not be you will not see risotto sitting at a bus stop it's not gonna wait okay risotto is unlike my son

10:57Ben Mandelker: who's just waiting for success to come to him instead of him going to success by being a mixologist

11:05Ronnie Karam: we're gonna we're gonna cook in a five minute stagger or as my son calls it um attention span which is why he can never learn to cook risotto in the first place fun fact my son is still in

11:15Ben Mandelker: the middle of his five-minute stagger i said okay you could do the mixology for five minutes and then you're going to follow my footsteps i'm not going to get any younger and somehow that five

11:24Ronnie Karam: minutes stagger is still going on my son just uh actually removed the five minutes and uh it's just

11:30Ben Mandelker: stagger my son is just a stagger that mixed stagger over there so christian's like chefs you should know that we aren't going to be taking this quick fire into consideration determining who is going to be going home. So this is just an annoying process for you of having to make risotto on top of the building for some money that the audience doesn't care about. Okay, great.

11:51Ronnie Karam: Yeah, but you'll win 15 grand. So they're like, hey, okay, Cesar, start now. So he goes first and he's like, wow, risotto, it's a dish, but it's also a lifestyle. You know, you can wash your hair with it. You can put it in your gas tank and drive around with it. Unfortunately, your car will break down. I learned that the hard way.

12:16Ben Mandelker: I've had some risotto under my grow light, under my bed for three months now. And it hasn't really softened, but some things are definitely growing on it. So that's cool.

12:27Ronnie Karam: So he's like, you know, I'm going to use celery root as the rice component. Excuse me? You need to use risotto. Risotto. Not celery root. This is a risotto. Now, Cesar, listen. I like you. You've made a lot of crazy shit, and you're a weird little dude, and I imagine there's a lot of crusty socks on the floor of your room next to that grow light. That said, I like you, but you've got to make a risotto dish, and you're not the only one. I'm looking at you, shwai. What the fuck are you two doing? It's a risotto dish in Italy. You cannot just say, I'm going to make a vegetable dish and call it risotto.

13:02Ben Mandelker: Hi, everyone. It's the ghost of Padma Lakshmi. As you may know, I was recently killed when I was taking a very exclusive tour of Milan, and climbed all the way to the top of a clock tower. Some idiot pulled on the string and the bell hit me in the head and I fell all the way out to the ground and I died. Well, anyway, I'm back here to say...

13:18Ronnie Karam: You know what's funny about that? I still made less noise than Gail does getting out of bed to pee at two in the morning.

13:27Ben Mandelker: Wow. Well, it's funny because I always thought Gail would be the one to die by ding-dong, but it was me getting hit by the bell.

13:35Ronnie Karam: Turns out Gail's only fueled by them, as you'll see later.

13:38Ben Mandelker: anyway it's so funny risotto because that's always what i call gal i always think she's full of riz and i go oh no she's just a toe riz oh

13:56Ronnie Karam: all right tristan you can start cooking now so tristan's like oh i'm gonna do um you know, I'm going to go into this rice thing while adding all these umami flavors, you know, I really want to bring melanin to Milan.

14:12Ben Mandelker: Yeah. And then Kristen's like, okay, that's a very emotional story. Okay, Bailey, your time starts now. You're the last person now for time stacker. Sorry, I've been in your shoes before. It's a lot. So Bailey's like, well, I made risotto for the first challenge and I did end up trying in the bottom for trying to incorporate too much into it. So I just why don't I do something that was fairly traditional? I'm going to do a red wine risotto. My bank account has not opened up yet, so landing that $15 ,000 would be super rad. Well, I'll tell you who else's bank account hasn't opened up yet. Gail Stylist hasn't quite been paid yet, as you can see, because Gail Stylist hasn't used her.

14:52Ben Mandelker: See what I'm trying to get at? Sorry, I'm still a little woozy from that Bell incident.

14:58Ronnie Karam: Debbie Reynolds was the first person to welcome me here. She actually started singing, ring them bells, you gotta ring them bells. I said, not funny, Debbie.

15:07Ben Mandelker: Too soon. Anyway, if my humor, if my jokes are a little not quite right, it's because I'm learning comedy all over again from Moliere. He's here too.

15:21Ronnie Karam: Listen, I could have gone the Marcel Marceau route.

15:27Ben Mandelker: But Gail ate one of the Marceaus. now he's just known as marcel she came up to have a bit of marcel

15:34Ronnie Karam: she said but what it has pancake written all over it yeah wow so sasar is um doing a celery root thing okay so now shui is like well i didn't practice risotto listen my grandma taught me a lot but she fell asleep on risotto day okay no grandma risotto coming out today so and risotto's always failed on top chef so i just figured there's no way they're going to make us make risotto and they are. So if I have to make traditional risotto, it's going to be garbage. So I'm going to chop up spaghetti squash and call it risotto. Yeah. That's, if I

16:13Ben Mandelker: you know what, now you go up to that clock tower and get knocked by that bell because like you're supposed to be making risotto and if you serve me a bowl of diced squash and say this is risotto, I will be furious. Both of these people should be kicked

16:26Ronnie Karam: off right now and it should just be bailey interested in the finals and that's it the show

16:31Ben Mandelker: has gone soft like a bad risotto i'm doing a search what city is most famous for risotto i would like to know in italy and ai says milan so if these people had any brains they would have said huh we're going to milan they know they're going to milan they've had time to access the internet why don't you search for like what are the most famous milanese dishes and what do they

16:58Ronnie Karam: do not nothing so tristan is you know they're making their risotto so he's talking about how he's you know getting the creaminess from adding the stock and constant agitation to coat coax the starch off the short grain dries wow i've seen gail do that constant agitation it's kind of like

17:19Ben Mandelker: when Gail wore woolen culottes one day.

17:23Ronnie Karam: Gail cooks the starch off the short grained rice just with her words. She said, get off of that short grained rice. Fell right into her mouth. It's amazing.

17:34Ben Mandelker: She's a real agitator. She agitates the starch right off that rice.

17:39Ronnie Karam: Alright, time's up, utensils down. Get up here and serve your shitty excuses for risotto. So Cesaro's first and he's like, um, risotto? I look at risotto as a technique.

17:50Ben Mandelker: Gail goes So just to be clear There's no rice Also just to be clear There's no fashion With you Gail Listen

18:01Ronnie Karam: Just because Gail uses risotto as a conditioner Doesn't mean that it's a technique

18:08Ben Mandelker: Gail stop Stop trying to exfoliate with that fake risotto

18:13Ronnie Karam: And Cesar's like Well there's rice stock And Gail's like oh there's rice stock But there's not actual rice Watch out, she's about to blow

18:23Ben Mandelker: Wow, you thought you saw something with Mount Vesuvius, Italy Wait till you see Gail Simmons when she doesn't get her starches

18:30Ronnie Karam: Wait till Mount McHungrius goes off

18:37Ben Mandelker: Vesuvius? More like Vesuvie less Vesuvie pay less That's where Gail gets her shoes

18:44Ben Mandelker: Moulier said that would work Sorry if it didn't. It's his part.

18:49Ronnie Karam: He's like, well, I've done vegetable risottos before. And Kristen's like, okay, so you cooked it in the exact same method you would risotto? No. He didn't boil it. I mean, what? No, he didn't. And he's like, yeah, you know, I've been doing well with vegetables. So that's what I feel comfortable with. And Gail's like, well, I've been doing comfortable with rayon, but I wouldn't serve it to you.

19:11Ben Mandelker: It's just the make a risotto with vegetables. vegetables it's like what i told my son you may feel comfortable drinking a beer doesn't mean you have to have a whole career out of it then be a chef follow your day it's ridiculous and so

19:24Ronnie Karam: schweizenak standing is like well when you make traditional risotto the rice releases starch but i'm not doing that so i'm going to use butternut squash because that has some starch so no that is going to be wet and wet butternut squash get the fuck out of it that's wet yeah i agree add the

19:42Ben Mandelker: butternut squash to the risotto. Oh my God. The other thing is that you're doing all this. You were outraged. You're doing all the same work as a risotto. So you subbing in to avoid the pitfalls of risotto, just make the risotto.

19:57Ronnie Karam: I'm also triggered because of the butternut squash. That's spaghetti squash, right? Is it different?

20:05Ben Mandelker: Butternut squash is different than spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is literally like if you take a fork to it, it kind of like makes spaghetti. so that's why it's called i think that's why it's called that or i'm just full of it but butternut squash is like sweet and you know looks like a penis right so does this doesn't it i guess no

20:23Ronnie Karam: but butternut squash is not the same butternut squash is known for its smooth slightly sweet and nutty flavor while spaghetti squash is known for its stringy spaghetti like texture so there you go you're correct there you go um but i don't like when people take the squat and i'm talking about spaghetti squash so this is why i was triggered and it's invalid but i don't like when people are like you can substitute pasta with spaghetti squash no you can't it's not the same fucking thing and stop telling little fat kids and neither are zoodles and neither are zoodles even especially zoodles those are even wetter they're so wet they're so wet and stupid

20:58Ben Mandelker: zoodles are stupid um well don't tell that to gail because she's wearing them as clip-ons so

21:08Ronnie Karam: it's time for a commercial it's time for a crappin's commercial losing weight can be like trying to roll a wheelbarrow up a hill you can do it but it's so much better and easier with support noom combines glp1s to kickstart your weight loss with healthy habits to help you keep it off even if you stop the meds noom helps you lose more weight they found 37 % more weight is lost with Noom than just taking a GLP-1 on its own, and you can sustain it too. Noom helps you make progress that you can keep.

21:41Ben Mandelker: And its psychology-based science-backed program pairs GLP-1s with behavioral changes, daily lessons, and food logging to support weight loss that lasts.

21:51Ronnie Karam: The Noom GLP-1 program starts at$39.

21:55Ben Mandelker: And is delivered to your door in as little as seven days. Start your GLP-1 journey today at Noom.com.

22:01Ronnie Karam: That's N-O-O-M dot com. Initial one month subscription from$39 plus tax and$99 plus tax per month thereafter. Cost of medication not included. Final pricing depends on program selection.

22:14Ben Mandelker: Results based on a January 2026 analysis of 14 ,203 Noom GLP-1 RX program members who logged weight over a 40-week period. Higher app engagement was associated with greater weight loss at 16 weeks. There was a time about 10 years ago when I was in the worst credit card debt of my life. It was insane. I couldn't get out of it. No matter what I did, it just was always there. I was in the hole. But then I finally got my stuff together and I was able to chip away at it. And you see the light at the end of the tunnel. And when you're finally able to claw out of it, it is such a wonderful, liberating feeling.

22:50Ben Mandelker: And that's why what Monarch does is so great, because it helps people pay down their debt.

22:55Ronnie Karam: Monarch's debt pay down simulator and visualizer shows your exact debt-free date based on your real balances and payments.

23:02Ben Mandelker: You can watch the timeline move. The visualizer lays out your whole payoff journey as a clear, motivating timeline.

23:07Ronnie Karam: Play out your options and pick the fastest one. Run different payment scenarios side by side and instantly see how much sooner each one gets to you paying off your debt. You're in control of the plan.

23:18Ben Mandelker: Yeah, and Monarch breaks the debt cycle, turning that endless gloom into a plan with an end date so you can make room to put more towards debt without feeling deprived.

23:26Ronnie Karam: My favorite thing about Monarch is their weekly recaps.

23:29Ben Mandelker: Write your own money story with Monarch.

23:31Ronnie Karam: Use code CRAPPINS at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch core half off at just$50.

23:37Ben Mandelker: That's 50 % off your first year at Monarch.com with code CRAPPINS.

23:43Ronnie Karam: All right, well, Tristan's up next to serve, and he does a West African-inspired risotto with dressed heirloom tomatoes and charred buttered greens, which at this point, I don't even give a fuck at poo-poo risotto. You're going to get first or second

23:57Ben Mandelker: because you tried. Yeah. So Gail's like, are you happy with what came out? Wow. Is Gail trying to do a full Padma? Excuse me. Let the professional do it. Did you mean to have your rice come out as stupidly as Gail's face?

24:15Ronnie Karam: Tom's like, well, you know what? The texture's right on this. One thing Gail's never heard in a dressing room. One thing a person at a salon

24:23Ben Mandelker: Has never said about Gail's hair

24:25Ronnie Karam: One thing Gail's never been told Had a back wax

24:31Ben Mandelker: One thing Gail's never been told When someone's touched her Brasile made out of Whoa

24:40Ronnie Karam: Sorry I shouldn't have let Shecky Green take over

24:44Ben Mandelker: Back to Moliere

24:49Ben Mandelker: you're setting me up for failure tristan is happy about it and so meanwhile she was like

24:55Ronnie Karam: something smells burnt and beta is like yeah my nuts are burning a little bit really not sure what to do about i burnt all my nuts so i'm gonna have to redo those nuts oh god

25:08Ben Mandelker: so she served hers and she's like well i did a pretty traditional red wine risotto with a little bit of Parmigiano and Taleggio and the rice and a little Grimoulata on tap. And Tom's like, oh, why'd you go in the red wine direction? Was this a reference to the fact that my son works in the world of spirits and alcohol? Because I really don't approve of that. He's like, no, I just thought it was like very Northern Italian. Basically, I was looking at the North and I thought, okay, I'll just say it's Northern Italian. I don't know. I just put the red wine.

25:36Ronnie Karam: Yeah, you know, I just wanted to make something from Milan. Hope you like it. You probably won't. Should I just apologize now? I'm sorry. It's got to have been better. I don't even know what I'm doing here. Who am I?

25:50Ben Mandelker: So then Shui is done early because he's not using, you know, Arborio rice or short green rice. So he's done. He's ready. So he's plates. Look at that. Who would have thought? And they just are watching him, watching his plates for like 90 seconds. And then, you know, it's probably totally fine. But, you know, they're thinking, oh, it's seizing up. It's cold. It's getting cold. It's 90 seconds colder now. So they're all pissy by the time it gets to them.

26:13Ronnie Karam: Yeah. And so he comes over and he made squash risotto with heart winter squash chanterelles, veggies stocked with saffron, a little Parmesan and toasted hazelnuts. Not burnt like mine, but toasted. So Gail's like, oh, so no rice. Did I do something in a past life that is getting in the way of me being served rice? No, it's your current life, Gail. you have a heaven in you have an angel in heaven now gal I'm just trying to help

26:45Ben Mandelker: so Shua is like yeah no there's no rice just a little bit toasted rice in the stock it just feels like also honestly like I feel like it's a missed opportunity he does so much grandma cooking now that doesn't his grandma have like some classic Chinese rice dish like Tristan pulled in like a jollof rice dish and turned it into risotto like it felt like a missed opportunity for shui.

27:07Ronnie Karam: Exactly. Your whole country that you talk about, every episode is built upon the back of rice. Yeah.

27:14Ben Mandelker: Rice is such a big part of Chinese cuisine, so it's just a little surprising. And then he's like, butter and squash. So then Tom, now Tom can't deal anymore. He's like, you know, the word riso means rice.

27:24Ronnie Karam: Rizzo is rice. Also the word por favor means please. I love this game.

27:32Ben Mandelker: I used to live in Italy, but I don't know if you guys know it, but if you listen quietly you can hear my voice on the wind going

27:40Ronnie Karam: exacto exacto

27:48Ronnie Karam: I haven't thought of that one in a while exacto exacto

27:55Ben Mandelker: prego

27:58Ronnie Karam: um so Gail's like well he did use rice it just wasn't risotto exacto okay You don't have to say it again so soon. Okay, time for judging. All right, first let's clear something up. Risotto, it's not whether it's a rice or a technique. The word risotto means from rice. Okay? So, wow. That said, there were some tasty dishes, and I just thank you that none of them were cosmopolitans or anything drinkable.

28:26Ben Mandelker: I'm just going to let that little factoid about risotto and rice just hang in the air for a moment. You can think about it. You can think about the implications. I won't say whether or not it's being used against you, But you can pretty much guess I'm not a happy camper right now

28:37Ronnie Karam: Welcome to Taste the Heaven Who did we steal rice from?

28:43Ben Mandelker: My first guest is someone literally named after it Raisa Gorbachev Welcome

28:50Ronnie Karam: Also a little hand named Raisa Roni The San Francisco treat Rodney Dangerfield won't stop shoving him down his pants I'm sorry, Roni

29:01Ben Mandelker: I'm sorry Fun fact, when Gail Simmons was a child And her family went on a vacation to San Francisco They lost track of her for a good afternoon Because she was chasing so many streetcars Hoping there'd be rice on the other end She never got that San Francisco treat

29:17Ronnie Karam: She finally found a food truck serving pizza And she calls that streetcar Streetcar called Desire It's really poetic Okay, well, risotto, rice There, boom, not a technique All right, Gail, what did you think of Bailey's risotto? Your rice was actually right there. It was al dente as it should be. The wine and telegio lent a really intense sour note to your dish. You're a boring person with no self-confidence, but at least you used a carb. So thank you.

29:47Ben Mandelker: And also some fat to balance out the sourness could have really helped. But I think the rice was cooked beautifully. Gail, what did you think of Cesar's? Cesar, by the way, welcome to Milan. You could just say. Now, there are a lot of different Cesar's in the world. But right now you're the one in Milan, so I think we can call you Cesar Milan. Cesar Milan, anyone? Boo, that was stupid. It's going to be my next joke.

30:10Ronnie Karam: Absolutely beautiful flavors, seasoned perfectly, texturally, I didn't get the bite. I didn't get the bite because there was no rice. And I think that's part of the pleasure of risotto. Oh, God, let's not stop talking about Gail's pleasure with risotto. This isn't time to jerk off, Gail, am I?

30:28Ben Mandelker: I heard that Gail once went to the pleasure chest And said do you have to have a bowl of risotto here Wrong story wrong time Gail

30:36Ronnie Karam: Gail uses penne pasta as a Diaphragm I'm sorry it's too much For a television show

30:44Ben Mandelker: Which really is very illogical In so many different ways At least use ravioli

30:53Ronnie Karam: Or cheta anybody Oh, God. A shell. Come on now. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't teach it the proper carb to use as a condom.

31:11Ben Mandelker: Tom, what did you think about Schweiss risotto? Well, the flavors were good. Seasoned nicely. I really appreciate how you took the risotto and spelled out grandma in it with your finger. That was nice. you waited so long it's hard to seize up wow seizing up sort of like gail when confronted between a culotte and a capelet

31:31Ronnie Karam: what to wear oh my god i have i have a personal thing i need to discuss with you sorry audience fast forward one minute so the bug guy came to my house and said i just wanted to show you a picture that we caught a rodent i don't want to see a picture of a dead rodent What the fuck is that? Can I sue somebody for that? It's a little mouse. Now I feel terrible. Now I want them to take those things out.

31:57Ben Mandelker: Well, but it's a mouse. There are tons of them. Don't worry. They're cute. You shouldn't kill. They are cute. Well, just tell him not to send you photos. Just say we've reduced them. No, just have him tell you that they've relocated the mouse population.

32:11Ronnie Karam: Yeah, don't send me that. I don't want to see that. That's horrible. I'm a murderer. Jesus Christ. Isn't that like, what do they call death porn? Where you watch people get killed? That's like death porn. I don't want to see that. Oh, you mean like a snuff film or something like that? Yeah, it's like a snuff film. You sent me snuff pictures. I should be able to sue him for that. That's disgusting. Wow. Wow.

32:33Ben Mandelker: Well, I'm sorry, Ronnie. Back to Risotto. I know that last week you were very triggered by the ants being killed, so I can't imagine how a mouse is.

32:41Ronnie Karam: Yeah, they're so cute.

32:42Ben Mandelker: They are really cute.

32:43Ronnie Karam: All right. So everything's okay. I'm still okay. I'm a man. You're okay. Absolutely beautiful flavored, but I love risotto. Tom's like, yeah, you plated it way too early, so it sat there and it started to really seize up. That non-rice. Look at how that non-rice seized up. That's crazy. Look at how that butternut squash did not seize up. Stop it.

33:11Ben Mandelker: Yeah, I think this was over the top. so um then uh well the the biggest okay so yeah it was the texture you know it's just like a it was like a nice soft squash side dish so uh okay gail what did you think about tristan's risotto i thought the flavors worked really well together oh yeah and the texture of the rice was al dente on the side and that's that's just uh that's what i like in a risotto it's just it's really emotional having a risotto that's like that it's just what exactly i like it exactly it's beautiful

33:39Ronnie Karam: Well, you know, I really think you put yourself in the dish, which was kind of disgusting. I mean, I hope you bathed. But the flavor was good. You know, it was a bit on the salty side, but who's not?

33:50Ben Mandelker: Am I right? Well, I guess that just supports the idea that you put a little bit of yourself in this dish. It's a little salty.

33:57Ronnie Karam: I got a little hair on my teeth. I guess that was the U that was in there.

34:00Ben Mandelker: But otherwise, pretty good. Gail, who do you think had our favorite risotto of the day? the chef that gave us what we think was the best example here in Milan of risotto, which is a dish made with rice, which some of you gave us and some of us didn't, was also giving us really bold flavors. And the winner is... No, I'm just kidding. Of course, it's Tristan. Do you even need me to say these things anymore? It's Tristan. He's going to win until the end of the show, right? Do we have to say his name anymore?

34:27Ronnie Karam: We can just hand this to Tristan and save us some bad food eating. That would be great. So they give him 15 grand and he's like, wow 15 grand on risotto nailed it i brought black people risotto to italy and i won that's right

34:41Ben Mandelker: yeah suck it so kristen says chefs are you ready for this very next crucial step in your journey to the finale and they're like yeah all right now have you ever watched a bobsledder on tv yeah and have you ever thought imagine if that bobsledder were in control of my life and career and maybe earning a lot of money. Yeah. Well, guess what? You get to live that dream right now. Please welcome four Olympians who have questionable palates. Are they coming out? No. Are they not coming out? Okay, they're not coming out.

35:12Ronnie Karam: While we wait for the Olympias, let me just tell you, have any of you ever seen Gail Bob's sled on a hot dog down a hill? I have. It's hilarious. She actually slid off. I was like, you shouldn't have put so much mustard on your sled, stupid. it.

35:28Ben Mandelker: Gail claims that she does the luge, but it turns out she just takes a slip and slide and puts a bunch of mustard and ketchup on it and relish and slides on down the lawn. That's not a luge, Gail.

35:40Ronnie Karam: Well, guess what? We've got the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Milan-Cortina, 2026. Okay, so guess what? This is amazing. The winner, the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will have two hubs, Milan and Cortina. That's crazy. One of those sounds like a sandwich and the other. Sounds like a place in Zelda.

36:02Ben Mandelker: For your elimination challenge, Milan, you'll have a very straightforward process. Okay. You'll be cooking and competing in the ultimate culinary matchup. It's a three-part head-to-head tournament featuring greens from Milan and Cortina with some of the same greens in between. In round one, you'll take on polenta. Cooking and eating polenta is so widespread around Milan that sometimes the citizens here are called polentoni or the polenta eaters. Wow. Okay. Let's think about how we could work with this. The polenta eaters, why don't they just call them gales?

36:29Ronnie Karam: That's why we call gale breadface.

36:37Ben Mandelker: I just want to say, polenta's made with corn, everyone, since apparently working with the grain that we've been telling you to work with, is not so easy to do. So corn. Corn and polenta. Thank you. I can't wait to see what you

36:48Ronnie Karam: guys use instead of polenta. That's going to be fun. Anybody planning on making flip-flop dishes today? That'd be great.

36:55Ben Mandelker: You know, we're going to grind up some flip-flops into cornmeal, quote-unquote cornmeal, make some polenta. Just give us a heads up.

37:01Ronnie Karam: So the panel is going to judge their dishes, and the winner of the polenta round goes to the finale. But then it's like they have to keep going. They have to keep competing round to round until only one person stands and one person goes home.

37:16Ben Mandelker: Boom. Yeah, because after polenta, if you don't win in the polenta round, you have to play in the Kazun Sezi round, which is like a moonshipped ravioli that has a beet filling. So it's going to be a beet round. So they're like, okay, that's kind of funny to me. It's basically just like cook something with beets, but we're going to like tenuously tie this in because there's a pasta that has beet in it. So you have to make a beet round. And if you don't make it to the beet round, you go to the gorgonzola round. If you don't make it for the gorgonzola round, you know what? Then after that, what's the next food after that?

37:51Ben Mandelker: What do they have to make after that? Is it just beet and gorgonzola? Wasn't there another thing in there? Does it matter? Do we care?

37:56Ronnie Karam: There's three rounds. Only three rounds? I thought there was four rounds. Because there's four people, so there's three rounds. Because one of the people loses. So then, these were weird choices, I thought, though. The beet, especially, I thought was odd, but whatever. So, chefs, every decision you make, every ingredient you choose to put in your dish must be selected with the intention of going inside my mouth. Do you understand?

38:25Ben Mandelker: Every ingredient you choose, every breath you take, every move you make, I'll be eating you.

38:39Ben Mandelker: Wow. So, um... Oh, and since this is the last challenge before the final finale, Delta, the official airline of Team USA, has brought in some reinforcements to help you. Sorry, Gail. They're pretty amazing at choking. Oh, sorry. Sorry, Gail. The reinforcements are not shoop-waffles.

38:56Ronnie Karam: They're actual Europeans. We've brought Delta here because they're amazing with their culinary feats. As anybody who's ever flown on Delta and eaten their food knows. Absolutely. Do I have to read this? Can we just stop pretending Delta has decent food? Okay, let's just move on. And to bring in some professional help, we're bringing in the Olympians. Here they are.

39:17Ben Mandelker: Kristen goes, who better than four Team USA Olympians and Paralympians who know what it's like to compete at the highest level with world watching? I was like, who better? Literally anyone than four Olympians. How about some chefs?

39:32Ronnie Karam: How about we put these four chefs to make these fuckers compete in the Olympics? We'll be like, okay, have fun on your bobsled. Tristan's going to push you. I know.

39:42Ben Mandelker: Yeah. Would they really appreciate if the roles were reversed? Okay, sir, you are a world-class snowboarder. And before the Olympic qualifiers, I just want you to know that you're also going to have to have Tristan prepare your snowboard for you. It's like, no, no, don't put chefs in my competition. Yeah.

40:06Ronnie Karam: Okay, so let's welcome Alana Myers-Taylor, five-time Olympic medalist in bobsled, Red Gerard, Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding, Declan Farmer, three-time Paralympic gold medalist in sled hockey, and Oxana Masters, 19-time Paralympic medalist in para-cross-country skiing, para-biathlon, para-cycling, and para-rowing. Oh, and also... We've got a lot going on.

40:29Ben Mandelker: And please also welcome Gail Simmons, one-time gold medal champion for parachute pants that she wore to the Emmys.

40:40Ronnie Karam: So, Oxana, how do you push yourself to keep going? She's like, well, I train in 19 different things, and I push. That's how you stupid, you fucking idiot, you non-sporty bitch. Why are you talking to me?

40:53Ben Mandelker: Well, how do you prepare yourself mentally to get into the competition? And Alana's like, well, it's pretty similar to cooking. It's all about the preparation beforehand. So when you get out there, you're ready to go. And you know how the cooks were like, it's nothing like what we have to do. It's literally nothing like it. But okay. Last time I checked when you have to make polenta, you don't have to run. You don't have to run into, you don't have to jump into the polenta pot and then slide down a diet and course.

41:20Ronnie Karam: Yeah.

41:21Ben Mandelker: Okay.

41:21Ronnie Karam: So they pair off by choosing knives and then they will have a 750 euro and 45 minutes to shop for your ingredients. And then they'll have two hours to prep and cook for all three dishes. And once the two hours is up, they move to the courtyard and then they have a station and then they have 30 minutes to finalize your dishes for the panel.

41:43Ben Mandelker: And one of the members of the panel will be from Top Chef World All-Stars Ali, who we loved. so um uh they're gonna start getting cooking and everything and oh by the way so get to know each other have fun shopping and we'll see you tomorrow just want to say this is the last line of this moment here of the quick fire okay go ahead so now they have to go like it's gonna be like a lot of shopping but also chatting with olympians so they're trying to make small talk and kristen

42:12Ronnie Karam: tristan is like oh gosh you know it's just so crazy this pressure you put on yourself as an Olympian just like me. I'm still trying to learn how to deal with all this pressure. And Alana's like, well, one of my mentors told me pressure's a privilege and people who feel too much pressure are pussies. Toughen up. He's like, okay, geez. Geez, okay. Cesar's like, I really

42:35Ben Mandelker: love what you said about you're not actually doing it for the medals. Alana's like, yeah, I was being sarcastic. Of course I'm doing it for the medals. Okay, look at me. 19th time medalist. Hello. So if you're just focusing on the end goal only, you're going to miss all those small details. But then you also are probably going to get a medal. Like I have. Hello, bitch got medals.

42:56Ronnie Karam: Yeah, listen, I don't do it for the medals. Get the fuck out of here. Of course I do it for the medals. And the money. And the ad deals. Okay? And anybody else tells you different. They're fucking lying to you, okay? It's just what you tell the press.

43:11Ben Mandelker: So Cesar's like, yeah, this is just like the Olympics. Anyway, I want to do a dessert with a polenta, something I can execute. I'm like, wow, this is, it's really basically watching the Olympics.

43:22Ronnie Karam: Yeah, just execute prisoners.

43:25Ben Mandelker: Yeah. So then Shwai is going to do, he's stumped on the gorgonzola because he wants to do some of the puff pastry because he wants to do a caramelized onion and fennel tart. But, you know, he's just hoping he doesn't even have to deal with the gorgonzola in the first place.

43:40Ronnie Karam: Yeah. So then we go to him having his discussion with Declan. And he's like, so how long have you been a Paralympian? And he's like, oh, so she first games 2014. I was born with this disability. So I started playing pretty young and everyone's got different challenges they face. Like, for example, I faced that. So I had to learn to work around it, become a Paralympic champion. And you who have built your entire career and life around rice was faced with a rice challenge. and didn't use rice. So it's basically the same thing.

44:15Ben Mandelker: And then Alana's like, by the way, what's it like being on the show? And Tristan's like, well, we looked at past seasons and everyone was always at each other's throats and we're nothing but hugs and tears. We just love each other so much. I'm like, I'm sure everyone behind Tristan's back is like fucking Tristan winning everything again. Probably fucking going to take him out.

44:34Ronnie Karam: Whatever. You watched way past seasons of the shows because this show hasn't been like that for a long time. You guys are doing pretty much the modern version of this show, which is like, I only do it to inspire the children. That's the only reason I do this. And then, like, list your traumas for 20 minutes of the show. So you're pretty, you guys are doing the modern version of it. Don't worry. Don't you worry.

44:57Ben Mandelker: You're doing the whole chef thing of, like, we're in the trenches together, guys. Everyone always acts like they just came back from Vietnam. I don't even care about cooking. I'm just here to inspire children. Thank you. cooking save me, which is why I have me some floss tattooed on my forearm. Commercials. Here comes one right now.

45:20Ronnie Karam: He lurks in shadow. He slips into dreams. He casts no reflection.

45:25Ben Mandelker: Audible presents Bram Stoker's Dracula, a full cast audio thriller starring Ella Purnell from Fallout as Mina Harker, Jonathan Bailey from Wicked as Dracula, and an

45:37Ronnie Karam: A-list cast, including Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Dark Knight as Van Helsing, Amy Lou Wood from The White Lotus as Lucy, David Johnson from Industry as Dr. Seward, and many more.

45:50Ben Mandelker: The new full cast thriller locks Mina Harker in a battle of minds with the Count.

45:55Ronnie Karam: When Mina's fiancée Jonathan Harker, Louis Partridge from Enola Holmes, vanishes in Transylvania, Mina pieces together letters, diary entries, and chilling testimony to hunt the predator stalking those she loves, only to discover Dracula's already hunting her.

46:10Ben Mandelker: Joined by the enigmatic Van Helsing, Mina and a small fearless band race against time to stop this ancient terror. Using her intellect, her resolve, and a gift for drawing the unseen lines between clues, Mina just may hold the key to bring down the count if he hasn't already found his way inside her mind.

46:29Ronnie Karam: Featuring a haunting original score by Ilan Esquerri from Audible's 1984, and spatial Dolby Atmos sound design, Audible's Dracula invites you to welcome literature's most shadowy figure into your home.

46:42Ben Mandelker: Feel the terror of being hunted and the thrill of the hunt.

46:45Ronnie Karam: Don't miss the year's best new audio thriller, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Audible's new full-cast original adaptation.

46:52Ben Mandelker: Written by Robin Ahern and directed by Mary

46:55Ronnie Karam: Lambert, now on Audible. Listen to the darkness. Go to audible.com slash listen to Dracula.

47:02Ben Mandelker: Full disclosure, everyone. Ernesta sent us five rug samples, and we have not been normal since.

47:08Ronnie Karam: My office needs a new rug, and I'm scared of picking the wrong color and then having to look at my mistake every single day. That is the worst.

47:16Ben Mandelker: Well, guess what? What's really cool about these samples is that they are not just like little tiny chips. They're 12 by 12 squares. So you see the actual color and full size instead of just on a screen.

47:25Ronnie Karam: So I just took the samples and I put them in my office, and I've been doing laps with them. morning light, lamp light next to the couch, away from the couch.

47:32Ben Mandelker: It's like you're hosting a reunion, Ronnie.

47:34Ronnie Karam: I was sure it was going to be the Paula that I loved. And then I thought, no, I think it's going to be the Claudia. I think the Claudia is going to win.

47:42Ben Mandelker: I was really hoping the Ariana would win for you, mainly just because of Ariana.

47:46Ronnie Karam: Well, the Claudia looks like it's been there for years. I didn't even have the Ariana on my short list. Now I'm going to need to add that one in there and start this all over again. Thanks.

47:54Ben Mandelker: Well, here's the good news. When you do order your rug, it gets cut to the inch for the room. And what I like is that I'll know the color is right before I spend a dime on the rug.

48:04Ronnie Karam: Visit Ernesta.com and order five samples for only$10 and you'll get$50 towards any rug of your choice. That's E-R-N-E-S-T-A dot com.

48:15Ben Mandelker: So they're shopping and shopping and shopping and they can find some things they can find. They can't find other things. And the Olympians are like, oh, this is crazy. Well, I'm just like emotionally supported. I'm an Olympian, emotional support. I'll just stand here with a card, etc.

48:28Ronnie Karam: Yeah, they're basically just getting in their way and being annoying. And I like what at one point Bailey is like, well, I don't know. Here's what I do. I just walk in, put shit in the basket and figure out how to use it later. Because I'm probably not going to win anyway. I mean, let's face it. Hopefully, but maybe it won't even be that good. So here's what you do. Go around to the meat counter and then the dairy. We'll just go to every counter and go, I'm sorry. Just see what they have to make that into a dish.

48:58Ben Mandelker: Bailey is gonna she wants redemption for her brulee gorgonzola that she did a few weeks ago so she's gonna do it again which I'm always like every time a chef tries to get redemption on this show they never do it they never succeed so I'm like don't do this this is dangerous I actually

49:11Ronnie Karam: yelled at the tv I was like Bailey god damn it how many chances are you gonna get and you're gonna pull the same bullshit again get it together it's please stop brulee you can brulee the

49:23Ben Mandelker: gorgonzola for me because I will like it but they're not gonna like it so don't do this okay

49:26Ronnie Karam: yeah and i thought we were dead we were dead wrong and we were wrong sometimes it actually does work out but man when this happened i was like god damn it bailey i tried to brew for you

49:36Ben Mandelker: but you're making it difficult sometimes so cesar has a story for us he's gonna be making um a black walnut ice cream and he's like over the break i had a chance to visit oriana's orchard in illinois and she's 80 years old and a single farmer and there's black walnuts everywhere and i wanted to bring something for people that inspire me to become a better. Boring. Boring. Wow. Congratulations. You met a lady who grows nuts. I met Polly Walnuts here in heaven. So I guess my story is a little bit better because mine involves a famous person.

50:08Ronnie Karam: Sorry. An 80 year old single farmer. Why would any of us want to eat Gail's future?

50:18Ronnie Karam: So also he needs to kind of stop with. Did you say ice cream? Yeah, Polenta Cake with Black Walnut Ice Cream. I know he did well on that ice cream, and he's still trying to hold on to it, that pickle ice cream. But I think in general, chefs look down on dessert. We know they do from watching this show. We know they do. So why are you doing that to yourself if you don't have to? Yeah, I agree.

50:40Ben Mandelker: Let's rein it in a little bit. So, Schwy, they get to the hotel. They're Radisson Blue.

50:47Ronnie Karam: We paid for it with a Wells Fargo swipe-a-day card. And then we put a couple of bottles of Pellegrino in their face Just to say fuck you to Saratoga Held out for a little extra money, am I right?

50:59Ben Mandelker: Fun story I'm actually staying at the Radisson even more blue It's just like a better version of the Radisson blue I don't know It's exclusive up here in heaven

51:08Ronnie Karam: I took the Sarah out of Toga I'm just walking around in a Toga around Italy Saying, why have you killed me, Belle?

51:18Ben Mandelker: A2, Sarah That's the first part of the toga I don't know if you were following

51:26Ronnie Karam: I'm dumb, Padma I don't get jokes like that

51:29Ben Mandelker: I'm too stupid By the way, my dear friend Julius Caesar We were having dinner last night And I said, did you know There's a salad called Caesar salad But it's not named after you And he said, what are you talking about? I'm Julius Caesar I said, no, it's some guy in Tijuana Who invented it And then that guy showed up and he said Yeah, it's my salad And Caesar was so embarrassed It was hilarious Anyway, what famous emperor have you guys been hanging out with? None? Oh, that's too bad

51:57Ronnie Karam: Caesar was so upset And then little Caesar came over to the table And said, pizza, pizza And I said, guess what? Here's someone that was based on you And then Caesar stabbed himself eight times

52:11Ben Mandelker: Little Caesar was so happy Because he said, pizza, pizza And for the first time ever someone gave them the pizza without Gail eating it first. Woo-hoo.

52:20Ronnie Karam: So now people are in their amazing BMWs on the way to the kitchen. And Tristan's like, none of my past wins or successes mean anything in this moment. And that is not lost on me. Dun-dun-dun. At one point, he tells this Olympian, he's like, yeah, you know, How do you just keep yourself going when you're already winning everything? And they're like, the wins don't matter. He's like, yeah, I'm trying to tell myself that. It's like, come on, Tristan. Get over yourself for five fucking minutes, dude. Jeez.

52:57Ben Mandelker: So they're in this old, beautiful building that has a courtyard and everything. And they're doing their cooking. And Bailey's strategy is she's going to put her most effort into her first dish and her last dish. So she's like, fuck the beets. and then um shui is like i still feel very inspired by the athletes yesterday and we're just going to cheer each other on um uh but you know what i i was a little disappointed that none of them were dressed like vicky lawrence and mama's family because i just really want some grandma energy as well but that's okay they were still hopefully gail wears paisley today

53:33Ronnie Karam: so bailey's like well i'm gonna make polenta with porcini parm butter and i don't know i guess maybe roasted beets with a garnish smear and then you know corgonzola something or other I'm sorry so Cesar is excited for his first course dessert

53:55Ronnie Karam: sorry

53:56Ben Mandelker: did you get another photo of another mouse

54:00Ronnie Karam: I heard knocking and I looked down and Buehler just like got on his back and started kicking the cabinet okay

54:08Ben Mandelker: then read what read what caesar's making okay he's like for dessert it's different it's all about the cake so i need to nail this recipe so then for the beat dish i'm making a tessada because there was a famous one in mexico city and then um then the gorgonzola dish is just gonna be a squash casserole with cheese sauce and it's gonna be nice and and funky yeah so

54:26Ronnie Karam: it's all funky hey chefs so polenta huh what are we doing for polenta and tristan's like yeah i'm gonna go with my roots i'm gonna make make something called cuckoo cuckoos no cuckoo what's cuckoo cuckoo it's a dish tom it's a it's from where i'm from oh sounds good okay what am i careful be careful if you say cuckoo too many times gail's gonna burst through the wall and say for cocoa puffs i've never had cuckoo before is it good uh i don't think i've had it well I'm not gonna you can't go wrong with cornmeal porridges I mean it sounds yeah that's

55:04Ben Mandelker: sounds good I'm down for some cuckoo um so then Tristan's just he's he's basically putting it he's banking on polenta he wants he's putting all his effort on the polenta and if it doesn't work out for him uh he's hoping that he just wins in the first first round and then he doesn't have to do the other dishes um which in a weird way I almost wanted him to I felt like there was like a hubris about that that made me want to be like oh i hope you mess up and then you have to like reap the consequences of your actions but i mean it's tristan he's not gonna mess up of course it's gonna be delicious and of course he's gonna go through in the first round but hubris tristan

55:37Ronnie Karam: definitely has that you know i find him to be a little up his own ass but that said he's also extremely talented he's so you know what are you gonna do i feel like if it was a chef that didn't have so much talent, I would be constantly annoyed. But he's good. Like, he delivers. Yeah, like, you can't really deny it. And in competition shows, especially with chefs, you know, I'm more forgiving of that kind of stuff, because you kind of have to have it. It's like, I'm going to go in there. I'm the best. I'm going to kill it. And I guess that's kind of how you have to do it, you know. But he's fantastic.

56:10Ronnie Karam: He's going to win this whole shebang. And this is where that moment happens,

56:15Ben Mandelker: because Tom is like, you know, you've done really well. You've won more challenges than anybody else. And he's like, yeah you know i asked my olympian today like if you're already at the top how do you just keep at the top you know and then she said pressure is a privilege wow well well we have to remind gail that every time she's sitting on the toilet huh

56:33Ronnie Karam: so then uh it's it's hard to get annoyed with him like come on like so then i had to ask my olympian what's it like basically being the chef version of a gold winning olympian and they were like it's it's like be grateful so i was like okay i'll just plan on making one bitch pressure is a

56:53Ben Mandelker: privilege so uh bailey is tom's asking bailey what she's doing and he's like you know you're an anxious person and if you don't make it through the first course which i'm sure you and he's like she's like you're sure what well you sure you think you're gonna do that you're gonna do that right do you think you're really gonna go through the first course you know you're going up against Tristan, right? Yeah, well, I don't know, then. I guess I'll do some fucking thing with the beets, put them on a plate, and you guys can put a big red on it. I don't know. I'm just trying to get to that croc consola.

57:22Ronnie Karam: Yeah, he's like, so, you know, being an Italian chef, what's that like? And she's like, well, I mean, it gives me an advantage, but, you know, I'm an anxious person. He's like, huh, I'm an anxious person. That's one way to put it. Okay. Hey, turn that frown upside down. Just kidding. Don't. I like your frown. It's nice. you forgot to say something i'm sorry okay that's it that's all i needed i'll move on now

57:47Ben Mandelker: thanks hey shui uh talk to me about your ingredients here well i know that you're thinking that tristan's gonna win the first course so to counteract that i'm just gonna make a polenta grandma uh for the first course and we're gonna polenta gonna do a grandma uh barbecue little grandma barbecue duck grandma grandma grandma grandma oh i just can't help i just want to say yes, you win. You win, Top Chef. Say, Grandma, one more time. Say, Grandma, to me.

58:16Ronnie Karam: So, he's going to do barbecue duck in Chinatown style. And then, what are you going to do with the beets? And he's like, well, I haven't done the dumpling yet. Oh, I thought you were going to say, Grandma Polenta.

58:29Ben Mandelker: Well, you know, I'm going to do the beets. You know, my grandma likes to dance to many beets. Oh, yeah. Grandma dancing to beets. I love it. I love it already. Doesn't even make sense as a dish. I just want to say, yes, you win. You win at all. Grandma be so soon.

58:40Ronnie Karam: And then for Gorgonzola, he's gonna, he's like, well, you know, there's not a lot of dairy in Chinese cooking, but I'm going to do roasted butternut squash. Okay. Stop. And also Bailey polenta again. This is the top chef. And you guys, you're going to do fucking butternut squash and polenta again. Both of you shame on you make an effort.

59:03Ben Mandelker: Well, you know, it's funny. There isn't a lot of dairy in Chinese cooking, just like how there was no rice in Arizona. I'm woken up from the grandma's spell.

59:12Ronnie Karam: Well, there's not a lot of dairy in Chinese cooking. Thank God we're in Italy.

59:18Ben Mandelker: All right, Cesar. Cesar, you can come out from under the table. Don't be scared. Okay, so what are you going to make? He's like, well, I'm going to make a beets and I'm going to do a beet tostata and then tortillas. And I just want to make tortillas in the kitchen and it'll be fun, tortillas. All right, well, that sounds not great. okay oh well you're giving us a chip that sounds great

59:43Ronnie Karam: well it seems like you find your inspiration from the ingredients and you don't know what you're going to make until you see everything so some of that works well you know sometimes it's just like huh what the fuck this guy have crusty crusty socks on the floor and eggplants under his

59:56Ben Mandelker: bed and then i found out yep yep he sure does he sure does good luck 20 20 minutes left cesar is um he's stressed, he doesn't have time to prep. And he knows there's only one, we're only one minute, one, I have to say, I'm not even joking or being silly. I have this big ass coffee, I cold brewed that I've been sipping all day because we've already recorded two episodes. But for whatever reason, the caffeine is like hitting me now and I like, I cannot see straight. I'm looking at my notes and I'm like, ooh. You still get the high from the caffeine.

1:00:29Ronnie Karam: That's so crazy. If I drink it too quickly,

1:00:31Ben Mandelker: you know what, because I drink it relatively slowly. so it's like a micro death thing but now i'm like it's not even a hot it's just like i am like deranged right now i am at the moment yeah i am feeling it snoring it down buddy snoring the cafe

1:00:46Ronnie Karam: snoring it down so cesar is stressed yeah he's stressed so tristan's like i'm panicking with this gorgonzola dish thank god i'm not gonna have to make it and then um now the guest judges are brought in and um thanks for being here for our final elimination challenge can't wait to see how you enjoyed the second course of butternut squash i know elena declan oxana red andrea ali uh a little

1:01:14Ben Mandelker: bit of monica on the side um thank you for being here this is like turning into mambo number five just doing names a little bit of Erica in my life a little bit of Elena with my strife a little bit of Gail falling off her chair sorry

1:01:37Ronnie Karam: a little Gail in granny underwear so Oksana is I'm like oh my god it was so stressful I just get so stressed in grocery stores already and then you put a time on it and you put it in a foreign language I mean what the frick people

1:01:54Ben Mandelker: Tristan's like yeah again thank you for for uh having my top chef life hang in the balance of this girl who gets stressed in his supermarket and can't read anything that is on the shelves thank you again so much all right chefs you have just 30 minutes 30 minutes to compete your polenta

1:02:09Ronnie Karam: and your time starts now whoever wins the most votes wins so shawai is like oh my gosh polenta is often loaded with butter and cheese, but since the duck's also fatty, I'm just going to season it with kosher salt and a little bit of butter. And I was like, oh no, this is going to fail miserably. You can't just, you can't put that in polenta. Polenta needs the shit in it. Okay. It needs the shit. It needs the shit. I thought, I mean, I was wrong this whole episode. Not that that's a shocker. Same. Every time I got upset about something, it turned out I was wrong. Every time. They tricked me.

1:02:43Ben Mandelker: They tricked me. I was like, this is Schwe's last sand. He's going home. So then Tristan, he's made a sauce and it's like very spicy. He's, uh, which is important to know for in a few minutes. And then, um, Bailey's the, uh, Bailey's, she's not seasoning too much of her stuff. Um, and so they're all eating, they're all cooking 15 minutes left. Cesar is behind. He's got ice cream. He's just pouring liquid nitrogen over. It's just, everything's very stressful, et cetera. And so the timer, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Okay, Tristan, can you tell us about your polenta dish, please?

1:03:17Ben Mandelker: And so he's made this cuckoo and has, I don't know how to pronounce this, poisson non-sauce? I don't know, sissauce, basically. And eel and marinated mackerel. And he wanted to connect his Afro-Caribbean heritage to this. And Gail's sitting there and she's like,

1:03:35Ronnie Karam: Apple couldn't eat it. There were, one of the Olympians was like, and so was Gail. Gail was like coughing it up

1:03:44Ben Mandelker: Gail was like She had like tears in her eyes She's like What is this

1:03:51Ronnie Karam: Look at Gail trying to release food Her throat just won't let her do it

1:03:56Ben Mandelker: Wow Wow Gail looks almost as choked up as I was When my dear friend Ali Wong Won another award What friends of yours Do you guys all have famous friends who won awards Anyone raise your hand if you have a famous friend who won an award, dead or living. No one, just me. Oh, that's too bad, everyone.

1:04:16Ronnie Karam: Put your hands down, John Wayne. I'm not talking to you. I'm telling you. So, Gail's like, what pepper did you use, Tristan? I mean, did you mean to almost kill Gail, Tristan?

1:04:29Ben Mandelker: Well, it's too bad I couldn't be alive and on this panel because I would have then said, I love spice.

1:04:37Ronnie Karam: All right, Caesar, what did you make for yours? him. He's like, I did polenta cake with a black walnut ice cream and a candied prosciutto because who doesn't want prosciutto that's candy?

1:04:50Ben Mandelker: And the bobsledder Alana is like, um, what made you decide on ice cream? He's like, well, I think it's a good pairing with a nice polenta cake or something like that. Um, hold on one second. Alana, hi, this is Padma Lakshmi, famous person from beyond the grave. Next time when you ask your question, why don't you try it like this? Did you mean to make something stupid like ice cream for our first course.

1:05:12Ronnie Karam: There.

1:05:12Ben Mandelker: Try it out.

1:05:13Ronnie Karam: So then Shui serves his Ode to Chinatown barbecue. Duck seasoned with five spice on some creamy polenta. And Gail's like, um, what did you add to the polenta, Shui? And again, I thought he's gonna get caught on putting nothing in the polenta. Gail hates it. I was wrong. I was wrong again. And he's like, water, butter, salt and pepper. Kept it simple. And so then Bailey serves her polenta. She's like, I'm just feeling Like polenta should have a lot of I'm sorry's in it. So there's that. And then butter. And then roasted mushroom, thyme, rosemary. You know, hazelnut chive. It's boring. I hope you don't fall asleep while you eat it.

1:05:53Ben Mandelker: And Ali is like, what kind of cheese did you use, Bailey? Yes. I believe I'll answer this for her. I believe the cheese that she uses is called stupid, stupid cheese. Yes. She's a big fan of it.

1:06:05Ronnie Karam: Bailey used Gail's perfume for her cheese today. Robiola and Parmigiano.

1:06:13Ben Mandelker: Exacto.

1:06:14Ronnie Karam: Left on the counter for a week. Tom's like, well, that felt really good. Whoa, whoa, yeah, that polenta. Oh, God, that polenta is really... Oh, oh, oh. Oh, good. I just... Okay, I just came. That was Robiola and polenta. Wow. Oh.

1:06:34All right, judges.

1:06:36Ben Mandelker: We're going to be voting for our favorite dish on the count of three all right one two three three two one oh oh so uh now it is basically schwy schwy wins which is out of nowhere none of us expected that so i thought it was gonna be tristan for sure so in fact i i not only was so expected to be tristan that before when we were talking about tristan i actually just in my mind he had won the first course and i followed you on

1:07:02Ronnie Karam: that because i thought oh maybe that is what happened because i remember that thing i was

1:07:06Ben Mandelker: I hope he doesn't win that first one. I wish he hadn't won that first one. That way he would have had to deal.

1:07:10Ronnie Karam: I don't think you should have because of that chili. Yeah,

1:07:14Ben Mandelker: though. The chili was, I forgot. I forgot. It was why who did it?

1:07:17Ronnie Karam: So he took it. He took it with his unseasoned polenta. It worked. It worked with the, with the stuff from the duck. So they loved that. So he's psyched and I'm psyched for him. You know, we give him a shit. That sounds delicious. Yeah. I'm psyched. I love that. Even though he brought butternut, he was going to bring butternut squash out again, but whatever, you didn't do it. so good for you so then um they all you know give it compliments and stuff they loved it and um then they move on to tristan's stuff and uh wait oh no i'm sorry yeah they do move on to tristan right because elena's like i love the spice yeah they like the they like the heat and

1:07:58Ben Mandelker: then kristen says billy i thought your polenta dish was really really homey it was very hearty um the polenta to me though was almost too much cheese it was quite heavy oh man they showed

1:08:10Ronnie Karam: bailey serving it when when she was serving that it just looked like glop i mean i make a lot of polenta and i know it's her it's easy to fuck up yeah and put too much shit it looked like she was about to make a statue of something it's not i can't believe she got away with that that was That did not look good.

1:08:32Ben Mandelker: Wow. Hi, everyone. I just want to say I just spoke to my new dear friend, Leonardo da Vinci, and he said he totally would have made a statue out of it, given the chance. If only he still had a corporal presence. Okay. Going to hang out with more icons.

1:08:45Ronnie Karam: I just said, do you know how many of your penises have fallen off things? It's crazy. I'm with the Vatican. I actually filed a report and said, where are all the dicks? They've all fallen off. I mean, poor Michelangelo. What did that man ever do to anybody? Give him a new dick.

1:09:01Ben Mandelker: I did pull Leonardo to the side. I said, listen, I love your work, but what's the deal with all the arms and that man? How about just one set of arms, one set of legs? It's too much.

1:09:14Ronnie Karam: Okay, so Tristan only got one vote, so he's embarrassed, but he's going to make it. He wants to do it for that little black kid at home who's watching and needs inspiration. And so, Tristan, what were you going to say? Oh, I was just inhaling, actually.

1:09:29Ben Mandelker: I was inhaling loudly. But I was not, there was actually no statement to be made.

1:09:35Ronnie Karam: Tristan's only doing it for the children. Okay, so now there's 30 minutes to complete your beet dishes. Now, I know that the audience is sitting on the edge of their seats. Because nobody is more excited about beets than an American audience. Get to it, guys. Beets.

1:09:52Ben Mandelker: So Cesar is, he's doing his tostada, but his masa is dried out. and he didn't have time to rest. It's drama over there. And Bailey, I don't think she even has any plan because she said she was not even going to focus on this dish. So Tristan's the only one who actually has a plan of attack. And one thing that happens is that he's grilling all his pork and then he takes off the pork. So then Bailey takes over. But then now he wants the grill again and he can't grill his pork because he just wants the pork to be kissed by the fire, which is all he says all season long. He's like, I just want this to be kissed by the fire.

1:10:26Ben Mandelker: and so he has to fry it instead so then I was like oh god the fryer so he's going to be fucked

1:10:31Ronnie Karam: I thought so too I thought for sure he was going to be fucked on this and Shwai is like oh my god this is giving me so much anxiety and Bailey's saying that grilling is taking longer so I don't know if my mushrooms are going to be ready oh god I just wish I had some uncooked peas to cook up for them to give them to eat that'll pass me

1:10:55Ben Mandelker: so So time's up. Tristan serves his. These are beets that were braised and glazed in a shadow. Benny, a piece, smoked beet puree and beet picklies and pork belly that's been glazed in the reduction of the beet. And Shwa is on the side. I feel like Shwa was said that he couldn't tell a grandma story right now. He's like, I'm happy that I'm in the finals, but I'm sad that I can't add some grandma content.

1:11:21Ronnie Karam: One time I came home with a C in school and my grandma beat me. I could have totally saved that story for today.

1:11:30Ben Mandelker: So Tristan was talking about how he smoked it. And then Cesar made his beet tostada. He says, it brings a smile to my face. You guys all eating it with a knife and fork. Well, it's better than Gail's normal method, which is dumping it on her head and saying it's shampoo.

1:11:47Ronnie Karam: I know you didn't just serve them. A tostada with grilled beets and chipotle mayo in the semifinals. Come on, mayo? You can't serve the mayo in the semifinals? Why are you doing that? So then Bailey did grilled beets, dressed with balsamic and sherry brown. Get the fuck out of here, bro. She made a salad.

1:12:10Ben Mandelker: And it just was like a mess on the plate. Kristen's like, how did you cook your beets? Did you cry into them? Because I'm about to right now. And Bailey's like, well, I'm roasted them and I grilled them. I don't know. I didn't even realize we had a beat course to do until about five minutes ago.

1:12:21Ronnie Karam: All right, Tristan wins this one. By far. He gets six votes. Cesar gets three. And Bailey gets a zero. That's embarrassing, Bailey. Damn. But you made a salad also. Bailey, I'm getting very frustrated. Can you tell? I'm getting very frustrated with the semifinals. This shit's just not good enough. All of you go home and start again. Bring back Katiana. I just want to see what Katiana would make. I want to watch her poke little flowers out of dough. Okay?

1:12:50Ben Mandelker: Oh, Bailey, you know, I like where you're going with this. But the big flaw was that this was more cheese forward than it was beet forward. Yeah. Like Gail at her prom trying to dance. They're like, why'd you bring out the cheese cart for this dance? There's their beats playing. Be more beet forward, Gail.

1:13:08Ronnie Karam: Yeah. Bailey. I'm sorry. Too cheese forward. And so Andrea voted for Caesar. And she's like, yeah, beetroot was cooked very, very nice. That's it. Okay. Cesar. Kristen enjoyed it. she found the tostada to be on the greasier side and the beat was getting lost so it was just a little bit thicker okay okay goodbye so tristan does a cartwheel which i was shocked surprising i was like is that cgi that was amazing i didn't know anyone on top chef ever could do a cartwheel

1:13:38Ben Mandelker: but they did it i never thought i'd see tristan do a cartwheel but he did a great cartwheel it's great it's beautiful i can't do it i've never been able to do a cartwheel me neither i used to be able to do somersaults but now i can't do somersaults anymore because i feel like i'm to break my neck i can't even bend over to reach the soap when i drop it so um bailey's like well no votes but you know i was in last chance kitchen i'm not gonna let that stop me so let's do this so now it's time for the gorgonzola showdown so cesar is going to do this squash casserole with mornay sauce rebecca which is named after rebecca de mornay i'd like to add it's her contribution to the culinary world.

1:14:17Ben Mandelker: Rebecca DeHornay! Please welcome my dear friend, non-Oscar nominee and person who was famous for a little bit in the 90s and also sauce pioneer Rebecca DeHornay!

1:14:29Ronnie Karam: Sorry Rebecca, I'm welcoming you from up here because you're not dead yet. Hey, can someone walk Rebecca over to the bell?

1:14:36Ben Mandelker: Hey Rebecca, congratulations. I found your career. It's up here in heaven because it died a long time ago.

1:14:46Ronnie Karam: So they get Bailey's They're seeing Bailey bruleeing her gorgonzola And Kristen's like is she bruleeing Gorgonzola again? It didn't work the first time Don't do it the second time Yeah that's what I told Gail but she wore that dress again

1:15:00Ben Mandelker: Fun fact Gail actually brulees her deodorant With her armpit

1:15:11Ben Mandelker: Hot pit Coming forward

1:15:16Ben Mandelker: it's funny because when i turned on the hbo max television show the pit i thought i was just gonna

1:15:22Ronnie Karam: see kale's underarm so kristin time's up utensils down time to serve sissa butternut squash casserole i know you guys haven't had enough butternut squash today so and then i made a uh gorgonzola I'm going to casserole. Delicious, right? Semi-finals on the side is pesto made with sage and gorgonzola. So it's an ode to the Midwest, you know, which is probably something really popular here in Italy.

1:15:52Ben Mandelker: Why would you do an ode? Like your top chef career hangs on this and you're like, this is the moment you're going to do an ode to the Midwest?

1:16:00Ronnie Karam: And then if that's not bad enough, he's like, and this isn't even my this isn't even my recipe. It's my chef de cuisine. And I'm always thinking about him because I know he's working his ass off right now, you know, like really living that casserole life. And this is one of his recipes. So I wouldn't be here without him. I would just be serving like chip chips and not songy chips. So I hope that you like this stolen recipe. Enjoy everybody. Cesar, why don't you just fucking go home now? You've been trying.

1:16:28Ben Mandelker: I have no doubt that a butternut squash and gorgonzola casserole is absolutely delicious, but it just doesn't feel like the right thing to serve right now.

1:16:37Ronnie Karam: I have many doubts that that is delicious, first of all. Gorgonzola and butternut squash casserole. Gross. Give it. And why are you serving it?

1:16:46Ben Mandelker: You think that sounds gross? Yes. I think it sounds wonderful. Sweet and gorgonzola?

1:16:53Ronnie Karam: I'm into it. You know, I don't love cooked gorgonzola. I love blue cheese, but I don't love it, like, hot. The truth comes out. Yeah, I don't.

1:17:01Ben Mandelker: The truth comes out. Well, yeah, it can be a lot.

1:17:04Ronnie Karam: And then the casserole is just. wet and gooey and I don't know. I don't like that. I don't like that for my gorgonzola. And I love gorgonzola, but you know, I hold it in very high regard on how it should be eaten in a casserole with butternut squashes or in a casserole at all. No. It's a no-go.

1:17:22Ben Mandelker: So Bailey is like, well, I mean, polenta gratinata with gorgonzola, dulce brulee. And they're like, oh God. Well, why did you choose to do the brulee gorgonzola again? Did you not remember that we all gagged and even Gail gagged? Wow, that was a good one, Kristen. I didn't even think you were on Team Anti-Gale. Love to see it.

1:17:43Ronnie Karam: And Elenia's like, well, Declan doesn't even like Gorgonzola, and his plates are cleared. Oh, well, hand her the medal. Declan liked it.

1:17:53Ben Mandelker: Yeah, Declan. He's like, yeah, I think I like Gorgonzola now. Wow. That's like me saying, I like the full Rebecca DeMornay back catalog now. Never going to really happen.

1:18:06Ronnie Karam: you couldn't like it more than gail we call gail gail gonzola

1:18:13Ronnie Karam: exacto both these dishes felt like the two of you so whatever happens you guys have done a great job okay wow um olympians get the fuck out of here we don't need you here anymore go back to your real careers okay be more fascinating there than you were here okay thanks

1:18:30Ben Mandelker: so Bailey's saying you know she's worked so hard to be where she is and she's just trying to mentally prepare for whatever happens so now they're they're now they're debating so Kristen's like well both Bailey and Cesar made unique dishes which is my way of saying what a shitty final dish before our finale am I right everyone two pretty much yeah pretty much and Gail's like whoa they

1:18:49Ronnie Karam: were so rustic very comforting and they were warm they were actually you know they didn't sit for 90 seconds like Schweiss, so they should win. Both of them.

1:19:00Ben Mandelker: Well, I guess that expands by a gal shoving her dish into a duvet cover. Wow. Really thought they were warm and comforting, didn't you?

1:19:08Ronnie Karam: Well, I thought it was composed. It was interesting. It was creative. Even though it looked homie. You know, it looked homie. Why are we saying homie so much? Can we stop saying homie?

1:19:19Ben Mandelker: They're really trying so hard to sound like this was very elevated.

1:19:23Ronnie Karam: Yeah, I think these judges are like, what do we do? We've done this to ourselves and now we're in a finale and all this food is shit. So what do we do?

1:19:33Ben Mandelker: Well, the squash was cooked beautifully. And in those two very different ways, they were lovely. They were lovely in a homey, sad soup kitchen kind of way. You know, when you go to a soup kitchen, you think, isn't this nice? We're serving people who are less fortunate and it's lovely. That's kind of what this food tasted like, soup kitchen food.

1:19:53Ronnie Karam: Okay. Okay, so Kristen's like, it's going to be tough to send somebody home, but we have to, and we've made up our minds. Let's bring the chefs out here. You know what, chefs? You were eliminated. Some of you were eliminated this season. Oh, both of you. Both of you sucked at some point this season. And then this need for more money came in called Tom, Last Chance Kitchen, where I get to stay and let you get another chance. And then I almost gave it to Katiana, who probably was more worthy than both of you. And I let her go to give the pickle ice cream guy another shot. Wow, what a mistake. So I guess you can blame me or you can blame yourselves.

1:20:26Ronnie Karam: I don't really care. I get paid anyway. Uh,

1:20:32Ben Mandelker: Cesar, please back your knives and go. We didn't also mention that. I mean, Kristen was so out of control with the tears even before, even before the judging when she was like, you guys both cooked tremendously. And also I just want to say to our Olympians, it was an honor having you both here. All four of you here. we want to wish you the best of luck in milan i will be cheering you on and ugly crying as i'm like the Olympics are not for nine months Kristen it's just like it's an honor to be around you

1:21:02Ronnie Karam: knowing that you'll be in that bobsled soon enough yeah Kristen cried this whole final part of the thing she wouldn't stop like all right every single thing it's like and to the electrician

1:21:14Ben Mandelker: You came to fix that light that went out during the judging. You did great work. Great, great work.

1:21:20Ronnie Karam: To the gorgonzola itself. I really, I didn't think that you were going to make it. I was mad about having to eat you brulee again, but you did it, buddy. You did it. Congratulations, gorgonzola.

1:21:31Ben Mandelker: And Gail's like, I just want to say, Cesar, thank you. Thank you so much. It's been an incredible journey getting to know you also. Wow, even you're crying, Gail. No, I just still have some of that spicy sauce that Tristan made me and me. I haven't really gotten over it.

1:21:47Ronnie Karam: And Caesar's like, I'm just telling myself over and over, like, how proud I am of me. You know, I got to go to Europe for the first time. I got to see myself grow as a person. I'm just bummed. But what are you going to do, right? Maybe not tell everybody that you're not even cooking your own casserole, Caesar. For the sake, bro. So Bailey is going to go. I was shocked that Bailey went. I have to say, I'm shocked. I don't think Bailey sucks. I think the thing that sucks the most about Bailey is she has this lack of self-confidence that is, I think it's hard to take her seriously on something like this.

1:22:27Ronnie Karam: And like a lot of the comments I read about her online are not nice. And I think if she was a really confident, especially male chef, let's be honest. But if she was like a Mossimo type coming in and cooking how she is, like, it was amazing. I did polenta two times because I fucking wanted to because polenta is amazing. You know, if she had that kind of attitude, she'd probably be like winning this hands down. And it wouldn't feel like such a shock. But I think because of her like, it does seem shocking. I'm shocked that she's in the finals.

1:22:59Ben Mandelker: I'm shocked because she started off the season so badly. I mean, when she got eliminated earlier in the season, it seemed like, well, we knew that was coming because she was sort of really flopping. So then when she actually won Last Chance Kitchen, it was like Bailey won Last Chance Kitchen. Because remember, she went up against that guy who made the chicken sandwich who seemed like he was really good in the beginning of the season. And then he had like that one bad dish. So I was shocked that she came back. And then she kept on doing well. She had some moments where she did really well and some moments where she was like mediocre.

1:23:28Ben Mandelker: It just was surprising that Bailey has made it all the way to the finals. I was actually even surprised Cesar came back from Last Chance Kitchen too. I thought for sure it would be Katiana.

1:23:36Ronnie Karam: Yeah, me too.

1:23:36Ben Mandelker: I don't know. Surprising. but we have the finale the grand finale is going to be this week so we'll see who wins

1:23:42Ronnie Karam: watch bailey win the whole thing you never know this show's crazy you never know what could happen on this show there have been a lot of tristan doesn't win winners that have been like tristan

1:23:51Ben Mandelker: doesn't win that'd be it that'd be a shocker if tristan doesn't win but i don't know there could be a there could be a bailey upset you never know or the schweiler has been on a hot streak recently in the middle of the season he kind of like it's it's starting to feel like okay schweiler is out of his depth. He was sort of really good in the beginning. And then the middle, he just sort of started to become mediocre. I was like, okay, he like went as far as he could go, but now the show is getting to be too big for him. And suddenly he's come back and they do love, they do love a comeback story, but I think it's going to be Tristan.

1:24:20Ben Mandelker: I mean, who, who would be fooling? It's going to be Tristan, right?

1:24:23Ronnie Karam: I think it's going to be Tristan, but Tristan is so confident to the point of overconfidence that they might pull the rug out from under Tristan because Because that's what this show does. I mean, he's very overconfident. And I feel like the audience is very confident for him. I mean, I think he's going to win. I think it's going to be a huge upset if he doesn't win. And I think he deserves to win. I think he deserves to win, too. But this show fucks with you, you know?

1:24:46Ben Mandelker: And it's like... I know. You never know. I mean, that would be so cruel. This guy did not even go to his father's funeral to stay on Top Chef. And it's not that you deserve to win because of that. But on some level, they're probably thinking that.

1:24:59Ronnie Karam: But it's a food competition. I mean, if you're, you know, if you have to cook the food, so we'll see.

1:25:05Ben Mandelker: We will see. Okay. Well, everyone, thanks for being here. Join us for a crappy hour later tonight. We've got a lot of stuff to talk about. If this is actually up in time, or you can listen to the replay and go to watch what crappens.com to get your tickets to our final two shows of the year. Get them before it's too late. Bye everyone. Bye. Watch what crappens would like to thank its premium sponsors. Ain't no thing like Alison King. Our way is the Amber way. It's the Foster and the Furious. It's Amanda Foster. She can run my country. It's Angie McGovern.

1:25:39Ronnie Karam: It's Always Automatic with Ashley Otto.

1:25:41Ben Mandelker: Put your hands together for Carly Clapp.

1:25:43Ronnie Karam: Get on the right foot with Chrissy Offutt.

1:25:45Ben Mandelker: We never miss her call. It's Diane Call. Erin McNicholas. She don't miss no trick-a-less.

1:25:50Ronnie Karam: Hava Nagila Weber.

1:25:52Ben Mandelker: You'll never hide from Heidi Eleanor Jones. I go, you go, we all go for Hugo. Jamie, she has no less namey

1:26:00Ronnie Karam: She's our kind of mess, it's Jennifer Messer Sips some scotch with Jessica Trotch

1:26:05Ben Mandelker: She's our favorite streamer, Caroline Peacock

1:26:07Ronnie Karam: She gets an A, it's Kelly B Kristen the Piston Anderson Get a B in your bonnet with Lacey B K, sirrah, sirrah, whatever we'll be, we'll Lauren Sillsby Rigging the funk, it's Leslie Plunkett She gets an A from us, it's Lindsay D Let's give a kisserino to Lisa Lino Fresh as a daisy, it's Maisie McHenry. We love her on the rocks, it's Melissa Cox. Megan Berg, you can't have a burger without the Berg.

1:26:34Ben Mandelker: This is Livin' with Michelle Vivian.

1:26:37Ronnie Karam: I love-a-ya, Olivia Williamson. Tastier than Flanderson, it's Rachel Manderson.

1:26:42Ben Mandelker: She sure is swell, it's Raquel.

1:26:45Ronnie Karam: Yes, we canna, it's Savannah.

1:26:47Ben Mandelker: Cast a spell with Shannon Spellman. Let's share with Sharon Eldridge. The Bay Area Betches, Betches.

1:26:54Ronnie Karam: And our super premium sponsors. She's VVIP. It's Amanda V. Can't lose when you're with Amy Baldwin.

1:27:01Ben Mandelker: Somebody get us 10 cc's of Betsy MD.

1:27:04Ronnie Karam: We're taking the gold with Brenda Silva. Let's get real with Caitlin O 'Neill. Don't get salty with Christine Pepper. Can't have a meal without the Emily sides. Let's go into the woods with Guy Tubbs.

1:27:16Ben Mandelker: Who, what, why, where, and Gwen Pentland. It's our queen. It's Queen Laifa. Nobody holds a candle to Jamie Kendall Hail the cork master, the master of the cork Jennifer Corcoran We got our wish, it's Jen Plish She's not harsh, she's Jill Hirsch She's a little bit loony Junie Knock knock knocking on Katie Manok's door My favorite Murdo, Karen McMurdo We love him madly, it's Kyle Pod Chadley In the study with a candlestick It's Leslie Peacock We're ride or die for Lisa Ryder Baron She's a whiz, it's Liz Sarthy Always killing it, it's Lo Alkalani

1:27:53Ronnie Karam: The Incredible Edible Matthew Sisters She Eases Our Woes, it's Melissa St. Rose We're On The Floor with Molly Dorsett There's a Chance of Meatballs, it's Rebecca Cloud

1:28:03Ben Mandelker: She's the Queen Bee, it's Sarah Lemke We Cannot Tell A Lie, it's Sarah Tell of Sun Shannon, out of a can, and Anthony Come on, shake your body, baby, do the Sidney Cogdon Let's take off with Tam La Plaine

1:28:16Ronnie Karam: It's always a good time when you're wasting time with Bravo She ain't no shrinking Violet Kuchar. We love you guys.