Plot

The chef'testants test their luck when they are asked to pull a slot machine to determine the guidelines for the quickfire challenge. For elimination, they must prepare a special dinner for Macy's Culinary Council members Tyler Florence, Tom Douglas, Nancy Silverton, Govind Armstrong, and Takashi Yagihashi.—Anonymous

Ash is in it to prove that a kid who didn't go to culinary school can win. Michael V. misses his 5 and 9 year old daughters. Jen isn't feeling too hot. She takes a break to throw up before they head in for the Quickfire.

Padma waits for them in the kitchen with Tyler Florence, chef/author and Applebee's pitchman. They'll be creating a dish using three key words from a website called Cookstr.com. It's a high stakes Quickfire but they won't know the stakes til after. They're using a slot machine to determine their three words.

Laurine gets romantic, tart and Latin American. Kevin gets stressed, hot and spicy, Asian. Mike I. gets stressed, Umami, Asian. He explains that Umami is the fifth flavor, neither sweet nor spicy nor salty, kinda earthy. Jen gets adventurous, nutty, American. Eli gets stressed, Umami, Latin American. Mike V. gets adventurous, tangy, Asian. Robin gets stressed, Umami, Middle Eastern. Bryan V. gets adventurous, crunchy, Middle Eastern. Ash gets tired, tart, Italian. Ashley gets blue, cheesy, Middle Eastern.

They have 30 minutes. All the Umami people go for mushrooms. Mike I. says he's never cooked Middle Eastern food before.

Robin knows that some people don't think she deserves to be there. Jen continues to feel like crap, but resolves to cook well.

They get to tasting. Mike I made a raw mushroom salad with ouzo immulsion. Tyler calls Ash's putanesca "straight from the street in Naples." Michael V went for dessert with ouzo curd and seaweed cracker with foam. Tyler makes a face over Eli's. Padma calls out Robin for cooking curry instead of Middle Eastern. They acknowledge that Ashley had a tough one. She made feta pudding with halibut. Jen gets no reaction to her scallop dish.

Tyler announces the bottom three: Robin (a bit elementary), Eli (he drowned his mushrooms in citrus), Jen (putting caviar on a scallop isn't adventurous).

He liked Mike I., Kevin and Michael V. The winner is Kevin.

He gets to choose between immunity or $15,000. He takes the cash.

Padma tells them they've arranged a dinner party at the house and they'll learn about the challenge there.

Back home they find a stocked pantry and cooking machines and, a moment later, Padma. She tells them they'll be throwing a dinner party in less than three hours for the Macy's Culinary Council including Tyler, Nancy Silverton, Govind Armstrong, Takashi Tagihashi and Tom Douglas -- all restaurateurs.

Each one is holding a grocery bag full of ingredients. They'll be drawing knives and working in pairs to make a family style dish.

Mike I. says there's only one person there he doesn't want to work with and that's Robin. So that's who he gets.

Ash worries about working with Michael V. because he has so many good ideas.

Eli races in and immediately stakes out space inside next to the stove.

Mike I. describes his Robin reaction as "livid, angry" and sure he's going home.

Ash and Michael V. set up their kitchen in the dining room, using woks for everything.

Mike and Robin get Yagahashi's bags totally full of Asian ingredients. Mike admits his plan to ignore Robin.

Kevin and Jen get kobe ribs. Jen's feeling better.

Ash says every time he has an idea, Michael has a better one. But he doesn't mind.

Mike says he gave Robin little things to do, "things that won't affect the final product."

Tom stops by. Eli and Ashley are making prawns on gnocchi and Tom doesn't seem enthused. Mike uses only "I" when talking about cooking with Tom, leaving Robin out entirely.

Tom says gnocchi won't support the weight of prawns and that getting everything out before it's ruined will be a challenge.

Ashley takes over grilling the prawns.

Michael walks away from his cooking halibut for a minute and the circuit blows. He and Ash are really worried about the cooking.

Mike I thinks Robin has burned the tuna. Ashley thinks Eli has over-salted the gnocchi. Ash thinks their fish ended up a little over-cooked.

As the chefs finish plating, Tyler gives a pitch on the Macy's table plan. The cheftestants serve.

Ash and Eli present their play on surf and turf with spot prawns, red beet creme fraiche sauce, gnocchi and kale. Robin and Mike made marinated mushroom and pickled Asian pear roll with seared tuna and scallop. Bryan and Laurine made pan roasted halibut with sherry-chorizo vinaigrette, yellow corn cake and avocado mousse. Kevin and Jen made bbq kobe beef with cardamom, tomato and ginger broth. Michael V and Ash present pancetta wrapped halibut with egg yolk ravioli, asparagus and fennel salad for a play on carbonara.

They get to eating. They don't think Michael V's pancetta was cooked enough. Tom didn't like egg yoke with halibut. They like Bryan's halibut more.

Govind wonders about sauteeing the gnocchi and Tom thinks it's too salty. Tyler thinks the kobe is great. They like the broth. Tom reports on the tension between Robin and Mike I but thinks the dish worked.

Inside, Michael V freaks out, thinking his dish is overcooked and he's going home. Bryan's worried for his brother.

Like many before him, Mike I. notices that Robin never stops talking. He notices she thinks out loud and our handy editors prove this point by cutting to her narrating that she's going to eat an orange.

Padma comes for Laurine, Bryan, Jennifer and Kevin.

Kevin says he and Jen worked really well together. Laurine gives Bryan credit for leading their cooking. Tyler compliments their chorizo-sherry vinaigrette.

The winning dish was Kevin and Jennifer's and the winner is Jen. She wins a $10,000 gift card from Macy's. "Kevin will probably get a suit out of it or something," she says.

They want to see Michael V., Ash, Eli and Ashley. (And Robin remains!)

Eli tries to get Bryan to talk about Michael's food, just wanting to know what they did, but Bryan doesn't want to talk about it.

Michael V explains about the power going out, but Tyler says it's no excuse. Tom says halibut was the wrong fish. Ash says conceptually the dish was "really awesome." Padma asks Ash if he minded playing second fiddle to Michael and he says it's like asking if someone minds washing paint brushes for Picasso.

Toby tells Ashley the prawns were undercooked. She admits gnocchi was heavy for outdoors and says they were salty.

Back in the stew room, Ash says he might have talked himself into being sent home as the judges note that it doesn't seem like Ash did much. But Michael is touched by what Ash said and thanks him for it.

Tom criticizes Michael for the concept and cooking.

Tom figures that Eli over-salted the gnocchi but Ashley did the under-cooking.

On the chopping block.

Tom recaps, saying that in both cases one person led to each team's failure. He singles out Ashley and Michael. And the knife packer is...Ashley.

(C'mon, they're not sending home Michael V just yet.)

She says: "I'm totally bummed. I understand at this point in the competition there's no way to make a mistake without going home....I got to cook for some great people. I hope I showed that I am talented."

She gives some really good hugs, especially to Jen (who cries) and Michael V.

Next week: lots of running, Jen talking about something being a "huge event" with a lot of important people there. They're freaked about the guest judge. Eli calls Robin a martyr and tells her she's not his mom.