More drama last night on Top Chef Seattle.  If you missed it (like I did!) be sure to read this recap from our contributor Noelle!

Helicopter rides, a minor melt down, dog sledding and yes, MORE stunning Alaskan scenery, and that is just the first few minutes of last nights Top Chef.

The Cheftestants arrive in their kitchen for breakfast to find a note from Padma telling them to head to the Eagles Crest Ski area for their quickfire.  Before they get there though there is a helicopter sitting on the road.  Brooke immediately begins to panic.  Helicopters are something she is very afraid of, between the flying and being shut in a small enclosed space, she has a mini meltdown.  The Pilot assures her it is only a 15 minute flight.  Brooke has a death grip on Josh’s arm through the whole flight, but eventually she opens her eyes and is able to see the gorgeous scenery.  Yay Brooke!

When the helicopter lands, the cheftestants are immediately loaded onto dog sleds and get another ride of a lifetime as they are taken to the Quickfire challenge location.  A training camp for the Iditarod race.  Tom and Padma meet them there and give them their challenge.  The Cheftestants need to make a dish in 30 minutes with the ingredients found in the camp.

The Cheftestants race over to the coolers to choose their ingredients then they have to race back to the tent that houses their kitchen.  Sheldon is loving the snow.  The kitchens are tiny and the altitude gives the chefs a little curve ball as well.  Sheldon and Brooke are both making halibut.  Josh is making breakfast. Again.  Brooke seems to think that is the only thing Josh can cook.  I am beginning to agree with her.

Brooke makes a Pan Roasted Halibut and a Panzanella Salad, with a warm Red currant and beet vinaigrette.  Tom loves the crunch of the bread in the salad, and the dog sled racers love it as well.  But they love everything today.

As soon as she is served the breakfast item, Padma immediately guesses it belongs to Josh.  Hint, Hint Josh!  Josh has made them a Cornmeal cake with Canadian Bacon, Scrambled Eggs and Smoked Sockeye Salmon.  Everyone loves the cornmeal cake.  Tom is not happy with the eggs.  They separated a little and look strange.

Sheldon serves a Chinese Style Pan Roasted Halibut, with tomato sauce, sesame fried bok choy and Pickled radish. Everyone enjoys this, but Tom thinks the tomato sauce is a little one note.

Brooke is declared the quickfire winner, and although there are no prizes for winning this week it is a huge boost to her confidence to win.  She is also happy she is facing her fears.  After another quick helicopter ride, Padma drives the contestants back to their home in Alaska.  A surprise is waiting for them there.   Emeril and Roy Choi will be making them dinner!  Roy Choi, co-founder of Kogi and A-Frame in La, and food truck revolutionary, will be their guest judge this week.  It turns out he and Brooke have worked together before! 

Dinner is a wonderful treat for the cheftestants.  Roy Choi tells them all how he became a chef.  He used to be a scumbag (his word) on the streets of LA until one day he watched Emeril on TV.  Emeril inspired him to pull himself out of the gutter and go to culinary school, and so a chef was born.  Emeril looks shocked by this.  It was a really nice moment. 

Emeril settles a question between the cheftestants, NO sugar in cornbread. (My mom has always made her cornbread with no sugar, so I didn’t even know there was a question about it.)  Emeril divulges that he worked his way up from being a dishwasher to being a chef.  As a dish washer, some of the Portuguese bakers liked him and taught him how to bake bread, and from there he climbed the ladder of chefdom.

That leads Padma to discus the Elimination Challenge.  The cheftestants are to create a dish that symbolizes the defining moment when they decided to become a chef.  Brooke immediately begins to have trouble, because she says she has always known she was going to be a chef.  The chefs will have 2.5 hrs to cook and prepare that night, and 1.5 hours for final prep at the Governors Mansion.  They will be serving the Governor and the First Lady of Alaska at this Elimination Challenge.

The Cheftestants sit down to start brainstorming and conceptualizing a dish, but they are interrupted when Josh gets a phone call.  His wife’s water broke and they are headed to the hospital.  Both Josh and his wife are sad that they cannot be together, but Josh is also ready to compete.  A few hours later his wife calls crying, wanting him to be there, but then her contractions hit and she can’t talk.  Josh spends a good deal of the night just waiting. 

The next morning, however, Josh gets to Skype with his wife and new baby girl.  They named her Georgia, after Josh’s late father.  Such a feel good moment.  It gives Josh new energy for the competition. 

The cheftestants head off to the Governor’s mansion to cook for their place in the finale.  Brooke finally knows what she is making and is feeling confident.  Josh is trying to make a dish that normally takes several days, in only one day.  He also finds out that it may be Tom’s recipe he is using.  No pressure. 

Sitting at the dinner table were Governor Sean Parnell, his wife Sandy, Gail Simmons, Emeril Lagasse, Roy Choi, Wolfgang Puck, Tom and Padma.  Each cheftestant brings out their dish and describes how it is inspired by their “defining moment”

Sheldon, inspired by a Hawaiian cooking star, has made Pan-roasted rockfish, spot prawns, baby vegetables & dashi.  He knows going out the broth is too salty, but is hoping his other flavors will pull him through.  Wolfgang thinks it smells Japanese, and he likes the way the spot prawns are cooked. Tom thinks the fish is perfectly cooked. Roy thinks the conception of the dish is amazing, but, it’s too salty. Tom thinks this one mistake could be the one that sends him home. 

Brooke, inspired by her mothers home cooking, has made Braised chicken, grilled quail with carrot barley & pickled vegetables.  Tom comments that you can always tell when food is good, because the whole table is quiet.  Wolfgang says his only criticism is that his quail breast is overcooked, but if this is how Brooke’s mom cooks, he would gladly go over to her house for dinner!  Roy rather shamelessly puts in a good word for Brooke, saying that this dish was her on a plate.  It looks simple, but was actually very complex.  He has high praise for Brooke, calling her a prodigy back in LA.

Josh, inspired by his first taste of Fois Gras, has made Fois Gras three ways.   A Torchon, with braised pineapple, Pan Seared, with apricot, and a Profiterole.  His Torchon has not set up, but he is hoping his flavors will pull him through.  The judges liked the flavors, but the Torchon was definitely not set.  Tom thinks he overreached, using an ingredient he was not super familiar with, and trying to make Torchon in a day.

At the judges table Tom tells Josh what we already know —  torchon just can’t be made in a day, period. Gail thought it was veiny, but she loved the salty apricot. Emeril loved the cornbread.

Brooke’s next. Wolfgang thought it tasted great, but the quail was overcooked. Roy thought it unfolded in layers of complexity like origami, which was fantastic. Tom thought it all just worked.

Last but not least, Sheldon. Wolfgang doesn’t understand how he could cook the fish so perfectly, then screw up the broth by over seasoning it. Gail thought the saltiness was harsh. It was like there were two separate chefs, one cooking the fish and one who made the broth.  Sheldon admits to not tasting the broth until it was too late. 

The judges unanimously choose Brooke as the winner, she is moving on to the finale!  After some deliberation, the Judges decide to send Josh to last chance kitchen, so Sheldon is also moving on to the Finale.  Josh heads off to last chance kitchen to face Kristen, but it appears there is a twist. Not only will he have to face Kristen, but they will both have to face off with the Chef that the viewers saved!  It looks like only one will be able to continue on to the finale.

Next week – Part one of the season finale!  We will find out who the winner of last chance kitchen is and all three cheftestants will battle it out for a place in the finale, it looks as if only two will make it!   Who are you rooting for?