Quickfire
by Sean M. Shore (2018)

The sun has not even risen when the Elves rouse you from your rest. You've slept far too little since last night's bloodbath, but it's time once again for battle. You sharpen your blades and head to the arena. Only six combatants remain, including yourself. Great merciful Zeus, you are exhausted. But you're not giving up now, not with glory and treasure on the line. Not to mention that spread in Food & Wine.

action: %
response: The sun has not even risen when the Elves rouse you from your rest. You've slept far too little since last night's bloodbath, but it's time once again for battle. You sharpen your blades and head to the arena. Only six combatants remain, including yourself. Great merciful Zeus, you are exhausted. But you're not giving up now, not with glory and treasure on the line.

Not to mention that spread in Food & Wine.
Quickfire

Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Really, you should.]

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.

Justin, Andre, Linh, Stephen and Violet are here milling around.
action: About yourself
response: You haven't showered today, and your hair is kind of a mess, but the Elves have done their best to make you look presentable for the cameras. You're wearing your Top Chef whites over a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a Top Chef whites (being worn)
a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt (being worn)
jeans (being worn)
some knives
action: You examine the knives
response: A punishingly expensive and well-honed set of Bob Kramers for various applications, including a large chef's knife, a paring knife, a fillet knife, a cleaver, a serrated bread knife, and a few others. At Padma's request, you will pack them and go. [Note: You will automatically choose appropriate knives for your kitchen tasks. No need to worry about what's what.]
action: You examine Justin
response: Justin is tall and faux-hawked, and has meticulously-maintained three-day stubble every day of the week. He likes to remind people that he staged at El Bulli.
action: You examine andre
response: A fairly big dude from Houston; nominated for a James Beard last year. He's a sweet guy, for the most part.
action: You examine Linh
response: A feisty little Vietnamese-American woman, executive chef at one of Charlie Palmer's places. She's a real tough competitor, but usually not a jerk.
action: You examine Stephen
response: He's a small, quiet Midwesterner, self-taught, and works currently as a private chef. While everyone else is drinking in the Stew Room, he's always got a bottle of fizzy water. He's won a bunch of challenges, which drives Justin insane.
action: You look at Violet
response: She's African-American too; well, quite a bit further removed temporally from Africa than you are, and likely from the other side of the continent, but still, by American reckoning, African. You can tell she is going to be a fan favorite. Very pretty, very quick-witted, and usually very good as well.
action: About yourself
response: You haven't showered today, and your hair is kind of a mess, but the Elves have done their best to make you look presentable for the cameras. You're wearing your Top Chef whites over a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
action: You look at the stove
response: The details are not that important. When you're ready, you can just PUT SKILLET ON RANGE.
action: You examine the counter
response: Each station has a counter with some electrical sockets for equipment and sundry standard kitchen implements. Back at the start of the season, every station was occupied, leading to elbow-to-elbow cooking, territorial fights, ingredient theft, bickering, crashes, and other reality-show goodness. Now there's a little room to spread out. The rest still happens.

On your station is a cutting board.
action: Y.
response: cheapglulxe quit with exit status: 0
action: %
response: The sun has not even risen when the Elves rouse you from your rest. You've slept far too little since last night's bloodbath, but it's time once again for battle. You sharpen your blades and head to the arena. Only six combatants remain, including yourself. Great merciful Zeus, you are exhausted. But you're not giving up now, not with glory and treasure on the line.

Not to mention that spread in Food & Wine.
Quickfire

Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Really, you should.]

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.

Justin, Andre, Linh, Stephen and Violet are here milling around.
action: Xyzzy
response: Sorry, did you say "tzatziki?"
action: You examine Coupe
response: A hideously-expensive, industrial-grade food processor used in professional kitchens. Put stuff into it and press the button.
action: You examine the skillet
response: A heavy fifteen-inch cast-iron pan, properly seasoned.

The cast-iron skillet is empty.
action: You examine the board
response: It's a nice butcher-block model. There are many like it, but this one (for the duration of the challenge) is yours.

There is nothing on the cutting board.
action: You go to the west
response: Don't wander off just yet.

One of the Elves, a production assistant, raises his voice. "OK, everyone, we're starting. Cheftestants, please line up." The other chefs dutifully begin to arrange themselves, with the assistance of the Elves.

A few minutes later, Padma and Tom arrive and chat with each other inaudibly, over by the logo. Tom's wearing a Santa hat. The Elves set them on their marks, then wheel out a table loaded down with tubs of something. Fabulous. More product placement. Everyone straightens up. "Quiet on the set!," shouts the director. The cameramen take their places and begin rolling.

"Action!"

"Greetings, chefs," purrs Padma. She's considerably better-rested and groomed than you lot. "It's Christmas!" Actually, it's June as you're filming this, and about 90 degrees outside. "Behind me, as you can see" --  she waves for effect -- "we have sour cream from Organic Valley. Sour cream is extremely versatile and can be used in a wide variety of last-minute sweet and savory dishes for a holiday party."

Tom: "Your Quickfire challenge this week is to make us a delicious dish for a holiday party incorporating Organic Valley sour cream."
The cameras come in for reaction shots from you and the others. You can see the wheels turning in your fellow competitors.

Padma, again: "You have twenty minutes. The winner of the Quickfire will not get immunity, but will get a significant benefit in the next Elimination Challenge."

"Cut!", yells the director. "OK, everyone, stay on your marks. Let's get some acknowledgments." Tom and Padma chat for a bit, while a pair of Elves, one holding a camera, walk the line of cheftestants. They approach, and make you repeat the terms of the challenge back to the cameras for legal purposes. Reality show contestants can be rather litigious, you know.

"Samiira, do you fully understand the terms of the challenge?"
action: Y.
response: "Thank you, Samiira." They move on down the line until all the cheftestants have given their assent.
action: Go west
response: Don't wander off just yet.

The director shouts, "Everyone, back on your marks!" Moments later, they're set up and rolling again.

Everyone tenses as they wait for Padma. "Your time starts" -- slight pause -- "NOW!"

OK! Well, there's probably a million baking options, but you don't have anything other than kac kac or luqaimat
memorized. You don't have time to bake during a Quickfire anyway. Think of something! What was the last thing you made with sour cream? OK, yes -- a friend you worked with (now your ex-boyfriend's wife) taught you to make latkes last year. That'll work. The timing will be really tight, though you think you can finish, inshallah.

So you're gonna need POTATOES and EGGS and ONIONS and MATZO MEAL and OIL (or equivalent) and SALT. And then SOUR CREAM, obviously, and something else on top. Maybe a BERRY of some kind? Or savory -- wait, wasn't there some IKURA in the fridge yesterday? [You can type RECIPE or R at any time to pull up the recipe.]

The other cheftestants bolt off their marks to get their stuff. You see Linh, Violet, and Justin dash to the pantry, and Andre and Stephen heading over to the equipment.
action: You go west
response: The Top Chef pantry is stocked, at least most days, with just about anything you could want. Not always in huge quantities, though. Having the cheftestants squabble over ingredients makes for good TV.
A giant GE Monogram® refrigerator occupies much of the north wall. Next to it are shelves filled with various nonperishable goods. And opposite them are baskets of produce.

Here getting ingredients are Violet and Linh.

The camera comes in for a close-up on you and what you're doing. You manage a few words.

You see Linh, already weighed down with armfuls of ingredients, struggling to reach a jar of Moroccan olives on the shelves. She turns to you for help. "Sam, hey, uh, can you?", she asks. There are actually a couple up of jars there. Justin, meanwhile, peels around the corner and starts lunging towards the baskets, with an Elf close behind. "..blackberrry jus," he seems to be saying to no one in particular.
action: You take the potatoes
response: You leave Linh hanging. "Thanks for nothing!" she says. She puts some stuff down, jumps, and gets the jar herself.

Taken.

Stephen and Andre arrive and begin gathering ingredients.
action: R.
response: You can't consult actual written recipes on the show, so quantities and times are always going to be inexact. That said--

potatoes, peeled, grated and dried
onions, chopped
eggs
matzo meal
oil or fat
salt

Combine potatoes, onions, eggs, salt and matzo meal in bowl. Fry latkes in very hot oil, flipping after five minutes. Drain and plate the latkes. Garnish as appropriate, and finish with salt to taste.

Given this challenge, "garnish" means sour cream, and maybe a little something else. Berries, or caviar, perhaps.
action: You get the oil
response: Taken.

Justin elbows his way to the baskets and grabs the blackberries. "Sorry," he claims. "I need them for a jus." He lurches off.
action: You get all
response: Please be specific.
action: You get the salt
response: Taken.
action: Look around
response: The Top Chef pantry is stocked, at least most days, with just about anything you could want. Not always in huge quantities, though. Having the cheftestants squabble over ingredients makes for good TV.
A giant GE Monogram® refrigerator occupies much of the north wall. Next to it are shelves filled with various nonperishable goods. And opposite them are baskets of produce.
action: You open the fridge
response: You open the refrigerator, revealing a leg of lamb, a lobe of foie gras, some duck fat, some short ribs, some milk, some Ahi tuna, some bacon, some feta and some eggs.
action: You take the eggs
response: You grab some eggs. [Note: you can just PUT THEM IN BOWL to use them].
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
some eggs
some matzo meal
some kosher salt
some yellow onions
some vegetable oil
some Yukon Gold potatoes
your Top Chef whites (being worn)
a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt (being worn)
jeans (being worn)
some knives
action: You get foie gras
response: You don't need the lobe of foie gras. Focus on what you need for your dish.

The fridge door swings shut.
action: You get the bacon
response: You don't need the bacon. Focus on what you need for your dish.

You hear someone furiously chopping.

The fridge door swings shut.
action: You go east
response: Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Furiously prepping and cooking here are Andre, Violet, Stephen, Justin and Linh.

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio are chatting off-camera.

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.

You can also see a table (on which are many tubs of sour cream) here.

Justin calls out, "Does anyone have the immersion blender?"
action: You put the eggs and the onions and the potatoes and the salt and the matzo in a the bowl
response: eggs: You crack some eggs, dump them into the bowl, and whisk them to a light froth.
yellow onions: You dunk an entire onion, skin and all, into the raw egg mix. Hm, that doesn't seem right. You fish it back out again. Yukon Gold potatoes: You plop the whole potatoes into the raw egg mix. Hm, that doesn't seem right. You fish them back out again.
kosher salt: (first taking the salt)
You sprinkle some salt in to the mix; probably a little less than you might normally need, but it's always easy to add later.
matzo meal: You add the matzo meal.

Justin is making a show of his butchering technique.
action: Peel potatoes
response: Peels from the Yukon Gold potatoes go flying as you race to get your mise together.

Justin is making a show of his butchering technique.
action: You cut the onion
response: You grab the onions, quickly discard the skins, halve them, and holding the halves firmly, make a series of fine crosswise cuts. Keeping them together, you rock your big chef's knife up and down with lightning speed, turning the onions into tiny tidbits. Your eyes are tearing, but you have no time to wipe them.
action: R.
response: You can't consult actual written recipes on the show, so quantities and times are always going to be inexact. That said--

potatoes, peeled, grated and dried
onions, chopped
eggs
matzo meal
oil or fat
salt

Combine potatoes, onions, eggs, salt and matzo meal in bowl. Fry latkes in very hot oil, flipping after five minutes. Drain and plate the latkes. Garnish as appropriate, and finish with salt to taste.

Given this challenge, "garnish" means sour cream, and maybe a little something else. Berries, or caviar, perhaps.
action: You chop the onions
response: You've already chopped the yellow onions.

Justin is talking to the camera somewhere.
action: You examine the oil
response: It has a high smoke point, so it's a good, if unremarkable, choice for frying latkes.
action: You look around
response: Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Furiously prepping and cooking here are Andre, Violet, Stephen, Justin and Linh.

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio are chatting off-camera.

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.

You can also see a table (on which are many tubs of sour cream) here.
action: You put the oil in the skillet
response: You pour a little vegetable oil into the skillet. [You can PUT SKILLET ON RANGE to start cooking.]
action: You put
response: What do you want to put on?
action: You put the skillet on the range
response: (first taking the cast-iron skillet)
You put the skillet on the range and turn the burner up to high. The oil begins to heat up.
action: You put the taters in the bowl
response: You probably want to start with the eggs.
action: You put the eggs in the bowl
response: You crack some eggs, dump them into the bowl, and whisk them to a light froth.
action: You put the taters in the bowl
response: You plop the whole potatoes into the raw egg mix. Hm, that doesn't seem right. You fish them back out again.

Someone shouts "Hot!" as they race around the kitchen.
action: You chop the potatoes
response: You add the matzo meal.

You need to grate, rather than chop, the potatoes.
action: You grate the potatoes
response: You need to something to grate with. Like a grater. Or even better, a Robot Coupe.
action: You put the taters in Coupe
response: You put the Yukon Gold potatoes into the Robot Coupe.
action: You look at Robot
response: A hideously-expensive, industrial-grade food processor used in professional kitchens. Put stuff into it and press the button. Unfortunately, the one you grabbed is missing the grating attachment.
action: You get Robot
response: You grab the last Robot Coupe off the rack, and -- wase! --
this one is missing the damned grating attachment. Without that attachment, you can chop things (like onions), but won't be able to grate the potatoes.
action: Describe the surroundings
response: Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Furiously prepping and cooking here are Andre, Violet, Stephen, Justin and Linh.

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio are chatting off-camera.

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater and a huge pressure cooker.

You can also see a table (on which are many tubs of sour cream) here.
action: You examine the grater
response: It's a stainless-steel handheld grater, of the sort one might use for cheese or potatoes.
action: Grate taters
response: Unfortunately you can't grate anything with the Robot Coupe without the proper attachment.

There's a crash of pans on the floor and Justin takes a mock bow.
action: You get grater
response: Taken.

A camera-wielding Elf scurries past you.
action: Grate taters
response: You furiously grate the Yukon Gold potatoes. You make very good progress until you're grating just a little nub, at which point your manic intensity gets the best of you. You slice open your fingers. Wallahi, you never catch a break. "Medic!", you shout. You
sit there bleeding for a minute or two, careful to keep the blood away from the food. One of the on-staff personnel patches you up, but you've lost valuable time.

A burst of flame erupts momentarily from the range as someone else's pot boils over.
action: You put the taters in the bowl
response: You add the Yukon Gold potatoes.
action: R.
response: You can't consult actual written recipes on the show, so quantities and times are always going to be inexact. That said--

potatoes, peeled, grated and dried
onions, chopped
eggs
matzo meal
oil or fat
salt

Combine potatoes, onions, eggs, salt and matzo meal in bowl. Fry latkes in very hot oil, flipping after five minutes. Drain and plate the latkes. Garnish as appropriate, and finish with salt to taste.

Given this challenge, "garnish" means sour cream, and maybe a little something else. Berries, or caviar, perhaps.
action: You put the salt in the bowl
response: (first taking the salt)
You sprinkle some salt in to the mix; probably a little less than you might normally need, but it's always easy to add later.

You hear someone furiously chopping.
action: You examine the bowl
response: It's just a large metallic bowl used for combining ingredients.

In the mixing bowl are some salt, some Yukon Gold potatoes, some matzo meal and some eggs.
action: You mix it
response: You don't need to specify that you're MIXing anything. Just put what you want to mix into the mixing bowl.
action: You put the onions in the bowl
response: You add the last of the latke ingredients into the bowl and mix them thoroughly. You now have raw latkes, or at least the stuff of raw latkes. [To begin cooking, add some frying medium to the skillet and put the skillet on the range.]
action: You put the latkes in the skillet
response: (first taking the latkes)
You slide the latkes into the pan, and they begin to sizzle a little. [Note: when you're done cooking them, just GET SKILLET.]

The latkes continue to fry in the skillet.
action: You wait for a while
response: Time passes.

The latkes continue to fry in the skillet.
action: You wait for five minutes
response: Waiting for 5 minutes.

The latkes continue to fry in the skillet.

The latkes are browning nicely.
action: You take the sour cream
response: (the tubs of sour cream)
You grab one of the tubs.
action: You put the sour cream in the bowl
response: (the sour cream in the mixing bowl)
You don't need to mix the sour cream with anything.

"Behind!" someone yells.
action: You put the cream on the latkes
response: (the sour cream on the latkes)
You'll want to do that after you've plated the latkes.
action: Plate latkes
response: You put the latkes straight from the pan onto the plate. A lot of grease goes with it.
action: Drain latkes
response: You put the latkes on some paper towels to drain the excess grease.
action: Plate latkes
response: You carefully plate the latkes, trimming some of the edges to make them more visually appealing, and arranging them just so.
action: You put the cream on the latkes
response: (the sour cream on the latkes)
You put a small dollop of sour cream on the latkes.

Someone shouts "Hot!" as they race around the kitchen.
action: Look around
response: Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Furiously prepping and cooking here are Andre, Violet, Stephen, Justin and Linh.

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio are chatting off-camera.

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's a huge pressure cooker.

You can also see a table (on which are many tubs of sour cream) here.
action: You look at the sink
response: You don't need to worry about the details of the sink. If something calls for water, water you shall have.
action: You attack padma
response: Reaching your breaking point, you hack at Padma Lakshmi with your cleaver until your whites are spattered with blood. Man, that was satisfying. I feel like you're going to get a bad edit, though.
action: You examine Elves
response: Magical Elves is the name of the production company, and so people refer to anyone behind the cameras generically as Elves. Naturally you've gotten to know a few of them pretty well, having spent so much time over the last couple of weeks in their constant presence. But in the heat of a challenge, they're just an undifferentiated mass of people putting cameras in your face and generally getting in your way.
action: You attack justin
response: Reaching your breaking point, you hack at Justin with your cleaver until your whites are spattered with blood. Man, that was satisfying. I feel like you're going to get a bad edit, though.
action: You talk to Justin
response: You make small talk with Justin.
action: Examine cooker
response: It's an enormous, professional-quality pressure cooker. It seems to be sitting unevenly on the rack.
action: You open it
response: You open the huge pressure cooker.
action: You search it
response: Looks like something is wedged under it.

The huge pressure cooker is empty.

Justin is talking to the camera somewhere.
action: You look under the cooker
response: Looks like something is wedged under it.

The huge pressure cooker is empty.

Linh calls out, "Does anyone have the immersion blender?"
action: You take cooker
response: You shift the huge pressure cooker, and find a Robot Coupe grating attachment underneath. The attachment is now sitting on the equipment rack.
action: You look around
response: Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Furiously prepping and cooking here are Andre, Violet, Stephen, Justin and Linh.

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio are chatting off-camera.

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's a huge pressure cooker.

On the equipment rack is a grating attachment.

You can also see a table (on which are many tubs of sour cream) here.
action: You go west
response: The Top Chef pantry is stocked, at least most days, with just about anything you could want. Not always in huge quantities, though. Having the cheftestants squabble over ingredients makes for good TV.
A giant GE Monogram® refrigerator occupies much of the north wall. Next to it are shelves filled with various nonperishable goods. And opposite them are baskets of produce.

There's a crash of pans on the floor and Justin takes a mock bow.
action: You look at the baskets
response: Large wooden baskets, filled with all manner of produce.

In the baskets are a few heads of garlic, some artichokes, some okra, some carrots, some green beans, some kale, some broccoli, some apples, some tomatoes, some spinach, some eggplant, some arugula, some endives, some lemons, some radicchio, some cauliflower, some zucchini, some celery, some limes and a watermelon.
action: You take the watermelon
response: You don't need the watermelon. Focus on what you need for your dish.
action: R.
response: You can't consult actual written recipes on the show, so quantities and times are always going to be inexact. That said--

potatoes, peeled, grated and dried
onions, chopped
eggs
matzo meal
oil or fat
salt

Combine potatoes, onions, eggs, salt and matzo meal in bowl. Fry latkes in very hot oil, flipping after five minutes. Drain and plate the latkes. Garnish as appropriate, and finish with salt to taste.

Given this challenge, "garnish" means sour cream, and maybe a little something else. Berries, or caviar, perhaps.
action: You open the fridge
response: You open the refrigerator, revealing some milk, some short ribs, some bacon, some feta, some duck fat, some Ahi tuna, a leg of lamb and a lobe of foie gras.
action: You look at the shelves
response: Plain but attractive shelves filled, for the most part, with medium-sized dry goods.

On the shelves are some cardamom, some tomato paste, some soy sauce, some mustard, a bottle of gochujang, some Panko, some baking soda, some cinnamon, some sugar, some ketchup, some cocoa powder, some wild rice, a bag of flour, some masa, some linguine, some paprika and some jasmine rice.
action: You search the fridge
response: In the refrigerator are some short ribs, some milk, a leg of lamb, a lobe of foie gras, some feta, some bacon, some Ahi tuna and some duck fat.
action: You open the fridge
response: That's already open.

The camera comes in for a close-up on you and what you're doing. You manage a few words.

The fridge door swings shut.
action: Keep going
response: You open the refrigerator, revealing some bacon, some milk, some short ribs, some feta, some Ahi tuna, a lobe of foie gras, a leg of lamb and some duck fat.
action: You take the ahi tuna
response: You don't need the Ahi tuna. Focus on what you need for your dish.

A burst of flame erupts momentarily from the range as someone else's pot boils over.
action: You close the fridge
response: You close the refrigerator.

Justin is making a show of his butchering technique.
action: You take the paprika
response: You don't need the paprika. Focus on what you need for your dish.
action: You take the arugula
response: You don't need the arugula. Focus on what you need for your dish.
action: You examine Panko
response: You don't need the Panko. Focus on what you need for your dish.
action: You examine the baskets
response: Large wooden baskets, filled with all manner of produce.

In the baskets are some celery, some limes, some eggplant, some kale, some radicchio, a few heads of garlic, some endives, some apples, a watermelon, some cauliflower, some lemons, some arugula, some carrots, some tomatoes, some green beans, some okra, some artichokes, some spinach, some zucchini and some broccoli.
action: You go east
response: Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Furiously prepping and cooking here are Andre, Violet, Stephen, Justin and Linh.

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio are chatting off-camera.

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's a huge pressure cooker.

On the equipment rack is a grating attachment.

You can also see a table (on which are many tubs of sour cream) here.

A camera-wielding Elf scurries past you.
action: You examine the latkes
response: You check the underside of the latkes. They're still a little pale on that side.
action: You put the latkes in the skillet
response: Too late for that now. You've already topped them with sour cream.
action: You wait for 5 minutes
response: Waiting for 5 minutes.

As the clock ticks down to zero, Padma shouts: "Utensils down, hands UP!"

"Cut!" yells the director. An Elf comes by with a cart and carefully gathers up the beauty plates to be photographed off-set. Another Elf straightens up the tasting plates and gets everyone, including Tom and Padma, lined up after a few seconds. You're the last in line.

"Action!"

"Hi, Linh," says Padma, heading to the first cheftestant. "What did you make for us today?" Padma and Tom taste everyone's dishes and chitchat with the chefs for a bit until finally they get to you.

"You made latkes!" says Tom, with some amusement. "Yeah, I'm not much of a Christmas person," you reply. "I have to say, you don't look like a Hanukkah person, either." He chuckles. You continue: "It's just a classic potato latke, with sour cream."

Padma digs in. Tom picks at the latkes. "Did you forget to flip them?", he asks. "Looks like you got one side, but not the other." Padma asks, "What did you fry this in?" "Vegetable oil," you reply. She and Tom are inscrutable. "Thanks," she says.

The Elves guide Padma and Tom back to their marks, and the cameras begin rolling again. "So, Tom, who had our least-favorite dishes?" Tom points. "Justin," he says. "The individual components were all cooked well, but it just didn't make sense to me. I'm not sure why you would pair the bison with Mentos."

He then turns to you. "Samiira." Wase. "My wife does
latkes every year at Hanukkah, and these just weren't up to snuff." Awesome. You stop listening to the rest. Hey, Violet actually won. Good for her. After everyone settles down, Padma begins again. "And now for this week's Elimination Challenge: it's what you've all been waiting for." She winds and delivers: "Restaurant Wars!"
action: Examine cooker
response: It's an enormous, professional-quality pressure cooker. It seems to be sitting unevenly on the rack.
action: You wait a while
response: Time passes.

The director shouts, "Everyone, back on your marks!" Moments later, they're set up and rolling again.

Everyone tenses as they wait for Padma. "Your time starts" -- slight pause -- "NOW!"

OK! Well, there's probably a million baking options, but you don't have anything other than kac kac or luqaimat
memorized. You don't have time to bake during a Quickfire anyway. Think of something! What was the last thing you made with sour cream? OK, yes -- a friend you worked with (now your ex-boyfriend's wife) taught you to make latkes last year. That'll work. The timing will be really tight, though you think you can finish, inshallah.

So you're gonna need POTATOES and EGGS and ONIONS and MATZO MEAL and OIL (or equivalent) and SALT. And then SOUR CREAM, obviously, and something else on top. Maybe a BERRY of some kind? Or savory -- wait, wasn't there some IKURA in the fridge yesterday? [You can type RECIPE or R at any time to pull up the recipe.]

The other cheftestants bolt off their marks to get their stuff. You see Linh, Violet, and Justin dash to the pantry, and Andre and Stephen heading over to the equipment.
action: You go to the west
response: The Top Chef pantry is stocked, at least most days, with just about anything you could want. Not always in huge quantities, though. Having the cheftestants squabble over ingredients makes for good TV.
A giant GE Monogram® refrigerator occupies much of the north wall. Next to it are shelves filled with various nonperishable goods. And opposite them are baskets of produce.

Here getting ingredients are Violet and Linh.

Justin is making a show of his butchering technique.

You see Linh, already weighed down with armfuls of ingredients, struggling to reach a jar of Moroccan olives on the shelves. She turns to you for help. "Sam, hey, uh, can you?", she asks. There are actually a couple up of jars there. Justin, meanwhile, peels around the corner and starts lunging towards the baskets, with an Elf close behind. "..blackberrry jus," he seems to be saying to no one in particular.
action: You get the jar
response: Which do you mean, the intact jar of Moroccan olives or the greasy jar of Moroccan olives?
action: You get the intact jar
response: You reach up and grab the nicer of the two jars and hand it to Linh. She's always been pretty decent to you, except that one time during the mise en place relay race when you overheard her whispering smack to Brian about your suprèming technique. Linh nearly drops the jar but recovers and heads to her station.

Stephen and Andre arrive and begin gathering ingredients.
action: You examine the shelves
response: Plain but attractive shelves filled, for the most part, with medium-sized dry goods.

On the shelves are some Panko, some masa, some mustard, some paprika, some sugar, some baking soda, a bottle of gochujang, some soy sauce, some vegetable oil, some linguine, some kosher salt, some ketchup, some tomato paste, a bag of flour, some cardamom, some cocoa powder, some cinnamon, some matzo meal, some wild rice and some jasmine rice.
action: You get the matzo
response: Taken.

Justin elbows you out of the way and grabs the blackberries. He lurches off.
action: You take the blackberries
response: Just as you reach for the blackberries, Justin barges in, elbowing you aside. "Sorry," he claims. "I'm doing a jus." He snags them and heads back toward his station.

Andre calls out, "Does anyone have the immersion blender?"
action: You get the blackberries
response: Just as you reach for the blackberries, Justin barges in, elbowing you aside. "Sorry," he claims. "I'm doing a jus." He snags them and heads back toward his station.
action: You get matzo
response: Taken.

Andre, Stephen and Violet head back to the kitchen.
action: You get the potatoes and the onions
response: Yukon Gold potatoes: Taken.
yellow onions: Taken.

Linh calls out, "Does anyone have the immersion blender?"
action: You open the fridge
response: You open the refrigerator, revealing some duck fat, some milk, some bacon, some Ahi tuna, some eggs, some feta, a leg of lamb, some short ribs and a lobe of foie gras.
action: You take the eggs and the fat
response: eggs: You grab some eggs. [Note: you can just PUT THEM IN BOWL to use them].
duck fat: Taken.
action: You close the fridge
response: You close the refrigerator.

You hear someone furiously chopping.
action: You take the salt
response: Taken.

The camera comes in for a close-up on you and what you're doing. You manage a few words.
action: You go east
response: Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.

In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.

Furiously prepping and cooking here are Andre, Violet, Stephen, Justin and Linh.

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio are chatting off-camera.

A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.

On the equipment rack is a grating attachment.

You can also see a table (on which are many tubs of sour cream) here.
action: You grate the potatoes
response: You need to something to grate with. Like a grater. Or even better, a Robot Coupe.
action: Peel potatoes
response: You grab a peeler from the implements at your station and peel the Yukon Gold potatoes as fast as you possibly can.
action: You put potatoes in Robot
response: You put the Yukon Gold potatoes into the Robot Coupe.

Someone shouts "Hot!" as they race around the kitchen.
action: You examine rack
response: The rack is where the common kitchen equipment is kept.

On the equipment rack are a grating attachment, some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.
action: You put the attachment on Robot
response: You pop the attachment into the Robot Coupe. Now you can grate stuff with it.

"Behind!" someone yells.
action: You press the button
response: You pulse the Robot Coupe with the grating attachment in place until the potatoes are grated nicely. You dump the potatoes on the cutting board and quickly rinse out the processor.
action: You cut the onions
response: You grab the onions, quickly discard the skins, halve them, and holding the halves firmly, make a series of fine crosswise cuts. Keeping them together, you rock your big chef's knife up and down with lightning speed, turning the onions into tiny tidbits. Your eyes are tearing, but you have no time to wipe them.

A camera-wielding Elf scurries past you.
action: You put the eggs in the bowl
response: You crack some eggs, dump them into the bowl, and whisk them to a light froth.

Linh is talking to the camera somewhere.
action: You put the matzo in the bowl
response: You add the matzo meal.
action: You put the potatoes in the bowl
response: (first taking the Yukon Gold potatoes)
You add the Yukon Gold potatoes.
action: You put the fat in the skillet
response: You spoon some of the duck fat into the skillet. [You can PUT SKILLET ON RANGE to start cooking.]
action: You put the skillet on the range
response: (first taking the cast-iron skillet)
You put the skillet on the range and turn the burner up to high. The duck fat begins to heat up.

There's a crash of pans on the floor and Stephen takes a mock bow.
action: You put the onions in the bowl
response: You add the yellow onions.
action: You examine the onions
response: They're your basic onions. They've been finely diced.
action: You look at the counter
response: Each station has a counter with some electrical sockets for equipment and sundry standard kitchen implements. Back at the start of the season, every station was occupied, leading to elbow-to-elbow cooking, territorial fights, ingredient theft, bickering, crashes, and other reality-show goodness. Now there's a little room to spread out. The rest still happens.

On your station are a mixing bowl and a cutting board.
action: Dry potatoes
response: You dry the Yukon Gold potatoes as best you can with paper towels, trying to wring as much moisture out as possible.
action: You examine the potatoes
response: Small, golden spuds. They've been peeled. You've grated them. And they've been dried.
action: You put the potatoes in the bowl
response: (first taking the Yukon Gold potatoes)
You add the Yukon Gold potatoes.
action: You put the fat in the skillet
response: You spoon some of the duck fat into the skillet. [You can PUT SKILLET ON RANGE to start cooking.]

There's a crash of pans on the floor and Stephen takes a mock bow.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
some kosher salt
some yellow onions (chopped)
your Top Chef whites (being worn)
a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt (being worn)
jeans (being worn)
some knives
action: You put the skillet on the range
response: (first taking the cast-iron skillet)
You put the skillet on the range and turn the burner up to high. The duck fat begins to heat up.
action: You put the salt in the bowl
response: (first taking the salt)
You add the last of the latke ingredients into the bowl and mix them thoroughly. You now have raw latkes, or at least the stuff of raw latkes. [To begin cooking, add some frying medium to the skillet and put the skillet on the range.]
action: You examine skillet
response: A heavy fifteen-inch cast-iron pan, properly seasoned.

In the cast-iron skillet is some duck fat.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

The intensity of the sizzling tells you that the pan is now hot enough to fry with.
action: You turn the latkes
response: Nothing obvious happens.

The latkes continue to fry in the skillet.

The latkes are browning nicely.
action: You flip the latkes
response: You carefully flip the latkes.

A burst of flame erupts momentarily from the range as someone else's pot boils over.

The latkes continue to fry in the skillet.
action: Drain latkes
response: First things first. You remove the latkes from the heat. The sizzling abates.

You put the latkes on some paper towels to drain the excess grease.
action: Plate latkes
response: You carefully plate the latkes, trimming some of the edges to make them more visually appealing, and arranging them just so.

Padma and Tom re-enter the kitchen. Violet looks up and shouts "54 seconds!"
action: You look at latkes
response: They're nicely browned and crisp. They look pretty good.
action: You take the cream
response: (the tubs of sour cream)
You grab one of the tubs.

Andre calls out, "Does anyone have the immersion blender?"
action: You put the cream on the latkes
response: (the sour cream on the latkes)
You put a small dollop of sour cream on the latkes.

Stephen is talking to the camera somewhere.
action: You go west
response: The Top Chef pantry is stocked, at least most days, with just about anything you could want. Not always in huge quantities, though. Having the cheftestants squabble over ingredients makes for good TV.
A giant GE Monogram® refrigerator occupies much of the north wall. Next to it are shelves filled with various nonperishable goods. And opposite them are baskets of produce.
action: You examine jar
response: Looks the cap was loose or there was a leak somewhere. Some of the oil has clearly soaked through the label.
action: You get the jar
response: You don't need olives for your dish.

There's a crash of pans on the floor and Linh takes a mock bow.
action: You open the fridge
response: You open the refrigerator, revealing a lobe of foie gras, some bacon, some feta, some Ahi tuna, some short ribs, some milk and a leg of lamb.
action: You search the fridge
response: In the refrigerator are some short ribs, some milk, a leg of lamb, a lobe of foie gras, some feta, some bacon and some Ahi tuna.
action: You search the tuna
response: You don't need the Ahi tuna. Focus on what you need for your dish.

A burst of flame erupts momentarily from the range as someone else's pot boils over.

The fridge door swings shut.
action: You open the fridge
response: You open the refrigerator, revealing some bacon, a leg of lamb, a lobe of foie gras, some milk, some Ahi tuna, some short ribs and some feta.
action: You take the caviar
response: There might be some, but you don't see it immediately. You'd have to SEARCH THE FRIDGE FOR it, which might take a little time.
action: You search the fridge
response: In the refrigerator are some short ribs, some milk, a leg of lamb, a lobe of foie gras, some feta, some bacon and some Ahi tuna.

The fridge door swings shut.
action: You open the fridge
response: You open the refrigerator, revealing a lobe of foie gras, some milk, some Ahi tuna, some bacon, some short ribs, some feta and a leg of lamb.
action: You search the fridge for the caviar
response: You find the ikura, buried in the back, and grab it before anyone else does. Sweet!

As the clock ticks down to zero, Padma shouts: "Utensils down, hands UP!"

"Cut!" yells the director. An Elf comes by with a cart and carefully gathers up the beauty plates to be photographed off-set. Another Elf straightens up the tasting plates and gets everyone, including Tom and Padma, lined up after a few seconds. You're the last in line.

"Action!"

"Hi, Linh," says Padma, heading to the first cheftestant. "What did you make for us today?" Padma and Tom taste everyone's dishes and chitchat with the chefs for a bit until finally they get to you.

"You made latkes!" says Tom, with some amusement. "Yeah, I'm not much of a Christmas person," you reply. "I have to say, you don't look like a Hanukkah person, either." He chuckles. You continue: "It's just a classic potato latke, with sour cream."

Padma digs in. Tom takes a bite. "Did you taste these?", he asks. "They're underseasoned. They need more salt." Padma asks, "What did you fry this in?" "Duck fat," you reply. "I can tell," she says. "Thanks."

The Elves guide Padma and Tom back to their marks, and the cameras begin rolling again. "So, Tom, who had our least-favorite dishes?" Tom points. "Justin," he says. "The individual components were all cooked well, but it just didn't make sense to me. I'm not sure why you would pair the bison with Mentos." He then turns to Stephen. "Steve. The lamb was just overcooked."

"And who were our favorites?," Padma asks. "Violet," he says. "You really got an amazing amount of flavor from that chicken in such a short time, and the sour cream was a nice contrast with the spice. And... Andre. The deconstructed potato skin was a pretty clever idea."

Oh well. At least you weren't on the bottom. Oh hey, Violet wins. Good for her. After everyone settles down, Padma begins again. "And now for this week's Elimination Challenge: it's what you've all been waiting for." She winds and delivers: "Restaurant Wars!"