Top Chef Week 9

Forget all of the previous challenges the chefs have had to endure this season. Last night's episode is what all fans crave. Yes, it's season five's turn at restaurant wars!

The Quickfire Challenge started off simply enough. Padma greeted the chefs with guest judge Stephen Starr, a successful restaurateur responsible for Buddakan and Morimoto. Padma explained that opening a restaurant is risky business and part of the process is holding a tasting for potential investors. Thus, the chefs would be hosting a tasting for Stephen. They had to create one dish to showcase their concept for a restaurant of their own. Hosea wanted a Latin/Mediterranean style place, so he made shrimp with a morel mushroom sauce with a garlic potato puree. Jeff's decision for American fare had him make grilled salmon with sunchoke and artichoke puree that Stephen dubbed "mushy." Leah's first choice of red snapper faltered because it was smelly. So she decided on making tempura battered poussin, inspired by her travels to Asia. Stephen called it "tasty."

Fabio believed that more restaurants should focus on the lunch business so he made a course of an appetizer salad with tuna and swordfish carpaccio. He accompanied it with a filet mignon sandwich that Stephen dubbed a "cheese steak" but Fabio insisted it was a filet mignon sandwich. Jamie wanted a seasonal and local flavor inspired restaurant. She made creamed corn with bacon and peas served with Chilean sea bass. Stephen raved about its simplicity. Carla said she wanted her restaurant to focus on homey and rustic food. She created cod seared in tomato oil that Stephen said had no salt. Stefan's restaurant would be a Euro/American type, with old world European cooking having an American twist. He made a trio of asparagus with pan-fried trout. Stephen called it "very good." Radhika used global influences on her pan seared cod with butter braised corn and spinach with saffron. Radhika's choice for global food won her the challenge because Stephen thought her idea was new and exciting. Leah also won because her idea was clean and forward.

So, of course, for the Elimination Challenge, Radhika and Leah would be opening their own restaurants for one night only. They picked their teams: Radhika had Jamie, Jeff, and Carla. Leah chose Hosea, Fabio, and Stefan. The teams were to plan menus, shop for decor, and choose linens. They would then have six hours to prep at Bridgewater restaurant.

Jamie told Radhika to stick with global spices. Their restaurant was named Sahana, which Radhika said meant "strong" and "powerful." Fabio said he couldn't cook Asian food well, so he would work as host. Stefan told Leah they had to make "pretty, small, tight, sexy food" in order to win. Stefan and Hosea decided their restaurant would be called Sunset Lounge.

Radhika said she was giving Jamie a lot of responsibility when it came to the cooking, so she decided to be hostess. Jamie said she was "worried" about Jeff because he "can't focus on his ideas."

The big thing that happened was later that night; Hosea and Leah were on the couch kissing. Why is it bad? Both have significant others! The next morning, Hosea said he regretted it. Leah felt weird and hoped after the show ended, she would still be with her boyfriend. Even Stefan admitted their back and forth flirting was distracting.

In the kitchen, the chefs were faced with the usual problems. After finding no fresh lamb shanks at Whole Foods, Jeff found frozen ones at Restaurant Depot. Jamie was nervous because she hoped they would be defrosted in time. Leah's cod was very bony and Hosea was concerned because Leah already portioned it our before she took out the bones. Perhaps the biggest culinary problem happened in the dessert department on both teams. Carla and Stefan's dishes both needed the freezer and because it was so hot in the kitchen, nothing was freezing. While Stefan made an ice bath to fix his problems, Radhika wasn't leading or making any executive decisions to help Carla and her team.

The judges hit Sahana first. The curried carrot soup with smoked paprika oil was accompanied by a chickpea cake and seared scallop with a masala tomato sauce. Tom said it was "very nice" and Stephen raved about the chickpea cake. A diner loved how the scallop was cooked. Next was a white lentil with seared snapper and tomato water. Also served was a cinnamon and saffron braised lamb shank with cous cous. Tom loved the lamb shank, while Toby said the cous cous tasted like dishwater. A diner thought too much liquid surrounded the snapper.

Carla's "hot mess" of a dessert was a spiced chocolate cake with cr?me fromage and cashew brittle. Also her frozen yogurts of fig and mint were now soup because they weren't frozen. Tom had no utensils to eat it. Toby said the desserts were the least impressive part of the meal. A diner said the chocolate cake should be removed from the menu. Radhika's job as hostess didn't go over so well. Tom said she wasn't on the floor enough and would just disappear. Diners said she needed to "relax" and she was "intense."

Sunset Lounge came next. Fabio was the host, but made an amuse bouche of a vegetable roll with mushrooms and chili. Tom said a frozen egg roll is better. The starter dishes were a tuna sashimi salad with radish and a curry coconut bisque. Stephen thought the soup was pretty good. Padma thought the sashimi needed salt. Braised short ribs with ginger and seared black cod with vegetables were next. Tom loved the short ribs, saying they were "cooked well and glazed." Leah's cod was a disaster to Toby. It was undercooked and Stephen said it was a shame. Padma ended up sending it back. The vegetables were "like a pickle" because of the acidity, according to Stephen.

The saving grace for the judges were Stefan's desserts. His chocolate rice parfait with grapefruit jelly had Stephen wanting more. His lemongrass and ginger panna cotta also went over well. Stefan even had a palate cleanser of frozen mango and bitter chocolate in the form of a lollipop that was well-received. As for Fabio's hosting duties, Stephen said he was "fabulous."

Restaurant Wars is epic for Top Chef. But what always keeps the heat in the kitchen on high is when surprises occur. And next week, contestants from past seasons show up. It looks like the wars will continue.