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But how about a little fun before then? Padma tells the chefs that they’ll have 30 minutes to shop at Whole Foods for their challenge, and after some time to prep, she’ll cook dinner for them and their loved ones at the Top Chef house that night. Such a gal, that Padma is.

The chefs blow into Whole Foods with differing levels of confidence. Sheldon and Shirley know exactly which route they’re going, each incorporating ingredients and techniques they learned while in the city with dishes and flavors from their own heritage. Brooke, on the other hand, is struggling with the abstract nature of the challenge. She chooses, then, to go literal, and picks out ingredients that were featured in challenges that she won this season.

Interesting approaches, eh? Flavors and techniques from the city vs. ingredients that got you wins?

During the prep session following the shopping trip, though, the only person having real trouble with his dish is Sheldon. He’s trying to do some wacky spin on chow fun - a typical Chinese noodle dish - by grinding down Carolina gold rice (a staple ingredient of the region) and turning it into noodles. Only the noodle-thing ain’t happening. There’s not enough starch in the rice for it to stay together in noodle form. As Sheldon leaves the Top Chef Kitchen, and throughout dinner with Padma, the chefs, and their spouses/sister, he can’t stop obsessing about the fact that his noodles aren’t coming together.

Once back in the kitchen the next day, Sheldon enacts his solution - he adds more rice flour and tapioca flour to the noodle batter and sticks it in the steamer. If the noodles don’t come together, he won’t have a dish.

He’s got some time, though, thankfully. John is up first with a sofrito-crusted scallop with a braised leek broth, which he fears may be too simple to win him a ticket to the finale. The judges all adore the broth, which really brings out flavors reminiscent of the sea, but Tom can’t get past the fact that John didn’t peel the bell peppers he used to make his sofrito, which left a bitterness in the dish. Other elements in the dish (like the broth) also had a hint of bitterness.

Though she really, REALLY wants the opportunity to cook at the James Beard House, Shirley declares that she isn’t cooking for the judges anymore, and that she’s no longer intimidated about cooking for a table full of James Beard Award winning chefs. This dish is about her and it’s dedicated to her grandparents. She puts forth an oil-poached grouper with a meat and bone “herb tea” consommé. As usual, the judges adore Shirley’s consommé, with one diner comparing it to a hug. Gail says that the dish perfect captures Shirley’s finesse at combining cuisines, with a broth that’s meaty and southern, but with clear Chinese aromas. Tom tells her that the dish should be a signature one for her.

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