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Her first course will be an octopus dish reminiscent of what she used to eat at home. Her second will be a congee - a traditional Chinese rice porridge. She made a congee on the first episode of the season (in which she won the Elimination Challenge) but wants to do a more mature version that incorporates Mexican flavors. Her third dish will be duck with huitlacoche - the fungus that she used so well in the previous challenge. Then she’ll finish out with a huge, risky dessert course. She promises that it’ll be a “perfect example” of who she is as a chef and where she’ll be in the future. She’s not just a savory chef.

Greg starts his prep and cooking not soon thereafter. He posts pages of instructions on the wall for his two sous chefs - his strategy, he tells us, is to maximize both of their best talents. His first dish will be a grilled octopus prepared by George - Greg realizes that George over-charred his octopus in the challenge that sent him home, but knows George can handle this. Greg will follow that up with a shrimp dish with green chorizo, an ingredient he successfully incorporated in the chocolate Quickfire. His third dish will be striped bass that features spicy and sweet flavors. Finally, he’ll end with his “secret weapon”: an authentic Mexican mole. Wow. He certainly has cojones. Greg expresses his excitement about using all Mexican ingredients - he wants to live in the moment and says that his menu celebrates that sentiment. He’s not about to play it safe against Mei.

The diners arrive for Mei’s dinner. Gail is excited by her menu, which combines both Mexican and Asian sensibilities. Mei kicks things off with an octopus with fish sauce vinaigrette, an avocado-coconut puree, and herbs. She hopes the boldness of its flavors will “punch the judges in the face.” Gail finds it to be one of the most beautiful plates she’s ever seen and loves the bold, bright flavors contained therein. Hugh compliments the depth of the flavor he finds. Padma comments that it’s probably one of the most flavorful dishes they’ve gotten from Mei, and while Tom agrees, he finds the octopus a bit dry and overcooked.

Mei’s next dish is a congee with carnitas, scallion puree, hot sauce, Mexican peanuts, and an egg yolk. Again, it’s a beautiful dish. Padma finds it warm and gooey with a lot of flavor and says she likes it a lot more than Mei’s first dish. Tom calls it “really, really delicious, with perfect balance.” Hugh likes that it shows off Mei’s heritage.

As for her third dish, Mei worries that it’s a bit “out there” but believes it tastes great. She serves up duck with braised lettuce, kimchi butter, jicama, and huitlacoche. Upon first bite, Gail worried that the flavors would fight each other, but as she ate more, she found that they really went together nicely. Hugh, as has been his complaint all season, isn’t a fan on the rendering of the duck fat. Tom finds interesting moments in the dish and likes the use of jicama, but Richard says there’s too much huitlacoche for him.

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