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The chefs will work in teams of two, drawing knives to determine their partners and their fish. Casey, as the winner, will work alone and gets to choose her fish (she picks amberjack). The other pairings are Sheldon with Shirley (sabatagee and sabotager), Brooke with Emily (who shows her Top Chef chops by deferring to Brooke on all decisions), Amanda and Jim (a study in contrasting personalities and energies, if there ever was one), Katsuji and John (who immediately start trying to tame each other’s culinary styles, excess versus simplicity), and Sylva and BJ (they seem to get along just fine).

With these pairings in place and with shopping done, tensions run high in the kitchen. Emily is terrified of putting on a poor showing in front of the chef who fired her, Brooke feels the weight of making all executive decisions for her team, Katsuji and John bicker about the merits of canned tomatoes (John) versus fresh tomatoes (Katsuji) for their sauce, while Amanda is an absolute mess in the kitchen, yelling and screaming and running and yelping. I know she doesn’t mean to be annoying, but she can apparently accomplish great things without even trying.

Sheldon and Shirley are up first and their dish of Szechuan peppercorn-braised mullet is a hit. Richard loves how they paired their fish with tofu, and Tom appreciates how subtly they incorporate the flavor of Szechuan peppercorns (not known for being a delicate flavor).

Jamie and Sylva also do a great job. Their fish typically has a very iron-y flavor due to its thick bloodline, but they smartly pair it with ras al hanout to mask it. The dreamy Hugh Acheson, a frequent guest judge on TC but making his debut appearance this season, notes that the judges thought that the team would fail miserably due to the difficulty of the fish, but they did a nice job.

Next are Pinky and the Brain, a.k.a. Emily and Brooke, with a roasted blackberry rose with marbled potatoes. Nilou finds that the dish has a split personality, with flavors fighting each other, every which way. Tom asks about how they came up with the dish. “It was very collaborative,” Emily lies between her teeth. Brooke tries to inject some truth in the situation by noting that they didn’t have many disagreements (indeed, Emily didn’t have many things to say at all). Gail wishes that there’d been more editing in the decision making process.

Silvia and BJ are next with a barrel fish brodo with leeks and kale. Mike Lata notes that their fish, already known for not being tender, is even more firm and tough that it typically is. Padma compares it to an overcooked chicken breast. Tom guesses correctly that their fish firmed up as it dried out and wishes that there had been more broth to keep the fish moist and succulent.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Katsuji starts plating his fresh tomato sauce without talking with John, who’d been making an alternative canned tomato sauce. Without discussion, he starts adding his own sauce to the plate. Despite this foreboding start, the dish is a hit, with the diners raving about Katsuji’s sauce. Mike loves the soulfulness of the dish, and Hugh compliments them for having bridged their two egos (oh Hugh, if you only knew).

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