The chefs were asked to create vegetable-forward dishes, where proteins served as the accompaniment. The dishes were served at the Temperate House in Kew Gardens. The guest judge was chef/director Angela Hartnett. Other diners in attendance included chef/owners Adam Handling and Brett Graham, chef patron Vineet Bhatia, and Kew Gardens botanical horticulturist Helena Dove.
Padma Lakshi: "For your first Top Chef ™ elimination challenge, we want you to create a vegetable forward dish where the protein is used more like a seasoning or an accent."
Tom Colicchio: "Vegetables are where all our flavor comes from, and more chefs are really focusing so much on produce."
Padma Lakshi: "This is an individual challenge. You'll each have £250 to shop at Whole Foods Market. Then tomorrow you'll have 2 hours to prep and cook at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew - a UNESCO World heritage site. You'll be serving a distinguished table of chefs from the United Kingdom. And your first guest judge of the season will be Michelin starred chef and Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Angela Hartnett."
