Top Chef season 22 episode 4 recap: Chefs face savory dessert challenge while Michael Cera joins as a guest judge

Episode 4 of Top Chef season 22 aired on April 3, 2025. It brought new challenges and a twist to the competition. A trivia-style Quickfire Challenge and an appearance by actor Michael Cera as a guest judge were both part of the episode.

Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach, who won Jeopardy!, also took part by asking trivia questions, and Kristen Kish hosted the segment. Each team got a certain amount of time and ingredients based on the trivia. The Green Team got the most right answers, which earned them 30 minutes and eight ingredients.

Each team had 20 minutes and four ingredients. The Yellow Team, on the other hand, only had 15 minutes and three ingredients.

Once the Quickfire was over, Kristen started the Elimination Challenge, which was to make six traditional Canadian desserts savory. One dessert was given to each pair of chefs, and they had $100 to spend on ingredients. They had two hours to prepare a savory dish inspired by that dessert. Michael Cera later said, it was time to "draw knives,” signaling the start of the challenge.

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Quickfire Challenge features trivia, ingredient twists, and a $10,000 win in Top Chef

In Top Chef season 22, episode 4, the Quickfire began with a trivia contest, where chefs had to answer food-related questions to earn ingredients for their dishes. Each team’s performance affected the time and ingredients they were given. The Green Team, made up of Corwin, Vinny, Shuai, and César, won the most time and ingredients.

Their eight ingredients included shiso, ginger, scallops, eggplant, and panko. Corwin, nicknamed “Mr. Boxing Hands,” helped secure their trivia lead and later won the Quickfire with his scallops and ginger beurre blanc dish. He received $10,000.

“I can’t wait to try four different battered-rice sandwiches,” Amy said.

Shuai also stood out with his salad that impressed Michael Cera. Kat, with only 15 minutes, used a raspberry-cognac sauce to elevate her dish and finished in the top three. At the bottom were Tristen, Henry, and Massimo.

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Elimination Challenge pushes chefs to reimagine sweet desserts as savory dishes

In the Elimination Challenge of Top Chef, chefs worked in pairs and drew one of six Canadian desserts as their inspiration: butter tart, Nanaimo bars, jam jams, potato chocolate cake, date squares, and figgy duff. They had to create a savory dish that still captured the essence of the dessert.

Corwin and Tristen, who received figgy duff, both impressed the judges. Corwin’s jerk fried chicken and Tristen’s pepper-pot-inspired dish stood out. “Yum,” Tom said after tasting their plates. Kat was also in the top three with her Nanaimo bar-inspired duck dish. She used liquid nitrogen to create a duck skin crumble that the Top Chef judges appreciated.

Paula, her partner, struggled to highlight the flavors of the Nanaimo bar, though her dish was still considered well-executed. Shuai and Katianna, working with jam jams, both missed the mark. Shuai’s meatball was called out for having too many strong flavors, while Katianna’s porridge didn’t connect well with the assigned dessert.

In the bottom were Shuai, Henry, and Zubair. Henry’s duck dish, inspired by butter tarts, was underwhelming and lacked sauce on Gail’s plate. Zubair, also working with butter tart inspiration, overcooked his duck. Talking about Zubair's dish, Michael Cera said that no one wanted to "brave" taking another bite.

Ultimately, Zubair was asked to pack his knives and go. He immediately faced off against Bailey in Last Chance Kitchen, but was unable to win. Bailey reentered the competition and will return with immunity in the next episode.

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Watch new episodes of Top Chef airing every Thursday on Bravo.