Embellished with a gift-wrapped red ribbon, she stars in Part 1 of Episode 11 of Season 13 of “Top Chef,” which airs on Wednesday, April 27. The famous “black box”, a series of M 6 offerings, was put on its decoration to celebrate its 10th anniversary. A festive atmosphere not enough to reassure the shortlisted candidates for this tasting plunged into darkness, followed by the realization of the dish: “It freaks out, son! Says Louise Bubble before the event.

Soon the fears were confirmed. Especially since a little surprise awaits the teams, on the one hand, the chefs Phil and Barbot associated with Louise and Arnaud, and on the other the duo Barrett Eichbest who supervises Lillian and Michael: the mysterious dish to be reproduced is, for the first time, dessert! A marvel that combines lemon, herbs and vegetables created by the world’s only two-star pastry chef, Sebastien Fusion.

The last woman still in the race, the candidate from Lisbon would inadvertently make the show, insisting that she had discovered, in the dark, marrow or fat in a financier…with almonds and watercress. Chef Vauxion laughs, “I thought I’d bother them, but not that much.” As for Philip Echebest, he took the opportunity to profess his love for his friend Paul Perret: “With him, I’m ready for anything! He says before joining him in the dark for an epic tasting sequence.”

“Struggle, struggle, struggle…”

In this little game of culinary investigation, orange and red Arnaud and Louise’s team, with the help of chefs, finally win the cup and qualify for the next week. Who joins them? The other nominees, Thibault, Wilfred, Pascal and Sebastien have a date in Bordeaux, at the restaurant that Chef Eichebest recently opened, already crowned with a star.

Here again, the challenge is daunting: make ravioli, his specialty, not without tasting his recipe with foie gras and mushrooms beforehand. “It’s not bad, whoever did this. In my opinion, he could have a great career,” laughs Thibaut, while Wilfred was on the job: “Today, you really have to fight, fight, fight…” Basque origin as sole judge, the purple candidate wins Qualified second place.

For the final test, it’s Pascal, Thibaut and Lillian who compete. The subject of this last chance: mackerel. Ambitious, reinstated as Thibaut during the previous show, Lillian, who runs a hypermarket in Oise, let’s go: “If I come back, I’ll win top chef ! »

And it proves: After the tasting, which sees Helen Darroes return after a two-week break, the chef’s favorite goes for the cheery Lillian. The other “returner”, who plays “solo” on Wednesday, will have much less luck: mackerel cooked in a tebaut torch wiped out for good. A departure that does not leave him bitter: “It was an emotional rollercoaster eleven weeks. But I enjoyed every event, and I leave with so many beautiful memories,” he says with a smile.