text: [Themes: cooking]
  
  The sun has not even risen when the Elves rouse you from your rest. You've slept far too little since last night's bloodbath, but it's time once again for battle. You sharpen your blades and head to the arena. Only six combatants remain, including yourself. Great merciful Zeus, you are exhausted. But you're not giving up now, not with glory and treasure on the line.
  
  Not to mention that spread in Food & Wine.
  Quickfire
  
  Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.
  
  In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.
  
  Really, you should.]
  
  A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.
  
  Justin, Andre, Linh, Stephen and Violet are here milling around.
  
  [Author's Note: The sun has not even risen when the Elves rouse you from your rest. You've slept far too little since last night's bloodbath, but it's time once again for battle. You sharpen your blades and head to the arena. Only six combatants remain, including yourself. Great merciful Zeus, you are exhausted. But you're not giving up now, not with glory and treasure on the line. Not to mention that spread in Food & Wine.]
  
  > About yourself
  You haven't showered today, and your hair is kind of a mess, but the Elves have done their best to make you look presentable for the cameras. You're wearing your Top Chef whites over a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a Top Chef whites (being worn)
  a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt (being worn)
  jeans (being worn)
  some knives
  
  > examine the knives
  A punishingly expensive and well-honed set of Bob Kramers for various applications, including a large chef's knife, a paring knife, a fillet knife, a cleaver, a serrated bread knife, and a few others. At Padma's request, you will pack them and go. [Note: You will automatically choose appropriate knives for your kitchen tasks. No need to worry about what's what.]
  
  > examine Justin
  Justin is tall and faux-hawked, and has meticulously-maintained three-day stubble every day of the week. He likes to remind people that he staged at El Bulli.
  
  > examine andre
  A fairly big dude from Houston; nominated for a James Beard last year. He's a sweet guy, for the most part.
  
  > examine Linh
  A feisty little Vietnamese-American woman, executive chef at one of Charlie Palmer's places. She's a real tough competitor, but usually not a jerk.
  
  > examine Stephen
  He's a small, quiet Midwesterner, self-taught, and works currently as a private chef. While everyone else is drinking in the Stew Room, he's always got a bottle of fizzy water. He's won a bunch of challenges, which drives Justin insane.
  
  > look at Violet
  She's African-American too; well, quite a bit further removed temporally from Africa than you are, and likely from the other side of the continent, but still, by American reckoning, African. You can tell she is going to be a fan favorite. Very pretty, very quick-witted, and usually very good as well.
  
  > About yourself
  You haven't showered today, and your hair is kind of a mess, but the Elves have done their best to make you look presentable for the cameras. You're wearing your Top Chef whites over a Litchfield Women's Correctional Facility T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
  
  > look at the stove
  The details are not that important. When you're ready, you can just PUT SKILLET ON RANGE.
  
  > examine the counter
  Each station has a counter with some electrical sockets for equipment and sundry standard kitchen implements. Back at the start of the season, every station was occupied, leading to elbow-to-elbow cooking, territorial fights, ingredient theft, bickering, crashes, and other reality-show goodness. Now there's a little room to spread out. The rest still happens.
  
  On your station is a cutting board.
  
  > Y.
  cheapglulxe quit with exit status: 0
  
  The sun has not even risen when the Elves rouse you from your rest. You've slept far too little since last night's bloodbath, but it's time once again for battle. You sharpen your blades and head to the arena. Only six combatants remain, including yourself. Great merciful Zeus, you are exhausted. But you're not giving up now, not with glory and treasure on the line.
  
  Not to mention that spread in Food & Wine.
  Quickfire
  
  Top Chef Kitchen is the focal point of the show, your home away from home. Well, technically, that would be the loft. This is your home away from home away from home. It's where the majority of challenges take place. When you first arrived, it was intimidating and awkward, but now that you've been here awhile -- and with half the cheftestants gone -- it's become reasonably comfortable.
  
  In the "center" of the room (pretending for the moment that there is a fourth wall), there are a bunch of stations, each with some basic utensils, and a sink. Along one wall is a gleaming row of GE Monogram® ovens, scrubbed inside and out after every challenge to show the sponsor in the best possible light. Above them, the massive Top Chef logo looms. And as always, a bunch of Elves are here with their gear, all artfully hidden from the viewers. The pantry is to the west.
  
  Really, you should.]
  
  A bunch of equipment is lined up on a rack near the gas range and grill: among many other things, there's some plates, a grater, a cast-iron skillet, a Robot Coupe, a huge pressure cooker and a mixing bowl.
  
  Justin, Andre, Linh, Stephen and Violet are here milling around.
  
  > Xyzzy
  Sorry, did you say "tzatziki?"
  
  > examine Coupe
  A hideously-expensive, industrial-grade food processor used in professional kitchens. Put stuff into it and press the button.
  
  > examine the skillet
  A heavy fifteen-inch cast-iron pan, properly seasoned.
  
  The cast-iron skillet is empty.
  
  > examine the board
  It's a nice butcher-block model. There are many like it, but this one (for the duration of the challenge) is yours.
  
  There is nothing on the cutting board.
  
  > go to the west
  Don't wander off just yet.
  
  One of the Elves, a production assistant, raises his voice. "OK, everyone, we're starting. Cheftestants, please line up." The other chefs dutifully begin to arrange themselves, with the assistance of the Elves.
  
  A few minutes later, Padma and Tom arrive and chat with each other inaudibly, over by the logo. Tom's wearing a Santa hat. The Elves set them on their marks, then wheel out a table loaded down with tubs of something. Fabulous. More product placement. Everyone straightens up. "Quiet on the set!," shouts the director. The cameramen take their places and begin rolling.
  
  "Action!"
  
  "Greetings, chefs," purrs Padma. She's considerably better-rested and groomed than you lot. "It's Christmas!" Actually, it's June as you're filming this, and about 90 degrees outside. "Behind me, as you can see" --  she waves for effect -- "we have sour cream from Organic Valley. Sour cream is extremely versatile and can be used in a wide variety of last-minute sweet and savory dishes for a holiday party."
  
  Tom: "Your Quickfire challenge this week is to make us a delicious dish for a holiday party incorporating Organic Valley sour cream."
  The cameras come in for reaction shots from you and the others. You can see the wheels turning in your fellow competitors.
  
  Padma, again: "You have twenty minutes. The winner of the Quickfire will not get immunity, but will get a significant benefit in the next Elimination Challenge."
  
  "Cut!", yells the director. "OK, everyone, stay on your marks. Let's get some acknowledgments." Tom and Padma chat for a bit, while a pair of Elves, one holding a camera, walk the line of cheftestants. They approach, and make you repeat the terms of the challenge back to the cameras for legal purposes. Reality show contestants can be rather litigious, you know.
  
  "Samiira, do you fully understand the terms of the challenge?"
  
  > Y.
  "Thank you, Samiira." They move on down the line until all the cheftestants have given their assent.
  
  > Go west
  Don't wander off just yet.
  
  The director shouts, "Everyone, back on your marks!" Moments later, they're set up and rolling again.
  
  Everyone tenses as they wait for Padma. "Your time starts" -- slight pause -- "NOW!"
  
  OK! Well, there's probably a million baking options, but you don't have anything other than kac kac or luqaimat
  memorized. You don't have time to bake during a Quickfire anyway. Think of something! What was the last thing you made with sour cream? OK, yes -- a friend you worked with (now your ex-boyfriend's wife) taught you to make latkes last year. That'll work. The timing will be really tight, though you think you can finish, inshallah.
  
  So you're gonna need POTATOES and EGGS and ONIONS and MATZO MEAL and OIL (or equivalent) and SALT. And then SOUR CREAM, obviously, and something else on top. Maybe a BERRY of some kind? Or savory -- wait, wasn't there some IKURA in the fridge yesterday? [You can type RECIPE or R at any time to pull up the recipe.]
  
  The other cheftestants bolt off their marks to get their stuff. You see Linh, Violet, and Justin dash to the pantry, and Andre and Stephen heading over to the equipment.
  
  > go west
  The Top Chef pantry is stocked, at least most days, with just about anything you could want. Not always in huge quantities, though. Having the cheftestants squabble over ingredients makes for good TV.
  A giant GE Monogram® refrigerator occupies much of the north wall. Next to it are shelves filled with various nonperishable goods. And opposite them are baskets of produce.
  
  Here getting ingredients are Violet and Linh.
  
  The camera comes in for a close-up on you and what you're doing. You manage a few words.
  
  You see Linh, already weighed down with armfuls of ingredients, struggling to reach a jar of Moroccan olives on the shelves. She turns to you for help. "Sam, hey, uh, can you?", she asks. There are actually a couple up of jars there. Justin, meanwhile, peels around the corner and starts lunging towards the baskets, with an Elf close behind. "..blackberrry jus," he seems to be saying to no one in particular.
  
  > take the potatoes
  You leave Linh hanging. "Thanks for nothing!" she says. She puts some stuff down, jumps, and gets the jar herself.
  
  Taken.
  
  Stephen and Andre arrive and begin gathering ingredients.
  
  > R.
  You can't consult actual written recipes on the show, so quantities and times are always going to be inexact. That said--
  
  potatoes, peeled, grated and dried
  onions, chopped
  eggs
  matzo meal
  oil or fat
  salt
  
  Combine potatoes, onions, eggs, salt and matzo meal in bowl. Fry latkes in very hot oil, flipping after five minutes. Drain and plate the latkes. Garnish as appropriate, and finish with salt to taste.
  
  Given this challenge, "garnish" means sour cream, and maybe a little something else. Berries, or caviar, perhaps.
  
  > get the oil
  Taken.
  
  Justin elbows his way to the baskets and grabs the blackberries. "Sorry," he claims. "I need them for a jus." He lurches off.
  
  > get all
  Please be specific.
  
  > get the salt
  Taken.