Time's up and the crowds arrive. Each cheftestant serves up a dish. Josh notes that this is the Alaskan version of a fish fry, and the setting is beautiful. There are actual bears in a nearby tree. Tom points it out to the other judges and then jokes that bears are his fanbase. It's funny because it's true.

The judges stop by Brooke's table first and Padma introduces them: Hugh Acheson, Tom Collichio, Gail Simmons, Sean Brock, and Emeril. Man, they all showed up for Alaska. Brooke serves sockeye salmon and seafood broth with mustard seed caviar and dill sourdough. Tom notes that Brooke's broth is really good and the mustard seeds add great flavor. Hugh agrees, but notes that they're not very appetizing to look at. Sean loves the broth too. Emeril thinks she nailed the bread, and Gail applauds the addition of dill. Sounds like Brooke might have this one in the bag.

Sheldon made green tea and chive sourdough with smoked salmon and pea soup. Padma makes a sour face (no pun intended) when she tries the bread, and says that while she loves green tea and chive, she doesn't like them together. Yeah, that doesn't seem like a great combination. Emeril adds that his bread needed salt. Gail thought the salmon was cooked well but didn't like the charred flavor, and Padma agrees that it was smoky. Sean didn't like how Sheldon ground his tongs into the salmon when serving (that seems picky), but liked the soup. Hugh thought the soup was too thick and seemed like baby food. Yikes. The locals are shocked the Sheldon chose to cook the chum variety along with the sockeye, since no one eats it locally. I mean, look at the name. It sounds like what they use in Jaws to lure the shark.

Weird interstitial: Emeril tells the tale of how, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, his chef took his sourdough starter out of the fridge and kept it going while he was evacuated from the city, until they finally got back into the restaurant three months later. I hope he gave that guy a raise.

Josh made roasted garlic sourdough soup with sockeye salmon and black olive croutons. Hugh notes that the salmon is very well-cooked. Tom thinks the soup has a lot of flavor, but he's not sure how well it goes with the salmon, because it's got a strong garlic flavor. Emeril really likes the crunch of the croutons and Gail appreciates that Josh used the bread as a crouton instead of just giving them a hunk of bread on the side.

Lizzie made citrus and beet glazed salmon slider with poppy seed butter and pickles. She tells the judges that she didn't want to do soup since everyone else was. Gail likes the pickles and Hugh notes that she's the only one who got a good crust on her bread. Hugh doesn't understand the glaze, and Tom doesn't get why she didn't marinate the salmon in the glaze to give it more flavor. Emeril thinks her dish is too simple for this point in the competition. Padma's final word is that she loves the sourdough. We get it, Padma. You eat carbs. Congratulations.