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00:00In the high-pressure food world,
00:02bitter feuds and intense rivalries are everywhere.
00:05No!
00:06We got some beef to settle.
00:07It's like an old-school duel.
00:09From disputes that begin in restaurant kitchens.
00:11I never forget what you did.
00:12You've been copying me.
00:13To culinary superstars that have resentments that go back years.
00:16I'm gonna run you out of this arena like I ran you out of L.A., baby.
00:21So I'm inviting chefs with real-life grudges to settle the score
00:24in head-to-head culinary match-ups.
00:27This is pan-to-pan combat.
00:28Oh, my God.
00:29The winner earns redemption, their rival chef knife, and $10,000.
00:34It gives me goosebumps to even think about giving this knife up.
00:37It means everything to me.
00:38This is Chef Grudge Match.
00:44She's a super mom with two children.
00:47She's authored a knockout cookbook.
00:49And she's considered the greatest female boxer of our time.
00:53Who makes a noise for the champ, Layla Ali.
01:05Tonight, we have a couple of heated grudge matches involving married couples.
01:10Tia and Matthew Rayford live and work together on a family farm where they run a professional kitchen preparing farm-fresh food.
01:19But the two fight over menus, recipes, seasoning, basically everything.
01:25Both are at the top of their game.
01:27Tia was trained under elite global chefs, and Matthew is a James Beard-nominated fresh food expert.
01:34They both claim they should be the head chef and accuse the other of treating them like a sous chef.
01:39I love my husband, but he is not the head chef.
01:43I'm more organized.
01:44I have a better palate.
01:46Everything he makes takes 12 hours.
01:49Nobody has that kind of time.
01:51What needs to be settled is that I have the final say in the kitchen.
01:54I'm the idea guy.
01:56We call her Chef Spreadsheet.
01:58So, worry about the finances.
02:00Let me worry about the food.
02:01Now, Tia has had enough.
02:04She is challenging Chef Matthew to a grudge match to decide who has the culinary chops to be in charge.
02:13First up is our challenger.
02:15She was the senior executive chef for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
02:20Known for her precision and organization in the kitchen, she has a unique ability to enhance depth of flavor with minimal ingredients.
02:28I have paid my dues.
02:29For him to acknowledge that I am the better chef is long overdue.
02:34Put your hands together for Chef Tia Raffer.
02:46Welcome.
02:48Look at you. Welcome Chef Tia.
02:50Tell me what's going on.
02:51Child, this guy does not use salt.
02:54He leaves the kitchen a mess.
02:56He tells me to do things.
02:57Find this, find that.
02:58I'm like, no, no, no.
02:59That's not how this works.
03:00All right.
03:01Well, let's meet your opponent.
03:04This James Beard-nominated chef and cookbook author was raised on his family's historic farm,
03:09where he developed his love and expertise in fresh, locally grown Southern food.
03:14I'm a James Beard semi-finalist, but beating Tia on Grudge Match would be the pinnacle of my career.
03:21Please make some noise for Tia's husband, Chef Matthew Raffer.
03:25Thank you, Chef.
03:26Matthew Raffer.
03:29I'm your bottle throw.
03:36Chef Matthew.
03:37Hello.
03:38Oh, man.
03:39So let's get this straight.
03:40So are you the best chef in the house?
03:41Was that a question?
03:42Was that a question?
03:42That was a question.
03:43That was a question. Yes, I am.
03:45Well, Chef Tia has told me that she feels
03:48that she's the best chef, but you treat her
03:49like she's a sous chef.
03:50Sometimes.
03:51You haven't learned happy life with a happy wife yet?
03:56No.
03:57At least he told the truth.
03:59Well, let me just remind you, the winner will receive
04:03bragging rights as long as you both shall live.
04:06Plus, you will get the prize of $10,000.
04:12Woo!
04:15In addition, the losing chef will have
04:17to hand over their most coveted chef knife.
04:20What knife have you brought?
04:21When Matthew and I got married, this
04:22is one of the gifts that we received.
04:24It's my prize knife, and I'm now willing to hand it over
04:28to him if I lose.
04:30It's just beautiful.
04:31He knows that this is the knife that I love to work with.
04:34Do not touch this knife.
04:36Don't move it.
04:37Leave this one alone.
04:38Chef Matthew, what knife have you put up?
04:41So I am risking the knife that my niece got for me,
04:46a cleaver that goes in a holster.
04:49I can do a little bit of everything with it.
04:51I can chop, slice, mince, jot.
04:53It'll bust through bone.
04:55It's a nice knife, but I don't know if that's enough.
04:57I mean, should we get a little side wager going here?
05:00Yeah!
05:02If I win, there is a sign that goes up that says,
05:06Chef Tia Rayford's Kitchen.
05:08Ooh!
05:10Not today, Satan.
05:11Oh!
05:14You ready for that?
05:15You want a sign that says, Chef Tia Rayford's Kitchen.
05:19There you go.
05:20There you go.
05:24All right.
05:25Are y'all ready for this grudge match?
05:28Let's head over to the kitchen.
05:35Now, each of you have brought a secret weapon,
05:38which is an ingredient that they feel will trip their spouse up.
05:42Chef Tia.
05:44I love you, but I chose canned collard greens for you.
05:52We live on a 50-acre farm.
05:53We grow lots of ingredients, and the can is his adversary.
05:58Canned collard greens, they're tinny and watery and mushy.
06:03This is really going to get his goat.
06:06You feeling that?
06:07I am, because my reveal hasn't happened yet.
06:10Uh-oh.
06:13What is your secret weapon?
06:14I love you as well.
06:16However, mayonnaise.
06:19Tia hates mayonnaise to the level that she doesn't even
06:21like the taste.
06:22She don't like the smell of mayonnaise.
06:25Nothing.
06:26It just tastes like fat.
06:27It's just nasty.
06:29Like, who eats this stuff?
06:31So the only way she going to win this today
06:34is to taste a whole bunch of this.
06:36Ooh, you guys are going hard on each other, huh?
06:39Well, to help you get over this grudge,
06:42I want you to make a romantic dinner.
06:44And what could be more romantic than a dinner that incorporates
06:48canned greens and mayonnaise, OK?
06:52Are you ready for this grudge match?
06:54Yeah!
06:55Yeah!
06:56Yeah!
06:57Yeah!
06:58It's time to ring that bell!
06:59Woo!
07:00Woo!
07:00Woo!
07:01Woo!
07:02Woo!
07:02Woo!
07:03Woo!
07:04And the plates first, OK, OK.
07:06Chef Tia just wants to be recognized in the kitchen.
07:09Can you watch out, please?
07:10Excuse me.
07:11And they're already over there fighting.
07:13Grab my mayonnaise.
07:14You better eat that mayonnaise, too, girl.
07:18We have to make a romantic dinner.
07:20We love pasta.
07:21Why not make some gnocchi with a pan-seared halibut?
07:24For us, love is not defined by caviar.
07:28Tia and I normally like things like pasta and sandwiches.
07:32That's like our love language.
07:34All right, Chef Matthew, what's going on with this romantic dinner now?
07:37I am getting ready to make a shrimp po' boy with a little bit of lump crab mayo salad.
07:41Ew!
07:42So let me ask you, let me ask you, just rewind for a second.
07:45Did you say you're making something that she likes?
07:47She likes shrimp.
07:48OK.
07:49I kind of hope the judges like it, because I'm thinking about what Tia
07:52and I think of as a romantic dinner.
07:55So I am doing part of this dish out of love, but most of it is to win.
07:59So, you know.
08:00We're off to a good start.
08:01We're off to a good start.
08:02OK.
08:03You got 27 minutes, chefs.
08:0427, heard.
08:06As always, we're joined by our resident judge, celebrated chef,
08:10James Beard-nominated culinary host, and legendary competitor, Jet Chila.
08:17Whoo!
08:18Hey there!
08:19How are you?
08:20How are you?
08:21So tell me, who are you bringing tonight to judge with you?
08:23So I've invited a celebrated chef.
08:26She's a James Beard Award winner, who runs a successful restaurant empire
08:31from Chicago to the West Coast.
08:33Please welcome everybody, Stephanie Izar!
08:36Yay!
08:37Yay!
08:38Yay!
08:39We have two chefs who are married.
08:42Oh, no.
08:43She said that she is the boss, but he just doesn't know it.
08:46They are co-chefs at the same restaurant.
08:49Yes.
08:50Even if they weren't married, you take two chefs in one kitchen,
08:52and it's a challenge, but you add in the married excitement,
08:56and that's just pretty unbelievable.
08:57They're either going to leave even closer, reconciled,
09:01or they're going to leave even more angry.
09:03Clearly, he's forgotten I'm in charge,
09:07and I don't want to spend the rest of my life listening to him gloat.
09:11My respect inside the kitchen is what's on the line here.
09:14I know I'm strong enough to beat her.
09:18Coming up, cooking couple Michael and Queenie Reed call out fellow
09:22restaurateurs Brett and Lucy Thompson to defend their reputation after they
09:27were embarrassed at a high-end food festival.
09:30I love them, but they got stuck out.
09:36Married chefs Tia and Matthew Rayford are preparing dueling romantic dinners
09:41to determine who is the head cook of their household.
09:4424 minutes, chefs.
09:45Hey, Tia, how's it going?
09:46Hey, I'm good.
09:47I'm going to make collard green gnocchi.
09:51Okay.
09:52I have seen spinach and kale gnocchi made.
09:55This will work.
09:56And what my husband doesn't realize is that even though I don't like mayonnaise,
10:01I know what to do with it.
10:02Oh, right.
10:03Yeah!
10:05Most people think that gnocchi has to have potato in it.
10:08It does not.
10:10Once I have my flour in my mixer, I add the eggs, ricotta cheese,
10:14the pureed collard greens,
10:15and add the mayonnaise to help bind the gnocchi together.
10:20You can make a dough with just mayonnaise and flour.
10:23I also worry that mayonnaise would flash evaporate in this.
10:26So you have to have in a flour to really bond this gnocchi, right?
10:30Yeah.
10:30Tia, have you made mayonnaise gnocchi before?
10:33I have never made mayonnaise gnocchi before.
10:36I don't know what's going to happen.
10:37All right, Chef Matthew, tell me what's going on over here.
10:39I really am tired of arguing with her about who's the person in the kitchen
10:43that should be running it.
10:44I just want to be done with it.
10:45So I'm looking for this to be the done thing today.
10:49I keep him sweating.
10:51That chick in the kitchen is a beast.
10:54She really knew how to push my buttons with these collard greens.
10:57We are going to settle it today.
11:00They lose their texture.
11:01They lose their taste.
11:03It just sucks.
11:05I had to figure out some kind of way to manipulate the flavor,
11:09and it'd still be collard greens.
11:11I'm thinking pesto had heat to it.
11:13Is that kimchi that you just put into the canned collards?
11:17I'm just kind of freaking out a little bit.
11:19You're thinking, what are we going to eat?
11:20Yeah, I'm thinking, can I eat that?
11:22Right.
11:22I mean, the texture of this is definitely troublesome.
11:25Pesto is not something typically that you would have on a po'boy,
11:29but I like riffing off of stuff, and I'm dedicated to beat Tia.
11:33Tia.
11:34Mayonnaise, gnocchi.
11:36How does it seem like it's working?
11:37Is it falling apart?
11:38It's firming up, yeah.
11:39Once I see my gnocchi is starting to come together, I feel thrilled.
11:43I believe I am going to win this grudge match.
11:49Well, you got a whole fan club over there, huh?
11:51So to make my sauce, I needed to render guanciale.
11:55When you're thinking collards, you need pork products.
11:57Oh, good call-out.
11:59Thumbs up on guanciale.
12:01You're doing some high-level cooking over here.
12:03I'm trying, you know. Some executive chef cooking.
12:04I mean, when you're up against a James Beard nominated,
12:07you know, you got to bring your A game.
12:09I mean, he thinks he's in charge, so I got to show him he's not.
12:12Are you two always this competitive?
12:16From the day we met, I think it dates back to our culinary school days.
12:20We dated for four months and we did not see each other for another 19 years.
12:25And then we married in 2021 and decided that we were going to bring our culinary and farming talents together.
12:32But the grudge began when my husband got irritated at the fact that every time I tasted something,
12:38I said to him, it needed salt. But it did.
12:42Hey, Tia. Tia.
12:44I'm busy.
12:44Tia.
12:49I'll be your salt bag.
12:52We definitely have a different opinion on how to use salt.
12:55You know, the breaking point was when she asked me to pack salt in the car with all our catering
13:01stuff just in case I didn't salt things enough. That was more than the straw that broke the camel's back.
13:06That was the salt grain that turned me crazy.
13:09So what do you toss on those shrimp in?
13:11So this is tossed with mayonnaise and breadcrumbs with a little bit of sumac.
13:16Mm-hmm.
13:16Coated them in mayonnaise and then put the breading on.
13:19Oh, which in some worlds might work.
13:21Could work.
13:22Because you've got the binder. You've got the eggs binding.
13:24Yeah.
13:24I normally don't use mayo as a binder, but I didn't want the judges to have one question about,
13:31did I use enough mayo? But most of the panko didn't stick like I wanted it to.
13:36I mean, if they were breaded, they lost all their breading. And then if it adhered.
13:45However, the flavor was spot. So I was like, if this is spot on, maybe the panko doesn't need
13:51to be there. As long as I use mayo across as many different parts of the dish as possible.
13:57He was like, just for my wife, I'm going to put on like two cups to each half of the sandwich.
14:03For a po' boy, you want a good crusty bread. And I always think about po' boys with all that
14:10lettuce and tomato and salad. So I got this crab salad and a nice helping of mayo to kind of bind
14:17that salad together. It's kind of a conundrum cooking with your wife. Because as a husband,
14:22you should always let your wife win. You're going to lose either way if you win, bro.
14:26No, you should not let your wife win. What are y'all talking about? I mean, if that's the case,
14:31we wouldn't even be here. Like, good gracious. Six minutes left, chef. Six minutes, Dougie Fresh.
14:36Six minutes. You look really focused over here, chef, to you. I'm going to sear off a few pieces of
14:41halibut. I'm running short on time. I don't want to wait for a very large piece of fish to cook.
14:47I'm not anti-cheese and fish. How are you with this, though? I feel like the dish seemed fine.
14:54Unless it was like a big, nice piece of fish on top. Right. That part just kind of confused me.
14:58You got four minutes left, Jeff. Matthew went for the big old rasher of bacon.
15:02Bacon. And he's only got four minutes to cook bacon.
15:06Matthew, you got time to get that bacon crispy? If I don't, it won't go on.
15:10I slather that collared pesto. And I take these shrimp and lay across the whole baguette.
15:17Crab salad, I lay on as well. I go right to cutting and plating while my bacon is still on the stove.
15:24One minute, chef. You got one minute, chef. Finishing with some pecorino.
15:30Don't stop, don't stop. More cheese, more cheese, more cheese, more cheese, more cheese.
15:34We got 30 seconds left, chef. Come on, bacon.
15:37My gnocchi is plated. I top it with the halibut.
15:42How's that bacon coming? It's coming. It ain't perfect.
15:45You got a chance. Cheese it up. Cheese it up.
15:49Five, four, three, two, one. Stop cooking.
15:59You know, that's the love of my life, but she is not the boss of me. That's why she's wrong.
16:04I have the final say in the kitchen.
16:06I've been waiting three years of marriage to prove to Matthew that I'm the better chef. This is my moment.
16:14Judges, our chefs have prepared for you a romantic dinner, including both canned collard greens and mayonnaise.
16:19Chef Tia, tell us about your dish.
16:22For me, romantic dinners aren't huge. You know, they're little bites of food.
16:26You know, you're not stuffed at the end of the night so you can carry on the rest of the evening.
16:30So I decided to make a collard green gnocchi with the mayonnaise because it doesn't have potato in it.
16:35And then the collard greens that I pureed and put inside rendered a little bit of guanciale.
16:40And then I topped it with a little bit of halibut.
16:49I just hope my gnocchi works.
16:51I mean, the texture of this gnocchi, it's fantastic.
16:59That's one of the best textures that I've had in gnocchi in a while.
17:02A really smart use of the mayonnaise.
17:04I don't know if I've ever wanted to eat canned collard greens, but you've made it quite delicious.
17:08The guanciale is a really smart move because you need that salt.
17:11Salt.
17:14Oh, here we go.
17:18I'm a little confused about the fish.
17:20Why the little pieces versus a nice piece of sauteed fish on top?
17:24I don't get it.
17:26I thought you took this perfect dish.
17:27You shaved cheese on it, which makes me one of the happiest people.
17:30And then you put halibut.
17:30And I thought, why'd you put the halibut?
17:32Outside of that, though, it was really, really nicely done.
17:34Thank you, Chef.
17:35Smart.
17:36Cheese and seafood do not go together.
17:39But it's okay to bend the rules once in a while, right?
17:42Chef Matthew, what have you prepared for the judges?
17:44So I did my spin on a shrimp po'boy with a collard pesto and a crab salad.
17:51Tia makes a massive amount of sandwiches.
17:54So it's our romantic, maybe not the rest of the world.
17:56I need to win because if she wins, my life is going to be miserable.
18:05I can accept this as a romantic meal then.
18:07And honestly, like, even more romantic to really take the personal story behind it of why it's
18:11romantic for the both of you.
18:12He gets a couple points for that one in your guys' relationship, I would say.
18:15That's my dog.
18:16That's my twin.
18:19I could just watch this all day long.
18:20I know.
18:21It's funny watching you make this sandwich.
18:24I mean, Jeff is getting real nervous.
18:25Kimchi and collards in a being pureed.
18:29I was like, there's no way this can make sense.
18:32But it makes sense.
18:33The kimchi doesn't taste like kimchi.
18:35It tastes like hot sauce.
18:36And the collard greens kind of gives it this earthiness.
18:39I feel like we've got the salt.
18:41It's not missing the seasoning.
18:44He's learned.
18:45Oh!
18:46The shrimp are perfectly cooked.
18:47I don't think they're what you intended.
18:49I think you were going for mayonnaise.
18:51It was going to help the panko coat.
18:53Just a little bit, yeah.
18:53Just a little bit.
18:54But I think the shrimp, because they're wet, everything slides off.
18:57I'm hoping that tiny mistakes like coated shrimp is not the difference between me winning and losing.
19:04Thanks, chefs.
19:04It was really, really fun to watch you.
19:06Thank you all.
19:07All right, you two.
19:08I'm going to let you go right on back to your station.
19:10Play nice.
19:11We'll try.
19:12Keep them separated.
19:15Oh, now you want to hold my hand.
19:16I still can't figure out my feelings about the halibut.
19:21It felt like such an afterthought.
19:22Yeah.
19:23But when I bit into it, it did bring some texture to the dish.
19:26But I feel like you could have put some bread crumbs on top instead or something very different
19:30than halibut.
19:31If I were to lose, I would spend the rest of my life listening to him gloat.
19:36And who wants that?
19:38The one use where he tried to use mayonnaise creatively to get the panko to stick to the shrimp didn't work.
19:44Yeah.
19:45All right.
19:46Everybody knows if she wins, I'm probably going to hear about it every day.
19:50And we've only been married three years.
19:52It's just too early to start having problems in the marriage.
20:00All right, chefs.
20:01We have a winner.
20:03Are you ready for this?
20:04Yes.
20:04Mm-hmm.
20:05With a score of 42 to 44.
20:09Oh!
20:13The winner of this grudge match is...
20:21Chef Tia!
20:27Tia, you had a more romantic dish and better use of the ingredients.
20:31Wait, y'all was on my side earlier.
20:34What just happened?
20:36It's great, baby.
20:37It's great.
20:39It's awesome to be his partner, but it feels even better to win.
20:43I'm sure it does.
20:45I'm sure it does.
20:46I do have to say you are going to have to hand over your knife, Chef Matthew.
20:50Oh.
20:55And you're going to have a sign in the kitchen just in case he ever forgets what he agreed to.
21:00Congratulations, because you are the winner of tonight's grudge match.
21:06I love you.
21:07I love you, too, honey.
21:09Take your knives.
21:10Let's hear it for these two.
21:16Now, don't get me wrong.
21:17I love my husband.
21:18I adore him, and he's an amazing chef.
21:21But I am the real winner here, and he will listen to me now.
21:24So now I must install this in our kitchen.
21:31So watch me fade away into the kitchen.
21:37Next, we have a really interesting grudge match.
21:41Los Angeles restaurateurs Michael and Queenie Reed and a rival restaurateur couple,
21:48Brett and Lucy Thompson.
21:49In 2023, Michael and Queenie hosted Masters of Taste, an annual L.A. food and beverage
21:55festival boasting over 100 vendors and 2,500 visitors.
21:59Now, they recommended fellow downtown L.A. restaurant owners Brett and Lucy to host
22:04the festival the following year.
22:06And guess what happened?
22:08Brett and Lucy crushed the festival in every way, showing up Michael and Queenie.
22:13In the restaurant industry, being a business owner was about reputation.
22:18When they hosted Masters of Taste, it was lit.
22:21And it just didn't sit right.
22:23Today, you guys will know who the masters of taste really are.
22:28We always come 100%.
22:30Sorry, guys.
22:31If they're holding on to this grudge, then let's just settle it.
22:34Are you ready to meet our chefs?
22:35First up is our challengers.
22:40Their Michelin-recommended restaurant is one of downtown L.A.'s top brunch spots.
22:45He fuses farm-to-table classics with a vibrant mix of his L.A. cultural heritage.
22:51And her spunky charm makes her the perfect front-of-house partner.
22:55You got us off of our game just a tad.
22:57But now, today, coming for you guys.
23:01Put your hands together for Michael and Queenie Reed.
23:11Yes, I love that.
23:12Energy, Queenie.
23:13Yes.
23:14So let me get this straight.
23:15You two hosted Masters of Taste Festival.
23:18And I'm sure you rocked it, right?
23:19We did.
23:20And then you recommended your friends the following year.
23:23Tell me how this went down.
23:24Listen, we wanted them to come because we're raising money for the homeless, right?
23:28Which we knew that they were going to kill it, but they did it just a little bit too well.
23:33And now we got a problem with that.
23:35So what do they do better than you?
23:37Ice sculptures, 20-foot display table, raw bars, crudos, over-the-top taco eating contest.
23:43Let's meet this couple that stole your thunder, all right?
23:46They're accomplished restaurateurs in downtown Los Angeles, known for their unrelenting commitment
23:52to excellence.
23:53He's a global executive chef sharpened in Michelin star kitchens, while she runs front of house
23:59and brings the bold flavors of her Mexican heritage.
24:03You thought we came hard at the Masters of Taste?
24:05Oof, you got another thing coming today.
24:07I got my knife sharpened.
24:09We're coming for you guys.
24:10We're coming for you.
24:11Let's give it up for Brett and Lucy Thompson.
24:21Welcome, Brett and Lucy.
24:23So I've heard your friends gave you the opportunity to let your business shine,
24:26and then they feel like you showed them up.
24:28Well, it's not our fault.
24:30You gave us the baton, and we just thought, hey, why not?
24:32Let's go all out and use up all the space and all the attention we can get.
24:36So thank you.
24:38You're welcome, but I want to prove who the real Masters of Taste, the real ones,
24:48it's realness over here.
24:49Well, we'll show you out on the field right now.
24:52We'll see who the best one is.
24:53Okay, well, let me remind you first.
24:57This is a one-round winner-take-all grudge match.
25:01The winners of this grudge match are not only going to receive culinary bragging rights as a couple,
25:08but you're also going to receive $10,000.
25:11All right?
25:12Does that sound good?
25:15Right?
25:16And finally, the winner is going to receive the loser's most coveted chef knife.
25:21So, Reeds, what knife are you putting up tonight?
25:23So I'm putting up one of my most prized positions.
25:26This is my everyday utility knife.
25:28This is one of the first knives that I bought myself.
25:31I worked hard to get it.
25:32I don't want to lose it.
25:33It's a beast.
25:35Always sharp.
25:36We'll stand you the test of time if you can take it away from me.
25:38The knife's staying home.
25:40The knife is staying home.
25:41We'll see about that.
25:44What knife are you all putting up?
25:46So this very handy cleaver here, I've had it for about 20 years.
25:50The Chinese cleaver, it is one knife that I cannot do without.
25:54It's got a great balance to it.
25:56You can see it's all one piece.
25:58One of my favorite knives in my quiver.
26:00It's not going anywhere, but just in case.
26:03We're getting two knives today.
26:04Yeah, there we go.
26:05Oh, big talk.
26:06Okay, hope you can back it up.
26:09Let's go.
26:10So just to get things straight, who are the actual chefs here?
26:15The fellas.
26:15Okay, because I see your wives are doing all the talking too, huh?
26:19So I'm assuming you're going to be doing a lot of cooking, okay?
26:22All right, well, are you all ready to do this?
26:24Come with me.
26:32You have each brought a secret weapon.
26:35So I would like to know, what is your secret ingredient?
26:38All right, so our secret ingredient is...
26:45Gochijang.
26:48You know, most people, unless you're an Asian chef, really don't work with gochijang.
26:52So I think it's going to throw them for a little bit of a loop.
26:55It's versatile. It's a little spicy, but if you overdo it, it can go all bad.
27:00Have any experience with this ingredient?
27:02Just a little bit.
27:03Brett, Lucy, what is your secret weapon?
27:07Our secret weapon is...
27:10hominy.
27:14It's an ancient grain. It comes from Nessal America.
27:17If it's not prepared properly, it...
27:19It's a disaster.
27:21It's a disaster.
27:22I grew up in a very Latin neighborhood.
27:26Very familiar with hominy.
27:30All right, well, you both have to use your own secret weapon and the other couple's secret weapon
27:36in your dish. Now, I know you both have restaurants here in California, so I'm assuming you have a
27:41really good brunch menu, right?
27:43I do.
27:44Okay.
27:44Oh, yeah.
27:45So I think this is going to be a brunch battle.
27:47That sounds good?
27:50Yeah.
27:51Each team has 30 minutes to make the ultimate brunch dish using gochijang and hominy.
27:58All right, you ready to see this brunch match?
28:07All right, let's ring that bell!
28:15Yeah, I got it. You hold.
28:16Okay.
28:19We are not going to let Lucy and Brett show us up on brunch. We do this all day, every day.
28:26So we're going to make a gochijang marinated New York steak and eggs with a hominy and fingerling
28:33potato hash.
28:34Okay, let's go.
28:36Oh my God, brunch. What a curveball. Michael and Queenie are famous for their brunch.
28:41We are going to make a traditional pozole because we know how to do it right, and we're going to do
28:47a cat tostada on the side with freshly fried tortillas.
28:49So pozole is a soup combination of tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. True Lucy and Brett
28:58nature. We are going over the top. We have two dishes, just like we had at the Masters of Taste.
29:03We had both sides of the end zone. I don't really always love being served two dishes on a judging.
29:09One's going to be better than the other, and then it just gives me two chances to find faults.
29:1424 minutes, Jess. You both have restaurants. What would it be like to have a restaurant right
29:21up the street, maybe friends, but then it turns into a little bit of competition where you feel
29:24like they're showing you up? I mean, where's that fine line? I have a restaurant downtown LA also.
29:29Michael and Queenie are now here to defend their reputation. Yeah, like that's our livelihood.
29:33You know what I'm saying? It's stressful. You can't lose the night and lose the reputation of being
29:38the best brunch restaurant. We blew them away at Masters of Taste. We're going to like crush this.
29:43Let's go big again.
29:48We have two couples challenged with making a ultimate brunch. So it's interesting,
29:53if you look at both of these couples, Brett and Lucy and Michael and Queenie both have
29:57restaurants in downtown LA. Right. Everybody that has a restaurant down there really wants to just see
30:02downtown be successful, but always have that underlying theme of competition. Yeah.
30:07Have them to come and eat at your place for brunch, and now they've got this brunch. We'll see how long
30:10they actually get along. So we're going to do a plan on steak and eggs. So I want to really take that
30:16goji yon, marinate the steaks, and tuck this over to the cryovac machine and cryovac it. When you vacuum
30:22seal a steak with a marinade, it really can get it into the fibers of the meat.
30:29For this hash, I'm going to start by cutting up these fingerling potatoes and get them into the fryer.
30:34When we make our hash at the restaurant, we hard roast all our vegetables, onions,
30:41Swiss chard, a little bit of bell pepper, just so they have a nice crunchy exterior.
30:45How's it going over here, Queenie? What does it do to your business to have another couple come in
30:51there and kind of upstage you? You know, that's kind of like a little bit of like the competition.
30:55I didn't expect for her to come and be as big as we were, and they definitely did. It was about
31:01reputation. We still wanted to be best in show, and normally we are, and we weren't that year. So
31:07this is how we live. I mean, we love you guys and everything, but, you know, this is business.
31:13In this bowl, we need to separate four eggs.
31:17He is the chef, and I am the taster and sous chef. So my goal is how can I be helpful?
31:24I'm doing the best I can with these eggs, okay?
31:26Do you do much cooking, Queenie? I do not. I step in when I can, you know.
31:32It would be humiliating if we could not pull this off. He graciously lose, I don't.
31:38We're going to make hollandaise out of it. You got it.
31:41Classic way, low and slow, melt some butter, add some gochujang. If you don't know how to make
31:47a hollandaise in a brunch restaurant, there's a problem.
31:50Oh my god, this smells delicious. Bread. What are you making? Gochujang pozole.
31:58That looks like it's going to be nice and refreshing. Great brunch start to today.
32:01The gochujang, I think we're going to incorporate into pozole.
32:05So it's going to be a very unique take on a pozole.
32:07So pozole always has hominy. The secret to successfully using hominy is to kind of rehydrate
32:13it into whatever liquid you're cooking it in. Cooking the hominy in the chicken stock.
32:17Hominy. Yeah. It's alkalized corn, which I think changes the composition from a cook's
32:22point of view from like kind of that plump, crisp corn, sweet corn into more of a starch.
32:28But once you understand how to cook with it and you put in any sort of stew,
32:31it has this amazing texture that's just sort of like plump and luscious and it's perfect.
32:37Our experience working with this in the restaurant is definitely going to give us a one leg up.
32:41All right, all right, all right.
32:43They think that they're going to trip us up with this hominy, but Michael's brain works quickly.
32:48It's a starch. So when it's in its raw state, it's very waxy. So I'm going to start frying off
32:54this hominy to get a nice crispy texture. How long should the hominy be on?
32:58About two minutes. Okay.
33:00We don't want it too crispy, but we don't want it.
33:02Okay. We work together well. It's Yes Chef. So I try to make myself useful.
33:07Cooking that down in the hash, it's just going to meld and give me the right texture.
33:11That looks good. Just under 14 minutes left.
33:15We're poaching some eggs over here. Perfect poached egg on the hash, crack it open,
33:20egg yolk runs. This is going to be a perfect addition to our dish.
33:23If they win today, they will never let us forget this. Love them, but they gots to go.
33:31Yeah. All right then.
33:33All right, tostadas are ready. Hello. Hello. Hello. How's it going, Sue Chef?
33:42We are making a crab tostada. We're going to use a lump crab and make it into a ceviche.
33:48Crab is so luxurious. People love crab for breakfast, for brunch. It gives us some richness to it.
33:53Through cooking with my family, we were always part of an assembly line. I've got a mom who can really whip up a great meal.
33:59Do you think that's one of the reasons that you made the festival so much better? Because you do have a cooking background?
34:04Absolutely. And you know what? I think also bringing my family along for the ride really helped.
34:08And it was just really fun to showcase our food and our culture. And it's probably the loudest side of the Rose Bowl.
34:13Yes. All right, we got...
34:15Here we go.
34:16Six minutes and 30 seconds, chefs.
34:18Six minutes, Luce.
34:19Six minutes?
34:20All right, goji shong aioli.
34:24So now it's time to start thinking about finishing the pozole. Checking and make sure that the amount
34:28of ham and the amount of hominy is perfect, the ratios, and then just ladling that into the hot bowl.
34:34Crack like three eggs into each one. They crack quail eggs into the pozole.
34:38That's good. It's a quail egg. I was thinking sometimes it takes a little longer than you think it would.
34:41So I'm looking at the clock. Unless your pot is like boiling when you crack the egg into it,
34:47it's not going to cook through thoroughly. So it's kind of risky to do that. So I decided to pop it
34:51in the oven. We're good. Yeah, one. No, we're good.
34:53Get them in there.
34:55Whoo, we got some plates that need to happen. We got four minutes, chefs.
34:58This one's going to go down.
35:00Putting the hash with the hominy and the fingerling potatoes on the bottom. Let's take the center cut
35:04of the steaks, get it nice and trimmed, and give them a nice portion. It's just cooked perfectly to medium
35:08rare. Mayo, goji shong. We're going to spread this on the tostadas.
35:12Yeah. As a base.
35:13I'm plating everything as nicely as possible.
35:16You know, taking those homemade tostadas, topping it with the ceviche and the tomato
35:21and the chile and the avocado. Oh, yeah.
35:23Two minutes left, chefs. How's it going, chefs?
35:26All right.
35:28We waiting for anything?
35:29Let's go, let's go, let's go.
35:30Just the pozole here.
35:31Waiting for quail eggs on this side to cook just right.
35:33All right, you got a minute left.
35:34I know, yeah.
35:35Okay, you know. Thank you.
35:36The two poached eggs, a nice dressing of the hollandaise with goji shong in it.
35:4030 seconds, chefs.
35:43My heart is racing.
35:44Turned the oven up to 500 just to kind of give it one last blast.
35:4815 seconds.
35:49And a little shiso on top.
35:51Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
36:00Five, four, three, two, one.
36:07Get it!
36:14I have so much respect for them. I think they're incredible chefs. So beating them would mean that we're even better.
36:20They are kind-hearted people, but you got to pop that head just a little bit. Bring them down to reality.
36:26Okay, judges, our culinary couples had to make a brunch plate that included both hominy and gochujang.
36:37First, we've got the challengers. Michael and Queenie, please tell us about your dish.
36:41So we did play on a steak and eggs with a gochujang marinated New York steak, a hominy and fingerling potato hash underneath topped with a gochujang hollandaise.
36:52It's about reputation. The knives were on the line. There's a lot at stake here, you know, and we feel the pressure.
37:05Um, chefs, I think there's a tremendous brunch dish.
37:10The cook on the steak is beautiful and caramelized really nice.
37:13Um, that golden yolk became another sauce. Married well, you know, with that hollandaise.
37:19I think they tried to trip you up with hominy, but to put hominy in a hash is so smart because you have so many textures happening.
37:24I did have one or two bites of my potatoes that were a little bit undercooked.
37:28And, uh, I want to taste gochujang because you brought it. That was your secret weapon.
37:32I don't think you weaponized it enough. I think you could have just taken that gochujang more aggressively.
37:38But great cooking. Thank you. Thank you, chef.
37:41Next up, we have a dish created by Brett and Lucy.
37:44Well, we have a very Mexican classic here, pozole rosas.
37:48We've paired that with a crab tostada on a nixtamal tostada, and we topped it with a gochujang aioli and some pickled onions and radishes.
37:58Being judged by someone who's got a palate like they do is intimidating and takes it to the next level.
38:05So let me talk of the pozole. This is the Los Angeles brunch of a lifetime, right?
38:12You might not eat this in middle America, but I really appreciate what you did here for downtown L.A.
38:18It's so interesting having one dish that's so rich and one that's so light.
38:22Two very different ways to start the day with brunch.
38:25It's fun to see how your minds went very different directions.
38:27The pozole itself is very soulful. Using ham to bring umami was like a light bulb moment for me.
38:34It's really a complete pozole, except for could use more salt here.
38:39It's almost like the saltiness cooked out of the ham that there wasn't enough
38:43salt in the broth to sort of keep it balanced.
38:46And the gochujang in this sauce is the right move. It paired well with the crab.
38:51You also, you fried these tortillas, but they gathered a lot of oil on top.
38:56They didn't drain out enough.
38:57Everyone's got their preference on salt, but the tostada being a little bit greasy,
39:03it was really hard to hear that.
39:05Overall, a great pair. Really awesome to watch both these amazing couples.
39:09We really hope that this loss doesn't hurt you too bad.
39:15Wow, wow.
39:17With love.
39:19Thank you so much, chefs.
39:20We're going to send you back to your kitchens while the judges deliberate.
39:23Yes, thank you.
39:26All right, well, it's time to put these scores on paper.
39:28Okay.
39:29So what do you think?
39:30I mean, what makes it so hard is that the dishes were such different directions.
39:34So let's break it down to the game. I think Brett and Lucy used gochujang really well.
39:41Winning this grudge match would set ourselves at the top of restauranteurs in Los Angeles
39:47and in Southern California.
39:49I was more excited about the hominy in the house just because you bring hominy,
39:52you make the sole all the time at your restaurant.
39:54It's sort of a given that that's the direction you're going to go.
39:57So it's interesting that both sides used the other one's ingredient better.
40:00Yes.
40:04The winner of this grudge match is going to get the vindication,
40:08the other chef's knife and $10,000.
40:11With a score of 40 to 43.
40:25Oh, that was tight.
40:27The winner is...
40:34Michael and Queenie!
40:41Well, Lucy and Brett, I have to tell you,
40:48you just need a little more seasoning on your dish.
40:50That's really what it came down to.
40:52Unfortunately, you lost and now you have to give over your knife.
40:58I'll bring it to the next charity event.
41:00Oh, I love that.
41:03And the grudge is settled now.
41:05I looked at his beautiful dishes and saw what he did.
41:07It's just like, wow, you guys went all out.
41:10Really proud to call you my friends and be family with you guys.
41:13But, you know, we're still the masters of taste.
41:15Let's give it up for Brett and Lucy!
41:20At least now they get their win.
41:22They feel validated and we can go back to being friends.
41:25Keep it simple.
41:29How are you feeling?
41:30I'm feeling on cloud nine right now.
41:33Let's hear it for the winners of our Grudge Match, Michael and Queenie!
41:39Take it nice!
41:40Whew!
41:41Which one you want?
41:41I'm gonna take this one.
41:43The grudge is settled, okay?
41:46We are the masters of taste and this is proof.
41:50Sweet taste of victory.
41:51We will see you next time on Jeff Grudge Match.
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