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00:00You
00:12Think about the best restaurant the best meal you've ever had
00:17Food is so good
00:19You can still remember it today
00:22But what does it take to become one of the world's greatest restaurants?
00:30I've interviewed top chefs all over the world
00:35And they all say the pinnacle for every chef the greatest award a restaurant can get is a star a
00:42Michelin star
00:44To win one you have to impress Michelin inspectors who have never let anyone in on their mysterious methods
00:52Until now working for the mission guide is a bit like working for the CIA
00:57She's taking a lot of photos and it looks like she might be taking a house
01:00It is definitely a vip on table six a star could be the difference between going big
01:06I want three star or going bust
01:09I'm losing about $20,000 a month. We follow chefs around the world
01:14Pushing themselves to breaking point
01:16Over the course of an entire year. We're gonna beat it out of you to get to that second star
01:21From London to Los Angeles. Let's go faster faster. Let's go. Let's go the mountains of Italy to Mexico City
01:31All culminating in glitzy award gardens where lives will be transformed
01:37One Michelin star to this is everything
01:51There it is the world's best skyline New York
02:06The most competitive restaurant scene on the planet
02:11There are almost 50,000 restaurants here
02:1550,000 and only 71 have a Michelin star
02:19Question is who will join them when Michelin announced this year's winners in just 12 weeks time?
02:32Running a restaurant in New York City is the most thrilling thing in the world
02:36Because it's the most difficult thing in the world
02:40So fucking expensive
02:42Simon Kim is a genuine disrupter
02:47He's already won Michelin stars at two of his restaurants
02:50Now he wants a third with a mad idea. He hopes will shake up the Michelin world forever
02:55Coming off. How are we feeling tonight?
02:58To get a Michelin star. We want to take something that's very ordinary and turn that into something that's extraordinary
03:04we want to be the undisputed champion
03:06Let's go!
03:12Let's go!
03:14Kokodak is one of the hardest reservations to get in New York right now
03:18You can hear it already
03:20This place is pumping
03:22You guys are gonna have a lot of fun tonight
03:24You guys are going to have a lot of fun tonight.
03:32It's more like a nightclub than a restaurant.
03:38Kokodak combines gourmet fried chicken with luxury ingredients,
03:42like caviar, truffles, and the longest champagne list in America.
03:48Our nuggets of gold to start.
03:50Whoa.
03:51I've got a truffle, trout roe, and Petrosian Duranki caviar.
03:54Thank you very much. Cheers.
03:57I can smell this truffle one from Marlowe.
04:00Do we use chopsticks now, or is that ridiculous?
04:02That is ridiculous.
04:06Now I've got that batter.
04:08Very crisp.
04:11Ooh.
04:13You might think a Michelin star for fried chicken, really?
04:17But there's a street food vendor in Thailand for the Michelin star.
04:20There's a noodle bar in Singapore.
04:22So there is precedent.
04:23If you're going to try and win a Michelin star for fried chicken,
04:26that's what it should look like.
04:31That's good shit.
04:35Chef team, let's go.
04:37I need a chicken for two, two, two, three, six.
04:39Downstairs in the basement, there's a small army of kitchen staff working away.
04:43Fire chicken breath, please.
04:45Yes, chef.
04:46Led by Cockedack's king of chicken, SK.
04:49This is normal.
04:50Fried chicken is nostalgic food to everyone, right?
04:56This was a food I will eat when I get food grades as a reward for my parents.
05:01You did a good job. Here's your treat. I'm like, thank you.
05:04SK left a Michelin star kitchen to come here, instructed by Simon to do one thing,
05:12create the world's best fried chicken.
05:16SK locked himself into our test kitchen and literally fried chicken every day.
05:22We use fresh chicken daily, put them into our secret marinade.
05:29Six days, 12 hours a day, eating fried chicken every single day.
05:37Taste, taste, taste.
05:39Fast forward 14 months, he developed this most exciting recipe.
05:52I'm a chicken now.
05:54This is not army anymore. This is my wings.
05:56Chef, 46 out.
05:57Thank you, 46 out. Hell yeah. Let's go.
06:02Orders are coming in thick and fast.
06:05Tonight, SK's kitchen needs to serve up 800 pieces of chicken an hour.
06:09Order, please.
06:11And at this level, every single bite needs to be perfect.
06:15Come on, what the fuck is going on?
06:17Yeah, we had a couple dishes come back that only had a single bite.
06:21Michelin secret inspectors are looking for consistency in every single dish.
06:29What's going on, Chef?
06:30Yeah.
06:31Because they always work in secret, for all Simon knows,
06:34they could be in tonight, and he fears standards are slipping.
06:38The coating was a little, um, chewy.
06:41Chewy, okay.
06:42It almost felt like when you're holding, moisture got in, and it was like...
06:45Got it. It was not crispy, but then it was like in between, you're saying?
06:49Mm.
06:50But we just need to continuously improve, right?
06:53Yeah.
06:54Um, stay on course.
06:55That's, um, every day, just make incremental gains.
06:58Clearly, your nuggets are definitely so much better than, uh, when we open.
07:01So let's, let's keep driving this thing.
07:03In this kitchen, the most challenging part is obviously the volume,
07:08without compromising the quality.
07:10Have you figured out everything? Not yet.
07:12Not yet.
07:13We're still a work in progress.
07:17There's a real buzz around Cockeduck.
07:19But when it comes to stars, the only opinion that matters is the Michelin inspector.
07:25The trouble is, restaurants never know when they're coming or who they are.
07:29And to make sure it stays like that, we've disguised their identity.
07:33So neither will you.
07:34So you want to know my name and what I actually do?
07:38Well, I have lots of names.
07:40It really is a cruel irony that I have one of the best jobs in the world, but I can't tell anybody.
07:45Being anonymous is the only fair way to judge a restaurant.
07:48We're not trying to catch somebody out, we're just trying to get the same experience as everybody else.
07:56We use different names, we change phone numbers, we change emails.
08:01My wife knows what I do, because I think it would be weird if I were disappearing week after week.
08:06The chefs out there have no idea who I am, and long may it continue.
08:18I really love this area of New York.
08:24This is Nelita, near to East Village, Lower East Side.
08:28There's so much good stuff around here.
08:30And round the corner, where I'm going now, is the Musket Room.
08:33A really well-loved, well-respected restaurant here in New York.
08:41I've heard great things about it.
08:43It's already got a Michelin star.
08:45The challenge for them, is making sure they can hold on to it.
08:49But, more on that later.
08:54I like it here.
08:55A lot of Michelin star fine dining restaurants will be white tablecloth, very clean cut.
09:01But here it's much more relaxed.
09:03There's a busy bar, you can hear the cocktail shakers going off.
09:07Feels like a very accessible Michelin star restaurant.
09:11Can I stroke your dog?
09:13Yes, this is JJ.
09:14Hey JJ.
09:16Dog friendly.
09:18So, this is what you need to know about the Musket Room.
09:22Fire, one brassica, one tuna.
09:24They serve up a seasonal menu.
09:26A mix of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Asian and New American influences.
09:32Hands please.
09:33In an industry where 94% of Michelin chefs are men, it's run by an all-women team.
09:39My best friend, Kamari, she makes great cakes.
09:43In charge is executive chef, Mary Atiyah.
09:46Kamari is the executive pastry chef and the place is owned and run by twins Jennifer and Nicole.
09:51This was a really early dish I put on here inspired by flavors I grew up with.
10:01Look at that.
10:02This is our Pekin duck breast, paired with a Morello cherry spread, lubna, sumac and za'atar, finished with a licorice jus.
10:11Wow.
10:12So pretty. Thank you very much.
10:13Absolutely.
10:14As soon as they put it down, I could smell Middle Eastern spices.
10:19You wouldn't say this is a Middle Eastern dish.
10:22It just has a...
10:27Mmm.
10:29The duck has a beautiful texture.
10:31Yeah, that's good.
10:33All right, fire to caviar, B.I.D.
10:38My dad's background was Lebanese and so I was sort of inspired by that.
10:42May I have spoons, please?
10:45To me, there's no greater joy than watching people eat something I've made and put my time and love into.
10:51Every time you come, you get a tweak of something.
10:54Yeah, I've read a lot about this last try.
10:58Seasonal menus are ever changing.
11:01So Chef Mary has to reinvent the dishes over and over again.
11:05Spring, summer, fall, winter.
11:08And always to that impeccably high Michelin standard.
11:13I'm loving the new tuna dish.
11:15Five spice, cloves, apple dashi.
11:18It's really light and beautiful, but then you have like this punch of flavor that comes through and that's really like fall and warming.
11:26Yeah, that's great.
11:27Thank you very much.
11:31Absolutely.
11:33The Musket Room's Michelin star is like a magnet just drawing in diners from all over New York and the world.
11:40They say with one Michelin star, you get about 20% more business.
11:45With two Michelin star, you're going to see about 40% more.
11:48Three Michelin star, double.
11:51100% more business.
11:52So it is really a massive, massive deal.
11:57I've very much appreciated and loved that the Musket Room has a star and that I was able to keep the standards up and keep the star.
12:06And we're very, very proud of that.
12:09Holding on to a star is hard enough, but the Musket Room are rolling the dice.
12:15They want an empire of restaurants.
12:20See you, Miguel. Bye.
12:21As well as the Musket Room and a casual place up the street, Raf's, in just a couple of months' time, the team are opening a third restaurant in an historic 130-year-old building off Union Square.
12:35We're going to be opening soon, which is exciting, but there's a lot of pressure to uphold our reputation and everything we've built so far.
12:45I love the skylight.
12:47Right now, with everything we're managing and everything we're doing, it's difficult to really focus on this while also taking care of the Musket Room.
12:57Launching a new restaurant is an epic task.
13:00They'll need to make sure they don't take that off the board at the Musket Room and risk their star.
13:0530 blocks north of the Musket Room, right by the Empire State Building, there's a new opening tipped for a star.
13:21And for a high-end restaurant, the location is crazy.
13:24Noxu.
13:25There's been so much hype around this place. I'm very excited to be finally trying it.
13:37It's hidden away 20 feet underground in a subway station.
13:41It's definitely not the first restaurant to have this speakeasy vibe.
13:46I really like it.
13:48It's a bit of fun. A bit of theatre.
13:51I've been sent a code to get in.
13:53It feels very exclusive.
13:57Noxu.
13:58Noxu.
14:00It is in a subway station.
14:02Wouldn't the Michelin platte look really good there?
14:06Okay, remember my pin.
14:09Oh, that is fun, isn't it?
14:19Hi, welcome to Noxu.
14:21Thank you very much.
14:23It's quite amazing in here.
14:24The comparison between this place and Cockadack is nuts.
14:31In here, things are controlled and delicate and calm.
14:36And ultimately, they both have the same goal.
14:39To win a Michelin star.
14:42Noxu's tasting menu is nine courses.
14:45Made up mostly of seafood with a French-Korean fusion thing going on.
14:49The only seats are around the kitchen counter,
14:51which means you sit in front of the chefs,
14:54watching them while they cook.
14:56And the executive chef is that guy, Dae Kim.
14:59Who, believe it or not, is just 29 years old.
15:02In chef terms, that's basically a child.
15:05If they win here,
15:07it would make him one of the youngest Michelin star chefs in America, ever.
15:12How are you doing?
15:15Oh, good.
15:17So your first bite here is plum vinegar aged sardines
15:21with horseradish, gros romaine, dressed in Caesar emulsion,
15:24sitting on top of a potato crisp.
15:26For this, I do recommend using your hands to eat them,
15:28so you can pick it up, have it in two to three bites.
15:30Thank you very much.
15:31Each flour has been tweezered onto that precisely as a beautiful dish.
15:43Mmm.
15:45I mean, sardines on a cracker sounds like one thing,
15:49but that, that first bite definitely gives you that Michelin edge.
15:55That little weird thing that you can't explain
15:58that just kicks in the back of your head and is like,
16:00that's remarkable.
16:04Mmm.
16:06It's good.
16:08He is young.
16:10He's not really looking at anybody else other than just John.
16:13I think some would say he's a genius.
16:15I don't think he likes to use that term,
16:17but I think a lot of guests that come in would say that.
16:20When he's in his kitchen,
16:22something comes over him.
16:25It's almost like he has these, like, supernatural powers.
16:29Still finding my direction right now.
16:32Having my best.
16:34A custard with grilled serve clams with a layer of caviar,
16:38and you have potato on the outside.
16:40It's very pretty. Thank you.
16:44That's really good.
16:46Thank you very much.
16:47Have a good night.
16:48Loved it.
16:50Well, that was excellent.
16:53But now, Noxu has to do it all over again.
16:56We got to run.
16:58Reset the kitchen.
17:00Refresh the restaurant for a second service in just 20 minutes.
17:04The face of the business, Bobby, came from casual dining and nightclubs.
17:12The chairs. Can you clean the chairs?
17:14Yeah, there's a little bit of dust.
17:16He poached Day and second-in-command Jing from two of Manhattan's hottest restaurants.
17:22And so far, he and his business partner have poured almost $2 million into the project.
17:27It is a lot more than I ever thought I would put into a thousand-square-foot space.
17:35Even with the big investment, this place is so tough to work in.
17:39The subway kitchen is cramped.
17:41For safety reasons, they're not allowed to cook on gas.
17:44And there's no proper ventilation.
17:45It's, uh, hay. We're just, uh, forching it.
17:50We want to use more strong heat, fire.
17:53Obviously, it provides more flavor.
18:00Cause too much smoke.
18:02When we used to grill it during service,
18:04actually guests having a hard time breeding, and then they have eye burning.
18:09Okay, we got to move. We got to move.
18:12All the grilling needs to be done against the clock,
18:15before the next round of guests come in.
18:17The best analogy is, I want him to hit a home run,
18:20but instead of giving him a baseball bat, I gave him a chopstick.
18:24Yeah, it's tough. But, you know, what can we do?
18:27It's the life that we choose, you know?
18:29It's a dungeon life.
18:31It's a no-su life.
18:32All right, chefs. Second seating.
18:34I think there are guests here already.
18:35They are hungry, or hangry.
18:41Both.
18:42Yeah, they're...
18:44They're...
18:45Welcome.
18:48Come on.
18:49To win a star, Noxu needs to be on their game.
18:52All right, let's go.
18:53Every service, every day, every week.
18:56Welcome to Noxu.
18:58Tonight, they will serve up 270 dishes to 30 diners.
19:02Perfect.
19:03Not each, obviously.
19:05But remember, any one of those diners could be an inspector.
19:11In this space, service has to be a well-oiled symphony orchestra.
19:19And even if one instrument goes out of tune,
19:25it can affect the entire performance.
19:27Ah, fucking god.
19:32Just show the guests this Saturday.
19:36Marcel.
19:37How's Emil been so far?
19:38Excellent.
19:39Love the concert.
19:40That was great.
19:41Thank you, thank you.
19:45Ah, fucking god, man.
19:47I think he puts himself under a lot of pressure,
19:49as well as everybody else that works for him.
19:52He holds himself to a very high standard.
19:53Let's go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
20:04How are we doing so far?
20:05Is everything still okay over here?
20:06For some reason, our skins are plushy.
20:09We'll wonder if there was some issues with that.
20:11Oh, um, okay, let me just talk to the chef here.
20:14Go ahead.
20:15We're walking.
20:17At this level, guests will obviously expect a lot.
20:20But dishes being sent back just shouldn't be happening.
20:27So, seats 33 and 34,
20:29they're saying that it's tough to eat the skin of the fish.
20:35You have one guest that, like, doesn't like the skin.
20:39Oh, really?
20:40It's fine.
20:44They complain,
20:45so we're just gonna make a new one this time.
20:47You want me to take skin off or no?
20:49No, let's put it on.
20:50It's fine.
20:51Let's just cook a little.
20:52Chef, they didn't like the skin.
20:53I mean, they don't like this.
20:54Just make your game better.
20:56Honestly.
20:58So, I want him to try the skin.
21:03Amazing.
21:05You're very welcome.
21:07Oh, man.
21:08I mean, somebody sent the dish back.
21:16It hurts your feelings.
21:20It's my responsibility that I didn't do everything properly,
21:23which is very hard.
21:29I'm not that good.
21:30Sometimes, I'll be honest with you, it's too much.
21:36It really almost strangled me a lot of times.
21:47You know, we reassure him every night
21:51that the guests all enjoyed their experience,
21:54that they love the food.
21:56Hey, you know what?
21:57He doesn't believe it.
22:00Are they happy?
22:01Yeah, yeah.
22:02Very happy.
22:03They said it was awesome.
22:04There's something in his head.
22:07He doubts himself.
22:09But, you know,
22:12I guess that's what being a young chef is all about.
22:18We just need this star.
22:20For Dave, this is everything.
22:22The Michelin ceremony is creeping closer.
22:32And over at Cockadack,
22:34Chef Eskay is sweating over consistency,
22:38trying to make sure his fried chicken
22:41is star-worthy every single time.
22:43What's going on?
22:45Simon has asked him to make one last push
22:48towards perfection.
22:50Looks very flat.
22:51Yeah.
22:53They don't know who the inspectors are,
22:56but they do have the next best thing.
22:58One of their investors.
23:00He holds seven Michelin stars.
23:03Chef, how are you?
23:05Thomas Keller.
23:07Arguably the greatest chef in America.
23:09Thank you so much for making the time.
23:11How old are we now?
23:13We opened January, so we are close to 10 months.
23:17Almost 10 months, yeah.
23:19Now we're doing about 400 covers.
23:20Wow.
23:21Yes.
23:22Every night?
23:23Every night.
23:24Seven nights a week.
23:25Seven nights a week, yes.
23:26Chefs are downstairs, super excited to see you.
23:27They have a couple of food questions.
23:29You know, black truffle, we call it the black gold.
23:31Yeah.
23:32And we've been seeing just amazing response.
23:35But now it's white truffle season.
23:36I know.
23:37We want to kind of incorporate that.
23:38Yeah, okay.
23:39But we're having a little bit of a hard time.
23:40Could be difficult.
23:41Here's your guy right here.
23:44Right?
23:45Oh, there you go.
23:46Oh, there you go.
23:47Wow.
23:48It's triple truffle.
23:50This is the only way to present this.
23:51This has to be shaved on top.
23:52Yes, sir.
23:53Shaving on top in the kitchen is fine as long as the aromatics are still coming.
23:57And you still have that aroma.
23:59Shall we taste it?
24:00Sure.
24:01Yes, please.
24:02From the white to black, please.
24:03Okay.
24:04Thank you, Chef.
24:14The aroma's captivating.
24:16Right?
24:17I get it.
24:18I'm feeling it.
24:19The nose.
24:20The palate.
24:21Very good.
24:22Thank you, Chef.
24:23Thank you, Chef.
24:25You know, for me, getting the quality ingredients that you need, right, that's one of the most
24:29important things.
24:30The second most important thing is execution, right?
24:32We don't know when the mission inspector comes.
24:33We don't know how often they come.
24:35We don't know anything about them.
24:36We don't know what they're looking for.
24:37No one knows.
24:38No one knows.
24:39So, my point is, ingredients and execution, that is your job.
24:42Yes, Chef.
24:43That's focused every single day.
24:45Because once we think it's perfect, we realize, wow, we could do it even better.
24:49So, we're going to continue, right?
24:51That search for perfection.
24:59Eight weeks to go until the Michelin ceremony.
25:02The inspectors are out there.
25:04But down in Alita, the musket room are about to take their menu and totally start over.
25:1117 brand new dishes for their full menu.
25:14Every one of which needs to be Michelin star worthy.
25:17Today, Chef Mary is out with one of the owners, Jennifer, before she presents her new ideas to the team for the very first time.
25:25How many menu's on right now? What am I going to get to taste today?
25:30I want to try to get all the stuff for the Brass Cooks.
25:32I have a pretty clear vision on that.
25:34We might have to make, like, draft dishes just to get the flavors.
25:37That's fine, as long as I can taste, like, the base flavors.
25:39Oh, fresh ginger.
25:42Every year is a fresh slate for Michelin.
25:44There's no guarantee because you had a star one year that you're going to maintain it or lose it the next year.
25:51You can't get comfortable. You can't rest on what you did last year.
25:55Musket room.
25:56Musket room. Good. Good memory.
25:59Musket room, there's a ton of menus.
26:02The vegan, omnivore, the tasting menus, the a la carte.
26:06As soon as you develop dishes for one season, you're already thinking about the next.
26:10Are you going to have more variations like Romanesco?
26:14Added into that is the new restaurant at Café Zafri.
26:17I've been doing a lot of development, conceptualizing the entirety of that menu.
26:22It's a lot. A lot of pressure.
26:26Good to see you.
26:27Yeah.
26:28All right, see you soon.
26:29Oh.
26:30Oh, my God.
26:31She doesn't even know why you keep smacking people in the face with this.
26:33Hilarious.
26:36So, I had an idea for a Brassica dish.
26:39Nice, nice.
26:40So, I was just thinking, like, variations of Brassica.
26:42Like, take some cauliflower, Romanesco, little, like, pickled purple cauliflower for color.
26:47Yeah.
26:48And then just some broccoli.
26:51Pine nuts.
26:52Grapes from the market.
26:57What do I want to do with these?
27:02I think I'm going to blanch and chuck these ones, pickle these, and then we'll do a quick roast or fry on that.
27:07Yeah, cool.
27:09This is sort of my process where I just, like, taste all the ingredients and play around with different ways of cooking them,
27:15and then sort of stare at the plate and put it all down.
27:23There's a lot of competition in New York.
27:25There's a lot of pressure to stay relevant, to stay at the top.
27:29You want a nice area just on one side on these guys?
27:31Yeah.
27:32I have a vision.
27:34We'll see if it comes together.
27:37We always want to keep people excited to come in.
27:40I think the pressure to keep ourselves in the mix and keep people wanting to come back is a lot.
27:47All right. Not bad.
27:50Probably a couple months since I've, like, truly been shut off from work.
27:54And I'm trying to learn. I'm trying to learn how to give myself that space.
27:58But, you know, the more we do, the more we grow, the more projects we have.
28:02It just feels like there's so many things that need my attention.
28:04So, yeah, I think I'm due for a day off eventually.
28:10All right. I think I have draft one of brassica.
28:13Brassica.
28:14Nice.
28:15I think it looks pretty.
28:16I don't know. Hopefully all the flavors come together.
28:18I think they should.
28:21Chef Mary's happy.
28:22Hello.
28:23But to go on the actual menu, it needs the approval of all the owners.
28:26That's gorgeous.
28:27Oh, my gosh.
28:28Gorgeous.
28:30Are we calling this a salad?
28:32Variations of brassicas.
28:33Variations of brassicas.
28:34Okay.
28:35It's a really subtle pickle on the purple.
28:42Can I have a spoon, please?
28:44I just added a little more vinaigrette.
28:47I'm getting like a pineapple note here. It's great.
28:49That's the great.
28:50I'm excited for these dishes.
28:53I think this is a great start.
28:55One down, 16 to go.
28:58Each one requiring the same obsession, the same attention to detail.
29:02So timeline-wise, obviously, a lot of attention on you guys.
29:06Like opening and Michelin season, all this kind of thing.
29:10I want to make sure everything that's going out this fall is as refined as it could be.
29:18Mary gets the pressure because 10 years ago, she went through every top chef's worst nightmare.
29:25I worked at a Michelin star restaurant in the West Village.
29:28I was starting to take lead in the kitchen, and that year lost Michelin star.
29:35I felt a responsibility for it.
29:38I felt like I let people down.
29:41Nobody really knows why or how that happens, but, you know, we missed the mark that year, I guess.
29:49Restaurants earn stars, but they can also have their stars taken away.
30:02No decision is taken lightly, but nothing would disappoint me more than if somebody goes to a star restaurant and has a bad meal.
30:12If we have a restaurant where the level has dropped, this place is no longer worth a star.
30:18It's as simple as that.
30:20Just over two years after losing their star, Chef Mary's old restaurant shut down for good.
30:30To make sure that doesn't happen again, she'll need total focus between now and the Michelin ceremony.
30:37Back in midtown Manhattan, 20 feet under the sidewalk at Noxu, Bobby and Chef Day are going all out to win their first star.
30:52But New York City is one of the world's most expensive places to run a restaurant, and Bobby is still hemorrhaging cash.
31:01Thinking of how much money my business partner and I put into this project, it gets me nauseous.
31:07This is $100. I have to be super careful with this.
31:11Even something like this, this is custom made in Korea.
31:18I think this is about like $250.
31:22I see the invoices.
31:24I'm like, how is one fish, whatever so many hundreds of dollars, is it making profit?
31:35No.
31:38I'm losing about $20,000 a month.
31:41And, you know, for a tiny restaurant, that's a lot of money.
31:49Bobby needs the place to be full just to break even.
31:52But bookings are down.
31:54Noxu has recently been visited by Pete Wells, the famous New York Times restaurant critic.
32:01And his article was savage.
32:04The best tasting menu culture meets the worst.
32:12I can't remember the last New York restaurant that frustrated me as much as Noxu.
32:18It would be easier to dismiss Noxu if it weren't for the cooking of its chef, Dae Kim.
32:23This is the first kitchen he has run.
32:28And he's full of talent, a star in the making.
32:31But his ideas need to be shaped and formed.
32:35I never doubted Mr. Kim's skill.
32:38But what is he trying to say?
32:40I'm not quite sure.
32:44Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
32:46It just so happened that the most influential food critic in America felt that way.
32:54Yeah, I couldn't sleep for a while.
33:04Do you think the criticism that we've gotten helped with pushing the vision forward?
33:09Maybe a little bit.
33:11Do you think so?
33:13I mean, I definitely think it's affected things.
33:14I mean, I think the New York Times article definitely, like, put things in gear.
33:18And I do think that you wanting to prove everybody wrong has been more of a driving force than anything,
33:23whether you want to admit it or not.
33:25That article, I hear a lot, actually.
33:30It's the way he described the whole thing.
33:32It definitely bothers me. I'm not gonna lie.
33:36It makes me think, you know?
33:38Maybe people might think that our vision is not clear.
33:44It's better.
33:46It makes me think it's a net Negroes call now.
33:47With just over a month to go until the ceremony, Dei is in at a crack at dawn.
34:01I'm here to prove to people that what I'm doing is fucking right.
34:05It's fucking right.
34:08He's determined to show off his personality,
34:11silence the critics,
34:12and wow the inspectors with a brand new dish.
34:15Chef, how are you?
34:18So we cure the blackfish in kombu
34:22that builds layers of umami.
34:24It's gonna completely change the texture and the flavor.
34:27Yeah.
34:28His plan is to prep the filleted fish in a type of seaweed,
34:31packing it with umami, the savory flavor.
34:34But the real innovation comes in the pairing.
34:36We got some beautiful radish next there.
34:39We're gonna carve it and then put the fish inside there.
34:43What's the point of carving the radish?
34:45Two things. Visually.
34:47Second, texture.
34:49We did a lot of knife cuts here.
34:52It's almost like collapsing textures.
34:55When you bite radish, it's like...
34:58But this...
35:04We're putting the blackfish tartar mixed with the tartar mix.
35:09And then lastly, just to cover it up,
35:11we're gonna put a little caviar in a sec.
35:14It's a little bit not crazy enough.
35:17And that's the final dish.
35:20That's nice.
35:24Not bad.
35:25You know, it's very nice.
35:27It's gonna show who you are.
35:37Saturday in New York.
35:40Over one million dishes will be served in the city tonight.
35:43But with three weeks to go until the Michelin ceremony,
35:46it's the last chance to impress the inspectors.
35:49Now, for New York's best restaurants,
35:52every service counts.
35:58Two Razor on five.
36:01May I just get your attention, everybody, for a moment?
36:04I believe we have a solo diner tonight,
36:07which everybody knows to pay extra attention to.
36:10It could always be somebody of note,
36:12somebody that's scouting us,
36:13somebody that's inspecting us.
36:14A solo diner will make any wannabe Michelin restaurant nervous.
36:19They will never, ever know when an inspector is coming.
36:22But a solo booking?
36:24That's a big red flag.
36:29When I dine alone,
36:30I do feel as if the level of service is quite, um, is better.
36:35I think there's a heightened sense of,
36:39okay, who is this?
36:41Sometimes we walk in and not make a reservation.
36:45We'll go and sit at the bar
36:46or trying to not draw attention to ourselves.
36:51I have certainly eaten in restaurants,
36:54and they're fawning all over somebody else
36:56who's sitting on their own,
36:58and they don't suspect me.
37:03All right, let's go. Let's get ready. Thank you.
37:06Uh, it's truffle season,
37:08and our chefs were able to source some white Tuscan truffles.
37:11All right, order in.
37:12First ticket.
37:13Two tastings.
37:14Two duck.
37:15Brassica.
37:16VIP.
37:17Yes.
37:18Tonight, Chef Mary's new Brassica dish
37:21will be served up for the first time.
37:23Are these seared from today or yesterday?
37:25Yes.
37:26And it must hit the Michelin mark.
37:28Like, they're all just too small and too cooked, like...
37:31So you want, like, a pan fry vibe?
37:33Yeah.
37:34Searing the cauliflower,
37:35it has to be just the right perfect cook.
37:37Any component in it is not up to the finest quality.
37:40It will, you know, fall flat.
37:46Service.
37:50Service is in full swing.
37:52But Mary is juggling more than one restaurant.
37:54Yeah. Are you still in the refs?
37:56She's needed elsewhere.
37:58Okay. All right. Thanks.
38:01I need to go check on refs.
38:03Good job.
38:04See you in a minute.
38:05Leaving the team to take control.
38:14But as soon as she's out the door...
38:16Solo diner.
38:17Make sure they have a spot for them.
38:19The solo diner arrives.
38:21Welcome.
38:23So glad you're here tonight.
38:24Order in.
38:25One prefix.
38:26Fire.
38:27One canapé.
38:28PPX.
38:29Solo diner.
38:30Guys, let's really lock in on this table.
38:34Is there another solo walk-in to the bar?
38:35Bar one.
38:36They were looking at a menu.
38:37Okay.
38:38Followed minutes later by a walk-in.
38:40Another solo diner.
38:41The musket room now has two solo diners in the house.
38:44And either one of them could be an inspector.
38:56Over in Noxu...
38:57Jeffs, how are you?
38:58...tonight was supposed to be the launch of day's new dish.
39:02Going down like a sack of shit.
39:06Do I say satay sauce or just satay?
39:08Satay, satay.
39:09Satay, satay.
39:10Satay, satay.
39:11But he's having a nightmare.
39:16Kohlrabi's felt wrong.
39:17Oh, kohlrabi.
39:18Kohlrabi.
39:19Radish were not the greatest.
39:22Kohlrabi was better, so we're going to do kohlrabi.
39:25But let's see how it goes.
39:27I don't know.
39:28Oh, man.
39:30Man, man, man.
39:31Switching out a radish for a kohlrabi might sound minor.
39:35But in this game, the smallest change can completely unbalance a dish.
39:39Kohlrabi's different.
39:40It's too big.
39:42Hard to eat for a guest point of view.
39:44Come on, let's see how it goes.
39:46How are you?
39:49Welcome here.
39:50May I take your clothes for you?
39:51Good.
39:53So as we begin your prefix, first one is a Hawaiian shrimp tartlet.
39:57To add to the pressure, there's a couple of seats at the bar.
40:01And Bobby thinks they might be from Michelin.
40:04First time diner.
40:06Perfect.
40:08I have notes on my cell phone.
40:10Looking up information on the guests.
40:13Figuring out, you know, first-timers.
40:16They flew in just for this meal.
40:20If Bobby's hunch about these two diners is right,
40:23a Michelin inspection could be underway right now.
40:29Okay, your next course here, you have Pacific dourfish with a beef tallow sauce.
40:33Beef tallow.
40:34Tallow, yeah.
40:35So tallow is the fat, like, outside the pancreas.
40:38Oh, yeah.
40:39Joy.
40:41That suspicious diners.
40:43Today?
40:44Right now?
40:45I think so.
40:46I don't know.
40:47Not a deal.
40:49Some of them are just asking a lot of questions.
40:52I don't know.
40:54Shit.
40:55The suspicious guest?
40:57We're just gonna make sure that theirs look really nice.
40:59Wait, wait, wait.
41:00A little bit.
41:01A little bit.
41:02Johnny, Johnny, Johnny.
41:03A little bit more here in here.
41:05Just a little bit.
41:06Okay, for your next course here, this is albacore tuna,
41:09along with husk cherries as well as Jimmy Nadella pepper.
41:11It's also finished with a pistachio foam.
41:13Please enjoy.
41:15The potential inspectors are already on their second dish.
41:18Yeah.
41:19And day is still carbon kohlrabi.
41:22At Cockadack, the Saturday night party is in full flow.
41:32But downstairs in the kitchen...
41:34Can I get a 2-2-3, please?
41:36The team are battling to cope with the rush.
41:38Need a chicken for 2-2-2-3-6.
41:41Runner, please.
41:43Runner, please.
41:44Runner, please.
41:45Runner, please.
41:46Runner, please.
41:49There's no work-life balance right now.
41:51And, you know, my family didn't sign up for this.
42:08One day, I hope that they can understand why I'm doing this.
42:11Order in.
42:12One prefix.
42:13Fire.
42:14One canapé.
42:15One wagyu.
42:16PPX.
42:17Solo diner.
42:18Back at the musket room, Chef Mary's team have been managing service without her.
42:33With two suspicious solo diners in.
42:36Chef Mary is accountable for a lot of stuff.
42:39And so we just try to make her life easier by holding the fort down here the best we can.
42:43Both the potential inspectors have ordered the tasting menu.
42:46But one of them has sent back the wagyu beef.
42:49It's a nightmare scenario.
42:51Very sorry about the wagyu.
42:55As Chef Mary arrives back, the kitchen is in crisis.
42:59All right.
43:00How are we doing?
43:01Just to clarify on our solo diners, we do have two.
43:04One's currently at bar six.
43:05Okay.
43:06One's at bar one that may order.
43:07I see the ticket just came in.
43:08All right.
43:09Let's get some hands, please.
43:10Something we did want to talk to you about.
43:13We just had, like, somebody complain about temperature of the wagyu.
43:18You want to throw it in the oven so it's, like, caramelizing and...
43:24Yeah, yeah, yeah.
43:26We have, uh, yeah, we have a few VIPs in-house, including the solo diners.
43:33All right.
43:34Fire VIP solo diner pork jowl.
43:37Yes!
43:38Let's get those plated.
43:39Just make sure they're hot.
43:41Having a Michelin star, like, there are expectations.
43:47Did Table 7 get their first course?
43:50It just has to be a buttoned-up, tight service across the board.
43:54Can you check for me?
43:55I swear I just...
43:57We're running effectively four restaurants in New York City.
44:00Yeah, come back.
44:01Hey, guys, back, back.
44:02It's the wagyu.
44:03I need the wagyu.
44:04The pressure feels a lot heavier this year.
44:07Four, it's up two wagyu into four jowl, one squat.
44:11Cabbage, wagyu, Table 10, cabbage position one.
44:13Yes.
44:14Order in.
44:15That's what wagyu.
44:16Yes.
44:17It's a lot.
44:24At Noxu, Chef Day is trying to reimagine his new dish from scratch
44:28in the middle of service,
44:30as the team are dealing with suspicious guests of their own.
44:34Hmm?
44:35Do they have any reaction when you eat?
44:37No.
44:38Still cold poker face.
44:41Shit.
44:44They were very deservant.
44:45Oh, man.
44:48Next up, course number three, the kohlrabi.
44:51Man.
44:52Day's last-minute makeshift dish,
44:54the one he's pinned all his Michelin hopes on,
44:57is about to be served to the potential inspector.
45:01For your next bite, this is kohlrabi.
45:03Let's enjoy.
45:12This dish that I created,
45:13it doesn't look the same as how I think in my head.
45:18I feel like there's another eye watching me right now.
45:22Maybe I'll actually inspect it.
45:25I do get angry.
45:27Angry to myself.
45:33Where the hell is it?
45:34Down.
45:36It's fucking annoying.
45:40When someone is missing from service,
45:42it becomes almost like we're handicapped.
45:45He's been pushing hard.
45:47Very, very hard.
45:49If this is radish, we're better,
45:51but kohlrabi, I never did it that way.
45:55People like him,
45:57perfection isn't even enough.
46:00For day, this star is everything.
46:18What happened?
46:21Stop.
46:22Day.
46:23What happened?
46:26Okay.
46:27Yeah, chill.
46:29Day.
46:31Day.
46:32Fuck it.
46:33Next time,
46:39Michelin reveal who's one stars.
46:41Hello, hello.
46:43Oh, God, this is tense.
46:45On the most exciting, nerve-wracking night of the year.
46:49One Michelin star, two.
46:52Oh, man.
46:53And we move on to Chicago,
46:55where two chefs are trying to open their first restaurants.
46:58What are you doing?
46:59You're not focused.
47:01Both need a star to survive.
47:04I wish it wasn't this hard.
47:23There's no one.
47:24Don't plug that nobody else.
47:25You're not focused.
47:26There's no one.
47:27You're not focused.
47:28Not even at the same time.
47:29The big news.
47:30You'll have to be that star.
47:31I love the star.
47:32You're not focused.
47:33There's a star.
47:34Each star shows you.
47:36Here's some great story.
47:37There's even when the star goes next to your sister.
47:39Oh, God.
47:40I think that's all you got.
47:41You're a star.
47:42For this, you're a star.
47:43He's a star.
47:44He's a star.
47:45He's a star.
47:47Not even a star.
47:48I think that's all you got.
47:50You're not a star.
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