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00:01I'm Bobby Flay.
00:03I've spent my entire career competing at the highest level.
00:07Today starts a new chapter.
00:10I've created the toughest culinary competition yet.
00:13I've hand-picked three extraordinary chefs to become my triple threat.
00:18They got the call. Now they feel the heat.
00:21Brooke Williamson is on the team for her competitive fire.
00:24Her California cuisine is packed with fresh flavor.
00:28Michael Voltaggio is a magician in the kitchen.
00:31He got the call for his gutsy modern edge.
00:34And Aisha Nurjaya rounds out the squad with her global flavors
00:38and that New York City punch.
00:45Each night, one world-class chef must make it past all three of my titans
00:50if they want to take home $25,000 in cold, hard cash.
00:55Think I'm hard to beat?
00:58Wait till you get a taste of my triple threat.
01:11Welcome to club three, everybody.
01:13Where the ovens are hot and the drinks are ice cold.
01:16This is triple threat.
01:18I've invited a culinary mastermind to my secret kitchen tonight.
01:24And when a chef has the password to get through that door,
01:27it means they have the juice to take on the titans.
01:30Every single day that we come into this kitchen,
01:32we are training for the Olympics.
01:35And together, we know that we can take on anyone.
01:37This is a chef that I competed against back in 2022.
01:40And I lost.
01:41So you know he's coming out swinging.
01:44Let's go!
01:46A star in the Ohio food scene,
01:48he's been named best chef in Columbus four years running.
01:51Wow.
01:52He's also earned multiple James Beard nominations.
01:55I'm coming through, through.
01:56His food is a bold mix of the Bengali dishes he grew up eating,
02:00all with American influences and high-end technique.
02:03Figured it out?
02:04Nope.
02:07Password?
02:08Buckeye.
02:09Ooh.
02:10Interesting.
02:11Titans, the chef that you're all going up against is...
02:14Avishar Berua.
02:20Good to see you.
02:21I've never met Chef Avishar, but I heard Bengali,
02:23so I know he's gonna bring big flavor.
02:25How you doing, chef?
02:26Doing well, how are you?
02:27Welcome.
02:29You and I have cooked against each other.
02:30You beat me in 2022.
02:31I did.
02:32With what?
02:33Kati roll.
02:34Kati roll.
02:35Yeah.
02:36You're not gonna figure it out.
02:37Okay.
02:38So I'm sure that you have come with a plan of attack.
02:40Always.
02:41But I want you to know these guys are tough.
02:43So if you beat these guys, what would it mean for you personally?
02:45I heard it was the greatest honor to meet your heroes,
02:48but as you know with me, I think it might be an even better honor
02:51to beat your heroes.
02:52Okay.
02:54Here are the rules of the game.
02:55There's gonna be three head-to-head rounds,
02:57each one against one of the Titans.
02:59There'll be a blind tasting with one single judge for the whole evening.
03:02Our judge is known for their Southeast Asian food and their New York grits.
03:06What was the judge's name again?
03:07I'll let you know after the first round.
03:09Nice try.
03:10In round one and round two, I choose the two ingredients.
03:13You choose the Titan.
03:14You can score up to 10 points.
03:15But in round three, you choose the ingredients and you go up against the last Titan.
03:19But that round is worth 20.
03:21Whoever gets the most points at the end of the night wins.
03:23It's that simple.
03:24Got it.
03:25Let's begin.
03:26For round one, the ingredients are yellowtail and pineapple.
03:32How do you feel about these ingredients?
03:34Feels like a lot of fun.
03:35Good.
03:36You have 45 minutes to make two distinctly different dishes.
03:39Okay, Avishar, which Titan would you like to go up against in round one?
03:42I think I'm gonna go against Michael.
03:47Okay.
03:48Any reason?
03:49Actually, in honesty, it's an order of respect.
03:51In our culture, we go the oldest first.
03:54And in terms of Top Chef, oldest.
03:56I was like, I think I'm actually the oldest.
03:59Do I need to put my apron on?
04:00Yes, sir.
04:01You're the oldest by far.
04:03Honestly, Michael is one of my culinary heroes.
04:05I have his book.
04:06I've studied it for a very long time.
04:08But it's gonna be pretty wild to face off against him in an arena.
04:10Avishar, Michael, 45 minutes on the clock.
04:12And your time starts now.
04:13Let's go.
04:14All right, Michael!
04:19So, yellowtail, really meaty, relatively versatile, kind of like tuna.
04:26I love it raw.
04:27I love it cooked.
04:28This fish is like in the witness protection plan because it has so many names.
04:31Right?
04:32Right.
04:33It's hamachi.
04:34It's amberjack.
04:35It's yellowtail.
04:36She's showing her Bensonhurst history right there.
04:39There's so many things you could do with these combinations.
04:42You can cook the pineapple.
04:43You can cook the fish.
04:44You can leave the fish raw.
04:45You can leave the pineapple raw.
04:47I think the challenge is restraint because the fish can take on flavor, but you don't
04:51want to really overpower it.
04:53What you working on, Chef?
04:54A hamachi smoked fish dip, Chef.
04:56Fish dip?
04:57Nice.
04:58What about the pineapple?
04:59I'll probably just make a pineapple salsa like in the 80s.
05:02Nice.
05:04Yeah, right.
05:05I'm also smoking my hamachi.
05:08That's cute.
05:12Were you serious about the hero comment?
05:14Yeah, of course.
05:15Why would I lie?
05:16I'm so honored, Chef.
05:17He mentioned that I'm one of his culinary heroes.
05:20All that makes me feel is old.
05:22You had a really good book that I learned a lot from.
05:24A book?
05:25Yes.
05:26The Volt Inc. book was one of my favorite books.
05:27Are you going to use my own recipes against me?
05:29That's not cool, Chef.
05:30That's a lot of spices.
05:33For my first dish, I'm thinking of a tartar.
05:35I'm going to cold smoked the fish and the pineapple.
05:37So I want to season it aggressively with what I would call Thai seasonings.
05:43So Avishar has worked for Danny Bowen at Mission Chinese, and he also worked for Wiley Dufresne at WD50.
05:49I like the way Avishar approaches food.
05:51He cooks at a very high level, but like a little bit quirky, you know, like in a fun way.
05:56He has these kind of stealth-like techniques that you don't see a lot.
05:59The Titans should be definitely worried about him because they don't know where his food's going to go.
06:03My idea is to cold smoke the fish and the pineapple.
06:06I go for the smoker, and I see that it's not there.
06:10That is a smoker.
06:14Oh, boy.
06:16Got the smoker, Chef?
06:17I do have a smoker.
06:18Nice.
06:19You know, this round is about speed.
06:20Welcome to Triple Threat.
06:22Luckily, I've worked in very many small restaurants with no smoker, so I'm able to improvise.
06:26So I built my own smoker.
06:28I find a variety of different wood chips and get the fire going.
06:30I want to get as much smoke as possible and as little time as possible.
06:33Pineapple has been like one of my favorite food of all time.
06:35It's just sweet and delicious, but you could also like do hot preparations with it and it holds up really well.
06:40Yes, it's very firm.
06:41Smoking, yes.
06:43I am smoking.
06:44Michael, what's the marinade?
06:45Sorghum, mirin, and soy sauce.
06:47Sorghum, it can be made into molasses.
06:49This will help get the sugar on the outside of the fish so that when I smoke it, it helps absorb that smoky flavor.
06:55You're smoking?
06:56Yes, Chef. I am smoking.
06:57What are the dishes?
06:58Smoked hamachi fish dip with dill-pickled pineapple.
07:01And what's the other one?
07:02Yellowtail and pink pineapple tiradito.
07:04Tiradito.
07:05Going to Peru today, Chef.
07:06What's the sauce?
07:07Uh, ahi, pineapple, garlic, lemon, lime.
07:11Nice.
07:13I think Michael's gonna do some innovative things, but he's keeping in a check.
07:16Finally.
07:17Michael sometimes can go overboard, but that's the beauty of Michael.
07:20He pushes the envelope almost every single time.
07:26Making a ginger onion pastry.
07:28Sorry about the smell.
07:29For my second dish, I want to make yellowtail malai curry with a mustard oil pickled pineapple.
07:33Malai curry is a uniquely Bengali dish that has influences both in Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh.
07:39It takes a lot of spices.
07:41Cinnamon, bay leaf, clove, green cardamom, turmeric, and chili powder.
07:45I'm gonna use the fish as well to reinforce it.
07:47And then I add the coconut milk and let it simmer away.
07:49I think these two ingredients, you have to be careful with how much bold flavor you go here.
07:54Like, this delicate hand goes a long way with this.
07:56Yeah.
07:57All right, Chef, how you doing?
07:58Good, how are you?
07:59What are you making?
08:00I'm gonna do a little bit of a malai curry.
08:01It's inspired by my mom's recipe.
08:03Very popular Bengali dish.
08:04Nice.
08:05Our second one's gonna be an uncooked preparation, inspired by my recent journeys to Thailand.
08:09Well, I see you've got, like, this triple layer smoking situation.
08:12Yeah.
08:13Wish I had a real smoker to utilize for that.
08:14That would've been cool, but whatever.
08:20Avishar said that this is, like, one of his family curries.
08:23I do appreciate the fact that Avishar is not taking shortcuts when he's using, like, whole cloves and cinnamon.
08:29But now he has fish in there.
08:31Is he gonna blend all of those spices up and then strain it?
08:34He might just be cooking everything together and then he's gonna strain it out.
08:38Some of the techniques that Avishar is using in the fish and some of the other elements of his dishes, like, I've never seen before.
08:43So I'm interested to see how these work out for him.
08:45This is part of what I love about the triple threat kitchen.
08:49We learn new techniques from the competitors all the time.
08:5120 minutes to go.
08:57Now I'm starting on my dill-pickled pineapple.
08:59Just cut the dill like a normal person.
09:02I'm just cutting nice little paves of yellow pineapple, putting it in a vacuum bag with chopped dill, champagne vinegar, and just a little bit of salt.
09:09When you get a southern fish dip, sometimes there's, like, pickles on the side.
09:12And I really just wanted this to be, like, a bright sort of contrast to that rich fish dip.
09:16Okay, that goes through.
09:18Since it is a rich crepe, it's crucial to have some balance.
09:21So I'm making a pickled pineapple.
09:23I am heating up some mustard oil, adding some whole spices, and pouring vinegar on to add a little bit of smokiness, a little bit of fire.
09:29Whoa!
09:30Whoa!
09:31Whoa!
09:32I want it to taste like it was roasted over a wok.
09:34Shut up.
09:35Shut up.
09:36I've never seen that technique, either.
09:40Does Mike have the waffle iron out?
09:43Yes, he does.
09:44He does?
09:45Yellowtail and pineapple waffles.
09:47He uses the waffle iron for toast now.
09:49For the fish dip.
09:50Now I'm going to start my tiradito.
09:52Beautiful pink pineapple.
09:53It actually looks the same color as the yellowtails.
09:55I'm basically going to take little slices, and I'm alternating them in the plate, so it's pink pineapple, yellowtail.
10:01Pink pineapple, yellowtail.
10:02Oh, it's so pretty.
10:04Ten minutes.
10:05Ten minutes, chefs.
10:06I start on the tartare.
10:07I'm using the smoked yellowtail, as well as smoked pink pineapple.
10:10I'm going to chop it up and season it with fish sauce, tamarind, and some lime juice.
10:15Sorry.
10:18I need to add some texture to the tartare dish.
10:20I'm thinking maybe I'll add some serranos and some shallots to add a little bit of crunch.
10:23And I'm going to fry some wonton chips for additional texture.
10:26Do we have celery somewhere?
10:28So I chilled my smoked yellowtail, now I'm turning it into a dip.
10:31I've got a little creme fraiche, lemon juice.
10:33I have to tell you, I love this idea of this fish dip.
10:35I would never go there, but it looks good.
10:37Yeah.
10:38Seven minutes to go.
10:41Avishar has spent a lot of time on the curry.
10:44He still has to strain that, no?
10:46It takes quite some time to develop flavor the correct way.
10:48Okay, fish is in.
10:50But this clock is no joke.
10:51We got to get it done, so I need to start thinking about how to assemble.
10:56Pull out chat masala for seasoning here.
11:00Curry sauce.
11:01Michael, what's in the blender?
11:03Tiradito sauce.
11:05Tiradito plates come out, then I'm just finishing it with a lemon yellow pineapple lime juice,
11:11ahi amarillo.
11:12Finish that with a little bit of shaved chive and some crispy sweet potatoes on there.
11:15Two minutes left.
11:16Do not cut yourself.
11:19I put the tartare on.
11:20I dress it with a little bit of the smoked pineapple and cover it in crispy wontons.
11:24I put my dill pickled pineapple on the plate, then I put a nice quenelle of my fish dip on top of the toast.
11:29Oh, look at that.
11:30It's cute.
11:31This dish looks pretty good to me.
11:33One minute to go.
11:34Avishar, get it on the plate.
11:36I was planning on taking my curry and passing it through a coarse strainer, but I ran out of time.
11:40Was he gonna strain that?
11:41No, he doesn't have time.
11:42He's gotta get it on the plate.
11:43I've worked so hard on this sauce, it has to hit the plate, but 45 minutes goes by very fast.
11:48Do you think that's an idea?
11:49I don't think Avishar's gonna finish.
11:51I have no idea how the titans do this day in and day out.
11:54Oh, boy.
11:55It is nuts.
11:56A lot more respect now.
11:57Oh, my God.
12:01Avishar, get it on the plate.
12:02I use the pan as a strainer.
12:04I start with the curry sauce on the base of the plate.
12:06I add a bit of the fish and then top with the pickled pineapple.
12:09Five, four, three, two, one.
12:13That's it.
12:14Yeah!
12:15How do you manage your time so well?
12:20It's hard.
12:21It looks beautiful.
12:23Very impressive.
12:25Both of these dishes are modern riffs on very classic dishes, so hopefully I can set the tone
12:29right now for the titans.
12:30How's everyone's heart rate over there?
12:31Good.
12:32I got through maybe 75% of what I had envisioned.
12:36My plates have no garnishes, no finishing touches, but they express the flavors that I was trying to get across.
12:46All right, guys.
12:47Our judge tonight is a celebrated chef who's been praised by the New York Times, New York Magazine, and the Huffington Post for their Southeast Asian-inspired restaurants.
12:55They've worked alongside some of the world's most renowned chefs at restaurants like Three Star, Eleven Madison, and Italy's Michelin-starred restaurant, La Mattia.
13:06Please welcome the chef and owner of Pig & Cow, Leah Cohen.
13:11Welcome.
13:12Hi.
13:13Hi.
13:14How are you?
13:15Nice to see you.
13:16Nice to see you.
13:17Thank you for having me.
13:18Have a seat.
13:19What's up, ladies?
13:20What's happening?
13:21And gentlemen.
13:22Chef.
13:23I've known Leah for many years.
13:25I know how educated her palate is in a very worldly manner.
13:28I also know that Abishar very much caters to the way that Leah loves to eat and cook.
13:33So, there's that.
13:34So, when you're looking at a successful dish, like, what's important to you?
13:38I mean, I care about what it looks like.
13:40I care about the technique.
13:42But I want a dish that I'm gonna go back and eat more and more.
13:45I wanna eat the whole plate.
13:46Right.
13:47I wanna lick it clean.
13:48You know what I mean?
13:49And then, in the background, our chefs were each asked to create two dishes using yellowtail and pineapple.
13:54So, dish number one, crispy yellowtail malai curry with mustard oil and pickled pineapple.
14:00I think just looking at this dish, it seems a little flat.
14:04I do think it is important to, you know, add a little something at the end.
14:08Sure.
14:09The curry itself is fantastic.
14:14It complements the fish really well.
14:16I'm gonna ask a girl, the acidity from that pickled pineapple cut through the richness of the curry.
14:22Move on to the dish, too.
14:23Okay.
14:24A smoked yellowtail and pink pineapple tartare with crispy wontons.
14:29I love the crispy wontons.
14:30That, I thought, was really smart and a great way to add some texture.
14:33Sure.
14:34I mean, I love the pink pineapple, but it kinda gets lost with the yellowtail.
14:37I'm not necessarily tasting the smoke.
14:40If you're gonna say it's smoked, it should taste smoked.
14:43I think this dish just needed more flavor overall.
14:46Okay.
14:47Let's move on to Chef B.
14:49Dish number one, sorghum smoked yellowtail fish dip with a dill pickled pineapple.
14:54This is gorgeous.
14:55Like, honestly, I'm like, oh, my God.
14:57Do you like, like, smoked fish dips like that?
15:00Bobby, I'm a New York Jew.
15:03Of course I love my smoked fish.
15:05And I'm Filipino.
15:06We love smoked fish.
15:07It's so, yeah.
15:08Like, this is right up my alley.
15:12Definitely smoked.
15:13You can taste the smoke right away.
15:15The compressed pineapple is very acidic.
15:18Like, almost too acidic.
15:19Like, I don't think...
15:20Even for you.
15:21Like, I didn't think you would ever hear these words come out of my mouth.
15:24But I think it can be overpowering.
15:26Okay, let's move on to the second dish.
15:28The yellowtail and pink pineapple tiradito.
15:34Wow.
15:35From the texture to the acid,
15:37this is one of the most well-thought-out dishes I've tried in a cooking competition.
15:42If I had to nitpick, I would just add a little finishing salt to go on top.
15:47I'm happy that I got to express two different regions in two different dishes.
15:51Not happy that I was unable to execute in the way that I wanted to.
15:54Chef A was Avishar.
15:57Avishar, your dishes got a total of...
16:01Five points this round.
16:03While your curry was fantastic, you've got to work on your presentation.
16:07Sure.
16:08And in your tartare, I couldn't taste the smoke.
16:10Thank you, Chef.
16:11Which means that Chef B is Michael.
16:13Michael, you received a total of eight points this round.
16:16Congratulations.
16:17I was so impressed with the technique of smoking the fish.
16:20The only thing was that pineapple was so acidic.
16:23It just took away from all that hard work you put in that fish dip.
16:27You now know who the judge is.
16:29She's very specific and she's very thorough.
16:31Think about that when you're cooking.
16:33All right, Chef. We'll see you after round two.
16:35Thank you so much.
16:37Bye, everyone. Thank you.
16:39Okay, Avishar.
16:40Kind of a tough round for you.
16:41You're down by three, but there's two more rounds.
16:42Plenty of time for you to come back.
16:43Michael, you can join your teammates here on the sofa.
16:46Thanks, Chef.
16:47Not so much.
16:49Just take your time.
16:50Just, like, don't take too much time.
16:52I mean, Avishar got a five.
16:54That's a tough score, but we've all been there.
16:56Now we just have to hang on to that lead.
16:58Gin, I need a drink.
17:01I thought this competition was gonna be fairly difficult.
17:04Turns out I was right, but I never give up.
17:06I will take this note and double down on my efforts in the next round.
17:10Round two is the same rules as round one.
17:12You must make two distinctly different dishes using...
17:18Yukon Gold potatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
17:22Hmm.
17:23Avishar, how do you feel about these ingredients?
17:25I come from the Midwest where meat and potatoes are a thing.
17:27Close second is cheese, so I think we can work through it.
17:29All right.
17:30And which titan would you like to compete against?
17:32Tough choice.
17:35I think I'll go with Aisha.
17:37Okay.
17:38Ready.
17:39Round two.
17:40Yeah.
17:41You know, sometimes you just go with it in life.
17:42You know, it just comes to you.
17:43The first thing that comes out of your mouth, you gotta go with.
17:45Sometimes you just go with it.
17:47All right.
17:48I like that.
17:49Avishar, Aisha, your time starts right now.
17:52Let's go, chef.
17:53Let's go.
17:57Come on, Aisha.
18:00Aisha, you got this.
18:01How are you feeling, chef?
18:02Great.
18:03You?
18:04Amazing.
18:05What are your thoughts on potatoes and cheese?
18:06I've met a few potatoes I didn't like, but today I'm loving them.
18:08Excellent.
18:09Hopefully you'll like mine.
18:10Parmigiano-Reggiano, they call it the king of cheeses.
18:12It's so good.
18:13Yeah.
18:14I mean, cheese and potatoes are like peanut butter and jelly.
18:16Yeah.
18:17Parmigiano-Reggiano is like the Beyonce of cheese.
18:18Like, it's the most famous cheese in the world.
18:20I could just snack on Parmigiano all day long.
18:22Not masking the potato, not masking the Parmesan, making sure that they make sense together.
18:27That is the only challenge here.
18:29Yukon golds are tricky too, though, because they're at that sweet spot.
18:32Like, you know, starch converts to sugar, then converts back to starch.
18:35And it stays in that middle part where it's got the sugar in it.
18:38And when you fry it, it burns fast.
18:40Why does education make you guys laugh?
18:42Because he's like, he's like, it's a potato.
18:45Because that's what you talk about, which is awesome.
18:47We would never talk like that.
18:48We need a therapist in our budget next time.
18:51I feel like I'm in culinary school right now.
18:54I cooked Italian food for many, many years, so I'm excited to showcase that a little bit.
18:58I'm making cacio pepe potato risotto.
19:01So I cut some potatoes, adding them to a pot with boiling water.
19:05And then I'm gonna make a Parmesan fonduta, get some chicken stock, and I put some Parmesan rind in there.
19:09And then I grab heavy cream and milk, and I add to that thyme basil.
19:13The rind is one of my favorite parts to use.
19:15It enriches broths or stocks or soups.
19:18She's making fonduta.
19:19With a Parmesan rind?
19:20Smart.
19:21That's some titan .
19:22Okay.
19:23I think that's good.
19:24You know, Aisha cooked with Lydia Bastianich for a long time.
19:27And Missy Robbins.
19:28These are stalwarts in terms of, like, Italian cuisine in New York.
19:32And Aisha's worked under them.
19:34Her Italian game is strong.
19:35I think I have the skill set to take down any chef that comes into this kitchen.
19:39And I want to make sure that everybody knows that I'm here and I'm here to stay.
19:43Is there more salt somewhere?
19:45Parmesan cheese is definitely not traditionally used in Southeast Asian cooking.
19:48I'm excited to hit the Parmesan and potatoes in a way that maybe the judges aren't expecting.
19:51Okay.
19:52I want to make a hash brown, but I want to serve that with penang curry.
19:56Whoa.
19:57I need to shred the potatoes in the food processor and soak them to remove the excess starch.
20:01Did you know we had that grating attachment?
20:03Because Avishar just did.
20:04He just grated it up.
20:05He just made, like, a pound of Parmesan.
20:06And potatoes.
20:07And a pound of potatoes in, like, two minutes.
20:09I know.
20:10Thanks for teaching me that, Avishar.
20:11Of course.
20:12I will say Avishar has a different focus this round.
20:14Like, I got round one out of the way.
20:16I showed up now.
20:17I'm here.
20:18Stand up, look around.
20:20Everybody knows it's about to go down.
20:22So for my second dish, I'm making a potato stuffed cigar with filo.
20:25That's mozzarella, right?
20:26That's mozzarella, right?
20:27It looks like it.
20:29Butter.
20:30The filling is going to taste like creamy mashed potatoes that are spiked with Parmesan,
20:35mozzarella, chopped dill, and scallions.
20:37So I start to rice the potatoes to make the stuffing for the filo cigar.
20:41And then I start to roll them.
20:42Oh.
20:43That's like a little package.
20:44Behind you.
20:47All right, Avishar.
20:48What's up, Chef?
20:49I see you're breaking out lemongrass.
20:51Yes, Chef.
20:52What are you doing, sir?
20:53Leah's from Pig & Cow, which is a really awesome restaurant.
20:55Yes.
20:56And I've actually eaten there before.
20:57It's a great restaurant.
20:58So I think I have an idea of her flavor profile.
20:59So I'm going to try some hash browns.
21:00Hash browns.
21:01But with Thai flavors.
21:02Moving at the judge is Leah Cohen.
21:05It is very exciting because I don't have to worry about toning my flavors down.
21:08I can go on the side of a little spicier, a little saltier, a little more sour.
21:12And then on the other side, we want to do bartha.
21:14Bengali.
21:15I've got to make bartha.
21:16Halubbartha is basically a Bengali mashed potato.
21:17It's the classic Bengali dish.
21:18So if I don't make it at some point, my mom will probably kill me.
21:21It's very spicy.
21:22It's the humble food, but we like humble foods here.
21:24These chefs are going in very, very different directions, but that's what it's all about
21:27here on Trouble Threat.
21:28Let's confit these.
21:30I want the flavors of the hash brown to mimic the flavors of the curry.
21:33I'm adding duck fat with lime leaf, lemon grass, and Thai chilies.
21:37I need you to melt.
21:39Please cook.
21:40Please cook.
21:41Please cook.
21:42This, this.
21:43I had some vinegar.
21:44I know that Leah is looking for acid.
21:46And this is hard to put in a risotto, so I need to make some pickles.
21:49So I made a pickling liquid with some champagne vinegar, a little bit of sugar, honey, water,
21:54and salt.
21:55And I added the beets to that.
21:5630 minutes.
21:57Don't I make curry in 30 minutes?
21:59I think so.
22:00Penang curry is one of the most difficult and well-known curries in Thailand.
22:04Okay, lemon grass.
22:05This is going to take a little bit of time and a lot of ingredients.
22:08Garlic, galangal, shallots, lime leaf, cilantro, and roasted chilies.
22:18I mean, I just don't know if I've ever had Parmesan and curry together.
22:22I think Avachar is taking some risks here.
22:24These flavors are pretty big, and if he goes too big and too bold with the spice,
22:28you could really lose the integrity of the Parmesan Reggiano.
22:32She's making a potato risotto, no rice.
22:35It's actually smart because of the starch in that potato.
22:37It'll act like rice if she cooks it all the way down.
22:39But she does need to start cooking it.
22:41It's 26 minutes to go.
22:42Aisha, how long is that risotto going to take to cook?
22:44I'm getting it on right now, chef.
22:46The thing about the potato risotto is that you have to cook it in time so it doesn't sit,
22:50but it really is cutting it tight.
22:52Okay, freak.
22:53I know that this is going to take about 20 minutes to cook.
22:55I throw in the potatoes and I add the chicken stock.
22:58I'm a little freaked out because she has got so many things working
23:01and she's got to pull them all together and she's running out of time.
23:04You don't think it's going to be cooked?
23:06I think she's just at risk for, like, not bringing the seasoning
23:09and the creaminess and the texture of the risotto itself to, like, the last minute.
23:12Pot working, just working.
23:14Who the is this up?
23:15Aisha looks a little flustered right now.
23:17I mean, Aisha is a titan for a reason.
23:19Bobby selected her.
23:20These are the moments to prove she's here to play.
23:22She's here to play.
23:23She's here to stay.
23:24And this round, there's a lot on the line.
23:26Come on, Aisha.
23:27Come on, Aisha.
23:28Come on, Aisha.
23:29The consistency of this risotto, I want the potatoes to kind of still maintain their shape,
23:38but I want it to be creamy.
23:40So I taste the potatoes and they're literally almost done, but I still have 11 minutes left.
23:45So what I do is I strain the liquid out of the risotto, which this is an unconventional
23:50cooking method, guys.
23:51What is she?
23:52She keeps going back and forth.
23:53I don't like that she's draining the water off, because that's where all the starch is.
23:56Yeah, I know.
23:57I don't like that.
23:58Is she worried that they're overcooking?
23:59So now that the pan is cold, I can actually stop the cooking process, and I add a little
24:03bit of the parmesan fondue, and then I reintroduce the liquid.
24:07Oh, she saved it.
24:08Okay.
24:09She saved it.
24:10I thought you were about to throw that love out, Aisha.
24:13Michael, give me a little credit, man.
24:15Yes, chef.
24:16I might be a new titan, but I'm an old chef.
24:22As my curry is cooking down, I have to start finalizing my aloe horta.
24:25And the cheese in here.
24:27I'm using dried arbol and Thai chilies to reinforce the spice.
24:30I take my bowl of potatoes, season it with cheese, onion, and cilantro, and begin matching
24:35them with my hands.
24:36She's gonna be hard-pressed to find the parmesan in his food.
24:38Yeah.
24:39Five minutes to go.
24:40Now we fry.
24:41Next, it's hash brown time.
24:43I drop it in, let it fry.
24:45They're looking pretty good.
24:46God has spoken.
24:47Yes!
24:48Okay, cool.
24:49Four, chef.
24:50Four.
24:51Four.
24:52Michael, I got this one.
24:53Yeah, baby.
24:54So I grab my plates, I throw down the cigar with my pickled beets, parsley, and dill.
25:00To plate my hash brown dish, I flood the bottom of the bowl with the penang curry,
25:03put the hash brown on top.
25:04It looks perfect.
25:05Take the remainder of the penang curry, fold in parmesan.
25:08Now just garnish.
25:09And I finish with a hit of cilantro.
25:10I mean, his hash browns look crispy.
25:12They look like they can be kind of cool.
25:14Aisha, go back to the risotto, chef.
25:16Okay, hold on.
25:17Where the is the ladle?
25:19I plate my risotto in the bottom of the plate.
25:21You have 50 seconds.
25:2250 seconds.
25:23Hurt.
25:24Hold on.
25:25To plate the aloe barba, I pour it into a bowl.
25:27I top it with some more grated parmesan.
25:29And then I garnish it with some cilantro.
25:31One more chili for cake, the way that my dad would like it.
25:3330 seconds.
25:34Okay, all right!
25:36I need my lemon zest.
25:38Here we go.
25:40Oh, man.
25:41Aisha.
25:42You guys are killing it.
25:4310.
25:44Okay.
25:459.
25:46We pulled on.
25:47There you go.
25:48Hold on.
25:495, 4, 3, 2, 1.
25:54Good job, chef.
25:55Beautiful.
25:56You're a beast.
25:57You know, am I nervous?
25:59Of course I'm always nervous.
26:00You never know how the judge is going to receive your dish.
26:02You guys are killing me, man.
26:04But both of these dishes represent who I am as a chef.
26:06Oh, how nice.
26:08I got it done this time.
26:09I am happy with the flavors.
26:10I wanted a tour of Thailand and also a tour of Bangladesh.
26:12And I hope that I was able to provide that.
26:14Nice job, chef.
26:20Okay, Leah, welcome back.
26:21The chefs in this round were given Yukon Gold Potatoes and Parmigiana Reggiano.
26:25I mean, that's like a match made in heaven.
26:27I know.
26:28You're too nice, Bobby.
26:29I want them to have so many ideas that, you know, it's about the choices they make.
26:33Yeah.
26:34Let's start with chef A.
26:35Dish number one is a cacio e patate, lemon basil risotto.
26:40This is not your traditional risotto, but I love that play.
26:43You know, looking at this dish, it seems like it's going to be kind of somewhat simple, right?
26:48And then you get a bite and you get the potato just straight in your face and the parm in your face.
26:53Some bites are a little salty, but then you get a bite of that lemon and it kind of balances everything out.
26:58Let's move on to the second dish.
26:59Okay.
27:00A potato and Parmesan cigar with herb salad and pickled beets.
27:05So what I like that the chef did, they were like,
27:08I want to highlight that umami flavor that Parmesan gives you, the creaminess from the potato.
27:13That phyllo dough has just so much texture and it just makes it fun to eat.
27:18But the pickled beets could have been a little bit more pickled.
27:22All right, let's move on to Chef B.
27:24Dish number one is Parmesan Penang hash brown.
27:27Ooh.
27:30I love Penang curry.
27:31I think Penang curry and potatoes go really well together.
27:33And that curry is phenomenal.
27:36Am I getting the Parmesan?
27:38Probably not.
27:39Penang curry is very strong and it kind of overpowers everything.
27:43One of the things that I think is really challenging when you're doing curry is to have anything else be the star outside of the curry.
27:50But very smart and very gutsy.
27:53Okay, let's move on to the second dish.
27:54A lube bartha with mustard, onion, and Parmigiano.
27:58There's some heat in that, like, oh my goodness.
28:01Listen, I love my heat, right?
28:03But this is a lot of chilis packed in a small little ball of potatoes.
28:07You know, I taste the Parm.
28:09Obviously, the potato is a star.
28:11It's really challenging to kind of get anything else, though, because that heat just kind of overpowers, like, everything else.
28:18Okay, thank you.
28:19It's nice to hear that the Penang curry passed the master's test.
28:22Unfortunately for the bartha, I am surprised to hear that it is too spicy.
28:26But I guess, in a way, I'm kind of honored.
28:28The ones that we use in Bangla, that's actually hotter.
28:30Okay, Leah, Chef A, it was Aisha.
28:32Your dishes scored a total of nine points.
28:36Congratulations.
28:40The way that you really honed in on the first dish and made it all about the potatoes and the Parm was just the skill of, like, a true chef.
28:49Thank you very much. Thank you.
28:50Okay, so that means that Avishar was Chef B.
28:53Your dishes scored a total of five points this round.
28:56Ouch.
28:57So, Avishar, the flavor was great for the curry.
29:00I just didn't think that you'd make the potato or the Parm the star.
29:03And then the chili was, I'm still coughing with that chili.
29:06Sorry.
29:07All right, Leah, thank you. We'll see you back for the final round.
29:09Okay, thank you.
29:10Okay, see you soon.
29:11I have a lot of emotions in my mind, just like the bartha.
29:13It's very mixed, but I can't let it shake me too much.
29:15I've got one more round to make up.
29:16Okay, right now, Avishar, you have ten points, and the Titans have 17.
29:19Don't lose sight, because don't forget, in the third round, it's worth 20 points.
29:23Nice cooking with you, Chef.
29:25Thanks so much.
29:26I literally want to do jumping jacks and, like, jump through the ceiling.
29:30I'm really excited that I was able to do well and leave a cushion for the third round.
29:34Brooke, you're up.
29:35All right.
29:36All right, Brooke.
29:37Go.
29:39This is the final round.
29:40Time to raise the stakes.
29:42This round, Avishar is in charge.
29:43Show us what you got.
29:44For round three, I picked...
29:49Bay Sun and baby spinach.
29:50Bay Sun?
29:51Brooke, how do you feel about these ingredients?
29:52I don't know what that is.
29:54I think that this is a good strategy.
29:57He knows exactly what he's going to make.
29:58Can I taste it?
29:59And Brooke is going to have to reach.
30:02Oh.
30:03Is that chickpea flour?
30:04Yes.
30:05Oh.
30:06Bay Sun is chickpea flour.
30:08I use it a lot in Bengali and Indian cooking.
30:10Trying to see how long I can ride it.
30:12Avishar, why did you choose these ingredients?
30:15I think these are two perfectly blank slates that you get to demonstrate your best with.
30:18I love that.
30:19And you saved Brooke for this round because?
30:21Because based on baby spinach Brooke.
30:23Based on baby spinach Brooke.
30:25I like it.
30:26Alliteration.
30:27That's the first time we've ever been given that reason.
30:30Honestly, I have saved Brooke for last because I believe in escalating challenges.
30:34Brooke has the most experience.
30:36They say if you want to be the best, you got to be the best.
30:38I'm going to give you guys 40 minutes to make one dish.
30:41Your time starts right now.
30:50Chickpea flour is exactly what it sounds like.
30:52It's ground up garbanzos.
30:53Yeah.
30:54But the difference, I guess, between that and regular flour, I would compare this more to
30:58like a polenta from chickpeas versus like a whole wheat flour.
31:02Right.
31:03What are you making, chef?
31:04I'm going to make some, uh, spinach curry with chickpea fritters.
31:08Ooh, that sounds good.
31:09So my strategy for this round is really just to highlight the spinach and the bason flour.
31:14And curry flavors to me make total sense with the bason flour.
31:18I'm also making this.
31:19You're making curry too?
31:20Yeah, yeah.
31:21Oh, cool.
31:22Just kidding.
31:23What are you making?
31:24I have no idea what I'm doing.
31:25You know exactly what you're doing.
31:27You've been waiting for this moment all day.
31:29To showcase the baby spinach and the bason, I'm making a spinach chat.
31:32Chat can signify any snack food that contains a lot of flavor and a lot of texture.
31:36On the base, I'm going to have a chickpea and baby spinach fritter.
31:39I'm making a slow-cooked egg, crispy baby spinach, and apple chutney.
31:43Let's be safe today.
31:45Let's put all of our eggs in one basket.
31:47Okay.
31:48To make my apple chutney, I have to compress six hours of flavor into ten minutes.
31:53To do this, I'm making the apple chutney in a pressure cooker with some cinnamon, bay leaf,
31:57clove, cardamom.
31:58Apples.
31:59I'm using a high ratio of Granny Smith to Honeycrisp apples to keep the tartness.
32:04Bea said that she likes acidity, so I'm going to keep it very, very punchy.
32:07More acid.
32:08More acid.
32:09Navishar's down by seven points.
32:10He's going to have to really dig deep to get those points back.
32:13It's not impossible, but it is a big feat.
32:15Now is the time to buckle down.
32:16I'm going to need to show who I really am.
32:18Let's go.
32:20I have to go out with the bay.
32:27Round three is a difficult round.
32:30I'm going up against a dish that Navishar has probably made a hundred times.
32:34That is how he beat Bobby.
32:36Hi, Brooke.
32:37What are you making?
32:38Making green chickpea stuff.
32:40You're making green chickpea stuff?
32:41Do you work with chickpea flour a lot?
32:43Yeah.
32:44We do chickpea fries at the restaurant.
32:46You know, Brooke is really known for her California approach to cooking.
32:49You have to cook it out.
32:50You're making, yeah.
32:51You have to, like, kind of turn it into, like, pancake batter.
32:53Yeah.
32:54Everybody always thinks, like, you know, Brooke is going to cook some casual beach cuisine,
32:58but her range is vast.
32:59And then they stay nice and custardy on the inside, and then I'm going to fry it.
33:02Sometimes she doubts herself, but Brooke always makes whatever she makes delicious.
33:07I have a pot going with the chickpea flour, some pureed spinach, butter, and water.
33:12The challenge with these fries, one, is getting a perfect consistency, and then chilling it for long enough
33:18so that when you fry them, they don't explode.
33:2030 minutes to go.
33:22To make my fritters, I am using chickpea flour based on, and a green spinach puree.
33:27I sift the chickpea flour, and I use boiling water to start off so I can get it cooking.
33:31All right, chef, what are you making?
33:32Like a crispy shot dish.
33:33This is basically a little, like, little fritters, like chickpea and spinach.
33:36I start by blending some spinach, blend it in the blender to make a puree, and add it into the batter.
33:40Okay, the spinach puree is as well.
33:42I then cook the batter, lay it out on a half sheet pan, and get it into the blast chiller so I can get it cool enough to form into the pieces that I want.
33:48They're making the same thing.
33:50I want to make sure that I have enough time to develop flavor here, so then I need to start on my curry.
33:55I get some onion and garlic and ginger into a pot to sweat.
33:59I add a little bit of lime, some honey, some shrimp stock, some yellow curry.
34:05Do you have the madras curry powder?
34:07I do not, chef.
34:08Oh, there it is.
34:09I'm using a bit of madras curry powder.
34:11I'm just, again, trying to develop lots of layers of flavor.
34:14Smells great over there.
34:17I'm gonna reduce all of that and then finish it with some coconut milk.
34:21That's not good.
34:22Seventeen and a half minutes.
34:24Perfect.
34:26Batter next.
34:27Next, I make a base on batter for two applications.
34:30One for my baby spinach and two to add some crunchies to the dish.
34:33I mix together chickpea flour and water.
34:35Let's go.
34:36I also add kishmiri chili powder, turmeric, and a little bit of chapasal.
34:39Avishar, what's that in the blender?
34:40A base on batter, chef.
34:42I pour some into the deep fryer to make some crunchies.
34:45We like texture here.
34:46Oh, I see what he's doing.
34:48Pull it up and then start to coat my spinach with it.
34:50He's making, like, little fried chickpea fritters that he just did.
34:53Yeah, that's sick, actually.
34:56You know?
34:57Michael!
34:58I mean, that's terrible.
34:59I got this.
35:00I got this.
35:01That's interesting.
35:02I'm stealing that.
35:03Yeah, it's just my mom's recipe, actually.
35:04My mom is an excellent cook.
35:06She learned from her mom and her mom learned from her mom.
35:08So it's cool to share the dishes that my mom taught me as a child.
35:11I came to work and learned something today.
35:15Chickpeas feel like an obvious garnish to me and a great way to reinforce the fact that I'm using a chickpea flour.
35:21So I decided to make fried chickpeas.
35:25The one thing that this dish really kind of is lacking in is some pops of acid.
35:29So I'm going to pickle some shallots and then add some pomegranate seeds and make a little relish with that.
35:34Watch your chickpeas.
35:35Watch your soup.
35:37I get some beets juiced.
35:39I'm going to turn these shallots nice and bright red to contrast the green of the plate.
35:44So I add some rice vinegar and some salt, put the shallots in, get that in the vacuum sealer.
35:49Those pickles will be done in a minute.
35:51Five.
35:52Five.
35:53Avishar, you got to move it.
35:54Time to finish the dish.
35:56I run over to the blast chiller.
35:58I need one of these for my house.
35:59Come on, Avishar.
36:00I mean, I'm not rooting for you, but finish strong, brother.
36:03I take out my chickpea fritters and fry them in a high fryer.
36:07I check my fry batter.
36:09It is setting up nicely.
36:11That looks perfect.
36:12Beautiful.
36:13I drop my fries in the fryer.
36:15My fried chickpeas at this point are done.
36:17My curry sauce goes into the blender to get it nice and smooth.
36:21I put a giant handful of fresh spinach into the sauce just to wilt.
36:26Then I'm ready to plate.
36:27Two minutes.
36:28I pulled the chickpea fries out of the fryer.
36:31They're looking good.
36:32Just a sprinkle of salt and they're ready to go.
36:34So to plate, I take a few giant spoonfuls of that spinach curry, put it in the base of the bowl.
36:39In the middle, I place down the base on fries and then top that with my pomegranate relish and then my fried chickpeas.
36:46Ooh-wee.
36:4852 seconds.
36:49Get your plate.
36:50Even though I'm looking at the clock and seeing the nervous looks from the Titan's faces.
36:53This guy's gonna be anxiety.
36:54I know I got this.
36:55Now for the grand finale.
36:57To plate my dish, I begin with my chickpea fritters.
37:00Top that with my carefully cooked egg.
37:02Top that with my fried spinach.
37:04He's doing so much right now, but I'm afraid he's gonna run out of time.
37:08Come on, chef. Make it happen.
37:09That looks great.
37:10I've blown fat pulled chutney.
37:11It's important for me to use a squeeze bottle so I can get every bite.
37:14Five, four, three, two, one.
37:18That's it.
37:19Way to go.
37:20That was nuts.
37:21That was crazy.
37:22You know, normally I have a vision in my head of how I want a dish to come out.
37:27Today just kind of unfolded.
37:29It tastes good.
37:30It tastes good.
37:31I just made a bowl of stuff.
37:33Abishar, I think, just made a bowl of stuff.
37:35It's gonna be stuff against stuff tonight.
37:37My hands are dirty as well.
37:38Yeah, so we're right.
37:39I look over at Brooke's table, and to no surprise, there's spinach 18 to 25 different ways.
37:44It has me a little worried.
37:45It's gonna be a tough final call, but I'm proud of what I put up.
37:48Tell your mother I'm stealing this idea.
37:49Okay.
37:50I'll send you the recipe.
37:51Okay.
37:52Let's go.
37:53Welcome back, Leah.
37:55So this round is worth double the points.
37:58The two ingredients for this round, bay son and baby spinach.
38:02Ooh, okay.
38:03I don't love spinach.
38:04Yeah.
38:05If I'm being honest.
38:06Right.
38:07I only eat it because people tell you it's healthy.
38:08Right.
38:09But like, it's kind of like very neutral in flavor.
38:11Yeah.
38:12Let's start with Chef A.
38:13Happy spinach shot with slow poached egg, spinach and chickpea fritters, and apple chutney.
38:18There is a lot going on.
38:20And like, not in a bad way.
38:22The texture in this dish is insane.
38:24You could think that it might be like overwhelming and too much, but it's not.
38:28Mm-hmm.
38:29The texture of the spinach is fantastic.
38:31It's so light.
38:32It's airy.
38:33Shows tons of technique.
38:34And then you get that like really rich creaminess from the egg.
38:38It's fun.
38:39It's adventurous.
38:40And I don't necessarily think spinach is as boring as I used to think after this dish.
38:44Exactly.
38:45Leah did have a lot of good feedback about my dish.
38:48However, seven points is no joke.
38:50I have a huge deficit to overcome, but everybody likes a good comeback story.
38:58Let's move on to Chef B.
38:59Spinach curry with Besson fries, pickled shallots, and a pomegranate relish.
39:05I mean, the red in here is popping.
39:07I mean, it's great.
39:08I also love the fact that the chef reincorporated the fact that we're using chickpea flour and put some crispy chickpeas on top to give it some texture, which it really does need because, you know, the fries can be, it can kind of be a little bit mushy.
39:19Yeah.
39:20Like, yeah, it's nice on the outside and crispy, but then it's like smooth and creamy, but also can get just like a little flat.
39:25Yeah.
39:26I love how the chef really like leaned into the spinach, using the spinach not only in the Besson fries, but like also sauteed spinach in the curry.
39:33This chef really wanted to highlight chickpeas, chickpea flour, and spinach, and I think the chef was extremely successful with that.
39:41Okay, Leah, moment of truth. Please rate these chefs 1 through 20.
39:47Okay.
39:48The feedback that Avishar just got was really impressive.
39:52She like literally feels like she rediscovered spinach, and he brought that to her.
39:56So, I don't know. I think this is going to be a close one.
39:59Chef A was Avishar, which means Chef B was our Titan, Brooke.
40:04Avishar, I really enjoyed that dish. There was something just playful, which makes you want to go back and eat more of it.
40:13Brooke, there's a reason why so many people in this industry are scared to go up against you.
40:17And I think, you know, it was very well proven from that dish.
40:22So, right now, Avishar, you have 10 points and the Titans have 17. So, it is a seven point deficit.
40:27True.
40:28Avishar, I gave your dish.
40:3317 points.
40:34More than five.
40:36Yeah.
40:37Seeing that Leah is a tough critic, 17 is amazing.
40:40I don't know if it's enough to win, but it sounds like I'm still in this.
40:44Okay, Avishar, that brings you a total to 27 points. Well done.
40:47Brooke, I gave your dish.
40:5217 points.
40:53I'm really happy that everything that I've put on this plate has been well received.
40:58Avishar worked really hard. He deserves the 17 that he got.
41:04Honestly, I'm very happy with a tie right now.
41:06So, Avishar, I'm sorry the Titans blocked you from the $25,000, but I will say it was so fun to watch you cook tonight.
41:12You brought some techniques that we were all, like, sort of mesmerized by.
41:16And that crispy spinach, tell your mom, I'm stealing that.
41:20I will let her know.
41:21I lost the competition overall, but I got to cook with the greats.
41:24It makes me feel pretty good to be in the same room as them.
41:27But I can still say that I beat Bob, enough so that he wanted to see me get beat by the Titans.
41:32Good job, guys.
41:34It was a group effort if I've ever seen one.
41:36I mean...
41:37We're the Titans.
41:38I mean, this is...
41:39You can teach these old dogs new tricks, but you ain't taking that money.
41:44Let's have a drink.
41:45Did you just call us old dogs?
41:47Just me. Just me.
41:48I'm okay with that.
41:49Because we won.
41:50Even though you're a month older than me.
41:51All right.
41:52Congratulations.
41:53This is your best season yet.
41:54Thank goodness for Aisha.
41:55Cheers to us.
41:56Way to go.
41:57Cheers.
41:58Cheers.
41:59Horse.
42:00Cheers.
42:01Truth.
42:03如何.
42:04Peace.
42:05Peace.
42:06Cheers.
42:07Cheers.
42:08Cheers.
42:09Peace.
42:10Cheers.
42:11Peace.
42:12Believe.
42:13February.
42:14IN슬.
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