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00:00Alex is one of the greatest Iron Chefs that have ever been.
00:07Alex is very intimidating.
00:10Countless elite chefs from across America have taken on this culinary legend.
00:16She's defeated virtually everyone that's faced her.
00:21But all of that stops now.
00:24Alex, you know I love you.
00:27But you're going down.
00:28Challenge accepted.
00:29This season, I'm bringing in the most celebrated chefs.
00:32Today the gloves are off. It's on.
00:34The winningest champions.
00:35I've been avoiding her for years.
00:37They're all joining forces to take Alex down.
00:40Alex, your name's coming down.
00:43Are you kidding me?
00:44These guys are making me really nervous.
00:47And every battle will be Alex's worst night.
00:50It doesn't get harder than this for me.
00:52And I kind of like that.
00:54Tonight, it's six against one.
00:57How am I supposed to do this?
00:58Alex faces off against three of America's best restaurant teams.
01:01Four hands are better than two.
01:03I can't do this.
01:04Guys, come on.
01:05This is Alex versus America.
01:08What scares you the most?
01:13Freddy Krueger, Jason, Michael Myers, or season five?
01:19I've been throwing you off your game by not having the chefs come in.
01:22Yeah.
01:23It's one thing to throw me off with ingredients or a theme.
01:26But it's a whole other thing when you throw me off with people.
01:29And when you don't give them to me to start gathering my data and playing my psychological warfare.
01:34Right.
01:35I got nothing here.
01:36Well, speaking of people, this is the perfect time to introduce our first chef.
01:40Let's go.
01:41This Michelin-trained executive chef's Orange County restaurant appeared in the Michelin Guide and earned him a 2023 James Beard nom as best chef in California.
01:52Wow.
01:53And he beats you, Alex, in season two of A Brunch Showdown.
01:58Oh, it's Michael Reed.
01:59It is Michael.
02:00Starting off strong with a nightmare here.
02:02From California, please welcome Chef Michael Reed.
02:05I'm back.
02:07I've been on Alex versus America for the brunch match where I won.
02:11Now I'm here to showcase what California food has to offer as a chef.
02:15Thank you for having me.
02:16For now, I say welcome.
02:17Let's introduce the next great restaurant chef.
02:22This executive chef's take on Vietnamese cuisine has earned him five James Beard Award nominations and a Star Chef's Rising Star Award.
02:30I'm descending.
02:31His Moon Rabbit restaurant is named one of the best restaurants in the country.
02:35And...
02:36And, and, and, and.
02:37Okay.
02:38It's actually one of my favorites as well.
02:39Okay.
02:40Good for you, Eric.
02:41You eat there.
02:42You like this guy.
02:43We get it.
02:44From Washington, D.C., please welcome Chef Kevin Tien.
02:47Comes in with the heart.
02:48I like that.
02:49Vietnamese food belongs at the top.
02:51Chef Alex, she's like one to chase if you want to be the best.
02:54Good to see you, Chef.
02:55Good to see you too.
02:56Look, you came straight out of the gym to come here and show us what you got.
03:00I haven't been to the gym in years, but I'm glad you think I've been.
03:04Let's move on to the next great restaurant chef.
03:07This two-time James Beard nominee has worked with your friend, Bobby Flay, and has worked in Michelin Star Kitchens in both New York and Portugal.
03:14He is the chef of five restaurants, including another one of my favorites, the Portuguese-inspired Lita.
03:20From New Jersey, please welcome Chef David Yenna.
03:23Alex, she's so battle-tested, so walking onto the stage today is a real test of strengths for wanting to beat one of the best that's ever done it.
03:31But I never compete to lose.
03:33Look how stylish all of you are.
03:34So stylish.
03:35Very good.
03:36Chef, what's going on?
03:37Feeling good.
03:38You can see we have some of the best chefs behind some of the best restaurants in the country.
03:41Okay.
03:42This is really a lot, Eric.
03:43But as you know, it's tough for even the best chefs to come and beat you.
03:47Yeah, it is.
03:48Should be.
03:49And as you know, I'm trying to throw everything at you this season.
03:51Okay.
03:52Tonight, Alex, you're going to have to double your efforts.
03:55What?
03:56Bring in the sous chefs, please.
04:01Hi.
04:02Eric, are you kidding me?
04:04A quick round of applause for the sous.
04:06Eric, this is the craziest thing you've ever done.
04:09This is Queenie Reed, Michael's wife, better half, and powerhouse partner.
04:13As if he wasn't enough.
04:14We are here to beat Alex.
04:16I mean, my husband has done it once, so I'm pretty sure that we can do it again.
04:21I got my broom ready, Alex.
04:23This is Paola Serrano, Kevin's Michelin-trained sous chef.
04:27Kevin and I complement each other.
04:29I'm kind of like the calm person that his crazy energy personality needs.
04:35And Brian Lopes, David's chef de cuisine at Lita Restaurant.
04:39My deep roots in Portuguese cuisine is by far unmatched.
04:43And there's no way Alex has a chance in beating us.
04:46Alex, you've beaten chefs one-on-one.
04:48Can you beat them two-on-one?
04:52Eric, I mean, do I get a sous chef, Eric?
04:54Uh, no.
04:56How am I supposed to do this?
04:57Work twice as hard.
04:58Yeah, really.
04:59So, Alex, welcome to your newest nightmare.
05:01Brush drawn teams.
05:04At the risk of stating the obvious, if you have two people doing something,
05:07it's better than when just one person is doing it.
05:09Am I wrong?
05:10One is the loneliest number.
05:12I feel freaked out.
05:13I feel like this is on another level, honestly.
05:15Ready to do this?
05:16Yeah.
05:17First up is the survival round.
05:18The seven of you will prepare your best dish.
05:20Then our expert judges will do a blind tasting and rank the results.
05:24The top three dishes move on to the money round, worth up to $15,000.
05:28And then the chefs, or chef who comes in fourth, will be going home.
05:32Even though these chefs clearly have an advantage because there's two of them.
05:35Yeah, that's decently obvious.
05:37I'm still giving you, chefs, all the choices for the ingredients in this round.
05:40I don't think I've ever faced anything this hard in a competition before.
05:45Chefs, shall we?
05:46Let's do it.
05:47Let's go ahead.
05:48Oh my gosh.
05:49Look how crowded this is.
05:50There's so many people.
05:51It's like the subway.
05:53So, you are all restaurant chefs used to working every shift, right?
05:58So, which meal are you going to make?
06:01Aw.
06:02Are we going brunch, lunch, or dinner?
06:05I would like dinner.
06:06Why?
06:07I like the presentation.
06:09We do have an advantage.
06:10There's two of us.
06:11I think I want to tinker with some more fun, elevated things.
06:14I'm going to do dinner.
06:15We can slide into dinner.
06:16Dinner?
06:17Dinner.
06:18Dinner.
06:19Dinner it is.
06:20So, they offer me like a lifeline, honestly.
06:21Dinner's my wheelhouse.
06:22Bring it on.
06:23So, chefs, in restaurants, you know you often serve classic duos.
06:27What you got under there?
06:28Which duo will you be serving for dinner?
06:31We have surf and surf with dried shrimp and beef jerky, steak and potatoes, frozen burgers
06:37and canned potatoes, or chicken and waffles.
06:40We have frozen waffles and frozen chicken tenders.
06:44Oh, God.
06:45You don't have to make these duos, but you do have to use these two ingredients in your
06:49dinner.
06:50Surf and turf.
06:51Surf and turf.
06:52Why?
06:53No doubt.
06:54They're two staple kind of ingredients.
06:55They're salty.
06:56It can become a flavor profile.
06:57Why not chicken and waffles?
06:58It's in a bag and a box.
07:00What do you want me to do with that?
07:02Canned potatoes are actually great.
07:04You like canned potatoes?
07:05So, we're not picking that.
07:07Oh!
07:08Wow.
07:09I'm team surf and turf.
07:11Wow.
07:12Yes.
07:13Surf and turf.
07:14Surf and turf it is.
07:15Let's head over to the last cloche.
07:17And maybe the most important.
07:19Timing is extremely important in a restaurant.
07:23How much time are we giving ourselves?
07:25Only up to 30 minutes.
07:27There's just two of you here.
07:28Please think about it.
07:29What do you think?
07:3020.
07:3125.
07:3225 is the lowest I would go.
07:34Soft.
07:35I'm sorry.
07:36It's dinner.
07:37So, it needs to be a little bit more, you know, elaborate.
07:4030 minutes is just the most amount of time we're allowed.
07:43I'm always going to go for the most amount of time.
07:45There's two of you here.
07:46Okay.
07:4725 puts our disadvantage.
07:48Like, we have the extra hands.
07:50Yeah.
07:51But 20 minutes flies by.
07:52Yeah, it does fly by.
07:5330 minutes.
07:54Moon Rabbit?
07:55The queen has spoken, right?
07:56Yeah.
07:5730 minutes it is.
07:58You guys are just playing right into our hands.
07:59Okay, Eric.
08:00Killing me.
08:01If they really wanted to make it hard on me, they could give me 20 minutes.
08:0630 minutes is definitely enough time to do some damage, and that's what I'm going to do.
08:11The board is set.
08:12One more thing before we start the cook.
08:14Let me remind you, whoever wins will have exclusive pick of all of the cloches in the next round.
08:2030 minutes on the clock.
08:21Chefs, your time starts now.
08:26All right.
08:27Scallops, pork tenderloin.
08:28We shouldn't use the dried shrimp in a curry.
08:31Beautiful.
08:32What an advantage.
08:33It really is two against one, or six against one.
08:36And Alex is in for a really hard fight.
08:39We're tripping these chefs up just a little bit with some dried shrimp and some beef jerky.
08:43Dried shrimp has this little umami.
08:45Beef jerky, salty.
08:46And the fact that they have two times the manpower, the odds are just so much stacked up against Alex.
08:52But look right now, Alex is already cooking.
08:54They're still running around.
08:55She has so many tips and tricks.
08:57If she can win this round, Lord help them.
09:00Because she is a shark.
09:01She's going to go after it.
09:02And all she needs is just a little bit of daylight.
09:05Before I even shop, shopping is for suckers.
09:08I take some tomatoes, season them salt, pepper, and I get those roasting in the oven.
09:13Now at least I have something cooking.
09:15Then I go and get all my other ingredients.
09:17Did anybody take two containers of dried shrimp?
09:20Because I don't have any.
09:21I have it.
09:23Oh, look at that.
09:24Look at that.
09:25What a gentleman.
09:26Should have sent your sous chef.
09:27Of all the themes, this is by far the most challenging.
09:31It's not just two sets of hands.
09:33It's people that work together every day in the restaurant.
09:36So that's six experts over one times two multiplied by X to the Z over jerky equals losing.
09:43I have a lot of work ahead of me.
09:44I'm going to make seared steak with a jerky gremolata and a dried shrimp rusted tomato.
09:51That combination of ingredients feels like it has a place in a steakhouse to me.
09:56It's another walk in the park.
09:58Piece of cake, Eric.
09:59Chef, what are some advantages that you have right now?
10:01None.
10:02It's flattering that Eric thinks it's going to take two chefs at every station to give me a real run for my money.
10:07Do you hate me?
10:08No, I love you.
10:09How you looking?
10:10I'm just getting the shrimp alinho working right now.
10:15We're going to do a shrimp alinho, which is a really popular Portuguese garlic shrimp dish.
10:20I'm leaning duck to make it more of an entree dish.
10:23He's also the duck whisperer.
10:26I'm going to work on the alinho.
10:27So I grab the garlic, I grab the sweet, hot paprika.
10:31Going big flavors, bold flavors.
10:33This sauce, it's a perfect base to incorporate both the jerky and the dried shrimp.
10:38Alex is on the Mount Rushmore of competition chefs, but I know with him by my side, Alex is going down.
10:45Hell yeah.
10:47You grab the jerky?
10:48The shrimp's right there and the jerky's right here.
10:50The jerky and the dried shrimp, we're going to powderize it, put it into a sauce.
10:55We're going to make a jerky and shrimp crusted pork and scallops dish.
11:00That's going to sit on top of potato schumma and dried shrimp sauce.
11:05Let me get these potatoes, cut them up.
11:07I am yes chef, that's what I'm doing.
11:09Whatever chef tells me to do, I say yes chef and go do it.
11:12At our restaurant, it's Poppy and C. We work very well with each other.
11:15I let Michael drive the bus, I'm in the back, you know, kind of keeping everything together.
11:20I need salt.
11:21Okay.
11:22But at the same time, I am a fantastic taster.
11:29All right, what's next?
11:30Is this already plugged in?
11:31It's already plugged in?
11:32Yes.
11:33Great.
11:34Moon Rabbit, we're known for doing inventive Vietnamese cuisine.
11:37We're going to make a shrimp salt, shrimp seasoning to crust a hamachi.
11:42And then Chef Paolo is going to make a curry sauce and I want to make a jerky papaya salad.
11:46Chef Paolo for your fish.
11:47Chef Paolo and I come from very different worlds.
11:50I grew up in a Vietnamese Cajun household.
11:52I am originally from Venezuela, but we really create culinary magic together.
11:57We're going to like burn down the house, you know?
11:59Don't burn down anything though.
12:00I got your chilies, shallots, and lemongrass, Chef.
12:02Ginger is here.
12:03I've had beef jerky in Southeast Asian, like jerky salad.
12:06So I'd want to incorporate that into a papaya salad.
12:08We're going to come over here.
12:10You're only doing six strips.
12:11Don't go too big.
12:12I'm going to grab herbs.
12:13Okay.
12:14We have clear delineation of who's doing what.
12:17This is a team right now.
12:19I'm just...
12:20I'm just...
12:23If I were in a duo, I would make a really fortified beef jerky broth.
12:28There are definitely some techniques and some ideas that I have in mind
12:31that I'm just not going to be able to employ here.
12:33We break it down in terms of just sheer time.
12:36I'm the physical underdog here because these other duos,
12:40they're doing double time.
12:42Eric, you're starting to get under my skin.
12:45It's never that I say the sheer volume of chefs freaks me out,
12:49except for tonight.
12:50Is that changing any approach to your food?
12:51I can't do this.
12:52Guys, come on.
12:53I mean, you know?
12:54She's got twice the amount of work.
12:56Clearly she has a lot going on.
12:57Chefs, 12 minutes.
12:59Going in on 12 minutes left.
13:05Freaking Aja Pong.
13:06Eric is definitely turning the screws on me with these duos.
13:09And then we have beef jerky.
13:11That said, microplaning it and putting it into a place purposefully
13:15is the plan.
13:16And I just mix that together with my shrimp and panko crust.
13:20I take the tomatoes out of the oven and then I just top it with all of that jerky, shrimp and panko.
13:27I want to keep it super simple.
13:29Since everything is a duo tonight except me and Eric.
13:33I'm going to go ahead and talk to the judges and let them know what's going on.
13:38Because this is a blind tasting, our judges have no idea that it's three duos against Alex right now.
13:43And because this is the team showdown, we invited one of the most acclaimed culinary teams.
13:47Michael Voltaggio is a Top Chef winner and one of the culinary titans on Bobby's Triple Threat.
13:52His brother Brian Voltaggio is a James Beard nominee and a three-time Top Chef runner-up.
13:57Together they're the powerhouse culinary team behind the Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse
14:01and White Oak Tavern in their home state of Maryland and Volcania in California.
14:05What's going on?
14:06We've got four amazing restaurateurs in the kitchen right now.
14:09Let me go ahead and tell you what they picked.
14:11Got it.
14:12They picked dinner.
14:13Okay.
14:14We went with Surf and Surf.
14:15But not your typical luxurious item, Surf and Surf.
14:17We're giving them dried shrimp and beef jerky.
14:19The tricky part for that is those are things that infuse flavor into other stuff.
14:22Yeah.
14:23So how are you going to take dried shrimp and beef jerky and make it obvious that that's what you were supposed to use?
14:28Right.
14:29Chef.
14:30I see cauliflower.
14:31I see duck.
14:32Yes.
14:33Cauliflower puree.
14:34Chives in the...
14:35This is going to be a nice little green oil to go with that like bright orange argino sauce.
14:39It looks beautiful.
14:40You're not just competing against Alex.
14:41You're competing against all the contestants.
14:43Right.
14:44With Brian and I working together, I feel incompetent.
14:46We're just like a great dynamic duo.
14:55Does that work?
14:56Yes, it does.
14:57Yes, it does.
14:58Cool.
14:59Got first use of the shrimp into the shrimp sauce.
15:03The second part, I'm going to blitz it in the blender.
15:06I'm going to do the same thing to the jerky.
15:08So then I can roll the pork tail loin into it.
15:11So it should have a nice crust of the jerky flavor plus the shrimp.
15:15We have a beautiful six and a half, almost seven year old now named Mackenzie.
15:20She is the love of our life.
15:21She's a great kid.
15:23So with the money, we would do like a family trip to Ghana.
15:27This is really delicious.
15:28Good stuff.
15:29Bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow.
15:34I'm seasoning my fish with the shrimp sauce that we made.
15:38I think the dried shrimp on the crust of this hamachi is a really great idea.
15:43Because as soon as that hamachi touches your tongue, you'll get that shrimp flavor first.
15:47We really need to get to the second round.
15:50If Kevin and I are winning today, he's willing to help me get reunited with my family.
15:55We have been separated for more than eight years.
15:58That will mean, you know, the world to me.
16:01Fish is going in the oven right now.
16:03When I start our papaya salad, I made a green papaya ribbons that's dressing like fish sauce,
16:08toasted peanuts, and the beef jerky.
16:11Try this for me.
16:12We carry a lot of pressure of moving our family and our culture and our history forward.
16:17So we can beat Chef Alex just means that we're also standing amongst, like, some of the greatest chefs.
16:22That's delicious.
16:23Good.
16:24Chefs, five minutes left in the cook.
16:26There's so many other things I would have liked to do, but time's up.
16:29So I slice the steaks.
16:31It's like between rare and medium rare, and I put the tomatoes on the plate.
16:35I'm going to give both me and my Sue a big pat on the back.
16:39We feel really good.
16:41The first thing I want on this plate is beautifully cooked shrimp.
16:45The next thing is the beautiful cauliflower dollops.
16:48I cut the duck down the middle to check for doneness and it's perfect.
16:51Better knock Alex out.
16:52This is a dish I think we can knock her out with.
16:54For plating, we're going to keep it really simple.
16:57Potato jerk spuma on the bottom.
16:59On top of that, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and leeks.
17:02Then on top of that, crusted pork tenderloin, right next to a beautifully seared scallop.
17:07I'm just here to win.
17:08And four hands are always better than two.
17:11The ribbons actually look really good, Chef.
17:12I start plating with my papaya salad, and then Chef Paolo plates the curry.
17:17We follow up with the brunoise beef jerky, and then Chef Paolo plates the fish.
17:22Five, four, three, two, one.
17:27Well done.
17:28I'm proud of what I did.
17:33It's not what I would have made if I had had, say, another person here working with me.
17:38But this is what you gave me.
17:41This is what you get.
17:42In front of your stations, you have a recipe card right down to the dish and any sort of components that you want me to relate to the judges.
17:49Well done.
17:50I gave her a taste of my dish.
17:52This is really pretty.
17:53Did you see what this is?
17:54Cauliflower puree.
17:55Oh, that's beautiful.
17:56This looks ready for a restaurant.
17:57Yeah.
17:58I don't know if they made enough shrimp paste, though.
18:01Very pretty.
18:02I like the way they leaned into the staff and tariff.
18:05My one advantage, in a way, was that I couldn't do 100 things.
18:08All right, Chef.
18:09Good job.
18:10Good job.
18:13Let's go ahead and bring in the boys.
18:15The vault.
18:16Michael, what's going on, gentlemen?
18:17What's going on?
18:18Good to see you guys.
18:19Smells good in here.
18:20Yeah, it does.
18:21Let me go ahead and remind you what the chefs decided to pick.
18:24We're cooking dinner featuring dried shrimp and beef jerky and 30 minutes to cook.
18:30In front of you is a cast iron ribeye with a beef jerky gremolata and a dried shrimp parsley panko crusted tomato with grainy mustard.
18:38Her steak looks sexy.
18:40And you know her sauces are top notch.
18:43With 30 minutes, they accomplished a lot.
18:45I mean, the dish is delicious.
18:47Yeah.
18:48It looks beautiful.
18:49It's seasoned properly.
18:50There's a lot of great texture.
18:51The steak is cooked really well.
18:53That really rich, dry, sort of umami you get from the jerky is coming through in bits and pieces, but not really enough.
18:59On a tomato, though, I do get a lot of the dried shrimp.
19:02Ah, okay.
19:03And that could be him just being a little jerky.
19:05Let's go ahead and move on to the next dish, please.
19:08Great start.
19:09Tomatoes really good.
19:10Take this in visually.
19:12What we have here for our second dish is a surf and turf jerky with shrimp crusted pork tenderloin, the seared diver scallop on top of potato espuma and jerky.
19:21We have sauteed mushrooms and leeks and spinach with dried shrimp sauce.
19:25The dish is so inviting.
19:27It's making me think of like a lobster or a shrimp bisque.
19:30I think this is a really smart play.
19:32Another dish.
19:33Well cooked.
19:34I mean, the pork is cooked nicely.
19:35I love the crust on the outside.
19:36There's nice caramelization on the scallop.
19:38This is a well-executed, well-seasoned dish, but where's the shrimp and where's the jerky?
19:44Wow, both.
19:45Well, these aren't like mild flavors.
19:47When you hide all of those in here, it almost feels intentional.
19:50I tend to agree.
19:51I saw a little bit of the froth from the shrimp sauce over the top, so I expected to get a punch of that shrimp flavor and I just didn't.
19:57And I had to like look for the jerky and I still can't find it.
20:00All right, let's move on to the third dish, please.
20:03As far as cooking is concerned, both dishes are executed really well.
20:07Yeah, very well.
20:08All right.
20:09This looks great.
20:10So our dirt dish is inspired by a fish curry from Vietnam.
20:14We have a dried shrimp chili salt hamachi and a coconut curry with a papaya jerk salad finished with a charred scallion oil.
20:21I thought Kevin and Paola's dish was stunning.
20:24You could serve that in a restaurant and charge at least $75.
20:27There's a lot of really smart decisions here in my opinion.
20:30Talk to me.
20:31Like the papaya salad, for instance.
20:33That's a use that dried shrimp is generally used for.
20:35Sure.
20:36So to me, that's like, okay, I understand these ingredients, but then putting the jerky in the papaya salad, it's like what a cool idea that is.
20:43Sure.
20:44The presence of the jerky in the salad, I agree with Michael, is a smart use.
20:46Though with a cut the chef chose for the papaya, it could have been more of a finer julienne or something that would have been made easier to eat.
20:52Okay.
20:53Can we just put an emphasis on how many times he's agreed with me today, though?
20:56I know.
20:57It's hard to follow.
20:58I feel like if there's a winner today, it's me because Brian's actually agreeing with me for the first time.
21:02It is very rare.
21:03All right.
21:04Let's move on to the last dish, please.
21:06I'm having a blast right now.
21:08This is great.
21:09Our fourth dish is a duck and shrimp alino.
21:15This is a Portuguese garlic sauce.
21:17There's dried shrimp, jerky with paprika and garlic sauce, a cauliflower puree, and chive and garlic oil.
21:23I think David and Brian have made a beautiful dish.
21:26The cauliflower is a really smart companion to bring the dried shrimp and the beef jerky alive.
21:33First of all, this dish was, like, beautiful to look at.
21:36There's a lot of work on this plate.
21:37You've rendered a duck breast and cooked it perfectly.
21:40You've perfectly cooked some shrimp.
21:41This chef put together the shrimp and the beef jerky as a nuanced flavor to all the other ingredients,
21:47and I think that you feel those flavors through the entire dish.
21:50I'll agree once more with Michael that this is a really great tasting menu.
21:54If I was looking for an edit, it's kind of hard to find.
21:56Wow.
21:57Okay.
21:58I don't know if I agree.
21:59Oh, really?
22:00I think the way the duck is cut, it looks a little bit like they just kind of cut it and put it on the plate.
22:05This is tough because the 30 minutes, all four dishes, the restaurant quality dish, nailed.
22:11Definitely four strong dishes.
22:13It's just coming down to nuance at this point.
22:15Where did we get the shrimp?
22:16Where did we get the beef jerky?
22:18And who surprised us with those ingredients the most?
22:20Let's go ahead and bring the chefs in, please.
22:25Come on, buddy.
22:31Oh, man.
22:33So, overall, chefs, the judges really enjoyed all the four dishes.
22:36Well done.
22:37Kevin and Paola, the judges thought you made a lot of smart decisions.
22:40However, they thought your papaya could have been more finely julienned.
22:43Okay.
22:44Chef Michael and Queenie, they thought you did a lot of work in 30 minutes.
22:48The dish had great flavor, but the judges couldn't taste much shrimp or jerky in your dish.
22:54You look a little surprised, Michael.
22:56That's kind of surprising because we used it a lot.
23:00Okay.
23:01Chef David and Brian, the judges thought your presentation was gorgeous.
23:04And although it was a perfect cook, they thought that the duck could have been cut a little bit more evenly.
23:09Yeah, I agree.
23:10That leaves us with Chef Alex and Sue.
23:13We're ready.
23:14The judges thought your dish was a beautiful restaurant-ready dish, but your jerky got lost in your gremolata.
23:20You're fired.
23:24So, the chef or team that's won the survival round is...
23:32Congratulations, Chef David and Brian. Well done.
23:35So, there were two teams, or chef, that the judges felt were possible contenders to go home.
23:43That's Chef Michael, Chef Queenie, and Chef Alex.
23:47The chefs, or chef, that will be leaving us is...
23:52Sorry, Chef Michael, Chef Queenie.
23:57Chefs, thank you so much. Love you guys. Appreciate it.
24:01I'm sorry.
24:05Womp womp. We're going home.
24:08Alex won for the first time against Michael.
24:13So...
24:14We'll get her next time.
24:15Yeah.
24:17Congratulations.
24:20Wow, I'm hanging on by one thread of shrimp here.
24:23Congratulations, Chefs. You have all survived the survival round and headed into the money round.
24:26Well done.
24:28This is the round with the big payout, but only if your dish outranks Alex's.
24:33If you come in first or second, you will win $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.
24:38But if Alex beats all of you, you'll go home empty-handed.
24:42The good news for you, David and Brian, is that you have exclusive pick in the next round.
24:47Ready to do it? Let's do it.
24:48Well, the first pick, Chefs.
24:51High-end restaurant proteins.
24:53We have a rack of lamb.
24:55We have halibut.
24:56And we have iberico pork pressa.
24:59Ooh, you're speaking my language with iberico.
25:02Tell me why.
25:03You know, Lita is an Iberian restaurant.
25:05And we get imported iberico secreto cut of pork.
25:09It's very marbled. It's like the wagyu of pork.
25:12Why not halibut?
25:13The only pause I have is how well they cook the hamachi.
25:16Okay.
25:17Let's go a little lamb.
25:18Let's go lamb.
25:19And we're going pork.
25:20Lamb or pork?
25:22Pork.
25:23Okay, pork.
25:24Iberico pork on the board.
25:28So, for decision number two, what classic side are we going with?
25:34We have coleslaw, mac and cheese, or creamed spinach.
25:39Wow.
25:40More humble sides.
25:42Are these already prepared?
25:43Yes.
25:44I have to take these already prepared.
25:45These are all pre-made versions.
25:47Ah, man.
25:48Coleslaw.
25:49I like the crunchiness of it.
25:51The acidity.
25:52It's veggie-forward.
25:53Creamed spinach.
25:54It's kind of one note and maybe also baseline for a lot of things.
25:58The thing I like the least is the mac and cheese on there.
26:00Where do you go with that?
26:01I mean, yeah.
26:02I'll go coleslaw.
26:03All right.
26:04Pork and coleslaw.
26:06One last detail to really hit home.
26:09What type of dish are we making?
26:11Are we going with linen napkin or paper napkin?
26:14Upscale meal or casual meal, Chef?
26:16I always lean upscale.
26:19I want to go linen napkin.
26:21It is what it is.
26:22We're going with linen napkin, which means we're going high-end.
26:25Time.
26:26It's your decision.
26:29One in 30 minutes.
26:30I'm okay going to 30 again.
26:31Yeah.
26:32We're okay, too.
26:33You guys are crazy giving me 30 minutes, dude.
26:3630 minutes it is.
26:3730 minutes.
26:38All right.
26:39Chef.
26:40It's over.
26:41It's over.
26:42It's over.
26:43The board is set.
26:44Chefs, your time starts now.
26:47Let's talk about Iberico pork, one of the most sought-after cuts.
26:52Then we're going more humble with our side coleslaw.
26:55So I'm really interested to see how these chefs manipulate these two ingredients.
27:00So I think rub the pork, grill it.
27:03Let's make a fennel salad with coleslaw in the fennel salad.
27:06These duos are firing on all cylinders all against me right now.
27:11Sometimes just being a lone wolf is how it's got to be.
27:15The cabbage and pork, we go from the noblest of proteins to the deli section of the supermarket.
27:24This needs something that says fancy.
27:27I see these beautiful chanterelle mushrooms and I'm like, yes.
27:31My issue is that this pork has to be served hot.
27:35And coleslaw is delicious ice cold out of the fridge.
27:38I'm kind of trying to think of a way to bridge two things.
27:41And I got to be honest.
27:42I am drawing a blank.
27:44And there's only one thing to do when I draw a blank.
27:47Go get some potatoes.
27:49And by the time you make like a potato garnish, something's going to come.
27:53When in doubt, make a potato cake.
27:56I'm starting to layer the potatoes in.
27:59But I cut the potatoes too thick and they're starting to stick.
28:03My potato cake failed.
28:05I would tell my sous chef about it, but they're not here right now.
28:09Team leader, what's going on, guys?
28:10Tell me what you have in mind.
28:11So we're going to go seared pork.
28:13And then I'm going to make a fennel salad with coleslaw with crispy little potato bites on top.
28:18A little French makeover for very humble ingredients.
28:20I love that.
28:21And soup being on yourself.
28:22How does that feel?
28:23Amazing.
28:24Let's see if I can say that again.
28:25I'd like to say a toy bird.
28:26While you elevate the coleslaw and the salad and create this like beautiful fennel salad,
28:31I really want to get this pork beautifully caramelized, beautifully tasting.
28:35Who doesn't like butter and garlic?
28:37Yeah.
28:38That's sexy already.
28:40Fennel thinly shaved.
28:42It's just really elevating this coleslaw.
28:44It's a linen dinner.
28:45Yeah.
28:46Fennel is more linen than coleslaw.
28:47Can you get some really fresh herbs in there?
28:51Like, jab that up.
28:52So Chef Hal is going to take care of the cook on the meat because she did a great job last time.
28:57And then I'm going to take care of all the components that will like fully bring the dish together.
29:01Seeing Chef David edge out Chef Alex gave me like a really big confidence boost going into round two.
29:06But Chef David's team was like a really big threat as well.
29:10We love Korean barbecue and specifically bulgogi.
29:15So we are making a seasoned and grilled pork loin with full jus.
29:21Just got to reduce a little bit.
29:23I'm going to mount some butter into it.
29:24Tastes great.
29:25Yeah.
29:26I'm making a blend of spices.
29:29Make sure it's very tasty.
29:31I have this beautiful piece of Iberica pork.
29:34And I know it needs to be cooked perfectly because Chef Alex doesn't make that kind of mistakes.
29:40And I don't think nobody else will also.
29:4218 minutes left in the cook.
29:4418.
29:45Let's cook some pork, shall we?
29:47My only enemy is the clock.
29:49If you can't come up with an idea, you've got to turn to the ingredients and ask them to help you.
29:55We have this beautiful pork secreto.
29:58I need some type of sauce.
29:59So I take the liquid from the coleslaw and I add anchovies and a little hot sauce.
30:05Acidity has to win with a pork this rich.
30:08What are you making, Chef?
30:10I don't know yet.
30:11Okay.
30:12All right.
30:13My mind's a blank.
30:14I'm going to figure it out along the way.
30:1915 minutes left.
30:21Chef, you were working on potato cakes.
30:23Where is that?
30:24I threw them out.
30:25What happened?
30:26You know, it's like my ex-husband started out good.
30:30Then I was like, you know what?
30:31I'm dead.
30:32Yeah, not always.
30:33Okay.
30:34Um, shout out to all the exes.
30:36Obviously coleslaw has a lot of cabbage in it, so I go get cabbage.
30:40And that's when the plan starts to take root.
30:43I cut the top because I just want those tender leaves.
30:46I'm going to make stuffed cabbage.
30:48I already made a mistake.
30:49I definitely can't afford another.
30:51I think the coleslaw's pretty sweet, so I add pepper, fresh dill, spray it with red wine
30:58vinegar, and I just chop it up.
31:01And I make three cabbage purses.
31:04We have a dish.
31:06Bottom line, I don't have any more time.
31:08So it's going to be how it's going to be, folks.
31:10Shake it up.
31:11Shake it up.
31:12Yeah, shake it up.
31:13By shaking up the potato, all the little microscopic divots become super crispy in the fryer.
31:19It's such an amazing experience to work with him.
31:22He knows a lot more of the technical standard.
31:24I think that's going to definitely give us an advantage over everyone else.
31:27What?
31:28It's looking good.
31:29It's not too bad.
31:30My eyeball is twitching.
31:33I'm making this miso apple coleslaw puree, which sounded crazy at first.
31:41I'm going to blend all this apple spotter.
31:44I'm used to Kevin crazy ideas.
31:47They might be a little unusual, but I feel like it's going to work out.
31:52That's great.
31:53Five and a half minutes left.
31:55Okay, Alex.
31:56I'll get there.
31:57Chef Alex wants to win.
31:59It's not easy.
32:00I mean, she's going up against two duos.
32:02Manpower of four people.
32:03But honestly, if there's anybody that can do it, it's that chef right there.
32:08Mmm.
32:10I don't want to just make up sauce.
32:12I want to elevate it, deglaze the pan with this perno,
32:15make a fennel-fullward perno pork sauce.
32:18Mind yourself.
32:22Woo-hoo!
32:23Heavy is the crown.
32:25I want to go out swinging.
32:26I want to give my best and win that $10,000.
32:33I'm going to pickle some of this coleslaw too.
32:35Pickled cabbage.
32:36Sure.
32:37We've been very lucky to get numerous accolades.
32:40We have five James Beard nominations.
32:43New York Times, best new restaurant.
32:45But it doesn't mean we can get too confident.
32:47Put on the grill, chef, for our grill, the DTL.
32:50We still have to beat Chef Alex and Chef David.
32:54It's too early to let our guard down.
32:55We have to, like, finish strong.
32:57Three minutes.
32:58I slice the pork.
33:00I put some of that anchovy coleslaw dressing.
33:04I've got my little cabbage.
33:06I have three finished plates of food.
33:08I'm not happy, but I'm not mad.
33:11I take a little bunch of fennel salad and put it down.
33:14I'm slicing the pork, rectangular, more precise,
33:17more even-looking pieces.
33:19And lastly, the potato is like a cherry on top
33:22of a well-rounded, perfectly-executed dish.
33:2690 seconds.
33:28Chef Paolo puts the coleslaw apple miso puree
33:31and it's, like, beautiful cooked pork loin.
33:33And then it's time to start adding those, like, layers of flavor.
33:36Radicchio, cucumbers, the pickled coleslaw and carrots.
33:41Want to press, like, more peppery notes?
33:43We finish it off with the bulgogi jus.
33:46Three, two, one.
33:49That's about it, Chef.
33:50Well done.
33:51That made me sweat.
33:53Same rules apply.
33:54The menu cards.
33:55Go ahead and fill out the full description.
33:56I'll call you chefs back when the judges have determined a winner.
33:58Good job.
33:59Bravo.
34:00Let's look around.
34:01Of course.
34:02Pretty.
34:03Lots of texture, which I love.
34:04And then we have Kevin and Paola.
34:06Very colorful.
34:07I love this.
34:08Mmm.
34:09I'll see you later.
34:10See ya.
34:11Let's go.
34:12Let's go.
34:13Well done.
34:14Well done.
34:15That's a good looking late.
34:16That made me sweat.
34:17That made me sweat.
34:18Same rules apply.
34:19The menu cards.
34:20See ya.
34:21Let's go ahead and bring in our handsome judges.
34:25What's going on, gentlemen?
34:26What's going on?
34:27So, we're working with Iberico Pork Presa.
34:30They had to incorporate coleslaw, and they had to make a meal worthy of a linen napkin in 30 minutes.
34:35So, we're looking at high-end.
34:36Okay.
34:37Our first dish, we have a Cumin Szechuan Five Spice Grilled Iberico Pork with a Miso Apple Coleslaw Puree.
34:44We have charred radicchio with a pickled coleslaw, cured cucumbers with a black pepper bulgogi jus.
34:50And coleslaw you gave them, or they had to just make a coleslaw component?
34:53We made it.
34:54Kevin and Pella really went hard in the paint and utilized that coleslaw.
34:58And it's definitely in the second round that I'm seeing the difference an extra person makes.
35:03There's a lot going on in this plate.
35:05A lot of work.
35:06This is a lot of work.
35:07Using the coleslaw with the apple and creating this beautiful puree was a smart use of the coleslaw for sure.
35:12The presse of pork, that Iberico cut is close to the shoulder, so you have to know to cut that against the grain or else it's going to be tough.
35:19This chef did that.
35:20But I do think that that pork is such a great and an incredible piece of meat that to layer more flavors onto it takes away from the detail of the cookery of that piece of meat.
35:31But they put it all together in a way that made it feel elevated.
35:34Sure.
35:35All right, let's move on to the next dish, please.
35:38It's like you go to KBBQ and you're like rolling your sleeves up and getting your hands dirty and then they removed all of that for you and you just put your pinkies out and eat.
35:47Our second dish is a coleslaw stuffed cabbage with dill, honey, red wine vinegar, seared pork pressa with chanterelles, anchovy, and a coleslaw liquid vinaigrette and chives.
35:58It just says so much about her.
36:01She put out a beautiful, amazing dish by herself.
36:05I want to hear Mr. Voltaggio's thoughts first.
36:08The presentation of this was definitely a linen napkin.
36:10Yep.
36:11The double use of the coleslaw and the vinaigrette, wrapping the cabbage and doing the sort of play on a stuffed cabbage was a pretty smart choice.
36:17The cook on the pork, I would have taken that a little bit longer.
36:20It tends to be a little bit more chewy.
36:22Save me some stuff to say.
36:23You did want him to go first.
36:24He wants to take the whole, the whole routine.
36:26Michael, what do you think, man?
36:28The chanterelles and everything about this dish really makes me feel like I'm eating in a restaurant where there's tablecloths there and the servers are like, you know.
36:37My biggest issue is with the pork itself. It's definitely undercooked.
36:41I still think the chef got a lot done in the 30 minutes.
36:44Let's move on to the last dish, please.
36:46Retail.
36:49The last dish of the evening.
36:51What we have here is Iberico pork with an anise liqueur sauce, fennel and coleslaw salad with pomegranate, sugar snap peas, and crispy potatoes.
37:01I think Dave and Brian have made a very complex dish with a lot of texture.
37:06I love their plates so much.
37:08I mean, pork's cooked nicely.
37:09You know, I too agree as far as how they treated the pork itself.
37:12Okay.
37:13Texturally, it's fun.
37:14There's a lot of good flavors on this plate.
37:16Are you dressing up for dinner for a plate like this?
37:18That's my issue with it.
37:19I mean, it's a delicious plate of food.
37:21Am I sitting with, like, a glass of, like, burgundy and, you know, I don't know if this does that.
37:27Yeah, I can't deny what you just said.
37:29Another agrees.
37:30But it's true.
37:32It's okay.
37:33It's okay to agree with your younger brother.
37:35It's taking a lot out of me.
37:36It's okay.
37:37But it's definitely one thing that jumped out with me was the fact I'm seeing coleslaw on this dish being used literally as coleslaw.
37:45Perfect.
37:46That could have been taking a little bit further.
37:48And the two other chefs certainly did that on their plates.
37:52Obviously, I want both of us to be top two.
37:55I would like the Food Network to be $15,000 poorer after today.
38:00All right, we are rolling rolling.
38:02Take a look at who's coming.
38:03Let's go ahead and bring in the chefs, please.
38:05Oh.
38:06Hi.
38:07Hello, chefs.
38:09Heavy hitters.
38:11So we have Chef Kevin Tien from Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C.
38:14We have Chef David Vienna from Lita in New Jersey.
38:17And this is Chef Alex Guernaschelli.
38:18Hi, Chef.
38:19Hello.
38:20Hi.
38:21As you can tell, we have a restaurant legendary duo in the Voltaggio brothers.
38:24Brian Voltaggio, Michael Voltaggio.
38:29But when you're in a restaurant, you don't work alone, do you?
38:34No.
38:35We work together quite a bit.
38:36Yeah.
38:37Let's bring in the restaurant team.
38:42Really?
38:43Kevin and David, but not Alex, each had a sous chef from their restaurant come in and help them.
38:48Are you serious?
38:49So from Moon Rabbit, this is Chef Paola.
38:51And from Lita, this is Chef Brian.
38:53Alex, you went against all these chefs.
38:56Alex really versus all of America today.
38:59You guys are really making it tough on Chef Alex this season, huh?
39:02Yeah.
39:03Wow.
39:04Yes, they are.
39:05Tell me about it.
39:06So judges, I'll go ahead and tell you who made what.
39:07From Moon Rabbit, Kevin and Paola, they made the five-spice grilled iberical pork with a miso apple coleslaw puree.
39:13Perfectly cooked pork, cut against the grain.
39:16I also really love the puree that you made with the coleslaw.
39:19But because it was so fun to kind of eat around the dish, I also feel like that overshadow, you know, the pork itself.
39:26This chefs from Lita, David and Brian.
39:28They made the iberical pork with the anise liqueur and the fennel and coleslaw salad with pomegranate.
39:33The cook on the pork was perfect.
39:34It was seasoned really well.
39:35The flavors as you're eating through it was good.
39:38But the utilization of the coleslaw with the challenge being leaning towards linen napkin, I was looking maybe to take that coleslaw in a different direction.
39:45It felt a little bit more like we were like in the back of the winery.
39:48That was our lunch, you know, that may have like our linen lunch.
39:51Gotcha.
39:52Chef Alex made the iberical pork with the coleslaw stuffed cabbage.
39:56Chef, I thought the cabbage little situation was brilliant.
39:59When that plate came in front of me, if there was a paper napkin, I would have thrown it away and said, hey, you bring me a linen one.
40:05But then the cooking on the pork was a little under.
40:09A little under.
40:10Yeah.
40:11So there's a lot that happened in this round for us.
40:14All right, chefs, let me just remind you how this works.
40:17If you beat Alex and come in first, you're winning 10 grand.
40:20If you also beat Alex and come in second, you're winning five grand.
40:23But if Alex wins, you're going home with nada.
40:26So the dish that finishes in third was made by the team from New Jersey, Chef David and Brian.
40:38Sorry.
40:41I'm bummed that they didn't find it as elevated as I had hoped.
40:45But to compete against Alex, to be judged by the Voltaggio brothers, I'm just thankful and honored.
40:51Just to be here in the same stadium as these people.
40:53Yeah, absolutely.
40:54That was a cool life, once in a lifetime kind of feeling.
40:56Can't wait to do it again.
41:00And then there were two or three.
41:03So Team Moon Rabbit, if you win, you're going home with 10 grand.
41:06If you lose, you're going home with nada.
41:11The winner of Alex versus Restaurant Teams is...
41:14Kevin and Paola, you're taking on 10 grand.
41:23Washington, D.C.
41:25Moon Rabbit, well done.
41:26Group hug.
41:27Nice job, Chef.
41:29I'm glad I was able to have Chef Paola here.
41:31And it really took everything that we both had to, like, really beat Chef Alex.
41:37How did I let you do all this yourself?
41:38I don't know. I've been doing this a long time.
41:40It's bad enough she's taking on the entire country, but to now double down on the amount of people that are going to pull up and try and take her out.
41:45And she hung in there like a champion.
41:47I can't make my daughter dinner, but I can do this.
41:50I don't know what Aja Pung has in store for me next time, but if I see groups of three coming down the stairs, I'm leaving.
41:57Oh, sweet, man. That's awesome.
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