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00:00:0032 of the most celebrated chefs in the food world
00:00:03entered the TOC arena as super duos
00:00:06to make their best sweet and savory dishes.
00:00:09How do you feel?
00:00:10I feel awesome!
00:00:11Merry Christmas, you filthy animals!
00:00:13In an epic team versus team holiday tournament.
00:00:16Yeah!
00:00:18Oh!
00:00:20Last time, six teams went head to head,
00:00:23but only three moved on.
00:00:26Mayanine!
00:00:29Grand and Giuseppe!
00:00:32Chef Michael Wright!
00:00:34And tonight, TOC titan Britt Rossigno
00:00:36and Chicago chef Jonathan Sawyer...
00:00:38Teamwork makes the dream work, baby, let's go!
00:00:40...battle TOC six finalists,
00:00:42chef Leigh-Anne Wong
00:00:44and pastry master chef, Zach Young.
00:00:46Let's go!
00:00:50And in the main event,
00:00:51two-time TOC champ Monique Shohan
00:00:54and Iron chef Stephanie Izard
00:00:56take on Culinary Beast,
00:00:58chef Kevin Lee and chef Dale Tallday.
00:01:00We good, baby!
00:01:01When we win this competition,
00:01:03we're gonna have the biggest dance party to celebrate later.
00:01:05Which team will jingle all the way to the title?
00:01:07The trophy, big bucks for charity,
00:01:10and thanks to Carnival Cruise Line,
00:01:11the $100,000 grand prize.
00:01:14Woo!
00:01:15Woo!
00:01:16This is Tournament of Champions.
00:01:17How do you look?
00:01:18I always look fabulous.
00:01:19All-Star Christmas.
00:01:21Pa-rum-pa-pum!
00:01:22Bam!
00:01:32Welcome to night three of our jam-packed TOC Christmas Tournament.
00:01:36First up, we have our number two seed team.
00:01:39That is Chef Britt Resigno and Chef Jonathan Sawyer.
00:01:43Age before beauty.
00:01:44A little bit of both.
00:01:45The two chefs have an incredible bond.
00:01:48Let's get you all nicely.
00:01:50It all began here at TOC.
00:01:52We met on season four of TOC.
00:01:54We were just like, OK, we're gonna be best friends, right?
00:01:58Yeah.
00:01:58And he married my wife and I.
00:02:00He did.
00:02:01I was the officiant.
00:02:02We cook all the time together.
00:02:03When you talk about a relationship,
00:02:06and whether it's culinary or otherwise,
00:02:08trust is a huge part of that.
00:02:09Yep.
00:02:10I'm gonna lean sweet, and he's gonna lean savory.
00:02:13My passion since I was a kid has always been pastry.
00:02:16And I know any meat that he cooks is gonna be absolutely spectacular.
00:02:21He is so good with meat and fabrication and grilling.
00:02:25Teamwork makes the dream work, baby, let's go.
00:02:28Their opponent's the number three seed team.
00:02:30Chef Leigh-Anne Wong and acclaimed pastry chef, Zach Young.
00:02:34This is us.
00:02:35Yes.
00:02:36Both are highly regarded in the food world,
00:02:38and they spent a lot of time cooking together
00:02:40over their 25-year friendship.
00:02:42This is when I dog sat for him.
00:02:43I stayed at his apartment by the Empire State Building.
00:02:46He bonded over bacon and chocolate.
00:02:48Leigh-Anne, I think, took me aside and was like,
00:02:50we need to be friends.
00:02:51Bacon and chocolate, what?
00:02:52When I think of holidays, I also think of Leigh-Anne
00:02:54because we spent so many of the early New York holidays together.
00:02:57We just threw these crazy dinner parties.
00:02:59This feels like an extension.
00:03:00This is Zach's first time in TOC, but I'm not worried.
00:03:04Like, I feel like I've kind of broken the mold for pastry chefs
00:03:06in these competitions.
00:03:08The pastry technique is in my back pocket.
00:03:10Like, that's my advantage.
00:03:12Chefs, they're ready for you.
00:03:13Get it.
00:03:14Are you ready for the first Christmas cook-off of the night?
00:03:27Oh, let's let it go!
00:03:33Chef Leigh-Anne Wong has worked with Jean-Georges,
00:03:36Marcus Samuelsson before opening her own Cocoa Head Cafes
00:03:40in Hawaii and Japan.
00:03:44She received a James Beard nod for Best Chef Northwest
00:03:47and Pacific 2023.
00:03:50And her teammate, Chef Zach Young, is an executive pastry chef
00:03:54who has worked with Thomas Keller and Alex Guarnaschelli.
00:03:57Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Mama Wong
00:04:00and the sweet assassin, Team Leigh-Anne and Zach!
00:04:04Did you make your own Team T-shirts?
00:04:16We made one for you, too.
00:04:17And you made one for me?
00:04:18Yes.
00:04:19How did you meet?
00:04:20We met when I was at the French Culinary Institute.
00:04:23If Mama Wong gets to pick anybody she wants to work with,
00:04:27I think you're the real deal.
00:04:28I'm just a very simple man
00:04:30who makes very simple, non-complicated things.
00:04:33Like pie-caken.
00:04:34You make something called a pie-caken?
00:04:36The turducken of dessert.
00:04:38Love the name pie-caken.
00:04:41Next level.
00:04:42You're gonna need to go next level
00:04:43with who you're going against.
00:04:49Britt Bersigno is the co-owner and executive chef
00:04:52of Fiamma, a four-diamond Italian restaurant
00:04:55in Sun Valley, Idaho.
00:04:58Now, Chef Jonathan Sawyer was awarded Best New Restaurant
00:05:02by Bon Appetit and Esquire
00:05:04and the James Beard Award for Best Chef Great Lakes in 2017.
00:05:08Put your hands together for the angry Italian
00:05:11and the bearded baller team.
00:05:13Britt and Jonathan!
00:05:15We're going to battle, but we're having huggy time.
00:05:33Do you want one?
00:05:34No.
00:05:35Group hug!
00:05:36Group hug!
00:05:37Group hug!
00:05:38Group hug!
00:05:39Group hug!
00:05:40Group hug!
00:05:41We got you!
00:05:42When did this brother-sister combination take place?
00:05:46Season four.
00:05:47We made eyes across the bar.
00:05:52Shame on all of you!
00:05:53Santa's watching!
00:05:54And I just kind of looked at her and I was like,
00:05:56you want to be friends?
00:05:57Yup.
00:05:58This is a step-brothers level relationship.
00:06:01Trust me.
00:06:02Yeah.
00:06:03We even finished each other's.
00:06:04Sandwiches.
00:06:05And this is why this is going to be a super battle
00:06:06to kick tonight off.
00:06:07It's time to take it to the randomizer right this way, Chefs.
00:06:17The randomizer will determine the mandatory details
00:06:20of both of your dishes.
00:06:22Now, the savory ingredient is for one dish.
00:06:24The sweet item is for the sweet dish.
00:06:27However, the equipment, the style, and the wild card
00:06:30are for both dishes.
00:06:32Sometimes the selections are holly jolly,
00:06:35and other times it's just a resting Grinch face.
00:06:41Let's do this.
00:06:42Going after savory.
00:06:43Oh, boy.
00:06:52In the savory category,
00:06:55calamari tubes and tentacles for sweet.
00:06:58Cranberries.
00:06:59Stand mixer.
00:07:00The style tonight is boozy.
00:07:02And the wild card ingredient is dried figs.
00:07:04Wow.
00:07:05I've been giving all the chefs this first round 35 minutes,
00:07:08but you know what?
00:07:09I'm going to give you two extra minutes to confer right now.
00:07:12Good luck.
00:07:13I think that we have to go cranberries in both dish.
00:07:16Yeah.
00:07:17I mean, Christmas is stressful, so why not just do TOC during it as well?
00:07:22Vodka sauce.
00:07:23A boozy and vodka is a no-brainer.
00:07:25Stuff the squid.
00:07:26And then I'll do it like a red wine fig sauce.
00:07:28This is my entry into the Tournament of Champions arena.
00:07:32Luckily, I am with the heavy hitter.
00:07:35Trust me, she's punched me before.
00:07:37I'm very upset.
00:07:38I'm kidding.
00:07:39They flip around.
00:07:40Museum.
00:07:41Museum notes.
00:07:42Keep it super simple.
00:07:43That'll work?
00:07:44Love it.
00:07:4535 minutes.
00:07:46Starts now.
00:07:47Go get them.
00:07:4835 minutes for a savory and a sweet dish.
00:07:53This is going to be a battle.
00:07:54Calamari tubes and tentacles are the two main edible parts of the squid.
00:07:59Great texture, but usually get cooked together.
00:08:01I think that this is going to be a really creative protein for them to start working with.
00:08:06Cranberries, you can't think of the holidays and not think about them.
00:08:09Sauces, drinks, desserts, you name it.
00:08:12We can use a stand mixer to mix.
00:08:14We can use the attachments to do meat grinding, to make pasta, boozy.
00:08:18This can be applied in so many different ways.
00:08:20And then dried figs.
00:08:21These are in all different cultures of food, and that is Christmas.
00:08:27Hi.
00:08:28Calamari does not say Merry Christmas to me.
00:08:31Simon doesn't want calamari.
00:08:33Oh, yay, Mom.
00:08:34Calamari.
00:08:35Come on along.
00:08:36Hi.
00:08:37What's the plan looking like?
00:08:38We're going to do an andouille and fig stuffed calamari.
00:08:41I'm going to do, like, a nice poniag red wine fig sauce to go with it.
00:08:46It'll have acid.
00:08:47It'll have that savoriness to balance out the sweetness of the figs.
00:08:51Perfect.
00:08:52I am definitely here to hold up my end of the bargain with the savory.
00:08:56And Zach is entirely going to be the knight in shining armor with pastry.
00:09:01How are you feeling, Zach?
00:09:02Pretty good.
00:09:03Do you have an idea of what you're making?
00:09:05The driving force is the sweet ingredient.
00:09:08Cranberry.
00:09:09Making that the star.
00:09:10Like a cranberry upside-down cake and cranberry chocolate.
00:09:13A little, like, boozy mousse.
00:09:15I start with my cake batter.
00:09:17Brown sugar.
00:09:18Eggs.
00:09:19Softened butter.
00:09:20Almond liqueur.
00:09:22We love booze.
00:09:23We love booze.
00:09:24We love boozy.
00:09:25The stand mixer for me is a friend and an enemy here, because it'd be much faster for me to do all of this by hand.
00:09:31Add the cranberry mixture, add the cake, throw it in the oven.
00:09:38Baking slash making sweets in a competition, in the same time frame as savory chefs get, is really, really hard.
00:09:47And I find it fun.
00:09:50I should talk to my therapist about that.
00:09:56Chef, are you going sweet or savory?
00:09:58Sweet.
00:09:59All right.
00:10:00Wait, so who's shopping for who here?
00:10:02Our plan for savory and sweet is a little bit of tag team.
00:10:06He leans a little savory, I lean a little sweet.
00:10:10This is tough, right?
00:10:11Dried figs is not something I'm super excited about.
00:10:14I mean, they're so sweet.
00:10:16There's a textural component that you also have to think about.
00:10:19There's going to have to be a lot of thought and a lot of process to really make these things make sense.
00:10:24You guys are cooking already?
00:10:26I haven't even said anything.
00:10:27I'm going to braise out that tentacle, get it nice and tender.
00:10:31For savory, I think tubes and tentacles fit right into our narrative.
00:10:35And are we going bolognese over there?
00:10:37I see some pasta sheets here.
00:10:39We might see some sort of vodka sauce.
00:10:41There you go.
00:10:42Vodka sauce.
00:10:43Ding, ding, ding.
00:10:44Pasta is an absolutely high risk, high reward.
00:10:47We're going to finish it with some of the tubes.
00:10:50Sort of bring that sweetness and acidity of the vodka.
00:10:53Right on dessert.
00:10:54Looks like we've got some mascarpone, cream cheese.
00:10:57My deconstructed cheesecake.
00:11:00Italian style, mascarpone.
00:11:02Yeah.
00:11:03Inherently, when you make cranberries, you have to go sweet with it.
00:11:06And all of the figs and cranberries make sense inside of there.
00:11:09And I feel like the two dishes presented together definitely land at the same family table.
00:11:14I think you're spot on.
00:11:16Lick the bowl.
00:11:17This is the holiday season.
00:11:23I got one thing to say about that, Chef.
00:11:25Pa rum pum pum pum!
00:11:27Yeah!
00:11:30Mama Wong is stuffing her calamari with the anduya.
00:11:33Which is cool.
00:11:34I thought we'd see that coming for sure.
00:11:35Anduya, the spicy, it could go with the sweet so well.
00:11:39Also, it'll bind it really nicely.
00:11:41That's the plan with the tentacles, Chef.
00:11:43We're just gonna sauté the tentacles.
00:11:45Okay.
00:11:46Very lightly.
00:11:48Are we grinding into the so cranberries?
00:11:50Yeah.
00:11:51Putting figs in there as well?
00:11:52Yes.
00:11:53And tentacles.
00:11:54All that through the grinder.
00:11:56Savory chefs, by the way, ride stand mixers hard.
00:11:59Like, they are abusive towards stand mixers.
00:12:02This is a public service announcement.
00:12:06Come on! Let's go!
00:12:08Pipe filling into my tubes.
00:12:12And it's calamari and calamari.
00:12:15Smart stuff.
00:12:16You just have to be really careful on the grill.
00:12:18Because the tubes can bust when they're stuffed.
00:12:20And then braising in her liquid.
00:12:23What was it braised in?
00:12:24Port, cognac, and red wine.
00:12:26With a little bit of veal salt.
00:12:27Are you a big fan of freeze-dried cranberries?
00:12:31Or did you just grab them?
00:12:32You know, I'm a big fan of freeze-dried fruit, period.
00:12:34Right.
00:12:35You know, it's an easy way to add flavor without adding moisture.
00:12:37It makes a great powder.
00:12:38Yeah.
00:12:39Cranberries, I think, are a beacon of the season.
00:12:41Like, when you start seeing cranberries, you're like,
00:12:43yes, it's the holidays.
00:12:44However, incredibly tart.
00:12:46Cranberry likes friends.
00:12:48Chef, what's the plan with the white chocolate?
00:12:50I'm going to add the freeze-dried cranberry powder to it.
00:12:53I know I can quickly temper some white chocolate.
00:12:56Real pastry chef moves.
00:12:58Look at this.
00:12:59Woo!
00:13:00Woo!
00:13:05Chef, I'm grinding figs.
00:13:06Okay.
00:13:07I need to get these figs done.
00:13:09Sawyer needs some dried figs for his sauce.
00:13:12And I also need it for my caramel.
00:13:14So I'm just going to bang it out.
00:13:16The teamwork is, again, next to none.
00:13:19We're going to put a lot through that stand mixer,
00:13:21and it's going to start with the grinder.
00:13:22Yeah, we want the figs to bring the sweetness to it.
00:13:25The thing that I love about using the grinder is also you're
00:13:28cutting down the time that you need to saute.
00:13:30Hey, is three garlics enough?
00:13:32No.
00:13:33No, okay.
00:13:34Hell no.
00:13:35I think it's a pretty exciting move to use tentacles
00:13:37as a grind to kind of simulate the meat in a bolognese.
00:13:40So it's kind of like the dark meat of the squid,
00:13:42as opposed to the tube or mantle.
00:13:44It's where you hang the stockings with care.
00:13:49Grinding cephalopods and shellfish is something I've always done.
00:13:52For a pasta sauce, it's a great technique for you to use.
00:13:55I'm starting with my figs.
00:13:58Then I add all of my vegetables.
00:14:00Lastly, I'm adding in the calamari tentacles.
00:14:03Oh, it smells awesome.
00:14:05How much vodka makes it boozy?
00:14:07Half bottle?
00:14:08Nothing says boozy like someone who used to be boozy.
00:14:12Formerly boozy here.
00:14:14Quarter bottle?
00:14:15Call it a quarter.
00:14:16I think that looks good.
00:14:17Lord knows I know how to cook with booze.
00:14:21Yeah baby!
00:14:25I haven't had a drink in 39 months and I'm pretty proud about it.
00:14:29This is just another opportunity for me to prove that I'm a better person I've ever been before.
00:14:32I love it.
00:14:35Figs and cranberries.
00:14:36Figs and cranberries.
00:14:37A little sweetness, yeah?
00:14:38Okay.
00:14:39Here.
00:14:40Open your mouth.
00:14:41Not got any more salt.
00:14:42Yeah.
00:14:43So good.
00:14:44Alright teams, you got 20 minutes.
00:14:4620 minutes to be plated, savory and sweet.
00:14:49I'm gonna start getting my fig sauce going.
00:14:54I mean it's supposed to be boozy.
00:14:56Essentially I want like layers of alcohol red wine fig sauce.
00:15:01So it's a very kind of like Mediterranean feel.
00:15:04Love that.
00:15:05Boozy as anything.
00:15:08This is the mostarda.
00:15:09Yeah.
00:15:10Mostarda is kind of like a sweet sour condiment.
00:15:13And figs traditionally appear in mostarda.
00:15:16Rum, sugar, cranberries, mustard.
00:15:19Mostarda is also code word for like whatever's in the pantry.
00:15:24Just has to have a little mustard.
00:15:26Great with upside down cranberry.
00:15:28Great with upside down.
00:15:29That old recipe.
00:15:31I remember my grandmother used to make that.
00:15:34What do you need?
00:15:35Is there another cutting board?
00:15:37Yes, right behind you.
00:15:38It's literally like.
00:15:39All right chef.
00:15:41Microplane?
00:15:43Up top.
00:15:44Up top.
00:15:45Behind.
00:15:47And this poor guy like doesn't know where anything is.
00:15:50Did you get more piping bags, Lee?
00:15:51Did I get more what?
00:15:52Piping bags.
00:15:53Uh, no.
00:15:54They're over in the corner.
00:15:56On the pastry shelf.
00:15:58Chef, we're on the clock here.
00:15:59Well, stressed is dessert spelled backwards.
00:16:02That is actually true.
00:16:05Oh gosh.
00:16:07Seventeen minutes, guys.
00:16:09Seventeen.
00:16:10You're gonna cut noodles out of the lasagna sheets, chef.
00:16:12I think we are.
00:16:13Like tagliatelle.
00:16:14Thinner.
00:16:15I like it.
00:16:16I'm gonna run it through the pasta sheeter.
00:16:19Checking another box on sand mixer.
00:16:21And we wanna slice them about the exact same thickness as we're gonna slice those calamari
00:16:27tubes.
00:16:28To make those two shapes really congruent.
00:16:30So that way their textures can sort of complement each other.
00:16:32Love it.
00:16:33I'm Italian.
00:16:34Christmas Eve is our biggest day.
00:16:36Seven fish dinner.
00:16:37I do it every year with my dad's side of the family.
00:16:41Bourbon in the cranberry fig sauce.
00:16:44Because it's the holidays, baby.
00:16:46We gotta make this thing boozy.
00:16:48Oh yeah.
00:16:49Brown sugar.
00:16:50Caramel.
00:16:51Mo' butter, mo' better.
00:16:52Sawyer.
00:16:53She's bad and boozy, baby.
00:16:54Bad and boozy.
00:16:55Seasoning, pasta water.
00:16:56Please.
00:16:57Done.
00:16:58Hands in every single pot.
00:16:59He's doing one thing, I'm doing another.
00:17:01Except for the tube's gonna get cooked in the vodka sauce.
00:17:02Yes, I've sliced those calamari tubes the same exact thickness as the pasta.
00:17:07Check that pasta, yeah?
00:17:08It's in the sauce.
00:17:09In the sauce, let's go!
00:17:21I really gotta make sure I focus on the second usage of the tentacles which is gonna be a crispy,
00:17:28focus on the second usage of the tentacles,
00:17:30which is gonna be a crispy fried garnish on top.
00:17:33Nothing says Christmas like the gift of the TOC title.
00:17:37I think weaning together would just
00:17:39mean the absolute world to me.
00:17:43Since it's the holidays, we have even more surprises
00:17:46under the tree, including a special golden gift
00:17:49for the team with the highest score in the first round.
00:17:52Right now, the score to beat is 87.
00:17:5510 minutes, Chef.
00:17:5610 minutes, Chef.
00:17:58It's a lot of movement.
00:17:59It feels like being at my house during the holidays
00:18:01and everyone's fighting.
00:18:02But I think I've got it under control.
00:18:04We've cooked together many, many times,
00:18:07but trying to figure out who's going where
00:18:10and where everything's going, and then having two
00:18:12mixers side by side, it's a difficult dance.
00:18:16Making a whipped cream, a lot going on right now.
00:18:20Sorry, I'm good.
00:18:22Move anything, I'm just whipping.
00:18:25So I decided to make this kind of quick mousse.
00:18:27I add a little bit of balsamic vinegar and almond liqueur
00:18:31and a little bit more rum to really jack it up.
00:18:35I love this man, and I'm just so happy to be with him
00:18:40and cooking by his side.
00:18:41Have a great-
00:18:42It's nice to spend time together, but you know what's nicer?
00:18:46Winning.
00:18:46Winning.
00:18:47Four and a half minutes, and you must be plated.
00:18:52Cakes are out.
00:18:53They are finally done.
00:18:55Cakes spring back when I tap them.
00:18:57They're nice and boinky.
00:18:59Hot, hot, hot behind.
00:19:01Boinky is a technical pastry term, by the way.
00:19:03Flip them out onto the plates.
00:19:06Do the mostarda onto the warm cranberry cakes.
00:19:10Amaretto mousse.
00:19:12Break the cranberry chocolate, throw some on top of the mousse,
00:19:16throw some on top of the cake.
00:19:19I take my calamari, line them up three on the plate,
00:19:22and I spoon my fig sauce around.
00:19:25My salad is going to go right on top of my squid.
00:19:30Two minutes.
00:19:31Two to go.
00:19:32I am going to start plating my dessert.
00:19:34Red on green, babe.
00:19:35That's so holiday.
00:19:37I put my three dollops, different sizes of the cheesecake mixture.
00:19:41I'm putting my cranberries throughout,
00:19:43making sure that there's a lot of whole berries.
00:19:45I'm putting all of my crunchies.
00:19:47And then I want to garnish everything and anoint it
00:19:50with that beautiful fig caramel bourbon sauce.
00:19:53It's the holidays.
00:19:54If there's ever an excuse to indulge in your sweet tooth,
00:19:57it's right now.
00:19:58And I think the great thing about our team
00:20:00is that we're taking turns,
00:20:01making sure it all lands to the plate, right?
00:20:03Put the utensils up there, put the pasta up there,
00:20:06you start to twirl, it's time for me to go.
00:20:07Oregano, fresh herbs, calamari bits, over the top.
00:20:11One more dusting of that bread crumb.
00:20:13We're garnishing each other's plates.
00:20:15This is the dream team, baby.
00:20:17Five, four, three, two, one.
00:20:21That's it, we're done.
00:20:27Back to your trailers.
00:20:28And the Santa judges are going to show up and do their magic.
00:20:31Thank you very much.
00:20:32Good luck.
00:20:35That was a cook.
00:20:37Man, I'm feeling crazy.
00:20:40That was hard.
00:20:41That was brutal.
00:20:47That was a regular, signing Christmas cards.
00:20:48I really do hope I'm going to get one this year.
00:20:51Let's meet him.
00:20:52Give me someone Italian.
00:20:54First, the winner of the James Beard Awards
00:20:56for rising star chef and outstanding pastry chef.
00:20:59Now, you may have seen her appearance as herself on the bear.
00:21:02No.
00:21:03The one and only chef, Christina Tosi.
00:21:08Let's go.
00:21:09James Beard Award-winning chef and Emmy Award-winning culinary host.
00:21:16Famed for her Latin flavors.
00:21:18Oh, this is a spicy one.
00:21:19The one and only chef, Michelle Bergstein.
00:21:22Woo!
00:21:24Michi!
00:21:25She's going to love the pasta.
00:21:28And finally, Michelin-starred restaurateur, esteemed chop judge,
00:21:33and legendary iron chef, the one, the only, wait.
00:21:36He's just getting done working out.
00:21:38Chef Jeffrey Zakarian.
00:21:40Oh, no.
00:21:44Tough panel.
00:21:46Oh, my God.
00:21:47Wow.
00:21:48Tonight, in the savory category,
00:21:50the chef was given calamari tubes and tentacles.
00:21:54The sweet category used cranberries.
00:21:56Both dishes needed to use a stand mixer.
00:22:00The style tonight is boozy.
00:22:02And the wild card ingredient is dried figs.
00:22:06And here is the ambassador herself, TOC3 champ, chef Tiffany Faison.
00:22:11Chef, may I present to you two holiday-worthy dishes.
00:22:16On your right, you have your favorite course.
00:22:18Boozy braised squid.
00:22:19The farce in the squid was made with induya,
00:22:22mission, and Turkish dried figs.
00:22:24The farce was then whipped in the chicken.
00:22:26In the stand mixer, and then it was stuffed into the tubes.
00:22:30The calamari was then grilled and braised in a boozy trio of red wine,
00:22:35port, and cognac with braised figs.
00:22:38They haven't stopped eating.
00:22:39That always scares me.
00:22:40Moving you along to your amaretto brown sugar cake.
00:22:43Sugared cranberries were put in the bottom of the cake,
00:22:46and the cake was emulsified in the stand mixer,
00:22:48and then baked to perfection.
00:22:50In front of the cake, you have an amaretto rum mousse that was also whipped in the stand mixer.
00:22:55The sauce is a cranberry rum fig mostarda sauce.
00:22:59Freeze-dried cranberries were worked into the tuile that is both on the cake and also on your mousse.
00:23:04I'm so nervous.
00:23:06I'm gonna cry.
00:23:08The way that they use the randomizer, it's really cool,
00:23:10especially having the cranberries and then the figs.
00:23:14It's a lot, right?
00:23:15And it could have ended up really sweet, but it didn't, which I really appreciate.
00:23:19So smart.
00:23:20The red wine reduction could have been a little more reduced,
00:23:23just because it does have a little bit of that alcohol-winey quality to it,
00:23:28but it is boozy.
00:23:28It's boozy!
00:23:30Moving over to this pastry, the almond with the fig and then the cranberry
00:23:35and the white chocolate, it's just really smart.
00:23:38This is so clever and so delicious because it totally cut the sweetness of the white chocolate,
00:23:44and it really tastes like a cranberry.
00:23:46Cranberries taste like cranberries!
00:23:49But I think that I'm missing a little bit of booziness.
00:23:51Try the mousse, girl.
00:23:54I love garlic, I love anduja, and I love calamari.
00:23:58So I think it's a perfect bite.
00:23:59I love the figs, I love the red wine reduction.
00:24:01I need some acid here.
00:24:02I would love a vinegar.
00:24:03Overall, really lovely flavors and a great presentation.
00:24:07Yes, Chef?
00:24:09The cake, I love the flavor.
00:24:10It really is Christmas, holiday, a great use of cranberries, which I'm a big fan of.
00:24:14And I agree that it needs booze.
00:24:16Eat the crème!
00:24:17Eat the crème!
00:24:19I'd say, take a big spoonful of the beautiful amaretto whipped cream below.
00:24:24Because I had a bite of that and I was like, boozey.
00:24:26You're right.
00:24:27You're right.
00:24:28Yes!
00:24:29Eat the crème!
00:24:31Judges, I have stocked all three of your trailers with full bark, yeah.
00:24:36I definitely hammered home the booze.
00:24:37I definitely hammered home the booze.
00:24:39The dish is very well executed.
00:24:40The calamari is cooked well, it is stuffed beautifully and evenly.
00:24:44I think their decision to keep the figs whole dried is tricky because it's a little grainy, it's a little gritty.
00:24:51And that is pulling away from the beautiful execution of the texture of the dish.
00:24:55The dessert is actually incredibly impressive.
00:24:59This is cranberry, it's fig, it's stand mixer, it's boozy.
00:25:02For 35 minutes as a pastry chef is not an easy feat.
00:25:06Yeah!
00:25:08We'll take it.
00:25:09A beautifully well mixed cake.
00:25:11The reduction is just sticky and sweet enough in a way that you want on your holiday dessert.
00:25:17Bravissima.
00:25:18It's Zach Young.
00:25:20He nailed it.
00:25:21Yeah.
00:25:22Great judges, thank you very much.
00:25:23Two scorecards in front of you.
00:25:25We have 50 points available for each dish.
00:25:2725 points available for taste.
00:25:3020 points available for the use of the randomizer.
00:25:33And five points available for the plating.
00:25:36I feel like I got okay scores.
00:25:39On the other hand, maybe you save me, chef.
00:25:42Overall, they were like, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.
00:25:45Let's bring out the second team's dish.
00:25:47Here to explain this fantastic dish is the wild card, Justin Warner.
00:25:52Judges, we'll start with the savory portion of these dishes.
00:25:55This is calamari a la vodka.
00:25:57The tubes you will find sent through the standing mixer grinder attachment to form a ragu.
00:26:02A bit of the fried tentacle on top.
00:26:04A heap and a helping of vodka is present in the sauce.
00:26:07In addition to that, some figs were ground into this as well.
00:26:11For the sweets, you have not your Nona's mascarpone cheesecake.
00:26:14The cranberries met their fate in a pan with white sugar, ground figs, and a big blast of bourbon.
00:26:21A stand mixer was used to grind those figs, also then to craft that whipped sort of cheesecake filling.
00:26:26Praying to the Christmas gods.
00:26:28Visually, both the sweet and the savory, and then the sort of like grandma's china that doesn't come out.
00:26:34It's like hanging on the wall.
00:26:35They both feel like Christmas.
00:26:37This is very Feast of the Seven Fishes.
00:26:39Yes!
00:26:40If you served this to my Italian Nona, she would not believe that someone made it in 35 minutes.
00:26:46The dessert, I think it was smart the way that they used the fig and the sweetness of the sauce.
00:26:51It's very focused, which I love.
00:26:53As a pastry chef, I would have taken it in this direction.
00:26:58I'm freaking out.
00:27:00I think it's cooked beautifully, and I love the rings of calamari that are in there.
00:27:04Really great.
00:27:05The vodka sauce, it's gonna sound strange.
00:27:07I think there's not enough vodka in this.
00:27:09Wow!
00:27:10But I think it's a really, really well done pasta.
00:27:13That was a gut punch.
00:27:15Over to the next course.
00:27:16Just need some more booze.
00:27:19I love figs.
00:27:20I'm Middle Eastern.
00:27:21I have figs all the time.
00:27:22It's delicious, but it's not, to me, a dessert.
00:27:25He's getting some coal in his stocking.
00:27:28I think it's smart.
00:27:29I think it's well done.
00:27:30And I happen to love the fried crispy tentacles on the top.
00:27:33Mixed with the pasta, I think that it allows you to identify the calamari even more so.
00:27:38Is it a pasta dish, not a calamari dish?
00:27:40I do like the idea of it being like a cheesecake idea with the ricotta.
00:27:45All in all, I think it was really smart, and it was a really good use of the time that they had.
00:27:50I'm not feeling good.
00:27:51Yeah.
00:27:52I'm sure it was delicious.
00:27:53It looked delicious.
00:27:55Great, judges.
00:27:56Thank you very much.
00:27:57Two dishes to score.
00:27:5850 points available for each.
00:28:00I have no clue.
00:28:02It's anyone's game.
00:28:03It's the best team.
00:28:05Right.
00:28:06We are the best team.
00:28:07We are the best team.
00:28:08I love you so much.
00:28:09All right, chefs.
00:28:10They're ready for you.
00:28:11Scores are in.
00:28:12Whoa.
00:28:13Let's go safe.
00:28:14Let's go.
00:28:15Let's go ahead and bring our chefs back in.
00:28:18Chef Leanne.
00:28:19Chef Sam.
00:28:20Chef Rick.
00:28:21Chef Jonathan.
00:28:26You killed it.
00:28:27You killed it.
00:28:28You killed it.
00:28:29I thought that was some fine cookery.
00:28:32And we have a three-point difference.
00:28:34Wow.
00:28:35Wow.
00:28:36One team scored a 37 out of 50 in savory, a 42 out of 50 in sweet for a score of 79.
00:28:47Wow.
00:28:48One team scored a 42 out of 50 in savory, a 40 out of 50 in sweet for a score of 82.
00:28:59Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the TOC all-star Christmas battle between team Brit and Jonathan and team Leanne and Zach is...
00:29:06Brit and Jonathan!
00:29:08I love you.
00:29:09Congratulations.
00:29:10I love you so much.
00:29:12I love you.
00:29:13Congratulations.
00:29:14I love you so much.
00:29:17I think you both did a fantastic job.
00:29:31I'm sorry this isn't going to go any further, but it sure was great to watch you two cook.
00:29:35I'll be back.
00:29:37Ladies and gentlemen, Leanne Wong, Jack Young.
00:29:43Beast of a randomizer.
00:29:44He's a beast of a randomizer.
00:29:46What did we say?
00:29:47What did we say?
00:29:48We're gonna go rob a bank now.
00:29:52Did you think you'd won?
00:29:53No.
00:29:54No.
00:29:55I thought I was going home.
00:29:56You pulled it off and you looked great doing it.
00:29:57I just got to say for one second, that is the most vodka I've been near in 39 months.
00:30:08Love you.
00:30:09You have taken control of your life.
00:30:11You did it for yourself, your family, your kids.
00:30:13And look what it's done to your career.
00:30:15Well done.
00:30:16So happy.
00:30:20Let's take a look.
00:30:21Jet and Ashley, and that puts us in the quarterfinals with you two.
00:30:28Ashley is a pastry powerhouse.
00:30:31Our teamwork has never been better, and I think that's what's gonna pull us through.
00:30:36Congratulations, Chef Britt, Chef Jonathan.
00:30:38Big win!
00:30:44Is this real life?
00:30:46Congratulations.
00:30:47Good to see you.
00:30:48Thank you so much.
00:30:49Good to see you.
00:30:50I know you have some trepidations about your execution on the dessert.
00:30:55I mean, I'm a chef.
00:30:56Of course.
00:30:57I'm not a pastry chef.
00:30:58Yeah.
00:30:59I don't do this every day.
00:31:00Right.
00:31:01But I can give you really good flavors.
00:31:02And then to take down Zack?
00:31:04I mean, he is a legend.
00:31:05Yeah.
00:31:06And so is Mama Wong.
00:31:08Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to meet the teams that will battle for the final spot in the Great Eight?
00:31:14That's what I want to hear.
00:31:15That's what I want to hear.
00:31:17From our A division, we have the number one seed team, Chef Manit Shohan and Chef Stephanie Izar.
00:31:24Their years of experience in the restaurant industry, combined with their longtime friendship, make them one of the teams to beat.
00:31:32Why are you?
00:31:33Because we are fabulous.
00:31:35Top Chef, Iron Chef, the OG of competition is right next to me.
00:31:42And then we have Manit.
00:31:43Not only has won tournament champions once, but twice.
00:31:47We are the team to beat.
00:31:49We've been doing this for such a long time.
00:31:52Let's say in comparison to us, Kevin and Dale, they are newbies.
00:31:56We've got insane flavors and our chemistry is incredible.
00:32:02Both Stephanie and I, we are incredible savory chefs, but we are also incredible pastry chefs.
00:32:08I am taking savory.
00:32:10I'm going to take sweet.
00:32:11And my number one goal is just don't let my partner Manit down.
00:32:15Our culinary language is the same.
00:32:18And our dance language is the same, right?
00:32:21They're going up against Chef Kevin Lee and Chef Dale Tallday.
00:32:25They're coming in at the number four seed.
00:32:27Since meeting on TOC 5, they've become fast friends.
00:32:31You know, we met in TOC Season 5.
00:32:33And when you see someone that has a little bit of you and them, you know, he's a little younger than me.
00:32:38We have a lot of similar POB.
00:32:40We're Asian Americans.
00:32:41So we've cooked together very recently at an event.
00:32:45It was amazing how much we really didn't have to communicate.
00:32:48We just really understand each other's food very well.
00:32:51I've taken down some big dragons in this arena before.
00:32:54So it's nothing new going against the number one seed for me.
00:32:57Anytime you're up against a two-time champ, an Iron Chef, you're going to be nervous.
00:33:02But Randomizer treats everybody the same.
00:33:04I'm going to tackle the sweet side and then Kevin is going to tackle the savory side.
00:33:10Chef Dale over here has a lot of restaurants and never had a pastry chef.
00:33:14Chefs, they're ready for you.
00:33:16Let's go!
00:33:17We got this!
00:33:23Are you ready for the final first-round battle of our Christmas tournament?
00:33:28Give it to me!
00:33:29Good luck to light this up!
00:33:38Kevin Lee is a successful restaurateur who has earned the title of Best Chef from the Oklahoma Gazette and was a James Beard semi-finalist this year for Best Chef Southwest.
00:33:50Now, Dale Talday was a James Beard nominee for Best Chef New York in 2022.
00:33:56And his restaurant, Goose Feather, was named Best New Restaurant by Esquire Magazine.
00:34:03Give it up, ladies and gentlemen, for the dragon slayer and the boogeyman.
00:34:07Team Kevin and Dale!
00:34:10Let's go!
00:34:11Let's go!
00:34:12Come on!
00:34:13Merry Christmas!
00:34:14What was your handshake?
00:34:15You had some...
00:34:16What was this?
00:34:17Oh, we got you.
00:34:18Pepper grinder.
00:34:19Salt.
00:34:20LeBron.
00:34:21You're going to need all of that and then some going against these opponents.
00:34:26Chef Monique Chauhan made her name in elite restaurants.
00:34:31And you're going to need all of that and then some going against these opponents.
00:34:40Chef Monique Chauhan made her name in elite restaurants.
00:34:46In New York and Chicago and Nashville.
00:34:49She was crowned TOC2 champ.
00:34:52And three years later came back and took the belt again.
00:34:56Making her the winningest chef in TOC history.
00:35:03Her partner in crime, Chef Stephanie Izard, is a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef Great Lakes.
00:35:10And she is the only chef in history to hold the title of both Iron Chef and Top Chef.
00:35:17Make some noise for the Dancing Spice Queen and the GOAT, Team Monique and Stephanie!
00:35:23Powerhouse, powerhouse, very scary.
00:35:40What do you think gentlemen?
00:35:41Up for the challenge.
00:35:42Up for the challenge.
00:35:43Let's go.
00:35:44Tough match, tough match.
00:35:45Well, chefs, it's got to start with the randomizer.
00:35:48Let's take it this way.
00:35:49Let's go.
00:35:55The randomizer will determine the mandatory details of both of your dishes.
00:36:01The savory ingredient is for one dish.
00:36:03The sweet item is for the other dish.
00:36:05The equipment, the style, and the wild card, all of those are for both dishes.
00:36:10All right, let's get into this.
00:36:12Let's go for the savory.
00:36:13Let's go, Randall.
00:36:22For savory, turkey breast.
00:36:24For sweet, plums, panini breast, layered, and chocolate orange.
00:36:31Wow.
00:36:32How do you feel?
00:36:33Good.
00:36:34Dale, you liar.
00:36:37I got my dad for Christmas and his birthday every year chocolate-covered orange peels.
00:36:42So you have some comfortable nature with that?
00:36:44I never liked them.
00:36:45That was the problem.
00:36:46Okay, good.
00:36:47That's good.
00:36:48Well, listen, chefs, I'm gonna give you two minutes right now to confer and discuss your menu.
00:36:52And right after that, it will launch into the 35 minutes you have to prepare your award-winning savory and sweet dish.
00:37:00And your two minutes starts now.
00:37:01Good luck.
00:37:02Okay.
00:37:03What do you think?
00:37:04Decide.
00:37:05Sort of a butter pie with plum filling, if it's possible.
00:37:08And I was thinking of a roulade.
00:37:09Do you think a roulade will be layered?
00:37:10Okay.
00:37:11Individually, we are really, really strong competitors.
00:37:15But together, I would suggest to the rest of the guys, you know what?
00:37:18Just, just go.
00:37:20Just go.
00:37:21We got this.
00:37:22We got this.
00:37:23Leftover.
00:37:24Leftover.
00:37:25And layer the sandwich and make it stack.
00:37:27Watch out!
00:37:28The boogeyman and the dragon slayer is coming.
00:37:32Then I'm gonna do shaved ice, plums, grate the chocolate into there.
00:37:37The pressure's off of us.
00:37:38The pressure's not on the 4C.
00:37:39They're the ones who have the target on their back.
00:37:41We're the hungry kids that are trying to go after that.
00:37:43And that's what makes us dangerous.
00:37:45Three, two, one, and good luck.
00:37:50Seth Kevin has scored major upsets in the past.
00:37:53Will the dragon slaying duo take down two culinary giants?
00:37:57They're off to the races.
00:38:04Grab some plums for me also.
00:38:06Plums.
00:38:07Got it.
00:38:08The turkey breast, super popular as a Christmas dish.
00:38:12Plums.
00:38:13This is gonna be a really fun one for them to work with.
00:38:15It's gonna work in the sauces, work in the desserts.
00:38:17It'll be fantastic.
00:38:18The panini breast, this is working with heat and pressure.
00:38:22Remember, they've gotta use it.
00:38:24Layered.
00:38:25This is really going to be a visual component.
00:38:28And chocolate orange, it's chocolate that is orange flavored.
00:38:31Ooh.
00:38:32That's a whole different story.
00:38:34I know we got our headbands and wristbands on our Hawaiian shirts going on.
00:38:40But we're taking this tournament seriously and we're here to win.
00:38:44The plan of attack here is that I'm gonna tackle the sweet side, plums, and then Kevin is gonna tackle the turkey savory side.
00:38:53Chef Del Tali here, he's been a great mentor.
00:38:55Chemistry wins championships.
00:38:57And there is a great chemistry here.
00:38:59I mean, we went on vacation together with our families and our kids.
00:39:02That's how much this relationship has blossomed over like the last three years.
00:39:06It's good to have someone to lean on when you come to these things.
00:39:10You guys are working too fast.
00:39:11Chef, what's the plan here?
00:39:12I'm making a bingsu.
00:39:14Korean layered shaved ice.
00:39:15Got it.
00:39:16It's this dirt that Kevin and I have actually eaten together.
00:39:19For me, tradition is important because my parents are immigrants.
00:39:22They took a chance to come to America and if you keep food traditions alive, people will continue to understand what their culture is.
00:39:29And I want to keep that tradition alive.
00:39:31I want my kids to kind of see me doing it.
00:39:33First thing I need to do is get some plums roasting on the panini press so I can make plum liquid to freeze.
00:39:39Once my plums are roasted, I add it to my prune juice.
00:39:42Prunes are plums that are just dried.
00:39:45I had no idea prune was a dried plums until now.
00:39:49What kind of knowledge the boogeyman has over here?
00:39:56Got a good game plan?
00:39:58I'll make a leftover turkey cutlet sandwich.
00:40:00Layer it with stuffing, some cranberry sauce.
00:40:04Make like a spiced chocolate gravy to dip it in.
00:40:07So my favorite thing to eat during the holidays is really making a sandwich out of the leftovers.
00:40:12What's more perfect than a sandwich when it comes to lay?
00:40:15You're literally stacking one thing after another.
00:40:18Sandwich in this round is the go-to move.
00:40:21You've got to cook turkey, make stuffing.
00:40:24That is a daunting task.
00:40:26I'm going to pound out the turkey breast and fry it to really get that nice crispy in there to speed up the process.
00:40:31I'm going to pound the thinly sliced turkey breast.
00:40:38I got my egg wash.
00:40:40Also adding the orange chocolate in there.
00:40:43Adding the chocolate is going to add a nice sweetness.
00:40:45Also going to add a nice zesty orange flavor.
00:40:48I'm quickly coating the turkey breast with some panko.
00:40:52I'm going to do a first fry on it to make sure I know I'm going to finish on time.
00:40:56And right before we play, I'm going to drop it down for the second fry.
00:41:01The dancing spice queen over here, manhandling, ladyhandling some turkey breast.
00:41:05Have you seen the number of titles sitting over here?
00:41:08I mean, the best part is that we're going to have the biggest dance party to celebrate later.
00:41:11It's double the talent, it's double the dance, and double the celebration when we win.
00:41:17It's true.
00:41:18Turkey breast can be a little bit dry.
00:41:20It's a dense piece of protein.
00:41:22Plums with turkey breast, I think, works really well together.
00:41:25What's the plan, Manate?
00:41:26Almost like a turkey roulade.
00:41:28I always do a turkey in the holidays, and usually it is with an Indian flair.
00:41:32It's a tandoori turkey.
00:41:33Making the marinade right now for the turkey.
00:41:35For the turkey? Okay.
00:41:36Along with some plums, garam masala, ginger, curry powder, salt, and red Thai chili.
00:41:42And I put the chocolate orange in the marinade.
00:41:47Lots of depth of flavor.
00:41:48I love the use of the plum in there.
00:41:49There's no way we're not getting flavor on this station.
00:41:52This is panini turkey skin.
00:41:55I wonder if that can get it as crispy as you'd want it.
00:41:59It would take a long time.
00:42:01They have a lot more skin in the game.
00:42:02You know what I mean?
00:42:05How we doing, goat?
00:42:06Good.
00:42:07I'm trying to make this butter pie grape cracker crust.
00:42:10Sweet lands on plums.
00:42:12Plums are full of acidity.
00:42:13They've got sweetness.
00:42:15I'm thinking holiday pie layered.
00:42:17Sort of a butter pie with plum filling.
00:42:20To make the filling, add in the egg, add in the cream.
00:42:24And when it's baked, it's sticky, gooey.
00:42:27Nothing says the holidays like a pie.
00:42:30Exactly.
00:42:31That's it.
00:42:32Do you need anything?
00:42:33I don't think so.
00:42:34I'm trying to make these little crusts real quick with some plums inside.
00:42:37Yes, chocolate orange.
00:42:39Is it hollow?
00:42:41There you go.
00:42:43Well, that's satisfying.
00:42:45This is just going to be a super quick ganache.
00:42:51That's delicious.
00:42:54What is this lad going to be?
00:42:56I marinated it in a plum and an orange chocolate marinade.
00:43:00And then I am going to roll it up.
00:43:02We do not want boring turkey because turkey is already boring by itself.
00:43:06Find me turkey that I'm excited to eat.
00:43:0920 minutes, chefs.
00:43:1120 to have both dishes plated.
00:43:1320 to go.
00:43:14Next I make the filling for the turkey roulade.
00:43:20Plums, pistachios, cream cheese, sage.
00:43:22Sage, yeah.
00:43:23I've also put the chocolate orange in the stuffing.
00:43:26The cream cheese is really going to add fat and give it the turkey, which is always so dry.
00:43:31Some lusciousness.
00:43:33Mini, how are you feeling?
00:43:34I think okay, Stephanie.
00:43:36I feel like I maybe put an extra egg or something's going wrong.
00:43:43My butter pie filling is like completely broken.
00:43:46Pie filling is like broken looking.
00:43:48Put it in the kitchen aid.
00:43:50I've tried the whisk.
00:43:51I've tried the mixer.
00:43:52I've tried the blender.
00:43:53This filling is just fully broken.
00:43:56This isn't going to work.
00:43:58Steph, did you buzz out that butter filling?
00:44:01It just looks broken.
00:44:02I just feel like I'm going down in flames because it's like my worst Christmas nightmare is to let you down.
00:44:09I'm struggling, Mini.
00:44:10I'm not going to lie.
00:44:1516 and a half, Steph.
00:44:16I feel like I should just be pleased and make a decision after that.
00:44:19I need to take a moment to just regain composure and my thought process always is when you need to pivot, just keep cooking.
00:44:27It's okay.
00:44:28You got it.
00:44:29It's okay.
00:44:30We got this.
00:44:31I have something in the oven.
00:44:32Remind me in a couple of minutes.
00:44:34Goat, how we doing?
00:44:35I've been better.
00:44:36How are you doing?
00:44:38I look at Monique.
00:44:39She's got all this stuff going on and my thought is like, how do I pivot?
00:44:43Steph, what's the pivot?
00:44:45Ice cream, maybe?
00:44:46Okay.
00:44:47I go from trying to make a pie filling that doesn't work to deciding to make an ice cream because pie not a la mode, why eat pie?
00:44:53I agree.
00:44:54Chocolate orange ice cream?
00:44:55Yeah.
00:44:56Love it.
00:44:57Make some orange dust and a little bit of orange juice.
00:44:59Cook the egg yolks just enough.
00:45:00Is this not what you think when you have 15 minutes in your life?
00:45:03I think I'll just make an ice cream.
00:45:04Only if you're Stephanie.
00:45:05Okay, I'm going into the ice cream maker.
00:45:13Go like this.
00:45:17That's nuts.
00:45:18That's actually good.
00:45:19It's orangey, but it's not really polarizing orangey.
00:45:25Let's talk about something that's on my Christmas list.
00:45:28This little snow maker.
00:45:30Chef, do you want to build a snowman?
00:45:32Yes.
00:45:33Chef Dale is seemingly no stranger to this sort of machine.
00:45:35He's doing all the right stuff here, making sure he's got the right amount of sugar so this stuff doesn't freeze like jagged ice crystals.
00:45:41Have you used this before?
00:45:42Oui, chef.
00:45:44I have one at my restaurant.
00:45:45Amazing.
00:45:47We have this beautiful machine here that can take fruit, puree, and make shaved ice dessert.
00:45:52Shaves it nice and fine and thin, and let the shaved ice thing do what it needs to do and keep it moving.
00:45:58Seems like it's, uh, maybe this liquid is not chilled enough.
00:46:02Right.
00:46:03Because you see it kind of melting off of it.
00:46:05Yeah.
00:46:06The blade is supposed to shave it.
00:46:08It's actually just dumping just ice.
00:46:10And I don't have the time to adjust it, but it's just turning into goop.
00:46:13I don't have my sea legs underneath me right now.
00:46:16The pressure comes fast and furious, even though it is the Christmas edition.
00:46:20Smart little insurance policy here. He's got a bane of liquid nitrogen going underneath.
00:46:26It's making a slow stream of stuff.
00:46:29Being a chef is being flexible. You have to be able to pivot, and you have to do it quickly.
00:46:34If you've ever been to the mall and you've had the ice cream of the future, Dale just made it on a microscopic level.
00:46:40Kevin, you good?
00:46:41I'm good.
00:46:42For my stuffing, I'm adding all the aromatics of the holidays, like rosemary, sage, thyme.
00:46:48I'm deglazing with some chicken stock and adding the sourdough croutons, tossing it together,
00:46:54throwing it in the oven to make sure that gets nice and moist stuffing for my perfect sandwich.
00:47:00What's the plan with brown sugar and butter, chef?
00:47:02Making a little orange chocolate bark.
00:47:04This is a real homey thyme kind of dessert.
00:47:07Like, my friend's wife makes this kind of bark.
00:47:10So I'm taking crackers, butter, sugar, and the chocolate will go inside there.
00:47:15Chocolate orange, I had no idea what that was.
00:47:17Of course, Mr. Encyclopedia of Culinary over here knew exactly what it was.
00:47:22You go to grandma's house, and that chocolate orange has been there for maybe five or six years,
00:47:26or she just got it, like, you know, yesterday.
00:47:28You don't know.
00:47:29I also zest some oranges on top of it to reinforce that orange flavor.
00:47:33The turkey skin just came off the panini press and has gone into the pan with some plums.
00:47:42I make a plum chutney.
00:47:43I let the turkey skin render.
00:47:45Then I put some plums in it and just let that reduce.
00:47:48That's what the turkey skin in the pan was.
00:47:50Uh-huh.
00:47:51It's going to be served on a chorizo stuffing.
00:47:56Put some raw plums so that there is some of that freshness which comes through with the bread.
00:48:03Yeah.
00:48:04Grilled on the panini press.
00:48:05Panini press.
00:48:06Chef Monique cooked the roulade in the panini press.
00:48:11Cook through, Chef?
00:48:12No.
00:48:13It's raw in the center, so it's now going to the deep fryer, and with very little time, like 12 minutes left.
00:48:19I keep saying that to myself with everything that I'm doing.
00:48:23Maybe I shouldn't do this.
00:48:24Maybe you should, though.
00:48:25Maybe I shouldn't.
00:48:26But maybe you should.
00:48:27So once I make the ice cream, now I've got the layers.
00:48:30I've got graham cracker crust.
00:48:31I've got plum on the inside for tart.
00:48:33So we've got a pie, and then we have a ganache sitting on top.
00:48:37I think if I add this ice cream, I can add a little bit of marshmallow and then another graham cracker on top that's cooked in the panini press.
00:48:44It appears I have made a delicious layered s'mores pie.
00:48:48And I think, why don't I just make an Italian meringue, which basically is a marshmallow that's not set.
00:48:53Because why not?
00:48:55How do we look, Stephanie?
00:48:57I look okay.
00:48:58Good.
00:48:59How do you look?
00:49:00I always look fabulous.
00:49:02Ten minutes to go.
00:49:04Ice cream?
00:49:06Check it.
00:49:07It's the testament of this teamwork.
00:49:10That's what it's all about, supporting each other when you need help.
00:49:15It's not really working out the way I need it to.
00:49:17Use coffee, Chef.
00:49:18Basically, I'm just going to have to take the ice out of this liquid nitrogen, put it in a food processor, and blend it.
00:49:24I want fluffy snow.
00:49:27When you're a four seed, it's the best position to be in.
00:49:31Because no one expects you to win.
00:49:32Right?
00:49:33We've got the two-time champ.
00:49:34We've got an Iron Chef to go up against us.
00:49:36There's no pressure on us.
00:49:37The pressure's on them.
00:49:38What's the holiday leftover sandwich without a cranberry sauce?
00:49:42Grabbing the frozen cranberries, I'm adding orange juice, a little bit of sugar.
00:49:46You still have some chocolate orange I can use?
00:49:48Yeah, get this chocolate in your cranberry sauce, bro.
00:49:51And I'm using that orange chocolate to reinforce that chocolate flavor.
00:49:57Yeah.
00:49:58Chef, what do you got in here?
00:49:59Gravy?
00:50:00Gravy sauce made with chocolate and some chilies.
00:50:03For a holiday turkey leftover sandwich, you need a nice gravy to dip it in.
00:50:08What's going on here?
00:50:13Cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.
00:50:16Mascarpone.
00:50:17Yeah, like a light, airy mousse, so I can layer it.
00:50:20And I just get it whipping in a stand mixer to get it nice and fluffy.
00:50:23How are you doing on time?
00:50:24Start building my sandwich.
00:50:26Turkey cranberry sauce, proper amount of stuffing, and pressing it in the panini press, nice and crispy,
00:50:33and has a nice ridges, so when you dip it in the chili chocolate gravy,
00:50:38it picks up all the sauce to make that perfect, moist holiday turkey leftover sandwich.
00:50:43We got it, baby!
00:50:46Five minutes left.
00:50:48Five minutes left of the competition.
00:50:53To plate my turkey leftover sandwich, I have my sandwich cut in half.
00:50:58And on the top of the sandwich, I'm garnishing with some extra cranberries
00:51:02and some fried sage to really reinforce the holiday season.
00:51:06Then I'm going to put the chocolate gravy in a little small cup on the side for dipping of the sandwich.
00:51:13It worked.
00:51:17Four minutes, chef. How are you feeling?
00:51:18It's good. Really good.
00:51:19So I have these beautiful little coupe glasses that I'm ready to plate,
00:51:22and I just start layering.
00:51:23Plums, the orange chocolate bar, mascarpone cream.
00:51:27Layer it up!
00:51:28Plum, ice, and then repeat.
00:51:31Just keep building this thing up and up and up.
00:51:33I'm hoping the judges just understand this dessert.
00:51:38I know it's not traditional, and I know it's a little out of the box, but that's my food.
00:51:44How much time?
00:51:45Three minutes.
00:51:46I take the roulade out of the fryer. It's evenly cooked.
00:51:50I actually am really happy because I know that this is delicious because I've tasted each and every component.
00:51:55I put the stuffing at the bottom, put the turkey roulade right on top of it, a little bit of the cream cheese filling right on top, a little bit of the chutney, and that crispy, crispy turkey skin that looked so good.
00:52:10Sprinkle it with some of the rosemary. It's almost like a confetti.
00:52:16One minute to go.
00:52:18So I put the little pie into the bottom, try to leave it as in layers as possible.
00:52:27It's got the ice cream on top.
00:52:28Then I take some of my Italian meringue that's just been finished so that I can scoop it out, torch it, and it's like a marshmallow on a swan.
00:52:35I don't know who the judges are, but I'm just hoping that at least one of them appreciates a dessert that isn't necessarily a showstopper in its presentation, but you take a bite of it, and you just can't stop taking more bites.
00:52:46One, four, three, two, one.
00:52:51Stop!
00:52:56Go!
00:52:58This is the chaos of Christmas morning. That's exactly what this was.
00:53:02Great job, both teams. Thank you so much.
00:53:05We're in the judges. We got their work cut out for them, for sure.
00:53:15It looked great. It tasted absolutely fantastic.
00:53:17It tasted good. The ice cream's good. There's chocolate ganache.
00:53:19Yeah.
00:53:20We didn't have to talk a lot. We knew what we were doing.
00:53:22I think that's what happens when you have really good chemistry between two people.
00:53:25Five minutes after you walk out of there, you have, like, five ideas that are better.
00:53:28Yeah.
00:53:29Or I do.
00:53:30It is what it is.
00:53:31Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back our judges, Chef Christina Tosi, Chef Michelle Bernstein, and Chef Jeffrey Sekerian.
00:53:38Christina Tosi likes casual and delicious.
00:53:41Oh, my God. Michelle, we used to have a restaurant in the same hotel.
00:53:44Jeffrey Sekerian, a very fair judge, right?
00:53:47Yeah.
00:53:48That's a powerhouse, huh?
00:53:49Well, you should have seen what was going on here.
00:53:52Tonight, the lovely randomizer served up in savory turkey breast, in sweet plums, the panini press, style was to be layered, and the wild card ingredient, chocolate orange.
00:54:05Here to explain this fantastic dish is the wild card, Justin Warner.
00:54:10For your savory course, we have a Black Friday sandwich with a chocolate infused gravy for dipping.
00:54:18In the center of this layered contraption, you will find the turkey breast, which has been fried.
00:54:22The panini press was utilized to craft the sandwich.
00:54:25Now that gravy, it's been finished with that chocolate orange.
00:54:28Onto the sweets.
00:54:29This is a frozen plum trifle with an orange chocolate and buttercracker bark.
00:54:36The plums were panini-fied.
00:54:38The layers are as such.
00:54:39Fresh plum, mascarpone cream, the pulverized frozen plum, orange chocolate chunks, and orange chocolate bark.
00:54:45Dip. You got to dip.
00:54:48Dip it.
00:54:49Judges, I want to remind you the chef's intention was for you to pick the sandwich up and dip it into the gravy.
00:54:55There we go.
00:54:56Nice.
00:54:57Such a more fulfilling bite.
00:55:00This is a beautiful celebration of leftovers.
00:55:03Look at those beautiful layers.
00:55:05Come on.
00:55:06We love that.
00:55:07I love the turkey being breaded.
00:55:10I love the gravy as the dipping.
00:55:12I don't know that I'm getting any chocolate orange.
00:55:14I think it was really brilliant to make a milanes out of the turkey.
00:55:19Really, really smart.
00:55:22I mean, they did a beautiful job with the panini press.
00:55:25I don't know if I needed the gravy with it.
00:55:27I agree a milanes is a great way to treat it.
00:55:30This is like a Thanksgiving Christmas gift package.
00:55:33I love the panini.
00:55:34But it's unfortunately dry.
00:55:36I don't taste the chocolate orange, but I love the concept.
00:55:39Creativity is off the charts.
00:55:40The dessert.
00:55:41Check.
00:55:42We got the layers.
00:55:43I don't know about the panini press on the plum.
00:55:46Is it my favorite dessert?
00:55:48No.
00:55:49Do I think it's a nice execution?
00:55:50Yeah.
00:55:51I'm not really sure what I'm eating, but it's fun to eat.
00:55:55I do love when I find a little something tart and a little something sweet and a little crisp
00:55:59and then creaminess with the chocolate orange.
00:56:01It's definitely like a treasure hunt.
00:56:03This is Willy Wonka.
00:56:06It's a beautiful presentation.
00:56:08But the problem with it is it's one texture.
00:56:10It's all frozen.
00:56:11But it is fun.
00:56:13Judges, thank you very much.
00:56:14Let's go to the scoring card.
00:56:1650 points available for each dish.
00:56:1825 available in taste.
00:56:2020 in the use of the randomizer.
00:56:22And five points for plating.
00:56:25That was a rough one.
00:56:26But you know what?
00:56:27I feel like I just don't understand what we're doing.
00:56:31Sometimes culturally I think if you had never had something like a shaved ice dessert, which
00:56:35we grew up eating that, then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to some people.
00:56:39That's hard because honestly like each of the three judges seem to have a very different
00:56:42opinion.
00:56:43I am not bothered about the dessert.
00:56:44I'm bothered about my dish.
00:56:46It looked like a Christmas tree, like looks like your earrings on a plate made out of
00:56:50turkey.
00:56:51All right, here we are for the second team's dishes.
00:56:54And to present that to you is Chef Tiffany.
00:56:56We have a layered plum and chocolate orange marinated turkey breast roulade.
00:57:01This is grilled on the panini press.
00:57:02This was layered on a stuffing of panini press grilled ciabatta that was sauteed with spicy
00:57:08chorizo, plum, rosemary, and pistachios.
00:57:11We then have a panini grilled turkey skin and plum chutney.
00:57:15And finally, this is layered with a grilled panini style grilled turkey skin.
00:57:20On the left side, we have a layered plum and orange chocolate s'more.
00:57:24We have butter roasted plums.
00:57:26We then have an orange chocolate ganache and freshly made meringue finished with the roasted
00:57:30plum sauce and a little bit of the chocolate orange ice cream.
00:57:33The turkey roulade is definitely layered.
00:57:36It's very hard to do this kind of thing because it's a lot of cooking, but they got it right.
00:57:40And you can see how beautifully moist it is inside.
00:57:42But it definitely needs an acid and it needs salt and pepper, like basic stuff.
00:57:46It's really an oversight.
00:57:47I do get enough saltiness, personally.
00:57:50It's a little messy because of the raw big chunks of plums.
00:57:54Oh, gosh.
00:57:55It maybe could have been a little cleaner.
00:57:57I thought the spiced skin was actually really well executed.
00:58:01I'm shocked at how this chef did so many things in the amount of time that they had.
00:58:06I'm with you.
00:58:07I love the stuffing of it.
00:58:08There's layering.
00:58:09I did not like the cream cheese topping.
00:58:12I don't want cream cheese anywhere near this dish.
00:58:15Is the orange chocolate here?
00:58:16Isn't it here?
00:58:17I don't know.
00:58:18There's a little bit of clumsiness here.
00:58:19But overall, this dish was delicious.
00:58:21The fact that your turkey was cooked perfectly is pretty freaking impressive.
00:58:26And you did like 25,000 things on that plate.
00:58:28This is probably the best thing I've eaten today.
00:58:31Chocolate and orange with meringue goes delicious.
00:58:34So I really like this dessert a lot.
00:58:36And I think it's very playful and beautiful and simple, but it's very understandable.
00:58:39The fact that they made the ganache, you know, with the chocolate orange and the ice cream,
00:58:43and even the spice on the crisp is great.
00:58:46But I just need, like, something to cut through a bit of that sweetness.
00:58:50I just feel like it was sweet on sweet on sweet.
00:58:53This chef really leaned into the chocolate orange of it.
00:58:56I like that.
00:58:57This plum's really like the sweet flavor here.
00:58:59It's not the star of this dessert, but it's layered.
00:59:03I'm going to keep eating it because it's very delicious.
00:59:05Come on.
00:59:06Come on.
00:59:07All right, judges.
00:59:08Thank you very much.
00:59:09Let's go to the scoring card.
00:59:10That was amazing.
00:59:11If we go, it's going to be because of my messy, this thing.
00:59:14I'm proud of what we did.
00:59:16And we're drinking something like bubbles after this.
00:59:18Done.
00:59:19No questions about it.
00:59:20I feel like Kevin got the upper hand on the savory.
00:59:23And then I feel like Stephanie might have got the upper hand on dessert.
00:59:26We put up a fight, right?
00:59:28And now at this point, I feel like it's a toss up.
00:59:31Cook their heart out.
00:59:32And that's all you can say.
00:59:33All right, judges.
00:59:34You've been fantastic, entertaining.
00:59:36Thank you very much for an awesome job.
00:59:38Good night.
00:59:39Well done.
00:59:42Let's go.
00:59:43Let's go.
00:59:44Let's go.
00:59:45Ladies and gentlemen, time to welcome the chefs back.
00:59:48I've got the scores.
00:59:49We've got the totals.
00:59:51Let's bring them back in.
00:59:52Chef Kevin.
00:59:53Chef Gail.
00:59:54Chef Monique.
00:59:55Chef Stephanie.
01:00:01Well, well, well.
01:00:02Dancing Spice Queen and the Goat.
01:00:04Boogeyman and the Dragonslayer.
01:00:06One team scored a 41 out of 50 in savory.
01:00:11A 36 out of 50 in sweet.
01:00:14For a total of 77.
01:00:17The other team scored a 37 out of 50 in savory.
01:00:2137 out of 50 in sweet.
01:00:24For a total of 74.
01:00:27We have a three-point difference.
01:00:29The winner in the battle between Team Monique and Stephanie
01:00:34and Team Kevin and Dale is...
01:00:46Kevin and Dale!
01:00:53What?
01:00:54Well done.
01:00:55Congratulations.
01:00:56Congratulations.
01:00:57Well done.
01:00:58Congratulations.
01:00:59Chefs, I will say you're a dynamic duo.
01:01:04It was wonderful to watch you compete.
01:01:06I'm sorry we're saying goodbye.
01:01:07We need to give other kids a chance also.
01:01:10That is the benevolent one that you are sharing during the holidays,
01:01:14giving to others.
01:01:15I know.
01:01:16Thank you so much.
01:01:18Iron Chef.
01:01:19DOC champ.
01:01:20Thank you very much.
01:01:22Okay.
01:01:23I wish I could go back and, like, do things, yeah, with more finesse.
01:01:29Yeah.
01:01:30Is it done?
01:01:31Where's the wind?
01:01:32Yeah.
01:01:33Aww.
01:01:34The only thing I'm sad about is that we won't be cooking more.
01:01:36I know.
01:01:37And we have so many cute shirts.
01:01:38I know.
01:01:39It's true.
01:01:40I know.
01:01:41Oh, baby.
01:01:42Gentlemen, one thing you do not lack, and that is enthusiasm, creativity, dynamite teamwork.
01:01:48This is the only upset that has happened in the competition the entire time.
01:01:54Yeah!
01:01:55A big win and going to the great eight.
01:01:57Yeah!
01:01:58Let's go!
01:01:59Let's go!
01:02:00Let's go!
01:02:01Chef Kevin, Chef Dale, big win tonight.
01:02:03Yeah!
01:02:04Let's go!
01:02:05Let's go!
01:02:06That was wild.
01:02:07What an upset.
01:02:08You know, at some point you got to take a loss, so why would it not be us?
01:02:12So clearly, his dragon slaying capability's rubbing off on you now.
01:02:17Hey, I'll take it.
01:02:18That's team chemistry right there, trusting each other, working together as a team, and
01:02:23that's how we got the W.
01:02:24Congratulations, guys. Good luck in the next round.
01:02:25Thank you. Good job.
01:02:26Thanks, bud. All right.
01:02:27The final two sweet and savory super duos
01:02:30have taken their place in our quarterfinal brackets.
01:02:33Join us next time when the great eight teams of elite chefs
01:02:36return to the TOC Arena.
01:02:38Yee-hoo!
01:02:40I'm definitely behind.
01:02:41This is a one-point difference.
01:02:44Whoa!
01:02:45And continue their Christmas quest
01:02:47to take their division and go on to win the championship.
01:02:51This is what TOC holiday dreams are made of.
01:02:54Let's go!
01:02:55See you next week. Adios!
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