Tournament of Champions All-Star Christmas S01E01

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Transcript

00:00:00This year, we're doing something special for the holidays.

00:00:04Combining your favorite competition

00:00:06with your favorite time of year, and turning the TOC Arena

00:00:10into a winner's wonderland.

00:00:16Tis six weeks before Christmas, and all through the land,

00:00:2032 of the world's best chefs are teaming up and taking a stand.

00:00:26They'll battle each other with all kinds of treats.

00:00:30That's his holiday right there, all over it.

00:00:32Because the randomizer demands they cook one savory and one sweet.

00:00:38The dessert really on point.

00:00:40This is exactly what I'd want served at a holiday table.

00:00:44The judges' comments will be both naughty.

00:00:46It feels a little sloppy.

00:00:47I'm not loving that idea that I'm eating leftovers, quite frankly.

00:00:51And nice.

00:00:52It's one of the best pieces of lamb I've eaten.

00:00:54Incredibly impressive.

00:00:55In a way that you want on your holiday dessert.

00:00:58All right, kiss me.

00:00:59As they check their list, and score each team twice.

00:01:04Ow!

00:01:05Who will win the title?

00:01:07The trophy, big bucks for a charity of their choice,

00:01:10and the $100,000 grand prize.

00:01:13This is Tournament of Champions All-Star Christmas.

00:01:17Happy holidays!

00:01:25Ladies and gentlemen, happy holidays to everybody, and welcome to our all-star Christmas tournament.

00:01:42It's the first ever team versus team competition in the TOC arena.

00:01:48Would you like to meet our all-star duos and see who they're competing against?

00:01:54Up first in the A division, we have our number one seed sensations.

00:02:03I am talking about the two-time TOC champ, Chef Monique Shohan, and her partner in crime, Iron Chef Stephanie Izar.

00:02:14Talking about competition, top chef, Iron Chef, the OG of competition is right next to me.

00:02:22And then we have Monique.

00:02:23Not only has won tournament champions once, but twice.

00:02:27We are the team to beat.

00:02:29Well, they're taking on the number four seed, the Bad Boys, the Dragon Slayer, Chef Kevin Lee,

00:02:35and the award-winning restaurateur, the Boogie Man, Chef Dale Calde.

00:02:40Let's go!

00:02:46Chefs, good luck.

00:02:47Thank you, Chef.

00:02:47Next, we have the sweet and savory super duo, number two seed, eight-time James Beard Award winner,

00:02:56and OG TOC judge, I can't believe he's here, the one and only Chef Marcus Samuelson,

00:03:05with his newest executive pastry chef, Rachel Sharif.

00:03:08Every competition that I've charged, I've cooked in, and TOC is no different.

00:03:13It's the holidays, I'm here with Rachel.

00:03:16I'm gonna enjoy every second of it.

00:03:18Who are they gonna be facing off against?

00:03:20It's the number three seed teammates, two Michelin star chef, Chef Graham Elliott,

00:03:25and his Michelin star friend, Chef Giuseppe Tentore.

00:03:31Pleasure to have you.

00:03:32Good to see you, boss.

00:03:32Let's talk about the B division.

00:03:34The number one seed super squad, the TOC champ, May Day Chef May Lynn, and her good friend,

00:03:44Martini Nini, Chef Nini wins.

00:03:47Who are they going up against?

00:03:51The number four seed, Mr. Delicious, Chef Adam Sobel, and the great Hambino, Chef Christian Patroni.

00:03:59Sorry, baby.

00:04:03It was nice knowing y'all.

00:04:05Ladies and gentlemen, then there's the number two seed,

00:04:08the powerhouse duo competing together for the first time in a major tournament.

00:04:14The Voltaggio brothers, top chef winner, Chef Michael Voltaggio, and three-time top chef runner-up,

00:04:22Chef Brian Voltaggio.

00:04:24It took me a second to read the sweaters.

00:04:26And just so you know, this is really the way this is.

00:04:29I have the nice chef, and I have the naughty chef.

00:04:33The sibling rivalry, it's over.

00:04:36We love each other.

00:04:37We do, sometimes.

00:04:38Who are they going to face off against?

00:04:40The number three seed, the incredible Kentucky Culinary Crew,

00:04:43chopped legend of TOC 6 runner-up, the Duchess of Paducah, Chef Sarah Bradley.

00:04:50And in her first TOC competition, give it up for Chef Damaris Phillips.

00:04:56Christmas and the holidays are about traditions.

00:04:59Sometimes Southern food and Kentucky food is overlooked.

00:05:03This is the time of year when we shine.

00:05:06Let's talk about the C division.

00:05:08We have the four-time TOC finalist.

00:05:12Oh, he's back, ladies and gentlemen.

00:05:14The Jetster, Chef Jet T-Lock.

00:05:18And the winner of the next great baker, the sugar monster, Chef Ashley Holt.

00:05:24When I heard we were doing All-Star Christmas and it was going to be duos,

00:05:28we got to call on my pastry sister, who's badass.

00:05:32Moe, you know what?

00:05:33We're here together, and we're here to win.

00:05:35Hey, brother.

00:05:35Who are they going up against?

00:05:36They're going toe-to-toe with the number four seed, the team from the Chop Shop.

00:05:41We have TOC's very first runner-up, Chef AF, Chef Amanda Freytag.

00:05:48And fellow Chop Judge, the wild man himself, Chef Aaron Sanchez.

00:05:53Oh, no.

00:05:58Dude, I don't want this.

00:06:00No me gusta.

00:06:01I don't want this.

00:06:02Next, we have the dynamite duo, the number two seed team.

00:06:06Three-time TOC finalist, the angry Italian herself, Chef Brent Brissigno.

00:06:14And her teammate, the James Beard Award winner, the bearded baller, Chef Jonathan Sawyer.

00:06:21Welcome to the competition.

00:06:27They got a team to go against, the number three seed team,

00:06:31the fearsome friends of TOC's six finalists, Mama Wong, Chef Leanne Wong,

00:06:38and dessert legend, the sweet assassin, Chef Zach Yum.

00:06:47This might be the first time they called the pastry chef and said,

00:06:50who do you want to bring?

00:06:51I'm bringing the heavy hitter, Leanne.

00:06:54Like, I am not messing around.

00:06:58The last division.

00:07:00Division D.

00:07:03We're going to start off with the number two seed team.

00:07:06They have the West Coast Dream Team, the unstoppable House of Knives winner,

00:07:12making a gigantic return, the dumpling mafia queen herself, Chef Shirley Chung.

00:07:20And the legendary James Beard award-winning pastry chef, the princess of pastry, Chef Sherri Yar.

00:07:28When I first got diagnosed with my tongue cancer last year, Shirley here is one of the first

00:07:41person that I call and text.

00:07:44Because what most folks don't know is that I too was diagnosed with cancer five years ago.

00:07:49Now both of us are in remission.

00:07:51Well, I want to just hand you your warrior trophy of life.

00:07:55Uh-huh.

00:07:56Because you surely are.

00:08:02You are one of every chef's favorite people that has set an example of what it means to fight.

00:08:09Chef Shirley, you are without a doubt one of my favorite people.

00:08:13We're so happy to have you.

00:08:14We have the fighting spirit and we know how to win.

00:08:18We got this.

00:08:19We got this.

00:08:19Yeah.

00:08:22They're going to take on a mega gnarly number three seed team.

00:08:27We have TOC finalists and Maryland chef of the year.

00:08:32Again, a warrior beyond measure.

00:08:36The one and only honcho, Chef Tobias Dorzon.

00:08:41And his teammate, the 24 and 24 winner.

00:08:45They call him the wolf for a good reason.

00:08:48Chef Marcel Vigneron.

00:08:54Back in November, a tragic incident happened where me and my girlfriend were out to dinner

00:08:59and we were gunned down and I was shot 11 times.

00:09:04Still, you know, blessed to be where I am right now.

00:09:07Went through five surgeries and still on a long journey back.

00:09:11I don't know if you folks know, but our good friend Tobias, they questioned if he was going to walk

00:09:16and I'll tell you, he's not just walking, but he's here in TOC All-Star Christmas.

00:09:25And for the final matchup, ladies and gentlemen, we have the number four seed team,

00:09:29two-time Grocery Games Award-winning wine country restaurateur, the general herself,

00:09:36Chef Krista Lutke, and Food Network star, the Spice Queen, Chef Artie Sequeira,

00:09:44on her first TOC debut.

00:09:50One team left.

00:09:51If you look around, there's one chef that we couldn't do this without.

00:09:59And you know who that is?

00:10:00Antonia!

00:10:02That's right!

00:10:03The reigning TOC champ, Princess Warrior, Chef Antonia Lovaso!

00:10:10I wonder who Antonia brought.

00:10:22Oh, yeah.

00:10:23I'll tell you who she brought.

00:10:25Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschili!

00:10:29And that will round it out, folks! 32 chefs ready to do battle!

00:10:46Love ya! Go get them!

00:10:47Coming in, seeded one, being the most recent winner, everyone is like they're the one to be.

00:10:53The expectation for us is higher.

00:10:55But it's not as high as the expectation we have for ourselves.

00:10:57Correct.

00:10:58So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen,

00:11:00the lineup for Tournament of Champions All-Star Christmas.

00:11:04Now, the fact that you have joined forces as a super duo,

00:11:08the judges are going to expect two holiday dishes from each team in every round.

00:11:14That will mean a savory dish and a sweet dish,

00:11:17because a satisfying holiday entree deserves a festive dessert.

00:11:21The bad news is, just like in the Tournament of Champions,

00:11:25you win, you move on, you lose, you go,

00:11:27you go, well, with a coal in your stocking.

00:11:30And the team that wins the holiday contest, there is a beautiful TOC All-Star Trophy.

00:11:36Thanks to Carnival Cruise Line, we are awarding the winning team $100,000.

00:11:42Now, since it's the holidays, we also have some more surprises under the tree.

00:11:50We have golden gifts that go to the highest scoring teams in the first and second round.

00:11:56And in honor of the season of giving, we will also be giving away another $100,000 to charities for the highest scoring teams along the way.

00:12:08We're kicking things up with one of the biggest battles of the season.

00:12:16It's a marquee showdown between two of TOC's most high-profile finalists,

00:12:22along with their mega-talented teammates,

00:12:25Team Jet and Ashley versus Team Amanda at her own!

00:12:30You guys, to your trailers, goodbye!

00:12:37Chef, thank you so very much!

00:12:39First!

00:12:45I know.

00:12:46Rip the Band-Aid off!

00:12:47It's Christmas!

00:12:49Nobody cries on Christmas.

00:12:50No, every...

00:12:51Well, yeah, there's tears of joy.

00:12:53Joy.

00:12:53Which we're going to be doing.

00:12:55Joyous holiday.

00:12:56Our first two teams are getting ready to throw down some holiday dishes.

00:13:01First up, we have Chef Jet Tila and Chef Ashley Holt.

00:13:05They are number one seed because, well, Jet is the winningest chef in this arena without a belt.

00:13:11And Ashley, well, she is a baking champion.

00:13:14Dude, I can't believe we're first.

00:13:16I guess there's no time to have nerves, but...

00:13:18The first seed and the first to go.

00:13:19Oh!

00:13:20Now you're making me nervous.

00:13:22I asked Ashley Holt, please, please be my partner.

00:13:26We've known each other for quite a long time.

00:13:27She was my producer on the Today Show many years ago.

00:13:30She is one hell of a pastry chef.

00:13:32We're here to make some magic and...

00:13:34Win.

00:13:34And win.

00:13:36Now their opponents, huh, they are Food Network legends.

00:13:40Chef Amanda Freytag and Chef Aron Sanchez.

00:13:43Amanda competed in the first TOC finale and Aron recently returned to cookie competitions,

00:13:49which explains their number four seed status.

00:13:52I mean, we are a team.

00:13:54Yeah.

00:13:54We've cooked together for many years.

00:13:55We know each other's style.

00:13:56We've eaten each other's food.

00:13:58What's going to be our strategy is we're going to share, divide, and conquer.

00:14:01You and I both have a ton of experience in every area of the kitchen.

00:14:05So I'll do something savory, you do something sweet.

00:14:07I do something sweet, you do something savory.

00:14:09So what do you know about Amanda and Aron?

00:14:10They're chopped legends.

00:14:12Fantastic chefs.

00:14:14Absolutely.

00:14:14Tough competition.

00:14:16There's no turning back now.

00:14:19We got this.

00:14:19We got this, sis.

00:14:20It's on.

00:14:21Vamanos.

00:14:23Are you ready for the fight before Christmas?

00:14:28Well, then, let's light it up.

00:14:33Chef Amanda Freytag received multiple glowing reviews from the New York Times as the executive

00:14:38chef before joining CHOP and is the only person to judge every single season.

00:14:43Now, she has won a total of six battles in this arena, and she was the first ever TOC runner-up.

00:14:54Her teammate, Aron Sanchez, is the chef partner of three successful restaurants and was awarded

00:15:00Best Latin American Restaurant by Time Out New York.

00:15:04Aron has judged both CHOP and MasterChef and defeated Amanda, Jeffrey Zakarian,

00:15:12and Manit Shohan on CHOP All-Stars.

00:15:16Give it up for Chef AF and the wild man, Team Amanda and Aron!

00:15:30You two, how long have you known each other? 20 years?

00:15:36We came up in New York together, so...

00:15:38It's been about 30.

00:15:38Yeah.

00:15:39You are going to be a dynamic duo.

00:15:41Give it up, AF and Aron!

00:15:44Let's meet your opponents.

00:15:47Chef Jettila is a master of Asian cuisine who has opened over 20 restaurants across the U.S.

00:15:53Now, he has an Emmy and a James Beard nomination who made the final four of Tournament of Champions

00:16:00four years in a row.

00:16:03His teammate, Chef Ashley Holt, is the owner of a luxury cake shop.

00:16:08She's the CHOP champion and beat out 12 other contestants to win Next Great Baker.

00:16:17Give it up for the Jetster and the Sugar Monster, Team Jett and Ashley!

00:16:28Aron, Ashley, first time in TOC, but you show up with seasoned pros.

00:16:41And you two OGs, you know what time it is? It's time to take it to the randomizer! Let's go!

00:16:45Woo!

00:16:47Woo!

00:16:48Woo!

00:16:49Oy, oy, oy.

00:16:50All right.

00:16:51Ah!

00:16:52And look at how we have disguised the randomizer to look friendly.

00:16:59It's so festive!

00:17:00It is festive!

00:17:01Now, as you know, the randomizer will determine the mandatory details of both of your dishes.

00:17:06The mandatory savory item for one dish and the mandatory sweet item for the other dish.

00:17:12And the equipment, the style, and the wild card, which is going to apply to both dishes.

00:17:18Now, doesn't that sound fun?

00:17:19Yeah!

00:17:20Totally!

00:17:21Oh, no!

00:17:22My gift to you is, let's spin the randomizer.

00:17:25Here we go! Savory!

00:17:26Come on, come on!

00:17:30I can't believe I'm here watching this right now.

00:17:33Oh, no!

00:17:34And then you're going to cook it!

00:17:35Oh!

00:17:36I want to love it, baby!

00:17:41Top sirloin, Honeycrisp apples, metal skewers, poached, and canned pumpkin.

00:17:50How do you skewer canned pumpkin?

00:17:51Oh, what do you do this?

00:17:53Here's a gift, because I'm the giver.

00:17:55You have 35 minutes on the clock, but I'm going to give you two minutes

00:17:59to confer with one another before I start the clock.

00:18:02What do you think?

00:18:02Okay, I think I'm going to make a skewer, call it a kebab.

00:18:05Ashley and I have known each other for many years.

00:18:07She is top-notch in pastry land, and that's why I'm going to be cooking savory.

00:18:11I'm dying to know what they're saying.

00:18:13Like, what are they thinking?

00:18:14Like, what are we going to do with canned pumpkin?

00:18:16There's going to be a pumpkin base, poached apples, and a dessert tomorrow.

00:18:20Amanda Freytag can make just about any kind of cuisine.

00:18:23She's well-versed in desserts as well.

00:18:25We're going to go relleno.

00:18:26I'm going to start grilling some peppers.

00:18:28Arun is a triple, quadruple threat of cooking.

00:18:32Not only does he have an authentic Mexican background, but he's classically trained.

00:18:36In the diversity of what we do, I think it's going to make us stand out.

00:18:40Three, two, one, go.

00:18:46Well, that got real, real fast.

00:18:51Well, that got real, real fast.

00:18:52Here, ask that.

00:18:54This is a terrible randomizer.

00:18:56There's no cohesive, kind of automatic way to go.

00:19:00We're just going to stick with what we're strong at.

00:19:02It might feel most comfortable in sweets.

00:19:05I think I'm going to be sticking in my sweet lane.

00:19:07So, top sirloin, the mandatory savory item for one dish.

00:19:10Not the most tender, definitely high in the flavor profile.

00:19:14The mandatory sweet item, honey crisp apples, sweet tart flavor.

00:19:17Actually, out of all the apples, it's my favorite.

00:19:19The equipment, the style, and the wild card need to be employed to both dishes.

00:19:24Metal skewers, I can see it in the meat, but in terms of the pastry, no clue.

00:19:28Coaching sirloin, I don't know.

00:19:31Canned pumpkin.

00:19:32This is not seasoned.

00:19:33We call it the wild card because it is.

00:19:35Uh, Chef Aran, welcome to TOC holiday.

00:19:38This is fantastic.

00:19:40How you feeling?

00:19:41I'm feeling great.

00:19:42I got the best partner.

00:19:43You sure do.

00:19:44Thanks, guys.

00:19:45So, to help us better understand our team's sweet and savory moves,

00:19:48I'm joined by my own team of culinary commentators.

00:19:52Michelin recommended chef and food authority, the wild card himself,

00:19:55Justin Warner.

00:19:56An award-winning restaurateur and TOC3 champ,

00:19:59the one and only Chef Tiffany Faison.

00:20:01Now, Justin and Tiffany will closely track the preparation of our holiday dishes

00:20:06so they can faithfully present them to the judges during the blind tasting.

00:20:09Are we dividing savory sweet?

00:20:11We're comboing.

00:20:12I'm grinding for chili enogado.

00:20:14Very Christmas holiday Mexican dish.

00:20:16Sure is.

00:20:17And then we're going into a pumpkin apple tart, a little cranberry, a little marshmallow.

00:20:22I like where this is going.

00:20:23I want to help Amanda get a head start on the dessert because, you know,

00:20:27that's going to be the most time consuming.

00:20:29Marona's working on tart shell, so I have to grind that meat right away.

00:20:33And I grab the bacon as well to give it some fat and some flavor.

00:20:37Do you want me to put any onion or garlic or anything through the grinder with this?

00:20:40Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

00:20:41A little bit of cumin, a little bit of coriander, mama.

00:20:43We've cooked together at his mom's house, at each other's restaurants,

00:20:46spent some time in Mexico together.

00:20:48And we're so like-minded, yeah.

00:20:50This is my hermana, my sister.

00:20:52Tart shell in, tart shell in.

00:20:53Yes, tart shell's in, Chef.

00:20:55Amanda already has that ground sirloin and bacon season mixture for me already done.

00:21:00So I'm grabbing the elements that could potentially go inside that picadillo or that filling.

00:21:04Some grilled red bell peppers, which is where I'm using the actual skewers.

00:21:08I'm also starting to fry the chili poblanos.

00:21:12I used to see a Ron Sanchez in there competing.

00:21:14I haven't seen this in a long time.

00:21:16He hasn't missed a beat.

00:21:18Jet, how we feeling, bud?

00:21:20This randomizer is hard.

00:21:22It is hard.

00:21:22I'm going to be cooking savory.

00:21:24And I love top sirloin.

00:21:26I just didn't like anything else.

00:21:27The combo of skewer, beef, and pumpkin.

00:21:30I was like, where do I go with that?

00:21:32Chef, we're going to see a meatball, a skewer, a colt stuff.

00:21:34You know, we're going to do a skewer.

00:21:35That's going to be more like a kind of a kefta.

00:21:38You know, I'm going to do a kebab on the skewer, so they can slide it off and eat.

00:21:41Nice play.

00:21:42Knowing this game, visually seeing a skewer will give us points in the judging.

00:21:46All right, Justin, I am going to poach these skewers in fat.

00:21:50Garlic butter.

00:21:50Understood.

00:21:51Ash, how are you?

00:21:52Doing good, Jeff.

00:21:53You're good?

00:21:54Yeah, how about you?

00:21:54Uh, TBD.

00:21:56It's a lot going on at once.

00:21:58Chef, flour, sugar?

00:21:59Flour, sugar.

00:22:00I'm making a fritter batter.

00:22:01What's going to be in that fritter?

00:22:02So I'm roasting some apples, oranges, cinnamon.

00:22:05I'm pulling that up, mix that into like a roasted apple, a seasonal, um, like a harvest fritter.

00:22:10We have a lot of culinary experience under our belt, but we've not cooked together

00:22:15in the kitchen tandem before.

00:22:17And I know you can hold your own.

00:22:18I can hold my own.

00:22:19Like, we just got to trust each other.

00:22:21Yeah.

00:22:22Chef, how was your first TOC so far?

00:22:24Oh, it's a lot.

00:22:25When I first started my baking business, I would make Honeycrisp apples every fall.

00:22:30So they were actually the entryway into me being an entrepreneur.

00:22:34With 35 minutes, I know that I can make a delicious fritter that will represent our team in a great way.

00:22:39Um, yeah, and be able to fully execute.

00:22:42Teams, 20 minutes left, 20 to go.

00:22:45Thank you, Chef.

00:22:48I'm making a pumpkin tart with poached apples and toasty marshmallows on a skewer.

00:22:54Toasted marshmallows on a skewer, good way to use a skewer.

00:22:57I'm using the technique of poaching the apples to sort of check that off the randomizer list.

00:23:02There's still sugar.

00:23:03But I also caramelize and then put them on a skewer almost like a candied apple.

00:23:08What do we got in here?

00:23:09Pumpkin, pink cheese, watch out for 10x on your blast.

00:23:12Don't worry about me.

00:23:14Sorry, sorry.

00:23:16I think obviously for dessert, pumpkin and apple go great for the holidays.

00:23:20And then I wanted a cranberry caramel to give the balance a ooey-gooey pumpkin flavor.

00:23:26Brûlée marshmallow with a super sour cranberry.

00:23:30My sauce for the chiles in Nogada, the tradition, it calls for walnuts.

00:23:34And then I decided to use some of that pumpkin puree in there again to kind of marry everything together.

00:23:39Traditional meets the randomizer.

00:23:42Are you stuffing peppers yet?

00:23:44No, I'm going to peel them right now, honey.

00:23:45The best and worst part about Tournament of Champions is one and done.

00:23:49But we are determined.

00:23:50We're also full of heart.

00:23:51And I think that's something that around the holidays is exactly what you need for the win.

00:23:57Absolutely.

00:23:58To not succeed and at least progress to this competition will be an absolute failure.

00:24:04And we're not going to accept that.

00:24:08Chef, what's the score here?

00:24:09What do you got?

00:24:09This is going to be the poached garlic and onion harissa.

00:24:16There it is.

00:24:17Canned pumpkin is my world to make pumpkin pie.

00:24:22Mm-hmm.

00:24:22I've never used it for anything else.

00:24:24So I was very stumped for a few minutes.

00:24:27What's in the pan over here?

00:24:28Cooking down my pumpkin hummus.

00:24:31So I'm going to do like a pumpkin.

00:24:32Pumpkin hummus?

00:24:32Yeah.

00:24:32Excellent.

00:24:33I want to savory up my pumpkin hummus with some chicken powder.

00:24:36But it can read salty.

00:24:38I'm going to make a apple mint slaw to balance out all the salt and umami on the plate.

00:24:43The pumpkin puree, I just need to turn it into a cream.

00:24:47I need to jump into your mixer, okay?

00:24:49We'll whip some cream, add some sugar, vanilla, all the good stuff.

00:24:52Fold in the pumpkin puree.

00:24:53Mascarpone, Chef.

00:24:54Correct.

00:24:56Give it a little more body and depth.

00:24:58And it's going to be good.

00:25:00Oh, the bitter, Chef.

00:25:01Looking good, Chef.

00:25:02Looking good, Chef.

00:25:02Nice.

00:25:03Made extra.

00:25:04Broke one open.

00:25:05Checking all the way through.

00:25:06I see it's a little underdone inside.

00:25:08I think if I fill it with the cream, it'll kind of help disguise that a little bit.

00:25:12You've come into this kitchen and you've been razor focused.

00:25:15That is amazing.

00:25:17Teams, five minutes left in the competition.

00:25:20Five to be plated.

00:25:22Aaron, you got to hustle.

00:25:23Hustle, hustle.

00:25:23I know.

00:25:24The first thing that I'm getting on this plate is the nogada sauce.

00:25:27It's the canvas.

00:25:28Stuffed poblano pepper, pomegranate, a little bit of greens, micro cilantro, and all day long.

00:25:34Fine.

00:25:35I'll go left, you go right.

00:25:36Yeah.

00:25:37I lay my kofta skewer down into that bed of hummus, paint a little bit of the harissa.

00:25:44My God, I'm sweating like crazy.

00:25:46Two minutes, chefs.

00:25:47Two to go.

00:25:48Let's go.

00:25:50I'm taking the tart, topping it with some of that pumpkin cream cheese custard.

00:25:54Poached cranberry.

00:25:55This is a little bit of me.

00:25:57This is a little bit of our own.

00:25:58My apples and my marshmallows.

00:26:00I'm a skewer.

00:26:0130 seconds.

00:26:02We have our soft fritter.

00:26:04Dust it with a little bit of powdered sugar.

00:26:05I'm happy that I was able to show up as a pastry chef and have a complete dessert on the plate for my first TOC.

00:26:1110, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

00:26:21We're done.

00:26:23Thank you so much.

00:26:24We'll leave it up to the judges.

00:26:26We will see you soon.

00:26:27Great job.

00:26:29Dude, how was that?

00:26:30First cook.

00:26:30That was insane.

00:26:31Yeah.

00:26:32It is a blur.

00:26:33I'm happy with it.

00:26:34Very much so.

00:26:34Because I think what we did is we were able to invoke Christmas time, the holidays.

00:26:39Oh, sugar monster.

00:26:41Oh, my God.

00:26:42The Jets there.

00:26:43Come on, champ.

00:26:46Let's go.

00:26:47I think as a team, we rocked it.

00:26:51Hark.

00:26:52We have three wise men and women to behold these Christmas dishes and hopefully shower these chefs

00:26:58with praise and points.

00:26:59Let's meet the judges.

00:27:00First, James Beard award-winning chef who has opened some of the most acclaimed restaurants

00:27:05in the country.

00:27:05Who is it?

00:27:06The one and only Chef Michelle Bernstein.

00:27:14Right?

00:27:14I like this.

00:27:15We love her so much.

00:27:17Chef, wonderful to see you.

00:27:19And in the holidays, next we have the Emmy and Jane Beard award-winner,

00:27:24named Esquire Magazine's chef of the year, Chef Ming Tsai.

00:27:31How are you feeling?

00:27:31He's very technical.

00:27:33And finally, last but not least, celebrated chef and New York Times bestselling author who

00:27:38has opened multiple Michelin star restaurants, Chef Curtis Stone.

00:27:41What's going on, buddy?

00:27:42Curtis!

00:27:43What a great panel.

00:27:46Well, chefs, you are in for it tonight.

00:27:49As you know, we have two chefs cooking for you right now.

00:27:52They had to work with the randomizer, make a sweet and savory dish.

00:27:55In savory, they got the opportunity to work with tough sirloin.

00:28:00In sweet, the honey crisp apple.

00:28:02They both had to use the equipment of a metal skewer needed to employ poaching.

00:28:06And the wild card ingredient was canned pumpkin.

00:28:09And here, to deliver all that information and more, the one and only chef, Tiffany Faison.

00:28:18Talk about it.

00:28:19Eat it, eat it.

00:28:21Judges, on the right, we'll start with the savory dish.

00:28:23You have chilis on nogada, Christmas-style.

00:28:26A roasted babano that is stuffed with your top sirloin, ground with bacon, onion, garlic,

00:28:32and other spices to create a picadillo.

00:28:35Red bell peppers were skewered and grilled and added to the picadillo.

00:28:39On the bottom, the nogado sauce is your canned pumpkin puree, walnuts, and cream cheese.

00:28:46I don't see a lot of nodding.

00:28:48This is good.

00:28:50This is really hard.

00:28:51On the left, your pumpkin and apple tart is a freshly baked tart shell.

00:28:55The filling on top is canned pumpkin, caramelized white chocolate and cream cheese,

00:29:00with the cajeta poached cranberries.

00:29:03Your honey crisp apples, they were poached in a little bit of apple cider,

00:29:06skewered, and roasted.

00:29:07That is then finished with your marshmallows that have been skewered and roasted as well.

00:29:11Oh my God, I'm nervous.

00:29:13Very, very tasty dishes.

00:29:16Yes.

00:29:16Let's start with the savory.

00:29:17I got to learn how to make chilis on nogada in Mexico City.

00:29:20It was so delicious like this.

00:29:23And this chef put tons of flavor in this meat.

00:29:26This second chef obviously has done some pastry.

00:29:30It's a delicious crust.

00:29:31There's butter in the crust.

00:29:32That bite of apple, marshmallow filling, and cranberries is a perfect holiday bite.

00:29:38So really impressive.

00:29:39You know, it's an interesting rendition of chiles and nogada.

00:29:42My husband's from Oaxaca.

00:29:43I make chiles and nogada also during our holidays.

00:29:47I'm not getting a huge amount of help from the bottom puree.

00:29:51I feel like it could have been just a little bit thinner.

00:29:53But all around, it's a really nice bite of food.

00:29:55Ming is right.

00:29:57This tart shell is everything.

00:29:59Like the shell is amazing.

00:30:01It's buttery, right?

00:30:02I'm not a butter of help.

00:30:04I told you.

00:30:04I'm taking credit for now.

00:30:06I told you.

00:30:08What's interesting is now apple to me is a little bit of the second thought.

00:30:13After the tart.

00:30:14That's good.

00:30:15Yeah, that's really good.

00:30:16Come on, Curtis.

00:30:17Come on, Curtis.

00:30:18Look, for me, the chili could have been cooked a little more.

00:30:21It still feels a little crunchy.

00:30:24And maybe just a little more char on it would have given it just a little more depth of flavor.

00:30:28But all in all, very, very tasty dish.

00:30:30Moving on to the dessert, I looked at that and I was like, oh, it's a bit of a mess.

00:30:34When you think about dessert, you want it to be really pretty.

00:30:36Yes.

00:30:37And the apples that have been poached, they're a little soft to go on a skewer.

00:30:40So I'm not sure if it's a great use of the skewer.

00:30:43I'll tell you what, though.

00:30:44What it loses in presentation, it really makes up for in flavor.

00:30:48And the cranberries really bring a brightness to it.

00:30:51Flavor.

00:30:52Eats really deliciously.

00:30:54OK.

00:30:54All right.

00:30:55All right.

00:30:55Good cop, bad cop.

00:30:56Hope, hope.

00:30:57All right, judges.

00:30:58We have two separate scorecards for you.

00:31:00We are going to score dishes individually.

00:31:01Remember, 50 points maximum for each dish.

00:31:0425 points for tastes.

00:31:0620 points for the use of the randomizer.

00:31:08And five points for the presentation.

00:31:10I like what they said.

00:31:12I think so, too.

00:31:12And I just like the fact that we committed to an idea.

00:31:15Yep.

00:31:15And we didn't waver.

00:31:16We're just warming up.

00:31:17So here to describe the second team's delicious dishes

00:31:20is the fellow food ambassador, the one and only Justin Warner.

00:31:23Just let me know after it's done.

00:31:25Judges, before you, two plates.

00:31:27The first of which are savory dish for the evening.

00:31:30The top soirline was ground with garlic, onion,

00:31:33some za'atar, and then skewered to form a kefta.

00:31:36That was then grilled and finished by poaching in butter.

00:31:40For canned pumpkin, judges, you will find that is the hummus beneath the kefta.

00:31:44And then that slaw was done with the apples, snap pea, and a little bit of labneh.

00:31:49Our sweet component, this is a roasted honey crisp apple fritter.

00:31:53The accompanying pumpkin cream topped with a bit of poached pear relish.

00:31:57For the honey crisp apple, you will find that grilled and inside of the fritter.

00:32:03Now those apples were also skewered.

00:32:05The pears were poached in a bit of red wine, some butter and sugar.

00:32:09Come on, come on.

00:32:11I love this fritter.

00:32:12It's really good.

00:32:13In fact, I started with it and I'm going to finish with it.

00:32:15I told you, I told you.

00:32:18I love how they use the apple component.

00:32:21And I love the use of the canned pumpkin in the whip.

00:32:25I think that's fun.

00:32:26The kefta, the chef did a really good job at spicing it up.

00:32:31But then, it's just really salty.

00:32:32Oh.

00:32:33Uh-oh.

00:32:34Oh, man.

00:32:36She's tough.

00:32:37Mm, good.

00:32:39Chef Ming, disagree.

00:32:40Beautiful looking, tight plates.

00:32:42You can see the skewer.

00:32:44So, visually, nailed the randomizer really well.

00:32:47Starting with the savory.

00:32:48Mine is well-seasoned bold.

00:32:49It's not overly too salty for me.

00:32:51Bold, I like that, yeah.

00:32:52It is spicy, I love it.

00:32:54I, too, like Michelle, love these fritters.

00:32:56This pumpkin butter dip is delicious.

00:32:59This is a perfect combo.

00:33:01All right.

00:33:02Yeah.

00:33:03Curtis Stone, what you got for us?

00:33:04Come on, Curtis.

00:33:05OK, so let's talk about this kefta, because top sirloin,

00:33:08it will be dry, but then they've poached it in butter.

00:33:11And I think that's a very clever way to use poaching,

00:33:14and it's a very clever way to use top sirloin.

00:33:16I'm impressed by it.

00:33:17Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:33:19I love the crunch of the apples and the slaw.

00:33:21I think it works really nicely.

00:33:22The puree is just too salty, sadly.

00:33:26You never hear that with Jet's food, ever, ever.

00:33:30I love the apple and pear combination.

00:33:32They grow together, they go together, right?

00:33:34That pumpkin whip is delicious.

00:33:36This is exactly what I'd want served at a holiday table.

00:33:38So the dessert, really on point.

00:33:40Oh, my God.

00:33:42Did I make you proud?

00:33:43I'm so proud!

00:33:44You did such a great job!

00:33:46Great judges, uh, score cards in front of you.

00:33:48Oh, Ash, I'm so sorry.

00:33:50Like, I messed us up on seasoning.

00:33:54Yeah.

00:33:54Me liked it.

00:33:55But gameplay was strong.

00:33:56Yeah.

00:33:56Let me tell you, you can overlook a lot of things.

00:33:59Oversalting is probably the hardest thing.

00:34:02Or overcooking.

00:34:03They love the dessert, though.

00:34:04All right, judges, thank you very much.

00:34:06More competition coming up.

00:34:07You can go either way.

00:34:08You can be surprised.

00:34:08Yeah, it's super close.

00:34:09What a crazy first battle.

00:34:11All right, chefs, they're ready for you.

00:34:12Here we go.

00:34:15Let's go find out our fate.

00:34:17Time to face the music.

00:34:20Ladies and gentlemen, the judges have tallyed the scores.

00:34:22I have the results.

00:34:23And let's bring our chefs back in, please.

00:34:25Chef A.F., Chef Arone, Chef Jeff, Chef Ashley.

00:34:36I will tell you, both teams, dynamite cooks,

00:34:38you should be very proud, right?

00:34:40Audience, great job.

00:34:42In savory, one team scored a 39 out of 50.

00:34:48The other team scored a 38.

00:34:51Oh, shoot.

00:34:53Wow, that's close.

00:34:54Dude.

00:34:55In the suites, one team scored a 40 out of 50.

00:35:00And one team scored a 44 out of 50.

00:35:04Oh, my God.

00:35:05With a total of 79 for one team and 82 for the other, the winner of the premiere TOC

00:35:13all-star Christmas battle is...

00:35:22The winner of the premiere TOC all-star Christmas battle is...

00:35:26Jet Nashley.

00:35:35Congratulations.

00:35:36Congratulations.

00:35:37It was such an honor.

00:35:41Thank you very much.

00:35:42I appreciate it.

00:35:45Congratulations, Jet Nashley.

00:35:47And I think it was a valiant effort, Arone, to see you come and cook, and especially with

00:35:51such a dear friend, and the two of you working together, you did a dynamite job.

00:35:55I'm sorry you're going home.

00:35:57Chef Arone, thank you so much.

00:36:05I'm so proud of you.

00:36:05I think we did a great job.

00:36:06I think so.

00:36:07I think you're awesome.

00:36:07I just wanted to do that again.

00:36:09Me too.

00:36:09It was some...

00:36:10Yeah.

00:36:10We were ready.

00:36:10I just wanted to do it.

00:36:11Yeah.

00:36:12I thought...

00:36:12I loved our food.

00:36:14I thought it was great.

00:36:15Wow.

00:36:16Did you think that was yours?

00:36:19I thought I might have heard us on the seasoning.

00:36:23I will tell you this, though.

00:36:24You've won your first round.

00:36:26Congratulations.

00:36:27Chef Asher, Chef Jet.

00:36:28Ashley and Jet, we will see you soon.

00:36:31Congratulations.

00:36:31First round win.

00:36:33Well done.

00:36:35Thank you, guys.

00:36:38How do you feel?

00:36:38Your first win, how do you feel?

00:36:40I feel awesome.

00:36:41That's great.

00:36:42First time in the TOC arena, how's it feel?

00:36:44Oh my gosh, that was nuts.

00:36:46Crazy.

00:36:46I wasn't my best cook, straight up.

00:36:48My pastry partner saved my rear end.

00:36:51Are you ready to meet the next two teams?

00:36:53Our number two seed team is celebrated chef Shirley Chung and pastry master Sherry Yar.

00:37:03Now, Shirley is a fierce culinary fighter, while Sherry is a decorated pastry chef.

00:37:08The two are long-time friends, and Sherry recently helped Shirley through a real-life battle.

00:37:14I just recovered from stage four tongue cancer.

00:37:18In the beginning, Shirley is one of the first person that I saw and text.

00:37:25I mean, I've been leaning on you for the past year, so thank you.

00:37:28You're the only person that I want to come see this.

00:37:31And I just love you, and I can't wait for us to make memories.

00:37:34Yes.

00:37:35Now, their opponents are the number three seed, team Tobias Dorzon and Chef Marcel Vigneron.

00:37:41Now, Chef Tobias rocketed to the semifinals, his first time on TOC.

00:37:46And after years of culinary competition, Marcel finally has a major tournament win under his belt

00:37:52and is hungry for his TOC victory.

00:37:54You tie your shoes, that's when you know battle mode right here.

00:37:57Both friends know they're underdogs, but Tobias, well, he has proven that he can overcome anything.

00:38:02A little over a year ago this time, I was in a hospital bed.

00:38:06I was shot 11 times. I was told that possibility of never walking again.

00:38:12So being here with my guy, you know, ready to take on everything that comes our way,

00:38:17it's no better feeling.

00:38:18Thank you for choosing me to be a part of your comeback story.

00:38:21Honored and flattered to be here cooking alongside my boy Tobias.

00:38:25We're just going to take the world by storm, baby.

00:38:27I was always, always, the most delicious food that possible.

00:38:31Yes.

00:38:32And then we win this thing.

00:38:33Okay.

00:38:34Done.

00:38:35Sherry's probably got a leg up on us as pastry.

00:38:37She helped make Wolfgang Puck.

00:38:40You know, she was his pastry chef, you know, for decades.

00:38:43All right, Chefs, they're ready for you.

00:38:44Fabulous.

00:38:47All right, let's do it, Chef.

00:38:50Are you ready for a culinary Christmas miracle?

00:38:54Let's light this up!

00:38:58Chef Tobias has gone from professional athlete to a celebrated executive chef.

00:39:03Named 2024 Chef of the Year by the Maryland Restaurant Association.

00:39:10But Tobias, well, he has proven that he can overcome anything.

00:39:15Chef Marcel Vigneron has worked under world-renowned chefs such as Jose Andres.

00:39:20And his eatery Wolf was named one of the top 10 best new restaurants by LA Magazine.

00:39:25He was the runner-up on season two of Top Chef and beat out almost two dozen acclaimed chefs to become the first ever winner of 24 in 24.

00:39:36Put your hands together for Huncho and the Wolf, Dean, Tobias, and Marcel.

00:39:47My brother.

00:39:49My brothers.

00:39:51Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to have you. Congratulations.

00:39:53Thank you for having us.

00:39:54Let's meet their opponents.

00:39:57Now, Chef Shirley Chung opened restaurants in Las Vegas to the likes of Thomas Keller and Jose Andres.

00:40:04Before opening her own LA eatery, famed for its best-selling dumplings.

00:40:10Now, Sherry Yard was the head pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck worldwide, including Spago and Rainbow Room.

00:40:18Give it up for the Dumpling Mafia Queen and the Princess of Pastry, Team Shirley and Sherry.

00:40:36You play that music, you should be worried.

00:40:39Audience, are you ready?

00:40:41Teams, let's take them to the randomizer. Right this way.

00:40:49Now, as you know, the randomizer will determine the mandatory details of both of your dishes.

00:40:54Is charcoal a wild card ingredient?

00:40:57Let's get busy. Here we go. Savory.

00:41:06I'm getting busy looking.

00:41:10Little mix.

00:41:11Strawberries.

00:41:14Box grater.

00:41:15Oh, hey.

00:41:16Blazed in fruitcake.

00:41:19Fruitcake.

00:41:20Fruitcake.

00:41:21Ooh.

00:41:22Wow.

00:41:22That one's interesting.

00:41:24What was the last thing you did, Chef Marcel, with a fruitcake?

00:41:27Well, I mean, give it to a friend as a recycled gift.

00:41:29I use it for a doorstop.

00:41:31Paperweight.

00:41:32Yeah.

00:41:32Chef, you have 35 minutes to cook, but I'm going to give you two minutes before we start the clock

00:41:38to confer as a team.

00:41:39Little neck clams.

00:41:41Are we taking them out and braving them?

00:41:42Tobias is going to do savory.

00:41:44I'm going to do sweet.

00:41:45But at the same time, we're still a team, right?

00:41:48So we're going to bounce ideas off each other.

00:41:50So I'm going to do a soy paste, spicy, little knife clam.

00:41:56I have a reputation.

00:41:58I don't like to bake.

00:41:59So my best friends are always pastry shots.

00:42:02Glaced strawberry.

00:42:03Glazed box grater.

00:42:04Glazed strawberries.

00:42:05Three, two, one.

00:42:06And you can begin.

00:42:07Oh.

00:42:08Ah!

00:42:09And they're off.

00:42:12The biggest challenge is actually combining all of the stuff together.

00:42:17There's many things we can do with strawberries to make a dessert.

00:42:20Different ways we can cook clams.

00:42:22But how are we going to incorporate a pre-made fruitcake with clams?

00:42:26And they're off.

00:42:30Little neck clams.

00:42:31They're sweet.

00:42:32They're small.

00:42:33They're delicious.

00:42:34Strawberries.

00:42:34You know that the flavor is just next level when they've had a chance to really ripen on

00:42:39the vine.

00:42:39Box grater.

00:42:40Everybody knows the box grater for grating cheese, but it's got a zester on it.

00:42:43Glazing gives you this nice translucent coating that goes on the outside.

00:42:47Fruitcake is the weird one.

00:42:49So this is studded with dried fruit nuts.

00:42:52This should probably be the hinge pin to the competition.

00:42:55Fruitcake, fruitcake, fruitcake!

00:42:58You guys known each other for a while?

00:43:00Yeah, we met on Guy's Grocery Games, I think it was, many, many moons ago.

00:43:04Well, I know Marcel from previous battles, but now I like to battle with the best.

00:43:08If I'm ever going to have to team up with somebody, I want to team up with somebody just as good is not better than me.

00:43:13You guys were not the Christmas coupling I had on my bingo card.

00:43:17I'm thrilled to see you guys here together, but surprised.

00:43:20Oh, we're like the yin and yang.

00:43:21He's got big muscles.

00:43:22I don't have muscles.

00:43:24I'm fast.

00:43:25He's a little bit slower right now, so we just like, we fill in each other's gaps.

00:43:29What's the plan?

00:43:29Like a play on Crams Casino.

00:43:33We'll put a little bit of Mexican chorizo in the clams once we open them up.

00:43:36Okay.

00:43:37There's a crumble.

00:43:38You know, I like people to come early on Christmas dinner.

00:43:41And a plan for Crams Casino is something that you can offer as an hors d'oeuvre.

00:43:45I want them to open up in a nice broth.

00:43:49I'm getting fish sauce to add to my seafood stock.

00:43:52Let's see if this top works.

00:43:54Oh, what do you got now?

00:43:56I'm going to make a fish brittle.

00:43:58What?

00:43:59Like a glaze, butter and sugar.

00:44:01Butter and sugar.

00:44:02Making my caramel first.

00:44:04I wanted to have a salty but sweet glaze.

00:44:08Smell that fish sauce.

00:44:11Woo!

00:44:11My sauce?

00:44:12Probably good.

00:44:13Yes.

00:44:13Go, Chef.

00:44:14I'm thinking strawberry ice cream, Chef.

00:44:15Okay.

00:44:16This is a big risk.

00:44:16You know, we're a big risk.

00:44:17You're dealing with time, temperature.

00:44:19This kitchen is hot.

00:44:20What, uh, you got strawberries?

00:44:21Strawberries.

00:44:22There's strawberries in there?

00:44:23Strawberries in there.

00:44:24Corn syrup, milk, cream.

00:44:26Sugar.

00:44:26Dramo powder.

00:44:27And I blend my strawberries, but I want more strawberry flavor.

00:44:31So I actually threw in like half a jar of strawberry jam into my ice cream base.

00:44:36Talk to me about fruitcake.

00:44:38That's actually really good, that fruitcake.

00:44:39I ended up throwing the fruitcake in the blender.

00:44:43Chef, you want to taste the base?

00:44:45Sure.

00:44:47It's a little fruitcake-y.

00:44:48You taste the strawberry, right?

00:44:49I do.

00:44:56Chef, when you have a plan, lay it on me.

00:44:58I'm going to do a spicy, sweet place.

00:45:02It seemed really like the clams.

00:45:03I'm going to use box creator to do all my aromatics.

00:45:08So garlic, ginger, onion, my propane.

00:45:11Got it.

00:45:14During my recovery, I never really stopped cooking.

00:45:17But from my radiation and chemo, it showed my taste.

00:45:22The first thing that came back was sugar.

00:45:24And then all the aromatic I can taste.

00:45:27But one thing I love the most, which is salt and savory, it came back to my palate the last.

00:45:33So I really have to watch out for that.

00:45:35Weasy enough, Chef?

00:45:37Yep.

00:45:37Beautiful.

00:45:38I have fruitcake now.

00:45:40That is a dense fruitcake.

00:45:41It is.

00:45:42Yeah.

00:45:43It's a perfect sweet and sticky component that brings to tone down my salt.

00:45:48How are you putting this in with the clams?

00:45:49So I'm going to make a fruitcake crumble on top, like a breadcrumb crumble, but also

00:45:56fruitcake going into fruitcakes.

00:45:58Fruitcake soy sauce.

00:46:02When was the last time you had fruitcake, Chef?

00:46:04Actually, I like fruitcakes.

00:46:07You like fruitcake?

00:46:08Yeah.

00:46:09Growing up in China, that my grandma traveled the world.

00:46:13Something that she brought back during Christmas was fruitcake from America.

00:46:17That's why I like fruitcake.

00:46:20It's really fruitcake crumble for us.

00:46:23Four minutes.

00:46:25Jerry and I will keep cooking together for function, for friends.

00:46:30But this is actually the first time that we're cooking side by side in a competition environment.

00:46:35I really have a feeling that me and you together, we're going to win this.

00:46:40Okay, good.

00:46:40Chef, I'm seeing the sugar and corn syrup.

00:46:43I'm seeing the dairy items on the side.

00:46:44Are we going to see a caramel here?

00:46:46Yeah, caramel all going well.

00:46:48We'll have a Christmas morning Pampardieu, otherwise known as French toast.

00:46:53I'm familiar, Chef.

00:46:54I'm liking it.

00:46:54We'll be beautiful together.

00:46:56As the butter and heavy cream.

00:46:57Buck's crater, buck's crater.

00:46:59And I'm going to grab all my ingredients that are going to add flavor.

00:47:02Orange, lemon, and ginger.

00:47:04What's the difference between Pampardieu and regular French toast?

00:47:08What you charge on the menu, Chef.

00:47:10You got it.

00:47:10So rumor has it there's some chefs out there that might be a little intimidated that I'm here.

00:47:16Look at me, little old me.

00:47:17That said, I have been baking for so many years.

00:47:20And I've done everything from ice cream to sugar sculptures.

00:47:24Gorgeous.

00:47:25Happy.

00:47:26A dessert in a short period of time?

00:47:28I don't know.

00:47:29We'll have to see whether or not I can pull that off too.

00:47:32Less than 20 minutes to go.

00:47:34What do they do with the fruitcake?

00:47:35This is like the nastiest thing ever in life.

00:47:39I know at Clamp Casino, you finish it off with, most of the time, breadcrumbs.

00:47:44But you can use the fruitcake and some garlic.

00:47:47Mm.

00:47:47Mm-hmm.

00:47:48Mm-hmm.

00:47:49Mm-hmm.

00:47:50Mm-hmm.

00:47:51Breadcrumbs and fruitcake and garlic.

00:47:55Yeah, that old famous combination.

00:47:57Box-grated salad, Chef?

00:47:58Mm-hmm.

00:47:59I made a fennel and green onion, a little salad.

00:48:01So when you're eating the clams and you're getting the fish caramel, you can have fennel

00:48:06to clean off your palate.

00:48:09How's it looking, Chef?

00:48:10Great.

00:48:11Looks perfect.

00:48:12Yeah, it looks great.

00:48:13Really nice texture.

00:48:14You got that Cherry Yard on the other side.

00:48:16Yeah.

00:48:17Cherry Yard is one of the best pastry chefs in the country, if not the world.

00:48:23And Shirley Chung, she's beaten me on Tournament of Champions before, so I know she's good.

00:48:27The strength of Shirley just to be back in competition.

00:48:30I already know that it's going to be a dogfight.

00:48:31We got love for every single chef here.

00:48:34You know what I mean?

00:48:34All of them.

00:48:35But I want to get them home to their families faster.

00:48:39As soon as that clock starts, it's a competition.

00:48:41Ice cream's made, Chef.

00:48:42I love that, baby.

00:48:44Marcel grabbing liquid nitrogen?

00:48:46Are you serious?

00:48:47What's the game plan, bud?

00:48:48Um, you know, I'm going to freeze some stuff and make some delicious treats.

00:48:51I got to do some box-bating, right?

00:48:53So we freeze the strawberries in liquid nitrogen.

00:48:56I start grating, and it's like this, like, strawberry dust.

00:49:00So pretty cool.

00:49:02Pretty cool.

00:49:02And I was like, that works.

00:49:03That'll be a nice little garnish for on top, I think.

00:49:06We're checking off boxes right now.

00:49:07We got strawberries.

00:49:08Now we've got to do some glaze.

00:49:10I'm trying to make this caramel, get that super thick, really sticky.

00:49:14Let's play with the caramel.

00:49:16Getting it to a nice, glazy consistency that I want.

00:49:20For me, strawberries, caramel.

00:49:22It's a match made in heaven.

00:49:23Did he just take the strawberries into caramel and make...

00:49:26Sure did. Glaze them.

00:49:27Twelve and a half minutes.

00:49:28Twelve and a half to go.

00:49:30Now the timer is coming down.

00:49:32I really need to see my clams.

00:49:34To glaze the pan with sake, and then the fruit cakes

00:49:38that's coming out of the oven.

00:49:40Yep, that's it.

00:49:41Fred crumb?

00:49:42Fred crumb, olive oil, salt.

00:49:44Pepper, this cake, crumble in this.

00:49:47Got it.

00:49:47This is the first time I'm combining these two items together,

00:49:51but it might not be the last time.

00:49:54Five minutes, teams.

00:49:55Five to be plated.

00:49:56Five to go.

00:49:57Strawberries, where are strawberries?

00:49:59Come and play.

00:50:00I'm on strawberry sauce.

00:50:01They're being grated.

00:50:02I use the box grater again.

00:50:04They both use the grater so much.

00:50:06And put that sauce on the burner so it can reduce down.

00:50:11Compression there and heavy cream.

00:50:12When it came to glaze as a pastry chef, I was thrilled.

00:50:18Blazing.

00:50:19Blazing.

00:50:21How many minutes?

00:50:21Three.

00:50:22Three?

00:50:26Pop, right behind you?

00:50:28I'm excited to be able to step back into tournament champion stage

00:50:31again.

00:50:32Oh, goodness.

00:50:32After everything.

00:50:33That's worth celebrating.

00:50:35Yes.

00:50:35I believe Jodie Tom 2.0 is stronger.

00:50:38I bet you.

00:50:43Have my strawberries all around the outside room.

00:50:46Fruitcake caramel on the bottom.

00:50:48Grab the Palm Purdue.

00:50:50Glaze the strawberries.

00:50:51It was a Christmas miracle.

00:50:5590 seconds.

00:50:57I'll get some of the glaze on the bottom.

00:50:59Last Christmas, you know, I wasn't walking.

00:51:02So being back in the kitchen, being amongst other phenomenal chefs, I feel blessed to be where I am

00:51:08right now.

00:51:08I'm just here to celebrate the holidays with the good people.

00:51:11One minute.

00:51:14Maybe two scoops, right?

00:51:15I take my pre-chilled glasses and do a couple scoops of ice cream.

00:51:20I've got my glazed strawberry, and then I'll play around with all my other stuff that I want to

00:51:25sprinkle on top.

00:51:26Five, four, three, two, one.

00:51:31We're done, chef.

00:51:32Stop working.

00:51:32Both teams performed incredibly.

00:51:40Where you came up with that in your imagination, I don't know, but job well done.

00:51:48All right, let's bring in the judges.

00:51:52Wow, man.

00:51:53I think you did okay.

00:51:54I mean, for having never worked together before, I mean.

00:51:57That was like magic, baby.

00:51:58Good job, and your plate looked beautiful.

00:52:01Really beautiful, right?

00:52:02Ugh.

00:52:03Ugh.

00:52:04Whew.

00:52:08Whew.

00:52:08All right, folks, let's welcome back our judges.

00:52:14The one and only chef Michelle Bernstein.

00:52:16Oh, Michelle Bernstein.

00:52:18She's going to be fair.

00:52:19She's going to be a really good judge.

00:52:20Chef thinks I.

00:52:21Oh, my God, yes.

00:52:23Chef Curtis Stone.

00:52:24Wow, that's Curtis.

00:52:27Wow, and they've got great palates.

00:52:29Yes.

00:52:30Great judges.

00:52:30Judges, for the second battle tonight, the randomizer gave out the holiday gifts with

00:52:35little neck clams for the savory, strawberries for the sweet, box grater for equipment,

00:52:41the style was glazed, and who doesn't think about fruitcake?

00:52:45I try never to eat fruitcake, ever.

00:52:49They're like, great, clams and fruitcake.

00:52:53Judges, we'll begin with the savory portion of the dish.

00:52:56First up, we have sake steamed clams with a soy glaze.

00:53:01And then, of course, fruitcake breadcrumbs on top.

00:53:05For our sweet dish, we have Christmas pamperdew.

00:53:08The strawberries were run through the box grater.

00:53:10Accompanying that, some toasted fruitcake, you have the glazed strawberry at the top.

00:53:14And then the pamperdew itself, which was gently torched with a little sugar at the end of the cook.

00:53:19I love little neck clams.

00:53:21The clams are nice and tender.

00:53:22The glaze is a great glaze, a culture spoon.

00:53:26It's incredibly thick.

00:53:27Maybe just a little too intense.

00:53:29It reduced a little bit too much.

00:53:32I love the use, just like the Italians do, the breadcrumbs on pastas, on clams.

00:53:37Really smart use of the fruitcake.

00:53:38They're a really well-thought-out dish.

00:53:40Yay!

00:53:40The clams are really nice, not too chewy, but the soy glaze is definitely way too salty.

00:53:47I feel like if they would have just stopped a little short,

00:53:50maybe add a touch of fat in there to soften up the flavors.

00:53:53I only got three clams. I'm a big guy. You know, like, this is just a little snack for me.

00:53:59Maybe a couple more clams would have been nice.

00:54:01But if you didn't tell me they had to use fruitcake in it, I'd still like the dish.

00:54:05I'd be like, that's actually really good, and I like it.

00:54:07The pamperdew.

00:54:08The strawberries get to really sing. They're bright.

00:54:11There's a lot of butter in there. There's a lot of richness and flavor.

00:54:14The right amount of sweetness.

00:54:16The crust that they have on that with the sugar, they did a beautiful job with that.

00:54:21I know that they were working on a glaze as well with the strawberries,

00:54:23and I think they could have been a little shinier, a little glazier.

00:54:26However, I love that it's not too sweet.

00:54:28And again, the fruitcake was fun.

00:54:30It was fun to have the nuts and the dried fruit in there to have more texture.

00:54:35The fruitcake in both dishes was not a negative.

00:54:38It actually helped the dish a little bit.

00:54:40Yay!

00:54:43That was good teamwork.

00:54:44Yeah.

00:54:44Two scorecards there, 50 points each, 25 points available in taste, 20 points in the

00:54:51use of the randomizer, and five points for presentation.

00:54:54A little over-reduced with the soy, a little salty.

00:54:58That makes me feel a little bit more confident.

00:55:01Judges will begin with Clams Christmas Casino.

00:55:05The little neck clams were popped open in a seafood stock, then stuffed with a chorizo and butter glaze,

00:55:11and a fruitcake, breadcrumb, and garlic stuffing.

00:55:15It was then finished with a box-grated salad of fennel, scallion, and lemon zest.

00:55:21Not to be outdone by clams, we have strawberries, fruitcake ice cream.

00:55:25The strawberries on the side, they were glazed with a creamy caramel glaze.

00:55:28In addition to that, we had strawberries that were treated to liquid nitrogen and then grated on the top.

00:55:34A little gift of Christmas sprinkles.

00:55:37All right, ice cream's melting. Let's go. Let's get the show on the road.

00:55:40Pork and clams, I think, is one of the best combinations, better than peanut butter and jelly

00:55:44or peanut butter and bacon. Fennel, so necessary, cuts through all the fat, gives that a little

00:55:49anise quality. If you read this on a menu, you'd just get up and walk out of the restaurant,

00:55:53because you'd be like, fruitcake, clams, and chorizo, no, thank you. It works. It's really,

00:55:58really clever. This chef or chefs have got real refinement to what they've done.

00:56:03The glaze is really nice, because it's a really good balance. It has the flavor of the clam. Then

00:56:10it also has a delicate sweetness to it, which is not obnoxious. But the dessert is really sweet.

00:56:18But I love the frozen strawberry, because it cuts through a bit of the sweetness.

00:56:21I do agree with Michelle. The dessert is sweet, but it's dessert. And it's a really well-made 35

00:56:28minutes of strawberry ice cream. I mean, hats off to this chef.

00:56:34That frozen strawberry gives you a really nice, interesting balance. Of course, it's not as sweet

00:56:38as the ice cream, so some more of that might have been nice. But the triumph here is this clam dish.

00:56:44This is wonderful. Look how hard these chefs are competing, and they're competing as teams.

00:56:49I'm having fun. Two dishes score 50 points each. I think if we get this first W,

00:56:58we'll turn it into an M for some momentum, baby. I'm all in. Like, I heard everything. It's just

00:57:03a different thought process in my mind right now, just being able to just be here.

00:57:07Thanks for having me on the team, chef. Come on, ma'am.

00:57:12Anybody's game?

00:57:13Ladies and gentlemen, I have the scores. Let's bring the teams back in. Chef Tobias,

00:57:21Chef Marcel, Chef Shirley, and Chef Sherry. Well done. What a challenge.

00:57:31And here are the scores. In the savory category, for one dish, 39. The other dish, 45.

00:57:36In the sweet dish category, the judges scored it 40 for one dish and 40 for the second dish.

00:57:46For a total of 79 to 85. The winner of the all-star Christmas battle between

00:57:54Team Shirley and Sherry and Team Tobias and Marcel is...

00:57:58The winner of the all-star Christmas battle is...

00:58:03The winner of the all-star Christmas battle is...

00:58:07Tobias and Marcel!

00:58:13Congratulations!

00:58:17Well done. Well done, well done. Chef Shirley, Chef Sherry.

00:58:22You both worked with purpose. Both such warriors, cancer survivors,

00:58:26out here battling tonight. It's been a real pleasure. Ladies, thank you very much.

00:58:30Thank you so much. Chef Sherry! Chef Shirley, thank you!

00:58:37It's fine. Okay. You've been by my side for the past one year,

00:58:42giving me all this advice. So, be my support. So, I'm so happy that we'd be able to do this.

00:58:47Yeah, we just made another memory, right? Yep.

00:58:49We didn't know if we were ever going to see you in the kitchen again, or competition, or even see you.

00:58:54Yeah. The biggest thing from my accident, it taught me that. Living your moment.

00:59:00Like, enjoy every moment, because you never know when it's your last.

00:59:05But you just won, my friend. Yeah, yeah.

00:59:06Congratulations! You just won the first round!

00:59:10Here we go!

00:59:18Come on, now.

00:59:21Congratulations. The comeback king over here, brother.

00:59:23The comeback king, baby. I love it.

00:59:25That's the dream work. I guess we're in round two.

00:59:27Yes.

00:59:28Ladies and gentlemen, did we deliver two fantastic rounds of competition.

00:59:34And the main event will deliver. Let's meet our all-star duo. From our A division,

00:59:41we have the number one seated team, the powerhouse duo of TOC reigning champ, the one and only Antonio

00:59:49Lofaso. And Alex Gordon is showing.

00:59:52Antonio, Chef Alex, are we ready? Are you ready?

00:59:56He'll be up against restaurateur Krista Ludke and Food Network star, Artie Sequeira.

01:00:02Can you believe this?

01:00:04Both of them have won guys' grocery games, but Krista has yet to get a win in the TOC arena.

01:00:09Oh, my gosh! Look at the tinsel.

01:00:13And Artie, well, she's a TOC first-timer, which is why they are seated number four.

01:00:18This is the team that everyone feared, right? And we get them, round one. I mean,

01:00:22you gotta get through them anyway, so we might as well get it over with. Rip off the bandit.

01:00:25Imagine how everyone's gonna feel when we beat them.

01:00:28Right.

01:00:28Then they'll be scared.

01:00:29Anybody can talk about food, and that is like, it is the great connector.

01:00:33But I think when I realized that Krista valued her faith, and that's something that is really

01:00:37important to me, you and I are connected on this very deep, sacred level.

01:00:42I've just always felt connected.

01:00:44You bring huge, big, bold flavors, which is amazing.

01:00:47And I think together, our combination of me being able to multitask, it's a dream team.

01:00:51Your great strength is that you've won this entire competition, and you're an amazing cook.

01:00:56I appreciate that sentiment. I am still a ball of Christmas nerves.

01:01:02You and I met on Chopped a hundred years ago. You were my judge, right? And it went from you being

01:01:07my judge to my mentor to my friend. We've actually never cooked together before.

01:01:12So this is like a, this is like a first, and I'm excited about it.

01:01:15Me too.

01:01:16All right, let's do it.

01:01:18All right, chefs, they're ready for you.

01:01:20Oh!

01:01:20Let's do it.

01:01:21Hoop!

01:01:22Are you ready for the final culinary snowball fight of the night?

01:01:26But let's like this, uh...

01:01:32Chef Chris Bellucci is a celebrated wine country chef who has won the Michelin Bib Gourmand two years in a row.

01:01:38She's an eight-time triple G winner, but has yet to score a victory in the TOC arena.

01:01:50Chef Artie Sequeira is a super popular Food Network judge known for her expertise in both sweet and savory cooking.

01:01:57who's won Chopped All-Stars and season six of the Food Network star.

01:02:04Give it up for the contender and the Spice Queen, T, Krista, and Artie!

01:02:10Let's go!

01:02:20General, awesome to have you.

01:02:21Now you have gained super power forces with the one and only, the Spice Queen herself.

01:02:26Ready to crush it.

01:02:27I have to say good luck to you because your opponents...

01:02:31After a 10-year stint at Wolfgang Puck's Fago, Chef Antonia Lofaso started her own SoCal restaurant empire,

01:02:42which include the Michelin-recommended Dama, one of my faves.

01:02:47And earlier this year, she beat out 31 acclaimed chefs to become the TOC reigning champion!

01:02:56I-C-A-G, also known as Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, an acclaimed author and a legendary chop judge.

01:03:10She has defeated some of the best chefs in the country as an Iron Chef and the star of Alex vs. America.

01:03:18Please give it up for the Princess Warrior and I-C-A-G, Team Antonia and Alex!

01:03:26Congratulations, champ, and welcome back.

01:03:36Thank you, Chef.

01:03:36Kate, nice to see you here competing.

01:03:38We're super uptight, and I'm gonna make desserts.

01:03:42Teams, are you ready?

01:03:43Oh, yeah.

01:03:44Let's take it to the randomizer right this way!

01:03:51Without further ado, in the big finale tonight, here we go!

01:03:56Come on, come on, come on.

01:04:00Here we go, here we go, here we go.

01:04:04Chicken, thigh, pork.

01:04:06No, no, no, no!

01:04:08Whole chicken!

01:04:08No!

01:04:09Naval oranges, toaster, peppery, and chestnuts.

01:04:16I think I don't like it.

01:04:1735 minutes on the clock to make this savory dish and this sweet dish.

01:04:22I'm now gonna give you two minutes before I start the clock and let you confer together as a team,

01:04:27and your clock starts now.

01:04:28Good luck.

01:04:29What are you doing?

01:04:29All right, so I'm gonna do, um, fried chicken, mashed potato.

01:04:33Our whole plan has just been like, you do desserts and I do savory.

01:04:36Now I'm gonna make an orange ice cream.

01:04:38Okay.

01:04:38I'm thinking I'm gonna do little mini bundt cakes.

01:04:41Okay, can you do sweet?

01:04:41Orange zest, and yes, I'm gonna go sweet all the way.

01:04:44If you're good with that.

01:04:44Yeah, great.

01:04:45Okay.

01:04:45I mean, I haven't had a TOC win yet in this arena, but it's gonna be a Christmas miracle.

01:04:49We are bringing home the win, right?

01:04:51I love it.

01:04:52Three, two, one.

01:04:54Go.

01:04:59This underdog team, Kristen and Artie, to pull this out, but these two seasoned warriors,

01:05:04ICAG and Antonia, I mean, they have got so many competitions under their belt.

01:05:09This is gonna be a tough one.

01:05:11Tough one for the underdogs.

01:05:16One of the things I think about holidays that we often forget is there's a spiritual component

01:05:20about it, and both of us have a very deep spiritual connection.

01:05:24I have admired Krista. Don't tell her though, right?

01:05:27I'm right here.

01:05:29But Krista has a real heart of service.

01:05:31We've done a ton of fundraisers together.

01:05:33Krista will do the jobs that nobody else wants to do, and she will do them without applause,

01:05:38without recognition. She will do it just because it needs to be done.

01:05:41I am truly honored to be Krista's wingman today.

01:05:45You're the best.

01:05:46You got a good game plan?

01:05:47I'm doing a schnitzel with like a peppercorn milk gravy with cardamom,

01:05:53and I'm doing a sweet potato puree. Chestnuts are going in this puree,

01:05:57and I'll actually try to put some in the dredge as well.

01:05:59Got it.

01:06:00It's very quiet in the house for Christmas.

01:06:03Not even a mouse.

01:06:04Not even a mouse.

01:06:05Whoa, it's about to smell like burnt Christmas in here.

01:06:08Are we toasting rosemary?

01:06:10We are toasting some rosemary.

01:06:11What's the plan?

01:06:12Vanilla cake.

01:06:13I can put orange zest in the cake.

01:06:16I can put my chestnuts in the cake.

01:06:17Like, so cake to me is like instantly where I go.

01:06:20Like, little beautiful bun cakes.

01:06:22They look like leaves.

01:06:23And now I just have to execute it.

01:06:25Pastry, like, is something that I tend to shy away from.

01:06:29Like, I don't want to measure things.

01:06:31But I've been like honing and practicing.

01:06:34And you've been getting my photos of my late night baked treats.

01:06:37My wife is very happy.

01:06:39She's like, please promise that you will keep baking after this competition.

01:06:44Watch out, everybody.

01:06:46Where's the rest of the?

01:06:47Oh, did you buzz it?

01:06:48Yes, it's in your thing.

01:06:49Oh, you are.

01:06:50I got you.

01:06:51I love you.

01:06:52And that's what the holidays are all about.

01:06:54Did you prep chestnuts?

01:06:56They're in your dredge.

01:06:57Station symbiosis, A+.

01:06:59Chestnuts ground on Christmas Station using that and both her cake batter and then also

01:07:04handed it right to Artie for the batter for schnitzel.

01:07:07Cake batter.

01:07:07Yes.

01:07:08Little bun cakes.

01:07:09Because nothing says Christmas.

01:07:10Like little bun cakes.

01:07:11Wow.

01:07:12Cake cake.

01:07:12First time to use here.

01:07:14Yes.

01:07:14Talk about bragging rights, though, if we took down Antonia and Alex.

01:07:18Oh, my gosh.

01:07:19All right, teams.

01:07:20We have 25 minutes left in the competition.

01:07:23Krista is an incredible chef.

01:07:26It's the holidays.

01:07:27And this dish, I think, could go from the deepest parts of her soul.

01:07:31I don't count anyone out.

01:07:33I think they're both great cooks.

01:07:34And I think they came in here a little bit more inhibited.

01:07:36A little bit more free and driven to beat us.

01:07:39Justin, long time no see.

01:07:40Indeed.

01:07:41I'm doing fried chicken.

01:07:44Breaking down chicken.

01:07:45I mean, do I want to do it?

01:07:46No, but I do it pretty quickly.

01:07:47Like, I had two chickens broken down in like less than two minutes.

01:07:51Maybe three.

01:07:52Like four, but all right.

01:07:53It was two minutes.

01:07:54What's the preparation on the chicken, chef?

01:07:56Fried.

01:07:57Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, chestnut gravy.

01:08:00And chestnut gravy?

01:08:01Yes, sir.

01:08:02Like that.

01:08:02She took some extra parts there and is rendering them out.

01:08:05So she's making a stock over there?

01:08:06Yeah.

01:08:08Corn starch and AP?

01:08:09Corn starch and AP.

01:08:10Got it.

01:08:11What was the yellow color?

01:08:12Mustard.

01:08:12I could smell that mustard cooking.

01:08:14That's crazy.

01:08:15I'm going to make a dessert that has oranges and chestnuts in it and nothing else.

01:08:18I'm going to make an orange ice cream sandwich.

01:08:22I started making the ice cream base, basically a neutral vanilla base.

01:08:25And I added a ton of orange zest.

01:08:27And I threw that into the ice cream machine and I thought, I'm feeling pretty good.

01:08:30I roast my chestnuts.

01:08:31I boiled them to soften them.

01:08:34And then added amaretto and cooked that down with cream.

01:08:37Can you taste this?

01:08:40It's chestnut caramel.

01:08:42Delicious.

01:08:43Those chestnuts were perfect for puree.

01:08:47Chestnuts work so good in dairy.

01:08:50Boiling them in cream, softening them.

01:08:52And for me, I was like gravy.

01:08:53This dish, the chestnuts actually drove the train.

01:08:59I look at the toaster and I think that I'm going to do the most obvious thing on the planet

01:09:03on purpose, and that is make toast.

01:09:05I thought, you know, I need to add some sweetness.

01:09:07So if you toasted the oranges.

01:09:09I did not, Justin.

01:09:10See what I did there?

01:09:11I just toasted the bread and then rolled it in caramel.

01:09:13Do you like that?

01:09:14Oh, wow.

01:09:14I thought they were oranges.

01:09:15No, that's toast.

01:09:16A little trompe l'oeil.

01:09:17It just looks to me like holiday, like caramel, like a candy.

01:09:20Do you have salt over there, Alex?

01:09:22Take it.

01:09:22Here.

01:09:23Round one, keep it simple.

01:09:24Four things, tops, and be done with it.

01:09:27I agree.

01:09:28Antonia?

01:09:29Yes?

01:09:30How are we?

01:09:31Great.

01:09:34All right, teams.

01:09:35We have 20 minutes left.

01:09:3620 left in the competition.

01:09:39Yeah, thank you.

01:09:42Merry Christmas, you filthy animals.

01:09:47Pepper is the king of spices.

01:09:49And cardamom is the queen of spices.

01:09:53I'm thinking of this dish as almost like the day after Christmas.

01:09:56Like you've done all of your cooking for Christmas day and Christmas morning.

01:09:59And you need a break and you deserve one, sister.

01:10:01So you go get yourself some fried chicken and some gravy and some mashed potatoes.

01:10:05And a Bundt cake.

01:10:09What part of the chicken are we going to eat, Chef?

01:10:10Thy.

01:10:11Thy?

01:10:11Okay.

01:10:12Save the neck for me, Clark.

01:10:14With this short amount of time, I have to fry this protein.

01:10:19And so if I'm doing fried chicken, I instantly think of gravy.

01:10:23And that's a great place to put a lot of pepper.

01:10:26And because black pepper gravy is a thing.

01:10:28Black pepper-roo rocking.

01:10:30We love that for a gravy.

01:10:32I just remember with holidays, my family always making like some beautiful, lovely sweet,

01:10:37right?

01:10:37And there was always like a royal icing or yummy frosting.

01:10:41So the cream is like heavy cream steeped with this rosemary that I put in the toaster,

01:10:46the orange peel, pink peppercorns in the cream, and then like let it rip.

01:10:51I want it to be like snow, like a ski slope, like just falling down this warm Bundt cake.

01:10:57Which is, again, perfect for the holidays.

01:11:01Antonia and Alex.

01:11:03I mean like the most feared competitors in the competition, right?

01:11:06Yeah.

01:11:06But we're scrappy.

01:11:09Every time I think, oh, I'm not going to finish this.

01:11:12I'm not going to get it done either.

01:11:14How could I even possibly build a dredge?

01:11:16Oh, Chris is building the dredge.

01:11:17Okay, great.

01:11:17We also have a fire in the station, but we're good.

01:11:22Do I want to put any of it in your gravy and just let it hang out for a minute?

01:11:25Sounds great.

01:11:31I'm like, oh, the sweet potatoes.

01:11:32Maybe I just need to mix it.

01:11:34No way they'll get cooked it.

01:11:35Okay, uh, Krista has them and they're in the food processor.

01:11:38Okay.

01:11:39It was like you were in my head.

01:11:41Yeah.

01:11:42Well, and I can't believe you did all of that.

01:11:44And then you baked a freaking Bundt cake.

01:11:48There it is.

01:11:53And the chicken floats.

01:11:54It's ready.

01:11:55What are we doing with the potato chef?

01:11:56That's the mash?

01:11:56That's my mash.

01:11:58I'm really wanting to make Robochon potatoes.

01:12:00Is that heavy cream chef?

01:12:01That is heavy cream.

01:12:02It's TOC, so I always kind of like go for it.

01:12:05The first medium was using the ricer and then going to the Tammy.

01:12:08That's where she just gets the best mashed potato you'll find.

01:12:11I've done enough TOC to know that gameplay matters.

01:12:14And when you see something on the board like whole chicken, that means giblets.

01:12:18It means liver.

01:12:19It's the whole chicken for a reason.

01:12:21That's that chicken liver gravy.

01:12:23Yes, chef.

01:12:23Got it?

01:12:23Got it.

01:12:24For me, peppery is not driving the bus.

01:12:27I don't want the dish to be overwhelmingly like pepper.

01:12:30Toasting the peppers.

01:12:32This needs to be sort of pepper adjacent.

01:12:34So using a little bit of like Korean pepper, using a little bit of lepo pepper, using black pepper,

01:12:40and then using actual physical peppers.

01:12:42Chopped them, added some acidity to them.

01:12:44A little bit of white balsamic, a little bit of red wine bin.

01:12:46You know, when you eat fried chicken, you want a little bit of that relief.

01:12:49We are in the final 10 minutes.

01:12:5110 minutes to go.

01:12:52You good, Alex?

01:12:53My ice cream is butter.

01:12:56And I go to check my ice cream, and it's like a little liquidy.

01:12:59Like, I can't make a scoop for the sandwich, and I know it.

01:13:01Okay.

01:13:03Okay.

01:13:05The margins are so slim on TOC.

01:13:07The wind can be by one point.

01:13:09It can be by a sliver.

01:13:10Am I allowed to use the other ice cream machine?

01:13:12I'm like, you know what?

01:13:13I'm going to lose this whole thing with this product.

01:13:15I go and grab orange juice, and I mix corn syrup, water, sugar.

01:13:20The rest of the base I save creamsicle.

01:13:22I think the ice cream might be loose.

01:13:24I think we're going for like more of a sherbet-y sort of ice cream-y creamsicle, if you will,

01:13:28which I think is actually a more identifiable use of the navel orange.

01:13:32You good, Alex?

01:13:33I just made an orange creamsicle ice cream in the other ice cream machine.

01:13:36Okay?

01:13:37Great.

01:13:38If it works, it works.

01:13:39Pink peppercorns.

01:13:41I buzzed the pink peppercorns in the blender, and then I just mixed it with a little sugar,

01:13:45and I'm thinking snow, pink peppercorns, Christmas.

01:13:48Chef, the pink peppercorns, where have they gone?

01:13:49Well, not yet, but black pepper's going in my chest like caramel.

01:13:53Understood.

01:13:53And then pink peppercorns are going to go on my sorbet if it ever happens.

01:13:57Christmas is about believing what you see.

01:14:01Fair enough.

01:14:02Three minutes, three to go.

01:14:05To plate, I start with a beautiful little mound of that sweet potato puree,

01:14:09and then I nestle the chicken right on top.

01:14:11I finish with a good amount of gravy.

01:14:14Biggest concern for me is, did I do enough?

01:14:17Did I use the orange enough, right?

01:14:20Did I use the pepper enough?

01:14:22I know I put the chestnuts in there, but, you know, could I have done them another way?

01:14:26Is this plate big enough to take out giants?

01:14:29Two minutes, chef.

01:14:30I feel like I really nailed the randomizer and nailed the challenge.

01:14:35The potato puree is like so luscious, then all of a sudden the gravy sat down next to it,

01:14:40like fried chicken and a little pepper chow chow.

01:14:43This is great.

01:14:43One minute.

01:14:44Chef, are you Supremin'?

01:14:47I'm Supremes.

01:14:47I go get my caramel dip toasted bread, chestnut puree.

01:14:51I go get my sherbet out of the ice cream machine, and it's like passable.

01:14:55Second ice cream.

01:14:55I made butter, so I pivoted and made creamsicle.

01:14:58Chestnut caramel sauce.

01:15:0030 seconds.

01:15:01Put the pink peppercorn sugar on top of my sorbet.

01:15:03This?

01:15:04All of it.

01:15:04Use all of it.

01:15:05It's red, it's green, it's gold.

01:15:06It looks like the holiday is.

01:15:08Five, four, three, two, one, done!

01:15:18Thank you so much.

01:15:20We're going to send you back to your trailers.

01:15:21You get to watch the judging.

01:15:23Let's bring the judges out right now.

01:15:25Great job.

01:15:27We did say on a chicken wing and a prayer.

01:15:31We did okay.

01:15:32Yeah, I think we did okay.

01:15:33I like fried chicken, chestnuts, chicken liver.

01:15:35It's going to be up to the judges.

01:15:36Yeah, a hundred percent.

01:15:39All right, ladies and gentlemen, for their final round,

01:15:41let's welcome back our judges to one and only Chef Michelle Bernstein.

01:15:44Michelle's awesome.

01:15:45She's a technician.

01:15:47Chef Bing Sy.

01:15:49He's tough.

01:15:50He's tough.

01:15:50And Chef Curtis Stone.

01:15:54Heavy hitters.

01:15:55I love Curtis Stone.

01:15:56Curtis is awesome.

01:15:58These are really good, great judges.

01:15:59Now be nice.

01:16:01Tonight, the randomizer served up for this final round, a whole chicken, navel orange.

01:16:07Equipment was a toaster, peppery, and chestnuts.

01:16:11You're here to present the first dish.

01:16:13Take it away, Chef Tiffany.

01:16:14Judges.

01:16:15On the right, this is chestnut coated crispy chicken.

01:16:18This is on a rustic puree of buttered chestnut and sweet potato.

01:16:22Green and black cardamom and the black pepper were toasted into a roux, creating the whole chicken

01:16:27gravy because nothing says Christmas like a Bundt cake.

01:16:30This Bundt cake was constructed by first toasting orange zest and also buzzing out chestnuts.

01:16:36The cream was steeped in toaster roasted rosemary and a little bit of orange peel and pink peppercorn,

01:16:40then finished again with black pepper and fresh orange.

01:16:43Did you breathe during any of that?

01:16:46I didn't.

01:16:47It's how I talk to my family at Christmas and then I'm out.

01:16:49I'm happy right now.

01:16:52This is fun.

01:16:53We have the chestnut, which makes a really great, crunchy texture on this chicken.

01:16:59I'd love a little more pepper in this because I want to be like right with pepper.

01:17:04There's pepper everywhere.

01:17:05This is a crispy cake.

01:17:07It has that lovely orange flavor for the holidays.

01:17:10What a great Southern treat.

01:17:12That's right, Michelle.

01:17:14I look at this plate of food and instantly I think of the holidays, right?

01:17:18You've got the green, you've got the bright orange.

01:17:20I do get different hits of peppery notes.

01:17:22As much as I appreciate the chestnut in the crumb, a little more would have been something.

01:17:27I'm sure.

01:17:28I can't believe they got this cake done in the amount of time that we gave them.

01:17:32The moistness of the cake is right there.

01:17:35I don't get a lot of pepper and I don't get a lot of orange.

01:17:37What?

01:17:38Um, that's good.

01:17:40No one's searching for the orange in your cake.

01:17:41Both the dishes perfectly executed.

01:17:45Yes.

01:17:46The chicken moist, super crunchy.

01:17:49I wish there were glazed chestnuts on the plate.

01:17:52Agreed.

01:17:53But again, perfectly cooked chicken and a perfectly baked dessert.

01:17:57Let's go to the scorecards.

01:18:00You knocked it out of the park, girl.

01:18:02Thank you, but we still have to beat them.

01:18:05All right, here to present the second team's dish is the one and only wild card, Justin Warner.

01:18:10With Jack Frost nipping at my nose, I present the next round of dishes.

01:18:14First up, we have fried chicken with mashed potatoes and chestnut gravy.

01:18:19Off to the side is a sort of chow chow.

01:18:21You will see chilies, fresnos, and serranos.

01:18:23All of those were toasted in the toaster.

01:18:26No matter what the result, I'm proud of you.

01:18:28Moving on to the sweet side, we have an orange and pink peppercorn ice cream sandwich with a chestnut caramel.

01:18:34You'll find the black pepper in the caramel as well.

01:18:37Delicious, right?

01:18:40I love this gravy.

01:18:43Even though the livers are so strong, you taste the chestnut because of that incorporation.

01:18:47I like how they toasted all those chilies, those peppers, and make a little relish.

01:18:51Peppery chicken dish, I want to be really spicy right now in my mouth, and it's not quite there.

01:18:57We're happy about this.

01:18:58Yes, it's not your dish.

01:19:02This dessert.

01:19:04Loves it.

01:19:0535 minutes.

01:19:06This chef, whoever you are, he or she, this is a delicious dessert.

01:19:10Orange, orange, orange.

01:19:12I love seeing Supremes.

01:19:13I think this is a huge hit, this dessert.

01:19:16You did it.

01:19:18You did it.

01:19:19Perfect.

01:19:20I am impressed with this chestnut liver sauce.

01:19:23It's beautiful.

01:19:24I was just telling Ming on the way here that moving over to the pastry,

01:19:30it would have been nice to see them actually bake something.

01:19:33It could use a little bit more spike in citrus.

01:19:37And the pepper is fun, but I need a little bit more pepper.

01:19:40There's literally a dusting of pink peppercorns all over the top.

01:19:44We're giving them a run for that money.

01:19:45Yeah, 100%.

01:19:46Fried chicken is not easy to get right.

01:19:48In fact, it's quite difficult.

01:19:50This is super crispy, and it's perfectly juicy.

01:19:52Over here on the dessert side, if you're going to call it an ice cream sandwich,

01:19:56you've got to eat it like a sandwich, and it did.

01:19:58Of course, when something's frozen, it inhibits the flavor.

01:20:00And the same goes for orange, right?

01:20:02If you want this to be really orangey, you've probably got to reduce it down.

01:20:05But for the most part, it's absolutely delicious.

01:20:07They're hard.

01:20:08Yeah.

01:20:09Fantastic.

01:20:10Thank you, judges.

01:20:11Scorecards are in front of you.

01:20:12I don't think we won.

01:20:13Really?

01:20:14No.

01:20:15And I think you better start to wrap your head around that.

01:20:17I don't want to wrap my head around that.

01:20:18Can we just wait?

01:20:19We can.

01:20:21I think it's a lot closer than I thought it would be.

01:20:24You know what I mean?

01:20:25Chefs, thank you very much.

01:20:26Michelle Bernstein, Ming Tsai, Curtis Stone, job well done.

01:20:32I mean, we could.

01:20:33We could.

01:20:33I want to win it so bad, though.

01:20:35It's time to tally up the scores and bring the chefs back in.

01:20:38Chefs, the scores are in.

01:20:39They're ready for you.

01:20:40Thank you for doing this with me.

01:20:41Thank you for doing this.

01:20:42You were the best.

01:20:43Okay, come on.

01:20:44Big round of applause.

01:21:00The scores are in from the judges, and here they are.

01:21:02One team scored a 40 out of 50 points in savory and a 39 out of 50 in sweet for a score of 79.

01:21:14The other team scored a 40 out of 50 in savory and a 39 out of 50.

01:21:21There was a tie.

01:21:24First off, let's just hug it out here real quick.

01:21:30So when we come to this type of tie, whichever team would have a higher taste score would win.

01:21:36There was a tie in the taste of sweet.

01:21:40Therefore, the deciding factor will be the score of taste in savory.

01:21:50I wish both teams best luck.

01:21:54The difference in savory was half of a point.

01:22:00The winner of the battle between Team Antonia and Alex versus Team Krista and Artie is...

01:22:16Antonia and Alex!

01:22:24You've got to say, it's not a win tonight, but that's about as photo finish as it can come.

01:22:35We feel like we won.

01:22:38Chef Krista, Chef Artie, great first round.

01:22:41Go get him, guys.

01:22:42Bye, everybody!

01:22:46Merry Christmas!

01:22:47I mean, like if we were going to lose, there's no better way to lose.

01:22:56Yeah, seriously.

01:22:57Seriously.

01:22:59Congratulations.

01:23:00You've won the first round.

01:23:01Barely, barely.

01:23:04Let's go ahead and take a look.

01:23:06Going up against Tobias and Marcel, who earlier took down Shirley and Sherry.

01:23:12We saw that.

01:23:13A lot more first round competition that's got to happen before we get into the second round.

01:23:17But I'll tell you what, you're one step closer to being the champs.

01:23:20Thanks.

01:23:20Congratulations.

01:23:21Chef Alex, Chef Antonia, well done.

01:23:23First round win!

01:23:28Barely.

01:23:29Close the door.

01:23:30We're not going back out there for a while.

01:23:32We are leaving before they change the score.

01:23:33We are leaving before they change their mind.

01:23:35So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.

01:23:37But we still have 10 more powerhouse duos who are anxious as a couple of kids at Christmas

01:23:43morning for their holiday quest to begin.

01:23:45You've got to join us next time when six more teams step into the arena in hope, hope, hopes

01:23:51of becoming the $100,000 Christmas winners.

01:23:55Adios.

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