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00:00Get that money.
00:01Come on with these cards.
00:02This is so mean of you.
00:05If you got the hustle, I've got the game.
00:06Let's go.
00:07Each night, I invite the country's most elite chefs
00:09to put their money and reputations on the line.
00:11This is warm from my pocket.
00:13What the hell?
00:14I need my money back.
00:15Come and get it, daddy.
00:16In my late night culinary poker game.
00:17I can't wait to see these cards.
00:19Stand back.
00:20You're a mad man.
00:21But now, the stakes are higher.
00:23I've never seen this much cash.
00:25The twists are bolder.
00:26What are you?
00:27You cannot do that.
00:28And the cards are wilder.
00:29Oh, my!
00:30This guy's instigating me.
00:31All bets are off.
00:34I hope we're all still friends.
00:35This is going to be fun.
00:37When it's all and nothing, put it all on the line.
00:42I could not be more excited about tonight.
00:45My dear friend, the legend, Alex Cornicelli, is coming to play.
00:48She is the most feared competition chef out there.
00:51It's almost impossible to find a chef that can beat her.
00:53But I happen to know, too.
00:55And guess what?
00:56I'm in charge of the guest list.
00:58Here she comes, the queen, the culinary icon, my friend, Alex Cornicelli.
01:04Alex is an Iron Chef, James Beard-nominated chef, and culinary host.
01:07She's outcooked over 100 chefs on Alex vs. America.
01:11For the past five years on Alex vs. America, Eric has challenged me time and time again.
01:15Eric, what are you doing to me?
01:16Themes, ingredients, stellar chefs, but we genuinely like each other.
01:22I love you, but you know what else I love more than you?
01:25Getting under your skin, just a little bit.
01:26Yeah, I never know with you.
01:27There's always a, but.
01:29But, you know me so well.
01:31I cannot wait for tonight.
01:34Do you have any idea who else is coming?
01:36No, but I love fresh victims.
01:38I love competing against people I don't know.
01:41Well, I gotta tell you, chef, you actually do know these chefs.
01:44Okay.
01:45I see what's happening here.
01:46This very next chef has beaten you at your own game.
01:49He's a James Beard nominee for Best Chef Southeast.
01:53He's a master of Asian cuisine.
01:55Footsteps.
01:56It's Arnold.
01:59Looking very dapper, as well.
02:01Arnold made the New York Times list for the top 25 restaurants in Nashville,
02:04and defeated the legend on the only episode on Alex vs. America in which Alex went home first.
02:10I cannot believe I'm saying this.
02:12Chef Alex, you are eliminated.
02:14Oh my God.
02:15I need a minute.
02:15Okay.
02:16Can I have a minute?
02:17Yeah.
02:18How are you?
02:20This isn't just somebody I lost to.
02:21This is someone that was on the only time I ever lost in the first round.
02:26We didn't even get to cook against each other that much.
02:28Yes, we did, and I'm just so pleased we're gonna have that opportunity this evening, Eric.
02:34If this is how the line of thinking is going with your first person,
02:37honestly, there's only one other chef that lives in my nightmares.
02:40For a very specific reason, Eric, and I can't believe that you would just go there.
02:45I actually did.
02:46I went there.
02:47This chef has not only beaten you once, but twice.
02:50There's only one chef that has that very distinct honor.
02:52This is so mean of you.
02:54The only two-time winner of Alex vs. America, Chef Kevin Lee.
02:59What's going on, Chef?
03:00Kevin is a machine.
03:02He's a James Beard finalist for Best Chef Southeast,
03:04and is the only chef to beat Alex twice on Alex vs. America.
03:07Oh, hey.
03:08Hell yeah.
03:09Fancy meeting you here.
03:10Oh, hey.
03:11It's not very often where we see Chef Alex defeated in her own arena.
03:15You two chefs have that very distinct honor.
03:17Yeah, thanks. Thanks for coming here today.
03:18Is there a formula?
03:19Is there like a rubric?
03:20Is there a one, two, three on how to do it?
03:22I'll see myself out.
03:24I say, let's just get to the table and have some fun.
03:26Why don't we there, Eric?
03:26You love this part, right, where you just lead the lambs to the slaughter.
03:33Chefs, the game is very simple.
03:34We're playing culinary poker.
03:36You chefs will bet cash based on the cards that you're dealt.
03:38All you got to do is just back that bet up in the kitchen behind me.
03:42Three hands, three rounds of cooking.
03:43Every hand, winner take all.
03:45It is possible for one of you chefs to leave here with $15,000.
03:49You know, today's actually my daughter's birthday.
03:51Happy birthday.
03:52I love that.
03:53You want daddy to be here on your birthday?
03:55Do you want $15,000?
03:57She said, I want $15,000.
03:59Of course.
04:00So welcome to the speed ham.
04:02You only have 20 minutes to prepare your dish.
04:05That first lightning round, it's like, ba-boom.
04:07You got to make sure.
04:08I get the jitters out.
04:09You got to get the jitters out.
04:10Absolutely.
04:11So chefs, in order to see some cards, I got to see some cash.
04:15$500, the buy-in.
04:16OK.
04:16It's really different when you go get money and you bring it.
04:20This is warm from my pocket.
04:22My ATM was so confused.
04:23They're like, this can't be you.
04:25This can't be right.
04:28$1,500 in the pot.
04:29So I have two decks right here.
04:31I have a communal card and I also have the wild card.
04:33Communal card is for all three of you.
04:35You all have to make whatever this dish says.
04:37Your warm and fuzzy tone that I'm so used to at the office
04:40is very different after hours.
04:41It changes a little bit after hours, doesn't it?
04:43Yeah.
04:44The dish that we were making for the speed round is hot and spicy.
04:52Not my style of cuisine.
04:53You don't really cook with a lot of spice.
04:55Don't you worry, my pretty.
04:57Mm-hmm.
04:58Kind of matches the mood right now, too.
04:59Hot, spicy.
05:00Yeah.
05:02Sassy.
05:02Well, the game might change right now.
05:05I'll tell you about this wild card.
05:07I'll pass that to you, to you, and to you.
05:09Vegetarian.
05:10It's going to mess with me a little bit, so I got to do some trickery here.
05:15No onions or garlic.
05:20That's a tough food family for me not to be allowed to use.
05:23I'm feeling great about this wild card.
05:27I cook a lot of Mexican food.
05:29So the action starts with you, Chef.
05:30Now, you can bet or you can check to see what Chef Alex and Kevin do.
05:34Um, playing safe is obviously not the name of this game, and I got to cook.
05:38You know what?
05:39I'm here to play, but I'm going to make sure I can play all night.
05:42I'm going to do five.
05:42All right, perfect.
05:43$2,000 in the pot, and the action is yours, Chef Alex.
05:46That's a lot of Benjamins.
05:48You know, it is my own money, and not only have these two guys beaten me before,
05:51but they're both spicy chefs, and I'm just not.
05:55500.
05:55I'm just calling.
05:56Oh, keep it modest.
05:58She's in.
05:59Kev, action's yours.
06:01Ugh.
06:01I'm sitting with pocket aces.
06:04You cannot go wrong with this hand.
06:06And we're going past $500.
06:08I mean, we got to make this a little interesting, you know?
06:10I'm raising it to $1,000.
06:12Oh!
06:14Okay.
06:14Um, so the pot right now stands at $3,500.
06:17I'm here to play.
06:18You're here to play as well?
06:19I don't want to sit there.
06:20Let's go.
06:21Wow.
06:22Okay.
06:22Is that bad?
06:25And before I even get there, Chef Alex is already in with $500.
06:29Wow.
06:29Let's see some wild cards.
06:30Chef Arnold, where you at?
06:32Make it vegetarian.
06:34Ooh.
06:35I mean, I'm from Tennessee.
06:36Pigs are grass-fed.
06:38Does that count?
06:41Chef Alex.
06:46No onion, no garlic.
06:48That card is so bad.
06:49Oh, my God.
06:50Hot and spicy might be harder for you with no onions and garlic.
06:55Don't you think?
06:56Don't I know?
06:57Not being able to use onions and garlic, it's not good.
07:00But I am not going to give in, Eric.
07:03Chef Kevin.
07:04I feel like I got the rockets right now.
07:07Mexican flavor.
07:09Whoa.
07:09Wow.
07:10Interesting.
07:11I don't see how that's going to go together at all.
07:12I mean, hot and spicy Mexican flavors.
07:14You know, I run a pop-up called Comex every once in a while.
07:18Oh, my goodness.
07:19Okay, we have $4,500 in the pot.
07:22Hot and spicy is the dish.
07:24Your time starts now.
07:25Let's go.
07:25All right.
07:26Well, hold on a second.
07:29Here we go.
07:30Hot and spicy.
07:31Hot and spicy.
07:33I'm going to make carne asada tacos.
07:35I'm going to come in hot.
07:36I need to make Alice nervous.
07:37I want to show her here I am again to take that money.
07:41I'm definitely at the biggest disadvantage out of the three of us.
07:44So I'm thinking, like, I want to blend in.
07:46I know Kevin has to make Mexican food, and I'm thinking,
07:49I'm going to make Mexican food, too, to just confuse.
07:51Chili flakes, chili flakes, chili flakes.
07:54One good thing about having a restaurant is that I cook vegetarian quite often.
07:58So there's a traditional dish in Thailand called which is essentially
08:01ceviche with a spicy seafood sauce.
08:04So I can do a plant-based version to beat Alex.
08:07Dagger's out, right?
08:08All right.
08:09Chef Kev.
08:12Yo.
08:13You're going Mexican flavors.
08:14Mexican flavors.
08:15Talk to me.
08:15What are you thinking, man?
08:16Found a beautiful ribeye in the cooler.
08:19Marinated with some cayenne, cumin, paprika, onions, garlic.
08:23You know, meat.
08:24Meat, you know.
08:25Oh, man.
08:26Arnold, how's your vegetarian going?
08:28I'll let you know after I buy you a steak dinner for my win tonight.
08:31All the fighting wars over here.
08:33I'm in the Food Network kitchen late night cooking next to one of my idols.
08:37I don't want to say that I'm nervous yet.
08:40Um, the night is young.
08:42Chef Alex, oh my gosh.
08:44What's going on, Chef?
08:45A little tostado with shrimp.
08:47Just going to Mexico.
08:49Okay.
08:49Joining me in Mexico, Chef?
08:50Joining me in Mexico.
08:51Yeah.
08:51A little bit of a marinade on the shrimp, Chef?
08:53Tell me about it.
08:53Yeah, just literally straight chili paste on there.
08:56Oh, nice.
08:57But if I can remember, Mexican food uses a lot of garlic and onions.
09:01It does, but what cuisine doesn't?
09:03True.
09:03Honestly, I feel distracted by who I'm cooking against.
09:06This is a tough one, Chef.
09:08Thanks.
09:09Cooking with these two guys and having them look at me and think I already beat her,
09:13and all I have to do is beat her again, it's not good.
09:15Yeah, I got that garlic.
09:17Because if they win again, then I have to say, are they better than I am?
09:24And what does that look like?
09:27To me, that's a catastrophe.
09:29You're in trouble now.
09:35Better knuckle down and get the shutters out.
09:37$4,500 in a pot.
09:39The queen of competition, Chef Alex Buornichelli is battling two chefs that have defeated her in
09:44Alex vs. America.
09:45So talk to me about Chef Alex.
09:46I know she was your first instructor in culinary school.
09:48Yeah, you remember that, Chef?
09:49No.
09:50Chef Alex, it was that memorable.
09:52So my relationship with Alex dates back over 20 years when she was my culinary instructor.
09:57And when I beat Alex on her show, that particular episode was based on Thai food.
10:04I predominantly make Thai food, so I knew I was going to do pretty okay.
10:07But this time around, I get a chance to see if I have what it takes to go against the master.
10:11As her equal, dare I say?
10:13Chef Arnold, we're going vegetarian.
10:15I'm going to do it with mushroom scallops.
10:17King oyster mushrooms to sort of mimic the scallop.
10:20And the texture, you know, the texture.
10:21How are we making it hot and spicy?
10:23What are you doing?
10:23I'm going to do it with a little spicy Thai seafood sauce.
10:26I have Thai chilis.
10:27I have a little bit of wasabi for a back heat.
10:30I have some serrano.
10:31What sucks for me though right now is that I don't have fish sauce.
10:36Oh, that's right.
10:37If you know me, I bleed fish sauce.
10:40But like, I can't use that either.
10:42You need to develop umami.
10:43How do you do that in 20 minutes?
10:45That's going to be the challenge for Arnold.
10:46How much time is left?
10:48Nine minutes and 45 seconds.
10:50Chef Kevin, you're getting spice from where?
10:52I'm going to make an avocado salsa verde.
10:55Nice.
10:56I got like all the peppers, like habanero, serranos, jalapenos.
11:00You really make sure I hit the spicy notes.
11:02So I'm going to make sure I get this hot and spicy,
11:05but it's also still got to be edible.
11:07Chef Alex, how are you getting spice into this dish?
11:09Chili paste, some fresh chilis that I associate with Mexican cooking.
11:13Yes, Chef.
11:14And I'm going to use my attitude.
11:15That's spicy too, Eric.
11:17So not only have these two guys beaten me before,
11:19but they're both spicy chefs and I'm just not.
11:21I have to pump up the heat factor in my tostada.
11:24Chef Alex, no onions or no garlic.
11:26What's the workaround?
11:27What are you using?
11:28Um, I'm just cooking without it.
11:29Kind of like when you get divorced, you know, it's over.
11:33I'm not trying to sub in what I don't have.
11:35I'm thinking about all the other things I love about a really good tostada.
11:38So I quickly make this little like kind of like a crema.
11:41I go to lime, I go to jalapenos, creaminess of avocado,
11:45things that are going to play off the spice.
11:47Chef Arnold, so you mentioned not being able to use fish sauce, right?
11:50I've got to get creative.
11:52And I think that I have a little bit of time to be able to pull this off.
11:54So I run back to the pantry.
11:55Oh my goodness.
11:56I have this fermented soybean sauce that's kind of like Thai version of soy sauce
12:01that I use in a lot of my plant-based stuff.
12:04I got this.
12:05I've wrapped some wonton skins, cut them out for a little bit extra crunch and bite
12:09and depth on the dish.
12:11And I see some garlic as well.
12:12Chef Alex, oh my gosh.
12:14He's just never going to let this go.
12:15Two minutes left in the cook, Chef.
12:18I'm very delicately placing this down, like it's almost like a canvas.
12:21I put my scallops down, I drizzle a little bit of sauce, I do my herb flourishes.
12:26I just put the shrimp and the little bits of avocado,
12:29so every bite has a little bit of all these different things.
12:3230 seconds.
12:33So I'm slicing the ribeye very thin, then adding my avocado salsa verde
12:37with the pico de gallo.
12:39Beautiful.
12:40Five, four, three, two, one.
12:45That is about it.
12:46Well done, Chefs.
12:50Pretty.
12:51That's beautiful.
12:52Likewise, Chef, thank you.
12:53I'm totally hoping to win.
12:54Garlic, onions, doesn't matter what I don't have, I never not want to win.
12:58My flavors are there.
12:59This dish can take Alex down.
13:05All right, 20 minutes.
13:06That was pretty fast.
13:07So, before we bring in our guest judge, we'll let you know this.
13:10It is a judge that also fits into Alex's worst nightmare.
13:13Oh, no.
13:14Chances are, whatever story there is between me and this judge,
13:17I've been on the wrong end of the story.
13:20She also beat you in Alex vs. America.
13:22Cheers.
13:24Who is it?
13:27It's the one and only Chef, Tiffany Paisa.
13:29Of course, here's Tiffany.
13:31She's really tough.
13:32How are you?
13:32So good.
13:33Nothing's going to get by Tiffany,
13:35so you've got to make sure you nail your dish or you have no chance of winning.
13:39How many drinks in are we?
13:40Not enough.
13:41Not enough.
13:41Not enough.
13:42So, Chef Tiffany, the last time you saw Alex, you also beat her.
13:45I'm Alex vs. America.
13:47And now the power is mine.
13:50No, I am double booked my therapist.
13:54So, there's $4,500 in the pot.
13:55Okay.
13:56Three dishes, three chefs.
13:58And hot and spicy is the challenge.
14:00All right.
14:01I'm just going to start with the one that's right in front of me.
14:04Taco is such a great choice for 20 minutes.
14:14This is really, really delicious.
14:16The cook on the steak is great.
14:18The salsa is super fresh.
14:19It's very traditional to me.
14:21It makes me wonder if this chef's card is like,
14:23say, very traditionally Mexican.
14:25But I don't know that this would be in the category of hot and spicy.
14:29Cooking spicy food in competitions is very hard to know how aggressive you need to get.
14:35I should be reaching for that water.
14:37I am not.
14:37That is tequila.
14:41Ben, just kidding.
14:42Hold on.
14:44All right.
14:44Moving on to the next.
14:45I'm going to choose this one.
14:47Oh, these are oyster mushrooms.
14:49This is really gorgeous.
14:51I'm guessing this is probably in the no meat category.
14:59This is delicious.
15:01This is really nicely done.
15:02There's a meatiness to the mushrooms.
15:04It gives you all the qualities that you want with like a protein.
15:07There's a ton of like umami in here.
15:11Okay.
15:13Hello, chilies.
15:14Hello.
15:15Nose is starting to run.
15:16That's a good sign.
15:17That's a good sign.
15:19Is this cereal?
15:22It's not particularly meaningful on this dish.
15:26I think a little tiny bit more acid here, but all in all, delicious dish.
15:30She said it needed a touch more acid, which makes sense.
15:33Last but not least, tostada.
15:37This is very pretty.
15:38I think it's really nicely balanced.
15:39I think it's a good sign of this.
15:46Okay.
15:47There's shrimp here.
15:48Shrimp is cooked really nicely.
15:49Seeing Fresnos and banana peppers.
15:52Whoever made this wasn't given maybe everything that they needed.
15:57You can't make up for the loss of some things.
15:59People say, what can I use in place of this?
16:01What are you going to use in place of garlic?
16:03Zero things.
16:03It's spicy, but it's not as spicy as it should be.
16:07I'm sure this is wild.
16:08Just eating on my own.
16:11I don't typically talk to myself this much without interaction of other people, but.
16:15The decision is your chef.
16:17It's so nuts.
16:17That first round is so important.
16:19I've been here.
16:21Okay.
16:24I don't want to lose two guys that already beat me.
16:28No, that doesn't work.
16:29Um.
16:36$4,500 in that pot.
16:37Hot and spicy is the dish.
16:39Who's going to the next round with $8,000?
16:41Okay.
16:45Um.
16:47This wins the hot and spicy round.
16:49It's the mushroom dish.
16:50Chef Arnold.
16:52Oh my goodness.
16:53Chef Arnold.
16:54Wow.
16:54This is the beginning of the night.
16:56I have another drink now.
16:57Delicious.
16:58I think this is a nice choice for 20 minutes as well.
17:00Okay.
17:00Round of applause for Chef Tiffany.
17:01We can drop the guests now.
17:03See you guys in a minute.
17:04Not being able to have any protein actually worked to his advantage,
17:07because I think he had to play a little bit with different spices and textures.
17:11Chef Arnold, you're coming into the next hand with $8,000.
17:15Yeah, baby.
17:15It's on.
17:17Chef Kevin, $3,500 to you.
17:20Chef Alex, $3,500 to you as well.
17:22Welcome to the make or break hand.
17:27I've seen this round make or break a lot of these chefs' banks right here,
17:31but I'm going to help you out just a little bit.
17:33I'm going to give you an extra 10 minutes.
17:34This is a 30-minute cook.
17:36What?
17:36We're going to up the ante just a little bit.
17:38$1,000 is the buy-in this time.
17:40Let's see some cash.
17:41So $8,000 minus one.
17:44$8,000 minus two.
17:46Keep it warm over there for me.
17:47Yeah, you know.
17:48All right, let's talk about the community cards.
17:51The dish card for this round is...
17:59Steakhouse dinner.
18:00Oh, man.
18:02You know, I mean, I have a steakhouse.
18:04You also had a Mexican pop-up.
18:05Oh, damn!
18:11Ah, chefs, I love it.
18:13So, because this is the second hand,
18:15and I love making things just a little bit more difficult for you,
18:18we're going to introduce the ingredient card.
18:20You'll have to cook the steakhouse dinner with tamarillo.
18:26Tamarillos?
18:27They're not tart.
18:27They're not sweet.
18:29They're just...
18:29Eh.
18:29It's a very interesting tree fruit.
18:32It's a mix between, let's say, a tomato and persimmon.
18:36Trying to incorporate this ingredient as one of the highlights of this dish is going to be very,
18:42very hard.
18:43Now the game gets interesting.
18:45I have these wild cards, chef.
18:46I'm going to pass one to you, to you, and to you.
18:49I know steakhouse dinner very, very well, but wrapped is a challenge.
18:58All right, I'm down.
18:59Let's use a juicer.
19:01My life revolves around juice.
19:02Champagne's a juice.
19:03Yeah, I need a new wild card.
19:11Really?
19:12Mm-hmm.
19:13What's your card?
19:14Bet blind and get a new wild card, but don't look.
19:17What is that?
19:18It's the no garlic and onions of the poker world.
19:20All right, so your new wild card is here.
19:25You can't look at it.
19:26And chef, the bet starts with you.
19:28The power move here is to fold.
19:30You know, you're at the beach.
19:31You see a big wave coming.
19:33You know, you just duck, and it goes right over you.
19:36And you're like, yeah.
19:38But then usually another big wave just slaps you in the face.
19:41I'm going to check.
19:42That is a smart move.
19:43You don't know what the card is.
19:44So it is smart to sort of see how the other chefs sort of play this hand.
19:48Chef Kevin, the action is to you.
19:50You can't check and see what Arnold does.
19:52Do remember, you're passing a lot of power to someone who has already a lot of money in his hand.
19:57Let me check and see what Chef does over there.
20:00Oh, man.
20:06Is that 1,000?
20:06That is 1,000.
20:07Now, remember, this is a blind card on Chef Ali's side.
20:10It could be something really bad for you, too.
20:12Ooh.
20:13Ooh.
20:14So that's two stacks of 1,000, right?
20:17Yes, it is.
20:18You're willing to bet that much money?
20:20Sure.
20:20It's late.
20:21I got a buzz going on.
20:21It's feeling good.
20:22I'm feeling good.
20:23It's $5,000 in the pot.
20:24Chef Alex, you're going to have to put in $2,000 to call Chef Arnold's bet.
20:29I'm going to play.
20:30Let's roll.
20:31You're calling Chef Arnold's raise at $2,000.
20:33Mm-hmm.
20:33Chef, it's do or die.
20:34Mm-hmm.
20:36If you lose, you only have 500, not enough to make it into the last round.
20:40Chef Kevin, the action is yours.
20:42Now, you can fold and definitely secure your spot in the last round.
20:49But if you call the bet, you're going to have to win this round to make it in.
20:54It's a lot of money on the line.
20:55My wild card is a tough one.
20:57But I know steak.
20:59So I'm hoping I can deliver.
21:02Oh!
21:03Let's go.
21:04Let's go.
21:04$2,000 bet.
21:06We're here to play.
21:07If I win, I add another $9,000.
21:11And the other two chefs don't have enough money to play in the next round.
21:14And on top of that, I'll be able to give my daughter a couple extra gifts and bonuses.
21:19There's a lot riding on this.
21:20Let's go ahead and see some wild cards.
21:22Let's start with Kevin.
21:24Wrapped.
21:25Ooh.
21:26Ooh.
21:27Whoa.
21:28Wait, Tamarillo and wrapped?
21:30Oh, I have a trick up my sleeve that you guys aren't thinking of right now.
21:34Okay.
21:34Chef Arnold, what's your card?
21:37Use a juicer.
21:38Ooh.
21:38Use a juicer.
21:39All right.
21:41This is the big one right here.
21:43So you went in blind.
21:44It's the first time we get to see your card, Chef.
21:46Here we go.
21:48Swap two ingredients with another player.
21:51Whoa.
21:53Whoa.
21:54So I use the two ingredients I take from them.
21:56Correct.
21:57They use the two ingredients I give them.
21:59100%.
22:00So I know I'm giving the two ingredients to Arnold.
22:03The question is, what ingredients?
22:05But here's the thing.
22:06Chef Arnold can take this and sweep it.
22:08Or you might have the tables turned in a very drastic way.
22:12And one of you two chefs could be going in with a big advantage into next round.
22:15What is guaranteed though?
22:16Chef Alex, Chef Kevin, one of you will be cooking your last round right now.
22:20All or nothing.
22:22All or nothing's right here.
22:23That's what I live for.
22:24It's $9,000 in the pot.
22:26You have 30 minutes, Chefs.
22:27Your time starts now.
22:30Here we go.
22:31For me, a steakhouse, I just think steak with a little sauce.
22:34Some onion rings.
22:35And then salad with the tamarillo on top and some crumbled blue cheese.
22:40You going in here?
22:41But what I'm worried about is that Arnold can't win this round.
22:44Or there's no third round.
22:45What I'm thinking about doing is a New York strip steak in the vein of a steak au poivre,
22:49which is a crusted peppercorn steak.
22:52I want to do kind of a Thai twist in terms of a steak sauce and a side of heirloom tomato salad.
22:57But Alex is coming for me.
23:00Chef Kevin, you got to make it wrapped, my friend.
23:02What are we thinking, man?
23:03No, I got bacon wrapped filets over here, Chef.
23:07You know?
23:08Oh, you know, I'm from Oklahoma.
23:10That's good.
23:11That's a thing over there.
23:12That's a good one.
23:13Now we got a wrapped steak.
23:14So remind me, the first time you beat Alex, what kind of challenge was it?
23:18Beef.
23:18The beef king of Oklahoma City with a Wagyu, huh?
23:21I won a lot of cooking competitions with beef.
23:24It was beef.
23:25Oh, quit talking about me over there, Eric.
23:27Sweet nothings about you, Chef.
23:28You know me.
23:29Nothing but nothing.
23:30Chef Kevin, why cast iron for you and the steak?
23:32Get that good crust on there, Chef.
23:34Got to get that crust.
23:35How are you using the tamarillo?
23:36I got some shallots and the tamarillo reducing in some red wine vinegar with some paragon.
23:41Paragon, yep.
23:41I'm going to take that and fold it into the sauce.
23:44You think that's going to be enough, though, to sort of discern the tamarillo?
23:47I think we'll get there.
23:49All right, Eric, I'm ready to do my swap.
23:52What are you using, Chef?
23:54Is that a Vienna sausage and red salmon?
23:57Oh, my gosh.
23:57Ooh.
23:58Oh, yum.
24:00Delicious.
24:01Vienna sausage and canned salmon.
24:04Honestly, ew.
24:07You're taking which ingredients, Chef?
24:08Onions.
24:09Onions?
24:11I wonder why.
24:11I did a round without onions.
24:13I think Arnold's going to love it.
24:14It's going to be very freeing.
24:16And what else?
24:18Black peppercorns.
24:18Oh, man.
24:20That sucks.
24:21You can't make a steak au poivre without black pepper.
24:23Oh, .
24:25And I think that's really, like, pretty fair and even, don't you?
24:28Like, I get onions and pepper and he gets canned salmon and sausages.
24:32Perfect.
24:33Tell me why peppercorns and tell me why onions.
24:35They fit into the dish I'm making.
24:36Sure, sure.
24:37I take Arnold's black peppercorns and I crush them and then I sear the steak in the cast iron skillet.
24:43In the meantime, I start doing the onion rings in batches.
24:46I'm not going to lose again.
24:48Wow, I love onion rings.
24:49So normally my approach for this New York strip is to crust it in black peppercorns,
24:54Szechuan peppercorns, but I don't have pepper to work with.
24:56Just the coriander.
24:57So fingers crossed, it's going to do the same thing.
25:00Watch this.
25:02Are we combining both the Vienna sausage and the salmon together?
25:05We're going to make a little sauce for this thing.
25:07Sausage sauce.
25:09Gross.
25:10Sausage sauce.
25:11Don't ever say that.
25:12Ever.
25:14So Chef Arnold using that juicer, so check.
25:16Just throwing everything into the blender until it tastes good is kind of where I'm at at this point.
25:20This is a very interesting sauce being made on Chef Arnold's side.
25:23So it started with the Vienna sausage, the canned salmon, tomato juice, tamarind, red wine vinegar,
25:29garlic, fresno, sriracha, oyster sauce, lime juice, sugar, and a hint of cilantro.
25:37I can't imagine what it tastes like.
25:40Step away from the sausage sauce.
25:43Let's take it!
25:49I'm here to ween, eat it before I'mma do it again!
25:53It's the make or break round.
25:55Steakhouse dinner is a dish.
25:57Tamarillo is the ingredient.
25:59There's $9,000 in a pot.
26:00A lot of steak right now.
26:01How's that sauce, Chef?
26:02It's interesting.
26:04Let's try it.
26:11Is it weird?
26:11I've never had it before, but it also isn't bad.
26:15I invented it today.
26:16It's also not bad.
26:18I'm calling it a wild card sauce.
26:20It is a wild card sauce.
26:21I think that's what we're going to call it.
26:22Nice try, Alex.
26:23You gave me two horrible ingredients that wasn't so bad.
26:25How are you including the tamarillo?
26:27I'm just going to make a nice little like salad, almost like it was a tomato salad.
26:31Okay, all right.
26:32Tamarillos need to be front and center for me to win this challenge.
26:36So, Chef, any thoughts on the tamarillo?
26:38Amazing.
26:38I love it.
26:39How are you using it?
26:39It's in my sauce.
26:40I scoop out the middles of the tamarillos to use as a sauce, and I also make a salad.
26:45It feels like something straight out of a steakhouse.
26:48This could be Chef Alex's chance to beat these two chefs.
26:50She's pulling no push-ins right now.
26:52There's four more minutes left.
26:54The steak is cooked perfectly.
26:56I'm feeling great.
26:58Steakhouse dinner usually has some sides, right?
27:01Nice, silky potato puree will really elevate my dish, but there's not a lot of texture,
27:07so I'll make some crispy potatoes, and I'll have a chance to win this round.
27:10I don't know what it's like to lose to Alex, but I don't want to know.
27:14Two minutes left in the cook, Chefs.
27:15I just make a stack of onion rings.
27:17I slice my steak, and then the tamarillo salad, top in some crumbled blue cheese.
27:23Potato puree, bacon wrapped filet with the potato nest, and with a little bit of baronet stripping
27:29on the side.
27:30Finishing with a little tamarillo relish.
27:3230 seconds.
27:33This 70-ingredient sauce on the bottom, steak right on top, and I top it off and a side of my
27:40tamarillo stone fruit heirloom tomato salad.
27:43It's a stunner.
27:44Five, four, three, two, one.
27:51That's about it, Chefs.
27:53Wanna bite?
27:55I did not get done what I thought I was gonna get done.
27:58Eric set up the entire place with everybody I've ever lost to, so my goal is to get into the final
28:04round and cook.
28:06Welcome back, Tiffany.
28:07Hi.
28:07$9,000 in that pot.
28:09Okay.
28:11Oh, we are.
28:12The max.
28:13All right.
28:13We have steakhouse dinner.
28:15We have tamarillos.
28:16I love tamarillos.
28:17And we have three plates.
28:18Okay.
28:19Let's start here.
28:22Beautiful plates, right?
28:23This is very sculptural.
28:24This looks like a New York cut.
28:31Cook on the steak is spectacular.
28:33Tamarillo on the top with the chives.
28:35Nice touch, and the sauce on here is fantastic.
28:38It's buttery.
28:39We love an onion ring at a steakhouse.
28:43Red onion.
28:44That's a nice touch, not like a traditional onion ring.
28:46I see my tamarillo in here, and then we have some blue cheese here.
28:50It's like a little tomato wedge salad.
28:53I don't know if the blue cheese is vibing with the tamarillo.
28:58Even if a judge said, hey, you have 10 minutes to change this part of your dish,
29:02what are you gonna do?
29:03I think I would have left it.
29:04But, love, I'm obsessed with the steak.
29:07Delicious and stunning.
29:08Okay, I'm gonna go here.
29:10Next, filet with bacon.
29:12More crispy fried things that we love.
29:20Cook on the steak is really, really beautiful.
29:22Just perfect, medium brown on the filet.
29:26I love the Bernays.
29:28I really like the potato puree.
29:29But, I don't know that we need the bacon here.
29:32It seems like a lot with the filet.
29:34I don't know, like maybe just not necessary.
29:37I had to wrap something, and the filet was what I had.
29:41Check tamarillo, check steakhouse dinner.
29:42So, similarly, we sort of have like a full steakhouse dinner.
29:47I love it in New York.
29:53The steak is cooked perfectly.
29:55Love the explosion of coriander in my mouth when I'm eating.
29:57Like, when you crust something, crust it.
29:59And this is so perfectly crusted.
30:01I love that.
30:01So, I do like the almost papaya quality of the tamarillo.
30:04But, I'm missing a little salt here.
30:07Like, the tomatoes just are like wanting for salt.
30:10Drag them through the sauce a little bit more.
30:13She's about to try this sauce.
30:22What is this sauce?
30:22Is there like tamarillo puree in the sauce?
30:25Because it's got like tomato vibes.
30:26Maybe some shrimp paste in here.
30:29How am I doing?
30:30I don't think anybody could think to even start to name this sauce.
30:33It's so extra.
30:35I do like the sauce.
30:36It's not a traditional steakhouse sauce by any stretch.
30:38But, I can buy that this is a steakhouse dinner.
30:41But, it feels like summer steak in my backyard.
30:44I don't know.
30:44I like this.
30:45I think it's a really successful dish.
30:48So, $9,000 in the pot.
30:50One of these chefs will not be moving on to the next round.
30:53Or, it could be a two round sweep.
30:56If you choose Arnold's dish.
30:59Okay.
31:00The winner for this round for me.
31:06Is this one.
31:06I love this.
31:09I love this.
31:10It feels a little old school steakhouse to me, which I love.
31:12Stephanie, thank you so much.
31:13We'll call you back after the all in hand.
31:16Chef, well done.
31:17I just won nine grand.
31:19And I'm going to walk out of here with this, Eric.
31:21All right, chefs.
31:22We're headed into the all in hand.
31:24Kev, we have $500.
31:25Unfortunately, you cannot make it to the final round.
31:28Maybe I should have saved a little bit of money
31:29and just went for it in the third round.
31:31But, you know, I got to live with my decisions.
31:34Chef Arnold, the game is not over.
31:35You can definitely win the next round
31:37and double what you came in with.
31:38I'm still in the game.
31:39I'm back to where I started.
31:41And now it's very nostalgic, huh?
31:43Alex versus Arnold.
31:47Welcome to the all in hand.
31:49Arnold.
31:50Yes.
31:51You, my friend, are my only hope to defeat Alex.
31:54My only hope.
31:56And it's not over.
31:57Do you agree that this is a little uncalled for?
32:00You know I love you, but I got to mess with you.
32:02Arnold, because you are the small stack with $5,000,
32:05you, my friend, are going all in.
32:07$10,000 up for grabs.
32:09Let's see the cash.
32:10Dude, seriously?
32:12So first, the dish card.
32:15The communal dish is smoked eats.
32:21The thing about smoked eats, it's like low and slow,
32:23not a 30-minute moment for me.
32:25And the ingredient is...
32:30Figs.
32:31What?
32:33Smoked eats and figs.
32:35Putting them together?
32:36Tough.
32:37All right, chefs.
32:38For your final hand, I'm going to give you each a card
32:41for the most dreaded deck in my arsenal.
32:44Over the past couple of years, I've been collecting some of the
32:47most diabolical cards and putting them together in the diamond deck.
32:51I mean, that sounds like a good time.
32:53How do you live with yourself at night?
32:54So I'm going to go ahead and pass that to you, Arnold.
32:58I'm going to pass that to you.
32:59Do me a favor.
33:00Take a look at your card.
33:06Nutritional yeast.
33:08Flavor-wise, it's quite complex.
33:10So it can be tricky.
33:13Incorporate matcha.
33:15It can be like tanniny and kind of bitter and metallic.
33:19And that's what makes an ingredient like that tough.
33:21Since I'm such a nice guy, I'm going to offer you an opportunity.
33:25I want to give both of you the chance to swap out your diamond deck card.
33:31It's sort of like dancing with the devil you know,
33:33versus maybe taking up another partner.
33:35I'm so afraid of getting something worse.
33:38That's true, but you could get something a lot better.
33:41So Arnold, what say you, my friend?
33:46I'm okay with this.
33:47Really? Yeah.
33:48I don't like it, but I'm okay with it.
33:51I'm going to hang.
33:52Yeah, I'm good.
33:53Okay. Let's go ahead and see some cards.
33:57Incorporate nutritional yeast.
33:59Ooh.
33:59All right, Chef Alex, incorporate matcha.
34:02Wow.
34:03What would you rather have?
34:04They both suck.
34:07I've never cooked with matcha in my life,
34:08other than to drink it in a beverage.
34:10All right.
34:11Arnold, you have an opportunity to double your money
34:15or go home with nothing at all.
34:17Chef Alex, an almost sweep.
34:20You have the potential to win $14,500.
34:26You have 30 minutes, Chefs.
34:27That time starts now.
34:29All right.
34:31I see matcha.
34:31I see figs.
34:32My brain says you're making dessert.
34:34I want to make shortbread and coconut ice cream.
34:37We got sweet.
34:38We got savory.
34:39We got matcha.
34:40We got nutritional yeast.
34:41Check on that.
34:42What's on earth?
34:42I can't hear you.
34:46I love when Chef Alex talks like this.
34:48It gets me going.
34:50We got an ice cream going over here.
34:52What's the base of the ice cream, Chef?
34:53Coconut milk.
34:54So that maybe a judge thinks a Thai-based chef made it.
34:57Ah.
35:00She's playing the game.
35:01Chef Ronald, what are you doing then?
35:02I'm going to do a bunseo.
35:03Basically a coconut crepe that I will stuff with a whole bunch of smoky goodness.
35:08Is this going to be the filling for the crepe?
35:10It's going to be the filling for the crepe.
35:11That is a smoky profile for sure.
35:13So you got to develop these smoky flavors in a really fast way.
35:16One way to do it is incorporate smoked ingredients.
35:18I like this direction.
35:19Oh, you like Arnold's direction.
35:21Oh, Arnold, it's so great.
35:24All right.
35:24So now let's make this batter.
35:27When you think crepe, it might be daunting in the French sense.
35:30You know, you have to get the perfect texture of batter.
35:33In Asian cooking, we're a bit more like, it's okay to have char and crunchiness.
35:37I'm so glad I'm Asian.
35:38Boom.
35:39Look at that.
35:40Chef Alex, are you doing pastry?
35:44Yeah.
35:45So I have a shortbread here with some matcha in here, Eric.
35:49Uh, so check on that.
35:50I didn't say it was going to work.
35:51I said it's in there.
35:53This is intense.
35:54It's down to me and Arnold.
35:55All I can think about is I don't want a repeat story.
35:5919 minutes, 30 seconds.
36:00Let's see how this ice cream machine is doing.
36:06Is this on right?
36:13What is wrong with this?
36:14I press down to cover it and I think we're okay.
36:17You want to keep your eye on that, don't you?
36:19I genuinely think Eric's enjoying himself.
36:21Wouldn't you be?
36:22It's like, who is this guy?
36:27It's going down in a major way.
36:2815 minutes left.
36:29$10,000 on the line.
36:31Chef Arnold must include nutritional yeast.
36:33Chef Alex has to include matcha.
36:35What are the next steps for you, chef?
36:36I'm just going to build the sauce with hopefully enough smoke.
36:39You're throwing the fig in that gojijang.
36:41I am.
36:42Complimentary profiles.
36:43Yeah.
36:44Nutritional yeast.
36:44How are you getting around that?
36:45I'm going to incorporate it into the sauce.
36:47Check on that.
36:48Seven minutes left in this cook.
36:50Chef Alex, what smoky elements are you using?
36:52The smoked figs.
36:53Nice.
36:55A little smoky smoke.
36:56Two different techniques, getting smoke from a smoke gun
37:00and then using smoked products.
37:01What do you think would translate better?
37:03We'll find out.
37:03Okay.
37:05My ice cream's done.
37:07I'm here to tell you that that ice cream machine has been a problem
37:09for many of chefs.
37:14That's fantastic.
37:15That is perfect.
37:17Perfect ice cream right now.
37:19Two minutes left in the cook, chefs.
37:21I plate it with a little side of lettuce.
37:23I have a ramekin of sauce.
37:24Put a little slaw right into the cup.
37:26I stuffed that crepe with my pork goodness.
37:2930 seconds.
37:29I pull the shortbread, drop them on the plate.
37:31I put those smoked figs right over the shortbread.
37:35Coconut ice cream.
37:36And then at the last minute, I have those cloches
37:38because I want to do like a smoked presentation.
37:41Three, two, one.
37:43That is about it, chefs.
37:45Well done.
37:46Wow.
37:47Good job, chefs.
37:49Damn.
37:51Looks amazing, chef.
37:53I was trapped into doing dessert.
37:55I didn't decide to make it.
37:56The cards trapped me.
37:57I don't know.
37:58I want to win this whole thing.
37:59I want to school the students.
38:01I want the teacher to say, class dismissed.
38:03Yeah.
38:04Why am I carrying this weird thing?
38:09We have $10,000 in the middle of that pot right there.
38:11Woo!
38:12We have smoke eats as the dish and the use of figs as the ingredient.
38:17You can start wherever you like.
38:18Okay.
38:19I'm going to do the thing.
38:19I see this on the Instagram.
38:21Ooh!
38:25Yes.
38:26Okay.
38:27Ice cream.
38:28And we have like a little cakey cake.
38:30Mmm.
38:38It's a little crunchy cake.
38:39Mmm.
38:40It's so like crunchy and delicious.
38:44Coconut ice cream.
38:45A little smokey-cokey.
38:47Mmm.
38:48The figs are delicious.
38:49I think there are some that are raw.
38:51Some that are, I think smoked with sugar on top.
38:54It's interesting.
38:55I can't work out this cake.
39:01Texturally, it's really great, right?
39:02But there's something I can't place with it.
39:05It's like, I'm like screaming, it's matcha, it's matcha, it's matcha, it's matcha.
39:10All around, this is really nicely balanced.
39:12I almost want like a little splash of acid, but really nice dish.
39:17All right, moving on to the next.
39:18This is a bon sal.
39:24Okay.
39:25Got some bacon in here.
39:26The bacon is smart for the smoke.
39:28Check, right?
39:29Is this sauce, the sauce on top?
39:33Oh, hey, what's up?
39:36Smokey fig sauce.
39:37There's clear umami flavor here.
39:38That base note is like very clear.
39:40She can taste the umami and that's the nutritional yeast.
39:43So Eric, check, check.
39:46It's very balanced, but it's um, it's a little acrid.
39:51It has that flavor where the smoke hasn't fully burned off yet.
39:55All in all together, I think the chef has done a really great job of balancing like acid and herbs
40:00and heat.
40:01It works really, really nicely together.
40:06This is impossible.
40:08I hate this.
40:09But there can only be one.
40:10There can only be one.
40:11Okay, for me, the dish that embraced both the smoked eats and the figs
40:18in the most delicious and creative way.
40:20This is the part of Wild Card Kitchen that is tough.
40:24I am literally not braving.
40:28I think it's the bon sal.
40:29That is $10,000 to you.
40:34Got the crispy crunchiness around it and turmeric in there.
40:37It's pretty stinking delicious.
40:38Oh my goodness.
40:41This is now my second time beating Alex.
40:44This kind of proves that I've got what it takes.
40:47Alex has $4,500.
40:48Okay.
40:49It's not great to lose, but it's nice when whoever does win cooked really well.
40:54And Chef Kevin, you're going home with $500.
40:57You know, after tonight, my worst nightmare.
41:00I just want to say that I feel, as a loser here, that I deserve a little something for my time.
41:06So I think, you know, after all these years of you messing with me, I think it would be so lovely
41:11if I jumped into your suit.
41:14I can get a little beard going.
41:17And you can come on this side and join us commoners.
41:20Oh, that's good.
41:20Nice.
41:21So you want me to play the game and you host one night?
41:25There you go.
41:26Just do it.
41:27You're no fun.
41:30I'm happy to put my money where my mouth is.
41:32Absolutely.
41:32Wait, wait, wait.
41:33You're going to compete?
41:34I'll compete and I'll give my host, and I'll give my host tea to Chef Alex.
41:38Absolutely.
41:39All right.
41:40That's what I've been waiting for.
41:43I just got it out of here.
41:43All right.
41:44Cheers.
41:45Nice job, guys.
41:46Eric, I'm going to cackle with glee while sweat pours down your spine,
41:51while you try to make something without salt and without pots and pans or food.
41:56Are we really going to do this?
41:57Oh, yeah.
41:58All right.
41:58All right.
41:59All right.
42:00You know what it's going to be?
42:01It's going to be wiped out.
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