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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.
00:27And the cards are wilder.
00:29Oh, my.
00:30This guy's instigating.
00:31Aw.
00:32Aw.
00:33Betts.
00:34I hope we're all still friends.
00:35Aw.
00:35Aw.
00:36This is going to be fun.
00:37When it's all and nothing, put it all on the line.
00:41Tonight's chefs are either heroes or masochists.
00:44They survived the second season of 24 and 24.
00:46That grueling competition.
00:48Play for 24 hours straight.
00:50But can they survive my surprises?
00:52After three rounds of culinary poker,
00:54who will be the last chef standing tonight?
00:56This is going to be good, but it won't last 24 hours.
00:59Back to compete for the second time at Wild Card Kitchen,
01:02we have the host of 24 and 24.
01:05Chef Michael Simon.
01:06Chef Esther Troy.
01:07Behind Esther's warm smile lies a culinary warrior.
01:10She runs a growing restaurant empire and has defeated legends
01:13like Bobby Flay, Marcus Samuelson,
01:15and the triple threat Titans.
01:17Michael is a James Beard Award winner,
01:18a best-selling cookbook author,
01:20an Emmy-winning culinary host,
01:22and a legendary Iron Chef with 34 victories under his belt.
01:2524 and 24.
01:26It is 24 chefs, 24 challenges in 24 real hours.
01:32It is the most intense cooking competition in the world,
01:36without a shadow of a doubt.
01:37I am Michael Simon, and this is my partner in crime, Esther Troy.
01:41Think of this as Hell Week in a day.
01:44Every night I go to bed, I want to wake up looking like you.
01:47Hi, Chef.
01:48Hi.
01:49What's going on, y'all?
01:50What's up?
01:51We're feeling good.
01:52Another round, another season.
01:53I know.
01:5424 and 24.
01:55That's 48 hours.
01:56It is, 48 hours.
01:57Exactly.
01:58And we're still standing.
01:59And you're still standing.
02:00Go ahead, grab yourself a drink.
02:01We're good.
02:02We've known each other a long time,
02:03so when you're with a friend,
02:04it helps keep our energy up through the 24 hours.
02:06Oh, yeah.
02:07Many, many, many moons ago,
02:08I was an intern at the Food Network.
02:11Michael quickly became like a mentor figure to me,
02:14but I came here with one goal in mind.
02:18Beat him.
02:19Go ahead.
02:20Make yourself comfortable.
02:21Grab a drink.
02:22I'm curious if you guys know who might be coming down next.
02:24I feel like there's no need for an introduction
02:26since you just spent 24 hours with him.
02:31No.
02:32Jonathan, sorry, everybody.
02:33Jonathan is a James Beard award-winning chef
02:35and acclaimed restaurateur.
02:37And the winner of 24 and 24,
02:39you are the last chef standing.
02:42Are we doing the black in jeans now, too?
02:44I'm Mr. Nemo.
02:45He's always trying to look like me.
02:47I've known Michael for over 20 years.
02:49He's a former mentor.
02:50We've never been able to go against each other
02:53in a culinary challenge before,
02:54but after winning 24 and 24,
02:57my confidence is through the roof coming in here.
02:59It's really exciting to see who takes it home,
03:01the student or the master.
03:03They push you through the ringer,
03:04but now it's time for a little bit of payback, no?
03:06Absolutely.
03:07Man, it's going to be sad when I send him home.
03:08Shouldn't you be grateful to us?
03:10We gave you the opportunity on 24 to shine.
03:13I've done a lot for you.
03:14So I did ask you guys, you know,
03:16outside of the norm to bring eight grand today.
03:18So eight, eight, eight is 24.
03:23We're playing a little tongue-in-cheek over here.
03:25You see what we did?
03:26I see how you did that.
03:27Let's go ahead and grab a seat.
03:30All right, chefs.
03:31Welcome to the table.
03:32You all been here before.
03:33Let me just reintroduce the game.
03:35We're playing culinary poker.
03:36You chefs will bet money based on these cards right here.
03:39And all you got to do is just simply back it up in the kitchen right behind me.
03:42Playing three hands, three rounds of cooking.
03:45Every hand is winner take all.
03:46Let's do it.
03:47Here we go.
03:48So welcome to the speed hand.
03:50This round is 24 minutes.
03:52That's funny.
03:53Amazingly generous, Eric.
03:55I do what I can.
03:56So in order to see some cards, chefs, see some cash.
03:59The buy-in is $500.
04:02Last year, I lost to Michael.
04:03I'm going to pick this dish.
04:05Michael Simon.
04:07Chef Esther, leaving with just good memories.
04:09So I am willing to gamble $8,000 of my own money to get my redemption.
04:14It's like pride.
04:15It's pride.
04:16Just like that, $1,500 in the pot.
04:19We have a communal card.
04:21All three chefs have to make this dish.
04:24Lumberjack breakfast.
04:26It's just a big, hearty breakfast.
04:28Sure thing.
04:29You don't need to use a chainsaw or anything.
04:30No, no, no.
04:31You can just maple syrup and meat.
04:33So here's where the game gets interesting.
04:35We have our wild card.
04:37That card is for you and you alone.
04:39It might be something really advantageous.
04:41It might be something really detrimental.
04:45I have to use a food mill.
04:47I like to sift flour whenever I'm making any kind of batter.
04:50That's like a softball.
04:52We only have 24 minutes on the clock and whisking a hollandaise and babysitting it is a huge time draw.
04:59There's a reason why on the Wheel of Fortune everyone picks S as their first letter.
05:07It's because everything starts with S.
05:09This is going to be very difficult.
05:11So the action starts with Chef Michael.
05:12You can bet $500 or $1,000 if you're feeling frisky.
05:15Or you can check and see what the competition does.
05:17I want to make them think for a sec.
05:19Ooh.
05:20I check.
05:21All right.
05:22How do you feel about that?
05:23He's trying to like mastermind everything.
05:25So I'm like, whatever.
05:26I'm cooking.
05:27I'm cooking.
05:28I think I'm going to bet $500.
05:30There's action in the pot.
05:34We have $2,000.
05:35Chef Jonathan.
05:36I need to take down Michael and Esther tonight.
05:39They put me through the ringer.
05:41So no matter what my cards are, I'm not folding.
05:44Okay.
05:45So Jonathan calls.
05:46The pot stands at $2,500.
05:48And the action is back to you, Chef Michael.
05:50No one in this room pushed the bets to max bets.
05:54And I'm a confident cook.
05:56So I'm going to raise to the max.
05:58$1,000 is the max.
05:59$3,500 in the pot.
06:02Esther, you could fold.
06:04No one's folding here.
06:05No one.
06:06$4,000.
06:07Wow.
06:08We're raising this really quickly for the first hand.
06:09My first time here in wild card kitchen.
06:11I won all three rounds and all the money.
06:14Running the table is Chef Jonathan's sword.
06:17I'm not afraid.
06:18I am a champion.
06:19We are going to see this hand all the way through.
06:23Wow.
06:24$4,500 in the pot.
06:25I'm excited to see what these wild cards are.
06:27Chef Simon, what is your wild card?
06:29Must use a food mill.
06:32Use the food mill.
06:35The easiest frigging card in the deck.
06:38Chef Esther, make hollandaise with a double boiler.
06:43Oh, breakfast.
06:44Come on with these cards.
06:45What about breakfast?
06:46This takes time.
06:47Sure, it does take time, but it's time well spent.
06:50Chef Jonathan, cannot use an ingredient with the letter S.
06:57Salt begins with the letter S.
06:59Yep, they both do.
07:02Syrup is also an S.
07:05Sausage.
07:06Sausage.
07:07Oh my gosh.
07:08Wow.
07:09For this challenge specifically.
07:11Wow.
07:12All right, let's do this.
07:13The dish is lumberjack breakfast.
07:15$4,500 in the pot.
07:16Speed hand, 24 minutes on the clock.
07:18Your time starts now.
07:19He's so fast.
07:20You look like a bunny.
07:21Johnny, you need some salt.
07:22Shame on you.
07:23No salt for Sawyer.
07:24I like the idea of going a classy lumberjack breakfast.
07:26I want to show whoever the judge is I won 24 and 24 for a reason.
07:31I'm going to do a Japanese souffle pancake.
07:33I'm going to do a sweet ham and then a fried duck egg over top.
07:37I'm going to make a hash, a lot of eggs, meat, a big hearty fill up a lumberjack breakfast.
07:42I really expect to win first round, to be honest.
07:43It's round one.
07:44You got to start strong.
07:45I want these boys to see I'm here to win.
07:46Chef Esther, what are you doing?
07:47I'm going to do a hash.
07:48How's Esther cooking already?
07:49With a hollandaise.
07:50Okay.
07:51I'm going to poach some eggs in there.
07:52I'm going to add some kimchi, some bacon.
07:53Nice.
07:54I was going to do hash.
07:55No, I'm not going to do hash.
07:56Oh.
07:57Oh.
07:58Oh.
07:59Oh.
08:00Oh.
08:01Oh.
08:02Oh.
08:03Oh.
08:04Oh.
08:05Oh.
08:06Oh.
08:07Oh.
08:08Oh.
08:09Oh.
08:10Oh.
08:11Oh.
08:12I'm not doing hash if you do hash.
08:13That's no fun.
08:14Oh, come on, chef.
08:15No way.
08:16Sometimes the younger chefs think I'm a bit long in the tooth, but I've been in a lot of
08:20high-pressure competitions.
08:21I just changed gears.
08:22I'm like, I'm going to make a bourbon French toast.
08:25I want them to learn a lesson in the first round.
08:27Chef Simon, what are you thinking about doing, chef?
08:28I'm food milling my flour to make sure that it's incredibly light and fluffy.
08:33I'm just going to make a little batter for French toast.
08:35Chef Simon has to use a food mill.
08:37House is satisfied.
08:38And I'm going to do a little more Eastern Euro, some kielbasa.
08:42Ooh.
08:43Sounds delicious.
08:44And a perfect soft scramble.
08:4619 minutes and 30 seconds.
08:48Jonathan Sawyer.
08:49No sausage.
08:50No sausage.
08:51No steak.
08:52No steak.
08:53No syrup.
08:54No sugar.
08:55No salt.
08:56What are you thinking about doing?
08:57I'm going to do a little lumberjack breakfast with a souffle pancake.
09:01Souffle.
09:02I see what you did.
09:03You see it?
09:04This is shady.
09:05So I got to make that batter and then I got a red eye as my sauce.
09:09Ooh, red eye gravy.
09:10Got to be super salty and super sweet because it's really seasoning everything.
09:14I'm going to use honey as my sugar.
09:16For salt, I'm using some rendered pork fat and chicken bouillon.
09:20And that's enough salt to really season the pancake and the egg.
09:23I like the alliteration work around that you're doing.
09:25But dish cards are extremely subjective.
09:27So whoever is judging my lumberjack breakfast may find it to be too high end.
09:32But when whoever the judges enjoys them, I'm going to win this first round.
09:36That's a really high risk, high reward move.
09:3816 and a half.
09:39Minutes?
09:40Yes, chef.
09:41Not seconds.
09:42Usually like hollandaise you can do it really easily in a blender.
09:45But a double boiler obviously takes time and concentration because you can't break the sauce.
09:51Double boiler.
09:52House is satisfied.
09:53Does this help or hurt you right now, chef?
09:55This?
09:56For both.
09:57Freaking hurts me because it's like there's no time.
09:59There is no time.
10:00Oh, this is too hard.
10:02It's already, it's taking way too long.
10:04Time check right now.
10:05Time is 12 minutes, 10 seconds.
10:0712 minutes, 10 seconds.
10:08That is not much time at all.
10:20I haven't made a hollandaise in like a million years.
10:22Yeah.
10:23I don't have much time.
10:24Bye.
10:25We got these chefs doing a lumberjack breakfast right now.
10:28$4,500 in the pot.
10:2924 and 24.
10:30We have the two hosts.
10:31We have the winner, Jonathan Sawyer.
10:33Time check?
10:3410 minutes, 30 seconds.
10:35Chef Simon, what's the hallmark to a really great French toast?
10:38I mean, I like a little bit of vanilla in mine, some bourbon.
10:41You could put syrup in there if you want to.
10:43Oh.
10:44Lord knows I couldn't.
10:45You got bourbon over there, sir?
10:46I do.
10:47Can I borrow some bourbon?
10:48Come and get it, Daddy.
10:49Jonathan worked for me for over 20 years.
10:52I coached his brothers in wrestling.
10:54Family that I've known for a very long time.
10:56I love him like a son.
10:57He was incredibly talented and really hard to get to listen.
11:02I used to call his mom to get him how to listen to me.
11:05Oh, my gosh.
11:06True story.
11:07Pipe down, Station One.
11:08Station One would like to be heard.
11:10I mean, I think for the rest of our lives, this will be a battle that we get to talk about one way or another.
11:14So I think the pressure's ramped up.
11:16The rest of our lives?
11:18Wow.
11:19Sweet, sweet victory.
11:20The sweet, sweet, no-salt victory.
11:23Michael's a trash talker.
11:24If he wins, there's gonna be text messages for years.
11:26You're gonna need molasses.
11:28I have to start the red eye sauce.
11:30I'm using some molasses to make this sauce really sweet.
11:33A little instant coffee and then a bunch of bourbon.
11:36Ooh, a little flambe.
11:37That wasn't on the wild card.
11:39And then rendered pork fat that came from salty pig products.
11:42Ooh.
11:43How much time?
11:44Two minutes left.
11:45Come on.
11:46Potatoes need to cook.
11:48The other elements of my dish are complicating things.
11:51I didn't think about doing all that work at the same time.
11:54Yo, killing me.
11:5590 seconds left.
11:56Oh, my gosh.
11:57That's beautiful.
11:58That is a beautiful plate of food, but is it really Lumberjack with Chef Jonathan?
12:03This is gonna come down to subjectivity entirely.
12:06This is like a texture-heavy dish.
12:08The perfect Lumberjack breakfast.
12:1045 seconds.
12:11I dropped the French toast down, seared kielbasa next to it.
12:1430 seconds.
12:1530, heard.
12:1630.
12:17Wanted a separate ramekin for my eggs because they are kind of very custardy.
12:20Colonnese on that hash.
12:22Mm-hmm.
12:23Check, check, check.
12:24It's going down to the wire right now.
12:255, 4, 3, 2, 1.
12:31That's about it.
12:32Well done, chefs.
12:35Taste.
12:36Yeah, yeah.
12:38Perfect.
12:39It's definitely one of those, like, luscious, hangover breakfast brunch dishes.
12:44That hollandaise just made it, like, that much better.
12:48You honestly can't tell that I don't have salt or syrup.
12:51Does it portray Lumberjack breakfast enough?
12:53I think it depends on who the judge is.
12:55I think the eggs are cooked perfect.
12:56Kielbasa's crispy.
12:57I'm thinking I just won round one.
13:01Chefs, before our guest judge comes down, let me remind you, this is a blind tasting.
13:06So, poker faces.
13:07There's only one Iron Chef cooking today.
13:09I want a judge that's going to judge harshly.
13:12So, this gives me an advantage.
13:14Tonight's judge is someone you all know.
13:16She competed on 24 and 24.
13:18She's a James Beard Award winner, an Iron Chef, and the first female winner of Top Chef.
13:23Heels.
13:24Heels?
13:28It's the goat snapping the eyes hard.
13:31Oh, my God.
13:32I literally just stopped having nightmares about the two of you.
13:34Do you miss our faces?
13:35Your voices, your faces, everything.
13:38Oh, my goodness.
13:39Is it flashbacks now?
13:41I mean, they made you stay up 24 hours.
13:43I obviously didn't win like Sawyer did, so today is going to be a little more fun for me.
13:47It is going to be a lot of fun for you.
13:49Stephanie's going to be a good judge.
13:50She's going to know this technique.
13:51So, we have $4,500 in the pot.
13:54We're doing lumberjack breakfast as the dish.
13:57All right.
13:58I mean, it's kind of hard to decide where to start.
14:00I'm just going to go left to right and keep it simple.
14:02It's almost like the idea of a Benedict.
14:05I want to jump in and see what all these layers are.
14:13Mmm.
14:14The egg yolk is so nice and runny and jammy.
14:17I love the texture of the sort of French toast on the bottom.
14:20All the flavors are there.
14:22But I think for me, when I think of a lumberjack breakfast, I feel like it should be something
14:26less on the dainty side, a little bit more on the hearty side.
14:29This seems a little bit more precious to me.
14:31Stephanie, you know, not all lumberjacks need to eat 6,000 calories.
14:35You know, just saying.
14:37All right, we'll move on to the next dish.
14:39So, looking at this, this is, to me, a lumberjack breakfast.
14:50Mmm.
14:51So much going on in what looks like such a simple dish.
14:54Everything in the hash is cooked really well.
14:56I like this hollandaise.
14:57It's very craveable, but it seemed a little bit under-seasoned.
15:01Ugh.
15:02Like, the way you eat a hash is you kind of break everything together and you have to, like,
15:06mix it up.
15:07It's perfectly seasoned.
15:08You just have to eat it the way you should eat a hash.
15:10Going into the third plate, it looks very lumberjack breakfast.
15:13It looks like there's a few different things going on.
15:16So, I'm gonna get in here first.
15:18I'm guessing it's some sort of soft scramble.
15:23The eggs are perfectly cooked.
15:26French toast flavors are great.
15:28The toast on the outside of the toast is beautiful.
15:31But it's just eating a little bit dry.
15:32I want it to be fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
15:36It didn't have a chance to soak up enough custard.
15:39When I make French toast at home, I soak it the night before.
15:41But this isn't 24 and 24, and we don't have 24 hours to make French toast.
15:45Yeah.
15:47All right, Chef Stephanie, $4,500 in the pot.
15:50Cards and flavor is all that we're asking you to judge on.
15:53The decision is yours.
15:55Oh, my gosh.
15:56In this first round of amazing dishes, I think one plate above the others
16:02really hit the mark on lumberjack breakfast.
16:11All right, Chef Stephanie.
16:12Three very impressive lumberjack breakfasts.
16:15$4,500 in the pot.
16:17The decision is yours.
16:18In this first round of amazing dishes,
16:22the top dish would be this hash situation.
16:27Woo-hoo!
16:30Chef Esther, well done.
16:32This dish had a lot of savory notes and then really just had the most layers of flavors.
16:37Who's the lumberjack now?
16:38Stephanie, a round of applause. Thank you so much.
16:42Thank you, Chef.
16:43I'm excited to eat more.
16:44So delicious.
16:45Thank you, Chef.
16:47All right.
16:48So, Chef Esther, you have $11,000.
16:50Can't get too excited.
16:51I got to keep it humble.
16:52We have $6,500 for Chef Michael.
16:54I went from having a big giant bat to like a toothpick.
16:57Chef Jonathan, you also have $6,500.
16:59This is the first time I've ever lost in this arena.
17:02So this is a bit new for me, but that doesn't matter.
17:04I mean, the second round is the most important round.
17:06Chefs, welcome to the make or break hand.
17:10I've seen this round literally make or break Chef's Bank.
17:13It's a 30-minute cook.
17:15The ante is $1,000.
17:20We all in?
17:21See some cards?
17:22The communal dish card is...
17:27Fish fry.
17:28Love it.
17:29Pretty good for you, tempura queen.
17:30Mm-hmm.
17:31And I love making things just a little bit more difficult for you.
17:34We're going to introduce the ingredient card.
17:38Asparagus for the fish fry.
17:40Poached asparagus is delicious.
17:42This is going to be perfect.
17:43Whatever ideas you have might all change with this wild card.
17:47Oranges make a great sauce in any capacity.
17:53It's like walking through a park.
17:56Maybe you at home think I got a great wild card for a fish fry.
17:59Nope.
18:00I can't saute garlic.
18:01I can't reduce wine.
18:02I can't make pickles.
18:04I can't blanch the asparagus.
18:08The three-minute head start.
18:10Old man coming.
18:11And he coming hard.
18:12So, let the betting begin.
18:14The action starts with Esther.
18:16I just don't want to get too cocky.
18:19Okay.
18:20I'm going to do $1,000.
18:21$1,000.
18:22A modest bet.
18:23So, Chef.
18:24Jonathan, the action is to you.
18:25I don't love this card.
18:27I got to be honest.
18:28Winning this round is huge.
18:30I just got to nail the fish fry.
18:31Okay.
18:32That makes $5,000 in total.
18:35Now, Chef Michael, the action is yours.
18:37I got a three-minute head start.
18:39Let's just bump it up.
18:40I'm going to raise $1,000.
18:42Wow.
18:43$7,000 in the pot.
18:45Chef Esther.
18:46Right now, I'm here to win.
18:48Let's go.
18:49$8,000 in the pot.
18:50Chef Jonathan.
18:51In for a penny, in for a pound.
18:53$9,000.
18:56I told you this is going to make or break somebody's bank.
18:59Let's see some cards.
19:00Chef Esther.
19:01Let's see it.
19:02Okay.
19:03Must use an orange ingredient.
19:06It's easy.
19:07Jonathan.
19:08Can only use the fryer, but yet you bet $3,000.
19:14I'm not going to let these two kick me out of the pot.
19:16This is the make or break round.
19:17I like the gumption.
19:18I guess you're frying those.
19:19Very good.
19:20Chef Michael, let's see what your card is.
19:23Three-minute head start.
19:25Wow.
19:26Whoa.
19:27You get first choice of all the proteins.
19:28Sometimes I can't make up my mind, so I might have to take a couple.
19:31And, you know, maybe somewhere around the 10-minute mark, I'll decide which fish I want to use.
19:35That's like cheating.
19:36If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying.
19:39That's wrong.
19:40All right.
19:41We're going fish fry with the use of asparagus.
19:44$9,000 in the pot.
19:46The time starts now.
19:47Oh, no, no.
19:48Oh, no, no, no, no.
19:49No, no, no, no, no.
19:50My time starts now.
19:53You guys, relax.
19:55I'm going to head back here and get some fish.
19:58Here's the thing.
19:59With a three-minute head start with Chef Michael, he has the opportunity to take some of the most prized cuts.
20:04And these chefs just have to...
20:05Oh, right behind that line for me, Chef.
20:07Right behind that.
20:08Thank you so much.
20:09You got to keep these guys in check sometimes.
20:10I'm going to make tempura cod and shaved asparagus salad.
20:14I got three minutes, so I grabbed a lot of stuff.
20:17It's just going to depend on the protein.
20:19Are you hoping for something?
20:20Of course.
20:21Man, you want cod.
20:22Yeah, cod is like a fish fry.
20:23You got to go cod.
20:24He's definitely taking the caviar and the cod.
20:26Like, it's a big advantage.
20:27If they want cod, they have a little problem.
20:30Quite honestly, I'm going to take almost everything.
20:32And, Chefs, you have about a minute left.
20:34Get ready.
20:35Michael's taking a sweet, sweet time.
20:37What fish did you take?
20:3940 seconds left.
20:40Oh, my gosh.
20:41He's got a lot of stuff, too.
20:44Wow.
20:45Why are you doing that to us?
20:46You're taking that, too, Michael?
20:48What?
20:49Oh, yeah.
20:50Oh, that's my stop, Chef.
20:51What did he do?
20:52Five, four, three, two, one.
20:56Get in there, Chefs.
20:57Sorry, Chefs.
20:58That is a serious, serious advantage.
21:00Hey.
21:01What?
21:02What'd you take?
21:03I don't know.
21:04It's so heavy, though.
21:05Yeah, he took the cod.
21:06He took the cod.
21:07All right.
21:08I got to go a totally different direction now.
21:11I wanted to do a cod tempura, but I think I'm going to go with a shrimp toast.
21:17In my head, I immediately go to Frito Misto.
21:20Catfish isn't the worst fish in the world, especially when you're talking about fried fish.
21:24It's actually a pretty natural choice.
21:26Chef Michael, what'd you grab?
21:28I grabbed a couple of double things, so I have some options.
21:30Mmm.
21:31So I'm going to do crispy cod or lobster or both with a shaved asparagus salad and then potato pierogi.
21:39One dangerous thing about Head Start is you can't overthink things.
21:43Sure.
21:44Michael.
21:45I'm very busy talking to Erica.
21:47And then...
21:48Of course.
21:49When are you not busy talking?
21:50Oh, come on, Esther Choi.
21:52What are you thinking about doing now?
21:54A shrimp toast.
21:55Ooh.
21:56Fried, obviously.
21:57You think a shrimp toast is going to be good for a fish fry?
22:00I'm going to drop it in the fryer.
22:02Okay.
22:03Fair enough.
22:04So, Chef Jonathan, what are you thinking about doing now?
22:07I'm going to do a Frito Misto.
22:09All right.
22:10So we're going to have some vegetables.
22:11We're going to have some herbs.
22:12We're going to have some citrus.
22:13Mm-hmm.
22:14The only dish you can do, I feel like.
22:15Knowing I can only cook in the deep fryer, I'm going to try to layer flavor and texture by what I fry.
22:21You're frying the herbs first.
22:22Yeah.
22:23So you sort of start permeating the oil, right, with all those herbs as well.
22:26True, true, true, true.
22:27Which is nice.
22:28Catfish?
22:29Yeah.
22:30Oui.
22:31Catfish.
22:32Are you mad at me because I'm, like, not doing a typical fish fry?
22:35Would Chef Stephanie be mad at you if you're not doing a typical fish fry?
22:38We'll see how it goes.
22:39I'm a little nervous.
22:40I'm hoping that Stephanie is the type of chef that understands and appreciates.
22:45Sometimes you've got to think outside the box.
22:47Sometimes you've just got to take a risk, I guess.
22:49There's $9,000 on the line.
22:5115 minutes left.
22:52Get cooking.
22:53Whenever you're cooking against the clock, you had to eliminate some steps.
22:57And I was adding them.
23:00Cracking into the lobster?
23:01Scissors are about as sharp as...
23:04Not sharp scissors.
23:06So it looks like Chef Michael right now is struggling to get that lobster open.
23:09He's got a lot going on right now.
23:11This is sometimes at a disadvantage when you have a little bit too much time.
23:14You almost sort of overthink your dish, right?
23:16All right, chefs, we're at the 10-minute mark now.
23:18That's crazy!
23:20Michael has a huge advantage.
23:22And I took a big risk by making a shrimp toast for a fish fry.
23:25Everything has to be perfect.
23:26What are you doing now?
23:27I'm doing a asparagus pickle.
23:29Ooh, okay.
23:30I can't make mistakes.
23:31It's pride on the line.
23:32You got something in the fryer, Chef.
23:34Don't forget.
23:38Damn, got a little dark.
23:40Oh, shrimp toast is burnt.
23:42I'm not going to have time to make more toast.
23:44Six minutes left in this cook.
23:46Uh-oh.
23:48I feel crazy right now.
23:55You ain't coming to my house.
23:56You ain't about what I'm about.
23:57You ain't taking nothing down this way.
23:58We have the two hosts at 24 and 24.
24:00Chef Michael Simon, Chef Esther Choi, going against the winner of 24 and 24, Chef Jonathan Sawyer.
24:05How are you feeling about the shrimp toast, Chef?
24:06It's a little dark.
24:07Okay.
24:08I forgot about the fryer and my shrimp toast in there, but I'm not going to have time to make more toast.
24:13Six minutes left in this cook.
24:15Six minutes.
24:16Just going to check and make sure it's okay.
24:18Oh, my God.
24:19It was undercooked.
24:20Of course, I didn't check the temperature of the fryer.
24:22It was at, like, max 400, which is going to get too dark and not cooked through in the inside.
24:29The worst thing that could happen is that it's not cooked and I serve no fish fry.
24:34Got to improvise.
24:36I don't know if I made the right move.
24:38Five and a half.
24:39So, for my pierogi, my grandfather's recipe would have been sauerkraut, but I grabbed some kimchi, I amped it up a little bit.
24:45I'm like, this is still going to work great.
24:46Time is going down.
24:47Pretty fast.
24:48$9,000 on the line.
24:50I look at my fried kale and the calamari and the asparagus and the catfish, and I need to make sure that I have enough acid and enough punchy herb flavor that it can cut through all the fat.
25:01Literally everything I'm going to cook has to be done in that fryer, but I can serve vegetables just raw.
25:07I'm going to make raw asparagus, endive, and blood orange salad, and then we're going to do an Italian version of a tartar sauce, but I'm running out of time.
25:14You got to let us know when there's two minutes left, okay, Eric?
25:17Like now?
25:18Two minutes left.
25:19I'm going to plate this pretty rustic.
25:20I'm going to put some parchment paper down and sort of layer all the fish and vegetables and crunch all the herbs over top, so that way every bite gets a little bit of that beautiful, herbaceous goodness.
25:2990 seconds.
25:3090 seconds left.
25:31No, no, no.
25:3290's not enough.
25:33I shave the asparagus paper thin.
25:34I just toss it with a bunch of fresh herbs and lemon and olive oil and salt and pepper.
25:38To me, it's like a perfect side dish.
25:40One minute left.
25:42Pierogi goes down.
25:43I hit it with the saffron sauce, some lobster, the fried fish, and then top it off with that crunchy, bright asparagus salad.
25:5030 seconds left.
25:51I'm waiting to the very last second to pull the shrimp because I know that it needs that time.
25:57Is it done?
25:58I don't know.
25:59Six, five, four, three, two, one.
26:05That is about it.
26:07Ah!
26:08Killing me, Eric.
26:10My God, what a mess.
26:11I had the extra three minutes, which can be dangerous, but I also felt it's a lot of money on the table, so I gave a little extra.
26:19I think this round, much like the first one, is going to be neck and neck.
26:22I'm praying that my toast is cooked all the way through.
26:25But, and I'm hoping that Stephanie is like, this is a fish fry, so.
26:30Let's go ahead and bring in Chef Stephanie Izard.
26:38Hello.
26:39Love that dress.
26:40I mean, especially for the boots.
26:42I was going to say the boots.
26:43I'm going out after this.
26:44I'm going to the club.
26:45Going to the club.
26:47Chef Stephanie, fish fry as the dish, asparagus as the ingredient.
26:52I'm going to start on the right this time.
26:54Oh, this looks fun.
26:55Sort of like this bountiful spring fried fish dish.
26:59I love the use of fresh herbs.
27:01It looks like the asparagus was fried as well.
27:03I just want to tell Stephanie, this is not my choice, to fry everything.
27:06Take into the fish first.
27:11It's so moist, biting into it.
27:14This was cooked just perfectly.
27:15I like the idea of sort of taking everything on the plate and frying it and really going for it.
27:20But one little thing that got away is sometimes with a fry, especially with an asparagus,
27:25it got a little bit soft, so it didn't really hold up the fry that well.
27:28You have no idea how much I hate this card.
27:31All right, let's go into the middle one.
27:33Definitely fish fry and asparagus.
27:36Beautiful presentation.
27:37The fish, some sort of dumpling situation.
27:41Oh, there's some lobster.
27:44There's way more happening than I thought.
27:51The fry on the fish, perfect, really well seasoned.
27:56And I love the pierogi or dumpling.
27:58It's such a great texture on the dough.
28:00But honestly, the star of this plate for me is the asparagus.
28:02Flavor-wise, it's really spot on.
28:04But I think the lobster may be not as great as the rest of the plate.
28:07It's a little bit rubbery.
28:09Oh, God.
28:10There was no need for the lobster on there.
28:11I should have been smarter.
28:12I know better.
28:13Less is more.
28:14And on to this.
28:15It looks like some shrimp toast action, which is one of my favorite things.
28:18Thank God!
28:26Nice.
28:27Yes!
28:28It's really nice and crunchy.
28:30It's very savory and rich.
28:32It's beautiful.
28:33The sauce.
28:34It's got creamy notes.
28:35It's got salty notes.
28:36And it's got this hint of citrus.
28:37Maybe it's from orange.
28:38It's really well balanced.
28:40But you could question, is more of a shrimp toast sort of fried sandwich count as a fish fry?
28:50Chef, what say you?
28:52Ooh.
28:53I'm going to go with the shrimp toast.
28:57I love the texture.
29:02It has so many layers of flavor going on.
29:05And technically, if it's shell of fish, it is fried.
29:08You take a risk and you win big.
29:10Man, this is a kick in the pants.
29:12Now I've lost twice in a row.
29:14And this is painful.
29:15Chef Stephanie, we thank you for your astutes judging.
29:18Thank you, Chef.
29:20Thanks, Chef.
29:21See you soon.
29:22Good luck.
29:23Chef Esther, $17,000.
29:26Not a bad payday.
29:27Not too bad.
29:28I want it all.
29:29Everything.
29:30All the cash.
29:31Chef Michael, you have $3,500.
29:33This isn't good.
29:34This is the worst of situations.
29:35Chef Jonathan, you also have $3,500.
29:38Oh, man.
29:40I'm 0 for 2.
29:41I gotta win this third round.
29:43Welcome to the all-in hand.
29:45Low stack has to go all-in, which means Chef Michael, Chef Jonathan, $3,500.
29:52It feels so good, you know?
29:57Wow.
29:58Esther is maximizing the pain.
30:00$35, $35, $35, $10,500 in the pot.
30:05I am the current 24 and 24 champion.
30:08I can't go home with $0.
30:10That would be so embarrassing.
30:11I'm feeling pressured.
30:13I gotta salvage some pride.
30:14Their male ego is a little hurt.
30:16Well, I don't care.
30:17I wanna sweep.
30:21Dish card?
30:22Let's go.
30:24Southern hospitality.
30:28And the ingredient.
30:32Canned tuna.
30:33That is not his southern hospitality.
30:35I'm drawing a blank right now.
30:37This is a tricky combination.
30:39I'm Korean and we eat tons of canned meat.
30:41And I love canned tuna.
30:42Doesn't scare me.
30:43I'm gonna go clean sweep here.
30:45Like, it's not a joke.
30:46So for your final hand, I'm gonna go ahead and introduce the most brutal deck in my arsenal.
30:51The diamond deck.
30:52Oh!
30:53What's that?
30:54What is that?
30:55I've collected all of the wild cards previously rejected for being too extreme and put them into this one deck.
31:04I'm gonna go ahead and dish them out.
31:05To you, to you, and to you.
31:07Take a look.
31:08I don't know what I did to Eric, but he's obviously mad at me.
31:14I get to pick one protein for each of my competitors.
31:18And they already have tuna.
31:20Yeah, I feel like this card is gonna give me a big headache.
31:27Chef Esther, what's your diamond card say?
31:29All right.
31:30Must use a meat grinder.
31:33The old tuna and the meat grinder.
31:35Yeah.
31:36No one wants tuna and the meat grinder.
31:38Bro.
31:39Southern style.
31:40Wow.
31:41Chef Jonathan, what do we got?
31:43Must use a meat grinder.
31:48What's a Y ingredient?
31:50Yak.
31:51Yuck.
31:52Yuck.
31:53That is hilarious.
31:54Chef Michael, what's your diamond deck card say?
31:57Well, Eric, my dear friend, it's given me a power to choose my competitor's protein.
32:06Ooh.
32:07What?
32:08This is so tragic.
32:09Welcome to the diamond deck, baby.
32:11When do you tell us?
32:12First 10 minutes after you come up with your dish.
32:15That not until we're cooking, does he tell us?
32:17But in addition, you have to use a canned tuna as well.
32:20God.
32:23We have Southern Hospitality as the dish.
32:26Canned tuna, my favorite, as the ingredient.
32:28$10,500 in the pot.
32:30You must fulfill your wild cards, chefs.
32:32Your time starts now.
32:33Let's go.
32:35This is insane.
32:36This is insane.
32:37This is not okay.
32:39Not cool, Michael.
32:40This is not okay.
32:41This is not okay.
32:42This is not okay.
32:43Give it to me.
32:44What is it?
32:45I'm not giving it to you yet.
32:46What are you giving me?
32:47My goal doing this is to win round three.
32:49So I was going to take my good old time to drop the hammer.
32:52I like honestly can't even, I don't know what I'm making because you're not.
32:56Nothing.
32:57Yeah.
32:58I have to just brace myself with whatever he throws at me.
33:01I really don't have a plan.
33:03My plan is no plan.
33:04I'm just collecting stuff at this point.
33:06I'm just putting a bunch of junk in my cart.
33:09We're so mad at you.
33:10This guy is really taking this wild card seriously.
33:13Maximizing the pain that he can inflict.
33:16I feel terrible right now.
33:17I have no idea what I'm making.
33:19This is evil.
33:20So abusive.
33:21I am so curious.
33:28When?
33:29How long?
33:30I'm in no rush.
33:31Chef Michael, while you decide, tell me what you're making, Chef.
33:34I'm going to make a chicken fried steak with this wagyu rib eye and like an auto gravy.
33:39That sounds delicious.
33:40And some collards.
33:41This is the moment where you're cooking essentially free.
33:43There's no sort of restrictions on you, right?
33:45No, I feel pretty good.
33:46I mean, I got to get cooking.
33:47I'm goofing around too much.
33:48So, Esther, I'm going to give you mackerel.
33:52Ooh.
33:53Mackerel.
33:54Mackerel.
33:55Everyone's favorite.
33:56Johnny, I'm going to give you hot dogs.
33:57Hot dogs.
33:58Hot dogs.
33:59You love hot dogs.
34:00Nothing says a bachelor dinner like canned tuna and hot dogs.
34:04Mmm.
34:05Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.
34:06Chef Jonathan, what are you making?
34:07I'm going to do a gumbo.
34:08I'm going deep south.
34:09Ooh.
34:10The issue is the time.
34:11Gumbo needs time to sort of get together, make friends, get those flavors together.
34:1530 minutes or even 20 minutes at this point.
34:17It's a dish that typically takes hours.
34:19So you just got to hope canned tuna and hot dogs come together to become one.
34:23Who knows?
34:24I've never seen it before.
34:25I need more time.
34:26Chef Esther, what are you thinking?
34:28I guess I'm going to do some sort of weird patty with the mackerel and tuna.
34:33Listen, fish cakes, I'm not mad at that.
34:36Chef, so we have 14 minutes, exactly, 14 minutes left.
34:39Tell me about chicken fried steak.
34:40Tell me about tonado gravy, Chef.
34:42I'm going to pound out that steak, bread it up, fry it, cook down my greens.
34:46Ooh.
34:47Use the tuna fish in that cream sauce, but with tonado flavors.
34:50I love that, tonado.
34:51A creamy mayonnaise-based sauce, you have typically anchovies or tuna.
34:55That's a great call.
34:56Listen, if one of these two chefs wins, using mackerel and hot dogs.
35:00I'll never hear the end of it.
35:01Yeah, that's got to be one of the most heroic wins in Wild Card Kitchen history.
35:05How much time, guys?
35:0610 minutes left, guys.
35:07Keep cooking.
35:08What Y ingredient are you looking to use, Chef?
35:10I'm going to use yogurt just a little bit to sort of finish that sauce.
35:13Okay.
35:14Wee.
35:15Yogurt.
35:16Yogurt in.
35:17Yogurt is in.
35:18That card is satisfied.
35:20Well done.
35:21Okay.
35:22I add canned tuna to my gumbo.
35:24I'm a little nervous about this dish.
35:26How does it taste with the tuna?
35:30Ooh.
35:31Ooh, I kind of like it.
35:33I'm going to be honest.
35:34I can win this third round.
35:35Michael's going to remember this loss forever.
35:38Seven minutes, 15 seconds.
35:42All right, grinder used.
35:43Grinders being used, Chuck.
35:44What did you put in the meat grinder, Chef?
35:46Cheese.
35:47It's briere and a little parmesan.
35:49That's going to go in my grits.
35:50It says to just use a meat grinder.
35:53Doesn't say I have to grind meat.
35:55I like that idea.
35:56Mackerel.
35:57It's a very oily, fishy fish.
36:00So I'm going to just have to add a lot of ingredients.
36:02Hoping that it will kind of mask that fishiness.
36:05Mmm.
36:06Stephanie likes to have fun with her flavors.
36:08So I'm feeling pretty confident.
36:10I'm going home with $24,000 clean sweep.
36:19Chef Michael's chicken fried steak is looking spectacular.
36:22Five minutes left in the cook.
36:24This is my last chance to keep a little bit of pride.
36:27So the Tanato gravy is going to be special.
36:30You have tagine.
36:31That's very Southern, but real Southern.
36:36Yeah.
36:37South of the border Southern.
36:38Deep, deep South.
36:39And I normally don't do this.
36:41I put a bunch of different things in my gravy.
36:44Rosemary, parsley, chilies.
36:46This isn't a traditional tuna Tanato.
36:49But you can't be risk adverse.
36:51I'm going all in.
36:53Two minutes left.
36:54No way.
36:55Yes way.
36:56Stephanie loves a crispy garnish.
36:59So crispy fried rice and crispy okra are just going to be the key to her heart.
37:03I don't want to let my fellow alumni of 24 and 24 down.
37:07I need to take down Michael and Esther.
37:09So I'm going to put this rice on one side and put the jambalaya on the other.
37:13Keep that beautiful flavor separate.
37:16And then I can put all my crispy garnishes on here and they'll stay crispy.
37:19Kind of love it.
37:2060 seconds.
37:21Time to plate.
37:22Time to plate.
37:23I plate the grits on the bottom.
37:24I put my tuna patties on top.
37:26And then I finish with the collard greens.
37:2930 seconds.
37:30I get the collards down.
37:32I top it with the chicken fried steak.
37:33Top everything off with my Tanato gravy.
37:36Oh man, look at that sauce.
37:38Oh goodness.
37:39And then a little crispy salad on top.
37:41I also drizzled the olive oil that the tuna is packed in over everything to reinforce that tuna flavor.
37:47Four.
37:48Three.
37:49Two.
37:50One.
37:51And that is about it chefs.
37:58Well done.
37:59Whatever.
38:00Whatever.
38:01Whatever.
38:02I know Esther and Johnny's food is going to taste great.
38:05So it just, it matters how literal Stephanie looks at Southern comfort.
38:11Who knows?
38:12Who knows?
38:13And I'm very happy with my dish.
38:16It's actually very tasty.
38:18I mean, this is it.
38:19I could go home with zero dollars.
38:20I could lose $8,000 because of Michael.
38:23For the very last time tonight, Chef Stephanie Izar.
38:30Woo!
38:31Chef Stephanie.
38:32You know, you walk in and you can kind of smell and it makes you want to start detecting what's going on already.
38:38Chef Stephanie, the dish, Southern hospitality.
38:42The ingredient, canned tuna.
38:44Okay.
38:45We have $10,500 in the middle of that pot.
38:48If Chef Jonathan or Chef Michael wins, they're going home with that entire pot.
38:53If Chef Esther wins, both of these chefs are going home with nothing.
38:56It's up to you.
38:57I think, um, this time I'm going to start in the middle.
39:00This looks almost like a jambalaya-like, but it's made with tuna instead.
39:04I'm going to dig around for little bits of tuna.
39:10Hmm.
39:12First bite, I found a nice big chunk of tuna.
39:14We've got okra, we've got tuna, beans.
39:17Everything has a lot of love and care into it.
39:19I feel like I might have a W here.
39:20There's definitely something else going on in here.
39:22Like a chunk of unidentified meat product.
39:27Yes, the unidentified meat is hot dogs.
39:30And I can thank Mike Simon and his wild card for that.
39:33We've got this really intense sort of meat that's really salty.
39:35The saltiness from the tuna.
39:37It's almost bringing a little bit too much briny notes to it.
39:40Alright, we'll move on to the next dish.
39:42I just want to dive into this because this is large.
39:45This makes me think of, um, chicken fried steak.
39:48Let's cut in and see what's going on.
39:52Mmm.
39:56Meat's cooked perfectly.
39:57The crust on here is super nice and crunchy.
39:59Very southern.
40:00The tuna is used in this sauce, which I think is a really great place.
40:03Sort of like a Vitella Tonato.
40:05The tuna is really the star.
40:06But I'm not sure what sort of spices are going on in the Tonato sauce.
40:10There's just this sort of strange aftertaste in the sauce and I can't tell what it is.
40:18There's just something almost like a little bit sweeter floral on the back.
40:21They did so much more than the other two chefs.
40:23In retrospect, that's the problem.
40:25Moving on to the last dish of the evening.
40:28This is beautiful.
40:29Tuna cakes, I would guess, instead of crab cakes.
40:33Please love my dish.
40:36The texture on the outside of the cake, it's super crunchy.
40:40There's warmth.
40:41There's comfort.
40:42But the flavor of the inside just feels a little bit muddled.
40:44Like, you don't get the salinity of tuna.
40:47Everything just feels a little bit too muddled.
40:51I think I'm worried too much about the mackerel.
40:54I was overthinking it.
40:56The decision's yours, Chef.
41:02I just want to go home with some money.
41:04I don't want to go home with no money.
41:06When I'm getting nervous, I'm like, oh God, I'm going to walk home with zero.
41:09This is rough.
41:10I'm so close to clean sweep.
41:12Like, so close.
41:13I'm going to go with the chicken fried steak.
41:18Thank God.
41:21There's so much flavor.
41:22I love the use of the tuna in the sauce.
41:24Chef Michael is going home with $10,500.
41:27Well done, Chef.
41:28That is pretty good.
41:30With the winner of tonight's evening of 24 and 24, Chef Esther Choi going home with $13,500.
41:37Well done, Chef Jonathan.
41:40Thank you so much, man.
41:42Last time you came here, you swept.
41:44The sweeper turned into the sweepy.
41:46Listen, I wish we had another 24 hours to play, but Chef, you got to head out.
41:50Yeah?
41:51All right, let's go.
41:52All right.
41:53Thanks, guys.
41:54The good news is I still came out ahead, and it makes my two-year total $27,500.
41:58Oh, God.
41:59You're annoying.
42:00Wow.
42:01All right.
42:02You know what?
42:03I saved a little bit.
42:04Next season, I'm sweeping.
42:07You too.
42:08I
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