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00:02Tournament of Champion 7 is almost here.
00:05Don't be scared.
00:06This is about to be a battle.
00:09We're halfway through the qualifiers.
00:11Aunty Sequera, congratulations.
00:14And four chefs have won their spots in the main tournament.
00:17Tonight, eight more elite chefs will have a shot at cooking their way into TOC 7.
00:23The only way to get these hands on that belt is to be in the main bracket.
00:27In each qualifier battle, two chefs, chosen at random, will go head-to-head in the TOC
00:33arena.
00:34So glad I'm here.
00:35And make tournament-worthy dishes.
00:38This is spectacular.
00:39Exactly what I wanted to hear.
00:40The chef who wins is in the tournament.
00:43Yeah!
00:44This is why I work out.
00:47The one who loses is out.
00:49Why do we do this?
00:50With a chance to prove themselves on the biggest stage in culinary competition.
00:54That hurts.
00:55And win the $150,000 grand prize.
00:59The stakes couldn't be higher.
01:01This is it.
01:02This is it.
01:03This is it.
01:03Guy, that's for you.
01:05Well done.
01:06Ladies and gentlemen, this is Tournament of Champions 7 Qualifiers.
01:14Here they come.
01:15Today is the day.
01:16Today is the day.
01:22Welcome back.
01:24Hello.
01:25Hunter, come out here, please.
01:27There he is.
01:28There he goes.
01:29Hello.
01:31Come on.
01:32See?
01:33We're going to spin this, and we're going to pick who's going to be going head-to-head
01:36in the first round.
01:37Hunter, do the spinning magic that everybody claps about.
01:39Here we go.
01:40Come on, Hunter.
01:43First one is Giuseppe Tentori.
01:46Oh, Giuseppe.
01:49Giuseppe.
01:50Let's do it.
01:51Being a Michelin-starred chef and a three-time James Beard nom, uh, you definitely have
01:55earned your place to be here.
01:57Who are you going against?
01:59Let's see it, Hunter.
02:02Goes to, it's an Italian-on-Italian battle, Michelle Ragussis.
02:08Oh!
02:08Nice.
02:09You're amazing.
02:10You knew it.
02:11I kind of knew that.
02:12I felt that.
02:13You felt that?
02:14I felt that.
02:14That it was Italian versus Italian battle?
02:16Yeah.
02:17Food Fighters.
02:18Triple G.
02:19Beat Bobby Flay.
02:20You had win, win, win.
02:22You've been all over it.
02:23Not stopping.
02:24The rest of you chefs, into the audience section.
02:27And you two, over to the randomizer.
02:29Good luck.
02:30Good luck, chef.
02:32To be honest, I'm very nervous cooking next to Michelle.
02:35Uh, she's been done, like, a ton of competition.
02:37Also, she has a little background Italian.
02:39You know, I'm Italian, too, so I think we can have the same style.
02:43Got it.
02:43Dang, it's tough.
02:44I'm a little shaken in my boots that I have to go against him, but I have been running
02:48restaurants and cooking professionally almost 30 years.
02:51I am as talented, as good as everybody else in there, and I deserve to be in that main
02:56bracket.
02:57Let's talk about the randomizers.
02:59We're talking about the protein, the produce, the equipment, the style, and the amount of
03:03cooking time.
03:03And your job is to satisfy every element and still create a fantastic dish.
03:10Proteins, beef chuck, chicken cutlets, bratwurst.
03:15I don't even really hear bratwurst a lot in Italian food.
03:18No.
03:19We have our sausages, but not bratwurst.
03:21Nope.
03:21One of you is moving on and one of you is going home.
03:24Here we go.
03:24Protein.
03:26I don't like it.
03:26I can't watch.
03:27Can't watch.
03:31Come on.
03:33Can't watch.
03:37Bratwurst chicken cutlets.
03:38Chicken cutlets.
03:40Chicken cutlets.
03:42Probably my favorite food in the world.
03:45Cabbage.
03:47Mandolin.
03:47Mandolin.
03:48Fruity.
03:49Fruity.
03:5028 minutes.
03:5128 minutes.
03:52Ugh.
03:53I ate it.
03:54All right, all right.
03:55Well, listen.
03:56Let's get going.
03:57Okay.
03:57Time starts now.
03:58Let's go.
03:59Giuseppe.
04:00Let's go, Michelle.
04:01Chicken cutlets.
04:03Most home cooks, this is going to be their favorite thing.
04:04Red cabbage, super fun to play with.
04:06It doesn't carry a lot of flavor, but it does so well.
04:10It can be raw.
04:10It can be braised.
04:11The mandolin, the red cabbage play hand in hand.
04:14This is going to be the interesting part.
04:17How do you take the fruit into the savory side of this with the chicken?
04:22And then 28 minutes.
04:23Nobody's favorite.
04:29So I'm joined again by our two amazing culinary commentators, Walking Food Encyclopedia, the
04:34one and only Justin Warner and TOC3 champ, Chef Tiffany Faison.
04:38Now, Justin and Tiffany will closely follow our chef's progress and carefully note the details
04:42of their dishes so they can present them to the judges during the blind tasting.
04:48Whoo.
04:49Here we go.
04:50Plenty of time.
04:5026 minutes.
04:51You know, I got this.
04:53I'm nervous.
04:54We only have 28 minutes and I don't love this randomizer.
04:57Because right when you're a chicken cutlet, you're like, ding, Italian people go, woo-woo.
05:01And you're like, sauce, cheese, mozzarella, but cabbage.
05:04Look, I've been competing since 2012, but TOC is at the top of the level.
05:10It's like culinary athletes to be here, and I, myself, am an athlete, and so I want to
05:17fight.
05:17And this is the tournament to do it.
05:20I am thinking a braised cabbage with apples and blackberries and some fruit.
05:26Okay.
05:26And maybe a little pear in there to make it fruity.
05:29Yeah.
05:30Chicken cutlets.
05:31I'm gonna pan fry.
05:32Okay.
05:33And then some kind of sauce.
05:34I don't know yet, but I'll get that.
05:35I'm here for it.
05:36All right.
05:36Why do I do this?
05:37I don't know.
05:39So, I'm gonna start on the red cabbage, and I mandolin everything that's gonna go into
05:44this dish.
05:44So, I think what will get me into the main bracket is I'm playing the randomizer, right?
05:48It's a game.
05:49We gotta play the randomizer.
05:50So, I'm gonna use that mandolin everywhere I can.
05:53I got some bacon.
05:54Make it bacon.
05:55What keeps me motivated to win this time is my dog, my 16-year-old dog that has passed
06:01away recently.
06:01This is my first competition without Maximus.
06:04So, I mean, right now I'm, you know, my heart is broken, and I almost wasn't going to go.
06:11But, like, it's driving me to just want to go do good for him.
06:15I wanna make my dog proud.
06:17I wanna make my family, my friends, my restaurant proud.
06:19And I wanna bring this home for Maximus.
06:22I'm just kinda gonna soften my cabbage a bit.
06:27Chef, welcome back.
06:28How are you?
06:29I'm gonna do braised red cabbage.
06:32Yep.
06:33With orange juice.
06:35Yep.
06:35Star anise and cinnamon.
06:38Salt and pepper and wine.
06:40Gonna juice it down.
06:41And I'm trying to figure out what to do with the chicken here.
06:43All right.
06:43Take your time, chef.
06:44You got 23 minutes.
06:46I'm trying to figure out what to do with the chicken collie.
06:48And I decide, like, I'm not gonna grill it or do anything.
06:50I'm gonna bread it.
06:51It's milanese style.
06:52Nice.
06:53But I know the cabbage is gonna take a long time to braise.
06:56So, I need to cut it very thin and start working on that right away.
07:02When I moved to United States, it was my first flight.
07:06They speak English at all.
07:08I had a dictionary in my pocket, still remember.
07:10And I did follow my American dream.
07:13I make the long list for the James Beard Award three times.
07:15I was a Michelin Award for four years.
07:18Food and Wine Best in Chef in 2008.
07:21But I did wait a long time in my career to competing in a TLC All-Star Christmas.
07:27That was my first competition.
07:28I was so nervous.
07:29Not that I'm not nervous now.
07:30I'm even more nervous now because I cannot blame my partner for something.
07:35All right.
07:36So, what would worry you more about this randomizer?
07:39There's a lot of citrus.
07:41And, I mean, while that is a fruit, it doesn't scream fruity to me in terms of flavor profile.
07:46Yeah.
07:46It's good thinking.
07:47Michelle, what's your fruit?
07:49So, right now, I have some apples, blackberries, some citrus.
07:52Nice.
07:53A little pear.
07:55Nice.
07:56And try and get as much fruit.
07:58Fruity.
07:58Fruity.
07:59And I think that blackberries will work well with cabbage.
08:01So, let them break down a little bit in there.
08:03Color-wise, really smart.
08:04Also, flavor-wise.
08:06I throw it in a little chicken stock to bring more savory.
08:09So, you're trying to balance the savory, sweet, salty, but still make it fruity.
08:13Don't be scared.
08:14No.
08:17I will take my time.
08:18I have to get in that main bracket.
08:3015 minutes, 15 to go.
08:34Are you guys having fun?
08:39Where are we at?
08:39Uh, we've got our fruity braised cabbage.
08:42Okay.
08:42So, we're onions, cabbage, apples, pears, mandolin, blackberries, and a little bit of orange juice
08:48and chicken stock.
08:49So, that's on its way over here.
08:51And now, we're gonna work on some chicken cutlets.
08:52Do you guys say chicken cutlets on the west coast?
08:55Uh-uh.
08:55Yeah.
08:56It's an east coast thing.
08:56Yeah.
08:57Totally.
08:57Chicken cutlets are classic east coast Italian.
09:00I'm gonna bread my chicken cutlet like I make every other chicken cutlet in the world because
09:04I think they're the best.
09:05So, if I can do that, I don't think I will go down in flames on the chicken cutlet.
09:10And then, a lot of parmesan cheese, season the breadcrumbs, and some flat leaf Italian parsley.
09:16My mother, rest her soul, if I didn't make a cutlet right, she would be like, okay, you're done.
09:21I swear, you would walk into my mother's house and she would shove chicken cutlets in everybody's mouth
09:26before they even, like, got to dinner.
09:28I love it.
09:29And still to this day, I carry that when I have guests coming over.
09:33There is a plate of chicken cutlets.
09:35All right.
09:35That's good.
09:36That's a good cutler.
09:38Ten minutes, chefs.
09:39Ten to go.
09:41That's where I'm from.
09:42I'm near Milano.
09:43And Milanese is like, we make veal, we make chicken.
09:47It's my fish and chips, I will say.
09:50I think I'm gonna bread it.
09:51Milanese?
09:52Well, I grew up in Milan.
09:53My mom would, like, once a week, like, something to Milanese.
09:56Just, I got a little flour, Italian breadcrumb.
09:59I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper.
10:02I just wanna keep it clean so you can taste the chicken and the cabbage and the fruit in the
10:08dish.
10:09I love that crosshatch that was done on that.
10:11Yeah, it was.
10:12I mean, it elevates your cutlet.
10:13It makes it a little bit more surprising and exciting.
10:17I wanna add, like, an extra fruit flavor to the dish.
10:20So I got some Rennie Smith apple and a honeycrease apple.
10:24So just apple and orange here.
10:27Yeah.
10:28Citrus.
10:29Fruity.
10:30You're speaking like a pro.
10:32I do.
10:32Even with my accent?
10:34Yeah.
10:34I'll take it.
10:35And the other apple, just brunoise.
10:37I put it in a pot with a little jus, veal, and chicken.
10:42And I deglaze a little with butter, just to clear, like, kind of gravy texture.
10:47Because for me, the chicken cutlet always liked me some kind of gravy.
10:50I like it.
10:53Seven minutes.
10:55The most important part of any TOC matchup is the blind judging.
10:59Our judges are waiting in their trailers for the call.
11:02They have no idea who's competing.
11:03So their scores will be based solely on what's on the plate.
11:07And I'm gonna throw some raw blackberries and more juice.
11:12Fruit is so hard to cook with when you're trying to balance.
11:15When you taste it, I get the bacon and the chicken stock and definitely get the cabbage.
11:20But you need to get that sweetness.
11:22So I need more fruit.
11:24Are we working on a glaze, chef?
11:25What is that?
11:26I'm missing something.
11:27I am starting to think, I need a sauce for this.
11:30More fruit.
11:32Blackberries, orange juice.
11:33Blackberries, orange juice.
11:35Little sugar.
11:36Where'd the time go?
11:38It's sneaky like that.
11:39Whoo!
11:39You guys, that was fast.
11:40I realized, uh, I need to get this sauce smoother.
11:43At this point, time is, it's crushing me.
11:47I taste the sauce, it's delicious, but there are seeds in this blackberry sauce.
11:52And I know this.
11:53And I don't have the time to run and find a strainer.
11:57This is what the game is.
11:58I'm happy with how everything tastes.
12:00I'm hoping I'm nailing the fruity.
12:01Uh, fruity's hard.
12:03Chefs, five minutes left.
12:06Five to go!
12:07Five minutes, huh?
12:08Five minutes!
12:09That cross hatch, it's a cool little technique.
12:12You know that's gonna allow that sauce.
12:14It's gonna pool up in those areas and then drain out,
12:17so you're getting little delicious sauce gutters.
12:20Cavities.
12:21Yeah.
12:22I wanna give you the best pieces to the judge.
12:24Sometimes the edge is a little dry.
12:26So let's try to trim a little bit.
12:28Three minutes, chefs!
12:31It's time to play.
12:33So first we're going cabbage.
12:36Then I'm giving them a whole chicken cutlet.
12:38I want them to eat a chicken cutlet.
12:40And then a little bit of blackberry sauce around the plate.
12:44And a little bit of sauce on top.
12:46And then orange zest and Parmesan.
12:49It's Italian versus Italian.
12:51It's Italian versus Italian.
12:51And I have to get in that main bracket.
12:54Two minutes!
12:55Two to go!
12:57I usually use a few ingredients and do it right.
13:00My old mentor, Charlie Trotta, used to say to me when he used to create dishes,
13:04Giuseppe, don't forget it, last is more.
13:06And he was right.
13:07So I'm gonna put the cabbage first.
13:11Chicken cutlet.
13:13Lemon.
13:15Then I'm gonna put a little apple salad on top.
13:1930 seconds!
13:21And then I want to give it like an extra level of fruity flavor.
13:24So put a little microplane orange on top of the dish.
13:27Then I'm gonna put the gravy in this glass jar.
13:32Yes!
13:32Let's get this done.
13:34I came over here for a reason, to win.
13:35And I hope I can make it as far as possible in the main bracket.
13:3910!
13:409!
13:418!
13:427!
13:436!
13:455!
13:464!
13:463!
13:472!
13:481!
13:49We're done.
13:50Woo!
13:51Great job!
13:52Okay.
13:53Wow!
13:54One of you is gonna move on to TOC 7.
13:56The other will be saying goodnight.
13:59Let's take it to the judges.
14:00Thank you so much, Chef Michelle.
14:01Chef Giuseppe, great job.
14:03Thanks.
14:08I feel great about a cook.
14:09I think it went very well.
14:10You know, I did like a version of chicken milanese,
14:12which I'm very comfortable with.
14:13Fruity was hard.
14:14Fruity was like, it took me a little out of the element,
14:17but I think I got a lot of food on the plate.
14:20Whew.
14:21Done.
14:22So the randomizer is like the devil, I think.
14:28I want to be the main bracket.
14:30That's why I'm here.
14:31That's why I came on board.
14:31That's why I compete today.
14:35I wanted to do this for six years, you know?
14:38Like, yeah, it's crazy, but it's kind of humbling
14:41when you're like cooking every day and you're like,
14:43yeah, I got this, no matter what.
14:45And then you get out there and you're like, whoa.
14:46All right, let's bring in our qualifier judges
14:48who know this competition better than anyone.
14:51TOC 4 champ, the one and only Chef Mei Lin.
14:54Oh, my God.
14:56Are you kidding?
14:57Hello.
14:58Olly molly, she's a tough cookie.
15:00The one and only ICAG, Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.
15:05Wow.
15:06Okay, so I love Alex so much.
15:08Just a legend.
15:10Ladies and gentlemen, the TOC reigning champ,
15:12Chef Antonio Lofaso.
15:14Woo!
15:15Olly molly.
15:17It's a champ witch.
15:18You...
15:20Judges, thank you.
15:21It's such a pleasure to have you.
15:23These chefs are fighting for the position of a lifetime
15:26to be included in the Super 32 of Turn Him to Champion 7.
15:32Now, the randomizer tonight served up chicken cutlets and protein,
15:36red cabbage and produce,
15:38the equipment that must be employed as the mandolin,
15:40the style was fruity, and then a whopping 28 minutes.
15:43Here to present the first dish is the wild card himself,
15:46just this morning.
15:47Thank you, Guy.
15:48First, the chicken cutlets.
15:50They were done with standard breading procedure,
15:52but using egg, double-O flour, and breadcrumbs.
15:56The red cabbage was run through the mandolin,
15:58and then treated to a long cook in orange juice, ginger,
16:02star anise, wine, and butter.
16:04In terms of fruity components, this is, of course,
16:06subject to your interpretation,
16:08but we have grilled lemon on the plate.
16:10You have orange zest on top.
16:12You have orange juice in the cabbage and in the apple sticks
16:15and in the jus.
16:16Sounds really good.
16:18All right, let's see what's put on here.
16:20The road to Flavortown has very few bricks when you're a winner.
16:24And I'm just saying this chef was clever in not using too many ingredients,
16:30other than what the randomizer told them to use.
16:32I'll take it.
16:33So the cutlet, beautifully cooked.
16:35Where are the edges?
16:36Where are they?
16:37I know.
16:37Like, I want those edges of the cutlet.
16:40Come on.
16:41All right.
16:42I don't know.
16:43Here's the thing.
16:43I get very excited about a chicken cutlet.
16:45Like, Long Island, New York, I was like,
16:47if this wasn't breaded, I'm gonna kind of want to flip a plate,
16:50because a chicken cutlet, I want it crunchy, I want it breaded,
16:53I want it fried.
16:54And I think they did a lovely job on the cookery of this chicken.
16:57The inside is moist, it's delicious.
17:00I love the cabbage and apple.
17:01I think it is a classic combination.
17:04Red cabbage does take a long time to braise,
17:07and 28 minutes is on that randomizer.
17:10So to actually shave it as thin as it did on the mandolin
17:13was probably one of the greatest game plays I've seen.
17:16Wow.
17:18I'm really loving this braised red cabbage.
17:21It's good.
17:22I think that the braised red cabbage is the star of this plate,
17:26but it actually eats quite tart.
17:28It did need a bit of honey or brown sugars or molasses
17:32just to kind of balance everything together.
17:35Thank you very much.
17:36Okay, judges, let's go to the scoring.
17:3850 points available in taste,
17:4040 points in the use of the randomizer,
17:42and 10 in the plating.
17:45It's impossible to please everybody.
17:47It is what it is.
17:48My stomach is flipping, and I'm nervous.
17:50All right, judges, here we are for the second dish,
17:52and to present that to you is our TOC champ, Tiffany Faison.
17:55Welcome to fruit and bacon braised red cabbage
17:58with a crispy chicken cutlet and blackberry orange glaze.
18:02The red cabbage was worked through the mandolin
18:04with apples, pears, onions, and blackberries.
18:07That's right, blackberries also went through the mandolin.
18:10They were met with a little bit of bacon and orange juice
18:12and reduced with chicken stock.
18:14On top of that, you see your chicken cutlet,
18:16bathed in a little bit panko, parm, and parsley,
18:18and pan-fried.
18:20Finally, the blackberries were reduced with orange juice,
18:24a little bit of sugar, and then buzzed out,
18:26creating the glaze that you see around
18:28and on top of your chicken cutlet.
18:30They're eating.
18:31That's a good thing, right?
18:32This is an expertly cooked chicken cutlet.
18:37Yes, Antonio.
18:39It's like, let's just start with, like,
18:40how perfectly brown it is on the outside.
18:43You've got those crispy edges,
18:44but what I'm, like, madly in love with
18:47is the herbs that were mixed inside
18:49of the panko breadcrumbs,
18:51so they get that kind of, like, crunchy element
18:53and sort of that darker color.
18:55I'm madly in love with you.
18:58The bacon in this dish
19:00that is, like, smoky divine,
19:02it adds the richness this is begging for,
19:05it hooks up with the cutlet,
19:06and they're off to Vegas.
19:08Are you kidding?
19:11Now, there's a point when you have
19:12to tell the randomizer to calm down.
19:14This chef went berries, orange, lemon,
19:19pears, and apples.
19:20Seriously, that's fruity.
19:22And I think this chef
19:23needed to pull back from the fruit a little bit.
19:25Ugh.
19:27Because I'm getting too many flavors,
19:29and they're diluting.
19:32I thought that this chicken cutlet
19:35was expertly breaded and fried,
19:38seasoned really, really nicely,
19:40but the seeds in the sauce,
19:42I think did a disservice to this plate of food.
19:47It just kind of gives it an off-put taste in my mouth,
19:50because it's all stuck in my teeth now.
19:53Okay, seeds.
19:54I mean, seeds are gonna get me, and I knew it.
19:56At one point, I was, like, straining the sauce.
19:58Judges, thank you very much.
20:00Score sheets in front of you.
20:0150 points for the taste,
20:0340 points for the use of randomizer,
20:05and 10 in the plating.
20:06To be honest, 50-50.
20:08I cannot tell if I feel good or bad.
20:10I don't know what's gonna happen.
20:11It's all about this wonderful number.
20:12So we'll retire you to the trailers.
20:14We'll call you back in a bit.
20:15Thank you so much.
20:16To get into the bracket of TOC,
20:18it means, well, it means everything.
20:20It is, like, the top of the top.
20:23And hopefully, I can move on.
20:25We have the scores.
20:25Let's bring the chefs back in.
20:26All right, Chef.
20:28We're ready for you.
20:28All right, let's go.
20:34All right, folks.
20:35I have the scores for the first battle of the evening.
20:37Let's send the chefs back in.
20:39Chef Giuseppe.
20:40Chef Michel.
20:44Zappi.
20:45Ciao.
20:48Here we go.
20:49Here are the scores.
20:51One chef scored a 81.
20:54Good score.
20:55That's all right.
20:56The other chef scored a 83.
21:00Chefs, it's been a pleasure having both of you here
21:01in the qualifiers.
21:03Unfortunately, only one of you will move in to TOC 7.
21:06The winner of this battle is...
21:18Chef Giuseppe!
21:21I'm so happy for you.
21:28Ragu, it was a great cook.
21:29It was only a two-point difference.
21:31Great to have you.
21:32Thank you so much.
21:32We've seen you in before.
21:33This is not the last time we'll see you.
21:36Chef Michel.
21:40It's been a rough, rough week.
21:43So, uh...
21:45Yeah.
21:46You know, I wish I would have taken it for my dog.
21:48But I didn't.
21:49And he's with me in spirit.
21:51Chef Giuseppe, congratulations going into TOC 7.
21:55Get some rest, my friend.
21:56You're gonna need it.
21:57There you go.
21:59Yes.
22:01Congratulations.
22:01Thank you, buddy.
22:02Going into the main bracket now.
22:03Any sort of, you know, challenges or strategies you're gonna, you know, you wanna play into?
22:07I like what the judges say.
22:08Like, just when the randomizer one on the plate don't add too much stuff to the dish.
22:12Right.
22:13That was very helpful.
22:14Less is more.
22:15Less is more.
22:16Well, hey, we're gonna see you in the main bracket.
22:17Congratulations, Chef.
22:18Can't wait.
22:19It's good to see you.
22:19So, we've got five down and three to go.
22:21Chefs, come join me.
22:23Let's find out who's up next.
22:24Let's go.
22:25Let's go.
22:26I'm excited.
22:27You're ready, Hunter.
22:27I'm ready.
22:29Watching all the qualifying rounds is torture.
22:32I know that I can cook.
22:33I'm a confident chef.
22:34And I'm ready to go.
22:35And there were six.
22:37There were six.
22:37Okay, time to find out who's gonna be facing off in our sixth qualifying battle.
22:42Hunter, spin it to win it.
22:43Let's do it.
22:44Spin it to win.
22:45Come on.
22:46Spin it to win.
22:46Okay.
22:48Oh.
22:49First up will be...
22:52Gabby Chappelle.
22:53Ooh.
22:54Whoa.
22:55All right.
22:56All right.
22:57I'm ready.
22:57Okay.
22:58Next Level Chef Season 3, big winner.
23:01Not an easy competition.
23:03No.
23:04So, you're built for something like this.
23:05This is the second time in my life I've ever been on a competition show.
23:10I'm young.
23:11I'm hungry.
23:12I'm eager.
23:12And so, I think that getting into that main bracket would help to solidify who I am as
23:18a competitor.
23:18Let's see who you're going against.
23:19Hunter, give us a spin.
23:20All right.
23:25Going up against...
23:28Ashley Shanti.
23:30Ooh.
23:30All right.
23:30We gotta get it done.
23:33James Beard, award-winning cookbook author.
23:36New York Times list of best restaurants in America.
23:39Is that a cooking jersey?
23:40Yes.
23:41And this is my good hot fish.
23:43Good hot fish.
23:43Good hot fish jersey.
23:45Yeah.
23:45This is going to be quite the battle.
23:47This is the sixth battle.
23:48Two remaining.
23:49The four of you know what to do.
23:51And you two, let's take it to the randomizer.
23:53All right.
23:53Good luck.
23:54Go.
23:54I have an interesting background, but all of it is saturated in the South.
23:58Step up, step in, come in and win, hopefully.
24:01Which is where I grew up learning about the food ways that really encouraged me to be a chef.
24:07But I'm ready to show what I've got.
24:09What do you think?
24:10I'm ready to go.
24:11Right?
24:12The randomizer will be the randomizer.
24:14Yeah.
24:14Not our friend, but you know.
24:16We've replaced the randomizer selections from the last battle, so you'll see that the choices
24:21this time are, in protein, beef chuck still hangs around, tilapia.
24:27Are you both good tilapia chefs?
24:29Listen.
24:30He's got fish on his back.
24:30I don't discriminate.
24:31I can do some cool things with tilapia.
24:33Yeah.
24:33This is the qualifier.
24:34You know what's gotta happen.
24:35You gotta win to stay in.
24:37Yep.
24:37Let's do it.
24:37Here we go.
24:38Protein.
24:38Let's go.
24:44Ooh.
24:45What's it gonna be?
24:46Brought tilapia, Chuck.
24:47Brought tilapia.
24:50I run a fast casual fish fry shop in Asheville, North Carolina.
24:54Thankfully, I know what I'm doing when it comes to this.
24:56Yellow squash food mill sour.
25:01And 32 minutes.
25:04Okay.
25:04Because I need some thinking time on this one.
25:06Glacias.
25:0632 minutes though.
25:08Yeah.
25:09I thought you said go.
25:11Would you like me to say go?
25:13Is that?
25:14He's gonna do it.
25:15Yes.
25:15Let's go.
25:16Let's go.
25:16Go?
25:16Oh, go.
25:17Okay.
25:19I just asked.
25:20Let's go.
25:22Tilapia.
25:24Very mild.
25:25Affordable fish.
25:26Yellow squash.
25:27Type of a summer squash.
25:29Food mill.
25:30It's a great way to make mashed potatoes.
25:32It's a great way to puree foods.
25:34Sour.
25:35Acidic.
25:36Sharp.
25:37Tangy.
25:38Tart.
25:39All of those things can fall into the world of sour.
25:41In 32 minutes.
25:47I first appeared on the Epicurious YouTube channel back in 2017, where I started as a home chef.
25:56And being season three winner of Next Level Chef was absolutely incredible.
26:01But after being on a YouTube channel just because I loved it, to now competing with the greats, with Michelin
26:09Star Chef, with James Beard Award winners, is so surreal.
26:15But I love to compete.
26:18And I want to highlight my skill set.
26:21I'm glad you're here.
26:22Yeah.
26:22We're excited.
26:23You're working so cool, calm, and collected.
26:25I'm excited what you'll do in 32 minutes.
26:27Gabby, what's your vision?
26:29So, I'm going to keep it a little bit Mediterranean today.
26:32With pomegranate molasses, glazed tilapia, and tart labneh.
26:36I am a plant-based chef.
26:38I don't cook with meat very often.
26:41I was going to fry it.
26:43I think I'm going to braise it with tilapia.
26:46I don't want to say that the randomizer is working in Ashley's favor, but if you own a fish fry
26:51restaurant and you get tilapia, that's pretty spot on.
26:56On a show that protein is a huge portion of the score, I want to bring through some brighter and
27:03sweeter sour flavors.
27:06So, my marinade is pomegranate molasses, some tamarind paste.
27:10I have some cumin, some smoked paprika, obviously some salt.
27:18Ashley's approach is going to be a bit more conventional.
27:21I think I'm going to bring something that's a bit out of the box.
27:24That's delicious.
27:26Chefs, we have 20 minutes left, 20 in the competition.
27:30I was part of the qualifiers last year, and I had to come home a loser.
27:35I just didn't even make it to the plate.
27:36Stop working!
27:37But I get a second chance to be able to redeem myself.
27:41I want to show these chefs what I've got and that I can compete with the big dogs.
27:46Kind of famous for fish fries, huh?
27:48I do love a good fish fry.
27:50I'm going to make this fried fish encased in all this cornmeal and also some sumac along with squash and
27:56onion pickles.
27:57I've been cooking since my first job as a teenager, cooking at little fish fry shacks on the beach.
28:02I started my first restaurant a couple years ago called Good Hot Fish.
28:06It's a little fish fry spot.
28:08I'm just going to let those drip.
28:10I'm not going to lie.
28:11I mean, tilapia, serendipitous.
28:14But it's really important that I think of a way to use this food mill.
28:18So, I don't use a food mill a lot.
28:21Okay.
28:22I'm hoping I can do some sort of decent puree using a food mill.
28:27I think that's going to be the base of the dish.
28:29And a super sour squash pickle condiment on top.
28:34Yeah, so it's going to be a squash and onion pickle.
28:36Got it.
28:37Squash has got a lot of water in it.
28:39I prod the squash.
28:40Feels soft enough.
28:42Chop it up just enough to fit in that food mill.
28:47Hmm.
28:50Having problems.
28:51I'm turning it.
28:51It's not really working.
28:52It's not really working.
28:53All right.
28:54Might have to pivot on the squash puree.
28:56All right.
28:57That's creating squash juice.
29:00Food mills suck!
29:02Chef Ashley's grilled squash just went into the food mill and it created like squashy juice with seeds in the
29:08bottom.
29:09It's not pureeing and breaking down that squash the way that she wanted.
29:12The food mill has to be used.
29:13So, we'll see what comes of that.
29:1516 minutes, chefs.
29:17Pivoting halfway through the cook is very dangerous.
29:20I am panicked.
29:21This is feeling so reminiscent of last year and I cannot make the same mistake.
29:27I have to figure this out.
29:28All right.
29:29I just got to think.
29:31Ah!
29:3315 minutes, chefs.
29:3415 to go.
29:36I got a little squashed in the mill.
29:38We got squash juice and seeds.
29:40And it's really a puree.
29:42So, it's just pivoting.
29:43Don't change horses in the middle of the streams.
29:46I'm thinking of soft foods that are obviously tasty and that don't need much manipulation for this dish.
29:53And I land on tomatoes and it just kind of ties in with a fish fry like summer tomatoes and
30:00summer squash and a nice fried piece of fish.
30:03Are we milling and chilling?
30:04We're milling and chilling.
30:05All right.
30:06In this pivot, what is this going to end up being?
30:09Squash and tomato.
30:10It actually creates kind of a nice bright summer broth.
30:16It's a cool broth.
30:18I think I figured something out in the nick of time.
30:21It's a cool way to make your squash sour.
30:23You know, I planned it this way all along.
30:26You should.
30:28So, I throw my charred shallots in with a little more red wine vinegar, a little oil.
30:35And I feel like that's going to add body and some really great flavor to this squash tomato broth.
30:42I belong here.
30:44I deserve to be here.
30:45And this is just another shot for me to redeem myself.
30:50Squash is watery, but when you get a good caramelization on it, it has this really lovely, just delicate flavor.
30:57So, I'm going to fry it.
30:59I think the trick to cooking it is making sure you're seasoning it really well.
31:03You may season it, and then the next thing you know, as some of that water leaches out, so does
31:09your seasoning, so does your flavor.
31:11Vinegar powder, chef.
31:12Yeah.
31:13Mmm, smells like salt and vinegar chips.
31:16Lavna, nice and sour.
31:18I'm going to make this really nice compound lavna.
31:23I feel like having lavna and fish, it's kind of like if you think of fish and tartar sauce.
31:28I think the best way that you can play sour is by hitting it with a little bit of sweet.
31:33I'm going to throw a little of this orange marmalade.
31:36Also citrus, and get a little bit sour.
31:39What are you nailing, Gabby?
31:41Preserved lemon.
31:43Okay.
31:45Perfect.
31:45To really nail the randomizer, I'm going to do the squash two ways.
31:49It needs more salt, though.
31:50Process it through the food mill, so that it just adds some nice texture and savoriness to the lavna.
31:55Are my biceps popping?
31:57What's the plan for this version of squash?
31:58So this squash is also going to get fried, but it's going to serve as sort of a bed on
32:02top of the lavna.
32:03Got it.
32:04I want to prove myself.
32:05As a plant-based chef, I can compete with the big dogs.
32:09I want to highlight my skill set.
32:13Eight minutes.
32:16She hasn't done anything with her tilapia.
32:18Oh, yeah.
32:18She's struggling a little bit.
32:19Time.
32:20Come on, girl.
32:20Get in there.
32:21Fish frying.
32:22I guess I should do the same.
32:24Thank God.
32:25She's going to get her fish.
32:26Now that I've figured out the food mill pivot, I've got to do something very important.
32:31Fry the tilapia.
32:33Putting sumac in this dredge.
32:34Might as well, right?
32:35I like it.
32:36And my fish fry dredge took it right back to good hot fish.
32:39I'm from the south.
32:40Cornmeal frying.
32:41It's something we do all the time.
32:43I do a blend of all-purpose flour and yellow cornmeal.
32:48Seven minutes, chef.
32:50Seven.
32:50Heard.
32:54Hibiscus flours have this really lovely tartness.
32:57It's almost like a nice little flavor bomb moment.
33:00I think that that's what I'm going to be going for.
33:01Some smart moves already.
33:02Using the required style of sour hibiscus.
33:06Screaming red color.
33:07You got to see it.
33:08You got to taste it.
33:09Yep.
33:09Hibiscus flour is definitely going to let them see it.
33:12When you rehydrate the hibiscus flours, they become edible.
33:16So I threw them in the fryer just to kind of get the crunch back.
33:19And they added this really nice layer of crispiness, sourness, and just burst of flavor.
33:25That's certainly sour.
33:27Three minutes, chefs.
33:29Three to go.
33:33So the first thing that goes down on the plate is the labneh.
33:37So then I'm plating my squash planks on top of the labneh.
33:42Then on top goes the glazed tilapia.
33:46It has this nice sort of sour fruits flavor.
33:49And then I wanted to do something kind of fun with some passion fruit to impart some extra sourness,
33:55which I think in a way kind of gives fish eggs.
33:57Fish eggs.
33:58Right?
33:59I'm with you.
34:0190 seconds.
34:03I might actually make it to the plate this time, y'all.
34:05You will.
34:06You will.
34:06You got it.
34:07You got it.
34:08Go to the plate.
34:10I scoop that broth into the bowl.
34:12That's the first touch.
34:14All right.
34:15Check on that tilapia.
34:17Perfect temperature.
34:18Add a little salt to finish along with sumac.
34:21And then I've got my beautiful pickles, my squash and onion pickles.
34:25I am wishing that I had some green herbaceousness, some brightness to balance out this dish,
34:32but I don't have any time, unfortunately.
34:34Five, four, three, two, one.
34:38We're done.
34:39Good job, ladies.
34:39Good job, chefs.
34:41Great job.
34:41Now, who thought tilapia could be that fun?
34:44Chefs, thank you so much.
34:45Thank you, chef.
34:46Great job.
34:47Let's bring in the judges.
34:49Oh, yeah.
34:50I'm proud.
34:51I'm proud of that.
34:52I feel much better than last time.
34:54I got stuff on the plate.
34:57Okay.
34:59Feels good to sit down.
35:01Last year, I did receive the lowest score in the history of the qualifiers.
35:07And I just need to redeem that.
35:09All right.
35:09Let's welcome back our distinguished qualifier judges.
35:12Oh, my gosh.
35:12Who's it going to be?
35:13Who's it going to be?
35:14I'm so excited.
35:14The TOC four champ, Chef Mei Lin.
35:17Mei Lin's my absolute favorite judge.
35:19She was, like, so smart.
35:21ICAG Iron Chef, Alex Guarnaschelli.
35:24Wow, I'm so excited.
35:26She's a tough judge.
35:28And the TOC reigning champ, Antonia Lofaso.
35:32Oh, my gosh.
35:34They're freaking tough as hell.
35:36Both chefs had to prepare tilapia, yellow squash, food mill for their equipment, and the style was sour.
35:43These two chefs were granted 32 minutes.
35:46And here to present for you, TOC champ, Tiffany Faison.
35:50In front of you, you have sumac fried tilapia, charred yellow squash and tomato broth, and pickled yellow squash and
35:57onion, creating the sour pickle on top.
36:00So, for the food mill, we have the broth, obviously, with tomatoes and the squash, also intended to squash the
36:06competition.
36:07Oh.
36:08Squash the competition.
36:09Okay.
36:10Please.
36:11Be nice.
36:12A tilapia is hard.
36:14And when I saw tilapia, I was like, please, for the love of God, fry it.
36:17This is a proper fish fry.
36:19I do this for a living.
36:20I do this, you know, good hot fish.
36:22It's her thang.
36:23It is beautifully coated.
36:24It is beautifully seasoned.
36:26The outside of the tilapia has those crunchy little bits, and then it sort of mellows out towards the center,
36:32where it's nice and fatty and luscious.
36:34I can go home.
36:35I'm ready.
36:35I'm done.
36:36I just needed to hear that.
36:37Really seasoning it with that sumac to really emphasize the sour was a really, really smart move.
36:44Smart play.
36:44The chef went sour, sour, sour.
36:46I think the sumac leaves you puckery mouth watery.
36:50I wouldn't have minded one of these things to have a little sweetness.
36:54All right.
36:54All right.
36:55Team sweet.
36:56Team sweet.
36:58I'm really, really glad that the chef decided to utilize that pickle for the yellow squash.
37:03That was actually really successful as well.
37:06It wasn't mushy.
37:08It wasn't overdone.
37:09I can fry some fish.
37:10I can pickle.
37:11I think the sauce is delicious, and I want more of it.
37:13So for me, the plating is a miss.
37:15I want it to be on a bigger plate with a lot more of that sauce at the bottom.
37:18And what I do think it's missing is herbs.
37:21I don't know if it's dill.
37:22I know.
37:22I don't know if it's a little green onion, but just something fresh.
37:24I wanted to run and grab herbs, but I had 43 seconds, so.
37:28Thank you, judges.
37:2850 points available in the taste.
37:3140 points in the use of the randomizer.
37:3410 for presentation.
37:37All right.
37:39We'll see how the judges react to Chef Gabby's dish.
37:43Ooh.
37:45Okay.
37:46I mean, they really liked her dish.
37:49Obviously, she nailed the fry.
37:51And here to present our second dish is the one and only wild card, Justin Warner.
37:54Thank you, guys.
37:55Okay.
37:55Judges, before you is a sour fruits tilapia with squash and lemon labneh.
38:01For the food mill, the preserved lemon, the fried squash, and the hibiscus all went through
38:05there and into the labneh.
38:08And in terms of sour ingredients, passion fruit, hibiscus, preserved lemon, and lime zest
38:14have all made it onto the plate.
38:15Ooh.
38:16Here we go.
38:17This is all very confident-seeming, like, technique.
38:20Kind of obsessed with a glaze on the outside of the tilapia.
38:24It almost reminds me of, like, a miso cod.
38:26Right?
38:26And so, like, as it roasts on the outside, to be able to get that kind of caramelization
38:31and color on something like tilapia, it's so hard to do unless you fry it.
38:35Yeah.
38:35I think this chef nailed sour.
38:37I get sour right out of the bat.
38:38I've never had hibiscus like that before.
38:40I love the fried hibiscus on top.
38:42It's the first thing I ate.
38:43So it coated my whole palate.
38:45And I think hibiscus is a beautiful, natural source of sourness.
38:49That's exactly what I wanted to hear.
38:51Sometimes you got no business putting yogurt anywhere after 9.30 a.m.
38:55But it's sour.
38:57Probably the hardest ingredient on this randomizer is the yellow squash because the squash eats
39:04incredibly watery.
39:06Maybe it was seasoned, but all that water has leached into the dish.
39:12Aw, bummer.
39:13That's why I charred my squash.
39:15Judges, thank you very much.
39:17Your scorecard's in front of you.
39:18No matter what, I'll be proud.
39:19And if I make it in the main bracket, then it's gonna be an absolute dynamite experience.
39:24So I don't wanna go home a loser again.
39:26So it would mean a lot.
39:28And my city needs it.
39:30My team wants it just as much as I do.
39:32So, yeah.
39:34So I just gotta get into that bracket.
39:37We have the scores.
39:38Let's bring the chefs back in.
39:39All right, chef.
39:40The scores are in.
39:41Okay.
39:44Here we go.
39:47All right, ladies and gentlemen.
39:48I have the scores for our second battle of the evening.
39:51Chef Gabby.
39:52Let's go.
39:52Chef Ashley.
39:57Welcome back, chefs.
40:00I think you both did a really nice job.
40:02And here are our scores.
40:03One chef scored a 75.
40:09The other chef scored a 78.
40:12Ladies and gentlemen, the chef that will be moving on to TOC 7 is...
40:23Chef Ashley.
40:25Congratulations.
40:27You did awesome.
40:29Awesome job.
40:30Chef Gabby, no easy task.
40:32You learned something from it.
40:33You're tried.
40:34You're true.
40:34You know what you're doing.
40:35This is not the last we're gonna see of you.
40:36Chef Gabby, thank you.
40:38See you, chef.
40:39I want that recipe, by the way.
40:40I believe.
40:41Sounds good.
40:45All right.
40:46I don't wanna say I played it safe, but...
40:49You know what?
40:50I don't think I did play it safe.
40:51I think that there were some maybe technical things that I would have adjusted.
40:55Absolutely.
40:55If there was anyone that was gonna beat me in tilapia, it's someone who owns the fried fish business.
41:00I guess when you know how to fry fish, you fry some fish.
41:05Doesn't hurt.
41:05Chef, that's exactly what you have to do.
41:08Do what you know.
41:09Do what you love.
41:09And you gotta cook like you're the only one in the kitchen.
41:12And tonight, you just bet on yourself and you won.
41:15And you go into the tournament.
41:16I love that.
41:16I'm gonna keep it in my back pocket.
41:17All right, chef.
41:18Go get it.
41:19Give it up.
41:19Chef Ashley going into TOC 7.
41:22Woo!
41:23Woo!
41:25All right, I'm in.
41:27Nice job.
41:28Any strategies, kind of gameplay, you know, moves that you wanna make coming into the main bracket?
41:32Last year, I think I got into my head way too much.
41:35So, I'm gonna take guys' advice and cook like no one's watching.
41:38I like that.
41:39We'll see you out there.
41:39Thanks.
41:40Appreciate you.
41:40Good luck, chef.
41:41Nice job.
41:42Good hot fish right there.
41:43Good hot fish.
41:44Six talented chefs have already won their qualifier battles and earned a place in the TOC 7 bracket.
41:51And you better obey Randy.
41:52I'm like shaking here.
41:54I've been shaking this hard in, uh, forever.
41:56We love it.
41:56The question is, who will secure the final two spots in the tournament?
42:00That's how it's gonna run or do it.
42:00We love it.
42:00We love it.
42:00It's a bit regret.
42:00We need to that
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