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00:00:00Welcome to the most exciting baking and pastry kitchen in America.
00:00:06This is the most amazing thing I ever did in my life.
00:00:0816 of the nation's most extraordinary chefs are stepping forward to showcase their vision, passion, and creativity at the highest
00:00:17level.
00:00:17This is where the magic happens.
00:00:19From flawless pastry classics to jaw-dropping, never-before-seen dessert creations.
00:00:25Gotta think outside the box here.
00:00:26Every bake brings them one step closer to the title.
00:00:29This is the innovation I was looking to see.
00:00:31And no baking skill will go unchallenged.
00:00:34Yes! There we go, baby!
00:00:37Their work will be judged by icons of the pastry world, masters who know what it takes to reach the
00:00:43top.
00:00:43Peace for the eyes. Everywhere you look, there's something going on.
00:00:46This is just perfection.
00:00:48Thanks so much.
00:00:49But only one will rise above the rest and earn the most prestigious title of all, the ultimate baking champion.
00:01:16The ultimate baking championship, it is literally the crumb to crumb. Like, this is it.
00:01:25I was a Zagat 30 Under 30 recipient. And I was a Jamie's Beard semi-finalist, which is the Oscars
00:01:31of the food world.
00:01:34This is more than what I ever imagined it would be.
00:01:36Yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited.
00:01:37It's beautiful. There's, like, everything.
00:01:40This is the perfect environment to show off that I really know what I'm doing.
00:01:45There's a lot of very talented people.
00:01:47Just look around.
00:01:48Yeah.
00:01:48Feels like a pastry Olympics.
00:01:50The expectations are gonna be so high.
00:01:54Juan might be the guy to beat.
00:01:56He's done the Wizards of Baking.
00:01:57He's won School of Chocolate before.
00:02:00You gotta defeat masters to be a master.
00:02:02People should be a little bit scared because I'm not here to play.
00:02:05I'm here to take this win home.
00:02:08Welcome, chefs!
00:02:10Here we go!
00:02:14It begins.
00:02:17Well, look around.
00:02:19You 16 pastry chefs have been invited here to showcase your skills and extraordinary talent in the toughest baking competition
00:02:27of its kind.
00:02:29Here in the Ultimate Baking Championship Kitchen, you'll prove that you are the masters of baking and pastry technique, as
00:02:36well as sugar and chocolate work.
00:02:39Over the next nine weeks, experts in the world of baking will judge your every dessert creation.
00:02:45And you're gonna find your scores over there on the leaderboard.
00:02:50Now, if you slip to the bottom of the leaderboard, you will be eliminated.
00:02:56But if you can survive and make it to the top of the leaderboard, you will win $50,000.
00:03:03Wow.
00:03:04Our coveted gold medal.
00:03:06Beautiful.
00:03:07And the title of the Ultimate Baking Champion.
00:03:12Let's go.
00:03:14Everything you bake is crucial to surviving in this competition.
00:03:18And we're gonna start with the basics.
00:03:21We wanna see what each of you can do with taste and texture.
00:03:24Beginning with a skills challenge.
00:03:29Ah, let's go.
00:03:31I'm ready to get started.
00:03:33First thing we need to do is to split you into two groups of eight.
00:03:38Oh my gosh.
00:03:40Here are the chefs in the first group.
00:03:44If your name is not on the board, please make your way to the back kitchen.
00:03:47I love you.
00:03:49Give me a second.
00:03:49Nice.
00:03:50You guys got this.
00:03:52Chefs, you all know there are four basic tastes.
00:03:55Sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.
00:03:58In this first skills challenge, you're gonna have to show your command of one taste by pairing it with a
00:04:05texture like so.
00:04:08Your dessert must feature the taste and texture pairings randomly assigned to you.
00:04:13Sweet and crunchy, Sarah and Florencia.
00:04:17Salty and sticky, Casey and Steven.
00:04:20Sour and smooth, Robert and Adalberto.
00:04:24Bitter and toasted, Rochelle and Clément.
00:04:28Now the judges, who you'll meet later, will give each dessert a score based on flavor, execution, and technical difficulty.
00:04:37The steaks could not be higher because at the end of this challenge, two chefs will be eliminated and leave.
00:04:45Oh my God.
00:04:46No way.
00:04:47Wow.
00:04:48Two people are going home, so 25% of the eight of us in this room.
00:04:53This is super scary.
00:04:56Chefs, you have 90 minutes to demonstrate your mastery of the basic tastes and textures.
00:05:00And that time starts now.
00:05:09Salty and sticky.
00:05:12Sweet and toasted.
00:05:14Okay.
00:05:15Let's do it.
00:05:17Sour and smooth.
00:05:18I'm gonna be making a key lime pie.
00:05:21Deconstructed.
00:05:21Key lime curd.
00:05:22A passion fruit meringue.
00:05:24A coconut soil.
00:05:25And a mint microwave cake.
00:05:27Alberto, my parents are Cuban.
00:05:29I was born and raised in Miami.
00:05:30I'm actually from Cuba, for real.
00:05:32Cuba, Cuba.
00:05:33The OG.
00:05:33Cuba, Cuba.
00:05:35Alberto, how we doing?
00:05:36Hey Jesse, good.
00:05:37How are you?
00:05:37I'm doing amazing.
00:05:38Thank you for having us.
00:05:39You gotta make something sour and smooth.
00:05:41I'm making a date pudding cake.
00:05:43Usually cakes have some kind of chewy texture to them.
00:05:46Mm-hmm.
00:05:47So I select something that is actually like pudding, so it's smooth.
00:05:51Then I'm doing passion fruit curd for sour.
00:05:54And mango jelly.
00:05:56And then a hibiscus meringue for smooth.
00:05:59Tell me about yourself and your background.
00:06:02I had an illegal bakery back in Cuba when I was there.
00:06:05It's communism, right?
00:06:07So you had no right to make a private enterprise.
00:06:09Oh, wow.
00:06:10So if you wanna survive, you have to start on the ground.
00:06:13I'm all about surviving the struggle.
00:06:15It allowed me to be the chef that I am today.
00:06:18This year I was nominated as a semi-finalist for a James Pierre Award,
00:06:22and I could not be any more proud.
00:06:24Very few things stop me from doing the things I wanna do.
00:06:27You have an amazing background.
00:06:28Thank you, I appreciate it.
00:06:30Wish you the best.
00:06:33Not bad.
00:06:34It's getting there.
00:06:36Clément, you're making a praline?
00:06:37Yeah.
00:06:38Oh, those look beautiful.
00:06:40For my bitter and toasted, I'm making a chocolate and ganache tart
00:06:45with a praline toasted hazelnut and a coffee mascarpone cream.
00:06:51So right now I'm just dipping my toasted hazelnut in the caramel
00:06:55just to make a nice decoration, some volume to my tart.
00:06:58Clément, it's like a...
00:06:59You know how happy I am to see you.
00:07:01It's good to see you.
00:07:02You look like you're right at home.
00:07:03Of course, you were so close to winning on Spring Baking Championship,
00:07:07the last time that we saw you competing.
00:07:09I still remember.
00:07:11On the Spring Baking Championship, I went in final, but I didn't win.
00:07:15I didn't sleep for three years.
00:07:17All right, what have you been doing?
00:07:18I've been baking and I came back stronger with more skills, more experience.
00:07:23I'm really gonna push more myself.
00:07:25This time, there's no way I lose.
00:07:27I need to go get my tart in my oven.
00:07:29Go ahead, my friend.
00:07:30Go, go, go.
00:07:33And my tart is perfectly baked.
00:07:3545 minutes.
00:07:36It's all about taste and texture.
00:07:47Rochelle, how we doing?
00:07:48We're doing good.
00:07:49You and Clément, you both have Bitter and Toasted, of course.
00:07:52He's got some experience baking on TV, as we've seen.
00:07:55You know, he's got that very French personality.
00:07:58This is very intense.
00:08:00So I'm trying to, like, lighten it up over here.
00:08:01Be like, you know, just have fun.
00:08:04What dessert are we making?
00:08:05I am making a chocolate mousse with a liquid pecan praline center,
00:08:11sandwiched in between chocolate sasher cake with toasted marshmallow on top.
00:08:16I kind of like to do away with the rules sometimes.
00:08:19I spend time in two Michelin star kitchens working for Jose Andres,
00:08:22and now I run a couple restaurants on Capitol Hill.
00:08:27We do our own bread.
00:08:29We do desserts at all the restaurants.
00:08:30But I need to get these mousse in the freezer.
00:08:33Otherwise, it's going to be a very freeform mousse cake.
00:08:35Good luck, Rochelle.
00:08:38How you doing over there, Steve?
00:08:40Kind of crazy.
00:08:41Right?
00:08:41How about you?
00:08:42The first challenge, do what you know and stick with it.
00:08:47All right, Casey.
00:08:48So you're making something salty and sticky here.
00:08:51I am.
00:08:51I'm from Chicago.
00:08:52We love ball games.
00:08:53So I'm going to use peanuts today.
00:08:55I'm going to stick to that sweet, kind of like sticky feeling in your teeth.
00:08:58Oh, I love that idea.
00:08:59Yeah.
00:09:00So I am making a chocolate peanut caramelized tart.
00:09:03I'm going to start with a chocolate crust.
00:09:05I'm going to fill that with a salted caramel, candied peanuts, a chocolate mousse,
00:09:09and a sticky fuitine tuile.
00:09:11I know you tried out to be a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.
00:09:13I did.
00:09:14Tell me about that.
00:09:14I did.
00:09:15It was a lifelong dream when I was a child.
00:09:18I danced for 20 years.
00:09:20Being up against 400 women cut down to the last 45 rooted me in the attitude that I need
00:09:26to bring to this competition.
00:09:27I got cut for weight probation.
00:09:29Like how funny is that though?
00:09:30Because like I do desserts.
00:09:32I eat desserts.
00:09:33So it was an interesting time in my life.
00:09:36But you know what?
00:09:37The discipline and everything that went into being an athlete translates over here.
00:09:40Well, let me just say, Casey, it's the Dallas Cowboy's loss.
00:09:45Booyah.
00:09:47Have you moved down to any of your sticky elements over there, Steve?
00:09:50No, not yet.
00:09:51We're going to do a eclair, a praline pastry cream, some salted caramel, and then a praline
00:09:57cream on top of that and garnish it off with some salted nuts.
00:10:01I'm definitely getting the salty, adding salt to everything.
00:10:05I've been competing for over 25 years.
00:10:07You could probably call me one of the founding fathers or pioneers of baking competitions.
00:10:13Now, I teach.
00:10:14Unless I have a bad day, this competition is mine to have.
00:10:17Chefs, we got 30 minutes left.
00:10:22Oh, my God.
00:10:23I thought I'd have at least 45 minutes to get my mousse freezing.
00:10:27So in 30 minutes, it might not even set.
00:10:30All right, blast freezer, be my best friend.
00:10:32I really gambled with this freezing mousse thing.
00:10:35Might be regretting it.
00:10:37This is my whole dish.
00:10:47I'm just hoping and praying that my mousse sets in the freezer.
00:10:50I have my dip ready.
00:10:51I have my plates ready, garnish, everything ready.
00:10:55I just need my mousse.
00:10:56I really gambled on making a frozen molded item that's going to be dipped and then has to temper.
00:11:02So hopefully that works out for me.
00:11:0625 minutes, chefs.
00:11:12Two of these eight are going home immediately.
00:11:14Let's go, baby.
00:11:15Cool.
00:11:16Get them out of here.
00:11:17Make more space for me.
00:11:18What you doing?
00:11:20I am working on my tuile right now, hoping that will be done in time.
00:11:25Sarah, you had to go sweet and crunchy.
00:11:27What did you decide to make, chef?
00:11:29I'm making an almond brown butter cake.
00:11:30It's going to be topped with a honey and mascarpone almond mousse with a crunchy caramel tuile on top.
00:11:38It smells delicious over here.
00:11:40I'm hoping my cooks are watching me.
00:11:41This is how you do it, you know?
00:11:42What do you do?
00:11:44You say that your chefs are watching you back home.
00:11:46I'm an executive pastry chef in Lake Tahoe.
00:11:49Really?
00:11:50And have you always been a chef?
00:11:52No, actually.
00:11:53I spent my life training to become a professional ballerina.
00:11:56I loved it, but couldn't keep going, so I fell into the life of pastry and chocolate.
00:12:02I am 27 years old, and I was training my entire life to become a professional ballerina, but then I
00:12:07got injured, and it was really tough.
00:12:09You know, you work your entire life for something, and you finally get it, and then it just slips right
00:12:13through, and it's gone.
00:12:14But I got another obsession now, so we're all good.
00:12:17I've worked for some amazing, famous chefs like Amari Ghishan.
00:12:20I was able to sponge up and soak all their knowledge from.
00:12:23I'm so ready for this.
00:12:27Get close.
00:12:31Do we have time to taste something?
00:12:32Yeah, give it to me.
00:12:35What do you got here?
00:12:35It's a ricotta mousse.
00:12:39Oh, it's beautiful, chef.
00:12:40Well done.
00:12:40Well done.
00:12:41So I'm doing ricotta and pear cake and tart.
00:12:46It's a very, very traditional cake in Italy.
00:12:49There will be sweet pear and vanilla compote, the ricotta and pear mousse, and then very thin, crunchy cookie.
00:12:57Honestly, I'm nervous.
00:12:59The competition is huge.
00:13:00Ten minutes remaining now.
00:13:02Coming out of the oven.
00:13:05I wish I had more time on my eclairs.
00:13:08The eclairs look a little bit under baked.
00:13:10I think, in hindsight, I could have done a different dessert.
00:13:14Look how smooth that is.
00:13:17My plate is mostly yellow and white.
00:13:20So I'm adding the crunchy color.
00:13:22Yes.
00:13:25Little bit worried about this crunch element.
00:13:27I didn't let my crunchy twill sit overnight like I usually like to, so it's not crunchy.
00:13:33Just five minutes left, chefs.
00:13:35Okay, it's time to just get this mousse out of this freezer.
00:13:41Oh, yeah, baby.
00:13:44Yes!
00:13:45It worked.
00:13:47Thank you, pastry gods out there.
00:13:49Really needed your help today.
00:13:50I'm feeling incredible.
00:13:51I'm going to have a finished dessert.
00:13:53Bitter and toasted.
00:13:55That's all we want.
00:13:5790 seconds to go.
00:14:00We definitely want this salty element to shine through here.
00:14:04I have a compote of pears that I'm trying to keep crunchy.
00:14:09And then I have a sablé.
00:14:10This is the most stressful thing I ever did in my life.
00:14:13You ain't sending me home on a key lime pie.
00:14:1830 seconds.
00:14:21What I know for sure is that I'm not going home today.
00:14:24And I'm telling you that.
00:14:27Is this real?
00:14:28Oh, no.
00:14:29Five, four, three, two, one.
00:14:35Woo!
00:14:36Good job, chefs.
00:14:37Good job, everybody.
00:14:40We did it.
00:14:42First round done.
00:14:44Chefs, to judge your creations,
00:14:47we've enlisted a master of all baking disciplines, Duff Goldman.
00:14:53This really is the best lineup of bakers I have ever seen.
00:14:57So, my expectations are up here.
00:15:02Duff is going to be our permanent judge for the entire season.
00:15:06Your second judge will change with each discipline we test.
00:15:09Today, that role will be filled by a true legend,
00:15:13a three-time James Beard Award winner, Sherry Yard.
00:15:17Wow.
00:15:19Chefs, if you want to win this competition,
00:15:21you'll need to push yourself on every challenge.
00:15:24Judges, your job is to evaluate the desserts based on flavor,
00:15:28execution, and technical difficulty.
00:15:31For the skills challenge,
00:15:32you can each award up to 10 points per dessert,
00:15:35which means a perfect score would be 20.
00:15:37Let's begin with Rochelle.
00:15:41I made a dark chocolate and toasted pecan praline mousse entremet.
00:15:46In your restaurant, this is perfect.
00:15:50But surrounded by all these other desserts,
00:15:53I would just give it a little more.
00:15:59For me, the pecans bring a nice bitter,
00:16:01but it doesn't bring an exalted bitter.
00:16:04I think that maybe what might have helped is more caramelization.
00:16:08OK.
00:16:09I love this mousse.
00:16:10I think I just want more pecans.
00:16:12Because I'm not getting enough pecans,
00:16:14I feel like it's almost missing the toasted part.
00:16:18I'm feeling a little nervous
00:16:19because the judges found some weak points
00:16:21that I just wasn't expecting.
00:16:23All right, why don't you guys move on down here?
00:16:25It's with Clément.
00:16:26I made for you guys chocolate, hazelnut, and coffee tart.
00:16:30This is a feast for the eyes.
00:16:32Everywhere you look, there's something going on.
00:16:34I think it's a brilliant idea
00:16:36to put the almonds around the bottom of the tart shell,
00:16:38because right away I'm anticipating the crunch
00:16:41and the texture that's going to go along with it.
00:16:46It is very bitter.
00:16:51The bitterness of the slightly over-toasted almonds is beautiful.
00:16:56The texture of your tart shell reads toasty.
00:17:01You brought the texture with the nuts.
00:17:03You brought the texture with the caramel on the outside.
00:17:06You brought the texture with the tart shell.
00:17:08You brought the bitter everywhere.
00:17:09Well done.
00:17:10Thank you so much.
00:17:14All right, Adalberto.
00:17:16So I went with a baked pudding cake with passion fruit curd.
00:17:19The plate, it just dances.
00:17:21The colors from the mango on the side.
00:17:23You definitely have challenged yourself here.
00:17:28I really like this.
00:17:30There are like seven smooth components.
00:17:34They're all a different kind of smooth.
00:17:37I'm definitely getting the sour too.
00:17:39I think you did such an incredible job with the smooth.
00:17:41Honestly, the passion didn't have as much sour punch.
00:17:44I just wanted a little more complexity of the sours.
00:17:49All right, Robert.
00:17:50I went with the key lime pie.
00:17:51It is a beautiful presentation.
00:17:53The way you did this, it created a lot of movement.
00:17:56And it's actually really, really composed.
00:18:01Your key lime curd.
00:18:03It was sour.
00:18:04It's smooth.
00:18:05And I think you just absolutely nailed it here.
00:18:06Smooth.
00:18:07Check.
00:18:08Sour.
00:18:08Boom.
00:18:10Cut to me getting sent home.
00:18:11I'm just kidding.
00:18:14All right.
00:18:15So, Casey.
00:18:16I made chocolate peanut caramelized tart with salted fouilletine tuile.
00:18:21There's so much action.
00:18:23It's dramatic.
00:18:27It's like a roller coaster of flavors going on.
00:18:29I'm getting the stickiness with the tuile.
00:18:33The creaminess of the mousse.
00:18:35And salt pops.
00:18:37I'm like my dog when he's eating peanut butter.
00:18:41It's sticky.
00:18:43And salty all day long.
00:18:44Yeah.
00:18:44Delicious.
00:18:46All right.
00:18:47Professor Steven.
00:18:48So, we have eclair with salted caramel inside with praline pastry cream.
00:18:54Um, you know, looking at this, I would dress it up just a little bit because you have all
00:18:59this other stuff around you where people are going to be doing their fireworks.
00:19:02Okay.
00:19:08I think you had a great opportunity for more sticky because you had caramel sauce.
00:19:12Yes.
00:19:13It was there.
00:19:14It just needed more.
00:19:15I think you're eclair.
00:19:17I would have left this in the oven for a while.
00:19:19Okay.
00:19:20Listen.
00:19:21Nobody will accuse you of not using any salt.
00:19:25A little too salty.
00:19:31Okay, Florencia.
00:19:32I decided to deconstruct the tart of ricotta and pear.
00:19:36It looks very elegant and love the way you pipe the cream and that swirl up.
00:19:44The pear really comes through and it's beautiful.
00:19:46Sweet and luscious and rich.
00:19:51The cookie, buttery and perfection.
00:19:54Just not crunch enough.
00:19:57Got it.
00:19:58That said, your overall execution of the dish was superb.
00:20:04All right, Sarah.
00:20:05Sweet and crunchy.
00:20:07I made an almond financier with an almond mousse topped with the crunchy caramel tuile.
00:20:12It's got a lot of movement and visually a lot of different textures.
00:20:21Sarah, you're right there on all the notes with sweetness, but it lacks that crunch.
00:20:26The nuts on their own toasted are great, but it doesn't add that super crunch.
00:20:32This is the challenge.
00:20:33Okay.
00:20:34Give me something crunchy.
00:20:37Okay.
00:20:40The heart has sunken.
00:20:42I can definitely see myself going home.
00:20:48Chefs, 20 would have been a perfect score.
00:20:51Here's the chef who created the highest scoring dessert.
00:21:01Congratulations, Clément.
00:21:03Go baby.
00:21:04You will advance to the master challenge.
00:21:07I came for redemption.
00:21:08My plan has worked and I need to keep going in this competition.
00:21:14Now let's see who else will be joining you.
00:21:23I know two chefs are about to leave, so as I stand in front of the leaderboard, I'm panicking.
00:21:33Oh my God.
00:21:34Adalberto, Florencia, Robert, and Casey, you'll be continuing on to the mastery challenge as well.
00:21:42That means Sarah, Steven, and Rochelle, you're at the three lowest scores and only one of you is going to
00:21:48be moving on to the next challenge.
00:21:55It's time now to see which two chefs will be going home.
00:22:14Steven and Sarah, unfortunately your time here has come to an end.
00:22:18What?
00:22:19Rochelle, you just made it through.
00:22:24Congratulations.
00:22:25Thanks.
00:22:26This was my first competition.
00:22:27I wanted it so badly.
00:22:28To get to the professional level of ballet takes a lot of sprained ankles, a lot of calf muscle strains,
00:22:35just like fighting.
00:22:35So I'll definitely be doing it again and I'm going to win next time.
00:22:39Congratulations.
00:22:41You six chefs are safe for now.
00:22:45But if your name is towards the bottom of that leaderboard, you're going to have to pick up a lot
00:22:49more points in that upcoming master challenge.
00:22:52You can all head to the back kitchen. We'll see you very soon.
00:22:56It's going to be a cumulative score for the master's challenge.
00:23:00So they're going to take into account my score from the skills challenge.
00:23:04I'm going to really have to push myself and show them what I got.
00:23:15Welcome back, chefs.
00:23:19Two elite pastry chefs from the first group have already been eliminated.
00:23:26Are you serious?
00:23:27Oh my gosh.
00:23:28I wasn't expecting an elimination this early in two people.
00:23:34Which means the bottom two chefs from this group will also be leaving today.
00:23:40Please direct your attention to the leaderboard, where you'll see your name next to a taste and a texture.
00:23:47Sour and sticky, huh?
00:23:49It's an interesting combination.
00:23:50I can dig the sour, but it's sticky.
00:23:52I'm like, okay.
00:23:54Chefs, you have 90 minutes to demonstrate your mastery of the basic tastes.
00:23:59And that time starts now.
00:24:07We're in the bus tub.
00:24:11Pressure's on.
00:24:12Heat's on.
00:24:13It's warm in here.
00:24:14We're getting ready to go.
00:24:15All right.
00:24:18Oh, boy.
00:24:19Get ready.
00:24:20Hurricane Molly's in town.
00:24:22I will be the messiest person here, so just be ready for me.
00:24:28Well, hey Molly.
00:24:29I'm curious what you're doing right now.
00:24:31I'm trying to blend way too little and way too big of a container, so I'm going to get a
00:24:34smaller container quick.
00:24:35Sure, go ahead.
00:24:36I'm sorry.
00:24:37What sort of salty and smooth dessert are you making?
00:24:39Miso namalaka.
00:24:40What is a miso namalaka?
00:24:42Namalaka is a fancy version of an emulsion.
00:24:46It is an incredibly smooth type of custard.
00:24:50The other part of my namalaka is a banana bread to go with it.
00:24:53What a twist.
00:24:54I know.
00:24:54You say namalaka, and I'm like, oh my god, it's exotic.
00:24:57No one's ever going to try this before.
00:24:59And then it's like banana bread.
00:25:00Banana bread.
00:25:00It's like a little homey and a little bit of technique.
00:25:02I'm going to do a dome of namalaka in the middle.
00:25:05I will add pieces of banana bread on the sides, and then a passion fruit gel, a banana jam,
00:25:11a blonde chocolate, and a little milk crumble.
00:25:13That's all milk, not heavy cream.
00:25:15It's definitely chaos.
00:25:16It's on my station at all times.
00:25:18But chaos is where I thrive.
00:25:22I have a large family.
00:25:24Six people.
00:25:27Lots of nieces and nephews running around.
00:25:29And I work in a place that is chaos all the time.
00:25:35I work in a really big luxury hotel.
00:25:37I like the craziness of a hotel.
00:25:39You never know if one day you're making croissants, the next day you're doing a chocolate sculpture,
00:25:43next week you're making a plated dessert.
00:25:44So today we're going to plate out a flourless praline torte.
00:25:48After that we're going to go in with a little bit of this praline and cocoa nib crumble.
00:25:53This is our sweet cream gelato.
00:25:55And the final touch will be our ranch pressed olive oil.
00:26:00Voila!
00:26:03Something smells burned.
00:26:04It's me.
00:26:05Oh.
00:26:06It's okay?
00:26:07Oh, it's beautiful.
00:26:08Okay.
00:26:09Chef, what are you making?
00:26:10I'm going to do like a caramel mocha.
00:26:12In Colombia I used to have something called arequipe.
00:26:15And arequipe is the type of caramel that has a beautiful creaminess,
00:26:18but also has a little bit of saltiness into it.
00:26:21Okay.
00:26:21So that's going to be perfect for my smooth element.
00:26:25Yeah.
00:26:25You're going to find a crunchy layer of chicory and coffee,
00:26:29chocolate sponge, then the chocolate coffee chicory mousse,
00:26:33and then my arequipe, which gives high notes of caramel with that saltiness.
00:26:37Right now I'm going to start working on my chocolate cake.
00:26:41It's a cold brew cake with a little bit of salt.
00:26:43The first thing that I think of when I have this salty and smooth was my boyfriend.
00:26:48He likes his coffee super smooth, and he always have his coffee with salt.
00:26:53Oven.
00:26:55Okay.
00:26:57How's it going, Chris?
00:26:58It's going good. How about you?
00:26:59I'm getting there.
00:27:01Well, Ashida, queen of flavor.
00:27:03I am the queen of flavor.
00:27:06The name queen of flavor, it started when I was on Best Baker in America.
00:27:12One of the judges there, she was like, every round you bring the flavor.
00:27:16So I went and got it trademarked and everything because no one else can be the queen of flavor but
00:27:22me.
00:27:22And I guess that's a good nickname for somebody that beats Bobby Fleck.
00:27:27And I kicked him out of the kitchen too.
00:27:29I was like, you get out of here.
00:27:30Did you really?
00:27:31You skedaddle.
00:27:31Okay, well, the combination of sour and sticky.
00:27:33I decided to go with a rocky road because you know it has that sticky marshmallow fluff throughout it.
00:27:38That sounds amazing.
00:27:39I'm making a sticky marshmallow cream, a chocolate buttermilk cake, peanut butter chocolate cremeux, candy peanuts, as well as a
00:27:48chocolate garnish.
00:27:48Normally, rocky road doesn't have a fruit component, but I need something sour.
00:27:52Okay.
00:27:53So we're going with raspberries.
00:27:54I want to make a raspberry jam.
00:27:56I really want that sour to come through.
00:27:59Well, I hope your dessert keeps you around.
00:28:01Have you figured out your sticky part, Chef Chris?
00:28:04Yeah, I'm going to do a cinnamon vanilla milk jam.
00:28:07Milk jam is where you take milk and a high concentration of sugar and cook it down.
00:28:12It's like a very thin dosa de leche, which is very sticky, so hopefully that checks the box of the
00:28:17sticky component.
00:28:17I'm going to start with an almond cake, mango curd.
00:28:20I'm going to use fresh passion fruit seeds, fresh Meyer lemon.
00:28:22I'm going to do whipped creme fraiche and cinnamon vanilla milk jam.
00:28:26So these are almond cake, and then once they come out of the oven, they're going to get soaked in
00:28:29a yuzu glaze for the sour.
00:28:33One hour remaining, Chefs.
00:28:37Okay.
00:28:38We're in the second round now of our skills challenge, but there's a different feeling in the kitchen right now.
00:28:43There's some nervousness.
00:28:46My hands are like shaking.
00:28:48I am too.
00:28:49I'm like, whew.
00:28:50Do you want some rum to become the nurse?
00:28:52Yeah.
00:28:54Oh my God.
00:28:55I'm originally from the Dominican Republic.
00:28:57I'm getting inspired with Dominican flavors, and we use a lot the bitter orange.
00:29:01I have bitter and crunchy.
00:29:03So for my dessert, I have a chocolate hazelnut cake topped with a bitter orange jelly, and a bittersweet dark
00:29:12chocolate mousse, garnished on top with hazelnut crunch.
00:29:16That's the gelatin in the rum.
00:29:21So what are you making, sister?
00:29:23I am making a eclairs.
00:29:27Okay.
00:29:27I want to make a mayor lemon curd filling topped with whipped cream, and on top of it is the
00:29:33honeycomb brittle.
00:29:34The crunchy part and the bitter comes from the honeycomb brittle.
00:29:39Growing up in the Philippines, I was very limited on how you create something, and that's the reason why I
00:29:45moved here.
00:29:46And now they call me a pastry assassin because I have this creativity.
00:29:50I make desserts for high-end restaurants and Michelin star restaurants.
00:29:54So I have the experience, I have the knowledge, but to be honest, I'm a bit nervous and intimidated.
00:30:01It is my first time to compete in a TV.
00:30:04Chefs, 30 minutes to go.
00:30:07Okay, time to test my honeycomb.
00:30:10Look at that.
00:30:15When I tasted it, it was like straight like salt.
00:30:19I don't like my honeycomb.
00:30:22My honeycomb, I'm gonna redo it.
00:30:24Two chefs will be eliminated at the end of this skills challenge.
00:30:27Ah!
00:30:30The pressure is on me now.
00:30:36Redoing the honeycomb, it gives me anxiety because this is the crunchiness and the bitterness flavor.
00:30:42How many more minutes left?
00:30:44I don't want to know.
00:30:45Chefs, you have 20 minutes left.
00:30:47Ah!
00:30:50There you go, okay.
00:30:54Oh man.
00:30:54I'm really hoping this is gonna be sweet and toasted, whatever it is you're making.
00:30:58It is, it is.
00:30:59Tell me about it, Julian.
00:30:59So I'm gonna make a hazelnut petit gâteau.
00:31:01Those are petit gâteau's.
00:31:03Yeah.
00:31:03And here they are.
00:31:04It's kind of like, it's a fancier French word for like a cupcake almost, it looks like.
00:31:07I'm making a toasted hazelnut milk chocolate mousse with chocolate ganache in the center and a toasted hazelnut brownie.
00:31:16I got a lot going on.
00:31:18Stress level right now, zero to ten, what would you say?
00:31:20Uh, I would say probably like a six or seven.
00:31:22I'm not feeding a thousand people right now.
00:31:25Not yet.
00:31:26You're just gonna be feeding two unbelievably talented judges that are complete masters in baking.
00:31:30Oh, no pressure, no pressure.
00:31:32All right, man.
00:31:32Good luck.
00:31:34How are you doing over there?
00:31:35I'm okay.
00:31:38I'm gonna toast the sesame seeds as much as I can.
00:31:41I am a little bit of an adrenaline junkie.
00:31:44I took up trap shooting as a sport.
00:31:48Pull.
00:31:49Pull.
00:31:51Pull.
00:31:52It's truly similar to pastry making.
00:31:55I just have to be very quick to respond.
00:31:58I thrive in that type of environment.
00:32:01They actually call me Annie Oakley.
00:32:04I am the sharpshooter of pastry and clay.
00:32:08I decided to do a toasted sesame seed creme brulee with a toasted sesame seed sherbet cookie.
00:32:17I've made thousands of sherbet cookies.
00:32:20May the force be with us, right?
00:32:22Yep.
00:32:26Five minutes, chefs.
00:32:28Are you serious?
00:32:29For my flavors and texture, I'm good with sticky.
00:32:33Because that's sticky.
00:32:34Yay!
00:32:35But I wish I would have brought more sour to the plate.
00:32:39I only have raspberry jam.
00:32:41I want to make sure I get enough sour on there.
00:32:45I really want to make this honeycomb work.
00:32:48I've got to say, the second group has had a little bit more of a difficult time, I think, as
00:32:51a whole, than our first group did.
00:32:53And we've got a couple chefs right now that are really up against it.
00:32:57It did not set.
00:33:00This isn't good.
00:33:01My namalaka is not going to set up enough for me to pop it cleanly out of the mold.
00:33:05So now, it won't be a don't.
00:33:07Time check.
00:33:08Ninety seconds to go.
00:33:10Oh, boy.
00:33:11Panic and fear starts to set in.
00:33:13I just decided to do these little dollops on the plate.
00:33:16Just enough so that there's enough namalaka for each bite for the judges.
00:33:19Okay, we're going to do cake next.
00:33:24Just have to pivot, pivot, pivot.
00:33:28I have to start building this little moat around my namalaka to get it from spreading so much.
00:33:35Five, four, three, two, one. Time is up.
00:33:41Ooh. Lord have mercy.
00:33:44I look at my plate. It's missing a lot of colors. I don't know what happened. I just froze in
00:33:49there.
00:33:50Two more chefs are going to be going home. So, judges, please take into account flavor, execution, and technical difficulty.
00:33:59First up, it'll be Chef Caesar. Bitter and crunchy.
00:34:03What I made is a honeycomb, a mere lemon eclairs.
00:34:07There's an opportunity on this plate to be more visual, just to have a little more fun or color on
00:34:14the plate.
00:34:14It feels like you were like, I'm going to make honeycomb, and then I'm going to make something else to
00:34:19put underneath it.
00:34:20It doesn't feel like it's part of the dish.
00:34:29I'm definitely getting the bitterness.
00:34:31Your honeycomb, you took it really far. That sugar is very dark.
00:34:35But it's not the bitter that I was looking for. I think it's just a little too much burnt sugar.
00:34:40And then your eclair has lost all of its body, you know, and it's really soft.
00:34:46So, there's an imbalance in the dish of the softness to that bitter.
00:34:52The only bitter and crunchy that comes to me truly is the honeycomb.
00:34:55Yeah, not my favorite.
00:34:58All right, Chef Arletti.
00:35:00Today, I made for you guys a orange chocolate hazelnut financier.
00:35:04I see some inconsistencies from one plate to the next, and I would have preferred to have had it cleaner.
00:35:17I heard you crunch.
00:35:19You heard that.
00:35:19I heard you crunch.
00:35:21Yeah, really crunchy.
00:35:22And I think that because your mousse is so smooth, it just accentuated that crunch.
00:35:28Really bringing the kumquat in works so well because it heightened the chocolate, but then the chocolate still is bitter
00:35:35in a great way.
00:35:39Chef Chris.
00:35:41I made an almond cake soaked in citrus with a cinnamon and vanilla milk jam.
00:35:46I love the colors. It already screams to me sticky.
00:35:50Mmm.
00:35:55This cake is phenomenal.
00:35:57Thank you very much.
00:35:58I'm getting stickiness from the milk jam on the bottom.
00:36:01I'm not getting as much sour.
00:36:04I wish you would have had more of that component, the sour for me, in there.
00:36:09Everything else is so well refined.
00:36:12We're going to move on now to Chef Lashita.
00:36:15I did a play on Rocky Road.
00:36:17You know what I love about this is that it just seems to be very non-traditional.
00:36:22It's like a salad.
00:36:28The marshmallow cream stuck to the plate, stuck to my spoon, stuck to my teeth.
00:36:32It's very sticky and it's great.
00:36:34But it's not sour.
00:36:36At all.
00:36:38Chocolate cake is going to be the hero.
00:36:40I did like the sourness that was hidden inside the raspberries.
00:36:44Just, if I didn't look for it, we wouldn't have found it, right?
00:36:47And so, bringing more of that sour into the plate would have brought this together.
00:36:52Being the queen of flavor literally means I'm bringing the flavor.
00:36:56And if I do lose some flavor, ugh, that would suck.
00:37:01Bye, Chef Aurelio.
00:37:03I chose to do a creme brulee.
00:37:06I also made a shortbread cookie.
00:37:08I love creme brulee and I love it when it's a complete shard of glass.
00:37:12And I'm seeing a little bit of spotting here.
00:37:15I love that you gave us utensils.
00:37:17I just want to get in the, you know, really, argh.
00:37:25It is brulee, which brings a toasty element.
00:37:28I'm getting toasty perfection in the cookie.
00:37:30This is a sweet dish.
00:37:32The sesame almost reads toasty as well.
00:37:37All right, Chef Julian.
00:37:38I made chocolate toasted hazelnut mousse with a brownie.
00:37:42Look at that, I've never seen a brownie that thin.
00:37:44I like the sheen that's on the outside of your chocolate here.
00:37:47This looks really nice.
00:37:53Sweet.
00:37:54It's like a really textural milkshake almost.
00:37:57It's just so rich and chocolatey and yummy.
00:37:59It's not reading toasty.
00:38:00Okay.
00:38:01It's one dimensional for me.
00:38:02And chocolate is leading the way.
00:38:04Toasty hazelnut does not.
00:38:06Okay.
00:38:09All right, Chef Juan.
00:38:11I did the caramel macchiato style dessert.
00:38:13We have a chocolate sponge.
00:38:15Then we have a coffee mousse.
00:38:16And then in the middle, my arequipe.
00:38:19It really looks like you're looking at a liquid, say, sitting on top of a cappuccino.
00:38:24Thank you so much.
00:38:30One word.
00:38:32Luscious.
00:38:33That is the sexiest way to describe smooth.
00:38:36It's clouds of the arequipe and that luscious mousse, which brings us right to the salt.
00:38:41You salted it to perfection.
00:38:44I got no notes.
00:38:44Thank you so much.
00:38:51All right, Chef Molly.
00:38:52I went with a miso caramel na malaka with a banana cake.
00:38:57This is reckless.
00:38:59It's like you got this dam of stuff, you know, holding back this like flood and you can see it.
00:39:06It just wants to go.
00:39:07It so badly wants to run out.
00:39:07It just wants to go.
00:39:09I love the tension.
00:39:10Good.
00:39:16Really, really good.
00:39:18It's a swirl of smoothness.
00:39:20Good.
00:39:20The way that you've used the salt in here, it's not gratuitous.
00:39:24It's wrapped up in bananas.
00:39:26It's wrapped up in na malaka.
00:39:28And it's also really smooth.
00:39:30You've really met this challenge.
00:39:32I am feeling incredibly relieved.
00:39:34It's time now to input your scores.
00:39:36I don't feel like we have the hardest one.
00:39:39I'm nervous, of course, because two people will be going home from this challenge.
00:39:53Chefs, the judges were impressed with many of your first efforts.
00:39:5720 would be a perfect score.
00:40:00So let's see which chef made the top dessert in this skills challenge.
00:40:18Congratulations, Molly, you'll be moving on to the master challenge.
00:40:23Let's see who else will be in the master challenge with you.
00:40:33That's Juan, Chris, Arletti, and Aurelia.
00:40:38We'll be continuing on in this competition as well.
00:40:48Julian, Lashita, Caesar, you, of course, are in the bottom three.
00:40:54If you are ranked seventh or eighth, that means you've been eliminated.
00:41:16Julian, you made it through.
00:41:20Cesar, Lashita, sadly, you won't be continuing on to the master challenge.
00:41:25Please say your goodbyes.
00:41:27Bye.
00:41:29Good luck, everyone.
00:41:31It was an experience, and I would never change it for anything else.
00:41:35It's not the first competition I've lost, and I know what I'm capable of doing.
00:41:40It's just this time I didn't hit the mark.
00:41:45Congratulations, chefs.
00:41:46You'll be continuing on in the master challenge.
00:41:50But to stay in the competition, you're going to have to outbake all the surviving chefs.
00:41:59I made that top 12 spot.
00:42:01Ooh.
00:42:02I'm amongst some of the best pastry chefs in the world.
00:42:06I'm feeling a lot of, like, anticipation nerves.
00:42:11Chefs, let's take another look at the rankings so far.
00:42:17Those of you near the bottom will need to make up a lot of ground in the master challenge,
00:42:21because it's your total score for today that will determine if you move on in this competition.
00:42:29And like before, this challenge is also a double elimination.
00:42:37What?
00:42:40Alrighty.
00:42:41I wasn't expecting that one.
00:42:43Oh, my God.
00:42:45Those of you at the top of the leaderboard, don't get too comfortable,
00:42:48because every chef below you is going to be upping their game trying to knock you off the board.
00:42:53This is wild to see how cutthroat this is.
00:42:56One bad bake and it just sends you home.
00:43:00As chefs, you can't help but be inspired by your past,
00:43:04the influences that made you the bakers you are today.
00:43:07So for your master challenge, you'll prepare a perfectly executed dessert
00:43:11that draws upon a key moment or defining event in your life.
00:43:16So ask yourself, do you have a story to tell?
00:43:19And can you tell that story on a plate?
00:43:25Chefs, you have two hours to translate your unique personal story into a spectacular dessert.
00:43:31And that time starts...
00:43:35Now.
00:43:43Behind, behind.
00:43:44Yep.
00:43:45More.
00:43:49The leaderboard is super scary. It's ridiculous.
00:43:52It's just hovering over us like an all-seeing eye.
00:43:56On the leaderboard, I'm number eight, and I want to be in that top six.
00:44:00This is high stakes. There's a lot of pressure.
00:44:03I am a pastry consultant. I own a pastry case in Chicago.
00:44:08It is a global consulting pastry company.
00:44:12I do the menus, media, mentoring, and I'm known for my key lime pie.
00:44:17So I am going to be making my key lime pie, my famous pie.
00:44:21It is going to be made with a homemade graham cracker crust.
00:44:25There's a key lime custard filling, Italian meringue that's torched on top,
00:44:30and then a honey tuile to kind of emulate some coral and give it some color.
00:44:35And there's going to be piped meringue and some gold leaf on top.
00:44:38You know, it's a very bright and light dessert, and it just kind of describes who I am.
00:44:43All right.
00:44:47One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three.
00:44:49On your left, on your left, on your left.
00:44:51Wait, your side, your right. Sorry, my bad.
00:44:55Julian, it's tough, right?
00:44:57Yeah, it's a little, it's a little crazy.
00:45:00I'm just one point away from Mali.
00:45:02That lets a fire in me to continue pushing harder.
00:45:06$50,000 on the line. So, of course, I want that price.
00:45:11I'm going to make a tropical and coconut fruit tart.
00:45:14I need to make it unique and also something that represents me.
00:45:18So, in this dessert, I'm using Mongo Mongo.
00:45:20So, Mongo Mongo is a fruit jam from Colombia.
00:45:24In my pot, I have banana, pineapple, and mango.
00:45:28So, I'm going to start with a tart sablé.
00:45:30Then we're going to have a crunchy coconut streusel and then a cake soaked with a coconut liquid.
00:45:37And on top of that, we're going to put Mongo Mongo.
00:45:40On the top, I'm going to be piping a mascarpone cream in the shape of a flower.
00:45:44My dad is a doctor and he was expected from us to just follow his steps.
00:45:49I went to medical school and there was a moment that I was just like,
00:45:54this is not what I want. This is not what's going to make me happy.
00:45:58It took them a while to really understand it.
00:46:01But then I moved to the US, started studying pastry in Chicago,
00:46:05learning from the best chefs and following my dream.
00:46:12I admire Juan so much.
00:46:13He's one of my favorite chefs to follow his work on social media and everything.
00:46:20I'm very inspired by a lot of things he does.
00:46:22So, it's so nice to be in the same competition with him.
00:46:25It's crazy, it's crazy.
00:46:28Florencia.
00:46:28Oh, hello, Jesse.
00:46:29How are you?
00:46:30I'm good.
00:46:31I bet you're feeling pretty good.
00:46:32Top five on the leaderboard over there.
00:46:34That feels good, but, you know, everything can change in a second.
00:46:37It can.
00:46:37So, I'm curious as to what you're making here.
00:46:40Kind of pain homenage to my mom and, you know, the flavors that we used to have on Sundays around
00:46:45the house.
00:46:46I'm making genoise, which is going to be layered with dark chocolate mousse, dulce de leche,
00:46:51and Italian cherries with some pink ribbons.
00:46:55She died a few years ago of cancer.
00:46:59She was an inspiration for sure.
00:47:02Yeah.
00:47:03Big inspiration.
00:47:04Well, I'm sure she's looking down on you now.
00:47:07So proud.
00:47:07The success you're having early on.
00:47:09And this is such a beautiful way.
00:47:10It's a beautiful way to honor her.
00:47:12Yeah, for sure.
00:47:12And her memory as well.
00:47:13For sure, you know.
00:47:15Trying.
00:47:16Listen, I can tell.
00:47:17You put your heart into it.
00:47:18You can see that when you bake.
00:47:20Thank you so much.
00:47:20It's a really beautiful thing to see.
00:47:22Okay, Florencia.
00:47:23Good luck.
00:47:28Beautiful cake.
00:47:31Spongy, moist.
00:47:34I'm at the top of the leaderboard.
00:47:36And I want to stay there.
00:47:38You know, I'm going to do everything it takes.
00:47:41What are you making?
00:47:42A fraisier.
00:47:43Fraisier like a strawberry shortcake.
00:47:45Beautiful.
00:47:47On spring baking championships three years ago, I made this.
00:47:50Yeah.
00:47:51And I won that challenge.
00:47:53Flawless.
00:47:55So I was like, okay, this one is a winner cake.
00:47:58That's why I have to redo it.
00:48:00A fraisier is the favorite cake of my mom.
00:48:03And I always do this for Mother's Day for all the mothers as well.
00:48:07So my cake looks amazing.
00:48:10I'm going to suck it right now.
00:48:11In this fraisier, I have two layers of almond sponge cake.
00:48:18In between, I have fresh strawberries.
00:48:20And then I also have a vanilla mousseline.
00:48:24Hoppala.
00:48:25It's good.
00:48:26Second layer of cake.
00:48:28Now let's put back some cream on the top.
00:48:31And to decorate, I am piping vanilla mascarpone whipped cream.
00:48:36And then in the middle, I have like a hibiscus jelly with like a very thin layer of strawberry and
00:48:43chocolate heart.
00:48:44That's a big love story with this cake.
00:48:47It's insane that we've already lost four.
00:48:50It's also even more insane that I'm at the bottom.
00:48:53So I got to do something to bring myself away from there.
00:48:57It's great to have a good comeback story.
00:49:00I'm going to create a s'mores dessert.
00:49:03You know, me and my kids and my wife, we go camping all the time.
00:49:06Every time we go, the first thing we get to the grocery store, they're like, are we getting marshmallows to
00:49:09do s'mores?
00:49:12For my dessert, I'm making a double sweet cake.
00:49:14We're going to have chocolate ganache in the center, graham cracker clusters.
00:49:19We're going to roll it up together like a roulade.
00:49:21Put some marshmallow on the outside, toast it up, and put some chocolate bark and chocolate mushrooms.
00:49:25So it looks like a log.
00:49:27Chocolate mushrooms.
00:49:28I am spraying the cocoa butter to give it kind of like when I flip it over, it's going to
00:49:33have like a more organic look.
00:49:35And then I'll unmold it, and then I'll have the top of my mushrooms all set.
00:49:50All right, Aurelia, I'm staring at the leaderboard right over your head.
00:49:53Don't look at it, don't look at it.
00:49:54And you're one point.
00:49:55That's what separates you from the bottom of this leaderboard.
00:49:58I need to nail this.
00:50:00Yes.
00:50:01That's totally it.
00:50:02One of my favorite ingredients is apples.
00:50:05So I'm making a charlotte with apples.
00:50:07So I wanted to incorporate my career, which is French pastry, with a flavor profile that I really, really love.
00:50:15A charlotte is a sponge cake, and it's filled with a cream.
00:50:21I'm going to add some of those apples on the top.
00:50:25My plan to decorate this is to do some piping with my mousseline cream around the sides.
00:50:30I'm going to top it off with some more of the caramelized apples and a little bit of gold leaf.
00:50:37I love it. Can't wait to see how it goes.
00:50:41Rochelle, we are like the bottom three.
00:50:44Yeah.
00:50:45So we got to kill it with this dessert.
00:50:46Yeah.
00:50:47I'm going to do what I do, you know?
00:50:50What really makes me unique is using different ingredients in different ways.
00:50:54I'm going to make a bananas foster tort with four layers of brown butter cake.
00:51:00In between is going to be a caramelized banana buttercream.
00:51:04Smells so good.
00:51:05I wish there was smell-o-vision, guys.
00:51:06I'm doing a black cocoa crunch on the outside.
00:51:09I'm trying to make a chocolate flour, and then I'm going to do a brulee banana on top.
00:51:14The way I make buttercream is a little weird.
00:51:16It's incorporating 50% butter and 50% jam or lemon curd or something like that.
00:51:22So this is a jam out of the praline banana.
00:51:25It's something I kind of created to add more intense flavor and sweetness without adding additional sugar.
00:51:3390 minutes left.
00:51:3590 minutes.
00:51:37And there goes the clock.
00:51:3890 minutes.
00:51:38Oh, my God.
00:51:40Okay.
00:51:42I'm pretty happy with how everything came out.
00:51:45Now I just got to put it all together.
00:51:47I should be good to go.
00:51:54Oh, my God.
00:51:58That was a disaster.
00:52:14It is crazy right now.
00:52:19I'm at the bottom of the leaderboard.
00:52:21So I'm feeling extra pressure.
00:52:27Let's see if we could piece this together.
00:52:32It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world.
00:52:41It could still be rolled.
00:52:42It's still salvageable.
00:52:49Julian, what happened?
00:52:50When I went to get off the sheet pan, it was still a little bit too warm.
00:52:53And it fell apart, but I put the puzzle pieces back together.
00:52:57When I roll it, I have to make sure we roll it tight.
00:53:00Yeah, we don't have a ton of time left now.
00:53:02Yeah.
00:53:03Now we just got to make it happen.
00:53:05This is a very, very important roll.
00:53:09I'm feeling a little bit rushed, stressed, but we're pushing through.
00:53:17It's all in one piece.
00:53:18We're good to go.
00:53:21In a competition like this, everyone wants to bring their A-game.
00:53:24We just saw four people eliminated right off the bat, and we're not messing around.
00:53:29I'm doing one of my first desserts that I learned how to make when I was working for my mentor.
00:53:33It's like a layered chocolate hazelnut bar.
00:53:36It starts with a layer of milk chocolate and hazelnut crunch at the bottom, followed by chocolate cake.
00:53:43On top of that, a milk chocolate and toasted hazelnut mousse, and top off the bar with a cherry jam.
00:53:49I'm making a cherry chantilly that's going to be gracing the top.
00:53:53I'm going to top it off with gold chocolate vines and some chocolate feathers.
00:53:58Beautiful, Chef. Those look awesome.
00:54:01Look at you, girl.
00:54:02I know.
00:54:03Crazy.
00:54:04I'm at the top.
00:54:05The pressure's on even more than ever.
00:54:09I can't let it slip, but I also can't let it get in my head too much.
00:54:11I just need to do what I do best.
00:54:13Ah!
00:54:14It's me.
00:54:14I'm the person making the mess.
00:54:18Always.
00:54:19It's always me.
00:54:21Uh-oh.
00:54:21Oh, man.
00:54:23That's my pistachios.
00:54:25Burnt.
00:54:26I need to re-toast all of my pistachios.
00:54:31I chose this dish because it's something that I'm incredibly proud of.
00:54:36I am making a white chocolate pistachio gateau.
00:54:39A gateau is just a layered cake.
00:54:41This is a pan de gin, similar to like a pound cake, but it's like a French-style pound cake.
00:54:47It comes from a region where they didn't have a ton of butter to make cake a long, long time
00:54:51ago.
00:54:51They used almond paste instead of butter as the fat, so I used pistachio instead of almond.
00:54:57My dessert will start with a pistachio pan de gin, and then white chocolate mousse, topped with an apricot gelet,
00:55:05and then it will be finished with a pistachio chantilly, raspberries, and raspberry fluid gel.
00:55:11Oh, my gosh.
00:55:11Again.
00:55:12This is crazy.
00:55:14I did it twice.
00:55:15That's me for you.
00:55:18I am chaos all the time.
00:55:21It's all right.
00:55:21We're going to get there.
00:55:26Hey, Arletti.
00:55:27I cannot wait to see what you guys are going to be making.
00:55:30I'm trying to go back with my childhood,
00:55:32when I grew up with all these wonderful fresh fruits and ingredients.
00:55:35I'm going to make a tropical tart, composed of a citrus sabli,
00:55:40followed by a passion fruit cremou topped with a mango compote,
00:55:44a coconut lime whipped ganache with a sponge sugar and toasted coconut.
00:55:51When I was little, I used to climb the mango trees.
00:55:54The Dominican Republic has so many different mangoes.
00:55:56Just in our backyard, we have over five different varieties.
00:56:00We had cachiman, bullita, huevo de toro.
00:56:04Did you say huevo de toro, girl?
00:56:05Huevo de toro, papi.
00:56:06That's so good.
00:56:07That's my favorite.
00:56:08Yes.
00:56:09What are you working on?
00:56:11I'm making a guava filling.
00:56:12So we're both going pretty tropical.
00:56:14Absolutely.
00:56:16So I'm making this.
00:56:17It's in Napoleon, but it's not in Napoleon,
00:56:19and I'm making a bunch of layers in there.
00:56:21I'm actually putting layers of every single thing I ever remember
00:56:24that is close to me before I left Cuba.
00:56:27I'm going to have this beautiful layer of coconut mousse,
00:56:31and then a sponge cake,
00:56:32and then I'm going to have some guava filling.
00:56:34From the top, I'm going to do a bliss puff pastry.
00:56:37A bliss puff is an expedited puff pastry.
00:56:41Basically, what you do is you make a very buttery tart dough,
00:56:44and you create layers of air in between it
00:56:47by chilling the dough and folding it.
00:56:49That's actually the only pastry I ever did in Cuba,
00:56:53and I had to work with it at 12 o'clock at night
00:56:55because it was when it was cold.
00:56:57As a boy coming from Cuba,
00:56:59I never thought that I would be doing the things
00:57:02that I'm doing today.
00:57:03And now here I am. Look at this kitchen.
00:57:05I mean, this is a story.
00:57:08The last 12 years, I have invested everything I have,
00:57:13into my pastry shop.
00:57:15This is feelings and emotions, so here you go.
00:57:18We have our breakfast pastries over there,
00:57:20and we have our macarons over here,
00:57:22and our beautiful desserts over there.
00:57:24We're very proud of being eclectic.
00:57:26We have my clothes hanging in there,
00:57:29just like you see in Havana.
00:57:31That's what we do.
00:57:32We have murals painted by my brother.
00:57:35We're very proud of that.
00:57:36Let's go to the back.
00:57:39Voila!
00:57:41It's a huge space.
00:57:43We have our lamination over there.
00:57:45We have our desserts over there.
00:57:47We have our bread area making,
00:57:48and then we have our macaron area over there.
00:57:52This is the first macaron I ever tried.
00:57:54It's passion fruit, buttercream with pineapple filling.
00:57:58All our macarons have two fillings.
00:58:01When I win this competition,
00:58:03it will be a dream come true,
00:58:04and that money is gonna go straight into my business
00:58:07and my amazing team of chefs and pastry chefs.
00:58:11That does an amazing job.
00:58:12I want to make sure that we make it, you know,
00:58:14out of these harsh economic times.
00:58:17Now to put my guava.
00:58:20That's my last layer of my mousse.
00:58:23In order for my dessert to completely set up,
00:58:26I have to put it in the glass chiller,
00:58:27and it has to be in there undisturbed
00:58:29until almost the very end of the challenge.
00:58:3330 minutes, chefs.
00:58:3530 minutes.
00:58:36Okay, 30 minutes.
00:58:38Okay, okay.
00:58:39Let's do it.
00:58:40The mangoes are still not all the way ripe.
00:58:42I'm finding myself adding more sugar,
00:58:44so I'm trying to, like, compensate a little bit.
00:58:48You're good?
00:58:48You guys good?
00:58:49Good. How are you doing?
00:58:50Yeah? Good.
00:58:50Just chitting around.
00:58:52This guy doesn't even break a sweat.
00:58:53I know. He's not even sweating.
00:58:55Just walking around, you know, living the dream.
00:58:58Chris, what are we trying to evoke with this,
00:58:59and what do you make?
00:59:00Growing up, every Sunday I would go to the same donut shop,
00:59:03would always get a blueberry lemon filled donut.
00:59:06And if I was a good kid, they would split it
00:59:09and then fill it with the vanilla ice cream as well.
00:59:10So I'm making a chiffon cake,
00:59:13and then doing a blueberry thyme jam,
00:59:15lemon curd, blueberry almond clusters,
00:59:18some blueberry powder chocolate decor.
00:59:19That sounds delicious.
00:59:21This is not your first rodeo.
00:59:22Yeah.
00:59:23Have you ever won a competition before?
00:59:25I have not, but thanks for letting me know.
00:59:27I've made it to the semi-finals,
00:59:29or I've made it to the finals,
00:59:30and I've always just come up a little bit short.
00:59:32Well, I happen to know of a competition
00:59:34where you could take away $50,000
00:59:36in a big gold medal.
00:59:38Is that why you guys put me back here?
00:59:40To motivate me?
00:59:40This could be it, man.
00:59:42I'm excited for you.
00:59:44So I'm going to take some white chocolate,
00:59:46I'm going to dust some blueberry powder on it,
00:59:49and then I'm going to press it in between two acetate sheets
00:59:52and kind of curl them up.
00:59:53So this is going to be chocolate decor.
00:59:56So I just want to get this in this sphere here,
00:59:59so I have some movement.
01:00:01I'm going to set this in the fridge.
01:00:06Just 15 minutes remaining now.
01:00:11All right, I'm going to just remove the circle right now.
01:00:14Hop.
01:00:15Everything looks good behind.
01:00:17Oh, put up.
01:00:21Two more chefs will be leaving this kitchen.
01:00:25I'm fourth place right now,
01:00:26but the truth is you never know
01:00:28what the others are going to do.
01:00:34It's not going to work.
01:00:35Like, when I unmold it, it's going to,
01:00:37I'm afraid it's going to run.
01:00:40This thing expanded on me,
01:00:42and it just didn't have enough time to set,
01:00:44so now I'm not going to be able to unmold it.
01:00:48So if I take it out of here, it's going to break.
01:00:54I'm going to just transfer it whatever I can.
01:00:57I'm going to do my best to get whatever is in here in there.
01:01:06Oh, it's so sad,
01:01:08because all the components are so good.
01:01:12I'm, like, really broken.
01:01:17Oh, my goodness.
01:01:21This wasn't supposed to be in a love band.
01:01:24It's horrible.
01:01:24This is the biggest embarrassment.
01:01:34This is literally a nightmare.
01:01:43I just want to leave.
01:01:46Like, seriously, I just want to walk away.
01:02:03I feel that I have to push through.
01:02:05The flavors are there.
01:02:07The textures are there.
01:02:09Just not the way I wanted to present it, for sure.
01:02:13At least I have something to share.
01:02:16I'm just going to tell my story.
01:02:18And my story is about struggle.
01:02:21Just the fact that that fit in there perfectly is blowing my mind.
01:02:24But it's about making it through the struggle.
01:02:30Five minutes left, chefs.
01:02:32I'm getting way too much exercise right now.
01:02:36These chefs, they're really stressing out.
01:02:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:02:40There are two chefs going home.
01:02:42The chefs ranked 11 and 12 at the end of this master challenge
01:02:46are the ones that are going to be leaving this kitchen.
01:02:49Stay focused, gotta stay focused.
01:02:53I feel very stressed right now.
01:02:56My mom would finish this cake in one sitting, literally.
01:03:00Chefs, you have two minutes left.
01:03:02Damn.
01:03:06This garnishing here with a little bit of pistachio chantilly.
01:03:15I'm really focusing on the details and the technique.
01:03:24Five, four, three, two, one.
01:03:30Thank you, chefs.
01:03:34Good job, everybody.
01:03:36You can all head to the back kitchen
01:03:37until you're called in to present your desserts.
01:03:40Good job, good job.
01:03:42Good job.
01:03:47Mr. Goldman, Ms. Yard.
01:03:49You've each got 15 points to award,
01:03:52and we're going to say goodbye to the two chefs
01:03:53who have the lowest cumulative scores.
01:03:56Let's welcome back Chef Molly.
01:03:58Yay!
01:04:00Molly!
01:04:01Let's go, lady.
01:04:05What I made for you is a pistachio raspberry gâteau.
01:04:09Chef Molly, do you think this dessert can keep you
01:04:11in the number one spot?
01:04:12I sure hope it can.
01:04:15I was kind of excited about your moniker
01:04:19of just, you know, absolute recklessness.
01:04:22And this is not reckless.
01:04:25Yeah.
01:04:26Every cut, every line is just uniform perfection.
01:04:32It looks great.
01:04:33Thank you so much.
01:04:34All right.
01:04:35It's time to give it a taste.
01:04:36Let's do it.
01:04:38It's really pretty.
01:04:40Clean.
01:04:41We'll start from the bottom up.
01:04:42Pistachio pan de jean.
01:04:43On the inside is a little crunchy layer
01:04:45of dehydrated strawberries, pistachios, and white chocolate.
01:04:49And then on top of that is a white chocolate mousse
01:04:51finished with an apricot gelée.
01:04:54And then on the very top, you have pistachio chantilly,
01:04:57fresh raspberries, raspberry fluid gel,
01:04:59and then a little chocolate garnish.
01:05:04It's a very impressive dessert.
01:05:06It's very well done.
01:05:09The pan de jean, I'm going to start there on the bottom.
01:05:12I really enjoyed the pistachio in there.
01:05:15Smart choice with the creams.
01:05:16Having the nuts on the top really added that texture.
01:05:20I think this pan de jean, it's a little dry,
01:05:23but it works with this.
01:05:25It really supports all of this other stuff
01:05:28that is so light and luscious.
01:05:30It's beautiful and incredibly well executed.
01:05:33A plus.
01:05:35Thank you, Molly.
01:05:38This is the work of a cold, calculating assassin.
01:05:42Right?
01:05:44I think the recklessness was a ruse.
01:05:48All right, let's welcome Chef Juan.
01:05:52I really want to get that top spot.
01:05:54There is something really specific in this dish,
01:05:57which is called mongo mongo.
01:05:58It is a really cultural type of cooking
01:06:01that is only done in the coast of Colombia.
01:06:04Yeah.
01:06:05It's very bold.
01:06:07Here we're looking at a beautifully baked crust,
01:06:11and it's not given up anything.
01:06:13I have no idea what's in there.
01:06:14I can't wait.
01:06:15Mongo mongo.
01:06:16Give it to me.
01:06:17Right? I'm so excited.
01:06:20Oh, wow.
01:06:21Ooh.
01:06:23Still a mystery, right?
01:06:24I made vanilla sablé, a mongo mongo compote with mascarpone mousse,
01:06:30and a coconut salt cake.
01:06:34I love the mongo mongo.
01:06:36While the cream is perfect,
01:06:40for me it overpowers the dish.
01:06:45The tart shell has a perfect balance of salt to it.
01:06:49I just want more mongo mongo.
01:06:54I really enjoy the mongo mongo.
01:06:57Got a little banana, I got a little mango,
01:06:59and then there's just this little salt that kind of sneaks in there.
01:07:02This is delicious.
01:07:04Chef Juan, great work.
01:07:06Thank you so much.
01:07:10Chef Clement.
01:07:11This is a fraisier.
01:07:13So it's like a strawberry shortcake.
01:07:15So this is the favorite cake of my mom.
01:07:18Oh, gosh.
01:07:19It's so clean and perfect.
01:07:22I remember your fraisier.
01:07:24I remember absolutely loving it.
01:07:26Here's the rub, though.
01:07:28Is it going to be as good as your last one?
01:07:31Moment of truth, Clement.
01:07:33He has almond sponge cake on the base, vanilla mousseline.
01:07:36I did like a hibiscus, jelly, and fresh strawberries.
01:07:41With a mascapan cream.
01:07:45It might...
01:07:47It might even be better.
01:07:49Ah.
01:07:50Clement said, you thought you had first place.
01:07:53It's the love that you can taste.
01:07:55The vanilla is really coming through nice.
01:07:58The strawberries are beautiful.
01:07:59Well, I do like the acidity that the hibiscus brings.
01:08:04It resists my spoon a little bit.
01:08:06A little less gelling, and I think this would be a perfect dish.
01:08:09Sounds good.
01:08:10Chef Clement.
01:08:11Thank you so much.
01:08:12Well done.
01:08:13He remembered the three years ago fraisier.
01:08:16And he said it tastes even better.
01:08:18So, now I feel confident.
01:08:23Chef Adalberto.
01:08:27I feel like I cannot breathe.
01:08:30It feels like Judgment Day.
01:08:34Adalberto, I know what you're capable of.
01:08:36When I saw you walk out with that, I gotta tell you, I was incredibly shocked.
01:08:40This is not what I intended to present to you today.
01:08:43This wasn't supposed to be in a love band.
01:08:47Um...
01:08:47Uh, well listen, I hope it's delicious.
01:08:49Let's find out.
01:09:01I'm making for you a coconut lime mousse Napoleon made with rome soaked genoa.
01:09:07This is a little bit of a story about my past.
01:09:10There's all the flavors from my childhood, including guava and coconut,
01:09:14the puff pastry that I used to make when I was a kid.
01:09:16Unfortunately, your vision certainly didn't match your execution.
01:09:20Yep.
01:09:20Your decision to make blitz puff pastry was very risky.
01:09:25It's one of the hardest things to do, and time was not on your side here.
01:09:29All right.
01:09:31As far as the flavors are concerned, it actually tastes like a tropical porridge.
01:09:36Yeah.
01:09:37Your blitz is nice and salty. It's not crispy enough.
01:09:42I can tell this is not what you were going for.
01:09:45Absolutely.
01:09:46Appreciate you very much.
01:09:48I'm disappointed.
01:09:50This is the end of the story.
01:09:52My dessert, it was a failure.
01:09:55Yeah.
01:09:58Yeah, I don't know.
01:10:00I don't know.
01:10:03Let's welcome back Chef Florencia.
01:10:08This is a representation of what my Sundays were back in Italy.
01:10:13My mom would ask me only for one dessert, chocolate mousse.
01:10:17That's all she loved, all she liked, all she wanted.
01:10:19So there is some chocolate and sugar work on top of it.
01:10:23I wanted to present some cancer awareness ribbons, because my mom lost the bottle.
01:10:30Sorry to hear that.
01:10:37This looks like it is going to be so moist and luscious, but I want the chocolate and I want
01:10:44the cake just to be a little bit more distinct.
01:10:47Absolutely.
01:10:48Let's serve it up.
01:10:51I did almond genoise soaked with espresso liqueur and amaretto.
01:10:57And there is my mom's favorite chocolate mousse with some Italian cherries.
01:11:02There is some dulce de leche in the center and then layers of soaked genoise with amaretto.
01:11:11This is one of those multidimensional, fork tender, melt in your mouth, rich, and yet light as can be desserts.
01:11:22I'm glad. I'm very happy.
01:11:25There are so many nuances and the cream on top makes just a wonderful bite.
01:11:30Thank you so much.
01:11:32Mmm, notes of chocolate, notes of caramel.
01:11:36This is delicious.
01:11:38Florencia, your mom would be very proud.
01:11:39Thank you so much.
01:11:40Nice job.
01:11:42It was bringing all these wonderful flavors together in a symphony in one bite.
01:11:49Florencia.
01:11:50What a lovely story.
01:11:52Thank you guys.
01:11:55Alright, let's welcome Chef Robert.
01:11:58This is an homage to my mentor.
01:12:00This is a chocolate bar of his that we used to do.
01:12:03It's very whimsical and very fun.
01:12:06It really is.
01:12:07I think the thing that really grabs me is this, like, sexy, pink, gooey stuff.
01:12:15Then, on top of that, the really tight spirals of gilded chocolate.
01:12:21Please serve it up.
01:12:22I start with a cherry chantilly at the top, followed by a cherry jam, milk chocolate mousse with toasted hazelnuts,
01:12:29a chocolate cake, and then it's hazelnut and milk chocolate fruit and crunch at the bottom.
01:12:34I love the complexity of the dish and the etherealness of your chantilly.
01:12:39Thank you, Chef.
01:12:40Yeah, Robert, you got a lot of cool techniques here.
01:12:42Your execution was impeccable.
01:12:46Alright, Chef Robert, thank you so much.
01:12:48Alright, thank you.
01:12:51It was form and function and beauty all combined together.
01:13:02Chef Chris, good to see you again.
01:13:04Hello, hello.
01:13:04I love what's going on top.
01:13:06These decorations that you've made that almost look like fried taro.
01:13:10And on the sides, it's just, it's naked cake.
01:13:14I've never really seen a naked cake where I've been like, that looks great.
01:13:19Oh, my God.
01:13:21Alright, let's give it a go, Chris, whenever you're ready.
01:13:23Alright.
01:13:25Whoa.
01:13:26Okay.
01:13:27That is a hunk.
01:13:28It's a chiffon cake, vanilla melted ice cream mousse, a blueberry thyme compote, blueberry almond thyme crunchies, and lemon curd.
01:13:38Your cake is tender, your mousse is pillowy and light.
01:13:42It's big blueberry flavor.
01:13:44This is delicious.
01:13:46Thank you very much.
01:13:47I didn't have that same experience, unfortunately.
01:13:50It's just a little too flat for me as far as the flavors.
01:13:54More lemon, more blueberry.
01:13:56Alright, Chef Chris, thank you.
01:14:00It's nerve-wracking.
01:14:02I really just hope to stay at eighth place or move up in the leaderboard.
01:14:06This dessert I made for you today is a key lime pie with homemade graham cracker crust, a key lime
01:14:10filling, and torched meringue.
01:14:13I do look at the meringue and see it to be a bit weepy for me.
01:14:22Mm-hmm.
01:14:23I very much enjoyed the buttery richness of the crust.
01:14:27The weepy meringue kind of smothered everything else on the plate.
01:14:32I understand that this meringue isn't correct for a key lime pie.
01:14:37I actually kind of like it.
01:14:39I enjoy the density of it.
01:14:41But I also think that your curd on the inside is also a little bit more dense.
01:14:45And I think they go together.
01:14:47Thank you, judges.
01:14:48Alright, let's welcome Chef Arletti.
01:14:51I'm still on the bottom four out of the 12.
01:14:53So it's just like, oh my God, I need to deliver it.
01:14:57So this is me on a tart.
01:15:00I think it's a little messy.
01:15:03The top on the inside where the fruit is, it looks really wet.
01:15:09According to the leaderboard right now, you're fourth from the bottom.
01:15:12Yes.
01:15:13We are going to be eliminating two people from this.
01:15:16I would suggest looks-wise, I don't know how well you're going to score with presentation.
01:15:23Oh.
01:15:27I hope I don't disappoint the judges on the flavor.
01:15:29On the bottom, you have a crunchy sablee, then followed by a passion fruit cremeux.
01:15:37To balance that out with mangoes, and then the whipped ganache.
01:15:43Your sablee is very sandy.
01:15:45It's nice.
01:15:46I am getting that passion fruit.
01:15:47I'm getting that mango, too.
01:15:49I love mangoes.
01:15:50This mango is not ready.
01:15:53To a tropical girl, it's not the mangoes that I would have preferred, but I had already committed to the
01:15:57dessert halfway through.
01:15:59As soon as I started peeling that mango, I would have been like, nope.
01:16:02I would have gone and found something else.
01:16:05They are not holding back.
01:16:06They are getting every little thing.
01:16:09I am very, very nervous.
01:16:11It's a really great conceptual idea.
01:16:14It's technically just missing the mark.
01:16:18That's it.
01:16:18Chef Arletti, thank you so much.
01:16:21I'm truly disappointed.
01:16:23I'm sure they are going to tell me to go home at this point.
01:16:25I'm like, ugh.
01:16:31All right, let's welcome Chef Aurelia.
01:16:38This is a caramelized apple charlotte.
01:16:42It is filled with vanilla mousseline cream, roasted apples, and a biscuit surrounding it.
01:16:49Wow.
01:16:52Your presentation is very grand.
01:16:56Execution, high marks.
01:16:58Technically, not an easy thing to do.
01:17:01I love apples.
01:17:02And I love these apples.
01:17:04Your cake is really, really tender, really soft.
01:17:08It's beautiful.
01:17:09But I think flavor, probably could have used a little something.
01:17:12Just looking for a little more razzmatazz, you know?
01:17:16Thank you, Chef.
01:17:17Thank you, Chef.
01:17:20All my nerves are here.
01:17:25Okay.
01:17:29I have to get some more points to, like, get out of the bottom, you know?
01:17:33I don't want to be sent home.
01:17:34I enjoy the celebration and the vividness of all the colors.
01:17:39All right, let's give it a taste whenever you're ready, Chef.
01:17:45This is a Bananas Foster brown butter torte.
01:17:49Your cake is beautiful.
01:17:51It's rich.
01:17:52What's the cream?
01:17:53It's a buttercream.
01:17:56I have found a new way of making buttercream.
01:17:59This is too stiff.
01:18:00I wanted something a little more luscious.
01:18:04I don't follow the rules.
01:18:06That's me, it's what I do, so I wanted to show you that.
01:18:08Rochelle, I love that you break the rules.
01:18:10When you do and it's executed well, you knock it out of the park.
01:18:16For me, this lacks that next level of flavor to elevate your idea.
01:18:21They are being very critical.
01:18:24Yeah.
01:18:25All right, Rochelle, thank you.
01:18:29Okay.
01:18:30How do you feel?
01:18:36Last place is not the place I want to be in, especially because I'm not 100% sure if I'm
01:18:42going to get enough points.
01:18:43I made a s'mores roulotte.
01:18:46I have a milk chocolate ganache with graham cracker clusters and a roasted marshmallow on top.
01:18:53The outside of it, I see all that beautiful burnt stuff and it looks great, but then right underneath it,
01:18:59raw cake.
01:19:01The red caps on the mushrooms are perfect.
01:19:04This doesn't look bad, but it could look a lot better.
01:19:19Your chocolate cake is very rich.
01:19:21It's not really blending in with that ganache that you have in there.
01:19:25Match that with the marshmallow, it's not yielding, it doesn't break.
01:19:31This dessert is, it's relentless. There's no goo. There's nothing to sort of, you know, ease it up a little
01:19:38bit.
01:19:38This is rough. This is hard to wash.
01:19:40Yeah, it's hard.
01:19:41I mean, this is a good cake, but you'd need just a little bit more liquid to kind of help
01:19:47keep things moving. Lube, if you will. A little cake lube.
01:19:53I'm nervous. Now the question is, how does it hold against everybody else's?
01:19:58Who are you?
01:20:00They're not good.
01:20:03All right, first master challenge in the books. It's time to input your scores.
01:20:07Please take into consideration flavor, execution, and technical difficulty.
01:20:11You've each got 15 points to award, so 30 points on the line for each of these chefs.
01:20:27Chefs, the 12 of you have worked so hard to get to this point, but only the top 10 will
01:20:32continue on in this competition.
01:20:36Let's start by revealing the chef with the highest overall score for the day.
01:20:47Molly.
01:20:51Molly, the look of your raspberry pistachio ghetto was the polar opposite of reckless.
01:20:58This time we got Daredevil Molly in the bold flavors. Well done.
01:21:04Oh my gosh, it feels really awesome.
01:21:07So let's see who else will be joining you.
01:21:11If your name is on the board, you've made it through.
01:21:17That's Clement, Florencia, Juan, Robert, Chris, Aurelia, Casey, and Rochelle.
01:21:26So, Molly and Clement, you were top two in the skills challenge.
01:21:31You also nabbed the top two in the master challenge too. Congratulations.
01:21:37That of course means Julian, Adalberto, and Arletti, only one of you will continue on in this competition.
01:21:44Please step forward.
01:21:46I'm feeling very nervous.
01:21:53Let's run through your scores to find out who will stay and who will go.
01:22:13And Alberto, you will live to bake another day.
01:22:17Congratulations.
01:22:19That was tough.
01:22:21But I'm grateful that I get to stay.
01:22:27Thank you, Chef.
01:22:29I'll make you, bro.
01:22:32Julian, Arletti, Duff and I were very moved by your personal stories.
01:22:36But both of your desserts needed a little more refinement.
01:22:39I'm very sorry.
01:22:40Please say your goodbyes and exit the kitchen.
01:22:44Definitely not happy that I see these two great people going home.
01:22:51That's a lot for one, one episode.
01:22:54The ten of you have earned the right to return to this kitchen.
01:22:58Is it?
01:22:59And continue your quest to become the ultimate baking champion.
01:23:04Good work this time.
01:23:06And good luck next time.
01:23:08I am so grateful to be able to keep telling my story.
01:23:14Oh my God, what a rollercoaster theme, huh?
01:23:21This season on the Ultimate Baking Championship.
01:23:24The way that this was imagined and executed is near flawless.
01:23:29No baking skill will go unchallenged.
01:23:32Feels like pastry.
01:23:33We're going to test your command of every skill required of a baking master.
01:23:38Today, it is all about chocolate.
01:23:39You have really brought that elegance.
01:23:42The chefs have a daunting task.
01:23:44Sugar show pieces.
01:23:46It's getting crazy.
01:23:47It's all about mastering modern techniques.
01:23:50I brought in my best friend, liquid nitrogen.
01:23:52Oh my God.
01:23:53Show us your mastery of dough.
01:23:55This challenge is for me.
01:23:56Look at this pastry.
01:23:58This is so good.
01:24:00It's really good.
01:24:01I have faith in us.
01:24:01Just sweat and bullets.
01:24:02You've come here to test yourselves and all of your skills and put those on the line.
01:24:06My stomach just dropped.
01:24:07Yep.
01:24:08But only one of you is going to leave here today with a brand new title.
01:24:12Ultimate Baking Champion.
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