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00:05Previously on Top Chef, welcome to Top Chef Carolinas.
00:10I cannot believe that I'm here.
00:14Hey, brother, why are you giving me the salad treatment, bro?
00:16It's not snack time right now.
00:19For your elimination challenge, we
00:20want to see who you are as chefs
00:22by turning this humble ingredient into a high-end dish.
00:25However, you're only going to get one hour to do it in.
00:29I've got a few little tricks up my sleeve.
00:31Come on.
00:32I'm going to play with the textures.
00:34This was the sweetest potato of all the sweet potato dishes
00:37that we had.
00:38It's a fantastic dish.
00:40It's time.
00:4130 seconds, chefs.
00:42I need help, please.
00:43We're with you, we're with you.
00:44Go, go, go, go.
00:45No!
00:46We all had bad days, and it's OK.
00:48Yeah. OK?
00:49OK.
00:49Got some collards escaping your plate, I think.
00:51We all do.
00:52But I liked where you were going with this.
00:54All my plans, out the window, behind.
00:56The fish was undercooked.
00:58There was everything.
01:00It almost got in the way of the sweet potato.
01:01The winner for today, Rhoda.
01:07Today, please pack your knives and go.
01:13Good luck, everyone.
01:1614 chefs remain to compete in the ultimate culinary showdown.
01:20Woo!
01:21At stake for the winner, the grand prize of a quarter
01:24of a million dollars provided by Graza Olive Oil,
01:27a feature in Food & Wine magazine, plus an appearance
01:30at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen,
01:32their own exclusive dinner at the historic James Beard House
01:36in New York, and the title of top chef.
01:45Man, I tell you guys, that was the scariest thing.
01:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:50My mind was like, make sure those sweet potatoes
01:52taste good as hell.
01:53And everyone had sweet potato on their plate,
01:55so that saved me.
01:57Landing in the bottom five isn't who I am.
02:00I have an incredible career behind me and in front of me.
02:04I really can't wait to prove to myself that I am who I say I am.
02:11What a day, girl.
02:14I know, we made it.
02:15First one, first one, first one.
02:22How are you feeling today after winning the first challenge?
02:25Definitely feels good.
02:26There's no last chance kitchen in the first two challenges.
02:29That just kind of secures me station on the competition,
02:33at least for the next one.
02:34Mm-hmm.
02:35The fact that I won the first challenge and immunity
02:38doesn't mean that I'm going to take it easy.
02:41I always want to do my best.
02:51Whoa.
02:52Damn.
02:53Feels real now.
02:54Whoa.
02:55Are you kidding me?
02:56Ooh, la, la.
02:57That's a crowd.
02:59First time in the Top Chef kitchen, I feel my heart racing.
03:02I feel my knees shaking.
03:04But whatever they throw at us, I got this.
03:08It's in the bank.
03:09Good morning.
03:10Good morning.
03:11First time in the kitchen?
03:12It's beautiful, isn't it?
03:14Yeah.
03:14As you can see, the kitchen has been outfitted with high-performance,
03:18precision-engineered Bosch appliances.
03:20And the pantry is filled with a wide variety of tools and ingredients.
03:24I figured we'd loosen things up.
03:27And what better way than with a very good friend of mine
03:30and your guest judge, Mei Lin.
03:32Yay!
03:34Hey, chefs.
03:35You look cute.
03:38So as you can see, Mei brought a little Talenti gelato and sorbetto.
03:42How did you know we love gelato?
03:44Do we have any lactose intolerant people?
03:48Oscar.
03:48A little bit.
03:49What happens?
03:50It's like a scene out of The Exorcism.
03:53All right.
03:54Actually, my family are dairy farmers.
03:56I would spend summers getting super sick.
03:59I would also kind of start hallucinating.
04:01Like, I would get these fevers.
04:04Come this way.
04:05Hello, chefs.
04:06Who's hungry?
04:07Grab whatever you want.
04:09Pistachio.
04:10Butter pecan.
04:11Vanilla.
04:12Ooh.
04:13I'm going for this Madagascar vanilla because I have no idea what's about to happen,
04:17so I'm grabbing the safest flavor ever.
04:19Oh, that's banging.
04:20Mm-hmm.
04:21Mm-hmm.
04:21Did everyone enjoy their treat?
04:23Yes.
04:23So good.
04:24You'll learn very quickly that you never know what to expect in this competition.
04:35Talenti gelato and sorbetto is committed to elevating the gelato experience.
04:39By sourcing the highest-quality ingredients for the most authentic flavors from around the
04:44world, combining them with a unique twist to excite your palate, kind of like what
04:49you might do.
04:50Oh.
04:50Because the flavor that you chose will dictate what you make today.
04:54Damn.
04:55Of course.
04:56Jasi, how are you feeling about the mango in India?
04:58I'm feeling great.
04:59It's all about representing it now.
05:01Good.
05:01Yeah.
05:02Oh, Justin and Jennifer, you have the same flavor?
05:04So we do.
05:05Okay.
05:06Oh.
05:07I mean, chocolate chip is definitely my favorite flavor.
05:09You sure you didn't have me in the back of your mind?
05:11I promise you.
05:12Just the last resort, huh?
05:16Isn't that cute?
05:17For your quick fire today, we want you to make a savory dish that highlights the ingredients
05:23from the region that inspired your gelato.
05:25Instead of creating the dessert, you're going to create the main course.
05:32Brittany, you look very focused.
05:35Serious.
05:35Freaking out.
05:36Yeah?
05:36Yeah.
05:37Totally.
05:38Your dish will be served with a scoop of gelato after, so make sure it works together.
05:42There are two chefs per flavor, so you're going to serve side by side.
05:45Got it.
05:46I think you're going to really want to win this one, because there's a sweet $10,000
05:50on the line for the winner.
05:51Let's go.
05:52Wow.
05:5330 minutes on the clock.
05:54Yes.
05:55Your time starts now.
05:56Yes.
05:57Ooh!
06:01Coming in.
06:02Let me get the pork, bro.
06:03Is there any pork in there?
06:04Where is the produce?
06:05Where's my apron?
06:06Pairing a savory dish with a sweet dish is not something we think about in composing a
06:10plate.
06:11We think about wine pairings, pairings within a course.
06:13So this is a very particular challenge.
06:15And to do that within a 30-minute time frame is even more difficult.
06:18Good.
06:20Let's go, baby!
06:22Let's go!
06:22Let's go!
06:23Nana!
06:24Yes, sir!
06:25How are you feeling about cooking India?
06:26I feel good about it.
06:27It's all about spices.
06:29Just bring it on.
06:30I've never been to India, but we actually do use curry in Ghana a lot.
06:35The plan is keeping it simple, keeping it delicious, and getting it on the plate.
06:40I'm going to do a cauliflower steak with a curry vinaigrette.
06:44Tomato and mango go so well together.
06:46I'm making my light paneer take up, so my mango will be acting as a chutney.
06:50Bring it on.
06:54You feel good?
06:55I feel good.
06:57What region do you have?
06:58I got Argentina.
06:59Ah, that's good for you, huh?
07:01Let's see.
07:02I'm going to do a pan sear grouper with a kombucha squash puree.
07:06Ooh.
07:07The hardest part about making a savory dish paired with a gelato is not overdoing it with
07:14the sweetness.
07:15So, I'm making a guava and grape gastric.
07:19The acidity on the gastric definitely cuts through the sweetness of the gelato.
07:24I love sweet and sour, so it kind of makes sense to me.
07:28Have you been to Argentina before?
07:30Uh, no, I haven't.
07:31It's on my list.
07:32When I win those 10 Gs, I'll bring you with.
07:34Thank you, sir.
07:34You're welcome, babe.
07:35Now I'm ready to get some of this cash, man.
07:37I'm ready for some of this walking around money.
07:43I got the California one, so pistachios.
07:46I'm going to do some kind of lamb dish.
07:48I'm Chinese American, but my history of being a chef has been in Mediterranean Turkish restaurants.
07:54And so, when I think about pistachio gelato, I think Turkish food.
07:59I love lamb and pistachio together.
08:01I'm making lamborek.
08:02Usually you eat it with, like, yogurt, but instead of yogurt, gelato.
08:07Let's go, chefs!
08:08I'm going to do some crispy arachokes and attempt a pipyon with these ingredients.
08:1225 minutes!
08:13I'm a little nervous, man.
08:14I have more pressure.
08:15I got my country.
08:16I need to represent it.
08:17That's right.
08:18He said I got my country.
08:19I'm dead.
08:20Dawn, what you got going on?
08:22Pork tenderloin.
08:23I'm going to roast it.
08:24Pork loin!
08:26Pork works well with sweet flavors, and it's a quick protein to cook.
08:31We got to bring a little bit of everything today.
08:34Hey, something smells delicious.
08:35I want to showcase what I'm about, and that's fine dining.
08:39I want to get the pork loin seasoned with a little clove, allspice, cinnamon, and then I'm going to cook
08:43the pork loin sous-vide.
08:45Putting it in water in 30 minutes?
08:47Yeah.
08:47Sick.
08:47I feel good about it.
08:48I feel really good about it.
08:49Coming around.
08:50Should I have instant coffee?
08:51Yes.
08:53Take it.
08:56Hot, hot, hot.
08:57I'm going to make a seared pork loin and tistonus.
09:00I'm going to do a little play on a tartare with lamb.
09:03I got coffee, chocolate chip, and coffee is definitely the forward.
09:06Brack of lamb that's going on spice with a little bit of coffee.
09:09So far in this competition, I've been on the bottom, and I don't like to lose.
09:13So I focus more on the coffee notes, because it's a savory dish that needs to pair well with the
09:19gelato.
09:2021.
09:2021 minutes heard.
09:24I love this region.
09:26I'm roasting some fennel, figs, and pine nuts.
09:29Oh, God, it's starting to sound like we have almost the same dish.
09:32Honestly, I don't even know what kind of cook I am anymore, because I'm always doing so many other things
09:36at the restaurant that aren't cooking.
09:39Woo!
09:39Jen was a little bit hesitant about doing this.
09:42Very.
09:43But I just wanted to remind her that she used to stand toe-to-toe with some of the best
09:48cooks in New York City and work the lines in some of the toughest kitchens.
09:52I'm very thankful he pushed me to do this.
09:55We cook very similar, so we'll see.
09:57Whoa.
09:58You guys, someone's meat's on fire.
10:01Hey, Brittany, Brittany, your meat, your meat, your meat.
10:04Brittany.
10:04Got it, got it.
10:08Thank you, chefs.
10:10Got you, got you.
10:11What's the time, y'alls?
10:1214.
10:16Woo!
10:17It's getting hot up in here.
10:19Let's go.
10:20You doing good, man?
10:21Having a savory dish is really tough with a sweet gelato, but truthfully, Vanilla's using a lot of savory dishes.
10:27So I'm cutting up some lychees here.
10:28This is gonna be like a little fresh salad for my charred eggplant.
10:31It looks ugly right now, but it's gonna come together, I promise.
10:33Seeger, how you doing over there, my guy?
10:35I'm good, my boo.
10:36I got some strawberry snapper today.
10:38I don't want to serve crudo and I don't want to serve over, so.
10:41We're gonna lean towards that heavier spiced stew, and then finishing with the gelato, we'll kind of just clean it
10:47out and kind of cool everything off.
10:49Seeger, I'm pretty sure you're familiar with this right off the bat.
10:51It's a cachapa.
10:53I'm using the squash, I'm using the corn, I'm using the polenta.
10:56Throw the provolone on the griddle, where it's like kind of a late night snack.
11:00I think it represents my style of cooking.
11:03I DJed.
11:04I went by Buenos Dias.
11:08I was into the creative arts, and I think I cooked that way.
11:12Nostalgic moments with a little creative remix.
11:14Looking good.
11:15You know how we do.
11:17It got real today.
11:19Brandon, what you doing over there?
11:21At first I was going to sous vide the park, and then I realized it was too thick.
11:24So I'm gonna pivot to medallions.
11:27You got time for that?
11:27Plenty of time.
11:28You got plenty of time.
11:29Be high.
11:30Coming up.
11:32Chefs, you have five minutes.
11:34Five minutes.
11:35Five minutes.
11:36Hood.
11:36Behind.
11:37Behind.
11:38Anyone have a fish spat at hand?
11:39Yeah, here.
11:40Coming in hot.
11:44For as much as I know about Madagascar, which is a spoonful of gelato, my dish is coming out great.
11:49Tastes great.
11:49Looking good.
11:50Behind.
11:51Hot.
11:51Behind.
11:52Hot.
11:52Behind.
11:52Two minutes.
11:52Two minutes.
11:53That cuisson is nice.
12:02It's still raw in the center.
12:04Push.
12:0548 seconds.
12:06Let's go.
12:07I cannot give them raw pork.
12:09Like, that is just not an option.
12:1130 seconds, Gwen.
12:14Feeling good today.
12:15Yes.
12:15Feeling good today.
12:16Clean it up.
12:18We made it.
12:19We made it.
12:20Oh, my butternut sauce.
12:21Get it on there.
12:22Get it on there.
12:23Good.
12:23You got that.
12:24You got that.
12:24Yeah, there you go.
12:26Yeah, Dwen.
12:27Yeah, Dwen.
12:28Five.
12:29Four.
12:30Three.
12:31Two.
12:32One.
12:33Time's up.
12:34You time's down.
12:35Made it.
12:44Caramel cookie crunch.
12:45You can come on up.
12:47Oscar, tell us about what you made, please.
12:49I made a polenta cachapa.
12:51A little bit of light brown sugar that I caramelized with some butter to kind of mimic the caramel.
12:55Almonds to mimic the cookie.
12:56And crispy skin provolone on that.
12:58I made a polenta crusted grouper with a kombucha squash crema and guava gastric.
13:04Were you tasting the gelato as you went along?
13:07I got what I needed out of it.
13:08Yeah.
13:09I hear you.
13:10Justin and Jennifer.
13:14I did marinated fennel salad, and then on the bottom is a feta cheese and lemon puree.
13:22I did oven-roasted fennel and vinaigrette with feta, roasted pine nuts, roasted fig, and olives.
13:30Did you guys discuss these two dishes before you started cooking?
13:34No, but when we were talking out loud about them, I was like, oh, this sounds like almost the same
13:37dish.
13:38Yeah.
13:38All right, thank you very much.
13:42All right, chefs.
13:43I made a lamborek with some apricot jam and pickled tomatillos.
13:50Did you want the pistachio?
13:52My wife is from Madagascar.
13:54Oh.
13:54And she's going to be so mad that I didn't look through the other ones.
13:57And I'm like, I'm just going to say right now I'm sorry to my wife.
14:01Anthony, what did you make?
14:02A crispy artichoke with pepion sauce and then a candy of apricot and pistachio.
14:06I've never had gelato chasers.
14:08I kind of like it.
14:09I do, too.
14:12You're welcome.
14:13I did a coffee spiced lamb tartare with crispy plantains.
14:17Where's the coffee?
14:18It's just rubbed on the tartare?
14:20Yeah, and then it's in the pickle of the chili that's a final garnish as well.
14:23I made a coffee and chili rubbed seared pork loin chop, tostones, and dragon fruit salsa.
14:32This is malai paneer tikka, and it's with the kachumba salad with cucumber and curry leaf.
14:36I have used this mango sorbet to act as a chutney.
14:43Nana?
14:44I have for you a curried cauliflower steak with a chunky tomato salsa with spinach.
14:51Were you finished early?
14:52I wanted to make sure that we didn't have any more mishaps.
14:55Learn from the mistakes.
14:56Yes, ma'am.
14:57Yeah.
14:59So this is a strawberry snapper with cracked coconut and uni.
15:04What's the sauce?
15:04Coconut cream, fish stock, and then finished with uni, a little bit of the vanilla gelato.
15:09Oh, gelato in the sauce.
15:12Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:14Jonathan, tell us about your dish, please.
15:15I have a charred eggplant with a tamarind miso and vanilla sauce.
15:20I worked in the Caribbean for almost seven years, so I use pretty much everything except for the banana.
15:25And last but not least, southern butter pecan.
15:28Today I have for you a pork loin medallion with a peach mostarda.
15:34My mouth is numb.
15:35I used a whole clove in the sous vide process.
15:37I just got a big mouth of clove.
15:39Sorry.
15:40Points deducted.
15:41Err.
15:43Dwen?
15:44I made a pecan crusted pork tenderloin and then a peach and grape reduction.
15:49Chef, what temperature were you trying to go for?
15:52I was trying to go for 135.
15:55Mae, I recently watched your season and your side eye was just cracking me up so much.
16:02The RBF is real.
16:07Mae, what did you think of this challenge?
16:08I thought there were some hits and some misses.
16:14Mae, what was a dish that missed the mark for you?
16:18Chef Brittany.
16:20The coffee flavor didn't come through in your tartare.
16:22It was very overly aggressive with raw onion.
16:26The next dish was from Chef Sieger.
16:31My fish was overcooked and I thought your sauce work tasted very muddy.
16:35Your sauce itself became overpowering when you went back to the gelato to see how it paired together.
16:41And the last was Chef Dwen.
16:45Your pork was cooked okay.
16:48Just missing a lot of seasoning for me.
16:50It couldn't stand up to the gelato.
16:54So it's not all bad news.
16:55We did have a few favorites.
16:58Chef Oscar.
17:01I thought it was going to be overly sweet, but it balanced out really, really nicely.
17:06Actually with the cheese, it was really like a late night snack.
17:08I appreciate it. Thank you.
17:10What was another dish you'd like to eat again?
17:13Chef Lawrence.
17:14Your burak had all the amazing flavors of salty, sweet, tangy.
17:19My mother-in-law makes the best burak with a yogurt.
17:23And the gelato was the yogurt that I liked to dip my burak in.
17:26That was, that was easy.
17:27Last but not least.
17:30Chef Nana.
17:32Your cauliflower dish.
17:33That spice paired really well with the sorbetto.
17:36It was really, really delicious.
17:39And the winner is...
17:42Chef Lawrence.
17:44Congratulations, Lawrence.
17:48You just won $10,000 provided by Talenti.
17:52How's that? Now you're at...
17:5415.
17:55I'll take it.
17:56Nice. Congratulations.
17:57I might not have to apologize to my wife.
18:01It's time to turn up the heat in here.
18:07May, it's no secret that you're a fan of spice.
18:10Yes, indeed.
18:10You've got a chili oil, a hot chicken sandwich.
18:13But it's nothing compared to what was created not far from here.
18:17Anyone ever heard of the Carolina Reaper?
18:20Oh, yeah.
18:20Yes.
18:21It's gnarly.
18:22In 2017, pepper breeder, Ed Curry of Pucker Butt Farms.
18:28True name, Pucker Butt Farms.
18:31Created the very famous Carolina Reaper pepper.
18:34At the time, it beat the Guinness World Record for hottest pepper.
18:37Before that, the hottest pepper was the ghost pepper.
18:40The ghost pepper clocks in at up to a million Scoville units.
18:45The Carolina Reaper goes up to 1.5 million.
18:49Goddamn.
18:50For reference, the jalapeno is 2,000.
18:53Wow.
18:54The Carolina Reaper held the record for about six years until Ed actually beat his own record when he created
19:00the Pepper X.
19:01It's hot as .
19:03We just went through dairy and now it's Pucker Butt.
19:07You're screwed.
19:08I don't know.
19:08This is like my day.
19:10Does anyone not like spicy food?
19:12Not like hot, hot.
19:13I don't.
19:13Being an Indian too, like.
19:15It's a misconception when people think about Indian cuisine, it's gonna be hot.
19:19But if you ask me what's my heat tolerance out of 10, I would say two.
19:23For your elimination challenge, working in two teams of seven, you're gonna have to create a seven-course meal that
19:29gets progressively hotter.
19:30Oh.
19:32It's time to draw knives to determine your teams.
19:35The difficulty of spice is like you have to know how to layer.
19:38You don't want to blow someone out in second or third course.
19:42Having Rhoda and Oscar on a team would be great.
19:46Is green or red?
19:47Oscar, he can crank and he can cook.
19:49And Rhoda, she's just so confident in her food.
19:52Green.
19:53Green.
19:54Damn it, I want an Oscar.
19:56Each team member is responsible for one dish.
19:58But you're gonna have to work together to make sure that each dish is spicier than the last.
20:02For a little bit of information and perhaps some inspiration, May is going to take you to the infamous Pucker
20:08Butt Farms.
20:08Hell yeah.
20:11Cool.
20:12Tomorrow, you're going to have 90 minutes to prep and cook before service begins.
20:17Alright chefs, I hope you're ready to get hot together. Let's go.
20:20I'm gonna be stocking up on antacids.
20:26Hi.
20:28Welcome to the farm.
20:30Thank you for having us.
20:31You can smell the spice in the air.
20:33It is just rows and rows and rows of peppers.
20:39I've put out some treats for you guys.
20:42What?
20:46We've got some dried peppers, some fresh peppers, some pepper mash and powder.
20:52I think we're gonna have a little bit of fun right now.
20:55I didn't even realize you guys are twins.
20:58Holy smokes.
21:00Where does this passion for peppers come from?
21:04Heart disease and cancer were prevalent in my family, so I stuttered the indigenous populations that don't have high indices
21:12of cancer.
21:13They all ate peppers with every single meal, so that's what got me started.
21:18That's incredible.
21:19Yeah.
21:20On that note, should we start tasting some chili?
21:22Let's go. Let's do it.
21:24Green jalapeno can be a great layer with something hot.
21:27How about a cayenne next?
21:29Everybody, enjoy.
21:32Let's turn the heat up.
21:34Let's go to the scotch bonnet.
21:35There's red and yellow.
21:37I'll take a bite.
21:38Deep end, no life vass.
21:40I'm sweating.
21:41I'm just trying not to cry right now.
21:43My blood is converting into lava.
21:45Oh.
21:47Reapers, reapers.
21:49Someone grab a couple of Reapers off of one of those trays.
21:51Anything called Carolina Reaper is, like, out of my comfort zone, but everyone takes a tiny little bit of it.
22:01Oh, my God.
22:01I regret it immediately.
22:03Oh, my God.
22:04Who would like to taste some Pepper X?
22:07One drop can literally light up a dish.
22:14Oh, my God.
22:16That's hot.
22:18Yeah.
22:19Damn.
22:20It's almost like slow motion from, like, a World War II movie.
22:24Help.
22:25Help.
22:28Some people are, like, bent over.
22:30Like, someone else is, like, and then, like, some people are just, like, so out of it.
22:35I'm hallucinating right now.
22:39I'm in another dimension.
22:42Are you okay?
22:44It sneaks up on you.
22:47Chef May, do you have any advice on progression since it's on your menu?
22:52You can have multiple types of chilies in a dish because you want to bring out the aromatics, like, the
22:59florowness in a habanero.
23:00Different peppers for different reasons, some for heat, some for flavor.
23:03That was a really good bit of information.
23:05We really want to highlight the pepper in as many ways as we can, and we want the journey to
23:10be good, but not scary.
23:11Is anybody else pepper high?
23:13Yeah.
23:14I can't drive.
23:16Yeah.
23:25All right, so initial thoughts, guys.
23:27I have immunity.
23:29I'm comfortable with any level of spice.
23:34I'm okay with being with spice as well.
23:36So if you want to take hottest and I take second hottest, I think that starts putting us in the
23:39right direction.
23:40Yeah.
23:40Okay.
23:41I can do, like, pork and al pastor and marinate it.
23:44And I can definitely do that with the Carolina Reaper.
23:46Okay, so I'm going to go braised short rib.
23:48Who wants to take first course?
23:50I'll take first.
23:51I can do, like, oyster and, like, pepper granita.
23:54Okay.
23:54Sounds good.
23:57All right, maybe we go around and everybody say, like, an idea that they have.
24:01I want to do a dish I've done before.
24:03Tuna tartare.
24:05I think it should be first course because the peppers I want to use are Fresno and red jalapeno.
24:09What about you, Justin?
24:10Yeah, I want to do a fried chicken with the bone and stuffed wing with, like, shrimp.
24:14So, you know, seventh course, we can do a lamb.
24:17I was thinking of vindaloo because that directly gives you a kick in the mind.
24:21Like, end the meal with that. That's what you're saying, right?
24:23Yes.
24:24Okay.
24:24Jassy wants to go last and he doesn't even like spice.
24:27I'm honestly not sure if this is the right move, but he seems pretty confident.
24:31Teamwork makes the dream work.
24:36Open sesame.
24:41Can I get 21 Kubamoto oysters?
24:44Our plan is let's just talk throughout the entire shop.
24:46Make sure everyone's getting, like, the key components that they need for their dishes.
24:50Jen, what else do you need?
24:52I think I'm good.
24:53I got Dungeness crab.
24:54Growing up, we would go to the coast of South Carolina.
24:58We'd always order sheet crab soup.
25:00Very nostalgic from my childhood.
25:02So we have two heads of garlic, too.
25:04I definitely need garlic.
25:07Hey, I got the lamb leg boneless.
25:09The lamb loin too expensive?
25:10Yeah. Got it.
25:11700 bucks is gonna be difficult to split.
25:13I'll take that one all the way in the front.
25:15Our strategy is we cross utilize our ingredients.
25:18So whoever's using lime grabs lime for everybody.
25:21I got limes, I got shallots.
25:22Can you grab four cans of coconut milk?
25:2518 minutes!
25:26Can I just get this shrimp that are on sale?
25:29What you buying?
25:30I just got some more red snapper bread.
25:32All right.
25:33Give me right to the finish line.
25:34When I think about heat, I think about spice, I think about Ghana.
25:39We have a dish called light soup.
25:41My auntie baby prides herself in making one of the spiciest soups ever.
25:47Your nose is running, but it's so good you keep going back for more.
25:50Thank you so much.
25:51How much time we got?
25:52Nine minutes.
25:53Nine minutes? Okay.
25:54So let's get organized.
25:55Got three bags of garlic.
25:56We're gonna have to make this work.
25:57What are we at, Steve?
25:58477.
25:59All right, we got about 200.
26:00200 bucks.
26:00I think we're gonna be able to get everything.
26:02Our team does not seem nervous about the $700 at all.
26:05There's a lot of vinegar.
26:06Hold on, hold on.
26:07I'm over six bucks.
26:08The red team is all over the place.
26:11I need like 10 lines.
26:12Are you giving me 10 lines?
26:14Okay.
26:14I'm mad that Brandon is over, Sherry is over.
26:18We are screwing over Justin.
26:20This is like five, six dollars, everything.
26:22And I can hold on.
26:23I'm the personality where I just like to sit back and watch how this just takes its course.
26:28You know, just let them go.
26:29And eventually they'll tucker themselves out.
26:32Y'all going over budget over there?
26:34Shut up.
26:34Yeah!
26:36Let's go.
26:37Guys, we are on 609.
26:39Justin, get it done.
26:40This I need for sure.
26:42Do we need that many chicken wings?
26:43Just those two and see where we're at.
26:46We're good.
26:46We're good.
26:47Hey!
26:48Hey!
26:49Hey!
26:50Next time we buying all of our own stuff, yo.
26:52That's fine.
26:53You have to go with the other.
27:13How are we feeling, salsa verde?
27:15So good!
27:15All right guys, let's go red team.
27:17Green team, if you need to change something in your dish, we need to likeβ¦
27:21Communicate it as a team, okay?
27:23We got a plan today.
27:24Salsa Verde team.
27:26We got to nail this. This is a spice progression.
27:28Are these the habaneros?
27:30Different types of heat hits your collet in different ways.
27:32Make sure you're smelling all of them, chef.
27:34We're a chili roller coaster.
27:37We're going to be using green jalapenos.
27:40We're going to go oyster a nice oceanic pop to start.
27:43Seeger's going first, doing a Kumamoto oyster
27:46with a cucumber mignonette granita.
27:49This is perfect texture.
27:50Okay.
27:51Second, Brittany with poached shrimp and corn salad.
27:54Brittany's not feeling great because she's been on the bottom.
27:57So we reel her back in as a team.
28:00This is with the cayenne, okay?
28:02That's good.
28:03Starting my grits now.
28:05Third, Jennifer is making a pepper crab and southern grits.
28:08Spice and grits. Can't go wrong.
28:10Ooh, that was spicy.
28:13Now we start to kick up the heat.
28:15I'm going fourth, making pan-seared snapper
28:18with a habanero and mango emulsion.
28:20You got fifth course over there, though.
28:22You and me head to head on this.
28:23And that's why I said, what's up?
28:24Damn. All right, Nana.
28:26Anthony's fifth, doing grilled jerk lamb
28:28with piccoli, carrot moth, and a hoe cake.
28:31This jerk sauce is hot as .
28:33It's like my step-mom made that .
28:34Is she angry all the time, or what?
28:36She's Jamaican, so, yeah, she's angry all the time.
28:40So these are Mexican chilis.
28:41They're going to build the marinade for my pork.
28:43Oh, Oscar, when you say that, it sounds so sexy.
28:45Spicy boy Oscar is sixth, doing pork el pastor
28:49with a blue corn jarache, pickled pineapple.
28:52I got this yellow scotch bonnet coming in.
28:55Rhoda is holding it down at seven.
28:57Don't high-five me.
28:59Doing a pepper braised short rib.
29:01Rhoda, I like it spicy, but, man.
29:04Sorry, guys.
29:05She's like, I'm good.
29:06The fan is blowing it up to you guys.
29:10Hey, Red Team, y'all looking a little spicy over there.
29:12You know, because we're the Red Reapers.
29:15Red Reapers.
29:17Sherry, so I'm working on this tomato water right now.
29:20Going light spice, super mild.
29:22First course.
29:22Brendan is making a tuna tartare
29:24with a jalapeno tomato jelly.
29:27This dish will set the tone for what's next.
29:29I'm trying to use Fresno a couple different ways.
29:33I'm doing the second course, chilled seafood chowder
29:36with a Fresno granita.
29:38I think it tastes super fresh and delicious.
29:40I'm about to start taking all these seeds out
29:42and then add some fresh chilies in the lab.
29:45And then we're going to make the salad of itself.
29:46Dwen is making a pork clove salad.
29:48Just making sure that everything feels balanced.
29:51This is going to be like a bunch of caramelized vegetables,
29:54so we're just going to cook it down
29:55until it's like almost like a paste.
29:56Fourth course is going to be me with the Carolina style
29:59Yushong eggplant.
30:00Cantonese cuisine has a really special place in my heart.
30:03This is my kind of take on a Carolina version.
30:06Anybody have any seafood scraps you don't need?
30:08Give them here.
30:09Fifth course, Nana's going to be doing
30:10a marinated Chito red snapper with light soup.
30:13Let's go.
30:15I love chicken wings.
30:17Sixth course, Justin is doing a shrimp stuffed fried chicken wing.
30:20You make a lot of vindaloo back home?
30:22Oh, yeah, man.
30:23And lastly, Jossie's got the seventh course,
30:25lamb vindaloo with flaky prata.
30:27I know you don't like heat that much,
30:29but since you're going last, how hot are you going?
30:31I'm going like super hot.
30:33We are using the Reapers, and it's like crazy, man.
30:36Producing the seventh course, and for a chef who doesn't like
30:39cooking spicy spicy, I'm just thinking that we'll have a team tasting
30:42so that we all can adjust our spice level,
30:45so that we do justice to our progression.
30:48You okay?
30:49You all right?
30:50That's what I like to hear, though.
30:52Taste your chilies before you put them in.
30:54Yes.
30:55Start low, we'll build from there.
30:57Let's all taste, guys, really quick.
30:59Your main sauce component.
31:01We got to do it in order.
31:02I think we go higher.
31:03I go higher.
31:04Definitely go higher.
31:05Growing up in the Philippines, being the oldest of six kids,
31:08I was definitely the... I just shouldn't say bully.
31:12Um, I was very motherly.
31:14Guys, let's do one at a time.
31:15Stop hitting the table, please.
31:16Let's do one at a time, please.
31:18It is important to me that I can sign off to everyone's dishes.
31:23And then you're going to add more heat to this one.
31:24Yes.
31:25Okay.
31:25Is there going to be spice on here?
31:27Go balls to the wall with your pickles.
31:29Chef, I can help you out.
31:30Yeah?
31:30I think so.
31:32Hey, do you guys want to taste some components real quick?
31:34Yeah.
31:35What's really important to me is I set the first course
31:37and make sure that the seasoning is spot on.
31:39This has green jalapeno in it.
31:40The tuna is just going to be seasoned with umami and shallot,
31:42and it's perfect.
31:44And this is...
31:44Here's the spicier.
31:46What?
31:47Yours is spicier than mine?
31:48Yeah, so we got to adjust yours, huh?
31:49We decided specifically that he would go first
31:52and he would be neutral on the heat scale.
31:55That green jalapeno definitely got a kick.
31:56I don't have time to go first.
31:58I have too much to do.
32:00That's the spiciest part of the dish.
32:01Yeah, okay.
32:01It's frustrating.
32:02It's disrespectful.
32:04Did you taste the jelly though?
32:05Yeah, I did.
32:06Okay, okay.
32:06I don't want to be on the bottom because of somebody else's mistake.
32:10Come on.
32:17Hey, so guys, so real quick.
32:19Everybody's tasting my components.
32:20Yes, yeah.
32:21Sherry's going to increase hers just a little bit.
32:22Only because his is too spicy.
32:24It's too spicy?
32:25For our first course.
32:26We need to get this together.
32:28To nail that progression of heat, I'm going to have to re-season my seafood chowder in a very short
32:35amount of time.
32:36It's going to be hotter, right?
32:37So everybody who follows me will...
32:38I'm just doing little dots of the avocado, so it's not going to be crazy.
32:42I'm not going to re-season it again.
32:4310 minutes, guys.
32:4510 minutes.
32:4510 minutes.
32:47I'm pretty sure our first course is going to be the best.
32:49Say that with a lot of confidence, Jonathan.
32:52We got the good twin on this side.
32:56Are you guys as excited as I am about this?
32:59Yes, yes.
33:00Except you know what you're in for, and we don't.
33:04How pretty that is.
33:06Lovely.
33:08Thank you very much for having us.
33:10We're going to start with the most mild and work our way to the hottest.
33:14It has potential to go...
33:16Highways fast.
33:17Really, really fast.
33:19I'm taking the chito that I made, and I'm going to sous vide it,
33:23gently cook it to emulate that all-day cook.
33:26I don't sous vide often, but, I mean, this is top chef.
33:29I don't want to just sear any fish.
33:31I want to bring a level of complexity to it.
33:34Oh, shoot.
33:35What's the matter?
33:36I just, like, haven't done this in a while, and I'm trying to remember.
33:39Yeah, you're good. You're good.
33:41One minute.
33:42We got some green jalapeno, snuck a little bit of reaper.
33:46No turning back now.
33:48Brandon, you want help?
33:49I'm good.
33:49I got two more things to put on the plate.
33:51We're good.
33:51We're good.
33:51I got it.
33:5510 seconds.
33:5510 seconds.
34:00Hey!
34:01Let's go!
34:02Let's go, Seeger!
34:04All right, first course.
34:06Hey, you're pretty.
34:07Ooh, very pretty.
34:08Seeger, why don't you tell us about your oyster, please?
34:11Right here, you've got a Kumamoto oyster, cucumber, and green jalapeno mignonette granita.
34:16A little bit of the reaper salsa.
34:17Were you nervous about starting with the reaper?
34:19No.
34:20The reaper is just there to get you going.
34:22Brandon?
34:22Here I have a tuna tartare with a spicy tomato jelly.
34:25Finished with a little avocado mousse and puffed wild rice.
34:28This is a great start.
34:29Yeah.
34:29Awesome.
34:29Really, really great.
34:30Beautiful.
34:30Thank you so much.
34:31Awesome.
34:31Thank you very much.
34:32Thank you both.
34:34Really delicious.
34:35Yeah, really delicious.
34:36Yeah.
34:36Brandon's dish, the texture in the tomato jelly and the tuna, that was just an amazing play in my mouth.
34:44I felt like I was having fun.
34:46I think it was the perfect amount of heat.
34:47Brandon, how'd it go?
34:49It went well.
34:49Very well, actually.
34:50Seeger definitely came in hot with that.
34:52He came in hot.
34:53Delicious, but aggressive, I thought.
34:55Yeah, but it goes quick.
34:56It's there and it's gone.
34:57I agree, but Seeger's dish is still a pretty midway point to start compared to Brandon.
35:04So if this is one, we just need to make sure he's going up from there.
35:09Joss, that bad boy is spicy.
35:12Yes.
35:13As soon as the spicy thing comes, I think lamb vindaloo.
35:15Vindaloo is known by everybody.
35:17And the only essence in my back of my mind, how spicy I can make that dish.
35:22You're going to build and taste?
35:23Oh yeah, I'll build and taste, yes.
35:25Yes, exactly.
35:26Shrimp, herbs, pickle, will you?
35:27Yes.
35:28This is great.
35:29This is perfect, yeah.
35:3035 seconds.
35:31Yeah, 35 seconds.
35:3235 seconds, let's go, second course.
35:35Woo!
35:35Yeah, chili, pickle, pickle.
35:43Thank you very much.
35:46Brittany, tell us about your second course.
35:48We did a charred corn and grilled shrimp salad with a chili lime vinaigrette and a pickled cayenne pepper.
35:54Sherry?
35:55I made a chilled seafood chowder with the lemongrass fresno chilies.
35:59You have a fresno lime granita.
36:01Great.
36:02Thank you, chefs.
36:03You both.
36:04Well, let's start with Brittany's shrimp salad first.
36:06The pickled cayenne is amazing.
36:09Delicious.
36:09I'll go back to Siglo's.
36:11It was a hit of spice, but it dissipated very quickly.
36:13Brittany's is staying there.
36:14It's lingering.
36:15For me, it was a little boring, but it tasted really good.
36:19Sherry's dish, I think, is incredibly elegant, beautifully plated.
36:22And I thought the broth was rich.
36:24It wasn't heavy at all.
36:25And on such a nice hot day, it hit the spot perfectly.
36:28Following Brandon's dish, it was the right amount of heat.
36:30Yeah.
36:30Fantastic dish.
36:32Sherry, how did it go?
36:32I think it went great.
36:34Yeah?
36:34Very happy.
36:38Holy you guys, I am sweating my ass off.
36:42Welcome to my world.
36:43Wow.
36:50All right, you guys want to taste it?
36:52Yes.
36:53Right behind.
36:55More?
36:55That should be it.
36:5645 seconds, guys.
36:58Two each?
36:58Yeah, two each.
37:01Three, two, one.
37:04Hands up.
37:04Hands up.
37:05Hands up.
37:08All right, what do we have here?
37:09Peppered crab and pork larb.
37:12Good job.
37:13You too.
37:13All right, Jennifer?
37:14My dish is peppered crab with grits and seafood gravy.
37:19I use the Fresno mash in my brown butter and in the crab salad.
37:23Oh, yeah.
37:25Hold on.
37:26Joanne, what do you have for us?
37:28I have a pork lobster salad and rice crackers, and I use two different types of jalapenos.
37:35Thank you very much.
37:35Yeah, of course.
37:36Of course.
37:37Is anyone's butt puckering yet?
37:39If it doesn't make your butt pucker, it's not a pucker butt pepper.
37:44Jennifer's sauce, I think, is spectacular.
37:45When you get to the center of that dish and you take a bite of that crab, you really feel
37:49the heat.
37:49It packs the punch.
37:50I love the different textures throughout that crab salad.
37:53The celery act, the pickled fennel.
37:55It almost becomes like little treasures where you're finding them and it's fun.
37:59Jen, how'd it go?
38:00So good.
38:01Really?
38:01Yeah, lots of smiles.
38:03The larb is really nice.
38:04And at first, I didn't think it was spicy enough, but then it starts to grow.
38:06It builds.
38:07These are both very good.
38:08Yeah.
38:08Boy, this is getting tough now.
38:10Yeah, I'm feeling it now.
38:11How was it?
38:12Really good.
38:13They loved it.
38:14So I'm building a glaze with these wonderful habaneros.
38:18I'm glad I'm going six because deboning all these chicken wings is not easy.
38:23Three and a half minutes, guys and girls.
38:25Anchovy, basil, Fresno.
38:27These peppers are pretty spicy.
38:30Three, two, one.
38:34Hands up.
38:36Number four out of seven.
38:40Hello.
38:41All right, Jonathan, fourth course.
38:43You've got a pan-seared snapper with cara cara orange and kumquat slaw.
38:46I use a couple different chilies.
38:47The base is habanero and then a couple dots of chili X at the end.
38:51All right, Lawrence.
38:52Today, I made a Carolina-style Yuxiang eggplant.
38:55Eggplant in three different ways.
38:56And of course, you have a side of rice.
38:58And I think that's a gift for y'all.
39:01Thank you very much.
39:02Thank you all.
39:02Appreciate it.
39:03Thank you both.
39:06Damn, that's good.
39:08Lawrence's dish is good.
39:09Now we're cooking.
39:10I am feeling the spice now.
39:12It's not just a flavor.
39:14There's some actual heat to it.
39:16Everybody smiled, even Tom.
39:18Even Tom.
39:19Even Tom.
39:19This is a fantastic dish.
39:22You know, again, layers of flavor.
39:23Using eggplant three different ways.
39:25There's a lot of thought going into this.
39:26Overall, I think the red team's menu,
39:29the progression is fabulous.
39:31They're just doing an incredible job.
39:33Just building that spice.
39:35How did it go?
39:35I think really good.
39:36I'm happy.
39:37Yes.
39:37I mean, Jonathan's dish is very good.
39:39It's just next to Lawrence's.
39:40Right.
39:41Yeah, yeah.
39:42I find the heat profile on the sauce
39:43a little bit aggressive.
39:45I agree with you, Noah.
39:47My thing is, is that if he hadn't put that in the sauce,
39:51he would not be high enough in their progression.
39:54Totally.
39:55Let's not it up now.
39:56Well, halfway point, my nose has officially started running.
39:59And I am a little bit nervous for five, six, and seven.
40:02Coming down.
40:03Wet chicken right behind, right behind.
40:05After I finally do money in these chicken wings,
40:07I think to myself, if I fry these, it's going to shrink up.
40:10I definitely don't want to put a little chicken nugget on a plate.
40:13Where are we at, yakitori?
40:15So I do a grilled chicken wing.
40:16Justin, you want to check the cook on these?
40:18Just a wing and a prayer.
40:21Yeah, let me go.
40:22Yeah, you're happy with that?
40:23You feeling good?
40:24Yeah, going in the oven.
40:26One last bump.
40:28The fish is under.
40:28I think we should get in the saute pan.
40:30OK.
40:30It's at 125.
40:31I'm just going to bring it up ever so gently.
40:32OK.
40:33The fish is still undone.
40:34I should have just seared it to start.
40:37You just need 10 more degrees.
40:37That's it, Chef.
40:38You know, it's like, stick to the hits, Nana.
40:41Like, what am I doing?
40:42We're almost there.
40:43Hot.
40:44120.
40:45I just want my fish to go over.
40:47Hot.
40:48Let's go.
40:49Let's go.
40:50How do you feel about your heat level?
40:51Good.
40:52Five seconds left.
40:53Five, four, three, two, one.
40:57Hands up.
40:58Woo!
40:59You did that, girl.
41:01Kill the clock.
41:06Hello, Chefs.
41:07Hello.
41:08Hi, Nana.
41:09Hello.
41:09Anthony, let's start with you.
41:10Jerk lamb with a hoe cake that's brushed with a little bit of cayenne mash.
41:14And then the sauce is a carrot mafe.
41:16The red cabbage is pickley's.
41:18Has a little bit of the Carolina Reaper paste mixed in.
41:21Nana.
41:21I have a Chito marinated red snapper with fish light soup, fufu estuola, and an okra salsa.
41:32Great, thank you.
41:35I can't believe we went African off against each other.
41:38Let's start with Anthony's dish.
41:40I really love the texture from the corn cake, and it gave a bit of relief from the spice as
41:45well.
41:45The flavor and the heat were totally imbued throughout the whole piece of lamb.
41:49For an island jerk, it was a beautiful heat.
41:53I think it's a successful dish.
41:54She was representing Ghana.
41:55I had a little West Africa going on and a little bit of the islands.
41:58You guys have an Africa off?
41:59Basically, basically.
42:00Heck yeah.
42:01What do you think of Nana's snapper dish?
42:03I really love the texture from the soup.
42:07I think it's a stunner.
42:09Really?
42:09Really?
42:09I like it a lot.
42:10Oops.
42:11Something's weird with my snapper.
42:13It's really raw.
42:14I'm not liking Nana's dish at all.
42:16I too got a piece of undercooked fish.
42:18Okay.
42:19Even though I was enjoying the flavor of what was there.
42:25Now, once we taste Justin's dish, after that, we'll adjust the vindaloo spice.
42:29Yes.
42:30Two minutes!
42:32Yeah, get that caramelization all over it.
42:35You think it's hot enough?
42:37Yep.
42:38Looking real pretty, y'all.
42:39Three, two, one.
42:43Hands up.
42:43Hands up.
42:48Hello, everyone.
42:49Hi.
42:49Hello.
42:50Sixth course.
42:51We're bringing the heat.
42:51This is where you start sucking in the air.
42:53Yeah.
42:53Yeah.
42:54So what I made for y'all today is a blue corn masa huarache
42:57with al pastor, salsa diabla, and a salsa criolla with some pickled pineapple.
43:03All right, Justin.
43:04Took a wing and a drum, deboned them, stuffed them with a shrimp, some habanero,
43:08chili oil that I dressed the greens in, and then yogurt, rime, dill, riata to cool it all down.
43:13Great.
43:13Thank you very much.
43:16Now my nose is running.
43:17Interesting.
43:18Yeah.
43:19Oscar's dish.
43:20I love all the different textures and flavors that are going on.
43:23Yeah, I think he did a really nice job of layering the different chilies and the heat.
43:28Yeah, there's a lot going on.
43:28There's so much great stuff in here, layered and complex.
43:32The punch was here.
43:32How you doing, chef?
43:33Very good.
43:34Excellent.
43:35Well done.
43:36It took me a minute to get the punch in Justin's.
43:38It gets you there and then it's done.
43:40I thought it could have used a little bit more cooking on the other side.
43:44It was just flabby.
43:45Agreed.
43:47Where are we right now?
43:48What do we think?
43:48Coming down to the last dish.
43:50How close is it?
43:50I don't know.
43:51It's pretty close.
43:53The orange finish is nice and I think it's going to build up.
43:56Hoo hoo, baby.
43:57Yeah, yeah.
43:58This is the spiciest of all, huh?
43:59So, yeah.
44:02I think more.
44:02More, I think more.
44:03Yeah, maybe now more.
44:04Let's try there.
44:05I was expecting super hot, but it needs more spice.
44:08That might be close with what my soup was.
44:11Okay, it needs way more to be honest.
44:12It's the end of the road.
44:23That's it?
44:24Yeah.
44:24That's it, bro.
44:25Woo.
44:2730 seconds.
44:31Beauty.
44:32Four, three, two, one.
44:39Good cook, everybody.
44:42All right, number sevens.
44:43Oh, my gosh.
44:45Lucky number seven.
44:46Do I have to eat it?
44:48All right, Rhoda, what'd you make for us?
44:50I made a braised short rib and there is also gochujang,
44:54some gochujang peppers, lots of layering of chilies,
44:57and a blistered cayenne.
44:58Did the dish turn out as hot as you wanted it to be?
45:01Yes, definitely.
45:02I am sweating.
45:04Not in a bad way.
45:05In a very good way.
45:06Oh, boy.
45:07All right, Jossie.
45:07Bringing the heat on, I have a braised lamb,
45:10windaloo, flaky paratha with a potato mash, and then yogurt and lime shot to settle down all the heat
45:16from seven courses.
45:19How'd you cook the lamb?
45:20I braised the lamb in chili, vinegar, and garlic.
45:23And at the end, I have sprinkled powder, eggs in it.
45:26Okay.
45:27Good way to hear it.
45:28Farms up.
45:29How's Rhoda's?
45:30This sauce did it.
45:31Oh, yeah, this is it.
45:33Wow.
45:33Yeah.
45:33It's delicious.
45:34Isn't it amazing?
45:36The way Rhoda used the heat profile of these chilies and kept it really smoky, it was a great choice.
45:43This is just the flavor explosion I've been looking for.
45:46Let's go.
45:48We feel good.
45:49We feel good.
45:50Jossie's vandaloo, it didn't really kick for me.
45:53The heat was more in the mash, but I thought the lamb was a little dry.
45:57The lamb was like a complete mess for me.
45:59Yeah, the texture of the lamb, I couldn't get past it.
46:01Everything felt dry, and so you couldn't carry any of that beautiful chili flavor all the way through.
46:07We all did great.
46:08Let's wait for the end.
46:09I think there's far more favorite dishes than there are.
46:12Unfair.
46:13Clunkers, especially with 14 chefs.
46:15Yeah, I think it's really good.
46:16I'm pretty happy right now with the level of cooking.
46:18Which team delivered on the challenge?
46:20We're trying to compare two different rides at the amusement park that we both like.
46:24Yeah.
46:24I think they both delivered.
46:25I think one delivered better.
46:27Okay, let's go to Judge Segal.
46:37What was there not to love about this, sitting in a greenhouse that was probably 100 degrees,
46:41eating some of the spiciest food in the world?
46:43I mean, come on, this was a fantastic day.
46:45Um, you know, all kidding aside, some of the food was really spectacular today.
46:49Second challenge, this is good stuff happening.
46:51Keep this up.
46:52We would like the green team to stay here, and the red team, you can move to the side, please.
46:58Green team, you're standing here because you had our favorite meal of the day.
47:05Congratulations.
47:06Thank God.
47:07Yes.
47:08Good job, guys.
47:09Good job, guys.
47:10Good job.
47:11Woo!
47:14This was very close, but collectively, it was a big team effort.
47:17I mean, you started with a great dish, and it just really followed through.
47:20Not gonna lie, Seeger, your dish was way hotter than Brandon's.
47:27You got the jalapeno, you got that heat from the reaper, but then it was like gone,
47:31and you were ready for course number two.
47:34One dish that I really, really loved, and I thought it had that roller coaster in one dish,
47:38and that was Jennifer's dish.
47:40Kudos for the depth of flavor that you brought to the sheet crab soup.
47:43That's really, really hard to do.
47:45You know, when I ate some of the crab, the crab was where all the spice was,
47:47and the grits was a nice little foil.
47:49I thought that was a great mashup of a dish, and it's really, really flavorful.
47:54Rhoda, when your dish came out, it was the thing that the menu needed.
47:58Yours sat right here, and then we were all left with that heat in our bellies,
48:03which was a really nice ending.
48:04Yeah, that was just beautiful cooking.
48:07If you couldn't tell already by the glowing reviews and comments,
48:10that we are very, very happy with all of you.
48:12But May, you get to announce our winner.
48:15The winning chef for us today was a chef who really brought
48:19out the essence of a chili pepper.
48:22And the winner is...
48:26Rhoda.
48:27No.
48:28Congratulations.
48:29Two in a row.
48:30Two for two.
48:30Two for two.
48:32There you go.
48:34It feels really exhilarating, winning two challenges in a row.
48:38And if I have a target on my back, good.
48:40If they're cooking against me, they know they have to bring it.
48:44If you forgot, you just won immunity going into now, the next elimination challenge.
48:48Well done.
48:49It was really a beautiful dish.
48:51Thank you so much.
48:53All right, green team, thank you very much.
48:54You can step to the side.
48:55Red team, you can come forward, please.
48:58Two for two, baby.
48:59Two for two.
49:03So, red team, you did have our least favorite menu.
49:06And one of you will be going home.
49:21Red team, you really did have a fantastic meal.
49:24As Tom said at the beginning, it was very, very, very close.
49:28I thought maybe some things were just out of position a little bit.
49:31I mean, Justin, where your course was, even though the spice level was there,
49:34I thought that dish was probably better a little further up the menu.
49:37In concept, it makes sense.
49:39But at a point in plating, you know, it'd be incredibly difficult to make that adjustment.
49:43I also thought that it seemed like it was grilled more on one side than the other.
49:46Yeah, on my piece, it ate a little bit flabby.
49:51Nat, I actually really enjoyed your dish.
49:53I think that there were some inconsistencies with the cooking of the fish.
49:57How did you cook the fish?
49:58I started doing the sous vide, but then once we took it out of the sous vide, we realized the
50:03temperature is not where it needs to be. So we threw it onto the induction burner.
50:07My fish was really undercooked.
50:09Wow. Okay.
50:10Jossie, the lamb ate dry.
50:13It's the leg of lamb. You shouldn't braise the leg of lamb. It's something you roast.
50:16And the leg of lamb doesn't have enough collagen in it.
50:17That was the problem.
50:18I didn't get a ton of heat. Did you all think it was the spiciest dish of your progression?
50:23I wanted a little more heat. Like, we were trying to punch it up.
50:27It is not getting spicy, so we added egg powder at the end.
50:30When you cook with the chilies, you get a much very different result than adding at the end.
50:35Yes, for sure.
50:37Justin, Jossie, and Nana, the three of you had our least favorite dishes.
50:41And one of you will be going home. We'll call you back when we're ready.
50:46They didn't like that last dish.
50:48None of them thought it was spicy enough to be a seven.
50:50No, no.
50:50Oh, man.
50:54You know, we were all thinking that this team was really going to take it up until those last
50:59three courses. And something just started to derail, both in the progression of the spice,
51:03but also the technical cooking of each individual dish.
51:07There were some issues with Justin's chicken. Not just from a heat perspective,
51:11but, I mean, think of his portion and then Nana's portion.
51:14I was expecting to see the wing tip with the wing stuffed.
51:18Yes, yes, yeah. It would have been much more dramatic.
51:19But compared to the other two dishes, I don't think it was as bad.
51:23Yeah.
51:24Yeah.
51:24I think we should all be proud of how we cooked and, you know, I'm happy with the way it
51:29turned out.
51:31So it sounds like it's coming down to Nana and Jossie.
51:34Nana, of course, fit the spice level fifth position, but my fish was raw.
51:40But you liked her dish.
51:41Yeah.
51:41I thought the cookery of the fish was great. It was nice and moist.
51:46I didn't have a problem with my fish. My fish was cooked really nicely.
51:50Mine was okay, but if it had been, like, roasted, she would have had much more control over it.
51:54This is interesting because we have inconsistent cooking on the fish,
51:57and we have just bad cooking around Jossie's lamb across the board.
51:59Yeah.
52:00When we tasted the vindaloo, we all agreed, like, hey, it's not spicy.
52:04Adding the heat at the end, that was a mistake because it was just like a finishing move.
52:08Jossie's was one of my least favorite dishes of the day.
52:11Not great.
52:11Really dry.
52:12Yeah.
52:12You know, knowing that he was going last, I just don't know why he wouldn't just go full force with
52:17the spice.
52:18Do we think the mistakes Jossie made today outweighed the mistakes that Nana made?
52:25Let's get the chefs out here.
52:36You know, chefs, even two challenges in, you can see that the competition is going to be really,
52:39really tight.
52:40There were some inconsistencies with the cookery and just that maybe it wasn't as spicy as it could have
52:44been.
52:45At this level, it's those inconsistencies that are going to get you sent home.
52:55Jossie, please pack your knives and go.
52:59Jossie, we felt that the lamb was just dry. It was probably the wrong cut of meat to braise
53:02and it wasn't spicy enough for the last course.
53:05At this time.
53:06It was a pleasure.
53:08You can exit the kitchen.
53:10I'm not happy.
53:11I was expecting Nana because she served undercooked fish.
53:14Good luck, guys.
53:16Man, I learned so much from you.
53:17But I understand it's a spice challenge and the lamb got dry.
53:20And you know, it got me eliminated.
53:22So I'm disappointed in that.
53:25All right, it's me.
53:27Oh, Jossie.
53:28Love you, brother.
53:28Just be well.
53:29Absolutely.
53:30You get once in a blue moon chance to be in this competition.
53:33At the end, I was able to showcase my cuisine and represent billions of people back from home.
53:39I'm really proud of it.
53:46Next time on Top Chef, I've called in the big guns.
53:52Mr. Emeril Lagasse.
53:54Oh, my God.
53:55Should I have some fun?
53:56I can barely, like, move this.
53:57I need to go get this checked out.
54:00What happened to Jen?
54:03Whoa.
54:05We want your dishes to be colorful, dyed by natural food dyes.
54:09Black pork.
54:10Green crab.
54:11Marigold.
54:12Don't know why I picked this dish.
54:13I don't know if I want to keep it white.
54:15It's literally the opposite of color.
54:17I'm starting to get grumpy.
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