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00:00:00It's the ultimate culinary competition,
00:00:02and it continues in full force.
00:00:04Let's go!
00:00:06Last time on TOC7, the chefs of the C division
00:00:09got their first taste of kitchen combat.
00:00:12And the winner is Shirley Chug,
00:00:15Brian Botaggio, Dan Jacobs.
00:00:18Wow!
00:00:19And in the main event, the top-seeded culinary icon,
00:00:23Chef Jonathan Waxman, fell in a hard fight
00:00:26against Chef Viet Pham.
00:00:29It was such an honor to be in your presence.
00:00:31Good job!
00:00:33And tonight, the chefs of the D division
00:00:35will fight for the last four spots in the second round bracket.
00:00:40Whoa!
00:00:41That is delicious!
00:00:42First up, TOC6 semifinalist Chef Leigh Ann Wong
00:00:46takes on Iron Chef Stephanie Izar.
00:00:49She's just a badass.
00:00:51I'm nervous.
00:00:52Then the 24-24 winner, Chef Marcel Vigneron,
00:00:55takes on James Beard nominee, Chef David Bianna.
00:01:01Yes, yes, yes!
00:01:03CHOP grand champion Chef Kalina Bliss faces off
00:01:06against TOC4 quarter-finalist Chef Adam Sobel.
00:01:10That's a banger.
00:01:11I forgot how crazy the show is.
00:01:13It's delicious, and it's craveable.
00:01:15Yeah!
00:01:16And finally, the last of our top-seeded culinary icons
00:01:20will be revealed and take on the beast of the kitchen,
00:01:24Chef Kenny Gilbert.
00:01:25I want to see my banner drop.
00:01:27I want to have my belt, the ring, and then the cash.
00:01:32Who will win the title, the belt, and the $150,000?
00:01:37This is Tournament of Champions 7.
00:01:45Are you ready for the final night of the first round battles?
00:01:51The D-Division All-Stars are ready to prove themselves
00:01:55in the TOC arena.
00:01:56Let's meet tonight's first two contenders.
00:01:59First, we have the number seven seed, the GOAT herself,
00:02:02Iron Chef Stephanie Izard, who has struggled
00:02:05in the TOC arena in the past, but cooked her way
00:02:08into the competition with a decisive qualifier win.
00:02:12I'm approaching this season a little differently.
00:02:13My goal, honestly, was just to get in the main bracket.
00:02:15It's all about the randomizer.
00:02:17I think what's happened to me in the past
00:02:18is I have these thoughts in my head,
00:02:20and then you see the randomizer,
00:02:21and you don't let it speak to you.
00:02:23Her opponent, Chef Leanne Wong,
00:02:26whose impressive performance at TOC 6,
00:02:28has her secured at a number two seed.
00:02:31Hopefully, I'm still hanging on to a little bit
00:02:33of momentum from last year.
00:02:35I thought I would come in as a number one seed this year,
00:02:37but I'm coming in as a number two seed
00:02:39because there are mystery icons, but I'm playing to stay.
00:02:44Leanne Wong was my culinary producer on Top Chef
00:02:47like almost 20 years ago, and she was scary.
00:02:51I helped select her as a chef tester.
00:02:53I always tell her, I'm like, I was not allowed
00:02:55to be nice to you, but I adored you from day one.
00:02:58I'm sure once take me down, just like I want
00:02:59to take her down, but they're ready to give each other a big hug
00:03:01and be so proud of each other no matter what.
00:03:03I got to final four last year.
00:03:05This year, I want to get the four Bs of TOC.
00:03:08The briefcase, the belt, the bling, and the bragging rights.
00:03:12Are you ready to see the clash of the culinary titans?
00:03:16Let's light this up!
00:03:20Over her two decades as an executive chef,
00:03:24she has built a restaurant empire that spans
00:03:27from Chicago to California.
00:03:31And she received a James Beard Award
00:03:34for Best Chef Great Lakes in 2013.
00:03:38She is the first female winner of Top Chef.
00:03:42And in 2017, she won the coveted title of Iron Chef.
00:03:49And she earned a spot in the bracket with the highest score
00:03:52in TOC 7 qualifiers.
00:03:55Give it up for the GOAT, Stephanie Eisen!
00:04:07We're ready, guys.
00:04:08We're ready, guys.
00:04:09We're ready, guys.
00:04:13We're ready, guys.
00:04:13We're ready, guys.
00:04:13Way to get the audience on your side, GOAT.
00:04:17Welcome to TOC 7, Chef.
00:04:19Thanks.
00:04:19Great to have you.
00:04:21Well, you know your opponent so well.
00:04:25She was the 2023 James Beard semifinals
00:04:28for Best Chef Northwest and Pacific.
00:04:32She beat Iron Chef Marc Borgione in Kitchen Stadium
00:04:36and reached the final four in Top Chef's first season.
00:04:40And last year, she defeated Chris Scott,
00:04:44Jonathan Sawyer, Joe Sasto to reach the final four of TOC 6.
00:04:51Ladies and gentlemen, give a big aloha, Chef Leigh-Anne Wong!
00:05:05Whoa!
00:05:13You two have known each other for a long time.
00:05:15Yes.
00:05:15Almost 20 years.
00:05:16Almost 20 years.
00:05:16Yeah.
00:05:17Well, chefs, dying to see you compete,
00:05:19let's take it to the randomizer.
00:05:21Right this way, chefs.
00:05:27Just to remind everybody, the randomizer
00:05:29will determine the mandatory details of your dish.
00:05:32The protein, the produce, the equipment, the style.
00:05:35And then in this first round, a little wild card spin.
00:05:39Move one up, move one down, or my personal favorite,
00:05:44the audience choice.
00:05:48They get to pick one of them that would move.
00:05:51Oh, let's make it happen, Cap'n.
00:05:53Here we go.
00:05:53Going for the protein.
00:05:54Go!
00:05:57Go!
00:05:58Please don't make us microwave.
00:05:59Venison tenderloin.
00:06:01Corn always gets picked.
00:06:04Microwave.
00:06:04Oh, come on!
00:06:05Earthy, an audience choice.
00:06:10We love you.
00:06:12Let's say goodbye to Chef Mike.
00:06:17Audience.
00:06:23Spinning the equipment.
00:06:29For a French press.
00:06:35This should be a doozy.
00:06:37Welcome to round one.
00:06:39Chefs, go.
00:06:41You're up.
00:06:46This is farm-raised venison.
00:06:47Not nearly as gamey as typically venison is.
00:06:51Corn we've seen in every iteration.
00:06:53This is going to be corn on the cob.
00:06:55French press.
00:06:56So this is a coffee press.
00:06:57One of the best ways to drink coffee.
00:06:59And then earthy.
00:07:00I think vegetables, mushrooms would be a really good play on this.
00:07:03And the judges are going to be looking for it.
00:07:05I should probably get the venison.
00:07:07Qualifiers was step one.
00:07:09Now getting through the first round is step two.
00:07:13Yay, you've won the qualifiers.
00:07:14Now you get to go against the best.
00:07:16Anybody want to come peel my corn?
00:07:20I'm a little bit of a culinary polyglot.
00:07:22I have cooked in Mexico, Kuala Lumpur, Japan, all over the world.
00:07:27So I'm well-versed in all styles of cuisine.
00:07:30I just need to get past this first round.
00:07:32I'm Mama Wong.
00:07:33To help us follow the chef's decision in the kitchen,
00:07:36I'm joined by two amazing culinary commentators.
00:07:39Missile and recommended chef with a genius level food IQ
00:07:42is Justin Morner.
00:07:43And renowned restaurateur and the DOC3 champ, Tiffany Faison.
00:07:47Now, Justin and Tiffany will closely follow the preparation
00:07:50of the dishes so they can perfectly describe them to the judges
00:07:53during the blind tasting.
00:07:54We're also joined by our roving reporter, Hunter Fieri,
00:07:57who will be talking with our chefs backstage,
00:07:59and our culinary scholar, Simon Majandar,
00:08:01who will be talking to the judges about the difficulty
00:08:04of each randomizer challenge.
00:08:06I'm going to try to do, like, make, like,
00:08:07a really earthy spice rub.
00:08:09OK.
00:08:09I'm going to try to make some fresh ribs.
00:08:11Style is earthy.
00:08:13Venison is kind of a good fit.
00:08:14Venison, it's like a deer is wandering through the woods
00:08:16already.
00:08:17It kind of makes sense.
00:08:18You'll see there's a little bit of silver skin on the outside.
00:08:20Chef needs to remove that, or else it becomes a little bit
00:08:22chewy and a little tough on the palate.
00:08:24OK, let's make a space rub.
00:08:26I'm known for using bold flavors,
00:08:28cooking food from all over the world.
00:08:29I have my handashi powder, which adds that salty, funky note.
00:08:33I've got chicken powder and a little bit of togarashi.
00:08:36I don't really cook a lot of venison.
00:08:38That char is another earthy note that I want to get.
00:08:42I've cooked venison maybe twice in my life.
00:08:44But the randomizer tells you what to cook.
00:08:47How long does venison take a stick?
00:08:49We don't know.
00:08:51Garlic scapes?
00:08:53Uh, garlic chives.
00:08:54Garlic chives.
00:08:55Understood.
00:08:55Really earthy, savory.
00:08:57I'm making an earthy poached venison tenderloin over corn puree
00:09:02with a corn mushroom salad.
00:09:03Look at those tenderloins.
00:09:06I live in Hawaii, and venison tenderloin
00:09:10is something that we have in Maui.
00:09:12I am just going to sear them, and then I'm going to poach them
00:09:15in oil.
00:09:16And today, it needs to be earthy.
00:09:19So I blend dried shiitake mushrooms.
00:09:29I've got a little hing, a little garam masala,
00:09:34a little gochujaru, a lot of mushroom powder,
00:09:37and some bite spice.
00:09:38That dry rub is nuts.
00:09:40Something we don't see a lot, asafetida, also known as hing.
00:09:43It's a wild fennel that is often referred to as originating
00:09:47from the devil due to its intense aroma.
00:09:51With venison, there's almost no fat on it.
00:09:54So it's a meat that you don't want to have past mid-rare.
00:09:57I want to olive oil poach it, which will cook it evenly.
00:10:01We're poaching them in oil that has all of these earth
00:10:03conjuring herbs, so sage, rosemary.
00:10:07Porcini, some black garlic.
00:10:09Also smart here, brought that oil up to temp.
00:10:11Then turn the heat off.
00:10:13Bang.
00:10:17Chefs, 20 minutes, 20 to go.
00:10:19Ooh, corn.
00:10:20It's like nature's candy.
00:10:25I'm making grits.
00:10:27Genius.
00:10:28Let's not go without her yet.
00:10:30Sister, you got there years ago.
00:10:31I want this so badly because I've struggled
00:10:34at tournament champions every time I've been here.
00:10:36It's time to get past that first round.
00:10:39But kicking against Leigh-Anne Wong,
00:10:40she's been a semifinalist for James Beard Award.
00:10:43She took down Marc Forgione, one of the iron chefs
00:10:45in an Iron Chef America.
00:10:47She's just a badass.
00:10:49I'm nervous.
00:10:52They're both in their wheelhouses.
00:10:53They look comfortable, confident.
00:10:55Even Steven, right?
00:10:56They're both in their wheelhouse.
00:10:58I'm going to saute some corn.
00:11:01Corn puree tends to be sweet, tends to be rich,
00:11:04tends to be buttery.
00:11:06It's a great sidekick to earthiness.
00:11:08I add miso, earthy stuff, you know?
00:11:11Yes, chef.
00:11:12Today, I have to bring it.
00:11:14I'm going up against Stephanie Izard,
00:11:16who is, like, the greatest of all time.
00:11:19Stephanie Izard is one of my best friends.
00:11:21And I love this woman infinitely.
00:11:23I was part of casting her on Top Chef and producing her season.
00:11:27And then we have just remained chef friends for 20 years.
00:11:31Wong, are you good?
00:11:33Oh, maybe.
00:11:34I don't know.
00:11:34We'll see.
00:11:35OK, good enough.
00:11:36And I am not sleeping on the go.
00:11:39The night is still young.
00:11:40Later, the identity of our final culinary icon will be revealed as they take on the qualifier
00:11:45winner, Chef Kenny Gilbert.
00:11:47Wait till you see who's competing.
00:11:49OMG.
00:11:50Chef Wong, Chef Izard, 15, halfway point, 15 to go.
00:11:56I love the idea of the husks getting grilled.
00:11:58Taking a sweet ingredient, using the outside of it, which absolutely counts,
00:12:02and then getting, making that earthy.
00:12:04I'm just going to use some of the venison to infuse into the sauce.
00:12:07OK.
00:12:07I'm making an earthy sauce.
00:12:09Kind of inspired by red-eye gravy.
00:12:11That's good when you have red eyes in the morning.
00:12:13I'm not doing skill shots now.
00:12:14I'm not doing skill shots.
00:12:15I'm just sticking with it.
00:12:16Lights out.
00:12:17Go, go, go.
00:12:20To me, earthy is sort of those notes you might get from coffee and chocolate.
00:12:27Got some extra black garlic going in there, cocoa nibs, corn, cobs, to impart a little bit
00:12:32of that flavor.
00:12:33This is my first time to be able to trail Chef Izard, and the creativity that her brain
00:12:38works with and the things that she processes is just spectacular.
00:12:41Do we think it's a tasty sauce, you guys?
00:12:43Should we find out?
00:12:49Earthy, yes.
00:12:51Time, Justin?
00:12:52Just under 12, Chef.
00:12:53Oh, .
00:12:531150.
00:12:54Really?
00:12:57What's the plan with the trim, Chef?
00:12:59I'm going to make a sauce that will strain through the French press.
00:13:04I really focused on hitting the randomizer multiple times, and earthy is our style.
00:13:10Justin, I'm adding some dried porcini, some black garlic, and sake made rice of the earth.
00:13:17I'm going to add some of this corn flavor to this sauce.
00:13:20With the husk?
00:13:30Fried toffee, Chef?
00:13:32Yeah.
00:13:32Whatever.
00:13:33Two years ago, my restaurant burned down in Lahaina Harbor.
00:13:35It's taken the past two years to recover from that.
00:13:40it's been amazing how my crew had helped get me through this period of my life where i was
00:13:47really struggling didn't know if i had it in me to continue cooking but getting so close to finale
00:13:53last year i'm like let's go i'm ready i want to go all the way this year
00:14:04chef has her venison cooked and resting at eight minutes left very very smart
00:14:08lets all the juices in the mild globe and all the flavors just rest back into the venison if you're
00:14:13wondering when i cook at home my kitchen is this messy relatable there we go hashtag relatable my
00:14:19family is myself and my son ernie he's nine years old i always of course want to lead by example
00:14:24and
00:14:25something that i never want to see him learn from me is to be a quitter i see him as
00:14:31my like beacon for
00:14:32trying to be a better person i have not succeeded in the past at toc and that means i have
00:14:37to come
00:14:37back it's hot i'm adding some earthy things and some more corn i have to win this first round
00:14:43against one of my very best friends in the world leanne to make it into the next round eat greens
00:14:49grab everything earthy might as well she supports everything that i do in my cooking life and my
00:14:56personal life and my momming and my competitions so it's hard to cook against her but that's just what
00:15:03toc is all about chefs just the final five minutes five minutes to be plated
00:15:15really good should we plate something you guys what do you think
00:15:20so i'm first going to put down my corn grit curate then i'm going to put down a little bit
00:15:24of my mixture
00:15:25of grilled corn onions and beet greens put a few slices of the venison next thing i'm just going to
00:15:30put a nice
00:15:30spoonful of my sauce on the venison and put these beautiful mitake mushrooms right on top i'm hoping
00:15:36that the sauce is balanced and i'm excited that i got my first cook in the main bracket on plate
00:15:43first i'm going to add my corn puree followed by a little pile of fried katafi i add my black
00:15:49garlic
00:15:50brushed venison loin a medallion of that i'm going to finish it with my sauce it's too thin i don't
00:15:56know
00:15:57do i add more do i add less and time's running out i want to get something green on my
00:16:00plate just a
00:16:01little bit of water crust i hope the judges score me well on how many times i hit the randomizer
00:16:14that's it incredible work that's the kind of equipment we like to see stephanie izar
00:16:20leanne warm thank you so much
00:16:29i think i hit earthy like 2 000 times uh corns all over the place i think all the things
00:16:35i had in my
00:16:35that i wanted to do i just didn't have time to do it is what it is
00:16:48i really don't cook venison but it looked like it was cooked perfect oh looking forward to a healthy
00:16:56dose of criticism all right ladies and gentlemen our toc judges have been waiting in their trailers for
00:17:01their first blind tasting james beard award winner for best new restaurant new york who received a
00:17:07coveted three-star review of the new york times chef scott conant
00:17:14scott conant is masterful judge i love it
00:17:18name chef behind some of boston's most acclaimed restaurants and james beard award winner for best
00:17:24chef northeast northeast and his first toc debut chef kenny oranger
00:17:29oh i love kenny that's so fun
00:17:39good singing buddy good singing i'm sorry i said eight time james beard award winner an internationally
00:17:46acclaimed restaurateur the sharpest dressed toc chef marcus samuelson
00:17:54my fellow favorite colorful dress
00:18:00how are you marcus was my first chef at aquabee judges what a pleasure tonight the randomizer offered
00:18:07up for protein the venison tenderloin produce is corn the use of equipment was the french press and the
00:18:14style was earthy whoa yeah so here to present the first dish is the toc3 champ tiffany face on
00:18:22i'm pretty people culinary comrades in front of you we have dry rubbed and grilled venison tenderloin
00:18:29that is on a saute of charred corn charred red onion and beet greens that is then finished with
00:18:34the salad of dry rubbed and grilled mushrooms we then have the french press created sauce that was
00:18:41charred corn husks black garlic red wine vinaigrette and a little bit of miso and olive oil damn steph
00:18:48lots of going on on this forest floor when she says this it's like this all happened first of all
00:18:54great cooking great development of flavor and i love the usage of fresh herbs inside of this
00:19:00i feel like that sauce is really making this dish it's a dish that would work without it and it
00:19:05works
00:19:06really well with it the char on the corn add that earthiness that makes that not just sweet but it's
00:19:15actually a little bit of bitter the greens are added to the earthiness and the way they treated the
00:19:19mushroom here is absolutely fantastic if marcus samuelson likes your dish bravo stuff
00:19:27i love bitterness and i love the cocoa nib on the venison and that really gives it the oomph you
00:19:33know
00:19:33i still don't get that intense like in your face earthiness so maybe something like a mushroom powder
00:19:42or i'm not getting soil maybe that's what it is that's a ding you know it's a randomizer thank you
00:19:49very
00:19:49much 50 points available in the taste 40 points for the use of the randomizer and 10 points in the
00:19:55plating the protein is so important so having the venison picked well i think is great she crushed it
00:20:01i'm really happy for my friend she that's why she's the goat all right judges here to describe
00:20:06our second chef dish is justin mourner chef thank you guys thank you we'll see judges our chef calls this
00:20:15deer walking in the woods the venison was seasoned with a spice rub that was crafted from mushroom
00:20:20powder made from pulverized shiitake garam masala five spice the trim became a stock that was fortified
00:20:29with more black garlic dried porcini sake shirodashi white soy sauce veal stock balanced with rice vinegar
00:20:36and more mushroom powder this then was strained through the french press in terms of corn elements
00:20:42the husk was charred the cob was charred and that was also in that sauce that was eventually strained
00:20:48the corn in its most natural state was cooked with shiitake mushrooms sesame oil and butter
00:20:55oh they're eating the crap out of it so i'm pretty sure that hers is equally delicious
00:21:01chef marcus clearly chef is super talented but there's a lot of difficult cooking techniques
00:21:11happening in just 30 minutes i love the corn shiitake the texture of the broth is a little bit too
00:21:17light but i love the flavor of the broth i needed one more minute i was kind of hoping that
00:21:25the
00:21:25katafi was the silk from the corn because again i wanted to see somebody maybe do something a little
00:21:30different with that can you fry the silk from the corn you can make it look like katafi yes chef
00:21:35oh i really enjoyed that the venison was poached the texture of this was soft it was meaty it kind
00:21:41of
00:21:41accentuated the the real uh gaminess of the venison i felt really good until now this is great cooking
00:21:48thanks god the poach on the venison look at that cook it's absolutely perfect the corn i think is my
00:21:56favorite component on this plate but i think it it needs depth i just didn't have time that earthy
00:22:05element could have been doubled down and there could have been an accentuation and an extraction of
00:22:10flavors from the ingredients that are here on this plate aside from that i didn't hear a lot of
00:22:14negatives that's a tough one all right gentlemen thank you uh your scorecards are in front of you
00:22:19i know i hit corn multiple times i hit the french press multiple times so i don't know hard to
00:22:28say
00:22:29i'm feeling like i made a good dish and you know what even if leanne wins it'll be well deserved
00:22:33i mean
00:22:34she crushes it we'll see where the cards land i know the chefs cooked their hearts out let's bring
00:22:39back in chef leanne wong here we go one chef scored a 77. these guys are tough the other chef
00:23:03scored 80. ladies
00:23:05and gentlemen the winner of the first round battle between chef leanne wong and chef stephanie izard is
00:23:20stephanie izard
00:23:24congratulations
00:23:40i'm glad my friend is going on she cooked a monster dish and like i'm you know it is what
00:23:51it is i
00:23:52have more dragons to slay coming up you're on a roll this is how the goat cooks congratulations
00:24:00chef izard wow she gave me a hug and said like go do it you know like she's always been
00:24:07my biggest
00:24:07cheerleader i love you are you ready for the next two opponents
00:24:13we have a classic east coast west coast matchup that's right new jersey chef david viana has moved
00:24:22up to a number six seed after his impressive out of the gate victory last year last year i was
00:24:28in my
00:24:29first time in the competition but i did well and you can only get here by winning every time you
00:24:34get up
00:24:34to the stage so it starts with this win his opponent is number three c marcel vigneron with new competition
00:24:41credits including a terrific performance in our recent toc christmas tournament i've never cooked with
00:24:48david before but he's got a great reputation i'm definitely going to show him why i deserve to be here
00:24:55and that's why i'm the number three seed i'm sorry marcel i love you you're the best
00:25:00uh but you're gonna have to go down today are you ready to meet the next two contenders
00:25:09after perfecting his skills in michelin-starred restaurants in new york and portugal
00:25:13he is now the executive chef of four acclaimed restaurants on the jersey shore
00:25:23his portuguese-inspired lita restaurant appeared on esquire's
00:25:272023 best new restaurant list and made him a three times jane beard award semi-finalist
00:25:37and last year he sported an upset victory against chef tobias doors on
00:25:41in his very first toc battle give a warm welcome chef david viana
00:25:57i've got all these chefs with all these fight names why the storyteller you know i like to tell
00:26:02a story through food and bring people together everyone likes a good story now your opponent
00:26:07he has opened some of la's more notable eateries and made la magazine's list of best new restaurant
00:26:17he was the runner-up on the second season of top chef
00:26:22and beat out almost two dozen elite chefs
00:26:25to become the first ever winner of 24 and 24. give a big howl for the wolf
00:26:35chef marcel
00:26:52there'll be plenty of time to tell your story be plenty of time to howl at the moon
00:26:56but first let's take it to the randomizer right this way
00:27:03okay okay tonight let's make it happen going for protein
00:27:15manila clams butternut squash chef mike englazed but you get to move one down
00:27:23what do you think chef you want to move the clams or you want to move the microwave
00:27:26i'm good with chef mike spiralizers not so much fun
00:27:30give me pork blade steak yeah we're going to move the protein yeah move the protein
00:27:34the glaze and the clams seem like a mismatch and i'd much rather glaze a steak pork blade steak
00:27:40butternut squash microwave and glaze you know how many chefs are thanking you for taking microwave off
00:27:46the list our plan it all goes in three two one go they're off pork blade steak known for its
00:27:53marbling
00:27:53big rich deep flavor butternut squash super versatile a lot that they can do with it i mean we can
00:27:58see
00:27:58this roasted we can see the pureed and could go all over the place microwave basically what it does
00:28:03is make the water vibrate and and that's what heats it up glazed as anything that has got that nice
00:28:09silky translucent coating this should be a really good cook blade steaks i've been coming up 25 years
00:28:18now cooking in this industry i hone my skills working for amberrell bobby flay michael white i've been
00:28:25nominated for james beard three times now and next thing you know you get invited to be on toc maple
00:28:30syrup
00:28:31i might not be as recognizable but i bring a lot of creativity and on any given day i can
00:28:37beat every
00:28:37single one of these steps i have competed in pretty much any cooking show i was the runner-up on
00:28:43the
00:28:43season two of top chef toc all-star christmas 24 and 24 i was the season one winner i'm not
00:28:53just going
00:28:53to make it into the second round i'm going to win the whole thing okay hey chef hi chef blade
00:29:04steak
00:29:04grilled glazed with a butternut squash glaze here for it all chef let's do it
00:29:12the microwave also known as chef mike is high powered and i thought that i could get the squash
00:29:16cooked in there really quickly pork blade steak is a really good blank canvas glaze is one of my
00:29:23favorite cooking styles so i'm going bold i want things that are going to really catch the judge's
00:29:28attention i'm going to add fish sauce white balsamic vinegar and then i vacuum seal it so it really
00:29:34infuses with the steak and will actually really caramelize once i get to the grill i really want
00:29:39to go for char umami barbecue flavor to go with the sweetness of the squash 22 year old me would
00:29:46be
00:29:46fangirling right now that i'm competing against myself and i respect him and if i'm going to beat him
00:29:52i need to get things perfect so uh justin yes i'm thinking maybe we nuke it and then we puree
00:30:04it i go
00:30:05through my rolodex of dishes and i think glaze on the pork as i'm cooking it with soy sauce and
00:30:12honey
00:30:13on a bed of butternut squash puree and some pillowy medium diced butternut squash
00:30:22i think you're going to see the squash in the microwave i was the first thing i thought of that's
00:30:27the reason they weren't shying away from it it's not like you could just microwave some water and be
00:30:32like jack no you actually have to use the microwave what's going on with these blade sticks uh we haven't
00:30:40addressed them yet yeah going right now there's a bone on the inside of this thing if i leave that
00:30:45bone in there it's gonna take even longer to cook coming in as the big three seed today not gonna
00:30:52lie
00:30:52feels pretty good i've definitely paid my dues my first two seasons of toc i got knocked out in the
00:31:00first round but having just been on toc christmas i got a little taste of what it's like to make
00:31:07it
00:31:07into the semi-finals and you know what i'm hungry i want that belt i want that ring i'm thinking
00:31:13a
00:31:13little curry pow pow chef marcel chef david we are at the 20 minute mark you have 20 minutes left
00:31:21now you guys are rock stars i want to use the bunnets kawash to make a glaze
00:31:29beautiful the juice to squash and then make a glaze out of that juice that is high level cooking i
00:31:34want
00:31:35salty sweet umami pomegranate molasses yes i'm gonna add fish sauce sugar white balsamic vinegar
00:31:42and a little bit of crap paste because you need a little bit of funk first cook's always the toughest
00:31:46tiffany first cook's always the toughest getting your feet underneath you
00:31:52that's fun so this is about to be glazed walnuts chef yes i like that more glaze and more bonus
00:31:59points
00:31:59for the randomizer toc stands out amongst any other competition 32 of the world's best chefs all
00:32:06together i'm here to win toc i don't usually work with the microwave i have a big piece of bunnets
00:32:12squash in the microwave and i'm constantly babysitting it this is something that's both occupying my time
00:32:18and mental space it just isn't going as fast as i think i needed to you didn't cut that squash
00:32:24down
00:32:24very far and chef marcel cut the scotch very small cubes and he's going to be done without question
00:32:32i'm hoping that chef might cook my butter and squash my biggest fear right now
00:32:42chefs we are at the halfway point 15 minutes 15 to go
00:32:52and then cut it from the way he originally had it what i'm looking at on the cutting board right
00:32:59now it's half done i chop it all up this is going back in the microwave one more time i
00:33:04hope this
00:33:04works hope in two minutes and that'll get me to where i need to be
00:33:10all right what i missed uh just like working on a little gastric or something sugar sugar and vinegar
00:33:16truly glazed yeah sauces are my jam it's gonna go so well with butternut squash and pork while my
00:33:24gastric is cooking that take my butternut squash out of the microwave it's nice it's tender it's soft
00:33:30but it doesn't taste like anything i'm gonna make a little puree over here somewhere let's layer these
00:33:36flavors a lot of them get that in there i want to win this competition for my family i am
00:33:43a family
00:33:43man i have a five-year-old now i'm doing cooking classes with kids i get the opportunity to work
00:33:50with my son which then i get the opportunity to spend more time with them and it's basically just
00:33:53a win-win for everybody and we just have a blast together got them dad forearms now right it's not
00:34:01a
00:34:01dad bod as a father figure i got a lot of things going and then chef mike says to me
00:34:07nuke some pickle
00:34:08juice and get some red onions going okay chef mike i'll raise you another garnish i'm going ot over here
00:34:18chefs we have 12 minutes
00:34:25so david's flipping his blade steaks that grill it's wicked hot pork blade steaks have been cooking
00:34:30for a while i think they're getting maybe a little bit over charred with some of those sugar glazy elements
00:34:36tournament champions has the highest bar i don't get the cook on the steak properly there's no chance of
00:34:41me winning i have restaurants people depend on me for a living my hope is that winning toc would
00:34:48enrich the lives of all the people that work for me and for them to be able to jump start
00:34:53their own
00:34:54things with that that would be amazing that tastes delicious boy time just burns off fast for eight
00:35:01minutes heavy soy sauce yeah that one's uh smoked actually oh tight i'm no stranger to toc
00:35:08i know you got to use the randomizer as many times as possible so i'm going for two glazes i've
00:35:14got
00:35:15my gastric and then i also have my smoked shoyu and maple syrup glaze which i'm brushing onto the pork
00:35:26and then it's like oh he had the butternut squash puree but then he also had the butternut squash
00:35:31dice that's two boxes not just one that's what you need to tip the scales
00:35:38chefs we're at the final five minutes
00:35:45you still have to deal with the butternut squash is in the microwave
00:35:52i'm feeling pressure from my insecurities with chef mike i don't have a lot of time this isn't
00:35:57a chill vibe in toc kitchen i'm putting food on this plate put the glaze at the bottom of the
00:36:03plate
00:36:03i'll sit the squash on top of it i add the nuts put the glaze on top of the steak
00:36:09i'm finishing with
00:36:09mint i really hope the judges appreciate the depth of flavor 90 seconds chef 90 to go first i put
00:36:17my
00:36:17microwave butternut squash puree diced butternut squash right on top of that then we take our glazed pork
00:36:26blade steak on top of the diced butternut squash with the calamansi gastric the audience is going nuts right
00:36:35now 30 seconds and last but not least microwaved pickled red onions the watercress i tried to check as
00:36:44as many randomizer boxes as possible we're just going to have to let the judges decide
00:36:48three two one we're done
00:36:58congratulations great job
00:37:01chef david viana chef barcelain ron
00:37:07could use another 10 minutes but i i felt good like it all got on the plate the microwave
00:37:12was it was having i was having a hard time getting it cooked through
00:37:20ladies and gentlemen let's welcome back our judges scott conant kenny oranger and marcus samuelson
00:37:26ken is a legend wow marcus scott conant this is an intense panel judges tonight the randomizer in this
00:37:37second battle offered a pork blade steak butternut squash the equipment was microwaved and the style
00:37:43was glazed chef tiffany phase on here to present the first dish chef take it away we have blade steak
00:37:49a glaze was constructed by juicing butternut squash the chef also took the butternut squash broke it down
00:37:56and put it into chef mike letting chef mike handle the cook completely until it was removed mashed with a
00:38:02little bit of butter and salt and then finished with the second glazing of glazed walnuts
00:38:07perfect most perfect cook on this pork yes yes yes yes that char on the exterior is absolutely perfect
00:38:17it's dark it has texture to it it also has that beautiful deep flavor the glazed nuts also beautiful
00:38:23i just love the sweetness against the char also the way they glazed and caramelized those nuts gives
00:38:31you that crunch sweet and a little bit bitter really craveable craveable look at that char here look
00:38:37at this it's beautiful char and then it's glazed like barbecue but in like southeast asia you get
00:38:43that crab and the fish sauce really really tasty but i would have loved if the caramelized squash was a
00:38:50little bit more uh puree they cooked it in the microwave but they didn't finish it enough in the
00:38:58microwave it's a fair criticism judges thank you so much scorecards 50 points in taste 40 points in
00:39:05use randomizer 10 in your plating feeling good you had nice things to say now we wait for the second
00:39:14judgment pretty positive feedback but also they haven't tried my dish yet to present the second
00:39:20dish is the wild card himself justin mourner judges this is a glazed pork steak with butternut squash
00:39:26and watercress the glaze that finished the dish was maple smoked shoyu the drippings found their way
00:39:34into a butternut squash puree the tail of that puree begins in such it was peeled it was diced and
00:39:40it was
00:39:41microwaved in seasoned water another half of that diced butternut squash became the dice and the microwave
00:39:47was also used to craft those not raw red onions glazing the plate and portions thereof is a calamansi and
00:39:55champagne vinegar gastrique i gotta tell you something
00:40:08that is delicious was that like all golden napkin right there golden napkin jesus man joseph
00:40:19this is like sensual this is deep and sexy and developed i love the use of the onion here
00:40:27it's such a nice pickle the beautiful watercress on the plate that great puree there's so much
00:40:33goodness here chef great great cooking great excellent taste scott whoever cooked this
00:40:41it's a true master to get that to cook to this perfection it's still pink inside and then glazing
00:40:48it and getting those bitter notes in because it's super well charred with a super sweet puree in the bottom
00:40:55and those pickled red onions and then getting all these other flavors to work so well well done chef
00:41:03chef oranger how can you in 30 minutes cook something this big this tender it is brilliant
00:41:10brilliant brilliant cooking the butternut squash the two textures the funkiness of the gastrique
00:41:17but i got a couple bites that were definitely a little chewier than i probably would have liked
00:41:23um okay and the watercress you know it's kind of gets lost on me in this he's a stickler judges
00:41:31thank
00:41:31you very much 50 points in taste 40 points in the use of the randomizer 10 points in plate a
00:41:38golden napkin
00:41:38that's got to account for something you know marcel crushed it but to have chef marcus hamerson uh call
00:41:44my dish grateful like that's that's amazing that was some fantastic chefing and let's bring our chefs
00:41:51back out david vianna
00:42:02very nice scores from the judges here we go uh one chef scored a 81. the other chef scored a
00:42:1287
00:42:15the winner of the first round battle between chef marcel vignone and chef david vianna is
00:42:29jeff marcel
00:42:32congratulations
00:42:40that was a dynamite dish of food you should be very proud of that chef david vianna thank you chef
00:42:47thank you guys appreciate it thank you everyone you guys are awesome thank you
00:42:56i'm really out of the dish i put up and wish i had one more try but maybe next year
00:43:01this is your first big win in toc feels pretty good i like this feeling i could do this again
00:43:06take a look whoo right there the wolf and the goat there you go come on audience
00:43:19what a win
00:43:25you broke that curse man broke the curse first big first big win the main bracket yeah all right
00:43:30moving on to round two let's see what the wolf can do ladies and gentlemen are you ready to meet
00:43:35our
00:43:35next two gourmet gladiators
00:43:39we have chef adam sobel a natural competitor whose second round loss to chef kevin lee last year
00:43:47dropped him from a number two seed to number five seat that last cook was the worst of my career
00:43:55toc7 is a redemption year you gotta win round one so i want it really badly his opponent is the
00:44:00number
00:44:01four seed chef kalina bliss a proven food network champion who came in blazing hot last year as a
00:44:08toc rookie and is determined to go even further this year this is like the craziness about this
00:44:13competition it doesn't matter how adam cooks it doesn't matter how i cook because the randomizer
00:44:18dictates how you're gonna cook everyone here is good there's no weak link so it just you can't think
00:44:23like that kalina is highly skilled it's good that pushes me to be sharper and intentional with what
00:44:30i'm doing let's do it okay let's do this it's time are you ready for another fantastic food fight
00:44:42he has owned his skills under the mentorship of culinary legends
00:44:47such as daniel balu gisa boy and chef michael mina
00:44:55over a two decade career as an executive chef he has earned restaurants two michelin stars four
00:45:02star reviews and a james beard award for best new restaurant
00:45:09make some noise for mr delicious chef adam sobo
00:45:26what's up brother oh what a thrill i need to get back between a one two three seed you know
00:45:32what i'm
00:45:32saying kalina is an amazing chef this is going to be a hell of a show and you are right
00:45:38she is
00:45:38amazing she started cooking at the age of 16 now has almost a decade of experience as an executive chef
00:45:47in portland seattle and chicago chicago magazine said her wonderful dishes showcased bold flavors with a
00:45:56hint of playfulness she beat bobby flay won food network's beachside brawl
00:46:03and was a 2023 chopped grand champion and last year in her first year in the arena she reached the
00:46:11toc
00:46:12six quarterfinals ladies and gentlemen put your hands together for chef polina
00:46:17play
00:46:33i think this is a fantastic matchup let's take it to the randomizer right this way
00:46:45lots of emotion coming through your face this is fun there's a lot to digest
00:46:50let's go here we go go for protein
00:47:05we've got
00:47:06lamb cucumber food processor crispy and move one up
00:47:15oh do you want to move crispy up to layered i'm good with moving to layered we're gonna
00:47:21move style style yeah layered is interesting ground lamb cucumbers and you can take all
00:47:29these ingredients and make it into something layered ground lamb cucumber food processor
00:47:35and layered and it's time to go
00:47:48ground lamb 85% meat 15% fat cucumber funny thing about cucumber is made up with like 95 96
00:47:55% water
00:47:56super adaptable these two go together is so incredibly well greek in particular food processor
00:48:02in the world of food knowing how to utilize this is a time saving machine layered popular dishes of
00:48:10course like lasagna moussaka casseroles and so forth but there's also layering a flavor they want to see
00:48:16it they want to taste it this could be a good round i think everything's on the line today it's
00:48:21the first
00:48:21cook you know you want to do well nobody wants to go home on their first match i know adam's
00:48:27very
00:48:27technique driven he has fine dining and michelin background but i can bring it with flavors i can
00:48:33bring it with crunch and i proved that i can do it last year i have the reputation of being
00:48:39really
00:48:39ultra refined almost bougie but that's not necessarily the case it's all about being delicious mr delicious
00:48:46my mind goes moussaka it's a classic layered dish i've never battled against chef kalina
00:48:53i have watched her cook she's impressive yeah so no mercy
00:49:02hi chef hi okay so what i'm kind of thinking about doing is a crispy rice paper dumplings
00:49:10hold it throughout lamb how are the layers going to be in this dumpling chef so it's not going to
00:49:15be like a dumpling like traditional i'm going to do kind of like a square folded so then when you
00:49:19cut it in half you'll see the layers that's that's the hope yeah okay i want to check something
00:49:23off the randomizer like as soon as i can all the dumping fillings going in the food processor
00:49:28just the aromatics yeah it can shred it can slice highly versatile garlic ginger onion throw it in
00:49:36the food processor buzz it these are all going to be aromatics that are going to go into the lamb
00:49:41to
00:49:41flavor it next i add all the spices that i want to use curry coriander garam masala smoky paprika
00:49:52i always have to remind myself cook good flavors don't psych yourself out i've done it before
00:49:57i might even be doing it this time
00:50:02thank you
00:50:0525 minutes two different eggplants bunch of herbs all right so do we have a clear game plan yet
00:50:12yeah moussaka it is moussaka okay it is moussaka
00:50:17moussaka is a classic layered dish my plan is to build a tower of moussaka with the moussaka
00:50:24you want to get the lamb seared and get it rolling and build flavors
00:50:29greek cuisine is something i love to eat so moussaka just made sense oregano and aleppo
00:50:35and then i need to get the sofrito for the moussaka base rolling sweet parsnip some baby carrots garlic
00:50:44there's cucumber in there as well
00:50:4923 minutes chefs 23
00:50:51last year honestly i wasn't myself i didn't cook soulfully i was cooking with my head and not my heart
00:50:58this year is different getting through kalina is step one i want this so badly i can taste it
00:51:06oh no mercy
00:51:11chef kalina chef adam 20 minutes 20 to go
00:51:18so cooking the lamb out all the way through before adding it to the dumpling
00:51:21because what i want to do is just crisp the dumpling and it's also going to save me time
00:51:24and then i don't have to worry about that
00:51:25okay next i want to work on the cucumber apple kimchi
00:51:29i feel like this is a really good opportunity to utilize the food processor again
00:51:33i use granny smith apple because i want it to be tart and then the cucumber
00:51:40and then i grab some spicy kimchi and i throw that in the food processor
00:51:45i always pull a little bit of asian influence that's kind of my go-to
00:51:48and then i kind of squeeze out the excess liquid
00:51:51soggy cukes no one wants that
00:51:54so i was adopted when i was four months old my parents were american so i literally grew up on
00:51:59like hamburger helper frozen vegetables
00:52:03none of the things that i love to eat now
00:52:05like there's green in me somewhere it's it's coming out
00:52:11the base for the moussaka is grilled eggplant
00:52:14i can vibe steam a little moisture out
00:52:17the dish needs a contrast and texture so it was like i wanted to have a crispy element
00:52:22i'm feeling like it might be a tempera batter of some sort
00:52:24it is guys we're doing a little crispy eggplant layer
00:52:27to go along with the other goodies
00:52:29i like the crispy eggplants
00:52:31i was not a great student you know i would go to school just to entertain and play soccer
00:52:36really that was it and then my mom enrolled me in culinary arts at vocational school
00:52:40and i met john murphy and instantly my life changed
00:52:45john murphy was the first to see any potential in me as a young culinarian
00:52:51and he really looked forward to watching the show he passed away
00:52:58murphy is definitely on my shoulder win it for murphy
00:53:06all right chefs our final 10 minutes 10 minutes to go
00:53:11i'm gonna build the dumplings so i grab the rice paper and i'm just soaking it i don't want it
00:53:15to tear
00:53:17i'd start with the base layer of the lamb then i add chiffonade spinach and then on top of that
00:53:23i
00:53:23add some cucumber kimchi you can really see three different layers on it four really if you count
00:53:28the rice paper i forgot how crazy the show is i forgot how crazy the show is it wakes me
00:53:34up in the
00:53:34middle of the night so i don't know how you forgot i want to pan fry it because i do
00:53:39want it crispy
00:53:40i do want to get that sear on it
00:53:47i decide to make a cucumber kimchi salad it's just another way that i can play the randomizer
00:53:53i add the extra cucumber kimchi that i didn't use earlier i add some scallion to it i add some
00:53:59fish sauce
00:54:01thank you
00:54:08is this the creamy component chef yeah this is tzatziki
00:54:12labneh we're gonna do it with mint and then i grate the cucumber through the food processor
00:54:19it's got great texture
00:54:23so my dumplings are out i'm really happy with how crispy they are
00:54:27i definitely want to slice them in half because i want them to be able to see
00:54:31the layers that i put inside of it since that's literally the challenge
00:54:35we've got some layers going
00:54:36i decide to just grab some black vinegar soy sauce a little bit of gochujang whisk that all together
00:54:45four minutes four to go first i put the cucumber slaw down i want to keep it very clean
00:54:52next i grab the dumplings i shingle them on top of each other
00:54:57and then i add the dipping sauce to it there's nothing that can compare to the thrill of competition
00:55:03cooking it's a whole different level of adrenaline i'm fired up two and a half minutes chefs two and a
00:55:09half to go
00:55:14plating begins nice layer of the tzatziki grilled eggplant goes over the top of that
00:55:22the lamb ragu over the top of that oh boy 25 seconds this year is different i really want to
00:55:31make a long
00:55:31deep run and take this thing to the finale that's it no no mercy
00:55:53i feel like i'm still on adrenaline i have never made that before i feel good but hey
00:56:07i've felt good before and you know what's happened
00:56:12could be a winning dish
00:56:13i haven't been in this position in a year
00:56:18ladies and gentlemen let's welcome back our steam panel judges chef scott conant
00:56:24chef kenny oranger and chef marcus samuelson
00:56:28holy smokes is this the finale scott conant has uh judged me on tops before all three they're
00:56:36amazing chefs i'm scared tonight judges for this next round the chefs were graced with ground lamb
00:56:44produce with cucumber the equipment was the food processor and the style was layered toc
00:56:51three champ tiffany fason thank you so much emotional support player
00:56:56chefs friends uh this is a crispy layered lamb and kimchi dumpling with cucumber kimchi salad the lamb
00:57:03was treated to an aromatic paste that was processed entirely in the food processor for the kimchi the food
00:57:09processor made quick work of green apple onion persian cucumbers and spicy kimchi finally the salad of
00:57:15persian cucs was constructed of scallion thai basil the aforementioned homemade kimchi black vinegar and a
00:57:20little bit of fish sauce come on please there are a lot of very happy flavors here the cucumber shines
00:57:30with that kimchi i don't even know what's inside that rice paper and i don't care it doesn't matter it's
00:57:36yummy yes it's a deft touch well done chef
00:57:39well done i've always liked you always liked him who doesn't love dumplings i mean i love how the chef
00:57:47used rice paper instead of you know traditional wonton skin or something like that yes the lamb it's a
00:57:53little bit lean but the stretchiness of the rice paper really lends itself well to the leanness of the lamb
00:57:59so i thought the texture was great thank you they thought about the layering in a new way this is
00:58:04interesting
00:58:05right and then also they used the food processor multiple ways they took the challenge with the
00:58:10randomness they gave them but more than anything it's delicious and it's craveable well done chef yes
00:58:16oh my god judges 50 points in taste 40 points in the use of the randomizer 10 in the plating
00:58:22mine doesn't
00:58:24come off as layered as his but i hope the judges understand that i was trying to do it in
00:58:28a more
00:58:28inventive way this is the worst part let's see what happens judges our chef calls this a milfoy
00:58:35of moussaka parsnip carrot cucumber eggplant all chopped in the food processor and then put
00:58:41you into that lamb mixture on the bottom floor we've got tzatziki going up grilled eggplant lamb
00:58:47ragu some more eggplant then more lamb then more tzatziki and then finally crowned with that crispy
00:58:53eggplant at the penthouse the boys are digging in this is like hitting all the notes right layered
00:59:03check food process check delicious check
00:59:09tzatziki eggplant lamb it will always work it will always be delicious it's a good sign i like that
00:59:15and this crispy little coin here really really delicious when i see layered i want to see layers
00:59:22and i love that there were multiple floors yeah oh i'm so scared i go right to the penthouse first
00:59:30and i just ate that fried eggplant whether it's tempura or whatever it was but man it was crispy
00:59:38amazing the tzatziki with the cucumbers was delicious but there's not enough of that in here
00:59:43for me yeah the top coin of the eggplant is beautiful but those bottom layers of the eggplant need a
00:59:48little bit
00:59:48more cook time all right judges thank you very much again 50 points in taste 40 points in the use
00:59:53of
00:59:53the randomizer 10 points in the plating the cucumber was just in the sauce right i couldn't see the
00:59:59cucumber i'm being a hater i think i had negative remarks that's not good however layered was the
01:00:07challenge i definitely hit it harder please let me take this please let me take this all right chef
01:00:14get ready for you all right let's uh let's face the music i've got the scores from the judges let's
01:00:19go ahead and bring our chefs back in chef kalina bliss we've got a close race one chef scored a
01:00:3677
01:00:38the other chef scored a 79. ladies and gentlemen the winner of the first round battle between
01:00:44chef kalina bliss and chef adam sobel is
01:00:54kalina bliss
01:01:00good job
01:01:05my buddy this is not the last we'll see you
01:01:15thank you very disappointed i thought the dish was really tasty
01:01:26that's it congratulations thank you so much let's take a look so kalina bliss takes out the great adam
01:01:34sobel a four five combo next up will be kenny gilbert and our icon that will be showing up to
01:01:41cook
01:01:41i'm terrified well chef listen let's not even worry about what's coming up let's just celebrate the win
01:01:46that you just had and a first round win for chef kalina bliss so happy for you well done well
01:01:52done
01:01:58i mean wow beating sobel you came in last year for your first time yeah and you went all the
01:02:03way
01:02:03to the great eights yeah um which was amazing so there's going to be some eyes on you and you're
01:02:07a
01:02:07force to be reckoned with nice job congratulations very nice so the first dish crispy layered lamb
01:02:13with kimchi dumpling with cucumber and kimchi salad that rice paper that mochi pull i mean the flavors
01:02:21were layered in addition to the actual dumpling itself well folks i don't want to say i've saved
01:02:28the best for last but this is a pretty big deal we have a qualifying winner going up against tonight's
01:02:35mystery icon the number eight seed chef kenny gilbert proved the accuracy of his nickname beast of the
01:02:42kitchen with his impressive victory in the toc qualifier i'm very excited about the opportunity
01:02:49to cook against the icon who's centered to be the underdog going against someone that's a culinary
01:02:53legend that's been doing for a long time his opponent the d division's number one seed the final
01:03:00culinary icon chef who has judged more than 200 food competitions and is ready to compete on toc for
01:03:10the very first time two icons are gone i have a responsibility to myself to take out another one
01:03:18are you ready for the final battle of the first round of toc seven
01:03:22at 23 he became the chef of cuisine of a five diamond restaurant
01:03:32and the youngest african-american chef ever to run a rich carlton hotel restaurant
01:03:40he has staged some of the top restaurants around the world and worked as oprah winfrey's personal chef
01:03:48and was a semi-finalist on top chef season seven and defeated chef kelsey murphy in the qualifiers
01:03:56of the dish that antonio la faso called brilliant bring some noise for jeff kenny gilbert
01:04:20to be here i'm very humbled and very honored but i'm ready to take down some of these chefs
01:04:25the icon that you're going to go up against well he grew up working in his mother's pioneering
01:04:31restaurant that first introduced new yorkers to latin american cuisine timeout new york awarded him best
01:04:38latin american restaurant in 2002 and he was a 2005 james beard award nominee for rising star chef of the
01:04:48year he fought the legendary morimoto to a draw on iron chef america he was a judge on the premiere
01:04:56episode
01:04:57of shot helping it earn a james beard award and spent seven seasons as a judge on master chef ladies
01:05:11and
01:05:11gentlemen give it up for the restaurateur the author the philanthropist and the legend chef
01:05:18aaron sanchez
01:05:25i'm 100 shocked chef aron is the epitome of mexican culture and cuisine talk about an icon he's opened
01:05:32restaurants from new york to new orleans he's always done bring big flavor hey dog look at that puppy
01:05:44you want to go big kenny this is how you go big yes sir sir indeed aron you're a champion
01:05:51of the
01:05:51industry to get a guy like you to step back into the competition arena we couldn't be more honored
01:05:57thank you it's that time let's take it to the randomizer
01:06:02chef let's get after it going for the protein
01:06:18manila breakfast radish spiralizer crispy yo protein or produce re-spin
01:06:27hmm i'm just talking about trying to make manila clams crispy i said go ahead and do the protein
01:06:34okay all right going for protein here we go
01:06:39sure would like to see anything other than that if it lands on manila it stays on manila
01:06:45manila clams for the finale of the big night chefs go shopping good luck
01:06:59one of the toughest randomizers i've seen i gotta be honest with you both of these guys have huge
01:07:04imaginations but ah manila clams native the pacific ocean kind of sweet breakfast radish
01:07:10spicy a little bit more delicate than most radishes spiralizer is one of my favorite things
01:07:15this is a mandolin plus you can really ribbon out small ribbons of ingredients we all know what crispy
01:07:21is there's a lot of ways to achieve it they're gonna really have to focus on this it's gonna be
01:07:25a tough battle lots of stuff here we go i have a lot of cool accomplishments i've been very blessed
01:07:29i've cooked at the white house for president obama best restaurant from timeout magazine latin
01:07:34restaurant i've been nominated for multiple james beard awards and being recognized as the most
01:07:40prominent latin chef in this country for the most part hi chef how are you i'm great i'm really psyched
01:07:46to
01:07:46follow you when i think clams i think immediately broth so i'm making steamed manila clams in a chili
01:07:53coconut broth with plantain chips so the first thing i gotta do is start with the broth using fresnos and
01:08:01dried chilies i'm a wacko aren't you it's almost like he's got a phd in chili yeah exactly the way
01:08:07you
01:08:07get a depth of flavor in this broth for these manila clams is the idea of toasting roasting letting
01:08:13those natural flavors come out chefaron's first time to the toc arena but certainly not the first
01:08:20time competing he's an og uh chefaron sat at the chop desk long before i was ever invited to the
01:08:26party
01:08:26so i stand on his shoulders i'm very excited to follow this truck my first experience competing was
01:08:33on the second season of iron chef america i competed a lot on chopped and i'm judged as well i
01:08:40was a
01:08:40judge on master chef gordon ramsay so the competitors that are going to be facing me i just want you
01:08:45to know that it's kind of just part of my deal my culinary journey started you know at home i
01:08:56had
01:08:56those full memories of going and seeing tortillas being made at a mercado my grandmother had the
01:09:02initiative to write a cookbook in 1986 called mexican family cooking and then my mom had a restaurant
01:09:07in new york city in the hubbity hub so for me i grew up in the industry to continue the
01:09:13family
01:09:13legacy is extremely important there's a little bit of pressure involved as you can imagine here we go
01:09:18we're getting dangerously close the reality is it's anybody's game i've been doing this a long time i've
01:09:24cooked all styles of cuisine he's been a private chef for oprah winfrey it's just chef against chef and the
01:09:33best man wins i'm kidding as quick as it is you know where clams going which i think will open
01:09:39them
01:09:39up i wouldn't be surprised if he's going to open them up get them going we're going to a fried
01:09:43clam
01:09:45the style of the dish is crispy so in my mind everything has to be crispy so i'm gonna do
01:09:53a super
01:09:54crispy thai collard ringer salad it's gonna have uh crispy clams i think um thai green papaya salad
01:10:01i'm picking up what you're throwing down i'm known for my international cuisine and my southern roots
01:10:05and flavors i want this dish to really represent that great thing about these clams also is they
01:10:11are so fresh they are all opening up so chef's not going to have to do a ton of work
01:10:15he's got them in
01:10:16the blast chiller which i think is a great idea to cool them down i think they're probably going to
01:10:20see
01:10:20about it it was really important for the plans to be cold because i'm going to have to cook these
01:10:23again i've been in the game for the better part of 30 plus years and i got through the qualifiers
01:10:29i have to get to the sweet 16. the only thing that i'm focused on right now is getting past
01:10:34his icon
01:10:37chef halfway point you have 15 minutes left 15 to go
01:10:44my buttermilk egg batter as the clams are chilling out in a glass chiller i'm gonna work on a batter
01:10:50wow those spices smell delicious chef who made them i did it thank you very much these spices are my
01:10:56foundation i'm gonna fry the clams i want this to be extra crispy
01:11:03see why i got the name beast mode yeah you think beast mode might be a real thing look at
01:11:07this guy
01:11:08so i have some work ahead of me but i have a plan and i plan on executing it to
01:11:12the highest level
01:11:16in the whole of the competition one of the things we see the judges look for really consistently is
01:11:20the style of the dish the dish needs to read overall in that way right elements can be crispy
01:11:25but does this dish overall read crispy the seafood stew is kind of almost going to negate
01:11:32the idea of crispiness so i'm making plantain chips just kind of make things crispy and on top
01:11:41they're smart thank you chef when i was young i wanted to do all this like experimental mexican
01:11:47food but then as you get older as a chef i'm going back to mom's and grandma's kitchen so that's
01:11:53where i
01:11:53find myself now that's the chef and i'm going to bring it here to your seat we're back we're cooking
01:11:58with gas the plantains come out of the fry they look fantastic i'm happy with them if you ever had
01:12:05radishes just simply sauteed in butter they're delicious check this out randomizer what's the plan
01:12:12with the radishes chef so i'm going to shave the radishes to go in the salad i'm also going to
01:12:16shipping out the greens to kind of go in with the collards the one challenging thing about the radishes
01:12:21that the flavors they're not super powerful so you have to think about what am i going to do with
01:12:26this and make this really sing chef kenny gilbert has obviously figured out that uh there's not a ton
01:12:32you can do with breakfast radish but he has figured out that there are two parts and he's using them
01:12:37both
01:12:38and i think that that's great i want this so bad i want to see my banner drop i want
01:12:44to have my belt
01:12:44the banner for me is the first one that's legacy legacy is really important to me i've dealt with a
01:12:50major
01:12:51tragedies my first wife died in the car accident i was a widower at 21 years old raising my daughter
01:12:58it was a year and four months when that happened i went through a lot of challenges there she's now
01:13:0232
01:13:02with five kids my beautiful grandkids i've gone through so much and so i'm gonna fight my way
01:13:09through this i'm gonna bring it at a very high level and i'm gonna leave it all on the plate
01:13:14a little micro ice bath for each of those mandolin components i'm icing all my vegetables because
01:13:19everything needs to be crispy this salad has to be exceptional and i have to use a spiralizer there
01:13:25you go breakfast radish is on the randomizer bringing in daikon radish i can add another element of radish in
01:13:31the dish to make my dressing i'm adding fish sauce lime juice garlic galangal bird chilies and dry shrimp
01:13:44i think that's gonna dress this salad and we're gonna see a kind of a trick of the eye with
01:13:49these
01:13:49fried clams like croutons this dish is gonna really knock the socks off of the judges because not
01:13:55everyone takes collard greens and makes a beautiful salad with it radish they certainly don't add thai
01:14:01flavors to make it pop i realized daikon yep this is a very unique dish this speaks to me and
01:14:08my culture
01:14:09and how i like to cook and what i've learned to cook while breaking bread with other friends from
01:14:14other cultures you can literally hear the crispiness of all of those components in the bowl as it's being
01:14:21mixed you have to put the clams at the last moment because you don't want to overcook them the judges
01:14:27will be i know i am we are all sticklers for clams that are cooked perfectly perfectly cooked clam means
01:14:33just
01:14:37so when i win tournament of champions it's going to be amazing my responsibility as an icon is to plant
01:14:45seeds our youth is our most valuable commodity so for me i do that by way of the add-on
01:14:51such as impact
01:14:52fund where i put latino kids into culinary school that i started in 2017 i'm very proud 26 kids have
01:14:59gone
01:14:59through the program so we're continuing the legacy through this beautiful youth that are just
01:15:04conquering their dreams to be culinary leaders
01:15:09two minutes chefs two to go literally neck and neck now it's time to build my plates i have my
01:15:15collard
01:15:16greens i take my rice noodles i crunch them up mix it in chicharron crunch it up and then i
01:15:22put
01:15:22the clams all the way around the bowl any excess dressing will just go towards the bottom of the bowl
01:15:28which is not going to affect the clams from getting soggy i'm hoping i'm going to get very high marks
01:15:33one minute crowd's going wild right now i mean this is the big finale of the night
01:15:40what's it cost i want to plate my dish of course it has to go in a bowl i want
01:15:45to make sure i have
01:15:45a nice distribution of clams a good spoonful of the broth and then of course the garnishes a little
01:15:50plantain chips the red fresno chilies chives and cilantro letting the manila clams be the star
01:15:56one two one that's it
01:16:03not an easy randomizer but uh you two knew what you were doing chef aron sanchez chef kenny gilbert
01:16:09thank you so much
01:16:13a straight-up culinary killer it is craveable it has good spice but not overwhelming i think that
01:16:20broth is going to be loaded with flavor it's going to have heat i think it's going to have acidity
01:16:26i was not expecting a roan sanchez
01:16:31i think i did really well actually all right here we go ladies and gentlemen please welcome back our
01:16:37award-winning panel of judges for the only chef scott cottage chef kenny oranger and chef marcus samuelson
01:16:43oh oh marcus marcus oh my lord of mercy kenny oranger is probably one of my best friends
01:16:54yeah whoa whoa whoa the randomizer served up manila clams breakfast radish
01:17:04spiralizer style was crispy chef justin judges this is a crispy thai collard salad with crispy clams crisp
01:17:13breakfast radishes and their tops anchoring this all together is a chiffonade of collard greens
01:17:19and spiralized daikon radish in terms of crispy components we have rice noodles that were fried
01:17:25and crumbled up we have the breading itself there are some dry shrimp there are dry peanuts there are
01:17:30chicharron the radish the radish tops and bean sprouts how much stuff did he put in there
01:17:37i'm not going to take it away from you marcus
01:17:43fried clams are very tricky especially with manila clams which tend to be smaller
01:17:49sweeter to be able to cook them shell them chill them bread them again cook them again the second
01:17:54time and not have them taste like rubber requires a lot of skill
01:17:59i love the chicharron i love the fried rice noodles i love the peanuts so there's crispy on top
01:18:04of crispy on top of crispy you know very tasty dish thank you very much chef marcus i think marcus
01:18:10is going to love it talk about playing the game this is a really delicious dish with depth of flavors
01:18:17the daikon spiral is so centered to the dish the crispiness here comes from four or five different
01:18:23places the breakfast radish i wish chef would have treated the breakfast radish a little bit different
01:18:29yeah i agree with the bread the breakfast radish is is it's just shaved on top i don't know i
01:18:34just
01:18:34i disagree great rendition here with the spice mixture on top of it also really good acidity
01:18:40great backdrop of flavor i think the chef hit all the notes as far as crispy but a big miss
01:18:46on the
01:18:46breakfast radish okay judges thank you very much 50 points available in the taste 40 points in the use of
01:18:52the randomizer and 10 points in the plating if i miss on points on that
01:19:00i feel that i i i should really hit it in all other areas i think i'm there i'm not
01:19:06worried about
01:19:06flavor chefs here to present the second dish is the toc champ herself tiffany fason
01:19:14in front of you chefs we have a clam jam of manila clams fortified coconut seafood broth
01:19:20and crispy breakfast radish the broth was constructed by dry roasting white onion fresno chilies dried
01:19:26guajillo and morito chilies and tomatillo plantains were coaxed through the spiralizer for the crispy
01:19:32garnish to top the manila clams and breakfast radishes were brown butter roasted and added to the dish
01:19:39who doesn't love stewed manila clams really love the texture cooked perfectly on these clams addition of the
01:19:46fresno chili has a nice spice to it the roasted radishes are my favorite thing i like the plantain
01:19:52that's crispy but there's a spiralizer take a potatoes fry it on top like make it crispy it's the whole
01:19:58point of the dish it's supposed to be crispy clams are cooked perfectly spiralizer would have liked to
01:20:04have seen a lot more than just a couple plantain chips on there just like crunchy porky you know type
01:20:10of
01:20:10chili crunch whatever this is really good dish it's gorgeous the clams are cooked really nice in 30
01:20:19minutes to develop flavor yes but the lack of more crispy bits in here that could have given this dish
01:20:27a
01:20:27little bit more attitude thank you judges thank you very much 50 points available in the taste 40 points
01:20:36in the use of randomizer and 10 in the plating i want this really bad i feel like my dish
01:20:41deserves
01:20:41it i thought i focused i thought i did well i just think kenny uh put too much stuff in
01:20:48there to be
01:20:48honest the scores are in let's go ladies and gentlemen let's go ahead and bring our chefs back in chef
01:20:59kitty
01:21:09gilbert
01:21:10gentlemen have i've seen some difficult randomizers but that was one of the toughest i've seen here are
01:21:15the scores 76 to 81
01:21:22the winner of tonight's final battle in this first round between chef aron sanchez and chef kenny gilbert is
01:21:36chef kenny gilbert
01:21:38let's go
01:21:42good job chef
01:21:44good job
01:21:46yeah
01:21:47let's go
01:21:55chevron
01:21:57as many competitions as you have judged you know how difficult when you're in the heat
01:22:03and there's 30 minutes breathing down your neck it's a monster this is the toughest cooking competition
01:22:09hands down chef kenny well done sir thank you
01:22:13ladies and gentlemen
01:22:28i'm expected to win i'm expected to shine
01:22:33i didn't if you want to compete you got to be prepared to win or to lose
01:22:38today was in my deck congratulations you have won your first bracket in dlc seven
01:22:47big win big win let's take a look at the bracket kenny gilbert taking down
01:22:52number one seed aron sanchez now going up against kalina bliss who took out adam sobel tonight
01:22:58ladies and gentlemen beast in the kitchen a big win and a congratulations chef kenny gilbert
01:23:05so happy for you thank you way to do it my friend way to do it we'll see you soon
01:23:15let's go i'm so pumped this is what i came here to do first time i've seen these competitions get
01:23:21started i said i'm going to compete there and i'm here i'm ready to take it so of the 32
01:23:26chefs
01:23:27that competed in the first round of toc seven half have already gone home
01:23:33but the winning chef oh they're ready for more
01:23:40if this is weeknight cooking i want to be eating at this freaking house seven nights a week
01:23:45join us next time when the victoria super 16 return to wager their second round battles in the quest for
01:23:52the belt the title the 150 000 right here on tournament of champion seven i'm coming for the belt hey
01:23:59you're having a good time
01:24:00adios
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