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00:00Previously, on the Ultimate Baking Championship,
00:03the chefs were split into groups of three,
00:05each focusing on a different pastry cream classic.
00:08I am having a moment.
00:09This is so good.
00:11There's not a lot of custard.
00:12With Robert's coconut cream pie collapse,
00:15sending him home.
00:35Oh, I'm in the bottom three again.
00:37There's still more I want to show the judges.
00:40First spot, I see my name.
00:42I'm so excited.
00:42I couldn't be happier, and I'm ready to showcase my master skills.
00:47Welcome back, chefs.
00:48Hi, Ty.
00:49Now, as you know, we've been testing you
00:51in each of the baking disciplines.
00:53And this time, you're going to have to demonstrate your expertise
00:56and the most fundamental skill for a master baker.
01:00creating laminated dough.
01:02It's your time to shine.
01:03It's your time to shine.
01:04I mean, I think you can't be French
01:06if you don't know how to laminate a dough.
01:07It's something that I'm very comfortable with.
01:10As you know, laminated dough is an essential part
01:13of so many iconic pastries, from croissants to Napoleon's.
01:17It is the cornerstone of baking.
01:20Yeah.
01:21But achieving a perfect laminated pastry,
01:23that is extremely challenging.
01:25The process involves rolling and folding dough with butter
01:28over and over until you end up
01:29with thin layers of dough and butter.
01:31This test is going to combine your skills
01:35and your master challenge.
01:36And that's why you are only going to face one test.
01:41Oh, my God.
01:43Yeah.
01:44There's only one challenge today.
01:46You know, there's no room for mistakes.
01:48There's definitely a lot spinning through my head.
01:50But the biggest difference with today's challenge,
01:53you're going to be working in pairs.
01:57The very best chefs, they have to be able to demonstrate the ability
02:01to work cooperatively, and the judges will be taking into account
02:04how well you work with your teammate.
02:06Each team is going to create a sweet and savory pastry shop window display,
02:12like this one.
02:13Each team has to make two dozen sweet and two dozen savory pastries
02:17to fill the display window.
02:19And your flaky masterpieces have to look as sensational as they taste.
02:23Sweet and savory.
02:24Now, your team display, it has to be cohesive with pastries that complement each other.
02:29So, let's turn our attention to the leaderboard to find out who your partner is going to be.
02:36Chris and Juan.
02:37Okay.
02:38I am happy, just because we know each other.
02:41We've worked together.
02:42Back to the past.
02:45Kasey and Molly.
02:46Go power.
02:48I am thrilled.
02:49Kasey just got off being top of the leaderboard.
02:52I also was at the top of the leaderboard at one point,
02:55so we're here to kind of help each other to win.
03:01Florencia and Rochelle.
03:04Of course, that leaves Adalberto and Clément.
03:07Wow.
03:07Yeah, it's pretty cool.
03:09Okay.
03:10As always, making the difficult choices about who stays and who must go
03:15are two of America's most beloved bakers, Duff Goldman.
03:19Oh, you guys are too sweet.
03:21Hello.
03:22Your second judge.
03:23He's a renowned expert, author, and teacher
03:26in celebrated authority on all things go.
03:29Please welcome Brian Ford.
03:32What's up, brother?
03:33How are you?
03:36Chefs, dough is my life.
03:39And the biggest challenge with laminated dough is temperature management.
03:42That's going to impact how your laminated dough proofs how it bakes.
03:47I'm looking for flaky pastries that are bursting with interesting flavors and vibrant colors.
03:51I'm looking for you to wow me.
03:53No pressure.
03:56Okay, everyone.
03:57Since you're going to be working in teams, scoring is going to be a little bit different than before.
04:01Duff and Brian will award up to 25 points apiece to each individual chef.
04:07But it's the team with the lowest total score that's going to be at risk.
04:11Of those two chefs, whichever baker has the lowest individual score will be going home.
04:17You have six hours to prove your mastery of dough.
04:25And your time starts now.
04:30I got a few butter blocks.
04:32I grabbed the butters from the bottom of this.
04:34Butter, butter, butter.
04:37All right, man.
04:38This is a big one.
04:42So, like, for everybody at home, you break down lamination.
04:45Yeah.
04:45Put it in its most simple terms.
04:47What would you say?
04:48I guess the one-liner is you're making a lot of layers of butter and dough by folding them over
04:54each other, letting it rest, stretching it out, and doing it again.
04:57So what are you looking for here?
04:58So you get this bird's eye view, everybody.
05:00I'd be looking for several things.
05:01Are people working with dough that's sticking to the countertop?
05:04Are they using enough flour?
05:06Are the edges of the dough rounding out?
05:08It means your butter is going to start leaking out, potentially.
05:11It's also not going to be in part of the dough.
05:13It's a very, very detailed and meticulous process.
05:17Yeah.
05:24It's a pastry shop.
05:25I always think of, like, Europe, obviously.
05:27Yeah.
05:27Have you been to Paris?
05:28Have you been to Italy?
05:29I've been to Italy.
05:30Okay.
05:30You're Italian.
05:31Yes.
05:32So let's fake Italian in it.
05:33Our strategy going into this definitely is planning to laminate each dough separately.
05:38But together, we're going to kind of put this together so that it makes it, like, a nice,
05:41cohesive display.
05:42Okay.
05:43So for the savory, are you going to want to use croissant dough?
05:45I think I'm maybe with the sweet one.
05:47I'm going to use the flaky Danish dough.
05:48Same thing as, like, the croissants.
05:49Same folds.
05:50I first start off by getting my savory dough ready.
05:53This is going to be a savory-herbed croissant dough.
05:55I decided to use some fennel, rosemary, and thyme.
05:59You know, there's different types of lamination within the world of pastry, and I think showcasing
06:04two different skill sets, I think the judges will really enjoy seeing.
06:08My flaky brioche dough is essentially the same thing as the croissant dough, but with a
06:12little bit more eggs and some more butter.
06:14This is definitely richer.
06:16It's not going to be so crunchy like the croissant.
06:19Those are gone.
06:21Good.
06:22Casey and Molly, are you both literally working at the same station together?
06:25We are.
06:26Can I just, like, I'm going to try to squeeze in here.
06:28Come on, join in.
06:29This is unbelievable.
06:30Look at the teamwork over here.
06:31We'll start with you.
06:33You've got to make a savory, you've got to make a sweet pastry.
06:35For the savory ham and you are, take on an Italian ham and cheese croissant.
06:39So I'm going to do an herb croissant dough, fill that with the prosciutto, pancetta, and
06:45then grate a couple different cheeses.
06:47For my sweet, I was a kid who ate cheese danishes, so I'm going to be making a raspberry cheesecake
06:54danish, so I'm going to use a flaky brioche dough, encase that with cheese danish filling,
07:00and then top that with some raspberry jam and fresh raspberries, because when I think
07:06of my time over in Europe, I had a lot of things that were raspberry flavored.
07:11I love it.
07:12Do you feel any added pressure after winning the last time out that you have to really
07:16score big?
07:17Because that's the expectation now.
07:18Oh, it is, but you know what?
07:20I need a base hit.
07:21I need to stay on that leaderboard and show some great products, and at this point, like,
07:26it's really all about the lamination.
07:27It's true, and leaning on each other, too.
07:29It is, it is.
07:30Because you know Molly's going to hold up her end of the bargain, right, Molly?
07:32Heck yeah.
07:33Heck yeah.
07:34You're holding up your end of the bargain, I know.
07:35I'm trying to, I'm trying to.
07:37You've got a lot of fruits, you've got a lot of chocolate over here.
07:38What are we doing?
07:39So the two pastries I will be making are the tomato and mushroom cacciatore savory
07:45danish, and a cannoli croissant, and then it's going to be finished with little cannoli
07:49cream, some candied kumklots, fresh pistachios, and I'm going to dip it in chocolates.
07:54Whoa, talk to me about it.
07:56So it's going to be a chocolate croissant-based pan or chocolate fold with a kind of reverse
08:00lamination technique on top.
08:02That sounds amazing.
08:02Us ladies have it, too.
08:03You're doing it, you're representing.
08:05Okay, for my sweet croissant, I'm going to layer colors of green inside of my dough and
08:12roll it out nice and thin.
08:13So as croissant bakes, it'll have flaky layers of white and green, and then when you bite
08:19into it, it will have a swirl of green throughout.
08:21Oh yeah, baby.
08:23Do you need butter?
08:25I have butter.
08:26I have both.
08:26Do you want this one or this one?
08:28I don't do laminated dough on a daily base.
08:30I was like, I hope that Rochelle does.
08:37I don't really do laminated doughs that often at work, so I'm going to really have to push
08:42myself.
08:43Winning would mean so much for me, but I feel like it would also mean a lot to all the
08:47moms
08:47out there who are working these hard jobs and making it happen.
08:52Are you going to be a chef?
08:53I'm a mom, and I've struggled, and I'm powering through, and you can do it, too.
08:58For this challenge, our plan is to play off our love of different cuisines around the world.
09:03I'm going to do, for savory, queso fundido croissant, which is kind of like a chorizo
09:09and cheese dip, typically, in Mexican cuisine.
09:12And then for sweets, I'm going to do a matcha yuzu croissant, because that's going to be featuring
09:19my favorite flavors from Japan, matcha and yuzu.
09:22Rochelle?
09:22So listen, I know last bake, it was a bit tough.
09:26How are you feeling coming into this one?
09:28Um, it was tough.
09:29You know, I took some risks, maybe a little too many.
09:31With this, I'm trying to stick to the basics as far as the structure.
09:35That's good.
09:35So our strategy is to work separately to get our doughs accomplished, because our display
09:41without anything in it is useless.
09:45Yeah.
09:45All right, I've got to get this in the first chat.
09:47Go, go, go.
09:47I'll go talk to your teammate.
09:50Okay, Florencia, what is your theme here when it goes to flavors and presentations?
09:55So my theme is definitely my heritage, so I'm going to have an Italian item and an Argentinian
10:01item.
10:02Cool.
10:02For the savory item, I'm doing a millefoglie, so it's going to be a puff pastry with layers
10:08of mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and then the sweet part is going to be a croissant
10:14with a pumita, which is a savory dish actually in Argentina.
10:17Taking kind of a risk, redoing this dish, not knowing if on the sweet side they also
10:22work together, but I think they will.
10:24I'm going to transform it in a sweet one.
10:26So it's going to be sweet corn pudding, and then I'm going to put a sweet blue cheese
10:30mousse on top of it too.
10:32Gosh, good luck.
10:34I can't wait to see what you come up with.
10:35Thank you, Jesse.
10:37Five hours left in your highly challenging master challenge.
10:41As a Frenchman, I have to go back to my doshita.
10:44I mean, how lucky can I be?
10:46I got a French to work with lamination, like croissant, croissant.
10:51This challenge, the main theme that we want to bring is the fusion of the culture.
10:57Yeah, we're both immigrants.
10:58We're working together to make the flavors of peace land, my land, and America to make
11:03a menu that's enticing to the judges.
11:05So I'm making an open-faced Cuban meat pie with puff pastry, the picadillo filling.
11:10I'm excited to bring that and see, you know, what the judges say about the flavor.
11:14I hope that they tried it before.
11:15If not, this is going to be a hit because it's so good.
11:18I start working on my puff pastry.
11:20It's basically water, flour, salt, malt, and that's it.
11:25No yeast, no eggs.
11:26Because puff pastry is supposed to be very dry.
11:28For my sweet, I want to make a croissant muffin with a beautiful blueberry lime filling.
11:34I'm here to tell a story, right?
11:36I'm telling the story about me and telling the story about pastries and how it allowed
11:40me to become who I am today.
11:42This challenge is for me.
11:43If I don't win it, they will remove my French passport, for sure.
11:49So for the sweet one, I'm going to make a brownie croissant crown.
11:54And then when I do the striped technique, and then for the savory, I'm going to make a hot
12:00dog croissant, because croissant is French, and I want to put the American culture into
12:06the croissant.
12:07So hopefully I get everything done because I'm a very ambitious person.
12:10So for the sweet one, basically I'm adding also a chocolate dough.
12:14To elevate my croissant, I'm going to use the striped technique.
12:20So basically, cutting the side of a croissant dough.
12:24So when I put it on the top, basically it also gives like a strap of chocolate dough.
12:29So you know that inside, it's going to be something chocolate.
12:33Lamination does take a lot of work.
12:35You cannot, just because you've done it, think that you're fine.
12:37So yeah, our biggest competition definitely, I mean, is Juan and Chris.
12:42They've been working together in the past.
12:44I mean, they know how to work together.
12:46And also, Amoli and Casey, they've been doing an amazing job.
12:49So that's for us our biggest competition.
12:52You're going to use the blast?
12:53Yeah, I'm going to let it relax for a minute, and then it's all good.
13:01Get back in there.
13:05This is tough.
13:07Once the lamination started, things start going a little sideways.
13:11The butter is just super loose immediately.
13:15Maybe that's my lack of experience.
13:17Nothing's going my way.
13:18I'm struggling.
13:26Four hours remaining.
13:28Show us your mastery of dough.
13:33This is not fun.
13:35Laminated dough is really challenging.
13:37I'm worried that the butter that's exposed on the edges is going to mess up the layers.
13:43Hello.
13:44Hi.
13:45How are you?
13:46I'm struggling.
13:47What's going on?
13:49This is my second to last fold.
13:50I'm just trying to get it long enough to do like a third, a third.
13:53How many folds have you done so far?
13:55Like a book fold to get my butter in, and then I did a double book fold.
13:58Okay.
13:59I would say this.
14:00You know, obviously your butter is a little soft.
14:02Yeah.
14:03You know, maybe some refrigeration could help firm it up.
14:06Give it some time to relax.
14:07I would just focus on how you can pivot.
14:10Okay.
14:11All right.
14:11I appreciate your help.
14:12All righty.
14:13You know, I already have some good layers.
14:15It might be a good time to just like stick with what I got and not try to make an
14:20extra fold and get more layers in that.
14:22I decided to take a deep breath and cut off the bad ends and use what I got.
14:26Okay.
14:27Great.
14:30Chris, how we doing?
14:31Good.
14:32Juan, what do you think we have a bromance?
14:34A bromance?
14:35Yeah.
14:36I will say so.
14:37There you go.
14:39I'm really, really excited that I got Chris as my partner.
14:41Chris was my boss when I first started, and he was the one who actually teach me how to do
14:46vinacery and bread.
14:48So our pastry shop is basically turning back the hands of time, a moment in time for us.
14:53It's when we first started working together.
14:55The savory items are going to be two breads that were inspired by breads that we made at the restaurant
14:59together.
14:59My favorite bread that we made, which was a mushroom duxelle with roasted mushrooms.
15:03And then his is going to be based on a tart flambe, or flamiche, which is bacon, leek, and creme
15:09fraiche.
15:09And then the sweet item is a dish that Juan put on the menu for me, so it's my homage
15:15to him.
15:15A laminated tart with rice pudding and mango.
15:18And then the other one is the first dish that Juan ever made with me.
15:22A chocolate, pretzel, caramel, danish.
15:26I think our strategy going into this is to divide and conquer.
15:28We're using one dough, so it doesn't make sense for us both to make the same dough.
15:32So we've decided that I'm going to make the dough in the butter block,
15:34and then Juan's going to focus on all the fillings for all four of the venoiseries.
15:38Who do you think the biggest competition is, but I think I already know who it is.
15:40Clement and Adalberto.
15:42Adalberto, they do this in their clothes, with their eyes closed.
15:45I hope they do it with clothes on as well, but who knows?
15:49Three hours remain, teams.
15:51Show us your mastery of dough.
15:53After today, only seven chefs will be left in this competition.
16:00I haven't braided hair in so long, I'm like...
16:03I'm only using two.
16:04When was the last time you braided your own hair?
16:06Never.
16:06Yeah, right, save.
16:07Thank you, Mom.
16:08I start on my brioche.
16:10I roll that out, and I cut it into strips, braid it, and then roll that around the cream cheese
16:16puck.
16:16I'm really inspired by Italy and cheesecake, and I am going to elevate that with raspberry notes.
16:24And then for the savory, I'm going to fill that with the prosciutto, fancetta, and then a couple different cheeses.
16:31These are chocolate batons, and we're rolling them into our dough, and then they will bake around the dough, hopefully
16:37beautifully.
16:38Beautifully.
16:39We are just focused on getting our final doughs shaped into the proofing area.
16:45Let's create a proofing box.
16:47Proofing really is how you activate that yeast, and you start getting a rise out of your dough.
16:53Once you proof and bake, those layers are really going to open up, and it will look very pretty.
16:57They're all assembled. Now it's the patience of waiting.
17:02All right.
17:03For the brownie croissant, I am making six little rolls with the brownie inside, and then I put it into
17:12a ring cake.
17:14Oh, wow. That looks cool.
17:16And I'm rolling my hot dog croissant.
17:19So I take my sausage, I put moustard, and then I put Swiss cheese.
17:23Rolling some more little croissant for decoration.
17:26To decorate this window, we are planning to hang some little croissant.
17:31We are also working on making a little plant.
17:34The flour is going to be a mini croissant.
17:35For laminé, though, I mean, I'm from France, and it's something we really do a lot.
17:40So basically, we wrapped up the whole rack so you keep the humidity inside, because if it proofs without humidity,
17:47basically, the dough is going to dry.
17:48So imagine if something dry is trying to expand, then it's going to crack.
17:52So, you know, to know if it's proof, usually it gets at least twice the size from the original size.
17:57I love, I love olives.
17:59For my savory, I'm making an open-faced Cuban meat pie with puff pastry, and I'm going to fill it.
18:07Once it's cooked, I'm making a picadillo filling, because when I was a kid, there was this bakery that sold
18:12picadillo pies, and I wasn't able to afford it very often.
18:16And, you know, once I come to America, I was able to now have meat pies any time I wanted
18:22to.
18:22So I have it basically every day.
18:25You think it needs salt?
18:26Tell me.
18:28It's perfect.
18:30For my sweet, I am going to make a laminated brioche that I'm going to shape into a croissant muffin.
18:37When you create this double swirl, now the layers are exposed on the very top.
18:42Going to the fridge now.
18:45Yeah, I'm ready.
18:46I'm going to bake them.
18:47Yay, they are good.
18:49You seasoned the leeks, right?
18:51I tried it, yeah.
18:52You want to try them again, just in case?
18:53No, it should be good.
18:54Famish is a type of focaccia that what we used to do before we bake, we dimple it, we crème
18:59fraîche, cook bacon, and cook leeks.
19:02So we're going to be making a croissant kind of like roll.
19:06It is kind of like Groundhog's Day or deja vu, working side by side.
19:10We don't really have to think about what the other person needs.
19:12I'll be ready for the next one whenever you are.
19:14So it is a level of comfort in terms of how so much time can pass between two chefs working
19:20together, but when you get them back in that same environment, it's like no time went
19:23by at all.
19:24A lot of what we're doing is all of our fillings are being added at the ends.
19:27So these take about 18 minutes to bake, roughly.
19:30So I want to make sure that we have enough time for it to cool and then to fill.
19:33One thing we're doing that I don't believe a lot of the other teams are doing is most
19:36of these pastries are filled after they're baked, because we didn't want the dough to
19:40get soggy.
19:40Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.
19:42How are they looking?
19:43They look good.
19:43Okay.
19:44Let's look at my croissants.
19:45Let's look at mine.
19:46I think yours are almost there.
19:48They're definitely growing.
19:50Ooh, these might be there.
19:52Teamwork.
19:53Teamwork.
19:55Only one hour left now.
19:58Definitely feeling that time clock counting down.
20:01In the moment, I'm worried, because I know we are far, far behind.
20:05Hey, Rochelle, can you tell me again the sizes that you are doing?
20:08I haven't measured a single thing today.
20:10You just do you, okay?
20:12She just tells me, just worry about your stuff.
20:17Makes me feel very angry.
20:19No, no, but let's try to...
20:22I mean, mine, because...
20:23So here's something you need to think about, is these are my molds.
20:27So size-wise, it's going to be...
20:29Can I measure this?
20:29Yeah, go for it.
20:30And I know that if we don't do a great job as a team, and we don't push the products
20:36out
20:37together, that's going to cost us.
20:40So I don't want to be, like, too big or too small compared to yours.
20:44Where do spray bottles go?
20:45Anyone see spray bottles?
20:47And so I'm back to my station, and I'm thinking, okay, like, I kind of need to limit the damage
20:52here, and to make sure that at least what I can put out can save us or save me.
21:00I hope everything is going to look all right.
21:07I'm a bit concerned to finish this on time and shape them and be done with this.
21:13I really don't want to be on the bottom, and I really don't want to go home over something
21:17that is not even under my control.
21:20Leave it to proof.
21:21One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, 16.
21:25That feels good.
21:26Next thing I have to do is shape my savory dough.
21:29So I've chilled it a little bit to make it a little bit more workable, because I'm going
21:33to do a twist on a rectangle.
21:36Hey, Rochelle, do you need anything?
21:37Maybe you can help me roll these up?
21:39Yeah, got it.
21:39As I cut them.
21:41Then I go to shape my matcha dough.
21:44I really appreciate your support today.
21:45Sorry I had a rough day.
21:47Trying to work as quickly as possible to cut those strips and get them rolled up and put
21:50into the molds.
21:51I want them to look really clean and tight.
21:53So I bake my matcha ones first.
21:54All right, let's do it fast.
21:57Hey, Rochelle, we have 40 minutes left.
21:5940?
21:5940, which is good.
22:01Oh, perfect.
22:03They look good.
22:04Look at those layers.
22:05Just going to open.
22:08Right now I'm making some royal icing.
22:10Our plan for decorating our pastry shop case is going to be Europe and eating our way through
22:16where we've traveled.
22:18Molly wears these beautiful Italian scarves in her hair when she's baking, so I kind of
22:22pulled some inspiration from that.
22:23I started painting like Picasso with icing.
22:26Yeah, good idea.
22:28My sweet, very happy with.
22:30And using this flaky brioche, not only is it laminated, but it's really going to give
22:34the sweet Danish that mouthfeel that you need.
22:37I love making my own jams.
22:39So I made a raspberry jam that'll go on top of that cheese layer in this Danish.
22:47I think we're all happy to be doing some savory stuff.
22:49The secret to all pastry chefs is as much as we love sugar, we really appreciate the savory
22:54when we get it.
22:55For my savory laminated pastry, I am making sun-dried tomato and mushroom cacciatore.
23:00I start by slicing mushrooms, onions, as well as garlic.
23:05Low and slow is the game here.
23:08So now I'm just going to puree these tomatoes up with a little tomato water.
23:12I really want to visit northern Italy.
23:14I haven't had the opportunity to go there yet.
23:16So I took a northern Italy tradition and I put it a little spin on a pizza.
23:21So I can set that up if you are.
23:22Are you going to paint back there?
23:22I'm going to paint the other things.
23:24Okay, paint first and then I'll set up.
23:25Correct.
23:26For this display, I really want to make sure that we encapsulate the main thing, which is
23:32the moment in time.
23:34So the idea is to really have picture frames.
23:37We're going to be making a clock and instead of the numbers, we're going to be putting croissants.
23:43The main thing for this case is to really honor the relationship that Chris and I have.
23:50Just 30 minutes left to finish up your displays.
23:53While I'm looking around at our four teams and all the different displays in their pastry shops,
23:57Molly and Casey's display looks absolutely beautiful.
24:02It's not just the taste, what the judges are going to be going through,
24:05but also how these display units look.
24:08And all of them look definitely different,
24:10but they've all put their own touches on those as well.
24:13Yeah, I'm scooping the meat pie filling into my boulevard.
24:16A boulevard is basically a base and then something to surround it with a space in the center.
24:22So that's what boulevard is.
24:23So this is basically a meat pie boulevard for the display.
24:27I'm glazing the croissants, making basically croissant glacé.
24:31The best idea, like really, I think it looks so cute.
24:34I'm very excited to share these flavors with the judges
24:37because it's a dish that my mom used to do all the time.
24:41It's going to be a close one.
24:43Rochelle and I, we have a very different approach to bake.
24:47So it's always difficult to work with someone that is so far from you as working methods.
24:55How are you on time, Rochelle?
24:57I'm good.
24:58There's a lot going on here.
24:59I'm feeling really good about our flavors.
25:01I'm really confident in mine.
25:03So I'm really crossing my fingers and hoping we do well.
25:05Flavor is what matters.
25:07All right, my little plant.
25:09I'm confident with my lamination.
25:11But then it's not just about lamination.
25:13It's about teamwork.
25:14Look.
25:17So cool.
25:18That's so cool.
25:19Shiny.
25:20Well, I like that.
25:21If la mía, she's still in the oven, right?
25:22It's still in the oven.
25:23It's got like another minute or so.
25:24All right, so obviously Chris and Juan took a huge risk.
25:26They decided to bake everything first before filling them, which is a smart decision if it ends up working out.
25:32But you've got to make sure that all that dough is able to cool before you put that filling in.
25:36And we're literally watching them right now, filling all the different pastries, savory and sweet.
25:42And we have literally just minutes to go.
25:45Five minutes to finish up your displays.
25:48The ketchup, it looks cool.
25:50There you go.
25:53Let's go, Chris.
25:54Let's go, Juan.
25:55It really smells like a flu-mage.
25:57So the sugar display I'm working on is a frosted sugar sculpture.
26:02It's meant to be molded in granulated sugar to give it like a crystalline look.
26:0990 seconds left.
26:11Make sure to get all your decorations and all your pastries into your displays.
26:16I go to take the sugar sculpture and it seems stable.
26:20Oh, no, no, no.
26:21Take care of it because if it falls, everything falls here.
26:27Oh, and then the top breaks off and the bottom is left.
26:30I'm just a little devastated.
26:32Can you grab me like a spoonful of sugar?
26:34Like the less caramelly one?
26:38Wait, wait.
26:40It's, you know, it's going to look worse.
26:42Like if we put it, then...
26:44So you want me to take it off?
26:45Yeah, just take it off.
26:45Now the walls of the display are empty.
26:50Final zhuzh.
26:51Feeling good.
26:54Mouche.
26:55Mouche.
26:55That's it.
26:56Oh, I'm so happy with this.
26:59Good job.
27:00Good job.
27:04This was intense.
27:06This was probably the most intense thing I ever did in my life.
27:09The fact that we had so many, like, problems and challenges during the bake, it kind of threw me off.
27:16Well, we didn't really accomplish all what we wanted.
27:19Yeah, we had some sugar breakage that unfortunately set us back.
27:22I'm worried about being on the bottom for sure because it doesn't really look like I envisioned.
27:26But I think the flavors are good.
27:29Are they going to be good enough?
27:31I don't know.
27:39You guys did a really good job.
27:40Our structures didn't...
27:42Need to sink out of the box.
27:44Yeah.
27:45I just didn't even fathom it.
27:50Jeff Goldman, Brian Ford.
27:53Today, you're going to be scoring our chefs on flavor, execution, and technical difficulty.
27:58And today, how they worked as a team is a big part of the score as well.
28:02Later, the team that has the lowest total combined score, they're going to sink to the bottom of the leaderboard.
28:08At that point, one team member is going to be leaving the competition.
28:11All right, so let's get to the tasting.
28:12Let's do it.
28:13Casey and Molly.
28:18There we go.
28:19Hi.
28:20Tell us about your pastry shop window display.
28:24We kind of wanted the display to be European, Italian sort of market, but also play on a little bit
28:29of high fashion, really pretty jewels that are laminated dough.
28:34I got to say that everything looks proper.
28:37It's got good shaping technique.
28:39There's no evidence of butter leakage.
28:41A color on the bake is just right.
28:43Tell us which pastries you both made.
28:45For my savory, I made a herb croissant.
28:48I put prosciutto, three different types of cheeses, along with some pancetta on the inside.
28:53And then for my sweet, I did a flaky brioche dough that I laminated with a mascarpone cream cheese center,
29:00some raspberry jam, and fresh raspberries.
29:04Brian, you're laughing.
29:05I'm laughing, but it's no joke.
29:07Doing a laminate brioche and also doing a more traditional croissant dough, it's already difficult.
29:12So within the competition, to execute both of them, it's quite impressive.
29:16And you're sweet.
29:17It melted in my mouth.
29:19It had everything that I was hoping that it would have.
29:22Dear savory, it is so flaky on the outside.
29:26And just when you think it couldn't get more delicious, you get a mouthful of pork.
29:31This is truly delicious.
29:35Two great weeks for Kasey.
29:37Yep.
29:37We're now going to move on to Molly.
29:39So I made a cannoli croissant and then a ricotta and tomato cacciatore savory danish.
29:47I love the idea of a cannoli croissant.
29:49It's super cool.
29:50Nice bicolor lamination.
29:53The filling is so much lighter than I thought it was going to be.
29:57I mean, it really is like a cloud, especially against how crispy the outside is.
30:02This was naughty.
30:07Let's move to savory now.
30:12It's so much garlic and it is so good.
30:14Nice and flaky on the sides.
30:16I'm finding that the inside is a little bit more dense, but I don't know if it's a bad thing
30:23because it's kind of a pizza.
30:25Chef Kasey, Chef Molly, thank you both so much.
30:29Thank you, chef.
30:32Ketchup.
30:33Ketchup.
30:39The pastry shop that we created, we call this the Fusian pastry shop.
30:43We both came to America as an immigrant to bake.
30:47So what we wanted to bring here is like bringing our culture and flavor together.
30:55My parents are both immigrants.
30:57I love nostalgia and food.
30:58So that element, the display, it's inviting.
31:02It's beautiful.
31:02All right, Clement, we're going to begin with you.
31:04For my savory one, I made a hot dog croissant.
31:06Then the sweet.
31:08We have a brownie crown.
31:09So I used a bicolor tripe technique.
31:12I decided to make a crown because food is all about sharing.
31:15And my little croissant flour to make this table beautiful.
31:19Is the vase made of laminated dough?
31:23Oh, it's a laminated dough.
31:24Yes.
31:25Wow.
31:25That's incredible.
31:26It is.
31:27Oh, my God.
31:28Oh, I love that.
31:28We'll start with the savory and then the sweet as a dessert.
31:32Wow.
31:33Technically, it looks like it was shaped almost by a machine.
31:36The layers, you can see where the hot dog is not pressing down.
31:39You can see you've got nice honeycomb.
31:40No evidence of any kind of, you know, technical mistakes.
31:44Man, I feel like I've never truly had a pig in a blanket until this moment.
31:48This is delicious.
31:51It's a fancy hot dog.
31:52Yeah.
31:53All right, let's move on to sweet now.
31:55I hear that.
31:57But your pastry, it's so, like, hard and crispy on the outside.
32:02But the brownie was subject to the baking time of the pastry.
32:06So I think the brownie itself got maybe a skosh overbaked.
32:09You know, it's just a little drier than I'd want it.
32:12We're going to move on now to Chef Adalberto.
32:14Okay, so we're going to start with the open-faced Cuban meat pie.
32:18That's made with puff pastry, the picadillo filling, and a little fried plantain.
32:24This kind of flavor profile, it reminds me of when my mom used to make these pastelitos
32:29de carne.
32:30De carne.
32:30And this brings me right back to that feeling because it's warm, it's savory.
32:34I think this is delicious.
32:36Truly.
32:36You have a beautiful puff pastry here, nice and crispy.
32:40I think that it's a little on the dry side.
32:43Okay.
32:43For the sweet, I made a laminated brioche.
32:46The filling is a cream cheese filling and then the blueberry filling.
32:51I think it feels a little underproof because of that.
32:54It's just, it's a little too condensed.
32:56Okay.
32:57I think the flavor is absolutely great.
32:58It's crispy on the outside and it really just feels like it didn't proof enough.
33:03Chef Adalberto, Chef Clemont, thank you both so much.
33:07Thank you, chefs.
33:08I'm a little concerned that I brought Clemont down.
33:11This is definitely not the judging that I wanted to hear.
33:18So this was a representation, an homage to our time together.
33:23Nine years ago, a young, hungry chef and a young, hungry line cook
33:26met and created some of the best desserts and breads
33:29our restaurant group had seen at the time.
33:31The clock also has meaning because it is set to 3 p.m.,
33:35which is the time that Juan would start his shift when he worked with me.
33:39That's special.
33:40The clock, the 3 p.m., trying to make me tear up or this is such a nice touch.
33:44That's beautiful.
33:47All right.
33:47Well, Chef Chris, please present the judges with your pastries.
33:51I would start with the savory one.
33:53So in the middle is whipped goat cheese, a duck cell on top,
33:56and a slightly sweetened fig and pork.
33:59The layers are a little bit dry for me.
34:01The filling is very moist and it is very delicious.
34:04So I'll say it's quite good.
34:05Thank you very much, Chef.
34:07All right.
34:07We're moving on to sweet.
34:08So it is a laminated tart.
34:11And then we put rice pudding, mango compo, and a little bit of whipped ganache on top.
34:16You hear that?
34:18That's the sound of music.
34:20This part of it right here, you bite into it and your teeth just kind of shatter each layer individually.
34:26It's just lovely.
34:27I think the mango is great.
34:28Thank you very much, Chef.
34:29Moving on now to Chef Juan.
34:31So for the savory, I'm bringing the flamish with creme fraiche with cooked bacon and cooked leeks.
34:37You can't go wrong with bacon.
34:38Everybody knows that.
34:39I think here I have richness.
34:41I'm missing the lightness.
34:42All right.
34:42For the sweet, inside we're going to have a chocolate sponge.
34:46You have also a chocolate ganache and a soft caramel on top.
34:49The sponge.
34:51It's so good.
34:52It is so moist and tender.
34:55Do you guys use the same dough for everything that you serve us?
34:59Yeah.
34:59I love that because, you know, what we get is consistency.
35:01And when you get consistency, it's much appreciated.
35:05Chef Chris, Chef Juan, thank you both so much.
35:07Thank you so much, Chef.
35:08Thank you very much, Chef.
35:13So heading into judging, I definitely feel nervous.
35:16I feel like our display is maybe the least attractive of all of them.
35:21So I feel like we got a battle to climb here.
35:24Chef Rochelle, Chef Florencia, welcome back.
35:27Our display case is highlighting international theme.
35:30We wanted to play on Florencia's international background.
35:34It just doesn't feel finished.
35:36That display, to me, tells me that, like, you guys weren't really communicating very much.
35:40It kind of almost feels like you just sort of were, like, good enough.
35:46This is torture.
35:48Torture.
35:56When I look at your actual window, then I'm like, wow, you guys are not on the same page here.
36:03I definitely feel nervous, but I'm very confident on our flavors.
36:07All right, Chef Rochelle, we're going to begin with you.
36:10I prefer you starting with the sweet.
36:12One of my favorite things is, like, a matcha lemonade.
36:14So there's a yuzu curd and a matcha whipped ganache on top.
36:20I think everything's looking a little tight and a little flat.
36:23What I'm seeing here with the bicolor lamination is a decent attempt.
36:26It's not as clean or crisp as it could be.
36:29Presentationally speaking, nice pops of color.
36:32Mmm.
36:33The matcha's good.
36:34I don't know how necessary it is, but this is dense.
36:38I think your pastry itself is pretty heavy.
36:41Okay.
36:41So this savory pastry, I did a spiraled guajillo croissant dough.
36:47This filling is supposed to be inspired by queso fundido.
36:50I think the flavor combination is excellent.
36:53The issue, obviously, it's more like a bread than it is a laminated pastry.
37:02We're moving on now to Chef Florencia.
37:04Okay, so for the savory, I did a millefoglie, so it's a puff pastry.
37:10This is delicious.
37:11Whatever kind of seasoning you put in here, this is fire.
37:14I think the pastry itself, it's very flaky.
37:16I think it's baked a little light.
37:19Okay, so the sweet one is a croissant dough.
37:22This one is specific, humita, which is a very classic Argentinian dish.
37:26And I did a very, very light blue cheese sauce.
37:29All these flavors are beautiful.
37:31The corn is delicious.
37:32It's sweet.
37:33And then you got blue cheese, which is on the other end of the spectrum of sweetness, right?
37:37I feel like you needed something in the middle.
37:39I think you needed something to kind of bring these two together.
37:43Technically speaking, I think this is a little bit too doughy.
37:45Chef Florencia, Chef Rochelle, thank you both so much.
37:50This is one of my hardest days in this kitchen.
37:53I'm feeling awful.
37:57When you're ready, you can put in your scores.
37:59Today, you're going to be scoring our chefs on flavor, execution, and technical difficulty.
38:04As a reminder, you've each got 25 points that you can award to each chef.
38:10And of course, those points are going to create the overall team score.
38:20Chefs, we asked you to fill a pastry window with sweet and savory baked goods made with
38:25laminated dough in just six hours.
38:29And you had to do all that as a team and show the judges your ability to collaborate with others.
38:35So let's begin by seeing which team earned the highest combined score.
38:45Congratulations, Casey and Molly.
38:47I was not expecting that at all.
38:49Great job.
38:53Okay, let's take a look at your individual scores.
38:58Casey, 46, and Molly, 41.
39:01Good job, Jeff.
39:03Happy with that.
39:04Chefs, you've both earned another day in this kitchen.
39:07Amazing.
39:07Thank you guys so much.
39:08Now, let's find out the team that finished in second place.
39:21Excellent work, Chris and Juan.
39:2376 total points.
39:24And here's what the judges thought about your individual performances.
39:30Oh, look at that.
39:32So even.
39:32That's so funny.
39:33You can do it all over there.
39:34Twinning.
39:35Both of you got 38 points.
39:37And I think that speaks well to the teamwork between the two of you.
39:41Rochelle, Florencia, Clement, and Adalberto, your teams received the lowest scores from our
39:46judges, which means that your teams are now at risk.
39:50But first, let's find out which team is safe.
39:56Okay, Adalberto, Clement, you've earned another day in this kitchen.
40:00Let's see those individual scores now.
40:03Clement, 42.
40:05Adalberto, 32.
40:07Yep.
40:08Okay, number two.
40:11That means Rochelle and Florencia, you had the lowest team score.
40:17Rochelle and Florencia, individually, you're both incredible bakers.
40:21But it just didn't gel as a team.
40:24Florencia, your pastry was a little bit blonde and underbaked.
40:28Rochelle, your croissants lack those critical layers, giving them a bready texture.
40:33Chefs, your individual scores are now going to determine who stays here and who goes home.
40:48Florencia, you're safe.
40:50Good job.
40:51Hey, make me proud, okay?
40:53Rochelle, I'm so sorry, but your quest to be the ultimate baking champion ends here.
40:56Please say your goodbyes and exit the kitchen.
40:59What I learned about myself being here is that I'm a risk taker, and that's okay.
41:07Thanks, Rochelle.
41:09I went bold, and I felt like that was great for me.
41:13That's who I am.
41:13That's what I'm going to be.
41:15Okay, so let's take a look at the final rankings to see how everybody stacked up today.
41:23Casey, you had the high score again.
41:25Good job.
41:26Thank you so much.
41:29Congratulations on surviving this.
41:31All seven of you go get some rest because you're going to need it.
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