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00:00:00Tonight, the Victoria's Super 16 re-enter the arena
00:00:03to kick off the second round of competition.
00:00:07Go.
00:00:09TOC's a different game.
00:00:11It's a whole different league.
00:00:13First, four-time finalist, Jet Tila,
00:00:15returns to battle, Chef Claudette Cepeda.
00:00:18I'll keep doing this until we win or until I die.
00:00:21I do my own stuff, guys.
00:00:24Next, it's a showdown between two of TOC's greatest Cinderella stories,
00:00:28Chef Rick Resigno, and Chef Kevin Lee.
00:00:31This is the battle of TOC 7.
00:00:33I'm here to win the whole thing this year.
00:00:35Going home is just not an option.
00:00:37And then, James Beard Award winner Jonathan Sawyer
00:00:40faces off against Food Network star Artie Sequeira.
00:00:43Look at that!
00:00:44Beautiful.
00:00:45Oh, my God.
00:00:45And finally, top-seeded culinary icon, Lorena Garcia,
00:00:49takes on Top Chef All-Star Joe Sasto.
00:00:52Hey, you're having a good time.
00:00:54Who will win the spot in the quarterfinals?
00:00:56So this is just a small miracle here on the plate.
00:01:00This is Tournament of Champions 7.
00:01:10Here they come now.
00:01:12The 16 superstars with extra swagger in their step.
00:01:17Congratulations.
00:01:18Nice.
00:01:20Round 2 means everything.
00:01:22My goal this season is the finale.
00:01:24If I don't get this win today, I'll be hugely disappointed in myself.
00:01:29You want to hear something interesting?
00:01:30Five of you are here from the qualifiers.
00:01:35Wow.
00:01:37Never been done before.
00:01:38Which one of you is going to win four more battles in a row without a single misstep?
00:01:44We're talking the title.
00:01:45We're talking the belt.
00:01:47The ultimate bling, of course.
00:01:48We're talking $150,000.
00:01:57So many great match-ups to choose from.
00:02:03Let's go with Chef Jettila and Chef Clannette Cepeda.
00:02:11Chef Jeff through that door.
00:02:12Chef Cepeda through that door.
00:02:15And I will see you all very soon.
00:02:23Oh, man.
00:02:24Sometimes there might be some easy roads in battles.
00:02:28Every road is terrible this year.
00:02:30It is all amazing chefs.
00:02:32Trying to guess what the hell is going to be on that randomizer.
00:02:35I've never gone against Jett in any competition.
00:02:38I've only judged with him.
00:02:40He is one hell of a cook, so I'm really excited.
00:02:42Let's meet our chefs kicking off the second round.
00:02:46We have the number six seed, Chef Claudette Cepeda, who scored an upset victory in the first round, taking down
00:02:52Chef Tobias Dorzon.
00:02:54I'm happy and proud of myself for making it to the second round, and I'm just definitely focused and hungry.
00:03:00Her opponent is the number two seed, Chef Jettila.
00:03:04The winningest chef in this year's bracket.
00:03:06Man, I've been here so many times before.
00:03:10I think I've competed more than anyone else here right now.
00:03:12It's that itch I can't scratch, the finale, and then the win.
00:03:15That's the end goal.
00:03:16He's going to make me work for it, which he should.
00:03:19I'm going to make him work for it, too.
00:03:21Claudette, like me, we cook from the soul.
00:03:22Also a lot of technique.
00:03:24This is going to be a flavor battle.
00:03:25There's definitely going to be flavor bombs on both ends.
00:03:27They're ready for you.
00:03:29All right, let's do this.
00:03:31Let's go.
00:03:36Are you ready for a Super Chef Showdown?
00:03:40Then let's light this up!
00:03:44Her distinctive approach to regional Mexican cuisine has twice earned her a spot on Esquire's
00:03:50Best New Restaurant list.
00:03:52A Michelin recommendation and a James Beard semi-finalist nod for Best Chef West.
00:03:58She has competed in the U.S. and Mexican versions of Top Chef and Iron Chef and defeated the
00:04:04Titans on Bobby's Triple Threat.
00:04:07And she won her first DOC victory in the first round of this tournament with a dish that the
00:04:12judges agreed.
00:04:13I would eat this in like a two-star Michelin restaurant.
00:04:15Absolutely.
00:04:16Put your hands together for the culinary anthropologist.
00:04:21La Jepa Chef Claudette Zepeda!
00:04:29Come on, Mavis!
00:04:35I'll tell you, Chef, watching you cook and watching that win, you brought it.
00:04:42You're going to need all that energy because this one's a tough one.
00:04:44By the time he was 16, he had worked every single position in his family's seven restaurants.
00:04:52He has opened more than 20 restaurant concepts, broken five culinary world records, and is
00:04:59an Emmy and James Beard-nominated cooking show host.
00:05:03He has won Chopped All-Stars and Bobby's Triple Threat.
00:05:06He has been to the TOC Final Four a record four times.
00:05:12And in his first battle of TOC-7, he had a dish that Dominique Crenn called...
00:05:17Incredible.
00:05:19Period.
00:05:20Give it up for the Jets-ster!
00:05:22The legend!
00:05:24Chef Jet!
00:05:25Zeele!
00:05:40Zeele!
00:05:42Congratulations on a first-round win, kicking off the second round of competition.
00:05:47Chefs, to the randomizer.
00:05:48Let's go.
00:05:48Right this way.
00:05:54Oh, wow.
00:05:55Remember, chefs, the randomizer's going to determine the mandatory details of your dish,
00:05:59the protein, the produce, the equipment, the style, and finally, the new wild card, which
00:06:04will be a wild card ingredient.
00:06:08Big smiles, at least.
00:06:09It's called a smile mask.
00:06:11Is that what it is?
00:06:12Because I'm really freaking out inside.
00:06:13Really nice.
00:06:13Here we go for the proteins.
00:06:16I'm not going to say anything.
00:06:18No.
00:06:19Because she'll hear us.
00:06:20Yeah.
00:06:21She's in our brains.
00:06:23Bronze chicken, bone in, chicken.
00:06:26Whole chicken.
00:06:28Fresno peppers.
00:06:29Rolling grill basket.
00:06:32Weeknight dinner, frozen peas.
00:06:34Ah, 35 minutes.
00:06:36Go.
00:06:42Whole chicken.
00:06:44They're going to have the gizzards, the hearts, the livers, everything inside of these.
00:06:48These will be organic chickens.
00:06:49Fresno peppers, bright red, very similar to jalapeno.
00:06:52It's just not as hot.
00:06:53Rolling grill basket.
00:06:54You can roll it back and forth over the grills.
00:06:56Weeknight dinner, not complicated, no frills, but should be some grills.
00:07:00Frozen peas, frozen or canned, I'll always take frozen.
00:07:03This, you'll get a better texture out of it.
00:07:05Here we go.
00:07:06The hunger to win TOC only increases every year.
00:07:10Who else has been here every season for seven seasons?
00:07:13Monique's gone because she's won.
00:07:15And Tony's gone because she's won.
00:07:17It crushes me every year, but I get up again and go to therapy and figure it out and I
00:07:22come
00:07:22back.
00:07:23You two?
00:07:23Yeah.
00:07:24Pick whatever you want.
00:07:24I've known Jet for years.
00:07:26I understand his capabilities as a human and a chef.
00:07:31I admire the hell out of all of those things about him.
00:07:34But when a Latina takes your earrings off, it's about to go down.
00:07:41When it comes to weeknight dinner, chef, what do you think?
00:07:44Green curry chicken, using those peas.
00:07:48Speaking of, there they are.
00:07:51Peas and rice, natural pear.
00:07:54For me, I'm going green curry chicken with a rice pilaf.
00:07:59You get it?
00:07:59I start with a canned green curry.
00:08:02I fortify it with some of those Fresno chilies.
00:08:05The peas are going to give me some sweetness and a lot of color.
00:08:08The curry is going to be the marinade for the chicken and also the base to make the curry
00:08:13sauce.
00:08:13Reinforcing all those flavors and that green color.
00:08:19So smart.
00:08:20What in the world.
00:08:20Keep that color clean.
00:08:22Basket.
00:08:23Throw some spices in here.
00:08:26Anise, cinnamon, chilies.
00:08:28We'll start there.
00:08:29I need to use this roller basket.
00:08:30And the best thing, in my opinion, is to toast some spices.
00:08:34Thanks, guys.
00:08:35Thank you, thank you.
00:08:36I'm joined, as always, by my amazing culinary commentators.
00:08:39We have the Michelin-recommended chef and walking food encyclopedia, chef Justin Warner,
00:08:43an award-winning restaurateur, and the TOC3 champ herself, chef Tiffany Faison.
00:08:48Now, Justin and Tiffany will closely follow the preparation of these dishes so they can perfectly
00:08:52describe them to the judges during the blind tasting.
00:08:55We're also joined by our roving reporter, Hunter Fieri, who will be talking with our chefs backstage.
00:08:59And also, culinary scholar, Saibu Jandar, will be talking to our judges about the difficulty
00:09:04of each randomizer challenge.
00:09:05My mind immediately goes to my childhood.
00:09:09In Mexico, we eat sweater weather food year-round.
00:09:12One of my favorite dishes growing up is calo de arroz con pollo.
00:09:15It was in constant rotation in my house.
00:09:18I'm going to do boiled chicken with calo de arroz, which is kind of like a brothier rice,
00:09:24but not a Spanish style.
00:09:27Yep.
00:09:27Just like mom used to make.
00:09:29In front of an audience.
00:09:31I start my chicken broth.
00:09:32In the pot goes my chicken base, dashi powder, dried shiitakes, alfasanta, avocado leaves,
00:09:38some lemongrass.
00:09:40Trying to fortify the hot water as much as I can to get me the win.
00:09:45Oh, bye chicken.
00:09:46Good night.
00:09:47Oh, the whole chicken's going in.
00:09:49I get 35 minutes to get a little evisions of granger.
00:09:52Like, I got all this time.
00:09:53I can do all this extra work.
00:09:54Things can get nice.
00:09:5625 minutes to go, 10 minutes down already.
00:09:58There's not a lot of time.
00:10:02Laudette, Jet, you have 15 minutes left.
00:10:0515 in the competition.
00:10:06You've broken down a chicken before, Seth, right?
00:10:08I don't know.
00:10:08How do you do this again?
00:10:10Chicken stock flavor really comes from the connective tissue and the bones and the marrow.
00:10:14So the backs are going to be to get big chicken flavor in the stock, which will go into the
00:10:18rice and the curry.
00:10:21I want the judges to not be concerned with the bone, and I debone the thighs.
00:10:25And I roll them in the curry to start the marinade.
00:10:27Where's the time?
00:10:28Right?
00:10:29Right?
00:10:30I pulled the spices and the chili out of the roller basket, and I put it into a stock pot.
00:10:34Ooh, look at those spices!
00:10:36I remove the chicken backs from the roller basket and get them into that stock pot.
00:10:40I also finished that stock with Fresno pepper, because I'm trying to get Fresnos everywhere.
00:10:43It's about playing the game.
00:10:45Chef, what's this stock going to be?
00:10:46This stock is going to be for the rice.
00:10:48Understood.
00:10:49Yeah, so we can get the chicken essence inside.
00:10:51So it's going to be multiple uses.
00:10:54Do I see Asian ingredients here, Chef?
00:10:56It's a little bit of mix, yeah.
00:10:57I've been cooking Mexican cuisine for the last decade-plus of my career.
00:11:02But weeknight dinner at my house, we're eating any form of Asian cuisine.
00:11:08Open up.
00:11:09The Fresnos are right, tangy, zippy, spicy.
00:11:12No, I don't, close up.
00:11:18The broth for the rice is inspired by Tom Kha.
00:11:21It is a loose rice dish.
00:11:23More like risotto than soup.
00:11:25Flavors that I normally get to my house.
00:11:29Are we cooking the chicken in the rolling grill basket?
00:11:32We're trying, Chef.
00:11:33Chef.
00:11:34Dope.
00:11:34I'm really trying to make sure that I hit the randomizer.
00:11:37While I can't see what Chef's doing, I know that that is always in his mind.
00:11:41Gameplay is important.
00:11:43I can't get dinged for it.
00:11:44We got collards going in.
00:11:46I like this little move.
00:11:47Also, weeknight dinner, we got to get our greens.
00:11:49This is my go-to for the family.
00:11:50It's always the collards.
00:11:51Oh!
00:11:53That's cool.
00:11:54I need to render these thighs and get them crispy.
00:11:58So the shortcut to that is to throw them in the fryer.
00:12:01That's hot!
00:12:03Quickly.
00:12:04So I have peas in the curry, but in case the judges don't get it, I want some actual peas
00:12:08in
00:12:09the curry so they eat the actual whole peas.
00:12:11I get the thighs into the curry to braise to really get the curry flavor onto the thighs.
00:12:16Double use on the Fresno, double use on the pea.
00:12:18That's what it looks like.
00:12:19Great gameplay.
00:12:19Yep.
00:12:19In my head, I see this green pistou-like sauce being drizzled over the rice.
00:12:26Woo!
00:12:27Hot dog!
00:12:28I put Fresno peppers that have also been charred in the roller grill with peas, a little bit
00:12:34of chicken stock.
00:12:35The pressure for me on this round is coming from every direction.
00:12:40It's always about my kids, the next generation of other Hispanic little kids that don't see
00:12:45themselves in mainstream media and can see my path and be like, oh, if she can do it,
00:12:50I can do it too.
00:12:51Oh, come on.
00:12:52Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
00:12:52Careful, careful, careful.
00:12:57I pulled the chicken in the pot out.
00:13:00It's not even done.
00:13:01Isn't even close.
00:13:02Can't survive.
00:13:03What's going on with this chicken?
00:13:05It's so raw.
00:13:06Oh.
00:13:08Back in the back.
00:13:09The breast went back in the stock pot.
00:13:10I'm putting the legs into the fryer to see if I can get that finished cooking.
00:13:15What's this going to be?
00:13:16Oh, that's going to be our rice.
00:13:18Did I do too much?
00:13:19Did I do too much?
00:13:20That is going to be the question.
00:13:22What's next?
00:13:23I'm going to make like a chili sauce.
00:13:25I need to do one more thing with Fresnos.
00:13:27Take Fresno peppers whole and red bell peppers and I juice them, throw that right into the chicken
00:13:34fat pan to make my version of a chili crisp and I'm hoping they like spicy.
00:13:40Three minutes.
00:13:42For my pea saute, it's got curry leaves, Fresno peppers that have been in the rolling grill
00:13:48and then I add the frozen peas.
00:13:53I do my own stuff, guys.
00:13:56The chicken is still quite rare on the inside so I spice it in half, put them back in against
00:14:02the wall of the roller grill.
00:14:04The fryer chicken isn't really cooking the way I want it to so I'm at least going to try
00:14:08to save the skins and use this.
00:14:11Thankfully.
00:14:12The outside of the chicken breast is properly cooked and the inside is like that perfect
00:14:17carryover pink.
00:14:2090 seconds.
00:14:21I start by laying down a base of that coconut pilaf.
00:14:24It's got the Fresnos in it.
00:14:27Wow, that's awesome.
00:14:28Holy moly.
00:14:29I slice some chicken thighs, shingled over the rice.
00:14:34I drizzle the chicken fat hot sauce.
00:14:37I need a crunch.
00:14:38Chef, you have 60 seconds left.
00:14:40I crunch up a bit of the fried basil.
00:14:43This is exactly what I want to eat on a weeknight.
00:14:47It would mean the world to me to win this year.
00:14:50I'll keep doing this until we win or until I die.
00:14:54I'm scooping two ladles of the caldo de arroz on the base of the plate.
00:14:59Then I drizzle that collard and pea stew on top.
00:15:04And then I add the pea salad, grilled chicken breast on the right, and garnish with pretty
00:15:08leaves, the pinch of salt, and lime at the end.
00:15:10This dish is a pug in a bowl, distoral cooking.
00:15:13Very comforting flavors.
00:15:16Five, four, three, two, one.
00:15:20We're done.
00:15:21Good?
00:15:22Good.
00:15:24Congratulations.
00:15:25Cauda Cepeda, Jet T-Lite.
00:15:27Back to your trailers.
00:15:29Let's go ahead and bring the judges in.
00:15:31I feel really good hoping I didn't make it too spicy.
00:15:34I would eat it.
00:15:35My kids would love it.
00:15:36You can't take her for granted.
00:15:38Our flavors are big.
00:15:39They're probably similar.
00:15:39So it's going to be tight, I think.
00:15:42All right, folks, the DOC judges have been waiting in their trailers for their first
00:15:46blind tasting, and we finally left them out.
00:15:49James Beard award-winning restaurateur who made food and wine and Gourmet Magazine's
00:15:54list of best restaurants in America.
00:15:56Who is it?
00:15:57Chef Michelle Bernstein.
00:16:02Latin specialist can eat spicy.
00:16:04Hope she understands my flavors.
00:16:06I'm good with that.
00:16:07She's all that, and then some famed chef behind some of Boston's
00:16:11most acclaimed restaurants and James Beard award-winner, Chef Kenny Oranger.
00:16:18Kendall's been more restaurants than many, many of us will ever.
00:16:22He's a Michelin-starred restaurateur who has earned multiple three-star reviews from
00:16:26The New York Times.
00:16:27He is an iron chef, Chef Jeffrey Sicario.
00:16:32Jeffrey's a hard-ass.
00:16:34Woo!
00:16:35Judges, the randomizers become a little bit more difficult.
00:16:38For the proteins, the chefs had whole chicken, produce was Fresno peppers, equipment was
00:16:43a rolling grill basket, the style was weeknight dinner, and the wild-card ingredient was frozen
00:16:47peas.
00:16:48And here to present, Justin Warner.
00:16:49Come on, Justin.
00:16:50Do me proud.
00:16:51This is a whole chicken green curry, along with some Fresno chicken fat chili crisp.
00:16:56The whole chicken was butchered.
00:16:58The breast and thigh were marinated in a green pea green curry.
00:17:03From there, they were fried lightly and then cooked skin-side down in a pan with fish sauce,
00:17:07toasted cinnamon that was toasted in the rolling grill basket, and they were finished
00:17:12in a curry sauce.
00:17:13The Fresno peppers, you can find roasted in the grill basket in the curry.
00:17:17You can find them in the rice, and then, of course, their juice was used to make that
00:17:21chili crisp.
00:17:22Ken ate all of it.
00:17:24Let's go.
00:17:25Guy, if this is weeknight cooking, I want to be eating at this frickin' house seven nights
00:17:30a week.
00:17:30Yeah!
00:17:32The complexity in 30 minutes to get the flavor, the balance, utilizing the toasted spices
00:17:38from the rolling grill, and the crispy skin, the pea curry, beautifully done dish.
00:17:44Oh, my God.
00:17:45I do feel nauseous.
00:17:46This is a lot of fun, and as a weeknight meal, this could be something that I could
00:17:50repeat.
00:17:51The chicken is delicious.
00:17:52It's cooked on point.
00:17:53I love the curry flavors, and then I love the pop of the pea as well.
00:17:57I feel like the rice could be just a little less cooked.
00:18:00Okay.
00:18:01That's not bad.
00:18:02Curry is one of those things that is very hard to master because everybody has their
00:18:05own sort of idea of what curry is.
00:18:07It sure is.
00:18:08This happens to be a particularly delicious curry.
00:18:10However, the spice level, almost too much, and I would have loved a bit more sauce because
00:18:15the sauce is the best part of this dish.
00:18:17Thank you very much.
00:18:18Good job, Dad.
00:18:18Okay.
00:18:20Judges, your scorecards are in front of you.
00:18:2250 points in flavor, 40 points in the use to randomize her, and 10 points in the plating.
00:18:27Mmm.
00:18:29I feel good.
00:18:31This is a let's see how she did, not a slam dunk.
00:18:36Status quo at the moment.
00:18:37All right, ladies and gentlemen, here to present the second dish is our T-O-C-3 champ.
00:18:42Tiffany, face on.
00:18:43Here we go.
00:18:44In front of you, we have pollo con sopa arroz.
00:18:47A sauce on top of that was crafted by a grill basket that was fed with charred collard greens,
00:18:51fresnos that were also charred on the grill basket.
00:18:54Those were put in a blender with frozen peas and fresnos and a little bit of chicken stock.
00:18:57Next, a sauté of the rolling grill basket, grilled fresnos, sliced with shallots, frozen peas, curry leaves, and mint adorned
00:19:04the top of the rice.
00:19:06The breast was fabricated from the chicken and grilled on the rolling grill basket.
00:19:09That's the breast that you have on top.
00:19:12Sobre arroz, which is obviously chicken soup, right?
00:19:15This is more of like a rice stew.
00:19:17However, it's my favorite part of this dish.
00:19:20The chicken in that sopa is really well cooked.
00:19:23The chicken that's a little overcooked to me is this piece right in the center that has been in the
00:19:29rolling grill basket.
00:19:32And it is quite charred.
00:19:34The chef took us on a journey.
00:19:36Latin America, we're in Southeast Asia.
00:19:38There's the curry, the chilies, juicy, luscious chicken in that rice soup, which steals the show.
00:19:44I don't think they were so successful with cooking the chicken breast on top.
00:19:49Really good flavors, great weeknight meal, great use of the randomizer.
00:19:52The rice is cooked expertly.
00:19:54And I would have liked my chicken poached and shredded and incorporated into this rice.
00:19:59It really needed to be.
00:20:00I would have put the Fresno and the pea in the grill basket and get the char on the pea
00:20:04and really get that smokiness on the peas.
00:20:06The peas a little flat in this dish.
00:20:08This is the hair.
00:20:08This is splitting the hair.
00:20:10And that's what it's going to take to win.
00:20:12Thank you very much.
00:20:14I don't buy that they were overcooked, but maybe the outside bits that were on the outside of the grill.
00:20:19And if that's what they got, that's what they got.
00:20:21So we'll see.
00:20:22Her dish obviously was delicious.
00:20:24I don't need to be great.
00:20:25I just need to be good enough.
00:20:27Thank you very much.
00:20:28Chef Michelle Bernstein.
00:20:29Chef Kenny Oranger.
00:20:30Jeffrey Sicari.
00:20:32Let's do this.
00:20:33Right.
00:20:35Let's bring him out.
00:20:37Chef Paudet Zepeda.
00:20:39Chef Chetila.
00:20:42Very close for a score of 75 to 80.
00:20:48The winner of the second round of the battle between Chef Chetila and Chef Paudet Zepeda is...
00:20:57The winner of the second round is...
00:21:03Chef Chetila.
00:21:07Congratulations.
00:21:14Chef Paudet, when your nickname is La Jefa, when you are the boss, you do run the kitchen, you do
00:21:20run the show, and we will see you again.
00:21:22Chef Paudet Zepeda.
00:21:24Chef Paudet.
00:21:29Not surprising.
00:21:31Yeah.
00:21:32No regrets.
00:21:33There's no point in doing that.
00:21:34See you next year.
00:21:35Maybe.
00:21:36Two wins in a row for Chetila and TLC7.
00:21:40Take a look here, Chef.
00:21:42Oh, where do we go next?
00:21:44Either Artie Sequeira or the James Beard Award winning Jonathan Sawyer.
00:21:48Wow.
00:21:49Congratulations.
00:21:50On to the quarterfinals.
00:21:51Chetila.
00:21:53Chetila.
00:21:56Wow.
00:21:58Come on now.
00:21:59Oh, my brother.
00:22:00Probably one of the most difficult cooks in there.
00:22:02I mean, do you think that you tried to do too much?
00:22:05She scared me, made me feel like I needed to do more.
00:22:09Our next two opponents, we have the number three seed, Chef Kevin Lee, who continues to
00:22:14show why he's called the Dragon Slayer.
00:22:17And he'll have to prove it again tonight.
00:22:19Back again.
00:22:20You know, last year, I came in with my Kobe's and my Dragon Slayer t-shirt on.
00:22:24But this year, I'm here to show everybody I am serious.
00:22:28His opponent is the number two seed, the one and only Chef Britt Resigno.
00:22:32Britt has won every second round battle she's ever competed in.
00:22:37Me versus Kev.
00:22:39I always thought this would be a finale.
00:22:40Britt and I kind of grew up in TLC.
00:22:42You know, this show kind of made our careers.
00:22:44TLC 5, I came as a guy who had a fried chicken restaurant.
00:22:48Fast forward two years later, I'm on my second steakhouse.
00:22:51I had a James Berry nomination.
00:22:53Season 7.
00:22:54When I know her eyes are on that belt and my eyes are on that belt, it's going to be
00:22:58a great battle.
00:22:59This is the battle of TLC 7 because it's two minds that really understand this competition and love it.
00:23:07Kevin has only gone out by Antonia, the champion.
00:23:10And I've only lost in this arena to champions.
00:23:14Are you ready to meet our contenders?
00:23:17Then let's light it up!
00:23:20He was executive chef of a sushi restaurant in Vegas, Mandalay Bay, at the ripe age of 21.
00:23:26Now he's the owner of two acclaimed Korean-inspired steakhouses in his hometown of Oklahoma City.
00:23:31He was a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Best Chef Southwest in 2025.
00:23:37He has defeated Shirley Chung, Adam Sobel, and Brooke Williamson in the TOC Arena.
00:23:44And is the only two-time winner of Alex vs. America.
00:23:48And in the first round of TOC 7, he defeated shop grand champion Adam Greenberg with a venison dish that
00:23:55Judge Rocco Dispirito called impossible to do in a fine dining restaurant setting, much less in a competition setting.
00:24:02Make some noise for the dragon slayer, Chef Kevin Lee!
00:24:16You still got the eye of the dragon?
00:24:17I know what it takes to win, and I'm not going to take it lightly.
00:24:21I'm ready.
00:24:22Let's meet your opponent.
00:24:25She went from working in her grandparents' clam bar as a kid to executive chef of her own four-diamond
00:24:31restaurant in Sun Valley, Idaho.
00:24:33She's a chop champion, a Triple G winner, and beat Bobby Flay with her Grammy Jones chicken and dumpling recipe.
00:24:41She defeated competition greats such as Jose Garces, Tiffany Faison, and Jonathan Sawyer to reach the TOC Final Four three
00:24:51years in a row.
00:24:52And she outcooked Michelin-starred master Giuseppe Tentori in the first round of TOC 7 with a dish that Chef
00:25:00Judy Chu described as spectacular.
00:25:05Make some noise for Chef Britt Resigno!
00:25:18With the two of you knowing how powerful you are, to me, it feels like I'm in the semifinals right
00:25:22now.
00:25:22And we can't get started with that without taking it to the randomizer right this way, Chef.
00:25:27Let's do this!
00:25:32What do you think?
00:25:33Spin it.
00:25:34Let's go.
00:25:35Here we go.
00:25:36Going for the proteins.
00:25:41Good luck.
00:25:42All the respect, yeah.
00:25:45Tiger Chops Bone and Ribeye.
00:25:48All right.
00:25:50Escarole.
00:25:51Meat Grinder.
00:25:52Guilty Pleasure.
00:25:53All right, here we go.
00:25:54Pepperoni Cups.
00:25:56Only makes my night get better.
00:25:5835 minutes on the clock.
00:25:59I wish you both the best.
00:26:01Go.
00:26:05Bone and Ribeye.
00:26:06It's got a great balance between well-marbled meat and fat.
00:26:10This right here is going to lend itself to that meat grinder incredibly well.
00:26:14Escarole is a bitter leafy green, part of the chicory family.
00:26:18And Guilty Pleasure.
00:26:19We're looking for dishes that are fatty, carby, cheesy, rich.
00:26:23And they'll be able to find that over here with some pepperoni cups.
00:26:26I think it's got to be something indulgent, super flavorful, and very chef.
00:26:30And they have 35 minutes to do so.
00:26:32Britt is a really smart competition chef.
00:26:35But I'm staying calm.
00:26:37This is a guy who has two steakhouses.
00:26:39If I can't win this round with the bone and ribeye, we're going to have a problem.
00:26:45All right, chef.
00:26:47I'm not going to let Britt scare me.
00:26:49I'm thinking making a country fried steak.
00:26:53We love our country fried steaks in Oklahoma.
00:26:56Doesn't get more Guilty Pleasure than that.
00:26:58Look at the marbling on that.
00:27:00It's a crime against the steak that's probably about to hit the grinder.
00:27:04First thing I'm going to start is the gravy.
00:27:07I know it's going to take a little time,
00:27:08so I'm taking the Spinalis of the ribeye,
00:27:10some pepperoni cups,
00:27:12and I'm putting it through the meat grinder.
00:27:16Spinalis is the outer muscle cap of the ribeye,
00:27:19which has beautiful texture, flavor.
00:27:21It is my favorite part of the cap.
00:27:24Rendering down the fat on the ribeye,
00:27:26rendering down the pepperoni.
00:27:28In another pot, I'm starting my roux.
00:27:30I'm not going to do your generic chain restaurant country fried steak.
00:27:35It's really smart and it's really playful to have like a chicken fried steak.
00:27:38This is going to be the Dragon Slayer style country fried steak
00:27:42that's going to blow the judges' mind.
00:27:47Kevin Lee is a tough chef.
00:27:49He's so good in this kitchen, but I'm coming for you.
00:27:53I didn't get here for no reason.
00:27:55I've beaten the reigning champ.
00:27:57I've beaten judges.
00:27:58The next thing that I'm going to conquer is TOC7, baby.
00:28:02We're going for the burger.
00:28:03We're going for the burger, yeah.
00:28:04We're going for the burger, burger, burger, burger, yeah.
00:28:07Chef, is the plan what I think the plan is?
00:28:09Do you know what?
00:28:10I have been dying to get a chance to make a burger on TOC.
00:28:14I'd say I've been waiting for four years for this opportunity.
00:28:17Heck yeah.
00:28:17They're one of my favorite foods in the whole wide world.
00:28:20It's nice and fatty too.
00:28:22It's going to make such a good burger.
00:28:23Guilty pleasure.
00:28:24Especially with that pepperoni.
00:28:25Where's the pepperoni going in or on top?
00:28:28Both.
00:28:28I'm going to grind my pepperoni.
00:28:29I love pepperoni cups.
00:28:31I think it's the elite pepperoni.
00:28:33It's going to season the inside of my burger patty.
00:28:36I want to do these nice thick steak burgers.
00:28:40Adding pepperoni to the pan is just going to add another layer of unctuousness.
00:28:45Butter daddy, baby.
00:28:46Britt has been in the final four every TOC she's been in,
00:28:50but this time the dragon slayer can take butter daddy right out.
00:28:5625 minutes, chefs.
00:28:5825 to go.
00:28:59Soy oyster.
00:29:00Something heavy like country fried steak needs a little salad.
00:29:03A little kimchi, you know?
00:29:04Something acidic, spicy, bright.
00:29:06The next thing I want to work on is escarole kimchi.
00:29:09You know, country fried steak can be very rich.
00:29:12It's going to need something bright to really break off that richness.
00:29:15It is guilty pleasure, but you still want a balanced dish.
00:29:19This is TOC.
00:29:20You're not just serving country fried steak to your neighbor.
00:29:23Some nice levity to the heaviness of that steak.
00:29:25So, yeah, it's guilty pleasure, but you still got to know when to, like,
00:29:29take your foot off the gas a little bit.
00:29:30Next thing I'm going to do is make my country fried steak.
00:29:33I think it would be a great idea to keep the bone on the meat.
00:29:37So I'm frenching the bone, pounding it down with a meat mallet.
00:29:40Thread it and fry like a fried chicken.
00:29:43And Oklahoma is a huge staple.
00:29:45If I don't win this round, the whole state of Oklahoma is going to come after me.
00:29:50Going cast iron or deep fryer?
00:29:52Deep fryer, guy.
00:29:54Definitely a guilty pleasure.
00:29:55Oh, for sure.
00:29:57I'm going to use this pepperoni to the max.
00:30:00Let's have some fried pepperoni.
00:30:02I know that I want to make a pepperoni jam.
00:30:05This pepperoni jam is going to be the thing that ties this whole burger together.
00:30:11It is salty.
00:30:12Maple?
00:30:13Maple.
00:30:14It's sweet.
00:30:15There's vinegar.
00:30:16There's acid.
00:30:17Everything to it to just make this umami bomb of a burger.
00:30:21Oh, my God.
00:30:26That's a whole dang thing.
00:30:27Chef, you got to be careful because you put that on a menu,
00:30:30you're going to be making it the rest of your life.
00:30:34You can entomb me in that.
00:30:38My burgers come out of the oven.
00:30:40They're beautiful.
00:30:41Cooked perfect.
00:30:42Rest these like a proper steak.
00:30:44I'm going to put them on a rack to rest.
00:30:47Oh, look at that.
00:30:48Oh, look at that.
00:30:51Everyone knows for me as my big, bold, Italian flavors, right?
00:30:56But I used to work at a burger place.
00:30:58I was the R&D chef.
00:31:00Front of the house manager created all the new burgers for this restaurant,
00:31:04and it was epic.
00:31:05It's a guilty pleasure.
00:31:07I want these judges to get messy.
00:31:09Get your face in there and enjoy that.
00:31:11Want to keep this umami going?
00:31:12Next, I want to work on my escrow component to my burger.
00:31:16Black garlic.
00:31:17Get it wilted ever so slightly,
00:31:19and then I'm going to chop up some cornish on pickles,
00:31:22and that layer of acidity to cut through all of our guilty pleasure.
00:31:31Those look nice.
00:31:32Gorgeous.
00:31:36These look beautiful coming out of the fryer.
00:31:38As long as he's happy to be sort of used a cake tester,
00:31:40we put it on here, our chin, or the top of our lip,
00:31:43and if it's warm to us, that's about a medium rare.
00:31:45So what happens with that just warms through?
00:31:48I want to make sure I use a pepperoni more than once.
00:31:51Throw some pepperonis in the fryer,
00:31:53because I know I have Britt competing against me.
00:31:55I know she's going to hit that randomizer multiple times.
00:31:59I've got to make sure I don't get behind on those randomizer points.
00:32:03I'm going to char some green escrow.
00:32:04Okay.
00:32:05A little garnish on top.
00:32:06I want to really grill this escrow
00:32:08to really get the bitterness out of it.
00:32:10It's going to break down the fibers.
00:32:11It's going to really add a nice smokiness to the dish.
00:32:15I've never thought in my career I will be here,
00:32:18competing among some of the best chefs in the country and winning.
00:32:21Before TLC5, I was months away from having to probably bankrupt my restaurant,
00:32:26sell my house.
00:32:27Everything was on the line.
00:32:28And now we're opening our second steakhouse.
00:32:32Imagine what winning this could do for my family.
00:32:34I am truly motivated to win the title this season.
00:32:3912 minutes, chefs.
00:32:4012 to go.
00:32:43You see that little kick?
00:32:45I did.
00:32:45We have to have a side for this burger.
00:32:47Let's make some onion rings.
00:32:49And while we're at it,
00:32:50frying the escrow is going to take away some of that bitterness.
00:32:53I want to hit the randomizer time and time again,
00:32:56and I want to hit it perfectly.
00:32:58Check, check, check, check, check.
00:33:00I'm going to take these bones,
00:33:01and I'm going to put them in the fryer,
00:33:03because who doesn't love a nice little crispy bone snack?
00:33:06And I want them to know that this was a bone-in ribeye.
00:33:08Oh, she's adding the fried bone to nibble.
00:33:11Wow.
00:33:14They're going to love that little snack.
00:33:16Three and a half.
00:33:17So I'm going to take my bottom toasted burger bun.
00:33:20Come on, y'all.
00:33:21This way I need your energy.
00:33:23Layer of mayo.
00:33:24I have my black garlic cornichon escrow.
00:33:27I have my fatty steakhouse burger with American cheese.
00:33:31Crispy pepperoni cups right on top for that crunch.
00:33:34And then I'm going to take this beautiful pepperoni jam,
00:33:38and I'm going to just nappe each burger.
00:33:40Grab our onion ring, shoestring.
00:33:43I'm going to grab my bone.
00:33:45Put that on there for that nice little snack.
00:33:48Where's the bone?
00:33:48I have zero concerns.
00:33:50I did exactly what I wanted.
00:33:52I hit the randomizer.
00:33:54Let's go.
00:33:54Two minutes.
00:33:55I had the Spinalis pepperoni gravy going on the bottom of the plate.
00:34:00Beautiful boning country ribeye steak going on the side of the gravy.
00:34:03Finishing with my escrow kimchi with some chives and Fresno.
00:34:0890 seconds.
00:34:09I feel like I played the randomizer really well.
00:34:13I don't think I made the obvious choice of making a burger or a meatball.
00:34:1735 seconds.
00:34:19I'm going to finish it with my charred escrow on the side.
00:34:22Three, two, one.
00:34:25We're done.
00:34:28What a battle.
00:34:30Thank you so much.
00:34:31Chef Gruber, see you now.
00:34:33Chef Kevin Lee.
00:34:36Let's go.
00:34:37This is my fourth year.
00:34:38I've been dying to make a burger on TOC.
00:34:40Let's go, baby.
00:34:44Whew.
00:34:45If I lose on this one, I would never hear the end of it from OKC.
00:34:51My only concern is Britt.
00:34:52You know, Britt has been very good in this arena.
00:34:55She always wins.
00:34:56So I know I need a high score to get by in this round.
00:35:01All right, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back our judges, award-winning restaurateurs,
00:35:05Michelle Bernstein, Kenny Oranger, and Iron Chef Jeffrey Zakarian.
00:35:09Oh, I love Michelle Bernstein.
00:35:11Jeffrey Zakarian.
00:35:12I mean, I know this is probably not the meal that he's looking forward to.
00:35:16They're all tough judges.
00:35:17Michelle, Zakarian, they've been here before.
00:35:20I'm just hoping they love my dish.
00:35:21All right, judges, the chefs were presented tonight with the bone-in ribeye and protein.
00:35:27Produce was escarole.
00:35:28The equipment that must be employed was a meat grinder.
00:35:31The style tonight was guilty pleasure.
00:35:33And the wild card ingredient was pepperoni cups.
00:35:36And here to present is our wild card himself, Justin Warner.
00:35:40This is a steakhouse burger with shoestring onions.
00:35:44The bone-in ribeye was ground in the meat grinder.
00:35:47That meat grinder was employed to grind pepperoni.
00:35:49The pepperoni and the ground ribeye were combined together, seasoned, and cooked in the pan,
00:35:55along with some extra pepperoni cups to flavor the drippings.
00:35:59Yeah, pick that bone up.
00:36:01The bone-in ribeye's bone was fried and served on the side.
00:36:05So the escarole, you will see, interlaced with those shoestring onions.
00:36:09They can't stop eating?
00:36:10I think that's a good thing.
00:36:13Whew.
00:36:15That is a guilty pleasure.
00:36:16Wow.
00:36:17I'm from New Jersey.
00:36:18I love pepperoni.
00:36:19I love burgers also.
00:36:20But the grind, to me, is a little bit fine.
00:36:23It's like, it's not eating juicy.
00:36:26I want it to drip.
00:36:27I used the biggest grind that I could.
00:36:29I think I would have gone a lot less pepperoni, more for accent than in the grinds.
00:36:34But the flavor is undeniable.
00:36:36It's a flavor bomb.
00:36:37I think as far as the ribeye goes, I love the fact that it's a very interesting way to do
00:36:41this deep frying.
00:36:42It's really sort of fun.
00:36:44Escarole, I love it.
00:36:44Could have used some more vinegar.
00:36:46This is a very fatty dish.
00:36:47And what fat needs is acid.
00:36:49Great presentation.
00:36:50But my favorite part of this is definitely these onion rings are just off the charts good.
00:36:57Escarole happens to be one of my favorite leafy vegetables.
00:37:00And I love the braised idea from it.
00:37:02But that's really my favorite part of this burger, mainly because it is a dry burger.
00:37:11I don't understand how it's dry.
00:37:13I mean, I need a hot second.
00:37:15Can I?
00:37:17Wasn't Britt's best cook yet, so good for me.
00:37:21Great.
00:37:21Thank you, judges.
00:37:22Scorecards are in front of you.
00:37:2350 points available in taste.
00:37:2540 points in the use of the randomizer.
00:37:27And 10 in presentation.
00:37:28You know, it's not every day Britt has a down day in this kitchen.
00:37:32That was interesting.
00:37:35I better deliver.
00:37:36All right, judges.
00:37:37And here for the second dish is our TOC champ herself, Tiffany Faison.
00:37:43In front of you, you have country fried bone-in ribeye steak with a grinder gravy of ribeye
00:37:49and pepperoni cup, a grilled and fresh escarole salad, and crispy pepperoni cup crumble.
00:37:54The spinalis and pepperoni cups became the base of the meat grinder gravy.
00:37:58The chef took the ribeye, fried to the GBD steak that you see in front of you.
00:38:02The baby inside leaves of the escarole were picked out and removed for the salad in front of you.
00:38:06That's not to be outdone by the escarole that was then treated to the grill in a little bit of
00:38:10olive oil.
00:38:10There was a crispy pepperoni cup crumble that finished the top of the steak.
00:38:17This is the most expensive chicken fried steak I've ever had.
00:38:20I love the look of this dish.
00:38:22It's sexy.
00:38:22They kept the moisture on the steak.
00:38:24The crust held up.
00:38:25I love, love the escarole.
00:38:27That is how you cook escarole.
00:38:29It's like bitter.
00:38:30It's vinegary.
00:38:32I didn't really get the pepperoni.
00:38:34It was like just strewn about.
00:38:36And I love, love the spinalis gravy.
00:38:39Love you, Zacharian.
00:38:41It's Kevin.
00:38:42Chicken fried steak, to have it in ribeye, it's like kind of my dream.
00:38:48And I do love gravy.
00:38:50And the spinalis gravy is actually delicious.
00:38:55Super guilty pleasure here.
00:38:57Now, the soy, to me, it's fighting just a little bit.
00:39:29I'll take it.
00:39:30And the crust and the gravy more than make up for it, but I would have liked maybe a little
00:39:34bit more juice.
00:39:35I understand.
00:39:36I could take them in randomizer.
00:39:38All right, judges, thank you very much.
00:39:40Your scorecard's in front of you.
00:39:41Again, 50 points available in taste.
00:39:4340 points in the use of the randomizer, 10 points in presentation.
00:39:48Not a bad judging.
00:39:49My presentation was beautiful, and I used the randomizer tenfold.
00:39:53I've never not made it into the final four.
00:39:55Britt, good luck.
00:39:57I'm coming for that belt.
00:39:59Scores are in.
00:40:00Let's go see what the judges have to say.
00:40:03I've got the totals.
00:40:04Let's bring our chefs back in.
00:40:06Kevin Lee, Brie Brissigno.
00:40:15The judges had a lot to say, and here are the scores.
00:40:2175 to 80.
00:40:24The winner of the second round battle between Chef Britt Brissigno and Chef Kevin Lee is...
00:40:37Chef Kevin Lee!
00:40:39Wow!
00:40:42Congratulations, Chef.
00:40:43The end of the road, but not the end of Chef Britt.
00:40:48Butter Daddy!
00:40:49Chef Britt Brissigno.
00:40:51Wow!
00:40:56Going home this early.
00:40:58I'm holding back tears.
00:41:02It's tough.
00:41:05The Dragon Slayer is still here.
00:41:09Let's take a look.
00:41:11The icon, legend play-in.
00:41:13Lorena Garcia goes up against Mustache Joe Sasto.
00:41:16So you get one of those two.
00:41:18You got this?
00:41:19Let's go.
00:41:19Kevin Lee, the Dragon Slayer.
00:41:21Well done, buddy.
00:41:22We're going for the finals.
00:41:24Let's go!
00:41:28Let's go.
00:41:29Next one.
00:41:29Here we come.
00:41:30Okay, let's start on round two.
00:41:32Ribeye, a pepperoni cheeseburger.
00:41:35Well, I was just looking for a little more texture.
00:41:38Grinding in the pepperoni to it probably didn't help it at all.
00:41:42It's too dry to grind because it's desiccated already.
00:41:45All the water's out of it.
00:41:46And it was the misunderstanding of how to use that pepperoni.
00:41:49Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to meet our next two gourmet gladiators?
00:41:56We have the number eight seed, Chef Artie Sequeira, who followed up her qualifier win against Chef Brittany
00:42:02Anderson with an even bigger first-round victory against a culinary icon.
00:42:08Icycate!
00:42:09What?
00:42:11For me to go up against, like, a giant like me and win, it's crazy.
00:42:17I always looked at chefs that did TOC and I was like, ah, they're in this weird, like, click, but
00:42:23I get it now.
00:42:25I don't do a great job of celebrating victories, but if I get through this against Jonathan Sawyer, I will
00:42:30be celebrating their victory.
00:42:32Now, our opponent is the number four seed, Chef Jonathan Sawyer, fresh off his rematch victory in the first round,
00:42:38who is determined to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
00:42:43Party man, taking down Ming Tsai, the icon.
00:42:47She's already got two wins under her belt.
00:42:49Her cooking skills cannot be denied. Nobody else, Ming Tsai this year, Artie did, and she did because she cooked
00:42:55a better plate of food.
00:42:56It's really crazy that this competition, two of my best friends are the first two people I've heard.
00:43:01I mean, sending Karen home was a tragedy, and now I got to do it to Artie as well.
00:43:05Are you ready for another fantastic food fight?
00:43:09And let's light it up!
00:43:12She grew up in a food-loving Indian family, started a recipe journal when she was just 10 years old,
00:43:18and liked to pretend that she had her own cooking show. Little did she know.
00:43:22She won seven out of the 18 challenges to win season six of Food Network Star, earning her her own
00:43:31network cooking show.
00:43:33And in the first round of TOC7, she defeated the top-seeded culinary icon, the one and only Chef Ning
00:43:41Tsai,
00:43:41with a dish that Judge Dominique Krenn said...
00:43:44I want this dish over and over again. I want to eat it.
00:43:47Put your hands together for the Spice Queen, Chef Artie Sequeira!
00:44:02Oh my goodness!
00:44:06That is the most unarty thing I've ever seen!
00:44:09I know! That's why I did it!
00:44:10After you took down Ming Tsai, you should come out and do whatever you want to do.
00:44:14You're gonna need all of that Spice Queen magic, because your opponent, he's just done a couple things.
00:44:22It's like open 18 restaurants, including his latest restaurant, Kindling, that Chicago Tribune says allows him to showcase his vision
00:44:32on a grand scale.
00:44:34He made Bon Appetit and Esquire's Best New Restaurants list, Eater Chicago's list of the Best Italian Beast Sandwiches,
00:44:42and received a 2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef Great Lakes.
00:44:47And was the last chef standing on season two of 24 and 24.
00:44:53And in the first round of TOC7, he won his rematch against Chef Karen Akutowicz,
00:44:58with a dish that Judge Antonio Lofaso praised for...
00:45:03Technique, Technique, Technique.
00:45:04Put your hands together for the Bearded Mahler, Chef Jonathan Sawyer!
00:45:21Chefs, you're both qualified.
00:45:23I would love to see it for either one of you moving to the quarterfinals,
00:45:27but it's not up to me, it's up to you and the randomizer.
00:45:31Let's go!
00:45:36We should get into this. Let's go for the protein!
00:45:46Tiger prawns, purple Napa cabbage, tortilla press, date night dinner, soybean curls.
00:45:54Oh, come on!
00:45:57I don't even know what a freaking soybean curl is.
00:46:01Have you worked with soybean curls recently?
00:46:03Such an expert in them?
00:46:04Yeah.
00:46:05Soy curls, I've never cooked before.
00:46:07This is not a winner's wheel for me.
00:46:10I'm just gonna go out on a limb that I'm not getting invited to your birthday party now.
00:46:16And you should probably go.
00:46:17Oh!
00:46:18Woo!
00:46:21Tiger prawns, these are head-on tiger prawns, they're nice, they're big.
00:46:24Purple Napa cabbage, leeches out a little bit of color, so that's something they would have to think about.
00:46:29Tortilla press, this can be utilized in a lot of ways besides making tortillas.
00:46:32What is the date night dinner?
00:46:33Well, it's usually gonna be a little more elevated.
00:46:35Soybean curls, high protein, meat substitute, dehydrated, textured.
00:46:39They're gonna have to taste it, test it.
00:46:41I cannot believe that I'm in round two of TOC.
00:46:45To stand with these chef, hero, rockstar warriors and to be part of this tribe feels like a victory in
00:46:53and of itself.
00:46:54Jonathan is like a technique meister.
00:46:56I'm willing to jump a little higher in terms of flavor.
00:47:00Let's do laksa.
00:47:02Think about making laksa.
00:47:03Laksa.
00:47:04Some form of laksa.
00:47:05Laksa is a Singaporean Malaysian soup with lots of chili and curry powder.
00:47:11Usually has noodles and seafood in it.
00:47:14Let's see what happens with those. I don't know exactly.
00:47:17First thing I'm gonna tackle are these soybean curls.
00:47:20I figure if I rehydrate them, I can see what they're made of.
00:47:23I get to work on the protein immediately because there's a whole lot of leg and shell to get rid
00:47:29of when it comes to a tiger prawn.
00:47:31They're really, really big.
00:47:32Yeah.
00:47:33My husband and I got to go to Singapore early on when my cooking show was playing in Southeast Asia.
00:47:40One day, he had found out about this place on the other side of town where they make incredible laksa.
00:47:46I may not have Jonathan's technique, but I know I have flavor. So let me just try that.
00:47:52I'm really honored to be in the second round. No matter what your pedigree is, if you lose in that
00:47:56first round, chances are you're gonna be in the qualifier again.
00:47:59The old chin hold?
00:48:00The old chin hold.
00:48:01The muscle memory is coming back. I'm cooking better than I've ever cooked in my entire life. Bye-bye.
00:48:06Bye.
00:48:07I've known Artie for more than a decade. For whatever reason, Artie doesn't necessarily feel like she's one of us.
00:48:13She's already got two Ws under her belt. I've only won twice total altogether before this year. However, I'm gonna
00:48:20win because I know the best version of me wins every time.
00:48:23Let's go.
00:48:24I just have to trust my training, quiet the voices, and then let the scores fall where they might. Let's
00:48:31talk. Let's talk. Let's do a date night.
00:48:33We're gonna do a delicious, like, prawn soup. Real deep, rich flavors. And then I'm gonna do this cool little
00:48:39prawn cracker. I've been married for 19 years, so a date night dinner for my wife and I is never
00:48:44more than 90 minutes.
00:48:46We are efficient in our ordering, enjoying, and leaving, and going on to the next thing. So soup is definitely
00:48:54a date night for me. We are soup people.
00:48:56I'm gonna fry these prawn heads really quick, get some color on them, and start that stock.
00:49:01Okay.
00:49:01For me, this soup has gotta be deep in flavor, fortified from shellfish stock and roasted prawn heads, and then
00:49:08poaching some prawns in there is really gonna yield a beautiful flavor.
00:49:11Chef Jonathan Sawyer, a James Beard winner, has struggled in the beginning of his TOC career. Came back in the
00:49:17plans last year, made his way through, but has never been able to break through this round. Is this the
00:49:22time that he finally makes his way to the great eight?
00:49:27Chef Artie, Chef Jonathan, 20 minutes, 20 to go.
00:49:31What are our thoughts on soybean curls?
00:49:33I've never used them before. It's like they tried to make something healthy not taste as good as possible.
00:49:42Is that a gaggy, gaggy gag?
00:49:44It's so delicious. Can I have more, Dan?
00:49:46See, I don't think they're bad. I think that...
00:49:48It smells like the bottom of a hamster cage, Chef.
00:49:54I think there's points to be picked up on showcasing these soybean curls as opposed to just using the soybean
00:50:01curls.
00:50:01So I'm gonna blanch them and then marinate them heavily with some Meyer lemon, scallions, grated ginger, soy sauce, and
00:50:08that's gonna intensify the soy-ness of them.
00:50:11I'm not trying to hide them. I'm just trying to make them a little bit more interesting.
00:50:14Little soy and soy.
00:50:15Little soy and soy.
00:50:17We gotta use a tortilla press somewhere inside of here. I press one of these big prawns into a piece
00:50:22of rice paper.
00:50:23I just wanna keep the tail out because that's what's gonna hold it in place.
00:50:28Looks cute.
00:50:29Let's see.
00:50:31Oh!
00:50:32Oh, my God!
00:50:37It's gonna pull. I'm holding it.
00:50:39Cool.
00:50:39That should curl right underneath.
00:50:41Okay, I'm happy.
00:50:42It's like the fanciest shrimp chip you could imagine.
00:50:44Truly?
00:50:45Going against someone like Artie Saquera, who's scoring high, who sent home an icon, it's important that I pick up
00:50:51every little point that I can.
00:50:52Going with a big, bold prawn chip, like I am, is a high-risk, high-reward maneuver.
00:50:57And I think there's a date night element to it, too. We're not like...
00:51:00100%.
00:51:01You know, if I'm gonna leave my family for an extended period of time, it has to be for good
00:51:04reason.
00:51:05I'm 19 years happily married. We are the proud parents of two children.
00:51:08$150,000 is a lot of cash.
00:51:10The opportunity to be able to afford my kids a higher education and something that I was never able to
00:51:15achieve in my life, this would bring me one step closer.
00:51:18We're just gonna sit down and we're gonna enjoy it.
00:51:20Together.
00:51:21Jonathan, do you have ginger?
00:51:23One little nub I can throw at you.
00:51:25You're the best.
00:51:28I can't believe I caught that.
00:51:30Loxa is nothing without the broth. So, the shells and the heads, there's a ton of flavor in there.
00:51:35And I feel like if I saute them in Thai red curry paste and some vadavan, which is a curry
00:51:42powder, I think we'll get some really beautiful baseline of flavor and let the whole thing cook.
00:51:48The soybean curls have this, like, earthy nuttiness to them.
00:51:52My plan is to use the soybean curls in gunpowder masala, which is usually made with lentils to give you
00:52:00that nuttiness.
00:52:01What are we making, Chef?
00:52:02Uh, a rub for the shrimp and I'll put a little in the soup to keep it cohesive.
00:52:07I need to use this ding-dang tortilla press on these tiger prawns.
00:52:11My plan is to flatten them so that they cook nice and evenly.
00:52:17Don't do that!
00:52:18That did not work.
00:52:20I'll do it one more time.
00:52:21I'm here for my kids and my family.
00:52:25Inevitably, at some point in my girls' lives, there's gonna be something that they have to do that feels incredibly
00:52:30difficult.
00:52:31Yes!
00:52:32Look at that!
00:52:33Thank God!
00:52:34Beautiful.
00:52:35I wanna show them that if you don't take chances, then you live a very, very small life.
00:52:40We get one go at this.
00:52:42Don't waste it.
00:52:43I grab the Napa cabbage and then I get it on the grill.
00:52:47I wanna use it a couple of different ways so that I can showcase that charred flavor that I think
00:52:51will marry well with the charred corn shells in the broth.
00:52:55And I wanna use it fresh as a salad.
00:52:57What's the plan here, Chef?
00:52:59Uh, this is like a little fresh slaw.
00:53:01I'm gonna put some of those soybean curls in the soup and finish it with some coconut milk.
00:53:05You work with Purple Napa?
00:53:07Purple Napa?
00:53:08I've never seen it, but I love her.
00:53:09She's so cute.
00:53:10The base of this soup.
00:53:12One of my favorite sauces I make is a Napa cabbage sous-vise, where it's essentially just cabbage, onions, butter,
00:53:18and thyme.
00:53:20I'm gonna put some of these, uh, disgusting little critters in this, uh...
00:53:23Why not?
00:53:24...sofrito here.
00:53:25So every randomizer point matters.
00:53:27And putting some soy curls into the soup will help thicken it.
00:53:30I'm gonna char these before I pickle them.
00:53:32Okay.
00:53:34Ooh!
00:53:37This soup is super rich and it's gonna need some acid.
00:53:40That's why I'm grilling my Purple Napa cabbage and pickling it in a combination of rice wine vinegar, Meyer lemon
00:53:47juice, and yuzu juice.
00:53:50Chef, what's the plan for the shrimp?
00:53:51Like, are we just floating those, or...?
00:53:53I'm gonna pull them out in a second here and let them rest.
00:53:55Okay.
00:53:56And then I'm gonna dice a little bit.
00:53:57That would really be the only texture in the soup.
00:53:59Come on.
00:54:01Let's hope I don't spill this everywhere.
00:54:08Everyone may not be having soup on date night yet, but after this battle, I bet you will be.
00:54:14Lime leaf soy cabbage soup.
00:54:22Whoo!
00:54:23So good.
00:54:24My husband and I have been together since we were both 18.
00:54:27And it was him that encouraged me, that got me cooking classes, helped me shoot my YouTube cooking show back
00:54:34in the day.
00:54:35In a way, it's, like, really appropriate that we're doing date night because if it wasn't for my forever date,
00:54:40Brendan McNamara, I wouldn't be here.
00:54:43So I add those rehydrated soybean curls into the broth and then right into the blender, and I'm hoping that
00:54:51they'll give the broth more body.
00:54:53He says nothing.
00:54:55Please be okay.
00:54:58I cannot forget to fry these prawn heads.
00:55:01So I'm tossing them with potato starch and salt, a little more badovan, and fry those off.
00:55:07Seven minutes.
00:55:08Let's go, Artie.
00:55:09Me and you.
00:55:10I pour a little bit of that broth into each bowl.
00:55:13Perch one of those beautiful fried shrimp heads into each bowl.
00:55:18Then I perch a little bit of salad, lay the shrimp on the side of the bowls.
00:55:23A little bit of purple napa cabbage.
00:55:25A little bit of dill on top.
00:55:27Three minutes.
00:55:28On the top of the plate, I have my prawn rice cracker.
00:55:31Some of the grilled and pickled purple napa cabbage.
00:55:34Easy.
00:55:35I go down with the purple cabbage prawn bisque.
00:55:39Perfectly cooked prawn pieces.
00:55:41Then the purple napa cabbage that was grilled and pickled.
00:55:44And then a little bit of the soy curls.
00:55:46On the top plate, I also have some of the marinated soy curls.
00:55:50So that way they can choose their own adventure.
00:55:52And when I think about this prawn dish sitting next to my wife and enjoying it, it brings me the
00:55:56ultimate pleasure.
00:55:57Three, two, one.
00:55:59We're done.
00:56:03That's a battle.
00:56:06Thank you so much.
00:56:08Arnie Supra, Jonathan Sawyer.
00:56:11That was wild.
00:56:12That was a good cook.
00:56:13I really love what I did.
00:56:17This is sauce.
00:56:20Oh, God.
00:56:22Here we go.
00:56:22Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back our powerhouse panel of judges, Chef Michelle Bernstein.
00:56:32Shut up.
00:56:33Chef Kenny Oranger.
00:56:35Woo-hoo!
00:56:37Ken Oranger.
00:56:39And Iron Chef Jeffrey Zakarian.
00:56:43Whoa, Zakarian?
00:56:44Jeffrey Zakarian.
00:56:45Okay.
00:56:46I think Michelle Bernstein would get what I'm trying to do.
00:56:48I don't know Ken Oranger that well.
00:56:50Jeffrey Zakarian will not like him.
00:56:54Oh, this is a tough panel.
00:56:56Judges, tonight for this battle, the chefs were awarded tiger prawns.
00:57:00Purple Napa cabbage.
00:57:02Tortilla press was the equipment to use.
00:57:04The style was date night dinner.
00:57:07And the little wild card ingredient, no big deal.
00:57:09Just soybean curls.
00:57:12Here to present the dish is our wild card, Justin Warner.
00:57:16Oh, God.
00:57:16Esteemed judges, this is gunpowder prawns in a laksa broth.
00:57:21Some of the heads and the shells became the basis of the broth.
00:57:25The broth was fortified with a little coconut milk and a gunpowder masala.
00:57:29The soy curls that had been hydrated were also used to provide body to the broth.
00:57:34In terms of purple cabbage, we had some grilled.
00:57:36And then lastly, the tortilla press was utilized to butterfly the prawns and provide a uniform shape for griddling.
00:57:42In terms of a date night dinner, the chef uttered, I just want things to be as pretty as possible.
00:57:47Is this a first date or a second date?
00:57:52Whatever you want, Jeffrey.
00:57:54I love presentation.
00:57:55I think if you're going to seduce someone, this would seduce me.
00:57:58This is a beautiful dish.
00:57:59Oh, my gosh.
00:58:00That's a big deal.
00:58:00I love char.
00:58:01And that is magnificent.
00:58:03Spice is very big, very bold, very appropriate for prawn.
00:58:06For me, the broth, I would like it a touch thicker, maybe a bit creamier.
00:58:11I agree.
00:58:12First of all, brilliant move with this.
00:58:15Man, being able to dip this in here and just, like, squeeze and suck out all that, like, succulent juice
00:58:21from that broth and all that spice is so sweet, so flavorful.
00:58:25That was the best part of the dish for me.
00:58:27This is the seafood man.
00:58:29He's from Boston.
00:58:32It was a little too blackened for me, you know, so it kind of took over.
00:58:36Correct.
00:58:36The cabbage.
00:58:37I love how they cut it so thin that it was really blended in well and really tasty.
00:58:42What's it called?
00:58:42The soybean curls?
00:58:44Again, I don't know what the f...
00:58:45What the f...
00:58:46That is?
00:58:47I've never...
00:58:47I don't know.
00:58:48Like, what's a soybean curl?
00:58:49I have no idea.
00:58:50So, I would have liked maybe pieces of that, you know, in here where we could have gotten that texture.
00:58:55Oh, you wouldn't.
00:58:56I got some for you that are leftover.
00:58:58I'll give you a pocketful.
00:58:59I'm sure.
00:59:01I love you so much.
00:59:02I love the fact that it's actually not too thick.
00:59:04I don't mind that.
00:59:06Only if you have things inside of that broth that would pick it up.
00:59:10You're so right, Michelle.
00:59:11The chef could have gone a little lighter in having to season the shrimp as much as they did because
00:59:17the broth is so beautiful.
00:59:18Next time, just throw something else in there to make more texture.
00:59:22Noodles supposed to be in there, but I ran out of time.
00:59:25Thank you, judges.
00:59:2750 points to taste, 40 points to use the randomizer, and 10 in plating.
00:59:31I felt like Michelle Bernstein would get it, like sort of a spicy little number.
00:59:35I am gobsmacked that Jeffrey Zakarian liked it.
00:59:39All right, judges, here to present the second dish, Tiffany Faison.
00:59:44Chefs, I mean, what is date night without high drama?
00:59:47This is tiger prawn and purple napa cabbage bisque with a tortilla pressed prawn cracker.
00:59:53The tiger prawns were fabricated and then pressed into the rice paper.
00:59:57That was then fried, treated to a little bit of smoked paprika and gochugarro.
01:00:01On a burner next door, a sofrito of source was made of purple napa cabbage, gochujang, scallion ginger, lime leaf,
01:00:09cream, and soy curls.
01:00:10That was then garnished with hydrated soy curls.
01:00:13Also, purple napa cabbage was grilled and pickled in a light dressing of Meyer lemon juice and rice wine vinegar.
01:00:20That, holy .
01:00:23That dish is insane.
01:00:28Here, it is such complete artistry.
01:00:31The pounding with the tortilla press.
01:00:35These condiments are just so acidic.
01:00:37The napa cabbage.
01:00:38And is this the soy curls?
01:00:39It is, Chef, yes.
01:00:40See, these things are actually not bad.
01:00:42This is really, really good.
01:00:45I would agree.
01:00:46Oh!
01:00:47This idea of this crisp is really a spectacular idea.
01:00:51And the soup underneath it is spectacular as well.
01:00:54Unfortunately, it suffers from the fact that the prawn is really overcooked.
01:00:57Yeah.
01:00:58Okay.
01:00:58You know, anytime you put a skirt on something, it makes me happy.
01:01:02And to me, the chef put a beautiful gown on that prawn and just made it so elegant.
01:01:08I do agree, you know, with Jeffrey that the prawn could be a little less cooked, but it's not bothering
01:01:14me.
01:01:15This is a really lush sauce.
01:01:17I could use a little more heat in this one, believe it or not.
01:01:19However, it is delicious, and I keep diving in for more.
01:01:25Judges, your scorecards are in front of you.
01:01:2750 points of taste, 40 points.
01:01:29Use the randomizer and 10 in the plating.
01:01:32I'm proud of him.
01:01:33For what that's worth, I'm proud of him.
01:01:35He did great.
01:01:35To me, all I heard was her prawn was blackened too far and my prawn was cooked too far.
01:01:4150-50 shots.
01:01:42Ladies and gentlemen, that was a fantastic round.
01:01:44Our chefs are standing by.
01:01:46Let's bring them back in.
01:01:47Chef Artie Sequeira!
01:01:49Chef Jonathan Sawyer!
01:01:55I'm still stuck on date night soup.
01:01:59But I will tell you, the judges enjoyed it.
01:02:03One chef scored a 79.
01:02:06The other chef scored a 85.
01:02:09Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the second round battle between Chef Jonathan Sawyer and Chef Artie Sequeira is...
01:02:28Jonathan Sawyer!
01:02:30Congratulations!
01:02:32Well done, Chef.
01:02:35I'm so proud of you.
01:02:37I love you so much.
01:02:41Chef Artie, I don't know if those are tears of sadness or tears of happiness.
01:02:47I'm so happy.
01:02:48I know you're so happy for me.
01:02:50That's who you are, Artie.
01:02:51You're such a loving person.
01:02:53It was such a pleasure having you in Tournament Champion 7.
01:02:58Thank you so much.
01:03:00Great farewells to Spice Queen!
01:03:02Nice applause!
01:03:06Just a lot.
01:03:08A lot of emotions.
01:03:09I did want to win.
01:03:12Jonathan Sawyer, you are in the quarter finals!
01:03:19The farthest you have been in TOC.
01:03:22And now, preparing himself to battle Chef Jettila.
01:03:27Yep.
01:03:28I know that there's a version of me that beats Jettila.
01:03:31I know there is.
01:03:32Just have to find him.
01:03:33This is some of the best I've ever seen out of you and you deserve this.
01:03:36Quarter final!
01:03:37Jonathan Sawyer!
01:03:39The bearded bowler!
01:03:42Woo!
01:03:46Woo-woo-woo!
01:03:47Whoa-oo-woo-woo-woo-woo!
01:03:48Woo-woo-woo-woo!
01:03:50Finally, in the quarter finals.
01:03:54Oh, goodness!
01:03:56You're about to see the finale of the night.
01:03:59Are you ready?
01:04:00Woo-woo-woo!
01:04:02We have the number 5 seed, Chef Joe Sasko, who defeated the number 1 seed in the
01:04:07second round last year and is hoping to repeat that feat this year so much nerves i want this
01:04:13so bad i want to win this i've done this so many times now i'm like one of the longest
01:04:19standing
01:04:19people here his opponent is the number one seed culinary icon the one and only lorena garcia
01:04:26who despite a 10-year absence from culinary competition scored a decisive victory in round
01:04:34one okay all right getting into the zone getting ready seeing my name there okay it's time to
01:04:41battle goes to win but in the process of winning i'm not going to make it easy for her regardless
01:04:47she's an icon but i have a mustache it's gotta count for something that number one and number
01:04:53five means nothing we're two passionate chefs that wants to give it all and hope that goes my way
01:04:59all right chef they're ready for you okay all right let's go
01:05:08are you ready to see our returning culinary icon mix it up
01:05:16he spent over a decade in michelin-starred kitchens honing his knowledge of fine dining and making
01:05:24pasta he is one chopped chef grudge match and triple g and made the final three on top chef
01:05:35he went all the way to the toc six quarterfinals and after defeating chef nini win he is one win
01:05:42away
01:05:43from again joining the great eight make some noise from mustache joe
01:06:02i'm really sorry what's it going to take to get past a culinary icon this is the last icon standing
01:06:10i feel double pressure from not only me wanting to succeed and move on but all the other chefs in
01:06:17the
01:06:17tournament are almost looking to me to take out the last icon this icon is no joke no she made
01:06:27her name
01:06:27as a cooking show host on multiple networks spreading her love of latin cuisine across north and south america
01:06:36and she was a finalist on season four of top chef masters and won her first toc victory
01:06:44with a show-stopping dish the judges praise for its presentation this is like eating a rainbow she
01:06:51became a game-changing force as the first latina to open a restaurant on the vegas strip put your hands
01:07:01together ladies and gentlemen for a latin legend lorena garcia
01:07:22yes sir chef you took a big risk you haven't been in culinary competition for 10 years yes that's
01:07:27correct those three icons have been taken down and here you stand on your chance to make it to the
01:07:33quarterfinals wow wow that would be amazing chefs to the randomizer let's go
01:07:43to finish out the evening we have a fantastic selection
01:07:46wow things that you may love or hate it's time to get started going for the protein
01:08:03black cod sun chokes smoking gun high-end lunch canned sardines this is a finale 35 minutes and it's
01:08:17time to go go black cod this is a great piece of fish for them to be working at the
01:08:23high end
01:08:24sun chokes got a little nuttiness a little chestnutty flavor they're so good smoking gun how they impart
01:08:30the smoke how much smoke that's going to be the key high-end lunch usually means a little bit on
01:08:35the
01:08:35lighter side and the canned sardines it's just got so much flavor there's so much power to a canned sardine
01:08:41that's the one they're going to really have to manage every year on toc it gets harder and harder
01:08:48now we have to go up against culinary icons and i have lorraine garcia blocking my path to victory
01:08:56chef when you have a plan let me know i'm doing a high-end chowder i think high-end lunch
01:09:00is really
01:09:01going to come down to presentation and portion size i'm making a sun choke and black cod chowder
01:09:07smart pantry grab by chef joe sastow here the ham hock two other ingredients that contain smoke
01:09:13i'm building my chowder in two parts one pot with all of my mirepoix and veg but first the other
01:09:19one
01:09:20with a heavily infused smoked cream and i just let that come up to a simmer before covering it with
01:09:26the
01:09:26smoking gun i'm known as the pasta focaccia guy hey yo there you go with the mustache and where's the
01:09:34pizza and the meatballs but before that i spent most of my career in high-end michelin star kitchens
01:09:42and so i feel right at home with this technique really honing in on how i want this dish to
01:09:48be
01:09:50cannot believe i'm the only icon standing i think that my flavors are sitting really well with the
01:09:56judges but joe has been competing on tournament of champions for years i want to be him so badly
01:10:02hi chef how are you honey i'm spectacular i get to get to watch you cook i would guess you're
01:10:08no
01:10:08stranger to high-end lunches chef i'm no strangers to high lunches i'm gonna make a ceviche of course
01:10:13a leche de tigre and the cut is gonna go into the leche de tigre as well i'm known for
01:10:19my ceviches
01:10:19in my restaurants are big sellers so what i like to do is almost cure all these vegetables so i
01:10:24start
01:10:25kind of developing and releasing all their juices so i go to the more cajete and put the base of
01:10:30my
01:10:30leche de tigre there come on come on come on come on i slice the yellow onion the celery the
01:10:36cilantro
01:10:37the fresnos the son chokes and then the sardines don't see the mocha head they brought out uh on its
01:10:43own just because it is a lot of times you see the chefs going directly into a food processor but
01:10:48chef
01:10:48lorena garcia is here but you're lorena garcia what's up so i'm very focused i'm relying on my
01:10:55flavors i'm relying on my view from my culture my latin cuisine that's how i'm going to win
01:11:02i'm definitely the underdog in this battle i got to watch lorena in round one and she came in hot
01:11:08fierce competitor fire in her eyes now she's warmed up stone cold killer i'm here to slay the icon but
01:11:16there's not going to be an easy way to do it marina joe 20 minutes 20 to go
01:11:26because i'm going to blend everything smooth for my chowder i still need all of those vegetable
01:11:32components that you would normally taste when eating chowder apples and sun strokes make a perfect pairing
01:11:37yes i know you know that and that's going to be the base mirror claw on the bottom of my
01:11:43soup
01:11:44now i need to start thinking about these sardines they're good they're not as fishy as i think
01:11:49and there's a whole lot of infused oil in the can so i'm going to get that oil going in
01:11:54the aromatic
01:11:55base for my chowder let's do this that can have a lot of fat in it so it can hold
01:12:01up to a nice ceviche
01:12:01so i want to put the black cut into the leche de tigre oh this is beautiful i have to
01:12:06carve it i have
01:12:07to take out all the bones i have to cut it very small so i'm making the leche de tigre
01:12:11which is a
01:12:12beautiful marinade it's citrusy and spicy with fresno red onions a fumet tons of lines and lemons
01:12:21the marinade is going to help me break down all the oils of the black cod and being able to
01:12:27take
01:12:27that meatiness that is so tough in the cart and then just tenderize it there's a lot going on in
01:12:32these kitchens are you cooking the fish chef yes right now just under 15 chef thank you black
01:12:39cod can be a bit tricky we have whole fillets with the pin bone right down the center i'm just
01:12:44going to cut right around that and get little blocks of cod loin going into a pan of clarified butter
01:12:51and then i take the blended chowder get it into a hot pan and i'm going to finish cooking my
01:12:56cod belly
01:12:57in the chowder so we've got the loin cooking we've got the belly as almost like a poke-sized dice
01:13:03poaching in the hot soup the belly of the cod is very thin and extra fatty so by cooking it
01:13:08as a
01:13:09slow poach in the chowder there's gonna be less of a chance of over cooking it and it becoming dry
01:13:14and
01:13:14flaky time to get our smoke on yes all right i still need to smoke the ceviche i'm thinking like
01:13:21the best way to smoking the ceviche is putting a lid on it i just wanted to do it as
01:13:26fast as possible
01:13:28let me tell you if i win this competition i will be so proud of being able to show my
01:13:34son
01:13:34that all the effort that i put into my career that he sees that every day all the sacrifices that
01:13:39i do
01:13:40and everything comes down to that lesson that i can prove to myself that i can do this chef joe
01:13:45chef lorena 10 minutes 10 left of the competition i know i want to cook these sanchokes in a few
01:13:50different applications so i'm going to make sanchoke chips they will add some great texture
01:13:55sanchoke chips and then raw got it i also want to do fresh sanchoke salad i'm always thinking about
01:14:01my mom whenever i cook and compete in these competition settings my mom passed away when
01:14:07i was much younger and so she hasn't seen me accomplish all these things compete on tv or even
01:14:13cook professionally and so now every time i cook food keeps us connected and food keeps me connected to
01:14:19her and part of winning this whole competition is knowing that she's looking down on me proud of
01:14:25that accomplishment whether it's publishing a cookbook starting a new business or taking out
01:14:30a culinary icon six minutes chef come on come on come on push push push push so now that my
01:14:36ceviche is
01:14:37done i'm going into my scoopers which is tortilla chips and sweet potato where are the sanchokes uh they
01:14:44have been pureed into the lecheta tigre i just need more sanchoke so i want to be able to see
01:14:49it so i'm
01:14:49just going to fry it i have some sanchoke chips that can go beautifully in my ceviche
01:14:57i want to make really herbaceous bright green oil
01:15:03the makings of an herbal oil a nice little trio chervil chive and bay leaves two and a half i
01:15:09need
01:15:09to build my plate in layers i have my brunoise shallots apple and sanchoke down at the bottom finished
01:15:15with the sanchoke chips and the fresh sanchoke salad i have a beautifully cooked black cod with crispy skin
01:15:22and then last the beaker with the cod belly chowder and the bay leaf oil nothing reads more high end
01:15:29than a fine dining soup pour table side 90 seconds to go okay i start with my lettuces then i
01:15:38put my
01:15:38ceviche making sure that i have enough leche de tigre on the bottom of the plate the tortilla chips then
01:15:43the
01:15:43sancho chips then of course my sweet potatoes to win round two i think it will be a proof you
01:15:49know
01:15:49that i can do this and more than anything it's representing my latin culture my latin community
01:15:54that if i bring this it will be for them
01:16:07congratulations back to your trailers let's bring the judges in chef marina garcia chef joe cesto
01:16:17yeah whoo it's a good cook real good cook i mean how do i feel such a rush
01:16:26that time i think it got the best out of me i don't know i have my doubts let's see
01:16:37i don't know how i did all of those things you'd think i have two hours to do that cook
01:16:43probably one of the only things that gets me always really nervous is people trying my food
01:16:48so imagine in front of judges oh my goodness ladies and gentlemen let's welcome back our award-winning
01:16:54judging panel chef chel bernstein mr boston chef kenny oranger and iron chef jeffrey zikari oh wow
01:17:04what a lineup oh oh no i mean chelper i said oh no she's gonna kill me with my
01:17:10speech that you know so he did really well judges we're at a high-end lunch that's right the randomizer
01:17:16served up black cod sun chokes smoking gun style today as i said high-end lunch and the wild card
01:17:22ingredient canned sardines here to present jester mourner judges this is a sunchoke and black cod
01:17:29chowder the sardines were used as the base of the chowder a cream was crafted with some ham hock
01:17:35thyme and the sunchokes the use of the smoking gun was entirely with walnut smoke we had a chervil
01:17:41chive and bay oil finally you will find the sunchokes in a brunoise with celery walnuts meyer lemon
01:17:48zest and some more of that sardine paste jeffrey's eating more if he's eating that's a good sign
01:17:55i love when people serve me a sauce or a soup or something on the side that way i can
01:18:00kind of pour
01:18:01in exactly how much i want the sauce however has a really intense sardine flavor the sardine almost
01:18:07takes over a little bit she's tough however the sardine was used so intelligently on the salad
01:18:14this little salad with the nuts and the shaved sunchoke is so smart it has that lemon it has a
01:18:24brightness to it and it cuts through the fat so i'm from boston i mean chow really i just served
01:18:30chowder
01:18:30to ken oranger the black cod cooked beautifully with the smoking gun i was really hoping that
01:18:37there would be something to really cut through that fattiness and the smoke definitely helps i love
01:18:42sardines but there is a lot of sardine going on in here this is lovely luxurious gorgeous i feel like
01:18:51i'm
01:18:52at a four-star restaurant in midtown manhattan eating this the flavor is delicious the sunchoke which is very
01:18:58difficult but the way it's treated in a couple of ways shows a very learned chef so this is just
01:19:03a small miracle here on the plate okay it's having good reviews the reviews from secarian yeah great
01:19:09judges your scorecards are in front of you 50 points in taste 40 in the use of the randomizer and
01:19:1510 in the plating i don't feel good but i don't feel bad yeah i want to know what they
01:19:20say about
01:19:20lorraine's dish let's see all right judges here to present the second dish chef tiffany faison
01:19:26pinkies up chefs it's uh it's lunch time this is a smoked leche de tigre ceviche of black cod with
01:19:33warm crispy and fresh garnishes to enjoy and employ while eating chef would like you to have a little
01:19:38piece of everything as you enjoy your lunch the sunchoke leche de tigre began with sunchokes black
01:19:44cod and sardine of course then the leche de tigre and filet of cod were pecan smoked sunchokes were
01:19:49sliced and crisped as well as their friends plantains and tortilla chips like i've had her ceviche it's
01:19:55delicious you nailed the style high-end lunch perfect vibrancy flavor texture spot on
01:20:02all right i think it's lovely i think it's delicious but for me it needs something saltier
01:20:08i would actually like to have the cancer deans actually on top a little bit just as they are
01:20:16it'll be bold to do that because i think it needs it but i love the crunch and it's just
01:20:20a beautiful
01:20:21high-end lunch i'm very pleased with this dish one of the hardest things to do is to make a
01:20:27ceviche
01:20:28out of codfish because it's such an oily fish with that said the oiliness of the codfish seemed to
01:20:35somehow delicately dissipate now it didn't absorb as much of the acid as it could and should have
01:20:45like there are very pure flavors here i really appreciate all these little nibbles i think it's
01:20:50a beautiful plate of food i'm pretty impressed that they were able to make a cod ceviche that i can
01:20:55go in and eat again okay not bad the black cod it's sliced beautifully i thought it would be blubbery
01:21:03or you know some of those blubbery fish but it's actually the texture is kind of nice
01:21:13it's gonna be so close sun chokes i think they're great but you know those couple little pieces in
01:21:19here doesn't quite do it for me i wish there was a little bit more sun choke going on here
01:21:26judges your scorecards are in front of you again 50 points in case 40 points in the use of the
01:21:30randomizer 10 in presentation i'm worried i needed more acid more legit more lemon juice but it's
01:21:36anybody's game at this point i don't think either one of us knocked it out of the park it's going
01:21:41to
01:21:41be splitting hairs i think on like one or two points in each category chef they're ready for you let's
01:21:46do
01:21:46this let's do this all right one sec all right let's go ladies and gentlemen was that a dynamite finale
01:21:54or
01:21:54what welcome back chef joe sasto chef lorena garcia and i've got the scores 80 to 77. wow
01:22:08in the final battle of the evening with one of these chefs going into the quarterfinals
01:22:14the winner between chef lorena garcia and chef joe sasto is
01:22:24chef joe sasto
01:22:25i love you chef thank you i love you i love you that was not easy congratulations
01:22:38chef lorena you came in and you won in the first round this was a very close battle by three
01:22:43points
01:22:43really has been an honor you are an icon and a legend to our industry it was a pleasure to
01:22:48have
01:22:48you at toc chef lorena garcia thank you so much
01:22:55it was tough it was tough i probably would have judged that exactly the same way but the good things
01:23:00i'm going back to my son i had a fantastic time i competed again and i'm happy let's take a
01:23:07look my
01:23:07friend oh man this is what makes me nervous joe sasto and kevin lee joe sasto you're in the quarterfinals
01:23:16man
01:23:29oh that was so close that was scary but i feel good join us next time with the second half
01:23:35of the
01:23:36super 16 battle for the last four spots in the quarterfinals you can hear a pin drop in here you
01:23:41guys they are the great eight you fall down seven times you get up eight fired up as they compete
01:23:48for
01:23:49the title oh yeah let's go the belt and the 150 000 grand prize to be a winner is something
01:23:56i need on
01:23:58my mantle see you next week adios
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