Tournament of Champions S07E07

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Transcript

00:00:00So it's the quarterfinals night of Tournament of Champions 7.

00:00:04All right, let's go.

00:00:07And of the 32 world-class chefs who first entered the arena, 24 have already gone home.

00:00:14I'm holding back tears.

00:00:15And only eight remain.

00:00:18Keep that cheering, you guys. I can't breathe.

00:00:20Tonight, the triumphant eight head back into battle.

00:00:23Let's go!

00:00:24And we will find out who wins each of the four divisions.

00:00:29Let her rip.

00:00:30First, our four-time finalist, the jester, Chef Jettila, takes on the bearded baller, Chef Jonathan Sawyer.

00:00:37It's crazy.

00:00:38Stop it.

00:00:39Next, the dragon slayer, Chef Kevin Lee, faces off against Mustache Joe, Chef Joe Sasto.

00:00:46Not today, Joe. Not today.

00:00:49Then qualifier winners, Chef Kenny Gilbert and Iron Chef Stephanie Izard,

00:00:53buy to become this season's Cinderella story.

00:00:57Yes, there it is!

00:00:58Yes, Steph!

00:00:59And finally, the Dumpling Mafia Queen, Chef Shirley Chung, battles Chef Brian Voltaggio for the last spot in the semifinals.

00:01:07She's going to be tough, but I'm tough too.

00:01:09Can you believe what's happening?

00:01:12Who will earn their place in the TOC Final Four and compete in the finale for $150,000 grand prize?

00:01:20Ladies and gentlemen, this is Tournament of Champions 7!

00:01:29Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the finest quarterfinalists on planet Earth.

00:01:34Here they come!

00:01:35Chef Jeff Tila and Chef Jonathan Sawyer, Chef Joe Sasto, Chef Kevin Lee, Chef Shirley Chung, Chef Brian Voltaggio,

00:01:43and Chef Stephanie Izard, Chef Kenny Gilbert!

00:01:50Well then.

00:01:51Woo!

00:01:52You look different.

00:01:53I love that.

00:01:55That's right, because you're like people that have won two rounds of competition, or should I say three rounds of

00:02:00competition.

00:02:01Oh.

00:02:02Chef, congratulations.

00:02:03Wow.

00:02:03And now, the great eight.

00:02:05Yeah.

00:02:06It's all done.

00:02:06Woo!

00:02:07Woo!

00:02:09Woo!

00:02:09All that much closer to the belt.

00:02:11Woo!

00:02:12The title.

00:02:13Woo!

00:02:13The banner.

00:02:15It's one other thing.

00:02:16Ahem.

00:02:17Ahem.

00:02:18The $150,000 grand prize.

00:02:21Woo!

00:02:22Woo!

00:02:23Woo!

00:02:24Woo!

00:02:25Are you ready to find out who's going to battle first?

00:02:29Mm-hmm.

00:02:29Yeah.

00:02:30Let's start off with the A division between Chef Chantila and Chef Jonathan Sawyer.

00:02:38Chef Tila, you're going to go through that door.

00:02:40Chef Sawyer through that door.

00:02:42The rest of you, your time is coming soon.

00:02:45You're out.

00:02:45Woo!

00:02:47Get ready to do this.

00:02:49Woo!

00:02:51Why am I always the first battle?

00:02:55Okay.

00:02:56That's how you don't fight.

00:02:58Ladies and gentlemen, let's meet the first two contenders.

00:03:00We have the number four seed, Chef Jonathan Sawyer, who is in the quarterfinals for the

00:03:04first time and seems to have found his TOC sweet spot.

00:03:09That's it.

00:03:11Everything led me to here.

00:03:12I am 41 months sober.

00:03:14I'm not defined by my mistakes.

00:03:16I'm defined by how many times I pick myself up and become more successful.

00:03:21Got my lucky shoes on.

00:03:23It's time to go.

00:03:25His opponent, the number two seed, Chef Chantila, the winningest chef in this year's tournament,

00:03:32who is no stranger to the quarterfinals.

00:03:35You know, this year I'm working with a coach who's an ex-CIA contractor guy who deals with

00:03:41high-stress situations.

00:03:43This year's really about just kind of figuring out calming my nervous system.

00:03:46Listen, Chantila's the winningest competitor in TOC history.

00:03:51Just breathing exercises.

00:03:56Very few in this arena have beaten him before, and I want to be one of those few.

00:04:01Chef, they're ready for you.

00:04:02All right, let's go.

00:04:09Are you ready to see the kickoff of the night?

00:04:12Yeah!

00:04:12Then let's light this up!

00:04:16He has opened critically acclaimed restaurants in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago.

00:04:24He was named Food & Wine's Best Food Chef of 2010.

00:04:30And received the 2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef Great Lakes.

00:04:36And he defeated Food Network star Artie Saquera in the second round with a tiger prawn plate

00:04:41that made Judge Kenny Oranger proclaim...

00:04:44This dish is just dynamite.

00:04:47Give an explosive round of applause to the bearded baller!

00:04:51Chef Jonathan Sawyer!

00:05:02Bearded Baller, the two wins so far in TOC 7 have been monster.

00:05:08You're jamming.

00:05:09Yeah, I'm on a hot streak right now.

00:05:10You know your opponent.

00:05:12Let's make sure everybody else does.

00:05:14His mastery of Thai and Chinese cuisine is awe-inspiring, and his knife skills, legendary.

00:05:21He has opened more than 20 restaurant concepts, broken five culinary world records, written three

00:05:27cookbooks, and has been nominated for three Emmys.

00:05:31And he defeated James Beard nominee Claudette Cepeda in the second round with a chicken curry dish.

00:05:37In 30 minutes, the flavor, the balance.

00:05:40Audience, you know him, you love him, and you gotta quit asking me about him.

00:05:45Big round of applause for the Jepster, Chef Jett Keeler!

00:05:57What's up, everybody?

00:06:03Jett, you're one win away from being in the Final Four for the fifth time.

00:06:09Ugh.

00:06:10It's just pressure.

00:06:11That's all it is.

00:06:12It's gotta go away.

00:06:12It's just one win, and then another win, and then another win.

00:06:16But you both earned this.

00:06:17And now you two will kick it off to determine who will go into the Final Four.

00:06:21Time to get busy.

00:06:22Let's take it to the randomizer.

00:06:24Let's go.

00:06:24Right this way.

00:06:27Wow, wow, wow.

00:06:29Oh, boy.

00:06:30So the randomizer will determine the mandatory international elements of your dish.

00:06:35The protein, the produce, the equipment, the style, and finally, a globally inspired wildcard ingredient.

00:06:43Wow.

00:06:44Just not a combination that I want right now.

00:06:46I don't...

00:06:47I'm gonna give you plenty of time to think about it as I spin.

00:06:51Let's go for the protein!

00:06:52Oh.

00:06:55This is a crazy randomizer.

00:06:58I don't know one-third of these things.

00:07:02Protein, protein, protein.

00:07:04Come on, baby.

00:07:04Oh, Ranzino!

00:07:06Oh, oh, oh.

00:07:08And bok choy.

00:07:11Hand-held waffle iron, fresh and fried canned aki.

00:07:17That's not bad to work with.

00:07:18You got a lot of really good options here.

00:07:21Feel good?

00:07:23Ready, set, go.

00:07:27All right, here we go.

00:07:29Well, the randomizer definitely got harder this round.

00:07:32Way harder.

00:07:33Whole brand Zeno.

00:07:34I mean, this is like the cornerstone of Mediterranean cooking.

00:07:37You go everywhere in Italy, you go everywhere in Greece, you'll find it.

00:07:40Bok choy type of Chinese cabbage.

00:07:42Super versatile, can go anywhere.

00:07:44Hand-held iron.

00:07:45So this is two hinged pieces.

00:07:47You pour the waffle batter in there.

00:07:48You're gonna use this over the stove.

00:07:50This is a camping waffle maker.

00:07:52Fresh and fried.

00:07:53Everything fried loves something fresh.

00:07:55This has got all kinds of play inside of it.

00:07:58Hand-act.

00:07:59It's pretty adaptable.

00:08:01They'll be able to do some great things with it.

00:08:02It's just gotta have that big mind and a big imagination of how to employ all of this,

00:08:06especially that handheld waffle iron.

00:08:10A whole Bronzino requires a ton of skill and time in order to break it down.

00:08:15But that's why it's tournament champions, not tournament averages.

00:08:18Chad, did you just take my bin?

00:08:20Oh , I'm so sorry.

00:08:21No worries.

00:08:22That's okay.

00:08:23I'll take those chilies.

00:08:24The first thought that comes into my mind, that's what I need to do.

00:08:27And so I'm gonna go a whole fried Bronzino with Aki Island sauce with crispy garnishes.

00:08:33Cook with a lot of canned Aki, Chef.

00:08:36Never.

00:08:36There's a couple of firsts happening today.

00:08:38It's a savory fruit out of West Africa and the seeds have been removed because they're so toxic.

00:08:43Let's go Jet.

00:08:44Fresh and fried.

00:08:44I love it.

00:08:45Also whole Bronzino.

00:08:46I mean, I have broken down in fried fish literally thousands of times in my career.

00:08:52That's Asian food right there, man.

00:08:53So I'm gonna do some type of whole fried fish.

00:08:57And then I'm gonna top it with a very light bok choy apple and onion salad.

00:09:01And then the waffle iron and the Aki are gonna find his way into this dish somewhere.

00:09:07Chef, how are ya?

00:09:08I'm good.

00:09:09How are you, Justin?

00:09:10Perfect.

00:09:10Thank you, bro.

00:09:11Let's go.

00:09:12So it wouldn't be TOC without my crack team of culinary commentators.

00:09:16That's right.

00:09:17Michelin recommended chef with a PhD in deliciousness.

00:09:20The wild card himself, Chef Justin Warner.

00:09:23And wicked Boston restaurateur.

00:09:25And the TOC three champ herself, Chef Tiffany Faison.

00:09:28Now Justin and Tiffany are following the chef's every move so they can faithfully present their dishes to the judges

00:09:33during the blind tasting.

00:09:34They're also joined by our roving reporter, my son, Hunter Piette, who will be talking with our winners backstage.

00:09:40And the culinary scholar, Simon Majendar, who will dive into the randomizer challenge with the judges after the competition.

00:09:48It's a big chop, Chef.

00:09:49Do you have a plan?

00:09:51Yeah, we're gonna fry whole fish.

00:09:53I love that for us.

00:09:54You know, I wanna get these fish marinated as soon as possible, giving this aggressive marinade the highest opportunity to

00:10:00sort of penetrate the flesh of the fish.

00:10:02Jerk, Chef.

00:10:03Jerk.

00:10:04What'd you call me?

00:10:05Ah!

00:10:06I'm just honored to be here on Tournament Champion 7, because there was a moment in my life where I

00:10:12didn't know if I would ever cook again.

00:10:14There was most certainly a moment where I couldn't even look at this guy in the mirror.

00:10:17Since my sobriety, I'm living the absolute best version of my life every day now.

00:10:23But I'm not satisfied with just getting to the quarterfinals.

00:10:26That won't be enough for me this year.

00:10:27I wanna go all the way through to the finals and win everything.

00:10:30What do you got for me?

00:10:31Uh, like the whole kitchen in the blender.

00:10:34Uh, jerk seasoning, chiyokoji, uh, sake leaves, tamarind, clam juice, lime juice.

00:10:39He's gonna marinate his fish.

00:10:43No one leaves this arena happy except for one person.

00:10:47And that's who's leaving with the cash and the belt and the ring and the title.

00:10:55I need to make a sauce.

00:11:00Crab paste.

00:11:01I'm starting with Asian crab paste, which is supercharged crab bisque.

00:11:05That's what it tastes like.

00:11:06I've never worked with Aki before, so I've gotta taste it.

00:11:11Okay.

00:11:11Okay, that's not weird at all.

00:11:13There's this definite fermented sulfur flavor.

00:11:16Kind of like that hot, sour, salty, sweet from Asian cuisine.

00:11:20Okay!

00:11:21Thank you!

00:11:23Let's go!

00:11:24Let's get to this final four.

00:11:26The driver for this sauce is to embrace the funk of the Aki.

00:11:31That is a unique aroma.

00:11:32This Aki crab mother sauce, it's gonna be the final sauce to coat the fried filet pieces.

00:11:41It's pretty good.

00:11:42It's gonna be dressing for the bok choy crispy salad.

00:11:47Really good flavor out of this.

00:11:50And it's also gonna be used to create a binder to make a rice cake in this waffle maker.

00:11:55I compete because I know there's little future Jed out there watching and going,

00:12:01that looks like me.

00:12:02I can be that guy.

00:12:05I'm gonna make crispy Aki rice with the iron.

00:12:09I don't think any of us has made rice cakes in a waffle iron before.

00:12:12Not with $150,000 on the line.

00:12:15If anyone could, chef.

00:12:16That's right.

00:12:19It's time to say some prayers and cross my fingers and hope that this works.

00:12:23Say a prayer, Uncle Jed.

00:12:24I've watched people go home on the waffle maker.

00:12:27Yuck!

00:12:31Chef Jed.

00:12:31Chef Jonathan.

00:12:3325 minutes to go.

00:12:3425.

00:12:35Do we have a plan for the waffle iron, chef?

00:12:37I think I'm gonna go waffle.

00:12:39I'm gonna mix in some of this Aki.

00:12:42When the randomizer gives you a waffle maker, you make waffles.

00:12:46I'm just gonna put it right in the batter.

00:12:47I actually think it's gonna go nice in there.

00:12:50This waffle is gonna be the vehicle for the judges to put together all of the fresh herbs and the

00:12:55fried fish and then enjoy it all together.

00:12:57Like a crepe on the side of a piece of fried fish.

00:13:01What's in the batter, chef?

00:13:02Aki.

00:13:03Sugar.

00:13:03Aki.

00:13:04Aki.

00:13:05Garlic.

00:13:06Next, I really wanna maximize this bok choy and I wanna use it three different ways.

00:13:11First, I wanna pickle the bulbs along with pickled onions.

00:13:17And then I'm gonna grill in the waffle maker the leaves after this Aki waffle is cooked.

00:13:23It's not bad.

00:13:24The raw leaves and the griddled leaves can act like a lettuce cup for each individual bite.

00:13:33Oh, hell yeah.

00:13:34I do a peek and the waffle iron rice is perfect.

00:13:38It's basically a mochi waffle.

00:13:40Yeah, exactly.

00:13:41That's exactly right, look at that.

00:13:43It's crispy and brown on the outside.

00:13:45It's really working.

00:13:49In a lot of Asian cultures, showing the whole fish is symbolic of good luck, of prosperity.

00:13:56I need four fillets.

00:13:57And I also think it gives amazing visual impact to this dish.

00:14:02So then you're gonna take the carcass, the whole thing, the head and all, fry it?

00:14:06Yeah.

00:14:07Jonathan Sawyer's a fantastic chef.

00:14:09He's been through a lot in life and I think that grit definitely shows in his cooking.

00:14:14But I've done a lot more competition cooking and it's just a little different.

00:14:18So, I mean, my edge today is doing this a lot.

00:14:22I've been close too many times.

00:14:24We gotta put this one to bed, guys.

00:14:25It's time to take it home.

00:14:31I really love this marinade.

00:14:33Listen, when you're against Jet Tila in this arena, you have to go high risk, high reward.

00:14:37Just a regular humdrum plate of food isn't going to be this champion.

00:14:42We're gonna start a tamarind sauce with this ackee.

00:14:46I really wanna add a lot of flavor into this island sauce.

00:14:51So I use jerk paste, I use garlic, I use ginger, tamarind and fresh lime.

00:14:57Oh, that's gonna be awesome.

00:14:58I'm really happy with how complex this island sauce is.

00:15:02And I wanna use the ackee fruit one more time.

00:15:05All that's gonna get blended with a little bit of clam juice.

00:15:09I've won James Beard awards, I've written cookbooks, I've fathered children, I've opened restaurants.

00:15:14Oh, I love that one.

00:15:15But the hill I've never climbed is TOC.

00:15:18The championship that I want more than anything else is TOC, and I'm here to prove it.

00:15:24This is the final ten minutes, ten to go.

00:15:29I come from the school of you gotta hit each item on the randomizer twice.

00:15:33So I'm gonna use the bok choy two ways.

00:15:34I'm gonna slice the big bok choy and the little bok choy into thin strips, into chiffonade is what we

00:15:39call it.

00:15:39And I'm going to warm some of that for the base of the plate.

00:15:44Chef, where's the sauce gonna go?

00:15:45Sauce is gonna go onto this bok choy stir fry.

00:15:49And then for the fresh bok choy salad, green apple, onion, because it is fried and fresh.

00:15:57I make a dressing of ackee crab fat mother sauce and add chili crisp, lime juice, sugar.

00:16:05Wasting movement.

00:16:07Ackee dressing.

00:16:09I have been final four four times, but it would mean the world to me to share this belt and

00:16:16this win with everyone that's been on Team Tila for seven years now.

00:16:23Four minutes, four to go.

00:16:25I think this ackee fruit waffles turned out awesome.

00:16:28I'm really happy with how golden brown delicious they are on the outside.

00:16:31Really what I was looking for.

00:16:33I'm gonna plate all of the fresh components of the fried fish plate first.

00:16:37Pickled bok choy and that ackee fruit waffle.

00:16:42I'm gonna put the waffle iron griddled choy right next to the waffle.

00:16:47And over top of my fried fish goes the island sauce.

00:16:50That jerk and ackee and tamarind seasoning.

00:16:54I like the plate of food I made.

00:16:56I trust my flavors.

00:16:58I really hope it's enough to win though.

00:17:02Two minutes.

00:17:03I need to start with my show stopper, which is my Bronzino carcass.

00:17:07Almost like a little bowl to kind of force everything in the middle.

00:17:12Now I'm not trying to make a perfect waffle shape ackee rice cake.

00:17:17I'm going for the crispiness and the doneness of the rice.

00:17:22I actually roll the fillets in that mother sauce.

00:17:27And I'm trying to build height and some color interest.

00:17:31And I want to arrange this so they see bok choy pieces immediately.

00:17:36This dish will wow in its flavor and its textural variance.

00:17:40I love this dish.

00:17:43Five, four, three, two, one.

00:17:49What a battle.

00:17:52What are these two going into the final four?

00:18:03Holy moly.

00:18:04I think I nailed it.

00:18:08Jonathan's awesome. We'll see.

00:18:12This is the hardest round of cooking I've ever had in tournament champions.

00:18:15No one has any idea what kind of just adrenaline burn these cooks are.

00:18:21Ladies and gentlemen, the judges have been waiting patiently in the trailers.

00:18:25And wait till you see who's here tonight.

00:18:27First, one of the most celebrated titans on Bobby's Triple Threat.

00:18:32A Top Chef winner and the champion of the very first TOC, Brooke Williamson.

00:18:39Wow, no way.

00:18:43Acclaimed executive chef and winner of Top Chef Season 12 and TOC 4 champ herself, Chef May Lynn.

00:18:53Wow.

00:18:54Yes, yes, yes. I like this. I like this.

00:18:57This is one of my faves.

00:18:59James Beard Award winner, legendary Southern California restaurateur, and the recipient of the Covenant Julia Child Award, Chef Susan Finnegar.

00:19:11I love Susan Finnegar. This is so great.

00:19:15God, what a great family.

00:19:17Babe, it's great to be here.

00:19:18Here we are into the quarterfinals. The chefs tonight for the randomizer.

00:19:22The protein was whole branzino, produce was bok choy, equipment was handheld waffle iron, style was fresh and fried, and

00:19:32wildcard ingredient was the canned aki.

00:19:34And here to give you the first breakdown is the culinary connoisseur, Justin Warner.

00:19:39Looking for nods and oohs.

00:19:41Judges before you is deep fried whole branzino, accompanied by crispy aki mochi rice, which was cooked in the handheld

00:19:48waffle maker, and bok choy two ways.

00:19:50The whole branzino fried and then tossed in aki crab fat sauce.

00:19:55The bok choy first was tossed as a chiffonade in the apple and red onion salad with the aki vinaigrette.

00:20:01From there as a sauté, some wilted bok choy.

00:20:07Tell me how delicious this is.

00:20:10Whoever the chef is, they did an incredible amount of work in the amount of time that they had.

00:20:16To break down a whole branzino, utilize both the flesh and the bones. The presentation, incredible.

00:20:24Yes!

00:20:25We're smart.

00:20:27The rice, incredibly crispy. I just wish I saw a little bit more bok choy.

00:20:31Okay.

00:20:32Otherwise, it's an incredible dish.

00:20:34Yeah! Incredible.

00:20:37Chef Susan.

00:20:37Keep it going, Susan.

00:20:39Exactly.

00:20:39Bronzino, I think, is one of the most difficult fish to cook because it's so delicate.

00:20:45A great job.

00:20:46I love the rice.

00:20:48That also works really well.

00:20:50But the bok choy, the fresh part of that, I'm struggling with.

00:20:54I wish there would have been more of that slaw.

00:20:56Yeah, I feel, I felt that at the end.

00:21:00Aki crab fat sauce. It's, it's beautiful.

00:21:03Brooke ate the whole plate.

00:21:04I think that iron gave it a really great texture in terms of, like, sticky crispiness.

00:21:10Yes.

00:21:11I just want a little bit more freshness.

00:21:13Okay. Okay. I can live with that.

00:21:17Thank you very much, judges.

00:21:18Your scorecards are in front of you.

00:21:2050 points in the taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer, and 10 for the presentation.

00:21:26I am optimistic.

00:21:29It's not slam dunkville.

00:21:31This is not a slam dunk situation.

00:21:34Who knows?

00:21:35Who knows, right?

00:21:36All right, judges here to present the second chef's dish.

00:21:40Chef Tiffany Paison.

00:21:41Culinary queens in front of you.

00:21:43We have island-style fried whole bronzino with an akki waffle and island spice sauce.

00:21:49Celebration of bok choy and fresh garnishes.

00:21:51The bronzino has remained entirely intact and seasoned with a blend of shio koji,

00:21:56jerk marinade.

00:21:57The waffles constructed with akki brown butter.

00:22:00The bulbs of the bok choy were pickled.

00:22:02Fresh leaves are on the side of the plate allowing you to eat it lettuce cup style if you would

00:22:06like.

00:22:07They were also hand-held waffle roasted in brown butter.

00:22:10This is the worst.

00:22:12Worst part of the whole show.

00:22:14Going into this direction and going Caribbean was such a smart choice because akki is the national fruit of Jamaica.

00:22:24The jerk paste was delicious in its own right, but it didn't really season the flesh of the fish.

00:22:31There was a little bit of a mishap.

00:22:33I love the use of the bok choy and utilizing the leaves for the lettuce wrap.

00:22:41Yes.

00:22:41I love this akki waffle.

00:22:43I think this is a very obvious representation of the tool and I taste the akki sort of in a

00:22:49way that I haven't.

00:22:50I think they like the dish, so bad news so far.

00:22:53So good.

00:22:54I'm struggling a little bit with the paste on top of the fish because it's destroyed the texture of the

00:23:01outside of that crispy fish a little bit.

00:23:03Destroyed!

00:23:04It feels a little bit heavy and weighted.

00:23:07Okay.

00:23:08On the fish, I agree completely with Brooke.

00:23:11The paste is delicious, just you lose the crispness.

00:23:16Flavor-wise, I think with the pickled bok choy, the fresh bok choy leaves, the use of the akki is

00:23:22really perfect.

00:23:24On the whole, very interesting.

00:23:26Thank you, chef.

00:23:26We have 50 points available on the taste, 40 points on the use of the randomizer, and 10 for the

00:23:31plating.

00:23:32I mean, high risk, high reward dish, you know?

00:23:35I'm not, I'm not convinced I won on that one.

00:23:37I feel good, but I'm not convinced.

00:23:39Well, if they're ready for us, what's right?

00:23:41Oh, let's go.

00:23:43Ladies and gentlemen, let's bring it back in!

00:23:46Chef Jonathan Sawyer!

00:23:48Chef Gentila!

00:23:53Let's hug it out this time.

00:23:54It was very quick.

00:23:56It was an honor and a pleasure to watch you cook.

00:23:59Creative menus, dynamite presentation, and ladies and gentlemen, we have a one-point difference.

00:24:05Oh.

00:24:05Stop it.

00:24:06The difference of 79 to 78.

00:24:10That's crazy.

00:24:11The winner of the battle for the A Division title between Chef Gentila and Chef Jonathan Sawyer is...

00:24:22The winner of the battle for the A Division title is...

00:24:26the winner of the deal is...

00:24:29The winner of the animals...

00:24:39The Alicia Lord is...

00:24:40The winner of the 22.

00:24:47The Aliens, eat다, eat deep, exercise, and get fed championship.

00:24:56gonna miss you but thank you for such a fantastic display do one of a kind brother thank you thank

00:25:01you for the opportunity love you man i love you love you love you brother thank you go get it

00:25:15one point that's what it is though so i'll be back yeah you can run but you cannot hide

00:25:23because jet tila is on a war path and this is his fifth time in the final four

00:25:31you either go up against joe sasko or kevin lee how about no matter what it's destruction time for

00:25:39me i'm here to go all the way congratulations jet tila final four thank you very much everybody

00:25:45thank you so much thank you oh my god i can't believe it very close battle but congratulations

00:25:55i heard that you're doing something okay to mitigate pre-battle anxiety the pressure i have

00:26:01a coach this year who's uh ex-special forces uh ca contractor and he trains soldiers how to deal with

00:26:08high stress situations right i should take that breath slow it down and try to find the flow so

00:26:12it's actually working amen that's that's a great strategy well let's see what happens we'll continue

00:26:16with that i've seen the final four all right thanks congratulations ladies and gentlemen was that

00:26:20exciting or what are you ready for our next two opponents we have the number five seed chef joe sasto

00:26:29who has reached the quarterfinals for the second year in a row but has never been to the semi-finals

00:26:36got a good luck apron today i'm most recently married the mustache is officially off the market

00:26:43and 150 grand could go a long way for starting my family i've taken out some really challenging

00:26:49competitors we're about to add lee to the list maybe his opponent the number three seed chef kevin lee

00:26:55who has taken down powerful opponents in the past and is also trying to crack the final four

00:27:01for the first time i've been here twice before losing to antonio lofasso i've been ready for this

00:27:09since the last season ended you know i gotta live up to that name the dragon slayer kevin lee

00:27:14him and i are very similar despite how different we may look we're both really good at playing the

00:27:19game but neither one of us knows what it feels like to get to the final four not today joe

00:27:25not today

00:27:26all right chef they're ready for you let's go

00:27:34are you ready to see these gourmet gladiators get after it

00:27:39let's light it up he worked his way up the ranks in michelin-starred kitchens he has won

00:27:45chopped chef grudge match and triple g

00:27:49his unorthodox guide to italian cooking breaking the rules was named one of the best cookbooks of fall

00:27:562025 by bon appetit and epicurious and he defeated culinary icon lorraine

00:28:03garcia in the second round with a dish that jeffrey zicarian called just an exquisite plate

00:28:08the flavor is delicious it's chef joe zesto

00:28:22welcome to the quarterfinals this is a big deal thank you you are on the verge my friend to

00:28:27something you haven't touched yet in the past i was always focused on the opponent this year

00:28:33i'm keeping it all focused on me but so is your opponent

00:28:39he owns two top-rated restaurants in oklahoma city including his newest steakhouse

00:28:45mott which is korean for flavor

00:28:51he was a james beard award semi-finalist for best chef southwest in 2025 and in the second round he

00:28:59scored an upset victory against three-time semi-finalist chef brit rissigno with a country fried steak

00:29:06that moved judge kenny orger to say i applaud this chef ladies and gentlemen fired up for the dragon slayer

00:29:15chef kevin lee

00:29:21let's go

00:29:29pleasure to have you chef we've seen you on fire all through the competition what's been going on in

00:29:34the dragon slayer's head that is different in toc seven than in the past i think i've proven to myself

00:29:40i've been along with the great chefs and i feel like i have a chance now chefs let's take it

00:29:45to

00:29:45the randomizer right this way wonderful wonderful i think it's pretty wonderful that's if you like to

00:29:54watch competition and people sweat let's get after a gentleman here we go

00:29:58come on be nice to me duck swa i'll take the whole duck

00:30:06squab pork collar okay manzano peppers cannoli tubes sweet and spicy you're welcome

00:30:20and quince 40 minutes starts now they're out

00:30:29i love the pork collar a good amount of fat usually gets slow cooked or cured manzano peppers

00:30:35a fruity but spicy pepper delicious cannoli tubes are metal tubes that usually you wrap

00:30:40raw pasta raw dough around and deep fry to make the cannoli shells sweet and spicy we all kind of

00:30:47know

00:30:47what this is quince a pear-shaped fruit usually cooked down to make into sauces or jams quince is used

00:30:54a lot for that what is the most predominant flavor in korean cuisine sweet and spicy i mean this is

00:31:04just

00:31:04a god's gift to me so i want to really show off my korean heritage culture spicy pork is one

00:31:11of my

00:31:11favorite dishes in korean cuisine that my mom used to make for me all the time so i'm making a

00:31:17gochujang glazed pork collar steak with kimchi fried rice cannoli with a spicy apple quince butter

00:31:26hi chef what's going on tiff maybe i think chinese takeout is going to be my inspiration here today

00:31:35i love sweet and sour pork and you know what's very similar sweet and sour pork sweet and spicy pork

00:31:42here we go ciao good to see you hey and so i'm thinking of doing a sweet and spicy quince

00:31:49glazed pork

00:31:50collar and a pork and brown butter quince gochujang cannoli when the randomizer gives you cannoli bolts

00:31:57you have to make cannolis but i don't love spicy food so this might be a challenge for me to

00:32:03balance the

00:32:04heat and the sweet sweet and spicy how's it going justin perfect and you

00:32:09so good do you cook with a lot of quince no you know we don't cook a lot with quince

00:32:15i think out of everything in the randomizer quince is probably giving me the biggest curveball

00:32:20but pork works really well with apple so i think i can do a fun play on like a quince

00:32:28apple butter that's

00:32:29sweet and spicy to play this randomizer chef kevin pulled a really smart move he went and found a

00:32:35habanero pepper it is the same color as the manzano pepper so if we're talking about sweet and spicy

00:32:39that's a great way to get this apple butter spicy now that's some spicy and apple sauce i think it's

00:32:46gonna be a lazy apple bone uh we're dispatching of the quince currently what's this going to be chef

00:32:55quince glaze i'm making like sweet and spicy quince glazed pork steaks got it quince of all the wild cards

00:33:03i'm happy with this i love quince i've worked a lot with quince i worked at a restaurant called quince

00:33:10what a coincidence next time for a classic pickle that's when i realized the cannoli tube kind of

00:33:17looks like a vegetable punch i can cut out my pickles with the cannoli tube and kick off another box

00:33:25on

00:33:25that randomizer pickled quince pickled peppers i'm gonna make a nice fresh salad with that just to brighten up

00:33:32the dish i mean the name of the game here is use the randomizer as many times as possible check

00:33:40check

00:33:41150 000 is a big bag and if you could come into this arena and win the whole thing there's

00:33:49no

00:33:49questions you're one of the culinary greats and that's what i'm here to do

00:33:56so what do we have here chefs kevin lee and joe sasso are both laser focused on winning this second

00:34:02round battle chef 25 to go can you believe what's happening i'm making a gochujang glaze we knew this

00:34:12was coming pork color steak you know what's sweet and spicy tiffany gochujang chef kevin sweet and

00:34:20spicy i saw in his shave kit he had gochujang toothpaste this marinade is going to be a key

00:34:26component to this dish being sweet and spicy i'm also adding a little bit of the manzano peppers in

00:34:33there to add a nice little kick 20 minutes pork color is one of those things you got to cook

00:34:40it

00:34:40perfectly to medium because of the fat content in the steak if you cook it to about a minute rare

00:34:45it's

00:34:46gonna be way too chewy going out now would hurt i didn't come here just to get to the grade

00:34:51eight

00:34:51i didn't come here just to get to the final four i came here to actually win this thing

00:35:00now i need to focus on this pork to make those pork collar steaks but first we got a knockout

00:35:05filling for my cannoli egg roll where does that time go i don't have time to sear off all the

00:35:12sides

00:35:12of the pork but i want that caramelized flavor the quickest way to do that is to throw them in

00:35:17the

00:35:17fryer i spent over a decade in michelin star kitchens really honing my craft and giving myself

00:35:27fundamental french and italian techniques mini cannolis that now i carry with me like a huge bag of

00:35:35tricks this collar that's been cooking it's tender it's juicy it's gonna make the perfect filling for these

00:35:41cannoli egg rolls and now here i am it is in my fifth year of toc and every year i

00:35:47make it a

00:35:48little further than the year before so if everything trends according to plan i'm making it to the finale

00:35:55baby all right here we go chives in lieu of chocolate chips brilliant

00:36:06pork collar steak is delicious and tender and juicy

00:36:09right now is the time for that little kimchi fried rice cannoli what a grind

00:36:15it's a little quince yep why just grind the pork grind all your aromatics and really incorporating

00:36:19the rest of the flavors into the ground pork

00:36:22that name pork fat wheat growing up i was a competitive golfer i thought golf was always going

00:36:28to be my path but i found cooking then two years ago i showed up in the scene as the

00:36:34unknown qualifier

00:36:35i was just happy to be amongst these great chefs fold it into the rice yes from toc5 being in

00:36:44the

00:36:44rock bottom in my career having a failing restaurant rolling with cannoli to fast forward two years later

00:36:51having two korean steakhouses under my belt now and being in the quarterfinals cooking the best i have ever

00:36:59been cooking i'm feeling great that i can actually win this thing this season everybody likes a crispy fried rice

00:37:09i'm putting chives on both ends you know like a cannoli that's cute 10 minutes 10 to go

00:37:17once those pork collar steaks have been marinating i get them into a hot skillet

00:37:22with rendered pork fat nothing like cooking pork in pork baby

00:37:27i want to make a quince sweet and spicy glaze i get some quince water garlic chilis vinegar all in

00:37:34a

00:37:34pot and start cooking down and then we're going to want this manzano pepper to bring a little heat

00:37:38a little sweet i want to add that to my quince puree glaze brush five and a half minutes five

00:37:47and a half

00:37:48five and a half

00:37:53to plate this fish i'm laying a little bit of the quince apple butter on the side of the plate

00:37:59with the perfectly constructed kimchi pork cannoli on top of the crispy kimchi fried rice

00:38:06i can't use antonia as my excuse for not moving on from the quarterfinals this time joe this time

00:38:13you're going to have to get out of my way two minutes

00:38:18this competition comes down to one or two points always and plating is 10 of those points so every

00:38:25little detail counts i'm my pickled peppers and quince and my pork and brown butter quince gojujang egg roll

00:38:34i want this so bad because i've been dreaming about it for seven years i want to feel the final

00:38:42four

00:38:42five four three two one

00:38:47done

00:38:50crazy battle chef joe chef kevin job well done

00:38:55go ahead and bring the judges in please

00:39:00let's go

00:39:03they're like little things i wish i had done differently i wish i had more time for joe's a

00:39:07great chef so of course i'm a little you know scared but you know this is toc there is no

00:39:12easy

00:39:12path to that belt ladies and gentlemen please welcome back our amazing judges

00:39:17t-o-c-1 champ chef brooke williamson to c-4 champ chef may lynn and may wow the champs

00:39:29are back

00:39:30is james beard award winner chef susan fenegar wow judges the randomizer giveth protein tonight is pork

00:39:41collar the produce was the manzano pepper the equipment need to be used was of course the wonderful

00:39:47cannoli tube style was sweet and spicy and the wild card ingredient who doesn't love some quince

00:39:53and who also doesn't love our toc champ tiffany face on holy cannoli this is manzano glazed and

00:40:01grilled pork collar steak with kimchi manzano pork fried rice cannoli and a quince and manzano pepper

00:40:08butter then the pork collar was ground with some quince and then fashioned into the pork fried rice

00:40:16he ground the pork wow delicious really delicious the pork is cooked really perfect the only thing i

00:40:27could say is maybe the quince puree could be toned down a tiny bit and i like spice i'll take

00:40:33that

00:40:34everything on this plate is sweet and spicy yes the quince on on the pork collar was

00:40:41to perfection i have no notes oh may i love you

00:40:48the stuffed cannoli was a really smart move but i also feel like that quince puree is a little

00:40:54overpoweringly spicy for me judges thank you very much scorecards are in front of you 50 points

00:41:00available in taste 40 in the use of the randomizer and 10 for plating i'll take it damn

00:41:08ladies and gentlemen chef justin judges our chef calls this sweet and spicy quince glazed pork collar

00:41:16the pork collar was diced and became the filling of the wonton wrapper cannoli the manzano pepper was

00:41:23punched using the cannoli tube which you will see as sweet and spicy pickles finally the steak portion

00:41:28of the pork collar was brushed with quince and then sliced for you anything can happen i actually really

00:41:37appreciate all of these vegetables on the plate i love the crunch of those peppers i mean this is a

00:41:43completely different rendition of the same ingredients i really appreciate the gameplay and

00:41:50the usage of the cannoli tube to punch out vegetables i think that's so smart

00:41:57that's smart my pork collar is slightly undercooked in the center but ultimately i feel like this is a

00:42:05fine dining chef that came to play the quince got used a little bit more in this which i think

00:42:11was great

00:42:12and the use of the cannoli tube works really well very interesting thank you judges thank you very

00:42:20much scorecards in front of you again i agree with everything they said that's why i love judges that

00:42:28are also competitors and champions it's going to be close not then today i feel like i had a pretty

00:42:34good

00:42:34cook all right chef they're ready for you let's go ladies and gentlemen let's welcome back chef joe sesto

00:42:51gentlemen there was so much great cookery so ironic to me that both of you used the cannoli shells in

00:42:57the

00:42:57same way a tremendous amount of work done and here are the scores one chef scored a 76 the other

00:43:06chef

00:43:06scored 84. ladies and gentlemen the winner of the battle for the b division title between chef joe sesto

00:43:14and chef kevin lee is

00:43:21the winner of the battle for the b division title is

00:43:27a winner of the battle for the b division title is

00:43:33congratulations kevin lee it was an honor

00:43:40we love watching joe compete i love his mind and creativity

00:43:45Let's see what he...

00:43:47Must ask Joe! Joe Sesto!

00:43:51Ooh!

00:43:57Kevin doesn't miss, you know?

00:43:59I think he's gonna win this whole thing.

00:44:01I hope he wins this whole thing. He deserves it.

00:44:04Congratulations.

00:44:05You are in the final four.

00:44:09Well done!

00:44:12Take a look at this.

00:44:14Uncle Jack is one of the best.

00:44:17You know, we actually just won against each other

00:44:19on TLC Christmas in the final four.

00:44:22I lost by one point,

00:44:24but this time, I'm getting my revenge.

00:44:27Get to the finals.

00:44:29That's the optimism and the attitude

00:44:31you're gonna need.

00:44:32Dragon Slayer, Kevin Lee.

00:44:34Let's go!

00:44:40On to the next.

00:44:41Whoa!

00:44:42How are you feeling, brother?

00:44:42That was amazing out there.

00:44:44I feel great.

00:44:45You know, I just wanna keep cooking, you know?

00:44:47Two more cooks.

00:44:47Two more cooks, something you need.

00:44:48Two more!

00:44:49Keep doing what you're doing, man.

00:44:50Absolutely.

00:44:50Thank you very much, Chef.

00:44:51Thank you, Hunter.

00:44:51We'll see you in the final four.

00:44:52I think what really came out of this

00:44:54was if you undercook the protein that badly,

00:44:58you're not gonna win.

00:45:00This felt to me like an issue of time management.

00:45:03I feel like this chef didn't have enough time to taste.

00:45:06Are you ready to meet our next two kitchen combatants?

00:45:11We have two culinary powerhouses

00:45:14who came all the way from the qualifiers

00:45:17to the final eight.

00:45:18Something we've never seen before.

00:45:20The number eight seed, Chef Kenny Gilbert,

00:45:23has scored major upsets against the number one seed

00:45:26and a number four seed.

00:45:27He's hoping to go from the underdog to champ

00:45:31in his first season on TOC.

00:45:34It's about to go down.

00:45:36For me, legacy means the world to me.

00:45:38I wanna see me up in the Raptors

00:45:40so that my kids and my grandkids can say,

00:45:43wow, look at what my dad is now.

00:45:45It will mean the world to me to get to the next round.

00:45:48His opponent is the number seven seed,

00:45:51Chef Stephanie Izard, the comeback kid,

00:45:53who fought her way back into the bracket

00:45:55through the qualifiers

00:45:56and is hoping to get to the final four

00:45:59with a win tonight.

00:46:00A win in the third round

00:46:01and making it to the final four,

00:46:02that would just be like...

00:46:04You know, I've walked away from

00:46:05Tournament of Champions.

00:46:06Sad for years, you know,

00:46:07but I feel really dang good to win today.

00:46:10All right, Chef, they're ready for you.

00:46:11All right, let's do this.

00:46:12Let's do it.

00:46:16Are you ready for another Dish vs. Dish dust-up?

00:46:21Let's ride it up!

00:46:26He worked his way up to Chef de Cuisine

00:46:28of the Ritz-Carlton at the age of 23,

00:46:30helping secure the Triple A Five Diamond Award

00:46:33for the hotel.

00:46:34He went on to serve as executive chef

00:46:36at some of the most prestigious resorts

00:46:38in America and the Caribbean.

00:46:40He is cooked for the Sports Illustrated

00:46:42Super Bowl party, the G8 Summit, and Oprah.

00:46:46He entered the tournament with a qualifiers win

00:46:50and took down top-seeded culinary icon

00:46:52Aron Sanchez in the first round

00:46:54and earned the highest score

00:46:57of the second round with a 91.

00:46:59Give a big welcome to the beast of the kitchen,

00:47:03Chef Kenny Gilbert!

00:47:16Congratulations.

00:47:17It's been win after win, and it's not been just a close win.

00:47:21I mean, he's won.

00:47:22This determination that you have

00:47:24shows up on the plate every time.

00:47:26Chef, good luck.

00:47:27Thank you, appreciate you.

00:47:28Great to have you.

00:47:30And I say good luck because it would always help,

00:47:33especially going up against this opponent.

00:47:36As a kid, she and her sister would transform the living room

00:47:39into a dining room to play restaurant.

00:47:42And now she has seven acclaimed restaurants

00:47:44from the Great Lakes to the West Coast.

00:47:47She's a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef's Great Lakes

00:47:51and the only person to ever earn the titles of both Top Chef

00:47:56and Iron Chef.

00:47:59Now, after suffering a few first-round losses on past TOCs,

00:48:04she came back with a vengeance,

00:48:05taking down Lee-Ann Wong in the first round

00:48:08and Chef Marcel Vigneron in the second round

00:48:10with a dish that Judge Hubert Keller called.

00:48:13Pretty spectacular.

00:48:14Give it up for the GOAT, Iron Chef, Stephanie Eisen!

00:48:34No smile, just this.

00:48:36I'm going to take you down and beat you up in an alley.

00:48:40Well, chefs, let's take it to the randomizer right this way.

00:48:48Okie dokie.

00:48:49Here we go. Go for the proteins.

00:49:00Squid, duck. Hold up!

00:49:03Hold up now.

00:49:05Graffiti eggplant, vegetable sheeter, liquid and solid,

00:49:10and bananas.

00:49:13I mean, you had me until you got to bananas.

00:49:16That's bananas.

00:49:17That is bananas.

00:49:18You guys can go find them.

00:49:19Go.

00:49:19You can go bananas.

00:49:22Ooh.

00:49:22All right.

00:49:23That was just like a straight-up go.

00:49:24I love the whole duck.

00:49:25Probably going to work with the breast most likely,

00:49:27but using the fat from the duck and rendering that down

00:49:29will be awesome.

00:49:30Graffiti eggplant, also known as Sicilian eggplant.

00:49:32It's less bitter, less seeds than classic eggplant.

00:49:35Vegetable sheeter.

00:49:36This is used a lot in Japan.

00:49:37They create sheets of cucumber and then make the maki rolls,

00:49:40sushi out of it.

00:49:41Liquid and solid.

00:49:42Essentially, it's like making two dishes.

00:49:44And then bananas.

00:49:45There's over a thousand varieties of bananas.

00:49:47There's a good little tidbit.

00:49:48You'll sleep better knowing that.

00:49:50Peeled garlic.

00:49:51The whole duck is this really great protein.

00:49:53You've got fat.

00:49:54You've got a breast.

00:49:55You've got legs.

00:49:56This eggplant looks big enough that it could maybe fit into

00:49:58this vegetable slicer and do a version of a rollatini

00:50:01and make a duck far so it can go inside of the eggplant.

00:50:04This is very heavy.

00:50:06There's only a few women left.

00:50:08Myself and Shirley.

00:50:09One of us has to keep this alive.

00:50:11I would like that to be me.

00:50:12Hi, chef.

00:50:12Hi.

00:50:14When I look at this randomizer, I immediately go to style

00:50:17of cook.

00:50:18Liquid and solid.

00:50:19Welcome back, chef.

00:50:21From there, everything else are components to make that dish

00:50:24come alive.

00:50:26And so I immediately think kimchi soup.

00:50:29You know, Stephanie Izar, she's a legend.

00:50:31She's been doing it just as long as I have.

00:50:33But I didn't come here to play games.

00:50:35I'm cooking because I want to win.

00:50:38Keep that cheering, you guys.

00:50:39I can't breathe.

00:50:40Here we go.

00:50:42First thing I do is start breaking down the duck.

00:50:44So I'm going to take the breast off.

00:50:45It'll get seared.

00:50:46I'm going to grind the duck legs, chef.

00:50:48Yep.

00:50:48Time to grind.

00:50:51I've won so many things.

00:50:52But there's something about tournament champions

00:50:54that's just not clicked yet.

00:50:55And it's interesting, when I think about my son, Ernie,

00:50:58I always, of course, want to lead by example.

00:51:00And I never want him to be a quitter.

00:51:02And it's not who I am either.

00:51:04And now this is the furthest that I've gone.

00:51:07I've made it to the great eight.

00:51:08And I just really want Ernie to see, you know what?

00:51:10I didn't give up, bud.

00:51:11I came back this year.

00:51:12And look what happens when you just keep going.

00:51:16What's the plan, chef?

00:51:18Kimchi soup.

00:51:18I'm going to do some duck meatballs.

00:51:20I'm going to do a breast.

00:51:21I'm going to do a daikon radish noodles.

00:51:24I'm going to spin in there.

00:51:25Through the cheater.

00:51:25Yes.

00:51:26I love duck.

00:51:27There's a lot of things you can do with it.

00:51:29And breaking down a duck takes some time.

00:51:31I start with a leg and thigh.

00:51:34Then I go in the breast and carve it right out.

00:51:37I feel like after three cooks, I can now say classic beast mode.

00:51:40Wings getting blanched.

00:51:42Necks and carcasses in a pot, rendering some fat out of those.

00:51:46A fortifier for the soup here out of kimchi and miso.

00:51:49Duck legs reserved.

00:51:50I think we'll see those through the grinder.

00:51:51You've always boned a few birds before?

00:51:53Yeah.

00:51:56This round is exciting.

00:51:58So you're cooking Asian against me, right?

00:51:59I am not.

00:52:03Let's try this thing, you guys.

00:52:04Let's do it.

00:52:06Time to try this vegetable cheater.

00:52:08I grab the eggplant.

00:52:09And I know it has to be flat on one side and round.

00:52:11The eggplant sometimes can be too soft to run through there.

00:52:14Oh.

00:52:16I really just can't figure this out.

00:52:18I put it on there and start going,

00:52:19and I really think that there's going to be

00:52:21this beautiful sheet of eggplant

00:52:22that'll be able to wrap around this tasty duck sausage filling.

00:52:26Does this not work?

00:52:27I have no idea.

00:52:29I mean, you guys, this thing is not my friend.

00:52:32I don't know what I'm doing.

00:52:34My brain is just turning into mush.

00:52:37I mean, I'm just going to have to give up 10 points on the randomizer.

00:52:43Chefs, we have 25 minutes, 25 to go.

00:52:49There's no way that this doesn't work if anything's going to work.

00:52:53Penny, did you get the spiral thing to work?

00:52:58I did.

00:52:59I can't get it to work.

00:53:01It sucks.

00:53:03Next, I'm going to tackle this vegetable cheater to make faux noodles

00:53:06out of sweet potato and daikon radish.

00:53:09All right, so now daikon will work on the cheater.

00:53:11Yeah.

00:53:13Which is usually very traditional in kimchi soup.

00:53:16Good to go.

00:53:17Next, I'm going to make my duck meatballs by grinding the duck legs, the liver, and the heart.

00:53:24Regular eggs or duck eggs?

00:53:26Duck eggs.

00:53:27When it says whole duck, you use the whole duck.

00:53:29I wanted to get a crust on the outside that eventually will break down without making the meatballs fall apart.

00:53:34So a quick fry, then I'm going to finish it off in the broth in the soup.

00:53:38I'll go ahead and grab one, take a bite.

00:53:43Yep.

00:53:43Yeah.

00:53:44It's absolutely delicious.

00:53:45I was like, okay, this is going to be perfect.

00:53:48I don't think that's going to work at all.

00:53:50Okay, new plan.

00:53:51That doesn't work.

00:53:51I'm feeling completely derailed.

00:53:53I don't know what to do.

00:53:54I, like, really can't make it work.

00:53:55And honestly, I think the hardest thing in competition is having to pivot.

00:53:59But you know what?

00:54:00I'm not a quitter.

00:54:01I at least need to focus on all the other things and try to get something on the plate.

00:54:06So I take the duck breast, I'm going to put it into a rip and hot pan.

00:54:09Once the fat has just started to render, I put it into a nice hot oven, and it's going to

00:54:13render that fat and cook the rest of the meat all at the same time.

00:54:16I'm not willing to take the hit of not using that part of the randomizer at all.

00:54:21So I grab a potato.

00:54:23If a potato doesn't work, I'm giving up.

00:54:29Yes!

00:54:30Yes!

00:54:31Yes, Steph!

00:54:32And finally, there we go.

00:54:34Some potato ribbons.

00:54:35They have absolutely nothing to do with my dish whatsoever.

00:54:37But at least it's something that's gone through the vegetable sheeter.

00:54:40With so many things going kind of wrong, I'm like, let's at least go bananas.

00:54:44I've got red bananas that I turn into chips with the mandolin so that it doesn't seem quite as random

00:54:49with the potatoes.

00:54:49And also, I've got green bananas that I'm going to turn into little dice and cook with some onions.

00:54:54I'm also going to add some hearts.

00:54:57And finally, I've got grilled bananas that are going into the sauce.

00:55:00A whole lot of banana going on.

00:55:01I came in tonight confident and excited, but if I get a little derailed in the middle of the cook,

00:55:06it's really, really hard to bounce back.

00:55:10Seven minutes, Chef. Seven left.

00:55:12Oh, my God.

00:55:14I want to get a char on that graffiti eggplant to kind of add a different layer of flavor into

00:55:19the soup.

00:55:20I also slice it into circles, and I went ahead and Julie ended up and immediately threw that into the

00:55:26soup because I wanted that to soften up.

00:55:28Ooh!

00:55:29I check out my duck breasts, I baste them, I flip them, they're looking great.

00:55:33So I grab some goja chang, a little bit of oyster sauce, and some fish sauce, and I make a

00:55:36little paste.

00:55:37For bananas, I wanted to use a red banana.

00:55:39I'm ripe for those.

00:55:40They're not that ripe, but I wanted to be starchy.

00:55:43I purposely selected a starchy banana because I wanted to treat this like a potato element.

00:55:48Be kind of just like diced up actually in the soup.

00:55:50There's nothing that I fear right now.

00:55:54I was a widower at 21 years old raising my daughter.

00:55:58That took me to a whole nother level of mental toughness, knowing that I had to be strong.

00:56:03And I'm pretty proud of that.

00:56:04And so now I'm ready to rock and roll and get that belt.

00:56:08Three minutes!

00:56:09I bring my soup over, I pull out my meatballs with the eggplant and some of the kimchi.

00:56:15This is my first TOC experience, but you know what? I deserve to be here.

00:56:19And now my goal is to win this whole thing.

00:56:23I'm ready to show everyone why they call me the beast.

00:56:25Chefs, we have one minute to go.

00:56:27Oh, my God.

00:56:29I have very little time left, and I've got all my fried bananas and potatoes.

00:56:34I've got my duck that I'm slicing that's a little bit under, but it doesn't seem too far off.

00:56:40I've got my fried eggplant that's going in.

00:56:43I've got my sauteed bananas and onions that are going on top.

00:56:47There's a lot on the line.

00:56:48Like, I honestly came in this year thinking I just want to make it into the main bracket.

00:56:52So winning this round would give me the confidence to know that I could go all the way.

00:56:57Five, four, three, two, one.

00:57:01We're done!

00:57:05Job well done.

00:57:07Chef Kenny.

00:57:08Chef Iser.

00:57:09It's all up to the judges now.

00:57:15We'll get texture.

00:57:16We'll get a little heat.

00:57:18I think the spice mix is good.

00:57:20I mean, the flavors are there.

00:57:21I hit all the randomizer.

00:57:23What else can I do?

00:57:24All right, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back the powerhouse panel of judges.

00:57:28T.O.C.

00:57:28One champ with Williamson.

00:57:30Brooke is like the best competitor.

00:57:32Oh, Brooke.

00:57:33T.O.C.

00:57:34Four champ, Chef May Lynn.

00:57:37Oh, for May.

00:57:38I don't know.

00:57:39They're like neck and neck for the best competitor ever.

00:57:41And James Beard award winner, Chef Susan Feniger.

00:57:44Oh my goodness.

00:57:45Here we go.

00:57:46Judges tonight.

00:57:47Randomizer kicked down some whole duck, a little graffiti eggplant.

00:57:51They had to use the vegetable sheeter.

00:57:53Style was liquid and solid, and things got bananas.

00:57:57T.O.C.

00:57:58Three champ, Tiffany Faison.

00:58:00Friends, chefs, we have a roasted solid duck breast with banana duck chili sauce and poached

00:58:05duck eggs.

00:58:05The whole duck was used.

00:58:07The breasts were rubbed and then roasted.

00:58:09The legs were ground with whipped ginger, graffiti eggplant, Fresno and Serrano chilies with duck

00:58:14liver, creating the sauce that you see.

00:58:16A graffiti eggplant with diced and cornstarch dredged made crispy in the fryer.

00:58:21Also, a potato made its way through the vegetable sheeter for the gorgeous potato crisp on top.

00:58:26Wow.

00:58:27I don't think that's a good wow.

00:58:28This randomizer is insanity.

00:58:31And I think there were a lot of really smart decisions here.

00:58:34Using the red bananas to mimic that chip consistency, and I think that the fact that

00:58:39they're coated to make even crispier was a really smart decision.

00:58:42The use of the bananas for making a curry is really smart and a great way to use the bananas.

00:58:49I really love the seasoning on the duck breast.

00:58:52However, my duck is slightly a little too rare.

00:58:57That's bad.

00:58:57The fat is a little flabby, so I did wish that it was rendered a little bit more.

00:59:02Like literally, I've cooked a thousand million duck breast perfectly.

00:59:05Kind of see the sheeter, but I don't really see the sheeter, because it's kind of broken

00:59:10up into shards of chips.

00:59:12I wish that that was utilized a little bit better.

00:59:15I wish I could have used it better, too.

00:59:18Thank you, judges.

00:59:19Scorecards, 50 points in taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer, 10 points in plating.

00:59:25You can't not cook your protein properly, but I appreciate them being not super mean about it.

00:59:30You know, I knew the goat was going to bring a lot to it.

00:59:34All you know is that you're just grinding, and you're just trying to get your stuff done.

00:59:40Here to present the second dish is the Encyclopedia of Culinary himself.

00:59:44Justin Warner.

00:59:46Judges, I present to you kimchi soup with duck, graffiti eggplant, and red banana.

00:59:52The duck was butchered.

00:59:53The leg was run through the grinder with the livers and the hearts to create a meatball.

00:59:58You have it grilled and diced.

01:00:00Graffiti eggplant and the vegetable sheeter was employed to craft a mock noodle of sorts

01:00:05out of both daikon and sweet potato.

01:00:07And then in terms of liquid and solid, this is soup.

01:00:12And then there are many solid components throughout.

01:00:19I think making a soup was a really smart decision for this randomizer.

01:00:24My favorite part is the daikon noodles.

01:00:26I think it was left like that intentionally so we can tell that the piece of equipment was used.

01:00:32That's right.

01:00:33There's a lot happening here.

01:00:34I find it a lot of fun.

01:00:37The attention that went into making a duck stock using all of the duck parts to make these

01:00:43meatballs to add texture and flavor but also utilize the entire duck is so apparent.

01:00:49Oh my God.

01:00:51Really I think a smart dish.

01:00:53I think the eggplant is really nice in there.

01:00:55The choice of the banana, I think that was a challenging one.

01:00:59Maybe it could have been smashed and cooked a little bit longer so it got crispy because

01:01:06it's starchy but a little bit too starchy.

01:01:09Great judges.

01:01:09Thank you very much.

01:01:1050 points available in the taste.

01:01:1240 points in the use of the randomizer.

01:01:1610 points in plating.

01:01:18All right.

01:01:19I think it's going to be close.

01:01:21I don't really have anything to say.

01:01:24All right, chef.

01:01:25They're ready for you.

01:01:26Oh my goodness.

01:01:27All right.

01:01:28Ladies and gentlemen, let's bring our chefs back in.

01:01:30Chef Kenny Gilbert.

01:01:32Chef Stephanie Eitar.

01:01:38Chefs, that was quite a randomizer.

01:01:40Ducks and bananas.

01:01:42One chef scored a 36 out of 50 in taste.

01:01:46One scored a 38 out of 50.

01:01:47One chef scored a 31 out of 40 on the randomizer.

01:01:50And the other chef scored a 33 out of 40 on the randomizer.

01:01:53And both chefs scored a 7 out of 10 in presentation.

01:01:57Chefs, it was an honor and a pleasure to watch you cook.

01:02:00Only one of you will be going to the semifinals.

01:02:02The winner of the battle between chef Stephanie Eitar and chef Kenny Gilbert is...

01:02:17Kenny Gilbert.

01:02:19Let's go!

01:02:22Let's go!

01:02:23Let's go!

01:02:24Let's go!

01:02:26You catch that.

01:02:28Again.

01:02:34Chef, this is the end of the road on TOC 7, but I'll just be looking forward to seeing you

01:02:39in TOC 8.

01:02:40Okay?

01:02:40Thank you very much.

01:02:41Iron Chef!

01:02:43Iron Chef!

01:02:44Stephanie Izar!

01:02:49I'm glad I came back.

01:02:50I mean, it's going to take me a little while to recover from being so bummed about that.

01:02:53But...

01:02:54Kenny did great.

01:02:55I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the finals.

01:02:56The guy that came in as a qualifier is finally getting the spotlight on him.

01:03:07I've been busting my ass my entire life.

01:03:11And a lot of times, you just want a chance.

01:03:13And so for everyone to see this, and say, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere.

01:03:18I'm going the way to the top.

01:03:19And I appreciate you.

01:03:20And you are in the semifinal to TOC 7!

01:03:29You better watch out for that guy.

01:03:34Oh, man.

01:03:36I'm pretty pumped.

01:03:42I want it so bad.

01:03:45Ladies and gentlemen, is that great or what?

01:03:49Coming up is a round you don't want to miss.

01:03:51We have the number five seed, Chef Shirley Chung.

01:03:55The resilient competitor who aced the first two rounds to return to the TOC quarterfinals.

01:04:01This is the first I've ever found tournament champion.

01:04:05So definitely a lot more nervous.

01:04:09But I'm ready.

01:04:11Now her opponent is the number three seed, Chef Brian Voltaggio,

01:04:15who took the team title on TOC All-Star Christmas with his brother Michael

01:04:19and is now back in the TOC Arena on a solo-winning mission.

01:04:24Shirley knows how to go into the kitchen and put things together and build good, bold flavors.

01:04:29She's great at this.

01:04:30So she's going to be tough.

01:04:32But I'm tough, too.

01:04:33I'm here to represent all the survivors, especially cancer survivors out there.

01:04:38I want them to see that there are light at the end of the tunnel.

01:04:42Are you ready for the final battle of the night?

01:04:45Yeah!

01:04:46So let's light this up!

01:04:52She has become known as the opener.

01:04:55Opening restaurants for culinary legends like Thomas Keller and Jose Andres.

01:04:59Crowned the Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles.

01:05:03And after beating tongue cancer, she has returned to earn the highest score of the first round

01:05:09and aced the second round with a dish that Chef Vanityt Shohan compared to receiving...

01:05:14A birthday present.

01:05:15And then you open it up, and the gift is even better.

01:05:18Chef Shirley Charles!

01:05:35So much has changed.

01:05:36We missed you last year.

01:05:38You were in the fight of your life.

01:05:40Your back, your palates changed.

01:05:43Some of your cooking styles changed.

01:05:45You are the Shirley 2.0.

01:05:47Correct, I am.

01:05:50Awesome to have you here in the quarterfinals.

01:05:53Your opponent.

01:05:56He was mentored by the legendary Charlie Palmer and cut his teeth in Michelin Star Kitchens.

01:06:02His long list of renowned restaurants includes his latest, Why Oaks Tavern.

01:06:07He's a two-time James Beard Award nominee and a three-time Top Chef finalist.

01:06:15And he's on a tear in TOC 7, taking down James Beard nominee Dan Jacobs in a tough second-round

01:06:22battle with a dish that Hubert Keller called...

01:06:25Perfectly executed.

01:06:27The TOC Christmas champ, the Bolt of the East, Chef...

01:06:31Brian Voltaggio!

01:06:40I have to get that straight.

01:06:44Chef, when I said you're on a tear in TOC 7, considering the holiday competition, you are on a six

01:06:51-straight winning streak here in TOC Arena.

01:06:55How does that feel and what kind of confidence is that giving you?

01:06:58It feels amazing.

01:06:59But then again, when I'm looking across this kitchen right now, I know tonight is going to be a tough

01:07:05battle.

01:07:05And that is all due to...

01:07:08The Randomizer!

01:07:09Let's go, Chefs!

01:07:09All right.

01:07:13Chefs, this is the final round of the quarterfinals.

01:07:16And it's all going to go down right now.

01:07:18Good luck!

01:07:18Protein!

01:07:30Squab, squid, squab, squid.

01:07:33Impressive varico.

01:07:34Beautiful.

01:07:35Okay.

01:07:36Kabocha squash.

01:07:37Okay.

01:07:38Wet grinder.

01:07:39Wet grinder.

01:07:40Interesting.

01:07:41Crunchy and soft and passion fruit.

01:07:45I like it.

01:07:46Okay.

01:07:47We'll take it.

01:07:48Yeah, there's no options at this point.

01:07:49We're pretty much done.

01:07:50Okay.

01:07:51Yeah, this is ready for three, two, one, go.

01:07:54Oh, okay.

01:07:55Got it.

01:07:55They're off!

01:07:57So, Spanish varico ham, it's an amazing piece of meat.

01:08:01And Prussia, meaning prey or cats in Spanish, a fantastic piece of meat to work with.

01:08:06They're going to really love this.

01:08:07Kabocha squash is a Japanese squash.

01:08:09So many things can be done with this.

01:08:12Roasting it to pureeing it, you name it.

01:08:14Talk about pureeing it, they may need it for this wet grinder.

01:08:16So, a wet grinder is used in India.

01:08:18And it's used to grind up lentils or grind up rice.

01:08:20It's got a stone on the bottom and then stone wheels grind on the top.

01:08:24Crunchy and soft, how do you get both of those on the plate?

01:08:26I think you'll be able to nail that.

01:08:28Passion fruit, well, this is a great one.

01:08:30Everybody knows how to work with these.

01:08:32It's a great randomizer.

01:08:35Come on, make some squash.

01:08:38This randomizer actually, for me, feels a little bit more towards my wheelhouse.

01:08:42And I'm starting to lean towards barbecue.

01:08:44I know that I can balance the sweetness of the squash and the passion fruit into a barbecue glaze.

01:08:49And then, pressa varico lends itself to grilling it and cooking it and marinating it like you would steak.

01:08:54That's something I want to put on the grill.

01:08:57Welcome, chef.

01:08:58Good to see you, sir.

01:08:59Likewise.

01:09:01Both of my grandmothers are kind of like my teacher when it comes to food.

01:09:06And I have a vivid memory of making a chashu pork with them.

01:09:10Chashu pork is southern China, Cantonese-style roasted barbecue pork.

01:09:16And I also make kabocha squash puree and a kabocha tempura.

01:09:21And so I will hit soft and crunchy in one dish.

01:09:26So what I plan to do is turn and cut some steaks.

01:09:29Then I'll put in a marinade first.

01:09:32The steak itself is going to go into a marinade.

01:09:34The acidity from that is going to help tenderize and break down the pork.

01:09:39Passion fruit, Dijon mustard, smoked shoyu.

01:09:42I want that to marinate for a couple of minutes before I crust it in spice.

01:09:46First time I've used one of these before.

01:09:48Now we're going to see some spices pulverize.

01:09:51Let her rip, right?

01:09:52And then, um, let me use that as a rub for the pork.

01:09:57Hey, it worked.

01:09:59And I love all the spices that are going along with it.

01:10:01You said we had the black peppercorn, pink peppercorn, coriander, and fennel.

01:10:05Fennel, yes, chef.

01:10:06I'm eager to win TOC 7 because I've never won a competition as an individual.

01:10:11It's something I've been looking for for a long time.

01:10:12I got a taste of the win from TOC Holiday.

01:10:14Like, I want to get all the way to the end.

01:10:16I want that belt.

01:10:16I want that cash.

01:10:17I want to win TOC.

01:10:18I want the banner hanging in the kitchen to remind everybody that I've been here and

01:10:22I've done it.

01:10:25I'm going to make passion fruit-raised cashew pork.

01:10:28Ah!

01:10:31And I'll be here drooling.

01:10:33So my marinade is loaded.

01:10:36So I'm going to have my passion fruit cashew marinade to go into the wet grinder.

01:10:42Oh, that is?

01:10:44Using the vacuum bag to marinate is a quick way to let all the flavor penetrate into pork.

01:10:53My pork is marinated in less than one minute.

01:10:57Brian is the formidable competition contender.

01:11:01But I love to compete.

01:11:03And I think after I beat cancer, now I really know how to win.

01:11:10Chefs, we have 25 minutes.

01:11:1225 to go.

01:11:14I'm making barbecue glaze of varico pork.

01:11:17Butter.

01:11:18I'm also going to try to make a puree with the squash in this wet grinder.

01:11:22Okay.

01:11:23How are we looking?

01:11:24It's good.

01:11:24I know this works in a very high-speed blender, but I'm putting that into a piece of equipment.

01:11:29I don't know if it's going to work.

01:11:30This puree has to be luscious and it needs to be rich.

01:11:33Okay.

01:11:34Here we go.

01:11:36I look at the puree.

01:11:37Over here!

01:11:39Wow.

01:11:40That's a pretty smooth puree.

01:11:42I start juicing the remaining pieces of squash so I can start my barbecue glaze.

01:11:46I'm just going to glaze the pork after it's done.

01:11:48Copy that, chef.

01:11:49Add the acidity to the barbecue.

01:11:51The sweetness will come from the squash.

01:11:55Just get that on reducing.

01:11:57Okay.

01:12:00I'm making a chasher pork and I'm going to do two versions of this kabocha squash.

01:12:06Kabocha squash puree and a kabocha tempura.

01:12:11For my kabocha squash puree, I want it to be silky smooth.

01:12:18That's kabocha onion and ginger.

01:12:20What's this dry mix that's going here?

01:12:22That's the tempura batter.

01:12:23Inside my tempura batter, I make secret weapon, vodka.

01:12:27In the wet cleanser.

01:12:29Hey, save some for us.

01:12:30Right?

01:12:31When you're looking for crispiness, you want as much water removed from any sort of batter

01:12:36or coke as possible.

01:12:37So, vodka helps do that.

01:12:40It feels almost like out-of-body experience that now I'm in quarterfinal.

01:12:45But my greatest motivator is really that I want to show everybody Shuricham 2.0.

01:12:52With all the love and support that I received the past year, all that love is really propelling me forward.

01:13:05I'll use this fat to build that secondary sauce.

01:13:08I'm also adding onions and garlic.

01:13:11There's some alliums in there.

01:13:13A little chorizo in there.

01:13:14That'll add a little heat to the glaze.

01:13:17I'm going to go ahead and squeeze a little bit of passion fruit into this, too.

01:13:20Add a little sweetness to it.

01:13:22The other part of this is I need to have a crunchy element.

01:13:24So, I'm using a mandolin to actually cut the squash into, like, really fine julienne.

01:13:29And I'm going to fry that at a low temperature so it gets nice and crispy.

01:13:32We all know Shirley's been through a lot, and I can tell she's got a fire in her, so she's

01:13:36gonna be tough to beat.

01:13:38This is the best position I've been in in TOC history for myself.

01:13:42You know, for me, it's a big deal.

01:13:43In our family, we have two chefs who compete a lot.

01:13:47So, would it be nice to sit down over a holiday dinner and be able to brag a little bit

01:13:51to Michael that I've won Tournament of Champions as an individual?

01:13:55It's going good.

01:13:56Yes.

01:13:57So, does that add a little bit of pressure?

01:13:59Yes.

01:14:00It's motivating me to win.

01:14:05All right, that's going.

01:14:06There's ten minutes left.

01:14:08Yeah, they're looking calm, developing layers and layers of flavor at this point.

01:14:15Chef, what's the plan with the pork?

01:14:17Add to my puree.

01:14:19Ah.

01:14:19Body pork.

01:14:20I'm with you now.

01:14:21I really want to play up the randomizer.

01:14:24And I only use pork in one way so far.

01:14:27So, this is my quick, soft, sauteed pork.

01:14:30This pork is going to saute so beautifully because it's so tender and marvellous.

01:14:40Add that to the puree, so it's silky smooth.

01:14:46I like what's happening here.

01:14:48Traditionally, chashu pork always had that charred little pieces.

01:14:52That's always my favorite part of chashu pork.

01:14:55Passion for a honey glaze.

01:14:57Okay.

01:14:57I want to also reinforce the passion fruit.

01:15:01So, I'm making a passion fruit and honey glaze to use at the last minute when I'm tasting.

01:15:08I'm intentionally leaving this passion fruit this whole.

01:15:12So, that's another crunchy element.

01:15:15Four minutes.

01:15:16Four to go.

01:15:18Should be served medium rare.

01:15:23The first thing I'm going to do is place the puree down the center of the plate.

01:15:27I'm going to put this other barbecue glaze that I have.

01:15:31Two slices of pork.

01:15:34And the crispy element right on the top.

01:15:36You know, every day I get ready for this competition.

01:15:39I'm in the kitchen daily, cooking, mentoring, creating new dishes, working with my brother.

01:15:43We're partners in our restaurants.

01:15:44You know, so there's a lot of experience under my belt.

01:15:47I'm ready for this.

01:15:49Two minutes.

01:15:51Passion fruit vinaigrette salad.

01:15:53I am going to finish up the plate with passion fruit herb salad.

01:15:58So, now I'm placing tempura squash down first, nice and crunchy.

01:16:04Placing the sliced chashu pork onto the capucho squash puree.

01:16:10Finishing up the plate with a little bit more glaze and also my herb salad.

01:16:14My cancer friends.

01:16:15Some of them have never tasted him.

01:16:18It will mean so much for me to be a champion.

01:16:22I want to be here to win for them.

01:16:28Five, four, three, two, one.

01:16:32We're done with the quarterfinals.

01:16:33Done with the quarterfinals.

01:16:35Whoo!

01:16:36Two culinary superheroes going at it.

01:16:39Chef Shirley Chung, Brian Voltaggio, try to bring our judges back in.

01:16:43Before they scored.

01:16:47I made everything I wanted, um, properly, so.

01:16:52I got the crispy.

01:16:53I got the crunchy.

01:16:54I got the soft.

01:16:55You know?

01:16:56See all the taste.

01:16:58Here we are.

01:16:59Ladies and gentlemen, for the final round of judging,

01:17:02please welcome back the award-winning panel,

01:17:05TOC One champion, Chef Brooke Williamson.

01:17:09Oh, my God.

01:17:10Oh, wow.

01:17:11Brooke.

01:17:11TOC Four champ, the one and only Chef May Lynn.

01:17:15May?

01:17:16Oh, cool.

01:17:16They're bringing out the winners.

01:17:18And Jane Beard award-winning restaurateur, Chef Susan Feniger.

01:17:22I'm very familiar with all three of these chefs.

01:17:24Well, my super judges, the randomizer ordered up a fantastic selection.

01:17:28The first one, Prussia Iberico, Kabocha squash, the use of the wet grinder.

01:17:33The style was crunchy and soft.

01:17:36And the wild card ingredient was passion fruit.

01:17:38Here to present first, TOC Three champ, Tiffany Faison.

01:17:42This is passion fruit charred chashu pressa Iberico with a soft puree of kabocha squash with the fat from the

01:17:51Iberico and crunchy tempura of kabocha.

01:17:53A second glaze of passion fruit and honey was also drizzled on top of the pork.

01:17:58The glaze of passion fruit chashu was completely mixed in the wet grinder.

01:18:02Tempura batter was also constructed entirely in the wet grinder.

01:18:06You hear that?

01:18:08Uh-huh.

01:18:08So crunchy.

01:18:09I get a beautiful char on the outside of this really perfectly cooked piece of pork.

01:18:15Oh, Brookey.

01:18:15I get smooth puree with little bits of meatiness in it.

01:18:19The only thing I will say is that the passion fruit glaze on the outside of the pork, I wish

01:18:24it were a little bit, like, stickier.

01:18:28And, um, grabbed onto the pork a little bit better.

01:18:33I thought that this dish was so, so delicious.

01:18:37Yes.

01:18:38The soft puree of the kabocha squash is really delicious, and I just want another bite.

01:18:43Really spectacular.

01:18:45Oh, spectacular for me?

01:18:47The wet grinder, I think, is an interesting piece of equipment that we don't often use that much in our

01:18:53kitchens here.

01:18:54Yes.

01:18:54To make this batter like that so perfectly is pretty mind-boggling.

01:19:00Yes.

01:19:01But, you know, the frisee salad and herb salad on top I loved.

01:19:05I would have loved a tiny bit more with a little bit more of the passion fruit vinaigrette would have

01:19:09gone into the richness of the squash.

01:19:12But I love the idea of it.

01:19:15Great dish.

01:19:16Great dish, I think.

01:19:17It was a great dish.

01:19:19Judges, scorecards are in front of you.

01:19:2250 points in taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer, 10 points for the plating.

01:19:26I mean, obviously, Shirley got a lot of positive comments.

01:19:29This one's gonna be tough to beat.

01:19:31Now let's see what Brian did.

01:19:33All right, judges, here to present the second dish.

01:19:36Wild card, Justin Warner.

01:19:37Thank you very much.

01:19:38Judges, this is kabocha and passion fruit barbecue presa iberico coated in a wet grinder crafted spice mix with a

01:19:48soft kabocha puree crafted in a wet grinder and crunchy kabocha sticks.

01:19:52In terms of soft and crunchy, I think I audibly heard those crunchy sticks.

01:19:57And I think that puree could be described as soft along with the gentle cook of the presa iberico.

01:20:05The uses of the wet grinder to make that spice mix to crust that presa, I thought that was very

01:20:12ingenious.

01:20:13But also to make this amazing smooth kabocha squash puree, I would have never have guessed that that came out

01:20:19of that wet grinder.

01:20:21I'm excited about that.

01:20:22This dish is gorgeous.

01:20:24The kabocha squash two ways is really nice and a great use of it.

01:20:29The pork is cooked perfectly.

01:20:31Okay.

01:20:32I love the fact that the spices were started whole and then crushed in the grinder because I'm getting little

01:20:40pops of coriander and the seeds.

01:20:42The only thing I'll say is I would have loved a slightly harder sear on the outside of the meat,

01:20:46just a little bit more caramelization.

01:20:50Yeah.

01:20:51Judges, thank you very much.

01:20:52Wonderful job.

01:20:53Scorecards are in front of you.

01:20:55Wow.

01:20:56I think it's going to be split in here.

01:20:58I feel pretty good.

01:21:00I mean, I know she had a lot of positive remarks, too.

01:21:02So I think it's just going to come down to who did a better dish today.

01:21:06All right, chef.

01:21:06Stay ready for you.

01:21:07All right.

01:21:08Scores are in.

01:21:09Scores are in.

01:21:10All right, let's go.

01:21:13All right, ladies and gentlemen.

01:21:15This one was very close.

01:21:18Let's go ahead and bring our chefs out for the final battle of the quarterfinals.

01:21:21Chef Shirley Chung.

01:21:24Chef Brian Pataggio.

01:21:30You two did a dynamite job tonight.

01:21:32Really?

01:21:33Outstanding.

01:21:35Outstanding that we have a two-point difference.

01:21:38And big scores.

01:21:40Let's get into this.

01:21:4287 to 85.

01:21:45Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the final battle of the quarterfinals

01:21:48between Chef Brian Pataggio and Chef Shirley Chung is...

01:22:01Brian Pataggio.

01:22:03What?

01:22:05Oh, my God.

01:22:07Oh, you've got a chef.

01:22:08Jesus.

01:22:13One of the strongest women and one of the greatest chefs I've ever known had a chance

01:22:19to show her strength and stand for people battling cancer.

01:22:23I'm sorry that this is where TOC 7 stops, but it's good because it only just gives us a beginning

01:22:29for TOC 8.

01:22:31We'll see you again.

01:22:32We love you.

01:22:33Chef Shirley Chung.

01:22:36There you go.

01:22:42I mean, I wish I went further, but I've definitely made a dish that I'm very happy with

01:22:48and did everything I wanted to do, so here I am.

01:22:51Brian Pataggio from the C Division taking on number 8, Kenny Gilbert.

01:22:57The beast.

01:22:58He's going to be a tough competitor for sure.

01:22:59There's no easy road to the win here.

01:23:01You are in the final four, going to the semifinals.

01:23:04Ladies and gentlemen, both in the East, Chef Brian Pataggio.

01:23:17Okay.

01:23:19I know I don't give a lot of emotion, and that's fine.

01:23:22If you knew what was going on inside of me right now, you would see, yeah, it's kind of,

01:23:26it's explosive.

01:23:27Like, I feel, I feel amazing.

01:23:29Join us next time for the finale of the tournament as our final four face-offs.

01:23:34Let's go.

01:23:35I'm as ready as I'm going to be.

01:23:36And the two best chefs ultimately compete for the TOC 7 title.

01:23:40You see this coming 11 weeks ago when you were in the qualifiers?

01:23:43I was planning on it.

01:23:45The championship belt.

01:23:47Try to get me.

01:23:48I think this is one of the hardest TOCs I've seen.

01:23:50Agreed.

01:23:50That $150,000 grand prize, TOC 7 is over.

01:23:56Wow.

01:23:56Are you going to be there?

01:23:57I'll be there.

01:23:58See you next week.

01:23:59Adios.

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