Tournament Of Champions S07E07

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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.

00:10:22But 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, kind of like that hot, sour, salty, sweet from Asian cuisine.

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.

00:11:43It'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 Jet 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 Jet.

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

00:12:27Yuck!

00:12:31Chef Jet.

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

00:12:54and the fried 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.

00:13:12First, 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 with crab paste.

00:13:41Yeah, exactly.

00:13:41That's exactly right.

00:13:42Look at that.

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

00:13:44It's really working.

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

00:13:55I 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?

00:14:05Yeah.

00:14:06Jonathan 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 aki.

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 aki 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.

00:15:10I've written cookbooks.

00:15:12I've fathered children.

00:15:13I've opened restaurants.

00:15:14Ooh, 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.

00:15:22And I'm here to prove it.

00:15:24This is the final ten minutes.

00:15:26Ten 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,

00:15:38into chiffonade is what we call it.

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

00:15:44Chef, where's this 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.

00:15:54Yep.

00:15:54Onion, because it is fried and fresh.

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

00:16:05Wasting movement.

00:16:06Aki dressing.

00:16:08I have been final four, four times.

00:16:12But it would mean the world to me to share this belt and this win with everyone that's been on

00:16:18Team Tila for seven years now.

00:16:23Four minutes.

00:16:24Four to go.

00:16:25I think this aki 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 aki 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 aki 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 aki 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.

00:18:56I 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 umms.

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.

00:20:22The presentation, incredible.

00:20:24Yes!

00:20:25We're smart.

00:20:27The rice, incredibly crispy.

00:20:29I just wish I saw a little bit more bok choy.

00:20:31Okay.

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

00:20:34Yeah!

00:20:35Incredible.

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.

00:21:01It'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.

00:21:14Okay.

00:21:15I 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.

00:21:30It'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 was, remained entirely intact and seasoned with a blend of shio koji jerk 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 handheld 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.

00:22:31It 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.

00:22:52So 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.

00:23:27We 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 convinced that one on that one.

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

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

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, stop it.

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

00:24:10That's crazy.

00:24:12The 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...

00:24:33Good,örung.

00:24:42No, no, no, no, no, no.

00:24:46I don't know the winner of the belt.

00:24:47First time, we put up seven, six feet up.

00:24:48Big one foot, wanted aッap noses нашей Aspen AccountDItes.

00:24:48Yep!

00:24:48The winner of the battle for the A Division is turning the rest.

00:24:49Let's say in theこう's zwei here and go ahead, I know.

00:24:49A창an is doing a � эту bread dish.

00:24:50So we Haha!

00:24:51It was going to fill out the는지 by a combination.

00:24:52We're taking that a�� from even though.

00:24:53Very good.

00:24:55Fantastic job. We're going to miss you.

00:24:57But thank you for such a fantastic display.

00:25:00You're one of the kind, brother. Thank you.

00:25:01Thank you for the opportunity.

00:25:02Love you, man. I love you.

00:25:03Love you. Love you, brother.

00:25:04Thank you. Go get it.

00:25:15One point.

00:25:17That's what it is, though.

00:25:18So I'll be back. Yeah.

00:25:20You can run, but you cannot hide.

00:25:23Because Jet Tila is on a warpath.

00:25:26And this is his fifth time in the Final Four.

00:25:31You either go up against Joe Sasto or Kevin Lee.

00:25:36How about no matter what, it's destruction time for me.

00:25:39I'm here to go all the way.

00:25:41Congratulations, Jet Tila!

00:25:42Woo! Final Four!

00:25:44Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you so much.

00:25:47Yeah!

00:25:47All the support. Thank you.

00:25:51Oh, my God. I can't believe it.

00:25:54Very close battle, but congratulations.

00:25:56I heard that you're doing something, okay,

00:25:57to mitigate pre-battle anxiety, the pressure.

00:26:01Yes. I have a coach this year who's ex-Special Forces,

00:26:04a CAA contractor, and he trains soldiers

00:26:07how to deal with high-stress situations.

00:26:09Right.

00:26:09Actually take that breath, slow it down,

00:26:11and try to find the flow.

00:26:12So it's actually working.

00:26:13Amen! That's a great strategy.

00:26:14Well, let's see what happens, brother.

00:26:15We'll continue with that.

00:26:16See you in the Final Four, brother.

00:26:17All right. Thanks, man.

00:26:18Congratulations.

00:26:19Ladies and gentlemen, was that exciting or what?

00:26:22Are you ready for our next two opponents?

00:26:26We have the number five seed, Chef Joe Sasto,

00:26:30who has reached the quarterfinals for the second year in a row,

00:26:33but has never been to the semifinals.

00:26:36You had a good luck apron today.

00:26:38I'm most recently married.

00:26:40The mustache is officially off the market,

00:26:43and $150,000 could go a long way for starting my family.

00:26:47I've taken out some really challenging competitors.

00:26:50We're about to add Lee to the list, maybe.

00:26:52His opponent, the number three seed, Chef Kevin Lee,

00:26:55who has taken down powerful opponents in the past

00:26:59and has also tried to crack the Final Four for the first time.

00:27:03I've been here twice before,

00:27:04losing to Antonio Lofaso.

00:27:07I've been ready for this since the last season ended.

00:27:10I've got to live up to that name, the Dragon Slayer.

00:27:13Kevin Lee, him and I are very similar,

00:27:16despite how different we may look.

00:27:18We're both really good at playing the game,

00:27:19but neither one of us knows what it feels like

00:27:22to get to the Final Four.

00:27:24Not today, Joe. Not today.

00:27:27All right, Chef. They're ready for you.

00:27:28Let's go.

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

00:27:38Then let's light it up.

00:27:41He worked his way up the ranks in Michelin-starred kitchens.

00:27:44He has won Chopped, Chef Grudge Match, and Triple G.

00:27:49His unorthodox guide to Italian cooking, Breaking the Rules,

00:27:53was named one of the best cookbooks of Fall 2025

00:27:57by Bon Appetit and Epicurious.

00:27:59And he defeated culinary icon Lorena Garcia

00:28:03in the second round with a dish

00:28:05that Jeffrey Zakarian called...

00:28:07Just an exquisite plate. The flavor's delicious.

00:28:10It's Chef Joe Sesto!

00:28:16Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

00:28:22Welcome to the quarterfinals. This is a big deal.

00:28:25You are on the verge, my friend,

00:28:27to something you haven't touched yet.

00:28:29In the past, I was always focused on the opponent.

00:28:32This year, I'm keeping it all focused on me.

00:28:35But so is your opponent.

00:28:39He owns two top-rated restaurants in Oklahoma City,

00:28:43including his newest steakhouse, Mott,

00:28:46which is Korean for flavor.

00:28:52He was a James Beard Award semifinalist

00:28:54for Best Chef Southwest in 2025.

00:28:58And in the second round,

00:28:59he scored an upset victory

00:29:01against three-time semifinalists,

00:29:03Chef Britt Resigno,

00:29:05with a country-fried steak

00:29:06that moved Judge Kenny Orger to say,

00:29:09I applaud this chef.

00:29:11Ladies and gentlemen,

00:29:12fired up for the Dragon Slayer,

00:29:15Chef Kevin Lee!

00:29:21Let's go!

00:29:28Woo!

00:29:29Pleasure to have you, Chef.

00:29:31We've seen you on fire all through the competition.

00:29:33What's been going on in the Dragon Slayer's head

00:29:35that is different in TOC 7 than in the past?

00:29:38I think I've proven to myself

00:29:40I belong with the great chefs,

00:29:41and I feel like I have a chance now.

00:29:43Chefs, let's take it to the randomizer.

00:29:46Right this way!

00:29:48Wonderful!

00:29:49Wow!

00:29:49Wonderful!

00:29:51I think it's pretty wonderful.

00:29:53That's if you like to watch competition

00:29:55and people sweat.

00:29:56Let's get after it, gentlemen!

00:29:57Here we go!

00:30:01Come on.

00:30:03Be nice to me.

00:30:05Duck.

00:30:05Swab.

00:30:06Duck.

00:30:06Swab.

00:30:07Pork collar.

00:30:09Pork collar.

00:30:10Okay.

00:30:10I love the pork collar.

00:30:11Manzano peppers.

00:30:13Sweet and spicy.

00:30:18You're welcome.

00:30:20And quince.

00:30:2340 minutes.

00:30:24Starts now.

00:30:26They're out!

00:30:28Pork collar.

00:30:30I love the pork collar.

00:30:31A good amount of fat.

00:30:32Usually it gets slow cooked or cured.

00:30:34Manzano peppers.

00:30:35A fruity but spicy pepper.

00:30:37Delicious.

00:30:38Canola tubes are metal tubes that usually you wrap

00:30:40in a bit of fat.

00:30:40Raw pasta or raw dough around.

00:30:43And deep fry to make the cannoli shells sweet and spicy.

00:30:47We all kind of know what this is.

00:30:48Quince.

00:30:49A pear-shaped fruit.

00:30:51Usually cooked down to make into sauces or jams.

00:30:54Quince is used a lot for that.

00:30:57What is the most predominant flavor in Korean cuisine?

00:31:01Sweet and spicy.

00:31:03I mean, this is just a God's gift to me.

00:31:06So I want to really show off my Korean heritage culture.

00:31:09Spicy pork is one of my favorite dishes in Korean cuisine

00:31:13that my mom used to make for me all the time.

00:31:16So I'm making a gochujang glazed pork collar steak

00:31:19with kimchi fried rice cannoli

00:31:22with a spicy apple quince butter.

00:31:26Hi, Chef.

00:31:27What's going on, Tiff?

00:31:30Maybe.

00:31:31I think Chinese takeout

00:31:33is going to be my inspiration here today.

00:31:35I love sweet and sour pork.

00:31:37And you know what's very similar to sweet and sour pork?

00:31:40Sweet and spicy pork.

00:31:42Here we go.

00:31:43Chef, good to see you.

00:31:44Hey!

00:31:45And so I'm thinking of doing a sweet and spicy quince glazed

00:31:50pork collar and a pork

00:31:52and brown butter quince gochujang cannoli.

00:31:55When the randomizer gives you cannoli bolts,

00:31:57you have to make cannolis.

00:31:59But I don't love spicy food.

00:32:01So this might be a challenge for me

00:32:03to balance the heat and the sweet.

00:32:05Sweet and spicy.

00:32:06How's it going, Justin?

00:32:07Perfect.

00:32:08And you?

00:32:09Ah, so good.

00:32:10Do you cook with a lot of quince?

00:32:12No, you know, we don't cook a lot with quince.

00:32:15I think out of everything in the randomizer,

00:32:18quince is probably giving me the biggest curveball.

00:32:20But pork works really well with apple.

00:32:25So I think I can do a fun play on like a quince apple butter

00:32:28that's sweet and spicy to play this randomizer.

00:32:32Chef Kevin pulled a really smart move.

00:32:34He went and found a habanero pepper.

00:32:36It is the same color as the manzano pepper.

00:32:38So if we're talking about sweet and spicy,

00:32:40that's a great way to get this apple butter spicy.

00:32:43Now that's some spicy and applesauce.

00:32:46I think it's going to be a spicy apple butter.

00:32:51We're dispatching of the quince currently.

00:32:54What's this going to be, Chef?

00:32:56Quince glaze.

00:32:57I'm making like sweet and spicy quince glazed pork steaks.

00:33:01Got it.

00:33:01Quince.

00:33:02Of all the wild cards, I'm happy with this.

00:33:04I love quince.

00:33:05I've worked a lot with quince.

00:33:07I worked at a restaurant called Quince.

00:33:10What a coincidence.

00:33:11Next, time for a classic pickle.

00:33:14That's when I realized the cannoli tube

00:33:16kind of looks like a vegetable punch.

00:33:20I can cut out my pickles with the cannoli tube

00:33:24and kick off another box on that randomizer.

00:33:27Pickled quince, pickled peppers.

00:33:29I'm going to make a nice fresh salad with that

00:33:31just to brighten up the dish.

00:33:34I mean, the name of the game here

00:33:36is use the randomizer as many times as possible.

00:33:39Check, check.

00:33:41$150,000 is a big bag.

00:33:44And if you could come into this arena

00:33:46and win the whole thing, there's no question

00:33:49you're one of the culinary greats.

00:33:52And that's what I'm here to do.

00:33:56So what do we have here?

00:33:57Chefs Kevin Lee and Joe Sasso are both laser-focused

00:34:01on winning this second-round battle.

00:34:03Chef, 25 to go.

00:34:04Can you believe what's happening?

00:34:08I'm making a gochujang glaze.

00:34:11We knew this was coming.

00:34:13Pork-collar steak.

00:34:16You know what's sweet and spicy, Tiffany?

00:34:18Gochujang, Chef Kevin.

00:34:19Gochujang is sweet and spicy.

00:34:21I saw in his shave kit he had gochujang toothpaste.

00:34:24This marinade is going to be the key component

00:34:27to this dish being sweet and spicy.

00:34:30I'm also adding a little bit of the manzano peppers in there

00:34:33to add a nice little kick.

00:34:3620 minutes!

00:34:38Pork-collar is one of those things

00:34:40you've got to cook it perfectly to medium.

00:34:42Because of the fat content in the steak,

00:34:44if you cook it to about a mid-rare,

00:34:46it's going to be way too chewy.

00:34:48Going out now would hurt.

00:34:49I didn't come here just to get to the grade eight.

00:34:51I didn't come here just to get to the final four.

00:34:54I came here to actually win this thing.

00:35:00Now I need to focus on this pork

00:35:02to make those pork-collar steaks.

00:35:04But first, we've got a knockout filling

00:35:06for my cannoli egg roll.

00:35:07Where does that time go?

00:35:09I don't have time to sear off all the sides of the pork,

00:35:12but I want that caramelized flavor.

00:35:14The quickest way to do that is to throw them in the fryer.

00:35:20I spent over a decade in Michelin star kitchens,

00:35:24really honing my craft

00:35:25and giving myself fundamental French and Italian techniques.

00:35:30Mini canoles.

00:35:32That now I carry with me, like a huge bag of tricks.

00:35:36This collar that's been cooking,

00:35:38it's tender, it's juicy.

00:35:39It's going to make the perfect filling

00:35:41for these cannoli egg rolls.

00:35:42And now here I am.

00:35:44This is my fifth year of TOC.

00:35:46And every year I make it a little further

00:35:48than the year before.

00:35:50So, if everything trends according to plan,

00:35:53I'm making it to the finale, baby.

00:35:58All right, here we go.

00:36:01Chives in lieu of chocolate chips.

00:36:03Brilliant.

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.

00:36:13A little grind.

00:36:15A little quince.

00:36:16Yep, why just grind the pork,

00:36:18grind all your aromatics,

00:36:19and really incorporating the rest of the flavors

00:36:20into the ground pork.

00:36:22A little pork.

00:36:23A little pork fat.

00:36:24Sweet.

00:36:24Growing up, I was a competitive golfer.

00:36:27I thought golf was always going to be my path.

00:36:29But I found cooking.

00:36:31Then, two years ago, I showed up in the scene

00:36:33as the unknown qualifier.

00:36:36I was just happy to be amongst these great chefs.

00:36:39Fold it into the rice.

00:36:41Yes.

00:36:42From TOC5, being in the rock bottom in my career,

00:36:46having a failing restaurant.

00:36:47Rolling with cannoli.

00:36:49To fast forward two years later,

00:36:51having two Korean steakhouses under my belt now.

00:36:56And being in the quarterfinals,

00:36:58cooking the best I have ever been cooking,

00:37:00I'm feeling great that I can actually

00:37:02win this thing this season.

00:37:05Everybody likes a crispy fried rice.

00:37:09I'm putting chives on both ends.

00:37:11You know, like a cannoli.

00:37:13That's cute.

00:37:1510 minutes, 10 to go.

00:37:17Once those pork holler steaks have been marinating,

00:37:20I get them into a hot skillet with rendered pork fat.

00:37:24Nothing like cooking pork in pork, baby.

00:37:27I want to make a quince sweet and spicy glaze.

00:37:30I get some quince, water, garlic, chilies, vinegar,

00:37:33all in a pot and start cooking down.

00:37:35And then we're going to want this bonzano pepper

00:37:37to bring a little heat, a little sweet.

00:37:39I want to add that to my quince puree glaze.

00:37:43Let's rush.

00:37:45Five and a half minutes, five and a half.

00:37:48Five and a half.

00:37:53To plate this dish, I'm laying a little bit

00:37:56of the quince apple butter on the side of the plate

00:37:58with the perfectly constructed kimchi pork cannoli

00:38:02on top of the crispy kimchi fried rice.

00:38:05I can't use Antonia as my excuse

00:38:08for not moving on from the quarterfinals this time.

00:38:11Joe, this time, you're going to have to get out of my way.

00:38:16Two minutes.

00:38:18This competition comes down to one or two points always.

00:38:22And plating is 10 of those points.

00:38:24So every little detail counts.

00:38:26And my pickled peppers and quince.

00:38:29And my pork and brown butter quince gojujang egg roll.

00:38:34I want this so bad because I've been dreaming about it

00:38:38for seven years.

00:38:40I want to feel the final four.

00:38:43Five, four, three, two, one.

00:38:47Done.

00:38:50Crazy battle.

00:38:51Chef 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.

00:39:05I wish I had more time for.

00:39:06Joe's a great chef.

00:39:07So, of course, I'm a little, you know, scared.

00:39:10But, you know, this is TOC.

00:39:11There is no easy path to that belt.

00:39:15Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back

00:39:16our amazing judges, TOC One champ, Chef Brooke Williamson.

00:39:21What?

00:39:23TOC Four champ, Chef Mei Lin.

00:39:26And Mei, wow, the champs are back.

00:39:31And James Beard Award winner, Chef Susan Feniger.

00:39:34Wow.

00:39:36Judges, the randomizer giveth.

00:39:40Protein tonight is pork collar.

00:39:41The produce was the Manzano pepper.

00:39:44The equipment needed to be used was, of course,

00:39:46the wonderful cannoli tube.

00:39:48Style was sweet and spicy.

00:39:50And the wild card ingredient, who doesn't love some quince?

00:39:53And who also doesn't love our TOC champ?

00:39:56Tiffany Faison.

00:39:58Holy cannoli!

00:39:59This is Manzano glazed and grilled pork collar steak

00:40:03with kimchi Manzano pork fried rice cannoli

00:40:07and a quince and Manzano pepper butter.

00:40:09Then the pork collar was ground with some quince

00:40:12and then fashioned into the pork fried rice.

00:40:16He ground the pork?

00:40:18Wow.

00:40:20Delicious.

00:40:21Really delicious.

00:40:23The pork is cooked really perfect.

00:40:26The only thing I could say is maybe the quince puree

00:40:29could be toned down a tiny bit.

00:40:32And I like spice.

00:40:33I'll take that.

00:40:34Everything on this plate is sweet and spicy.

00:40:37Yes.

00:40:37The cuisson on the pork collar was to perfection.

00:40:42I have no notes.

00:40:44Oh, Mei, I love you!

00:40:48The stuffed cannoli was a really smart move.

00:40:51But I also feel like that quince puree

00:40:53is a little overpoweringly spicy for me.

00:40:57Judges, thank you very much.

00:40:58Scorecards are in front of you.

00:40:5950 points available in taste,

00:41:0140 in the use of the randomizer

00:41:02and 10 for plating.

00:41:03I'll take it.

00:41:05Damn.

00:41:09Ladies and gentlemen, Chef Justin.

00:41:12Judges, our chef calls this sweet and spicy

00:41:14quince-glazed pork collar.

00:41:16The pork collar was diced and became the filling

00:41:19of the wonton wrapper cannoli.

00:41:21The Manzano pepper was punched using the cannoli tube,

00:41:25which you will see as sweet and spicy pickles.

00:41:27Finally, the steak portion of the pork collar

00:41:30was brushed with quince and then sliced for you.

00:41:35Anything can happen.

00:41:36I actually really appreciate all of these vegetables

00:41:39on the plate.

00:41:40I love the crunch of those peppers.

00:41:41I mean, this is a completely different rendition

00:41:44of the same ingredients.

00:41:47I really appreciate the gameplay

00:41:49and the usage of the cannoli tube

00:41:52to punch out vegetables.

00:41:53I think that's so smart.

00:41:57That's smart.

00:41:58My pork collar is slightly undercooked in the center,

00:42:02but ultimately, I feel like this is a fine dining chef

00:42:06that came to play.

00:42:08The quince got used a little bit more in this,

00:42:11which I think was great.

00:42:12And the use of the cannoli tube works really well.

00:42:16Very interesting.

00:42:19Judges, thank you very much.

00:42:21Scorecards in front of you again.

00:42:23I agree with everything they said.

00:42:25That's why I love judges

00:42:27that are also competitors and champions.

00:42:30It's gonna be close.

00:42:32You know, at the end of the day,

00:42:33I feel like I had a pretty good cook.

00:42:35All right, chef, they're ready for you.

00:42:37Let's go.

00:42:41Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back

00:42:43Chef Joe Sesto!

00:42:45Chef Kevin Lee!

00:42:51Gentlemen, there was so much great cookery.

00:42:54So ironic to me that both of you

00:42:56used the cannoli shells in the same way.

00:42:58A tremendous amount of work done.

00:42:59And here are the scores.

00:43:01One chef scored a 76.

00:43:05The other chef scored 84.

00:43:08Ladies and gentlemen,

00:43:09the winner of the battle for the B Division title

00:43:12between Chef Joe Sesto

00:43:14and Chef Kevin Lee is...

00:43:21The winner of the battle for the B Division title is...

00:43:33Congratulations, Kevin Lee!

00:43:35It's an honor.

00:43:36It's true honor.

00:43:41We love watching Joe compete.

00:43:43I love his mind of creativity.

00:43:48Mustache Joe!

00:43:49Joe Sesto!

00:43:51Ooh!

00:43:57Kevin doesn't miss.

00:43:59You know?

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

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

00:44:03He deserves it.

00:44:03Congratulations.

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

00:44:10Well done!

00:44:12So you look at this.

00:44:14Uncle Jack.

00:44:15It's one of the best.

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

00:44:19on TOC 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 you'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.

00:44:46You know?

00:44:47Two more cooks.

00:44:48That's all 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 quarter.

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 who came all the way from the qualifiers to the final eight.

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

00:45:20The number eight seed, Chef Kenny Gilbert, has scored major upsets against the number one seed and a number four

00:45:27seed.

00:45:27He's hoping to go from the underdog to champ in 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 want to see me up in the Raptors so that my kids and my grandkids can say,

00:45:44wow, 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, Chef Stephanie Izard, the comeback kid,

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

00:45:56and is hoping to get to the final four with a win tonight.

00:46:00A win in the third round and making it to the final four, that would just be like...

00:46:04You know, I've walked away from Tournament of Champions.

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

00:46:20Yeah!

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

00:46:26He worked his way up to Chef de Cuisine of the Ritz Carlton at the age of 23,

00:46:30helping secure the AAA Five Diamond Award for the hotel.

00:46:34He went on to serve as executive chef at some of the most prestigious resorts in America and the Caribbean.

00:46:40He is cooked for the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party, the G8 Summit, and Oprah.

00:46:45He entered the tournament with a qualifiers win, took down top-seeded culinary icon Aron Sanchez in the first round,

00:46:55and earned the highest score of the second round with a 91.

00:46:59Give a big welcome to the Beast of the Kitchen, Chef Kenny Gilbert!

00:47:17Congratulations.

00:47:18It'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 shows 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.

00:47:35As a kid, she and her sister would transform the living room into a dining room to play restaurant.

00:47:42And now she has seven acclaimed restaurants from 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 and Iron Chef.

00:47:59Now, after suffering a few first-round losses on past TOCs, she came back with a vengeance,

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

00:48:33No 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.

00:49:02Hold up!

00:49:03Hold up now!

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

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

00:49:15That'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 GOAT.

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 will 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, this is used a lot in Japan.

00:49:37They create sheets of cucumber and then make the maki rolls sushi out of it.

00:49:41Liquid and solid essentially is 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.

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

00:49:53You've got fat, you've got a breast, you've got legs.

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

00:49:59and do a version of a rollatini and make a duck farce that 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, one 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 cook.

00:50:18Liquid and solid.

00:50:19Welcome back, chef.

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

00:50:40Oh, duck.

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, Tiff.

00:50:48Yep.

00:50:48Time to grind.

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

00:50:52But there's something about Tournament of Champions that's just not clicked yet.

00:50:55And it's interesting.

00:50:56When I think about my son, Ernie, I 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.

00:51:06I made it to the great eighth.

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, and 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.

00:51:24Okay.

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.

00:51:32I 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, and 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, and I really think that there's gonna be this beautiful sheet of

00:52:22eggplant

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

00:52:26Does this not work? I have no idea.

00:52:30I mean, you guys, this thing is not my friend.

00:52:32You not know what I'm doing.

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

00:52:37I mean, I'm just gonna 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 gonna 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 gonna tackle this vegetable cheater to make faux noodles out of sweet potato and daikon radish.

00:53:08All right, so now daikon will work on the cheater.

00:53:11Yeah.

00:53:14Which is usually very traditional in kimchi soup.

00:53:16Good to go.

00:53:18Next, I'm gonna make my duck meatballs by grinding the duck legs, the livers, and the hearts.

00:53:25Regular 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 gonna finish it up in the broth in the soup.

00:53:37I'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 gonna be perfect.

00:53:48I don't think that's gonna 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 the quitter.

00:54:01At 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.

00:54:08I'm gonna 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.

00:54:13And it's gonna render 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!

00:54:31Yes!

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,

00:54:47so that it doesn't seem quite as random with the potatoes.

00:54:49And also, I've got green bananas that I'm gonna turn into little dice

00:54:53and cook with some onions.

00:54:54I'm also gonna 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,

00:55:04but 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.

00:55:11Seven left.

00:55:12Oh, my God.

00:55:14I want to get a char on that graffiti eggplant

00:55:16to kind of add a different layer of flavor into the soup.

00:55:20I also sliced it into circles,

00:55:22and I went ahead and juliened it up

00:55:24and immediately threw that into the soup

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

00:55:28Ooh!

00:55:29I check out my duck breasts.

00:55:30I baste them.

00:55:31I flip them.

00:55:32They're looking great.

00:55:32So I'll grab some go-ja-chang,

00:55:34a little bit of oyster sauce and some fish sauce

00:55:36and make a little paste.

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

00:55:39How ripe are those?

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

00:55:42I purposely selected a starchy banana

00:55:45because I wanted to treat this like a potato element.

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

00:55:51There'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,

00:56:02knowing 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.

00:56:10I pull out my meatballs with the eggplant

00:56:13and some of the kimchi.

00:56:15This is my first TOC experience, but you know what?

00:56:18I 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,

00:56:31and 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,

00:56:38but 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,

00:56:50I just want to make it into the main bracket.

00:56:52So winning this round would give me the confidence

00:56:55to 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, Chef 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,

00:57:25let's welcome back the powerhouse panel of judges,

00:57:28TOC 1 champs with Williamson.

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

00:57:32Oh, Brooke.

00:57:34TOC 4 champs, Chef Mei Lin.

00:57:36Oh, for me.

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,

00:57:49a little graffiti eggplant.

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

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

00:57:58TOC 3 champ, Tiffany Faison.

00:58:00Friends, chefs, we have a roasted solid duck breast

00:58:03with banana duck chili sauce and poached duck 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,

00:58:12Fresno and Serrano chilies with duck liver,

00:58:15creating the sauce that you see.

00:58:16A graffiti eggplant with diced and cornstarch dredged

00:58:19made crispy in the fryer.

00:58:21Also, a potato made its way through the vegetable sheeter

00:58:24for the gorgeous potato crisp on top.

00:58:26Wow.

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

00:58:28This randomizer is insanity.

00:58:32And I think there were a lot of really smart decisions here.

00:58:34Using the red bananas to mimic that chip consistency,

00:58:38and I think that the fact that they're coated

00:58:40to make even crispier was a really smart decision.

00:58:42The use of the bananas for making a curry is really smart

00:58:46and 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.

00:58:58The fat is a little flabby, so I did wish

00:59:00that it was rendered a little bit more.

00:59:02Like, literally, I've cooked 1,000 million duck breast perfectly.

00:59:05Kind of see the sheeter, but I don't really see the sheeter

00:59:09because it's kind of broken up 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,

00:59:2140 points in the use of the randomizer,

00:59:2310 points in plating.

00:59:25You can't not cook your protein properly,

00:59:27but I appreciate them being not super mean about it.

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

00:59:34All you know is that you're just grinding,

00:59:36and 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, graffiti eggplant, and the vegetable sheeter was employed

01:00:03to craft a mock noodle of sorts out 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 meatballs,

01:00:43to 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 it's starchy,

01:01:07but a little bit too starchy.

01:01:09Great, judges.

01:01:09Thank you very much.

01:01:1050 points available in the taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer,

01:01:1610 points in plating.

01:01:18All right.

01:01:19I think it's gonna be close.

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

01:01:24All right, chef, they're ready for you.

01:01:26Oh, my goodness.

01:01:27All right.

01:01:27Ladies 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 Eisdard and Chef Kenny Gilbert is...

01:02:16Katie Gilbert.

01:02:18Oh!

01:02:19Let's go!

01:02:21Let's go!

01:02:26You cut that.

01:02:28Again.

01:02:34Chef, this is the end of the road on TOC 7,

01:02:36but I'll just be looking forward to seeing you in TOC 8.

01:02:40Okay? Thank you very much.

01:02:41Iron Chef!

01:02:43Iron Chef! Stephanie Izar!

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

01:02:50I mean, it's going to take me a little while to recover

01:02:51from being so bummed about that.

01:02:54But Kenny 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

01:02:58is finally getting the spotlight on him.

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

01:03:10And a lot of times, you just want a chance.

01:03:13And so for everyone to see this,

01:03:15and say, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere.

01:03:18I'm going all the way to the top, and I appreciate you.

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

01:03:29Better 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.

01:03:52We have the number five seed, Chef Shirley Chung,

01:03:55the resilient competitor who aced the first two rounds

01:03:58to return to the TOC quarterfinals.

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

01:04:05so definitely a lot more nervous, but I'm ready.

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

01:04:14Chef Brian Voltaggio,

01:04:15who took the team title on TOC All-Star Christmas

01:04:18with his brother Michael

01:04:19and is now back in the TOC arena

01:04:22on a solo winning mission.

01:04:24Shirley knows how to go into the kitchen

01:04:26and put things together and build good, bold flavors.

01:04:28She's great at this, so she's going to be tough,

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

01:04:33I'm here to represent all the survivors,

01:04:36especially cancer survivors out there.

01:04:38I want them to see that they're at light

01:04:41at the end of town hall.

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

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

01:04:51She has become known as the opener.

01:04:55Opening restaurants for culinary legends

01:04:57like Thomas Keller and Jose Andres.

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

01:05:03And after beating tongue cancer,

01:05:06she has returned to earn the highest score

01:05:09of the first round

01:05:09and aced the second round

01:05:11with a dish that Chef Vanityt Shohan

01:05:13compared to receiving...

01:05:14A birthday present.

01:05:15And then you open it up,

01:05:16and 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

01:05:59and cut his teeth in Michelin-starred kitchens.

01:06:02His long list of renowned restaurants

01:06:04includes his latest, Y. Oaks Tavern.

01:06:07He's a two-time James Beard Award nominee

01:06:11and a three-time Top Chef finalist.

01:06:15And he's on a tear in TOC 7,

01:06:18taking down James Beard nominee Dan Jacobs

01:06:21in a tough second-round battle

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

01:06:25Perfectly executed.

01:06:27The TOC Christmas champ,

01:06:29the Bolt of the East,

01:06:30Chef Brian Voltaggio!

01:06:40I have to give it a story.

01:06:44Chef, when I said you're on a tear in TOC 7,

01:06:47considering the holiday competition,

01:06:50you are on a six-straight winning streak

01:06:53here in TOC Arena.

01:06:55How does that feel,

01:06:56and what kind of confidence is that giving you?

01:06:58It feels amazing.

01:06:59But then again,

01:07:00when I'm looking across this kitchen right now,

01:07:02I know tonight is going to be a tough battle.

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

01:07:08The Randomizer.

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

01:07:09All right.

01:07:14Chefs, this is the final round of the quarterfinals,

01:07:16and it's all going to go down right now.

01:07:18Good luck.

01:07:19Protein!

01:07:19Yeah!

01:07:30Squab, squid, squab, squid.

01:07:33Impressive America.

01:07:34Beautiful.

01:07:36Cabocha squash.

01:07:37Cabocha.

01:07:37Okay.

01:07:38Wet grinder.

01:07:39Wet grinder.

01:07:40Interesting.

01:07:41Crunchy and soft,

01:07:43and 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.

01:07:51Okay.

01:07:51Yeah, this is ready for 3, 2, 1.

01:07:54Oh, okay.

01:07:54Got it.

01:07:55They're off!

01:07:58So, Spanish Iberico ham,

01:08:00it's an amazing piece of meat,

01:08:01and Prussia, meaning prey or cat in Spanish,

01:08:05a fantastic piece of meat to work with.

01:08:06They're going to really love this.

01:08:07Cabocha squash is a Japanese squash.

01:08:10So many things can be done with this,

01:08:11from roasting it to pureeing it, you name it.

01:08:14Talk about pureeing it,

01:08:15they 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

01:08:21and then stone wheels grind on the top.

01:08:23Crunchy and soft,

01:08:24how 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,

01:08:40feels 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

01:08:46and the passion fruit into a barbecue glaze.

01:08:49And then pressa Iberico lends itself to grilling it

01:08:52and cooking it, 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

01:09:05when 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,

01:09:12Cantonese-style roasted barbecue pork.

01:09:16And I also make kabocha squash puree

01:09:19and 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 trim 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

01:09:36and break down the pork.

01:09:39Passion fruit, Dijon mustard, smoked shoyu.

01:09:42I want that to marinate for a couple of minutes

01:09:43before 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.

01:09:52And then 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.

01:10:01She said we had the black peppercorn,

01:10:02pink peppercorn, coriander, and fennel.

01:10:05Fennel, yes, chef.

01:10:06I'm eager to win TOC 7

01:10:07because 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.

01:10:17I want that cash.

01:10:17I want to win TOC.

01:10:18I want the banner hanging in the kitchen

01:10:20to remind everybody that I've been here and I've done it.

01:10:25I'm going to make passion fruit-raised chashu pork.

01:10:28Ah, and I'll be here drooling.

01:10:33So my marriage is over.

01:10:35So I'm going to have my passion fruit chashu marinade

01:10:39to go into the wet grinder.

01:10:42Oh, my gosh.

01:10:44Using the vacuum bath to marinate

01:10:46is 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,

01:11:06now I really know how to win.

01:11:10Chefs, we have 25 minutes.

01:11:1225 to go.

01:11:14I'm making barbecue glazed Iberico pork.

01:11:16Butter.

01:11:17I'm also going to try to make a puree

01:11:20with 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,

01:11:26but I'm putting that into a piece of equipment

01:11:29that I don't know if it's going to work.

01:11:30This puree has to be luscious,

01:11:32and it needs to be rich.

01:11:34Okay.

01:11:34Here we go.

01:11:36I look at the puree.

01:11:39Wow.

01:11:40That's a pretty smooth puree.

01:11:42I start juicing the remaining pieces of squash

01:11:44so 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.

01:11:50The sweetness will come from the squash.

01:11:55So get that one reducing.

01:11:56Okay.

01:12:00I'm making a charred pork,

01:12:02and 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,

01:12:14I want it to be silky smooth.

01:12:18That's a 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,

01:12:25I make secret weapon vodka

01:12:27in the wet blender.

01:12:29Hey, save some for us.

01:12:30Right?

01:12:31When you're looking for crispiness,

01:12:33you want as much water removed

01:12:35from any sort of batter or coke as possible,

01:12:37so vodka helps do that.

01:12:39It feels almost like out-of-body experience

01:12:43that now I'm in quarterfinal,

01:12:45but my greatest motivator is really that

01:12:48I want to show everybody Shirley Chow 2.0.

01:12:52With all the love and support

01:12:54that I received the past year,

01:12:56all 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 I'll squeeze

01:13:18a 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

01:13:27into, like, really fine julienne.

01:13:29And I'm going to fry that at a low temperature

01:13:31so it gets nice and crispy.

01:13:32We all know Shirley's been through a lot,

01:13:34and I can tell she's got a fire in her,

01:13:36so she's going to be tough to beat.

01:13:38This is the best position I've been in

01:13:40in 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

01:13:50and be able to brag a little bit to Michael

01:13:52that I've won Tournament of Champions as an individual?

01:13:55It's going good.

01:13:56Yes.

01:13:57Uh, so 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 10 minutes left.

01:14:08Yeah, they're looking calm,

01:14:10developing layers and layers of flavor at this point.

01:14:15Chef, what's the plan with the pork?

01:14:16That's for my puree.

01:14:18Ah.

01:14:19Body pork.

01:14:19I'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.

01:14:31This pork is going to saute so beautifully

01:14:35because 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,

01:14:49chashu pork always had that charred little pieces.

01:14:52That's always my favorite part of chashu pork.

01:14:55Passion fruit and honey glaze.

01:14:57Okay.

01:14:57I want to also reinforce the passion fruit.

01:15:00So I'm making a passion fruit and honey glaze

01:15:03to 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, four to go.

01:15:18Should be served medium rare.

01:15:23The first thing I'm going to do

01:15:24is place the puree down the center of the plate.

01:15:26I'm going to put this other barbecue glaze that I have.

01:15:31Two slices of pork

01:15:34and a 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,

01:15:40cooking, mentoring, creating new dishes,

01:15:42working 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

01:15:55with passion fruit or salad.

01:15:58So now I'm placing tempura squash down first,

01:16:02nice and crunchy.

01:16:04Placing the sliced chashu pork

01:16:06onto the habusha squash puree,

01:16:10finishing up the plate with a little bit more glaze

01:16:12and also my herb salad.

01:16:14My cancer friends,

01:16:15some of them have never tasted them.

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!

01:16:36Two culinary superheroes going at it.

01:16:39Chef Shirley Chung,

01:16:40Brian Multagio,

01:16:41try to bring our judges back in.

01:16:43Boy, they scored.

01:16:47I made everything I wanted

01:16:51properly, 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 how it tastes.

01:16:58Here we are.

01:16:59Ladies and gentlemen,

01:17:00for the final round of judging,

01:17:02please welcome back

01:17:03the award-winning panel.

01:17:05TOC One champ B-dub

01:17:06Chef Brooke Williamson.

01:17:09Oh, my God.

01:17:11Oh, wow.

01:17:11Brooke.

01:17:12TOC Four champ,

01:17:13the 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

01:17:19award-winning restaurant tour

01:17:20Chef Susan Feniger.

01:17:22I'm very familiar

01:17:23with all three of these chefs.

01:17:24Well, my super judges,

01:17:26the randomizer ordered up

01:17:27a fantastic selection.

01:17:29Prussia Iberico,

01:17:30kabocha squash,

01:17:31the use of the wet grinder,

01:17:34the style was crunchy and soft,

01:17:36and the wildcard ingredient

01:17:37was passion fruit.

01:17:38Here to present first,

01:17:40TOC Three champ,

01:17:41Tiffany Faison.

01:17:42This is passion fruit charred

01:17:45chashu pressa Iberico

01:17:47with a soft puree

01:17:48of kabocha squash

01:17:49with the fat from the Iberico

01:17:51and crunchy tempura of kabocha.

01:17:53A second glaze

01:17:54of passion fruit and honey

01:17:56was also drizzled

01:17:57on top of the pork.

01:17:58The glaze of passion fruit chashu

01:18:00was completely mixed

01:18:01in the wet grinder.

01:18:02Tempura batter was also constructed

01:18:03entirely in the wet grinder.

01:18:06You hear that?

01:18:07Uh-huh.

01:18:08So crunchy.

01:18:09I get a beautiful char

01:18:11on the outside

01:18:12of this really perfectly

01:18:13cooked piece of pork.

01:18:15Oh, good.

01:18:15I get smooth puree

01:18:17with little bits

01:18:18of meatiness in it.

01:18:19The only thing I will say

01:18:21is that the passion fruit glaze

01:18:23on the outside of the pork,

01:18:24I wish it were a little bit,

01:18:25like, stickier

01:18:28and grabbed onto the pork

01:18:31a little bit better.

01:18:33I thought that this dish

01:18:35was so, so delicious.

01:18:37Yes.

01:18:38The soft puree

01:18:39of the kabocha squash

01:18:40was really delicious,

01:18:41and I just want another bite.

01:18:43Really spectacular.

01:18:45Spectacular for me?

01:18:47The wet grinder, I think,

01:18:48is an interesting piece

01:18:50of equipment

01:18:51that we don't often use

01:18:52that much in our kitchens here.

01:18:54Yes.

01:18:54To make this batter like that

01:18:56so perfectly

01:18:58is pretty mind-boggling.

01:19:00Yes.

01:19:01But, you know,

01:19:02the frisee salad

01:19:03and herb salad on top,

01:19:04I loved.

01:19:05I would have loved

01:19:05a tiny bit more

01:19:06with a little bit more

01:19:07of the passion fruit vinaigrette.

01:19:09Would have gone into

01:19:10the richness of the squash,

01:19:11but 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,

01:19:20scorecards are in front of you.

01:19:2250 points in taste,

01:19:2340 points in the use

01:19:24of the randomizer,

01:19:2510 points for the plating.

01:19:26I mean, obviously,

01:19:27Shirley got a lot

01:19:28of positive comments.

01:19:29This one's gonna be

01:19:30tough to beat.

01:19:31Now let's see

01:19:32what Brian did.

01:19:33All right, judges,

01:19:34here to present

01:19:35the second dish,

01:19:36wild card Justin Warner.

01:19:37Thank you very much.

01:19:39Judges, this is kabocha

01:19:40and passion fruit barbecue

01:19:42presa iberico,

01:19:44coated in a wet grinder

01:19:46crafted spice mix

01:19:47with a soft kabocha puree

01:19:49crafted in a wet grinder

01:19:50and crunchy kabocha sticks.

01:19:52In terms of soft

01:19:54and crunchy,

01:19:55I think I audibly heard

01:19:56those crunchy sticks,

01:19:57and I think that puree

01:19:59could be described as soft

01:20:00along with the gentle cook

01:20:01of the presa iberico.

01:20:05The uses of the wet grinder

01:20:07to make that spice mix

01:20:09to crust that presa,

01:20:11I thought that was

01:20:12very ingenious,

01:20:13but also to make

01:20:14this amazing, smooth

01:20:15kabocha squash puree.

01:20:17I would have never

01:20:18have guessed that that

01:20:19came out of that wet grinder.

01:20:21I'm excited about that.

01:20:22This dish is gorgeous.

01:20:24The kabocha squash,

01:20:26two ways,

01:20:26is really nice

01:20:27and a great use of it.

01:20:29The pork is cooked perfectly.

01:20:30Okay.

01:20:32I love the fact

01:20:34that the spices

01:20:36were started whole

01:20:37and then crushed

01:20:38in the grinder

01:20:39because I'm getting

01:20:40little pops of coriander

01:20:41in the seeds.

01:20:42The only thing I'll say

01:20:43is I would have loved

01:20:44a slightly harder sear

01:20:45on the outside of the meat,

01:20:46just a little bit

01:20:47more 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.

01:20:55I think it's going to be

01:20:57split in here.

01:20:58I feel pretty good.

01:20:59I mean, I know she got

01:21:00a lot of positive remarks, too.

01:21:02So I think it's just

01:21:03going to come down

01:21:03to who did a better dish today.

01:21:06All right, Chefs,

01:21:06they're 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

01:21:18and bring our chefs out

01:21:19for the final battle

01:21:20of the quarterfinals.

01:21:21Chef Shirley Chung.

01:21:24Chef Brian Votaggio.

01:21:30You two did a dynamite job tonight.

01:21:32Really?

01:21:33Outstanding.

01:21:35Outstanding that we have

01:21:36a 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,

01:21:46the winner of the final battle

01:21:47of the quarterfinals

01:21:48between Chef Brian Votaggio

01:21:51and Chef Shirley Chung

01:21:55is...

01:22:01Brian Votaggio!

01:22:03What?

01:22:04Oh, my God.

01:22:07Oh, my God, Chef.

01:22:12One of the strongest women

01:22:15and one of the greatest chefs

01:22:16I've ever known

01:22:17had a chance

01:22:19to show her strength

01:22:20and stand for people

01:22:21battling cancer.

01:22:23I'm sorry that this is

01:22:24where TOC 7 stops,

01:22:26but it's good

01:22:27because it only just gives us

01:22:29a beginning for TOC 8.

01:22:31We'll see you again.

01:22:32We love you.

01:22:33Chef Shirley Chung.

01:22:41Oh, I mean,

01:22:43I wish I went further.

01:22:45But I've definitely

01:22:46made a dish that

01:22:47I'm very happy with

01:22:48and did everything

01:22:49I wanted to do,

01:22:50so here I am.

01:22:52Brian Votaggio

01:22:53from the C Division

01:22:54taking on number 8,

01:22:56Kenny Gilbert.

01:22:57The beast.

01:22:58He's going to be

01:22:58a tough competitor for sure.

01:22:59There's no easy road

01:23:00to the win here.

01:23:01You are in the final four,

01:23:02going to the semifinals.

01:23:04Ladies and gentlemen,

01:23:05both in the East,

01:23:06Chef Brian Votaggio!

01:23:10There he goes!

01:23:17Okay.

01:23:19I know I don't give

01:23:20a lot of emotion,

01:23:21and that's fine.

01:23:22If you knew what was going

01:23:23on inside of me right now,

01:23:24you would see,

01:23:25yeah, it's kind of,

01:23:26it's explosive.

01:23:27Like, I feel,

01:23:28I feel amazing.

01:23:29Join us next time

01:23:30for the finale of the tournament

01:23:31as 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

01:23:37ultimately compete

01:23:38for the TOC 7 title.

01:23:41You see this coming

01:23:4111 weeks ago

01:23:42when you were in the qualifiers?

01:23:43I was planning on it.

01:23:45The championship felt...

01:23:47Try to get me.

01:23:48I think this is one

01:23:49of the hardest TOCs I've seen.

01:23:50Agreed.

01:23:50That $150,000 grand prize.

01:23:53TOC 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.

01:24:00Adios.

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