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00:00:00Tonight, the Victoria's Super 16 re-enter the arena
00:00:03to kick off the second round of competition.
00:00:07Go.
00:00:09TOC's a different game.
00:00:11It's a whole different league.
00:00:13First, four-time finalist, Jet Tila,
00:00:15returns to battle, Chef Claudette Cepeda.
00:00:18I'll keep doing this until we win or until I die.
00:00:21I do my own stuff, guys.
00:00:24Next, it's a showdown between two of TOC's greatest Cinderella stories,
00:00:28Chef Rick Resigno, and Chef Kevin Lee.
00:00:31This is the battle of TOC 7.
00:00:33I'm here to win the whole thing this year.
00:00:35Going home is just not an option.
00:00:37And then, James Beard Award winner Jonathan Sawyer
00:00:40faces off against Food Network star Artie Sequeira.
00:00:43Look at that!
00:00:44Beautiful.
00:00:45Oh, my God.
00:00:45And finally, top-seeded culinary icon, Lorena Garcia,
00:00:49takes on Top Chef All-Star Joe Sasto.
00:00:52Hey, you're having a good time.
00:00:54Who will win the spot in the quarterfinals?
00:00:56So this is just a small miracle here on the plate.
00:01:00This is Tournament of Champions 7.
00:01:10Here they come now.
00:01:12The 16 superstars with extra swagger in their step.
00:01:17Congratulations.
00:01:18Nice.
00:01:20Round 2 means everything.
00:01:22My goal this season is the finale.
00:01:24If I don't get this win today, I'll be hugely disappointed in myself.
00:01:29You want to hear something interesting?
00:01:30Five of you are here from the qualifiers.
00:01:35Wow.
00:01:37Never been done before.
00:01:38Which one of you is going to win four more battles in a row without a single misstep?
00:01:44We're talking the title.
00:01:45We're talking the belt.
00:01:47The ultimate bling, of course.
00:01:48We're talking $150,000.
00:01:57So many great match-ups to choose from.
00:02:03Let's go with Chef Jettila and Chef Clannette Cepeda.
00:02:11Chef Jeff through that door.
00:02:12Chef Cepeda through that door.
00:02:15And I will see you all very soon.
00:02:23Oh, man.
00:02:24Sometimes there might be some easy roads in battles.
00:02:28Every road is terrible this year.
00:02:30It is all amazing chefs.
00:02:32Trying to guess what the hell is going to be on that randomizer.
00:02:35I've never gone against Jett in any competition.
00:02:38I've only judged with him.
00:02:40He is one hell of a cook, so I'm really excited.
00:02:42Let's meet our chefs kicking off the second round.
00:02:46We have the number six seed, Chef Claudette Cepeda, who scored an upset victory in the first round, taking down
00:02:52Chef Tobias Dorzon.
00:02:54I'm happy and proud of myself for making it to the second round, and I'm just definitely focused and hungry.
00:03:00Her opponent is the number two seed, Chef Jettila.
00:03:04The winningest chef in this year's bracket.
00:03:06Man, I've been here so many times before.
00:03:10I think I've competed more than anyone else here right now.
00:03:12It's that itch I can't scratch, the finale, and then the win.
00:03:15That's the end goal.
00:03:16He's going to make me work for it, which he should.
00:03:19I'm going to make him work for it, too.
00:03:21Claudette, like me, we cook from the soul.
00:03:22Also a lot of technique.
00:03:24This is going to be a flavor battle.
00:03:25There's definitely going to be flavor bombs on both ends.
00:03:27They're ready for you.
00:03:29All right, let's do this.
00:03:31Let's go.
00:03:36Are you ready for a Super Chef Showdown?
00:03:40Then let's light this up!
00:03:44Her distinctive approach to regional Mexican cuisine has twice earned her a spot on Esquire's
00:03:50Best New Restaurant list.
00:03:52A Michelin recommendation and a James Beard semi-finalist nod for Best Chef West.
00:03:58She has competed in the U.S. and Mexican versions of Top Chef and Iron Chef and defeated the
00:04:04Titans on Bobby's Triple Threat.
00:04:07And she won her first DOC victory in the first round of this tournament with a dish that the
00:04:12judges agreed.
00:04:13I would eat this in like a two-star Michelin restaurant.
00:04:15Absolutely.
00:04:16Put your hands together for the culinary anthropologist.
00:04:21La Jepa Chef Claudette Zepeda!
00:04:29Come on, Mavis!
00:04:35I'll tell you, Chef, watching you cook and watching that win, you brought it.
00:04:42You're going to need all that energy because this one's a tough one.
00:04:44By the time he was 16, he had worked every single position in his family's seven restaurants.
00:04:52He has opened more than 20 restaurant concepts, broken five culinary world records, and is
00:04:59an Emmy and James Beard-nominated cooking show host.
00:05:03He has won Chopped All-Stars and Bobby's Triple Threat.
00:05:06He has been to the TOC Final Four a record four times.
00:05:12And in his first battle of TOC-7, he had a dish that Dominique Crenn called...
00:05:17Incredible.
00:05:19Period.
00:05:20Give it up for the Jets-ster!
00:05:22The legend!
00:05:24Chef Jet!
00:05:25Zeele!
00:05:40Zeele!
00:05:42Congratulations on a first-round win, kicking off the second round of competition.
00:05:47Chefs, to the randomizer.
00:05:48Let's go.
00:05:48Right this way.
00:05:54Oh, wow.
00:05:55Remember, chefs, the randomizer's going to determine the mandatory details of your dish,
00:05:59the protein, the produce, the equipment, the style, and finally, the new wild card, which
00:06:04will be a wild card ingredient.
00:06:08Big smiles, at least.
00:06:09It's called a smile mask.
00:06:11Is that what it is?
00:06:12Because I'm really freaking out inside.
00:06:13Really nice.
00:06:13Here we go for the proteins.
00:06:16I'm not going to say anything.
00:06:18No.
00:06:19Because she'll hear us.
00:06:20Yeah.
00:06:21She's in our brains.
00:06:23Bronze chicken, bone in, chicken.
00:06:26Whole chicken.
00:06:28Fresno peppers.
00:06:29Rolling grill basket.
00:06:32Weeknight dinner, frozen peas.
00:06:34Ah, 35 minutes.
00:06:36Go.
00:06:42Whole chicken.
00:06:44They're going to have the gizzards, the hearts, the livers, everything inside of these.
00:06:48These will be organic chickens.
00:06:49Fresno peppers, bright red, very similar to jalapeno.
00:06:52It's just not as hot.
00:06:53Rolling grill basket.
00:06:54You can roll it back and forth over the grills.
00:06:56Weeknight dinner, not complicated, no frills, but should be some grills.
00:07:00Frozen peas, frozen or canned, I'll always take frozen.
00:07:03This, you'll get a better texture out of it.
00:07:05Here we go.
00:07:06The hunger to win TOC only increases every year.
00:07:10Who else has been here every season for seven seasons?
00:07:13Monique's gone because she's won.
00:07:15And Tony's gone because she's won.
00:07:17It crushes me every year, but I get up again and go to therapy and figure it out and I
00:07:22come
00:07:22back.
00:07:23You two?
00:07:23Yeah.
00:07:24Pick whatever you want.
00:07:24I've known Jet for years.
00:07:26I understand his capabilities as a human and a chef.
00:07:31I admire the hell out of all of those things about him.
00:07:34But when a Latina takes your earrings off, it's about to go down.
00:07:41When it comes to weeknight dinner, chef, what do you think?
00:07:44Green curry chicken, using those peas.
00:07:48Speaking of, there they are.
00:07:51Peas and rice, natural pear.
00:07:54For me, I'm going green curry chicken with a rice pilaf.
00:07:59You get it?
00:07:59I start with a canned green curry.
00:08:02I fortify it with some of those Fresno chilies.
00:08:05The peas are going to give me some sweetness and a lot of color.
00:08:08The curry is going to be the marinade for the chicken and also the base to make the curry
00:08:13sauce.
00:08:13Reinforcing all those flavors and that green color.
00:08:19So smart.
00:08:20What in the world.
00:08:20Keep that color clean.
00:08:22Basket.
00:08:23Throw some spices in here.
00:08:26Anise, cinnamon, chilies.
00:08:28We'll start there.
00:08:29I need to use this roller basket.
00:08:30And the best thing, in my opinion, is to toast some spices.
00:08:34Thanks, guys.
00:08:35Thank you, thank you.
00:08:36I'm joined, as always, by my amazing culinary commentators.
00:08:39We have the Michelin-recommended chef and walking food encyclopedia, chef Justin Warner,
00:08:43an award-winning restaurateur, and the TOC3 champ herself, chef Tiffany Faison.
00:08:48Now, Justin and Tiffany will closely follow the preparation of these dishes so they can perfectly
00:08:52describe them to the judges during the blind tasting.
00:08:55We're also joined by our roving reporter, Hunter Fieri, who will be talking with our chefs backstage.
00:08:59And also, culinary scholar, Saibu Jandar, will be talking to our judges about the difficulty
00:09:04of each randomizer challenge.
00:09:05My mind immediately goes to my childhood.
00:09:09In Mexico, we eat sweater weather food year-round.
00:09:12One of my favorite dishes growing up is calo de arroz con pollo.
00:09:15It was in constant rotation in my house.
00:09:18I'm going to do boiled chicken with calo de arroz, which is kind of like a brothier rice,
00:09:24but not a Spanish style.
00:09:27Yep.
00:09:27Just like mom used to make.
00:09:29In front of an audience.
00:09:31I start my chicken broth.
00:09:32In the pot goes my chicken base, dashi powder, dried shiitakes, alfasanta, avocado leaves,
00:09:38some lemongrass.
00:09:40Trying to fortify the hot water as much as I can to get me the win.
00:09:45Oh, bye chicken.
00:09:46Good night.
00:09:47Oh, the whole chicken's going in.
00:09:49I get 35 minutes to get a little evisions of granger.
00:09:52Like, I got all this time.
00:09:53I can do all this extra work.
00:09:54Things can get nice.
00:09:5625 minutes to go, 10 minutes down already.
00:09:58There's not a lot of time.
00:10:02Laudette, Jet, you have 15 minutes left.
00:10:0515 in the competition.
00:10:06You've broken down a chicken before, Seth, right?
00:10:08I don't know.
00:10:08How do you do this again?
00:10:10Chicken stock flavor really comes from the connective tissue and the bones and the marrow.
00:10:14So the backs are going to be to get big chicken flavor in the stock, which will go into the
00:10:18rice and the curry.
00:10:21I want the judges to not be concerned with the bone, and I debone the thighs.
00:10:25And I roll them in the curry to start the marinade.
00:10:27Where's the time?
00:10:28Right?
00:10:29Right?
00:10:30I pulled the spices and the chili out of the roller basket, and I put it into a stock pot.
00:10:34Ooh, look at those spices!
00:10:36I remove the chicken backs from the roller basket and get them into that stock pot.
00:10:40I also finished that stock with Fresno pepper, because I'm trying to get Fresnos everywhere.
00:10:43It's about playing the game.
00:10:45Chef, what's this stock going to be?
00:10:46This stock is going to be for the rice.
00:10:48Understood.
00:10:49Yeah, so we can get the chicken essence inside.
00:10:51So it's going to be multiple uses.
00:10:54Do I see Asian ingredients here, Chef?
00:10:56It's a little bit of mix, yeah.
00:10:57I've been cooking Mexican cuisine for the last decade-plus of my career.
00:11:02But weeknight dinner at my house, we're eating any form of Asian cuisine.
00:11:08Open up.
00:11:09The Fresnos are right, tangy, zippy, spicy.
00:11:12No, I don't, close up.
00:11:18The broth for the rice is inspired by Tom Kha.
00:11:21It is a loose rice dish.
00:11:23More like risotto than soup.
00:11:25Flavors that I normally get to my house.
00:11:29Are we cooking the chicken in the rolling grill basket?
00:11:32We're trying, Chef.
00:11:33Chef.
00:11:34Dope.
00:11:34I'm really trying to make sure that I hit the randomizer.
00:11:37While I can't see what Chef's doing, I know that that is always in his mind.
00:11:41Gameplay is important.
00:11:43I can't get dinged for it.
00:11:44We got collards going in.
00:11:46I like this little move.
00:11:47Also, weeknight dinner, we got to get our greens.
00:11:49This is my go-to for the family.
00:11:50It's always the collards.
00:11:51Oh!
00:11:53That's cool.
00:11:54I need to render these thighs and get them crispy.
00:11:58So the shortcut to that is to throw them in the fryer.
00:12:01That's hot!
00:12:03Quickly.
00:12:04So I have peas in the curry, but in case the judges don't get it, I want some actual peas
00:12:08in
00:12:09the curry so they eat the actual whole peas.
00:12:11I get the thighs into the curry to braise to really get the curry flavor onto the thighs.
00:12:16Double use on the Fresno, double use on the pea.
00:12:18That's what it looks like.
00:12:19Great gameplay.
00:12:19Yep.
00:12:19In my head, I see this green pistou-like sauce being drizzled over the rice.
00:12:26Woo!
00:12:27Hot dog!
00:12:28I put Fresno peppers that have also been charred in the roller grill with peas, a little bit
00:12:34of chicken stock.
00:12:35The pressure for me on this round is coming from every direction.
00:12:40It's always about my kids, the next generation of other Hispanic little kids that don't see
00:12:45themselves in mainstream media and can see my path and be like, oh, if she can do it,
00:12:50I can do it too.
00:12:51Oh, come on.
00:12:52Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
00:12:52Careful, careful, careful.
00:12:57I pulled the chicken in the pot out.
00:13:00It's not even done.
00:13:01Isn't even close.
00:13:02Can't survive.
00:13:03What's going on with this chicken?
00:13:05It's so raw.
00:13:06Oh.
00:13:08Back in the back.
00:13:09The breast went back in the stock pot.
00:13:10I'm putting the legs into the fryer to see if I can get that finished cooking.
00:13:15What's this going to be?
00:13:16Oh, that's going to be our rice.
00:13:18Did I do too much?
00:13:19Did I do too much?
00:13:20That is going to be the question.
00:13:22What's next?
00:13:23I'm going to make like a chili sauce.
00:13:25I need to do one more thing with Fresnos.
00:13:27Take Fresno peppers whole and red bell peppers and I juice them, throw that right into the chicken
00:13:34fat pan to make my version of a chili crisp and I'm hoping they like spicy.
00:13:40Three minutes.
00:13:42For my pea saute, it's got curry leaves, Fresno peppers that have been in the rolling grill
00:13:48and then I add the frozen peas.
00:13:53I do my own stuff, guys.
00:13:56The chicken is still quite rare on the inside so I spice it in half, put them back in against
00:14:02the wall of the roller grill.
00:14:04The fryer chicken isn't really cooking the way I want it to so I'm at least going to try
00:14:08to save the skins and use this.
00:14:11Thankfully.
00:14:12The outside of the chicken breast is properly cooked and the inside is like that perfect
00:14:17carryover pink.
00:14:2090 seconds.
00:14:21I start by laying down a base of that coconut pilaf.
00:14:24It's got the Fresnos in it.
00:14:27Wow, that's awesome.
00:14:28Holy moly.
00:14:29I slice some chicken thighs, shingled over the rice.
00:14:34I drizzle the chicken fat hot sauce.
00:14:37I need a crunch.
00:14:38Chef, you have 60 seconds left.
00:14:40I crunch up a bit of the fried basil.
00:14:43This is exactly what I want to eat on a weeknight.
00:14:47It would mean the world to me to win this year.
00:14:50I'll keep doing this until we win or until I die.
00:14:54I'm scooping two ladles of the caldo de arroz on the base of the plate.
00:14:59Then I drizzle that collard and pea stew on top.
00:15:04And then I add the pea salad, grilled chicken breast on the right, and garnish with pretty
00:15:08leaves, the pinch of salt, and lime at the end.
00:15:10This dish is a pug in a bowl, distoral cooking.
00:15:13Very comforting flavors.
00:15:16Five, four, three, two, one.
00:15:20We're done.
00:15:21Good?
00:15:22Good.
00:15:24Congratulations.
00:15:25Cauda Cepeda, Jet T-Lite.
00:15:27Back to your trailers.
00:15:29Let's go ahead and bring the judges in.
00:15:31I feel really good hoping I didn't make it too spicy.
00:15:34I would eat it.
00:15:35My kids would love it.
00:15:36You can't take her for granted.
00:15:38Our flavors are big.
00:15:39They're probably similar.
00:15:39So it's going to be tight, I think.
00:15:42All right, folks, the DOC judges have been waiting in their trailers for their first
00:15:46blind tasting, and we finally left them out.
00:15:49James Beard award-winning restaurateur who made food and wine and Gourmet Magazine's
00:15:54list of best restaurants in America.
00:15:56Who is it?
00:15:57Chef Michelle Bernstein.
00:16:02Latin specialist can eat spicy.
00:16:04Hope she understands my flavors.
00:16:06I'm good with that.
00:16:07She's all that, and then some famed chef behind some of Boston's
00:16:11most acclaimed restaurants and James Beard award-winner, Chef Kenny Oranger.
00:16:18Kendall's been more restaurants than many, many of us will ever.
00:16:22He's a Michelin-starred restaurateur who has earned multiple three-star reviews from
00:16:26The New York Times.
00:16:27He is an iron chef, Chef Jeffrey Sicario.
00:16:32Jeffrey's a hard-ass.
00:16:34Woo!
00:16:35Judges, the randomizers become a little bit more difficult.
00:16:38For the proteins, the chefs had whole chicken, produce was Fresno peppers, equipment was
00:16:43a rolling grill basket, the style was weeknight dinner, and the wild-card ingredient was frozen
00:16:47peas.
00:16:48And here to present, Justin Warner.
00:16:49Come on, Justin.
00:16:50Do me proud.
00:16:51This is a whole chicken green curry, along with some Fresno chicken fat chili crisp.
00:16:56The whole chicken was butchered.
00:16:58The breast and thigh were marinated in a green pea green curry.
00:17:03From there, they were fried lightly and then cooked skin-side down in a pan with fish sauce,
00:17:07toasted cinnamon that was toasted in the rolling grill basket, and they were finished
00:17:12in a curry sauce.
00:17:13The Fresno peppers, you can find roasted in the grill basket in the curry.
00:17:17You can find them in the rice, and then, of course, their juice was used to make that
00:17:21chili crisp.
00:17:22Ken ate all of it.
00:17:24Let's go.
00:17:25Guy, if this is weeknight cooking, I want to be eating at this frickin' house seven nights
00:17:30a week.
00:17:30Yeah!
00:17:32The complexity in 30 minutes to get the flavor, the balance, utilizing the toasted spices
00:17:38from the rolling grill, and the crispy skin, the pea curry, beautifully done dish.
00:17:44Oh, my God.
00:17:45I do feel nauseous.
00:17:46This is a lot of fun, and as a weeknight meal, this could be something that I could
00:17:50repeat.
00:17:51The chicken is delicious.
00:17:52It's cooked on point.
00:17:53I love the curry flavors, and then I love the pop of the pea as well.
00:17:57I feel like the rice could be just a little less cooked.
00:18:00Okay.
00:18:01That's not bad.
00:18:02Curry is one of those things that is very hard to master because everybody has their
00:18:05own sort of idea of what curry is.
00:18:07It sure is.
00:18:08This happens to be a particularly delicious curry.
00:18:10However, the spice level, almost too much, and I would have loved a bit more sauce because
00:18:15the sauce is the best part of this dish.
00:18:17Thank you very much.
00:18:18Good job, Dad.
00:18:18Okay.
00:18:20Judges, your scorecards are in front of you.
00:18:2250 points in flavor, 40 points in the use to randomize her, and 10 points in the plating.
00:18:27Mmm.
00:18:29I feel good.
00:18:31This is a let's see how she did, not a slam dunk.
00:18:36Status quo at the moment.
00:18:37All right, ladies and gentlemen, here to present the second dish is our T-O-C-3 champ.
00:18:42Tiffany, face on.
00:18:43Here we go.
00:18:44In front of you, we have pollo con sopa arroz.
00:18:47A sauce on top of that was crafted by a grill basket that was fed with charred collard greens,
00:18:51fresnos that were also charred on the grill basket.
00:18:54Those were put in a blender with frozen peas and fresnos and a little bit of chicken stock.
00:18:57Next, a sauté of the rolling grill basket, grilled fresnos, sliced with shallots, frozen peas, curry leaves, and mint adorned
00:19:04the top of the rice.
00:19:06The breast was fabricated from the chicken and grilled on the rolling grill basket.
00:19:09That's the breast that you have on top.
00:19:12Sobre arroz, which is obviously chicken soup, right?
00:19:15This is more of like a rice stew.
00:19:17However, it's my favorite part of this dish.
00:19:20The chicken in that sopa is really well cooked.
00:19:23The chicken that's a little overcooked to me is this piece right in the center that has been in the
00:19:29rolling grill basket.
00:19:32And it is quite charred.
00:19:34The chef took us on a journey.
00:19:36Latin America, we're in Southeast Asia.
00:19:38There's the curry, the chilies, juicy, luscious chicken in that rice soup, which steals the show.
00:19:44I don't think they were so successful with cooking the chicken breast on top.
00:19:49Really good flavors, great weeknight meal, great use of the randomizer.
00:19:52The rice is cooked expertly.
00:19:54And I would have liked my chicken poached and shredded and incorporated into this rice.
00:19:59It really needed to be.
00:20:00I would have put the Fresno and the pea in the grill basket and get the char on the pea
00:20:04and really get that smokiness on the peas.
00:20:06The peas a little flat in this dish.
00:20:08This is the hair.
00:20:08This is splitting the hair.
00:20:10And that's what it's going to take to win.
00:20:12Thank you very much.
00:20:14I don't buy that they were overcooked, but maybe the outside bits that were on the outside of the grill.
00:20:19And if that's what they got, that's what they got.
00:20:21So we'll see.
00:20:22Her dish obviously was delicious.
00:20:24I don't need to be great.
00:20:25I just need to be good enough.
00:20:27Thank you very much.
00:20:28Chef Michelle Bernstein.
00:20:29Chef Kenny Oranger.
00:20:30Jeffrey Sicari.
00:20:32Let's do this.
00:20:33Right.
00:20:35Let's bring him out.
00:20:37Chef Paudet Zepeda.
00:20:39Chef Chetila.
00:20:42Very close for a score of 75 to 80.
00:20:48The winner of the second round of the battle between Chef Chetila and Chef Paudet Zepeda is...
00:20:57The winner of the second round is...
00:21:03Chef Chetila.
00:21:07Congratulations.
00:21:14Chef Paudet, when your nickname is La Jefa, when you are the boss, you do run the kitchen, you do
00:21:20run the show, and we will see you again.
00:21:22Chef Paudet Zepeda.
00:21:24Chef Paudet.
00:21:29Not surprising.
00:21:31Yeah.
00:21:32No regrets.
00:21:33There's no point in doing that.
00:21:34See you next year.
00:21:35Maybe.
00:21:36Two wins in a row for Chetila and TLC7.
00:21:40Take a look here, Chef.
00:21:42Oh, where do we go next?
00:21:44Either Artie Saqueira or the James Beard Award winning Jonathan Sawyer.
00:21:48Wow.
00:21:49Congratulations.
00:21:50On to the quarterfinals.
00:21:51Chetila.
00:21:53Chetila.
00:21:54Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
00:21:56Wow.
00:21:58Come on now.
00:21:59Oh, my brother.
00:22:00Probably one of the most difficult cooks in there.
00:22:02I mean, do you think that you tried to do too much?
00:22:05She scared me.
00:22:07Made me feel like I needed to do more.
00:22:08Our next two opponents, we have the number three seed, Chef Kevin Lee, who continues to show
00:22:14why he's called the Dragon Slayer.
00:22:17And he'll have to prove it again tonight.
00:22:19Back again.
00:22:20You know, last year I came in with my Kobe's and my Dragon Slayer t-shirt on, but this year
00:22:25I'm here to show everybody I am serious.
00:22:27His opponent is the number two seed, the one and only Chef Britt Resigno.
00:22:32Britt has won every second round battle she's ever competed in.
00:22:37Me versus Kev.
00:22:39I always thought this would be a finale.
00:22:40Britt and I kind of grew up in TLC.
00:22:42You know, this show kind of made our careers.
00:22:44TLC 5, I came as a guy who had a fried chicken restaurant.
00:22:48Fast forward two years later, I'm on my second steakhouse.
00:22:51I had a James Berry nomination.
00:22:53Season 7, when I know her eyes are on that belt and my eyes are on that belt, it's going
00:22:58to be a great battle.
00:22:59This is the battle of TLC 7, because it's two minds that really understand this competition
00:23:05and love it.
00:23:07Kevin has only gone out by Antonia, the champion, and I've only lost in this arena to champions.
00:23:14Are you ready to meet our contenders?
00:23:16Then let's light it up!
00:23:20He was executive chef of a sushi restaurant in Vegas, Mandalay Bay, at the ripe age of 21.
00:23:26Now he's the owner of two acclaimed Korean-inspired steakhouses in his hometown of Oklahoma City.
00:23:31He was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best Chef Southwest in 2025.
00:23:37He has defeated Shirley Chung, Adam Sobel, and Brooke Williamson in the TOC Arena, and
00:23:44is the only two-time winner of Alex vs. America.
00:23:48And in the first round of TOC 7, he defeated shop grand champion Adam Greenberg with a venison
00:23:54dish that Judge Rocco DiSpirito called impossible to do in a fine dining restaurant setting,
00:24:00much less in a competition setting.
00:24:02Make some noise for the Dragon Slayer!
00:24:05Chef Kevin Lee!
00:24:16You still got the eye of the dragon?
00:24:17I know what it takes to win, and I'm not going to take it lightly.
00:24:21I'm ready.
00:24:22Let's meet your opponent.
00:24:25She went from working in her grandparents' clam bar as a kid to executive chef of her own
00:24:30four-diamond restaurant in Sun Valley, Idaho.
00:24:32She's a chop champion, a Triple G winner, and beat Bobby Flay with her Grammy Jones chicken
00:24:40and dumpling recipe.
00:24:41She defeated competition greats such as Jose Garces, Tiffany Faison, and Jonathan Sawyer to reach
00:24:48the TOC Final Four three years in a row.
00:24:52And she outcooked Michelin-starred master Giuseppe Tentori in the first round of TOC 7 with a dish
00:24:59that Chef Judi Ju described as spectacular.
00:25:06Make some noise for Chef Britt Resigno!
00:25:10Thank you!
00:25:18With the two of you knowing how powerful you are, to me, it feels like I'm in the semifinals right
00:25:22now.
00:25:22And we can't get started with that without taking it to the randomizer right this way, Chef!
00:25:27Let's do this!
00:25:32What do you think?
00:25:33Spin it.
00:25:34Let's go.
00:25:35Here we go.
00:25:36Going for the proteins!
00:25:41Good luck.
00:25:42All I respect you.
00:25:45Tiger, chops, bone, and ribeye, escarole, meat grinder,
00:25:52guilty pleasure, pepperoni cups, only makes my night get better.
00:25:5835 minutes on the clock, I wish you both the best, go.
00:26:05Bone-in ribeye, it's got a great balance between well-marbled meat and fat.
00:26:10This right here is going to lend itself to that meat grinder incredibly well.
00:26:14Escarole is a bitter leafy green, part of the chicory family.
00:26:18And guilty pleasure, we're looking for dishes that are fatty,
00:26:21carby, cheesy, rich, and they'll be able to find that over here with some pepperoni cups.
00:26:26I think it's got to be something indulgent, super flavorful, and very chef.
00:26:30And they have 35 minutes to do so.
00:26:32Britt is a really smart competition chef, but I'm staying calm.
00:26:37This is a guy who has two steakhouses.
00:26:39If I can't win this round with the bone-in ribeye, we're going to have a problem.
00:26:45All right, chef.
00:26:47I'm not going to let Britt scare me.
00:26:49I'm thinking making a country fried steak.
00:26:53We love our country fried steaks in Oklahoma.
00:26:56Doesn't get more guilty pleasure than that.
00:26:58Look at the marbling on that.
00:27:00It's a crime against the steak that's probably about to hit the grinder.
00:27:04First thing I'm going to start is the gravy.
00:27:07I know it's going to take a little time.
00:27:08So I'm taking the spinalis of the ribeye, some pepperoni cups,
00:27:12and I'm putting it through the meat grinder.
00:27:15The spinalis is the outer muscle cap of the ribeye, which has beautiful texture, flavor.
00:27:21It is my favorite part of the cap. Rendering down the fat on that ribeye, rendering down that pepperoni.
00:27:28In another pot, I'm starting my roux.
00:27:30I'm not going to do your generic chain restaurant country fried steak.
00:27:35It's really smart and it's really playful to have, like, a chicken fried steak.
00:27:38This is going to be the Dragon Slayer style country fried steak that's going to blow the judge's mind.
00:27:47Kevin Lee is a tough chef. He's so good in this kitchen.
00:27:51But I'm coming for you.
00:27:53I didn't get here for no reason.
00:27:55I've beaten the reigning champ.
00:27:57I've beaten judges.
00:27:59The next thing that I'm going to conquer is TOC7, baby.
00:28:03We're going for the burger.
00:28:04Yeah.
00:28:04We're going burger, burger, burger.
00:28:07Chef, is the plan what I think the plan is?
00:28:09Do you know it?
00:28:10I have been dying to get a chance to make a burger on TOC.
00:28:14I'd say I've been waiting for four years for this opportunity.
00:28:17Heck yeah.
00:28:17They're one of my favorite foods in the whole wide world.
00:28:20It's nice and fatty too.
00:28:22It's going to make such a good burger.
00:28:23Guilty pleasure.
00:28:24Especially with that pepperoni.
00:28:25What's the pepperoni going in or on top?
00:28:28Both.
00:28:28I'm going to grind my pepperoni.
00:28:29I love pepperoni cups.
00:28:31I think it's the elite pepperoni.
00:28:33It's going to season the inside of my burger patty.
00:28:36I want to do these nice thick steak burgers.
00:28:40Adding pepperoni to the pan is just going to add another layer of unctuousness.
00:28:45Butter daddy, baby.
00:28:46Britt has been in the final four every TOC she's been in.
00:28:50But this time, the dragon slayer can take butter daddy right out.
00:28:5625 minutes, chefs.
00:28:5825 to go.
00:28:59Soy oyster.
00:29:00Something heavy like country fried steak needs a little salad.
00:29:03A little kimchi, you know.
00:29:04Something acidic, spicy, bright.
00:29:06The next thing I want to work on is escarole kimchi.
00:29:09You know, country fried steak can be very rich.
00:29:12It's going to need something bright to really break off that richness.
00:29:15It is guilty pleasure, but you still want a balanced dish.
00:29:19This is TOC.
00:29:20You're not just serving country fried steak to your neighbor.
00:29:23It's a nice levity to the heaviness of that steak.
00:29:25So yeah, it's guilty pleasure, but you still got to know when to like
00:29:28take your foot off the gas a little bit.
00:29:30Next thing I'm going to do is make my country fried steak.
00:29:33I think it'll be a great idea to keep the bone on the meat.
00:29:37So I'm frenching the bone, pounding it down with a meat mallet,
00:29:40bread it, and fry like a fried chicken.
00:29:43And Oklahoma is a huge staple.
00:29:45If I don't win this round, the whole state of Oklahoma
00:29:48is going to come after me.
00:29:50Going cast iron or deep fryer?
00:29:52Deep fryer, guy.
00:29:54Definitely a guilty pleasure.
00:29:55Oh, for sure.
00:29:57I'm going to use this pepperoni to the max.
00:30:00Let's have some fried pepperoni.
00:30:02I know that I want to make a pepperoni jam.
00:30:05This pepperoni jam is going to be the thing that ties this whole burger together.
00:30:10It is salty.
00:30:12Maple?
00:30:13Maple.
00:30:14It's sweet.
00:30:15There's vinegar.
00:30:16There's acid.
00:30:17Everything to it to just make this umami bomb of a burger.
00:30:22Oh, my God.
00:30:26That's a whole dang thing.
00:30:27Chef, you got to be careful because you put that on a menu,
00:30:30you're going to be making it the rest of your life.
00:30:34You can entomb me in that.
00:30:38My burgers come out of the oven.
00:30:40They're beautiful.
00:30:41Cooked perfect.
00:30:42Rest these like a proper steak.
00:30:44I'm going to put them on a rack to rest.
00:30:47Oh, look at that.
00:30:48Look at my burgers.
00:30:50Wow.
00:30:51Everyone knows for me as my big, bold, Italian flavors, right?
00:30:56But I used to work at a burger place.
00:30:58I was the R&D chef, front of house manager, created all the new burgers for this restaurant,
00:31:04and it was epic.
00:31:05It's a guilty pleasure.
00:31:07I want these judges to get messy.
00:31:09Get your face in there and enjoy that.
00:31:11Want to keep this umami going?
00:31:12Next, I want to work on my escrow component to my burger.
00:31:16Black garlic.
00:31:17Get it wilted ever so slightly.
00:31:20And then I'm going to chop up some cornichon pickles.
00:31:22That layer of acidity to cut through all of our guilty pleasure.
00:31:31Those look nice.
00:31:32Gorgeous.
00:31:36These look beautiful coming out of the fryer.
00:31:38As long as he's happy, we sort of use the cake tester.
00:31:40We put it on here, our chin, or the top of our lip.
00:31:43And if it's warm to us, that's about a medium rare.
00:31:45So we're happy with that.
00:31:46Just warm through.
00:31:48I want to make sure I use a pepperoni more than once.
00:31:51Throw some pepperonis in the fryer, because I know I have Britt competing against me.
00:31:55I know she's going to hit that randomizer multiple times.
00:31:58I got to make sure I don't get behind on those randomizer points.
00:32:02I'm going to char some green escrow.
00:32:04Okay.
00:32:05A little garnish on top.
00:32:06I want to really grill this escrow to really get the bitterness out of it.
00:32:10It's going to break down the fibers.
00:32:11It's going to really add a nice smokiness to the dish.
00:32:15I've never thought in my career I will be here competing amongst some of the best chefs in the
00:32:20country and winning. Before TLC 5, I was months away from having to probably bankrupt my restaurant,
00:32:26sell my house. Everything was on the line. And now we're opening our second steakhouse.
00:32:32Imagine what winning this could do for my family. I am truly motivated to win the title this season.
00:32:3912 minutes, chefs. 12 to go.
00:32:43You see that little kick?
00:32:45I did.
00:32:45We have to have a side for this burger. Let's make some onion rings. And while we're at it,
00:32:50frying the escrow is going to take away some of that bitterness. I want to hit the randomizer
00:32:55time and time again. And I want to hit it perfectly. Check, check, check, check, check.
00:33:00I'm going to take these bones and I'm going to put them in the fryer because who doesn't love a
00:33:04nice
00:33:04little crispy bone snack? And I want them to know that this was a bone-in ribeye.
00:33:08Oh, she's adding the fried bone to nibble. Wow.
00:33:14They're going to love that little snack. Three and a half.
00:33:17So I'm going to take my bottom toasted burger bun. Come on, y'all. This way I need your energy.
00:33:23Layer of mayo. I have my black garlic cornichon escrow. I have my fatty steakhouse burger with
00:33:29American cheese. Crispy pepperoni cups right on top for that crunch. And then I'm going to take this
00:33:35beautiful pepperoni jam and I'm going to just nappe each burger. Grab our onion ring shoestring. I'm
00:33:43going to grab my bone. Put that on there for that nice little snack. Where's the bone? I have zero
00:33:50concerns. I did exactly what I wanted. I hit the randomizer. Let's go. Two minutes. I had the
00:33:56Spinalis pepperoni gravy going on the bottom of the plate. Beautiful boning country ribeye steak
00:34:02going on the side of the gravy. Finishing with my escrow kimchi with some chives and fresno. 90 seconds.
00:34:09I feel like I've played the randomizer really well. I don't think I've made the obvious choice of
00:34:15making a burger or a meatball. 35 seconds. I'm going to finish it with my charred escrow on the side.
00:34:223, 2, 1. We're done. What a battle. Thank you so much. Chef Gruber Signo. Chef Kevin Lee.
00:34:36Let's go. This is my fourth year. I've been dying to make a burger on TOC. Let's go, baby.
00:34:45If I lose on this one, I'll never hear the end of it from OKC. My only concern is Britt.
00:34:52You know,
00:34:53Britt has been very good in this arena. She always wins, so I know I need a high score to
00:34:58get by in
00:34:58this round. All right, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back our judges award-winning
00:35:04restaurateurs, Michelle Bernstein, Kenny Oranger, and Iron Chef Jeffrey Zakarian.
00:35:09Oh, I love Michelle Bernstein. Jeffrey Zakarian. I mean, I know this is probably not the meal
00:35:14that he's looking forward to. They're all tough judges. Michelle, Zakarian, they've been here before.
00:35:20I'm just hoping they love my dish. All right, judges. The chefs were presented tonight with the
00:35:25bone and ribeye and protein. Produce was escarole. The equipment that must be employed was a meat grinder.
00:35:31The style tonight was guilty pleasure. And the wild card ingredient was pepperoni cups. And here to present
00:35:37is our wild card himself, Justin Warner. This is a steakhouse burger with shoestring onions. The
00:35:44bone-in ribeye was ground in the meat grinder. That meat grinder was employed to grind pepperoni.
00:35:49The pepperoni and the ground ribeye were combined together, seasoned and cooked in the pan, along with
00:35:55some extra pepperoni cups to flavor the drippings. Yeah, pick that bone up. The bone-in ribeye's
00:36:02bone was fried and served on the side. So the escarole you will see interlaced with those shoestring
00:36:08onions. They can't stop eating? I think that's a good thing.
00:36:13Whew. That is a guilty pleasure. Wow. I'm from New Jersey. I love pepperoni. I love burgers also. But the
00:36:21grind to me is a little bit fine. It's like, it's not eating juicy. I want it to drip. I
00:36:27used the
00:36:28biggest grind that I could. I think I would have gone a lot less pepperoni more for accent than in
00:36:33the grinds. But the flavor is undeniable. It's a flavor bomb. I think as far as the ribeye goes,
00:36:39I love the fact that it's a very interesting way to do this deep frying. It's really sort of fun.
00:36:44Escarole, I love it. Could've used some more vinegar. This is a very fatty dish. And what fat needs is
00:36:48acid.
00:36:49Great presentation. But my favorite part of this is definitely these onion rings are just off the
00:36:55charts good. Escarole happens to be one of my favorite leafy vegetables. And I love the braised
00:37:02idea from it. That's really my favorite part of this burger, mainly because it is a dry burger.
00:37:11I don't understand how it's dry. I mean, I need a hot second. Can I? Thank you.
00:37:17Wasn't Britt's best cook yet, so good for me. Great. Thank you, judges. Scorecards are in front
00:37:23of you. 50 points available in taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer, and 10 in presentation.
00:37:29You know, it's not every day Britt has a down day in this kitchen. That was interesting. I better
00:37:35deliver. All right, judges. And here for the second dish is our TOC champ herself, Tiffany Faison.
00:37:43In front of you, you have country-fried bone-in ribeye steak with a grinder gravy of ribeye and
00:37:49pepperoni cup, a grilled and fresh escarole salad, and crispy pepperoni cup crumble. The spinalis and
00:37:55pepperoni cups became the base of the meat grinder gravy. The chef took the ribeye, fried to the GBD
00:38:00steak that you see in front of you. The baby inside leaves of the escarole were picked out and removed
00:38:05for the salad in front of you. That's not to be outdone by the escarole that was then treated to
00:38:09the
00:38:09grill and a little bit of olive oil. There was a crispy pepperoni cup crumble that finished the top
00:38:14of the steak. This is the most expensive chicken fried steak I've ever had. I love the look of this
00:38:21dish. It's sexy. They kept the moisture on the steak. The crust held up. I love, love the escarole.
00:38:27That is how you cook escarole. It's like bitter. It's vinegary. I didn't really get the pepperoni. It was
00:38:34just strewn about. And I love, love the spinalis gravy. Love you. It's Kevin. Chicken fried steak,
00:38:44to have it in ribeye, it's like kind of my dream. And I do love gravy. And the spinalis gravy
00:38:51is
00:38:51actually delicious. Super guilty pleasure here. Now, the soy, to me it's fighting just a little bit.
00:39:00I'll take it. The escarole is great. The pepperoni's there. It's a little bit of an afterthought.
00:39:06But it shouldn't be an afterthought. And it shouldn't be, I don't mind. It has to be featured in the
00:39:11dish.
00:39:11I applaud this chef.
00:39:16Thank you. This is a delicious dish. All the chilies and the soy and all the flavor.
00:39:22When I eat a ribeye, especially a really great cut of beef, you know, I still want there to be
00:39:26some
00:39:27juice in it. This is like medium well. And the crust and the gravy more than make up for it.
00:39:33But I
00:39:33would have liked maybe a little bit more juice. I understand. I could take them in randomizer.
00:39:38All right, judges. Thank you very much. Your scorecards in front of you. Again,
00:39:4250 points available in taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer, 10 points in presentation.
00:39:48Not a bad judging. My presentation was beautiful. And I used the randomizer
00:39:52tenfold. I've never not made it into the final four. Britt, good luck. I'm coming for that belt.
00:39:59The scores are in. Let's go see what the judges have to say.
00:40:03I've got the totals. Let's bring our chefs back in. Kevin Lee, Reaper Signo.
00:40:15The judges had a lot to say. And here are the scores. 75-80. The winner of the second round
00:40:26battle
00:40:27between Chef Britt, Reaper Signo and Chef Kevin Lee is… Chef Kevin Lee! Wow! Congratulations, Chef.
00:40:43The end of the road, but not the end of Chef Britt. Butter Daddy! Chef Britt, Reaper Signo!
00:40:56I'm going home this early. I'm holding back tears. It's tough.
00:41:05The Dragon Slayer is still here. Let's take a look. The icon legend play in Lorena Garcia goes up
00:41:14against Mustache Joe Sasto. So you get one of those two. You got this? Let's go. Kevin Lee,
00:41:20the Dragon Slayer. Well done, buddy. We're in the quarterfinals. Let's go!
00:41:28Let's go. Next one. Here we come. Okay, let's start on round two.
00:41:33Ribeye, a pepperoni cheeseburger. Well, I was just looking for a little more texture.
00:41:38Grinding in the pepperoni to it probably didn't help it at all. It's too dry to grind because it's
00:41:44desiccated already. All the water's out of it. It was the misunderstanding of how to use that pepperoni.
00:41:48Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to meet our next two gourmet gladiators?
00:41:56We have the number eight seed, Chef Artie Sequeira, who followed up her qualifier win against Chef
00:42:02Brittany Anderson with an even bigger first-round victory against a culinary icon.
00:42:11For me to go up against, like, a giant like me and win, it's crazy. I always looked at chefs
00:42:19that did
00:42:19TOC and I was like, they're in this weird, like, click. But I get it now. I don't do a
00:42:26great job of
00:42:26celebrating victories. But if I get through this against Jonathan Sawyer, I will be celebrating their victory.
00:42:32Now, our opponent is the number four seed, Chef Jonathan Sawyer, fresh off this rematch victory
00:42:37in the first round, who is determined to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
00:42:43Artie, man, taking down Ming Tsai, the icon. She's already got two wins under her belt.
00:42:49Her cooking skills cannot be denied. Nobody else beat Ming Tsai this year. Artie did. And she did
00:42:54because she cooked a better plate of food. It's really crazy that this competition, two of my best
00:42:59friends are the first two people I've heard. I mean, sending Karen home was a tragedy. And now I got
00:43:04to do it to Artie as well. Are you ready for another fantastic food fight? And let's light it up!
00:43:12She grew up in a food-loving Indian family, started a recipe journal when she was just 10 years old,
00:43:18and liked to pretend that she had her own cooking show. Little did she know. She won seven out of
00:43:25the 18 challenges to win season six of Food Network Star, earning her her own network cooking show.
00:43:33And in the first round of TOC 7, she defeated the top-seeded culinary icon, the one and only Chef
00:43:40Ning Tsai, with a dish that Judge Dominique Krenn said,
00:43:44I want this dish over and over again. I want to eat it.
00:43:47Put your hands together for the Spice Queen, Chef Artie Sequeira!
00:44:02Oh, my goodness.
00:44:05That is the most un-Artie thing I've ever seen. I know! That's why I did it!
00:44:10After you took down Ming Tsai, you should come out and do whatever you want to do.
00:44:15You're going to need all of that Spice Queen magic, because your opponent,
00:44:19he's just done a couple things. It's like open 18 restaurants, including his latest restaurant,
00:44:27Kindling, that Chicago Tribune says allows him to showcase his vision on a grand scale.
00:44:34He made Bon Appetit and Esquire's Best New Restaurants list, Eater Chicago's list of the
00:44:40Best Italian Beast Sandwiches, and received a 2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef Great Lakes,
00:44:47and was the last chef standing on season two of 24 and 24. And in the first round of TOC
00:44:547,
00:44:55he won his rematch against Chef Karen Akunowicz with a dish that Judge Antonio Lofaso prays for.
00:45:02Technique, technique, technique.
00:45:04Put your hands together for the Bearded Mahler, Chef Jonathan Sawyer!
00:45:21Chefs, you're both qualified. I would love to see it for either one of you moving to the quarterfinals,
00:45:27but it's not up to me. It's up to you and the randomizer. Let's go!
00:45:35We should get into this. Let's go for the protein!
00:45:46Tiger prawns, purple nappa cabbage, tortilla press, date night dinner, soybean curls.
00:45:54Oh, come on! I don't even know what a freaking soybean curl is.
00:46:01Have you worked with soybean curls recently?
00:46:03Such an expert in them?
00:46:04Yeah. Soy curls I've never cooked before. This is not a winner's wheel for me.
00:46:10I'm just going to go out on a limb that I'm not getting invited to your birthday party now.
00:46:16And you should probably go.
00:46:17Oh!
00:46:21Tiger prawns, these are head-on tiger prawns. They're nice. They're big.
00:46:24Purple nappa cabbage leaches out a little bit of color, so that's something they would have to
00:46:28think about. Tortilla press. This could be utilized in a lot of ways besides making tortillas. What is
00:46:32the date night dinner? Well, it's usually going to be a little more elevated. Soybean curls,
00:46:36high protein, meat substitute, dehydrated, textured. They're going to have to taste it, test it.
00:46:41I cannot believe that I'm in round two of TOC. To stand with these chef,
00:46:48hero, rockstar warriors, and to be part of this tribe feels like a victory in and of itself.
00:46:54Jonathan is like a technique meister. I'm willing to jump a little higher in terms of flavor.
00:47:00Let's do laksa. Think about making laksa.
00:47:03Laksa.
00:47:04Some form of laksa. Laksa is a Singaporean Malaysian soup with lots of chili and curry
00:47:11powder. Usually has noodles and seafood in it. Let's see what happens with those. I don't know
00:47:16exactly. First thing I'm going to tackle are these soybean curls. I figure if I rehydrate them,
00:47:22I can see what they're made of. I get to work on the protein immediately because there's a whole
00:47:27lot of leg and shell to get rid of when it comes to a tiger prawn. They're really, really big.
00:47:32Yeah.
00:47:33My husband and I got to go to Singapore early on when my cooking show was playing in Southeast Asia.
00:47:41One day he had found out about this place on the other side of town where they make incredible laksa.
00:47:46I may not have Jonathan's technique, but I know I have flavor. So let me just try that.
00:47:52I'm really honored to be in the second round. No matter what your pedigree is,
00:47:56if you lose in that first round, chances are you're going to be on the qualifier again.
00:47:59The old chin hold? The old chin hold.
00:48:01The muscle memory is coming back. I'm cooking better than I've ever cooked in my entire life.
00:48:06Bye-bye. Bye.
00:48:07I've known Artie for more than a decade. For whatever reason,
00:48:10Artie doesn't necessarily feel like she's one of us. She's already got two Ws under her belt.
00:48:16I've only won twice total altogether before this year. However, I'm going to win because I know the
00:48:21best version of me wins every time. Let's go.
00:48:24I just have to trust my training, quiet the voices, and then let the scores fall where they mind.
00:48:31Let's talk. Let's talk.
00:48:32Let's do a date night. We're going to do a delicious like prawn soup, real deep,
00:48:37rich flavors. And then I'm going to do this cool little prawn cracker.
00:48:40I've been married for 19 years. So a date night dinner for my wife and I is never more than
00:48:4590 minutes.
00:48:46We are efficient in our ordering, enjoying, and leaving, and going on to the next thing. So soup
00:48:53is definitely a date night for me. We are soup people. So I'm going to fry these prawn heads
00:48:57really quick. Get some color on them and start that stock.
00:49:00For me, this soup has got to be deep in flavor, fortified from shellfish stock and roasted prawn
00:49:07heads. And then poaching some prawns in there is really going to yield a beautiful flavor.
00:49:11Chef Jonathan Sawyer, a James Beard winner, has struggled in the beginning of his TOC career.
00:49:16Came back in the plans last year, made his way through, but has never been able to break through
00:49:20this round. Is this the time that he finally makes his way to the Great Eight?
00:49:27Chef Artie, Chef Jonathan, 20 minutes, 20 to go. What are our thoughts on soybean curls?
00:49:33I've never used them before. It's like they tried to make something healthy not taste as good as
00:49:37possible. Was that a gaggy, gaggy gag? It's so delicious. Can I have more, Dan?
00:49:46See, I don't think they're bad. I think that... It smells like the bottom of a hamster cage, Chef.
00:49:54I think there's points to be picked up on showcasing these soybean curls as opposed to just
00:50:00using the soybean curls. So I'm going to blanch them and then marinate them heavily with some Meyer
00:50:05lemon, scallions, grated ginger, soy sauce, and that's going to intensify the soyness of them.
00:50:11I'm not trying to hide them. I'm just trying to make them a little bit more interesting.
00:50:14A little soy and soy. A little soy and soy. We've got to use a tortilla press somewhere inside of
00:50:19here.
00:50:19I press one of these big prawns into a piece of rice paper. I just want to keep the tail
00:50:24out because
00:50:25that's what's going to hold it in place. It looks cute. Let's see. Oh my God.
00:50:37It's going to pull. I'm holding it. Cool. That should curl right underneath. Okay. I'm happy.
00:50:42Cool. It's like the fanciest shrimp chip you could imagine. Truly.
00:50:45Going against someone like Artie Saqueira, who's scoring high, who sent home an icon,
00:50:49it's important that I pick up every little point that I can. Going with a big, bold prawn chip,
00:50:55like I am, is a high-risk, high-reward maneuver. And I think there's a date night element to it
00:50:59too.
00:50:59We're not like... 100%. You know, if I'm going to leave my family for an extended period of time,
00:51:03it has to be for good reason. I'm 19 years happily married. We are the proud parents of two children.
00:51:08$150,000 is a lot of cash. The opportunity to be able to afford my kids a higher education and
00:51:14something
00:51:14that I was never able to achieve in my life, this would bring me one step closer. We're just going
00:51:18to sit
00:51:18down and we're going to enjoy it. Gather. Jonathan, do you have ginger?
00:51:23One little nub I can throw at you. You're the best. I can't believe I caught that.
00:51:30Laksa is nothing without the broth. So the shells and the heads, there's a ton of flavor in there.
00:51:35And I feel like if I saute them in Thai red curry paste and some vadovan, which is a curry
00:51:42powder,
00:51:43I think we'll get some really beautiful baseline of flavor and let the whole thing cook.
00:51:48The soybean curls have this like earthy nuttiness to them. My plan is to use the soybean curls in
00:51:55gunpowder masala, which is usually made with lentils to give you that nuttiness.
00:52:01What are we making, Chef? A rub for the shrimp and I'll put a little in the soup to keep
00:52:05it cohesive.
00:52:07I need to use this ding-dang tortilla press on these tiger prawns. My plan is to flatten them so
00:52:14that
00:52:14they cook nice and evenly. Don't do that. That did not work. I'll do it one more time.
00:52:21I'm here for my kids and my family. Inevitably, at some point in my girls' lives, there's going to be
00:52:28something that they have to do that feels incredibly difficult. Yes. Look at that. Thank God. Beautiful.
00:52:34I want to show them that if you don't take chances, then you live a very, very small life. We
00:52:40get one go
00:52:41at this. Don't waste it. I grab the Napa cabbage and then I get it on the grill. I want
00:52:47to use it a
00:52:47couple of different ways so that I can showcase that charred flavor that I think will marry well
00:52:52with the charred corn shells in the broth. And I want to use it fresh as a salad. What's the
00:52:58plan here,
00:52:58chef? This is like a little fresh slaw. I'm going to put some of those soybean shells in the soup
00:53:04and
00:53:04finish it with some coconut milk. You work with Purple Napa? Purple Napa? I've never seen it,
00:53:09but I love her. She's so cute. The base of this soup, one of my favorite sauces I make is
00:53:14a Napa cabbage
00:53:14sous-beez, where it's essentially just cabbage, onions, butter, and thyme. I'm going to put some of
00:53:21these disgusting little critters in this sofrito here. Why not? So every randomizer point matters.
00:53:27And putting some soy curls into the soup will help thicken it. I'm going to char these before
00:53:32I pickle them. Okay.
00:53:37This soup is super rich and it's going to need some acid. That's why I'm grilling
00:53:41my Purple Napa cabbage and pickling it in a combination of rice wine vinegar,
00:53:46Meyer lemon juice, and yuzu juice. Chef, what's the plan for the shrimp?
00:53:51Like, are we just floating those? I'm going to pull them out a second here,
00:53:54let them rest. Okay. And then I'm going to dice a little bit. That would really be the only texture
00:53:58in the soup. Come on. Let's hope I don't spill this everywhere.
00:54:08Everyone may not be having soup on date night yet, but after this battle,
00:54:13I bet you will be. Lime leaf soy cabbage soup.
00:54:23So good. My husband and I have been together since we were both 18 and it was him that encouraged
00:54:30me,
00:54:30that got me cooking classes, helped me shoot my YouTube cooking show back in the day. In a way,
00:54:35it's like really appropriate that we're doing date night because if it wasn't for my forever date,
00:54:40Brendan McNamara, I wouldn't be here. So I add those rehydrated soybean curls into the broth
00:54:48and then right into the blender. And I'm hoping that they'll give the broth more body. This does
00:54:53nothing. It seems to be okay. I cannot forget to fry these prawn heads. So I'm tossing them
00:55:02with potato starch and salt, a little more and fry those off. Seven minutes. Let's go, Artie. Me or you.
00:55:10I pour a little bit of that broth into each bowl. Perch one of those beautiful fried shrimp heads
00:55:16into each bowl. Then I perch a little bit of salad, lay the shrimp on the side of the bowls,
00:55:23a little bit of purple Napa cabbage, a little bit of dill on top. Three minutes.
00:55:28On the top of the plate, I have my prawn rice cracker, some of the grilled and pickled purple
00:55:33Napa cabbage. Easy. I go down with the purple cabbage prawn bisque. It's perfectly cooked
00:55:40prawn pieces. Then the purple Napa cabbage that was grilled and pickled. And then a little bit of
00:55:45the soy curls. On the top plate, I also have some of the marinated soy curls. So that way they
00:55:50can
00:55:51choose their own adventure. And when I think about this prawn dish sitting next to my wife and enjoying
00:55:56it, it brings me the ultimate pleasure. We're done. That's a battle.
00:56:06Thank you so much. Artie Supra, Jonathan Sawyer.
00:56:11That was wild. That was a good cook. I really love what I did.
00:56:17This is awesome.
00:56:20Oh, God. Here we go. Ladies and gentlemen,
00:56:24let's welcome back our powerhouse panel of judges, Chef Michelle Bernstein.
00:56:32Shut up. Chef Kenny Oranger.
00:56:36Ken Oranger.
00:56:39And Iron Chef Jeffrey Zakarian.
00:56:43Whoa, Zakarian? Jeffrey Zakarian. Okay. I think Michelle Bernstein would get what I'm trying
00:56:47to do. I don't know Ken Oranger that well. Jeffrey Zakarian will not like him.
00:56:54Oh, this is a tough panel. Judges tonight for this battle, the chefs were awarded tiger prawns,
00:57:00purple Napa cabbage, tortilla press was the equipment to use. The style was date, night, dinner. And the
00:57:07little wild card ingredient, no big deal. Just soybean curls. Here to present the dish is our wild card,
00:57:15Justin Warner. Oh, God.
00:57:17Esteemed judges, this is gunpowder prawns in a laksa broth. Some of the heads and the shells became the
00:57:23basis of the broth. The broth was fortified with a little coconut milk and a gunpowder masala. The soy
00:57:30curls that had been hydrated were also used to provide body to the broth. In terms of purple cabbage,
00:57:35we had some grilled. And then lastly, the tortilla press was utilized to butterfly the prawns and
00:57:40provide a uniform shape for griddling. In terms of a date night dinner, the chef uttered, I just want
00:57:45things to be as pretty as possible. Is this a first date or a second date? Whatever you want, Jeffrey.
00:57:54I love presentation. I think if you're going to seduce someone, this would seduce me. This is a
00:57:58beautiful dish. Oh my gosh, that's a big deal. I love char and that is magnificent. Spice is very big,
00:58:04very bold, very appropriate for prawn. For me, the broth, I would like it a touch thicker,
00:58:09maybe a bit creamier. I agree. First of all, brilliant move with this. Man,
00:58:15being able to dip this in here and just like
00:58:19squeeze and suck out all that like succulent juice from that broth and all that spice is so sweet,
00:58:24so flavorful. That was the best part of the dish for me. This is the seafood man. He's from Boston.
00:58:32It was a little too blackened for me, you know, so it kind of took over. Correct.
00:58:36The cabbage, I love how they cut it so thin that it was really blended in well and really tasty.
00:58:42What's it called? The soybean curls? Again, I don't know what the f- what the f- that is.
00:58:47I've never,
00:58:47I don't know, like what's a soybean curl? I have no idea. So I would have liked maybe pieces of
00:58:52that,
00:58:52you know, in here where we could have gotten that texture. Oh, you wouldn't. I got some for you that
00:58:58are leftover. I'll give you a pocket for them, sure. I love you so much. I love the fact that
00:59:03it's
00:59:03actually not too thick. I don't mind that. Only if you have things inside of that broth that would
00:59:09pick it up. You're so right, Michelle. The chef could have gone a little lighter in having to season
00:59:15the shrimp as much as they did because the broth is so beautiful. Next time, just throw something else in
00:59:20there to make more texture. Noodle's supposed to be in there, but I ran out of time. Thank you,
00:59:26judges. 50 points to taste, 40 points to use the randomizer, and 10 in plating. I felt like
00:59:32Michelle Bernstein would get it, like sort of a spicy little number. I am gobsbacked that Jeffrey
00:59:38Zakarian liked it. All right, judges, here to present the second dish, Tiffany Faison.
00:59:44Chefs, I mean, what is date night without high drama? This is tiger prawn and purple napa cabbage
00:59:50bisque with a tortilla pressed prawn cracker. The tiger prawns were fabricated and then pressed into
00:59:56the rice paper. That was then fried, treated to a little bit of smoked paprika and gochugaro.
01:00:02On a burner next door, a sofrito of source was made of purple napa cabbage, gochujang,
01:00:07scallion ginger, lime leaf, cream, and soy curls. That was then garnished with hydrated soy curls. Also,
01:00:13purple napa cabbage was grilled and pickled in a light dressing of Meyer lemon juice and rice wine vinegar.
01:00:20That, holy . That fish is insane.
01:00:28Here, it is such complete artistry. The pounding with the tortilla press.
01:00:35These condiments are just so acidic. The napa cabbage, and is this the soy curls?
01:00:39It is, Chef, yes. See, these things are actually not bad. This is really, really good.
01:00:45I would agree. Whoa! This idea of this crisp is really a spectacular idea. And the soup underneath
01:00:52it is spectacular as well. Unfortunately, it suffers from the fact that the prawn is really overcooked.
01:00:57Yeah. Okay. You know, anytime you put a skirt on something, it makes me happy. And to me,
01:01:03this chef put a beautiful gown on that prawn and just made it so elegant. I do agree,
01:01:09you know, with Jeffrey that the prawn could be a little less cooked, but it's not bothering me.
01:01:15This is a really lush sauce. I could use a little more heat in this one, believe it or not.
01:01:19However,
01:01:20it is delicious, and I keep diving in for more. Judges, your scorecards are in front of you.
01:01:2750 points in taste, 40 points. You use the randomizer and 10 in the plating.
01:01:32I'm proud of him for what that's worth. I'm proud of him. He did great.
01:01:35To me, all I heard was her prawn was blackened too far, and my prawn was cooked too far.
01:01:4150-50 chops. Ladies and gentlemen, that was a fantastic round. Our chefs are standing by.
01:01:46Let's bring it back in. Chef Artie Sequeira! Chef Jonathan Sawyer!
01:01:55I'm still stuck on date night soup. But I will tell you, the judges enjoyed it.
01:02:03One chef scored a 79. The other chef scored a 85. Ladies and gentlemen,
01:02:10the winner of the second round battle between Chef Jonathan Sawyer and Chef Artie Sequeira is...
01:02:28Jonathan Sawyer! Congratulations! Well done, Chef.
01:02:35I'm so proud of you. I love you so much.
01:02:41Chef Artie, I don't know if those are tears of sadness or tears of happiness.
01:02:47I'm so happy for you. I know you're so happy for him. And that's who you are, Artie.
01:02:51You're such a loving person. It was such a pleasure having you in Tournament Champion 7.
01:02:56Thank you. Thank you so much.
01:03:00Great farewells for Spice Queen!
01:03:02Nice to come!
01:03:06Just a lot. It's a lot of promotions. I did want to win.
01:03:12Jonathan Sawyer, you are in the quarterfinals!
01:03:19The farthest you have been in TOC, and now preparing himself to battle Chef Jettila.
01:03:27Yep. I know that there's a version of me that beats Jettila. I know there is. Just have to find
01:03:32him.
01:03:33This is some of the best I've ever seen out of you, and you deserve this.
01:03:36Quarterfinal, Jonathan Sawyer! The Bearded Baller!
01:03:47Oh, god. Finally, we have the quarterfinals.
01:03:54Oh, goodness. You're about to see the finale of the night. Are you ready?
01:04:02We have the number five seed, Chef Joe Sasko, who defeated the number one seed in the second round
01:04:08last year and is hoping to repeat that feat this year. So much nerves. I want this so bad. I
01:04:13want to
01:04:14win this. I've done this so many times now. I'm like one of the longest standing people here.
01:04:21His opponent is the number one seed, culinary icon, the one and only Lorena Garcia, who despite a 10-year
01:04:28absence from culinary competition, scored a decisive victory in round one.
01:04:34Okay. All right. Getting into the zone. Getting ready. Seeing my name there. Okay. It's time to battle.
01:04:42Goals to win. But in the process of winning, I'm not going to make it easy for her.
01:04:46Regardless, she's an icon, but I have a mustache. It's got to count for something.
01:04:52That number one and number five means nothing. We're two passionate chefs that wants to give it
01:04:57all and hope that goes my way. All right, Chef, they're ready for you.
01:05:02Okay. All right, let's go.
01:05:09Are you ready to see our returning culinary icon mix it up?
01:05:13Then let's light this up. He spent over a decade in Michelin-starred kitchens honing his knowledge
01:05:22of fine dining and making pasta. He has won Chopped Chef Grudge Match and Triple G and made the final
01:05:32three on Top Chef. He went all the way to the TOC 6 quarterfinals. And after defeating Chef Neenie
01:05:41win, he is one win away from, again, joining the great eight. Make some noise from Mustache Joe,
01:05:50Chef Joe Sasko!
01:06:05What's it going to take to get past a culinary icon? This is the last icon standing. I feel double
01:06:11pressure from not only me wanting to succeed and move on, but all the other chefs in the tournament
01:06:17are almost looking to me to take out the last icon. This icon is no joke. No.
01:06:24Well, she made her name as a cooking show host on multiple networks, spreading her love of Latin
01:06:32cuisine across North and South America. And she was a finalist on season four of Top Chef Masters
01:06:39and won her first TOC victory. With a show-stopping dish, the judges praised for its presentation.
01:06:49This is like eating a rainbow. She became a game-changing force as the first Latina to open
01:06:55a restaurant on the Vegas Strip. Put your hands together, ladies and gentlemen, for a Latin legend,
01:07:05Lorena Garcia!
01:07:14Let's do this!
01:07:18How are you, brother?
01:07:21Lorena Garcia. Yes, sir. Chef, you took a big risk. You haven't been in culinary competition for 10 years.
01:07:27Yes, that's correct. Those three icons have been taken down,
01:07:30and here you stand on your chance to make it to the quarterfinals. Wow. Wow. That would be amazing.
01:07:36Chefs, to the randomizer! Let's go!
01:07:43To finish out the evening, we have a fantastic selection of things that you may love or hate.
01:07:48It's time to get started. Going for the protein!
01:07:52Let's go, let's go. Big spin, big spin!
01:07:56Oh!
01:08:04Black cod!
01:08:07Sunchokes, smoking gun, high-end lunch, canned sardines. This is a finale.
01:08:1435 minutes. Yes, it is!
01:08:16And it's time to go. Go!
01:08:20Black cod! This is a great piece of fish for them to be working at the high-end.
01:08:24Sunchokes got a little nuttiness, a little chestnutty flavor. They're so good. Smoking gun,
01:08:29how they impart the smoke, how much smoke, that's going to be the key. High-end lunch usually means
01:08:35a little bit on the lighter side. And the canned sardines, it's just got so much flavor. There's so much
01:08:39power to a canned sardine. That's the one they're going to really have to manage.
01:08:45Every year on TOC, it gets harder and harder. Now we have to go up against culinary icons. And I
01:08:52have Lorena Garcia blocking my path to victory. Chef, when you have a plan, let me know. I'm doing a
01:08:58high-end chowder. I think high-end lunch is really going to come down to presentation
01:09:02and portion size. I'm making a sunchoke and black cod chowder. Smart pantry grab by Chef Joe Sasto
01:09:09here. The ham hock. Two other ingredients that contain smoke. I'm building my chowder in two parts.
01:09:16One pot with all of my mirepoix and veg, but first the other one with a heavily infused smoked cream.
01:09:22And I just let that come up to a simmer before covering it with the smoking gun.
01:09:29I'm known as the pots the focaccia guy. Hey yo, there you go with the mustache and where's the
01:09:34pizza and the meatballs. But before that, I spent most of my career in high-end Michelin star kitchens.
01:09:42And so I feel right at home with this technique really honing in on how I want this dish to
01:09:48be.
01:09:50I cannot believe I'm the only icon standing. I think that my flavors are sitting really well
01:09:56with the judges, but Joe has been competing on Tournament of Champions for years. I want to be
01:10:01him so badly. Hi, Chef. How are you, honey? I'm spectacular. I get to watch you cook.
01:10:07I would guess you're no stranger to high-end lunches, Chef. I'm no stranger to high-end lunches.
01:10:12I'm going to make a ceviche, of course, a leche de tigre. And the cut is going to go into
01:10:16the leche de tigre as
01:10:17well. I'm known for my ceviches and my restaurants are big sellers. So what I like to do is almost
01:10:22cure all these vegetables so it start kind of developing and releasing all their juices.
01:10:28So I go to the molcajete and put the base of my leche de tigre there. Come on, Lorena. Come
01:10:32on. Come on.
01:10:33Come on. I slice the yellow onion, the celery, the cilantro, the fresnos, the chonchokes, and then
01:10:39the sardines. You don't see the molcajete brought out on its own just because it is. A lot of times
01:10:45you
01:10:45see the chefs going directly into a food processor. But Chef Lorena Garcia is here.
01:10:49But you're Lorena Garcia. What's up? So choked. I'm very focused. I'm relying on my flavors. I'm
01:10:56relying on my view from my culture, my Latin cuisine. That's how I'm going to win. Vamos,
01:11:01vamos, vamos. I'm definitely the underdog in this battle. I got to watch Lorena in round one and she
01:11:06came in hot, fierce competitor, fire in her eyes. Now she's warmed up, stone cold killer. I'm here to
01:11:15slay the icon, but there's not going to be an easy way to do it.
01:11:21Morena, Joe, 20 minutes, 20 to go.
01:11:26Because I'm going to blend everything smooth for my chowder, I still need all of those vegetable
01:11:32components that you would normally taste when eating chowder. Apples and sunchokes make a perfect
01:11:37pairing. Yes, Chef. I know you know that. And that's going to be the base mirepoix on the bottom of
01:11:43my
01:11:43soup. Now I need to start thinking about these sardines. They're good. They're not as fishy as I
01:11:48think. And there's a whole lot of infused oil in the can. So I'm going to get that oil going
01:11:53in the aromatic base for my chowder. Let's do this. That kind of has a lot of fat in it
01:12:00so it can hold
01:12:01up to a nice ceviche. So I want to put the black cut into the leche de tigre. Oh, this
01:12:05is beautiful.
01:12:06I have to carve it. I have to take out all the bones. I have to cut it very small.
01:12:10So I'm making
01:12:10the leche de tigre, which is a beautiful marinade. It's citrusy and spicy with fresnos, red onions,
01:12:18tons of lines and lemons. The marinade is going to help me break down all the oils of the black
01:12:26cod and being able to take that meatiness that is so tough in the cod and then just tenderize it.
01:12:31There's a lot going on in these kitchens. Are you cooking the fish, Chef? Yes, right now. Just under 15,
01:12:37chef. Thank you. Black cod can be a bit tricky. We have whole fillets with the pin bone right down
01:12:42the center. I'm just going to cut right around that and get little blocks of cod loin going into a
01:12:49pan
01:12:49of clarified butter. And then I take the blended chowder, get it into a hot pan, and I'm going to
01:12:55finish cooking my cod belly in the chowder. So we've got the loin cooking. We've got the belly as almost
01:13:01like a poke-sized dice poaching in the hot soup. The belly of the cod is very thin and extra
01:13:07fatty.
01:13:07So by cooking it as a slow poach in the chowder, there's going to be less of a chance of
01:13:12overcooking
01:13:13it and it becoming dry and flaky. Time to get our smoke on? Yes. All right. I still need to
01:13:20smoke
01:13:20the ceviche. I'm thinking like the best way to smoking the ceviche is putting a lid on it. I just
01:13:25wanted to do it as fast as possible. Let me tell you, if I win this competition, I would be
01:13:31so proud
01:13:32of being able to show my son that all the effort that I put into my career, that he sees
01:13:37it every
01:13:38day, all the sacrifices that I do, and everything comes down to that lesson that I can prove to
01:13:43myself that I can do this. Chef Joe, Chef Lorena, 10 minutes, 10 left of the competition. I know I
01:13:48want
01:13:48to cook these sunchokes in a few different applications, so I'm going to make sunchoke chips. They will add some
01:13:54great texture. Sunchoke chips and then raw. Got it. I also want to do a fresh sunchoke salad. I'm
01:14:01always thinking about my mom whenever I cook and compete in these competition settings. My mom passed
01:14:06away when I was much younger, and so she hasn't seen me accomplish all these things, compete on TV,
01:14:12or even cook professionally. And so now every time I cook, food keeps us connected and food keeps me
01:14:18connected to her. And part of winning this whole competition is knowing that she's looking down on me
01:14:24proud of that accomplishment, whether it's publishing a cookbook, starting a new business,
01:14:29or taking out a culinary icon. Six minutes, Chef. Come on, come on, come on, come on. Push, push, push,
01:14:35push. So now that my ceviche is done, I'm going into my scoopers, which is tortilla chips and sweet
01:14:41potato. Where are the sunchokes? They have been pureed into the leche de tigre. I just need more sunchoke,
01:14:48so I want to be able to see it, so I'm not just going to fry it. I have some
01:14:51sunchoke chips that can go
01:14:52beautifully in my ceviche. I want to make really herbaceous, bright green oil.
01:15:03The makings of an herb oil, a nice little trio, chervil, chive, and bay leaves. Two and a half.
01:15:09I need to build my plate in layers. I have my brunoise, shallots, apple, and sunchoke down at the bottom,
01:15:15finished with the sunchoke chips and the fresh sunchoke salad. I have a beautifully cooked black
01:15:21cod with crispy skin. And then last, the beaker with the cod belly chowder and the bay leaf oil.
01:15:27Nothing reads more high-end than a fine dining soup pour table side. 90 seconds to go.
01:15:35I start with my lettuces, then I put my ceviche, making sure that I have enough fleche de tigre on
01:15:41the bottom of the plate. The tortilla chips and the sunchoke chips. Then, of course, my sweet potatoes to
01:15:46win round two. I think it will be a proof, you know, that I can do this. And more than
01:15:51anything,
01:15:51it's representing my Latin culture, my Latin community, that if I bring this, it will be for them.
01:15:56I have a draw!
01:15:58I have a draw!
01:16:00I have a draw!
01:16:07Congratulations. Back to your trailers. Let's bring the judges in. Chef Lorena Garcia, Chef Joe Sesto.
01:16:15Yeah!
01:16:17Whew! It's a good cook. Real good cook.
01:16:22I mean, how do I feel? Such a rush.
01:16:26That time, I think it got the best out of me. I don't know. I have my doubts. Let's see.
01:16:37I don't know how I did all of those things. You'd think I have two hours to do that cook.
01:16:43Probably one of the only things that gets me always really nervous is people trying my food. So
01:16:48imagine in front of judges. Oh, my goodness. Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back our award-winning
01:16:54judging panel. Chef Michelle Bernstein, Mr. Boston, Chef Kenny Oranger, and Iron Chef,
01:17:00Jeffrey Zakarian. Oh, wow. What a lineup.
01:17:06Oh!
01:17:06Oh, no, me, Trevor. I said, oh, no. She's going to kill me with my sandwich. You know, so eat
01:17:12it really well.
01:17:13Judges, we're at a high-end lunch. That's right. The randomizer served up black cod,
01:17:18sun chokes, smoking gun style today. As I said, high-end lunch. And the wild card ingredient, canned sardines.
01:17:24Here to present, Justin Warner. Judges, this is a sun choke and black cod chowder. The sardines were used
01:17:31as the base of the chowder. A cream was crafted with some ham hock, thyme, and the sunchokes. The use
01:17:38of the smoking gun was entirely with walnut smoke. We had a chervil, chive, and bay oil. Finally, you
01:17:44will find the sunchokes in a brunoise with celery, walnuts, Meyer lemon zest, and some more of that
01:17:50sardine paste. Jeffrey's eating more. If he's eating, that's a good sign. I love when people serve me a sauce
01:17:57or a soup or something on the side. That way, I can kind of pour in exactly how much I
01:18:02want.
01:18:02The sauce, however, has a really intense sardine flavor. The sardine almost takes over a little bit.
01:18:10She's tough. However, the sardine was used so intelligently on the salad.
01:18:15This little salad with the nuts and the shaved sunchoke is so smart. It has that lemon. It has a
01:18:24brightness to it, and it cuts through the fat. So, I'm from Boston. I mean, chowder. Really?
01:18:29I just served chowder to Ken Oranger. The black cod cooked beautifully. With the smoking gun, I was
01:18:36really hoping that there would be something to really cut through that fattiness, and the smoke
01:18:40definitely helps. I love sardines, but there is a lot of sardine going on in here.
01:18:48This is lovely, luxurious, gorgeous. I feel like I'm at a four-star restaurant in
01:18:53Midtown Manhattan eating this. The flavor's delicious. The sunchoke, which is very difficult,
01:18:58but the way it's treated in a couple of ways shows a very learneded chef. So, this is just
01:19:03a small miracle here on the plate. Okay, it's having good reviews. The reviews from
01:19:08Sekerian, yeah. Great judges. Your scorecards are in front of you. 50 points in taste, 40 in the
01:19:14use of the randomizer, and 10 in the plating. I don't feel good, but I don't feel bad yet. I
01:19:19want
01:19:19to know what they say about Lorraine's dish. Let's see. All right, judges here to present
01:19:23the second dish. Chef Tiffany Faison. Pinkies up, chefs. It's lunchtime. This is a smoked
01:19:30leche de tigre ceviche of black cod. With warm, crispy, and fresh garnishes to enjoy and employ
01:19:36while eating, chef would like you to have a little piece of everything as you enjoy your lunch.
01:19:40The sunchoke leche de tigre began with sunchokes, black cod, and sardine, of course. Then,
01:19:45the leche de tigre and filet of cod were pecan-smoked. Sunchokes were sliced and crisped,
01:19:50as well as their friend's plantains and tortilla chips. Like, I've had her ceviche. It's delicious.
01:19:56You nailed the style. High on lunch, perfect. Vibrancy, flavor, texture, spot on.
01:20:03I think it's lovely. I think it's delicious. But for me, it needs something saltier on it.
01:20:08Wow, put a lot of salt in the cheese. I would actually have liked to have
01:20:12the cancer deans actually on top a little bit, just as they are. It would be bold to do that,
01:20:17because I think it needs it. But I love the crunch, and it's just a beautiful high-end lunch.
01:20:22I'm very pleased with this dish. One of the hardest things to do is to make a ceviche out of
01:20:28codfish,
01:20:29because it's such an oily fish. With that said, the oiliness of the codfish seemed to somehow
01:20:37delicately dissipate. Now, it didn't absorb as much of the acid as it could and should have,
01:20:45but there are very pure flavors here. I really appreciate all these little nibbles. I think
01:20:50it's a beautiful plate of food. I'm pretty impressed that they were able to make a cod ceviche
01:20:54that I can go in and eat again. Okay, not bad. The black cod, it's sliced beautifully. I thought it
01:21:02would be blubbery. You know, some of those blubbery fish, but it's actually, the texture's kind of nice.
01:21:13It's going to be so close. Sunchokes, I think they're great, but you know,
01:21:18those couple little pieces in here doesn't quite do it for me. I wish there was a little bit more
01:21:22sunchoke going on here. Judges, your scorecards are in front of you again. 50 points in case,
01:21:2940 points in the use of the randomizer, 10 in presentation. I'm worried. I needed more acid,
01:21:34more leche de tigre, more lemon juice. Is anybody's game at this point? I don't think either one of us
01:21:39knocked it out of the park. It's going to be splitting hairs, I think, on like one or two points
01:21:44in each category. Chef, they're ready for you. Let's do this. Let's do this. All right, one sec.
01:21:50All right, let's go. Ladies and gentlemen, was that a dynamite finale or what?
01:21:56Welcome back. Chef Joe Sasto. Chef Lorena Garcia.
01:22:02And I've got the scores. 80 to 77. Wow.
01:22:08In the final battle of the evening, with one of these chefs going into the quarterfinals,
01:22:14the winner between Chef Lorena Garcia and Chef Joe Sasto is Chef Joe Sasto.
01:22:30I love you, Chef. Thank you. I love you. I love you. That was not easy.
01:22:35Congratulations.
01:22:38Chef Lorena, you came in and you won in the first round. This was a very close battle by three
01:22:43points.
01:22:43Really has been an honor. You are an icon and a legend to our industry. It was a pleasure to
01:22:48have
01:22:48you in TOC. Thank you. Chef Lorena Garcia. Thank you so much.
01:22:55It was tough. It was tough. I probably would have judged it exactly the same way. But the good things,
01:23:00I'm going back to my son. I had a fantastic time. I competed again and I'm happy.
01:23:06Let's take a look, my friend. Oh, man. This is what makes me nervous. Joe Sasto and Kevin Lee.
01:23:14Joe Sasto, you're in the quarterfinals, man. Yep, baby!
01:23:19Hard small battle. Thank you. Two big wins under his belt.
01:23:29Oh, that was so close. That was scary. But I feel good. Join us next time with the second half
01:23:35of the
01:23:36Super 16 battle for the last four spots in the quarterfinals. You can hear a pin drop in here,
01:23:41you guys. They are the great eight. You fall down seven times, you get up eight. I'm fired up.
01:23:48As they compete for the title. Hell yeah, let's go. The belt and the $150,000 grand prize. To be
01:23:55a
01:23:55winner is something I need on my mantle. See you next week. Adios.
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