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00:00:00TOC 7 is in high gear.
00:00:03Let's go!
00:00:04TOC 7, baby!
00:00:06Last time, the baller chefs of the B Division
00:00:09squared off in the arena.
00:00:10The winner is...
00:00:11Joe Sasto!
00:00:13Kevin Lee!
00:00:15Chef River Signo!
00:00:17Wow!
00:00:18And in the main event, the qualifying winner,
00:00:20Chef Katsuji Tanabe.
00:00:22Chef, what'd you make on?
00:00:23In an unforgettable showdown,
00:00:25with top-seeded culinary icon,
00:00:27Chef Lorena Garcia.
00:00:28Lorena Garcia!
00:00:30And tonight, the action continues
00:00:32as our C Division Daredevils begin
00:00:34for the battle for the belt.
00:00:36First, Chef Dale Talladay challenges
00:00:38returning TOC quarter-finalist, Chef Shirley Chuck.
00:00:42I'm so excited to be back.
00:00:44I want to be one of them.
00:00:46The TOC All-Star Christmas Champion,
00:00:48Chef Brian Voltaggio.
00:00:50Whoa!
00:00:51Takes on five-time Food Network winner,
00:00:53Chef Carlos Anthony.
00:00:55Nothing fuels you more than beating somebody great.
00:00:59Then it's TOC 6 runner-up, Chef Sarah Bradley,
00:01:03versus top chef runner-up, Chef Dan Jacobs.
00:01:06This is a fantastic dish.
00:01:08Maybe one day I'll get to be an icon.
00:01:10And finally, the C Division's top-seeded culinary icon
00:01:13will be revealed as they step into the arena
00:01:16to battle season competitor, Chef Viet Pham.
00:01:19It's definitely a David and Goliath.
00:01:20Who will win the title, the belt, the $150,000?
00:01:25This is Tournament of Champions 7.
00:01:31Are you ready to meet our first two gourmet gladiators?
00:01:36First, we have number five seed, Chef Shirley Chung.
00:01:39She's returning after taking a year off
00:01:41to tackle a real-life battle.
00:01:45I was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer
00:01:472024 in June.
00:01:50I haven't cooked or barely ate
00:01:52the last one and a half years.
00:01:54So now, not only I'm cooking,
00:01:58I eat, tasting, compete.
00:02:00I'm super nervous, but I'm pretty nervous.
00:02:03Her opponent is the number four seed, Chef Dale Talday,
00:02:06who rebounded from last year's first round loss
00:02:08to TOC heavyweight Sarah Bradley
00:02:10with an impressive showing
00:02:12in our recent all-star Christmas competition.
00:02:15All right, Dale, tell me, how you feeling?
00:02:18Ready.
00:02:19You know, I think Shirley is an ultimate competitor.
00:02:22I think she has fought the most important fight of her life,
00:02:25and I respect her immensely.
00:02:27But, you know, that doesn't take anything away
00:02:30from what I need to do.
00:02:31I came here to win, and that's my goal.
00:02:34All right, Chef, they're ready for you.
00:02:36Okay.
00:02:49Are you ready to see these two pros go toe-to-toe?
00:02:52Then let's line it up!
00:02:57She moved to the U.S. from China when she was 17
00:03:00and opened restaurants for culinary greats
00:03:03by the time she was 35 years old.
00:03:08And last year, she beat out eight other elite chefs
00:03:12to win Food Network's House of Nines.
00:03:14Now, after waging the fight of her life
00:03:17against tongue cancer,
00:03:18she's back to take on the randomizer one more time.
00:03:21Give it up for a true champion,
00:03:24the Mafia dumpling queen,
00:03:27Chef Shirley Charles!
00:03:40Chef, you have had probably one of the most challenging battles
00:03:45that anybody's ever seen.
00:03:47And I remember when you called me
00:03:49to tell me what you were getting ready to face,
00:03:51and you said,
00:03:52I'm just taking a year off.
00:03:54I will be back.
00:03:59I'm a woman of my word.
00:04:02I won.
00:04:02I beat my tongue cancer.
00:04:05Stage four.
00:04:06I never felt like a victim.
00:04:08I know.
00:04:10I'm here to fight.
00:04:11I am back.
00:04:12She is back, ladies and gentlemen.
00:04:15She is love in this circle.
00:04:18Well, Chef, good luck.
00:04:22He's the proud son of Filipino immigrants
00:04:25and has showcased his distinct Asian American experience
00:04:29in over a dozen celebrated restaurants.
00:04:34His acclaimed goose feather
00:04:36was named Esquire's best new restaurant in 2020,
00:04:40and he was a 2022 James Beard nominee
00:04:43for Best Chef New York.
00:04:47And he recently teamed up with his friend Kevin Lee
00:04:50to reach the semifinals of TOC All-Star Christmas.
00:04:54Give it up for the Boogeyman!
00:04:58Chef Dale Paulde!
00:05:02Let's go!
00:05:04Come on!
00:05:13This is your third year coming back into the arena.
00:05:15Yes, sir.
00:05:16Why?
00:05:17Because I want to be one of them.
00:05:19I want to be one of them.
00:05:23So, Chefs, to the randomizer.
00:05:25Let's do this!
00:05:30As you know, Chefs, the randomizer will determine
00:05:33the mandatory details of your dish.
00:05:35The protein, the produce, the equipment, and the style,
00:05:39and finally the wild card.
00:05:40Steve!
00:05:41Let's go with the spin.
00:05:42Here's our protein!
00:05:52Calamari flanking ground.
00:05:54Calamari ground beef.
00:05:57Ground beef.
00:05:58And cremini mushrooms.
00:06:00Blender.
00:06:02Herbaceous.
00:06:03Herbaceous.
00:06:04Ha!
00:06:04An audience choice!
00:06:11The audience, you can pick one category that you would like to see respun.
00:06:17Protein!
00:06:18Protein!
00:06:30Protein!
00:06:31Brown.
00:06:32Calamari.
00:06:34Calamari steak!
00:06:35Calamari steak!
00:06:37The audience has spoken, so it's calamari steaks, cremini mushrooms,
00:06:42must employ the use of the blender, and the style is herbaceous.
00:06:47Audience, you did a great job.
00:06:49Chefs, it's time for you to do your job.
00:06:51Go.
00:07:02Calamari is the Italian word for squid.
00:07:04So these are larger portions of the squid flesh.
00:07:08Cremini mushrooms.
00:07:09This, to me, is the everyday go-to mushroom.
00:07:12Blender.
00:07:12Boy, the judges are sure expecting a lot of the equipment use.
00:07:16It's an herbaceous.
00:07:16They're gonna be looking to see it.
00:07:18They're gonna be looking to taste it.
00:07:19I mean, basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano, sage, chive, dill,
00:07:23you name it, it's available.
00:07:25How are they gonna play it?
00:07:26Ooh!
00:07:27What a round this is gonna be.
00:07:29I love calamari steak.
00:07:30What's the plan with these, Chef?
00:07:32Mushroom calamari fried rice.
00:07:33And then I'll make it crispy, like a crispy rice.
00:07:35Got it.
00:07:36I am known for, I think, my modern Asian-American takes on cuisine.
00:07:40You know, I'm a classically French-trained chef,
00:07:42so I have, I think, all the tricks in the bag.
00:07:46I've gotta win this first round because it's all that matters right now.
00:07:49Win and move on.
00:07:52Tonight, I'm joined by my two indispensable culinary commentators,
00:07:55Michelin-recommended chef with a brain-bursting with food knowledge,
00:07:59Chef Justin Morner, and renowned Boston restaurateur,
00:08:02and the TOC3 champ herself, Chef Tiffany Faison.
00:08:05Now, Justin and Tiffany will be closely following our chefs' every move
00:08:08so they can give a detailed description of their dishes to the judges
00:08:11during the blind tasting.
00:08:12And we'll also be joined by our roving reporter,
00:08:15the one and only Hunter Fieri, who will be talking with our winners backstage.
00:08:18And culinary scholar Simon Jandar will get our judges' honest appraisal
00:08:22of the difficulty of each challenge.
00:08:24Hi, Chef.
00:08:25Hi.
00:08:25Happy to be back.
00:08:26We are thrilled to have you back.
00:08:28We have blender as our equipment.
00:08:31As chefs, we blend everything, especially me.
00:08:35I've been using blenders to blend all my food for the last year.
00:08:39Making a coating?
00:08:40Um, no.
00:08:41I'm making porridge.
00:08:43Are you making congee?
00:08:44Yeah.
00:08:44Hell yeah.
00:08:46Yes!
00:08:47Chopping up some kumini mushrooms so I can blend them.
00:08:52I'm going to add the earthy umami into my porridge.
00:08:56Ginger, onion, garlic.
00:08:58Yep.
00:08:59Chef Charlie's essentially using this like a food processor.
00:09:03By any means necessary.
00:09:04Finally.
00:09:05Get it out of there.
00:09:05During my recovery, the moment that I can start to eat a little bit food, instead of soups,
00:09:12it's actually rice hungries mixing with meat, with protein, with vegetables.
00:09:17So I feel like today as my first battle back, it's the perfect stage for me to show everybody
00:09:25my past journey.
00:09:27Spin me, baby, one more time.
00:09:29Yeah.
00:09:30Uh, calamari steak?
00:09:31I think we're going to see a much more creative, unique...
00:09:34100%.
00:09:34...with the calamari.
00:09:35I agree.
00:09:36This is actually going to be a tough battle.
00:09:37I think this is going to be one of the best first round battles that we see.
00:09:41Shirley came to win this thing.
00:09:42I know that.
00:09:45Chef Shirley, Chef Dale, halfway point.
00:09:4815 minutes to go.
00:09:4915.
00:09:52No one's happier to have Chef Shirley Chung back in the kitchen and on my side than me.
00:09:56I'm honored to be her voice in this competition.
00:09:59What's the broth for the congee?
00:10:00All the aromatics, so ginger, garlic, and onion, and then mushrooms and butter made into a stock.
00:10:06My strategy is really use the randomizer multiple times.
00:10:11I already have minced mushroom in my country, but nothing beats a butter-roasted mushroom.
00:10:18Tournament champions is the biggest culinary competition stage, and it is the most important competition for me.
00:10:28Throughout my treatments, I was still dreaming about coming back to compete and then back at it.
00:10:36What are you looking for in that?
00:10:37Just some, like, umami.
00:10:38What's inspiring this dish 100% is how I cook at home.
00:10:41I love crispy rice.
00:10:42I mean, look at the profile.
00:10:44This is body built by rice.
00:10:45There's a lot of pressure cooking for TOC because, you know, you want to make everybody proud.
00:10:49Also, you know, you come home to your wife and your family, and you want to tell them how well
00:10:53you did, and I'm blessed to do this.
00:10:55I also want my kids to look at it and say, yo, my dad's a winner.
00:10:57That's something that's important to me.
00:10:59You've made fried rice before.
00:11:00A few times.
00:11:01I'm a little familiar with it.
00:11:02When you're cooking up against a juggernaut like Shirley, you know, you've got to cook everything perfectly.
00:11:11When I see all these ingredients, I'm, like, gravitated towards, like, squid ink.
00:11:14What's the juice?
00:11:15Lime juice, lemon juice.
00:11:17Because I think squid, squid ink, they go together.
00:11:20You're seeing the squid ink mayo get mixed in with that rice.
00:11:23Something tells me it's going to live on these little cast iron pans.
00:11:26That oil within the emulsion is going to crisp up the bottom.
00:11:29I think that's awesome.
00:11:31Going out in the first round last season, it just feels awful.
00:11:35I want this so bad because I've always come up short.
00:11:39I've never made it to the top.
00:11:41This is my time.
00:11:42I want to prove to my family, my kids, that when I'm away working, that daddy's coming home with the
00:11:48belt and that check, baby.
00:11:50Chef Dale, Chef Shirley, ten minutes, ten to go.
00:11:52Now, our judges are currently sequestered in their trailers, so they don't know who's even competing.
00:11:56They'll be judging the dishes based on taste, the use of the items on the randomizer, and presentation.
00:12:01The chef with the highest total spore heads to the second round, and the other chef thinks about next year.
00:12:09Chef, what's the plan for the calamari?
00:12:11Calamari, I'm a sausage.
00:12:13Also, poach the small calamari into my porridge.
00:12:17Bring it on the salsa verde, Chef?
00:12:18Yep.
00:12:18Okay.
00:12:19Like she never left.
00:12:21So the salad is herbaceous.
00:12:23One of the first things that I would be able to taste were fresh herbs.
00:12:28A sauce I immediately went to is the salsa verde.
00:12:32So I have garlic, cilantro, lots of parsley, a touch of mint.
00:12:37The brightness of the mint makes your salsa verde extra herbaceous.
00:12:42If I'm going to guess, she's going to let those pans get screaming, screaming hot before that calamari goes into
00:12:47there.
00:12:47The minute it goes in, it's going to go up in flames.
00:12:49Careful.
00:12:53To saute my calamari, I'm going back to my sweet favorite sauces, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and black vinegar.
00:13:02This is the first cook of TOC.
00:13:05I want to have a big return.
00:13:09A little fat, familiar.
00:13:11Final five minutes, five to be plated.
00:13:16This dish has to be really herbaceous.
00:13:18Basil, cilantro, chive?
00:13:19Yes, sir.
00:13:20What's that going to be when it's done, Chef?
00:13:22Marinade for the calamari.
00:13:23Smart play though, using the blender to make a super herbaceous marinade.
00:13:27Because that thing is already scored, it's going to work itself in every nook and cranny.
00:13:30I want to cook my calamari steaks on the grill because the key words I'm linking into is steak.
00:13:35It's a really big piece of calamari.
00:13:37So how do I like steaks cooked?
00:13:39Right on the grill.
00:13:39There's a cross-linking of muscle fibers there that are basically used to propel a squid through water.
00:13:45So as they cook, they tend to curl.
00:13:48To counteract that, Chef Dale has placed a pan on top of the squid.
00:13:53And I'm going to make a salsa verde that goes on top.
00:13:54What's big in TOC is that if you can taste it, you also want to see it.
00:13:58Chef, you're doing the salsa verde by hand.
00:14:00Yes.
00:14:00The blender could be a trap in that case, right?
00:14:03I think so.
00:14:03Some people like to puree them down.
00:14:05And I don't want that.
00:14:06You lose that integrity.
00:14:07You lose that kind of mouthfeel.
00:14:08And I want the judges to really taste that.
00:14:11145.
00:14:12I have my umami bomb mushroom and calamari congee as my base.
00:14:18And I have the beautifully butter-roasted junini mushroom.
00:14:23And followed by my perfectly rock-chart calamari steak.
00:14:28I'm putting my salsa verde into my calamari steak.
00:14:33Just to really emphasize our ambitiousness.
00:14:37So amazing to be back cooking in TOC Steak again.
00:14:41I cannot wait to get judged.
00:14:43Oh, wow.
00:14:44Did I just say that?
00:14:45Yeah, I cannot wait to get judged.
00:14:48I pull my calamari steaks off.
00:14:50They look fantastic.
00:14:52And I think the cook on them is perfect.
00:14:53I have my sliced calamari.
00:14:55I take dollops of my squid-y gaioli and dot that around.
00:14:59And then a little bit more salsa verde on top.
00:15:01So they feel that herbaceousness.
00:15:03I love and adore Shirley Chung.
00:15:05But I'm the fourth seed.
00:15:07And I got to take down the fifth seed.
00:15:09And she's the fifth seed.
00:15:11Five, four, three, two, one.
00:15:24Thank you so much.
00:15:27Get those judges.
00:15:28It's their lucky day.
00:15:33Oh, my god.
00:15:36Everything goes through your head right now.
00:15:38It's like, what could I have done better?
00:15:39What could I have done different?
00:15:45Ladies and gentlemen, our DOC judges have been anxiously awaiting their first tasting of the evening.
00:15:50First up, we have the Michelin-starred chef with a restaurant empire that spans three continents.
00:15:55Who redefined American pizza, artisan bread, and high-end desserts.
00:16:00Chef Nancy Silverton.
00:16:04Of course. Of course. Oh, my God. Yes, it's Nancy.
00:16:10Next, we have eight-time James Beard Award winner and internationally acclaimed restaurateur, the fashion man himself,
00:16:18Chef Marcus Samuelsson.
00:16:20Another legend in the culinary world. It's amazing.
00:16:26And last, definitely not least, the James Beard Award-winning restaurateur who received a coveted three-star review for the
00:16:33New York Times.
00:16:34Chef Scott Conant.
00:16:36Oh, my God.
00:16:38Oh, hey.
00:16:40Are you ready to do this?
00:16:44It is good to see you, sir.
00:16:46Tonight, the randomizer determined the dish would have calamari steaks, cremini mushrooms, employ the use of a blender, style was
00:16:53herbaceous.
00:16:54Here to present the dish, Justin Warner.
00:16:56Judges, this is a herbed and charred squid with squid ink and cremini crispy rice.
00:17:02It's accompanied by a raw cremini salsa verde.
00:17:05Now, for the blender, we have marinade for the squid.
00:17:08The blender was also used to craft a squid ink mayo.
00:17:11In terms of herbaceous components, not only is there that blender marinade, but the salsa verde contained Thai basil, lemon
00:17:18juice, chives, cilantro, and Fresno chilies.
00:17:23This is delicious.
00:17:27I love the flavor development inside this dish.
00:17:30I love the textural contrast.
00:17:32I love the usage of the cremini as well.
00:17:34The rice itself with that squid ink aioli is wonderful.
00:17:39That great crispiness, real nice depth of flavor.
00:17:42It's not too much fishy flavor.
00:17:44A squid ink could be a real challenge sometimes.
00:17:48What I love about this dish is the balance, right?
00:17:51And there's many different techniques used here.
00:17:54Really well done.
00:17:54Chef, thank you.
00:17:55Marcus, you're the man.
00:17:58Well, this is delicious.
00:18:00The only thing that I think it lacks is I do not taste any bit of the randomizer in this
00:18:07dish.
00:18:09When I saw the word blender, I know that there was a blended aioli, and yet I guess I expected
00:18:15to see something more visual about that puree.
00:18:19I mean, Nancy is a very tough judge, and for a good reason.
00:18:22She has high standards because she has done so much in her career, so.
00:18:26In front of you are your scorecards, 50 points available in taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer,
00:18:31and 10 points in presentation.
00:18:34Nancy made a very good point.
00:18:36Oh, I hear it.
00:18:38Judge is here to describe the second dish to OC3 champ Tiffany Faison.
00:18:42In front of you, you have a melody of cremini and calamari congee with wok-style roasted calamari steak, mushrooms,
00:18:49and an herbaceous salsa verde.
00:18:50The congee was constructed by jasmine rice being placed into the blender to then create the congee.
00:18:55Cremini mushrooms were also processed in the blender.
00:18:57As if we weren't finished with the blender, you'll get another blended sauce of salsa verde with the blender of
00:19:01parsley, mint, cilantro, chive, and dill that was then also tossed with the calamari steak on top.
00:19:09Fantastic cooking.
00:19:10How much of the dish is left?
00:19:11I know.
00:19:12Like, I did not just taste this.
00:19:14I really went in.
00:19:15Oh, yeah.
00:19:16Let's talk about textures in here.
00:19:18You have the soft congee, which has one texture.
00:19:21Then you have the cremini and the calamari, which has this kind of double texture, both from the wetness from
00:19:27the cremini, but it's seared and charred.
00:19:30And then on top of this, this kind of, like, casual salsa verde adds so much flavor.
00:19:36This is a fantastic dish.
00:19:37Oh, I love it.
00:19:39Thank you, chef.
00:19:39But it might be a little bit too much congee ratio to calamari.
00:19:46Wow.
00:19:47Expert cookie.
00:19:49There is nothing missing in this dish.
00:19:52Thank you, chef.
00:19:54Really, I cannot get over how everything is cooked so perfectly.
00:20:01Yes.
00:20:02Yes.
00:20:03I'm just really distracted by the guy at the end.
00:20:08This is the type of heartfelt, emotional cooking that really deeply resonates with me.
00:20:14It's not just the flavors.
00:20:16This is a point of view.
00:20:18This is a nod to heritage.
00:20:19It makes me emotional.
00:20:21This is a person opening their chest and showing you their heart.
00:20:26That's what this dish is.
00:20:27It is that good.
00:20:28Wow.
00:20:30All right, judges, thank you very much.
00:20:32And, again, your scorecard, 50 points available in taste, 40 in the use of the randomizer, and 10 in the
00:20:40presentation.
00:20:41I was really cooking with all my heart and soul.
00:20:45You know, you don't want to go home.
00:20:46You just want to keep going forward.
00:20:47So, hopefully, that I did enough to go forward.
00:20:52Now, I just need to win.
00:20:53Thank you so much.
00:20:55We'll see you shortly.
00:20:56She's ready for you.
00:20:58It's all right.
00:21:01Hey.
00:21:03Let's bring our chefs back in.
00:21:05I'm going to choose.
00:21:06Chef Dale Talday.
00:21:07Chef Shirley Chan.
00:21:14Chef.
00:21:16These are extremely high scores.
00:21:20One chef scored a 87.
00:21:25Outstanding.
00:21:26The other chef scored a 94.
00:21:30Wow.
00:21:32That is the high score of TOC 7 so far with a 94.
00:21:36Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the first C Division battle between Chef Dale Talday and Chef Shirley Chung is...
00:21:43...
00:21:51...
00:21:54...
00:22:11Shirley Chung!
00:22:13She fought for her life.
00:22:14And now she's here, two years later, to do this.
00:22:19She deserves all the flowers.
00:22:21Give her all her flowers.
00:22:24Ladies and gentlemen, the boogeyman, Chef Dale Tomey.
00:22:34I'm not holding my head down at all about this.
00:22:38You just run into a juggernaut like Shirley.
00:22:4094?
00:22:41Ultimately, something never changed.
00:22:44It's cooking from my heart.
00:22:45And that was my heart on the plane.
00:22:48Ladies and gentlemen, the mafia definitely
00:22:51cleaned herself, Chef Shirley Chung.
00:22:54Unbelievable.
00:22:58How do you feel, Chef?
00:22:59Emotional, so excited, and I'm so proud of myself.
00:23:05And I won my first battle with the highest score.
00:23:08Thank you so much.
00:23:38toc prize fighters i'm telling you what they will bring the energy they will bring the heat
00:23:43we have the number six seat chef carlos anthony has scored first round victories two years in a
00:23:50row and is looking to make it even further this year i mean i am slowly just crawling up this
00:23:56bracket it all starts with brian voltaggio i am ready for this his opponent chef brian voltaggio
00:24:03has struggled in this arena despite his years of competition experience but thanks to an
00:24:09impressive performance he and his brother did at the christmas competition voltaggio is a number
00:24:16three seed i just came off of uh toc holiday win you know so that's a that's a big deal
00:24:21but my
00:24:22history toc is not that great both times i was here previously i went home in the first round
00:24:26i am not planning to do that this time i have a little bit more experience under my belt and
00:24:32i
00:24:32want to prove that you know i have what it takes to get all the way through i want the
00:24:35title of
00:24:35tournament champion seven chef chef brian they're ready for you all right let's go
00:24:44let's do this folks are you ready to meet these culinary contenders
00:24:52he has helped open more than a dozen restaurants it was named best chef san diego in 2023
00:25:03and he is now garnering rave reviews for his ranch to table cooking as executive chef of organ's
00:25:09hawkeye and huckleberry lounge
00:25:13ladies and gentlemen please welcome
00:25:17carlitos chef carlos anthony
00:25:34carlitos
00:25:38now your opponent
00:25:42your opponent your opponent is a two-time james beard nominee who has opened more than a dozen
00:25:48restaurants over his distinguished career
00:25:52the washington post called his latest venture why oaks tavern a divine restaurant
00:26:01he is a three-time top chef finalist and in december he scored his first major competition victory
00:26:09when he and his brother michael cleared a 16-team field to become the first toc all-star christmas
00:26:17champions ladies and gentlemen the bolts of the east the one and only chef brian montaggio
00:26:35where has brian voltaggio been and thank goodness we get him i've been saving up for this moment
00:26:41this is this is why this is time gentlemen honor and a pleasure to have you let's take it to
00:26:46the
00:26:46randomizer let's go
00:26:56chefs the randomizer will determine the mandatory details of your dish let's talk about proteins
00:27:02we have never had eggs as the protein yeah i only had it one season but i through therapy have
00:27:09been
00:27:10able to forget that let's get after it here we go go for protein
00:27:17come on oh god i can't ever look at it you gotta look at it at some point i understand
00:27:31that's just what i want is a bunch of eggs getting cooked in my dojo eggs swiss chard microwave
00:27:38breaded wild card equipment and style respin equipment or style what do you think we getting
00:27:45rid of the microwave or we get rid of breaded i say we can i say breaded
00:27:50i know the microwave doesn't work for him and that's why i do not want it to change you can't
00:27:56bread something and cook it in a microwave it doesn't work is this a little rochambeau what's
00:28:01gonna happen here rochambeau one two three two paper covers rock if it was best of seven i bet
00:28:07you the rock would have worked i'm going uh i'm going equipment come on back baby come on back baby
00:28:15come on baby digital steamer eggs swiss chard digital steamer breaded that's odd
00:28:26anyway upside down or over easy you're probably a little bit scrambled right now
00:28:33go
00:28:36three parts to an egg i don't like any of them shell the yolk and the white i love to
00:28:42cook
00:28:42with them don't get me wrong this is actually going to be one of the most exciting toc rounds
00:28:47having this all be eccentric swiss chard this is one of my favorite uh vegetables super versatile
00:28:53these digital steamers are great because they get hot really fast we all know what bread it is
00:28:58this really should be an exciting one sorry chef sorry chef eggs this is probably the most difficult
00:29:07protein that i've ever used not the first time i've used it in this arena but the first time where
00:29:13it's the star we definitely have some eggs i'm gonna make a perfectly steamed egg breaded and fried
00:29:21with a steamed chard and that swiss chard bernet i think this is a really a winning dish one protein
00:29:28that i know loves to be steamed is an egg however i've never used a digital steamer i'm gonna have
00:29:35to
00:29:35figure out how long it takes to make a six minute egg inside a digital steamer do you have a
00:29:41digital
00:29:42steamer uh yeah believe it or not we hold our dumplings in a digital steamer what i do like about
00:29:46this is the continuous and monitorable water flow the randomizer also gave a swiss chard which is an
00:29:52incredible ingredient and you can use every bit of it so i'm gonna do this for two things i'm gonna
00:29:58do like a really nice simple just chard with a little bit of preserved lemon and then i'm also
00:30:03gonna do some to put into my bernet's steam it shock it use some of it fresh shocking shocking you're
00:30:11good
00:30:11oftentimes at home we take the chard stems and we throw them out but these are incredibly flavorful
00:30:17so i immediately know i want to get a pickle on them let's go come on what it really comes
00:30:24down to is
00:30:25this first round and now to go up against somebody like brian voltaggio nothing fuels you more than
00:30:30beating somebody great in the first round
00:30:35hi chef we use chicken eggs eggs it's the one ingredient that guy hates the most so i can't
00:30:40even believe it's on the randomizer i'm very versed in cooking eggs um it's something i do all the time
00:30:45i hope i can knock it out of the park you have a pen i got a plan an open
00:30:49heart and open mind let's go
00:30:50what do you got all right so i'm gonna braise down some greens garlic obviously some onion a little bit
00:30:56of uh tomato i'm not doing like shakshuka by any means okay but kind of like leaning into the base
00:31:02of that eggs i'm gonna steam i'm gonna bread i'm gonna fry i want to put an egg sauce in
00:31:06there too
00:31:07the charm i do two ways it'll be in the braise i'm also gonna do super light tempera with some
00:31:12char
00:31:13leaves so steamed and breaded steamed breaded and fried swiss char is a great green i love cooking with
00:31:19it once the swiss char starts to wilt down then i'm gonna add some of the strained tomatoes to that
00:31:23and just put the lid on and let it braise you know every day i get ready for this competition
00:31:27and to get beyond this sort of black cloud has been kind of hanging over my head of getting
00:31:32through the first round coc would be an immense win i'm ready for this 20 minutes 20 left in
00:31:39competition you guys having fun out there
00:31:43right at six minutes and 37 seconds on this digital steamer i check my eggs normally it takes six minutes
00:31:50but this raw not even a little bit cooked raw still needs a little bit more time i'm gonna go
00:31:57i'm gonna push that down to the wire oh my god that's still undercooked i don't know when it will
00:32:04be done i have to keep cooking going out in this first round would be devastating i'm gonna work on
00:32:10like a bernese so infusing the white wine vinegar with tarragon yes sir if there's one thing i'm very good
00:32:16at is making a delicious sauce a bernese is screaming to me it's a classic french egg sauce
00:32:22you hear to hear first made with eggs but i want to do something to really elevate this i'm going
00:32:28to
00:32:28add fresh steamed herbs and that steamed char to give it a wonderful herbaceous and earthy flavor
00:32:37oh my god
00:32:43all right i'll take these out i'm gonna let them shock quickly so to add another element to the
00:32:47dish that's breaded and using the digital steamer again i'm going to take some tender leaves to make
00:32:52a crispy tempera swiss char leaf ap tricelle soda yeah baking soda yeah or baking powder
00:32:58i've always been competitive nature i grew up next to michael voltaggio so obviously there's no lack
00:33:04of competition there who can get down the hill faster on a big wheel that was definitely the
00:33:08games we played so yes would it be nice to sit down over a holiday dinner and be able to
00:33:12brag a
00:33:13little bit to michael that i finally won a competition by myself yes but i think a lot of
00:33:18people have watched me over the years competing they want to see me win make a little quick salad too
00:33:23of like swiss char leaves i'm going to do a fine julienne like lots of herbs i want to make
00:33:27sure that i
00:33:28crush a randomizer that's something that i feel like i go home on a lot so i'm mentally creating a
00:33:33a checklist i'm using the swiss char in three or more ways i'm gonna use egg in two or more
00:33:39ways
00:33:40nobody could say i did not respect the randomizer 13 minutes chefs 13
00:33:48let's work on my breading station the salad's breaded i can make a crusty crumbly crust that will
00:33:55taste delicious a little chicken bouillon i just want to give it a little bit more like depth of flavor
00:34:00i come back to the eggs it has now been a total of 12 and a half minutes that i've
00:34:07had these eggs
00:34:07in this digital steamer i know because it's got a timer on there and it's yelling at me 10 minutes
00:34:13to go
00:34:15they're good they're good they're good it was probably should have been pulled out at 11 and a
00:34:21half minutes i think they might be over my heart is absolutely breaking inside i do not have time to
00:34:27start new eggs in turning the champions with that timer going you have to put something on the
00:34:32plate and it's got to be something that can win as far as i can tell as long as these
00:34:36eggs get breaded
00:34:37and fried uh we'll be in the clear but all those eggs are in one basket you want to just
00:34:43put your
00:34:44clipboard down and just do a walk of shame no of applause i mean that's pretty massive
00:34:53the biggest challenge that i have right now is the digital steamer just because i haven't used it
00:34:58before personally and then there's tons of opinions on how people like their eggs cooked that's why this
00:35:03one is an incredibly hard challenge that's where you want eggs are gonna get perfect soft centered
00:35:08you have to be very careful make sure i get four perfect eggs we have a peel off uh going
00:35:14on in the
00:35:14tsc arena right now on the list of things that i've done in competition i never want to do again
00:35:23and chefs generally don't want to do it is peeling eggs time consuming and needing to focus your time
00:35:28in one specific area with one specific ingredient while everything else is cooking around you nerve
00:35:34wracking it's working this is my fifth year of tournament of champions and motivation comes in a lot
00:35:40of different ways i have a mom who's a fighter my mother has had breast cancer for over 20 years
00:35:46and she has fought and survived and come out with this fire but i always think about her i think
00:35:52about how she fights every day this is something where i get to fight and prove myself i want to
00:35:59win
00:36:00not next year or five years from now i want to win right now for her i think that's really
00:36:06fueling me
00:36:07to be great okay eight and a half minutes egg dipped yep and then i'm gonna work out a sauce
00:36:16here
00:36:16eggs and oil aioli so i want there to be a punch of acid on the dish qp yogurt acidity
00:36:23eggs i'm gonna
00:36:24throw some herbs in that look at those fried eggs chef little golden nuggets the eggs come out of the
00:36:33fryer they're crispy on the outside elder shape they look great seven minutes chef seven to go
00:36:38i've got parsley tarragon and dill okay they're steaming getting a lot of use out of the steamer
00:36:44i just want to do kind of like the steamed um swiss chard to kind of hold the egg up
00:36:49yeah i'm gonna put
00:36:49it with a little bit of preserved lemon and lemon juice just under six chef six minutes yeah oh god
00:36:55let's plate this dish i set down that beautiful steamed chard and some of those pickled chard stems
00:37:03i want to put this like a beautiful nest that's chicken egg sitting right in there pour the sauce
00:37:08i'm more motivated than i've ever been there's nothing more powerful than belief in yourself to show
00:37:15why you're great and to do it amongst the best chefs in the country i want to win to prove
00:37:21it to my
00:37:22peers two minutes this is the way i'm going to plate this i'm doing it with intent for sure i'm
00:37:27going
00:37:27to put the braised greens down in the center of the plate but then i'm not going to put the
00:37:30egg
00:37:30directly on top i'm going to kind of like lean it off to the side and i'm going to place
00:37:34the salad
00:37:34over the top uh then i'm going to take the tempura leaf and just drape that off the salad to
00:37:39the edge
00:37:40of the bowl so it's going to remain crispy plate looks great i feel really good about what i've done
00:37:44five four three two one we're done
00:37:52brian botaggio carlos anthony let's bring in the judges great job guys
00:38:01excellent i feel
00:38:05i feel strong all right ladies and gentlemen let's welcome back our judges oh god here we go
00:38:11three legendary restaurateurs the one and only chef nancy silverton chef marcus eggerson and chef scott
00:38:17connor what oh my god wow the randomizer well sure laid an egg on this one protein offered up tonight
00:38:34is going to be eggs produce with swiss chard equipment digital steamer style was breaded and those are just
00:38:40all the nicknames of justin warner go ahead chef this is green eggs and steamed fried eggs firstly eggs
00:38:49were separated uh putting in the blender to make a sauce it was treated with a medley of digital
00:38:54steamer steamed herbs and digital steamer steamed shard we have the egg in the very center so that was
00:39:01steamed was then peeled breaded and fried in terms of the shard more of those digital steamer leaves were
00:39:07added to the sauce with digitally steamed herbs they are digging into this thing say something
00:39:13please just say you love it just say you love it so i think one of the best compliments that
00:39:17you can
00:39:17give a dish is that it reminds you or harkens back to a memory of your childhood and there's a
00:39:23little bit
00:39:23of my mother's egg salad inside here that i really love and that's kind of drawing me in again and
00:39:28again
00:39:29i like the wilted greens on here i think the one challenge is that the egg doesn't have that
00:39:35beautiful runny yolk that's a lost opportunity yep yeah i agree no you're right scott that is not an
00:39:43overcooked egg that is a perfectly cooked hard-cooked egg come on baby come on baby it's creamy plus it's
00:39:54not
00:39:54crumbly yes chef thank you nancy if i had my challenge it would be that it's a little bit
00:40:01difficult to cut the swiss chard i agree with nancy that big piece of swiss chard just makes it a
00:40:09harder
00:40:09dish to eat the most successful thing is this sauce come on baby absolutely delicious but almost a creamy
00:40:17bourbon it's got a lot of positive comments all right judges thank you very much 50 points available in
00:40:22taste 40 points in the use of the randomizer and 10 points in plating that went well that went well
00:40:28i think that went well it sounds like we did a lot of similar things that's what it sounds like
00:40:32so i just hope mine uh is enough to pull the win all right judges and here to present the
00:40:37second
00:40:37dish is our toc champ tiffany fazon judges in front of you you have crispy breaded just jammy egg with
00:40:43swiss chard braised raw and fried you also have an egg fortified herb aioli a raw chard frisee salad
00:40:49the eggs have been digitally steamed and twice egg dipped into a breaded coating the swiss chard was
00:40:55braised down with a little bit of tomato product we then had digitally steamed chard leaves that were
00:40:59tempura breaded and fried crispy to accentuate the crispy egg on the side well i bet the chef quickly
00:41:06took the egg out of the steamer when they heard your comment on the last egg which doesn't necessarily
00:41:13make it a better egg it's a different egg you're talking to me a perfectly cooked jammy egg difficult
00:41:21difficult challenge but i think for me the dominance of the tomato that's the one part that i could just
00:41:29push aside and i would be happier with eating everything else what oh my gosh okay we got nancy
00:41:38on our sides you know what i want to honor first of all effort think about the ambition of this
00:41:45cook
00:41:45first of all the tempura how fun how that crunch is just really delicious aesthetically how chef plated
00:41:54this dish just really the next level plating thank you marcus bring it around man bring it around chef
00:42:01i like this dish a lot as well i like the usage of the yogurt i think that brightness with
00:42:06the cilantro
00:42:06and the vinegar inside there is really beautiful all in all it's a really flavorful delicious
00:42:11plate of food there's a lot of similarities here between these these plates but good cooking judges
00:42:16thank you very much uh let's go to the scorecard i feel pretty strongly i did the right thing there's
00:42:23definitely a lot of flavor on that dish did i do enough i have no idea egg center of the
00:42:29plate i'm
00:42:30telling you they did a fantastic job right let's bring it back out brian voltaggio carlos anthony
00:42:41here are the scores one chef scored a 82 the other chef scored a 79 the winner of the second
00:42:50battle
00:42:50between chef brian voltaggio and chef carlos anthony is
00:43:02brian voltaggio
00:43:10chef incredibly competitive dish all right so much ladies and gentlemen carlitos
00:43:15chef carlos anthony
00:43:21oh my gosh there's one door
00:43:26it hurts it always is just you put so much into it you you really give your all to be
00:43:33here and you
00:43:35think about it to go out in the first round it's just devastating so we've never had a chance to
00:43:41do
00:43:41this we've never had a chance to let's talk about the uh the road ahead that leaves you to battle
00:43:46the
00:43:47runner-up from last year sarah bradley or dan jacobs congratulations brian voltaggio first win at
00:43:55cc thank you big win thank you yes
00:44:05what i feel i feel amazing um i feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders now you did
00:44:11great and
00:44:11uh you're continuing that winning streak from toc holiday right so we're starting out pretty good
00:44:14here uh it means nothing but up it means uh one bracket to the next and keep on going
00:44:19we've seen so much already but are you ready to see two culinary masters go mano a mano
00:44:29now we have the number seven seed chef dan jacobs who defeated top chef winner joe flam in the toc
00:44:35qualifiers to earn his spot in this year's tournament i'm ready to take sarah already fought
00:44:41through the qualifiers which gave me a ton of confidence going into this first cook against sarah
00:44:45i feel calm i feel ready for the moment and number two seed chef sarah bradley made it all the
00:44:52way
00:44:52to the final battle of last year despite being a toc first timer last season i came in as a
00:44:59rookie
00:44:59and i made it all the way to the finale where i sadly lost to antonia lapasso it was a
00:45:07wild ride
00:45:08big letdown but i learned a lot from it i keep telling myself it's technically a one seed right
00:45:13because the icons are going to get the ones i'm playing for you know all those people that think
00:45:17they can't do something i was diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disease known as kennedy's disease
00:45:23and eventually i'm going to lose the ability to you know move around the way i do i refuse to
00:45:28back
00:45:28down i refuse to let people tell me what i can and can't do and i feel like that message
00:45:32isn't given
00:45:33enough let's go all right let's go ladies and gentlemen you ready to meet these kitchen combatants
00:45:45he worked his way up the ranks of michelin-starred chicago restaurants before taking the executive
00:45:52chef job in milwaukee that landed him on several best restaurant lists
00:45:59now as the head chef and co-owner of two acclaimed milwaukee restaurants he was a 2024
00:46:06james beard award nominee for best chef midwest
00:46:12ladies and gentlemen chef dan jacobs
00:46:25what an amazing story you're battling so much more in life yet you choose to come and put yourself
00:46:32in the epicenter of the most difficult culinary competition that exists yep there's no way but
00:46:39forward and i'm just willing to push push push the great thing about it is you're doing it amongst the
00:46:44greats and speaking of the greats your opponent this michelin trained chef returned to her kentucky
00:46:52hometown to open her award-winning restaurant bourbon and bar that celebrates her southern jewish and
00:47:00appalachian roots she was a james beard semi-finalist for best chef 2025 she has twice competed in the
00:47:10final battle of top chef and in her first appearance in this arena she won four battles in a row
00:47:17to become
00:47:18the t-o-c-6 runner-up
00:47:22ladies and gentlemen chef sarah bradley
00:47:39welcome back thank you it was so amazing to watch your wins and your trajectory in your
00:47:46first season four wins in a row it was a major accomplishment congratulations and it's time to
00:47:54take it to take it to the randomizer let's go
00:48:02ready let's get after it go for protein
00:48:14pork blade steak and celery root toaster buttery and low seed re-spin all right let's go protein pork
00:48:25blade steak never used it before not familiar with it you sure you want to go protein yeah let's do
00:48:30it
00:48:30let's spin it go for protein
00:48:36and ground beef all right oh here we are ground beef celery root toaster and buttery i can't wait to
00:48:45see
00:48:46this concoction good luck time to go all right they're going
00:48:55ground beef there's a million things they can do with this and we're going to be giving them
00:49:00prime black angus beef kansas the best of the best celery root one of my all-time favorites but a
00:49:06little troublesome in manipulating because it's so gnarled and bold it takes a little bit of time and
00:49:12maintenance we all know what a toaster is question is how are we going to get the toasted flavor
00:49:17and the toasted presentation buttery buttery can come from a lot of things they're going to need to
00:49:21be creative with seeing it and tasting man i'm from wisconsin
00:49:29and so buttery this is great i'm thinking like luscious i'm thinking something elevated i'm thinking
00:49:36luxury fruit is the dough i am comfortable in southeast asian cuisine i'm going to go full in
00:49:43but the challenge here with ground beef how do you make it elevated and how do you make it beautiful
00:49:49let's go
00:49:50fill me in start off with like a celery root and butter curry okay and then a southeast asian style
00:49:58seared meatball the toast run is going to be the rough one but we'll get there great
00:50:07buttery i'm thinking of style so i'm immediately thinking butter burgers on a brioche bun which is
00:50:12all butter i'm gonna make a oh no hi we can't hi hey how are you hi welcome thank you
00:50:20so i'm gonna make
00:50:21a better burger that's it so we run a lot to go on the burger i'm gonna have like a
00:50:26little celery apple
00:50:27slaw okay glad we talked about it
00:50:31i love celery root me too i want to do something that's completely different i think the magic of
00:50:38tournament of champions is those dishes that nobody would have thought of for my celery root and butter
00:50:44curry i'm going to add some kombu this is basically going to be our base and then i'm going to
00:50:48add some
00:50:49green curry paste just to really reinforce that southeast asian style of cuisine what i love more
00:50:54than anything is seeing somebody use kombu instead of msg boy it gets me going this is my morning coffee
00:51:04so i'm toast a little celery seed and a little fennel pollen to go into my celery root slaw okay
00:51:14thanks y'all obviously i want to prove that you know getting to the end the last time is something
00:51:20that i can do again i'm a restaurant owner a business owner a mother who wants to create a
00:51:25good life for her family and children i think all of those are motivators to get back to that finale
00:51:31and push me towards winning tournament champions damn watch out
00:51:40i can smell this toasting it smells good it's working y'all shesara shipped in 20 minutes left
00:51:49oh shucky ducky using szechuan peppercorns five spice we're gonna do some chili flakes
00:51:54and we're gonna do some peanut i know where it's going i know what you're up to the toaster's not
00:51:58my
00:51:59favorite thing i've ever had on the randomizer but i'm going to use it to toast my spices and my
00:52:03peanuts oh yeah yes we got i mean you could smell it that's what we wanted there this sort of
00:52:08warming
00:52:09spice that's really going to kind of bring everything together i'm going to add that powder
00:52:12filling from my meatball i'm also going to use it in my sauce i think this is what's going to
00:52:17really
00:52:17kind of pop these both off where's our butter oh you just wait oh you just wait dan says this
00:52:24curry
00:52:25this is going to be my big component for buttery i'm going to substitute coconut milk we're just
00:52:29going to use the butter to be that fat it's going to create this lusciousness on this curry and this
00:52:35fat that you would get from coconut milk but i don't need it butter instead of coconut milk c-o
00:52:40-c-7 baby
00:52:43this is a celery root remoulade for my burger it has celery seed celery root celery stem i'm going to
00:52:50add
00:52:51toasted spices in there a little mayonnaise i'm going to add chopped capers also i'm going to make
00:52:57celery root and apple slaw so i'm going to put a little salt and sugar on the celery root now
00:53:03to
00:53:04kind of cure it a little bit and get some of that moisture out right now in the wayfarer screening
00:53:08room
00:53:08chef brian voltaggio is spectating this battle he will face the winner in his second round so it looks
00:53:13like she's making some sort of a slaw with the celery which is a smart play too absolutely there's a
00:53:18million little things that chef sarah is doing that are smart from the julienne in the spa that
00:53:22she's making to like the little brunoise of the celery root in the remoulade those are all
00:53:26indications to the judges that the chef knows what they're doing
00:53:3416 minutes chefs i'm going to add some butter okay key good meatball is keeping that moist ball and so
00:53:41i'm going to start to create what's going to be the meatball base in the blender goes some oil lime
00:53:47leaves little garlic shallots galangal is a root vegetable basically what i'm doing here is
00:53:53getting that long as small as possible so it doesn't get stuck in the judge's teeth whoa i put a
00:53:59good
00:53:59amount of butter in here and i realized these are not going to hold shape these are not going to
00:54:03be
00:54:03meatballs well i like the smell of it chef i feel like we're going to kill the flavor maybe not
00:54:08so
00:54:08pretty i'm going to pivot here and go to almost like a seared meat patty what's the plan now oh
00:54:14the
00:54:14celery root i'm actually going to mandolin it i'm going to try to use these guys a little bit
00:54:17like noodles i think this will work we're actually going to poach these once those are pretty much
00:54:22cooked all the way through i'm going to transfer that to a pan and finish the cooking in the butter
00:54:27just like you would pasta when i do feel pressure i think i put it on myself i often feel
00:54:32that pressure
00:54:33is a privilege having kidney disease has really pushed me to do as much as i can and whenever i
00:54:39can i know
00:54:39that i have a finite amount of time that i'm going to be able to do stuff like this don't
00:54:44just sit on the sidelines like get out there do whatever you want to do like don't let anybody
00:54:47tell you no going into chef sarah bradley is a daunting task she understands how this kitchen
00:54:52works she understands how this game is played but every year there's lower seeds to take out the
00:54:57high seeds and i think i got a good dish here five to go i feel like you've done this
00:55:05before
00:55:05i've made a few burgers in my life i'm no stranger to the burger game like i have the trophy
00:55:10for best
00:55:10burger for burger week in paducah maybe i'll take home another one butter burgers are like a midwest
00:55:16thing you stuff butter inside the burger and as it cooks it cooks out you see that butter coming up
00:55:23right off the bat little butter geysers i go ahead and add some toasted spices on my burgers i grab
00:55:31my brioche
00:55:32buns to toast them three minutes three to go chefs it's not a lot of time seeing the drippings reserved
00:55:39i think we're going to see that as a finishing drizzle ground beef not necessarily the prettiest
00:55:43thing so we're actually going to hide this so you're going on top and i think this is one of
00:55:47those
00:55:48things that's kind of fun it really allows for that aha moment as you get into a dish this is
00:55:53not
00:55:53the most beautiful thing i've ever made this is very one color but i think there's so much flavor
00:55:58here this could be a winner 60 seconds let's rock and roll ready for plating i start with the buns
00:56:04down put a really nice big dollop of the silver root remoulade i put some slaw i feel really good
00:56:11about this i think i just nailed the randomizer i want to show that last year wasn't just a fluke
00:56:17i want 150 000 i want a belt i want a ring sounds fabulous five four three two one we're
00:56:27done
00:56:29well done chef thank you thank you chef creative cooking i love it
00:56:37well it's over i just see what they say ladies and gentlemen welcome back our powerhouse panel of
00:56:43judges the one and only chef nancy silberton oh nancy nancy nancy chef marcus samuelson whoa oh
00:56:54and chef scott connor scott connor and i became the first ever chopped legends together for this next
00:57:01round the randomizer served up a delicious offering of ground beef celery root the use of the toaster
00:57:07and the style was buttery and here to present the dish justin warner esteemed judges this is a celery
00:57:15root butter curry with seared ground beef the ground beef was emulsified in the stand mixer with butter
00:57:22it was seasoned with fish sauce and then celery root was added to it a foil packet filled with spices
00:57:29was toasted in the toaster and used to season both the curry and the meatball in terms of buttery
00:57:34components a pound of it was added to the curry sauce as always judges if you have any questions
00:57:39i have the answers how do you make ground beef sexy this is how you make ground beef sexy
00:57:48i don't think it's about the ground meat i think it is about the accompaniments thereof
00:57:52i think that this sauce is just steep and luscious yes i'll take that that green curry is
00:57:59really outstanding i want a vat of this and i want to swim in it good job chef good job
00:58:08the patty even though there's a nice amount of fat in it it's still not as much fat as i
00:58:13would
00:58:13or add to a patty and so all the additions that have been added to it really help that texture
00:58:21this is
00:58:22like a tasting menu idea but to do it in 30 minutes many people have thought about great
00:58:28dishes that might not taste great just to have the know-how well done chef yes that feels good thank
00:58:36you judges 50 points in the taste 40 points in the use of the randomizer and 10 points in the
00:58:42plating
00:58:42i think that i represent the celery root more i definitely think they're going to see ground beef on
00:58:47mind more up next toc champ tiffany we'll see if you were dreaming of a butter burger don't wake up
00:58:55in front of you we have a butter burger with celery root slaw and a bruno celery root remoulade
00:59:00butter lettuce and brie the ground beef was treated to a seasoning of toaster packet toasted celery seed
00:59:06fennel pollen and black pepper a generous knob of butter was packed and smacked into the middle of
00:59:11the ground beef ultimately creating a butter crust it does sound good like i'm not gonna lie it's a
00:59:17really really good burger and chef truly followed the randomized it was celery three four different
00:59:24ways theme of butter everywhere yeah this is just a perfect dish to make given the randomizer toaster
00:59:34toasted the bun it's a great burger love it sounds like they like hers too i think a burger is
00:59:41a series
00:59:41of a bunch of different things done well don't bring my heart scott the flavors are wonderful but
00:59:47cook on the burger i think it could be a little less cooked it seems to be slightly over for
00:59:52me great
00:59:53thank you very much judges this is gonna be close here we go ladies and gentlemen great round of
01:00:04competition let's bring our chefs back in let's bring our chefs back in chef dan
01:00:09chef sarah
01:00:13good cut that was a really good kick that was fun i think that the judges gave you fantastic
01:00:19compliments and your scores reflect for a score of 87 to 84. ladies and gentlemen in the first round
01:00:28battle between chef sarah bradley and dan jacobs the winner is
01:00:40dan jacobs
01:00:51congratulations chef sarah i am sorry that you're going home but we know how great you are
01:00:57we have seen this from you i'll be back there's no questions she'll be back
01:01:02bye y'all ladies and gentlemen sarah bradley
01:01:08who but that's okay good for him i'm not upset about that i mean i still wanted to win congratulations
01:01:14chef dan first round win to oc7 huge let's take a look at where you're going my friend ryan
01:01:23voltaggio takes out carlos anthony dad jacobs takes out number two seed sarah bradley rock on man you got
01:01:33this ladies and gentlemen jim jacobs going to the second round wow
01:01:45that's crazy i mean whatever i feel great i feel i'm not cloud ten cloud ten just great
01:01:52you thought and this kind of stops it winning you said the bird was a little overcooked well taste
01:01:59is subjective that's why there's three of us and not one of us that burger would have been a winner
01:02:04had it not been up against the first dish yeah you're dealing with good and gooder that was
01:02:09really different it's time for the finale of the c division the big battle you've all been waiting for
01:02:16we have a qualifier winner going up against tonight's mystery icon here we are and there's no bracket
01:02:23because i'm going against an icon and i have no idea who i'm going against as iconic as this icon
01:02:30is the
01:02:31way that i see it is that this icon is going to be a distraction so going to zone out
01:02:35of the icon
01:02:36just focus on my cook it's time
01:02:44are you ready to see two food world warriors take culinary competition to the next level
01:02:53the son of vietnamese immigrants he is successful restaurateur with almost two decades as an executive
01:03:02chef
01:03:05he was named food and wine's best new chef of 2011 and is a three-time james beard award semifinal
01:03:13james beard award semifinal
01:03:17put your hands together chef bit five
01:03:31any idea who you might be battling you know i i haven't even attempted to go down that road i
01:03:37feel
01:03:37like if i continue to think about it it's going to bother me had you known you definitely would have
01:03:43lost sleep
01:03:48with a degree from a prestigious french culinary school he shook up the food scene in los angeles
01:03:54in new york with his fresh new take on classical cuisine
01:04:01his trailblazing restaurants attracted celebrity patrons like julia child and andy warhol in 2016
01:04:08he received the james beard award for best chef new york
01:04:14he has earned his place in culinary history by introducing the east coast to the pioneering
01:04:19california cuisine he first mastered with his mentor alice waters chef jonathan waxman
01:04:49where do we begin sir waxman i always call him sir waxman he is nobility in the world of
01:04:56Cooks, you've judged with us so many times.
01:04:59You're now on the competitive side of this.
01:05:01But honestly, Chef, why are you here?
01:05:03I love cooking.
01:05:05I love it.
01:05:06This is my favorite thing in the world to do.
01:05:07This is fun for me.
01:05:08Thanks for being so brave to do it.
01:05:10I'm like in awe, so.
01:05:12Let's take it this way.
01:05:13Follow me, guys.
01:05:14No randomizer.
01:05:18I knew you'd love this one.
01:05:20Oh, man.
01:05:23Tonight, protein, produce, equipment, and style
01:05:26will dictate the dish that you're going to make.
01:05:28Soak it in right now, gentlemen.
01:05:30Going for protein.
01:05:35This is cool.
01:05:36I never saw this.
01:05:37It is not your friend.
01:05:40Stripe, manila, pork, striped bass, fine tomato, muffin pan.
01:05:46Muffin pan.
01:05:48And whiffed.
01:05:49Chefs, collectively, between the two of you,
01:05:52can make a decision to re-spin the whole thing.
01:05:54Your call.
01:05:55Let's do this.
01:05:57Let's stay.
01:05:58We're staying.
01:06:00I love that.
01:06:01Striped bass, fine tomatoes, muffin pan, and whipped.
01:06:06Gentlemen, it's been an honor and a pleasure.
01:06:08Your time starts now.
01:06:09Go.
01:06:14Striped bass, silvery fish with black horizontal stripes.
01:06:19Fine ripe tomatoes.
01:06:20Tomatoes that are still on the vine.
01:06:23The muffin pan, everybody knows what one looks like, whipped.
01:06:26It'll be interesting for Chef Waxman, who's judged this a lot of times.
01:06:29But I promise you, this will be a master class.
01:06:31The muffin pan and whipped is really where the randomizer kind of, you know, went haywire.
01:06:37He's not at all concerned.
01:06:38You know, I love being a judge, but I never got to see the action.
01:06:41When I got the opportunity to compete today, I said, why not?
01:06:45Judging is great, don't get me wrong, but cooking is what I do.
01:06:48The reason I'm competing today is the culmination of all the things I've done in my career.
01:06:53Bobby Flay worked for me for five years, so I was his mentor.
01:06:55I did two years at Top Chef Masters.
01:06:57I beat people like Roy Yamaguchi, who actually used to work for me, Michael Chimroosti.
01:07:02And I said, you're younger, you're smarter, you're quicker, you're better cooks than I am.
01:07:06I don't know how I beat you, but I did.
01:07:08And it was fun.
01:07:10What's going on with the heating of the muffin tin?
01:07:13Preheated always.
01:07:15So when the mixture goes in, boom.
01:07:18Icon is a difficult word.
01:07:20Michael Simon once called me a legend, and I told him I wasn't dead yet.
01:07:23You know, so I don't know if I can live up to the moniker, but I'll take it.
01:07:28Well, the color of these eggs are beautiful, huh?
01:07:30Aren't they pretty?
01:07:31Fish and eggs, they're kind of synonymous.
01:07:33So I just wanted to make like an egg kind of fluff thing that I do for brunch sometimes.
01:07:38And then the grazed lettuce as sort of a base for the fish,
01:07:43and then the tomatoes and little mashed potato thing on top.
01:07:46Maybe it's too many items, but, you know, that's me.
01:07:49Never in all of the days of my life could you have told me that I would be standing here
01:07:54watching Chef Jonathan Waxman cook.
01:07:56This is a pantry moment in my life.
01:08:00It was fun, huh?
01:08:02That's what you think.
01:08:03I am battling against the one and only Jonathan Waxman.
01:08:09He is an iconic chef.
01:08:11He's trained some of the best chefs, mission stars, James Beard winners.
01:08:15That's like the Oscars of the food world.
01:08:18To be here with him is crazy.
01:08:22Chef, welcome back.
01:08:24Thanks.
01:08:25When you have a plan, fill me in.
01:08:26Something along the line of a fish fry.
01:08:30I'm a chef and restaurateur from Salt Lake City, Utah.
01:08:33This name right here, Pretty Bird, I'm a fry cook.
01:08:36I fry chicken every day.
01:08:37You know, we don't have a lot of time,
01:08:39so the quickest and easiest way is to fry the fish.
01:08:43I want to use the skin in a different way.
01:08:44I don't have that many years of experience as Jonathan Waxman does,
01:08:49and I'm just literally trying to do my best.
01:08:51Do you know they're a chef?
01:08:53Cool as a cucumber, huh?
01:08:55Iconically.
01:08:56And here I am, right in my mouth.
01:08:57I am an award-winning chef,
01:09:00and I've beaten a lot of famous chefs.
01:09:04You might have heard of this guy named, um, what's his name?
01:09:07I forgot.
01:09:08Bobby Flay.
01:09:09I beat him on Irish Chef America.
01:09:12Bobby Flay was probably the only person
01:09:14that is a direct descendant of Jonathan Waxman.
01:09:18Hopefully, I'll be taking down his mentor as well today.
01:09:22I go to the fryer.
01:09:23I check up on the fish.
01:09:24It looks pretty good.
01:09:25I let it rest for a little bit,
01:09:27and then right before I'm going to plate,
01:09:29I'm going to drop it in the fryer one more time as a double fry.
01:09:32I'm looking around.
01:09:33I'm like, what am I going to do with this fish skin?
01:09:34It would be a terrible waste not to use it.
01:09:36And then I look over, and I see the muffin pan calling out to me,
01:09:40like, hello, B. What about me?
01:09:42And then I get this idea.
01:09:43I'm going to throw it into the fryer.
01:09:45And then after it's fried,
01:09:46I gently push it into the muffin pan
01:09:48so that it forms around the bottom of the pan.
01:09:51So that way, the judges will at least know
01:09:53that I used the muffin pan.
01:09:57Do you have a backup plan if this doesn't work?
01:09:59No, with 30 minutes,
01:10:00there's not a lot of room for a backup plan,
01:10:02so it better work.
01:10:03To be on the TOC
01:10:04and going against an icon like Jonathan Waxman,
01:10:07we're going to figure this out.
01:10:10Chefs, we are at the halfway point.
01:10:12You have 15 minutes left to compete.
01:10:1415.
01:10:17So if you feel like telling me
01:10:19what's rolling around in that Jedi brain of you,
01:10:21I'll, yours, I'll be right here.
01:10:22I'm too simplistic for words.
01:10:25I have a trick where I fire blast tomatoes
01:10:28in a super hot oven until they char.
01:10:31All right.
01:10:32I want a little bit of acidity
01:10:34to go along with the fish.
01:10:36I want to make brown butter,
01:10:39sherry vinaigrette to graze lettuce
01:10:41as a base for the fish,
01:10:42and then the tomatoes as the sauce.
01:10:45Chef Jonathan Waxman is not just an icon,
01:10:47he's a legend.
01:10:47He's also one of my favorite chefs in the people.
01:10:50And I've never seen food handled
01:10:51in a way that he handles it.
01:10:54So for the whip portion,
01:10:56I'm whipping tofu with some tomato.
01:10:58I'm going to make a dipping sauce for the fish.
01:11:01Not a lot of people use tofu or even like tofu,
01:11:03but I feel like it's going to be a great vehicle
01:11:06to carry some additional flavors.
01:11:07Smart work by Chef Viette.
01:11:09You can see that he's taking the seeds
01:11:11out of the tomatoes.
01:11:12Of course, that's where the majority
01:11:13of the water content is found.
01:11:14Water, that ain't flavor.
01:11:16Star anise.
01:11:17Star anise.
01:11:18A little bit of smoked paprika.
01:11:20Garlic powder.
01:11:22Oyster sauce.
01:11:23A little bit of oyster sauce.
01:11:24I'm going to whip that,
01:11:25and then I'm going to siphon it.
01:11:27Whee!
01:11:28You've done this before, Chef?
01:11:29Something similar, yes.
01:11:34I cook with striped bass in New York all the time,
01:11:35but the striped bass,
01:11:36we get it for 35 pounds.
01:11:38So my plan with the striped bass
01:11:40to put them on the grill.
01:11:41Always think it's going to,
01:11:42that's where all the nutrients are.
01:11:45Grilling fish is really difficult.
01:11:47The only thing that's hard
01:11:48is grilling chicken.
01:11:49So why are you going to grill it
01:11:51if it's so hard?
01:11:52Well, because I've been doing it
01:11:53for about 50 years.
01:11:54Oh!
01:11:55What's the plan for the bass, Chef?
01:11:56I'm getting old.
01:11:57You're not.
01:11:58I was trying to really
01:11:59channel that randomizer.
01:12:01I think, as a judge,
01:12:03that's the thing
01:12:03that most cooks really failed on.
01:12:05I was thinking about
01:12:07what I could whip,
01:12:08and I could either whip
01:12:10the tomatoes or the potatoes.
01:12:12Tried to use
01:12:13a little hand immersion blender.
01:12:16I don't think I really have
01:12:18anything to prove anymore.
01:12:19My sort of history speaks for itself.
01:12:22Winning is fabulous.
01:12:24If it happens, great.
01:12:26The more important thing to me
01:12:27is how well I cook my dish.
01:12:30Blacksman's having to get some.
01:12:31Chicken like the Jedi of the U.
01:12:32It's like that's fast.
01:12:33Truly, if I were to put that
01:12:34on the grill, I wouldn't have been able
01:12:35to get my skin off.
01:12:36It's like Baxman magic.
01:12:39Ten minutes, Chefs.
01:12:41Ten to go.
01:12:41How are we looking?
01:12:42The muffin tin has been used
01:12:43to give form to the fish skins,
01:12:45crisp up gently in the fryer
01:12:46and put in the oven.
01:12:47Blending isn't necessarily whipping
01:12:49because it's not incorporating air.
01:12:51The whipping part goes
01:12:53when it goes into the cream whipper,
01:12:54and then you charge it
01:12:55with a nitrous oxide charger.
01:12:57This is a first.
01:12:58So this is also a very big risk,
01:13:01but you know what?
01:13:02You have to take big risks
01:13:03in order to win.
01:13:05I want to further enhance
01:13:07the randomizer option,
01:13:08which is the tomato.
01:13:09In Vietnamese cooking,
01:13:10you know, there's actually
01:13:11a lot of tomatoes,
01:13:12so it is something
01:13:13that I'm very familiar with.
01:13:15What's the plan here, Chef?
01:13:16I'm going to make a relish
01:13:18with this.
01:13:18Copy.
01:13:19Using just traditional
01:13:20Vietnamese nikmam.
01:13:21Growing up, I think deep down
01:13:23I resented my parents
01:13:24because they named me Viet
01:13:26and my brother Nam,
01:13:27and because of that,
01:13:28we were bullied.
01:13:29As I've gotten older,
01:13:30through my cooking,
01:13:31and especially learning
01:13:32about the Vietnamese cuisine,
01:13:33it makes me feel closer
01:13:34to my family
01:13:35and to my heritage
01:13:37and my upbringing,
01:13:38and that I'm grateful for.
01:13:42Seven and a half.
01:13:44Where's our whipped?
01:13:45Those potatoes and garlic
01:13:46that have been boiled
01:13:47and treated to a little bit
01:13:49of white wine and butter.
01:13:50The egg mixture
01:13:50that was put in the oven,
01:13:52pan-whipped,
01:13:53we're whipping it real good.
01:13:54Whipped it real good.
01:13:55I'm always Mr. Simple.
01:13:57I don't like to try
01:13:58to go too far
01:13:58out of my comfort zone.
01:13:59I'm like slow
01:14:00and steady Waxman,
01:14:02California,
01:14:03like not sweat
01:14:04with small stuff.
01:14:04What are all those spoons?
01:14:06In your bane, chef.
01:14:07All over there.
01:14:09All I wanted to do
01:14:10was be a trombone player
01:14:11and play jazz
01:14:12as a career.
01:14:14But I somehow
01:14:15found myself
01:14:16selling Ferraris
01:14:17when I was 24 years old,
01:14:18and that led
01:14:19to my going to France
01:14:20and going and studying cooking.
01:14:22Did I have any clue
01:14:23that I'd become a chef?
01:14:25Absolutely zero.
01:14:25Oh, ho, ho, ho!
01:14:28Muffin tin.
01:14:29I mean, that's
01:14:29muffin tin 101 right there.
01:14:31Oh, ho, ho!
01:14:33I pulled my muffin tin
01:14:34from the oven.
01:14:34It is absolutely perfect.
01:14:36I'm so proud of myself.
01:14:38And let's hope
01:14:39the judges see
01:14:40my muffin tin vision.
01:14:41Three minutes.
01:14:42First, I place my fish
01:14:44with the tomato salsa
01:14:45and the herb salad.
01:14:46I go ahead
01:14:47and siphon the sauce,
01:14:49and what do you know?
01:14:50It's not coming out.
01:14:51This is like
01:14:52the moment of panic.
01:14:53I have to get this
01:14:54on the plate.
01:14:55Two minutes,
01:14:56two to go.
01:14:57All right, you ready?
01:14:58Yeah.
01:14:59Soap-raised lettuces
01:15:01with a brown butter
01:15:03shallot sauce,
01:15:04a little muffin man,
01:15:06and a little quiches.
01:15:07Okay.
01:15:07And then the fish.
01:15:08I've accomplished
01:15:09a lot of things
01:15:09in my career,
01:15:10but they really
01:15:11don't mean anything
01:15:12unless I enjoy it.
01:15:14And I do actually
01:15:14enjoy where I've been.
01:15:16I have a lot of people
01:15:17that I've mentored
01:15:17over the years,
01:15:18so their accomplishments
01:15:20become part of me.
01:15:21And I think that
01:15:22is the most important thing
01:15:23about being an icon
01:15:24or whatever else
01:15:25you want to call me.
01:15:26I actually feel
01:15:27very proud of my legacy,
01:15:29and that to me
01:15:29is the greatest thing
01:15:30in the world.
01:15:31One minute,
01:15:31one to go.
01:15:32I'm slowly getting
01:15:33a little bit of out.
01:15:34Finally, it works.
01:15:36There's nice volume
01:15:37and height to the sauce.
01:15:38It looks really good.
01:15:3930 seconds.
01:15:40Man, I just literally
01:15:41cooked against a legend.
01:15:43This matchup,
01:15:44it's definitely
01:15:44a David and Goliath.
01:15:45The takedown,
01:15:46like one of the forefathers
01:15:47of cuisine,
01:15:48it would be
01:15:48absolutely amazing.
01:15:50Five, four, three, two, one.
01:15:57Chef Laksman,
01:15:58Chef Mom,
01:15:59thank you so much.
01:16:09It was fun.
01:16:12It was fun.
01:16:13That was pretty crazy.
01:16:14To be honest,
01:16:15I had some guesses,
01:16:16but I was nowhere near close
01:16:18to guessing
01:16:18Jonathan Waxman.
01:16:19I was starstruck,
01:16:20to say the least.
01:16:21To be able to cook
01:16:22with an icon like him,
01:16:24win or lose,
01:16:25I felt like I made it.
01:16:29All right.
01:16:30You know what?
01:16:31I actually probably need
01:16:32to take a photo
01:16:32of this really quick.
01:16:33Just my keepsake.
01:16:35Wow.
01:16:36Hey, you know,
01:16:38miracles happen.
01:16:40What did it feel like
01:16:41to be out there?
01:16:42Was it good to cook again?
01:16:43Yeah, it was great
01:16:44to be cooking again.
01:16:45Really fun.
01:16:46Are your flavors there?
01:16:47We'll see.
01:16:50All right, ladies and gentlemen,
01:16:51for our final round,
01:16:53welcome back
01:16:53to our esteemed judges,
01:16:54the one and only
01:16:55Nancy Silverton,
01:16:56Marcus Samuelsson,
01:16:57and Scott Conner.
01:16:59Oh, my gosh.
01:17:00Okay, tough, tough judges.
01:17:02Three of my best friends, huh?
01:17:04Thanks a lot.
01:17:05Judges tonight,
01:17:06the randomizer
01:17:07for this final
01:17:07magnificent round,
01:17:09offered up striped bass,
01:17:10fine tomatoes,
01:17:11the use of a muffin pan,
01:17:13the style is whipped,
01:17:14and here to present
01:17:15Tiffany Faison.
01:17:16It's me.
01:17:18Chefs, in front of you
01:17:19is grilled striped bass
01:17:20with slow-roasted vine tomatoes,
01:17:22a scallion and paprika
01:17:24mini quiche,
01:17:25braised lettuces,
01:17:26and whipped Yukon
01:17:27and garlic fondue.
01:17:29Let's get to the bass.
01:17:30The bass was simply
01:17:31seasoned and grilled.
01:17:32The vine tomatoes
01:17:32were seasoned
01:17:33and slow-roasted
01:17:34in the salamander.
01:17:35It was then treated
01:17:36to a sherry
01:17:36and white wine
01:17:37shallot reduction.
01:17:38A quiche base
01:17:39was then hand-whipped.
01:17:40That base was then
01:17:41placed in the muffin tin
01:17:42to create
01:17:43the little mini quiche.
01:17:44Yukon golden garlic
01:17:45were cooked
01:17:46and then butter whipped,
01:17:47creating the Yukon gold fondue
01:17:49that's adorning
01:17:49the top of the dish.
01:17:50This is foundational
01:17:52Jonathan Waxman cooking.
01:17:53This is totally him.
01:17:54Wow, he put in
01:17:55a lot of techniques.
01:17:56He did a lot
01:17:57of different things.
01:17:58There's a lot
01:17:58of really good flavors here.
01:17:59I really like that acidity
01:18:01brought in
01:18:01with the sherry vinegar.
01:18:02I think the usage
01:18:03of the tomatoes,
01:18:04though rustic
01:18:05and chunky,
01:18:06I really think
01:18:07that's a nice touch
01:18:08and fish is cooked
01:18:09beautifully.
01:18:10Absolutely perfect.
01:18:11I love the quiche.
01:18:13I thought that
01:18:13ate really nice
01:18:15and creamy.
01:18:16Flavors are all in here.
01:18:17It's a great dish
01:18:18with a super nice
01:18:20moist fish.
01:18:21Plating-wise,
01:18:22just feels a little
01:18:23rushed put together.
01:18:24You think?
01:18:26I agree.
01:18:27I think that
01:18:27everything together
01:18:28ate really well.
01:18:29The flavors really well.
01:18:31You know,
01:18:31beautiful colors.
01:18:32For me,
01:18:33I think the biggest
01:18:33challenge was
01:18:34the description.
01:18:35The tomato
01:18:36didn't eat like
01:18:37a slow-roasted
01:18:38tomato to me.
01:18:39Nancy hated it.
01:18:40All right, judges,
01:18:41thank you very much.
01:18:4250 points available
01:18:43in taste,
01:18:4440 points in the use
01:18:45of the randomizer,
01:18:46and 10 points
01:18:47in the plating.
01:18:48I think they're
01:18:49absolutely right.
01:18:49It was rushed.
01:18:51I mean,
01:18:51you don't do a competition
01:18:52for a long time.
01:18:53You are a little rusty.
01:18:55All right, judges,
01:18:56for the second dish
01:18:58presentation,
01:18:59Justin Warner.
01:19:00I feel hopeful,
01:19:02putting it out.
01:19:03Judges,
01:19:03this is lightly fried
01:19:04striped bass
01:19:05with a Vietnamese-inspired
01:19:07salsa and whipped tofu
01:19:09with vine tomatoes.
01:19:11The striped bass
01:19:11was butchered,
01:19:12skinned,
01:19:13and seasoned.
01:19:14From there,
01:19:14it was treated
01:19:15to a bath of buttermilk
01:19:16and twice fried.
01:19:18The skin
01:19:18was lightly fried
01:19:20before being fully cooked
01:19:21in the muffin tin.
01:19:23The vine tomatoes
01:19:23you will find
01:19:24in this whipped tofu
01:19:25was done with fish sauce
01:19:27and most notably
01:19:28star anise
01:19:29and smoked paprika.
01:19:31Come on, judges.
01:19:32Moment of truth.
01:19:33This is cohesive.
01:19:34Do you like this?
01:19:35Do you want more of it?
01:19:37Marcus is nodding his head.
01:19:39What does that mean?
01:19:41Hands up.
01:19:42It's not good.
01:19:43The sound.
01:19:45Food can be sonic
01:19:46when you eat this skin.
01:19:48So freaking delicious.
01:19:50I'm a fry cook
01:19:51through and through.
01:19:52The little foam here
01:19:53with the salsa,
01:19:54just like elegant
01:19:55on the side.
01:19:56Incredible.
01:19:57This is very,
01:19:58very good cooking
01:19:59at the highest level.
01:20:00Very successful.
01:20:02There's only one
01:20:04tiny thing I would say.
01:20:05The fish eats
01:20:06a tad dry,
01:20:08just a little bit dry,
01:20:09but that's nitpicking.
01:20:12Chef double-fried it.
01:20:13I agree that the fish
01:20:15is a little bit dry,
01:20:16but that skin
01:20:17is just naughty.
01:20:18It's naughty.
01:20:20It's so crunchy
01:20:21and delicious.
01:20:21The usage of the fish sauce
01:20:23and the other ingredients
01:20:24that are inside there
01:20:25from a Vietnamese perspective.
01:20:26It is fantastic,
01:20:28but it's not overwhelming.
01:20:29Using the muffin tin
01:20:30to hold the skin
01:20:32was really smart.
01:20:33Loved the texture.
01:20:35Overall,
01:20:35a talented chef.
01:20:37Judges,
01:20:37thank you
01:20:38for your final judging tonight.
01:20:39Watching judging
01:20:40is excruciatingly painful
01:20:42and horrific.
01:20:43Look at my eyes.
01:20:44My eyes are, like,
01:20:46tearing up.
01:20:47I did everything
01:20:48that I could.
01:20:48I cooked my heart out.
01:20:49We're in there
01:20:50ready for you.
01:20:52Let's go.
01:20:56All right, ladies
01:20:57and gentlemen,
01:20:58an honor and a pleasure
01:20:59to have such a culinary icon.
01:21:02Let's welcome him back,
01:21:03Sir Jonathan Westman.
01:21:07Chef Ian Bob.
01:21:16Chefs,
01:21:17the judges were very complimentary
01:21:18to the fact that
01:21:19that was no simple randomizer.
01:21:21I have your scores.
01:21:23One chef scored 80.
01:21:25The other chef scored an 82.
01:21:30And the winner
01:21:31of tonight's final battle
01:21:32between Chef Jonathan Westman
01:21:33and Chef Vietbomb is...
01:21:43Chef Vietbomb!
01:21:48Good job.
01:21:49Thank you so much.
01:21:58I grew up watching you.
01:22:00It's like a dream come true,
01:22:02you know?
01:22:02It was such an honor
01:22:03to be in your presence today.
01:22:04Well, honestly,
01:22:05the honor is really all mine
01:22:06and you deserve to win
01:22:08and congratulations.
01:22:09Chef Waxman,
01:22:10it was graceful,
01:22:11it was poetic,
01:22:12it was very mindful
01:22:13of what you put on the plate.
01:22:15You're one of a kind,
01:22:15my friend.
01:22:16I appreciate it.
01:22:17Ladies and gentlemen,
01:22:18the legend himself,
01:22:19Sir Jonathan Waxman.
01:22:21Thank you, Chef.
01:22:28I'm glad I did this.
01:22:29It really was fun.
01:22:31His whole career
01:22:32is ahead of him
01:22:32and he has all the stuff
01:22:34to build on.
01:22:35That is the future
01:22:36of our business.
01:22:37I'm going to pass out,
01:22:39seriously.
01:22:40I cannot believe it.
01:22:42You just won
01:22:42your first big round
01:22:44inside of Tournament of Champions.
01:22:46Chef Vietbomb!
01:22:48Thanks again.
01:22:49Let's take a look at this, bud.
01:22:52If you look at this,
01:22:54but you and Shirley
01:22:55going head to head,
01:22:56you feel it?
01:22:57I feel it!
01:22:57Congratulations!
01:22:59Miller!
01:23:00Chef Vietbomb!
01:23:01Big win!
01:23:02We're so happy for you, man.
01:23:03Congratulations!
01:23:05Thanks, everyone.
01:23:11Yes!
01:23:12I won!
01:23:13Jonathan, shake your hand.
01:23:14How are you doing?
01:23:14That's good, man.
01:23:15Congratulations, brother.
01:23:16Thank you, man.
01:23:17Wow!
01:23:17You honestly held a very cool
01:23:18common collective in there.
01:23:19Like, it went by
01:23:20a million miles an hour.
01:23:23And the little chef in me
01:23:25who first opened up
01:23:26a cookbook
01:23:26and was inspired
01:23:27by some of these greats,
01:23:29such as Jonathan Waxman,
01:23:30this is why TOC is great.
01:23:32So the winners
01:23:33of the C Division battles
01:23:34have earned their spots
01:23:36in the next round
01:23:36of competition,
01:23:37but we still have
01:23:38one more division to go.
01:23:40Yes!
01:23:40Yes!
01:23:41Join us next time
01:23:42when the chefs
01:23:42of the D Division
01:23:43face off in the final night
01:23:45of the first round matchup
01:23:46and the battle
01:23:47for the final four spots.
01:23:49I forgot how crazy
01:23:49the show is.
01:23:50That's a banger.
01:23:51That's a banger.
01:23:52Plus, we'll reveal
01:23:54our final icon.
01:23:57I'll see you next week.
01:23:59Adios.
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