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#video #Tournament Of Champions S07E07
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00:00:00So it's the quarterfinals night of Tournament of Champions 7.
00:00:04All right, let's go.
00:00:07And of the 32 world-class chefs who first entered the arena, 24 have already gone home.
00:00:14I'm holding back tears.
00:00:15And only eight remain.
00:00:18Keep that cheering, you guys. I can't breathe.
00:00:20Tonight, the triumphant eight heads back into battle.
00:00:23Let's go!
00:00:25And we will find out who wins each of the four divisions.
00:00:29Let her rip.
00:00:30First, our four-time finalist, the jester, Chef Jettila, takes on the bearded baller, Chef Jonathan Salyer.
00:00:37It's crazy.
00:00:38Stop it.
00:00:40Next, the dragon slayer, Chef Kevin Lee, faces off against Mustache Joe, Chef Joe Sasto.
00:00:46Not today, Joe. Not today.
00:00:49Then qualifier winners, Chef Kenny Gilbert and Iron Chef Stephanie Izard,
00:00:54by to become this season's Cinderella story.
00:00:57Yes, there it is!
00:00:58Yes, chef!
00:00:59And finally, the Dumpling Mafia Queen, Chef Shirley Chung,
00:01:03battles Chef Brian Voltaggio for the last spot in the semifinal.
00:01:07She's going to be tough, but I'm tough too.
00:01:09Can you believe what's happening?
00:01:12Who will earn their place in the TOC Final Four
00:01:15and compete in the finale for $150,000 grand prize?
00:01:20Ladies and gentlemen, this is Tournament of Champions 7.
00:01:28Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the finest quarterfinalists on planet Earth.
00:01:34Here they come, Chef Jeff Tila and Chef Jonathan Salyer.
00:01:39Chef Joe Sasto, Chef Kevin Lee, Chef Shirley Chung, Chef Brian Voltaggio,
00:01:44and Chef Stephanie Izard, Chef Kenny Gilbert.
00:01:50Well then, you look different.
00:01:53I love that.
00:01:55That's right, because you look like people that have won two rounds of competition,
00:01:59or should I say three rounds of competition.
00:02:01Chef, congratulations.
00:02:03You are now the great eight.
00:02:05Yeah.
00:02:06All done.
00:02:09All that much closer to the belt, the title, the banner.
00:02:14It's one other thing.
00:02:18The $150,000 grand prize.
00:02:25So, are you ready to find out who's going to battle first?
00:02:29Yeah.
00:02:30Let's start off with the A division between Chef Chantila and Chef Jonathan Salyer.
00:02:38Chef Tila, you're going to go through that door.
00:02:40Chef Salyer through that door.
00:02:42The rest of you, your time is coming soon.
00:02:45You're out.
00:02:45Woo!
00:02:47Get ready to do this.
00:02:50Woo!
00:02:51Why am I always the first battle?
00:02:55Okay.
00:02:57It's how you don't fight.
00:02:58Ladies and gentlemen, let's meet the first two contenders.
00:03:00We have the number four seed, Chef Jonathan Salyer,
00:03:03who is in the quarterfinals for the first time
00:03:05and seems to have found his TOC sweet spot.
00:03:09That's it.
00:03:11Everything led me to here.
00:03:12I am 41 months sober.
00:03:14I'm not defined by my mistakes.
00:03:16I'm defined by how many times I pick myself up
00:03:19and become more successful.
00:03:20I've got my lucky shoes on.
00:03:24It's time to go.
00:03:25His opponent, oh, the number two seed, Chef Chantila,
00:03:30the winningest chef in this year's tournament,
00:03:32who is no stranger to the quarterfinals.
00:03:35You know, this year I'm working with a coach
00:03:37who's an ex-CIA contractor guy
00:03:40who deals with high-stress situations.
00:03:43This year's really about just kind of figuring
00:03:45out and calming my nervous system.
00:03:46Listen, Chantila's the winningest competitor
00:03:48in TOC history.
00:03:51Just breathing exercises.
00:03:56Very few in this arena have beaten him before,
00:03:59and I want to be one of those few.
00:04:01Chef, they're ready for you.
00:04:02All right, let's go.
00:04:09Are you ready to see the kickoff of the night?
00:04:12Yeah!
00:04:12Then let's light this up!
00:04:17He has opened critically acclaimed restaurants
00:04:19in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago.
00:04:24He was named Food & Wine's Best Food Chef of 2010
00:04:30and received the 2017 James Beard Award
00:04:33for Best Chef Great Lakes.
00:04:36And he defeated Food Network star Artie Saquera
00:04:39in the second round with a tiger prawn plate
00:04:41that made Judge Kenny Oranger proclaim...
00:04:44This dish is just dynamite.
00:04:47Give an explosive round of applause
00:04:48to the beard and baller!
00:04:51Yes!
00:04:52Jonathan Sawyer!
00:05:02Beard and baller, the two wins so far in TOC 7
00:05:05have been monster.
00:05:08You're jamming.
00:05:09Yeah, I'm on a hot streak right now.
00:05:10You know your opponent.
00:05:12Let's make sure everybody else does.
00:05:15His mastery of Thai and Chinese cuisine
00:05:17is awe-inspiring,
00:05:18and his knife skills legendary.
00:05:21He has opened more than 20 restaurant concepts,
00:05:24broken five culinary world records,
00:05:27written three cookbooks,
00:05:28and has been nominated for three Emmys.
00:05:31And he defeated James Beard nominee Claudette Cepeda
00:05:34in the second round with a chicken curry dish.
00:05:37In 30 minutes, the flavor, the balance.
00:05:40Audience, you know him.
00:05:41You love him, and you gotta quit asking me about him.
00:05:45Big round of applause for the Jets' turn,
00:05:48Chef Jett Keeler!
00:05:57Thank you, everybody.
00:05:59Thank you, everybody.
00:06:03Jett, you're one win away
00:06:06from being in the final four for the fifth time.
00:06:09Oh, it's just pressure.
00:06:11That's all it is.
00:06:12It's gotta go away.
00:06:13It's just one win,
00:06:14and then another win,
00:06:15and then another win.
00:06:16But you both earned this,
00:06:17and now you two will kick it off
00:06:19to determine who will go into the final four.
00:06:21Time to get busy.
00:06:22Let's take it to the randomizer.
00:06:24Let's go.
00:06:24Right this way.
00:06:27Wow, wow, wow.
00:06:29Oh, boy.
00:06:30So the randomizer will determine
00:06:32the mandatory international elements of your dish.
00:06:35The protein, the produce,
00:06:37the equipment, the style,
00:06:38and finally,
00:06:39a globally inspired wild card ingredient.
00:06:43Wow.
00:06:45That's not a combination that I want right now.
00:06:46I don't...
00:06:47I'm gonna give you plenty of time
00:06:48to think about it
00:06:49as I spin.
00:06:51Let's go for the protein!
00:06:52Crazy, come on, oh.
00:06:55This is a crazy randomized thing.
00:06:58I don't know one-third of these things.
00:07:02Protein, protein, protein.
00:07:04Come on, baby.
00:07:04Oh, Bransino!
00:07:05Oh, oh.
00:07:08And bok choy.
00:07:11Hand-held waffle iron,
00:07:14fresh and fried,
00:07:16canned aki.
00:07:17That's not bad to work with.
00:07:18You got a lot of really good options here.
00:07:20Feel good?
00:07:23Ready, set, go.
00:07:27All right, here we go.
00:07:29Well, the randomizer definitely got harder
00:07:31in this round.
00:07:32Way harder.
00:07:33Oh, Bransino.
00:07:34I mean, this is like the cornerstone
00:07:36of Mediterranean cooking.
00:07:37You go everywhere in Italy,
00:07:38you go everywhere in Greece,
00:07:39you'll find it.
00:07:40Bok choy type of Chinese cabbage.
00:07:42Super versatile.
00:07:43Can go anywhere.
00:07:44Hand-held iron.
00:07:45So this is two hinged pieces.
00:07:47You pour the waffle batter in there.
00:07:48You're gonna use this over the stove.
00:07:50This is a camping waffle maker.
00:07:52Fresh and fried.
00:07:53Everything fried loves something fresh.
00:07:55This has got all kinds of play inside of it.
00:07:58Canned aki.
00:07:59It's pretty adaptable.
00:08:01They'll be able to do some great things with it.
00:08:02They just gotta have the big mind and a big imagination
00:08:04of how to employ all of this,
00:08:06especially that handheld waffle iron.
00:08:10A whole Bransino requires a ton of skill and time
00:08:14in order to break it down.
00:08:15But that's why it's tournament champions,
00:08:17not tournament averages.
00:08:18Chad, did you just take my bin?
00:08:20Oh, I'm so sorry.
00:08:21No worries.
00:08:22That's okay.
00:08:23I'll take those chilies.
00:08:24The first thought that comes into my mind,
00:08:26that's what I need to do.
00:08:27And so I'm gonna go a whole fried Bransino
00:08:30with aki island sauce with crispy garnishes.
00:08:33Cook with a lot of canned aki, Chef.
00:08:36Never.
00:08:36There's a couple of firsts happening today.
00:08:38It's a savory fruit out of West Africa,
00:08:40and the seeds have been removed because they're so toxic.
00:08:43Let's go, Jet!
00:08:44Fresh and fried.
00:08:44I love it.
00:08:45Also, whole Bransino.
00:08:47I mean, I have broken down in fried fish
00:08:49literally thousands of times in my career.
00:08:52That's Asian food right there, man.
00:08:53So I'm gonna do some type of whole fried fish,
00:08:56and then I'm gonna top it
00:08:58with a very light bok choy, apple, and onion salad.
00:09:02And then the waffle iron and the aki
00:09:03are gonna find its way into this dish somewhere.
00:09:07Chef, how are you?
00:09:08I'm good.
00:09:09How are you, Justin?
00:09:10Perfect.
00:09:11Let's go.
00:09:11Let's go.
00:09:12So it wouldn't be TOC
00:09:14without my crack team of culinary commentators.
00:09:16That's right.
00:09:17Michelin-recommended chef with a PhD in deliciousness.
00:09:20The wild card himself, Chef Justin Warner.
00:09:22And wicked Boston restaurateur.
00:09:25And the TOC 3 champ herself, Chef Tiffany Faison.
00:09:28Now, Justin and Tiffany are following the chef's every move
00:09:31so they can faithfully present their dishes
00:09:33to the judges during the blind tasting.
00:09:35They're also joined by our roving reporter,
00:09:37my son, Hunter Fieri,
00:09:38who will be talking with our winners backstage.
00:09:40And the culinary scholar, Simon Majendar,
00:09:43who will dive into the randomizer challenge
00:09:45with the judges after the competition.
00:09:48It's a big chop truck.
00:09:49Do you have a plan?
00:09:51Yeah, we're going to fry whole fish.
00:09:53I love that for us.
00:09:54You know, I want to get these fish marinated
00:09:56as soon as possible,
00:09:57giving this aggressive marinade
00:09:59the highest opportunity
00:10:00to sort of penetrate the flesh of the fish.
00:10:02Jerk, Chef?
00:10:03Jerk.
00:10:04What'd you call me?
00:10:05Ah!
00:10:06I'm just honored to be here
00:10:08on Tournament Champion 7
00:10:09because there was a moment in my life
00:10:11where I didn't know if I would ever cook again.
00:10:14There was most certainly a moment
00:10:15where I couldn't even look at this guy in the mirror.
00:10:17Since my sobriety,
00:10:19I'm living the absolute best version of my life
00:10:21every day now.
00:10:22But I'm not satisfied
00:10:24with just getting to the quarterfinals.
00:10:26That won't be enough for me this year.
00:10:27I want to go all the way through to the finals
00:10:29and win everything.
00:10:30What do you got for me?
00:10:31Uh, like the whole kitchen in the blender.
00:10:34Jerk seasoning, chiyokoji,
00:10:36sake leaves, tamarind, clam juice.
00:10:38Lime juice?
00:10:39He's going to marinate his fish.
00:10:43No one leaves this arena happy
00:10:45except for one person.
00:10:47And that's who's leaving with the cash
00:10:49and the belt and the ring and the title.
00:10:55I need to make a sauce.
00:11:00Crab paste.
00:11:01I'm starting with Asian crab paste,
00:11:03which is supercharged crab bisque.
00:11:05That's what it tastes like.
00:11:06I've never worked with Aki before,
00:11:08so I've got to taste it.
00:11:11Okay.
00:11:11Okay, that's not weird at all.
00:11:13There's this definite fermented sulfur flavor
00:11:15kind of like that hot, sour, salty, sweet
00:11:18from Asian cuisine.
00:11:21Thank you!
00:11:23Let's go!
00:11:24Let's get to this final four.
00:11:26The driver for this sauce
00:11:28is to embrace the funk of the Aki.
00:11:31That is a unique aroma.
00:11:32This Aki crab mother sauce,
00:11:35it's going to be the final sauce
00:11:37to coat the fried filet pieces.
00:11:41It's pretty good.
00:11:42It's going to be dressing
00:11:44for the bok choy crispy salad.
00:11:47Really good flavor out of this.
00:11:50And it's also going to be used
00:11:51to create a binder
00:11:53to make a rice cake in this waffle maker.
00:11:55I compete because I know
00:11:57there's little future Jed out there
00:12:00watching and going,
00:12:01that looks like me.
00:12:02I can be that guy.
00:12:05I'm going to make crispy Aki rice
00:12:08with the iron.
00:12:09I don't think any of us
00:12:10has made rice cakes
00:12:11in a waffle iron before.
00:12:12Not with $150,000 on the line.
00:12:15If anyone could, Chef.
00:12:16That's right.
00:12:19It's time to say some prayers
00:12:21and cross my fingers
00:12:22and hope that this works.
00:12:23Say a prayer, Uncle Jed.
00:12:24I've watched people go home
00:12:25on the waffle maker.
00:12:27Yeah!
00:12:31Chef Jed, Chef Jonathan,
00:12:3225 minutes to go.
00:12:3425!
00:12:35Do we have a plan
00:12:36for the waffle iron, Chef?
00:12:37I think I'm going to go waffle.
00:12:39I'm going to mix in some of this.
00:12:42Aki?
00:12:42When the randomizer
00:12:43gives you a waffle maker,
00:12:45you make waffles.
00:12:46I'm just going to put it
00:12:47right in the batter.
00:12:47I actually think
00:12:48it's going to go nice in there.
00:12:50This waffle is going to be
00:12:51the vehicle for the judges
00:12:52to put together
00:12:53all of the fresh herbs
00:12:54and the fried fish
00:12:55and then enjoy it all together.
00:12:57Like a crepe
00:12:58on the side
00:12:58of a piece of fried fish.
00:13:01What's in the batter, Chef?
00:13:02Aki.
00:13:03Sugar.
00:13:03Aki.
00:13:04Aki.
00:13:05Garlic.
00:13:06Next,
00:13:07I really want to maximize
00:13:09this bok choy
00:13:10and I want to use it
00:13:11three different ways.
00:13:12First, I want to pickle the bulbs
00:13:13along with pickled onions.
00:13:17And then I'm going to grill
00:13:18in the waffle maker
00:13:19the leaves
00:13:21after this aki waffle
00:13:22is cooked.
00:13:23It's not bad.
00:13:24The raw leaves
00:13:26and the griddled leaves
00:13:27can act like a lettuce cup
00:13:28for each individual bite.
00:13:33Oh, hell yeah.
00:13:34I do a peek
00:13:35and the waffle iron rice
00:13:36is perfect.
00:13:38It's basically a mochi waffle
00:13:40with crab face.
00:13:41That's exactly right.
00:13:42Look at that.
00:13:43It's crispy and brown
00:13:44on the outside.
00:13:45It's really working.
00:13:49In a lot of Asian cultures,
00:13:51showing the whole fish
00:13:53is symbolic of good luck,
00:13:55of prosperity.
00:13:56I need four fillets.
00:13:57And I also think
00:13:58it gives amazing visual impact
00:14:00to this dish.
00:14:02So then you're going
00:14:03to take the carcass,
00:14:04the whole thing,
00:14:04the head and all,
00:14:05fry it?
00:14:06Yeah.
00:14:07Jonathan Sawyer
00:14:07is a fantastic chef.
00:14:09He's been through
00:14:10a lot in life
00:14:10and I think that grit
00:14:12definitely shows
00:14:13in his cooking.
00:14:14But I've done
00:14:15a lot more competition cooking
00:14:17and it's just
00:14:18a little different.
00:14:19So, I mean,
00:14:19my edge today
00:14:20is doing this a lot.
00:14:22I've been close
00:14:23too many times.
00:14:24We've got to put this one
00:14:25to bed, guys.
00:14:25It's time to take it home.
00:14:31I really love this marinade.
00:14:33Listen, when you're
00:14:34against Jet Tila
00:14:35in this arena,
00:14:36you have to go
00:14:36high risk, high reward.
00:14:37Just a regular
00:14:38humdrum plate of food
00:14:39isn't going to be
00:14:40this champion.
00:14:42We're going to start
00:14:43a tamarind sauce
00:14:44with this ackee.
00:14:46I really want to add
00:14:47a lot of flavor
00:14:48into this island sauce.
00:14:51So I use jerk paste,
00:14:53I use garlic,
00:14:54I use ginger,
00:14:55tamarind,
00:14:56and fresh lime.
00:14:57Oh, that's going
00:14:57to be awesome.
00:14:58I'm really happy
00:14:59with how complex
00:15:00this island sauce is.
00:15:02And I want to use
00:15:03that ackee fruit
00:15:03one more time.
00:15:05All that's going
00:15:06to get blended
00:15:06with a little bit
00:15:07of clam juice.
00:15:09I've won James Beard
00:15:10awards,
00:15:10I've written cookbooks,
00:15:12I've fathered children,
00:15:13I've opened restaurants.
00:15:14Oh, I love that one.
00:15:15But the hill
00:15:16I've never climbed
00:15:17is TOC.
00:15:18The championship
00:15:19that I want
00:15:20more than anything else
00:15:21is TOC.
00:15:22And I'm here
00:15:23to prove it.
00:15:24This is the final
00:15:2510 minutes.
00:15:2610 to go.
00:15:29I come from
00:15:30the school of
00:15:30you've got to hit
00:15:31each item
00:15:32on the randomizer twice.
00:15:33So I'm going
00:15:33to use the bok choy
00:15:34two ways.
00:15:34I'm going to slice
00:15:35the big bok choy
00:15:36and the little bok choy
00:15:36into thin strips,
00:15:38into chiffonade
00:15:38is what we call it.
00:15:39And I'm going to
00:15:40warm some of that
00:15:42for the base
00:15:43to the plate.
00:15:44Chef, where's the sauce
00:15:45going to go?
00:15:45Sauce is going to go
00:15:46onto this bok choy
00:15:48stir fry.
00:15:49And then for the fresh
00:15:50bok choy salad,
00:15:53green apple,
00:15:54onion,
00:15:55because it is fried
00:15:56and fresh.
00:15:57I make a dressing
00:15:58of ackee crab
00:15:59fat mother sauce
00:16:01and add chili crisp,
00:16:03lime juice,
00:16:04sugar.
00:16:05Wasting movement.
00:16:07Ackee dressing.
00:16:09I have been
00:16:10final four
00:16:11four times,
00:16:12but it would mean
00:16:13the world to me
00:16:15to share this belt
00:16:16and this win
00:16:16with everyone
00:16:17that's been on
00:16:18Team Tila
00:16:19for seven years now.
00:16:23Four minutes,
00:16:24four to go.
00:16:25I think ackee fruit waffles
00:16:27turned out awesome.
00:16:28I'm really happy
00:16:29with how golden brown
00:16:30delicious they are
00:16:30on the outside.
00:16:31Really what I was
00:16:32looking for.
00:16:33I'm going to plate
00:16:33all of the fresh
00:16:34components of the
00:16:36fried fish plate first.
00:16:37pickled bok choy
00:16:39and that ackee fruit waffle.
00:16:42I'm going to put
00:16:43the waffle iron griddled
00:16:44choy right next
00:16:45to the waffle.
00:16:47And over top
00:16:48of my fried fish
00:16:49goes the island sauce,
00:16:50that jerk and ackee
00:16:52and tamarind seasoning.
00:16:54I like the plate
00:16:55of food I made.
00:16:56I trust my flavors.
00:16:58I really hope
00:16:59it's enough to win,
00:16:59though.
00:17:02Two minutes!
00:17:03I need to start
00:17:04with my show stopper,
00:17:05which is my
00:17:06Bronzino carcass.
00:17:07Almost like a little bowl
00:17:09to kind of force
00:17:10everything in the middle.
00:17:12Now I'm not trying
00:17:14to make a perfect
00:17:14waffle-shaped ackee
00:17:16rice cake.
00:17:17I'm going for
00:17:18the crispiness
00:17:19and the doneness
00:17:21of the rice.
00:17:22I actually roll
00:17:24the fillets
00:17:25in that mother sauce
00:17:27and I'm trying
00:17:28to build height
00:17:29and some color interest.
00:17:30And I want to arrange
00:17:32this so they see
00:17:33bok choy pieces
00:17:34immediately.
00:17:36This dish will wow
00:17:37in its flavor
00:17:38and its textural variance.
00:17:40I love this dish.
00:17:43Five, four, three,
00:17:46two, one!
00:17:49What a battle.
00:17:52One of these two
00:17:53going into the final four!
00:17:59Woo!
00:18:03Holy moly!
00:18:06I think I nailed it.
00:18:08Jonathan's awesome.
00:18:09We'll see.
00:18:12this is the hardest round of cooking i've ever had in tournament champions no one has any idea
00:18:17what kind of just adrenaline burn these cooks are ladies and gentlemen the judges have been
00:18:23waiting patiently in the trailers and wait till you see who's here tonight first one of the most
00:18:29celebrated titans on bobby's triple threat a top chef winner and the champion of the very first
00:18:35toc brooke williamson wow no way acclaimed executive chef and winner of top chef season 12
00:18:47and toc for champ herself chef may lynn wow yes yes yes i like this i like this uh this
00:18:58is one of my
00:18:59faves james beard award winner legendary southern california restaurateur and the recipient of the
00:19:05coveted julia child award chef susan pinniger
00:19:09i love susan pinniger this is so great yeah what a great panel baby it's great to be here here
00:19:19we are
00:19:19into the quarterfinals the chefs tonight for the randomizer the protein was whole branzino
00:19:24produce was bok choy equipment was handheld waffle iron style was fresh and fried and wild card
00:19:33ingredient was the canned ackee and here to give you the first breakdown is the culinary connoisseur
00:19:38jester warner looking for nods and ums judges before you is deep fried whole branzino accompanied
00:19:44by crispy ackee mochi rice which was cooked in the handheld waffle maker and bok choy two ways
00:19:51the whole branzino fried and then tossed in ackee crab fat sauce the bok choy first was tossed as a
00:19:57chiffonade in the apple and red onion salad with the ackee vinaigrette from there as a saute some wilted
00:20:03bok choy
00:20:07tell me how delicious this is whoever the chef is they did an incredible amount of work in the amount
00:20:15of time that they had to break down a whole branzino utilize both the flesh and the bones the presentation
00:20:23incredible yes we're smart the rice incredibly crispy i just wish i saw a little bit more bok choy
00:20:31okay um otherwise it's an incredible dish yeah incredible chef susan keep it going susan exactly
00:20:39bronzino i think is one of the most difficult fish to cook because it's so delicate a great job
00:20:46i love the rice that also works really well but the bok choy the fresh part of that i'm struggling
00:20:54with i wish there would have been more of that sauce yeah i feel i felt that at the end
00:21:00ackee crab fat sauce it's it's beautiful brook ate the whole plate i think that iron gave it a really
00:21:06great texture in terms of like sticky crispiness yes i just want a little bit more freshness
00:21:13okay okay i can live with that thank you very much judges your scorecards are in front of you
00:21:2050 points in the taste 40 points in the use of the randomizer and 10 for the presentation
00:21:26i am optimistic it's not slam dunkville this is not a slam dunk situation
00:21:34who knows who knows right all right judges here to present the second chef's dish chef tiffany
00:21:40payson culinary queens in front of you we have island style fried whole bronzino with an ackee
00:21:47waffle and island spice sauce celebration of bok choy and fresh garnishes the bronzino was remained
00:21:53entirely intact and seasoned with a blend of shio koji jerk marinade the waffles constructed with ackee
00:21:59brown butter the bulbs of the bok choy were pickled uh fresh leaves are on the side of the plate
00:22:04allowing you to eat it lettuce cup style if you would like they were also handheld waffle roasted in brown
00:22:09butter this is the worst worst part of the whole show going into this direction and going caribbean
00:22:17was such a smart choice because ackee is the national fruit of jamaica
00:22:24the jerk paste was delicious in its own right but it didn't really season the flesh of the fish there
00:22:31was a little bit of a mishap i love the use of the bok choy and utilizing the leaves for
00:22:39the
00:22:39lettuce wrap yes i love this ackee waffle i think this is a very obvious representation of the tool and
00:22:47i
00:22:48taste the ackee sort of in a way that i haven't i think they like the dish so bad news
00:22:52so far so good i'm
00:22:55struggling a little bit with the paste on on top of the fish because it's destroyed the texture of the
00:23:01outside of that crispy fish a little bit destroyed it feels a little bit heavy and weighted okay on the
00:23:09fish i agree completely with brooke the paste is delicious just you lose the crispness flavor wise i think
00:23:17with the pickled bok choy the fresh bok choy leaves the use of the ackee is really perfect on the
00:23:24whole
00:23:24very interesting thank you chef uh we have 50 points available on the taste 40 points in the use of
00:23:30the
00:23:30randomizer and 10 for the plating i mean high risk high reward dish you know i'm not i'm not convinced
00:23:36i
00:23:36want to know and i feel good but i'm not convinced oh let's go ladies and gentlemen let's bring it
00:23:45back in
00:23:46chef jonathan sawyer chef gentila let's hug it out this time it was an honor and a pleasure to watch
00:23:58you cook creative menus dynamite presentation and ladies and gentlemen we have a one point difference
00:24:05stop it the difference of 79 to 78 that's crazy the winner of the battle for the a division title
00:24:15between chef chatila and chef jonathan sawyer is
00:24:22the winner of the battle for the a division title is
00:24:26and to see you leaving right now is breaking everybody's heart
00:24:55fantastic job we're going to miss you but thank you for such a fantastic display
00:24:59you're one of a kind brother thank you thank you for the opportunity love you man i love you love
00:25:03you
00:25:03love you brother thank you go get it
00:25:15one point that's what it is though so i'll be back yeah you can run but you cannot hide
00:25:23because jet tila is on a war path and this is his fifth time in the final four
00:25:31you either go up against joe sasto or kevin lee how about no matter what it's destruction time for me
00:25:39i'm here to go all the way congratulations jet tila final four thank you very much everybody thank you
00:25:46so much for all your support thank you
00:25:51oh my god i can't believe it very close battle but congratulations i heard that you're doing something
00:25:57okay to mitigate pre-battle anxiety the pressure i have a coach this year who's uh ex-special forces
00:26:04a ca contractor and he trains soldiers how to deal with high stress situations right actually take
00:26:10that breath slow it down and try to find the flow so it's actually working amen that's that's a great
00:26:14strategy well let's see what happens we'll continue with that i've seen the final four brother all
00:26:17right thanks congratulations ladies and gentlemen was that exciting or what are you ready for our next
00:26:24two opponents we have the number five seed chef joe sasto who has reached the quarterfinals for the
00:26:32second year in a row but has never been to the semi-finals you had a good luck apron today
00:26:38i'm most
00:26:39recently married the mustache is officially off the market and 150 grand could go a long way for
00:26:46starting my family i've taken out some really challenging competitors we're about to add lee to the
00:26:51list maybe his opponent the number three seed chef kevin lee who has taken down powerful opponents
00:26:58in the past and is also trying to crack the final four for the first time i've been here twice
00:27:04before
00:27:05losing to antonio lofasso i've been ready for this since last season ended you know i gotta live up to
00:27:11that name the dragon slayer kevin lee him and i are very similar despite how different we may look we're
00:27:18both really good at playing the game but neither one of us knows what it feels like to get to
00:27:23the final
00:27:23four not today joe not today all right chef they're ready for you let's go
00:27:34are you ready to see these gourmet gladiators get after it
00:27:39let's light it up he worked his way up the ranks in michelin-starred kitchens he has won
00:27:45chopped chef grudge match and triple g his unorthodox guide to italian cooking breaking the rules was
00:27:54named one of the best cookbooks of fall 2025 by bon appetit and epicurious and he defeated culinary
00:28:02icon lorraine garcia in the second round with a dish that jeffrey zicarion called just an exquisite
00:28:08plate the flavor is delicious it's chef joe zaster
00:28:22welcome to the quarterfinals this is a big deal thank you you are on the verge my friend to
00:28:27something you haven't touched yet in the past i was always focused on the opponent
00:28:32this year i'm keeping it all focused on me but so is your opponent
00:28:39he owns two top rated restaurants in oklahoma city including his newest steakhouse
00:28:45mott which is korean for flavor
00:28:52he was a james beard award semifinalist for best chef southwest
00:28:56for 2025 and in the second round he scored an upset victory against three-time semifinalist chef
00:29:04brit rissigno with a country fried steak that moved judge kenny orger to say i applaud this chef ladies
00:29:11and gentlemen fired up for the dragon slayer chef kevin lee
00:29:21let's go
00:29:29pleasure to have you chef we've seen you on fire all through the competition what's been going on in
00:29:34the dragon slayer's head that is different in toc 7 than in the past i think i've proven to myself
00:29:40i
00:29:40belong with the great chefs and i feel like i have a chance now chefs let's take it to the
00:29:45randomizer
00:29:46right this way wonderful wow wonderful i think it's pretty wonderful that's if you like to watch
00:29:54competition and people sweat let's get after it gentlemen here we go
00:30:01come on be nice to me duck swat i'll take the whole duck swat pork collar
00:30:11manzano peppers cannoli tubes sweet and spicy you're welcome and quince
00:30:33a pear-shaped fruit
00:30:51usually cooked down to make into sauces or jams quince is used a lot for that
00:30:57what is the most predominant flavor in korean cuisine sweet and spicy i mean this is just a god's
00:31:05gift to me so i want to really show off my korean heritage culture spicy pork is one of my
00:31:11favorite
00:31:12dishes in korean cuisine that my mom used to make for me all the time so i'm making a gochujang
00:31:18glazed pork collar steak with kimchi fried rice cannoli with a spicy apple quince butter
00:31:26hi chef what's going on tiff maybe i think chinese takeout is going to be my inspiration here today
00:31:35i love sweet and sour pork and you know what's very similar sweet and sour pork sweet and spicy pork
00:31:42here we go ciao good to see you hey and so i'm thinking of doing a sweet and spicy quince
00:31:49glazed pork
00:31:50collar and a pork and brown butter quince gochujang cannoli when the randomizer gives you cannoli bolts
00:31:57you have to make cannolis but i don't love spicy food so this might be a challenge for me to
00:32:03balance
00:32:03the heat and the sweet sweet and spicy how's it going justin perfect and you
00:32:09so good do you cook with a lot of quince no you know we don't cook a lot with quince
00:32:15i think out of everything in the randomizer quince is probably giving me the biggest curveball
00:32:20but pork works really well with apple so i think i can do a fun play on like a quince
00:32:28apple butter
00:32:29that's sweet and spicy to play this randomizer chef kevin pulled a really smart move he went and
00:32:35found a habanero pepper it is the same color as the manzano pepper so if we're talking about sweet and
00:32:39spicy that's a great way to get this apple butter spicy now that's some spicy an apple sauce i think
00:32:46it's
00:32:46going to be a lazy apple bowl uh we're dispatching of the quince currently what's this going to be
00:32:55chef quince glaze i'm making like sweet and spicy quince glazed pork steaks got it quince of all the
00:33:03wild cards i'm happy with this i love quince i've worked a lot with quince i worked at a restaurant
00:33:08called quince what a coincidence next time for a classic pickle that's when i realized the cannoli
00:33:16tube kind of looks like a vegetable punch i could cut out my pickles with the cannoli tube and tick
00:33:24off another box on that randomizer pickled quince pickled peppers i'm gonna make a nice fresh salad with
00:33:31that just to brighten up the dish i mean the name of the game here is use the randomizer as
00:33:37many times as
00:33:38possible check check 150 000 is a big bag and if you could come into this arena and win the
00:33:47whole
00:33:48thing there's no question you're one of the culinary greats and that's what i'm here to do
00:33:56so what do we have here chefs kevin lee and joe sasto are both laser focused on winning this second
00:34:02round
00:34:02battle chef 25 to go can you believe what's happening i'm making a gochujang glaze we knew this was
00:34:12coming pork colored steak you know what's sweet and spicy tiffany gochujang chef kevin i saw in his
00:34:22shave kit he had gochujang toothpaste this marinade is going to be the key component to this dish being
00:34:28sweet and spicy i'm also adding a little bit of the manzano peppers in there to add a nice little
00:34:34kick
00:34:3720 minutes pork color is one of those things you got to cook it perfectly to medium because of the
00:34:43fat content in the steak if you cook it to about a mid-rare it's gonna be way too chewy
00:34:47going out
00:34:48now would hurt i didn't come here just to get to the grade eight i didn't come here just to
00:34:53get to
00:34:53final four i came here to actually win this thing now i need to focus on this pork to make
00:35:02those pork
00:35:03collar steaks but first we got a knockout filling for my cannoli egg roll where does that time go
00:35:09i don't have time to sear off all the sides of the pork but i want that caramelized flavor
00:35:14the quickest way to do that is to throw them in the fryer
00:35:20i spent over a decade in michelin star kitchens really honing my craft and giving myself fundamental
00:35:28french and italian techniques mini canoles that now i carry with me like a huge bag of tricks
00:35:36this collar that's been cooking it's tender it's juicy it's gonna make the perfect filling for these
00:35:41cannoli egg rolls and now here i am it is in my fifth year of toc and every year i
00:35:47make it a
00:35:48little further than the year before so if everything trends according to plan i'm making it to the finale
00:35:55baby all right here we go chives in lieu of chocolate chips brilliant
00:36:06pork collar steak is delicious and tender and juicy
00:36:09right now is the time for that little kimchi fried rice cannoli what a grind
00:36:15let's get a quince yep why just grind the pork grind all your aromatics and really incorporating
00:36:19the rest of the flavors into the ground pork pork fat sweet growing up i was a competitive golfer
00:36:26i thought golf was always going to be my path but i found cooking then two years ago i showed
00:36:33up in the
00:36:33scene as the unknown qualifier i was just happy to be amongst these great chefs fold it into the rice
00:36:41yes from toc5 being in the rock bottom in my career having a failing restaurant rolling with cannoli
00:36:49to fast forward two years later having two korean steak houses under my belt now
00:36:56and being in the quarterfinals cooking the best i have ever been cooking
00:37:01i'm feeling great that i can actually win this thing this season everybody likes a crispy fried rice
00:37:09i'm putting chives on both ends you know like a cannoli that's cute 10 minutes 10 to go
00:37:17once those pork collar steaks have been marinating i get them into a hot skillet
00:37:22with rendered pork fat nothing like cooking pork in pork baby i want to make a quince sweet and spicy
00:37:29glaze i get some quince water garlic chilis vinegar all in a pot and start cooking down and then we're
00:37:36going to want this bonzano pepper to bring a little heat a little sweet i want to add that to
00:37:40my quince
00:37:41puree glaze brush five and a half minutes five and a half five and a half
00:37:53to plate this dish i'm laying a little bit of the quince apple butter on the side of the plate
00:37:59with the perfectly constructed kimchi pork cannoli on top of the crispy kimchi fried rice
00:38:06i can't use antonia as my excuse for not moving on from the quarterfinals this time joe this time
00:38:13you're going to have to get out of my way two minutes this competition comes down to one or two
00:38:20points
00:38:21always and plating is 10 of those points so every little detail counts and my pickled peppers and quince
00:38:28and my pork and brown butter quince gojujang egg roll
00:38:34i want this so bad because i've been dreaming about it for seven years i want to feel the final
00:38:42four
00:38:42five four three two one done
00:38:49crazy battle chef joe chef kevin job well done
00:38:55go ahead and bring the judges in please
00:39:00let's go they're like little things i wish i had done differently i wish i had more time for joe's
00:39:07a
00:39:07great chef so of course i'm a little you know scared but you know this is toc there is no
00:39:12easy path to
00:39:13that bell ladies and gentlemen please welcome back our amazing judges toc one champ chef brooke williamson
00:39:25and may wow the champs are back and james beard award winner chef susan fenegar
00:39:35wow judges the randomizer gibbeth protein tonight is pork collar the produce was the manzano pepper
00:39:44the equipment needed to be used was of course the wonderful cannoli tube style was sweet and spicy
00:39:50and the wild card ingredient who doesn't love some quince and who also doesn't love our toc champ
00:39:56tiffany face on holy cannoli this is manzano glazed and grilled pork collar steak with kimchi
00:40:04manzano pork fried rice cannoli and a quince and manzano pepper butter then the pork collar was
00:40:10ground with some quince and then fashioned into the pork fried rice
00:40:16he ground the pork wow delicious really delicious
00:40:24the pork is cooked really perfect the only thing i could say is maybe the quince puree could be toned
00:40:30down a tiny bit and i like spice i'll take that everything on this plate is sweet and spicy
00:40:37yes the quince on on the pork collar was to perfection i have no notes oh may i love you
00:40:48the stuffed cannoli was a really smart move but i also feel like that quince puree is a little
00:40:54overpoweringly spicy for me judges thank you very much scorecards are in front of you 50 points
00:41:00available in taste 40 in the use of the randomizer and 10 for plating i'll take it damn
00:41:08so ladies and gentlemen chef justin judges our chef calls this sweet and spicy quince glazed pork
00:41:16collar the pork collar was diced and became the filling of the wonton wrapper cannoli the manzano
00:41:22pepper was punched using the cannoli tube which you will see as sweet and spicy pickles finally the
00:41:28steak portion of the pork collar was brushed with quince and then sliced for you
00:41:34anything can happen i actually really appreciate all of these vegetables on the plate i love the
00:41:40crunch of those peppers i mean this is a completely different rendition of the same ingredients
00:41:47i really appreciate the gameplay and the usage of the cannoli tube to punch out vegetables i think
00:41:54that's so smart that's smart my pork collar is slightly undercooked in the center but ultimately i feel
00:42:04like this is a fine dining chef that came to play the quince got used a little bit more in
00:42:11this which i
00:42:11think was great and the use of the cannoli tube works really well very interesting thank you
00:42:19judges thank you very much scorecards in front of you again i agree with everything they said that's
00:42:25why i love judges that are also competitors and champions it's gonna be close not then today i feel
00:42:33like i had a pretty good cook all right chef they're ready for you let's go
00:42:40ladies and gentlemen let's welcome back chef joe sasto chef kevin lee
00:42:51gentlemen there was so much great cookery so ironic to me that both of you used the cannoli
00:42:56shells in the same way a tremendous amount of work done and here are the scores one chef scored a
00:43:0376
00:43:05the other chef scored 84. ladies and gentlemen the winner of the battle for the b division title between
00:43:12chef joe sasto and chef kevin lee is
00:43:21the winner of the battle for the b division title is
00:43:33congratulations
00:43:40we love watching joe compete i love his mind of creativity
00:43:48joe sasto
00:43:57kevin doesn't miss you know i think he's gonna win this whole thing i hope
00:44:01he wins this whole thing he deserves it congratulations
00:44:05you are in the final four
00:44:12take a look at this uncle jack it's one of the best you know we actually just went against each
00:44:19other on toc
00:44:20christmas in the final four i lost by one point but this time i'm getting my revenge get to the
00:44:28finals
00:44:29that's the optimism and the attitude you're gonna need dragon slayer kevin lee let's go
00:44:40on to the next whoa how are you feeling brother that was that was amazing uh i feel great you
00:44:45know i just want to keep cooking you know two more cooks two more cooks all you need two more
00:44:48keep doing
00:44:49what you're doing man absolutely thank you thank you we'll see you in the final quarter i think what
00:44:53really came out of this was if you undercook the protein that badly you're not gonna win this felt
00:45:00to me like an issue of time management i feel like this chef didn't have enough time to taste
00:45:06are you ready to meet our next two kitchen combatants
00:45:11we have two culinary powerhouses who came all the way from the qualifiers to the final eight something
00:45:18we've never seen before the number eight seed chef kenny gilbert has scored major upsets against the
00:45:25number one seed and a number four seed he's hoping to go from the underdog to champ in his first
00:45:32season
00:45:32on toc it's about to go down for me legacy it means the world to me i want to see
00:45:39me up in the raptors
00:45:40so that my kids and my grandkids can say wow look at what my dad is now it will mean
00:45:46the world to me to
00:45:47to get to the next round his opponent is the number seven seed chef stephanie izard the comeback kid
00:45:53who fought her way back into the bracket through the qualifiers is hoping to get to the final four
00:45:59with a win tonight a win in the third round and making it to the final four that would just
00:46:03be like
00:46:04you know i walked away from tournament champions sad for years you know but i feel really dang good
00:46:09to win today all right chef they're ready for you all right let's do this let's do it
00:46:16are you ready for another dish versus dish dust up
00:46:26he worked his way up to chef the cuisine of the rich carlton the age of 23 helping secure the
00:46:32triple
00:46:32a five diamond award for the hotel he went on to serve as executive chef at some of the most
00:46:37prestigious resorts in america and the caribbean he is cooked for the sports illustrated super bowl
00:46:43party the g8 summit and oprah he entered the tournament with a qualifiers win took down top
00:46:51seated culinary icon aaron sanchez in the first round and earned the highest score of the second round
00:46:58with a 91. give a big welcome to the beast of the kitchen chef kenny gilbert
00:47:17congratulations it's been win after win and it's not been just a close win i mean he's won this
00:47:23determination that you have shows up on the plate every time thank you chef good luck thank you
00:47:27appreciate you great to have you and i say good luck because it would always help especially going
00:47:33up against this opponent as a kid she and her sister would transform the living room into a dining room
00:47:40to play restaurant and now she has seven acclaimed restaurants from the great lakes to the west coast
00:47:47she's a james beard award winner for best chefs great lakes and the only person to ever earned the
00:47:54titles of both top chef and iron chef now after suffering a few first round losses on past tocs she
00:48:04came back with a vengeance taking down leanne wong in the first round and chef marcel vigneron in the
00:48:10second round with a dish that judge hubert keller called pretty spectacular give it up for the goat iron chef
00:48:19stephanie eisen
00:48:34no smile just this i'm going to take you down and beat you up in an alley well chefs let's
00:48:41take it to the
00:48:42randomizer right this way
00:48:47oh okie dokie here we go go for the proteins
00:49:00squid duck hold up hold up now graffiti eggplant vegetable sheeter liquid and solid
00:49:11and bananas i mean you had me till you got to bananas that's bananas that is bananas you guys
00:49:18can go find them go you can go bananas oh that was just like a straight up note i love
00:49:24the whole duck
00:49:25probably going to work with the breast most likely but using the fat from the duck and rendering that
00:49:29down will be awesome graffiti eggplant also known as sicilian eggplant it's less bitter less seeds than
00:49:34classic eggplant vegetable sheeter this is used a lot in japan they create sheets of cucumber and then make
00:49:39the maki rolls sushi out of it liquid and solid essentially it's like making two dishes and then
00:49:44bananas there's over a thousand varieties of bananas there's a good little tidbit you'll sleep better
00:49:49knowing that peeled garlic oh hold up is this really great protein you've got fat you've got a breast
00:49:55you've got legs this eggplant looks big enough that it could maybe fit into this vegetable slicer and do
00:50:00a version of a roll of tea and make a duck farce that can go inside of the eggplant this
00:50:05is very heavy
00:50:06there's only a few women left myself and shirley one of us has to keep this alive i would like
00:50:11that
00:50:11to be me hi chef hi when i look at this randomizer i immediately go to style cook liquid and
00:50:19solid
00:50:19welcome back chef thank you from there everything else are components to make that dish come alive
00:50:26and so i immediately think kimchi soup you know stephanie eyes are she's a legend she's been doing it just
00:50:32as long as i have but i didn't come here to play games i'm cooking because i want to win
00:50:37keep that
00:50:39cheering you guys i can't breathe first thing i do is start breaking down the duck so i'm going to
00:50:44take
00:50:45the breast off that'll get seared i'm going to grind the duck legs stuff yep time to grind
00:50:51i've won so many things but there's something about tournament champions that's just not clicked
00:50:55yet and it's interesting when i think about my son ernie i always of course want to leave by example
00:51:00and i never want him to be a quitter and um it's not who i am either and now this
00:51:05is the furthest
00:51:06that i've gone i made it to the great eight and i just really want ernie to see you know
00:51:10what i didn't
00:51:10give up bud i came back this year and look what happens when you just keep going
00:51:16what's the plan chef kimchi soup i'm gonna do some duck meatballs i'm gonna do a breast i'm gonna do
00:51:22daikon radish noodles okay i'm gonna spin in there through the cheater yes i love duck there's a lot
00:51:28of things you can do with it and breaking down a duck takes some time i start with a leg
00:51:33and five
00:51:34then i go on the breast and carve it right out i feel like after three cooks i can now
00:51:38say classic
00:51:39beast mode wings getting blanched necks and carcasses in a pot rendering some fat out of those
00:51:46a fortifier for the soup here out of kimchi and miso duck legs reserved i think we'll see those through
00:51:51the grinder you've always boned a few birds before yeah this round is exciting so you're cooking asian
00:51:59against me i am not let's try this thing you guys let's do it it's time to try this vegetable
00:52:07sheeter i grab the eggplant and i know it has to be flat on one side and round the eggplant
00:52:12sometimes
00:52:12can be too soft to run through there oh i really just can't figure this out i put it on
00:52:19there and
00:52:19start going and i really think that there's going to be this beautiful sheet of eggplant that'll be able
00:52:23to wrap around this tasty duck sausage filling does this not work i have no idea i mean you guys
00:52:31this
00:52:31thing is not my friend you don't know what i'm doing my brain is just turning into mush i mean
00:52:39i'm just gonna have to give up 10 points on the randomizer
00:52:43chefs we have 25 minutes 25 to go
00:52:50there's no way that this doesn't work if anything's gonna work
00:52:53penny did you get the spiral thing to work
00:52:58i did i can't get it to work it sucks next i have to tackle this sexual sheeter to make
00:53:05faux
00:53:05noodles out of sweet potato and daikon radish all right so now he's now daikon will work on the
00:53:11sheeter yeah which is usually very traditional in kimchi soup let's go next i need to make my duck
00:53:18meatballs by grinding the duck legs the liver and the hearts uh regular eggs or duck eggs duck eggs
00:53:26when it says whole duck you use the whole duck i wanted to get a crust on the outside that
00:53:31eventually will break down without making the meatballs fall apart so a quick fry then i'm
00:53:35gonna finish it up in the broth in the soup i go ahead and grab one take a bite
00:53:44yeah it's absolutely delicious i was like okay this is gonna be perfect
00:53:48i don't think that's gonna work at all okay new plan that doesn't work i'm feeling completely
00:53:53derailed i don't know what to do i like really can't make it work and honestly i think the hardest
00:53:57thing in competition is having to pivot but you know what i'm not a quitter at least need to focus
00:54:03on all the other things and try to get something on the plate so i take the duck breast i'm
00:54:08gonna put
00:54:08it into rip and hot pan once the fat has just started to render i put it into a nice
00:54:12hot oven
00:54:13and it's gonna render that fat and cook the rest of the meat all at the same time i'm not
00:54:17willing
00:54:17to take the hit of not using that part of the randomizer at all so i'm grab a potato
00:54:23if a potato doesn't work i'm giving up
00:54:30yes yes yes and finally there we go some potato ribbons they have absolutely nothing to do with my
00:54:36dish whatsoever but at least it's something that's gone through the vegetable shooter with so many things
00:54:41going kind of wrong i'm like let's at least go bananas i've got red bananas that i turn into
00:54:46chips with the mandolin so that it doesn't seem quite as random with the potatoes and also i've got
00:54:50green bananas that i'm going to turn into little dice and cook with some onions i'm also going to add
00:54:55some hearts and finally i've got grilled bananas that are going into the sauce a whole lot of banana going
00:55:01on i came in tonight confident and excited but if i get a little derailed in the middle of the
00:55:06cook
00:55:06it's really really hard to bounce back seven minutes chef seven left oh my god i want to get
00:55:14a char on that graffiti eggplant to kind of add a different layer of flavor into the soup
00:55:20i also slice it into circles and i went ahead and julie ended up and immediately threw that into the
00:55:26soup because i wanted that to soften up i check on my duck breast i baste them i flip them
00:55:32they're
00:55:32looking great so i'll grab some goja chang a little bit of oyster sauce and some fish sauce
00:55:36and make a little paste for bananas i wanted to use a red banana i'm ripe for those they're not
00:55:41that
00:55:41ripe but i wanted to be starchy i purposely selected a starchy banana because i wanted to treat this like
00:55:46a potato element become just like diced up actually in the soup there's nothing that i fear right now
00:55:54i was a widower at 21 years old raising my daughter that took me to a whole nother level of
00:56:00mental
00:56:01toughness knowing that i had to be strong but i'm pretty proud of that and so now i'm ready to
00:56:06rock
00:56:06and roll and get that belt three minutes i bring my soup over i pull out my meatballs with the
00:56:12eggplant
00:56:13and some of the kimchi this is my first toc experience but you know what i deserve to be here
00:56:19and now my goal is to win this whole thing i'm ready to show everyone why they call me the
00:56:25beast
00:56:25chefs we have one minute to go oh my god
00:56:29i have very little time left and i've got all my fried bananas and potatoes i've got my
00:56:35duck that i'm slicing that's a little bit under but it doesn't seem too far off i've got my fried
00:56:42eggplant that's going in i've got my sauteed bananas and onions that are going on top there's a lot on
00:56:47the line like i honestly came in this year thinking i just want to make it into the main bracket
00:56:52so winning
00:56:53this round would give me the confidence to know that i could go all the way five four three two
00:57:00one
00:57:01we're done
00:57:05job well done chef kenny chef eiser it's all up to the judges now
00:57:15we'll get texture we'll get a little heat i think the spice mix is good i mean the flavors are
00:57:20there
00:57:21i hit all the randomizer what else can i do all right ladies and gentlemen let's welcome back the
00:57:26powerhouse panel of judges toc one champ williamson brooke is like the best competitor oh brooke
00:57:34toc four champ chef may lynn well for may i don't know they're like neck and neck for the best
00:57:40competitor ever and james beard award winner chef susan feniger oh my goodness here we go judges tonight
00:57:47randomizer kicked down some whole duck a little graffiti eggplant they had to use the vegetable
00:57:52sheeter style was liquid and solid and things got bananas toc three champ tiffany fazan friends
00:58:00chefs we have roasted solid duck breast with banana duck chili sauce and poached duck eggs
00:58:05the whole duck was used the breasts were rubbed and then roasted the legs were ground with whipped
00:58:10ginger graffiti eggplant fresno and serrano chilies with duck liver creating the sauce that you see
00:58:16graffiti eggplant with diced and cornstarch dredged made crispy in the fryer also a potato made its way
00:58:23through the vegetable sheeter for the gorgeous potato crisp on top wow i don't think that's a good wow
00:58:28this randomizer is insanity and i think there were a lot of really smart decisions here using the red
00:58:35bananas to mimic that chip consistency and i think that the fact that they're coated to make even
00:58:40crispier was a really smart decision the use of the bananas for making a curry is really smart and a
00:58:47great way to use the bananas i really love the seasoning on the duck breast however my duck is slightly
00:58:55a
00:58:55little too rare that's bad the fat is a little flabby so i i did wish that it was uh
00:59:01rendered a little
00:59:01bit more like literally i've cooked a thousand million duck breast perfectly kind of see the
00:59:06sheeter but i don't really see the sheeter because it's kind of broken up into shards of chips i wish
00:59:13that that was utilized a little bit better i wish i could have used it better too thank you judges
00:59:19score
00:59:19cards 50 points in taste 40 points in the use of the randomizer 10 points in plating you can't not
00:59:26cook your protein properly but i appreciate them being that super mean about it you know i knew the
00:59:31goat was going to bring a lot to it all you know is that you're just grinding and you're just
00:59:36trying
00:59:36to get your stuff done here to present the second dish is the encyclopedia of culinary himself justin
00:59:46warner judges i present to you kimchi soup with duck graffiti eggplant and red banana the duck was
00:59:53butchered the leg was run through the grinder with the livers and the hearts to create a meatball you
00:59:58have it grilled and diced graffiti eggplant and the vegetable sheeter was employed to craft a mock noodle
01:00:04of sorts out of both daikon and sweet potato and then in terms of liquid and solid um this is
01:00:11soup
01:00:12and then there are many solid components uh throughout
01:00:19i think making a soup was a really smart decision for this randomizer my favorite part is the daikon
01:00:25noodles i think it was left like that intentionally so we can tell that the piece of equipment was used
01:00:32that's right there's a lot happening here i find it a lot of fun the attention that went into making
01:00:39a duck stock using all of the duck parts to make these meatballs to add texture and flavor but also
01:00:45utilize the entire duck is so apparent oh my god really i think a smart dish i think the eggplant
01:00:54is really nice in there the choice of the banana i think that was a challenging one maybe it could
01:01:00have
01:01:01been smashed and cooked a little bit longer so it got crispy because it's starchy but a little bit too
01:01:08starchy great judges thank you very much 50 points available in the taste 40 points in the use of
01:01:14the randomizer 10 points in plating all right i think it's going to be close i don't really have
01:01:22anything to say all right chef they're ready for you oh my goodness all right ladies and gentlemen
01:01:29let's bring our chefs back in chef kenny gilbert chef stephanie eisard
01:01:38chefs that was quite a randomizer ducks and bananas one chef scored a 36 out of 50 in taste one
01:01:46scored a
01:01:4638 out of 50. one chef scored a 31 out of 40 on the randomizer the other chef scored a
01:01:5133 out of 40
01:01:53the randomizer and the randomizer and both chefs scored a 7 out of 10 in presentation chefs it was an
01:01:58honor and a pleasure to watch you cook only one of you will be going to the semifinals the winner
01:02:03of
01:02:03the battle between chef stephanie eisard and chef kenny gilbert is
01:02:19the end of the road on tolc 7 but i'll just be looking at this
01:02:23the end of the road on tolc 7 but i'll just be looking at this
01:02:38forward to seeing you in tolc 8 okay thank you very much
01:02:48i'm glad i came back i mean it's going to take me a little while to recover from being so
01:02:52bummed
01:02:52about that but kenny did great i wouldn't be surprised she's in the finals the guy that
01:02:57came in as a qualifier is finally getting the spotlight on him
01:03:07i've been busting my ass my entire life and um a lot of times you just want a chance
01:03:13and so for everyone to see this and say i'm here and i'm not going anywhere i'm going
01:03:19to the top and i appreciate you and you are in the semi-final of the toc 7
01:03:29better watch out for that guy
01:03:34oh man i'm pretty pumped
01:03:42i want it so bad ladies and gentlemen is that great or what
01:03:49coming up is a round you don't want to miss
01:03:52we have the number five seed chef shirley chung the resilient competitor
01:03:56who aced the first two rounds to return to the toc quarterfinals
01:04:01this is the first i've ever found um tournament champion so definitely a lot more nervous um but
01:04:09i'm ready now her opponent is the number three seed chef brian voltaggio who took the team title
01:04:17on toc all-star christmas with his brother michael and is now back in the toc arena on a solo
01:04:23winning
01:04:23mission shirley knows how to go into the kitchen and put things together and build good bold flavors
01:04:28she's great at this so she's going to be tough but i'm tough too i'm here to represent all the
01:04:35survivors especially cancer survivors out there i want them to see that they're at light at the end of town
01:04:42role are you ready for the final battle of the night
01:04:47let's light this up
01:04:51she has become known as the opener opening restaurants for culinary legends like thomas
01:04:57keller and jose andreas crowned the dumpling queen of los angeles
01:05:04and after beating tongue cancer she has returned to earn the highest score of the first round and ace the
01:05:10second round with a dish that chef beneath shohan compared to receiving a birthday present and then
01:05:16you open it up and the gift is even better chef shirley charles
01:05:35so much has changed we missed you last year you're in the fight of your life
01:05:40your back your palates changed some of your cooking styles change you are the shirley 2.0 correct i am
01:05:50awesome to have you here in the quarterfinals your opponent
01:05:56he was mentored by the legendary charlie palmer and cut his teeth
01:06:00in michelin-starred kitchens his long list of renowned restaurants includes his latest y oaks tavern
01:06:07he's a two-time james beard ward nominee and a three-time top chef finalist
01:06:15and he's on a tear in toc seven taking down james beard nominee dan jacob in a tough second round
01:06:22battle
01:06:22with a dish that uber keller called perfectly executed the toc christmas champ the vault of the east
01:06:30chef brian voltazio
01:06:39i have to do this
01:06:41chef when i said you're on a tear in toc seven considering the holiday competition you are on a
01:06:51six straight winning streak here in toc arena how does that feel and what kind of confidence is that
01:06:58giving you uh it feels amazing but then again when i'm looking across this kitchen right now
01:07:02i know tonight is going to be a tough battle and that is all due to the randomizer let's go
01:07:09chef
01:07:13yes this is the final round of the quarterfinals and it's all going to go down right now good luck
01:07:18protein
01:07:30squab squid squab squid preserverico beautiful okay kabocha squash okay wet grinder
01:07:39high grinder interesting crunchy and soft and passion fruit i like it okay okay we'll take it
01:07:47yeah there's no options at this point we're pretty much done okay yeah this is this is ready this is
01:07:53ready for three two one oh okay got it they're off so spanish americo ham it's an amazing piece of
01:08:01meat
01:08:01and uh prussia meaning prey or cats in spanish a fantastic piece of meat to work with they're
01:08:06going to really love this kabocha squash is a japanese squash so many things can be done with this
01:08:11roasting it to pureeing it you name it talk about pureeing it they may need it for this wet grinder
01:08:16so a wet grinder is used in india and it's used to grind up lentils or grind up rice it's
01:08:20got a stone
01:08:21on the bottom and then stone wheels grind on the top crunchy and soft how do you get both of
01:08:25those
01:08:26on the plate i think you'll be able to nail that passion fruit well this is a great one everybody
01:08:30knows how to work with these it's a great randomizer come on need some squash this randomizer actually for me
01:08:40feels a little bit more towards my wheelhouse and i'm starting to lean towards barbecue i know that i can
01:08:45balance the sweetness of the squash and the passion fruit into a barbecue glaze and then pressa
01:08:50birrico lends itself to grilling it and cooking it marinating it like you would steak that's
01:08:55something i want to put on the grill welcome chef thank you good to see you sir likewise
01:09:01both of my grandmothers are kind of like my teacher when it comes to food and i have a vivid
01:09:07memory of
01:09:08making a chashu pork with them chashu pork is southern china chanjani style roasted barbecue pork
01:09:16and i also make kabocha squash puree and a kabocha tempura and so i will hit soft and crunchy in
01:09:23one dish
01:09:26so what i plan to do is trim and cut some steaks then i'll put in a marinade first
01:09:32the steak itself is going to go into a marinade the acidity from that's going to help tenderize
01:09:36and break down the pork passion fruit dijon mustard smoked shoyu i want that to marinate for a couple
01:09:43of minutes before i crust it in spice first time i've used one of these before now we're going to
01:09:49see
01:09:49some spices pulverize let it rip right and then uh use that as a rub for the pork hey it
01:09:58worked and i love
01:09:59all the spices that are going along said we had the black peppercorn pink peppercorn corander and
01:10:04fennel yes chef i'm eager to win to see seven because i've never won a competition as an individual
01:10:11it's something i've been looking for for a long time i got a taste of the win from toc holiday
01:10:14like i want
01:10:15to get all the way to the end i want that belt i want that cash i want to win
01:10:18to see i want the banner
01:10:19hanging in the kitchen to remind everybody that i've been here and i've done it
01:10:24i'm going to make passion fruit place chashu pork ah and i'll be here drooling so i'm going to have
01:10:37my
01:10:37passion fruit chashu marinade to go into the white grinder oh my god using the vacuum batch to
01:10:46marinade is a quick way to let all the flavor penetrate into pork
01:10:53my pork is marinated in less than one minute brian is the formidable competition contender but i love
01:11:02to compete and i think after i beat cancer now i really know how to win chefs we have 25
01:11:11minutes 25 to go
01:11:14i'm making barbecue glaze of barico pork butter i'm also going to try to make a puree with the squash
01:11:21in this wet grinder okay how are we looking it's good i know this works in a very high-speed
01:11:26blender
01:11:26but i'm putting that into a piece of equipment that i don't know if it's going to work this puree
01:11:31has
01:11:31to be luscious and it needs to be rich okay here we go i look at the puree wow that's
01:11:40a pretty smooth
01:11:41puree i started juicing the remaining pieces of squash that i could start my barbecue glaze
01:11:46i'm just going to glaze the pork after it's done copy that chef add the acidity to the barbecue
01:11:51the sweetness will come from the squash so get that one reducing okay
01:12:00i'm making up chashu pork and i'm going to do two versions of this kabocha squash
01:12:06kabocha squash puree and a kabocha tempura for my kabocha squash puree i want to be silky smooth
01:12:18that's a kabocha onion and uh what's this dry mix that's going here that's the tempura batter
01:12:23inside my tempura batter i make secret weapon vodka in the wet grinder hey save some for us right
01:12:31when you're looking for crispiness you want as much water removed from any sort of batter or
01:12:36coke as possible so vodka helps to do that it feels almost like out of body experience that now i'm
01:12:44in
01:12:44quarter final but my greatest motivator is really that i want to show everybody surely chum 2.0 with
01:12:52all the love and support that i received the past year now all that love is really propelling me forward
01:13:05i'll use this fat to build that secondary sauce i'm also adding onions and garlic
01:13:11there's some alliums in there a little chorizo in there that'll add a little heat to the glaze
01:13:17i'm gonna go ahead i'll squeeze a little bit of passion fruit into this too add a little sweetness to
01:13:21it
01:13:22the other part of this is i need to have a crunchy element so i'm using a mandolin to actually
01:13:26cut
01:13:26the squash into like really fine julienne and i'm going to fry that at low temperature so it gets
01:13:31nice and crispy we all know shirley's been through a lot and i can tell she's got fire in her
01:13:36so she's
01:13:36gonna be tough to beat this is the best position i've been in in to see history for myself you
01:13:42know for
01:13:43me it's a big deal in our family we have two chefs who compete a lot so would it be
01:13:48nice to sit down
01:13:49over a holiday dinner and be able to brag a little bit to michael that i've won tournament
01:13:53champions as an individual that's going good yes uh so does that add a little bit of pressure yes
01:14:00it's motivating me to win
01:14:05all right that's going it was 10 minutes left yeah they're looking calm developing layers and layers
01:14:11of flavor at this point
01:14:15so what's the plan with the pork add to my puree ah i'm with you now i really want to
01:14:22play up the
01:14:23randomizer and i only use pork in one way so far so this is my quick soft sauteed pork this
01:14:31pork is going
01:14:32to saute so beautifully because it's so tender and marbly at that soup puree so it's silky smooth
01:14:46i like what's happening here traditionally chashu pork always had that charred little pieces that's
01:14:52always my favorite part of chashu pork passion for honey glaze okay i want to also reinforce the passion
01:15:00fruit so i'm making a passion fruit and honey glaze to use at the last minute when i'm facing
01:15:08i'm intentionally leaving this passion for sis whole so that's another crunchy element four minutes
01:15:15four to go should be served medium rare
01:15:23the first thing i'm gonna do is place the puree down the center of the plate
01:15:27i'm gonna put this other barbecue glaze that i have two slices of pork
01:15:34and a crispy element right on the top you know every day i get ready for this competition i'm in
01:15:39the kitchen daily cooking mentoring creating new dishes working with my brother we're partners in our
01:15:44restaurants you know so there's a lot of experience under my belt i'm ready for this
01:15:49two minutes two minutes passion fruit vinaigrette salad i am going to finish up the plate with passion
01:15:56fruit herb salad so now i'm placing tempura squash down first nice and crunchy placing the slice chashu
01:16:06pork onto the proposal squash puree finishing up the plate with a little bit more glaze and also my
01:16:13salad salad my cancer friends some of them have never tasted him it will mean so much for me to
01:16:21be a
01:16:21champion i want to be here to win for them five four three two two culinary superheroes going at it
01:16:39check shirley chung brian montaggio try and bring our judges back in boy they scored
01:16:47i made everything i wanted um properly so i got the crispy i got the crunchy i got the i
01:16:55got the soft
01:16:55you know see how it tastes here we are ladies and gentlemen for the final round of judging please
01:17:02welcome back the award-winning panel toc one champion chef brooke williamson oh my god oh
01:17:11wow broke it toc four champ the one and only chef may lynn and may oh cool they're bringing out
01:17:17the
01:17:17winners and jane beard award-winning restaurant tour chef susan finneger i'm very familiar with
01:17:23all three of these chefs well my super judges the randomizer ordered up a fantastic selection
01:17:28prussia iberico kabocha squash the use of the wet grinder the style was crunchy and soft and the
01:17:36wild card ingredient was passion fruit here to present first toc three champ tiffany fazan
01:17:42this is passion fruit chard chashu pressa iberico with a soft puree of kabocha squash with the fat from
01:17:51the iberico and crunchy tempura of kabocha a second glaze of passion fruit and honey was also drizzled on top
01:17:57of the pork the glaze of passion fruit chashu was completely mixed in the wet grinder tempura batter
01:18:02was also constructed entirely in the wet grinder you hear that oh so crunchy i get a beautiful char on
01:18:11the outside of this really perfectly cooked piece of pork smooth puree with little bits of meatiness in
01:18:19it the only thing i i will say is that um the passion fruit glaze on the outside of the
01:18:24pork i wish it
01:18:24were a little bit like stickier and grabbed on to the pork a little bit better i thought that this
01:18:35dish was so so delicious the soft puree of the kabocha squash was really delicious and i just want
01:18:42another bite really spectacular spectacular spectacular for me the wet grinder i think is an interesting
01:18:49piece of equipment that we don't often use that much in our kitchens here yes to make this batter
01:18:56like that so perfectly is pretty mind-boggling yes but you know the frisee salad and herb salad on top
01:19:04i loved i would have loved a tiny bit more with a little bit more of the passion fruit vinaigrette
01:19:09would have gone into the richness of the squash but i love the idea of it great dish great
01:19:16shots i think it was a great shot judges scorecards are in front of you 50 points in taste 40
01:19:23points
01:19:23in the use of the randomizer 10 points for the plating i mean obviously surely you got a lot of
01:19:28positive comments this one's going to be tough to beat now let's see what brian did all right judges
01:19:34here to present the second dish wild card justin warner thank you very much judges this is kabocha
01:19:40and passion fruit barbecue presa iberico coated in a wet grinder crafted spice mix with a soft kabocha
01:19:49puree crafted in the wet grinder and crunchy kabocha sticks in terms of soft and crunchy i think i
01:19:55audibly heard those crunchy sticks and i think that puree could be described as soft along with the gentle cook
01:20:01of the presa abirico the uses of the wet grinder to make that spice mix to crust that presa i
01:20:11thought
01:20:11that was very ingenious but also to make this amazing smooth kabocha squash puree i would have never
01:20:18have guessed that that came out of that wet grinder i'm excited about that this dish is gorgeous
01:20:24the kabocha squash two ways is really nice and a great use of it the pork is cooked perfectly okay
01:20:31uh-huh i love the fact that the spices were started whole and then crushed in the grinder because
01:20:39i'm getting little pops of coriander and the seeds the only thing i'll say is i i would have loved
01:20:44a
01:20:44slightly harder sear on the outside of the meat just a little bit more caramelization
01:20:50yeah judges thank you very much wonderful job scorecards are in front of you wow
01:20:55i think it's going to be splitting hairs i feel pretty good i mean i know she got a lot
01:21:01of positive
01:21:01remarks too so i think it's just going to come down to you did a better dish today all right
01:21:06chef stay
01:21:06ready for you okay scores are in scores are in all right let's go
01:21:13all right ladies and gentlemen this one was very close let's go ahead and bring our chefs out for the
01:21:20final battle of the quarterfinals chef shirley chung you two did a dynamite job tonight really
01:21:32outstanding outstanding that we have a two-point difference
01:21:38and big scores let's get into this 87 to 85. ladies and gentlemen the winner of the final battle
01:21:47of the quarterfinals between chef brian botaggio and chef shirley chung is
01:22:01brian botaggio what oh my god oh you've got a shot
01:22:13one of the strongest women and one of the greatest chefs i've ever known had a chance
01:22:19to show her strength and stand for people battling cancer
01:22:23i'm sorry that this is where toc 7 stops but it's good because it only just gives us a beginning
01:22:29for
01:22:30toc 8. we'll see you again we love you chef shirley chung
01:22:42ah i mean i wish i went further but i definitely made a dish that i'm very happy with and
01:22:48did
01:22:49everything i wanted to do so here i am brian botaggio from the c division taking on number eight
01:22:56kenny gilbert the beast he's gonna be a tough competitor for sure there's no easy road to the
01:23:01win here you are in the final four going to the semi-finals ladies and gentlemen
01:23:05both in the east chef brian botaggio thank you thank you thank you there he goes thank you thank you
01:23:18okay i know i don't give a lot of emotion and that's fine
01:23:22if you knew what was going on inside of me right now you would see yeah it's kind of it's
01:23:26explosive
01:23:27like i feel i feel amazing join us next time for the finale of the tournament as our final four
01:23:32face
01:23:33off let's go i'm as ready as i'm going to be and the two best chefs ultimately compete for the
01:23:39toc
01:23:40seven title you see this coming 11 weeks ago when you were in the qualifiers i was planning on it
01:23:44the championship belt trying to get me i think this is one of the hardest tocs i've seen agreed
01:23:50that 150 000 grand prize
01:23:53are you going to be there i'll be there
01:23:58you
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