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Americas Culinary Cup - Season 1 - Episode 08: Consistency Is Key
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00:02I'm Padma Lakshmi and we've scoured the nation to bring together the most elite chefs and the
00:08most renowned judges into the ultimate culinary battleground this is a test of our 10 culinary
00:15commandments master them and you win 1 million dollars brought to you by our official cleanup
00:22partners Don Powerwash last time on America's Culinary Cup today's a no-holds-barred non-stop
00:34gastronomic gauntlet oh my god this is nuts Buddha congratulations you are the winner and get an
00:42advantage in our next commandment and now Keith and Beverly chef Beverly you've served your final
00:52dish you can't even celebrate the wins because of who's going home even though they ask God to go
00:59home in order for me to win that million dollars I feel good today coming into the top six with
01:16an
01:16advantage what's going on here but let's see what that advantage is two tables oh three tables three
01:23tables oh my god oh we have to put up something huh it feels great to still be here I
01:30made it through
01:30molecular gastronomy I thought I was gonna go home in but very thankful to still be in the competition
01:36I'm in the top six among elite chefs and it feels amazing American cheese is engineered to melt the
01:45same way every time it could be 30 different cheeses that we have to identify whatever it is we have
01:50to put up 30 variations I don't like the fact that there's 30 of anything maybe we're just assembling
02:05sandwiches hello chef how's everyone feeling great I feel pretty good like I am adapting to the
02:15competition and that fluidity I think is one of the most important things he survived six intense
02:23commandments and now six of you remain those that survived today will be one step closer to winning
02:30America's culinary cup and one million dollars brought to you by our official cleanup partners
02:37Don power wash final six now I mean there is nowhere to hide but at the same time I am
02:44literally five
02:44people away from a million dollar win now let's get into our seventh commandment consistency
02:52to be a great chef it's not enough to make something great once you have to make it great
02:58every single time consistency is the backbone of a professional kitchen and consistency is what keeps
03:06your guests coming back consistency is arguably the most important thing I talk to my team about
03:12consistency more than anything because that's what separates good and great restaurants today you'll
03:17showcase your mastery of consistency by making 30 of the exact same dish that's a lot of dishes but
03:27like no chef is worth anything unless they can be consistent and none of us would be here if we
03:31couldn't deliver
03:32on consistency for your dishes you'll be using one of these cooking methods grilling poaching or searing I think you
03:42get
03:42more flavor out of searing and grilling but you don't get consistency the same way I mean poaching inherently
03:48is the most consistent form of cooking of all three of them without a doubt there's little room for error
03:52on consistency and someone here was insistent that you must work with fish oh not you darling well he
04:02made him you know whatever do molecular gastronomy for the whole last challenge chefs cooking fish
04:07consistently is a whole other animal literally it cooks faster than meat and can be much more
04:13temperamental it's one of the most difficult things to master in the professional kitchen
04:18it's intimidating to be cooking seafood for Michael because he's one of the most famous chefs in that
04:23department in the world Providence is a three Michelin star restaurant the guy's a beast but don't worry
04:30you won't be working alone you'll be working in teams of two I have mixed feelings about a team challenge
04:36it gives you the opportunity to supplement someone else's strengths but it can also be tricky because your partner
04:42could be the person you're going head to head against in the next round how are you feeling it's not
04:49what we were
04:49expecting but we never know what to expect Chris who do you want to work with I mean I've seen
04:54Katie put up some
04:55amazing seafood dishes throughout this competition so probably her thank you Chris hey who would you like to work with
05:01oh gosh
05:02that's a good question sorry Chris brutal well this is America's culinary cup where you don't always get what you
05:13want but do you know who does get what they want
05:15Buddha Buddha Buddha you won the last commandment so you'll get to pick your team wow and what cooking method
05:23you're going to use
05:24well those and you'll decide the other teams oh my gosh and what cooking method they'll use jeez Buddha is
05:35a competition veteran he's a strategic player so we should all be a little scared Buddha how does it feel
05:42to have all the power it feels good but it's a very hard puzzle to navigate Matt is probably my
05:50biggest threat and so do I pair up Matt with someone that he is a very hard puzzle to navigate
05:54Matt is probably my biggest threat
05:54is not comfortable with I'm not comfortable with and try and get Matt out a lot of things going in
05:58my head right now or do I team up with Matt because at the end of the day I'm going
06:02to have a tougher time getting to the finish line without him
06:05Buddha who would you like to work with and what cooking method do you want to use obviously I have
06:11to play it in my sort of strategic way I'd have to go with Matt
06:15he's a because door winner and whacking up 30 plates of consistency is like a walk on a park and
06:21I think the cooking method that will probably go with
06:24because it's poaching you can't beat him join him Matt please join Buddha
06:30all right Buddha which team do you want to pair up to grill I do want to play it like
06:35I'm doing it as it's fair but I'm not doing that I'm going to just go down the line I
06:41think Katie and Karen and Keith and Chris million dollars on the line you're just going to be like Chris
06:47with Keith Katie with Kara yeah
06:49definitely some strategy just because their cuisines are actually kind of clashing Katie and Kara are going to grill you
06:56know you got Spanish and Asian you have Middle Eastern you got soul food Keith and Chris are going to
07:02go searing Chris works over live fire
07:04that's how he got his Michelin star Keith just won a challenge a couple of commandments ago literally for his
07:10grilled hamachi color so why would I give them grilling my best chances to going to the next commandment is
07:15making sure that the other contestants don't have the best chances to go into the next commandment
07:19so Chris and Keith are going to sear Katie and Kara are going to grill each team will have two
07:27and a half hours to make 30 identical and consistent dishes the team that finishes in first place will be
07:35safe but I can't say the same for the rest of you and believe me when I say you do
07:41not want to end up on the bottom for this one all right chefs please head to your stations
07:4630 pieces of fish all flawlessly cooked for chef Michael the seafood king of LA no pressure right
07:55your time starts now good luck tell me what you're thinking so my initial idea was to do a saffron
08:02and tomato
08:02bourbon so just talking about the cooking of the trout well I'll just spit out my idea what I what
08:08I'm thinking
08:08I immediately have a dish in mind halibut we're going to pipe a shrimp roost and we're just going to
08:13roll it up
08:14and then I was thinking of like a veil that would cover the dish this dish was on my last
08:19summer menu
08:20and everyone loved it I like the idea of like covering the fish so it's more of consistency
08:25because I can't see it I don't like to overcomplicate me either all right let's go for it you all
08:29for it
08:29I'm all for it all right let's do it for this commandment chefs will be scored on four judging criteria
08:35taste creativity presentation and mastery of the commandment each category is worth five points
08:41for a total of 20 points from each judge with a possible perfect score of 60
08:55so what exactly is this other than a hairpin this yeah is this so I can put my hair up
09:02yes exactly
09:02I'm so glad you asked so this is something that pretty much everybody in our kitchen has
09:07a fancy toothpick yes no not a fancy toothpick we're going to use this to determine how well
09:13the fish is cooked you just put it into the flesh and if it stops right away you know the
09:17fish is not
09:17cooked if it passes through with just general resistance then the fish is warmed through and
09:22if it goes all the way through forget it the fish is overdone exciting yeah Wiley you don't get one
09:27that's fine we're going to share one yeah we'll push it in together Michael
09:32so today me and Matt will be making halibut stuffed with a shrimp fast with mussels leeks and hazelnuts
09:39Matt is butchering the fish while he is butchering the fish I need to get the brine on halibut actually
09:44does not taste that great if it's not brined halibut is a large fish don't have to worry about tiny
09:49bones
09:50and we only have two and a half hours to make 30 dishes I cannot have my partner or myself
09:54spending an
09:54hour cleaning fish halibut holds together but also you know it's a big fish you can make 40 portions
10:00with one right you know we're only asking for 30 the strategy for consistency here is butterflying
10:06the fish open and then we're gonna pipe the shrimp moose down the middle fold it back over and torque
10:10it up so it's nice and cylindrical they give us not only even shapes but to give us some nice
10:15even
10:15cooking there's commandment is consistency we've all worked in these big events we've done banquet
10:21style the biggest challenge is the time you got to make sure that you have all 30 dishes done within
10:26that time frame we are making grilled trout with charred eggplant puree a cilantro mojo verde and
10:35artichokes Karen I make the decision that she's going to butcher the fish and then I'll brine it cook
10:42it on the grill and then finish it in the oven right before we plate it if I had to
10:45do this challenge
10:46what I'd be thinking about was trying to like make a sauce and a garnish kind of at the same
10:51time in one
10:52pot and this way I could focus all my attention on properly cooking the fish how you feeling about
10:5730 dishes Kara I mean the scaling takes time it's not difficult not royally fillets is probably the
11:03hardest part I'm nervous about cooking seafood for Michael how could you not be I actually tried to
11:09work for Michael for one night only I staged at Michael's restaurant Providence when I was 17 I thought
11:15of one of the coolest kitchens I've ever been in he has a room just for fish breakdown and his
11:19focus on
11:19seafood was amazing like it was all the things that when I was a young chef that I was like
11:23looking
11:24to become pin boning I would love help pin boning I can help with that right now the pin bones
11:29are
11:30these little bones that go in the middle of the filet that need to be removed they're also dangerous
11:35because they're the thing that you don't want to swallow because they're very very small and you can
11:38miss them when you're eating the fish do you think Buddha had something going with putting us
11:41together as the girls like he's trying to knock us both out yeah the top two will be safe but
11:47I have no
11:49idea what's gonna happen to everyone else so Kara and I need to win this I'd like to be safe
11:55me too
11:56I'm gonna start with the couscous and make the beurre blanc simultaneously so we can get those nicely
12:02seasoned we're making seared black bass with cousa and a saffron and tomato beurre blanc Chris had an
12:09idea and so we decided to let him create the flavor and I'll play this fish I have a fair
12:14amount to do cook the
12:15zucchini make the fennel salad cook couscous and make the beurre blanc Keith's focused on fish breakdown
12:23cleaning portioning and eventually searing I love black bass it is one of the fish I learned to butcher
12:29first it's a delicious fish I love the texture I think black bass is a great sort of blank slate
12:34to
12:34build off Keith really has his work cut out for him though because black bass are tiny and the filets
12:38are thin
12:39the flesh is definitely smaller than what I would have wanted it to be there's no way you're gonna
12:44have consistent shapes of fish because the way a bass is an eight ounce steak is an eight ounce steak
12:51they may look different but you're still getting eight ounces so my approach to consistency is not the
12:58same look but the same amount we're gonna get the fish skin going closer to game time so we can
13:02focus on
13:03consistency and making sure that the fish is beautifully cooked so I guess Keith is in charge
13:08of all the fish he's gonna butcher it he's got a scale and butcher and pin bone all that fish
13:13by
13:13himself it is a lot of work and then Chris is gonna do his amazing sauce work we're coming out
13:18swinging
13:19today I just made those flavors bold yep I did quite well on my last verre blanc so if there's
13:26one
13:26thing I'm good at is that you tried the brine dead it's beautiful yeah oh it's so good I decided
13:32to go
13:32for poaching because we can sous vide which means we can manipulate the shape of the fish and that's
13:39super important when you want consistency I'm starting on the shrimpers I got the brown butter
13:44working as well fish is down timer on I'm gonna start the leak process and the beginning of the sauce
13:51and I'll start cooking off those mussels and clams some of these are really stuck in there they do not
13:58want to come out I'm gonna jump in with you and pin bone thank you because some of these pin
14:02bones are really stubborn pin boning is a pain but it's also you know something that you have
14:08to do and trout has a lot of pin bones in it I mean this takes some time but also
14:13this is a
14:13consistency challenge so it should how's the fish look chef this is good to be honest I wanted to go
14:20halibut but Chris wants bass for the flavor profile that he's thinking of course wish I had a meaty or
14:26whitefish this is gonna be challenging it's hard to take the tweezers and pull the pin bones out so
14:31it's just easier to cut them out it does look like maybe Keith is struggling a little bit with
14:35the butchering of the fish now I'm thinking should we have chose a different fish this bass is dangerous
14:40shoulda woulda coulda
14:49Chris that size you want perfect perfect yeah I think so how many ounces is that I don't know I'll
14:54have a
14:55scale but that's one piece yes that's one filet they're thin they're thin yeah so we're just gonna
14:59have to go high heat get a nice color on it that's it 30 portions of fish is a lot
15:04in two and a half
15:05hours but I have quick ways of doing things for lander fish you have to be careful that you don't
15:12get the bones in there the vast majority of restaurants they buy fillets it's one of the
15:16reasons why I work exclusively with wild fish because it's such a romantic thing to be able
15:21to work with whole animals that way I'm very comfortable making per block and I think for 30
15:26plates it'll eat well with the fish so I think it's a smart move for this challenge here's the base
15:31of it
15:35yeah I think it's good on saffron you get all of it right yes yeah kusa is a traditional dish
15:41in the
15:42Middle East it's usually made with rice and meat as a stuffing but I'm using couscous so we're kind of
15:47just blending flavors and techniques here trying to come up with a cohesive fun dish Chris is excited
15:53it's like Michael Jordan in rhythm just give him the ball I just want to nail this fish so we
15:59can win
15:59this thing you're good you're golden you're sitting pretty boy I'm not going for second place that's
16:04for sure I know you're not I'm gunning I know I can out cook anybody in the room on a
16:08given day
16:09but as we continue to move up in this competition I do think if Buddha and Matt were to leave
16:14it would
16:14make it a heck of a lot easier this is going to be the leeks that are going to be
16:19melted that's going
16:20to go on top of the halibut Buddha has a good understanding of strategy so I let him take the
16:26lead
16:26on the dish our idea is to kind of stack everything on the fish and then just finish it with
16:31the veil
16:32and then the sauce that's going to be the best way of creating consistency all the way through 30 plates
16:36you keep going with what you need to do I'm going to try and get mr. wrapping done Matt's going
16:41to
16:41keep working on the garnishes and I'm going to start filling the fish with shrimp fast and I'm going to
16:46start rolling them next step after this is to get it poaching for about 30 minutes once we portion it
16:53then we'll then bring it up in a bath of brown butter with the leeks and muscles and then we're
16:57going to finish it off with a veil Matt and Buddha they have a lot of steps to their dish
17:02yeah
17:02unsurprisingly yes you want to check these yeah consistent to you yeah I think that's what we're
17:08looking for consistency it's a lot of process but it should enable them to make 30 very consistent
17:14pieces of fish it feels great working with Matt this is fully in at 54. we are just kind of
17:20like
17:20one it's interesting Buddha and Matt went head to head in the first episode and Buddha won by one point
17:28keep your friends close and your enemies closer exactly that's why you guys are so close to me right
17:33now that grill over there has got eggplant all over it but they're going to use that to cook the
17:41fish
17:41those fish will stick to the grill I want to jump in there and help them if Michael were grilling
17:46the
17:46fish I wouldn't be worried but I am a little anxious about this process I'm going to test cooking a
17:52trout
17:52oh okay they're going to use that grill over there so that fear was allayed on my part I was
17:59just
17:59confused the egg clams done I'm starting on the egg clam puree I'm putting scallions comfy garlic
18:06tahini soy a little bit of lemon I'm gonna leave this a little chunky I like texture hey I trust
18:14you
18:14the challenges that we have are getting 30 portions or more so that we have some room for error in
18:23case
18:23some things go wrong with some of the portions we can pick the best ones I'm feeling like I'm gonna
18:27need to start grilling at the 30 minute mark I don't know it's definitely at 30 minutes because
18:33you're right I'm gonna be busy with that just fine it's what we knew hey I'm starting on the other
18:38jokes so I'm gonna start working on the seaweed veils Matt and Buddha what worries me about what
18:51they're doing is it's a lot of process I don't know if that's gonna work for them I agree with
18:55you I think they're making it hard on themselves this is a challenge about fish cookery and consistency
19:00every component of the dish should be at the service of delicious flavor I like all those
19:05bells and whistles I just don't want them to be there for no reason I want them to serve the
19:10dish
19:11so they're seamless we're gonna achieve consistency by covering our fish with this beautiful veil that
19:16will kind of blanket everything and really make it look consistent but lucky Matt I kind of went for a
19:21gamble the thing is to be honest this is the first time I've made it I came up with the
19:27idea but my
19:29head chef developed it and she did it but I never made the recipe so the risks of making this
19:35veil is
19:35that it will break it would not come out delicate or it could be too chewy and really just ruin
19:40the
19:40whole dish I'm pouring out the liquid and I don't have much time for it to level out gonna firm
19:46up I'm
19:47shaking all my pots and water's going everywhere but I don't have time to worry about that right
19:52now because this thing's gonna set like that if it doesn't work out I think Matt will probably kill
19:57me but I have to commit to the dish now we're working with a gelatin setting agent that has to
20:13be super
20:13thin because they're judging us on consistency and so the most important part is that I have a
20:18consistent level of gelay spread out throughout my whole table there's a huge risk but I think I did
20:25it you know check it yeah thanks great okay relieved first time I've done the veil and it's working
20:35this is the literal veil of consistency Buddha and I both have kind of similar backgrounds I think we
20:41understand a very high level of consistency and technique and it's also kind of good to work
20:46together because I kind of get a little bit clearer picture of like what's going on in his head Buddha's
20:51probably my strongest competition so maybe that'll play off as a possible benefit towards the end this
20:58old dog's got a lot of tricks the youngest one here though Chris yeah I'll take a look I just
21:05like both of
21:05us to make the decisions together that's what you want perfect dude yeah it's absolutely beautiful damn
21:09yeah coming together chef check the cooking of that fish yeah there you're good it's like nice and rare
21:17on the bomb crispy on top you're good leave it just like that okay I'm gonna start putting the plate
21:21together top of mine for me is like not messing up the fish and bringing Kara down with me and
21:27so
21:27I am grateful that I need extra portions just take the pretty ones that one's not very pretty
21:34hell of it out get some gloves maybe we take the fish out of the brown butter once it's comes
21:38up to
21:38temperature we are then layering it with leeks mussels clams and then we're gonna give it a final bake in
21:45the oven because I got 37 pieces 37 yeah great my pants hot really hot so I can uh see
21:52the fish
21:54the sauce is hot the kusa is ready 15 minutes left 15 it's time to go I just need four
22:01minutes on the
22:02cook so everybody else is waiting by now they're not gonna make it you put the fish on and I'll
22:08put
22:08the bell on yeah there's nine minutes left at five we've got to be plating the fish yes exactly
22:15fish coming shortly five minutes left I'm gonna go plate go ahead come on boys we'll do salsa fish
22:22at the same time yep they can't get fish and sauce on and under five minutes three minutes we gotta
22:27go my stomach is in knots just watching them just keep hauling ass you good Matt yeah I got six
22:36more
22:36to go I feel like Buddha and Matt they speak the same culinary language they can feel what the
22:41other's doing they've got a plan it's like watching a valet there's nothing better than a quiet kitchen and
22:47it's just like and everyone's just like doing their job this is all at least in the same way
22:54five four three two one time is up
23:03good job buddy great work don't need to do a big good story anymore I did it with him already
23:09that's only a quarter of it well done guys congratulations nice job first we have Kara
23:15and Katie we made a grilled trout with a burnt eggplant puree grilled artichokes and a mojo verde sauce
23:32Kara and Katie I think you did a great job getting it crispy we're judging you on the consistency of
23:38the
23:39cook of the fish there were a couple of fish that I saw certainly the ones that were on the
23:43thinner side
23:44that got a little bit overcooked but also when I had the thicker portions of fish they were beautifully
23:49cooked yeah I think I tried six pieces and there's a couple that just saw a little bit too much
23:54time I
23:55love how herbaceous the artichokes are I think they're really bright the garnishes and vegetables
24:01are as great as the fish they were really well seasoned I love seeing you had a little malden salt
24:07here to finish every piece of fish and a squeeze of lemon showed really nice touch great stuff guys yeah
24:12really good oh my god we were both happy with the dish we're both happy with how it turned out
24:18whether
24:18it's gonna get us in first place or not we're not sure it's tight competition now it's a beautiful dish
24:23I know Chris and Keith tell us about your dish you have seared black bass with a saffron and tomato
24:30beurre blanc and then stuffed squash a little bit of shaved fennel as well
24:39you were responsible for butchering the fish and searing it yes
24:46Chris I want to know what's in your sauce shallot garlic a little bit of black pepper
24:51bloomed ground saffron and then roasted cherry tomatoes in the pizza oven and then built a
24:58verdun blanc from there mounting with butter a little bit of shio koji and lemon juice sauce is
25:03delicious thank you it might be the best sauce that I've tried today oh thank you so much yeah the
25:09fish is
25:09cooked very nicely you see that those are bones bones two bones in one piece of fish well this one
25:28up
25:34you unfortunately there were a few bones
25:39sorry I screwed it up with the fish it's okay buddy we're still in there for a seafood challenge
25:43to find bones is no bueno it's extremely unfortunate we put together a great dish but for Keith to leave
25:50bones still in the fish is going to take us down and there's a lack of consistency in the cutting
25:55of
25:55the fish as well see this one looks pretty nice and big this one on the other hand is much
26:03shorter and
26:04it's curling when you have a fillet bass it's already inconsistent and so if we try to just portion all
26:13one size we wouldn't have had enough to actually do 30 pieces I could have fixed another fish what my
26:21advice would have been just cut them smaller and you'd have been able to get 30 more consistently
26:26sized portions out of the amount of fish that was back there the shapes weren't the same I get it
26:32I could
26:33have chose a different fish and I have to live with that as far as flavor and composition of dish
26:39you guys did a great job thank you thank you chefs as always bones man when you have a partner
26:47and
26:48you drop the ball and they suffer it just hits different I made a terrible mistake if Chris and I
26:53are at the bottom is it a double elimination or to people cooking off I just want the opportunity to
27:00redeem myself no matter what all good and now we have Buddha and Matt what did you make for us
27:07halibut that's been rolled and stuffed with a shrimp fast covered with a veil that encases melted leaks and
27:16mussels and finished off with a beautiful sauce made with clam juice it's a very sophisticated dish
27:28mmm very tasty
27:32Buddha can you tell me about the veil yeah so the veil was made with color storage
27:35aliche thyme some lemon peel I then blended some nori into it I set it with kappa carrageenan
27:43um well done chef very consistent and I use my handy dandy pick they are pretty much all the same
27:51temperature there's many components seasoning is fantastic I think the sauce delicious you really
27:57get that clam flavor it is incredibly consistent plate to plate to plate to plate I love this dish as
28:03well at first I thought like with that veil it was a little bit of Buddha being Buddha but it
28:09serves a
28:10purpose here it's delicious it's not just show it's a consistency strategy the hazelnut is a nice
28:17surprise a nice crunch that's hidden in there I think it's a beautifully composed dish it shows off all of
28:24your technical prowess nice balance of flavor well done chefs congratulations a beautiful plate me and
28:31Matt we worked fantastically together we definitely used each other to our best capability and we did
28:37something that was incredible nice that's good good dish good dish let's score but I can get the dawn
28:48power wash yeah I thought that went well if we would have cooked it any further made it any hotter
28:54I
28:54think the fish would have been over yes we'll have to see the scores like brander
29:04they were right that we could have picked a different fish and I think it put us in a
29:09disadvantage because as much as I was saying black bass they were on the smaller side they were small
29:14they were small he said excellent chef I guarantee you go eat at his restaurant you'll never find a
29:19single pin bone it's just on this competition things can slip by but this is a scary moment for both
29:28of us he and I have cooked on the bottom a bunch of times him more than me but if
29:34we got to cook
29:34again that's why we're here on this competition all right chefs please come down well the scores are in
29:54and the winning team will be safe and moving on to our next commandment let's see the scores
30:07wow Buddha and Matt first place with 57 points congratulations I've been doing competitions since I was
30:14like 14 and if I was to tell my 14 year old self that I'd be plating up 30 plates
30:18with a bakustle winner
30:19you'd probably say you know you're kidding Matt if you don't watch out Buddha's gonna start a Matt fan
30:25club I've already started it Matt has always been the biggest threat I have never gone against someone
30:32of that caliber in any cooking competition I admire bakustle chef but I'm you know I'm also excited to
30:40see if I can take him out Buddha and Matt you won first place that means obviously that you're safe
30:47but the four of you will all be cooking again in a four-way showdown I want to know the
30:54definition
30:55of showdown oh my god I really don't want to cook again I thought second place would be safe
31:03I'm glad that it's four people cooking opposed to just me and Chris having a cook-off the more people
31:10the better chances I have to stay in the competition so here is your final consistency
31:16challenge the ultimate test of a chef to make a French omelet high-end restaurants don't hire
31:26people unless they can cook a French omelet because it shows understanding of cookery and
31:30how dedicated have you been to your craft making a proper French omelet creamy in the center pale yellow
31:37with absolutely no browning and perfectly folded is a rite of passage for any chef it's a staple
31:42thing you work in French kitchens and one of the first things you learn how to do is egg cookery
31:46and
31:46making French omelets is a specific part of that if not the only part of that you'll have 10 minutes
31:52to give us the perfect French omelet 10 minutes French omelets in 10 minutes from start to finish
32:00gathering ingredients gathering equipment like that's impossible you have 10 minutes please head to your
32:06stations I have been cooking in a professional kitchen for almost two years and I'm pregnant so
32:11it's just like surreal that I made it this far and now it's nuts that getting to the million dollars
32:16is
32:17resting on making a perfect omelet Matt and Buddha you can relax up there we'll take our omelets in the
32:22dining room good luck to you all everyone's nervous do I cook all four at once that's crazy how do
32:28I do
32:28two and two like what is the strategy here your time starts now I love making French omelets
32:44four omelets three ingredients hard challenge wonder if they're going to be able to order everything
32:51this is our first 10 minute cook that scared the daylights out of me eight minutes holy every
32:58competition we've had that last 10 minutes is when you better start plating so in my head I'm like
33:03you're already behind the clock I don't even know if this is enough time with a million dollars on the
33:08line it's brutal a perfect French omelet is lightly seasoned not heavily seasoned the outside should not
33:14have any brown no it should be this beautiful sort of canary yellow I would uncharacteristically use
33:21unsalted butter and it's really quick properly made omelet is truly like maybe the greatest invention of
33:27Western civilization wow my strategy is to crack the eggs all in one bowl and drop them one by one
33:35because why would you take the time to crack four eggs into separate bowls wild to me I gotta put
33:41energy
33:42energy to other things six minutes
33:49jeez that went by fast I can't believe my future in this competition comes down to cooking omelets
33:57consistently down my strategy is to start all four on low heat get two of them pretty set set them
34:06off
34:06the heat and then finish the other two okay there we go there we go when I roll my eggs
34:13I realized
34:14underneath that one was brown brown is not an option you want it to be yellow so I'm trying to
34:19get
34:20another omelet made but I'm running out of time through this competition I've been fighting for my place
34:26and so I'm not giving up I realize that my flames are too high then I'm trying to adjust the
34:37flame then I
34:38have to go back to the first egg I'm cooking and try to get that right and then I realize
34:42I'm losing
34:42focus on the other three and then everything just goes to you know hell in a hand basket
34:46Chris is not doing good something's funny he doesn't have an omelet he's scrambling
34:53I'm done I'm done that's not looking good for him
35:04four minutes
35:08panicking panicking I try to remake the ones that didn't turn out the way I wanted them to
35:15and just in complete panic I mean I'm about to go home if I don't cook this one perfect
35:24this challenge is 10 minutes of stress not ideal the only thing that's keeping me through this whole
35:30competition with that pressure staying calm trying to get another omelet made and it's setting but I'm
35:37going out of time I feel better about a couple that I'm making but I know that I'm probably going
35:44to
35:44end up putting up a less than perfect product on one if not multiple plates this is a consistency
35:50challenge and these omelets are far from consistent 45 seconds how much 45 seconds
35:58sounds like carnage right now oh my god 20 seconds heard 20 seconds I'm throwing omelets on plates
36:06there is no finesse in shaping a beautiful torpedo I'd probably be pulling my beard out if I was out
36:12there watching this five four three two one oh my god me yep me too I think I'm going home
36:26I've had a lot of
36:27highs and lows on this competition I mean I was chosen as least likely to win and uh I'm still
36:32here
36:33but no I can't believe my place in the competition rests on a freaking french omelet
36:48we all made exactly the same thing we're watching the judges passing the plates they're talking about
36:54it in front of us it's not easy it's a hard one in this moment I am incredibly stressed okay
37:01the green
37:03this is Katie's it's got beautiful color it's nice and blonde on the inside yeah this is Kara's
37:11these have a great shape great shape it's a little too liquid I'm okay with yeah I'm okay with that
37:15too
37:15that's how I like my eggs okay this is Keith's plate that's salty I agree yeah Keith's omelet on your
37:26plate plate it's so brown it's so overcooked well that's not good no Chris's omelet was very dark the
37:33same problem that Keith had on one of his plates there's inconsistency and you know one is the most
37:47consistent Katie's was the most consistent out of all four Kara's less so from the comments I know it's
37:56between Chris and I chefs it's time to decide who will be moving on and who will be going home
38:07the chef that served my least consistent omelet is Keith Michael who had your least consistent omelet
38:31Keith Wiley Keith understood I'm sorry Keith you served your final dish thank you all love you buddy
38:44love you too thank you it's been a pleasure absolutely seriously I fought the good fight
38:49oh my god incredible yeah one thing I've been consistent at is fighting in this competition
38:55for my place and I'm proud of that Keith 50 points to the second highest score I am someone who
39:03grew up
39:03with less than other people like I come from Watts I overcame the gangs prison poverty
39:11I didn't go to culinary school my introduction to the kitchen was surviving let the evidence show
39:17I am toasting some coriander this is delicious Keith at 169 points yes I just want to thank you
39:29this has been an honor and as much as it's done for me it's done more for my community to
39:35be able to
39:36see me on this platform and be inspired and you've inspired all of us as well thank you thank you
39:42I'll
39:43see you if I inspire one person where I come from I've won love thank you chef much respect
39:55congratulations you made it to the top five I am ecstatic when I entered this competition
40:13I never expected to make it this far I have a one in five chance of winning this competition
40:21and a million dollars I can do this honestly that was the most that was the most anxiety I've had
40:31in
40:31any cooking challenge well done chefs we're now down to the final five it feels incredible to still be
40:42here the skill set of all the other chefs I'm like you know battling the ever-present am I meant
40:49to be here feeling so it's really special to be in the final five only one of you can walk
40:54away with one
40:55million dollars get some rest we'll see you very soon bye thank you good night can you believe there's only
41:04five last it's like a culinary super group a grateful bread Fleetwood mac and cheese snacks you boys
41:17all right shall we go and speculate what's this you'll go back home crawl up in a ball and with
41:26the
41:26consistency in the corner honestly I'm so happy that was a short one at least it was like I absolutely
41:35did not think I would get this far I'm pregnant where are we at now banana size what are you
41:41doing
41:41we're past banana we're past banana where are we I don't know I have to look up this food food
41:45chart
41:45banana was last week fact the matter is if I lose they beat a pregnant lady so what would happen
41:49if I
41:50wasn't pregnant is all I'm gonna say we get to change out of these gross coats mine smells so fishy
42:01next time on America's culinary cup our culinary commandment is world cuisine so nervous to put up
42:09a Korean dish for Roy Troy station's an absolute war zone I could be going hard I haven't felt like
42:14this ever it's an interesting turn of events I have no idea how this is gonna go
42:22delicious
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