Tournament of Champions - Season 7 - Episode 08: And the Winner Is… EngSub - video Dailymotion

SomiNews

#fullmovie #engsub #tvseries #trending2026 #dramaseries #romancemovies #fullhd #Tournament of Champions - Season 7 - Episode 08: And the Winner Is… EngSub

Transcript

00:00:02It's the finale of the greatest culinary competition on earth.

00:00:06We watched 32 of the food world's best chefs enter the TOC arena

00:00:11with the dreams of glory.

00:00:13But after 28 epic head-to-head battles,

00:00:17four victorious chefs stand alone.

00:00:21Tonight, they'll face off at two of the toughest semifinal face-offs

00:00:25ever imagined.

00:00:27First, the Jetster, Chef Jet Tila,

00:00:29enters his fifth Final Four battle

00:00:32against the Dragon Slayer, Chef Kevin Lee.

00:00:35Fifth time, man. Totally different mentality.

00:00:38Will Jet finally make it to the finals this year?

00:00:40I'm absolutely there to destroy Kevin.

00:00:42I'm not there to be nice. I'm not there to be friends.

00:00:44Today, I am slaying that Dragon Uncle Jet.

00:00:49Then the Volt of the East, Brian Voltaggio

00:00:51looks to add to his TOC Christmas win.

00:00:53I've never had my own individual win.

00:00:55It's long overdue. I mean, too many times have I been a runner-up.

00:00:58And prove that he can do it on his own

00:01:00by taking on the beast of the kitchen, Chef Kenny Gilbert,

00:01:03the TOC newbie who beasted his way from the qualifiers to the semifinals.

00:01:08Let's go!

00:01:09Then, the two triumphant winners, the best of the best,

00:01:13will go head-to-head in the ultimate battle for the belt.

00:01:16Oh, boy.

00:01:17Tonight's battles are so extreme and so high stakes,

00:01:21they demand the opinion of a fourth judge.

00:01:24One of today's most consequential culinary figures

00:01:27who is guaranteed to blow our chefs' minds.

00:01:31What?

00:01:32No way.

00:01:35Only one chef can earn the belt, the title,

00:01:37and the $150,000 grand prize.

00:01:41Who will win Tournament of Champions 7?

00:01:49Are you ready to meet the TOC Final Four?

00:01:54Please welcome Division A winner, the Jetster, Chef Jet Tila.

00:02:03I'm in the Final Four for the fifth time in seven years.

00:02:08It doesn't get any easier.

00:02:09I want to win because I need to complete this journey.

00:02:12I'm that close. I'm that close every single year.

00:02:16I need to finish this mission.

00:02:18Division B winner, the Dragon Slayer, Chef Kevin Lee!

00:02:23My journey through TOC 7 has been amazing.

00:02:27I've taken out some big dragons along the way.

00:02:30Even though I have never really won a huge tournament,

00:02:33I'm here to win that bag of money.

00:02:37Division C winner, the Volt of the East, Chef Brian Goltaggio!

00:02:42I've been runner-up way too many times.

00:02:45I've been trying to get this chip off my shoulder.

00:02:46I really want a title.

00:02:48I want my banner hanging in the TOC kitchen.

00:02:50It's something I've been striving for all of my career.

00:02:53TOC is the biggest stage to do so.

00:02:55And the Division D winner, the Beast of the Kitchen,

00:03:00Chef Kenny Dilbert!

00:03:03This is my first time on TOC,

00:03:05and I've been dreaming about this moment

00:03:07ever since I saw TOC start several years ago.

00:03:10This is like gladiators going against each other

00:03:13for the ultimate prize.

00:03:14Audience, one more time for the fantastic Final Four!

00:03:26Three of you are here for the first time.

00:03:29One of you all the way from the qualifiers.

00:03:31Amazing.

00:03:32If I can go out on a limb, I'm going to predict

00:03:35that TOC 7 will be won by a male chef.

00:03:45First time ever.

00:03:46Chef, congratulations!

00:03:48You have achieved something that 28 of your fellow chefs'

00:03:52competitors dreamed of.

00:03:53Oh, my God.

00:03:55You got goosebumps.

00:03:56You are now just two cooks away from winning it all.

00:04:00The championship, the belt, the coveted title,

00:04:04and the grand prize of $150,000.

00:04:13The randomizer options in this round are unconventional.

00:04:18Oh, unconventional.

00:04:21The good news is tonight's dishes will be tasted by

00:04:25four culinary greats.

00:04:28Wow.

00:04:30How you feeling?

00:04:31Oh, man.

00:04:32This is a bag of nerves, bro.

00:04:34Nauseous.

00:04:35Nauseous.

00:04:36All right.

00:04:37Let's do it.

00:04:38Dragon Slayer through that door.

00:04:39Jet Slayer through that door.

00:04:40And you two, we're going to hold on ice.

00:04:42Good luck, guys.

00:04:50Let's go.

00:04:52Not overthinking it.

00:04:53I'm going to embrace the randomizer.

00:04:56I'm a different person this year.

00:04:58I'm excited.

00:04:59This is what I live for.

00:05:00I'm as ready as I'm going to be.

00:05:02I feel the best I have in all of these seven years.

00:05:06We have the number three seed, Chef Kevin Lee,

00:05:08who has taken down some of TOC's greatest chefs.

00:05:11But tonight, he'll have to defeat one of the tournament's

00:05:14winningest chefs to reach the final battle.

00:05:17Here I am in the final four, going against Jet.

00:05:20Like one of the strongest competitors here.

00:05:23I feel like I've been, you know, training for this moment.

00:05:26Anything short of a championship is a failure.

00:05:29His opponent, the number two seed, Chef Jet Tila,

00:05:32who has made it to the semifinals more than any chef

00:05:35in TOC history, but has yet to compete in the final battle

00:05:40for the belt.

00:05:41Kevin is not scared to be Kevin Lee, right?

00:05:45He cooks this thing.

00:05:46I can learn that from him and just kind of be proud of your food

00:05:49and do what you're best at.

00:05:51Jet is truly somebody who I admire to be.

00:05:54A great chef.

00:05:55A great father.

00:05:56A great husband.

00:05:57And just a great guy in general.

00:05:59Everybody loves Jet.

00:06:01He knows food.

00:06:02He understands what it takes to win these things.

00:06:04I'm here to finish this chapter.

00:06:08There's no way I'm going to make it easy on Kevin.

00:06:10When we're in that arena, I mean, I'm absolutely there

00:06:13to destroy Kevin.

00:06:14I'm not there to be nice.

00:06:15And that they're to be friends.

00:06:16You know what I mean?

00:06:16He's in my way to get that belt.

00:06:19Jet is the dragon.

00:06:21So today, I am slaying that dragon, Uncle Jet.

00:06:26Let's go.

00:06:27Let's go.

00:06:28Are you ready for a sensational semifinal showdown?

00:06:34Let's light this up!

00:06:37He became an executive chef in Vegas at the age of 21

00:06:41before returning to his Oklahoma birthplace

00:06:43and opened two critically acclaimed Korean-inspired steakhouses.

00:06:51He has topped multiple Best Chef lists in his home state

00:06:55and has won a James Beard Award semifinalist

00:06:59for Best Chef Southwest in 2025.

00:07:01He crushed the TOC5 qualifiers and made it

00:07:06to the great eight at TOC5 and TOC6,

00:07:10earning the nickname of the Dragon Slayer along the way.

00:07:14And this year, he's defeated Chef Joe Sasto

00:07:17in TOC7 quarterfinals with a pork collar dish

00:07:21that Judge Susan Fettiger said was delicious.

00:07:24The dish really hits it right on the nose.

00:07:27Give it up for the Dragon Slayer!

00:07:30Chef Kevin Lee!

00:07:42Oh, boy.

00:07:44Now you're a competitor that is in the Final Four.

00:07:48Did you ever think this was going to be the case?

00:07:50Never.

00:07:51It's just been an unbelievable ride.

00:07:53I just don't want it to end.

00:07:54You deserve to be here.

00:07:55Congratulations to be in the Final Four.

00:07:57Thank you, guys. Thank you.

00:07:57So happy for you.

00:07:58And talk about deserving to be here.

00:08:01He went from a tireless worker

00:08:03at his family's pioneering Thai market and restaurant

00:08:06to a celebrated chef named Culinary Ambassador

00:08:10of Thai Cuisine by the Royal Thai Council General.

00:08:16He's a renowned culinary competitor

00:08:18and currently has 16 wins on TOC.

00:08:23And his defeat of Chef Jonathan Sawyer

00:08:26in the quarterfinals with a whole Branzino dish

00:08:28Judge Mei-Lynn called...

00:08:30I mean, just Skeller.

00:08:31...has returned him to the Final Four

00:08:34for the fifth time.

00:08:38Make some noise for the Jetster, Chef Jet Keeler!

00:08:57Oh, yeah.

00:08:58Whoo!

00:09:04Jet, this is your fifth time in the Final Four.

00:09:07What is different about this year?

00:09:11My mindset is totally different this year.

00:09:15I'm working with the randomizer, not against it.

00:09:18I'm here in the moment right now.

00:09:19Chefs, let's take it to the randomizer.

00:09:21Good luck.

00:09:28Once again, the randomizer will determine

00:09:31the mandatory details of your dish.

00:09:33The protein, the produce, the equipment.

00:09:36Style.

00:09:37This will be the predominant color of your dish.

00:09:39Will it be orange, white, or pink?

00:09:43What?

00:09:44Wild card ingredient.

00:09:46Ostrich egg, crown melon,

00:09:49and fresh seaweed from Monterey Bay.

00:09:51Oh, my God.

00:09:52Best of luck to both of you.

00:09:54Let's get busy.

00:09:56Going for proteins!

00:09:57Let's go!

00:10:00Oh, man.

00:10:01Come on.

00:10:03Randa.

00:10:05What do you want to give us, Randa?

00:10:08Squaf salmon, elk, salmon, elk, squaf, salmon belly.

00:10:13Oh.

00:10:14Cauliflower mushrooms.

00:10:16Oh, wow.

00:10:17Banana leaves, white, and ostrich egg.

00:10:23Goodbye.

00:10:24See you later.

00:10:28Have you guys ever opened an ostrich egg?

00:10:30No.

00:10:31Never.

00:10:32This is going to be so fun.

00:10:3345 minutes starts now.

00:10:35Good luck.

00:10:37I like this randomizer.

00:10:39Salmon belly is one of the best parts of the salmon.

00:10:41Fatty, really flavorful, tons of opportunity.

00:10:45Cauliflower mushrooms look like almost like a cauliflower.

00:10:48They have a mild, nutty flavor.

00:10:50Banana leaves are used all over the world.

00:10:51It really holds in the moisture.

00:10:53White.

00:10:54Well, you think about all the things that are white.

00:10:55I mean, there's a ton of vegetables that are white,

00:10:57sauces that are white.

00:10:59Speaking of white, they're going to get out of the ostrich egg.

00:11:01Tastes like a chicken egg, except 24 of them.

00:11:03It's going to be quite the battle.

00:11:0545 minutes.

00:11:06Oh, Justin.

00:11:08Ay-yi-yi.

00:11:10How are you?

00:11:11I'm thinking my way through this.

00:11:13Okay.

00:11:13That's good.

00:11:15Oh, my God.

00:11:15This is a trippy one.

00:11:17I'm joined, as always, by my incredible culinary commentators,

00:11:20the Michelin-recommended chef and the food genius,

00:11:23the wild-card chef Justin Warner,

00:11:25and the brilliant Boston restaurateur

00:11:27and the TOC3 champ herself,

00:11:30Sweet Tea, Chef Tiffany Faison.

00:11:31Now, Justin and Tiffany are shadowing the chefs

00:11:34so they can faithfully present their dishes

00:11:36to the judges during the blind tasting.

00:11:38We're also joined by our roving reporter,

00:11:40the one and only Hunter Fieri,

00:11:41who will be talking with our winners backstage,

00:11:43and the culinary scholar, Simon Majendar,

00:11:46who will discuss each randomizer challenge

00:11:48with the judges.

00:11:50All right, Chef.

00:11:51Here we are.

00:11:52I'm going to get my rice going for us.

00:11:53Okay, I hear you.

00:11:54For me to get the win from our legendary Jet Tila

00:11:57will mean the world to me.

00:11:59So, my strategy is to cook my food.

00:12:04That's what got me here,

00:12:06and I'm sticking to my plan.

00:12:08So, I'm going to make a huedapap.

00:12:11Huedapap is like a salmon sashimi, like bibimbap.

00:12:13Okay.

00:12:14It's like a full seafood version of it.

00:12:15Huedapap is still a very unknown dish.

00:12:18It's got seafood sashimi.

00:12:20It's got fresh vegetables.

00:12:22It was one of my favorite dishes growing up.

00:12:25I'm making a salmon belly huedapap with mushroom rice.

00:12:31I'm adding the banana leaves on top to really absorb a lot of the aromatics from the banana leaves.

00:12:36Oh, yeah.

00:12:41I think I'm going to make a white donburi.

00:12:45Japanese donburi means meal over rice.

00:12:49I keep going to omelet over rice because that covers the egg and that covers a lot of white.

00:12:56And the protein is going to be salmon.

00:12:58I think Japanese food always has a high perception of refinement and is difficult to execute well.

00:13:06So, I'm trying to show technique here against Kevin.

00:13:09I'm going to smoke some of this salmon in hay and banana.

00:13:15Got it.

00:13:16I take the salmon bellies.

00:13:18I run them over skewers.

00:13:19I add koji, which gives a ton of umami.

00:13:22And then I'm going to fire smoke it over banana leaf and hay.

00:13:26Don't do this at home.

00:13:28Hot, very hot.

00:13:29To sear lightly and to penetrate with smoke.

00:13:33Did he get enough smoke?

00:13:34I mean, there's a lot of smoke there.

00:13:36And, you know, luckily there's a lot of fat, which is going to absorb a lot of that smoke.

00:13:40Okay, let's focus.

00:13:42Thanks for all the support, team.

00:13:43You guys are the best.

00:13:46Kevin, how's it going, man?

00:13:48Chef?

00:13:49This one sucks.

00:13:50This one sucks.

00:13:51This one really sucks.

00:13:52When you have a color drive your dish, that's a massive challenge to overcome.

00:13:58Anything delicious like charring or frying or broiling is going to make food not white.

00:14:04It's going to make it brown.

00:14:05White.

00:14:06White.

00:14:06Everything's going to be super white.

00:14:10Just using the white parts of the green onion.

00:14:13White typically equals no flavor.

00:14:16So this is going to be a huge challenge.

00:14:18Who can really hit that randomizer with the white?

00:14:22It's going to win this round.

00:14:25I'm nervous for them.

00:14:26I want it for them so badly.

00:14:28I want it for both of them.

00:14:29They really deserve to be here.

00:14:31I think this is one of the hardest TOCs I've seen.

00:14:33Agreed.

00:14:35Just breathe, brother.

00:14:36Just breathe.

00:14:36You got this.

00:14:40Chef Jet, Chef Kevin, you have 30 minutes left, 30 to go.

00:14:49My game plan is making sure this plate is all white from start to finish.

00:14:54One thing I know about the salmon bellies, if I take the skin off perfectly, it's going

00:15:00to leave a nice white flesh on that salmon.

00:15:03So I'm not going to cook the salmon for my quite a buck.

00:15:06White flesh.

00:15:07Jet is a strong competitor.

00:15:10He's always going to give it his all every single round.

00:15:13But I have earned my name Dragon Slayer through TOC.

00:15:17And I believe I've lived up to my nickname to this point.

00:15:21I'm hoping I can actually finish this thing this year.

00:15:25Tonight's judging will be done in a blind tasting by a panel of not three, but four award-winning

00:15:31chefs.

00:15:31Our judges are sequestered in their trailers, totally unaware of who's cooking.

00:15:35So their focus will be entirely on the food itself.

00:15:38They'll score the dishes based on taste, use of the items on the randomizer, and presentation.

00:15:43The chef with the top score will move on to the final battle.

00:15:46For the other chef, well, this will be their final cook.

00:15:5616 wins in the TOC universe makes me feel proud.

00:16:01But I've never made it to the final battle.

00:16:03And it's been heartbreaking.

00:16:05What's the plan with the rice, Phil?

00:16:06I'm going to make mushroom rice.

00:16:08Just trying to get white in here as much as possible.

00:16:11If I win this $150,000 bucks, part of it goes to celebrate my family and what they endure

00:16:16because of my work, life, and schedule.

00:16:19And the rest basically goes to charity immediately for first responders in the military.

00:16:24My brother's been a long-time police officer.

00:16:26My best friends are all military and first responders.

00:16:29And I always felt like I didn't do my part.

00:16:32So this is the way I serve.

00:16:33I'm a staunch supporter of this country and its soldiers and its first responders.

00:16:43Chef, 20 minutes, 20 to go.

00:16:46Egg time.

00:16:47Egg time.

00:16:51Woo!

00:16:52It's a big egg.

00:16:54Typically, this huayda baa is served with a red gochujang-based vinaigrette sauce called

00:17:00chojang.

00:17:01But today, the challenge is to make everything white.

00:17:05As I'm looking around, what is white?

00:17:08Egg whites are white.

00:17:09We got tofu that's white.

00:17:11Garlic is white.

00:17:12If I add a little vinegar in there, it's not going to change the color.

00:17:16Every time I come on TOC to make Korean food, I feel super proud to represent my culture.

00:17:23Being an immigrant kid in America, I've always felt like I was a step behind.

00:17:28I've always felt like I had to do more to achieve the same thing as others.

00:17:33And here I am in the semifinals.

00:17:36That grit and hard work has finally gotten me here.

00:17:40Oh, yeah.

00:17:4215 minutes remaining.

00:17:4415 to go.

00:17:47Egg go in, Chef.

00:17:48Not yet.

00:17:48It's going in right now.

00:17:49I need ostrich egg for the omelet on top.

00:17:53These are giant.

00:17:54Oh, my God.

00:17:58I still feel the salmon is under.

00:18:01I still feel it's kind of fatty and it needs to cook a little bit.

00:18:04So I lay my salmon in there.

00:18:05And I really want kind of this loose, runny omelet.

00:18:0912 minutes.

00:18:14Egg-cellent.

00:18:14I want to really use this ostrich egg multiple times.

00:18:19I want it to be a little bit more meaningful.

00:18:21It'll be nice to have a nice, thick, savory meringue.

00:18:25Got a nice mouthfeel.

00:18:27I'm adding vinegar.

00:18:28I'm adding garlic.

00:18:32Egg-weds, we're going to work in a savory meringue.

00:18:35Meringue is not typical for an hueda pot, but we're playing a game.

00:18:40We're playing that randomizer.

00:18:43This is going to make our sauce, too.

00:18:45Okay, you're in bonito flake.

00:18:47Yup.

00:18:47I also have to make a crispy mushroom.

00:18:49I also want to use the mushroom in another way.

00:18:52Tempura water.

00:18:53I'm making tempura water, which is basically water and eggs.

00:18:58And once that comes together with the flour and the starch,

00:19:00it makes a really nice crispy batter for the mushrooms.

00:19:03White.

00:19:04Give me white.

00:19:05Yes, exactly like that.

00:19:06I also wanted one more moment for ostrich eggs,

00:19:09so I'm going to make a sauce.

00:19:10I'm just having the banana catch that and cook that a little bit.

00:19:14I'm basically going to make, like, an aioli-style sauce

00:19:17using the cooked ostrich egg.

00:19:19And you need egg yolk to emulsify.

00:19:21So I take the egg, put it into a blender,

00:19:23add some white miso,

00:19:25and then I hit that with a little bit of yuzu kosho.

00:19:28It's coming out definitely more on the mustardy color.

00:19:31I have too high of a percentage of egg yolk.

00:19:34But it's too late to try to make this white.

00:19:38I'm always cooking for flavor, you know?

00:19:40I mean, when I'm a judge, dishes that win are the most delicious,

00:19:44no matter what.

00:19:44And that's how I cook.

00:19:47The next thing I want to make is a quick slaw.

00:19:50So I'm grabbing the white napa cabbage.

00:19:52I'm adding white parts of the green onions.

00:19:55I'm adding white onions.

00:19:57And I know if you fry up some rice paper in the fryer,

00:20:02it'll puff up to this nice white cylinder.

00:20:04I can almost use it as a lid to sit on top to cover everything in white.

00:20:09It's not just about who cooks the best food.

00:20:12It's about who plays the game right.

00:20:17Four minutes, chefs. Four to go.

00:20:22I start building the dish with the mushroom rice.

00:20:27I slide on the omelet with the salmon in it.

00:20:32They're not completely white, but enough fat in it.

00:20:35Yeah.

00:20:35I put a little bit of the miso yuzu kosho sauce on,

00:20:39and then I garnish with scallion.

00:20:41And I finish topping the dish with those white, crispy cauliflower mushroom bits.

00:20:47This is the dish I want to eat.

00:20:48I always cook from the belly.

00:20:50Let's get two more wins.

00:20:51I'm two cooks away from winning this whole thing.

00:20:54I'm just wondering if I have enough white on the plate.

00:20:56Two minutes, chefs. Two to go.

00:21:00To plate my hue de pa,

00:21:02I'm going to set a nice banana leaf on the plate,

00:21:05going in with the mushroom rice.

00:21:07Then we have the pickled napa cabbage with the salmon sashimi,

00:21:12some daikon radish that has been shredded with our tofu vinaigrette,

00:21:16with the savory meringue, and the crispy rice paper.

00:21:20Feels good. It's white.

00:21:22I know the flavors are there.

00:21:24I mean, it's a big moment for me.

00:21:27I need to take the swim, get to that belt.

00:21:29That will truly change my life.

00:21:32Five, four, three, two, one.

00:21:37We're done.

00:21:38Done.

00:21:44Chefs, that was a randomizer in a battle worthy of a semifinal.

00:21:49Back to your trailers. Good job. Thank you.

00:21:52Chef Jack!

00:21:53Chef Kevin!

00:21:55Bring those superstar judges in.

00:21:59I don't even know what happened out there.

00:22:01Why did you see that?

00:22:02That was a hard randomizer.

00:22:04It's not a slam dunk.

00:22:06It's just about cooking better than Kevin.

00:22:07That's what this one's about.

00:22:09It was a really, really hard randomizer.

00:22:11I just hope that I win.

00:22:12You know, I just, I really hope that I can move on.

00:22:16Being in final for jail for the fifth time is on the line.

00:22:20This was tough.

00:22:22I don't know if I should do this again.

00:22:24Ladies and gentlemen, our TOC judges have been waiting in their trailer

00:22:27for their first blind tasting.

00:22:29Let's meet them.

00:22:30First, acclaimed executive chef and winner of Top Chef Season 12,

00:22:35and TOC for champ, Chef Maylin.

00:22:41Maylin is back.

00:22:43Wow!

00:22:45She gets this style of food.

00:22:48The first ever female Iron Chef who has opened over 18 restaurants

00:22:52across the U.S. and around the world,

00:22:55Iron Chef Kat Cora!

00:22:59Woo!

00:23:01No way!

00:23:03Discerning palates, Iron Chef, come on.

00:23:06Next, folks, one of the remarkable titans on Bobby's Triple Threat,

00:23:10a Top Chef winner, and the champion of the very first TOC,

00:23:16V-Dub Chef Brooke Williamson!

00:23:21The champ is back!

00:23:24It's nice to be judged by chefs that have put in his kitchen.

00:23:27It's gonna take you, along with one other judge,

00:23:30to help us find the TOC 7 champ.

00:23:33No pressure.

00:23:34Joining us for the first time,

00:23:36a chef whose first restaurant was called

00:23:38The Most Important Restaurant in America by Bon Appetit,

00:23:41who has won six James Beard Awards

00:23:44and earned honors like GQ's Man of the Year,

00:23:47and whose restaurant retained two Michelin stars

00:23:50for an incredible 14 years.

00:23:53Ladies and gentlemen, an honor and a pleasure

00:23:56to welcome Shep David Chang!

00:23:59Whoa!

00:24:01Oh!

00:24:02Oh!

00:24:03Oh!

00:24:03I just made one of my favorite David Chang!

00:24:06Holy crap!

00:24:08No way!

00:24:10That is crazy!

00:24:13No way David is here!

00:24:16Wow!

00:24:18Just so honored to be here.

00:24:20Thank you!

00:24:23He is my idol,

00:24:25and he's here eating my food.

00:24:27I have to get to the next round.

00:24:29This has been a tough night, folks,

00:24:31I'll tell you already.

00:24:32The randomizer determined the chefs had to make

00:24:34salmon belly,

00:24:37cauliflower mushrooms,

00:24:38the equipment that needed to be employed

00:24:40was banana leaves,

00:24:42the style of the dish was white,

00:24:45and the wild card ingredient was ostrich egg.

00:24:49And here to tell you about the first chef's dish,

00:24:51Chef Tiffany Faison!

00:24:56This chef would like you to mix everything up

00:24:58as you eat.

00:24:58This is Weed the Bop.

00:25:00This is a summer-style Korean salmon sashimi.

00:25:04A sushi-style rice was constructed

00:25:05by cooking out the rice with banana leaf.

00:25:08The white sauce on top of your rice and your fish

00:25:10is constructed of lightly cooked ostrich egg,

00:25:13the white only.

00:25:14The savory meringue was whipped

00:25:15with the ostrich egg whites.

00:25:16Then you have a white julienne of daikon.

00:25:19Rice paper then finishes the dish

00:25:21to add a little bit of crunch.

00:25:24Very interesting.

00:25:26I think this is a really delicious dish.

00:25:30Yes.

00:25:31I think the salmon belly is very tender.

00:25:34I know how hard it is to cook with an ostrich egg.

00:25:36I did that in Iron Chef.

00:25:37So I like the fact that they whipped it

00:25:39and made a meringue out of it.

00:25:41I think it's nice and light on top.

00:25:43I'll take it.

00:25:44There's so many smart technique-forward moves

00:25:47on this plate.

00:25:48The meringue itself has so much flavor.

00:25:51The banana leaf, I don't taste it a whole lot.

00:25:53I definitely see it.

00:25:55Randomizer-wise, I would say that that's the weakest point.

00:25:59I really love the textural components

00:26:01that really just amp up this dish.

00:26:04You obviously see white.

00:26:06There's white throughout.

00:26:07I mean, just texture alone.

00:26:09The fried crispies as well as the fried rice paper

00:26:11I think really made this dish a star.

00:26:15Whoa!

00:26:16Good gameplay.

00:26:17Well, huedo pap is one of my favorite dishes

00:26:21in Korean cuisine.

00:26:22My mom loved eating it.

00:26:25This is not the traditional version,

00:26:28but that's why we're here, to reinterpret

00:26:30and to sort of express oneself.

00:26:32And I think it was a bold take,

00:26:34but it is very, very flavorful.

00:26:37No!

00:26:38The leaf, it was harder to taste,

00:26:40but I think it was a dish that showcased

00:26:43the chef's ability to have a lot of technique

00:26:46and culinary knowledge,

00:26:47and that was on full display here.

00:26:49Fantastic.

00:26:50Thank you very much, judges.

00:26:51Your scorecards are in front of you.

00:26:53You have 50 points available in the taste,

00:26:5640 points in the use of the randomizer,

00:26:58and 10 points for the plating.

00:27:00I mean, David Chang is literally one of the reasons

00:27:04I started cooking.

00:27:06It's probably the coolest moment of my TLC career,

00:27:10David Chang eating my food.

00:27:11This is outrunning just Kevin to get to the finale.

00:27:17All right, judges, here to present the second dish,

00:27:19the wild card, Chef Justin Warner.

00:27:21This is a sake harasu, or salmon belly,

00:27:24and cauliflower mushroom donburi.

00:27:26So the salmon belly is skewered

00:27:28and smoked over the banana leaf.

00:27:30From there, the salmon belly was placed

00:27:33in the final cooking of ostrich egg omelet.

00:27:36For the cauliflower mushroom,

00:27:37these were chopped, seasoned with koji,

00:27:39and then sauteed with butter,

00:27:41just to get a little color,

00:27:42but retain some of their whiteness.

00:27:44In addition, you'll find some as the tempura crunch.

00:27:47They're eating, keep eating, keep eating.

00:27:50This was nerve-wracking.

00:27:53Another incredibly delicious dish.

00:27:56The salmon belly here has been sliced slightly thinner

00:28:00and warmed by the hot rice,

00:28:02and so I'm actually able to break it up

00:28:04as it melts and mix it in, which I really like.

00:28:07I like how the mushrooms were treated

00:28:10in a couple of different ways.

00:28:11I think that this is a bowl of food

00:28:13that I want to dig into and sit by myself with.

00:28:17Yes, yes, more positive.

00:28:19This is a feeling word.

00:28:21This is definitely a craveable bowl of food.

00:28:25Yes, it's a feeling word.

00:28:26It doesn't read as white as the first dish,

00:28:30but that's because the whole ostrich egg was used.

00:28:33I think this is a delicious dish overall.

00:28:37You know, it's got a lot of great elements.

00:28:39It's got smoke.

00:28:39It's got crispiness.

00:28:40It's got texture.

00:28:41They're still eating.

00:28:42They're still eating.

00:28:43But gameplay is white,

00:28:45and I don't think they hit that mark.

00:28:47Mm-hmm.

00:28:48Gameplay is white.

00:28:50But otherwise, the flavor overall is delicious.

00:28:53Absolutely delicious.

00:28:54This is going to be a close one.

00:28:56This is hard.

00:28:58This is really hard,

00:28:58because on one hand, it is delicious.

00:29:00I think on the white palate, as we've mentioned,

00:29:03there were choices that could have been made

00:29:06to reinforce that.

00:29:08I think they could have just done egg whites.

00:29:10But again, like, that doesn't mean that it's not delicious.

00:29:13It's a very delicious dish.

00:29:15Wow.

00:29:1650 points again available in taste,

00:29:1940 points in the use of the randomizer,

00:29:21and 10 for the plating.

00:29:23It was hard to not make the most delicious food,

00:29:29you know?

00:29:29Sacrifice that richness to stay with egg whites,

00:29:33and I can see that being the thing that sends me home.

00:29:37Casa.

00:29:39Casa.

00:29:40I mean, wow.

00:29:42Wow.

00:29:43Let's bring our chefs out.

00:29:45Chef Jet Tila!

00:29:47Chef Kevin Lee!

00:29:56Chefs, what a pleasure.

00:29:58For the first semifinal battle, here are the scores.

00:30:0383 to 81.

00:30:05Wow.

00:30:07Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the first semifinal battle

00:30:10between Chef Jet Tila and Chef Kevin Lee is...

00:30:22The winner of the first semifinal battle

00:30:25between Chef Jet Tila and Chef Kevin Lee is...

00:30:30Chef Kevin Lee!

00:30:33Congratulations!

00:30:36Well played, Kevin.

00:30:37So well played.

00:30:38Good.

00:30:39Good.

00:30:44I just want to say really quickly, thank you, guys.

00:30:47I hear you when I'm here.

00:30:48I won't quit if you won't quit.

00:30:50Thank you to the crew.

00:30:51There you have it!

00:30:52The Jetster, Chef Jet Tila!

00:30:55Thanks, guys.

00:30:55We'll see you later.

00:30:56Thank you, everybody.

00:31:03Oh, it hurts.

00:31:07But, you know, Kevin played a great game.

00:31:10I'll never quit.

00:31:12But, you know, dumping out every time in this round

00:31:19is always tough.

00:31:20But, you know what?

00:31:21I own it.

00:31:21I did it to myself.

00:31:23Could have played the game better.

00:31:24I take full responsibility.

00:31:26So I'm going to lick my wounds.

00:31:28I'm going to go think about it.

00:31:30I'm going to rest, get some therapy.

00:31:32And I'll come back next year.

00:31:37You have created the Dragon Slayer.

00:31:40You have lived up to the Dragon Slayer.

00:31:44And Chef Kevin Lee, you are in the finals of TOC 7!

00:31:50Congratulations!

00:31:57One win away from the championship!

00:32:01And more.

00:32:02And standing between you and that opportunity

00:32:06are two chefs.

00:32:08Chef Fultaggio

00:32:10or Chef Gilbert?

00:32:11They're both killers.

00:32:12I don't know who it's going to be,

00:32:13but I'll tell you what we do know right now.

00:32:15You're in the finals, my friend.

00:32:16You're in the finals!

00:32:17Let's go!

00:32:19Ladies and gentlemen, the Dragon Slayer,

00:32:22Chef Kevin Lee.

00:32:23We will see you later tonight.

00:32:24Congratulations.

00:32:25Wow!

00:32:26Wow!

00:32:30Let's go!

00:32:33Oh my gosh.

00:32:35I just beat Uncle Jack.

00:32:37Congratulations.

00:32:38What's going through your head right now?

00:32:39I'm in the finale.

00:32:40Dude, you're in the finale.

00:32:41You know, I've had a lot of big wins in this arena.

00:32:43Yeah.

00:32:44But this one feels special.

00:32:45Money on the line, bail on the line.

00:32:47You know, the ring on the line.

00:32:49One more battle to go.

00:32:50One more battle to go.

00:32:51You ready?

00:32:51Absolutely.

00:32:52Congratulations, brother.

00:32:53So let's talk about these dishes.

00:32:56I think one felt like you were eating at a fine dining restaurant.

00:32:59I thought it was a beautiful dish.

00:33:00So let's turn to the next dish.

00:33:03The stakes are super high.

00:33:04We're at the semifinal now.

00:33:05And I just think the chef missed the mark on the white style.

00:33:09Not using that full ostrich egg and just using the white part.

00:33:13You know, I think that in itself would have made a huge difference in that final dish.

00:33:19You ready to do this?

00:33:21I know you're just like me on the edge of your seat waiting to meet the other two contenders that

00:33:27are going for the crown.

00:33:28We have the number eight seed chef, Kenny Gilbert.

00:33:31The only TOC qualifier winner to ever make it to the final four.

00:33:36This has been a dream come true to make it through all these cooks from qualifiers and round one, two

00:33:42and three to make it here.

00:33:44I'm just a ball of energy and nerves and I'm super pumped to cook.

00:33:48His opponent is the number three seed chef Brian Votaggio, who is back after his TOC all-star Christmas team

00:33:54victory with his brother Michael.

00:33:56I feel good.

00:33:57I still keep some nervous energy, of course, going into these cooks to remind myself what's at stake.

00:34:03I've never had my own individual win.

00:34:05I have what it takes to do it.

00:34:07I know that whatever Brian cooks, he's going to be very smart.

00:34:11My goal is to get as many points as I possibly can and do everything right.

00:34:16I know Kenny is an incredible cook, you know, so I know this is going to be a big battle.

00:34:20Here he is from the play-ins all the way to the final four.

00:34:23Are you ready?

00:34:24I'm ready. Okay, let's do this.

00:34:25All right, chef, you ready to battle?

00:34:26Yep, no longer going to be the runner-up.

00:34:28This is my year.

00:34:29I'm ready to go.

00:34:30Are you ready to meet the contenders?

00:34:33So let's light this up!

00:34:39His dad gave him his own outdoor grill at the age of seven, and he was cooking the family's Thanksgiving

00:34:44dinner from scratch by the time he was 11.

00:34:47He went on to serve as executive chef at some of the most prestigious resorts in America and the Caribbean.

00:34:53He is cooked for the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party, the G8 Summit, and Oprah.

00:34:59He entered the tournament with a qualifiers win, took down top-seeded culinary icon Aron Sanchez in the first round,

00:35:07and earned the highest score of the second round with a 91.

00:35:12And in the quarterfinals, he outcooked Iron Chef Stephanie Izard with a whole duck dish that Judge Brooke Williamson said.

00:35:19Delicious broth.

00:35:20The excitement that I'm feeling.

00:35:22There's so much flavor here.

00:35:23Give a big welcome to the beast of the kitchen, Chef Kenny Gilbert!

00:35:37How does it feel, Chef, to be the only qualifier in the history of TOC that has ever made it

00:35:45to the Final Four?

00:35:47It feels amazing.

00:35:49You know, it's just validation that all the things I've been doing over the last 35-plus years in this

00:35:54business is coming to light.

00:35:56Well done, Chef.

00:35:57Welcome to the semifinals.

00:35:59Your opponent.

00:36:03He was mentored by the legendary Charlie Palmer and cut his teeth in Michelin-star kitchen.

00:36:08He's a two-time James Beard Award nominee and a three-time Top Chef finalist.

00:36:15And he's on a tear in TOC 7, taking down James Beard nominee Dan Jacobs in a tough second-round

00:36:22battle with a dish that Hubert Keller called...

00:36:25Perfectly executed.

00:36:26Outscoring culinary warrior Shirley Chung in the quarterfinals with a dish judges called Just Wow.

00:36:34The TOC Christmas champ, the Vault of the East, Chef Brian Voltaggio!

00:36:52You've had one of the most unique runs in TOC.

00:36:56Unsuccessful in the first few attempts.

00:36:58Come back with your brother into Christmas holiday.

00:37:02Have a gigantic win with a score of 98.

00:37:04This is long overdue.

00:37:05To get to this point right now where I got a chance to move on to hopefully get my first

00:37:09victory.

00:37:10I'm locked in.

00:37:11Gentlemen, one of you two will be going to the finals of TOC 7.

00:37:14And Chefs, to the randomizer!

00:37:16Let's go!

00:37:20There we go.

00:37:23Gentlemen, let's get after it.

00:37:25Here we go.

00:37:25Going for protein.

00:37:35Swab chicken livers!

00:37:38Okay.

00:37:39Chicken livers and...

00:37:41Kohlrabi!

00:37:43Spetzel maker, pink crowned melon.

00:37:47All right.

00:37:4945 minutes on the clock, Chefs.

00:37:51All I have to offer you is...

00:37:53Good luck.

00:37:54Go!

00:37:59Chicken livers.

00:38:00Less gamey than like beef liver.

00:38:02Kohlrabi is a cruciferous vegetable and it's a little peppery, kind of like broccoli.

00:38:07Spetzel maker.

00:38:08Use it to shred or grate something through it.

00:38:10Pink's perfect for having, one, the kohlrabi can take on a color.

00:38:14So they could infuse that with maybe a little beet juice or something to make it pink.

00:38:18Uh, the crowned melon.

00:38:19Take your favorite honeydew melon you've ever had, times ten.

00:38:23One grows per plant.

00:38:24I think this is a really good randomizer.

00:38:26The style is pink.

00:38:27I just want to make sure that it doesn't look like it is through pink on a plate.

00:38:30Like, I want it still to make sense as you're eating through it.

00:38:34So I'm thinking about doing like a chicken fried chicken liver.

00:38:37I'm going to use kohlrabi and also the melon to make a pickle and a yogurt sauce made with kohlrabi

00:38:44tops.

00:38:44And obviously very pink spetzel.

00:38:47So I start soaking the chicken livers in pink salt and buttermilk.

00:38:50I'm only going to be using pink salt today.

00:38:53I see you.

00:38:54So I'm finding these nice plump chicken livers.

00:38:56I'm going to dredge them in flour, go into the egg wash, and then this corn cereal mixture.

00:39:01I know to beat Kenny, I have to make sure that everything I'm doing on my plate is very intentional.

00:39:07That's the only way I'm going to be able to beat him.

00:39:09I mean, this is my only chance to get in the finale, to be able to go against Kevin Lee.

00:39:14I've never competed against Brian before.

00:39:16I've watched him compete.

00:39:18He's a dog.

00:39:19His flavors, his technique are second to none.

00:39:22But I'm going to leave it all in the arena and make it to the finals.

00:39:26What's the plan, chef?

00:39:28Szechuan flavored, crispy chicken livers.

00:39:31That's going to go on a base of a kohlrabi puree that's going to be infused with some of the

00:39:37crown melon.

00:39:38Sautéed spatzels, and a szechuan peppercorn sauce.

00:39:44This should do a little szechuan rub.

00:39:46When you look at this dish, it should be screen pink.

00:39:49So I'm going to use this beet puree juice for my foundation to make all these other ingredients pink.

00:39:55Spatzel eating kohlrabi, chef?

00:39:56Yes.

00:39:57I grated the kohlrabi.

00:39:58I added them to the blender with my beet puree so that I can add those flavors into the flour

00:40:06to make my dough.

00:40:10I think I know the answer to this.

00:40:12Did you see this coming 11 weeks ago when you were in the qualifiers?

00:40:15I was planning on it.

00:40:16I mean, the goal was I didn't come out here to play games.

00:40:19I was here to win.

00:40:21I've gone through a lot throughout my lifetime.

00:40:24I lost my first wife, and I was like 21 years old.

00:40:27I was raising my daughter.

00:40:29She grew up with me in the business, and I'm there 10, 12 hours a day.

00:40:33And at one point, you know, having nannies, and I know when she looks at this,

00:40:36she'll be able to talk about how proud she is of me and understanding what I did.

00:40:41I think it'll resonate with her now.

00:40:43So for me to be here is absolutely amazing, and I'm here to take it all.

00:40:51Chef Kitty, Chef Brian, 30 minutes, 30 to go.

00:40:55I'm gonna have pink hands by the time I'm done, too.

00:40:58Easiest way to use the Spetzel Maker is to use it what it's for.

00:41:00Make Spetzel.

00:41:01In this case, I knew I could make a pink Spetzel if I used beet juice.

00:41:05Make a mess today.

00:41:07This beet juice going into buttermilk, which is what we typically use to make our Spetzel,

00:41:11it's pink right in the bowl.

00:41:13And so to use the Spetzel Maker, you have to make sure the dough is, like, thick enough

00:41:17that you can actually run the grater over the boiling water to make the Spetzel.

00:41:21Someday you'll tell your grandkids, I made pink Spetzel.

00:41:25Yes, one day I will tell my grandkids I'd take that.

00:41:27I want to win this money because it could do a lot of things for us.

00:41:30I mean, not only for my family, but also I work with No Kid Hungry, so it'll be able to

00:41:33change other people's lives.

00:41:34You know, but for us personally, I want to be able to spend, you know, a really great long vacation

00:41:40where it's just my family before they just get to, you know, before they don't want to hang out with

00:41:45me anymore.

00:41:45You know what I mean?

00:41:47You guys make me do weird stuff here.

00:41:5025 minutes to go, chefs. 25.

00:41:54What's the plan here?

00:41:55So I'm doing my little buttermilk egg batter.

00:41:58Szechuan marinade.

00:41:59It's very, very important to marinate the chicken livers to kind of take away from some of that funk.

00:42:04Chicken liver functions the same as our liver.

00:42:06It functions as almost like the filter.

00:42:08They have a pretty predictable flavor.

00:42:10And that is of iron.

00:42:12When I think about Szechuan, I think about the time that I was working in the restaurant at the Ritz

00:42:16-Carlton, Osaka.

00:42:17Working in that kitchen, I learned a lot about the culture and the cuisine.

00:42:22I'm here to take all my experience over the last 35-plus years of cooking at a high level

00:42:27and make it all shine today to make it to the finals.

00:42:31Normally, you would pickle the rind, right? So...

00:42:34Next, I'm going to make a really quick pickle using dill and the melon and turn it pink somehow.

00:42:40So I'm going to add rice wine vinegar.

00:42:42I'm going to make hibiscus tea, which is really high in acid.

00:42:45And I'll be able to pour that over the melon and tint the melon's color.

00:42:48That's good. Kind of dill pickle flavors maybe in there.

00:42:50I think it complements German spitzle.

00:42:55Kohlrabi is going to be super important to, like, feature in this dish.

00:42:58And I use it in three different ways.

00:43:00Pickle the kohlrabi and the beet juice.

00:43:02It's going to be two different pickles.

00:43:04Beets are red.

00:43:05Kohlrabi is white. Red plus white. Pink.

00:43:10But I'm also going to make a soubisse.

00:43:13Soubisse is a classic French onion sauce.

00:43:15It's typically stewed down with butter and cream, pureed smooth.

00:43:18This is the kohlrabi onion.

00:43:19Red onion, kohlrabi, the melon.

00:43:24And then I know I can blanch the kohlrabi leaves and puree that really smooth.

00:43:29Those are the kohlrabi tops.

00:43:30Kohlrabi tops.

00:43:31Nice play.

00:43:32I like that.

00:43:33But I want to add something like yogurt.

00:43:35Something that has, like, a dairy component to the dish that adds a little bit of richness, another pop of

00:43:38acid.

00:43:40The time is going really in my favor.

00:43:42I feel like I'm running a marathon.

00:43:44Like, it's working.

00:43:45You know?

00:43:45There's no sprints here.

00:43:46And I feel like it's something I've trained for, so I'm ready for it.

00:43:5010 minutes, Chef.

00:43:52You have 10 left.

00:43:53Next step, I'm going to start working on my pink kohlrabi puree.

00:43:58The kohlrabi crowned melon puree.

00:44:01I'm going to put some of this melon in there to sweeten it up.

00:44:03I want the sweetness to kind of come through to offset some of the earthiness from the kohlrabi.

00:44:09Now what are we doing?

00:44:11I'm making the Szechuan sauce.

00:44:13So I'm taking some of the Szechuan spices, some fish sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin, black bean paste.

00:44:23Silly crisp.

00:44:24Silly crisp.

00:44:25Do a little black garlic as well.

00:44:27To win the entire title here, coming up from qualifiers, that will be the ultimate bragging rights.

00:44:35My goal is to cement my legacy here.

00:44:38I want my kids and my grandkids to be able to say, wow, that's Papa.

00:44:42Look at how hard he's working.

00:44:44That legacy means the world to me.

00:44:47Feeling it?

00:44:47Yes.

00:44:49Five minutes, five to go.

00:44:51They better get busy.

00:44:54So the first thing I'm going to do is like put down the soubise, like all over the plate.

00:44:58I want there to be pink, pink, pink, like all over the dish.

00:45:02Then I'm going to put in the kohlrabi yogurt.

00:45:04I think it's really important that there's contrast in colors, so it really makes the pink pop.

00:45:11Then I'm going to put a really nice portion of the beet spezel right in the center, chicken liver on

00:45:16top, and then the pickles.

00:45:17And that's it.

00:45:19I feel like in the last two cooks, I wasn't really careful with my plating.

00:45:22I want to make sure this plate looks beautiful, because it's going to get me those ten points.

00:45:26I'm extremely proud of what I've done in this cook.

00:45:29There is nothing, nothing I would take off of that plate.

00:45:32I feel really confident in going into this judging.

00:45:37Ninety seconds, chefs. Ninety seconds.

00:45:42So the first thing I put down is my kohlrabi beet puree.

00:45:46Then I put down my sauteed pink spatzel and the greens, sauteed in butter.

00:45:53Then I went ahead and topped it with my fried chicken liver.

00:45:56Then I drizzled my Sichuan peppercorn sauce.

00:46:00Then I went ahead and put my torch crown melon pieces.

00:46:03This is going to balance out the spice.

00:46:05And then I took my candy stripe beets and put that on top as like a lid.

00:46:10I'm so happy with my dish.

00:46:12I want to be known as the best.

00:46:14I want the respect from my peers.

00:46:15My goal is to get to the finals.

00:46:17I'm going to go ahead and take care of business.

00:46:19Five, four, three, two, one.

00:46:23We're done.

00:46:25That ends the semifinals, folks.

00:46:29Gentlemen, that was a beautiful, beautiful cook.

00:46:33Thank you so much.

00:46:35Great job.

00:46:39That was my best cook.

00:46:43Let's go.

00:46:44Let's go.

00:46:45Kenny's a beast, literally.

00:46:47We all know that.

00:46:48But I feel good about what I put together with what the randomizer dealt.

00:46:51I feel very proud about my dish.

00:46:54There's nothing else I can do.

00:46:59That challenge was, it was a challenge.

00:47:02You know, you got to use all your senses.

00:47:03You got to think about the components on the plate.

00:47:05It was a hard randomizer.

00:47:07Yeah, it was really hard.

00:47:08Yeah, I was shocked when I saw it.

00:47:10Very happy about what I did.

00:47:12I'm going to hit high marks in the presentation.

00:47:13I feel good about what I left in that kitchen.

00:47:16It looks like Kenny does, too.

00:47:18Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back our judges.

00:47:20T.O.C. four champ, Mei Lin.

00:47:22Oh, wow.

00:47:23Come on, Mei Mei.

00:47:25Iron Chef, Kat Cora.

00:47:27She's tough.

00:47:28T.O.C. one champ, Brooke Williamson.

00:47:31And Brooke and Mei, I know very well.

00:47:34They know this kitchen more than any of us.

00:47:37And six times, James Beard, the one winner, Chef David Chang.

00:47:40Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho.

00:47:43I'm an incredible cook.

00:47:44Amazing palate.

00:47:45Let's go.

00:47:46The anticipation is killing me right now.

00:47:48I really want the judges to try the food.

00:47:49And I really want to find out what's going on.

00:47:52Judges, tonight for this second semifinal battle,

00:47:55the randomizer served up chicken livers.

00:47:58Kohlrabi, the spezzel maker.

00:48:00Pink.

00:48:01The wild card ingredient was crowned melon.

00:48:04Justin Warner.

00:48:04Judges, you will notice some flavors of Sichuan.

00:48:08The chicken livers were fried.

00:48:10A sauce was crafted of black garlic, oyster sauce,

00:48:13orange juice, blended with some chili crisp.

00:48:16And you'll see that crowning the chicken livers.

00:48:20The kohlrabi was pureed with crowned melon.

00:48:22You'll find that puree at the bottom.

00:48:24The spezzel maker was employed to make spezzel.

00:48:26The crowned melon has been used to crown the dish.

00:48:32Let's go.

00:48:33I think it's a really good dish.

00:48:36It is hitting spice for me.

00:48:38It's hitting the crispness and texture for me.

00:48:40They use the spezzel maker in a great way,

00:48:43making a beet spezzel.

00:48:44And I love that melon.

00:48:46So I think the chef did a great job.

00:48:48Thank you, chef.

00:48:49There's a lot of different ingredients in here

00:48:51that you wouldn't necessarily put together.

00:48:54But I think that this chef put this together really expertly.

00:48:57No.

00:48:58The flavors of that glaze over the fried chicken livers

00:49:01is delicious.

00:49:03It's literally an umami bomb.

00:49:05Yes!

00:49:06Let's go!

00:49:07I like the usage of the kohlrabi tops in there.

00:49:10I think that kohlrabi is such an underutilized vegetable.

00:49:13These chicken livers are beautifully fried.

00:49:15They're slightly overcooked on my plate,

00:49:18so I feel like they've gotten a little bit mealy in the center.

00:49:20Let me start off by saying sometimes too much is too much.

00:49:25This is something where, weirdly, everything's balanced.

00:49:29Awesome.

00:49:30Everything is very flavorful, including the pickled beets.

00:49:33Everything was intentional.

00:49:35The nitpicking bits, to me, were the knife cuts,

00:49:38a little too rustico.

00:49:40But overall, this is one of the crazier dishes I've ever had.

00:49:44It worked.

00:49:44Thank you, chef.

00:49:4550 points available for the taste,

00:49:4840 points for the use of the randomizer,

00:49:50and 10 in plating.

00:49:51I left it all on the arena.

00:49:54Kenny did a great job.

00:49:55All right, judges, here to present the second dish

00:49:57is our TOC champ Tiffany Faison.

00:50:03Judges, in front of you is chicken fried chicken livers

00:50:06with pink spetzel, kohlrabi leaf yogurt sauce,

00:50:09and crowned melon and kohlrabi soubise.

00:50:12Finally, a pickling liquid of hibiscus tea

00:50:14and red wine vinegar were constructed

00:50:16to create the crowned melon rind pickle

00:50:19and julienne of kohlrabi that was also dressed with dill.

00:50:27This dish is insane.

00:50:29Hell yes!

00:50:31Yes!

00:50:31It's spectacular.

00:50:33The way that the crowned melon was treated in that pickle

00:50:36balanced this entire dish.

00:50:39The seasoning on the chicken liver is slightly over

00:50:44if I'm gonna nitpick on this dish.

00:50:47I have to say this is one of the most thoughtful,

00:50:50finessed, refined dishes that I've seen on TOC.

00:50:55Holy .

00:50:56I'm finding really nothing bad to say about this.

00:51:03Because the chicken liver has so much fat,

00:51:06you need that acidity that you get from the pickles

00:51:09to balance it all out.

00:51:10I don't understand how this got done in the amount of time.

00:51:13This is really shocking to me.

00:51:16Spetzel, delicious.

00:51:18Both chefs did that.

00:51:19I think I like this spetzel just a touch more,

00:51:22only because it's got a nice little mouth feel to it.

00:51:25Thank you, Kat.

00:51:26All right, judges, thank you very much.

00:51:2950 points available in taste,

00:51:3140 points in the use of the randomizer,

00:51:32and 10 in plating.

00:51:34To remind you, this is for the final spot in the finale.

00:51:37I've never felt better.

00:51:38Win or lose, those comments I can go home on.

00:51:42You know, I knew Brian was gonna bring it.

00:51:44You know, he's gonna take it to a whole other level.

00:51:46I'm very proud of my cook.

00:51:48I can tell it's close.

00:51:49Probably gonna both score pretty high.

00:51:52And I'll tell you one thing.

00:51:53If I get through this one,

00:51:55I'm not gonna be runner-up.

00:51:57That ain't happening.

00:51:58Ladies and gentlemen,

00:51:59that was an exciting second round of the semifinals.

00:52:02Let's bring these two competitors back in.

00:52:04Chef Kenny Gilbert!

00:52:07Chef Brian Locazio!

00:52:14Very, very high scores.

00:52:17One chef scored a 88.

00:52:24The other chef, a 94.

00:52:28Ladies and gentlemen,

00:52:30the winner of the semifinal battle between Chef Brian Locazio

00:52:33and Chef Kenny Gilbert is...

00:52:42Ladies and gentlemen,

00:52:43the winner is...

00:52:45Brian Locazio!

00:52:47Brian Locazio!

00:52:49Wow!

00:52:56Chef Kenny,

00:52:58this meteoric rise you have had in TOC 7

00:53:02has been unbelievable.

00:53:04I'm very honored.

00:53:05I knew it was gonna be a tough battle.

00:53:08And I'm very proud of my score.

00:53:09Yeah.

00:53:09What can I do?

00:53:11Kenny Gilbert!

00:53:17I knew it was gonna take damn their perfection.

00:53:22And I felt very good about everything that I did.

00:53:24So I'm very grateful for the opportunity.

00:53:27Congratulations!

00:53:30Let's take a look, Chef.

00:53:32I've never seen my name so many times on that board show.

00:53:36Now, ladies and gentlemen,

00:53:38Brian Locazio is in the finals,

00:53:41going head-to-head for the championship with Kevin Lee.

00:53:50Wow.

00:53:51Coming for you, Brian.

00:53:53I'll tell you what,

00:53:53you need a moment to relax and to take a break.

00:53:57Yes.

00:53:57Because coming up,

00:53:58this is going to be a battle we will never forget.

00:54:01Big semifinal win!

00:54:03The Bolt of the East!

00:54:04Brian Locazio!

00:54:07Woo!

00:54:10A 94?

00:54:11That was wild.

00:54:12Cannot be more proud.

00:54:13I'm going in the finale.

00:54:15Ladies and gentlemen,

00:54:16the main event for the entire tournament of Champion 7

00:54:19is finally here.

00:54:22We've narrowed the field of 32 chefs down to the best of the best.

00:54:27We have the number three seed, Chef Brian Voltagio,

00:54:31who suffered first-round losses in TOC 2 and 3.

00:54:36But after winning the TOC All-Star Christmas Team Championship with his brother Michael,

00:54:40he is now on the cusp of winning his first solo TOC Championship.

00:54:46It's time to close this chapter.

00:54:47It's time for me to get a win.

00:54:48This is mine to take today.

00:54:50I feel calm.

00:54:51I feel, like, ready.

00:54:52I feel clear, focused.

00:54:54I mean, I'm...

00:54:54all the things that I know I need to go into a cook like this,

00:54:57I'm prepared for.

00:54:58Our second contender is also a number three seed, Chef Kevin Lee.

00:55:03In two short years, he has reached the TOC quarterfinals twice,

00:55:07the semifinals for the TOC All-Star Christmas,

00:55:10and now the championship battle of TOC 7.

00:55:14This year, you know, I feel like my mentality is different.

00:55:17I have the confidence, and I've been cooking really well,

00:55:20and now I feel like I can win this thing.

00:55:23Are you ready for the Battle of the Belt?

00:55:26Yes!

00:55:27And let's light it up!

00:55:31I've been a chef all of my life.

00:55:33I have 30-plus years' experience under my belt.

00:55:35I've cooked at a very high level for a long time in my career.

00:55:38I worked for Charlie Palmer for a long time.

00:55:40This is all I've ever done.

00:55:42I've competed extensively.

00:55:43I've been in three finales of Top Chef,

00:55:45went all the way to the end of 24 and 24.

00:55:48I've never tasted a victory.

00:55:50To be able to win, to prove that I have what it takes

00:55:52and represent the Voltaggio name,

00:55:54it's something I've been looking for for a long time.

00:55:56And I'm so close.

00:55:58I'm so close to finally getting it.

00:55:59I want to be the next banner that hangs in this kitchen.

00:56:04Ladies and gentlemen, give a high-voltage round of applause

00:56:08to the Volt of the East, Chef Brian Voltaggio!

00:56:27What does it mean to you to be here right now,

00:56:30to have a chance to win this title?

00:56:33To be standing here right now, I'm glad you welcomed me back

00:56:36because I knew I had what it takes to get right here.

00:56:39Congratulations, Chef.

00:56:40Welcome to the finals.

00:56:43His opponent.

00:56:45My journey as a chef has been a long, hard road.

00:56:49I've been doing this for 21 years.

00:56:52I had a lot of early success in Vegas,

00:56:54but I made a decision to move to Oklahoma

00:56:57to restart my career

00:56:59and even got me a James Beard nominee.

00:57:02Two years ago, I showed up in the scene

00:57:04as the unknown qualifier.

00:57:07I was just happy to be amongst these great chefs.

00:57:10Now I have the confidence that I can actually win this thing.

00:57:13For a chef from Oklahoma City to be able to win a TLC-7

00:57:17will mean the world for me and the city.

00:57:21Ladies and gentlemen, give a warrior's welcome

00:57:24to the Dragon Slayer, Chef Kevin Lee!

00:57:42What would it mean to you to win the belt?

00:57:46Well, everything.

00:57:48You know, that would just be a validation

00:57:50of all the hard work I've put into

00:57:52up to this point in my career.

00:57:54Chefs, I wish you the best.

00:57:56I know you will bring your best.

00:57:58And it's time for the randomizer.

00:58:01Right this way!

00:58:10Let's talk about things.

00:58:11Because this is the final battle

00:58:13and you are the best of the best,

00:58:15we've raised the randomizer to its ultimate level

00:58:19of difficulty that we like to call extreme.

00:58:24With some of the most demanding ingredients,

00:58:26equipment, and styles of the tournament,

00:58:28the good news is you're going to have one hour

00:58:32to prepare your dishes for our four judges.

00:58:36Because there are two components in every style option,

00:58:39both of your dishes must incorporate your protein,

00:58:42your produce, and use of equipment.

00:58:45When it comes to the wild card,

00:58:48each envelope contains another mandatory dish detail

00:58:52that you have to satisfy.

00:58:54The only question is,

00:58:56will you have to pick one, two, or three envelopes?

00:59:00Okay.

00:59:00This is just dandy.

00:59:04Gentlemen, it's time to get busy.

00:59:07Let's go for the protein!

00:59:18All right.

00:59:21Dory, live craft, live king craft!

00:59:25Oh!

00:59:27All right.

00:59:27Live king craft and fresh water chestnuts,

00:59:31pressure cooker, breakfast and dinner, and...

00:59:35Whoa!

00:59:35Yeah!

00:59:37Mr. Fieri, envelopes, please.

00:59:40Hello, Chef.

00:59:41Hello.

00:59:41The rando gets what the rando wants.

00:59:44Hunter, give him the number one envelope.

00:59:47Oh, number one.

00:59:48Yes, number one.

00:59:49Okay, number one.

00:59:49There you go.

00:59:51Do you want to open it?

00:59:52It's your honor, Chef.

00:59:53It's your honor.

00:59:54You can't do it.

00:59:55By any means.

00:59:56Sticky.

00:59:59Sticky.

01:00:00Sticky will apply to both breakfast and dinner.

01:00:04One hour is on the clock.

01:00:07Chefs, good luck and go.

01:00:09All right.

01:00:10Yeah.

01:00:15Remember, protein, produce, and equipment

01:00:17all must be incorporated into their breakfast and dinner

01:00:19in each plate.

01:00:20And the one envelope is sticky.

01:00:22Both of these items are gonna have to have a sticky component,

01:00:25or as sticky as can be.

01:00:26Talk about a sticky situation.

01:00:28In less than 58 minutes,

01:00:30one of these two chefs will be the champ.

01:00:37I'm gonna go fishing for the light crab in the tank,

01:00:40and, you know, the claws are, like, biting my fingers,

01:00:43and, you know, my hands are getting tore up.

01:00:46Let's go.

01:00:46It is going to be a long one hour.

01:00:52This is wild.

01:00:54I believe I am the underdog.

01:00:56You know, Brian's been doing this for a very long time.

01:00:58He's a true living legend in our industry.

01:01:01And I know he's going to bring his best today.

01:01:04This is gonna be really hard.

01:01:06So I'm making rice porridge for my breakfast dish.

01:01:09For breakfast, I'm making a king crab juk.

01:01:12Juk is a Korean version of porridge.

01:01:16Then for our dinner,

01:01:17we're making a Korean fried king crab.

01:01:24Making juk is something that takes a lot of love,

01:01:26but I'm hoping I can throw this juk in the pressure cooker

01:01:30where I don't really have to touch it.

01:01:32I'm taking the rice, add it to my king crab stock,

01:01:35and we're gonna get it going in that pressure cooker.

01:01:37I'm not even 10 minutes in,

01:01:39and Kevin is working calmly yet with purpose.

01:01:41The pressure cooker has been locked away

01:01:43with some ground calrose rice,

01:01:46and I think those legs we're gonna see

01:01:48come out of the shell

01:01:48and get treated to a Korean fried preparation.

01:01:55The interesting part of this is

01:01:56crab doesn't need a lot of time to cook quickly.

01:01:58You don't want to cook crab meat in a pressure cooker.

01:02:00You want to make a broth

01:02:01with, like, the crab skeleton and the shells,

01:02:03but you don't want to cook crab in the pressure cooker.

01:02:04It'll overcook in a second.

01:02:06Going against Kevin Lee,

01:02:07I know I'm going to have to win on flavor.

01:02:10I know that this is something

01:02:12that he's really good at putting together.

01:02:14I have to make sure

01:02:15that when the judges bite into my dishes

01:02:17that they are going to be absolutely blown away.

01:02:20Okay, so I'm making a broth right now.

01:02:23Yeah, I see it.

01:02:23I'm doing a play on shrimp and grits.

01:02:24These are things that I eat in the Mid-Atlantic,

01:02:26like where I'm from.

01:02:27So for breakfast, I'm making crab and grits.

01:02:29For dinner, what I want to do

01:02:30is center barrel cut of the crab leg.

01:02:33I want it to be front and center on this dish,

01:02:35crispy tempura fried.

01:02:37The best thing I love about a Sherman Grits dish

01:02:40is the sauce.

01:02:41So what I'm going to do

01:02:41is I'm going to make a crab body stock.

01:02:43I'm going to cook it down with coconut milk,

01:02:45lots of lime leaves, lots of ginger and garlic,

01:02:48adding some dried shrimp to it

01:02:50just to build some umami.

01:02:51I'm going to pressure cook that

01:02:52to extract all that crab flavor into this stock.

01:02:55Starting with sugar there.

01:02:56I'm going to make some crab sauce caramel.

01:02:58So I'm actually going to cook sugar

01:03:00to the point where it caramelizes.

01:03:02I'm going to add a lot of fish sauce to it.

01:03:03I'm going to add the crab bodies,

01:03:04lots of lime juice.

01:03:06I'm going to finish it with some ginger.

01:03:07All of that is going to build really big, bold flavors,

01:03:10but it's also going to add to that sticky element

01:03:12that I need to finish these dishes.

01:03:16So, you know, Korean fried chicken,

01:03:17they typically have those pickled radishes

01:03:19you serve it with.

01:03:20Mm-hmm.

01:03:20So I'm going to pickle these water chests

01:03:22to kind of mimic that.

01:03:23Sure.

01:03:24It is very frustrating.

01:03:25We only have an hour to cook this round,

01:03:28and now we're having to turn all the chestnuts

01:03:31so it can be edible.

01:03:32It has a whole thick skin on it.

01:03:35Chef Kevin, Chef Brian, you have 40 minutes,

01:03:3840 minutes left of the competition.

01:03:40I'm going to use my pressure cooker a second way

01:03:43to make the pickled chestnuts for my dinner dish.

01:03:46Also, I want to make this crab rice.

01:03:49Mm, crab water rice.

01:03:51I'm adding the ends of the crab into my rice,

01:03:54so it really enhances that crab flavor.

01:03:57All right.

01:04:00My wife's been one of my biggest supporters.

01:04:02She's been with me through all the ups and downs

01:04:04throughout my career.

01:04:06When the business wasn't doing great,

01:04:08my wife never complained.

01:04:10I mean, she's a classical piano professor,

01:04:12and for her to be there after teaching,

01:04:16coming to the restaurant to serve tables,

01:04:18and going through all those rough times

01:04:20to be where we are today, it's not easy.

01:04:23If I win, the money's going to go towards my family

01:04:26because my family is what keeps me going.

01:04:29That crab is hotter than hell, yet he goes right at it.

01:04:34Somehow, I'm going to get that garlic in there.

01:04:36There we go.

01:04:36OK, so the chestnuts are in for my base for my, like, aioli.

01:04:41So for dinner, I'm going to make a sauce

01:04:43using water chestnut as the base.

01:04:45And what I'm going to do is I'm going to puree that super smooth

01:04:48with lots of cream and garlic,

01:04:49and I'm going to add sweet chili sauce to that

01:04:52to add another tacky or sticky element to the dish.

01:04:56So it's going to be, like, spicy crab.

01:04:59The legs, it's going to be that dinner portion.

01:05:02Got it.

01:05:03Tempura batter is pretty simple.

01:05:05I'm using flour, I'm using baking powder,

01:05:07I'm adding club soda to it.

01:05:08But the cool thing I'm going to do is, like, for textural element,

01:05:11I'm going to roll it to these crispy little rice pearls

01:05:13right before I put it into the fryer.

01:05:17What's the breading?

01:05:18Misago orari.

01:05:19They're essentially rice balls, and these are toasted.

01:05:23I mean, these two are just working at a feverish pace.

01:05:26They're just going.

01:05:31Chefs, we are at the halfway point of the competition.

01:05:3430 minutes to go.

01:05:38Korean fried chicken on the table.

01:05:40Put a little hint of turmeric for the fried crab.

01:05:43I want to use the nice, fatty legs

01:05:46so I can have a nice, juicy, succulent,

01:05:49fried king crab in the tempura batter.

01:05:52You know, this is a play on the Korean fried chicken.

01:05:55Korean fried chicken is sticky,

01:05:57and the sticky is the name of the game this round.

01:06:00So the fried crab, I'm making my gochujang glaze.

01:06:03Some honey, the sambal, the garlic,

01:06:06to really make a fun, sticky sauce.

01:06:09I'm going to glaze it all over the fried crab.

01:06:12Nice and sticky.

01:06:15Sticky.

01:06:18Oh, good.

01:06:20I want to add another element to my crab and grits,

01:06:22and pork is typically, you know,

01:06:24a part of a shellfish and grits dish.

01:06:26So it's important that I have that there.

01:06:28So I really quickly julienne some applewood smoked bacon,

01:06:31start rendering it in the pan.

01:06:32Then I'm going to strain the sauce right into it,

01:06:34and then I'll mince the water chestnuts into a brunoise

01:06:37and spoon them into the sauce,

01:06:38so that way you get that textural element in the sauce.

01:06:41Oh, there we go.

01:06:42I have tasted victory in TOC Holiday with my brother,

01:06:46but I've never won a competition as an individual.

01:06:49I want this for myself.

01:06:51I want this for my family.

01:06:52I want this for Michael,

01:06:53because he's rooting for me as well.

01:06:55There's no rivalry.

01:06:56My brother and I, we're our biggest supporters.

01:06:58He wants this for me.

01:07:00I don't want to disappoint him.

01:07:02This is the last shot that I'm going to have.

01:07:05I am so close to getting my own individual first win.

01:07:10I cannot mess this up.

01:07:1225 minutes to go, chefs. 25.

01:07:18I need to get my juke out of my pressure cooker.

01:07:23Oh, no.

01:07:26My rice is burnt, and this is bad.

01:07:29This is the whole dish.

01:07:31Without this juke, I have no breakfast.

01:07:38We had a little mishap with the first iteration

01:07:41of ground rice in the pressure cooker.

01:07:43It was scorched on the bottom.

01:07:44Running is way too hot.

01:07:46Yeah, it's now pivoted.

01:07:48So I'm going to restart the pressure cooker,

01:07:50but this time I'm not going to add the rice in there.

01:07:52We're just going to pressure cook the crab

01:07:55so we can extract all the stock.

01:07:57Then I'm grabbing the microwave rice,

01:08:00throw it in the microwave to get the rice going.

01:08:03The key here is to really make sure you're stirring constantly.

01:08:07Back in business.

01:08:08I feel terrible.

01:08:11My juke just got burned.

01:08:12I'm on my second batch.

01:08:14I mean, this is the hardest battle I've ever done in this arena.

01:08:19But I'm going to keep going just like I do in my everyday life

01:08:24to make sure I reach that finish line.

01:08:27Whoo!

01:08:28And especially, I know Brian Batajo is giving his all till the end.

01:08:32It is not the time to give up now.

01:08:35Chefs, 15 minutes, 15 left in the competition.

01:08:38What is this going to be again?

01:08:40For another sticky element, I'm going to do whipped maple for the breakfast.

01:08:45I'm going to do this whipped maple with sour gum for my crab and grits.

01:08:48So I'm going to use a modified tapioca starch that I can actually put into the sugar,

01:08:52whip it in a high-speed mixer,

01:08:54and that's going to give it a little bit of sweetness over the top

01:08:56and add to the sticky.

01:08:57It literally looks like a marshmallow fluff.

01:08:59That obviously checks the box for sticky.

01:09:02I have to make sure I'm going to bring flavors

01:09:04that are going to go up against Kevin Lee.

01:09:06Kevin Lee can build big, bold, in-your-face flavors,

01:09:11and I have to be better than him.

01:09:13Chefs, this is the final 10 minutes of TOC 7.

01:09:18Final 10 minutes!

01:09:20So he's going to forge, Chef.

01:09:22Going to forge, I'm going to make it like a sticky chestnut garnish.

01:09:25I'm doing the chestnuts the second way,

01:09:27so I'm going to make a little sticky soy-garlic-laced chestnuts

01:09:31that will be a wonderful pairing with the juke.

01:09:35This is also one of the sticky parts of this dish,

01:09:39so I'm really hoping that I can hit that randomizer multiple times

01:09:43to take this round.

01:09:45Ooh, they're sticky.

01:09:47Kind of emotional at this time.

01:09:49I mean, this is 32 chefs who are here.

01:09:51We're down to the last two.

01:09:53All the hard work, all the focus, and it's almost over.

01:09:57Chef, are we having eggs for breakfast?

01:09:59I'm going to put a little fish sauce,

01:10:01carrot egg up on top of the porch.

01:10:03I'm adding the raw egg to this juke

01:10:05to really get that extra stickiness in this dish.

01:10:10Five minutes.

01:10:15I want egg to be on the dish.

01:10:17It's super important it's there because I want the judges to look down at that egg

01:10:21and see that right dead center of the plate.

01:10:23That's going to scream breakfast.

01:10:26The first thing I'm going to do is put the crab grits like right down in the center.

01:10:29Then the sauce is going to go around.

01:10:31And then I'm going to gently place the egg right over the top.

01:10:34Then with some of the crab sauce caramel,

01:10:35and then it's quenelle of this maple whip.

01:10:38I'm going to finish it with this beautiful center cut crab legs.

01:10:41I know this is going to be a winner.

01:10:43So for the dinner plate, the first thing I'm going to do

01:10:45is put down my water chestnut sweet chili sauce.

01:10:47Then over the top, I'm going to put this crispy crab.

01:10:50Next, I'm going to finish it with the crab sauce caramel.

01:10:52I feel very proud of it.

01:10:54There's big bowl of flavors.

01:10:56There's crab on crab on crab on each dish.

01:10:59Randomizer, definitely all the boxes checked.

01:11:01It's going to be up to the judges now.

01:11:02Three minutes.

01:11:04For my breakfast, I'm going to lay my juke in this nicely tight bowl.

01:11:09Then we're going to lay the egg yolk in the middle of the juke.

01:11:12And we're going to finish with cilantro stems, green onions,

01:11:16some fried shallots, and some candy chestnuts.

01:11:19For the dinner, I have my crab fried rice.

01:11:23Going with my Korean fried king crab,

01:11:25with my pickled chestnuts in this little ramekin.

01:11:2990 seconds, Chef. 90 seconds.

01:11:32Who would have thought this Korean American chef from Oklahoma

01:11:35will be here in TOC 7 in the finale.

01:11:39Winning that $150,000 is huge.

01:11:43As a chef, you don't really get to touch money like that.

01:11:47And to have that cash take home with me today,

01:11:50what an amazing surprise that will be for my wife.

01:11:53Four, three, two, one.

01:11:56That's it!

01:11:57It's over!

01:11:59TOC 7 is over!

01:12:02Wow, what an ending!

01:12:04Woo!

01:12:06My friends, it was a spectacle to watch.

01:12:10And the ones that really benefit are the judges.

01:12:13Chef Voltaggio, Chef Lee.

01:12:15We're going to say goodbye for a little bit,

01:12:17but when we come back, one of you will be the champ.

01:12:19Thank you so much!

01:12:20Brian Voltaggio, Kevin Lee!

01:12:26Wow!

01:12:27What just happened?

01:12:30Um, I definitely went this bad.

01:12:32Uh, I've never been so close to a win.

01:12:35Let's go!

01:12:41One last judgment.

01:12:43Oh, Lord.

01:12:44That was hard.

01:12:46I feel really good.

01:12:48That was a lot to accomplish in an hour.

01:12:50I really want to get it tonight.

01:12:51Ladies and gentlemen,

01:12:52let's welcome our prestigious final judging panel.

01:12:56Chef Mei Lin.

01:12:59Pat Cora, the OG.

01:13:01Chef Brooke Williamson.

01:13:03And six-time James Beard Award winner,

01:13:06Chef David Chang.

01:13:08Yeah!

01:13:09Come on, judges.

01:13:11You are good to me in the semis.

01:13:13Be good to me in the finals.

01:13:16Tonight, for the protein, live king crab.

01:13:19Fresh water chestnuts was the produce.

01:13:21The equipment was a pressure cooker.

01:13:23The style was breakfast and dinner with a wild card.

01:13:27One envelope for sticky.

01:13:29Here to present for the final time in TOC 7

01:13:33is our TOC 3 champ, Chef Tiffany Faison.

01:13:37Chefs, in front of you,

01:13:38we have the breakfast of TOC champions.

01:13:41That's king crab and grits.

01:13:42Crab head and crab fat sauce was created entirely

01:13:46in the pressure cooker.

01:13:47Then a dice of water chestnuts was floated into the sauce.

01:13:50A crab fat caramel was constructed.

01:13:52Also, maple syrup and sorghum were whipped,

01:13:55continuing once again the sticky portion of the program.

01:13:58It sounds pretty good.

01:13:59Obviously, it's private.

01:14:00I'd like to invite you to dinner.

01:14:02I'd like to invite you to dinner.

01:14:02This is masago orare tempura of king crab leg

01:14:05with sweet chili water chestnut cream.

01:14:08The sticky and creamy sweet chili sauce on the bottom

01:14:10is made of water chestnuts, allium, cream

01:14:13that was blended together,

01:14:14and then a little bit of sweet chili sauce was added to that.

01:14:17Again, sticky and creamy.

01:14:19The crab fat caramel drizzle was then finished on top.

01:14:23I'm gonna be a minute.

01:14:26I don't know if that's good or bad.

01:14:28If it's like to tear it apart or to build it up.

01:14:32Start with breakfast.

01:14:34This is like bacon and eggs and shrimp and grits

01:14:36had a baby in the best way.

01:14:38You get this like beautiful grit texture,

01:14:41but you also get these little crunchy bites

01:14:43in the water chestnut,

01:14:44which I feel like almost lightens the whole dish up.

01:14:46Okay. Positive remarks.

01:14:48Both breakfast and dinner plates,

01:14:52the king crab was cooked perfectly.

01:14:54Water chestnuts,

01:14:56I can taste throughout both of these dishes.

01:14:58The pressure cooker was obviously used

01:14:59in making these amazingly delicious sauces.

01:15:03All right, come on.

01:15:04For the finale, this is your skilled, skilled chef.

01:15:07I mean, to be able to pull this off

01:15:08in a short amount of time is mind-blowing.

01:15:11First of all, grits.

01:15:13I'm from the South.

01:15:14I know when grits are good,

01:15:15and this is a well-made grits.

01:15:17And this crazy whip was delightful.

01:15:21Okay.

01:15:22Those are positive comments.

01:15:24This just tastes great.

01:15:25I mean, this is breakfast.

01:15:26This is like low country meets somewhere in Asia.

01:15:30And I love this dish as well,

01:15:32but is this too thick of a crust, right?

01:15:35I mean, I don't think it needed the masaga.

01:15:37It might have been better with just putting that glaze

01:15:39on that without the frying.

01:15:41So I don't know.

01:15:42I'm really wrestling with this right now.

01:15:45This is not an easy decision for me, but I love the dish.

01:15:48Yeah.

01:15:49I don't know how David feels about that dish.

01:15:52Let's go to the scoring cards.

01:15:5350 points available in taste,

01:15:5640 points in the use of the randomizer,

01:15:58and 10 points in plating.

01:16:00I mean, I felt like I got a lot of positive remarks

01:16:02from Chef Cat, Maylan, and Brooke.

01:16:04David was the only one I felt like

01:16:06kind of left a cloud over it a little bit.

01:16:08Am I worried about that? For sure.

01:16:09Like, this is finale.

01:16:11Like, I wanted to be perfect.

01:16:12I have a chance.

01:16:13I have a chance.

01:16:15Ladies and gentlemen,

01:16:17for his final presentation of TOC 7,

01:16:19Chef Justin Warner.

01:16:20Judges, it's my honor to present to you

01:16:22two dishes for breakfast.

01:16:25Alaskan king crab jook

01:16:26with crispy aromatics and sticky water chestnuts.

01:16:30Every good jook begins with a stock.

01:16:32This stock was made from the juices

01:16:34and bodies of the crab,

01:16:35atmospherically extracted in the pressure cooker.

01:16:38You will notice at the top,

01:16:40the honey and soy sauce glaze water chestnuts,

01:16:43along with the sticky elements.

01:16:44Dinner is tempura-fried king crab

01:16:46with a sticky, spicy glaze

01:16:48and pickled water chestnuts.

01:16:51That pressure cooker was used

01:16:52to make those water chestnut pickles.

01:16:54I've been so nervous in my life.

01:16:57This whole season,

01:16:58and this comes down to this one judging.

01:17:01I feel like these two chefs came to play.

01:17:03This is definitely finale food.

01:17:06I really love the presentation of the breakfast.

01:17:11I really appreciate the stickiness

01:17:13that you get from the egg yolk itself.

01:17:16Then when you go over to the dinner portion

01:17:18of the king crab,

01:17:19you have this delicately tempura-fried crab

01:17:22that eats so, so good.

01:17:25It's sticky icky.

01:17:27Sticky icky!

01:17:28My crab was so tender.

01:17:30I thought the tempura was done well.

01:17:32I would have liked to have seen the water chestnuts

01:17:35diced up and put in the rice.

01:17:36That's nitpicking,

01:17:37but I thought it was a really great execution.

01:17:40This is why these two chefs are in the finals.

01:17:42Thank you very much, chef.

01:17:44If I'm gonna start with breakfast,

01:17:45I love the integrity of the rice,

01:17:47having that individual rice grain texture.

01:17:50I do feel like this was a bit of a missed opportunity

01:17:52to showcase crab.

01:17:55I know that there's little pieces of crab in there.

01:17:57I just kind of want to taste the crab a little bit more.

01:17:59Oh, this is stressful.

01:18:03Moving on to dinner,

01:18:04I really, really love these pickles.

01:18:06They're really delicious and really refreshing.

01:18:09Yeah, it's like a palate cleanser.

01:18:10She understands it.

01:18:12This is something else.

01:18:13This first course of the took,

01:18:15I like this dish.

01:18:17I actually think the crab usage was adequate here

01:18:20because it's showing two different parts.

01:18:22The crab is not just the leg.

01:18:23It's also body meat as well.

01:18:25So that's why I like this dish quite a bit.

01:18:27Thank you, David.

01:18:28But this to me is the most interesting thing here, right?

01:18:32Like, really smart.

01:18:34I would not have thought of that.

01:18:35I think that's one of the most clever techniques

01:18:37and also shows you that whoever the chef is

01:18:40understands the sort of food science

01:18:41of a water chestnut that it can take that.

01:18:44It's a really good dish.

01:18:45All the dishes have been really good,

01:18:46but this is the final and this is very difficult.

01:18:48It's very hard for me to make up my mind.

01:18:53For the final scoring,

01:18:5650 points available in taste,

01:18:5840 points used for the randomizer,

01:19:01and 10 points in plating.

01:19:03I don't know.

01:19:04It's gonna be close.

01:19:05I feel like the critiques are balanced,

01:19:07you know, as far as like the criticism is concerned.

01:19:09You know, a knock here and a knock there on both sides.

01:19:11So, I mean, it's gonna be a close one.

01:19:13I don't know, after this,

01:19:16who's gonna take the surprise.

01:19:19Chef Kevin Lee!

01:19:22Chef Brian Alcazio!

01:19:34Having seen six other championships,

01:19:37I've never seen the judges take so long to get their judging done.

01:19:43Ladies and gentlemen,

01:19:46we have a one-point difference.

01:19:54Wow.

01:19:55One chef scored a 9 out of 10 in presentation.

01:20:00The other chef scored a 9 out of 10 in presentation.

01:20:06One chef scored a 34 out of 40 in the randomizer.

01:20:12The other chef scored a 34 out of 40 in the randomizer.

01:20:20One chef scored a 40 out of 50 in taste.

01:20:26The other chef scored a 41 out of 50 in taste.

01:20:32The other chef scored a 41 out of 50 in taste.

01:20:33For a score of 84 to 83.

01:20:37The winner of Tournament of Champions 7 is...

01:20:54Brian Alcazio!

01:20:56Brian Alcazio!

01:20:56Oh my God!

01:20:58Whoa!

01:21:01Oh my God!

01:21:09Chef Kevin Lee, heart, determination, hard work, drive, fight, all of it, packaged into one.

01:21:19What an incredible achievement.

01:21:21I know without a doubt, you will be back for TOC 8.

01:21:25I look forward to seeing you in competitions in the future.

01:21:27Ladies and gentlemen, the Dragon Slayer, Chef Kevin Lee.

01:21:33Give it up to the champ!

01:21:40One point.

01:21:42God, so close.

01:21:44Brian was a better chef.

01:21:46He cooked a better dish.

01:21:48I'm going to have that belt one day.

01:21:50It's just not going to be today.

01:21:52How do you feel?

01:21:54This is overwhelming.

01:21:55This is amazing.

01:21:56I never thought I would see my name up here on the screen.

01:21:58I've been fighting to do this.

01:22:00I wanted to prove that I had what it takes to come out here and win.

01:22:05And I, yeah, I'm overwhelmed.

01:22:08I'm, I'm, I'm, it's...

01:22:14I don't know what it's like to win.

01:22:15You know what I mean?

01:22:17I don't know what it's like to win.

01:22:18Well, you sure know what it's like to win now, Chef.

01:22:19I don't know what it's like to win.

01:22:20Let's go ahead and try this on.

01:22:22Wow!

01:22:23Yes!

01:22:26Yeah!

01:22:27Yes!

01:22:28Yes!

01:22:29Finally!

01:22:31Woo!

01:22:31Come here.

01:22:32Put this on, brother.

01:22:33Oh, man!

01:22:34Finally.

01:22:35I've never, I've never, this has never happened.

01:22:38I finally, finally won.

01:22:39Finally.

01:22:41Look at this.

01:22:43The belt is the title!

01:22:44Wow!

01:22:45And $150,000!

01:22:48This is an amazing feeling.

01:22:50I feel like I, I worked so hard to get here.

01:22:52I'm proud to be here.

01:22:53I'm proud I finally was able to do this.

01:22:55And I'm grateful.

01:23:00I'm here.

01:23:01I did it.

01:23:01I finally made it happen.

01:23:03I'm the TOC 7 champion.

01:23:05Out of everybody in the world that wants to hear about this, Chef Voltaggio, your brother

01:23:12is the new TOC 7 champ forever!

01:23:20Brian Voltaggio!

01:23:25My brother's my best friend.

01:23:26He's my mentor.

01:23:27He's my biggest supporter.

01:23:29Woo!

01:23:30The funny thing is, my wife just texted me, are you done competing?

01:23:33Woo!

01:23:35It's going to be hard to tell her maybe no.

01:23:39Because now I know what it's like, the win.

01:23:41There you have it, ladies and gentlemen!

01:23:43Yes!

01:23:45I've got to ask you, was that the best finale or what?

01:23:48There's no way we can do anything bigger and better than that.

01:23:51But trust me, we are going to try.

01:23:53And we'll see you next year on Tournament of Champions 8.

01:23:58See you next year!

01:23:59Adios!

01:24:00Adios!

Tournament of Champions - Season 7 - Episode 08: And the Winner Is… EngSub

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended