Sixteen elite chefs from four corners of the country.
[Ted Allen] North.
[woman] Good food comes from more than just big cities.
South.
[man] There's pride on the line.
East.
[woman] I'm an east coast girl, I got this.
-[Ted] West. -[Rashida] I'm not afraid of anyone.
This is the most skilled group of chefs that Chopped has ever seen.
[Sara] Rising star chef of the year.
[man] Three James Beard nominations.
[Hosea] Winner of Top Chef season five.
[Min] Anything that's short of perfection
is just not good enough for me.
[woman] This time I'm gonna take it all the way.
[Ted] With $50,000 and American pride at stake
this is the Chopped All American Showdown.
[Alex] This person better be gritty.
[woman] No dinners are tough, it gets you everything.
[man] My southern roots are kicking in
like a crazy person.
[Ted] United in their hunger for victory.
I'm about to spread my wings and fly.
[man 1] We're not gonna give away 50 grand, you gotta earn it.
[man 2] You definitely have to crush it or be crushed.
This is not pretty.
-But what are you making? -[cork pops]
I don't know what to do!
Oh, my God.
[Hosea] My hands are shaking!
They should have walked in this kitchen, ready to go.
-[judges] Oh, no! -Is he gonna make it?
[man] Stir. Let's do it!
[judge] Somebody is going home.
Make sure it's not you.
[exhilarating guitar music playing]
[Hosea] I am the best in the west.
I was born in the west.
I was born and raised in northern New Mexico.
I live in Colorado.
I'm the chef-owner of Blackbelly and Santo
in Boulder, Colorado.
We serve a lot of meat.
We butcher whole animals. We do our own charcuterie.
Dry ageing, curing.
So, at Blackbelly, the core principle is sourcing.
We don't need a lot of bells and whistles.
It's all about quality
and some good fresh ingredients.
I've won numerous competitions and accolades in Colorado.
We pretty much make every list that's out there in Colorado
as one of the top restaurants.
I am very proud and honored to represent the west.
[Rashida] Ah, it's the magic.
I make Caribbean food based out of my roots
from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago.
I am the chef-owner of Bridgetown Roti in Los Angeles, California.
Let me know if I'm going too fast.
We incorporate techniques that I've learned
working at James Beard award-winning restaurants,
some Michelin star restaurants over my 13-year career.
I feel like LA has embraced me as a person, as a chef.
Won Pop Up of the Year at Esquire magazine.
Best New Restaurant by Eater.
I'm just proud to represent the west.
Yeah!
Good!
[Sara] I definitely am a bit of a silent killer.
I go into battle mode.
More tasty bits.
Even more tasty bits.
The last of the tasty bits.
I'm the chef and owner of Tiny Fish Company in Portland, Oregon.
I've gotten a fair amount of recognition.
I was named San Francisco Chronicle Rising Star Chef of the Year.
Zagat 30 Under 30.
I was nominated twice for James Beard Rising Star award.
Making it rain. Let's go!
People always underestimate me,
but when I do literally anything,
I do it at 250 percent always.
It looks delicious and I think we should eat it.
[chuckles]
[Min] Wow, a lot of pressure.
I'll be okay. I'll kick some ass.
[laughs]
I'm the executive chef at Mizumi in Las Vegas.
I guided the restaurant to win four five star awards.
I specialize in a lot of Asian cuisine,
especially Japanese cuisine.
West coast is like perfect place for that
because there are so many different people from different cultures,
so much diversity.
It's all about consolidating and incorporating
different cultures, different experiences
and different flavors.
I just love being perfect.
Perfection is something that you never achieve, right?
But it's something that you always try to strive for.
Anything that's short of perfection
is just not good enough for me.
I'm here to win and I wanna win it and I'm going to win it.
Right. [exhales] All right.
Hello, chefs!
-Hi, Ted. -Hello, Ted.
You are the best of the west.
And we are honored to have you here for our
All American Showdown.
-Man, it's good. -So good to be here, Ted.
[Ted] This is a very accomplished and very competitive group.
Whoever does take this battle
moves on this tournament's finale
where the Grand Champion wins $50,000.
-Wow! Let's do it. -Let's do it.
[clock ticking]
Open 'em up.
-Oh, my. -Yeah.
-[Rashida] Oh, man. -What...
We've got a bowl of pho.
[Ted] And you're looking at pho.
[Min] Oh, my God!
Oh, pho.
-[Ted] You also have ahi tuna. -That's ahi tuna? Wow.
Wow! All right, all right.
-Some snow peas! -[Ted] Snow peas.
That's pretty good. That's easy to work with.
[Ted] And hatch chili.
Okay, that's new.
-Hatch chilies. -[Hosea] I grew up with these.
[Rashida] Oh.
-This is in my blood right here. -[Rashida] Oh, good.
If I screw this up, I'm not allowed back in New Mexico.
[Rashida chuckles]
20 minutes to plate up.
Clock starts now.
-Go! -Right behind, right behind.
-[all exclaiming] -[GZ] Go!
[judges applauding]
Alex, Geoffrey, you are joined by special guest from the west,
Chef Gregory Gourdet,
the star in Portland's amazing dining scene.
-Welcome, chef. -Thanks you so much. Thank you for having me.
So, Chef, what do you know about these competitors?
[Gregory] So, these chefs are definitely representative of the best of the west.
They all come from different backgrounds,
different cultures,
different culinary upbringings,
so I know they're gonna bring intelligence,
they're gonna bring technique and they're gonna bring some flavor.
I used to be the head chef of a seafood restaurant for five years,
I can handle tuna.
Hosea just put bowls in the freezer.
[Gregory] He's gonna think about temperature,
so that's a really detail to pay attention to early on.
[Hosea] My hands are shaking.
Anyone else's hands are shaking right now?
Chef Hosea, what are you making?
I'm making a ahi tuna aguachile.
-Different chili. -Aguachile!
Aguachile is... It's a great idea.
[Hosea] You have this raw fish with the spicy, acidic broth.
Need more heat.
[Alex] Those hatch chilies on the heat index,
they go to a jalapeno.
They are from the town of Hatch.
-So, this is geographically a very western ingredient. -[Gregory] Yup.
[Hosea] I'm from New Mexico originally
and it's gotta be hatch if you're gonna call it green chili.
[Alex] This basket is beyond a privilege.
I mean, you can literally cut up this whole basket raw,
put it on a plate and not take anything from the pantry.
The trick of this basket is, it screams Asian.
I mean, Asian culture has definitely influenced
the west coast in so many different ways.
[Min] I bring to this competition a lot of international experience.
I worked at some of the top restaurants in the world.
Two Michelin star and three Michelin star restaurants in Tokyo.
My passion is definitely in, like, Asian flavors
and being on the west coast
and having tons of fresh seafood and fresh produce,
it really gives us a lot of opportunities
to do a lot of cool stuff.
[Sara] Min, what are you making?
I'm making tuna tataki.
-[Sara] Love that. -[Min] A little bit seared.
You don't wanna serve it raw,
but you definitely do not want to overcook it.
I'm using mirin, which is sweet cooking wine,
to deglaze the pan.
Less than 15 minutes left, chefs.
You're going hot or cold, Chef?
[Hosea] Cold. How about you?
[Rashida] I think I'm gonna go cold.
My menu is inspired by techniques I have mastered
working in James Beard and Michelin star restaurants.
[Alex] Chef Rashida, what are you making?
[Rashida] Quick tuna tartare.
Some hatch chili tahini.
In my blender, I have the hatch chilies tahini,
some garlic, lemon juice.
We're making a hatch chili tahini.
[Alex] Chef Sara, what are you making?
I'm gonna be honest, I have no [bleep] idea.
-[GZ and Gregory laugh] -I love that!
-[Ted] Okay. She's honest. -Yeah, it's good.
It's gonna be great.
I live in Portland, Oregon
and I recently launched a tin fish company.
I take fish from specifically the pacific northwest
and I put in a can
with some delicious sauces.
But ahi tuna is something that I like to keep simple and full of flavor.
So, I'm making grilled tuna
with coconut chili sauce and fried snow peas.
When I got my nominations
for James Beard Rising Star Chef,
I really got excited to just keep my head down
and keep improving in the kitchen.
[Ted] Less than ten minutes to go, chefs!
[Hosea] Heard! Thank you.
If anybody on the judges' table is bored
I could use some help here.
No? Is that a no?
A pho is a Vietnamese soup and it has cinnamon,
star anise and ginger.
[Gregory] I mean, the broth in itself is delicious.
You can usually add elements to that
and kind of make it your own.
[Hosea] I take parts of the pho
and put 'em in the bowl with the roasted peppers and the snow peas.
[Min] I'm looking at the pho.
I take off the bean sprouts, I take off the chilies
and then, I mix that with snow peas.
[pan sizzling]
I really wanna add a crispy element.
I have crisped up rice noodles in a fryer before.
[Sara] You're frying too?
Might pop a little bit, it's wet.
Nope. You're good.
I cook the ahi tuna in big blocks
because I wanna get a nice char
on all the size of the tuna
and make sure that I don't overcook it.
I'm very concerned that Sara is cooking a big piece like that.
[GZ] I would agree.
I'm concerned that Sara is gonna, not finishing here.
She looks scattered.
What's... Time check. Time check. Time check.
[Ted] Less than five minutes left, chefs.
[clock ticking]
[Sara] What's... Time check. Time check. Time check.
-I'm concerned that Sara is gonna, not finishing here. -Yeah.
[Sara] The tuna is a little bit big.
But I can cut it down after the fact.
I just wanna make sure I get a nice char on all the sides
and not overcook it.
Chefs, just north of four minutes on that clock.
[Alex] If you don't have plates, go get 'em.
Time to start plating.
[Hosea] Behind, behind, behind, behind.
[Ted] Hosea looking to fry up what looks like
some kind of a crispy garnish for his dish.
Happy to wait.
Get the plates. Spread the plates.
Start plating. Taste your food.
You're supposed to taste it?
-You taste it. -[Rashida chuckles]
-[Hosea] Do you think they like my jokes? -[Rashida chuckles]
-I like your jokes. -You do? All right.
-Station buddies for life. -Station buddies for life.
I throw in my snow peas into a hot skillet.
But I realize I also need to bring another flavor element to this,
so I grab the Chinese five spice.
I think that nice earthiness will balance with the acidic tahini.
And really bring the whole dish together.
[Ted] Two minutes left, chefs.
[liquid splashing]
[Min] Traditionally, in Japan, like, tuna tataki and ponzu
is such a great combination.
Little bit of soy, kombu
and a little bit of dashi extract.
[Alex] The clock's gonna run out, I promise.
That fryer empty?
Behind, behind, behind, behind.
Can I get in there? Sweet.
One minute and 18 seconds left!
[Hosea] Heard that.
-And you're at the fryer! -[Hosea] Got it!
I'm a... It's garnish, don't worry.
Have you watched the show before?
Just doing this to stress you out.
Behind, behind, behind, behind, behind.
Come on, guys. 25 seconds!
[all exclaiming]
[Sara] I love you.
Thank you for the time check.
[Hosea] My hands are shaking!
[Ted] Just a few ticks of the clock, chefs.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one,
-time's up. -[Min] All right.
-[Alex] All right! -[Gregory] Good job.
Good job.
-Wow. -Yeah!
-[high fives] -Whoo!
Man! This is not what I thought was gonna happen.
[Rashida chuckles]
Dang!
[Hosea] Min is the one I'm most worried about.
He just has a lot of world experience
and he runs some really big restaurants.
[Rashida] Hosea's dish looks really good.
We both went raw, so I think he's gonna be
my raw competition for sure.
So, we'll see what the judges prefer.
Chefs, you've arrived at the chopping block.
Representing the best of the west
in our All American Showdown.
You began with an appetizer basket of pho,
ahi tuna,
snow peas and hatch chilies.
Chef Rashida, please tell us about your plate.
So, I made for you a pho tuna tartare
with chili tahini on the bottom
and crispy pho noodles on the top
with some Chinese five spice snap peas.
Rashida, what I really enjoyed about this dish
is just how harmonious it really is.
You took the risk of just serving us raw tuna,
but you worked on your sauces
and those extra knife cuts, that extra care
really paid off.
It is garlic forward,
but it really carries the flavor through.
You still taste the tuna.
That little bit of those fried pho noodles,
they're super light and crispy.
-It's just the perfect bite. -Thank you.
I don't like the canoe.
It's cute.
But I think if it was in a bowl with some room,
you could have mix it a bit.
But it's very, very tasty.
Thank you, Chef.
The brute force of the Chinese five spice
right on the snow peas
is what actually makes it an appetizer for me.
'Cause my mouth is burning with those spices
and it makes me wanna eat more.
Thank you, Chef Rashida.
Next up, Chef Hosea.
I did a ahi tuna aguachile.
And then, on top is some tortilla strips
for extra crunch.
So, crunch, crunch, crunch on cold.
-I really like the crunch from the tortilla strips. -[Hosea] Thank you.
[GZ] It's a beautiful dish.
And the flavor is very well balanced.
I mean, it's hot, but it's just enough
that you wanna go back in there and get some more.
I really appreciate the julienne of the peas
because it added another layer of texture.
-Thank you. -[Gregory] For me though,
I think there's just, like, a little bit too much sauce.
The tuna does drown a little bit.
As delicious and bright as the sauce is,
it overpowers just a little bit.
The aguachile, it's vibrant.
I get, like, the smokiness,
-I get just a little bit of sweetness. -Thank you.
To me, the tortilla chips are a big miss.
Oh, no. They're delicious.
Yeah. They just tie into the chilies for me, so.
Yeah, it's great. Right?
I don't need anybody to agree with me. I disagree.
[GZ] We know that.
She's been wrong before.
[Ted] Now we move on to Chef Sara.
So, I made a grilled tuna
with coconut chili sauce and fried snow peas.
Sara, I think you did a fantastic job
of just getting tons of flavor into this dish.
There's so much umami in this dish.
What this is missing is, like, a little bit of freshness.
And I think tempura of the snow peas,
-it kinda weigh down the dish a little bit. -Mmm-hmm.
A little contrast would have helped.
For me, the fish is oversalted.
The charred scallion really belongs.
It gives sweetness, it gives it a homemade energy
that I can't really explain.
I'm tasting all the char on top, I love it.
And then, I get to tuna and it's like,
a dense piece of salty tuna.
And then, I get to the cream sauce
and it doesn't make sense.
Thank you, Chef Sara.
Finally, Chef Min.
So, I made ahi tuna tataki
with kombu-infused ponzu
with warm green peas salad.
Min, I definitely appreciate
how clean this is.
The peas are delicious.
The garlic and that little bit of fresno.
But I got, like, a really big bite
and then everything was really spicy.
And it kinda took away from the tuna.
Makes sense.
I needed you to cut everything up more.
-Got you. -[Alex] Mix it all together more.
I ate a big mouthful of peas and I'm chewing peas.
Then I cut myself a piece of tuna,
chewing that,
and it doesn't ever become a sum of its parts.
[GZ] I agree with you, Alex.
All the flavors are good.
But compositionally, I think it just suffered
from how you put it on the plate.
But it's very flavorful, don't get me wrong.
Thank you.
[Rashida] I think, maybe, Sara or Min might get Chopped.
Their elements are really good,
I don't think they came together
the way that they wanted to on the plate.
I definitely didn't give my best in the first round.
I was a little overwhelmed.
A lot of pressure, but I love it.
You know, that pressure is what motivates you.
[dramatic music swells]
[clock ticking]
So, whose dish was on the chopping block?
Chef Sara, you've been Chopped.
Judges.
Chef Sara, it's clear to us that you can cook.
While the coconut milk was a great choice from the pantry,
the combination of that with the fried peas in the basket
dragged your dish down a little bit.
And the tuna was a little oversalted,
so we have to chop you.
It was an honor and super fun. [chuckles]
The win would have been great
to help finance some of the stuff
for Tiny Fish Co.
But I'm gonna just keep my head down,
keep working, it's gonna be great.
Chef Hosea, Chef Rashida, Chef Min,
entree ingredients await your tender love and care.
-Here we go. -[exhales]
Open these baskets.
[all chuckling]
What is this?
[Ted] You have Mission-style burritos.
Is this our lunch?
-Tri-tip. -[Ted] Tri-tip.
That's good.
Tri-tip, I can work with that.
[Ted] Celery root.
Oh, celery root. Not bad.
Celery root's a starchy root vegetable.
It's almost like a potato and a stalk of celery had a baby.
I have no idea what I'm looking at here.
[Ted] Green goddess dressing.
[Min] Wow!
All right.
Creativity, creativity.
Ooh!
I don't know if I like this.
I don't like it. [chuckles]
This is hard.
30 minutes to work your culinary magic.
Clock starts now.
[GZ] All right, all right, all right.
Let's do it, chefs.
One of these three people is going to be in the finale.
But only one.
These are exceptionally good chefs.
And all exactly cook in restaurants.
They have really good knife skills.
They're ballers. I mean, they're, like, not scared of anything.
[Gregory] You know, they all have different perspectives.
I think they all add to the western landscape.
And all are gonna bring their flavors
and bring something delicious to the table today.
[Min] I love tri-tip. It's one of my favorite cuts.
So, I have bunch of experience
working with tri-tips including some two Michelin star,
three Michelin star restaurants that I worked at.
So, I'm making a tri-tip steak
with heirloom tomato and arugula salad
with celery root puree.
[GZ] He didn't just threw
the unprocessed steak in the oven
without searing it.
Maybe he's doing in reverse sear.
-It's quite possible. -That is actually what I do believe,
-I think Min is going for. -Yeah.
[Min] When you're cooking tri-tip,
you gotta cook it slow
before start grilling it on a cast iron pan
to get a nice char on it.
Let's do this.
At Blackbelly, my restaurant, we do a lot of butchery
and we have a butcher shop.
Rashida, high five.
-I don't know, man. -Okay.
[Rashida] What am I gonna do with this burrito?
[Hosea] I'm making green goddess-marinated tri-tip steak
served over celery puree
with a mission-style burrito sauce.
[Ted] Less than 20 minutes left, chefs.
I don't know what to do with this burrito!
With this basket I'm not really tapping into my Caribbean roots.
But I worked my way up
through James Beard nominated and Michelin star restaurants.
[blender whirring]
I can take these ingredients and make them work.
Okay, here we go.
Okay, I know what to do.
I'm making green goddess and ginger marinated tri-tip
with celery root slaw.
[GZ] Rashida is doing
tri-tip chunks
that she's marinated in the green goddess dressing.
[Alex] The green goddess dressing is just mayonnaise
with dill, tarragon.
It's essentially a super herby mayonnaise.
I'd love to win for the two most important women in my life.
My mom, Joy,
who is now my business partner.
And my wife, who's been beside me every step of the way.
Yeah, coming through. Behind you.
With a celery root,
first thing that comes into my mind
is very silky, umami bomb puree.
[Ted] Chef Min just used the guacamole and the salsa
-from those two burrito halves. -[GZ] Well, that's good.
This is a challenge.
The west has a very large Hispanic population.
And the mission-style burrito is just a sign that we're a melting pot.
So, I take the chicken and the salsa
to make mission-style burrito sauce.
[Ted] Less than ten minutes to go, chefs.
[Rashida] Damn this burrito.
What I'm gonna do is add the meat from the burrito
into kind of like, a lentil saute.
It's Min that I'm a little concerned about 'cause I think he's behind.
[Min] It's a definitely intense environment.
I find myself constantly looking at the clock
realizing every single second.
It's a big pressure.
[Alex] Min's really testing how warm the meat got in the oven.
And now, Ted, he's now popping that on the grill.
That's bold.
[Ted] Less than five minutes left, chefs.
[Hosea] I need a vegetable.
Green beans will go really well with the steak.
Butter and salt,
shallots make any green vegetables sing.
[Ted] Under two minutes, chefs.
Clock's gonna run out, I promise.
[Rashida] So, I taste my slaw and I'm super happy.
It's earthy, it's spicy, it's garlicy.
But doesn't overpower you.
One minute left, chefs.
It's go time. Let's do this.
-[Hosea] It's go time! -Let's go, let's do it.
[Alex] Come on, come on, come on.
[Ted] We're under one minute.
-[Alex] Under a minute! -[Ted] 57 seconds.
-[Min] Under a minute, heard. -[Ted] They're still slicing.
Ah, is he gonna make it?
-[exclaims] -[Ted] 30 seconds, chefs.
30 seconds, huh?
If he does not get his steak cut,
there's gonna be problems.
No ingredient left behind, chefs.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one,
time's up.
[slaps hands]
[Hosea] Okay, don't leave me hanging this time.
-[Rashida chuckles] -[Min] Wow!
-Whoo! Whoo! -[High fives]
-What did I just do? -[all laughing]
What did I just do?
-[Rashida] I don't even know. -Wow!
I think my dish definitely represents west
because it's light, it has a lot of umami,
different cultural, I guess, aspect of it.
I hope it's good enough for the judges.
[Hosea] Time definitely got away from me.
I'm worried that I didn't put enough on this plate.
I'm worried it's a little too clean and simple.
I love the way it presents.
I'm just hoping the flavors shine through.
[clock ticking]
Western chefs, you just completed your second challenge,
making entrees from mission-style burritos,
tri-tip, celery root and green goddess dressing.
Chef Hosea.
So, this is green goddess marinated tri-tip
over celery root puree
with some sauteed green beans
and what I'm calling burrito sauce.
Everything is cooked how it should be.
Water is salted, puree is nice.
It's just the wrong sauce.
With so much of the celery head puree
and, like, that richness,
I was wishing the sauce was, like, a little punchier.
Hmm.
The cook on the steak itself
is pretty good.
You did a good job of keeping it tender
and also getting a little bit of crust.
Those green beans are overcooked in the most perfect way.
I mean, they're like, the way I wish
I would eat green beans all the time.
That said,
the celery root puree is undercooked.
-And you and I both know it. -Okay.
I think for me, it cost you a little bit
on a basket ingredient.
Thank you.
What would you do with 50k?
The 50k, for me, would go to our charity.
My wife and I, two years ago, found out that our daughter
has a rare disease called MCTO.
There's no cure and there's no treatment.
It's sort of the slow breakdown of bones and kidneys in her body,
so she's losing the ability to use her arms and her legs.
So, I'm... [exhales deeply]
I'm just here to help her out.
Thank you, Chef Hosea. Next up, Chef Min.
You guys have tri-tip steak
with heirloom tomato and arugula salad
with green goddess and balsamic dressing
with celery head puree.
[Min] Chef, are you here to prove something?
My dad is a chef.
So, when I wanted to become a chef,
it was really hard to get any support.
I think winning this competition
would definitely prove something to him
and it will definitely make him proud.
I must say, you did a really fantastic job.
Thank you.
My steak is really tender.
It's really juicy, it's rested.
And you have this fatty, creamy celery head puree
which is silky smooth.
And it has that element of fat.
So, this is not the most creative dish,
but in terms of execution,
I think there's a lot of good technique here.
Thank you, Gregory.
Yeah, I think you buried the basket a little bit.
I don't taste burrito.
And I don't taste green goddess dressing at all.
Are you getting green goddess dressing and burrito
on your tomatoes?
-I don't get the burrito. -I don't get much burrito.
Point noted. Thank you.
Finally, Chef Rashida.
So, I have here green goddess and ginger marinated tri-tip
with some mission burrito lentils.
And a little celery root and garlic slaw on the top.
This steak is very flavorful
and I taste the green goddess rub.
I saw you smother it and char it.
I think the steak suffered from under-resting
and you cut it, I think, incorrectly
'cause it is cutting tough.
I agree with Geoffrey.
That steak, it's looking for its relationship with the rest of the dish.
I appreciate that beautiful green goddess rub
and I like that sear.
There's a little bit too much of a sear.
Sure. Thank you.
I don't care about what either of them said at all.
I just think this is delicious.
-Thank you. -If this is a celery root cook off,
I'd give you $50,000.
-[all chuckling] -I'll take it.
All right. Thank you, chefs.
[Min] I feel pretty confident,
but at the same time, like, I'm really nervous still.
You know, we all shared a little bit of criticism,
little bit of compliment,
so, you know, it's anyone's game.
[Hosea] I'm worried that I have more criticisms than the other two chefs.
But I know I can do more and I know I can do better.
[music swells]
[clock ticking]
[Ted] Star chefs of the west,
just two of you will move on to dessert here.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[music swells]
Chef Min, you've been Chopped.
Judges.
[Gregory] Chef Min, there are so many elements of that dish
that the judges and I loved,
from that perfectly cooked beef
to that silky, smooth puree.
However, you could have highlighted
the mission-style burrito
and the green goddess dressing way more in your dish.
And so,
we had to chop you.
Thank you.
I feel like I definitely gave my best.
So, my dad is the biggest mentor of my life,
but also my biggest critic.
I'm sure he's gonna say,
"You made a lot of mistakes.
You gotta improve and you gotta work harder."
[Ted] Chef Rashida, Chef Hosea,
who's got the steam left to finish strong?
I've got it. I'm ready.
You're not gonna get it this time.
The dessert baskets are here.
[clock ticking]
Open 'em up.
-Whoa. -[Rashida chuckles]
[Hosea] What the hell?
[Ted] And you've got dragon's breath.
Okay!
Dragon's breath is definitely giving me fruity cereal vibes.
It's got liquid nitrogen coming off of it.
-[chuckles] -[Ted] Nopales.
No, you gotta be kidding me.
And I don't know what this is either.
-It's like a biscuit dough. -[Ted] Donut dough.
And brute rose.
I mean, I like that.
I'm not feeling great. [chuckles]
30 minutes to do justice to these ingredients
and make the west proud.
[exhales deeply]
Clock starts now.
-Let's go. -[GZ] Go!
[Alex] All right.
The big round.
-[exclaims] -[Ted] Judges,
can these chefs be trusted
to make sufficiently sinful sweet plates?
What's interesting is they're both completely unsuited for dessert.
-It's obvious. They're nervous. -Yeah, that's right.
They're grabbing ingredients left and right.
Just because they might get an idea,
they might not know where it came from.
But I think that they're pretty neck and neck.
I think it's kinda cuckoo bananas
to try and get a dessert done in 30 minutes.
But my wife loves blueberries and cardamom.
It's like one of her favorite snacks,
so I'm going to make blueberry and dragon's breath donuts
with brute and lime curd
and a caramel miso nopales.
-[cork pops] -There it goes. Hello.
I have to get this curd started.
I squeeze in some lemon juice,
the sugar and rose brute.
The rose brute brings little bit of bitterness
which will be a nice contrast with those other flavors.
[cork pops]
California is loaded with sparkling wines.
Hey, cheers.
[Rashida] Cheers, chef.
[Gregory] Well, you can make a nice sabayon.
-[Hosea] It's a whisk off. -[Rashida] Whisk off.
You're going curd too there, chef?
-I'm doing a sabayon. You're doing curd? -[Rashida] Sabayon.
I'm doing curd.
Are they doing the same exact thing or is it me?
Are they both making, like, a sabayon or curd?
[Gregory] I think one's making a sabayon and one's making a custard.
-That's what I'm kinda hearing. -One's making a curd?
Hosea, what is that?
Making a champagne sabayon.
I am making donuts
stuffed with brute rose sabayon sauce
coated with dragon's breath.
on top of a nopales and strawberry sauce.
[Alex] The nopales, the cactus,
it's a really tough ingredient.
It does add some acid.
It does add some viscosity.
So, it can pair really well with fruit.
Now, Hosea is chopping some nopales up now.
[Hosea] Nopales, this is a very tricky ingredient.
For one, it's still got the thorns on it.
I formulate a plan to make a strawberry nopales sauce.
14 minutes left, chefs.
Let's make some caramel.
For me, nopales are savory,
so I don't want the caramel to be too sweet.
Let's grab some miso.
I want the caramel to have a little bit of savory notes.
So, I grab the miso.
She's put the nopales in the caramel.
-That sounds pretty good, -That's really curious.
[Ted] Less than ten minutes to go, chefs.
[Alex] You know what concerns me the most?
Is that they're both gonna run up to the fryer
-to fry the donuts at the last minute. -Yeah, that's what...
-That's what Ted was talking about. -Exactly.
[Hosea] I'm gonna need to fry my donuts
and I realize we're getting pretty close on time.
Donut time!
-Coming through. -[Rashida] And what do we say?
7:30, good luck at the fryer.
[Rashida] I just did that.
We're going together, huh?
Sweet. We both have similar timing, don't we?
[Rashida chuckling] Yes, we do.
We were frying donuts at the exact same time.
I don't know if this has ever happened before.
This has never happened.
-I don't know whose this is. -Yeah, I'm just throwing mine.
Whose are these?
We don't have time to take turns right now.
I don't have time to take turns.
There's $50,000 on the line.
My daughter's foundation is on the line.
Oh, it's the donut battle.
It's the battle of the donuts.
But we don't know whose donuts are which.
I think it's gonna come down to the donuts.
Come on, man. We gotta get going.
-Oh, it's the donut battle. -[Rashida chuckles]
Good luck at the fryer.
-That's never happened before. -No.
-[Ted] Nope. -Teamwork.
-It's team work. -Do we get a co-win?
[Rashida chuckles]
Have you got enough?
-I got enough. -I got enough.
Do it. Ooh!
I race back to my station
with these ripping hot donuts
and I have to glaze them right now.
I make a little bit of white chocolate ganache,
so I can then adhere that crushed dragon's breath to the donut.
That will work. Wow, that's thorough.
Mmm-hmm.
[Alex] The dragon's breath which is a cereal
frozen and dipped in liquid nitrogen.
-So, when you bite it, you see the dragon's breath. -Oh!
[Rashida] I toss the donuts in the blueberry
and dragon's breath compote.
Get those on the plate.
Okay.
-[Ted] Less than one minute left, chefs. -[Hosea] Oh, my God!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Shine the painting, chefs.
For real!
-[Alex] This is it. -[Hosea] Heard that, heard that.
[Ted] Final seconds of the final round, chefs.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven...
-Finish strong, -[Ted] Six...
-[GZ] Let's go! -[Ted] Five, four,
three, two,
one, time's up.
-All right. -[all applauding]
-I think we made similar desserts. -[both chuckle]
Yours is prettier.
Mine looks ridiculous.
[GZ] My expectations are very high
because they're great chefs.
And because this is Chopped kitchen.
We're not gonna give away 50 grand.
You gotta earn it. Bada-boom.
My pastry chef would not be proud of me.
[dramatic music playing]
[Rashida exhales deeply]
Chef Rashida and Chef Hosea,
western chefs fighting for a finale slot.
You opened the dessert basket and found dragon's breath,
nopales,
donut dough
and brute rose.
Chef Rashida, tell us about your sweet treat.
Uh, so what I have for you here is
blueberry and dragon's breath donut
on top of a brute and lime curd
with miso caramel nopales.
[Alex] I think what you made is a beautiful dessert.
I mean, I love the lime curd.
[GZ] The lime curd is very good.
And the miso caramel is good,
but I would have liked a separation between the donut and the sauce.
[Gregory] I will agree with you, Geoffrey,
like, my donuts are kinda swimming in the curd.
But I think you made a very delicious dessert.
Blueberries and lime, I mean, that's a match made in heaven.
I agree. Yeah.
[Ted] Thank you, Chef Rashida.
Finally, Chef Hosea.
Please tell us about your dessert.
Well, as you can see, we both did donuts.
These ones are stuffed with brute rose sabayon,
dipped in white chocolate ganache
and crushed dragon's breath.
And then, a strawberry and nopales sauce.
[Gregory] Hosea, I think, this really checks the box
for what people crave in a donut.
I think that glaze is a really nice touch.
And then, the crusting of the cereal,
just really adds that level of crunch.
[Alex] I think the sabayon is not cooked enough.
And it leaked out of the donuts.
[GZ] You didn't develop the egg enough.
But the brute rose sabayon is very tasty,
you needed more of it.
'Cause with the bite I got with it is a very good bite.
The thing that sort of allows this
to sort of pivot into a better donut
is the strawberry nopales jam.
[Alex] The nopales melted into the strawberries which I like.
This would be, like, I would buy this for a lot.
Thank you.
Okay, all three courses count now.
Thank you, chefs.
Judges, the best of the west did not disappoint.
I mean, we got really tasty bites, tasty food.
Especially, the first course,
I was quite impressed with Hosea.
It was just a delightful aguachile
with a beautiful cut of the tuna.
I thought his dish was vibrant, full of flavor.
And for an appetizer, it's exactly what I wanted.
I also think Rashida did a really good job
-in the first round -Me too.
[Gregory] I think, you know, she found that cohesion.
I liked that tahini with the extra aromatics.
It was a really harmonious dish.
It had a lots of different dynamic elements to it.
The main course, I think Rashida got a little tripped up.
She made this tri-tip steak that was flavored really, really good.
Unfortunately, the cut and the cook of it was off.
But she got tons of flavor in that tri-tip by doing a green goddess marination.
I thought Hosea's cook on the steak was markedly better than Rashida,
but I thought Hosea's celeriac puree was just undercooked
and overly creamy and overly rich.
I think we have one chef
who is really, really creative
and she took a lot of risks,
but he executed more consistently.
He focused more on the basket.
I also think that we have to send someone who we feel
can represent the west coast
-going into the final. -Yes.
[Rashida] I wanna win real bad.
Hosea's dessert was really good.
But I think I might have the edge
on some of the earlier rounds.
I think, I could come out on top.
[Hosea] I really wanna win this.
I wanna go represent the west.
I have always lived in the west.
It's my home. It always will be.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[dramatic music swells, subsides]
Chef Rashida, you've been Chopped.
Judges.
Rashida, your flavors today were amazing.
You just got outcooked.
The canoe of tuna was one of the best bites of the day.
The second dish, you made an incredible tri-tip with the green goddess.
But in the end, it was tough, it was differently cut.
And so, we had to chop you.
It's all right. I had a great time.
And thank you so much. Congratulations.
I'm disappointed to lose.
But, you know, Hosea is a great cook and a chef.
I would have loved to represent the west,
but it wasn't in the cards today and that's okay.
And that means, Chef Hosea Rosenberg,
you are the Chopped champion.
And you will be back representing the west
in the All American Showdown finale.
Congratulations.
[all applauding]
Thank you so much.
Well, I'm pumped to represent the west
because we have the best ingredients,
the best people, the best weather.
The best skiing. The west is best.
All right, well, prove it.
I will.
I'm competitive, I don't wanna lose,
so nothing will stand in my way.
[man 1] This tournament is the best of the best.
[man 2] We came from all over, but we want the same thing.
Money. Lots and lots of money.
[man 3] We do know that these chefs can bring it.
[man 4] I wouldn't bet against me.
He's really rattled.
Okay, this is burnt.
[Hosea] Now, I'm really feeling scared.
This like a slap in the face.
[woman] I think my brain might explode.
Gotta recover here.
They shouldn't be running around like a chicken with their head cut off.
This is it.
[man] I'm seeing my chances of winning this slipping through my fingers.
-Everybody breathe with me. -[exhales deeply]
[dramatic music swells, subsides]