Sixteen elite chefs from four corners of the country.
North.
[woman 1] Good food comes from more than just big cities.
-[Ted Allen] South. -[man 1] There's pride on the line.
-East. -[Shenarri Freeman] I'm an East Coast girl. I got this.
-[Ted] West. -[woman 2] I'm not afraid of anyone.
This is the most skilled group of chefs that Chopped has ever seen.
[woman 3] Rising star chef of the year.
[Lee Chizmar] Three James Beard nominations.
[Hosea Rosenberg] Winner of Top Chef season 5.
[man 2] Anything that's short of perfection
is just not good enough for me.
[woman 4] 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.
[woman 1] This person better be gritty.
[woman 2] Northerners are tough,
- they get through everything. -[man 1] My southern roots are kicking in
- like a crazy person. -[Ted] United in their hunger for victory...
Well, I'm about to spread my wings and fly.
[man 2] We're not gonna give away 50 grand, you gotta earn it.
[Lee] You definitely have to crush it or be crushed.
-This is not pretty. -So what are you making?
[woman 3 in sing-song voice] I don't know what to do.
-Oh, my God. -[man 3] My hands are shaking.
They should've walked into this kitchen ready to go.
-[man 4] Oh, no. -Is he gonna make it?
[man 5] Let's do it. Let's do it.
[man 6] Somebody's going home, make sure it's not you.
[Lee] Am I one of the best chefs in the country?
I wouldn't bet against me.
This tournament is the elite chefs of the East Coast.
I'm Lee Chizmar, the chef, owner
of four restaurants in the Lehigh Valley.
Here we go.
We've been nominated for three James Beard Awards
and Conde Nast Best Restaurants in the World.
Think we got it.
I grew up playing football.
It's where I got my competitive spirit.
You definitely have to crush it or be crushed.
[Elijah Milligan] Since my early 20s, I've been considered
one of the best chefs in Philadelphia.
Crushing it.
I'm Elijah Milligan. I'm executive chef
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At 22, I was executive chef at Stateside,
and then one restaurant on the Philadelphia Magazine Top 50 Restaurant List.
I've been featured in Forbes, Food & Wine, Vanity Fair.
Definitely repping East Coast,
representing Philly.
Making it nice.
The bragging rights would be super dope.
[Shenarri] I'm an innovator when it comes to the vegan food scene
at the young age of 28.
I'm one of the most recognized vegan chefs in the entire country.
My name is Shenarri Freeman. I'm the executive chef of Cadence, New York.
Cadence is known for vegan soul food and southern food
and was named one of the New York Times' Top 50 Restaurants.
And I've been named the Rising Chef Star of the Year b y Esquire.
The East Coast food scene, there's a lot of competition.
I've gotten a lot of accolades and I'm the hungriest chef.
[Pepe Moncayo] My name is Pepe Moncayo.
I am the chef, partner at Cranes in Washington, DC,
where I have earned a Michelin star.
This is a paella.
I was born and raised in Spain, but my wife and I moved to the US.
I belong to a new wave of chefs.
Indeed, there's a lot of beautiful influences in the East Coast.
I'm on fire.
And I'm fairly new into this country.
So it's an honor for me to represent the east
of the United States in this competition.
-[Ted] Hello, chefs. -Hello, Ted.
-Hey, Ted. -You four represent an elite East Coast contingent
here for our All-American Showdown.
Whoever takes this battle will win a coveted spot in the tournament finale,
where you'll be going up against chefs from the north, south and west.
At stake, $50,000.
Whoo, man.
$50,000 is on the line.
I know the judges are gonna be tough.
[Ted] Baskets are here.
Open up your appetizer baskets.
-What? -These might look familiar.
-Stew or something? -[Ted] You've got Pennsylvania pot roast.
Okay.
Oh, man.
-[Ted] Escarole. -I can work with that.
-[Ted] Everything bagel dip. -Everything bagel dip? [laughs]
[Ted] And a Manhattan.
My favorite city. [laughs]
I'm excited about one of these ingredients, for sure.
20 minutes is as short as it sounds.
Clock starts now.
[Scott Conant] Let's go, chefs, let's go.
Oh, my gosh. Look at that hustle.
[Shenarri] Excuse me.
[Alex Guarnaschelli] There's an East Coast energy to these ingredients
and I'm hoping that the chefs will bring a little bit
of their geography to these dishes.
Alex, Scott, you are joined by a special guest judge,
the executive chef at Blackberry Farm, Cassidee Dabney.
-Welcome, Cassidee. -Thanks for having me, guys. This is fun.
[Ted] Cassidee, I know you grew up all over the US,
but you also spent a significant part of that time in New England.
Do you have a soft spot for East Coast cuisine?
I do, actually.
I spent my very first four years of cooking
at the Four Seasons in Boston.
And my expectations for these chefs are pretty high.
I mean, we're looking at Michelin star, James Beard, 50 Best.
[Scott] I agree.
There's a tremendous amount of respect for chefs who have those accolades.
And they come in with that East Coast attitude.
[Lee] My family came to this country in the 1600s
and we dropped our roots all over Pennsylvania.
And I wanna show the rest of America what it means to be from the east.
When I see the pot roast and the escarole,
I start thinking a braised dish.
I'm making a pot roast and escarole stew with a poached egg.
14 years ago, my wife and I opened Bolete.
We've been nominated for two Outstanding Restaurant awards.
The best of the east is here and I'm ready for this challenge.
[Alex] So, this Manhattan,
a classic Manhattan with whiskey, sweet vermouth
and Maraschino cherries with a dash of bitters.
[Scott] Was actually created
for Winston Churchill's mother back in the late 1800s.
It just doesn't feel like a mom cocktail to me, you know?
Those Brits. [laughs]
They, uh, they go hard.
I see a Manhattan and my first thought is,
this would be a really good sauce or glaze.
I looked at the everything bagel spiced yogurt as almost like a crema.
So, I'm making a Pennsylvania Dutch-inspired tostada.
Feeling good.
[Alex] I like the way Elijah has responded to this basket
with some earthy ingredients from the pantry,
'cause I think that could be cool with the pork.
Scott, this is special pot roast.
I ate some of this this morning
and it's made with pork shoulder as opposed to beef.
It's spectacular.
[Shenarri] I'm a vegan, but I know what I have to do to win this competition.
You know, I see the pot roast and I actually go for the meat.
And I look at the escarole and I'm like, great, let's make it into a wrap.
I grab capers, agave...
Coming in hot.
...Dijon mustard, apricot jam and vinegar
because I want to get my sauce started right away.
Behind.
And I also go ahead and fry off the capers
to add a little bit more texture into the dish.
Behind.
[Scott] Shenarri, are you the chef to rep the east?
You know, I'm a really good cook, I'm pretty fast,
-and I'm here to show you guys what I got. -I love it.
[Shenarri] I am the most qualified to represent the east.
I'm not leaving here without that trophy.
I've received all these accolades.
I've been featured in the New York Times,
Vogue, Thrillist, Eater.
Sauce going.
[Scott] I feel like East Coast chefs have this particular mentality
that nothing is gonna get in their way of success.
[Pepe] My restaurant, Cranes, earned a Michelin star.
We do Japanese, Hispanese cuisine.
I grew up in the outskirts of Barcelona.
But winning here will make me really say
I belong to the East.
I think I'm gonna use just the potatoes in the pot roast
to do trinxat, a traditional Catalan dish.
I'm doing sauteed escarole with potato
and everything bagel dip trinxat
and Manhattan butter sauce.
[Alex] We have this everything bagel dip
which has sesame, poppy seed, onion,
but it's a yogurt base.
-The yogurt is so tangy and kind of cutting. -I think it might be
a good accompaniment for the escarole.
Chefs, less than 10 minutes to get it done.
[Lee] I'm taking the pork from the pot roast
and the escarole, I'm marrying those together
with a quick sautee on mushrooms.
Rendered out some bacon to help bring
a little bit more smoky flavor to the dish.
[Scott] I'm a little concerned about Elijah.
He just spiralized that apple.
He added a little bourbon, it's in the vacuum sealer,
but there is eight minutes on the clock.
That's very East Coast to me. Pork with apple.
-Chef Elijah, are you the chef that's gonna rep the east? -Absolutely.
[Elijah] My motivation is to represent my hometown.
Philly versus everybody.
The city of Philadelphia's always shown me a lot of love
and I would love to bring back a win for them.
And I would love $50,000. [laughs]
[Cassidee] What a feather in your cap
to be the winner for your region.
And then to also go on and be the best in the country?
-[Cassidee] This is intense. -[Scott] That's intense.
Part of my $50,000 would be spent making t-shirts
explaining what I achieved and wearing them everywhere.
-Put it on my ceiling. -Available now at alexguarnaschelli.com.
-[all laughing] -You know, just for that, I'm gonna send you
-a extra-small V-neck. -[all laughing]
[Shenarri] Some miso broth in here.
I represent so many different layers in the culinary world.
I'm a black woman, I'm from the East Coast.
I'm vegan.
So it's really important to me that I win.
The pot roast is softer than I expected.
Needs something crunchy.
So, I add some breadcrumbs.
We're looking for texture here.
[Pepe] So now, I'm working on my Manhattan butter sauce
and I'm tasting it,
and damn, tastes delicious.
[Cassidee] Lee is poaching eggs.
How do you feel about poaching eggs with five minutes left
-in a $50,000 round? Thoughts? -Not very good.
[Alex] How is this possible that with this little time,
you're fixated on something from the pantry
that isn't from the basket?
[Lee] There's nothing better than a poached egg,
especially to go with a pot roast stew.
But I'm running out of time,
and I know I need to celebrate the ingredients
that are in the basket and get those in my dish.
I'm looking at the clock, I'm definitely worried about the time
and how fast it's going through.
[Lee] I'm definitely worried about the time,
I gotta make sure I'm getting
all the ingredients in my basket into this dish.
While my pot roast is stewing, I grab some sourdough.
Who doesn't want to eat a stew
with a nice piece of bread to soak up all the broth?
All right, you got two minutes, chefs, I know you can do it.
We're seeing something that we see a lot in the first round,
which is the chefs simply don't believe that the clock's gonna run out.
All right, guys, let's hustle.
I get my tortillas on the grill 'cause I want them to get a little crisp on that.
[Shenarri] I go ahead and lay the escarole leaves out
so that I can make two wraps per plate.
[Pepe] This potato trinxat usually calls for pine nuts
because it adds depth of flavor and texture.
-All right, let's do this. -[Cassidee] Come on.
How are you feeling?
-I'm feeling the heat. -[both laugh]
The everything bagel dip will give this dish a creamy texture
to help bring everything together.
Chefs, you're down to one minute. This is it.
-Get it done, get it done. -This is it, East Coast. Let's do this.
[Ted] All right, chefs, seal the deal here.
-10, 9, 8, -Whoo.
7, 6, 5,
-Finish up. -4, 3,
2, 1.
-[Ted] Time's up. -Whoo!
[Shenarri] How we doing, how we doing?
[Lee] Give me a hug, give me a hug. Let's get it. Nice job, guy.
-[Lee] All right, man. -Good job, y'all.
-Right. -[Pepe] Super-fast.
I'm gonna be honest with you, I think they are all very strong competitors.
They know what they are doing.
[Lee] Aw, man. I want that 50 grand so bad.
So I'm gonna do my best and go at it.
Chefs, you have arrived at the chopping block,
representing the elite of the East in our All-American Showdown.
You opened up your appetizer basket and found
a Pennsylvania pot roast,
escarole, everything bagel dip,
and a Manhattan.
Chef Lee, tell us what you did.
So I did a little pot roast and escarole stew.
I have mushrooms, bacon, little poached eggs,
and some sourdough toast.
So, my restaurant Bolete,
we've been nominated two times for Outstanding Restaurant through the James Beard.
And there's nothing that means more to me
to be representing Pennsylvania and the East.
[Scott] I think you have good development of flavor in this dish.
-Thank you. -But you went a little heavy handed with the smoked bacon.
It takes over everything.
Got it.
I think my impulse would've been similar,
to get some earthy mushrooms and shallots from the pantry.
For me, that was the dish.
And then, the egg and the toast feel not necessarily needed.
Okay.
You gotta be careful that what you choose from the pantry
-to bolster the basket, doesn't eclipse it. -Got it.
[Cassidee] Yeah. The fattiness from the yolk is weighing down these flavors.
But I like the texture of the pork.
And it was cooked all the way through and the fat was rendered,
so it was easy to eat and very tasty.
-Thank you. -[Ted] Thank you, Chef.
Chef Pepe, what did you create?
My dish is a grilled escarole
with pot roast trinxat,
which is a Catalan preparation which means "wrapped potato".
And also I did a Manhattan butter sauce.
I think the browning of the escarole
and then the fact that it tastes like butter...
...it's an elegant sophistication that I rarely see
in a 20-minute round.
I can tell you the only thing I never want you to do again...
...is pick up an orange.
My whole mouth tastes like orange right now.
[Scott] Yeah. That zest is very assertive.
Maybe the opportunity could've been for a little bit of that zest
inside the actual butter sauce and then strained out.
Thank you.
[Cassidee] I'm gonna have to disagree with them.
I loved the orange.
-Orange and escarole in my mind, are a good pair. -Thank you.
[Scott] I like the butter sauce with the Manhattan.
I think that's really clever.
And I love that you didn't use the pork.
I like that you used a vegetable.
-Chef Pepe, thank you. -Thank you, thank you.
Chef Shenarri, tell us about your dish.
Today, I have prepared for you
stuffed pot roast escarole
with Dijon-Manhattan cream.
I'm surprised how light this dish is.
The Dijon mustard with the Manhattan, brilliant.
The pork was light.
I'm tasting, I'm seeing, I'm experiencing
all of the basket ingredients, so well done.
Thank you, Chef.
The use of the fried capers helps you so much
because it adds these bursts of salt,
that I think really picks up the yogurt in the everything bagel dip.
I love the way that Dijon mustard kind of lifts up that pork as well.
But...
...there's a little bit of that residual fat in the pork
that's kind of congealed.
I think a few minutes stewed inside the oven
with some kind of sauce would've kinda taken this to,
to a little bit of a different level.
-Do you eat meat? -[Shenarri] No.
I'm vegan, so some of the ingredients can be a little intimidating.
But I'm here to definitely challenge myself
and see how far I can go.
-Chef Shenarri, thank you. -Thank you.
[Ted] Finally, Chef Elijah.
So, I actually made a, uh, PA Dutch-inspired tostada.
Chef, I gotta tell you, this is, this is, like, delicious.
I want, like, six of these. I think the apples are a great touch.
The texture of the escarole on the bottom is beautiful.
The five spice in the pork, it's a really nice touch and it's subtle.
There's such a sophistication with your flavor profiles.
-It's really impressive. -Thank you.
I absolutely adore what you did with the escarole.
It really brings out all of the wonderful things of escarole
and it eats really, really well.
But...
...the garlic in the everything bagel dip crema
is overpowering for me.
Sometimes I get stuck on presentation.
I take a slight issue with the way you built your building.
One bite is pure tortilla,
one bite is apple and sauce and poppy,
one bit is a big mound of pork and escarole.
You needed to take more time to assemble this, quite simply.
I understand.
Chef Elijah, thank you.
[Lee] I really wanna represent the East and I hope that all the flavors
shine through enough to get me on to the next round.
[Pepe] The use of orange to me makes sense,
but maybe my hand went too heavy into it, so,
I mean,
I get it and I understand it and I respect it, of course.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Lee, you've been chopped. Judges?
[Scott] Chef, what you made for us was lovely.
But really, you focused more on the pantry ingredients
as oppose to the basket ingredients,
and the smoked bacon really became
the major flavor profile throughout your dish,
-and so we have to chop you. -Got it.
Well, thanks for having me.
Thank you, Chef. Thanks so much.
[Lee] This win would've been huge, uh,
to bring it back to Pennsylvania.
Even though I lost, I think I did get to showcase
what the East Coast has to bring
and I'm excited to get back home and back cooking.
[Ted] Chef Elijah, Chef Pepe, Chef Shenarri.
Can you bring your next level skills
-to this entree round? -Absolutely.
-Do you know who I am? -That's what I'm here for.
We'll soon see. Baskets are here.
Open them up.
-Wow. -It's alive. Okay. [laughs]
Okay.
-[laughs] -[Ted] There you go,
-live lobsters. -I wanna touch that.
-[Ted] Avoid the claws. -Okay.
[Ted] You've also got New England clam chowder...
-Beautiful. -Some eggplant.
[Ted] ...graffiti eggplant...
[Elijah] I can make clam chowder and lobster work,
but eggplant might be a little tricky.
...and horseradish.
30 minutes to plan and plate.
Clock starts now.
[Scott] Go get them, chefs.
I'm the best chef in the East because I'm the future
of the food in the East.
Okay.
Looking at all of these ingredients,
even though the lobster's kicking and screaming,
I'm thinking, why not make a pasta?
I'm going to make clam chowder alfredo
with lobster and fried eggplant.
My mom works really hard to make sure that we're able to pursue our dreams,
so with $50,000, I'd really like to pay off her mortgage
so that she can sit back and relax for a little bit.
So, Shenarri evidently electing to use the tails.
And I see she has spaghetti, I'm excited to see that.
[Elijah] I'm the best chef in the East because I've put in the time,
I've trained for it, and my food does the talking.
I'm gonna make butter-poached lobster
with caramelized eggplant horseradish puree,
and clam chowder and lobster roe emulsion.
[Cassidee] I think the chowder is a bit of a layup ingredient
you start with your bacon, your clams, your potato, your cream.
All of those are delicious together.
For me, the odd man out is the eggplant.
[Elijah] So I slice the eggplant and begin to cook them down
with a little bit of olive oil and brown sugar
to speed up the caramelization.
It's all about having clean, fresh flavors.
[Alex] I would do an eggplant boat
roasted with fresh herbs,
with, like, a creamy lobster
and horseradish filled situation.
Elijah shells his lobster raw
and is melting half a pound of butter on the stove
and is gonna poach it.
[Elijah] I mean, it's the world to me to represent the East,
we are competitive and we like winners.
A lobster is a little tricky to cook, you do not want to overcook it.
[Alex] You can bake them, you can stuff them,
however, I always cook the lobster whole.
[Pepe] I have been welcomed to this country
and I want to embrace
my new culture, my new home,
with my region of Catalonia.
I'm doing a grilled lobster with sauteed graffiti eggplant
and a clam chowder vinaigrette
with a lobster sauce.
For my sauce, I add brandy white wine and spices.
Strain it over and then add veal jus to it.
All right.
I'm gonna see how these East Coast chefs are doing with an East Coast basket.
-Don't stop cooking. I know you don't wanna hear from me, -[laughs]
what's your little master plan here?
Uh, so I'm making a pasta with some lobster
and then I'm gonna do some, uh, fried, uh, eggplant on top.
[Alex] I love that.
-So, little cream sauce? Lobster? -Yeah.
[Alex] I don't know about your New York hustle,
-but I'm getting the New York attitude, and I like it. -[laughs]
Thank you, thank you.
[Alex] Elijah, how are we? Ooh, you have the egg sac
-Oh, yeah. -inside the lobster, you gonna use that?
Absolutely.
-You shelled the lobster raw? -Yes.
-This is the East Coast grit coming through. -Mmm-hmm.
-How are we, chefs? Don't stop cooking. -Good, ma'am.
[Alex] I love what you did, that little flair
of keeping the tail piece on, that is so elegant.
-[Alex] Get the eggplant cooking. -Thank you.
[Alex] Let me tell you.
Unlike any other group of chefs,
the East Coast chefs, they could not wait to kick me out of there.
You have that effect on people as well, Alex.
-[laughs] -Can't seem to get rid of you, though, hard as I try.
[laughs]
[Pepe speaking]
And I add a bit of horseradish.
Then I do the clam chowder vinaigrette,
so that flavor of that vinaigrette and the eggplant
gets a harmony into them.
[Alex] Horseradish with those vinegary notes,
I would literally do, like, a lobster roll with, like, a horseradish mayonnaise.
And breaded and deep-fried eggplant fingers.
[Shenarri] I incorporate the horseradish
into a wet batter for the eggplant.
Chickpea flour is something that I always use with my vegan cooking.
It adds, like, a little extra crisp to your fry.
Put the eggplant into the fryer,
because I want to get it super crispy.
I pull the lobster out of the water
and looks like the lobster that people cook in seafood restaurants.
I'm in here. I'm in the game.
The struggle. [chuckles]
If I had this lobster, I would certainly shock it,
make it easy to remove from the shell.
And I might give it a bit of a grill.
[Pepe] I wanna get the taste, I wanna grill them
very high heat on the pan.
Elijah, you have two minutes left, let's go.
[Elijah] Still time to finish my clam chowder lobster roe sauce.
So I added to the ice, I got to add air and volume.
You know what Elijah's gunning to do? Not finish plating.
-Elijah, you've got a minute here, let's go. -[Elijah] I'll be there.
Pepe is plating like a madman.
[Alex] Let's do this.
-[Scott] Let's go, chefs, come on, get it done. -Come on, guys.
[Alex] Elijah's in the pantry.
-Four ingredients, 10 seconds, plate stuff. -Oh, my God.
-7 seconds, Elijah. -[Ted] 10, 9,
8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3,
2, 1. Time's up.
Do we still have the Manhattans?
That was actually my first time even, like,
dealing with a lobster.
So, I think I just learned a lot in about 30 minutes.
[Elijah] I came here to win, so anything less than that will be disappointing.
East's the best region in the country, so, gotta represent.
[kitchen timer ticking]
Chefs, you brought East Coast hustle
to that entree round
as you pulled together lobster,
New England clam chowder,
graffiti eggplants
and horseradish.
Chef Elijah, please tell us about your dish.
So, I went with the idea of, like, a lobsters and mash.
You know, a play off of bangers and mash.
So I tied together the eggplant, uh,
caramelized it with horseradish and potato.
I used the clam chowder as a sauce with the roe
and then butter-poached the lobster with a little chili and fennel.
[Alex] Hmm.
I love that you used the lobster roe.
With so little time, to use both the meat and the roe,
I mean, that's how you play the Chopped game.
Thank you, Chef.
You know, the flavor on the lobster's delicious.
I really like the fat that it's sitting in.
But this puree...
That eggplant, I don't feel like was cooked out enough.
It still has that little bit of bitterness...
Thank you, Chef.
[Cassidee] Chef Elijah, you definitely used
all of the ingredients in your basket,
and each individually you can taste them.
I'm not sure they necessarily all mesh well together on the plate here.
And I'm sure this is not the presentation that you were expecting.
But again, 30 minutes, that's impressive.
Thank you, Chef Elijah.
Next up, Chef Pepe.
[Pepe] It's a grilled lobster
with a sauteed eggplant and clam chowder
with a touch of horseradish
and a lobster bill demi-glace sauce.
[Alex] It's interesting because the eggplant is very meaty.
So we have this lobster that's sweet,
and then there's this meat sauce,
and I love that.
Simultaneously,
you've put chicken flavors and beef flavors on lobster.
And the lobster's like, "What happened?"
Yeah, I can't help but be looking for miso
inside that eggplant, Chef, for some reason.
I just feel like that would really bring it all together.
Not getting the horseradish,
and maybe that's the reason why.
But I think that the lobster's gorgeous.
It's cooked beautifully.
The eggplant chowder threw me off a little bit.
It's just kind of out on its own,
like, "Hey, I'm over here. I was in the basket."
The rest of the plate, really, really, really nice.
Thank you.
Chef, what makes you the best chef to represent the East?
[Pepe] I've opened 10 restaurants.
And now opening my own in Washington D.C.
and in one year got a Michelin star.
It's been a fantastic story so far.
[Scott] Wow.
Thank you, Chef Pepe.
Next up, Chef Shenarri.
Today I've made for you a clam chowder alfredo
with some fried eggplant and lobster.
[Ted] And what makes you the best candidate for "Chef of the East"?
You know, I'm fearless, I'm hungry for it,
I'll cook meat, I'll crack lobsters,
whatever it takes.
Uh... I don't even know where to start.
You know, traditionally, an alfredo is really simple.
Pasta water, butter, Parmesan cheese.
And I just feel like you didn't do that.
I felt like you added cream
and you kept adding cream to it.
And this is really thick.
-I agree. You said alfredo. -Yes...
I got cilantro and I was like, "What?"
I almost, you know, I overheated like an old car.
-You know? -[softly] Yeah.
And I wish you had strained the chowder
because I don't like the chunks of potato in there.
But I like that the eggplant functions
like a broiled Parmesan cheese crisp
would function in another context.
I love how you just dove right into the lobster.
Fearless, definitely like an East Coast chick.
But I think it was a hair overcooked,
but it was seasoned very nicely.
Thank you, Chef.
[Ted] Okay, based on your entrees,
now the judges must decide
which two East Coast culinary greats
will duel it out in dessert.
[Shenarri] You know, I took this time off away from work,
away from my friends and family and home,
so I can't come back empty-handed.
I have to bring back this win.
[kitchen timer ticking]
In this exacting test of skill,
even the smallest mistakes matter.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Elijah, you've been chopped.
Judges?
Chef Elijah, clearly you have a wonderful resume.
You have lots of talent.
Your lobster was delicious.
Unfortunately, your presentation fell flat,
your eggplant puree was undercooked
and hard to eat.
So we're gonna have to chop you.
Thank you.
You know, it wasn't my best dish
and deserved to get chopped, so...
You know, if your execution isn't up to par,
then you don't make it.
Chef Shenarri, Chef Pepe.
One of you will be representing the East in our finale.
Who's it gonna be?
It's gonna be me, because I've been training all my life for this.
Well, I'm a East Coast girl through and through.
I got this.
Well, to win it all, prepare yourselves
for whatever surprises the dessert basket may have in store.
They're all yours.
Um... a cake.
[Ted] You've got a Boston cream pie.
Okay.
With a Boston cream pie, I feel the dessert is already done.
Blueberries!
I'm excited to see blueberries, those are my friends.
-[Ted] Scrapple. -[Pepe] Scrapple?
I never see this in my life.
And coffee syrup.
Some coffee syrup? Okay,
Thirty minutes to sweeten your chances of victory.
Clock starts now.
And they're off.
Whoever wins here is going to the 50,000 dollar finale.
They've got a chance at a huge payday.
[Cassidee] Chef Pepe, he's bringing this chill, professional vibe.
You wouldn't think he was competing right now.
Chef Shenarri is a go-getter.
She is very East Coast.
Behind.
Very sure of herself, and very excited to be here.
"Pork stock."
Pork, pork, pork and pork. Okay.
The only thing that really throws me off is scrapple.
It reminds me of a sweet pork sausage pie
that I used to eat growing up.
So I'm going to make a scrapple patty
with a Boston cream fruit compote
and a little bit of toasted pistachios.
Well, judges, Eastern Pennsylvanians
think scrapple is scrumptious.
How about you?
I feel like scrapple is like the East Coast version of canned ham.
I like scrapple.
For me it's just like a breakfast sausage.
[Shenarri] I add coffee syrup to the scrapple because
I want to just pack in those flavors.
And then for my compote
I get some blueberries into a pot
and some strawberries into a separate pot
because I don't want the strawberries to overpower the blueberries.
I add lemon juice and coffee syrup.
Syrup's great. Coffee syrup? Hmm.
Pepe has brought the heat. I see the techniques.
But, you know, I'm just as good.
Hmm. Fire.
[Pepe] Shenarri's a very strong candidate
throughout all the competition
so I don't expect any less of her for this round.
With a Boston cream pie,
the first idea comes to me is to do a mousse.
I'm making a Boston pie mousse
with coffee foam
and scrapple tuile.
[Scott] Coffee syrup is very Rhode Island.
It's kind of a sweet syrup.
I mean, you would use it the same way you would use chocolate syrup.
[Pepe] I'm working on my coffee syrup foam
so I can melt my gelatin into it
and cool it down as soon as possible.
I don't think it's gross, but scrapple is not my thing.
But I'm gonna do a tuile out of it.
So, I'm taking my scrapple,
I'm adding bit of butter, sugar and and flour.
And I throw it into the oven.
[Alex] I would cook the blueberries down with the scrapple,
nuts and the coffee syrup
and do like, a scrapple baklava.
[Scott] I would do a play on a tiramisu.
Because toasted coffee syrup, toasted pasty cream...
I like your idea better than mine.
Wait. Can we mark that tape?
Because I'm never gonna hear that again.
[Shenarri] I decided to make cake pop with the cream pie.
So, I break it down and I add in some flour
and a little bit of cornstarch.
I need to win this round
so that I can represent the East
and win the entire competition.
Pepe put half the Boston cream pie in the blender
with, and get this, nothing.
Hey, Pepe, what are you doing with what you've got in the blender there?
I wanna blend it to do like a mousse.
[Alex] I don't think a Chopped contestant
should turn a cake, that's actually a pie, into a mousse.
Thoughts?
I feel so uncomfortable and sweaty.
Please turn the blender off.
[Pepe] I can hear Alex on the back complaining
about me putting it in the blender.
Let me do this. I know what I'm doing.
Everybody breathe with me.
All right.
Not only does Pepe have the Boston cream pie in a blender,
but he also has tuile in the oven,
and it is completely raw still.
And I'm not sure it's gonna make it.
[Pepe] I'm checking on my tuile
and it's not cooking on time.
This is not looking good.
He's taking it out of the oven and in a pan.
If this tuile doesn't cook, I'm gonna get chopped.
[kitchen timer ticking]
[Scott] Pepe has scrapple tuile
and it is completely raw still.
And I'm not sure it's gonna make it.
If you have raw flour, you gotta cook it out.
He's taken it out of the oven and in a pan.
I only have the scrapple in my tuile, so it has to be perfect.
[Shenarri] So, I grab the ring mold
and I compress the scrapple at the bottom of the bowl.
Pepe, you got a little over a minute left.
[Pepe] My foam is cool and I charge it...
Pepe, what are you putting in the iSi?
Uh... coffee... cream?
We are at the final minute here, folks.
He gets one issue with that whipped cream canister...
-I know. -...he is sunk.
Come on, you can do it.
[Pepe] Looking into the scrapple tuile,
some parts are fully cooked,
overcooked,
so I'm gonna have to pick the right pieces.
[Ted] 30 seconds, folks.
[Scott] Come on, Chef Shenarri! Get it done.
[Shenarri] My cake pops are not coming out how I want them to
so, you know, it's time to improvise.
So I just whipped the cream off of them instead.
Let's go, East Coast!
Final seconds of the final round, chefs!
Ten, nine, eight, seven...
-[nervous muttering] -[Ted] ...six...
five, four, three,
two, one...
Time's up.
[clapping and cheering]
-I surrender. -[all laughing]
I surrender the dessert.
You know, it didn't start how I wanted it to,
but I think I put my all into this dish
and hopefully it's a 50,000 dollar dessert.
I feel good about the creativity that I put into the dish.
Not so with the execution of it.
Chef Shenarri, Chef Pepe, with your sights set
on the All-American Showdown finale,
you opened up your dessert baskets
and found a Boston cream pie,
blueberries, scrapple, and coffee syrup.
Chef Shenarri.
I've made a scrapple patty
with a little bit of Boston cream,
a fruit compote with both strawberries and blueberries
along with toasted pistachios and some lemon zest.
[Cassidee] The compote with the scrapple is a nice combination.
But the cream is a little off-putting for me
from a textural standpoint.
I wanna start with your presentation.
The fact that you budgeted time
to plate something so sleekly,
I really appreciate it.
-It's beautiful. -Thank you, Chef.
I think visually, though, the scrapple,
I want it to be like, a streusel, and then a scrapple.
It's almost like, "Just kidding."
But I like the way you fortified it with the coffee syrup.
Thank you, Chef.
Chef, this is giving me a little bit
more breakfast vibe than dessert vibe.
And I'm not necessarily discerning any of the coffee syrup.
The best thing on the plate are the strawberries,
the blueberries, I think you did a great job of utilizing those.
Thank you, Chef.
Chef, what have you learned about yourself during this competition?
I learned that I'm very fearless
and I really brought the New York grit.
And I'm not limited with my cooking.
Yeah, you got a lot to be proud of, Chef.
-Yeah. -Thank you.
Thank you, Chef Shenarri.
Finally, Chef Pepe.
We're gonna find a Boston pie mousse
with an elevated coffee foam,
sauteed blueberries
and a scrapple tuile.
-So this is the scrapple? -It is, Chefs.
I like the addition of the pork in the blueberry.
I think it kinda brings the blueberry forward.
The mousse is texturally maybe a little tacky for my taste,
but I think the tuile was just the right amount of scrapple for this dessert.
Yeah, I love the tuile.
I think the tuile is spectacular.
The mousse I'm a little torn on.
Taking a cake and putting it inside a blender
does not a mousse make.
No, definitely no.
[Alex sighs] Fine. In terms of creativity,
the scrapple tuile is the most creative thing I've eaten
in this entire competition today.
It's a shame I have to tell you that my tuile is...
really burnt.
And I don't know that the Boston cream pie in the blender was the move.
Your risks were big,
and some of them paid off and straight-up for me, some of them didn't.
Okay. Three rounds down.
-Thank you, Chefs. -Thank you.
Judges, both of these East Coast aces
brought so much experience and nuance to the plates.
[Cassidee] Okay, appetizer.
[Alex] Such finesse.
I especially loved Pepe's Manhattan butter sauce,
but the orange zest took the vegetable filling
to a sweet-ish place for me.
Yeah, the zest wasn't working for me at all.
Chef Shenarri gave us something similar, right?
The stuffed escarole with that Pennsylvania pot roast...
There was so much great flavor.
Yeah, her Dijon Manhattan sauce
really brightened up that dish.
I though Chef Shenarri's entree lacked creativity.
[Scott] Yeah, and I didn't get a big extraction of flavor from that lobster
and the rest of the pasta that she had created.
In Chef Pepe's main course, he gave us a really beautiful
plate of that roasted lobster tail.
Just the way he fabricated it, sauteed it in butter, then finished it on a grill.
I agree, but I really didn't like that Pepe went to the pantry
and took veal demi-glace and chicken stock and added it to lobster.
Lobster is one of the noblest ingredients on the east coast.
But I wouldn't take away from the precision of his cooking.
Agree.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Shenarri, you've been chopped. Judges?
[Alex] Chef Shenarri, we sure appreciated having you
cook here with us in the Chopped kitchen.
For the main course, we loved the crispy eggplant,
but the pasta cookery and the fact that the lobster
was a little bit overworked and overcooked, it wasn't inviting to eat.
For your dessert, your presentation was stunning,
but leaned more towards a breakfast than an actual dessert.
-And so we had to chop you. -Thank you, chefs.
-[whispers] Good luck. [chuckles] -Thank you. Thanks.
You know, I'm just very grateful to even be here,
working alongside a Michelin Star Chef.
The hardest part about this moment is,
obviously, not going home with $50,000.
Then that means, Chef Pepe, you are the Chopped champion. How does that feel?
Awesome, awesome. It feels super good.
We loved what you did, just really good cooking.
Your years of cooking at a high caliber really came through today.
Excellent job.
[Pepe] Now I have achieved to earn my Michelin Star for my restaurant
and to win Chopped by myself,
I'm bringing this win back home east.
[narrator] Four champions from four corners of the country.
There's a cold front coming in from the north.
[Pepe] I'm the beast from the east.
I'm bringing the heat from the south.
The sun might rise in the east, but it sets in the west.
They're perfection, they're the best in the country.
[Alex] Technique has to be spot-on, execution spot-on.
Everybody wants it more, everybody's that much closer.
This is bananas.
[man] $50,000 on the line, I cannot lose.
This is the Chopped all-American showdown.