You've got to set the tone
and strike the right note.
[man 1] I'll do whatever it takes.
[man 2] This is not gonna be easy.
[Ted Allen] Grab the butter, bring the bravado.
[woman] I'm here to kick some butt.
[Ted] This is a celebration of the one, the only,
the OG French Chef...
I'm Julia Child.
[Ted] Every basket is a puzzle.
[woman] Let's take coq au vin,
put it through the Chopped meat grinder.
[Ted] Julia's classic recipes
will inspire innovative and modern dishes.
[Scott] There's a million directions you can go in here.
[Janelle] Flavor in 20 minutes, hello.
I'm hoping it's cooked.
So exciting!
It smells delicious!
[Ted] 16 chefs are gunning for a dream trip to France.
Oh, my God.
-I heard that. -Watch your back, baby!
Here comes the drama.
[Julia] Don't overcook the duck.
What is he thinking?
-[woman] It's a lot of pressure. -[cries out]
[Alex] We gotta go here! It's go time, let's go!
Move, boy.
[exhaling]
Julia would be very upset right now,
she'd be drinking wine.
[Ted] It's gonna go very fast!
[woman] Oh my God, the clock is going.
That's terrifying.
Feel like I'm gonna cry.
[exclaims] We almost there, mama.
[exclaiming]
[Julia] That was a mistake.
Welcome to Chopped.
Bon appetit.
[Janelle] In the kitchen, I mean business,
because I come with the flavor.
[Julia] Got to get all of that flavor.
[Janelle] I cook new age Caribbean
with French technique.
I'm taking a big risk today, I'm making a tarte tatin.
My vibe in the kitchen is very similar to Julia.
I show what technique is, how it relates.
And then, it can be a little fun, too.
Julia was able to revolutionize a whole industry
by just being herself.
And I have the Julia spirit.
Julia, give me your energy.
[squeals]
[Julia] There, we're ready to serve.
[Janelle] Delicious, hello.
I have a shot at this called winning.
I am going to win in this competition.
That is it, yes?
[Julia] And that makes a perfectly lovely little tart there.
Well, hello.
[Julia] Good one for us to have in our repertoire.
[Victor] Julia Child was a very funny,
witty human being.
[exclaims] That was a mistake!
[Victor] She had this connection
with people through food,
the same way that I do.
I used to watch Julia Child on TV and think,
"I wanna do that."
So, I applied for a cook job
to go train under a French chef in Germany.
It would be tremendous if I could win.
Anything with Julia Child is such a wonderful thing.
Chef Julia, this is for you.
[Julia] One of the most delicious chicken dishes
you ever put in your mouth.
[Jenna] I'm an urban farmer and a personal chef.
How do you describe the most magnificent woman
who just lives for her taste buds?
That's who Julia is.
It stinks perfectly.
Food shouldn't be pretentious.
My food is approachable and fun.
Julia would love that.
I've been cooking for so many years,
and when I first started there weren't that many women.
And Julia's been an incredible inspiration
as a fearless female that I could look up to.
[Julia] Not at all difficult to do yourself.
[Jenna] I like to have a good time.
But I really like to win.
With enough butter, anything is good.
[Julia] And this, of course, is a very hearty dish.
[Dan] Julia would pop up on the TV,
and it was almost kinda mesmerizing.
And she really made French cuisine
and cooking in general just so inviting.
My style of cooking is refined rustic fare.
We take classic dishes
and add a nice, local twist to them.
This flip's for you, Julia.
That's very good.
[Dan] What separates me from these other chefs
is my classic French training.
I've worked in Provence.
And I was nominated three times
for a James Beard award.
My ego's at stake a little bit.
But I'm definitely the chef to beat in this competition.
Bon appetit.
[Julia] Well, now, this is ready to serve.
[Nilou] I miss seeing the Julia Child...
[Amanda] I met her at Aspen Food and Wine.
[Nilou] Do you know that I learned English
watching Julia Child?
-[Scott] Stop it! -[Nilou exclaims]
And you don't have that Julia accent at all.
No, I don't have that accent, you're right.
-[all laughing] -[Scott] That's right.
I do say [in a French accent] "Bon appetit".
Hello, Chefs.
[all] Hello!
Chefs, welcome to Chopped, Julia Child's Kitchen.
-[Jenna] Thank you! -Thank you.
Chopped has always been about striving for excellence.
And there is one chef
who exemplifies those qualities
more than any other.
The OG French Chef, Julia Child!
Yes!
[Ted] In this unique tournament,
the mystery ingredients are inspired by recipes
featured on Julia Child's defining TV show,
The French Chef.
-[Jenna whoops] -I love that show.
-[Dan] Love that show. -My whole life.
[Ted] This first basket's inspired by French onion soup.
And here's what Julia Child herself
had to say about this.
[chopping on TV]
[Julia] Chopping onions for French onion soup.
Exactly the same kind you'd get
if you were in Paris, France.
Simmer it in a pot like this
for three or four hours or more.
You can see it takes quite a long time to cook.
[Ted] Well, of course, Chefs,
you don't have to make French onion soup.
Instead, you'll be cooking up an ode to that classic
with whatever is in these baskets.
Let's see what you got.
[Jenna] Oh, my. [laughs nervously]
[Ted] You've got a blooming onion.
We'll make it happen, we'll make it work.
-[Ted] Baby artichokes. -Wow.
Oh, I love these beautiful baby artichokes.
-It's some veal. -[Ted] Veal osso buco.
[Dan] Baby artichokes and osso buco in 20 minutes,
that's a tall order.
[Ted] And L'Etivaz cheese.
I think I'm feeling pretty good about this.
Twenty minutes to make Julia proud.
-Time starts now. -[all cheering]
-[Jenna] Got that! -[Ted] Let's go, Chefs!
-Let's go! -[Jenna] Okay.
[Ted] Amanda, Scott, you're joined
on the judge's panel
by celebrated culinary journalist
Nilou Motamed.
Welcome back, Nilou.
Thank you very much, Ted.
So, judges, Julia Child is so significant
for generations of cooks.
[Scott] Yeah, I think there was a comfort level
that she had with being herself
that all of us just gravitated towards.
I appreciated the joy she brought into food.
Even though she's very serious about learning her craft.
[Amanda] These baskets are inspired by
Julia's French onion soup recipe.
So, they don't have to make that.
-[Nilou] No. -But...
something with that nostalgic, rich flavor.
[Dan] French onion soup is the inspiration.
I see something like osso buco
that has a lot of deep flavor in there,
I've gotta make a broth.
And then take the meat and make a meatball.
I'm making veal meatballs
and baby artichoke soup
with an osso buco broth.
[Scott] What do you do with osso buco,
which takes hours to prepare,
in a 20-minute time frame?
It's a lot to ask.
[Amanda] Chef Dan is being really ambitious.
He's throwing bones into a pot,
he's got the grinder.
If he works fast, he can get it done.
But I'm telling you right now, Julia would not like this.
[laughing]
Julia would just talk about the dish for 20 minutes.
Behind.
[Janelle] French cooking is about love.
And you have to do flavor in 20 minutes.
Hello!
Hello, flavor!
So, how do we do that?
Some shallots, thyme, parsley.
I'm making braised veal with a pork reduction
and sauteed blooming onion
and artichokes.
[Nilou] The good thing about these little baby artichokes
is at least the choke is edible.
-So, you don't have to go through the... -Right.
...the arduous process of taking that choke out.
Julia was always daring
with the ingredients that she had.
And I like to be daring like Julia.
And Asian food is one of my favorite things to do.
So, I'm making veal osso buco broth
and sesame rice noodles.
I'm cooking these baby artichokes in the broth
to get them nice and tender.
I also put the cheese rind in there as well
to give a little bit more of a French onion soup flavor.
The cheese that's in the basket
is a Swiss cheese called L'Etivaz.
Yeah, and it has a creamy, delicious flavor.
[Victor] I'm going to use the L'Etivaz cheese
with a Parmesan.
Just let it brown until it's crunch and crispy.
[Amanda] Chef Jenna is also grinding her meat.
And she's actually having a lot of fun doing it.
I think everybody feels like they have a little Julia in them.
Chef Jenna! What are you making, Chef?
[Jenna] What I'm working on
is a blooming onion, veal osso buco meatball.
Gonna make a salad of raw mushrooms
and raw artichoke hearts.
We got some meatballs coming, Chef, I love it.
[Jenna] Julia would always say,
"Maybe a bit of cognac."
You can also add a little bit of cognac.
Chefs, we're coming up on the 10 minute mark.
I wonder how Julia Child would feel about a blooming onion.
[Nilou] A deep fried sweet onion
that has a lot of onion flavor.
The question is how they're gonna use it.
[Dan] In my veal meatballs,
I'm mixing bacon, breadcrumb,
the L'Etivaz cheese.
And the blooming onion's gonna be a great thickener for the meatball...
I'm using three of my basket ingredients in this meatball.
And to me, French onion soup,
if you're gonna have good representation,
you need that bread on top,
you need some kind of cheese on it,
just kinda tie everything together.
[Janelle] As I was breaking down the veal, honey, I cut myself.
Here comes the drama.
[Scott] So, Chef Janelle just cut herself,
this is a big concern,
because there's not a lot of time to waste anyway.
[Victor] To prepare the sesame rice noodles,
I toss them with some sesame seeds
and a little bit of sesame oil.
[Amanda] Chef Victor is going the Asian route,
which I would have never, ever imagined.
-Like, I would just have go French... -[Scott] Yes.
[Amanda] I would just stay in that wheelhouse.
When I was living in Tuscany,
one of the most popular items
with the little artichokes
is to shave them very, very thinly
and serve them raw in salads
with raw mushrooms and grape vinaigrette.
[Janelle] I don't have much time,
but I get the veal on the fire.
And I realize I haven't touched anything else.
She's really behind.
[Janelle] I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.
I had a whole game plan coming in,
but I haven't touched the artichoke,
I haven't touched the blooming onion,
I still have the cheese.
Five minutes to get it together,
and I don't have it all.
All right, Chefs, five minutes to go here.
[Janelle] I have to pull all the tricks out of the bag, honey.
How did this come so... [exclaims softy]
[Janelle] I have lost my mind.
[Scott] Chef Janelle has been really frantic.
This is a big concern, because there's not a lot of time to waste.
[Janelle] I'm nervous!
Haven't touched the artichoke,
I haven't touched the blooming onion.
I still have the cheese!
Have not done anything with you yet.
I cannot give the artichokes
back to the judges the way they saw it.
So, I am peeling back the outer artichoke leaves
to incorporate that with the blooming onion.
I have my veal going,
and I add some port wine.
-She's got this. -Yeah.
[Janelle] At this point, I'm saying to myself,
"Girl, you got this. Yes!"
[Victor] With my blooming onion,
I'm making a crunchy topping for my dish.
I'm definitely feeling the pressure,
barely any time, it's nerve-wracking.
But I think I can pull this off.
[Nilou] Come on, Chefs!
You need four plates, four ingredients.
[Jenna] I flip my meatball,
and that cheese is gonna give
a nice crust on the other side.
[Amanda] You have two minutes!
[Dan] I'm poaching the meatballs in the broth.
But I'm not getting the depth of flavor I'm looking for.
I'm trying as hard as I can,
but I only have 20 minutes.
All right, Chefs, you got one minute to go.
I hate to tell you that.
-You gotta get it on the plate. -Come on, Chefs.
Get it done, Chef.
Seconds remain to get this right.
-Ten, nine... -[Scott] All four ingredients.
-You can do it! -[Ted] ...eight, seven...
-[Nilou] Presentation! -...six...
-Don't forget the cheese! -...five...
-Over here, cheese, cheese. -...four...
-...three, two... -[Janelle] Cheese, cheese!
[Ted] ...one...
-Time's up. -[Nilou] Wow.
-Wow, wow. -[Amanda] Yes!
-Under. -Nice job.
Nice job!
-How you doing, baby? -I'm all right.
-[Amanda] She got it done. -She got it done.
-Nice job, dude. -Thank you.
[Janelle] The show goes on.
Sometimes you cut yourself, you gotta keep going on.
If I could have a sip of wine, I would at this moment.
Because, hello, I deserve some wine, yes.
[exhales]
Soup takes hours and hours, sometimes days.
I mean, getting that in 20 minutes,
I'm definitely concerned
that the depth of flavor isn't there.
You have arrived at the chopping block.
And the first basket was inspired
by Julia Child's recipe for French onion soup.
You had a blooming onion,
baby artichokes,
veal osso buco,
and L'Etivaz cheese.
Chef Dan, what'd you make?
I made an osso buco broth
with a veal meatball and baby artichokes.
I'm from the generation where Chef Julia was still on TV.
And she definitely brought the spirit
of keeping things fun in the kitchen.
I can sometimes be a little too serious,
-so I'm kinda toning that down. -[Amanda laughs]
[Nilou] Chef Dan, the flavor of this meatball
does make me think about French onion soup.
With the addition of the L'Etivaz cheese,
I keep on getting these kind of echoes of French onion soup.
Um, the broth feels like it needed more development.
But I'm impressed by what you've put forward.
Thank you.
[Scott] Chef, I think...
the texture of that osso buco meatball is really nice.
But...
it's a boiled meatball in a broth.
It does need a little bit more finesse.
Right now, it's like I'm in a Russian Gulag.
-You know what I mean? -[laughing]
Totally makes sense.
[Amanda] Yeah, I'm looking for something else
to sort of give this a deeper flavor.
Somewhere, you needed caramelization.
In an onion, or on the meatball...
Thank you, Chef Dan.
Next, Chef Victor.
All right, we have a veal osso buco broth,
some sesame rice noodles for dipping,
and then a crunchy blooming onion topping.
And I used the cheese to also make a crisp.
[Amanda] Chef Victor, I think you embraced
the French onion soup idea,
and then cracked it open.
[laughs]
The overwhelming majority of the flavor in this dish
was coming from that blooming onion chili crunch...
contraption you've created.
-[laughs] -[Scott] But...
-I think it's good. -Thank you.
[Nilou] Chef Victor, I love the way that you took
that L'Etivaz cheese
and made it into a top hat for your dish.
But then, as we go to the lower layers,
I don't taste the basket ingredients.
I wanted to taste more of that veal osso buco
and the baby artichokes.
Thank you, Chef Victor.
Next up, Chef Jenna.
Today I've made for you an osso buco meatball
over an artichoke heart and fresh mushroom salad.
As a latchkey kid,
I used to watch Julia's show
when I would come home from school.
So, I just started making the meals
And really was a great way for us
to bring the family together.
[softly] All right.
What you created is delicious.
I love the usage of the baby artichokes
inside the salad.
I like that balance of the texture
of the radicchio with the mushrooms.
I think your flavors are on point.
Yeah, I love the fact that you did the artichokes raw.
The meatball itself is good.
But I'm feeling the binder more than the meat, actually.
And I'm missing the cheese a little bit on mine.
I don't know how much French onion soup inspiration we're getting here.
[Nilou] Chef Jenna, is this a dish
that Julia would look at and say,
"This celebrates onion"?
I would say,
"No, I don't think it does."
It doesn't celebrate that heartiness
and, like, that velvetiness.
Thank you, Chef Jenna.
Finally, Chef Janelle.
I made an amazing dish.
A braised veal,
sauteed artichoke
and blooming onion.
-And what about Julia inspires you? -[Janelle chuckles]
The first day of culinary school,
I walked in, and it was all men.
And I said, "This is the experience that Julia Child had.
And I'm having it, and I'm not leaving."
[Ted] Excellent.
[Scott] Chef, there's elements about this dish
that Julia would love.
This blooming onion and shallot
has that tremendous amount of depth of flavor.
And I think with that osso buco,
I like the flavors on the exterior.
The cheese you just grated over.
I did, I wanted to highlight how beautiful the cheese is.
[Amanda] Yeah, I mean, the cheese is delicious.
I mean, the piece of meat itself is cooked,
it's just tough because of the nature of the piece of meat.
Right.
It needs to cook for a really, really,
-really long time. -Long time. Right.
Right, I think if you could have pounded out this veal,
it would have cooked better.
-But you cut yourself. -Yeah.
You somehow managed to cook through it
and you still got us a finished plate of food.
Thank you.
[Ted] Okay.
Learning from mistakes
is something Julia talked about a lot.
Three of you will have a chance
to improve in the next round.
[Dan] If I'm lucky enough to move into round two,
I'm definitely gonna improve on my depth of flavor in my dishes.
[Janelle] Honey, time got away from me.
I think everybody has a game plan after,
but I feel good.
[timer ticking]
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Janelle, you've been chopped.
-Thank you. -Judge Nilou.
Chef Janelle, unfortunately, your veal osso buco
barely had time to cook
so, it was tough and hard to eat.
And so, we had to chop you.
I'm so thankful to be here.
Congratulations, everybody.
You keep rocking.
Thank you.
Honey, you just kind of roll with the punches,
you keep going.
So, it really speaks to the Julia Child spirit
that I'm very thankful for the experience.
Chef Jenna, Chef Victor, Chef Dan.
You've accomplished the first goal,
making it to the entree round.
Let's find out what Julia Child recipe
you'll be riffing on this round.
This canard a l'orange,
or duck with orange,
is one of the most famous dishes for duck.
This is what they call "la grande cuisine,"
or fancy French cooking.
And all that means is it just takes more time
than ordinary French cooking.
[Ted] Excellent.
This basket's a collection of ingredients
inspired by Julia Child's recipe for duck a l'orange.
Open 'em up!
And you've got Pekin duck.
I'm feeling good about this.
[imitates quacking]
[Ted] Caneles.
Brussels sprouts on the stalk.
[Ted] Brussels sprouts.
There we go.
[Ted] And orange fruit slices.
[Victor] Oh, wow. That's...
a different use of orange.
Thirty minutes to make main dishes.
-Time starts now. -[Amanda] Come on!
-Voila! -[Amanda] Let's go!
-[clapping] -[Nilou] Bring Julia!
I am obsessed with duck a l'orange.
You get the crispy skin,
and then this very unctuous, very orangey sauce
that is pure magic.
But we don't want a replication
of what Julia's done.
We want something that shows us who each of these contestants is.
[Dan] It is a Julia Child themed competition.
So, I know I gotta go big
and really showcase my classic technique.
I'm making spice-roasted duck breast
over sauteed Brussels sprouts,
a red wine orange reduction
and an orange gastrique.
I had some strong critique in the first round
about not having depth of flavor.
So, I know I wanna build some body in my sauce.
So, I use some of the bones off of the duck,
build some caramelization,
deglaze with red wine, orange liqueur,
and reduce into a nice sauce.
My father, when he was a young man,
we'd go out and shoot pheasant, make stock.
That's kind of where I started cutting my teeth.
And then worked my way into a restaurant in France.
So, my edge is my depth of experience.
[Amanda] This basket is gorgeous.
You have sweet, you have the Brussels,
you have the canele, I mean...
The options are almost endless.
-[Nilou] Yes. -[Scott] Yeah.
There's a million directions you can go in here.
But that means you really have to execute technique
at a very high level.
And that's one of the challenges
with cooking duck in the Chopped kitchen.
So, I wanna go see what the chefs are doing.
[Nilou] All right.
It's only in France where you can get bacon like this.
[Amanda] What's going on, Chef Victor?
I am doing duck stuffed with this right here.
Some fresh herbs, garlic.
And then I'm making the sauce
from these duck bones and orange slices.
[Amanda] Do you have enough time for that?
[Victor] I hope so.
This canele is custard-like cake
with a thin, caramelized shell.
I figured it'd be a great stuffing,
so I just saute that with garlic,
shallots and herbs.
I'm going to put my spin on this classic dish
by just trying to be fearless in the kitchen, like Julia.
[Jenna] If I trace back to reading Julia's cookbook,
I'd bet you $5, there's a portion that says,
"If you're cooking any sort of fowl,
and you wanna make it faster,
cut it into pieces and serve it as a ragu."
Is this where the bacon smell is coming from?
-Yes, ma'am. -Okay.
Just a little bit of bacon
stirred in with my mirepoix for a duck ragu
-that I'm making. -Duck ragu!
[Jenna] I'm gonna make an orange polenta.
-[Amanda] Oh, wow! -[Jenna] And then...
some crispy skin on top.
Extremely creative!
Duck a l'orange is generally quite sweet.
So, I'm making the sauce
to add a sweet element to the dish.
So, I cook the little cakes with orange liqueur
and I give it a great flambe.
And then add some cream.
Chefs, 20 minutes on the clock.
[Amanda] What do you do with the Brussels?
There's a thousand ways to make Brussels sprouts.
How are you gonna get a little bit creative?
[Dan] My plan is to use some of the duck fat
to caramelize the Brussels sprouts with a little bacon.
I am worried that Brussels sprouts alone
aren't gonna carry the dish.
So, I just grabbed red potatoes.
Duck fat roast potatoes, who doesn't love them?
[Victor] Julia Child loved Brussels sprouts,
and so do I.
I'm going to saute them
with squash and heirloom tomatoes,
making a very nice vegetable medley.
Chefs, less than 10 minutes on that clock.
We need to talk about the fact
that the orange fruit slices are not fruit.
They're a gummy, gelatin kind of candy
-with a lot of sugar on the outside? -What, Ted?
That's not fruit?
That's what my grandmother used to have in her house.
You have to think about what else goes with the orange.
-[Nilou] Right. -'Cause sweet orange is really hard
to incorporate in savory.
Bring in sage or thyme.
[Scott] Ginger, scallions,
all those things go so well with the flavors of orange.
[Jenna] For my polenta,
I melt the orange slices down with a little pinot grigio.
I feel like it's a nice play on that duck a l'orange.
Melted perfectly.
I taste the polenta and it's a little sweet.
Mascarpone...
So, I add a lot of mascarpone.
[Dan] The sweet-sour component of duck a l'orange
is very, very important.
I wanna build a gastrique.
It's pretty much, uh, 50% vinegar, 50% sugar.
I'm being pretty ambitious this round.
So, I wanna make canele croutons,
I think it's another great place for that duck fat,
and bring really beautiful texture in the dish.
Chef Dan is going very straightforward.
Orange glaze, duck breast.
Chef Victor is going totally out of the box.
He's gonna stuff the duck breast
with the caneles.
All right, Chefs, five minutes to go here.
[Victor] With the orange slices in the jus,
I'm trying to balance the sweet
with the savory of the duck breast.
I think I'm sticking to the inspiration
of duck a l'orange pretty well.
Julia Child really shaped my career.
At my restaurant, I used to cook
the whole five-course menu about her
because she was about living big
and having fun
and celebrating herself and other people.
Chef Jenna, how you feeling?
Um, uh, ducky.
-Just ducky. -[Jenna laughs]
[Ted] One minute, Chefs.
[Amanda] You gotta hurry.
Get that sauce on the plates, Chefs.
Duck! Duck!
[Nilou] Come on, Jenna! Come on, Jenna!
Get those plates pretty in...
-Ten, nine... -[Scott] Chef Jenna, get it done.
-...eight, seven... -[Jenna] Oh, my God.
-...six, five... -Get it done!
-...four, three... -Let's go!
-...two, one... -[clapping]
[Ted] Time's up! Please step back.
-Oh, my... -[Scott whoops softly]
-[all clapping] -Good job.
[exhaling]
-Good job. -[imitates explosion]
[Dan] The pressure's definitely getting higher.
The cream of the crop is rising here
and you got some real competition in front of you.
[Victor] Obviously, both of these chefs are wonderful chefs.
But I gotta say, Dan is a fierce competitor.
[timer ticking]
Chefs, inside your entree baskets
you found a Pekin duck,
Brussels sprouts, caneles,
and orange fruit slices.
Ingredients inspired by Julia Child's
classic recipe for duck a l'orange.
Chef Jenna, what do we have?
I made for you a duck ragu
over orange scented polenta.
[Nilou] Chef Jenna,
there's something really compulsively...
edible about this dish.
The cracklings are the highlight.
This dish would have been a great success
had you not layered in too many of those gummies.
The polenta is sweet.
[Jenna] But she would have said,
[imitating Julia] "You want to celebrate the sweetness."
-[all chuckling] -I like it.
Creativity is high here.
But yeah, the polenta is sweet.
And sort of artificially candy sweet.
Mmm-hmm.
[Amanda] I wish it had balance of something.
Sage, or ginger, or something else.
Because it just tastes like...
candied orange polenta.
I like these little bits of duck skin that you gave us.
These are great.
[Scott] There's a clear nod towards duck a l'orange.
I think there's some execution issues, though.
I think that you kind of cut this duck a little too small.
It's really overcooked.
Thank you, Chef Jenna.
Next up, Chef Victor.
I have a seared duck breast with a canele stuffing.
I did a jus with the orange slices.
And then I have sauteed Brussels sprouts,
squash, and heirloom tomatoes.
I would have never, ever thought
to stuff a duck breast,
and that took a lot of work on your part.
-Appreciate it. -[Amanda] Um...
my favorite part of the dish is the sauce,
because it has this Thanksgiving gravy, like, feel to it.
And you have a nice, nice hint of orange.
You really gave us that duck a l'orange inspiration.
-Thank you. -[Nilou] The fact that you used your duck carcass,
and added a lot of aromatics.
The flavor is... wonderful.
But my duck unfortunately came with very little stuffing
and was cooked unevenly, sorry to say.
No, it's okay.
[Scott] Your vegetables are severely undercooked.
But your orange sauce itself,
you developed that really, really nicely
in a very short amount of time.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Chef Victor.
Finally, Chef Dan.
We have a spice-roasted duck breast
over sauteed Brussels sprouts
with a kind of potatoes Lyonnaise.
And a little orange gastrique
around the outside of the plate.
What motivates you to be here, Chef?
I would absolutely love to go to France.
It's where I set my roots.
Go back to Marseille, eat some bouillabaisse
and bring that energy back to my team,
would be really amazing.
Nothing wrong with just sitting in Marseille
and eating some bouillabaisse, right?
[Ted] It's a lovely thing.
Then you just come back and tell your staff,
"Eh, sorry you couldn't make it."
-[all laughing] -[Ted] "It was a blast."
Chef Dan, what you've given us
is a plate that really showcases
your mastery of French technique.
The way you scored the duck, the way you seared it,
the way you developed the flavor in the sauce.
You've done Julia proud.
-Thank you. -[Nilou] Thank you.
You made a really cohesive dish.
And there's something really comforting about it.
The potatoes, the Brussels,
those crispy, little caneles.
Definitely harkens back to an a l'orange with a twist.
But the duck needs to be cooked more evenly.
It's really rare in some parts
and really well cooked in others.
But when you get everything in one bite,
it's a really good bite.
Really like the spice mixture
that you have on the duck.
But the big challenge on the plate is this glaze.
You could wrap it with a candy wrapper
and eat it like that.
Yeah, it congealed a little more when it cooled down.
I've never cooked with candy orange
in a sauce like that before, so...
Welcome to Chopped.
-Yeah. Yeah. -[all laughing]
-[Ted] Chef Dan, thank you. -Thank you.
Now, the judges must decide who has to leave us.
Thank you, Chefs.
[Dan] My gastrique kinda congealed on the plate.
So, I'm a little on edge right now.
It's super hard to pull together
Julia Child recipes in this time frame.
Probably the hardest competition I've ever been involved in.
[Jenna] I had a hard time
balancing out the sweetness of the orange slices.
But nobody shows up here to go home.
[timer ticking]
Whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Victor, you've been chopped.
Judges.
[Amanda] Chef Victor, you had some issues
with the stuffing of the duck breast.
And the Brussels sprouts
were really, really, really undercooked.
And so, we had to chop you.
Thank you.
I feel very proud.
And I think throughout the whole competition
and just in life,
it's not what life throws at you,
but you know, how you roll with the punches.
Chef Jenna, Chef Dan.
In the words of Julia Child,
"If you're afraid of butter, use cream."
Let's see what sweet Julia recipe
will be your inspiration in this round.
Today, we're going to do a really exquisite French dessert
called Charlotte Malakoff.
Molded in ladyfingers.
You wanna have drama in your dessert.
We want to keep our cream light and full.
Oh! This is just awfully good.
Hmm.
This basket's inspired by Julia Child's recipe
for Charlotte Malakoff.
All right, baskets are ready.
Let's go!
[exclaims]
A cocktail.
[Ted] And you've got a bitter Frenchman.
Strawberries.
[Jenna] Beautiful strawberries.
[Ted] Coconut whipped cream.
-Coconut whipped cream. -[Jenna] Non-dairy.
[Dan] Not too bad.
I don't think Julia used anything that was non-dairy.
[Ted] And madeleines.
A little stressed about this one.
Dessert round starts...
right now.
[all cheering]
[Scott] Let's go, Chefs!
[Amanda] Come on, let's do it!
[Scott] Let's go!
-[Nilou] Bring the desserts! -[clapping]
[Amanda] Bring the Julia!
So, this is a tremendous amount of pressure
these chefs have put themselves into.
-This particular dessert requires finesse. -[Nilou] Yeah.
The inspiration behind this basket
is a Charlotte Malakoff.
You line up those ladyfingers around a pan
and then you put that cream inside.
Madeleines are not ladyfingers.
They're a sponge cake,
and they just melt in your mouth.
I would be okay if they made
some kind of a layered parfait
or a trifle...
[Nilou] Oh!
[Dan] Madeleines!
Super French, big sugar content.
Right away, I know I'm gonna grill those.
[Ted] Chef Dan, what are you building?
[Dan] I'm making some coconut flavored ice cream
with a little strawberry sauce,
and grilled madeleine.
-Grilled madeleine. -[Amanda exclaims]
[Dan] So, I'm using butter.
And once I get nice grill marks,
I put them in a saute pan with more butter,
which Julia would definitely be very proud of.
[Amanda] I love how Chef Dan really channeled Julia
by using a lot of butter on his grilled madeleines.
[Jenna] The madeleines are so dry.
I decide to crumble them
and use that as a binder
for my cake batter.
What are you making us, Chef?
[Jenna] Uh, I'm making a lemon madeleine cake...
[Jenna and Nilou exclaim]
[Jenna] ...with a strawberry Chantilly cream.
And white chocolate bitter something.
A chocolate bitter something.
Love it.
[Jenna] At 14, I wanted to be a pastry chef.
So, I've always been interested in desserts.
The cake needs to cook quite quickly.
So, with a largest surface area,
a cake that would normally cook in 30 minutes,
will cook in half that time.
Chefs, 20 minutes to get it done.
-Making ice cream? -[Dan] Yes.
Charlotte Malakoff,
it's a cream, custardy-based dish.
So, I'm making coconut ice cream.
I'm making a classic ice cream base a l'anglaise.
This is a non-dairy coconut whipped cream.
But I still think the texture
is gonna play super well in the ice cream.
I like the idea of Dan
putting the coconut whipped cream in his ice cream.
We make ice cream in our restaurant every day.
[Nilou] A bitter Frenchman is play on a French 75,
a very classic cocktail.
Bitter.
But in lieu of just having champagne and gin
and lemon and simple syrup,
it adds an Italian aperitivo for a bitter element.
Yeah, you gotta be careful with that.
[Jenna] I wanna make a sauce using the coconut cream
and strawberries
and the bitter Frenchman.
Next, I get some heavy cream going
for a Chantilly cream
because Julia always loved a great Chantilly cream.
I add mascarpone, sugar,
and then my fresh strawberries.
What would Julia do?
She'd be pretty proud of me right now.
Ten minutes to go, Chefs!
[Dan] I've never had bitter Frenchman before.
-Boozy. -As I taste it...
Just like Julia.
...there's nice, bitter notes.
So, I now wanna make a strawberry sauce.
[Nilou] More than ever,
I'm seeing them embrace the idea
of classic French cooking.
Chef Dan comes at it
from a very classical training background.
[Scott] And then Chef Jenna has this love of food.
It's really fun to watch
the passion that she has for all things Julia Child.
[Jenna] This dish is inspired by Charlotte Malakoff.
Julia's video does mention that it contains chocolate.
So, I melt down some white chocolate
to add to the sauce.
I fold that in,
and get that directly into the blast chiller.
A little crowded over at the blast chiller
because Dan's working on the ice cream
and I'm trying to get my stuff in,
and he slams his ice cream right in there, too.
Maybe he's a little more aggressive than I am in the kitchen.
[Ted] Julia Child was 6'2" tall.
She played basketball in college.
Meanwhile, I'm getting kind of a sports arena
play-off energy in this kitchen.
Six minutes left, Chefs, six minutes!
I see Jenna going in and out of the blast chiller,
like, a hundred times.
Yo, my ice cream's in there, keep it cold!
Jenna has a sauce in it.
She keeps messing around with it.
There's three basket ingredients in there.
There's coconut whipped cream, there's the strawberry,
and there's the bitter Frenchman.
So, that's crucial. It's a lot of pressure.
[Jenna] I keep taking the sauce out of the blast chiller
because it's a little sweeter than I want it to be.
So, I add the rest of the cocktail.
And I need it to cool down as quickly as possible.
I just need to make that sauce work.
[timer ticking]
[Dan] I see Jenna going in and out of the blast chiller,
like, a hundred times.
Yo, my ice cream's in there. Keep it cold.
-[Nilou] Come on, Chefs! -[Scott] Let's go, Chefs! Let's go!
[Dan] When I was a young chef,
I used to do spun sugar
and all these different kinds of sugar art.
So, I'm melting down water and sugar.
I let it cool down a little bit
and start whipping that sugar
so it gets a nice, lacey texture.
[Ted] This is a technique that we hardly ever see here.
I really wish we'd see it more often.
Two minutes, get it done.
[Jenna] The cake is too warm to cut
and still serve beautifully.
So, I decide to crumble it
and make more of a trifle or a parfait.
One minute, Chefs.
[Scott] Look at those beautiful blue plates.
They match the wall, it's amazing.
You're seeing a lot of energy and intensity
in this dessert round.
Behind, behind.
And it looks like we're gonna get a couple of good ones.
I'm very confident with the texture of my ice cream.
Dan's ice cream looks gorgeous.
I wanna be a Chopped champion,
and I know I'm just minutes away.
-Let's go, all four basket items. -All four!
Come on, Chefs, final seconds of the final round!
-[Nilou cheering] -[Ted] Ten...
nine, eight,
-seven... -Oh!
-[Amanda] You can do it! -[Ted] ...six...
five, four, three,
two, one...
Hands up!
[cheering and whooping]
-[Ted] Thanks. -[Jenna] Yay. Yay!
[whooping and laughing]
[Dan] My favorite part is probably
that boozy cocktail strawberry sauce.
That's right up Julia's alley.
I mean, I wish I was drinking,
but I wanna save that till a little bit from now.
[Jenna] I know my dish is tasty.
I think Julia would be proud of me.
[Ted] Chef Jenna, Chef Dan.
It was really exciting watching you make dishes
with a bitter Frenchman,
strawberries,
coconut whipped cream,
and madeleines.
Ingredients inspired by Julia Child's Charlotte Malakoff.
So, what's for dessert? Chef Dan.
[Dan] I have a grilled madeleine.
Coconut ice cream.
Underneath, you have a coconut almond crumble.
We have a bitter Frenchman strawberry sauce
and a spun little nest on top.
Mmh!
Chef, this ice cream is excellent!
I love that you did the spun sugar,
I love that you put that extra effort into it.
I love that you added a lot of butter along the way.
-[Amanda laughs] -Thank you. Thank you.
[Scott] Chef, I think this is great.
I think the addition of the spun sugar
is so fantastic.
It adds an element of texture to the ice cream.
And I think the strawberry sauce,
you know, it has such a real nice depth of strawberry flavor.
And then a little hint of bitterness
on the back end of the palate,
which is just really nicely done.
And I think this would be something
that Julia Child approves of.
Thank you.
Chef Dan, I have to agree with Amanda.
The ice cream is pure perfection.
I love the combination of it with the toasted almond and coconut.
But at this level,
I would have hoped that you would have used
this madeleine in some other way
beyond what basket ingredient that was given to you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef Dan.
Chef Jenna.
I made for you a madeleine cake
with Chantilly mascarpone whip
and Frenchman strawberry sauce.
[Nilou] Chef Jenna, this cake feels really, really inviting.
Very Julia.
You have turned these madeleines
into an even better version of themselves.
Thank you.
I agree, this cake is spectacular.
I love what you did with the coconut whip
by adding the mascarpone to it
and creating that Chantilly cream.
[Amanda] I think your choice of vessel
reminded me of that roundness of a Charlotte.
And the center of this
feels like the middle of a Charlotte.
But the sauce is a bit too sweet,
'cause we have the white chocolate
and coconut whipped cream in there.
And I think you maybe shied away
from the bitter Frenchman cocktail a little too much.
That could have really balanced the sweetness.
Thank you, Chef Jenna.
Thank you.
Okay, we are minutes away from a defining moment
for one of you.
Please stand by. Thank you, Chefs.
Judges, which of those chefs
seemed most into taking classic recipe ideas
and turning them into something modern and new?
If you think about the first round,
Chef Dan created that beautiful crouton
with the L'Etivaz cheese,
which really invoked French onion soup.
Unfortunately, there was no real development
-in the broth itself. -Yeah.
On the flip side, we had Chef Jenna,
who did a great job
with the basket ingredients themselves,
but adding the layer
of the Julia Child French onion soup,
that's where I think she fell short.
But she made a delicious salad
and she honored raw artichoke.
That was a technique that was very French-y,
-in a way. -[Scott] Agreed.
-That takes us to the main course round. -Right.
Where Chef Dan did a pretty close to a classic
duck a l'orange,
where he really took that interpretation to heart.
[Amanda] Yeah, but Chef Dan's duck
was really inconsistently cooked.
But the red wine sauce on his duck...
-[Scott] Yeah. -...was terrific.
And then we have Chef Jenna,
who really disassembled
everything that we know about duck a l'orange.
I loved the idea of it.
It's just unfortunate that it was quite sweet
because of the addition of the orange slices.
So, who celebrated Julia
-the most today? -[Amanda] Yeah.
[Dan] I think I progressively got better as the day went on.
It feels amazing to be this close to winning.
[Jenna] I definitely did Julia proud today.
We're high-fiving in heaven right now.
So... whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Jenna, you've been chopped.
Judges.
Chef Jenna, in your appetizer round,
Chef, we loved the usage of the baby artichokes.
Unfortunately, it just didn't evoke French onion soup.
And in your main course, the polenta was just a little bit too sweet.
And then finally in your dessert,
you just doubled down on too much sweetness overall.
And so, we had to chop you.
But really wonderful having you.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
I loved this competition.
You better win.
-I'll do my best. -Yeah.
[Jenna] I'm ready for a glass of wine now.
Like, I'm disappointed, but I came to have fun.
And I had fun.
-[Ted] Thank you, Chef. -[Amanda] Cheers.
[clapping]
And that means, Chef Dan Fox,
you are the Chopped champion.
Congratulations!
-All right. -[Amanda] Yes!
-[Nilou whoops] -Well done.
-Well done! -Thank you so much.
This moment means just the world to me.
It's truly special to honor someone like Julia.
And to perform like I did today
really is truly a special thing.
We are very proud of you.
And we feel like Julia Child would be as well.
Thank you, thank you.
When you come back for the finale,
then it's gonna be really time
for you to roll up those sleeves.
-You got it going. -Oh, yeah.
I'm ready for it.
-[Scott] It's exciting. -Bring it on.
-[Ted] Congratulations, Chef. -[Amanda and Nilou] Yes!
-Congratulations! -Well done!
Well done!
[Dan] I'm ready to bring home that $25,000 trip to Europe.
Finale, I'm coming for you.