[mimics horn blowing sound]
When ballpark foods are in the baskets,
you gotta swing for the fences.
I'mma bat and clean up. It's go time.
I want a foot-long and a beer.
[Fanerra] It is a boat load of nacho cheese.
[Alix] Hot diggity dogs.
I need you to cook before if you're raw,
I'm going home.
Judge!
I've never pickled anything,
so that probably gonna taste like crap.
This is a curve ball, you got to attack it.
I got no ideas, but I'mma figure something out.
That's gonna have to be good enough.
[Aristide] You know, this stressing me out.
This is screaming ballpark.
[Alix] I really have to knock it out of the park
if I'm gonna win.
[intense music playing]
[Aristide] Apps, entrees, dessert,
I'mma bat and clean up, I'm ready to go.
I'm a private chef from New Orleans, Louisiana.
I mainly cook for athletes, have a few MLB clients.
I have a long list of achievements
that I'm trying to get to.
James Beard, Michelin Star, but right now
I'm on deck to be the next Chopped Champion.
[upbeat music playing]
[Alix] I've been watching Chopped since I was a kid
and I'm not walking out without that $10,000.
I'm Alix baker, I am a private chef
in Brooklyn, New York.
My food is pure and simple,
there's not much to hide behind,
just great ingredients on a well composed plate.
I would eat this thing right off the bone.
Check me out in the ballgame.
Good luck predicting what I'm capable of.
I'm Fanerra Dupree, the chef owner
of Black Nile Seafood & Soul Food
in Brooklyn, New York.
I'm all about good energy and good food.
You'll never gonna catch me
but I have a smile on my face.
I'm excited, I can't wait.
They gonna love this food y'all.
[singer] ♪ I'm bulletproof ♪
[upbeat music playing]
I'm a very impulsive chef,
I don't like to follow the rules.
Food should have big flavors and rich textures.
You should get messy when you eat.
I'm the Executive Chef of Table in Boston, Mass.
I was a sports reporter for 13 years.
Ballpark food?
I'm gonna hit it out of the park.
Dude, what's up?
- Hi, chefs. - Hi, Ted.
- Hey, hey, how you doing? - Hi, Ted.
The ballpark theme is in play.
Every basket will contain foods inspired
by America's favorite past time.
We're looking for you to make homerun caliber dishes.
Let's go. Appetizer baskets.
- Please be kind to me. - [Ted] Please open 'em up.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ted] You've got foot-long hot dogs.
Oh, my God.
[Ted] Nacho cheese sauce.
It is a freaking boat load of nacho cheese.
[Ted] Soft pretzels.
You also have watermelon radishes.
Beautiful.
[Ted] That you're not gonna find at a ballpark.
Twenty minutes.
Clock starts now.
[intense music playing]
Hit it out of the ballpark.
[Ted] Amanda, Marc, you're joined
by a Filipino cuisine sensation
and cooking channel host Jordan Andino,
- welcome. - [Marc] Jordan.
[Ted] Welcome back, I should say.
Yes, I love being back here.
We're about to see whether these four chefs
can celebrate and elevate these ballpark classics.
What is fascinating to me is that they have
this massive can of that nacho cheese sauce.
Trying to repurpose that into something
that doesn't just scream heavy cheese,
it's like, that for me is the most difficult part
about this round.
[Marc] Jen, I saw you drop some pasta.
What are we getting?
I'm making macaroni and cheese.
If you wanted to eat macaroni and cheese
in a ballpark it would make sense to put hot dogs in it.
Come on, girl, you got this.
I think about adding a second cheese,
but I really wanna highlight the nacho cheese sauce.
[Marc] Now eating in a ballpark to me
is it's one of those things, "Let's see,
if I'm at this stadium, I'm gonna get this.
If I'm at that stadium, I'm gonna get that."
Like for example I go to Yankee Stadium,
they actually make a very good cubano sandwich
there which I enjoy.
Not everybody sits where you sit,
Marc, just saying.
So, for the bleacher section over here,
what do you guys eat?
I think the wine list is wonderful.
[laughter]
Uh, if we're talking a classic ballpark game,
uh, I want a foot-long and a beer.
- Yeah. Totally. - [Jordan] You know,
just like something so simple about it
and you just leave the, like, the game, just...
Generally just happier.
[Aristide] This ballpark food theme means
that you have to uplift certain food groups
that are in the ballpark.
So, for my appetizer I'm gonna make arugula,
spinach salad.
Pickled watermelon radish and pan seared hot dogs.
I went to college thinking that
I was gonna go to law school and...
But I found the passion for becoming a chef.
Wanted to do something that I will love
and it's the best decision I've ever made.
I'm thrilled for this baseball competition
because it's an All-American game,
and I'm cooking the original All-American cuisine,
soul food.
How to transform these hot dogs
into something delicious,
so, I go with that deep smothered loaded baked potato
with the spicy Cajun cheese sauce
and watermelon radishes with a honey vinaigrette.
Get my potatoes in the fryer
because I want them to be cooked perfectly.
I'm excited, super excited.
[Alix] When I think of ballpark
I think of my grandpa Kenny.
Behind.
There are two things that my grandpa loved
about the ballpark, the Yankees and the food.
For the appetizer round I'm making a pretzel dog
with dill pickled radishes.
I gather rice vinegar, sugar, salt,
and some water, and make a pickling liquid.
Alix has the beer which is actually
a really good idea to add to that cheese sauce.
There is a good base for, like, you know,
- a mornay or a bechamel. - Right.
So, if you wanna go in the cheese sauce round,
then you really gotta go and incorporate maybe
- a fontina, a mozzarella... - Yeah.
...so, something along those lines.
[Alix] When I'm at a ball game,
I want a beer cheese to go with my pretzel hot dog.
[upbeat music playing]
The watermelon radish, it doesn't really mash
with hot dog and that melty cheese.
So, if you lean a little bit more in that direction
your dish is gonna be lighter and not heavy, heavy.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jen] I don't even know what a watermelon radish is.
I've never seen one, I've never eaten one.
This is a curve ball. Sugar, where's sugar?
I decide, I'm just gonna pickle it.
I have never pickled in my life.
So, my plan is just to wing it.
Come on, girl, you got this.
There is a hundred and fifty restaurants surrounding
my restaurant in Boston.
- How you doing, Alix? - Cooking, baby.
- How you doing, Boston? - I'm all right.
But I have the aggressiveness to be competitive.
Can't sit back on a brown ball,
you got to attack it.
[Ted] Five minutes to go, chefs.
[intense music playing]
I think chefs are athletes
just like baseball players.
We sweat, we are always on our feet,
we're always moving, we're in the heat,
it's competitive.
Fanerra, how you feeling down there?
I got no ideas, but I'mma figure something out.
My competitors are pickling their radishes.
So, I'm going to keep it simple,
a little honey vinaigrette
and let the watermelon radish shine.
That's gonna have to be good enough.
- Is Fanerra finishing? - [Marc] Nope.
[Fanerra] I feel like my dish needs something
a little bot crunchy.
A fried brussel sprout, why not?
[Alix] Twenty minutes in the Chopped kitchen
goes by like that.
I run over to the fryer to put my pretzel buns in.
Oops, there's something else in the fryer?
Fanerra already has things in the fryer.
Sorry, girl, every woman for they self.
[Alix] I need the fryer
and the clock is breathing down my neck.
We got drama.
[suspenseful music playing]
[intense music playing]
I see a little bit of a fryer pile up over there.
We've got Fanerra and then we got Alix
who's also frying... It looks like her pretzels.
I see that Fanerra already has things in the fryer,
but I don't have time to wait, so I just throw
my pretzel buns right in next to it.
[Jordan] If you're frying the pretzels,
that's just gonna soak in all of that grease.
I'm feeling nervous,
but I'm trying to just have fun.
I've actually practiced with all these ingredients.
[intense music playing]
So, I'm looking at these soft pretzels
and the only thing I could think of is a crouton.
And then bring in some dried basil, dried thyme,
season it really heavily with salt and pepper.
I'm gonna make sure this is the best croutons
they've had on this entire show.
I'm gonna make almost a buttermilk
nacho cheese dressing.
I add in goat cheese, Greek yogurt.
I hope they're hustling out there.
They gotta get these plates finished.
[Jen] I spoon my mac and cheese into the bowl.
I add the bread crumb pretzel topping
and then I finish it with a little bit
of the pickled radish.
[Ted] That is an awful lot of mac and cheese
- for an appetizer. - Yeah.
- [Ted] Twenty seconds, chefs. - Right now, this is it.
- You can do it, you can do it. - [Ted] Wrapping up round one.
Rounding third base, coming in to home.
[Ted] Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Time's up.
Woo!
I'm really hoping the judges don't find my dish too simple,
my heart's in it.
We gonna see what the judges say,
I have confidence in my dish
and I'm ready to go to the next round.
I'm hoping that they don't think
it's like too blah.
[Jen] I've never pickled anything,
so that probably gonna taste like crap.
I don't know, we'll see.
[intense music playing]
Chefs, in that first ballpark basket
you got foot-long hot dogs, nacho cheese sauce,
soft pretzels, and watermelon radishes.
Chef Alix.
I've made for you a pretzel dog
with dill pickled radishes and a beer cheese.
[Ted] What was your inspiration here?
My grandpa Kenny. He was a die-hard Yankees fan.
On his 80th birthday we went to a Yankee game with him
and he was just so excited to get a hot dog.
The hot dog is great,
I love that you got that char on it.
But I'm having a hard time with the pretzel.
It feels like it just sort of soaked up
some of the fryer oil.
Yeah.
[Marc] But when you eat the dish,
put some of the cheese sauce on there,
a little bit of the pickle, it's actually really good.
Thanks.
[Amanda] The pretzel,
I didn't mind it as much as Marc.
Something good happened to it when you fried it
because it absorbed some fat.
Sometimes pretzels can be really tough.
Yeah.
I didn't expect a true hot dog,
like, that you get at a ballpark.
But you really flipped it on its head,
the fact that you sliced open the pretzel
was very creative.
I have to get critical on some of the smaller elements.
For example, I would like to see
more like consistency on the watermelon radish cuts.
Yeah.
- Chef Alix, thank you. - [Alix] Thank you.
[Ted] Chef Jen, what do we have?
Chefs, I made for you a nacho cheese,
and macaroni, and cheese, with hot dogs.
Pickled radishes and just a little bit
of parsley for garnish.
So, Jen, are you a baseball fan?
I was a Major League Baseball reporter for 13 years.
Oh, wow. That's so cool.
How did you go into culinary after that?
I always said I need to be a chef or a sports reporter
and I just ended up doing both.
I've never had anything pickled
on top of my mac and cheese.
When you get all this sudden a bite of mac and cheese
with a pickled watermelon radish it's like,
"What's going on here?"
It's a little jarring.
Is an acid on a mac normal? Like, I don't know.
But, uh, I liked it because, you know,
it's heavy dish, so you need something
to brighten it up and to cut through that fat.
Thank you.
How can you not look at this and think fun
and be excited to eat this?
It's adorable.
I do wish you had gotten some cheddar
- or some other cheese. - Yeah,
cheese would've elevated this for sure.
But I thought the use of the hot dog
was really good here.
I thought incorporating it into the mac and cheese,
I thought that was a good gameplay let's say.
- Thank you. - [Ted] Oh.
- Hey, "Gameplay" like that? - Thank you.
Thank you, chef Jen. Next up, Chef Aristide.
Today I made spinach and arugula salad
with nacho cheese dressing,
pickled radish and a pan-seared hot dog.
How did you find yourself in the chef business?
I took a chance.
I was gonna go to law school
and two months before graduating,
I wanted to find something
that I woke up every day and love to do.
Your parents must've been so excited.
[Aristide] Oh, no. I just told my mom
- I just gotta try. - Inspiring.
- [Ted] It's exciting. - Congratulations.
Aristide, I love the concept here,
and I think your bowl choice was incredible,
the little bits of like almost hot dog glardon
and the croutons kind of pop out,
so you have a great presentation here.
I think your strongest element was adding that goat cheese.
- Yeah. - [Jordan] And it gave it
a punch of flavor.
But for me the dressing was a little bit tough
to get through just because of how thick it was.
Yeah.
I'm actually looking over at Jordan and realizing
you have a lot more dressing than I do.
So, just be careful with consistency.
I do think maybe one or two other elements in here
might've raised a level of the creativity
aside from the greens it's just the basket,
- you know. - Yes, chef.
But the pickling of the watermelon radish
was a great idea.
Being a salad with a pop of, uh,
of acidity was really flavorful.
Thank you so much.
- And finally Chef Fannera. - Hi, chefs.
Today, I made for you a fancy loaded baked potato
with a side salad with some deep fried
Brussels sprouts and a honey lime vinaigrette.
Chef Fannera, what would it mean to you personally
if you were to win?
[sighs] Being a Black Muslim,
soulful chef from Brooklyn,
there's great Muslim chefs,
great Black female chefs
who don't get enough recognition
and I really wanna be that face
to let little girls like me know,
"Girl, you can be on TV."
And you can win too if you really, really try.
But there's a lot of soul in here
and a lot of flavor in here.
[dramatic music playing]
I really love the vinaigrette that you put on the salad,
great balance of the honey and the lime,
I like the direction that you were going in
with the loaded baked potatoes.
I think they're just two separate dishes.
This is one fun loaded.
And this is, like, okay, this is my workout day
with my honey lime salad.
[Jordan] Everything tasted good but when you have
17 different things at all taste good together,
you're gonna... you're gonna inevitably
have something like clashes.
I agree there's a lot going on here
but it's really hard to complain about anything
when everything I'm eating is delicious.
Brussels sprouts are cooked properly.
The potatoes are properly cooked.
This cheese you made tastes pretty good
and that's a feed in its own right there.
I have a very good idea of who you are
- when I'm eating this plate. - [Ted] Okay.
The judges have tasted everyone's work.
We'll let you know soon who has been Chopped.
Thank you, chefs.
After my critique I feel a little bit nervous
because of the inconsistency of, uh, the salad dressing.
But I know the flavors were there.
So hopefully, what I created
could get me to the next round.
[Jen] It's really difficult to think on your feet
for sure.
But looking back on it I would not have done
anything different.
[dramatic music playing]
[intense music playing]
So, this dish is on the chopping block.
[intense music playing]
Chef Jen, you've been Chopped.
Judges?
The mac and cheese is a great idea
and you cooked pasta well in this kitchen which is rare.
But we wanted the cheese sauce to be elevated
with more cheese flavor.
And the watermelon radish felt a little out of place
and so we had to chop you.
Thank you. This was so fun.
I don't think that appetizer was a reflection
of who I am as a chef.
My restaurant wouldn't be as good as it is.
You know, some of the best homerun hitters
strike out the most, like it's all good.
[dramatic music playing]
Chef Fannera, Chef Alix, Chef Aristide,
you're no longer Chopped rookies.
Do you think that'll make the second round
any easier for you?
I think we got it. I cook without fear, right?
Because I mean, ain't no time to be scared.
The baskets are in front of you.
Check out your entree ingredients.
[dramatic music playing]
Ooh.
Surprise, you've got popcorn in the basket.
I love this popcorn. I'm excited about that.
[Ted] You also have chicken tenders.
Chicken tenders, my favorite as a kid.
[Ted] Broccoli rabe.
Broccoli rabe, my favorite.
[Ted] And beer pickles.
Step our creativity up.
Thirty minutes is what you get
to make magnificent main courses.
[mimics horn blowing sound]
Clock starts now.
[upbeat music playing]
- Woo! - Let's go.
- Here we go. Here we go. - Round two.
[upbeat music playing]
[Fanerra] I made it to freaking round two.
I don't know how because the judges felt like
it seemed like two different dishes.
Definitely thinking I can come up with something
more composed than before.
Ultimately, I wanna stick to my soul food roots.
So, I see this popcorn, I'm thinking corn,
cornfields, soul food, grits, right?
So, I'm gonna make a blackened chicken and grits
with a popcorn cream sauce
and a pickle and tomato salad.
I got to say there's nothing like watching a game
with a bucket of popcorn and look at us,
we're watching the game.
Yeah, it's just really exciting.
I mean, you watch something suspenseful.
- [laughs] - It's all that.
[Amanda] You're missing, you're missing.
Oh, I'm just... Oh, I'm sorry.
The judges seemed really happy
about my appetizer,
so I'm just gonna try and repeat that success
in my entree.
I'm making popcorn chicken fingers
with broccoli rabe with a spicy aioli
and crispy smashed potatoes.
It's like I might be playing it too safe
but the first thing that came to mind is chicken fingers
and I'm just gonna run with it because I don't...
Because you're cute and that works for you so...
Let's hope it works again, all right?
...do what works for you, all right?
[Alix] It worked once, let's hope it works again.
I think there's a standard breading procedure going on
in Alix's station.
[Alix] Aristide is bringing it.
- Rock and roll. - Fanerra is bringing it.
I don't think that's enough.
I really have to knock it out of the park
- if I'm gonna win. - Please be cooked chicken.
I need you to cook because if you're raw,
I'm going home.
I don't wanna go home.
Okay.
[Marc] So, broccoli rabe, a great vegetable.
I mean, some people blanch it first,
some people just grill it.
[upbeat music playing]
When I see the broccoli rabe,
I think immediately pasta.
So I'm gonna make a Creole Chicken Monica Pasta
topped with chili, popcorn, and crumbs.
Monica pasta is like a Southern butter cream dish.
We normally use crawfish with spinach.
We put the [indistinct]
and the broccoli rabe and the chicken.
How on Earth do pickles or popcorn
work in a pasta with cream sauce?
I think if you wanna get kind of
I think out of the box.
Pickles are equally as known for their cucumber pickle
- as it is in the brine juice. - Right.
So I think incorporating that in some way
whether it's a marinade for the chicken
and a quick brine and then also...
You can also go the relish route here.
Imagine a broccoli rabe and pickled relish.
Mmm-hmm.
[Aristide] And as I taste this brine,
I'm tasting lemon, coriander.
I immediately think to put this
in my Monica sauce.
The brine will add some acid to my dish.
I need to get moving.
Less than 15 minutes left on that clock, chefs.
[Fanerra] So for the popcorn,
I know that I'm gonna make a foam
and I reduce it down with some cream.
Hmm, okay.
I used a pickled brine in my chicken marinade.
I really wanna make sure that pickle flavor
is all throughout.
I put it in my broccoli rabe but why not
make a little salad with it as well?
[Alix] I deglazed the broccoli rabe
with the pickled juice and some lemon.
If I win the $10,000,
I'll put it back into my business.
I'm launching a small production company
where I develop recipes for food brands
using their products.
I'm gonna pull out all the stops
to win this $10,000.
Time, time, time, I can't see the time.
Eight and a half. Eight and a half minutes.
- [Fanerra] Okay. - [Marc] Hey, guys, Alix is...
I got to say Alix is...
She's running everywhere. Every time I look up,
Alix is gone somewhere running around the kitchen.
[Alix] Chili flakes, who got chili flakes?
[Fanerra] I got cayenne,
- no chili flakes. - [Alix] Back, back, back.
[Aristide speaking]
So I'm using the popcorn
as a bread crumb element for my dish
because what's pasta without some type of bread crumbs?
Let's go. Hey.
It's up like the interstate.
Four and a half minutes on the clock, chefs.
[Fanerra] For my popcorn cream,
I get it into my whipped cream canister
and hope that it comes out as a foam.
Fanerra, how's it going down there?
Good.
[Amanda] You look very focused.
Let's see if this works.
[suspenseful music playing]
Aristide, how's it going? You feeling good about it?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Amanda] All right.
Stay focused. We want consistency, don't forget.
Yes, ma'am.
I'm now plating my dish and I do not like
how my food looks on this plate.
I'm all about neatness
and I'm all about presentation.
People eat with their eyes first.
30 seconds.
No!
[Amanda] Everything you want in that plate
has to go on it now.
[Aristide] Last steps, don't overthink it though.
Sauce, oh.
- You don't wanna get it. - [Amanda] Oh, my God Alix,
- don't use... - [Ted] Get those plates.
[Alix] I realized that I don't have a spicy aioli.
Get those plates as pretty as you can, chefs.
- 10 seconds. - [Ted] Ten,
- nine, eight, seven... - [Amanda] Ketchup?
- [Ted]...six, five... - [Amanda] Ketchup? Ketchup?
[Ted] ...four, three, two, one.
[Ted] Time's up.
That ketchup's gonna be a home run.
[Amanda] Oh, my God.
Oh, man.
Whoa.
I'm happy with my plating. I feel like I could do more
but who doesn't think they can do more.
[Ted] She busted her tail to get into the fridge
- to get ketchup? - [laughs]
You cannot have nothing to dip your chicken fingers in.
And I was trying to make a spicy aioli
when I just didn't have time.
So I figured last second if you need
to go for the ketchup I would and I went last second.
[Ted] Chefs, we hope that you each
hit a grand slam with your entrees.
Your basket ingredients,
popcorn,
chicken tenders,
broccoli rabe,
and beer pickles.
- Chef Alix? - Chefs, I made for you
popcorn chicken with potatoes
and broccoli rabe.
[suspenseful music playing]
I really love the broccoli rabe.
Thanks.
[Amanda] I love the garlic and the acidity
and it's cooked really well.
Popcorn was so salty that I think
you still needed to go add it
- a little bit with some... - Okay.
[Amanda] ...salt on the breading.
And my chicken tenders are just a little bit dry.
Okay.
[Marc] I don't know if I've ever had
a chicken tender that doesn't taste dry.
Even you go to those fast food places,
you could get six different sauces.
Why? Because you really don't wanna taste
the chicken finger, you just want it sauced.
- It's the vehicle. - You know,
and you fell behind in the sauce.
But I love the creativity level.
[Jordan] I agree. The potato is tight with the broccoli rabe
and like the best parts of the dish
but to just squeeze some ketchup on the plate.
Given your first dish, I definitely expected
a little bit more.
[Ted] Okay. Chef Alix, thank you.
- Thanks. - Next up, Chef Fanerra.
I made for you a blackened chicken and grits.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Marc] You've made a very,
nicely composed thoughtful dish.
- Thank you. - [Marc] It's delicious,
you got a nice heat, it's just right there
dancing on my palate.
The little pickle salad with tomato that you made
was a great way to do use the pickle.
The grits are really both cooked.
I get most of the popcorn flavor from the cream.
And I'm happy that you streamlined your plate.
- Took the crazy out. - And your ingredients, so.
And the chicken's cooked really nicely.
- Thank you. - [Jordan] Yeah, I would say
it's just so bleeping good.
- [Fanerra] Thank you. - [Jordan] It is,
I like the incorporation of pickles throughout,
that foam that you did with the corn,
I'm like, I wanna shovel this down,
like, this is really, really good.
Careful you're on camera.
[laughs]
[Ted] Thank you, Chef Fanerra.
Finally, Chef Aristide.
Uh, so today I made a Chicken Monica Pasta.
Something that's common in Louisiana.
Uh, it's Cajun style.
[suspenseful music playing]
So this is really good.
It's exactly what I want when I...
when I want like that hardy creamy pasta,
like it's just boom.
But, like, the broccoli rabe is just the leaves
and I just wanted more of the bitterness.
- Okay. - [Jordan] To maybe cut through to some of the cream.
[Amanda] This is comfort food.
A lot of flavor, a lot of fat.
It's warm, it's smoky.
It's gives that whole cream sauce
like a little bit of depth.
[Marc] What I find interesting here is,
we've taken ingredients that you might eat
in the ballpark and transform it
into a pasta dish.
But, not all the basket ingredients
wanted to be invited to this party I feel like.
Toasted corn on top of a pasta dish
doesn't really work.
Didn't give a big flavor out of it.
It was... Visually it was good.
That was where it sort of ended there.
[Aristide] There's definitely a possibility for me
to be chopped this time.
But I know how to pull a rabbit out of the hat
in the dessert round to win them over.
[Alix] I think there's definitely a 50/50 chance
of me being on the chopping block here.
Fanerra's dish was outstanding for the judges,
and you know Aristide and I kind of stand
neck and neck at this point.
[theme music playing]
[Ted] Whose dish is on the chopping block?
[Ted] Chef Aristide, you've been chopped.
Judges...
[Jordan] Chef Aristide, listen, man,
this dish was delicious.
But in the end, the broccoli rabe,
the popcorn just didn't shine as they should.
- And so, we have to chop you. - Thank you so much
- for having me. - [Amanda] Thank you, Aristide.
- [Marc] Thank you, man. - Thank you.
- We miss you already, dude. - Keep up the good work.
[Aristide] It's clear the judges love my food.
But I came up short.
All I can do is just correct myself
and still become the best chef that I can possibly be.
[tense music playing]
[Ted] Chef Fanerra, Chef Alix,
who's fired up for one last round?
Ted, I've rounded third and I'm ready to take it home.
May the best woman win.
Time to tackle these dessert baskets.
Get in there.
Your mission is to wrap up your meal with sweet treats.
[Fanerra] I'm hoping there's an apple in there.
[Ted] Caramel apple baseballs.
Roasted peanuts.
Peanuts in shell.
[Fanerra] That's gonna be a tedious one.
[Ted] Strawberries.
Cotton candy.
[Alix] Super sweet. I got to cut through that.
One last half hour on the clock.
I'm ready.
Time starts now.
Go!
[Ted] Final inning.
[crowd] Charge!
[rock music playing]
How you doing over there, girl?
Those peanuts are gonna be the problem.
[Alix] I know. I'm so nervous about that.
[Fanerra] I see caramel apple baseballs.
And the first thing I think is apple pie.
All-American dessert, right?
So all American sports.
So I'm gonna make a spiced apple pie
with berry, cotton candy, and peanut crumbs.
[Marc] For now, what am I getting for dessert?
I'm excited.
I'm gonna do a spiced apple pie.
[Jordan] You know, you only have
- like 30 minutes, right? - [Marc] Oh,
just leave her alone.
She's been able to do it so far.
This is exciting.
[Alix] When I think about the ballpark,
the first thing that comes to mind is funnel cake.
So I'm going to run with that.
I am making an apple funnel cake
with peanut powder, a strawberry compote,
and cotton candy whip.
[Marc] We've got an apple pie on one side
and funnel cake on the other.
I mean this is screaming ballpark.
Once I have my batter done, I put it into a piping bag.
All right. I hope that these come out okay.
- Oh, my God. - [Marc] Hey, batter, batter.
- Hey, batter, batter... - [Marc] Here it comes.
-[Amanda] Hey, batter, batter, batter. -...batter, batter, batter.
So my pie needs a crumble because the crumble
is the best part of a pie.
I want to make the crumble with some flour and peanuts.
And I wanna get the coconut oil to
to kind of elevate the peanut flavor
in the crumble.
[tense music playing]
- Sorry. - [Marc] All right, guys,
by the way, it looks like Alix is definitely freaking out
with whatever's going on in the fryer.
I don't think she has even started
peeling her peanuts yet.
Do your thing, please. Thank you.
I don't have time to be flustered.
So I crack open the peanuts,
which takes forever especially in Chopped time.
I can't believe I have to break these up right now.
With this funnel cake, I want more
than just powdered sugar on top.
That's what's expected.
I want to make a dust
out of the roasted peanuts
to sprinkle it all over my funnel cake.
Less than 10 minutes on the clock, chefs.
[Jordan] You got to move, you got the hustle, ladies.
Come on, you got this!
[Marc] Come on, you can do it!
[Jordan] Swing for the fences.
Swing for the fences.
[Fanerra] As I'm putting the pie filling
into the pie molds,
I realized the dough is not enough
on the size that make an actual pie.
Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on.
Fanerra, how's it going down there?
This is not gonna work.
I put my pie crust onto the grill.
I need to make sure it's actually cooked
or else I know I'm in big trouble.
This girl right here
made it to the final round in Chopped.
I cannot mess this up.
[theme music playing]
Less than five minutes to go, chefs.
[Fanerra] Time is ticking
and instead of baking the crust,
I put my pie crust onto the grill.
I think the grill may add a nice smoky element
to my dish.
I really hope my deconstructed pie
makes sense to the judges.
[Alix] I pull my funnel cake out of the fryer
and I'm actually really pleased.
They have that nice golden crisp
that I was looking for.
[Amanda] I think the sweet, sweet, sweet ingredient
is the trap of the basket, the cotton candy...
- And the strawberries. - The strawberries,
I mean at least the strawberries
- have a little tartness. - Yeah.
[Fanerra] I know that I want to melt
the strawberries into the cotton candy
so make a strawberry cotton candy sauce
that I am going to add into some cream cheese.
[Alix] Cotton candy is super potent.
And I want to bring strong flavors
to match up to Fanerra's.
I just added cream and a splash of vanilla
and let that do its thing.
Oh, that is not a nice color.
One minute to go, chefs.
[Jordan] You got to move, you got to hustle, ladies.
- Come on, you got this! - [Marc] Come on,
you can do it!
[Fanerra] I just have to get everything on the plate
to make it make sense.
[Marc] Guys, it's the ninth inning.
- It's almost over. - Bottom of the ninth.
- Start swinging. - [Amada] Come on, guys!
[Jordan] Make sure the plating looks good.
Make sure you have all four of your elements on too.
[Fanerra] As I'm plating it on the plate,
looking really messy,
but I have to go with it and just hope
that my flavors are good enough.
[Ted] Final seconds of the final round, chefs.
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
- Time's up. - [cheers and applause]
[Marc] Nice.
- Oh, boy. Oh, boy. - You did it.
Yes, girl.
- We finished. - [Alix] We did it.
I'm really happy with what I did.
But it depends on that girl over there
because she is incredible.
And it could go either way.
[Fanerra] I don't doubt that Alix's food is good,
but I do think it's a little bit safe.
[tense music playing]
[Ted] Chef Alix, Chef Fanerra.
In the final basket, you got
caramel apple baseballs,
roasted peanuts,
strawberries,
and cotton candy.
- Chef Alix. - Chefs,
today I've made for you an apple funnel cake
with peanut powder, a strawberry compote,
and a cotton candy whip.
When I think about dessert at a ballpark,
I think about funnel cake.
That's what I would always eat with my dad.
For sure.
- This is crazy town. - [Marc] I mean...
[Amanda] It tastes like cotton candy
with cream in it obviously.
But it's like blue.
- Peanut powder. - Peanut powder's
like peanut powdered sugar.
- Oh. - That's creative.
You get the nuttiness that kinda dissipates
but it's there. Like, and it looks cool.
I'm all about it. I'm gonna steal that.
- That [indistinct] - Be my guest.
[Jordan] Um, but in terms of apple,
I don't get any at all.
Oh, no.
[Marc] But the funnel cake, I think it turned out nicely.
I think you got... you got the flavors on there.
This feels like a dessert.
- Thank you. - Finally, Chef Fanerra,
what have you made for us?
I made for you today a deconstructed
spiced apple pie with a cream cheese,
berry, cotton candy sauce,
and a peanut coconut oil crumble.
Well, this is really complex.
I think the thing that I'm pulling out the most
that I really love is the coconut.
You know, that little grill pie dough
is so unique to have that smoky flavor.
And the purple cream cheese the way that came out...
I like cream cheese with my apple pie.
[Amanda] Yeah. This kind of goes back to your first dish
where it's like there's a lot of really yummy things
all over the plate.
But it's slightly confusing.
[Marc] This might not be the prettiest plate
but you have some flavors going on here
that I'm really liking.
The coconut with the peanut is good.
It was nice job. I think that you...
But it does show on the plate
that you struggled with this, right?
Yeah, I definitely did.
All right. So, you know, I ate everything on this plate
and, you know, in the end,
I really did like it.
And I would describe your palate is very nuanced.
- It's impressive. - Thank you.
[Ted] Okay. There's nothing to do now
except wait for the judges' decision.
Thank you, chefs.
[tense music playing]
Judges, hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn,
quite a culinary ballgame here.
Yes, it was. And it was an exciting game.
Just couple flaws here and there, yeah.
I... This is neck and neck.
I think Alix might've done a little bit better job
of composing a dessert.
I understand that the apple
wasn't as well represented.
But the funnel cake was proper.
The whipped cream won me over.
- Okay. - And I think
when it comes to dessert,
although Fanerra's presentation and composition
was a little bit all over the place.
Everything that I had on that dish was delicious.
But Fanerra had that same sort of composition
in the appetizer round.
There was that pile of potatoes in the cheese sauce.
There was the little salad over here.
It was so good, but was that an appetizer?
And then we've got Alix in the appetizer round,
very, very cute appetizer, flavorful too.
- The main course... - She made the nacho cheese sauce
taste like fondue.
And her entree, I love to have Alix's broccoli rabe.
But the chicken fingers needed a sauce.
It was definitely not a great, great dish.
[Jordan] Yes, I agree. And I think that
that Chef Fanerra had better flavors
than I think Alix did.
[Marc] For me it was all about those grits,
and all about that spicy chicken on that plate.
And that was delicious.
Fanerra's entree I think by far
- was the best dish of the competition. - Yeah.
So the question is,
is Fanerra's entree good enough
to take her to the win?
It's tough.
[Alix] I'm exhausted, but there's like
an electricity running through my veins right now
that's very proud of me and excited and hopeful.
[Fanerra] Winning this competition
would mean so much to me
because it would put a stamp on me
as I too am the American girl,
a Muslim Black chef
from Brooklyn, New York.
And I cook soul food, which is America's food,
which is kind of like hand in hand with baseball,
which is America's sport.
So I think that will be so dope if me,
I was the face of the baseball Chopped episode.
[rock music playing]
[Ted] So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[rock music playing]
Chef Fanerra, you've been chopped.
Judges.
- Oh, my God. - Congratulations.
It was so amazing to meet you.
- No, it's fine. - Oh, my God.
Well, Fanerra, uh, you know, I've to... I have to say,
it was such an amazing pleasure
to watch you cook today.
- Unfortunately... - Thank you.
[Marc] ...the appetizer round, we thought
it was a lot of components that tasted good,
but it was not a composed dish.
Now the main course, that was probably one
of the best dishes of the day.
Then it came to dessert where once again,
what happened in the appetizer round,
we feel like it happened again.
- Right. - [Marc] And so these
are some of the reasons we have to chopped you
but I got to tell you,
that you're amazing.
Thank you.
I cannot believe I was just that close
to winning Chopped like people who have been
watching on TV for years just ate my food
and they liked it and they understood it.
So that's huge for me.
And that means Chef Alix Baker,
you are the Chopped champion.
For turning ballpark baskets into a winning meal,
you've earned $10,000.
Congratulations.
- Thank you. - Nicely done.
Winning the ballpark competition
means so much to me.
Thank you.
My grandpa Kenny would have been
so proud of me for taking this home.
[cheers and applause]