1 00:00:01,368 --> 00:00:03,369 [man] Barbecue, it's almost embedded in your soul. 2 00:00:04,537 --> 00:00:07,584 [woman] I love the heat, the fire, the intensity. 3 00:00:07,608 --> 00:00:10,420 There's nothing that we love more than putting meat 4 00:00:10,444 --> 00:00:12,522 up against the flame. 5 00:00:12,546 --> 00:00:15,425 [Zuri] Strike that match and watch the competition burn. 6 00:00:15,449 --> 00:00:16,827 [woman] I know how to manipulate fire. 7 00:00:16,851 --> 00:00:17,927 Feeling the heat. 8 00:00:17,951 --> 00:00:19,396 [woman] These aren't your grandpa's grillers. 9 00:00:19,420 --> 00:00:20,530 We expect more. 10 00:00:20,554 --> 00:00:21,665 Ooh, sweaty. 11 00:00:21,689 --> 00:00:23,533 If there isn't fire leaving off these plates, 12 00:00:23,557 --> 00:00:25,202 I'm gonna be very disappointed. 13 00:00:25,226 --> 00:00:26,403 [Shane] Give me meat. Give me fire. 14 00:00:26,427 --> 00:00:28,005 That's all I really need. 15 00:00:28,029 --> 00:00:29,906 [Dominique] I'm the new face of fire. 16 00:00:29,930 --> 00:00:32,042 [Joe] And I'm just a high school math teacher. 17 00:00:32,066 --> 00:00:33,510 I'm missing class right now. 18 00:00:33,534 --> 00:00:36,046 This is like some cooking. 19 00:00:36,070 --> 00:00:37,414 But sometimes when you play with fire... 20 00:00:37,438 --> 00:00:39,016 You can get burned. 21 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:40,751 You work hard through everything. 22 00:00:40,775 --> 00:00:43,220 $25,000, I need you to cook like you mean it. 23 00:00:43,244 --> 00:00:44,554 Yeah. No big deal. 24 00:00:44,578 --> 00:00:45,722 He just looks confused. 25 00:00:45,746 --> 00:00:46,823 I can't believe right now. 26 00:00:46,847 --> 00:00:47,891 Oh God. 27 00:00:47,915 --> 00:00:50,360 Now, I don't know what the hell to do. 28 00:00:50,384 --> 00:00:51,928 [woman] This tournament's about to get wild. 29 00:00:51,952 --> 00:00:52,963 You're killing me. 30 00:00:52,987 --> 00:00:53,997 You sound like my mom. 31 00:00:54,021 --> 00:00:56,088 Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 32 00:00:57,223 --> 00:00:59,224 That's fire. Bring it. 33 00:01:05,665 --> 00:01:07,210 What's up, y'all. I'm Dominique Leach. 34 00:01:07,234 --> 00:01:09,246 I'm the new face of fire. 35 00:01:09,270 --> 00:01:10,747 My secret weapon, 36 00:01:10,771 --> 00:01:12,649 taking in my grandmother's soul food 37 00:01:12,673 --> 00:01:14,751 and refining it for a new generation. 38 00:01:14,775 --> 00:01:18,288 I'm the chef and owner at Lexington Buddy SmokeHouse. 39 00:01:18,312 --> 00:01:20,991 Three restaurants, a catering company, and a food truck? 40 00:01:21,015 --> 00:01:23,493 I am a smoke master. 41 00:01:23,517 --> 00:01:25,517 Pay attention. You might learn something. 42 00:01:28,888 --> 00:01:30,133 [Zuri] I'm Mexican. 43 00:01:30,157 --> 00:01:32,836 Mexican grilling is sexy, naughty, and amazing. 44 00:01:32,860 --> 00:01:35,338 I love when the meats hit the fire. 45 00:01:35,362 --> 00:01:37,607 In that moment, I become the master of the meat. 46 00:01:37,631 --> 00:01:39,109 They call me El Maestro. 47 00:01:39,133 --> 00:01:40,911 My food is the future of fire. 48 00:01:40,935 --> 00:01:42,913 The fire is the only thing that stands 49 00:01:42,937 --> 00:01:45,037 between me and $25,000. 50 00:01:48,942 --> 00:01:50,921 [Joe] I'm not your average barbecue guy. 51 00:01:50,945 --> 00:01:52,489 I'm the high school teacher that teaches math. 52 00:01:52,513 --> 00:01:55,092 And I barbecue is my side hustle. 53 00:01:55,116 --> 00:01:57,761 I'm insanely passionate about Korean barbecue 54 00:01:57,785 --> 00:01:59,096 with a Texas twist. 55 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,198 It has that smoke, that char, 56 00:02:01,222 --> 00:02:02,999 that sizzle from the fat. 57 00:02:03,023 --> 00:02:04,301 [Shane] They haven't seen anyone like me in 58 00:02:04,325 --> 00:02:05,624 the Chopped kitchen. 59 00:02:09,629 --> 00:02:11,808 [Shane] My grilling is new school Nashville 60 00:02:11,832 --> 00:02:14,778 and it has earned me multiple grand championships, 61 00:02:14,802 --> 00:02:17,614 bringing new flavor profiles to the barbecue game. 62 00:02:17,638 --> 00:02:19,516 I love everything that happens in that grill. 63 00:02:19,540 --> 00:02:21,284 I love the wood. I love the fire. 64 00:02:21,308 --> 00:02:22,352 I love the smell. 65 00:02:22,376 --> 00:02:24,154 It's magic. 66 00:02:24,178 --> 00:02:26,723 I cook for all day every day. 67 00:02:26,747 --> 00:02:29,359 It's what I was created to do. 68 00:02:29,383 --> 00:02:31,394 I can't help that I'm hogging the spotlight. 69 00:02:31,418 --> 00:02:33,051 I'm just that good. 70 00:02:34,454 --> 00:02:36,533 There's a momentous challenge ahead 71 00:02:36,557 --> 00:02:38,401 as we don't just want you to play with fire, 72 00:02:38,425 --> 00:02:40,470 we want you to master it 73 00:02:40,494 --> 00:02:42,372 and show us something brand new. 74 00:02:42,396 --> 00:02:43,907 We can do that. 75 00:02:43,931 --> 00:02:45,642 Hey, they call me El Maestro, man. 76 00:02:45,666 --> 00:02:48,011 - We got it. - Maestro. That's nice. 77 00:02:48,035 --> 00:02:50,447 The winner here will earn a coveted spot 78 00:02:50,471 --> 00:02:52,983 in our playing with fire grand finale 79 00:02:53,007 --> 00:02:54,718 with a lofty grand prize. 80 00:02:54,742 --> 00:02:57,287 That $25,000 is mine. 81 00:02:57,311 --> 00:02:59,189 I got a bunch of tricks up my sleeve. 82 00:02:59,213 --> 00:03:02,225 Also you should be in hog heaven, 83 00:03:02,249 --> 00:03:03,560 because there will be pork... 84 00:03:03,584 --> 00:03:04,861 - Oh. - Yes, yes. 85 00:03:04,885 --> 00:03:06,530 - ...in every basket. - [laughs] 86 00:03:06,554 --> 00:03:08,798 We go through so much pork at the restaurant, 87 00:03:08,822 --> 00:03:10,934 between rib tips and pork butt. 88 00:03:10,958 --> 00:03:12,969 I mean, what's not to love about it? 89 00:03:12,993 --> 00:03:15,661 Okay. First round, first basket. 90 00:03:19,666 --> 00:03:21,333 Open it up. 91 00:03:24,003 --> 00:03:25,282 [laughs] 92 00:03:25,306 --> 00:03:27,617 [Ted] You've got baby back ribs. 93 00:03:27,641 --> 00:03:29,352 Beautiful baby, beautiful. 94 00:03:29,376 --> 00:03:30,609 Cook these every day. 95 00:03:31,911 --> 00:03:35,091 [Ted] You also have daikon, honeycomb. 96 00:03:35,115 --> 00:03:37,527 Honey and pork is always good, so. 97 00:03:37,551 --> 00:03:38,795 We know what this is. 98 00:03:38,819 --> 00:03:40,063 What the? 99 00:03:40,087 --> 00:03:41,932 [Ted] And a bologna salad. 100 00:03:41,956 --> 00:03:43,021 The bologna salad. 101 00:03:44,557 --> 00:03:45,936 My stomach just dropped, 102 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:48,126 I think all the way to my knees. 103 00:03:51,664 --> 00:03:56,079 The painfully short 20-minute appetizer round starts now. 104 00:03:56,103 --> 00:03:57,781 - All right. Go, go. - All right. 105 00:03:57,805 --> 00:03:59,271 - Let do this. - Finish strong. Finish strong. 106 00:04:03,009 --> 00:04:06,089 Alex, Chris, you are joined by a very special guest judge, 107 00:04:06,113 --> 00:04:08,959 acclaimed personal chef Eric Adjepong. 108 00:04:08,983 --> 00:04:10,126 Thank you for having me, guys. 109 00:04:10,150 --> 00:04:12,629 So do you love this basket or not so much? 110 00:04:12,653 --> 00:04:15,765 I mean, I'm a huge, huge fan of pork, 111 00:04:15,789 --> 00:04:17,334 whether it's braised, whether it's smoked. 112 00:04:17,358 --> 00:04:18,501 And I think the ribs have to be 113 00:04:18,525 --> 00:04:19,970 the star of the show for sure. 114 00:04:19,994 --> 00:04:21,104 The fact that they're pre-cooked, 115 00:04:21,128 --> 00:04:22,172 kind of, gives these chefs 116 00:04:22,196 --> 00:04:23,373 a little bit of a head start, right? 117 00:04:23,397 --> 00:04:26,276 And then they obviously can, kind of, put their own spin. 118 00:04:26,300 --> 00:04:28,812 You know you could cut the meat off the bone 119 00:04:28,836 --> 00:04:30,680 and make it into a pulled pork sandwich. 120 00:04:30,704 --> 00:04:31,681 That's what I was just gonna say. 121 00:04:31,705 --> 00:04:33,250 I think we've cracked the code. 122 00:04:33,274 --> 00:04:35,641 This basket is tailor-made for pulled pork. 123 00:04:36,909 --> 00:04:39,990 There's nothing not to love about the pork sandwich. 124 00:04:40,014 --> 00:04:42,092 So I say go big or go home. 125 00:04:42,116 --> 00:04:44,828 So I'm gonna make a pulled baby back rib sandwich 126 00:04:44,852 --> 00:04:46,997 with a honey-chipotle barbecue sauce. 127 00:04:47,021 --> 00:04:50,133 The pork definitely needs a barbecue sauce 128 00:04:50,157 --> 00:04:53,169 and I'm going to add some chipotle, 129 00:04:53,193 --> 00:04:54,804 some Worcestershire, 130 00:04:54,828 --> 00:04:57,107 some molasses. 131 00:04:57,131 --> 00:05:01,144 The sweetness in the honey is really gonna bring balance 132 00:05:01,168 --> 00:05:02,979 to the chipotle. 133 00:05:03,003 --> 00:05:05,548 You know, a lot of black female chefs 134 00:05:05,572 --> 00:05:07,484 are being ignored in the industry. 135 00:05:07,508 --> 00:05:09,719 I just put my head down and opened three restaurants 136 00:05:09,743 --> 00:05:12,489 in 10 months, lines out the door. 137 00:05:12,513 --> 00:05:14,858 I said you know what, you're ignoring me, 138 00:05:14,882 --> 00:05:16,415 watch me do better than you. 139 00:05:18,051 --> 00:05:19,151 Zuri is so focused. 140 00:05:19,218 --> 00:05:20,597 - [Chris] Zuri's on his own. - Yeah, he's on his own. 141 00:05:20,621 --> 00:05:21,931 - [Alex] Zuri. - Yes. 142 00:05:21,955 --> 00:05:22,999 - How are we? - How you doing? 143 00:05:23,023 --> 00:05:24,434 I'm doing great, man, you know, making it happen. 144 00:05:24,458 --> 00:05:26,836 His crew cursed him as 145 00:05:26,860 --> 00:05:27,904 - the Maestro. - Maestro. 146 00:05:27,928 --> 00:05:30,607 I'm the Maestro behind the scenes, you know. 147 00:05:30,631 --> 00:05:32,575 My food has rhythm and flow. 148 00:05:32,599 --> 00:05:33,977 And I'm super, super excited 149 00:05:34,001 --> 00:05:36,246 to show my Mexican side, my roots. 150 00:05:36,270 --> 00:05:38,348 For my appetizer, I'm going to make ribs, 151 00:05:38,372 --> 00:05:40,650 tres chiles, and a pickled daikon. 152 00:05:40,674 --> 00:05:42,485 For everyone who doesn't speak Spanish, 153 00:05:42,509 --> 00:05:43,820 tres chiles means three chilies. 154 00:05:43,844 --> 00:05:45,010 Simple. 155 00:05:45,077 --> 00:05:48,725 I use chile de arbol, chile guajillo, chile ancho, 156 00:05:48,749 --> 00:05:50,527 and honey from the honeycomb. 157 00:05:50,551 --> 00:05:52,595 I'm hungry and I know my flavors. 158 00:05:52,619 --> 00:05:54,086 My food is, like, sexy, man. 159 00:05:59,058 --> 00:06:01,271 Most chefs would be tickled pink 160 00:06:01,295 --> 00:06:02,739 to get to cook with pork. 161 00:06:02,763 --> 00:06:03,873 Over live fire? 162 00:06:03,897 --> 00:06:05,141 Hog heaven indeed. 163 00:06:05,165 --> 00:06:08,745 I'm expecting these chefs to come out blazing literally 164 00:06:08,769 --> 00:06:10,480 and get that... Those fires going. 165 00:06:10,504 --> 00:06:12,415 [Eric] I'm expecting four unique approaches. 166 00:06:12,439 --> 00:06:15,051 We have someone who's focused with like the Chicago style. 167 00:06:15,075 --> 00:06:16,586 We have a little bit of Mexican style. 168 00:06:16,610 --> 00:06:17,821 We have Korean barbecue over here 169 00:06:17,845 --> 00:06:19,389 and like a classic mashup. 170 00:06:19,413 --> 00:06:21,791 Chef Joe, how are you feeling? 171 00:06:21,815 --> 00:06:22,926 I'm supposed to be teaching math 172 00:06:22,950 --> 00:06:23,993 but I guess this beats it. 173 00:06:24,017 --> 00:06:25,562 So I gotta win it for my kids. 174 00:06:25,586 --> 00:06:29,499 My approach is to make a Korean style gochujang 175 00:06:29,523 --> 00:06:31,301 and honey barbecue sticky ribs 176 00:06:31,325 --> 00:06:34,070 with a bologna and daikon slaw. 177 00:06:34,094 --> 00:06:36,740 Gochujang is a fermented Korean chili paste. 178 00:06:36,764 --> 00:06:38,341 It's a little sweet, 179 00:06:38,365 --> 00:06:40,377 it definitely has a kick to it. 180 00:06:40,401 --> 00:06:42,712 I don't have a culinary background. 181 00:06:42,736 --> 00:06:44,781 So I'm the underdog in this competition, 182 00:06:44,805 --> 00:06:46,049 but I'm passionate about barbecue 183 00:06:46,073 --> 00:06:48,651 and I know what I'm doing. 184 00:06:48,675 --> 00:06:50,120 I play with fire. 185 00:06:50,144 --> 00:06:52,389 I feel phenomenal. 186 00:06:52,413 --> 00:06:54,958 I've been competing in professional barbecue competitions 187 00:06:54,982 --> 00:06:56,459 for over a decade. 188 00:06:56,483 --> 00:06:58,294 My pork ribs, chicken, and brisket 189 00:06:58,318 --> 00:07:01,531 has earned me multiple grand championships. 190 00:07:01,555 --> 00:07:03,233 I'm making a baby back rib 191 00:07:03,257 --> 00:07:06,136 with a honeycomb barbecue glaze 192 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,473 sitting on top of a grilled apple daikon slaw. 193 00:07:10,497 --> 00:07:13,977 So Shane's is daikon on the grill with apples. 194 00:07:14,001 --> 00:07:15,779 - Is it? - Pork chop and applesauce. 195 00:07:15,803 --> 00:07:17,614 [Alex] I love that. 196 00:07:17,638 --> 00:07:19,849 $25,000 would go a long way. 197 00:07:19,873 --> 00:07:21,451 I work with a local organization. 198 00:07:21,475 --> 00:07:24,487 We feed homeless and poverty-stricken 199 00:07:24,511 --> 00:07:25,688 friends in our community 200 00:07:25,712 --> 00:07:27,946 and that would just give us the opportunity to do more. 201 00:07:29,916 --> 00:07:32,195 Eight minutes on the clock, chefs. 202 00:07:32,219 --> 00:07:36,199 This daikon is a giant radish, it's juicy. 203 00:07:36,223 --> 00:07:39,202 It's like a... It's like a mustardy ice cube in your mouth 204 00:07:39,226 --> 00:07:43,139 begging to be turned into ice cold juicy slaw. 205 00:07:43,163 --> 00:07:46,342 The daikon and the napa cabbage together 206 00:07:46,366 --> 00:07:48,845 is gonna bring a nice crisp slaw. 207 00:07:48,869 --> 00:07:51,014 And I'm using the bologna salad 208 00:07:51,038 --> 00:07:53,383 to make the slaw dressing. 209 00:07:53,407 --> 00:07:54,818 Bologna salad reminds me of something 210 00:07:54,842 --> 00:07:56,486 my Portuguese grandmother made growing up. 211 00:07:56,510 --> 00:07:58,321 We're talking about bologna, hardboiled eggs, 212 00:07:58,345 --> 00:07:59,789 and sweet pickled vegetables 213 00:07:59,813 --> 00:08:02,592 tossed with a mayonnaise type dressing. 214 00:08:02,616 --> 00:08:04,294 - [Alex] Very light. - Very... [laughs]. 215 00:08:04,318 --> 00:08:05,517 Yes. 216 00:08:08,254 --> 00:08:10,533 I'm looking at my dish and I think it needs a salsa. 217 00:08:10,557 --> 00:08:12,235 So bologna salad by [indistinct] pan 218 00:08:12,259 --> 00:08:14,103 with a little bit of fat, 219 00:08:14,127 --> 00:08:16,906 start dicing up that pineapple that I grilled. 220 00:08:16,930 --> 00:08:20,777 I grab some limes, some cilantro, some shallots. 221 00:08:20,801 --> 00:08:22,111 Bologna salsa is not traditional 222 00:08:22,135 --> 00:08:23,613 but after today, 223 00:08:23,637 --> 00:08:24,948 it's gonna be my new signature dish. 224 00:08:24,972 --> 00:08:26,015 Why not? 225 00:08:26,039 --> 00:08:27,250 It's what I do every day, 226 00:08:27,274 --> 00:08:28,573 you know, we're cooking with fire. 227 00:08:30,510 --> 00:08:33,790 The texture of the daikon is just kind of like a radish 228 00:08:33,814 --> 00:08:37,093 that you use a lot in making kimchi and Korean food. 229 00:08:37,117 --> 00:08:40,430 I'm mixing up my bologna salad with a daikon, 230 00:08:40,454 --> 00:08:42,532 grab some cilantro and some mint, 231 00:08:42,556 --> 00:08:45,235 but I don't wanna add too many things from the pantry 232 00:08:45,259 --> 00:08:46,870 and I also just wanna highlight 233 00:08:46,894 --> 00:08:48,260 the baby back itself. 234 00:08:49,428 --> 00:08:50,974 And I'm looking for the condiments that, 235 00:08:50,998 --> 00:08:52,809 kind of, help elevate that baby back rib. 236 00:08:52,833 --> 00:08:55,078 They have to be the star of the show for sure. 237 00:08:55,102 --> 00:08:57,347 I'm gonna make a signature barbecue honey glaze 238 00:08:57,371 --> 00:09:00,083 with this honeycomb ketchup. 239 00:09:00,107 --> 00:09:02,185 A little bit of Worcestershire sauce, mustard. 240 00:09:02,209 --> 00:09:03,853 I have chili powder 241 00:09:03,877 --> 00:09:05,655 by half these ribs on the grill 242 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:07,457 but I do not wanna lift that pan, 243 00:09:07,481 --> 00:09:08,992 I do not wanna take a peek. 244 00:09:09,016 --> 00:09:10,760 When you're looking, you ain't cooking. 245 00:09:10,784 --> 00:09:12,662 What are we feeling about the fact 246 00:09:12,686 --> 00:09:15,164 that Shane's over at the grill with a whole rack of ribs? 247 00:09:15,188 --> 00:09:17,100 Not cut, not plated. 248 00:09:17,124 --> 00:09:18,390 Five minutes to go, chefs. 249 00:09:20,059 --> 00:09:21,638 [Shane] I still have to give my plates, 250 00:09:21,662 --> 00:09:23,706 I still have to get my slaw ready. 251 00:09:23,730 --> 00:09:27,510 There's just so much to do and time is 100% my enemy. 252 00:09:27,534 --> 00:09:29,078 Shane, you got to get it on the plate 253 00:09:29,102 --> 00:09:30,346 or we're not gonna be able to eat it. 254 00:09:30,370 --> 00:09:31,581 You know what I'm saying? 255 00:09:31,605 --> 00:09:33,805 [Chris] Shane, hurry up, man. 256 00:09:40,613 --> 00:09:42,158 I'm freaking out. 257 00:09:42,182 --> 00:09:44,627 I still have to get the ribs off and cut. 258 00:09:44,651 --> 00:09:46,229 [Chris] Shane, hurry up, man. 259 00:09:46,253 --> 00:09:47,497 It's... It looks like he's cutting. 260 00:09:47,521 --> 00:09:49,098 Is he just now cutting up ribs? 261 00:09:49,122 --> 00:09:50,233 Two minutes on the clock, 262 00:09:50,257 --> 00:09:51,301 I've gotta power through 263 00:09:51,325 --> 00:09:54,003 and move like I've never moved before. 264 00:09:54,027 --> 00:09:55,605 [Zuri] My plan with the daikon 265 00:09:55,629 --> 00:09:57,407 is to make a spicy sweet pickle. 266 00:09:57,431 --> 00:09:59,008 I'm using white vinegar 267 00:09:59,032 --> 00:10:01,311 and sweeten also with the honey as well. 268 00:10:01,335 --> 00:10:02,601 Like a big explosion in your mouth. 269 00:10:04,937 --> 00:10:06,416 25K is on the line, guys. 270 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,251 Make sure you season that food. 271 00:10:08,275 --> 00:10:10,553 Pulled the baby back ribs off from the bone, 272 00:10:10,577 --> 00:10:12,455 tossed them in the barbecue sauce, 273 00:10:12,479 --> 00:10:14,891 add them to my nice buttery bun 274 00:10:14,915 --> 00:10:17,994 and top it with the slaw. 275 00:10:18,018 --> 00:10:19,429 One minute to go, chefs. 276 00:10:19,453 --> 00:10:20,797 - [Eric] Come on, guys. - Let's go, let's move, 277 00:10:20,821 --> 00:10:22,165 let's move, let's go, let's go, let's go. 278 00:10:22,189 --> 00:10:23,466 [Eric] Let's go. Let's go. Come on. 279 00:10:23,490 --> 00:10:25,602 [Joe] I've got my ribs in that gochujang 280 00:10:25,626 --> 00:10:27,637 and honey barbecue glaze. 281 00:10:27,661 --> 00:10:28,805 I'm pushing myself, 282 00:10:28,829 --> 00:10:30,629 I believe in my ability to cook with fire. 283 00:10:31,998 --> 00:10:34,711 [Eric] Get it done. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Come on. 284 00:10:34,735 --> 00:10:37,213 Shane, 30 seconds, chefs. Come on now. 285 00:10:37,237 --> 00:10:38,715 Come on. You can do this finish up. 286 00:10:38,739 --> 00:10:39,916 Finish, Shane. 287 00:10:39,940 --> 00:10:41,918 Only one of you is gonna make it to the grand finale. 288 00:10:41,942 --> 00:10:42,986 Let's go. Let's go. 289 00:10:43,010 --> 00:10:44,487 [Ted] Plate it up. Plate it up. 290 00:10:44,511 --> 00:10:46,089 Plate it up, chefs. 291 00:10:46,113 --> 00:10:47,790 Ten, nine, 292 00:10:47,814 --> 00:10:49,759 eight, seven, 293 00:10:49,783 --> 00:10:51,794 six, five, 294 00:10:51,818 --> 00:10:53,763 four, three, 295 00:10:53,787 --> 00:10:55,732 two, one. 296 00:10:55,756 --> 00:10:56,899 Time's up. 297 00:10:56,923 --> 00:10:58,067 [clapping] 298 00:10:58,091 --> 00:10:59,068 - [Chris] Wow. - Wow. 299 00:10:59,092 --> 00:11:00,058 [Ted] Nicely done. 300 00:11:03,095 --> 00:11:06,376 [Zuri] I think it's a $25,000 appetizer. 301 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:08,611 I look over Chef Dominique station 302 00:11:08,635 --> 00:11:11,848 and I think her portion size is a little big for appetizer. 303 00:11:11,872 --> 00:11:14,884 Per usual, the only woman in the competition 304 00:11:14,908 --> 00:11:16,853 is thinking a little outside of the box. 305 00:11:16,877 --> 00:11:18,621 I'm the only one that made a sandwich. 306 00:11:18,645 --> 00:11:20,056 I'm the best. I'm the best. 307 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:21,124 I'm the super weapon. 308 00:11:21,148 --> 00:11:22,447 It's mine for the taking. 309 00:11:24,884 --> 00:11:27,686 [upbeat music playing] 310 00:11:30,990 --> 00:11:33,503 Chefs, you've arrived at the Chopping Block. 311 00:11:33,527 --> 00:11:35,471 Your first Playing With Fire challenge, 312 00:11:35,495 --> 00:11:38,841 an appetizer basket stocked with baby back ribs, 313 00:11:38,865 --> 00:11:41,210 daikon, honeycomb, 314 00:11:41,234 --> 00:11:43,546 and bologna salad. 315 00:11:43,570 --> 00:11:45,014 Chef Dominique, what have you made? 316 00:11:45,038 --> 00:11:47,784 I made a pulled rib sandwich 317 00:11:47,808 --> 00:11:51,888 with a daikon and napa cabbage slaw 318 00:11:51,912 --> 00:11:55,346 along with a honey chipotle barbecue sauce. 319 00:12:00,519 --> 00:12:02,198 The char on the bun, 320 00:12:02,222 --> 00:12:04,801 the char on the ribs all day long. 321 00:12:04,825 --> 00:12:06,124 I love it. 322 00:12:07,526 --> 00:12:09,806 It's a fairly nourishing appetizer. 323 00:12:09,830 --> 00:12:11,074 I was gonna say 324 00:12:11,098 --> 00:12:12,341 I don't remember the appetizer round 325 00:12:12,365 --> 00:12:13,443 but we must have had it 326 00:12:13,467 --> 00:12:15,967 because this is clearly an entree sized sandwich. 327 00:12:17,103 --> 00:12:18,214 Pulled pork sandwich. 328 00:12:18,238 --> 00:12:19,682 Really good idea. 329 00:12:19,706 --> 00:12:20,950 My biggest issue with this dish 330 00:12:20,974 --> 00:12:22,785 is how sweet it eats. 331 00:12:22,809 --> 00:12:24,721 I saw you put a little bit of molasses in there. 332 00:12:24,745 --> 00:12:27,056 Obviously, honey was an ingredient in the basket. 333 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:28,725 It's very, very sweet. 334 00:12:28,749 --> 00:12:30,226 [Dominique] With respect, I do disagree. 335 00:12:30,250 --> 00:12:31,861 I didn't think it was too sweet. 336 00:12:31,885 --> 00:12:34,097 I used some chipotle, 337 00:12:34,121 --> 00:12:35,965 some soy sauce. 338 00:12:35,989 --> 00:12:38,367 But I really like the cabbage 339 00:12:38,391 --> 00:12:41,404 because the cabbage is weirdly bringing 340 00:12:41,428 --> 00:12:43,806 the Bologna note out for me. 341 00:12:43,830 --> 00:12:46,743 That's an example of what you wanna do all day long 342 00:12:46,767 --> 00:12:47,844 in this kitchen. 343 00:12:47,868 --> 00:12:49,345 If you're gonna take a pantry ingredient, 344 00:12:49,369 --> 00:12:52,582 have it bring out something in the basket. 345 00:12:52,606 --> 00:12:55,140 [Ted] Right on. Okay. Chef Dominique. Thank you. 346 00:12:56,509 --> 00:12:58,020 Next up, Chef Zuri. 347 00:12:58,044 --> 00:13:00,022 All right. What I made today for you guys 348 00:13:00,046 --> 00:13:03,659 is a tres chiles and sweet tomato grilled pork ribs, 349 00:13:03,683 --> 00:13:07,263 finished with grilled honey pineapple salsa, 350 00:13:07,287 --> 00:13:10,255 and pickled daikon with honey as well. 351 00:13:11,323 --> 00:13:13,336 The acidity from the pickle and from that daikon, 352 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:14,470 as well as the sweetness 353 00:13:14,494 --> 00:13:17,006 and the char from the pineapple, 354 00:13:17,030 --> 00:13:18,708 it's really, really delicious. 355 00:13:18,732 --> 00:13:21,744 And the sauce you made is fantastic. 356 00:13:21,768 --> 00:13:23,679 All the chilies, they're smoky. 357 00:13:23,703 --> 00:13:25,782 They've got a warm heat. 358 00:13:25,806 --> 00:13:27,316 Really good. 359 00:13:27,340 --> 00:13:29,418 You got some great outside char on these... 360 00:13:29,442 --> 00:13:32,155 on these ribs, like really great char. 361 00:13:32,179 --> 00:13:34,624 But unfortunately, you never went further 362 00:13:34,648 --> 00:13:36,859 than the outside of the rib. 363 00:13:36,883 --> 00:13:39,595 The ribs needed a little bit longer on the grill. 364 00:13:39,619 --> 00:13:40,863 I think, you know, 365 00:13:40,887 --> 00:13:42,131 if this basket ingredient today 366 00:13:42,155 --> 00:13:44,133 is playing with fire then, um, 367 00:13:44,157 --> 00:13:46,002 you kind of flirted with fire, 368 00:13:46,026 --> 00:13:47,170 I would say in this round. 369 00:13:47,194 --> 00:13:48,271 You didn't play with it. 370 00:13:48,295 --> 00:13:49,806 I will make love to fire next round. 371 00:13:49,830 --> 00:13:51,674 [laughter] 372 00:13:51,698 --> 00:13:54,243 Chef Shane, please tell us about your dish. 373 00:13:54,267 --> 00:13:56,679 I did a grilled baby back rib 374 00:13:56,703 --> 00:13:58,815 with a honey barbecue sauce 375 00:13:58,839 --> 00:14:03,708 on top of a grilled apple daikon slaw. 376 00:14:07,213 --> 00:14:08,558 Very creative with the daikon. 377 00:14:08,582 --> 00:14:09,859 You cooked it, 378 00:14:09,883 --> 00:14:12,161 so it intensified the flavor and changed the texture. 379 00:14:12,185 --> 00:14:16,399 I really loved the succulents of the daikon and the apple. 380 00:14:16,423 --> 00:14:17,867 The ribs feel like you had them on 381 00:14:17,891 --> 00:14:19,502 for the entirety of the 20 minutes 382 00:14:19,526 --> 00:14:21,059 so your ribs are a bit dry. 383 00:14:22,561 --> 00:14:24,040 The sauce itself is delicious, 384 00:14:24,064 --> 00:14:25,675 but in order for me to taste it, 385 00:14:25,699 --> 00:14:28,845 I actually got to, like, scrape it from the plate. 386 00:14:28,869 --> 00:14:30,680 If you would've served maybe a little side of it, 387 00:14:30,704 --> 00:14:32,481 I think, man, it would've carried you over. 388 00:14:32,505 --> 00:14:34,205 - This sauce is killer. - Thank you. 389 00:14:35,207 --> 00:14:36,719 All right. Chef Shane, thank you. 390 00:14:36,743 --> 00:14:38,354 Finally, Chef Joe, 391 00:14:38,378 --> 00:14:39,822 please tell us about your plate. 392 00:14:39,846 --> 00:14:42,525 For you today, I have a, gochujang 393 00:14:42,549 --> 00:14:44,927 and honey glaze on a baby back rib 394 00:14:44,951 --> 00:14:47,697 that is like a fusion of Korean and Texas barbecue, 395 00:14:47,721 --> 00:14:49,821 and there's bologna and daikon slaw. 396 00:14:52,291 --> 00:14:54,537 - You're a math teacher. - I am. 397 00:14:54,561 --> 00:14:57,862 Statistically, you have a 75% chance of losing, 398 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:02,812 but if you cook ribs like this, 399 00:15:02,836 --> 00:15:03,980 you're still gonna be standing here 400 00:15:04,004 --> 00:15:05,248 when the smoke clears. 401 00:15:05,272 --> 00:15:08,317 Joe, I'm gonna totally agree. 402 00:15:08,341 --> 00:15:10,253 Um, the ribs are obviously the star of the show, 403 00:15:10,277 --> 00:15:12,310 um, and my favorite ribs. 404 00:15:13,612 --> 00:15:15,091 You get a hint of heat, 405 00:15:15,115 --> 00:15:16,492 you get a hint of sweet, 406 00:15:16,516 --> 00:15:18,828 um, they eat beautifully. 407 00:15:18,852 --> 00:15:20,830 This tastes like fire 408 00:15:20,854 --> 00:15:23,766 and I then get a floral note from the honeycomb. 409 00:15:23,790 --> 00:15:25,434 I've got them stuck in my back teeth. 410 00:15:25,458 --> 00:15:26,936 I'm gonna think about it for a while. 411 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:28,638 That's what barbecue does. 412 00:15:28,662 --> 00:15:31,140 Unfortunately, slaw was kind of an afterthought. 413 00:15:31,164 --> 00:15:33,809 Needs more herbs, a little bit more acid. 414 00:15:33,833 --> 00:15:35,278 But good call on the lime. 415 00:15:35,302 --> 00:15:36,312 Nice little squeeze of lime 416 00:15:36,336 --> 00:15:37,613 just to kind of help bring things up. 417 00:15:37,637 --> 00:15:39,782 That lime needed to be in the slaw with salt. 418 00:15:39,806 --> 00:15:41,083 I agree. 419 00:15:41,107 --> 00:15:43,886 The slaw police is in the house. 420 00:15:43,910 --> 00:15:46,222 - [Ted] Okay. - Thanks, Chef. 421 00:15:46,246 --> 00:15:47,924 Now the judges have to make the call. 422 00:15:47,948 --> 00:15:49,091 Thank you. 423 00:15:49,115 --> 00:15:53,484 [suspenseful music playing] 424 00:15:55,287 --> 00:15:56,732 I think we're looking at the future of grilling 425 00:15:56,756 --> 00:15:58,034 right here at this table. 426 00:15:58,058 --> 00:15:59,201 Yeah. There's a movement here. 427 00:15:59,225 --> 00:16:00,670 Sure. 428 00:16:00,694 --> 00:16:03,005 Bring your individuality to the table. 429 00:16:03,029 --> 00:16:04,674 From every culture and I think right now 430 00:16:04,698 --> 00:16:05,975 we need something new, 431 00:16:05,999 --> 00:16:08,277 we need to change the game, man. 432 00:16:08,301 --> 00:16:12,370 [suspenseful music playing] 433 00:16:15,174 --> 00:16:18,020 I think my competitors are really nice guys. 434 00:16:18,044 --> 00:16:21,546 Unfortunately, they're not gonna win today. 435 00:16:23,282 --> 00:16:25,161 I think Dominique should be concerned 436 00:16:25,185 --> 00:16:27,163 just because of the size of her sandwich. 437 00:16:27,187 --> 00:16:28,965 [Zuri] I think Chef Joe might get chopped. 438 00:16:28,989 --> 00:16:31,834 His coleslaw didn't have like no flavor at all. 439 00:16:31,858 --> 00:16:33,703 I hope I'm not on the chopping block, 440 00:16:33,727 --> 00:16:35,871 and I wanna be able to say that I belong here. 441 00:16:35,895 --> 00:16:39,530 So whose dish is on the chopping block? 442 00:16:45,838 --> 00:16:48,206 [theme music playing] 443 00:16:50,542 --> 00:16:52,154 As we look ahead to the next round, 444 00:16:52,178 --> 00:16:55,358 we must leave someone behind. 445 00:16:55,382 --> 00:16:59,562 So whose dish is on the chopping block? 446 00:16:59,586 --> 00:17:03,388 [suspenseful music playing] 447 00:17:10,262 --> 00:17:12,108 Chef Shane, you've been chopped. 448 00:17:12,132 --> 00:17:13,576 Judges. 449 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,312 Shane, we loved the roasted daikon, 450 00:17:16,336 --> 00:17:17,980 super creative. 451 00:17:18,004 --> 00:17:20,149 Unfortunately, your ribs were overcooked 452 00:17:20,173 --> 00:17:22,018 and so we had to chop you. 453 00:17:22,042 --> 00:17:24,220 I understand. 454 00:17:24,244 --> 00:17:25,910 - [Ted] Good luck. - [Shane] Yeah, man. 455 00:17:26,945 --> 00:17:28,190 Good job, man. 456 00:17:28,214 --> 00:17:30,126 This is high pressure, intense. 457 00:17:30,150 --> 00:17:32,328 Obviously the time got away from me. 458 00:17:32,352 --> 00:17:34,619 I'll be seeing that rib in my dreams. 459 00:17:38,057 --> 00:17:41,404 Chef Dominique, Chef Zuri, Chef Joe, 460 00:17:41,428 --> 00:17:43,928 the second hog heaven basket is in front of you. 461 00:17:45,497 --> 00:17:47,910 The first round, they told me I flirted with fire 462 00:17:47,934 --> 00:17:49,545 and I have to make love with fire. 463 00:17:49,569 --> 00:17:51,414 So that's what I'm gonna do, make love to the fire. 464 00:17:51,438 --> 00:17:52,537 Go for it. 465 00:17:54,473 --> 00:17:55,840 [groans] 466 00:17:57,109 --> 00:17:59,221 [Ted] And you are looking at pork butt. 467 00:17:59,245 --> 00:18:02,391 I love pork butt but I don't like 30 minutes to cook it. 468 00:18:02,415 --> 00:18:04,293 Pork butt in 30 minutes? 469 00:18:04,317 --> 00:18:06,729 Okay. We're turning up a notch, I get it, Ted. 470 00:18:06,753 --> 00:18:09,498 - [Ted] Cabbage. - Cabbage. 471 00:18:09,522 --> 00:18:11,267 [Ted] Gummy apple candy. 472 00:18:11,291 --> 00:18:12,902 I can eat like a whole bag of it, 473 00:18:12,926 --> 00:18:14,437 but I never cook with them. 474 00:18:14,461 --> 00:18:15,571 [Ted] And pork skin. 475 00:18:15,595 --> 00:18:17,173 [Dominique] All Right. All right. All right. 476 00:18:17,197 --> 00:18:19,208 - This is not an easy basket. - Not at all. 477 00:18:19,232 --> 00:18:20,443 [Joe] Oh, my God. 478 00:18:20,467 --> 00:18:22,767 This basket is way more challenging than the last one. 479 00:18:24,436 --> 00:18:25,714 Let's see how I can make it work, yeah. 480 00:18:25,738 --> 00:18:27,083 [Ted] Thirty minutes for the entree round. 481 00:18:27,107 --> 00:18:29,385 Start playing with fire... 482 00:18:29,409 --> 00:18:30,508 now. 483 00:18:32,811 --> 00:18:34,679 Off to the races. 484 00:18:36,048 --> 00:18:38,961 So the pork butt is a huge hunk of meat 485 00:18:38,985 --> 00:18:41,430 that you normally braise for eight hours 486 00:18:41,454 --> 00:18:43,866 and you've got to figure out a way to cook it quickly. 487 00:18:43,890 --> 00:18:46,502 This is a classic chopped dilemma. 488 00:18:46,526 --> 00:18:48,270 I would grind it with something 489 00:18:48,294 --> 00:18:51,040 to make it juicy as it's coming through the grinder. 490 00:18:51,064 --> 00:18:54,443 Very... Cut very thin, thin slices of shoulder. 491 00:18:54,467 --> 00:18:57,680 He is now, as you can hear, pounding them away. 492 00:18:57,704 --> 00:18:59,315 I have to tenderize the pork butt 493 00:18:59,339 --> 00:19:01,350 because it has a lot of connective tissue. 494 00:19:01,374 --> 00:19:02,985 [Eric] Zuri has all those vegetables 495 00:19:03,009 --> 00:19:04,053 that are perfect for the grill. 496 00:19:04,077 --> 00:19:05,354 I see some tomatillos over there. 497 00:19:05,378 --> 00:19:06,655 [Chris] He's got great char on them. 498 00:19:06,679 --> 00:19:07,957 [Alex] It's beautiful. 499 00:19:07,981 --> 00:19:09,225 So I'm really, really interested 500 00:19:09,249 --> 00:19:10,493 to see how these new school chefs 501 00:19:10,517 --> 00:19:11,660 are going to impart their knowledge. 502 00:19:11,684 --> 00:19:13,329 So, I wanna see some new flare. 503 00:19:13,353 --> 00:19:14,697 I like to think out of the box, 504 00:19:14,721 --> 00:19:16,265 but at the same time, 505 00:19:16,289 --> 00:19:18,300 I'm always thinking elegance, technique. 506 00:19:18,324 --> 00:19:20,469 So I'm making pork steak salsa verde, 507 00:19:20,493 --> 00:19:22,727 something that my mom used to make all the time. 508 00:19:24,429 --> 00:19:26,909 Zuri's definitely going full Mexican again. 509 00:19:26,933 --> 00:19:28,310 He's got the chilies on the grill, 510 00:19:28,334 --> 00:19:29,945 a lot of vegetables. 511 00:19:29,969 --> 00:19:32,281 He also is scraping the pork fat. 512 00:19:32,305 --> 00:19:33,382 So the pork skin, 513 00:19:33,406 --> 00:19:34,984 it can be done in so many different ways. 514 00:19:35,008 --> 00:19:37,520 In chicharon, you could fry it, boil it, 515 00:19:37,544 --> 00:19:39,155 it's one of my favorite parts of the animal. 516 00:19:39,179 --> 00:19:40,322 All right. Well, I'm gonna go in 517 00:19:40,346 --> 00:19:41,690 because I wanna see how they are gonna get 518 00:19:41,714 --> 00:19:43,526 this pork butt tender. 519 00:19:43,550 --> 00:19:47,062 I'm not intimidated by pork butt at all. 520 00:19:47,086 --> 00:19:48,797 I've had pork butt on my menu. 521 00:19:48,821 --> 00:19:50,354 It's the best pork butt in Chicago. 522 00:19:52,191 --> 00:19:53,302 - Dominique. - Hey, hey. 523 00:19:53,326 --> 00:19:54,370 Hey, how are you feeling? 524 00:19:54,394 --> 00:19:55,538 Feeling good. 525 00:19:55,562 --> 00:19:56,906 How did you slice the pork? 526 00:19:56,930 --> 00:19:58,407 I sliced it against the grain. 527 00:19:58,431 --> 00:19:59,408 Yeah. 528 00:19:59,432 --> 00:20:01,510 So you'll get a nice bite out of it. 529 00:20:01,534 --> 00:20:03,479 So I'm thinking about doing a sauce 530 00:20:03,503 --> 00:20:07,149 with roasted poblanos and fresh tomatoes, 531 00:20:07,173 --> 00:20:09,240 and I wanna do a southern style cabbage. 532 00:20:10,943 --> 00:20:12,521 My grandmother, Betty King, 533 00:20:12,545 --> 00:20:14,356 from Lexington, Mississippi, 534 00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:15,958 who I named my restaurant after, 535 00:20:15,982 --> 00:20:19,395 often makes a big pot of braised cabbage 536 00:20:19,419 --> 00:20:21,931 and I want to pay homage to her. 537 00:20:21,955 --> 00:20:25,234 I'm gonna braise it down with some bacon 538 00:20:25,258 --> 00:20:27,469 and added brussels sprouts, 539 00:20:27,493 --> 00:20:29,004 you know, I'm just bringing my personality 540 00:20:29,028 --> 00:20:30,973 - to the table today. - All right. 541 00:20:30,997 --> 00:20:32,241 Good luck to you. 542 00:20:32,265 --> 00:20:34,543 Chef Joe, what are you doing that's new school in this... 543 00:20:34,567 --> 00:20:35,778 in this dish? 544 00:20:35,802 --> 00:20:37,846 I'm gonna kind of do my own version of pork 545 00:20:37,870 --> 00:20:40,015 and the cabbage so just a little bit 546 00:20:40,039 --> 00:20:41,617 of Chinese five spice, 547 00:20:41,641 --> 00:20:44,153 so kind of give a little Asian flare. 548 00:20:44,177 --> 00:20:45,387 So the great thing about pork skin 549 00:20:45,411 --> 00:20:46,889 is that fat that's in there, 550 00:20:46,913 --> 00:20:48,724 I'm just gonna use as my cooking fat. 551 00:20:48,748 --> 00:20:51,560 The judges like my Korean barbecue background. 552 00:20:51,584 --> 00:20:54,363 So, um, I want to incorporate a little bit of fish sauce 553 00:20:54,387 --> 00:20:57,132 into the braised cabbage with some crushed red peppers. 554 00:20:57,156 --> 00:20:59,635 I think it has a kick to it. 555 00:20:59,659 --> 00:21:01,270 [Chris] Chefs, it's $25,000 on the line, 556 00:21:01,294 --> 00:21:02,805 bring it, bring it, bring it. 557 00:21:02,829 --> 00:21:05,074 Ten minutes to go, chefs. 558 00:21:05,098 --> 00:21:06,508 Cabbage salad is not a huge thing 559 00:21:06,532 --> 00:21:08,877 in the Mexican culture but hey, 560 00:21:08,901 --> 00:21:10,779 like I said, I'm the new generation, right? 561 00:21:10,803 --> 00:21:12,414 I have to make something different. 562 00:21:12,438 --> 00:21:13,515 That's why I'm here. 563 00:21:13,539 --> 00:21:15,484 Zuri, what are you doing with the cabbage? 564 00:21:15,508 --> 00:21:17,953 I wanna make a little coleslaw with a red onion. 565 00:21:17,977 --> 00:21:21,646 I did a jalapeño apple gummy vinaigrette. 566 00:21:23,315 --> 00:21:26,262 The apple gummy will go perfectly with some cilantro, 567 00:21:26,286 --> 00:21:29,565 jalapenos, and honey, and a little bit of canola oil. 568 00:21:29,589 --> 00:21:31,567 Wow, just beautiful. 569 00:21:31,591 --> 00:21:34,403 I take a breath and I go, "All right. 570 00:21:34,427 --> 00:21:36,905 Salsa Verde." 571 00:21:36,929 --> 00:21:39,196 Tomatillos, chilies, tomatoes. 572 00:21:41,767 --> 00:21:44,780 He's now braising those pieces of grilled pork 573 00:21:44,804 --> 00:21:47,583 in that blended sort of vegetables mix 574 00:21:47,607 --> 00:21:49,685 that he reduced down into this, like, 575 00:21:49,709 --> 00:21:53,989 concentrated juice which I think would be delicious. 576 00:21:54,013 --> 00:21:55,724 [man] I'm down with that. 577 00:21:55,748 --> 00:21:57,793 Like I said, I'm the maestro and I'm not serving 578 00:21:57,817 --> 00:21:59,428 tortilla so you need a starch to absorb 579 00:21:59,452 --> 00:22:01,363 all this salsa on the bottom of the plate. 580 00:22:01,387 --> 00:22:04,500 So I make some crispy potatoes. 581 00:22:04,524 --> 00:22:08,003 I'm like a tornado, here, there, over there 582 00:22:08,027 --> 00:22:10,272 but Chef Dominique, I think, is my biggest competition. 583 00:22:10,296 --> 00:22:12,396 She's calm, doing her thing. 584 00:22:15,801 --> 00:22:16,945 I'm not nervous at all. 585 00:22:16,969 --> 00:22:19,114 I'm a pretty organized person. 586 00:22:19,138 --> 00:22:20,971 I do handle stress well. 587 00:22:22,574 --> 00:22:24,420 Pork skin, it's good on everything. 588 00:22:24,444 --> 00:22:27,523 I'm gonna cut this up, put it in a deep fryer, 589 00:22:27,547 --> 00:22:29,992 make some chicharons out of it. 590 00:22:30,016 --> 00:22:32,594 Less than four minutes to go, chefs. 591 00:22:32,618 --> 00:22:35,364 Finish strong, Joe, come on now. 592 00:22:35,388 --> 00:22:38,634 [Joe] With the gummy apple candy, I'm gonna add 593 00:22:38,658 --> 00:22:41,537 vinegar, butter to quickly make a glaze. 594 00:22:41,561 --> 00:22:44,106 I also wanna quickly whip up a chimichurri. 595 00:22:44,130 --> 00:22:47,476 I'm adding parsley, olive oil, pepper to kind of give it 596 00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:49,578 a little bit more spice. 597 00:22:49,602 --> 00:22:50,679 [Alex] You guys can do this. 598 00:22:50,703 --> 00:22:51,880 [Eric] Finish strong, let's go. 599 00:22:51,904 --> 00:22:54,216 If you haven't started plating, start plating now. 600 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:55,818 [Eric] Coming up on two minutes. 601 00:22:55,842 --> 00:22:57,386 Let's go, guys. 602 00:22:57,410 --> 00:22:59,688 The gummy apple candy was put in the basket 603 00:22:59,712 --> 00:23:01,924 to throw us off but I know apple works 604 00:23:01,948 --> 00:23:03,726 really well with pork. 605 00:23:03,750 --> 00:23:06,662 I melt it down and used it as a sweetener 606 00:23:06,686 --> 00:23:12,701 in my dressing with some roasted poblano, some tomato. 607 00:23:12,725 --> 00:23:14,269 This will really, like, 608 00:23:14,293 --> 00:23:17,773 taste good with the pork steak. 609 00:23:17,797 --> 00:23:19,408 Let's go, guys, come on now. 610 00:23:19,432 --> 00:23:20,909 [Alex] Come on, slice it up. 611 00:23:20,933 --> 00:23:22,745 You've got less than 30 seconds to go. 612 00:23:22,769 --> 00:23:25,147 [Eric] Let's go, Joe, let's go, let's go, let's go. 613 00:23:25,171 --> 00:23:26,582 Get everything on our four plates. 614 00:23:26,606 --> 00:23:28,550 [Ted] Focus, focus, focus, chefs. 615 00:23:28,574 --> 00:23:31,186 You've got just seconds to get it done. 616 00:23:31,210 --> 00:23:36,158 Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, 617 00:23:36,182 --> 00:23:40,696 five, four, three, two, one, 618 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,564 time's up. Please step back. 619 00:23:42,588 --> 00:23:44,566 [judges applauding] 620 00:23:44,590 --> 00:23:48,170 Oh, man. Why does yours look so pretty? 621 00:23:48,194 --> 00:23:49,605 I'm feeling... I'm feeling great, man, 622 00:23:49,629 --> 00:23:50,839 I'm feeling pumped, and at the end, 623 00:23:50,863 --> 00:23:53,075 I did my signature, you know, my flavors, my chilies, 624 00:23:53,099 --> 00:23:55,166 I think I made it happen. 625 00:23:57,469 --> 00:24:00,149 I'm pretty calm, uh, I'm running every day, 626 00:24:00,173 --> 00:24:02,918 uh, curveballs constantly between the three restaurants 627 00:24:02,942 --> 00:24:04,586 and so I'm kind of used to his, 628 00:24:04,610 --> 00:24:05,821 no doubt in my mind I'm gonna make it 629 00:24:05,845 --> 00:24:07,178 to the finale. 630 00:24:11,950 --> 00:24:14,552 [dramatic music playing] 631 00:24:17,322 --> 00:24:19,001 Chefs, in that second basket, 632 00:24:19,025 --> 00:24:22,905 you got pork butt, cabbage, gummy apple candy, 633 00:24:22,929 --> 00:24:24,440 and pork skin. 634 00:24:24,464 --> 00:24:25,874 - Chef Joe? - Uh, Chefs, 635 00:24:25,898 --> 00:24:27,476 for you guys, I have a, uh, 636 00:24:27,500 --> 00:24:30,145 grilled pork steak with a braised cabbage 637 00:24:30,169 --> 00:24:32,181 and a little bit of chimichurri. 638 00:24:32,205 --> 00:24:35,973 [dramatic music playing] 639 00:24:37,275 --> 00:24:39,822 Working with the pork butt in a small amount of time 640 00:24:39,846 --> 00:24:41,223 isn't easy. 641 00:24:41,247 --> 00:24:42,257 Here's why I love it. 642 00:24:42,281 --> 00:24:45,227 Um, the slice, that bias cut definitely helps 643 00:24:45,251 --> 00:24:47,129 with the chew so it's really, really intelligent 644 00:24:47,153 --> 00:24:49,631 of you to cut on a bias, um, with that. 645 00:24:49,655 --> 00:24:51,967 It's a little bit spicy on my back end, 646 00:24:51,991 --> 00:24:54,102 um, the pork is, it's actually picking up 647 00:24:54,126 --> 00:24:57,239 in heat as I'm speaking and that's not necessarily 648 00:24:57,263 --> 00:24:59,141 agreeing with me or the plate. 649 00:24:59,165 --> 00:25:01,376 I love heat. It's just kind... 650 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:02,766 Jarringly spicy. 651 00:25:04,169 --> 00:25:06,548 Are there chilies in the chimichurri as well? 652 00:25:06,572 --> 00:25:07,850 Yeah, there's a little bit in there. 653 00:25:07,874 --> 00:25:09,051 I think that's the problem, 654 00:25:09,075 --> 00:25:10,819 is that you doubled up on the chilies. 655 00:25:10,843 --> 00:25:13,255 I like the chimichurri and I like the heat 656 00:25:13,279 --> 00:25:14,823 I'm getting from that more than I like the heat 657 00:25:14,847 --> 00:25:15,958 from the cabbage. 658 00:25:15,982 --> 00:25:17,493 I think the cabbage is where you should've left 659 00:25:17,517 --> 00:25:18,627 it alone. 660 00:25:18,651 --> 00:25:20,662 But I like the use of the gummy candy. 661 00:25:20,686 --> 00:25:23,632 I get that apple, I get that sour note 662 00:25:23,656 --> 00:25:24,766 a little bit, 663 00:25:24,790 --> 00:25:27,269 I think it's unbelievably clever the way you used 664 00:25:27,293 --> 00:25:30,172 the pig skin and the fat from the pig skin 665 00:25:30,196 --> 00:25:31,940 to flavor the cabbage. 666 00:25:31,964 --> 00:25:33,775 - Thank you Chef. - [Ted] Thank you, Chef Joe. 667 00:25:33,799 --> 00:25:35,978 Next up, Chef Dominique, what do we have? 668 00:25:36,002 --> 00:25:38,914 I did a grilled pork steak with a roasted 669 00:25:38,938 --> 00:25:41,250 poblano pepper and tomato vinaigrette, 670 00:25:41,274 --> 00:25:43,641 some braised cabbage and brussels sprouts. 671 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,059 Judges, does this dish get you to hog heaven? 672 00:25:51,083 --> 00:25:52,628 Total, Ted. 673 00:25:52,652 --> 00:25:56,798 Or cabbage heaven, I love the cabbage. 674 00:25:56,822 --> 00:25:58,467 There's a sweetness to this cabbage 675 00:25:58,491 --> 00:26:02,971 but it's not that, you know, synthetic kind of candy flavor 676 00:26:02,995 --> 00:26:05,874 that I would expect to get with the gummy apple candy. 677 00:26:05,898 --> 00:26:08,210 And I like that you've brought bacon onto the party 678 00:26:08,234 --> 00:26:10,145 and double down on the pork and you got it nice 679 00:26:10,169 --> 00:26:11,980 and crispy. 680 00:26:12,004 --> 00:26:14,149 But my issue that I can't really get over is this... 681 00:26:14,173 --> 00:26:18,387 The toughness, the pork itself is really, really tough. 682 00:26:18,411 --> 00:26:21,189 Uh, I got a lot of pieces that are just mostly fat, 683 00:26:21,213 --> 00:26:23,492 um, just the way you butchered it basically. 684 00:26:23,516 --> 00:26:26,628 So the pork is a real problem for me. 685 00:26:26,652 --> 00:26:27,996 I think your time needed 686 00:26:28,020 --> 00:26:29,998 to be spent pounding it thinner, 687 00:26:30,022 --> 00:26:33,502 or chopping it up, throwing it on a taco, 688 00:26:33,526 --> 00:26:35,170 throwing it in a burrito, 689 00:26:35,194 --> 00:26:39,408 making dumplings, any other way to tenderize it. 690 00:26:39,432 --> 00:26:41,043 [Ted] Thank you, Chef Dominique. 691 00:26:41,067 --> 00:26:43,011 Finally, Chef Zuri, what do we have? 692 00:26:43,035 --> 00:26:45,113 [Zuri] I make the grilled pork butt, 693 00:26:45,137 --> 00:26:48,517 the, uh, grilled tomatoes salsa verde, crispy potatoes, 694 00:26:48,541 --> 00:26:51,086 and then I did a cabbage salad with red onions 695 00:26:51,110 --> 00:26:53,143 and then apple gummy vinaigrette. 696 00:26:54,245 --> 00:26:56,592 This dish takes me back you know, uh, 697 00:26:56,616 --> 00:26:58,093 to middle school when I came from home 698 00:26:58,117 --> 00:27:00,896 and my mom just made us Mexican dishes like this. 699 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,320 The sauce you made is dynamite. 700 00:27:04,689 --> 00:27:06,702 Reminds me of my favorite Mexican dish, 701 00:27:06,726 --> 00:27:08,403 the chilaquiles, that would be a great sauce 702 00:27:08,427 --> 00:27:09,571 with chilaquiles, right? 703 00:27:09,595 --> 00:27:10,706 It's dynamite. 704 00:27:10,730 --> 00:27:13,041 It might be my favorite thing I've had all day. 705 00:27:13,065 --> 00:27:15,744 I can do without the chicharon, 706 00:27:15,768 --> 00:27:18,213 um, or the attempt at the chicharon, 707 00:27:18,237 --> 00:27:21,083 uh, just kind of fall short a little bit, 708 00:27:21,107 --> 00:27:22,384 you get a really crunchy outside 709 00:27:22,408 --> 00:27:25,053 but then the inside is pretty much the same thing, 710 00:27:25,077 --> 00:27:26,577 might as well raw, yeah. 711 00:27:27,979 --> 00:27:30,926 I'm having the same experience I had 712 00:27:30,950 --> 00:27:33,395 with Dominique's where I have... I have a lot 713 00:27:33,419 --> 00:27:38,467 of connective fat in my pork which I wish wasn't here. 714 00:27:38,491 --> 00:27:41,570 I so wish you had just put the two pieces 715 00:27:41,594 --> 00:27:43,939 of meat in the grinder and made a burger 716 00:27:43,963 --> 00:27:47,542 with this sauce and this slaw, I'd give you... 717 00:27:47,566 --> 00:27:50,145 I'd give you $25,000 out of Ted's bank account 718 00:27:50,169 --> 00:27:52,414 right now. 719 00:27:52,438 --> 00:27:54,783 - Okay, Chef. - [Ted] Okay. 720 00:27:54,807 --> 00:27:57,119 Now the judges have to make the call. 721 00:27:57,143 --> 00:27:58,587 [Zuri] I know my food. I know my flavors. 722 00:27:58,611 --> 00:28:01,123 They only criticized my meat but overall I think 723 00:28:01,147 --> 00:28:03,158 my sauce was the best out of them. 724 00:28:03,182 --> 00:28:06,428 I feel like Zuri is my biggest competition today 725 00:28:06,452 --> 00:28:08,864 and I think Joe is probably going home 726 00:28:08,888 --> 00:28:11,833 just because he's not a professional chef. 727 00:28:11,857 --> 00:28:13,935 I'm just a math high school teacher 728 00:28:13,959 --> 00:28:15,804 but I'm bringing something new, 729 00:28:15,828 --> 00:28:18,540 my own style of my Korean background and hopefully 730 00:28:18,564 --> 00:28:20,409 that's not enough to get me to the next round. 731 00:28:20,433 --> 00:28:23,467 [dramatic music playing] 732 00:28:36,314 --> 00:28:39,795 So whose dish is on the chopping block? 733 00:28:39,819 --> 00:28:42,619 [dramatic music playing] 734 00:28:50,228 --> 00:28:52,441 Chef Dominique, you've been chopped. 735 00:28:52,465 --> 00:28:54,076 Judges? 736 00:28:54,100 --> 00:28:56,678 Dominique, you gave us so much bold flavors 737 00:28:56,702 --> 00:28:58,013 and it was really, really delicious. 738 00:28:58,037 --> 00:29:00,048 Unfortunately, it was really hard to get over 739 00:29:00,072 --> 00:29:02,451 the toughness of your pork butt steak 740 00:29:02,475 --> 00:29:04,786 and so we had to chop you. 741 00:29:04,810 --> 00:29:06,855 All right. Well, thank you guys for having me. 742 00:29:06,879 --> 00:29:07,945 Good luck, guys. 743 00:29:10,081 --> 00:29:12,160 The game didn't go the way I wanted it to 744 00:29:12,184 --> 00:29:13,962 but I'm proud myself. 745 00:29:13,986 --> 00:29:15,664 I know I'm a great chef and I know 746 00:29:15,688 --> 00:29:17,365 I have the fight in me. 747 00:29:17,389 --> 00:29:19,523 [uplifting music playing] 748 00:29:23,361 --> 00:29:26,041 Chef Joe, Chef Zuri, who's got to dessert chops 749 00:29:26,065 --> 00:29:27,309 to bring this thing home? 750 00:29:27,333 --> 00:29:28,844 I've got this, Ted. I'm here for the win. 751 00:29:28,868 --> 00:29:30,712 - I'm taking it home. - Don't tell me that. 752 00:29:30,736 --> 00:29:32,013 - I'm taking it. - Looking forward 753 00:29:32,037 --> 00:29:33,515 to finding out who's right. 754 00:29:33,539 --> 00:29:34,571 Final baskets. 755 00:29:40,779 --> 00:29:42,446 Open them up. 756 00:29:44,582 --> 00:29:47,863 And here we go with banana muffins. 757 00:29:47,887 --> 00:29:50,298 Muffins. 758 00:29:50,322 --> 00:29:51,633 [Ted] Thyme. 759 00:29:51,657 --> 00:29:53,168 [Joe] We got thyme. 760 00:29:53,192 --> 00:29:54,870 [Ted] Peaches. 761 00:29:54,894 --> 00:29:57,672 I love peaches, man, especially on the grill. 762 00:29:57,696 --> 00:29:59,730 [Ted] And bacon beer brittle. 763 00:30:00,632 --> 00:30:01,810 Oh, boy. 764 00:30:01,834 --> 00:30:03,278 I'm pretty happy that we don't have 765 00:30:03,302 --> 00:30:05,013 a big giant pork chop in here. 766 00:30:05,037 --> 00:30:08,016 The hog is in a brittle candy. 767 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:09,084 There you go. 768 00:30:09,108 --> 00:30:11,953 [Ted] Thirty minutes to make dessert to remember. 769 00:30:11,977 --> 00:30:14,122 - I'm good. - [Ted] Clock starts now. 770 00:30:14,146 --> 00:30:16,158 - [Alex] All right. - [Eric] Go get them. 771 00:30:16,182 --> 00:30:17,714 -Let's do this. -[Eric] Finish strong. Finish strong. 772 00:30:21,452 --> 00:30:24,466 But judges, there's no actual fresh pork 773 00:30:24,490 --> 00:30:25,634 in this basket. 774 00:30:25,658 --> 00:30:28,637 They're just a pork candy and that's not all that pork. 775 00:30:28,661 --> 00:30:31,006 No. But you do get a little bit of that smokiness 776 00:30:31,030 --> 00:30:32,040 from the bacon. 777 00:30:32,064 --> 00:30:33,642 Zuri, did you grab that bacon brittle? 778 00:30:33,666 --> 00:30:34,709 What do you think? 779 00:30:34,733 --> 00:30:35,777 [Zuri] Delicious. 780 00:30:35,801 --> 00:30:37,546 I've never seen it before but this is delicious. 781 00:30:37,570 --> 00:30:40,682 The clear answer is make ice cream and chop it up, 782 00:30:40,706 --> 00:30:42,217 and put it in the ice cream. 783 00:30:42,241 --> 00:30:43,552 No, that's wrong. 784 00:30:43,576 --> 00:30:45,520 I think the direction I see is like a crumble 785 00:30:45,544 --> 00:30:48,190 or a cobbler. 786 00:30:48,214 --> 00:30:50,425 [Alex] Zuri clearly gonna make something 787 00:30:50,449 --> 00:30:52,594 that is an expression of who he is and his cooking. 788 00:30:52,618 --> 00:30:54,629 He's been doing that the whole competition. 789 00:30:54,653 --> 00:30:56,898 Zuri, are you... Are you building the blocks 790 00:30:56,922 --> 00:30:58,033 for tres leches? 791 00:30:58,057 --> 00:30:59,701 I'm making my version of tres leches. 792 00:30:59,725 --> 00:31:01,036 - Yes, sir. - [Chris] Yeah. 793 00:31:01,060 --> 00:31:04,573 [Alex] Tres leches with a banana muffin soaked in coconut milk. 794 00:31:04,597 --> 00:31:06,141 See? That's so good. 795 00:31:06,165 --> 00:31:08,877 Joe's kind a more of a wildcard and I wonder 796 00:31:08,901 --> 00:31:11,446 what direction he's gonna take. 797 00:31:11,470 --> 00:31:13,748 [Joe] I'm making a banana bacon brittle grilled 798 00:31:13,772 --> 00:31:16,952 muffin top with thyme, peaches, and cream. 799 00:31:16,976 --> 00:31:19,054 So, with the muffin, I wanna add a little bit 800 00:31:19,078 --> 00:31:20,522 more moisture to it. 801 00:31:20,546 --> 00:31:22,457 So, I'm gonna soak it in milk. 802 00:31:22,481 --> 00:31:25,360 I'm pulverizing the bacon beer brittle 803 00:31:25,384 --> 00:31:27,028 and hopefully, it'll all create 804 00:31:27,052 --> 00:31:28,797 a crust inside my muffin. 805 00:31:28,821 --> 00:31:31,233 I wanna win for my students to ultimately prove 806 00:31:31,257 --> 00:31:33,935 to them all the words that I share 807 00:31:33,959 --> 00:31:35,570 with them actually have meaning, 808 00:31:35,594 --> 00:31:36,805 that if they actually work hard, 809 00:31:36,829 --> 00:31:38,707 they can achieve something that they never thought 810 00:31:38,731 --> 00:31:40,508 they could. 811 00:31:40,532 --> 00:31:42,010 Twenty minutes on the clock. 812 00:31:42,034 --> 00:31:43,245 This is playing with fire. 813 00:31:43,269 --> 00:31:44,779 They have to go something and obviously, 814 00:31:44,803 --> 00:31:46,248 those peaches have got to be grilled. 815 00:31:46,272 --> 00:31:48,016 [Eric] Totally. Yeah. Totally. 816 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:49,517 They've got a really, really nice char on them, 817 00:31:49,541 --> 00:31:51,953 bring out that natural sweetness as much as possible. 818 00:31:51,977 --> 00:31:55,090 There's like tons of booze and butter. 819 00:31:55,114 --> 00:31:57,125 Sold. 820 00:31:57,149 --> 00:31:59,427 Okay. Someone busted out a bottle of booze. 821 00:31:59,451 --> 00:32:00,695 [Ted] Orange liqueur maybe? 822 00:32:00,719 --> 00:32:02,264 I'm on board. I'll be back. 823 00:32:02,288 --> 00:32:03,498 [Eric] See you in a second. 824 00:32:03,522 --> 00:32:04,933 [Chris] Bring us some. 825 00:32:04,957 --> 00:32:07,202 [Alex] Oh, I love liqueur liquor. 826 00:32:07,226 --> 00:32:08,770 What are you doing, chef? 827 00:32:08,794 --> 00:32:10,605 So, I'm grilling my peaches with a little bit of honey 828 00:32:10,629 --> 00:32:12,274 and thyme but then I wanted to glaze it 829 00:32:12,298 --> 00:32:13,642 with orange liqueur. 830 00:32:13,666 --> 00:32:14,910 So excited because I thought... 831 00:32:14,934 --> 00:32:16,678 - [Zuri] It was. - ...this basket could really use booze. 832 00:32:16,702 --> 00:32:18,735 I believe in you, chef. Good luck. 833 00:32:21,039 --> 00:32:24,486 I know you wanna be interrupted, not at all. 834 00:32:24,510 --> 00:32:25,787 What are you doing? 835 00:32:25,811 --> 00:32:28,189 And, uh, I got some muffin tops 836 00:32:28,213 --> 00:32:31,426 that I grilled up that I soaked in some milk. 837 00:32:31,450 --> 00:32:33,128 I pulverized the brittle. 838 00:32:33,152 --> 00:32:35,463 I like the way you've kind of broken up the peaches 839 00:32:35,487 --> 00:32:37,732 so you can really gauge the texture and... 840 00:32:37,756 --> 00:32:39,000 - Yeah. - ... tenderness. 841 00:32:39,024 --> 00:32:40,702 Yeah. I didn't... I didn't wanna get like big, 842 00:32:40,726 --> 00:32:42,370 uh, quarters on there and have the outside 843 00:32:42,394 --> 00:32:44,406 be super charred and inside still be, 844 00:32:44,430 --> 00:32:46,408 you know, too rock solid. 845 00:32:46,432 --> 00:32:48,810 All right. Cool. Uh, no pressure, guys. 846 00:32:48,834 --> 00:32:50,145 Only one of you is gonna make it 847 00:32:50,169 --> 00:32:51,546 to the finale for 25 grand. 848 00:32:51,570 --> 00:32:53,682 Don't worry about it. Carry on. 849 00:32:53,706 --> 00:32:55,083 Fourteen minutes on the clock, chefs. 850 00:32:55,107 --> 00:32:56,551 [Eric] Come on, guys. 851 00:32:56,575 --> 00:32:59,321 Zuri, what's in the cast iron pan? 852 00:32:59,345 --> 00:33:01,323 I have a [indistinct] so it's like 853 00:33:01,347 --> 00:33:02,824 a crispy crepe from Italy. 854 00:33:02,848 --> 00:33:04,359 Almost like a... Like a tuile. 855 00:33:04,383 --> 00:33:06,094 I've seen chefs do it before. 856 00:33:06,118 --> 00:33:08,596 Um, you'll essentially take egg whites, 857 00:33:08,620 --> 00:33:10,065 a little bit of 10X sugar. 858 00:33:10,089 --> 00:33:11,733 Um, maybe a little bit of flour. 859 00:33:11,757 --> 00:33:13,601 And what you're doing is slightly kind of 860 00:33:13,625 --> 00:33:15,003 grilling it to a point where it almost 861 00:33:15,027 --> 00:33:17,038 like bubbles and it looks like a net, 862 00:33:17,062 --> 00:33:18,506 it almost looks like a tuile. 863 00:33:18,530 --> 00:33:20,709 [Zuri] I grab the bacon beer brittle and I add it 864 00:33:20,733 --> 00:33:22,210 to my tuile mix. 865 00:33:22,234 --> 00:33:24,034 I'm here to kill it, man. 866 00:33:26,604 --> 00:33:28,817 Zuri's got so many different things going on 867 00:33:28,841 --> 00:33:31,419 and I'm getting pretty nervous thinking 868 00:33:31,443 --> 00:33:33,321 that my dish is way too simple. 869 00:33:33,345 --> 00:33:36,091 So, I quickly char the thyme onto the grill, 870 00:33:36,115 --> 00:33:38,560 release some of its oils and I add it to steep 871 00:33:38,584 --> 00:33:40,929 in the cream to hopefully impart that flavor. 872 00:33:40,953 --> 00:33:44,566 Why did Joe just put whole thyme sprigs in cream and milk? 873 00:33:44,590 --> 00:33:46,401 He's not steeping it, it's literally cold. 874 00:33:46,425 --> 00:33:47,769 It's not gonna work. 875 00:33:47,793 --> 00:33:50,572 Less than five minutes to go, chefs. 876 00:33:50,596 --> 00:33:52,507 I'm really nervous about this cream 877 00:33:52,531 --> 00:33:54,576 and I don't wanna get chopped because I didn't give myself 878 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:55,777 enough time to plate. 879 00:33:55,801 --> 00:33:57,379 This is $25,000 tournament. 880 00:33:57,403 --> 00:33:59,080 Is whipped cream gonna really get you there? 881 00:33:59,104 --> 00:34:00,248 No. 882 00:34:00,272 --> 00:34:01,616 [Joe] This could be the difference between 883 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:02,773 moving on or me going home. 884 00:34:11,349 --> 00:34:13,762 [Eric] Come on, guys. Finish strong. 885 00:34:13,786 --> 00:34:15,519 Coming up on two minutes. 886 00:34:17,088 --> 00:34:19,401 Joe's just standing there making whipped cream. 887 00:34:19,425 --> 00:34:21,269 I would like the cream to be a little bit thicker 888 00:34:21,293 --> 00:34:23,271 but I just don't have time right now to deal with that. 889 00:34:23,295 --> 00:34:26,408 We need a strong finish by whoever is gonna win this 890 00:34:26,432 --> 00:34:28,209 and move on to the $25,000 round. 891 00:34:28,233 --> 00:34:29,778 Let's go, Zuri, less than a minute. 892 00:34:29,802 --> 00:34:31,379 - Let's go. Let's go. - [Eric] Come on, now. Come on. 893 00:34:31,403 --> 00:34:32,781 Zuri just grabbed some spice. 894 00:34:32,805 --> 00:34:34,716 [Alex] Why he is in the pantry right now? 895 00:34:34,740 --> 00:34:37,452 What are you doing with one minute left? 896 00:34:37,476 --> 00:34:38,987 [Eric] Finish strong, guys. Come on now. 897 00:34:39,011 --> 00:34:41,523 [Zuri] I pull my tuiles out of the cast iron. 898 00:34:41,547 --> 00:34:43,191 They turned brown because of the caramel 899 00:34:43,215 --> 00:34:44,959 and it was delicious. It worked, man. 900 00:34:44,983 --> 00:34:47,128 It was amazing. Finished it with a cinnamon. 901 00:34:47,152 --> 00:34:48,196 This is going to be great. 902 00:34:48,220 --> 00:34:49,964 [Alex] Finish with some good stuff. 903 00:34:49,988 --> 00:34:53,134 This is your last chance to get in the finale. 904 00:34:53,158 --> 00:34:55,870 I'm so close to that $25,000 I can taste it. 905 00:34:55,894 --> 00:34:57,672 I'm adding some mint. This is perfect. 906 00:34:57,696 --> 00:35:00,375 All right, Chefs, final seconds of the final round. 907 00:35:00,399 --> 00:35:03,078 Ten, nine, eight... 908 00:35:03,102 --> 00:35:05,480 - [Eric] Come on, guys. - [Ted] ...seven, six, 909 00:35:05,504 --> 00:35:08,983 five, four, three, 910 00:35:09,007 --> 00:35:11,653 two, one. 911 00:35:11,677 --> 00:35:12,787 Time's up. 912 00:35:12,811 --> 00:35:14,322 - [Alex] Hold me. Hold me. - [Zuri] No. Okay. 913 00:35:14,346 --> 00:35:15,657 - They're good. They made it. - All right. 914 00:35:15,681 --> 00:35:16,925 They made it. They made it. They made it. 915 00:35:16,949 --> 00:35:18,793 [Eric] Good job, guys. 916 00:35:18,817 --> 00:35:21,696 [Zuri] I feel happy. I think my dish looks sexy. 917 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:23,298 I think this is a $25,000 dessert. 918 00:35:23,322 --> 00:35:25,967 [Joe] I just feel accomplished to make it through 919 00:35:25,991 --> 00:35:27,268 all three rounds. 920 00:35:27,292 --> 00:35:29,137 And I feel like I've been able to bring my love of fire 921 00:35:29,161 --> 00:35:30,861 more than Zuri. 922 00:35:36,734 --> 00:35:38,980 Chef Zuri, Chef Joe, in the Playing 923 00:35:39,004 --> 00:35:42,317 With Fire Desert Basket, you found a banana muffins, 924 00:35:42,341 --> 00:35:46,488 thyme, peaches, bacon beer brittle. 925 00:35:46,512 --> 00:35:48,089 Chef Zuri, what do we have? 926 00:35:48,113 --> 00:35:50,225 What I prepared today is a banana muffin 927 00:35:50,249 --> 00:35:52,861 tres leches with, uh, honey, thyme, 928 00:35:52,885 --> 00:35:56,598 grilled peaches and I did a mascarpone vanilla mousse. 929 00:35:56,622 --> 00:35:58,700 I decided to make tres leches because it takes me back 930 00:35:58,724 --> 00:36:00,423 to my memories when I was a little kid. 931 00:36:02,793 --> 00:36:04,706 I love that you leaned hard into your roots 932 00:36:04,730 --> 00:36:06,107 and I think the presentation 933 00:36:06,131 --> 00:36:07,375 by the way was stunning. 934 00:36:07,399 --> 00:36:09,310 Thank you. 935 00:36:09,334 --> 00:36:12,714 The use of the tres leches and getting that beautiful, 936 00:36:12,738 --> 00:36:14,682 um, that custard, uh, kind of soaked 937 00:36:14,706 --> 00:36:17,085 into that muffin was really, really smart. 938 00:36:17,109 --> 00:36:21,222 But my muffin is not like soaked through with your... 939 00:36:21,246 --> 00:36:23,091 With the tres leches, like the out... 940 00:36:23,115 --> 00:36:24,993 Outer... Outer part is. 941 00:36:25,017 --> 00:36:26,427 But when you really get into it, 942 00:36:26,451 --> 00:36:28,251 it's really just still the muffin. 943 00:36:30,888 --> 00:36:33,067 I have to say the peaches, the thyme, 944 00:36:33,091 --> 00:36:34,736 I get really clear flavors. 945 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,139 I ate them all, that was successful. 946 00:36:38,163 --> 00:36:39,440 Thank you. 947 00:36:39,464 --> 00:36:43,044 The tuile with the bacon beer brittle is brilliant. 948 00:36:43,068 --> 00:36:45,547 Talk about taking brittle and twisting it, 949 00:36:45,571 --> 00:36:47,815 Chopped style, that really works. 950 00:36:47,839 --> 00:36:50,385 Thank you, Chef Zuri. Finally, Chef Joe. 951 00:36:50,409 --> 00:36:54,556 Chefs, what I have for you is a banana bacon brittle 952 00:36:54,580 --> 00:36:58,281 muffin top with thyme, peaches, and cream 953 00:37:01,185 --> 00:37:03,131 Your peaches are spectacular. 954 00:37:03,155 --> 00:37:04,766 Delicious. Amazing. 955 00:37:04,790 --> 00:37:07,669 Supple, succulent, juicy, sexy, 956 00:37:07,693 --> 00:37:08,970 they're just awesome. 957 00:37:08,994 --> 00:37:11,272 Thank you, chef. 958 00:37:11,296 --> 00:37:13,074 I do like your peaches, uh, a little bit 959 00:37:13,098 --> 00:37:15,276 more than Chef Zuri's. 960 00:37:15,300 --> 00:37:16,911 They were grilled nice and delicately. 961 00:37:16,935 --> 00:37:18,746 I wanna commend you on that. 962 00:37:18,770 --> 00:37:21,583 You really didn't steep your thyme whipped cream. 963 00:37:21,607 --> 00:37:23,785 You wanna give it the time, no pun intended, 964 00:37:23,809 --> 00:37:25,553 to actually go ahead and get that extract flavor 965 00:37:25,577 --> 00:37:27,288 as you want. 966 00:37:27,312 --> 00:37:29,891 And then you put all this mint on top. 967 00:37:29,915 --> 00:37:33,428 So, whatever subtle thyme flavor you got in the cream, 968 00:37:33,452 --> 00:37:35,063 you can't... You can't get past it 969 00:37:35,087 --> 00:37:36,698 because the mint is the body guard, you know, 970 00:37:36,722 --> 00:37:37,966 and you're trying to get in the club 971 00:37:37,990 --> 00:37:40,668 and the men will say, "No." 972 00:37:40,692 --> 00:37:43,404 Mint buries the thyme. I totally agree with Chris. 973 00:37:43,428 --> 00:37:46,207 Don't do that with the basket, you know, 974 00:37:46,231 --> 00:37:48,309 but I love the grilled muffin. 975 00:37:48,333 --> 00:37:51,145 You guys are not giving enough props... 976 00:37:51,169 --> 00:37:53,948 - I... - ...to the campfire char vibes 977 00:37:53,972 --> 00:37:56,050 on the muffin and this like caramelly... 978 00:37:56,074 --> 00:37:58,119 - Yeah. - ... little situation. 979 00:37:58,143 --> 00:38:00,121 It's the most fire like flavor I've had... 980 00:38:00,145 --> 00:38:01,911 - Yes. Agree. - ... all day. 981 00:38:03,614 --> 00:38:05,415 Thank you, chefs 982 00:38:13,090 --> 00:38:15,336 I really want this, man. I need to make it happen. 983 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:17,005 You know, I think giving up teaching, 984 00:38:17,029 --> 00:38:19,073 coaching, was something I've always wanted to do 985 00:38:19,097 --> 00:38:20,808 just to learn how to barbeque more. 986 00:38:20,832 --> 00:38:22,844 It's not an easy thing to play around with. 987 00:38:22,868 --> 00:38:23,945 I don't know, man. 988 00:38:23,969 --> 00:38:26,014 I think you have a pretty strong appetizer. 989 00:38:26,038 --> 00:38:28,950 The second round I think I really killed it. 990 00:38:28,974 --> 00:38:32,854 I think it's pretty even but it's all about dessert now. 991 00:38:32,878 --> 00:38:35,223 Both these two finalists here in the... 992 00:38:35,247 --> 00:38:36,924 In the competition gave us some really, 993 00:38:36,948 --> 00:38:38,059 really high notes. 994 00:38:38,083 --> 00:38:40,695 In the appetizer round, Joe's ribs were just perfect. 995 00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:42,964 Talk about playing with fire, he hit the... 996 00:38:42,988 --> 00:38:44,899 He had a perfect amount of char on those ribs. 997 00:38:44,923 --> 00:38:47,302 But the slaw that he made on the side of it, 998 00:38:47,326 --> 00:38:48,770 it wasn't seasoned at all, 999 00:38:48,794 --> 00:38:50,038 it was kind of an afterthought. 1000 00:38:50,062 --> 00:38:51,105 Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. 1001 00:38:51,129 --> 00:38:53,207 And that's why his ribs were cold in the middle. 1002 00:38:53,231 --> 00:38:56,577 I loved Zuri's sauce though, um, and the daikon bologna 1003 00:38:56,601 --> 00:38:58,913 salad salsa thing kind of worked. 1004 00:38:58,937 --> 00:39:00,448 - Yeah, it did. - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 1005 00:39:00,472 --> 00:39:02,250 Then in the next round, you get pork butt 1006 00:39:02,274 --> 00:39:03,351 and pig skin. 1007 00:39:03,375 --> 00:39:05,053 I thought Zuri did a really great job 1008 00:39:05,077 --> 00:39:07,722 of actually ponding out the, uh, the pork butt, 1009 00:39:07,746 --> 00:39:09,624 getting it as thin as he could, grilling it 1010 00:39:09,648 --> 00:39:11,859 and then braising it in that really delicious sauce. 1011 00:39:11,883 --> 00:39:13,795 That salsa that he made was just phenomenal. 1012 00:39:13,819 --> 00:39:15,563 For me, the most tender pork butt 1013 00:39:15,587 --> 00:39:17,298 that I had actually came from Joe 1014 00:39:17,322 --> 00:39:19,233 but unfortunately, he made a condiment 1015 00:39:19,257 --> 00:39:20,601 - with tons of chili pepper. - Chilichurri. 1016 00:39:20,625 --> 00:39:22,036 Yeah. Totally. 1017 00:39:22,060 --> 00:39:23,738 That condiment was way too spicy, 1018 00:39:23,762 --> 00:39:24,772 blew out my palate. 1019 00:39:24,796 --> 00:39:25,873 It was really, really hard to eat 1020 00:39:25,897 --> 00:39:26,908 anything after that. 1021 00:39:26,932 --> 00:39:28,676 He did play with fire. 1022 00:39:28,700 --> 00:39:30,611 To my mind, the best. 1023 00:39:30,635 --> 00:39:31,879 Yes. I would agree with that. 1024 00:39:31,903 --> 00:39:34,382 He definitely played with fire better than Zuri 1025 00:39:34,406 --> 00:39:36,351 but I feel like Zuri made the better dishes. 1026 00:39:36,375 --> 00:39:38,019 Zuri definitely tried his best 1027 00:39:38,043 --> 00:39:39,987 to push the boundaries and push the envelope. 1028 00:39:40,011 --> 00:39:41,356 And that's the conundrum, right? 1029 00:39:41,380 --> 00:39:44,180 Yeah. Totally, I 100% agree. 1030 00:39:47,852 --> 00:39:50,398 I have to admire Joe, but he's missing 1031 00:39:50,422 --> 00:39:51,733 just a little bit of technique 1032 00:39:51,757 --> 00:39:53,201 while I took four more 1033 00:39:53,225 --> 00:39:54,736 of the ingredients, you know? 1034 00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:56,637 That's why I think a hundred percent 1035 00:39:56,661 --> 00:39:58,906 that I can get this. 1036 00:39:58,930 --> 00:40:00,341 Zuri killed it. 1037 00:40:00,365 --> 00:40:02,076 I mean, yeah, he's definitely a tough, 1038 00:40:02,100 --> 00:40:04,278 tough competitor but I feel like I've been able 1039 00:40:04,302 --> 00:40:05,769 to bring more fire. 1040 00:40:07,772 --> 00:40:11,241 So whose dish is on the chopping block? 1041 00:40:22,086 --> 00:40:24,465 Chef Joe, you've been chopped. 1042 00:40:24,489 --> 00:40:26,122 Judges? 1043 00:40:27,958 --> 00:40:30,238 Chef Joe, a really good job, man. 1044 00:40:30,262 --> 00:40:32,273 It was really close but on the appetizer round, 1045 00:40:32,297 --> 00:40:35,376 you made a slaw and it was completely under seasoned. 1046 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,779 In the entree round, the entire dish 1047 00:40:37,803 --> 00:40:39,680 was just jarringly spicy. 1048 00:40:39,704 --> 00:40:41,449 So, we had to chop you. 1049 00:40:41,473 --> 00:40:42,872 Thank you. 1050 00:40:44,475 --> 00:40:45,953 I think what got in my way is just kind of 1051 00:40:45,977 --> 00:40:47,021 my lack of experience. 1052 00:40:47,045 --> 00:40:49,590 That definitely encouraged me to, um, you know, 1053 00:40:49,614 --> 00:40:51,481 push myself forward and learn more. 1054 00:40:52,917 --> 00:40:55,029 And that means Chef Zuri Resendiz, 1055 00:40:55,053 --> 00:40:56,964 you are the Chopped Champion. 1056 00:40:56,988 --> 00:40:58,933 Outstanding work, Chef. 1057 00:40:58,957 --> 00:41:02,437 You have seized the spot in the $25,000 finale. 1058 00:41:02,461 --> 00:41:05,206 Great work. Nice. 1059 00:41:05,230 --> 00:41:08,810 It feels great. I'm humbled and super happy. 1060 00:41:08,834 --> 00:41:12,146 There's no word to explain it, but we still have one 1061 00:41:12,170 --> 00:41:13,748 more competition to go. 1062 00:41:13,772 --> 00:41:16,706 I just... Do what you did today, man. 1063 00:41:18,576 --> 00:41:20,154 Honestly, I don't know about that. 1064 00:41:20,178 --> 00:41:21,522 In the finale, I'm bringing fire 1065 00:41:21,546 --> 00:41:23,480 like nobody else would. 1066 00:41:26,183 --> 00:41:27,628 Only one of you is gonna make it 1067 00:41:27,652 --> 00:41:29,597 to the finale for 25 grand. 1068 00:41:29,621 --> 00:41:30,765 I'm feeling the heat right now. 1069 00:41:30,789 --> 00:41:32,266 [indistinct] don't feel pressure. 1070 00:41:32,290 --> 00:41:33,968 Yes. Yes. 1071 00:41:33,992 --> 00:41:35,703 My nerves are shook. 1072 00:41:35,727 --> 00:41:37,171 It's madness in here. 1073 00:41:37,195 --> 00:41:38,806 - Behind. Behind. Behind. - Let's go. Let's go. 1074 00:41:38,830 --> 00:41:40,608 - Let's go. - What happened? 1075 00:41:40,632 --> 00:41:42,577 I am trying to make the best bad decision 1076 00:41:42,601 --> 00:41:43,678 I possibly can. 1077 00:41:43,702 --> 00:41:44,712 Oh. Oh. No, no, no, no, no. 1078 00:41:44,736 --> 00:41:45,980 No bueno. 1079 00:41:46,004 --> 00:41:47,348 Presentation is a little bless your heart, 1080 00:41:47,372 --> 00:41:48,816 you know what I'm saying? 1081 00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:50,251 With due respect, I do disagree. 1082 00:41:50,275 --> 00:41:51,886 - Finish it. Finish it. - Oh, my God. 1083 00:41:51,910 --> 00:41:53,354 This is it, guys. 1084 00:41:53,378 --> 00:41:54,655 You will think about this in the shower 1085 00:41:54,679 --> 00:41:56,357 for the next 10 years. 1086 00:41:56,381 --> 00:41:57,391 Let's do this. 1087 00:41:57,415 --> 00:41:59,315 What the hell?