[Ted] You are in for a VIP experience.
The most expensive spice in the world.
[Geoffrey] $200 worth of pork
[Ted] Featuring ingredients that are extremely expensive
- Hello. - Luxury is on the way.
It could have been a little more elegante.
I wanna disagree with Geoffrey.
'Course you are.
- It's like working with my wife. - But I think...
Ready to rock and roll.
[Luke] This is intimidating.
[Ted] Hit the gas, Daniela.
[Daniela] There's no way that they are gonna be cooke
[Karl] Time flies by when you're having fun.
Whoo! Hail Mary!
And it also flies by when you're getting your ass kicked.
the microwave and it's on fire.
I'm not in the weeds. I'm never in the weeds.
What are you talking about?
Here we go!
Everything should have a little razzle dazzle.
I'm the sous chef at Alinea in Chicago.
Alinea is a three Michelin star restaurant.
Alinea is all about luxury ingredients.
I like luxury ingredients. I like luxury things.
I like transforming them. Taking them to a place
in which we haven't seen them before.
My biggest advantage is the will to win.
I have champagne taste and a beer budget.
This tastes luxurious.
I'm the executive chef of Cathedral in Dallas, Texa
Look at that sear.
[sizzling]
I was a dishwasher.
And then I worked my way to the top.
That smells expensive.
I'm very competitive.
And, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to win.
[dings]
Yes!
[laughs nervously]
My name is Daniela Guerra Bowman,
I'm from Miami.
I work at Four Seasons in the Surf Club as a sous chef.
We work with a lot of luxury ingredients
From caviar, foie gras, A5 steaks.
And there it is.
I'm excited. Nobody likes to lose.
I came here to win it all.
All right, let's rock and roll.
Johnny's home! [laughs]
Working with the luxury ingredients,
it's higher stakes.
No mistakes. You get one shot to get it right.
One for me, one for you.
Look at those babies.
I'm very comfortable with the luxury ingredients
I'm full throttle, wide-open
I did not come here to lose
Ooh.
Whoa! This is intimidating.
Welcome to our "Meal of Fortune" battle,
where we're featuring ingredients that are unique
and extremely expensive.
- Awesome! - How exciting!
- Mmm! - Bringing the goodness.
What outrageous items await you in these?
- Wow! - Oh! Nice.
[Ted] It's a gorgeous seafood towe
[Karl] Some king crabs, some shrimp,
some clams, big mussels.
I'm not gonna lie.
I really don't know what this is.
[Ted] You also have bubble blossoms...
The hell are these things?
[Ted] Saffron water...
Never seen saffron water.
[Ted] And caviar potato chip
[Chris] Caviar potato chip is a crispy potato chip
with creme fraiche and caviar on top.
Oh! I want to eat all of these.
Remember! Only 20 minutes.
Clock starts now!
[judges clapping]
- Yay! Go chefs! - Go chefs!
Oh, ketchup. Ketchup will be awesome.
Judges, all that's gold does not necessarily glitter.
You have to know what to do with these fancy ingredients,
in order to make them worth the price.
Think about it. Every one of these chefs
has $620 worth of ingredients.
[Geoffrey] This is Meal of Fortune here, and there are luxury items.
Come to any of our restaurants,
this is what is considered the best of the best.
So, It's game on!
Maneet! Geoffrey!
You're joined by special guest judge,
Chef Brooke Williamson.
A trendsetter with a hand in everything
from pub food to ice-cream.
These ingredients are already incredible ingredients on their own.
The trick here is simplicity.
Showing some restraint today
is what they're gonna need to do.
All right.
One of the things I enjoy mo
about working with high-end ingredients
is that you don't have to do that much to them.
Gonna chop 'em up.
Bubble blossoms! I have no idea what this is
and it could easily be poisonous.
So, I decided to taste it.
Mmm! That's really sweet. It's acidic.
Bubble blossoms are called the caviar of edible flowers.
They're also very expensive.
Geoffrey, have you foraged for bubble blossoms yourself
or do you outsource that to your staff?
I have my staff on Tuesdays.
Usually in the afternoon, when I'm having tea.
[Luke] These shrimp look beautiful.
The seafood tower, honestly, is a gift from god.
Immediately, my mind goes to ceviche.
Ceviche is seafood cooked in acidity.
Usually lemon juice.
I'd like to win this money
because my wife and I, we eloped.
And so, I wanna give her
that wedding that she deserved.
Finally.
[Maneet] Saffron water.
I mean, it is such a beautiful ingredient.
It's so expensive, by the way.
- It's very... - It's the most expensive spice in the world.
- [Luke] It's so powerful. - [woman] Yeah.
Hmm! Tastes just like saffron.
It's kinda like white truffles oil,
but when it's used correctly, it's fantastic.
Just gonna do something Mexican.
In Mexico, it's very common to have
something fried as the first course.
I think I'm gonna go with the shrimp and the crab.
So, I'm doing this seafood and saffron inflada
topped up with some caviar and creme fraiche.
An inflada is pretty much a masa dough,
but it will pop up.
It will have like a hollow in the middle
which is usually where you put your filling.
So, I'm just gonna do a caviar creme fraiche.
- [Geoffrey] Well, let's go to the caviar. - Okay.
'Cause they got about a $150 worth of real caviar
which is delicious
'cause they're little salty pops of the sea.
Ooh!
[Daniela] That caviar, it tastes amazing.
Okay.
I'm using the caviar and the creme fraiche
from the potato chips as my topping.
Let's go.
[Karl] My personality is aggressive
I would say that I'm aggressive
in my approach to food.
- What are you doing, Karl? - Like an escabeche.
- Okay. - [Karl] I'm making a king cr
and mussels escabeche,
with a saffron, apple consomme.
I taste a bubble blossom and it's briny,
but it has a nice crunch to it.
My plan is to dehydrate the in the microwave.
'Cause I'm hoping they'll work well as a powder.
And next thing I know, there's smoke.
Karl put it in the microwave. It's on fire.
- [Karl] That's just not going to work. - Yeah.
- [laughs sarcastically] - [Maneet] Chef Karl!
Do you have more of the bubble blossoms left?
- I do, yes. I saved some. - Awesome.
[Karl] I decide to pickle th rest of my bubble blossoms
with a citrus rice vinegar pickle brine.
I'm hoping this will add a nice crunch.
Gonna have to be a quick pickle on those.
Chris, how you feeling over there?
Ready to rock and roll.
The kind of food that I like to make is very upscale. High end.
Little crab salad.
[Geoffrey] This is such an opportunity
to go really classical French. Like a crab mayonnaise.
A great seafood salad.
Make it gorgeous. Dressing? Just let it be what it is.
[Chris] From the seafood tower,
I wanna make a nice crab salad.
I decided to grab the shrimp Chop that up, and fold that in as well.
The seafood tower at my restaurant
is the bestselling item when people wanna celebrate.
May I ask how much it costs?
- $190. - I'll bring Geoffrey to pay.
[Daniela] Now, I need to ge started with my filling.
My filling is inspired by salsa macha,
and some oily base sauce,
that pretty much has all the dry chilies,
sesame, peanuts, who always got some crunch on it.
I think that will go perfect with that crab and shrimp.
Daniela is making her own tortillas.
However, she still has masa in a bowl.
She hasn't pressed them yet.
They still need to go into a pan to cook.
She's gotta fry 'em.
[Karl] I'm making a saffron apple consomme
with the saffron water and the seafood stock.
I taste it and I notice that it's a bit flat.
So, I grab some instant dashi powder.
I'm hoping this will add a nice umami factor.
[Chris] My bubble blossoms, they're nice and salty.
I know I wanna put them inside of the salad.
I taste the saffron water
and I want to get this almos down to a syrup,
so it really tastes like saffron.
Then, I know I'm gonna make a butter sauce with it.
Chopped is a dream of mine.
Motivated to win,
because I'm in relentless pursuit of my dreams.
[Daniela] I sauteed my chili
and then I add it to the food processor.
The saffron water is super intense
so I'm just adding a little bit.
Bubble blossoms, I'm gonna use them in the mixture
instead of adding some extra salt,
as they are super salty.
I want the vessel for them to eat the ceviche with
that was crispy. I saw those wontons,
and I knew that was my winne
The judges are gonna love it
So, I go to the deep fryer.
[Daniela] There we go.
I still need to fry these infladas.
I look over to the fryer and Luke is already there using both fryer baskets.
If I don't get this dough fried, I'm not gonna be able to have a dish.
Chefs, you only have five minutes to go.
Hit the gas, Daniela.
[Daniela] I'm running out of time so I need to pu my infladas in the fryer no
or there's no way that they're gonna be cooked.
You using both sides now or just one?
- No, just one side. - [Daniela] Perfect.
- We're done, you're ready? - Yes.
I'm running a little bit clo but it looks like I'm gonna make it happen.
This is really exciting to not have to worry about the budget.
I wish I can cook like this everyday.
I'm gonna use the caviar as a finishing salt element to my dish.
[Luke] I need to finish my ceviche.
I put in my bubble blossoms my cream and saffron water and then
I use the creme fraiche, and mix it into my ceviche.
And I'm gonna put my Texas flair on it.
I chop up some jalapenos.
I serve this all the time in Dallas and it's gonna be on my menu now.
Two minute warning.
Guys, you're cutting it really close.
[Chris] I needed a vehicle in order to carry this salad and I love crab toast.
Almost like a go to.
[Luke] Wontons in the ceviche. This looks perfect.
The clock is gonna run out. Pretty up those plates.
Ten, nine...
- Come on, chefs. - eight, seven, six, five
four, three, two, one.
Time's up.
[clapping]
[Daniela] I felt good at the beginnin
and then at the end like five minutes cuts you out, you know.
I think my dish is fantastic. They're gonna love it.
I'm playing for my children
I wanna be able to show them that all the time that I spent
dedicated to my career that it was worth it.
Chefs, in the first round, we entrusted you with a basket of bubble blossoms,
a sea food tower,
saffron water,
and caviar potato chips.
Did you do them justice?
Chef Karl, please tell us about your dish.
[Karl] I have mussels and king crab escabeche,
a saffron water apple consomme
with caviar and pickled bubble blossoms.
The basket was four absolutely luxurious ingredients.
It can be a gift,
or it could be your downfall.
These flavors are absolutely incredible.
The caviar on top, it was just a touch, just right.
Saffron and Granny Smith apples,
fantastic idea.
Your broth has so much flavor. I appreciate that touch of dashi.
I am noticing inconsistencies.
I have some lemon seeds in my broth.
The bubble blossoms.
I don't think that the pickling really did anything to it.
Yes, ma'am.
When I go back for another taste, I feel like it's the same bite over and over again.
So, although this has great flavors, I think I wanted more out of you.
-Right -A Chopped champion needs to come out with something
totally different from the basket than what they were given.
I know your pedigree. You could have made this much better.
Next up, Chef Daniela.
I'm originally from Mexico.
So I made today a seafood and saffron inflada.
Right now, I'm sous chef at Four Seasons down in Miami.
Wow.
It's one of the most beautiful restaurants in the country.
So, luxury ingredients is something that's common to me.
[Maneet] The masa inflada
works so beautifully along with the saltiness of the caviar and the cream.
- And it is crispy on the outside... - Mmm-hmm.
and just perfect in the inside.
But I do think that by adding too much spice,
especially the chili de arbol, which hits you in the face,
it is overtaking the rest of the seafood.
Yeah.
I don't taste the seafood. I think you did
a disservice to some really beautiful luxury ingredients.
I totally disagree.
I think it's inspired and tasty and exactly what I would love to see every chef do.
By taking the ingredients and changing the paradigm.
And so, I think it's a very yummy, inspired bite.
Thank you, sir.
[Ted] Next up, Chef Luke.
[Luke] This is a Texas styl shrimp ceviche.
Are you from Texas?
Yeah, I'm from Texas.
We have very, very luxurious food in Dallas
and this is a little spicy and little sweet and it's very Texas.
It's yummy.
The ceviche is a good idea.
It's really well seasoned. It's properly spiced.
I think you could have been a little more elegante with maybe some apples,
some celery, something to give it a fresh crunch.
So I would put this at one Michelin star if I was rating you, young man.
It's very good but... mmm, it's gotta be more, like, delicate.
Thank you, chef.
Can I ask you, Chef Luke where you used that caviar potato chip?
I used the creme fraiche and mixed it into my ceviche.
-Okay -I was going to use the caviar
and I decided not to because I didn't want it to go too salty.
I'm gonna say I think that was the wrong move,
Using that creme fraiche, it feels like
there's a curdled dairy substance in the ceviche.
I wish you had used that caviar.
I agree with Brooke about the creme fraiche.
I think it muddies the ceviche.
And also with the bubble blossoms,
I almost wish that you had kept it whole.
Because then we would've gotten that contrast of texture.
But flavor wise, dynamite.
Thank you.
Finally, Chef Chris.
So, I made a luxurious seafood toast with saffron butter.
[Ted] Where do you work, chef?
I'm the sous-chef at Alinea in Chicago.
I've been there. Alinea, one of the finest restaurants in the world.
[Maneet] The seafood salad is delicious.
The fact that you took all the seafood and just kept it simple.
And you took the bubble blossoms and
cut it into small pieces and folded it in.
That was a great idea.
[Geoffrey] I think you unlocked the puzzle of
what you do with cooked seafood.
You put it with mayonnaise. It's delicious.
I think it's a very smart idea to put it on toast.
A really yummy dish that is fun to eat too.
- So, well done. - Appreciate it.
- I'm gonna disagree with Geoffrey. - Of course you are.
It's like working with my wife.
- [all laughing] - Everything's a problem.
I understand the toast idea.
I'm struggling a little bit, because the edges are so crispy
it's hard to cut through, it's hard to bite through.
But your butter is nice. Your seafood salad is gorgeous.
There are a lot of really delicious flavors on this plate.
[Ted] Okay.
Soon, we'll know which one of you cooked a meal of misfortune.
[Luke] My biggest competitio is actually Daniela.
She made a dough from scratch in twenty minutes.
That's crazy.
I think I might be safe
but the fail on technique on not getting a lemon seed out
kinda has me a bit stressed.
[Ted] Whose dish is on the chopping block?
Yep.
Today, we got four delicious plates which is good for us
but it also makes the decision that much harder.
We thought that the seafood tower got completely lost in the entire dish.
Also, we wish that you had given us something that celebrated luxury.
- We have to chop you. - Thank you.
The hardest thing right now is how mad I am at myself.
Because I did told to myself,
you're not gonna be the first one that walks out of the door.
[Ted] Chef Chris, Chef Luke, Chef Karl.
More upscale surprises are in the second basket.
- You ready for it? - Absolutely.
All right. Let's see what lavish goods you've got in there.
Wow!
Oh, yeah.
Sushi.
[Ted] You've got gold wrapped sushi.
Otoro, gold.
[Ted] You also have lacy cauliflower.
Beautiful.
This like Limburger?
[Ted] Torta del Casar.
Check this out. With the bone in and everything.
[Ted] And a rack of Berkshire pork.
[Karl] This is over $200 worth of pork.
Thirty minutes to turn these divine ingredients into heavenly dishes.
Clock starts now.
- Yes, go chefs. - They're out of the gate.
[Ted] That cheese smells terrible.
[Brooke] Torta del Casar. It's a raw aged sheep smoked cheese
and it's just as flavorful as it is stinky.
That small piece is worth $100.
It's fantastic but what also is fantastic is that Berkshire pork.
It's like the gold standard.
It actually cooks up almost like veal.
[Chris] I see this giant rack of por I'm gonna take the bone off
And I wanted to use the fat cap because it's kno for its very luxurious fat.
I take the bones from the po
so I can make a stock and then make a sauce from them.
But, how am I gonna marry pork, sushi and lacy cauliflower?
They just naturally don't go together.
[Maneet] Chris has taken the seaweed from the sushi
and has put it in the fryer and is deep frying it.
[Karl] Got them seaweed chips rocking over there, bro?
Yes, sir.
[Brooke] This gold-wrapped sushi,
that the chefs are working with, alone is $200.
It's enrobed in this gold leaf and then it has slices of toro on top.
So, we're gonna get crispy rice and seaweed
and the gold in there, I think that's brilliant.
[Maneet] Great Idea.
[Karl] Chris and Luke, they're here for the same reason that I am,
we're here to win,
In this round, I'm not gonna be afraid to take any risk at all.
I know, right off the top, I wanna do a fried pork chop dijonnaise.
With the gold wrapped sushi.
Here goes nothing baby!
I'm taking the nori and wrapping it
around cauliflower that's steamed.
[Brooke] I bet you, Chris is really grateful
that he fried his seaweed right off the bat because
he sure wouldn't be able to get into that fryer right now.
[Karl] I've never worked with this cheese before.
I'm relieved to see it's a softer ripened cheese.
My first thought is, this is gonna be my sauce.
So I prepare my cheese sauce I get the Dijon in there.
I add the blanched cauliflow to the food processor.
I wanna show the judges what I'm about, as a chef.
I'm extremely competitive. I started as a dish washer.
And then, sous chef, then, chef de cuisine, and now, executive chef.
And I'm only 29!
The main thing I wanna do next is be one of these TV chefs, I know I could do it.
My gut reaction to the Berkshire pork,
is, I can make a pork chop out of this.
I'm gonna make a cream sauce with my torta del Casar,
couscous as my starch,
and then, the olives, I'm gonna mix in with my por
Less than ten on the clock, chefs.
[Karl] Less than ten.
Chris really excelled in the first round.
The caliber of these chefs is really high at this point.
I'm gonna go in and, should I take a look, see what's going on?
[Maneet] Please!
[Geoffrey] Luke, what do you say, my man?
[Luke] Hey, chef.
Who's your competition, here?
[Luke] Um, you know, Chef Chris has a whole table over there by himself.
[Geoffrey] Chris, what are you cooking over there?
You're doing a cauliflower potato puree?
That's right, a little starch on this thing...
Geoffrey Zakarian is the super dapper guy.
And what do you think fried gold tastes like?
Very into the luxury,
So who you worried about here?
I'm not worried about anyone, I'm just focused on myself.
-I like that. All right. Good luck. -Thank you, chef!
Because the pork is so fatty,
I need to get some freshness and some acidity.
I automatically think, pickled jalapeño.
I see some cherry tomatoes, so I grab some of those so I can confit some tomatoe
[Karl] I need to make a curly endive salad.
[Brooke] Karl's doing something really smart right now,
he brought out the siphon.
Which, if he's using that for that cheese,
potentially, we could dull that super pungent flav with air.
[Geoffrey] But we've been here at Chopped,
we know that siphon is, is the siphon of death.
Chefs, less than five minutes to go.
[Luke] I go and check on my pork chops.
They're not exactly what I want them to be.
[Karl] Luke, I've got you a basket set in there, if you wanna get in.
[Luke] Thank you so much.
I just want to get a little bit of a sear and crust on the outside.
[Chris] When I pulled my por I realize it's not cooked.
Do you see how raw they are?
Oh, yes.
Chris just cut his chops in half and he's putting it back in.
It's a trick you do when you're in the, I'm screwed zone.
Yea [chuckles].
All right chefs, two minute warning.
- [Brooke] Let's go, Chefs! - Come on, chefs.
[Karl] The salad is dope. And then, I look down, and I'm like, [bleep].
That sauce fell.
[Luke] I start slicing my pork, I give it a taste
and, there's a little bit of a chew to it, but,
I think it's gonna be fine.
All right chefs, that clock is not slowing down.
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four,
three, two, one,
time's up.
Yes!
[Chris] I used the best parts of the pork,
the nice fat is what it's all about.
Damn!
[Karl] This one was extremely difficult. My sauce fell apart.
Time was my biggest enemy on that one.
Chefs, in the entree round, you got more high-end goodies.
Gold-wrapped sushi,
lacy cauliflower,
torta del Casar
and rack of Berkshire pork.
Chef Chris, let's start with you. Please tell us about your main course.
[Chris] Today, I have the roasted Berkshire pork,
puree of the cheese,
confit from cherry tomatoes then pickled some jalapeño.
When did you decide to become a chef?
In 2013, and I was on the road to destruction, following the wrong crowds.
And I just loved cooking and I just wanted to follow my passion.
And here I am.
It's beautiful. Love it.
[Geoffrey] Pork is really salted so well,
and you served the piece that I love, which is the ca
- There's so much fat. - Right.
But the rest, it looks like you really struggled.
Seems like a bunch of items just dropped on the plate.
They don't seem to work together in harmony.
You could have combined the cauliflower and the cheese
- and, sort of, tied everything together. - Right.
The pork, I do see through the three plates,
that there is inconsistency in cooking.
Mine is really, really raw.
The cheese sauce,
just doesn't work.
[Brooke] This cheese puree is so potent,
that I am avoiding it.
However, I fortunately, got a piece of pork
that was cooked absolutely beautifully.
There are things that you've done masterfully.
This deep-fried seaweed with little specks of rice,
it's genius, I mean, I'm so stealing that.
Even the thin slices of jalapeño
along with the tomato confit, works very well.
Next up, Chef Luke.
So, I have for you a bone-in pork chop,
a Mediterranean-style cousco
and a cream sauce made from that amazing and funky cheese.
- You like getting funky? - I do like getting funky.
[laughs]
Right on.
The flavors on this dish are amazing.
[Geoffrey] The lacy cauliflower is delicious,
with the cheese sauce. Really good.
The sauce, you nailed it.
Thank you, Chef.
But, I wouldn't have put the sauce on top of the pork chop.
And it is tough.
So you have a few clunkers, unfortunately.
This couscous is massively overcooked.
It's kind of, it's like a brick of couscous.
And this pork is, is a mess for me, not having that hard sear,
and then letting it sit in the juices, and steam itself
definitely made it very tough.
My favorite part of this plate is the olives and that cheese sauce.
It's a really beautiful combination of flavors.
[Ted] Is pork with Kalamatas a thing?
- I made it a thing. - [all laughing]
[Brooke] It is, now.
Well played, chef.
Finally, Chef Karl. Please tell us about your main dish.
I've got a Southern style pork dijonnaise.
It's a buttermilk fried spinales, wanted something a little bit fattier.
The cauliflower's in a few different ways,
and then the dijonnaise aspe comes in the cheese cream..
It's sort of a chicken fried steak, but pork, basically.
Which I think, is fantastic
It is delicious, there's no question about it
It's very creative, what you did with the cauliflower,
wrapping it around the gold nori.
This sauce is good, the mustard under the sauce is really smart.
It does need relief.
'Cause the bread and the pork is fatty and needs relief
and not in the form of cheese.
And I like the cheese sauce.
And I don't know why you would use the spinales.
Geoffrey, I'm sorry, what is spinales?
Spinales is the outside cap of the pork chop.
You're doing a lot of good things here
but I feel like it was, kinda, unfinished.
Chef Karl, I think there were a lot of good intentions on this plate.
I think that some of those intentions were not realized.
With the mustard and the cheese,
I feel like this could have been a great creamy vinaigrette.
I saw you pipe that out of the siphon and it actually looked great.
And then, suddenly it just fell, totally flat.
Yup, rookie move.
Overall, I think there are some missteps
- but good flavor. - Thank you.
[Maneet] I got this piece of pork which is very, very overcooked.
But, because it's fried, it still has that fattiness to it.
So, it was, I think, a smart gameplay.
The sweetness that you have added to the dressing,
just brightens and enlivens the entire plate.
You all celebrated the ingredients with great skill.
Still, one of you must leave us before dessert.
[Karl] I think all three of are legitimately on the chopping block after this on
I definitely don't feel very good about it.
I did not cook my pork to the best of my ability.
Chris' dish looks good. It just looked unfinished.
That's the main thing that could get him chopped.
[Chris] I was born to be in the Chopped kitchen.
If I make it to dessert round, I'm absolutely sure that I'll take it home.
[Ted] Whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Luke, you have been chopped. Judges.
Chef Luke, there were a lot of really fun,
playful, beautiful flavors on this plate.
Unfortunately, it just came down to the star of the show,
really, which was that Berkshire pork chop.
This is a luxurious, expensive, cut of pork,
and the inconsistencies of the cook
made it really tough and hard to get through. So, we had to chop you.
Yeah, of course.
Thank you, Chef. It was an honor to meet you.
- Pleasure to meet you. - Thank you.
I didn't think Chris' plate was fully complete, versus mine was.
I am a little surprised. But you know, it wasn't my decision.
[Ted] Chef Karl. Chef Chris.
Exquisite desserts from exquisite ingredients.
Who's got what it takes to get the job done?
- That 10,000 is mine. - I'm leaving here with that money.
Super pumped.
It's only me and Karl. And I know we are gonna dook it out to the end.
[Ted] Feast your eyes on the bounty of riches.
What is this?
[Ted] You will be working with a diamond fruit cake.
What in the world is this?
[Ted] Bayberries.
A ruby chocolate martini.
Looks like that ruby chocolate shavings on there maybe?
Ruby chocolate is very expensive and exclusive.
What in the world am I supposed to do with squid ink?
[Ted] And squid ink.
That's crazier than... than the last basket.
[Ted] Thirty minutes.
Clock starts now.
- Go, Chefs, go. - Let's go, let's go, let's go.
[Karl] Oh, nice. Does actually have cake there.
Those baskets cost $420 apiece, wholesale.
[Brooke] That's some expensive dessert.
- Right? - [Brooke chuckles]
[Maneet] The original diamond fruit cake,
had diamonds worth $1.6 million.
These cakes only have $300 on it.
But that's it. It's crazy.
[Karl] This diamond fruit cake,
it's a three layer white cake with strawberry preserves,
and some sort of buttercream.
How you feeling over there, Karl?
I've got a couple of half-baked ideas.
I am making a ruby chocolate martini. Blancmange.
A blancmange is similar to a panna cotta, but not quite as sweet.
With the cake, I intend to make croutons.
I know I want to go with a tres leches flavor.
So I reach for the sweetened condensed milk
[Maneet] The ruby chocolate martini, it is really expensive.
And ruby chocolate is made from ruby cacao beans,
- which are very rare. - Rare.
[Karl] Making this dessert is a risk.
I have to get the chemistry right,
or this dessert's not gonna set.
Oh. Hail Mary.
[Chris] Karl's got some chops. He is a very talented guy.
But I need to win to show my children
that their dad is out here doing great things.
I know I'm gonna turn this cake into a puree.
This just goopy, and sticky.
Chris!
- Hello. Um, making a cake puree. - What are you doing?
That's what you do when you don't know what to do with a cake.
And then, like the coffee sauce would be a good vehicle to carry the squid ink.
I grab some molasses, honey some dark chocolates, squid ink.
Just gonna add the squid ink to it to really darken the color
and kinda mask that squid ink flavor.
Squid ink, it's subtle. But it definitely has a shell fish flavor.
And you have to harvest a lot of squid to get enough ink
to fill one of these jars.
Okay, guys, I am going on a mission.
How you doing, homeslice? Is it coming together?
Depends on your definition of that.
See, this is what happens. They run away from me.
- Chris, how are you doing? - I am great.
You think you will take it home?
- I do think I'm gonna take it home. - [exclaims]
- With the cake puree? - With the cake puree.
So, Chris is very confident that he is taking it home. What do you think?
I feel pretty good about what I got going on.
Okay, so what's the plan?
Like a set panna cotta--
You think there is enough time for the panna cotta to set?
- That's a risk I am willing to take. - Okay.
- You gotta go for it sometimes, you know? - Fantastic.
[Karl] Thank God there is a blast chiller over there.
- Luxury is on the way. - Awesome.
[Chris] I started checking out the martini, coffee sauce.
Adding some of my bayberries.
[Brooke] Bayberries.
They are almost reminiscent of a strawberry in texture
but they have a pit in the center.
They are from the mountains of Asia,
and they have about $40 worth of these bayberries on their stations.
[Karl] To top off the blancmange,
I'm making a curd with the squid ink.
The icing from the fruit cak is masking
the salinity from the squid ink.
If I win that $10,000,
I honestly would put it towards developing a savings account.
That sounds really boring but that's what I would do with it.
[Chris] I need something fluffy and crispy.
So I take puff pastry. I slice it into strips
because I want to fry it as quick as possible.
[Karl] I got to check on my blancmange in the blast chiller.
Come on.
- But it's not setting. - [Ted] Five minutes to go, chefs.
[Karl] If these don't set,
it's a death wish.
Come on, get cold, baby. Let's go.
Karl is making a version of a panna cotta.
In this kitchen, panna cotta very rarely sets.
He is trying to put it on the anti-griddle to set it.
- We call it the chef killer. - [Maneet] Yeah.
Cause that is what happens when you use it. It's over.
[Maneet sighs]
Ooh!
[Chris] When I pull the puff pastries out of the fryer,
I noticed that they were really greasy.
Cause there's layers of butter all through it.
I get some cayenne, paprika chili powder
and the sugar to make a spice blend.
I want to make sure that my dessert has texture.
So, I dry the cake and I drop it in the deep fryer.
Come on, please get crunchy.
With the bayberries, I bust them down. I made a candy sugar.
And I cook them in that candy sugar.
I need you today. Get crunchy.
All right, chefs. It's your final minute here.
Karl's literally waiting till the last second to pull his panna cottas
out of that blast chiller.
[Chris] The thought process behind plating
is just to really highlight the ingredients.
I want it to be visually stunning.
Coming down on your back.
[Karl] I get my blancmange onto my station.
I feel like the texture is nice.
I might have a shot at this.
[Ted] Final seconds of the final round, Chefs.
- Let's go, let's go, let's go. - Come on, Chefs.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six
five, four, three, two, one. Time's up.
- [all clapping] - Yes. Yes.
[Karl] I think my flavors are good, but we're just gon have to see.
Down to the wire on this one.
[Chris] I am most worried about my puff pastry.
I should have used another vehicle for this dish.
Chef Chris. Chef Karl.
More over-the-top ingredients.
Diamond fruit cake. Bayberries.
Ruby chocolate martini, and squid ink.
Chef Karl, what do we have?
Judges, I've made for you a ruby chocolate blancmange,
in the style of tres leches.
A blancmange is a French relative of panna cotta.
I was considering calling this some sort of a soup.
But I am not gonna sissy out at the last minute.
Obviously didn't set.
But it's not a total loss.
The croutons are fantastic. I love the squid ink caramel that you made.
Berries are delicious. Everything works in this except the sugar level.
Had it set, it still would have been too sweet.
Yeah, Karl, why the choice to use sweetened condensed milk?
Looking back on it, I was asking myself the same question.
It's hard to cut through the sweetness of that.
[Maneet] Even if you had just done a citrus salad,
that relief would have played very well with the sweetness.
The flavors over here are amazing.
What you did with the squid ink is very creative.
Thank you.
It actually is a very addictive bite.
Anyone can make a nice plate
but to pull that information out of your brain,
in that kitchen is tough. Shows the real deal.
Finally, Chef Chris.
I have a spice fried puff pastry
with a cake puree, squid ink, and molasses sauce.
Chef, what would winning Chopped mean to you?
I've been dreaming of being on Chopped
and watching Chopped since it started.
I just want to show my kids
that they can follow their dreams and be successful.
And you made it to dessert!
- Big time. - You got some good ideas here.
Cake puree was a bit of an odd one for us.
It's tasty and almost taste like a frosting,
in the best way, you know.
However, it's like I am eating garnishes
versus a cohesive dessert.
And the inside of this is very greasy.
- Right. - But there are a lot of fun,
interesting components on this plate that were very successful.
Visually, this does pay tribute to luxury.
[Maneet] The plating is absolutely stunning.
Coffee and molasses was such an amazing idea.
And that, kind of, tones down
the fishiness that you get from squid ink.
[Brooke] However, I agree with Geoffrey.
I just think as a whole, it doesn't feel like a composed dessert.
[Ted] Chef Chris, thank you.
Very soon, we will reveal the Chopped champion.
Thank you, chefs.
[Karl] That was something else, man.
I think that the chefs were very successful
in showcasing the luxury of these ingredients.
[Maneet] For Chris, his most successful dish
was his appetizer.
The way he used the bubble blossoms,
the saffron water that he incorporated
in the entire dish.
The one problem was that my toast
was burnt on the edge.
Karl treated the seafood
with respect. That bowl of broth
had so much flavor.
I think the second course
we start to see some mistakes, right?
Chris had to pull his pork out,
recut it 'cause it was raw.
But, he cut it in half, he made more edges to caramelize
with butter, so
he created this really delicious chunk of pork.
[Brooke] His tomatoes were slightly confited
and the pickled jalapeño added a nice bite.
Karl had a great idea with frying that pork.
I think he needed to make sure he had
more consistent pieces of pork to serve us.
But, I thought that it was really smart
for Karl to put that Dijon on the plate.
[Maneet] He gave us each a bouquet of lacy cauliflower
wrapped up in gold leaf nori.
That was beautiful.
Well, judges, do you need more time to discuss?
Nope, we're set.
[Chris] I'm pretty nerve-wracked right now.
Dessert round, that one was a doozy.
[Karl] I'm a little concerne
about the blancmange not being set.
Whose dish is on the chopping block?
- Congrats, dude. - Thanks, man.
- Well earned. - Thank you, man, thank you.
Karl, the second course, there was a lot of inconsistency
with the cooking of the pork.
The third course, with the custard
you were trying to make, it didn't set.
And so, we had to chop you.
Congrats, bro.
Time flies by when you're having fun
and it also flies by when you're getting your ass kicked.
And that means, Chef Chris Dodson,
you are the Chopped champi.
Bringing the win back to Chicago.
- Congratulations. - [cheering and clapping]
I've conquered the meal of fortune.
You really got this experience.
It was tough, it's a really tough experience,
- Definitely. - We're very proud of you.
- I'm sure your kids will be real proud to hear. - Oh, for sure.
I'm the Chopped champion and this win was for my kids.