[woman 1] I am lady luck.
[woman 2] I make my own luck.
[man] I'm gonna gamble every single chance I get.
[man 2] Let's go!
Welcome to Chopped: Casino Royale.
These 16 chefs are all in.
A giant jackpot...
Ooo, baby.
...adrenaline through the roof.
[all] Oh!
This is truly an ingredient I would not know what to do with.
[Ted] Don't like an ingredient,
spin the roulette wheel.
[woman 1] Boom! Yeah, baby!
[Terri] I'm feeling lucky!
[Ted] Get lucky...
-[all exclaiming] -Oh, my God!
-[Tiffani] It's an incredible ingredient. -Oh!
[Ted] ...or lose big.
-[exclaiming] -[Ted] Limburger cheese!
[gasps]
Like, what do you even do with that?
You've got to make your own luck in this kitchen.
[Kirsten] If you're not taking risks in the Chopped kitchen,
why are you here?
[man] I'm rolling that dice, regardless of the ingredients.
-[gasps] -[exclaiming]
Whoo, we're cooking over here.
You get one bet. This is it.
I'm sweating, honey.
No risk, no reward, baby.
[exclaims] No!
[Ted] Place your bets.
-Hope you guys are playing your cards right. -Whoo!
Let the good times roll.
[Alex] I'm here to win my money.
You guys tell me if I'm doing something wrong or right.
I'm just... I'm just cooking like I'm cooking.
In high school, I was the guy who would always
be cooking the munchies at the after-party.
I'm Alex Lira,
owner of Bar George in Charleston, South Carolina.
Tangy. Tart. Sweet.
Gonna go nice with that salt.
I think I take risks in the kitchen.
Whoo!
My philosophy on food
is to kinda cut through the fancy pants stuff and just keep it real.
[Alexandra] I'm all in!
I started my career
working at my parents' Greek restaurants.
I was basically born sitting on a cutting board
and I could season things myself before I could walk.
I am very competitive.
If I had to name one spirit animal,
I would probably say it was a bucking bronco
because I go out there full energy
and I don't let anybody get in my way.
[Kirsten] I'm the creme de la creme.
I don't really play by the rules.
I don't really use recipes.
When you taste my food,
you're gonna get an insane pop of flavor.
So spicy. [laughing]
You're gonna get citrus. You're gonna get acid.
You're gonna get all of that beautiful deep spice.
If you're not taking risks in the Chopped kitchen,
why are you here?
[Terri] I'm not gonna fold under pressure in the kitchen.
I was a state champion in high school running track.
Now I'm about to be the Chopped champion.
I've been nominated for best chef
and best food truck in Kansas City.
My style of cooking is Cajun with a healthy twist.
Bright colors, fresh, nothing out of a can
right there in your face.
There we go.
I'm gonna make these other chefs fold.
-Hello, chefs. -[all] Hi, Ted!
Welcome to Chopped: Casino Royale.
Different house rules today.
After you've opened your mystery baskets,
you do not have to accept the hand you've been dealt.
You can ditch an ingredient for a chance at a better one
at the roulette table.
-[Terri] Ooo! -[Kirsten] Awesome.
[Ted] Win your bet, choose a lucky ingredient.
Lose your bet,
you have to choose an unlucky ingredient.
The winner of this preliminary competition
gets to come back for the Casino Royale finale.
Jackpot there starts at $25,000.
-Wow. -[Ted] Could be more.
-[Alex] All right. -All right!
All right. Appetizer round comes first.
They're all yours.
Pork blood...
What the hell is this?
Blood. Okay.
Oh, my gosh. What do I do with pork blood?
A sauce?
-[Ted] ...squash blossoms... -Squash blossoms.
[Ted] ...long-bone steak...
Oh. Oh, yeah.
Wowzers.
[Ted] ...and diced lollipops.
Diced lollies.
I love suckers, so...
[Ted] So, what do you say?
Do you want any of these ingredients to disappear, Chef Alexandra?
[Alexandra] I think I'm gonna gamble on the pork blood.
I'm with Alexandra on this one. Let's get rid of it.
No pork blood. I'm gambling.
I'm also gonna get rid of that pork blood.
[Ted] That seems to be a consensus
and a whole bunch of extra pork blood for you guys.
-Yes. Right on. -Yum!
All right. Time to gamble, then. Let's go.
-[Tiffani] Here we go. -[Alexandra] Let's do this.
-[Maneet] Are you guys ready? -[all] Yeah!
[Alex] Let's go.
-[Ted] Chef Terri, you're going first. -[Alexandra] Come on, Terri.
-[Kirsten] You got this. -[Maneet] Okay!
-[Terri] Red it is. -Warm her up. Let's go!
-Wow, red. -[Chris] Red it is.
[Maneet] Red!
-Oh, yes! -[clapping]
You get to choose from cloches one through six.
One.
-Okay. One it is. -Here we go.
-[all gasping] -[Ted] You got...
-Wow! -Yes!
[Ted] ...roasted marrow bone.
-[Kirsten] Nice. -[Chris] Great.
-That's amazing! -Chef Terri, this is an incredible ingredient.
It's already cooked,
so the marrow in the middle is essentially meat butter.
Chef Alexandra, red or black?
-Red lipstick. -Okay.
-[all cheering] -[Tiffani] Here we go.
-Red, red, red, red, red. -[Chris] Is it red?
-Red, red, red, red, red, red. -[Ted] Here it comes.
-Red! -[all cheering]
Oh, my God.
-I think I'm going three. -[Ted] Very good.
-Chinese broccoli! -[Tiffani] Oh, wow!
[Alexandra] I think I can do this.
-Yeah. Thank you. -[Chris] Nice ingredient.
-[Ted] Chef Kirsten. -I'm gonna go with black.
[Chris] Come on. Black, black, black.
Come on!
-[Ted] Black it is! -[cheering]
-Yes! Yes! -[cheering]
I think I'm gonna go with lucky number six.
-[Ted] Cornish hens! -[all exclaiming]
[Tiffani] Love it!
-[Chris] Amazing. -Double protein.
-There's nothing wrong with turf and turf. -[all laughing]
All right.
[Ted] Let's keep the streak going.
-Chef Alex. -I always bet on black.
[Tiffani] All right. Here we go.
[both] Black, black, black, black, black.
-Black! -[all exclaiming]
-[Ted] And black it is! -[all cheering]
[all exclaiming]
[Alex] Let's do four.
-[Tiffani] Okay. -[Ted] Four it is.
-Heirloom tomatoes! -Oh, come on!
-[Maneet] Wow. That's amazing. -[Ted] Heirloom tomatoes.
Heirloom tomatoes. That's a home run.
There's a million things you can do with those.
You have 20 minutes to make amazing dishes.
Clock starts now.
All right, guys. Go, go, go!
-[Chris] It's gonna be great. -[Tiffani] Okay! This is gonna be awesome.
[Ted] Judges, we are back in the Chopped: Casino Royale
for another spectacular tournament event.
[Tiffani] Smells like a Vegas steakhouse in here.
-Yes, it does. -[Terri grunts]
[Ted] And that steak...
One of the most prized and beautiful cuts you can possibly get
with that long bone in it.
Unfortunately, Tiffani...
-[laughing] -What?
No time to cook that steak in 20 minutes.
This kills me, but it's gotta be smaller.
I have two proteins now to deal with.
It's an appetizer round.
All of it's raw.
So I decided to make the Cornish game hen the star of the show.
I'm using the fat from the long-bone steak
to sear my Cornish hen.
Chef Kirsten,
what are you doing with the Cornish hen?
Uh, Cornish hen...
I'm gonna be searing it off using that beef fat.
Really, really rich and delicious.
[Chris] I love that Kirsten is gambling
and is not gonna really highlight that long-bone steak.
[Kirsten] And then I'm gonna be doing that
with a squash blossom and Parmesan sauce on the plate.
[Maneet] Squash blossom. Such a beautiful ingredient.
There are fritters that can be made out of squash blossoms.
Stuff the squash blossoms.
There's so much that can be done.
[Tiffani] Terri got bone marrow.
Roasted marrow bones. It's already cooked.
Super luxurious. Super rich.
[Terri] I'm making long-bone steak
and bone marrow crostinis...
You gotta put some muscle in it.
...topped with squash blossom and frisee salad.
I've always been competitive.
I started running track early in life.
Behind. Behind. Behind.
I held the record in high school.
So I'm bringing speed and a big old smile.
Whoo! They're spicy jalapenos.
Heirloom tomatoes, I think, are gonna make a delicious sauce
by turning them into a gazpacho.
I'm making a seared long-bone steak...
Yeah! That's the sear we're looking for.
...with a lollipop tempura squash blossom
and heirloom tomato gazpacho.
There she goes.
Just unwrapping these suckers is hard.
Hey, Alex, how's it going?
I'm having so much fun. How are you?
[Alexandra] How are the two Alexes doing today?
I got Chinese broccoli
which I actually, like... I eat.
Chinese broccoli is a quick-cooking green vegetable
with a lot of fresh flavor.
Nice sear, Chef. Nice sear.
Thank you, Chef.
I am going to make a long-bone steak salad
with warm Chinese broccoli
and a lollipop nuoc cham vinaigrette.
Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese dipping sauce.
[Maneet] So, these dice lollipops are regular lollipops,
so it's sugar, cherry flavored
in the shape of a dice.
Kirsten took some of that
with what looks like soy and sesame seed
and I think she's kinda making a sauce out of that.
Chefs, you've got 10 minutes to get it done.
[Alex] I think Kirsten has the toughest job ahead of her
because she's got to make an appetizer
out of two significantly large animals
with completely different flavor profiles.
With the squash blossom, I think a tempura is an obvious go-to.
I mix together some club soda, some flour,
grapefruit reduction that had the melted dice in it.
I'm feeling lucky!
I know I can use the dice lollipop with vinaigrette.
So I add that with red wine vinegar
and a little oil from the steak
and make my salad dressing.
Mmm-mmm!
[Kirsten] I have less than five minutes.
My Cornish game hen is still in the pan
and I realize I have nothing on a plate.
I need to kick myself into third gear.
-Behind you. -Yeah.
You gotta start thinking about plating.
Ooo, this is harder than I thought.
Behind you.
I need to kick myself into third gear
and I need to get everything on that plate.
AP and corn starch.
-I've got... I've got AP. I'm sorry. -[Kirsten] You got it?
-Where is it? -Right below my station here.
This Chopped kitchen is excruciating in the first round.
I mean, I'm running all over the place.
Thank you. Appreciate that.
[Alexandra] So, with the squash blossoms,
I wanna put them in a salad,
dress them with a dressing
and put them over the Chinese broccoli.
I toss the squash blossoms with Fresno chilies
just to give that a little fresh pop.
[Terri] I use the squash blossom in the frisee as a salad
because it is so delicate I don't wanna cook it.
There's $25,000 on the line here.
I don't wanna make a mistake.
-Someone's got a whole long-bone steak. -Why?
[Tiffani] That's Chef Alex.
[Alex] My view on life is just, like,
definitely take risks.
That's the only way you're gonna have experiences.
That is gonna definitely be on the rare side of medium-rare.
Just under two minutes, chefs. Just under two minutes.
It's gonna fly by.
You gotta start plating. You gotta finish plating.
♪ Let's go♪
[Kirsten] So, I'm looking down at my plate.
It's missing something.
And I just throw a bunch of arugula on the plate.
Gotta cut this steak.
[Ted] And with a minute, Chef Alex is back to the fryer
-correcting his squash blossoms. -Let's go!
[Tiffani] Here we go, guys. Gotta get past this round
to get a shot at 25k.
[Chris] 45 seconds.
-Where is he going? -Come on. Where are you going?
-Where are you going? Where are you going? -Less than 15 seconds left.
All right, chefs, stay a step ahead of that clock.
It's ticking down now.
10, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Times up!
-Whoo! -Whoa!
Whoo! That's a tough round.
Moving forward, I gotta get that brain
going faster than what it is.
[Alexandra] There was a few little details, maybe,
I feel like, if I was in the restaurant, I'd wanna put on there.
But, you know, for 20 minutes, I'm pretty proud of myself.
Chefs, you have arrived at the chopping block.
Our culinary pit bosses
gave you an appetizer basket of pork blood,
squash blossoms, long-bone steaks
and dice lollipops.
All right, Chef Kirsten, you're up first.
Tell us about the ingredient you decided to unload.
So, I got rid of the pork blood
and I was given Cornish game hen.
Right, so, this is a pan-seared Cornish game hen
with a squash blossom and Parmesan sauce.
[Ted] How do you feel about risk-taking?
Generally, I love risk-taking.
It's something I've done most of my life.
Well, given what you've served us,
I think you should be happy with yourself.
To go ahead and use the Cornish hen as the star of the plate,
I think, is a very smart move.
My Cornish hen does need a little bit more seasoning.
But the skin is crispy. It's beautiful.
[Kirsten] Thank you so much.
[Tiffani] Chef Kirsten, it's almost like
you've created, like, a beef fat vinaigrette
and it's delicious.
I think the squash blossom and Parmesan sauce is kind of wanting,
but when it links up with that beef fat vinaigrette,
it's really, really good.
But the Cornish game hen needs more seasoning.
Thank you.
My Cornish game hen was actually seasoned really well.
-Was it? -Yeah.
But the arugula here is not really serving a purpose.
I think you could've used those beautiful squash blossoms,
let that be the fresh element on your plate.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef Kirsten. Next, Chef Terri.
I gambled the pork blood
and received bone marrow.
That's long-bone steak and bone marrow crostini
topped with the squash blossom and frisee salad.
[Maneet] Where do you work now, Terri?
[Terri] I currently have a food truck now
and I would like to transition from the food truck
to a small restaurant.
Small restaurant. Okay.
[Chris] I think you had some really good instincts here. It's a pleasant bite.
I'm just struggling to find the basket a little bit.
We gave you all these squash blossoms
and we gave you this long-bone steak
and I just wish we had more of it.
[Maneet] I mean, I agree.
But I love that you actually seared
the long-bone steak in the bone marrow.
It gives such a wonderful flavor to it
and that really paid off.
My steak is really, really overcooked.
[Terri] Okay.
[Tiffani] Everything in terms of the basket ingredients,
aside from the steak, is a whisper.
And we need it to be a shout, right? So...
The idea is perfect.
Heard.
Thank you, Chef Terri.
Next, Chef Alex.
Judges, I made for you a seared long-bone steak
with a lollipop tempura squash blossom
and heirloom tomato gazpacho.
[Chris] Start with the good. I think you did a really great job
with these heirloom tomatoes that you traded in.
Your steak is really well seasoned.
But I don't think you nailed the temperature on the steak.
There are pieces that you did for sure,
but then there are pieces that you didn't.
And then this tempura blossom.
I love the texture of it. It's nice and crispy.
-But it's just... It's really, really oily. -Okay.
[Chris] If you move on, you've gotta really tighten up your technique.
Yes, sir.
To me, I think the highlight of your dish is the gazpacho.
It's delicious.
It just lightens the entire plate.
[Tiffani] Chef Alex, I would've loved
to have just seen this gazpacho
and a squash blossom and tomato salad on top.
-Some herbs. Leave it alone. -For sure.
Thank you, Chef Alex.
Finally, Chef Alexandra.
[Alexandra] Chefs,
I made for you a long-bone steak salad
with a squash blossom and warm Chinese broccoli
with a nuoc cham-inspired diced lollipop vinaigrette.
[Maneet] Your gamble to give up the pig's blood
really paid off.
What I love about what you've done with the Chinese broccoli
is they're not overly wilted.
They still have that little bit of a bite to it.
But just... The star of the dish...
-The steak. It's dry... -Oh. Uh-oh.
[Maneet] ...even though it looks medium-rare
because you didn't let it rest.
So as soon as you cut,
all the juices, they drained out.
[Tiffani] Agreed.
But the Chinese broccoli is really nicely dealt with.
The idea of the nuoc cham, I think, is great.
But this is a "not cham".
Like, I think you need more fish sauce,
-more lime juice. Like, lean into that. -[Alexandra] Okay. Heard.
But it's a good dish.
[Chris] You know, the Chinese broccoli
is something you're obviously familiar with.
It's deliciously prepared here.
But the squash blossoms are completely decimated.
They're sad.
This is a high-stakes tournament
where you can win more than $25,000,
-and so you have to really examine every little thing. -Right.
-We wanna be wowed, right? -[Alexandra] Okay. Heard.
Heard that.
[Ted] Chef Alexandra, thank you.
I think I could be on that chopping block
because... Kinda rough cut on the steak.
Didn't clean it up a whole lot.
I just kinda went really, really rustic.
[Alexandra] I feel like the risk I took this round paid off for me
because they really liked my Chinese broccoli preparation.
Unfortunately, I wish I would've rested my steak more.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Terri, you've been chopped.
Judges...
Chef Terri, the flavor that you got
of the bone marrow on the steak was great.
But the long-bone steak was overcooked
and the squash blossoms got completely lost.
So we had to chop you.
All right.
You're welcome.
In hindsight, I think I would've kept the pork blood
and gotten rid of the long-bone steak.
Would be easier.
Chef Alexandra, Chef Alex, Chef Kirsten,
second basket.
Come on.
Check it out.
-Oh, boy. -[Alexandra] Oh!
-[Ted] You've got chitlins... -Hmm.
[Alex] Chitlins is pig intestine.
This is one thing I absolutely hate.
-[Ted] ...fava beans... -Favas.
Favas.
[Kirsten sings] Favas.
[Ted] ...a cotton candy burrito...
Um, this is American. I don't know what that is.
[Alexandra] Cotton candy burrito.
Yum.
I've never seen anything like it in my whole life.
But still better than chitlins.
[Ted] ...and rack of lamb.
Rack of lamb.
I'd like to get rid of the cotton candy burrito.
[Alexandra] I'm going for chitlins just because I don't want a double protein.
I'm gonna get rid of the chitlins.
Once again, let's roll for some new ingredients.
-[Alex] All right. -[Alexandra] Let's do this! Let's go.
-Here we are again. -[cheering]
How will the roulette table treat you this time,
Chef Alexandra?
I'm going red again.
[Tiffani] Okay!
-All right. -[Alexandra] Let's do this.
-[Ted] Spin that wheel. -Okay!
[Alexandra] Red!
-[Kirsten] We want red. Let's go. Let's go. -Red. Red. Come on.
[Chris] Red, red, red, red, red, red!
[all exclaiming]
You lost your bet
and you have to choose from our collection of unlucky ingredients.
Let's go number nine.
-[Ted] Circus peanuts. -Oh.
[Alexandra] Could be worse.
[Chris] I really hate those.
[Alexandra] Lot of sugar.
If you can make me like those...
I just want you to not hate 'em.
Okay. Fair.
And next up is Chef Kirsten.
-I'm gonna go red. -[Ted] Okay.
-[Kirsten] Whoo! -[Tiffani] Okay. Go, go, go!
-[Chris] Go! -[Maneet] Red, red, red, red!
-Come on. Let's go. -We need good ingredients.
[Kirsten] It's...
[all exclaiming]
All righty. Seven.
[Ted] Chocolate-covered onions.
-[Kirsten] Okay. -[Maneet] This is a very challenging ingredient.
The sweetness of the chocolate
and the sprinkles right on top...
I'm up for the challenge.
All right, Chef Alex, it's down to you.
Always and always bet on black.
-Black it is. -[Tiffani] All right. There it is.
-Have fun. -[Maneet] Let's do this.
[Chris] Good roll, Ted. Good roll.
-Thank you, sir. -Bring it back to black.
-[Alex] Suspenseful roll here. -[Chris] Here it comes and black it is!
[Tiffani] You won! Yes!
-[Maneet] Okay! -I feel horrible about this.
You do. I can tell.
[Alex] Let's go with number four again.
-Okay. -[Ted] Number four. All right.
-Hen of the woods mushrooms! -[Kirsten] Oh, that's cool. That's cool.
[Tiffani] It's about as good as it gets.
These are easy to work with. Super earthy.
30 minutes on the clock.
Entree round starts now.
-All right. Here we go! -Good luck.
[Maneet] First round, everybody was lucky,
and this time, only one person.
[Tiffani] The house always turns.
[Alexandra] After seeing the circus peanuts...
I guess my gambling didn't work to my advantage.
But it could've been chitlins.
So, I'm thinking I wanna make a dish
that can stand up to all that sugar.
One person's definition of lucky
is not the same as the next.
-[Tiffani] Ah-ha! -[Chris] Oh, boy.
I'm enjoying a circus peanut
which I think are delicious, for some weird reason.
[Chris] It tastes like imitation banana
and, for some odd reason, it's shaped not like a banana
but like a peanut.
Opa! Hey!
I'm making a carnival curry
with lamb chops and a fava bean rice.
Alex is the only one that kept the chitlins.
[laughing]
[Kirsten] Does it stink, Chef?
No. It smells great, Chef. Thank you for asking.
Chitlins. Treated properly, it is absolutely delicious.
The hack for chitlins is frying them.
[Maneet] Rack of lamb is such a beautiful cut of meat.
[Ted] Often chosen for celebration.
Medium-rare. Succulent.
Delicious when done right.
[Alex] I'm making rack of lamb with roasted hen of the woods,
chitlins and a spring fava puree.
Lot of people around here not to be getting any help peeling these fava beans.
-Is anyone else getting that vibe? -[laughing]
Word, Chef.
[Kirsten] So, I gambled and I got chocolate-covered onions.
I'm making a seared rack of lamb
with fava concasse,
broken-down blistered tomatoes and a tzatziki.
I love the chocolate-covered onion.
It's gonna go into the jus for the lamb.
[Maneet] Not only do you have to take the fava beans
out from the entire pods...
You cleaned your favas yet?
-Yesterday, bro. -[Alex laughing]
[Maneet] ...you've gotta blanche it
and then remove the covering.
[Alex] With these fava beans, I'm gonna make a vibrant green puree
using a lot of refreshing herbs and lime juice.
Six and a half minutes.
Alex's lamb is charred, like black-charred.
[Alex] I notice that the spice rub on the lamb...
That it's getting really charred.
I'm hoping that these burnt spices won't penetrate the meat.
Once the mushrooms are grilled, I toss 'em with the chitlins
and get 'em in the oven to finish cooking.
Behind. Behind.
[Kirsten] Once the fava beans are ready to go,
I throw it into a bowl
with all of my other salad ingredients.
[Tiffani] We have a cotton candy burrito.
It's unrelenting sugar, so you're gonna have to dose it into something.
Cotton candy will go into the gastrique.
[Maneet] There's so many different colors in it, right?
So if you go ahead and melt it,
the resulting color's going to be completely mishmashed.
To me, $25,000 is a whole lot of money.
[exhales]
If I won the money, I would love to take a trip to Greece,
go back to where my dad's family is from
and just have a better understanding of who I am as a person.
Two minutes left, chefs.
Come on!
[Tiffani] Everything on the... There you go.
Thank you.
[Ted] Kirsten does still have a rack of lamb to cut.
[Kirsten] I slice into it and I realize it's under.
At this point, I just have to put it on the plate.
[Ted] One minute to go, chefs.
[Alex] As I cut into the lamb, it looks a little underdone.
I'm feeling like I hope these judges like medium-rare lamb.
[Ted] 30 seconds, chefs.
You've got to make your own luck in this kitchen.
[Ted] 10, nine, eight...
-Here we go. -[Ted] ...seven...
-[Alexandra] Herbs! -[Ted] ...six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Times up!
[clapping]
[Kirsten] I feel like I should've been
less conservative on my cook time.
I wanted it to be just right and I was just under.
[Alexandra] I 100% feel like I took a risk with this dish,
but that's why we're here at Chopped.
Chopped isn't about playing it safe.
Chefs, with the buzz in the casino amping up,
we gave you an entree basket of chitlins,
fava beans,
a cotton candy burrito
and rack of lamb.
Chef Alexandra, please tell the judges what you made.
I made a carnival curry
with a lamb chop
and fava jasmine rice.
In place of the chitlins, I received a circus peanut.
Alexandra, when you said it's a carnival curry,
it actually makes sense.
This is delicious.
Wow. Thank you.
[Maneet] It's the perfect foundation to add the sweetness.
The lamb rack. It's been seared very well,
but it needed to be cooked a little bit more.
-Heard. -[Maneet] Mine is completely raw.
Uh-oh.
This curry is just dynamite.
-I love it. -[Alexandra] That's... Thank you so much.
[Chris] I just want more of the lamb.
I had about that much meat. Everything else I have is fat
-and it's unrendered fat. -[Alexandra] Yeah.
But the curry... [whistles] Amazing.
[Alexandra] Thank you.
The fried shallots on top. Really lovely choice
as well as the cilantro.
My dish is wanting for more fava beans.
Instead of tucking them into all of this rice, just on top.
[Ted] Thank you, Chef Alexandra.
Next up, Chef Alex.
Tell us about your gambling habits in that round.
[Alex] I got out of there with some beautiful mushrooms.
[Ted] And what did you get rid of?
[Alex] I got rid of the cotton candy burrito.
I got a grilled rack of lamb,
some of those roasted mushrooms,
and then I blanched the chitlins in a ton of spices
just to kinda break through that funkiness.
[Maneet] Alex, the hen of the woods.
That's absolutely delicious.
Usually, chitlins...
It has the ability to take over
the entire flavor profile of the dish.
And this is just enough.
The big problem on the plate is
the only taste that I'm getting from the lamb is burnt.
[Chris] It's so scorched here
and it's so raw here.
This is a competition for $25,000, you know?
We need to see a little finesse.
I think the highlight of this dish is definitely this fava puree
which is really, really, really bright and fresh.
Yeah. It's so bright and lovely
which, I think, works really well.
[Alex] Thank you.
Thank you, Chef Alex.
Finally, Chef Kirsten.
I took a bet and I got rid of the chitlins
and that was replaced by chocolate-covered onions.
So, I made seared rack of lamb,
fava and green pea concasse,
broken-down blistered tomatoes,
tzatziki and a chocolate lamb reduction.
[Ted] And prize money. Any thoughts what you might do with it?
[Kirsten] I've been to a lot of places, but I've never been to Japan.
And I wanna take my wife
and just do a Japanese food extravaganza.
Chef Kirsten, are there any basket ingredients in the tzatziki?
[Kirsten] No.
[Tiffani] It's spectacular.
I wonder if that would've been more successful
using the favas in the tzatziki instead of the cucumber.
The lamb sauce.
You know, hats off to you by using the chocolate and the onions.
Really, the issue is the cookery on the lamb.
This is very rare and I do apologize.
No one cooked the lamb particularly Wellgames here.
[laughing]
[Chris] You know, what you made here is fairly simple,
but yet it's got sophistication as well.
It's got real thoughtfulness.
There's a lot of deliciousness going on over here,
but, to me,
I am not getting much of the cotton candy burrito.
Because what this dish needs is a little bit more of the sweetness.
Okay.
Okay, to make it to the Casino Royale finale,
you first have to make it to the dessert round.
Who will get that opportunity?
It was a rhetorical question.
From the judges' feedback,
I feel like I'm moving onto the next round
based upon the success with my curry.
[Alex] I went undercooked on the lamb.
I couldn't bring myself to break it down into a couple pieces.
I think that may cost me.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Alex, you've been chopped.
Judges...
[Chris] Chef Alex...
All three chefs, by the way, failed completely on the lamb,
but yours was both raw and scorched and burned on the outside.
And so we had to chop you.
Cool. Thanks, guys.
-Thanks for coming here. -[Alex] It's been a pleasure.
I wasn't surprised by the judges' decision.
I undercooked the protein and that cost me in the long run.
We have two people on, like, really similar levels.
It's a match of two titans.
Chef Alexandra, Chef Kirsten,
baskets are set.
Open 'em up.
[Kirsten] All right. All right.
[Ted] And your ingredients are garlic juice...
-Oh, good Lord. All right. Garlic juice. -[Alexandra] Garlic juice.
-[Ted] ...oranges... -Oranges.
Oranges remind me of making baklava with my mom.
Okay, here we go again.
[Ted] ...blue cheese-stuffed olives...
[Kirsten] Blue cheese-stuffed olives. All righty.
[Ted] ...and a 24-layer chocolate cake.
[Alexandra] Well, it looks like dessert's made already.
Just kidding.
Something is definitely gonna go
and it's gonna be the garlic juice.
Gotta ditch the garlic juice.
To the roulette wheel!
-Let's go. -Let's see. Let's do this.
[Ted] Okay, let's do this thing!
-All right, let's do this. -[Chris] All right!
Yeah! Let's do it.
As a reward for being the two chefs still here,
if you don't win your bet at the roulette wheel,
we're gonna give you a chance to double-down
-at the slots. -[Kirsten] All right!
-[Alexandra] Oh! -[Kirsten] Okay.
-[Ted] Kirsten you're first. -Thank you.
I'm gonna go red.
I have just, like, a sense.
-[Maneet] "Sense." -[Tiffani] Okay.
-[Ted] Looking for red. -[Chris] Okay, here we go.
-[Tiffani] Come on, red. Go, go, go! -Please, please, please!
-[Chris] Come on, red. -[Tiffani] Come on.
Please, please, please, please, please.
-[Ted] And red! -[all cheering]
[Kirsten] Yes!
-Yes! -Yes! So good for us.
I mean you.
I'll take number five.
[Ted] Number five.
Vanilla bean paste!
-All right! Yes! -[Maneet] Wow!
[Chris] Pure vanilla bean paste.
Basically, the building block
of every delicious dessert that's ever been made.
[Kirsten] I am on board.
I think I'm gonna bet on black this time.
Voila.
[Chris] Okay.
All right. Looking for black.
-Here we go! -Okay, come on!
Black, black, black, black. black.
[Tiffani] Here we go, here we go, here we go.
[Chris] Come on.
-[Alexandra] Oh, my gosh. -[Chris] Here it comes.
Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes.
-Black! -Yes! Yes!
[Chris] All right! Nice!
-Nice! -[Maneet] This is crazy! Wow!
Okay. I think I'm gonna go with number three.
-Okay. -Number three.
Lucky number three.
-Salted caramels. -[Alexandra] Oh!
-[Chris] You can work with that. -[Kirsten] Yeah.
[Maneet] That's such a beautiful ingredient.
You have the sweet, the salt.
I mean, everything is good.
All right. The judges are expecting desserts in 30 minutes.
Clock starts now.
-Go! -All right. Here we go, chefs.
[Chris] For me, personally,
can't stop thinking about that cotton candy curry
and how much I loved it.
And so I feel like Kirsten's gotta really come big with something here.
[Kirsten] This is a mess.
Chocolate cake.
I'm making a chocolate baklava...
Oh, this is such a travesty.
...with an orange
and blue cheese-stuffed olive syrup.
Making baklava with salted caramel in 30 minutes
is definitely a risk.
But we're here to gamble,
so I'm taking my chances.
[Tiffani] You know, it's not just winning the dessert round here.
It's a lot about making it into the finale of a giant tournament.
Kirsten has chosen to grab the chef killer out of the pantry.
It can be sour. It can be overripe. It's assertive.
Terrific on pizza, though. I'm joking.
I think that my gamble truly paid off.
I mean, garlic juice or vanilla beans.
I mean, it's chalk and cheese.
I'm making a layered chocolate and pineapple cake.
Finish with a vanilla whipped cream.
When I'm under pressure,
I actually end up making better food
because you have to make choices.
I decide to do an orange cream filling.
Come on, now. Let's go.
When I came out of culinary school,
I dove straight into a two-Michelin-star restaurant in France
and I got my butt kicked.
But I wanted to be the best
and that was the only way to do it.
-[Ted] 15 minutes to go, chefs. -Quick.
[Chris] Both chefs have got great ingredients.
But they still have blue cheese-stuffed olives.
Ooo, boy.
The blue cheese can be mixed with some cream cheese
or some mascarpone, etcetera.
[Alexandra] I'm making a syrup because it is traditional with baklava.
I start by melting down the salted caramels.
I add a little bit of honey.
I add orange juice.
And I'm hoping that the blue cheese olives
add a contrast to the sweetness of the syrup
by adding a little bit of salt.
[Ted] Alexandra is really up against it.
There's nothing she can do
but wait for those things to cook.
[Alexandra] I'm watching the clock tick down.
I'm trying not to open my oven too much
'cause I want my baklava to cook.
It's the equivalent of, like, having a king showing
and then waiting for them to flip the other card over.
It takes forever.
[Alexandra] Oh, yeah, baby.
We're close. So close.
Alexandra is really up against it.
Eep!
If this baklava doesn't get cooked enough,
it could be ruined.
So, at this point, I figured it was a good time to just relax for a moment.
How does it feel to stand there and wait?
I've got bourbon, so I... Maybe I'll have another shot.
It's been a long day, so that'll help.
What's a casino without a cocktail, right?
[Kirsten] Behind you again.
Running all over the place.
Chef Alexandra... She's sipping on her bourbon.
She's watching me run around like a crazy person.
Alexandra's put all of her chips on this baklava working.
If I got one minute on the clock, I know I can do it.
I think this baklava is the biggest gamble I've taken so far.
[Maneet] They're so focused
because one of them is going into the finale.
I mean, it's so real right now.
[Alexandra] It's gonna be a sad Christmas without snow.
[Kirsten] Do I use olives and the blue cheese?
It's nerve-racking.
I'm just gonna have to use these olives as a garnish.
[Ted] One minute left of the clock, chefs.
-The choclava is out. -[Maneet] How does it look? How does it look?
[Chris] How does it look?
-It's golden brown. -Looks pretty good!
-[Chris] You got this! -[Maneet] Come on, chefs!
[Chris] Under 20 seconds.
Come on. Come on, come on, come on.
10, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Times up!
-[clapping] -[Chris] Whoo!
Wow.
[Alexandra] It's sweet. It's salty. It's orangey.
It's chocolatey. It's filoey.
So I feel pretty good.
[Kirsten] I look over at Chef Alexandra's dish
and I think to myself, "I'm going home."
[Ted] Chef Kirsten, Chef Alexandra,
for dessert, we presented you with a basket of garlic juice,
oranges, blue cheese-stuffed olives
and a 24-layer chocolate cake.
Chef Kirsten, please tell the judges what you've made.
So, I gambled away on my garlic juice
and I was able to get some vanilla bean paste.
This is a layered chocolate and pineapple cake
and a vanilla Chantilly.
[Chris] I think this is really fun.
I don't, generally, love pineapple, but I love it here.
And then I think you didn't know what to do at all
with those blue cheese olives
and at the very end you threw a couple olives on the plate
and said, "This is what it is."
I've gotta start by saying I love the presentation.
But the blue cheese-stuffed olives...
I'm not getting that.
The orange. Very faint.
So I almost think that the basket ingredients got lost
because the pineapple overshadowed this entire dish.
Okay. Thank you.
Chef Kirsten, it's been a pleasure watching you cook today.
There's so much going on here
and to take it apart is a bit of a feat.
It's chocolate pineapple upside-down ambrosia olive cake.
I think there's something about the promise,
visually, with this, says it's gonna deliver.
But it doesn't.
Thank you, Chef Kirsten.
Finally, Chef Alexandra.
Well, I decided that my best bet was to get rid of that garlic juice.
So I got salted caramels.
I made a chocolate baklava
with an orange and blue cheese olive syrup.
Mom and Dad, if you're up there, I did something Greek.
I didn't put nuts in because I wanted to just highlight basket ingredients.
[Maneet] To me, I think the idea of baklava is amazing.
Really, really smart to go ahead and...
This highlights the basket ingredients.
The baklava in itself...
I think you should have made it a lot smaller.
It did need a little bit more time.
[Alexandra] Thank you.
[Tiffani] Chef Alexandra, there's orange liqueur and then there's honey.
So there's other things that were brought in.
I think, with the nuts, you could've used more olives
and really kind of pushed that salinity
-and that brininess a little bit. -Heard.
After work, in front of the TV,
would I not eat a bowl of this, like,
with, probably, some ice cream on top of it too?
Yeah, I would.
But the nuts are definitely needed
'cause the texture is one note.
Soon, the judges will grace us with their decision.
[Tiffani] We start with appetizer round.
It's so interesting.
They got this gorgeous long-bone rib-eye, right?
Basket had pork blood in it.
They both opted to give it away.
Kirsten ended up rolling for Cornish game hens.
Her concern was, obviously, two big proteins.
[Chris] I thought it was courageous that Kirsten said,
"You know what? I'm gonna leave this long-bone steak.
Just use it for the fat."
Game changer.
On the other hand, we had Alexandra
who traded in her pork blood
for some Chinese broccoli.
And she cooked that beautifully.
But the long-bone steak...
She cooked it properly,
-but she did not let it rest. -[Tiffani] Right.
I didn't think the long-bone steak was the biggest crime.
I thought it was... "Squash blossoms, girl, you in there?"
-They were, like, soggy. -Yeah. God.
[Chris] But in the entree round,
Alexandra made us a cotton candy burrito circus peanut curry
and it was delicious.
It was delicious.
The heat in the coconut cream
just allowed that curry to coat the rice.
It was really good.
The lamb was raw.
Kirsten's entree was good.
I really loved the tzatziki that she made.
There were no basket ingredients in it,
but it was really delicious.
But, again, huge miss on the lamb.
For me, the issue as we make this decision
is I know for sure who made me my favorite dish,
but in Casino Royale,
-I know for sure who played the game better. -Mmm-hmm.
And they're not the same person.
[Kirsten] I'm a little worried
that the pineapple was a little dominating
and that some of the key ingredients did get lost.
[Alexandra] Chef Kirsten. She's a wonderful chef.
But the one thing I feel like I may have an edge on
is the utilization of the basket ingredients.
So, whose dish was on the chopping block?
-[Alexandra groans] -Whoa!
-What? -Oh, man!
[Ted] Chef Alexandra, you've been chopped.
Judges...
[Tiffani] Chef Alexandra,
first of all, it was incredibly close.
Let's start with the appetizer round.
The squash blossoms were soggy
and just not treated well in that salad.
Getting to the entree round,
the lamb was raw.
And so we had to chop you.
-Thank you. -[Maneet] Thank you so much.
I feel really disappointed.
I thought I really had a shot at it.
The hardest thing about this moment
is coming so close and losing.
And that means, Chef Kirsten Schmitt,
you are the Chopped champion.
Congratulations.
-Thank you. -Whoo!
Yes!
I am Chopped champion,
which means I get to show you guys more of what I have.
Next round. Bigger. Stronger. Hotter.
Yeah. I'm a Chopped champion
and I am exceedingly elated.
-[all cheering] -The stakes are high!
[man] Action! Flashing lights.
I'm running like hell.
Oh, my gosh.
[Maneet] The glamor. The glitz.
[woman] This would change my life.
My hands are shaking.
Trinkets. People winning. People losing.
[Maneet] Black, black, black!
[Tiffani] I need all of these chefs
to be the best that they have ever been.
-Don't even look at the clock. Just plate. -Here we go!
[Terri] I'm not gonna fold under pressure.
[Alexandra] Chopped isn't about playing it safe.
One of you is gonna be the grand champion!