Gotta move over, Wisconsin,
because tonight, Flavortown Market is the cheese capital of the world.
[Antonia] Whoa!
-That's money all day. -Yeah, yeah.
Now, I've invited three cheese-obsessed chefs
to compete in our ooiest-gooeist games ever.
This is "nacho" ordinary cheese contest.
The winner of this first cheese round gets 10,000 bucks
and the winning chef can double their money in the second round
if they can beat one of those big cheeses, our all-star GGG judges.
Who will win the "muenster" cheese battle?
It's Beat The Judges Cheese tonight, on Guy's Grocery Games.
[intense music playing]
So let's meet our cheesy chefs.
Now, first up, we have Prateek Kumar,
the chef-owner of a gourmet grilled cheese truck in Houston, Texas
who claims he's perfected the science of the cheese pull.
[Prateek] I do out-of-the-box grilled cheese sandwich,
cheesy fries, cheesy mac and cheese.
We are also known for the best cheese pull.
The perfect combination for a cheese pull is mozzarella and provolone mix.
You "cheddar" believe it.
[Guy] There you go, brother. How are you feeling?
-Good, how are you? -Welcome.
Next up, Emily Vena,
the chef-owner of an acclaimed one-of-a-kind restaurant in Massachusetts
where she works closely with local cheese shops
to make a "gouda" menu even "grater".
Even grater, get it?
I love cheese so much. I went to school in Italy.
I take what I learned there and apply it to cheesy dishes.
There's no other food group that has as much range as cheese.
You can eat cheese for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
There's a time and a place for all cheeses.
[Guy] There she is.
[upbeat music playing]
And, finally, Mike Hallahan, chef-owner of two restaurants
in Great Falls, Montana that offer up American fusion cuisine
and crazy grilled cheese goodness.
Block Bar and Grill, everything's obviously based around a block of cheese.
Each week, we have a new cheesy creation.
I guarantee, I'm the cheesiest guy you know.
You better "brie-lieve" it.
[laughing]
-Nice to have you, brother. -Thanks, my man.
[whispering] Good luck, guys. Good luck, good luck.
Welcome, chefs. I understand this, that when it comes to cheese
you three are kind of a big "wheel".
[all laughing]
So, I hope you really "burrata" it.
[rimshot]
[Guy] I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know. That... I don't know.
Is this thing on? [taps]
We'll be here all night. [echoes] Thank you.
You want the "gouda" news or you want the bad news?
-"Gouda" news. -The "gouda" news. Great. I've got both.
At the end of this first challenge,
the top-scoring chef will stand alone
and will win an automatic 10,000 bucks.
[cash register dinging]
But the other two chefs, well,
they'll cut the cheese. They'll cut... They'll be cut.
The winner will get a shot at doubling that 10,000 bucks
only if they can beat one of our all-star judges
-in a one-on-one cheese battle royale. -Let's go.
So, before you can bring home the cheddar,
you must prove that you are the cheese wiz.
I want you to go big in the first round and I want you to make...
the Tastiest Cheesiest Dinner Ever.
I'm talking about a cheesy, ooey, gooey, loaded, so...
super flavorful, Flavortown-style meal, okay?
To get you started, Hunter is back there in his deli.
Oh, he's doing a fantastic job.
And he's got a cheesy, warming gift for you.
It's a 2 for 1 Special that combines artisan cheese and fruit.
[intense music playing]
Pick whichever combo you want, but remember, it's first-come first-serve.
Shop for any other cheeses, or food items or anything else that you want,
but you must use both of those gift items in your dish.
because this is 2 for 1 Special.
Thirty minutes to shop, prepare, and plate
your Tastiest Cheesiest Dinner Ever.
Any questions?
You don't even have one question. Between the three of you,
I'd think that you'd have at least two questions.
You got one question.
The dinner you want us to prepare has to be...
-Tastiest Cheesiest Dinner Ever. -Okay.
You were the only one who wanted to go with a question.
-[exhales] Okay. Cool. -[clock ticking]
-You guys have watched GGG, right? -Yes.
You gotta really sharp on the details around here
'cause if you don't... [makes whooshing sound]
they'll go right over the top and you will burn...
-You'll burn time off that clock. -Yes, he did it. He did it.
Every second is precious.
-Oh, my God, this is so hard to watch. -So hard.
[Guy] Really precious. I mean, you start losing...
I mean, let's just say... Let's just say you lost, like, 20 seconds.
I mean, 20 seconds off the clock sometimes can make it or break it...
I mean, he's just rambling. Then you know he's already done it, right?
...to whether or not you actually get that dish plated.
And then if you get down to, like, 30 seconds off the clock,
I mean, that's even worse.
And as it starts ticking down, and you can get into, like,
you know, 35 seconds off the clock...
I mean, you just... You start thinking about how much time you could lose on the clock
and the clock could be running and you don't even know it.
And what it is... What ends up happening is you just...
you eat right into your competition time and, you know,
I don't know that we've even been down to 50 seconds already off the clock.
-Oh, my God! -Guys! Guys!
And then if you think about it, when you're almost to a minute
you've been sitting here listening to me talk...
-[Brooke] Go! -[bell dinging]
[judges laughing]
[clapping]
So 2 for 1 means you get a cheese and some type of fruit.
First one to the deli counter gets first pick.
I get to the deli counter first.
-Hello! -Hello, I have a blueberry, vanilla and quince paste.
Mango ginger stilton and grapes platter.
-I have a port wine cheese ball and wine cheese spread. -[Mike] Port wine cheese.
[Mike] A little concerned that this port cheese ball might be a little sweet,
but I've picked my poison and went to town.
By default, I have the next one?
Yes, I have a blueberry, vanilla and quince paste.
And then a mango ginger stilton and grapes platter,
-if you like that. -Um, first one, please.
-[Hunter] Okay, quince. -[Emily] The ginger and mango stilton
seems more horrifying than the blueberry vanilla chevre.
-This is the last one. -[Hunter] And, you sir, you're going for the mango ginger.
Mango ginger, there you go.
-All right. Hey, best of luck. -Thank you, sir.
[Prateek] I have never heard of mango ginger stilton ever.
I was very concerned when I got that.
Shop's closed, folks.
[Mike] I have to make the cheesiest, tastiest dinner
using the port wine cheese ball and the fig spread.
Somehow, pasta was gonna be a vessel for these sweet ingredients to come together.
I'm thinking I'm gonna make lobster mac and cheese.
I grab lobster 'cause I figure I can glaze the lobster with the fig spread.
That's a decadent ingredient. Gonna take this over the top here in Flavortown.
[mumbling to himself]
Knew I had to bring a little bit of heat to this port wine cheese ball
to kinda balance a little bit of the sweetness.
So I'm gonna grab some jalapenos.
I plan on putting this port cheese ball in my mac and cheese sauce.
I grabbed whole milk and cream.
Plus, the dish has to be uber cheesy, so gotta hit the cheese aisle.
-Hi, chef. -Hi. Lobster.
-[Mike] Oh, yeah. -[Guy] What are you thinking?
[Mike] Do a lobster mac and cheese
[Guy] Lobster mac, delicious.
I grab Havarti, some cheddar, and some Monterey Jack.
We're out of here.
I "camembert" the thought of one of these folks going home.
[Emily] Winning this round means I go against a judge.
It will be terrifying.
All three very talented, seasoned chefs.
I have blueberry vanilla chevre and quince paste.
Quince is a fruit.
So I have to figure out how to balance these things to make a dinner.
This is so hard.
I'm thinking grilled cheese with more cheese.
I grabbed Parmigiano-Reggiano, pecorino, smoked gouda, smoked mozzarella,
shredded mozzarella, shredded cheddar.
I'm thinking about doing a cheese sauce so I'm grabbing evaporated milk.
I'm trying to get a cheese pull.
because I feel like the judges wanna see that cheese.
This is so hard.
[Guy] Judges, you want something cheesy?
[Antonia] Is this a trick question? Uh, yes.
Mmm, I know exactly what I would do.
Ginger. Mango ginger.
I have to use mango ginger stilton and grapes.
Man, this is gonna be a hard one.
Oh, man.
When it comes to cheesiest dinner, I always tend to lean towards, like, a pasta.
Macaroni, Elbows.
I'm going to make shrimp mac and cheese
with mango and ginger stilton.
Fresh shrimp.
I actually have a shrimp mac and cheese on the menu on the food truck.
It also goes really well with bacon.
Take some bacon.
I grabbed some smoked Gruyere because it's gonna give me
that thick texture cheese sauce that I was looking for.
I'm grabbing panko 'cause I want a texture element
for my mac and cheese.
Asian.
I'm going to add Asian-inspired flavor to the shrimp.
Mango and ginger goes very well with it.
Some hoisin sauce, sambal, fresh garlic, some lime, and fresh ginger.
Okay.
I'm gonna kick the competition to the "curd".
So let's meet tonight's big cheeses, our all-star judges,
the potential contenders.
Now, Food Network star, acclaimed executive chef, and undisputed pizza pro,
the one and only Hambino, Chef Christian Petroni.
The first ever Tournament of Champions winner
who uses Gruyere in multiple menu items,
including hair care product
the one and only B-Dub, Brooke Williamson.
Celebrated LA restaurateur who incorporates cheese into her...
most of her dishes, and makes her own ricotta,
the princess warrior herself, and good friend...
-[laughing] -Antonia Lofaso.
Okay, go-to cheese. What's your go-to cheese?
I would have to say it would be ricotta.
-Okay, never mind. I'm gonna go. -Okay, bye.
[Antonia] I do really like the leather.
These chefs, they have a 2 for 1 Special.
They need to make the cheesiest dinner ever.
I want ooey. I want gooey.
[Emily] I grabbed so much cheese.
[chuckles]
Like, six or seven cheeses.
I'm doing a grilled cheese
with more cheese in the form of cheese sauce.
First thing I'm gonna get started on is my cheese sauce.
I put evaporated milk into the blender.
I put smoked gouda in there.
I wanted the balance the sweetness coming from the sandwich,
so I put pecorino and Parmigiano in there as well.
[blender whirring]
I'm sauteing some onions because I wanna incorporate those into the sauce
to make the sauce more savory
to balance the sweet of the blueberry and the quince.
Chef, what's your gameplan?
-[Guy] What is this you're putting together here? -[Emily] Cheese sauce.
Do you wanna go cheese sauce and bread?
Cheese sauce and pasta?
I'm gonna go bread. I'm gonna go grilled cheese, I think.
'Cause I have to incorporate blueberry and quince.
[Guy] Blueberry and quince are great to work with.
I am totally thrown about how to turn
blueberry vanilla goat cheese and quince paste into a full dinner.
I really want to win this challenge
and get to go up against one of the celebrity chefs.
But I'm worried that a simple grilled cheese isn't going to meet the challenge.
How do I make a dinner out of a cheese plate?
[Christian] This is Beat the Judges.
One of us is gonna wanna represent for the judges, obviously.
So it's a lot riding for us.
Think about if you're one of these contestants
that's have never ever been to Flavortown Market before.
All right.
[Guy] Twenty-five minutes!
Beat the Judges.
Cheese.
So, here it is. The chance of a lifetime.
You get yourself on Guy's Grocery Games.
You're gonna come compete, and you get to cook one time.
You win, you get ten grand, and a chance to win another ten grand
against one of these judges.
You lose, you go home. Pretty severe.
[Mike] We're gonna make a lobster mac and cheese...
using port wine cheese ball and the fig spread.
Cheesy dinner.
Noodles are going.
Now it's time to break down lobster tails and get 'em ready for the grill.
We're gonna glaze our lobster a little bit with the fig spread.
I figure I could reduce it down,
glaze the lobster in it, give it a little bit of complexity of flavor.
Now it's time to start my cheese sauce for my mac and cheese.
Start a small roux and put some shallots, garlic in with the butter.
Give it some flavor.
I throw in all my cheeses.
Havarti, cheddar, Monterey Jack.
It's gotta be ooey, gooey and rich.
My kids would love the mac and cheese.
My family's amazing. When I win, we're going on vacation.
Got that port wine ball in there.
We're gonna mix that into our cheese sauce.
A little concerned that this port cheese ball might be a little sweet.
We're gonna counter that with a little bit of jalapeno.
[Guy] Twenty-two minutes!
Get this going.
I'm going to make shrimp mac and cheese
with mango and ginger stilton.
Because of the ginger and mango in the cheese,
I'm going for, like, smoky Asian fusion.
The first thing I start is rendering bacon.
My plan, to use the bacon fat to cook my shrimp in.
[sizzling]
Marinate our shrimp.
I used some hoisin sauce, some fresh ginger, fresh garlic,
some lime juice, and the sambal for the spiciness.
It's just gonna lose that sweetness that comes with the grape.
Okay.
The next thing I'm gonna work on is my cheese sauce for the mac and cheese.
I make a little roux.
I added heavy cream to it.
I'm gonna add my smoked Gruyere
and mango and ginger cheese to it
so it can melt right into the vegetable sauce that I'm making.
Yeah, it has a little bite to it.
[Guy] Oh, 17 minutes. I am an idiot.
So what I'm gonna do is make a little
six cheese grilled cheese fondue.
Half and half.
Not what I like to do, but when you need some texture inside of this,
you gotta do what you gotta do.
So this is the Gruyere.
[whirring]
So what I'm gonna do is make a little fondue-ish setup.
A little sherry.
Got a little magic that I'm trying to pull here.
[Guy] Fifteen minutes!
[Emily] I'm making the grilled cheese with seven cheeses.
The quince paste, I spread on the bread
and then I crumbled some of the blueberry chevre on top.
Grated mozzarella, grated cheddar.
[sizzling]
I am cooking the grilled cheese stove top to get it crispy
and then I'm transferring it to the oven
so I can hopefully melt the cheese enough to achieve the cheese pull.
The last thing I need to work on is my blueberry garnish.
Vinegar, olive oil, a little salt and pepper.
I think the blueberry garnish makes sense
because there's blueberry inside of the sandwich.
Yeah. Winning this round means I go against a judge.
They've seen it all. The advantage is incredible.
I have seen Antonia on TV.
Christian winning Food Network Star.
Brooke Williamson, I watched her on Top Chef.
You have to decide which one, and that's...
a really hard decision to have to make.
[Mike] All kinds of cool stuff going.
Lobster's ready. Chop up the lobster.
Smells delicious, what are you making?
Oh, a little lobster mac and cheese.
Classic, I like it.
Sauteing a little bit of fig jam.
We're gonna see how this comes out in a little bit.
With the fig spread, a little concerned the dish might be a little too sweet.
Looking at my cheese sauce, grab the pasta.
Throw lobster in there with the fig spread.
Ladle in my lobster mac and cheese.
Ooh, that's what you want. You want Mike's cheese.
Add a little bread crumb.
Get it in the salamander.
[intense music playing]
[Guy] Texas toast with Parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, sharp cheddar.
Come on, baby. Melt.
Just a little bit of heirloom tomato.
A little something to break it up on the inside.
Cooked on a flat top.
[Guy] Seven minutes! Seven minutes, chefs.
-Chef, how are we doing? -I think I've marinated my shrimp.
Working on my cheese sauce and my macaroni.
Well, it seems like you have a good idea of what you're doing.
Yes, sir.
[Prateek] I'm going to mix some macaroni and my cheese sauce.
And then I'm gonna add panko and little blocks of smoked Gruyere,
put it in straight into the oven
so it can melt right with the pasta
and give me that thick texture to the cheese sauce that I was looking for.
And next, I cooked the shrimp that was marinated in the bacon fat.
The last thing I had to do is sauté the grapes.
I do like bacon and grapes.
What a smart move to get the bacon super crispy and then just...
Like, slice the grapes and turn it into a sort of textural topping.
Yeah. Grapes are so delicious sauteed.
Like, so delicious sauteed.
[Brooke] Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
-You ask and you shall receive. -Prateek, get out of my brain.
Get out of my brain.
The minute I saw the board, I was like, "That's what I'm doing."
[Guy] Five minutes! Five to go!
[intense music playing]
[Guy] Crust it in parmesan on the outside.
Yep.
This is my cheese sauce.
Grilled cheese.
Fondue, so it doesn't get too soggy over the top.
-[Antonia] Well, that doesn't look cheesy. -[Brooke] Holy cheese!
-Holy shanky cheese. -Holy cheesy.
Yes!
[Guy] So you have a six cheese grilled cheese fondue.
[Brooke gasps]
[Antonia] Can I just say, like, the best part is, like, the texture of the cheese.
It's, like, crunchy cheese on top and then, like, creamy cheese here
and then, like, gooey cheese there.
Did you actually just come up with this right now?
Yeah, I had 17 minutes.
[Guy] Three minutes! Three minutes, chefs!
[Emily] When the grilled cheese comes out of the oven, it's looking good.
When I cut into it, the cheese was melted
and I was happy.
White cheese sauce goes down.
I place grilled cheese wedges on the plate
and then I garnish with the blueberries.
[Guy] Two minutes!
[Mike] Coming down to the wire, gotta get it out.
Put my jalapenos on top, get it ready for service.
$10,000 on the line, see the judges watching us.
If I win this round, I get lots of cheddar.
Lots and lots of cheddar.
[Guy] Sixty seconds!
[Prateek] When I tasted the mac and cheese,
I was, like, this is going to work.
It is the cheesiest mac and cheese that I have probably made.
I'm gonna use a little skillet for my mac and cheese,
and then I top it up with the shrimp that I had sauteed,
put a few of the grapes that I had sauteed with the bacon fat
right on top of the shrimp.
The last thing, I top up with the mac and cheese with the bacon bits.
Three, two, one! Chefs, that it. Stop working.
-[judges clapping] -[Guy] Nicely done.
-[Guy] Way to pull it off. -[Antonia] Good job, chefs!
All right, chefs! Time to find out whose cheesy dish
melts the judges' heart.
Let's take it right this way, follow me!
All right, judges. This is game one of Beat the Judges Cheese.
And what was at stake? 10,000 bucks.
And then, go on to double down
and go against one of these judges in the next round.
Up first, Chef Mike. Port wine cheese ball and fig spread.
For my cheesiest dinner dish,
I made for you lobster mac and cheese
with a little bit of jalapeno.
I glazed the lobster in the fig spread,
the port cheese ball in the cheese sauce.
So, Chef Mike, I think your 2 for 1 Special having a fig spread
and port wine was hard, because both of those are very, very sweet.
I do think the jalapeno is great
and does add some balance to that sweetness.
But I do find the macaroni and cheese very, very sweet.
I will say that I feel like your cheese sauce,
while definitely hits cheesy to me, it is a little bit loose.
So my noodles are kind of swimming in the sauce
and they're not grabbing as much sauce as I wanna grab with each bite of noodle.
Thank you, chef.
I'm gonna have to "dis-a-brie"
-with Brooke here. -You're gonna "dis-a-brie"?
With Brooke. I like the viscosity of your sauce, Mike.
Also, toasting bread crumbs on the top is always a good move.
It's strange that it's such a small vessel of macaroni and cheese,
especially it's supposed to be a cheesy dinner.
I would have loved to see this in a large cast iron.
Thank you, chef.
Up next, Chef Emily, blueberry vanilla chevre and quince paste.
So, in the grilled cheese is the chevre, the blueberry and vanilla chevre.
The quince paste also in the grilled cheese.
In the sauce, did pecorino, gouda, and Parmigiano.
In the grilled cheese, along with the chevre is some cheddar...
and mozzarella.
[Christian] So, Emily...
you obviously got, in my opinion,
got dealt the hardest cards out of the group.
And you transformed it.
-It plays so, so well. -Thank you.
I loved the quince
inside of the bread
-against that creamy sharp cheese. -Thank you.
I loved the fresh blueberries on there
because the pecorino is so sharp and so pungent.
The Parmesan smoothes it out a little bit.
But then you have that basil, and that blueberry
that really, sort of, mellows everything out.
But needed to be a lot gooier. I wanted a cheese pull.
It's really tasty.
Blueberry goat cheese,
I feel like there's a very specific flavor.
I'm lacking a bit of texture in the actual sandwich,
because you didn't have enough fat
on the outside of the bread to toast it so that it's like
that crispy, sort of crunchy bread.
Thank you.
Finally, not to be outdone, Chef Prateek,
mango, ginger, stilton and grapes.
[Prateek] So my tastiest and cheesiest cheese dinner
is the classic mac and cheese with the shrimp
that I cooked in bacon fat.
Bacon for some of the crispy texture,
and I finished it with some sautéed grapes.
Sauteed grapes?
Sautéed grapes.
[repeating] Sautéed grapes.
[inaudible]
That's the universal move for sauté.
[Guy stutters] I got that.
Yeah, you got a lot going on over there.
Did you put caffeine in the cheese sauce?
[all laughing]
Conceptually, I thought it was really smart.
Love sautéed grapes.
And then by taking that mango, ginger, stilton
in sort of an Asian direction it's a beautiful relief.
There's a little bit of heat in the back of my mouth, and I love it.
But I have large chunks of that smoked gouda
that needed to be a lot gooier.
I wanted a cheese pull and better texture.
I was really happy to see you just go
directly for the bacon.
And the fact that you crisped it up so good,
really, really well executed.
I think the shrimp are cooked very well.
I'm struggling a little bit with this tiny little vessel,
specifically because you've put these shrimp on top
that I have to cut
and I have to cut them
sort of on top of a soft bed of noodles,
which is difficult to do.
[softly] Yes, ma'am.
Judges, thank you very much.
Uh, chefs, I think you did a great job.
I don't think that was an easy challenge.
Tough decision to be made. One of you will battle,
-two will go home. -[exhales loudly]
Thank you very much. Send you back to your kitchens.
We'll call you in a bit. Thank you.
[Guy] Remember we have 20 points
available in gameplay,
20 points available in taste, and ten points for plating
for a possible of 50 points.
Which two chefs are ooey-gooey going on?
[suspenseful music playing]
Chefs, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it.
But, unfortunately in this style of play,
where it's beat the judges,
two chefs are gonna go home
and one chef will win $10,000 right now.
All comes down to the final scores,
let's check it out. Start off with Chef Mike.
[Guy] Twenty points available in gameplay,
14 out of 20.
15 out of 20 in taste.
Six out of ten in plating, for a 35.
Chef Em...
15 out of 20 in gameplay.
17 out of 20 in taste.
Eight out of ten in plating, for a 40!
Very well done.
-And... Prateek. -[exhaling nervously]
16 out of 20, in gameplay.
18 out of 20 in taste.
Seven out of ten, for a score of 41.
-[Guy] A one-point win! Congratulations, Chef. -Thank you.
[judges applauding]
-Well done, well done. -Thank you.
-[applause dies down]
Emily and Mike, I'll tell you what,
thank you very much for playing.
It was great to have both of you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Chef.
[Mike] My family will be proud of me no matter what.
My kids will love watching me on TV.
[Emily] It was really great
and it was unlike any experience I've had before
and... I had a really cheesy time.
-[upbeat music playing] -Congratulations!
-10,000 bucks, my friend! -Thank you.
-[Guy] Well done!
-Well done! -Thank you.
All right, you now have a chance
to win an additional 10,000 bucks
if you prove that you are the cheese champ tonight
by beating one of our superstar judges
in a final cheese showdown.
Let's review your possible opponents.
Christian Petroni, the Great Hambino,
a Food Network star and Chopped winner.
Brooke Williamson,
she is the original TOC champ and a Top Chef winner.
And finally,
she is a six-time GGG champion.
Her restaurant empire includes acclaimed Italian,
Latin-inspired and modern American eateries,
Antonia Lofaso.
Is there anyone you do not want to compete against?
Uh... [exhales nervously]
I wanna leave the women out.
[Guy] You're goin' after the Hambino, are ya?
-[Guy] Let's get over here. -I'm gonna rep for us.
[Prateek] Trying to stay away from Antonia and Brooke,
'cause I knew their potential.
Christian Petroni, I've never seen him in action
so that's why I went with him.
[Guy] Chef, I will tell you this,
it will be exciting competition.
And, there is one gnarly cheese competition coming up.
The battle starts now. Chefs, to your carts.
-Good luck. -All right.
-Good luck, guys! -[Guy laughs]
Final battle.
Chef Prateek, you've already won 10,000 bucks,
and you will walk away with 20 grand...
-[cash register dings] -...if you can take down the...
Big Hambino.
So in this dish I want it to be even cheesier
and more decadent than the last round, all right?
Would you make the judges...
[suspenseful music playing]
...a fried...
cheesy guilty pleasure.
Fried cheesy guilty pleasure.
Now it's time for my guilty pleasure,
the Pyramid of Pain.
[man echoing] Pyramid of Pain.
So, this is going to determine things, such as...
Will your dish be spicy, tart,
pickled, boozy, stacked, or sweet?
We ran out of ping-pong balls so we're just gonna use
little round cheese wheels.
-[lively drum music playing] -All right, here we go.
[Christian] Oh, boy! Here we go, bud.
Pickled?
[Guy] Pickled it is.
-Okay? -Pickled.
What could that second category be?
[stutters] What level of...
horrible new window of opportunity is that?
It's probably equipment, or something.
All right, let's take a look.
-[thuds] -[Guy] Here we go.
Rotary cheese grater, torch, fondue pot, salamander.
[suspenseful music playing]
We'll find out if that's it. Oh, look at that!
[Guy shouts] Oh!
Fondue pot is what I actually wanted, cuz!
-[Guy] We've got pickled. -[indistinct chatter]
We have fondue pot.
What possibly could be up here for the whammy ingredients?
Let's take a look at this
'cause this is another level of suck.
-Here we go. -[thuds]
There we have it, ladies and gentlemen.
Cheese hot dogs, strawberry cream cheese,
jarred alfredo sauce and boxed mac and cheese.
-[groans softly] Oh. -[Guy] Here we go.
There we go.
Jarred alfredo sauce.
So, you want a fried cheesy guilty pleasure.
Jarred alfredo sauce, the fondue pot,
and then you gotta have a pickled element.
[Guy] Thirty minutes to shop, prepare and plate.
-Okay? -[drum beat echoes]
-What're you looking for? -I keep thinking I'm missing the clock.
You got me.
Why would you think I got you?
With the 3-2-1-go! I keep thinking you got me.
Well, we have to wait until we finish.
We have one more panel to cover
before I do the 3-2-1-go!
-[laughs] -[dings]
They weren't even playing.
All right!
I am honored to be able
to represent my house, the judges,
and go against Prateek.
[Prateek] An all-star chef, I was like,
"Man! This is gonna be a hard one."
I have to make this fried guilty cheesy pleasure.
I have to use jarred alfredo sauce...
-Alfredo... -...a fondue pot,
and something pickled.
Like, my guilty pleasure...
has always been, like, mozzarella sticks.
My first thought was cheesy fritters,
lots of mozzarella and Parmesan,
just to make it the cheesiest dish possible.
I'm making the fried cheesy chorizo fritters.
I come from Texas, there is a lot of chorizo.
Pickled... radish.
I grabbed some pickled radish,
pickled jalapeno, pickled carrot.
I got some giardiniera.
With all my ingredients, I "gouda" get going.
You all good, chef?
-Yes, sir. -Okay.
[Christian] When it comes to cheese,
you're lookin' at the big cheese.
Guy says I need to make a fried cheesy guilty pleasure.
My head immediately goes to poutine.
Fried potatoes,
smothered in some sort of delicious cheese sauce.
I'll go for the cheddar.
I think I got an idea.
Bagna cauda roughly translates to the words,
"warm bath."
I'm gonna take the jar of alfredo sauce.
This alfredo has a lot of Parmesan cheese in it.
I'm gonna put that right in there.
I wanna do all my cooking in this fondue pot.
Guy, where are all the anchovies?
Anchovies should be on five.
[Christian] Anchovies add a salinity
that is reminiscent of summers in the Mediterranean.
Just relaxing beach-side. Oh!
I'm sorry.
[Christian speaking indistinctly]
-[Christian] Beautiful, huh? -[bottles clinking]
And, then for the pickled element, I'm doing spinach.
It's gonna be fried, braised and pickled.
[kisses fingers] And, we're in business.
[Christian] All right.
And, taking the place of the Great Hambino,
award-winning food critic,
with his own brand of stinky cologne,
Troy "the brie" Johnson.
[Brooke] Oh, fun! Welcome, Troy!
-What kind of entrance was that? -Was awesome.
What was that? You think you're John Wayne?
Was that your, "I'll tell you what, pardner"?
[laughing]
Prateek took out two competitors
in the first round,
won $10,000 out of the gate.
And got to choose out of the three of us
who he wanted to compete against.
[Brooke] He chose Christian.
Just kind of melts.
Christian knows his way around cheesiness.
[Christian laughs mischievously]
What we have right now,
is this cheese expert, Prateek,
just won 10,000 bucks.
Then, I gave him the choice, who he wants to battle.
He says, "I want Christian Petroni."
Christian has got a battle on his hands,
and a chance to win 10,000 bucks,
with 24 minutes left.
I'm gonna do fried, pickled, cheesy fritters.
I'm gonna cook my chorizo.
Use some of the pickled veggies.
First thing I start is the mixer for the fritters.
I have in a mixing bowl, chorizo with an egg
to bind it together.
I have to use a pickled element.
And, I add some pickled carrots, jalapenos,
got some giardiniera.
Fresh radishes and flour,
and shredded mozzarella, shredded Parmesan.
Slices of muenster cheese,
A little block of Havarti cheese.
Make little fritter balls.
And then fry the fritters.
Prateek, how does it feel that you've just won $10,000
halfway through the show?
Man, I would have never imagined.
-I came here in 2010, so... -[Troy laughs]
I moved from India in 2010,
I was the first in Houston to start
a gourmet grilled cheese food truck.
If I win $20,000,
I am definitely going to invest money
back into my business,
'cause that is my baby.
-[oil sizzling] -But, also I would love
to take some towards the mental health community.
I've known someone who is not here anymore,
and was suffering with mental health
and I had no clue about it.
If I can help even one person, that would be... amazing.
[oil sizzling]
We want a creamy bagna cauda cheese sauce.
I wanna do all my cooking in this fondue pot...
-[beeps] -...starting with all the basic components
of a bagna cauda.
And it starts, like all good things,
with olive oil.
Anchovies, garlic, chilis.
Then I'm gonna take my whammy ingredient,
which is the jar of alfredo sauce,
and I'm gonna put that right in there.
[beeps]
[Christian] I'll let that simmer down.
What're you working on, bud?
I'm gonna do a play
on one of my favorite things in the whole world,
which is called bagna cauda, right?
Everybody knows bagna cauda.
That's gonna become the base,
for my alfredo cheese sauce,
bro, a bagna cauda creamy alfredo cheese sauce.
I like that. So, it's a cheese sauce gone wild.
But I wanna do as much cooking
as you noticed, Guy. I haven't used a range yet.
It's not an infomercial, just so you know,
-you're not selling me one of these fondue pots. -But wait, there's more.
But wait, there's more.
You can clean your socks in there with hot water.
-Dude, that's gross! -[Christian chuckling]
[Guy] 15 minutes, 15 left!
-[clanking] -[intense music playing]
I opened the jar of alfredo and it is disgusting.
[retches] Ugh!
It tastes so garlicky.
-I'm gonna use the fondue pot... -[beeps]
...to make the alfredo chorizo sauce.
I add chorizo, shredded Parmesan cheese,
and cilantro.
Next thing I'm gonna work on is my toasted cheesy bread.
Butter my sourdough,
toast it on the grill, give it that nice char.
Then I add my muenster cheese,
-and then I melt that cheese under the salamander. -[tray clattering]
I'm cooking next to Christian Petroni right now,
but I am taking that cheddar home.
[sighing in exhaustion] Okay.
[Christian] The challenge is fried.
Oh, are you frying the potato nuggets?
But why don't we go ahead and fry some spinach, right?
[Antonia] Christian, what are you frying?
I saw it at a restaurant once.
Like a big thing of fried spinach.
Christian Petroni can take any healthy ingredient
and undo that.
[Christian] It'll add texture and great color
to the top of my sauce that'll be over these potatoes.
I'm frying the tots and the last thing I do
is work on my pickled element.
And I don't wanna just take pickles
or do the obvious thing.
I'm doing pickled greens.
I slice up that spring onion,
and I start it in a pan with some olive oil.
Get a handful of that spinach.
Get it going and wilt it.
And, I de-glaze with red wine vinegar
and a little bit of sugar.
-[beeps] -We got $10,000 on the line.
When I compete, I never look at nobody.
So as far as I know, Prateek can be over there
building the Eiffel Tower. I got no idea.
Chef, how you lookin'? What do we got? Arancini or...
[Prateek] It's a pickled chorizo cheese fritter.
And what is this mixture over here, chef?
That is my alfredo sauce with, uh, some of the chorizo that
I cooked for my base.
[spoon clinks]
Get me on some tortilla chips. That'd be done.
[music tempo increasing]
[Guy shouting] Two minutes!
[Prateek] First thing I put on the plate is my cheesy toast,
then I put the fritter that I fried to golden perfection.
I put it right on top of the toast.
I finish up with some of that alfredo cheesy chorizo sauce
that I had made.
[Antonia] Whoa!
-I mean, if that doesn't scream cheesy... -[Troy] Wow!
[Guy] Ninety seconds, chefs!
[thrilling instrumental music playing]
[Christian] I take my crispy, salty tots.
I lay them down first.
[Guy] Where are we at, Hambino?
[Christian] I'm plating up my tots.
-What's in here? -This is a bagna cauda alfredo sauce.
[Guy] It is delicious.
[Christian] Next up, I go ahead
and take some of that braised and pickled spinach,
strew it all about.
It then gets hit with that cheesy sauce.
Holy cheese!
Ten seconds, chefs! Ten seconds!
[Christian] I'm gonna garnish with that crispy spinach
that will look like an organic
sort of sculpture over the top.
[Guy] Five,
four,
three,
two,
-one. Chefs, that's it. -[judges cheering]
[applauding]
Whoo!
Chefs, I gotta tell ya, both of you have the judges
in the "parm" of your hand.
Let's take it to 'em. Right this way!
Here we are, judges, the final battle
of Beat the Judges Cheese.
It was Cheese Pyramid, yeah.
The bouncy ball of cheese determined that our chefs
had to make a pickled, fried, cheesy guilty pleasure.
Chef Prateek, you're up first. What did you make for us?
My guilty pleasure fried is mozzarella sticks.
So, I made some pickled veggie fritter.
I added a lot of cheese to it.
And, then with the alfredo sauce,
I added cooked chorizo to it.
And, I also added a cheese toast
for the crunchy texture.
Chef Prateek, I can see myself coming home
at like two o'clock in the morning,
grabbing stuff out of my refrigerator
and making something like this.
There are a ton of pickled vegetables in here,
and a ton of cheese.
That being said, it is very salty.
I think all of those pickles
have a ton of salt in them.
As does the chorizo, as does that creamy alfredo.
So, for me the whole dish reads very, very salty.
Your use of the fondue pot, I thought was smart,
building a cheese, chorizo sauce
to put over the top.
[Brooke] Definitely a guilty pleasure.
I think the chorizo is sort of
overwhelming all of the flavors.
I'm also not tasting the alfredo sauce
just because that chorizo is so overwhelmingly pungent.
It really is decadent.
In terms of your plating, I mean, it's a big, beautiful,
molten mess.
Chef, you've already won 10,000 bucks.
If you were to win another 10,000,
what would you do with that?
I'm definitely gonna put some of the money
back into the business.
And, I am also very, uh, very much into, uh,
supporting mental health awareness.
Um, so I would love to give some of the money I can
towards mental health awareness.
-I love that. -[Guy] Very serious topic.
A lot of people need support, and, uh,
it's something that doesn't
always get the attention that it needs.
-Yes. -[Guy] Great.
All right, not to be outdone, the Hambino's up next.
Chef Christian, what you got for us?
What I made for you...
are crispy tots with a alfredo bagna cauda.
Braised, pickled and fried spinach.
So, I'm really, really proud of this one.
Chef Christian Petroni, this is a delicious dish.
Let's just start there.
Uh, when I saw you throw tater tots into the fryer,
I mean, I feel like,
tater tots and guilty pleasure,
synonymous.
I will say it's a little unexpected,
to get the pickled component be spinach.
And I love that you did that.
You nailed that with that sauce.
Because, take a very pedestrian jar sauce
and it's just a wallflower, right?
You gotta give it some personality,
you gotta give it some verve, give it some pep,
and you did that. That's phenomenal.
The sauce is amazing.
It just needs more sauce, and more cheese in the sauce,
and it would have been a total home-run.
If I was gonna eat all of the tater tots on here,
I'd want more spinach, I'd want more pickled spinach
and I'd want more sauce.
Very good.
Well, chefs. [exhales]
I thought that was fantastic.
That's my kind of battle right there.
We're gonna let the judges do some deliberation.
We're gonna send you two back to your kitchens.
We will call you when we have a decision.
Great job, both of you. Well done.
-[Christian] Thank you, Chef. -[Prateek] Thank you, Chef.
[suspenseful music playing]
Remember, we have 20 points available in gameplay,
20 points available in taste, and 10 points for plating,
for a possible of 50 points.
Judges, which chef is gonna be the Brie-once,
Chef Puff Daddy of cheese dishes?
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[Guy] I'll tell you what, great cheese battle,
and you were masterful
at the way you handled the Pyramid of Pain.
Let's take a look at the scores.
Chef Prateek, out of 20 points in gameplay... 16.
Out of 20 points... 14 in taste.
And in plating a seven.
For a score of 37.
That's a good score.
Hambino, 37 is the number to beat.
$10,000 on the line, folks.
-[Christian] Ooh! -[Guy] 14,
-out of 20 in gameplay, -Oof!
and that's gotta be about
not having enough cheese, Hambino.
[thrilling instrumental music playing]
[Guy] 18 out of 20 in taste.
That's gotta be because they loved it.
And, here we are for plating,
eight out of plating for a score of 40.
-[heroic music playing] -Congratulations, the Great Hambino,
-[all applauding] -Chris Petroni, is our winner.
So, Petroni, what're you gonna do with the money?
What's on the gameplan?
You know, I got two little kids,
so a lot of it's gonna go towards that.
But I definitely wanna... I wanna give a chunk of it to
who you were gonna donate to, going towards mental health,
it's important to me as well.
So, we're definitely gonna kick in on my end.
The Petroni family would like to donate as well.
Thank you, sir.
[applauding]
-Great job. -Chef, I'll tell you this,
one, what a pleasure to have you.
-Thank you, Chef. -Two, I gotta come find this food truck.
-Yes, sir. -[Guy] Okay?
You just made $10,000, you get to go back,
you get all the credit in the world,
and I hope everybody that comes down
and checks out the Melt on Wheels,
where we'll come and recognize.
So, Chef, great to have you. Thank you very much.
[Prateek] Thank you, Chef.
-Thank you, Chef. -Sure thing.
-Very nice to meet you. -Thank you, Chef.
I'm really proud of myself that I came this far.
To win $10,000 is a pretty big deal.
Especially in my family.
-Congratulations, Hambino! -[all applauding]
40 points over 37.
-10,000 bucks coming your way. -[cash register dings]
Come on, judges, give him a big celebration.
Meet the winner, ladies and gentlemen!
Of Beat the Judges, Cheese episode.
Right here, the Big Hambino!
And I'll tell you what, join us next time on GGG.
This show, it shreds the competition.