This is for everything. It's for all the marbles.
Those hard things that I went through, I had to,
to be able to sit here.
Eight celebrated chefs are here to represent
their signature international cuisines in the first-ever
Triple G Global Games.
- The expectation here is so high. - Oh.
The chef who conquers this epic international event will
receive the winner's cup and $50,000.
Everything is on the line here.
You're cooking to represent your entire country.
Tonight, two fearless chefs will fight
for their country's culinary glory in a final face-off
the world will be watching.
Over the next two rounds, I want you to prepare the judges
three separate courses.
The games are getting harder and harder round by round.
The boulder just got a lot bigger
as I'm pushing it up the hill.
- This is beautiful. - Thank you, Chef.
The tuna is ethereal.
- Wow. - Wow.
Wow.
It's the finale of Triple G Global Games.
So, let's meet our two final global gladiators,
representing South Korea--
James Beard-nominated chef Kevin Lee,
whose Korean dishes have wowed the judges
every step of the way.
Sweet, the spice.
This is absolutely delicious.
The noodles are so perfect.
Sup, Guy?
It's the finale. I feel great
representing my country, my culture,
and I wanna show people what Korean food is all about.
Representing Mexico, chef and culinary
anthropologist Claudette Zepeda,
whose authentic Mexican flavors have made her unstoppable.
That perfect golden brown fry just is--
it makes it so inviting.
This is a really dynamic duet of plates.
This is fantastic.
Viva México.
We are in the finale and representing Mexico.
I mean, I have literally the country.
It feels like it's on my shoulders to be like,
do it right.
Like a fighter.
- What's up, Chef? - Let's go.
Welcome, chefs.
You are at the Triple G Global Games finale.
It's a big deal.
Mexico and South Korea couldn't be more proud.
Let's take a look at your journey on the bracket board.
Mr. Fieri?
All night, I'm working on this thing.
Wow, look at that.
Both of you made such incredible dishes.
I mean, what a battle. Battle royale.
Congratulations to the two of you to making it to the finale.
Good job, well done.
Tonight, because you're such incredible chefs,
I'm gonna ask you to do a two-round competition.
And to make sure that this goes correctly,
we are going to judge this
with the old school Flavortown scoreboard,
to really make sure that we keep
all of the rounds going together.
Evaluated in three categories, gameplay, taste, and plating.
Ultimately, the chef with the highest score at the end
of the two rounds will win.
They'll win the winner's cup, then there's a little prize
that comes with it, which is called
a $50,000 check.
Yeah.
Like the sound of that.
Are you ready for the main event?
- Let's go! - OK.
Over the next two rounds, I want you to prepare
the judges three separate courses.
Starting with a showstopping appetizer, OK?
I don't care if it's hot. I don't care if it's cold.
It's gotta speak you and speak your country.
Here's the great news, 'cause I hate dragging
these things on.
You're gonna have to run around like it's lunch rush,
'cause you got 20 minutes to shop, prepare, and plate
your showstopping appetizer.
- Oh, no. - Yes.
Twenty minutes.
Easy peasy.
In three, two, one, go.
- Oh, here we go again. - See!
No. Sorry, oh!
The first cook is, of course, 20 minutes, 'cause why would
he give us any more time? But it has to be a showstopper.
It is a showstopper appetizer.
Sorry.
Showstopper, for me, literally stop people in its tracks.
Whether they smell it or they see it,
they're going to want to eat it.
It was really important in the finale
for me to-- to go back to...
the roots of the Zepeda family.
So we spent a lot of time in the beaches of Nayarit.
So I think of grilled fish. So I'm gonna do a tuna tostada.
It sears beautifully on the outside, while staying raw
on the inside.
It will cook really, really fast.
And we got 20 minutes, so realistically,
I have to get everything purchased in one to two minutes.
Only one of us can win.
I want that $50,000.
But it's also-- it's-- it's for the legacy.
It's for my children.
The stakes are really, really high.
What are you cooking? Sweet potatoes in 18 minutes?
Beef tartare.
I'm gonna make sweet potato chips.
Twenty minutes to shop and cook.
I know I'm gonna make my beef tartare called yukhoe.
Beef tartare is perfect 'cause you don't have
to cook the protein.
And what's more showstopping than a caviar?
You know, when they have these quick 20-minute things,
there's not a whole lot to think.
Do we have green onions?
Yep, right above you, Chef, right here.
There's no plan B. There's no pivoting.
Asian pear.
You make your decision, and you gotta go for it.
Claudette is a fierce competitor.
She is the only thing that's standing in between me
and the $50,000,
and I'm hoping I can take her out.
Sixteen minutes, sixteen to go.
So here to help pick a champion are our great judges.
Well, because they're great chefs.
We have the celebrated Boston restaurateur steeped in world
cuisines and winner of "Tournament of Champions III,"
the champ herself, Chef Tiffani Faison.
James Beard award-winning chef and master of wood-fired
flavors with multiple wins under his belt,
Chef Jonathon Sawyer.
A renowned restaurateur and acclaimed cookbook author
and the only two-time champ of TOC, the one and only
Chef Maneet Chauhan.
Twenty minutes to shop and to prepare
a showstopping appetizer?
- Oh. - The expectation here, like, the assignment
is so high.
You got a game plan here, Chef?
I'm gonna do tuna tostada a la Claudette.
Got it. Nice call.
When Claudette gets back to her station, I love within
the first ten seconds something
is on the grill. - On the grill.
Getting a depth of flavor that inevitably is gonna pay
dividends in the final dish. - Yep.
I first started prepping my marinade for the fish.
So poblanos-- what else goes in the salsa?
Chile anchos. I'm gonna do some...
oranges, ginger.
She loves to throw things on the grill and char 'em up,
make those salsas.
Nayarit was where my father was born.
We spent a lot of time in the beaches of Nayarit.
And when I think of comfort, I think of grilled fish.
So this tostada is reminding me of the road trips that my dad
and my family used to take.
I grew up in a family that loved food.
My father and my mother always encouraged us to try things.
As a child, my dad would tell me that I was going to see
the world and I was going to take the name of Zepeda
to the highest highs.
He manifested this life, so why not make some food
that reminds me of him?
Thirteen minutes, guys!
Thirteen to go!
Time is burning fast.
Our food is very laborious.
There is nothing that we do that is fast.
Time is going against me.
They're gonna go into the presentation to the judges,
get evaluated, get judged, get scored,
put the numbers on the board,
then come back and cook again.
And what they're gonna cook in their second round,
well, that's gonna surprise you.
2 Chefs, 10 minutes, halfway point, 10 minutes.
- Be plated! - Here we are.
How many countries did we start with?
Eight countries.
And we are down to South Korea and Mexico.
But this is also 20 minutes to shop and to prepare
a showstopping appetizer.
- Yeah. - Eyes on the prize.
You know, 20 minutes, not a lot of time
to cook something.
I have a beef tartare dish that's super traditional Korean.
For this beef tartare, you just gotta make sure
the knife work is good and the sauce is seasoned well.
There's a lot riding on this beef tartare.
This is my one step closer to that $50,000.
I gotta make sure it's perfect.
So for my marinade, I have gochujang, I have soy sauce,
I have sugar, lemon-lime soda.
This is a very classic Korean thing to do.
You know, after the Korean War, there's a lot of sodas,
like a lot of times you see lemon-lime sodas,
like in marinades and sauces
because it was a-- it was a nice, easy way
to add a little sweetness and some acid.
My daughter, Liliana, made me this little--
it's a towel for me.
I use it to wipe my sweat throughout my competition.
You know, my family means everything to me.
They're the reason I do these things and,
you know, what keeps me going,
'cause these competitions are hard.
I feel like I can take this one.
And I set that aside. I wanted to start my potatoes.
Why the sweet potato?
Uh, sweet potatoes-- we use a lot in Korean cooking.
It's also a great vehicle, uh, for my tartare
to get super crispy.
Chef Claudette, Chef Kevin, you have got five minutes left!
Five minutes left in the appetizer round.
Now I am generously marinating the outside
of the tuna with the ancho salsa.
And I'm just gonna sear it very quickly on both sides.
The tuna sears beautifully on the outside,
while staying raw on the inside.
Next, just blending the black beans, because I want a more
unctuous, like, silky texture.
And then move to slice the tuna, just like a sashimi.
So this tostada, it would stop me in my tracks.
So I just hope that the judges, they understand
what showstopper meant for me.
Two minutes, two minutes to go!
Ring molds.
I'm gonna get a little ring mold for my beef tartare
to make sure that it's nicely plated perfectly
for that "showstopper-esque" swag on the plate.
Oh, nice.
I got the sweet potato chips come out of the fryer.
They look great.
So, I make a little stack of sweet potato chips
on the side in a ramekin.
I know this caviar is going to take this dish
to the next level and become a showstopper.
I'm tryna finish with a little bit of quail egg yolk on top.
Trying to separate the yolks from the whites
and it is not working for me.
There's not a lot of time left on the clock.
I'm trying to think what is more important,
get the quail egg on the plate
or the Korean pear and horseradish?
I figure that horseradish is going to bring a lot more
to the plate.
So I make a shift, I pivot.
Oh buddy, oh buddy, oh buddy.
Sixty seconds.
You have one minute left.
I'm getting really worried.
It's under one minute left, and Kevin is still cutting
the Asian pears.
Oh, yeah. Finally, the finish.
The horseradish is gonna bring the spiciness
that's going to balance out the sweetness
of the beef tartare.
We've got ten seconds left.
Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two,
one, and we're done!
Stop!
- Oh, Lord. - Wow.
- Wow!
It's 20 seconds of chaos. Wow.
I just realized I didn't get the chives on the plate.
I wish it was there, add a little freshness,
and just brings another layer of flavor to the dish.
All right, judges,
the finale Triple G Global Games, game 1.
Chefs had to prepare and plate a showstopping appetizer
in 20 minutes. Chef Kev, you're up first.
- What do you have for us? - All right, Chefs.
Here we have yukhoe. Yukhoe is Korean beef tartare.
What makes Korean beef tartare very unique is we eat it
with Korean pear.
As those Korean sweet potatoes should be a perfect vehicle
for that beef tartare.
So typically, we have a raw egg yolk on top
to kinda balance stuff out.
But with 20 minutes, you know, getting the quail eggs,
tryna separate the yolks was a little bit
of a challenge.
So instead of finishing with the yolk, I think the spicy
horseradish will have that nice balance to it also.
Chef Kevin Lee, you really gave us a visually
showstopping first plate of food.
- This is beautiful. - Thank you, Chef.
And the tartare, great knife cuts,
marinade on it, I really love.
I love the lemon-lime soda with the gochujang.
It really makes that beef sing.
This is so successful for the amount of time.
I don't live in the "every steak tartare needs egg."
Had the egg made it on top, it would have really skewed
the dish to needing so much more seasoning
and so much more green.
I love the raw horseradish on it.
I thought, "There's no way this horseradish is gonna matter
that much in 10 seconds." And it did.
It does need a little bit of salt.
I think just time, right?
What do you do in 20 minutes when you have to shop wild?
My favorite part is the natural sweetness
of the sweet potato, which it mimics the sweetness
of the Asian pear so well.
If you had finished this with the chives
that you had over there,
it would have added a little bit more of that
um, allium flavor. - Thank you, Chef.
All right!
Thank you.
She will not be outdone, I promise you.
Chef Claudette.
We used to travel, uh, by car in my dad's 20-foot
Lincoln Continental from Tijuana all the way to Guadalajara,
and we would hit every beach town.
So this is my childhood in a road trip.
Just close your eyes and smell that tostada,
the charred ancho chiles
with ají tuna seared with that same ancho salsa,
black beans, avocados.
You told a story, and we heard that.
But when we took a bite of it, we tasted it too.
And in 20 minutes, it just blows my mind.
My favorite part is the salsa.
It's spicy. It's tart.
It's everything that makes you crave for another bite.
We said "showstopper," and we get,
like, this metal plate with, like, a paper
and a tostada, and it's you saying,
"Yeah, showstopper, my way."
Like, you've done this at every turn.
My only critique would really be, I wanted to have
a little bit more salt.
I want a little more seasoning on the fish.
For a finale, when we're talking about two chefs
of your caliber, right?
It's, like, a micro-degree of separation between
the two of you. - Yes, Chef.
No one goes home right now.
When we come back, you're gonna get official scores
of the first round.
But the entire competition is accumulated.
So even if you're down in the first round,
you can come back and take it all in the second.
Chefs, back to the kitchens. We'll call you in a bit.
- Great job. Thank you. - Thank you, chefs.
Thanks, chefs.
Wow.
20 minutes.
- Wow. - 20 minutes.
Wow.
The amount of flavor, the amount of elegance.
Like, it's showstopping both, like, check, check.
Yeah, visually, and if you closed your eyes
and you took a bite, you were transported.
All right, judges, let's score it up.
20 points available in taste, 20 points for gameplay,
10 points for the plating, a total available
for 50 points.
Showstopping appetizer.
Chef Kevin, let's take a look.
In gameplay, 16 out of 20. Taste...
17 out of 20.
An out of 10 for plating, an eight, for a score of 41.
Good score.
Chef Claudette,
out of 20 in gameplay. 15 out of 20 in gameplay.
17 out of 20, tied in taste.
And 8 in plating for a score of 40.
So there we have it.
Good job, Chef.
A score of 41 for Kevin,
a score of 40 for Chef Claudette.
A one-point lead.
This is anybody's game.
A one-point lead is not going to make that much
of a difference
considering what round is coming up.
Chefs, back to your carts.
- Good luck. - Let's go.
A one-point difference. Wow.
Yes, it hurts.
I can't get comfortable with this one-point lead.
I still have to stay focused and bring it to the next round.
You know, we're team full-ass, nothing half-ass.
2 Listen, it all comes down to this.
You are both one cook away from ultimate victory.
So for final cook tonight, I want you to make the judges
a country-defining entrée and dessert.
Not a pastry chef, not a dessert chef.
I have to make a dessert for my $50,000?
It's gonna be a big challenge for me to take that finale.
Started with a dash,
let's end with a marathon.
I'm gonna give you 40 minutes to cook
your entrée and dessert.
- Yeah. - I almost forgot.
Now that I think about this, we do have to budget something.
We're not budgeting the time,
but let's budget the purchase.
This is Budget Marathon. - Oh, no.
That's right.
You have to buy the ingredients
that you want for both courses
with a whopping budget of...
big money...
$30 each.
I'm crying on the inside.
You don't spend all your money, don't worry.
You can go shopping again.
This is anybody's finale.
Now...
three, two, one, go.
OK.
Here we are, $50,000 on the line.
I am at a one-point disadvantage.
That one point could be $50,000.
They got 40 minutes. This is really gonna be
a time-management game and a budget battle
at the same time. That's what's horrible.
$30 for two courses, not a lot of money.
Growing up, you know, I lived in America
for the most of my life.
I remember the first time flying back to Korea
on a plane ride, they served bibimbap on the plane.
You know, that's just the way the Koreans welcome visitors
is when we have bibimbap served on the plane.
Some of the key ingredients I need to get
is a good cut of beef,
and some rice.
And gochujang.
For Bibimbap typically, you also have tons of veggies,
but that's not an option.
So I'm grabbing one carrot, one zucchini,
and some peeled garlic.
That's going to make this bibimbap delicious.
There's not a whole lot of dessert recipes up my sleeve.
- Do you make desserts? - Sometimes.
- OK. - I'm making a patbingsu.
It's a shaved ice with red bean, with condensed milk.
Smart.
Typically, you take sweetened milk, and you freeze it,
you shave it, then you simply put some red bean paste
and fruit on top to finish the patbingsu.
I feel I can save a lot of money,
'cause ice is free.
Lots of fruits in it as well, so, like, it's all about
kind of the garnish.
All right.
Well, that's a quick shop.
How close are we getting?
OK, you're at $29.78, so you need to decide
on what you have left, what is most important.
Take one out.
I know I can make it work with two rices.
I need a lot of vegetables, but they cost too much money.
Claudette is a fierce competitor.
- Thank you. - All right.
She is the only thing that's standing in between me
and the $50,000, and I'm hoping I can take her out.
I still have $1.12 left.
Rich, rich.
Gameplay is cook something that is emblematically
your country's dish.
It was really important for me to go back to the roots
of the Zepeda family in Nayarit.
I chose to make zarandeado, so I reached for the branzino.
It's $12.99, well into the budget dent,
but a pescado zarandeado is iconic.
With a garlic-buttery rice, hearing that I have to do
something sweet kinda gives me this evil smile.
I used to be a pastry chef.
For dessert, I'm making churros 'cause it is a core memory
of mine of hearing that first bite on a crispy churro.
Nothing like it.
I need my cajeta, which is goat milk caramelized.
It's sweet, dark, and luscious.
Trying to do the math and stopping
at every ingredient. OK, $12.99 plus $2.99 plus--
I don't have time for that.
I will edit at the cash register.
Chipotles. I gotta get to the counter.
- Tell me what you're doing in order. - Yes.
That was your best price on fish you could find?
- $12.99? - Oh, I didn't want tilapia.
Like, I wanted that fish.
There was other cheap fish, but
I noticed the word cheap in front of it.
It's half of your budget.
Don't remind me.
I don't want to cook something in a finale that starts off
with the word cheap.
$26.47.
I-- I need this.
- OK. - And I need these.
All right.
- Checkout is taking too long. - Smart shopping.
What about the herbs in this?
You have $1.04.
You're not gonna make all of this, hon.
You're gonna have to choose and tell me what you want.
Oh, no, and she's got so many things left.
Time is ticking.
- Take that out. - All right, $29.87.
Without the other vegetables, without the rice,
I'm supposed to be cooking
to represent not only yourself and your family history,
but you're cooking to represent your entire country.
But the boulder just got a lot bigger,
as I'm pushing it up the hill.
She left a lot on there.
2 Chefs, we got 33 minutes.
This is wild to see.
This budget is really challenging.
Like, this is the time you wanna bring, like, all the abundance.
You wanna be able to, like, really show off
for your country.
And two dishes, not just one.
Try to make churros, try to make pescado zarandeado
with no ingredients.
I move to the quintessential marinade for zarandeado.
I have some chiles, cilantro.
And the red wine vinegar will have to do for the acid,
since I didn't get all the citrus that I wanted.
And I put the achiote in the blender as well.
Building as much flavors as I can with what I have,
and we're just moving ahead.
I'm going to end up having to present half of an idea.
What are you making?
- I'm making bibimbap. - Yep.
And patbingsu.
So for my bulgogi, marinade.
We're doing soy sauce, sugar, a little bit of garlic
and sesame oil.
While my steak is marinating,
I'm going to work on my veggies.
That's um--
it's light on the vegetables for bibimbap over there.
Typically, the bulgogi is cooked with a lot of onions
and green onions to balance out the sweetness,
but that's not an option.
Guys, where's the ice at?
So I'm calculating how to make things work with what I have.
Now I'm going to work on my dessert.
As long as I don't have any hiccups in my gameplay today,
I feel like I can take this one.
I'm watching them really turn it out
with 30 bucks and 40 minutes.
I got something burning a hole in my pocket.
We'll see what happens.
All right, hold up! Chefs, stop the clock!
Oh, come on.
You've given your all.
You've gone above and beyond.
It was supposed to be $40 bucks.
- Oh! - In your shopping money.
Here's $10 extra.
- Hope that makes your day. - Yes, Chef.
- Yes. - There we go.
- There we go! - Yes! Yes!
Now we're truly cooking.
Championship food.
I want them to have all the money they can have.
Do I still have my things there?
$10 made all the difference.
One or two tomatillos. Rice.
Now I have everything that I need for my rice.
I have everything that I need for my salsa.
- Limes and garlic. - $9.23.
Oh, bless you guys.
Thank God, Kevin is getting
some vegetables. - I know.
Thank you.
One more rice.
- This one? - Yes, please.
OK. - You're at $10.62 right there.
OK, I have another dollar.
- You do. - Here.
So that's not gonna be enough for the pineapple.
- OK. - Hold on, hey, psst, psst.
You know, you try and try and try and help these guys.
I need some onions.
That's gonna add some nice texture to my bulgogi.
You know, I'm playing for my family.
My daughter, Liliana, my son, KJ, my wife Heejin
will be super proud of their daddy.
We're going to Korea.
And my wife and I, it's our first time going to
Korea in 12 years.
This $50,000, you know, goes such a long way
for my kids, for them to experience their culture.
- That means everything to me. - OK.
- Guess we're halfway through, - 20 minutes down.
Halfway through time.
Wow.
Rice, limes.
It's still zarandeado, but it's a more composed dish.
It's gonna have rice, it's gonna be an actual dish
instead of pieces of a dish.
She's gonna grill fish on a-- oh, I love this.
It's how you grill fish on a basket on an open flame
without-- with ensuring that they don't fall
through the grates.
In order to get a crispy skin, I potentially run the risk
of completely drying out the flesh side of the fish.
For my rice, I get butter in a pan, add my garlic cloves,
which I got with my extra $10, and I start making
a butter garlic al ajillo.
Representing Mexico is hopefully giving hope
to the next generation of Mexican cooks,
especially the young single moms like I was.
I had my son at 18, I had my daughter at 20.
And being a single mother in this industry
and trying to figure out who I am,
so many of us kids of immigrants
or immigrants themselves, like, we are told to be
something else in order to assimilate.
What all of us chefs are doing is we're holding the door open
for the next generations of chefs.
This is for México. This is for James and Hailey.
This is for Hugo and Nancy.
And this is for every little girl
who has big-ass dreams.
Whoo!
One of the most baller moves I've seen in budget battles
is Kevin using shaved ice.
The base of his dessert is free.
I'm not much of a dessert chef.
You know, patbingsu is a very iconic dish.
My shaved ice, trying to get it powdery, as snowy
as I possibly can.
You can't have any big chunks in it.
Now I run my snowy ice to the blast chiller.
Now I'm gonna work on my red bean.
I lived in Korea for the big portion of my life.
So it's shaved ice with sweetened red bean
with some fruits and condensed milk.
It's one of those dishes that my mom,
my-- my dad, uh, made for me a lot when I was a kid.
You know, I don't have a whole lot of, like, a lot of great
memories about my dad, but this is like one
of those things I used to love eating coming home, you know?
- Wow. - So here it is.
Chef Kevin, Chef Claudette, you have 15 minutes left
for entrées and desserts.
To make the churros, I start making a choux dough.
Add the flour and the butter, cinnamon,
a little pinch of salt, and just work that.
Great move over there making the churro using the flour
that you get for free.
One, it's sort of like this paste.
I put it into the mixer. I add the eggs in one at a time,
and I pipe it into the fryer.
- I see the goat crema. - The cajeta, yeah.
That is a key, I'm telling you.
The goat caramel.
My cajeta is sweet, dark, and luscious,
but it has a spike of white wine.
I couldn't afford white wine, so we're gonna go
with the second best, which is already on my station.
It's a free ingredient, red wine vinegar.
It's very, very smart.
Claudette is a classic trained pastry chef.
This is something that she can do with her eyes closed.
Yes.
Chef Claudette, Chef Kevin, seven minutes, seven to go.
Kevin's got his stoneware on top of his grill
for his bibimbap, so you'll get this, like, socarrat.
The rice will cook on the bottom, and it gives this,
like, crunchy texture to the rice,
which is really smart.
I was glad I was at least able to buy more rice.
With my zucchini and carrots, some red cabbage.
Steak is looking good.
You know, I know it's gonna be delicious.
Finishing with a fried egg on top
and gochujang sauce on the side.
And for my patbingsu, I got my shaved ice
and I'm feeling rushed because I still have some kiwi
and peaches to get this dessert done with.
Kevin is definitely choosing to do some very rustic
knife cuts.
I wonder how that will affect the texture of this dessert?
Now I'm drizzling the condensed milk over the top
with some sweetened red bean to finish.
I am so nervous. My hands are sweating.
My legs are shaking.
I feel like I represented my country, my culture,
my food really well. That $50,000 is so close.
I can taste it.
Two minutes! Get your plates!
The fish skin not being perfectly charred
gives me a little hesitation.
This is so thin, it will overcook really, really fast.
What do I do? What do I do?
Panic, panic.
I remove it so it doesn't overcook.
The skin could be the thing that cost me 50 grand.
I put the fish on the side of the garlic rice.
- That fish looks spectacular. - Spectacular.
- That entire dish. - Yeah.
And for the dessert,
I have mastered a more crispy exterior,
and the inside is custardy, and it is airy,
and it's light.
I add some cinnamon to the sugar mix,
and then orange zest.
And, of course, the cajeta.
These are the flavors that define me, and they are bold
and big and complicated.
I'll make you wanna eat what's on my plate.
Ten seconds.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Triple G Global Games is done.
- Wow, wow, - Wow.
wow, wow, wow, wow.
- Good job. - Good job.
2 Ladies and gentlemen, this is the finale
of "Triple G" Global Games.
Chefs had 40 minutes to make an entrée and a dessert
on a budget. - Wow.
Chef Kevin, you're up first.
All right, chefs, so today we made bibimbap and patbingsu.
Bibimbap is the iconic dish in Korea, and patbingsu here
is shaved ice with sweetened red bean with some fruits
and condensed milk. Hope you guys enjoy.
Kev, what do you do with the money if you win tonight?
You know, I have two kids, married for 11 years.
You know, we're going on our first trip to Korea
this summer. My kids never been.
It's my first time in 12 years, so I'm hoping this,
you know, this money, if I get to win it, take my kids,
get them to experience the culture and the country,
and the food, where we come from, so I think that's where
the money's gonna go.
Kevin, the gameplay here is just spectacular.
There are ingredients that cost you zero dollars.
Crispy rice, because of the choice of the stone bowl
and using that to cook the rice, so without spending any dollars,
you have another ingredient. Shaved ice, zero dollars.
The egg is perfectly cooked.
All of the vegetables around, perfectly cooked.
The steak is spectacular.
It literally melts in your mouth.
I was praying for bean sprouts. Um, I do want that extra fresh.
In terms of the dessert, I love red bean in dessert.
I think it is a natural.
I-- I think this gets a little clunky when you think
about this is the finale, right?
You choose to do a one-inch knife dice on those apples
and a slice across the kiwi, it really makes it
harder to eat.
The shaved ice, the red beans, and condensed milk,
the flavors are amazing.
To me, the most amazing part throughout all of these weeks
has been the amount of pride you've had in showcasing
South Korean flavors.
Thank you, chefs.
And the Mexican powerhouse herself, Chef Claudette,
tell us about this dish.
Chefs, in front of you, you have my ode to Nayarit,
to the Zepeda family and its roots.
My grandfather was an orphan, so by the time I came of age
and I started asking questions of where our family was actually
from, where our roots began, I got as far as Nayarit.
So this is pescado zarandeado.
It has a butter garlic rice and a tortilla with a salad.
And for dessert, you have churros with cajeta.
Claudette, the marinade on the branzino is incredible.
And the fact that you were able to get so much flavor
when you were only given $40, I think is incredible.
Unbelievably tender and wildly juicy.
Really the-- the star of this entire plate.
I didn't love the skin on mine because it didn't get the same
char as the outside of the flesh of the fish.
The garlic rice, it's perfect here.
Like there's like a-- a hominess to it.
Thank you.
These churros are, um...
they're ethereal.
Talking about gameplay, like, one little ingredient, right?
The vinegar in the caramel pulls out this,
like, next dimension, just wild.
Outstanding cookery,
a one-point lead.
And after these two dishes, it's anybody's game.
Something to think about when you go back to the kitchens.
We'll call you in a bit. Thank you.
At this point in the competition,
they are really, really, like, pulling out
and dissecting every single component, because they should.
It's worth $50,000.
It's for everything. It's for all the marbles.
It's for the trophy, for the money.
It's for the accolades. It's for Korea.
I am more nervous than I ever have been before.
- Let's get into it. - I don't like this.
Do I prefer churros or bibimbap
is really where my head is going.
Both of those are the best of these chefs' plates
they put in front of us, in my opinion. - Interesting.
I mean, the churros, come on.
The fish.
So the skin, I kind of will overlook,
because I think that's-- that's what kept it together.
Oh.
On the other hand, that bibimbap was mind-blowing.
Single best bibimbap
I've ever had. - Yeah.
It was like falling in love with someone.
And then the dessert was a little bit like breaking up
with someone, if I'm being honest.
- You know what I mean? - Ooh. Ow.
All right, judges, here's what I'm asking you to do.
We are using the dessert and the entrée
as one cohesive score.
But I need you to give, out of 20 points in gameplay,
out of 20 points in taste, and out of 10 points in plating.
Both of you deserve to win without question.
And, Kevin, you have a key advantage right now
with one-point lead.
Let's get into it.
16 out of 20 in gameplay.
16 out of 20 in taste.
Eight out of 10 in plating
for a score of 40
and an overall score of 81.
- Chef, you need a 42 to win. - Yes, Chef.
17 out of 20 in gameplay.
17 out of 20 in taste.
Finally, eight in plating for a score of 42
and a score of 82. Congratulations, Chef
Winner is Chef Claudette.
Whoo!
Kevin Lee, you're humble, you're super family-oriented.
I see how proud you are carrying your daughter's knitted towel.
To see you not win, I'm sad for you,
but I know that this is just your trajectory
that you're on right now, and I do not know
where the limit is. - Thank you, Guy.
Chef Kevin Lee. Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you, Chef. - Good job.
Uh, came up short.
I wish I could take that dope trophy home with me
to Oklahoma City, but thank you all, love you all.
Peace out.
Thank you, everybody!
- Yes. - Whoo-hoo!
- Whoo-hoo!
The Triple G Global Games champion.
Thank you.
It doesn't feel real. Thank you, chefs.
Thank you. This isn't just for me.
This is for the next generation of little Mexican girls
that went across the border to become chefs.
This is for the little immigrant kids that are told,
be something different and that you're not enough.
And I am so beautifully blessed to be in a long lineage
of women healers that heal with their hands.
- Wow. - Wow.
Whoo! Come on over here, Chef.
- One gigantic-- - It's as tall as me.
Oh, and we have one more other little parting gift.
Claudette Zepeda,
here is your check for $50,000!
What is for you will never leave you.
And what leaves you was never for you.
And that is something that I just tell myself
that those hard things that I went through, I had to,
to be able to sit here and full of tears and full of joy,
and say, "I fricking won."
- Congratulations. - Yes! Viva!
¡Viva México!