I'm Bobby Flay.
Each week, one brave chef will try to take me down in my house.
This is my show.
Today it is. Tomorrow, who knows?
-Ooh. -Trash talking.
This culinary battle's gonna shake down in two rounds.
Round one. To get to me,
two contenders have to go through each other
using an ingredient of my choice.
It's do or die, Bobby.
[Bobby] Two people that know me well
will decide who's got the skills to beat me.
Yeah!
[Bobby] Round two, I go head-to-head
with a winning contender.
-Let's go! -[Bobby] It's their turn
to surprise me with their signature dish.
What?
-[woman] Oh, no. -Don't try this at home.
Oh, no, you didn't, Bobby!
[Bobby] Bottom line...
You're gonna run out of time!
Everyone's out to beat me.
Welcome, everybody.
We've got a great show tonight.
Let's do this.
Please welcome Food Network's, Eddie Jackson and journalist, Poppy Harlow.
Wait, wait. We've got some breaking news coming in right now.
Breaking news. Ah!
-Bobby Flay's going down. -Oh, that's right.
[Eddie] Yeah!
I'm so glad to have you here.
Happy to be here.
Is your base of journalism, like, finance?
-Yes. -Is that like the thing here?
I started in business and economics.
You know, I worked on the American Stock Exchange.
You did?
It doesn't even exist anymore.
The nine lives of Bobby Flay.
Learn something new about you every day, Bobby.
Yes, you do.
Do you like... You like to cook, right?
I love to cook.
-Yeah. -Watch. I'm not coming for your job.
But I'm coming for your job.
So my dream show is called Poppy's Kitchen in my kitchen in Brooklyn.
But to have really interesting people like the two of you,
and then we make, like, their favorite food,
but we do like a serious interview about stuff.
Get them drunk and get information.
Well, I didn't say it, but there you go.
You just pitched the show.
Let's get some chefs out here.
Let's get it, let's do it.
This contender is bringing her personal Tex-Mex style to your kitchen.
Chef Dayna Lee.
[Eddie] Hello!
All right.
Our next contender is lighting up the culinary scene in El Paso, Texas.
Chef Enrique Lozano.
[all cheering]
Dayna, Enrique, how you guys doing?
-[both] Good. -Here's the way it's gonna work.
I'm gonna put 20 minutes on the clock.
I'm gonna give you an ingredient of my choice.
And you must make that ingredient the star of your dish.
What are you hoping for?
-Tomatoes. -They're right there.
How about you? Maybe a nice steak.
Could be nice steak.
A nice steak? [chuckles]
How about flat iron steak?
Oh! There we go.
Let's go!
A flat iron steak is tender. It's juicy,
but has to be cooked properly.
I would cry if I overdid my steak.
Make the earth quake with this flat iron steak.
[bell dinging]
-[Eddie] This is a gift. -Yeah, good ingredient.
Now, there's not a lot of fat in this,
so it's gonna go quicker than they think.
I'm thinking like a taco or fajitas--
With, like a homemade chimichurri sauce,
-cilantro, olive oil, garlic, -Look at her.
Look at you.
All right. Enough of this journalism stuff.
That's what I would do.
Enrique, are you making us tacos?
-Not quite. -Tostadas?
-Ding, ding, ding, ding. -Oh, tostadas.
That's what I'm talking about.
Can I have a platter of 12, please?
[Enrique Lozano] So I'm making a Volcane, which is a Mexican tostada
with guacamole, flat iron steak,
cotija cheese and a little cilantro.
My strategy is to make sure that my steak is very well-seasoned
and really let it speak for itself.
-[Poppy] Big Enrique fans in the audience? -[all cheering]
My best friend and my dad up there.
So having my dad up in the stands, it feels great.
You know, It feels like I have my coach in my corner.
To me, cooking is second nature.
And my mom was an excellent home cook,
and my dad was a chef in Mexico.
After culinary school, I climbed the ranks as a sous chef.
And then I moved to Chicago and I worked at a Michelin rated restaurant next.
Today I am the chef owner of El Charlatan in Socorro, Texas.
We do anything from ramen to savory tacos.
I really want to win this competition for my mom, who passed away last year.
She really taught me that if you want to do something, you better be the best at it.
Bobby, I'm bringing the heat, and I hope you don't get lost in the sauce.
Dayna, what are you up to over there?
[Dayna] I'm gonna make you a breakfast taco.
-[Bobby] Okay. -[Eddie] Breakfast-- Oh, wow.
-I'll take 12 of those, too. -Love that!
I am making a Texas-style flat iron breakfast taco.
Steak and eggs wrapped up in a flour tortilla with avocado.
That's a perfect way to start a day.
First, I'm gonna get my cast iron as hot as I possibly can.
That's just gonna maintain all of the juices.
This dish runs in my blood.
Breakfast tacos are a part of my blood.
I was born in Brownsville, Texas,
right next to the border of Mexico.
My grandmother was a fixture in the kitchen.
She taught me the basics. Tortillas, menudo, tamales.
It wasn't until I moved to Greenville, South Carolina,
that I started selling breakfast tacos on the weekend.
Today I am the owner and chef of Comal 864.
My restaurant is community-focused.
I feed the people around me that are in need.
I came here to prove to Latinas everywhere that you can win.
[Eddie] We got 16 minutes.
Dayna, I thought I was gonna get some of that, a little bit of that.
A little bit of this?
[Eddie] There we go.
Did I hear breakfast tacos?
-That's the plan. -You're speaking to my heart.
I'm a Texas kid.
Got a little green sauce happening.
We're gonna do an avocado sauce.
Uh-huh!
[Dayna] I don't want sugar-refined guacamole
because I like something that's a little bit chunkier.
I get my jalapeno, mix that in with diced-red onion and some grape tomatoes.
Enrique, El Paso, Texas.
-Whoo! Whoo! -We're doing tostadas!
-[Enrique] Yes, sir. -A little blue corn action.
Yeah, for a little color, pop.
All right. So look, now, both of you are basically
doing something that's very similar.
-Are we? I don't know that. -We'll see about that.
-You'll be the judge. -We're gonna find out in 14 minutes.
Let's go.
[Dayna] Next, I throw some whole milk into my eggs, got my heat going.
I take my steak off the grill and I cover it in flour tortillas.
It really changes the game on your tortilla.
[Eddie] Have you ever seen that before?
-No. Those are good flour tortillas, too. -Mmm, that's smart.
This is gonna come down to flavor.
Dayna's, there wasn't a lot of seasoning.
And you really want to heavily season that flat iron.
[Enrique] I take the steaks off the heat and I feel like they're still underdone.
So I decided to throw some beer on them to keep 'em moist.
And then I put them in the salamander for a quick finish.
I feel like his pan wasn't hot enough when he put it on.
[Enrique] I start to work on my guacamole.
I slice some tomatoes, jalapenos and onions.
And then cut up a couple of limes and throw the juice in there.
Enrique!
I see some beads of sweat.
-What are you doing? -I'm seasoning my tostadas.
I saw you were seasoning a lot, too, the steak.
Yeah, I'd like to season every step of the way.
And my favorite ingredient of all.
-Cilantro here. -[Enrique] There you go.
So I go grab my steaks from the salamander,
and while they're resting, I add fresh lime juice on top.
-Dayna, how you doing? -[chuckles] I'm alive.
-"I'm alive." Okay. Corn tortillas or flour? -Flour for breakfast.
You'd have to be from Texas to understand.
-Okay. -I firmly believe that.
Six minutes left.
Deep breath.
I start to slice my steak,
and it's just a beautiful, mid or rare.
I'm going to fold it with my eggs
and we're going to get a really nice flavor out of that.
[Bobby] Two and a half minutes to go.
[Enrique] I'm pretty nervous.
This flat iron, if they're not cooked properly, then I'm out of here.
-[Bobby] The steak looks really good. -[Poppy] Uh-huh.
-He fist bumped himself. -[Eddie] Yeah.
And then we go to plating and I get the tostada.
I wrap the guacamole and then I add the steaks,
fresh cotija cheese, and I finish off with the cilantro.
Forty-five seconds.
[Dayna] I get my tortillas off of my grill,
put that steak and egg mixture in the middle
and then my avocado smash.
[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven...
And then I finish it off with cotija cheese.
...three, two, one!
[all cheering]
Good job!
I look at Chef Enrique's plate and it looks incredible,
but I know that my plate has corazon.
[Poppy] All right from breaking news to breaking Bobby Flay.
I'm here for it.
It's all gonna come down to what you guys did with the flat iron steak.
Chef Enrique. What'd you make?
I made for you guys a tostada with guacamole, grilled flat iron steak,
cotija and fresh cilantro on top.
Can't wait.
This is baller.
The tortilla is crisp, this guacamole packed with flavor.
But I think a little pop of heat will take this to the next level.
I don't want the heat.
I love the lime, and the steak is the star. But it's not alone.
It's complemented by all of this.
And cilantro, give me more of that.
Chef Dayna. What'd you make us?
A Texas-style flank end steak breakfast taco with a chunky avocado smash.
The meat is cooked beautifully,
and then the avocado gives it this freshness.
That was a neat trick.
Putting the tortillas right on the meat
and letting it soak up all those juices.
My one critique is that I feel like it needs a little bit more seasoning.
-Okay. -This is delicious.
I could taste the flame on the tortilla.
The eggs and the steak cooked to perfection.
I think I'm on the same page.
I want to taste a little bit more flavor in here.
-Give us a moment to discuss. Yeah. -Confer.
[Dayna] The thing that makes me feel nervous is that I needed more seasoning
because flavor, it's all... it's, it's all flavor.
The chef moving forward is...
Chef Enrique.
I don't have any regrets. Not at all.
I'm happy for the opportunity.
I'm happy that two Mexicans are here to represent.
[Eddie] All right, Enrique.
Every component was seasoned to perfection.
Let's see what you can do next round.
[audience cheering]
All right, Enrique. How do you feel about Round Two?
I think I'm ready.
-Really? -Yeah.
Did he just size you up?
He looked you up and down.
All right, what's your signature dish?
So my signature dish is Chile Colorado.
-Really? In 45 minutes? -Oh, he's about to lose.
All right, Enrique, You've got your dad here.
You've got your best friend here.
I've got my agent here tonight.
Is your agent actually here?
Yeah. John Rosen. Right there.
Hi, John.
All right, 45 minutes on the clock, and your time starts now.
-Chile Colorado. -What is it?
This stewed meat that's cooked in a red sauce
made from dried peppers like guajillo, ancho
with traditional flavors like cumin, Mexican oregano, bay leaves.
They've got 45 minutes so you can't do a slow cooker.
Two words. Pressure cooker.
-That's the secret. Yeah. -Literal and figurative. Pressure cooker.
Hey, Enrique. Why did you choose this dish?
Because it was something that my mother made for me back home in El Paso.
I'm making Chile Colorado with short ribs,
pickled pearl onions, and a side of tomato rice.
Typically it's stewed for a minimum of two hours.
So I want to get the beef into the pressure cooker as soon as possible.
Whoa! Uh, Enrique. What kind of beef is that?
Short rib.
Look at all that marbling.
[Enrique] Decided to leave the fat on, on the short ribs
'cause fat is flavor.
Hey, Bobby. What kind of meat are you using?
Pork shoulder.
I love the flavor of pork shoulder,
and I also like he texture of it
when you cook it for a long period of time.
I'm liking the short rib.
I am, too. It has so much flavor.
I like to incorporate a lot of Asian cooking into it.
So I add fish sauce and beef stock.
Was that fish sauce?
-Fish sauce. -Fish sauce?
Wow! Fish sauce is like umami in a bottle.
Bobby seems nervous.
This is not a 45-minute dish.
[laughing]
[Bobby] I've made versions of Chile Colorado before,
but like getting that deep red chili flavor
and also tenderizing the pork in 45 minutes...
I'm very worried about it.
I'm making Chile Colorado with avocado relish and homemade corn tortillas.
I cube my pork shoulder, I get it in the pressure cooker
with beer and chicken stock and chilies.
So next I'm gonna start my sauce.
Garlic and onions, chipotle chilies, chili de arbol, ancho chilies,
some honey and some more dark beer.
It's gonna have earthy flavors, smoky, spicy, sweet flavors.
Let me go over here and mess with Bobby a little bit.
Let me go. Coming up on 34 minutes.
Bobby, I was in your green room earlier.
I was trying to find a latte, and, uh...
I found all this money.
That's for triple threat.
-This is your agent right here. -Right there.
I need to rethink my representation, man.
I'm trying to get to the green.
So 45 minutes to make Chile Colorado.
I got the pork in here. Chili sauce in here.
-Don't taste that yet. -Why?
-It might hurt you. -I like pain!
-[audience laughing] -Whoo, hoo, hoo!
[Bobby] You all right?
Enrique, talk to me about your Chile Colorado.
I'm gonna do what my mom did every day.
-Every day? -At least once a week, she made Chile Colorado.
So even if you don't win today,
I want to give you a little something, man.
Take that in your back pocket, man.
There you go. Put that in your back pocket.
You've got 30 minutes left.
So it's time to build my sauce.
I add onions, some cinnamon, tomatoes,
tomatillo and guajillo chilies.
It's got a smoky flavor, but also this brightness.
When I look at it, Bobby's looks more traditional,
and that's usually opposite. Enrique, is that gochujang?
Yeah. Gochujang.
What? Enrique, how am I doing the classic version
and you're making it with Korean pepper paste?
-That's what I was saying, Bobby! -What is happening?
This is gonna be a good challenge.
Here we go.
27 minutes and 25 seconds.
So Enrique is just leaning into these Asian flavors
like fish sauce and mirin and rice wine vinegar.
He's like flipping his Chile Colorado on its head right now.
In the zone.
[Enrique] The next thing I start doing is tomato rice.
That's something that my mom always cooked.
Slice some onions, chicken stock, fish sauce and tomato sauce.
So at this point, I decide to get my garnishes ready.
Grab the pearl onions,
I add a little lime juice, vinegar, fish sauce and salt.
Yeah. Bobby, what you doing with the flour?
-I'm making some tortillas. -Making your own tortillas!
-Yes, Ed. -Wow.
Bobby's going for it.
[Bobby] I take masa dough and I roll it into a ball,
put it on the tortilla press,
get 'em into a cast iron pan and let them cook.
All right, guys, I'm coming in.
-All right, Bobby, how we doing? -Hanging in there.
Okay, so we were talking about the price of things.
Yes.
Do you even buy your own groceries?
Yeah, I do, actually.
Okay. So if you buy your own food, you know prices.
-More or less. Yeah. -Okay.
Gallon of milk, 2% milk.
$2.69.
You do not buy your own groceries.
That was a terrible answer.
-What does it say? -$4.29.
$4.29! Like to a T!
Okay. Eggs. A dozen eggs.
-Uh, $3.39. -[imitates buzzer]
-Uh, $4.21. -$4.21.
$4.21.
-Something's not right around here. -Lucky guess.
[Poppy] Okay, you've lied on the show.
You don't do your own shopping.
Are you fact-checking me?
Welcome to the news.
-Yes. -[Poppy] Coming up on 15.
Let's prop them up, guys.
[Enrique] Then I go check on my sauce and I see that it's time to blend.
So now my sauce is strained,
I add some pork lard to give it a velvety texture
and then finish it off with agave,
add more gochujang.
[Eddie] Look at the color difference.
-You see how dark, dark red-- -So different.
[Eddie] I would say that Bobby's color looks more like an actual Chile Colorado.
Yep.
[Bobby] So next I'm working on my avocado relish.
Avocados, tomatillos, serrano chilies, lime juice and cilantro.
This is going to add a cooling effect to those spicy red chilies.
And also like a little freshness, you know, from the tomatillo.
[Eddie] Nine minutes left.
Whoo!
[Enrique] I'm feeling a little nervous
because I still don't know where my meat stands.
Something as tough as short ribs,
you usually have to cook for a very long time.
All right, Enrique's opening up his pressure cooker.
Da, da, da!
[Enrique] The meat looks great.
It's nice and juicy.
[Eddie] How does it taste, Enrique?
Great. Nice and tender.
Uh, how about we give Enrique a little bit of love?
[audience cheering]
And can we play a small little violin for Bobby, please?
[sad violin music playing]
Bobby, you happy with the meat?
Yeah, it tastes good.
I take the pork out and I put it into the red chili sauce.
I'd like it to bathe in that sauce for a lot longer, but that's not happening.
We're coming up on seven minutes and 30 seconds.
Are you still making tortillas, Bobby?
Yeah, I'm still making tortillas.
It's 45 minutes, Ed.
This is very tedious.
Especially when I'm trying to do 40 things at once.
-Ruh-roh. -[Bobby] I know.
They're too wet.
The masa has to be the perfect, um, texture 'cause it dries out,
then I have to add some water and then too much water,
then they're too thin.
That one looked like Pac-Man, Bobby.
Enrique, you didn't make your tortillas?
-Why? -'Cause I'm not crazy.
Whoa!
[Bobby] Oh, God.
And now he's praying.
[Eddie] We're gonna go to three commercial breaks,
and every time we come back,
it's gonna be you still making tortillas.
[all laughing]
Three minutes and 15 seconds.
[Poppy] Whoo!
[Bobby] I need one more of these.
-[Eddie] Oh, wow. -You're lucky, Bobby.
It's time to get plated.
I put a scoop of rice, put the tortilla next to it, then add the stew.
Get my pickled pearl onions on top.
One minute and 30 seconds!
So to plate, I add the pork Chile Colorado into the bowl.
Garnish it with some of the tomatillo, avocado relish and crema.
[Poppy] Go, go, go, cilantro, go!
[all] Ten, nine, eight...
[Bobby] Grate cotija cheese, and then tortillas on the side.
...three, two, one!
[Eddie] Whoa!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Bro, that dish is hard! Look at that.
[Eddie] Whoo!
All right, Bobby, Enrique. I got to congratulate you
on actually finishing your Chile Colorado.
Now we'd like to introduce you to the judges, chef and owner of Melba's,
Melba Wilson.
Chef and cookbook author, Akhtar Nawab.
And chef and culinary director, Katie Pickens.
All right, you can start with the first Chile Colorado in front of you.
This broth is so complex.
It's so savory, but really acidic as well.
Short rib, cooked nice and tender.
I love it.
For me, it's a little vinegary.
The short ribs could have been trimmed a little more.
Some of that sort of fat gets a little firm.
But I like the simplicity and the homeyness of it.
You know, to be able to take my tortilla and sop up the broth.
Loved it.
The short ribs, divine!
However, we're talking Chile Colorado. Where's the heat?
How about we switch our plates out?
Right away you can tell you're getting into some deep chili flavor.
The color of the sauce, it is in your face.
But I would have liked a little bit more acidity.
I needed a little more pop.
So this presents a lot more like a mole
with deeply roasted chilies and chocolaty flavors.
The pork is cooked very nicely and really just kind of melts your mouth.
Very unctuous.
This dish, the chili peppers came to slay!
And homemade tortillas?
Come on.
However, it's very thick.
I wouldn't quite call this a stew.
[Enrique] I think my chances are really 50-50 at this point.
But the one thing making me nervous is my lack of spice.
The winner is...
Chef Bobby Flay.
[man groaning]
Thought you had it, dude. I want you to come back, dude.
-Let's do a rematch. -Okay.
I loved having you here.
[all cheering]
[Enrique] I'm feeling a little down,
but regardless, I feel like I came to accomplish what I set out to,
which was to represent my community
and pay homage to my mom's dish.
This was a really, really tough one.
Dish B brought the heat, brought the meat, and it was great to eat.
Argh!
[Poppy] Bobby was sweatin'.
-Sweating a lot. -But Enrique was confident, cool as a cucumber.
Bobby has a cheat code.
Up, down, up, down, back, back, forward, forward, A, B, A, B.
It's the bribing with all the cash.
My Chile Colorado had the judges braising the roof!