Gordon: Previously on "next level chef"...
We have chosen the perfect ingredient
for today's challenge-- poultry.
Nyesha: The person that's won safety for their team?
- The squab dish. - Finally, I'm number one.
Gordon: Team nyesha and team richard
are now gonna have to nominate their chef
that's gonna go head to head in the elimination battle.
The least favorite dish was the chicken and the sage.
Sergio, it's time to go home.
Bloody well done to courtney.
Before our next challenge, you need something more than just words to inspire you.
Tonight...
Devonnie: This is the first field trip of the competition.
Today's challenge, we want you to create a burger worthy of the next level.
- Let's get it, baby. Let's get it. - Fire in the basement!
- ( alarm beeping ) - this is horrible.
The idea is to cook in the basement, not set it on fire, yes?
- I can't swallow that. - We have one dish that's so bad,
this chef is gonna be lucky to be cooking again even in the elimination.
( music playing )
welcome. Come on in.
Devonnie: This is wild.
This is the first field trip of the competition
to gordon ramsay burger.
Can I sit down? Can I order something?
Are we staying here for a while? Can I get a drink?
Bartender?
Right, good morning.
All: Good morning, chef.
Richard, nyesha, and myself
thought you could use a little inspiration.
What better place to bring you than my restaurant,
gordon ramsay burger?
In recent years, the humble burger
has undergone a major upgrade, right?
All: Yes, chef.
Now, we are here to inspire you all,
so richard and nyesha and I are each gonna create
our own take on our next level burger.
- Sound good? - All: Yes, chef.
Let's get cracking.
I'll be doing an amazing farm burger,
and it's a topped with a fried egg
with some grilled bacon.
I'm going to do a duck-duck-duck burger.
- Whoo! - Expect nothing less.
My burger is inspired by my favorite soup,
the french onion soup.
It's called the le burger.
- Oh. - I have a cheese blend
of provolone and gruyere that I'm gonna torch on top.
I mean, whoa! Yo!
I'm frying my egg, and what I'm gonna do now
is drop these little bacon bits in there for texture.
Over here, I'm making my duck burger,
and then what I'm doing is I'm combining just humbly
store-bought ketchup, right?
With some pomegranate seeds.
I'm going into, like, competition mode.
I'm focusing on getting as much information
as I possibly can from all of the mentors.
For me, I really want this burger to have lots of moisture
and jus and be almost decadent.
- Almost? - Almost?
- And then, look, my cheese. - Let's go!
I wanna melt that cheese over there.
And there we have a delicious gordon ramsay farm burger.
- Wonderful, chef. - Stunning.
- Look at that. See it? - That is sexy!
Tell me about it, right? Oh, yes!
I'll see your cheese pull, nyesha.
( cheering )
- would you like a taste? - Yes, chef.
Gordon: Yes.
I wanna try all the burgers.
I want that one, I want that one,
I want that one, too.
- Get in there. - Both: Cheers.
- Clinkies. - Gordon: Enjoy.
- Those flavors! - Oh, my gosh.
- Gordon: How's that taste? - This is amazing.
Do you think after tasting those burgers,
you can now elevate your burger to the next level?
- All: Yes, chef. - Excellent.
Because for today's challenge, we want you all
to create a burger worthy of the next level.
- Is that clear? Good. - All: Yes, chef!
Let's get back to our kitchens and make a delicious burger.
What do you think, team blais? You think you can create a better burger than we did today?
- We got it. We got it. - That's good. I love the confidence.
Head back to the elevators and pick a random keycard
to find out what floor you'll be cooking on.
- I need to be alone. - Yeah.
Ooh, here we go.
- Whoo! - All right.
- Okay. - Bye!
The type of meat picked for this challenge is very important.
♪ get to the top, and it'll open maybe, please, god, please ♪
so I'm hoping for the top floor strictly for the ingredients.
- Whoo! - Yeah! Yeah!
Mariah: I'm, like, super pumped up.
We get first selection of ingredients,
the best equipment.
We should not screw this up.
Please not the basement for a burger challenge, please.
We were just in the basement.
After cooking in the bottom kitchen last time,
I don't want to be anywhere near it.
No!
Why am I here again in the depths of hell?
I'm about to pass out.
I said I never wanted to see this kitchen again.
Chef arrington's burger was super inspirational to me,
so I know that I can produce an amazing burger
at any level because this challenge is truly about creativity and flavors.
- ( groans ) - thank you.
- Ah! - Yes.
- Back again, like I never left. - We home, baby!
- This is it. - We are home.
Pyet: At this point in the competition,
I'm feeling like I'm kind of just floating through.
I don't feel like I have made the impact that I wanted to have,
and I'm really hoping from this point on
to really bring pyet to the competition.
Let's go.
Oh, no. In the basement again?
- Really? What is happening? - Let's get back on the elevator.
- Maybe we could do it again? - Oh, boy. Right, listen up.
You only have 30 minutes to make a cracking burger.
Not 45. 30 minutes.
- Hello, chef. - Let's go, guys. Gather up.
- Line up. How you feeling? - Very good.
- Feeling good, chef. - Excellent.
We're gonna have the number one dish today.
- I'd love that for us! Yes! - Yes, we are.
30 minutes to cook anything is difficult, because the reality is,
you're trying to conceptualize your dish
and also execute at the same time.
- One, two, three. - All: Number one burger!
But I know my team can bring it all together.
And after visiting gordon ramsay burger today,
I want more than ever to beat gordon at his own game.
- All right, here we go. - Yes!
- Hi, chef. - Top floor.
Not sure if we deserve it, okay?
We underperformed in the last challenge, all right?
I will be embarrassed if one of us is in that elimination challenge.
You will not be embarrassed today.
It's really important that team trailblaisers
wins the competition today
and gains safety for all the team members.
Courtney fought for her life last time,
and I do not want that stress again.
We're on the top floor today, so there are no excuses.
We have to nail these burgers.
All right, let's go. Grab the elevator.
Okay, line up, please, guys. Come on.
- Yes, chef. - 30 minutes. Come on, come on, come on.
We are not going into that elimination. I want to hear you.
- No, we're not. - No, we're not going into elimination.
Are we? Hell no, we are not.
Don't do too much. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
All: Yes, chef.
All right, team trailblaisers, we're gonna move fast.
We're mentally focused.
It is time to go!
Quick, quick, quick.
You need a protein off the top.
I'm gonna take the bison.
I need a good protein, and I just grab lamb.
Richard: Do you have something that's gonna function as bread?
- Hand me the ketchup. - Here we go.
I see a brioche bun, but I'm thinking, the lamb may be juicy,
so my bun may be soggy. Let me get a harder bread.
And I pick ciabatta bread!
Why? I don't know. I don't know why I picked it.
- Does anybody see bacon? - Condiments, garnish, protein, bread, fat.
Four, three, two, one.
- Does anybody see jalapenos? - I've got them right here.
Stay there if you've got to. Raise whatever you got!
- ( bleep ) - back to the tables.
Nyesha: Platform's here.
When that light changes green, we're going! Go, go, go!
Yes! Yes!
I see-- that's sirloin. Wagyu short rib.
I have no idea what the people on the top floor are thinking
to let that wagyu beef slide down to the second floor.
Nyesha: Don't forget about your fats, yes, guys?
Amber: I'm just repeating in my head,
"meat, cheese, bun, condiments,"
and just rattling through everything so I don't forget.
- Nyesha: Three, two, one. - ( muttering )
- come on, guys. - Okay.
Nyesha: Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Go! Let's go! Let's go, let's go!
30 seconds. Well done, kenny.
What is this? I can't see the sign-- ostrich!
- Hell no. - I wanna make sure I grab some heat.
I wanna get something sweet. I see a mango.
Boom. Got that. I see a jalapeno. Got that.
Where's the buns? Oh, ( bleep ).
- I don't know what this is. - Ground turkey, no?
- Turkey. - Grab, grab, grab. Come on.
Kenny: I see a dry aged blend. Boom.
Give me that, because I can take that, and I can make magic.
- Oh, god. - Lettuce.
- Five, four... - Did I grab an onion?
- ...Three, two, one. - An avocado.
And she's moving. Grab it, grab it, grab it, devonnie! Grab it!
- Oh, my lord. - I don't know what the ( bleep ) I grabbed.
- Gordon: Reuel, what'd you get? - I have gotten ostrich.
- Ostrich? Wow. Tough one. - Yeah. I hate my life!
Don't want it at all. Zero fat.
Looking up like this to all the upper levels, like...
Amber: I get back to my station and I'm so pleased with myself.
I'm like, we got herbs, we got this, we got--
oh, my god, I didn't grab a bread.
- I didn't grab a bun. - Okay.
I left the most important ingredient off
and I'm just about in tears.
You better find a solution.
Oh, my god, I didn't grab a bread.
You better find a solution.
Amber: To have a really good burger,
you need the ratios, you need the good bun.
I found a solution.
- Beautiful. Protein style. - Yes.
Please, good lord, don't let this fail.
30 minutes starts now, guys. Let's go.
- Zach: Rocking and rolling. - Stay ready, okay?
I'm expecting magic across 30 minutes. One burger, right?
- Yes, chef. - 'cause I wanna beat them upstairs.
- Do you wanna beat them upstairs? - Yes, chef.
We got this.
- How we doing, chef zach? - I'm doing good.
Richard: We have to beat gordon ramsay and nyesha arrington.
- We have to win this. - Yes, chef.
- Chef, I have a question. - Yes?
I'm thinking about doing a southern style nashville spicy chicken burger.
Keep moving while we're talking. Okay.
Having chef blais as a mentor for this challenge is amazing.
His duck burger totally inspired me to think outside of the box.
And I'm thinking about doing a pimento cheese using this, the cheddar.
- I love it. No, no. - Do you think this is gonna overpower it?
You're gonna use the jalapeno to replace the red pepper
- that usually would be in pimento cheese? - Exactly, yes.
I go in with the intention of looking for chicken,
which is not considered a high end ingredient,
but I want to do something that will make me stand out
from the rest of my competition.
Let's go. We are slow starters over here usually.
- I know. - You got your two lamb patties.
- What's the sauce gonna be? - The sauce, I'm thinking lemon aioli, for sure,
- but I kind of wanna add shallots to it for a kick. - Okay, yeah.
I wanna push myself to try something new.
I want the mentors to see that I not only know asian flavors,
but I know other flavors as well.
I'm going to do a fresh greek approach.
I feel like the longer I'm here,
the more they will see what my best and greatest dish looks like.
Okay, you know exactly what you're doing. Keep going with it.
Nyesha: We wanna make sure that we're getting on
what takes the longest to cook first, right?
- Yes, chef. - What do we got?
- Wagyu short rib. - Beautiful. Great grab.
- I kinda wanted to put a little bit of me on this. - Okay, beautiful.
I'm gonna make what's called wojapi.
It's a native-american braised berry sauce.
- Excellent. - Wojapi sauce is sweet.
I'm typically eating it on toast
or I'll add it to yogurt.
But I don't know if something that sweet
would go well on a burger,
and I definitely don't want to disappoint myself,
disappoint my ancestors for even trying to do this.
- Wojapi. - Wojapi.
So you're sort of doing a play on that?
Yeah, so it's more a berry barbeque sauce, yeah.
Okay, okay. Cool.
So I'm having to be extremely careful
with what I'm doing today.
That's exciting, pyet.
Angie: Char up for me, baby.
I have to say, chef angie, great grab on that elk as well.
- That's one of the best-tasting game meats around. - Thank you, chef.
It's gonna be delicious.
I'm gonna roast both these peppers
and then make a sauce.
I may have entered this contest with a little imposter syndrome,
but now two times in a row,
I've been so, so close to winning top dish for my team.
I'm also gonna render it down and put it on my bun.
This is some next level right here.
I am more sure than ever that I have the next level chef on my team.
These guys are bringing it and they're excited.
It's palpable. You can feel the energy coming out of this kitchen.
- Winning dishes only. - Yes, chef.
So, we're five minutes in with 25 minutes to go.
Make those scream. Now tell me about the burger. Where are we going?
I'm gonna do a pimento cheese, a bacon jam.
Love that idea.
- The dry aged beef. - Yes, sir.
- That's the sort of chefy burger, right? - Absolutely.
I'm a making a dry age blend burger
with pimento cheese, fried tomatoes, and a bacon jam.
I'm honed in on getting this right,
and I'm still thinking about gordon ramsay burger.
That gave me that drive to know that my mentor,
the man who's right here inspiring me, I have to do this.
- Get this burger to the next level. - Absolutely. For sure.
- That way you'll stay out of elimination, yes? - For sure.
Right, all of you, what goes well with a burger?
- Potatoes? - Potatoes, chef.
- Potatoes, that's right. - Well, we're ( bleep ).
Richard: All right, listen up, team trailblaisers.
You gotta go grab one whole basket of potatoes.
Why? Why are there potatoes? Potatoes take so long to cook.
You know, fries, potato salad, chips, whatever it is.
A potato side.
I don't think there's any time for us to be frying
some potatoes right now.
We are stressed as hell.
I can barely make this damn burger.
Oh, here we go. A nice side.
One basket of potatoes each.
Think about size. Think about texture.
Think about flavor, right?
15 seconds. Grab one basket of potatoes. Let's go!
Fries, tater tots, mashed potatoes,
chips, crisps, you name it.
Excellent. Well done.
Do we have mandolines down here?
- Did you ask for a mandoline? - Yes, chef.
There's no basement kitchen anywhere in the u.S. Tonight
- with a mandoline, let me tell you. - Yes, chef.
You've been spoiled, haven't you? A top floor girl.
Oh, my god.
- Reuel. - Yes, chef?
- You've got the ostrich, yeah? - Yes.
Between you and I and all three floors,
quite possibly the toughest protein.
- So we need fries. What'd you get? - Russet.
- An amazing potato for fries, yes? - Yes.
- What are you gonna do? - Right now, I'm thinking
I'm gonna incorporate it into my leek rings.
So, leek rings, almost like the onion ring?
- Yes, chef. - Okay, the secret here
is to stay out of that elimination.
- I'm gonna make it. - Good.
- What'd you get? - I'm honestly not too sure, chef. It's purple.
- Yeah, so purple potatoes. - I'm going to fry the avocados into fries
- and then pickle the cucumbers. - Wow. So, you're doing avocado fries?
- Yes, chef. Pork, chef. - You got pork, right?
Now that's a tough one, but it could be delicious.
Last time, I had best dish, and I saved my team.
So that's a lot of pressure.
I'm just trying to get this burger cooked perfectly.
Gordon: We gotta go, guys.
We are not losing. Let's go.
Grease fire. Oh, my god.
- ( bleep ) - gordon: Fire in the basement!
I'm ( bleep ).
Kenny: Come on, get that fire out of there.
- Watch your hands. - What is happening?
We are already in hell, baby.
We don't need any more fire down here.
Watch out! ( bleep )
- ow. - When chef ramsay picked me,
it was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.
And I'm like, "damn. Chef ramsay, how much do you regret it right now?"
( bleep )
man!
( bleep )
oh, my ( bleep ) god.
Fire in the basement!
Watch your hands.
This is horrible.
I've never set a fire in my life.
I am so mad at myself right now.
Man!
Tricia: Moron.
Now we're focusing on the things that you know you can get done.
Team blais cannot afford to lose another team member.
Team trailblaisers, top floor,
we have some classic burger combinations up here,
but we have no room for error. We have to be perfect.
All right, courtney, you're over here at the sirloin.
You got a juicy burger. It's been seasoned, right? It's been seasoned well?
- It's definitely been seasoned. - Okay.
I'm making a sirloin burger, a jalapeno special sauce,
crispy bacon, and a fried egg on top.
That's a big burger. You got a fork or something?
Just poke a couple holes in it, so it doesn't ball up, all right?
- Especially when you're cooking a big burger. Good job. - Thank you.
So now that I've experienced the elimination,
there's no room for mistakes.
Every single cook that I go into after that elimination cook,
I have to bring it no matter what.
Richard: Jonathan, what do you think we got going on here?
We've got brisket here. Maybe go classic american, but also a little spicy.
- Hit with a red pepper garlic confit aioli. - Okay. I love it.
Jonathan: I'm feeling all right about my performance in this competition.
I did well the first round when we were picking teams.
The second round I came in second. Third round I won.
Last time left a little bit to be desired
with that turkey, but didn't end up in the bottom.
But the turkey shook me a little bit.
All right, jonathan, you gotta move.
I'm worried about the pace right now, okay?
My nerves are crawling all over me.
I'm trying to bust up out of that,
but I am nervous for sure.
We're cruising up on 15 minutes, all right?
That's not a lot of time.
- Chef? - Yes?
My burger bun got smashed.
All right, listen, you can used this smashed bun if you want.
- Okay. - Or you can figure out how to do a lettuce wrap.
Okay. It's a rough day in the kitchen.
- And you'll only grabbed one bun, right? - Yes, sir.
- You good? - Gonna simmer down. Yeah, I'm fine.
Right, now we're multitasking. Potatoes should be cut.
- Buns nicely toasted, yes? - All: Yes, chef.
Good. My team is down in the basement again.
We avoided elimination last time,
and we need to do that again.
And down here, honestly,
already the burgers are the next level.
- Right, what'd you get? - Got some ground turkey, chef.
- Did you want that? - Uh, I wasn't mad at it.
- Make sure it's nicely seasoned, yes? - Yes, chef.
It's super lean. Can be really bland.
I'm gonna put a lot of flavors. I'm gonna go caribbean with this burger.
- Please, please, please, stay out of elimination. - For sure, chef.
There's so many moving parts to an upscale burger,
so I'm really trying to make sure I get everything done.
- I'm out of the fryer. - Gordon: Out of the fryer. Thank you for letting us know.
Each challenge, I've done a little better, but I'm such a better cook
than the dishes that I've put out so far.
I want to win the top dish just once.
Okay. I didn't make an aioli. Okay. That's okay.
- 14 minutes to go, guys, yes? - All: Yes, chef.
Nyesha: Guys, looking good.
What's the plan here with the burger?
- I am doing a southern burger. - Excellent.
- I have got pimento cheese. I've got bison. - Oh, heck yeah!
I'm gonna stuff the pimento tarragon in the middle
- because it's such a lean meat. - Okay.
Every time I watch you cook, you get stronger,
- and it's so beautiful. - Thank you, chef.
- You wanna try the sauce? - Talk to me about it.
So, there's berries, tomato, a little bit of acid in that.
- Some sweetness with the brown sugar. - That is exciting on my palate.
- Okay, I'm happy to hear that, chef. - Wow.
- Bringing my culture to the forefront. - As you should, girl.
Nyesha: When someone can drive flavor through their heritage
and bring an added level of authenticity to your dish, it's always gonna shine.
- How we doing, chef zach? - I'm doing good.
Everything's coming together right now.
I grabbed a chuck,
and I'm making a double smash burger
with bacon, a fried cheese disc,
and a spicy onion marmalade.
That fried cheese situation sounds amazing.
- It's milwaukee staple right there. - Oh!
If you're not frying your cheese, you're not from around there.
Bring it. Nice looking smash.
I got a body by burgers, so I'd been doing them injustice if I make a bad burger today.
- Coming through. - Let's go!
Big push. There's one winning burger coming out of this kitchen today.
All: Yes, chef.
Let's work, guys! Let's get it, baby! Let's get it!
If I put this burger on my brioche bun,
that juice gonna eat through this,
and they're gonna have a soggy burger.
I'm going to take these potatoes, build a bed,
so the juices don't soak straight into my bottom bun.
Gordon: Six minutes to go!
Your burger, girl, you've got six minutes to get that done.
In we go.
It's very easy to underestimate a burger,
and it's one of the biggest staples on any menu across america.
I think my team severely has underestimated these burgers.
They have got to step it up and fast.
I got somebody's fries right here.
Kenny, look at me! Your burger needs to go on.
- Heard, chef. Heard. - And stop messing around with the garnish
and get the burger on now! Right now.
- Don't do this to me. - I hear you, chef.
You get so wound up doing the prep.
- Focus on the burger. - I hear you, chef.
Oil in there. If anyone's burger's undercooked,
you keep that on there till the last second, yes?
- All: Yes, chef. - Let's go. Devonnie, wake up. Let's go.
Okay, you got olive oil on there?
Uh, no, I don't.
Olive oil. Greek. Tell me the story.
- Yes, yes! - Two minutes! It's go-time!
Aren't you gonna do anything with the bun? You're just going to leave it?
No, no, I'm about to put butter on there and put it on.
Yes, yes. The best thing that happened was you went to that elimination
and you've come back ten times stronger.
- Thank you, chef. - Platform's coming down.
Platform is here, guys. Let's go.
- Kenny: Let's go, guys! - Gordon: Ten, nine, eight.
Devonnie, please! Six, five.
- Devonnie! - Kenny: Come on, dev.
Three. Get it on! One.
Get it on! Get it on, please!
- Kenny: Get it on there! - Please, please, please!
( bleep )
platform is here, guys. Let's go.
- Get it on! - Get it on there.
Please, please, please, please!
- Man! - ( bleep )
nyesha: Platform's here, guys.
Oh, ( bleep ).
Come on, zach. Five, four, three, two, one.
- Yes. - Good job, guys. Good job.
- Your platform has arrived. - ( bleep )
- let's go. Move, move, move. - ( bleep )
be careful when you walk those over to the platform.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Okay, last looks.
- Whoo! - ( bleep )
oh, my god.
- I'm so proud of you. - ( overlapping chatter )
tricia: The basement sucks.
I hope my burger's cooked. It looked cooked.
Wow. That was a tough, tough challenge.
And we started off this morning with an inspirational taste
with some really good burgers.
I think each and every one of you can see
how personal this is for the mentors, right?
Right, shall we taste?
- Yes. - Yes, chef.
Richard, let's start with you, please.
Richard: This chef has a very clear theme to this burger.
It's a southern inspired spiced chicken burger with pimento cheese
and a peach and horseradish ketchup
with some fried sweet potatoes.
Nyesha: Stunning flavors.
I'm getting really beautiful charred notes
coming off of this burger.
Gordon: Choosing chicken on the top floor
with all those top flight proteins is a risky choice.
But, my god, it delivers.
Oh, thank you, lord. So worried.
Our next chef has made
an absolute classic rendition of a burger.
Whoever cooked that on your team is a professional chef, let's get that right.
So this is sirloin, pretzel bun, fried egg,
a special jalapeno sauce.
The potatoes are cooked amazing and a really lovely side.
For me, it tastes as good as it looks.
Wow. My heart is smiling.
Especially after cooking in the elimination round, it's the best feeling.
Our next chef, this is a greek inspired lamb burger
with an oregano lemon aioli.
The actual lamb's delicious. Pâté is delicious.
Bread is disgusting.
I would love to have seen some greens on this plate.
All right, our next burger.
You've heard of a smashed burger.
Smashed? Where's the bun? Where's the bread?
Man, that is the most unappetizing burger I've seen in a long time.
That's raw.
( spits )
( bleep )
yeah.
I can't swallow that.
I'll lose my third star michelin.
If chef ramsay ever spit my food out,
I would just walk out and go dig my grave and lay in it.
Kind of a remarkable achievement to be able to burn something
and keep it raw at the same time.
That's harsh.
I need mariah or courtney's burger to win this
to keep me out of elimination,
because I am for sure headed there
if we don't win today.
Right. Basement.
I think one of the most difficult proteins on that platform,
this is an ostrich burger.
I mean, where'd you get calamari from? There's squid.
- No. They're leeks. - I wanna do a vegetarian calamari dish now
because of that.
Where were the potatoes used in this dish?
I thought the fries were forgotten. They weren't.
Unfortunately, the fries are on there.
Nyesha: The burger itself,
seasoned nicely in terms of salt,
- but lacking depth of flavor. - It's missing a condiment.
I'm not getting anything to take this dish to the next level.
This one was a bit of a chef's dream. This is a dry aged.
I'm amazed it hit the basement.
So we start off with a bacon jam and fried tomatoes.
Look at that. Wow.
The cook is superb. Bingo.
- Mmm, mmm. - Oh, boy.
This is a pork based burger.
It has fried crispy avocado chips
with a crisp from a purple potato as well and a pickled cucumber.
The combination of the cucumber and the avocado are very tasty.
The burger and the bun, not very good at all.
I've seen this individual cook brilliantly in this competition,
but when you have a garnish of a deep fried avocado
that tastes better than your burger, we're in trouble, period.
Well, at least the garnish tastes good.
This is a turkey burger with a mango salsa.
( bleep )
that's raw.
I'm so sorry.
Just professionally, I can't ask either of you to taste that.
Gordon: For me, I'm slightly pissed off, because we are strong.
We're super strong.
And we still put up raw burgers.
That is an insult.
Right, shall we move to the middle floor?
Okay, first up, we have a milwaukee inspired burger.
Deep fried cheese down the center,
crispy bacon, and smashed potatoes on the side.
There's more cheese on there than there is burger.
Well, I mean, we're probably gonna have a heart attack,
but it looks good.
Is the portion of the cheese
a little too much for the burger?
I'm gonna say yes,
but the flavor overrides all of those negatives.
Next up, we have an elk burger.
Anyone picking up this protein, honestly, deserves to get to the next level.
Like the bison, the ostrich, it's the one they all run a mile away from.
So, if this tastes as good as it looks...
The potatoes were shaved thin enough, and they're beautiful.
- That is delicious. - Wow.
Man, what's going on with your floor?
They brought it today, chef. They were working with intention the entire time.
Really proud.
♪ happy burger dance, happy burger dance ♪
this bison burger is a play on a juicy lucy,
so this burger is stuffed with pimento cheese.
They forgot the bun? Or they--
unfortunately, the chef did forget the bun.
This is such a tragedy. I'll to explain why.
It actually tastes delicious.
You just need to be blind to eat it.
I'd rather that than it looks beautiful
but you need to have no taste buds to eat it.
- So here we have a wagyu short rib burger. - Wow.
And then made a barbeque sauce this is called wojapi.
There's more juice in there than j. Lo's butt.
- Oh! - Wow.
Here's the upsetting news.
This is a wagyu burger,
and the big issue for me across this
is that this person's not on my team.
There's no chef in america tonight
who can beat the temperature, the flavor,
and then the heritage coming into that.
Richard: I mean, millions of people, including myself,
are running to the keyboard right now
figuring out what wojapi is.
That is next level.
Pyet: This morning I woke up,
and the first thing I told myself is,
"we're not playing it safe anymore."
I actually wanted to bring forth
a little bit more today
and take a little bit more of a risk.
And I did that today.
I'm on an emotional rollercoaster.
Your floor was on fire, and mine was on fire literally.
A different type of fire. Some highs and lows, all of you.
Right now we need some very serious time on our own.
Excuse us.
I'm not too sure whether that was nyesha
cooking those burgers on that middle floor, because they were immaculate.
And personally, we got our ass kicked.
Some disasters in both yours and my kitchen.
Yeah, I mean, we have one dish that's so bad,
this chef is gonna be lucky to be cooking again even in the elimination.
- Wow. - Honestly, richard, I think we have more than one of those.
It's all good. Don't worry about that.
Don't think about what you're gonna make. We're not there yet.
- Some amazing highs, I mean, incredible highs. - Yes.
- Really, really. - Definitely.
I am blown away. That last wagyu? Off the charts.
One of the best burgers of the night, richard, was the sirloin.
I mean, for me, that definitely is the most cohesive,
well thought out burger.
- Shall we? - Yes, thank you.
Of course, I don't wanna lose anyone from my team.
Neither does gordon or nyesha.
But at the end of the day, we are looking for the one next level chef
regardless of what team they're playing for.
This was a tough choice
because we did some great burgers tonight.
And the winning burger of the night...
Is...
The winning burger of the night..
Is...
The wagyu.
Congratulations, team nyesha.
My heart can't take it. My heart is exploding.
Oh, my god. You did it. I knew it, pyet.
There's been a lot of conversation about native-americans,
there not being a seat at the table for them,
but tonight we conquered the table.
Congratulations, you are all safe.
Young lady, how do you feel?
I feel extremely proud
to bring my heritage to the forefront,
and I know my ancestors are-- they're singing.
Unfortunately, for the not so good news...
Gordon and richard both have to nominate one dish
to go into the elimination tonight.
My team was literally on fire, way out of control.
We put up three dishes that are dreadful.
I know the chef I'm sending into the elimination
has what it takes to pull off a better dish
and come back strong.
The dish I'm nominating is simple.
Devonnie's turkey burger.
It's raw, and it's miles away from anything servable.
Devonnie: I don't wanna go home. I'm not ready to go home.
But I get why I'm going into the elimination.
I have my baby, I have people who love me
that I know are cheering me on,
and I'm not ready to disappoint them.
So I'm ready to bring it.
Today I'm gonna put up our worst dish of the day.
This dish was burnt, this dish was raw,
this chef has a lot to prove to me.
I have one chef who's on a downward slide,
and I've seen with one of our other chefs
that if you win an elimination,
it really can put some wind in your sail,
so I'm hoping that does that for this chef.
I'm sending up against devonnie, chef jonathan.
Yeah.
Devonnie, jonathan, say goodbye to your teams.
Everyone else, head to the top floor
- and we'll meet you there. - Hey, let's go.
Jonathan: I've had to fight a lot in my life for people's respect.
I was the kid who liked to cook.
I was the kid who liked to sing.
And that wasn't always easy,
but it's given me a lot of fight,
and I'm willing to fight to stay here.
Both of you, we're gonna give you a chance
at one of the most difficult dishes on the burger menu today.
An ahi tuna burger
with slaw and a side of onion rings.
Devonnie, I've seen you cook brilliantly.
- Remember who you are. - Yes, chef.
- You can do this, right? - I can, chef.
Jonathan, take a deep breath,
and just go up there and cook a delicious dish.
I'll see you upstairs.
- Thank you, chef. - Devonnie, good luck.
- Thank you, chef. - Good luck, jonathan.
- Thank you, chef. - Yes, chef.
Whatever happens, we both have done so well to be here
- to even get this far. - Yeah. Truly, truly, truly.
So many people have already left, and we're still here.
Yeah, yeah.
I guess I shouldn't be as nervous
because jonathan is also a home chef,
but he has been coming out the gate strong.
And he knows his way around any ingredient you throw at him.
But I want this. I'm not gonna make it easy for him.
$250,000 is at stake,
and then the mentorship that goes with that.
I'm gonna do my best to whoop some ass.
- You got this. Let's work it. - Yeah, you do too.
Your 30 minutes starts now!
- Go! - ( muttering )
remember, guys, this is an ahi tuna burger.
A beautiful slaw, a beautiful onion ring, yes?
- Yes, chef. - Jonathan: Yes.
So the tricky thing about ahi tuna is that you can eat it raw.
You wanna get a very hard sear on the outside
but keep the middle raw,
and that can be difficult.
So what are you thinking about here, jonathan?
I'm going to be doing a red cabbage serrano yellow pepper slaw.
Awesome. How are we bringing acid into your slaw?
We are going use lime juice, and maybe some lemon from over there.
That's what you're looking at. Yup.
- How we feeling, chef? - Good, chef.
- Good. What's the plan? - I'm gonna make a sesame seed
encrusted ahi tuna burger
with a brown sugar soy chili glaze.
- Beautiful. - And some pickled cucumber and carrots for my slaw.
It's super important to cut the right thickness of the fish
because you don't want it to be cold in the middle.
And this cooks very quickly because you don't want to overcook the fish.
I would cut two steaks an inch and a half thick so you can sear on each side.
An inch and a half. Inch and a half. Use your finger.
You have the notches in your finger.
- Smaller. - Ooh, that's big.
Slice your slaw a little thinner or find you a mandoline.
Right.
- Reuel: Fish sauce? - Yeah, fish sauce.
Fish sauce, you could add a little bit.
- It has salt to it too, right? - Got it.
That's a big umami boost. That's it.
- Devonnie, cook your dish, okay? - Yes, chef.
That wonderful yellow mustard that's in the back of you, rub it on your tuna.
Take a little bit, and you're just gonna put a little crust on it
just to rub it.
Here's the deal, right?
Devonnie's receiving a lot of feedback from her team.
In terms of driving her dish, you know, did she really want
to put yellow mustard on her tuna? I'm not so sure.
- No, I gotta that. - Devonnie, just remember, this is your dish.
- Yes, chef. - This is your team, right?
But we want to see your personality in this dish.
Absolutely, chef. It'll come through in my flavors.
I believe you. Ten minutes down, guys! Ten minutes down.
Move your knives. Ooh, please be careful. Thank you.
Nyesha: Working fast, but working efficient, right? Working clean.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
- Yes, chef. - Please be careful, right? Working, working.
- I'm so sorry, chef. - Intention, focus. Breathe through your nose.
- Chill the hell out. - Yeah, just leave him alone. He's getting frustrated.
Just leave him alone. Jonathan is just shaking.
His nerves were shot before he was even in this elimination,
and now he's just all over the place.
This is gonna just rip apart his chance to win this challenge.
Please be careful of your fingers.
Mariah: You doing good! You got your slaw going.
- You're doing amazing. - You got your aioli going.
- You're making good time. - We still got to make onion rings though.
- Organize yourself. - We still got to-- god.
- Nyesha: You okay? - Medic! Medic! Medic!
Jonathan: I'm fine. I'm fine. Just let me get...
Put your hand up.
Jon doesn't cut himself. Jon cuts himself.
Stop the clock!
- Medic. - Medic!
Go. Just go.
He is dripping blood, and I'm thinking he needs stitches.
He's pretty bloody. Medic is on his way, jonathan.
( muted chatter )
it's my thumb. Have we stopped time?
- Yes, stopped time. You're good. - Okay.
Devonnie, just one moment, okay?
Just breathe for a second. Just hold off for one second.
- Okay. - We're just gonna patch this up.
I gotta calm my ass down in the kitchen, period. Not a question about it.
You know, it would behoove me to slow down a little bit
or else I'm probably not gonna have any fingers by the time it's all over.
Back to your stations. Don't touch anything yet.
There are ten minutes left.
Ready? Start now.
You are done. You are done. Okay.
Good mise en place. I like how you're setting things to the side.
There you go.
The judges need to taste how badly I want to be here.
Don't forget about your onion rings in the fryer!
- How we looking on those? - They're good. I just looked. You're good.
- Thank you. Thank you. - Toss you veggies. Taste. Make sure your flavor's there.
- Happy? - A little salt.
It's really challenging actually seeing jonathan and devonnie
because when I look a jonathan,
I always see that swiss chard gratin from his steak challenge.
And with devonnie, she puts her whole soul into everything she does.
So it's really hard to see these two sweet angels cook against each other today.
Let's watch these sesame seeds.
I'm concerned about the sesame seeds because he's gonna double cook them.
- He's gonna double cook them. - Start with some fresh ones?
- Nyesha: Focus, jonathan. - Tuna! Tuna out.
- Tuna out, baby. - Tuna out. Tuna!
Okay, guys, start plating!
Two minutes left. Start plating.
- Slaw on top. - All: Yes.
Pyet: Beautiful color.
- Take those big ass pieces of the cabbage off. - Yeah.
- Make your plate is clean, chef, okay? - Yes, chef.
- This is "next level chef, do you understand? - Yes, chef. Yes, chef.
You've got one of the greatest chefs in the world trying to help you.
You're trying to tune everybody else out to listen to her.
You're just buzzing so hard in your head
trying to make sure you're getting everything done.
Good job, both of you. He would be proud.
- ( bleep ) - let's go!
- Good job. Good job. - Let's go, jonathan!
- Put it on there. Put it on there. - Three, two, one!
- Stop cooking. - Boom. Good work, chef.
- Good job! - Here, man.
- Good job. Good job. Good job, chef. - Thank you, chef.
I put my very best on that plate,
everything I'm made of, everything I love.
All I can do is leave my heart on that plate.
- Thank you for your help. - Yeah, no problem, sir.
I wanna stay in this competition so bad it hurts
because this is the avenue to which I'm gonna be able
to get to do what I want to do every day.
I don't want it to end.
- Right, nyesha, how was that? - Gordon, richard.
It's so hard to pick a chef to send into the elimination,
and by doing these tastings blind,
my back is against the wall
if jonathan didn't pull off the better dish.
But the bottom line is
if a chef doesn't perform in an elimination, that's it.
- Game over. - Very intense. They both battled it out.
We have two ahi sesame crusted burgers, onion rings, and slaw.
On the right, we have lightly pickled vegetables
with a pickled ginger as well as sweet chili aioli.
On the left, it has sliced avocado,
and this has a red cabbage slaw with a ginger aioli.
Moment of truth here.
Okay, so nothing wrong when you see rare tuna.
The question is, is it ice cold?
The actual tuna is cooked beautifully.
The right amount of seasoning is on there.
Onion rings nice and crispy, slaw works well,
but it's just too much tuna.
It's almost too thick for the bread.
Richard: It still needs a little bit more sauce though,
and I don't see that layer of sauce.
So this one here, strange color,
but again, it's all in the flavor.
And how does that taste?
- Richard: Okay. - Yeah?
- Mm-hmm. - Beautifully done.
Whew.
Eliminations are very tough
because I don't want to lose anybody I've mentored.
I just hope the burger that impresses us the most is devonnie's.
Honestly, I can't afford to lose another team member.
This one for me is not as dense.
Richard: The onion rings are seasoned so perfectly.
I'm not a big fan on the rough cuts when you're negotiating
big, heavy, thick slices of red cabbage.
I don't even know if I can call that slaw.
So both tunas are nailed beautifully.
We're nitpicking, and it's gonna come down to the finest detail.
So this is a tough one. Richard, please.
My favorite tuna burger
is the one with the avocado over here.
Wow.
I'm gonna go over for the ahi tuna burger
that is the most delicious.
And that burger...
...Is the one with avocado. Who is that?
- Nyesha: That's jonathan's burger. - Jonathan.
Whew.
- Congratulations. - Thank you so much.
Well done.
Thank you so much.
I'm elated that they chose my food, you know?
I'm feeling good. And then it hits you that devonnie's leaving.
Gordon: I'm sorry, devonnie.
Young lady, let me tell you something really important.
You cook with a lot of passion.
You've got incredible talent.
Thank you, chef.
Say goodbye to your team.
- Thanks, guys. - So sorry.
I really thought I had it because I put my soul on this plate.
I knew what I was cooking for.
I know what this means, I know what's at stake,
and I left everything on that plate.
- ( cheering ) - I put it there.
All of you, listen carefully.
These decisions are getting tougher.
Stay out of elimination.
- Learn from other people's mistakes. - I feel for devonnie.
Even though it's her hands, her decisions,
I just felt like I let her down.
And now we're just down to three,
which means our probability of putting up a good dish
is now less than everybody's.
Moving forward, stakes are way higher.
Now get some rest,
because the next time we see you,
we're all going up a level.
- Good night. - Good night.
- Thank you for your kindness.
- Good job. - Thank you so much.
- Thank you, chefs. - Thank you, chefs.
Oh, my god, jonathan.
( sighs )
that's my boy! You're my boy!
( laughs )
this Sunday on an all-new episode...
Today's challenge, a next level brunch dish.
Brunch is not my forte. Aah!
Oh, no. Oh, no. I messed this one up.
I'm gonna have to summon every angel I know to get me through this.
- Gordon: I am done losing. - Today is war.
Nobody going home. I'm getting dirty to win.
Chef arrington seems highly unsure about what I'm doing.
- Gotta hope that works out. - Oh, my god!
- One of my chefs did not make the platform. - How is that possible?
This individual shot themselves in the foot.