PADMA: I'm Padma Lakshmi,
and we've scoured the nation
to bring together the most elite chefs
and the most renowned judges
into the ultimate culinary battleground.
This is a test
of our ten Culinary Commandments.
Master them and you win one million dollars.
Brought to you by our official cleanup partners:
Dawn Powerwash.
(birds chirping)
PADMA: 11 of you have now survived
the first commandment.
Oh, my God.
How are you feeling, Keith?
Take a moment to celebrate,
do my end zone dance, and get
-right back to practice. -(laughter)
Unfortunately, there's no time to celebrate.
Because your next Culinary Commandment
starts now.
* *
-These are sexy. -Wait, what's going on?
They're kidnapping us.
(laughs): I don't know.
PADMA: Chefs, your second
commandment is...
...sustainability.
(exhales sharply)
MICHAEL D.: I personally am very excited
about sustainability, uh, commandment.
I am very proud to be the only Mexican chef
in the United States
with a Michelin green star for sustainability.
PADMA: Sustainability is about preventing food waste
by making ingredients last,
sourcing locally and eating foods
that require fewer natural resources.
Chefs, to my mind, this next commandment might be
the most important of the ten.
WYLIE: True mastery begins with sourcing,
and that means selecting ingredients
that are local and sustainable.
PADMA: For your next cook,
you'll have one hour
to create a dish
using hyper-sustainable ingredients.
These all-electric Rivian vehicles
are going to take you around the farm
to gather produce directly from the source.
You'll be pairing those vegetables
with additional sustainable ingredients.
And we'll meet you back at the penthouse.
-Happy picking. -MATT: All right. -MICHAEL D.: I got shotgun.
-CHRIS: Buckle up. -DIANA: Good job.
Can we talk about how beautiful these cars are?
Like, the wood grain,
vegan leather. Sexy.
EMILY: Okay. Congratulation.
We're already on to the next challenge,
so I don't have enough time
to soak in the glory of the win.
Congratulations, Matt.
You are the winner of the Carnivore Classic.
But now with the sustainability commandment,
I'm gonna continue to push myself.
All right, don't just stand there.
Be like waving homecoming queens.
(laughs)
PADMA: Bye, chefs.
(laughs): I made it.
It's been a long, hot day.
I didn't go home,
but it always sucks being on the bottom.
-It may just not meet my expectation. -Noted.
You just have to pick yourself
back up and go for it again,
and keep going and keep going.
Gosh, this is amazing.
All right, I'm ready. Ooh, thank you, caballero.
I'm excited to run through the fields
and let the ingredients speak to me
and be like, "What, leek?"
(speaking Spanish)
BEVERLY: Oh, wow, you're taking out your shoes?
I got to run. Hope I clipped my toenails.
-MALYNA: Let's go. -BEVERLY: Okay, let's go.
* *
CHRIS: I'm a runner.
I've been running for years and years.
Running is my, like, zen time
to formulate ideas and clear my head.
Having that mental break has been arguably
the most important part of my success
outside of my support with my family.
Go, Daddy!
This year has been the hardest year of my life.
My mom passed away in January.
I have been a mama's boy since day one.
Because I wanted to spend more time with her,
I was naturally hanging out
with her in the kitchen all the time.
I more ate things than I did help, but you know...
I didn't know it at the time, but I think that's when
I started to fall in love with food.
Hi.
-EMILY: Oh, hi, chef. -(chuckles)
I've been thinking about my mom
every second of this competition.
I'm 100% doing it for her.
I'm just hoping I get to the finish line.
All right, I think I got what I needed.
* *
-Well, that was fun. -(Beverly whoops)
Yeah, I got a good tan.
-* -(elevator bell dings)
Oh, back in rainy New York.
-Uh-huh. -Nice squat.
-MATT: Look at that. -(elevator bell dings)
*
-Hi, chefs. -Hi.
Welcome back to the city.
I see you have all your produce from the farm.
-KEITH: Yes. -What'd you get?
-Some beautiful leeks. -I love leeks.
Katie, it looks like she has nothing in her basket.
-PADMA: I know. -I got exactly what I need.
Very sustainable of you.
-(laughter) -PADMA: As you know,
today's Culinary Commandment is sustainability.
And mastering this commandment will get you one step closer
to the prestigious honor
of being the winner of America's Culinary Cup
and walking out of here
with one million dollars,
thanks to our friends at Dawn Powerwash.
Michael, you have a green Michelin star, right?
MICHAEL D.: (chuckles) Yeah.
I was awarded a green Michelin star in 2023
for my work at my restaurant.
So, maybe that makes Michael the chef to beat.
We coming, Michael.
-(bleep) -(laughter)
-Uh, Matt won the meat commandment. -(laughter)
It feels really good to be acknowledged
for the things that you've done in your work,
but it kind of makes you go into this frenzy
of like, "Don't (bleep) this up." (laughs)
PADMA: Chefs, you'll have one hour
to create a dish featuring
both the produce you've harvested from the farm
in addition to the hyper-sustainable ingredients
in our pantry, like mussels,
ants, and quail.
The two chefs who receive the lowest scores
in this commandment will battle it out
in a head-to-head cook-off,
where the loser will be forced to go home.
Cooking head-to-head, I've been there before,
and I don't want to do it again.
The further away I am from the bottom,
the closer I am to getting that million dollars.
PADMA: We're cooking on a stagger.
Buddha, you're first.
You have one hour on the clock.
Your time starts now.
-EMILY: Go, Buddha. -KEITH: Go, Buddha.
-(applause) -PADMA: For this commandment,
chefs will be scored on four judging criteria.
Come on, Buddha, you can do it.
PADMA: ...taste, creativity, presentation
and mastery of the commandment.
Each category is worth five points
for a total of 20 points from each judge,
with a possible perfect score of 60.
WYLIE: Is Beverly cooking with her mind right now?
Totally. She's going through the steps in her head.
WYLIE: Yeah, it looks like it.
Today I'm making all parts of the leek.
I'm gonna serve them with some razor clams.
Buddha, how many ways are you doing leeks?
-Five ways. -(laughs): Five ways...
BUDDHA: I like five. Maybe I want
five kids later on.
I don't do minimum requirements.
I go for the moon, and if I don't hit the moon,
I'll end up in the stars.
PADMA: Michael's off.
(whoops)
-BUDDHA: Hey, Michael. -MICHAEL D.: Chef.
Padma says that you're the one to beat, no?
Damn it, Buddha, yes. (laughs)
I think so.
My sustainability journey started
with this idea of being able to take
"garbage" and turn it into another layer of flavor.
-Here, my love. -Hi, Daddy.
-Hi, baby. -I am here for my community,
for my culture and my family.
My wife Ryan has been the biggest supporter of my career.
I couldn't have done it without her, honestly,
and her also just kind of helping me
through my transition when I left the church.
I grew up in a cult, and, uh, walking away was not easy.
So, I want to win this million dollars for her,
and I'm gonna cook my ass off.
BUDDHA: Michael, what are you doing with everything from the farm?
MICHAEL D.: I'm making an agrodolce, chef. I'm gonna make
a little squash puree.
And then I'm gonna roast a little bit of quail.
I've cooked quail before,
and it's super sustainable.
And also, I'm gonna make, like,
an ant and nori, like, rub.
Ants are nutty, earthy, fun,
and, uh, some good times.
-PADMA: Keith, start. -(clapping)
Let's go, Keith. Let's go.
KEITH: My strategy: use as few ingredients
as possible.
Very sustainable.
Leeks will be the starter dish.
I will do a leek
and potato velouté.
Leek and potato soup.
That's it.
Buddha, Keith, is this the battle of the leeks?
-Battle of the leeks. -Yeah, it's the battle of the leeks.
-EMILY: Can't wait. -PADMA: Keith looks like he's cooking
-Wednesday supper. -Yeah, he does.
-He looks very chill. -KEITH: I am someone who grew up
with less than other people.
I am someone who thrives under pressure.
I've been to prison. I did it all.
And so, sustainability? I got this.
Okay, what's next?
-Start, Diana. -(applause)
DIANA: I want my dish to be the best.
I see lobster and the sea urchin,
and those are, like, just things that I love to eat.
Nice and fatty.
I just came from the land.
-Let's take it to the sea now. -PADMA: Katie, time's on.
-EMILY: Go, Katie! -(applause)
I go in the pantry and I get
exactly what I want: mussels.
Okay...
Mussels are incredibly sustainable.
Malyna, get going.
(applause)
MALYNA: My strategy
for this cook is
to cook as if I'm cooking
a dish for my wife.
She's the only person that I know
that's more chill than me.
My wife would be vegan if she weren't married to me.
So, I'm making a completely vegan dish.
That is the ultimate example of sustainability.
-BUDDHA: Whoa. -Whoa.
-WYLIE: Oh, no. Oh, no. -Whoa.
PADMA: I mean, at least she didn't have a beard.
MICHAEL: That's why mine's so much shorter now.
(laughs)
*
What's Michael up to?
MICHAEL: I think he's got quail over there.
This is the ant rub that I made for the little quails.
-Little quail. -MICHAEL: I-I got to say, I think
quail's, like, a risky choice.
-PADMA: Why? -The birds are so small,
and they have to be cooked just so, because if they're not,
-then they're gonna be dry. -PADMA: They get tough really easy.
MICHAEL D.: Got to go.
Please start, Emily.
Emily, get going.
EMILY: What I got at the farm is carrots.
So, I'm featuring seaweed and carrots.
(whoops)
Missed one.
* *
Emily's working away.
Matt, your time starts now.
Let's go, Matt. Start cooking.
MATT: I just won the meat commandment challenge,
so this kind of helps
bring a little bit of confidence for the rest of the competition.
Beverly looks ready.
I'm sorry, my body's, like, convulsing, like... (laughs)
I know you're ready, Beverly.
-I've been ready. -(laughter)
-Beverly, go. -(applause)
* *
WYLIE: Is that clams? Sweet.
That calabaza is gonna take a minute.
MICHAEL: Yeah, that's gonna take time just to peel that thing.
Ooh, Chris has a nice big squash, too.
*
(laughs)
WYLIE: Oh, God.
Cara, your time starts now.
*
I would say that I'm...
one of the more sustainable chefs here.
My strategy is to go vegan.
I know how to use everything from the roots to the shoots.
I mean, mushrooms are sustainable, they, like,
they come from death, you know?
Some kind of a beautiful thing.
KEITH: Whoo...
wee!
Whoo-wee, baby.
It's gonna be hard to beat.
Chris...
your time starts now.
CHRIS: So, I'm-I'm gonna do
roasted heirloom squash with ricotta and blackberries.
Buddha, you have five minutes left.
Five minutes, Buddha.
Michael, in 15 minutes, you are up.
This quail is kind of like s-starting
to become a (bleep) problem for me.
I'm not getting the color that I want, the browning.
We're, like, getting to-to the wire.
So, at this point, I start to worry, right?
Like, my sauces are tasting really good,
everything's really great.
But then I cut into one,
and it's still not all the way there.
-(groans) -So I put it in the oven,
and I'm just praying that hopefully the universe,
like, sends me a Hail Mary
and it's not (bleep) raw.
* *
MICHAEL D.: I want a medium cook on the quail.
Time is of the essence, and hopefully
I can get it up to at least temperature.
BUDDHA: Flowers from the farm.
PADMA: Buddha,
five, four,
three, two, one.
Time's up, Buddha.
BUDDHA: I feel confident with my dish.
I think it's delivering
the right message of sustainability.
PADMA: What did you make for us, Buddha?
BUDDHA: I'm trying to utilize the whole leek.
So, I braised the leeks, a little bit of bacon.
They're served with clams,
focusing on a vegetable as the main component.
MICHAEL: You did develop really good flavor of the leek.
Good job also of, like, sticking to the commandment here.
Shellfish are very sustainable.
I think the soup is great, I think that the razor clams
are nice and tender.
I think you could have used the opportunity to give it
a little bit more crunch, maybe fried some leek.
But some dishes are just soft, and it's okay.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
PADMA: Taking a humble vegetable
and a few razor clams
and making something so luxurious
and special-feeling is exactly
what we want to do with this commandment.
-Yes. Thank you. -PADMA: Thank you.
All right, let's score.
KEITH: Silky smooth, baby.
KATIE: I am chilling the mussels right now.
The cold mussel dip.
Pisto manchego takes a while to make.
The risk I'm taking is I'm making
a quick version.
It's not cold yet.
Michael, 30 seconds.
30 seconds, Padma.
I'm stressing about the quail. Hopefully my sauces
will, like, save me.
Michael, five seconds.
-MICHAEL: Five. -Four, three, two, one.
Time's up, Michael.
(exhales)
* *
Chef, what'd you make for us?
MICHAEL D.: Pan-roasted quail
with a rub made from ants, a plum sauce.
Then the squash puree was made with, uh,
all the beautiful vegetables from the farm.
WYLIE: You can build
these complex sauces, flavors that are very rich.
This puree in the middle of the plate is really cool.
And the legs of my quail are great.
You know, the rub is really fun.
Unfortunately, I think the breast on my bird
-is a little bit rare. -MICHAEL: Unfortunately, mine is, like,
very rare.
However, the rest of the plate,
as Wylie said, absolutely delicious.
-Maybe you should have gone vegetarian. -Yeah, thank you.
PADMA: This is really raw.
You did yourself a real disservice,
because that puree is excellent.
-I appreciate you. -Thank you so much.
-Thank you guys. -MICHAEL: Thanks, Michael.
The reason why I picked up the (bleep) quail in the first place
was because I wanted to highlight a protein,
and now this is the thing that's...
going to, potentially, be bringing me down.
I'm not sure how to rate the taste or creativity
'cause, like...
it's so raw.
WYLIE: Fair enough.
(bleep)
DIANA: Time's up, babies.
That's all you got.
Go big or go home?
I got some heirloom carrots here.
I'm making, like, um,
kind of a take on, like, tandoori carrots
with, um, yogurt, but with tofu.
I'm gonna toss the carrots in a lime miso sauce.
Take a deep breath. Okay.
He's plating.
Three, two, one.
Time's up, Keith.
-(exhales sharply) -(applause)
KEITH: It's a beautiful dish.
Everything I create, I believe is gonna be delicious.
-Hi, Keith. -Hello.
KEITH: Right here we have a leek and potato velouté,
chive oil, truffle oil
and crispy potato skins.
WYLIE: Texture of your soup is great.
I do think that,
with leek as your vegetable,
there's not a lot of leek shining through.
It feels like it was about potato,
and that you got out of the pantry.
You can't really taste the truffle oil,
which is a good thing, 'cause I think truffle oil
is probably one of the least sustainable things
that we've ever created.
PADMA: I love the consistency of your soup.
It ate like a velouté, a beautiful example of one.
The soup, to me,
it just tastes a little too oily,
-if that makes sense. -KEITH: Okay.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
-MICHAEL: Thanks, Keith. -(exhales sharply)
KEITH: I can't believe it.
I used one of the most sustainable ingredients
paired with the least sustainable ingredient
in the truffle oil.
Aww, damn.
Not trying to cook again today.
Uh, so, in here,
we are kind of torched off the skins.
From there, we're gonna stew this down.
Kind of really showcasing,
uh, the beautiful flavors of the tomato.
Kind of like a ratatouille, if you will.
Diana, you have 90 seconds.
DIANA: 90 seconds.
Flowers. Flowers, flowers, flowers.
Had them over here, my flowers, my flowers. Right here.
Time is difficult for me. (laughs)
PADMA: Time's up, Diana.
What did you make for us?
DIANA: Mar y tierra.
Stuffed eggplant with lobster,
salsa ranchera made with calabaza,
tons of chile and leeks.
Everything that was in my basket is in here.
I commend you for using the entire basket,
but you could have maybe
left a few of those ingredients out.
Diana, I have to respectfully disagree with Wylie.
-Yeah, so do I. -Um... I... (laughs)
I think that you brought all these ingredients together
in a really compelling way.
This dish is a beautiful dish.
It's a creative idea,
but I think the ratio is a little off.
It needed more lobster.
-Thank you. -PADMA: Thank you.
DIANA: I feel good about my dish,
but I have no idea, like,
how it's going to be scored.
I don't want to cook again.
KATIE: Love going to farms, so it felt really good
to, like, get in that element again today.
At Cúrate Bar de Tapas,
we use the influence of the ingredients
and the producers in our area.
It's got, like, this sense of place.
Spanish tapas via Asheville, North Carolina,
and you can only get that food there
because it's-it's our identity.
I have a master's degree in biomedical engineering,
but honestly, it was not filling my soul.
I wanted to cook.
Oh, I can't stop shaking. It's so crazy.
Right as I was switching careers,
I started cooking Spanish food, and then never looked back.
PADMA: Ooh. What did you make, Katie?
KATIE: This is a version of mejillones en escabeche,
which are, um, pickled mussels.
I made ratatouille,
and then I blended that into the sauce
to try to capture all of the flavors
from all of the vegetables that I gathered.
I think the sauce is beautiful, so is the knife work.
These mussels are plump, juicy, lovely.
They're not rubbery, they're cooked exactly
as they should be.
This is a very delightful dish.
-Thank you. -WYLIE: I loved it.
I thought it was delicious. The mussels were tender.
You came in with very few ingredients.
Seemed like you had a plan, which is great,
and I think you definitely executed the plan.
-This was great. -Thank you.
Katie probably used the most sustainable ingredient
of everyone that we've tasted from so far.
Mussels are a-a highly sustainable ingredient.
-Let's score Katie. -She's gonna be tough to beat.
CHRIS: Never worked with this varietal squash before, so...
just try to make sure I can treat it properly
and pay respect to it.
I'm looking good for one, so I don't even know.
You never know.
So, I'm gonna start plating here in a second.
A little mint here.
I love mint and eggplant together.
Now I'm gonna add on the sea beans.
PADMA: Three, two, one.
Malyna, time's up.
(exhales)
MALYNA: Hello, judges.
It's kind of like a take on the nasu dengaku,
which is the, uh, Japanese dish.
I use a red miso, red raspberries and red beets.
That green sauce is delicious.
-So good. -MALYNA: Thank you.
You treated that eggplant like a steak.
It was cooked to perfection...
-Thank you. -...and seasoned well.
-Thank you, Malyna. -Thank you.
-WYLIE: Hello, chef. -Hi.
EMILY: I made carrots and seaweed.
Super excited to use seaweed in all different types of ways.
It's delicious, and I'm sorry
that I don't have anything negative to tell you
-about this dish. -(laughs): Stop.
I wish I did, but it's just too damn good.
-Stop. (laughs) -All right, I'll stop.
Okay, I can breathe again for a few seconds.
(laughs)
-Hi. -PADMA: Hi, Cara.
CARA: Mushroom wontons with mushroom broth.
You said "sustainable."
Like, if you really want to, like, nitpick it,
you've got to go vegan, in my mind.
PADMA: Great, thank you.
These are big for a one-biter,
-but I'm gonna do my best. -(stammers)
Listen, if I gave you a small dumpling,
my mother would shame me.
-(laughter) -Like, total shame.
WYLIE: This was great.
It was very simple in its presentation,
but it delivered on a whole nother level.
The broth is luscious and light,
full of flavor, and the dough
is-is made by your expert hands, and it shows.
So, thank you. Thank you for a job well done.
-CARA: Thank you. -I mean,
if Cara keeps cooking like this, she's gonna have her baby
-here in the kitchen, you know? -(laughs) Yeah.
* *
(exhales)
What did you make for us, Matt?
MATT: Farm ratatouille with seared scallops
in saffron clam sauce.
Matt, I think you took a bunch of
seemingly simple ingredients,
put it together, made a beautiful, elegant dish.
Unfortunately, I did get a little bit of sand
in my scallop.
That would be sort of
-my-my big pet peeve. -Same.
I know that's just, like,
the biggest no-no that you can do,
is have a sandy scallop.
I could actually go home tonight.
* *
MICHAEL: For me, Matt,
I really prefer to have scallops seared on both sides.
It's just a pet peeve of mine.
Everything about this dish is so beautiful.
I love the tiny leaves of basil on the tomato.
It gave the dish such brightness.
But my scallop had a touch of sand in it, too,
in that first bite.
-Thank you, Matt. -MICHAEL: Thank you, chef.
You can go back to your station.
I feel super deflated right now.
We're here to take risks,
and, unfortunately, this one bit me.
PADMA: Three, two,
one. Beverly, time's up.
BEVERLY: I'm a little nervous, because it is
very simple. (laughs)
It's just
carrot sauce and the garnishes.
Hi, Beverly.
-Hello. -What did you make for us?
Ras el hanout grilled carrots with tofu yogurt.
I used the whole vegetable, which I thought
was also the sustainable factor.
WYLIE: Beverly, I got to say,
everything was really well balanced,
really delicious.
I love the almonds at the end
to give it a little bit of crunch.
-Thank you. -MICHAEL: I love
the texture of that tofu yogurt that you created.
Very smooth on the palate.
Carries just the right amount of flavor
-of saffron. -PADMA: I love
the tartness on the tofu.
I'm gonna call it a cream, because it was so whipped,
so luscious. And I'm gonna steal that tofu yogurt
the next time someone comes over to my house and doesn't
eat dairy.
I have nothing bad to say about this dish.
-I really can't find anything. -Oh, my God. Really? (laughing)
Thank you, Beverly.
-Oh, my God. -PADMA: It is
-a very sustainable dish. -Yeah.
She understood the commandment really well.
All right, Chris.
Time's up. You're the last.
(applause)
-Hello. -Good to see you.
Whoa.
What did you make for us, Chris?
I got really excited when I saw
the fall and winter squash varietals at the farm.
So I did a roasted squash, used it two ways.
I juiced half of it, roasted half of it.
I made a vinaigrette out of the, um,
squash itself.
Then I made a fresh ricotta,
folded a little bit of lemon zest into that.
Then I pureed blackberries into that.
(overlapping): And then there is... I used that in kind of, like, a chili crunch
with coriander and a little bit of cumin.
(distorted): And toasted garlic with olive oil.
-Yeah. That's it. -(laughing) -Yeah. Sorry. That was a very...
verbose explanation.
There's a lot of delicious components on this plate.
-Mm-hmm. -I mean, a lot.
I think you could have left a few of those ingredients out.
Wylie's right. Like, a little more focus. Like, dial it back
a little bit. Save a little something for tomorrow.
My biggest problem is the roasting
and the lack of seasoning on the squash.
-Okay. -Thanks, Chris.
CHRIS: I know that I didn't
put up the best dish.
So, for all I know,
I'm gonna have to battle it out.
PADMA: It's drowning in condiments.
He's like the Jackson Pollock of this kitchen.
(Wylie laughs)
* *
Chefs, gather around. The scores are in.
Today's commandment
was about mastering the art of sustainability.
The two chefs with the lowest scores
will battle it out in a head-to-head cook-off,
where the loser will be forced to go home.
Let's see how you did.
I feel like I just want to close my eyes
-and open 'em when it's over. -(chuckling)
MALYNA: The sound of the board is incredibly traumatizing,
like, more than a ticket printer,
more than the elevator ding.
Like, I just feel like my heart is racing
whenever I hear that sound.
Yes, Beverly.
-You were one point away... -(Michael laughing)
-Oh, my God! -...from perfection!
Oh, my God.
PADMA: 59 out of a possible 60 points.
How are you feeling?
A little out-of-body.
-(laughter) -Out-of-body?
-Yes. (laughs) -That's a good answer.
BEVERLY: Are you kidding me?
Is this a dream?
Love is pouring into me,
and all I want to do is just, like,
pour out more love.
And it's so beautiful,
because I think it's empowering me
to be even bigger.
And Katie right behind her.
I'm now out of my body!
(laughter)
Two from perfect,
which is, like, wow.
I-I-- Yeah, I mean, I-I feel incredible.
PADMA: I'm very proud
of both of you.
-CARA: Yeah. -(applause)
You crushed it.
The women crushed it.
(laughing)
PADMA: All right, chefs.
If you see your name
on this board, that means you're safe.
I knew that I wasn't going to win
with the sandy scallop, but at least
I didn't lose.
PADMA: Michael,
Keith, and Chris,
you three are on the bottom.
How are you feeling, Chris?
Not extremely happy to be on the bottom,
but I feel like it feels better to...
be on the bottom knowing where I went wrong.
Michael.
I know what I did wrong.
No excuses. I'm gonna fight back.
-Keith? -Pressure.
How do you perform under pressure?
I've been performing under pressure my whole life.
And I've made it this far.
So I would say
that I perform pretty damn good under pressure.
Well, one of you will be safe
and two of you will be doing a head-to-head cook-off...
...where the loser leaves this kitchen for good.
Are you guys ready to see the scores?
Yeah. Bring it on.
* *
*
PADMA: Chris, you look really relieved.
CHRIS: Yeah.
Very.
I have never been so happy
to see my name falling into ninth place.
I don't want to leave on a dish where I didn't feel excellent.
You know what I mean? I want to feel like
I gave it my all and I would make that again.
PADMA: Keith and Michael,
you're gonna have to cook for your life.
I've been fighting my way up from the bottom.
I started as a dishwasher.
I got a Michelin star two years ago.
And I'm gonna fight back.
I love and respect Keith, but I don't want to go home.
So I'm gonna cook
my ass off.
PADMA: Keith, you said
you cook well under pressure.
-(laughter) -Funny how things come back and bite you
in the butt.
Oh, yeah.
KEITH: Chef Michael is
a green star and one-star Michelin chef.
Right? Like, he knows what he's doing in the kitchen.
But I know I can cook as well.
Michael and Keith, please step forward.
Since this commandment is all about sustainability,
in this final cook-off,
you'll have to use
some of the most commonly wasted foods in America.
Foods like onion skins,
carrot peelings,
celery tops,
and stale bread.
Each of you will have
to create something beautiful
out of these scraps,
and whoever loses is going home.
You'll have one hour.
Your time
starts now.
-Good luck to both of you. -Whoo!
Come on, guys!
-Let's go! -You got it!
BEVERLY: You got it!
KEITH: I don't know what I'm making.
I'm just letting the scraps speak to me.
-KATIE: All right. -I'm nervous.
Yeah. So am I.
It's a high-anxiety environment.
MALYNA: Yes.
I think it's a fun challenge because,
using the scraps, it-it's
-the other side of your brain. -Yeah. 100%.
Just really unlocks your creativity.
PADMA: I would imagine that Michael is
a bit gun-shy
because of how raw that quail was.
-Yeah. -PADMA: So I-I would guess
he's just doing
a vegetarian dish.
Keith knows his way around
using what's available.
So...
I expect he might reach for some of the proteins.
-There are some fish heads, fish collar. -WYLIE: Oh, yeah.
-I would do the fish collar. -Nice. Fish collar, sure.
CHRIS: Let's go, boys.
Let's go.
KEITH: I just have to fight for my life.
I know that if I just start cooking,
just get in the flow...
...like a musician,
you start playing music.
Strange as it
may sound,
the dish begins to develop.
Keith, what are you doing?
KEITH: I am gonna do a...
saffron and fish collar
with some form of sambal.
That sounds delicious.
KEITH: It wasn't that I decided to become a chef.
I came home from prison and got a job in a kitchen.
I decided to change my life around.
That was the decision I made.
And the kitchen opened up that opportunity for me.
And it led to me becoming a chef and a restaurateur.
I got my first job in a kitchen in 2016,
and I opened my own restaurant in 2018.
And what I was able to do
got recognized really fast.
People loved it.
It became a national sensation.
It tells you that, where I come from,
there's talent
if given the opportunity to showcase it.
That's why I hire formerly incarcerated. I love
providing opportunity.
It's my sole purpose.
"Dear Chef, congratulations.
"We ask that you join us
"at America's Culinary Cup
for a chance to win..."
(all imitate drumroll)
"...$1 million."
(cheering)
Yes, I'm here to win a million dollars,
but I'm also here for my little community of Watts.
Knowing my story and what my life was like,
and to see me
on TV competing for a million dollars,
that next generation, like,
they can believe they can do it.
This cook, against Chef Michael,
I have to just remember
to stay true to who I am.
Mike, how you looking?
I'm looking great, chef. Thank you so much!
-Michael, what do you have going on there? -I have
a vegetable stock with all the trim
where I'm gonna blanch all my vegetables in.
And I'm gonna make a little puree of, uh, carrot,
beets, some, uh, crema.
CHRIS: That's clever.
I'm not using any protein.
That's what I should've done earlier today.
It's time to redeem myself.
Growing up in a cult,
it's almost like you're living two lives.
There were services seven days a week, 365 days a year.
And then you had public school.
As I got older, I left the church.
(birds singing)
It was very hard
because my family's still very much involved in it.
That caused some rifts in the family, and,
um...
(exhales)
(inhales deeply)
(exhaling)
(birds singing)
During that transition,
food was always the constant.
The kitchen was always there for me.
And I had a chef very early on
and he would say, "Michael,
"look, in these four walls,
nobody can touch you. So just cook."
And I could never get that out of my mind.
So when I step in the kitchen,
it's my safe space.
Anything short of a win here,
it's just a nonnegotiable for me.
I learned this one from my friend Matt.
(laughter)
MATT (chuckles): Yes.
CHRIS: Double-fisting.
It's a good technique, no?
-(laughter) -MICHAEL D.: Yeah.
I take old plums and peaches
and I get 'em blistered and really nice and charred
and I throw those into the blender
with the natural oils from the lemon peel
and the orange peel and I season it, and it's, like,
this beautiful dressing
for, like, a summer salad.
Whew, almost (bleep) that up.
BEVERLY: Gosh, I feel like I'm watching
my kid at the cross-country meet.
-I'm like, "Keep going!" -I know.
-(Beverly laughs) -CHRIS: Yeah, they're both moving quick.
-30 minutes, Mike. -30, chef.
EMILY: Oh, what do you think
is happening over here?
He said he's making a sambal.
-Sambal? -Yeah. -KATIE: Yeah.
KEITH: Sambal is a spicy condiment,
and it's
a great place to hide
another sustainable ingredient.
So I take the pulp from kale
and the pulp from carrots
and just...
fold it into the sambal,
and they gave it
a beautiful texture.
I love a good sambal.
Michael, what are you gonna do with the Swiss chard?
Chef, I'm gonna make a salsa.
'Cause Mexicans make salsa.
(laughter)
Yes, they do.
EMILY: 15 minutes out.
When are you gonna cook your fish?
-In ten. -Ten?
Is that too late?
Make it happen.
KEITH: Katie, I just felt her energy.
And so, in my mind, I'm like,
if the chef that got 58 points concerned about me
putting the collar on, well,
maybe I'll put it on now.
EMILY: Katie, you okay? (chuckles)
-Is this stressing you out? -It is.
-Yeah. -Yes. Immensely.
One minute left.
Hope my fish collar's done.
Oh, Michael's already plating.
KEITH: I am going to put up something
that I can totally stand behind.
Let's go. 30 seconds.
KEITH: 30 seconds, heard.
If there was something else
that was supposed to be on this plate,
it would've came when I was playing the music.
CHEFS: Five, four,
three, two, one.
-Whoo! -Good job, guys.
MICHAEL D.: That was fun.
Hey, Keith.
MATT: One of these guys are gonna go home,
and you're not gonna see him.
CHRIS: It's scary.
MICHAEL D.: I'm feeling really confident.
Everything's done beautifully,
and my dish speaks to
the sustainability challenge.
This is roasted beets and carrots
with a stone fruit vinaigrette over a crema made
from the byproduct of beets and carrots as well.
And salsa verde.
WYLIE: That puree was
really interesting.
It was crunchy, creamy.
I love the salsa verde.
I guess, for me, at the end of the day,
it's supposed to start with the carrots and the beets.
And the carrots and the beets
are not really singing
the way the rest of the things around them are.
That being said, everything
around the carrots and the beets is super tasty.
-PADMA: Michael? -I like
the cook that you put on the beets and the carrots,
and I like the fact that you roasted 'em in that oven
and got real deep caramelization to bring out their flavor.
And I also like the fact that you spoke to this...
sustainability commandment.
You kept the dish vegetarian.
Really allowed the vegetables to speak.
-Nice dish. -Thank you. Thank you, chef.
Michael, I love that puree.
It was really luscious and creamy.
There's a little bit of bitterness in the salsa verde
from the carrot tops, which I love
because of these vegetables having so much natural sugar.
I just think the vinaigrette was lost a little bit.
It was kind of obscured.
Thank you.
Keith, tell us about your dish.
So I put together grilled fish collar
with saffron fish cream
and a sambal.
I used peppers and fish sauce and vinegar
and the pulp from the kale and the pulp from the carrots
and infused it in the sauce as well.
When you say "pulp,"
-what-what-what is that? -Yeah. -The pulp--
-so, when you juice the carrots... -MICHAEL: Mm-hmm.
...the pulp from the-the carrots,
-after you juice it... -Mm-hmm.
-...when you juice kale... -Mm-hmm.
-...the pulp from the kale, I made that. -Okay.
Very cool.
I'm a sucker for a fish collar.
And so there's a lot of things
that I appreciate about this dish.
I like the finesse that you put into the sauce.
I thought it was really quite nice.
Thank you.
I, too, love fish collar.
This was delicious.
Really well cooked.
PADMA: You had
a really powerful sambal.
I love that you used what was left
at the bottom of the juicer
-from kale and from carrots. -Yeah.
But when you call something a saffron sauce,
you create an expectation.
I respect your restraint.
It can be overpowering.
But I think, here,
I just would've liked
-to see... -More saffron.
-Right. Exactly. -Thank you.
KATIE: Matt, you're, like, locked in
-on the doors. -MATT: I just...
-(chuckles) -I don't know.
-It's been a long time. -Yeah.
MATT: Who do we think's gonna walk out?
Million-dollar question there.
Michael and Keith,
you're both inventive, creative,
top-notch chefs.
But, unfortunately,
one of you will stay in this competition
and one of you won't.
Okay.
Michael, which dish is better?
For me, today, it was Keith's dish.
PADMA: Wylie?
For me, today...
...was Keith.
Thank you.
PADMA: Michael,
I'm so sorry,
but you've served your final dish.
It was unanimous.
(bleep)
I'm very disappointed that I'm going home
on sustainability. I was really proud of that dish.
I executed it really well, and the flavors were good.
PADMA: Thank you so much.
-Thank you guys. -Thank you, chef.
MICHAEL D.: I hope
that this experience can be of inspiration
to all the young Latino chefs
out there.
(shudders)
(exhales sharply)
I lost to a fish collar.
-Keith. -(scoffs)
-(chuckles) -You gave us a beautiful, complete dish
that could go on any menu
that didn't feel like a dish made of meager leftovers.
-Thank you. -Thank you, chef.
-Congratulations. -Thank you. Thank you, thank you.
-Good stuff. -Thank you.
(exhales)
(laughter)
(cheers and applause)
-You did it! -(laughter)
Oh, be careful, be careful,
-be careful! -(bleep)
Whoo.
-Sounded like a really tough-- -Yeah, I can take a hug.
-(laughter) -I can take a hug.
Man.
Pressure. Talking 'bout pressure.
I haven't felt that much pressure in a long time.
And it's not to say
that I succeed under pressure all the time,
but I succeed enough to...
I'm-I'm here today.
You know, in life and in this moment,
I'm here.
They enjoyed both dishes.
And for Matt's,
-he had a lot of delicious things going on... -Mike.
-I mean Mike. Sorry.
-Don't throw me out of here yet. -Don't throw you?
(laughter)
Chefs, I hope you've gathered yourselves.
That was an intense one.
Ten of you remain now.
It's just gonna get harder from here.
Please get some rest.
The next one's gonna be tough.
See you.
CHRIS: In this competition,
you don't have a second chance here.
You don't have an opportunity
to rework a dish and say, "Oh,
I got your feedback."
But I did survive,
and I'm gonna be ready next time.
KATIE: Now there's ten of us, and...
this competition
is intense.
What is going to be
the next commandment?
We just have to wait and see.
PADMA: Next time on America's Culinary Cup...
Oh, my gosh.
Today you'll be tested
on the third Culinary Commandment.
The art of the (bleeping) sauce.
-BEVERLY: Wait, she gets to say that? -What?
That's right. I said it.
I'm worried about that chicken.
-Damn. -Damn.
(bleep)
KATIE: There's gonna be a lot
of bleeping in this episode.
Good (bleep) job.
PADMA: Delicious.
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