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Tournament Of Champions S06 E01

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Fun
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00:00:00Tournament of Champions has set the food world on fire.
00:00:05Let's go!
00:00:06Let's go!
00:00:07Let's go!
00:00:10And now 32 powerhouse chefs, including returning superstars
00:00:14and formidable newcomers, are ready to face each other.
00:00:18Praise the Lord!
00:00:19Go!
00:00:20And even more diabolical randomizers.
00:00:22Oh, my God.
00:00:23I hate this part.
00:00:24Our greatest lineup of legendary judges...
00:00:27Looking back!
00:00:28Are you kidding me?
00:00:29And endless surprises.
00:00:31Wow.
00:00:32I could cry.
00:00:33And now all four TOC champs have hung up their knives,
00:00:36making way for a brand-new champion.
00:00:38This is anyone's tournament.
00:00:40One, two, go, go, go!
00:00:43Every battle is do or die.
00:00:45We have one round to prove ourselves.
00:00:47For the most sought-after prize in culinary universe,
00:00:49who will win the title, the belt, the $150,000?
00:00:54It really is the ultimate food competition.
00:00:57Go, go, go!
00:00:58This is Tournament of Champions 6.
00:01:01Go, go, go!
00:01:03Go, go, go!
00:01:29Ladies and gentlemen,
00:01:30I think you're probably here for the same reason
00:01:32that I am here.
00:01:33I am ready to see incredible culinary competition.
00:01:39How about you?
00:01:46This year's tournament features
00:01:49some of the most talented, hungriest,
00:01:52and off-the-hook chefs you've ever seen.
00:01:56Please welcome 32 stars of T.O.C. 6!
00:02:04Two legit heavy hitters,
00:02:06Chef Antonio LoFasso and Chef Jet Tila.
00:02:09Last year, losing the finale by one point
00:02:12was so hard to swallow.
00:02:14TOC is mine this year.
00:02:15That's it.
00:02:16End of story.
00:02:17Exclamation point.
00:02:18Period.
00:02:19There's some interesting OGs here, too.
00:02:22Chef Tim Love.
00:02:23Tim Love.
00:02:24He's one of the world's most amazing chefs.
00:02:27Going home with the belt.
00:02:28Let's get it on.
00:02:29I think that'd be the greatest thing I ever did.
00:02:31Chris Cosentino.
00:02:32This is amazing.
00:02:34Next, heavy hitter newcomers qualifying winners.
00:02:38Without a shadow of a doubt,
00:02:39I belong in the main bracket.
00:02:41I'm a badass chef.
00:02:42I can win the whole thing.
00:02:44Amanda Freitag and Rocco Despirito!
00:02:47There's something to be said for Rocco
00:02:49being back in competition.
00:02:50After all these years of being the full-time judge,
00:02:52seeing every competitor mistake on TOC,
00:02:55that's valuable.
00:02:56I've been here as a judge many times.
00:02:58Judges, once in a while, should come back
00:03:00and show their cooking skills
00:03:02and let America see what they can do.
00:03:05Ladies and gentlemen,
00:03:06you ready to see these ballers compete?
00:03:09Let's do this!
00:03:16Look around the arena.
00:03:18You're the biggest, the baddest,
00:03:21the craziest, the most renowned
00:03:24culinary gangsters going.
00:03:27Michelin-starred chefs,
00:03:28James Beard Award-winning chefs,
00:03:30top chef all-stars, iron chef,
00:03:33and eight chefs who just got done
00:03:35working their butts off to qualify for this event.
00:03:39Ladies and gentlemen,
00:03:40welcome to Tournament of Champions VI!
00:03:45Whoo!
00:03:51Now, you might notice,
00:03:53as I talk about the warlords
00:03:55and I talk about the culinary gangsters,
00:03:57four of them are not here.
00:03:59Our first champ, Brooke Williamson,
00:04:01Monique Chauhan, Tiffany Faison,
00:04:04and Mei Lin.
00:04:05The four of them have retired from TOC for now.
00:04:10Having them out of the way
00:04:12lets us all get to spread our culinary wings
00:04:15and open up the field for anybody
00:04:17to take home that belt now.
00:04:19Now, since the level of competition is off the charts,
00:04:22let me provide you with some additional motivation
00:04:25by reminding you what's at stake.
00:04:30First and foremost,
00:04:31the most coveted title in food competition.
00:04:36A very impressive and very heavy championship belt.
00:04:41And finally, for TOC VI, thanks to State Farm,
00:04:45we are awarding the winning chef...
00:04:50$150,000.
00:04:56That money is what I'm here for.
00:05:00Now that I have your attention,
00:05:02as always,
00:05:03this is a single elimination bracket competition.
00:05:09That means every single culinary battle is head-to-head.
00:05:13Sudden death matchup.
00:05:14You win, you move on.
00:05:16You lose, you're gone.
00:05:19No second chances.
00:05:21There is one major change in this year's bracket
00:05:26that could end up turning this tournament right on its head.
00:05:31We've decided to no longer divide it
00:05:34into East and West.
00:05:36The final battle will not be
00:05:38the best of the East versus the best of the West.
00:05:41It's going to be the final battle
00:05:43of the best versus the best.
00:05:47I love that we are broken up.
00:05:49The best chefs.
00:05:51It opens up the doors to so many great matchups.
00:05:54Would you like to see who you're competing against?
00:05:56Fantastic.
00:06:00First round matchup is determined by your accomplishments.
00:06:04Your culinary wins,
00:06:05and especially what you've done here on TOC.
00:06:09Number one seed,
00:06:11the Princess Warrior Chef, Antonia LoFasso.
00:06:14She's up against the number eight seed, Maria Maison.
00:06:19Last year, I came so far.
00:06:21The winner of Tournament of Champions 5 is...
00:06:26And by losing by one point,
00:06:28I had such a small taste of what it could taste like.
00:06:31That's why I'm back.
00:06:33Then we have the number two seed,
00:06:35acclaimed executive chef Adam Sobel,
00:06:37versus number seven seed,
00:06:39Chef Adriana Urbina.
00:06:41Number three seed, TOC 5 breakout star,
00:06:44Chef Kevin Lee,
00:06:45is going up against the number six seed,
00:06:47Adam Norcal.
00:06:49Chef Casey Thompson,
00:06:50number four seed,
00:06:51the restaurant legend,
00:06:52Chef Tim Love.
00:06:54Going up number five seed,
00:06:56we have a judge stepping away from the judging table
00:06:59and back into the arena.
00:07:00The New York icon,
00:07:02Chef Rocco Dispirito.
00:07:04Chef Tim Love is sort of living legend level,
00:07:07and I think it's anyone's game to win.
00:07:09I'd like it to be me, though.
00:07:10Let's talk about the B division.
00:07:12Number one seed,
00:07:13the angry Italian, Britt Grissigno.
00:07:16She's got to take on the number eight seed,
00:07:18OMG,
00:07:19Chef Chris Oh.
00:07:22I've hit the top four two years in a row.
00:07:26Coming in at number one,
00:07:27I'm here to take it.
00:07:29Number two seed,
00:07:30Chef Joda Nakajima,
00:07:31versus number seven seed,
00:07:33Chef Brittany Anderson.
00:07:36Then we have the number three seed,
00:07:38the chopped champion,
00:07:39Chef Kalina Bliss,
00:07:41taking on number six seed,
00:07:43Chef Chris Cosentino.
00:07:45And finally, number four seed,
00:07:47Thumb Goat,
00:07:48Iron Chef Stephanie Izard,
00:07:50takes on the number five seed,
00:07:52Michael Reed.
00:07:55This competition,
00:07:56it's no holds barred.
00:07:57You have to be on your game
00:07:58every time you step into that arena,
00:08:00and that's what I plan to do.
00:08:01On to the division seed.
00:08:05Number one,
00:08:07the biggest legend without a belt,
00:08:09the Jetster,
00:08:10Chef Jet Tila,
00:08:11taking on the number eight seed,
00:08:13the next level chef champion,
00:08:15Chef Piet Despain.
00:08:19I've been to the final four
00:08:20four out of five seasons.
00:08:22I'm itching to win this,
00:08:23so I'm here to finally take it home.
00:08:26Number two seed,
00:08:27James Beard Award winner,
00:08:28Chef Garrett Akutowicz,
00:08:30taking on number seven seed,
00:08:32the bearded baller,
00:08:33Jonathan Salya.
00:08:35Number three spot,
00:08:36Top Chef All-Star,
00:08:37Chef Leon Wong,
00:08:39against number six seed,
00:08:40Chef Chris Scott.
00:08:42Number four seed,
00:08:43the mustache man,
00:08:45Chef Joe Sasto,
00:08:46against the number five seed,
00:08:48Chef Fabio Viviani.
00:08:52Fun and games out the window.
00:08:54The stash is here to win.
00:08:56The D division.
00:08:59Number one seed,
00:09:00Chef Tobias Dorzon,
00:09:02taking on the number eight seed,
00:09:04David Villana.
00:09:07I am an ex-football player,
00:09:08so I love to compete,
00:09:09I love to battle.
00:09:10It's gonna be showtime.
00:09:11In the second seed spot,
00:09:13renowned chop judge,
00:09:15AF,
00:09:16Chef Amanda Freitag,
00:09:17taking on the number seven seed,
00:09:19Chef Carlos Anthony.
00:09:22Number three seed,
00:09:24a James Beard semi-finalist,
00:09:26Claudette Zepeda,
00:09:28versus the number six seed,
00:09:30Chef Nini Nguyen.
00:09:32Number four seed,
00:09:33James Beard nominee,
00:09:35the boogeyman,
00:09:36Chef Dale Talde,
00:09:38versus the Duchess of Paducah,
00:09:41chop legend,
00:09:42Chef Sarah Bradley.
00:09:45I'm back because there's nothing like TOC.
00:09:47The adrenaline rush,
00:09:48the randomizer,
00:09:49guys' dastardly ways,
00:09:51and pushing myself to the limits.
00:09:55Who's ready to rock the house?
00:09:56Hell yeah!
00:09:58Come on!
00:09:59Are you guys pumped?
00:10:00Audience, you ready to do this?
00:10:04Let's start it off
00:10:05with a battle between two legends,
00:10:07Chef Tim Love and Rocco Di Spirito.
00:10:13Chef Rocco,
00:10:14Chef Tim,
00:10:15let's send you to your trailers,
00:10:17get you ready for battle.
00:10:21First match is always the best match.
00:10:23I got a great opponent,
00:10:24the guy's awesome,
00:10:25and I'm ready to get down.
00:10:27I'm the first to go.
00:10:29Oh, that's a tough position to be in.
00:10:31It's nice to come here
00:10:32and get acclimated a little bit,
00:10:34but it's also great,
00:10:35especially if you win.
00:10:36Are you ready, audience?
00:10:41Let's do this!
00:10:52Tim Love, he's an OG like me.
00:10:54We came up at the same time.
00:10:56I have a lot of respect for the man.
00:10:58He's got an empire of restaurants in Texas
00:11:00and all over the South.
00:11:02He's a legend, obviously,
00:11:03and I'm pretty excited about him.
00:11:07I know Rocco's been on the show before.
00:11:09I know he's been a judge.
00:11:11Judges are not able to watch you cook,
00:11:12so they don't know what you've done.
00:11:14They're relying on seeing it and tasting it
00:11:16and experiencing it on the plate.
00:11:17I'd like to say I have an advantage,
00:11:18but I know better.
00:11:19There's really no advantage to be had here.
00:11:21You know, I like pressure,
00:11:22and so I also like head-to-head competition.
00:11:25What a better place to be
00:11:26in the tournament of champions
00:11:27with some of the best chefs in the world.
00:11:29I've known Tim for 25 years.
00:11:30We built our businesses, careers, and reputation
00:11:33at the same time.
00:11:35It's gonna be really tough.
00:11:37Care to win that belt?
00:11:38Yeah, I don't go to competitions to hang out.
00:11:40Hell with that.
00:11:41All right, Chef, they're ready for you.
00:11:45Ladies and gentlemen,
00:11:47are you ready for the first battle?
00:11:50Then let's light this up!
00:11:54This culinary rock star's
00:11:56acclaimed New York restaurant, Union Pacific,
00:11:59earned him five James Beard nominations.
00:12:03With four straight seasons behind him as a judge,
00:12:07he's ready to get in the arena.
00:12:13Give it up
00:12:15for the real deal,
00:12:17Chef Rocco Despirito!
00:12:28What's up, everybody?
00:12:30Chef, it's awesome to have you back in competition.
00:12:34Thank you, thank you.
00:12:36And here's your opponent.
00:12:38Legendary icon in the restaurant world,
00:12:41has a culinary empire
00:12:43that includes over 20 restaurants,
00:12:45and he has over 100 concepts
00:12:47in venues across the country.
00:12:49He's a James Beard nominee
00:12:51and made Bon Appetit's 50 Best New Restaurants.
00:12:58It's a bad dude right here,
00:13:00but that's why they call him Dr. Love.
00:13:03Give it up for Chef Tim Love!
00:13:14Oh!
00:13:16Icons, legends, let's take it to the randomizer!
00:13:20I've watched the randomizer
00:13:22do its evil, diabolical thing for many years now.
00:13:25The randomizer is not a chef's friend.
00:13:27Chefs, tonight the randomizer
00:13:29will determine the details of your dish.
00:13:31These are the mandatory details.
00:13:33We're talking about five categories.
00:13:35Protein, produce, equipment, style,
00:13:39and then all of the first round battles
00:13:41will be 30 minutes.
00:13:43So we threw in a little wild card ingredient.
00:13:46All five of those must be incorporated
00:13:49into your winning dish.
00:13:51Let's get into this. Here we go!
00:13:53Go for the protein!
00:13:55Good luck, bro. Good luck.
00:14:01I'm a little dizzy by that.
00:14:03Ooh, canned pineapple, breaded.
00:14:06The food mill.
00:14:08Oh!
00:14:10Rainbow carrots!
00:14:12Oh, my God, that's a lot of stuff.
00:14:14Oh!
00:14:16Flank steak, rainbow carrots,
00:14:19the use of the food mill, breaded.
00:14:22Canned pineapple.
00:14:24I'm gonna give this on a one to ten.
00:14:26Can we put negatives in there?
00:14:28Yeah, it's a solid negative five.
00:14:30Yeah, pineapple's like the devil's ingredient.
00:14:32It's so fun.
00:14:34Off you go, gentlemen.
00:14:36Tell you, folks, it's gonna be a big night.
00:14:39Off you go, gentlemen.
00:14:44In this situation, when I see canned pineapple
00:14:46or I see flank steak or carrots,
00:14:48none of them really lend themselves to great breading.
00:14:51Breading can be fun, and breading can be difficult.
00:14:54It's not the greatest randomizer.
00:14:56Flank steak and rainbow carrots,
00:14:58which, you know, are not the death knell by themselves,
00:15:01but combined with pineapple and breaded and the food mill,
00:15:04can be pretty difficult.
00:15:06It's getting back to your roots a little bit
00:15:08to come to a competition like this.
00:15:10I mean, I'm 52 years old,
00:15:12haven't really been on TV or done any of that stuff in a while,
00:15:15and Rocco, I know he's a great cook,
00:15:17but I'm a diehard competitor, and so,
00:15:19yeah, I'm coming out swinging. It's the only way I can.
00:15:24To help us better understand all our chefs' moves,
00:15:27I'm joined by two incredible culinary commentators.
00:15:30As always, celebrated Food Authority
00:15:32and Michelin-recommended chef,
00:15:34and our only wild card chef, Justin Warner.
00:15:37And our newest commentator, an award-winning restaurateur
00:15:40who knows firsthand how hard this competition is,
00:15:43it's because she is T.O.C. 3 champ,
00:15:46Chef Tiffany Faison!
00:15:50Justin and Tiffany will be closely observing
00:15:52the creation of these dishes
00:15:54so they can carefully present them to the judges
00:15:56during the blind tasting.
00:15:58We're also joined by two roving reporters, Hunter Fieri,
00:16:00who will be talking with all of our chefs,
00:16:02and Sir Simon Majundar, who will be checking in
00:16:04with our judges to get their perspective
00:16:06on the level of the competition.
00:16:10Chef, we've pounded a few in the past, haven't we?
00:16:13A few great meals, for sure.
00:16:15Breading is leading me towards pounded and fried steak.
00:16:19I'm going to use the rainbow carrots
00:16:21to make a shredded carrot salad
00:16:23and make a spicy pineapple sauce.
00:16:25Thank you, guys.
00:16:27A little schnitzel for y'all.
00:16:29I love making schnitzel.
00:16:31I know that a standard breading is great,
00:16:33but even better is a seasoned bread crumb.
00:16:35A little pork rind in here.
00:16:37Pork rinds have tremendous flavor,
00:16:39so I wanted to crush those and add that to the breading.
00:16:42Winning would mean a lot to me.
00:16:44I've been here as a judge many times,
00:16:46but I love cooking on competition shows.
00:16:48I want to show people that I have the cooking skill
00:16:50to win a tournament like this.
00:16:52This is a legend's showdown.
00:16:54This is great.
00:16:56I can't hear you!
00:16:58I'm going to call this Triple B.
00:17:00This is Battle of the Big Boys.
00:17:02Tim Love in my corner.
00:17:04He's a legend.
00:17:06I'm more than excited about standing here.
00:17:08I've never seen him cook.
00:17:10This is up close and personal,
00:17:12so this is going to be really interesting.
00:17:14Man, he's a great chef and a real character.
00:17:16Tim is every bit of Texas that you see, he is.
00:17:18You got a plan, Chef?
00:17:20Flank steak and pineapple curry.
00:17:22I make it every Sunday morning.
00:17:24Those are jokes, by the way, just for the record.
00:17:26And I'm going to do a little
00:17:28carrot and chili pesto on top,
00:17:30but I'm also doing some fried flank steak in there
00:17:32just to get a little crisp on the top.
00:17:34Flank steak to me is not as tender
00:17:36as everybody wants to make it.
00:17:38While it looks marbled, it's still a movement muscle,
00:17:40and so muscles that move tend to be more tough
00:17:42and need a little more time.
00:17:44So for me, I think braising the meat
00:17:46into a curry with the carrots,
00:17:48pineapple, and spicy chilies
00:17:50is really the right choice.
00:17:52I've never cooked against Rocco,
00:17:54but I think he's one of the better players on the board
00:17:56because of his history competing.
00:17:58He knows exactly what the judges are supposed to do
00:18:00and how they do it.
00:18:02This is going to be a long 30 minutes.
00:18:04For sure.
00:18:06Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
00:18:08What? Snacks.
00:18:10They're not stale.
00:18:12Quality assurance over here, Chef.
00:18:14Chef Rocco, Chef Tim, halfway point,
00:18:1615 minutes, 15 to go.
00:18:18So when you're giving these three ingredients
00:18:20and the cooking styles,
00:18:22you have to look at the prevailing flavors.
00:18:24Pineapple obviously is going to be
00:18:26the prevailing flavor here,
00:18:28and pineapple's inherently sweet,
00:18:30so you have to figure,
00:18:32how do I balance all that sweetness?
00:18:34What am I going to do?
00:18:36I'm going to make a spicy sauce,
00:18:38and the food mill's a perfect way to do that.
00:18:40So the mill was used to juice the canned pineapple.
00:18:42The mill was used to juice the canned pineapple.
00:18:44It's going to also be used to make the sauce.
00:18:46I'm going to puree this.
00:18:48Winning this competition has become incredibly meaningful
00:18:50in the chef world.
00:18:52I've watched a lot of my friends and peers
00:18:54win those belts,
00:18:56and when you make it through this competition,
00:18:58it says a lot about your strength of character,
00:19:00your cooking skills,
00:19:02and who you are as a chef out in the world.
00:19:06You thought it was going to blow up, didn't you?
00:19:12Right along with the curry,
00:19:14I also plan on taking the rainbow carrot tops
00:19:16and making a nice pesto to go on top of that.
00:19:18So I get the tops,
00:19:20I chop it with fresh garlic and mint and basil.
00:19:22All those things come in
00:19:24to provide this bitter component.
00:19:26There's a real balance to how rich the curry is.
00:19:28And then I start grinding it through the food mill.
00:19:30You know, this is a great competition.
00:19:32I love the blind tasting.
00:19:34This pesto is representative of, you know,
00:19:36how fast can you cook a really good dish
00:19:38with these really crazy ingredients?
00:19:44On TOC, we always want the food to speak for itself.
00:19:46So the judging is always done
00:19:48in a blind tasting
00:19:50by a panel made up of culinary legends.
00:19:52Right now, our judges are sequestered in their trailers.
00:19:54They don't know what the chefs are cooking
00:19:56or who is even competing.
00:19:58So they'll be scoring the dishes
00:20:00based on exact criteria that include
00:20:02taste, use of the items on the randomizer,
00:20:04and the presentation or plating.
00:20:06The chef with the highest total score
00:20:08will move on to the next round.
00:20:10The other chef will be eliminated.
00:20:12Chef, what's the plan for the carrots?
00:20:14I'm gonna shred them,
00:20:16turn them into raw garnish.
00:20:18In order to avoid
00:20:20all the time it takes to prepare carrots,
00:20:22which is a ton of time,
00:20:24peeling individual baby carrots would take
00:20:26the whole 30 minutes if I had to do it.
00:20:28A great way to do that is julienne or grated.
00:20:30Great job, chef.
00:20:32Serrano? Yeah.
00:20:34I like the combination of cilantro, basil, and mint.
00:20:36I think it adds a
00:20:38southwestern, southeast Asian kind of feeling.
00:20:40And fried food
00:20:42and a raw vegetable salad
00:20:44are perfect together.
00:20:46What are we breading, Chef Tim?
00:20:48We're breading the flank steak.
00:20:50Okay. 30 minutes is quick.
00:20:52Timing's essential.
00:20:54That's the cowboy Texas way right there.
00:20:56Big boy battle here.
00:20:58Putting that crust on the flank steak,
00:21:00just a real simple breading of flour,
00:21:02egg wash, and straight into the
00:21:04crushed onions and put it into the fryer.
00:21:06Less than five minutes left
00:21:08in this first TOC battle.
00:21:10Who's going to take the first win of the night?
00:21:16It really is important to give yourself
00:21:18five minutes to plate.
00:21:20I put a swoop of the pineapple salsita down
00:21:22and then I put the schnitzel on the plate.
00:21:24You know, obviously every battle
00:21:26and every win is crucial
00:21:28to get to the next step,
00:21:30but you're not going to get to step two
00:21:32without getting through step one.
00:21:34This is a sudden death
00:21:36elimination tournament.
00:21:38I did what the randomizer asked
00:21:40and that is a great feeling.
00:21:42Two minutes!
00:21:44First I added the flank steak
00:21:46and pineapple curry to the bowl
00:21:48and then I added some fresh herbs
00:21:50I dressed with olive oil and salt
00:21:52and then I came back and laid the
00:21:54fried flank steak on the side.
00:21:56Five, four, three,
00:21:58two, one!
00:22:00That's it!
00:22:02No!
00:22:04Ladies and gentlemen, I got to tell you
00:22:06that's how you kick off a tournament!
00:22:10We're going to send you back
00:22:12to your trailers. See you in a bit, gentlemen.
00:22:16I'll say damn.
00:22:18Wow.
00:22:24All right, everyone. Our TOC judges
00:22:26have been waiting patiently in their trailers
00:22:28for their first blind tasting.
00:22:30They have no idea what just went down
00:22:32in this arena, but when it comes to
00:22:34judging, they are the best of the best.
00:22:36Tonight, chefs
00:22:38are in for a treat. Let's meet them first.
00:22:40Award-winning judge,
00:22:42restaurateur, and the two-time
00:22:44reigning TOC champion,
00:22:46Chef Monique
00:22:48Chauhan!
00:22:54Wow!
00:22:56I guess that's why she's not competing.
00:23:00Monique, obviously,
00:23:02one of the greatest of all time.
00:23:04Next, acclaimed executive chef
00:23:06and a world-class culinary competitor,
00:23:08I-C-A-G
00:23:10Iron Chef, Alex Guarnaschelli!
00:23:12What?
00:23:14Oh, my God, Alex!
00:23:16I've known Alex for a long time.
00:23:18All right!
00:23:20She's a tough judge, and she's a tough competitor.
00:23:22Next, a pioneering
00:23:24force in California cuisine
00:23:26who has received Michelin stars
00:23:28and James Beard awards
00:23:30from multiple restaurants.
00:23:32Oh, this is the OG of OGs.
00:23:34He started Smoggo.
00:23:36It's the one and only
00:23:38Chef Wolfgang Koch!
00:23:42What? Wolfgang?
00:23:44That's badass.
00:23:46Yeah, that is.
00:23:48He's definitely a hard judge.
00:23:50Tonight, the randomizer
00:23:52kicked down flank steak,
00:23:54rainbow carrots,
00:23:56the style was breaded,
00:23:58and the wild-card ingredient
00:24:00was canned pineapple.
00:24:02So those are the five criteria that must be met.
00:24:04And here to present it to you,
00:24:06Chef Justin Warner!
00:24:08I can't believe I made schnitzel for Wolfgang Koch.
00:24:10Judges, this is a southwest schnitzel.
00:24:12It's accompanied by a rainbow carrot
00:24:14and herb salad,
00:24:16and then a pineapple and serrano salsita.
00:24:18In terms of the use of the food mill,
00:24:20it was used thricely.
00:24:22Firstly, as a colander to separate
00:24:24the carrots from the canned pineapple.
00:24:26Secondly, to crush the meat
00:24:28of the gently poached pineapple rings.
00:24:30From there, it was used
00:24:32to fine the sauce.
00:24:34Alex will understand the work.
00:24:36She'll taste, and she'll understand
00:24:38what I was trying to do.
00:24:40I think she better.
00:24:42This is a lot of work.
00:24:44Randomizer-wise, I'm feeling this hard.
00:24:46The randomizer asked,
00:24:48the style is breaded.
00:24:50To me, this is a breaded-style dish.
00:24:52I love the presentation of this.
00:24:54This is a TOC-worthy dish.
00:24:56Wow. Interesting.
00:24:58And as soon as I heard canned pineapple,
00:25:00I was so grateful
00:25:02that I'm not competing again this year.
00:25:04I like the use
00:25:06of the canned pineapple
00:25:08with the carrots,
00:25:10mixed along with all of these fresh herbs.
00:25:12I think it's really, really smart.
00:25:14I think it looks good.
00:25:16The breading is actually really well.
00:25:18It's not oily.
00:25:20We have breaded stuff.
00:25:22You know what we put on?
00:25:24Lemon juice.
00:25:26This is when all the joy
00:25:28gets sucked out of your body.
00:25:30And I have a problem with this slaw here.
00:25:32I like spice,
00:25:34so I think the salad should have
00:25:36a little bit to lift us up a little bit.
00:25:38They're digging in.
00:25:40They're tough.
00:25:42Makes me nervous.
00:25:44Your scorecards are in front of you.
00:25:46You have 50 points available
00:25:48for the use of the randomizer
00:25:50and 10 points available in the presentation.
00:25:52They seem tough.
00:25:54I'd be freaking out if I was Rocco.
00:25:56All right, judges, here to present the second dish.
00:25:58On her debut
00:26:00is the TOC champ,
00:26:02legend herself,
00:26:04Chef Tiffany Faison.
00:26:08All right, here we go. Here we go.
00:26:10Judges. Nope. Sorry, it's my first day.
00:26:12Culinary royalty.
00:26:14What you have in front of you
00:26:16is a flank steak curry.
00:26:18On that, you will find a little bit of rainbow carrot
00:26:20topped pesto.
00:26:22The flank steak has been breaded
00:26:24in onion snacks.
00:26:26I think I produced a flavorful dish,
00:26:28something I'm proud of.
00:26:30It's got all the elements.
00:26:32I thought they used the flank steak
00:26:34in a very creative way.
00:26:36Finally, we go to something with some spice.
00:26:38I like the heat of it.
00:26:40I like the balance
00:26:42of acidity and sweetness.
00:26:44To get the curry
00:26:46along with coconut
00:26:48and pineapple,
00:26:50great flavor combination.
00:26:52I'll take that from the curry master, if you will.
00:26:54I'm toast.
00:26:56To me, the pineapple chunks
00:26:58could have been cut a little bit smaller.
00:27:00When you take a bite of it,
00:27:02you do get that canned
00:27:04artificial flavor.
00:27:06My favorite thing is that
00:27:08food milled pesto,
00:27:10because it has a lot of seasoning.
00:27:12It wasn't made in a panic,
00:27:14but it was seasoned, and it came together.
00:27:16That's right. I got in a little bit of a hurry.
00:27:18That's right.
00:27:20But is this a breaded-style dish,
00:27:22or is this a breaded
00:27:24flank steak that touched down
00:27:26at the curry airport?
00:27:28That's my dilemma.
00:27:30Let's go.
00:27:32All right, judges, thank you very much.
00:27:34Again, 50 points available in taste,
00:27:3640 in the use of the randomizer,
00:27:38and 10 for the plating.
00:27:40That part sucks.
00:27:42I mean,
00:27:44that sucks. I mean,
00:27:46I feel good, but
00:27:48I didn't get the warm and fuzzy.
00:27:50All right, chef, the scores are in.
00:27:52Let's go.
00:27:54Let's go!
00:27:56All right, let's bring back our chefs.
00:27:58Chef Rocco Dispirito,
00:28:00Chef Tim Love.
00:28:04Gentlemen, very tight race.
00:28:06One chef scored an 80.
00:28:08The other chef scored
00:28:10an 83.
00:28:12One chef will be moving on.
00:28:14The other will be going home.
00:28:16The winner is...
00:28:22The winner
00:28:24between Chef Tim Love and
00:28:26Chef Rocco Dispirito is...
00:28:32Rocco Dispirito!
00:28:34Congratulations, chef.
00:28:36Chef Love,
00:28:38this is really splitting hairs,
00:28:40and really the difference was the use of the randomizer.
00:28:42Not the last
00:28:44you'll see of a legendary
00:28:46chef, Tim Love.
00:28:52Shocked. Crazy.
00:28:54Hey, congrats to Rocco.
00:28:56Cheers.
00:28:58Congratulations, Chef Rocco. Thank you so much.
00:29:00Thank you. Let's take a look.
00:29:02A wonderful opportunity
00:29:04to face either Antonio
00:29:06LaFasso or Maria Maison.
00:29:08So, you got your work
00:29:10cut out for you, buddy. Congratulations.
00:29:12Big win!
00:29:14Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much.
00:29:16Wow.
00:29:18Rocco's competition game is very strong.
00:29:20Plus, he's been on both sides.
00:29:22He's been a judge, he's been a competitor.
00:29:24That's a huge advantage.
00:29:26Congratulations, man. How did that feel?
00:29:28Now I gotta go all the way. I was super excited,
00:29:30I was super nervous at the same time,
00:29:32but this place makes you feel the gravity
00:29:34of what's happening here.
00:29:36Well, we're glad to have you. Welcome back to the TLC Arena.
00:29:38So grateful.
00:29:40What happened in this randomizer for the first battle?
00:29:42We had a canned pineapple.
00:29:44So, Chef Wolfgang,
00:29:46if we threw that to you,
00:29:48what would you do with that?
00:29:50I would throw
00:29:52the pineapple can out the window.
00:29:54I would just
00:29:56spice it up a little more.
00:29:58I think the dish needed more spice
00:30:00to lift it up.
00:30:02Alright, folks, you ready for another battle?
00:30:04We have number
00:30:06six seed, Chef Casey Thompson.
00:30:08The California wine country chef
00:30:10who was defeated in her first
00:30:12TLC appearance, but is back
00:30:14after a year of culinary victories.
00:30:16Last year,
00:30:18I went out in the first round.
00:30:20I was an absolute wreck.
00:30:22I'm better than that.
00:30:24I will not allow that to happen today.
00:30:26Her opponent, well, that's
00:30:28number three seed, Chef Kevin Lee.
00:30:30The Oklahoma sensation who scored
00:30:32one of the biggest upsets in
00:30:34TLC history against
00:30:36the TLC champ herself, Brooke Williamson.
00:30:38TLC 5
00:30:40really changed my life, gave me
00:30:42confidence and the boost
00:30:44to build a restaurant of my dreams.
00:30:46But this year, my eyes are on
00:30:48that belt, you know, that championship belt.
00:30:50By getting my feet wet last year,
00:30:52this is my year to hone in
00:30:54what I know I can do.
00:30:57Are you ready
00:30:59to meet the contenders?
00:31:01Let's light it up!
00:31:03Her California
00:31:05wine country restaurant has received
00:31:07a Michelin Bib Gourmand award
00:31:09four years in a row.
00:31:11She was a finalist and fan favorite
00:31:13on Top Chef season three
00:31:15and competed on Top Chef All Stars.
00:31:17Please welcome to the
00:31:19TLC arena,
00:31:21the one and only, Chef
00:31:23Casey Thompson!
00:31:26Come on!
00:31:36Come on!
00:31:38Well, let me introduce you to your opponent.
00:31:40All right.
00:31:42After earning his first executive job
00:31:44at the age of 21 in Vegas, Mandalay Bay,
00:31:46he returned to his native
00:31:48Oklahoma City, where he was
00:31:50soon winning awards as
00:31:52city's best chef.
00:31:54After entering the TLC
00:31:56five bracket as a qualifier
00:31:58winner, and went all the way
00:32:00to the quarter finals.
00:32:04Give it up for the dragon slayer,
00:32:06the one and only, Chef
00:32:08Kevin Lee!
00:32:12Come on!
00:32:20Chefs, let's take you to the randomizer right this way.
00:32:24Protein,
00:32:26produce, equipment style, wild card.
00:32:28Any of these you don't like? Don't say anything.
00:32:30No way. You're not getting me.
00:32:32All right. You guys aren't going to help me out with any of this.
00:32:34Let's get after it. Here goes the proteins.
00:32:40There it is.
00:32:42Creamy.
00:32:44Creamy and bread and butter pickles?
00:32:46Air fryer.
00:32:48What a nut.
00:32:50Portobello mushrooms.
00:32:52Pork chops!
00:32:54Boneless pork chops,
00:32:56portobello mushrooms, air fryer, creamy,
00:32:58bread and butter pickles. That's not bad.
00:33:00All right, go.
00:33:04Wow. I don't know if this is one of my favorite
00:33:06randomizers. Pork chops, everybody
00:33:08loves them. Typically it's overcooked.
00:33:10Portobello mushrooms. I think that the air fryer
00:33:12and the portobello mushroom are going to have fun.
00:33:14There's a lot of ways to do creamy. A lot of bad ways to do creamy.
00:33:16Bread and butter pickles. If you're not a
00:33:18big dill pickle fan, this right
00:33:20here is a pretty common pickle for everybody to enjoy.
00:33:22Last season, I had a great
00:33:24Cinderella run. This year, I'm not
00:33:26here to be the Cinderella. I'm here to prove
00:33:28I've earned that high seat and
00:33:30I have a chance to win that belt.
00:33:32For this dish, pork cutlet
00:33:34comes to mind because obviously I have to fry
00:33:36something in the air fryer. Plus,
00:33:38we have the pickle juice I can use
00:33:40as a brine. Also, I have
00:33:42some tricks up my sleeve using these
00:33:44portobello mushrooms.
00:33:46You really need to concentrate
00:33:48on what you're doing and make sure
00:33:50that you're ticking off all of the
00:33:52randomizer boxes. So my
00:33:54idea is to do this
00:33:56pork schnitzel having to use the air fryer.
00:33:58I'm using creamy polenta.
00:34:00Kevin calls himself the dragon
00:34:02slayer. That's pretty daunting if you just
00:34:04think about that as a whole.
00:34:08Tiffany!
00:34:10Talk to me. You have a plan?
00:34:12I'm going to make pork cutlet.
00:34:14I'm going to brine the pork.
00:34:16Perfect. And with the mushrooms,
00:34:18I feel I can make a nice, fun
00:34:20gravy sauce that's going to be creamy
00:34:22with polenta and the little
00:34:24napa cabbage, bread and butter,
00:34:26pickle slaw, and portobello
00:34:28mushroom bacon using the
00:34:30air fryer. Did they give you any indication yet?
00:34:32Yeah, we're looking at a brined
00:34:34pork chop that's already in the
00:34:36vacuum sealer with the pickle juice.
00:34:38Smart, smart, smart. Quick!
00:34:40Portobello mushrooms going in with a little bit of butter.
00:34:42So that's going to be a gravy that's going to be super what?
00:34:44Creamy! Creamy!
00:34:46I feel a lot of pressure. I'm a three seed.
00:34:48I'm expected to win
00:34:50this round. After having a
00:34:52Cinderella run lasher, I do
00:34:54not want to go home in the first round.
00:35:00Chef! Walk me
00:35:02through it. Hi. Okay, so I'm planning
00:35:04on doing a breaded pork loin
00:35:06on a creamy polenta.
00:35:08Okay. Hard seared mushroom,
00:35:10some pickled mushroom, and some fried mushroom.
00:35:12Dope. Yeah, we are.
00:35:14I grew up eating quite a bit of German
00:35:16inspired and styled foods, so
00:35:18I am no stranger to schnitzel.
00:35:20Cornflakes.
00:35:22Thank you, boo boo!
00:35:24I'm finishing
00:35:26with cornflakes and
00:35:28breadcrumbs. Wow. I don't actually
00:35:30know how long it takes an air
00:35:32fryer to cook pork through.
00:35:34How long is it?
00:35:36This is scary. I
00:35:38don't know what it's going to look like when I open
00:35:40that door again. We're going to see how this
00:35:42goes here. I just honestly
00:35:44don't know.
00:35:46Later tonight, last year's runner up,
00:35:48Antonia LaFosso, takes on her first opponent,
00:35:50James Beard's semi-finalist,
00:35:52Maria Maison, in her quest to win
00:35:54the elusive championship.
00:36:0020 minutes, 20 to go!
00:36:06Now I'm going to work on my mushroom gravy
00:36:08that's going to act like a sauce for this creamy
00:36:10pork chop dish.
00:36:12Portobello's typically, they're really good when you
00:36:14grill them or stuff them and bake
00:36:16them. That's what you would typically see.
00:36:18You know what makes things creamy? Heavy cream?
00:36:20Creamy. Oui, chef. But here in the
00:36:22TOC arena, they're looking for creativity,
00:36:24they're looking for different
00:36:26ways to utilize the portobello mushrooms.
00:36:28A little heavy cream and blending it
00:36:30makes a beautiful, creamy,
00:36:32silky mushroom gravy.
00:36:3515 and a half!
00:36:37I'm going to get some
00:36:39more mushrooms. Okay.
00:36:41Put them on the air fryer. We're going to air
00:36:43fry the mushrooms. Yes. Oui,
00:36:45chef. Alright. This is
00:36:47incredible gameplay. So we're slicing the portobello
00:36:49really thinly and then putting them air fryer. We
00:36:51end up getting like mushroom chips. So we now
00:36:53have mushroom gravy, creamy, and we have air
00:36:55fryer mushroom chips. We are cross-utilizing
00:36:57this randomizer. Like, it is our job
00:36:59over here. So I'm going to make some
00:37:01smoked paprika in here.
00:37:03I love that. Add a nice smokiness. Okay.
00:37:05It almost makes like a mushroom bacon,
00:37:07as long as you get that nice texture. I love a mushroom
00:37:09bacon. Okay. Going in.
00:37:15I know this rich
00:37:17pork dish needs to be creamy
00:37:19and polenta's the first thing that
00:37:21pops into my mind. And the
00:37:23items that I choose to cream this dish
00:37:25out are mascarpone cheese.
00:37:27Mascarpone. Yes. Cream cheese.
00:37:29I like the cream cheese into the polenta.
00:37:31There's creamy for you. And a little bit of chicken fat.
00:37:33Chicken fat. Big fan. Big
00:37:35fan. Just to give it that
00:37:37unctuousness.
00:37:39Let's work on these bad boys. I have this rich
00:37:41pork schnitzel and
00:37:43creamy polenta. I want something
00:37:45light and bright to offset all of
00:37:47this richness. I'm going to pickle the
00:37:49stems. Okay. So I've got the portobello
00:37:51mushrooms and the stem
00:37:53never gets utilized. So I'm going to
00:37:55go ahead and pickle them. I'm just going to use the juice
00:37:57for now. And I'm going to add
00:37:59a ton of vinegar. Apple cider.
00:38:01To make this portobello mushroom
00:38:03parsley, celery, pickled
00:38:05stem sort of madness
00:38:07salad with a little bit of black garlic
00:38:09molasses on top of the schnitzel.
00:38:11I know
00:38:13that in cooking against Kevin, I
00:38:15need to do everything right.
00:38:19We are ready to get
00:38:21the pork chop going in the fryer.
00:38:23Yep. Running for the pork. Pickle juice
00:38:25and the egg wash stretch also.
00:38:27I'm a little nervous because
00:38:29air fryer is not something I use
00:38:31every day or ever.
00:38:33Chef, what's going into that pot,
00:38:35the little pot? The grits, chef. I don't want to
00:38:37just have one creamy component. I want to have
00:38:39two. This is TOC.
00:38:41Being from the South, green from
00:38:43Oklahoma, I felt like a pork cutlet
00:38:45should go with grits.
00:38:47You want creamy? I'm going to give you creamy.
00:38:49Oh yeah. Nice
00:38:51cabbage over here. The last thing I'm
00:38:53making is a nice bright slaw
00:38:55to balance out the pork cutlet.
00:38:57Dressing for the slaw. Plus, I'm going to use
00:38:59those bread and butter pickles
00:39:01more ways. I'm going to use the pickle
00:39:03juice to make the dressing
00:39:05and use the chopped pickles in the
00:39:07slaw.
00:39:09Chef Casey, Chef Kevin,
00:39:11five minutes, five to be plated. Come on!
00:39:17Lastly,
00:39:19I want a crispy portobello mushroom
00:39:21and I decide to use chickpea flour
00:39:23in that air fryer to give me
00:39:25this crispy garnish.
00:39:27Two minutes!
00:39:29To plate this dish,
00:39:31I want to highlight the nice, creamy
00:39:33grits on one side.
00:39:35Nice, creamy mushroom gravy on the
00:39:37other side. A nice nap of
00:39:39cabbage, bread and butter pickle slaw
00:39:41in the middle.
00:39:43Chef, are you happy with that?
00:39:45Air fryer done!
00:39:47Golden brown!
00:39:49Placing the pork cutlet on top
00:39:51and finishing with the mushroom bacon
00:39:53to add a nice, crispy, smoky
00:39:55component to my dish.
00:39:57One minute!
00:39:59I put some polenta down,
00:40:01put my crispy pork
00:40:03that's seasoned so beautifully.
00:40:05I put the crispy
00:40:07portobello on the side.
00:40:09Looking down at this plate, I'm excited.
00:40:11I mean, this looks delicious.
00:40:13Five, four, three,
00:40:15two, one!
00:40:17That's it!
00:40:19Great battle.
00:40:21That's crazy.
00:40:27Man!
00:40:29I actually feel really good.
00:40:31It's a lot harder than I remembered.
00:40:33I feel like this is my win.
00:40:41Here we go!
00:40:43Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back our judges!
00:40:45Chef Monique Chauhan!
00:40:47Amazing.
00:40:49Alex Guarnaschelli!
00:40:51Oh, Alex!
00:40:53I've competed with Alex, this is America.
00:40:55She's judged me multiple times.
00:40:57And Chef Wolfgang Puck! Wolfgang Puck?
00:40:59Who would have thought he would be here today?
00:41:01He is a legend.
00:41:03Judges, tonight for this second
00:41:05battle of the evening, the randomizer
00:41:07kicked down boneless pork chops,
00:41:09portobello mushrooms.
00:41:11They had to employ the use of an air fryer,
00:41:13which I know Chef Wolfgang has probably several.
00:41:15The style of creamy
00:41:17and the wild card tonight,
00:41:19little bread and butter pickles.
00:41:21Mine's first.
00:41:23Judges, you have a creamy duet on the bottom of your plate
00:41:25of a portobello mushroom gravy
00:41:27accented by the other side, creamy polenta.
00:41:29This is topped with a pickled brine
00:41:31air fried boneless pork chop,
00:41:33then finished with a pickled dress slaw
00:41:35and portobello mushroom bacon.
00:41:37Alex, Monique, and Wolfgang eating your food,
00:41:39you're going to be a little nervous.
00:41:41I think the air fryer did a great job with the pork chop,
00:41:43quite nice and crispy on the outside.
00:41:45I thought that the portobello mushroom is nice and creamy,
00:41:47the sauce is nice and creamy,
00:41:49maybe a tad salty for me.
00:41:51Stressful.
00:41:53The randomizer said creamy style.
00:41:55This is a dish that has a lot of cream in it.
00:41:57The creamy aspect of it
00:41:59and the pork chop needed to feel
00:42:01more cohesive.
00:42:03Portobello bacon is a stroke
00:42:05of genius.
00:42:07Turning a mushroom into bacon to go with pork,
00:42:09that's game play like
00:42:11textbook.
00:42:13This chef played so
00:42:15well to the randomizer.
00:42:17I am getting an ample amount
00:42:19of the bread and butter pickle,
00:42:21not only in the slaw,
00:42:23but the pork chop was
00:42:25brined in it. What a great idea.
00:42:27Monique gets it. She cooks in this kitchen,
00:42:29she competes in this arena,
00:42:31she understands what I was doing.
00:42:3350 points available
00:42:35in taste, 40 points for the use of the
00:42:37randomizer, and 10 points in presentation.
00:42:39For him to have done
00:42:41polenta and a schnitzel
00:42:43is crazy.
00:42:45Judges, thank you very much. Let's go ahead and bring in the second dish.
00:42:47Let's see what they say about Casey.
00:42:51Dead.
00:42:53Judges, this is a fennel-dusted crispy pork
00:42:55with creamy polenta and a
00:42:57pickled portobello salad.
00:42:59The pork chops were done in the air fryer
00:43:01where the crust was set.
00:43:03The portobellos were done on the grill.
00:43:05The stems of the portobello were
00:43:07pickled. Finally, chickpea-coated
00:43:09portobello mushrooms that you'll see on the side.
00:43:13What is Alex doing? Look at her face.
00:43:15You never know.
00:43:17It's the most delicious thing I've ever had.
00:43:19The portobello's sort of
00:43:21been explored in two different ways.
00:43:23Just as a roasted mushroom.
00:43:25And I just love that pure earthiness.
00:43:27And I like those stems. That's like a real
00:43:29nose-to-tail attitude towards that ingredient.
00:43:33Is this a creamy dish?
00:43:35Or is this a dish with polenta that has cream in it?
00:43:37I ask myself these
00:43:39existential questions.
00:43:41And the answer is, it is not a creamy dish.
00:43:45I like that.
00:43:47I really like this salad with the sautéed mushrooms.
00:43:49I think it's very well seasoned.
00:43:51The pork chop, though, is really
00:43:53actually very, very good.
00:43:55Dead.
00:43:57The polenta, I thought, is amazing, too.
00:43:59You can actually taste the chicken fat in it.
00:44:01I thought like my grandmother was cooking.
00:44:03The portobello stems
00:44:05should have been
00:44:07sautéed before pickled
00:44:09because when you bite into it,
00:44:11it is like biting into a sponge.
00:44:15Man, what a judging.
00:44:17It's just...
00:44:19literally a coin toss.
00:44:21All right, chef, your scores are in.
00:44:23All right, let's go.
00:44:25Let's bring our chefs back in.
00:44:27Chef Casey Thompson!
00:44:29Chef Kevin Lee!
00:44:33One chef scored
00:44:3581.
00:44:37The other chef scored
00:44:3983.
00:44:41Ladies and gentlemen,
00:44:43the winner is...
00:44:49Ladies and gentlemen,
00:44:51in the second battle
00:44:53of the evening, the winner
00:44:55between Chef Kevin Lee
00:44:57and Chef Casey Thompson is...
00:44:59Congratulations,
00:45:01Kevin Lee!
00:45:07I mean, it doesn't get any closer than this.
00:45:09You did a hard-fought battle.
00:45:11What I'm loving, CT,
00:45:13is that you're back in the game.
00:45:15Ladies and gentlemen, Casey Thompson!
00:45:17Thank you, chef.
00:45:19Front the door.
00:45:21Truly thought I had that.
00:45:23Oh, well. Next year.
00:45:25Congratulations, chef.
00:45:27Let's take a look at who you might be battling
00:45:29coming up. Either Adam Sobel
00:45:31or Adriana Urbina.
00:45:33Wow. Winning his first round
00:45:35here at TOC 6. Give it up
00:45:37for the Dragonslayer,
00:45:39Chef Kevin Lee.
00:45:41That's what we're talking about!
00:45:43I got the jitters out now.
00:45:45You know, I'm ready for the next round.
00:45:47It's not the time to celebrate
00:45:49because we got a lot more rounds to go.
00:45:51Let's talk about battle two.
00:45:53I think the
00:45:55second battle was so close
00:45:57that it simply came down to the one chef
00:45:59not hit the randomizer hard enough.
00:46:01And that's the kind of thing that makes
00:46:03the difference around here.
00:46:05Well, ladies and gentlemen, what do you think about that battle?
00:46:07Huh?
00:46:09Don't worry. We got two more fantastic
00:46:11battles coming up, but before we get
00:46:13into those battles, we need to honor
00:46:15someone. In TOC 5,
00:46:17she rose through the ranks to become
00:46:19the first two-time
00:46:21TOC champ!
00:46:23Ladies and gentlemen, our reigning
00:46:25champ, the Dancing Spice Queen,
00:46:27Chef Monique Johannes!
00:46:35Oh, my God.
00:46:39Monique, it is time that we
00:46:41immortalize your victory
00:46:43on the Wall of Champions.
00:46:47Chef, it is my honor
00:46:49to present you with your second
00:46:51championship ring,
00:46:53TOC champ
00:46:555. Oh, thank you
00:46:57so much!
00:46:59Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it!
00:47:01Two-time chef
00:47:03Monique Johannes! Thank you!
00:47:05The champ!
00:47:09Are you ready for another battle?
00:47:15Next up, Adriana Urbina,
00:47:17the celebrated chef who secured
00:47:19spot number seven by earning
00:47:21the highest score in this year's
00:47:23qualifiers. I definitely
00:47:25earned my spot in Tournament of
00:47:27Champions. I got the highest score
00:47:29of all the qualifiers.
00:47:31That's just the tip of the iceberg.
00:47:33I want to compete at the highest level
00:47:35and I'm going to give my all. That's what
00:47:37it's going to take to win TOC.
00:47:39Because who she's going up
00:47:41against, number two seed, renowned
00:47:43executive chef Adam Sobel,
00:47:45who battled his way to the quarterfinals
00:47:47in season four, even though
00:47:49he had never competed in a
00:47:51culinary competition
00:47:53before in his life.
00:47:55Adriana won the qualifier.
00:47:57She's got something to prove.
00:47:59Last time I was way more
00:48:01nervous. I didn't feel prepared.
00:48:03And this time I feel like
00:48:05I have everything
00:48:07to win. It's really not
00:48:09about her. It's about
00:48:11what I do with the randomizer.
00:48:13I plan on obliterating the
00:48:15randomizer today.
00:48:17Let's do this.
00:48:19Let's cook.
00:48:21Okay, let's do this.
00:48:23You ready to meet the kitchen
00:48:25combatants? Let's do this!
00:48:29She studied at top culinary
00:48:31institutes in France and her native
00:48:33Venezuela. She was the executive
00:48:35chef of a James Beard award winning
00:48:37New York restaurant and made Forbes
00:48:39list of women changing culinary
00:48:41culture one dinner at a time.
00:48:43She is the
00:48:45first Latina chop fan
00:48:47champion and earned a spot
00:48:49in the tournament by outcooking
00:48:51celebrated chef Stephanie
00:48:53Boswell with the highest score of the
00:48:55qualifiers. Make some
00:48:57noise for chef Adriana
00:48:59Urbina!
00:49:01I was worried
00:49:13for a second that you really weren't from Venezuela.
00:49:15Okay, okay, okay.
00:49:17Are you ready? So ready. Let's do this
00:49:19chef. Congratulations. Glad to have you.
00:49:21Your opponent, oh this guy's a heavy
00:49:23hitter.
00:49:25Formerly ran the cuisine of 48
00:49:27restaurants as the executive chef
00:49:29of Michael Mina's restaurant group and
00:49:31his talents have earned restaurants two
00:49:33Michelin stars and a James Beard award
00:49:35for best new restaurant.
00:49:37In season four, he rode
00:49:39a wave of TOC victories all
00:49:41the way to the great eight and he's hoping to
00:49:43repeat that feat this time.
00:49:47Make some noise for
00:49:49Mr. Delicious.
00:49:53The one and only chef
00:49:55Adam Sobo!
00:49:59Woohoo!
00:50:07Chefs,
00:50:09to the randomizer.
00:50:13Of course you know, five
00:50:15elements will be included in
00:50:17this cohesive championship
00:50:19dish you're about to make.
00:50:21Alright, let's get after this.
00:50:23Cheese,
00:50:25yellow, black,
00:50:27oh.
00:50:29No, uh-oh.
00:50:31Chicken breast,
00:50:33thigh,
00:50:35little neck,
00:50:37little neck clam,
00:50:39broccolini, blowtorch,
00:50:41smashed,
00:50:43black tea.
00:50:45You guys feel good about this?
00:50:47As good as you can? Alright, I'm gonna
00:50:49save you all the shenanigans and the good times
00:50:51and just go three, two, one, go.
00:50:59Little neck clams, they're sweeter, smaller.
00:51:01Broccolini is dynamite. I like the bitterness
00:51:03that it gives. Blowtorch, as everybody
00:51:05knows, that neutral flame.
00:51:07Smashed, it's like smashing it into a
00:51:09form or a shape that you can still resemble
00:51:11what it was. And black tea,
00:51:13woo, this is hot. This is
00:51:15an oxidized, generally stronger tea,
00:51:17but the black tea can work as a marinade,
00:51:19work as sauce. How many people
00:51:21work with black tea and are ready to
00:51:23put everything on the line in their
00:51:25winning dish? Well, that'll be told.
00:51:27Using clams
00:51:29as a star of the dish was not easy.
00:51:31Clams are a great secondary item,
00:51:33like for surf and turf or
00:51:35in a soup. I'm gonna have to really
00:51:37think about how to put clams
00:51:39on the forefront. I know Adriana
00:51:41is an up-and-coming chef.
00:51:43She's no slouch, and that's gonna
00:51:45be a challenge.
00:51:47Right off the bat, I'm gonna get the one
00:51:49ingredient that I should want,
00:51:51black tea. I mean, I like to
00:51:53drink black tea, but for a
00:51:55dish, it's a complicated
00:51:57ingredient because it's bitter.
00:51:59You have to be careful how you
00:52:01use it. I coconut milk. I wanna
00:52:03bring some of my Latin American
00:52:05roots to this dish. I'm gonna
00:52:07grind the black tea and
00:52:09use it as a spice. So, I
00:52:11wanna make a green
00:52:13plantain black tea tortilla.
00:52:15And then on top, I wanna
00:52:17do a artichoke
00:52:19garlic black tea
00:52:21puree.
00:52:23Chef,
00:52:25when you have a plan, fill me in. I'm doing
00:52:27little neck clams with andouille,
00:52:29charred broccolini, a black
00:52:31tea, clam broth, smashed
00:52:33potatoes. Great.
00:52:35I wanna make clams a star of the show,
00:52:37and I've got clams steamed with
00:52:39andouille, so they're spicy.
00:52:41See, I'm making my black tea broth.
00:52:43I don't typically cook with black tea
00:52:45in a savory fashion.
00:52:47I've used black tea
00:52:49in dessert in the past, and that works
00:52:51nicely with grapefruit.
00:52:53I'm gonna try to do that combination.
00:52:55Clam juice, some
00:52:57aromatics, vermouth, white
00:52:59wine, anisette.
00:53:01I'm thinking this is
00:53:03really a beautiful combination of delicious
00:53:05flavor. Torch. Yep.
00:53:07So, just like that, the blowtorch was utilized
00:53:09to flame off the trio of
00:53:11alcohols. After last
00:53:13year, it was a really tough pill to swallow.
00:53:15I went home on an 89. 89
00:53:17any other given day
00:53:19is a full win. I had to wait a year
00:53:21to get back here, so I used that as motivation,
00:53:23and being a number two seed,
00:53:25that comes with a lot of expectation,
00:53:27so I'm going for a run.
00:53:29Money, Justin.
00:53:31Chef, what's the plan? Okay, well, I'm gonna make
00:53:33some green plantain, black tea
00:53:35tortillas. I'm gonna make an artichoke
00:53:37puree in the bottom, blanch
00:53:39and smash the broccolini.
00:53:41Do you have a plan with the clam, chef?
00:53:43Cook them at the end with a lot of garlic,
00:53:45white wine. Okay.
00:53:47So, I'm gonna start making the tortillas.
00:53:49There we go. Smash
00:53:51eggs. So, right off the bat,
00:53:53I want to make something different.
00:53:55That's why I'm making the plantain
00:53:57tortilla and the black tea
00:53:59a little bit more elevated.
00:54:01I want the judges to have
00:54:03a nice bite. I have never seen
00:54:05a black tea and plantain tortilla.
00:54:07I don't know that anybody's ever had one.
00:54:09It's amazing what Adriana's doing right now.
00:54:11She made, like, a plantain
00:54:13smash, like,
00:54:15tortilla thing. Have you ever made this type
00:54:17of tortilla before? Not exactly like this,
00:54:19but yes. Oh, okay, the same but different?
00:54:21Competing against
00:54:23Adam, I know that he's
00:54:25gonna do something very elevated.
00:54:27I'm going for the more
00:54:29complicated dish, because I think it's
00:54:31a great idea. Coming up, ladies
00:54:33and gentlemen, the biggest event of the night is
00:54:35seed chef Antonio Lofaso
00:54:37takes her first TOC opponent, qualifier
00:54:39winner Maria Maison.
00:54:47What do we got going here? Clam and
00:54:49Nduja broth. And do you want to try
00:54:51it or not? I certainly do.
00:54:53Broccolini is the
00:54:55co-star, and I really want to
00:54:57show full utilization of the
00:54:59produce. I'm thinking farro
00:55:01and broccolini, where they kind of play
00:55:03off each other. I like the toothsomeness
00:55:05of the farro and the broccolini.
00:55:07It's a nice contrast to the chewy clam.
00:55:09Where are we heading with those, chef? I'm gonna
00:55:11char these with the torch.
00:55:13Look at that. That's showmanship. Flame on.
00:55:15Fire!
00:55:17Chefs have got to use the
00:55:19equipment and really put it into
00:55:21the menu mix, regardless of how
00:55:23great the dishes are. We just saw that in the
00:55:25first battle tonight. Even taste.
00:55:27And one chef won because of the
00:55:29randomizer. Pretty tough.
00:55:31Broccolini,
00:55:33the best way to eat it is char
00:55:35on the grill, fried,
00:55:37or smashed. So I'm gonna
00:55:39blanch it, I'm gonna smash it, I'm gonna
00:55:41fry it, and then I'm gonna torch it.
00:55:43Ooh, here goes a smash.
00:55:45Perfect thing to do is
00:55:47to smash those. Really smart. Remember,
00:55:49audience, smashing it to a point
00:55:51where you can still retain and still
00:55:53see what it was. Smashing
00:55:55isn't pulverizing to the point where it's,
00:55:57you know, destroyed. So that's
00:55:59part of the technique of smash.
00:56:01Smashing the broccolini is gonna make it
00:56:03even more crunchy
00:56:05because it's gonna be thinner and
00:56:07delicious. Then I'm gonna
00:56:09blowtorch. Torch party.
00:56:11Here we go.
00:56:17In such a short amount of
00:56:19time, if you can build
00:56:21more flavor, the better. So I
00:56:23want a silky artichoke garlic
00:56:25black tea puree.
00:56:27Almonds and cashews
00:56:29into the... Almonds,
00:56:31cashews, a little bit of the black
00:56:33tea. Okay. Adam has
00:56:35experience in this competition
00:56:37plus his
00:56:39background, so that
00:56:41gives him a lot of advantage. But
00:56:43I'm here to make a name for myself
00:56:45and I'm not gonna let him win.
00:56:49You know, obviously
00:56:51smashed is a technique that needs to be applied.
00:56:53You got this bright, highly acidic
00:56:55broth. I just wanted those crunchy
00:56:57potatoes to kind of contrast it.
00:56:59Noted, Chef. They're gonna get
00:57:01deep fried. Going against a seven seed,
00:57:03I better not lose. But look,
00:57:05Tournament of Champions, you never know.
00:57:07Kevin Lee was an eight seed last year, knocked out
00:57:09Brooke. So you just never know what's gonna happen.
00:57:11Not a lot of
00:57:13time. Concern over
00:57:15Adriana's kitchen. Nine
00:57:17minutes left, no clams working.
00:57:19Chef, we're starting clam jam?
00:57:21Yes. All right.
00:57:23I have eight minutes left.
00:57:25I haven't done anything with the clams.
00:57:27Adam, can I use a little bit of your
00:57:29white wine? Sure. Here you go,
00:57:31Chef. See, now that's being a gentleman.
00:57:33Oh, that's what I like to see.
00:57:35Thank you. I really complicated
00:57:37my life with the tortilla
00:57:39and I just want to make this as simple
00:57:41as possible. Clams are a little fickle.
00:57:43They need to be baby supervised, if you will.
00:57:45Because if one pops open, they hang out with the rest of them.
00:57:47One that's popped first becomes rubbery and chewy.
00:57:49The rest of them are perfect.
00:57:51This is it, Chefs. The final
00:57:53five minutes. Five to be plated.
00:57:57I spooned the farro and the broccolini
00:57:59from the bottom of the bowl.
00:58:01Applied the clams that were cooked
00:58:03nicely. Sobel's
00:58:05pretty ahead of his clock. Getting to really
00:58:07cherry pick the clams he wants.
00:58:09Ladled the broth over the
00:58:11clams and farro and broccolini.
00:58:13Added the crispy
00:58:15fried potatoes that were seasoned with sea salt.
00:58:17And then I carefully
00:58:19placed charred broccolini over the
00:58:21top of the potatoes. Getting
00:58:23out of round one is the hardest thing.
00:58:25I'm pissed off I lost last year
00:58:27and this is my year. Done. Done.
00:58:29Two minutes, Chefs.
00:58:31Two to go. She's got a
00:58:33lot to get to the table.
00:58:35Come on, Adriana. You got this.
00:58:37I put the tortilla,
00:58:39my clams. I don't have
00:58:41time to take the clams
00:58:43out of the shell. So I'm
00:58:45just going to put everything on the plate.
00:58:4730 seconds. 30 to go.
00:58:49On top, the broccoli
00:58:51and then a spoon of the
00:58:53puree. May not
00:58:55be the plate that I wanted, but at least
00:58:57all ingredients are there.
00:58:59Hopefully my flavors and
00:59:01idea will get me to the next round.
00:59:036, 5, 4,
00:59:053, 2,
00:59:071.
00:59:09That's it.
00:59:11Bring
00:59:13those judges in
00:59:15after I eat the clams.
00:59:17I feel good. Very solid
00:59:19dish. I hit the randomizer
00:59:21hard. It tastes great, too.
00:59:23I pushed through it. I put food
00:59:25on the plate and we'll see.
00:59:27Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back.
00:59:29Our judges, the one and only, Monique
00:59:31Chauhan. Wow.
00:59:33It's really great to have
00:59:35Monique because who's been in that
00:59:37forum more than her? Alex
00:59:39Cornichele. Alex is
00:59:41amazing. She has a ton of experience.
00:59:43She cooks delicious food. And the
00:59:45legend, Wolfgang Buck.
00:59:47What a pal.
00:59:49Is this the finale?
00:59:51Amazing.
00:59:53All right, judges. Tonight, the randomizer
00:59:55served up little neck clams,
00:59:57broccolini. They had to employ
00:59:59the blowtorch. They got smashed
01:00:01and then they got black tea.
01:00:03Judges, this is little neck
01:00:05clams and smashed potatoes.
01:00:07A base was built of
01:00:09induja, some smashed garlic,
01:00:11and some broccolini. On the
01:00:13other side of the stove, a
01:00:15clam broth was crafted.
01:00:17Broccolini was boiled and torched,
01:00:19which you'll find in the herby salad.
01:00:21The potatoes have been smashed and
01:00:23the black tea was in the
01:00:25broth. I mean, they're eating it.
01:00:27The nostalgic component of
01:00:29the smashed potato with the
01:00:31clams is a little bit like clam roll
01:00:33beach vibes for me. I really like that.
01:00:35The chef did a lot of work
01:00:37for the dish to actually feel more cohesive.
01:00:39The presentation needs to open up a little
01:00:41bit. This feels like it was plated
01:00:43like in a pothole and it needed a jacuzzi.
01:00:45I agree with Alex. The
01:00:47black tea, it has been steeped
01:00:49too long, which makes the overall
01:00:51broth read really
01:00:53bitter. The broccolini
01:00:55I think is the most successful part
01:00:57of this entire dish. The way it has been
01:00:59mixed with the herbs, it works
01:01:01beautifully and really lifts the dish up.
01:01:03Thank you, Monique. To me, the potatoes
01:01:05are cooked perfectly. It gives
01:01:07a great contrast to the broth.
01:01:09The clams are very good. All
01:01:11in all, it's a very successful dish.
01:01:13Thank you, Chef. And
01:01:15one more thing. Yes, Chef. I'm just
01:01:17so happy. You know, I had
01:01:19to go on a schnitzel
01:01:21detox. I had so many
01:01:23schnitzels, so thank God we
01:01:25have clams.
01:01:27All right, judges. Thank you very much.
01:01:29Again, 50 points available in
01:01:31taste, 40 points available
01:01:33in the use of the randomizer,
01:01:35and 10 points for plating.
01:01:37Probably,
01:01:39having a bigger vessel, the dish would have eaten a lot
01:01:41better, but
01:01:43I'm pleased. I'm super surprised.
01:01:45I thought it was going to be perfect.
01:01:47Wow.
01:01:49Judges, this chef
01:01:51has prepared for you little neck clams
01:01:53with green plantain and black tea
01:01:55tostones, with a
01:01:57crispy smashed and torched
01:01:59broccolini and black
01:02:01tea artichoke puree.
01:02:03I like
01:02:05the clams a lot. I like
01:02:07the way they're cooked. I love the broccoli
01:02:09with it. Having been fried and
01:02:11torched and given its full day at the
01:02:13spa, this broccolini
01:02:15is ready to rumble. Each
01:02:17component by itself is
01:02:19beautiful. The tostones
01:02:21over here, what a great idea to get the
01:02:23black tea to the party.
01:02:25The artichoke puree, it's got this
01:02:27sweetness from the citrus, which really
01:02:29works beautifully with seafood,
01:02:31but it's not coming across
01:02:33as a cohesive dish.
01:02:35It is four fantastic
01:02:37ideas not having a
01:02:39conversation with each other.
01:02:41You know when you get a dish in a restaurant and you're like,
01:02:43this smells like stress?
01:02:45You know?
01:02:47This person got up early. This person
01:02:49was at the office at 5 a.m. with a briefcase.
01:02:51But
01:02:53there needed to be some type of unifier
01:02:55to help me know how to navigate this
01:02:57as an eater who didn't see it.
01:02:59Yeah.
01:03:01As you said before, there should be some
01:03:03sauce, some juice of the clams,
01:03:05something to bind it together.
01:03:07I love the clam juice, you know,
01:03:09when you have enough of that. I agree.
01:03:11Maybe a bowl would have helped.
01:03:13I feel like I want the plate
01:03:15from the other dish here.
01:03:17Why?
01:03:19Could have been worse.
01:03:21My food was cooked
01:03:23perfectly. I'm just sad that I
01:03:25didn't finish the dish
01:03:27as I wanted. I think I did well.
01:03:29I think I have a winning dish.
01:03:31We'll see. I mean, look, you never know.
01:03:35Let's go.
01:03:37All right, let's do it.
01:03:39Let's bring our chefs back
01:03:41in. Chef Adriana.
01:03:43Chef Adam.
01:03:49It was a close battle.
01:03:51One chef scored
01:03:5374.
01:03:55The other chef scored at
01:03:5779.
01:03:59The winner
01:04:01is...
01:04:05The winner is...
01:04:11Adam Sobol.
01:04:13Chef Robina,
01:04:15you are one
01:04:17tough cookie,
01:04:19but time got the best of you.
01:04:21I promise you
01:04:23we will see each other again.
01:04:25Chef Adriana.
01:04:27Great job.
01:04:31I think I gave my all.
01:04:33Everything that I had, I gave it.
01:04:35I think I was too ambitious at the end.
01:04:37I think I was too ambitious at the end.
01:04:39I think I was too ambitious at the end.
01:04:41I think I was too ambitious at the end,
01:04:43but I pushed through it, and I'm proud of what I did.
01:04:45Take a look here, Adam, on that big win.
01:04:47Oh, yeah.
01:04:49Adam Sobol, Kevin Lee.
01:04:51My next victim.
01:04:53Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Chef Adam Sobol.
01:04:55Congrats.
01:04:59I knew coming up was a loss from last year's first round.
01:05:01You know what the first step
01:05:03and the most important is to winning a championship?
01:05:05You gotta win round one.
01:05:07Welcome back. Congratulations on the win.
01:05:09Thank you so much.
01:05:11Ladies and gentlemen, this is it,
01:05:13the crescendo of the evening, the final battle.
01:05:15We have another TOC qualifier winner
01:05:17going up against a proven competition powerhouse.
01:05:19We have another TOC qualifier winner
01:05:21going up against a proven competition powerhouse.
01:05:23We have the number 8 seed qualifier,
01:05:25Tucson's Maria Maison.
01:05:27It's like I'm going to battle.
01:05:29No pun intended.
01:05:31But honestly, seeing my name there,
01:05:33it's so surreal.
01:05:35Her opponent, number 1 seed,
01:05:37it's Chef Antonia LaFasso,
01:05:39the celebrated SoCal restaurateur
01:05:41who went all the way
01:05:43to the final battle last year.
01:05:45Obviously I didn't love the way I left TOC last year.
01:05:47Obviously I didn't love the way I left TOC last year.
01:05:49Like when you're just
01:05:51feeling grief and heartbroken.
01:05:53But I walked away with
01:05:55my love of competition back.
01:05:57Antonia was in the finale last year.
01:05:59You can tell she's hungry for it.
01:06:01I know who she is. She doesn't know who I am.
01:06:03Does it feel good to see
01:06:05Antonia LaFasso 1?
01:06:07Absolutely. Does it really
01:06:09matter 1 or 8?
01:06:11No. Uh-uh. There's just no hiding
01:06:13in this competition. That's what it is.
01:06:15It's like you have to have the best dish
01:06:17every single round.
01:06:19I feel the same way I did
01:06:21the pre-qualifiers.
01:06:23It's one of those things that you cannot let your mind
01:06:25control you.
01:06:27All right, Chef. It's time to battle.
01:06:29Let's go.
01:06:31Okay. Well, let's do this.
01:06:33Are you ready to meet tonight's final contenders?
01:06:35Let's light
01:06:37this up!
01:06:39Her Tucson restaurant
01:06:41has been praised in New York Times,
01:06:43New York Magazine, USA Today,
01:06:45and Travel and Leisure.
01:06:49She's a two-time
01:06:51James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef in the
01:06:53Southwest for her signature Sonoran
01:06:55cuisine. She came in fifth on
01:06:57Top Chef Season 18
01:06:59and battled through her second year
01:07:01of TOC qualifiers to finally
01:07:03earn her spot in
01:07:05TOC 6. Put your hands together
01:07:07for the Mexican mama,
01:07:09the one and only Chef Maria
01:07:11Nezan!
01:07:13♪♪♪
01:07:15♪♪♪
01:07:17♪♪♪
01:07:19♪♪♪
01:07:21♪♪♪
01:07:23♪♪♪
01:07:25♪♪♪
01:07:27CHEERING
01:07:29CHEERING
01:07:31Welcome. Thank you. Welcome to the tournament!
01:07:33How do you feel?
01:07:35I'm confident. Well, let's see how you're doing
01:07:37after you meet
01:07:39your opponent.
01:07:41She has three acclaimed
01:07:43SoCal restaurants, including
01:07:45the Michelin-recommended Dama.
01:07:47♪♪♪
01:07:49Last year,
01:07:51she outscored four other chefs,
01:07:53including Chef Michael Patagio
01:07:55and Jet Tila to become
01:07:57the T-O-C-5
01:07:59runner-up.
01:08:01♪♪♪
01:08:03♪♪♪
01:08:05She's back, ladies and gentlemen.
01:08:07Hungry for the belt!
01:08:09Give it up for the princess
01:08:11warrior, the one and only
01:08:13Chef Antonia LaFaso!
01:08:15CHEERING
01:08:17CHEERING
01:08:19CHEERING
01:08:21CHEERING
01:08:23CHEERING
01:08:25Chefs,
01:08:27final battle of the night! Let's take you to the randomizer.
01:08:29CHEERING
01:08:31Chefs,
01:08:33as you know, the randomizer
01:08:35will determine the mandatory details
01:08:37of your dish tonight.
01:08:39The protein, the produce, the equipment, the style,
01:08:41and finally, by popular demand,
01:08:43not of any of the chefs,
01:08:45is the wild card ingredient.
01:08:47I see a lot of
01:08:49lack of cohesiveness here.
01:08:51Let's get after it. Going for the protein!
01:08:53CHEERING
01:08:55CHEERING
01:08:57CHEERING
01:08:59Tell us when it gets close.
01:09:01CHEERING
01:09:03It makes me dizzy.
01:09:05Cheese stick.
01:09:07Yellow mustard.
01:09:09Herbaceous.
01:09:11Donut pan.
01:09:13Leeks.
01:09:15Chicken breasts.
01:09:17Damn donut pan.
01:09:19That is evil.
01:09:21Two tough competitors going at it.
01:09:23Chefs, 3, 2, 1, and go.
01:09:25Good luck!
01:09:27Chicken breasts, love them or hate them,
01:09:29everybody eats them. Leeks,
01:09:31one of my favorites. They have an onion flavor,
01:09:33but plays well with others, goes anywhere you want.
01:09:35Donut pan, well donuts are
01:09:37typically fried, but they're also baked.
01:09:39Herbaceous, this is the way
01:09:41to really highlight it and bring out so many nuances.
01:09:43And then yellow mustard, it is
01:09:45so reminiscent. This is probably one of the toughest
01:09:47things that we've seen in the Randomizer
01:09:49tonight.
01:09:51There's something to be said
01:09:53about people who have won and lost.
01:09:55We know how to fight. We also
01:09:57know what defeat feels like. I feel bad
01:09:59for anyone who's going to come up against me this season.
01:10:01Everyone's going home. It's going to be
01:10:03me at the very end, once again,
01:10:05and it's not going to be a loss by one
01:10:07point. I'm making sure I take all of this
01:10:09home this year.
01:10:11Going against
01:10:13Antonia, it's nerve-wracking
01:10:15because she's done it before. I mean,
01:10:17she's one of the OGs, but
01:10:19you cannot go in this type of competition
01:10:21thinking, oh, she's better than me or he's better
01:10:23than me, underdog. I'm playing my game.
01:10:25I'm here to prove I deserve to be in the
01:10:27main bracket of TOC6, and I'm
01:10:29ready.
01:10:31Chef, when you have a plan,
01:10:33fill me in. I'm going to do a very simple
01:10:35pan-roasted chicken.
01:10:37When I went to culinary school, we talked
01:10:39about chicken in depth.
01:10:41A chicken breast has virtually no fat
01:10:43on it. It really needs to be respected.
01:10:45I'm using the tarragon and the
01:10:47rosemary to roast the chicken because I want
01:10:49this to be herbaceous. I'm doing a
01:10:51roasted chicken breast with mushroom
01:10:53leek shallot sauce and
01:10:55a potato leek cake that's literally
01:10:57all fat. So I'm going to make like
01:10:59little leek potato cakes with some
01:11:01cream, gruyere, and parmesan. Almost
01:11:03like a macaroni and cheese, but
01:11:05basically with leeks and a little bit of panko
01:11:07that's going to hold it together. Cool. Where's that going to go?
01:11:09That's going into the donut pan.
01:11:11Man, it's like I see the formula.
01:11:13Leeks are like
01:11:15the fanciest onion you've
01:11:17ever had in your entire life. They're
01:11:19creamy, they're luscious, they're gentle.
01:11:21So I'm like, I'm going to actually
01:11:23bake leeks and potatoes
01:11:25with cheese, almost like a gratin
01:11:27if you will, inside
01:11:29of these donut pans.
01:11:31You forced me to make little tiny potato
01:11:33leek cakes. And where would
01:11:35that mustard be employed? Somewhere there?
01:11:37The mustard is, have you ever had macaroni and cheese
01:11:39in like a gratin? You add a little bit of mustard
01:11:41to add... Oh yes, also a great emulsifier.
01:11:43Mustard seeds, of course, known for their
01:11:45mucilaginous properties. That's what I was just about
01:11:47to say until you took the words out of my mouth.
01:11:49Sorry, guy. Last year
01:11:51was so hard to swallow. Losing
01:11:53by one point. It's taken me a whole year to get over it.
01:11:55I actually don't think I'm really over it right now,
01:11:57but I'm still here fighting.
01:11:59Those are cooking.
01:12:03When I hear
01:12:05of ashes and mustard, I get
01:12:07inspired by a Mexican dish
01:12:09it's called Bistec Ranchero
01:12:11with a pickled leek salad
01:12:13if you will. When you want to talk, plan, you let me
01:12:15know or else I'm out of your way.
01:12:17So I'm doing a play on
01:12:19what we call Bistec Ranchero.
01:12:21So I start making the Ranchero
01:12:23sauce. Typically mustard
01:12:25goes in the salsa? Yeah, definitely.
01:12:27It's going in my salsas from here on out.
01:12:29Yeah, make a note.
01:12:31I have done like mustard tomato
01:12:33sauces. Never done this
01:12:35before, but I'm betting on
01:12:37my sauce because it has leeks, it has
01:12:39herbs, and it has mustard. So it has
01:12:41three out of the five randomizer components.
01:12:43It's tangy,
01:12:45sweet, spicy,
01:12:47earthy, and
01:12:49herbaceous.
01:12:51In the TOC
01:12:53folklore that ultimately makes
01:12:55legends, there is always a one seed that
01:12:57falls to an eight seed. This could be it.
01:12:59Chef Antonia is one, Maria is seed eight,
01:13:01and she is cooking with the ferocity
01:13:03and fierceness and focus that typically
01:13:05makes those legends.
01:13:11Chef Maria, Chef Antonia,
01:13:1320 minutes, 20 to go, gotta be plated.
01:13:17Chef Antonia LoFasso has proven
01:13:19herself to be a tactician of
01:13:21herbs in this arena.
01:13:23However, right here, right now,
01:13:25there are things at the opposite end of
01:13:27the herbaceous spectrum that she is going
01:13:29to have to contend with, and it's her own doing.
01:13:31Little mustard in the sauce, yeah?
01:13:33We've got mushrooms, we've got demi-glace,
01:13:35we've got bourbon. These are
01:13:37things that are dark and muddled
01:13:39and heavy flavors.
01:13:41Herbs are the tiny dancers up top.
01:13:43In this battle of
01:13:45flavor within her dish, who's
01:13:47gonna come out on top? I don't know.
01:13:49When you think of herbaceous, you think of things
01:13:51that grow in the ground, so you think of soil
01:13:53and wood. To me, that reads herbaceous.
01:13:55I'm finishing it with chives
01:13:57and dill and basil.
01:13:59I'm like, everyone's welcome to this party.
01:14:01The chef that's going to win this,
01:14:03to win TOC 6,
01:14:05will have to have five
01:14:07battles of this intensity.
01:14:09The donut
01:14:11pan, it's by far, to
01:14:13me, the hardest. So, Chef, the plan with the
01:14:15chicken skin, we're gonna spray it, get it in there,
01:14:17season it nicely, and get it crispy?
01:14:19Yes, ma'am. I'm not sure that chicken skin's
01:14:21gonna get as crispy as Chef is gonna want it.
01:14:23We'll see how it pays off.
01:14:25I wanted to grill the chicken breast
01:14:27because I want the marks, if you will.
01:14:29Honey mustard, Chef? Honey mustard and
01:14:31Mexican oregano. We love it.
01:14:33So I'm grilling them, and then I'm gonna put them in
01:14:35the sauce, so I don't dry them out.
01:14:37I have no idea who the judges are, but
01:14:39I want them to see me through the plate.
01:14:41I want them to know that I'm spicy,
01:14:43that I'm earthy, that I know
01:14:45how to cook. We're braising the chicken out in the ranchero,
01:14:47Chef? Yes, ma'am. Okay.
01:14:49Call me 1-800-Mexican-Mama.
01:14:53Chef, what's the plan with the tiny leeks?
01:14:55I'm gonna fry those. Now I'm getting the leeks
01:14:57to fry, so it's like leeks in all different areas.
01:14:59All of these judges, without
01:15:01question, are going to be tough.
01:15:03So I am playing
01:15:05the game. What impresses me about
01:15:07Chef Antonia is even though she came
01:15:09so close last year, she's
01:15:11cooking like this is a job interview to be
01:15:13the champ. It is immaculate.
01:15:15I've been competing for the
01:15:17last 17 years.
01:15:19Tournament of Champions is the one competition
01:15:21that I need to win
01:15:23in order to stop competing. It's sort of the
01:15:25pinnacle, and it really made the decision.
01:15:27I was the last one to enter the tournament.
01:15:29But I said, I'm back every
01:15:31single year until I win this
01:15:33thing.
01:15:35Eight minutes, Chef.
01:15:37This is for my son. He loves
01:15:39cilantro rice.
01:15:41Okay, okay.
01:15:45I focus on my
01:15:47pickled leeks with
01:15:49the herbs. I have a half a leek in my
01:15:51board, and I've got the brilliant
01:15:53idea of frying
01:15:55them. So I'm giving leeks
01:15:57in sauce, pickled, and fried.
01:16:01I check the skin on the oven,
01:16:03and it looks half done. I'm going to
01:16:05bite the bullet there, and I'm going to fry the chicken skin
01:16:07because it's not cooked all the way.
01:16:09The champs are not here because
01:16:11they already proved themselves, and now
01:16:13it's time for new blood, and it's
01:16:15time for Mexico
01:16:17to be represented at TOC.
01:16:19This is it,
01:16:21folks. The last five minutes of
01:16:23the evening. Five minutes to plate, Chefs.
01:16:25Five minutes. First thing I do is
01:16:27potato cake. So I just kind of scoop it out
01:16:29and pop it right onto each plate.
01:16:31Then I take my ladle. I've got my sauce. It's the
01:16:33perfect consistency. I take my chicken breast.
01:16:35They're perfectly sliced. Put that right over
01:16:37the top. Truthfully, walking in
01:16:39this year and seeing Manit's banner come
01:16:41down again, I was like, ugh. The banner.
01:16:43I want the banner. TOC
01:16:456 is mine. Starting off with the
01:16:47first round.
01:16:49Butter, rice, cilantro
01:16:51on the bottom. The chicken
01:16:53on top of it with the sauce.
01:16:55Extra sauce. Pickled
01:16:57herbs, leeks on top of it.
01:16:59And the chicken skin.
01:17:01It looks rustic. I'm proud of
01:17:03myself. I've destroyed
01:17:05the randomizer.
01:17:075, 4, 3,
01:17:092, 1.
01:17:11That's it. The final battle of the evening
01:17:13is over.
01:17:15Oh,
01:17:17I forgot my leeks.
01:17:19I see my fried leeks
01:17:21still on the sheet tray with the
01:17:23rack and I'm like, oh my god. Forgot to put this
01:17:25on the top. I have not ever
01:17:27left something off a plate. Ever.
01:17:29Ever.
01:17:31Ladies and
01:17:33gentlemen, please welcome back our
01:17:35esteemed judging panel,
01:17:37Chef Manit Chauhan.
01:17:39She should be the one who judges me. I like her.
01:17:41She's going to like it because it's spicy and she's
01:17:43a spice queen. Chef Alex
01:17:45Guarnaschelli. Oh my god, Alex.
01:17:47Alex hasn't eaten my food since Chopped.
01:17:49And
01:17:51Chef Wolfgang Puck.
01:17:53Wolfgang Puck!
01:17:55Are you kidding me?
01:17:57I can't.
01:17:59For the final battle this evening,
01:18:01they had to compete with chicken breasts,
01:18:03leeks, a donut pan.
01:18:05They had to make it herbaceous and the wild
01:18:07card ingredient was yellow mustard.
01:18:09I've never forgotten to put
01:18:11something on my plate and I'm just like,
01:18:13how did I forget the fried leeks?
01:18:15Judges, this is a pan-roasted chicken breast.
01:18:17It's accompanied by a leek
01:18:19and mushroom sauce at the bottom and then
01:18:21leek potato cake
01:18:23to the side. The yellow mustard was
01:18:25employed in the leek cream that
01:18:27found its way into the potato cake
01:18:29and then also in the mushroom
01:18:31mixture at the bottom of the plate.
01:18:33Oh my god. The chicken
01:18:35breast. Oh god.
01:18:37It's cooked really well.
01:18:39I was a little bit worried because the skin
01:18:41is crispy and you know how difficult
01:18:43it is to cook the chicken
01:18:45breast just right.
01:18:47Really a great dish because
01:18:49everything works together.
01:18:53You know, this is the kind of cooking that's
01:18:55TOC worthy.
01:18:57Oh my god. There it is.
01:18:59This little
01:19:01potato gratin
01:19:03with the mustard, the cheese.
01:19:05I mean, to me that tastes like it
01:19:07was cooked for three hours.
01:19:09It has that deep,
01:19:11the cheese is like barnyard funk.
01:19:13Acid from the mustard.
01:19:15Creaminess from the mustard.
01:19:17The potato was the perfect vehicle
01:19:19to carry all that and the leek.
01:19:21I do think that
01:19:23the chef missed
01:19:25the opportunity of
01:19:27really embracing the herbaceous
01:19:29aspect that was given by
01:19:31the randomizer. There's so many
01:19:33herbs in there. Judges, let's go to
01:19:35the scoring. 50 points
01:19:37available in taste.
01:19:3940 points available in the use of the randomizer
01:19:41and 10 points for the presentation.
01:19:45I mean, she
01:19:47knocked it out of the park. There's so many
01:19:49herbs there but I understand what they're saying, that they get
01:19:51muted because there's so much fat.
01:19:53There's so much fat and like butter
01:19:55and cream and all this other stuff.
01:19:57I mean, they're herbaceous.
01:19:59I have herbs coming out of my butt.
01:20:01Judges, in front of you, you have
01:20:03a yellow mustard ranchero braised
01:20:05chicken breast. That is served with
01:20:07an herb and buttered cilantro rice,
01:20:09herb pickled leeks,
01:20:11crispy leeks, and chicken chicharron.
01:20:15I like this dish.
01:20:17Bold.
01:20:19I feel passionate.
01:20:21I'm feeling passion. I'm not kidding you.
01:20:23I'm feeling like some type of way right now.
01:20:25Mostly because there's a heat to this.
01:20:27There's an earthiness. There's a tingle
01:20:29from spice. There's a
01:20:31deep acidity and it's
01:20:33actually illuminating all the herbs
01:20:35and the leeks. So this chef
01:20:37took a supporting cast
01:20:39and turned the leeks and the herbs
01:20:41into the star of the flavor
01:20:43profile.
01:20:45This to me looked very messy
01:20:47when I looked at it first, but
01:20:49there are so many flavors in
01:20:51there. So much complexity
01:20:53in there. I like the
01:20:55fact that we have deep fried leeks
01:20:57that gives it a little bit of crunch
01:20:59and then the almost raw
01:21:01pickled leeks, which also gives it
01:21:03a different kind of crunch, like that fresh
01:21:05crunch. And that is
01:21:07amazing. To me, I think
01:21:09the bigger issue on this dish
01:21:11is the protein, the chicken breast.
01:21:13The chicken breast has been cut into really
01:21:15small pieces and
01:21:17as it has been cooked in the sauce
01:21:19it's become really dry. And that's
01:21:21what happens with chicken breast. And the
01:21:23idea of the chicken skin
01:21:25chicharrons I think was a great idea.
01:21:27It just needed a little
01:21:29bit more time to be crispier.
01:21:31Oh god.
01:21:35I don't know.
01:21:37I honestly don't know. I get
01:21:39that I had a good judging. I wish I had
01:21:41the dual use of the leeks and so that's where I'm
01:21:43stressed out.
01:21:45They loved it. They
01:21:47saw what I was going for.
01:21:49It's delicious, sexy, it's messy.
01:21:51So it's like.
01:21:53Overall, I'm feeling nauseous.
01:21:55Ladies
01:21:57and gentlemen, final
01:21:59battle of the night. Chef
01:22:01Ria, Chef Antonia.
01:22:05Chef Maison, Chef
01:22:07Lefaso, what a
01:22:09pleasure.
01:22:11One chef scored an 82.
01:22:13Second
01:22:15chef, 86.
01:22:17The highest score of the tournament
01:22:19thus far.
01:22:21The winner is
01:22:25Antonia Lefaso.
01:22:33Chef Ria,
01:22:35watching you win in the qualifiers,
01:22:37I think everybody became a fan.
01:22:39It was an honor. Thank you.
01:22:41Chef, an honor for everybody.
01:22:43Ladies and gentlemen, give it up
01:22:45for Mexican Mama.
01:22:47You better win.
01:22:49I'm going to go Mexican on you
01:22:51if you don't win.
01:22:55All right.
01:22:57Going against Antonia
01:22:59proved
01:23:01who she is,
01:23:03but also proved who I am.
01:23:05Chef,
01:23:07you really vacillated
01:23:09on coming back. Yes.
01:23:1186, the top
01:23:13score of the night.
01:23:15Hang on.
01:23:17This.
01:23:19I know.
01:23:21It gets good. Who's she going
01:23:23up against in the next round?
01:23:25Rocco Dispirito.
01:23:27Oh, damn. That means
01:23:29I have to beat Antonia now.
01:23:31I love him.
01:23:33I love that man. Going to be hard.
01:23:35There you go. Moving on.
01:23:37Chef Antonia Lefaso.
01:23:43I did it.
01:23:45I was scared. I didn't know if it was going to happen,
01:23:47but I did it. I will make everything
01:23:49delicious for the rest of my life.
01:23:51Join us next time when eight more contenders
01:23:53face off in their first round
01:23:55of the tournament in hopes of
01:23:57becoming the $150,000
01:23:59TOC
01:24:01champion.