[Ted] We want you to make
innovative dishes with a nod to pizza
-in all three rounds. -[Scott] Go get 'em, chefs.
-[Ann] All right, you got this. -[Scott] You got this.
-[Rob] Get ready to be blown away. -I know that
-my pizza is the best. -I'm ready to regulate this whole kitchen.
-[Rob] Pizza is, like, number one comfort food. -This is gonna be like chaos.
And...
He does not look happy at all.
God, this dough's not baking at all.
It's not popping up the way it should.
Now, we pray to the pizza gods.
Whew!
[Miriam] Pizza is the same in every language.
It's the one thing we all can relate to.
[singing] It's amore.
I bake Neapolitan, New York-style,
as well as Sicilian pizza.
Halfway through the pandemic, my mom passed away.
The one thing that brought us together is pizza.
Every pie I bake is like a beat of her heart.
While I'm not a classically trained chef,
I have an amazing intuition when it comes to
pairing unusual things together
that create a unicorn on pizza.
Spicy!
[chuckles]
The less time, the more pressure,
the faster and better I'll go.
[Rob] Do not put pineapple in that basket.
If I have to put pineapple on a pizza,
I may just walk off the set.
I'm the pizzaiolo and owner of Taglio Pizza.
I was voted
Long Island's best pizzeria four years running.
We're making a pizza Romana a la Amatriciana.
This is a Roman classic.
One of my first jobs growing up
was working in the same pizzeria
that my father worked at.
I'm very proud of this guy.
[Rob] I really found a passion
for creating beautiful art with a pizza.
It's endless possibilities.
Listen, I'm not cocky.
I'm confident.
Get ready to see this guy.
It doesn't get much more Roman than this.
♪ Hey! ♪
No two batches of sauce are the same.
♪ Hey! ♪
[John] My name is John Carruthers.
I'm the proprietor of Crust Fund Pizza
in Chicago.
Crust Fund Pizza is a monthly pop-up.
We make pizza, and people purchase
by making a donation to the charity of the month
for the benefit of the places
that make Chicago a better place to live.
I make Chicago tavern-style pizza, which is
very thin, very crispy,
and has the perfect balance of cheese, sauce, and topping.
That's right.
So, I love pizza. It is an obsession.
When I am not making pizza,
I am reading and thinking about pizza.
Perfect.
I am sure I'm exhausting about it,
uh, and that's my life.
♪ Hey! ♪
[Michael] My motto at Down North is
"Copious amounts of everything."
My name is chef Mike Carter.
I'm an executive chef at Down North Pizza,
located in North Philadelphia.
Gotta have them onions.
Maybe that's the Philly in me.
We are doing Detroit-style pies
with that Philly flavor.
Detroit-style pizza is the best
because of the dough, and Wisconsin brick cheese,
and definitely, that little cheese crown.
Ooh, it smells so good.
I've proven that our style of pie is...
Reigns supreme.
I cannot be defeated.
-Welcome, pizza pros! -Chop that.
-[John] Thanks for having us. -Slice to meet you, Ted.
[all chuckling]
[Ted] We are thrilled to have you here,
because your passion is our passion.
We all love pizza.
-I can go for a slice right now. -[laughing] Pizza!
[Ted] We want you to make
innovative dishes with a nod to pizza
in all three rounds.
If your dish doesn't cut it,
you will be chopped.
[clicks tongue]
-Ain't happening. -Get ready to be blown away.
[Ted] Time to get to work.
Open up your appetizer baskets.
-Ooh! -Ah-ha!
[Ted] And, you'll be working with charcuterie cones...
[John chuckling] There's a lot of stuff in this one.
[Ted] ...carrots,
All right.
Mozzarella sticks.
[Ted] ...frozen mozzarella sticks...
Anchovies.
Love the stinky fish.
[Ted] ...and white anchovies.
It definitely is a puzzle.
[Ted] Chefs, I should also add there's a wide selection
of dough options you can choose from,
Perfect.
[Ted] Twenty minutes to make appetizer pizzas,
Clock starts now.
[Scott] Go get 'em, chefs.
-[Ann] Guys, you got this. -[Christian] Oh, come on, guys.
-Whoo! -You got this. All right, guys!
[Ann] All right, chefs! Let's get it!
Scott, Christian, you are joined
by a very special guest judge,
James Beard Award-winning pizza expert Ann Kim.
-Pizza royalty over here. -That's true.
-Truly. -[Ted] So, Ann, what, in your expert opinion,
makes the difference
between okay pizza and great pizza?
Keys are time and temperature,
and that it really is a canvas,
and what you put on it really reflects who you are.
It's not just stretching dough and throwing it in the air,
and throwing it in the oven.
You need to know how to put together flavors.
-[Ann] Oh, yeah. -[Scott] But cooking that pizza
in a 30-minute time frame
in an oven that you're not familiar with,
that's tough.
[Rob] This dough is light, like a beautiful flour.
A couple years ago, I came to my father and said,
"I want to open a Roman-style pizzeria."
People thought I was crazy, but my parents,
they knew that when Rob puts his head to something,
he could accomplish anything.
I'm happy with all this stuff.
I can make it work.
I'm making a pizza called
"All Roads Lead to Rome."
The most important part
of Roman-style pizza is that
the dough is made
with a higher hydration, and it truly is
the most digestible product.
I'm going to use cherry tomatoes in my dish
as my base, and add
the rosemary from the charcuterie cone
and the tops of the carrots.
[Michael] Pizza is a palette
and you can do whatever you want with it,
no parameters.
Detroit-style crust is
moist and fluffy on the inside,
and nice and crispy on the outside.
I'm using the carrot tops, sriracha, garlic,
blood orange from the charcuterie cone,
and the anchovies,
as a spicy, green sauce.
At Down North Pizza,
we always name our pizzas after different hip-hop songs.
I'm calling this pizza
"It's On!" because
I'm in New York, JAY-Z.
If we bring that together
with the competition, then it's on!
Oh, man, regulators on the move.
I'm ready to regulate this whole kitchen,
and show y'all what this Detroit pizza
with a little Philly flavor is about.
I love a great square pie.
I love Neapolitan, I love thin crust,
-thick crust... -Is there anything you don't like?
[all chuckling]
I'm a Midwest gal, so I like the thin, cracker crust.
[John] Behind.
The perfect tavern-style dough,
it's thin as a cracker.
For my appetizer round,
I'm making tavern-style pizza
and giardiniera hot sauce.
For my giardiniera hot sauce,
I'm gonna roast the peppers on the open flame.
I'm gonna add the shallots, garlic, jalapeno, vinegar,
and the carrots.
Chef Miriam, why are you the pizza chef to beat?
I am the queen of taking mystery ingredients
and finding a way to put them on pizza.
I've always loved pizza.
When I was born, my parents were eating pizza,
so the joke was, I was born into a pizza pan.
Today, I am showcasing New York-style pizza,
and for a New York-style pizza I need to have
a rocking cornicione, which is the outer rim.
That is the big part of what people look for
in a New York slice.
I'm gonna make
a New York-style three-cheese pizza
with a white anchovy
tomato cream sauce.
[Scott] These white anchovies, they are kind of pickled.
A little bit of salt, a little bit of vinegar,
uh, a little bit of olive oil, a little bit of lemon juice.
They're different than what we see
in the ones that are oil-packed,
that are just salt-cured.
So, these are cured in acid.
Add some smoky flavor.
[Rob] These white anchovies are mild, sweet, and tart,
so I know they're gonna blend well
with my dish.
I'm adding my mozzarella stick cheese
and a little extra mozzarella on top.
How are you doing, Mike?
I'm good, baby.
I scored the bacon, wrapped the mozzarella sticks,
shoved the toothpick through them,
dropped them down in the fryer.
Once I put my cheese on top of my pie,
it's very important that I push it
all the way to the edge of the pan,
so that it drips down
and actually forms that cheese crust.
Get as much cheese on this joint as we can.
I kind of had, like, sort of a tumultuous upbringing.
I've been in and out of prison
since I was about 14 years old.
I always knew I wanted to cook
once I got my act together.
I want to showcase that people can change their life
if given a second chance.
Here we go. Right there.
[John] In my tavern-style pizza sauce,
I like to build umami through a lot of things,
but a big part of it is fish sauce.
I know that I can slap those anchovies in there,
and get that great, funky flavor and depth.
[Scott] John and Miriam are starting
to work with their dough.
John is making a tavern-style pizza.
[Ann] You want to get it really, really thin.
-Super thin, for the tavern-style. -I think that's...
I think that might save him,
the fact that it is really thin,
and I think he'll be able to cook that
hopefully under 10 minutes.
[John] Once my dough is down,
I put just a perfect amount of that long-cooked sauce.
I put our friend, the chopped up mozzarella.
I also add the braciola and salami
from the charcuterie cone,
and then, it's time to go.
[Rob] I look over to my right,
and I see Miriam didn't even get
her pizza in the oven yet.
[Miriam] I feel like I should have enough time
for this pizza to bake in that hot oven.
I put the sliced whole milk mozzarella,
the fontina, the Manchego, and topped with a swirl
of extra virgin olive oil.
[Scott] But Chef Miriam,
I'm most concerned about her right now,
because that is gonna take time to cook.
There's no deal killer like a raw dough.
[ticking]
[Miriam] The pizza is in the oven at this point,
but I am running out of time.
God, this dough's not baking at all.
I have all my components ready,
and the pizza just isn't baking
the way it should.
[Scott] You know, when you're working
with a dough that's not your own,
then you add the clock to it...
It's challenging.
[Ted] Okay, chefs, you've got
less than five minutes on the clock.
[John] I shouldn't assume
the level of spice for all the judges,
so we've got those tiny, little ramekins,
and I'm gonna portion out that giardiniera hot sauce
so that they can get their ideal level of heat.
[Rob] I see the crispiness on the edge of the crust.
I'm also looking at the booty
to see if it's got some nice color to it.
The booty is the bottom of the pizza.
That's when I know it's done,
and I start to layer on the braciola,
and then, I finish it with fresh basil,
carrots,
and pecorino Romano cheese.
One minute to go, chefs!
-[Christian] All right, guys! -[Scott] Let's go, guys.
-Hurry and get it on the plate. -[Ann] All right!
-Come on, guys. Get it on there. -[judges clapping]
[Christian] You gotta get it on the plate.
Miriam is literally
just topping her pizza right now.
[Miriam] I put my white anchovy tomato cream sauce
all over, and I put my burrata ball
in the middle of it to finish the pizza.
[Ted] Five,
four,
three,
two,
one.
Time's up.
-[judges clap] -[Scott] All right!
-Whew! -[Christian] Great job, guys.
-[Scott] Good job, guys. -[Ann] Great job, chefs.
[judges clap]
[Miriam] Feeling a little nervous
because the dough did not bake up in the oven
the way it should have.
I'm hoping that the judges find
the greatness in the sauce.
[Michael] It's definitely intense,
but I'm definitely confident
in what I'm bringing to the table,
and I think I'm gonna blow a couple socks off.
Chefs, you have arrived at the chopping block.
Four pizza pros making appetizer pies,
using charcuterie cones,
carrots,
frozen mozzarella sticks,
and white anchovies.
Chef Rob.
This is a Roman-style pizza.
It's called "All Roads Lead to Rome."
The meaning behind that is that
no matter what toppings
you give a Roman-style pizza maker,
it's a beautiful canvas
to be Picasso and make art with.
Right on.
When did you get started in pizza making?
[Rob] A long time ago.
My father worked in a pizzeria,
and in high school, the same pizzeria
that he worked at, I had a job opportunity there.
He's like, "Stop playing video games.
Get out of the house."
So, it was a great way
for me to talk to people, and learn.
All right.
Listen, chef.
This is great.
It looks like it should be
on the cover of a magazine, but I think
the most important thing about it is that
it eats like it should be on the cover of a magazine.
This is a good representation of a Roman-style.
-Thank you. -[Ann] Chef Rob,
the way you used the carrot was really inventive,
'cause I love that fresh, carroty flavor
that comes from that.
You look at this thing, bro, and it's beautiful,
but I really want to see some transformation
of basket ingredients,
of the white anchovy
and the charcuterie.
I agree. There wasn't a lot of creativity.
Thank you.
Next up, Chef Miriam.
It's a three-cheese white pizza
with white anchovy tomato cream sauce,
burrata, and then, it's got
the mozzarella cheese sticks on there,
and the burrata ball on top.
[Scott] Yeah, chef, you had us nervous
by putting this pizza in the oven
-so late in the game. -Yeah, I agree.
I should have put it in there much sooner.
But I think you got great color on the bottom.
I would have loved
a little more color on the crust itself.
You know, another minute or two...
-[Ann] Yes. -[Scott] ...inside there would have done you some good.
Yeah.
[Christian] Your anchovy tomato cream sauce
reminds me of penne alla vodka,
and then, cutting it with cream
was just really smart,
but be very careful about bringing in
outside basket ingredients,
like this burrata,
and I wish I could see the carrot a little more.
[Ann] I agree.
The burrata, it overpowered the dish.
Again, carrots.
Couldn't really find the mozzarella sticks,
but otherwise, a really lovely slice.
Next up, Chef Michael.
Well, in my restaurant,
we name all our pizzas
after Philadelphia hip hop-inspired songs,
so this is the "It's on!" since we're in New York,
and I mean, JAY-Z and Beanie Sigel,
-it's on! -Yeah. Yeah, bro.
-[judges chuckle] -Tell us where you work.
I'm the executive chef
at Down North Pizza in Philly,
and we exclusively hire formerly incarcerated.
A lot of people coming out of prison
don't get a chance to actually shine,
and all they wanna do is come home and work.
I love that.
Well, dude, this is
a true, true version of Detroit-style pie.
It's all about this right here, right?
That cheese crown.
I mean, this is where momma keeps the cookies, bro.
[all laughing]
[Ann] I know you used the mozzarella stick
as part of a topping here.
I almost wish you didn't fry it,
because I think it was a little too heavy,
but otherwise, really nice job.
Thank you.
Chef, I think you hit a grand slam with this.
The flavor profiles are great.
I always say, a great sauce
will make a dish, and I think
that carrot top puree that you made
is really spectacular.
-Thanks, chef. -[Scott] Good job, man.
Finally, Chef John.
What's your pizza style?
It's tavern-style pizza.
Being a guy from Chicago, the mozzarella sticks,
we are not hiding them from them,
'cause, again, Midwest.
Tell us where you work.
I run Crust Fund Pizza.
I sell pizzas out of my alley for the benefit
of a different Chicago charity each month.
-Wow. -[Christian] The depth of flavor
you were able to create in that sauce
in such a little bit of time
-is really nice. -Thank you.
And the sort of Chicago in you really came out
with this side.
It reminds me of giardiniera.
Chicago guy, look at this guy, he's good.
It's got great brightness.
It is edging on the side of too spicy,
but I keep going back to it,
so that's probably a good thing.
Chef John, this hot sauce? I'd buy that.
It's delicious.
My Italian friend might not have as...
-[all chuckling] -...as strong
-of a tongue as in fact you... -[Christian] I was waiting for it.
But I'm Korean, and boy, do I like the heat.
There's a lot of mozzarella sticks on there.
It was pretty overpowering,
and the thing I love about a tavern pie is
that ultra-crispy, thin crust,
and I think if this crust would have spent
a little bit more time in the oven,
it would have achieved that.
It was slightly on the undercooked side.
[Ted] Okay.
Well, this pizza party is a blast,
and I don't want to dampen the mood too much,
but we have to part ways with one of you.
[Miriam] I'm feeling pretty good.
One of the most important parts
to a good pizza is the sauce,
so I feel confident that I was able
to bat that sauce out of the park.
[Rob] I am super confident.
I know that my pizza is the best.
I think it's gonna be John that's on the chopping block.
He kind of just threw
some mozzarella sticks on a pizza.
[ticking]
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Miriam, you've been chopped.
Judges?
[Christian] Miriam, we loved the way you cooked your pie.
It is representative of a New York-style pizza,
but unfortunately,
that burrata just kind of
took away from some of the other beautiful stuff
that you had on your pizza,
and honestly, we had a really hard time detecting
the mozzarella sticks,
and the carrot,
and for that, we had to chop you.
[Miriam] A lot of what I did on that pizza was fantastic,
but I got excited by the burrata,
and I ran out of time.
and I wasn't able to place it on the pizza
the way I would have normally.
Chef Rob, Chef Michael, Chef John,
I wonder what these entree baskets have
in store for you.
Go on and find out.
And, you'll be making main course pizzas...
-Beautiful. -[Ted] ...using kung pao chicken...
[John] Oh, we got takeout.
[Ted] ...lacinato kale...
[Rob] I've seen kale used on pizzas before,
but never in my kitchen.
-[Ted] ...honeycomb... -Honeycomb.
[Ted] ...and bison sausage.
[Rob] Very interesting.
Thinking about how I'm gonna remix all this.
[Ted] Thirty minutes to complete your plates.
Time starts now.
-[Christian] All right, guys! -[Ann] All right, chefs! Let's get it!
-[judges clap] -Get it done. Get it done.
[Ted] Judges, the average American eats
about 23 pounds of pizza a year,
and I'm quite sure that I beat that record.
It's really, like, the perfect food.
I don't trust anyone who doesn't like pizza.
Forget about it.
[Rob] Coming into round two,
I'm feeling even more confident.
I'm making a pizza called the "San Gennaro Feast" pizza.
What inspired this is
going to San Gennaro Feast,
and you see all these sausage trucks,
and you go, and you take a bite
of this beautiful sausage and pepper.
So, I grab a white onion from the pantry,
along with the peppers from the kung pao chicken.
That fresh onion, and the bison sausage,
once you bake it on the pizza,
it's gonna mend all the flavors together.
Let's talk about the kung pao chicken.
[Ann] Kung pao chicken has chili,
-it has Szechuan peppercorn, which is, like, strong... -Super assertive. Yep.
-...and, and peppery, and spicy. -[Ted] What about the fact,
though, that we have two proteins here?
Is there a way to lose the chicken itself,
-but keep the sauce? -[Scott] I think
these are tough ingredients to incorporate together.
I think I would put it in a pan,
add a little bit of liquid to it,
and strain the sauce off,
and then, toss the kale in that sauce.
Behind.
[Michael] Go ahead, man.
[John] As a guy who operates from an alley
instead of a place where normal people get pizza,
I am elated to move into round two.
Good honeycomb.
I see honeycomb, and I'm into it,
because I always love
a dimension of sweetness in my pizza.
I'm gonna make a tomato sauce,
and use the honeycomb as the sweet component.
I use the miso for salt,
and I use the chili paste to bring that heat.
For my entree pizza,
I'm making "Crust the Process."
I'm gonna make a glaze
for the bison sausage
out of gochujang
and mustard powder,
and then, I'm gonna make kale chips
out of this kale, for some extra crunch.
I know that all my competitors are the top of their field,
but do not let the dad jokes fool you.
I expect a lot from myself,
and I am insanely competitive,
so, you know, game on.
Behind.
[Michael] It feels like I have a lot of eyes on me.
My win means a lot more to people
than particularly like a personal win.
It's a win for
a whole forgotten section of the population.
For them to see me on TV,
it's like I've become an inspiration.
They're living vicariously through me.
The pizza that I'm making
is called "Save Me."
It's a song by Meek Mill,
and I mean, save me for the next round,
and give me the crown.
I see the kale,
and I didn't want to take the easy way out,
and just fry it all like kale chips.
I figured I could make a kimchi
with the honeycomb, gochujang,
and the Napa cabbage.
When I seen bison sausage,
it was giving me hot dog vibes.
I've decided to just give it, like, a nice, hard sear on it,
throw it on as a topping.
I'm gonna use the kung pao chicken
as another topping, and kind of let
the kung pao flavor incorporate
with the bison meat.
Let's go.
I'm a little worried about Michael putting
lots of chicken on his pizza.
Untreated, I'm not sure
those flavors are going to meld.
[Rob] This honeycomb is basically beeswax
and raw honey.
Immediately, my mind goes to hot honey.
Hot honey is infused with chili peppers
and a little bit of red wine vinegar.
I'm looking at the hot honey
as a dressing for my fried kale.
[Ann] So, John is using a docker on his crust,
which is like a wheeled roller with little spikes on it,
and it creates air holes in the pizza,
so it prevents it from bubbling up.
[John] I got very specific feedback
last round from the judges,
and I'm gonna make sure that my dough is
flat, and thin, and bakes up super crispy.
[Michael] As I'm waiting for my pizza to finish baking,
I knew that I wanted
a crunch factor on top of the kimchi,
so I grabbed the shallots, sliced them up,
a little cornstarch,
and I dropped them in the fryer.
[Ted] One minute to go, chefs.
[Christian] Come on, guys! Get it on there.
[Michael] A little crispy bits.
[Ted] Twenty seconds, chefs.
[Ann] John's pizza looks
a lot better than the first time.
[Scott] Let's go, guys! Let's get it all done.
[Ann] All right, chefs. Let's go!
All right, time is ticking away here, chefs.
Ten,
nine,
eight,
seven,
six,
five,
four,
three,
two,
one.
-Time's up! -[Christian] All right!
Great job, guys.
-[Christian] Good job, guys. -[Ann] Great job, guys.
-Let's go. -[judges clap]
Another day in the pizzeria.
[John] I look to the left at Mike's pizza, and I think,
"How does Mike get that cheese crust?"
Ooh, I'm in trouble.
[ticking]
Chefs, for your second round,
you got
kung pao chicken,
lacinato kale,
honeycomb,
and bison sausage.
Please tell us about your second pizza pie,
Chef John.
This one's called "Crust the Process."
This is exactly how I like to present tavern-style.
You take a few things,
or you take a lot of things, but you get
a bite of everything on each square.
Well, first of all, Chef John, I just want
to applaud you for the bake on the crust this time.
I mean, listen to that. [crunches]
Ah! Music.
Crispy, crunchy, delicious.
Okay. So, we're done here, right?
[Ann chuckles]
-If only it were that easy, chef... -[chuckles]
...but I think your cohesiveness
of the flavor profiles really comes together here.
The textures of that kale, even of the sausage,
it's just on point.
The kung pao chicken on top was a little disjointed.
-[Ann] Yeah. -[Scott] Kung pao chicken and that sausage,
there's nothing that brings these things together.
[Christian] Yeah, I'm gonna echo Chef.
This is really tasty, specifically the sauce, right?
Adding the miso,
utilizing the honeycomb in there,
and just cooking down just the right amount
was just really key.
[Ted] Thank you, Chef John.
Next up, Chef Michael.
Once again, I name my pizzas after Philadelphia songs.
I'm calling this one "Save Me," by Meek Mill,
as in save me for the last round,
the pizza with the crown.
[Scott chuckles]
[Christian] Yo, bro, I'll tell you,
my favorite part of your slice of pizza
is that kimchi.
Incorporating that kale into your kimchi,
I love that concept, right?
Um, the kimchi is great, but the kung pao chicken,
I wish you maybe did something a little different with that.
Otherwise, um, I thought it was a really flavorful pie.
Thank you.
You got all these chunks of the bison sausage,
and then you have these big chunks
of kung pao chicken as well,
and it just becomes a little bit monotonous.
Had you loaded this up with more crispy onions,
and more of that kale,
it'd be a little bit of a different scenario.
[Ted] Thank you, Chef Michael.
Finally, Chef Rob.
So, this is my take on the San Gennaro Feast.
What do you get when you go to a street festival?
Sausage, peppers, and onions.
Yes, Rob, the sausage and peppers is really nice.
I didn't really get
a lot of the kung pao chicken in here,
versus some of the things that were in the basket,
but it was a delicious pie, nonetheless.
Thank you.
In Italy, chicken on pizza is a little bit of a no-no,
so I didn't want to disappoint anybody.
-Oh. -So I used the green and red peppers
in the kung pao chicken.
[Ann] All right, 'cause I did think,
"Oh, those peppers have a lot of flavor
for just being diced and sauteed,"
so I take that back.
-Nice job. -No problem.
[Scott] I think it's really clever
to take those peppers out of the kung pao chicken,
and the cook on the pizza itself is gorgeous.
Dude, great play.
I mean, sausage and peppers out of the bison sausage,
that's the answer,
and then, for you to sort of spin it
and tell the story, right?
Storytelling is so important,
and where you get your inspiration from
is so important.
I appreciate that. Thank you so much, chefs.
[Ted] Okay.
Unfortunately, only two chefs get to keep the pies coming.
[John] I'm feeling great.
Whether I go forward or I go home,
I put out a pizza I was really proud of.
I'm not sure who's gonna be chopped.
Hoping it's not me.
[Michael] Both of my competitors
did the same thing with their kale,
like, just fried it.
I'm the only one that actually, like,
did something solid with it,
so that's definitely a big leg to stand on.
[ticking]
[Ted] So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Michael, you've been chopped.
Judges?
[Ann] Chef Michael, we really enjoyed the kimchi,
but we really wish you would have used
the kung pao chicken in a more creative way,
rather than as an afterthought,
and topping it on the pie,
and so, we had to chop you.
Okay. Thank you.
What I'm taking away from this competition is
trusting my vision,
and to keep on pushing that line.
-Thank you. -Even though I didn't move forward,
-I still know the Detroit pie still reigns supreme. -Take care, Mike.
[all clap]
Chef John, Chef Rob,
are you worried at what these baskets might hold?
Back to Chicago you go.
Yeah, and with the 10,000 bucks.
I don't think so.
All right, chefs. You got this.
Open 'em up!
What?
[Ted] And what can you do with vegan pepperoni...
[Rob] If you're a vegan, and you're craving pepperoni,
maybe you're not a vegan.
[Ted] ...strawberries,
[John sighing] Okay.
What do we have?
[Ted] ...cupcake-shaped pizzas...
[scoffs] All right.
[Ted] ...and dried pineapple rings.
Pineapple.
No. It doesn't belong
on pizza, at all.
[Ted] Final half an hour on the clock.
Clock starts now!
-[judges clap] -[Christian] Go get 'em, chefs!
-[Scott] All right, guys. -[Ann] All right, chefs.
-You got this. -[Scott] You're beautiful. Let's go!
-Let's go! -[Christian] I like this. I feel good about this.
-Absolutely. -I do, too.
-Yeah, I like this. -I think the right two people are here.
Behind you.
[Rob] So, these cupcake-shaped pizzas
actually have everything you love
about a pizza,
dough, sauce, and cheese,
and this looks like a brioche.
-A brioche in Rome... -Behind you.
[Rob] ...is usually stuffed with creams
or chocolate mousse to make a maritozzi.
I'm just winging it at this point.
I scoop out the sauce and cheese,
and get it into the fryer.
While traditional maritozzi is made with whipped cream,
I decided to grab
the mascarpone,
and mix it
with some milk chocolate.
-Vegan pepperoni. -But I don't know what to do
-with this vegan pepperoni. -Ew!
[Christian] The vegan pepperoni,
because it doesn't have any actual meat in it,
you could be able to sort of utilize
the spices that are there to sort of be a back note,
and some sort of sauce.
[Ted] Well, I was about to say I think I have the solution,
but Chef John kind of beat me to it,
and that is
-chocolate. -[Ann] Yes.
Twenty minutes, you'll never have to have
vegan pepperoni again.
I feel bad for the people who can't have real pepperoni.
[John] Being a savory guy,
I wanted to do something that was a little bit
of a savory component, and I grab arbol chilis,
I grab ancho chilis.
I'm gonna make
pizza-fried doughnuts
with a mole chili
strawberry dipping sauce.
I'm gonna toast my chilis real quick,
because that's what really opens up
their incredible dimension of flavors.
I see the cupcake-shaped pizzas,
I cut them up, I put them in the fryer.
I'm gonna fry them until they're, like, golden brown.
Chefs, just under 15 minutes left here.
Rob and John are very different pizzaiolos.
Rob's style is
very reflective of his journey,
his Italian heritage.
He's very proud of it.
My boys!
[Ann] And then, we have John,
who's really new to this, and you kind of see that.
He's got kind of a spicy personality,
and that's kind of reflected in the dishes
that he's been presenting to us today.
[John] If I win the $10,000 today,
that money's going right back into the community,
to feed people right in my neighborhood,
right away.
You know, my best and favorite memories
from pizza come from having that safe place, that home,
and all I want to do
is make sure that as many people as possible
can have that same kind of thing.
[Rob] Winning today would mean the world to me.
That money is gonna go to a scholarship fund
to help other people who are aspiring pizzaiolos
follow their dreams.
I take the cupcakes out
and immediately sprinkle them with some sugar and cinnamon.
I taste my filling, it's perfect to my liking,
so I pipe it right into the cupcake.
Okay, what do I got left?
[Christian] Now, Rob down there,
he's got a deep-fried cupcake-shaped pizza,
but he's really stumped
when it comes to the pepperoni,
the pineapple,
and the strawberries.
I blend my steeped chilis in a blender, and strain it,
and then I add that to my pot
with the dark chocolate and strawberries, and agave.
I need to do something
with these dried pineapple rings,
and I'm hoping I can make sort of a dust,
so I throw them in the food processor.
[Scott] The pineapple doesn't look like
[chuckling] it's so easy to work with.
It's very gummy.
Like, that's not really breaking up.
[John] A little perplexed at what to do,
so I throw it in the oven to try to caramelize,
and I'm hoping for the best.
Behind.
All right, Chef Rob. How are you doing over there, brother?
[Rob] You know, I'm not used to doing
these dessert-style pizzas.
I'm definitely not used to putting pineapple
on any sort of pizza item.
Pineapple is a very difficult ingredient,
no matter how you slice it, you'll pardon the expression.
It's very, very assertive.
-It's a very polarizing ingredient... -Yeah.
-...in the pizza world. -Well, lucky you, Ann. It's not your problem.
-[Ann chuckling] Yeah! Thank you, Ted. -[all chuckling]
-Not today, anyway. -Not today.
[Rob] There are two things that don't belong on pizza.
Pineapple, and vegan pepperoni.
I don't know. I don't know what to do.
All right, chefs, five minutes to go!
I feel like that pineapple and that vegan pepperoni
has just gotten into his head, and he can't get it out.
I don't know what to do with this vegan pepperoni.
I thought, coming into this competition,
that I handled pressure really well,
but the pressure in this dessert round
is really starting to get to me,
and I can tell you that clock is for real,
and it doesn't stop.
[exhales]
[ticking]
I am in the weeds, my man.
Chef Rob does not look happy.
[Ann] He's either going to be really successful,
or the basket could really get him.
[Rob] I don't know what to do with this vegan pepperoni,
so I try to mask
the horrendous flavor as best as possible,
and mix it with a strawberry jam
and freeze-dried pineapple.
[John] The plan for the vegan pepperoni
is to cook it so it's crispy.
I'm gonna fry these guys.
They already got a good level of spice to them.
Hopefully, they play nicely with the chilis, and the mole.
[Rob] So, with the strawberries,
I put them right into the chocolate mascarpone
as a topping.
How could I take this up a notch?
So, I slice up some oranges, and I go to the deep-fryer,
because when you eat fried oranges,
you can eat the peel and everything,
and it tastes just like candy.
[Ted] One minute to go, chefs.
-[Christian] Let's go, guys. Let's get it all done. -[Ann] All right, chefs!
[John] I pull my pineapple out of the oven,
and it's sticking to everything.
It's gonna become a garnish,
and I kind of wish it just went in the mole.
-Here we go, chefs! Thirty seconds on the clock. -[Ted] Thirty seconds!
-[Christian] All right, guys! -[Scott] Let's go, guys.
[Christian] Come on, guys. Get it on there!
[Scott] You gotta get it on plates.
[Ted] Final seconds of the final round!
Ten,
nine,
eight,
seven,
six,
five,
four,
three,
two,
one.
Time's up!
[Ann] Ah!
[all applauding]
[Rob] Yeah, I'm a little nervous. I'm not gonna lie.
As soon as I seen vegan pepperoni and pineapple,
and you're telling me to make a dessert,
but I just went into pizza savant mode,
and made it happen.
Now, we pray
to the pizza gods.
Chef John and Chef Rob,
you have created dessert pizza plates using
vegan pepperoni,
strawberries,
cupcake-shaped pizzas,
and dried pineapple rings.
-Chef John. -Judges, I've made you
pizza doughnut bites
with a chocolate strawberry chili mole.
[Christian] The way you treated
the cupcake-shaped pizza, that's what I would have done.
I knew that it would lend well to frying, and it did.
It gets nice and flaky,
but not too sure
what's going on with the pineapple.
Mine kind of just really hardened up.
Yeah. The pineapple is really hard to eat,
and I'm not quite sure
what this dish is
as a fully composed dessert.
This doesn't really speak to me like a dessert pizza.
I almost wish you would have used
the pizza dough,
and incorporated the cupcake-shaped pizza less.
Chef, I think we all appreciate
you coming into this kitchen with such a difficult basket,
and putting your best foot forward,
but this is an unmitigated disaster, sir.
This deep-fried bread,
[chuckling] you didn't do anything with it.
You chopped it up and threw it in the fryalator.
Like, I gotta be real, brother.
Well, at least you'll remember it.
[all chuckling]
I hope not.
[all laughing]
Okay. Finally, Chef Rob.
So, this is my version of a Roman-style maritozzi.
Typically, in Rome, they make a maritozzi
with a brioche, and then, it's cut open
and filled with some sort of a cream,
usually a whipped cream.
Chef Rob, I'm gonna be honest with you.
I like this.
[giggles]
The way you utilized the cupcake,
filling it with that traditional chocolate cream
was really quite inventive.
Thank you.
[Scott] I think the smartest thing you did
was remove the tomato and the mozzarella
from the interior of that cupcake-shaped pizza.
[Christian] It reads a little heavy, right?
-Sure. -I'm looking for, just, like,
some sort of lightness, just a respite
to the incredible richness and sweetness, right?
I think the strawberry got lost, bro.
The pineapple is so strong
together with that vegan pepperoni.
I'd love to see just some more
basket ingredients
to sort of, like, pound me in the face, you know?
Sure.
Now, our judges must compare your meals
to find our winner. Thank you, chefs.
Thank you, guys.
Thanks.
All right, judges, battle pizza.
Let's get into it.
-Let's talk about the first round, shall we? -[Christian] Yeah.
I mean, Rob, in my opinion,
utilized the basket ingredients
in that first round relatively well.
[Ann] Rob's pizza made sense.
All the toppings worked well together.
The one missing, however,
is there wasn't a lot of creativity,
whereas John, I think
he did get a little bit more creative,
especially with that hot sauce.
[Christian] That was one of my favorite highlights
of the whole day, was that hot sauce.
[Scott] Yeah, but John didn't bake
his pizza long enough.
I think a doughy tavern-style pizza
is a big no-no.
-[Ann] Yeah. -Right?
[Ann] As we went to round two,
he definitely redeemed himself.
The crust was excellent.
-It was crispy, it was thin. -[Scott] Yes.
His usage of the kale over the top of the pizza,
he gave us a fantastic pie.
-[Ann] And with Rob... -[Scott] Yeah.
...the way he played with those ingredients,
the sausage and peppers,
I thought was really creative and genius.
[Scott] He made that pizza his own.
[Christian] A hundred percent.
I mean, when you look at these two racehorses,
you got someone like Rob, who's very technically sound,
and we had to pull him out
of his comfort zone a little bit,
where in fact, John was way more comfortable
taking risks all day long.
I always say, you know,
take those risks, because they do pay off.
In this particular competition, um,
I'm not 100% sure if they all did.
[John] Scott's right.
My dessert was not the caliber of dish
that wins a competition like this,
but I am exceptionally proud of my entree round.
[Rob] Honestly, I was not confident with my dessert.
It's in the judges' hands, so we'll see what happens.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Ooh.
Chef John, you've been chopped.
Judges?
[Scott] Chef John, loved hearing your story
and the commitment that you have
to your community this entire competition.
In your appetizer round, unfortunately,
there were some inconsistencies
with the pizza itself.
Some of it was a little crispy,
some of it was a little undercooked.
It needed a little bit more time.
And then, there was the dessert.
It was a real challenge, that dessert,
and so, we had to chop you.
Thanks. It was great cooking for you all today.
-[Ann] Best of luck. -[Christian] Good luck, man.
-[all clap] -Congrats.
-[Ann] Good luck. -[Scott] Good luck.
[John] I did not win today,
but I made the last round of Chopped.
I started doing this to take the thing I knew, pizza,
and give back,
and I hope if people listen to one thing I have to say,
if I can do it, I promise you can do it.
And that means, Chef Rob Cervoni,
you are the Chopped champion.
You're walking away with 10K.
-Great work, sir. -[Christian] Whoo!
-[Ann] All right! -Thank the pizza gods smiling down.
Finally, I get to say without a doubt,
Roman-style pizza is the best pizza in the world.
[all chuckling]
With all humility.
-[chuckles] -Absolutely, man.
[chuckles]
[Rob] I came here to win
for my friends, my family, and all my mentors,
and the first thing I want to do is
call my parents and my wife,
my son, and just tell them,
hey, like, I'm a Chopped champion,
and all that hard work,
all that belief you had in me,
it paid off.