[woman] I feel a lot of pride, there's a lot of honor involved in this.
[Caleb Abdinoor] My whole life, people have always kind of doubted me,
I'm ready to silence those haters.
Let's get it.
Double time!
[Ted Allen] This tournament is about honor and commitment.
[woman] I don't quit.
[Georges Labaki] This is all or nothing for me.
[man] I love this feeling.
[woman] The adrenaline rush is real.
[Ted] Sixteen military chefs
battle to represent their branch.
Champs will join forces...
Unbelievably crazy.
[Ted] ...as our nation's best...
[Sunny Anderson] You can say that again.
[man] B-E-S-T, best.
-It's so good. -[cheering]
[Ted] ...cook to the ultimate test.
These chefs, they'll do whatever it takes to win.
Oh, yeah, baby, here we go.
-[sighs in exhaustion] -You gotta finish.
[woman] But you don't train for something like this.
[man] Everything has to be flawless.
[woman] The only time you fail is when you quit.
-Let's go! -What do you want from me?
-Get the food on the plate. -Hold on!
[man] I'm here to win, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
-[Sunny] Remember, he's bomb squad. -He's bomb squad
[Ted] This is Chopped Military Salute.
[Caleb] Land, sea, and air, we fight everywhere.
[Jazmine Anderson] Honor, courage, and commitment all day, everyday.
[Georges] You know that someone is gonna have your back
no matter what happens.
[Jazmine] I live this life day in and day out,
and I've been in it my whole life.
My name is Jazmine Anderson,
I'm a culinary specialist in the Navy.
[sighs] Thinking it's gonna be a good day today.
Being in the Navy has given me the opportunity
to travel around the world,
cooked in six different countries.
My special skills are definitely
mixing and matching different cultures,
melding the flavors together.
Little sweet, little spice,
it's gonna be good.
I'm the best that Navy has to offer,
I'm focused, and I'm driven, and I have what it takes.
Get ready for this heat.
[Georges] These are the chefs that are gonna get dizzy just by the way I move.
I am Petty Officer Georges Labaki,
and I'm the enlisted aide to the superintendent of the United States.
Damn, this is... Dang.
Mmm, that smells good!
These other chefs better be very intimidated by me
because the best is right here.
[Seth Chiado] I come in with a lot of energy.
I'll leave wake of destruction in my path.
I'm Seth Chiado,
and I'm the leading petty officer
of the Culinary Division on board the USS Oregon.
Cooking on a submarine is like cooking on a roller coaster.
Up, down,
left, or right,
you never know which way the galley is gonna move.
I'm not used to having so much space, this is great.
The chaos has prepared me for the Chopped kitchen.
We'll take a look at these bad boys.
Before I joined the Navy, I got my degree
at Johnson & Wales in culinary arts.
This is what everybody came for.
I'mma blow these surface guys out of the water.
[Caleb] How do I handle pressure?
With ease.
Caleb Abdinoor, culinary specialist,
first class, United States Navy,
stationed at Omaha, Nebraska.
I've a wide range of flavors I typically cook with.
I don't joke around in the kitchen.
I really dove into the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.
Perfect.
Been to a lot of Asian countries,
and lived in Hawaii for four years.
Land, sea, and air, we fight everywhere.
Failure is not an option,
and I'm taking that mentality into the kitchen.
Welcome, U.S. Navy Chefs.
We're privileged to welcome chefs
from the different branches of the armed forces
for each preliminary competition
in this special tournament.
-[Seth] Happy to be here. -We got this.
-Yes, sir. -[Caleb] Let's do this.
[Ted] There are three rounds,
mandatory mystery ingredients for each course.
If you're dish doesn't cut it,
you will be chopped.
-No happening today. -[Jazmine] Not me.
The winner here will join champions
from three other military branches
in the tournament's finale.
I'll be there.
All right, first baskets.
See what's inside.
-Ooh. -[chuckles]
What is this? [sniffs]
[Ted] And you're unpacking navy bean soup...
Cool.
-[Ted] ...head-on shrimps... -This is bresaola.
-[Ted] ...bresaola... -What is this?
[Ted] ...and finger limes.
Hey, I was thinking we're gonna have an MRE sitting in here, honestly.
There is two more rounds still.
I'm saying, though, you never know, you might.
A little electrolyte drink.
Thirty minutes for the appetizer round.
Time starts now.
-[Sunny] All right. -[applauds]
[chuckles] They're off.
[Marc Murphy] Exciting.
Behind, behind, behind.
Judges, you're joined by
co-host of Food Network's The Kitchen
and an Air Force veteran,
Sunny Anderson.
-It's always fun to be on set with Sunny Anderson. -That's right, baby.
I'm a U.S. Air Force veteran.
When it comes to the military and eating, I know all about it,
Couldn't get the easy peel shrimp, I guess.
I like this basket for them.
[Sunny] You've got your navy beans,
you've got your mirepoix, your celery, your onions, your carrots.
What I think is interesting about Navy chefs
is the lion share of them are usually under the water,
they don't have fresh ingredients unless they dock,
so they know what to do with that pantry to make it shine.
Seth, you do feel the Navy has been good prep for you to be here today?
Ah, it has. I normally work on a submarine,
so I'm used to small kitchen.
I've cooked all around the world,
so I like to pull from Mediterranean, Asian, and Mexican flavors.
I'm watching Seth over here on his station,
he has chopped up the bresaola...
-[Sunny] Mmm-hmm. -[Marc] ...looks like the shrimp.
-The bresaola, which is the cured beef. -Salty vibe.
-[Marc] Super lean. -[Alex Guarnaschelli] Lean.
-[Marc] Lean. -[Alex] But it's still got this super beefy richness.
-Are you making a shrimp cake? -I am.
I'm making a shrimp and bresaola fritter
with an Asian inspired slaw
and a navy bean puree.
I wanna compete to show that
submarine food is the best food in the Navy,
and it's really important for me to come out here and show my guys
what is possible.
[Alex] Caleb, what're you doing?
Chef, I'm gonna do a navy bean puree,
deep fired polenta crusted shrimp,
a toasted almond and finger lime gremolata,
and then I'm gonna chiffonade
the bresaola and crisp that up.
-Oh. -You are very fancy.
[Caleb] I'm using the navy bean soup to make a puree.
I wanna use the shrimp shells and the heads
to give it more flavor.
Since I've been in the Navy,
I've been able to cook on a destroyer and travel around the world.
Behind.
I've been to London, Sydney, Australia, Singapore,
I've lived in Hawaii for four years.
After everything I've been through,
I don't think anything can faze me in the kitchen.
My sister is my best friend,
she supported me through
everything I've done in my life.
To win this competition for my sister
would mean so much to me.
Behind.
[Jazmine] Growing up, I was in a military household,
so we moved around a lot,
we got to experience different cultures and different flavors.
What I like to cook primarily comes
from my travel throughout Asia.
Jazmine, what are you making?
I'm making a shrimp wanton, uh, soup.
[Alex] That's really creative.
[Jazmine] I get the navy soup in the pot,
I thin it out with some chicken stock,
and it seemed a little one note,
so I added some more fish sauce.
-How are we looking? -We're going.
[Alex] Georges, you're cleaning that shrimp so carefully.
What are you making?
Chef, I'm making some grilled tiger shrimp.
-[Alex] Do you feel good about this? -[Georges] Yes, Chef.
So in the naval academy, we host over 200 events per year,
and I'm in charge of leading my team, planning out the menus.
My typical cuisines would be Mediterranean,
Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian.
So for my appetizer,
I'm making a navy bean soup curry
with jalapeno grilled shrimp
and a rice wine vinegar frisee salad.
Bresaola, just chopped it up real quick,
and then put it in saute pan with a little bit of olive oil,
and use it as a little crunch.
You know, guys on the boat probably aren't a big fan of the navy bean soup.
I decided to blend it all up and add some seasoning.
I'm gonna use this as the base for the bottom of my fritters.
[Sunny] A lot of these chefs are cooking
for heads of state, dignitaries,
and obviously, if they're cooking for hundreds of people
on their ship, there are rules,
but then it also allows you in these career fields to have your creativity.
[Caleb] I making a finger lime gremolata
by squeezing them into the food processor
with herbs and almonds.
This will add flavor, texture, and color to my dish.
Just under 15 minutes to go, Chefs.
One of those ingredients that may be mysterious
to some of our viewers are the finger limes.
-Yeah. -Not an ordinary lime at all.
-[Sunny] Right. -[Ted] Not especially juicy.
This finger lime is new to me.
[Alex] It's super sour.
This is an exciting ingredient to have with, with shrimp.
[Jazmine] I totally underestimated
how much work and time it was gonna take
for me to fill those wantons
with shrimp, finger lime, and bresaola,
so I'm fumbling through that.
I also added the finger limes to my soup
to give it that bitter sourness.
Meanwhile, I look over at Georges' bresaola, and it's burning.
Your stuff is burning.
Ah.
[Marc] It looks like Georges' station is a little bit on fire.
Maybe he's going for a smoky flavor.
So panic attack, panic mode.
I smell burned cured meat.
[Georges] Time is running out, I'm panicking,
I don't even know if I have time to even finish the dish.
Man over board.
[Marc] Georges' station is a little bit on fire.
I smell burned cured meat.
[Georges] Ah.
I turn around, and nothing but black,
so panic attack, panic mode.
I'm immediately in damage control,
I put the pan down, get another pan out.
[Sunny] Georges, how are you feeling over there?
Fantastic, Chef.
-Okay, we need to call the FDNY, you good? -Yes, Chef.
Start plating, there's four minutes left.
[Seth] I'm gonna make a slaw to go with my fritter and beans
'cause it's fresh, and I need to add color.
Then I season it with the squeezed out finger limes.
I'm personally proud of being in the Navy
'cause I'm following the footsteps of my parents.
My father retired shortly before I was born,
and my mom was active duty up until I was in fifth grade.
You got an extra egg?
[chuckles] Yeah, right here.
[Caleb] I want to bread and fry the shrimp
because I want nice crispy texture
and fried shrimp are delicious.
Caleb is in the fryer. Caleb, you good?
I'm good, Chef.
-Jazmine? -I'm hanging in there.
[Sunny] Okay.
[Jazmine] I think my soup needs a little texture,
so I'm gonna fry my bresaola to make it extra crispy.
It's a little bit late in the game with the wanton soup
to be really fixing and tinkering,
that's something Jazmine needed to do far earlier than now.
Behind, behind, behind, behind, behind, behind.
We're coming down to a minute and fifteen.
[Seth] I'm looking down in my plate, realize I need a sauce.
[Sunny] Seth, is that wasabi?
This is wasabi right here, yes.
I'm gonna make wasabi mayo to go on top.
-He's going for some heat and some Asian spices. -I'll take it.
-Get it on the plate. -Caleb, what are we doing, Caleb? Let's go.
-One minute left, let's go. -[Sunny] Get it on the plate. Anything on the plate.
-[Ted] All right, come on, Navy Chefs. -[Alex] Come on, finish.
Come on, y'all.
-Come on! -Thirty seconds, folks.
-[Sunny] Yes. -All the four ingredients on the plate.
-Come on, Georges, let's do this. -[Ted] Tidy up those plates.
-[Sunny] Georges, let's get it. -[Ted] Ten,
-nine, eight... -[Sunny] Come on.
[Ted] ...seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one.
-Time's up. -[all cheering]
What?
[Caleb] The adrenaline is pumping, I feel good,
this means a lot to me.
My whole life, people have always kind of doubted me,
said I wouldn't make it in the Navy
or, like, I wasn't a good cook,
so I'm ready to silence those haters.
[Jazmine] That went really well, of course, some hiccups,
I'm worried about, like, maybe the shrimp didn't cook,
or maybe they don't think they go together,
'cause who puts deli meat
inside of a wanton with shrimp?
U.S. Navy Chefs, you've arrived at the chopping block.
In your appetizer basket, you found navy bean soup,
head-on shrimp, bresaola, and finger limes.
Chef Jazmine, please tell us what you've made.
Today, I've made for you a shrimp and wanton bresaola soup.
Chef, why are you proud to serve our Navy?
Because it gives me a chance to represent
the under-represented, the person of color,
women in the LGBT community.
The Navy has also given me my, my wife,
we met in the Navy, she's been in for 20 years.
-Wow. -Wow.
[Marc] First of all, I think the flavor of the wanton is wonderful,
but I, I don't think that the navy bean soup
is working with the rest of the flavors.
[Sunny] Yeah, I think your wanton is really successful,
but the beans is what's actually getting in the way for me.
-Just gives a little bit of a gritty texture. -[Alex] I agree.
Maybe just boiling the soup just to really break it down
would have given you a silkiness
from the beans.
What has disappeared into your soup
in the most beautiful way
is the true sourness of those finger limes.
So there's expert cooking, really well done.
Thank you.
[Ted] Thank you, Chef Jazmine.
Next up, Chef Georges.
Chefs, today I've made for you a navy bean soup curry
with a jalapeno grilled shrimp
and a rice wine vinegar tossed salad.
What lead you to join the U.S. Navy, Chef?
Back in 2006, I was a refugee of Lebanese War.
My family were evacuated by Navy Marine Corp,
and then my decision after high school
was repaying my country back with the act of service
for the men and women that sacrificed themselves for us.
[Ted] Wow.
-[Sunny] We appreciate you. -Thank you.
[Sunny] I'll go.
I wanna spackle whatever that sauce is
on some naan and just call it a day.
I also love that a couple of those finger limes pellets fell into the sauce
and that pop in the mouth
just really provided the acidity.
Thank you, Chef.
[Marc] Yeah, I have to say the same thing.
Flavor wise, you killed it,
but in the sauce, texture wise,
I think there's a little bit of a problem.
[Alex] I agree.
I think the sauce suffers from the graininess of the beans,
but you're the only person I think
that actually just gave us
cooked whole shrimp.
And the fact that you hard grilled them,
-I love that taste. -Thank you, Chef.
Thank you, Chef Georges.
Next up, Chef Caleb.
Chefs, so my dish is crispy fried shrimp
on top of navy bean puree,
and then I topped it with a finger lime
and toasted almond gremolata.
[Marc] I love what you did with the navy beans,
by adding the shrimp shells and adding the cream,
it could've been a little looser,
but I like the flavor.
Thank you, Chef.
You know, when you say crispy shrimp,
I want it crispy.
It's more crunchy than crispy.
I did like the cook on the shrimp,
and I like your gremolata
I think dill and lime together just are a great marriage.
Thank you.
I think the bresaola is really successful.
It's crunchy and crispy.
Your dish is the most technical.
The-- Using the shrimp heads,
crisping in a pan instead of in the fryer,
this is very finessed cooking.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef Caleb.
Finally, Chef Seth.
Chefs, today I've made a shrimp and bresaola fritter
with a navy bean puree
and with an East Asian slaw with the limes.
Chef, what is your role in the Navy?
[Seth] So my role in the Navy is,
I lead a team of culinary specialists on board a nuclear submarine.
Well, I think the cake is good.
I also like the way the slaw is mixed.
Everything is cut very finely,
and it almost feels like it's been sitting for a while,
like in a good way.
[Sunny] The slaw for me, I agree with Alex in that,
it gives me the second day slaw vibe,
it's, like, relaxed, it's tenderized.
Thank you, Chef.
Um...
I'm having a hard time with the amount of wasabi on here.
Wasabi really hits you
and, and it's sort of hard to taste anything else afterwards.
I actually think that you did the most successful
navy bean soup transformation.
And I was worried at the beginning
with all the blitzing in the food processor...
...but it reminds me of a white bean dip,
I think it was expertly seasoned,
-Thank you, Chef. -Chef Seth, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chefs.
[Georges] I don't know, it could be any one of us.
Based on their comments,
hopefully I get the privilege to go to the next round,
if I do, then I'm ready to turn the heat up.
[Jazmine] After that judging,
I think that I'm getting chopped.
The texture of my soup definitely could've been smoother,
but, at the end of the day,
I put a dish out that I'm proud of.
It's been an honor to have four U.S. Navy Chefs in the Chopped kitchen,
but unfortunately, we must the cut the field to three.
So whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Seth, you've been chopped.
Judges...
[Marc] Seth, first of all, I wanna thank you
for what you do for our country.
It's an honor for us to be able to be here and be with all of you.
When it comes down to the food,
you know, some of us felt you did the best job with the navy bean soup,
but the copious wasabi
was really a big problem for us,
and so we have to chop you.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
[Seth] I think I did the Navy proud
by coming out here and showing what I can do,
but I was just hoping to do a little better.
Chef Georges, Chef Jazmine, and Chef Caleb,
are you nervous about these?
-[Caleb] Not afraid of anything. -Not at all.
That's what I thought you might say,
let's see how you feel in a few seconds.
Open up your entree baskets.
-Oh. -Oh. Oh, Lord.
And you're unpacking vegetarian taco meat...
[Georges] Dehydrated, too.
That's definitely something you would find on a ship.
Aloha.
[Ted] ...pineapple...
Yeah, this is gonna be interesting.
[Ted] ...branzino,
and French fries.
Oh, French fries.
It's gonna be difficult, that's for sure.
Yeah, this is gonna be interesting.
Very interesting.
Thirty minutes to work.
Time starts now.
-[Alex clapping] -[Marc] Look at they go.
-I wonder what's gonna happen to that pineapple. -[Sunny] Oh.
Behind, behind, behind.
[Alex] What do we think is the best use of the pineapple?
I think I'd throw herbs at it,
-just to bring it out of that sweet vibe. -Basil?
[Marc] I, I think, also charring pineapple helps a lot
when you using them in savory,
'cause I think the char brings down the sweetness of it a bit.
[Caleb] I love pineapple,
I was stationed on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii for four years,
I can definitely do something with this.
I'm making a garbanzo flour
and French fry dredged branzino
with pineapple fried rice.
The first thing I need to do
is get this veggie taco meat situated.
Caleb, what are you making with that chickpea flour and the fries in that blender?
-So I'm gonna use that to dredge my branzino in. -[Marc] Wow.
[Alex] I think Caleb threw a lot of technique around in the first round,
I think Georges was the master of spice,
and I think that Jazmine took a huge risk,
preset the bar really high,
so I'm expecting more, more, and more, I want more.
[Georges] I love pineapple,
I love cooking seafood, I see 'em together,
I think immediately, I'm gonna make a seared branzino
with a vegetarian taco meat and French fry hash,
with pineapple and red pepper relish.
-French fires, you can't re-fry 'em. -[Sunny] Mmm-hmm.
-[Marc] You can't chop 'em up and put 'em in anything, -[Sunny] Mmm.
I don't know what you do with it.
I see the French fries, my mind goes to hash.
I can also hide my vegetarian taco meat in the hash.
Chef Caleb's techniques are phenomenal.
I never went to culinary school,
I kinda just learned on my own,
so I think he is my biggest competition.
-[Alex] What's she gonna do with this fish? -[Sunny] Fry it.
[imitates Italian accent] What's she gonna do with the fish?
[Sunny] I'mma fry that fish.
This is a farm raised fish,
it's mild, it's not fishy, it cooks quickly,
and you can really add a lot.
[Jazmine] I love fish, so automatically I'm excited,
but also, I've never cooked branzino,
once I realized how many bones it has,
I start panicking,
but the Navy teaches you resilience,
even when it's scary, I push myself to do it.
For my entree I'm making a pan-fried branzino
with French fry breading and a arugula salad with pineapple vinaigrette.
To make my breading for the branzino,
I add the fries to the food processor,
and I add the vegetarian taco meat.
Georges is taking out the pin bones.
Behind.
[Georges] You have to cook branzino right,
it's very delicate,
just get a nice hard sear on it, but not overcook it.
All right, Chefs, so only ten minutes on the clock.
[Caleb] This vegetarian taco meat,
I wouldn't serve my dog, let alone a four-star admiral.
My plan is to add it to the fried rice
to give it more flavor and body.
[Alex] That vegetarian taco mix is soy protein,
it has yeast, it has dextrose.
Caleb is absolutely incinerating something in that pot.
I don't know what that is, but I'm gonna find out.
[Caleb] I turn around, and I realize that
my taco meat is completely burned.
Caleb.
What is going on?
-Oh, okay. -You trying to hide that?
-Yeah, that's right. -Caleb!
At this point, I don't have enough time to restart the taco meat...
I'll scrape it off the top.
...so I look for unburned parts and add it to my rice.
[Marc] Caleb's seems to have taken Italian sausage,
onion, and whatever that burned taco vegetarian thing and put it into a pan.
Is that rice?
Five minutes on the clock, Chefs.
Jazmine has a beautiful salad.
[Sunny] She's got a fun looking salad of arugula, tomato.
I haven't seen how she's dressed it yet.
[Jazmine] The potent flavor of the pineapple
will do really well in a vinaigrette,
I add some white wine vinegar and rosemary for depth.
[Georges] I'm making a pineapple relish,
that's gonna go nice on that lean white meat.
I wanted to add a little bit of acidity,
so I decided to make a salsa verde as well
to kind of put it on top
and compliment everything together.
Oh, yeah.
Caleb, is that lime and soy with pineapple?
Yes.
And a little bit of rice vinegar.
[Alex] I think Caleb is making a sauce.
Two minute warning, Chefs.
[Marc] Let's get everything on the plate.
The salad needs a little bit of a salty crunch,
so I sauteed pancetta,
and let the taco meat absorb some of the fat
to give it a little extra flavor.
One minute left, let's go!
Finish strong, you can do this.
Double time, y'all. Double time.
-Georges. -[Alex] You guys can do this.
-Come on. -Get it done, Chef
Few more seconds to make any choices.
-You can do it. -[Ted] Ten,
-nine, eight... -[Sunny] Less than ten, let's go.
-Seven, -[Ted] ...seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one.
-[judges exclaims] -[Ted] Time is up.
-[laughs] That is-- -Wow.
-[Sunny] Wow. -[Marc] Man.
Almost--
-Almost put us in the hospital. -Gonna need some hugs.
[Caleb] I'm relieved.
I got everything on the plate,
and that was the important,
and I'm very proud for doing this for the Navy,
I'm proud to do this for myself.
[Jazmine] I don't feel like I put my best work forward,
those ingredients, like, all of them just threw me for a loop,
but if I'm here to lose, I'm losing against the best.
U.S. Navy Chefs, in the second round,
we challenged you to make main dishes
using vegetarian taco meat,
pineapple, branzino, and French fries.
Chef Jazmine, please tell us about your main dish.
We have a arugula with a pineapple vinaigrette salad
with pan-seared branzino on top.
Let's talk about the fish and your breading.
Any time I see fish that's gonna get breaded and fried,
I do expect a little bit of a crisper crunch.
But this didn't really give a nice, crisp crunch.
That being said, it's very well-seasoned,
and it's not overcooked, which I appreciate.
[chuckling] I love the potato fries in the coating,
but then I also wonder if you could have done something
to more highlight those French fries.
[Marc Murphy] Uh, for me, it's a good dish,
but it doesn't feel like a main course.
This is more like a lunch salad
with a little piece of fish on it.
[Alex Guarnaschelli] Pureeing the pineapple
and mixing it on the greens was...
...nothing short of brilliant.
Love the freshness of it.
The freshness of the arugula,
the freshness and succulence of the tomatoes.
Thank you, Chef Jazmine. Chef Georges,
please tell us about your dish.
Chefs, I made seared branzino
on top of a vegetarian taco meat
and French fry hash,
topped off with a pineapple and red-pepper relish,
and finished off with a salsa verde.
[Sunny] Well, I'd like a jar of your salsa verde.
I liked that 'cause it's delicious.
And your hash to me is delicious.
I think it was very clever, uh, to chop up the fries
that are already potatoes and turn 'em into a hash.
But...
...kind of not beautiful, to be honest with you.
[Marc] I gotta tell you, the bottom feels a little greasy,
and then you went a put olive oil on to garnish.
That was a mistake.
But this vegetarian taco,
I like the texture that I'm getting when I'm eating this
because it's crunchy.
I like the salsa verde,
and I'm extremely impressed
with the pineapple and the pepper thing
that you put on top.
I love it, it's got a nice refreshingness
going on with the fish.
This was a very interesting dish to eat,
but I just think the branzino really suffered.
Mine is overcooked, and the skin is not good.
[Ted Allen] Chef Georges, thank you.
Chef Caleb, what do we have?
Today for you, Chefs, I have a garbanzo flour
and French-fry dredged branzino.
Pineapple fried rice, shallot, and ginger asparagus,
and I did a pineapple fillet glaze.
Chef, what does the Navy mean to you?
[Caleb Abdinoor] College wasn't for me, I dropped out.
I probably wouldn't have done anything with my life
or just ended up as another statistic.
In, like, the New England, Boston area,
there's a lot of overdosing and drug use,
so, if I didn't pick myself up,
and put myself in the Navy,
then I wouldn't be standing in front of you today.
[Sunny] Let's talk about your dish.
I like your fish.
I think it was very well-seasoned.
Thank you.
I think it's the brown butter that's giving it
a little bit more depth of flavor than I expected.
But I think the asparagus are overcooked.
For me, the sauce is overbearing on the plate
because it's very, very heavy.
Is this the corn starch sauce?
-Yes, Chef. -[Alex] Yeah.
I think with the pineapple and the corn starch
and the soy sauce,
it really doesn't belong here.
But you did compose a dish,
and for that, I really respect all the work you did.
[Sunny] The vegetarian taco meat
with the pineapple and the rice,
it's successful to me.
Not a bad dish.
Yeah. The rice is delicious.
All right, Chef Caleb, thank you.
Thank you.
[Ted] Who's on track to complete their three-course meal?
We'll tell you soon, Chefs.
[Caleb] The judges had some tough critiques for my dish,
but I know I have a lot more fight in me,
and I know I wanna win.
[Georges Labaki] Overall, a little bit nervous.
I'm up against amazing chefs.
Anything can happen. It is Chopped.
[Jazmine] That was rough.
Based on the feedback from the judges,
there's a good chance that I will be on the chopping block.
[Ted] Which two Navy Chefs will be making dessert,
and whose dish is on the chopping block?
[exhales sharply]
[Ted] Whose dish is on the chopping block?
[exhales sharply]
Chef Caleb, you've been chopped.
Judges...
Caleb, we love that you mentioned
joining the Navy to run from darkness,
and you ended up in these lights.
I think some of the issues were your pineapple sauce.
The corn starch in it just kinda of muddied it up.
And the asparagus just really didn't
bring that fresh vibe that we were looking for,
and so, we had to chop you.
Thank you, judges.
Even though it didn't go my way,
I'm still proud of myself.
There's a multitude of things that I wish I did differently,
but I will definitely be cheering on my, uh, fellow shipmates
to win the competition.
[group applauding]
[Ted] So, Jazmine and Georges, batten down the hatches,
the dessert round usually means stormy waters.
Are you ready?
I've been in rougher seas before.
A calm sea never made a skilled sailor.
Last set of ingredients.
Please open your baskets.
And what sweet creations come to mind
when you see a U.S. Navy cake?
Of course we had this.
I actually love these.
[Ted] Longan fruit,
sea salt ice cream bars...
Looks like a Middle Eastern little thing.
[Ted] ...and halva.
Not much time to think about that,
you've got just 30 minutes to complete your work.
Clock starts now.
-All right, let's do this! -[applauding]
Someone bring me a pint of that ice cream.
Judges, what a beautiful cake,
it's a shame they can't just kick back and have a slice of it.
[Sonny laughing] Well, I guarantee they've had
a piece of this Navy cake before...
-Right. -...because it's omnipresent
at any Navy celebration.
[Jazmine] I've seen this cake a million times,
and I know that the texture will make a great cake pop,
and I can hide the texture of the halva in it
while using its nutty fruitiness.
I'm making chocolate-covered halva cake pops
with a sea salt popsicle whip,
and a longan fruit fruit salad.
I see Jazmine making whipped cream.
[Jazmine] I feel like the saltiness of the ice cream bar
will do really well as a whipped cream.
So, I whip that together until they're stiff peaks,
and stick that in the fridge.
Behind, behind.
There's a lot of sweetness in this whole basket.
Yeah, except for that sea salt ice cream,
which is interestingly blue.
[Marc] But then you've got this little fruit here.
They're very floral in flavor. It's refreshing.
I would think you would wanna put that into the fruit salad.
But there's a pretty big pip, and you gotta peel each one,
that's gonna be time consuming.
[Georges] Going into the final round, I'm feeling great.
One problem, I do not do desserts.
I do have a pastry degree,
but pastry cannot be done in 30 minutes,
so, I'mma have to get very creative.
For my dessert, I'm making a Navy cake and halva fritter
with sea salt and longan berry ice cream
and longan berry orange liqueur sauce.
The ice cream bars are really salty,
the longan fruit is sweet,
I decided to make an ice cream,
and blend the two flavors together.
If he re-ice creams ice cream, I'm excited.
Chefs, just under 20 minutes to go.
Only one of these two chefs will be representing
the United States Navy in our finale.
So, this is kind of a big moment...
-Major. -[Ted] ...for these two.
[Jazmine] I start breaking apart the Navy cake,
getting rid of that sweet fondant
to make cake pops.
[Alex] So, Jazmine's cleverly used
the sticky, tacky texture of the halva,
that pureed sesame and pistachio,
and now she's making a little cake pop,
which is pure basket, by the way.
Jazmine always has a big bowl of chocolate.
[Jazmine] I decided to roll my cake pops
in dark chocolate to offset some of that sweetness.
Just under 15 minutes left, Chefs.
I have no idea what I wanna do with the Navy cake,
but I decide to combine them with the halva,
and make some sort of fritter.
Oh!
It's fast and easy to do,
and I can just put it in the fryer,
and pray to God that it's gonna work.
Whoop, whoop!
See me, Chef, behind.
Georges seems to be getting a lot done.
He's got ice cream going,
-now he's dropping something in the fryer. -[Sunny] The fryer.
[Georges] I drop my fritters in the fryer,
hoping they will rise,
and as seconds pass by,
I see them dissolve.
I don't think there's anything good happening in that fryer.
[Georges] In this moment, I'm panicking.
It's not gonna work!
Everything's just going wrong right now.
[sighs]
Whatever Georges put in the fryer,
I don't think it worked.
-[Marc] Oh no? Hmm. -[Ted] No.
Dude, why is not working?
[Georges] I'm panicking, my fritters have completely dissolved.
[sighs]
I don't think there's anything good happening in that fryer.
[Georges] I'm redoing the batter,
this time I'm adding more flour
and ricotta cheese as a binder.
I mix those up all together...
...I go to the fryer, drop them in,
and hope for the best.
At least he saw that it didn't work,
and he's like, "Okay, change of plan."
Chefs, less than five minutes on the clock.
[Marc] Oh, look, it's working.
-Look at them, they're beautiful. -[Sunny] Mmm-hmm.
[Jazmine] For my fruit salad, I decided to cut up the longan fruit.
[Marc] Jazmine's got a lot of fruit.
She's got some blueberries, she's got some strawberries,
I like the idea of some fresh fruit in this dessert.
[Jazmine] The longan fruit has such a fresh taste.
The judges mentioned me hiding ingredients
in the last round,
so, I really wanted to showcase this one.
Georges, how is the ice cream?
[Georges] Tastes great, Chef.
This tastes really nice,
but I'm not feeling the longan berries,
so, I decide to make an orange liqueur sauce with it.
I don't know about you, but when I work in places
like submarines and ships, I flambe all the time.
[Sunny chuckles]
[shouting] You're down to a minute and a half!
Hooyah, Chef!
I wanna taste every single basket item.
I don't want anything hidden.
[Ted] You've got less than a minute.
Georges is chopping pistachios.
[Alex] What is he doing? Let's do this!
Come on, finish strong!
All right, Chefs, final seconds of the final round.
-Ten, nine... -No, he's not gonna make it.
[Ted] ...eight, seven, six...
[Alex] He's not gonna make it.
[Sunny] He's gonna make it, he's gonna make it, he's gonna make it!
[Alex] He's not gonna finish.
-[Sunny] He's gonna make it. -[Ted] ...two...
-[Sunny] He made it. -[Ted] ...one!
-Time's up! -[Sunny] He made it.
[applauding]
-[Sunny] Dude! -[Marc] Oh, boy.
-[Sunny chuckling] Whoo! -[Marc] Oh, boy.
[Jazmine] So proud.
So proud.
So honored...
...to represent so much.
I feel honored.
[Sunny whispering] I'm proud of you.
I'm so proud of you.
-I'm so proud of you. -Thank you so much.
-Was tough, dude. -[chuckling]
Yes, sir.
[Georges] This would mean everything to me.
Fifteen years of me and my hard work
and effort, and it leads up to this day,
and this is all or nothing for me.
[Ted] Chef Jazmine and Chef Georges,
your final basket contained a U.S. Navy cake,
longan fruit,
sea salt ice cream bars,
and halva.
Chef Georges, what's for dessert?
Chefs, I made for you a halva and Navy Birthday cake fritter
with a longan fruit sea salt ice cream,
and longan fruit orange liqueur sauce.
I do like the dish.
I think that the fritters, they're light,
they're fluffy, they're airy,
they're crispy on the outside, I think they came out really nicely.
[Sunny] I agree.
It's got a satisfying crispy, but thin crunch on the outside,
but I'm getting a little bit of uncooked-flour vibe.
It kinda stampedes over all the other flavors in it.
I think the ice cream is delicious,
but I am missing the longan.
For it to be in the ice cream,
I think that sea salt ice cream bar
just really overpowered everything.
I like the orange liquor
and the longan fruit with the pistachios.
The orange liqueur's such a creative choice.
[Ted] Thank you, Chef Georges.
Finally, Chef Jazmine,
please tell us what you've made for dessert.
Chefs, today I made for you chocolate-covered halva cake pops
with a sea salt popsicle whip
and a longan fruit fruit salad.
This is the most luscious delicious cake pop,
and I love what you did with the halva.
I really love the choice of the bitter chocolate.
It kind of allows that sweet to be metered out by some of the bitter.
And I love the idea of your whipped cream
with that sea salt ice cream bar.
It kind of calmed down that salt, but it's still there.
But if I looked at the fruit salad,
and said what kind of fruit salad it is,
it's just a fruit salad.
It's not really a longan fruit salad.
The fruit salad has so much juice in it,
the cake pop absorbed a lot of the juice,
so, the cake pop got a little mushy.
[Alex] I agree the cake pop is too moist,
but the rest of it I really like.
[chuckles]
[Alex] It's the blueberry, longan berry combination to me
that's great game play.
'Cause it's a pantry ingredient
that enhances the longan berry, which was in the basket.
Thank you, Chefs.
Chef Jazmine, thank you.
Thank you.
All right, Chefs, your appetizers, entrees, and desserts
are all of equal importance as the judges make this call.
Thank you.
Judges, so, you would expect seriousness and precision
from military chefs,
but did they also bring a little fun?
[Sunny] I thought it was great.
It was nice to see them play well together in the sandbox.
And that first round was something else.
Georges came in with that grilled shrimp,
with that feisty sauce on the bottom, remember that curry?
That was just really, to me, flavorful.
I really loved Jazmine's wonton.
I think the flavors she developed in that were really, really good.
The only disappointing thing for me was the actual broth that she had.
It just tasted too much just like buzzed up Navy-bean soup.
It was murky.
Moving on to the main course.
Both of these chefs sort of tamed the pineapple down,
and it was actually pretty good.
-I thought the vinaigrette... -[Sunny] Oh!
[Marc] ...on, uh, Jazmine's salad was good.
[Sunny] It was delicious.
The vinaigrette was tasty.
But the French fries, she sort of swept that under the rug.
I thought Georges did a great job with the pineapple.
I thought the pineapple sort of salsa that he put on top,
it was pineapple, fresh peppers,
I think that was really nice.
But I did not like the way Georges cooked his branzino.
My fish was sort of half-steamed and overcooked.
For me, bad game play.
[Jazmine] I think we both did a really good job.
I feel like I could have definitely done more,
but don't we all?
[Georges] I'm feeling very nervous right now.
You don't know what's going on through the judge's minds.
It's anyone's game,
so, I just hope for the best.
So, who's dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Jazmine, you've been Chopped.
Judges...
Jazmine, we wish that both of you could win.
We loved your wonton soup,
but we just felt like it needed some freshness
and some texture.
For your entree,
we loved how beautifully you cooked the branzino,
but we just couldn't find those French fries in the breading.
We were left feeling like you were on the hunt
for the basket ingredient,
and so, we had to chop you.
Thank you so much, Chefs.
So very proud of you.
-Thank you so much. -Thank you.
[Jazmine] I'm so proud of myself.
This is a competition that's designed to see you work under pressure,
and I'm glad that I was able to do that today.
[Ted] And that means, Chef Georges Labaki,
you are the Chopped Champion,
and you have got some more work to do.
-Congratulations. -[Georges] Yes, Chef. Thank you.
[applauding]
To be a refugee from the Lebanon War,
even joining the military,
traveling, working overseas,
and then now here, like, this is awesome.
This one feels incredible, and I'm ready to do it again in the finale...
Wow!
[Georges] ...and show everybody what the Navy is all about.
[Ted] Are you ready to fly high in the Chopped kitchen?
[woman 1] Get ready for this heat.
[woman 2] All that matters is what's on the plate.
All right, work, work!
Time is flying!
Flying!
Oh, yeah, baby, let's go!
It looks perfect!
[Ted] Who has what it takes...
...to take down a titan?
Four elite military chefs
against three Chopped legends.
-[Sunny] Plate like fire! -Yes!
-[Sunny] Whisk, whisk and whisk! -Argh!
-Gotta put it on that plate. -Nothing!