[woman] I feel a lotta pride, there's a lotta honor involved in this.
[man] My whole life, people have always kinda doubted me.
I'm ready to silence those haters.
Let's get it.
Double time!
[Ted] This tournament is about honor and commitment.
[woman 1] I don't quit.
[man 1] This is all or nothing for me.
[man 2] I love this feeling.
[woman 2] The adrenaline rush is real.
[Ted] Sixteen military chefs battle to represent their branch.
Chefs will join forces.
Unbelievably crazy.
[Ted] It's our nation's best...
[Sunny] You can say that again.
[man 3] B, E, S, T, best.
-It's so good! -Whoo!
[Ted] Put to the ultimate test.
These chefs will do whatever it takes to win.
Oh, yeah, baby. Here we go.
-Ugh. -You've got a fetish.
[woman 3] But you don't train for something like this.
[Ted] Everything has to be flawless.
[woman 4] The only time you've failed...
Hustle!
[woman 4] ...was 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.
-Remember he's bomb squad. -[Sunny] Bomb squad.
[narrator] This is Chopped: Military Salute.
[Blanquivett] We're all the best and we're marines.
[Dustin] There's no one that can do what we do.
[Chris] We bite our teeth and grit it down,
get the job done come hell or high water.
[Cameron] All capital letters, B, E, S, T, Best.
[Blanquivett] I am a food service specialist in the Marine Corps
currently serving as an enlisted aide.
I love what I do.
My food point of view is American classics,
with never forgetting, you know, where I come from, the Latin roots.
Nice, golden, just how I like 'em.
I wanna be a role model for my daughters.
[all] One, two, three, let's go!
[Blanquivett] I want them to see that what Mom does is for a purpose.
I'm a fighter, I never give up,
and I always have my two girls in mind.
We're all here to win.
As Marines, we are competitive to the T.
[man] Blades, up. Hike.
[Chris] In the Marine Corps, we're taught to improvise,
adapt and overcome.
That's what I'm gonna do in the kitchen.
I'm an enlisted aide in the United States Marine Corps.
A little bit of wine, nothing but the good stuff. Don't go cheap.
As an enlisted aide, my duty is providing well-balanced meals
to our general officers and their guests.
There's the flavor right there, all that color.
My style of cooking is home food elevated to Michelin star level.
I'm gonna win this competition for my wife and my daughter
to show them that the deployments,
the long nights and the early mornings, were not for nothing.
Better watch out, Marines, I'm comin' for ya.
[Cameron] I have heard the Chopped kitchen
is the most stressful environment.
Diamonds are formed under pressure, watch me shine.
[hums]
I'm an enlisted aide for the United States Marine Corps,
and I'm stationed in Washington D.C.
Growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
I was raised around Creole food.
My strategy is to bring my Creole roots into each and every dish.
I'm in the zone.
I chose the Marines over every other branch
because I wanted the best of the best.
I proved that I could make it in the Marines.
Now, I'm out to prove that I got what it takes to win Chopped.
There you have it, the best shrimp etouffee you'll ever taste.
[Dustin] I'm a gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.
And I am an enlisted aide to one of the top generals that run the Marine Corps.
It's right where we need to be.
I think the skills of the Marine Corps
has taught me to improvise, adapt, adjust and overcome.
Beautiful risotto in the bowl.
I worked in the White House serving two U.S. presidents.
If I can handle that pressure,
I should definitely be able to handle this.
[Ted] Welcome Marines!
[all] Oorah.
Ow.
The few, the proud.
-[Blanquivett] Always and forever. -Sir, all the time.
[Ted] The four of you are competing for a coveted spot
in our Military Salute finale,
where you'll join three service members from other branches
to try and take down our Chopped titans.
-Oof. -Let's go.
You are standing at attention in front of our appetizer baskets.
The infamous basket, guys.
[Ted] Go on and ease into them.
-Get outta here. -[Cameron] What?
Woah!
[Ted] Ready-to-eat spaghetti.
MRE.
Oh, yeah!
[Chris] Ready-to-eat spaghetti is some that I've had
100 times while being in the field.
Spaghetti with meat sauce, all right.
-[Ted] Italian long hots. -To my surprise [laughs] some peppers.
[Ted] Black cod fillets.
Fresh piece of fish.
Freshly seafood.
-[Ted] And orange gelatin cups. -Yeah!
My favorite.
Orange gelatin. Where are we, in the hospital?
Oh, goodness.
-[Ted] 30 minutes. -Good luck, y'all.
[Chris and Cameron] Good luck.
Clock starts now.
[Blanquivett] Woah!
-[Cliff] All right, let's go. -Let's go, Marines, let's do this.
[Marc applauds] Oh, this is gonna be exciting.
Marc, you are joined by two very special guests judges.
Sunny Anderson, co-host of Food Network's The Kitchen, and an Air Force veteran.
And Cliff Crooks.
And I understand, Cliff, you might have a warm place
in your heart for the military.
Oh, I absolutely. My brother is in the army, 82nd Airborne.
And, uh, he's in, uh, special ops.
-82nd Airborne, baby! -82nd Airborne.
This is the Marine Corps episode.
-Brah. -[Sunny laughs]
And then now the smack starts talking.
-Exactly. -[laughs]
[Sunny] The interesting thing about the military is it never leaves you.
It's the best four years I ever spent in my entire life.
-[Marc] Did you ever eat MRE's back when you were-- -Yes.
Yes, I've definitely have had meals ready to eat.
I had them in basic training.
We're gonna give it a try for good time's sake.
You open the packet and it's really just ready to go.
Tastes exactly how it was before.
I think you need separate it, get the noodles separate from the meat and its sauce.
[Sunny] Dustin in the pantry!
Oh, yeah, baby. Here we go.
What you pullin' out over there.
I see you you over by the liquor.
[Dustin] Oh, it... Woah, woah, woah. Don't tell my secrets.
-[laughs] -[Dustin laughs]
I feel good to be in there with my fellow Marines.
The environment is crazy.
We said we were gonna light the kitchen on fire
and I think we're doin' that right now.
I'm crackin' the first beer guys.
[chefs] Eh!
Pass it around.
[Dustin] I'm taking my ready-to-eat spaghetti
and I'm making a sauce from it.
I'm making beer-battered cod tacos...
Hm! Oh, feeling good right now.
...in chipotle MRE sauce.
Just need the juice in that right there.
[Marc] Well, I'm freaking out a little bit.
Cameron got pasta.
-[Cliff] Now that's bold. -[Marc] He's making us a pasta appetizer.
Pretty interesting considering he's got spaghetti in a bag.
[Cameron] MREs are not the best thing ever.
But I know how to dress this up to make it taste better.
I add canned tomatoes, sauce and fresh tomatoes
to freshen up the ready-to-eat spaghetti.
I'm going to make spaghetti with a pan-seared cod,
with an orange gelatin reduction
and a Pico de Gallo.
[Chris] Ooh!
It would look bad if I dropped the fish.
[Ted] Black cod is terrific.
It's expensive.
It's not something that we can find in the supermarket.
-That is reserved-- -No, sir.
...for really fancy fish restaurants.
It's a treat.
[Chris] Growing up in California, I wanna go fish tacos.
I kinda bring that Baja California flavor into it.
I'm making a grilled black cod taco,
with Italian long pepper salsa.
Hey.
The Marine Corps is the best because we're the smallest, the most elite.
Here goes nothing.
I'm used to working under pressure,
and we'll get the job done come hell or high water.
-[Sunny] Blanquivett! -[Blanquivett] Yes, chef!
I love that you're the only female
representing the Marines right there, honey bunny.
Hey! Me too, me too.
Proud to be here.
Proud to represent us all.
When I see the cod,
I automatically wanna go for a taco.
But I see two other competitors goin' for a taco as well.
And I don't wanna make the same thing,
so I go to the pantry and grab some wanton wrappers.
I'm making a seared cod wonton tostada.
Because it's ready-to-eat spaghetti, it's saucy,
I'm gonna pair it with crema
to make it a spaghetti crema.
Being part of the Marine Corps is like being part of a family.
And as an enlisted aide I work with Dustin every day, side-by-side.
But today we're competitors,
and may the best man win.
Oh, yeah.
[both] Let's go!
Chefs, 20 minutes left on the clock.
-[chefs] 20 minutes left! -Heard!
Let's go!
Italian long hots, I mean, they're a great pepper.
They're not very spicy.
I mean, I'd rather be using the long hots then that gelatin.
-[laughs] -[Ted] So that's one of those Cheetos peppers.
And so 1 out of 10 will nail you,
but most of them are not that.
They're just sweet and crunchy.
[Marc] Yeah, exactly.
[Dustin] I decided to take my Italian long hots
and the orange gelatin to make a pineapple-citrus salsa.
Beautiful.
I'mma get... Oh, yeah, baby. Let's go.
I need to get started on my batter for the cod.
Beer, flour, chili powder, cumin.
Moving behind, chef.
[Ted] Chef Dustin heading into the fryer with his fish.
This is the most soigné fish and chips using black cod.
-[Sunny] Mmm-hmm. -Yeah, that is slightly fancy.
That's not just your ordinary porgy.
-[Sunny] That's Michelin star, baby. -That is not. Oh, no, no, no.
Oh, I'll take it with the black cod.
-Get it right, though. -[Ted] Yeah.
How long does this take? 10 minutes, okay.
I'm feeling the pressure of the clock.
I have only done beer-battered fish maybe three times in my career,
so this is definitely gonna be a risk.
[Cameron] I decided to use the long peppers
and make a Pico de Gallo with diced tomatoes and red onions.
Growing up in Baton Rouge, I am comfortable with using seafood.
I'm goin' to pan fry the cod
to give it that nice, brown color.
[Blanquivett] Pico de Gallo usually has jalapeno in it.
Instead of using jalapenos, I'm gonna use the Italian long hot.
And then I get my orange gelatin,
put some garlic and more Italian long hot.
I let it reduce to add it as a sauce.
[Marc] Chris is starting to get some char on those tortillas.
Marc, my problem is there's still no char on the fish
that's still sitting on his board.
[Sunny] 6 minutes to go.
Drop that fish.
[Chris] The judges are yelling at me that there's 6 minutes left,
and I don't even have my cod on the grill yet.
The pressure in this round is way more than I was anticipating.
Could you hurry up is what I wanna tell him.
[Marc] Guys, I'm a little bit worried here,
because Chris he's... he's not cooking anything.
-[Blanquivett] Behind! -Heard.
I don't even have my cod on the grill yet,
and the only thing I'm thinking about is
"Do not be the first person chopped here."
All right, chefs, 5 minutes on the clock.
[Ted] Chris is fish is actually getting on the grill now.
[Chris] Come on little buddy.
This is just so scary for me,
'cause in my mind he should also be plating at about 5 minutes left.
[Ted] Well, that's just it, Sunny.
A taco is something that has to be assembled.
So even if the fish were perfectly cooked,
it still has to get onto the tortilla.
-Yeah. -It... It still has to get on a plate.
-[Ted] Yes, yeah. -It's gotta make the plate.
[Chris] I know that my taco needs a little bit of garnish on top.
So I decide to use arugula.
I know I wanna make a citrus vinaigrette.
I'm gonna incorporate this orange gelatin,
orange juice, agave and apple cider vinegar.
[Blanquivett] My brain and my heart and my soul, you know,
they're... they're everywhere right now.
There's so much commotion goin' around me,
but I'm just keeping my head down and focusing on my dish.
[Ted] 2 minute warning, chefs!
2 minutes!
[Dustin] 2 minutes heard, chef, 2 minutes heard.
Right behind, right behind you, chef.
Right behind you, chef.
[Cliff] So Dustin just pulled the fish out.
It... Whoo! From my vantage point,
-it looks... it looks perfect actually. -Oh, good.
[Dustin] Getting in there, chef.
-Right behind, behind, behind. -[Blanquivett] Heard, heard, heard!
[Dustin] Oh, we're hanging in there, baby.
This is crazy.
It's taking me back to my bootcamp days.
We're doin' good, we're doin' good.
I think we're hangin' in there, yeah?
[Blanquivett] Perfect.
[Marc] 50 seconds, 50 seconds.
-Let's get it all on the plate. -Get it all on the plate!
Let's go, Marines.
Marines, 30 minutes have come and gone.
-[Cliff] Let's go, Cameron. -[Ted] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two.
-[Chris] Come on, brother, come on. Come on, come on. -[Ted] One.
-[Ted] Time is up, please step back. -[Sunny] Whoo!
Oh, Cameron!
Let's go, baby!
[chefs] Whoo!
[Blanquivett] The adrenaline rush is real.
Pressure of representing the Marine Corps
in this Chopped kitchen is high.
We have to do it well, we have to do it with poise,
'cause that's what we're all about.
[Dustin] There's only four of us here that get the opportunity to do this.
So we have to bring it home.
I think I did a very good job of representing myself on the plate.
Hoping the presentation is enough to get me through to the next round.
[Ted] U.S. Marine chefs.
You have arrived at the Chopping block.
You are serving up appetizers
made with ready-to-eat spaghetti...
...Italian long hots...
...black cod fillets...
...and orange gelatin cups.
Chef Dustin, please tell us what you've made.
Chefs, I've prepared for you a beer-battered fish cod taco.
It's gonna have an orange gelatin, pineapple salsa
and a chipotle MRE sauce reduction.
What do you do in the Marines?
I am a Marine Corps enlisted aide.
I work for the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
I'm on a team of four. This is actually my teammate right here.
And we run all the food service operations in the house,
uh, at the home of the Commandant's.
So you're... you're a Gunnery Sergeant?
Gunnery Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.
And you are Master Sergeant?
-[Blanquivett] Staff Sergeant. -[Sunny] Oh, wow.
-So... -E-6.
-Enlisted 6. -Yes.
-Enlisted 7. -[Sunny] Enlisted 7.
-So he's a rank above you. -Yes, ma'am.
Wouldn't it be nice to take him down?
-It would be. [laughs] -[Sunny laughs]
Let's talk about this crunchy taco,
because it was fried to perfection.
It is just so inviting, delicious.
I distinctly taste a little back of the orange gelatin cup.
It's in there,
but I'm happy about it.
It's a damn good taco.
Really is.
The way you use the ready-to-eat spaghetti,
draining it out and just using the sauce
and mixing it with the chipotle.
I still taste the tomato back so.
-And it's the best part of that for this dish. -Yes.
I think this was a successful appetizer.
I am a little disappointed that you didn't roast the peppers.
I think this needed a little bit more smokiness to it.
Yeah. Roasting, you know, even, you know, right on an open flame
would've just beefed up the flavor profile a lot.
-Okay. -[Dustin] Thank you.
-Chef Dustin, thank you. -Thank you.
[Ted] Next up, chef Blanquivett.
I have prepared for you a seared cod wonton tostada
with a spaghetti crema.
[Cliff] So, I'm definitely getting the long hots, which I absolutely love.
It's flavor forward, it's intense in the best possible way.
The fish is cooked beautifully.
-Thank you chef. -I... sorry.
Why did you use the wonton?
I wanted to be different.
I didn't wanna provide another corn tortilla.
It's, it absorbed all the crema.
I think a corn tortilla would've probably served you better,
because it would've held up better.
I agree, but I totally get the orange gelatin cup.
It's forward. I taste it over the fish.
For the Italian long hots, I could take more.
-[Ted] Thank you, Chef Blanquivett. -Thank you, chef.
Chef Cameron, please tell us about your appetizer.
What you have in front of you
is spaghetti with a pan-seared cod,
with a orange gelatin reduction
and, uh, pico de gallo on top.
And chef, who are you competing for?
[Cameron] So, I'm competing for the United States Marine Corps, of course.
But I also just had a son named Casyn.
He's one years old and four months,
so I want him to know that dreams do come true.
-[Ted] Congratulations. -[Cameron] Thank you.
-Thank you, chef. -[Ted] Exciting.
My piece of fish was cooked perfectly.
-Yes, chef. -[Marc] I think it's good. I liked the flavors.
[Sunny] Yeah. The pasta is perfect.
I don't really get the orange gelatin cup as much as I would like to,
because it's a basket item, and I do wanna kind of taste it.
But I think you ended up with a well-composed dish, that's for sure.
Thank you, chef.
Finishing the dish with pico was a miss for me.
The heat from the Italian long hot works.
That raw onion doesn't.
But the cod is cooked beautifully.
And then, the texture of the pasta's perfect.
All right. Chef Cameron, thank you.
Thank you.
Finally, Chef Chris.
Today, I prepared for you a grilled black cod taco
with a Meal Ready-to-Eat spaghetti sauce with some Italian hot peppers.
[Ted] So, why the Marines for you?
I come from a military background family.
My grandfather was in the navy,
and my father was in the army for 21 years.
And I chose the Marine Corps 'cause there's nobody else,
uh, in my family that has done it, and obviously, we are the best, chef.
Keep sayin' those fightin' words, y'all.
-[Blanquivett chuckles] -To this air force veteran.
[Ted] She's gonna flip this table over.
Your black cod is cooked perfectly.
I love the flavors. You've got that great spaghetti, ready-to-eat,
MRE sauce on the bottom.
The best part is the char that's on that cod.
Because the ready-to-eat spaghetti with the tomato and the agave
leans very, very sweet.
I feel like there's a little identity crisis when I look at this.
I see an Italian spaghetti sauce.
I see arugula. Right? I see tortilla and a lime.
I feel like this should really be sitting on a grilled country bread,
rubbed with a bunch of garlic, you know, and some olive oil.
I think it would've made more sense as far as a...
Like, as a composed dish.
All right. Chef Chris, thank you.
Thank you.
[Blanquivett] Oh, Lord. That was a crazy round.
I should've just used a corn tortilla.
But it would mean everything to me to move on.
I'm focused, and I'm ready.
[Dustin] Judges told me that I should've roasted the peppers.
Hopefully, that's something that doesn't send me home.
Very intense first round.
Way harder than could ever imagine.
[Ted] So...
whose dish is on the chopping block?
[tense music playing]
[intense music playing]
[Ted] Which three Marines will be returning to the stoves?
and whose dish is on the chopping block?
[music continues]
Chef Cameron, you've been chopped.
Judges?
[Cliff] Chef Cameron.
Your raw onion in the pico de gallo
detracted from the rest of work that you attempted.
And the orange gelatin wasn't there.
So and for these reasons, we needed to chop you.
Thank you.
Not just for being here today, but what you do every day.
[emotional music playing]
Thank you, chef. Mmm-hmm.
-Thank you. -Thank you so much.
I don't have any regrets.
Go kill it.
Unfortunately, I didn't win. But I had the time of my life.
-We'll make you proud. -[Ted] Good luck, chef.
[Cameron] But what I would like the world to know is that
anything could happen when you put your mind to it and give it 100%.
[tense music playing]
[Ted] Chef Dustin. Chef Blanquivett. Chris.
Let's take a look at your entrée ingredients.
Please open your baskets.
What do we have?
Bulldog gravy.
-That's interesting. -[chuckles]
Bulldog is the official mascot of the Marine Corps.
So I'm thinking they put this in there for us.
Can we shake it a little bit? All right.
-[Ted] Celeriac. -I know the name of this, but I forgot the name of it.
[Dustin] Celery root.
-[Ted] Veal short ribs. -Short ribs are my favorite.
[Ted] And buttermilk pancakes.
Pancakes? Really?
-Pancakes? -[Dustin] You've gotta be kidding me.
It's pretty.
[Blanquivett] I'm gonna have to definitely taste that.
-[Chris] I am hungry. -These look great.
You have half an hour.
-Clock starts now. -[Sunny] Whoo!
-[Marc] Let's go, Marines! -[Sunny] Round 2, let's get it!
Entrées!
I gotta say, I'm enthusiastic about this basket.
[Sunny] Yeah, same here.
[Marc] Bulldog gravy is basically like a...
-A Southern gravy. -[Sunny] Mmm-hmm.
Where you would normally just cook your bacon,
add some flour, add some milk...
It's a great base for a sauce.
Figured out what you're gonna do with this bulldog gravy?
Absolutely. I haven't even tasted it.
[Dustin and Blanquivett laugh]
-Call it Devil Dog gravy. -Devil Dog gravy, huh?
-They had to throw that one in there for us, right? -Absolutely.
[Dustin] Air force must have did that one.
Oh, beautiful. Wanna take that all day.
[Cliff] Blanquivett... She's actually more focused in her movements and actions
during this entrée round.
And I'm very, very excited for what she's gonna produce.
[Blanquivett] At work, we usually focus on entrées
so I have a lot of experience in this area.
It's a root vegetable similar to, like, a parsnip.
Dice them up real quick, and then I'm gonna boil them to make a purée.
I'm making a seared veal with celeriac purée.
I really wanna make it to the-- The championship round.
I want to be the representation of the Marine Corps.
I want to make my children proud.
I'm gonna keep pushing, and put my heart and soul, everything in there.
Garlic powder. I want garlic powder.
Chris seems to have tackled the, uh-- The celery root first.
I love celery root. They also call it celeriac.
[Sunny] I love a celery root mash.
I've also made celery root fries before.
I wanna roast the celeriac, because I wanna get a little crunch factor to the dish.
I'm making a pan-seared veal short rib with roasted celeriac
in a bulldog gravy sauce.
My grandfather believed that everybody should serve in the military services.
I decided to choose the best, which is the Marine Corps, obviously.
The only thing on my mind is not letting down the Marine Corps or my family.
Judges. So, army, navy and air force winners will join the victors
of this Marine competition in the finale.
[Sunny] What we really need to see in our Marine today to pick them for the team
is leadership, creativity and execution.
We're gonna need someone that gets in that kitchen and says,
"Okay, here's what we're going to do."
[Cliff] You know, Dustin...
Haven't seen him attempt to fabricate the veal short rib yet.
So that's a little bit concerning.
And by the way, that meat...
-is tough. -[Sunny] It needs time.
It either needs to cook for a long, long time,
or you gotta throw it in the grinder and grind it down.
-[Sunny] Mmm-hmm. -Or, I guess maybe you could slice it very thin
and do a really quick sear.
[Dustin] Bone-in veal short rib... I don't have a lot of time to cook it.
So I immediately think of almost like a veal scaloppine.
Something that's thin. Maybe lightly breaded and shallow pan-fried.
I'm making pancake-breaded veal short rib
in bulldog gravy mushroom purée.
Oh, that's beautiful flavor right there.
When I see celeriac, I know that I can make a very nice mash out of that.
Twenty minutes to go, chefs!
[Dustin] Heard.
Behind.
What is she frying over there?
She got, like, fingers or something. It looks like French fries.
[Blanquivett] With the pancake, something in my mind said, "French fries."
Season them with salt, pepper, paprika.
Get the pot ready with oil and fry them all.
I say to myself, "It's a crazy idea, but I think it just might work."
And then I pan-sear the veal with some garlic and oil.
-[Sunny] Come on, Marines! -Go, Marines!
-Let's go, baby! -[Sunny] Whoo!
[Marc] Chris's veal's not cooked.
[Chris] I'm running out of time.
I know these have to cook quick.
I decided to slice it thin and hope for the best.
I go and grab the bulldog gravy, the pancakes
and add it to the blue cheese, the heavy cream and the buttermilk.
To thicken the sauce up a little bit.
I see that my celeriac and potatoes are tender.
So I wanna get those through the ricer.
Dustin seems to be using a ricer to mash his celery root.
[Sunny] Well, we're gonna get a nice, smooth mash, honey.
Chefs, less than five minutes to get it done.
[Cliff] Let's go, Marines!
[Blanquivett] Bulldog gravy.
I knew I wanted to add that to the purée that I was making with celeriac.
I blend that, add some heavy cream in there as well.
Bulldog gravy. So I know that I could use that as the base component
for my mushroom sauce.
Coming behind, chefs, coming behind.
Side of the dish need a little extra crunch.
So I wanna fry some mushrooms.
Nobody's here to eat healthy, right?
Let them fry, baby. Let them fry.
[Chris] Time is running down. I'm just waiting on the short ribs to finish cooking.
I'm just going off of instinct and praying that that meat is cooked correctly.
[Ted] Under a minute, chefs!
[Sunny] You should be plating right now.
[Cliff] Let's go, Marines!
[Ted] Finish with finesse, chefs.
Ten, nine, eight...
-[Sunny] Get it all on the plate. -[Ted] Seven, six, five...
four, three, two, one.
-Time's up! -[judges applauding]
Oh, yes! Wow, wow.
[Dustin] I'm feeling confident. I-- I think I did a very good job
of representing myself on the plate.
And, uh, it's in the judges' hands at this point. I cooked my best.
[Chris] My biggest concern is short ribs.
I'm just hoping that it's cooked right. We'll see what happens.
[Ted] US Marine chefs.
Time for the judges to taste entrées you've made
with bulldog gravy,
celeriac, veal short ribs, and buttermilk pancakes.
Chef Blanquivett. Please tell us about your entrée.
What I made for you is a seared veal with celeriac purée
and seasoned pancake fries.
[Sunny] You can say that again.
-[laughs] -[Marc] Pancake fries?
[laughs]
Nothing close, genius on that, never seen anything like it.
Thank you, Chef.
Your celeriac purée, wow.
The texture is delicious.
I almost don't wanna pick this apart,
because the pancake fries, they are shadowing everything.
I do think that the sparerib...
Yeah, I was chewing on the fat a little bit. I hate to admit,
I like to chew on my fat sometimes.
But I think in the Chopped arena,
it just has no place.
[Cliff] The veal short rib, yeah, it's tough to get through
because it is such a dense muscle.
You cooked it really fast and it tightened up even more.
For me, it needed a sauce.
Thank you, Chef Blanquivett. Next up, Chef Chris.
I've prepared for you
a pan-seared veal short rib with roasted celeriac,
and a blue cheese and bulldog gravy sauce.
Chef, why should you be the one who represents the Marines in the finale?
Because I'm able to think on my feet.
I'm able to work well as a team.
And I will kinda showcase that,
uh, Marine Corps enlisted aides are able to cook just as well
as, you know, the chefs in the civilian world
working in high-end restaurants.
-That's right. -[Chris] We're Marines first, but we're also
-masters of our craft. -[Sunny] Yeah.
I really love the cubed celeriac.
The texture of that is perfect.
Where are the pancakes here?
Chef, the pancakes are in the sauce.
[Sunny] I don't taste the pancake.
I don't know if that's good or bad.
Because we've had pancake fries now,
and I'm a little bit tainted. [laughs]
-[Cliff] The sauce is good. It's very, very good. -Thanks, Chef.
-The miss is that veal short rib. -Yes, Chef.
It's, once again, uh, very chewy.
Really needed to be manipulated in a different way,
either cut through the grinder or sliced extremely thin,
-and then grilled very, very hard. -Yes, Chef. Thank you.
[Ted] Thank you, Chef Chris. Finally, Chef Dustin.
I've prepared for you a pancake-breaded veal short rib,
a celeriac mash, and a bulldog mushroom purée.
The star of this plate is its mushroom sauce.
-Thank you. -[Cliff] Um, it's incredibly delicious.
[Cliff] The texture on the celery root mash is wonderful.
The sauce and the celery root,
I think they were both, they were both very tasty.
Uh, I love that you fried the mushrooms as a garnish
to give a little bit of texture
and to give a little another dimension to the plate.
Yes, Chef.
I think that you have the most successful veal short rib.
The pancake crust was so airy and crunchy.
But I think this was just brown on brown on brown.
-Yes. -[Sunny] When it comes to eating,
I just love the idea of a little bit of kaleidoscope of color.
Yes.
Chef, what culinary experience has the US Marines provided to you?
Probably the most incredible experiences,
opportunities that I've ever could've dreamed of.
I was able to spend six years at the White House
and cook for two different presidents.
Without divulging the Commander-in-Chief in particular,
AKA the President,
what was the weirdest request
or the most interesting request for your kitchen?
Oh, goodness.
I mean, burgers at 1:00 AM.
[Sunny] That's a 24/7 job.
24/7 job, absolutely.
Soon we'll find out who's going to be in round three.
Thank you, Chefs.
[Dustin] The judges told me that I had the best cooked veal short rib.
It was just a weight off my shoulders.
I have so much more to show the judges today.
[Blanquivett] That was crazy, that was a crazy round.
Definitely feel happy with what I presented.
The fries were a hit, so I'm pleased.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Chris, you've been chopped. Judges?
Chris, just by being here, I think you've made the Marines proud.
Unfortunately, we felt that the veal short rib was not cooked properly.
The pancake was very hard to find in the sauce.
-And so, we had to chop you. -Thank you.
[judges clapping]
[Chris] I'm a little disappointed in myself,
but this experience has been, you know, a blessing.
And Blanquivett or Dustin, they're gonna represent
just how amazing the chefs we are as Marines.
[Cliff] I have a question real quick.
Because you worked closely together,
do you know each other's tricks?
[laughs] I don't know.
-[Dustin] I don't know-- -I don't know, dessert-wise, I think it's, uh...
[Dustin] Very even playing field.
-[Blanquivett] It's a mystery for both of us. -Yeah, absolutely.
[Dustin] With as much camaraderie as we have,
this is the last chance that I have to prove that I got it.
[Blanquivett] Dustin has a lot of ideas and he executes them well.
But I wanna be the one representing the Marine Corps in the finale.
[Ted] Blanquivett, Dustin.
Maybe these baskets could make the difference.
Open 'em up!
And you've got fried chicken ice cream,
[laughs] Fried chicken.
You are not serious.
I truly thought that this was fried chicken.
[Ted] Purple muscadine grapes.
-[Blanquivett] A berry? -And, uh, whatever these are.
I'm gonna taste these and figure it out.
-[Ted] Candied fennel. -[Blanquivett] Oh.
Sprinkles. Sprinkles.
[Ted] And chickpeas.
Chickpeas! Oh, great dessert item.
[Dustin exhales] Okay.
One more 30-minute round. Clock starts now.
-All right! -[Sunny] Ready for dessert, let's go. Dessert time!
What I really love about this is that
two Marines that actually worked together in the same unit
made it to the dessert round.
One of them is gonna be added to our elite team to go up against
- those titans of Chopped. -[Cliff] In the finale.
[Cliff] Right now, I think it's anyone's game.
I think both of them have performed ridiculously well.
-[Blanquivett] Behind. -[Dustin] Heard.
I really wanna be the one representing the Marine Corps
and all women of all services in the championship.
The muscadine grapes, I taste one
and it's similar to a regular grape.
And I figured apples and these grapes will pair wonderfully.
I'm making a apple and grape crumble
with candied chickpeas.
-You know what I'm really excited about? -[Sunny] Tell me.
The fried chicken ice cream, you see that?
-[laughs] -That's right. It was pretty cool.
[Marc] I mean, that was a trick.
They were like, "Oh, fried chicken!" And then they're like,
"Wait, this is ice cream."
[Sunny] Yeah. It's shaped like a chicken leg,
and the bone at the center is a pretzel rod.
Let's do it. [chuckles]
But taking an ingredient that's already made
and turning it into something, I don't know what that's gonna be like.
-Just using the ice cream for the crispy coating. -[Sunny] Coating.
I mean, for me, you know, making a tiramisu's a good idea.
Melting the ice cream, just the vanilla part,
and soaking the actual ladyfingers in that liquid might be a good idea.
[Dustin] Chocolate fried chicken ice cream.
I'm actually relieved that this is ice cream.
And I'm making fried chicken ice cream tiramisu
with an aquafaba grape mascarpone.
The bottom of a tiramisu is always ladyfingers.
And then I use a spoon to lightly ladle over the espresso and the rum.
I decided to use my purple muscadine grapes to add as a layer.
I don't really have time to do a traditional egg and sugar cream base
for the tiramisu, but the chickpea juice is a good substitute.
[Marc] I don't know if everybody knows what aquafaba is.
-You take the liquid from the chickpeas -[Sunny] Mmm-hmm.
and you put it in a mixer, and it turns into, uh,
like a, you can make, like, a meringue with it.
-[Sunny] Yeah. -[Ted] Unbelievably crazy.
Chefs, 20 minutes left on the clock.
[Dustin] 20 minutes heard, Chef.
[Blanquivett] I combined flour, sugar,
cinnamon, and butter to create my topping.
I sprinkled a crumble on top of the apples and the grapes,
and put 'em back into the oven to finish.
[Marc] I just saw Dustin do something interesting.
He put some white chocolate in the double boiler,
and then he put the candied fennel seed in there as well.
[Dustin] I decided to do some tempered chocolate.
And I wanna use the candied fennel in there
to add a little bit of texture.
I wanna use that sauce to create a garnishing element.
So, I find some ramekins and I lightly drizzle a lattice web on them.
And I need to get them frozen so I can peel them off.
The ends of that is, I cooked for two presidents.
I served in a naval ship feeding up to 1,000 people.
I've served in Afghanistan, cooking up the desert.
I think my composure under pressure is where I'm gonna succeed.
[Blanquivett] In another sauce pan, I've placed
the peeled and seeded grapes
with the candied fennel seed
to make a sauce for my crumble.
I decided to use the crispy chicken skin as part of my crumble.
Opened the oven and just placed the skin on top of my crumble.
Blanquivett went into the oven,
took the sheet tray with the ramekins out,
and left the oven door open
-[Sunny] Oh. -for what seemed to be an eternity.
[Marc] All that heat's coming out of the oven.
Every second is like five degrees down.
No, Blanquivett. Shut the door.
[Sunny] As soon as you open up that door,
the temperature starts to go down.
Blanquivett, shut the door.
-[Sunny] Shut it. -Whoo!
Five minutes to go, chefs.
[Blanquivett] There's a lot of moisture coming out of the fruits,
and I'm starting to worry that my crumble isn't going to set.
But I'm gonna keep pushing and finish strong.
I'm gonna candy these chickpeas for texture.
Sugar and cinnamon, let that caramelize a little.
Chefs, you have two and a half minutes left.
[Dustin] It's time to bring this tiramisu to life.
I add the chocolate and the candied fennel to the layer of grapes.
Now I'm adding the aquafaba grape mascarpone.
I'm taking my fried chicken ice cream skin and using it to garnish.
The last ingredient is the chocolate lattice.
Oh, my God!
[Ted] One minute to go.
He leaves his station with a minute to go.
-[Sunny] Where is he-- oh, oh! -[trays clattering]
-[Sunny] Whoa! -[Cliff] Oh!
Come on, baby. Gotta have drama.
-[Ted] That's coming out of your check, Chef. -[Dustin] Perfect.
Chef, are you okay?
-Hold on, hold-- -I fell when the dishes fell.
-Hold on, hold on. Is that coming off? Let's see. -[Sunny] So sorry.
-[Dustin] We're good, Chef. -[Sunny] Come on, chefs!
[Ted] 39 seconds.
Oh, my God, is he gonna have to peel them off?
[Dustin] Nah, that ain't gonna work. Okay.
Who cares?
-I know. -If it's not a basket item, who cares, Dustin?
Ten, nine, eight,
-seven, six, -[Blanquivett] Good, Chef.
-five, four, -[Blanquivett] Let's go, let's go, put it on there!
-Come on, Dustin, you got this! -three, two, one.
-[Ted] Time's up. -[all clapping]
[Ted] Whoo! Oh, my.
-[Blanquivett] Good job, good job. -[Dustin exhales]
[Blanquivett] What's going through my mind right now, giving me focus,
is definitely my daughters.
Isiah, Ramaiah, I hope I made you proud today.
As a Marine today, I showed the epitome of what we are.
The honor, the integrity.
Always battling through, no matter what.
I hope I take this home.
[Ted] Chef Blanquivett, Chef Dustin.
The judges were on the edge of their seats
as they watched you make desserts using
fried chicken ice cream,
purple muscadine grapes,
candied fennel, and chickpeas.
Chef Blanquivett, please tell us about your dish.
Chefs, I've prepared for you
a apple grape crumble
with candied fennel and candied chickpeas.
[Cliff] I think the idea of a crumble is a great idea,
but the amount of liquid that the apple let off
was a condition of the oven
being left open,
so it didn't have a chance to bake hard and fast.
Think you had a lot of issues with the oven.
But what I can tell you is,
-you know, there's some flavor here. -Thank you, Chef.
-Miss French Fry -[Blanquivett laughs]
from the entrée round of pancakes.
And this interesting candied chickpea,
you're pretty creative, if you ask me.
I'm pretty impressed at these candied fennel seeds,
I think give it that little anisette note in the background
that I really love. I love it.
I just don't enjoy the presentation.
But I almost ate the whole thing. I should stop.
-[Sunny] I'm saying! -I know.
Thank you, Chefs.
-Thank you, Chef Blanquivett. -Thank you, Chef.
-[Ted] Finally, Chef Dustin. -[Dustin] Chefs, I have prepared for you
a fried chicken tiramisu
with a aquafaba grape mascarpone.
[Sunny] I do love a tiramisu,
because it's just so comforting
and mushy in your mouth, you know?
I do love your muscadine grape level.
I do think it was very clever, obviously,
to place the fried chicken ice cream over the top,
-get some texture there. -Yes, Chef.
Presentation-wise, it's gorgeous.
Think it's just a lot of booze that comes through.
Yes, Chef.
[Marc] Raw alcohol like that really just comes through very hot.
I just feel like the ingredients kinda took a backseat here.
Yes, Chef.
It's incredibly pretty. It's petite.
But the ladyfingers in the bottom of my dish
are oversaturated, it eats very, very mushy.
It's very, very pretty, just a little bit muddled.
Yes, Chef.
There can be just one champion.
And very soon, we'll let you know who that is.
Thanks.
-Thank you, Chef. -[Dustin] Thank you, Chef.
Judges, the effort those two Marines put into their meals
-was extraordinary, I thought. -[Sunny] I agree.
[Sunny] Our job here is to build an elite task force
to go up against the top titans, and...
Remember Dustin made that crunchy, crunchy black cod taco
-for the appetizer? Oh, man. -That was outstanding.
[Sunny] But he kind of ignored the Italian long hots.
Everyone feared them for the heat instead of leaning into it
and using them for, really, what they are.
And I thought Blanquivett did a great job.
Concept was great, the whole dish was fantastic.
If she had put it onto a corn tortilla, it would've been much better.
That wonton just soaked up all of the ingredients.
And I think in the first round,
Chef Dustin had Blanquivett by a nose.
I think, in the entrée round, it was definitely even.
Everybody should've done better with the veal short ribs.
Blanquivett didn't do a very good job.
There was a lot of fat on mine.
[Sunny] Let's talk about those pancake fries.
Is America gonna start making fries out of pancakes now?
Someone's definitely gonna start doing it. I'm gonna start doing it.
But I gotta say, Dustin,
He used the pancakes to enrobe his...
-[Cliff] That was a whole run. -...his, his veal.
[Marc] I thought that worked out very well as well.
That mushroom sauce was just perfectly seasoned.
I really think, though, his dish was brown, brown, brown, brown.
-[Sunny] Where are the vegetables? -[Cliff] Agreed.
[Sunny] This is gonna be a photo finish.
And whoever wins, it is gonna be close.
[Dustin] Working alongside my teammate Blanquivett, um,
Immensely proud of her,
but I wanna win this. There's no doubt.
[Blanquivett] This is it, you know, we did all three rounds.
Based on everything today,
I think I have a great chance in winning.
I want it. I want it, I wanna make it to the championship.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Blanquivett, you've been chopped. Judges?
[Sunny] Chef Blanquivett.
I think you very well represented your career field and the Marines,
-so you should be very proud of that. -Thank you, Chef.
In the appetizer round, that wonton crisp just didn't crisp.
In the entrée round, that pancake fry was genius.
But that veal short rib was chewy.
And so, we had to chop you.
It's been a great ride. Thank you, Chef. Thank you.
-Thank you, been a pleasure. -Awesome work.
[Blanquivett] The goal was to make it to the championship,
which I am not.
So, definitely a little sad, but ultimately proud.
[judges clapping]
I'll definitely be watching the finale
and rooting for Dustin, and hopefully he takes the win.
And that means, Chef Dustin Lewis,
you are the Chopped champion.
You are heading into the finale as the representative
of the United States Marines in the Military Task Force.
And that has got to feel good. Congratulations.
-[all clapping] -[Sunny] Whoo! You did it!
-It was absolutely amazing. -[Cliff] Right on.
The Marine Corps, oorah semper fi.
-[Sunny] That's right. -[Ted] Oorah semper fi!
-How do you feel? -[Dustin] Incredibly humbled, grateful.
And I just thank my wife for being there for me for the past 15 years.
Uh, man, your family has to make
such a sacrifice for you to be able to do what you do.
I just thank you all so much, I appreciate it.
Oorah semper fi!
[woman] If the military chefs wanna prove how great they are,
they better come for the best.
[Dustin] Once you get up to this level,
we gotta go big or go home.
God bless America. We have to win this.
Give me a whisk and I shall make it happen.
Put the crab on it, put the crab on it!
-[in sing-song voice] Fire! -[Cliff] Yeah!
[Ted] There's a $25,000 prize for each round.
-Is he crazy? -Oh, yeah, let's go!
[woman] We're gonna do everything in our power to win this.
-All on that plate! -This is nuts.
[Sunny] Military Task Force, let's go!