[Ted] Your competition comes with a big twist.
Every round will feature a gargantuan ingredient.
What?
This is absolutely insane.
[Ted] Clock starts now.
[Amanda] Is it gonna impress us?
I'm coming with big, bad, bold flavors.
Come on. Huh!
I'm feeling awesome.
-[Ted] Time is not on your side now, Chefs. -Oh, my...
The pressure is really getting to me.
Make sure you get all the ingredients on the plate.
-I'm trying. -[Millie] Come on, sis!
-[Ted] Five, four... -I'm shaking in my boots over here.
[Ted] ...three, two, one. Time's up.
[Chase] My personal style is swaggy.
I always like to look good doing whatever.
Cooking on the line, cooking on the food truck.
Serving up unique cuisines like our famous chicken and waffle kebab.
I'm Chase Davis, owner and chef
of King Kabob food truck in Atlanta, Georgia.
I'm known for putting food on a stick.
What's on your stick?
That's my slogan.
I'm here to take the title of Chopped Champion to Atlanta.
I'm doing this for the city
Let's go, baby.
[laughing]
People call me bubbly...
Like, what are you talking about? [laughs]
...a little neurotic...
How do you want it? [laughs]
...definitely old-lady tendencies.
I love to cook comfort food from around the world.
My food is rich, messy.
You definitely wanna get seconds, grab a whole stack of napkins.
Absolutely nothing is going to stop me from winning.
I'm going to win.
I do not like to lose.
I'm hungry, and I'm ready to win.
I'm a private chef and cater in Houston, Texas.
I like to cook comfort soul food.
I'm originally from Liberia West Africa, actually.
Soul food reminds me of my food.
It's very warming, it's filling.
That's good.
My flavors are as loud as I am, so listen up.
Boom.
Let's go. [laughs]
I always go for big flavors
That first bite really has to draw them in and pack a punch.
I was sick of going out and eating fish
and it always being the lightest, everything with a, like, nage.
I wanted to eat barbecue, you know, I wanted to eat, like, real food.
I'm very competitive.
There's a lot of people who cook in Chicago,
and I've always pushed mysel to try to get the best job.
I wanna win Chopped 'cause it would be freaking awesome.
-[Naya] Oh, man! -[Max] Let's go!
[Naya] I'm excited.
Oh, my God. What is that?
-Hello, brave chefs! -[Chase] What's going on?
-[Dana] Hello! -Hi.
Are y'all ready for anything?
-Bring it to me, whatever it is. -Anything.
-[Ted] Well, that's good because your competition
comes with a big twist, and we do mean big.
That huge box just might be a hint.
Huge.
-Oh, my God. -Every round of your competition
will feature a gargantuan ingredient.
Here are your appetizer baskets.
Please open them up.
-What is this? -Is this oxtails?
[Ted] And you see a whole oxtail.
[Naya] I normally take three to four hours to make my oxtails.
This is absolutely insane.
-[laughing] -[Ted] The giant Moscow Mule.
-Long beans. -Long beans.
[Ted] And now for that extra big surprise.
Your last ingredient is under there.
That box is bigger than I am. You could probably fit ten of me in there.
So, let's see what it is.
[all laughing and cheering]
[laughing]
Oh, my God. What is that?
[Ted] It's a freakishly large nacho tower.
[Naya] That is insane.
This is pretty cool, but I don't know what I'm gonna do with it.
Inspired by this theme, we want you to make dishes with big flavors,
taking big risks.
-Oh, yeah. -Twenty minutes to make it happen.
Clock starts now.
Judges, that is an extra, extra, extra, extra large nacho tower.
[Geoffrey] All I can say is, "Wow."
You have beans, you have tomatoes, you have veggies.
You cook it together--
-Oh, chili would be a great idea for this year. -...add the oxtail.
-Or a chili. Boom, boom. Sign the painting. Goodbye. -[Ted] Yeah.
Judges, you are joined by a community chef extraordinaire,
Millie Peartree.
Welcome back.
Thanks for having me.
[Ted] So, Millie, what are your feelings about that giant nacho tower?
[Millie] It has one of my favorite ingredients of all time.
-Guacamole. -[Ted] Ooh.
-Mmm-hmm. -[Ted] Yum.
I'm trying to get some ground beef on here.
This giant tower of nachos has ground beef.
I'm thinking I can definitel use that to make beef tacos
with an apple long bean slaw
I have to get started on my oxtails.
I don't even know where to start with these.
Oh, how am I gonna break this?
I take as much of the fat of as possible.
I added my beef broth, my garlic, and then I add my ground beef in.
That oxtail, it's a knockout flavor.
Typically, you would take the oxtail and you'd braise it low, slow
for many, many hours.
But we have 20 minutes. [laughs]
-[Geoffrey] No, no, no. -[laughs]
[Amanda] So, they have to take meat off of it.
They have to butcher it. I highly recommend using the grinder.
[Max] It's a giant tower of nachos, and I'm, like,
I know I wanna use the jalapenos.
I'm making spicy oxtail noodle soup.
I only have 20 minutes to make this soup
of gargantuan flavor.
And I start charring all the vegetables and the oxtail.
I wanna impart as much flavor into the broth as I can.
Max has his oxtails on a grill.
[Amanda] He's gonna make a broth.
-He has some aromatics on there, too. -Yeah.
-[Amanda] Max, is that a pho? -It's a beef noodle soup.
-Beef noodle soup. -[Max] Yeah.
I wanted to make something that we could eat with chopsticks.
-Okay. -Yes. Thank you very much.
It's all about Geoffrey.
Course it is. [laughs]
[Dana] A giant Moscow Mule.
Is it happy hour already?
What they gonna do with that Moscow Mule? It does have ginger in it.
Should they be trying to reinforce that ginger flavor
with fresh ginger?
[Amanda] That would be amazing.
A Moscow Mule is made with vodka, ginger beer and lime juice.
There's gonna be a really strong ginger flavo in there,
so I immediately think, "I gotta make a curry out of this."
I am making green oxtail cur
with long beans and pickled jalapenos.
When I'm cooking, I go for big, gargantuan flavors,
so what bigger flavors could you get except a curry?
[Ted] The gargantuan theme, of course, is just for fun.
What we're really looking for is what we're always looking for,
which is big flavor.
That oxtail, the meat that's on it, and the flavor it extracts is amazing.
So I would get garlic and, like, cumin or curry.
Curry is a seasoning that is used in Jamaican oxtails.
Trinidadian oxtails.
[Chase] From the nachos,
I grab sour cream, green onions, a little jalapenos.
I'm making a coconut-curry oxtail with sauteed long bea
over basmati rice.
Everything I do is big. Big flavors...
Chef Chase, are you okay?
-Oh, I'm shaking in my boots over here, boy. -[laughs]
[Chase] Let's see what I can work up.
You bite on my food, juice is gonna be dripping down your face.
[Ted] Is there any other secret workaround on that oxtail?
What do you do quickly with that?
[Geoffrey] Drop that sucker in a deep frier.
The fat will cook and get crispy,
and then you can pull off bits.
[Chase] Once I get the small pieces of the oxtail,
I wanna batter that up nicely, and then I deep fry it.
Fifteen minutes to go, Chefs.
Oh, my God.
To go with my long bean slaw I add my arugula, my radicch
and my apple.
What the hell do I even have right now?
The pressure is really getting to me, and I'm starting to lose my cool.
Oh, my God.
I was born during the Liberian Civil War.
My family was in a lot of danger,
so we had to literally leave the country.
I didn't know this was so hard. I underestimated it.
Everything that I've been through taught me to just be a strong person.
You gotta just push yourself to the limit.
[Dana] So far, this curry tastes so delicious.
Like, I wanna make myself a bowl.
I'm adding fish sauce and rice vinegar
because I know it gives a really good umami flavor.
But I see that Chase is frying his oxtail, and I'm kind of thinking,
"Ugh, why didn't I think of that?"
[Chase] I pull my oxtails out the fryer. They look golden brown and crispy.
Exactly what I wanted.
I got a winner.
What am I even doing with this right now?
I'm looking at my taco filling, and I'm flustered
because I feel like I don't have enough meat on my taco.
I look at the clock, and I realize I'm running out of time.
-It's not going good right now. -You got this.
Naya, she's not really in the best mind.
I can't. I cannot serve this. I cannot serve this.
[Max] So I'm trying to support her.
You got this, Chef.
Naya, you got it, right?
-I'm trying. -[Millie] Come on, sis.
-I know you got it in you. -I'm pushing.
I feel like I'm about to cry.
-I don't want to go home. -No, you don't wanna go home.
[Naya] If I don't have enough filling to fill all of my tacos,
I know I'm getting chopped.
[clock ticking]
I don't want to go home. Ugh!
I don't have any protein right now.
I'm flustered because I don't have enough meat on my tacos.
-[Amanda] Chef Naya, how you doing down there? -I'm working.
-You're working? -[Naya] Yep.
-I hope so! [laughs] -[laughs nervously]
I need a lot more ground beef than this.
She's trying to get some ground beef. All right.
I run back to my station and just try to add more ground beef to my pan.
I'm feeling really stressed because I know I can do better than this.
Get it together. Get it together.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm feeling awesome.
I am so proud of how well I'm working in this kitchen right now.
I'm like, "I got this."
I'm using coconut milk to add rich texture
but also to balance all the flavors out.
And I'm adding mint, dill, parsley and cilantro.
Yes, that's it.
[Chase] I start plating my rice.
I top it with my coconut-curry sauce.
A little oxtail on top, and I crush up the tortilla to add that texture.
I got a winner.
Chase, he's, like, relaxing over here.
Chefs, one minute left on the clock.
-[Geoffrey] Oh, my goodness. -Ooh!
-This is awesome. -Come on, Naya. You got it.
I don't know what I got right now.
Time is running out, and I just try to scoop as much of my filling as I c
into these shells.
Make sure you get all the ingredients on the plate.
-[Amanda] We wanna see Moscow Mules. -[Geoffrey] Oxtails, let's go!
[Naya] I realize I still have not used my Moscow Mule
so I go ahead and take the lime out of it and squeeze it over my taco.
Max, just get it together.
[Max] I put my veggies into a bowl.
I add my noodles.
I put the soup on top. Garnish with a little bit of sriracha.
Good to go.
Time for final touches only.
Ten, nine, eight...
-I don't have any meat. -[Ted] ...seven, six...
-We want flavors as big as that nacho tower. -[Ted] ...five, four...
...three, two, one. Time's up.
-Yeah! -[cheering]
-[judges applauding] -You good?
[Naya exhales]
Oh, my God.
[Dana] That looks beautiful.
I am not happy with the amount of filling in my tacos right now.
[Chase] That 20 minutes did go fast.
I had to calm down. I had to be cool, calm and collected. I did my thing.
This is, like, gargantuan. This is huge. This is flavor
This is bold.
Chefs. In the basket you found whole oxtails,
a giant Moscow Mule and long beans.
And the fourth ingredient was
a huge, gargantuan nacho tower.
Chef Naya, please tell us about your dish.
I tried to make for you guys an open-face ground beef taco
with apple-long bean slaw.
[Ted] How did you feel about the giant nacho tower?
That thing was a monster. [laughs]
Oh, gosh.
Miss Naya, honestly don't understand why you were so frazzled.
-[exhales] -[Millie] Because this was absolutely delicious.
[Naya] Thank you.
[Millie] We have apple in he for the sweetness.
It's a good counterbalance of all of that spice that you added in here.
-[Naya] Yep. -And, of course, this lime, I did use it,
-and it added extra brightness that it did need. -Okay.
Taco's good. Look, it's gone.
Um...
The tortilla was crispy.
I actually love the fact that you put arugula and radicchio in this taco.
It's unusual.
-[laughs] -I just don't taste anything anywhere near oxtail.
-[mouths] Okay. -[Geoffrey] So that's a major problem.
Where's the drink? The Moscow Mule?
I used the lime from the Moscow Mule.
-Just the lime? -Yep.
-[laughs] -So this is optional.
Sounds like something I would do.
-That is a cheeky move. -[Geoffrey] We said use a little or a lot,
-and you used a little. -[Naya] Yeah.
-[Amanda] The slaw is absolutely delicious. -[Naya] Thank you.
I love that the meat in the taco has a chili vibe.
-But, of course, the challenge was the oxtail. -[Naya] Yeah.
Thank you, Chef.
What big ideas came to you, Chef Max?
Chefs, I made for you guys a spicy oxtail noodle soup.
Judges, would you describe these flavors as big and bold, as we were asking?
Absolutely.
All right, Max. Absolutely delicious.
-Thanks, Chef. -[Millie] I taste the Moscow Mule.
Noodles are cooked perfectly.
I love spice, so I have the sriracha.
We have the jalapenos from the nacho tower.
-Delicious. -Thanks, Chef.
The creativity level's just off the charts.
-Thanks, Chef. -[Amanda] I do want more nacho tower and oxtail flavor.
Even fat. I mean, this actually needs fat.
-This type of soup, you want that fatty richness -Yes, Chef.
I don't taste oxtail at all, and I... It's a very distinctive taste.
This is a little bit of a lay-up for me. It's kind of phoned-in.
But it's a delicious soup.
-Chef. -[Ted] Thank you, Chef Max.
Next up, Chef Dana.
I have made for you a green curry with oxtail,
long bean and pickled jalapenos.
-When is the last time you cooked an oxtail? -Never.
You know why I'm asking you that?
-It's raw. -[Geoffrey] Yeah.
[Dana] I was worried about that.
[Geoffrey] The sauce and the beans are delicious
-I mean, excellent. -[Dana] Thank you.
[Geoffrey] It's just that this piece of meat is like a garnish
that can't be eaten. [laughs]
-Sorry, Chef. -[Geoffrey laughs]
The base you created is delicious.
The long beans are perfectly cooked.
-I like the dill surprise in here. -[Dana] Thank you.
-Dill, love. -I'm a dill lover.
-I'm a dill addict. -Me too.
-[laughs] -[Amanda] Really surprising and delicious.
Your inexperience with the oxtail is really unfortunate,
'cause it's such a beautiful ingredient.
But the base is delicious.
Thank you.
It has bold flavor. I just really wish you utilized
that nacho tower a little bit more.
Why not put some of that sour cream in it
to give it that little bit more unctuousness?
It could have totally been kicked up a notch in the cream area.
Finally, Chef Chase.
I have created a coconut-curry oxtail with long beans,
served over basmati rice.
[Geoffrey] Where do you work, Chef?
I am the owner of King Kabob food truck in Atlanta, Georgia.
We specialize in stuff on a stick.
Chicken kebabs, to low country boil, to Thanksgiving.
We put it on a stick and serve people.
-Very American. -Yes. [laughs]
What did you think of the giant nacho tower?
I actually got a little excited when I saw that tower.
From the sour cream, from the green onions,
to even garnishing the top with the tortilla chips, and that's what I did.
Chef, obviously, you are skilled at making curry sauces.
Sauce is great. You'd make this in your sleep, obviously.
I love your attempt to cook the oxtail. [laughs]
-[laughs] -[Amanda] The oxtail's a bit tough.
From the nacho tower, what is on the plate?
The sour cream, the green onions and also the tortilla chips.
I garnished that on top.
I'm not finding tortilla chips.
I just would love more of that big, giant tower.
[Amanda] Yeah. You brought big, bold flavors, for sure.
-[Geoffrey] Yes, you did. -[Amanda] For sure.
I'm getting spice. Very delicious.
[Millie] I wish there was a more sauce-to-rice ratio,
because it's really good. It's really delicious.
Again, the oxtail was tough,
but you got some oxtail on the plate,
so, you get some effort for that.
Okay, now the judges decide who gets to stay,
who has to go.
[Dana] I was overconfident
and underestimated the oxtail.
I think I am safe.
When I make it to the next round,
I'm comin' with big, bad, bold flavors,
'cause this is huge. This is gargantuan.
That was quite a first round.
We will miss the chef who has to leave us.
[Ted] Chef Dana, you've been chopped.
Judges...
[Amanda] Chef Dana, you had big, bold flavors
'cause we're asking for big in this challenge,
but the oxtail was raw and inedible.
And we did really wanna see more
of that gargantuan nacho tower in your dish.
And, so, we have to chop you.
I don't agree with the decision of the judges.
Good luck to you, Chef.
[Dana] I do understand that mine was
the only one not cooked, but I was also the only one
who tried to really get that oxtail flavor.
Chef Naya, Chef Max, Chef Chase,
are you at all nervous about what you might get next?
I'm nervous.
Could you just tell us what's under here?
[Max] It's annoying not knowing what's going on.
Ready?
Set?
Open 'em up!
Your first three ingredients are bison rib roast...
[Chase] Okay.
Okay, we've got some kale.
[Ted] Dinosaur kale,
and a giant can of potato chips.
I have no clue how I'm gonna do potato chips.
[Ted] Ready to see your gargantuan fourth ingredient?
What have we got?
What the heck?
[Ted] A gigantic spaghetti and meatballs.
That is unbelievable.
-That's ridiculous. -Yeah
Where do people find things this big? This is crazy.
I got this.
Thirty minutes to create your entrees.
Clock starts now.
-Let's go. -Okay let's go.
Go big, go big.
[Geoffrey] This giant bowl has about 150 pounds of pasta,
forty pounds of meat,
ten pounds of sauce,
and five pounds of parmesan cheese.
It's the real deal.
[Amanda] Everybody says I always make too much
when I have people over for dinner.
Do you think that's enough for five?
At the Freitag household? No.
[laughing]
[Chase] I'm going straight for the pasta,
'cause I feel like I can pu a good sauce on that
and really wow the judges.
I'm gonna make a bison Marsala pasta
with a kale salad.
I opened the potato chips.
First thing that comes to mind,
let's make a breading for my bison.
I add bison to the potato chips,
and I throw that in a pan of butter, shallots and garlic.
That's gonna be the base of my pasta sauce.
Mmm-hmm.
[Amanda] We have a giant can of potato chips in the basket,
which I'm really excited about,
because I just love crispy, crunchy, salty things.
You just have to figure out what do you do with it?
Making chicken fried steak out of that will be great.
My dish is inspired by a good old comfort classic,
chicken-fried steak.
[Naya] I'm making panko and potato-chip crusted biso
over a parmesan mashed potatoes
and a cream tail-meat sauce
with some of the meatball from the spaghetti and meatball dish.
I wanna make sure the bison cooks through in time,
so, I'm trying my hardest to get it as thin as possibl
Last round, I completely panicked.
This round, I really just wanna bring it.
Chef Naya, how you feeling about this?
I'm feeling confident.
I'm not freaking out like I was before.
Okay, good.
[Geoffrey] Bison is a giant animal
called buffalo sometimes.
It's really delicious.
It doesn't have a lot of fat.
You've gotta be careful when you cook it.
[Max] I know that I can kind of treat this like
a classic American steak dinner.
I'm making a homestyle bison steak
and southern-style kale.
[Millie] Dinosaur kale, how delicious.
You know it can get approximately three to four feet.
[Amanda] Wow!
You know, I'm a tall girl, so, I like tall things.
[Amanda laughing]
And, you know, it has a great flavor.
Dinosaur kale is right up my alley.
I choose to use some beef stock,
demi, vinegar, to go along with the garlic and onions.
Demi is a concentrated meat Jell-O
that imparts a ton of flavor in a little bit amount of time.
Then I start grabbing some bacon from the pantry,
because I know I have to get the bacon cooking
so I can braise the kale.
[Ted] Twenty minutes left, Chefs.
-I'm gonna go take a peek. -[Amanda] All right.
See what's happening.
I wanna see that giant pasta in action.
Right on.
-How's it goin'? -How are you?
I'm doin' pretty good.
By the way, I love your name. Chase Davis.
-You should be, like, a running back. -[laughing]
How are you gonna use that giant bowl of spaghetti?
I'm making a pasta dish right now.
You're making pasta on top of pasta?
Pasta on top of pasta, it's gonna be.
You're joking?
I'm gonna do pasta as my base,
then I'm gonna top it with a Marsala cream sauce.
I'm going big.
Wow! Thank you.
All right, Max, who's your biggest competitor here?
Maybe you, based on the judging last round.
Well, you sucked.
[laughing]
-I think Naya. -[Geoffrey] Naya?
As I said, if she didn't like how she cooked last round
and she cooked that well--
She was complaining and whining and all that,
-but it was delicious, right? -Yeah, exactly.
You better watch out for Naya, I agree with you.
All right. Thank you, guys.
Fifteen minutes!
-Naya, how you feelin'? -Good, it's coming together.
All right, you don't have a lot of time.
[Naya] As a private caterer
I am hoping to take my business to the next level
by securing my own kitchen space,
so I really need this $10,000.
Things are going well.
My sauce is looking good. It's tasting good.
My bison, I de-glazed it with Marsala wine.
It's sweet, and goes well with the cream.
Less than ten minutes left, Chefs.
[Max] After that, with the potato chips,
I knew I wanted to do something crazy.
Some kind of rehydrated mashed potatoes,
and I could use the pasta as the thickener.
This is nothing I've ever done before,
but I'm pretty sure it will work.
Max is gonna give us southern comfort.
He has his seared meat, he has the mashed potatoes.
[Naya] I go to check on my bison.
They're lookin' good, so I pull them out the fryer.
I have a good crisp crunch on them.
You've got four minutes, ten seconds left.
My flavors are definitely bi
Beautiful kale salad.
My pasta sauce is tasty.
I'm comin' to win.
All right, guys, make it gargantuan in flavor!
For more flavor and texture
I've fried up kale before, so I knew what it was gonna do.
Deep-fried crispy kale.
I'm going big So, I grate some cheese.
It adds a different dimensio
It really makes the dish pop.
I just start by putting my mashed potatoes down,
and I go ahead and slice my bison.
I feel like I have definitely stepped it up from last round.
[Millie] Full-on, big, bold flavors.
[Ted] Time is not on your side now, Chefs.
Ten, nine, eight, seven...
If you love it, we'll love it.
[Ted] ...five, four, three, two, one.
Time's up!
[applauding]
Good job, Chef.
[Max] The rib roast I thought was perfect,
'cause I got a nice sear on it.
[Naya] This round I feel a little more comfortable.
I feel like I'm gonna make the next round.
What did you make?
[Chase] Looking at Naya's dish, I said,
"Oh, we got some competition this round. Let's bring it."
Chefs, for the entree round we gave you
a gargantuan serving of spaghetti and meatball,
bison rib roast,
dinosaur kale,
and a giant can of potato chips.
Chef Chase, what did you make?
I prepared for you a bison Marsala pasta
sitting on a toasted crostin with a kale salad.
This is absolutely delicious.
Because I took this beautiful crostini
and I put it on top,
and I got something crispy, crunchy,
and overall what we want is texture, right?
I'm a little confused by this dish.
This kale-pepper relish is tasty,
but I just don't understand the philosophy behind the dish.
It seems disjointed.
This is, like, definitely big and bold,
but I'm a little turned off by pasta on top of bread.
[Amanda] I think the salad itself
feels more like a condiment than an actual salad,
and that's why Geoffrey, he's calling it a relish.
But it's super-tasty.
I like the crunch of the peppers.
I like the acidity in there
Um, I was watching you cook the bison.
You got some crispiness on it, a nice sear,
but when you put it in the sauce,
we've lost some of the textural element.
As you may have heard,
if you win this thing you get $10,000.
Any idea of what you might do with that?
Yes. My grandmother died on Monday.
Oh, my God.
So, half of this will pay for the funeral,
the food and stuff,
but on a positive note, my mom is now cancer free,
so I wanna take her on a vacation
with the other half of that money.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
-[Amanda] We're sorry for you loss. -Thank you.
Next up, Chef Max.
Today I prepared a bison steak
mashed potatoes with the potato chips
and some of the noodles.
And then I made a southern-style braised kale.
[Amanda] Just like in your first course,
you were really creative to take the noodles
and the potato chips to create a mashed potato.
This could have gotten really weird, gummy and starchy.
But it works, and it's so tasty.
It works so well with the bison.
Thank you so much, Chef.
[Geoffrey] Kale's used two ways.
The potatoes are used two ways.
The bison's cooked perfectl with a gorgeous color.
I taste every ingredient,
with several layers of every ingredient.
So, this is very learned cooking.
Thank you, Chef.
[Millie] It is full of flavor.
Gargantuan to the tenth power
Very herbaceous mashed potatoes.
Braised greens that taste slow-cooked.
The only thing I could say for the bison,
it was very chewy.
Finally, Chef Naya.
I made a potato-chip-crusted bison
over mashed potatoes
with a cream kale
and the gargantuan meatball sauce.
Who are you playing for, Naya?
I have my three babies at home.
-I have a 12-year-old... -Oh, wow.
-A two-year-old and a six-month-old. -Wow.
And so I have to make them proud.
I've gotta come home with the win.
Oh, you've got your hands full.
Let me tell you somethin'. This is it.
This is what I'm talking about, okay?
You took that gargantuan spaghetti and meatballs and used it the best,
and created this delicious tomato sauce.
[Amanda] The dinosaur kale is great too.
It's just simply cooked and strewn around.
-It really goes well with the pan gravy. -Thank you.
The bison's very tender.
-I'm kinda shocked. -Me too.
[Geoffrey] But I wouldn't cut it.
-It looks like it ran into a propeller, you know. -Okay. [laughs]
And it's on the edge of too salty.
-[Amanda] Yep. -Thank you.
Okay, now, the judges will decide
the two-chef lineup for the dessert round.
[Chase] My dish was good.
They were a little confused which route I was going with.
I feel like I might be a little safe,
but you never know.
Walking away now, would just...
I'll be heartbroken. [chuckles]
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[Ted] Chef Chase, you've been chopped.
Judges...
Chef Chase, your concept was big and bold.
However, we felt, like, this wasn't a composed dish.
We had to chop you.
[Amanda] Thank you, Chef, for being here.
I'm a little disappointed.
Bringing this title home would have been everything.
[Ted] Chef Naya, Chef Max,
Who is the next Chopped champion?
I know I'm the next Chopped champion.
It's weird, because you're looking at me.
[chuckles]
All right, let's check out your ingredients.
Please open your dessert baskets.
[laughing]
What is it?
[Ted] A giant gummy snake.
Oh, my God, like, how much does this thing weigh?
And it's sticky too. [laughing] Gross.
I don't even know what this is right now.
[Ted] Mega chocolate cookie bar.
Here's strawberries.
[Ted] Long-stem strawberries
plus the whopper under there.
The suspense is killing me.
[Ted] Here goes nothing.
-I knew it! I knew it! -What is that?
[Ted] It's a gargantuan ice-cream sundae.
Oh, I'm so happy right now.
[Ted] Thirty minutes to get dessert done.
Clock starts now.
[Millie] A gigantic ice-cream sundae,
mega chocolate cookie.
These are all big, bold, delicious flavors.
-We're about to have a good day. -[laughs]
-[Amanda] Even a little of that scoop looks good. -[Millie] I agree with you.
It's like what are you scoopin' from there?
I've never seen an ice-cream sundae this big in my life.
It looks to be vanilla ice-cream.
I can see some rainbow sprinkles,
and in the back, I can see a giant cookie.
I see the whipped cream, and I think...
[blender whirrs]
I'm making whipped cream and giant cookie ice-cream
with chocolate-cake donuts.
This could be something
that maybe the judges have never seen before.
You know, I wanna coat the donuts in chocolate,
so I cut the mega chocolate cookie bar.
I add the chocolate to a po with a little bit of cream to temper it.
Naya, how you doin'?
I'm doin' good. I'm feeling confident.
[Max] I'm going up against Naya.
I've enjoyed working with he
Unfortunately, now we have to stop being friends,
and I've gotta get to business.
[Naya] At this point,
I know that Max is a strong competitor.
But I also know I can definitely beat him.
I see this giant gummy snak
and I'm just, like, this thing is bigger than I am.
[Amanda] This giant gummy snake is 8-feet long,
cherry and blue raspberry flavored.
[Geoffrey] Wow!
[Naya] I'm making chocolate molten lava cake
and a merlot strawberry reduction
with the gummy snake.
The snake has an artificial taste to it,
so I really wanna balance it out with fresh berries.
Chefs, just under ten minutes to go here!
[Max] I see this giant, sticky, gummy snake.
I see that it's red and blue
so I can use the red part with the strawberries
and the cherries on the ice-cream,
and make a killer jam.
I'm really worried about Max's ice-cream.
It's been in the ice-cream machine for a long time.
[Geoffrey] When you keep ice-cream in the cooler too long,
you get a beautiful product, but it's called butter.
[Max] I know I've got about six minutes,
so I start my donut dough.
I choose donuts 'cause it's quick and easy to make.
And even if I messed it up in the fryer,
it's only two or three minutes.
Versus a cake, where you can't bake it again.
I have a lot of respect for Naya right now.
Do we have oranges?
She has gone from no confidence at all...
I'm not goin' down, so...
...to, like, running on complete 100%,
and it's so nice to see.
[Naya] I check on my cake. Ugh, my cake is not...
And they're not rising, so, I'm starting to panic.
[Amanda] Naya is worried about her cake.
She did just turn up the temperature in the oven.
Not always the best solution.
This is intense.
The cake is not rising right.
[Geoffrey] Naya is sweating it.
[Naya] I go to check on my cake.
Time is running out,
and I still see that they're not rising.
Naya has the mega chocolate cookie bar
inside of her molten lava cake.
So, if it doesn't work,
there's a basket ingredient in there.
[Naya] Oh, my gosh.
I'm gonna need to leave these in there
until the very last minute.
[Ted] All right, Chefs,
we are south of two minutes here.
[Max] The ice-cream comes ou of the ice-cream machine,
I fold in some chopped-up cookie,
I taste it, and it tasted like an ice-cream party.
[Naya] I'm making a salted caramel to go with my dessert.
I'm adding a lot of salt,
because I wanna make sure that saltiness
comes out in my sauce.
I pulled my tempered chocolate,
and I spoon it over my donut
and I add sea salt.
Because you have to have salt with sweet.
Forty-five seconds, now.
[Naya] I have to get these cakes out of the oven
I don't have any more time.
I have to plate these now.
[Amanda] Naya, finish up. Is it gonna impress us?
Yes!
That's a very different chef from that first round.
[Millie] That's what I'm talking about!
[Ted] And, final seconds of the final round, Chefs!
Ten, nine...
eight, seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one!
-Time's up! -[judges applauding]
[Naya] I'm just a little worried that my molten lava cake
did not rise how I wanted it to,
but I think once it cools a little,
it might just be perfect, I don't know.
[Max] Oh, I want it so bad!
[chuckles] I want it so bad
I want it more than a giant bowl of spaghetti! [laughs]
[Ted] Chef Naya, Chef Max.
We shocked you with a gargantuan ice cream sundae.
Your other ingredients, a giant gummy snake,
a mega chocolate cookie bar
and long stem strawberries.
All right, chef Naya. What do we have?
A chocolate molten lava cake,
and salted caramel
with a Merlot strawberry reduction.
[Amanda] I love chocolate,
so here's this yummy, warm, chocolate cake,
and it is molten.
-[chuckles] -[Amanda] Very molten.
Could have used one solid minute,
-like, 60 more seconds, -Yes. Yeah.
-'Cause it is more cake batter than cake. -[Naya] Yeah.
[exhales]
-[Geoffrey] This is the best thing on the plate. -[Naya] Okay.
I would love to see some of those beautiful strawberries here,
so I could just dip it in here, or dip it in there,
maybe, you know, chocolate dip my strawberries.
-Right. -[Naya] Yeah, yeah.
But this is almost perfect, it just needed time.
Thank you, Chef.
Naya, it's absolutely delicious.
It's decadent.
-The caramel's absolutely delicious. -[Naya] Yeah.
However, it's not salted.
I put salt in there.
-I got lots of salt. Yeah! -You got lots of salt in there?
It's not coming through like a salted caramel.
-[Naya] Okay. -It's coming through as a sweet caramel.
-I'm so sorry. -[Millie] But, overall,
-absolutely delicious. -Thank you.
And now for our last dish, from Chef Max.
Chefs, I made for you a whipped cream
and giant cookie ice cream.
I made a cake donut with a chocolate glaze,
and a cherry, strawberry, and giant snake jam.
The strawberry jam that you made is so good.
Because it's so concentrated in flavor,
-it's red-flavored. [laughs] -Yeah!
-The donut's a little dense. -Yes, Chef.
[Amanda] And I think the chocolate glaze on the outside
-is also a little thick. -A little thick, yeah. Yes, Chef.
There's a coffee shop that has these things, called...
...cake pops.
And it's dense like this, and dry like this,
and kind of overcooked like this.
-[others laughing] -And I wanna be honest with you.
The chocolate saves it,
but what really saves it is the size,
and the fact that when you just swirl it around,
it's good, and it's fun,
and it's, like, compelling to keep eating it.
So...
-It's a lot going on. -Yes.
[Millie] But...
it works.
That big ice cream sundae,
you took so many components from it.
It brought me back to my childhood and I appreciate it.
-Thank you so much, Chef. -[Millie] Mmm-hmm.
All right, Chef Max, thank you.
So, then. Who's the champion?
We'll let you know soon.
I absolutely think we got big, bold, gigantic flavors.
Naya's beautiful taco, executed perfectly,
with a great use of the basket.
I like the fact that she didn't go the traditional
salad route that you go with, with tacos.
She pulled out some radicchio, some arugula,
that bright, fresh dressing,
and it was a perfect mouthful.
Too bad it didn't have ox tail flavor.
I know, I know, I know.
And same for, like, Max, I mean,
he said he boiled the ox tail,
he made a delicious broth, let's face it.
But I couldn't taste anythin
that had anything to do with an ox tail.
[Amanda] The fact that he thought of a pho,
after looking at a three-foot tall nacho tower,
is just wild to me,
but I actually don't think he used the nacho tower enough.
Entrees were, were really fun.
Especially Naya's.
I was just so relieved that Naya had this little comeback.
She had this beautiful chicken fried bison steak,
which was super tender.
Well, don't forget the kale she had over on the top,
it was braised it was the comfort food,
-if you could have a snapshot of it. -Oh my god.
On the other end of the spectrum, we had Max.
He had this beautiful bison
It looked like tuna cut rare, perfectly sliced,
but his bison was a little tough.
We were all afraid of the spaghetti,
-and how the chefs were gonna give it back to us. -Uh-huh, yeah.
[Amanda] Max put it with the potato chips and potato
-It was a brilliant way to manipulate those ingredients. -[Geoffrey] Sure was.
Mmm-hmm. I mean, clearly,
they both know what they're doing around the kitchen.
And they understood the assignment across the board.
So, what happens, then?
I think we know.
[Max] I think I brought the judges the gargantuan flavors,
the energy, I think I brought them exactly what they were looking for.
[Naya] I want it so bad!
I feel like I can, like, smell $10,000 right now.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[Ted] Chef Naya, you've been chopped.
-Oh my god... -[Ted] Judges?
[Geoffrey] You are a gem,
and you cooked the daylights out of today,
and we couldn't believe how good that first course was.
Very innovative, didn't have an ox tail, but neither did Max's...
-[laughing] -...have ox tail flavor, right?
The second round, you got going.
Southern-style, homey, chicken fried bison.
It just read a little salty for us.
The third course, the execution was off,
and so, we had to chop you.
Understood, Thank you, guys!
You cooked your tail off, I'm so proud of you!
And just remember, you are the embodiment of infinite possibilities.
I am a little surprised by the judge's decision.
I thought I was a little saf
Even though I didn't win, you know,
I made it to the dessert round,
so I'm proud of myself.
I did it! I came here, I made it this far.
And that means, Chef Max Robbins,
you are the Chopped champi!
And will be living large with an extra 10K in your pocket!
-You did a really good job. -[applauding]
Thank you guys. Thank you!
I executed food the way I wanted to.
Way to go, man.
[Max] Showed a lot of technique, a lot of restraint.
You can always do better, but I'm happy with what I did.