[Guy] They are among the most celebrated chefs in the country.
[Jose] Been an Iron Chef.
[Mei] TOC Champ.
[Jonathon] A James Beard award-winner.
[Nate] Chopped All-Stars.
[Stephanie] I'm an Iron Chef.
[Guy] And for the first time, they're facing off
in the most imposing culinary colosseum, ever created,
Flavortown Market.
-Oh, shoot. -Whoa.
First time in Flavortown.
What an overwhelming market. [chuckles]
This is a treat for people at home.
[Guy] Eight culinary superstars are competing in an epic,
five-week triple G tournament.
This is it!
Cooking here is absolutely insane.
[Jonathon] Winner, winner, fried chicken dinner.
Attention chefs!
Just when you thought you were safe in Flavortown.
[laughing]
[Guy] And the All-Star that proves that they could do it all.
Look at those yolks, bro.
Will reap the rewards of the $75,000 in prize money
and who'll be crowned the champion.
To be the best, you have to beat the best.
You're an animal.
The kick-off of All-Star Grocery Games, starts now.
Let's meet our awesome All-Star chefs.
First we have undefeated Iron Chef,
and James Beard award-winning restaurateur,
the GOAT, the one and only chef, Stephanie Izard.
Top Chef runner up and fan favorite who beat
Bobby Flay in a tempura battle,
Chef Shota Nakajima.
Chopped All-Stars Champion and James Beard Rising Star,
Chef Nate Appleman.
James Beard award-winning chef
and acclaimed Boston restaurateur, the Fox,
Chef Karen Akunowicz.
Top Chef winner and renowned restaurateur,
the one and only, Chef Ilan Hall.
The culinary sensation
who won Tournament of Champions IV,
Champion Chef Mei Lin.
The James Beard award-winner
who defeated Alex Guarnaschelli on her own turf,
Chef Jonathon Sawyer.
And the legendary Iron Chef
with 15 victories and 15 acclaimed
Latin-inspired restaurants to his name,
the big kahuna,
Chef Jose Garces.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Super Eight.
There they are.
Welcome, welcome.
I feel as if we're all on an even playing field.
We're all first timers.
I definitely need to put my best foot forward.
To be the best, you have to beat the best.
Big store, right.
Here at Flavortown Market, our motto is,
"Come for the values, stay for the competition and pain."
No, pain is not in there.
It's just "Stay for the competition."
Chefs, you are the most formidable group
of first timers that Flavortown has ever seen.
So, we have created an All-star Triple G Tournament,
exclusively for you.
To win, you are gonna have to master
a different category of each culinary game that we have,
from budget battles to aisle games...
[sighs]
[Guy] Good news is, the chef that makes the best dish each week,
will receive an automatic ten thousand bucks.
Yeah.
[Guy] The chef that conquers the entire five-week gauntlet of the games,
will win the championship trophy,
and go on a shopping spree worth up to...
$5.
No, I'm sorry, $35,000.
It's all worth it, it's $35,000.
We are giving away
up to $75,000 in this tournament.
I'm just shelling it out, baby.
But, the really bad news is each week,
the chef that prepares the least successful dish,
will be checking out of the market early.
All right.
Since you're all new to this joint,
we're kicking things off with a nice, easy,
single challenge.
I want you to make the judges
your signature sandwich, and a side.
Easy-peasy.
Now, since you are all, All-Stars,
I want you to start off with one of our most dreaded
category of games,
Limited Ingredient games.
You will get to go shop Flavortown Market,
anywhere you want, but you only get
eight ingredients or less.
Eight ingredients?
[Guy] Welcome to express lane.
-Damn. -[Guy] Listen,
I am your friend.
-You believe that, right. -Yes.
[Guy] I'm your friend. So, I'm not gonna have you eight
running around, bumping into each other with carts.
I'm gonna make this easy, it's only eight ingredients.
Hunter, bring me out something
so these chefs can get shopping.
Sorry about this. This is better.
-There we go. -[Guy] There we go.
[all laughing]
-Merry Christmas. -Thank you.
There you go. There you go.
And, here you go, chef. Thank you.
-Thank you. Nice job, son. -You're welcome.
-All right. Good luck, chefs. -Nice job.
Hunter, do me a favor, uh,
you're training in express lane today.
So, you be right over there, eight items or less
-they get to work with. -Okay.
But, if they get three heads of broccoli um... if...
But if they get two of the same thing that's fine,
if they just get one item,
they can go through with that. Okay?
[all exclaiming]
This is my first time in Flavortown.
There's so many things to choose from.
It is overwhelming.
Insane.
Oh, my God.
Very impressive.
I'm excited to just be here.
I need to prove myself right away.
[Guy] Eight of my favorite chefs.
I'm gonna tell you right now, they're gonna show everybody
eight ingredients, my mouth is watering.
I mean, to think what Shota Nakajima is gonna make.
to think what Stephanie Izard's getting.
Jose Garces, I mean, come on,
two Iron Chefs are competing right now.
Doesn't get any better than this.
[Stephanie] Looks good.
I won Top Chef back in the day. I am an Iron Chef.
I'm also a James Beard award-winner.
Of course, I want to win on my first time in Flavortown.
There is eight chefs running around
this ginormous grocery store,
trying to find the perfect eight ingredients
to make their signature sandwich and side.
This is no joke. This is hard.
I'm thinking, what do I eat when I get home from work,
when I just want something kinda crazy
like salty-sweet, la-la-la-la.
Make a grilled cheese sandwich.
I'm gonna make a grilled cheese with some chocolate on the inside,
a little bit sauteed pineapple on top.
I know cheese and chocolate might sound a little bit weird.
My restaurants are all over the place.
I just kind of do a little bit of everything.
I love to explore flavors
and then just make whatever sounds yummy.
For my side, I'm thinking frozen fries because,
I eat them all the time, 'cause they're delicious.
[Hunter] Seven and eight. All right, you're good to go.
-Thanks, Hunter. -[Hunter] Here you go.
Buttermilk, buttermilk, buttermilk
All sandwiches are a math problem you need to solve.
Buttermilk.
And I know that chicken thigh is four to five ounces,
and I know the 3 ounce bun to that chicken thigh
is the perfect ratio.
So, I decided to go with
a classic fried chicken sandwich
with frozen French fries.
I mean, who doesn't like fried chicken?
Chilli sauce.
I am Chef Jonathon Sawyer
from restaurant Kindling in Chicago.
A James Beard award-winner.
Cabbage, cabbage, cabbage.
I've served many a piece of fried chicken in my life
and my wife even told me that she married me
for my chicken.
Eighteen years strong.
I really gotta make sure this is my best
sandwich I could possibly make.
Nobody wants to go home in the first round.
As an Iron Chef, we're usually unlimited
with the ingredients we get.
With only eight ingredients, that's tough.
I am Chef Jose Garces.
I'm an Iron Chef, James Beard award-winner,
restaurateur.
Overall, nice guy.
Ground pork, where are you?
For my signature sandwich and a side,
I'm making a chori-frita burger
with plantains.
This sandwich really ties into my Latin roots.
It wins awards year in and year out.
I've never run around a grocery store and honestly,
that's been my biggest nightmare,
in coming to Flavortown.
Lettuce, lettuce, lettuce where are you?
It's this vision of me running around like a mad man.
All right. That's it.
It's not gonna be easy.
My name is Nate Appleman.
I was a James Beard award-winner for Rising Star
and I had Cookbook of the Year.
First round in Flavortown.
This one feels like a whole new ball game.
Kaiser rolls, Kaiser rolls.
For my signature sandwich and side,
I'm gonna make a bodega style chopped cheese.
A chopped cheese is basically
a cheese burger all chopped up
and put on bolillo rolls
Bolillo.
With only eight ingredients
I have to be extremely strategic.
I'm gonna grab a ground beef and bacon mixture
because that's gonna count as one ingredient.
Mustard, ketchup.
It's over here somewhere.
I also wanna grab sriracha ketchup.
Two ingredients in one.
And plantains are the perfect side for this chopped cheese.
American.
-American cheese? -Right there.
-Yes. -Right here.
Right here, right here.
-Thank you, sir. -Yeah, that's where you're goin'.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. I got eight.
Shopping in Flavortown is banana pants.
Nothing prepares you for how vast the Flavortown market is.
I'm Karen Akunowicz.
I was a James Beard nominated chef for four years
and won in 2018 for Best Chef, Northeast.
For my signature sandwich and side,
I decided to go with a gyro and onion rings.
I grew up eating gyros.
And while I have Italian restaurants now,
I spent a lot of time working at a modern,
Middle Eastern restaurant.
-Look at her, just smiling away. -Oh, yeah.
-[Guy] Oh, yeah. -[Karen laughs]
[Guy] She's one of my favorites. They're all.
I mean, this is really for me,
this is like inviting everybody to my birthday party.
My name is Shota Nakajima and I own Taku and Kobo,
in Seattle, Washington.
I don't want to do a simple sandwich,
yet I only have eight ingredients I can work with.
So, I have to be smart about this.
The first thing that comes to mind,
Katsu Sandos.
And for the side, I wanna do a light slaw
with some apples in it.
Katsu sandos are deep fried cutlet sandwiches
with Kewpie mayo
and a lot of yummy sauce.
Do you have Kewpie? Of course you do.
There we go.
I was born in Japan. I came to the States at a young age.
So, it feels right to make a Japanese dish
as my first dish in Flavortown.
Ha, look at that. That's my Teriyaki sauce.
Whoo.
I actually love the fact
that I can only use eight ingredients.
I need to have some sort of focus.
If I would've had a free reign,
I would lose my mind.
My name is Ilan Hall. I won Top Chef a long time ago.
And I'm kind of all over the place
in terms of what my culinary identity is.
For my signature sandwich,
I wanna make a ham, egg, and cheese on pan con tomate
and serve it with roasted Maitake mushroom.
I think rubbing a piece of very good toasted bread
with garlic, tomato, olive oil and salt,
is one of the most delicious things you can do to bread.
My motto in competition
is make it too delicious to lose.
My name is Mei Lin. I live in Los Angeles
and I'm TOC IV Champ.
Chef Mei Lin!
[applause and cheering]
My signature sandwich is actually a fried chicken sandwich,
with a spice mix that contains 25 ingredients.
That's way too many ingredients. I need to pivot,
So, for my signature sandwich and side,
I'm thinking of making a beef-bacon cheeseburger
with a side of tater tots.
I pick out a burger mix
half ground beef and half ground bacon,
with those two ingredients in one.
That's a smart move.
[Guy] Here comes our champ.
Well, anytime you could get a TOC Champ here.
You know, she's on a tour right now,
probably around the world.
What are you thinkin'?
I'm making a burger.
-I wouldn't expect that from you. -[Mei] Yeah.
One, two, three.
This is hard because, you only have
eight ingredients to work with.
Should I grab this? Should I not?
Do I need this? Do I not need this?
This only adds to the madness of Flavortown.
...and eight. You're good to go.
There you go.
[Guy] Eight superchefs, got a champ competing right here.
Two Iron Chefs competing.
Multiple wins and accolades, James Beard award-winners.
I mean, you name it, they're all here.
One cook, and you're done.
One chef...
...maybe two.
...will be going home after this round.
I wanna push 'em hard.
[Guy] Twenty-five minutes.
All right, judges, eight of the best,
fan of all of them.
I mean, you're talking about an All-Star group of chefs here.
These are chefs who've competed in all the competitions.
But, none of these chefs have competed inside
-Flavortown market. -[Rocco] Yeah.
-There's no way of preparing for this. -[Rocco] Yes.
Chefs, I guess we're right in front of you.
This is so great.
Chef, Stephanie Izard, she's won every single
competition she's ever been a part of.
She is one of the greatest chefs that this country has
ever, ever had.
[Guy] Go. What you got for us?
I see... do I see chocolate?
I'm making a grilled cheese and chocolate sandwich.
Chocolate grilled cheese?
Yes, chocolate grilled cheese.
That's absolutely
-whacked out, just so you know. -[Stephanie chuckles]
It's my first time in Flavortown,
so I really wanted to show
my style of cooking.
I love to think of putting different flavors together
that you might not think of.
Grilled cheese with chocolate and pineapple,
it doesn't seem like it's gonna work,
but it does.
First thing I'm gonna get started on,
is the pineapple sauce.
Just start off with brown butter,
it's all nutty and delicious.
Some serrano chillies.
And then you heat it with fish sauce.
Suddenly, you've got all of these layers of flavor.
Salty, sweet, spicy, in like one little topper.
You are so loud, Shota.
Shota and I are sharing stations cooking.
We competed together in 2017 on Iron Chef Gauntlet.
His food is beautiful, it's precise.
He is a great chef.
James Beard nominated.
He's definitely someone to worry about.
[pounding chicken]
[Stephanie] What are you making?
Uh, Katsu Sando.
Oh, yeah, of course you are.
Uh, pork katsu.
I got a lot of awards for this one at my old restaurant.
And, uh, I still do it as a special at my current bar.
Because, Katsu Sando, it's one of my favorites.
So, I got the bread ready real quick
and I'm gonna use the extra bread to make some panko.
I wish I had more items that I could purchase.
I would have loved some eggs,
I would have loved panko to bread the pork.
Instead, I used the edges of the brioche.
I like it, I dig it.
Chef Shota has come up with a really great example
of double use of an ingredient.
[Rocco] Using the bread for the sandwich and then,
making breadcrumbs out of it. Pretty smart.
I'm gonna make a fried chicken sando
with a creamy slaw on top,
nice brioche bun.
We only have eight ingredients so I really planned this dish
to utilize the station pantry.
That paprika and the cayenne
are gonna get used all over this plate.
Big man, talk to me.
Talking about some fried chicken sandwich over here.
Okay, then you know that this is my middle name.
You know, I didn't get this shape on accident.
-Yeah, well... -The deep fryer and I have had a long
-and intimate relationship. -Intimate relationship.
[both laughing]
I knew where you were going.
[Jonathon] Winner, winner, fried chicken dinner.
I fry it to perfection.
Oh, look at that color.
And I allow it to hold in the oven.
Feeling good, chef?
-Yeah. -Good.
Jonathon Sawyer, his mind works so much differently,
than anyone else's.
[Shota] He is incredibly talented, fearless chef.
[Jose] He's a James Beard award-winner
and one of my favorite chefs of all time.
[Jonathon] Mayo is good.
[Guy] All right, Iron Chef.
What's on the menu, buddy?
I'm goin' a Cuban inspiration.
The chori-frita burger.
So, it's half chorizo, half ground beef.
This is my signature,
'cause I've been goin' on to Miami for so long,
I've got some beautiful roasted plantains
as my side dish.
I've beaten Morimoto, Michael Symon, Bobby.
And my goal is to just come here and do what I do and win.
While my patties are in the oven...
Let those cook up.
...I'm gonna start working on these plantains.
In Latin cooking, it's used a lot.
And in this arena,
I'm one of the only Latin-American chefs.
So, just by staying in that lane
and sticking to my cuisine,
I'm gonna stand out naturally.
Jose Garces is so well respected
and so incredibly well regarded
and one of the best at what he does.
[Guy] Twenty-two minutes.
Let's keep goin'. I wanna do more than one.
Look at those yolks, bro.
[Guy] Chef, what's on the menu?
I'm gonna do a pan con tomate on levan.
Just with some jamon iberico,
and instead of having like a mayo or a sauce,
I'm just gonna gently cook these yolks
and I'll put a few of 'em on each sandwich.
And that's just gonna be your pop-a-yolk mayo
-that's just gonna run down. -Yeah. Yeah.
The next thing I have to really start are my mushrooms.
I'm doing a really, really simple side dish,
Maitake mushrooms in nutritional yeast.
Can't forget my nutritional yeast,
which gives this unbelievable pack of umami.
Stay nice, stay orderly.
Ilan might be the funniest chef I know.
Ilan's cooking is out of the box.
But it delivers.
[Mei] He is also a Top Chef winner.
He is just super accomplished.
How do you feel about being in this store, Ilan?
I feel great. It's a beautiful place.
How do you feel?
-Honestly? -Yeah.
A little overwhelmed.
-But, you're the champion, so you know. -Oh, you know.
All right. What's on the menu?
[Mei] I'm doing a burger.
-[Guy] Okay. -[Mei] I'm rubbing the bacon burger
with the shio koji.
-Yeah, I just had that earlier on my waffles. -[Mei laughing]
What is exactly in shio koji?
It's actually made out of rice.
-Really? -It's like inoculated rice,
and it adds a lot of umami.
That is awesome.
[Antonia] You know what I love about Mei Lin,
her technique is what always floors me.
She has the ability to cook in any kind of sand box.
But her technique is always like, spot on and flawless.
[Mei] I finish the burgers in the oven,
just to kind of actually let the cheese melt.
I'm gonna win this tournament because I'm determined to win.
I want that trophy to sit next to my TOC belt.
[exhales]
[Guy] Twenty minutes.
All right, Appleman, let's go.
What's on the menu, buddy?
We're making a, uh,
bodega chopped cheese,
which is like basically a hamburger.
We chop this, throw in American cheese, you chop it all up,
onions, chillies, lettuce, tomato,
amazing bun.
We're gonna go plantains
because my wife is half Dominican.
Got it. Okay.
[Jonathon] Nate Appleman, won the Beard award,
Food and Wine Best New Chef,
and the best book, all in one year.
He's someone that I've looked up to initially for a really long time.
He has been competing and winning consistently for years.
-All right. What's on the menu? -Hey.
So, this is gonna be like a Middle Eastern gyro.
Wasn't seeing that from you.
-Because a lot of Greek places that I kinda grew up in... -[Guy] Right.
...you would either get French fries or onion rings
-that you would put into your Gyro. -Okay.
[Karen] While I have Italian restaurants now,
I have this deep knowledge of other cuisines.
Greek food is one of them.
The first thing I'm gonna do, is start on my kofta.
I love Karen Akunowicz.
Karen is like, a warm hug. She cooks from the heart.
She's also a James Beard award-winner.
She's fierce.
She's the fox.
[Guy] Seventeen minutes.
Seventeen.
Hey, Dad.
Um, I've been thinking.
You know, All-Star chefs only having eight ingredients,
I feel kinda bad about that.
So, I've made 'em coupons.
Are these helpful coupons or hurting coupons?
We'll check 'em out and look at 'em.
[Antonia] Uh-oh.
-Oh, more craziness coming. -Yeah, here we go.
Attention chefs! Attention chefs!
Let's stop the clock.
-Just when you thought you were safe in Flavortown. -Yeah.
Attention chefs! Let's stop the clock.
Now, to make up for your limited ingredients,
Hunter has unfortunately made you some
complimentary coupons,
redeemable for one additional store item.
Not just any item,
it must be the special selection item on the coupon.
Please check with Hunter right now,
grab your coupon and go get your mandatory ingredient.
[all clamoring]
Oh, free coupon here.
[Antonia] They thought they were safe.
They thought they were just gonna be in their station,
and cook one dish and a side.
Can't leave my chicken.
-[Rocco] And here it comes... -[Antonia] And off they go to the races.
Where's the dolly?
I picked grab and go deli item.
I find some slaw.
A slaw is the perfect addition to my burger.
Okay.
-Right there. -Clearance section item.
Where is clearance section?
[Guy] Aisle six, chef.
[Nate] There is a hodgepodge of things over here.
There's cans, there's jars,
and then I see, relish.
All right. [straining]
Relish on a chopped cheese,
what a score.
[Jonathon] International mystery.
International mystery section item.
I know exactly what I'm gonna use, fish sauce.
[under breath] Fish sauce.
The fish sauce is a perfect addition to my fried chicken sandwich.
This is actually great.
[Stephanie] Grab and go deli item?
Where's the... where's the grab and go deli?
Grab and go deli item.
Geez Louise.
Pain center, I love you too.
It's basically all of these, sort of, side dishes
that you would get with your deli meats.
Really don't want any of this stuff.
There's some noodles, like a noodle salad.
And I think to myself, "That's something I would have in my refrigerator,
and might just add into my disco fries."
[Jose] Refried beans.
I got international mystery section item.
That's great. There's a Latin section in there.
Plantains typically go well with refried beans.
That's gonna work just fine.
[Shota] Good for one.
Check stand snack.
It's snacks and there's chips.
Sandwiches, slaw... can't go wrong.
Love it.
[Ilan] I have to get something from
the clearance section.
This is clearance too?
The only three things that I can see are mustard,
relish and hot sauce.
And the only thing that'll actually work
in my pan con tomate, ham, egg and cheese
is gonna be the hot sauce.
Let's go.
[Karen] Checkout stand snack.
I grab the potato sticks.
I am going to stuff my potato sticks
into my gyro.
-So, isn't that nice? -No.
-[Hunter] No? It's not nice? -[Guy] No.
[chuckles] They've got food cooking.
[Hunter] That's my bad.
I'll... I'll take the... I'll take the hit on that one.
They're taking the hit on that,
-but go ahead. -Okay.
-[Antonia] Did you get the deli counter? -Grab and go deli.
Oh, grab and go deli is the hardest one.
-[Stephanie] There's, like, all this weird stuff. -I know.
[Guy] Chef what did you get?
[Stephanie] I got a little noodle salad
which would be something I would find in my fridge
-regularly, so-- -Where are you gonna put it?
It's gonna go on my fries. You know, like, messy fries.
Oh, so it's gonna be kind of like your... your garbage fries.
-[Stephanie] Yeah, exactly. -Got it. All right.
[Stephanie] When the fries come out of the fryer
they look crispy and delicious.
I would honestly just start eating them right now.
Lastly, I need to actually
toast my bread and make a grilled cheese sandwich.
Why do I want to win so bad?
I am a sore loser I will say. It's a natural trait.
It just comes to me.
But the winning dish gets $10,000.
It's just fun to win.
Next up, I take my chocobar and grate it on top
so I get just enough chocolate to get those earthy notes.
I kind of wanna eat them right now.
Anybody have any idea what Stephanie's doing?
If you find out, let me know.
[judges chuckling]
What'd you get, Chef Shota?
[Shota] Who doesn't like some tangy ranch chips, right?
Nice. Tangy ranch. Good.
I'm doing a little slaw on the side
so it has a little refreshing compared to straight katsu.
While my pork's frying I'm gonna start on my slaw.
Apples, basil,
jalapeno pickle juice,
and kewpie mayo.
And I love the tangy chips on top of the slaw
because it adds this crunch element, this tang element
that stands out in a different way.
It was kind of a bonus to get these chips 'cause,
I mean, sandwich and chips is kind of a great combo.
[Karen] I love
having something crispy and crunchy with my sandwich.
So, I'm going to make onion rings
as my side.
The best dish
will win $10,000 today.
I just had a baby. Her name is Rogue.
So, $10,000, that's going right in my baby's bank account,
so that she's got a safety net.
Someday she's gonna be old enough
to watch these shows
and I hope she sees her mom
having a great time
and seeing how passionate I am about what I do.
[producer, in English]
Yep. Getting there.
[Nate] Now that the burger patty is cooked
it's time to make the chopped cheese.
I start adding everything together.
And then, I start chopping it up.
[Guy] How are we feeling, brother?
This is the chopped part.
What was your extra ingredient?
Uh, I grabbed the relish from the clearance aisle.
-[Guy] Fantastic. -You know, the one thing I was...
I was missing was pickles.
Well, you can relish on that.
[Nate] Once my chopped cheese is ready,
it's time to get my fried plantains going.
There's big money on the line.
It's up to $75,000.
Stephanie Izard is here.
Chef Shota's here.
Iron Chef, Jose Garces.
Those are the chefs that I have to outlast
to win all the money.
[Antonia] We basically have a front row seat
to some of the best chefs in the country.
Making a sandwich that really stands out
in this group, is gonna be tough.
In any other day and any other competition
they're all winning sandwiches.
Unfortunately, in this competition...
two people have to go home.
[Antonia] The eight ingredients that the chefs got to shop for,
they essentially chose.
Then all of a sudden Hunter comes in with this,
like, "Let me give you a coupon
and I'm gonna tell you what aisle
or what section of the store you have to choose an ingredient from."
It's not necessarily where you want your next ingredient to come from.
[Guy] Chef, what did you think of that? Help or hurt?
[Jonathon] Help. I grabbed fish sauce
with the fried chicken.
It's gonna be great.
You need fish sauce in that.
[Jonathon] I wanna bathe in it.
It's time to season my fries with salt and vinegar powder.
I'm here for the first time ever
in Flavortown Market
and I'm terrified but I'm a glutton for punishment.
I could potentially win
$75,000.
Chef, you wanna tell me if it's got enough vinegar on it?
Salt and vinegar crinkles.
-Pretty good. Little more. Yeah. -[Jonathon] Little more?
[Guy] Iron Chef, did that help or hurt?
It helped. It's nice.
-Fantastic. -Perfect. Thank you.
I've made refried beans a number of different ways.
So, I just add a little bit of water
to make a nice little dipping sauce.
That's actually a very classic combination with maduros.
A little chipotle.
If I win this round I get $10,000.
But for me it's not really about winning the round
it's about advancing.
So, if I live to cook another day
that's really what it's all about.
Keep on cooking.
You've never seen so many acclaimed chefs come into Flavortown Market
and buy frozen fries.
Okay, I got tots over here
in... in, uh, the champ.
Uh, Chef Jonathon's got 'em over there,
and there's a fry throw to me with a crinkle cut.
-Come on. -Crinkle cut. Class.
What was your extra ingredient, Chef?
My extra ingredient was slaw.
Got it. Got it.
Honestly, this feels perfect.
I was missing a little freshness
and the coleslaw is exactly what I need.
I add a little bit of my pickled pepperoncinis to that.
I know that acidity will lend itself very well
to that rich, unctuous burger.
Everything looks amazing.
I mean, just so much creativity,
so much uniqueness about it.
I wanna just get a tray and just go by and have one of each.
How you guys doing? You okay?
-Everybody feel good? -[Karen] Oh, yeah.
-[Ilan] All right, good. -Chillin'.
-[Ilan] It's very quiet. -[Karen] Chillin'.
[Ilan] I feel like every sandwich should be on pan con tomate.
Ham, Manchego, like, super simple on pan con tomate.
Can't really beat the most delicious thing on Earth, right?
So, it's just rubbed with garlic, tomato,
finish with a little bit of olive oil and salt.
This sandwich is incredible.
I'm gonna win this $10,000
so I can take my wife to Spain
and we can eat this all day long.
All right.
[Guy] Four minutes. Four to go.
[Ilan] Whoo! Wow, we have no time left.
[plates clatter]
Nice, Steph. That looks gorgeous.
[Stephanie] So, first I'm gonna put down my waffle fries.
Then take my grilled cheeses,
cut it, make it into little triangles
and then I put pineapple all over the top.
And as a final touch, I add my delicious
grab and go deli noodles on top of my fries.
And I'm gonna start building my little sammies.
I'm gonna start with the kewpie mayo,
get my jalapeno pickles in there.
Got my teriyaki sauce. Ta-da!
After the pork is fried, toss it in my teriyaki sauce
because it has that sweet, savory
and good amount of tang
and then put it right on the bread.
Put the other piece of the bread right on top,
and cut it in half,
just how my mom used to do it.
And I'm gonna put my slaw right next to it.
Cool.
[Nate] Is there any foil?
I decide to wrap my sandwich in foil
just like you'd get it in a bodega.
I get my buns down.
I add a little bit of sriracha ketchup,
yellow mustard,
then I add my relish, my tomatoes.
I stuff the rolls with the chopped cheese
and then I put my fried plantain chips
right into the paper boats.
[Guy] Oh! Look at this gangster with the foil wrap-up.
Boom.
[Guy] Three minutes.
[Karen] I wanna make sure that this looks beautiful.
I'm adding the harissa yogurt and feta into the pita.
I'm stuffing lots of fresh mint
and my kofta into the pita as well.
And then stuff my potato sticks into my gyro.
And then, I grab my fried onion rings
and I'm piling them on the side.
Everything looks great.
[Guy] Two and a half minutes!
[Mei] Ooh.
First thing I do is grab my toasted buns
and my chili mayo.
Stack two patties on top of the bottom bun.
Add my pickled chili coleslaw right on top of that.
Then I grab my tots and season it
with sugar, cayenne and cinnamon.
And then add that to the plate as well.
-Check it out. -Ooh.
[Jose] That's nice.
I start with a little bit of shredded romaine on the bottom,
a little chipotle crema,
the patty with the queso fresco.
That's nice and juicy.
Then, the refried bean puree.
Lay out those sweet plantains right around.
Done and done. Chori-frita burger.
One minute!
[Jonathon] Look at that. Nice and juicy.
-[Ilan] Feeling good, Chef? -[Jonathon] Yeah.
So we go bun, then mayonnaise,
gotta get every single bit of that bun. Then slaw.
Sandwich is geometry.
Then we put our fried chicken on top of the slaw.
And then the top of the bun on top of that.
Then I put my salt and vinegar crinkle fries on the side,
and we're ready to go.
I just need to compose my... my, uh, sandwiches.
I start putting my bread down.
I lay the cheese on top of that.
Then the ham goes on top of that.
I start putting my egg yolks,
and then I plate my mushrooms...
Ten seconds!
...and I realized that I hadn't used my hot sauce
so I go, bam, bam, bam, bam,
and I get it on every sandwich.
[Guy] Three, two, one...
Chefs, that's it. Stop working.
[man 1] Nice job.
Guys, that was impressive to watch.
[sighs in exasperation]
Eight of the best just went through 30 minutes of the worst.
Shota's taking pictures of his food.
[Karen chuckling] That was crazy.
All right, judges, we have kicked off our All-Star Grocery Games.
Each chef, well, they had to make their signature sandwich
and a side using eight ingredients or less.
Lucky for them, in the middle of the cook
Hunter remembered to bring them that fantastic
must-use coupon ingredient.
Uh, Chef Shota, what was yours?
Mine was cash register snacks.
Great. What a wonderful option.
[Shota] So, my signature dish is a katsu sando.
The slaw on the side with the jalapeno pickle juice,
apples, cabbage,
and I used the chips.
Okay, it was eight ingredients, right?
Y... yes, it was eight ingredients. Yeah.
Chef, this is spectacular.
Love the texture and the fry on the pork.
[Antonia] The slaw is delicious.
That extra tang from the ranch
in that chip really brings it to another level.
I think the slaw actually might be just a little under seasoned.
I would like a little bit more acid, a little bit more sauce.
Thank you, Chef.
All right. Up next,
Iron Chef, Jose, what do you have for us, Chef?
Judges, I really love a chori-frita burger,
which is half pork, half beef
and on the side there is some maduros.
And my international item was refried beans.
Chef, let me start just with the flavor of the burger.
It is outstanding.
It's so perfectly spicy.
I love this and I'm just gonna call it, like,
Latin banana pudding, somehow.
Yes. Great. Great way to describe it.
Somehow it's a side but a dessert at the same time.
[Rocco] Putting it underneath the plantains, it's so good.
So happy to be eating your food, Chef.
Oh, thank you.
But, I think that
your burger-to-bun ratio is a little bit off.
I feel like it needs a little bit more meat to fill that bun up.
Got it.
All right, up next, the champ.
Chef Mei Lin, what do you have for us?
So, today I made
a burger version of my chicken sandwich.
A beef and bacon double cheeseburger
with a pickled chili slaw from the deli
and some tots.
That is an incredible bite.
The texture of the cheese with the meat.
I think you could've amped up the spiciness element of it,
it's not quite as spicy.
-Really spectacular burger. -Thank you.
[Rocco] Who doesn't love tots
when it also delivers on the flavor.
You picked the bun with incredible precision.
-Every bite's been super balanced. -Thank you.
All right, up next,
Chef Karen, what do you got for us?
So I made a gyro with harissa spiked kofta,
harissa yogurt, feta, fresh mint
and cumin-dusted onion rings on the side.
My checkout item was potato straws.
So, I stuffed the potato straws in
so you get a little bit of that
french fry quality along with the onion rings.
I love the texture of the potatoes inside here.
Your onion rings are spectacular.
[Rocco] Whatever spice treatment you gave this
or the vegetation you put in there
it... it turned it into
something that feels really really authentically Greek.
The one thing that's missing here is a nice balance of flavor.
It needs more spice. It needs that tzatziki sauce.
The feta, harissa mixture in there,
I want a ton more of it.
Thank you.
Up next, Chef Nate.
This dish is a bodega chopped cheese
and plantains in honor of my wife.
She's half Dominican.
You gotta have plantains on a Dominican table.
What ingredients did you grab?
My clearance item was relish
which I'm still relishing.
Pa-da!
This takes me back to New York City.
The plantains are great.
And the relish inside here also adds such a nice acidity.
[Antonia] I love that you used onion both ways,
caramelized and then raw.
So different.
It's meaty, it's sweet, it's sour, it's bitter, it's tangy.
It's got it all going on in perfect synchronicity.
[Scott] The only thing I would say about this sandwich,
it is delicious,
the bread just got a little bit too soft overall.
Thanks, Chef.
Up next, Chef Ilan.
So I did a very very simple ham, egg and cheese,
except I used Jamon Iberico de Bellota,
I used, uh, aged Manchego,
really nice yolks in lieu of mayonnaise.
My extra ingredient was hot sauce.
Just finished the eggs with it.
And on the side, mushrooms roasted with nutritional yeast.
Let me start with the thing I loved the most.
The side, the maitake mushrooms.
They are absolute stars on this plate.
They are super delicious.
[Antonia] The eggs they almost have this sort of
custard, like, spreadable ability,
and I think it's a beautiful condiment.
I love the slice of the jamon. I think it's lovely.
I loved that you kept the Manchego large and crunchy.
As I bite into it, it breaks.
It's salty so it needed a lot more acid.
I know that your secret ingredient was the hot sauce.
I'm not necessarily reading a lot of that in here.
All right, thank you very much.
Up next, Chef Jonathon.
So, I have a spicy fried chicken sandwich.
I got the international mystery ingredient.
I chose the fish sauce.
So, I had a tangy cabbage slaw.
The french fries are coated in a little bit of malt vinegar powder.
Chef, you're known for this. This is something that's in your wheelhouse.
It's delicious. It's so good.
[Antonia] The cook on the chicken is textbook.
The complex spice blend on everything is perfect.
[Scott] I like the fries a lot.
I love the vinegar powder.
There's so many great flavors.
And that fish sauce really kinda shines with the cabbage slaw.
I do wish there was a little bit more cabbage,
but it's one of things where it's like,
"Do we even need the cabbage?"
Because the chicken and the sauce and the sandwich are so good.
All right, last but not least, the GOAT herself,
Chef Stephanie, what do you have for us?
So, this is something that kind of showcases me as a chef.
So, I have a grilled cheese with a little shaved chocolate on it.
On top, some sauteed pineapple
sauteed with some serrano chilies,
some fish sauce, my favorite ingredient.
Then on the side it's like disco fries.
I got to go to the deli and pick out an amazing side
so I grabbed these Thai noodles,
put 'em all over the fries.
[Guy] I don't know that I've ever heard
chocolate bar, fish sauce
and coconut milk in the same sentence in Flavortown.
[Antonia] If you go and you read any of her menus
it will say, like, 17 ingredients
that you don't understand any of them
and how they come together,
and then you bite into it and you're like,
"What just happened?"
And that's actually what this sandwich is right now.
I think you were the only one that went into the deli aisle
and picked, like, the most random thing,
and then just sauteed it and put it on there
and it actually works.
[Rocco] The wacky fries, I think, are the star for me.
I love all the concepts that you have going on.
Feel like there's maybe one concept too many in here.
Thank you.
I love to watch these three sweat it out
because they're gonna have to make a decision
on who's gonna go home.
Sorry, it's gotta be that way.
We're gonna send you back to the kitchens.
We'll call you when we have a decision.
Nice job, everyone. Thank you.
Wow!
I think it's important to point out that
-these were good sandwiches... -Yeah.
...like, all eight of them were spectacular.
-But some of them hit such incredible heights... -[Antonia] Yeah.
-...that the other ones just weren't hitting, so... -Right.
...they end up, you know, that's the way it flushes out.
Okay, well, let's just... Let's... let's just start digging into
anybody sailing right through?
I would say Shota and Nate.
[Rocco] I have Jose and Jonathon.
So, we're gonna go Shota,
Nate, Jose, Jonathon.
All clear. Those are the top four.
-That feels right. -So, in the bottom four,
that leaves us Ilan,
Mei Lin,
Karen Akunowicz, Stephanie Izard.
-These chefs can cook anything, anywhere, anytime. -Yeah.
The difficulty is when you say you get only eight ingredients
it's kind of, like, run the race on one shoe.
-Yeah. -[Guy] All right.
Who goes home? Need the bottom two.
In any other day and any other competition
they're all winning sandwiches.
Unfortunately, in this competition...
two people have to go home.
I didn't say that at the top of the competition, did I?
-No. -I missed that. I apologize.
Even the judges didn't know that.
Whoa.
I got five weeks to get rid of
seven of the greatest chefs
and leave one with the chance to shop Flavortown
for up to 35,000 bucks.
We gotta move things along, folks.
So, unfortunately, two will be checking out
in this first round of competition.
Let's talk about the positives.
Someone gets first place...
and 10,000 bucks.
There was a lot of dialog.
This went between two chefs.
Chef Nate,
and Chef Shota.
The chef that is safe next week
and will have a key advantage
in the competition
and gets 10,000 bucks
and gets to walk right now is...
Chef Nappleman.
-Congratulations, Nate. -[man 1] Yeah!
Well done. See you next week, buddy.
Chef Shota, you can follow behind him.
You don't get the ten grand, though. See you, buddy.
Now, this doesn't have any, uh,
any money but it sure is nice to go third.
Chef Sawyer, see you next week.
And since you are standing right next to him,
Chef Jose, see you next week. Thank you, sir.
And last but not least...
Mei Lin.
Unfortunately, two of you go home.
This was not because the sandwiches weren't great,
this is because, unfortunately,
all the other sandwiches were great... er.
The chef that will not be checking out
and we'll see next week will be...
the GOAT, Chef Stephanie. See you next week.
Chef Karen, Chef Ilan,
I ask you please don't make this the last time we see you
because next time you see 'em
they'll probably be back here judging on Guy's Grocery Games.
Chef Ilan, Chef Karen, thank you very much.
-Good night. -Thank you so much.
-Congrats. -[Ilan] Thank you.
[Karen] I hate that this is my first time in Flavortown
and I'm one of the first two people to go home.
But, I got the opportunity
to cook against seven other amazing chefs.
[Ilan] Cooking here is crazy
but amazing.
It's like a weird dream fantasy come to life
except you're timed.
I love you all. I'll see you next time.
Hasta la vista.
[Guy] You are gonna be taking on
some of the most unpredictable challenges
that we have in the triple G arsenal.
The food wheel.
Budget battle.
You're gonna play a list game.
[exclaims, then chuckles]
I forgot to tell you. We're having an auction.
I'll go 65.
-[dings] -Ding.
I am gonna have you compete as teams.
Mei, I need you.
-You guys. I mean, come on, I just gave you that. -All right.
Get the chicken cooking sooner than later.
You wanna handcuff them...
to the cart?
What?
Dude, this is brutal.
These chefs are on a mission.
[Jonathon] Guy's having a lot of fun watching us stress out
and shop like a bunch of lunatics.
[woman 1] It's so freaking good.
I would love to eat this any time.
-Yeah! -You never know what's gonna happen here.
I've seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa
and I've seen the Great Pyramids of Egypt
but I've never seen what is going on
on Stephanie Izard's grill right now.
The winner of the trophy is...