[Guy] They're among the most celebrated chefs
in the country.
And for the first time,
they're facing off in the most imposing culinary Colosseum
ever created.
Flavortown Market.
Tonight...
Oh, shoot!
[Guy] ...our five remaining chefs
will roll the dice playing Triple-G,
Games of Chance.
-Bring out the dial of dooms. -What is that?
-[exhales sharply] -I don't want that!
[Mei] This is one of the hardest things I've ever done,
including TOC.
[Guy] And the all-star that proves that they could do it all
will reap the rewards
up to $75,000 of prize money
-and will be crowned... -There we go.
-...the champion. -[Shota] Nice.
[Guy] Part three of our five week all-star Grocery Games...
Shrimpy maple syrup is yummy.
That's Stephanie for you.
...starts now.
Well, if it isn't the fearsome five.
-Come on in. Hello, chef. Welcome. -Hello.
Competing as a team last week was amazing.
I got to work with Mei.
[Stephanie] Shota and I were teammates.
Jose Garces and I were in the bottom.
I'm here this week and I'm determined more than ever
to prove the reason why I'm here.
Chefs, looking good.
Looking lean and mean.
Maybe looking a little too confident.
Do you feel like that?
Do you feel like you're powered
to take down Flavortown Market?
-Yeah. -Let's go.
[chuckles] Let's do it.
You're the TOC champ.
You can't kind of give me a "Maybe. I guess."
[all chuckling]
You never know what's gonna happen here.
[Guy] All right.
Tonight, my friends,
you are gonna be taking on
some of the most unpredictable challenges
that we have in the Triple-G arsenal.
Our Games of Chance.
This will not be about skill or talent or mindfulness.
No, this will simply be about luck.
Luck will determine the dishes and ingredients
that you will use to turn into something delicious.
And hopefully, 10,000 bucks.
Best dish again will win $10,000.
So far, Nate, 15 grand
-and, Chef Mei, five grand? -Five. Yeah.
There's still $55,000 left.
Are you ready to take a chance?
-Whoo! -Yeah!
[Guy] Fantastic.
Hunter, bring out the Dial of Doom.
-[exhales sharply] -Oh.
-What is that? -[Nate] The Dial of Doom?
-[Guy] I tried to make it positive. -[all laughing]
-Dial of Doom. I love that. -I gotta keep everything
on the real up and up of the positive.
This is one of the most feared in Triple-G.
This is the Triple-G OG.
This is the Food Wheel.
-Let's a look at what we have here. -Oof.
Vegetarian dinner,
diner classic,
champagne brunch,
and fried feast.
Anybody would like to come up and spin the wheel?
I'll go first.
[Guy] You're gonna spin for everybody.
Oh, I spin for everybody?
Why don't you? Since you're the G.O.A.T.
-Since you're the Iron Chef. -I can spin.
Why don't you come on up, chef?
Our fate is in your hands.
[Guy] So, go ahead and give it a good spin.
There we go.
And it looks like it is...
...champagne brunch.
Everybody feels good about champagne brunch, right?
Phew.
By the way, where are their shopping carts?
[Hunter] Uh, they're all around the store, actually.
[Guy] No, that wasn't the deal.
-[all laughing] -[Hunter] You said "Lay 'em out around the store."
That's what I did.
-Oh, I did tell you that. -[Hunter] I don't know why.
I told you that. I said, "Do that
and give them a couple key ingredients."
-What do you have? -Uh, no, I think it was tapioca pudding,
cheese balls, uh, ladyfingers,
canned pears and I think peanut butter and jelly in a jar.
[Guy] You put whammy ingredients?
You asked for fun, exciting items.
[Guy] All right.
Here's the deal.
Whatever is in the cart that you choose,
you must use that ingredient in your dish.
We like to call this Cart Search.
So, there'll be one of those five ridiculous, whammy ingredients
that Hunter mentioned in a cart.
You find the cart, choose it wisely
because what's in that cart, it's only one item,
but you gotta incorporate it.
It's another game of chance. Isn't this fun?
You understand you're making champagne brunch?
You understand that you must use this ingredient?
You understand that the carts could be anywhere
from aisle nine to aisle three.
I know there's one in aisle two,
there's one in aisle one.
You can go to aisle six--
-[Hunter laughing] -[Mei exclaims]
-Wow. -Oh, they're scattering too.
My strategy was to run in the opposite direction of everybody else.
I want canned pears or cheese balls
or do I not want really any of these ingredients.
First cart I see is...
Oh, tapioca pudding.
...tapioca pudding.
Oh, God!
What is this tapioca pudding?
Is it sugar? Is it vanilla bean?
That's okay. We can deal.
And I thought, "Oh, classic French pairing."
Vanilla bean and lobster.
For my champagne brunch, I'm gonna make Lobster Benedict.
I don't know if I'm gonna make a butter sauce.
I'm gonna need some acid and champagne.
I'm gonna need some bread.
So, I grab some biscuits
I've been eyeing up in the freezer.
These biscuits are gonna take 25 minutes minimum.
I gotta get the biscuits in the oven.
Let's hope they work.
Okay.
Tapioca pudding wouldn't be bad.
I think it would be the cheese balls that would have been the rough one.
[panting, chuckles nervously] This is it.
Oh, she takes cheese balls.
[Mei] I'm going with it.
cheese balls go pretty great with brunch.
Because it's a cheesy component that you can add to your dish.
I'll do this.
For my champagne brunch,
I'm making a Crab Benedict
and a cheesy ball bearnaise.
So I'm grabbing all the things that I need
for the bearnaise.
Things that are gonna make it spicy,
acidic, and since it's a champagne brunch,
of course, I'm using champagne vinegar.
And what pairs perfectly with champagne?
Caviar.
And of course, who doesn't love an English muffin.
What's not to like?
We're in round three.
I'm not playing it safe.
I want to win.
Peeked down, it's ladyfingers, I'm like, "Hey."
As good as anything, I'm just gonna start shopping.
When I'm thinking champagne brunch,
my mind goes to kind of a play on French toast that we do at my diner.
Where we take French toast
and we take out some of the bread
and cook an egg into it.
But I wanna push it over to,
like a seafood sweet and savory situation.
I'm going to make a shellfish infused maple syrup.
Then I started to think about the ladyfingers and think,
it's kind of like this slightly sweet cracker
that I could put labneh and roe on top of it
and that could just be almost like this little snack
before you get going on the rest of the fish.
I see everyone else having carts besides me and Nate.
I don't want that. [grunts]
Anything's better than peanut butter and jelly.
I look at it and I keep on running.
[Shota] I know it's a race.
So, I switch directions...
I got canned pears.
I can use it in a lot of different ways.
Champagne brunch.
Maybe it's because I'm from Washington
but when I hear "brunch," I think a salmon dish.
Canned fruits are mushy.
So it's kind of perfect for a puree.
For my puree, I grab carrots,
miso and some short ribs.
This is round three.
This is definitely getting harder.
I need to make sure I put more into my food,
more focus
and hopefully wow the judges
and get my win.
[Nate] And I see all the other chefs with carts.
So, I figure out,
I get the peanut butter and jelly.
I'm not seeing how peanut butter and jelly in a jar
is gonna fit into my champagne brunch.
Nate, what did you get in the cart?
Peanut butter and jelly.
-[groans in disgust] -Yeah.
The one restaurant that I had that served brunch,
we made baked eggs
in a woodfired oven
and I loved it.
I want everything that I make today to be rich and indulgent.
Heavy cream, bacon, morel, chanterelle.
[Guy] Nate took a whole basket of mushrooms.
All the high-end mushrooms.
[Nate] I see the grape soda and I think,
"This is how I'm gonna use my whammy ingredient."
I'm gonna mix the grape soda with the peanut butter and jelly
to make a champagne cocktail
to go with my luxurious, rich
indulgent egg dish.
Even though I've won $10,000 the first week,
I won $5,000 the second week,
today is a whole new day and I'm nervous.
So here to judge our Games of Chance
are three judges that are, well, game for anything.
First, we have a super competitor
with restaurants from Louisville to the Gulf of Mexico
the one and only super chef, Darnell Ferguson.
Celebrated executive chef and renowned restauranteur,
the neon princess warrior,
the one and only Antonia Lofaso.
There's no neon today.
And the man who has aced virtually every game he plays in Triple-G,
the winningest chef,
mayhem himself, Chef Aaron May.
[Darnell hooting]
Champagne brunch. Everybody's had it?
What is the percentage from great champagne brunches
to poor champagne brunches?
My favorite thing to do is like a really long champagne brunch
and then go to like the spa and have a massage.
-It sounds good. It's good. -There's gotta be brunch strategy.
There really is no bad champagne brunch.
You have champagne and you have brunch.
It's gonna be good.
[Guy] Twenty-five minutes.
[Jonathon] Is there any kind of brunch except for champagne?
I'm always nervous/excited.
I felt great about my dish last week and I was in the bottom.
Who knows what's gonna happen today?
I'm gonna make a version of eggs Benedict with lobster.
Fresh baked biscuits already are baking in the oven
with a tapioca and champagne Meyer lemon zabaglione.
My lobster's working,
so I get started on my tapioca and champagne base.
Zabaglione, it's good. It's not too sweet.
Hollandaise bearnaise zabaglione.
They're all brothers and sisters
in that same emulsified egg yolk sauce family.
-[Aaron] Whoa! -Look at the champagne bubbling over there.
[Jonathon] You're in.
Champagne tapioca.
'Cause in the blender I have two egg yolks
and that tapioca vanilla bean base.
All right. How's that tapioca coming into play, chef?
Honestly, I'm really happy with it.
I got a little base for a hollandaise there.
Okay. Where do the lobster come into play?
Lobster's gonna come into play underneath the sauce
on top of those fresh baked biscuits.
Next, I transfer that all to the aerator.
Oh, yes!
This allows the sauce to maintain temperature.
[giggles gleefully]
Hollandaise done.
For a second, let's think about the viewer.
Brunch is probably one of the most sought after entrees right now in America.
Everybody's doing great brunches.
But it's not often this kind of chefs are doing that.
To be able to see some chefs elevated is a treat for someone at home watching.
-We're gonna see so much innovation. -[Darnell] Yeah.
[Aaron] I think that there's an expectation with champagne brunch
and it's just elevated.
It's like weekday breakfast versus champagne brunch.
Weekday dinner versus like Saturday night dinner.
[Darnell] These chefs, their credentials,
fit perfectly into a champagne brunch.
If there was any kind of brunch they would cook,
it'd be a champagne one.
[Guy] Twenty-two minutes!
Chef Mei Lin, what did you get?
[Mei] cheese balls, my favorite.
I know but you didn't even save any for us to snack on.
I might need another bag.
Champagne brunch in 30 minutes
with a whammy ingredient is definitely insane.
I'm making a crab Benedict
with a cheesy ball bearnaise sauce.
The first thing I get started on is my bearnaise sauce.
The key to a good bearnaise sauce
is a good vinegar reduction.
-I have champagne vinegar... -[pops]
...some champagne,
a serrano and habanero chili as well as tarragon.
Next, I put some egg yolks into the blender.
Adding grainy mustard,
I think that crab and mustard go hand in hand.
I'm using kosho and I get that blended.
The cheese balls are gonna be so amazing in the sauce
because it's gonna give it that savory, cheesy element.
And then I start streaming in my vinegar reduction.
Round three,
the tournament has been insane.
This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done.
Including TOC.
[dramatic music playing]
I'm working on a seafood French toast.
I got some ladyfingers.
That's gonna at least add a little texture to the top of everything.
Gotta figure that out.
First thing I'm gonna start is
my French toast batter cream, buttermilk, sugar, eggs.
But in lieu of spice, I'm gonna add a little shrimp base
in here so I can tie the whole seafood thing together.
What was that you just put in there, Stephanie?
-[Stephanie] Shrimp base. -Yep. That's Stephanie for you.
[Stephanie] Now I'm gonna prepare the brioche for cooking,
dunk it in my batter,
giving it just a second to really soak up some of that shrimp base flavor
and the sweetness.
Still gonna wait and put an egg in here.
Like a toad in a hole style.
So, now I'm gonna move on to cooking the mussels.
I think for me being here with such amazing chefs,
I just wanna push the boundaries
doing these things that seem a little bit crazy
but then they work for some reason.
So, I just wanna stick to that.
Chef, what's the gameplan?
I'm making some, uh, sort of like seafood French toast.
Seafood French toast?
It's one of those things where I'm making this
and I'm excited to see how it comes out
-'cause maybe it will be. -I'm excited to see.
[dramatic music playing]
I don't really make brunches often,
but when I hear brunch,
I think bright, light goes with champagne well
and it's seafood.
Ninja, what was your mystery ingredient?
-[Shota] I got the pear. -[Guy] Okay.
[Shota] I'm gonna do a carrot, pear miso puree.
-And what else is in the brunch? Got it. -Salmon.
[Shota] I'm gonna get started on my puree.
So for my puree,
I'm gonna render the short rib fat
and use that to stretch out my puree.
I get carrots blanched and cook them, so they're soft.
Put it in the blender.
Also I have to add my whammy cart ingredient.
The canned pears.
Great replacement for sweetness in a puree.
Add some miso, the short rib fat,
a tiny dash of red wine vinegar and blend it up.
[blender whirring]
At week three,
I haven't won a round yet.
The dollar signs, you know, they're still far.
This is too many talented chefs in the room
to even think about getting there yet.
-Chef Nate. -Yes, sir.
[Guy] What's on the menu?
-We got baked eggs. -Baked eggs?
-Mushrooms, some toast. -Okay.
-I'm gonna have a little champagne cocktail. -All right.
[Nate] To start my baked eggs,
I first put in cream.
I wanna start getting the cream nice and warm.
So I can infuse it with other flavors.
Bacon and then I follow with the mushrooms.
This is a champagne brunch.
So, I don't wanna just go plain Jane brioche.
I make the truffle butter of my life.
It has white truffles, black truffles, porcini.
It's got everything.
Three amazing chefs have gone home.
Each chef that's left is the highest caliber that you could find.
I've watched Guy's Grocery Games for years.
And I know it's not necessarily about who cooks the best dish,
it's about who plays the game the best.
And then into the oven goes my brioche truffle toast.
[Guy] Sixteen minutes. Sixteen to go.
[Jonathon] I'm gonna poach some eggs soon, 16 minutes.
You know, my lobster's cooking,
biscuits are baking,
sauce is good to go.
It's time for the eggs.
I feel like I've lost to everybody who's left in this tournament
already in one way, shape or form.
So, it's pretty intimidating
knowing that maybe in the past
they've already got the best of me.
[Mei] English muffins.
Definitely the foundation that I want for my crab Benedict.
Not only is the crab a luxurious ingredient,
but it is gonna save me a ton of time
because it's already cooked.
Where's the crab coming into play?
The crab is being lightly warmed up in some yuzu kosho butter.
-I gotta poach some eggs soon. -Yeah.
[Mei] When I think of champagne brunch,
what's better than a champagne slush?
Liquid nitrogen is negative 300 degrees.
I stream that into the bowl,
so it can make a slushy.
I wanna win because I just came off of a TOC win
and I don't wanna stay the champ.
Chefs, we've got nine minutes!
Nine minutes to be plated with that champagne brunch!
One of my favorite things to do is use savory sweet maple syrup.
We do a barbecue maple syrup,
I've done a chorizo maple syrup.
I gotta say, I've never done a shrimp maple syrup.
So I'm gonna take a little of that shrimp paste broth,
put that into the maple syrup with some extra butter,
so you get the sort of sweet, rich, savory
seafoody maple syrup.
Shrimpy maple syrup is yummy.
So I'm gonna cut the ladyfingers into four pieces each.
Put a little of this nice, creamy, rich labneh on
and top it with some trout roe.
It's almost like a tiny little mousse.
[Shota] I'm gonna start the salmon.
How I like to cook salmon
is I cook the majority on one side
to get this nice color on.
I'll flip it, turn the heat off
and let it rest at that temperature.
I wanna saute some carrots.
So, I'm gonna use a different color
and it looks fancy like a champagne brunch.
Canned pears are very versatile.
Use it as a pickle.
I'm gonna get some ginger, cut it up and throw it in there and let it sit.
Everyone's using champagne
and I realized that I didn't grab any champagne.
Hey, Mei, can I take like, a tiny dash of champagne?
-Oh, my God. Yes, chef. -Thank you, chef.
It is a champagne brunch,
it makes sense,
I should what everyone else is doing.
[laughs]
I throw it in my pickling liquid.
I still think this dish needs one more different type of brightness.
So, I run out and grab some rapini.
But I think it's gonna go really well with this whole salmon dish.
[sizzling]
[Nate] For a textural element,
I'm gonna fry hashbrowns.
It feels amazing to still be in the Triple-G tournament.
This competition is getting harder and more challenging
by the minute.
And my cream is ready.
I start cracking my eggs.
I wanna cook these eggs for three to four minutes max.
It's gonna give me the perfect yolk with a set white.
Are you worried about Nate with his eggs
going in in under seven minutes?
[Antonia] I was just thinking that.
They should only take a second but...
-you know, you just never know. -[Darnell] Get them in now.
[Nate] Peanut butter and jelly in a jar. It's a classic.
Everyone knows it, everyone loves it
whether they admit it or not.
[Aaron] Nate is giving us a peanut butter and jelly sparkling wine cocktail.
And I've never been happier to hear like a variation
on like a mimosa, poinsettia, Bellini.
Four minutes!
I pull the eggs out of the oven with minutes to go.
And I realized they're not cooked.
I start to panic.
The eggs are completely undercooked.
I do not want to be going home today.
[Nate] I start to panic.
The eggs are completely undercooked.
Throw 'em on the burners and I crank them up.
I'm hoping these eggs cook in time.
Two minutes. Two to go!
[exhales]
[Jonathon] First, I put down my perfect lobster tail.
-Is that the tapioca there, chef? -Yes, sir.
-...butter, onions and egg yolk. -Hey,
you just made a new sauce.
That's going on lobster?
-Yeah. -You're an animal.
[Jonathon] And the brown butter tapioca glaze over top.
Then I put my biscuit down next to the tail,
I add my poached egg on top.
Zabaglione goes over top of the entire plate.
[Antonia] Sawyer's dish looks so good.
He had that hollandaise sauce
that just kind of goes over it.
It's like beautifully creamed.
Cold champagne in the cold glasses.
[Mei] I lay down my English muffin
and I top it off with buttery crab goodness.
My poached eggs, they look fantastic.
They're gonna be perfectly runny when the judges cut into it.
And top it off with my cheese ball bearnaise.
Oh, my God! Look at that cheese puff.
Hollandaise go over those eggs.
And then that beautiful caviar on top.
[Mei] I haven't done this before,
but you gotta take chances here at Flavortown.
And for my frozen slushy,
I top it off with a little extra champagne.
Ninety seconds!
[Stephanie] I'm first gonna put the French toast down.
I'm being really careful not to let the egg burst.
Then I'm gonna put some of the mussels on top.
I tasted that broth
-and the broth is ridiculous. -The broth is delicious.
[Stephanie] Give everybody a couple of the little ladyfinger points.
And then, on the side, I'm gonna put the maple syrup.
Puree's are here, people, they're here.
I put my puree down.
I put my salmon nicely.
My carrots are roasted perfectly.
And then pickled pears.
[exhales]
Gonna savor this.
There we go.
[Nate] I pull the brioche toast out of the oven
and I top it with hashbrowns and chives.
The eggs are cooked just in the nick of time.
I get 'em on the wooden plates,
garnish with some chives.
Five, four, three...
-Whoo! -...two, one.
And that's all she wrote!
-Great job, chefs! Great job! -[all applauding]
-[Shota] That was hard. -[Stephanie] I am totally going.
Wow, that was crazy.
We said good morning
and they said champagne brunch.
All right, judges, this is it.
The game Food Wheel determined
that our superstar chefs had to make you
champagne brunch.
[Guy] Chef Jonathon, you're up first.
What'd you make us, brother?
Uh, judges, Guy, thank you.
I draw the 35-pound tin of tapioca in my cart.
And I thought of that classic French pairing
of vanilla bean and lobster.
Made a sauce based on tapioca and champagne.
I baked biscuits in the center,
on top of it, I have a poached egg.
And an aerated version of that same base,
sort of like a tapioca or vanilla bean zabaglione.
Chef, when I think of a champagne brunch,
you knocked the concept out of the park.
Everything in here I think is cooked textbook.
The lobster's beautifully cooked.
The egg, all that luscious yolk,
dribbled everywhere.
That lobster vanilla comes across really beautifully.
The lemon is a really nice sort of way to cut through that.
[Aaron] I think that the champagne on the side,
is a little on the nose for champagne brunch,
but it really provides a nice counterpoint here
to the richness and luxurious.
The one thing I would take away from this is
the use of the biscuit.
I maybe would've tried to make it crunchy.
I just would've liked to see some different texture on the plate.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you very much. Up next,
Chef Stephanie, what do you have for us
with those delicious ladyfingers?
Chefs, I wanted to do a little bit of sweet and savory.
When I think of champagne brunch, that's where my mind goes.
So we have French toast,
there's a little bit of an egg yolk cooked on the inside.
The French toast batter has some shrimp base in it.
Then I also put in the maple syrup
that you can drizzle around and on top.
Then my whammy ingredient was the ladyfingers.
They're so tasty just with a little bit of labneh and some salmon roe on top,
it's just something I would have at brunch with my champagne.
There's also mussels and smoked scallops on top too.
Chef Stephanie, I don't even know how you got here!
[mouthing] I don't either.
Like, how did you get a ladyfinger, and then get to this place?
[Darnell] Kudos to you on this.
I just think the ladyfinger could've been used more.
But you used it in a way that made sense.
The mussels are cooked perfectly.
The custard on that French toast is amazing.
There's a smokiness with the scallops
that reminds you of bacon, breakfast sausage.
I would've liked to have seen the ladyfinger
maybe incorporated more into the whole dish,
as opposed to just sitting on top with that trout roe.
Thank you, chef.
Up next, Chef Mei Lin.
Judges, I gravitated towards a Benedict.
Took the cheese balls and used them in my bearnaise sauce.
Dungeness crab, warmed up in some yuzu kosho butter.
And a little bit of a champagned slushy if you will.
Chef Mei, I think that the richness of the Dungeness crab,
and sort of the whimsical richness of the cheese balls.
The acid really provides a nice foil there,
and I think it was really good decision-making.
I like that you were able to highlight the cheese puffs.
They're a star. So, you were playing right into
where a cheese puff would like to go.
[Antonia] The egg is perfectly cooked.
A beautiful ratio of caviar to the whole thing...
I needed my English muffin to be cooked a lot more.
For me, it's a little soft and gummy.
The egg is soft, the crab soft,
so I was hoping for a little more texture.
The champagne slushy. I love the idea of it.
It's a little one-note.
Like, you could've done something to the champagne.
[Guy] Great! Thank you, judges.
Up next, Chef Shota and canned pears. What have you got for us?
Hi, judges. I got some canned pear today,
and I thought pears must pair well with carrots and salmon.
It's a seared salmon.
Underneath, is a carrot-pear puree.
I added some short-rib fat as well.
To balance it out, I added some pickled carrots.
And the rapinis are massaged in canned pear juice,
Shio Koji red wine vinegar.
The pears, the carrots, I like the way you did
them all a couple different ways.
The roasted, the pickled, the canned...
I'm having a hard time believing this is a champagne brunch,
and not a champagne lunch.
Now, maybe if everything was smaller, the fillet was more petite...
You did the whole braised fat into the butternut squash
on Tournament of Champions when you and I competed.
And I was so curious about it,
because everyone was like, "This is the most delicious thing I've ever had,"
and I was like, "Meh!"
-And I just ate it, and it is phenomenal. -Thank you, chef.
I understand why he beat me.
Wow! We're making progress today here.
This is a healing moment for me.
[Guy] This is a healing moment.
[all laughing]
Last but not least, Chef Nate and the peanut butter jelly jar.
That's right. So, for your champagne brunch,
I made baked eggs in a truffle mushroom bacon cream,
and we have a little toasty truffle butter pudding situation on the side.
And a peanut butter and jelly champagne float.
When I think of brunch, chef, I think of this as this melting pot of flavors.
And I think that's what you kinda did here.
You brought us these little plates
that don't necessarily go great together, right?
It's not one cohesive thing, it's brunch,
which is an abundance of things.
This bread you've made with it, just turns it up
to a whole 'nother level.
Just together, it's like LeBron and Dwayne Wade.
Separately, they were great.
But together? Amazing!
[Aaron] The eggs are cooked delicious.
I saw you put them in with like five minutes left.
You did a great job.
The eggs are cooked beautifully.
Absolutely beautiful.
I love the peanut butter. I love the jelly as a cocktail.
It actually works well.
I just feel like... It's just...
Here's the peanut butter and jelly cocktail,
instead of really try to incorporate into the dish.
Chefs, boom! Flat out.
It was outstanding. We're gonna send you back to the kitchens.
Unfortunately, two of you will be in the sudden death round,
and have to cook your way out of it. Thank you very much.
I just watched five super chefs.
Who wins the 10K?
I think that Nate and Jonathon are 100% my top two.
That leaves us Shota, Mei Lin and Stephanie.
Who else is safe?
[Guy] We asked for champagne brunch, you gave it.
There were all different incarnations of that.
Two chefs will go into the bottom,
and compete head-to-head for a sudden death cook-off.
One will move on to next week.
And the other will be checking out.
But, before we do that, let's talk about the positives.
The chef that gets $10,000
and the one-way ticket to week four, will be...
Chef Jonathon!
-[cash register dings] -[Guy] Congratulations.
Congratulations! See you next week, chef.
[Guy laughing]
It was the braids. I'm telling you, it was the power braids.
All right, the chef that just was edged out a bit by Chef Jonathon,
moving on to the fourth week,
will be...
Chef Appleman!
Congratulations.
So close to taking money again, buddy!
One of you is safe and moving on to next week.
The other two will go head-to-head in the final battle.
The chef that is safe and moving on to the fourth week will be...
the champ. See you next week.
So, I'm sorry to see the two of you in the bottom,
but here's the deal.
The carts are waiting for you, and the next round of competition starts now.
Good luck.
Chefs! One of you will stay in the tournament,
and the other, well, you'll be checking out.
Now, you competed head-to-head in Iron Chef Gauntlet,
Superchef Grudge Match,
and who's won those?
[whistles]
Last time I only lost by three points and it's been--
-[Stephanie] It's four points! Last time was four points. -[Shota] Four points? Okay!
I mean, but who's counting?
-Hey! -[both laughing]
So, with stakes this high, I think it's only fitting
that we have you make the judges a...
steakhouse dinner.
Now, we're leaving the specifics to fate.
And we're gonna play the biggest and toughest game of chance that we have.
This is the...
[electronic voice] Food Pyramid.
What's gonna happen is, we'll drop the ball,
and we'll see what crucial elements to your steakhouse dinner you have to use.
You could end up here in the bottom.
Frozen carrots, canned potatoes, mushroom jerky,
which is delicious, by the way,
frozen spinach, canned asparagus,
-or freeze-dried peas. -[Stephanie and Shota] Oh!
Here we go!
[clinking]
-[Stephanie] Oh! -Oh, damn! Heard that.
-Oh-oh. -[Guy] That's terrible.
What could be next and be so important?
Let's take a look.
Equipment!
We have wood chips, a brick, a torch,
or a cast-iron grill press.
Where would you like me to drop the baby wheel of cheese?
-Over here? -[Shota] Right there.
Is it a baby wheel cheese?
-Yes, it is. -[Shota] That's so funny.
[clinking]
-[Shota] Love it. -[Guy] Brick's not bad.
-Yeah. -[Guy] Brick's not bad. You're cooking steak.
What could the top round of this...
What... How bad could it be? Let's take a look!
Oh, this is not good.
This is the only aisle you can't shop in.
Aisle one is produce.
Five is pastas, four is international,
and nine is all frozen.
It's the only aisle you can't shop in.
Only aisle you can't shop in.
Where do you want it? Way over here?
A little bit more, a little bit more.
-[Shota] Yeah. -[Guy speaking indistinctly]
[Shota] Oh, yeah!
[Guy whistles] Five.
So, you got your canned fruits, your soups,
your spices! Your rice, your grains,
and your canned meats.
So, you have 30 minutes to create a winning steakhouse dinner,
that incorporates the use of the brick,
the canned asparagus, and you are not allowed
to shop in aisle five.
And there's one more thing.
For you and you two only, today and today only,
at Flavortown Market,
we have a manager's special in aisle ten,
and it is the must-use protein in your dish.
Now, as you know, typically, we say, "3-2-1, go."
But in this instance...
-Hey! -[Guy] Damn, where's he going?
[Shota] Stephanie is a beast. Every challenge she has got,
she has gone 100% against me.
[Stephanie] Just last week, Shota and I were teammates.
It's kind of a funny twist of events putting us together again.
[Guy] Steakhouse dinner.
Both of them are so talented.
-[Shota gasps] -[Hunter] Flat iron steak.
[Guy] The flat iron steak is the manager's special.
[Hunter] Take as many as you want.
Save me some later, that's all.
Gotta have canned asparagus.
Ugh!
[Stephanie] Flat iron steak has a ton of flavor.
It will definitely marinate quickly.
When I hear "steakhouse dinner," I think large sides. Like steak and potatoes.
I'm planning on making a grilled flat iron steak,
-with some twice-baked fingerling potatoes. -[clattering]
I can't even really understand what canned asparagus is going to taste like,
or texturally going to be like,
but I guess I finally get to find out.
[clinking]
In my mind, canned asparagus could make a great gratin.
I'm gonna grab some blue cheese, and some coconut,
and see if I can make a little blue cheese, asparagus gratin situation.
I love the idea of blue cheese and steak.
We've got the sweetness from the coconut
going with that funkiness from the blue cheese.
Wait, what aisle are we not allowed to go in?
There's great spice in there, having to pivot and...
I'll see if there's something else I can use.
I am here to win. I've beaten Shota twice
and a lot of people have that phrase, "Third time is a charm."
But I'm gonna hope that's not true.
[Shota] Flat iron steak is a delicious piece of meat.
I wanna marinate the steak,
and break down the fibers inside of it.
Asparagus is such a hard ingredient to use.
If I could showcase it, and highlight it in a smart way,
it's gonna be perfect for this steak dish.
I'm gonna add it with peas because I think that subtle balance and brightness
is really gonna balance this asparagus out.
I know it's an elimination round, but I'm not even thinking about that.
I'm just focusing on making this dish
as delicious as it can be, stand up to Stephanie's flavor profile,
and hopefully wow the judges and get my win.
These are two of my favorites.
To think of sending one of them home in a sudden death match like this?
This is the way the competition goes.
[Guy] Twenty-four minutes!
So, now they have to work with canned asparagus,
a brick, and they can't use aisle five.
They're given the "manager's special" protein as well,
for this steakhouse dinner.
[Stephanie] So I've been on the bottom three times,
and twice I've had to cook just to stay in the competition.
Week three is showing me that this is hard for anyone.
I'm trying to make a steak
with smashed double-fried potatoes
and kind of like a blue cheese asparagus gratin, maybe.
While the potatoes are in the fryer, I'm gonna work on my steak.
I add in soy sauce, fish sauce, sambal.
I'm taking ingredients that can add a lot of flavor.
so I can marinate the steak.
When was the last time you had some canned asparagus?
I've never had canned asparagus in my life.
-Oh, my God. -[Guy] It is one of the worst things.
[Stephanie] In tasting the asparagus, it definitely can't hold up to a gratin.
So, I'm gonna just puree it and turn it into a salad dressing.
[whirring]
When I think steakhouse, I want like a creamy blue cheese sauce.
So I'm gonna start off with a coconut caramel, add blue cheese to that.
I'm gonna take a little bit of that and use it in my asparagus dressing.
[whirring]
So let's talk about the history between Chef Shota and Chef Stephanie.
Shota actually looks up to Stephanie as a mentor.
They competed multiple times
from Iron Chef Gauntlet to Superchef Grudge Match,
and last week, were teammates.
And now have to face off against each other.
It's like they just can't get out of each other's hair.
How are you doing, Steph?
-Terrible. -[Shota] Terrible?
Going against Stephanie, I wanna put out the best I can.
She's a fierce competitor. I've not beat Stephanie yet.
So, this may be my chance.
I'm gonna marinate the steak in Koji,
Canned asparagus, I'm gonna use to make the sauce, and the puree.
And sauteed peas and morels.
[clattering]
First thing I'm gonna do, is I gotta get working on this flat iron.
I pound it out because it's such a thick cut
and then I marinate it in shio koji.
So, what is this again?
Shio koji. It's rice koji, so it has actual rice in it.
-So it has a little sweetness. A lot of umami. -[Guy] Right.
It's fantastic!
[Shota] I used koji with rice in it, and I used koji without the rice in it.
Rice tends to have a lot of sugar,
and it burns easier, so I'm trying to watch out for that.
I wanna get a nice sear on it.
I'm gonna put the brick on top,
and check that off.
Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool!
Give me the technique on the flat iron steak.
You know, listen, with the flat iron, I think you gotta get a marinade on it
and then you gotta cook it really quickly,
and do it like medium rare.
-So, lean, gotta be cooked right, gotta be cut right. -Absolutely.
[Shota] Check it real quick. Take the brick out.
Steak's burnt.
This is not an okay batch.
I need to redo the whole steak process.
I'm gonna have some backup cooking because I'm not the happiest
with what I am seeing right now.
Shota did an amazing job tenderizing the steak.
But then he marinated it, does have a good amount of sugar in it.
Once it hits that hot cast iron,
it caramelizes like that.
[Shota] I don't have time to marinate again, so I'm gonna do
salt, brick, sear, and cook it well.
Hopefully, it'll come out sexy.
[Guy] Fifteen minutes!
Fifteen minutes, heard!
[Aaron] You know, I think you're seeing like a real tale of two kitchens.
You've got Stephanie over here, she's got cream,
she's got Gorgonzola, she's pureeing with mayonnaise.
Shota's got morels.
He's got sugar snap peas.
He's got really fresh, bright produce
and I think you're really seeing the differences here in the way they cook.
[Stephanie] My steak's done marinating. Get it on the grill.
So I've got my potatoes in the fryer,
then my canned asparagus, blue cheese dressing.
I'm gonna grab some lettuce and do a side salad.
Well, I wondered if there's almost like this play
on like a wedge a little bit.
-[Stephanie] There is a play on a wedge. -There is?
I love when I get it right.
So, is the asparagus gonna be the dressing for the wedge?
Yes.
-You know who's really smart? -[Darnell] You are.
[Aaron] It's really interesting that Stephanie has chosen
to build a fort of bricks around her steaks
to block the wind.
I just don't even know what to do with them, you guys!
I'm gonna smash that potato with that brick.
[Antonia] Are you going double-fry potato?
I am.
I decide to grab some mushrooms to put on my steak.
I love the idea of mushrooms and steak.
Putting them on the grill.
I check on the steak. It's looking pretty good.
I'm gonna put it in the oven so it can start
to cook through just a little bit more.
Let's be honest. There's so much at stake.
These two friends, former teammates.
One of them is going home at the end of this,
based on which one gives us the lesser steakhouse dinner.
-[Guy] How are you feeling, chef? -[Shota sighs] So-so.
[Guy] So, the first one burnt on you a little bit.
-That cast iron just got a little too hot. -[Shota] Yeah.
Now I got my steak handled,
so I'm gonna use this canned asparagus.
-[clanking] -[Shota] So disgusting.
You guys are horribly mean.
[all laughing]
[Shota] So, for my pea puree, put it in the blender
with this yummy, delicious canned asparagus in here.
[whirring]
I'm gonna make a yummy teriyaki sauce.
It's a bunch of green onion, that's just blended straight up
with teriyaki sauce.
I'm gonna do a really strong umami flavored sauce
to kind of coat the sliced meat.
I've competed against Stephanie. This is my third time now.
If I could win, that would feel like redemption.
I'm just focusing on making this dish as delicious as it can be.
[Guy] Chef Shota, Chef Stephanie,
five minutes. Five minutes to be plated.
[Stephanie] So I get my smashed double-fried potatoes,
got my steak.
Top it off with my grilled mushrooms for that earthiness.
[Aaron] Okay, okay.
[Stephanie] And some pickles to cut through all that richness.
I'm gonna build my shoutout to a wedge salad.
We've got grilled romaine, some asparagus blue cheese dressing.
Some of the pickled Fresnoes and onions on top.
[Guy] Two minutes!
[Shota] The steak is cooked and seared.
Afterwards, I slice it against the fiber,
and I douse it in a bunch of teriyaki sauce.
Lot of sauce on this.
Really make it an umami bomb.
I put my pea and asparagus puree down.
I add my frisee salad and my steak right on top.
I put the snap pea and morel mushrooms that I sauteed underneath.
Three, two, one, that's it!
[all applauding]
-[Aaron] Wow. -[Guy] Great job.
-[Antonia] Whoo! -[Darnell] Great job, chefs.
Chef Shota, Chef Stephanie,
let's see whose steakhouse dinner makes the cut.
Let's take it to the judges right this way.
All right, judges, for this head-to-head checkout round,
the chefs played one of our hardest games that we have,
the old Food Pyramid.
The pyramid determined that they had to use canned asparagus,
they had to cook with a brick,
and they couldn't shop for any item in aisle five.
Up first, Chef Shota, what do yo have for us?
I wanted to use the asparagus as much as I could.
The asparagus is in the puree underneath, with some peas.
And the other way I utilized the asparagus, in the frisee salad.
The steak is cooked, and it's glazed in teriyaki sauce.
And underneath is some peas and morels.
I think the cook on the steak is perfect and beautiful.
The fact that you hit it with the brick,
I thought was a really smart use of the brick.
I think you made an unbelievably delicious steak dinner.
I don't know if I believe it as a steakhouse dinner.
The puree is like glorious.
I think it's the star of the show
with the canned asparagus, which is a hard ingredient to use.
I think this is a beautiful, beautiful plate of food.
You did a nice job cooking that flat iron steak.
The teriyaki glaze gives it a nice sweetness on the outside.
So, I feel like it has a little crust on it.
I think you did a really smart thing
pairing the peas with the canned asparagus.
Canned asparagus, kind of a whammy.
Maybe not the most beautiful thing in this great market.
But the peas really bring out the asparagus, and also give it some freshness.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you very much, chef.
Not to be outdone, Chef Stephanie, what do you have for us?
So I really wanted to lean in to the whole "steakhouse" situation.
On the main plate, we have steak going on,
been marinated, used the brick on that.
I also used the brick to smash the potatoes
before their second fry.
And then we have a different version of a blue cheese sauce going over the top of that,
with some grilled mushrooms.
The side salad with charred romaine with some croutons.
[no audio]
Chef Steph, if you were to open a steakhouse,
this is what your steakhouse dinner would look like.
It's got you written all over it.
We were talking earlier about how it's not just about steak for a steakhouse,
but it's also about the sides.
The sides as a composed dish, right?
There's the sauteed mushroom, there's the fried potato.
I really appreciate that,
'cause it's all really, really delicious.
Blue cheese meat is super steakhouse.
But I would've liked to have tasted the asparagus a little bit more.
I don't love the taste of the canned asparagus,
but I would've liked to have known it's there.
Thank you.
It was such a smart game play.
The way that you smashed the potatoes with the brick,
but also used them on top of the steak as well.
The thing I liked about it, was that you didn't shy away
from a steakhouse like the char broiler.
You got those flavors in different ways
inside this dish. So, good job on that.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, chefs.
I hate to see either one of you at the bottom of this.
We'll leave it up to the judges. We'll send you back to the kitchens.
Thank you very much.
-[both] Thank you. -[Stephanie] Thanks, guys.
Two terrific steakhouse dinners.
The question is, did either chef make a rare "mistake"?
[chuckles]
Shota gave us a composed steakhouse dinner.
I thought his sauce... that glaze he put over top was fantastic.
[Aaron] Yeah, the teriyaki. That was great.
Yeah, that was so good.
And his dressing with the peas,
and the canned asparagus, delicious.
Just didn't feel steakhouse.
I liked Stephanie's sides better. Mushroom, potato.
But here's the thing with Stephanie's dish.
The asparagus, I know it was used in theory. I just didn't taste it.
Who moves on, who goes home?
[Guy] All right, judges, thank you very much.
There was a lot of back and forth on this,
but the judges did come to a decision.
And unfortunately, one chef will be checking out.
And one chef will be rejoining rest of the chefs,
with the final four in week four.
The winner of the sudden death round of week three,
will be...
Congratulations... the G.O.A.T.
Congratulations, Stephanie.
Shota, without question,
one of my favorite people that I've ever seen, okay?
If I could bottle your optimism, enthusiasm,
and positive energy, I think that we could probably change the world.
You are one of the most interesting chefs I've met in the last five years.
Thank you very much for the opportunity. This has been incredible.
I feel very proud of myself for making it this far.
At the end of the day, I'm glad I got to go out on a dish
that is something that I really liked and enjoyed.
Bye, Shota.
[Shota] I put everything I have,
against Stephanie Izard, and that feels great.
I would compete against Stephanie again, all day, any day.
Watch out for the ninja!
[Guy] The Flavortown four...
-Not his first rodeo. -[screams]
[Guy] I gotta make a mental list
of the games you haven't played yet.
That's it. So, tonight, you're gonna play a list game.
-[Mei] Where's the boneless pork loin? -[Jonathon] Here it is.
Beans, man! Just cook, please.
[Jonathon] Yeah!
You've done it again. All comes together beautifully.
What night do you do this? Because I'm coming over with my family.
It is really delicious.
You might wanna watch out for a sec, it's very splashy.