[narrator] At Flavortown Academy,
the best home cooks in the country
learn to take their skills to the next level.
Tonight, our remaining four students
will fight for a spot in next week's finals
by proving their ability to cook
with international ingredients.
-What's this? -Yo. Bitter melon? Oh, no.
-I do think it needs avocado. -Okay.
You get to make us Thai-Talian.
Slow down, Ty.
Holy comfort food.
That's one of the best moves I've seen.
This is gonna be a fight.
[Guy] It's part four of Flavortown Academy.
And it starts right now.
Let's welcome our Flavortown Academy Juniors.
Professor Antonia's class is down to two students.
Sophomore week was rough on Chef Antonia.
I had to say goodbye to my first student, Samar.
And Jeff almost didn't make it.
I still have two very strong students.
It's like second to the last week
-before graduation. -Go and get 'em.
So we're ready to start junior year.
And Professor Chef Jet's class
is also down to two students.
Come on winners.
[Jet] We're coming into junior year
with a little swagger.
The last week, my students were totally safe.
I think we were the top two picks,
did not have to cook a Pass/Fail.
There's the winner's dance.
-How are you? Welcome. -I'm fine.
-Hi. -All right. Good talk.
Congratulations students on making this far
in the Flavortown Academy.
This week's junior course is gonna be the most
competitive yet because it will decide
which three of you will advance
to next week's senior finals.
And a shot at graduating supermarket cum laude
with a $35,000 scholarship.
-Wow! -Yeah!
[woman] Woo!
This week's lesson is a big one,
-and it spans the entire globe. -[Jet] Oh.
-Oh. -Because you're getting a crash course
in world ingredients and international cuisine.
Now, here at Flavortown Academy,
you don't need to study abroad
because international ingredients
run rampant throughout the store.
So let's check out some of them right now
with the help of your professors
-in a little challenge, we like to call... -Oh, no.
International Taste Test.
-Step up, step in, come in and win. -Let's go green. Go green.
Woo!
-No, no. -Okay. Let's go.
-Put these on because this is gonna be a blind tasting. -Oh, God.
Hunter, go ahead and bring it out.
-You got this. -No problem.
Let's get ready.
I'm gonna put the ingredient in your hand.
You're both gonna get something different.
So if I give the ingredient to Jet,
he guesses it incorrectly,
then I will give it to Antonia.
If she answers it correctly,
the game is over
and the advantage will go to Antonia.
-So, Jet... -Hold this.
[Guy] There is yours.
Antonia, you would like to guess yours first?
It tastes salty. It tastes meaty.
It tastes yeasty.
Is that Demi?
You did not get it correct.
-I will now give Jet a chance to answer it. -[Jet] Oh.
If Jet can answer this correctly,
then Jet will win.
It's got a very strong umami flavor.
Is it like Vegemite?
[Antonia groans]
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
-No way, is that a yes? -It is Vegemite.
[woman] Woo!
-Wow! -[Guy] Congratulations.
-So, we could do some water. -I'm done losing these.
Wow.
Congratulations Jet.
You've won a key advantage for your class
in their next assignment.
Students for this challenge, I want you to make
a comfort classic
with an international twist.
Before you start shopping, you have to find your carts.
-Huh? -As you noticed, the carts are missing
because we're playing Cart Search.
When I say go, you will search the store
for the cart you want
because each cart contains two key ingredients
from a different global destination...
-Oh, boy. -that you must use in your dish.
After this round, the two lowest scores
are gonna be going in to the Fail or Pass Round.
And one student will be sent home.
Chef Jet, since you have the key advantage,
your students are gonna get a 30-second
-head start to find... -Thirty seconds is like nine days.
You're gonna have thirty and a half minutes
to find your cart, do your shopping,
and create your comfort classic
with an international twist.
-Now, if... -I'm excited to see this.
anybody wants to eat three of this...
[laughs]
or just these two.
If someone will eat this one item,
-they can go first. -We have 30 seconds.
Come on.
Use that 30 seconds.
[Jet] So, I won an extra 30 seconds and that's massive.
So that means my students can see all the carts
and have their first pick.
Find your carts.
I know what my comfort class pick is.
Makaronia Me Kima,
a Greek spaghetti and meat sauce.
The first cart is France, truffle and brie.
Do you think I should do truffle and brie?
[Jet] It's up to you.
[Maria] I'm passing on France.
Look for another cart.
[Tyler] I'm pumped.
Hopefully, I can find the ingredients
to make some mac and cheese.
It doesn't get more classic or comfortable
than mac and cheese.
The first cart is India.
Mango chutney and some other ingredient
that I have no idea what it is.
That's not gonna work with my mac and cheese.
This is like when you're a little kid
and you're waiting for the bell to ring
so you could go out to recess.
That was my best period.
[Jet] There's one here.
German. There's German here.
[Maria] The German cart, absolutely not.
Sauerkraut is not going into my meat sauce.
One. Go. Go.
They're coming. They're coming.
-I see no carts. -No cart.
Then grab French.
Okay. I'm gonna take it.
My mac and cheese, nothing is gonna beat
this French cart.
[Jeff] Comfort classic to me means a kimchi burger.
So I find a German cart,
sauerkraut and shelf stable sliced potatoes.
Sauerkraut, it's like the kimchi of Germany.
Shelf stable potatoes, who buys this?
[Diana] There's one here.
When I think of great comfort classic, I think of nachos.
Hot mango chutney and papadam.
I don't even know how to incorporate these things.
What are they?
-Where's the last one? -Oh, no. Go that way.
There it is right there. There's the last one. China.
In the Chinese cart, Shaoxing rice wine and bitter melon.
-What's this? -Oh, bitter melon. Oh, no.
I'll help you through it.
Ooh, I don't wanna use truffle.
Not thinking there would be a bitter melon
from China waiting for me.
Tyler, what dish are you going for?
I am gonna go French.
I am gonna make a French mac and cheese.
Brilliant.
I love that it is a comfort food.
I think I wanna incorporate the brie and truffle
into my cheese sauce.
I grabbed some pancetta, I got to build flavor
in layers.
You have other cheeses that would do--
-Yeah, I do. I got, um-- -You have a melty cheese.
I got a... I got goat again. I got a pecorino.
-Not melty, not melty. -No, not melty?
-I need a melty. -You need one melty. Get a moz.
You need something to melt everything into.
Yes, Chef.
-[Jet] Shredded mozzarella in front of you. -Here we go.
Another great tip from Professor Tila.
Do you think I should do ground veal
and lamb or just stick with the lamb?
-What do we have here? -[Jet] Shaoxing and bitter melon.
[Guy] Bitter melon?
[Jet] Bitter melon is the most bitter thing you've eaten.
Probably the toughest cart by far.
What dish are you going for?
I think I'm still gonna do the spaghetti meat sauce.
[Guy] It's burying the bitter melon.
-Yes. -That's your tough thing.
Uh, I'll use cinnamon clove and basil in the meat sauce.
-Yeah, that'll bury it. -That's good. Okay.
You stay with that plan.
I think Maria's dish choice is perfect.
Hey. You have the free reign of the shop.
Now get the best ingredients.
-Okay, now we get some spaghetti and spices. -Save time. Save time.
But there's no way to incorporate Shaoxing rice wine
and bitter melon into anything.
But we're gonna make it work.
[Maria] The Shaoxing rice wine is perfect
to reduce my sauce in.
As a junior, I'm really settling into my style.
Professor Jet, he's really taught me
that I just need to...
[exhales]
breathe.
-Tomato sauce? -Here, here, here,
here, here.
You can come back.
You have to start cooking.
-What are you looking at? -I'm gonna go burgers.
-Okay. -I'm gonna do a kimchi bacon burger,
-and then I'm gonna do it... -Uh-huh. Great. The kimchi...
-The kimchi is gonna be mixed in with the sauerkraut. -With the sauerkraut.
Very smart.
This sliced potatoes is gonna be kind of like
French fries on the side.
I would get stuff to put on top of it,
like spice blend, you know what I mean?
-So like, they're really beautifully-- -Oh, on top of the potatoes?
-On top of... Yeah, exactly. -Okay. Got you. Got you. Thank you.
Professor Antonia, she's a seasoned pro,
and she knows exactly how these games work.
You can get anything you want there.
-Chili crunch... -Definitely.
-sesame oil, rice wine, vinegar. -There's gochugaru, gochujang.
And then get a lot of vegetation.
-Okay? -Very good. Thank you.
I am wildly impressed with Jeff
from freshman to sophomore now to junior.
He is excelling.
[Jeff] My comfort classic is gonna be
this amazing burger
that I'm gonna incorporate that sauerkraut
into the kimchi.
I'm gonna add some nice smoky bacon to it
with the potatoes on the bottom
because the potatoes are gonna soak up
any of those juices
that seep down from that burger.
Red chilies for color. Serrano chilies.
I'm like, running back and forth to both my students.
What do you wanna make?
Trying to explain it because Diana
has never seen papadam before.
If you fry these, it's almost like a tostada.
Oh, I can make nachos with this.
You want processed cheese for the top?
You know, the idea of doing nachos
and interchanging the papadam and the tortillas
while she does, like, the chorizo and black beans.
She knew where she was going.
[Diana] I grabbed every single cheese I could think of.
When my boys were growing up, whatever leftovers
I had in my house, I could just throw it
on some chips and I've got a meal.
So I wanna just toss the fresca.
Make it spicy.
[Diana] I'm grabbing habanero chili, Serrano chili.
I see that all of my other classmates are already there.
I'm the last one, again.
How were you gonna incorporate the mango chutney?
I'm gonna mix it in with my salsa.
You're gonna mix it with your salsa. Okay, great.
So here to judge our student's global comfort food
is our distinguished panel of professors emeritus.
We have a prolific cookbook author
whose world travels inspire her cooking.
The one and only OG of Triple G,
Catherine McCord.
A restaurateur behind out of this world
breakfast joints, SuperChef Darnell Ferguson.
And the Clark Kent to Darnell's SuperChef
and owner of San Diego Magazine,
the one and only Troy Boy Johnson.
Very nice, folks. Okay.
So what we have is papadam and chutney,
we got sauerkraut and German sliced potato.
And in Kitchen 4, he got the cart of carts,
brie and truffle paste.
In Kitchen 3, she's got the toughest one.
Bitter melon and Chinese rice wine.
-And I hope you're hungry. -All right.
-Maria. -I'm making a traditional Greek pasta recipe.
Makaronia Me Kima.
So, last time the onions hurt you.
[Maria] I completely forgot about my demi
and I burned my onions.
-Yeah, I'm gonna make sure I'm good. -Okay. More fat.
But the fat will go in with the lamb.
Someone's not listening to Professor.
-No, no, no. It's okay. -I know. I'm listening.
-No, no, no, no. You got this. You got this. -I'm listening.
Maria is definitely the most inquisitive student
and I like that.
I mean, how else are you supposed to learn things?
-Bitter melon. Take a spoon. -Should I process this?
No. Scoop the seeds out like an English cucumber right now.
So I taste the bitter melon.
It's awful.
Throw these halves in boiling water.
That's how Grandma did it. That's how you're gonna do it.
The way to kill the bitterness
is you boil it, it starts to kind of evaporate out
those essential oils that taste bitter.
[Maria] To balance that bitter melon
with my meat sauce, I had to go big
with my cloves, my cinnamon, and my basil.
I'm adding ground pork and some ground lamb.
All right. That bitter melon is sunk down.
It's time to pull it out and just let it chill on the board.
And Shaoxing rice wine.
I think I'm gonna do that.
How do you feel about me doing that after
-that's kind of-- -Yes. You're gonna deglaze
the Shaoxing rice wine.
Pour half that bottle there right now.
Reduce the Shaoxing like wine. There you go.
These pupils, they have a great knowledge
of cooking, but it's nice to have
that teacher there to help guide them on how to succeed.
And let's just talk about the fact
that Antonia and Jet have a lot riding here.
They have a rivalry and they want to win.
[Guy] Twenty minutes. Twenty to cook.
So on top of having to elevate
international comfort classic,
there's a lot riding on this round.
The two who are at the bottom have to go
to a Pass/Fail Round.
They have to fight literally against each other to see
who's gonna stay and try to make it the senior year.
What are you making?
I'm gonna lean into the French and make a super decadent mac
and cheese with pancetta.
What is your key ingredients that you have to work with?
My key ingredients are truffle and Le Petit Brie.
Sorry, that was a difficult one?
-Brie and truffle? -Sometimes you gotta take
-the easy route, I'm gonna say. -You got the gift bro.
-That advantage really... You won that one. -Holy molly!
-Thank you, to Chef Jet. -That's right.
Like I learned in sophomore year.
Gotta elevate it.
[Jet] Mornay sauce.
Mornay is a French word for cheese sauce.
[Tyler] And Professor Tila informed me about a Mornay.
-You need flour in there. -Yes, Chef.
As you're putting your cold milk, don't stop.
The cold liquid will work down. I promise.
-[Tyler] Yes, Chef. -Taste that. Make sure it's not burnt.
-No. Nutty. -Good. Perfect.
-Nutty. -Slow down, Ty.
You gotta get that pasta in soon. Okay?
[Tyler] Yes, Chef.
Now just start working your cheese in.
I know the brie has got to be the star
of this cheese sauce.
[Jet] Pack it and just scoop out the center.
[Tyler] Try and pick off as much of the rind as possible.
So I'm getting just that creamy brie cheese
into my sauce.
Some brie in there.
I put the whole bag of mozzarella in there
because mozzarella is gonna be stringy and creamy
and that's exactly how I want my cheese sauce.
[Guy] What are you making?
[Jeff] Kimchi burger with sauerkraut.
Kimchi that's gonna go on top of it.
-What do you have? The potatoes? -I got sliced potatoes.
Make sure it's incorporated. Not a side.
[Jeff] Definitely. Thank you, Chef.
Are you going burger on the grill
or burger in a cast iron?
I'm gonna do it in the cast iron.
Nice, Jeff.
Such distinct flavors, vision.
He's so confident in his cooking right now.
[Jeff] I gotta make it to that finals.
I'm here to win it
and I'm gonna take that money,
take my kids to Korea to enjoy the culture
and actually have them meet some of my family
that they've never met over there before.
Perfect. Flip those. Those burgers look gorgeous.
Remember they shrink up a little bit.
You want the burger?
The perfect ratio of burger to bun.
[Jeff] Chef Antonia has really been an amazing guide.
Gorgeous.
And she's helping me to become this better chef.
-Mayo. -Make the Sriracha mayo.
-No salt in it. Okay? -No salt?
The potatoes are already seasoned.
At every turn, she's there.
After you do your Sriracha mayo,
go ahead and put the cheese on top of there.
It'll melt. You put 'em off to the side.
-They're ready to go. -Sounds good, Chef.
So there's no class that's safe.
It's really just about the two bottom dishes.
I don't wanna let them down.
Antonia and Jet are like back and forth, back and forth.
I mean this is a lot for them to hold.
So make sure that you're tasting
the hot mango chutney and it's hot.
You also wanna taste your papadam.
I'm gonna really lean into her expertise
to really help me elevate my dish to that next level.
-How are we looking? -Looking good, Chef.
I'm making nachos with papadam, chorizo, beans,
and the cheese sauce, and a salsa fresca.
If you have your beans and your meat cooked and separate,
then when you start to stack 'em up into your nachos...
-Got it. -they'll both be a little bit more identifiable.
All right. Okay, thank you, Chef.
Diana's got a lot more confidence
and she is like a super intuitively great cook.
Let's try these papadam.
The idea of doing nachos and interchanging
the papadam and the tortillas, very smart.
I don't think these are cooked already.
Put the whole thing in the fryer.
I can fry up the papadam
and use it as a nacho.
[Antonia] So you can mix them with the chips.
Pull that one out.
Again, Chef Antonia totally helped me
figure out how to do that.
Students, professors, we've got 10 minutes
until class is dismissed.
Ten minutes.
[Maria] I dropped my pasta.
I need to make sure that the bitter melon
and rice wine shine.
-Some Hollywood, I love it. You're doing great. -Okay. How...
-How fine? -Taste one.
But it's still bad.
This is called a food processor.
Without Professor Jet,
I would have no idea what to do.
He says throw it in the food processor
and transfer it right into that meat mixture.
[Jet] There it is.
It's worked in. Start marrying your flavors.
[Maria] The wine hasn't gone in yet.
Then let's do that. The wine will give it acidity.
[Maria] How much do you think?
Perfect. Right there.
[Maria] I like it.
If it's a star ingredient in my international cart,
I better hit 'em over the head with it.
Oh, boy, that can go right into the sauce.
But you gotta be careful with truffle.
And I know truffle is strong,
but this is a secret ingredient.
I might need some salt in there.
It's got a good texture.
Tyler has a really good knowledge
of what is delicious and craveable right now
and I think that is a talent.
Tyler, if you have more truffle, put it all in there.
Well, we're using all the truffle, whole can.
Everyone loves a creamy, decadent mac and cheese,
but I gotta have a textural contrast.
A little crispy pancetta makes a nice topping
for my mac and cheese.
-Great. -Perfect.
While the burgers are cooking,
I need to start on my whammy ingredients.
Oh, gosh, what is this?
These potatoes are so processed.
Throw it in the fryer.
They need to be fried like there needs
to be something given to them.
They're breaking apart when I put 'em in
because they're kind of all clumped together.
On this station, you should have your kimchi
and your sauerkraut. You're gonna warm it through.
I throw in all of my kimchi, sauerkraut,
and some gochujang to kind of bind it all together.
Talking about a global fusion.
Crunch Daddy, that's all he does,
is fusion with his son, Jordan.
You got Muenster cheese. Love that.
I came into this with home cook knowledge
and right now I feel like I'm so much more advanced.
While my chorizo's cooking, I start working
on my cheese sauce.
I start with some crema with a box cheese.
It's gonna melt up really well.
And then I'm gonna throw in some Oaxaca cheese.
I really wanna have this vibrant cheese sauce.
So the next thing I need to do is my salsa fresca.
Tomato, onion, chop up the serrano
and some cilantro, lime juice.
Diana's got a lot going on.
I tasted the mango chutney.
It's good. It's just spicy, but I think it'd be great
mixed in with your salsa.
[Diana] I'm gonna add the chutney to my salsa fresca.
I'm gonna add a little bit chorizo too.
I would add it to the beans.
[Diana] I'm gonna use it wherever I can.
Ooh, this is good. Oh, it's spicy.
Diana wants to start her own salsa company.
At the end of this academy they could win $35,000.
That sounds amazing.
Okay, let's move everything over there
'cause you can start building.
Shut that off. The cheese is ready.
[Guy] Five minutes, Chefs!
[Maria] I can taste the bitter melon at the end.
My sauce is looking, smelling,
and tasting like a bomb sauce.
[Jet] Your sauce, it is spot on. Yes.
She used warming spices, but she controlled it beautifully.
That's the soul of your dish. Get the pasta down first.
[Maria] I take a beautiful twist of my pasta
and I ladle it onto my plate,
I dollop it with more meat sauce
and just have at it with my parmesan cheese.
[Jet] I love Maria's dish.
I think she knocked it out of the park.
[Guy] Three minutes, forty-five seconds.
Tyler, you gotta be plating brother.
I feel like this is one of the best cooks I've had
since I've been at Flavortown Academy.
Scoop it into my cast iron serving vessel,
it looks ooey, gooey, extra creamy.
Chargers are beautiful. I like how you pick chargers.
[Tyler] I top that with my crispy pancetta.
The bottom two, no matter what team you're from,
are going to battle to go home.
I'm actually going into the judging
thinking they both cooked great dishes.
[Guy] Two and a half.
[Antonia] Jeff has such distinct flavors,
vision, so confident in his cooking right now.
[Jeff] So these potatoes came out a little soggy.
-On the bottom, you said Chef? -Yup, exactly.
This burger has all of the liquid from kimchi
and the sauerkraut.
So the potatoes will actually create a barrier
to give the burger more structure.
That's one of the best moves I see.
Taking the sauerkraut, doing it with the kimchi.
Probably the best gameplay I've seen.
A minute, twenty.
I'm gonna plate this dish in the molcajete.
A molcajete is a magical part of my family history.
When her grandmother came to the United States,
she literally had a small suitcase
and her molcajete.
[Diana] Layers of tortilla chips,
papadam chips.
[Antonia] When Diana cooks,
I know everything's seasoned well.
I know everything's gonna taste delicious.
We're gonna layer in the chorizo,
the beans, the salsa.
And then do another layer of like the cheese.
Five, four, three, two, one.
-That's it. -[alarm blares]
-Oh! -Woo!
-Got you. -They did so good.
So nice.
Both did excellent. Nailed it.
Maria, that looks sick, bro.
All right, students, let's find out
whose comfort classic is world class.
Let's take it to the judges right this way.
All right, judges, here we are.
This week our Flavortown Academy Juniors
are getting a crash course
in international flavors.
Their assignment was to make a comfort classic
using global ingredients they discovered
during their shopping escapade here in Flavortown market.
So to kick things off first, Chef Jeff, what do you got?
My comfort food is burgers.
Kimchi, stir fried sauerkraut, burger with bacon
and some aioli spread on both buns.
It was a German cart.
My ingredients are sauerkraut and potatoes.
Holy comfort food.
This is insanity.
You've got all of these, like, Asian flavors.
I mean, it is international.
Thank you.
This is a big, messy, hose-me-down
kind of burger and that's what I want.
You grabbed kimchi as well, right?
-Correct, yes. -You kind of buried the sauerkraut
with the kimchi itself. It's delicious.
It's so good.
It's so juicy.
But the shelf stable potato are like hidden.
It was almost like they weren't even a part of the dish.
-Thank you. -[Guy] Up next.
Here she is. Diana, what do you have for us?
Ola, everyone.
When I think comfort food, definitely nachos
and I got the papadam and spicy mango chutney.
My abuelita Magdalena, when she came
to this country with a single suitcase
and she had her molcajete with her.
And in our family, that molcajete is magical
and what makes our food taste amazing.
Diana, that is not fair.
You can't tell me that story.
You're pulling on every single one of my heartstrings.
You know, you took that Indian ingredient
and you perfectly played it
into your Mexican culture and cuisine.
I think it was really well done.
Thank you so much, Chef.
When we all heard nachos, we were like, boom.
That is comfort food.
Your salsa is... It's perfection.
It is like hot brightness acids.
You got it.
Thank you, Chef.
The papadams, they were more airy, crispy,
more desirable than the tortilla chips themselves.
It felt like you should have just stayed
with the cart ingredient
and delve into it a little more.
Okay.
[Guy] Now off to Professor Jet's team.
Chef Tyler, what do you got for us, buddy?
Bonjour, judges.
Thanks to my wonderful professor.
We had a 30-second advantage
and I found a French cart
with brie and black truffles in a can.
I needed to make the most decadent
French mac and cheese for you
with truffle, a whole wheel of brie.
I also fried some pancetta
to give it some more crisp and texture.
Tyler... [speaking French]
These little nuggets, they're crispy, crunchy,
and it really elevates your comfort mac and cheese.
The brie, super lost.
I wouldn't know it was brie in here if you didn't tell me.
Yes, Chef.
The problem with truffle, if you play it too loud,
it just overwhelms every single dish.
But it absolutely works and it tastes delicious.
That makes up for not having so much brie
every single place.
-Yes, Chef. -[Guy] All right.
Not to be outdone.
Maria, what do you have for us?
Today, we are gonna eat food from Greece and Italy.
Makaronia Me Kima,
a Greek spaghetti and meatball dish.
Two whammy ingredients from China,
I got Shaoxing rice wine and bitter melon.
Maria, spaghetti with the sauce on top.
Oh, talk about comforting.
It's just tangy, zippy, and really just comforting.
Yes.
Maria, you had the toughest ingredient to use.
You also had a gift by having a professor
who is very fluent and understood it.
I thought you did a great job, the pasta's cooked right,
but the warming spices are dominating.
It almost made me feel like it's a Caribbean spaghetti.
The cloves, I know why you used that,
especially with lamb.
It can stand up to those warming spices.
But the clove was just a little loud.
Thank you very much.
All right, thank you very much.
Students and professors.
Out of all the classes, hands down,
this was one of the best rounds I've ever seen.
-Job well done. -Yes. Yes.
Unfortunately, the two lowest scores
after this round are gonna be
going into the Fail or Pass Round.
We'll send you back to the kitchens.
We'll call you in a bit. Thank you.
Judges, two have to go into the Pass/Fail.
-Who's safe? -Jeff.
-Yeah.
Jeff's safe.
[Catherine] Jeff crushed.
That leaves us, Maria, Diana, Tyler.
Which two students are going into the Pass/Fail?
Students, I will tell you this.
I think you made some outstanding
comfort food with an international twist.
The two students that are getting the fast track
to the senior finals are...
Jeff.
-Congratulations. -Wow.
[Guy] See you next week for your senior course.
[woman] Well done, Jeff.
[Tyler] Congrats, brother.
And the next student testing out and going directly
to the senior course is...
-Diana. -Oh!
We got a fast pass right to the finale.
My entire team's in the bottom.
[Guy] We will see you next week.
Tyler and Maria.
We are now headed to the International House of Pain.
Chefs, back to your carts.
Let's go.
[Jet] This is the second time
both of my students were in the bottom.
And I know I'm gonna lose someone and I...
And I feel really disappointed.
Student Maria, student Tyler,
your shot at graduating with honors
and a $35,000 scholarship
depends on the outcome of this Pass/Fail Round.
Now, for your final dish, as juniors
wanting to make it into your senior academy,
I want you to make an international seafood dish.
Make sure it's truly international
because the name of this game is World Fusion.
Oh.
[Guy] You must combine the cuisines of two totally
different countries to determine your dish.
-Hunter? -[Jet] Whoa, whoa.
Oh, I like this. I'm kind of here for it.
[Jet] Whoa.
Stole from somebody's room.
-[Guy] Very nice. -[Hunter] Yeah.
So if I pulled out the flags
of let's say China and Germany,
you might give us a stir fried strudel.
Okay.
-See here. -[Jet] Oh, here we go.
[Guy] Oh.
-[Maria] Beautiful. -[Guy] Here we go.
-[Jet] Come on. -[Guy] Italy.
So you have Italy.
Okay.
[Guy] And you have...
-Wait a second. -[Tyler] Wow.
Which one is that?
-Thailand. -[Maria] I'm the worst.
Beautiful.
You get to make us Thai-Talian.
-Thai-Talian. -[laughter]
So use your creativity and your culinary skills
to make us a seafood dish that combines
the cuisines of Italy and Thailand...
-[Jet] Wow. -[Guy] in 30 minutes.
Oh, boy.
[Guy] Now...
-Oh, no. -there are actually three flags.
-Oh. -Oh.
I will let you choose the two you want
and I'll put one back and then you can go figure out
-between those. -[Jet laughs]
You know the two well.
I can almost taste that $35,000.
We are at the last leg of this race.
If I get past Maria,
I know I'm onto that senior class.
Usually, for a professor,
-you want all your students to pass... -Yeah.
you know? But in this situation,
one of 'em has to fail.
[tense music playing]
[Jet] This is the second time
both of my students are in the bottom.
International seafood.
Thai-Talian,
Thai food fused with Italian.
This is terribly difficult.
Ask questions. Ask questions.
I absolutely have to split my time evenly.
Pasta al limone with a green curry,
coconut milk, Thai basil, some shrimp.
I'm not really sure how it's gonna come together.
Limone is lemon grass too.
Very bold, but fortune favors the bold.
[Tyler] I... I'm gonna do scallops
and maybe like a red sauce.
Then I'm gonna flavor it like a marinara,
but I'm gonna flavor it with Thai chilies,
fish sauce, and a Thai curry.
I feel like if you're gonna go red curry,
you gotta do an Italian noodle.
Tyler wants to make it like a red seafood curry
with scallops over noodles.
I think it's a good plate.
What noodles should I do?
I would do an Italian noodle.
For my international seafood dish,
pasta al limone,
and incorporate some green curry and shrimp.
Where's the rigatoni?
Rigatoni to your right.
-I'm blind. -There's rigatoni.
[Maria] Thank you. If we're gonna do Italian,
do it well with a rigatoni.
I wanted to incorporate some green curry
alongside traditional Thai ingredients.
[Jet] Thailand is all about herbs.
[Maria] Lemongrass and Thai basil.
I can quite literally taste becoming a senior,
but I'm nervous cooking against Tyler.
Clams or mussels?
[Jet] Clams. You got the least amount of headache.
[Tyler] Okay. I cook seafood fairly often.
So for my international seafood,
Thai-Talian fusion dish,
I'm making a tomato stew
with seared scallops, clams,
served over a bucatini noodle.
-[Jet] More upscale. -[Tyler] I want the base
of my sauce to look Italian,
but taste like Thai, spicy, sweet, sour,
and delicious when you dip that spoon.
Thai basil.
I'll get some cilantro too.
Maybe some mint.
Each country hallmark ingredients are very distinct
and they don't play well together.
-I got Thai basil. -[Jet] That balance point.
Whoever finds the best balance point's gonna win.
[Guy] All right. So I gotta do this cook.
I think this is a great mix
of the two things coming together.
So I wanna make Thai-Italian chapino pasta.
That work? We'll see.
[Catherine] Thai-Talian. It's a tough one.
I want you in my corner in this challenge.
I am your Thai 911.
-Whoa. Okay. -Okay. Okay.
All right. Maria.
[Maria] I am making pasta al limone with prawns,
with green coconut curry.
[Jet] Green curry paste burns fast.
So back that up with a high temperature oil.
Okay.
That's the way to get maximum flavor
out of Thai curry paste.
Good tip. Thanks, Chef.
I'm making this beautiful base for my pasta al limone sauce.
Uh, no, no, no. So you're gonna...
I want you to pound it flat
and then fuse the flavor later.
No, no, no, no. Use the back of the knife.
There you go.
[Maria] Professor is gonna save me
on the Thai component.
[Jet] Right now I'm just yelling out tips,
hoping they'll pick it up.
[Maria] I'm gonna do a bit of anchovy.
I like that a lot. Italian anchovy.
You guys are finding those great moments
for both cuisines.
[Maria] I wanna make sure this represents Italy
as well as Thailand.
We have a lot of ingredients from Thailand
and I feel like I'm lacking on Italy.
Yeah. Now I'm thinking gonna add some coconut milk.
I'm gonna give you a big tip.
-You see that stuff on the top? -[Maria] Yeah.
You just put the top stuff in there.
-That's pure coconut fat. -Yes. And it--
What does fat do? It renders things.
Renders. At the end of the day.
I just hope I make it to being a senior.
A little bit of lemon.
All right. I gotta start on my base of this Thai-Talian stew.
I put the seafood.
[Jet] Seafood cooks fast. Let's get your base developed.
-Yeah. I'm gonna work on that base. -And then, you roll your
tomato into the base and that bottom note
has to be Thai herbaceous Tyler needs more Thai.
[laughs]
Oh, no. Truly.
I think you got a lot of Italian going on,
but you don't have enough Thai.
[Tyler] Yes, Chef.
Of course, I gotta add lemon grass.
[Jet] Crack it, cut it up.
Nice. Very nice.
Tyler, you want that paste in there frying
-with all the aromatics. -Yes, Chef.
Thai Curry is very strong, it's very spicy.
So, that's what Tyler needs.
Tomato sauce is so distinct,
you need that Thai funk underneath the tomato.
Tyler's dish is kind of cioppino,
it's kind of seafood stew.
But once I taste it...
Woo!
[laughter]
-Spicy, right? -How spicy are we
from a ten to one?
-Seven. -Eight.
-Seven and half. -Mark those words.
-Uh-uh. -I like heat. I don't like death.
They did say they like heat. Okay.
Fifteen minutes, fifteen to go.
I'm gonna make a fried noodle.
Thai-Talian ciopino.
[Hunter] Is that enough for you?
-That's good. -Okay.
Slice that bok choy at about 1-inch pieces.
All right. Calamari,
halibut, shell-on shrimp,
crab, coconut milk,
tomato sauce serranos, Fresnos.
Fennel.
[tense music playing]
[Guy] I'm not lying to you.
This is actually really good.
Getting some Guy-Talian over there.
Yeah. Guy-Talian.
[Guy] The game plan here is
mix it with some fried noodles.
The mussels...
[Jet] Ten minutes, Chefs. Ten to go.
[Maria] While my green curry sauce is simmering,
I'm gonna prep this shrimp.
Hit them with a dash of salt.
I add anchovy oil.
Bring out those beautiful flavors and make it pop.
This was the first moment where I realized, like,
"Wow. I could actually win this money."
I wanna win because back in the day,
I suffered from an eating disorder.
I wanna start putting some money towards
my passion projects,
something called the foundation,
where we are gonna help support people
with eating disorders, and support their families.
Could you please try my sauce?
Very acid.
-Very acid? -Yeah.
I know you wanted a lemon sauce, right?
Yeah. It's pasta al limon.
-I get it. -Is that okay?
You tell me. I think it's on the acid side,
a little balance will help.
Tiny bit of fish sauce and tiny bit of sugar.
It's the five flavors, we call it yum in Thailand.
Thai food is hot, savory, sour, salty, sweet.
Sweet really is nice balancer to all other flavors.
I wanna make sure both dishes have yum.
And then, I'm gonna add the pasta to it, soon.
Both dishes have Italian call out.
[Maria] Do you taste the Thai?
Yeah. I taste the Thai.
[Tyler] While my sauce is simmering,
I gotta toss this pasta in some heavily-salted water
because I know I can finish those noodles in the sauce.
Take my bucatini and we got a smaller...
[grunts]
[tense music playing]
[Jet] I don't know if Antonia
would love the broken pasta move.
But she's the Italian expert not me.
[Tyler] I know I gotta get working on these scallop.
[Jet] Those you need to cook now.
I'm gonna throw 'em in with just salt.
You're gonna be cooking your scallop
80/20 remember that, okay?
You don't wanna cook 'em equal on the other side.
Everyone at home, good tip.
[Tyler] If I get past Maria,
I know I'm onto that senior class
and one more hard cook, and that prize is mine.
I have some big goals.
I have a girlfriend who I would love to make a wife.
Tyler, get those clams in.
[Tyler] I would love to invest that money,
so I can buy a home.
And only one of us can win, so this is where I wanna be.
Get under it, Ty.
[Tyler] So, I tried to flip these scallops over
and it's a disaster.
Did not get the sear I wanted.
Some of them are burned
and not getting the right crust,
and looking like they're overcooked.
This is a big element of my dish.
-Not enough fat? -Not enough fat.
[Jet] It's all right. It's all right.
Just find some good ones.
Tyler is cooking so frantically.
When you're in flight or fight mode,
you can't focus.
Editing is a good thing.
So, if it's not perfect, edit yourself.
[Guy] Go to the quick fry.
This is such a fun challenge.
Guy is taking the challenge.
Oh, I'm glad he's having fun because it's not fun for me.
This is nothing but total stress for me.
[Troy] Guy's deep frying the pasta. Oh.
-[Darnell] Deep fries it. -[Catherine] Oh.
-Oh, look at that. -That's goody.
[Darnell] I love that.
-[Catherine] Wow. -Now...
I'm gonna give them the Bouillabaisse of it.
Oh, my God. Guy's look really good.
[Hunter] I don't know how you pulled that off
in literally 17 minutes.
Wow. You guys...
-All right. -[Catherine] Oh, my God.
-You're amazing. -So...
[Catherine] Thai-Talian?
So, this is Thai-Talian ciopino.
-So, you have... -[Catherine] It's gorgeous.
-[Guy] mussels, shrimp... -[gasps]
[Guy] halibut, lemon grass, Thai basil, coconut milk,
to make a Thai-Talian, you have to Thai my ciopino.
Oh, my God. This is amazing.
[Guy] Three minutes, Chefs. Three.
[Maria] I transferred the rigatoni
into this green curry sauce.
Pasta al limone base.
Chef, would like to try my pasta?
[tense music playing]
What do you think of the pasta?
It's on the al dente side.
Antonia would like it.
Real aficionados would like it.
The shrimp looks perfect.
[Maria] My perfect cooked shrimp...
[Jet] Something green, Maria, if have you it.
You guys know I have fought long and hard to be here.
I just hope I make it to being a senior.
Come on, Team Tila. You guys are doing great.
Ninety seconds.
[Tyler] I get some of the bucatini
in the Thai-Talian tomato stew.
That Thai-Talian tomato stew to me is absolutely perfect.
I'm trying to get as much of that
stew on there as possible.
[Jet] Don't forget your seafood.
This is Thai-Talian seafood.
[Tyler] So, I put a couple of clams
in each bowl that are opened up
and is giving that seafood flavor.
Find a few scallops that I think that are gonna work.
[Jet] All right. Guys, we're down to the last
20 seconds here.
[Tyler] This round is sudden death.
I know Maria is an awesome cook.
But I'm the one who's gotta graduate to senior year.
Five, four, three, two, one.
-Class dismissed. -[bell ringing]
[cheers and applause]
[Darnell] Nice job!
[Guy] It's time for some Thai-Talian food.
Let's take it to the judges. Right this way.
All right, judges, this is the Pass/Fail Round
of our junior week at Flavortown Academy.
They got a chance to make an international seafood dish
that combine the flavors of Thailand and Italy.
Tyler what do you have for us?
Tyler's Thai-Talian Stew
with seared scallop and clams,
with a bucatini noodle from Italy.
San Marzano tomatoes with fish sauce,
oyster sauce, Thai curry, lemongrass.
Tyler, this is fantastic.
You brought the heat, but it's perfect.
[laughing]
[Darnell] You brought the heat
but I think your scallops cooked too long.
You let it sear for at least six minutes.
The milk came out of it.
It's started to form the crust.
Making a curry was a really good choice.
I think it's a really good fusion of Thai and Italian.
You used oyster sauce, and fish sauce, and salt.
But I'm okay with it.
It worked... It adds more depth.
Thank you, Chef.
Up next, Maria.
Today, I made an Italian and Thai green curry
pasta al limone.
I used an Italian-based rigatoni
and I perfectly seared some prawns.
Maria, if I looked at it, I'd said, "It's dry.
You need more sauce for sure."
But because that's such a potent punch
at the bottom of your plate, it works for the entire thing.
-I love it. -Thank you.
This is perfection.
It is delicious.
Your shrimp are cooked perfect.
Your rigatoni is cooked perfect.
But I want more Thai flavor.
[tense music playing]
It's sour, salty, sweet.
I think you did a great job.
This is gonna be a fight.
I couldn't be more proud of both of you.
The way you've grown and the way you've succeeded.
I'm sorry that one of you is gonna go home.
We're gonna send you back to the kitchens.
-Thank you. -[Guy] We'll call you back when we have a decision.
Both of them want it so bad,
but who brought us Thai-Talian?
If you think about the principles
that Jet was saying, which is hot, spicy,
salty, sweet, I think it's Tyler.
[Darnell] Wow.
But it also was a seafood challenge.
His seafood was over.
[Troy] Mmm-hmm.
Who passes, who fails?
[tense music playing]
Sending either of one you home is difficult.
And this is not a unanimous decision.
But the student that will be checking out
in the junior course is...
[tense music playing]
Tyler.
[groans]
I tell you this. I enjoyed watching you cook.
I enjoy your enthusiasm.
So, I don't think that this is the last time we will meet.
But until we do, you keep cooking my friend.
-Thank you. -[Guy] All right?
-[Catherine] Yay! Woo! -[cheers and applause]
[Tyler] Unfortunately my time here
at Flavortown Academy has come to an end.
Good job.
[Tyler] My time with Professor Tila was amazing.
You never know where your passions can take you.
And so, hopefully, that inspires you
to do what you love.
Don't be shy and see what happens.
What's going on? I see tears.
I just have emotions.
-[Catherine] Aww. -Emotions are a good thing.
I really just love cooking like...
It's just who I am.
Here's what happened,
you have just gone through Pass/Fail.
You are now into the Senior Academy.
-[Maria] Thank you. -We are looking forward to next week.
Thank you. Thank you guys so much.
[Guy] All right. Congratulations.
-[Catherine] Congratulations. -[Maria] Thank you.
[Guy] Maria and Jet. Adios.
-Bye. -There you go.
Seniors, time to kick off finals week.
This is it.
Tonight will be the ultimate exam.
Only one person is gonna win in the end.
[Guy] You have to combine everything you've learned
and every ounce of talent you have.
-What? -This is gonna be really tough.
Every single week, they've gotten better.
-[screams] -You did it.
Woo!
[Guy] At the end of the night, one of you will graduate
with top honors and earn $35,000.
[Antonia] Everything needs to be precise.
[Jeff] Yes, Chef.
[Guy] The student whose graduation dinner
was the most worthy of earning them the top honors is...
[tense music playing]