I'm Bobby Flay.
Each week, one brave chef
will try to take me down in my house.
-I'm not worried about Bobby. -What?
-Ooh. -[Bobby] This culinary battle
is gonna shake down in two rounds.
Round one. To get to me,
two contenders have to go through each other
using an ingredient of my choice.
Let's do it!
[Bobby] Two people that know me well,
will decide who's got the skills to beat me.
Round two, I go head-to-head
with the winning contender.
It's their turn to surprise me
-with their signature dish. -[man] Yo!
-♪ Friendly competition ♪ -Is that distracting?
-This is gonna be the first one I don't finish. -Flay's in trouble!
-Whoo! -[Bobby Flay] Bottom line...
-No! -...everyone's out to beat me.
[bell dinging]
All right, can I count on you for some good vibes tonight?
[audience cheering]
Please welcome two people who will not
be sending good vibes my way.
Samantha Bee and my good friend,
Chef Michael Symon.
[audience cheering]
It is so exciting for me to be here.
I am, honestly, so happy that you're here.
I've been wanting you to come here
-since we started the show. -Oh, my God!
You've always been on "I wish I could get her list."
-I'm gonna bring so much aggression here today. -[Bobby laughs]
So I hope everybody's ready.
-You bringing the pain? -That's it.
So, Michael, what are you up to?
I just... I'm feeling good for no apparent reason about today's show.
-I feel good about it too. -[Michael] Yeah.
-I feel like we really have a good rapport going on here. -We have good chemistry.
-Yeah, there's something magic about us.
[laughs]
All right. Let's bring on some chefs.
Tonight, you are not the only one
that knows they're way around a chile.
From San Jose, California,
here's the executive chef of Zona Rosa,
Johnny Alvarez.
[audience cheering]
[Michael chuckles]
Nice.
Our next contender is here to prove,
that everything is bigger in Texas.
-[Bobby chuckles] -Coming in hot from Houston,
the executive chef of Traveler's Table,
Stanton Bundy!
[audience cheering]
[Michael] Whoa.
-You just got stomped. -Okay.
Johnny, Stanton, welcome. What's your goal tonight?
Man, my goal is to come up here, kick your tail,
let my girls see me on TV,
and show off some of my Texas style.
-[chuckles] -[audience cheering]
How about you?
I actually prepared a little rap for you.
-[Bobby] You prepared a rap for me? -[Johnny] Yes, sir.
♪ My name is Chef Johnny See I'm from the Bay♪
♪ Those onions over there They're about to get sauteed♪
♪ You don't finish In 45 minutes ♪
♪ Slice That's a Bobby Filet♪
-[Michael chuckles] -[audience cheering]
[Bobby] Okay.
Here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna put 20 minutes on the clock.
and you must make an ingredient of my choice
the star of your dish.
This is a very, very difficult ingredient.
You've never seen this before.
Chicken breast.
[Michael laughing]
All right, guys, 20 minutes on the clock.
-Let's do it. -[bell ringing]
[electricity buzzing]
-Chicken breast. -Chicken breast.
Listen, chicken breast can be dry.
So you have to bring the flavor and make sure you cook it right.
I think I would do some kind of fried chicken.
-Fried chicken is the best dish ever. -[Michael] It's so good.
Is there a way that you can contractually obligate them to make fried chicken?
-Because now I really, really want... -[Michael laughing]
...fried chicken.
A lot of people don't know this, but in Texas,
there's actually a huge amount of German influence.
So, I'm making pan-fried chicken schnitzel,
with hot sauce butter, mushrooms and a fried egg.
Schnitzel is a piece of meat that's been pounded out and fried.
And I'm ready to get this challenge started.
I grew up in a real small town called Hico, Texas.
When I was 16, I started working at my dad's restaurant,
just fell in love with it at that point.
So, after culinary school I moved to New Orleans,
started working at Emeril's restaurant.
I thought that was pretty awesome.
Today, I'm the executive chef
of Traveler's Table in Houston, Texas.
I'm a very Southern chef,
Tex-Mex, a lot of the Creole influences, the Gulf Coast.
I love it all.
I'm here to win this for my wife and my two daughters.
They are my whole world.
If I beat Bobby Flay,
they're gonna be screaming and freaking out.
It's gonna be over the top.
Johnny, what are you doing?
I'm making a traditional pollo zarandeado.
-The king of adobo is here. -[chuckles]
[Johnny] I'm making pollo zarandeado with a heirloom pico de gallo.
I season my chicken breast with salt and pepper,
and get it right on to the grill.
Zarandeado is the red adobo marinade.
I'm using ancho chilies,
guajillo chilies, and cumin.
Johnny is cooking with lots of verve.
[Johnny] Cooking is in my blood.
By the age of 12, I was the executive tortilla boy
at my sister's restaurant.
After culinary school,
I worked at multiple Michelin star restaurants,
which taught me how to elevate Mexican cooking
to new heights.
Zona Rosa is a modern, Mexican kitchen,
with influences from Japanese cooking,
while still doing traditional Mexican dishes.
I'm only 27 years old,
but beating Bobby Flay would prove to anyone
that if you want it, you can achieve it.
All right. Let's hear it for Johnny!
A chicken breast this size, with the bone in,
is gonna take at least 15 minutes to cook.
[Stanton Bundy] I wanna make sure that my chicken is nice and thin,
so it gets fully cooked.
All right. We got 15 minutes, guys.
-Fifteen! -Fifteen minutes. Heard that.
[Michael] Stanton, you keep cooking, I'm not gonna bother you.
-What are you making, my friend? -So, I'm gonna do a little bit
of fried chicken, essentially, but it's schnitzel.
-Fried schnitzel. -Oh. I love a schnitzel.
With fried eggs, some wilted greens.
[Michael] Bobby, don't you have any mallets in this place?
Do I have a mallet?
It was staring right at me.
[Michael] All right, brother. Good luck.
[Johnny] I get my chilies and garlic into the blender,
and lime juice for the acidity to cut it.
All right, Johnny. What do you got going?
So, it's pretty much a red adobo with garlic,
-chile ancho, and ton of spices. -[Michael] Yup.
And you got your chicken cooking already?
-Yes, Chef. It's in the oven right now. -[Michael] Beautiful.
Go get 'em.
[Stanton] Once my chicken is dredged with the breadcrumbs,
I get it into the pan and start frying.
[Michael] Whew. They both look like delicious dishes.
Sometimes I just can't get enough crunchy food.
But sometimes, I can't get enough spice. [chuckles]
[Johnny] The clock is ticking.
Let's get this chicken basting.
[Samantha] I'm gonna go check on Stanton.
[Stanton] To go with my fried chicken, I'm making a butter hot sauce.
I set up a pan with white wine, hot sauce,
heavy cream, and butter.
Stanton, I feel like you got the message.
-[Stanton chuckles] -That is bubbling away, it looks delicious.
Are you worried about Johnny?
-[Stanton] Uh, I plan on kicking his butt. -[Samantha] Okay.
-Johnny, what have you got going on here? -[Johnny] Yes, ma'am.
Right now, I'm gonna make a simple pico de gallo
with a little bit of jicama.
The pico de gallo's gonna add a lot of freshness and brightness.
[Samantha] Look at this. The speed.
-The ferocity. -Yes, ma'am.
You're cooking with verve.
That's what we're saying over there.
-You're cooking with verve. -[Bobby chuckles]
Coming up on five minutes left.
[Stanton] To go with my schnitzel,
I'm just gonna do a little bit of sauteed wilted greens
with garlic, shallot, and some mushrooms.
I'm just hungry and I'm ready.
[Johnny] I go to check on my chicken breast,
and they're still not done.
I am really starting to panic.
I wanna top my dish off with a fried egg.
You guys have about a minute to go.
I know I need every second to get this chicken cooked through.
[Stanton] I get my chicken on the plate,
throw on the bitter greens,
and a little bit of the hot butter sauce.
Then I realize, my eggs are all stuck together
and I need to figure out a plan, fast.
Come on, Stanton.
-Get the food on the plate! -[Michael] Johnny doesn't have food on the plate either.
-[Bobby] Forty-five seconds. -[Stanton] Yes, Chef.
Johnny! Put it on the plate!
[Bobby] I can't watch it.
[bell dinging]
We gotta get it on the plate, guys, 30 seconds.
-[Samantha] Oh, no. -[Johnny] It's now or never
or I'm not gonna get the chicken on the plate.
I'm actually, physically, scared.
[Johnny] Garnish with my watercress,
and my cilantro, pico de gallo on the side.
[Samantha] Stanton, are you okay?
[Bobby] Where are the eggs? Nowhere.
[all] Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five...
[Stanton] I finally got my eggs cut out
and I run to get them onto my plate.
-[all] Two, one! -[audience cheering]
Put this in your mouth!
That was insane.
All right, Chef Stanton, tell us what you made.
This is a pan-fried chicken schnitzel.
Little bit of hot sauce butter, fried egg,
and mushrooms.
I mean, who doesn't love a crispy piece of chicken,
greens, hot sauce,
those are all flavors that I love.
The dish though, it lacks a little bit of seasoning.
I found the chicken very crispy,
and I love mustard greens.
For me, what it lacked, a little bit, was a brightness.
Citrus or vinegar or something
just to go like, bang!
Chef Johnny, what did you make?
I made a grilled pollo zarandeado
with a heirloom tomato pico de gallo.
So, Chef, I'm sad a little bit
because you have beautiful flavors,
I smelled what was going,
but my chicken, I can't eat it, unfortunately.
It's under.
If you had another two minutes,
you probably would've made it.
[Samantha] Yeah. I'm a little under, too.
This is tragic,
because your pico is delicious.
I cannot believe I just served the judges
raw chicken. What was I thinking?
So, the chef moving forward tonight is...
Chef Stanton.
[Bobby] Good try.
I'm going home today.
Man, what could I say.
Chicken was undercooked,
but I got to meet Bobby Flay.
[Michael] So, Stanton, you gotta bring it.
You gotta hit on everything.
I'm ready to take him on.
[electricity buzzing]
All right, Stanton, great job.
So, how you feeling about round two?
I'm feeling a little emotional right now.
-Emotional. -Been watching you since the early 2000s, man.
-Oh, cool. -This is a privilege to be here right now, so.
I like it. Let's just get to it. What are we cooking tonight?
What's your signature dish?
My signature dish is...
chilaquiles.
Oh, nice! Chilaquiles.
-I love those. [chuckles] -Me too.
-Made those before. -[chuckles]
You must have something very special up your sleeve.
Well, this is on my brunch menu, so...
Well, you have 45 minutes to crush him.
And your time starts now! [chuckles]
[electricity buzzing]
[Stanton] Chilaquiles is a classic Tex-Mex dish.
It's basically the ultimate nacho.
What made Bobby famous as a chef was Southwestern cuisine.
-Yes. -You know? He was really the first chef
to do it in New York City.
Chilaquiles was on my brunch menu at Mesa Grill
for 26 years. [whistles]
If I can't knock this out of the park, I don't know what to say.
[sighs] Let's do this.
[Michael] Chilaquiles, tortillas,
simmered in a chile roja, or a chile verde sauce.
And then cheese. And typically, when I have it, it's with eggs.
I think of it as brunch food. I also think of it
-as hangover food. -Yes.
I wish I was hungover right now.
[laughs]
[Bobby] I'm making blue corn chilaquiles
with salsa verde, which is roasted tomatillo sauce,
a Fresno chile hot sauce,
and some scrambled eggs with bucheron.
I've made it countless times.
I'm gonna take some poblano chilies
and some Fresno chilies and get them in the oven.
Bobby, are you putting any kind of meat in yours?
-Chorizo. -Stanton, are you putting meat in yours?
We're gonna do a little bit of smoked duck.
I got duck breast over here,
and I've got some chorizo as well.
-Oh. -Smoked duck...
-I like it. -...and chorizo.
[Stanton] To me, what puts my chilaquiles
over the edge is my salsa roja.
The first thing I do is I grab all of my dried chilies
and my pumpkin seeds.
I use pumpkin seeds in my salsa because
I love the extra flavor that it's gonna bring to it.
In the pot with the onions
I start adding my roma tomatoes.
Stanton has so many ingredients
-piled up over there. -He does.
[Stanton] Allspice, clove, cumin,
chicken stock, cilantro, and apple cider vinegar.
This sauce requires a lot of ingredients.
You going verde, Mr. Flay?
[Bobby] I am going verde.
So, I'm going to peel the tomatillos.
So, I'm just throwing them in a little bit of really hot water,
so I can get the husks off and roast those as well.
So we got red sauce verse green sauce, it looks like.
[Stanton] So, it's battle of red versus green.
Now the real war begins.
I'm going in.
Thirty-seven minutes!
Stanton, you just keep cooking,
I'll just help you get some stuff open,
like, while I'm over here, while we're talking.
So, do you always do the smoked duck with it?
Yes, sir. My sister, she goes dove hunting,
-duck hunting. -[Michael] I love duck.
I mean, I don't think you need the smoked duck,
but it's nice to have it.
-How you doing, buddy? -Good.
[Michael] Tomatillo, huh?
Oh, you got some chorizo.
Like why are you going verde instead of, um...
'Cause this is the way I always make it.
So, you never make it with the red sauce?
You're putting my chorizo in bondage?
-[Michael chuckles] Yeah. -[audience chuckling]
Little help. Yeah? Tape that as high as you can.
Michael's very distracting. He's taping things up.
[Michael] You and your overstocked pantry.
He's a knucklehead.
-[Michael chuckling] -[Bobby] Get out of here!
Bobby.
Hi, Samantha.
How many times have you made this dish?
A lot.
Bobby's actually made me this dish before.
It's delicious. [chuckles]
I love chilaquiles.
Tomatillos can be a little acidic,
so I'm gonna add some poblano chilies, some chipotle chilies,
and a little bit of honey to balance it out.
[Stanton] I add my dried chilies, and my pumpkin seeds
to the salsa pot.
While the chile sauce is cooking down,
I start on my duck.
[Michael] I do like the addition of duck.
And I think if it's done properly,
that may be something that could put him over.
[Stanton] I season the duck with cloves,
cumin, allspice, and oregano.
While the duck is rendering,
I get my chorizo into another skillet.
-He is really giving it hell over there. -[chuckles]
[Samantha chuckles] I love it.
[Stanton] I want the chorizo to be loose,
so I can layer it throughout my chilaquiles.
[Bobby] Chorizo is Mexican pork sausage.
I chop some up and it's gonna add a smokey,
spicy flavor kinda running through the tortillas.
I love the flavor of blue corn tortillas,
they're very nutty.
I'm cooking the tortillas whole
because I want it to look pretty.
[Stanton] Okay. Next up.
I get a blender and I start adding in
jalapeno, cilantro, avocado, little bit of lime juice.
It's gonna add some creaminess,
and a little bit of brightness.
I look over at Bobby
and I see that he already starting frying his chips.
I grab my corn tortillas and I start cutting them up.
This is a more traditional way to make chilaquiles.
[Samantha] Bobby looks pretty relaxed out there.
I'm gonna get him to sign my books.
-That's a good opportunity. -Just... this is a good...
-This is my shot. -[chuckles]
Bobby, are you busy?
So sorry. I know you're trying to do something right now.
But I would really appreciate it
if you would just sign these books for me
-because I love cookbooks. -Sure.
-No problem. -[Samantha] It's for my nana.
-Okay. So, Hey, Nana. -[Bobby] Hey, Nana?
[Samantha] This is Bobby Flay.
Thank you so much for producing
this grandchild of yours.
-Her name is Samantha. -[Bobby] Samantha.
It's her first time here, I want her to come back.
-[Samantha] Now, you spelled that wrong. I'm just gonna... -[Bobby] S-A-M-A-N...
-T-H-A. -[Samantha] Yeah, no. But it's like I spell it with three Ms.
-[laughs] -I spell it with three Ms.
I have to show,
you know, a lot of respect to Samantha.
Also, my stepmom loves you.
And, like, a dedication to my kids
would be so great. Thank you so much.
[Bobby] If it was Michael, I would have kicked him out of the kitchen, but,
she's the queen bee.
I'm not gonna kick her out of my kitchen.
-I'm gonna get these to you in a minute. -Okay. Good luck.
[Stanton] I add mesquite woodchips under my duck
and then I cover it with foil.
While the duck is smoking,
-I turn around and... -[Michael] Oh.
[Stanton] I'm burning my chorizo.
I don't have any room for mistakes.
[Samantha] Did some of your chorizo burn?
Uh, a little bit. Got away from me.
-Uh-oh. -[Stanton sighs]
[Samantha] You can come back from that.
It's scary going up against Bobby.
He's done this nine million times,
and I've never been in a competition before.
-[Samantha] Okay. I'm out of your way. -Okay.
[Bobby] So, I have the roasted Fresno chilies,
I'm gonna add some vinegar, mustard, honey,
and make a Fresno chile hot sauce.
Nice and spicy.
I think Stanton, he's making his way
through that mountain of ingredients.
He looks relaxed.
I get a blender and I start adding my salsa roja.
I'm getting it all over my shirt, in my eyes.
[blender whirring]
It's getting a little messy.
-I take that back. He does not look relaxed. -[chuckles]
But he's doing it.
[Bobby] So, I'm gonna start getting my layers ready to build.
So I take the fried tortilla,
put some Monterey Jack cheese down,
some of the cooked chorizo and put it in the oven,
just to melt it a little bit.
[Stanton] I take my tortilla chips
and I toss them in the salsa roja.
Hopefully he didn't add too much sauce,
'cause that'll get everything soggy.
[Stanton] And then I add in the chorizo,
and I love Oaxaca because it's just such a great melting cheese.
-[Samantha] Stanton! Stanton! -[Michael] Stanton!
[both] Stanton!
[Stanton] Having an audience cheer me on,
whew, this is a lot. [chuckles]
I top it with more cheese and chorizo
and I get it into the oven.
[Bobby] So I'm making some soft scrambled eggs.
I have crème fraîche and butter in a pan.
and then I'm gonna add some bucheron goat cheese to it as well.
-How much time? -[Michael] You got four minutes.
[Stanton] I love duck eggs.
They have a slightly richer flavor than chicken eggs.
Everybody's in high gear now.
[Bobby] So, in the bottom of my dish
I have some roasted tomatillo sauce,
a tortilla with the cheese and chorizo on top,
a little bit of sour cream,
-then some tomatillo sauce. -[Samantha] Three minutes!
[Stanton] I start slicing my duck.
I wish my skin was crispier,
but I'm happy with how it looks on the inside.
[Bobby] Pickled red onions,
then I put the scrambled eggs on top.
some Cotija cheese and a little Fresno hot sauce.
[Stanton] I pull my chilaquiles out of the oven
and I get them onto my plate.
-[Michael] Fifty seconds! -[audience cheering]
Dish and garnish!
[Stanton] And then I start topping them with Mexican crema,
my avocado puree, my duck breast,
fried egg, the Cotija.
[audience] Ten, nine, eight
-seven, six, five. -[Stanton] And then radishes, onions, and serranos.
Four, three, two, one!
Whoo!
I do feel like I have a good chance
of winning this right now.
-Great job. Great job, man. -[Stanton] Thank you, sir.
But I'm worried. I know that Bobby
always brings big flavors.
-Oh, my heart. -[laughs]
[bell ringing]
[Michael] Stanton. Bobby. Congratulations.
Both of your chilaquiles looked fantastic.
Now we would like to introduce you to the judges.
Chef and Culinary Director, Katie Pickens.
Executive Director of Food & Society,
at the Aspen Institute,
Corby Kummer.
Chef and owner of Abigail's Kitchen,
Abigail Hitchcock.
Okay, judges. Please start with the first chilaquiles in front of you.
All right, Katie. What do you think?
Chilaquiles is one of my favorite things to eat.
The duck was very, very tender.
The salsa roja,
I always order the green salsa.
But it was so, so, savory and creamy and smooth.
But I wanted more acid.
This duck is irresistible.
It's got this alluring, light smokiness to it,
not too smoky.
I would travel for it.
I wish that the egg had been runny.
I love playing with my food and having the yolk
become part of the sauce.
But that duck is fantastic.
[Abigail] The flavor on the duck was excellent.
I love the salsa roja.
My one pet peeve though, is I don't like
flabby skin on duck.
But overall, just very pleasant to eat.
Okay, judges, you can switch your plates.
Katie, what do you think?
Love the dish as a whole.
I like scrambled eggs versus fried,
green salsa versus red.
I'm getting the acid that I was looking for.
But, it's a little too acidic.
Tone down the acid a little bit,
but really lovely to have these
little nickels of chorizo. Fantastic.
I love the presentation, in the cazuela.
I also though it was cool to use whole tortillas.
There's lots of stuff going on,
but somehow the flavors weren't as distinct
as I would like them to be.
Okay, judges. You're gonna vote on the dish
that you like the best.
All right. Now I feel like a strong wind
can blow me over.
I'm feeling pretty nervous.
My heart's beating a million miles per hour.
And the winner is...
-Chef Stanton! -Oh, my God!
-[audience cheering] -Oh, my God.
Oh, my God!
Right now I'm in shock.
I am getting dizzy. I'm trying to hold back the tears.
I'm not trying to be emotional.
I cannot wait to tell my girls that I won.
It was just so savory,
and delicious and ate really well.
Yes, ma'am.
Bobby, was it the cookbook signing,
or was it the taping?
I will not take anything away from Chef.
He would've won no matter what.
Congratulations.
-[Michael] This was a dish he knows so well. -[Samantha] Yes.
So to have him lose on a dish like that,
-is, I feel, a special achievement. -[chuckles]
I am Stanton Bundy and I just beat Bobby Flay.
Heck yeah!