I'm Bobby Flay.
The Holidays are here and it's time for cheer.
Well, not for me.
Happy holidays!
[Bobby] All of my of my closest Food Network friends
are teaming up to take me down.
Are you ready to get your jingle bell rung hard?
Fire it up.
This battle's gonna shake down in three rounds.
Round 1 and 2, they must go through each other.
I have waited for this moment.
You're in my head.
[Bobby] Round 3, the winner gets me.
Let's go, Flay!
[Bobby] In the spirit of the holidays,
we're teaming up for a culinary throwdown.
-Go! Go! -I'm going!
It's like three rounds of sibling rivalry.
Get out of here.
The competition is tougher...
Huh? You guys smell it?
...the rounds are bigger...
Yeah!
...and the surprises...
Ho ho ho!
...just keep on coming.
Bottom line, everyone's out to ruin my holiday.
Come on in, ladies.
Oh, wow!
All right, it's the holiday season
and it's time for some fun.
I love our audience.
And here to lead us in the festivities,
my friend Carson Kressley.
[audience cheering]
Oh, hello--
Excuse me. Sorry.
I never come empty-handed.
-Oh, thank you so much. -Happy holidays.
Thank you!
It's okay.
[Bobby] Partridges in pear trees.
[Carson] Yeah, I call her Laurie.
You got a Laurie Partridge in a pear tree.
I mean, my gift tonight,
it's not just thoughtful and gorgeous,
it's a clue about tonight's festivities.
Do you have any guesses?
The 50 days of Christmas?
Fifty?
Oh, 15?
-Uh, 12, I believe. -12 days. Okay, sorry.
So that's the theme for tonight. I love it.
That's the only line I remember.
[singing] ♪ And a partridge in a pear tree ♪
-I got that John Legend voice. -That was a really nice--
Yeah, you're really on pitch.
Or it could be the 12 ways of beating Bobby Flay.
-Yes. -Let me think of some new lyrics.
Well, we're gonna have some fun, sing some songs
and then beat you.
All right, cool. Bring out some holiday chefs.
Okay, our first contender has judged your food many times,
but he's never gone head-to-head with you himself.
Ready to drum up some soulful flavors,
make some noise, everybody, for Chef Chris Scott.
Yes!
[audience cheering]
I got 12 ways to beat you, Bobby.
I'm going by the beat of my own drum today, Bobby.
I like it.
So two little birdies told our next Beat Bobby Flay judge
that he needs to compete himself.
Come on out, Justin Sutherland!
[audience cheering]
[Bobby] Yes!
So a couple doves told me that, today,
we're gonna hear what it sounds like
when Bobby cries.
Aw!
-Whoa. -All right.
-Good evening, chefs. -My man.
-Chris, Justin, how you doin'? -Wonderful.
Nice to see you guys on this side of the kitchen.
You look really cool and collected.
That's always the case, my brother.
[Justin] Chris, I love you, brother. But you're going down today.
Man, you know what time it is.
Okay, let's go. Born ready, Chris.
I'm really looking forward to watching this.
So here's the way it's gonna work.
I'm gonna put 20 minutes on the clock.
I'm gonna give you an ingredient of my choice.
And so, tonight, a little theme happening here.
We got six geese a-laying.
And the ingredient is...
Pear.
-[gasps] -Okay.
Pear.
-It's a tough ingredient. -It is.
[Justin] Personally, I love pears.
It can be versatile. But it can also be hard
because you have to make it the center of the plate.
Carson is gonna taste your dishes
and he'll decide which one of you
goes on to the second round.
Okay, try to beat me if you dare.
But it all starts with these beautiful pears.
The is a hard ingredient.
-[Carson] Yeah. -Especially in a competition like this.
They need some flavor.
The only thing I can't think of
is to poach a pear and then you put like in red wine.
Right. Red wine and like some sugar
and some spices.
-[Carson] Some cinnamon, some nutmeg. -Cinnamon, et cetera.
[Bobby] Exactly.
What about if somebody just made like a mulled pear drink?
With some booze in it.
That would be the way to your heart.
Yeah, I would like that.
How you doin', Jus? You cool?
-Ah, I'm doing all right, brother. How you doin'? -My man.
I'm good, man.
[Bobby] While Justin is juicing the pears,
which is a smart thing to do,
and Chris is cooking the pears
with looks like some autumn spices.
-Uh, okay. -Chris, what are you making?
I'm revisiting an old dish that you might recognize
from the last time that I was cooking with you, brother.
Is it a tostada?
You must be psychic.
Thank you, brother.
Look at that, playing nice.
Don't think I'm that nice.
Wait till round 3.
I'm competing against my homey, Justin Sutherland.
I've known him for quite some time.
But it's actually our first time battling together,
so I really don't know what he's gonna pull out the hat today,
but I'm ready for him.
[Bobby] The tostada's really smart
as a vehicle for the pears.
Mmm-hmm, getting some crunch.
[Chris] I wanna kind of set the stage for Carson and Bobby.
It's Christmas afternoon.
Dinner isn't quite ready yet.
But here's these little bites.
-Is that guanciale, Chris? -Yep.
[Chris] So I'm making a pear and guanciale tostada.
I wanna have something that pears go with.
I'm thinking guanciale, that pork.
You know, Manchego cheese comes into mind.
Pear and cheese goes very well together.
Yeah, I've seen it with brie.
-Exactly. -Especially at the holidays.
I like watching them compete. They know how to taste food.
They know how to talk about food.
They know what they're talking about.
Oh, stop.
So you may have seen me all up and down this block.
I am the founder/executive chef
at Butterfunk Biscuit Company.
I came out last fall with my cookbook.
That was nominated for a James Beard Award.
I've done Beat Bobby Flay both as a judge
and a contestant.
Things didn't go well that day.
I was knocked out in round number 1.
So I never had the chance to go up against Bobby.
So now I'm back. I'm ready to knock you out, man.
When he's walking down the street,
I want him to know that I got a piece of him.
Justin, what are you making?
I'm gonna do like a pear salad, pear three ways.
We're gonna do a pear and vinaigrette,
uh, some sauteed spiced pears,
some compressed pears
probably with some spinach, some arugula.
Just that?
[Justin] My strategy today, I wanna do something fast
and I wanna use as many pears as I can
in as many different ways.
I wanna keep the vinaigrette simple.
I'm adding just a little bit of Dijon mustard,
some white balsamic vinegar, olive oil.
-I like it. -It seems smart to me
that Justin used the pear juice in the vinaigrette.
So we're getting more pear action.
[Bobby] Very important.
I'm Chef Justin Sutherland.
I'm the chef/owner of Handsome Hog,
Northern Soul and Big E.
Although I'm known for Southern style cooking,
I cook from all over the world.
I've competed on shows like Iron Chef America,
beating Chef Alex Guarnaschelli,
Top Chef and Tournament of Champions.
I've been a judge on this show a lot.
You know, I really know what the judges are looking for
and I really know what Bobby's food is like.
And what's a better way to celebrate the holidays
than beating Bobby Flay in his own kitchen?
Chris, did you grab all that purple mustard?
Uh, I didn't grab it at all.
So, in my pear salad, we're gonna have some compressed pears.
We're gonna put them in bags with some apple cider
to really make sure that apple cider flavor
really gets absorbed.
We're gonna have some spiced roasted pears.
For those, I'm gonna small dice them
in a pan in some butter, put in some nice warm spices,
all spice, clove.
[Chris] I take the tortillas. They're crispy enough,
but I want the Manchego to melt,
so I sprinkle it on top of the tostada
and then I toast them in the salamander.
I'm gonna go wassailing.
I don't even know what that is,
but I'm gonna do it.
Fourteen minutes on the clock.
Hi, Chris.
Hey. I love your jacket, by the way.
Thank you so much. You can totally borrow it.
Um, oh, are you making like an apple-saucy thing,
-but with pears. -It's gonna be a puree.
And then these are just leftovers.
-And these will be some sunglasses... -Right?
...that we can use.
Or these are the five golden rings.
Oh, my God, save these!
Just take 'em and throw 'em.
-Just take 'em and throw 'em. -Here you go.
Oh!
Happy holidays.
Just what people want, tortillas.
That goes great with the outfit.
Thank you.
[Chris] I really want to amplify the flavors of the pear.
So in the Vita prep is the butter,
there's the cooked pear.
I take the leftover fat from the guanciale.
It's that fine line in between the sweet and savory.
Carson!
Hello! I don't wanna get in your way.
So what are we getting?
Uh, we juiced some pears right there.
-Okay. -We're gonna do this to get a pear vinaigrette.
And then we're getting some radish, too?
I didn't know you played the mandoline.
[laughs] Neither did I.
It's time to start making the salad.
I grab some arugula for pepperiness.
We're gonna put some cranberry in there
for the holiday spirit.
And just so we don't have that raw flavor,
I'm gonna get some walnuts toasting in the oven.
I'm gonna get out of your hair.
Thanks, Carson.
Eight minutes remaining.
Head. Thank you, Chef.
[Bobby] So Justin has all of his components lined up
ready to make a salad.
Chris, what's he doing in the pot?
-[Carson] Is that the gastrique? -Yup.
I wanna do a nice gastrique
so I get some sweet and sour in there.
It's basically vinegar and something sweet,
like sugar reduced down so it gets thick.
So you have that sweet and sour thing happening.
Okay. "Gastrique."
It sounds like a really tight corset.
I'm so sorry, I have gastrique right now.
[Chris] I also wanna add the fresh components,
so I grate more fresh pear
into the salad of mustard green
and some pea shoots.
You guys are making this kitchen smell great.
-[Carson] Smells like the holidays. -Thanks for reminding me
about my burning nuts over here.
I knew I smelled something. Thank you, Bobby.
Don't worry. You won't be the firs chef to burn nuts in here.
-Every single person does it. -Yeah.
And I might happen to love the smell of burning nuts.
[Bobby] Five minutes to go.
What's up, Chris? Are you on cruise control?
Man, I'm good, homey.
I know. It looks good.
I'm beginning to put the tostada down.
And I add puree, guanciale.
[Bobby] I like it.
-I have all the good flavors-- -Pork, cheese
and pear and crispy tortillas.
-Your walnuts okay? -Oh, yeah.
[Justin] So I'm adding all my components.
We start with our bowl of greens,
our pear vinaigrette, along with the compressed pears,
spiced pears, toasted walnuts.
[Bobby] Two and a half minutes.
So as I'm building this salad,
I realize I need another component.
We got a lot of sweetness from the pears.
I want some cheese with some nice saltiness.
So I grab some pecorino.
[Bobby] One minute to go.
Justin, how you feeling? You got this?
-I feel great! -Fantastic.
[Bobby] Chris maybe should have stopped
a couple of ingredients earlier.
He doesn't need to keep stacking things.
-We get it. We want the pears-- -It does look hard to eat.
-I know. -Chris.
-Feeling good? -I'm great, brother.
[Justin] Not as good as you're gonna feel
after you taste this salad.
Oh, snap.
Okay!
[all] Five, four, three, two, one.
[bell dings]
Good job.
Good job. Nice.
Beautiful.
All right. Let's eat some pears.
I think my odds of winning this are pretty good.
I mean, Chris is a great chef,
but I think I nailed this challenge.
I'm beating Bobby tonight.
[Chris] I'm confident.
Today is the day where Bobby's gonna look to his left
and he's gonna see me standing right there
ready to compete against him for the first time.
All right, well, I cannot wait to see the look on Bobby's face
when one of you two lords goes leaping away
with a nice little victory.
And the other will come over and sit with me.
So everybody wins.
Chef Chris, tell me about your dish.
So what you got is a pear and guanciale tostada.
Mmm. There's definitely a lot going on there.
But I think in a good way.
I love that there's crunch
and then all those different greens,
that saltiness of the Manchego,
the fattiness of the guanciale.
-Yeah. -So I like that combination.
The only thing I would say,
because there's so much going on,
the pear isn't the superstar, I guess, maybe.
Beautiful plate.
I would just say maybe just a tiny bit more simple.
All right, Chef Justin, what do we have?
Uh, we have a pear three way salad.
We have some compressed pear
that we compressed in some apple cider,
some spiced roasted pears.
Then we juiced the pears and made a pear vinaigrette.
Well, this is super-bright and fresh.
It's really nice and balanced.
I would have loved to have seen more of the pear,
and I know that you put it in several ways,
but I didn't taste a lot of extra pear.
But both of these plates were delicious.
But my very, very difficult job
is to choose which one of you is going on to the next round.
So give me a minute to debate with myself.
[all laughing]
Oh, you're so funny!
Okay. I've come to a decision.
And the chef moving on to round 2 is...
Chef Chris.
Go get him.
Do it.
One step closer, baby.
Yeah, you don't got me yet.
I feel fantastic.
I'm one step closer to getting to Bobby.
[Carson] Oh, we're gonna have so much fun.
You know, like I said before,
both of these were great plates.
I think yours won by a nose
because it's a great idea, first of all,
and I think that crunchy tostada,
giving us that texture,
-brought you home for the win. -Thank you.
They paired really well together.
[laughs] See what I did there?
I see what you did.
Get used to it.
All right, Chris, that means you're gonna head back to the kitchen
and, Bobby, you're gonna come on down.
Go get 'em, Chris.
[Chris] Man, you know who it is.
You know who it is.
All right, Bobby, you wanna take a guess
at who's ready to come through the door?
-No idea. -"No idea."
Well, then let's get to it, shall we?
Please welcome one of your Triple Threat Titans,
come on out Chef Tiffany Derry!
[Justin] Whoo!
Santa ain't comin' tonight, baby, just me.
[Bobby] Yes!
[Chris] You go, girl.
She's a killer.
[singing] ♪ Five golden rings! ♪
You're feeling it tonight, huh?
Oh, let's go.
Okay-- wow.
-Hey, Chris. -Hey, girl. How you feelin'?
-Good. -All right.
Tiffany, I got nothin' but love and respect for her.
I've been following her ever since her days on Top Chef.
She's a beast in the kitchen.
I know that she's gonna come for me.
Welcome, Tiffany.
-Thank you. -Nice to see you.
You're still here. You're still standing--
I ain't goin' nowhere, bro.
We'll see about that.
This is the final round before you get to me.
And then Chef Sutherland will come back to play.
I'm gonna put 20 minutes on the clock.
-Hoo. -I'm gonna give you an ingredient of my choice.
We are celebrating the 12 days of Christmas here tonight.
We got some milk pails from our maids a-milking of course.
But, you know, sometimes what you see
is not what you get.
And that's the case tonight.
This is a partridge.
[gasps] It's Laurie!
From the tree to your cutting board.
Wow.
-Twenty minutes? -Yeah, twenty minutes, Chris.
[Chris] I'm not mad at it,
but it's a smaller bird.
You really have to watch how you cook it.
-Tiffany. -Ready, Chef.
Let's do it. Now, remember,
Carson, Justin, they're gonna taste the dishes
and they're gonna decide which one of you
goes on to the next round.
All right, 20 minutes.
Don't get stuck in a tree.
Make the partridge the star.
[bell dings]
I really wanted to get partridge
because we don't see it that often.
We see quail. We see squab.
I didn't even know it was still around.
I've never had partridge.
It's kind of like a big quail.
It's a darker meat. It's actually very lean, too.
So you have to be careful not to dry it out.
[Carson] Okay.
The 20 minutes should not be an issue here.
-The bird is small enough. -Right.
Looks like Chris is like
putting it like in like a buttermilk-y--
[Justin] I think Chris might be frying it.
-Chris. Are you frying this? -Yo?
You know that.
-Fried always best. -Always.
I don't care what anybody says.
[Chris] It's not really hard
to make this one the star of the dish.
But, because of its size, it cooks rather quickly.
So my strategy is making sure that I don't overcook it.
[Justin] A little heat in there.
I think I saw Chris add sriracha, maybe.
-I like that, too. -Yeah.
[Chris] So I'm making fried partridge with green curry.
It's really gonna be an explosion of freshness.
I dredge the partridges
and then I put them directly into the fryer.
Tiffany, how's this bird? Do you like it?
Um, never ate it.
-Huh. -Don't worry.
-It's a bird. -Exactly right.
[Tiffany] I have never cooked a partridge.
I don't even know where partridges live.
In a pear tree? I don't know.
I don't know.
But, you know, poultry is really a blank canvas for flavor.
So I know that I wanna incorporate a lot of spice,
a little smokiness like a barbecue sauce.
So I'm just going to try to get as much flavor
in the breast without overcooking it.
All right.
I'm making a harissa orange glazed partridge
with a couscous salad
of pecans, apricots and oranges.
It's a great way to get texture on the plate.
-I like a couscous situation. -Mmm-hmm.
So this is a great example of Tiffany showing her range.
[Justin] There's almost like some Mediterranean flavors.
Yeah, she is spectacular.
Thank you.
My name is Tiffany Derry
and I own Roots Southern Table and Roots Chicken Shack.
I would think of myself as a seasoned competitor.
I feel good, Chef. Let's compete.
I'm a Titan on Bobby's Triple Threat.
I've done Tournament of Champions,
Grocery Games.
But I also judged on Beat Bobby Flay...
See ya!
...Chopped.
So last holiday season,
Bobby and I teamed up together and won.
Team Bobby!
But I've never actually gone head-to-head with Bobby.
So, this year, my eye is on Bobby,
knowing I need to take down whoever else first.
[Carson] Just under 14 minutes.
-Hello, Chris. -Hey, man.
What's the plan?
I'm gonna do a little really super-flavorful fried partridge.
-Yum. I don't love that the feet are still on. -And nice.
-But you know what-- -You're gonna get rid of those, right?
No. You can kind of use it like as a toothpick, you know.
Okay.
In this case, I'm using the whole partridge.
I wanna make sure that there's enough of the main ingredient on the plate.
And then do a little bit of a Thai green chili.
Okay, like a dipping sauce?
-Exactly. -You think you can beat Tiffany?
I got nothin' but love and respect for her,
and this is gonna be fun,
but, yes.
-To answer your question, the answer's yes. -Okay.
You're so nice.
Tiffany, he's so nice.
Is it? It's more like nice-nasty.
"Nice-nasty."
-Just doing the breast for us? -I am.
Okay, thank you for that.
We're just eating the breast by itself?
Or is it gonna have a sauce?
Yeah, I have a little couscous and a sauce.
[Carson] To put the breast on and also
-soak up some of that sauce. -That's correct. Yes.
Honey, love it.
And it's gonna be spicy 'cause I see this harissa.
A little bit, yeah. We're sneakin' a little spice in.
Barbecue partridge breast.
Yes.
Fantastic. All right, well, I'm gonna get out of here.
Coming up on 12 minutes, chefs.
[Tiffany] So I want the barbecue sauce, one,
to have some color,
so that's why I'm using the tangerine.
A little bit of a spice from the harissa,
smokiness from the chipotle.
[Carson] Tiffany's giving us just the breast.
It's kind of like a North African sauce
on a bed of couscous.
[Justin] Right. Putting some apricot in there,
uh, for a little bit of sweetness.
Right. We're also getting some like chopped pecan.
[Justin] Yeah, for some texture.
I like that. I like that.
These are very smart applications.
Barbecue on one side,
fried on the other side,
this is things we would do with chickens all day long.
[Justin] And, Chris, he looks pretty calm and cool over there.
He knows what he's doin'.
Chris, what are you doing with the spinach?
A little bit of color, a little bit of body.
Is that the sauce?
-That's gonna be the sauce, yeah. -Oh. Oh, okay.
Coming up on eight minutes, my little partridge family.
[Tiffany] My intention is to cook the bird in a pan
with oil, a little thyme and butter.
And I don't know if it's supposed to be fully cooked
or it can be a little under.
I'm just gonna play it safe, so I'll throw it in the oven.
Tiffany, my girl.
Give me a hug. Mmm. I love you.
[audience] Aw.
I mean, come on.
Let's give it up for Tiffany though.
She's out here crushing it.
[Tiffany] The couscous really felt like it was
missing a layer of spice,
so I grabbed a little bit of that smoky paprika
to kind of tie that dish together.
I love it. You're a Titan. You know what you're doing.
So, uh, I'ma be right here and check on your boy, Chris.
All right.
-Chris. -What up, playboy?
We're gonna have to run this back
'cause I don't know how I felt about that last one.
-But now you gotta get Tiffany. -[laughs]
Yeah.
-How are you doin', brother? -I'm good, man.
I love that you went fried.
I mean, that's exactly what I would have done.
-Right. -What flavors are going in this?
I'm dealing with some green curry.
-I'm gonna make a little radish salad... -Nice.
...with some cilantro, you know,
so you have the sweet heat.
-Go get 'em, brother. -My man.
Only five minutes left, chefs.
[Tiffany] I take the bird out. It's still under.
Not cooked.
Very rare in the middle.
It's a little rare.
Yes, it is.
I have so few minutes left on this clock.
Here I am with this undercooked bird.
You think she'll be able to recover?
-How many minutes, y'all? -1:40.
[Tiffany] What I don't know is
if there's enough time for it to finish.
I'm freaking out underneath.
One minute.
[Tiffany] My partridge is still under.
-Don't worry. -She said don't worry.
-I'm not worried.
I immediately get another sauté pan on
to sear it really quickly.
[audience gasping]
[Bobby] Set it on fire, baby.
[Chris] I get the radish salad right there on the plate,
just enough to kind of balance out that heat.
Get the sauce onto the plate.
45 seconds.
-How are you feeling over there, Tiffany? -Still good.
My couscous is already in the bowl.
I'm confident that the partridge gets cooked through.
I need to top it with my sauce.
-Chris, how about you, brother? -I'm good, homey.
The partridge goes on the sauce.
[Bobby] 15 seconds.
[Tiffany] I cut my orange segments within the seconds.
[Chris] And then I just garnish the plate
with a little bit of mustard green.
[Tiffany] And that's all I have time for.
[all] Five... Four... Three... Two... One!
-[bell dings] -[audience cheering]
Whoo!
You did it.
-All right. They did. -They did it.
-Congrats. [laughing] -Oh my God.
[Bobby] Beautiful partridges.
Well, it's definitely not gonna take us twelve days to beat Bobby.
Just three exceptional chefs, two rounds of cooking,
and one fantastically dressed host, if I do say so myself.
[all laughing]
Chef Chris, tell us about your partridge.
So you have crispy fried partridge with a green curry sauce.
Mmm.
First of all, I love that you fried this.
The crunch is delicious.
And that radish salad is a great move.
That acidity really helped cut through some of the richness.
But I think we could have maybe taken a couple of the bones out.
It was kind of hard to get around there
and really get a good bite out of it.
-Mmm. -[Carson] I agree.
It's a little hard to eat.
But you still get all of that yummy crunch.
This green curry sauce, it's nice and herbaceous,
but I do think it could use a little more zing.
-Mmm-hmm. -But that's just me grousing.
[all laughing]
Chef Tiffany, what did you make?
I did an orange harissa glazed partridge
with a couscous, apricots, oranges and pecans.
It's definitely easier to eat. I mean, I like how you roasted it on the cage
to keep, you know, that flavor and those juices in there.
Pairing with the couscous salad,
I liked all the different components in there, the herbs.
And those nuts, it was good to get some crunch,
but I think some of them are a little large.
I can't believe you've never worked
-with the partridge family before. -[audience laughing]
[Carson] It's really moist, delicious, breast meat.
Love the barbeque sauce.
But I will say the nuts are a little large.
-Is that a bad thing? I don't know. -I was gonna say.
-[audience laughing] -Sounds like a personal preference there.
-[Carson] Yeah. -[laughs]
But in all seriousness, chefs, both dishes were delicious.
[Carson] So we're gonna need to discuss.
[Chris] I feel good. I could definitely be moving on,
but Tiffany's no joke, man.
I mean, you try to battle her.
[Tiffany] I came here to go against Bobby.
So this is just something I have to do to get to the goal.
And the chef moving forward is...
Chef Tiffany.
[audience cheering]
-You did great. -Good luck.
-Beautiful dish. -Thank you, Bobby.
-Nice job. You did so good. -Yeah.
[Tiffany] This is my first time ever going head to head with Bobby.
Maybe I should be terrified, but I'm excited.
Like, this is a big moment.
All of the things that he has taught me,
and now I'm to put it up against him. I like it.
Oh, God.
So Tiffany, it really came down to that perfect cook.
Thank you.
-But now you have a big job. -Mmm-hmm.
Are you feeling up to this very important task?
I have waited for this moment.
[dramatic music playing]
All right, Tiffany. Great job.
What are we cooking tonight? What is your signature dish?
So the dish we're gonna be preparing is...
Peri peri poussin.
-Ooh. -Peri peri who?
-We like it spicy. -I like it.
I thought a poussin was a fish though.
Poussin is a small bird.
Peri peri is a South African usually condiment
that has lots of chilis and spice.
So much flavor, so delish.
And Tiffany, you have a chicken restaurant,
so you're like a bird expert.
-Right? -[laughs] I do.
You know who doesn't have a chicken restaurant?
-Who's that? -Bobby.
[all laughing]
All right, Tiffany, you get to chose
from either one of these stellar superstars.
Both of them are my brothers,
but today, I'm gonna choose Justin.
-All right. -I'm sorry, Chris.
[audience cheering]
You know, when she picked me,
I was a little school girl inside.
-I was like, "Oh, Tiffany Derry picked me." -[laughing]
Oh my God. Stop it.
-I love this. -We've never cooked together.
I think we'll have really good kitchen chemistry.
Chris, that means you are on Team Bobby.
And I get Chris. Winner.
-[laughs] Yeah. -Exactly. [laughing]
Team Tiffany, any last fighting words for Team Bobby?
I'm sorry to do it to you, old man.
-Ooh. Wow. -Man.
-Wow, the shade is real. I love it. -[laughing]
Thank you. How you feeling about your team?
-Chris has got some serious game. -I got you.
We're putting 45 minutes on the clock.
-Let's go. -[audience cheering]
Tonight, Tiffany challenged Bobby to make peri peri poussin.
It's a grilled chicken dish.
This dish is really known for its heat.
They don't know who they playin' with, talking that old man stuff.
I know, I love that.
Chef Chris, you seem to be offended by the "old man".
-[laughing] -I wasn't even talking to you.
Oh, there's smack talk already.
Oh, this is gonna be good. Where's my popcorn?
-You think one of these turkey legs is enough, chef? -Yes, chef.
Tiffany, why did you chose this dish?
This is a dish that I absolutely love.
It's full on flavor.
[Carson] And you've made it how many times?
[Tiffany] I make it in my restaurant every day.
So millions? Okay.
[Tiffany] Peri peri poussin, it's a big seller on our menu.
I love the chilis and the spice
and that roasted flavor that you get from the sauce.
Bobby, have you ever made peri peri chicken before?
Yes, many times. I'm happy about this dish.
-You're welcome, chef. -[snorts]
You know, Bobby understands flavor and spices,
but this version is the particular kind of spice.
So this is like, our chance.
I mean, we are not playing with it.
Tiffany, what are we getting with the chicken?
Uh, peri peri poussin, we're gonna get some Hoppin' John
which is beans and rice.
Oh, I am such a fan of Hoppin' Johns.
Delicious, savory rice and beans.
Maybe with a little bacon or ham hock in there.
And typically peri peri chicken is served with either rice or potatoes.
So that's perfection.
[Tiffany] So the peri peri sauce is really roasted red bell peppers,
onions, garlic, Fresno chilis.
The charring in the Salamander imparts a little bit of smokiness.
I blend them with a little bit of vinegar, fish sauce and olive oil.
Bobby, what's on your menu?
So we're gonna make some poussin with peri peri,
-cucumber and pickled shallot relish to go with. -Okay.
[Bobby] I'm obviously gonna start with some chili peppers for sure.
So the flavor profile, it's spicy,
so I'm taking some Fresno chilis, some lemon juice,
smoked paprika, garlic, fresh ginger.
We definitely want a little sweetness
to kind of counterbalance all those big flavors.
And then, I got the king of biscuits in New York City right here.
We're obviously making some biscuits to go with the poussin
-and some crispy fingerling potatoes. -[Carson] Wow.
Hey Chris, I know you came here to beat him,
but how do you like your kitchen partner?
I'm working with a legend today.
-It's my Christmas gift. -[laughing]
-Really? Let the man speak. -Come on, now.
[all laughing]
[Chris] Nothing pairs better than chicken and biscuits.
So in there, you know, you have all the usual suspects.
The flour, leavener, salt, buttermilk.
I like to add a bit of honey to it.
Roll everything out the way that Nana used to do it back in the day.
[Carson] Okay, so I'm gonna be honest.
I think the biscuits seem very traditional,
but maybe not like the right pairing with the peri peri chicken.
Whereas on Team Tiffany that Hoppin' John,
that's gonna be a great compliment to the spicy chicken.
Tiffany is getting her amazing peri peri sauce ready.
I'm gonna do the Hoppin' John,
something that's a staple on my menus.
Step one is to get black eyed peas into the pressure cooker.
We also want to impart a lot of smokey flavoring,
so I pulled the meat off some ham hocks, some smoked turkey legs.
So while the black eyed peas are in the pressure cooker,
it's time to get all of the veg
and the rest of the flavors ready that we're going to add,
so I dice up some green pepper, celery, onion,
and then cook that all down in bacon fat.
[audience exclaiming]
Man, you ain't ever seen fire before? Stop.
-[laughing] -[Chris] Stop.
-It's like dinner and a show. -[laughing]
[Carson] 32 minutes on the clock.
-Chef, you good? -Yeah.
So I have the poussin.
I'm gonna season with some salt and pepper, some smoked paprika.
And then I brush them in the peri peri marinade.
[Carson] So Bobby, I don't want to distract or anything,
but you know, the holidays are so festive.
One of my favorite things is to go caroling.
-Yeah? -The Bobby Flay holiday choir presents...
12 Ways to Beat Bobby.
One, two, three, go.
[choir singing]
I got the Calabrian chilis.
[laughs]
[imitates cats yowling]
[laughs]
Cheers.
Ooh, that's nice too.
[laughs]
[Sunny singing]
Ooh, that's a little personal, isn't it?
Oh Bobby, you're done, bro.
[laughs]
Oh, I love that one.
[all laughing]
That's me.
Come on in, ladies.
[energetic holiday music playing]
What is going on here?
Come on in, ladies.
[energetic holiday music playing]
You got to watch. They're doing a whole number just for you.
-It's very intricate. -[Bobby] Love it.
[Tiffany] Yeah!
[Carson] Great job, ladies.
-[audience cheering] -Thank you, ladies.
Thank you so much.
Happy Holidays.
Wait, we're not done yet. [sighs]
Number ten, people.
[choir singing]
[guitar riff]
[snickers]
Where's he going?
-[guitar riff] -[Carson] Real loud.
-[choir singing louder] -[Carson] Louder!
[Sunny and choir singing]
[Carson and choir singing]
[vibrato intensifying]
-Brava! Brava! -[audience applauds]
-Oh my God. Are you crying? -Yes.
That's so beautiful.
[Bobby] I love Carson. He makes everybody smile.
Always one of my favorites. Always.
-[Carson] 28 minutes to go, people. -[cheering]
-Oh, that smells good. What's in here? -[Bobby] That's my peri peri.
-I thought it was a Bloody Mary. -[audience laughing]
-And then, you're doing quick pickles. - Si.
Oh, just speaking in Spanish.
When you have heat like this,
you want something acidic, a little crunchy to cut through it.
So I'm doing two very quick pickles here, some shallots,
and some red wine vinegar to kind of bring out red color.
And then, white wine vinegar and sugar for the cucumber
to keep them nice and green and bright.
Then I'm going to bring them together later.
Oh, this is looking so good. That Hoppin' John, unbelievable.
-Can I taste? -Go for it.
[Carson] Let me get some of that ham-iness.
-And then we're going to finish with tons of herbs... -Mmm! Mmm-hmm.
...a yogurt sauce to go with the chicken so it's not overly spicy.
[Carson] Oh, that's really nice. It's nutty and porky.
That's comfort food right there.
The reason I really like to do the yogurt sauce
with the peri peri is because you need something to kind of cool it down
as you're biting into that spicy chicken.
So I start blending up garlic,
and I fold that into some yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Oh, what is that smell?
-I think it's victory. -[giggles] Oh, I like it.
-Do you guys smell that? -I smell it . I smell it.
-You guys smell it? -[audience cheering]
-[laughs] -[whooping]
-All right, good luck. -Thank you.
Just under 14 minutes.
[Tiffany] Now we're ready to grill the chicken.
I add a little bit more of that peri peri sauce.
Tiffany's grilling that chicken. It's looking really good.
Then in the cast iron skillet, Bobby's chicken is looking very caramelized.
[Bobby] So I have the poussin. It's nicely glazed.
When people are eating peri peri chicken,
they want a certain amount of explosion of flavor.
So we're going to give it to 'em.
So I have some applewood chips.
One extra thing that Bobby's doing is adding some smoke to that chicken,
so it's gonna add that extra layer of flavor.
He's so extra.
And it seems like Chris is working on the fingerling potatoes.
With the potatoes, I had some brown butter, rosemary and maple syrup.
Let all that kind of caramelize together.
I hate to say it, but Team Bobby's fingerling potatoes
look like a Christmas miracle.
Those look great.
-[Carson] Just under six minutes. -[exhales]
We really wanted to make this slaw
to give, you know, some freshness, some crunch.
So we're just gonna take, you know, fresh cabbage and red onions.
-Do you want me to make dressing for the slaw? -Yes, please.
And I just make very basic champagne vinaigrette.
-I promise you, this is delicious. -[chuckles]
-There's your biscuits. -I'm onto the next one. Yes, good.
So the biscuits are done. Begin to glaze them with butter and sea salt.
[Bobby] Those look nuts.
Turn out the lights. The biscuit man is here.
[audience cheering]
Those look bonkers.
-Tiffany, how's that chicken looking? -Man, it looks so good.
-That chicken looks so good, Carson. -Does it look so good?
-So good! -[laughing]
[Carson] Three minutes, everybody.
Y'all should be scared of this Hoppin' John.
[Tiffany] So I grab our plates,
yogurt sauce goes on the bottom.
[Justin] And then, some of the slaw.
[Chris] So the biscuits are done. They feel perfect.
And then, with the potatoes,
I hit that with the finishing touch of some sea salt.
[Justin] And then, some Hoppin' John.
This right here is peri peri.
Poussin goes on the top.
You got about a minute and a half.
[Bobby] So I have the poussin. I just plate it on a wooden board.
Bobby's plating on cucumber and shallot pickle.
-More chives. -Come on, Tiffany. Finish strong!
Finish with a little bit of chives. Delish.
Five... Four... Three... Two... One!
-[audience cheering] -Nice job. Well done.
-[laughing] -You did good.
Whoo. [laughs]
-That's nuts. -There you go. Nice.
[Tiffany] I'm darn proud of the work we did today.
-I was happy with the flavor. -Yeah.
I was happy at the cook.
And I'm happy that we were able to do it as a team.
That's what holidays is about.
I enjoyed every second of it.
We have a ton of flavor in front of us.
I feel like everything goes with each other.
I'm positive that Tiffany and Justin are going to put out
an amazing array of food for sure.
-They don't play, you know. -Yep.
-You made barbeque chicken? -Got some flavor over here.
Is that some barbeque chicken?
-We came in strong. -We're here to beat Bobby Flay.
[Carson] Team Bobby, Team Tiffany,
let's meet our esteemed judges.
First up, chef and partner of Barano and Barano2Go, Albert Di Meglio.
Director of the NYU Food Lab, Lourdes Castro.
Chef partner of Porter House Bar and Grill, Michael Lomonaco.
So judges, tonight's challenge was peri peri poussin.
Please help yourselves to the first holiday feat in front of you.
-Can I serve you? -Sure.
[tense music playing]
The chicken's cooked perfectly. Love it.
Good char, great flavor.
I just wish there was a little bit more heat being peri peri.
It pairs really nicely with that slaw.
The chicken has a beautiful char
and an incredible smokey aroma,
but the potatoes, I feel it's kind of very similar texture
to what I'm getting already from the biscuit.
I would have liked a little more heat.
But the poussin stayed moist in the cooking.
The biscuits are just perfect. A little sweet.
But all in all, it's a really well-balanced spread.
All right, judges, please dig into the second holiday feast.
-May I? -Ah, yes. Thank you. [chuckles]
[tense music playing]
[Albert] This is fantastic.
Chicken is plated nicely. Great sear on it.
The Hoppin' John, great. It goes really well together.
I feel the chicken's maybe a little bit overcooked on my end.
The slaw I thought was perfect.
It had a lot of acidity, nice tartness.
My chicken has really nice flavor,
but, um, for me it was a little bit overcooked as well.
I think that a Hoppin' John with chicken really says a holiday,
but when you get to the chicken,
the peri peri was a little missing for me.
Overall, these were two great holiday meals
that are worth putting a tie on for.
-I'll tell you that much. -Okay.
Thank you so much for your comments. I'll give you these cards
and you will vote on your favorite dish.
[tense music playing]
[whispers] Dry.
I don't understand. We ate the poussin.
It was like, "Oh, look how juicy this meat is."
Flawless sides.
One of the best vinegar slaws they've ever had.
[Carson] Thank you.
I think that by having our sides
-is what's going to take us over. -Yeah.
And tonight's winning team is...
[tense music building]
Team Bobby.
-[chuckles] -[audience cheering]
-Great job. -Yeah, baby. Yeah, baby.
-[groaning] -Come here, baby. Come here, baby.
-That was good. You did it. -Don't worry, Tiff.
The old man still got it.
Team Bobby, all the char was delicious,
but the chicken, the poussin was still moist.
And that's what just made me so happy
that that was a holiday dish I'd love to share.
-Thank you. -Start the walk.
-The walk of shame. -Let me lead the way.
Take a present. Take a present or two.
[audience applauding]
[Tiffany laughs]
The old man still got a little bit left in the tank.
Yeah, but we'll be coming back for him though.
-Well, Bobby, you've ruined my Christmas again. -[audience laughing]
[snarls] Bobby won again!
And I hate to be a sore loser, but...
I'm taking my partridge, my pear tree,
and the nine dancing ladies with me.
All right, Chris. Our peri peri...
-Was merry merry! -Yes, sir!