I'm Bobby Flay.
Each week one brave chef
will try to take me down in my house.
-This is my show. -Today it is. Tomorrow, who knows?
-Ooh! -Trash talking.
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.
It's do or die, Bobby.
[Bobby] Two people that know me well will decide
who's got the skills to beat me.
Yeah!
[Bobby] Round two, I go head to head
-with the winning contender. -Let's go!
It's their turn to surprise me with their signature dish.
-What? -[screams]
Don't try this at home.
I know you did it, Bobby!
-[Bobby] Bottom line... -You're gonna run out of time!
...everyone's out to beat me.
I hope you're in my corner
because tonight's hosts are here to knock me out.
Please welcome from Food Network,
Michael Voltaggio and Damaris Phillips.
[grunting]
Oh!
Knock out.
Been going to the gym lately, huh?
-Oh, this old thing? -[laughs]
So, have you guys worked together before?
-Never here. -We've spent a lot of time together.
-We're friends. -[Michael] Yeah.
Do you think that you could compete
on Triple Threat?
You have to go up against one of the Titans,
Michael, Brooke or Tiffany.
I would lose.
-[all laughing] -I mean--
-In that case you're invited for Triple Threat. -You're invited.
-I mean-- -Please come.
But you've, you've won in this kitchen.
-Twice. -Tuna noodle casserole.
-And then Holiday, she and I were teamed up.
That might've been my funnest moment in this kitchen.
[both laughing]
But you guys aren't on the same team tonight.
[Bobby] No, we're not.
You have any strategy tonight?
We plan to get in your head,
chat you up, dance you up, dress you up, knock you up...
-Wait, what? -Sorry, no.
[all laughing]
-[Michael] You know, all that. Whatever she said. -[Bobby] Okay.
You guys have any chefs coming out here tonight or what?
[Michael] Let's go.
You have a few things in common with our first contender,
you both crush south-western cuisine
and you both run marathons.
From Albuquerque, New Mexico, Executive Chef Marc Quinones.
[Damaris] Yeah! [cheers]
Our next contender, he too is an avid runner
and also Marc's protegee.
What?
-Oh, they're going up against each other? -Yes!
Also from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It's Executive Chef Bryan Romero.
[Michael] Yeah.
Oh, what's up man?
-[Damaris] Okay. -[Michael] Oh, the tension tonight.
Good luck.
Oh, that's really nice.
-Marc, Bryan, what's going on? -What's going on, chef?
You don't want the student to come in and beat the teacher
-or anything like that right? -No. No, it's not gonna happen.
-You think you can beat him? -Absolutely.
Wow. All right. I'm gonna give you an ingredient of my choice
and you must make that the star of your dish.
And that ingredient is black soybeans.
-[all exclaiming] -Wow. Okay. All right.
What is this?
I've used black beans but I've never really used a black soybean before.
All right, 20 minutes on the clock.
Time to cook up some mean, lean, black soybean.
[bell dinging]
[all cheering]
All right, so we have the mentor and the student,
we have black soya beans...
They're native to Asia but they're smaller than yellow soybeans.
[Damaris] Mm-hmm. You can treat 'em like a black bean
or you can treat 'em like a nut.
-Yeah, if you like-- -Leave 'em a little crunchier.
Yeah, they taste almost like walnuts.
Would you make an Asian dish with these?
I would probably make a black bean burger out of it.
-[exclaims] -I think chili is a great idea too.
You can add a lot of fun flavors.
Especially 'cause sometimes they can be a little mushy
-or a little too firm. -Yeah.
We have canned beans
and then soaked, un-cooked beans.
I think canned is the better choice.
Like, they're already cooked, use 'em.
Hey Marc, what are you making?
I'm making a black bean toast.
[laughs smugly]
What's interesting though is
Bryan is cutting bread up on his side right now.
Bryan, are you making a toast as well, chef?
-I am. -[Michael] Oh, this is getting good.
-[Damaris] What? -This is getting good.
The tale of two toast here.
I'm Puerto Rican-Dominican from New York
and I can, I can impart those strong Spanish flavors
into these black soybeans...
Like serrano chili, cumin, orange and lime and vinegar.
I know I'm gonna have this in the bag.
So I'm gonna go ahead and make a bacon black soybean toast
with black soybean salad on top.
He did start with the soaked beans.
I don't know if the beans are gonna get done in time.
Fresh beans have to be soaked
and then you have to cook 'em down for a while...
You know, but I need to showcase the unique texture of the black soybean because
if I can get these to be al dente, that's a rock.
If not I'm toast. [laughs] Oh, did you get that?
Feeling good. Feeling good.
I've been cooking professionally since I was 14 years old.
Fast food all the way to fine dining
and everything in between.
Today I'm the executive chef
of Hotel Chaco in old town Albuquerque
and when I met Chef Bryan,
he came looking for a job as a line cook and I hired him on the spot.
I got so much love for my man Bryan.
But he's not stepping in my way today.
I hadn't had this ingredient before
so my plan is treat it like a normal black bean
and pair it with Mexican flavors.
So I'm gonna make
black soybean and avocado toast
with a black soybean jalapeno salsa.
I'm making a puree with canned black soybean
and some guajillo, brings a nice smokiness.
Bryan, how do you feel about going against Chef Marc?
-He's not your boss today? -He's... [laughs]
He's my friend.
[all exclaiming]
-Do you wanna beat you friend today, chef? -Yes, I would love that.
[Bryan] I was born and raised on the south side of Albuquerque.
I was always into painting and drawing
and when I started cooking with Chef Marc,
I discovered food as art
and today I am the executive chef at the Crowne Plaza
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Everybody back in Albuquerque knows that Marc is the man
so beating Marc and Bobby would be huge
to prove my skillset.
So here we go.
I'm gonna go get the tea. 16 minutes chefs.
[all cheering]
I like how Marc just left.
He's like, "Oh, here he comes."
-How are you doing, chef? -What do you got, chef?
Serrano peppers, bacon, cumin...
[Michael] So how do you put this all together?
I'm gonna puree a little bit of that,
save some of it for the top.
-Nice, chef. -[Marc] Thank you so much, chef.
-An honor. -[Michael] Nice.
All right, Chef. You've already got some puree.
[Bryan] I have some guajillo chili with the black bean.
[Michael] Radish? How does that get into the dish?
I'm gonna make a pico for the top.
So like, raw, light vegetables on the top.
-Some texture. -Yeah, yeah. Some avocado as well. Yes.
All right. Little under 13 minutes left to go.
[Marc] Heard, chef.
I feel like they're both a little bit nervous
because they've got something to prove to each other
before they get a chance to go against Bobby.
Marc is cooking the beans down with some bacon.
He's gonna blend that up and then take the rest of it
to garnish the top of it.
But Bryan's going with, like, a fresh, raw vegetable salad
that'll go on top as well.
I'm gonna go see if I can spice some things up.
Eight minutes y'all.
Hey there, how's it going, Bryan?
-Good. How are you? -Doing great.
-Can I try that? -Yeah.
-[Damaris] What do you have in there? -Cilantro, fresnos, tomatoes,
-onions... -[Damaris] Lovely.
-Yeah. -It really is very fresh.
-Thank you. -Who thinks Bryan is going to destroy his mentor tonight?
[all cheering]
-Taste that. Taste the flavors. -[Damaris] Okay. I'm going to.
-Okay, I'm going to. He's excited. Okay. -[all laughing]
-[Marc] These aren't quite there yet. -Okay.
They need a little bit more time
but the flavor is absolutely delicious.
-Thank you so much. -[Damaris] Just two minutes to go.
I have to get my puree going immediately.
At this point it's like, this is the best it's gonna be.
I take the bread, hit it with the puree first,
layer of avocado and then my black bean salsa.
[Michael] 45 seconds.
Let's step on there y'all.
I get my toast, I'm adding black bean puree to that,
the al dente soybeans on top...
15 seconds.
-[groans] -[Damaris] Oh, my God.
[all counting] Ten, nine, eight...
-[Bryan] I'm adding tortilla chips for texture... -[all] ...seven, six...
-[Marc] I'm adding cotija cheese... -[all] ...five, four...
[Marc] Cilantro for that herbaceousness.
[all counting] ...one!
-[bell dings] -[all cheering]
I didn't think we were getting food on the plate from Marc at all.
I didn't either.
Everything looks beautiful and it tastes great
so I feel confident that I can take down Marc.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Bryan made black soybean sauce as well
but it's just not gonna beat mine.
Marc and Bryan, was that hard
for you guys to go against each other?
There was emotions involved.
I think so highly of Chef Bryan.
[Bryan] I know how great of a chef he is
so I have to just put out something good.
Chef Marc, tell us what you made.
I did a bacon, black soybean toast
with a warm black soybean salad.
The orange flavors and the heat are absolutely lovely.
The soybeans on the top, they're under-done beans
but I get oddly addicted to the, like, kinda, chewiness.
As you eat them, the texture becomes more forgiving.
You showed us that you understood the ingredient
-but I didn't get a lot of that puree on the toast... -Yes, chef.
All right, Chef Bryan, what did you make?
Black bean avocado toast, black bean guajillo puree
and a black soybean jalapeno salsa.
You deliver on all of those flavors
that you're expecting
when you see a black bean salsa.
[Michael] You have freshness, you've got acid...
I like the raw vegetables but I could see how nervous
you were in a lot of your knife cuts.
Those little things when you're making a dish this simple,
can throw it off just a little bit.
So we need just a minute to discuss.
[Marc] I'm so nervous right now.
I didn't come all this way
to not go down with Bobby Flay.
The chef moving forward is Chef...
Marc.
[all cheering]
I got a chance to compete against one of my closest friends...
Thank you.
It was a win for me.
You won because you understood
the ingredient that you were working with.
You gotta leave those nerves in Round one
-and you need to beat Bobby Flay. -Yes, chef.
-What are you gonna do? -I'm gonna beat Bobby Flay.
-[Damaris] Yeah! -[all cheering]
All right, chef. Congratulations.
Uh, what are we cooking tonight? What's your signature dish?
My signature dish is...
shrimp tostones.
-[all exclaiming] -I love it.
Bobby is feeling confident.
Which, Marc, means you really need to bring it in Round two.
I'm ready to go.
I mean, I grew up in tostones.
I mean, that's what we eat, you know? So...
-They call me Bobby Tostones, you know? -No, they don't.
Bobby Tostones, never heard of that.
-[Michael] That's his name on the box. -Get out of here.
I mean, on that note, 45 minutes on the clock
and your time starts now.
[all cheering]
[Michael] All right, shrimp tostones,
plantains that are pressed fried, re-fried...
Yeah, super crispy on the outside
with a little bit of light fluffy starch center.
[Michael] The shrimp can go any way the chef decides to go
but traditionally you're gonna have some kind of salsa,
some kind of creme.
[Damaris] It'll be interesting to see if we're getting the flavors
that you see in the Caribbean
or if Marc is gonna bring a Puerto Rico into the south-west.
Marc, why this dish against Bobby Flay?
This is a love song to my mother. That's why.
Oh...
[Marc] I've been eating tostones forever.
I do it the way my mother taught me how to do it,
with chile pequin adobo rub shrimp
and the most amazing garlic mojo sauce.
Bobby, don't look over at Marc's kitchen to see how to handle the tostones.
-Get out of here, Bobby. -[all laughing]
[Bobby] I've made tostones many times.
I'm gonna do somethings that are traditional
but somethings that are a little bit more modern.
So I'm making spice crusted and garlic shrimp tostones
with an avocado corn relish
and pickled shallots.
I bet you $15
that Bobby's gonna have
some kind of a pickled red onion.
He's peeling shallots as we speak.
[Damaris] It's gonna be, like, granadine,
-red wine vinegar... -Tangerine juice.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
-[crowd laughs] -What's that, bestie?
-You don't know my recipes. -[all laughing]
The pickled shallots' gonna add, like, little bit of
refreshing crunch to it
and the sweet and sour idea
really goes with the plantains.
-Predictable but effective. -Super effective.
[Damaris] Hey Marc, what's that chili you have there?
Chile pequin. When you toast it, it kinda has fruity elements to it.
[Damaris] So Bryan has actually joined us in the arena.
-He's there to cheer on his friend Marc. -Go Chef!
[all cheering]
[Marc] I begin to work on my chili pequin adobo rub for the shrimp.
It's what Puerto Ricans do. We use adobo. Adobo, baby.
It's spicy, it's garlic-y...
36 minutes, chefs.
[all cheering]
All right, Marc, what's the deal here?
The deal right now, chef, is you gotta clean the shrimp
and then we gotta dry rub it.
This is about the platano in the end.
What's the trick to, like, the crunchiest tostones?
For me, a little bit of a thicker cut
and the proper smash.
Marc, you have to talk and cook at the same time.
-He's just so, like... -Michael, you have to get out of there.
-One or the other, okay? -He's giving us a demo right now.
[sighs in relief]
-All right, chef, you've made this before. -[Bobby] Yeah.
I'm gonna cook the shrimp in this oil
which is avocado oil, garlic and fresno chilis.
And then how are you doing your actual tostones?
-I'm gonna crush 'em with a... -Any seasoning or rub or anything?
...with the back of a pan.
I'm not using a tosto--
You got a tostonera over there?
No, chef. The right way to do it is not with a tostonera.
It's with the-- You know, you know how you do it?
-[Damaris] No! Don't teach him! -With the back of a--
[all screaming]
-Nah, it's okay. -Teach me all your tricks.
I'm busy, chef.
[all laughing]
Just under 29 minutes y'all.
[all cheering]
So Marc is going extremely traditional.
Marc's going with a dry rub.
Bobby made this fragrant oil
that he's gonna cook the shrimp in.
I think Bobby's is gonna be a little bit more modern,
-a little bit more of a twist... -[Damaris] Yes.
Bobby, what are those, right there?
-[Bobby] These are avocados. -[Damaris] And how do you get the pit out?
-Like that. -[Damaris] Okay careful in your hand and everything.
Okay. What else do you do?
-He's like, "Shut up, Damaris." -[Damaris] I know.
I'm already in his head you all.
I'm in there.
Marc's already started treating the plantain
so the skins come off.
I do not see Bobby handling the plantains at all.
If you don't steam 'em and get the skin to release,
they're hard to peel.
I think Bobby could've been
a little too confident in this round.
Maybe we're about to find out.
Marc, how we looking, chef?
-Amazing, chef. -We gotta touch those plantains soon.
-Yes, chef. -Bobbo, you've got plenty of time.
No need to even worry about those plantains.
[audience laughing]
I put them in water just to help separate the skin
and then I'm gonna build my avocado relish.
I get my corn, serrano chilis,
I'm gonna put some creme fraiche
to give it some creamy texture.
Okay, before I step in here, we are not gonna stop cooking
while we're talking, okay?
-Taste that fresh adobo. -Okay, okay. I gotta taste.
Ooh! Delicious!
Okay. Oh, sorry.
Yeah, get crazy with that seasoning
'cause you know-- Okay, don't, don't leave it in the bowl.
Okay. Bryan...
-What are you tasting? -I taste a winner.
-Yeah. -[all laughing]
[all cheering]
Okay, keep cooking. You're doing great.
Hello, Bobbo.
-[Bobby] What's happening? -[Damaris] Can I taste some stuff?
[Bobby] Taste the avocado-corn relish.
[Damaris] Looking good.
Mm. That's good.
I know where to find the shallots so let's check 'em out.
In the freezer. Is that where they are, Bobbo?
-I'm not saying. -Where are they [indistinct]
Oh, and we have pickled shallots in the freezer.
[all laughing]
There's 19 minutes remaining.
I get all the skin off, cut 'em into pieces
and they go into the fryer.
[Bobby] I'm cooking the plantains twice.
So the first cook is to soften them.
Marc's spice blend is outrageous
but Bobby's corn relish is delicious.
Why don't you go over there
-and tell him how good he's doing right now? -No.
He's-- He does okay. He's not all bad.
[all laughing]
[Bobby] I'm making a citrus vinaigrette.
So it's orange juice, some fresh basil...
Just to, kind of, give it some brightness.
I begin to build my mojo to put on top of the tostone.
So I get fresh garlic, oregano, coriander, cumin.
Scrape that into a blender
and I add the olive oil, vinegar...
It's just a tropical bath of heaven.
And then I just want to gently cook the shrimp.
-[Michael] Seven minutes left to go. -[Marc] Seven minutes, heard.
[Marc] I pull out platanos,
I get the pilon and I crush down the platano,
I like how thick it is
because I want it crunchy on the outside
soft and meaty in the inside
and they're about to go back in the fryer for the second cook.
[Bobby] I take my plantains out of the fryer,
now I can start smashing
to make it thin 'cause you want them to get nice and crispy.
Bobby's tostones are super thin.
[Damaris] They're gonna be very crunchy.
But they're not gonna have that fluffy little center
that you expect from a tostone.
[Michael] But then it's gonna come down to what are the judges looking for?
Now I'm gonna sear my shrimp,
get a nice crust on 'em with the spice rub.
Cumin, some paprika, salt and pepper
and then garlic and fresno chili oil.
Five minutes, chefs. Five.
Five minutes, heard.
[Marc] I get my avocado, dice those up.
I'm gonna season the avocado with the adobo rub as well.
My tostones look awesome
and we're on our way to victory.
I'm hoping he got super crispy on the outside.
It's gonna come down to the texture of the plantain.
[Bobby] My plantains, they're crispy, they're a little chewy. All good.
Just two minutes to go.
[Bobby] I have the crispy fried plantain,
then I put the avocado-corn relish down.
I lay out my tostones, I have the mojo sauce...
[Damaris] 29 seconds y'all.
I add shrimp on top of it.
[Bobby] I'm adding shrimp, pickled shallots and then some fresh cilantro.
10 seconds.
-[all counting] Nine, eight... -[Marc] I'm adding diced avocado,
-cilantro and this is beautiful. -[all counting] ...six, five,
-four, three... -[Bobby] I'm adding citrus vinaigrette.
[all counting] ...two, one.
[all cheering]
Good job, man. Beautiful job.
Yeah!
You know we got this, baby.
I know we got this! I'm telling you, it's good.
Marc's very confident and it looks great
but it's all gonna come down to taste.
[Marc] I've put my heart today on those plates.
Bobby, respectfully, today's not your day.
It's just not.
[upbeat music playing]
[Michael] All right, Marc and Bobby,
now we're gonna introduce you to our judges.
The chef-owner of the Freakin Rican,
Derick Lopez.
Vice President of culinary at Del Frisco's, Ariel Fox.
Chef and Restaurateur, Alain Allegretti.
[all applauding]
Please try the first shrimp tostenos in front of you.
I love the presentation and mojo sauce packs a punch,
I would've liked more of a crunch
from the tostone
but the shrimp, I like the way it was cooked.
[Ariel] I definitely like the seasoning on the shrimp.
I just want more of it.
I like the tostone. For me,
the thickness is where I like it
and I love what the sauce is doing for my palate.
The flavor combination, you know, work great.
The acidity of the mojo with the spice, but I wish
they would've done something a little different
with the avocado, like maybe crushing it to bring some
creaminess to the dish
but everything works very well together.
All right, judges, we're gonna have you switch your plates.
I love all the flavor.
I love the crunchiness of the tostone.
Only thing I would've liked
maybe the shrimp to be a bit lighter.
The heat on the shrimp is nice.
I definitely love the creaminess
of the avocado relish with the corn in there,
you get a little sweet.
The tostone, although they are nice and crispy
they do come off a touch greasy.
The pickled shallots bring this nice balance.
I wish they would've been a little more pickled
and the basil sauce,
I personally don't think it was necessary
but my palate is still enjoying the flavors
that coming through this shrimp.
[Michael] All right, judges, please vote for your favorite shrimp tostones.
[Marc] I feel great about what I did.
I did not come this far
to fall short on my signature dish.
I just really want this victory.
[dramatic music playing]
The winner is...
Chef Bobby Flay.
[all cheering]
It's all right, chef.
-Good job. -Good job, good job, good job. Thank you.
Both of these dishes
had some really flavorful pieces to them
but at the end of the day
everything going on in this dish
just came together beautifully
and it had a, it had an edge over you, chef.
-So... -No worries.
[Ariel] Congratulations.
Thanks, chef. Thanks for being here.
-You're a gentleman. -Thank you.
My mother would be so proud of these tostones today.
And mom, when I get back to New Mexico,
I'm gonna make 'em for you.
[Damaris] They don't call him Bobby Tostones for anything.
They don't call him Bobby Tostones for nothing.
That's for sure.
Let's do some pastry. I think, we'll do a bake off.
Nothing that you can put a pickled shallot on.
Well, the judges thought my dish was the tostones of the town.
[all cheering]