I'm Bobby Flay. 'Tis the season for another holiday throwdown.
Beat Bobby Flay!
All of my Food Network friends are back to try to
take me down. -[Antonia] Who's so good at this game?
-Who's so good? -You're here to compete.
Yeah!
This holiday battle is going down in three rounds.
-[ding! ding] -Round one and two, they must go through each other.
-Let's go! -We'll be back.
-Yeah, yeah. -Really, Chef?
[Bobby] Round three, the winner gets me.
Bobby, you're going down!
[Bobby] But this time, we're teaming up family style.
This is unfair.
The competition is tougher.
That's what I'm gonna do to you next round.
-I know you didn't, Bobby. -[Bobby] The challenge is bigger.
I'm not gonna play this game.
You want to just leave now?
Come to my neighborhood and talk like that, Bob.
I'm glad I'm not trying to beat Bobby.
-[Bobby] And the surprises, they just keep on coming. -Whoa!
-You wanted me, you got me. -Oh, wait, there's more.
Ah!
This is "Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown."
Oh, yeah.
["Deck the Halls" remix playing]
[Bobby] All right, guys, the holidays are here.
I'm ready to toast to a victory tonight.
Who's with me?
[cheering]
For my so-called best friend, come on out, Michael Simon.
Gonna roast you tonight, Flay.
You're so pasty, you need sunblock to get
in the shower.
[cackling]
All right, Michael, so this is the third time you've done
this holiday thing.
The first year, unfortunately, I won that one.
Oh, here we go.
I'm supposed to be roasting you.
The second year, you teamed up with Antonia, and you guys won.
And tonight, I wanted to give you the night off from cooking
so we can hang out. -I like that.
I'm, like, kind of the OG of roasting and toasting.
-You are. -Everybody else is afraid.
So speaking of roasting and toasting,
tonight gonna be all about things that are
roasted or toasted for the holidays.
You know, marshmallows, roast goose.
And then my favorite thing to be toasted, me.
If you make it through tonight, B, it's going to be a true
holiday miracle.
Let me introduce you to the chefs to join us in
the first annual "Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Roast."
Can't wait.
Last holiday season, our first contender picked up
the slack on Team Bobby.
It is our good friend, Jet Tila.
Jet Tila!
-[audience cheering] -Come on, come on!
Mm, you're next!
-Marshmallows. -[laughing]
All I'm missing is a little Bobby Flay to roast.
Oh.
Our next contender toasted her competition last holiday,
including me, going for round two, Chef Antonia Lofaso. -Yeah!
♪♪ Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up a little louder ♪
-A toaster. -Oh, my god, Bobby, look.
You're toast.
What's up, sister?
Oh, my god, I've competed against this man like
150,000 times. -I'm excited and terrified.
-Look how happy he is. -I am so happy.
-You are so happy right now. -It's so much better over here.
-Good evening, chefs. -What's happening?
You two have competed a lot.
Probably like four times I've beat him.
-Come on, Jet, throw some of those skills on her. -Exactly.
[Bobby] OK, I'm gonna give you 20 minutes.
You'll have an ingredient that you can either roast or toast,
and you must make it the star of your dish.
-I know what's in there. -[laughing]
-You do? -[Antonia] Yeah.
-Gumballs? -No, chestnuts.
It's the only thing that can fit in there.
Well, we'll see if you're right.
Let's find out what this is.
[Jet] Oooohhhh...
And that ingredient is...chestnuts.
Oh my god!
Who's so good at this game? Who's so good?
Chestnuts.
[Antonia] Oh, my god, are you giving them to us like that,
or are they gonna already be peeled?
Yeah, I might help you out there.
-OK, roger that. -Are you a chestnut fan?
Yeah, like, as an Italian, we used to eat, like,
roasted chestnuts by a fireplace.
Yeah, you know, as an Asian Bobby on the streets,
we used chestnuts all the time in multiple different cultures,
and I'm being her, I'm sorry.
-Yeah. -I talk a lot when I get nervous.
Remember, the Grinch behind me will be tasting your dishes,
and he'll decide which one of you goes on to
the second round.
All right, guys, don't get burned.
-Just make the chestnuts the star. -[bell rings]
-[cheering] -[Tchaikovsky's "Russian Dance" from "The Nutcracker" playing]
Can you guys help me real quick?
I can't cook in this jacket.
[audience] Ooh!
[Michael] So, I mean, chestnuts.
There's literally a song, "chestnuts roasting on
the open fire." -What do you do with them?
-I'd make chestnut ravioli. -What a good idea.
[Michael] The nice thing about it is you could take it in so many
different directions. -[Bobby] Soups.
-[Michael] Sauce. -Goes really well with whiskey.
-Uh-huh. -Antonia, what are you going to make?
I'm gonna do a chestnut soup with a little bit of amaretti
cookies, some brandy, sauteed mushrooms,
and a toasted brioche crouton. -That's pretty elaborate.
[Antonia] I love the ingredient, but it needs elements that sort
of enhance the flavor of chestnut, because it can be very mild.
So I just start crushing them, because these are chestnuts
that are already out of their pod and roasted.
So I'm getting the base of my soup ready.
It's gonna be the guanciale, the shallots,
butter, the crushed chestnuts, a little bit of amaretti
cookie, bringing in this almond-y sweetness.
[Michael] So last year was Antonia's first time here with me as
her assistant sous chef. We took you down.
Right, she comes into these competitions
not wanting to lose.
♪♪ Let's go ♪
I'm Chef Antonia Lofaso.
I'm an executive chef and co-owner of restaurants
Scopa, Doma, and Black Market.
So here's the thing.
All of my cooking competitions, all of the times that I've
judged gives me an advantage because you know what can be
done in 20 minutes.
You know what can be done in 45 minutes.
Last year, I won all three rounds, including,
obviously, beating Bobby.
I'm excited to continue my winning streak.
So, Bobby, tonight, your goose is cooked.
Or should I say, roasted.
Jet, uh, I see you have noodles down.
[Jet] I'm gonna do a dan dan chestnut noodle.
And they usually use peanuts in there as part of the sauce.
You're gonna puree the chestnuts into a sauce?
Yeah, that's right.
And then I'm gonna put it on top so you have it, uh,
two ways.
Because I'm sure Antonia's only gonna do it one way.
-Right, the whole dish. -The whole dish.
[Jet] I use chestnuts every year during the holidays,
and my grandmother used a lot of chestnuts, so they're a very
familiar ingredient to me.
So in my pork sauce, I'm combining chestnuts,
garlic, shallot, chilies, ginger.
So Jet and I have two tries and two wins as a team.
I think Jet's on a mission to beat you tonight.
I believe it.
I'm Jet Tila.
I'm executive chef, co-owner of Pei Wei,
and Dragon Tiger Noodles.
And I am no stranger to competition.
I've competed on both seasons of "Holiday Throwdown."
Bobby and I always get paired together.
I think the term for it is dream team.
-You have the baking soda? -Right here.
But this year's different.
It's time to roast the competition to get
to Bobby.
And this time, I'm doing it as Team Jet.
-Hello, Chef. -Go over to him first.
[Michael] No. What are you doing?
-Making soup. -Got it.
[Antonia] Sorry, I thought you heard me say that.
I couldn't. There was a lot going on.
I know, you're getting old. It's like, "I can't really hear that."
-It's like your arthritis... -I'm judging you.
I would have made ravioli.
I'm shocked you didn't make ravioli.
-Oh, my god. -You know, I'm just saying.
You know, a good Italian girl.
"Ya good Italian girl, ya should have made a ravioli."
You sound like my grandmother.
-How are you feeling? -I feel OK.
I just have a lot to do. Taste that.
It's gonna be strong, though.
But that's gonna be my chili paste.
-And with a chestnut puree. -Hoo-hoo, that's delicious.
So I'm just trying to make a really savory, spicy broth.
[Michael] Antonia, you better, you know...
Shh. No one's listening to you.
I know you're four and one or five and one.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
[Jet] I need to get the liquids in there now.
So I'm gonna add coconut milk, fish sauce,
and a little bit of soy sauce.
[Michael] You know, Geoff, he did a chestnut puree with
all these chilies and stuff in it, it was quite tasty.
I'm a little bit concerned the chestnuts may get lost.
Antonia's got the soup going.
The best soups are the ones where you can get that
really deep flavor.
-[Bobby] Over time... -And in 20 minutes, it's hard to get, I think,
deep flavor in the soup. -Yeah.
[Antonia] I'm gonna go ahead and just start with my mushrooms.
So I take the maitake mushrooms, start to melt
a little bit of butter, sauté the mushrooms so they're
nice and soft.
And I want to enhance the flavor of the soup.
I hit it with some cognac.
At the same time, I'm warming some chicken stock and some
cream just to kind of cut down on the time.
-This chicken stock is gorgeous. -Thank you.
[Antonia] And then adding the hot chicken stock and the hot cream.
-Ten minutes to go, you guys. -[Jet] No!
Where'd the time go?
Because we're toasting as well, we need to deglaze
a little alcohol.
[audience cheering]
[laughing]
[Jet] And then I'm gonna cook
my shrimp off, I'm using fish sauce
and some soy sauce.
So I'm worried that there's not enough chestnut flavor,
so I'm throwing in a whole 'nother half pound of chestnuts
into coconut milk, and I'm gonna add that to the mixture.
-Nice trot. -Thank you.
-Smells good over here, dude. -Good, good.
So you're using shellfish and pork.
Yeah, pretty common in Singapore.
I know we've won the last few years, but I need to take the W
by myself this year. -I like it.
[Jet] I gotta boil the pasta into the sauce.
-Are you drinking? -Yes.
-Or...Cognac. -Yeah.
-I'm gonna do a little brown butter crouton. -Some toast.
Five minutes, guys. Five minutes.
You can get drunk on this.
-Is it too much? -There's Cognac in there.
-I know. -Ladies and Gentlemen.
[Antonia] And, hello, theme involved,
I toasted my brown butter croutons.
[Bobby] So, Jet, there was something that I tasted
that was kind of like, hard, so crunchy.
Like, I hope he didn't, like, put the shells in there.
I'm running out of time, and I'm moving so fast.
-There's so much to do still. -Don't panic.
-Don't panic.
I taste the soup. It's delicious.
I blend that, pass it through a strainer, so
it's, like, nice and smooth, and then I start plating.
So I ladle my soup into the bottom of the bowl.
I scoop a little bit of the mushroom, some
of the croutons.
Once the noodles are well-sauced, I twist them up
onto a plate.
I garnish with mustard greens and chives, and then I put
my little shrimp right on top.
Ten, nine, eight...
[Jet] And drizzle a few more chestnuts.
...five, four, three, two, one! -Ring the bell.
-[bell rings] -[applause]
[Antonia] I love it.
I have chestnuts that have been roasted, croutons that have
been toasted, check, check.
[Jet] This dish tastes phenomenal, and chestnuts are front
and center, so tonight could be my night for redemption
against Antonia.
Antonia, Jet, I cannot be happier that you two are here
to assist me in roasting this guy all night long.
Chef Antonia, what did you make?
So it's a puree of chestnut soup with sautéed mushrooms
and brown butter croutons.
The consistency of the soup is beautiful.
It's very smooth.
Mushrooms and chestnuts go beautifully together.
But it's a little Cognac-y, but I'm getting a lot of
chestnut flavor, which is nice. Chef Jet, what'd you make?
A roasted chestnut dan dan noodles with pork and shrimp.
Chestnut shell.
Oh.
-Yeah, another one. -Oh, you know what, man?
The chestnuts were supposed to be shelled, so I didn't even
think to be checking.
So this is truly addictively delicious.
Like, I could hammer a giant bowl of this.
Like, the flavors just all work so incredibly well together.
This is one of the tougher decisions I've had to make.
Jet, I like your dish better. Antonia's dish is delicious.
But I feel that you made the better dish.
But I can't get past these.
So with that said, the chef moving forward to
round two...is Chef Antonia.
I mean, I don't want to win now.
[audience cheering]
No, the problem was it was too delicious.
Yeah, that's awesome.
You're like, yours is disgusting.
You won.
I didn't say yours was disgusting.
I mean, it's like winning by default.
And I'm like, all right, brush it off.
I'm like, who's next?
So Antonia, go back to the kitchen.
Think about calling me old again.
-And Bobby, you join us over here. -[Jet] Wow.
So Bobby, I cannot wait for you to see who's coming
out next. -Bring it on.
Our next competitor is an old friend, and he doesn't compete
very often these days. -♪♪ Yeah ♪
So tonight, we're in for a treat.
Come on out.
[triumphant music playing]
[laughter]
Oh my god.
Chef Geoffrey Zakarian.
♪♪ Go, go, go, I'm on a new level ♪
What is going on?
I mean, Geoffrey is an Iron Chef.
He has a background in food that is unmatched.
I'm, like, very nervous going against Geoffrey.
-Geoffrey, good evening. -Good evening, Mr. Flay.
We don't see you compete that much anymore.
You know, I like competing. I just, um, I love judging.
-It's just so much easier. -Yes. [laughing]
Somebody had to say it.
[laughing]
-How do you feel about your competitor over here? -A beast.
-I go to her restaurant when I film in L.A. -[Bobby] Yes.
-I am there whenever I can. -Thank you, Chef.
But I think you're gonna see another side of me today.
-Oh, what side is that? -The winning side.
The winning side.
I was thinking, like, the side when you, like,
walk out the door, you'll see the back side.
-That's not so bad, either. -[Bobby] Exactly.
Tonight, it's all about roasted and toasted.
-OK. -OK.
You actually guessed the ingredient for the last one.
-I guessed the ingredient. -You're not guessing this one.
-So, do we get a guess? -Go ahead.
-Cranberries. -OK.
I need to see the package in which it comes.
-Oh, my god. -Bring out the ingredient.
You're a lot.
[Bobby] So, as you can see, this is a lovely fireplace.
Maybe chicken wings.
I'm gonna go with, like, I think it's, like, a tomahawk.
Oh.
And our round two roasted and toasted ingredient is...
roasted suckling pig. -[audience] Oh!
-Gorgeous. -This is great.
[Bobby] All right, guys, 20 minutes on the clock.
Time to go big with the suckling pig.
-[bell rings] -[audience cheers]
Hey, there's an apron, I don't need it.
I don't want your apron.
I don't need it.
Bobby, you pulled out all the stops.
[Michael] Suckling pig to me screams holiday.
Yeah.
-I mean, super on-brand for roasted and toasted. -Yeah.
It's pork, right?
So it's like incredibly tender, very flavorful.
[Michael] You're gonna get the shoulders or the butts, which on
the sucklings is gonna be like butter.
Yeah.
[Jet] It messes with your head because it's
a cooked ingredient. It's easy to overthink this.
I have very specific dishes at Doma, like Latin-inspired
dishes where we have like pulled shredded pork.
So I'm making a suckling pig tostada with an aji amarilla
crema and some pickled vegetables.
Tostadas and pork just go so well together.
Then I start working on my aji amarillo crema.
I put some crema, aji amarillo, chipotle, a little bit of
vinegar, and I blend that right up.
And then I throw some corn tortillas right into the fryer.
-Are you making tostadas? -I am.
Wow, that's new.
-Oh. -Wow.
-Oh my god! -[Bobby] Don't diss the tostada.
-What are you making? -I'm making risotto.
-[gasp] -[Jet] Ooh.
OK, wait a second.
You're making risotto in less than 20 minutes?
Yep. I'll show you how.
-Come over here. -Oh.
He's funky today.
I'm just gonna make what I love at the holiday time,
a beautiful risotto with a pork and green olive tapenade
and some skin cracklings.
So the onion goes in with rice, butter, a little olive oil,
high heat.
Risotto is quite a risk in 20 minutes, and I'm using
all the hacks.
So I'm cooking a small amount in a very wide pan.
I'm not toasting it as much.
I add my white wine and then rip the butt off, put it right
into the chicken stock.
I'm gently adding the pork broth until it evaporates.
Get dry, broth, four times over the course of 17 minutes.
And that's how you cook risotto.
[Michael] You and I have talked about this a lot over the years.
From a technique standpoint, there's not a better chef.
No, he's amazing.
I'm Geoffrey Zakarian.
You probably know me from "Chopped" for about 15 years,
"The Kitchen," and also I'm an Iron Chef.
So I'm a classically trained French chef.
I'm not French. I have a French heart.
I've found it's helped me in all of my competitions.
People sometimes forget that I actually can cook.
I'm not just a judge, Bobby.
And I have some champagne ready for Bobby to toast to
my victory. Ha!
[Bobby] 14 minutes to go.
-What's up, GZ? -Hey, buddy.
All right, so you got a pork stock going,
you're pulling some meat.
What are you gonna make, like a salsa verde
with the pork?
Yeah, I'm gonna make like a pork tapenade.
Oh, I like that.
A tapenade is sort of like an olive puree.
And I'm using some of the fat, because that's where all
the flavor is.
All right, Chef, I see some anchovies.
[Geoffrey] Oh, gotta have anchovies.
To make my tapenade, I have green olives,
capers, anchovies, and then parsley and basil.
[Antonia] Hi.
You're literally cooking against kind of a legend.
I know. You know, I mean, listen.
I mean, you already called me old.
-Don't call him old, too. -Thank you.
What are you making, salsa verde?
Yes, so I take tomatillos, jalapeno, and some onion,
and I just stick that under the salamander,
and I let that roast.
[Michael] Good luck, everybody, especially
you, Antonia. -[Antonia] Love you.
I haven't even touched my pork yet.
It's delicious, by the way.
[Antonia] I know, I was biting it earlier.
And then I start on this ragu with some pasilla peppers,
jalapeno, and onion.
And I just kind of saute that lightly.
And I rip into my pig.
I got the booty.
And just kind of gently toss it into that saute of peppers.
Just under 10 minutes, Chefs.
[cheering]
I'm sorry, the risotto's not gonna be ready.
You don't think so? There's no way.
Got it.
Geoffrey, are you confident the risotto will be ready?
No.
Hm-hm.
[laughing]
[Geoffrey] So here therein lies the difficulty of doing risotto
in a competition. I've committed.
Doesn't work, it doesn't work.
But it's more fun for you, right?
If this risotto doesn't work, I'm done, I'm over.
Not good.
[Bobby] I can't wait to go over there so you can show me how to make
al dente risotto.
I'll show you how to make risotto.
I'm gonna show you how to make steak, because you don't know.
[Jet] Wow. Wow.
You wanted me. You got me.
So I get my skin cracklings going, take it out, salt it,
put a bunch of cheese, so it's like a cheesy,
porky bread crumb.
Look, I'm worried about Geoffrey's timing on the rice,
but I'm also worried about kind of Antonia really harnessing
the deliciousness of the pig.
Yeah, I would have crisped up the tortilla in pork fat.
So it's time to blend my salsa.
I put in my tomatillos, the onions, the cooking liquid
from the pig.
All right, Chefs, coming up on eight minutes.
Eight minutes to go.
It smells amazing.
So here, finally, a positive person coming into
my station.
Everything looks delicious. Antonia, everybody, Antonia.
-[cheering] -The crowd loves you.
Oh, look at that snack. Holy moly.
-Your worry is here, isn't it? -Worry's right here,.
-Worry's right here. -This is it.
It's make or break, Geoffrey.
-There's no second chances. -Nope.
None.
-Is there a way to expedite this? -No.
I think it's just time to drink, Geoffrey.
[Geoffrey] I mean, come on, let's have a glass of wine.
-Great, cheers. -[cheering]
Geoffrey, finish the risotto!
Now, don't forget, this is risotto like you get in Italy,
al dente.
You know what? Just maybe.
-Oh, he just said, "I'm gonna make it." -What?
[Geoffrey] I could see the risotto just starting to turn.
I'm like, OK, I think I got this.
-[Michael] Five minutes left. -[Antonia] So it's time to plate.
I take the aji amarillo crema.
And then that pork ragu goes right on top with some fresh
cabbage, radish, chili.
I add some pecorino cheese, butter, and some olive oil
into the risotto, and now it's time to plate.
I put my suckling pig tapenade down, then the rice,
and then some cracklings on top of that.
Ten, nine, eight, seven...
[Geoffrey] And a little bit of the pork juice around the rim.
...four, three, two, one!
[bell rings]
Hey!
That was good. That was beautiful.
Oh, my god.
I can't believe you made risotto.
I was just praying it was gonna be ready, but I feel really
good about my risotto dish. -I love it.
Like, this dish is me all the way around.
Like, it's definitely holiday, holiday Mexico style.
Oh, Bobby, looking at these two dishes, and I could confidently
say not only are you toast, but you are going to get
roasted so hard tonight.
Chef Antonia, what did you make?
So I did a suckling pig tostada with aji amarillo, crema,
and a little bit of pickled chilies.
This is a delicious dish.
The aji amarillo is smoky and creamy, the salsa verde is
bright, and they both play so well with that suckling pig.
[Michael] It's a delicious dish, incredibly juicy,
the sauces are great, pops of acidity through
the whole thing.
I can't really find much fault in it.
Everything is very tasty. GZ, tell us what you made.
I decided to do a pork and green olive tapenade with
a roast suckling pig risotto and some cracklings.
I will say, like, it's right on the edge.
I live on the edge, what can I say?
You live on the edge, and I can taste it.
I didn't see a lot of overt pork.
But with the cracklings, with this tapenade,
and with this very thick stock, I taste it.
It's like you pulled the soul out of the pork.
[Michael] You pulled it off. The rice is finished.
A lot of levels of flavor in there.
And it's incredibly porky.
And much like Antonia's dish, I can't find any fault in
yours either. -Really nice.
Which is really great news for us, because our job is to beat
Senor Flannel.
So just give Jet and I a moment to discuss.
We'll see. It's Geoffrey Zakarian.
So of course, I'm, like, very nervous, but my dish is
delicious, for the record.
The chef moving forward to roast Bobby tonight is...
Chef Geoffrey Zakarian.
[audience] Woo-hoo.
Both dishes were really perfectly executed.
The crazy thing about yours is there was no visible pork in
here, and somehow this dish was porkier than that one.
-This is kind of a dream night, to watch Geoffrey Zakarian go up -Come on.
against Bobby Flay. I mean, come on!
-Pretty awesome. -Come on, man.
Let's have some fun.
All right, Geoffrey, congratulations.
That was a tough battle. It was.
Theme is roasted, toasted. What are we cooking tonight?
Well, I love holidays and I love roasting meat.
OK.
So, I'm gonna actually demonstrate to you.
I love this.
-How to roast a proper rack of lamb. -Ooh.
And how to toast some Brussels sprouts.
-Ooh. -Roasted, toasted, defeated.
-Yum. -I like it.
-[Michael] Let the roasting begin. -Yes.
So Geoffrey, not only do you get to move forward to face
Sir Flay, you also get to choose who you want to cook with.
I want someone who is yummy in the tummy, always with
her food, and that's Antonia. Come up here.
-Come up here. -[audience cheering]
Now, Bobby and Jet have teamed up in holiday battle.
-Two and O. -We don't care.
-[Michael] Two and O. -Come on up, Jet.
-Let's go, let's go, let's go. -My man, Dan Dan Kid.
Undefeated as a squad.
We are basically a holiday tradition at this point.
[Michael] All right, guys, let me tell you how this is gonna work.
You're gonna have 45 minutes to cook roasted rack of lamb,
toasted Brussels sprouts, and just because I can,
one additional side of your choice.
-Stop messing up my plans. -Make some fried rice.
-Wow. -[Antonia] Crispy rice.
-Crispy rice. -That's right.
Geoffrey, anything you wanna say to Red before
we start the clock?
I've never had the opportunity to teach him.
So...thank you for accepting my tutelage tonight.
Welcome to Flay University, son.
45 minutes, and your time starts now.
[high-energy wintry music playing]
-OK. -Time to go lamb, salt, pepper, fennel, go.
Boom.
[Michael] So, they're each going to roast lamb,
toast Brussels sprouts,
and then they get to make a side of their choice.
Anything that is done in addition to that is gravy,
so to speak.
Bobby, I gotta tell you, I've been on a lot of your
sets, and I feel like you really went all out
this year -- I mean, you blew the budget.
[laughing]
The only thing we saved money on was you.
[laughing]
It's unbelievable, he doesn't even notice.
Where the hell did that thing come from?
What thing? Oh.
[laughing]
How did you not see that thing an inch from you, by the way?
Oh, my god.
[Michael] Bobby's going for, it looks like, double-cut lamb chops.
He believes that char and seasoning is flavor,
so the more of the meat that he could expose,
the more caramelization he's being able to get.
Geoffrey is gonna roast the whole lamb chops, so it is
gonna hold its juice and hold its flavor.
-Team GZ. -Yeah!
What is on the menu?
I believe in classic cooking, because that's when you really
can show what you know.
I have a fantastic sous chef here.
She said, "What should I do?" I'm just, "Make me lamb."
Bobby, how about you? What's your approach here?
I'm just worried about Geoffrey.
He sounds out of breath already.
I'm actually moving.
[audience] Ooh.
[Geoffrey] My signature roasted dish, rack of lamb àà l'orange,
toasted Brussels sprouts with creamy mustard and apples,
black truffle salad extraordinaire, -Mm!
dirty olive oil martinis, and strawberry soufflés.
I chose Antonia, because Antonia's skill set,
you know, that's off the charts.
So you take the lamb.
[Antonia] So I get working on the lamb,
salt, pepper, fennel seed,
and a cast iron, and I just start to sear it on all
sides gently.
And then to make the a l'orange sauce, I'm taking
tangerine juice, veal demi-glace,
honey, a little soy, a little black truffle,
and then just reduce it all down.
You know, when it's not your money, just...
[laughing]
-Smells good. -Mm-hmm.
[Antonia] And then I put some rosemary, some thyme, fennel, put it into
the oven, and just let it go.
[Bobby] We are going to make spice-crusted rack of lamb with
horseradish sauce.
We have toasted Brussels sprouts
with aji amarillo sauce.
And then we've got potato gratin with rajas
and fontina cheese.
[Bobby] We're gonna have some crunchy, some fruity, some spicy.
Let's get it on.
[Jet] So I'm starting with the potato gratin.
Oh, how did I get stuck with potatoes?
Ay-yi-yi.
I'm gonna slice them super thin.
I'm gonna get them into the cast iron, and I'm gonna
season that with salt and pepper and a really good
amount of cream.
[Bobby] So my spice rub, I start with some garam masala, but then
I add New Mexico red chilies to it.
I add some brown sugar to it and some allspice.
I'm gonna pan roast each double chop so I can get some
crust on the entire thing. To me, that's the key.
[Michael] So on team Bobby and Jet, they are 2-0 in holiday
battles, hoping to go 3-0 today.
And then we have Geoffrey and Antonia.
I mean, Geoffrey, he's been a legend in this business for
a long time.
He is tough to beat because he rarely misses.
It's really important for us to win because I don't want to run
into Geoffrey Zakarian, and he's got his strawberry latte
in his hand.
I don't want -- I just don't want to hear it.
-I just -- I just don't want to hear it, Geoffrey. -[snickering]
Hi.
34 minutes guys, 34 minutes.
-Hey guys, what's going on? -Yeah. Hey, brother.
-Everybody doing good? -We're doing great.
What's going to go with your Brussels sprouts?
I'm gonna fry them, and I'm gonna do,
like, a apple cider vinegar cream.
And truffle, is this in a glass?
You're making a little truffle?
Truffle, honey, soy, mandarin reduction.
So we're doing a lamb a l'orange instead of
a duck a l'orange. -[Michael] I love it.
Often in these competitions, the chef leader asks a lot of
their sous chefs. Are you feeling it?
Are you feeling good about this?
100 percent. I'm just here to support.
We're gonna do, like, a shaved fennel salad.
I'm gonna supreme some oranges, and I'm gonna
assist everywhere else.
[Michael] All right, Chef, you keep cooking, this
looks delicious. -Thank you, Chef.
-Chef Flay. -Yes.
-How are you? -Good.
So what's gonna go with those?
Some crusting in the cast iron, I'm going to finish it
in the oven.
So I'm gonna do honey, mustard, mint, horseradish to
glaze on top of it. -[Michael] Got it.
You get them in the oven.
Chef, what are you going to cook those to,
like medium? -[Bobby] Yeah.
[Michael] They're up against it a little bit
because there's 30 minutes left,
and if these don't get in the oven soon, those potatoes
are not gonna cook all the way through and absorb some
of that cream. -Going into the oven.
I see Chef Flay is pushing Jet very hard at this point.
All right, thanks, Bob. Oh, man.
So a lot of classic Bobby flavors going on here.
A lot of classic Geoffrey flavors going on there.
It's gonna be a good battle.
Oh, your hair looks beautiful today, bud.
[Bobby] So I'm gonna cook this lamb for about 8 to 10 minutes,
and then I'm gonna let it rest.
[Michael] Lamb and Brussels sprouts, two classic holiday flavors for
the roasted toasted battle.
So Geoffrey has chosen to pull off two additional dishes as
well as the three.
Now, the more food you cook, the more opportunity the judges
have to judge you. -My god.
[Geoffrey] OK, so the souffle was sort of a wild card.
It's a flourless strawberry souffle,
so it's a very light one.
So I started my egg whites whipping very slowly with sugar.
Then the next thing I did was make my strawberry puree.
-Mm-hmm. -And it's basically just fresh strawberries, sugar,
and then a little bit of jam.
The jam gives it a touch of body.
And I give my sous chef, I said, "Antonia, do the salad."
And then we just shaved some beautiful truffles on top.
Well, you did, and these are, like, all the beautiful points,
right, in cooking.
It's like shaving black truffle, putting a little bit of oil on
it, and then just warming it changes the flavor of truffles.
That's really, I learned that in France.
-Yeah. -You have the pomegranates?
-I do, they're right here. -Grazie.
So the dressing for the Brussels sprouts is
pomegranate molasses, mustard, red wine vinegar,
lots of black pepper.
[Michael] 23 minutes, guys.
We're at about the halfway point.
How are you guys feeling over here?
-Chef, you feeling OK? -Amazing.
-Is everything going as planned? -[Antonia] We think so.
-So far. -All right, what do you guys think?
Team Geoffrey have it, you think?
[audience] Yeah.
-[cheering] -[Michael] I mean...
if you ask me, you know, there are risks to
making more dishes than the three that you need,
but I just think Bobby's being lazy.
[Geoffrey] My whites are ready.
I just have to fold it together into the strawberry puree,
into a mold, then I added fresh strawberries
and got it in the oven.
I'm gonna cook off these chilies to do the rajas.
We're gonna top these gratins with a rajas, basically some
roasted green chilies.
So next I'm working on a chili sauce, it's aji amarillo,
it's a Peruvian chili with some mayonnaise to make it a little
creamy, some honey, a little bit of lime juice.
I definitely wanna punch up the heat a little bit
on this dish.
All right B, so I'm not gonna lie, I've been having a little
bit of fun roasting you tonight. -I can see that.
But there's some other people that were really bummed that
they weren't gonna be here today.
So they sent me some videos, and I'd like for you to get to
see some of them.
Let me tell you about Bobby Flay.
He texts the little people like me and he says things like,
"I'd like to invite you to Thanksgiving in Los Angeles."
I live in New Jersey, Bobby. Are you gonna send a jet?
Bobby Flay, you are one of the best chefs in the world.
But let me tell you, you're not a quarterback, bro.
-Bun! -Don't do that.
-Stick to cutting, not throwing. -He dropped the pass!
All right, Bobby Flay, it's the holiday season.
You invite these people here, and then you wind up winning
all the time. It's getting a little old.
You know what else is? Those outfits.
Dad, you're the man that has everything.
Oh, ho, ho, Soph!
Hope you get everything you want for the holidays this
year, including that follow-back from Drake
on Instagram. -Wow.
Wow.
-She's cut off. -Woo!
[Bobby] Yeah, I really appreciate everybody taking their time to
roast me tonight.
I'll be having a word with my daughter, Sophie.
Are you guys feeling pretty good?
-We're OK. -Ask Jet.
Oh, man.
[Jet] So roasting peppers is a technique to really kind of
cook out a little bit of the heat out of them.
-[Michael] Peel, seed, dice. -[Jet] Yeah.
-Bro. -You did get all the hard jobs.
I've never gotten this many tedious jobs since I was a new
cook in culinary school. -16 minutes, guys.
Where's the fontina?
I got you right here, right here.
All right, Brussels ready to drop.
[Bobby] And then we're gonna toast some Brussels sprouts in the fryer
where they are best toasted.
On Bobby's side, Jet is doing the majority of the work.
But Bobby has been busy.
He's searing some limes because when you get that
caramelization on citrus, it brings out the sweetness
and the juice.
And then we have the potato gratin out of the oven.
-Where are those green chilies? -To your right hand.
[Bobby] And then we'll put some fontina, some of the roasted
chilies, and then some Parmigiano on top.
And then put it in the salamander and toast that
gratin, because it's all about roasted and toasted, baby.
[Geoffrey] For the Brussels sprouts, I'm making a mustard cream with
some creme fraiche, whole grain mustard, salt, pepper,
a little honey, sherry wine vinegar,
and then julienne of green apple.
[Antonia] But also, like, the choice of the green apple is, like,
so smart, because it's, like, tart, too, yeah. -Tart.
I got to drop the Brussels sprouts.
[Antonia] You can't, like, fry Brussels sprouts enough.
Like, I feel like you need to take them to, like,
the very end.
[Michael] So both teams are gonna fry up some Brussels sprouts.
You have to take them, like, right on the edge of what
you feel is almost burnt, and that's where the flavor
really comes from.
So the martini is a dirty olive oil martini.
It's basically olive oil, olive juice, gin, and vermouth.
And I think that's very festive.
You've got to have a drink, right?
[Antonia] The lamb, it looks great.
It's, like, beautifully browned all around.
So now that it rests, if it doesn't have an opportunity to
rest, that juice then disperses from the center back out
towards the end.
[Michael] You guys, we have six minutes left.
If you are not plating, you should be.
So the lamb is coming out of the oven.
So after they come out, I glaze them.
Bobby, what are you brushing the lamb chops with?
This is the honey mustard horseradish mint.
They go on the plate and the pan-roasted limes as well.
[Jet] I have to pull the Brussels sprouts at that perfect brown,
crispy cook through. -Coming to your left.
[Bobby] And then the Brussels sprouts have the aji amarillo sauce
on the bottom.
-And I dress the toasted Brussels sprouts -[indistinct]
with pomegranate seeds,
maracana almonds, and some of that pomegranate dressing.
-How's the gratin? -Very close.
[Antonia] Yeah, so first I put down the lamb rack on the board.
[Geoffrey] So I like to serve the sauce on the side.
Yeah, but you glazed it a little bit.
You know, like a little glaze on it.
Just a kiss.
-Yeah, let's dress. -Yeah, dressing right now.
So I had his vinaigrette, put that onto the lettuces,
and just put the warmed black truffle over the top
of the salads. -Gorgeous.
[whispering] Gorgeous, gorgeous.
[Geoffrey] First, I put my Brussels sprouts from the fryer onto
a paper towel of salt, then onto the plate.
Then I drizzle my creme fraiche and mustard mixture.
Then I just sprinkle the apples over it, and I'm just gonna
stand by the oven and make sure that the souffle gets as much
time as possible.
-Oh, my god. -You got 60 seconds.
[Michael] He has the dinner done.
It all depends on if he's gonna get the soufflés done.
[speaking indistinctly]
Well, it's really the moment of truth.
10 seconds left, guys. 10 seconds.
-[audience] Ten, nine, eight... -Oh my god, look at the soufflés.
[Antonia] And he just pulls out these two beautiful toasted soufflés like
right out of the oven.
[audience] ...four, three...
-Geoffrey got the soufflés done. -...two, one!
[cheering]
Good job.
You made a soufflé?
Wow.
That's ridiculous.
That's amazing. How did he get that much time?
[Jet] After 45 minutes of sheer panic, I look down,
and the dishes look great. I think they have flavor.
Bobby and I always bring the flavor.
Thank you. Great team.
I like, I really hope the lamb is good.
-So happy it's over. -I'm so happy it's over.
I want a cold beer.
All right, first off guys, I would like to congratulate
both of you, Team Geoffrey and Team Bobby for finishing
your feasts.
And now I would like to introduce you to the judges.
The Executive Director of Food and Society at the Aspen
Institute, Corby Kummer.
Cookbook author and chef and owner of
Pig & Khao and Piggyback, Leah Cohen.
Chef-owner of East Wind Snack Shop, Chris Cheung.
All right, judges, please start with the first feast in front of you.
[Corby] What we've got are these gorgeous entire rack of lamb,
really nice with the orange sauce.
And the salad, loved the sliced truffle.
Brussels sprouts, I thought acid, I didn't get acid.
It was sort of flat and bland.
So the souffle, absolutely gorgeous.
You know, if you want something sweet at the end of a meal,
this is your dish.
It's not a holiday if you don't have a beverage.
It doesn't have to be alcoholic, but I love that
the chef put some alcohol in there.
The salad, beautiful. It was bitter, it was acidic.
and then this beautiful rack of lamb.
It is just a showstopper.
I love the orange sauce and the fennel.
It's a beautiful pairing.
The brussels, I wish there was something to just lighten it up
a little bit, and then the souffle.
It is a big souffle, so the inside can be a little
bit eggy.
Yeah, so the cocktail was great.
Buzzed me nicely really quick, so.
That was good, yeah.
Thought that the lamb, it seemed medium-rare
right through, did run a little dry.
The Brussels sprouts, the toast was beautiful on it.
I liked the green apple and loved the souffle.
It's like, Merry Christmas for me.
All right, judges, please try your second roasted
and toasted feast. -Why, thank you.
Anyone will swoon over this lamb.
So tender, and it's got sweet spices that absolutely
bring it out.
So, Brussels sprouts, really sharp acid in
an aji amarillo sauce, and probably a little too
sharp, but that potato gratin, really nicely cooked, rich.
-That is a meal unto itself. -I loved this potato gratin.
I thought it was so well executed.
It had that crunchy exterior from the cheese, and then that
heat from the chilies.
And I thought this lamb was fantastic.
It was seasoned really nicely.
The Brussels sprouts, they were a little acidic for
me, but it did work nicely with the lamb.
Yeah, lamb is a delicate meat, but pairs well with bold
flavors and spices, and they hit it spot on with
this lamb.
And the gratin, I know it's a gratin, but the cheese was
slightly heavy, but the Brussels sprouts, love
the pop of the pomegranates.
Yeah, so we had two really great meals tonight.
It's gonna be a tough decision.
[Michael] All right, judges, first of all,
I'd like to thank you for your comments,
but now it's time to vote.
[Jet] There's some real stunning dishes like the souffle,
but I think more isn't better. Better is better.
Tonight's winning team is...
Team Bobby. -Ooh!
Ho, ho, ho, ho!
Sorry.
Geoffrey.
Congratulations.
Both of these meals were fantastic and amazing.
What stood out for the winning meal for me, personally,
was the lamb.
I thought the lamb was, from top to bottom,
just perfect. And then that potato gratin.
Like, honestly, I need the recipe, because I'm going
to make it at my next holiday meal.
It was so good.
Well, I'm going to call it Team Jet, Bobby, because, I mean,
we saw you did all the heavy lifting.
You know who really did all the work.
-You guys are now 3-0 as a team. -We're a dynasty now.
We're a holiday tradition. This is the new show.
-It's Jet and Bobby... -Versus everybody.
-Take on all comers. -Give me a hug, buddy.
-See you later. -Thank you.
Wow.
Jet's my good luck charm.
We roasted you. We toasted you.
We brought in snowmen. Oh, Flay.
Always ruining my holiday.
-We don't mean to boast... -But now we're 3-0 with
our holiday roast. Yeah!