[heart thumping]
[dramatic chord plays]
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, Bobby Flay!
[audience cheers]
-Last year, I ran the table. -[Ina] And the winner is...
[Eddie] Bobby!
-Bobby! -Oh!
So this holiday, all my Food Network friends
are here for revenge.
Mwahaha.
It's payback time.
Each holiday battle will go down in three rounds.
Let's fire it up.
-Get on my bad side one time! -Ooh.
They'll battle each other with ingredients of my choice.
-Shocking! -No!
-He hates everybody. -[laughs]
The winner gets me, and we'll compete in teams.
-[chanting] Kick his butt! -Kick his butt!
That's what I do.
-I'm gonna send you to school. -[squeals]
-[Bobby] The stakes are high... -What?
-...the gloves are off... -[Carson groans]
...and revenge is a dish best served hot.
-[woman] Amazing! -[woman #2] Whoo!
[Bobby] Who's ready for some holiday fun?
Let's do this!
[audience cheers]
[hip-hop Christmas music playing]
Happy Christmas Eve, everybody.
[audience cheers]
What I love about Christmas Eve is great food
and spending time with family.
Please welcome my favorite person to have home
for the holidays. It's my daughter, Sophie Flay.
-[audience cheers] -[Christmas jazz music playing]
I got all my Christmas shopping done, Dad.
-I even got you a little gift. -[Bobby] What is that?
Merry Christmas. Recognize this?
Take a sip.
Mm, this is just like my favorite $24 smoothie
from Erewhon in LA.
Remember when you thought you discovered that?
-Yeah. -He went to go get a smoothie
that everyone sees on social media,
like the Hailey Bieber smoothie, the TikTok smoothie,
and he posted on Instagram.
He's like, "You guys, I just discovered this blue smoothie."
It had already been viral for like a year.
[Bobby and audience laugh]
I'm a little behind in my social circles,
but you keep me straight. -Exactly.
I love when you come home for the holidays.
You're not as much of a Christmas person as I am.
You're such a nerd when it comes to the holidays.
-[Sophie] I know. -It's crazy.
The Christmas tree goes up right after Halloween.
Halloween, right?
The Christmas music starts in September.
I know.
You just gotta get in the spirit.
Then also, like, the food's obviously
important too. -Oh, yeah.
Like Christmas Eve, I like The Feast of the Seven Fishes.
You do the seven fishes, yep.
But you also like to make peppermint martini to give
Christmas Eve a little spice. -Exactly.
Well, I know we have our Christmas Eve
traditions, but tonight, it's about Christmas Eve
traditions around the world.
And actually, I'm undefeated here.
I won last time with the holiday brunch battle,
so it's on.
Are you ready to meet the chefs?
Let's do it.
Our first contender comes from Mexico.
Here to make sure your Christmas Eve is not holly or jolly,
Chef Claudette Zepeda. -Yeah!
-Feliz Navidad, Bobby. -Yes!
-[audience cheers] -[Sophie laughs]
She looks amazing.
Christmas Eve, so let's light it up.
[Bobby] Let's go! Yes!
Dad, our next chef is bringing his Tuscan flavors to you
this Christmas Eve. Here to wrap up a win,
it's Chef Gabe Bertaccini. -[Bobby] Yes!
-Buon Natale, Bobby. -[audience cheers]
All right, guys,
[audience continues cheering]
Bobby, it's time to wrap it up, all right?
Go!
You're shiny. You're glowing.
I love that.
I stole my kid's ugly Christmas sweater.
I've never competed against Claudette, but we have cooked
together, and she made me a mean Mexican carbonara,
and it was so damn good. So, she won't be easy to beat.
We did a pop-up brunch at Antonia Lofaso's Scopa Italiana,
and that was our introduction to each other.
So, we'll see. May the best cook win.
Claudette, welcome. First time here.
Gabe, last year, you and I pulled off a big win.
-We had never made samosas before, but we did it. -[Gabe] Never.
And Maneet is still crying about it.
Oh, yes, I know, I know, I know.
[Bobby] So, give me an idea.
Like, what is your, like, Christmas Eve traditions like?
Well, for me, Christmas Eve is the big show.
-[Bobby] OK. -And it is loud,
tons of children running around with
pyrotechnics that they probably shouldn't be using.
[all laugh]
-[Bobby] What about you, Gabe? -Always, big feast.
Often, you know, The Feast of the Seven Fish, right?
And then, of course, midnight, midnight mass.
[Bobby] Yes, I like it.
So here's the way it's gonna work tonight.
I'm gonna give you an ingredient of my choice,
and you must make that ingredient
the of star your dish.
[Gabe and Claudette laugh]
[Gabe] I mean, look at this.
So tonight, in honor of Christmas Eve, we're gonna do
something a little bit different.
I'm switching things up tonight for the first time in
the history of "Beat Bobby Flay."
Mmm, oh, God.
[chuckles] Ooh, the drama.
[audience] Ooh.
Oh, yeah, here you go. Sorry, it's coming down.
All right. Got it.
So, Goldilocks, can I have one in the middle?
So, since it's Christmas Eve, you're both gonna
open up one gift.
That's kind of a tradition in my house.
-OK. -So, we're gonna flip a coin
to decide who picks their stocking first.
Claudette, since you've never been here before,
heads or tails?
-Heads. -And it is heads.
There's definitely added pressure when you're the first
one that gets to choose.
You want the small one or the big one?
Small one.
All right, Claudette, your ingredient is...
sugar plums. -[Gabe chuckles]
[audience] Ooh.
-[audience applauds] -[Claudette] I'll take it.
I thought sugar plums was a made-up thing.
I thought it was sugar plum fairies, I thought it was
a ballerina thing, but I'm gonna roll with it.
-Well, Gabe, this one is yours. -There is a whole pig in there?
-What's going on? -[all laugh]
And the ingredient that you'll be cooking with is...
Oh, there's a box in a box. Oh, my God.
[Bobby] ...Indian holiday market spices.
[laughs] Why?
-Why? -[audience applauds]
[Bobby] There's some turmeric, some red chili, black mustard seeds,
cardamom, cinnamon. Just make a samosa.
-You got it all. -[both laugh]
[Bobby] All right, 20 minutes on the clock.
-No gift exchange here. -No?
[Bobby] Whatever you got, make it the star.
-[bell dings] -[audience cheers]
Whoo! Let's go!
[Christmas rock music playing]
All right, so, if you're here on a historic night, 'cause this
has never happened before. -I know.
Having them cook with two different ingredients is cool.
Yeah, it is cool.
I'm a little envious of Gabe's spices over there because
sugar plums don't taste like much, so I have the harder
ingredient to make stand out.
What would you make with a sugar plum?
Is it sweeter than a regular plum?
-[Bobby] It's sweet and sour, yeah. -Oh, OK.
I would probably make an empanada or a hand pie,
you know, cook down the sugar plums.
And then, look, the Indian spices, I mean,
you have to make sure that they really are
the star of the dish.
You can crust a piece of chicken, but then is it
a chicken dish? -[Sophie] Right.
OK.
I mean, I'm Italian, and I get here twice now, and I have to
cook Indian food. I mean, clearly this is a trap.
-Uh, Chef. -[Claudette] Yeah, Chef.
You just take every protein in the fridge possible, or what?
[Gabe] You wanna give me some?
You're making a meatball, no, thanks.
Oh, come on, you're not making a meatball.
-Are you making a meatball? -Maybe.
Yes, I'm making a meatball too.
I am already going out of my comfort zone with all
these spices, so I need to make something
that I'm familiar with.
[Bobby] What are you making, Gabe?
I'm making a Indian meatball
with Indian-inspired tomato sauce.
We'll do a little couscous.
So, are the spices gonna be in the meatball and the sauce?
-Yes, both. -[Bobby] Love it.
You know, Gabe is from Tuscany. Really good cook.
Who makes you the most nervous?
Both of them.
I mean, on any night, all three of us could win.
[Gabe] You know me as the co-host of "Ciao House" and, of course,
as a co-host and competitor of "Beat Bobby Flay."
This Christmas Eve, my Tuscan flavors
are gonna shine through.
I grew up in Florence, where, really, the job of
a chef is to highlight the amazing ingredients
we have, not only all over the region,
but all over the country.
Now, last holiday season, Chef Maneet made sure
that I didn't make it to round three, but I team out
with Bobby, and we won.
But I'm not here just to be Bobby's sous chef.
I'm here to win.
Now, this Christmas Eve, I'm gonna say,
"Ciao, Bobby."
Claudette, what are you making?
I'm gonna do a warm winter spice kofta with sugar plum
sauce instead of a tomato sauce.
Oh, I like it.
The sugar plums are tart, but sweet, so I'm just gonna
use 'em like I would tomatoes.
This is a riff on a dish that I have at my restaurant.
I start working on my sauce immediately because that is
the star of the show.
Beef stock, sugar plums, onions, parsley,
five-spice, and I put more sugar plums
into the salamander.
You know, Claudette took on the Titans
in "Triple Threat" and won. -Ooh, that's saying a lot.
-Hear that, Gabe? -Heard you, Chef, heard you.
[audience laughs]
My name is Claudette Zepeda.
I'm based out of San Diego, California,
and I've been around the block.
You've seen me on a couple things.
Although I've never been in Bobby's kitchen to beat
Bobby Flay, I have beat his Titans.
[audience cheers]
I grew up in Mexico, and my food is a reflection
of my fashion love.
It reflects my music, my art love.
So it is eclectic Mexican.
I feel ready to beat Bobby Flay on his home turf.
I heard from a little bird that he went undefeated last season,
and I love to break someone's streak.
So, hasta la vista, Bobby.
You're going down.
[Sophie] Just under 15 minutes.
Now it's time for the tikka masala-inspired tomato sugo.
I'm actually gonna use cinnamon sticks, a little cardamom,
tomatoes, and a little bit of shallots.
[audience applauds]
-[Sophie] Gabe. -[Gabe] Hi, Sophie.
-Any coconut milk in that? -Oh, yes!
And your favorite, Bobby, Calabrian chilies.
[Bobby] Exactly.
You know, it's a classic Indian spice.
[audience laughs]
[Sophie] How are you feeling?
I'm just surprised she's also making some meatballs.
The real Italian, it's right here, not there.
Ooh.
I believe look good, cook good, and good vibes
go into your food.
Gabe, you better believe I'm taking you down
this Christmas Eve.
What kind of meat are you using, Claudette?
Half-and-half pork and beef, Chef.
To make my meatball, I am adding chives and cilantro.
And then the Chinese five-spice, it's like a savory
pumpkin spice blend.
Is that the pumpkin? Oh, it smells so good.
Have you ever cooked with sugar plums?
No.
-I thought that was just a fairy tale. -Me too.
-Sugar plum fairies. -I know, I know, right?
-That's a thing? -[audience laughs]
-Are you nervous about Gabe? -No, I'm good.
[Sophie] Good luck, you guys.
OK.
[Claudette] No big deal, Gabe.
Yeah, no, I was too busy cooking, not showing off.
[laughs] Oh!
Claudette's gonna make this interesting because she's not
making a sugar plum dish, she's making a kofta.
You can make a savory chutney, but that's an accompaniment.
Right.
[Christmas music playing]
[Gabe] How you doing, guys? Good?
There you go.
[Claudette] Come on, guys, we gotta be louder than his side.
Come on, let's go!
Coming up on five minutes.
OK, so now it's time for actual meatballs.
I'm gonna do a little bit of beef and a little bit of pork.
I'm gonna do some shallots in there, a little bit
of tomato paste, garlic, of course,
and then the rest of the spices.
Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric, and black mustard seeds.
Did you use all the spices here?
-Yeah, all of them. -[Bobby] OK.
[Gabe] Meatballs are gonna be fried in about two minutes.
This brings me back, we're at the same station
doing the... -Right, exactly where.
-The Samosas, you know? -Exactly, exactly.
-Samosa brothers. -The Samosa brothers.
-Totally.
It's so annoying that Bobby went undefeated for the entire
holiday season last Christmas.
So this is really about revenge.
[Bobby] All right, let me go see what Chef Zepeda is doing here.
So you're gonna make a glaze or a sauce?
-A sauce, yes, yes. -A sauce.
And you're not using any Indian spices in yours, right?
-I have a five-spice. -OK, so more Asian-style.
-Yeah. -OK, perfect.
Once my sauce is nice and blended, I'm pouring it
over my meatballs so that plum flavor gets a little
bit deeper. -[Sophie] Two minutes.
[audience cheers]
[Gabe] The meatballs looks great.
I throw them into the sauce, and I need to plate.
So first, it's gonna go my couscous.
My meatballs, and the tikka masala sugo.
And then on top, you have the bright herb salad.
[Bobby] One minute!
I'm coming. I'm coming.
I'm keeping it very simple.
I'm putting three meatballs in the center
and the sugar plum sauce.
Claudette, are you gonna serve some of those roasted
sugar plums with the dish? -[Claudette] Yes, Chef.
[Bobby] Oh, nice.
[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
-[bell dings] -[audience cheers]
Oh, my God, it feels like I'm becoming an expert
here in Indian cuisine.
Claudette, I'm gonna win this round.
Good job, Chef. Beautiful.
[Claudette] For 20 minutes, I think it's a pretty good dish.
-[Claudette squeals] -[Gabe] Go!
Claudette, Gabe, tonight we're celebrating Christmas Eve
traditions and foods.
You were each gifted with a different ingredient.
But no matter which way this goes, you both wanna beat
my dad, right? -Fully.
-Absolutely. -Fully.
Chef Gabe, what did you do with the Indian holiday spices?
We made an Indian-inspired polpetta, the tikka masala
tomato sugo, and Israeli couscous.
Gabe, I love that the spices are really the star of the show.
You can taste them in the sauce, you can taste them
in the meatball, and I feel like
they're pretty well-balanced.
I would say that the couscous is a little undercooked,
and I would've liked to see a little bit more sauce.
But overall, really great flavors here.
Thank you.
Chef Claudette, what did you make with the sugar plums?
I made an herb five-spice meatball to be the vehicle
for the sugar plum sauce.
I think the kofta is cooked perfectly, and the flavor is
really great. I love the fresh herbs on top.
You can smell them, you can taste that.
Like, it works really well.
I feel like I'm not getting enough sugar plum in the sauce,
but I have to say the roasted sugar plum is delicious.
OK, thank you.
[Gabe] I feel my odds of winning are pretty high.
My dish looks great, it tastes great.
It's really all about flavors.
The chef moving forward to round two is...
Chef Gabe.
[audience cheers]
I didn't make it on to round two, and honestly, I'm OK.
Come on over.
You're not always gonna be the best.
-The Tuscan prince. -All right.
Gabe, the Indian spices were the star of the show,
and they really came through in your dish.
-How do you feel? -[Gabe] I feel ready.
-Let's wrap this up. -[Sophie] Ooh.
[audience applauds]
Last season, our final contender gave
you the gift of her recipes, which you then used to beat
her, and she hasn't forgotten.
-[Gabe] Oh. -Shocking.
[Claudette laughs]
Please welcome one of your "Triple Threat" Titans,
Chef Brooke Williamson.
[audience cheers]
Come on! Come on!
-You! -You!
-Of all the people, you! -You!
-[Gabe] You! -[both chuckle]
[Gabe] I have to be honest,
I'm always very intimidated by Brooke.
She's a seasoned competitor,
and, you know, this is gonna be hard.
-She's ready, Bobby. -I'm ready.
Gabe is a beast in the kitchen.
I recently judged him on "24 in 24."
So, I know he's incredibly talented.
-Brooke, welcome back. -Great to be here.
Hold on, I wanna check the stats.
-[Brooke] Ugh. -Oh, she's been here three times and has lost every time?
-That's enough. -[Bobby] OK, good, cool.
[all laugh]
So this is the final round before you get to face me.
And just like last time, there's a twist.
-Of course. -[Bobby] So, Brooke,
in my house, we get to open up one gift on
Christmas Eve. -Uh-huh.
I'm giving you two gifts tonight.
You're each gonna use one gift to cook with.
I'm gonna flip a coin to see who gets what.
Gabe, last round you had some spices.
Yeah, I mean, literally anything
but Indian stuff.
I would like some Indian stuff.
-No. -[both laugh]
Gabe, you did win, but do you mind if Brooke calls
it in the air? -You go -- you go first.
[Brooke] Heads.
It's heads.
[audience applauds]
[Brooke] Oh, they're really, they're right there?
How long have they been sitting out?
Can I have the other gift too? Thanks.
What?
It's a new refrigerator!
OK, Brooke, either the small gift or the big gift.
-I'm gonna take the small one. -You want the small one?
Yes. Bigger isn't always better.
-I agree. -Brooke, your ingredient is...
[suspenseful music builds]
...Rack of lamb.
[Gabe] Ooh!
-Ooh! -[audience applauds]
That's beautiful.
So, Gabe, that means the big gift is yours, so...
-I mean, yeah. -And tonight, you get...
[suspenseful music builds]
...Salt cod.
Salt cod, OK.
-[audience applauds] -This is gonna be very fun.
You need to impress my daughter, Sophie, and Claudette
if you wanna get to round three.
Not only would you get to face me, but you get to pick
your own teammate and you get to assign me mine.
Twenty minutes on the clock, there's no returns tonight.
Just make your gift the star.
-[bell dings] -[audience cheers]
Whoo! Let's go!
Which ingredient are you more excited about?
-If I had to cook them, lamb. -Yeah.
But I'm very curious to see what Gabe does with
the salt cod. -Yeah.
Bacalao, or salt cod, is a fresh cod that has been
preserved in salt.
[Claudette] The bacalao has beautiful flavor.
It has those nuances of seafood.
And it's also something you find, like, on the holidays.
My guess is he's gonna create something that
he's gonna fry, like maybe potatoes.
-Like a fritter? -[Bobby] I think so.
-Yum. -[Bobby] And then lamb chops,
it cooks very quickly,
but it needs flavor. -Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
This is a very different challenge, 'cause we're not
cooking with the same ingredients.
So this is literally gonna be a matter of preference if
nobody screws up. -Brooklyn, what are you making?
I'm making Indian spice lamb chops.
[audience] Whoo!
Be my guest.
[Brooke] First thing I do is get my spice mix together.
Kashmiri chili, a little Madras curry powder, cardamom, clove.
[Bobby] And what are you gonna serve it with?
Curried greens, yellow curried greens.
So Brooke has gotten to the finals twice,
and I've beaten her twice. She's not happy about it.
Last holiday season, Bobby won by a hair.
I will say it was not unanimous.
What?
I'm still feeling that sting.
No!
And I will say it's even more motivating this time around.
I'm kind of all over the map when it comes to cooking.
I'm a California girl, so I gravitate to vegetables
and French technique, but there's not a style
out there that I don't take on.
I know what it feels like to lose this competition,
so all I want for Christmas is for Bobby
to lose against me, finally.
[twinkling sound]
[Gabe] Oh, my God, salt cod.
It can be challenging because it has so much flavor.
It's very pungent.
I have to be honest, not one of my favorite fish.
Gabe, what are you making?
Uh, I'm making a baccala-fritter with a saffron aioli
-Potato in it, or no? -Yeah, they're already boiling.
-[Bobby] Yeah. -Oh, that's exactly
what you said. -Right.
So fritters are fairly easy to make, and potatoes kind of
mellows out the flavor in the fish, but potatoes usually
take about 15 minutes, so this is gonna really get me
down the wire. -[Sophie] Seventeen minutes.
-[Sophie] Brooke. -[Brooke] Hi, Sophie.
-How are you? -Uh.
Uncomfortably comfortable?
Now I'm gonna start with my curry.
So I get some onion and garlic, add my yellow curry paste,
some coconut milk, and let all those flavors meld together.
Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
We open one gift on Christmas Eve as well.
Usually it's not lamb chops.
[Sophie laughs]
[Sophie] But when you came out and saw Gabe, were you nervous?
I know how incredibly Gabe can cook,
so I would be stupid not to be nervous.
-Oh, thank you, baby. -All right, good luck.
[Gabe] So I take the cod and I squeeze out all the water.
Otherwise, the fritter is not gonna stay together once
you fry it, and then that goes into the food processor.
-Um, how is the cod going? -Uh, the cod is going well.
Oftentimes, we do The Feast of the Seven Fish,
like a Christmas Eve dinner. -Right, so this is on brand.
So this is a little bit on brand.
-[Sophie] All right, good luck. -[Gabe] Thank you.
[Sophie] I love a fritter, but I really liked the Indian spices
in the first round, so.
Now that you've heard what they're doing, which one do
you think is the smarter one?
A lamb rack, medium rare, rare is OK.
You only need to cook them for like three minutes.
-[Bobby] Right. -[Claudette] But Gabe
is super ambitious. -[Bobby] Yeah.
There's 14 minutes left to do the fritter, the aioli.
-He's got a lot of work to do. -[Claudette] Yeah.
If I can pull this off and get everything done in the last
four to five minutes, then I have a dish.
Otherwise, I really don't.
Ah!
Come on, potatoes.
[Sophie] Coming up on 10 minutes.
[audience cheers]
The potatoes are taking forever to boil,
so I make saffron aioli.
It's really gonna add a beautiful floral note
to the dish. -[Claudette] Hi, buddy.
Can you make my potatoes cook, please?
-Yeah. -I mean, they're not cooking.
-Like, I don't know why, so... -Is it the altitude?
-No. -It's the altitude.
-Where are we at? -Does Brooke make you nervous?
-Yes. -It's OK.
-I beat her before. -You know what I mean?
-She's fine. -You have?
I love her, but I did beat her.
-Good luck. -[Gabe] Thank you, love.
OK, now I need to start cooking my lamb chops.
Smells like Indian spices again.
[Brooke] I've decided to make a pomegranate molasses glaze.
The tanginess goes really well with lamb, and I add some of
those curry spices.
[Claudette] Hi, Mama. What you got?
[Brooke] I've got some lamb chops.
[Claudette] Smells great.
[Brooke] Trying to get, like, a good crust on.
This is the curry for the greens?
Yeah.
I just gotta get the greens going.
All right. Well, Brooke, good luck.
-[Brooke] Thank you. -I can't wait to taste it.
[Brooke] Thank you.
Terrified of what's happening on Gabe's station.
-[Sophie] Oh, no. -I don't see it
really coming together with five minutes left.
[Bobby] Let's go, Gabe! You got this!
At this point, whether they are done or not,
I have to pull those potatoes out.
We'll see.
They're barely done, so I add them to the cod with some
garlic, some fresh herbs, and eggs.
I'm adding enough breadcrumbs so that I know it will hold
together in the fryer, because I really cannot
take a risk here.
It's more of a hushpuppy, 'cause he's putting so much
breadcrumbs in it. -[Sophie] Right.
[Brooke] OK, now I need to start plating.
First, I'm gonna put the curried mustard greens.
Then I add two lamb chops,
that pomegranate molasses glaze,
some pomegranate seeds, and crispy onions.
-[Bobby] Thirty seconds. -Time to plate, Gabe.
[Bobby] Fritters are out. Wow.
-Oh, my God, they look good. -[Bobby] Aioli, Aioli.
Come on, Gabe.
[Bobby] I can't even watch this.
[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
[bell dings]
-You got it done, bro. -[Gabe] Oh.
Stop. Go back to your place.
So I don't want you to look at mine.
If this dish makes it to the next round, I will be
a salt cod lover for the rest of my life.
[Brooke] I think I just put together a really impressive plate
of food, so hopefully that takes me to the end.
Now, as an Indian expert, I feel like...
["Carol of the Bells" by Mykola Leontovych playing]
Are you guys feeling good about beating my dad tonight?
I mean, we kinda need to hear what you think
of these dishes first.
Chef Brooke, what did you make with the rack of lamb?
I made Indian spiced lamb chops over curried mustard greens
and some pomegranate.
Lamb perfectly cooked. The crust is incredible.
The sauce, the flavors are so rooted for it being
20 minutes, incredible.
But I think the mustard green was added too late to the pan.
There's a little rubbery, your teeth kinda slip on it.
Thank you.
I also thought that the lamb was cooked perfectly.
I thought the spices were really balanced.
The pomegranates, I felt like I could've had more of,
but overall, it was a delicious dish.
Thank you.
Chef Gabe, what did you make with the salt cod?
We have a baccala fritter, a saffron aioli,
and mustard frills.
I love saffron, so I was so excited about the saffron in
this dish -- delicious.
The fry on the outside of the fritter is perfect.
I love that golden brown.
But the fritter was a little dense, and I actually
would've liked to see more cod. -Yeah, OK.
[Claudette] I agree with Sophie.
The fritter was fried perfectly.
The outside casing was exactly what you want to crack into.
I think they aoli also a little bit more oil, but again,
this is all 20 minutes. I was just there.
I get it.
[Gabe] I know Brooke's lamb chop is cooked beautifully,
but I'm very confident about what I put on the plate.
The chef moving on to round three is...
[tense music playing]
...Chef Brooke.
[audience cheers]
[Gabe] Losing against Brooke, who has been doing this
for a very long time, that's fine with me.
-Now go beat him. -I will do my very best.
I've gotten to Bobby now.
So it's time to get some challah payback.
-[Sophie] Good job. -Thank you.
Yeah, Brooke, I loved it.
I hope this was your 99% effort and you're gonna give
100 to this. -I'm just getting warmed up.
-Let's go, Brooke. -Fourth time's a charm.
[dramatic Christmas music playing]
[Bobby] Brooke, been here before.
It hasn't gone as well as you'd like it to have gone
in the past. -I actually disagree.
-I feel like -- -I know you think you won,
but you didn't, so. -[Brooke laughs]
So what are we cooking tonight? What's your signature dish?
-You've been so generous, by giving us our own gifts. -[Bobby] Right.
So I'm gonna give you three gifts.
-[Gabe] Ooh. -What?
[audience] Ooh.
So my signature dish is...
chateaubriand, potato latkes, and a dessert soufflé.
And you have to make all three of those.
-How do you feel about that? -[Bobby] I, uh...
-It's a lot of work. -[Brooke] It is.
Brooke, is this something that we would find in your house
on Christmas Eve?
Yeah, I mean, these are all favorites of my son,
so, let's make it a well-rounded meal.
Brooke, not only did you get to pick the dishes,
but you also get to pick your teammate.
One of them I know has some pastry experience and is so
near and dear to my heart, and that is Claudette.
-[Claudette] Let's do it. -[Gabe] You know what?
-I love this again. -[Bobby] The Samosa Brothers.
-Let's do it! -Yes!
-That's it, Bobby. -Absolutely.
All right. That's good.
Gabe, you came here and beat my dad, but now you're
joining forces. -We have to win.
-That's it. -[Bobby] Let's go. That's right, exactly.
We're undefeated.
-Let me remind you, so am I. -That's true.
Forty five minutes on the clock. And your time starts now!
[audience cheers]
All right.
Tonight is all about Christmas Eve,
and Brooke is going head-to-head with my dad
for the fourth time in the holiday battle.
-Feel good, Claudette? -[Claudette] Yeah, I'm good.
Claudette and I are close. We're good friends.
Like, I couldn't ask for a better teammate.
[Claudette] It's kind of the best of both worlds.
I do so get to cook another round with someone that I love
and hopefully bring the win for her.
[Bobby] Is there chocolate over here?
Brooke is here with a vengeance.
She wants to challenge me to not one dish, but three.
Oh, there it is. I got it.
I feel fine about it, 'cause I've been talking about
cooking with Gabe for the last year, 'cause he's such
a good cook. -This is very fun.
Brooke has challenged my dad to chateaubriand,
potato latkes, and dessert soufflé.
[Brooke] I have actually cooked both latkes and a soufflé against
Bobby, and I still think my soufflé was better.
So this whole night is a rematch for so many things.
[Claudette] I got chocolate going for the base for the soufflé?
For the soufflé. So you're on soufflé.
I'm gonna start on dry rub and get these things
in the oven. -[Claudette] Heard.
Right off the bat, that chateaubriand,
because I'm roasting it whole,
needs to be dry rubbed, put into a cast iron
for a crust, and then into the oven.
Chateaubriand is usually a thick cut of beef tenderloin.
Traditionally, you serve a chateaubriand as
a whole roast, and it's usually served with a rich sauce.
Hey, Brooke, tell me your take on these three dishes.
[Brooke] Pretty traditional.
I'm doing a chateaubriand, but I'm crusting it in
porcini powder, a little fennel pollen,
and then I'm gonna do a classic mushroom marsala sauce.
Potato pancakes with caviar and a chocolate soufflé.
[Claudette] So I have the chocolate in a double boiler
until it's completely melted.
In my mixer, I have my egg whites already separated.
I love a chocolate soufflé, and that has been a childhood
nickname of mine growing up.
My dad has been asked by people why he didn't name me Sue.
Dad, what are you doing for these three dishes?
I'm doing a study of chili peppers.
-Ooh. -Original.
A study of chili peppers?
[Bobby] Yeah, I'm gonna send you to school.
[audience] Oh!
[Brooke] You know, lean on those chilies one more time.
Let's just take it to the finish line for the rest
of your life.
Dad, could you be a little more specific?
Absolutely. Espresso and chili spiced
chateaubriand with a smoked chili
and mezcal sauce.
A potato and black truffle latke with green chili sauce.
And then I'm doing a soufflé with cinnamon and red chilies.
I need a theme, and a lot of times I lean on chili peppers
because it's something that I have good command of.
What's the base for your soufflé?
-Egg whites. -[Sophie] No.
Like, is it a chocolate soufflé?
-[Bobby] What? -Oh, my God.
Is he deaf?
She's asking what flavor soufflé.
-Yes, it's chocolate. -Thanks, Gabe.
Don't worry, Bobby. I'm gonna talk on your behalf.
[Bobby] Thank you.
This particular recipe I'm doing reacts much better
if you let the batter rest.
So I melt the chocolate, and then once the egg whites
get soft to firm peaks, I fold in the chocolate,
add the cinnamon and some of the red chilies, and then I put
it in the soufflé cups.
[Gabe] Prepping the latke right now.
We get some potatoes, onions, making sure that
we squeeze all the water out.
If the potatoes are still holding water,
they won't become crispy. -[Bobby] Right.
So this is a quite important step.
[groans] That's why I go to the gym.
-OK. -[Sophie] Thirty six minutes.
[Claudette] Smells good, Chef.
Potatoes being hashed.
Hi, guys. What are you working on?
[Brooke] The marsala sauce.
Shallots, garlic, mushrooms, marsala.
-Herbs. -Yum.
Claudette, what are you doing over here?
[Claudette] I got base going for the soufflé.
I got latkes, gonna basically just render out all the water
from the potatoes and then help Brooke with whatever she needs.
[Sophie] You are on it.
Now you just have to beat my dad -- easy.
If it were easy, I would've done it already.
-Hi. -Hi.
-You guys sound out of breath. -We are, though.
-[Gabe laughs] -[Bobby] A lot to do.
This is actually an espresso rub that we used to do
at Mesa Grill. -It actually smells like it.
[Bobby] It's espresso powder, some ancho chilies,
and then some hot smoked paprika.
I'm doing individual chateaubriand so that every
bite you get some of -[both] the crust.
-Exactly. -Which is the most
beautiful part. -Yeah.
My dad has you working on the latkes?
-[Gabe] Yeah, of course. -[Sophie] Oh, look at the truffle.
I know, isn't it? Doesn't smell good?
-It smells so good. -[Gabe] More, more?
[audience] Yeah.
More, more?
[audience applauds]
[Gabe] A little egg.
We got some flour in there, salt and pepper.
And that's basically our base for our latke.
[Sophie] OK, let's hear it for Team Brooke.
[audience cheers]
What about Team Dad? What's up with that?
-[Sophie] You've won enough. -What's the name of this show?
If I had to choose between the two meals, I would probably
go with my dad's They both sound really good.
I love mushrooms, but because it's the holidays,
the rub that my dad brought in from Mesa Grill,
it's almost sentimental.
It feels like home, but Gabe and my dad seem
very stressed.
We've got 31 minutes to go.
Dad, are you feeling good on time?
-No. -[Brooke] I like your honesty.
[Bobby] This is insane.
We're literally cooking dinner for six for Christmas Eve
in 45 minutes, start to finish. It's a lot of work.
[whispers] He's panicking.
It looks like fourth time is a charm tonight.
[Gabe] Oh, my God.
♪ Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh ♪
Twenty eight minutes left.
Dad, do you already have your chocolate soufflé in the oven?
In the oven? No.
-Letting it rest. -You're letting it rest?
Yeah.
Brooke challenged me to a soufflé a handful
of years ago.
And to this day, she still believes that
her soufflé was better, even though the judges
thought differently, which is totally fine.
You know, we don't wanna kill people's dreams.
-Gabe, how do the latkes look? -Really good.
Uh, big, actually.
I should have done them smaller, but it's a holiday, right?
[Bobby] So now I cook the chateaubriand until
they get nice and crusty, and then I put them in
the oven, and then I start building the sauce.
I have shallots, I have garlic.
Ancho chilies are like spicy raisins, and guajillos are
earthy with a little more heat, and then the mezcal kind of
brings it all together.
[audience] Oh!
I have the cream going in for the anglaise.
Hey, Brooke, what toppings are going on the soufflé?
-We're gonna do a rum passionfruit crème anglaise. -Mmm.
[Claudette] I temper milk and cream into the egg yolks,
add the passionfruit, rum, and a pinch of salt.
That's gonna bring big flavors as well, and that is what
you need to beat my dad on the show.
[Brooke] Bobby's really hard to beat.
I have never been able to do it, so this meal has to be
flawless and delicious.
Literally nothing has ever been so important.
[Sophie] Just under 22 minutes.
Dad, is there anything I can taste yet over here?
Nope, there is nothing. Nothing.
Dad, I was thinking it really wouldn't be Christmas Eve
without a visit from Santa. -What do you mean?
-Santa? -Don't you think we could use
a little Santa Claus right now? -No, we don't want Santa
right now. -No, we don't.
[audience chanting] Santa, Santa...
Whoa, whoa, wait, Dad.
[cheerful hip-hop music playing]
-[Bobby] Oh, God. -[Sophie] Wait, oh, wait.
These people look like they just came in
from SantaCon.
[music continues]
[audience cheers]
[Sophie] Wait, there's Santa!
Oh, my God.
Santa!
-Wow! -That's amazing.
So, Sophie's trying to distract me.
I'll talk to her about that later.
[audience cheering]
-Bobby, jump in. -Do you think you can do that?
-[Bobby] Not anymore. -Come on.
Whoa!
Whoo!
-Yes. -Dinner and a show, guys.
[audience cheers]
Thanks, Santa.
[Gabe] Great job, guys.
-We could have done that, right? -[Bobby] Absolutely.
[Claudette] Once the chocolate is completely melted, I add
the egg yolks, temper them in, and I can see the consistency
is fudgy, so I fold the whites into the chocolate base.
[Brooke] Gorgeous, Claudette.
Those go in the oven and set a timer for 12 minutes,
and cross your fingers. -[Brooke] Beautiful.
[Bobby] Rise, baby, rise.
[Brooke] That doesn't mean it's rising.
It just means he wants it to rise.
Don't we always?
[audience laughs]
[Bobby] So the chateaubriand, I'm gonna let it rest after
it comes out of the oven.
It does have a nice char on it, but my dad portioned it,
whereas Brooke did not.
Technically, a chateaubriand is a whole roasted tenderloin.
Bobby has literally made filet mignon steaks.
And also, I don't think that's gonna be a deciding factor,
but maybe it should be taken into consideration.
-I'm just saying. Words mean things [chuckles]. -[Claudette] Words mean things.
It looks like my dad is also making a green chili sauce.
[Bobby] This is gonna go on top of the latkes.
Roasted poblanos, champagne vinegar,
and a lot of cilantro.
So the latkes are also gonna have the goat cheese
sour cream, which is so nice because it's tangy.
The black truffle, the goat cheese sour cream,
and the green chili sauce, all of those things are
delicious, but together it might be a little overpowering.
Thirteen minutes on the clock.
-I gotta get these latkes in. -Yeah.
I add some breadcrumbs, some egg, and cornstarch to
the potatoes, form them into patties,
and get those into a pan.
Brooke, what's going on top of your latke?
A sour cream, shallot, lemon zest mixture,
and then some Osetra caviar.
I love caviar, especially during the holidays.
-OK, Dad, what's left to do? -Everything.
[Sophie] Yikes.
[Bobby] I'm gonna get the soufflé sauce going.
It's cream and chocolate.
And then the cinnamon and the red chilies are gonna
run through the soufflé, the chocolate sauce, as well as
some of the whipped cream. -Gabe, what's left for you?
A glass of wine. That's what's left for me.
Now, we're doing the onion rings right now.
You know, there is nothing better than simple,
you know, onion rings, right?
So, Spanish onions, flour, cornstarch, a little bit
of onion powder, garlic.
And we're good.
♪♪
I think I'm taking these steaks out.
I temp them. I want them at about 125 so
that they can rest and get pink all the way through.
-[Bobby] Time? -[Gabe] Two and a half.
Thanks, Gabe.
It's time to plate. We gotta go.
So I put the red chili sauce on the plate, some cotija cheese
and some lime zest, and the chateaubriands,
and then we top it with that beautiful onion ring.
-[Gabe] Sexy, huh? -[audience laughs] Yeah.
Then we have some beautiful latke, goat cheese sour cream,
a little chives. -[Bobby] Oh, they look great.
-[Gabe] Is it good? -[Bobby] Yeah.
[Sophie] Looks like that mushroom sauce is coming together
pretty nicely. Let's go, Team Brooke!
[Brooke] I really hope those steaks are good.
I'm serving these sliced, so it has to be perfect when I slice
into it. -Oh, let's see.
It's a moment of truth.
Oh, my God, look how perfect that is.
-I'm sorry. -[audience cheers]
She didn't come here to play.
[Brooke] Marsala sauce goes down, steak on top.
And then I definitely need your help with these latkes.
Look at all that caviar.
They look good. They're done.
These soufflés are perfect.
-All the stars aligned. -Just enough.
And then I'm praying when I'm moving the soufflés.
-I didn't wanna burn my fingers, and I didn't... -[Brooke] Yeah.
...wanna fumble. -Thirty seconds.
[audience cheers]
Oh, wow. Dad's soufflés look good.
[Bobby] I just need to grin and bear it in the next 10 seconds
because this is gonna hurt.
-Ah! -Careful.
Ten, nine...
-Which sauce? -The green sauce.
-Green sauce. -...seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Good job. My God, look at that!
I hate you.
That's holiday! Look at that!
-We got everything done. -Super clean.
It's very simple, clean, straightforward.
Exactly what it should be.
I'm just gonna listen to what the judges say and let
the chateaubriand bite him in the butt.
That's quite a latke.
-It's a "lot-ke" ["latke"]. -It's big.
I have to say, it looks very pretty.
[Gabe] Oh, my God. It looks beautiful.
Like Mexico City, you know, Christmas Eve.
Chilies everywhere.
But if the judges don't like spicy food, we lose.
-That's it. -We can go home right now.
[Gabe] That was a lot.
Teams, both of your Christmas Eve feasts look delicious.
Now, I'd like to introduce you to your judges.
The chef and partner of Hellbender, Yara Herrera.
Restaurateur and consultant, Brian Duffy.
James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Bar Volpe,
Karen Akunowicz.
[audience applauds]
[Brooke] Karen, you look beautiful.
-[Bobby] All right. -I'm just saying.
She doesn't know whose food is whose.
I'm just saying she looks beautiful.
-Is that OK? -No speaking to the judges.
[Sophie] Judges, please start with the first meal in front of you.
♪♪
These are definitely the flavors at my Christmas party.
-Good. -[laughing]
I like the presentation of the chateaubriand.
I wish there would've been more of this cheese
and lime zest.
Once you got that bite all together, it was well seasoned.
The onion ring didn't really do much for me, but I think
the latke is absolutely delicious.
I love the play on the goat cheese and the soufflé.
I wished the chocolate sauce would've been a little runnier,
but overall, it's a very delicious dish.
Starting with the chateaubriand, I thought it
was cooked perfectly.
The chili sauce, so smoky, but a little bit too spicy
for the beef.
The latke, the goat cheese, and the green chili sauce
together, that was an outstanding bite.
I loved the bold flavors of the soufflé,
maybe a little bit dry,
but overall, the point of view and the thread through
the entire meal was really there.
That latke was super delicious.
The crispy edges is just something
that I absolutely love.
Chateau, such a perfectly cooked piece of beef with that
beautiful medium rare, rare center and that awesome chili
and coffee rub.
Soufflé, really well cooked, but the sauce was
a touch bitter. -[Sophie] Thank you, judges.
Please try the second Christmas Eve feast.
♪♪
Let's start right off the bat with the chateau being cooked
the way that it's originally intended with that whole piece
that is then sliceable.
I thought the cook was really, really good.
The ends, which I'm normally an end guy, I wish they were
a little bit less cooked.
The latke was just a touch too thick, but the caviar really
balanced out the salt.
The soufflé had this beautiful chocolate
flavor, but undercooked.
I mean, this is such a beautiful Christmas Eve dinner.
The chateaubriand, the crust was delicious, and I could
drink that marsala sauce. -Ooh.
The latke, super crispy, but I thought the soufflé was
a little undercooked.
However, I liked that it was ooey-gooey.
[Yara] I'm gonna applaud you for the cook on this beef.
I think it's almost impossible to not overcook those ends,
but I think you still got, like, a nice juicy bite.
The latke, I think it's very difficult to go wrong
with this combo.
And I think the soufflé was marvelous.
The passionfruit, once you add that to the bitterness
of the chocolate, it balances it out very well.
[Sophie] Thank you for your comments, judges.
I can't wait to see who you vote for.
It would feel phenomenal to finally beat Bobby.
My mom would be so happy. And I'm not even kidding.
The judges have voted, and the winning team is...
[tense Christmas music playing]
...it's my dad and Gabe.
-[Bobby laughs] -[audience cheers]
[Gabe] Ah, Buon Natale. [laughs]
It's just, like, so annoying.
I really, in my core, feel like I'm capable.
I just can't, like, bring it to the finish line.
Come here.
-I can't believe it. -Was it unanimous?
-Yeah. -[bleep]
-[all laugh] -[Brooke groans]
I thought they were both outstanding, but the latke,
the sour cream, the goat cheese, and the green chili sauce,
I think that was a standout for all of us.
Dad, by the way, who made the latke
on your team?
[all laugh]
Good work, Chef.
He's been a good teammate for you.
We're undefeated. I'll take him every year.
Gabe's coming to Christmas.
I really felt like Brooke was gonna beat him.
[Brooke groans]
-Get it out. -[Brooke] Merry Christmas.
[Sophie] My perfect record has been broken.
-It's a sad day. -[Gabe] Bye, guys.
-[Claudette] Bye. -Great job.
Bobby and I, AKA the Samosa brothers, with the second win
in a row. Bobby, I love you.
Our studies on chilies took them to school.
Let's go!