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.
-[bell dings] -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!
-[bell dings] -[Bobby] Round two, I go head-to-head
with the winning contender. -Let's go!
[Bobby] It's their turn to surprise me with their signature dish.
-What? -Ah!
Don't try this at home.
I know you didn't, Bobby.
[Bobby] Bottom line?
You're gonna run out of time!
Everyone's out to beat me.
[snaps]
[bell dings]
[announcer] Three, two, ladies and gentlemen,
Bobby Flay.
♪ Someone's going down ♪
♪ Someone's going out [indistinct] ♪
All right, showtime. Looking for a battle?
Well, have I got news for you. It's gonna be good.
Please welcome my co-host, Chef Tiffani Faison,
and comedian Amber Ruffin.
Wait. You like that?
-This guy? -[Tiffani] This guy?
-[Tiffani laughs] -He doesn't stand a chance.
-Finally, you're here. -Bobbert.
-I'm so excited. -Bobbert.
[Tiffani] Bobbert?
I'm so jealous, 'cause I really wanna be on CNN.
You guys have a comedy show. How do you describe it?
"Have I Got News For You" is a game show about the news
where the points don't matter.
-Oh, so it's real life? -That's right.
Exactly. All right, any strategy here?
I mean, you're the veteran here.
I don't need it. I'm 4 and 0.
-[Bobby] You're undefeated here? -Undefeated.
Technically, I'm also undefeated.
-Correct. -I do -- you are.
-I'm about to change that. -No, please.
[Bobby] Are you a foodie?
What's your favorite restaurant?
-Cheesecake Factory. -Something for everyone.
I have gotten through "War and Peace,"
but I've not gotten through their menu.
[all laugh]
I will die on this hill, because I have eaten too much
Cheesecake Factory. -[Bobby] Love that.
All right, let's bring out some chefs.
Let's get the party started here.
-All right? -Yeah, let's do it.
Our first contender was so inspired by your career that
he decided to follow in your footsteps.
Oh, he got married three times?
[all laugh]
-It's Chef Evan Algorri. -Yeah!
[audience cheers]
Whoo!
[Tiffani] Oh.
Bobby, you wanna sign this?
Wow, thank you very much.
[Amber] You're not gonna rip it up?
-Maybe after. -Thank you.
-Thank you, sir. -My pleasure.
-That was so nice. -I know.
I feel unsettled.
Or this is how he gets in your brain.
Exactly. He's got me.
[Amber] I like that.
Our next contender takes her nonna's teachings to
the Michelin-star level.
It's Chef Tucker Ricchio.
[audience cheers]
[Tiffani] Ah!
[Amber] Oh. [Amber gasps]
[Amber laughs]
[Bobby] Spaghetti and meatballs.
I like a violent vibe.
Evan, Tucker, welcome. How's it going?
-[Evan] Good. -[Tucker] Good.
[Bobby] Tucker, why are you here tonight?
I'm here for the girls, the gays, and the theys.
-[audience cheers] -OK.
And you? [Bobby laughs]
Evan, you gotta have a good reason.
I'm here to take down a childhood idol.
[Bobby] Love it.
So I'm gonna give you a single ingredient, and you must make
that ingredient the star of your dish.
And that ingredient is...
cheddar cheese.
[audience cheers]
[Tucker] I love cheddar cheese.
It's semi-soft, got some, like, tang to it.
Give me that cheddar.
[Bobby] All right, 20 minutes on the clock.
Cook like, you gotta get that cheddar.
[bell dings]
I've never had anything that had too much cheddar.
No, I totally agree. No, too much cheddar.
[Tiffani] Cheddar's a really good melting cheese, so, like,
think grilled cheese is a pretty good step.
[Amber] Look, if someone makes grilled cheese,
they instantly win with me.
-[all laugh] -[Bobby] Tucker.
-[Tucker] Chef. -What are you doing?
I'm making a grilled cheese, Chef.
Yeah, baby, yeah!
Who doesn't love a grilled cheese?
And I'm adding in there for razzle dazzle
a bacon, onion, bourbon condiment.
Shallot and garlic in there, and chili flake
as a Calabrese Italian.
Always got to throw some chili flakes in there.
Add some heat and spice to your life.
-Don't be scared. -[Bobby] What's the bourbon for?
-For the marmalade. -[Bobby] Oh, OK.
I dig it.
[audience] Ooh!
[Tucker] My family is from Calabria,
and that's really where my love of food started.
My nonna would make me anything I ever wanted.
I think what's special about my food is I can blend old world
nonna cuisine with the avant garde.
In my career, it was difficult to find women-led kitchens,
but I found them.
And now I'm chef butcher at Acquerello,
which is a two-Michelin star Italian restaurant
led by Chef Suzette Gresham.
The female chefs had to fight for a seat at the table,
so because of them, I'm sitting where I get to sit.
It's important to be representative of women,
of queer people in the industry.
I hope that I can in turn be maybe an inspiration to some
young queer kid out there who's like, "Hey, I could do that as
a career path."
[Bobby] OK, what's he doing?
I see a lot of eggs.
[Evan] I'm so excited to see cheddar cheese.
The flavor is assertive enough that incorporating it into
a blank canvas like eggs allows
itself to become the star of a dish.
Evan, are you making an omelet?
-I'm making a soft scramble. -Soft scramble, love that.
I'm making a cheddar soft scramble with a cheddar foam.
Do you have a lot of super fans coming in asking
you for autographs?
Not for autographs. They wanna win.
[all laugh]
Coming here and meeting Bobby, it's a dream come true.
I've followed Bobby since college.
Bobby was ubiquitous on food TV.
It was through him that I became aware of
the French Culinary Institute, where I went to school.
And then I came up in very demanding kitchens in
New York City, Lupa, Marea, at Bouley.
Now, I'm the chef and owner of two restaurants in
Los Angeles, California, Ètra and Café Telegrama.
I definitely maintain a very
classical approach to Italian food.
I'm here because it's time to showcase my skills against
someone who I really look up to.
I mean, just beating Bobby Flay, like,
who gets to say that? It's, uh, it's amazing.
-Evan. -[Evan] Chef, what's happening?
Give me the process of soft scramble.
All right, well, this is not for the soft scramble.
This is for a little cheese foam that we're gonna make
and put in the ISI. -A what?
A little cheese foam.
-A cheddar foam? -[gasps]
That's right.
Having a foam lends itself to a very luxury
eating experience.
But if I keep the temperature too high for too long,
the solids will separate from the fat and I'll be left with
a broken milk mixture.
Tucker, do you have anyone here that's cheering for you?
[Tucker] I do. My girlfriend is here.
Wait, really? Hi.
-Hi. -How are you?
Good.
[Tucker] My girlfriend's name is Tiffany, and she's also in
restaurants, and so it means a lot that she was able to come
cheer for me and make me feel special.
[Tiffani] Eight minutes, chefs.
[Tucker] I gotta start building this grilled cheese.
-Boom. -The flavor of the sourdough
really is gonna marry well with the condiment and the cheddar.
[Tiffani] I love the confidence that Evan has to do, like,
a soft scram with cheddar.
When done perfectly, like, [clicks tongue] no notes.
Yeah.
[Evan] I add the cheddar in, and then paying constant
attention to the soft scramble is the most important thing
because they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan.
[Amber] I'm worried for this child.
-Imma tell him that to his face. -[Bobby] OK.
-Bye, Amber. -Bye, I love you.
-See you later. -Evan, everybody is talking.
-Oh, yeah? -But you don't seem worried.
-How do you feel? One to ten. -I feel great.
I feel great. I feel a ten.
-Are you scared of Tucker? -I'm not scared of Tucker.
Look how small and strong she is.
-Hey, hey, I can hear you. -Bye, you're doing a good job.
-I love you. -[Evan] Thank you.
-What is up over here, dude? -Making some good stuff.
All right, and then we're gonna do shots when?
-Directly after this. -Great.
-Yeah. -Bye, Tucker.
-I love you. -Bye, love you back.
Oh, you love Tucker, too?
What is -- I thought I was special.
[Tiffani] Four minutes left!
I really have to make sure that my cheese is
fully ooey gooey melted.
[Evan] I noticed that my cream and milk mixture
has come back to a boil.
[bleep]
So I'm sitting here with a broken cheddar cream.
This man and his foam is stressing me out.
It should be.
[Evan] So now I'm looking around for cornstarch to make a slurry,
'cause it binds things together.
-It has to stabilize. -No, it doesn't.
-Look at the world. -[laughs]
-You're right. -[Bobby] Wow.
[two bleeps]
Uh-oh.
My cheese is not quite melted yet, so I grab a bowl,
'cause you know what's gonna help?
-Steam. -[Bobby] One minute.
[Evan] This cheese mixture finally comes back, and it's perfect.
I keep feverishly trying to get the canister charged.
-Come on, [bleep]. -[Bobby] 30 seconds, everybody.
Come on, Tucker. Get 'em on the plate.
Evan, let's go, man. 20 seconds.
[Tiffani] Evan, Evan, Evan, Evan, Evan, plate.
Evan!
[Tiffani] You can't be scrambled.
Get it on the plate.
[audience]...Seven, six...
[Evan] I'm pulling the soft scramble and getting it to the plate.
-...three, two, one. -[Tiffani] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
[bell dings]
-[bleep] -[Tiffani] Scrambled eggs on the plate,
but no cheese foam -- it's heartbreaking.
I'm extremely disappointed.
I'm hoping the soft scramble
that I do have can pull me through.
This is, like, real not good.
-Bummer. -I can't live like this.
I must have come on the right night, because the way to
my heart is through cheese.
Chef Tucker, tell us what you made?
I have grilled cheese, Chef, and there is a bacon,
onion, bourbon condiment.
I mean, sometimes the answer is right there.
Like, a grilled cheese is
a really, really smart thing to do.
The bacon-onion jam on the inside, it's delicious.
The ooey-gooey is down pat, baby.
I could eat this all day.
Chef Evan, what did you make?
It was supposed to be
a very classic French soft-scramble
and a very beautiful cheddar foam, but I just ran out of time.
It was like a great soft scram with cheddar,
really nicely seasoned.
I was terrified when this man said, "scrambled eggs."
Turns out these eggs are delicious,
but I will live forever
wondering what the foam was gonna be.
Evan, I'll be honest with you.
We have scrambled eggs on the plate,
but there is no cheese foam.
And if everything made the plate, we're having a very
different conversation. -Yeah.
[Evan] I'm just hoping that my flavors can pull me through.
But missing one major component of the dish when it's only two
components is a huge oversight.
The chef moving forward is...
Chef Tucker.
[audience cheers]
Sorry, man.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go head-to-head with Bobby,
but there is a silver lining.
I get to go home with this bad boy.
[indistinct chatter]
And, yes, that is signed.
-[Bobby] All right. -Let's do this!
[Tiffani] The sandwich was delicious.
The use of the cheddar was exactly what the challenge
called for. -Thank you.
[Amber] Tucker, we're rooting for you.
Not because we want you to beat Bobby Flay,
but because we're all gay. Because we are all gay.
Yes!
♪ All eyes on me ♪
♪ It's just like -- [rolls tongue] ♪
[Bobby] Tucker, congratulations.
You made it through round one. How do you feel?
-Super. -[Bobby] OK.
-What is your signature dish? -My signature dish is...
pasta alla vodka. -Oh.
-Ooh. -[with French accent] A classic.
Tucker, why did you choose this dish?
Well, I'm an Italian, so I got my pasta game on lock.
-OK, good. -Do you have a nonna?
-I don't. -You don't have a nonna.
-I know, I do. -Yeah.
Bobby, Tucker, you have 45 minutes on the clock,
and your time starts now! -Let's go!
Come on, Tucker! Come on, Tucker!
Pasta alla vodka is an Italian-American classic.
Typically, onions, garlic,
tomatoes, dairy, and then,
the vodka essentially aerates and gives it
some of that lightness.
I would say that's my favorite pasta sauce.
-We've given you cheddar. -[Tiffani] Yeah.
-Vodka sauce. -[Amber] Uh-huh.
What else would you like while you're here?
A martini, please.
Bobby, Amber says you can only win if you make us
martinis first. -Martinis?
-That's right. -[Tiffani] Vodka.
It's right there, buddy.
I believe for this sauce, dry pasta is better
'cause it holds up.
But Tucker's making fresh pasta,
so I'm gonna make fresh pasta.
Flour and eggs in a food processor.
I'm just gonna let it chill while I do some prep.
♪ All I want to do is make, make, make ♪
Bobby's done making pasta. The dough's made.
No.
Bobby, you're ahead of schedule, eh?
-How are the martinis coming? -Coming right up.
[Tucker] So, to build this dough, I sift my 00 flour,
sift my semolina flour.
Semolina gives it a little body to it so your noodles don't
look like a shapeless nothing.
Hey, Tucker, what is your take on this pasta alla vodka?
Since my family is from Calabria, we like a little
spice in our life, so mine's gonna be a little bit spicy.
Ooh.
My signature dish is sorpresine alla vodka a mascarpone espuma.
I first learned how to make pasta from my nonna.
My nonna has since passed, but I think she'd be really
proud of this dish.
Beating Bobby will really show all of my life experiences,
from cooking with my nonna to working at a two-Michelin-star
Italian restaurant.
-[Amber] Hey, Bobby. -Yes?
What is your take on your vodka sauce?
-What makes it special? -The vodka?
-I mean, that's a good answer. -[Bobby] Some chilies.
I don't know.
We're just gonna basically go classic vodka sauce.
Get some onions, garlic, tomato paste, and some
Calabrian chilies, some cream, and some vodka.
Ooh, do I see bacon there?
[Tucker] Kind of, it's guanciale.
-The Italians' answer to bacon. -Oh, great.
What word did she just say?
[Tiffani] Guanciale is the jowl of a pig that's cured.
-Ooh, I'll take it. -[Tiffani] Yeah.
Bobby, are you adding meat to your pasta?
No, I'm not, there's typically not really meat in this pasta.
I mean, I guess you can do whatever you want.
My vodka sauce is not classic, but when you're adding
guanciale, you get crunch, you get flavor.
So, guanciale is rendered. I add in my tomato paste,
flambé your vodka.
[audience cheers]
Hit it with some cream. Got that chili flake in there.
I'm feeling pretty confident because Bobby's is not gonna
have my spice kick.
[Tiffani] 31 minutes.
[Bobby] I'm gonna make farfalle, which are like butterflies.
The only thing I am worried about is not having
a chance to dry out.
And so there's a chance they'll just kind of like pop open.
What do we got going on over here?
Farfalle.
-Where's your pasta roller? -[Bobby] Right here.
[woman screams] OK.
-[audience member] Ooh! -[woman] Whoo-whoo!
You're thirsty, that's for you.
Just gonna take the rest of the water.
-All right, cool. -[Tiffani] All right, good luck.
Bobby, do you feel sad that you created an entire show
around people rooting against you?
-It's a lot of therapy. -Oh!
[all laugh]
[Amber] 25 minutes to go.
[Tiffani] Tucker is rolling pasta,
which timing-wise is great.
Tucker got this on lock.
-Tucker! -[Tucker] Hey.
[Tiffani] So, you're making your own pasta.
These are called sorpresine, or little surprises.
-I'm right here. -Oh, my God, hi.
I'm your little surprise. I'm right here.
Surprise! Oh, my God!
It feels like a filled pasta, and then it's not.
It's, like, almost tortellini-like.
So, you have to pinch the corners,
tuck the other sides.
I feel really good about this.
-Hey, Bobby. -Yes?
Hey, sweet Bobby Flay. Little baby Bobby.
Uh, Bobster. Hey, rock Bobster.
I feel like you have time to make martinis.
[audience laughs]
[Bobby] I'm gonna make a little garlic bread.
I heard no one likes garlic bread
and everyone likes martinis.
Garlic bread? That's a big ol' plus.
[Tiffani] Or we're just hoping for, like, him to be focused
on one too many things. 16 minutes-a!
-[Amber] Hey, Tucker. -[Tucker] Hey.
I'm gonna give you two lies and a truth about Bobby Flay.
-[Tucker] All right. -I love this.
[Amber] I want you to tell me which one is true.
OK, first up, for Christmas as a kid, Bobby asked for
an Easy-Bake Oven. -Aw.
Bobby's first job ever was The Cheesecake Factory.
Bobby has a horse named
Hoof Hearted.
-Gotta be Easy-Bake Oven. -Easy-Bake Oven is correct!
-[Tucker] For sure, for sure. -[audience cheers]
Now I'm gonna get started on this beautiful
mascarpone espuma.
It's gonna be that nice cooling effect for my very spicy
Calabrese vodka sauce.
We're getting our mascarpone in a pan, loosening it with some
heavy cream, and then loading it into my ISI,
charging it a couple times.
Whoa, what's in that?
-Foam. -Yeah!
-There you go! -I got you!
Foam.
-Oh, my God, we got our foam! -[both] Cheers!
-OK, cheese foam. -Oh, my poor Bobbert.
-What's going on over there? -Worry about yourself.
Do you wanna go martini hunting?
Yay!
[jazz music plays]
Oh, my God!
You want a martini?
We've, like, asked you so many times for a martini.
And we've been nothing but mean to you.
♪ [indistinct lyrics] ♪
-[both squeal] -[Tiffani] Yes!
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
Yes!
-Cheers. -[squeals]
I hope you win battle of garlic bread,
'cause that's all you got going on.
I drop my pasta in the water, and I notice that the farfalle
are not holding together.
The bow tie is becoming squares of pasta.
[Tiffani] Four and a half-ish minutes left,
and Bobby's pasta has fallen apart.
-A scandal. -I know.
[Tucker] I bust one of the sorpresines out of my boiling water,
and it's perfect texture. She's holding the shape.
I am so stoked with this.
I'm scared for Bobbert.
[Bobby] I'm running out of time.
I'm worried about this stupid bread that I wanted to cook.
I'm putting myself in a bad place, because I just gave
myself too much to do at the end.
At this point, I'm serving this pasta no matter what,
'cause that's what I have.
One minute and thirty seconds to pasta glory.
[Bobby] I add Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
[Tucker] The espuma has to go at the base of the plate.
I add my pasta.
-[Bobby] Time. -[Amber] 55 seconds left.
[Bobby] I plate my pasta.
I take my garlic bread out of the oven.
Oh, yeah! Garlic bread on the floor!
[Bobby] Slather it with the garlic butter.
-[all] Ten... -[Tucker] Add the crispy guanciale.
...eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
[audience cheers]
You didn't get a piece of garlic bread.
I'm not gonna serve the bread just 'cause I didn't get all
the plates done.
Nice work, Chef.
-Good job. -That was good.
-Thank you. -Beautiful job.
I am disappointed,
'cause I could have done so much better.
Tucker's dish is very beautiful, but we'll see.
Yes, Tucker!
[Tiffani] Bobby, Tucker, congratulations on
pasta alla vodka. -Thank you.
Now it's time to meet our judges.
First up, chef and partner of Barano Restaurant,
Albert DiMeglio.
Founder and culinary director of The Lineup Dinner,
Elena Besser.
Chef and founder of Hearth Restaurant
and Brodo Broth Company, Marco Canora.
[audience cheers]
OK, judges, please try the first pasta alla vodka
in front of you.
♪♪
What a gorgeous plate of pasta.
The cook on it is stunning, and I love a little bacon.
The sorpresine shape is an amazing pasta.
It has all those nooks
and crannies to get the vodka sauce.
However, I feel like the amount of heat is a little too much
and takes over everything.
It's nicely al dente, but it is extremely spicy
for me. -Spicy, yeah.
Spicy.
This was intended to be spicy, so that's why you had espuma
to cool it down, girl.
Please try your second bowl of pasta alla vodka.
♪♪
This pasta is like a big bowl of comfort, but I think trying
to figure out what the shape is,
it kinda got stuck all together.
Yeah, it's a little over on the cook, but really
delicious pasta.
I would eat this again and again.
There is so much power in keeping it simple.
[Marco] I do think it's a little over sauced,
but I very much appreciate the depth of flavor
and the soulfulness in this pasta.
[Tucker] I guess I'm a little concerned that they think
my dish is too spicy.
I'm full of bold flavors, and I would make it exactly
the same again.
And the winner is...
[music plays]
Chef Bobby Flay.
[audience cheers]
This dish was just everything pasta alla vodka should be,
besides the shape.
But it's so delicious, and the only thing was
the extreme heat, and we really couldn't enjoy the flavors that
you worked so hard to get -- but you should be proud.
Thanks, Chef.
Thanks for having me, Chef.
I proved that I've got skill, I've got talent,
I've got flavor.
I made Nonna proud, and that's the most
important part.
-My streak is broken. -That's right.
I don't wanna talk about it.
[audience laughs]
Bobby? You owe Tiffani an apology.
You broke her streak. You hurt her feelings.
We didn't come here to be treated like this.
-Congratulations, Bobby Flay. -Oh, it pains you.
We will never be back until next time.
-Ever. -Never.
-Not until the very next time. -Never -- next time.
Whoa, I guess I'm the boss of the sauce.
That isn't water.
[audience cheers]