Welcome to Fire Masters .
...where three chefs will take on
three blazing culinary challenges.
Give me fire, baby.
Oh, that's spicy.
Two will be eliminated,
and the last chef standing will go head-to-head
against one of our Fire Masters judge
battling for the chance to win $10,000...
Delicious.
...and to earn their place as a Fire Masters champion.
The skin is rubbery.
Give me more acid. Give us more flavor.
-Speed... -[judge] She's got it.
-...skill... -Let's do this.
-...scorching competition. -Oh, it's hot.
This is Fire Masters.
Three chefs think that they can tame the flam
and be the next Fire Masters champion.
Let's meet them.
First up Steve Overlay from Las Vegas, Nevada.
I got a place called Sin City Smokers Barbecue.
I'm the owner, operator and pit master.
The first time I cooked on a grill
I knew I was hooked.
I've been cooking in the restaurant business for about 40 years.
What I do is a low and slow wood-smoked barbecue.
I've been a competition barbecue guy for a lot of years.
I'm a trophy hunter and I need another title.
That's what I do. I win, baby.
How you doing, chefs? I hope you like what I cook today.
Next Xzherieh Norris from Brooklyn, New York.
I'm a private chef
and I have a company that I call Cheat Day.
When you're ready to cheat on your diet,
I'm the company to call.
The twist is that most of the food does have
a healthy aspect such as grilling
I have West African roots,
so I specialize in international comfort food.
If I'm gonna win Fire Master
I'm gonna have to put my best foot forward
and power through this.
Hi, chefs. I hope you're ready to be blown away.
And last, Ryan Zeidenberg from Thornhill, Ontario.
I'm so into grilling and barbecuing meats,
that's what I do for a living.
I go to people's houses
and actually cook on the barbecue for them.
If I win the $10,000,
I'm putting it towards my dream of opening a restaurant.
Ever since I was a kid I've played high-level sport
and I'm bringing that competitive edge to the arena today.
I'm the next Fire Masters champion
because I have the drive and the energy
to beat the competition.
All right, chefs. Excited to show you what I got.
Chefs, welcome to Fire Masters.
Here's how it's all going down.
There will be three rounds of competition.
In the first two rounds,
you'll be competing against one another.
And at the end of each of these rounds,
one of you will be going home.
In the third and final round,
the last chef standing will go head-to-head
against one of our Fire Masters judges
for the chance to win $10,000
and the title of today's Fire Masters champion.
Here's who you'll need to impress.
Roger Mooking is a globally inspired
celebrity chef, author, TV personality,
and live fire cooking expert
What's up, chefs? Make sure you cook from your heart.
Ray Lampe aka Dr. BBQ has published nine cookbook
and is a member of the Barbecue Hall of Fame
Welcome, chefs. We're happy to have you here.
Chef Andrea Nicholson is chef/owner
of Butchie's restaurant, Banana's dessert shop,
and the culinary event spac Dish Play.
Have a great time in the arena today.
Chefs, I hope you brought your A game
because we're about to turn up the heat.
In this first Wildfire Round,
you'll each create a signature dish
that represents who you are on a plate.
You will each have your own top-of-the-line grill station
and use of our Fire Masters fire
as well as access to our fully stocked pantry
Your dish will be judged on three things:
presentation, creativity and, of course, taste.
You've got 30 minutes on the clock.
And your time starts...
now.
-[Andrea] Let's go, guys. -[Roger] Let's go!
[Xzherieh] I grabbed plantains.
That's good.
My signature dish is a West African street food.
-[crashing] -Ooh!
I'm making a suya skewe
doused in a spicy peanut mixture.
And I've come up with my own rendition of it
so we have two different proteins that have to cook:
prawns and rib eye.
I'm just rubbing it with some butter.
Usually for suya I would marinade my meats,
but I don't have enough time for that.
[Ryan] First I grab the biso
Bison striploin.
Then I grab the gochujang Korean chili paste
and then the chickpeas.
For my signature dish
I'm making a grilled ancho and cocoa-rubbed bison striploin
with gochujang-infused hummus.
I want to transport the judges on a journey
to Canadian cuisine with the bison,
the Korean with the gochujan
and Middle Eastern with the hummus
'cause I'm known for fusing different cuisines together
I combine ancho and cocoa powder.
I almost forgot the cocoa powder.
Flavors will complement each other
that you don't really know would work well together until you try it.
Get a nice sear on it.
[Steve] I grabbed the rubber spatula
and I'm trying to cut up this pasteurized American cheese.
I'm working on some mac and cheese sauce.
The rubber spatula to chop cheese up with,
it wasn't working so good.
I'm making a signature dish from my restaurant,
tournedos a la diablo
with 5-cheese "smackaroni" and cheese,
'cause it's so cheesy and so creamy and so delicious.
I call this dish my 5-cheese smackaroni
'cause when I bring this I'm laying the smackdown.
That's a wrestling term.
I'm gonna pair that up with a shishito pepper salad
For some reason, when you blister and char shishito peppers
it gives them a really good flavor.
Oh, yeah.
So, I'm just cleaning these,
but I'm gonna leave the head on for extra flavor.
Chef Xzherieh, beautiful head-on prawns here.
I'm seeing some plantains. What's going on?
-I'm making a dish called suya. -Okay.
It's a West African dish.
What's your biggest concern in this round?
-Just getting everything done in time. -[Dylan chuckling]
I'm really looking forward to seeing this dish.
-Thank you. -[Dylan] Thank you.
[Xzherieh] I'm definitely not shy to use this Fire Masters arena
I'm just gonna throw these plantains straight into the fire.
Not cooking fast enough.
Chef Steve, talk to me about the signature dish you're making.
[Steve] I'm doing the tournedos diablo
with a 5-cheese macaroni and cheese.
Can you explain tournedos diablo for me?
tournedos are just fancy little mini fillets.
Diablo is spicy.
Tournedos a beef.
I'm not really a fancy kind of cook,
but I'm trying to win some big money
so I'm calling them tournedos.
I grab blueberries to make a chutney for the bison.
But first I'm going to start wrapping the chickpeas...
Tin foil.
...for my gochujang hummus.
-Chef Ryan, how you doing? -Good. Thanks.
So, what do you got in the pack here?
I've got chickpeas that I'm gonna put on the fire pit
-just to heat up and get a bit smoky. -Okay.
-[Dylan] Looking forward to seeing this dish. -[Ryan] Thank you.
[Steve] I want the judges to remember
this beautiful red smoky tomato salsa a la diablo.
And I want it to have some kick.
Judges, the Wildfire Round is underway.
What are you seeing from up here on the judges' table?
I'm slightly concerned with Chef Steve
because the meat has not touched the grill.
[Dylan] Steve is calling this dish tournedos a diablo
It's gonna be hot. It's gonna be spicy.
Chef Xzherieh is doing a suy
I was kinda hoping she was gonna cut that thing up.
You have to cut it into smaller fabrications
to cook it quicker. So, we'll see.
I'm really excited to try her version of the suya.
With my rib eye and prawns cooking,
it's time to get working on my kale salad.
Kale is pretty popular with traditional African dishes.
I also think the judges will really like it.
First I'm gonna add the gochujang to start the hummus.
Just by the smell of it I could tell there was
a smoky flavor to those chickpeas.
I've never had those kind of flavor combinations together.
Gochujang inside of hummus? I'm intrigued.
[Ray] I think the cocoa on a bison steak sounds really interesting to me.
But does cocoa go with gochujang and blueberries?
-We're gonna find out. -[all laughing]
Too much cream.
[Steve] My mac and cheese sauce, it's too watery.
So I start putting some sliced American cheese
right on the hot macaroni.
And, of course, it's hot in the arena and my cheese is melting.
I'm having a really booger of a time.
And I'm just trying to get it done.
[Steve] This is harder than I thought it was going to be.
But I gotta get focused. I gotta finish.
It's called getting her done, son.
That looks better, baby.
The mac and cheese sauce is coming along real nice.
So, I go over to the charcoal grill.
I know I gotta get these steaks on.
[Ryan] Six and a half minute My steaks are done.
Just getting these bison striploins off.
I have to let it rest,
and I wanna make sherry vinaigrette
for my microgreens salad.
I need to add a bit more acidity to it.
[Xzherieh] Now it's time to make the suya blend.
Ground peanuts, chilies and spices.
It's perfect to sprinkle on top of anything.
Instead of hot sauce in my bag,
I keep suya in my bag.
I grab the rib eye.
I'm just gonna take it out, let it rest a little.
while I put my suya mixtu in the grill.
It's gonna bring the smoke.
At this point, everything's ready except my steaks.
How we doing, babies?
And that clock is ticking away.
Oh, those look pretty good.
Time to start plating.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to make the blueberry chutney
and I hope this doesn't sen me home.
[Xzherieh] This rib eye, I know I've got to cut it down.
Real suya is nice thinly sliced pieces of meat.
Now I'm just gonna be skewering...
-On the skewer. -Oh, she is gonna skewer it.
...so they can finish cooking on the grill.
[Andrea] Run.
[Xzherieh] This is surf and turf on a skewer
and it is going into the fire pit.
She's got it. She's got it.
Chefs, two minutes left. This is it.
[Andrea] Come on, guys.
[Steve] Put the steaks on the plate,
I crumble up some cheese crackers to put on the top of the macaroni.
Now I'm getting excited.
There's only a minute left.
This is a race against time
Steak can be served rare,
but prawns can't be raw.
Come on, prawns. Let's go.
This meat has to get .on the plate now.
Then I realize, "Where's my suya mixture?"
In the charcoal grill.
[Dylan and judges] Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
[Dylan] Time's up, chefs.
Whew.
I almost thought I wasn't gonna make it,
but I'm most proud of gettin everything on that plate.
[Steve] I think the judges are gonna love this dish
because it's creamy, it's spicy
and it's got crunch.
I'm most worried about not putting
that blueberry chutney on the dish.
Chef Steve, please tell us what you made
for the judges in this round.
All right. Well, what we've got here is
char-grilled beef tournedos
a little salad of charred shishito peppers
and then my signature 5-cheese smackaroni and cheese.
Chef Steve, this looks like my kind of plate.
Big pieces of beef.
Salad's not very big. I like that.
And a nice sauce to go with it.
Chef Steve, the steak is cooked to perfection.
-Thank you, chef. -Yeah.
You promised a diablo sauce,
but I don't get a lot of heat.
Okay.
You said it's a 5-cheese mac and cheese.
Don't know that I got all five of them in there.
It's very creamy,
but I'm getting this processed cheese flavor predominantly.
Your diablo sauce, I quite enjoyed it.
But I got more of your smackaroni in the sauce
than I did in the macaroni.
Way too processed.
However, the crackers on the top
added a great textural component.
-Thank you very much, chef. -Thank you.
Chef Roger said my steak was cooked perfectly.
And I knew he was a wise guy. I agree with him.
Chef Xzherieh, please tell us what you made for the judges.
[Xzherieh] I made a surf and turf suya
with charred kale salad
and roasted plantains.
The outer skin of it, that's actually not meant to be eaten.
You can scoop it out.
Chef Xzherieh, I love the fact that you threw them right in the fire.
You're brave in the Fire Masters arena.
These burnt bits on the plate, are those peanuts?
[Xzherieh] Those are peanuts. It did go a little far,
but the suya dish, it's pretty essential to have that spice mix
so I wanted you guys to at least try it.
I'm excited to try it.
Chef Xzherieh, it's a little charred but I did the suya.
The seasoning was nice, but this piece of rib eye
that's pretty much blue raw.
The shrimp heads, I don't know if they're cooked enough.
And I bet if you had another half hour,
we'd really have enjoyed it.
You added the traditional accompaniments with the suya , the kale sal,
but I don't really believe that you made suya.
-Okay. -You know, you should have cut your beef,
marinated it, let it cook all the way through.
But the plantain, that's cooked perfectly.
I'll take pride in the plantain.
-I'd eat that all day. -Okay. Thank you.
[Xzherieh] I didn't think I had the time to marinade my meat.
The next round I'm gonna knock it out of the park.
Chef Ryan, please tell us about your signature dish.
[Ryan] I've made grilled ancho and cocoa-rubbed bison striploin,
with gochujang-infused hummu and a microgreens salad.
Chef Ryan, I mean, your plate looks nice.
It looks simple,
but my expectation is if it's that simple,
it's gotta blow my mind in flavor.
-Right? -Agree.
Chef Ryan, well, it looked pretty simple,
but there's a beautiful bison steak.
Interesting rub on it. A lot of flavor there.
That's exactly how I would like it cooked.
Just a little extra salt on that bison would have been good.
The gochujang hummus, I've never tried that before.
I'll probably steal that one.
Feels like it's missing something though.
There was intended to be a blueberry chutney.
I think that you relied too much on the gochujang
to take that hummus all the way through.
You know what you're missing?
Lemon.
And raw garlic.
Those traditional flavors that make a hummus zing.
So, give me more acid.
Give us more flavor.
I will. Thank you.
Thank you, chef.
And thank you, chefs.
Let's give the judges a couple minutes to discuss
and we'll call you back when we're ready.
There's way more that the judges haven't seen of me
and I wanna bring that flavor to them.
Judges, the Wildfire Round is complete.
Let's talk about Chef Steve
and his tenderloin and macaroni dish.
The tournedos was a cool idea
and he cooked them perfectly.
The mac and cheese,
I don't think there was enou richness coming from dairy.
It came from processed oil.
You're here in Fire Masters pantry.
We got a lot of good cheese. [chuckles]
Let's talk about Chef Xzherieh and her dish.
[Roger] I really loved the plantain.
It was roasted perfectly.
[Andrea] But the peanuts...
Gosh, how do you let that get burned?
That was the key thing on the plate.
Putting that big beef roast on the smoker,
I had one piece that was flat-out raw.
My spot prawn was perfect.
Let's talk about Chef Ryan and his bison dish.
The doneness of the steak was perfect.
The ancho was a great choice for the bison.
Andrea mentioned the lemon.
For sure it would have helped that whole dish.
And, of course, there's missing blueberry chutney.
[Andrea] Maybe that little bit of acidity in a blueberry
would have just elevated the dish a bit.
Well, judges, some bold flavors in this round,
but also some missteps.
Two of these chefs must go on.
Have you made your decision?
-Yeah, we have. -[Roger and Andrea] Yes.
Let's call the chefs back in.
Chefs, in this Wildfire Round,
you were asked to create a signature dish
that showcases who you are as a chef.
Judges, whose signature dish was the best in this round?
The chef with the best dish is...
Chef Ryan.
-[Roger] Congratulations. -[judges applauding]
Congratulations, Chef Ryan.
You will have an advantage heading into the next round.
Judges, it's down to Chef Steve and Chef Xzherieh.
Who will you be sending home?
The chef who will be going home is...
Judges, it's down to Chef Steve
with his char-grilled beef tournedos
and smackaroni and cheese.
And Chef Xzherieh
with her surf and turf sa
and charred kale salad.
Who will you be sending home?
The chef who will be going home is...
Chef Xzherieh.
Chef Xzherieh, I'm sorry to say
you've been eliminated from the competition.
It's time to leave the Fire Masters arena.
Thank you, judges, for the opportunity.
[Xzherieh] I put myself on the plate.
I just wish that I did it better.
Chefs, welcome to the Crossfire Round.
This round is a head-to-head battle
where you'll both be cooking with the same protein.
Ready to see what's inside?
-Absolutely. -Oh, yeah.
You'll be cooking with...
turkey breast.
Yes!
I'm stoked
'cause I'm real comfortable cooking turkey.
Each of you must create a turkey breast dish
that highlights a different ingredient.
Chef Ryan...
As the winner of the first round,
you get to decide whether you'd like to include
maple syrup in your dish,
or if you'd like to pass that off to Chef Steve
and take a chance with what's under the crate
I wanna see what's under that crate.
I was kind of hoping you'd say that.
Okay, Chef Ryan.
Then you'll be cooking with...
coffee.
Ooh!
I'm happy for that.
And Chef Steve, you'll be cooking with maple syrup.
I can do that.
You've got 30 minutes back on the clock.
And your time starts...
-now. -[Andrea] Let's go, guys!
-All right. Let's go, chefs. -Let's go.
[Steve] I'm very happy that I got the maple syrup
instead of the coffee.
Maple syrup is a very popular ingredient in the barbecue world.
It's sweet. It's got caramelization to it.
It goes well with things like bacon, like nectarines,
like turkey. Oh, yeah.
I grab some bourbon.
Pour some maple syrup and some bourbon.
I'm gonna let those reduce and caramelize up and get a nice flavor going.
Whew, that's hot, baby.
I'm making maple syrup-glazed smoked turkey breast.
Chef Steve, when that barrel opened up
and you saw turkey, how were you feeling?
I've won some competitions with smoked turkey,
so here I'm gonna throw some smoke chips in there.
Okay.
-Sorry, got to go. -Go ahead.
I need to make a spice rub.
A little bit of cumin.
In this second round,
I've gotta focus more on seasoning.
Some cumin, black pepper, garlic.
Ooh, that was a lot, Steve.
Blender for the coffee.
I'm a very competitive person.
I grab my coffee...
Let's do this.
I'm gonna start making the rub for my turkey.
I wanna keep it very simple.
Coffee and salt.
Salt.
For the Crossfire Round,
I'm making smoked coffee-rubbed turkey
with parsnip puree.
For the coffee I want to use it two ways.
In the rub...
Let that smoke get in there.
...and then in the parsnip puree.
Chef Ryan, you took the risk to see what was under the crate.
How'd you feel about the ingredient you got?
Love working with coffee.
Haven't done it with turkey breast before.
What are you looking to prove to the judges
after what they said in the first?
I wanna add more salt and more acidity.
-I'll leave you to it. -Thank you.
For the parsnip puree,
I'm adding in some cream, some thyme,
and adding some salt.
All right, judges. Nobody up here wants dry turkey.
What are some of the tricks these chefs can do
to incorporate moisture?
Butter, fat...
-More fat. -[chuckling] More fat.
-No excuse for dry turkey in this round. -Sauce it up.
A little duck fat right there.
The pan's hot
and I gotta get a nice seasoned crisp on this turke
A good cast iron will never let you down.
Next thing I do is I get some nectarines and split th
and get them on the grill to get a nice char on them.
Ooh, these are juicy.
They're gonna go in that maple syrup glaze.
I'm gonna have some nice caramelization.
The sugar's gonna come out.
Oh, it's hot.
It's all gonna cook down and make a little love in that pan
until it's perfect.
Ryan, I don't smell any coffee cooking yet.
-[Ryan chuckling] -I might need a pick-me u-.
I'm gonna switch those over to the lower heat.
Turkey is tricky because it's super easy to overcook
We've all had a dry turkey dinner.
I have to make sure this bird is cooked perfectl
I'm just gonna leave it in there.
Throwing my garlic scapes in here.
I'm gonna start working on my garlic scape chimichurri.
Chilies, olive oil.
I want this chimichurri to counteract that sweetnes
from the parsnip puree.
Red wine vinegar.
Cilantro.
Chef Ryan, he's making a garlic scape chimichurri.
And when you think about coffee,
do you really think about a garlicky sauce?
Not so much.
'Cause everything's better with bacon, right?
Chop it up nice and thick because I don't wanna burn it
like thin-sliced bacon.
In your fire, baby.
Chef Steve has brilliantly used bacon
because bacon can add extra fat.
Now I gotta get my green beans going.
I throw them in the blanch water
and just get a little color to the plate.
It's all gonna come togethe and be beautiful.
I turn around and open up the grill...
Oh, geez. That's not good.
Criminy!
I'm burning the syrup.
That baby is hot.
Only half the pan's kind of burnt so I try to pour it...
Not working.
Too much. Oh!
So, I gotta start over.
Start again.
Chef Steve just burnt his maple syrup reduction.
He's rapidly running out of time to make another sauce.
Got focused on something else.
Chefs, 10 minutes left.
[Ryan] I'm happy with the cook.
In a pot I'm throwing in sliced chili peppers and red wine vinegar.
I'm making some pickled chili peppers
to bring some acidity to the dish.
I gotta get the parsnips off and make the puree.
I don't know if these parsnips are fully cooked.
I need this texture to be creamy
and it's not right now.
I just gotta keep this thing going and keep blending.
-[Roger] Let's go! -[Andrea] Come on, guys. Let's go.
[Ray] Plate it up.
Let's see what your bacon looks like
'cause that could be on fire.
I'm ready to start plating.
I go over and cherry-pick out some nice pieces of bacon.
You gotta pull this together, big boy.
And then I'm ready to start slicing turkey.
Chefs, two minutes left.
Time to get some food on the plate.
I start to plate the parsnip puree...
I forgot to put the coffee in.
[Dylan and judges] 10, nine,
eight, seven, six,
five, four, three,
two, one.
-[Dylan] Time's up, chefs. -[Andrea] Whoo!
[Ryan] I missed putting those pickled chilis on top
But I do still think I have the winning dish.
[Steve] My turkey breast loo really good.
I hope that it's good enough to beat the guy next to me.
Chef Steve, please tell us what you made
using turkey breast and maple syrup.
Well, today I made
a maple syrup-glazed smoked turkey breast
with some grilled nectarine
and a little bit of charred bacon
and some green beans.
Chef Steve, the turkey, you put some spices on it.
I can see it. I can smell it.
And there's enough sauce on that plate
that will help to add juiciness to this turkey.
Hope I don't let you down.
Chef Steve, the green beans are nice
and that whole maple syrup reduction.
Turkey's cooked nicely I think.
The skin is rubbery.
Didn't get crispy like we might hope.
Chef Steve, I love the nectarines.
They paired so well with the salty bacon.
And then the spice that you put on the turkey breast,
if you would have just hit it on the infrared barbecue to crisp it up,
this would have been a 10 out of 10.
-Thank you very much, chef. -Thank you.
Turkey skin is thicker than chicken skin,
so it's a little more difficult to make it crispy.
Chef Ryan, please tell us what you cooked
using turkey breast and coffee.
So, today for you I have prepared
smoked coffee-rubbed turkey
with a coffee-infused parsnip puree
and a garlic scape chimichurri.
Chef Ryan, looks like a nice coffee-roasted crust on that turkey,
so I'm really liking that a lot.
I'm a little concerned about those big chunks of...
-[Ray] Is that the coffee beans in there? -[Ryan] That's the coffee.
I guess they didn't grind enough.
Sometimes them coffee beans will soften up,
so maybe you'll be okay with that.
I like that there is a texture on the turkey.
but the coffee is way too big grind for the turkey.
It's like I'm eating a coffee bean.
The parsnip puree is creamy.
However, the big chunks of coffee beans inside of it is a little bit off-putting.
The chimichurri.
You didn't make your traditional chimichurri.
You grabbed garlic scape.
So there is definitely a flavor of garlic
that is still very much in my mouth.
-I know I asked you for garlic in the first round. -Yeah.
So I wish you would have sort of given me 50% in the first round
and then 50% in the second round.
-Thank you, chef. -Thank you.
-And thank you, chef. -Thank you.
Let's give the judges a few minutes to discuss,
and we'll call you back when we're ready.
I deserve to make it to the Feast of Fire Round
because I will bring everything to the table.
I will work on everything that the judges have told me about.
Okay, judges. The Crossfire Round is complete
and we've had two very different takes on turkey.
One chef incorporated coffe
and the other maple syrup.
Let's talk about Chef Steve's turkey breast and maple syrup dish.
It was really, really flavorful.
He really did a great job of incorporating
the maple syrup with the turkey.
I think the turkey was seasoned great.
The one thing that did disappoint me:
that rubbery turkey skin.
How do you feel about Chef Ryan
and how he used turkey breast and coffee in this round?
While coffee was the star note
and star flavor,
it was just way too coarsely ground.
And it just didn't work with the dish.
You don't think of a coffee-crusted turkey and chimichurri.
Now, the coffee rub was pretty good.
Difficult to call, but have you made a decision.
-Yeah, we have. -[Roger and Andrea] Yes.
Let's call the chefs back in.
Chefs, in this Crossfire Round,
you were asked to cook with turkey breast
and either maple syrup or coffee.
Chef Steve, you made the smoked maple syrup-glazed turkey breast.
And Chef Ryan, you made the coffee-rubbed turkey breast
with parsnip puree.
The winner of this round will walk away
with a Napoleon portable grill
and move on to the final round
to face off against one of our judges.
Judges, please tell us who will be moving on to the final round.
The chef who will be moving on to the final round is...
-Chef Steve. -Yes!
[judges applauding]
-Congrats. -Thank you, brother.
Congratulations, Chef Steve.
You have won a portable grill
and you're moving on to the final round.
-Thank you very much. Appreciate it. -[judges applauding]
Nailed it!
Chef Ryan, I'm sorry to say you've been eliminated from the competition.
Thank you for sharing your food with us.
Thank you, chefs. It's been a pleasure.
[Ryan] I have time to plan as a private chef,
so I'm not used to thinking on my feet
as fast as I was here,
but now I have that skill.
Coming here today has made me a better chef.
Chef Steve, in the first two rounds
you showed your skills on the grill.
But now it's time to raise the stakes.
In this final round, you'll be going head-to-head
against one of our Fire Masters judges.
And the judge you'll be facing off against is...
Chef Roger Mooking.
[Ray] Whoo! Go get him, man.
[Steve] Chef Roger's very thought-out when he tal about judging food.
If he cooks as well as he judges,
it's pretty intimidating.
-[Roger sighs] You ready? -I hope so.
-You ready? -I'm ready.
-I'm coming. I feel heated today. -All right.
Chef Steve, Chef Roger.
You're about to face off in the Feast of Fire.
Chefs, in this final round,
you must create a family-style feast
inspired by the theme...
carnival classics.
-Oh! -Wow.
Step right up and get ready to serve a whirlwind
of sweet and savory fair food
with a fiery flair.
I don't eat carnival food.
I can't do rides.
I am very ill-equipped for this challenge.
I've been to many carnivals and I know carnival food,
but making a family feast out of carnival classics?
It's gonna be a challenge.
The stakes have never been higher,
so you'll each get a sous-chef to help you create
your fiery feast.
This feast will be tasted blind,
which means none of us will be here to watch you cook.
When we do come back,
I'll be taking Chef Roger's seat at the judges' table.
But, chefs, before you get started,
I've got a hot twist for you.
Over at the fire pit
you'll find two branding irons.
Grab an iron and brand a piece of wood
to reveal a style of cookin you must use in your feast.
There's 45 minutes on the clock.
And your time starts...
...now.
This is a fun barrel.
[Ray] I don't know what they're gonna do.
Stuffed, I got stuffed.
I think it's safe to say that if I stuff cheese inside of the thing,
it's pretty stuffed.
Yeah, I got sticky. [laughing]
I like sticky, because to me, that means you're licking your fingers,
you're getting every last bite. And that's what you want.
-[Roger] Go. Go, go. Go. -[Roger's sous chef] Okay, go. Go, go, go, go.
-Here we are. Is that cool? -Exactly what you want.
Here's your banana.
[Steve's sous chef] Uh, we need seasoning, right?
For my Feast of Fire, I've gotta do something stuffed.
So for my main, I'm making stuffed blue cheese burger
with caramelized onions.
My side is loaded potato with buckwheat honey.
For my other side, I'm makin grilled three pepper corn with grilled lime.
For my dessert, I'm making rum banana boats with banana marshmallows.
In my rum banana boats, there's mango, coconut,
I wanted to do a little tropical twist to it, 'cause I'm from the Caribbean.
I douse it with rum and a little bit of butter,
and get that over the fire.
[Roger] Okay, get hot, baby. You know how I like it.
Wings right here.
So the rules are I gotta hi sticky in one of my dishes.
For my main dish, I'm making honey jalapeno sticky chicken wings.
For the first side, I've chosen deep fried dill pickles with sriracha mayo.
Pair that up with Mexican-style street corn.
For dessert, it's carnival popcorn s'more bake.
Get the corn in some foil.
I get my sous chef to wrap up the corn,
get it wrapped in foil and butter,
get it on the grill to start charring it.
Now, I turn my attention to the chicken wings.
Little jalapeno pop. Little cayenne.
Little bit of cumin. Duck fat in the pan. Gotta love duck fat.
Roger, how you doing over there, brother?
I'm doing okay down here, dog. You?
I'm hanging and banging, baby, hanging and banging.
It feels Steve really has the advantage. You know, he's from Vegas.
Vegas is a carnival.
So I've gotta make sure I really bring it.
I take hunks of blue cheese, I stuff the center.
Like, if it's gonna be carnival food,
it should be a burger that's too big for your face.
And it's gonna have arugula and caramelized onions.
I don't want it mushy like I would normally want caramelized onions,
'cause then the texture's just too soft.
Kinda treating it like sizzly kind of stuff.
That's gonna be a great topping for the burger.
Juicy Lucy, baby.
The jalapeno, lotta jalapeno.
Now, I'm prepping my glaze for my chicken wings.
Some of this honey.
I'm gonna have the sweet and sticky from the honey, a little zip from the jalapeno.
When I get my wings cooked just right...
Look at that color.
...then I'm gonna put this glaze on 'em and cook 'em down,
it's gonna be a little sweet and a little heat.
[laughing] Gonna be sticky.
The carnival has rolled into the Fire Masters aren,
and I think the easy dish is gonna be dessert.
Yeah, dessert's gonna be the obvious one.
But you don't traditionally think of side dishes as carnival food.
[Andrea] And I think this is gonna be the biggest hurd for these chefs,
is making carnival food a cohesive family meal.
[Ray] They're gonna have to get creative.
A little secret, but corndog is, like, totally my jam.
Love corndogs.
I got the potatoes.
I ask my sous chef to get the potatoes in some foil,
wrap those up, get those right into the coals,
'cause I want them surrounded by heat to cook really quickly.
I'm taking a big risk by trying to bake a whole potato in 45 minutes.
Ohh, that's gonna kick. [laughing]
I grab cayenne, smoked paprika, knock out the pickle flour.
All right, there's flour for the pickles.
The fried dill pickles are gonna be my riskiest element.
-Quarter inch, you said? -No, no, that's too thick. About eighth inch.
A little bit thinner wouldn't hurt.
Put that out of the way 'til later. I know it's gonna be one of my last-minute cooks.
All right, I need sriracha.
-[Roger] Go away, Roger. Come on. -[Roger] [laughing]
Chef Roger's got some game.
Sriracha's a really hot ingredient.
Whoo.
Mayo cools it off a little bit.
Oh, that's a beautiful thing.
[Roger] Can you grab Szechuan peppercorn for me?
[Roger's sous chef] Yes, chef.
I'm shucking the corn, I'm keeping the husks on,
because I've been to carnivals in Texas and they have this type of corn.
Szechuan, okay.
[Roger] I oil it, and I put three types of peppercorns, as well as salt.
I put pink peppercorns in there, too. [laughing]
[Roger's sous chef] It smells great.
All right, where's the popcorn? Let's try that.
I turn my attention to the dessert.
So I'm gonna go do little individual s'mores bakes.
If you think about going to the carnival,
you're thinking cotton candy,
you're thinking caramel corn you're thinking chocolate.
You look down, the kid's got it melted all over his face.
All right, so you gotta hit this the first time. No burning.
Want it good and melty, but I don't wanna burn it.
700 degrees in here.
That's awfully hot.
[Roger] Go onto that top shelf, I guess?
[Steve's sous chef] Yeah, I'd go top shelf.
[exclaiming in pleasure] Looking pretty good.
Think I'll turn it down.
Got caramelized onions going.
The onions has a lid on them.
I need to take the lid off so that they're not steaming
No, uncover it. Uncover it.
You also sweat it.
[Roger] We have lots of time.
So I'm feeling pretty good. The chicken's cooking, the corn's doing its thing.
[Steve's sous chef] Chef, I smell, uh, burning chocolate.
[Roger] Uh-oh.
The top of my s'mores dessert is black.
Yeah, that's burnt, man.
Competing in the Feast of Fi arena for the final round is a pressure cooker, man.
[Roger] Competing in the Feast of Fire arena f the final round,
I gotta perform.
I'm cooking against a great chef,
and my carnival popcorn s'mores bake is scorched on the top.
Just pick the top off.
[Steve's sous chef] Yeah, we'll salvage this. Don't you worry.
You know what? Let's just scrape it off, reload it and do it again.
So now we're gonna do a second layer.
[Steve's sous chef] Yeah, you got it.
Ow! [inhaling] Ohh.
The corn looks beautiful. It's charred, cooked through
My sous chef mixed the mayo with some lime juice and some salt.
I just rub the mayo over all of the corn,
and then I take some Mexican chili lime.
Cotija.
Then I take some Cotija cheese from Mexico, and top the corn.
It's sorta like their feta.
How are those potatoes? Get those potatoes.
[Roger's sous chef] Heard.
[Roger] I just have to make sure that they're cooked.
-[Roger's sous chef] They're definitely not ready. -[Roger] Okay.
Little butter to season these up.
For Mexican street corn, we start brushing up with some seasoned mayo,
hit it with some lime juice
and then we just sprinkle some cheese on there, baby.
All right, we're looking good. Looking good.
And then we're gonna put it back in the grill
to melt that cheese just a little bit to make it really stick.
Toast, uh, that coconut and do those, get those Marcona on.
Yes, chef. Nuts are on hot, and coconut.
[Roger] I'm toasting coconut and Marcona almonds for my banana boat.
This needs to be hotter. Go in the hotter... This grill's hotter.
[Roger] Can you grab some marshmallows?
[Roger's sous chef] Yes, Chef.
I'm gonna move the coconut back over here.
-[Roger] Okay. -[Roger's sous chef] 'Cause it's toasty.
[Roger] Oh, these look pretty good. S'mores look tops.
[Roger] Five minutes left!
[Roger] So now, I'm down to the wire. Clock's ticking away.
[Steve's sous chef] Pickles are frying.
They're not done?
This loaded baked potato, it's still not cooked.
[exclaiming in disgust]
Three minutes left, I gotta give it up.
And then I just start dressing it like a beast.
Two minutes!
Cracked pepper. Lots of cracked pepper.
[Steve's sous chef] Sticky icky. Is that sticky enough for you?
[Roger] Pour that right over the wings.
It's sticky, it's hot, it's savory, it's good stuff right there, all right?
[Roger] Juicy Lucy's are looking really good. I'm happy with them.
[Roger] Beautiful!
They're hot.
[Roger] Quick, quick, quick.
[Steve's sous chef] Starting to look like a nice feast.
[Roger] Coming in hot.
[Roger] Ten!
[all] Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
[Steve's sous chef] Hey.
If I have to pick my best dish, everybody loves dessert, right?
You gotta go with the s'more
[Roger] I'm pretty sure everything tastes really good.
Is it carnivalesque? I don't know.
All right, my friends. It's the Feast of Fire.
And tonight's theme: Carnival Classics.
This chef has prepared for u honey jalapeno sticky chicken wings,
deep fried pickles with siracha mayo,
charred Mexican style street corn,
and for dessert, carnival popcorn s'mores bake.
This chef had to include a sticky dish in their feast
We have carnival food that has come together as a meal with two sides.
I was really curious [laughing]
how you might do that, and I think it has happened here.
[Dylan] When I think of carnival food,
I often think about things that are eaten with your hands.
So the street corn works. The pickles work. Even the wings work.
[Andrea] I really love the flavor of the chicken wings.
There is some candied jalapeno on the outside.
I think the chef has really balanced sweet and spicy.
[Ray] I agree. The flavor of these wings is delicious.
But I wish I had a little bit more of a smoky or a char flavor to 'em.
I think the street corn is, is great.
It's charred up just enough. I don't like when they char too much.
Enough cheese, and the cheese is hanging on.
This reminds me of the carnival.
[Andrea] The charred lime on top
really amplified the flavor of the queso fresco on the corn.
And it was really well done.
Moving onto the pickles. It's fried. It's salty.
You get a nice, creamy, mayo-based sauce on the side
However, the pickle chips are quite small, which makes them tricky to eat.
You don't get that big pickle flavor.
This dessert from the first chef certainly looks indulgent:
Carnival popcorn s'more bake
[Ray] So there's a graham crust overcooked to the point of being hard.
[Andrea] Guys, mine is just too burnt.
I agree. However, I like the addition of the caramel corn.
That's very carnival-oriented.
This first feast really brought us to the fair tonight.
Let's see what the second chef has for us.
Our second feast has landed,
and it certainly looks over the top like the carnival.
This chef has prepared for u stuffed blue cheese burger with caramelized onions,
loaded baked potato with buckwheat honey,
grilled three pepper corn with lime,
and we'll wrap it all up with rum banana boat with bruléed marshmallow.
This chef had to include a stuffed dish in their feast.
-Oh, yeah. -Thank you.
[Ray] Carry that yourself?
[all laughing]
These?
-Thank you very much. -You're welcome.
[Andrea] I'm going in.
[Ray] It's a ridiculous-sized burger, but heck, this is a carnival burger.
I do like that.
[Dylan] I really like the stuffed blue cheese patty on this burger.
It's juicy, it's moist.
I'm not sold on the caramelized onions.
So you got a soft bun, soft lettuce, soft onions.
You don't get any crunch.
But it's a tasty burger,
and other than not hardly being able to get my mouth around it,
I really did like it.
Tell me about the potato.
[Ray] Mine was really nicely done.
My only problem with this is, is baked potato carnival food?
I do admire that black char on the outside of it.
I think the street corn is very dynamic.
I like the way the chef peeled the husk back.
[Ray] And the three peppers was a nice flavor.
The lime was clearly squeezed on there.
And it was really tasty.
This second chef has prepared a rum banana boat with bruléed marshmallow for dessert.
[Ray] Is this coconut on top?
[Dylan] Having some kind of nut really adds a necessary crunch.
[Ray] And the coconut, I'm sure the chef was thinking crispy,
but it's not that at all. It's burnt.
But this is totally a carnival dessert.
It's a banana, and it's got a buncha gooey stuff on top of it.
I could totally see a big line to get it.
Both of these chefs brought some fairground fun to the plate.
Let's see how they stack up dish by dish.
Looking at the two main courses,
the first chef with the honey jalapeno wings,
and the second chef with the blue cheese stuffed burger with caramelized onions.
That's a really close round.
If I were to have to pick one, I would go back to the chicken wing.
The little caramelized pieces of jalapeno on the outside of them
just really gave a great layer of spice.
[Ray] The chicken wings, while I really liked 'em,
they struck me as something more I would get at a sports bar, cooked in the oven.
So I'm gonna go towards the burger.
Moving onto the sides, we've got almost identical street corn.
Wow. I mean, for presentation,
I'll give the street corn battle to the second chef.
[Dylan] For sure.
For flavor, I think I would give it to the first chef.
Both of the corns were charred and cooked beautifully.
Let's move on to our second set of sides.
The first chef had the deep fried pickles with siracha mayo,
and the second chef, that loaded potato.
The fried pickles, they were cut too thin.
They weren't executed properly.
The baked potato, definitely not carnival food, but it was good.
Let's move on to the final ride, the desserts.
The first chef with the carnival popcorn s'more,
and the second chef with the rum banana boat.
S'mores at the carnival, maybe you don't see 'em,
but adding the caramel corn to the top, I thought it was a great choice.
Unfortunately, it just got overcooked.
[Andrea] The second chef, I don't think we can excuse burnt coconut.
Picking a winner's been a roller coaster.
I think we're ready to call the chefs back in.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
[Roger] I tried to cook the theme,
but I was way out my comfort zone.
[Roger] I had some bumpy roa today, but in the end,
I think I nailed it, and, uh, I brought everything I had against Chef Roger.
Chefs, what a night at the carnival.
Both your feasts were seasoned with loads of fun.
In the first feast, we love the sticky, spicy wings.
They were smothered with the perfect amount of sweetness.
However, we felt the popcor s'mores dessert was overbake
In the second feast, we loved the blue cheese stuffed burger.
It was loaded with flavor.
However, we felt the loaded baked potato missed the mark on the carnival theme.
Chefs, we have made our decision.
And although both of your feasts were filled with thrilling carnival flavors,
there can only be one winner.
Tonight's' winning feast is...
...the second feast, with the blue cheese stuffed burger.
Oh, my God.
[all applauding]
[Dylan] Congratulations, Chef Roger.
You've successfully defended your Fire Masters title.
-Well done. -Wow.
That was a tough one, my brother.
I hope Chef Steve is proud walking out today.
What I love about him is every challenge, he got a little bit better.
I imagine that it was pretty tight.
And Chef Steve, you are clearly a barbecue boss.
It was an absolute pleasure to watch you cook and taste your food today.
Thank you for being here with us.
[Roger] I do a lot of competitions, but you gotta hand it to Chef Roger,
he did a great job. He outcooked me today,
but if there's ever a chance, I'll be back.
[applause continues]