Welcome to Fire Masters.
Where three chefs will take on three blazing culinary challenges.
[Mathieu] This is getting me stressed
Oh, no, no, no, no. No!
[Dylan] ...two will be eliminated,
and the last chef standing will go head-to-head
against one of our Fire Masters judges
battling for the chance to win $10,000...
Holy cannoli.
...and to earn their place as a Fire Masters Champion.
It's missing char.
This is wildly creative.
-[Dylan] Speed. -[Eddie] Let's go, let's go.
-[Dylan] Skill. -[Andrea] You got it.
[Dylan] Scorching competitio
[Kris] Ooh!
This is Fire Masters.
[Dylan] Three chefs think that they can tame the flam
and be the next Fire Masters Champion.
Let's meet them.
First up, Kris Manning from Dallas, Texas.
[Kris] I own Smokey Joe's BB I'm the head pitmaster there
We do Southern comfort foods and of course, barbecue,
whole hogs, little bit of everything.
Why do I think I can be the next Fire Masters Champion?
Because I love cooking with smoke,
I love cooking direct on coals.
You just can't beat it.
Hello, judges.
Next, Mariana Alvarado from Las Vegas, Nevada.
[Mariana] I own a heirloom corn tortilla company, Masazul.
I was born in Mexico City and I learned cooking from my grandmas
and my aunties and my mother.
Honoring my heritage and my culture,
it's part of who I am, and I love it.
I am the next Fire Master Champion
because I am a fierce competitor.
Do not let this smile fool you.
Hello, judges.
And last, Mathieu Masson-Duceppe from Montreal, Quebec.
[Mathieu] I'm the chef/co-owner of Jellyfish Crudo+Charbon
and Pubjelly.
Jellyfish is fine dining.
It's the contrast of the ra and the cooked with Latino, Asian flavors.
The creativity part of my work is what truly makes me happy
So I'm here to showcase what I can do with fine dining and a firepit.
Hello, chefs.
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.
But 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.
Speaking of judges, here's who you'll need to impress.
[Dylan] Chef Dominique Leac is an acclaimed chef and barbecue expert.
She's the chef/owner of Lexington Betty Smokehous
with three locations in the Chicago area.
Hi, chefs. Welcome to the arena.
-Hello, hello. -Thank you.
[Dylan] Chef Andrea Nicholso is chef/owner of Butchie's restaurant,
Banana's dessert shop, and the unique culinary event space, Dish Play.
Hi, chefs. Bring your hustle today, okay?
Yes, chef.
[Dylan] Chef Eddie Jackson is a celebrity chef,
cookbook author and the owne of Rosehill Beer Garden in Houston, Texas.
Y'all ready to turn up the heat?
-Yes, sir. -Yes.
Chefs, I hope you're ready for some fierce competition,
because it's time for your first trial by fire.
In this first Wildfire Round,
you'll create a dish that showcases who you are as a chef.
You'll each have your own top-of-the-line grill station
and use of our Fire Masters firepi,
as well as access to our fully stocked and stacked pantry.
Your dish will be judged on presentation,
creativity and taste.
Chefs, are you ready?
-Yes! -Yes, sir!
You've got 30 minutes on the clock,
and your time starts...
now.
[Eddie] Let's go, chefs!
[applauding]
It's cooking time. Come on, now.
My signature dish is pan-seared salmon,
collard greens and loaded mashed potatoes.
We want to bring a little Southern flavor to it.
So I give my potatoes a quick peel.
Got to get those on first.
I know they're going to tak at least 20 minutes to soften them up.
Collard greens are the heart and soul of Southern comfort food,
and I feel like you got to have them in there.
So, like, a little bit of onion, garlic powder.
A little bit of chicken bouillon and a little pork fat.
Grease and collard greens go hand in hand.
Corn, corn, corn, corn, corn on the cob.
For my signature dish, I am making beef tataki,
burnt corn salsa with lobste
and smoked truffle ponzu sauce.
First, I'm going to start preparing my lobster
just so it has time to slowly cook in its shell
Next, I'm working on my filet mignon.
We're going to do a Japanese technique, beef tataki.
It will be seared on the outside but raw in the inside.
This is my signature dish
because it represents what I showcase in my restaurant.
The raw and the cooked.
Chef Mathieu, tell me about what you're making here in the first round.
[Mathieu] Going to get that filet mignon on a wood log
and it's going to give that nice char
and beautiful smoky flavor.
What's he got going on down there?
I'm kind of searing that beef.
This is going to be very, very hot,
but it's not necessarily going to cook through.
And is this a dish you prepared before?
No.
[all laughing]
[Dylan] Well, wishing you the best of luck, chef.
Looking forward to seeing this dish.
Thank you so much.
[Mathieu speaking in French]
[Mariana] My signature dish is a squash blossom tetela over smoky morita salsa.
This is a very traditional dish.
Only in a small town in Mexico you will be able to find it.
Tetelas is a masa pocket in the shape of a triangle.
To make the masa, I mix masa harina with water
Then I let it rest.
Looks like Chef Mariana has some scratch cooking going.
I think she's familiar with the technique she's trying today.
[Mariana] Now it's time to g all of my ingredients
for the salsa onto the firepit.
Tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic
and the beautiful morita peppers.
They are not superhot, but they're very smoky,
which is perfect for this dish.
[Mathieu] I have a good sea on my piece of meat,
so I take my filet mignon of to let it rest
so it has the time to cool down
before serving the judges.
Next, I am going to check on my lobster.
It's time to flip.
[Andrea] Chef Mathieu is cooking two proteins.
I think he's playing a risky card here.
[Dylan] Well, he's done something quite smart, thoug
He's doing a beef tataki.
Searing the outside on a really high heat super quickly.
He can now focus on his lobster.
Now I'm gonna make a lovely filling for my tetela.
Made with smoked zucchini, onions, garlic and butter,
and some Oaxaca cheese.
Oaxaca is most similar to mozzarella.
It's not a soft cheese. Once it cools, it re-solidifies.
The riskiest part of this dish is that I'm not using any meat,
but you don't need to have meat when you have a barbecue,
if you know what you're doing with the rest of your ingredients.
[Dylan] Chefs, 15 minutes left.
We're halfway through.
[Kris] Half the cook's done
And I feel like I still got to soften these greens just a little bit more.
That pan needs to be piping hot
so that it can break down the greens,
so they are nice and tender.
Chef Kris, how you doing?
Oh, trying to make it, man. Trying to make it.
I hope I can get it off in time.
Talk to me about what you're gonna do with the salmon.
My goal is to get a nice Creole, Southern flavor,
get it over there in that open fire,
hoping I can cook some great smoke and some good color on it.
Chef, wishing you the best of luck.
Looking forward to seeing this dish.
Thank you. I appreciate it greatly.
I'm a bit worried for Chef Kris.
Using that cast iron skillet
you're not really going to get that smokiness, that char.
[Andrea] I agree with you, Eddie.
Salmon is such a perfect protein for a grill
because there's significant amount of fat in salmon.
On a high, hot grill, it caramelizes nicely.
-Oh, yeah. -Why put in a cast iron frying pan?
Yeah.
[Mathieu] I'm going to star working on my smoked truffle ponzu sauce.
A bit of beef scraps, a little bit of onions.
And I deglaze it with ponzu
Ponzu is soy that has been mixed with lemon, orange or lime.
We have orange woodchips. We're gonna lightly smoke it.
Awesome.
[Mariana] It's time to finish up my salsa.
My morita sauce is sweet and smoky at the same time,
which will go great together with zucchini and cheese.
We got ten minutes left. So now I got to hustle.
Sour cream.
For these loaded mashed potatoes,
I want a little sour cream, parmesan cheese, cheddar.
And you can't go wrong with a little cayenne to give it a hint of heat
as well as some chives.
I got to get that good, rich, cheesy flavor.
When you grab a bite, there's cheese strings going into your mouth.
[Mathieu speaking in French]
[Mathieu] Next, I'm working on my burnt corn and lobster salsa.
I'm cutting up my burnt corn my tomato, my red onion,
my cilantro and my jalapeno
When it comes to lobster, I don't mess around.
I have a lobster tattooed on my arm.
I start taking off all that good meat
and I'm going to chop it up and add it to my salsa.
This corn and lobster salsa will bring freshness and crunch
to complete the dish.
[Mariana] I grab a small portion of masa
and I use my tortilla press to make my tetelas.
And we're going to put some zucchini blossoms
outside of the masa to give it some beautiful color
and texture and flavor as well.
I love that Chef Mariana grabbed squash blossoms.
That's a difficult item to prepare in the Fire Masters aren
because they're so delicate
[Mariana] I put my zucchini and my Oaxaca cheese in the masa,
and I try my best to close it without losing any of the filling.
These three edges are supposed to be overlapping and sealing,
but it's not going smoothly.
Don't break. Don't break.
Oh, no, it broke.
It's not binding together.
These tetelas keep breaking on me. I am losing my mind.
-[Eddie] Oh, my God. -[Andrea] Oh, my God.
Less than three minutes left.
I don't think she's going to be able to finish.
This could send me home.
[Mariana] These tetelas keep breaking on me.
Less than three minutes left. I don't think she's going to be able to finish.
I did not come here to lose on the first round.
I'm going to make another on and make sure that it's pret
and choose the three best.
Then I look for the hottest place in this barbeque,
the sizzle zone.
I move my pan over there
and I continue to cook the tetelas.
Chef Mariana just moved it to the sizzle zone.
High heat will cook fast, so maybe she'll pull it off.
-Mmm-hmm. -Fingers crossed.
[Dylan] Chefs, you've got two minutes left.
[Mathieu] I need to finish my truffle ponzu sauce,
so I'm adding a little bit of truffle oil
and I wanted to add a little bit of maple vinega
for the right acidity level.
[Dylan] Chefs, you have 60 seconds left!
This is it!
Get it on the plate.
My God.
Oh-ho!
[Dylan and judges] Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one.
Time's up, chefs.
[applause]
[Mathieu] I did not get a chance to taste the whole dish,
so I'm feeling a little bit stressed,
but happy, I have to say.
[sighs]
[Mariana] My Mexican grandm would not believe I cooked that.
But 30 minutes got the best of me, and I'm very, very worried.
I was kind of rushing, should have slowed down,
but I'm hoping they'll appreciate the seasoning.
Chef Mathieu, please tell us what you made for your signature dish.
[Mathieu] I prepared for you chefs, beef tataki,
burnt corn salsa with lobste and smoked truffle ponzu sauce.
Chef Mathieu, very attractive plate you have here.
I'm really excited to taste everything together.
Thank you, chef.
Chef Mathieu, I'm very impressed.
We saw you utilizing a lot of different elements
in the Fire Masters are.
This is wildly creative.
Thank you.
You clearly know how to cook lobster.
It is tender, but the beef is coming off a little bit bland.
I can taste the ponzu, but it just didn't give enough salt flavor.
And also it's missing char.
If you would have given it more of a tataki ring,
you would have really identified that contrast in your mouth.
-Yes, chef. -Thank you very much, chef.
Thank you.
If I move to the next round I will improve on showcasing more fire.
We are at Fire Masters, so I have to step it up.
Chef Mariana, please tell us about your signature dish.
[Mariana] I made a squash blossom tetela with roasted morita salsa.
Chef Mariana, this dish may not have come out like you wanted it to,
but I can't wait to dive in
and really and truly get a sense of who you are as a chef.
Chef Mariana, I give you massive points for creativity in this round.
Using a vegetable rather than a protein,
you were risky in this dish.
I thought your tetela was lovely.
It's just straightforward clean flavors of that masa that really shines through.
Your sauce is phenomenal.
-Thank you. -It is smoky.
It is sweet. I get the char.
But unfortunately, you know, squash blossoms are so delicate
and they get a little bit lost.
All I needed was a little more char.
It would have complemented the salsa so well.
-Thank you, chef. -Thank you.
I'm feeling a little bit more confident
because they really liked the salsa,
so I'm hoping I can pass to the next round.
Chef Kris, please tell us about your signature dish.
[Kris] I made pan-seared salmon with collard greens
and loaded mashed potatoes.
The flavor in the salmon is really good.
Whatever rub you created, you can taste it.
Unfortunately, it's overcooked.
It was a little bit dry.
My piece was really inconsistent compared to my friends'.
It was a lot larger, which is why you got the undercook on mine
and the overcook on Andrea's.
Cut all your proteins the same size
so they cook the same amount of time.
That salmon would have been perfect
with more of a smoky flavor as well.
[Eddie] The greens are spectacular.
I get those garlic notes,
I get that pop of smoke.
Every component on your dish is seasoned beautifully.
I just want to keep going back for more and more and more.
-Thank you, chef. -Thank you.
And thank you, chefs.
Let's let the judges deliberate.
We'll call you back when we're ready.
[Kris groans]
I could have did better on that salmon,
but the seasoning is important to me,
so I'm glad that came through.
Well, judges, the Wildfire Round is complete.
How did they do?
Chef Mathieu, you talk about utilizing the Fire Masters arena.
He went for it, and he took some risk,
and I have to reward him for that.
[Andrea] I think it was a beautiful plate.
It was something that you would get at a high-end restaurant.
[Dominique] It was definitel the most attractive,
but it needed more salt and that steak needed more char.
How did you feel about Chef Mariana's squash blossom dish?
I give her so many points for not serving protein
in the Fire Masters are.
Yeah, I think that her dish was the most creative.
The flavors were really clean.
That smoky tomato salsa had heat,
had acidity, had character.
But the squash blossom, which was supposed to be the star of the dish,
got completely lost.
How do you feel about Chef Kris's signature dish?
Chef Kris really seasoned all of his components properly.
So I would say he did the best job
of creating flavor on his plate.
I just can't look past the inconsistency
in all three cuts of the salmon.
I agree with you, Eddie.
The salmon was not cooked properly.
Well, it seems like each of these chefs had a strength
in a different category.
This is going to be a difficult one to decide.
But have you made a decision?
[all] Yes.
Let's call the chefs back in.
Chefs, in this first Wildfire Round,
you were asked to create a dish
that shows your personality on a plate.
Judges, whose signature dish was the best in this round?
The chef with the best dish is...
Chef Mathieu.
[applause]
Thank you, guys.
Congratulations, Chef Mathieu.
You'll have an advantage heading into the next round.
Thank you.
It's down to Chef Mariana and Chef Kris.
Judges, who will you be sending home?
The chef who will be going home is...
Judges, it's down to Chef Mariana
with her squash blossom tetela and morita salsa
and Chef Kris with his pan-seared salmon
and collard greens.
Judges, please tell us,
who will you be sending home?
The chef who will be going home is...
Chef Kris.
Dang.
Chef Kris, I'm sorry to say you've been eliminated from the competition.
It's time to leave the Fire Masters arena.
Thank you, judges.
No regrets about my dish.
Could have cooked it a little bit better, I feel, but no regrets.
I had a lot of fun.
Chefs, please welcome Montana's executive chef, Jen Hennings.
Hi, chefs.
-Hello. -Hello.
At Montana's, we believe that barbeque food is comfort,
that warm, satisfying feel-good meal that reminds you of home.
For your next challenge, you will go head-to-head
to create your take on a classic dish.
Get ready for...
Battle of the Comfort Classics.
[laughs]
We want you to serve up some dishes packed with feel good flavor,
juicy cuts of meat and stick to your rib sides.
Chef Mathieu, because you won the first round,
you have the advantage and you get to choose your ingredient first.
Which do you choose to cook with, top sirloin or pork loin?
I will cook with the pork loin with pleasure.
I chose pork loin because of the fat content.
I want to get a little bit of that smoky flavor, charred flavor.
Which means, Chef Mariana, you'll be cooking with top sirloin.
Thank you, Chef Jen.
Thanks, Dylan. Good luck, chefs.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
Chefs, you've got 30 minutes back on the clock,
and your time starts now.
[Eddie] Let's go, chefs.
[Mariana] I am so excited we're cooking comfort classics.
I think cheesy, buttery, super rich.
So I am making top sirloin steaks
with poblano mac and cheese
The first thing I have to do is to put my pasta into that boiling water
to get that going.
And then I roast my poblano on the open firepit.
Incorporating the poblano peppers into my mac and cheese
shows that Mexican flair that I always carry with me.
[Mathieu] I'm making grilled pork loin with cheesy mashed potatoes
and an apple and onion chutney.
I'm gonna start working on these mashed potatoes and my grilled pork loin,
cutting the fat part and salting it very abundant
so that I can render the fa over the heat.
I want to bring in that fire flavor
that the judges were talking about.
Chef Mathieu, you know, having that advantage chose the pork loin,
which I think was a very smart choice.
But that pork loin has a very thick fat cap.
You want to kind of trim that down a little bit
so that you don't have flare ups.
-[Mathieu] Ooh! -[Andrea] Oh, boy.
Here comes the flames.
[Mathieu] I look over at my pork loin and it's on fire.
I really have to do something before it's too late.
[Dominique speaking]
Oh, no, no, no.
Look at that.
[Mathieu] Well, this is not vacation.
Ooh!
[Mariana] Because I'm making a steak and mac and cheese,
it's a very rich dish.
I want to cut through that fat with acidity and sweetness.
So I'm going to pickle some purple onions.
And for that, I need apple cider vinegar and a bunch of spices,
cumin, star anise, clove.
I chop my onions and add them to my pickling liquid.
I want my purple onions to be super bright.
So I grab a beet, I slice it
and I add it to my pickling liquid to get that color popping.
[Mathieu] I'm gonna start working on my apple and onion chutne
Pork and apples is a classic
I throw a spring of rosemar in there, I add beef stock
and I let that cook down.
Oh, you want to take a bath in it.
[chuckles]
All right, judges,
today we're digging into one of Montana's favorites,
Comforting Classics.
Talk to me about what gives a dish comfort food status.
For me, it's all about like richness.
So I think of things like butter and cream.
Some cheese.
-Cheese. Yeah. -Right, yeah.
Almost like food that gives you a hug.
Or makes you want to go to sleep.
-Yeah. -Definitely.
[laughter]
[Mariana] I'm gonna make a bechamel as a base of my cheese sauce
So I whisk butter, flour and milk
until it starts to get thickened.
I am using a blend of smoked gouda,
Gruyere and cheddar.
Yeah, that's it, Chef Mariana. More cheese.
More cheese, please.
[Mariana] You got it.
I'm adding the poblanos to my cheese
and I blend them one more time so they're in small pieces.
Then I add it to my bechame and let it melt away.
Chefs, 15 minutes left. We are halfway.
[Mariana] I need to get goin with my meat.
I'm a little bit concerned about Chef Mariana's steak.
I think it's just late in the game.
[Dylan] That's a big cut of meat to break down.
I am rushing. This isn't my best seasoning, but I keep moving.
I use salt, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin.
I have to get this on the grill.
[Dylan] Ten minutes left, chefs! Let's go!
[Mathieu] I'm cutting into my pork loin and it's raw.
[Andrea] In 30 minutes, you cannot cook a whole pork loin.
If he had cut it a little smaller,
he would have a different product right now.
[Mathieu] I'm stressing.
I have to figure out a solution to put that pork on the plate.
So I decide to get them grilling on the other grill.
Next, I have to make my cheesy mashed potatoes.
So I add Gruyere cheese,
smoked gouda and parmesan cheese.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
[Dylan] Chefs, only five minutes remaining.
-[Eddie] Let's go! Come on now! -Let's go. There you go.
[cheering and applause]
[Mariana] My steaks are read but I need to add something crunchy to my pasta,
so I think panko.
And I had some sauce left from my pasta,
so I mix my panko with the sauce.
[Dylan] Thirty seconds, chefs. Let's go.
[applause]
[Mathieu exhales heavily]
I'm worried that my pork is not ready,
but there's no more time.
I have to put my pork on the plate.
[Dylan and judges] Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one.
[Dylan] Time's up, chefs.
-[Andrea] Nice! -[Dominique] Great job!
[applause]
[Mariana] I presented a beautiful dis with amazing ingredients.
The only thing I'm worried about
is that I may have under-seasoned my steaks.
[Mathieu] I have brought the char and the smoke,
but is my pork perfectly cooked?
I don't know.
Chef Mathieu, please tell us what you made for the judges.
[Mathieu] I prepared grilled pork loin,
served on cheesy mashed potatoes
with an apple and onion chutney.
Chef Mathieu, the pork is kind of hit and miss.
You didn't trim off any of the fat cap.
So what happened is that fat really started to render
a little quicker than you wanted it to,
you were getting flare ups.
So you have pockets of the loin
that are perfectly cooked and I can taste the seasoning,
but then I have pockets where I can really get
that acrid kind of a flavor from those flare ups.
And then you have pockets of it that are under.
I think it would have worked
if you would have just put that grate a little higher
and cut the loin down a little smaller.
But the challenge was comfort food.
And these apples are making me want to hug you.
This smoky flavor with the rosemary,
the onions and the apples, they are so good.
The flavor profile of the mashed potatoes is dead on, creamy.
I could taste the cheese.
Delicious.
-Thank you very much, chef. -Thank you.
My dish had a flaw with the protein cooking,
but I truly hope that my overall dish,
the theme, the flavors, will make me go forward.
Chef Mariana, please tell us what you made using top sirloin.
[Mariana] I made top sirloin steaks over poblano mac and cheese
with pickled purple onions.
Chef Mariana, you're pickled onions are killer.
You need to bottle them and sell them.
I love the fact that you charred them first
because you can really tast that charred note in it.
Your mac and cheese, it's really creamy.
It's really, really cheesy.
And I would have never thought to use a poblano pepper.
And I think it was a really smart addition.
[Eddie] I just feel like you missed the mark
when you started doing your seasonings.
You have pops of it in your plate,
but you never really applied it to the steak itself.
[Andrea] I wish you would have imparted
some kind of vinegary marinade and a harder sear
to really amplify the flavor.
The cook, though, it's a medium rare.
It's perfect. You nailed it.
Thank you, chef. And thank you, chef.
Let's give the judges a couple of minutes to deliberate
and we'll call you back when we're ready.
[Mariana] I am happy about my mac and cheese and my pickled onions,
but I wish I could have seasoned my meat a little bit better.
Judges, the Crossfire Round is complete,
and it was Battle of the Comfort Classics.
One of our chefs is cooking with top sirloin
and the other with pork loin.
How'd they do?
I think Chef Mathieu really excelled with the comforting sides.
The apples were beautiful accompanimen with the pork loin.
His mashed potatoes were so creamy, so buttery.
Spot on.
He had some inconsistencies with his cook on the pork.
But when you got a bite that had those pops of seasoning,
it was absolutely delicious.
Let's talk about Chef Mariana and her top sirloin dish.
The red onions were a great pop, really a nice addition.
And I really loved the cook on Chef Mariana's sirloin,
especially since we were worried
she got it on the plate really late.
[Andrea] But the steak had no seasoning.
It was just lacking in any type of flavor.
This is a close one. But have you made a decision?
[all] Yes.
Let's call the chefs back in.
Chefs, in this Crossfire Round,
you were asked to create classic comfort food
using either pork loin or top sirloin.
The winner of this round will receive a Napoleon Portable Grill
and move on to the final round
to face off against one of our Fire Masters judges.
Judges, please tell us,
who will be moving on to the final round?
The chef who'll be moving on to the final round is...
Chef Mathieu.
Congratulations, Chef Mathieu.
You've won yourself a portable grill
and you're moving on to the final round.
Chef Mariana, you're clearly a very talented chef.
Thank you very much for showcasing your heritage here.
Thank you very much, chefs.
Even though I'm not going to the Feast of Fire,
I had a blast, and I wish I can do it again.
Chef Mathieu, in the first two rounds,
you established your expertise on the grill,
but now it's time to add fuel to the fire.
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 Dominique Leach.
-Hey-hey! -[Eddie] Let's go, chef.
-Let's go. -Show 'em what it's like.
All my life I've been waiting for the moment
to try and beat a judge.
Congratulations.
Thank you, chef.
-It's an honor to be against you. -Thank you.
[Mathieu] I have to give everything I can.
I'm taking Chef Dominique down.
[Dylan] Chef Mathieu, Chef Dominique,
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...
Classic Steakhouse.
-Ah! -Yes!
There you go.
[Dylan] Premium cuts of beef, iconic sides and decadent desserts.
Give us a feast full of steakhouse staples
that celebrates maximum indulgence.
The stakes have never been higher,
so you'll each have a sous-chef to help you create your feasts.
These feasts will be tasted blind,
which means we're not going to be here to watch you cook.
But when we do return,
I'll be taking Chef Dominique's seat at the judges table.
Chefs, before you get started, I've got a hot twist for you.
Over by the fire pit, there are two branding irons.
Grab an iron and brand a piece of wood
to reveal an ingredient you must use in your feast.
You've got 45 minutes on the clock,
and your time starts now.
Trip to the steakhouse tonight.
Reservation for three.
[laughter]
[Mathieu] I take my branded iron from the fir
and it reveals "Dijon mustard".
I love Dijon mustard.
Bacon!
Just give me the win now.
This...
[Dominique] We need mucho butter.
Bam!
I have a lot of experience in steakhouse.
I worked in one all through culinary school
I figure I'm going to go big or go home.
Thank you, sir.
For my main, I'm making beef tenderloin
with smoked mushroom cream sauce.
For my first side, I'm making lyonnaise potatoe with bacon.
For my second side, I'm making wedge salad
with blue cheese dressing and bacon.
And for my dessert, grilled peach and raspberry trifle.
I start off by seasoning my beef tenderloi
with some salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
And I'm going to get it right on the firepit for a nice char.
Beautiful.
Okay. We're not looking too bad.
I have to use Dijon mustard in my feast.
So for my main, I'm making grilled porterhouse with Dijon sauce.
One of my sides is creamy spinach oysters Rockefeller.
My other side, blue cheese and Dijon wedge salad.
And for dessert, chocolate lava cake.
First, I wanted to attack my porterhouse.
I'm adding rosemary and I'm elevating the grill
I really want to keep an ey on that meat.
I have to think about the flaws that I have done in the past rounds
and try and be flawless in this round.
Well, my friends, this is such an incredible theme for tonight,
Classic Steakhouse.
This is where you absolutely have to nail your proteins.
And also, the cool thing about this challenge is that
you think about steakhouse side.
They're very retro.
So these chefs have an opportunity to put a spin on them
and add a modern vibe.
I think that's where the challenge is going to come,
in taking these straightforward rich sides
and incorporating the Fire Masters arena.
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a big steak and a glass of wine.
Count me in.
[Dominique] I'm going to sta on my mushroom sauce
because you don't go to a steakhouse
and not get a beautiful sauce with your steak.
I'm gonna chop some shallots and garlic,
put it in a cast iron pan with some white wine and mushroom stock.
And then I hit it with some cream.
While my sauce is reducing, I get some apple chips on the charcoal grill
so I can smoke my mushrooms.
I'm going to use shitake, trumpet,
some oyster mushrooms and portobellos
because I really want an earthy flavor
and different elements in the sauce.
-[sous-chef 1] So you want some 'Nduja in the oysters? -[Mathieu] Yeah.
I get my sous-chef to get working on the creamy spinach stuffi
for the oyster Rockefeller.
Coming around the behind.
[Mathieu] In one pan, I add some spinach to my butter and shallots.
In the other pan, I'm rending the fat of the 'Nduja sausage.
It's smoked and spicy.
I mix the both together and then I add cream, parmesan and Swiss cheese.
These are ready to stuff.
Don't be scared to overload the oysters.
[sous-chef 1] Heard, chef.
Thirty minutes!
I move my beef tenderloin from the firepit
to the charcoal grill so I can get some smoke flavor on it.
My sous-chef is working on the lyonnaise potatoes.
A lyonnaise potato are thinly sliced potatoes cooked in a saute pan
with onions and bacon.
We're going to cook those potatoes in that bacon fat.
-In that? -Yes.
He has to layer these potato so that we get a nice caramelization
and be able to flip this onto a plate
and it be a beautiful presentation.
Let's throw some butter in there.
Everything's better with butter.
Now I'm preferring the chocolate lava cake.
Coming hot.
I have to incorporate my whipped eggs with sugar
into the chocolate and melted butter.
I add my flour.
Oh, eeh, eeh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
And then in the molds they g
Ooh!
I actually make chocolate lava cake every day.
But this is the first time that I am making it in a barbeque,
so I'm a little stressed.
[Dominique] Twenty minutes.
Just going to go on my gas grill, give these a mark.
At the steakhouse I came from, we served cake,
creme brulee and fruit.
So I think of this raspberr and grilled peach trifle with ladyfingers.
I whipped some mascarpone with some powdered sugar
and then I add some raspberries.
This mascarpone whip is going to hold all my ladyfingers together
as I make layers.
[Dominique] Fifteen minutes!
I'm starting the mushroom sauce.
Mushroom and steak is a steakhouse classic.
My mushrooms are caramelized,
so I deglaze with brandy, I add my Dijon,
cream and my demi-glace,
and I start reducing to have a beautiful, thick sauce for the steak.
Perfect.
I go check on my porterhouse
Beautiful coloration.
I'm taking my steak off the grill, adding salt and pepper,
and I'm letting it rest.
Ten minutes!
Ten minutes, heard.
I add my smoked mushrooms to my cream.
Make for a nice smoky sauce. And then I'm gonna mount some butter in it.
Sauce is working.
Six minutes, sir, okay?
It's time to plate these potatoes.
[sous-chef 2] Ah, come on.
It's destroying a little bit.
[Dominique] But the last thi I want to do
is flip these potatoes onto a plate and they fall apart.
If they don't work out, I'm ruined.
And I've got to figure out something else to serve.
[Dominique] Six minutes, sir, okay?
[sous-chef 2] Cross your fingers.
The last thing I want to do is flip these potatoes onto a plate
and they fall apart.
If they don't work out, I'm ruined.
[sous-chef 2] Okay, chef.
Beautiful.
Whoo!
That is money.
Perfect.
Five minutes!
-Very hot coming in. -Heard.
[Mathieu] My oysters are looking beautiful,
so I'm going to start platin my grilled wedge salad with Dijon
and blue cheese dressing.
There's three minutes left, and my love of cakes are still in the barbeque.
Oh, this is not cooked.
I'm a little worried, but I still have time.
Let's go a little bit higher.
Two minutes at 400, I could actually maybe make it.
Oh, this is getting me stressed.
[Dominique] Two minutes!
I slice my beef tenderloin, I see that it's perfect.
It is a beautiful, medium rare.
I fan up some nice medallion and garnish it with the mushroom sauce.
All right.
So it's time to plate this dessert.
This is a really soft cream and I don't want to destroy it.
One minute.
[Mathieu] I'm slicing into my porterhouse
and it's looking medium rare
so I'm confident about my cook.
Coming in hot.
I take out my lava cakes.
I'm hoping they are perfectly cooked.
Ooh.
[all] Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Whoo!
Great job!
Good job.
You're awesome. Thank you so much.
That was a good one.
[Dominique] I'm very happy with the finished product.
This is a classic steakhouse feast.
[Mathieu] I'm happy and I'm confident about this dish,
but at this point, it's all up to the judges.
Well, my friends, tonight, it's all about the Classic Steakhouse.
This chef had to cook with Dijon mustard.
This chef has made for us grilled porterhouse with Dijon sauce,
creamy spinach oysters Rockefeller,
blue cheese and Dijon wedge salad,
and we'll finish off with chocolate lava cake.
Well, I got to tell you, it passes the eye test
when you talk about old school steakhouse.
For sure. Let's dig in.
[Eddie] Oh, this smells so good.
I think the chef did a really great job on their porterhouse.
It is perfect. It's medium rare.
[Eddie] I 100% agree,
but I'm not a big fan of the Dijon mushroom sauce.
It does have a bitter taste to it.
Which sometimes happens when you cook mustard out too long.
I think this is a really creative take on oysters Rockefeller.
There's a ton of spice in there.
You get a ton of cheese.
I love the spices coming through and that charred lemon,
it gives it some freshness, gives it a little bit of lif
Yeah. This is very good.
[Dylan] I really like this wedge salad.
You can see a little bit of grill on there,
but the lettuce still has all of its integrity.
I also love that the chef used Dijon mustard in the salad dressing.
Very smart way to use that ingredient.
-Dressing's phenomenal. -Mmm-hmm.
I'm ready to dive into dessert.
Yes, let's do it.
[Dylan] Our first chef has prepared chocolate lava cake.
Oh, they're still warm.
[Eddie] Going right for the center.
It's the lava cake, right?
Uh-oh.
I don't know about you guys, but there was no lava in my lava cake.
No.
There's no lava, but it's tasty.
-Yeah. -Mmm-hmm.
And kudos for cooking a cake in the Fire Masters arena.
This first feast was an excellent interpretation
of steakhouse mainstays.
I'm looking forward to seeing what the second chef has in store for us.
-Mos def. -Me too.
Our second feast has landed.
And we've got another incredible-looking steakhouse feast.
This chef had to cook with bacon.
This chef has prepared beef tenderloin
with smoked mushroom cream sauce,
lyonnaise potatoes with bacon,
wedge salad with blue chees dressing and bacon
and will finish off with grilled peach and raspberry trifle.
Let's do this.
[Eddie] Well, the steak definitely looks like it's cooked perfectly.
Ooh.
[laughs] That's good.
-The tenderloin is smoked to perfection. -[Dylan] Mmm-hmm.
But it's not overpowering smoke.
It's just a subtle smoke note, which is so good.
-It's very well-balanced. -Mmm-hmm.
Great mushroom sauce on top.
[Andrea] This chef has chose the meatiest mushrooms in the pantry
and they hold their smoke and char so well.
I love these lyonnaise-style potatoes.
We've got the exterior being crispy.
And then as you go through it,
there's those tender pieces of potato that are creamy,
and then you get that delicious lardon of bacon
with caramelized onion.
I mean, these are like three ingredients that work so well together.
-The bacon is what makes it, though. -Yeah.
-That pop of, like, salt. -Yeah.
-Almost like a chip. -Yes.
[Andrea] This salad, even though it's extremely simple,
really balances out very heavy, very rich.
I wish, though, that there was a little bit more blue cheese
or blue cheese crumbled on top.
[Dylan] There's zero use of the Fire Masters aren in there.
The chef really could have blistered the cherry tomatoes
or done something to tie in those elements.
[Andrea] I agree.
I'm ready to cap this feast off with some dessert.
-Let's do it. -Ooh, let's go.
This chef has prepared grilled peach and raspberry trifle.
I love the fact that this chef made mousse.
I think it's well-flavored,
but unfortunately ladyfingers can be quite dense in the center.
So I wish that the ladyfingers were soaked
in some kind of liqueur or simple syrup.
[Eddie] I do appreciate the grilled peaches in here though.
It really gave it a dynamic element.
Another great dessert to wrap up our second steakhouse feast.
Well, my friends, two classic steakhouse feasts.
Let's break this down plate by plate
and see which chef came out on top.
Let's start with the mains.
The first chef preparing that grilled porterhouse with Dijon sauce.
The second chef with the tenderloin and creamy mushrooms.
Both of these proteins were cooked absolutely perfectly,
but the second chef did a better job
of giving us a taste of the Fire Masters arena.
I totally agree with you, Eddie.
I think the smoke flavors were spot on
and the mushroom sauce was also robust.
Let's take a look at our sides.
I can probably eat that entire plate of oyster as well as that...
-[Andrea] Yeah. -[Eddie] Yeah.
[Dylan] ...whole plate of lyonnaise potatoes.
-This is a tough one. -This is very tough.
I really loved the oyster Rockefeller concept.
I like the addition of the spice.
But for me, the second chef takes the side.
Caramelized onions and bacon together
were just perfectly harmonious.
Now it's the battle of the salads.
Battle of the wedge salad.
The first chef with the heavy blue cheese and Dijon dressing,
and the second chef with the much lighter blue cheese dressing.
I think the first chef's salad dressing was way more dynamic.
[Eddie] It was so robust and tangy and thick,
and I appreciate that first chef taking that extra step
to char that lettuce.
As it happens so often, it all comes down to dessert.
The first chef with the chocolate lava cake,
the second chef with the grilled peach and raspberry trifle.
That was not a lava cake.
-No. -No.
But I would eat that chocolate cake over that trifle any day.
The ladyfingers were too crisp.
They needed to be soaked in something.
Whereas the chocolate cake, you didn't get a gooey center,
but it was a really good chocolate cake.
Well, my friends, two amazing feasts
that really exemplified decadent steakhouse dining.
-Mmm-hmm. -This is a difficult call.
[whimpers]
But I think we made our decision.
-I think we have. -Yeah.
Let's call the chefs back in.
[Dominique] The moment of truth is here
We're about to find out who won this feast.
[Mathieu] My heart is poundi in my chest.
I'm excited for the result.
Chefs, we felt spoiled by both of your classic steakhouse feasts.
They were loaded with old-school luxury.
In the first feast, we thought the oysters Rockefeller
were a creative take on an iconic dish.
Unfortunately, the mushroom and Dijon sauce had a bit of a bitter flavor.
In the second feast, we thought the beef tenderloin
was smoked and seasoned to perfection.
However, we're missing the flavors of the Fire Masters arena
in the wedge salad.
Chefs, we have made our decision.
Tonight's winning feast is...
the second feast
with the smoked beef tenderloin and lyonnaise potatoes.
Oh, yeah. [laughs]
[applause]
Congratulations, Chef Dominique,
you've successfully defended your Fire Masters title.
Thank you.
I've won the battle. Woo-hoo!
And congratulations, Chef Mathieu,
you're an innovative and talented chef.
It was a pleasure watching you work
in the Fire Masters arena today
and an honor to taste your food.
-Thank you. -[Dylan] Thank you very much.
-Thank you, judges. -Thank you, chef.
Great job, great job.
[Mathieu] I have showcased who I am,
and that was, for me, the biggest gift.
-Good work today, chef. -Thank you.
It's very, very close.
[Mathieu] I'm walking out of here a very proud chef.
All my life, I wanted to battle a judge.
[laughter] There you go.
-Dreams do come true. -Yeah.
[laughs]