Welcome to Fire Masters.
Where three chefs will take on three blazing culinary challenges.
-Whoo. -[woman] It's hot.
Two will be eliminated
and the last chef standing will go head to head agains
one of our Fire Masters judg
battling for the chance to win $10,000.
Oh, Lord, this is not gonna happen.
He needs to keep his wits about him
And to earn their place as a Fire Masters champion.
Texturally, it's kind of a mess.
I feel like we're missing a couple components.
-Speed. -[Jenni] Let's go.
Skill.
-Whoo. -Scorching competition.
[woman] Charred.
This is Fire Masters.
Three chefs are fired up and ready to battle
for the title of today's Fire Masters champion.
Let's meet them.
First up, Andrew Plaza from Calgary, Alberta.
[Andrew] I'm a self-taught pitmaster.
I've been cooking over open fire for well over 10 years.
My love of cooking over charcoal started on a trip to Montana.
It sparked a passion deep inside that I didn't kn was there
and I just have continued ever since.
I'm the next Fire Masters champion because I have
the knowledge the skills and the drive to win.
-Hi, chefs. -Next, Amanda Chigumira from Toronto, Ontario.
I am the chef and owner of FitChef Toronto.
When you cook with meat, you have to do it with respect.
The protein on a dish is the most important.
I'm very competitive internally.
On the outside, I'm very cal but on the inside,
I'm going to get you.
Chefs, it's a pleasure to be here.
And last, James Boatright Sr. from St. Louis, Missouri.
I'm the operator and owner of Big J Soul's BBQ and More, LLC.
I've been around open fire cooking
since I was knee high to a grasshopper.
I'm a very competitive perso when it comes to cooking,
but I'm not one of those types that's going to try to chop your head off
in order to win.
When I cook, I want to touch people's soul,
not just their taste buds.
Hey, chefs, how y'all doing today? Thanks for having me.
Chefs, welcome to Fire Masters.
Here's how it's all going down.
There'll 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.
Speaking of judges, here's who you'll need to impress.
Chef Kevin Bludso is an award winning pitmaste
and cookbook author,
and is the owner of the popular Bludso's Barbecu
with locations worldwide.
What's up, chefs?
-How you doing? -How you doing, chef?
Ray Lampe aka Dr. Barbecue has published nine cookbook
and is a member of the Barbecue Hall of Fame
Welcome, chefs. We're glad to have you here.
-Thank you, chef. -Thank you.
Chef Jenni Lessard is an award winning Metis ch
and recipe developer.
She's the indigenous culinar consultant
at Wanuskewin Heritage Park
I'm excited to taste the food you'll be cooking up in the arena.
Thank you, chef.
Chefs, I hope you brought your A game because
it's time for your first trial by fire.
In this first wildfire round, you'll create a signature dish
that reveals who you are on a plate.
You will each have your own top of the line grill station
and use of our Fire Masters firepit.
As well as access to our fully stocked pantry
Your dish will be judged on presentation, creativity,
and, of course, taste.
Chefs, are you ready?
-Let's go. -Let's do it.
You've got 30 minutes on the clock
and your time starts...
-Now. -Let's go, chefs.
Chefs, let's get it.
Time starts. I want to get everything I know
I'm gonna need for this dis
and then get on out here it.
For my signature dish, I'm making seared rack of la
lollipops with a mustard lamb sauce
along with carrots and a brown butter sauce.
Mmm.
If I can pull this dish off, it's gonna sing a love song
to they taste buds.
Something like this.
♪ I know that you love it ♪
♪ I know that you want more ♪
[Andrew] I'm making smokey stuffed pork chops
with a green bean salad.
First thing I have to do is cut it
and dice that bacon really fine.
Throw it into cast iron pan and drop that grill grate.
Right on to the fire.
This chopped up bacon is going to go into part of the stuffing
with cream cheese and gouda.
Grilling and barbecuing is my artistic outlet.
I can't paint, can't draw, but I can create a magic
with a pork shoulder or a rack of ribs.
It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining
and I'm ready to win $10,000.
First step, get the protein going.
My signature dish is a fiery flank steak sala
with charred kale pesto.
This is me on a plate.
It's expressive, it's colorful, it's beautiful.
I get some salt and pepper, a little cumin.
This dish is really about the cook on the flank steak
Right on the pit.
Judges, the wild fire round is well underway
and the chefs down there on the Fire Masters arena floor
are just tearing it up.
What's the key to cooking the perfect flank steak?
-There's virtually no fat on a flank steak. -No.
So, if you overcook it, it's going to be dry.
Time is ticking and I know just want to taste some smoke
and some fire in there.
This pantry, it got a beautiful variety of woodchips.
Now, I'm going to take those wood chips
and put them over those live coals.
Let it get a nice smoke going, so I can get those lollipops on.
I'm 10 minutes in, but then it... [snaps fingers] Ping.
Carrots, gotta get these carrots going.
[Andrew] Start working on my pork sirloin,
I'm butchering it into one inch pieces
and then opening it up, so I can put my stuffing.
I picked pork sirloin becaus it's a flavorful piece of me
with fat around it and becau it's gonna cook within
that 30 minute time range.
When you stuff the pork cho with this mix of
wonderful cheeses and bacon,
it's going to release some of the extra fat in the baco
and it's going to allow that cheese to really
kind of become a sauce.
Stuffed pork chop is a really cool idea,
but I always worry about it because now you've got to get
two things cooked perfectly.
Filling, whatever that may be.
And a lot of times, you end over cooking the pork chop
to get that filling just right.
I'm adding black cherry wood chips to the grill
because pork and cherries are perfect.
Pork is mild, cherry is a bit tart and a bit sweet.
Adding it together enhances the flavor profile of the pork itself.
I gotta get going on my green beans,
so I throw 'em in a hot cast iron pan,
add a little bit of water to 'em to get them steamed.
I have to make the pesto. I'm gonna use the charred kale,
some basil and some toasted roasted almonds.
I take my kale, I get them oiled up.
Salt and pepper and on the grill to get a nice char.
Chef Amanda, you know, usually salad isn't the first thing
we think about in the Fire Masters arena.
So, how are you going to put a twist on this to really wow the judges?
Just have to be in the charred pesto.
Healthy food is delicious, it can be flavorful,
you don't have to eat grass.
So, that's what I'm all about.
-Looking forward to seeing this dish. -Thank you.
[Amanda] I know my flank steak is probably ready to be resting.
I'm going for a medium rare so I put foil on while it rests
to keep some of the heat,
while the rest of the heat escapes from the bottom.
So, normally what I do is I take the whole carrots
and drop them in boiling water
for maybe five minutes.
And so, while I'm cutting these carrots,
now that I remember them.
Okay, I gotta go over, check on my lamb.
Looking great.
And then that's when I realize...
My time is almost up. I got like 10 minutes left.
Where did the time go?
Ugh, these carrots are gonna screw me up.
I'm really worried.
These gonna be real tight. Ten minutes, Lord.
I gotta gather myself, pull myself in. Focus.
Let these rest.
[Amanda] This is the moment of truth.
My first flank is a bit more rare than I want.
If the second one is this rare, then I'm going home.
[Andrew] I checked my pork chops and they're sticking to the grill.
Because I forgot to put a little oil on the outside
It's time to dress my green beans.
I add in some grated feta cheese
just for a little extra salt.
And I'm liking where this is going.
Chefs, five minutes left. It's go time.
-Go, chefs. -[all clapping]
Whoo.
The Fire Masters arena is hectic.
I may not have much time left, but if I can just get these carrots done
and serve 'em.
I gotta get my mustard lamb sauce done.
Rosemary.
So, I'm grabbing thyme and rosemary
and I got very little time.
Shallots.
Getting all this stuff together,
thinking I can do it, I can do it.
Oh, Lord, this is not gonna happen.
[Amanda] I cut into the second flank steak and it's perfect.
It's time to build these salads.
I checked the temperature on my pork chops,
still need more time, temperature for a fully cooked pork chop
is 160.
I have to get these pork chops right.
This is the star of my dish
We've got just over two minutes left
and two of the chefs are already on the plate,
one of them isn't even close yet.
Hopefully, he can get his food down before the time runs out.
I'm not gonna get this done in time,
Just plate the meat.
These carrots are not getting on the plate.
You know what I'm thinking on the plate?
This mustard lamb sauce.
One minute left, chefs. This is it.
-Let's go, chefs. -One minute, let's go.
[Andrew] My heart is racing it's time to get these pork chops on the plate.
Grab my third pork chop and all of a sudden...
[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Time's up, chefs.
[Jason] Time is up.
I see a beautiful lollipop, but the plate is just naked.
[Andrew] One epic fail.
I have three judges who are expecting a pork chop
on each plate and only two of them are going
to experience that, it's so heartbreaking.
[Amanda] I look down at my dish
and it's vibrant, the steak's amazing.
This is going to be a good bite.
Chef Amanda, please tell us what you prepared for the judges
in this round.
I prepared a fiery flank steak salad with a charred kale pesto.
Chef Amanda, this is a nice looking plate of food.
The pesto kind of stuck to the side of the bowl
as opposed to being over the meat,
but, all in all, sure looks like I'd like to eat it.
Chef Amanda, I thought my steak was cooked
to a perfect temperature, tender, no chewy.
You did an excellent job.
Chef Amanda, the salad could have used
a little more pizzazz, but when I tasted it
alongside the, the pesto,
which has a lot of flavor and the steak
which is perfectly cooked, it did work really well.
-Thank you very much, chef. -Thank you.
I'm not one to boast, but I did have all my components
on the plate.
Chef Andrew, can you please tell us what you made for the judges?
[Andrew] I did a smoking stuffed pork chop and a green bean salad.
Chef Andrew, you must have talked to my doctor.
He might have called you and said Kevin can't have none of that pork today.
-What happened, Chef Andrew? -Well, it's over there on the ground.
Because you're my friend and I feel bad about
this whole situation.
[Kevin] Oh, good looking out.
-Go ahead, grab that piece. -[Kevin] Thank you.
-All right, now we're looking much better. -Yes, thank you.
You need to thank my partner here, Chef Ray,
that grilled pork chop is excellent.
It was perfectly cooked for my...
your choice on that smoked gouda
did not overthrow the flavor at all.
If you were to move on, come on, bro, step it up.
Thank you.
Chef Andrew, when I first looked at that pork chop,
I was afraid you had kind of charred it,
but I don't think so, it tasted great.
Your green beans are fine, could've used a little more parm,
maybe a little more salt and pepper, but a really nice plate of food.
Thank you, chef.
-Thank you. -I'm feeling good about the two pork chops.
They looked and cooked beautifully.
I'm just hoping that the little piece
that Dr. Barbecue gave Mr. Bludso
is enough to sway him.
Chef James, tell us what you prepared for the judges.
I prepared a grill, seared rack of lamb lollipop style.
Chef James, I feel like we're missing a couple components, so...
-Yeah. -what happened?
Kind of lost my time and didn't get a chance
to get my other items on the plate.
What you would have had was mustard lamb sauce
and also brown butter rainbow carrots.
-Chef James, I love this lamb, it's seasoned perfectly. -Appreciate it.
I'm not sure how their cook will be,
but mine was excellent.
Thank you, chef.
-Bro, you gotta get some time management in this, man. -Yes.
It's a quick 30 minutes.
It's no doubt that you are solid on
what you're doing.
Okay? But we needed every component on there.
I needed that lamb sauce.
Yes, chef.
-Thank you, Chef. -Thank you.
And thank you, chefs.
Let's give the judges a few minutes to deliberate
and we'll call you back when we're ready.
Thank you.
I'll tell you what, that lamb? It gives me hope
because all the judges like it
and I'm not the only one that messed up,
I'm not the type of chef that serve protein only.
Everybody know me. Back home, they know I bring it.
All right, judges, our wildfire round is complete.
Let's talk about Chef Andrew and his pork chop
or I guess in your case, lack thereof.
I mean, this is our time to get technical
and how can I get just, really get down
on my technical stuff when I didn't really get a pork chop?
It was a really good pork chop.
It could have easily put the gouda and bacon
just on top and sort of made it into a sauce,
but he had it right. That pork chop was really good.
I think it is a bit of a challenge to cook
a veggie well in the heat of the arena.
I really give him props for that,
I think he gets a green bean medal.
Let's take a look at Chef James and his lamb dish.
What were your thoughts on that?
I think Chef James over promised and underdelivered.
The lamb was great. The whole dish, unfortunately wasn't there.
[Dylan] Let's take a look at Chef Amanda
and her grilled flank steak dish.
[Kevin] I'm very impressed with Chef Amanda.
She knew what her wheelhouse was,
I think she stayed within it.
I think she cooked an incredible, nice,
-flavorful flank steak. -Let's talk about that pesto.
It just needed a little more oil, I think,
honestly, to, to turn it into the texture
that a pesto would be.
So, we got one chef who seems to be the front runner
in this round and the other two who have kind of faltered a bit.
Basically, we have two chefs that have left us wanting more.
It's up to us to decide whose cooking we want
to see more of.
It's gonna be tricky to call.
-But have you made your decision? -[all] Yes.
Let's call the chefs back in.
Chefs, in this first wildfire round,
you were asked to create a signature dish
that showed your personality on a plate.
Judges, whose signature dish was the best in this round?
The chef with the best dish is...
Chef Amanda.
[all clapping]
Congratulations, Chef Amanda.
You will have an advantage heading into the next round.
Well done.
Judges, it's down to Chef Andrew and Chef James.
Who will you be sending home?
The chef who will be going home is...
Judges, it's down to Chef Andrew
with his smoky stuffed pork chop.
And Chef James with his seared lamb lollipops.
Who will you be sending home?
The chef who will be going home is...
Chef James.
Chef James, I'm sorry to say you've been eliminated
from the competition.
And it's time to leave the Fire Masters arena.
Thank you, chef. Thank you for the opportunity.
Hey, man, somebody's gotta win
and somebody gotta learn. There's never no losses, always learning.
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?
-Let's go. -Open it up.
You'll be cooking with...
pork tenderloin.
-Nice. -Awesome.
You will each create a pork tenderloin dish
that highlights a different ingredient.
Chef Amanda, as the winner of the first round,
you get to decide whether you'd like to incorporate
pineapple into your dish.
Or pass that on to Chef Andrew and take a chance
with what's under the crate.
[Amanda] I don't know what' under the crate,
but I want to. You don't win playing it safe.
So, Chef Amanda, what would you like to do?
I'll take the crate.
Okay, Chef Amanda, you'll be making
a pork tenderloin dish with...
kimchi.
[all exclaiming]
Kimchi is delicious. I'm excited.
Which means Chef Andrew, you'll be cooking with pineapple.
-Awesome. -Chefs, are you ready?
-Let's go. -Let's do this.
You've got 30 minutes back on the clock
and your time starts...
now.
Let's go, chefs. Let's go. Go, chefs.
[Andrew] I am happy to be ab to go out there again
and give it 110% now.
I'm making smokey pineapple glaze pork tenderloin
with a pineapple cream corn and tomato and pineapple salsa.
Pork tenderloin, I've got this. I make it all the time.
I know what to do with it.
Pork is generally a lean mea so you really want to enhance it
with as much flavor as you can.
So, I'm adding Mexican chili powder, chili flakes
and Cajun seasoning.
I'm concerned going up against Chef Amanda
because she has that skill and ability to make things on a whim.
Okay.
For this crossfire round, I'm gonna make a seared pork tenderloin
with kimchi aioli.
I want to serve this tenderloin with a stir fry beside it.
So, I want to starch, I want a vegetable to go with the meat and the sauce.
For my seared pork tenderloi I need a rub.
I don't want to just use kimchi in my aioli,
I also use kimchi powder on the tenderloin.
I think kimchi is such an incredible ingredient
especially for this challenge with pork.
It's a little bit spicy, it's fermented,
so it's gonna have a natural sort of tang to it.
if used appropriately, it'll bring a ton of flavor.
[Ray] If she's gonna use all these other ingredients
to just making kimchi aioli, she better put a lot of kimchi
in that, because it's gonna take a lot to come through.
I'm making pineapple version of a teriyaki sauce
to really highlight that pork.
The mayonnaise can provide a punch in the mouth
that has sweet, savory and a little bit of spicy.
I'm looking at the clock, I need to get my pork tenderloins
on the grill, otherwise, I know they're not going to cook in time.
Just hope I wasn't one or two minutes too late.
For my next trick, I'm going to try and cook ri
on a barbecue.
To make the rice more flavorful. I put coconut oil in it.
What's the difficulty cooking rice in this timeframe?
[Ray] Y'all can't really judge what your fire is under the pan.
She's got the pot of rice with water on a grill.
I don't know what could, it could be undercooked,
it could be overcooked.
Gotta use that wonderful firepit and harness that heat
by throwing my pineapple, my corn, brown sugar
and butter into the cast iron pan
and I throw it onto the grate.
I can't have the dish burn.
So, I raise that grill up just to get it warm
and start cooking and melting that butter.
Pork tenderloin, if you're not watching it
will cook too fast and end up dry.
So, I grab my marinade and start basing it,
so it can start to soak in that flavor
and not take too much smoke.
[Amanda] I really need to ge my stir fried vegetables on
I start chopping up red cabbage and some zucchin
They're all going into a hot skillet
and straight on to the barbecue.
[Andrew] I want to add some heat and flavor into
my pineapple, tomato salsa.
So I get the tomato jalapenos on the firepit
to give it some char and some flavor.
Chefs, we've got 10 minutes left, let's go.
Let's go, chefs.
Come on, chefs. Ten minutes.
Check the temperature of the pork, it's not quite where I needed to be.
I know I can't get that from the charcoal grill at the moment,
so I'm going to move it to the barbecue and finish
those few degrees a lot quicker.
I decided to go with an aioli because the judges said
my pesto was a little bit on the dry side.
Needs more kimchi.
I keep adding and adding and adding until I dumped
the whole jar right in.
Okay, that's good. Perfect. Just where I want it.
I pull off my skillet full of pineapple and corn.
I add in some chopped shallot and I add in some Mexican chili spice.
One of my pork tenderloins is perfect, I'm gonna pull it off
to let it rest. The other because I was using
the marinade so much.
Has lost some of its bark from the rub,
so I'm going to put it on the Sizzle Zone to get that back from the marinade.
[Amanda] Pork is perfect, perfectly cooked.
Nice and smoky, just what I was going for.
Okay, four minutes. Shoot.
There's four minutes left and the rice is not ready.
Please may this rice cook.
[Kevin] Chef Andrew is still dropping things.
Chef Andrew just needs to keep his wits about him.
This is it.
Chefs, there's only two minutes remaining
-in the cook. Let's go. -Go, chefs.
Normally, I would be plated by now.
I'm being slowed down by the rice, I've gotta get going.
Okay.
[Andrew] I take my first tenderloin that's been resting.
I take off the ends and then I make my first cu
and all I'm hoping for is the perfect cook.
I fell a little short in the first round,
so I have to make sure I get everything
on the plate this round.
[Amanda] I am very worried about the rice, but I need to plate.
[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
-All right. -Time's up, chefs.
Time's up. I'm feeling pretty confident.
I put everything I had on that plate.
I'm looking at Chef Andre's plate and I'm looking at my plate
and they are very different
My only worry is if this rice is done.
Chef Amanda, please tell us what you made for the judges
using pork tenderloin and kimchi.
Judges, I have made a seared pork tenderloin
with kimchi aioli over a bed of basmati rice
with some stir fried vegetables.
Chef Amanda, my tenderloin is great.
Just a touch dry. The kimchi could have been
used in a few more ways on the plate.
Chef Amanda, the kimchi aioli, it's delicious.
Now, texturally, it's kind of a mess.
You needed to maybe put a little more oil in it or something.
The pork tenderloin was cooked really well for me.
Nice char. This is a great dish.
Thank you, Chef.
Chef Amanda, I was worried about that rice,
somehow you cooked rice in 10 minutes perfectly,
but it does need a little flavor.
Clearly...
you are hardcore on your protein grilling.
Just step it up just a little bit if you were
to make it to the final round, okay?
-Thank you very much, Chef Amanda. -Thank you.
[Amanda] I'm not ready to go home yet because in the end,
I did succeed in making kimchi
the standalone ingredient in my dish.
Chef Andrew, please tell us what you made
using pork tenderloin and pineapple?
I made pork tenderloin with a pineapple glaze
with a pineapple cream corn and pineapple salsa.
Chef Andrew, how you doing?
-Good. -Better this round?
You get some protein to eat this round.
I see, I see and I'm and I'm grateful for that.
Right off the bat, I'm loving the colors.
But why it's such a big plate?
If I can come and get a whole hand right here.
I'm used to doing big plate, chef,
and it's just usually the first thing I grab.
See, I understand and I hear that a lot of time.
You would hate for it to come down to a tie
and it comes down where we got to go with the presentation.
Feel ya. Thanks, chef.
Chef Andrew, your pork tenderloin was really good.
Nice job on that.
It really had the pineapple flavor.
My real criticism would be your salsa
kind of didn't have it together.
It's missing something.
Chef Andrew, this is a pineapple palooza.
I love how everything from your pineapple creamed corn
to your pineapple marinated pork tenderloin.
It's so tropical and it's so tasty.
-I absolutely love it. -Thank you very much, chef.
Thank you, chef.
-Thank you. -And thank you very much, chef.
I'm really hoping how I cooked my pork, how flavorful it is,
it over compensates for the lack of plating abilities.
Judges, the crossfire round is complete.
We had pork tenderloin on the menu.
One of our chefs working with pineapple,
the other working with kimchi.
Looking at Chef Amanda's dish overall,
how do you think she executed this challenge?
I thought it was real good and I thought she understood
what the challenge was.
Yes, she went with two sides.
Perfectly cooked rice which is almost impossible.
I mean, if she would have got some type of kimchi in that rice.
I guess it would have been a home run.
Ray, do you think Chef Amanda used enough kimchi?
Well, the kimchi made the aioli really good
and it was a perfect addition to the plate.
Kevin, let's take a look at Chef Andrew.
He had a dish with pork tenderloin and pineapple.
His corn dish was on point.
We had a little savory too and it was really good.
[Ray] As good as that corn and pineapple dish was,
if he didn't char the pineapple and the corn.
I think it would have been even better.
I really would have liked the starch on the plate.
Something just to draw that plate together a bit more.
Which of these two chefs had a more creative dish?
Chef Amanda, that was some real good pork loin.
Charred good. The flavor was on.
For creativity, I gotta go with Chef Andrew.
The corn and pineapple dish that he created
took a shot at something really out of bounds
and it was good.
With taste alone, Chef Andrew's pineapple corn
just knocked it completely out of the park.
Chef Amanda, just right off the bat,
it's just looks like a full Sunday dinner,
pleasing good colors.
Like I said, when I talked to Chef Andrew,
it can come down to how your plate looks
that can get you to the final round.
Judges, a very close crossfire round.
But have you made your decision?
-Yes. -Yes, we have.
Let's call the chefs back in.
Chefs, in this crossfire round, you were asked to cook
with pork tenderloin and either pineapple or kimchi.
The winner of this round will receive a Napoleon portable grill
and move on to the third and final round to face off against
one of our 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 Amanda.
-Thank you, judges. -[all clapping]
Congratulations, Chef Amanda, you have won a portable grill
and you're moving on to the final round.
Thank you, judges.
Chef Andrew, there's no doubt that you know how to nail
the cook on a protein.
And you certainly were a tough competitor today.
I'm sorry to say however you've been eliminated
from the competition, it's time to leave the Fire Masters arena.
-Thank you, guys, very much. -Thanks, chef.
Good luck.
I learned today that when it comes down to it,
I can create something off the top of my head
that's awesome and delicious
Chef Amanda, in the first two rounds,
you established your expertise on the grill.
-But now, it's time to add fuel to the fire. -Let's go.
In this final round, you will be going head to head against
one of our Fire Masters judges.
And the judge you'll be facing off against is...
Chef Ray Lampe.
-[all cheering] -Go Ray.
Get 'em dice.
Okay.
Chef Ray is very talented. He's got a fire tattoo on his arm.
So, that's not intimidating at all.
Chef Amanda and Chef Ray, 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...
-Beef and reef. -Oh.
-Nice. -Man.
When land and sea meet on one plate,
two delicious worlds collide.
Give us a feast that pairs the bounty of the high seas
with succulent red meat.
The stakes have never been higher.
So, you'll each have a sous chef to help you prepare your feast.
This meal will be tasted blind,
which means none of us will be here to watch you cook.
However, when we do get back, I'll be taking Chef Ray's seat
at the judge's table.
But, chefs, before you get started,
I've got a hot twist for you.
Over at the firepit, you'll find two branding irons,
grab an iron and brand a piece of wood to reveal
a cooking technique you must use in your feast.
Chefs, are you ready?
-I'm ready. Let's do it. -Let's go.
You've got 45 minutes on the clock
and your time starts...
now.
What a barrel.
Wow, we're gonna eat well tonight.
-This is gonna be so good. -[Kevin] Man, surf and turf.
[Amanda] On a plank.
[Ray] Smoked.
I have to make some big smoke. I can do that.
So, you're gonna grab this stuff for the dessert.
I run to the barrel to grab the proteins.
I want to grab the lobster, but Ray got that,
so I grabbed the shrimp instead.
All right, let's go.
I am making grilled tenderlo with a mushroom and red wine sauce.
Mexican chili lime.
And chili lime shrimp on a plank.
For my first side, I am maki charred eggplant polenta
and for my other side, a purple potato with gruyere cheese.
And dessert, a fiery chili s'mores.
Okay.
I'm Dr. Barbecue, of course I like to cook meat.
That's no secret.
But I live in Florida these days and I cook a lot of seafood
and that's right up my alley.
For my main, I'm making a grilled Porterhouse
and lobster tails with chili lime butter.
For one of my sides, I'm making a smoked mushroom medley.
My other side is charred green onion and Gruyere grit
For dessert, I'm making a berry and yuzu cobbler.
Chef Amanda is really a good chef.
She knocked it out of the park the first two rounds.
The stakes are really high because I'm the Fire Master,
I got to try to win.
Okay, berries are in.
I'm gonna work on that shrimp.
[Dylan] We are in for an epic feast this evening.
I mean, surf and turf, beef and reef,
whatever you want to call it. It's callin' my name.
We've got two incredible competitors in there this evening.
I mean they don't call Chef Ray Lampe the doctor
for nothing, so the doctor is in the house tonight.
Chef Amanda has won both rounds.
She is definitely excellent competition.
[Jenni] She's going to have to have all her ducks in a row
have everything seasoned perfectly, have all those flavors come together
from the beef to the seafood to the sides.
So, I have to make something that's smoked
and I look at all the beautiful mushrooms
Beautiful.
So, I made a medley of mushrooms to smoke.
I tossed them with some olive oil
and granulated onion,
garlic, little bit of chili powder
and put them in a cast iron pan right in the grill.
[Amanda] I grabbed the beef tenderloin, get some seasoning on it.
I need to get it on first, so that it cooks in time.
-Okay. -Throw it onto the pit.
Because I want to get char, lots of char.
That's all.
I want my sous chef to star with a mushroom sauce
for the beef tenderloin.
For the chili lime shrimp that I'm going to cook on a plank.
I throw it in a bowl with some green onion,
a little salt and some chili lime.
This is going to be sweet, it's going to be tangy
and if this plank works, it's going to be smoky.
[Ray] I take the Porterhous and put it the smoker
because I want to warm it u and get a little bit of smok flavor on it.
First thing I got to do with the grits is get the veg stock
and the grits in the pot.
You got to get them cooking.
Grits are something that a lot of people will screw up.
Grits, beautiful grits.
The texture's gotta be right.
You think Kevin's gonna be happy if I serve him soggy grits?
Thirty minutes, 30 minutes, chef.
Marshmallow.
Now it's time to get going o this dessert.
It's simple. Graham crackers some marshmallows on them
and I get my sous chef to start melting the chocolate.
This is not going to be an ordinary chocolate.
-I add some brandy -A little more. Good.
...and some chili.
A little heat in your chocolate,
that's what you want.
Okay.
The next thing I do is grab my eggplant
and throw it straight into the fire.
I need to get a nice char for my charred eggplant polenta.
This is when I noticed that I need to flip my loins
-[exclaims] -and when I flip it...
I burnt the tenderloin.
Charred.
I burnt the tenderloin.
Charred.
You know what, I'm gonna raise that up.
I raise up the grill heights, so that the tenderloin
doesn't continue to burn.
[Ray] It's time to get it moving along.
Time to add the cobbler batt to the dessert
and let those cook until it's nice and brown.
The lobster, I'm gonna just sort of bake 'em.
I put my lobster tails on a grate,
so it'd be easier to move them around.
20 minutes left, I'm gonna move my steak out to the big grill.
I take my Porterhouse out of the grill
and put it on the big fire, it's time to get it grilled.
It's so hot.
The next thing I want to wor on is my charred eggplant polenta.
I'm trying to get some of the char off the eggplant,
but it's so hot. Time's running out,
so I just throw it all into the food processor.
[Ray] Fifteen minutes.
I look at my grits and they're really getting tender.
And now it's time to doctor them up.
So, I'm adding some heavy cream, some butter,
and then the shredded gruyere.
Time to flip my Porterhouse
and it seems to be cooking a little too fast.
So I raise the grate up a little bit.
That thing gets hot.
[Amanda] I run over to my shrimp.
I know that it's cooked because it's nice and pink.
I take a little piece off and taste it, the flavor's
-phenomenal. -Oh, wow.
-Those are nice. -Eight minutes left.
Time for these beautiful mushrooms to come off the grill.
They're done.
We're taking the lobster tai off to baste them with butte
Just gonna make it taste goo
Okay, let's get the butters on there.
Check out my steak and it's not getting done.
It's pretty rare. I'm gonna move it to these other grills.
I need something with a lid
So I move it over to the smoker because it's pretty hot in there.
Putting the Porterhouse in the closed grill
is gonna give me the best chance to get that steak done.
There's still a lot to do.
The sous chef is stirring potatoes.
Time's moving, it's intense.
[sous chef] Chef, cobblers are looking nice.
[Ray] So, my steak is still on.
Yikes.
But I know I don't have to carve it,
so I'm gonna leave it till the last possible second.
Steak is going right on the board.
[Amanda] As I'm cutting into the meat,
I do see some parts that are more on the rare side.
I still have my beautiful mushroom sauce to put on it.
So, I put it on top.
Hopefully, it cooks the rare parts a little bit more.
[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
-Whoo. -Nice.
-Nice. Good job. -Good job.
Good job.
The part that I'm super psyched about is the main.
This is beef and reef done right.
[Ray] I'm feeling pretty goo
The only thing I'm worried about is the doneness of that steak.
That's a big steak and I'm just not sure.
Here we go.
It's a beef and reef feast this evening.
This first chef has prepare grilled beef tenderloin
with mushroom sauce and chili lime shrimp on a plank.
Charred eggplant polenta, purple potato with gruyere cheese.
And we'll wrap it up with fiery chili s'mores.
And this chef had to cook one of their dishes on a plank.
[Kevin] Let's dig in.
[Dylan] I really love the color that this chef
managed to get out of these potatoes.
-[Jenni] Isn't that lovely? -[Dylan] So vibrant.
This chef absolutely nailed the cook on that tenderloin.
Nice sear on the outside, perfect medium rare all the way through.
And that's difficult to achieve in such a short timeline.
I agree with you on this tenderloin, it's perfect.
-It's... I mean, I can cut this with a butter knife. -Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah.
Now, my shrimp, I really wanted these to be great.
But mine are a little overcooked
and whatever is on 'em has kind of thrown off
my palate a little bit.
[Jenni] I agree. I'm not really getting the plank technique
coming through in this dish.
[Kevin] I'm really digging up my polenta, I mean...
[Jenni] Oh, it's amazing.
Something in there is making this taste like dressing.
Good job on this.
I did, unfortunately, find a chunk of charcoal
-in my polenta. -[Kevin] Oh, no.
[Kevin] I'm digging the potatoes with the cheese
and all that, but I don't understand why did they leave
the skin inside of it?
I love the color that the chef got on...
Those color's making me very happy.
Let's take a look at what the chef made for dessert.
-Let's do it. -Yes.
[Dylan] Really hoping this chef brings the heat with these fiery chili s'mores.
Right off the bat, the smell is fantastic.
I smell the chocolate, I smell the marshmallow.
[Jenni] I am dying for a berry sauce.
Something to moisten it a bit and brighten it up.
Where's the heat, where are the peppers at?
Especially when you call the desert fiery chili s'mores.
-I'm expecting a pop, -[Jenni] Right.
but I'm not getting it from this.
Let's take a look at what the second chef has prepared.
Let's do it.
Our second beef and reef feast is here and this looks incredible.
I mean, look at this platter.
We are in for a treat.
This chef has prepared for us grilled Porterhouse and lobster tails
with chili lime butter, smoked mushroom medley,
charred green onion and Gruyere grits
and we'll wrap it all up with berry and yuzu cobbler.
This chef's must use technique is smoked.
I'm gonna slice this up for us.
Cuts like butter, I see.
[Dylan] You can smell the smoke on those mushrooms.
-[Jenni] Oh, those are smoked mushrooms. -[Kevin] Yes.
[Dylan] Right off the bat, the steak is cooked perfectly.
Huge steak.
To cook that to this temperature is very difficult.
-I find that the steak is very under seasoned. -[Jenni] Hmm, very.
It got a great crust around the outside
and I'm just left wanting for a nice bite of salt.
The flavor of the lobster is fantastic, it's well seasoned.
You can taste the grill on it, especially when you dip it
in the chili lime butter.
On the mushrooms, I can taste the smoke,
but on some of them, I can almost taste that is kind of over smoked.
But now these grits. These grits are excellent.
Nice texture, good flavor, like the green onions in it.
I am digging these grits.
I'm looking forward to seeing what this chef has for dessert.
Let's do it.
[Dylan] Yuzu, one of my favorite ingredients.
I'm looking forward to digging into this.
I think that the chef may have overcooked things a little bit.
Mine's kind of dry.
I think the crust is well executed.
I would like it a little more moist,
but I can get where this chef was trying to go with this
and roll with it.
This was a really synergistic dessert to cap off
our second beef and reef feast.
Two fantastic feasts tonight.
We're gonna have to look at them dish by dish
to see who comes out on top.
Let's analyze both of these feasts
starting with the mains.
That first chef preparing the whole grilled tenderloin
with the mushrooms. And the second chef,
the surf and turf platter with the Porterhouse and the lobster tails.
I knew that tenderloin from another life,
it was that good.
It was a perfect balance, perfect cook, good flavor on it.
-[Jenni] I agree. -I think the mushrooms fell a little bit flat.
Let's take a look at the surf and turf platter
from the second chef.
It was a beautiful cut of meat, perfectly cooked.
Tender, just lost me on the taste.
We didn't touch on the first chef's shrimp.
I didn't mind the seasoning.
-I thought it was quite nice, but the acid was overpowering -Yeah.
and it made it a little mushy.
Let's take a look at the sides.
[Jenni] I love the smoked mushroom medley.
It had a little bit of extra smoke,
which I didn't mind.
[Kevin] The first bite I got was good.
Like, oh, wow. I like this nice char, good smoke
and then the second bite, I just tasted soot.
[Jenni] I love the purple potatoes, takes a bit of technique
to keep that vibrant color in a color potato.
The gruyere cheese was nice and mellow.
Let's look at the next sides.
Hmm, battle polenta and grits.
It did not taste like polenta.
The way they... technique that they did on that
with eggplant and everything really had it taste like
a dressing to me.
The grits. Excellent, good flavor, good texture,
good everything.
I think they both killed it in taste.
They're both very similar in presentation
and one of them was definitely more creative than the other.
And one used the fire, so the eggplant was charred,
which I really liked.
Let's take a look at desserts.
[Jenni] I definitely preferred the cobbler from a taste,
creativity and execution point of view.
The s'mores I think could have been executed a little differently.
A little more moisture, but the ganache was really nice.
If you're going to get way out of your wheelhouse
and add chili to it, then you need to make it incredible.
-Well, my friends, two epic beef and reef feasts. -Ooh.
It was a tough choice, but I think we've made our decision.
-Yes, we have. -Yeah, we have.
[Amanda] I cooked my heart o in the Fire Masters arena.
I made myself very proud today.
I think I executed the beef and reef theme pretty darn well.
And I think that's going to lead me to victory.
Chefs, both of your beef and reef feasts
were decadent and creative interpretations
of this classic pairing.
In the first feast, we love the beef tenderloin,
we thought it was cooked to a perfect medium rare.
However, we felt the fiery chili s'mores lacked
the promise of chili heat.
In the second feast, we love the Porterhouse steak.
It was big, juicy and expertly cooked.
However, we felt the smoke in the mushroom medley
was a little bit heavy handed.
Chefs, we have made our decision.
Although both of your beef and reef feasts
were clever takes on this classic duo.
There can only be one winner.
Tonight's winning feast is...
the second feast with the Porterhouse steak and the Gruyere grits.
-[all clapping] -Whoo.
Congratulations, Chef Ray, you have successfully defended
your Fire Masters title. Well done.
-[all clapping] -Nice job tonight.
Good job, chef.
Chef Amanda was so strong, she's really talented
with a big future.
And congratulations, Chef Amanda.
You're clearly a skilled and ambitious chef
and you have impressed us through this entire competition.
-Thank you. Thank you, judges. -Very, very nice work.
I'm doing what I love. Showcasing what I can do.
Expressing myself.
-Your first-- -You cooked your heart out.
-First competition. -Wow.
[Amanda] This was the most f I think I've ever had.
This is, like, a new experience for me.
-It's a rush, isn't it? -It is a rush.