- Last time on "next level chef"...
[whooping]
- The winning next level sandwich tonight
Is the soft-shell crab.
- Let's go!
- Vinny and darryl, both of you
Have to battle it out in that elimination.
- Go, vinny. - Go, ben.
- The one I'm sending home tonight is going to be darryl.
- Vinny, you're dancing on thin ice.
And guess what. The ice is melting.
- And tonight...
- You'll have 45 minutes
To create a next-level chinese-inspired dish.
- Why is the pressure so much higher today?
- We on "next level chef," baby.
- Hey, guys. How's it feel down there?
- Someone's going home on the other [bleep] teams.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Welcome back, everyone.
We good? - Yes, chef.
- How are we feeling? - Good, chef.
- Are you excited? - Yes, chef.
- All right, team blais. - Yes, chef.
- Down to four.
And back in that basement today after losing darryl.
Listen, it's blais's basement down there,
But let's turn it into a short-term rental.
Let's not buy down there.
Let's work our way up today, ok?
- Team ramsay, let me just do a quick count here.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
The only team with six members left.
And thanks to vinny's efforts in that elimination,
We are cooking in the middle kitchen.
So focus today, and deprive blais
Of everything underneath us,
And give him the [bleep] ingredients you've ever seen.
- We're going to make him pay for it, chef.
- Let's talk to the real winners here, team arrington.
How are you feeling over there? - Pretty good, chef.
- Love the energy, love the excitement.
And thanks to nuri, we're in that top-level kitchen today.
After that soft-shell crab,
You're walking even taller than usual.
It's the first time in that top-level kitchen.
Do not let me down up there.
- We won't, chef. - We won't, chef.
- Today, it's a tough one. Let me tell you.
We picked a cuisine that is the most popular
Across the united states.
It's not italian.
You all have 45 minutes to create
A next-level...
Chinese-inspired dish.
- Yes.
That's what I love to do is cook chinese food.
The past two challenges, I've really struggled,
So I need to show chef ramsay that I'm not dead weight.
I want the mentorship so badly.
It would just open up a career for me.
- Team arrington, please head to the elevator,
And I'll meet you up there shortly.
- Thank you, chef. - Let's go.
- Good luck, guys.
- This is it. - Bye!
- Let's go.
[rock music]
- Woo! - Let's go, baby.
- We're at the top today, baby.
- Let's go, baby.
- Ooh, hello my friend.
Hello, hello, hello.
- Ay caramba.
I'm excited.
And I'm like touching everything.
I want to touch the counter.
I'm caressing it.
It's beautiful.
♪ ah ♪
If I had that kitchen back home,
We would be making some top-level dishes, for sure.
If you want to pack it up and send it over,
I wouldn't mind that at all.
My name's omi hopper from providence, rhode island,
Originally from puerto rico,
And I'm an accidental social media chef.
[speaking spanish]
I have four boys and my husband.
That makes five, and I'm the only reason
Why we're ever late, and I'm ok with that.
My love for food came from my abuelita.
Cooking was a very big part of my family's life.
I have no business being a social media chef.
I don't know who gave me the green light.
I decided to just record myself doing what I was doing,
Talking to my husband, and I'm going, babe,
I think we just got 10,000 followers.
I was not expecting it to grow so quickly.
Having this level of reach has given me a purpose
That I never could have imagined.
Knowing that I'm making an impact,
Not just in my community, but for my people,
And for the generations to come, it's so rewarding.
I'm not professionally trained, but I cook with love,
And that's what I'm coming with.
- Why is the pressure so much higher today?
- We on "next level chef," baby.
- The winning dish is coming from the middle today.
- Let's go.
- Let's go, baby.
- Let's go!
- I got this. I know I have this.
- Cassie, you're getting top dish, all right?
- It's a lot of pressure
Because everyone is expecting it.
I mean, who can cook a better chinese dish
Than somebody who is chinese?
- Chris is coming for us hard. - Yeah, he really is.
- Chris is coming for us hard. Don't give him any room.
- We're gonna [bleep] send someone home today.
I'm coming for team ramsay today.
They still have all six of their members there.
I want to take someone off that team badly.
Someone's going home on the other [bleep] teams.
- Oh, my gosh. Chris is so crazy,
And it's just like too much for me.
- Let's [bleep] go, guys.
- It's absolutely insane.
[rock music]
- Watch that door.
[laughter]
- No one's going home from team blais.
Hello there, gorgeous.
I want to make these other teams know
That the basement can still
Make some serious magic happen down there.
- I don't see soy sauce anywhere.
- Yeah, I don't see it either.
- I have the next-level immunity pin.
I want to hold on to this thing as long as possible.
I can't believe they're not giving us soy sauce.
I'm nervous because I don't cook chinese.
I'm the barbecue guy. That is what I do.
My name's matt.
I live in medford lakes, new jersey.
During the week, I'm a high school teacher
And on weekends, I'm a social media cook.
I have over 5 million followers
Across all platforms.
[whistle] you're late.
It's time to cook.
Grilling and barbecue is sparked through tailgating.
My dad, my brother, and I were all
Season ticket holders for the eagles games.
Everyone has their thing that gives them a sense of peace.
For me, it's building a fire and I'm cooking.
You boys hungry? - Yes.
- My wife and I went to middle school
And high school together.
Here we are, married, two beautiful boys.
I'm doing this for them.
- Medium rare. - Medium rare.
Everything I've learned has been in my backyard.
But at the end of the day, it comes down to flavor,
And I know I have that.
Meat teacher out.
- Hey, guys. How's it feel down there?
- Feels good. - One of you's going home.
[elevator bell dings] - here we go, guys.
- Oh, man. - Kevin, good luck, good luck.
- All right, chefs. Let's go.
All right, how are we feeling? - Good.
- Feeling good? All right.
We're in the basement one more time.
♪ ♪
- Let's go. - Hey.
- Focus today.
We're focused, focused, focused.
- Let's go!
[all cheering]
[chanting]
- You guys came to win, right? - Yes.
- You wanna stay in this kitchen.
What is it going to take to stay in this kitchen?
- Next-level dish, chef.
- That's what I'm talking about.
I am here as a conduit to help these people win.
None of this is going to be handed to you.
It's really about putting in the work.
- 1, 2, 3. - Team arrington!
- Come on, guys, platform's on its way.
Chinese, right?
Layers of flavor.
Let's go.
30 seconds. Go.
Let's go, freshness.
Grab your ingredients. Grab what you need.
- Ok.
The platform drops, and it's just like pandemonium.
- Salmon, salmon, salmon.
- Green beans. - We got salmon.
Can't find any garlic.
And with chinese food, you need that.
- Ten seconds, guys. - Green onions.
Anybody see green onions?
- Where's some rice at?
I'm absolutely overwhelmed because it's so full
That it's hard to focus your mind on the things
That you could use.
- 5, 4, 3.
Grab salt. Grab ingredients, please.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
- Here we go. Here we go.
Here we go, here we go.
- I'm so excited right now.
- And go! Let's go, let's go, let's go.
- All right, let's go, let's go.
- Look at those proteins. Oh my goodness me.
- Ground pork up top.
- I grabbed the pork chop. I grabbed vermicelli noodles.
We're ready to rock over here.
- Flank steak, lamb chop.
- I see oyster sauce. I see a chili bean paste.
I see a tomato paste. I see bamboo shoots.
I see all of these ingredients that I know I want
In a really good chinese dish.
- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
- What kind of protein's over there?
- Grab, grab, grab.
- [bleep]!
By the time I'm done grabbing,
That platform starts going down
Before I can even decide on a protein.
And I'm just thinking, oh, my god.
- You know when the light turns green,
It's go time, team blais.
Let's go. 30 seconds.
- There it is.
Ok, what do we got?
What kind of classic chinese dish maybe are we inspired by?
Are we looking for noodles? Are we looking for rice?
- I get really lucky and find squid,
Which I feel like is a gem that they missed out on up there.
- Are we gonna grab a protein?
- Proteins anywhere?
I'm looking around the platform.
I'm shouting, protein, protein, anyone?
I don't see a protein anywhere.
- Five seconds. - What can I make?
What can I make? I grab frog legs.
But I've never made a frog legs.
So I kept grabbing stuff that I don't know how to make.
- You can grab it until it goes.
Grab it until it goes. There we go.
- I don't have a protein.
All right, I'm going no protein for this one.
- You didn't get a protein? - No protein.
I have basically none of the key things
That I need to make a next-level chinese dish.
Oh.
- Ok. Cassie, protein-wise, what'd you get?
- I did not get a protein. - You didn't get a protein.
- Um...
- What did you grab?
- A lot of sauces.
- Sauces.
- Coming for you guys. - I know you are.
- What is that? Is that a whole fish?
- There's a whole fish.
Oh, my god, there's a whole fish.
- Are you kidding me?
It's just like, hey, chris, you know?
I'm right up here. Come and get me.
- Oh, my god, there is an entire fish
Just laying there,
Perfect, ready for me to grab.
There's a whole fish there.
- If you can get it, it's on our floor.
That's the rule. Vinny, holds her legs.
Come on, vinny.
- At the same time as I'm looking over,
Chef blais is looking up from me from the basement.
- Hey, who's up there?
Hey, can you--you want to send it down?
Can you knock the fish down? - No, we're taking it.
Sorry. Sorry, chef.
- You got lucky right there. - You got lucky!
[applause, chatter]
- Kiss the fish because you are saving my ass today.
A little baby.
- I just barely know my name.
- I don't know what I'm going to do with you,
But I love you.
- They took it. - They did.
Listen, listen.
- Someone's getting it dirty today.
At this point, I'm stuck with what I got,
And I gotta work with it.
Someone's [bleep] going down today.
Someone's going [bleep] down today.
I got to make sure that I can simply just keep myself
Out of elimination because this is not the way
Chris is going out, absolutely not.
- 45 minutes starts now.
Let's go, guys.
Omi, what are we making today?
- I'm thinking shrimp, soy, and garlic noodles.
- Ok. I believe in you.
Do you believe in you? - I believe in me.
- Ok. What do we got, shay?
- I got garlic, bok choy, noodles, duck.
- With duck, you really only need
To cook one side because duck is a pretty lean protein.
- Do I cook duck breast at home?
Absolutely freaking not.
But this is "next level chef."
Let's go outside our comfort zone a bit.
- What you got? What you got?
- I got monkfish, chef. - Love that.
- But I have a question. - Tell me.
- If I steam it with the season on, will it...
- Be great. - Come off? Ok, great.
I do not want to use the immunity pin.
I want to keep the pin as long as I can.
I need to make sure I'm on the top of my game.
- What do we got, pitbull p?
- Mongolian beef, chef.
- Have you made this dish before?
- Yes, I have, chef. - Excellent.
Chinese cooking. - Yes, chef.
- How familiar are we? - I'm familiar.
I had a mentor that was thai and chinese, so...
- You did? - I'm doing this for him.
- That's where that mongolian beef came from.
- Yes, chef.
- My name's pilar omega. I'm from detroit.
I live in los angeles.
And I'm a private executive chef.
Growing up, food played a very big role in my life.
Everybody in my family cooks.
We had soul food dinners, we do barbecues.
So you have to figure out what you're
Going to contribute to dinner.
As a woman of color in the culinary world,
It's been rough, but I just kept fighting.
And then I had the opportunity to go
To wolfgang puck catering.
I would do like action stations at the oscars,
The emmy awards, the movie premieres,
Cooking with heart and soul every single day.
I'm a single mom.
It's just all about me and my baby girl.
She's my daily motivation.
I do it for her.
I wanna show her that giving up is never an option.
Success doesn't come easy. Hard work pays off.
And I'm ready to just show the world
That you never know what can come out of [indistinct].
So I'm ready to cook.
- All right, michelle, you got what you wanted, right?
- I did. I grabbed ground pork,
But I also have these beautiful mushrooms.
- Nice. Cassie, you got lucky.
Tell me about the dish. What are you doing?
- I'm making a hand-pulled noodle,
Which is one of my favorite dishes.
It signifies long life in my culture,
Which I hope to have in this competition.
That's going to be what sets me apart from these other chefs.
Nobody else would dare to make
A hand-pulled noodle in 45 minutes.
- Have you been cooking chinese since you were a little girl?
- I was not a big fan of it growing up.
I think I let kids kind of bully me into thinking
That I was embarrassed of my culture
And embarrassed of the food that I would bring to school.
- That's crazy.
- And growing up, I just started to really take pride
In my culture and realized that this
Is the most wonderful cuisine.
Chinese food is something that I haven't always loved,
But today I want to really represent my culture
And make everyone proud.
- All right, preston, tell me. - Yes, chef.
- You grabbed neck of lamb, and you've got the pork belly.
- I'm just trying to make a nice stir-fry dish.
- What's that? - This is going to be my glaze.
Chicken broth, bay leaf.
- Nice. Don't overcomplicate it.
- Yes, chef. - Right, vinny.
- Yes, chef, here I am.
- Tell me what'd you get, big man?
- I got a nice flank steak. - Good.
- Chef, I do have a question for you.
I've never worked with black rice.
- Why pick the most difficult rice to set?
- I didn't--I just-- right in front of me,
And I grabbed it, and I...
- It's a two-hour cook, that stuff.
Jimmy--because it has to overcook to sort of cook,
As you know. Yeah? - Yes, chef.
- I've never heard of it, never cooked with it.
I mean, who put black rice up there?
We're going to have some issues.
- Of all the rices to cook, young man,
You've gone for the longest one.
- All right, matt, what are we up to?
- I'm gonna steam these beautiful cod cheeks.
And I'm taking the plum sauce, xo sauce.
I'm going to season these.
- Be careful that it doesn't become too sweet, right?
- Ok. I'm doing rice. I'm doing an orange zest rice.
- How many kids do you have? How much have you...
- Two. - Ok, you got a big family?
You cook for a lot of people? - Yeah.
- You're not cooking for-- you're cooking
For three people. - Big portions.
I know, chef. - One dish for three people.
- Yep, it was the first thing my wife
Said to me when I left.
- Well, listen to your wife, matt!
- I know. I do.
- We're all better when we listen
To our significant others. - 100% of the time.
I know. - Listen to your wife.
You don't need to cook a quart of rice.
- Yes.
- Matt is making staff meal again for us.
- I got you all. - Family meal.
- I order chinese. I don't cook chinese.
So I'm nervous.
- What's the adventures of tini up to over here?
- Grabbing stuff I don't know how to cook.
- Have you cooked frog's legs before?
- No. I'm taking risk.
Like, I wanted to take risk.
I've never even seen frog legs before, just on a living frog.
But it's "next level chef."
It's all about taking risk here.
- All right, chris, what are you doing?
- All right, so we have no protein,
So we're going to be doing a veggie brown fried rice.
- Rice is going to take a little bit of time.
You know that. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Who you cooking for back home?
- Honestly, I'm just here to cook for all the haters
That told me I couldn't. So this one's for the haters.
- All right. - This one's for
The damn haters.
I'm chris, I'm from west palm beach, florida,
And I'm a professional chef.
Growing up, I was a very shy kid.
I was a band geek.
Was always picked on.
After college, on a whim, I went to a culinary school
In new york city.
Eight months later, I got my career certificate.
I just started hacking away at the industry after that.
Working in professional kitchens in new york city
Is tough.
I found my voice and my confidence
When I was getting my ass handed to me
By all the different cooks that I was working alongside.
It forced me to go from that timid, quiet kid
Into someone who tells someone to get out of the way
When they need to.
I have a chip on my shoulder,
And I am always trying to prove myself.
Colleagues have told me, you're an absolute psycho,
Yet your food is dynamite.
Whenever anyone doubts me,
That's just more fuel for the fire.
They want magic?
I'll show them magic.
- What'd you get? - I got a sea bass.
- Oh, man. You can marinate it, fry it.
And it is the bacon of the sea.
That is flavorsome.
What are you doing with this?
- Man, I'm just...
I have no plan right now.
I don't make chinese food.
- What starches--are you doing, rice or...
- I didn't get a rice. - You didn't get a rice.
- You got one of the best ingredients here,
So I'm expecting fireworks on this plate.
- Yes, chef. Yes, chef. - Ok?
- My rice needs to hurry the [bleep] up.
- Not the best start for vinny.
He's grabbed the black sticky rice.
He's in trouble.
That thing takes two hours to cook,
And he's trying to get it cooked in 20 minutes.
Is it cooked?
- Let's see. - Is it cooked?
- No. - No, I told you.
Lid back on.
[bleep]
Vinny, it's like bullets.
- I'm praying that the rice cooked properly,
But we need a miracle today.
- Why don't we fry it? Let's get a pan on.
Let's fry. Let's fry, let's fry, let's fry.
Come on, vinny, the house is on fire.
- 25 minutes left, team, ok?
- Yes, chef!
- Let's do it, guys.
- Guys, you are all missing a crucial ingredient.
It's time for the mid-round mayhem.
Platform's coming down.
15 types of ginger.
- Oh, yeah. - I love it, love it, love it.
- I love that.
- I'm thinking there's only one ginger.
I've only ever bought but one ginger.
I didn't know there was so many options.
- Scallions, scallions, scallions.
- Scallions. I love this, here we go.
- Dry ginger's over here, guys.
Turmeric's over here, guys. Grab, grab.
Everybody got scallions? Grab.
- That's great. Let's do it.
Let's go. - Let's go, ginger.
- Let's go, baby.
- 15 types of ginger on its way down.
- Yes, green onion.
Perfect. That's something that I was
Missing from my dish.
- Scallions, ginger. - You guys got green onions?
Rock sugar. The rock sugar is amazing.
- Grab some crystallized ginger as well.
And...Good. Well done!
Well done.
- Ok, everyone, the platform is here.
You got to utilize one of the 15 varieties of ginger
That are on the platform.
Hey, also, there's scallions on the platform.
- Scallions.
- They put some scallions in the corners there just for me.
- Five seconds left.
Ginger and scallions.
Yes.
- Oh, this is about to get lit.
- Chef pilar. - Yes, chef.
- What's the next step in your mongolian beef?
- I'm going to toss it in a sauce
And bring it all together.
- Did you taste this? - Yes, chef.
- Taste it again.
It needs more... - Salt.
- Yes, it does. Let's go, p. Bring it home.
Bring that vision to life.
- Yes, chef.
I had a mentor that taught me chinese food.
I was in a very tender situation.
I was coming from maternity leave, just had a baby,
And he was just so compassionate with me.
He said, go do your mama thing.
He showed me how to do
The chinese mother sauces from scratch.
So I'm doing it for him today.
- That's nice.
- Ten minutes left.
Chris, have you cooked chinese food before?
- Honest to god, I make probably the most kick ass
Ginger fried rice people have ever had in their entire lives.
- Yeah, you going to get that rice cooked?
It's a lot of rice.
You only got a little bit of time left, yeah?
- Heard that, heard that. - Get this on there.
Little bit of citrus in the rice.
Get this on. Get a pot on top of it.
- Oh, [bleep]. - Hey, if you're cooking rice,
Get a top on it, because raw rice--you're going straight to
The elimination.
- Just lightly glaze only on the skin, ok?
- Heard. - I said glaze it.
- Glaze it, yes. - It's here.
- I'm just antsy, ok?
- Bring it together. You got this.
- Thank you.
- So it's taking some time for shay
To figure out his direction today.
I think the nerves are heightened.
In this top level, it's not actually easier sometimes,
But he's got to pull this together.
- We're down to five minutes to go.
- Yes, chef.
- Start thinking about the plating.
- Bring it home, guys.
Bring it home.
- Cassie, come on.
Get it authentic now. - Yes, chef.
- Time's not your friend. Let's go.
What's up, matt? Oh, [bleep].
- Sorry, chef. - What are you doing?
You put the egg at the end.
- Cookin', cookin'.
- All right, we want to get out of the basement, everyone,
Right? - Yes, chef.
- I mean, if we go down to three,
That would be unheard of.
- We're down to the last two minutes.
Let's go!
Start plating, guys. - We're plating.
- Hot, walking hot.
- Put that down with both hands all the time.
That's slightly undercooked.
Get it back in the pan.
Please, get it in the pan.
Turn the gas up after. Get it in the pan.
- Not looking good for mark mcmillian.
- Get it in the pan!
Stop shoving it around.
In. - Just got to recover.
We good, chef.
- Let's go, guys.
- So let's start plating, team.
One minute left, guys.
- Breathe, shay, breathe, breathe, breathe.
- Make it elegant.
Make it beautiful, ok?
It matters what it looks like.
Last taste, last looks.
♪ ♪
The platform is on its way down.
Let's go, let's go, let's go. Matt, come on.
Last looks. Last looks.
Oh, my gosh, dude, ok? Elegant, right?
Elegant. Like, it's not your...
- Beautiful, chef. - All right.
Is that elegant? - Drizzle here.
- Is that elegant, though?
Platform's here.
- My issues are plating, presentation,
And this is sloppy.
- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
- Damn, baby.
- Platform's here, guys. Yes?
Let's go, guys.
15 seconds.
Gently, gently, gently.
Come on. Hurry up. - Going to the furnace.
- Let's go.
Let's go, mark.
Please, please, please,
Let's go!
Let's go, mark.
Well done, all of you.
- Platform's here. - Heard.
- Hurry up, please.
Platform is here. Let's go, shay.
- Come on, come on, come on.
This is a timed competition here.
- Shay, right now.
Let's go, shay. Come on, come on!
Get it--oh.
- I just worked so hard on that.
Oh, [bleep].
I hope that I'm not on a flight home after this.
[dramatic music]
- Going into judging, knowing that my plate is a hot mess,
Is the worst feeling.
- Ok, all of you are done.
Chinese, it's not in everyone's wheelhouse,
But it is the most popular across the us.
And by the look of things,
We've got some absolute delights.
Well done.
Ready to taste today, chef? - Yes.
- Richard. Let's start on the top floor.
What happened here?
- So this chef actually had to throw
His dish onto the platform.
So the presentation was obviously ruined.
- Damn. - So we have here
A pan-roasted duck.
This is with a stir-fried noodle.
- The actual duck is cooked beautifully.
It's pink.
It's a great shame, 'cause I'd love to have seen this dish
Before it hit that platform, because it's got
The makings of a winning dish.
- Are my flavors enough to keep me from going to elimination?
Ugh. I'm sweating.
I don't know.
- Next up, we have a stir-fried udon noodle
With steamed monkfish.
- Noodle's delicious, really delicious.
- The steamed fish just didn't cook quite long enough.
- Next up, we have a sweet and sour chicken.
- One of my favorites.
- The flavor's packed into the dish
Itself, and great texture.
- Delicious.
- Next up here, we have a pork and shrimp stir-fried noodle.
- This looks like an expensive dish
In a fancy chinese restaurant, for sure.
- Delicious. I love the pork.
Really beautiful.
- Here we have a kumquat-glazed mongolian beef.
- I think I'm a mongolian meat connoisseur,
But I've never tasted something this good.
- This thing is just on a different level.
Whoever's cooked this dish tonight,
There's a connect somewhere that is evident on the plate,
Because...Delicious.
Really good.
- My mentor will be so proud.
He taught me how to develop those flavors
In a very tender moment in my career,
Leaving my baby at four months to get back in the kitchen.
So I finally feel like, you know what,
It has been worth it.
- Shall we go on to the middle floor?
This is a sea bass marinated, finished with an edamame bean
Salad and a sauce.
- The fish... - Undercooked.
- Barely cooked at best.
- It doesn't necessarily read chinese overall to me.
- The most chinese thing about this dish to me
Is the plate itself.
- Man, I just frickin' screwed it up.
Feel like I let myself down because
I needed to nail this fish.
Hopefully, my teammates did a really good job
So I won't have to go to elimination.
- This one, pork belly with lamb neck.
- I really appreciate the citrus notes
That are so prevalent in this noodle dish.
Absolutely phenomenal.
- It's a fine-dining dish.
- I'm on cloud nine right now.
I feel like I'm starting to finally step out
Of my comfort zone in this competition.
- This one is a pork chop.
- The pork is cooked perfectly.
Pork and five-spice is a great combination.
- Visually, outstanding.
This young chef is creating the next-level dishes
Time and time again.
This individual took ground chili, pork,
Stuffed it inside the oyster mushroom, and baked.
- The mixture inside needs something to bind it.
It's a little bit crumbly.
- It's definitely a fine-dining presentation.
Love the crispy garlic.
Looks great.
- This beautiful piece of skirt steak was marinated.
We were going to go down the sticky black rice.
Unfortunately, the rice was sort of holding us back,
So then we went into this fried rice.
- Bold call with that rice.
It's a little toothsome, but that's what
This rice is supposed to be.
- The beef is now...
It's his best dish so far in the competition.
- Sweat off my brow. I am so relieved.
That black rice-- I'll never cook with it again.
- This is the sea bream.
This was a bit of a mishap that came back to become a hit.
Handmade noodles, gotta point out,
Beautifully stretched, rolled,
And done with such authenticity.
- Fish is cooked perfectly.
This is a dish that looks simple,
But it's packing so much flavor.
- The broth is wonderful.
Handmade noodles, stretchy and chewy.
It's a winner.
- To put your heart and soul into a dish,
It's a beautiful feeling to have that recognized.
And I'm just so happy.
- Shall we move to the basement?
- We have crispy orange-glazed frog's legs.
- Picking frog's legs in the basement, tall order.
- I've cooked a lot of frog legs in my life.
This is phenomenal.
- They are delicious.
- Over here, we have a chili broth
With a char siu-glazed crispy squid.
- Visually, it looks breathtaking.
- The squid itself is perfectly cooked.
- This is a cod cheek and tofu fried rice with xo sauce.
- The presentation is a little bit embarrassing.
There's a very sugary sweet weird taste here.
- My palate's a little bit blown out from that flavor.
- A shame.
- If I get put up for elimination,
I have the next level immunity pin.
It could be time to use it.
- Over here, we have a vegetable
Fried rice with glazed eggplant and a fried egg.
- So no protein. - No protein.
- Eggplant's delicious.
The big issue I've got with this dish
Is the rice is undercooked.
- I am pretty angry, honestly.
I think that I'm going into the elimination.
I screwed up, plain and simple.
- What a shame.
In front of us, you can see some great highs...
And some definite lows.
We need to discuss this.
Please, all of you, give us a minute.
- Highlights. I mean, I'm just going to jump right out.
The handmade noodles...
- Yeah. - Impressive.
- Which were so stretchy and chewy in the best of ways.
And the broth was subtle...
- Killer. - And beautiful.
- That mongolian beef steak, that was exceptional.
The flavors there were just off the charts.
- When you think of mongolian dishes, a lot of us
Just go to takeout, and that is so far from it.
It's so beautiful.
- We deserve to stay at the top today.
- The frog's legs, I think it's ready for
A magazine cover, that dish.
- It was a standout, for sure.
- Beautiful, breathtaking.
Disappointments.
I'm upset for mark with that sea bass.
This is slightly undercooked. I didn't taste authentic.
- Oh, man.
- Fried rice. - It was a big mishap.
The rice was raw in the middle.
It's weird, because you had two off rice dishes.
- The cod cheek, there was not really
Actually a lot of redeeming qualities
I enjoyed about that.
- And what was with the duck dish?
I mean, it's got to make it from the kitchen
To the dining room, right?
- Let's be honest, the good dishes tonight were so good,
And sadly, the bad dishes were so awful.
What a divide. Shall we?
- Yeah.
- Wow.
Some very good dishes here tonight,
But only one dish will earn their team safety.
And that dish was...
[suspenseful music]
Pilar.
Congratulations.
- Good, job, girl!
- [bleep].
- Congrats, pilar. - Thank you, chef.
I am so excited.
This is one of the heights of my career.
The sacrifices that I make.
I can't come home on holidays.
I can't always be there.
But this is why I can't, because it does pay off.
It's real.
- Cassie, you were very close.
Not only was your dish delicious and authentic,
But it was you.
It's what you stand for.
Forget the word embarrassment.
It's a delight. - Thank you.
- Well done.
- Team arrington, thanks to pilar, you are all safe.
You guys can head back to the lounge
And watch the elimination from there.
We are going back to that top kitchen next time.
Good job, pilar. - Thank you.
- Unfortunately, we know what this means.
Once again, gordon and richard, each of you
Has to pick one of your chefs to battle it out
In the elimination cook-off.
Gordon, please, let's start with you.
- I'm going to put a dish forward
That needs two more minutes cooking,
And that dish belongs to mark.
I need you to bring your a-game.
- Yes, chef.
- I've been in a pressure cooker situation.
Every Sunday is a pressure cooker situation.
I'm not going to panic.
I am in it to win it.
- Richard.
- I definitely have two dishes to potentially choose
From over here, two rice dishes that had some flaws,
One overcooked, one undercooked.
The chef I'm putting into to the elimination is...
- The chef I'm putting into the elimination is...
- Oh, my god.
If there's anyone that's going in, it's me.
- Matt.
- Wow.
- Matt, just didn't happen today.
You had some great ingredients, didn't
Come together at the end.
A little sloppy. I know you can do better.
- Understood, chef.
- So matt, we find ourselves now
With a decision to make here. - That we do, chef.
- You can choose to face elimination
Or keep yourself safe and force me
To choose someone else on our team in your place.
You're going to turn in your immunity pin?
- Yes, chef.
- Wow. - The hardest part of using
The next level immunity pin
Is that I knew one of my teammates
Was going to go up for elimination.
- He's playing it.
- Easy. I earned it.
I had the right to use it.
I'm not leaving this competition with that pin
Still on my apron.
- That means that I have to pick someone else
To go into an elimination.
The person I'm going to choose...
Chris.
- I knew that matt was going to use his pin.
I would have done the same thing.
You know, this is a competition,
And I could have done better.
- Chris, there's no doubt you're one
Of the toughest chefs here.
You were built for this moment, and you
Need to bring all of this fire into the elimination round.
- Yes, chef.
- Mark, I know you can get through this,
And I know how many times you've bounced back
From adversity in the nfl.
So I need you to bring your a-game.
- Yes, chef.
- Ok, mark, chris, please stay here.
The rest of you, head up to the top-level kitchen.
- Got your back. We've got you.
- That's a shock.
- Listen, both of you have one last chance
To save yourselves.
You're both going to have to create something that's not
Only a staple in chinese cuisine,
But it's represented in countries around the world.
Dumplings.
Both of you have 30 minutes to make your version
Of an international dumpling.
I will be with you in that top-level kitchen.
Richard and gordon will meet us after you're done cooking.
Please head up. I'll see you shortly.
- Good luck, mark. Come on.
- Good luck. Let's go, chris.
- I'm just going to go out there and cook
The best international dumpling that I can.
Let's get it, level up, and get back in the game.
- You've got this! - Flavors, chris, flavors.
- You've got this.
- I think that I still have an edge over him.
I have a hell of a lot more experience,
As far as flavors go.
I am ready to win this damn thing.
[dramatic music]
- Hey. [applause]
- Hey! Let's go.
- You got this.
- Here I am, fighting for another challenge.
I was the underdog in so many aspects of my life,
So I'm sure I'm going to come out on top.
- Oh, p, the stress.
I'm so glad we up here, baby.
I'm so glad, baby.
[applause]
- Mark, chris. - Yes, chef.
- Chef.
- You both have one last chance to save
Yourself in this competition.
- Yes, chef. - Yes, chef.
- You ready to leave it all in the field?
- Yes, chef.
- Hands on the elevator, please.
- Here we go, baby.
- You got this, mark.
- Go.
- Dumplings. - It's going to stay there.
- International dumpling. - Crab.
- Here we go.
- Grab all your ingredients.
Ground lamb. What's your vision?
- I see ground lamb, and I see dumpling wrappers.
There you are.
And that was really the two big things that I needed.
We're good to go.
- Don't forget, the platform stays here the entire time.
You can set something down on your station.
- Oh, here we go. - You've got the dough.
- Got the dough.
- Ok, what's our plan?
- I'm going to make... I'm going to Italy.
- Excellent.
- So I'm going to make a little ground...
Ground pork, put a little tomato sauce
In it, a little spinach, a little cheese.
- Love it.
- Ok, mark. Ok!
- Where's the italian inspiration coming from?
- Italian inspiration is coming from, I would say,
I like spaghetti. That's my italian...
- Love it. Love it.
[dramatic music]
What's the plan, chris?
- I'm going to do manti, which is basically
A middle eastern dumpling. - Yes.
- I'm going to have a nice little yogurt sauce here.
I'm going to throw sour cream, a little bit of the feta
Cheese with it, just to give it more of that essence,
More depth to it. - Chris is focused, though.
- Yeah, but you got to get them cooked.
- You going saute pan? - That's the plan.
Yes, chef. - Let's go.
- I feel confident with chris in elimination,
But if mark pulls through and chris goes home,
I will be feeling terrible.
Let's go.
- 10 minutes down, guys.
20 minutes to go. - 10 minutes down.
All right. You know what?
What am I doing? Hold on one second.
Please hold.
- Oh, my god, this is stressful.
- Rally don't have that much time.
It is stressful.
Behind, behind, behind, behind.
Everything hurts.
Your mind goes into like...
It just goes haywire.
- Cook it in the sauce.
- Big breath. - Let's go, let's go.
Let's go.
- Under nine minutes, chris.
- Under nine minutes. Heard, chef.
- One more, one more, one more, one more.
- You don't need nine of them.
- You just need three, baby.
- Ohh. - Oh, man.
- I'm not taking that chance. - Just stop.
- Just go with here. - Just a tiny teaspoon inside.
There we go. Nice.
Good, that's perfect amount.
Put it in the middle.
Rim that and pinch it up.
- Chris. - Yes, chef.
- You know, it's one plate, right?
- Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
- Oh, my god.
- Whoa, my god.
- It's gorgeous, gorgeous.
- Beautiful. - Come on, chris.
You gonna finish this?
- I want this [bleep] bad, chef.
- Come on, come on, come on.
2 1/2 minutes, guys.
2 1/2 minutes. - I got this.
Here we go. - You got this.
Let's go. - Here we go.
- Make sure you taste it.
- Come on, chris. - Yeah, I think that's it.
- You got it, baby. Stay calm.
- Oh, those are cooked, for sure.
Here we go. Here we go.
We're back, baby.
Chris is back on track.
- We got one minute, ok? - Yes, chef.
- How are those dumplings looking, bro?
- They're looking all right.
- 45 seconds, 45 seconds.
- There's a chili oil back there.
Taste it. Is it too spicy?
- If it doesn't go with you plate, don't use it.
- 20 seconds to save you today.
- Coming down to the wire!
Let's go, mark!
- Go.
- 10 seconds.
8, 7, 6, 5, 4,
3, 2, 1.
[applause]
- Good job, mark.
Good job, chris.
- That cook was down to the wire,
But I left it all out there.
I'm crossing my fingers, hoping.
- Appreciate you, man. - You as well, man.
Seriously.
- I did the best I could do.
I'm just praying that I did enough.
- May the best chef win. That's what it's going to be.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Gordon, richard, super intense cook tonight.
Two great dumpling dishes.
The first, we have a turkish dumpling.
This was made with ground lamb.
- Ah. Oh, this is intense.
- The filling is delicious.
I love the seasoning. It's got the heat.
The dough is cooked beautifully.
- I love that fact that it's really
Comparative, the textures.
The key here is, you know, it eats a little bland
Until you get into this tomato sauce,
Which really, really pops.
It's got a little char, a little spice to it.
Overall, it's a very good dish.
- Second dish tonight is a italian dumpling
Made with ground pork. - Wow.
I mean, to me, it's wholesome, right?
I mean, I love italian food.
It looks inviting, and it looks like it's
Going to taste delicious.
- Ah, it's the moment of truth.
- Oh, god, oh god, oh god, oh god.
- The actual cook on the dumpling's delicious.
I love the fact that they're being cooked
And then tossed in the sauce.
Whoever did that was very smart.
And it's a very personal way of cooking dumplings.
Rich?
- All of these flavors we know work together in the pork,
With the soft dough.
Ravioli--what a great use of the word dumpling.
I think that that's always inviting.
- Ok, two good dishes, but only one
Will save this chef tonight.
Richard, which dish are you going to eliminate?
- The dish that I'm going to eliminate is...
♪ ♪
The italian dumpling with pork.
There is some chunky onions, not just the flavor,
But there's like large bits of onion in the filling.
- Gordon, please.
- I think both of you technically
Have nailed the crimping of those dumplings.
There is one that has let a touch of water
Seep into the dumpling, which then turns it slightly anemic
And a little bit watery.
The dish I'm eliminating tonight is...
Is the italian dumpling.
- Unfortunately, the italian dumpling was prepared by mark.
- Oh, [bleep].
- I'm good. - Oh, boy.
- We good. - Mark.
I want to say, from someone that is a big sporting fan,
I know everyone standing behind you is going to miss you,
And I'm going to miss you, personally.
You've been incredible.
- Thank you very much, chef.
- Do not stop cooking.
- Yes, chef. Absolutely. - Good man.
- I was blessed enough to have an opportunity
To compete on "next level chef."
Come on, now. - Good spirit, good spirit now.
- I don't go home a loser.
I'm a winner in my heart.
- We're good.
- Love you, mark! - Love you, mark.
- We love you, mark!
- Here we go.
- Thank you.
- E-a-g-l-e-s, eagles!
- Chris, well done.
- Thank you, chef.
- I want to say something really
Important to all of you.
This competition is going up another level.
And I promise you, it is game on.
Good night. - Yes, chef.
[applause]
[chatter]
- Good cook, man. - I knew it.
I knew it.
- Next time on "next level chef"...
- Here it comes.
- Today, you'll be cooking with game meats.
Things are about to get wild.
- Game meats. It's game on.
- You want to stay in this top-level kitchen?
- Yes, chef. - Cook like it.
- This is really going to show us
Who is cooking at what level.
- Keep dropping it. - Yeah!
- Ok, baby, keep it coming!
- Get the dishes out, guys. Platform's here.
Come on, baby. - This is one big [bleep] mess.