[dramatic music]
- I'm gordon ramsay, michelin star chef and a ceo
Of a global business empire.
Now, the food and drink industry
Has never been more exciting,
But it's also never been tougher to succeed.
I want to help someone get to the top
And invest $1/4 million of my own cash
Into their business.
I've handpicked 15 individuals
With promising food products or businesses.
- We were listed on "time" magazine's
Best inventions of 2021.
- I was voted the top place to eat in los angeles.
- Pepper is the social cooking app
To share recipes with friends.
- They will compete to win my investment.
- $250,000 will put us on a trajectory
That is unfathomable.
- This is unlike anything I've ever done before.
Over the next ten weeks, I'll send the contestants
On a series of challenges designed to showcase
Their business skills...
- We got to get a plan of action, team.
- Whoo!
- We did our best. - No, we didn't do our best.
- And convince me they have what it takes
To win my backing.
- We care about our profits.
We're running businesses.
- I'm like this close to losing my [bleep].
- You didn't take action whatsoever.
This is sink or swim.
- Just feeling like a failure.
- Who will be my food star?
The person who I'll be investing in is...
♪ ♪
[seagulls cawing]
[soft music]
♪ ♪
- Wow.
- I've invited the contestants to meet me on a beach
In southern california.
- Ah!
Hi!
- This is your time.
You got to rock this.
This is otherworldly, being here.
I am like, life is but a dream.
- Amazing. [gasps]
- Oh, it's on.
- I'm here to win.
I'm not here to make friends.
- How are you? - How's it going?
- I'm just kind of sussing out the competition.
You know, keep your friends close, your enemies closer.
- Oh, my gosh, there are so many people here already.
- Hey! - So what do you do?
- I have coffee and crepe shops.
- That's awesome!
- I make spices, and barbecue sauces, and marinaras.
- It seems like everybody on the beach has a business
In the food or beverage industry, right?
- Yeah. - Yes.
- These are all legit business people,
And I'm excited to go up against them.
- Get ready to meet gordon ramsay!
[cheering]
- Let's go, gordon. - Where's he's at?
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- I've asked the contestants to meet me here.
All they've heard is, I'm not there yet.
And them down there have no idea what's about to happen.
- Oh, my gosh!
There's a helicopter!
- Guys, guys, guys, guys. - Whoa!
[cheering]
- What are you doing? - [screaming]
- This man knows how to make an entrance, that's for sure.
- Stand by for the countdown, stand by.
- Is he gonna jump out? - Yes.
- No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
You don't jump out of helicopters.
You land them. - Oh, he's going!
- He's out of his mind.
- Three, two, one, go.
♪ ♪
[cheering]
[upbeat music]
- Oh, my god, there he goes, just swimming in the ocean.
There he is. - Wow.
- He just set the tone.
[cheering]
- Oh, my gosh!
- Whoo!
♪ ♪
- Right, we good?
- Yes! - Yeah!
- Now, I've invited each and every one of you
O be here today because you've got some
Of the most exciting food and drink businesses
Anywhere in the u.S., right?
- Yeah! - That's right!
- This is unlike any competition
I've ever put together
Because it's not just about food,
It's about the business of food,
And you all know how big that is.
- Yes, yes. - Yeah.
- I've designed ten weeks of incredible challenges
For you all.
And at the end of that process,
I will invest at least $1/4 million
Of my own money in one of you.
[cheering]
For your first big challenge,
Tomorrow you'll be selling street food
From your very own shack on this amazing beach.
- Yes! - Let's do it!
- And just like how my first impression made a big splash,
You need to leave a memorable first impression on me
And shine as individuals, but stand out as a team.
We need teams. Let's make this simple.
You five to my left--queen. - Yes?
- Love the name, by the way. - Thank you.
- Luther, ashley, megan, and jake,
You guys are gonna be the red team.
- Red team, look at that, boom. - Boom.
- Kagen, elisa--
- Yes!
- Sydney, chris, and chanel,
You're gonna be the yellow team.
Which means you guys on the right hand side, lan--
- Yes. - Jordan.
- Yeah. - Tony.
- Let's go.
- Caroline, and aaron,
You guys are gonna be the blue team.
- Hell yes.
- The first big challenge is simple.
The team that makes the least amount of profit
At lunchtime tomorrow loses.
From that losing team, at least one person
Will be leaving the competition.
Make sure it's not you. - Yes.
- All of you talented 15, the very best of luck.
Off you go.
[cheering]
This challenge for me is all about first impressions.
I need to get a sense of their business skills.
And in less than 24 hours, they'll be running a food shack
On this very beach.
Trust me, this is sink or swim.
[tense music]
- What do we have? - Here we go.
- I sent the teams to some food trucks near the beach
To do research.
- Hey! - Yeah!
- These vendors are at the top of their game.
They know how to turn a profit on high-end beach food.
I want my guys to learn a thing or two.
- Oh, look at this menu!
- So we offer a filipino fusion food.
So burritos, rice bowl, tacos trio.
- Do you have add-ons that you can get to like make a combo?
- I like the way your brain's working.
Yes, absolutely. I think that--we do churros.
If you can get them to spend 3 bucks more
Or 5 bucks more for that same ticket.
- Oh.
- How long does it take to get this stuff out?
- I'll be honest with you, I try to make everything
Within about a minute to two minutes.
- So anything on the menu is minute to two minutes?
- Anything.
- Full of inspiration, the teams' next task
Is to pick a menu.
- So excited to eat and get to know y'all.
- Look at this view, guys.
- And suss each other out.
- So I'm ceo and founder of smart cups.
I'm a scientist. - So you're good with numbers.
- Numbers. - Great.
- You're our guy to make sure that we're
Hitting that profit margin.
I'm a food truck owner.
- No pressure. - I know, no pressure.
- I'm ready.
I am ready.
I'm from chicago,
And I operate the famous pink food truck
In los angeles called vegan af.
I've been featured on "eater la," "thrillers," "la times."
Within the first six months of opening,
We actually surpassed six figures.
Vegan culture is a billion dollar industry.
I am the next best thing
Coming out of the vegan culture right now.
- So I've been cooking for 13 years,
And efficiency and prep time
Is the most imperative thing we have.
- I grew up in a pizza truck, so I understand,
Like, the whole stress.
- Yeah.
- I grew up in the family pizza business,
Which I ended up hating as a teenager.
I ended up in the party scene.
When you google me, you can see me dancing
On tables and partying with the best of them.
And when I became a single mom,
I realized the food industry was my calling.
My product, pizza girl pasta sauce,
Is disrupting the boring pasta sauce aisle.
We are in 500 supermarkets in southern california.
I am a leader, I will have my voice heard,
And do not mess with me.
- It seems like we're all from diverse backgrounds.
What do you all think as far as asian fusion?
- Asian fusion is-- is it's a good choice.
- I think it could be a success.
- Now, I'm not exactly sure what asian fusion is.
I don't come from the world where we blend a bunch
Of different things together.
Hearing my team discuss asian fusion,
It was a bit concerning to me because the background
That I come from, we don't eat asian fusion.
- So asian fusion can be very diverse.
It could be asian and mexican-- - so soy--
- It could be asian and american.
- Are customers going to want it in the hot sun
On the beach with the sand?
- We can definitely do an asian fusion on the beach.
We got asian fusion? - I feel good about it.
- Asian fusion. - Asian fusion.
- I mean, one, we got to keep costs low.
That's important. We're on a beach.
We're gonna want something
That's easy to eat and handheld.
- Let's say we did sliders, right?
- That's a good idea.
- I think that the slider idea is really simple.
It'll be easy for us to execute on.
We don't need a lot of ingredients.
- We got a plan. - We're good with sliders.
- We need it to be quick, but we need it
To look good more than anything else.
- I want to do rice.
We pick a base, put on the protein, and go.
- I just think with a rice bowl,
There's not a lot you can do with it to make it,
Like, fancy and beautiful easily.
♪ ♪
They need something that's handheld,
And a rice bowl you're gonna need this,
You're gonna need a fork.
- Right away, you know, there are strong personalities
From two people in our team.
But like, we all need to do something
That we can all agree on.
- My thought was that tacos would be great profit margins.
- I'm coming to a beach.
I'm not going to want to like dig into things,
Have things dripping down my arm.
I'm all about the consumer experience.
- Tacos would be fast--
- Ok, so you want to do tacos?
- Let me finish.
- There's tension on the team.
I didn't expect there to be tension on day one.
But it was just like... [makes explosion sound]
Sparking, you know?
- What are you thinking for--
- I mean, definitely-- I like the idea of a taco.
- It seems like a lot of people want to do tacos here.
- Are we all in agreeance on tacos?
- Yep. - Tacos.
- I am not crazy about the taco stand idea,
But we're just gonna roll with it.
You know what, I'm here to win.
Bring it on.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- I've handpicked 15 of america's top food and drink
Entrepreneurs who are all competing
To win my $1/4 million investment.
♪ ♪
For the first part
Of this two-day beach shack challenge...
- Yo, look at this grill.
- Holy mackerel, this is awesome, guys.
- I've set up three prep kitchens for each team
To devise their menus.
- This is bigger than the kitchen
I got at my restaurant.
- Guys, come over!
We good? - Yeah!
- Whoo!
- Now, listen carefully.
I've sourced the very best ingredients
Anywhere that southern california has to offer.
- Nice. - Beautiful.
- Your first big challenge is understanding what sells.
So make sure you create the most appealing menu.
But listen carefully.
Everything you spend
Is coming out your final profit.
You need to make money.
Got it? All: Yes.
- Right, all of you, good luck.
Off you go. Let's go.
- All right, come on, y'all.
- I'm ready. - What are we doing?
- In just two hours...
- What kind of style are we going with?
- Cajun creole chicken tacos and churros.
- I'll be tasting those sample menus from each shack,
Showcasing the dishes they want to sell tomorrow.
- Beef slider is gonna be topped with parmalat's onions,
Pickles, and cheese.
- What kind of cheese?
- I'm gonna go with sliced cheddar.
- Cheddar has a better flavor to it,
But american is cheaper.
It's still yellow.
- This challenge is all about understanding
What sells whilst also being smart with their budget.
- I like the idea of asian fusion meatballs
Because it's a very cheap and affordable product.
- Ground meat. - Yeah.
- Hi.
My business is luther bob's fried chicken,
And I'm the founder.
I've spent time in michelin star kitchens.
What separates luther bob's is that our chicken has
Key ingredients in there, and they create
A distinct flavor profile that is subtly asian.
$250,000 will help us open our first brick and mortar store.
It'll help put us on a trajectory
That is almost unfathomable.
We're gonna boil some soba noodles
In a really nice broth with chicken,
But we're using a red sauce with it.
It looks italian, but you taste it,
And you're like, wow, that tastes unique.
- I'm very concerned about the meatballs with the noodles.
- So if you were on the beach and you saw this,
Would you at least be willing to try?
- No.
I feel very confused.
I have no idea what's going on.
What is a soba noodle?
What goes into making this?
It'll be interesting to see, ultimately,
How we are successful.
- Ashley definitely has had a couple issues with the menu.
I have never had a meatball on a beach,
But my team feels confident in it.
We're making spaghetti and meatballs.
We're just calling it something
A little bit different.
- Once we prep the beef in the bowl, kagen,
You can take over beef.
- I'm the beef man now? Where's the meat?
- Ready? - I'm ready.
Let's do this, man.
I own kagen coffee and crepes.
We started kagen coffee and crepes six years ago
In richland, washington.
My family is number one to me.
That was a big part of starting my restaurant was,
I wanted to create something that I could be with them,
That they could be with me, we can do this together.
Listen, not all superheroes wear capes.
Some make crepes.
Blue team, you ok failing at this?
Ready to lose?
- Does anybody hear-- I don't hear anything.
- Just don't even pay attention to him.
- Ok, so the 150 servings, right?
Let's do 175 to be safe.
- I think you're right.
- Ok.
I left a six-figure pharmacy job
And founded a vietnamese coffee company called fat milk.
Both of my parents are vietnam refugees.
They have no idea that I'm here.
They think I'm back at home in my white coat.
Instead, I'm pursuing my dream.
They'll find out along with the rest of the world.
Ah, anxiety.
Take lead, chef. - Ok.
So, aaron, I'll have you on tortillas.
I'll do churro.
The role that I'm playing is a leader.
The major goal of a leader is to give each individual tools
That they need to succeed.
And I think I'm one of the only people on our team
That can do that.
- Do we need a shack name, like for our brand?
- Oh, yeah. - Blazin' cajun?
Blazin' cajun.
- Ragin' cajun taco. - You think it's cheesy?
- It's a little overdone.
- We're not trying to reinvent the wheel.
We just need a cute name. - Yeah.
- If you have a better one, let's hear it.
- I'm thinking.
Am I allowed to think?
- Honestly, like, lan, I can't deal.
I'm just trying to think ahead. I'm trying to be creative.
I'm trying to come up with ideas for the name.
She immediately shoots it down.
I'm like, honey, if you have a better idea, I'm all ears.
You're not liking anything, but you're also not, like,
Adding to the conversation.
- I think caroline is being so ridiculously annoying.
I think it's just really unnecessary aggression
That I just think is kind of embarrassing.
It's not that big of a deal.
♪ ♪
- Once I'm done mixing up this ground beef,
I'm gonna pass this over,
And, kagen, you're up to actually cook it.
- So I want to do the noodles, sauce, and the meatballs
On top, not covered with the sauce.
It'll look more elegant that way.
- Ok.
- Everybody taste everything, just so we know
That it's not under seasoned.
- Hey, am I cooking for gordon right now?
- Yes. - Yes.
- Are we putting lettuce on all of these?
- It's time for me to sample what the teams
Will be serving tomorrow.
- Burger, cheese, bacon, onions, pickle.
- Perfect. - Is that right?
- Yep, that's right. That's right.
He's coming here first. Are you kidding?
- How are we doing? - Ok.
- Great. - Ok, bring it up, please.
Let's go.
So this is what?
- That's our beach boy slider,
Which is a beef slider, some cajun fries,
Served with a vegan chipotle sauce.
- Thank you, and all this lettuce
At the bottom here, what's that for?
- Decoration. - We're just wasting money.
- Ok.
[tense music]
- Slider is delicious.
And we're saying $5 or $6. Where are we going?
- It's two for 10.
- Fries, how much are they?
- They're $6.
If you buy it with a combo, $15.
- I think you've gone too high in the pricing.
Ok, so rein in your prices.
There's some goodness here, real goodness.
But you need to execute this thing.
Got it? - Ok.
- Good. Both: Thank you.
- But he's saying we need to cut the garnish out.
If we cut that out, can we bring our prices
Down just a little bit?
- Mm-hmm. - Yep.
- Next up...
- Great job. Everything taste delicious.
- The red team.
Let's have a look, please. - We're ready.
- So we're doing asian fusion meatballs.
It's a play on spaghetti. Underneath you have udon.
On top, you have a classic red sauce.
And we have vietnamese meatballs.
- I personally, after playing volleyball for an hour,
I'm not gonna come back and eat five meatballs
With a massive bowl of noodles.
- Got it. - Definitely not, understood?
- Understood. - Yes, chef.
- Price point, where are we going?
- 12 to 14.
- Ok, that's expensive.
You're charging restaurant prices on a beach.
Does that look appetizing?
- No, you're right.
- Five balls, all different sizes.
♪ ♪
Insufficient seasoning and way too sweet.
All of you, raise your game.
- Yes. - Yes, chef.
- Do you think we should rethink the meatballs?
- I think the issue was quantity.
- The crispiness and the fluffiness on the inside,
Best churros I've ever had.
- Last up...
- You guys taste it. - It's the blue team.
What's the side here?
- That's our chicken thigh taco.
And then finished it with cilantro
And a sweet heat aioli.
- Mm.
It's delicious.
- Thank you. - What does it cost to make?
- Probably about $1.50.
- You could go to $4 or $5, that's a big return.
You're three and a half times.
Ok, great multiples there.
[bleep]. What happened there?
- That is your churro.
- It looks like one of those fake craps that
You stick under your granddad's seat at thanksgiving.
- Oh, god.
- They don't serve churro like that
In mexico, let me tell you.
- Ok. - It's a shame.
It's a great add-on.
I love that. Think about this.
Somebody from the losing team's going home.
- Right. - Make sure it's not you.
Good luck. - Got it.
- Whoo! - Thank you, chef.
- Thank you! - Here we go.
♪ ♪
- The cooking is only one part of this challenge.
They've got to give it the right concept.
They've got to know their market.
But more importantly, across this whole challenge,
They've got to make money.
Otherwise, they're just gonna be busy idiots.
♪ ♪
[tense music]
- 11:00 a.M.
- There's our shack, just as we left her.
- In just one hour, hundreds of hungry beachgoers
Will be demanding their lunch.
- Let's go, let's go.
- To maximize profits, the teams must prep
All their food and get their shacks ready.
- So now you're leading the ship.
- Let's make this the best and get everything done.
- Drop the ball now, and they won't be open on time.
- Let's set up our station, set up our responsibilities.
- All right, when the shack open, guys,
I'm gonna be over here helping with the fries.
We got sydney out in front, getting these orders.
And then we got kagen on the griddle
Getting these sliders ready.
I have a lot of weight on my shoulders
Because I own a food truck.
So if we lose today, I could get eliminated.
I don't want to go home.
- This is really an important role for me,
Making sure the meat's cooked to perfection.
We don't want to overcook it and dry it out,
But we want to make sure that it's just that juicy where,
You know, people bite into it, and it's just like,
Oh, I got to have more.
- What do we have to do for meatballs to prep?
- Cinnamon, fish sauce with garlic.
$250,000 is on the line here.
And I believe gordon wants to invest
In somebody who shows the greatest understanding
Of business.
My asian fusion meatballs are controversial,
But I want to stick with my gut instinct.
- I'm gonna be making churros
Because it was a pain in the ass yesterday,
And, lan, you'll be expoing.
Expo is telling the cooks what we need to do.
- Is there a specific way
That you guys want me to just shout it?
- One chicken, one potato, one churro.
- Got it. - Yeah.
I'm just trying to think about, like,
The order of the flow.
- You're focused on the customer in front of you.
- Ok.
♪ ♪
- Yellow team. How are we doing?
- Great. - Tell me, who's doing what?
- I am gonna be working on the griddle over here.
I'm gonna be doing the sliders.
Chris is gonna be over here working
The french fry station.
- Good, good. So who's taking the orders?
- I am. - Gotcha.
- Yep.
- Can we get some confidence in here a little bit?
- Yes, we're ready! - Ready!
- Yes.
Red team, how we feeling?
- Wonderful, how are you? - Good!
- Have we adjusted anything?
- For the meatball, we adjusted for the flavor.
So it's not as sweet.
We're also reduced the number
Of meatballs inside of the dish.
- Smart. - We have three now.
- Smart, I love that.
You sound a lot more together than you were yesterday.
- Thank you.
- Good luck. - Thank you, chef.
- All right, team. Let's do it.
Let's finish this prep. - Yes!
- Lots of people. This beach is filling up, guys.
- Whoo!
Hot, baby!
- How are we feeling? - Feeling amazing.
- Who's in charge of the blue team?
- I am.
- Yesterday, tony, you were holding the reins, right?
- I'm still holding them, chef.
- But I'm gonna make sure we're a well-oiled machine.
- Somebody lead, stand by your convictions.
I'm not asking you to become best friends.
I'm just asking you to become the best shack.
Understood? - Yes, sir.
- Ok, good luck. - Thank you.
- Obviously, lan was gonna volunteer herself
As the leader, right?
♪ ♪
- All right, let's go.
- Hoo, wee!
- This is exciting.
- Wait, how is that in terms of done?
- Do you want me to go more done?
- That's a little too pink, I think.
- Booth is open.
- Booth is open, team.
♪ ♪
- Come get your sliders! We got sliders for you, man.
- 12:00 p.M. - Whoo!
- And the team shacks are open to the public.
- Hello, welcome.
What can I get for you?
- They've got just two hours to make
As much profit as they can.
- Welcome to the rio creo taco shack.
- The combo, you can get any taco
Of your choice, the elote corn salad, and a churro.
Doesn't that sound good? For 10 bucks!
It's a really great deal.
We got our first order.
- We got an order of the beach boy slider, two beefs.
- All day, baby. We can do this.
All day long. All day long.
- They need to keep on top of their orders...
- Thank you so much.
It should be ready about 10, 12 minutes.
- If they want to maximize their profit potential.
- Once I get the chicken on,
Then I'll have you put the slaw.
- Order for mario!
Mario, you can't be slow like that.
You hungry, right?
- This is really good.
- Why, hello there. What can I get for you?
- Is there anything that we can get you besides that?
- We don't want the meat to be red like,
You know, it's still mooing.
- I'm ticked off.
I don't think that last burger was undercooked.
- Kagen, let me tell you something.
If we were a restaurant right now,
We'd get this shut down.
- Yes, ma'am.
♪ ♪
- On a busy beach in southern california...
- Ok, so that's gonna be $8.
- Lunch is in full swing.
- That will be $10.
- Three teams have just two hours
To make the biggest profit from their food shacks.
- And do you want to make it a combo with fries?
- But for the yellow team, I've spotted an issue.
[dramatic music]
- I'm really frustrated.
- Do you need help? - No, I'm fine.
- If you're not comfortable, don't do it.
Pass it on to somebody. - I'll stay on.
- Kagen? - Yes, ma'am?
- Are you sure you're good? - Yes, ma'am.
- Do you need me to help-- - I can do this.
♪ ♪
- At the blue shack...
- How about double meat on that chicken?
- Orders are piling up...
- Yeah, sure. - It's only $2, ok, great.
- And in charge of the tickets.
- I need 9, 10, 11.
- Lan.
- 12 chicken tacos.
- So what's the order next?
I got two right here behind you.
- Just give me a quick minute.
- The way that she was calling it out,
It wasn't working for me.
Next thing I know, she's like, here comes more tickets.
- You know, I think sometimes when it's busy there could be
A slip of communication there, and I think we just have
To be right back on track.
So I'm not necessarily worried.
I think we should be in good hands.
- Is this all what we need to call?
- Yes.
- Keep reiterating what you need.
- All right.
- Your mouth should be tired from talking.
- 1:00 p.M.
Just one hour left of the task,
And I'm about to deploy my secret weapon.
Undercover food entrepreneur christopher tompkins,
Started off selling oysters and lobster rolls from his van
At the coast in malibu.
Chris's business, broad street oyster company,
Now has multiple locations on the west coast,
Worth more than eight figures.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- I wouldn't normally order meatballs by the beach,
But I'm gonna give it a try.
- That's what it seems everyone's doing today.
- First menu for chris to trial...
- You are order number 38.
- The red team.
- Let's go, let's go, team. We're working it out.
Let's do it.
♪ ♪
- Hi, chris. - Gordon, how are you?
- Very well, thank you. - Nice to see you.
- Red team, what do you think of meatballs?
- From an execution standpoint,
I thought the meatballs were pretty good.
- Did they seem organized? - Absolutely.
Looked like everyone back there was communicating quite well.
- Good.
- We have the longest line, guys.
We have the longest line.
So we got to make sure we're keeping up with the demand.
- Next up...
- It's been over 35 minutes, and I'm waiting
On a beach boy slider and a hot chick.
- We'll get you that right now. Very sorry.
- The yellow team.
- [chuckles]
[tense music]
- Burger is cold.
- Yellow team, what was the reception like
When you arrived?
- It was a mess. - Wow.
- It just didn't look like they had it pulled together.
- What was the pickup time?
- I think we ran up to 40 minutes.
- Stop it. - Yeah.
- For a slider?
- For a cold slider. - No.
- It was just really not the experience I wanted.
- Yeah.
- Hello, sir.
- And last on chris' menu...
- One chicken taco, corn salad, and a churro with whip.
- You got it. All right.
- The blue team.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
Blue team with the taco shack. How was that?
- Fantastic. - And price, value wise?
- It's very cheap.
I think it's going to be really hard for blue team
To compete when their total menu is $11 for three items,
When the booths next door, 25 or 28 bucks.
And if you're trying to make as much profit as possible,
Even with your cost of goods being low,
You still need a higher ticket price.
- It's a captive audience, right?
They're not going anywhere are they?
These people on the beach, they need to eat, yes?
- Absolutely. - Yeah.
Back at the yellow shack...
- Ok, we got a mark that said he's
Been waiting for 40 minutes.
What's your order, mark?
- And after a shaky start...
- Find the ticket.
- No reason why I should have to cook fries
And check tickets.
It makes no sense. - Don't just shout at us.
- Another unhappy customer.
- Oh, dear.
- Thank you so much for waiting.
- Not again, not again.
Not again.
- Hey, guys. Kagen.
- Kagen. - Yes?
- We're serving raw [bleep] food.
- Holy crap.
This is not good.
This could end us.
- You need to stop that now.
I'm not asking you. I'm telling you, stop.
I want somebody else on the burgers.
I said to you earlier, do you need help?
I need a child to bite into that,
And swallow it, and we're in the [bleep].
Somebody swap out now and help kagen now.
- I got the burgers. - You sure?
- Let's go.
- It's pretty humiliating.
- Our goal isn't to rush and get food out.
It's to make sure that it's cooked.
- Burgers were coming out raw.
Gordon didn't like that, obviously.
So I took kagen off burgers, and I jumped in to try to help,
See if I could do a better job.
- Are these well done? - Yeah.
Everything I cook is well done. - Ok, great.
- Over at the red team...
- Right now we're empty.
- With just 30 minutes to go, sales have slowed right down.
- Is there any way we can get some samples going?
Because right now we don't-- - all right, I'll take samples.
- I'm going to make it my mission to go get customers.
I'm going to go steal them if I have to.
Whew! You guys must be hungry.
You know, we don't have a line right now
If you want to come over.
- Megan trying to steal from our line?
- As the red team hustle for orders...
- Getting a little backed up on the churros right now.
- The blue team are struggling with theirs.
- I need a number. How many churros?
- Ok, that's eight total churros.
- What?
I have eight on the board?
- No, this is just for this.
Do you want to know the total? - Yeah.
- I don't think-- out of all of this?
Ok, so 8, 9... - Ugh.
- 11, 12... - Insane.
- 13, 14, 15, 16.
- I didn't know that lan was hoarding the tickets.
I've been asking her to keep talking,
Make sure you're letting everybody know what they have.
24.
- 24 [bleep] churros?
- 25, 26.
- Y'all are serious, man. - 27.
- You can't be hoarding that like that.
- Just make 30 churros.
- Are you kidding me, man?
How are we at 30?
Huge, huge, huge hiccup, huge roadblock.
I don't have 30. - It's ok.
- I don't know about anybody else on our team,
But I felt like I got kicked in the balls.
The last ten churros, refund them.
- Yeah. - I have some bad news.
I'm about to refund some churros.
[dramatic music]
- Just make 30 churros.
- I don't have 30.
The last ten churros, refund them.
- Last five minutes!
Last five!
- 53, I'm so sorry, but we're gonna have to refund
You for your two churros.
I apologize. Thank you so much.
- Ok, all right.
Let's push out everything as fast as we can.
- In the final moments, the three teams are rushing
To get all their orders out.
- All right. We got last call for number 48!
It's the meatballs!
- Ok, two burgers ready to go right now.
- This challenge is based solely on profit...
- We're having a flash sale.
- And with lunch drawing to a close,
One last push for sales.
- We keep dropping our prices, so our meatballs
Are only going to be $9 now.
- I need to refund you, ma'am, I'm so sorry.
I apologize. - Hurry up!
We got 30 seconds.
- We're pretty much sold out of burgers.
- All right, guys. I just took the last order.
We are done. - Ooh.
- That was like, the most intense two hours of my life.
- That was rough.
- I am absolutely exhausted.
I feel like I was just hit by a brick wall.
- The teams have done everything they can.
- I think I've been under some pretty high stress situations,
But this is another level.
- It was really interesting to watch all of them
Work as a team, but more importantly,
I got to get a first impression
Of each and every one of them.
All teams had their ups and downs,
But at the end of the day, it all comes down to profit.
Later on, they'll meet me in la,
And I'll reveal the results.
[upbeat music]
[tense music]
♪ ♪
Let's be honest.
That was an intense couple of days.
- Yes. - It was.
- How you all feeling? - Exhausted.
- I just feel like I learned a lot.
- Anxious. Very anxious.
I have two of the biggest pimples
I've ever had in my life.
[laughter]
- Don't worry about those.
Your first challenge was about much more
Than just making a good first impression.
I wanted to see if you could work with a team and be bold.
I want to back someone that I can really believe in
With my investment.
It's not just an investment, it's a partnership.
- Yes.
- I said to all of you from day one,
Shine as individuals, but stand out as a team.
Red team, the concept was asian fusion meatballs.
- Yes.
- It was a gamble, right? - Yes, it was.
- It was a gamble.
- And you were not all on board with that.
Ashley, I could see the pain on your face.
- I was thinking that that was going to be
The downfall of our team.
- But, luther, you stood by your convictions.
- Yes. - We did.
- Yellow team, sliders on the beach, safe choice.
Smart.
It didn't go swimmingly, right?
Long waits, raw burgers.
There was no system. - Yes.
- Who's responsible for bringing the team together?
- We all defer to chanel. - Right.
As an owner of a food truck herself.
- It just felt fragmented.
Blue team. - Yes.
- Tacos on the beach.
- Yeah. - A california classic.
But stepping into your kitchen,
There was friction from day one.
- Yep. - Ladies, explain yourselves.
- I had caroline, you know, right off the bat telling me
That she was gonna portray herself as this,
You know, don't [bleep] with me,
Kind of bitchy attitude, and that was--
- I actually never said that. - Caroline, let me finish.
That was the kind of aggression that I got right off the bat.
- Can I speak? - Yeah, absolutely.
- Ok, so I felt like, immediately,
Lan was speaking over me and making rules for everybody.
- In business, we do not have to be best friends.
- Right.
- But we have to respect each other.
- Right.
- And blue team, over a dozen refunds on churros alone.
- It was a kick in the pants. - Yeah.
- Over $100 from your shack.
- Yeah. - Right.
- It's time to reveal the numbers.
The team that has made the least amount of profit loses.
One team ended up with a very impressive profit
Of $1,564.
From a shack in just two hours.
- Wow.
- The winning team is...
The red team.
[cheering]
- Let's go!
Let's go! - Yes!
- You guys, guys.
- Red team, well done. - Thank you.
- Even I was skeptical about those meatballs.
Luther, well done. You stood by it.
You didn't change.
Business is all about taking chances,
And that's what all of you did.
Luther, you can relax now. You won.
Good news for you tonight,
Maybe those pimples will go down now.
[laughter]
Yellow and blue teams,
One of you made $1,330 profit.
- Wow.
♪ ♪
The other one made $1,263 in profit.
- Oh.
- That's just a $67 difference.
$67.
♪ ♪
The losing team is...
♪ ♪
[tense music]
- Guys, it's just a $67 difference.
♪ ♪
The losing team is...
The yellow team.
- Oh, my god.
- Yellow team, somewhat disorganized,
Poor quality control,
And you spent the most money on your ingredients.
Someone from your team will be leaving tonight.
Before I decide who that is,
I want to give each and every one of you
A chance to explain yourselves.
So I'm gonna grill you one-on-one
About your performance.
I'll see you in the restaurant.
- Oh, my god.
- Chanel, please, take a seat.
- Kagen, take a seat, please.
- Elisa.
- Sydney, tough night.
- Indeed it has been.
- Chris.
- I'm actually quite embarrassed
That I'm here on the first challenge.
- Why was that shack so bloody dysfunctional?
- We had process issues.
- Kagen was undercooking the beef.
We should have pivoted very quickly.
But I think we all defer to chanel.
She took charge, and as a result,
We couldn't get the orders out.
- What happened?
- Because our line got so big,
Everyone cracked under pressure.
And everybody relied on me.
- You've got tremendous experience
With lines outside the door from your truck.
Why didn't you take control?
- It falls a lot on me as a leader, I know.
But I really thought that everybody
Understood their task.
- Who wasn't listening?
- Kagen.
- Tell me about the setup because that was appalling
From the get-go.
- Chanel had a food truck,
And this was really her ball of wax.
I thought, she's the one that should really be able
To get this through.
And once we got into it, I realized that she was not
Used to dealing with a lot of employees,
And that was very clear very early on.
- Let me tell you about a little secret.
I had a mystery shopper on that beach.
- Oh, wow.
- And he sampled every dish from every shack,
And this is what he said about your shack, specifically.
Cold burgers, long wait time...
And totally disorganized.
- There was no system in place.
- You are sending sliders out raw.
If you're uncomfortable executing something
That you're not sure of, why not hand it over
To somebody that could do it?
- Nobody else was gonna man the grill.
Nobody else stepped up and said, I can cook.
- I then took over cooking the beef.
I realized very quickly, I didn't have trust
Or confidence in anybody around me.
- Chanel goes, "kagen, can you handle it,
Or do you need to get off the line?"
He said, "I can handle it."
- Chanel was swamped,
In way over her head, lost control.
- If she would have communicated to me
A little bit better that she needed that help,
I would have definitely stepped in.
- I tried to help as many people as I could.
- There was no sense of urgency.
- Of all the teams, you guys spent the most money.
This was a profit challenge, chris.
You lost by $67.
- Chanel was our leader--
- Chris, you don't strike me as a man
That's a doormat in business.
- I will say I have more business experience
Than all my team members combined.
- We needed direction.
Is that what you're like in your business?
- Absolutely not.
- No.
No, this isn't what I'm like in business.
- You run for cover when the [bleep] hits the fan?
- No.
I fight it.
- Do you still want this?
- I deserve to be here.
I'm a fighter.
- If you were in my shoes right now,
Who would you send home?
- If I was you, I would either send
Either chanel or kagen home.
- I would send home kagen.
- Nothing against chanel, she's an amazing chef,
But she dropped the ball.
- First impressions are crucial.
You've got a voice. You've got a talent.
Use it. Thank you.
♪ ♪
- Thank you.
♪ ♪
- Ok.
I've handpicked all of you because you've
Got some of the best food and drink ideas
Anywhere in the country today.
And honestly, across every challenge,
I need to see all of you step up.
I've made my decision,
And trust me, it's a tough one.
The person that I will not be investing in
And will be leaving tonight is...
♪ ♪
Kagen.
- No.
- Young man, listen to me.
It's about you refusing to change course
When we're in trouble.
I cannot be in business with someone
That will not adapt to a problem.
So for those reasons, I will not be investing in you.
We're done.
Now, don't dare lose that passion,
And there's a reason why kagen coffee and crepes
Has become successful.
I get it.
So continue success.
♪ ♪
I sent kagen home because he refused to admit
That he was the problem.
We all make mistakes, but it's about owning them
And not repeating the same mistake time and time again.
- Although I don't want to leave,
I'm excited to get back home and get back to work.
- Your kids are very proud of you, I'm sure, dad.
- I got to get crepes back in me.
I'm a crepe guy.
- Gordon gave me a second chance tonight.
There's not gonna be a third time.
- This competition just got really freaking real to me.
- Keep pushing, kagen. - Bye, kagen.
- I'm ready to fight. Bring on gordon.
- Next time,
This challenge is all about customer service
And raising funds.
You will be hosting your very own galas.
- The pressure is building.
- You've been giving me attitude
Since we got in this kitchen.
- I can't invest $1/4 million in anybody
Who does not keep the customer top of mind.
You're not attending the party.
You're hosting the party.
- I put my best foot forward.
- Were you in the same [bleep] room as me?
- Ooh!
- I've never felt so embarrassed in all my life.
We're done.
[upbeat notes]
[dramatic musical sting]