- Previously...
I've handpicked america's best up-and-coming
Food and drink entrepreneurs who will compete
On a series of challenges designed to showcase
Their business skills and convince me
They have what it takes to win
My $1/4 million, my investment.
You'll be hosting your very own galas.
This week was all
About delivering high-end hospitality.
- Whoo! - Our leadership failed.
- You seem to be the leader in title only.
I will not be investing in...
Elisa.
We're done.
[dramatic music]
Tonight, you'll all be creating
Your very own wine brand.
- Ooh!
- That is an absolute obliteration.
I've designed this challenge for me to know
That they really understand marketing,
Branding, and pitching skills.
- We are about to go on, and where is sydney?
You not once asked if she was okay.
I just don't like the fakeness going on here right now.
I really don't.
- I feel very uneasy.
- You can't drop a bomb like that.
- Who will be my food star?
♪ ♪
[bright blues music]
♪ ♪
- Now, this week, I've asked the contestants
To meet me here at the stunning chimney rock winery
In napa valley.
- Wow.
- This is my kind of challenge right here.
- Cheers. - Yes.
- Cheers. - Whoo-hoo!
- Now, they think they're meeting me
For some afternoon drinks, but trust me,
They can think again.
Drinks with me in a vineyard. Really?
Come on, guys, it's a competition.
- Oh, my god. - Look who's here.
- Oh, my god. - Look at that.
- Hey! - Hey!
- Let's go! Let's go see, let's go see.
- Right, good morning. - Good morning!
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome to napa. - Thank you!
- Thank you. - You feeling good?
All: Yes!
- Now, as you can see, there are only 12 of us left.
Unfortunately, for personal reasons,
Chanel had to leave the competition,
And of course, we wish her the very best of luck.
I also understand we have someone else
Who's leaving the process.
Jourdan, you have an emergency.
- Yeah, so at my restaurant, basically,
They just need me back, and it's been one
Of the hardest decisions that I need to make,
But I know where I need to be, and this is--
Like, that's my baby.
- I respect that.
We have multiple businesses
And an infrastructure in chicago...
- Yes, sir.
- So if I can be of any help, reach out to me.
- Definitely. - Take care, bud.
All right, let me know, okay? - Thank you!
- I know that, you know, there's a bigger picture
In hand, though, with my business.
You know, they need me.
You know, I gotta go ahead and go with my gut
And get back to my provaré family.
- Now I trust you all enjoyed the wine and food.
[laughter] - just a little.
- Elizabeth, please come and join us.
Good to see you. - Hello, gordon.
[cheers and applause] how are you?
- Good to see you. - Good to see you.
- This is elizabeth vianna, the amazing winemaker
Here at chimney rock, and she will be helping me
Judge you on your next challenge.
The market for creative wine boxes
Makes over a billion dollars a year.
- Whew! - Wow.
- Today, you will be curating a bespoke themed wine box
And blending your very own wine
That will be included in the box.
- The main thing is that the package has to be cohesive.
Branding and marketing is everything, as we know.
- You'll then need to make food pairings
That compliment your wine, but most importantly,
The branding and the contents of this box
Must be aimed at the napa valley consumer
Because, in business, you must understand
Your market to succeed.
Today, you're gonna be in two teams for this challenge.
Ashley, queen, lan, jake, chris, and tony.
Guys, come and stand over here.
Right, you'll be the yellow team.
Sydney, megan, caroline, luther, and aaron,
You'll be the blue team.
Tomorrow afternoon, both teams will be pitching
Their blend and box to elizabeth
And a room full of connoisseurs.
[laughter] - oh, my gosh.
No pressure, no pressure. - Oh, god.
- The team that gets the best feedback wins
And is safe from that dreadful grilling.
- Amazing. - Is that clear?
- Clear! - Yes!
- Good luck. - Whoo!
- Off you go. - Let's go!
- All right, guys, let's do this!
- I've designed this challenge for me to know
That they really understand marketing and branding.
They go hand in hand.
Even the best brand will never, ever survive
If it's not marketed well.
The teams need to create quality products
That will stand out.
If you can't effectively market a product,
Then your potential customers
Will never buy what you're selling.
For the teams to make their wine boxes...
- All right, we gotta get a plan of action, team.
- All right. - All right.
- I've laid on two prep kitchens.
- What a cool kitchen. - Wow.
- First job... - What's our priority?
- The team needs to pick a wine color.
- I'm gonna go red.
I think that the theme with that is really luxurious.
- Comforting.
- I feel more comfortable blending white.
- Me too. - Okay, great.
- Let's do white.
- And theme for their wine box.
- I automatically think of white wine, you guys,
I think of Sunday fun day.
- I kind of like picnic, the idea of a picnic.
- Picnic is nice too. - Yeah, it's fun in the day.
- I think picnic because it could be an elevated picnic.
- Over on the yellow team.
- I'm thinking experiences, right?
Like, either you're going to the beach,
Or you're going to a party.
- Or a relaxation theme.
- Pampering action. - Pampering, yeah.
- A spa theme is always dope. - Yeah.
- When I want to, like, relax in the bathtub,
I want those full-bodied flavors.
- I think we go with a red. - Oh, yeah.
I'm all over that, baby. - Oh, man.
- What's up, guys?
My name is tony balestreri,
But a lot of people call me tony b.
My product is beef jerky that shatters like a chip.
It's the future of snacking. It's tony b's steak chips.
I want to be on "food stars" because I want,
I need people to try my product.
I want people to be blown away just how I was
The first time I tried it.
Gordon ramsay should invest in me
Because steak chips are coming.
[soft dramatic music]
- Every spa I've been to, I've never had red wine.
- As long as you have the box, the spa is with you.
- Okay, vote. - Spa?
- Who wants spa? Raise hands.
- Spa.
- Raise your hand if you want a spa.
- I'm the only one not for spa, but go ahead.
- Okay. - [laughs]
♪ ♪
- Next on the agenda, assign roles.
- I think that I would be amazing
For the brand-facing position
Because I've done all of that with my brand.
- Coming from, like, a marketing background,
I feel really comfortable taking on a marketing role.
Let's do it.
My business is bandida,
And we make horchata cold brew coffee.
Over 41 million americans don't do dairy
And are a little bit more health conscious
But still love their coffee, so I created bandida.
I am a woman on fire. I have something to prove.
I need that $250,000.
I'm ready to move beyond farmer's markets,
Beyond new york, and I want to get
Into many other stores.
I want to be national.
We're not here to make friends,
So I hope no one takes it personally.
- I think that we all bring something really cool,
Unique, and special to this team.
- Awesome. - Great.
- I have no problem formulating.
- Mm-hmm.
- I just need people to taste it.
Who here drinks wine?
- I at least would know if it tastes so terrible,
I wouldn't drink it.
I'll figure it out. - So that's culinary.
- I'll be on the marketing, branding team.
- I'll be on the marketing and branding team as well.
- I'm marketing and branding team.
- So I think that we can do this and this.
[upbeat music]
- Roles chosen...
- Let's see if we can get some ideas together.
- Okay.
- I've given the teams three hours
To create their blend...
- I develop smart cups technology.
You name it, I've formulated it.
This is what I do all day, every day,
And if I screw it up, I deserve to be kicked off
By gordon ramsay.
- And food pairings for their wine box.
- So we can do cheeses with an apple
And maybe an infused honey.
- Mmm, that sounds so good.
- Smoked trout, brown butter with caviar top.
- While the kitchen teams start the prep...
- Yes, that is so sexy.
- The branding teams must come up with a name and logo.
[quirky orchestral music]
Brainstorming for the blue team...
- We want to have a name that really draws on the theme.
- Aaron, megan, and sydney.
- It's really about, like, what we're preaching,
What the theme of the basket is.
- Can I pause you really quickly?
Will you take just, like, ten seconds
To kind of brainstorm.
- Yeah. - Awesome, okay.
- That sounds great.
[tense music]
Megan rubs me the wrong way.
The feeling of being on a picnic.
- With friends or with someone you love.
- She keeps interrupting me.
It's extremely frustrating.
I do think that-- - is this a date picnic?
Are we with friends?
Is it the five of us on a picnic?
Working with sydney, I think I could've done
Without all the eye rolls that she was giving me.
At the end of the day, we do have to shine
As individuals, but I want to make sure we win.
- On the way here this morning, we saw seven hot air balloons
Among the clouds.
- Among the clouds? Ooh, that's kind of nice.
I like that.
- I like it. - I like that.
[bright music]
- Branding for the yellow team,
Tony, lan, and jake.
- Like, it's a box/kit for a moment for yourself.
- I'm thinking something along the lines of, like,
Big letters, a very simple word.
Like, a period at the end. - Yep.
- Mm. - Something along those lines.
♪ ♪
How's it going?
I'm 25 years old, I'm from millburn, new jersey,
And I'm the ceo and cofounder of pepper.
Pepper is a social cooking app
Where you can post your favorite homemade meals
And get recipes from pretty much anyone else.
Pepper right now is a rocket ship
Waiting to take off.
With gordon's investment, we want to be
The go-to platform for,
What am I going to cook tonight,
And how am I gonna get it at my front door?
- Recharge. - Mm-hmm.
Okay, yeah, these are good words to write down.
- To relax. - Relax.
- Reward. - To...
- It's a lot of "re"s.
- What if we did re-noun?
[soft dramatic music]
Like, noun is a word, but it sounds like renowned.
♪ ♪
- And if someone was like, "why does it--
Why is it called re-nouned?" what would you say?
- You would say, "because we have all of these..."
It's something--something along the lines of, like,
"we reflect, recharge, reward ourselves,"
And you put, like, a noun in there.
- These are verbs.
I think I'm just being too literal.
♪ ♪
- This week, I've invited 11 of america's
Top food and drink entrepreneurs
To napa valley...
- Yellow team, let's get everything together.
- Yep.
- For a chance to win my investment
Of $1/4 million.
- I like a crispy wine.
I like something with a little more bite to it.
- I've asked my two teams to create and brand
A bespoke themed wine box that must appeal
To the napa valley market.
- The theme is picnic.
- And if you're thinking, like, spas.
- Easy. - Okay.
- Earlier, I left the teams to mix their blend...
- I feel like a scientist right now.
- And create food pairings.
- And we gotta make the honeys
Because you have to let the honey infuse.
- Yes.
- Coming up with a name and logo
For the yellow team's wine box,
Tony, lan, and jake.
- What if we did re-noun?
[soft dramatic music]
- Like, these are verbs, you know?
But that makes-- I mean--
♪ ♪
- The whole word is a noun that starts with the word re,
So...
- I think clarity is the main priority.
- Re-noun, really pushing at them, hey guys,
Like, it's a fill in the blank. - Yeah.
- It's clever. - [chuckles]
I like that. - Mm-hmm, okay, I'm with it.
- Let's do it.
- I feel really good about this.
I hope our team is supportive of it.
- Yeah.
♪ ♪
- Creating the logo for the blue team...
- What if it was, like, a little hot air balloon,
Like, kind of off to the side. - Oh!
- Megan, sydney... - What if that's our logo?
- And aaron. - Yeah.
- That is kind of napa-esque. - It is.
- We saw them today.
Hello!
I am from redondo beach, california,
And I am the ceo of toto.
Toto is a line of adaptogenic cookie dough
Made to enhance the mind, body, and spirit.
Toto was inspired by my journey
Healing colon cancer six years ago.
I am a fighter.
$250,000 would be absolutely
Out of this world for toto.
It would take us to the next universe.
I think it's gonna look pretty solid.
- I can't wait to see this actually on a bottle.
It's gonna be wild. - It's gonna be amazing.
- Yeah.
[upbeat music]
- I'm so excited to try. - Me too.
- Formulating the wine and creating food pairings
For their elevated picnic box, luther and caroline.
- It's a little on the spicy side.
- I would take down the fiano,
Add more gris. - Okay, great.
- Finishing up the touches to their red wine blend...
- Here, give this a try. - The yellow team.
- That tastes like something my mother-in-law would drink,
So I think that that might work.
- Queen, ashley's gonna pass you this.
♪ ♪
- I smell sweet, a little bit of hit,
But not too hit, mmm.
[chuckles] let's go.
I am the owner, ceo, spice purveyor
Of indulgent essential spices.
It is vegan, gluten free, organically made
Spices, sauces, marinades.
I came up with indulgent essential spices
Because these are the spices and blends
That I use in my catering for the last eight years.
People always underestimate me.
I am a black, female, plus-size from the bronx,
Muslim, and I'm gay.
They underestimate me all day long.
I'm going to win this investment.
Ooh, I like that a lot. Great job, y'all.
- Prep time almost up... Blue team.
Elizabeth and I have come to taste the teams' blends.
Come over. Give us a little insight.
- We have a very beautiful wine that we have paired
Some incredible high-end ingredients
For our elevated picnic.
- Food-wise, where are we going?
- So we have some gorgonzola stuffed inside
Some beautiful olives.
- We're doing a truffle honey.
Keeping it elevated just to pour on top of our breads.
- Just be careful with those cheeses.
- Okay.
- 'cause it's gotta compliment it.
I love the idea of the white. - Yep.
- Who put this together? - So we did it as a team.
And we actually changed this a couple times
To get it perfect, and we do believe that it's...
- It's the one. - It's the one.
- Okay.
[dramatic music]
- What do you think?
♪ ♪
- I find it just a little short.
♪ ♪
- For me, it needs to be a little bit fruitier...
- Yeah. - And a little more lively.
Yeah? - Thank you so much.
- Thank you. - Good luck.
- Thank you.
- Ugh.
- The first taste was just a little bit too rough.
The white wine needs to have those citrus notes.
They need to think about picnic,
So they need to lighten that thing up a bit.
- So let's make a new batch of wine
And then finish everything off.
- I think that's a great idea. Let's do it.
- Awesome, let's go. Boom!
♪ ♪
- Right, so, yellow team, how are we?
- Great, yes.
- What's the theme connected to the red?
- So the theme is spa and comfort,
And so we went with a cabernet.
- Oh, in a spa?
♪ ♪
- Food, I'm in the spa. - So it's a comforting theme.
We did a dark chocolate cherry popcorn.
We're going to do cayenne jalapeño lime infused honey.
- I love the idea of the fruit.
Just be careful everything else is not too heavy.
- Okay. - Okay?
'cause it's spa comfort, so... - Sure.
- Okay, for the wine.
♪ ♪
That is super acidic.
- Mm, I feel like it's missing a little mid palate.
I want it to be a little fuller.
- They got slices of cucumbers on my eyes,
I'm in the spa, and I've just been kicked in the balls
With that 'cause that is punchy.
You've got some work to do on this.
- Yeah. - Not easy.
- Thank you so very much. - See you later.
- Thank you. - Bye, guys.
- I've never had a glass of red wine
In any spa, let me tell you.
That blend, that's just not good enough.
They need to refine that.
♪ ♪
[soft dramatic music]
- I think us going with the spa and comfort,
Going with red probably hurt us...
- Ooh.
- 'cause you really think white wine
When you think spa and comfort, not red.
- What did I say?
When I go to a spa, I want to drink white wine.
Everyone convinced me that, no, red is fine.
That's me time. Okay.
- Deadlines looming and labels signed off...
- Hello. - Hello.
- The branding teams have come to the kitchen...
- Hey, team. - Hi, guys.
- What's up? - Hey, there we go.
- Checking in on the spa themed wine box...
- We took everything we talked about.
You know, relax, reflect, revise, reward.
- The yellow team.
- We realize everything starts with r-e,
And there was no way for us to encompass
Everything that we wanted to say.
So what we came up with was re-noun.
♪ ♪
- [gasps] that is dope!
- When I first heard re-noun, it was a little confusing.
It's definitely a thinker.
We'll see how it works tomorrow.
- Tomorrow, we're gonna kill it.
It's gonna be absolutely amazing.
- Hopefully, we won't have to reformulate.
- We won't reformulate. [laughter]
♪ ♪
- We came up with a name.
It is...
Among the clouds.
♪ ♪
- Why is the word "among" bothering me though?
Is among-- does among bother anybody?
No? - It's a little too late now.
- Let's do it. - Okay, okay.
♪ ♪
- I'm really excited to present the brand tomorrow.
I'm coming off the back of being on the losing team
Two weeks in a row.
I'm here to do whatever it takes to win.
- I'm going to invest $1/4 million
Of my own money into one of these contestants.
Right now, I'm slightly worried.
[dramatic music]
- It's day two of the challenge...
- Day two, let's do this.
- Where my 11 contestants are at chimney rock vineyard
In napa valley.
Now, when we left the teams yesterday,
They made their wine blend and paired it with food.
Today, they'll pitch their boxes
To an amazing panel of wine connoisseurs.
Before they crate their boxes using the wine blend
And food pairings they made yesterday...
- Ooh, starting to see everything come together
For our baskets.
- They need to decide on their roles.
- Okay, who wants to do what? - First up, the blue team.
- I think you would do well on the presentation.
- Yes.
- Maybe after spending all the time in the kitchen
With you, maybe I can relay some of that message.
- I think that'd be great to have the food
And story together, yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
- I would love to be a part of the presentation.
- I was surprised sydney volunteered herself
To do the presentation, especially since
Her team lost last week by a landslide,
And she was responsible for the presentation as well,
So I'm a little nervous.
- Whoo! Okay.
Let's go, team. Let's do this.
- Planning for their pitch, the yellow team.
- I think, from the marketing side
For the pitch, we want to create
Some feminine energy up there, right?
- Yes, yeah.
- So I will be giving the pitch.
- I feel very comfortable putting my heart
Into the brand that we put together...
- Absolutely.
- And then taking a backseat and letting one of you guys
Step in front of a crowd and really show yourselves.
I presented last week.
This week, I don't need to take the spotlight.
I'm very comfortable standing off to the side
And letting the team take it from here.
- What about you? You pitching the wine?
- Jake has put his heart and his soul into this brand.
God forbid, one of us bombs. - [laughs]
- So we're gonna think back and go,
"man, we should have had jake in front of the group
And in front of gordon and elizabeth."
- We are volunteering for you
Just because I think it'd be irresponsible
For our team not to put you forward.
- Sure. Why not?
- I want to know why
Everybody's overlooking me for this pitch.
[dramatic music]
- Chris has already taken care of it for the men here.
- You know, whichever you prefer.
I was definitely shot down.
It was kind of, you know, heartbreaking a little bit,
But I understand that, you know,
We have to play to our strength.
- If you want to work on your pitches...
- Mm-hmm.
- Us three can work on the baskets.
♪ ♪
- With only two hours until my guests arrive
For the presentations... - One, two, three.
[together] re-noun!
- The teams will need to bottle their wine...
- Guys, our first bottle. - Yeah!
- Whoo! - Whoo!
- Prep their food pairings...
- Tony, I need you to do crackers and cheese.
- Rehearse the presentations...
- Join us among the clouds, bottled here in napa valley.
- And curate their wine box.
- We have our bath salts, of course.
- Okay. - Some bath bombs.
- I've given them a selection of products
To choose for their theme.
- We're doing five, six. - That's cute.
- Hot off the press...
- Here, guys, check out how nice these labels are.
Look at this matte finish. - Beautiful.
- The teams labels have arrived.
- Among the clouds.
- We have to work with what we have.
♪ ♪
[dramatic orchestral music]
- Putting the finishing touches to their boxes.
- That's it. That's the food.
- Now all of the accessories can be built around this.
- And the bottle of wine has to fit in there.
- Yeah.
- I designed this challenge
Not only to test their product creation,
But also to judge the contestants
On their marketing and branding.
Get the box or name wrong, and they will fail.
- This one needs to be in this one.
This one-- - oh.
There's three of 'em over here. - Come on.
- Tensions are high right now
Because I think there's just so much going on.
I'll roll up my sleeves and do anything
To make sure we get across the finish line
And just make sure we get everything out the door.
- We cannot have empty space in this basket.
I feel like we should put something in the glass.
- In the glass. - Yeah.
- Do we want to do that?
- I'm cool with doing the socks.
- Does that look weird to have socks in your wine glass?
- I don't think it's bad. - Okay.
- The box is done. Looks great.
It's just gonna come down to the presentation,
So I have to be really focused on this.
- We deserve a round of applause, team.
- Nice job, very good. - Really stressful.
- Let's show chimney rock what we're made of!
[all cheering]
♪ ♪
[upbeat music]
- The teams are moments away from pitching
Their brands to a room full of connoisseurs
And marketing experts.
- When you go up there, a lot of energy.
Emotion, get these people to buy in.
- To help me judge the teams' wine boxes,
I've invited elizabeth vianna from chimney rock
And erica davis and catherine carter
From sip society.
Launching in 2019,
Their champagne subscription service
Now brings in over $1 million a year,
Making them the perfect pair
To judge the marketing and branding
Of the teams' products.
Let's get started, shall we?
Please welcome the yellow team. Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
- Thank you all so much for coming tonight.
Welcome to re-noun.
- Welcome.
When was the last time
That you made time for yourself?
Re-noun is for you, for you, and for you.
See, re-noun is an all-encompassing experience,
And what you have in front of you
Is all that you need.
Are you going to recharge, relax, or re...?
[dramatic music]
- I have a question for everyone!
Are you like everyone else, or are you an individual?
All: Individual! - Right?
Re-noun is built on the punch created by the wine.
Ladies and gentlemen, reward yourselves
With re-noun. Thank you.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
- Thank you.
- Right, ladies and gentlemen, please dig in.
[soft dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- It's definitely soap.
- It's very nice. - It's very smooth.
- Ladies, first impressions.
When you look inside there, what do you think?
- There's a lot. - There's a lot going on.
- Yeah.
What about the fuzzy socks in the wine glass?
- I don't know that I would put that on in the spa.
- Yeah, when I think about feet in my wine glass--
I like the name, but also you have to explain it to me.
We need a paragraph to understand
Really what's going on here.
- I think they made a big improvement
On the blends that we tried, for sure.
- They did. Yeah, they did.
- There was just a lack of labeling in general.
I actually did eat the soap
Thinking it was cheese next to the cheese box,
So that was fun.
- I thought the presentation was really good.
I would definitely buy what they are offering.
♪ ♪
- Next up, it's the blue team,
But their lead presenter sydney is with the medics.
- Hi. - How you feeling?
- Not so good.
[tense music]
- It's gonna be okay.
We don't even know if sydney's not able
To do the presentation yet.
- Right, no matter what happens, I'm happy to step in.
I have a really good understanding of the brand.
♪ ♪
- I have to be honest, I'm a little, like, irked.
Our friend isn't doing well,
And you're just excited to jump in her place?
- No, not at all. - It was very yucky.
- Like, that's absolutely my first concern.
- No, it's not your number one concern.
I just don't like the fakeness going on here right now.
I really don't.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- Napa valley, california.
There's a room full of connoisseurs
Waiting for the blue team to pitch their brand.
You guys excited for the next box?
- Yeah. - Excellent.
Outside, their lead presenter, sydney, has been taken ill.
- My intestines have felt like
They've just been getting ripped apart all day.
[tense music]
- I have a really good understanding of the brand.
I'm happy to step in.
- She's not feeling good,
And she worked her ass off on this.
- As soon as I saw the medics show up,
Like, that's absolutely my first concern.
- No, it's not your number one concern.
I just don't like the fakeness.
♪ ♪
- At the end of the day, we have to get on that stage
And present to a room full of wine experts, right?
- Our friend isn't doing well.
- There's a lot of tension right now.
I think there is miscommunication
On megan's end.
That came across very poorly to caroline...
- Caroline, can I talk to you really quickly?
Like, separately please? - Mm-hmm.
- And then the way caroline approached it to her
Was pretty aggressive, so, you know,
It continues to escalate.
- Like, just take a deep breath.
- Don't talk to me anymore.
Think about what you say before you say it
And how it affects people.
It's rude, seriously.
- Caroline, I think... - Seriously.
- You have to think about how you take feedback.
- Whew!
- I understand that
Caroline and sydney are really close,
But we have to figure out what's gonna be our next step,
Who's gonna cover because I want to make sure
We win this challenge.
♪ ♪
- Two scenarios here.
One is she's better, and we do it the way it was planned.
Two, she's not, and--
- And basically, I assume for the most part,
Hand it over to megan.
♪ ♪
- Oh, there's sydney. - Hopefully some positivity.
- You okay? No?
- I'm just in so much pain that it's hard
For me to focus on anything.
And I feel so... - Do not feel bad.
- Bad. - Do not feel bad.
Do not feel bad. Don't feel bad.
It's gonna be okay. Do not worry.
Everything is going amazing.
But I am going to somehow figure it out,
And it's gonna be okay.
Do not worry.
- How you feeling? - Are you okay?
- I've been a bit better
Than I am right now.
I am in the middle
Of a really difficult crohn's relapse.
It's really, really painful and hard to ignore
When it flares up.
I really don't know if I can do the presentation.
I feel like pushing myself beyond this point
Would be going against what I know
Is right for my body.
[soft dramatic music]
- Okay, I am concerned that you're not feeling 100%.
Never feel under pressure to present, okay?
Pass the baton over, which we do a lot in business.
I wouldn't be presenting in your shoes.
- Yeah. - Right, let's do it.
- Okay, I'll go back in, and I'll see you in there, yes?
- It's gonna be okay.
- I just want to let you know
That you're not letting down the team.
- Absolutely. - We're here to support you.
- What I would like is for luther to step in
And help me explain...
- Okay. - The items in the box.
- Yes, of course.
- Feel good with this plan? - Luther, you feel good, right?
- Going into this presentation makes me feel very uneasy.
I have nothing prepared.
- All right, we got it. - Let's give it our best.
- Yeah, it's a bit of a concern.
♪ ♪
[soft dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Ladies and gentlemen, next up,
Please welcome the blue team, thank you.
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
- What's up, ladies? - Hi.
- Thank you so much.
- Of course, you guys enjoy.
- We've got amazing goodies for you today.
We're gonna get into it in just a bit.
♪ ♪
- Hello, everybody! All: Hello.
- I would like you all to imagine your most perfect day.
The sound of the birds are like a beautiful symphony.
Um...
♪ ♪
You know, the smell, that herbaceous, green,
Grassy smell.
Um...
[dramatic music]
All of the--all of the-- all of the flavors.
♪ ♪
[chuckles]
♪ ♪
- My two teams of potential business partners
Have each created a bespoke themed wine box.
- Imagine your most perfect day.
- They must convince this room full of connoisseurs
That their brand is best.
- All of the--all of the-- all of the flavors.
- Trying to get their message across...
- Um... - The blue team.
- [sighs]
[dramatic music]
- When we came into napa valley,
The sunrise was just breaking over the dawn of the mountains,
And we saw a handful of hot air balloons,
And that's the inspiration for our brand.
[sparse applause]
You taste this blend of white, and it's new and exciting.
You have our caviar
And smoked butter with trout roe.
- Among the clouds.
Basically, we wanted to give you the experience
Of your most perfect day all in this bottle
And all in this basket.
We hope you have that experience
When you try all these items.
Enjoy. - Thank you.
- So dig in and please enjoy.
[applause]
[soft dramatic music]
- Mm-hmm. - Mmm.
- Catherine, what'd you think about the branding
And the marketing, you know, the label?
What does it say? - You know, I love it.
I think everything's consistent.
It's very clear the experience they're trying to create.
- For me, not branding the wine napa valley
And giving it a sense of place, that's a miss for me.
- Mm.
♪ ♪
- This is-- yeah, this is refined.
To think they really balanced this
In the last 24 hours is very rare, but--
- Love it.
♪ ♪
- The among the clouds I feel is much more complete.
It is a full experience.
It is much more thought through.
♪ ♪
- Presentation wasn't great onstage.
In the box, it's fantastic.
We thought the wine was wonderful,
And all the food synced up
With what they said they were delivering.
- Now that the two teams have done their presentation,
I provided the connoisseurs with comment cards.
I want to find out which team they believe
Did a better job overall
Blending their wine and creating their theme boxes,
But, most importantly, which team's branding
And marketing was the most successful.
♪ ♪
- I'm proud of us, y'all. - Yeah.
- I really believe
That the audience bought into it.
- Yes. - Yep.
- I'm so proud of it.
I think the brand is unbelievable,
And I hope that gordon sees what everyone else sees
In that brand.
- One, two, three.
[together] re-noun!
- I don't feel like I deserve to be
In another grilling this week.
I feel really confident going to bed.
♪ ♪
- A thing that we could not avoid.
We stepped up, and I'm really proud of everybody.
- Absolutely. - Yeah.
- I'm feeling good going into the grilling tomorrow.
If we lose, I think, honestly, the biggest reason
Would be from the confrontation
That we had prior to presentation.
You can't have that in a business matter.
- Tomorrow, they'll meet me in la,
And I'll reveal the results.
♪ ♪
[bright dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Oh, we get to see their box. You ready?
- Oh, wow. - That's pretty.
- Look at their labels. Okay, lots of black.
- What is inside? - It's a sock, I think.
- Oh, it's socks.
♪ ♪
- Ooh. - Man of the hour.
- How are we? - Feeling good.
- Really good. - Good.
This week, I was testing
Your marketing, branding, and your pitching skills,
Something that is crucial in business.
Agreed? - Absolutely.
- Agreed, yes.
- Let's start with the blue team.
The title of your theme was among the clouds.
You went with a white wine blend,
Matched with an elevated picnic theme.
- Yes. - Yes.
- How do you feel you did? Luther, was it cohesive?
- Everything came together quite well.
- Aaron, what was your part?
I created the name, among the clouds,
And the hot air balloon.
You're elevated.
You see things from a different perspective.
- Gotcha.
Sydney, seconds before you were due to present,
I know you weren't feeling very well.
- Mm-hmm.
- Blue team, how did you pivot to luther?
- We all know that, if something bad happens
In business, you have to come up with a new plan.
You have to solve it immediately.
- Solution.
- But I do believe that there's also, like,
A level of respect that can come with that and tact.
Megan had mentioned, you know, "I'll jump in."
- I didn't want them to feel like we hadn't prepared
Because we still need to cross the finish line.
We were seconds from presenting.
- It really did come of as if, you know,
You were really just trying to step in and take my role.
- All we need is a solution. - Right.
- Once we've got the solution, just deliver it.
As for the yellow team, re-noun,
A red wine blend with a relaxation theme.
How do you feel you did? Chris.
- This was a challenging task,
But I think the wine ultimately came out great.
- Jake?
- I was really, really excited
That we didn't just come up with some surface-level name
That we felt like sounded right.
We came up with something that meant more.
- Right.
Time to reveal the results. Listen carefully.
I spoke at length with all of those connoisseurs
And that table of experts after your pitches
And then listened to all the feedback,
And at the end of the day,
One team did outshine the other.
[tense music]
Congratulations...
♪ ♪
Goes to...
♪ ♪
[tense music]
- At the end of the day,
One team did outshine the other.
Congratulations goes to...
♪ ♪
- The blue team. - Whoo!
- [laughs]
[soft dramatic music]
- The cohesiveness and the consistency
Of the messaging, and your branding
And marketing was clear, well done.
- Nice job, guys.
- Yellow team... [sighs]
Unfortunately, it wasn't even close.
Just two connoisseurs out of the entire group
Said that they'd be willing to purchase the yellow box.
- Wow.
- Your brand was confusing and not cohesive.
Queen, chris, and ashley, you took charge
Of the wine blend and all the food.
The guests enjoyed that, so I've decided
That you three are safe from the grilling
And therefore not leaving the competition tonight.
- Wow, thank you.
- Jake, lan, and tony, the marketing and branding
Let your team down.
I'll see you in the restaurant shortly.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- My gosh.
♪ ♪
- Jake, take a seat please. - Good afternoon, gordon.
- Tony, sit down please. Lan, sit down please.
- Yes.
- Two out of that entire room wanted to buy this box.
How does that make you feel?
- [sighs]
It makes me feel completely devastated.
- Let's get straight to the elephant in the room.
The branding and the marketing are off point.
Why?
- I coined the term re-noun. - Mm-hmm.
- I want to play to the high level of intellect
That was in the room of napa valley.
- It was napa valley, not silicon valley.
Comment cards I'd like to share.
"did not understand the re-noun."
They couldn't identify the concept.
It just left everybody... - Confused.
- Sat there with their mouth open.
- My team wanted to just barrel into the r-e thing
That we had going on, and it was a two on one.
I wasn't heard.
- For me, the name aside, the concept,
I truly felt like there was potential there.
- Two people out of that fricking room
Decided to pick up that box.
- Look, I think-- - do you think they're [bleep]?
- No, I do not at all. And I think what I--
- And you're trying to tell me it work,
And I'm to say to you, "hello?"
- I take ownership of that 100%.
- Who was responsible for loading the box?
- Lan took the lead on the box.
- When was the last time you saw
A pair of socks in a wine glass?
- I mean, I haven't.
- No, nor have I, young lady.
- I thought it was a good use of space.
♪ ♪
- With your business, you do a lot of speaking.
Why weren't you in that presentation,
You personally?
- I put trust in lan to convey the name.
- But that's what left the whole room confused.
I've got it on cards.
I heard it straight from their mouths.
- I was ready. I wanted to pitch.
I was chomping at the bit.
- If you take ownership of that,
Follow it through to the end. - Yeah.
- That goes a long way for me in business.
♪ ♪
- Would you buy this box or send it to your friends?
♪ ♪
I'm asking a direct question, and it needs an answer.
Would you buy this box? - Okay, no, no, I would not.
♪ ♪
- This was your moment to shine,
But then you get into a situation
With the brand and the marketing
That you were no part of.
- I wanted to be.
- Thank you, tony. - [sighs]
- Thank you, lan. - Thank you.
- Jake, thank you.
♪ ♪
Recharge, reflect, and rethink.
♪ ♪
- This was a very tough, intense grilling,
And after much thought, I've made my decision.
♪ ♪
The person that will not be moving on
In the competition is...
♪ ♪
Jake.
You came up with the name re-noun.
You knew what that name and story meant
Better than anyone on your team,
And I honestly wish that you had stepped up
And presented your vision
Behind that name.
I've been a big supporter of your food app pepper...
- Thank you, gordon.
- But in business, if you start something,
Take it all the way to the finish line.
Don't drop the ball before you get there.
So for those reasons, I will not be investing in you.
We're done.
♪ ♪
Jake came up with the name re-noun,
And he needed to present that,
So people knew what he meant.
It was too confusing, and at the end of the day,
I can't invest in someone who does not follow through
And own their ideas from start to finish.
♪ ♪
- I'm devastated.
It's so much earlier
Than I deserve to be going home and than I expected
Of myself and than I think others expect of me too.
- I know gordon really wants me to step up,
So, you know, all gas, no breaks.
Not holding anything back.
We're gonna get real saucy in the next upcoming weeks.
[applause]
- Oh, my gosh.
♪ ♪
- Next time...
I'm gonna be testing your time management,
Ability to advertise,
And above all, your quality control.
- We got this!
- I want you to run a delivery only restaurant.
- Oh, we got our order!
- Nobody really knows what's going on.
- I don't know where your head is at the moment,
But it's not in the game. - Same advice.
Stay in your station, baby. - No, no.
- Mrbeast is the guy on social media.
- This guy had tears in his eyes.
- I've never had that happen before.
- [bleep].
- I've got one big surprise for them,
And they've got no idea what's coming.
- No! - No way!
[upbeat notes]
[dramatic musical sting]