-[Damaris] Get that money. -Come on, with these cards.
This is so mean of you.
-If you got the hustle, I've got the game. -Let's go.
[Eric] Each night, I invite the country's most elite chefs
to put their money and reputations on the line...
-This is warm from my pocket. -What the hell?
-I need my money back. -Come and get it, Daddy.
...in my late-night culinary poker game.
I can't wait to see these cards.
-Stand back. -You're a bad man.
But now, the stakes are higher...
[Jet] I've never seen this much cash.
-The twists are bolder. -What are you doing?
-You cannot do that. -[Eric] ...and the cards are wilder.
-Oh, my. -This guy's instigating.
-[Eric] All... -[laughing]
-...bets... -[Jet] I hope we're all still friends.
-...are off. -This is going to be fun.
♪ When it's all or nothing, put it all on the line ♪
[lights click on]
Tonight's gonna be sweet. Really sweet.
I've got three big-time baking champions known for making
insane desserts.
But with 15K on the line,
let's just say someone might be
leaving here a bit salty.
Our first chef has competed twice here in
"Wildcard Kitchen," but she's hoping her mastery in cooking
and baking will help her score her first jackpot.
-Chef Damaris! -Yes!
[Eric] Don't let Damaris' Southern charm fool you.
She has worked in restaurants, bakeries,
and she's judged baking competitions.
She's classically trained and a proven winner.
You look fantastic, welcome in. How's it going?
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.
I'm so excited. I can't wait to see
who else is here tonight.
You and this next chef have a lot in common.
They're also in sequins leopard print?
-[Eric] You have both judged baking competitions. -[Damaris] OK.
[Eric] He has finished in the final four "Top Chef: Just Desserts."
And you've both beaten Bobby Flay.
-Yes! -[laughing]
[Eric] Zac was named one of the top ten pastry chefs in America.
He's created dessert menus for some of America's greatest
chefs and has sold over 100,000 of his viral holiday creations,
the PieCaken. -Uh, the bag game.
-[Eric] The bag, can I see it? -[Damaris] Can I pet?
[barking] It doesn't like losers, actually.
-Uh! -Ooh.
Um, this last guest is someone you both know.
-Emmy-nominated host. -Emmys?
[Eric] One of the preeminent cake masters in the country...
-Oh. -[Eric] Who has created cakes for everything,
from a Presidential Inauguration to a Viking wedding.
-There he is. -Oh!
[Eric] Chef Duff.
Duff is a living legend.
He's judged virtually every baking show
that's ever existed.
And he's won more competitions than his two opponents combined.
Welcome in, Chef.
-How are you? -Oh, man, I'm great.
[Zac] Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes.
The caliber of chefs that Eric keeps bringing on here, I mean,
it's...
not easy.
[Eric] So you guys have judged together here and there,
but have you ever competed against each other?
[both] We have.
-Oh, we have. -And we have.
-[Eric] Oh. -[Duff] Yeah.
[Damaris] Not to brag or anything, but I have beat
both of these guys before.
Also, both of these guys are richer than me.
I looked up their net worth on Google.
♪ I got bills to pay ♪
♪ Uh-huh, and the rent's due, honey ♪
♪ So pay me more money ♪
We are essentially playing culinary poker.
You'll be betting cash.
Based on how confident you are, you can create a winning dish
with the cards that you're dealt.
All you have to do is just back it up in the kitchen.
We're gonna play a total of three hands,
and every hand, winner-take-all. -Ooh.
[clears throat] Hold on, I'm putting on my poker face.
[Eric] Damaris has cooked in this kitchen twice before,
but you two gentlemen have not.
It's gonna be a disaster.
You know, I don't know where any ingredient is.
Like, where's the bacon? Where's the cinnamon?
-You know what I mean? -[Eric] Yeah, seriously.
Guys, I'm just getting in your brain right now.
Damaris is dangerous. She's competed a lot.
Let's just get these cards out, OK?
Let's just get this going.
[Eric] Welcome to the Speed Hand.
You'll have 20 minutes to prepare your dish.
This is a $500 buy-in for this hand.
And that, my friends, is $1,500 in the pot.
My daughter's got a birthday coming up.
I would throw her a big birthday party.
I'm building a greenhouse. I want it to be, like,
a dilapidated Victorian... -[Eric] All-encompassing, ah.
-...greenhouse that was on the property. -What?
Everything is much more expensive than you think.
-What are you doing with 15K? -Well, you know, I'm not rich.
I'm probably just going to try and pay some bills.
[both cackle]
[Eric] So we have a dish card.
All three of you chefs have to adhere to what is
on the back of this card.
[Damaris & Duff] "Bestie brunch."
-Ooh. -[Eric] It could be sweet. It could be savory.
-[Duff] OK. -[Eric] So here's where the game gets interesting.
Let's go ahead and dish out the wildcard.
The wildcard is specifically to you and you alone.
I got crunchy, and I'm like, "Oh, this card's awesome."
Crunchy things just win.
[Zac] This just got weird.
"Served on anything but dishware."
Like, you want me to drop it on the table?
[laughs loudly]
[Damaris] "Another player can only use one pot."
Your poker face is so bad.
Do you like this card?
I am curious now.
We're gonna start the betting.
$1,500 in the pot, so the first action goes to you, my friend.
[Duff] It doesn't matter what they got.
All I know is, if I'm making brunch and it's gotta be
crunchy, I'm gonna kill this!
-[Eric] Ooh, ooh. -[Duff] Six, seven, eight, nine.
[Eric] These are moves of a confident chef.
Ten! My card is awesome!
-Y'all are gonna lose! -Ooh!
[Zac] I really hope Duff is bluffing.
He better not have a good card.
Duff boldly put in $1,000.
-Chef Damaris, $2,500 in a pot. -[Damaris] What does he have?
Probably not something as good as mine.
Just like, whoa, you didn't even bat an eye.
-Oh, man. -You did not even bat an eye.
I can't wait!
[Zac] This just got a lot more stakier.
[Eric] $3,500 in this pot. $1,000, Zac.
[Zac] Oh, man, it hurts, but I'm going in.
I mean, I'm not gonna fold on the first hand.
[Eric] That was the most reluctant call by Chef Zac.
So we have $4,500 in the pot.
Ooh!
[Eric] Zac, what's your card say?
"Served on anything but dishware."
[all cackle]
-[Eric] I mean... -Can I just dump it on the table?
Duff, what's that card?
[Duff] Like, I wasn't bluffing. "Make it crunchy."
-Ooh! -[Duff] Right? I mean.
This actually is a huge part of making something yummy.
All right, Damaris, let's see your card.
[Damaris] "Another player can only use one pot."
[Duff gasps] Oh, oh.
You get to select one player to use one pot.
That's it, to do all their cooking.
I'm giving it right -- come on.
[Eric & Zac] Oh!
Not over there. It's going straight to Duff.
Come on!
Your wildcard is not that much of a whammy.
Like, I, uh, this hurts.
20 minutes to make a bestie brunch with $4,500 in the pot.
Chefs, your time starts now.
[Damaris] I'm gonna actually run.
[Duff groans] I just can't --
-Sorry, sorry. -What are you doing? Go!
[Duff] What am I gonna do with one pot?
For my bestie brunch, I wanna give the judge the best
breakfast sandwich they ever had.
What do you like on a sandwich, Zac?
Um, gluten-free bread.
[laughing]
My pan.
Oh, look at all these pots that I have that I can't use.
[Eric] Let me go ahead and just get this out the way.
[Zac] Uh...
The wildcard definitely throws me for a loop.
I need something that you can eat with your hands.
Maybe a brunch pizza.
Hey, Zac, it's just 20 minutes, buddy.
-Is there a clock? -[Damaris] No, no, no, no.
You get as much time as you want.
-[Eric] 17 minutes left. -What?
Wow, time moves fast when you don't know your way
around the kitchen. -Where's my apron?
Oh, got it.
Damaris, so, right now you're kind of cooking free.
You decided to give your wildcard over to Chef Duff.
Where are you going right now?
[Damaris] Biscuits and gravy is my favorite brunch.
Like, it's a special occasion kind of meal, which is what
I think about for bestie brunch, right?
Like, it's supposed to be special.
What's the ABCs to a really good biscuit?
-[Damaris] Cold butter. -[Eric] Hmm.
[Damaris] Don't overwork your dough.
-Put it into a super hot oven. -[Eric] OK.
[Damaris] I've gotta get these biscuits ready to go in the oven
in three minutes -- that's why I'm using the food processor.
Not something my grandmother would have done,
but she's dead.
-Fifteen minutes left, Chef. -[Damaris] Whoo!
Making biscuits from scratch, it takes a while.
But both of those gentlemen are known for pastries,
and there is a fire in my belly to win.
I hope my biscuits cook in time.
[Eric] Chef Zac, what are you thinking?
Well, you know, when I think of no dishware, I think of
eating with my hands. -Good call.
-Which leads me to pizza. -Ooh!
So a little brunch pizza.
-I love a little brunch pizza. -So this is salty, savory.
-For me, that's all the bestie brunch. -Right?
-So I have a little bechamel here. -[Eric] Mm.
[Duff] Bechamel?
Who's got time to make bechamel?
Rendering some pancetta, we'll have that.
We'll have fried quail eggs, lots of herbs.
-You know, I've competed a lot in sweet and in savory. -[Eric] Yeah.
But I always have something
to prove in savory. -[Eric] Sure.
[Zac] I am more versatile than anyone has seen.
So I think this is gonna be fun to not be stuck in a cake box.
Do you know how expensive reclaimed Italian marble is?
-All right? -I don't actually, no.
[Damaris] Rich!
[Eric] 12 minutes left.
Do you have an idea for your dish, Duff?
[Duff] Egg McDuffin!
Why not?
The Egg McDuffin has toasted bread, nice and crunchy,
crispy bacon, and sausage.
This is the sandwich that you crave.
Right now, I'm just toasting bread, and I can't, like,
do my egg while this is in here. -[Eric] Sure.
-It's a timing game with this one, then. -[Duff] It really is.
But when you're just toasting one side, do you really think
you're gonna get a good crunch out of that?
Um, if I got time, I might toast the other side.
Hopefully this bacon gets crispy.
Hopefully.
So I got one pot, so now I'm gonna sit here with my thumb
in my butt, 'cause I can't do anything.
[laughs]
[Duff] One, I'm playing for my daughter.
I wanna give her the party to end all parties.
Two, if I lose to these clowns,
I'm never gonna hear the end of it.
I could be making my eggs. I could be making my side.
I could be making all this stuff.
-I don't have enough space. -[Damaris] Sorry, buddy.
-I'm gonna remember this. -[Damaris] I know you are.
Ten minutes left.
Man!
♪ 24/7, 365 days, don't care what nobody says ♪
[Eric] Ten minutes left. We're doing a bestie brunch.
$4,500 in the pot.
Duff, I've never known you to be upset about many things.
Are you upset right now that you have such high constraints
with this dish? -I'm not mad.
I'm disappointed.
Now we got to turn this down.
How much time we got?
Seven and a half minutes left, chefs!
Now I have to wait for my one pot
to cool down. -[Eric] Oof.
-Thank you, Damaris. -[Damaris] Sorry, Duff.
Why do you keep saying sorry when you know what you did?
The cards made me do it.
[Eric] Damaris, any difficult things about this?
The harder part about biscuits and gravy, I think,
is the gravy. -[Eric] The gravy needs to be spot-on.
[Damaris] I don't think people always understand the nuance of
really good Southern food.
Did you see the way I seared the sausage,
removed the sausage, used the fat to make the roux?
This was like my job as a little kid, pouring in
the milk as my dad whisked.
-Oh, I love that! -[Damaris] Right?
I think I live a little bit more in the savory world than
either of these guys, and I'd like to win this pot.
Chef Zac, what's the secret to a good pizza?
[Zac] I kind of am worried that there might not be enough
savory flavor to the dough. -OK.
So, I'll make a little za'atar oil to brush
the crust once it comes out.
-[Eric] Whoo! -We have our Gruyère cheese,
which will be, like, melty and yummy.
Zac, going in the pizza oven, super hot!
[Zac] Yeah, we're at 850.
Once these pizzas go in the oven,
whatever happens, happens.
Under six minutes left, chefs!
[Duff] Hopefully, I can get the edges of my eggs crispy.
Crunchy.
-Yes, that's what I'm going for, right? -OK.
I gotta be honest, I'm a little worried.
Will we hear the judge get that audible crunch, though?
[Damaris] An audible crunch is tough.
[Duff] Yeah.
[Damaris] It's like Eric doesn't like you.
And I can't deep fry.
How did I end up with two wildcards
and now Damaris has none?
All right, well, I might see if I can make a nice little crispy
potato to go with this. -[Eric] Sure.
Two minutes and 30 seconds left.
[Damaris] OK, a little bit more time.
The biscuits aren't done.
If these don't get done in time, I've got nothing.
I need those to cook a little bit more.
[Eric] Two minutes left. Beautiful.
Crispy on the bottom.
It looks like it might be even crunchier than Duff's.
-"Crunchier than Duff's." -[Eric] 90 seconds left.
[Zac] I slice the pizza.
-[Eric] That is not dishware. -That is a board, baby.
House is satisfied. Well done.
[Zac] I add my Calabrian chili.
I go aggressive with the truffles.
-[Eric] I see quail eggs? -[Damaris] Quail eggs?
Oh, my god, so cute. No, I'm not gonna do that.
60 seconds left.
Ooh! Yes!
[Eric] These biscuits that Chef Damaris made in, like,
two and a half seconds, they look fantastic.
[Damaris] The centers go down on the gravy, and then the gravy
goes over top of the crunchy parts. -[Eric] 30 seconds.
[Duff] Mayonnaise, hot sauce, fried eggs with gooey centers,
juicy sausage, crispy bacon.
[Eric] Fifteen seconds left.
I heard a crunch. The house is satisfied.
-There's crunch. -Yes!
[Eric] Five, four, three, two, one.
That's about it, chefs.
Well done.
Whoo! Mm.
This is actually...
really good looking, and I did it all in one pan.
[Damaris] Like, look at these, guys.
That is a properly cooked biscuit.
[Zac] Do I get to keep the rest of the truffle?
I made it so beautiful.
I mean, honestly, this could be worth $4,500.
[Eric] All right, chefs, grab one of your plates.
Let's head over to the table.
-This is a blind tasting, so poker faces. -[Damaris] OK.
-[Duff] Damaris. -[Eric laughs]
My phone just buzzed.
It looks like our guest judge is here.
Who is it?
The biggest wildcard is the judge.
[Eric] Your judge is also a "Wildcard" winner...
[Damaris] I hear shoes.
...with three wildly successful LA restaurants.
Oh!
[Eric] Chef Antonia Lofaso, everyone.
Hi.
Can I just say, you look phenomenal?
-Oh, thank you. -[Antonia] I mean, look at the -- [laughs].
Also, Zac, your purse is phenomenal.
-I feel like a shaggy dog. -What am I, chopped liver?
-[Antonia] No. -[laughing]
-[Antonia] You look great. -[Eric] So, $4,500 in the pot.
Bestie brunch.
[Antonia] I'll go with what's in front of me.
-[Eric] Let's do it. -[Antonia] Looks like...
an amazing biscuits and gravy.
Mmm.
Biscuits and gravy as far as a brunch item...
I love.
You know, immediately looking at these biscuits, phenomenal!
There's like the beautiful brushing
on the outside, gorgeous crisp.
And when you see that, you're like, "OK, well,
let's now check the inside."
Perfectly cooked.
The sausage is delicious. Gravy is phenomenal.
But I wish that there was a little bit more sausage
versus the biscuit.
-Whenever you're ready, we'll move on to the next dish. -[Antonia] OK
It looks as if it's like breakfast sandwich met a BLT.
[crunch]
[Duff] I heard the crunch from, like, 10 feet away.
This is a sandwich for your bestie brunch
on a really long road trip.
And you're in a truck stop somewhere.
[Eric] Sounds very vivid, Chef.
[Duff] A truck stop? Where are we going with this?
[Antonia] From a technician standpoint, the brioche,
perfectly toasted on all sides.
I like that the yolk...
is, like, half wet, half kind of jammy.
I would have liked maybe something to brighten it up
a little bit, some herbs,
some kind of vegetation to balance it out
because it's literally all meat.
[Duff] Ah.
This would have gone a lot smoother
if I could use more than one pan.
[Eric] Let's go ahead and move on to the last dish, please.
[Antonia] So breakfast pizza, I'm assuming,
or breakfast flatbread?
Let's just start with the dough.
-[Zac] Oh, boy. -Delicious.
The cook on this is wonderful.
Like, you flip it over, and you see sort of all
of this beautiful caramelization and crunch.
You know, when you pull this layer back, and you see
that there's like an aerated hole right there.
It's hard to do.
I like that it's on something round.
If I was in a restaurant, 100% this is how my breakfast pizza
would be served to me.
[Zac] In a way,
the wildcard actually helped me.
[Antonia] But I feel like the toppings are a miss in ratio, right?
So I would have almost preferred one egg
right in the center versus two quail eggs.
$4,500 in the pot. Bestie brunch.
[Antonia sighs] Bestie brunch.
[Eric] One of these chefs are going into the next round.
-$4,500. -[Eric] Uh-huh.
[sighs]
I'm gonna go with...
[Eric] Chef Antonia, $4,500 in the pot.
-[Antonia sighs] -Bestie brunch.
I'm gonna go with...
-The pizza. -[Zac gasps]
[Eric] Oh!
Oh, my, my!
[Antonia] Honestly, everything was there, like the yolkiness from
the egg, but really, like, the most impressive thing
was the pizza dough itself.
[groans]
[Zac] Damaris beat me several times.
So, yes, beating her, that feels good!
[Eric] Chef Antonia, thank you so much!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
[Eric] Both Damaris and Duff have $3,500.
[Damaris] Down some money, don't love it.
We're all always pretending, like,
"Oh my god, I lost, no big deal."
Inside, you are crushed!
I can't be losing money, 'cause clearly I work
at a truck stop.
Neither of them made a friend today, right?
Zac's got my money, and Damaris hosed me with that
one-pot thing. -[Eric] You, Zac, have $8,000.
-[groans] -Come on, I need my money back!
[Eric] I'm glad you're motivated, because we are now entering
the Make or Break Hand.
So the good news is that you'll have 30 minutes to cook,
rather than 20... -Oh, that's good.
...but we are doubling the stakes.
[Eric] The buy-in is $1,000.
[Damaris] I'm so bummed that I lost my money.
I'm not rich enough to just be losing $1,500.
What was I doing?
[Eric] All right, I count $3,000 in the pot.
The dish that we're all making is...
Dumplings.
-[Duff] Dumplings! -Pretty good.
Now that we're in the second round, I love making things
just a little bit more difficult for you.
We're gonna introduce the ingredient card --
-Cherries. -[sighs]
That changes the game.
-[Duff] What? -[Zac] Here's the thing.
Carbs across the board are my strength.
You know what else is your strength?
That stack of money that you have.
Yeah, it is. It's really nice.
All that's gonna change, though, with these wildcards.
[exhales deeply]
[Duff] I must use Caribbean flavors.
I think this is a great wildcard.
[Zac] Flavored soda, cherries. Such a good combination.
[Damaris] Ah!
I hate it. Truffle oil is the worst.
It's so hard to use and not just have it
kind of take over the dish.
OK.
[Eric] So, let the betting begin.
Damaris, the action is yours.
But do remember, chefs, you're gonna need $1,500
to buy into the last hand. -Wait a second.
-You have $2,500 now. -Shoot.
I am not 100% confident with truffle oil.
But I have beat both of these guys before.
-$1,000 in. -No.
[Eric] $1,000, OK.
Zac, the action is yours.
You can call or you can go ahead and raise the pot.
[Zac] Winning one round feels good, and that's the problem.
Because the second you start feeling good...
[blows raspberry]
I don't wanna go much higher.
-I'm gonna call. -[Eric] Beautiful.
Right now, we have $5,000 in the pot.
Duff, the action is to you.
[Duff] I wanna cook in the third round.
I don't wanna get eliminated.
So I have to make sure that I'll have $1,500 left
for the third round.
So this is $1,000.
-[screams] -[Eric] $6,000 in that pot.
Let's see the wildcards. Damaris.
-You must use truffle oil. -[Damaris] I don't love it.
I think it's delicious. Really nice.
-You all are trying to lie. I hate it. -[Eric] Lies.
-[Damaris] Get out of here. -Zac, let's see what you have.
"Must use flavored soda."
-Ooh, a cherried flavored soda, possibly? -That's great.
-[Eric] Duff, what do you got? -[Zac] No, no, no.
-[Duff] Carib -- -[Damaris] Oh, that's great!
-[Duff] Really good. -That is a great one.
The table is set, ladies and gents.
We have $6,000 in the pot.
We're making dumplings using cherries.
-Your time starts now. -[Zac] Oh.
-[Duff] It's happening. -[Damaris] Jeez Louise.
[Zac] Where's the meat?
-[Duff] Right here. -[Zac] Oh.
I want to do pan-fried pork buns
and then use cherries in a dipping sauce.
[Duff] I think I'm gonna try to make like a seafood curry,
but I don't know that much about dumplings.
I'm not like a dumpling smith.
Is that a job title?
[grunts] Ooh, ooh, God.
[Eric] There has been a lot of wacky combinations
in Wildcard Kitchen.
This one is up there as one of the wackiest.
Chef Damaris, what are we making?
-Chicken and dumplings. -[Eric] Beautiful.
[Damaris] With a little Indian flavor.
One of my favorite dishes in Indian cuisine is Maggi.
It's a soup.
And the flavors of it work really well
for making chicken and dumplings.
Is that where you're adding the cherry, I'm assuming?
[Damaris] Yeah, there's cherries in the actual soup.
We have these frozen cherries. I'm gonna blend them down.
You get a little cherry dumpling.
It's a Southern dumpling.
Understanding a little bit more about Antonia's literalness,
she takes it as like, if it's cherry,
I wanna see cherry.
This is totally coming down to smart gameplay.
So, Chef Zac, what are you making?
-A pan-fried steamed bun. -[Eric] OK.
-[Zac] I love all forms of dim sum. -[Eric] What's in your filling?
A little lamb, a little pork, a little mushroom.
-[Eric] Very, very cool. -[Zac] Yes.
For me, this round is more about pride
and less about money.
Winning twice will show that I can
do a lot more than make cake.
I'm making this dough with...
-[Eric] Ah, grape soda. -[Zac] Grape soda.
That purple drink. House is satisfied.
-We have grape soda right here being used. -Whoo!
Have you done anything like this before?
Absolutely not.
This is why I love "Wildcard Kitchen."
[Zac] Grape and cherry are very good friends.
It is also carbonating this flour as well as you steam it,
which is nice. -This is correct.
But my biggest concern, considering that the steamed
bun dough that I use normally takes about two hours,
condensing that into 30 minutes?
-Risky AF. -[Eric laughs]
Chef Duff, I'm gonna bring out the steel drum
for the Caribbean theme. -[Duff] Do it.
[Eric] What are we thinking about doing, Chef?
[Duff] OK, so I'm going to make a coconut shrimp curry.
-[Eric] Ooh. -[Duff] I got some ginger.
-I got some allspice. -Caribbean, for sure.
Is that where you're adding the cherry, I'm assuming?
[Duff] Yeah, but time right now is the enemy, 'cause I'm trying
to do something that takes a second to really sort of
mature in flavor.
Now I gotta get my rice going, 'cause rice takes a second
to cook. -[Eric] Tell me a little bit about the dumplings.
[Duff] So I'm not sure about the dumplings yet.
Dumplings are not one of my strong points.
[Eric] I'm really interested to see how everything comes together.
-Somewhat bleak at the moment. -[Duff] I gotta win.
I have to win this for my daughter.
I got a birthday party I gotta put on.
-How you doing, Damaris? -I'm feeling good.
-How are you feeling? -I could be doing better.
15 minutes left in the Make or Break Hand.
Chef Damaris. I see chicken.
[Damaris] Boom -- so now we're getting all those flavors
that I've built in the pan.
And then so now... I got my truffle oil.
-I'm ready to roll. -[Eric] Your favorite, truffles are here.
[Damaris] Womp, womp.
Are you gonna maybe finish it with a little bit after?
No, I don't want all of that flavor...
-[Eric] Gotcha. -...because I don't think Chef Antonia is
gonna love truffle oil. -She'll never know.
-Rude. -[Eric] What are you doing with it?
So I'm gonna fortify the stock with a little bit of
truffle oil. -[Eric] OK, check.
Chef Zac, we've got some charred scallions
in the building. -Yeah, babe.
A little cherry hoisin dipping sauce.
[Eric] What's the secret to a good sauce?
Balance in flavor. A little sweet, a little salty.
The sauce makes the dish, baby.
[Duff] You know, Zac, I can't use any green, but I'm definitely
gonna go home with some green.
[Zac] Oh, OK, OK, OK.
I can feel the heat.
Damaris and Duff want their money back.
[Eric] Chef, we're right under 10 minutes left in the cook.
What? Are you serious?
[Damaris] Yeah, for real.
[Zac] I haven't even shaped the dumplings.
I need 12 minutes to make sure that the dough and the meat is
cooked through. -[Eric] Seven minutes, 30 seconds.
[Zac] The dumplings are not gonna be done in time.
Very bad, very bad, very bad.
I think I'm going to fall flat on my face.
[Eric] Six minutes left in the cook. $6,000 in the pot.
[Zac] I need to try to get an aggressive steam
and cook that meat.
-[Duff] OK. -Chef Duff , how we feeling, man?
[Duff] I'm gonna do what are called "drop dumplings."
Ooh!
[Duff] The dumplings are gonna be relatively simple.
Lard and flour.
And then just drop them right in, cook them right
in the curry sauce.
We'll see if that works.
You know, even though I've never made a dumpling like
this, I am Ace of Cakes, right?
I know my way around a flour.
-Comeback King. -Ooh! 90 seconds left.
[Damaris] So we're taking the chicken and the cherry mixture,
and then I'm spooning the dumpling and gravy
over the top of that.
So much punch of flavor in there!
-[Eric] One minute left. -What?
No!
Where did my dumplings go?
Like, I put, like, 30 dumplings in here, and they're gone.
-[Eric] 30 seconds left. -What?
Didn't put any egg product in it, and they just
disintegrated in my curry.
Your boy's struggling right now.
Put my rice down, put some shrimp down, and then
I'm putting my curry right on top of it.
Delicious, but missing dumplings.
[Eric] Ten seconds left in the cook.
[Zac] At the very last second, I pull the dumplings
out of the pan.
[Eric] Five, four, three, two, one.
And that's about it, chefs! Well done.
-How do yours look? -[Zac] Pretty good.
I don't know what Zac is doing over there,
but at the end of everything, he, like, really pulls out
something beautiful.
[Zac] I really hope they're cooked.
So, Chef Antonia, we are in the Make or Break Hand.
Whoever you decide wins, goes
to the next round with $6,000. -[Antonia] Wow!
-[Duff sighs] -[Eric] So we have dumplings.
-[Antonia] Uh-huh. -[Eric] And we're using cherries.
[Antonia] OK. I like to just go
with what's in front of me.
I see shrimp, rice, sauce. Um, I don't see dumplings.
[Duff] Man, I knew this was coming.
[Antonia] Like, is there something that I'm missing?
But this is really good.
The shrimp, I think, is my favorite part.
The shrimp is succulent, but then
has a nice caramelization.
I think it goes really well with the sauce.
There's definitely some warming spices in there.
[Duff] That's the Caribbean flavors. That's awesome.
But I really like the flavor of the cherry that I got
throughout it, because everything is
so savory -- I'll go here.
So, clearly dumplings and clearly cherries.
Mmm. The dumplings are phenomenal.
I love that the dumpling has this sort of like steam on
the top and then a sauté on the bottom.
It almost looks like maybe some sort of cherry was used
in making the dough. -[Zac] That's grape soda.
Grateful for this wildcard.
[Antonia] The meat, or the farce, in the inside
I think is really, really nice.
I think it's lacking a little fat.
[Zac] All I'm thinking is, "thank God it's cooked."
Let's go ahead and move on to the last dish, please.
[Antonia] This looks like a little chicken and dumpling.
I love the flavor of the broth.
There's a good amount of heat, a really good amount
of herbaceousness.
It has, like, a real, like, richness to it.
[Damaris] I would love for her to know that there's truffle oil in
there and that I did such a good job using it.
She can't even taste it.
[Antonia] The dumplings themselves are soft, delicious.
I can kind of see what I would say are specks of cherries,
but I think more cherries would bring the whole thing together.
[Eric] So, $6,000 in the pot.
Chef, you have the tall task.
-Yes, um... -[Eric] What say you?
All wildly different, but really good.
OK, I am going with...
the dumpling and cherry dish.
[exclaims]
[Duff] No! [laughs]
-Zac! -[Eric] Wow.
[Antonia] This was hard to beat.
Dumpling and cherry, you nailed it.
[Damaris] There's something about the way that Zac is cooking
today that is really delighting Antonia.
We're really getting it handed to us today, Duff.
I mean, does that mean round three, like, I'll finally get
some dessert? -I'm going for it.
I don't care what it is. I don't care if it says...
I'm going dessert, too.
If it says clam chowder, I'm making you a dessert.
-Me, too. -I'll figure it out.
-I want dessert. -[Duff] I'll make you dessert.
-Chef Antonia, good job again. -Thank y'all.
[Duff] Zac, how much you got right now?
[Eric] $12,000.
Both Chef Damaris and Chef Duff have $1,500, just enough
to make it to the third round.
You can just give me your money now.
I am coming for you so hard in the third round!
[Eric] So the question is...
[Damaris] It's a little disheartening because I do feel like
I'm cooking really well, but I think that Zac has
excellent gameplay. I'm gonna lean into that.
The question is, can you guys dig yourself out and redeem
a little bit of this money?
Chefs, I'd like to welcome you to the All-In Hand,
which means the smallest stake has to go all-in.
So the two Ds, Chef Damaris, Chef Duff, $1,500 in the pot.
[Duff] I got nothing in my pocket.
Right now, Zac has my money, and I'm gonna get it back.
If I don't get it back in the third round, I'm gonna
get it back in the parking lot!
[Eric] So right now, we have $4,500 in the pot.
So the best that Damaris and I can do is
we're down 500 bucks.
And the worst is, somebody's going home with squadoosh.
-For both of us, if he wins again. -[Eric] Or, or --
-Oh, my God! -[Eric] And it's a clean sweep.
Can you imagine if he goes home with $15,000?
You know, when I'm this down in Vegas, I leave.
[laughs]
-[Eric] Dish card? -[Duff] Let's see what you got.
-[Eric] So the dish is... -[Damaris & Duff] "Ooey gooey."
Ooh, I Like that.
-I love it. -[Eric] We have as the ingredient...
-[Duff] Ooh. -[Eric] "Marshmallow cereal."
[Damaris] Cereal with marshmallow.
[Eric] I'm sure you have ideas popping in your head right now.
I don't so much.
[Eric] But I just wanna let you know that the game is about
to get a little bit tougher.
-[Zac] I don't like that. -Uh-uh.
For your final hand, I've decided to take
all of my most diabolical cards...
Oh.
...and put them into this diamond deck.
-[Eric laughs] -I hate this.
[Eric] Everything's about to change with these diamond deck cards.
[Duff] I can't use marshmallow cereal if I have to make
something that's black and white.
I'm gonna violate one of these cards.
[Zac] I have to use a mystery can?
No one likes mystery.
Mystery meat?
[Damaris] I am the only one that gets acid -- I love it.
What's different about this round is that I'm gonna give
each of you three the option to maybe switch out your cards.
-Oh. -[Eric] Now, the next diamond card could be
a lot better or so much worse.
Once you make the trade, it's not going back.
Damaris. It starts with you.
Do you wanna stay with your card or do you wanna...
I'm gonna keep mine.
This is the best card I've had all day.
-[Eric] Zac? [Zac] I don't think there's anything worse
than mystery cans.
-I will risk it and take another one. -[Eric] Really?
Oh, he's risking it for a biscuit, y'all.
[Eric] So I'll take that card.
So before you flip, let's see what you had.
-"Must use 'mystery can.'" -Ooh, that's not good.
-There are good things in cans. -[Eric] Sure.
-But... -There's also, like, pheasant.
[Eric] Take a look at your new card.
[Zac laughs] God.
It gets worse.
[Eric] Let's see what we got.
[Zac] "Must have dish be one predominant color."
-Ooh. -[Eric] Oh, wow. Are you OK?
I don't know why he's stressing over here with
all our money. -[Eric] That's true.
Because if I don't make it clean sweep, I lose.
-[Duff] You'll never clear... -Duff, the action is to you.
-I'm gonna trade. -[Eric] You are?
I love, OK.
All right, so let's see what you're turning in.
"Dish must be black and white."
Ooh, a hard one.
[Eric] Especially with marshmallow cereal.
What's underneath that card?
This, you know, I cannot use anything green.
Ooh!
That's much better than making something black and white.
-[Eric] Damaris, what do you have? -I have...
"Exclusive use of acid."
[singsong] I get all the acid, and you get none, and you get none.
Oh, wow. No citrus, no vinegar,
no citric acid. -None.
[Zac] Might as well tie a hand behind my back.
[Eric] So we're doing ooey gooey. We're using marshmallow cereal.
$4,500 in the pot. Your time starts now.
-[Duff] Boom. -[Damaris] No matter what, it's gonna be dessert.
-[Duff] Oh, yeah. -[Eric] 30 minutes.
[Eric] Are we finally going to see these chefs
bake in their wheelhouse?
[Duff] Man, you know what would be nice right now?
-Acid? -[Duff] Orange.
I am making a chocolate banana gooey caramel pancake.
If I lose this on dessert,
I am never gonna hear the end of this.
[Zac] I wanna make a gooey brown butter almond cake.
Then I'll have an ice cream.
But not having acid is a problem.
Chef Damaris, all this acidic stuff, what are you making?
I'm gonna make an orange citrus cake with
ooey gooey fruit.
-[Eric] Yum, yum, yum. -[Damaris] So yum.
I'm really in a power position right now.
-[Eric] That's true. -[Damaris] So why not lean into it?
This is all of the marshmallow cereal?
[Damaris] Yeah, so I'm using part of it for sugar, part of it for flour.
-OK. -[Damaris] Marshmallow cereal...
it's not my ideal ingredient.
There's so much food coloring in those marshmallows.
-Oh, that got weird. -This is a interesting color.
[Damaris] Definitely feeling the pressure, especially after
losing round one and round two to Zac.
Like, he is going to be insufferable.
I gotta get my cakes in the oven.
If these don't get done in time, I am walking out of here
with no money.
[Eric] So Chef Zac, what are you making?
-[Zac] Gooey almond cake. -Gooey almond cake, OK.
[Zac] I start with almond flour, and then I need to make it
uniform in color, so I'm gonna add some strawberry powder
and raspberry powder.
What's the predominant color, then?
It's gonna be this gorgeous purple.
-[Eric] Purple? -I want Antonia to know that it was me.
[Zac & Eric laugh]
But also, I have cereal ice cream.
[Eric] Would the use of acid help in this dish by any chance?
Yeah, rub it in, buddy!
I rely on acid in ice cream base, and you don't realize
how many things have acid in them naturally.
So, like, my first thought was sour cream -- no.
Crème fraîche? No.
Cream cheese? No.
It's gotta be tough if you wanna win all of that
money, right? -[Zac] Bruh.
This is about me sweeping the game.
It's very...
constraining.
♪ I'm gonna give it all I got. Can't quit, can't stop ♪
I'm a beast, shut it down like... ♪
[Eric] We've got 15 minutes left in the All-In Hand,
"ooey gooey," marshmallow cereal,
$4,500 in the pot.
And Zac could clean-sweep this entire thing.
You cannot use acid and predominantly one color.
Gotta be tough if you wanna win all of that money, right?
-Tell me what you have in mind. -So, I'm enhancing the cereal
with my good-old friend, fresh berries.
They are the tart counterbalance to the sweetness.
[whispering] This guy's good.
[normally] See, he knows what he's doing.
Here's the thing, we've seen that ice cream machine
turn a really good dish
into a really bad dish. It can overchurn really quickly.
[Zac] So, we shall see.
Chef Duff, what are you thinking as far as your dish, Chef?
I'm gonna do marshmallow cereal pancakes, but no green.
-No green ingredients. -[Duff] No green.
Oh, there's a green one.
-What just happened? -[Duff laughs]
Hell yeah! That looks nice.
Would you cook this for your daughter?
Oh, yeah, listen, I'm ready to go home with enough money
that my little girl gets a pony on her birthday.
[singsong] Duff is gonna win! Duff is gonna win!
Hey, Duff, I have some green if you'd like it.
-It's in my bag. -[Damaris] Oh, my God!
You know, if I didn't have a half hour, I'd come over --
[Duff & Zac laugh]
[Eric] Chefs, we're at 12 minutes, 50 seconds.
This is a lot of fruit components now.
These are all ooey gooey.
-Like, they're so gooey. -Ah.
[Damaris] I am making sure that I am absolutely
nailing the challenge.
I've done this the most amount of times, and now Zac is
coming in and absolutely destroying me. -Right.
[Damaris] I just can't let Zac go home with all my money tonight.
And then ooey gooey is gonna be in this cream cheese
mascarpone frosting. -Very ooey, very gooey.
[Damaris] That's gonna get all mixed together, and then I'm gonna
add in heavy cream.
Ten minutes exactly, chefs.
Man, you know what would be nice right now?
Orange.
I'm making bananas Foster, and I got no orange.
But I do have the liqueur.
This does not count as an acid, right?
[Eric] Ooh, that's acidic.
Chef Duff, you cannot use an orange liqueur!
God!
-Diabolical! -This is...a diabolical card.
-Chef Damaris. -[Duff groans]
What am I gonna do here? I still got the bourbon.
[Eric] Here it is, ladies and gents -- wow!
Is this the gooey that you were looking for, Chef?
[Duff] It's not quite as ooey gooey as I thought it was gonna be.
Oh, you know what I'm gonna do?
I'm gonna make a salted caramel.
-[Eric] Nice. -[Duff] Let's see what happens.
Five minutes left.
-How's it going over here, Chef? -[Zac] Ooh, well...
So much is riding on the ice cream.
[Eric] That is incredible!
A marshmallow cereal ice cream
that tastes like my childhood. -Oh, my God.
Antonia, don't be impressed by the ice cream.
[exhales] All right.
I mean, this greenhouse, we joke about it,
but it really is my dream.
If I win this round, I can go home with everything.
What do you got over here? Oh.
[Zac] I'm just gonna do a really quick chocolate decor with
fruit powder, and then I wanna get some of the crunchy
cereal bits. -[Eric] Oh, wow.
[Zac] Am I showing off? Yeah, for a clean sweep, I will.
Oh, you're a beast. Get it on the plate, chefs.
-Two minutes left. -[Duff] I got cake on the bottom.
I pipe on some chocolate
and then a bananas Foster sauce.
-I made a salted caramel sauce. -[Eric] Look at that.
I don't see a hint of green, so check on that.
One minute left.
[Zac] I scoop my ice cream and top it
with the white chocolate berry tuile.
I literally drop the cakes in the center of the plate
and then I add the blueberries.
[Eric] Is this the gooey that you were looking for, Chef?
-[Zac] It's gooey. -[Eric] And predominantly one color,
I'd say that's a check over here for Chef Zac.
Forty-five seconds left.
[Damaris] I'm adding a big scoop of my mascarpone fluff,
but I'm in a really bad place if my cakes don't get done.
Yes.
[Eric] These look incredible.
I'm adding my fruit, and then I'm topping the entire
thing with cereal.
[Eric] Five, four, three, two, and one.
That's about it, chefs. Well done.
[Duff] Wow! Whoo.
[exhales]
[Duff] I'm feeling pretty good. Yeah, this is delicious.
-I think I'm gonna win. -This is intense.
I definitely felt, like...
the pressure.
♪ Who got the motive? (who got the motive?) ♪
♪ But I'm right on time (but I'm right on time) ♪
[Eric] For the very last time tonight, Chef Antonia Lofaso.
[Duff] Yay!
Can we get desserts? Is it dessert time?
You spoke it into existence, Chef!
-Ooey gooey... -[Antonia] Mm-hmm.
...with the use of marshmallow cereal.
Ooh.
-[Eric] $4,500 in the pot. -He has no money.
-No money, yeah. -[Antonia] You're all-in.
You're all-in. Well, this one over here...
-[Damaris] I know. -[Antonia] OK, let's go here.
All right, so there's like this delicious cake,
then the purplish ice cream.
I mean, when you see that,
that's like ooey and gooey right there.
But here's the real genius about this,
is that artificial flavor
to that cereal is sort of masked in the best possible way
way from the fresh fruit.
[Zac] And I did that without acid.
The ice cream is brilliant. I love the ice cream!
There's this chocolaty, marshmallow-y cereal flavored
topping that tastes like breakfast cereal.
[Eric] Let's go ahead and move on to the next dish.
[Antonia] Is it like a bananas Foster met a pancake?
Mmm.
When you have a breakfast cereal, you can't take it
too seriously, and this is very, very, very fun.
So ooey gooey, without question,
the texture of the pancake is lovely.
See this, like, browning right here?
I like that the marshmallow cereal,
they're left here for me to eat.
They melt in your mouth like cotton candy.
But I was hoping there would be some brightness
to the dish, right?
Like, crème fraîche or whipped cream to sort
of cut through the richness.
[Duff] I probably needed a little more acidity.
Thanks, Damaris.
[Eric] And our final dish of the evening.
[Antonia] It's a little cloud of fluffiness.
I see the marshmallow cereal, and then all this fruit.
Mm.
I am fawning over this bounty of fruit.
Some of it is really beautifully sweet,
like the pineapple.
I think the gooseberry is really smart because they're,
like, hyper-acidic.
And then the cake is delicious.
So ooey and gooey.
The best part of this dessert is this dairy cloud
of deliciousness.
I just almost wish, though, that the marshmallow
part of the cereal was a little bit more prevalent?
[sighs]
-Guys! -[Eric] $4,500.
Either Duff or Damaris can go home...
-[Antonia] With some money. -...$500, with some money.
OK.
Or it could be a clean sweep with Chef Zac.
[Damaris] If I lose again, I have nothing.
It's so humiliating!
[Duff] That is my daughter's birthday party money.
I gotta win!
[Zac] Please, Antonia. A clean sweep?
[sighs]
The dish that I'm choosing is...
the ice cream!
[Damaris] Ugh!
[Zac gasps and laughs]
[Eric] Oh! And it's a clean sweep by Chef Zac.
-Wow! -[Damaris laughs]
[Antonia] I love the ice cream, I love the outside,
I love the chocolate that tastes like the marshmallow cereal.
There's a lot of work.
I don't know what is going on over here.
-Wow! -[Duff] Cleanup aisle five!
Clean sweep for this guy!
You destroyed us...
Fantastic work.
...in the most -- the most humbling way.
An armored vehicle was waiting
outside for you, Zac. -[Eric] Legit.
You know what's gonna be waiting outside for you?
Me.
[laughing]
[Antonia] He's gonna key your car on the way out.
Come on, winner, let's go!
[Zac] We're going to need a bigger dog.
[Damaris] Oh, my God. I gotta go.
-[Duff] That's messed up. -[Eric] Let's turn these lights off.
[Zac] Mm.