Original subtitles

I'm Bobby Flay.

Each week, one brave chef will try to

take me down in my house.

This is my show.

Today it is.

Tomorrow, who knows?

Oh, trash talking.

This culinary battle is gonna shake down

in two rounds.

Round one, to get to me, two contenders

have to go through each other using an

ingredient of my choice.

It's do or die, Bobby.

Two people that know me well will decide

who's got the skills to beat me.

Yeah! Round two, I go head-to-head with

the winning contender.

Let's go! It's their turn to surprise me

with their signature dish.

What? Don't try this at home.

I know you did it, Bobby!

Bottom line, everyone's

out to beat me.

What's up, everybody?

What do you get when you mix one co-host

that knows to be better than anyone in

the world? With another who's a

competition veteran, a tough knife in me,

that's what? Coming in from the West

Coast, it's Chef Antonio Lufaso and my

daughter Sophie Flay.

What's up, ladies?

What's up? The last time we were all

hanging out together, we were in Las

Vegas. Yes. We all celebrated a holiday

together in Las Vegas of all places when

I was opening my restaurant.

Both of you were nice enough to show up.

Nice enough I was there like four nights

in a row.

Yes, we have no more liquor behind the

bar, but thanks a lot.

Oh, don't tell them that!

What's up with you these days?

Thanks for waiting till now to check in.

Well, I'm sorry.

No, I mean, I'm just in LA working in

local news, reporting on the scene,

hitting Antonio's restaurant when I can.

I love that Sophie's like part of my

friend group. You know, you're friends

with my friend.

Yeah, she's in my place all the time.

Love that. I'll send you the bill.

Okay, any strategy tonight?

We do have a little bit of a strategy,

possibly bringing somebody back.

We have two really great chefs tonight

that we think deserve a rematch.

All right, let's bring them out.

So you might remember our first contender

as the potato queen.

Oh, God. All the way from the United

Kingdom. Come on out, poppy-o-tool.

Poppy's back. That our next contender

lost in a picodeo battle because you

served up a side of crispy rice.

Come on out, Mica Leone.

Whoa! Come out, swing it.

Good evening, ladies.

Nice to see you again.

All right, so you got the call.

Did you hesitate?

I was like, I've got another chance to

take him down.

Absolutely. I was waiting for the call.

I have a lot of people making fun of me

back home. So I got to beat you guys,

unfortunately. I like that.

You've both taken me on before, but now

this is a new battle.

I'm going to give you an ingredient, and

you must make that ingredient the star of

your dish. Tonight's ingredient is...

...pita bread. Oh!

How do you feel?

It's good. It's just one big canvas.

I don't want it to be the canvas on a

star, and I'm trying to work out how I do

that. All right, ladies, 20 minutes on

the clock. Knock them dead with the pita

bread. Let's

go, ladies. Pita bread.

What would you do with pita?

I would literally cut it in half, fry it,

and then you can tell a story on top of

it. Would you ever do like a pita pizza?

Sure, absolutely. To me, as soon as I saw

it, I'm like, sandwich.

Eggplant farm. I don't know if I would do

an eggplant farm with a pita.

Oh, my God.

I might be the potato queen, but 20

minutes to make a potato dish is very

difficult, because I take a long time to

cook. Last time I was here, I did really

well with the Southeast Asian flavors, so

I'm thinking pita bread with some onion

bargees, spiced prawns, and some crispy

pita pieces. This is not a good time to

get shaky hands.

An onion barge is a fritter, essentially,

so I chop up my onions, and then I get

them straight into a little batter with

madrasse curry powder, onion powder,

garlic powder, and some cardamom.

So, Dad, you remember Poppy.

People know her as the potato queen

because she's always doing recipes with

potato. I'm Poppy O'Toole, fair known as

Poppy Cooks, and I'm back.

Cooking in Bobby's kitchen was very nerve

-wracking. I made bangers and mash, but I

cut the sausages up.

I don't know why I did it.

I panicked. Since I was last here, I've

published my second book, and I've been

rolling on with social media, TV, and

publishing, but I still think I need to

prove myself. So, tonight, I'm ready to

battle. Bobby, there's no way you can

beat me again.

I'm a queen for reasons.

Pita bread is just not that exciting, so

I have to elevate this.

I immediately think of a breading

component, so I want to make oil and

bunnies out with a mojopikong sauce, also

known as pita-crusted fried chicken with

a spicy Spanish sauce.

I definitely feel like I'm taking a risk,

but I don't think playing it safe,

especially coming back for a rematch, is

going to make me get in that arena with

Bobby. Mika lives in Miami, and she's

known for Cuban and Mexican street food.

Last time I was here, I went against

Bobby with my famous picadillo, and Bobby

beat me with a crispy rice type

situation. That was not picadillo.

Hence why I'm here today.

Ever since being on The Bobby Play Last,

I've seen my restaurant evolve from the

mom-and-pop to winning Best Cuban

Restaurant two years in a row.

People know I lost to Bobby already, so I

can't lose twice.

I'm not going to take it easy on him.

I'm bringing it.

All right, chefs, 15 minutes.

I want a protein on here, so shrimp,

prawns, whatever you want to call them.

They're so quick to cook.

The curry on that shrimp smell is

phenomenal. Tell me what you're doing.

I'm going to do a spice onion barge and

the pita as the base of the dish, and

then crunch bits on top.

That's exactly what I said.

So you're a little more nervous?

I am. I feel like I've got to prove

something. Good luck to you.

Mika, hi. Really quickly, tell me what

you're going to do.

I'm going to make a fried chicken cutlet

with a Romanesco sauce.

So you're breading the chicken with the

pita? Yes. And then we're also using the

bread in the sauce.

Amazing. We're going to see who's the

best chef today.

Good luck to you.

13 minutes to go.

I know I have to pack some flavor into

that pita breadcrumb, so I add brown

coriander, garlic, some salt.

So I have my flour, my eggs, and my pita

breadcrumbs. And I want them to cook five

to eight minutes.

How you doing, chef?

Very good, chef.

Yeah, great.

The last time I was here, I think I lost

by one point.

So it would mean a lot to redeem myself

with a win.

So I'm getting half my pita into the

oven. Hey, Poppy, what's in your pan?

Onion bargey. Very flat though.

Just trying to make it quick.

Coming up on 7 Minutes.

Mika, how are you feeling?

This is like your second time back.

Are you feeling a little more

comfortable? I feel good, Sophie.

I just have to make a sauce, and we're

going on a plate.

It's going to be very simple.

Sounds good. I start throwing in Guajillo

chilies, lots of garlic, smoked Spanish

paprika, some red wine vinegar.

Cilantro and pita bread, because it would

give this sauce that nice consistency.

So I'm using the pita in two different

ways. I've got the base and the crispy

specks, because it's meant to be the

star. Poppy, how's it going over here?

You're de-shelling these prawns.

What else do you have left to do?

I'm going to make a little herb yogurt,

and then I can start building.

OK, I'll let you get back to it.

Thank you. Four minutes to go.

Now we've got Greek yogurt, mint,

cilantro, lime. That's going to be the

fresh, creamy element.

As I'm building this dish, I'm extremely

happy with all the components.

You have the crunchy fried chicken, the

creamy sauce, and feta cheese.

I'm worried that we actually don't see

any pita on her dish, whereas Poppy and

you see a pita as the entire base.

Right. But there's a lot of flavors that

are in that dish.

You know, are we going to really be able

to taste a pita?

Exactly. 30 seconds.

I've got my pita slabs on the plate.

I've got my seasoned yogurt, onion

patties, that lovely whole shrimp, and I

need my crispy pitas on there.

In terms of flavor, we're there.

Everything else?

Who knows? Seven, six, five, four, three,

two, one. APPLAUSE Good job.

Good job. Good job, Poppy.

Thank you, Chef.

Oh, good-looking food, man.

Good-looking food.

Poppy, Mika, I love that you guys are

back for revenge.

I've never seen him this nervous.

He's, like, surrounded by so much beauty

and talent. Chef Mika, tell us what you

did with the pita bread.

I made a boyon panisau with a mojopi gong

sauce. The pita crust on the outside

works really well, and it is cooked

beautifully. Was there raw garlic in the

sauce? Yes. You're not, like, oh, my God,

raw garlic in the forward, but now...

Yeah, it's going to be weird over here.

It's going to be, like, breath-missing.

The crispiness of the chicken is perfect.

I never thought to use pita.

It's funny because you don't see it.

You still did a good job of making it the

star of the dish.

I think the sauce is great.

And I feel like the feta complements it

well, but you don't even need it.

Thank you. Poppy, tell us what you did

with the pita bread.

So, I have toasted pita bread, some

curried onions, madras prawns, and some

more crispy pita on top.

The shrimp is cooked beautifully, and the

herbs, the spice, the curry, all work so

well together. I love the use of the

pita, but because you did such a strong

toast to it, it eats very dry.

I think the spices, the curry, and then,

like, the sweetness from the onion, it's

the perfect combination.

And I really like the crispiness of this

pita. I wish this is what the bottom of

the pita was, just so you can pick it up

and eat it.

I can see where the criticisms are coming

from, even though they're fairly minor,

so I can't call it.

The chef moving forward to beat my dad

tonight is...

Chef Mika. APPLAUSE

I'm a bit gutted, but to be fair, I was a

little bit worried about going against

Poppy again, so I'm kind of a bit

relieved. Sophie, if anyone knows that

man's food, it's you.

Does Mika have a shot at beating him?

Absolutely. What? Oh, yeah.

Without question.

All right, Mika, we've been here before.

Yes, we have.

Why do you think that you didn't win?

He made a crispy rice.

It wasn't the dish, guys.

Okay. That was the pass.

Now we're here.

What is your signature dish?

My signature dish, Bobby.

It's ropa vieja.

Oh, 45 minutes?

All right, Chef Mika, this is your chance

for redemption. Let's beat Sophie's dad.

We're gonna beat Sophie's dad!

Your time starts now.

Yeah! You're gonna beat dad!

Yeah! Bobby's dad!

Antonio, you compete a lot.

You think that if more pressure and a

rematch... Oh, 100%.

If Mika loses again, then you're just

like, oh, also, your dad is like, I need

to make sure the first time I won was

real. This takes a high for both people.

This is what I came here for.

Bobby's a chef that I respected and

admired, but I still want to beat him.

I would feel bad beating her twice, but

hey, I'm not gonna give it to her.

She's gotta win it.

Ropa vieja. So this is traditionally made

with flank steak?

Yes. Bell peppers, tomato sauce.

It's basically like a stew and then it

kind of, like, breaks off into ropes

after it's been braised.

And then it's usually served over rice

or, like, mashed plantain.

This is typically braised low and slow,

so this is gonna really come down to the

wire in terms of time.

Without question. That being said, Mika

already has flank steak inside of that

pressure cooker, and there goes Sophie's

dad. This is gonna be tough.

First thing I do is I get the flank steak

into the pressure cooker with some canned

tomatoes, cumin, garlic, and onion.

Once you put something in the pressure

cooker, you can't check it.

You're like, I hope you're cooking.

I'm making ropa vieja with yellow rice

and black beans and some rum glazed

plantains. Could we just make a Cuban

sandwich and forget about this?

No, that's too easy, Bobby.

Now, I season the rice with turmeric,

some cumin, a little garlic, and onion.

Better not be making crispy rice Sophie's

dad. My signature dish is ropa vieja with

fufu de plátano, which is a mashed

plantain dish in Cuba.

Why did you choose this dish?

Because it takes hours to stew, and I

knew it could maybe stump him.

I don't like this.

Now that I have my flank steak in the

pressure cooker with some bay leaves,

some onion, I'm gonna be starting on my

sauce. A sofrito is bell peppers, onion,

garlic, and I'm adding coriander,

oregano, beef stock, and crushed

tomatoes. I'm seeing a lot of

similarities, his bowl and Mica's bowl,

that. Now I'm gonna get started on my

sauce with sofrito, tomatoes, chicken

stock, tomato paste.

Chef's 33 minutes.

Then I add cumin, some garlic powder,

some onion powder.

All right, what are you making?

I'm gonna build my grazing liquid.

I'm gonna make some more of the

cristianos. What language are you

speaking? Ricin beans.

That was all my Spanish right there.

That was very scary.

Now that I have my plantains in boiling

water, I'm doing a quick pickle with red

onions, vinegar, boiling water, and some

sugar. Mica. What are we making?

Besides ropa vieja.

We're gonna put it on fufu de plátano

with some pickled onions and bacon fat.

Delicious. All right, yay, Mica.

One, two, three.

Yay, Mica!

The base of Mica's ropa vieja.

She's gonna use bacon.

And then those mashed plantains will soak

up all that juice.

Exactly. Yeah. Your dad, he is making a

spiced rice. Okay.

It is smart.

I mean, he did win with the crispy rice

last time. If I win, I'm getting a t

-shirt that says, I beat Bobby with no

rice. Oh, God.

Let me go.

Oh. 27 minutes.

Let's go. I bet he's gonna make pickled

onions. Ask him.

Dad, are you making pickled onions?

Uh, that's a good idea.

The only reason why I make pickled shots

is because Sophie reminds me by accident.

Don't give him an idea.

You can't do that.

I did it.

So now I'm thinking of a garnish on top

that Cuban food is so known for.

Crispy maritita, which is a plantain

strip. I've made this dish hundreds of

times, and my mom and grandfather used to

make it at their restaurant.

So winning with this dish would be

everything. 22 minutes and 30 seconds.

This round feels very, very tight.

I have so much going on.

All right, Dad, how's it going?

Not good. I've got too much to do.

I got some plantains.

I'm going to throw them in the fryer, and

I'm gonna glaze them with some rum and

some brown sugar.

Oh, it's like, Nica fries plantain, so

Bobby fries plantains.

He's a little bit of a coffee cat.

So, you guys, my dad has a new restaurant

in Vegas, and he named a dish after me.

It's scallops of Sophie.

The scallops are sick, and we couldn't

stop eating them.

But then, I got a call from our friend

Brooke Williamson, and she said, have you

had the scallops?

They're good because he stole the recipe

off my menu.

Is that true, Bobby?

You left that part out.

Get Brooke on the phone right now.

Nica, how's it going over here?

Very, very good.

As I'm mashing my plantains, I wanted to

have those crispy bacon and red onion

bits inside for a little bit of texture.

And is this dish special to you?

Yeah, I've been making this dish without

a little pit.

I love that.

We're gonna be here, Dad, today.

All right, chefs, 15 minutes.

Nica's fried plantains are crispy and

gorgeous. Like, you just want to bite

right into them.

Oh, my God, look at bacon fat going into

that fufu. Yum.

Oh, my God, that looks so good.

Nica, are those olives on your stations?

Yes, they are.

For some, and I...

No, I'm not gonna give you my secrets

because he's gonna hear me.

Yeah, yeah, sorry.

I think olives and ropa vieja depend on

who you're talking to.

It's a risk, but I want to cook

authentically to who I am.

I'm making a relish with avocados, green

olives, and bichillos, or some

brightness. Now you're using green olives

like Nica? Have you no shame, man?

11 minutes.

Hi, Nica. Can we please try this?

Yes, yes, yes.

That's delicious. Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

So be, Dad.

This tastes so good.

Moment of truth.

He just pulled his meat.

Oh, let's see.

Is it ropy?

What's up? Man, it's ropy.

So now I throw it into my sauce.

Okay, ready? Beat Sophie's dad.

Beat Sophie's dad.

Clatter! Beat Sophie's dad.

Clatter! Beat Sophie's dad.

I'm feeling pretty anxious now.

Oh, please. Jesus.

Come on, Nica.

She's praying to the pressure cooker

gods. Moment of truth, she's gonna fork

it. We're good.

Yeah. Woo! My rice is cooked, and now I'm

adding some black beans and green onions.

And I get it on the plate.

Then I take some of the ropu vieja, some

of the rum glazed plantains, and the

avocado and red pepper relish, some

pickled shallots, and some crunchy

garlic. It looks pretty.

I think the ropu vieja could be cooked a

little bit longer.

But we'll see.

Both ropa viejas look so similar.

It could come down to, again, what the

base is. Is Nica's fufu de plantanelle

going to be yellow rice and beans?

I'm gonna start with the fufu de platan

on the bottom, stacking it with my ropa

vieja, adding crispy plantain for texture

and micro-silanthro right on top.

I couldn't be any happier.

This is the dish that's going to be Bobby

Flay, finally, and I'm gonna bring this W

home to Miami.

Eight, seven, six, five, four, three,

two, one. Come on.

He looks exhausted.

He's exhausted.

I could have sued a little bit more.

I need like five more minutes.

Me too. Looks good.

Chef's congratulations for completing

your ropa vieja.

We'd like to introduce you to the judges.

First up, chef and restaurateur, Ed

McFarlane. Chef, restaurateur, and queen

of soul food, Melba Wilson.

And the owner of Havana Central, Jeremy

Merritt. Judges, please start with the

first plate in front of you.

So I really enjoyed this dish.

I liked the seasoning on the meat.

I thought it was well cooked.

The fried plantain, really nice and

crisp. The olive, though, in the meat was

really overpowering for me.

I agree. I think this is a little olive

forward. The fufu was good, and the

plating was beautiful.

Very traditional with the fried plantain

coming out of there.

I thought it was good, but, you know, at

the end of the day, the main part is the

ropa, and it was a little bit chewy for

me. The shredded beef, I loved that it

was a consistent shred and cut against

the grain. It was olive forward.

However, I haven't met an olive that I

didn't like. I found the fufu to be very,

very comforting. I also love the fact

that the plantain on top added wonderful

texture. Thank you for your comments.

Please switch your plates.

I thought this was an excellent take on

the ropa vieja.

The avocado relish, the olive didn't

overpower it at all.

The fried plantains were super sweet.

The problem I did have with the dish, the

rice, was very bland.

It could have used more salt than it.

One of the stars of the dish were the

plantains. The rum just added that nice

flavor. The ropa was cooked to

perfection, but there were some cuts that

were kind of large for me.

I'm a huge rice in being done.

I was a rice girl and the models lacked

flavor and were overcooked.

I thought this was a great rendition of

ropa vieja. The meat was cooked to a

tender point and had a very good tomato

forward flavor. But I agree with

everybody else. The rice lacked a lot of

flavor. All right, judges, I'm going to

have you vote now.

I don't feel at ease because last time

around, I had to hear that Bobby Flay was

the winner. And now I'm sweating because

it's getting really real.

This is my first time here where the

decision has not been unanimous.

And the winner is...

Chef Mika!

I just beat Bobby Flay.

This is huge.

Thank you, guys.

I really proved to myself that I'm

involved as a chef and I could beat Bobby

Flay. Oh, my God, I'm sweating.

I'm sweating for you.

I didn't know which way that was going to

go. Oh,

she beat Sophie's dad.

Bobby did open up another restaurant in

Vegas. So try your odds there.

Better look in Vegas.

I'm Mika Leung and I just beat Bobby

Flay.