Original subtitles

Last time...

...24 world-class chefs began the longest day

of their professional lives.

Wow.

Choosing to compete on "24 in 24."

It's scary, but I think it's scary in a good way.

Let the games begin!

Go, go, go, go, go, go!

In their first two challenges, 15 chefs survived,

and nine were asked to clock out.

- Chef Maria. - Aw.

I'm shocked. I don't know how to take it in.

Not yet.

With his standout cooking right out of the gate,

Alex Stupak has established himself

as an early frontrunner.

- A new regime. - Ah!

At this point, I can start to feel the target

on my back growing.

And honestly, I like being a threat.

Then, after an epic head-to-head battle,

a giant clocked out.

- Shota-- I'm sorry, Chef. - Wow.

Holy moly.

This is the earliest I've ever been out

in a cooking competition. I'm bummed.

And now, 15 chefs enter hour four.

I had no idea it was gonna be this crazy.

Whoo!

This is "24 in 24: Last chef standing."

Here we go

OK, chefs, you are all one step closer to $100,000.

- Whoo! - Whoo!

Whoo!

You only have 13 chefs and about 20 hours standing in your way.

Alex, you have the Golden Knife,

but that could change very soon.

I've won the Golden Knife.

I can tell that the other chefs are paying attention to me.

They're starting to recognize that I'm a threat,

and honestly, I do not mind

being the bad guy. I'm here to win 100 grand.

Chefs, welcome to shift two, which is all about speed.

- Yes. - Here we go.

Here we go.

You can be the most talented chef in the world,

but if you're too slow on getting food on the plate,

you certainly can't make it here.

Let me tell you something.

You go to a restaurant and you wanna wait 45 minutes

to an hour for your entrée? Of course you don't.

So speed is important.

The shift is gonna have three challenges,

and we're gonna start it off with the speed obstacle course.

But we are switching it up this year.

This time, it's going to be a team challenge.

Team one will be the six chefs from the Bold challenge.

- Go. - Let's go.

Plus Zac, who survived

his head-to-head battle last shift.

And team two will be the remaining chefs that were

in the Cautious challenge, shift one.

- Zac, slide over. - Come on over.

Come on, Zac.

Hey, baby.

I am actually really happy to have been drafted

onto team Bold.

These are chefs who most of them I know very well,

and they all know that I competed as a pastry chef,

but I can do so much more.

All right, chefs, this is seven-on-seven relay race.

Props team, bring in the table.

Let the games begin.

- What? - Here we go.

Relay race. What are we gonna do?

Potato sack jumping? What are we gonna do here?

- What's in these, like, peanuts? - Peanuts, peanuts.

Yeah, cracking peanuts. Breaking down chicken, yep.

Let's go. Let's go.

Oh, are we going head-to-head on this?

- [bleep] yeah. - OK.

All right, you guys, each member of your team

is gonna have to complete one distinct task.

First chef is going to break down a chicken

into eight pieces.

Two legs, two thighs, two breasts, two wings.

When that is done, the second chef will juice

two cups of watermelon juice

without a blender.

The third chef will alphabetize eight spice jars.

I'll do the alphabetize.

The next chef will separate

the whites and the yolks of a dozen eggs.

The next chef will then take

the separated eggs and turn them

into mayonnaise. - Mayonnaise.

The sixth chef will shell 24 peanuts.

Oh .

And finally, the last chef on your team will match eight

different varieties of beans.

This challenge is not for elimination,

but the winning team

will get to go to the break room for now.

And they will get to vote amongst themselves

on which of their teammates was the most valuable,

and he or she will get the Golden Knife.

- Let's do this. - Yeah.

Let's go, team.

So now chefs huddle together and decide

who's gonna go where and line up at the table.

You guys, I break down a chicken in 43 seconds.

I want the chicken if I can.

I'm looking at team Bold, and this is a team that will be

just fine with speed.

Who has a lot of opinions on any one thing?

I would love to do the chicken.

- You good on chicken? - Yeah, I'm good on chicken.

I've broken down chicken a million times,

so I'm comfortable breaking down the chicken.

I bet I'm really smart with watermelon.

- What is that one? - You wanna do watermelon?

I'll take watermelon.

That's where you get to, like, have fun, tear it up.

I love the trenches, you know?

Who's good at alphabetical order?

Lee Anne, you're alphabetic.

I'm good at identifying spices.

I'm good at alphabet and ma--

I'm good with spelling and math.

But yeah, I think that's a challenge that I am,

like, primed for.

- I'll do the peanuts. - OK, peanuts.

I'll whisk.

- Eggs. - I'll whisk.

- You want whi-- mayo? - Yeah.

I'm gonna do beans, guys.

I'm like, we're gonna crush these people.

We already know and feel that we're great,

and they're Cautious. They're like, "Oh, I don't know.

I'm a little scared over here."

I could break down a chicken in 43 seconds.

43?

I do not mind doing the chicken.

- I do not mind doing the peanuts. - What's that?

So now everyone's trying to decide what to do

and who does what. It was a cluster you know what.

All right, what am I doing? Separating eggs?

I'm just sitting there

looking around. "I'll do this, I'll do that."

I mean, I said I'd do one thing,

and then somebody else said they'd do it.

Am I separating eggs? OK.

- Who's doing mayo? - I'll do it, I'll do it.

Mayo? What do you want?

- What's left? - The alphabetizing.

- I'll do the juice. - Yeah, there's juice and peanuts too.

All right, guys, let's hurry up.

- Take your spots. - What am I doing?

Did anyone do alphabetizing?

- Wait. - Wait, I can do beans.

- Wait. - You can't do beans

OK, I'm doing beans.

I express my interest in doing either chicken or spices.

I am Bengali-American,

and typically I cook with a lot of spices,

but it seems like in the confusion

of the last few seconds,

somehow I end up becoming the bean counter.

Guys, know, culinary is gonna be judging from the sides.

When you feel like--

Joe and I are going back and forth

about who does eggs and who does spices.

- Let me do eggs. - I was supposed to do the eggs.

I was like, "No, you do this."

I just-- I just threw my hands up.

I was like, guys, just put me at the table, let's go.

This is gonna be wild.

I end up in front of spices.

I'm like, what am I gonna do with spices?

Chefs, on the line is some rest and the Golden Knife.

Michele and Trimell, you guys are first.

I am a chef at a farm.

And if you've gotta break down a chicken,

you want a farm girl, for sure.

And your time...

...starts now. - Go, Michele!

Let's go! Come on, buddy.

You got this.

- You got this. - I got it.

Yeah! You got it.

Got it, guys.

Last year, I got knocked off in the first round.

So it's really important for me to be here till the end.

- So I have to go fast. - Come on.

- Come on. - You got this.

- Let's go. - We're doing good.

We're doing good.

So in the Marine Corps, I was always under pressure.

But you can break down a chicken time and time again.

But when you're doing it with people watching you,

you know, it's a little more--

it's a little more difficult.

Come on, buddy.

Three, four, five, six...

eight, done! - Whoo!

Go, Michele, that's right. Come on, Lex.

Cleared? Cleared?

- Go. - Come on, Chef.

- Let's go. - Come on, Chef.

You got this, Lex.

Having to cook for NBA players, I have to make

watermelon juice all the time.

Cleared.

All right, Trimell's good. You can start.

Now it's my turn. Watermelon.

I'm just, like, squeezing that stuff.

There's watermelon shooting everywhere.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You got this, bro. You got it.

You're doing awesome.

I'm gonna spoon it out, and I'm gonna mash it to death.

And who is across from me? Brian Malarkey.

I'm not scared of you, baby.

This-- this right now, this is not your strong suit.

We're gonna get this done.

Got this, girl.

You got it. You got it.

- You got it. - Let's go, Malarkey.

Let's go. You got this.

- Let's go. - You got this.

- Yes. - Yes!

- There? - Good, good, good, good, good.

All right, good. Move on-- go, Joe.

Oh, my God. Come on, Joe.

OK-- star anise.

Oh, God.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

There's no labels on these spices,

and we gotta jump into it.

And they want me to alphabetize them.

But of course, there's like four of them I don't know.

Check! Go!

Boom, boom, boom, I catch back up.

Watermelon, two cups, no problem.

Hoo-yah!

All right, it's tied. It's even.

We're at about a dead heat right now.

We gotta go fast. You got this.

This is a very hard challenge, though, 'cause you have

to identify the spices, then in your head, alphabetize them.

I identify allspice, whole allspice berries.

There is natto seed, and so I figure the natto seed goes

after the allspice.

Coriander, cumin, fenugreek, jup--

juniper, star anise. Is this za'atar?

As I'm tasting, I'm confident, so I'm gonna just start moving

things around. - A, B, C, D.

Like I'm in elementary school. A, B, C, D.

I don't know what this is. Is this some blend?

Taste it. Taste everything.

You ever try and taste a spice, like,

in its raw, whole form?

Huh, goodbye palate.

My palate's blown out.

I'm lost. I'm lost.

I'm completely lost.

I think they're all in order.

Check.

Come on, Joe.

No. What?

Anise. The first one's anise.

- Star anise. - Oh, God.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

Check.

Check. No.

Check.

- What? - What?

Finally, I figure out that it's not cumin seed

that's there-- it's caraway seed.

I move caraway in front of the coriander seed.

- Check. - Yes.

- Yes! - Lee Anne's done.

- Move on. - I'm gonna do two-hand, two-hand.

No.

Lee Anne flies right to it, of course.

And of course, there's me, bumbling and stumbling

over these letters of the alphabet.

I'm just getting anxious. I'm getting nervous.

D.

Check.

I am scared.

He's scared. We're all scared.

Panic in my mind just came-- came-- came about me.

Ah-- nobody could help me.

I'm lost here. Now I'm getting more confused.

I don't know what these are. This is--

Oh, my God, I wasted so much time on these spices.

We're never gonna win this.

One at a time is faster.

Use your second hand to pull the white off.

My teammates are heavy hitters.

And if I mess up on this egg challenge, they might think

I'm the weakest one here.

And I don't wanna be known as the weakest one here.

I want them to be worried about me.

Check.

Yep.

They got the eggs separated, and now Zac's on to making mayo.

And I'm like, "Duh!"

Come on, Joe. You got it.

There's nothing more beautiful than a relay race.

I was an athlete, a 2001 Indoor World Champion.

And you're only as good as your weakest link.

And if we're not in the game, I don't feel good.

Taste it and guess,

because guessing is all you got right now.

We got a pretty big split in the action here.

One team is definitely, uh, running away with this.

Oh, hell yeah! Check.

- Check. - Yep-- yes.

- Go! - Yes!

- What-- what thing have you not done? - Make a guess.

Take a guess, baby. Take a guess.

- Line 'em up and ask. - Check.

- Yes. - Molly, go!

We're not out of this yet.

I'm a home cook, and I've separated a lot

of eggs in my lifetime.

I know how to separate eggs fast.

Go, Molly!

I feel bad 'cause I made Joe switch with me.

- Check. - You're done.

- Check. - We're good?

Come on, Dawn. We can catch up.

Check.

Yeah.

All right. Alex is identifying beans.

I was a pastry chef for 10 years,

but my other strong suit is Mexican food,

so I know my beans.

- Done. - Yep.

- Yep. - Done.

Everyone can stop.

Good job.

- What were they? - It's allspice and juniper.

All right, so Alex, your team won.

- All right! - Whoo!

Good job, guys.

So two things are gonna happen now.

One, you guys are gonna get to go to the break room and chill,

but you have to choose who was the most valuable player

on the team, and that person will receive the Golden Knife.

Alex led us here. I nominate Alex

to continue to hold the Golden Knife.

I nominate Lee Anne. That was the hardest one.

- I nominate Lee Anne. - Lee Anne.

- All right, Lee Anne. - Mama Wong.

- Mama Wong. - All right.

All right.

Lee Anne, you get the Golden Knife.

I am here competing for a permanent home for my family.

So this Golden Knife is important,

and I am incredibly grateful. I'll take it.

Lee Anne has the Golden Knife.

She's an extremely strong competitor.

She's the one I am most worried about.

I've been doing this a really long time.

OG competitor while I've won competitions here and there, um,

I've never won a big one. And so I am motivated.

I'm ready to win one.

Congrats to this team.

You guys can now go to the break room for now.

Good luck, guys.

OK.

Whoo! Whoo!

- Now we get to wait an hour. - Good job, guys.

All right, you guys, we're moving on to the next challenge.

Culinary, bring out the table.

All right, let's do this.

- Yeah, I love cloches. - You got this, champ.

- I'm good. - Come on.

- I'm scared. - Huh.

- I don't like this. - This is sad and mean.

They're having a blast up there.

They're having so much fun down there.

- I know. - Simmer down.

All right, you guys. So I'm sorry you guys did not

win the relay challenge.

Now all seven of you are facing elimination.

Six will be continuing on, and one, unfortunately, will be

clocking out after this challenge.

Traditionally, each dish under these cloches takes

at least an hour to make.

But this shift is all about speed,

so you are only going to have 24 minutes to make them.

OK.

It's gonna be whatever

your interpretation of this classic long-cooked dish.

So how we're picking the cloches is gonna be

at random.

You guys chose which order you did the relay,

and that will be the same order in how you pick these cloches.

I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of hoping that since

I broke down that chicken really fast, I was gonna get sent

to the break room, but it didn't happen.

Michele, pick the first cloche,

and that is the dish you are making.

Ah.

- Beef bourguignon. - Wow.

I can't tell you the last time I made that, but I know

it takes hours to cook.

Lex, you're next.

Decisions, decisions.

I'm just praying it's not any crazy ingredients.

Let her rip.

Mole.

I know Mexican flavors, but mole is layered over time,

over time, over time.

And I know that this is going to be a challenge.

All right, Joe, you're next. Which number do you want?

Lucky six. Coq au vin.

- Come on, baby. - Go back to your station.

Thank you very much.

Molly, it's up to you. Gumbo.

You look so excited about gumbo, Molly.

I've never made a gumbo before. I've had it a couple of times.

Gumbo. I've never made gumbo.

- You got this. - I don't know how-- what is it?

- What even is gumbo? - Dawn, you are next.

Take what's right in front of me.

- Lasagna. - Oh.

This is one of the better choices.

- Pick a bad one, please. - Hey, come on, now.

- Intuition guide me. - Christina?

Which cloche is going to be the best one for me?

- Not much option. - Beef Wellington.

Are you kidding me? OK.

All right, let's go.

It's a freaking Beef Wellington.

Beef Wellington in 24 minutes,

like, come on.

So high, man. So high.

What are you thinking? What are you thinking?

Looks like I don't get a choice at all this time.

I get what is left over.

Pulled pork.

In 24 minutes.

Hooray!

Remember, guys, this is just gonna be your interpretation

of this classic dish. That's the good news.

The bad news, 24 minutes.

And then one of you will be clocking out.

All right, the fastest 24 minutes of your life

starts now.

Proteins.

Barbecue sauce.

Beef stock.

They're cooking.

I can't see anything out there, but they're cooking.

- Hello, Chef. - Hi.

- How are you feeling? - I'm-- I'm feeling OK.

I just decided to make a noodle-less lasagna.

- Noodle-less lasagna? - Yeah.

Noodle-less, because maybe I shouldn't be

so straightforward.

I don't have time to make these noodles,

so I'm using Japanese eggplant.

So what I'm gonna do is just do a little roulade of eggplant

with some scamorza cheese.

Is the judge gonna be able to

identify this dish as lasagna?

My prayer is that, you know, they understand.

- Best of luck. - Thank you.

I'm choosing not to do a tomato sauce because 24 minutes

is not enough time.

But I know I want tomatoes present on the plate,

so I'm opting to char them really hard.

Truthfully, I'm so glad I didn't get mole.

My station partner got mole.

I was like, "Ooh, girl, better you than me."

Better you than me.

I'm making tacos, 'cause that's what I know.

I'm gonna just make some chicken tacos

with a mole sauce.

Time is of the essence.

Mole is famous for having 10 trillion ingredients.

Peppers.

Sometimes 72 hours to make.

It is going to be a very tough challenge.

20 minutes. Don't have time.

Burn, baby, burn!

I'm toasting my spices, char my vegetables.

Tell you what, you gon' feel the heat.

That's all right.

As an NBA chef, I feel like my niche is taking the cuisines

of the world, since I cook for so many different nationalities

in sports, and making them delicious.

I hope I can do that fantastically.

- These dishes are hard. - Yeah.

I think pulled pork is pretty hard.

I think mole may be the hardest.

Why could I have not gotten the gumbo?

I could've whipped that thing together

in no time.

Gumbo.

I don't know gumbo. I just don't know gumbo.

I specialize in Chinese, Jewish, and Midwestern cuisine,

so I'm feeling really intimidated at making something

that I've never made before in 24 minutes.

I know that gumbo is sausage and other meat,

and I saw my comfort sausage of lap cheong over there.

- Um, so I'm starting with that. - Hello, Molly.

How are you feeling?

Uh, I-- I'm feeling, like, excited,

because I've never made gumbo before.

I have lap cheong, I have shrimp.

I'm using Shaoxing wine. I'm gonna add tofu.

Look at you, bringing in those Asian flavors.

- Love it. - Yeah, so I'm using the flavors

that I-- that I know the best, - Uh-huh.

and, um, I'm hoping for the best.

Whoo-hoo.

I think beef bourguignon's an easy one.

I feel like in 24 hours, you can and get it a little

soft enough. - Yeah.

- If you cut it small-y. - 24 minutes.

What did say-- what did I say? 24 hours?

Yeah. Gives you plenty of time.

24 minutes, I think, can give you plenty of time to,

like, cut the beef small enough and make it super soft.

Right, yeah.

Cut right, Michele.

So I choose filet because it's a quick-cooking meat.

I am pan-searing all the beef and mushrooms, onions,

garlic, some rosemary.

Then I am going to add beef stock, some red wine,

and hopefully the judges like it.

Do we have, um, wine openers on our stations?

- Hey, mine's a screw top. - Hey, mine's not.

- Can I use some of yours? - Uh, yes.

- Thank you, Joseph. - Here you go.

You know, I have done a lot of competition.

But this one, by far, hardest competition I've done.

It is a nonstop challenge after challenge after challenge.

I feel like we're inside

of a pressure cooker the whole time.

- I'm gonna step out real quick. - OK.

- Are you OK? - Yeah.

I'm gonna change into comfy shoes.

- I'll be right back. - Comfy shoes?

- Comfy shoe change? - I'm going with sneakers.

A true pulled pork is near impossible in 24 minutes

because it requires several cooking steps,

most of which take a very long time.

So for my pulled pork dish, I'm going to make a pulled

pork sandwich, and the inspiration

for this dish is school lunches.

As a first-generation Bengali American,

I had a little bit of a different upbringing

from everybody else, uh, in Columbus, Ohio.

I grew up eating Bengali food a lot, so school lunches were

a chance to have American food. I really loved pulled pork.

The first thing I wanna do is find pork shoulder, and I get

it into the pressure cooker right away, because this will

add some kind of pulled texture to this dish.

Other important things about a good pulled pork is it has

to have the addition of smoke in some way, shape, or form.

Since I don't have smoke, I'm gonna try to create

smoke using these smoky pork items.

Chili.

Hello, Chef.

Well, I smell a lot of, like, pulled pork elements.

- Yeah, that's right. - Which I love.

And what are you, um, pressure cooking?

Uh, pork butts.

- Pork butt. - Yes.

Do you think you're gonna be able to pull pork?

Uh, we pray to the gods, yeah. We see what happens.

- OK, Chef. - The pork gods will help us.

Coq au vin, baby.

Basically, it's an old bird cooked a long time.

We don't have old birds, and we don't have a lot of

time, so I'm gonna figure it out.

I'm gonna use the chicken thigh, and I'm gonna give some

root vegetables, and, uh, I'm gonna take it from there.

I gotta start being smart.

If I'm gonna get this chicken cooked in 24 minutes,

I gotta pull that bone out, I gotta get it in a pan.

Putting the brick on top of the chicken, it helps speed up

the process without losing

any of that moist, juicy nature of the chicken.

And it cuts the cooking time in half.

At the end of the day, I don't have enough time to kinda--

build flavor over time, so I'm gonna fortify things

and spike things.

Probably use two different vinegars and butter at the end

to help kinda lift the dish up.

It'll be a bit of an acidic dish, but that'll help kinda

take over for the lack of the long cooking time.

So I'm a New York guy, New York Italian guy.

People think I just sling chicken Parm, but in fact,

I'm a Michelin star chef.

And as a young cook coming up, French cuisine

was right in my lane.

I screwed up on the other challenge, but that's OK.

As they say, it happens. It's "24 in 24."

You might think you know everything, but when you're

under the pressure, you forget some things.

Uh, well, beef Wellington, normally

it's enrobed in a nice mushroom duxelle,

uh, puff pastry. There's some Dijon in there.

Prosciutto.

And then you build it all together and bake it at once,

but I just don't have time for that right now.

As an ICU nurse, I've had to think fast on my feet

and make things work.

We're gonna go a little bit deconstructed here.

So I'm going to go with a beef filet,

a pink peppercorn sauce, and duck fat mushrooms.

My hands are shaking. I can't even cut right now.

I don't really know how good these other chefs are yet,

so I just hope that my dish is better.

What do you think?

I-- I think that they're struggling with the time limit.

- Not everybody, but some of the chefs. - Not everybody.

They had some really good ideas, but some I definitely

was like, "Oh, I don't know if that's, like, that dish."

Right.

Everybody is moving real quick right now to get food

on the plate. - Yeah.

We have ten minutes to go.

Perfect.

OK, next, some sort of protein to go with this.

I'm like, all right, I gotta get the chicken seasoned

because I cannot just serve

this mole on a plate with nothing.

All right.

I'm looking at my sauce and I'm like,

it was getting too thick and too chunky.

So I decide to strain my sauce.

Don't wanna have

big chunks in their mouths.

How does it taste?

Tastes good. Tastes like a mole.

Looked at how to use this thing before.

It's definitely not hitting pressure.

Never hit pressure. That's OK, though.

The pressure cooker just didn't work.

And I see that my pork is not gonna cook in time.

So I have to pull an audible.

So I'm going to grab some ground pork and make a barbecue

ground pork sammy.

But now I am racing the clock to get it done.

I can get some meat for the sauce, actually.

I'm gonna add it to this to add another layer of porkiness.

And normally you smoke it for eight to twelve hours, but

when in Rome.

I'll take it.

I have beaten Bobby Flay.

I've competed amongst the greats in "Top Chef."

So I think I can pull this one off.

I'm not mad at that.

But it occurs to me that gumbo has rice.

Is...

the rice in gumbo typically in the gumbo, on the side?

Is anyone allowed to help me out?

Rice doesn't cook in 24 minutes.

I've gotta think of a substitute.

Is there rice noodles?

You know what's made out of rice, and you know what takes

really short to cook, is rice noodles.

- How you doing, Mol? - Hey.

- Hey. - Welcome to my first gumbo

ever making experience, Michael. - Oh, that's OK.

I've gotta keep a close on-- on my noodles.

Oh, I-- OK.

I got what you're doing. I got it.

Sesame oil, black vinegar, soy sauce.

All right, your first gumbo ever.

Hopefully Emeril's not the judge.

Bam.

I'm finishing up my lasagna.

I'm skipping the traditional bechamel, and I'm just gonna

do a heavy cream reduction with aromatics at the base.

Then I make another sauce with kale and 'nudja,

and that's going to be my meat layer in my lasagna.

You know, truthfully, when I think of this competition,

I already feel like I belong here, but winning would mean

that I belong amongst the elite.

So it would definitely be

a huge boost of confidence for me to win.

So I get the lasagna in the oven,

but in the back of my mind,

I'm still thinking about noodles.

Like, do I need them? I'm just not... sure.

Five minutes, chefs. Five minutes.

Mushroom duxelles is a common element in beef Wellington,

but I can't do that in 24 minutes,

so I'm just going to cook the mushrooms separately

and have it be an accompaniment on the plate.

Coming in and under you.

All right. See what happens...

when I do this.

I know that I can't

wrap my filet in puff pastry and have it cooked in time,

so I need to make the puff pastry separately.

So my plan is to just kind of get it nice and crispy in the fryer.

Gonna make the puff pastry, like, sit on top of it.

I'm gonna check my potatoes in here.

Oh, shoot, that's off. [bleep]

My potatoes are not boiling, and at this point,

I've burned through a lot of time, so it's got me

a little-- a little nervous.

Uh...

Sorry.

I have to pivot, so I decide to just go old school.

My potatoes are now boiling

and make mashed potatoes out, and I'm heating some milk

and butter on the stove and start mashing away.

Never a problem, only solutions, right?

I've gotten the skin, uh, crispy.

I gotta get this chicken cooked through.

I gotta finish this sauce.

Coq au vin needs long cooking time to develop lots of flavor.

I got none of that. So two tricks.

I take a little bit of chicken base and beef base.

Like I said, I've got to fortify this thing.

I don't have enough time to build flavor.

Bring it up, kinda reduce it, and then I finish

the sauce with Banyuls vinegar,

sherry wine vinegar, and butter.

Joe, how are you feeling?

- Good, baby, good. I gotta get going. - Good.

- I gotta get going. - All right, good luck, guys.

We're close. We're close.

There's a lot at stake here.

How do I hold my head up high, go home, shift two?

No, not happening.

If I went home now, my wife would kill me.

All right, you guys, we have two minutes to go.

Time is of the essence.

How are you feeling about your mole?

Proud of what I'm about to put out.

All right, let's get food on the plate, guys.

- I hope you're plating. - I forgot my plate.

Ooh, she's pretty.

Just a little bit of smoke.

Thirty seconds.

Ooh--

- Can I use that torch? - Chef.

Oh, thank you.

- Ten. - Nine, eight,

seven, six, five, four, three,

two, one. - Time's up, chefs.

Time is up.

There's food on the plate.

Whoo!

Didn't get all the way there, but I got close enough.

All right, chefs, remember, this is a blind tasting,

so write down your description,

and we will relay it to the judge.

Thank you, chefs. Thank you.

- Thanks, you guys. - Thank you, guys.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Thank you.

And after you drop your food, chefs,

you can head back to the break room.

What happened?

That was-- that was crazy.

- What happened? - What happened?

Recreate a classic dish that would normally take over--

over an hour in 24 minutes.

And what were your ingredients you got to use?

We had, like, coq au vin, beef Wellington, mole,

beef bourguignon. - Whoo.

All right, here we go. We are rolling.

OK.

And to camera.

All right.

To judge the speed shift is the author of "K-Quick,"

a new cookbook about how to create delicious Korean dishes

in 30 minutes or less.

She's also a international restaurateur and a veteran

"Iron Chef" judge.

Judy Joo.

A little bit intimidated, but I'm also very excited.

It's exciting to see an actual celebrity

tasting my food.

- So, Judy, you probably noticed - OK.

there are no chefs here.

No chefs. It's empty-- wow.

- All tastings are blind, - Yep.

but the chefs are watching us

and you from the back. - Right now.

- So, they get to hear what we say, - OK.

but you don't get to see who they are.

OK. Excellent.

You have to decide which chef will be clocking out.

So, for this challenge, the chefs had 24 minutes

to make their interpretation of dishes that take much longer

than 24 minutes. - Yeah.

So, first up, this chef had to

make their interpretation of beef bourguignon.

Beef bourguignon, red wine, demi, mushrooms, onions.

It's actually very impressive for 24 minutes, I have to say.

- Yes. - Nice girl.

Good job with getting that mash in there, too.

All the basic elements that you want are here.

And you can even see them on the plate, which is great.

But the beef isn't as tender, right,

'cause you had 24 minutes.

But I would say that that sings beef bourguignon.

- Yes. - Congrats.

Thanks.

This chef made their interpretation

of coq au vin.

They did pan-roasted chicken thighs with a carrot au jus

and herbal salad. - They used thighs.

Let's see how the flavor gets in there.

Really nicely seasoned. Stayed away from the braising.

As you know, coq au vin is usually a braised dish.

You're gonna do an interpretation,

pan frying it, that's nice crispy skin.

- Good job. - Thank you.

I would not call it if I saw it a coq au vin, but this is

a noble effort. - Aye-yi-yi.

All right, next chef-- beef Wellington.

This is a beef filet, pink peppercorn sauce,

duck fat mushrooms.

Delicious sauce. Beautifully cooked beef.

I love my beef rare. Puff pastry is nice and crispy.

Those mushrooms are delicious.

My only criticism is that I would have loved to have seen

some prosciutto hit this plate.

But that sauce is good.

Yes, good sauce.

I knew I should have put prosciutto.

Judy, the next chef, they did a chicken taco

with a mole sauce, chard pepper, scallion, and cilantro.

- Actually. - Do you like it or not?

- Do you like it? - It's good.

It's, like, it's got some nice balance to it.

Tomato flavor coming through, all the chilies, but this is

not as thick as a normal mole, but they had 24 minutes.

I strained the sauce. It was thick, and I strained it.

- Aw. - 'Cause it was bits in it.

I didn't want her to eat the bits.

If I were blindfolded, I tasted that,

I would not identify that as a mole.

It doesn't have the depth of a mole.

It doesn't have the complexity and the richness of a mole.

- But it's really yummy. - I'll take it.

So, the next chef had to make their interpretation of gumbo.

So, this is a lap cheong gumbo.

Oh, is there tofu? Ooh.

- It's actually really tasty. - Thank God.

You've got the shrimp, you've got

the sausage, the chilies. I think it's very, very unique.

But one thing you have to have in gumbo is okra.

- Really? - It does.

That's part of the thickening.

Gumbo literally translates to okra.

- In an African, that's-- - Oh, is that, like, actual translation?

that's the meaning of-- of-- of gumbo.

I had no idea that every gumbo had to have okra.

I don't wanna go home because of a lack of okra.

A little bit far-stretched to be a gumbo, but then again,

it does have flavor elements of it.

And I think it's very, very clever, very,

very smart interpretation.

The next one was their take on a lasagna.

So they made an eggplant lasagna roulade with

charred pickled tomatoes, 'nduja cream.

I think this is very original, very, very clever, and you get

a lot of flavor in there.

Love the idea of using the eggplant instead of

the layers of pasta, so you get that feeling of the layering.

And I love that addition of the charred tomatoes.

Very, very surprising, a nice little cheffy touch,

the harmonizing of all the ingredients.

This is a very nicely

balanced dish. - Yes!

OK, last but certainly not least, this chef had to make

pulled pork.

This is a Sichuan lunchroom barbecue pork sammy.

This is like a sloppy joe. It's so good.

I love sloppy joes. I want a sloppy joe.

Really tasty. I love those pickled onions.

You get that, like, barbecue feeling of it.

I wouldn't say it's a pulled pork.

You can't do a pulled pork in 24 minutes.

But this is super cute. I like it.

- Yeah. - Great job, buddy.

Cut-- cut the feed. Cut the feed.

All right, chefs. Nice to see you.

- We're cutting the feed. - Ah.

So, Judy, you've tasted all seven dishes.

And now the tough part, which chef will be

clocking out? - Oh, gosh.

- This is so hard. - I know.

Ooh, um...

Gosh.

- Chef Judy, thank you so much. - Thank you.

We're gonna ask you to head back to your green room

and we'll see you in a bit. - Thank you.

- OK, chefs, come back in. - Let's go!

All right, here we go!

- Let's go. - Let's go!

OK, chefs, that was a difficult challenge

and you all did very well.

And unfortunately, one of you will be clocking out.

So, the two chefs on the bottom are...

...Chef Lex and Chef Molly.

And the chef that will be clocking out in shift two is...

I'm incredibly sorry...

Chef Lex.

- It's OK. - Good job, Chef.

Great job, Chef.

Thank you.

Chef, if it makes you feel any better, I thought mole was

the toughest out of all the ingredients,

so good cooking. - OK.

I'm proud of my dish, so it's OK.

- You should be. - Thank you.

Being eliminated definitely sucks,

but I don't feel like I failed.

I have an amazing job to go back to.

A lot of people ask me, "Oh, you have this really

good job, girl, why are you even doing this?"

I did this for my team. So when y'all watch this,

somehow this makes it.

If y'all are watching this, I did this for you, and I hope

y'all have the courage to come out here and compete

for yourselves. It's hard, but y'all got it.

Congratulations to the six of you

for surviving this challenge.

But you're not done yet.

Let's grab all the other chefs from the break room.

You guys ready to go out?

Chefs, come on out.

- One, two, three, four, five. - Let's go.

We're all here. Let's do this.

Chefs, as you know, this shift is all about speed.

So for the last challenge of this shift, you're gonna

have to make your best fast food dish.

I love fast food.

A lot of us start in these fast food restaurants.

This is so good. I love this.

And appropriately enough, since it is fast food,

you're only going to have 15 minutes to do it.

Oh, no.

Actually, I should say most of you are gonna have 15 minutes.

Here comes the Golden Knife.

Chef Lee Anne, you have the Golden Knife.

And with that, you get two extra minutes for this round.

- Whoa! - Two? Two?

- OK. - I'll take it.

And not only that, you get to choose one chef

to take two minutes from. - Ooh.

Oh, wow.

So Lee Anne, I would recommend you take a look around the room

and decide who you wanna pull two minutes from.

I've done a lot of these competitions

and sometimes you gotta make some decisions that

you're uncomfortable making.

Go with...

I'm glad she doesn't know me very well.

There's no way in hell she's gonna pick me.

I'm looking around the arena.

It's early in the game to be making enemies, right?

And I know ultimately,

I don't want to put a target on my back

from my good friend Brian Malarkey

or Alex Stupak or Viet, right?

Uh.

So just in my line of sight,

Avishar.

You're in my eye line, so it's not personal.

God, what did I do wrong to you?

It's not personal.

He's here to compete, and so that's the game.

And Avishar, I know you can handle it.

So, Avishar, you're going to have 13 minutes.

15 minutes is challenging enough as it is.

13 is crazy.

Lee Anne is gonna have 17 minutes.

Everyone else is going to get 15 minutes.

The winner of this challenge will get the Golden Knife.

And whoever makes the worst dish will be clocking out.

We're gonna put 17 minutes on the clock.

Lee Anne, when we say "Go," you will start,

Everybody else will chill.

And then at the 15 minute mark, everyone goes except

for Avishar, who has to wait two additional minutes.

17 minutes for Lee Anne, and your time starts now.

- Go get 'em! - Yeah, Mama Wong!

In my notes, it says, KISS-- Keep it simple, stupid.

But I have two extra minutes, and so do I keep it simple?

No! Of course not!

So since I lean towards Pacific Rim, and Asian flavors.

I'm gonna go with that.

How are you feeling, Lee Anne? What are you making?

I'm gonna do a sort of a cross, like

a scallion pancake. - I smell sesame oil.

- Scallion pancake taco. - OK.

With, like, uh, basically

a Sichuan-style fried chicken.

This is risk personified.

For my chicken,

I'm going to do mala chicken, so I throw on MSG.

I grind up red Sichuan peppercorns.

That's gonna be my mala. And I do a cornstarch dredge.

My chicken goes down, and I'm thinking 17 minutes

goes by real quick.

From, like, nothing to, like, finished, it's a lot.

On top of that, I really wanna keep the Golden Knife

so I can keep the pressure on the rest of the field.

Five, four, three. Let her rip, guys.

Avishar, two minutes for you.

I am left standing alone because Lee Anne decided

to punish me for no reason.

I see the other contestants going,

and I get what is left over.

Hooray.

Oh, sorry.

Not only is it 15 minutes, the other seven folks,

they got a break.

They're coming in on fresh feet.

I haven't left the arena yet.

Coming around.

They got the advantage here.

I don't like running.

Running's overrated.

You know, they asked me before, do I own a fast food place?

I do. It's called JoDog.

Uh-huh. You like that name, don't ya?

So you know what I'm gonna do?

I'm gonna make a JoDog. I'm gonna make a JoDog.

You know what? I know you're still waiting

for me to make some sort of Italian food, but I'm not.

I'm not.

I'm gonna make kimchi hot dog.

This is what we call awesome sauce.

Awesome sauce 'cause it's awesome.

I put some gochujang in there, put a little sugar,

a little lime juice.

15 minutes is not a long time to make a sauce, so I've gotta

pack some flavor into this thing.

Please, please.

And that's awesome.

- Ready for this, Chef? - I'm ready.

OK. Let's go, Chef.

Luckily, they are there.

Let's go.

It's gonna be the fastest fast food I've ever made.

I know that I'm going to try to make an Oklahoma-style smash burger.

Very onion heavy smash burger.

And we need to make sauce.

Avishar, you started a couple minutes late.

- How are you feeling? - Yeah...

What do you got?

I see like a little smash burger, maybe?

Yeah, a little smash burger. We gotta make it good.

- All right. - Just fried onion burger.

I-- a special sauce is key.

OK.

That's hot!

Behind, Chef. Behind.

- Heard, heard, heard. - Coming down, coming down.

Grabbing pan.

I didn't do well in the last round, so I have to

ratchet up the cooking in this round.

But I do not like this challenge.

I specialize in the types of dishes that typically take

a really long time to develop flavor.

All right. Molly, what are you making?

I'm making falafel with, like, a harissa tahini

labneh sauce. - OK.

Falafel is my favorite street food in New York.

There was a falafel truck right outside of my apartment

when I lived there.

Typically, falafel requires soaking chickpeas overnight.

You really shouldn't use canned chickpeas because it will not

yield the correct texture, but I have no other choice.

OK.

What are you making, bro?

Uh, we're just doing a chicken-- chicken strips.

- OK. - With charred green onion, uh, aioli.

Like tenders?

- Like chicken tenders? - Yeah, chicken tenders, yep.

So, chicken tenders. No problem.

Because you wanna make it as simple and easy

as possible. I open the tenders.

These are scraggly little pieces of chicken.

This is horrible. It's not thigh meat, all right?

It's gonna dry out.

So I can't cook these to make them crispy golden brown,

because I'm gonna overcook this chicken.

But the thing is, there's no time to change direction,

so I batter 'em and I get 'em frying.

Oh, this sucks. This sucks.

Being a Marine, it's really pushed me

and allowed me to push myself.

Winning this competition would

mean the world to me, especially right now.

You know, I'm in the process of opening a restaurant

and have seven kids.

So winning extra money, that would definitely be

a huge help. - So what are you making?

Um, so what I'm gonna do is a chicken chorizo taquito.

Oh, a taquito.

Yeah, you know, like, that's my guilty pleasure when

I go to the gas station.

Love it. Best of luck, Chef.

So I don't personally eat fast food, but if I have to make it,

I make a killer burger.

I start right away making a sauce for my burger.

This is gonna be such a good bite.

And I realize I didn't grab ground beef.

It's lamb. And I'm like, "Oh, crap."

There's a big problem.

Uh-oh. Crap, Michael.

What about you, Michele?

Chef, I thought I had ground beef.

I did not.

It was ground lamb, 'cause I can't see.

- So I'm pivoting. - That's OK.

- Greek burger. - Good luck.

So I switched beef for lamb.

And could it all be the same? No.

You're not gonna use a bunch of ketchup, mustard, and mayo.

And we only have 15 minutes.

We're gonna change this up a little bit.

Lamb and feta, lemon.

I'm feeling in the weeds. I'm feeling uncomfortable.

And I'm starting to feel pressure.

No, don't fall apart on me.

I'm not on my game.

I'm not feeling good,

which is something that doesn't really happen often.

As an athlete, I don't eat fast food very often,

but I know that a good fish sandwich is coveted,

and so that's what I wanna do.

All right, what are you making?

I'm making a crispy halibut sandwich, like, super big

in your face fried.

- All right. - Um, yeah.

Who doesn't like a fried fish sando?

I wanted to make a big, honkin' piece of halibut,

and it needs time to cook.

And if it doesn't, I definitely will be up for elimination.

I'm making a rendition of Nashville hot sauce.

I've got a mix of ground chilies, butter,

garlic, and lots of vinegar. My spice game is strong.

- What's up, Michael? - How you feeling, Chef?

- Feeling good? - Chef, I feel great, man.

- I feel great. - What are you making?

I'm gonna make a burger with a bacon jam.

I love it. All right, good luck.

- Thank you, Chef. - I love your enthusiasm, by the way.

Thank you, Chef. Let's go.

Rock and roll. Shake and bake.

All right.

Bacon jam is a really quick way to get a lot of flavor

in this burger.

Get this going quick.

I have so much energy right now, and it's part of being

ADHD and my anxiety. Like, let's go.

Now that I'm here on "24," I had no idea it was gonna be

this crazy. Like, insane.

Ooh!

When in doubt, deep-fry it out, baby.

Christina, how are you feeling?

- I'm feeling good. - Feeling good.

What are you making?

I'm gonna do a smash burger.

I'm making a Mornay with fontina and provolone.

- I got some bacon frying up. - Oh, she's going hard, huh?

I decided to go with a Mornay sauce over just a regular slice

of melted cheese 'cause it's going to give you that,

like, gloopy, drippy deliciousness

that you want from a burger.

All right, guys. Good luck.

Thanks, Chef.

All right, let me get these burgers on.

15 minutes.

You can't even make it through the drive-thru in 15 minutes.

A lot of people are going to do burgers.

I think, what else is fast food? I think of the desserts.

What are you making, Zac?

- Fried apple pie. - Oh, all right.

You know, little five-spice, little cheese.

Like a little hand pie kind of situation?

- All right. - Little hand pie,

you know? - Love it.

When I was a kid, like, if you could get that

drive-thru hand pie, it was a very happy moment.

And my mother would never let me have it, so.

- Of course. - Take that, Mom.

After beating Shota in the last shift,

I am feeling really good.

It's fried chicken time, baby. Fried chicken time.

I have a fried chicken restaurant called Pretty Bird,

so I've fried chicken a couple times.

Chef, this is the farthest you've made in a comp--

in this competition. - Yes.

- So how are you feeling so far? - I-- I feel great.

I'm gonna do an homage to Pretty Bird.

Uh-huh.

And we're gonna fry some dark chicken thighs.

Delicious.

I'm going to make a sweet-chili, uh, glaze.

Beautiful. Have fun, Chef.

Thank you.

I don't think fast food is a lowbrow thing.

I think it belongs everywhere.

And by the way, it's fun trying to figure out how can I do it

in my own creative way. I have a Mexican restaurant.

So I am making a taco inspired by an American cheeseburger.

I'm gonna teach you the real way to make a smash burger.

- Tortilla press. - What's your plan?

- Cheeseburger tacos. - Cheeseburger tacos.

- Yeah. - OK.

Think of, like, a quesadilla with American

cheese and a cheeseburger patty in there.

OK, sounds delicious.

I'm feeling really great right now, very confident.

I know it's still early, but I won the first challenge

in shift one.

12,000 right out of the gate feels great.

I'm starting to think I could win this.

Coming up on three minutes to go, guys.

No.

As I put these taquitos in the fryer, I realized

that I don't have anything to hold them in place

while they fry.

Come on.

I find a mesh strainer to hold them in place.

If I don't hold these down, they're not gonna work at all.

So I'm gonna do what I need to do, you know, to survive.

I got the chicken tenders in the fryer

and chicken doesn't look very good.

So I just have to make the sauce so great.

Blend up all of these herbs.

I've got some garlic and citrus in there.

I'm getting it bright. I'm getting it hot.

I'm just getting it right.

Is it gonna be good enough today?

I have no idea.

Behind you, camera.

Please be OK. Please be OK.

Ooh!

This falafel is not turning out

with the texture that it should.

I am so hoping that my flavors are enough to compensate.

You guys, two minutes left!

I am working as quickly as possible to get

my dish done.

I pull my chicken pieces out of the fryer.

It looks good.

And then I get the dough for my scallion pancake going.

It's not rolling out as thin as I want.

I probably needed another two minutes to knead the dough,

but I don't have two minutes.

Start frying my pancakes.

It's a little dense.

This might be a problem.

If you haven't started plating, you should probably

start thinking about it.

I fry the scallion pancakes.

It's like a brick of fried dough.

Let's go, chefs!

I get the taquitos on a plate.

It's not the exact reflection of what I was going for.

- Plate. - Time, please.

Thirty seconds, Chef.

I'm looking at my sandwich, and it might be

a little too big.

And I'm just hoping it's cooked all the way through.

- Ten. - Nine, eight,

seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.

- Hands up. - Hands up, chefs.

Ooh!

All right, guys, you know the deal.

Write your menu description, bring your dish up.

Chef, once you've dropped your dishes, head to the break room.

Oh, gosh. I am so nervous inside.

- Ooh. - And out of the 13 chefs,

one is going home.

So I'm, like, surveying the room.

I was like, "I hope somebody made some really crappy food,

'cause I'm not really proud of mine."

- How do you guys think you did? - Hopefully, I'm not gonna go home.

Oh, she's back.

Wow.

- We have 13 chefs left. - Oh, my God.

And their challenge was to make a fast food dish.

And they basically had between 13 and 17 minutes,

depending on which chef it was.

You have to pick the losing dish, and that chef

will be clocking out.

Here is your first one-- spicy kimchi hot dog.

It's a Wagyu beef dog, kimchi relish,

and awesome sauce. - OK.

Mm-hmm.

Mm.

- That's awesome. - Yeah, Chef!

Awesome sauce is awesome.

I like the freshness of the herbs on top.

You got the punch of the kimchi.

I would say I think it could have used, like, a little bit

of just, like, crunch to it. - I was gonna do that.

Why didn't you do that? What's wrong with you?

- Easy, girl. - All right.

This one is a Midwest, OKC-inspired smash burger

with special sauce.

- Mm. - That's a good bite.

I love that one. The burger's nicely cooked.

The sauce is great.

You got all the elements that you want in a really

good burger.

- Who is it? - Nice job, babe.

- Applause for that one. - I knew you could do it.

Thank you, Chef, yes. Appreciate the, uh, the praises.

The next dish is a cheeseburger taco.

Hmm.

Oh, it's really tasty.

It has that, like, typical taco seasoning mixed in it.

I would say, if anything, I would like maybe,

like, a little bit more lettuce.

You needed something a bit crunchier.

But, um, I mean, I would eat it.

Our next dish, falafel pita with harissa tahini

and pickled onions.

Hmm.

It's just a little bit undercooked.

I like the sauce. I like the freshness.

I like the pickles in there.

It's just a little bit undercooked.

Yeah.

- OK. - OK.

The next dish is a scallion pancake, pickled onions,

mala chicken, and cucumber salad.

Ooh. Mala chicken.

Ooh.

This is nice, although it's totally

falling apart. - Do you want a fork and knife?

Yeah.

Ah, [bleep].

It's tasty, but the scallion pancake was just cooked

a little bit too much. Yeah.

I'm praying for somebody else's food to be worse

than mine.

All right, next, we have a triple H,

Houston hot halibut,

red cabbage slaw. - Please be cooked.

Ah.

That fish is cooked perfectly.

- Oh. - Perfect like you, Chef.

- Thank you. - I love that slaw.

This-- this hot sauce is nice too.

- Mm, really good. - Nice job, Chef.

Ooh.

All right. Next, we have a lamb burger

with fresh herbs, tzatziki, and heirloom tomato.

And I love a lamb burger.

Uh, I'm nervous.

She's excited? Good.

Hmm.

The flavor's good. I got the nice dill.

It's a little bit dry.

Next.

Again, things are going south for me, and I am very nervous.

I do not wanna go home. It is not time.

This is a fried apple pie.

Spiced apples, cheddar,

whipped crème fraîche. - I love the idea.

Very original.

That's good.

The apples still have a little bit of bite to it.

It's a good amount of sweetness,

but the-- the dough is a little bit undercooked,

but really tasty. It just makes me smile.

Nice job.

She's like licking her fingers and everything,

and I'm thinking my dish is like a brick of fried dough.

I am very concerned.

Next dish is a chicken chorizo taquito,

uh, with pico, cotija, and grilled jalapeno.

Let's see.

The chicken's just

a little bit overdone.

You know, I just wish that there was this--

this was just a bit saucier.

The whole thing's just a little bit dry.

Pico needed more time to kinda macerate,

to just sit in the juices,

but it's tasty.

All right, so we have a classic cheeseburger

with pickles, cheddar cheese, bacon jam, crispy onions.

Come on. Come on.

- This chef understands texture. - Whoo!

That's right. I understood the assignment.

I love those crispy onions in there.

I love that crispy bacon. I love the juiciness of it.

Good choice of this, like, fat tomato in there.

I love how you celebrate you.

Whoo!

Next, we have hot chicken nugs with toasted garlic

and pickled chili cilantro.

I love how cute this looks.

I like the presentation.

So hot chicken nuggies.

Come on, Pretty Bird.

Crispy, hot, tangy, sour, sweet.

Just not quite, uh, enough batter on it, but it's good.

All right, fried chicken with basil aioli.

Let's try.

Chicken's juicy.

The chicken looks a little bit blonde.

Yeah, not that crispy.

Just needed a little bit longer in the fryer.

Yeah, I know, Judy.

I should have fried it longer, but the chicken was this big,

and it was gonna be like sawdust if I fried it

any longer.

That mint aioli's good.

This sauce saves it.

- Oof. - Yes!

- That's good. - All right, next.

All right, last but certainly not least, we have

a smash burger with Mornay sauce and bacon.

Mm.

Nice flavor. This is nicely seasoned.

If anything, I mean, I would say, again, just I think it

could have used, like, a little bit of just,

like, crunch to it. But it doesn't disappoint.

I have no complaints about that.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- I like you, girl. - So now the tough part.

Mm-hmm.

You have to pick the losing dish.

Gosh, it's really close.

All right, chefs, we're cutting the feed.

Oh!

- OK, bye. - Come on!

All right, Judy, do you have your decision?

- I do. - All right, let me hear it.

All right, let's bring the chefs back in.

Let's do it.

- Some familiar faces? - Yes.

I am so impressed, that it's amazing what you all

were able to do in such a short period of time.

But she was very quick to decide on which one

was her favorite.

So the Golden Knife goes to...

Dawn.

Me?

- Good job, girl. - Thank you, Chef.

- Great job. - Thank you.

I got the Golden Knife with a big-ass fish sandwich.

And now for the not-so-fun part, the bottom three.

And those dishes were cooked by Michele,

Trimell,

and Lee Anne.

I don't wanna go home.

I definitely don't wanna go home

in shift two.

The chef that needs to clock out

of shift two...

...is Trimell.

- Thank you, Chef. - Sorry, Chef.

- Great job. - Thank you.

Great jo-- I'm so sorry.

You did an amazing job, buddy.

Thank you.

It's always disappointing not being able to accomplish

what you set out to accomplish, but I'm proud to be here, um,

but I would've-- I'd be more proud to have gone further.

Thank you so much, Judy.

- Thank you for having me. - Thank you, Chef.

Thank you. Good luck, everyone.

Thank you.

So, congratulations, everybody.

You are the final 12. Half of the chefs are gone.

And you have 11 chefs standing between you and $100,000.

And your next shift starts

right now.

Next time on "24 in 24."

It's gonna get gnarlier and gnarlier.

This is really pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Ah!

Our final 12 face a test in resourcefulness...

Just the way I like to start a party.

- Whoo! - Sexy.

...that'll send three chefs home.

We're not gonna be able to judge this dish.

- So, she's out? - She's out.