Original subtitles

Ted: Open your baskets.

Chris: I'm pretty scared.

May: There's just like butterfly in my stomach.

Gonna be using every second possible.

Is somebody building a house?

[ groans ]

-oh, my god. -Finishing touches, guys.

-He'll be careful. -Oh, boy.

♪♪

pickup porterhouse medium rare, small fillet medium.

My name's chris day.

I'm the executive sous-chef at mooo... Restaurant

in boston, massachusetts.

Everything's bigger, better, beefier,

and we probably cook at least 1,000 steaks a week.

♪♪

I think my creativity is my secret weapon.

Having a daughter brings that out even more.

Every day, I have to make something from nothing.

And when you're on "chopped," that's kind of the same thing.

The stakes are high and there's no way

I'm going home with anything but a win.

♪♪

my name is patrick mckee, I'm the executive chef

at perlot in portland, oregon.

Faster. [ laughs ]

my style is new italian american.

You know, a lot of fresh pastas, sauces.

It's an homage to the cooking that I grew up with my mom

in our italian family.

Everybody needs to watch out,

I'm gonna be quite, I'm gonna work fast,

and it think that that's gonna give me that edge.

I'm there to win.

My name is phillip esteban,

I'm the research and development chef for consortium holdings.

Overseeing nine different restaurants,

I have a vast knowledge in a wide range of business.

Good.

Philip: Everything from spanish, american cuisine,

japanese to korean,

to filipino.

I'm a father of two young boys. No!

Winning for my kids is everything.

I always show them that

they could accomplish anything in life.

I will take home the win.

♪♪

kevin, pick up duck salad. Matt, pick up soup.

My name is may siricharoen

and I'm executive sous-chef

at beauty & essex restaurant in los angeles.

I was born and raised in thailand.

Is the rice cake ready, kevin?

My style of cooking is comfort food with my asian roots.

I use a lot of spicy flavor.

I moved here six years ago

'cause I wanted to come to a cooking school.

I think it's the best decision I made.

Cooking is my life and I think I'm gonna win.

You watch me.

Welcome, chefs.

-Hi, ted. -Hello.

There are three rounds --

mandatory mystery ingredients for every course.

If your dish doesn't cut it, you will be chopped.

-Not me. -Ain't nobody, not today.

Okay, good to know. First baskets, packed with care.

♪♪

let's see what's in them.

-What? -[ snickers ]

ooh.

And wrap your minds around this combination --

sea beans... Psh, alright.

I'm very familiar with sea beans.

They grow wild in san diego,

I know exactly where to go with it.

Oh, god. What is this?

...Dehydrated carrot sticks...

What is this? ...And egg coffee...

I don't know, not sure about that one.

...And a beef heart.

Heart?

Beef heart, oh, my god -- never cooked with it before.

There's butterfly in my stomach.

The ridiculously fast 20-minute appetizer round...

Starts now.

Behind.

♪♪

ooh.

Geoffrey, scott, you are joined by

a special guest judge,

all the way from southern california,

acclaimed chef and restaurateur, ray garcia, welcome.

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

-Nice. -Are you looking forward

to tasting the results of this first basket?

I'm excited to see what comes up.

Once the chefs get over having seen a gigantic beef heart,

four times the size of a human heart,

then they have to deal with this unusual ingredient,

at least to an american palate -- egg coffee?

What are we talking about here? Oh, it's [bleep] terrible.

Scott: It's coffee with an egg and a little condensed milk,

so it's super sweet.

It has a great texture and consistency.

It's actually a vietnamese coffee drink.

I think this could be a great base for an aioli.

I mean, if you just use that egg,

kind of incorporate maybe some chili,

some spice, a little bit of acid.

Philip: The egg coffee is very sweet,

so I know that the sugar's gonna need to get cut with vinegar.

I'm gonna make a seared beef heart salad

and an egg coffee aioli

that I will use as a dressing for that salad.

Growing up, my mom had made for us beef tongue,

and I have worked with beef heart in the past,

so I know it's gonna be really lean

and it's gonna be really tough, so I'm gonna pound it out

and tenderize it.

So, the beef heart has this really distinct flavor.

It's not gamey so much as it is pretty beefy

because it is a muscle that's constantly working.

Geoffrey: But it doesn't have a lot of fat,

and it's got to be cooked just rare, medium rare,

so it's a quick cook.

Philip: My kids love japanese food

and absolutely love to eat yakitori beef heart.

--Everybody alright down there? -We're hanging, how about you?

-That's good. -Good.

Philip: I'm making a yakitori beef heart

with a sea bean chimichurri and a carrot and coffee foam.

Yakitori literally translates into skewered meat,

so I slice it thin.

These dehydrated carrots taste super, super sweet,

so I decide to combine the egg coffee and carrots,

to make a foam. Coming down, behind.

Throughout my career,

I've worked at big-name restaurants with michelin chefs

to now the biggest restaurant group in san diego.

The next transition is to open up my own restaurant.

If I won the $10,000,

it's gonna go right into that restaurant.

How you living over there?

Pretty good.

This is the first time I'm cooking with beef heart,

but my roots is in thai cuisine,

so I'm making "my heart drops" in a waterfall salad.

May: Oh, boy.

So, traditionally, a waterfall salad

is a grilled piece of beef.

We slice it thinly and then we toss it with an asian marinade.

Egg coffee is really sweet,

so I want to substitute that for my sugar.

I want to win because I want to make my family proud,

especially my dad.

My dad wasn't really supporting me

when I came here to the states and decided to become a chef,

so winning would prove I made the right decision.

Chris: This is the first time I've ever seen a beef heart

and it is ginormous.

Chris: Any words of encouragement on this guy?

Pound it out, baby.

But because it's an organ and it's lean,

I can assume that it cooks quickly

and I'm thinking salad is the perfect appetizer

because it's going to fill you up just enough.

I'm making a pan-seared beef heart salad

with egg coffee vinaigrette.

To make my vinaigrette, I mix together

a little dijon mustard, honey,

and then I whisk in the egg coffee.

Before I was in culinary school,

I didn't always make the right choices.

I was homeless, and it's scary

when you don't know where your next meal's gonna come.

I don't ever want to go back there.

One of the driving factors that motivates me is my daughter,

sophia. She's 7.

All of this is for her.

10 minutes left in this round.

You know, those sea beans have a really nice salt content.

I mean, they just pop when you take a bite out of them.

I almost like them raw. I disagree a little bit

because I like to give them a big blanch.

Because for me, it seems like a little heat

kind of brings that ingredient to life.

Patrick: I really want to showcase the sea bean in something

other than being raw.

So I'm gonna blanch them with lemon

to make the quick lemon preserve.

I want to win "chopped" for my family and the tradition

that was started by my mom.

Being able to come on "chopped" and kind of showcase

my mom's food, it's, you know, priceless for me.

-[ indistinct ] -go ahead.

Philip: I'm gonna make chimichurri out of these sea beans

because I wanted to add acidity to the dish,

and so I combine shallots,

red chili flakes, sea beans.

♪♪

scott: Smells good in here.

Geoffrey: I think may is doing some sriracha, chili, garlic,

onions, scallion, like a grind --

just a light marinade.

It could still have some pretty big flavors.

It looks like I see some fish sauce over there,

so I think it's really gonna accentuate

that natural beauty of the heart.

Chefs, 5 minutes to get it done.

Chris: I feel like dehydrated carrot sticks

would make a great crouton in this salad.

So I'm toasting them,

folding that into my salad of mixed greens,

radicchio, and the sea beans.

My biggest fear is the beef hearts

because I've never worked with it,

and I'm super worried that I'm not gonna cook them well.

[ exhales deeply ]

you okay, buddy? Yeah.

Sometimes [bleep] works, sometimes it doesn't.

Scott: A little bit of concerned whether or not

that's actually gonna cook all the way through

because they're really big pieces.

He'll be careful.

Chris: I'm feeling the pit in my stomach.

Time has definitely started to disappear,

and I'm pretty thrown off.

♪♪

coming down.

My biggest fear is these beef hearts,

and I'm super worried that I'm not gonna cook them well.

Scott: So, chris took two large slabs of the heart,

he seared them off, and then they're in the oven,

so there's a little bit of concern whether or not

that's actually gonna cook all the way through

because they're really big pieces.

-Oh, wow. -I just start to pray

that they will be cooked correctly.

I really have to pick up the pace

and just move like greased lightning.

Ted: Here is your 2-minute warning, chefs.

Patrick: I want to make sure the beef hearts

got a nice sear on the outside

and then I just pull it off and let it rest.

And then I taste the dehydrated carrot sticks,

and they're very crunchy, so I'm thinking I'm gonna use it

as a play on a crouton.

I see bags and bags of dehydrated carrots.

I hope they just don't crunch those.

Going like this with the carrots

it isn't gonna cut it. You could easily grind them up

and make a carrot salt, right? -Absolutely.

Philip: Once my carrot and coffee sauce is reduced,

I blend it and add lecithin to thicken it up,

and then I place the beef hearts down,

spoon the sea bean chimichurri on top.

And then I know that the richness of the dish,

that I needed to add some acidity,

so I grab a lemon.

Time is winding down, and I'm feeling very confident.

I don't think my mom ever had beef heart.

My mama made beef tongue a lot. Go figure.

I toss iceberg lettuce with the raw sea bean,

and then I add the dehydrated carrot

to give another texture to the dish

and then mix it with the dressing.

♪♪

ted: 1 minute to go, folks.

Ray: Somebody's burning sugar. Can smell, like,

the caramelization has gone almost too far.

Something's overdone.

May: I turn back to my beef

and I think it's a little bit overcooked,

but I'm running out of time,

so I decide I have to go for it, and I have to plate it.

Check your plates and keep up with the clock, chefs.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Time's up.

[ applause ]

that was interesting.

Oh, boy.

It got a little messy.

Chris: I think this dish has interesting flavors,

but I'm just praying that the beef was cooked correctly.

Patrick: I feel a lot of satisfaction with what I did,

but seeing phillip's dish,

I feel like, right of the gate, it's gonna be a battle today.

♪♪

ted: Chefs, you have arrived at the chopping block.

It's time for us to see how well you did

with that first basket of beef heart,

sea beans, dehydrated carrot sticks,

and egg coffee.

Chef chris, what do we have?

For you today, guys, I've made a pan-seared slice beef heart

and my version of a panzanella salad

with some egg coffee vinaigrette.

♪♪

you worked with heart before in the past?

First time. You did a great job.

You mastered the cooking on it.

I think that this dish was very well executed

in the sense that you butchered the heart nicely,

which is a feat in its own.

The heart is cooked beautifully. Thank you.

Like, really, really nicely, nicely sliced.

Presentation is nice.

But I'm gonna be a little hard on you.

Creativity is part of the process here,

and it seems a little simple.

Yeah, I would expect you to interpret a panzanella

in a different way that has some nuance to it.

This is pretty much the carrot,

and it's good, but it's not a wow.

Mm-hmm.

So if you win 10,000 bucks, chef,

what's it gonna be?

You know, everybody has dreams of things

that they'd love to do with all this money,

but the money would go to help my daughter.

[ inhales deeply ]

she was born with a heart condition

and they weren't sure if she was gonna make it.

She's totally fine now.

And I've lived a hard life.

I was homeless for a period of time in my early 20s,

and I don't want her to have that,

so $10,000 would just mean

that she doesn't have to struggle the way I did.

It's all for her.

Beautiful. God bless.

You got a couple of dads here. I don't know about you, ray.

Yeah, I got a 5-year-old son. Three parents here.

I feel it. I know what you mean.

Nothing matters more.

No. Alright.

Thank you for sharing that, chef.

Next we go to chef may.

I make "my heart drops" in a waterfall salad.

So, it's a take of a thai salad,

and make a quick vinaigrette thai-style

with some spiciness

and then some egg-like coffee latte

in the dressing.

My first time cooking with the beef heart.

What a perfect place to do that. -Right.

[ laughter ]

that's why I call it "my heart drops."

I was really excited 'cause I could smell

when you were cooking the fish sauce,

and I like the way it caramelized

on the heart itself. Yes, chef.

Geoffrey: It's a beautiful dish.

The actual flavors are really delicious.

I think that it's very well seasoned.

I think the heart, there's some tasty piece there,

but a bunch of it is overcooked, and it gets tough.

The beef heart is severely overcooked.

You could've just kissed it in the pan

to be a little bit more rare.

But you have some very big flavors here.

Good job. -Chef may, thank you.

Next up, chef phillip.

I love eating beef heart yakitori-style,

so I sliced it super thin

and then made a sea bean chimichurri

and a carrot and coffee foam.

Do you cook with heart often?

Every now and then, not like on a regular.

Well, this dish tastes like you're very familiar with it,

and I think it was a creative use of the sea beans

to have it mix into a chimichurri.

Overall, I think a delicious dish.

Chef, this dish has melted my cold, cold heart.

It's very good. Thank you, chef.

The only thing I don't really taste is the egg coffee.

I agree, but it's a really beautiful, striking dish,

and the heart is cooked beautifully.

Ted: Chef phillip, thank you. Finally, chef patrick.

It's a seared beef heart and arugula salad

with the carrots and sea beans.

How'd you make your aioli?

I used a little bit of the coffee

and then I added a couple of egg yolks

and then oil and some sherry vinegar

and then finished up with a little bit of lemon.

One of the big wins here was neutralizing that egg coffee.

I think the challenge was to get something

that had that much sugar

and to make it a standout in the dish.

The other thing is the lemon zest.

It's like a quick preserve lemon in here --

made all the difference in the world.

Good start. Thank you.

The creaminess of that aioli

and the beef heart really works together.

It's almost like a béarnaise sauce. Yeah.

The carrot -- I wish you did something with the carrots.

I mean, this is practically just right out of the bag.

You need to take those ingredients

and create something a little bit more inspired.

So I think that's the invitation.

Okay. Chef patrick, thank you. Thank you.

Now, it's decision time. Thank you, chefs.

♪♪

-what was the hardest part? -Oh, my god, I think the heart.

It's my first time cooking with it.

And we could've clearly done more with the carrots. I know!

-I feel nervous. -Yeah.

-Yeah. -I think we all do.

-Good luck, everybody. -Good luck.

-Alright, team. -High five.

♪♪

chris: I think I played it a little too safe,

but the other person on the chopping block

has to be may.

You got to butcher that beef and cook it

the way it needs to be cooked.

May: I am hoping, you know,

that my flavor would overcome

that texture of the beef heart.

♪♪

♪♪

whose dish is on the chopping block?

♪♪

chef may, you've been chopped.

Judges? -Chef may, although you had

a really great vinaigrette,

your beef heart was over done and tough.

So, we had to chop you. Thank you, chef.

♪♪

may: A little disappointed about myself,

but the experience has been very meaningful to me.

I think my dad's still proud of me.

Chef chris, chef patrick, chef phillip,

let's focus on this new set of ingredients.

♪♪

open your baskets.

-Ah. -Yeah. -Nice.

And the key components for your main courses --

lo mein cupcakes... -Chinese food in a basket,

I have no idea what I'm gonna do with a cupcake.

...Monkfish tails... Damn.

...Squash blossoms. Oh, boy.

...And cowboy candy?

They're jalapeños.

Philip: I'm anxious. I feel this basket

is gonna be very challenging.

You get 10 more minutes this time for a total of 30.

Round starts now.

Behind. Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry.

♪♪

ted: Judges, lo mein cupcakes?

Could someone explain s'il vous plaît?

Geoffrey: It's just basically a vanilla cupcake

decorated to look like lo mein with vanilla frosting on top.

So, just to be clear, no noodles were harmed

in the making of these cupcakes? Scott: [ laughs ] no.

But I think this is a great basket, and this cowboy candy,

which is basically pickled jalapeños --

I mean, it's very sweet, but then it sneaks up on you.

It's like, there's real heat.

Patrick: Cowboy candy, that's basically pickled jalapeño

that's set in a simple syrup.

So I'm thinking, I want to go in the direction of a green sauce,

and I'm gonna use this for a little bit of heat,

so I'm gonna make a chimichurri.

I'm going to make a spiced pan-roasted monkfish

with a cowboy candy chimichurri.

So the squash blossoms, they're a flavor that grow

on the end of a zucchini.

My mom used to stuff them...

Lo mein cupcakes? Yeah, right?

...But I'm also gonna mix with some of the cupcake,

some basil,

and some lemon zest, as well.

I came here to represent my family,

so it's gonna be just head down

and focusing on being as creative as I can be.

♪♪

so, the monkfish, it's actually a pretty ugly fish.

If you ever seen it, it just has this giant head,

and then the rest of the meat comes in the tail.

It kind of looks like you put a bulldog's head

on a fish's body, it ain't cute.

Geoffrey: I love monkfish, but I've got to be careful

'cause there's not a lot of fat in it.

So I would prep it with almost a butter bath going on.

Philip: Monkfish is a light, flaky fish.

My plan is to pan-sear it

and finish it by basting in butter.

I have never seen cowboy candy in my life.

Damn, those things are hella sweet.

Dude, I know.

It has a little back heat to it,

so I plan to do a play on the jalapeño popper.

I'm making pan-seared monkfish with cowboy candy,

cupcake, stuff squash blossom

and a cowboy candy reduction.

To make the filling for my squash blossoms,

I add the cupcake, goat cheese,

and the cowboy candy,

and I mix that up with a little salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Coming down behind.

Chris: So, for the monkfish,

I just want to baste it with some butter

and finish it in the oven.

These lo mein cupcakes, they just look so fake.

So my plan is to get rid of the frosting

and just use the cake part, to make a streusel topping.

So I'm making an oven-roasted monkfish

with a walnut and lo mein cupcake streusel

and a lentil and cannellini bean succotash.

-Right past. -Ooh.

15 minutes to go, chefs.

Patrick: Monkfish is a very steaky fish,

so I'm thinking something with brussels sprouts,

something with pancetta...

Is gonna go well with the fish.

See bay leaves in there? No, I didn't.

Meeting these chefs, immediately,

there was a very big sense of camaraderie.

Everybody's very amiable, but at the same time,

everybody wants to win.

Philip: So I start pan-searing the monkfish,

and then to tie the dish together,

I'm gonna make a sauce,

so I'm adding golden raisins, white wine,

and the juice of the cowboy candy,

and I'm gonna add to it pancetta and shallots.

These other chefs should look out,

because as a research and development chef,

I'm an expert in a lot of different cuisine --

I can say a jack of all trades, for sure.

Chefs, less than 10 minutes to go here.

Chris: Check on my monkfish quickly, it has a nice sear

and I'm gonna slide it in the oven

and then taking my walnut and cupcake streusel out.

It's looking great -- nice and toasty.

Winning this competition,

I think would just mean everything to me.

I don't ever want to go back there and be homeless.

I need to push my self as hard as I can.

My daughter, sophia, would be so proud to see me win.

Patrick: So, looking up and there's 7 minutes left, and I'm a little bit worried

that I should've started this monkfish a little bit sooner.

So what I need to do is get it in the pan

and then I don't want these squash blossoms

to be over breaded,

so my game plan is a little bit of flour,

a little bit of fry.

♪♪

scott: Patrick stuffed them,

but he didn't put batter on the exterior.

He didn't bread it enough, I mean, they're not even sealed.

You can see the filling kind of falling out.

Ted: Here we go, chefs, 5 minutes.

Philip: I want to deep fry my squash blossoms,

but I see that patrick is in the deep fryer.

So I adjust on the fly and decide to pan sear it.

Chefs, just under 2 minutes here.

So, I'm looking at chris and he's barely touching

his squash blossoms.

Chris: For whatever reason, in this round,

the clock seems to be ticking faster.

But I really know how to think on my feet,

so I'm gonna make a zucchini blossom herb sauce.

I'm taking some scallions,

tarragon, mint...

And the squash blossoms,

and I'm going to add some cowboy candy in there, as well,

to give some heat.

♪♪

1 minute to go, folks.

Patrick: I'm slicing into the monkfish,

I realize that they're still a little bit underdone,

so I'm gonna need to cook them a little bit more,

so I'm gonna be using

every second possible.

Philip: Time is winding down, so I start plating the monkfish.

I add the squash blossom,

spoon the sauce,

and I want to finish the dish with some sesame oil.

Is that sesame oil? Oh, why?

Ted: And chris, suddenly really up against it here.

In the rush to plate, I still have to grind up my streusel.

Come on, it's got to be on a plate. Ted: 30 seconds.

Finishing touches, guys. If it's not on a plate, you're out.

-Slop it on a plate. -[ groans ]

chris: I really got to pick up the pace and haul ass.

So I reach into the bowl of the food processor.

Oh, my god.

Ted: No time to waste here, chefs, hurry it up.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Time's up. Please step back.

[ exhaling sharply ] ugh.

Chris: So all of a sudden, I'm realizing

that I must've cut myself.

-Oh, god. -Did he really?

-Yeah. -Go to the medic.

Chris: I'm definitely bleeding, and I'm just praying

and hoping that there isn't any blood in my food.

Patrick: I look over and chris is getting medical attention,

and I hope that his dishes are okay.

♪♪

♪♪

chefs, the goal was to make magnificent main dishes

with lo mein cupcakes,

monkfish tails,

squash blossoms,

and cowboy candy.

Chef patrick, what do we have?

It's a spiced pan-roasted monkfish

with lo mein cupcake and ricotta-stuffed squash blossom

and a cowboy candy chimichurri.

I like the punch from the chimichurri.

I like the garlic that's incorporated in there.

I think the bacon was a smart idea,

'cause it adds some fat and a smoked element

that I think really pairs well with the monkfish.

There's a lot of technique here. The seasonings are spot on.

Thank you. That being, the monkfish,

I love the cut of it, and it's very well seasoned,

it's just that it's not cooked.

And the idea of stuffing a squash blossom

is an excellent idea,

but when you go to fry it, it has to have a proper crust,

because if there's not a crust there to grab onto the fat,

it'll explode.

It's like taking a shot of fryolator oil.

But otherwise, I love the flavors

that you have on the plate,

I think it's a beautiful presentation.

Chef, why would it mean something for you to win here?

My family is absolutely everything to me.

I had three kids. I had a 19-year-old,

I had a 14-year-old son, and a 2-year-old.

And my 14-year-old son passed about a month ago.

He had a heart attack, actually.

He was born with several heart problems, as well,

so I'm kind of in chris's mode here.

But, for me -- -sorry for your loss.

Thank you.

He loved to come and cook with me,

and for me to be here today,

I know that he would want me to continue cooking,

to put everything out on the line,

cook with my heart like I did with him,

and that's why I'm here today.

-Sorry for your loss, chef. -Thank you.

-Yeah. -Thank you.

Next up, chef phillip.

I made a pan-seared monkfish with squash blossoms

and stuffed with goat cheese,

cowboy candy, cupcake,

and pan sauce.

Listen, a beautiful, beautiful presentation.

I loved the zucchini blossom,

nice cook on the monkfish,

but you didn't take this exterior skin off,

which makes it a little difficult to eat.

Yeah, I had the same problem with the skin on the outside.

So the edges here, you couldn't cut through

and when you ate them, you had to remove the silver skin.

I like the bacon,

winey reduction sauce that you did,

but I think you ruined it with the sesame oil.

It was like, what happened?

And it was like, we have chefs we say at the last minute,

"three, two, one, don't go get the truffle oil."

[ whispering ] is that sesame oil? [ whispering ] yeah.

Oh, my god. -Mm-hmm. That was that moment.

We have a new one now, "don't go get the sesame oil." yeah.

But the best thing about this is how you incorporated

the cowboy candy.

The pickled jalapeño and the goat cheese is just fantastic.

Ray: Yeah, I agree with geoffrey.

I think conceptually, it's very well-balanced, it's beautiful,

I think you just tripped up on a few simple things.

Okay, thank you, chef phillip. Next up, chef chris.

Gentlemen, in front of you, you have oven-roasted monkfish

with a cannellini bean succotash,

walnut and cupcake streusel,

and a zucchini blossom herb sauce.

Okay, I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

In the rush to get this plated,

I'm afraid you cut your finger.

It's just too risky to taste it.

-Yeah. -I'm sorry I can't taste it,

but I think you're composition is really smart.

And to make a succotash is a very clever thing to do.

Thank you, chef.

I like the approach that you took of sort of

developing the flavor from the bottom up,

of not just leaving it to the monkfish to be the star

and carry the weight of the dish. Yeah.

I do think your presentation's a little wonky.

But all in all, looks like you have a great effort here.

Thank you, chef. Thank you.

Okay, thank you, chefs.

I feel terrible that they couldn't even taste my food.

It's breaking my heart a little bit,

but maybe there's a small, small glimmer of hope

because I think they can see how hard I went for it.

♪♪

♪♪

so, whose dish is on the chopping block?

♪♪

chef chris, you've been chopped. Judges?

Chris, unfortunately, as much as we wanted to,

we couldn't taste your dish.

And so, we had to chop you.

Thank you.

You did good, man. Thanks.

Chris: It's tough to hear that news, but I think the biggest thing

that I could share with my daughter

is just, "don't look at this as though I didn't win.

Look at this as, no matter what happens,

you just have to keep going.

Chef patrick, chef phillip,

these baskets just might change the way things go for you.

♪♪

open them up.

-Wow. -Alright.

Ted: And in half an hour, the judges will be savoring

desserts made from guava...

Philip: I'm really excited, because I grew up eating guava.

It's actually creating a lot of nostalgia for me.

-...Kefir... -Nice.

-Whoa. ...Honeycomb...

...And pickled pig lips.

[ laughter ]

num, num, num, num, num, num, num.

What the [bleep]?

I love pork, but come on.

Ted: Last half hour. Clock starts now.

♪♪

so, judges, the pickled pigs lips back in the baskets.

This is a louisiana bar snack,

and it's in my top five favorite

appalling and terrifying ingredients.

Says the guy who doesn't actually have to eat this stuff,

right? Yeah, exactly.

Pickled pig lips.

They're gonna do the trick, though.

Geoffrey: The thing they could use

is maybe take just liquid out of that jar.

So that could be a foundation of a pickling liquid

for the guava in particular.

-Right, nice. -What about the honeycomb?

Honeycomb with a pickle. That's right.

So, pickled pigs lips are... [ chuckles ]

it's an odd-tasting pork product

that's submerged in a very vinegary and spicy pickle brine.

So my first thought is to render down the honeycomb,

add raspberries to it,

and the guava,

and use the pickling liquid

to make a great sauce to put on the plate.

I really love, like, warm, fried desserts,

so my plan is to make ricotta doughnut holes

with a raspberry-pickled pigs lips dipping sauce.

I feel that chef phillip and I are definitely evenly matched

and just as passionate about becoming the "chopped" champion.

That's why I want to make sure to hit the nail on the head

with these ricotta doughnuts.

Do you like guava? I love guava.

Tell us about guava. I'm a big fan of the guava.

Can you describe the flavor?

It's very floral.

I mean, it's a cross between,

like, a pear and an orange. It's weird.

Ray: I think the best thing about the guavas, though,

is the aroma, the fragrance, you know,

that's like a fresh perfume.

Philip: I'm gonna use this guava to make a jam

with fresh strawberries,

because it's gonna add some sweetness to the dish.

I've never worked with pickled pig lips ever,

but I take the liquid and add it to the jam with the guava.

And I'm gonna make s'mores because I take my kids camping,

and we make s'mores every time, and they love it.

I'm doing a play on a s'more with smoked meringue,

a honey and chocolate pudding,

and a pickled strawberry guava jam.

Now that the dessert round, the pressure's big,

but I'm just truly trying to calm the nerves

and push through it to get to the end.

Chefs, you've got 15 minutes left.

Patrick: I'm very familiar with kefir.

It's something that I give my 2-year-old.

So, in seeing the progression

of my guava honeycomb pickling liquid sauce,

I'm gonna add the kefir and a little bit of vinegar

for a nice bright flavor blast.

And this doughnut batter, it's a little bit dry,

so I need to add a little more liquid to thin it out.

You know, I'm really excited that patrick is making

a real doughnut dough. You can see it's taking time,

he's working it, he has the milk there.

Scott: But the one thing about a doughnut

that you want is not to overwork the dough.

The more you work those glutens, obviously,

the tougher it becomes.

You know what's overworked? You three.

[ laughter ]

ohhh! Coming from you, I appreciate that.

I don't even have to share, dude.

Philip: Kefir's a fermented milk drink

that's tart and creamy,

so I want to add it to the chocolate pudding.

I take egg yolks and I start to whip those

with the kefir.

I want to win today for my family, first and foremost,

but it's important for me to have my own restaurant,

so that I can actually express me as a chef

and the food that I want to do.

And so $10,000 will really help get things started.

♪♪

5 minutes to go, chefs.

Patrick: I start to fry the doughnut holes

and they're getting a good color.

It would be meaningful to win today,

in honor of, you know, my son, who I lost.

He was so excited for me to be here today...

[ sighs ]

...[voice breaking] that I knew --

I knew I had to come.

Philip: I pour honey and chocolate pudding into a half-sheet tray

and into the blast chiller.

Okay, chefs, 2 minutes to finish.

Patrick: We're coming down to the wire,

and I want to give five doughnuts per plate.

And as I'm plating,

I realize that I didn't count correctly,

and I didn't cook enough doughnuts.

A minute and a half left, and patrick is back into the fryer.

He clearly didn't count.

If these doughnuts aren't perfect, I'm out.

♪♪

right behind.

Patrick: We're coming down the the wire,

and I've got four doughnuts to make.

I'm gonna be using every second possible

to make this happen.

♪♪

and chefs, 1 minute to go.

Let's go, guys, get it done, make it pretty.

I want to give the meringue a flavor of charred marshmallow,

so I torch it.

Patrick is cutting it close, frying his doughnuts,

and I feel like I got this round in the bag.

-30 seconds. -No sesame oil!

No white truffle oil! [ chuckles ]

-let's go, phillip. -I almost went to go for it.

Let's go, patrick. Let's go, phillip.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. -There you go.

-Time's up. -Good job, good job.

[ speaking indistinctly ] good job, good job, good job, good job.

Philip: I'm feeling very confident.

I made a fun dish with delicious flavors,

but patrick's doughnuts look good.

Patrick: My doughnuts seem like they came out alright.

I'm feeling like I've got a good representation

of myself on that plate.

♪♪

♪♪

chef phillip and chef patrick,

your final dishes, desserts,

including pickled pig lips,

guava, kefir,

and honeycomb.

Chef phillip?

So, I made a smoked meringue

kefir honey chocolate pudding

and a pickled guava and strawberry jam.

This is kind of a deconstructed s'more.

I think you did a really good job with the pudding,

and I like the approach that you were going for.

With the s'mores, you definitely picked that up

and I think it's a really beautiful and solid dessert.

You're an extremely talented and savvy chef,

and I like the flavors here,

but I just think that you did

very little cooking here.

I associate a s'mores with a kid's snack.

I don't think that's a dessert. Mm-hmm.

Scott: [ sighs ] yeah.

You ran out of gas after your main course,

and that's when you want to run out of gas.

Fair enough.

Okay, chef phillip, thank you.

Thank you.

Finally, chef patrick.

I made a little ricotta doughnut holes

and a little dipping sauce that I used the guava,

some of the honeycomb, a little bit of raspberry,

and then I finished it off with the awesome liquid

from the pickled pig's lips.

This, to, me is a dessert --

just so pleasing to have this at the last course.

The sauce is great. It's a perfect balance

of sour, sweet, and the floral quality of the guava --

really, really well done.

I love the outside of these doughnuts,

but inside, they're just tough.

Ray: I would say the doughnut,

it's a little dense and a little chewy,

so I don't know if you overworked it.

Well, I think, chef, if I may, this is raw.

If you see that, right? Okay.

The interior, that smells raw.

Smells better than pickled pig's lips,

I'll tell you that much. That's the good news.

Ted: Alright, chef patrick, thank you. Thank you.

We'll call you back when they have a winner.

Thank you.

♪♪

so, judges, could you, in one word,

sum up your feelings about those pickled pig lip deserts?

Is lip-smacking a word? I don't know.

I think -- lip-smacking.

I feel like the sauce that patrick made

was really on point.

Unfortunately, the doughnut holes

were completely undercooked.

Yeah, in the case of phillip, I love s'mores,

but it's sort of sidestepping the whole challenge of dessert.

You know, it's unfortunate because he showcased,

particularly in his first course,

an incredible amount of talent.

Yeah, his presentation, his flavors,

everything was clean, it was precise, it was exact.

Geoffrey: Yeah, that beef heart was just gorgeous,

and I didn't taste the vietnamese egg coffee,

but I was like, "wow, what's gonna come next?"

and I think that patrick's appetizer

was his best dish also, quite frankly.

He did the beef hearts with like a lemon zested aioli

that he made out of the egg coffee,

and that was -- wow. That was good, too.

Of all the chefs, I think patrick did the best job

of creatively utilizing that egg coffee.

Geoffrey: But I wish patrick utilized the dehydrated carrots more.

He just sort of plopped them on top as croutons.

I think phillip's main course, his squash stuffing was amazing.

The pickled jalapeño cowboy candy in that

really worked, but he marred that whole dish

with at least a teaspoon spoon or so of sesame oil.

One of the things I really loved about patrick's entrée

was the cowboy candy chimichurri sauce.

There was a lot of big flavors.

But I think he seasoned everything really deliciously.

But that bite of patrick's squash blossom

just absolutely full of fryolator oil,

it just wasn't delicious. Yeah, I agree.

Well, either of these chefs would be a great champion.

Yes, but one really earned it. Okay.

♪♪

philip: My kids look up to me

and it would mean everything to me to win this competition.

My heart is definitely pounding.

Phillip and I were both very passionate

about becoming the "chopped" champion.

So, whose dish is on the chopping block?

♪♪

chef patrick, you've been chopped.

Judges?

Patrick, we loved having you here today.

We really liked your appetizer,

but you didn't do anything to that carrot.

And in your main course, your stuffed squash blossom,

it just was full of that fryolator oil.

And then finally, in your dessert course,

the doughnut holes were undercooked,

so we had to chop you. Thank you.

But, you're a fighter, man... Thank you.

...And you are an inspiration... Thank you.

...So thank you for being here with us.

Thank you for having me.

[ indistinct speaking ]

patrick: Ah, man, you know, disappointed, you know,

but I have no regrets at all, you know.

I know my son's really proud of me.

That's important to me.

And that means, chef phillip esteban,

you are the "chopped" champion,

congratulations and hooray for a 10k payday.

-Yeah! -Yes. [ applause ]

nice work. Would you care to shake hands

with the team here.

-Good job, chef. -Great job.

Really good cooking, man. -I feel like

I'm on top of the world.

When my kids see that their father has won,

they're gonna lose it.

They're gonna be super proud.