Original subtitles

Welcome to the "fire masters" arena,

where three chefs will push their grilling talents

to the limit in three blazing culinary challenges.

Oh, my god. Where'd the time go?

Okay, it's coming together.

Two will be eliminated,

and the last chef standing will go head to head against

one of our "fire masters" judges for the chance to win $10,000.

Woman: That's what I'm talking about.

Benoit: Who will fall in the flames?

Oh! And who will rise from the ashes?

It's cooked perfectly. It is delicious.

Fake it till you make it, right, baby?

This is "fire masters."

three chefs think they have what it takes to be

a "fire masters" champion. Let's meet them.

First up, chuck matto, from vallejo, california.

I am adopted, so my dad is a 100% italian.

My mom is spanish and german.

My dad is the one who would like to take credit

for teaching me how to grill.

I would say that he taught me how to burn things.

How's it going judges?

Next, linkie marais from fort lauderdale, florida.

I've done some cool stuff, for some cool people.

I cook on yachts.

I bounce around in the bahamas in the caribbean all the time.

I've cooked for barack obama, colin powell, john mccain.

Let's just say, I'm living my best life.

Hi.

And last, matthew rushworth from kingston, ontario.

Matthew: I'm pitmaster five days a week.

I exclusively use fire to cook food.

So, in 2016, I wasn't having much luck working in museums.

I started over fresh,

and decided why not get a job at a barbecue place.

Happy to be here.

Chefs, welcome to "fire masters."

here's who you will need to impress.

Eddie jackson is a highly acclaimed chef, author,

and popular food network personality.

What's up chefs? Y'all ready to get it on?

-Absolutely. -Let's go.

Benoit: Connie desousa is an accomplished chef

and owner of four restaurants,

including the award-winning charcut roast house

and charbar in calgary, alberta.

Welcome, chefs. Good luck today.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

Benoit: Chef andy husbands is an author

and the legendary pitmaster

behind boston's critically acclaimed smoke shop.

Who's going to win today?

Right here.

Benoit: Chefs, I hope you are fired up,

because we're about to turn up the heat.

In this first wildfire round, you'll create a signature dish

that shows your personality on a plate.

You will each have your own top-of-the-line grill station

and use of our "fire masters" fire pit,

as well as access to our fully stocked, and stacked, pantry.

Your dishes will be judged on presentation, creativity,

and taste.

You've got 30 minutes on the clock.

And your time...

Starts...

Now. -Alright let's go!

Time just starts, and my heart is racing out of my chest.

I grab parsnips. I grab my rack of lamb.

I grab cranberries, butter, herbs,

everything plus the kitchen sink.

Man. For my signature dish,

I am making a grilled rack of lamb with a cranberry chutney,

and I'm putting a horseradish parsnip puree with it.

It's all of my personality on a plate --

fun, bubbly, sweet, sour, and delicious.

[ laughs ]

so I just want to make sure I have everything

before I run away.

My signature dish is a rib-eye steak

over a creamy asparagus parmesan risotto.

It's my signature dish because you've got a fatty beef,

which I am, and then you've got the risotto,

which is italian, that touches into my background.

It combines all the elements of my life, my childhood

in one dish.

There we go.

I'm getting our chicken stock started.

This is going to be for our risotto.

The biggest thing I'm worried about

would be cooking risotto in a timed barbecue competition.

Risotto takes time.

We're adding in our arborio rice

because I'm a real italian boy.

Right, lots of seasoning, and some oil.

Matthew: First things first, I got to get my sweet potatoes

into the embers 'cause they're going to take

the longest to cook out of anything.

I'm going to shovel the coals straight onto the sweet potato,

make sure there's heat all around them.

Chef matthew has just thrown his sweet potatoes

into the fire pit.

Hopefully it won't get burnt on the outside,

but it will cook those potatoes super fast.

Matthew: For my signature dish,

I am making an ember-roasted sweet potato

and a black salsa with an espresso grilled pork chop.

This is my signature dish because it's dark,

it's smoky, it's fueled by coffee.

It involves a lot of fire. It's pretty much me.

The riskiest element of my dish

is having such thick cut of pork.

I got to make sure that it's cooked all the way through.

With only 30 minutes on the clock, every minute counts.

Wildfire round is underway.

The chefs look like they're hustling.

Jackson: I tell you what I'm most impressed with so far,

that I see my man chuck has already gone down

with the certified angus beef.

That looks to me, from here, about an inch and a half thick.

That is going to take some time to cook.

Think that chef linkie pulled the smartest protein

for this cook time.

She has the rack of lamb.

If you overcook that, you're done.

I think the riskiest element that I'm going to attempt

is to cook my lamb to the perfect doneness.

So to nail that for all of the judges,

it's going to be intense.

Yeah, buddy. That's what I'm talking about.

And while I'm doing this, I'm thinking

I've got to get my chutney on.

What takes the longest with the chutney

is the dried fruit has to reconstitute.

Basically, expand and create this beautiful flavor,

and it has to get that liquid reduced.

I'm not very confident that I can do this in 30 minutes,

but if I get it in a nice, shallow, cast-iron pan,

I should be good to go.

Look at that crust, baby.

Look at that crust.

My plan, if possible,

is to always cook on an open fire.

I checked the temperatures on the steaks.

Those are getting close.

The steak's pretty hot. It's got a nice char.

I'm gonna move up the grill a little bit

so just it doesn't burn.

The whole key is to have this thing

cooked all the way through.

So chuck just flipped his rib-eyes over,

and you got to admit, that's a beautiful sear

that he has on that. While it's a beautiful sear,

I'm concerned that it's still raw in the center.

I got the asparagus at my work station.

I take the ends of first.

From there, I want to get it on the smoker

to hopefully take on some smoke flavor.

Nice. I check my risotto.

My rice is looking nice and toasty.

It's time for me to add my wine.

And I'm going to go ahead and cook that off

until the alcohol's gone.

If this does not cook, the rest of my dish is out the window.

Alright, chefs, 20 minutes left.

Let's go, chefs.

Alright, you've got this. Go on, chefs.

Matthew: It's time to start off with my salsa.

The jalapeños and the poblanos I want really charred,

so I get them directly on the coals.

It's going to be a black salsa, so it's got to be black.

The tomatoes and the tomatillos,

I just want to grill them lightly,

so I put them on the grate.

I head back to the pork, which has got great grill marks on it.

But I'm done with that high heat, so I take it off.

While I'm trying to get stuff into the cast iron,

nerves are high. The board that I'm using slips.

Oh! There goes one of my pork chops.

Falls right into the dirt.

Dropped a pork chop.

This might be the thing that sends me home.

Matthew: Nerves are high. The board that I'm using slips.

Oh. There goes one of my pork chops.

So now that I don't have enough pork chops for everybody,

I'm going to have to portion it out,

and it risks drying out.

It's time to start my herb compound butter.

It's going to go on top of my rack of lamb.

I start chopping the rosemary and the oregano.

I think it's going to be good.

Now I have to make my chimichurri.

So I have mint, I have basil,

I have a couple of quick roasted garlic,

and my jalapeño.

I have to get my chimichurri out of there

and parsnip puree it on.

10 minutes.

Chuck: I go back over to the rib-eyes, and I can tell just

without even putting the thermometer in it's money.

Time to pull them off and let them rest.

And I'm going to assemble the dressing

like you would pour over the meat,

but I'm going to do it on the board.

And this is like magic on a board for a steak right here.

When the steak is done,

I'm going to rest them on that board,

and they're going to be one happy family,

and hopefully infuse each other with each other's flavors.

Matthew: I'm checking on my tomatillos, my tomatoes.

They're looking just the way I like them.

Being a black salsa, you want char on everything.

I put them all in the blender with apple cider vinegar

and black garlic.

I've been paying too much attention to my salsa,

and maybe not enough to my pork chops.

I think it's been in there a little bit longer

than I want it to be.

And I know I've got to let them rest,

before I slice them.

Clock is ticking. I got to get those

sweet potatoes out of the fire pit

and get them sliced up and on the plate.

Chefs, five minutes left in the cook.

-Let's go, chefs. -Alright, you got this.

Linkie: First thing I get on my plate is my chimichurri.

This is so much fun because I put a dollop on there

and I smack it.

With only two minutes left on the clock,

I touch my lamb and I'm like, oh, it is still a little rare,

so I grab that and get it back on the grill.

It's fine. I still have a minute left.

Oh, my god. Where'd the time go?

I check my risotto, and it is still not there.

I need more time to get this risotto done.

This is going to be the last liquid,

'cause we don't got time. I don't add salt to my risotto

because that's the way I was taught.

Traditionally, the salt comes from the cheese.

My mom didn't add salt. Let the cheese do the talking.

That's the flavor, bad boy.

I slice my steak.

It's got that perfect charred edge.

The inside is a soft pink, and it's absolutely beautiful.

Alright.

Matthew: As I'm cutting into the pork,

I can feel it's a little bit too firm.

It looks a little bit further cooked than I wanted it.

With seconds left, I'm getting that salsa on the plate,

otherwise the judges are not going to have any.

But I really don't have time to plate it properly.

Together: 10, 9, 8, 7,

6, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1.

Time's up, chefs.

♪♪

chef chuck. Tell us what you've prepared

in your signature dish round.

What you have here is a rib-eye steak

over a creamy asparagus and parmesan risotto.

Hope you enjoy. Lots of flavor.

♪♪

chef chuck, I was super psyched to see you use

that certified angus beef. I was a little nervous for you.

I was worried that it wouldn't cook enough

or it was going to cook too much.

And it came out perfect.

You built a great crust.

I absolutely adore this steak. Thank you.

The risotto has everything

but flavor.

Heart breaker.

The only thing that I have to say about your beef

is I'm a big fan of charred fat.

And the pieces that you sliced were a little bit lean for me.

Thank you. Next time I'll bring all the fat.

[ laughter ]

chef chuck, thank you very much. Thank you, guys.

Appreciate it, chefs.

I deserve to stick around

because my rib-eye steak was cooked perfectly,

and then I bring the flavor.

I bring the char. I make people happy.

Chef matthew, tell us about your signature dish.

Here we have a espresso grilled pork chop

with a ember-roasted sweet potato and a black salsa.

Looking at this plate, it's a lot of brown.

I'm really craving some color right now.

♪♪

chef matthew, I went for the pork first.

You have beautiful char on the outside.

I love the coffee, the salt levels.

And unfortunately, you missed the mark.

It's a little bit dry.

But this sweet potato and sauce

might be one of the best things I've eaten in a while.

Thank you. Jackson: Chef matthew,

I think you did a wonderful job with this sauce,

this sauce negro that you have.

I'm getting heat, I'm getting a little bit of sour,

I'm getting sweet, as well.

It's deep and rich, and that's something that I love,

especially because I'm from texas.

Chef matthew, thank you very much. Thanks.

Overcooking a piece of pork on "fire masters"

is something that you get sent home for.

But my saving grace could be the salsa.

Chef linkie, tell us about your signature dish.

So I did a grilled rack of lamb with a cranberry chutney.

And on the bottom, way on the bottom,

that's horseradish parsnip puree.

♪♪

chef linkie, I got to be totally honest with you.

This is an amazing plate of food.

Yes!

A lot of contrasting flavors.

But you have found a way to make everything work.

I love the char that you have on your lamb.

It's cooked perfectly and seasoned perfectly.

It is delicious. For me, though,

I think you were least successful with the chutney.

As I eat it, it just continually gets sweet

and sweet and sweet. Thank you so much.

Well for the chutney has four s's --

sweet, sour, savory, and spicy.

We're missing spice on that.

It sounds like there's so many competing flavors in this dish.

I normally would tell a chef to hold back a little bit,

but I don't know how you made this work, girl.

You have some magic up your sleeve.

Thank you.

Thank you, chef linkie.

And thank you, chefs.

The judges need a couple of minutes to discuss,

and we'll call you back in when we're ready.

If I make it to the next round,

I guess I'll add a little bit more heat.

♪♪

alright, judges, the wildfire round is complete.

Connie, let's discuss chef linkie's signature dish.

Desousa: Oh, my goodness. Chef linkie is like

a sparkly rainbow unicorn.

I have no idea how she was able to put all of those flavors

together and make them work.

Let's not forget, though, that chutney,

I think was a big miss. When you think of chutney,

you want a little bit of spice in there.

Andy, let's talk about chef chuck's dish.

Chef chuck cooked that bone-in rib-eye to perfection.

Perfect seasoning. It was delicious.

I couldn't have done better myself.

The risotto, unfortunately, was lacking.

He really failed on his side.

Eddie, let's talk about chef matthew's signature dish.

Chef matthew gave us that delicious salsa negro.

It had sweet elements, smoky elements.

It had a little bit of kick to it.

Unfortunately, his pork was over,

and that's a big no-no.

But I would say, those sweet potatoes

with that sauce, with that pork was one of the best bites.

This is very tough. So what do we do?

Do we reward for a perfectly cooked meat,

or do we reward for perfectly made sauce?

I mean, the protein is supposed to be the star of the plate.

But I would disagree.

When you talk about the star of the plate,

that risotto's the star.

That's the centerpiece he put there,

and to me, an epic fail.

Well, judges, this is as tight a round as I have ever seen.

But have you made a final decision?

-I think so. -I think we have.

Let's call the chefs back in.

♪♪

chefs, in this first wildfire round,

you were asked to prepare a dish

that showcases your personality on a plate.

So, judges, who's signature dish was the best in this round?

The chef with the best dish is...

♪♪

...Chef linkie.

-Yes. -Great job.

-Good job. -Congratulations, chef linkie.

You will have an advantage heading into the next round.

Judges, it's down to chef chuck and chef matthew.

So tell us, judges, who will you be sending home?

The chef that is going home is...

♪♪

judges, it is down to chef chuck

with his rib-eye and asparagus risotto,

and chef matthew with his pork chop and sweet potato salsa.

So tell us, judges, who will you be sending home?

The chef that is going home is...

♪♪

...Chef...

Chuck.

Chef chuck, you've been eliminated from the competition.

It's time to leave the "fire masters" arena.

Thank you for having me. It was a blast.

Truly the experience of a lifetime.

Good luck, guys.

[ applause ] you did a great job.

Well, my risotto was not up to par apparently.

I took a chance, and I lost.

But not all chances go your way.

You're not going to win if you don't gamble.

Welcome to the crossfire round.

This round is all about choice.

There are two ingredients in this barrel,

and you will each use one of them in your next dish.

Chef linkie, because you won the first round,

you have the advantage,

and you get to choose your ingredient first.

So, chef linkie, which will you choose?

Thick or thin?

[ laughs ] for this challenge,

you'll be working with certified angus beef.

If you choose thick, you'll be cooking with porterhouse steak.

If you choose thin, you'll be working with flat iron steak.

So chef linkie, which do you choose to cook with?

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

I'm going for the flat iron.

That means, chef matthew,

you'll be working with porterhouse steak.

Hell of a cut of meat. You're welcome.

[ chuckles ]

there's 30 minutes back on the clock.

And your time starts...

Now.

Husbands: Alright, let's go!

I'm bringing that little bit of pizzazz that

linkie brings to the party.

So I'm going to make grilled flat iron steak

and a corn salsa with a peach vinaigrette

with a sweet potato mash.

Okay, it's coming together.

The first thing I do is peel my sweet potatoes

and get to chopping 'cause I know I've got to get them done.

Competition is really strong.

Have a lot of respect for linkie.

We're going to have burned celeriac puree,

creamed onions, and a hopefully

perfectly grilled porterhouse.

First thing I've got to do is start working on

those porterhouses.

It's a big cut of meat.

It's going to take a while to cook,

and it's going to take even longer to rest.

Alright, judges, the crossfire round is upon us.

We've got two glorious cuts of steak here,

porterhouse and flat iron.

You can't lose with either one.

Desousa: Porterhouse is like a t-bone,

but it's cut a little bit thicker.

You have the new york strip on there,

and then you've also got the tenderloin.

And we have a flat iron, which is a little bit leaner,

but still has tons of flavor.

And if you cook it perfectly medium rare,

you're talking about a knockout cut of meat.

Linkie: This is such a beautiful piece of steak,

and if I get my seasonings on there,

then it will have some time to just really get in there.

I'm using salt, I'm using pepper,

and a little bit of harissa powder,

just really get some of that amazing aromatic flavor.

Now that my steak is nice and seasoned,

I'm going to grab my veggies and get them on the grill.

I'm going to throw my corn on there,

my peppers, some scallions.

I don't really want to grill my peaches,

but I want that smoked flavor in there,

so I bury my peaches into the ashes.

Matthew: My plan is to burn the celeriac until it's nice and black,

and then puree it with cream.

I got to turn my attention to my creamed onions.

I immediately start chopping up my aromatics

and getting the onions into a cast-iron pan.

Linkie: I grab my peaches out of the ashes and charcoal,

get it into a bowl, and pour some of this

apple brandy on top.

I think the riskiest element is to make sure

that I don't throw my steak on the grill too quickly.

It's such a thin cut of meat that if you throw it on there

too quickly, it's going to overcook.

So I just have to have my timing perfectly.

Once my steak's are on the grill,

I grab my corn, I get it off the husk

with all my chopped up ingredients

and just start building my salsa.

I take a look at my steaks and, phew, they are black.

You've got to be extra careful not to overdo these steaks

because I did get knocked last round

for over cooking the pork.

Put a little bit of butter on there,

just to make sure that anything that's too crispy

might soften up a little.

Alright, chefs, only 10 minutes left in the cook, let's go.

-Come on! -You can do this.

Linkie: Time is flying, and I have still so much to do.

My peaches are nice and juicy, fresh out of the brandy.

I put them in my blender to make a beautiful peach vinaigrette.

I really want to incorporate a little bit of smoke

to the sweet potatoes. I want that fire taste flavor.

I get them into the smoker, in a cast-iron skillet.

The clock is ticking very fast,

and I'm flipping my steaks for the first time.

There's a nice char on there, it's sealed, it's perfect.

Now I just have to cook the other side

and hope for the same results.

I head back to the fire pit. I flip my celeriac.

I can smell how toasty and nutty they're getting,

so I know that I'm on the right path.

I'm going to get that blender so I can puree my celeriac.

If I don't nail the consistency and it's grainy,

the judges are definitely not going to like that.

Some of the celeriac isn't getting down to the blades,

so in an effort to try to get it down there, I use a spoon,

and the whole thing explodes in my face.

Oh! Ooh.

Chefs, only five minutes left.

Linkie: I'm taking my steaks off.

I think that maybe I should just squeeze

a little bit of orange onto my steak

and it will bring the dish together.

I take my sweet potatoes out of the smoker

and I pop them on the fire pit with some butter

and brown sugar thinking that I need to flambé

this a little bit with some brandy.

There's a very tiny voice in my head

that's saying, "maybe you don't need to do that."

but, huh, maybe I should.

Matthew: I'm trying to get everything onto the plate.

I'm making decisions on the fly.

My steaks have been resting for 15 minutes.

There's no sense cutting it up because it could dry out,

so I'm putting the steaks on whole.

This is a risky play 'cause I know

that there's two different cuts in the steak

and they might be cooked differently.

I really don't know.

30 seconds, chefs. Let's go.

Let's go, now. Finish up. Tighten it up.

With not a lot of time left,

I really need to nail my plate presentation

and make sure that the judges dig into all the layers.

Together: 10, 9, 8, 7,

6, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1.

Time's up, chefs. Back away.

Good job, chefs.

Linkie: I'm a little disappointed in my plating,

but I feel like every single component of my dish is perfect.

I just hope that it works together.

With the plating and not knowing

if my steak is cooked properly, I'm just hoping all of it works.

Chef linkie, tell us about the dish

you made using flat iron steak.

Linkie: I did a grilled flat iron steak with a smoked sweet potato mash

and a corn salsa with a brandied peach vinaigrette.

Just like in the first round, you were all over the place.

So many contrasting flavors.

But you've found some way to make of those flavors work.

I especially love the rub

that you got on the outside of that flat iron.

It has a little bit of spice to it.

Gives a nice little heat to it. I think it's perfect.

Thank you.

Now in this case, I think that you definitely

could've dialed it back a bit.

The sweet potatoes

I don't think were needed on the plate at all.

I'm getting some cooked, some raw,

and I'm getting a really strong alcohol flavor off of it.

Fair enough.

Chef linkie, if you were to go forward,

I'd like you to think about all the ingredients you want to use,

and then cut them in half.

I wanted to push myself

and see how much flavor I can get in there.

And I think that may have gotten lost.

Chef matthew, tell us what you made for the judges

using porterhouse steak.

Matthew: We have a grilled porterhouse steak

with a burnt celeriac puree and creamed onions.

What do you think?

I'm seeing different cooks, I think, on each one.

Chef matthew, you have tons of flavor going on here.

The steak is seasoned perfectly.

But I want to talk about that puree that's on the bottom.

It doesn't look appealing.

But as you eat it, it has so much flavor.

A cut like a porterhouse,

where you're guaranteed to have an uneven cook,

if you had cut into that, and taken it off the bone,

you could've faked your way through

having some spots that were overcooked

and some spots that were cooked perfectly.

Thank you. The sauce is fascinating,

and I'm trying to figure out if I like it or not.

It's a little bit granular.

Thank you, chef matthew.

And thank you, chef linkie.

The judges need a couple of minutes to discuss.

We'll call you back in when we're ready.

I think I deserve to go to the third round,

'cause I put it all out there.

I took a lot of chances, and I'm hoping they paid off.

Alright, judges, the crossfire round is complete.

We had one chef with porterhouse steak

and the other chef with flat iron steak.

How did they do?

Chef linkie, she had that flat iron

that had a beautiful crust on the outside.

Perfectly seasoned with that chili powder.

And the corn salad was phenomenal.

But then she gave us sweet potatoes

that were very, very sweet, whereas you had chef matthew,

he gave us that delicious celery root puree.

I am back and forth, though. I'm not sure I loved it,

and honestly, not the prettiest looking thing.

Now, on chef matthew's steak, it was so inconsistent.

Some of them were cooked perfectly, like yours, andy,

but then some of them were overcooked.

I'm torn again.

Alright, judges, another tough crossfire round.

But have you made a decision?

[ sighs ] I think we have.

Let's call the chefs back in.

♪♪

chefs, in this crossfire round,

you were asked to work with either flat iron steak

or porterhouse steak.

The winner of this round

will move on to the final round

to face off against one of our judges.

Judges, please tell us who will be moving on to the final round.

The chef who will be moving on to the final round is...

♪♪

...Chef linkie.

Oh, my god.

I told you you were going to the third round.

Top chef.

[ sighs ] congratulations, chef linkie.

You're moving on to the final round.

Thank you.

Chef matthew, you were a very strong competitor today,

but unfortunately, you've been eliminated from the competition,

and it's time to leave the "fire masters" arena.

It was an amazing time.

I didn't make it to the third round,

but I learned a lot of things.

Most of all, I can't really multi-task that well.

Chef linkie, in the first two rounds,

you sure proved your ability in the pit.

But we're about to turn the heat up even higher.

In this third and final round,

you will face off against one of our "fire masters" judges.

And the judge you will be facing off against is...

Chef eddie jackson. Whoo!

Yes!

Thank you, sir. Good luck, chef.

It's an honor and a privilege.

Chef eddie is not only an ex-nfl player,

he is also a food network star, so he's pretty intimidating.

Ahh.

Ready to get this on?

Ready to kick your butt.

[ chuckling ] oh!

Chef linkie and chef eddie,

you are about to face off in the feast of fire.

Chefs, in this feast of fire round,

you must create a family-style feast

inspired by today's theme...

...Catch of the day.

[ laughs ]

wow.

Head out on a fishing expedition

and net some sardines, red snapper, shrimp,

and lobster.

Reel us in with your take on a fish fest.

The stakes have never been higher,

so we're giving you each a sous-chef

to help you create your catch of the day inspired feast.

As a final twist, this feast will be tasted blind,

so none of us will be here to watch you cook.

And when we do return,

I'll be taking eddie's seat at the judges' table.

It is imperative you keep your eyes on that clock,

'cause I'm not going to be here to count you down.

Are you ready?

Yes. Yes.

There's 45 minutes on the clock.

And your time starts...

Now.

Linkie: I have a hundred ideas, but I really need to take

in consideration what the judges said.

I need to dial back my ingredients list by half.

For my feast of fire, I am making grilled snapper

with dill butter and a grilled mango and pineapple salsa.

For my two sides, I am doing lobster mac and cheese

and tri-color potato hash with a lemon grilled shrimp.

For dessert, I'm doing a mascarpone cheesecake

with a grilled sweet beet puree.

For my main, I'm going to make escabeche red snapper

and I'm going to top it off with some pickled veggies.

For my two sides, I'm going to do jerk shrimp,

and I'm also going to do some lobster mac and cheese.

For my dessert, I'm going to do cinnamon fried bread

with berry compote.

A little bit of salt in there.

I know I need to create a jerk rub

because that's going to be used in my fish

as well as my shrimp, and I'm the king of making rubs.

It's something that I love to do.

There we go. There we go. There we go.

Alright, beets on.

Beet have this natural sweetness,

and I think that it could actually be used for desserts.

I'm going to make a quick little easy no-bake cheesecake,

and then use the beets as a topping

so it brings that little bit of smoky flavor to my cheesecake.

It's money.

I better be able to pull this off.

What I want to do is break this fish into four pieces

and fry it, and then I'm going to present it as a whole fish.

Oh, yeah.

I get the dry rub on my snapper

and I let it sit because I really want that salt

to penetrate in the meat,

and I'm just going to top it with my picked veggies.

Oh, we got 30 minutes left. 30 minutes left.

The oil is hot, so it's time for me to get the fish in.

I need to start my dessert, so I take my berries in a pan

with a little bit of orange marmalade.

I just want to cook it slowly

so they can start to thicken up and create a sauce.

It will be good at the bottom of my cast-iron skillet.

Linkie: Now that I have my cheesecake base,

I've got to get it into my vessels

that I'm going to serve it in and get it into the fridge

so they can start setting up a little bit.

Yes!

It's overwhelming how much I still have to do.

I still have to do my fish, I still have to do my lobster,

I still have to do my salsa.

I'm a little under the gun right now.

Okay.

I tell my sous-chef to go ahead and get the macaroni boiling.

Get that béchamel for the mac and cheese,

and let's get this rolling.

I'm putting my fish on the grill,

and I'm hoping to get this beautiful charred flavor.

And then I go to flip it, and it sticks on the grill,

and it tears a little skin off.

I can kick my own butt for doing this.

Linkie: Clearly, my grill is too hot, because my fish sticks,

and it tears a little skin off.

I freak out for a minute. Okay.

And then I focus myself again and say, "you need to move on."

my skin got off on that side, but you know what, it's okay.

I'm going to top my fish with my salsa.

Even if the skin breaks, it will still be delicious.

It is the final round. I got to bring the heat, right?

16 minutes.

Jackson: I feel like in a competition like this,

you want to be able to create a dessert

that can cook up very, very quickly.

So I get my sous-chef started on the dough,

which is very, very simple, because it's just flour,

a little bit of baking soda, salt, hot oil,

and I'm going to top that fried bread in sugar

and cinnamon with some berry compote.

I'm starting my mac and cheese.

I just want to build a little light roux

and let that go, and I just keep mixing

and mixing till that cheese actually melts

and creates this thick, delicious sauce.

My sous-chef grabs the lobster claws,

and I really want to incorporate that tender meat

into my mac and cheese.

I know I want to make a quick little slaw

to go around my jerk shrimp.

So I take some beautiful purple cabbage, some napa cabbage,

and I just want to get some nice char to it.

After I put my cabbage on, I get my shrimp on.

We're talking about two things that can cook very,

very quickly. Want to be safe,

so I'm raising the pit up to reduce the temperature.

Linkie: Mac and cheese is done. Perfect.

I need to get my fish off the grill

because the skin's already broken.

I don't want to lose any of my fleshy part.

So I put it in a pan, and I decide to cover it,

so that it can cook the rest of the way.

Alright, I want those potatoes nice and crunchy.

Jackson: I need to check on my fish, and it actually is sticking.

I taste a little bit and it tastes good,

but the skin isn't as crispy as I would like it to be.

But we'll make it work.

I go back over to the pit, take my cabbage off.

I take my shrimp off. It's a lot going on.

Fire, ash, heat on top of heat. Time is running out.

I know that I need to get my plates.

I got to hustle.

Two minutes. Two minutes.

Linkie: I really want a nice hash with my potatoes,

so get it on a cast-iron skillet,

onto the infrared, start sautéing them

to get that nice crispiness on the outside.

There's only a minute on the clock left.

I'm not happy with the lobster for the mac and cheese.

It just looks very plain.

So, I'm like, hmm, let's put some girl marks on that.

21 seconds.

Think that will stay up?

Jackson: This mac and cheese is coming together.

Looks delicious.

♪♪

7, 6, 5,

4, 3, 2, 1.

[ laughs ]

good job. Good job.

[ sighs ]

I'm super proud of what I did. I held back.

I decided to keep it very rustic but simple

and let the ingredients speak for themselves.

Jackson: I'm just proud I got everything done

because I tried to do a lot in 45 minutes.

I'm actually worried that I didn't get enough smoke

going on in my feast as a whole.

Alright, judges, feast of fire time.

And in our first catch of the day inspired feast,

this chef has prepared escabeche red snapper

with pickled vegetables,

jerk shrimp, lobster mac and cheese,

and we're going to round it all out

with cinnamon fried bread with berry compote.

Sounds delicious. And it smells delicious.

Husbands: Oh, this looks fantastic.

These shrimp are seasoned perfectly.

It's delicious. My only issue is

I can tell that the chef used the dried jerk seasoning

because it still tastes gritty in my mouth.

This lobster macaroni and cheese, it is delicious,

but I'm not getting much lobster.

Really loving the crispy skin on the snapper.

The escabeche pickle on top has a nice little acidity.

The texture of the fish is great.

It's interesting though, I'm getting patches

of perfectly seasoned

and patches of not seasoned at all.

The only thing I'm not loving about this chef's meal

is the slaw that's underneath the shrimp.

It tastes a little flat to me.

Well, are you guys ready to try some dessert?

Yes.

Let's try out this cinnamon fried bread

with berry compote.

Oh, that looks great.

Can smell the cinnamon already.

I'm really enjoying this. Mm-hmm.

The richness of the cinnamon fried bread,

the tartness of the berries. Really good.

It's a perfect little dessert.

This has been an excellent start,

but I'm really excited to see

what our second chef has prepared.

Our second catch of the day inspired feast has landed.

This chef has prepared grilled red snapper with dill butter

and grilled pineapple mango salsa,

lobster mac and cheese,

lemon grilled shrimp on roasted potato hash,

and mascarpone cheesecake with grilled sweet beet puree.

Let's dig in.

Can I serve you some shrimp?

Yes, please.

This fish is not cooked by the bones.

It's not far off, but...

The meat on the bottom is all cooked.

Is it?

You're right, andy, the bottom is cooked better.

That bite of snapper that I got that is cooked is delicious.

Love the freshness of the dill on top.

It goes very well with this mango salsa.

The salt factor on the shrimp is amazing.

Delicious.

I'm having some problems with the potato hash.

Uh-huh.

Some potatoes are roasted perfectly,

but the bigger ones are still raw.

Oh, there's a piece of lobster. Yeah.

Just look at the grill marks right on there.

That's beautiful. That's great.

And this chef added bacon to their lobster mac and cheese.

Mmm!

Double whammy. That smoky bacon

paired with the lobster is really delicious.

I'm ready to dig into this dessert.

Mascarpone cheesecake with grilled sweet beet puree.

Vegetables for dessert.

[ chuckles ]

when you eat the gingersnap with the beets

together, it's really good.

The beets separately are watery and flavorless.

The cheesecake, it's creamy, it's light, it's sweet.

But when you put it all together, it's just not great.

Well, this is a very easy feast to dissect

because all of our dishes are very similar.

First, let's take a look at our snapper dishes.

We had escabeche snapper from our first chef

and grilled snapper from our second chef.

First chef cooked that snapper perfectly.

The skin was perfect.

My only drawback, I wish there was more pickled vegetables.

With chef number two,

although they didn't cook the fish all the way through,

I far preferred the flavor.

It's a hard one for me

because I would go back and eat that dish again.

So the jury's still out on battle of snapper.

Let's take a look at the lobster mac and cheese.

My favorite, although I love bacon,

has got to be chef number one's mac and cheese.

It was rich and creamy.

But I didn't get enough lobster, or really any lobster chunks.

So then I'd say the second chef's macaroni

and cheese was my favorite.

I really loved that bacon in there.

I think I have to agree with you on this one, andy.

Let's look at the shrimp dishes. We've got the jerk shrimp

that came with that charred cabbage slaw underneath.

And then the second one

was grilled shrimp with a potato hash.

Both the shrimps were phenomenal.

Both of the vegetables underneath,

the potatoes and the slaw, I thought were lacking.

Let's take a look at these desserts.

Our first chef prepared fried bread with a berry compote,

and our second chef, the mascarpone cheesecake

with grilled sweet beet puree.

The fried bread with the berry compote,

was a far superior dessert.

Unfortunately, the cheesecake and beet combination

was an epic fail.

This was a tough battle,

but at the end of the day, a decision needs to be made,

and I think we've reached it.

I think we have. I agree.

♪♪

jackson: I think my feast should definitely win

because I packed everything with flavor.

What I'm really most proud of

is how cohesive everything that I cooked is.

Linkie: I think I'm worthy of $10,000.

I have proved that I can hang with the best of them.

Let's just hope it's better than chef eddie's.

Chefs, thank you so much for preparing two beautiful meals.

You're catch of the day inspired feast really hooked us in.

But we had to make a choice.

[ exhales deeply ]

in the first feast, we loved the escabeche red snapper

and the fried bread dessert.

But the lobster mac and cheese

definitely needed more chunks of lobster.

In the second feast, we loved the lobster

mac and cheese with bacon. It was creamy,

and we really appreciated the char on the claws.

But the cheesecake with the sweet beet puree

was underwhelming.

Chefs, as you know, there can only be one winner.

Tonight's winning feast is...

♪♪

...The escabeche snapper... Whoo!

...And fried bread with compote.

[ laughs ]

chef eddie jackson,

you are tonight's "fire master" champion

and you've successfully defended your title.

I think chef linkie is an amazing competitor.

She showed that she was worthy the entire competition,

pulling flavors from all over the place

and making them cohesive on the plate.

But it was not enough to get through me.

And chef linkie, it was an absolute pleasure

to watch you cook.

Thank you so much for having me.

I didn't get the $10,000, but hey,

just to see all the accomplishments

that I did in one day, it feels pretty good.

Thank you so much.

Oh, my gosh. Thank you.

Thank you guys for having me.

♪♪