Marcel's Quantum Kitchen (2011) s01e01 Episode Script
Walk on the Wildside
Marcel: I'm Chef Marcel Vigneron.
I've had over 15 years of experience, and I use a new style of cooking referred to as molecular gastronomy, which is used by less than 5% of chefs worldwide.
Look at that.
It's all about fusing food with science and using cutting edge cooking techniques and equipment to create the most unique dining experiences ever.
Now I know many of you are probably thinking Get up, get up, get up! He's that [bleep.]
from "Top Chef".
You won the [bleep.]
challenge.
Whatever.
[bleep.]
Truth is, I'm not like that at all.
Where the [bleep.]
have you been? You say "jerk".
Is that station ready? No.
It wasn't [bleep.]
ready.
I say "perfectionist".
Whoa, whoa.
What the [bleep.]
are you doing? After "Top Chef", I needed my next challenge.
So I decided to give catering a shot.
I've set up a totally tricked out, state of the art kitchen and assembled the most creative team I could imagine.
- There's Jarrid - Yo! You ready to put down the welder and start cooking? Jarrid: I'm here to make sure the food always matches its surroundings, so I'm going to have to invent something, I'm going to have to build something.
This is my meat grinder carburetor.
Then there's my pal Devon How's it going, man? Marcel's been my best friend since I was 18.
We went to culinary school together.
That's using your noodle.
Marcel: Not only does he know his way around the kitchen, he's also the Marcel of cocktails.
- Hey, guys! - Oh, hey! I also needed somebody on my team that knows how to run a catering company, so I hired Robyn.
I've run catering on rock and roll tours for three years now.
I'm really nervous, because , obviously, I don't have the chef skills like they all do.
Open your mouth.
With my team in place, my new adventure begins.
To Marcel! Real people, spectacular parties, and the most outrageous food you've probably ever imagined.
Announcer: Tonight Let's do it.
The guests are waiting.
it's high class problems and pressure for Marcel - [bleep.]
- [alarm blares.]
when he and his team are hired by Carlton, a Los Angeles philanthropist.
Woman: We have an amazing guest list, so it's going to have to be successful.
She's teaming Marcel with her party planner, Chester, to throw an outrageous party for her favorite charity, the Wildlife Waystation.
Hi! Will newcomer Robyn crack under the pressure? [bleep.]
, it's real [bleep.]
simple.
I feel on the edge of getting fired.
And what happens when a cutting edge dish doesn't cut it? Total disaster.
Welcome to the future of food.
Welcome to "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen".
Marcel's Quantum Kitchen 1x01 Walk on the Wild Side Original air date on March 22, 2011 [kids oohing.]
This is what we call liquid nitrogen.
And this is actually really, really cold.
Today I'm doing a cooking demonstration for a bunch of elementary school kids.
We are going to make orange wedges.
Marcel: And I invited my first client Carlton and her daughters to come see some of my cooking techniques.
Carlton is involved in the Wildlife Waystation, which is an animal preserve, and she's approached me to cater a party.
There's nothing wrong with an ordinary orange, but I was kind of curious if I could recreate my own orange.
The Wildlife Waystation is such a passion for my husband and I and my children.
We love animals, and I thought that if I threw a cocktail party, that would be one way that I could raise awareness for this amazing foundation.
What's happening? What's happening right now is I'm freezing the orange wedges.
Liquid nitrogen evaporates really quickly.
So when you eat foods frozen by it, you're not actually ingesting liquid nitrogen.
It's a tool, like fire.
You cook with fire, but you never consume it.
This orange-- See what I mean? Now it's more like an ice cube.
So I'm going to take these orange wedges now and kind of smash them up and put them right back inside.
And then I'm going to take my specially prepared orange juice and pour this back inside.
Kids love Jell-O.
Kids love oranges.
Why not combine the two and do some form mimicking, actually make the orange wedge look like an orange wedge but have it be something a little bit more creative, something outside of the box.
You guys ready? Cheers.
That's one of the cool things about molecular gastronomy, it's all about making the food of the future.
This event is really important to us, and knowing that you're going to be part of that is fantastic.
Not to put any added pressure, but I would love to have the opportunity of stopping by before the event just to have a little sampler.
Typically, when you're doing an event for a client, it's not uncommon for them to want to taste the dishes or to try the food.
But the thing about it is you usually schedule that thing, like, far out in advance, and I haven't even started planning my menu yet.
So, I'm flipping out.
I'm sure we can make something happen.
It's not that I don't trust you.
Yeah, no.
I know.
You just want to check everything out.
Yeah, like, the day after tomorrow? Perfect.
We have an amazing guest list, some incredible, influential people, which will, obviously, help our cause.
So it's going to have to be successful.
So long do we have until we have to do this thing? Um, four days.
Jarrid and I are heading out to the Wildlife Waystation to some research for my first big event.
I figure the best way to get some menu ideas is to see this place firsthand and take a look around.
I'm excited, man.
I can't wait to see what sort of animals they have here.
Get some ideas.
To get to go and check out some animals on behalf of a gig is probably one of the coolest things.
I'm the type of artist where I can make anything.
I can build anything that needs to be made.
I already think outside the box, and food is pretty limitless.
I'm really hoping that we get to touch a lion.
I'll leave that up to you.
[birds squawking.]
Hello.
What an amazing place you have here.
Thank you.
Do you know much about the Wildlife Waystation? Why don't you elaborate for me? We are the first sanctuary of this type in the United States.
Our sanctuary provides education, relocation, rescue, and rehabilitation for all wild and exotic animals.
Thank you for participating.
I'm honored.
I'm honored to be here.
One of the main reasons why Carlton wants to have this party is because there was a huge fire last summer which was a huge setback for them.
I think 125 square miles of forest was burnt.
Something like this could make the difference for the animals at this facility.
We have about 400 different animal residents that live with us.
Shall we go take a look? - Yeah.
Awesome.
- Come on.
You're absolutely going to love these girls.
Marcel: Wow.
Marcel: Oh, these girls.
Wow.
That's a real tiger.
Marcel: As I'm looking at these cats, I'm trying to picture them in their natural habitat.
Wow.
I'm thinking how cold it must be in the Himalayas.
And I started to imagine them panting and breathing.
I think this is a great way for me to draw inspiration for my menu.
- Hi.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Hi.
You're a very good girl.
Marcel: Do you want to come to the party? She's totally in your dating circle, too.
I totally see this happening.
As we were walking around the waystation, we came up with the idea, like, how awesome it would be if we could actually have animals at the party.
Like, inside the venue.
It's one thing to talk about a baboon.
It's another thing to actually see one right in front of you.
Once you have that emotional connection with the animals, it means so much more to you.
There can be any number of challenges when you bring exotic animals to a mansion which is situated in a conventional neighborhood.
But I'd do everything I can to help them.
It good for the animals.
I will see you at the party.
Thank you so much for giving us a tour of your amazing facility.
Thank you.
Marcel: I'm meeting with Chester, who's going to be the party planner for my first big event, because I need for me and the event planner to be on the same page.
- How are you? - I'm doing good.
How are you today? - Pretty well, thank you.
- Good, good.
Man: My client is Carlton Gebbia, and we're doing an awareness event for the Wildlife Waystation.
Carlton hired Marcel because it was going to be something different-- something unique, a big spectacle.
What I'm thinking is, considering the fact that is a little bit more of a cocktail reception, as opposed to a formal sit-down dinner, I thought it would be cool if we could have several different rooms with multiple different themes.
One room may be South American, and one room kind of be Southeast Asian.
We could do almost a safari feel to it.
I'm excited.
This is very exciting.
When can we go walk the space together and check out the venue? I've got three events going on so I don't see it happening.
So you mean to tell me that before the event we're not going to walk the space together? Not together.
You can go see it on your own.
I've seen it.
Marcel: Not being able to walk the venue with the party planner is kind of ridiculous.
It's one thing to talk about a space, it's something completely different to go through the space.
Basically, if we can't walk the space before the party, we're going to have to show up the day of and throw everything together at the last minute.
It's a lot of trust and communication, Marcel.
It's going to be a lot on both of our parts.
It's going to be rough.
it's going to be rough.
After the meeting with Chester, I have my reservations.
I've got a lot riding on this one, and so I'm worried about this party.
So this canvas, totally blank right now.
We need to fill this up with some ideas.
For our first party it's going to be more of a cocktail party than it is a formal sit-down dinner.
- Cocktails! - Uh-oh.
Saucy.
You know what would be kind of cool, is if we could create a map for the journey, like Indiana Jones style.
I love it.
What if you could eat the map? - That would be pretty awesome.
- Right? - But can you make it? - That's a good question.
What about soy paper? Or rice paper? Pressed cotton candy.
You know what would be cool? If we actually made fruit leather.
That sounds like a lot of fun to try.
Yeah.
One of my favorite things were those Amazon parrots.
They were so awesome.
Maybe if we do an egg dish with a nest, kind of like fried hash browns but super fancy? But the question isn't about the nest.
It's more about the egg.
What goes good with potato? Those little mozzarella balls? Sounds like a party in my mouth.
Yes! So let's talk about the snake's habitat.
Snakes are usually in the grass.
Snake in the grass.
It leaves its skin behind.
Shed that.
Snakeskin, I like that.
But I think we need a tree.
An edible tree.
- Like, meatloaf? - No.
I hate meatloaf.
What I was thinking was short ribs.
Tree/meat log.
When you say "meat log", I'm, likeno.
Yes! I think we need some sweet treats.
What about tiger's eyes? Some chocolate spheres for eyes.
It's so hard to mimic the actual-- It would take some experiment time.
I think that we could base it off the tiger's habitat.
I'm thinking really cold, I'm thinking snow.
Liquid nitrogen snowballs.
We don't have any nitrogen anywhere on the menu.
I think that would be fun.
You know how when you're outside and you're breathing out hot air and it looks like smoke? How cool would that be if we could actually have our guests see their breath? - Oh! - I'm always down with-- I feel like this first brain-storming session went really well.
We've got the edible map, we've got the snakes in the grass, bird's eye surprise, tiger's breath 'Sup, chef? First up, we've got these short ribs for the snake in the grass.
Snakes in the grass is essentially a dish that is going to be reminiscent of an Amazon rainforest.
For the snakes, I'm going to take shredded mimolette cheese, heat it, and the corkscrew it around a stick.
And when I slide the cheese off, it should resemble a golden python.
And then for the tree, I'm going to take pulled short rib and fuse it to beef tenderloin, which will hopefully look like a tree log.
We're going to go ahead and cook these guys sous vide.
Sous vide is a great technique for braising meats.
The sexy aspect of this is we're going to contain all of that flavor and all the nutrients and all the aromas.
Everything that's delicious about it is going to stay inside of the bag instead of leaking out into the atmosphere.
We got all the sexy goodies in the bag.
Our meat is already seasoned.
Let's cryovac these in a full vacuum.
And now watch it.
First the cryovac machine pushes air into the bag, to force the juices and the aromatics into the meat.
Then it rapidly sucks the air out, to vacuum-seal the bag.
There we have it.
This way, none of the meat's natural juices or flavors will evaporate during the cooking process.
We're going to pop it right into this thermo-emersion circulator that shows temperature to a tenth of a degree.
So in theory, very, very precision cooking.
It's going to be delicious.
It heats and circulates water to keep it at an accurate and stable temperature.
So we're going to cook these short ribs overnight and make it look like the bark to this log.
Is it going to look like the bark to a log? I have no idea.
But I trust Marcel, and I'm hoping there's some method to his madness.
I need execution right now.
Robyn: The stress is starting.
Oh.
[bleep.]
Marcel: Carlton's going to be here any minute.
It looks like a dead bird.
I think we're going to have to go back to the drawing board.
Ever work with mimolette before? No, I haven't.
What is that? It's this amazing French cheese.
Marcel: For the snakes in the grass I'm trying to figure out how can I create something that looks like a snake? It is, obviously, a hard cheese.
So what we want to do is grate some mimolette and bake it in the form of a corkscrew so hopefully it will look like a coiled up snake.
We're going to take this cheese and coarsely grate it.
I'm not sure it will actually work.
See how it's kind of, like, puffing right now? I want to have a corkscrew shape of a snake.
That definitely did not work.
Let me try this again.
Have you ever actually done this before? Mmm.
I was imaging a huge snake.
Uh, yeah.
Thanks for that.
Definitely not happening.
These cheese snakes are a total disaster.
[bleep.]
I thought they would be a little bit more pliable, and they're totally brittle.
So I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure out a completely new dish.
And next we're going to make some fruit leather.
Fantastic.
So we just puree fresh apples, and then make fruit roll-ups that will resemble an old piece of parchment.
A couple things we want to watch out for.
We want to make sure the apples don't oxidize.
And when we blend them we have to add just enough honey so that it will be sweet.
The cool thing about the honey is it's going to allow it to be elastic.
Robyn's familiar with catering companies and running the front of the house.
But she doesn't know her way around the kitchen that well.
I wanted to make sure the task that I gave Robyn, she was capable of executing.
All that Robyn has to really do is peel the apples, dice them up, blend them, and then spread them on the so fast and bake them in the oven.
Hopefully it will work.
We'll see.
I guess that's why we're testing it.
Robyn: This is a big test.
I'm not a chef.
Catering is my strength.
So I don't want to screw it up for everybody.
We're going to try this mozzarella balloon technique.
We're going to do that from these curds.
The idea behind the bird's eye surprise is to actually mimic a real bird's nest.
So for the nest, I'm going to take shredded potato, fry it and form it so it looks like a nest.
And then for the egg shell, I'll actually take the fresh mozarella and use a siphon to make a balloon.
and then I'll insert the cheese balloon into the nest.
We're going to go ahead and dice it up.
And then we're going to work with really hot water.
Approximately 65 degrees Celsius, which is also known as hot enough to burn your hands.
- How much? - That's enough.
So you're not even using the gloves.
You're just sticking your hands in boiling water, basically.
Dude, you're psychotic.
I'm rolling with you.
You want to work it so it has all that same consistency and texture.
Starting to get hot.
Then we're going to charge this with nitrous oxide and use this gas-- It's a bubble blower, basically.
Yes.
Got to make sure it can't pop like that.
Yeah.
Dude.
That's a mozzarella balloon, egg-sized.
Do you want all of them peeled? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Marcel: Robyn's definitely a little bit slow.
She's like, "Doo doo doo doo doo.
" Like grandma baking an apple pie.
Robyn, how you doing on the apples over there? - I have - You're about, what? Halfway through? The stress is starting.
I'm taking too long.
I know I've got to prove myself, but I've never made a map before.
Hell, I've never made fruit leather before.
Marcel: Robyn is kind of on shaky ground.
I'm not really sure how it's going to work out and I'm definitely concerned.
All right, Robyn, is that the last apple? Yeah.
Marcel: About a hundred years later, Robyn finally finished peeling the apples.
This is the first dish on the menu and we're already behind.
Not to mention I've got a tasting with Carlton tomorrow.
These are going to be some really cool-looking maps.
I hope this experiment works out.
The edible maps aren't that complicated, but they are pretty easy to mess up.
We have to spread the apple butter evenly in a pan and bake it for just the right amount of time otherwise it's not even going to roll-up or vaguely resemble parchment paper.
We got the shredded potatoes.
We grated them up so that they cook through all the way.
Man, that's cool.
Marcel: For the bird's nest, we decided to shred the potatoes so they look like hash browns and then deep fry them in between two ladles so they have the shape of a nest.
That's it.
Oh, you broke the nest.
That doesn't really look like a nest.
That looks like friend taters.
You have to keep on doing it until we figure it out.
The party is in two days.
And today I was supposed to figure out how to make all the dishes and then tomorrow I was going to have to execute them.
But now I'm actually going to have to figure out how to make them and prep them and execute them in the same day.
I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.
Marcel: Just a reminder, you guys, the host, Carlton, is coming today.
And she wants to try the dishes that we're making for the party.
I'm stressed out about this party.
I'm behind with the prep.
I've got all these different variables, these dishes I've never even done before.
Carlton is coming into the kitchen to test my food in five hours.
It doesn't look like these really worked.
You see how it's cracked? It's been dehydrating in the oven overnight because it took you too long to peel them, slice them, cook them, puree them.
This whole process should take about three hours when it took you eight hours yesterday.
If I try to roll this thing up right now, it's not going to work.
There needs to be a little bit of moisture left so they're pliable.
So you have to make them all over again.
Robyn: I feel on the edge of getting fired.
I know that I'm not moving fast enough, and this is like, "[bleep.]
, I'm so sad.
" I need you to do what you did yesterday in half the time.
I'm concerned that Robyn's not going to be able to get it done.
If she doesn't pick up the pace a little bit, I'm worried she's not going to be able to keep up at the party tomorrow.
Jarrid, we should work on actually making the eggs.
But instead of injecting them with just gas, we need to actually inject them with the tomato water.
Yesterday we pureed raw tomatoes and strained them overnight in cheesecloth to make the tomato water.
As you can see, we've actually got water underneath.
But this consistency isn't going to hold inside of a mozzarella blend.
So what we need to do here is make some tomato Jell-O.
And then we'll charge it inside the guns.
What we're going to do is make all this gelatin in the ice water, and while this gelatin is setting, I need you to pour the tomato water into that pot and bring it up to about 50 degrees Celsius.
And then we're going to combine the two.
Pour it in the pan and let it sit.
Marcel: Our tomato water finally gelled.
So now I'm going to take that tomato Jell-O, put it inside of the siphon, charge it with nitrous oxide, which is going to change the texture from a transparent Jell-O into sort of a white foam.
Now I just need to see and hope and pray that it tastes okay.
Oh, dude, that looks great.
That is, like, tomato on tomato.
Yeah, and the it's, the cool thing is it's completely white.
- Yeah.
- Ooh.
Marcel: The tomato foam is delicious.
I just have to let it set up a little bit longer before I can inject into one of these mozzarella balloons.
All right.
Are you ready? Let's get legit.
I pulled the short ribs out of the circulator and had Devon shred them, and now it's time to treat the bark with Activa RM, or what I like to call the meat glue.
Activa RM is actually a living enzyme.
You have to store it in the freezer, so that way it doesn't die.
If the enzyme dies, the meat won't bind together.
It's lookin' bark-y.
And now we're gonna fuse the short ribs around the tenderloin for the first time.
This tree is gonna look amazing.
The Activa should take about four to six hours to set, then we still have to sear each piece of the log, assemble them, and then garnish the whole thing to create the forest scene.
What's next? Can you turn the broiler on? Yeah.
What temperature do you want it at? Convection broil.
Make sure there's nothing in the oven, too.
Okay.
- Jarrid.
- Yo! We really gotta perfect those snakes today, the snake in the grass thing.
So we're gonna try this pork skin idea that you had.
I mean, not only do we have to figure out, like, oh, [bleep.]
.
[oven beeping.]
[bleep.]
Oh! - Jarrid, I told you-- 5 Fire extinguisher.
I told you to check to see if there's anything in there, man.
Oh.
Jarrid: Is that completely unusable? Marcel: I'm gonna make you eat this.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves, is the lack of attention to detail.
And we all need to be on the same page if we're gonna have anything ready for Carlton to taste tonight.
[bleep.]
So where's the tiger gonna be? Tiger's gonna be behind you.
This isn't really what I was envisioning.
I don't need this kind of stress when it's my first party, and my reputation is on the line.
Carlton: The guests are on their way.
Carlton's a very difficult person to read.
Try not to freak out in front of Carlton.
This is more than a dinner.
This is an adventure.
Hey, guys, we need the drinks.
We need the drinks ready now.
- I got 'em right here, actually.
- Drinks ready now.
Push.
We gotta get this food out.
Definitely not nervous.
Totally not nervous.
Marcel: So the first thing I want to check is our apple leather.
The idea is to dehydrate the apple butter.
The problem is if we dehydrate it too much, it's gonna look like a dried up fruit roll-up and it's not gonna roll up like an old map.
Yeah, no, it's true.
Robyn: I screwed up the edible maps once already and I'm really worried that if I don't get the second batch right, I'm gonna lose my job.
Marcel: All right.
Hm.
Might be a little too liquid to flip.
We're almost there, though.
Robyn: Oh, my gosh, it looks like parchment paper.
Yay.
It looks like her second batch of apple butter is coming out a lot better, which is good because we don't have any time for anymore screw ups.
[phone ringing.]
- Hello, it's Chester.
- Hey, Chester.
Uh, what's happening? I know that you're extremely busy, but I was wondering, have you heard anything from the Waystation yet? - We got animals-- - Nice.
So we're good to go there.
Just to let you know what animals are in each room, we have four birds, a monkey, we also have a Burmese python that's going to be in the Southeast Asian room, and we have a tiger.
That is so awesome.
Um, man, nice work, Chester.
Yeah, I think it's gonna be great.
Not going to the space with Chester before the party is gonna make our work that much harder, but at the same time, we're actually gonna be able to have animals inside the venue.
So the first room that we're gonna have is Amazon room, - which is gonna be the parrot.
- So, parrot.
So let's stencil on the animals.
Be precise with the stenciling because we gotta paint 30 of these.
And I'd like to have at least one of them ready for Carlton to taste.
And we don't have a lot of fruit leather, so unless you want to make this fruit leather for the third time, I need execution rig now.
Execution, guys.
The party is in, literally, 24 hours.
My final test for the nesting egg is to inject the hot mozzarella with the tomato foam.
See if it works.
I think the gelatin's melting on the inside.
It's totally melting.
Damn.
Let's try that again.
Oh, man.
The thought never even occurred to me that the warm mozzarella is obviously gonna melt the tomato Jell-O.
I think we're gonna have to go back to the drawing board on this one.
[laughing.]
Jarrid: For the snake in the grass dish, obviously, we need signs of snakes.
Marcel decided that cheese twizzles would be a good idea for a snake.
Definitely not happening.
Jarrid: It didn't work.
But I had a different id.
Pork skin looks exactly like snake skin.
When you deep fry it, it makes those bubbles and the waves and the texture even, event he gloss on top.
That looks pretty cool.
Nice lookin' snake skin.
I want to give us a snake pattern on the back.
I think it looks pretty cool, man.
But let's see how it tastes.
[crunching.]
That's some good snake.
Having the chicharrones to represent the snake skin was a brilliant idea that Jarrid came up with.
He's a huge asset to have on my team.
That's the best python I've ever had.
Can you give me one of those yellow tomatoes? Uh-huh.
The mozzarella balloon idea that I had, it's not really feasible.
So my new idea is to make a golden tomato on the inside of the tomato espuma.
I'm thinking, what if I just go like this? That's gonna be a duo of tomato and then that's like tomato water espuma over the outside.
- Okay.
- What time is it? Homegirl's gonna be here in, like, eight minutes, so we gotta get crackin'.
Marcel: Carlton's gonna be here any minute, and all I have to show her is the nesting egg and the edible map.
That's all I got.
So I hope it's enough.
[doorbell buzzes.]
Hello.
Thanks for coming.
Oh, my gosh, I'm really excited.
So we've got a couple of dishes, or versions of the dishes that we're planning on serving, to do a little taste test here.
And because of the nature of the cocktail party, how we're gonna be going from room to room-- - Yes.
- We thought it'd be very interesting if we actually provided the guests with a map, so they have an idea of where they're going.
I like that.
But then you can actually devour the map afterwards, and what's more-- what's more fun than that? And it's just like, it's like a apple leather.
This is fantastic.
It's-- it's so novel.
I love it.
Whew! The map was really tasty, it was nice and sweet.
It brought out the child in me.
The first room, as you can see by your map, has the Amazon parrots, so we wanted to actually mimic the habitat, so we have a nest that's created out of potato, and then a little egg white on top.
An egg inside of a nest.
Go ahead and-- [gagging.]
It looks like it's a cracked-open egg.
I mean, you don't think it's, um unappetizing? The egg dish is a little disturbing, visually.
It looks like a dead bird and I want to see an egg, so I am really concerned that if he doesn't resolve this nest situation by tomorrow, my guests are gonna cut into this and be really put off.
Marcel: It's the end of day two in the test kitchen, and I've just served my first client one of my first dishes, and she hates it.
We might be screwed on this one.
Oh, man.
Check this place out.
Me and my crew were up all night working on this menu for today and trying to get everything prepared, and we never got to walk the venue beforehand, so at least, at least we get to walk the venue now.
It's a nice place, but it doesn't really, it's pretty barren.
Hey, Chester, how's it going? Good to see you.
So can you tell these guys where the kitchen is so they can start unloading? Yeah, kitchen's just down the hall if you just hang a left.
I'm gonna walk around with Chester and figure out what's goin' on.
Okay, cool.
So I feel a little bit better about my work load, 'cause it looks like you clearly have your work cut out for you.
I do, I do.
I have a lot left to do.
In fact, this is gonna be the, uh-- When you say, "a lot left to do," you mean everything to do? Marcel: Chester seems kind of calm considering the fact that nothing's really done.
So where's the tiger gonna be? Tiger's gonna be behind you.
All right.
Marcel: This isn't really what I was envisioning.
I'm like, I hope the tiger kind of brings a lot to the outside because right now there's not a lot goin' on.
- We're gonna dress that up.
- What is that? It's an ice wall.
Oh, man, Chester.
Marcel: Maybe when it's dark out it'll look better.
Can we make it snow out here? Like I don't know, like a snow machine to kind of like-- I mean, we're gonna have fake snow on the trees and so forth but-- Yeah, I know, but I mean, like an actual, like one of those snow machines? No.
At the last-- no.
I mean, there's no way.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- No.
Marcel: Had we walked through the venue before, I probably would have come up with that idea ahead of time, and Chester would have had an ample amount of time to actually get it done.
Just put snow out of your mind, it's not gonna happen.
I don't need this kind of stress when it's my first party and my reputation is on the line.
We were a little behind schedule, mainly because we had less time at the location than I had hoped for.
Well, there's gonna be one here and one here.
There were so many details that I needed to have done, and I couldn't be there for all of them.
You're lookin' a little stressed out.
What do you need help with, carrying trees, setting up tables? Okay.
I am the master of that.
Yeah, she's more well-versed in that whole thing, anyways.
Why don't the two of you get together.
It would be my pleasure.
So we super quick style-y have to get these drapes on.
I feel great right now.
I know catering like the back of my hand.
This is where I'm really, really comfortable, and this is where I feel like I can shine, and I'm a great asset to the team.
If you could unload it right over there.
Having Robyn there to kind of help Chester get all the rooms set was so critical.
She totally redeemed herself, I mean, she could take ten hours to make apple leather next time.
So the moment that we've been waiting for is finally upon us.
I need to know that you guys are ready.
- Waiting all day, let's do it.
- I'm ready.
Welcome to the Wildlife Waystation Awareness Gala.
This is more than a dinner.
This is an adventure.
You're gonna need these maps to make your way back to civilization, and in case you get hungry.
Stay close.
Carlton: The guests are on their way.
- Awesome.
- So we good? Yeah, yeah, totally.
You sound stressed out.
You're more stressed out than I am right now.
And I'm pretty stressed out.
Carlton: I'm concerned.
This is a very important organization for me, the Wildlife Waystation.
Try not to freak out in front of Carlton.
So it's really a concern that he's able to pull this off.
Snakes and then a lion for dessert.
This thing is amazing.
- Marcel, he's-- he's a-- - Marcel's a genius.
He's clever.
It's clever food.
It's fun.
There's not waiting for anything, there's only going right now.
Devon, you need to start making these dragon fruits, so let's push, yeah? Yes.
Devon: My dragon's fruit caipirinha is pureed dragon fruit, as well as some cachaca, which is a Brazilian rum, and a little bit of simple syrup and fresh lime juice.
So we're gonna add the liquid nitrogen in and freeze it up and turn it into an adult Slushee.
Hey, guys, we need the drinks.
We need the drinks ready now.
- I got 'em right here, actually.
- Drinks ready now.
Let's keep on pushing.
Let's go, guys.
Push.
We gotta get this food out.
Devon: Just make sure nobody grabs the dry ice.
- All right.
- It'll burn them.
- Hi, guys.
- Hi.
This is a dragon fruit caipirinha.
You have to try this.
It is a cocktail.
What is this? This is a dragon fruit caipirinha.
Wow.
Carlton: Marcel's dragon fruit cocktail was nice, it was strong, something I could handle, but it was delicious.
- Can I get one? - Yeah.
You gotta fill up all of these and let 'em sit.
How do you, do you think it's stiff enough now to hold up? Yeah.
It's gonna be close.
It's gonna be tight.
I'm very concerned about the bird's eye surprise, and, you know, Carlton, she didn't really like it when I served it to her yesterday.
One of the tweaks that I made was I made sure the tomato espuma was a little bit more firm and had kind of, like, more of an appealing texture.
So the way this is gonna work is like right now, we're basically getting we're getting this done at the last second, and we're gonna be filling them with the tomato espuma, and then we're gonna reveal it.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for coming out tonight in support of the Wildlife Waystation.
Marcel: I've been worried about Carlton tasting this dish for the second time.
And now I'm worried that I have to not only serve Carlton this dish, but the other 30 guests that could potentially not like this dish as well.
[applause.]
And now, ladies and gentlemen, our next course is outside.
Bird's eye surprise.
Marcel: Definitely not nervous.
Totally not nervous.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, our next course is outside.
Marcel: I've been worried about Carlton tasting this dish, and now I'm worried that I have to not only serve Carlton this dish, but the other 30 guests that could potentially not like this dish as well.
Whew! Marcel: Welcome, welcome.
Here we have the bird's eye surprise.
And these dishes are prepared for you to just go over to the tree and pluck a nest out, so enjoy.
Okay.
Now comes the moment of truth.
Carlton's going to taste the bird's eye surprise for the second time.
- Very good, huh? - Very.
It was the biggest sense of relief.
Carlton: Marcel completely turned this around.
I am so happy.
It's fabulous.
And I know that everyone else is enjoying it.
It's actually amazing.
It was beautiful.
The bird's eye surprise, you've got like the crispy, crunchy shredded potato nest and then we've got the poached golden cherry tomato, which is warm and very succulent, and then the tomato foam over the top, which has the acidity and the flavor of raw tomato juice.
You know I love fried potatoes, right? And then the tomato foam was delicious.
I'm gonna have another one.
We gotta start settin' the log.
Yeah, I know.
The snakes in the grass, probably one of the most complex dishes at the party.
Okay, this one's a little smaller.
I'm gonna go with it.
I've never had the chance to assemble it, so I'm actually making this for the very first time.
Oh, my God, look at this, dude.
I am making love with this meat log right now.
After we sear off the short ribs, we have to assemble the segments of the log, and then garnish it to create the forest scene.
Right there, right there, boom-boom.
Go ahead and garnish this as well.
Jarrid: Yep.
We're trying to make it look like one continuous tree, right? Marcel: Yeah, exactly.
Yep.
Right there, right there, boom-boom.
- The natural forest landscape.
- Uh-huh.
Yeah, team work.
- Okay.
- Okay, cool.
[whistles.]
It's okay? It's lookin' really good.
I think it's beautiful.
All right.
Carlton: Marcel was behind our schedule, so I was nervous because we had some phenomenal people there, and I want to make sure that my guests enjoy my event.
We really gotta move, huh? Yes, come on, Marcel, hurry, we have to do this right now.
- Let's do it.
- The guests are waiting.
Okay? Here we go.
All right, everyone.
On to our next course in southeast Asia.
Let's go.
All right.
Do we have that slicer out here? Yeah, we do.
Yes, we do.
All right, push in, push in, push in, push in, push in.
It looks juicy, kids.
Welcome to the next part of the adventure.
This room is actually inspired by the python.
Woman: Oh, my gosh.
This is beautiful.
Oh, gosh.
And your next course is right over here.
This is what we're calling the snake in the grass.
You have beef tenderloin, a little braised short rib, broccoli, salty potatoes.
Who's hungry? Jarrid: You guys diggin' the snake skins in the grass? Yeah.
These are actually pork rinds.
They've turned a large piece of steak into a tree trunk.
It looks amazing.
I've never seen anything like it.
- There you go.
- Thank you.
It's delicious.
It has a mushroom sauce, the broccoli, the potatoes.
You can basically eat everything you see.
It's amazing.
The cool thing about the meat log is we took the short ribs because we sear 'em on the outside, it gets nice and crispy, almost kind of like carnitas, and then you've got the succulent yielding beef tenderloin in the middle.
It's kind of like a multi-flavor and texture experience.
Carlton: I hope you took photographs.
That's amazing.
Marcel: What's going on, guys? Talk to me.
Marcel: Through the face of all adversity, we were able to execute the first couple of rooms really well.
The last thing that's most important to me is that all of the guests have a great last impression, and that they leave happy and on a good note.
We need to put the coconut milk powder inside the spoons already because we're not gonna have time to do it later.
The problem is, I didn't even have the time to test out the tiger's breath, and I need to make sure that we're able to execute this one last dessert.
We can't-- we can't be messing around with last minute garnishes.
Process is, we're actually, I'm gonna take wild rice and sugar to make a nice compressed puffed wild rice tablet, dip it into the nitrogen, and the effect is gonna be like smoke billowing out of their mouth.
I've never been to the Himalayas but I assume they're probably something like that.
All right, everyone.
This is our final stop.
Welcome to the Himalayas.
Woman: Oh, my gosh, it's snowing.
Marcel: It was snowing, and it actually felt like the Himalayas.
Woman: Oh, the tiger.
Oh, that's beautiful.
Oh, my gosh.
Carlton: So now it's dessert time and my guests walk out and, literally, this back garden is transformed into this snowy oasis.
You were transported.
It was beautiful.
Beautiful.
- Are you ready? - Yeah, I'm ready.
All right, let's do this thing.
The biggest challenge with this dish is the fact that the puffed wild rice is so time sensitive.
As soon as I dip i i i i t into the nitrogen and place it on the spoon, I've got a window of five to maybe ten seconds.
If not consumed immediately, you're gonna lose the effect of the smoke billowing out of your mouth.
You can hand the spoons out.
- Everybody ready? - Yes.
Here's to the Wildlife Waystation.
Right? [cheering.]
Cheers.
Salut.
Marcel: I feel pretty good at my first big party, and it was a huge success.
The guests were happy, I was happy with the food, I think everybody had a good time, and there's a potential for a business here.
You did good, babe.
Marcel: Thanks.
I've had over 15 years of experience, and I use a new style of cooking referred to as molecular gastronomy, which is used by less than 5% of chefs worldwide.
Look at that.
It's all about fusing food with science and using cutting edge cooking techniques and equipment to create the most unique dining experiences ever.
Now I know many of you are probably thinking Get up, get up, get up! He's that [bleep.]
from "Top Chef".
You won the [bleep.]
challenge.
Whatever.
[bleep.]
Truth is, I'm not like that at all.
Where the [bleep.]
have you been? You say "jerk".
Is that station ready? No.
It wasn't [bleep.]
ready.
I say "perfectionist".
Whoa, whoa.
What the [bleep.]
are you doing? After "Top Chef", I needed my next challenge.
So I decided to give catering a shot.
I've set up a totally tricked out, state of the art kitchen and assembled the most creative team I could imagine.
- There's Jarrid - Yo! You ready to put down the welder and start cooking? Jarrid: I'm here to make sure the food always matches its surroundings, so I'm going to have to invent something, I'm going to have to build something.
This is my meat grinder carburetor.
Then there's my pal Devon How's it going, man? Marcel's been my best friend since I was 18.
We went to culinary school together.
That's using your noodle.
Marcel: Not only does he know his way around the kitchen, he's also the Marcel of cocktails.
- Hey, guys! - Oh, hey! I also needed somebody on my team that knows how to run a catering company, so I hired Robyn.
I've run catering on rock and roll tours for three years now.
I'm really nervous, because , obviously, I don't have the chef skills like they all do.
Open your mouth.
With my team in place, my new adventure begins.
To Marcel! Real people, spectacular parties, and the most outrageous food you've probably ever imagined.
Announcer: Tonight Let's do it.
The guests are waiting.
it's high class problems and pressure for Marcel - [bleep.]
- [alarm blares.]
when he and his team are hired by Carlton, a Los Angeles philanthropist.
Woman: We have an amazing guest list, so it's going to have to be successful.
She's teaming Marcel with her party planner, Chester, to throw an outrageous party for her favorite charity, the Wildlife Waystation.
Hi! Will newcomer Robyn crack under the pressure? [bleep.]
, it's real [bleep.]
simple.
I feel on the edge of getting fired.
And what happens when a cutting edge dish doesn't cut it? Total disaster.
Welcome to the future of food.
Welcome to "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen".
Marcel's Quantum Kitchen 1x01 Walk on the Wild Side Original air date on March 22, 2011 [kids oohing.]
This is what we call liquid nitrogen.
And this is actually really, really cold.
Today I'm doing a cooking demonstration for a bunch of elementary school kids.
We are going to make orange wedges.
Marcel: And I invited my first client Carlton and her daughters to come see some of my cooking techniques.
Carlton is involved in the Wildlife Waystation, which is an animal preserve, and she's approached me to cater a party.
There's nothing wrong with an ordinary orange, but I was kind of curious if I could recreate my own orange.
The Wildlife Waystation is such a passion for my husband and I and my children.
We love animals, and I thought that if I threw a cocktail party, that would be one way that I could raise awareness for this amazing foundation.
What's happening? What's happening right now is I'm freezing the orange wedges.
Liquid nitrogen evaporates really quickly.
So when you eat foods frozen by it, you're not actually ingesting liquid nitrogen.
It's a tool, like fire.
You cook with fire, but you never consume it.
This orange-- See what I mean? Now it's more like an ice cube.
So I'm going to take these orange wedges now and kind of smash them up and put them right back inside.
And then I'm going to take my specially prepared orange juice and pour this back inside.
Kids love Jell-O.
Kids love oranges.
Why not combine the two and do some form mimicking, actually make the orange wedge look like an orange wedge but have it be something a little bit more creative, something outside of the box.
You guys ready? Cheers.
That's one of the cool things about molecular gastronomy, it's all about making the food of the future.
This event is really important to us, and knowing that you're going to be part of that is fantastic.
Not to put any added pressure, but I would love to have the opportunity of stopping by before the event just to have a little sampler.
Typically, when you're doing an event for a client, it's not uncommon for them to want to taste the dishes or to try the food.
But the thing about it is you usually schedule that thing, like, far out in advance, and I haven't even started planning my menu yet.
So, I'm flipping out.
I'm sure we can make something happen.
It's not that I don't trust you.
Yeah, no.
I know.
You just want to check everything out.
Yeah, like, the day after tomorrow? Perfect.
We have an amazing guest list, some incredible, influential people, which will, obviously, help our cause.
So it's going to have to be successful.
So long do we have until we have to do this thing? Um, four days.
Jarrid and I are heading out to the Wildlife Waystation to some research for my first big event.
I figure the best way to get some menu ideas is to see this place firsthand and take a look around.
I'm excited, man.
I can't wait to see what sort of animals they have here.
Get some ideas.
To get to go and check out some animals on behalf of a gig is probably one of the coolest things.
I'm the type of artist where I can make anything.
I can build anything that needs to be made.
I already think outside the box, and food is pretty limitless.
I'm really hoping that we get to touch a lion.
I'll leave that up to you.
[birds squawking.]
Hello.
What an amazing place you have here.
Thank you.
Do you know much about the Wildlife Waystation? Why don't you elaborate for me? We are the first sanctuary of this type in the United States.
Our sanctuary provides education, relocation, rescue, and rehabilitation for all wild and exotic animals.
Thank you for participating.
I'm honored.
I'm honored to be here.
One of the main reasons why Carlton wants to have this party is because there was a huge fire last summer which was a huge setback for them.
I think 125 square miles of forest was burnt.
Something like this could make the difference for the animals at this facility.
We have about 400 different animal residents that live with us.
Shall we go take a look? - Yeah.
Awesome.
- Come on.
You're absolutely going to love these girls.
Marcel: Wow.
Marcel: Oh, these girls.
Wow.
That's a real tiger.
Marcel: As I'm looking at these cats, I'm trying to picture them in their natural habitat.
Wow.
I'm thinking how cold it must be in the Himalayas.
And I started to imagine them panting and breathing.
I think this is a great way for me to draw inspiration for my menu.
- Hi.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Hi.
You're a very good girl.
Marcel: Do you want to come to the party? She's totally in your dating circle, too.
I totally see this happening.
As we were walking around the waystation, we came up with the idea, like, how awesome it would be if we could actually have animals at the party.
Like, inside the venue.
It's one thing to talk about a baboon.
It's another thing to actually see one right in front of you.
Once you have that emotional connection with the animals, it means so much more to you.
There can be any number of challenges when you bring exotic animals to a mansion which is situated in a conventional neighborhood.
But I'd do everything I can to help them.
It good for the animals.
I will see you at the party.
Thank you so much for giving us a tour of your amazing facility.
Thank you.
Marcel: I'm meeting with Chester, who's going to be the party planner for my first big event, because I need for me and the event planner to be on the same page.
- How are you? - I'm doing good.
How are you today? - Pretty well, thank you.
- Good, good.
Man: My client is Carlton Gebbia, and we're doing an awareness event for the Wildlife Waystation.
Carlton hired Marcel because it was going to be something different-- something unique, a big spectacle.
What I'm thinking is, considering the fact that is a little bit more of a cocktail reception, as opposed to a formal sit-down dinner, I thought it would be cool if we could have several different rooms with multiple different themes.
One room may be South American, and one room kind of be Southeast Asian.
We could do almost a safari feel to it.
I'm excited.
This is very exciting.
When can we go walk the space together and check out the venue? I've got three events going on so I don't see it happening.
So you mean to tell me that before the event we're not going to walk the space together? Not together.
You can go see it on your own.
I've seen it.
Marcel: Not being able to walk the venue with the party planner is kind of ridiculous.
It's one thing to talk about a space, it's something completely different to go through the space.
Basically, if we can't walk the space before the party, we're going to have to show up the day of and throw everything together at the last minute.
It's a lot of trust and communication, Marcel.
It's going to be a lot on both of our parts.
It's going to be rough.
it's going to be rough.
After the meeting with Chester, I have my reservations.
I've got a lot riding on this one, and so I'm worried about this party.
So this canvas, totally blank right now.
We need to fill this up with some ideas.
For our first party it's going to be more of a cocktail party than it is a formal sit-down dinner.
- Cocktails! - Uh-oh.
Saucy.
You know what would be kind of cool, is if we could create a map for the journey, like Indiana Jones style.
I love it.
What if you could eat the map? - That would be pretty awesome.
- Right? - But can you make it? - That's a good question.
What about soy paper? Or rice paper? Pressed cotton candy.
You know what would be cool? If we actually made fruit leather.
That sounds like a lot of fun to try.
Yeah.
One of my favorite things were those Amazon parrots.
They were so awesome.
Maybe if we do an egg dish with a nest, kind of like fried hash browns but super fancy? But the question isn't about the nest.
It's more about the egg.
What goes good with potato? Those little mozzarella balls? Sounds like a party in my mouth.
Yes! So let's talk about the snake's habitat.
Snakes are usually in the grass.
Snake in the grass.
It leaves its skin behind.
Shed that.
Snakeskin, I like that.
But I think we need a tree.
An edible tree.
- Like, meatloaf? - No.
I hate meatloaf.
What I was thinking was short ribs.
Tree/meat log.
When you say "meat log", I'm, likeno.
Yes! I think we need some sweet treats.
What about tiger's eyes? Some chocolate spheres for eyes.
It's so hard to mimic the actual-- It would take some experiment time.
I think that we could base it off the tiger's habitat.
I'm thinking really cold, I'm thinking snow.
Liquid nitrogen snowballs.
We don't have any nitrogen anywhere on the menu.
I think that would be fun.
You know how when you're outside and you're breathing out hot air and it looks like smoke? How cool would that be if we could actually have our guests see their breath? - Oh! - I'm always down with-- I feel like this first brain-storming session went really well.
We've got the edible map, we've got the snakes in the grass, bird's eye surprise, tiger's breath 'Sup, chef? First up, we've got these short ribs for the snake in the grass.
Snakes in the grass is essentially a dish that is going to be reminiscent of an Amazon rainforest.
For the snakes, I'm going to take shredded mimolette cheese, heat it, and the corkscrew it around a stick.
And when I slide the cheese off, it should resemble a golden python.
And then for the tree, I'm going to take pulled short rib and fuse it to beef tenderloin, which will hopefully look like a tree log.
We're going to go ahead and cook these guys sous vide.
Sous vide is a great technique for braising meats.
The sexy aspect of this is we're going to contain all of that flavor and all the nutrients and all the aromas.
Everything that's delicious about it is going to stay inside of the bag instead of leaking out into the atmosphere.
We got all the sexy goodies in the bag.
Our meat is already seasoned.
Let's cryovac these in a full vacuum.
And now watch it.
First the cryovac machine pushes air into the bag, to force the juices and the aromatics into the meat.
Then it rapidly sucks the air out, to vacuum-seal the bag.
There we have it.
This way, none of the meat's natural juices or flavors will evaporate during the cooking process.
We're going to pop it right into this thermo-emersion circulator that shows temperature to a tenth of a degree.
So in theory, very, very precision cooking.
It's going to be delicious.
It heats and circulates water to keep it at an accurate and stable temperature.
So we're going to cook these short ribs overnight and make it look like the bark to this log.
Is it going to look like the bark to a log? I have no idea.
But I trust Marcel, and I'm hoping there's some method to his madness.
I need execution right now.
Robyn: The stress is starting.
Oh.
[bleep.]
Marcel: Carlton's going to be here any minute.
It looks like a dead bird.
I think we're going to have to go back to the drawing board.
Ever work with mimolette before? No, I haven't.
What is that? It's this amazing French cheese.
Marcel: For the snakes in the grass I'm trying to figure out how can I create something that looks like a snake? It is, obviously, a hard cheese.
So what we want to do is grate some mimolette and bake it in the form of a corkscrew so hopefully it will look like a coiled up snake.
We're going to take this cheese and coarsely grate it.
I'm not sure it will actually work.
See how it's kind of, like, puffing right now? I want to have a corkscrew shape of a snake.
That definitely did not work.
Let me try this again.
Have you ever actually done this before? Mmm.
I was imaging a huge snake.
Uh, yeah.
Thanks for that.
Definitely not happening.
These cheese snakes are a total disaster.
[bleep.]
I thought they would be a little bit more pliable, and they're totally brittle.
So I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure out a completely new dish.
And next we're going to make some fruit leather.
Fantastic.
So we just puree fresh apples, and then make fruit roll-ups that will resemble an old piece of parchment.
A couple things we want to watch out for.
We want to make sure the apples don't oxidize.
And when we blend them we have to add just enough honey so that it will be sweet.
The cool thing about the honey is it's going to allow it to be elastic.
Robyn's familiar with catering companies and running the front of the house.
But she doesn't know her way around the kitchen that well.
I wanted to make sure the task that I gave Robyn, she was capable of executing.
All that Robyn has to really do is peel the apples, dice them up, blend them, and then spread them on the so fast and bake them in the oven.
Hopefully it will work.
We'll see.
I guess that's why we're testing it.
Robyn: This is a big test.
I'm not a chef.
Catering is my strength.
So I don't want to screw it up for everybody.
We're going to try this mozzarella balloon technique.
We're going to do that from these curds.
The idea behind the bird's eye surprise is to actually mimic a real bird's nest.
So for the nest, I'm going to take shredded potato, fry it and form it so it looks like a nest.
And then for the egg shell, I'll actually take the fresh mozarella and use a siphon to make a balloon.
and then I'll insert the cheese balloon into the nest.
We're going to go ahead and dice it up.
And then we're going to work with really hot water.
Approximately 65 degrees Celsius, which is also known as hot enough to burn your hands.
- How much? - That's enough.
So you're not even using the gloves.
You're just sticking your hands in boiling water, basically.
Dude, you're psychotic.
I'm rolling with you.
You want to work it so it has all that same consistency and texture.
Starting to get hot.
Then we're going to charge this with nitrous oxide and use this gas-- It's a bubble blower, basically.
Yes.
Got to make sure it can't pop like that.
Yeah.
Dude.
That's a mozzarella balloon, egg-sized.
Do you want all of them peeled? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Marcel: Robyn's definitely a little bit slow.
She's like, "Doo doo doo doo doo.
" Like grandma baking an apple pie.
Robyn, how you doing on the apples over there? - I have - You're about, what? Halfway through? The stress is starting.
I'm taking too long.
I know I've got to prove myself, but I've never made a map before.
Hell, I've never made fruit leather before.
Marcel: Robyn is kind of on shaky ground.
I'm not really sure how it's going to work out and I'm definitely concerned.
All right, Robyn, is that the last apple? Yeah.
Marcel: About a hundred years later, Robyn finally finished peeling the apples.
This is the first dish on the menu and we're already behind.
Not to mention I've got a tasting with Carlton tomorrow.
These are going to be some really cool-looking maps.
I hope this experiment works out.
The edible maps aren't that complicated, but they are pretty easy to mess up.
We have to spread the apple butter evenly in a pan and bake it for just the right amount of time otherwise it's not even going to roll-up or vaguely resemble parchment paper.
We got the shredded potatoes.
We grated them up so that they cook through all the way.
Man, that's cool.
Marcel: For the bird's nest, we decided to shred the potatoes so they look like hash browns and then deep fry them in between two ladles so they have the shape of a nest.
That's it.
Oh, you broke the nest.
That doesn't really look like a nest.
That looks like friend taters.
You have to keep on doing it until we figure it out.
The party is in two days.
And today I was supposed to figure out how to make all the dishes and then tomorrow I was going to have to execute them.
But now I'm actually going to have to figure out how to make them and prep them and execute them in the same day.
I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.
Marcel: Just a reminder, you guys, the host, Carlton, is coming today.
And she wants to try the dishes that we're making for the party.
I'm stressed out about this party.
I'm behind with the prep.
I've got all these different variables, these dishes I've never even done before.
Carlton is coming into the kitchen to test my food in five hours.
It doesn't look like these really worked.
You see how it's cracked? It's been dehydrating in the oven overnight because it took you too long to peel them, slice them, cook them, puree them.
This whole process should take about three hours when it took you eight hours yesterday.
If I try to roll this thing up right now, it's not going to work.
There needs to be a little bit of moisture left so they're pliable.
So you have to make them all over again.
Robyn: I feel on the edge of getting fired.
I know that I'm not moving fast enough, and this is like, "[bleep.]
, I'm so sad.
" I need you to do what you did yesterday in half the time.
I'm concerned that Robyn's not going to be able to get it done.
If she doesn't pick up the pace a little bit, I'm worried she's not going to be able to keep up at the party tomorrow.
Jarrid, we should work on actually making the eggs.
But instead of injecting them with just gas, we need to actually inject them with the tomato water.
Yesterday we pureed raw tomatoes and strained them overnight in cheesecloth to make the tomato water.
As you can see, we've actually got water underneath.
But this consistency isn't going to hold inside of a mozzarella blend.
So what we need to do here is make some tomato Jell-O.
And then we'll charge it inside the guns.
What we're going to do is make all this gelatin in the ice water, and while this gelatin is setting, I need you to pour the tomato water into that pot and bring it up to about 50 degrees Celsius.
And then we're going to combine the two.
Pour it in the pan and let it sit.
Marcel: Our tomato water finally gelled.
So now I'm going to take that tomato Jell-O, put it inside of the siphon, charge it with nitrous oxide, which is going to change the texture from a transparent Jell-O into sort of a white foam.
Now I just need to see and hope and pray that it tastes okay.
Oh, dude, that looks great.
That is, like, tomato on tomato.
Yeah, and the it's, the cool thing is it's completely white.
- Yeah.
- Ooh.
Marcel: The tomato foam is delicious.
I just have to let it set up a little bit longer before I can inject into one of these mozzarella balloons.
All right.
Are you ready? Let's get legit.
I pulled the short ribs out of the circulator and had Devon shred them, and now it's time to treat the bark with Activa RM, or what I like to call the meat glue.
Activa RM is actually a living enzyme.
You have to store it in the freezer, so that way it doesn't die.
If the enzyme dies, the meat won't bind together.
It's lookin' bark-y.
And now we're gonna fuse the short ribs around the tenderloin for the first time.
This tree is gonna look amazing.
The Activa should take about four to six hours to set, then we still have to sear each piece of the log, assemble them, and then garnish the whole thing to create the forest scene.
What's next? Can you turn the broiler on? Yeah.
What temperature do you want it at? Convection broil.
Make sure there's nothing in the oven, too.
Okay.
- Jarrid.
- Yo! We really gotta perfect those snakes today, the snake in the grass thing.
So we're gonna try this pork skin idea that you had.
I mean, not only do we have to figure out, like, oh, [bleep.]
.
[oven beeping.]
[bleep.]
Oh! - Jarrid, I told you-- 5 Fire extinguisher.
I told you to check to see if there's anything in there, man.
Oh.
Jarrid: Is that completely unusable? Marcel: I'm gonna make you eat this.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves, is the lack of attention to detail.
And we all need to be on the same page if we're gonna have anything ready for Carlton to taste tonight.
[bleep.]
So where's the tiger gonna be? Tiger's gonna be behind you.
This isn't really what I was envisioning.
I don't need this kind of stress when it's my first party, and my reputation is on the line.
Carlton: The guests are on their way.
Carlton's a very difficult person to read.
Try not to freak out in front of Carlton.
This is more than a dinner.
This is an adventure.
Hey, guys, we need the drinks.
We need the drinks ready now.
- I got 'em right here, actually.
- Drinks ready now.
Push.
We gotta get this food out.
Definitely not nervous.
Totally not nervous.
Marcel: So the first thing I want to check is our apple leather.
The idea is to dehydrate the apple butter.
The problem is if we dehydrate it too much, it's gonna look like a dried up fruit roll-up and it's not gonna roll up like an old map.
Yeah, no, it's true.
Robyn: I screwed up the edible maps once already and I'm really worried that if I don't get the second batch right, I'm gonna lose my job.
Marcel: All right.
Hm.
Might be a little too liquid to flip.
We're almost there, though.
Robyn: Oh, my gosh, it looks like parchment paper.
Yay.
It looks like her second batch of apple butter is coming out a lot better, which is good because we don't have any time for anymore screw ups.
[phone ringing.]
- Hello, it's Chester.
- Hey, Chester.
Uh, what's happening? I know that you're extremely busy, but I was wondering, have you heard anything from the Waystation yet? - We got animals-- - Nice.
So we're good to go there.
Just to let you know what animals are in each room, we have four birds, a monkey, we also have a Burmese python that's going to be in the Southeast Asian room, and we have a tiger.
That is so awesome.
Um, man, nice work, Chester.
Yeah, I think it's gonna be great.
Not going to the space with Chester before the party is gonna make our work that much harder, but at the same time, we're actually gonna be able to have animals inside the venue.
So the first room that we're gonna have is Amazon room, - which is gonna be the parrot.
- So, parrot.
So let's stencil on the animals.
Be precise with the stenciling because we gotta paint 30 of these.
And I'd like to have at least one of them ready for Carlton to taste.
And we don't have a lot of fruit leather, so unless you want to make this fruit leather for the third time, I need execution rig now.
Execution, guys.
The party is in, literally, 24 hours.
My final test for the nesting egg is to inject the hot mozzarella with the tomato foam.
See if it works.
I think the gelatin's melting on the inside.
It's totally melting.
Damn.
Let's try that again.
Oh, man.
The thought never even occurred to me that the warm mozzarella is obviously gonna melt the tomato Jell-O.
I think we're gonna have to go back to the drawing board on this one.
[laughing.]
Jarrid: For the snake in the grass dish, obviously, we need signs of snakes.
Marcel decided that cheese twizzles would be a good idea for a snake.
Definitely not happening.
Jarrid: It didn't work.
But I had a different id.
Pork skin looks exactly like snake skin.
When you deep fry it, it makes those bubbles and the waves and the texture even, event he gloss on top.
That looks pretty cool.
Nice lookin' snake skin.
I want to give us a snake pattern on the back.
I think it looks pretty cool, man.
But let's see how it tastes.
[crunching.]
That's some good snake.
Having the chicharrones to represent the snake skin was a brilliant idea that Jarrid came up with.
He's a huge asset to have on my team.
That's the best python I've ever had.
Can you give me one of those yellow tomatoes? Uh-huh.
The mozzarella balloon idea that I had, it's not really feasible.
So my new idea is to make a golden tomato on the inside of the tomato espuma.
I'm thinking, what if I just go like this? That's gonna be a duo of tomato and then that's like tomato water espuma over the outside.
- Okay.
- What time is it? Homegirl's gonna be here in, like, eight minutes, so we gotta get crackin'.
Marcel: Carlton's gonna be here any minute, and all I have to show her is the nesting egg and the edible map.
That's all I got.
So I hope it's enough.
[doorbell buzzes.]
Hello.
Thanks for coming.
Oh, my gosh, I'm really excited.
So we've got a couple of dishes, or versions of the dishes that we're planning on serving, to do a little taste test here.
And because of the nature of the cocktail party, how we're gonna be going from room to room-- - Yes.
- We thought it'd be very interesting if we actually provided the guests with a map, so they have an idea of where they're going.
I like that.
But then you can actually devour the map afterwards, and what's more-- what's more fun than that? And it's just like, it's like a apple leather.
This is fantastic.
It's-- it's so novel.
I love it.
Whew! The map was really tasty, it was nice and sweet.
It brought out the child in me.
The first room, as you can see by your map, has the Amazon parrots, so we wanted to actually mimic the habitat, so we have a nest that's created out of potato, and then a little egg white on top.
An egg inside of a nest.
Go ahead and-- [gagging.]
It looks like it's a cracked-open egg.
I mean, you don't think it's, um unappetizing? The egg dish is a little disturbing, visually.
It looks like a dead bird and I want to see an egg, so I am really concerned that if he doesn't resolve this nest situation by tomorrow, my guests are gonna cut into this and be really put off.
Marcel: It's the end of day two in the test kitchen, and I've just served my first client one of my first dishes, and she hates it.
We might be screwed on this one.
Oh, man.
Check this place out.
Me and my crew were up all night working on this menu for today and trying to get everything prepared, and we never got to walk the venue beforehand, so at least, at least we get to walk the venue now.
It's a nice place, but it doesn't really, it's pretty barren.
Hey, Chester, how's it going? Good to see you.
So can you tell these guys where the kitchen is so they can start unloading? Yeah, kitchen's just down the hall if you just hang a left.
I'm gonna walk around with Chester and figure out what's goin' on.
Okay, cool.
So I feel a little bit better about my work load, 'cause it looks like you clearly have your work cut out for you.
I do, I do.
I have a lot left to do.
In fact, this is gonna be the, uh-- When you say, "a lot left to do," you mean everything to do? Marcel: Chester seems kind of calm considering the fact that nothing's really done.
So where's the tiger gonna be? Tiger's gonna be behind you.
All right.
Marcel: This isn't really what I was envisioning.
I'm like, I hope the tiger kind of brings a lot to the outside because right now there's not a lot goin' on.
- We're gonna dress that up.
- What is that? It's an ice wall.
Oh, man, Chester.
Marcel: Maybe when it's dark out it'll look better.
Can we make it snow out here? Like I don't know, like a snow machine to kind of like-- I mean, we're gonna have fake snow on the trees and so forth but-- Yeah, I know, but I mean, like an actual, like one of those snow machines? No.
At the last-- no.
I mean, there's no way.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- No.
Marcel: Had we walked through the venue before, I probably would have come up with that idea ahead of time, and Chester would have had an ample amount of time to actually get it done.
Just put snow out of your mind, it's not gonna happen.
I don't need this kind of stress when it's my first party and my reputation is on the line.
We were a little behind schedule, mainly because we had less time at the location than I had hoped for.
Well, there's gonna be one here and one here.
There were so many details that I needed to have done, and I couldn't be there for all of them.
You're lookin' a little stressed out.
What do you need help with, carrying trees, setting up tables? Okay.
I am the master of that.
Yeah, she's more well-versed in that whole thing, anyways.
Why don't the two of you get together.
It would be my pleasure.
So we super quick style-y have to get these drapes on.
I feel great right now.
I know catering like the back of my hand.
This is where I'm really, really comfortable, and this is where I feel like I can shine, and I'm a great asset to the team.
If you could unload it right over there.
Having Robyn there to kind of help Chester get all the rooms set was so critical.
She totally redeemed herself, I mean, she could take ten hours to make apple leather next time.
So the moment that we've been waiting for is finally upon us.
I need to know that you guys are ready.
- Waiting all day, let's do it.
- I'm ready.
Welcome to the Wildlife Waystation Awareness Gala.
This is more than a dinner.
This is an adventure.
You're gonna need these maps to make your way back to civilization, and in case you get hungry.
Stay close.
Carlton: The guests are on their way.
- Awesome.
- So we good? Yeah, yeah, totally.
You sound stressed out.
You're more stressed out than I am right now.
And I'm pretty stressed out.
Carlton: I'm concerned.
This is a very important organization for me, the Wildlife Waystation.
Try not to freak out in front of Carlton.
So it's really a concern that he's able to pull this off.
Snakes and then a lion for dessert.
This thing is amazing.
- Marcel, he's-- he's a-- - Marcel's a genius.
He's clever.
It's clever food.
It's fun.
There's not waiting for anything, there's only going right now.
Devon, you need to start making these dragon fruits, so let's push, yeah? Yes.
Devon: My dragon's fruit caipirinha is pureed dragon fruit, as well as some cachaca, which is a Brazilian rum, and a little bit of simple syrup and fresh lime juice.
So we're gonna add the liquid nitrogen in and freeze it up and turn it into an adult Slushee.
Hey, guys, we need the drinks.
We need the drinks ready now.
- I got 'em right here, actually.
- Drinks ready now.
Let's keep on pushing.
Let's go, guys.
Push.
We gotta get this food out.
Devon: Just make sure nobody grabs the dry ice.
- All right.
- It'll burn them.
- Hi, guys.
- Hi.
This is a dragon fruit caipirinha.
You have to try this.
It is a cocktail.
What is this? This is a dragon fruit caipirinha.
Wow.
Carlton: Marcel's dragon fruit cocktail was nice, it was strong, something I could handle, but it was delicious.
- Can I get one? - Yeah.
You gotta fill up all of these and let 'em sit.
How do you, do you think it's stiff enough now to hold up? Yeah.
It's gonna be close.
It's gonna be tight.
I'm very concerned about the bird's eye surprise, and, you know, Carlton, she didn't really like it when I served it to her yesterday.
One of the tweaks that I made was I made sure the tomato espuma was a little bit more firm and had kind of, like, more of an appealing texture.
So the way this is gonna work is like right now, we're basically getting we're getting this done at the last second, and we're gonna be filling them with the tomato espuma, and then we're gonna reveal it.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for coming out tonight in support of the Wildlife Waystation.
Marcel: I've been worried about Carlton tasting this dish for the second time.
And now I'm worried that I have to not only serve Carlton this dish, but the other 30 guests that could potentially not like this dish as well.
[applause.]
And now, ladies and gentlemen, our next course is outside.
Bird's eye surprise.
Marcel: Definitely not nervous.
Totally not nervous.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, our next course is outside.
Marcel: I've been worried about Carlton tasting this dish, and now I'm worried that I have to not only serve Carlton this dish, but the other 30 guests that could potentially not like this dish as well.
Whew! Marcel: Welcome, welcome.
Here we have the bird's eye surprise.
And these dishes are prepared for you to just go over to the tree and pluck a nest out, so enjoy.
Okay.
Now comes the moment of truth.
Carlton's going to taste the bird's eye surprise for the second time.
- Very good, huh? - Very.
It was the biggest sense of relief.
Carlton: Marcel completely turned this around.
I am so happy.
It's fabulous.
And I know that everyone else is enjoying it.
It's actually amazing.
It was beautiful.
The bird's eye surprise, you've got like the crispy, crunchy shredded potato nest and then we've got the poached golden cherry tomato, which is warm and very succulent, and then the tomato foam over the top, which has the acidity and the flavor of raw tomato juice.
You know I love fried potatoes, right? And then the tomato foam was delicious.
I'm gonna have another one.
We gotta start settin' the log.
Yeah, I know.
The snakes in the grass, probably one of the most complex dishes at the party.
Okay, this one's a little smaller.
I'm gonna go with it.
I've never had the chance to assemble it, so I'm actually making this for the very first time.
Oh, my God, look at this, dude.
I am making love with this meat log right now.
After we sear off the short ribs, we have to assemble the segments of the log, and then garnish it to create the forest scene.
Right there, right there, boom-boom.
Go ahead and garnish this as well.
Jarrid: Yep.
We're trying to make it look like one continuous tree, right? Marcel: Yeah, exactly.
Yep.
Right there, right there, boom-boom.
- The natural forest landscape.
- Uh-huh.
Yeah, team work.
- Okay.
- Okay, cool.
[whistles.]
It's okay? It's lookin' really good.
I think it's beautiful.
All right.
Carlton: Marcel was behind our schedule, so I was nervous because we had some phenomenal people there, and I want to make sure that my guests enjoy my event.
We really gotta move, huh? Yes, come on, Marcel, hurry, we have to do this right now.
- Let's do it.
- The guests are waiting.
Okay? Here we go.
All right, everyone.
On to our next course in southeast Asia.
Let's go.
All right.
Do we have that slicer out here? Yeah, we do.
Yes, we do.
All right, push in, push in, push in, push in, push in.
It looks juicy, kids.
Welcome to the next part of the adventure.
This room is actually inspired by the python.
Woman: Oh, my gosh.
This is beautiful.
Oh, gosh.
And your next course is right over here.
This is what we're calling the snake in the grass.
You have beef tenderloin, a little braised short rib, broccoli, salty potatoes.
Who's hungry? Jarrid: You guys diggin' the snake skins in the grass? Yeah.
These are actually pork rinds.
They've turned a large piece of steak into a tree trunk.
It looks amazing.
I've never seen anything like it.
- There you go.
- Thank you.
It's delicious.
It has a mushroom sauce, the broccoli, the potatoes.
You can basically eat everything you see.
It's amazing.
The cool thing about the meat log is we took the short ribs because we sear 'em on the outside, it gets nice and crispy, almost kind of like carnitas, and then you've got the succulent yielding beef tenderloin in the middle.
It's kind of like a multi-flavor and texture experience.
Carlton: I hope you took photographs.
That's amazing.
Marcel: What's going on, guys? Talk to me.
Marcel: Through the face of all adversity, we were able to execute the first couple of rooms really well.
The last thing that's most important to me is that all of the guests have a great last impression, and that they leave happy and on a good note.
We need to put the coconut milk powder inside the spoons already because we're not gonna have time to do it later.
The problem is, I didn't even have the time to test out the tiger's breath, and I need to make sure that we're able to execute this one last dessert.
We can't-- we can't be messing around with last minute garnishes.
Process is, we're actually, I'm gonna take wild rice and sugar to make a nice compressed puffed wild rice tablet, dip it into the nitrogen, and the effect is gonna be like smoke billowing out of their mouth.
I've never been to the Himalayas but I assume they're probably something like that.
All right, everyone.
This is our final stop.
Welcome to the Himalayas.
Woman: Oh, my gosh, it's snowing.
Marcel: It was snowing, and it actually felt like the Himalayas.
Woman: Oh, the tiger.
Oh, that's beautiful.
Oh, my gosh.
Carlton: So now it's dessert time and my guests walk out and, literally, this back garden is transformed into this snowy oasis.
You were transported.
It was beautiful.
Beautiful.
- Are you ready? - Yeah, I'm ready.
All right, let's do this thing.
The biggest challenge with this dish is the fact that the puffed wild rice is so time sensitive.
As soon as I dip i i i i t into the nitrogen and place it on the spoon, I've got a window of five to maybe ten seconds.
If not consumed immediately, you're gonna lose the effect of the smoke billowing out of your mouth.
You can hand the spoons out.
- Everybody ready? - Yes.
Here's to the Wildlife Waystation.
Right? [cheering.]
Cheers.
Salut.
Marcel: I feel pretty good at my first big party, and it was a huge success.
The guests were happy, I was happy with the food, I think everybody had a good time, and there's a potential for a business here.
You did good, babe.
Marcel: Thanks.