The Taste (2013) s02e02 Episode Script

After an eventful round of auditions I need a paramedic on standby.
That's [bleep.]
maniacal.
Let's see who's prepared this.
See, I got it.
We finished.
Don't try to test me, guys.
You're not even in the kitchen.
He's blowing a blood vessel.
- I love it.
- Oh, my God! I think you'd work out real well in my kitchen.
I said yes.
I can't even tell you how much this means to me.
- Thank you.
- Yeah! Yes.
Two chefs picked me.
The teams are complete.
For the first time, the four kitchens go head to head.
Marcus! 10 minutes, Marcus.
Plate them, plate them, plate them.
We're going with you.
I'm gonna leave now.
I'm sorry.
Put your lid down, here.
Cassandra! Tonight, two cooks will be sent home.
- No, no, no.
- Did you taste this food? I would've fired him.
It's game on.
Oh, my God.
Welcome to my trailer.
- How you doing, guys? - Wonderful.
Hi, guys.
How are you? Chef, welcome.
Congrats, guys.
You made it.
Marcus Samuelsson is a fantastic chef.
I think he's gonna be a fine mentor.
Please, have a beer.
Throw your caps anywhere.
My initial impression of Anthony was everything I thought it would be.
Just a super-cool guy.
Down to earth.
I'm very happy, to be honest.
Really, really happy that I've got you as my team.
So, then.
Welcome to Team Ludo, guys.
I'm excited to meet Ludo for the first time, see the rest of the teammates, and hear what we all have to offer.
I want to talk bout just some general principles about how I run my kitchen, how I run my team, how I like to live my life.
There will be no and I mean no chest beating, ball grabbing, towel snapping, truffle oil, or high-fiving.
Particularly, there will be no high-fiving.
I hate high fiving.
All right! We're gonna have a lot of fun, but I want to push you guys.
Marcus is really intense.
I'm just hoping not to let him down.
My rules are not like the boys' rules.
I'm not gonna shout.
That's not to say anything goes.
So, this is gonna be our first team challenge together.
That's really exciting, but that's scary, too.
It can be the last time we cook together, too, guys.
We have the skill set to win this.
I absolutely believe someone on this team will win.
Do not let ego get in the way of the team challenge.
Your apron.
- Thank you very much.
- Welcome to Team Ludo.
When I put the apron on in the morning, it means that I focus, and you want to carry and represent that apron well.
Let's suit up.
Reina, darling, wear it with pride.
Don't get it in the tea.
- Don, welcome.
- Thank you very much.
- Do your best, all right? - Appreciate it.
Bonne chance, guys.
Okay? Bonne chance.
Team Ludo! Yeah! Let us bring honor to our clan.
- For sure.
- Cheers.
Let's win this as a team, all right? - Yeah.
- Let's go.
It's time to go to the kitchen.
Welcome, and congratulations.
This is a competition about raw talent.
One of you, at the end of this competition, will be standing tall among America's most talented cooks.
At the end of tonight, two of you, two of you will have gone home.
Each week, two cooks will be eliminated one after the team challenge, and one after the solo challenge.
Our guest mentor for tonight is one of the most exciting chefs in America Edward Lee.
One of the most accomplished, brilliant, great American chefs in the world.
I'm very familiar with Edward Lee, and I love Korean food.
I love what he's done.
I'm really looking forward to it.
Tonight's theme is "My Life on a Plate.
" All right.
Let's get in the kitchen.
The mentors will set their teams a specific task in hopes of winning the team challenge Okay.
Let's go back here.
which will be judged blind by Edward Lee.
Hi, guys.
The winning team will get a master class with Chef Lee.
Remember today's challenge.
The mentor of the losing team will be forced to eliminate someone from their own kitchen.
I really want to win this.
I don't want anyone from our team to go home.
Each week, our mentors demonstrate a dish or a technique that will help us in the team challenge.
For me, the smell of my home was my mother cooking chicken.
She would cook a whole chicken very lemony and that, for me, is the smell of home.
The challenge I'm setting you all is to make your version of chicken soup, 'cause I want to know a bit about you.
I want you to put yourselves in it.
Nigella's chicken soup is amazing.
It has, like, a meatball in it.
It's very flavorful.
When I make meatballs, I always cook a bit separately first, just to make sure that the seasoning is gonna be quite right.
Coming from Ethiopia, being raised in Sweden, living in Harlem today, how can I sort of combine these three? So, we need to cook a multi-cultured dish, a mash-up, if you will, that's gonna wow our guest mentor, Ed Lee.
- Yes.
- Yes, Chef.
So, I choose the smoked salmon, right? Where I come from, my Uncle Toshton smoked fish in this fish house every day in the summertime.
You know, when I think about the food of Harlem, collards is so key.
Smell that.
All right? That's berbere.
That's Ethiopia in a bowl for you.
Just give it this sort of nice, toasted feel by toasting it, right? Already, more flavor's gonna come out.
The mustard's gonna really be also work like a glue here, essentially.
Those are the flavors that I grew up with.
Until age 44, I'd seen almost nothing of the world, so late in life, on the strength of this obnoxious memoir, suddenly I find myself able to go to places like Vietnam.
This was a dream come true, so for me, every time I taste a well made bowl of pho, I am transported back to that important moment in my life, sitting on a busy street, the smell of the pho, the smell of burning joss sticks in nearby temples, whole families on their motor scooters.
Three you know, mom, dad, grandma, the kids all packed in with it.
That's all part of the experience for me.
There was a precise moment eating this dish where I realized that life would never be the same for me.
Something had fundamentally changed in my life.
Anthony took you there.
You know, hear the environment.
He's very nostalgic.
I got teary eyed, I have to say.
What I want you to do is tell us something about yourself, and you're gonna do it in the form of a soup.
It's a dish I grew up with roasted chicken with potatoes.
Chef Ludo wants us to cook roast meat and vegetables.
However we want to garnish it or however it all comes together is up to us.
Chicken is all about the skin.
You want to make the skin crispy, and, of course, the meat to be moist.
So, to make the skin crispy, it's really to baste with butter.
Baste it, baste it, baste it.
All the time, baste it.
Every five minutes.
Mashed potato one kilo of potato, one kilo of butter.
That's the secret, guys, okay? I was thinking about wasabi mashed potatoes with tuna with a coriander vibe.
So, we don't have tuna.
We just have meat today.
Okay.
She say, "I'm going to cook a piece of tuna," and too bad, sweetie.
We don't have fish today.
Just meat.
I have been vegetarian for the past five years, so Ludo produces his first chicken, and instantly, I am anxious because I know what's coming next.
Have a piece.
It's delicious.
Do you want to taste, Cassandra? I can't eat chicken.
- You don't like meat? - I don't eat chicken.
You don't eat at all? - You don't eat at all this meat? - I don't eat meat.
No.
It's very scary to have somebody in your kitchen who don't taste his food.
Need to taste.
You have no choice.
She don't change, she's gonna go home quick.
Don't be stressed.
Do your best.
Let's just do our best.
Go all in.
Winning the first challenge is a really big deal.
I would love to have my bite represent the kitchen.
A chicken soup, for me, is a slam dunk.
One hour.
Don't forget about that.
Always look at the time.
Of course, you want your team to win, but moreover, you don't want your team to lose, because then somebody from your team has to go home.
I can't even bear to look at the countdown.
Stay loose.
Stay cool.
Let's do this! Go.
The teams have one hour to cook.
You're there.
You're there.
That's great.
Each cook will make a dish, but only the best bite from each team will be chosen to be tasted by guest mentor Edward Lee.
Get that on early, okay? At the end of the challenge, one cook will be eliminated.
Make sure your bird is on, guys.
If you have the worst spoon, the mentor need to pick somebody from his own team and send him home.
Our first team challenge is "My Life on a Plate.
" And Ludo wanted us to roast some sort of meat.
Louise, what are you doing? I'm cooking chicken because I grew up in the midwest, and I grew up eating a lot of chicken.
- You did? Yeah? Like me.
- Yeah, absolutely.
I grew up in France, and I ate a lot of chicken.
Yeah, so My dish is a duck breast stuffed with ingredient I have.
Put what inside? Mushrooms and leeks? Mushroom, leeks, and one egg yolk.
I think it could be cool to have kimchi flavor inside.
But kimchi, if I cook, is gonna be hard.
You think so? You lose the crunchiness.
Right? Chef? Ça va.
I'm doing a roast pork loin with ramen soup.
When I was 26, I was fortunate enough to go to Japan, and I did nothing but eat at noodle houses.
It's actually part of my heritage, 'cause I'm half Japanese.
Be careful when you braise it.
- Medium rare.
- Yeah.
Absolutely.
You want to finish the pork cooking in the broth.
I'm thinking, actually, I'm gonna throw some in there, and I'm gonna take a few out early, and wrap them in foil, just as Yeah, okay.
So if it's a little underdone, I can toss it in.
It's obvious Jack is a pro chef.
You know, he's organized.
He's not like Cassandra.
Oh, I'm doing wasabi mashed potatoes, and then I'm gonna do, the roasted chicken.
Yeah.
There we go.
Stick that in there.
Disaster.
The station's a disaster.
My God.
Cassandra! La vache! - I get messy in the kitchen.
- Oh, I see that, yeah? I mean, it is somewhat intimidating, you know, being with a bunch of professional chefs.
Flip it over this way, right? And then cut out the wish bone.
- No, no, no.
- Nope? You don't know how to butcher a chicken? That's just a basic.
Well, first, you take off the legs here - the side.
- Yeah.
So, do the same thing here.
Take your chicken like this.
- Okay.
- Take out the bone, follow and tag.
- This way.
- Okay.
The chicken died for nothing.
So sad.
You can't cut basil with a knife.
- No.
- It will blacken.
So, Nigella decides that we're going to be making chicken soup.
So, what kind of chicken soup are you making? It doesn't exist.
- Till now.
- I like that.
What are you cooking? Oh, I'm gonna be doing a Spanish version.
- Oh, are you? - Ah, yes, I am.
I'm gonna use the chorizo, the chicken, and a yellow onion for flavor.
Yep.
I'm gonna use some of that shallot, there.
In Jacquelyn, I've got someone who has worked in a professional kitchen, and I really expect to see from her something that could dazzle.
Darling, are you you've got no work to do? I think Ludo's got the hots for you.
I think he does, too.
So tell me, what made you do this soup? You're boiling all this really quickly, dear.
Yeah, I think this is good.
- This is my base for my chicken soup.
- Yes.
And I love mixing ginger with coconut milk, so I'm gonna add a little bit of coconut milk in with my base for my chicken-noodle soup.
Jay's soup, it should work, but, of course, we've only got an hour.
That's not a long time to steep.
So, you're doing a Moroccan chicken soup? Yes, pretty much.
Mediterranean chicken soup.
Mm-hmm.
It brings me It's gonna be easier for you to cut this way 'round.
- You're less likely to cut yourself.
- Okay.
Also, I think it's a bit big for that, you know.
- Yes.
- Be careful.
So, let me just go ahead and put it in there.
I'm a bit worried about you and that knife.
Do it this way.
Otherwise, I'm worried you're gonna cut yourself.
Oh, no.
I'm fine.
I have this.
Okay, then.
Reina is stubborn, and I'm not saying, "do it the other way," to be difficult.
I'm saying because I think she's gonna go to the E.
R.
soon.
Taste.
I don't see anyone tasting.
So much rides on this.
I mean, I'm really panicking.
The whole future of this kitchen is depending on me.
The mentors will each pick one dish to be tasted blind by guest mentor Edward Lee.
Don't forget to cook your protein.
The losing mentor must send one of their own cooks home.
Make me taste that, feel that.
Team challenge was "My Life on a Plate," and I inspired them to do multi-culture foods.
No.
that.
Here we go.
The guest mentor today is Edward Lee.
Definitely like some Korean-Asian flavors, so I felt pretty good with going into this challenge to impress him.
All right.
What do we got, Chef? - Coconut curry.
- Yep.
With sautéed mussels and seared halibut.
Good, good.
- Chef Ed he loves layers of flavors.
- Yes.
You might want to have clam juice later on, also, because, you know.
Perfect.
Perfect.
Let's go.
Don, what are doing? What are we doing? All right.
We're doing chicken-fried steak.
Nice.
And where's the multi-culture? My wife and I traveled to Spain quite a bit, and we fell in love with Spanish cooking - and all those Moorish spices.
- Yep.
And so we're gonna be using some of the Moorish spices in the chicken-fried steak to create a nice fusion.
And build this around the love of your life.
Build it around your wife, you know? - Indeed.
Absolutely.
- All right? Audrey, anything healthy right now, out.
- Out the window.
- All right.
Out the window.
I was heavy my entire life almost 300 pounds and I lost over 150 pounds in less than a year, so I started a blog.
And I have over 5.
1 million fans and readers.
Trying to do my best to stay on the show for my fans, so I hope they're gonna forgive me for using a little bit of duck fat today.
I'm pretty sure they're actually gonna love me a little bit more for it.
It'll make them feel not so bad about using some naughty stuff once in a while.
Audrey keeps saying, like, "I'm here to have fun.
" "I'm here to learn.
" She, you know, wants to kind of promote her blog and things like that.
Oh, my gosh.
But, you know, this is a competition.
Put your pan up, because once we take this out of the oven, we're gonna crisp up that skin.
That skin with the white wine is not gonna get crispy, okay? Audrey's not at the level the three of us are.
Get those lemon seeds out.
Get the lemon seeds out.
Then strain all the black peas in here.
We need to strain, okay? Get it.
[Bleep.]
more done.
If Audrey doesn't get her stuff together, she's out of here.
Grab a plate, Chef.
Plate.
Gosh.
Everybody seems pretty relaxed.
Nobody's panicking.
Nobody's running.
An ominous calm lays over the battlefield.
So, Anthony wants us to make our life as a soup.
Shellie, what are you cooking, again? - Ginger chicken.
- Ginger chicken.
Soup.
Just really simple.
Ginger, garlic, black pepper, onions.
It's very intimidating for me to have him standing there watching.
This is crazy.
What's your background? Your family's background? Both my parents are from the Philippines.
No goat bile or tamarind in this dish? No, no, no, no.
There's that bitter note in a lot of Filipino food Yeah, yeah.
No, no, no, no.
that really freaks us Westerners out.
No.
Shellie is not professional chef.
She cooks in a food truck, so hopefully she won't freeze in the headlights.
Pignoli.
Pine nuts? Yes, sir.
Pesto.
I'm gonna do a cream-of-tomato soup.
Right.
And a pepper-parmesan tuile.
Got to be really careful about the pesto, right? Absolutely.
The riff on a grilled cheese-sandwich and a tomato soup, that's something that evokes powerful memories for a lot of us.
My worry here is he's making pesto.
My mama didn't put no pesto in my tomato soup.
Interesting.
You're using that chorizo.
Thought I'd give it a try.
You're rendering out all of that wonderful, sinister - I don't know what it is.
- Well, I want to get it a little crispy.
- I love that stuff.
- I love grease.
Don't get me wrong.
Yeah.
I put it behind my ears.
Got a half an hour to go, guys.
Everybody heard? Can I get a "yes, Chef?" Yes, Chef.
- Want to taste it? - Yeah, of course.
- I think it looks really good.
- Good.
I'm not comfortable cooking meat.
I have been vegetarian for the past five years.
But I wish you can taste your chicken, because you know what? I want you to understand, the chicken is cooked perfectly.
- It's juicy.
It's perfect.
- Yeah.
But how are you going to I mean, you know? Oh, Cassandra.
I don't want to have somebody in my team who don't try her food.
You want me to do it? I'll do it.
Whoa! She eat! Bravo, Cassandra.
I'm very proud of you.
Very proud of you, Cassandra.
I really wanted to prove to Ludo that I'm serious, and I am a real competitor.
Like it's not like I'm gonna go out and eat chicken for dinner tonight.
That's not happening.
It's perfect.
Is yours? The batter is good? Huh? when she did that.
We need a bit of depth.
We need some flavor.
How about if I cut a little rim off that lemon? You can cut a bit of that lemon but I need depth, as well.
I taste Reina's soup, and I want to help, but I'm not sure she's listening.
Do you want to use Sriracha? Every chef uses that.
- That's fine, you know? - Okay.
So we'll just put a little drop? Nigella's asking me to add some Chinese sauce to it, and I'm thinking, "Chinese sauce? Oh, my God.
Is she out of her mind?" Add some here, and see what flavorings you like.
Okay, good.
She is absolutely crazy.
I have to tell you, this English woman, there's something wrong with her.
Can I stick my nose in there? Yeah.
Do it.
What's the herb floating in there? Some Mexican oregano and some cumin.
I have herb concerns over here.
I don't know much about these cooks yet, but mostly, I like that my cooks were not running around like headless chickens.
- Let me taste that.
- I was gonna ask.
- It's a little looser than I want it to be.
- That's okay.
Look, it's good pesto.
For me, the big question here is whether you want to use it at all.
And you've done this professionally for some time? Yes.
I have.
I have for a few years.
And I've always enjoyed cooking at home, but, you know, doing it professionally, - food is fun.
- Yes.
It's just the matter of being able to have that creative control that I like to have.
I think that being the only professional chef in my kitchen does intimidate the other team members to a degree.
I would hope that they would want to look at that as something that they could maybe learn from, so I'm gonna take leadership of this team.
Very thick.
Oh, that's good.
It needs more parsley.
That's Jacquelyn's assessment, but, you know, I'm not competing for her opinion.
I'm competing for Nigella's opinion right now.
Very good.
- Yes? - Very good.
So, I just dipped it in, dipped in.
Salt.
Salt.
A little touch of vinegar.
As I look around, I can see the other competitors have a lot of different components going, and so I'm wondering if my ramen is gonna be too simple.
This is the skin.
I put the crispiest on top.
- Put in between.
- That's good, too.
For me, you know, I'm like, "I make delicious food.
" Like, I want him to pick my dish.
Why should it be yours? Why? Because I think the chicken is done well.
I think the mashed potatoes are amazing.
It was gross.
Taste it.
Taste it.
- The flavors are amazing.
- Mm-hmm.
Gonna flip this steak in about a minute and a half.
Flip it to the other side.
Marcus keeps showing me more and more things to do.
That's really, really good, but you can also add fennel seeds to that.
You can add some Moroccan spices to that.
I'm not gonna have time to finish this.
Ça va? You okay? No? - Louise: It's watery.
- Oh [bleep.]
.
That aioli's up.
I don't know what to do about it.
Looking good.
- Want a taste, Ludo? - No.
Why not? I test one time, your spoon.
- It was enough.
- Whatever.
How far away is the pork coming? Maybe 10? Is it gonna be tender or not? I don't know, Chef.
Remember we're fitting it into that teeny, tiny little cup.
- Too big.
- Too big? I think it'll be too big for the chef, you know? Oh, okay.
I think in about three minutes, we need to be tasting each other's.
We're all fighting to be chosen by Ludo.
I think Marcus should choose my dish.
.
All the sauce here needs to go in there.
We're not gonna be the worst team.
It's not gonna happen.
Who are you going with? Lee.
Shellie.
I like that crispy skin on Shellie's soup.
Good job, everybody.
We're going with you.
- Yay! - All right.
My dish kind of addressed the challenge a little bit better, and I did think it tasted better.
It's good.
Nigella's not gonna be disappointed, because I cooked a wonderful soup.
You're nearly there.
You haven't quite got the depth of flavor, I think, for one bite, you know? Come on.
You know what? She's the one who doesn't have enough flavor.
Is this the finished one? I came into this competition as a professional, so I bring all this experience, and I'm confident that my soup is going to be the dish that we present.
It's getting to be between Jay and Jacquelyn.
The concern I have with Jacquelyn's soup is the oil and the grease from the chorizo.
It's not a good taste on the palate.
- Can I taste yours again, please? - Yes, ma'am.
I like it.
Do we need to put something in? A few chives or something? I don't know.
I don't think so.
Three minutes, so we've got to choose in a second.
I know that I've got nothing to worry about.
Okay, but I'm worried that that is too much risk.
I'm thinking this may be the soup to go with.
Quickly, quickly.
Everyone help get the cups filled up, please.
Okay.
Oh, my God.
She is making a big mistake.
Jacquelyn's soup is disgusting.
As the hour draws to a close, the mentors must choose one dish to be tasted by guest mentor Edward Lee in a blind tasting.
Plate them, plate them, plate them.
Okay, let's go.
Plate, plate, plate, plate, plate.
Okay.
So you want mine on the Plate! Plate! Don't worry about what I want.
Just plate.
My challenge here is that the puree is too similar in texture as the sauce.
- Taste that.
- Yes, you're right, Chef.
In the first team challenge, I would love to have my bite represent the kitchen.
It's a great way to start.
You want to start on top always.
We're not serving that, guys.
- That's not tender.
We're not doing that.
- Right.
That's gonna that's not crispy.
Not crispy enough? Okay.
Thank you, Chef.
Chef, you want to try one? We got four extras.
We got four.
Mmm.
Delicious.
That's a great bite.
Audrey has probably the best-tasting dish here right now.
Just roasted chicken with lemon.
All right.
I don't know which one to pick.
Guys, come over here now.
All right, guys, we're taking Shehu's dish.
We're going with you.
Yours.
Okay? Marcus decides to go with me, so I'm like, "that's pretty badass.
" You know, first challenge, and he picks my spoon first, so I was kind of stoked about that.
All right, we're going with Shehu's dish.
Let's go.
Can we send one up? I really wanted to pick Audrey's dish, but I helped her over the finish line almost too much.
Thank you, Chef.
If I would have picked her dish, it would've been like saying to them, "you guys don't know anything.
I'm picking my own dish.
" I can't do that.
Love this dish.
Love this dish.
I need one exactly the way you did, like this.
- I want to try it.
- Yes, Chef.
I want to taste.
He went back to her station, then he asked me to make another soup cup again.
It's a little stressful.
I really want it.
Like, I really want to be representing our team.
- And you put the oil in? - I did.
I did.
Ah [bleep.]
.
It's good flavor, but it's not getting right.
I don't know.
I like this one, too.
Do you want another taste, Chef? No.
It's good.
One minute and a half.
I take this one.
Thank you, Chef.
I can't believe it.
He just chose my dish.
This is a really good start for me.
I think that I could really win this.
I'm just gonna take one last taste to see if we need to change anything.
As it stands, it's gonna be a bit oily.
Oh, my God.
Quickly.
I could see that Jacquelyn's soup is separating.
I think it's between these two.
- You guys vote.
- We've got 40 seconds.
No, no, no.
I don't want to vote.
I need to taste.
Taste, taste, taste.
Get another cup.
We're going with you, Jay.
Quickly.
I have to change to Jay's soup.
- Hand me a cup.
- Here.
Okay.
I'm doing it quickly.
Quickly.
Quickly.
Set it on that plate.
Good job, guys.
All right, guys.
You're good.
Everything tastes great.
God, that was last minute, wasn't it? Guest mentor Edward Lee will taste all four dishes blind without knowing which team made what.
The team that makes his best dish will win his help in the solo challenge.
The mentor of the team who made his worst dish must eliminate one of their own.
It's pins and needles.
Someone has to go home after the team challenge.
If we win this challenge, it's a huge advantage.
I am sick to my stomach.
If my team member has to go home, I hope it's not me.
Hey, everyone.
Hey.
Edward Lee's a great chef.
He very much understands "My Life on a Plate.
" It kind of describes what he does in his restaurants.
The way I cook food, it's all about my journey.
I want you to tell me a story through your cooking.
Let's get into it, shall we? The team was very supportive of Marcus' decision of putting my dish up on the block, but I'm nervous now 'cause I'm representing the team.
Shehu is such a talented cook.
He wants it, but we need to edit some of the choices that he makes.
That's very nice.
Maybe a little bit safe.
It's something I've tasted before, but it definitely felt good in my mouth.
The texture was perfect.
Okay.
I think Ludo made the right choice choosing my dish, and I'm really proud to represent my team.
It's classic Asian flavors.
Mmm.
That's a mouthful.
I think Jeff's cup was the most balanced, refined dish out there.
Had a really nice flavoring.
It's a lot to eat in one bite.
The noodles were a little bit overcooked but very nice.
How cute.
This dish is so important to me, because it was a homage to my mom.
She's everything to me, and I don't see her that often.
It was like my mom in my heart, and I'm putting it in a soup.
I have high hopes for Shellie.
There's something there.
I don't know what it is, but I feel there's something there.
I think you could've pulled back just a touch on the salt.
Not the most balanced dish.
The rest of the group decided that Shellie's was the best.
I'm a little worried now about the rest of my team's palate.
Okay.
Nigella is my mentor.
I trust her.
Now the pressure is all focused on me at this point.
Jay's is so simple but simple in a very refined way.
Mmm.
I think it's really good enough to keep our kitchen out of the bottom.
That's got good heat to it.
I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more in there, that it was just the broth.
I thought the broth could've been just a touch more concentrated.
It's going to be our downfall.
I'm not sure why there was only broth in that cup.
If it was my cup, I would've made sure to put the balance there and give it texture.
My soup, it was delicious.
For some reason, Nigella didn't present my soup.
I'm so disappointed with her.
There was definitely one dish that just really shined, so the best taste today was Ludo's kitchen.
It's us, guys.
It's us.
I can't believe I won.
My dish won the team challenge.
I'm the first winner.
I won again.
Like the last season.
Now in my kitchen, we have Edward Lee.
Edward Lee is a chef I respect and, in this case, fear.
I don't even want to think about the fact that he's in Ludo's kitchen.
There's another one that I really enjoyed.
The second-best bite today was Marcus' kitchen.
Nice job.
We didn't win, but we were right there.
We were the second team out.
We did really, really well.
You know what the saying is.
Second place, you know, you lost to first.
So, you know, still a loser.
So that leaves me with just two left.
There's good and bad to both dishes.
They were both pleasant, but I think one definitely just didn't do it for me.
I'm just holding my breath.
Somebody's going home.
I don't want to let my team down.
This is not good.
I really think it's gonna be me at this point.
The worst taste was So that leaves me with just two left.
So, the worst taste was Nigella's kitchen.
Oh, my God.
What a big mistake she made, and I knew it all along.
One of us have to go home, and I know it's not gonna be me.
It's gonna be Jacquelyn.
Good job, guys.
I'm screwed.
I mean, I'm about to go home.
I do not want to lose a member of my kitchen.
I do not.
I do not.
I do not.
It's like waiting for the executioner's knock, really.
Nigella, you have the unenviable task of picking someone on your team to be eliminated.
This is very difficult.
This is making me feel actually, like, sick.
You each have good points and bad points.
Jacquelyn, now, I'm gonna start with you.
You have a tremendous feel for flavor.
However, I'm quite surprised, for someone who has attended culinary college, that you're slightly all over the place.
Crystal, you have to think how everything is going to marry at the end, because otherwise, what you have are components.
You don't have a dish.
Now, Jay, I felt not always in agreement with your method as you worked, but I feel I believe in you, and I know what your voice is.
Reina, I felt you didn't listen, exactly, to suggestions in a way that would've helped.
You're just very set in your ways.
Now, Reina, if I keep you, who do I get rid of? Jacquelyn, because for a chicken soup, it had a lot of oil.
Crystal, I'm gonna ask you the same question.
I like very developed flavors, but I don't think that Jacquelyn's flavors were as developed as they could have been.
They're kind of being torn apart.
And then, to make matters worse, they kind of throw each other under the bus.
Jay, who has to leave? It's Jacquelyn's, only because of the oil.
It's not a secret.
You know it.
Honestly, I didn't want a mouthful of oil.
It's a wise decision for them to throw me under the bus, because I'm a competitor, and I have skills they don't possess.
Jacquelyn, who do I get rid of? I would have to say Crystal because it was too peppery for me.
Nigella, who's it gonna be? I'm not standing in personal judgment.
I'm also thinking about the kitchen as a whole, and the person I'm sending home is Reina.
Nigella's threatened by my beauty.
That's what it is.
She couldn't keep up with me in the kitchen with her.
Let me give you a kiss goodbye.
Thank you.
She's telling me, "go home," just like that, because I'm beautiful? She is absolutely crazy.
I have to tell you, there's something wrong with her.
This way, sweetheart, and don't fall over there.
You're wearing the same sort of shoes as me.
Yeah.
I'm gonna go home as a winner, not as a loser, because I'm not a loser.
I don't feel like I lost anything.
Nigella made a big mistake by sending me home.
A big, huge mistake.
Let's just say there won't be as much cha-cha-ing in the kitchen anymore.
Congratulations.
Well done.
The individual challenge it's "My Life on a Plate.
" Remember, when you cook well, you're telling a story.
Make us feel something.
Ludo, since your team won the team challenge, they will enjoy the enormous advantage and benefit of working with Edward Lee.
Edward, if you'd care to join Ludo's winning team.
Everybody else can exit through the pantry.
Good job, guys.
So, all the other losers leave and we get a master class with Edward Lee, which is really freakin' awesome.
Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
This is super exciting.
Whose soup was that? - It was my soup.
- Your soup.
Ah.
What was that chewy Oh, that was pork.
Pork loin.
- Had little pieces.
- I liked it a lot.
I liked it a lot.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef.
But be careful with your noodles.
So, today's challenge is what? It's "My Life on a Plate.
" I want to show you what I would do if I were in this competition.
My life is about Korean food and Southern food.
There's a lot of other things that have happened in my life, but I don't want to complicate it, so this entire dish has no more than eight ingredients.
It's got ham.
It's got bacon fat.
It's got apple-cider vinegar.
I take some kimchi, and I'm gonna just cut that up, and the pickle of the kimchi just adds that extra crunch and a little bit of spice to it.
Got a little bit of ground peanuts.
Peanuts from the South.
It's a wonderful way to sort of represent, "hey, this is who I am," and I found a commonality here between Asian food and Southern food.
They don't belong together, but if you just manipulate it a little bit, they harmonize.
And the last thing is pork rinds.
- Oh.
- Crushed up.
I love that.
Nice.
- Because everything is better with pork rinds.
- Yes.
Tell me what you think.
I think it's delicious.
Mmm.
I love the peanuts.
That's super interesting to me.
- Try it? - I don't eat meat.
You don't eat any meat? Do you cook meat? Yes.
Now, do you taste it when you cook it? Ludo made me taste some today, actually.
You tasted Ludo's meat, but you're not gonna taste my meat? I don't know.
I think that's a little crazy.
Edward Lee's standing next to you.
You should taste his pot of greens.
We're gonna break down, and I want to hear about each of your individual dishes.
No gloating.
Sorry, Nigella, really.
No, it's okay.
These things happen.
It's in the nature of competition.
You know, when the time came and you had to pull the trigger It had to be done, and it's done now, and I will just go on to the next stage.
Why did you choose me? Why, why me? Well why not I didn't like the oil.
I did not like the oil feel in my mouth.
But if you just close your eyes and you take a bite of that soup, you got the oil first and then that goodness, which kind of destroyed the goodness.
The oil did.
Am I regretful for no.
I'm getting the feeling now, after everything that just unraveled I think that people are looking at me as a threat.
It is a fair question.
I'll tell you what.
Go ahead.
The reason that I had chose you was because of just the flatness of that one, there was a spice in there or something that came across as just kind of blocking me, and when it was in my mouth, it kind of got stuck there.
I like Jay, but, I mean, Crystal, Jacquelyn that personifies "hot mess.
" I think they're going nowhere fast.
- All right, Marina.
- Yes.
I was thinking just going Chinese.
Okay.
Some, like, dumpling soup.
I've immigrated twice in my life.
When I was 10, I moved with my parents to Brazil, and after my divorce, 35, I came to United States.
I think, through this journey of being a woman, Asian immigrant, I know things that these people don't know because they learn from textbook.
I learn from generations.
I learn from culture.
Don't make it too general.
I want your version of a dumpling.
Mm-hmm.
And your version of a dumpling is gonna be different than anyone else's, because no one has lived the life that you lived.
Do it with pride.
Say, "this is the best dumpling in the world - 'cause I made it.
" - Mm-hmm.
- All right.
Okay.
- Think about that.
All right, Louise.
All righty, Ed.
Tell me what you're gonna cook.
Well, my first instinct is to do some sort of schnitzel.
I'd like to incorporate a little bit of cheese, herbs, nice breading.
If you can hit that perfect balance Yeah.
- It's gonna be beautiful.
- Yeah, exactly.
Cassandra.
Tell me what you're cooking.
I was thinking a creamy tomato soup and then a grilled cheese.
Think you can still win this competition being a vegetarian.
Do something that's gonna make it stand out, or else they're just gonna go, "it's just another grilled cheese.
" I am particularly anxious now for the solo challenge.
Everyone feeling good? Everyone ready? Yes, Chef.
All right.
I believe in you.
Go.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Come on.
Solo challenge.
Guys.
The individual challenge is "My Life on a Plate," so you have one hour to prepare four mouthfuls and one full dish to tell us something important about yourself something personal, presumably delicious.
Good luck.
Your time starts now.
The individual challenge is "My Life on a Plate.
" You have one hour.
Your time starts now.
Each cook must make a single bite to be tasted blind by the mentors.
May the best one win today, guys.
Tomorrow, we die.
The cooks with the best dish will receive gold stars.
Somebody using this pot right here? The cooks with the worst dish will receive red stars and face elimination.
I'm gonna make a seared halibut with a brussels sprout, bacon, and spiced pecan ragout, blackened shrimp, and a hot-sauce beurre blanc.
When I was a kid, my dad and my brother used to go to Alaska to visit my uncle and go halibut fishing, so we always had halibut in the house, and the blackened shrimp and the hot-sauce beurre blanc are coming from my days in New Orleans.
I was asked to do "My Life on a Plate.
" I immediately, of course, thought of Diana, my late wife.
Diana grew up in a Mexican family, and she ate Mexican food her entire childhood.
And my dad grew up in Tennessee, so Tennessee lots of greens.
So, we're going to be doing carnitas with a raw-kale salad and a vinaigrette on top.
My wife and my dad all together again.
Both of them are in heaven, and I want to honor them with this dish.
With Audrey, Mike, Cassandra I think they went to the same school.
Oh, my God.
I mean, Audrey she wanted to give us lean food.
She wanted to talk about her blog, and I said, "listen, this is one hour.
" "It's got to be delicious, and I don't care how much fat you put in right now.
" Yeah, are you here to cook, or are you here to promote your blog? Exactly.
Marcus doesn't want me to go the healthy route.
He wants me to go a little bit more traditional, a little bit more about the flavors and not so much about what the food does for you.
So that does make me really nervous, 'cause I am kind of stepping out of my comfort zone, and I hope my fans don't see it as selling out.
I hope they see it as me trying to grow.
I'm making sausage and peppers.
My mother used to make it for me.
It was my favorite dish, but I'm kind of going a little bit on the Spanish side.
I've never made it with chorizo, but I love chorizo, so I'm happy to use it any time I can.
The chorizo's got so much heat.
I think it'll just be great.
The whole premise of my blog is all about taking the really naughty foods you're not supposed to have every single day and turning them into something really healthy.
The first time I would actually go out to a four-star restaurant, one of the items we had was cream-of-garlic soup, and it was, like, the most baddest soup I ever tasted.
Ever since then, I've been making it, and it's my go-to soup.
When you get a chance, Don, taste that.
Yes, sir.
- You taste the garlic? - I taste the garlic.
It needs a little bit of acidity or something.
- Little acidic? - Little light.
Okay.
Just a little touch.
0 Touch of acid? - Touch of acid.
- Thank you, guys.
- Shehu, that's amazing.
It might need just a touch of acid.
Yep.
Everybody's on the same page.
You know, we decided early on that we're a team, and so we're gonna support each other from here on out.
Not just today and tomorrow, but, you know, from here on out for the rest of our lives.
Still has to cook down.
Good though, right? Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
So, Audrey gave me a taste of her sauce.
I didn't think it was a winning dish.
So good.
I have no idea what my team's gonna do or my individual cooks.
I don't know them well enough.
I decided to go with bison short ribs with black-pepper rice and plantain chips.
The rice is a big part of my life, and it's a big part of my dish, as well.
It's one of the main components, so I need that.
I need it really bad.
Today, I decided to make my meatball au poivre with a wild-mushroom ragout.
This dish, I would say, is me on a plate, because my first executive-chef job, I was 23, and this was the dish that got me in the door.
This is what they said they loved the most.
I think the mentors are gonna love this.
It's simple, but it's classic, and as long as I get the flavors right, I think it's gonna be a home run.
I think Lee is a strong guy.
I think he's strong.
- He know what - I think he's strong.
I don't like him too much, but I think he know what's good to eat.
I'm making tlayudas which is kind of a Mexican pizza.
My trip to Mexico, where I did my internship, it changed everything about the respect that I pay towards food and towards the people that cook it.
I can tell you who I'm not worried about.
I'm not worried about Team Nigella, so They're the ones I hope are gonna fall first.
If I have someone going down on the solo challenge, my kitchen is halved.
You know, our spirits are dampened a little bit by losing a team member, but you have to position yourself.
It's a new challenge.
You get a fresh start.
You get an opportunity to redeem any sense of credibility that you might have, and I'm gonna do my best to do that.
My mom made the most awesome meatloaf of anybody, so, growing up, her meatloaf was, like, the one day everybody came home, so this is gonna be a riff on my mom's meatloaf.
I cook this meatloaf all the time.
I cook this meatloaf in my sleep.
I just got my meatloaf in the oven.
I cranked it up.
You know, cranked it up.
Cranked the heat up to like 400.
I'm 100% certain that my dish is gonna taste great.
100% certain.
If only Jay could just get a bit more confident, I feel he could do something exquisite, because I think he's got a good palate, and that really is important.
In the solo challenge, we are charged with making "My Life on a Plate.
" For me, my favorite dish was a very Southern cornbread dressing with a cranberry sauce and a roasted chicken.
I used to be really, really heavy.
I weighed almost 400 pounds.
This dish that I'm making, this Southern cornbread dressing that I grew up on with my mom, this is her recipe, and this was my last indulgence before I had bariatric surgery.
This is what I pretty much gorged myself on the night before surgery, so I thought this was apropos for this challenge.
This dish is pretty, for a lot of reasons Really important to me.
It brings back incredible memories, actually.
It's just weird because my life has been on a plate for the past seven years, very publicly, in many ways, and redefining myself and reinventing myself in honor of my mom, who was my mentor, I really want this one.
I really want this challenge.
Jay is making something that's very personal to him.
And that's a risk only because you're putting your entire heart out there.
I want to put my heart out there, but I don't know if I really want to open it up and put a target on it.
You haven't really done anything.
You got to get moving.
I will.
I will.
Having Edward Lee in the kitchen, you know, I think is very helpful.
You can say, "hey, taste this," and, "what do you think of this? "Here's what I'm thinking of doing.
Is that a good idea, a bad idea?" And he can tell you.
Still doing your schnitzel? I'm still doing my schnitzel, and I'm gonna do a little herb, sort of like a little dill, chive, herb chimichurri, more or less, to go on top, just as a savory.
All right.
Give me a little Wisconsin in there, though.
Give me something Wisconsin in there.
Don't worry.
There's gonna be cheese in the crust.
Worried about my team.
Are you? My vegan girl.
Cassandra.
She tasted chicken, so she may surprise you.
Chef, I had to change my dish.
You did change your dish? So what I decided to go with is I'm gonna do a roasted-garlic cauliflower puree with a pan-seared salmon and apricot-and-fig chutney.
That's a lot to do in an hour.
This dish is my life on a plate because it's the evolution of my palate.
I was hardcore vegan for a couple years, and once I allowed myself to be like, "all right, I'm gonna have a little fish," that was my go-to.
This is a bleu-cheese gratin.
Which is gonna go with my buffalo-inspired chicken.
If I have time, I'm gonna crisp up some chicken skin.
Just to top it with.
Awesome.
I'm making a dumpling wrapped in very thin skin of a fried, like, sheet of egg, and Brazilian typical whole-food broth.
Marina's a very interesting girl.
She purees pork in a blender, which I haven't seen before, but we'll see if it works.
Marina is crafty.
She knows how to cook.
She's been around.
She knows some technique.
I don't doubt her for one second.
Do I think she's a little nuts? Yes.
I believe that people are really surprised at the techniques that I have, and to me, just so normal, because I don't know what they don't know.
I just know what I know.
10 minutes.
Right now I'm just waiting for that meatloaf to crisp up.
Hopefully oh, good.
It's back down to 350.
Don't you love that? Do that.
I'll fix ya.
It keeps losing heat.
I have no earthly idea why that's happening.
Back down to 350.
Yep.
Okay.
Top of this meatloaf has a crispy bacon, and this bacon is not going to be crisp by the time this meatloaf gets done.
The bacon will tell me when the meatloaf's done.
You taking the skin off that? It's gonna add the flavor to it.
You know, I didn't really like how he kind of made me feel like an idiot for wanting to take the skin off.
I feel like there are plenty of people that, you know, that don't like skin.
See that fatty piece there? - Yeah.
- No one wants that.
Slice that off and discard that.
Do you think I can open this? It didn't even cook.
Oh, my God.
I open the rice cooker, and it's not cooking.
It's not boiling.
My rice isn't cooking.
So as a backup, I put rice in just a regular pot, and I put it on the range, but that is also jeopardizing the dish, 'cause I'm not used to cooking rice in a pot on a stove.
Okay, so, my bacon didn't do what I needed it to do, but I'm good with that.
Somebody just said that I need to press "okay.
" I can't get this oven to hold temp because I don't know to press the "okay" button?! Okay.
Okay! Crystal opens the oven and sees that her bacon is raw, so she has to scrape it off meatloaf and throws it aside.
Crystal doesn't have what it takes to make it.
I just think she should watch out so we don't risk losing another team member.
I'm comfortable.
I'm happy.
The salmon tastes good, exactly how I wanted it.
Give me a smaller bite on that one.
It would just be so affirming, you know, to win the group challenge and then win the individual challenge.
That would be incredible.
I don't think there's a chance in hell that I'll be picked as worst.
I think my dish is great.
All right, you got to hurry.
Two minutes.
Bring your cutting board over.
You're giving me a heart attack.
Hurry.
You've got 47 seconds.
10, 9, 8 Three, two, one.
Whew.
It's time.
- Right.
- Okay.
I'm ready to bounce into action, Marcus.
Bounce.
- Good job, guys.
- Good job.
Here's how the tasting works the mentors taste every dish.
They have no idea who cooked it or what they're eating.
Each mentor must select their best dish and, more importantly, their worst dish.
The best cooks receive gold stars.
The worst receive red stars and face elimination.
It's anyone's game.
I think I'm gonna get a gold star for this.
To have your own mentor say that that's the worst dish they've tasted, that's our worst nightmare.
Everyone is on edge.
"My Life on a Plate" It's a great theme.
Oh, my God.
This is really exciting.
This is a Caribbean-Florida-style dish coming from a Florida boy.
What was the thing sweet? - Mango.
- Mango, you think? Mango? Very Florida-Caribbean.
I feel like I'm on vacation.
Yes.
South Beach.
I think of South Beach.
Vacation.
They got me.
They knew where I was coming from.
I think Jimmy Buffett made this dish, actually.
Oh, my goodness, me.
Wow.
No la vache.
Yeah, it looks like a mini dinner to me.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
It's a lot of food over there.
I hope they can eat this thing.
I mean, too big.
Yeah.
It's only The Taste.
It's not "The Plate of Food.
" I'm gonna use my pen.
Do you think? Or should I just go face down? We all know that there's no utensils.
I don't know what the hell she was thinking.
Is there barbecue sauce in there? Yeah, it's like barbecue sauce.
And I don't normally like that, but I'm finding myself very comforted.
Not bad flavor.
Too much mash, but that's not really a bad thing in life.
For me, the texture of the meatloaf is wrong.
The ratio is off.
It's not right.
It's good flavor, but it's dry.
This is not my dream date in the meatloaf department.
I don't even understand that.
I'm not feeling confident at all.
It's not as polished as I would have liked to put out, just 'cause I was rushed.
I hope they love it.
Mmm.
Ooh.
Was that an "mmm," or was that an "ew"? - Well cooked piece of chicken.
- Well done.
- Wow.
- Chicken? I thought it was pork.
It's chicken.
I like the skin.
I love the crackling.
Amazing gratin.
It's almost better than my grandma, man.
Weight off my chest.
They like my dish.
It's gonna be okay.
Someone's kissing your ass right now.
Someone's talking to you.
They're saying, "Ludo, Ludo.
" I am worried about it being a little too spicy, but I love a lot of spice.
Wow.
Becomes spicy, huh? Not afraid of heat.
It's slightly burning.
Kimchi-esque dimension.
I like the texture.
Something is happening in every bite.
Has a certain nuttiness, which I don't know if that's a comment on the person's life.
I'm just thinking, "okay, this is it.
" My palms are clammy.
I'm nervous.
You know what we're eating, guys? I have no idea.
Something is very crunchy.
Mm.
I wish there had been less rice.
Absolutely.
There's something There's sour and sweet there.
I like the frisée touch on top, the bitterness.
I don't know what's going on.
I don't know whether or not they like it or they hate it.
As it was headed to my mouth, I thought it might be too much rice.
This rice is cooked perfectly, and I think everything is balanced very well.
Hearing Ludo say the rice is cooked perfectly is I got lucky in this round.
I want to get that gold star.
I want Marcus to say, "thank goodness I picked Audrey.
" Chorizo.
- Pasta with pesto? - Mm-hmm.
And bell peppers topped.
- Pasta cooked very well.
- Very well.
The size of the sausage with the pasta was wrong.
- Didn't work for me.
- You don't taste pasta? I taste chorizo.
A lot of garlic.
And it's very oily.
It was not bad.
It was not amazing.
Yeah, but we're not going for "not bad.
" I didn't quite see the relationship with the bottom and the top.
There seemed to be three good ideas at work.
It was a bit like coming back late night after a party, and you open the fridge.
- Yeah.
- And it gets cluttered.
I think that was what happened.
For me, this is the most unbalanced dish.
If I go home for this dish, it's gonna break my heart.
I'll definitely get some gold stars 'cause I'm a competitor.
I want at least two stars.
The salmon's cooked well.
I think you have coriander.
And it's right for the salmon to have that acidity.
I felt that it was lack of personality and character.
It was a little bland.
Safe.
I'm tired of that.
Everybody says "safe.
" The fish is cooked perfectly.
There are the good mashed potatoes, the good seasoning.
That's good.
That's what it is.
You know, on potatoes, people say "safe.
" I thought it was a sauce of some sort.
Yeah, definitely a sauce.
It's not a sauce.
It's a soup.
And I'm not complaining about this.
- No, you are, guys.
You are.
- I'm just commenting.
No.
You're right.
I'm complaining a little bit.
Yeah, you are.
Yeah.
If I was in a hospital, I'd be very happy with that.
You are very tough, guys.
I love my dish.
It represents me perfectly.
It's like a potato Yorkshire pudding flattened underneath.
I think this dish was built on texture.
Bacon, avocado, cream underneath, black bean.
Tasty.
You know what? It is good.
All these flavor, they go well together.
A compliment from Ludo? That's exciting.
I'm so nervous.
I'm just praying and praying and praying.
I like the salmon skin.
I'm not sure what's underneath, if it has any flavor.
Yeah, but a lot of flavor with the salmon.
- A lot of flavor.
- Skin's nice.
Pistachio.
I like that.
I'm glad I listened to Edward, and I'm glad that I did the salmon skin.
I thought that tasted good.
It is very simple.
I mean, it's very safe.
I get more nervous and more nervous, and I'm holding my breath.
I'm not sure what I'm eating, but I'm loving it.
The greens is a good offset to the rest.
They belong on the plate.
They're not just They're great, those greens.
My heart starts to flutter, and I'm starting to breathe again.
I was not loving the orange at the beginning, but now that the heat's coming on, I'm feeling better about the world.
I thought it was incredibly well-balanced.
I'm not sure that my dish is the strongest dish in our kitchen.
Mexican vibe? Pork and shrimp.
That's what I tasted.
The sauce is very, very fatty but not too fatty.
Flavor's good.
I love the flavor.
I don't know what it is.
- I know.
I'm flummoxed, also.
- But I know this flavor.
Hearing the words of the mentors, it's immediately soothing my nerves.
I'd have liked a teeny bit more heat.
You like heat? I do like heat.
As good as I think is, my heart is in my throat.
The meatball lacks fat.
Too salty.
I thought there was a shock of flavor.
I liked everything but the meatball.
You like dry meatballs.
This, I grew up with three days a week.
That was a showstopper for me.
Anthony straight up said he wanted to stop the competition.
The sauce is amazing.
As a French guy, I would say, "you know what? I would put my sauce in this restaurant.
" I feel like I'm on top.
Gold stars are most certainly in my future.
At least one, if not all four.
How extraordinary.
I love that almost floral celery.
Wrappers in there.
It's a wonton soup.
Well, yeah.
Of course.
It's a wonton.
Kick it up another notch.
It's very delicate.
You know, it's very well-balanced.
If you look at the cut, nice chop.
This is somebody that shows off their technique in a subtle way.
Great flavor.
- Fantastic.
- Fantastic.
I'm scraping out my bits.
I hope the mentors see the simplicity of the dish for what it is.
It doesn't have a lot of components, but it does have a lot of flavor.
It's Thanksgiving.
And lots of it.
Let me tell you something, guys.
It is a dessert.
It tastes like a maraschino cherry.
It's a sour-dried cherry.
That's what it is.
The stuffing, for me, has got the fattiness coming out a bit, which is not quite right, and I love fat.
I think this spoon's a disaster.
I never thought I'd be in this position cooking this particular dish.
I hope that wasn't any of mine.
No balance.
I would love to get a gold star.
I don't know if a schnitzel is gonna get me a gold star.
Chicken schnitzel? Yes.
It's some sort of Onion jam? It's onion? - Red cabbage? - Yeah.
If it is red cabbage, it's not done with the traditional sort of a caraway, cinnamon.
No, no, no, no, no.
I could tell they didn't dislike it.
That, I could tell.
This could be red wine? Yeah.
Red wine on pork.
I'd do that with a dry Riesling.
Yeah.
I don't know whose life it is, but I would like to share a moment of it.
All right, guys.
Good job.
As you know, we have to select our best and worst now.
During that time, why don't you hit the break room? Everyone's so nervous because you really have no idea which direction they're gonna go.
Oh, my God.
Right now you know they're out there deciding the best, the worst, who's gonna go down in a burning flame.
I don't want to go home on this one.
I'll just put it out there for the record.
I don't want to go home, either.
- Not on this one.
- One person has to go today.
That was excruciating to watch them nitpick through every little dish.
At this point, it's like you're making your one dish and you think it's so good, but then there's 15 other people making a dish, and who knows how yours is gonna stand up to that? You're probably gonna be one of the best ones with Lee and Cassandra, there is quite the budding "showmance" going on.
Cassandra and Lee, two little lovebirds I think it's really cute.
I even saw him carrying her sandal the other day.
Really? I knew this was gonna come out, but Cassie is she's gorgeous.
She is.
Oh, God.
I think he's wonderful, and he's obviously very handsome.
We might like each other a little bit.
All right.
All right, all right.
Pull yourself together.
It's, like, cute.
It's young love.
Oh.
Ludo's team is moving on.
We're definitely moving on.
We're good.
So far, Team Ludo, we're the strongest team around.
It's hard being the top team, 'cause I feel like a lots more is expected from you.
- "A lots more.
" - Whatever.
Team Ludo is just talking right now.
It happened.
You just need to accept it.
It happened, all right? Jeff is Mr.
Talker.
He can talk as much as he wants.
At the end of the day, I'm gonna cook my dish and do it awesome.
I really love Jay, but I feel bad for him.
- I do, too.
- He's on a sinking ship.
He's on a sinking ship.
I don't know about you guys, but we have a name for Nigella's team right now.
We're calling her team "hot mess.
" Oh, we're going there.
I love Nigella.
But her team's a hot mess.
I think what's completely screwing with my mind, too, is the fact that your own mentor can choose for you to be the one to go home.
I can't imagine anything worse than my own mentor choosing my dish as the worst.
One of these chefs is going home.
It's scary.
I'm stressed out.
I'm nervous.
The cooks with the best dishes receive gold stars.
The cooks with the worst dishes receive red stars.
Are we ready, guys? - We are.
- Yes.
- Oof.
Let's go.
- All right.
Let's bring out the cooks.
Oh, my God.
They must be feeling sick with nerves.
My stomach is in knots.
I'm just a nervous wreck right now.
Welcome back.
As you know, we've picked our best and worst cooks, and, of course, we have no idea who cooked what.
So, let's find out who cooked our best dishes first.
I want gold stars.
I'm ready to be the top dish.
The cook who prepared my favorite dish was Lee.
Nicely done.
Congratulations.
I am very happy.
My own team.
My favorite was, um Jeff.
Good! Bravo, Jeff.
Well done.
Well done.
Great bite.
Thank you, Chef.
You know, I was really torn between two bites for my favorite, but this is the one I plumped for.
Oh, my God.
Jeff, congratulations, doubly, I see.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So, my best one was With two gold stars each, Jeff from Team Ludo and Lee from Team Anthony are tonight's best cooks.
I like it.
I like it.
Good job.
Good job.
I'm not a fan of you, but good job.
Congratulations, Jeff.
Congratulations, Lee.
Uh, let's take a look at what you cooked for us.
Lee, um, what were you thinking of when you did this dish, and where does it come from? Uh, this was my meatballs au poivre, and, uh, this dish was the dish that got me my first head chef job, so to me, this was, like, the turning point in my career.
This got me to step up, and I was hoping to step up today, as well.
Your plate is ugly.
It's crude.
It grabbed me, however, in a how shall I put this a very happy place.
Peppercorns, cognac, uh Peppercorns, brandy, thyme, onions, garlic confit, and beef stock.
This was a delicious mouthful of food that immediately made me want more.
Lee, presentation not very appetizing, but doesn't matter, bro.
You get it.
It's about the taste, and I will say I was very, very impressed about your stories.
Very impressed, man.
Well done.
Thank you, Chef.
Jeff, um, both Nigella and I, we loved your dish.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
It's inspired because I like chicken wings.
And I want to take something that was really common and change it and show how I've evolved, um, through cooking and traveling, and so I deboned a chicken thigh and then, um, I did a very light batter, and I took the chicken skin, and I cooked it separately to make a crackling, and then I made a potato gratin with bleu cheese, and then I pickled some celery so you would have the elements that would be in a chicken wing, but it's a little more refined.
Great job.
Uh, fantastic execution.
- Uh, well done.
- Thank you, Chef.
I mean, I have to say, Jeff, to get simplicity perfect, which it has to be, is no mean feat in an hour.
Getting it right, making it sing that's the skill.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Jeff, you win the team challenge, so I'm very, very proud of you, you know? - Thank you, Chef.
- I have one criticism.
- Of course, of course.
- You're gonna make him unbearable.
You're gonna make him unbearable! You took us to a good place, both of you.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Well done.
Now it's time for us to reveal our choices for worst mouthful of the night.
I'm nervous.
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I'm not on the worst.
I don't want to be on the bottom.
This is the worst feeling.
My worst taste was Jay.
And my least favorite tonight was Audrey.
I picked my own teammate.
My heart dropped.
That's painful.
I hate this.
Hate this.
This is my worst tonight.
When I see Jay's name, I am feeling so bad.
The one I don't like tonight was Jay.
Well [bleep.]
, here we go.
With Jay from Team Nigella racking up three red stars, and Audrey from Team Marcus with one, they are tonight's worst cooks.
Now, the mentors decide who to send home.
I am feeling devastated.
I do not want to lose another of my cooks.
I do not.
I do not.
I do not.
Jay, Audrey, you cooked our least favorite dishes.
Let's take a look at them.
We all tasted her sauce, and it ended up being a really greasy, oily dish.
Audrey, tell me, what did you cook for us? I, um, made a rendition of my mother's sausage and peppers from my childhood.
Um, that was an ode to her.
The pasta was an ode to my beautiful daughter.
I used chorizo to kind of symbolize my time in San Diego during college, and lastly, I, um, used local wine from California because I'm a food and wine writer, so I chose a local, um, California wine to symbolize what I'm doing right now.
Uh, you're telling two, maybe three different stories with this plate, as far as I'm concerned.
You overthought this dish.
I understand.
And you would never really serve these together.
It isn't a dish.
I think you were thinking too much.
I agree.
I may have been thinking too much.
This dish has elements of some nice taste, but it's a very unfocused dish.
This is a big step up for you, and if you gonna have any opportunity to hang with these incredible cooks, you need to focus.
Tight focus.
- Yes, Chef.
- This is all over the map.
Jay, tell me about this.
Well, this particular dish was something I grew up having every Thanksgiving, every Easter, every Christmas.
It's cornbread dressing with, um, almond cranberry jelly, and then roasted chicken.
Uh, it's a very simple dish.
I liked it.
I tasted it over and over again.
I And I'll tell you, Jay, the things you see here, really, what was the spoon, which is the balance was off.
There's too much dressing, and that rather swamped it, and I know from cooking with you that you actually have a refined palate, and it really pains me to see you here 'cause you don't deserve to be on the bottom, and yet you are.
I agree.
I agree with you 100%.
I don't deserve to be on the bottom.
I like cornbread dressing, and that's cornbread dressing.
It is.
I could've put walnuts in it, but I don't like walnuts.
I could've done a lot of things to it.
- Jay, can I say something? - Yes.
I feel like this dish was very dry, and you may need some good gravy to make Well, I considered putting gravy on it, but gravy doesn't hold well.
- It doesn't hold well.
- Well, that's true.
I think I would've made a mistake by putting gravy on that.
I'd like to address your point.
Without question, it needed gravy, whatever the circumstances.
The more moisture, the better, uh, as far as I'm concerned.
Look, I can defend that dish.
I like it.
It may have been a little dry.
It may have needed gravy.
It's really hard to balance that amount in a spoon between flavor, sweet, and texture.
Did you taste did you taste your spoon? I certainly did.
- Did you taste your spoon? - Yes, I Well, you have must have a bad palate.
I'm sorry.
If you taste your spoon, you will see it was very dry.
- I liked it.
- So, you know what, man? - I liked it.
- I guess you don't have a good palate.
No, I do have a de Jay, shut up! Just shut up now and leave it alone, because you're digging your hole right now.
- Jay, your dish makes sense.
- It's a classic Well, thank you.
It's a classic It's about time somebody recognized that it makes sense.
I love Thanksgiving.
I'm French.
- It's a classic combination.
- I'm French, but I live here for 16 years.
I love Thanksgiving.
I'm sorry.
You're just missing your gravy, bro.
The emotional story, the emotional story is there.
Thanksgiving needs gravy.
I'm sorry.
Well, I don't deserve to go home because I didn't put gravy on a dressing.
- Well, Jay, there's one thing.
- Wow.
The balance of that dish is off.
Completely off.
Jay, you can roll your eyes as much as you want.
If you think that's the balance in the dish When you have four people telling you, "I'm sorry, this was dry," you just need to shut up and be like, "yeah, okay, it was dry.
" Let's put it this way you got a lot of combined years of experience at this table, both cooking and eating, and we're all telling you the same thing.
I thought this was about me putting myself on that plate.
Well, who are you that you would talk back to these people? The chef is always right.
Even when he's wrong, he's right.
You don't argue with those mentors.
It did have an emotional story.
Audrey, why shouldn't we send you home for this? Because I came here to learn.
Um, I'm certainly not gonna argue with you guys.
You know, you guys clearly have a better palate than I do, and if you guys did not enjoy it, then I want to know how I can make it better, and I want to learn from you guys.
Thank you.
Jay, why should we keep you? I'm also here to learn, and I'm open to criticism.
Um, this particular challenge was really important to me because it was so personal, and I think that's where the emotion that you're getting from me is coming back.
I would not not accept your criticism.
I do.
I respect every one of you, and I respect your palates.
I am here to try and learn and grow and expand my palate, as well, but at the same time, defend who I am as a cook.
- Thank you.
- I don't quit.
Thanks so much.
Now, as you know, we made our decisions on best and worst absolutely blind no idea who's cooking what.
Our decision, however, on who's going home, is going to be based on our evaluation of the situation and the cumulative performance so far by both of you.
We have much to discuss.
If you'd be kind enough to wait in the break room, we have a decision to make.
Thank you.
Ugh.
Scarlet letter.
Damn.
Two gold stars.
I'm super pumped about it.
I'm very happy to be in the front in the first competition.
Everyone knows, "okay, I got to watch out for this guy.
" I'm in a really good position starting off.
I've won this challenge.
I have my gold stars.
You know I'm strong in the kitchen, and I feel like I will stay on top.
Here.
I'll put yours on.
You can put mine on.
I really hope this is the last red star I'm gonna get.
It's an ugly-ass red star.
I think it's embarrassing, to be honest.
At least I didn't get three.
So, this is gonna be a particularly difficult decision for Marcus and Nigella, both of whom picked their own cooks for the chop.
And I can see a small smirk in your your face.
And it's so difficult to decide between them.
They're wrong in two such completely different ways.
This is a dish that we can understand, done badly, and this is not a dish.
But I followed the challenge and the theme.
But you got the three stars.
I did exactly what I set out to do - and exactly what I believed in.
- Yeah.
Between Jay and Audrey, we're really looking at two dishes that were not well executed at all.
If you saw the look on Marcus' face, it was just total disappointment.
Audrey's dish it shows a misunderstanding - of what cooking is.
- Yeah.
That you just put, oh, a bit of that, bit of this, bit of that.
I think I probably pushed myself a little too far.
I believe in him as a cook.
Believe me, if I didn't feel he had it in him, I wouldn't want him hobbling my kitchen.
This is not a dish, and that's that.
He was, uh, defensive.
The dressing was dry.
So what? I don't deserve to go home for dry dressing.
I was getting a lot of lip out of the guy, frankly.
But I think he apologized for that.
I put every part of who I was in that dish, okay? And it was about my life, not about their life.
What I would say in Jay's defense is that, you know, this is a man who's gone through an awful lot, and I think he really is staking his life on this.
I think it would be tragic to stop him now.
Nigella's already missing somebody from her team, so I know she's gonna fight really hard to keep him.
No, no, no, Jay is a real cook, but what person heaps a pound of chorizo - on top of some spaghetti? - Let me finish.
Let me finish.
I wouldn't be defending someone who I thought couldn't come up with the goods.
I know my food's good.
I mean, come on.
Audrey, uh, she makes a lot of mistakes in the kitchen, but she wants to just soak up information, and, uh, I'm really proud of the way she stood up here and took criticism.
In terms of remembering Audrey's food from the audition, remembering Jay's food from the audition, I feel he can go further.
I think Audrey's gonna go to the finals.
I think Audrey would go to the finals.
That's how I see Jay, is thinking back to the auditions.
I think we just need to think who's in this competition, who's gonna be better, grow up, listen to us.
And I think Audrey.
Audrey's shown it in every aspect of the work.
She's like, "yes, Chef," and steps back.
Because she do it.
Absolutely.
It's always a little insulting when someone doesn't like your food.
I'm upset, and I'm disappointed because I don't know what they're looking for.
This guy doesn't listen.
That's not good.
I would've fired him.
He was being touchy.
People are allowed to be touchy.
He didn't think.
It was foolish.
But he's not like that in the kitchen, and that's where it counts.
If I go home now, I feel like I've let down my fans, because they want to see me do the healthy stuff.
The whole premise of my blog is all about taking the really naughty foods you're not supposed to have every single day and turning them into something really healthy.
Sorry.
"I just don't want to disappoint my fans.
" Like, I'm so wh who are you?! I do feel like I've let my fans down.
I mean, if I go home now, they're gonna be like, "what a sellout," and I was just trying to be here so that they could see that you can lose 150 pounds, you can reach your goal, and you can set more goals, and you can keep going, and It's about cooking and flavors, and not about your blog, and she's weeping that she's gonna let her fans down.
I just feel like I've let them down by not staying true to myself, by not staying true to my food, and I really hope I don't go home, because I don't want them to think I'm a sellout.
99% of America doesn't know who you are.
Can someone get her a fishing pole? 'Cause she needs to reel that [bleep.]
in.
Truly, I just feel like I shouldn't have compromised my values.
I'd rather go home for a really healthy dish than this fattening crap that I made today, to be honest, that I've never cooked before.
Mine made sense.
Audrey's didn't make sense.
The bottom line I'm not ready to go home.
We could talk about this for quite some time.
There is definitely pluses and minuses for both arguments.
- Let's vote on it.
- Really, there's only a point in you two voting, 'cause you know what our vote is.
Okay, fair enough.
I'll shut my eyes.
So, we've come to a decision.
Let's bring them out and give them the news.
Even though Jay has three red stars, I know I'm just as much on the chopping block.
When you compared my dish to Audrey's, I honestly believe Audrey should go home.
Jay, Audrey, look.
Neither of you guys are professionals.
The fact that you made it this far and did this well is an extraordinary accomplishment.
You should both be very proud.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.
A very difficult decision, a very contentious debate here.
It was not unanimous.
Nonetheless, we have reached a decision.
There was a vote And Jay You are going home.
I have to say, I know you can cook.
I've loved being with you in the kitchen.
I am really heartbroken to see you go.
C'est la vie.
And I'm so sorry.
Thank you.
I'm so sorry.
Carry on cooking.
Poor Jay.
I thought he was gonna be Nigella's, like, saving teammate.
It's, um it's sad.
Goodbye.
Our kitchen has lost two people, and the one person left is the one that I had suggested should go home.
I tried really hard.
I've come so far.
I've accomplished so much.
I don't have anything to be ashamed of.
I'm very, very tenacious, and I'm very ambitious.
It's not a bad way to exit, you know? Audrey, I want to start with the positive.
The one thing that kept you here is your attitude and that you owned your mistakes, and you said, "yes, Chef," when the other mentors were talking to you.
Everyone, I think, really felt that Audrey should be the one going home.
Saying "my fans," that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
She's on my list.
Now, you've been cooking for a long time, pulling the fats out of your dish, right? And here, it was almost too oily.
Too much fat.
You have to find balance, put the blogging away, and really, really listen.
If you do that, I hope I never see you - in the bottom again, all right? - Thank you, Chef.
I have to say I'm horrified that I did not make you proud today, and I'm gonna do everything I can to make you proud in the next round.
- Go and join your team.
- Thank you.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you all.
Thank goodness.
All right.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
Oh, I'm so glad.
No worries.
No worries.
No worries.
Look, we don't like sending perfectly good cooks home.
Please use what you've learned and seen here today.
Think about it.
Bottom line you're still here.
Feel good.
Well done.
We'll see you guys next time.
Yay! I'm proud of you guys.
Good job.
I mean, think about it.
She's just threatened Nigella's threatened by my beauty.
Oh, she was threatened because she didn't she didn't want me to get all the attention.
She wanted to get all the attention.
I am 100% sure that that was the case.
I'm a wonderful person, okay? God made me beautiful.
This is a bonus.
This is wonderful.
Nigella saw my heels, and she hated it hated me right away.
You know what she did to compete with me? I caught that right away.
She went and got heels just like mine the same color, the same height.
I was a threat.
That's the bottom line.
I was a threat to her.
Not the team, to her.
Is she crazy or what?! I mean, I'm telling you, this woman is out of her mind!