The Taste (2013) s02e04 Episode Script

1 Narrator: Last week That is glue.
[Bleep.]
.
Marcus lost his first cook Audrey.
I was the weakest link, unfortunately.
Narrator: And his second.
Don, you have to go.
Don: Thank you, chef.
Marcus: I know we're not supposed to have favorites, but I really liked him.
Narrator: Ludo's kitchen continued to dominate, as they won another team challenge.
- Ludo's kitchen.
- Good job, guys.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Narrator: Tonight I win two straight team challenge, Tony.
You win nothing.
Why do you got to play head games? No, no, no.
Jacquelyn, that's sabotage.
Why did you do that? Whoo! Smells good! I'm ignoring all of your opinions.
Quick! What do you want?! [Bleep.]
Narrator: Two more cooks will be eliminated.
This was a-a mushy, flavorless mouthful of food.
This is disgusting.
This is dull.
- Seriously.
- Can I just finish? - I said -- - Can I finish? This is gross.
It's disgusting.
- I told you.
- Oh! Ooh ooh-ooh-ooh ooh How do you like the taste? Wake up, guys.
Wake up, wake up.
- I bring breakfast, guys.
- Ooh! - Today's challenge is street food.
- Oh, yes.
When you think about street food, Sarah, what do you think? Like tacos or, you know, burritos, things like that.
Something that's very easy to grab on to and -- Yep.
Eating it with your hands.
No knife or fork, of course.
All of my favorite meals are enjoyed standing or squatting or sitting in a street.
Today is our day.
And I'm looking at you, Shellie Kitchen.
[ Laughs .]
I'm owner of a street-food truck.
I cook on a food truck.
I am the face of the food truck.
[Bleep.]
.
Like, this is -- this is my time.
This is mine.
We have an uphill battle.
Tony -- for a living, he goes around eating street foods.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
- Ludo has a food truck.
- Oh, yeah.
Marcus has written a book on street food.
However, I want gold stars.
- How many gold stars you walking around with now? - Four.
- Does anybody have more than you? - Nope.
[ Laughter .]
That's gloat-worthy.
They're hemorrhaging cooks over -- Team Marcus and Team Nigella, so all good.
Last week, we lost two members.
I think it's an advantage, in a way, because I can spend much more time with you guys right now.
I brought something for you just for good luck.
When you're sweating like a champ or you feel the African love, the Ethiopian connection.
From now on, we're a team.
We're team green.
I don't want to lose nobody today.
I have four people.
I want to have four people after the team challenge.
This challenge is a natural for us.
We are uniquely well-suited to just kill this one.
Go get your aprons.
I'll see you in the kitchen.
If Tony lose a challenge [ Laughter .]
Cook your hearts out, be focused.
All right, Team Green.
Put it in.
All right, good.
We talk the talk.
Should we walk the walk? Street fight.
Anthony: Welcome back, everyone, and congratulations for making it this far.
There are 12 of you left.
Today's theme is street food.
One of you will be sent home after the team challenge.
One of you will be sent home after the solo challenge.
The team challenge will be judged by the phenomenal chef and entrepreneur Roy Choi, godfather of street food in America, operator of Kogi Trucks.
Roy Choi? How lucky are we that he's here? Shellie: And this is the man that actually inspired me to open up my own business.
He's so rad.
Anthony: All right, guys.
Everybody in their kitchens.
Except you.
You're coming with me.
Narrator: The team challenge will be judged blind by guest mentor Roy Choi.
All right, guys.
The winning team will get a master class with chef Roy Choi and his help during the solo challenge.
The mentor of the losing team will be forced to eliminate someone from their own kitchen.
Look, I have a little experience with street food.
I have a food truck, and my truck is very successful.
Narrator: Each mentor sets their team a specific task in hopes of winning the team challenge.
To have a challenge like street food with two really strong cooks, I'm like, "let's go.
" Anthony: I figure, considering our challenge today, it would be much more appropriate for us to have this discussion and demonstration right here.
My mission was simple.
Make something that the guest mentor's gonna like, either a sandwich or sandwich-like.
You know, I see a sandwich as, like, a flavor bomb, a missile.
Behold the banh mi -- a simple-looking object, but actually quite complex.
The banh mi is a perfect example of constructing a mouthful of food -- a well-cooked piece of pork with some pâté and some pickles.
A pleasurable eating experience that highlights all of those flavors and textures to best effect.
I keep looking at you and thinking about you, Shellie, 'cause I'm expecting a lot from you.
Shellie: Being a food-truck owner is actually really tough.
I spend 60-plus hours a week on the truck.
So I get to see my kids in the morning when they go to school.
I drop them off, and then sometimes, I come home at night, and they're sleeping.
It's hard as a mom, but I just want to make sure that they're well taken care of.
Got a last-minute ingredient that I think Roy will particularly be susceptible.
We'll call that ingredient "x.
" I know him well, and I think he'll like this.
It's ballsy, and it will horrify all the other chefs.
I'll spring it on you in there.
[ Laughs .]
I'm gonna do something like -- this looks like meatballs, but they're actually shrimp and meatballs together -- like a falafel, really.
It has a little bit of chickpeas inside.
Marcus: This challenge is simple.
It's street food, that I love, and they need to incorporate a little bit of seafood.
So, I'm gonna fry these so they're gonna be golden-brown.
Street food reminds me of hip-hop.
You know, it's got to hit you right away.
There is no maître d'.
There's no reservation.
There's nothing.
It's really you and the food and the taste.
Just smell that, guys.
- Smells great.
- It's gritty.
I like to watch him cook, you know? I like to see what his technique is, how he builds his dishes.
What's that mixture, chef? Yogurt, just to take off the heat.
It's really cool.
Get in there.
Get dirty.
Street food means, to me, a lot.
You know, I grew up -- I'm from New York City.
I grew up in the projects, where Ghostface came from, you know, the Wus.
So being here is definitely the opportunity of a lifetime.
This one's gonna be for New York City.
Nigella: My team's challenge is to produce the perfect fish and chips.
I like to hold it a teeny bit first so it starts firming up before I put it in.
Fish and chips is simple, but, as with so many simple foods, difficult to get right.
Yeah, I just want to get that batter really crisp.
And I often do it not by look [ Crackling .]
But by sound.
Crystal: So, Nigella decides that what she wants us to do is present fish and chips, which is fairly easy.
You know, not only have I eaten fish and chips since I was a child, but I have actually written about the history of fish and chips.
- That's great.
- Do you see? That is the sound I want.
But I'm so concerned about how my team behaved last week that this week, I know I am gonna be just like a general.
Jacquelyn: Crystal and I are both here to win it.
This is a competition, and it's gonna get dicey.
Are you concerned that the fries may become a little bit too soggy? - Are you concerned about that? - Yes.
So at the last minute, we put them back in the hot fat.
Okay.
Very good.
Got it.
You know, so, we put a little butter.
Voilà.
You know why butter? Because butter is good, and it's French.
Ludo: I want to explain to my team today about how to do a sandwich -- a croque monsieur.
Jeff: Croque monsieur -- I should have known.
It's a classic French sandwich.
It's so cute and so French.
It's almost like you're a chef.
[ Laughter .]
Ludo: I love Cassandra.
She's always happy.
[ Giggles .]
[ Laughter .]
[ Laughter continues .]
So, you want to have the bread very crispy, so you put a little parmesan.
Mm.
This sandwich is perfect for this competition.
So, we're going to crisp here.
Voilà.
Okay, guys, so, today, I'm going to make decision with what is the best.
Jeff: Well, you know, I have won two times, and so a lot of people, of course, expect him to pick my sandwich.
I'm just hoping it's not Jeff's dish again.
Make a better dish, you know, or stop complaining.
And then, on le croque monsieur, what I do -- I put some mornay sauce.
That's what we call the "white-trash sandwich.
" [ Laughter .]
All right, 30 seconds to go, guys.
Let's go.
Let's get pumped up, all right? Let's take this one.
Let's take it, guys.
Come on, Sarah.
Anthony: Go, go, go.
I've never won a team challenge before.
Today is my day.
We have to get everything we do right.
It's game on, okay, guys? Game on.
Go, guys! Go! Narrator: The teams have one hour to cook.
Marina, set up your station.
Narrator: Each cook will make a dish, but only the best bite from each team will be chosen to be tasted by guest mentor Roy Choi.
Here you are, darling.
Oil on first -- 325.
Narrator: At the end of the challenge, one cook will be eliminated.
This is street food.
It's got to be gritty.
- Louise.
- Yes? - From Wisconsin.
- Yeah.
Ludo wants us to make just a really good sandwich that you could get off of a great truck, so that's where we're going with this one.
What are you doing? Well, I am making a slaw, and then I'm gonna make it spicy with a bunch of jalapeños, a lot of cilantro.
You're going to put bacon, too, huh? - Yeah -- for crunchy.
- Okay.
Yeah, that's fine.
Yeah, yeah.
Marina, what are you doing, Marina? Explain to me quick.
I have two onion mixed with roast beef, and have a miso mayonnaise with garlic.
You know -- you know what you should put on this -- this dish, too? - Cheese? - Sesame.
Sure.
- So, Jeff.
- Yes, chef? What are you doing today? I am making a-a fried-chicken sandwich, southwestern-style, 'cause that's kind of the region I'm from.
And I think he appreciates Mexican food.
Jeff: I've been dominating the team challenges, and I'm doing everything in my power to keep, you know, my good streak going.
- Cassandra.
- Yes? What are you doing today? Right now, I am pickling some shallots and apples.
Mm-hmm.
And then some maple-fried prosciutto.
Cassandra: I want to win this challenge so bad.
I mean, coming from New York City, there's not much you can't buy off the street.
And then I'm gonna pair it with truffle cheese and spicy mayo mustard.
The problem with truffle -- it's hard to make spicy food with truffle cheese.
So maybe we don't use the truffle.
Yeah.
Anthony: All right.
Quick.
Secret ingredient.
I challenged them to make something delicious for Roy that was sandwich-like, but I had a plan.
I-I-I think I know the way to this guy's heart.
Look, I know this man.
He loves canned lunch meat -- this particular canned lunch meat.
The secret ingredient -- Spam.
If you don't have any background with this, forget what I'm talking about.
- Can you make use of this? - Yes.
Good.
Make me happy.
Spam is unique.
Spam is something that Roy loves.
It goes deep into the Kauaian South Pacific, Korean psyche.
I was born and raised in Hawaii.
My mom used to make it all the time, so [ Laughs .]
It links me back to my family, where I'm from, so I take it on.
I'm like, "I can do this.
" What are you thinking about? I'm making a burger.
- Burger.
- Yeah.
Lee: I really want to get up for the team challenge.
I'm hoping it's me today.
You're following in classic burger profiles, but you're amping it with -- with -- Putting bacon inside of it.
It's gonna be really good.
- Uh, what are you thinking about? - I'm going Greek.
I'm doing a grilled flatbread with some Greek-style meatballs, tzatziki tahini sauce, maybe some charred tomatoes and onions.
Ooh! I want to eat that.
What are you thinking about, Brad? Coriander-crusted tuna, like a little taco, flour tortilla.
Anthony: The coriander-crusted tuna -- this guy's lost in a time warp.
It's like 1989 all over again, you know? [ Sighs .]
I don't have to ask you, "why are you cooking this dish, Shellie?" 'Cause this is right in your zone.
[ Laughs .]
I don't want to go the traditional route with the -- the musubi.
So I'm gonna do the musubi with that, with maybe components of a banh mi.
You're gonna have a beautiful, sandwich-like object that is designed to bring this man to his knees.
- I'll try my best.
- I'm counting on you.
Thanks.
Dana: We all pretty much got the feeling that, probably, he was gonna choose Shellie's dish.
But having Shellie picked over and over and over -- it kind of gets frustrating.
Ludo: Shellie! That's -- that's -- Oh! La vache! Et voilà! Et voilà! 17 years in Hawaii.
I actually do.
Sorry.
No, I-I respect that, you know? More importantly, Roy loves Spam.
[Bleep.]
.
I should've put Spam on my cart.
I did a big mistake.
Spam.
Et voilà.
Yes, Shellie.
Anthony: More importantly, Roy loves Spam.
It's like if I'm serving foie gras to a French chef.
- Let me tell you something.
- If it was Spam.
If you lose this challenge, that's bad for your team.
- Why do you got to play head games? - 'Cause you just -- Not today.
Ludo is, like, freaking out that I have Spam.
I win two straight team challenge, Tony, and you win nothing -- nothing.
- You never -- - How many stars do I have? You never win a team challenge in this competition.
- I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- I'm talking about team challenge.
So I think you have nothing to tell me today about how to manage my team.
- Thank you.
- Good.
Tell her to pull the bacon off.
It's burning.
I need to execute this dish 'cause this [bleep.]
is playing head games, and he's making such a big fuss about -- about my dish.
[ Laughing .]
Ludo's really upset.
Guys, we cannot lose today.
One challenge I don't want to lose is this one.
We cannot lose a challenge against Spam.
Do you understand? We cannot lose a challenge against Spam.
Nigella: Both Jacquelyn and Crystal are doing fish and chips, you know, there is no room for error because this is a simple dish.
Simple has to be absolutely perfect.
Make sure you've got the texture right - before you add seasonings.
- Okay.
I do have more culinary skills than Crystal does.
Pinches of this.
What? In the batter? Mm-hmm.
With a vinaigrette.
No.
They'll go soggy.
Everything will go runny and soggy.
Jacquelyn struggles a little bit with flavor profiles.
- Can I have a feel of the texture? - Yeah.
Feel it.
Yeah, that's nice.
I think you can add some salt now.
- It will thicken as it stands, okay? - Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Everything will be great.
So, Sarah, I know what we're doing here.
Sarah: Seared tuna taquito.
It's gonna have some braised pork with, like, a tamarind barbecue sauce and a kimchi guacamole.
Nice.
We're going right at Roy.
We're going right at Roy.
Shehu: Roy Choi -- I know he's the king of street food, and like, you know, really want to impress this guy.
Eye soup, chef, with shrimp, a little bit of octopus, some nice brunoise vegetables.
When you have lobster and crab, go for it.
None of that pretty food that they're doing over there.
It's got to be gritty.
You know, me and Sarah right now -- we're not going nowhere.
Our food is good.
We just gonna basically take them out one by one.
There you go.
Get it in there, 'cause we gonna strain it out.
- Exactly.
- Flavor, flavor.
Sauce? Okay.
It needs -- it's too runny.
- Your -- - Oh, yeah.
I need to put more in it.
You need to add a roundness to it.
Her sauce is kind of a mayonnaise that you might serve to a child with fish sticks.
Okay, tell me about the sauce you're making.
Crystal: You know, I just mixed up a handful of seasonings.
See what you think.
I would do more heat and a bit of lime juice.
What I don't want to do is overtake the palate of the person that eats it.
Think of who is eating.
He's used to fire.
This will taste like baby food to him.
It should be hot, 'cause, otherwise, really, we just got carb and fat.
Have a little -- my sound test.
[ Tapping .]
A bit soft.
Jacquelyn has experience working in the professional field.
I am surprised at the mess.
I'll be frank.
Is that a cigarette lighter here? It is, it is, it is.
To me, a professional chef keeps a very tidy work station.
I kind of wonder what her bosses have said about her in the past.
Thicker Spam, less -- less glaze.
What is he gonna like? It has to be more ratio on the Spam.
- A little more seaweed.
- Okay.
You know, you might even want to wrap the seaweed taco-like.
Okay.
God.
He's putting Spam over there, guys.
Seriously.
This one probably grew up with Spam.
- It's driving him crazy.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- It's killing him.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You got to hand it to Tony, man.
He pulled a great move.
Bringing out the Spam -- I didn't see that coming, man.
I mean, we're -- we're all gonna be done today, guys.
The rest of my life.
Have you got a whisk in your hand? I'll get a whisk in my hand in just a second.
You must whisk as you pour.
No, no.
I'm fine.
I-I got it.
I got it.
No, but you're not whisking as you're pouring.
You're pouring and then whisking.
You think that you can cook better than Nigella Lawson? Are you kidding me? You know, you can't put that in with the fries in, - so you have to wait till the fries are out.
- Mm-hmm.
- So -- - I know.
It's okay.
[ Laughs .]
Well, you say it's okay, but we need to know it's okay.
Nigella, trust me.
Let me work.
[ Laughs .]
I-I know.
- Let me teach, you know? - I am, I am, I am.
Let me teach.
I am, I am, but I need to get in my groove now.
I feel awful for Nigella.
She deserves to have somebody in her kitchen that really wants to learn.
- Nigella: Is that salt? - Yes, yes.
You can add that there.
I-I have never added pepper to a batter.
The bits will burn, and burnt pepper is rancid.
Oh, my God.
You just did it.
A little, tiny, tiny bit.
You know, if it ain't broke In their different ways, they are both driving me mad.
No, they don't look brown enough to me.
They do to me.
Absolutely.
Nigella Lawson tells you how to make fish and chips, you know what? Shut the [bleep.]
up and listen.
Are you drunk or what? [ Laughs .]
Try to go straight.
Relax.
Just go straight one time.
Cassandra -- there are things that she doesn't know how to do.
I mean, she couldn't slice bread.
But straight now.
Straight.
Careful.
Look here.
Look right here.
Look here.
Voilà.
Voilà.
Look here.
Ah! You got it.
- Ah.
- Not bad.
- Not bad.
- Much better.
Much better.
Huh? Look at this.
The poor girl.
But I love her attitude.
I love to work with people who are listening, you know? - Your oven is on? - I don't need oven.
No, you need oven.
I don't.
I don't need oven.
I got hot water.
[ Laughs .]
Marina: Ludo is a trained chef.
I think nobody taught him or he never learned that I can do my little piece of filet mignon -- just kind of sear it in the bacon fat, and then I can put it just in hot water.
Jeff: Marina was saying that she was gonna boil her beef.
That just sounds disgusting.
Whoo! Whoo! Smells good! [ Laughs .]
No! You haven't put it in the batter! - You told me 375.
Oh.
- Dip it in the batter.
Oh, that's okay.
I'll do another one.
- Should I be eating the whole thing? - Yeah.
I want my food to prevail.
I'm dying to represent the team.
I want to be up there in the top.
It is good.
Who's had whose at this point? I like Dana's the best.
I li -- I haven't tasted Shellie.
I haven't tasted Shellie's yet.
I want to really try it.
- We need it open.
- Oh, my God.
He is looking at me to push my team forward.
It's a lot of pressure.
[ Sighs .]
Like, open on one side.
Anthony: She couldn't get taste together for everybody.
I'm looking her struggling to wrap this fragile seaweed around this seaweed cacophony of ingredients.
So just like this, and you put -- folding it over like that.
And I'm thinking, "wow.
I-I don't really -- I'm not sure this is gonna work.
" Can I get time? You guys are, like, making me nervous.
Marcus: 4 minutes, guys.
[ Sighs .]
Who's had whose at this point? I haven't tasted Shellie.
I haven't tasted Shellie's yet.
I want to really try it.
Ah [bleep.]
.
Shellie doesn't know exactly what she's doing, as usual.
- So, you like Dana.
- Lee: Yes.
- You like the burger? - Yeah, I like the burger.
Anthony: In typical Shellie style, however, she just put her head down and, under fire, under pressure, did what she does so well.
In spite of absolutely everyone's advice here, I'm ignoring all of your opinions and I'm going with this.
Shellie: Yeah.
[ Laughs .]
I don't know what Tony's thinking with this one.
Anthony: Is it fair? No.
But, end of the day, I'm the mentor.
If we're gonna win, it's gonna be with this.
[ Exhales deeply .]
The batter's great, but the fish is overcooked 'cause it's too long and narrow.
I thought it was really juicy.
The sauce doesn't work, darling.
Of course I want my dish to be chosen.
We're going with Crystal, all right? Nigella decides to send up Crystal's dish, and I'm very fearful that we're gonna be at the bottom.
Ludo: I want everybody to taste all the sandwich of everybody.
That's good.
I don't know if my dish is gonna go up, but I know my sandwich is good.
Very good.
- Louise, do you want to - Yeah.
Just sample.
That's good.
It's too messy.
Shehu.
That's a beautiful dish.
Sarah's dish is so freaking amazing.
You have to put ego aside.
You just ate.
What are we going with? What are we going with? I like Shehu's dish.
She picked my dish.
I couldn't believe it.
I was like, "you know, that's my teammate.
" I always want mine to go up, so, yeah, it's really hard to kind of swallow your pride and be like, "okay, yeah, let's go with this dish instead.
" Give him some shrimp-eye soup.
That's street food.
Have those eyes stare at him.
Stare him down.
Two minutes.
You get the fish in first and the chips, and then you decide where your sauce goes.
I think Crystal's fish is too big.
Put it back in again.
We need it crisp, crisp, crisp.
Quickly.
No, no, no! - Don't do that, Jacquelyn.
- I didn't do anything.
Now you've broken it.
It needs a little bit more salt.
It's broken in half.
That is -- why did you do that? The whole point about fish and chips is, the fish is totally encased in batter.
This is gonna be a problem.
That's sabotage.
No, no, no.
No, it's not sabotage.
Yes, it is.
I would never sabotage a member of my own team.
That's just not who I am.
What do you think, guys? What do you think? What's the one I should take? What's the one? Goodness.
What can I do to help? What can I do to help? No.
Nothing.
[ Laughs .]
Okay.
Okay.
I think maybe she has a little jealousy.
I want a response! Quickly.
18 seconds, darling.
We need a prize.
No, no, no! It has to go on this paper first.
Between the two of you.
Between the two of you guys.
It was between me and Jeff.
- What do you want?! Quick! - Marina: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We can't just have Jeff's sandwich up there every single time.
I need to know! I need another fry.
Okay.
5, 4 [Bleep.]
it.
Okay, we'll take this one.
[Bleep.]
.
Louise: Yeah, Ludo chose Jeff again.
What are you gonna do? They get one fry.
That's not gonna win us any plaudits.
Mysteriously, like, all the fries weren't there.
Narrator: Guest mentor Roy Choi will taste the dishes without knowing who made what.
The team with the best dish will win his help in the solo challenge.
The team with the worst dish must eliminate one of their own.
Pressure's on.
I can't lose today.
I want Roy Choi in my kitchen, giving us a master class of what he knows best.
Hello.
What's up? Roy Choi is a classically educated and trained chef, and, at one point in his life, he started something called the Kogi Truck.
A lot of people think that street food is just something simple or somehow less than food in a restaurant, but there's actually more depth to it.
Instead of having a course over three hours to express yourself, you have five seconds to express yourself.
Dana: This guy's definitely a leader in the food-truck world.
I would love to learn from him.
So, I guess I got to eat.
Shellie: I'm so excited to represent team Bourdain, but I'm a nervous wreck.
I'm like, "I hope he gets the components that are in there.
" I put all my eggs in the Shellie basket.
I put all my chips on Spam.
Mmm.
It's good.
I see where you're going with that.
Kind of a spin on the musubi.
Eats like a sushi.
It's delicious.
Maybe the cut on the Spam was a little wrong for the bite itself, but that was -- that was really good.
Shehu: Everything's riding on me right now.
It's my plate, my taste.
And if I tasted the worst, that means our mentor, Marcus, is gonna have to choose one of us to go home, and, you know, ultimately, that's 'cause of me.
That's good, too.
That feels like a gumbo.
Feels southeast Asian, but it tastes like something I've never really had before.
Um Little strong on the yuzu, I think.
Crystal: It may not be all technically perfect, but this is good.
And, you know, it's all about the taste at the end of the day.
Problem with this already is construction.
The sauce goes well with the dish.
I don't know if I necessarily understand the components together, though.
I am slightly thrown by the fact that he thinks that it's an odd combination.
You know, fish and chips is really the earliest street food.
Jeff: It would be awesome to win Roy Choi's help.
You know, it just comes down to whose dish is better.
Ludo: I want to beat Bourdain so bad.
So bad.
You have no idea.
That's a good slider.
Great flavor, good acidity, nice crunch inside.
Only thing I would say on this is the -- the bread's not right.
It's falling apart.
It's dry.
Everything else is so juicy, but the bread These are four crazy-crazy-delicious dishes, but I got to reveal to you guys what I like the best.
So the one bite that I felt really captured me was - Anthony's kitchen.
- Yay! Shellie: I felt like, "all right, we have a connection.
" I was like, "you and me -- we're on the same page.
" Unh! Shellie: Jeff is down.
Ludo's down.
[Bleep.]
with your French cooking and your French technique, because this is street food now.
Yay! Jeff: Good for her.
I like Shellie.
She hasn't been on top yet.
But still, it's Spam.
I guess Tony made the right decision after all, so Now we go to the next-best.
[ Exhales deeply .]
Ooh.
Marcus' kitchen.
- Marcus: Nice job.
- Sarah: Nice job.
A sandwich is perfect for the street.
Hello? Better than a soup.
Good job.
I'm trying to figure out who's gonna get worst.
I'm hoping it's Ludo, of course.
Roy: Having to choose the worst dish is tough.
Unfortunately, the worst one is What the is going on today? There's no way I'm gonna lose to Team Hot Mess.
Roy: Having to choose the worst dish is tough.
Unfortunately, the worst one is Louise: If ours is the worst, somebody from our team is gonna have to go home, and the thing that sucks is, every single person on our team is better than the two people that are left on Nigella's.
We just can't be the bottom dish today.
Nigella's kitchen.
Nigella: We are at the very bottom.
Given how my kitchen were behaving in the team challenge, I'm not surprised.
[ Sighs .]
I know.
Dana: Now it's a tough call for Nigella.
It was like, "do I send bad home or bad home?" Nigella, I'm sorry.
You know what this means.
You're gonna have to pick one of your team to go home.
I feel, at this stage, just both of you go.
Jacquelyn, Crystal, this didn't surprise me because the discipline was poor.
With both of you, it has largely been an attitude problem.
A-at this stage, really, I could send either of you home, because you do not listen.
When Ludo talks, we all listen.
And to have a kitchen that doesn't respect you or doesn't want your help or is telling you to go away? Like, what are you doing? Crystal, you know I have said to you before, "don't keep shooing me out of your space.
Jacquelyn, I need to know that you can listen and you can cook without splattering the workstation and running about and focusing and actually creating the dish that you've been asked to do.
God, it hurts to hear, 'cause this is just not -- this is just not who I am.
Let's start with you, Crystal.
Make me understand why you should be in my kitchen.
Well, Nigella, I learned something new, brilliant, and wonderful every day.
I pay very close attention to the things that you want.
And I tried with everything I had in me today to not only take every suggestion that you made, but also impart a little something special in terms of flavor, which is one of the places where I'm good.
And now you, Jacquelyn.
Tell me why I should keep you.
I know that my skills are there.
And I want you to have confidence in me, if I am to stay.
I know there's differences in the way we do things.
Even though I was maybe in a different place in my head and on my cutting board than where you were as soon as you came into my kitchen "My kitchen.
" It's her station.
It's my kitchen.
Jacquelyn, Crystal You know, both of you have issues.
And I'm gonna send home Crystal, I'm sorry, and I'll miss you.
Come and say goodbye.
It's kind of a bummer.
I think that Jacquelyn's actions were a saboteur's actions, and I'm not sure why Nigella would tolerate that.
I think maybe Jacquelyn has pictures of somebody with farm animals.
You know.
[ Laughs .]
Because, I mean, what else is there, right? But I'm gonna say to you, Jacquelyn, I am frightened at this stage.
You could be going home after the solo challenge.
You need to remember what the competition is, and you need, perhaps, to have a little more humility.
Just concentrate on producing a dish that has focus, because, otherwise, for us, show's over.
Anthony: Congratulations, those of you who remain.
Tonight's individual challenge -- give us your very best street food.
My winning team will be sharing the benefit of a little consultation time with chef Roy Choi.
Roy, please join my winning team.
Marcus: You love saying that.
Congratulations.
Everybody else, take a break.
We'll see you at the tasting.
I-I got to tell you -- that was -- I -- it was a riveting speech.
I could have got rid of both of them.
They're not doing me a favor by being in my kitchen.
They need to do themself a favor by actually paying attention.
You were mad.
You could have heard a pin drop anywhere.
Anywhere -- everyone was like, "whoa-ho-ho-ho!" I am feeling very, very frustrated.
I have to sit down with Jacquelyn and talk to her.
You know, I want Jacquelyn to aim high, but I think she doesn't realize how near the bottom she is.
I just need her to concentrate and understand what this is about.
She has to prove herself in this solo challenge, or I might be down to no one.
Well, have a good talk with her.
Good luck.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you, chef.
- Thank you, chef.
- We're gonna have a class.
Lee: Finally, we win the team challenge, and, for the first time, we get a private master class with the guest mentor.
I'm excited.
Who made that dish? You did? What's up? [ Laughter .]
- Hawaii, represent.
- Hawaii.
808, baby.
This is the man that actually inspired me to open up my own business.
It's because of him I'm here.
So, you got to use Spam.
I got to use Spam.
Yeah, were people trippin' on it? 'Cause, like -- yeah, everybody was -- yeah, a lot of people on the mainland don't realize it's a cultural thing.
It is.
- It's your first time.
- Marcus: Oh! It's your first time winning something, and you win with Spam! Of course with Spam.
[ Laughs .]
I just don't understand.
- Aah! - Aah! Sabotage.
- Sabotage.
- No.
Spam was sabotage today.
Street food is really about capturing the imagination in one bite.
If you don't grab the people by the collarbone in that one bite, they're gonna give up on you.
We have this dish called the Blackjack quesadilla with Kogi.
You have cheese, tortilla, and salsa, and really great short ribs.
The first part of it is to make a Korean marinade.
It's basically soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, green onions, sesame seeds, and some sort of sweetener.
As I marinate the meat, thinking about -- about everything.
Girls, life, I'm thinking about my past, every mistake I made.
Bring everything into the marinade.
For me, that is mise en place.
This is what we do on the streets every single day.
You know, it's just a quesadilla, right? But I'm putting all my soul into the dish, you know? This bad-ass rebel was very spiritual.
Like, Roy Choi made you reflect on your own life as he's cooking a quesadilla.
You know, I want to drink a beer with that dude.
That dude is so cool.
Serve it with a salsa.
Go ahead and try.
[ Light laughter .]
But it's good, right? - Mm-hmm.
- It's good, right? It makes you feel something, you know? And I think that's the biggest thing about street food.
I actually think that Jacquelyn thinks she's above taking criticism from Nigella.
Did anybody kind of wish that she'd just be like, "you're both going home, and I'm gonna go have an espresso"? Yeah.
[ Cassandra laughs .]
As a chef, I wouldn't want to deal with somebody who is, you know, not listening to me.
- Absolutely not.
- Yeah.
That -- that would never fly in a regular kitchen, right? You guys think she's gonna make it past the individual challenge? I hope not.
I want her to go.
This is a competition.
People need to leave.
Let's have a talk, 'cause I'm really, really glad we've got a chance to do this.
What's -- tell me what's going on.
I didn't want our team to get down to this point.
You and me both.
I am definitely game on now, for sure.
You have talent, but you obviously have slight discipline issues.
You've got too much going on that isn't necessarily about the food.
Even things like just putting, you know -- - putting your hair back.
- Yes.
Of course.
And there's a slight hyperventilation in the way you hurl yourself around the kitchen.
That's the way I am as a chef.
I'm high-energy.
I move around.
I run here.
I run there.
I have not a second to spare.
I want to explain, though, the reason I'm doing that is because I know that I need to fire one thing to begin my multitasking.
Yes, but you must -- you must have been trained about mise en place.
Of course, of course.
Everything in its place.
And that means everything you need should be there before you start cooking.
If Jacquelyn doesn't really digest everything that's been said to her, she may not survive the solo challenge to go forward.
You just can't waste this opportunity.
No.
I can't.
- You really can't.
- And I won't.
Listen.
It's you and me now.
- Yes.
- So good luck.
Anthony: The theme is street food.
The individual challenge -- make us something that you'd like to eat in the street.
And I'm happy to say that my team will be enjoying the considerable benefit of the advice and help of Roy Choi.
You have one hour.
Your time starts Now.
Narrator: Each cook must make a single bite to be tasted blind by the mentors.
Finally -- the seat of power.
Narrator: The cooks with the best dish will receive gold stars.
The cooks with the worst dish will receive red stars and face elimination.
I'm a restaurant chef, and street food is something I have no experience with aside from eating it.
I am making a fish and chips.
I'm serving it with a little chow-chow aioli, so it's gonna have a little spice to it.
It's kind of taking a risk because Nigella had some problems with her fish and chips earlier.
It's kind of a finicky thing that, you know, if you don't do it right, it's horrible.
I thought, you know, perfect fish and chips -- I can win this.
Ludo: It's street food.
It's street food.
But, you know, the original, really, you know? Street food is something you cannot find in a book.
You actually have to live in it.
If you don't eat street food, you're not from New York.
Everybody eats and goes.
I grew up in the projects, and, you know, there was drugs, there was violence and things going on.
I got shot at the age of 19.
Oh, just wrong place, wrong time.
You know, three guys tried to mug me, and it's like -- it was crazy.
So, like, you know, cooking was, like, definitely, like, a way for me to get out of the projects, and I love it, and I can't get enough of it.
I'm gonna do, like, a little shout-out to all my west Indian people in New York City with johnnycakes and some shrimp, sautéed, spiced banana.
Yeah, I was hoping that we had some plantains, but we don't.
I'm not worried about it too much.
So, what I'm gonna do is -- I'm gonna take some bananas, knock it out the box.
As you know, I only have one body in my kitchen.
And I'm a bit scared.
I so want to think Jacquelyn's gonna bring something that will give us pleasure in all the right ways, but I just feel I daren't give myself the luxury of too much hope.
Kind of nice to have all this space.
[ Laughs .]
It's a little lonely to be the only person in my kitchen.
But it feels good, too.
I'm doing a really beautiful dish today.
I have an empanada with chimichurri.
So, it's portable, it's delicious, and many cultures have them.
I think the judges are gonna receive it pretty well.
I definitely don't want to let Nigella down.
I'm the last person in her kitchen.
And I would really like to, you know, just keep us in the running of the competition.
Look at those knife skills.
So, it's the first time ever I won a team challenge.
I'm looking at my team.
I'm confident that Dana will come up with something reasonably good.
Who knows what Shellie's gonna do, but I'm pretty sure this is right in her zone.
Shellie: Today, I'm making fried-chicken taco with an apple-jicama-jalapeño slaw.
Yeah, greasy, fatty, good.
Everybody loves fried chicken.
So, Tony's got a lot of hope in you.
He thinks because you cook on the streets and you run your own food truck that you're kind of the front-runner.
[ Laughs .]
That's a lot of pressure for me.
Yeah, but you should tap into that.
People see that in you, yeah, embrace it.
- This is a competition.
- Yeah, yeah.
Use whatever you've got.
Would you like a beer? - Nah, I'm okay.
- No? Okay.
Ahh.
Never too early.
What are you doing, again? I'm doing the halal-style lamb over rice.
I made it because this is one of my favorite street-food dishes in the world.
- Quintessential New York, right? - It's a staple, man.
When I think street food, this is what popped in my head immediately.
Lee has been stepping up in the individual challenges, so I expect greatness from him.
Brad -- so far, he's been serving me like 1989 food.
But you think he'll get it this week? Have you been firm? I have been firm.
I like it when you're firm.
[ Laughter .]
Today, I'm doing a surf & turf with a chimichurri sauce and a cabbage slaw on the top.
What are you making here? Is that a batter? I'm gonna make a flatbread.
I can't believe you're making a dough, man, on -- on a one-hour challenge.
That's what's up, man.
You're ballsy on that.
We'll see.
We'll see.
Feeling good so far about your chances, you guys.
I'm concerned about my team.
Marcus: Yeah.
But your guys -- your guys have experience with street food.
I mean, I have two people on my team, I think, that live in L.
A.
So I hope they have experience with street food because street food's a big deal here in L.
A.
Today, I am making a peanut-and-potato-chip-crusted caramel apple.
This takes me back to the state fair.
Everything's on a stick.
It's a little bit of sweet, a little bit of tart from the apple, a little bit of salt -- delicious.
Marina: It's a caramelized banana, fried wonton skin, and then I'm gonna put a little twist of cinnamon in there to make it more Western.
I want golden star.
This is a risk because I never cook sweet stuff.
Already got the last star.
Now I'm gonna go the crown.
What is this? Team Ludo? Yes.
I'm sorry, man.
Oh.
Yeah, I'm sorry to all y'all.
What are you making? I'm making little caramel apples.
Jeff: I will never cook dessert in this competition.
I love dessert, I do it well, but they just don't seem to react to it very well.
- Hi, Roy.
- Hi.
So, it's like a fried banana.
Yeah, and coated in the caramelize.
- So sweet.
- Yes.
You guys are on the sweet tip over here.
Today, I'm going fairly simple.
I'm making curried lamb meatballs and a tahini sauce and then a cilantro-mint chutney, which is one of my favorite things to eat, and then I'm gonna fry up some brussels sprout leaves and put all that in a pita with some tomatoes.
Cassandra: I am sick to my stomach going into the solo challenge because this will be the first time we don't have the guest mentor in our kitchen, and it's really scary.
I live in New York City, and any true new yorker enjoys falafel.
So I think it speaks a lot to me, and I also feel like it's a classic street food.
And I think everybody has that time where they have a really crazy night and ended up eating falafel with their best friend, so I think Tony's gonna appreciate it.
- Jeff.
- Yeah? I'm trying to make the tzatziki, but I can't plug these both in at the same time.
This is the first time that we're not gonna have our guest mentor in our kitchen, and the guest mentor's always helping Cassandra.
There's a switch on the side.
Turn it on.
She's not really confident.
I don't know if I'm gonna have time to make the hot sauce.
Take this one.
[Bleep.]
hell, man.
Sarah: My fryer keeps turning off.
If this is not gonna heat up so I can get my fries blanched the first time, this whole thing is gonna crumble.
French fries are done correctly, it's a beautiful thing.
Just got to make sure my fryer's working Which it's not again.
This is -- this is gonna -- could be a disaster.
It could totally be a disaster.
[ Knife thudding .]
That noise right there means they're dulling their knives.
Lee: Jacquelyn is a complete [bleep.]
artist.
She has no idea what she's doing in the kitchen.
She is a bad cook.
She's not a chef.
She needs to leave.
It's locked, right? Nope.
What are you making? I'm making empanadas with a chimichurri.
You made the dough and everything in the last -- - no, they provided it in the pantry.
- Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Or I would have.
[ Laughs .]
Shellie: That girl is a super-duper hack.
I'm like, "I can't even believe she's around right now, taking up my oxygen.
" Jacquelyn: There's a few of them that don't like me.
I-it's to get me out of the way or make me feel intimidated.
That's not working.
- Is that your flatbread? - Brad: Uh-huh.
It -- it don't look right.
Brad: To have the guest mentor in our kitchen -- it helps each and every one of us out a tremendous amount.
Hell no.
You're making a square taco? [ Laughs .]
Oh, hell no! Oh.
Of course no square taco.
It's street food.
Yeah, what was I thinking with these square tacos? Stupid.
You put salt in your dough? Yeah, a little bit.
Needs a little bit more? Yeah, but it's too late now.
We'll add the flavor later.
But roll out your dough.
- Okay.
- And then grill it really nice, you know? Almost like a tortilla or a really light -- - A light pita.
- Okay.
And then, from there, we can fill up, and we can roll it and eat it.
- Okay.
- Because this is just gonna slide off.
- Okay.
- Everything's gonna slide off.
That needs touch of salt.
That needs more crème fraîche.
It's too mayo-ey.
Dana: Okay.
- Cassandra: Jeff.
- Yeah? Is this the appropriate thermometer to put in oil? No.
There should be long, flat ones.
Louise: It was the first time that we didn't have a guest mentor, and I think that it's probably freaking Cassandra out, because any questions that she's had, there's been a mentor there to ask.
Jeff, is this gonna be enough oil? Yeah.
I don't see any "Max fill" line.
Do you see it? All right, you know what? I'll just stay on something else.
I don't see it.
I'm feeling, like, totally manic right now, and, you know, time is ticking by, and I only have the falafel done.
I'm so [bleep.]
right now.
Louise: Cassandra -- I don't know what's going on over there.
If I had the time, I would have certainly gone over and helped her, but I was stressing out about making a caramel, so 15 minutes left.
I got to -- I got to let it set.
Nice.
[ Coughs, laughs .]
Chili in the nose.
I'm doing my plates now.
I got 10 minutes left to go.
- Medic! - Oh, no.
Medic! Oh, no.
Did she cut herself again? Cut off my finger.
Medic! I've never cut myself this much at home.
But it's a high-pressure environment, and there's a lot going on, so it can be really distracting.
Lee: I'm a little worried for Cassandra.
I want her to stick around, so hopefully, she can get it together.
Jeff: I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have some time, so if you need some help, let me know, okay? - Oh! Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
You can put the tzatziki on my station, okay? - Thank you.
- Just bring it to me, and I'll blend it for you, okay? Do you have your falafel batter made? Yeah, it's in the fridge.
Jeff: Cassandra's really nervous, and she and I are close friends and teammates.
And so if I have a chance, I'll give her a hand.
Marina: Everyone's always helping Cassandra, so her success is not really hers.
I have four minutes, and I'm putting in the ice water to let the caramel cool and crystallize.
Too hard to eat, man.
Just go.
- Little bit less, okay? - Okay.
Okay, Sarah.
Try this whole thing.
Sarah: A little too much banana on there.
- Take some banana off? - Yeah.
Jeff: I would add a little hot sauce.
Roy: 4321 [ Laughs .]
- I hope I don't go down.
- Me too.
That's good.
[ Laughs .]
Narrator: 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 - Take me home and treat me bad.
- Love it.
and, more importantly, their worst dish.
- I'm confused.
- It's too much salad.
The best cooks receive gold stars.
Aww! This pleases me.
The worst receive red stars and face elimination.
There's 11 contestants left, and I think we're all feeling the pressure.
I mean, it's always nerve-wracking, 'cause you never really know what they're gonna say.
I may go home today.
11 dishes to taste -- street food.
- Nigella: Very good.
- I'm psyched.
And we can eat street food sitting down.
- Even better.
- Anthony: Nice.
Jeff: I made curried lamb meatballs and then a cilantro-mint chutney.
I feel like my sandwich was simple and it was very straightforward, but I'm not feeling confident at all.
I'm very, very nervous.
All right, let's hold hands.
I mean, there's a tang and sourness there that I'm really enjoying.
The cumin.
Great flavor, easy to eat.
Um Very middle east flavor.
I like it.
Lime, lemon.
- Mmm.
I'm liking this a lot.
- Yep.
Good.
Good, good, good.
[ Sighs heavily .]
Little heavy on the cumin, but I thought -- but good.
Very -- it's very enjoyable.
It can never be too heavy on the cumin for me.
I love cumin.
I might have to eat the rest of Tony's.
Dana: Every time, it's the same -- heart palpitations, butterflies in the stomach, little bit of nausea going on there.
You know, just keeping my fingers crossed that today's not my day.
They're gonna hate it.
It's too spicy.
Fish burrito? Yeah.
I got heat coming on now, but -- but the -- the -- the sauce is spicy.
The item itself is very bland.
Nigella: Yeah.
[ Laughing .]
Awesome.
It's, like, exactly what a chef wants to hear from their mentor.
Was the fish inside fried? - Fried.
Yes, fried.
- It's fried.
Well, that's weird to fry and wrap.
[ Sighing .]
I feel a little bit sick.
Lee: I'm feeling confident I'm gonna get another gold star.
My expectations are really high now that I've been on top.
And I feel like people are expecting me to get one, as well.
So I'm hoping I can keep it going.
I decided to make my halal-style lamb over rice.
It's kind of fatty.
It's spicy.
It has everything that you're looking for when you want street food.
I'm confused as to what it was, but I find it quite delicious.
How you eat this thing is what I'm trying to figure out.
A lettuce wrap.
- As a -- ah.
- A lettuce wrap.
That's not what I was going for, but Doesn't matter.
- They like your flavors.
- Yeah.
I mean, it's good flavor.
It's a definite late-night dish.
[ Sighs .]
Shehu: I'm from New York City.
You can grab a bite and go, 'cause, you know, most New Yorkers live on the go.
So, I made, like, a really nice jerk steak with johnnycakes and some sautéed, spiced bananas.
This should be pretty much in the bag.
[ Speaks indistinctly .]
Oh, embarrassed.
Mnh-mnh.
This dough is raw inside.
The dough is raw.
Banana -- banana and beef? B-- oh, my God.
[Bleep.]
.
- Sweet.
It's too sweet for me.
- Very sweet.
I mean, I don't know.
[ Sighs .]
I just taste banana and bread.
If you're gonna take us to a new place, execute well.
I don't want to go to that place.
I'm like, "damn.
That's pretty jacked up.
" [Bleep.]
This is not what I wanted to do.
I'm feeling pretty confident, 'cause I came up with something that are probably gonna wow the judges.
[ Judges murmur .]
I actually think Marina is gonna be in trouble.
Look, we're -- we're bound together with our bits of Marina: My banana has texture and is not smushed and has a crunchiness because of the dough.
And it's dry.
It's street food.
[ Tapping .]
[ Sighs, crunches .]
Hmm.
Good banana.
I've never seen you eating so much.
I hate sweets.
Not bad.
I like that.
Somebody got bold here, too.
Trust me.
Again, it's -- it's crazy daring.
They love Marina's dish.
I am shocked.
But if you finish the whole one, it's very, very sweet.
No, but I think it's -- I think it's right.
- Yeah.
I think it's right, yeah.
- Yeah, I think it's right, too.
I was so afraid it was gonna be so sweet, but not at all.
I mean -- I would love for you to finish the whole one and then say to me that it's not too sweet.
- Okay.
- So, we never agreed, you and me.
No, but this is meant to be -- it's meant to be too sweet.
It is meant to be too sweet.
That's the idea.
Marina: I felt I learned something from my red star experience.
You bet I'm gonna get the gold star this time.
The only way to go is the top.
Cassandra: I'm feeling really great.
I think a falafel is definitely, like, my kind of dish.
It's really yummy and vegetarian, but it's still a little naughty 'cause it's fried.
The one thing I definitely have on my side is that at least it's very obvious what it is.
No.
Lacked a little texture for me.
Yeah.
Lacked attitude.
Lacked heat.
Ludo: Uh, what -- what do we think, guys? Fried something? Fish? Fried fish? Fried something? But street food should leave you direct.
You know what it is, and you should fall in love with it, with that bite.
This doesn't leave me with anything.
It leaves me with, "what is it?" And I'm not sure if I want that second bite.
Jeff: I tasted her falafel, and, uh, it definitely needed a little more heat.
Boring.
- Yeah.
- Marcus: Yeah.
- Yeah.
- That -- that -- they certainly did not enjoy Cassandra's, so I'm a little worried for her.
It's [bleep.]
.
Brad: I've gone with a surf & turf flatbread with a chimichurri sauce and a cabbage, uh, slaw on the top.
What are they gonna say? Are they gonna get it? Are they gonna recognize that I spent the time in preparing that fresh bread? Bread's homemade, no? Bread is terrific.
Mmm.
Very good.
That's awesome.
There's a lot of things going on here.
- Nigella: Yeah.
A lot.
- A lot.
A lot.
You know, it's, uh, meat, uh, fish, seafood.
Mm-hmm.
I thought it was a great flavor, but quite unfocused, actually.
Very good flavor.
I will say that.
- Pchtk! - There's a lot going on there.
Uh, maybe more than necessary, but -- but it comes together for me.
- Nigella: Yeah.
- Awesome.
[ Chuckles .]
[ Sighs .]
Louise: I'm actually really, really nervous, because my caramel did not come out the way I wanted it to.
It was too light in color, and the texture wasn't quite right.
Peanut-candied apple, huh? I-I've got everything stuck to my teeth.
Uh I can tell you right now they hate it.
At first, I didn't think I was gonna like that.
That finished nice for me.
Oh, my God.
Thank God.
I love all the crunchy nuts.
I love nuts.
But it also has that heat, you know, like, both sugar and both heat.
[ Sighs .]
Okay.
Just 'cause it pulled out all my dental work doesn't mean it's a bad thing.
[ Chuckles .]
Shellie: The fried chicken taco's a good choice because I know Anthony loves fried chicken.
This is what I do.
This is my life.
I'm all about street, and that -- the fact that the challenge is street food -- I'm the kid in the candy store.
It's mine.
For me, the ratio was wrong.
Nigella: Wrong.
Overwhelmed by salad.
Yeah, too much salad.
And I didn't get enough of a medley of flavors.
Not enough heat at all.
I found it a pleasurable mouthful of food, but there's some proportion problems.
This sucks.
I could go home.
Sarah: My heart's in my shoes.
I'm sweating.
It can go either way.
Fish and chips is either really, really good or really, really bad.
And after the debacle in Nigella's kitchen, I'm thinking like, "God, why did I do this?" Put it in my mouth, please.
With pleasure.
It's fish and chips with curry sauce.
Yeah.
And -- and it's very innovative.
- Mm-hmm.
- It's, uh, very -- - Without being froufrou about it.
- Yep.
It takes also quite a lot of skill to do that dish, you know? It's a lot of elegance with the chips and all that stuff.
Ludo: You know, and I think it's very important you know, in the street, uh, to make sure, too, it's very easy to eat.
Ooh, the heat is good.
The heat -- it is good.
It made me happy, that.
Good.
- Oh.
Nigella.
- I want you to be happy.
Sarah: They like it.
They really like it.
Sweet.
[ Laughs .]
Oh, là là.
Jacquelyn: I cannot afford to be in the bottom or get a red star, because I'm the only one on my team.
I definitely want to prove to Nigella that she made the right choice.
My empanada is definitely flavorful.
My lamb is cooked perfectly.
There's a lot of seasoning.
We have paprika, garlic.
It's just -- it's delicious.
No.
No.
No.
No? That's a good concept for street food.
- It's empanadas.
- Nigella: Mm-hmm.
Under-seasoned.
I mean, immensely under-spiced.
And then also, the dough is not right.
- What? - Ooh.
We're like, "ah, whatever.
We know it's bad.
It's her time to go.
" I think it's very bad.
Thank you, everyone.
Good job.
There were some great dishes here, some really good dishes, and some pretty good dishes.
Uh, so this is gonna be a very difficult decision for us.
Please go in the break room while we make our "best" and "worst" decisions.
We'll see you in a little bit.
We're all feeling the pressure.
Anything can happen.
Not feeling really good at this moment.
Thank God.
[ Sighs .]
- I'm exhausted.
- Oh, my God.
I don't know who's on top, and I don't know who's on bottom.
I have no idea what's going on.
Yours -- I think you're totally cool.
But I'm like a petulant child.
- Yeah.
- And I want another star.
- Yeah.
I do, too.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- But it's -- it's weird.
It's weird, though.
[ Laughter .]
Shehu, what was yours? Tell me.
Shehu: Like, a jerk tartare.
The johnnycake, you know, might not have been perfect, but for the fact of them saying all they could taste was banana? I piled on that tartare, you know? That's a good idea.
Yeah, I think that would have - went over really well, too.
- Yeah.
I absolutely think Shehu thinks he's going home at this point.
For you, Marina, they -- they -- they dug on your dish.
The phoenix can rise from the ashes.
[ Laughter .]
There you go.
There you go.
It's weird, because who would have expected them to like dessert? Right? I was super, super-surprised.
I love sweets, and I got sick afterwards.
- Just too much.
- But they loved it.
They loved it.
[ Laughs .]
I really don't know what happened with the mentors that they forgot what falafel was today.
I tasted the tzatziki.
I thought it was awesome.
Yeah.
I don't know.
Maybe they got too much sugar on their palates before they ate it.
Well, who do you think's the winner? Like, I-I can't even frickin' tell.
Probably Marina.
Lee: Who do you think's the bottom? I think Jacquelyn's on the bottom.
I think we all can agree that they didn't like that.
Jeff: Oh, it is Jacquelyn's time.
That ship should have sailed a long time ago.
She should not be here.
Louise: Jacquelyn, how you feeling? Pretty good.
So, at this point, Team Nigella is down to one person.
Everybody's been calling them "Team Hot Mess.
" I would like to call them more "Team Delusional.
" You had an empanada? And I was really surprised to hear "not enough seasoning," only because it was garlic -- you know, the salt, pepper, garlic, - paprika, oregano.
- Yeah, they said it needed more salt and pepper.
She still thinks that she is this talented chef with skills and she knows this, that, and the other.
And then on the outside, I did a confit, and it had mirepoix, it had peppercorn, it had bay leaf, it had -- A confit of what, though? Confit of onion.
I'm telling you, it's just, like -- it's just all in there.
A confit is something, whether it's meat or it could be a vegetable, that is slowly cooked in a fat, and it takes hours upon hours to do, and I'm like, "you cooked the empanada in a confit? I'm confused.
What are you talking about?" And it's -- it's embarrassing.
On top of the empanada? I fried the empanada in that.
Like, is this a joke? Why is she here? She doesn't know what she's talking about when we ask her, "what went into your empanada?" You don't cook empanadas like that.
She's crazy.
It was good, I thought.
I mean You know, you can't make a mistake this late in the game.
I mean, you can't make any mistakes, really.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Or people are gonna go home.
- Yeah.
I feel like a child.
Like, I want that gold star.
Pressure's on.
I can't lose.
I don't want to go home.
Louise: Who wants a red star? You have to defend yourself.
You just completely failed.
That's so embarrassing.
Cassandra: I thought it was good.
Jeff thought it was good.
Lee thought it was good.
Louise thought it was good.
I think I'm safe.
You never know.
Anthony: Welcome back.
We've all chosen our best and worst street-food dishes -- blind, of course.
Let's find out first who made our best dishes.
My best dish was cooked by Sarah.
Yes! - Nicely done.
- Yes! That's your first gold star.
- It is my first gold star.
- Congratulations.
I've been waiting patiently.
[ Laughs .]
Not so patiently.
I'm lying.
[ Laughter .]
My best dish was cooked by Yes! Yes! Sarah.
I have been waiting and waiting and watching those boys with their stupid stars.
So, finally, finally -- I have a gold star.
Right.
My best dish was cooked by - Marina.
- Wow.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
[ Light laughter .]
My best dish was cooked by - Marina.
- Wow.
- Marina: Wow.
- Wow.
Félicitations.
[ Laughs .]
I went from, last week, a red star, a worst dish to two gold stars.
It feels really awesome.
Narrator: With two gold stars each, Sarah and Marina are tonight's best cooks.
Anthony: Congratulations.
Really, really good work.
Let's see what you made for us that we liked so much.
Sarah, tell me about this wonderful version of fish and chips.
I did a beer-battered cod.
I have a little bit of onion and jalapeño chow-chow on top and some fries.
I did a little curried spice on the fries and the fish.
Just pretty simple.
The batter was done nice.
The heat level was fun.
Great job.
Really proud of you.
Thank you.
Uh, it was a bit of a high-wire act with the salty and sweet and pickly and sour and spicy, and it was just awesome.
Nigella: The perfect fish and chips.
It had just the right amount of acid, 'cause you need that when you've got, you know, two foods that are fried.
Thanks.
- So, Marina - Marina: Yes.
what did you cook for us today? This is a wonton wrap.
It's a caramelized banana fried on the batter.
This thing blew my mind.
- Pure joy for me.
- Thank you.
Very proud of you.
You take a big risk over there.
I did.
I'm so happy you win, but [bleep.]
man.
[ Laughter .]
You did a dessert? My God.
I don't normally do dessert, too.
I don't like to eat sweet stuff.
[ Laughs .]
Pure pleasure.
Thank you.
It's quite an accomplishment to make these, then to carry it through.
It just was, as I said, pure pleasure.
I'm immune to the charms of sweet stuff most of the time.
I'm even hostile to the idea of desserts.
But if I'm gonna eat something sweet in the street, this would be it.
- I'll take the recipe.
- Oh, sure.
That was the good news.
Now it's time for us to reveal our least favorite, our worst dishes of the night.
I'm just crossing my fingers that it's not me.
Anybody but me.
I cannot afford to get a red star, because I'm the only one on my team.
There's no one else but me.
My worst dish of the night was made by Cassandra.
[ Sighs .]
I don't think I made the worst dish, so I don't know what's going on.
This is never fun, but we got to do it.
My worst dish tonight was made by I'm like, "it's got to be Jacquelyn.
She's gonna go.
" Ooh.
That hurts.
Dude.
Shehu: Get a red star from my own mentor -- that's a tough pill to swallow.
I picked Shehu.
There it is.
I hate it.
My heart is on the floor.
How did that happen? [ Nigella groans .]
My worst dish was cooked by Shehu.
Man.
Sorry.
My worst dish was cooked by Shehu.
"Shehu," "Shehu," "Shehu.
" Narrator: With Shehu piling up three red stars to Cassandra's one, they are tonight's worst cooks.
Now the mentors have to pick which one goes home.
Did Shehu just go down? Yeah.
He just did.
Three strikes.
Damn.
Shehu: I'm done.
I'm gonna go home.
I'm ready to pack my bags, and now it's my turn to go home.
It's a numbers game.
It's three versus one red star.
But my one is all really it takes to get eliminated.
Anthony: Shehu and Cassandra, your dishes were our least favorite of the night.
That sucks.
Let's take a look at what got you in this unenviable position.
Shehu, he made some mistakes today, but he's a great cook.
I mean, he's got all this knowledge.
He's got great potential.
That bottom two does not deserve to be bottom two.
Jacquelyn should be going home.
Her food is always awful.
There's better people here.
Cassandra, what did you make for us that -- that got you here? What is this? It was a falafel.
I thought I executed well.
I had a lot of my teammates taste it, and everybody seemed to enjoy it.
I had even someone from your team taste it, and they enjoyed it.
Lee: She made a bad dish today, yes.
I can't say it was the best falafel I've ever had.
But over the past few weeks, Cassandra and I have become very close.
I want her to stay.
This was a-a mushy, flavorless mouthful of food.
Street food should be vibrant, compelling, exciting, make you want to come back.
This, I'm -- I'm sorry to say, was -- was filler.
Cassandra, how did you make your falafel? Chickpeas, onions, garlic, garam masala, and then flour in the food processor.
The food processor may have been part of the trouble -- makes everything very, very fine.
I don't put flour in falafel.
Do you when you make it? Well, to hold it together when I -- when I was frying it.
That is what makes it gummy.
Look, I mean, I think your choice was great.
I think your mistake here today, it was with your seasoning.
All right, Shehu, you have zero reason even to be in the bottom half.
What did you cook for us? Today, I tried to make -- do my take on, like, West Indian flavors.
Took the, um, skirt steak, made my own jerk seasoning, the jerk, let it marinate.
And I, like, wanted to do, like, a nice, fried, hard dough.
If there was plantains in the pantry today, I would definitely have went with plantains, but I know bananas are always there.
So I made, like, bananas with a brown-sugar-spiced mixture to cut off the spiciness of the, um, jerk.
"No plantains, so I'm using bananas"? Ooh.
Nasty.
The dough is not cooked properly.
It's raw.
You don't have plantains, so you go for banana, and then you have mango on top, so it becomes sweet on sweet.
Shehu's dish -- it just sounds so disgusting.
I love that you're bringing something new, that you're taking risk, but with that, you got to execute.
I mean, clearly it was [bleep.]
.
[ Chuckles .]
I'm curious to know -- have you made this dish before? My first time trying it out, and Don't do it on a national TV show! Not the time to be, you know, uh, entering entirely new terrain here.
You should have stuck with what you know, because you know a lot.
You have an incredible résumé, uh, worked in a terrifying number of great places with really great chefs.
I'm very surprised to see a chef like you doing that.
So, see, I'm in shock.
What happened, bro? I mean, seriously.
What happened? How you can think about that? I really thought I was gonna knock this out the box.
You know, I was really, like, uh -- I know, but you need to taste good, bro.
I love creativity.
I felt comfortable.
I take -- Also, I'm really worried about your taste, your palate, huh? If you're feeling good about that, don't know what to say.
It's kind of astonishing to me.
I gave you a gold star last week.
There is an appreciation here for the fact that you're bringing something that is original.
- You need to taste good.
- But you need to -- well, you need to taste good, and you need to execute.
Yeah.
I understand.
Thank you.
I almost died.
Cassandra, Shehu One of you guys has got to go home tonight.
Cassandra, why -- why should you stay? Well, first of all, I want to apologize.
I should have been a little bit bolder and not so safe.
I feel like last week, I gave you guys a really good, strong dish with the lobster roll, and I was super-proud, and you all loved that.
Um, so I feel like I have proven something to you guys as a chef.
I'm dying right now.
It -- it's, like, heartbreaking.
This is a tough one to watch.
I want to be able to show you guys that I can really surprise you, and I know I have it in me.
And I just cherish every minute that I get to learn more from you, and I know I have so much more to learn.
Shehu.
That's a compelling case.
What do you have to say? I'm behind the 8 ball now.
I got three stars, and when you dig yourself a trench, you got to climb yourself back out.
I'm strong enough to do it.
I understand I fell short today.
If I do get a chance to stay here, I know I definitely have some more stuff I can show and showcase.
I'd just like to have another chance to, uh, to prove myself.
Best and worst cooks, your stars are waiting for you in the break room.
We have some discussing to do.
We'll see you shortly.
Would you like me to put a star on you? Jeff, I would love you to put one on and for Lee to put on one, please.
[ Laughs .]
It felt great that Jeff and Lee did not get any stars today.
In fact, I made them pin my stars on.
There you go.
They look great.
That damn banana was gorgeous.
[ Laughs .]
- Jeff: Congratulations.
- Thank you.
That was hot.
It really put me over the moon after I got my red star right here.
It was exactly where I need to be.
Like a phoenix, she rose from the ashes and got two gold stars.
Shehu: I know right now they have to figure out who to send home.
I'm not sure who's fighting for me, who wants to see me stay or not.
Not a good feeling.
Cassandra: I would do anything to stay at this point.
I really want to keep learning.
I feel like I have so much more to learn and so much more to take out of this experience.
I don't want to go home.
This is not at all what I expected.
I am blown away.
I cannot believe who the bottom two are.
I'm -- I'm shocked.
- I'm gobsmacked.
- Nigella: I know.
I'm just -- I cannot believe Shehu -- man, he put himself in the hole with this.
I'm stunned.
Of all of the people And that's your price.
I don't think Shehu is that good.
I don't think Shehu has finesse.
Stop.
It's gonna be kind of hard to argue three against one, so I don't know, Shehu.
I mean Shehu: I'm not feeling really good.
I got three red stars.
One of the stars comes from my own mentor, so I don't know.
His food has spoken to me the whole time.
[ Scoffs .]
He's a team play-- - he's a team player.
He's helped out.
- Good.
- But the food is not good.
- Let me finish! You're gonna get your chance, right? I tried, you know? And that's -- you know, that's -- that's what life is, is about taking risks.
Shehu takes big chances.
He made a big mistake over here.
I really appreciated the fact that he does an original dish here.
Nigella: No, no.
You can't defend this.
You can't defend this.
This is disgusting.
- This is disgusting.
This is dull.
- No.
I'd rather see somebody fail gloriously.
I mean, this is a failure of the imagination, a failure of -- of basic, fundamental cooking principle.
Any good falafel -- it's such a classic New York street food.
This is so abominably bad.
I-it's limp, there's no crust, there's no flavor, and a dismal, dismal falafel.
I believe in Cassandra.
That's my problem.
Marcus, don't shake your head.
You -- you're not with her in the kitchen.
I am with her.
Cassandra -- She has shown to me in the kitchen -- - Mm-hmm.
- She tastes foie gras.
She cooks foie gras.
I'm sorry.
She has a good attitude.
I already know how the outcome is gonna be.
I'm gonna go home.
You know? I mean, you're a really -- you got a gold star last week.
Lee: He made a terrible dish today.
It was a mess.
It -- it didn't work.
And all -- you know, he got three red stars for it.
I'm not ready to see her go.
First of all, Ludo, Shehu has a gold star, right? He's proven himself.
You know, I mean, it looks nice.
Here's a chef that cooks, that puts forward -- - That's gross.
- And -- and -- - and he takes chances.
- That's disgusting.
- You cook that, you should have -- - This, for me -- - to have the tradition -- - No, no.
- A professional chef doing that, that's scary! - He takes -- I can't get over the disgustingness of this.
We'd be mad to send a cook this good home.
I feel that Cassandra has surprised me.
I would like to err on the side of keeping Shehu.
That's where I am.
I prefer Cassandra.
She has talent.
I believe in her.
Marcus: No, no, no.
She's not even close.
I believe in her.
Maybe my girl doesn't have a gold star.
I own that.
I own that.
- But I believe in her.
- She's not even close.
Ohh! Try her food.
Stop it.
She's vegan, chef.
- She has a better palate than that.
- But you never picked -- you never picked her.
- You never picked her.
- Look at it, look! - Look at this! - Come on! Oh, my God.
It's a big piece of poo-poo again.
- There's somebody hiding -- - You picked your guy's.
- You picked your guy's, man.
- There's somebody hiding behind Jeff Stop one minute.
Stop one minute.
Stop.
Shh! You keep saying the same thing.
- He's an incredible chef.
- My girl, too! I think she's good, too.
Listen, it's not even discussable.
- I mean, she is -- - What, Marcus? He has three stars.
- He is -- he is an incredible chef.
- It's gross.
It's disgusting.
I don't believe -- - Marcus, Marcus, I also think -- - It's gross.
- Marcus -- - Can I finish? Can I finish? Accept -- accept for me, please.
- This is gross.
- I have accepted it! Please do it! Listen to me! Gross! - This is gross! This is disgusting! - I have accepted it! - I've told you -- - [Bleep.]
.
Ohh.
I know you want to send Cassandra home, but that's not fair -- she's great.
Neither of us deserve to go home.
Two people that really want to be here and who really want to learn from their mentors are gonna -- I'm sorry.
We really are freakin' dedicated, and we're not telling anyone to get away and we're not telling anyone that we don't want to listen to what they're doing.
- You know? - No arguing.
Why was Jacquelyn's dish not picked worst? Like, I-I don't understand it.
- It shouldn't be like this.
- Shehu.
We shouldn't have to go through this right now.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Aww.
[ Chuckles .]
Has Shehu shown us the best he's got? You know, I know I have a lot more to show, and -- and even more to learn from Marcus.
Can Cassandra go up more? I mean, you started where you started, and you've done so much to get where you're at right now.
Who's got the most room for improvement? I mean, you can make an argument either way, you know? Like, I-I really don't know.
I think we have to think also in terms of the competition as a whole, and that's different.
I don't know how this is gonna turn out.
And either way, it's gonna suck.
Like, really, really suck.
It's not fair.
I can feel what she's feeling, and it's just not -- [ clears throat .]
It's not good.
Oh, boy.
He had a bad day.
That's not really the way he operates.
I don't want to have to do this on my own right now.
Clearly, this is a less-than-unanimous decision.
I think that would be fair to say.
Let's bring them out and give them the news.
This elimination, it's really nerve-wracking.
In my heart, I think Cassandra should be going home.
Louise: I think it's gonna be Shehu.
I'm extremely worried that she's gonna be sent home.
Shehu: Hey, yo, story of my life.
I'm, like, feeling really good, riding high.
Now I'm back in the gutter.
Cassandra: I'm with Shehu, and I know he's a good cook, so I kind of feel like I'm up to the slaughter right now.
This really was a very, very difficult decision.
We've never fought so hard or so furiously over the outcome.
This was not a unanimous decision, by a long shot.
Shehu, you're a really, really talented, experienced cook.
You've got a lot to give, clearly.
But wow.
Uh, your -- your -- your contribution today just didn't work.
It was not a pleasurable, textural mouthful.
It didn't taste good.
It was a bad idea.
Uh, you reached, and You missed.
Uh, Cassandra, you have grown as a cook.
You are a vegetarian -- maybe my favorite vegetarian.
You've killed a lobster and cooked foie gras on this show.
Clearly you are both, uh, capable of -- of great things.
Th was a really -- a heartbreaking decision.
So, Cassandra, I think I never fight for somebody like this on this show.
Never.
Never before.
But I'm sorry.
You're going home today.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
It -- it's just -- you don't deserve it.
I'm so proud of you.
I-I believe in you.
It breaks my heart to send you home.
I mean, you are going home, but that's not fair.
I'm so proud of you.
I mean, I'm so proud of you.
I feel so bad.
I want to cry.
I swear to gosh.
I haven't taken a single second for granted.
I'm so grateful for everything I've learned.
I don't think I deserve to go home.
You don't.
You don't.
- Um - You don't.
Ludo: It's the first time in the history of The Taste we send a good cook who should not deserve to go home.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
I'm so proud of you.
Sorry.
Thank you.
Nigella: Don't give up.
Really, really please.
You really have -- you've cooked such delicious things.
Promise you won't.
[ Crying .]
I won't.
Thank you.
Well done.
Proud of you.
Thank you.
We, all of us here, think you're tremendous.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
[ Sniffles .]
I won't let you down, all right? - Thank you.
- I won't let you down, okay? All right? Thank you.
[ Sobbing .]
Shehu: I mean, I definitely wanted Cassandra to go home, but I didn't want her to go home like this.
Nigella: That was heartbreaking.
I really pushed myself, and I really I really appreciated being here.
I am a happy healthy-living guru.
I take a big risk.
I'm gonna take you on my team, and we're gonna do good together.
Thank you so much.
Aah! Aah! [ Laughs .]
And I really enjoyed learning from Ludo.
Fat is your friend.
Say it again.
Fat is my friend! [ Laughs .]
I went in, all-in, and I tried everything.
But I wish you can taste your chicken, because you know what? I want you to understand, the chicken is cooked perfectly.
You want me to do it? I'll do it.
Whoa! She eat! I know that everybody liked my dish last week.
[ Voice breaking .]
And it just seems really unfair.
I mean, it wasn't fair that both me and Shehu were even in the bottom when there are people that aren't even appreciative to be here, that don't even want to learn from their mentors.
I think Jacquelyn should have gone home.
I'm -- I'm definitely -- I'm gonna miss Lee.
I'm really glad I got to meet him.
[ Sighs .]
- You don't deserve this.
- I know.
Keep your head high, at least.
I know.
Lee: It is extremely hard to watch her leave, you know? I most certainly will miss her laugh from the other side of the kitchen, and it's gonna be -- it's gonna be hard without her here.
Shehu, look at me.
Yes, chef.
This is really a moment that I want you to remember.
Yes, chef.
How you're feeling right now.
You did a horrible job today, but I know one thing, Shehu.
This is my last fight I'm gonna have for you.
This was my last fight.
The only thing that can save you is your cooking, and you have to cook your heart out and prove to us, to us four here, that we just didn't send home Cassandra for no reason.
Yes, chef.
Go and join the other cooks.
Guys, tough day at the office.
We sent home a good cook today.
We're very aware of that.
And at this point in the game, we're gonna be sending good cooks home all the time, 'cause that's all that's left.
Have a good night.
We'll see you next time.
I started this nickname for Nigella's team.
We call them "Team Hot Mess.
" Two seconds, two seconds, two seconds! [ Laughs .]
Everybody knows Team Hot Mess.
- Yes, it's gonna be done on time.
- Okay.
They're a little bit of a disaster in the kitchen.
Sarah: Does Nigella know Team Hot Mess? Oh, sad.
That a cigarette lighter here? It is, it is, it is.
It's for -- I popped open the beer.
That's very good.
I'm impressed.
Damn it.
Like, Nigella deserves better than that.
I'm worried you're gonna cut yourself.
- Oh, no, I'm fine.
I have this.
- Okay, then.
[ Sniffles, sighs .]
- I kind of need to focus.
- Okay.
Nigella, trust me.
Let me work.
Let me teach.
Nigella: You know, I just may as well just say, "you know what? I'll go to the beach.
"