All language subtitles for Next.Level.Chef.S03E11.720p.WEB.h264-BAE

- Previously on
"next level chef"...

- All right.

- Now that we're on top,
can we stay there?

Angela, platform is here.

- Let's go, angela.

- Go.
- Good luck, ladies.

- I'm going into elimination,
and I'm coming out.

End of story.

- The dish that I'm going
to eliminate is angela.

- ♪ I'm going down fighting ♪

- Now it's on.

- And tonight...

- For the first time ever,

You'll all be cooking in teams.

- Ah!
- Whoo.

- The one weak link in
team ramsey is jordan.

Don't [bleep] around
and fall behind.

Get going now, ok?

- What I need today is not
three individual chefs.

I need one team.

If one of you fails,
we all fail.

- There's no I in team,
but there's a me.

- ♪ I'm going down fighting ♪

[knives shinging]

[dramatic rock music]

[elevator dings]

♪ ♪

[timer ringing]

♪ ♪

- Good morning.

- Welcome back, guys.
Line up.

- Good morning.
- Let's go, baby.

- There's a lot less of us.
This room is big.

It's starting to
feel like, you know,

The finals are in
sight right now.

- Yeah, come on.

- Wow, feeling good?

- Yes, chef.

- Team ramsey,
thanks to gabi,

We are back in our
natural environment,

Which I call home sweet home.

The top level kitchen.

- Yes, chef.

I'm excited to get to the top.

It's a stigma that the top
kitchen has been cursed,

And I'm ready to
break it today.

So I'm ready for the challenge.

- Ok, team blais,
we're down to two, right?

And we're back in the
basement today, right?

- Yes, chef.

- Listen, we have our
work cut out for us.

But you know what they say.

When the going gets tough--

- The tough gets going.

- We cook our asses off,
that's what the saying is.

[laughter]
- that's true.

- All right, team arrington,
for the third time in a row,

We're in that middle level.

- It's time to take it
to a new level today.

We need that top kitchen.

- I love that.

Chef von, how are you feeling?

- I'm ready to cook.

I'm just ready for this
team [bleep] to be over

Because I'm just tired of doing
great work and getting

The [bleep] end of the stick.

- Person that I'm
going to choose

To go in to the
elimination cook,

It's going to be chef mada.

Christina.

Christina.

- My favorite saying--
there's no I in team,

But there's a me.

As long as my dish is good,
that's all that matters to me.

- All of you, I need you
to listen very carefully.

Whether you're working
behind the line

In an amazing restaurant,
or preparing

A large catering order,
or even serving a beautiful

Holiday dinner for the whole
extended family at home,

We all work better
with an extra pair

Of hands in the kitchen.

- Mm.

- That is what today's
challenge is all about.

For the first time ever
on "next level chef,"

You'll all be cooking in teams.

- What?

Oh, my god.

No.

- Ah!
- Wow.

- Gabi and izahya,
both monster chefs,

I think whatever we do together
is going to be elite.

- Here's the good news.

Each team will have
30 minutes to create

A beautiful three-course meal.

- Wow.
- Wow.

- One appetizer,
one entrée, and one dessert.

- Oh, my god.

30 minutes to make
a three-course meal?

That is not a lot of time,

And we have one less chef
than everybody else.

Please pray for us.

- Each member of
your team is going

To be responsible for
one of those courses.

These dishes must work
together cohesively.

That's the most
important thing.

Understood?
- Yes, chef.

- Team blais, because
there's only two of you,

You get to drop a course.

- Wow.
Ok.

- No, you don't.
I'm only joking.

[laughter]
- "next level chef," baby.

- That is not fair.

- Ok, team blais, I'll see you
in the basement very soon.

Let's go, team blais.
- Good luck guys.

[dramatic music]

[hydraulics whirring]

- Three courses.
- Wow.

30 minutes?

I'm thinking simplistic
stuff like dessert.

Let's make a nice olive oil
cake, you know what I mean?

- The struggle
with this challenge

Is that it has to be cohesive.

So I'm happy to go
with zach's idea.

I'm just excited to kind
of play sous chef today.

I'm going to work my booty off,
and we're going to pull

This three-course meal off.

Yeah, what's your--
do you have your recipe

For the olive oil cake?

Is that something that
I can memorize quickly?

- 1 cup of olive oil.
- One--ok. Two eggs?

- Three.

- Two cups flour, equal parts,
1 teaspoon baking powder.

I'm taking charge
on the dessert.

Zach is going to work on
our appetizer and entrée.

Salt and a little bit of milk.

I've never had
olive oil cake,

But I'm going to bake it today,
and it's going to be great.

[hydraulics whirring]

- This is it.
This is it.

Theme today is top dish.
- [laughs]

- Top dish.
- Top dish.

- Come on.
Come on.

- All right, guys.

- This is what
I'm thinking off the bat.

I think we should aim for,
like, an american gastropub

Sort of theme.
- Yeah, all right.

Now, who's doing what?
Let's get that going.

- Would you rather do
appetizer or dessert?

- If you really feel
comfortable with dessert--

- No, I don't,
but I can pull it off.

- What are you most
comfortable with, dessert or--

- Dessert's our
biggest weakness,

And somebody has
to pull it off.

- Yes.
- If you want it, take it.

- Do you bake at home?

- I don't, but I feel
comfortable with the custard.

- Ok.
- Ok.

You feel comfortable
with the appetizer.

I know you do.

So dessert, entrée, appetizer.

- Ok, done.

Buns out, guns out, ok?

I wasn't playing today.
This means business.

[hydraulics whirring]

- Team today.

We've been a team.

We've been a team
since day one.

- Let's go.

Let's go.

- All right, team ramsey,
three social media chefs.

We always have
each other's back.

- Who's good at desserts?

- I got dessert.

I got dessert today.

What theme are we thinking?
- I know.

Like, if I go scallops, what
are you going to do, red meat?

- Surf and turf.

Just grab the best cut of
[bleep] whatever is up there.

- Once the platform comes,

We're going to have
to communicate.

- I'm officially
doing the entrée,

And we're going to have to make
this thing a cohesive dinner.

Hoping that we could
break this curse today

And produce top level dishes.

- Yeah, baby.

- Hello.
- How are we doing?

Are we ready?
- Feeling good.

- Let's do this, chef.
- We're feeling good?

- Yeah.
- Ok.

All right.
We have a theme.

What are we thinking?

- Keep it sexy,
composed, light.

- Ok.
- Yeah.

So we're just going to
really decide on the moment.

- Yeah.

- Ok, that doesn't
scare me at all.

- [laughs]

- Let's go.
- Let's go.

- Let's go.

- Congratulations.

Welcome back, girl.
Welcome back.

What are we thinking, team?

- We want to go sort of,
like, american gastropub vibe.

- And any proteins
we're looking

Forward to on the platform?

- Yes.

- I would love chicken wings.

- Chicken wings, love that.
- Yeah.

- And think about
show-stopping presentation.

- Yes, chef.

- Right?
- Right, let's go.

- Let's go, chef.
- Let's go.

- Let's go.
- Feeling good?

- Yes, chef.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Feeling good?

- Yes, chef.
- Right. Talk to me.

Where are we going with this?

- Well, if he goes surf,
I do turf.

- Right.
Don't play it simple.

Gabi, did you want the dessert?

- Yes, chef.

I feel like it's a
strength of mine.

- Love it.
- 30 minutes is tight, though.

- It's very tight.

- Jordan and izahya, pastry
is not their strong suit.

I'm up for the challenge.

I'm ready to get my
hands on some sugar.

- The platform is moving, guys.

Go!

- Go, go, go, go, go, go.

Oh, my goodness me, scallops.

Look at that.
- Beautiful.

Ribeye.
Ribeye. Ribeye.

I got the protein
that I wanted,

A beautiful ribeye steak.

- Scallops.
Scallops.

I got scallops.
- Great.

- Keep going.
Keep going. Keep going.

Normally, I'm just
grabbing for myself,

And I know what I'm grabbing.

But today, I'm having to
depend on my teammates.

- What else do you guys need?
What do you need?

- Come on, guys.
- Grab it. Grab it.

Whatever you need.

- From what I grabbed,
I don't have enough

To make a
next level steak dish,

So I just hope zay and gabi
grab some stuff for me.

- Whoo, you got the scallops?

- I think this is going
to tie into a really

Beautiful fine dining
surf and turf sort of menu.

- Good grab, guys.

- Go.

Let's go, guys.

Chicken wings up top, baby.

- Chicken.

- Hallelujah!

Beautiful lollipop
chicken wings.

Let's go!

- Grab beautiful
gastropub ingredients.

- It's a little strange
to do this

Team thing at the platform.

So I don't think that we grasp
that concept very well.

- We have 30 minutes as a team
to make this cohesive.

- Does anyone see coffee?
- We have time.

- Coffee's here.

- Grab that.
Get the coffee.

And the platform's gone.

All right, what do we got?

What do you want to do
with this halibut?

- I can make a romesco sauce.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, just seared
halibut over romesco.

- Gastropub?
- Yes.

- I'm thinking like
more farm to table.

Like, farm to table?

Farm to table.
- Farm to table.

- That's what we're
going to shoot for.

- American farm to table.

- We literally waited
till the last second

To pick out our theme.

- Hey. We got this.
- Let me know if--

- [bleep] yeah, we do.

- Let's go.

- Do we need lemons?
Yes.

- Ok, sweet potato, avocadoes.
- Lemon curd?

There's a lot on the platform,
but it's all really random.

Lemon, citrus, fruits.

So I'm glad that I memorized
that olive oil cake recipe.

- You got octopus up here.

Then you got
rabbit right there.

Those are the proteins.

- Rabbit.

I'm like, man,
I was hoping for a piece

Of like new york strip steak.

- Only a couple seconds.

Cherry jam,
lemon curd down here.

- Do you need mayo?
- No, no, no, no, chef.

- Ok.

- All right.
[exhales]

I mean, it was kind of
like a salvage grab.

- Ok, these are our berries
we're working with.

Whatever was left,
we just took it.

- Right, guys,
your 30 minutes starts now.

All of you, listen to me,
when you need help,

Say something, ok?
- Yes, chef.

- Let's go, guys.
- Yes, chef.

- Hey, if you need some
tomatoes for anything,

Just add a splash of color,
I got it.

- Let's go, team.
- Yes, chef.

- Let's work smart.

Let's work clean.

- I got rabbit,
a little bit of fennel,

Some stilton blue cheese,
two asparagus,

And some frozen sweet potato.

- That sounds dreadful.

- [laughs]

A little bit worried
about the rabbit.

It's something that I'm
not super familiar with.

I might look like I know what
I'm doing, but in my mind,

I got 10, 20 things
going on at once.

- All right, nicole.
- Yes, sir?

- It does smell good already.

- We got some zest
going in here right now.

I'm gonna get this
thing in the oven

Because it's got to cook,
and we're going to get

Some macerated berries,
might do a little berry sauce.

It's going to go great with
everything zach's doing.

- Looks like we
got a pastry shop.

- It's going to smell good.

- Some cakes take
30 to 40 minutes to bake,

And we don't have that time.

I don't even know
how hot this oven is.

I can't tell the temperature.

This honestly might be one of
the toughest challenges yet.

- Right.
What did you grab, jordan?

- Chef, we got a ribeye.
- Oh.

And how are you
going to cook it?

- Do a hard sear,
nice butter baste.

- Nice skillet.
A nice cast iron skillet.

Get it on and get it
smoking, please.

- Yes, chef.
- Sweet potato puree.

- Sweet potato puree.
- What about the sauce?

What are we going with it?
- We got red wine over there.

- Get that on now.
Get it reducing.

Put that in first,
your sweet potato.

- Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

I've been flustered since
the platform dropped.

You know,
I'm flustered right now.

The more that I think about
this, the more that I'm like,

Why did I give myself
the hardest job?

- Right.
What did you grab, izahya?

- So I have scallops, miso.

I'm going to go appetizer.

I made so many appetizers
on my series, on my page.

- What are you gonna
do with the miso?

What are you going to do?

- I'm going to add it inside
the white beurre blanc sauce.

So I think that's going
to be delicious, chef.

- Good.

- How are you looking
over there, gabi?

- Looking good, guys.

- Got your sweet potatoes on.

- Yes, chef.

- You just need to get
your reduction on now.

- Gonna get the reduction
going right now, chef.

- Don't waste time.
Most important piece first.

Get your pan on production.
Little pan.

Let's go.

Ok, get organized, young man.
Don't [bleep] around.

- You got it, chef.

- Jordan, don't [bleep] around
or fall behind.

Get going.
- You got it, chef. Yes, chef.

One plate, one plate,
one plate, one plate.

- Come on, jordan.
Let's go.

- Oh, my god.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

- I feel like this is
not reducing fast enough.

That thing is not
reducing, bro.

[bleep] man.

I'm just looking down
and I'm like, [bleep].

[sighs]
god, I don't know.

I don't know how
this is going to go.

- I'm right here, jordan.

- Von, what is the vision
of our menu today?

- Gastropub fare.

- We love that.

What'd you grab?
- I grabbed the halibut.

So I'm going to do a
crispy fried halibut

And I'm going to
do a brown butter gnudi

With lardon, chef.

- And what about
this says gastropub?

- It's american, it's comfort.

- American comfort.
I love it.

- Yes, chef.

- Guys, five minutes down.

25 minutes to go.

You got what you wanted.
- I know.

- So what's the game plan?

- We're going to batter
these off, deep fried,

Nicely crispy.
- Crispy.

- I'm going spicy and hot
with the sambal, the honey,

A little worcestershire too.

- Sounds incredible.
Sounds incredible.

- Let's go!

- Nothing says gastropub
like a chicken wing.

- Yeah.

- The vision of the menu
is coming to life.

- Yes.

- And so are we
going dipping sauce?

Are we glazing these?
- Yeah, I'm going to glaze them

And then make a nice dipping
sauce just to complement it.

Almost tame the heat
down for the people

That don't want too much heat.

- We love it.

- I got to think
of everybody, chef.

- Yes. That's the signs
of a good chef.

- Hey, it's like me
as a--as a father,

I make three dishes in one.

I'll make one for me, one
for my wife, one for my kids.

- And yours, you know
the exact macro crowd.

- Exactly.
- [laughs]

- I need all the protein.

- [laughs]

- Christina,
where are we going?

What'd you grab?

- I grabbed a bunch of stuff
to be able to make

A beautiful crema catalan.
- Love it.

- If I have time,
I'll do the donuts.

- I see you grabbed
croissant dough.

Are you using that
for your donut?

- If it works,
that will be amazing.

I don't do desserts.

It doesn't come
naturally to me.

So I'm just trying to focus
on what I'm doing.

And everyone else is also, so
our communication is lacking.

- Gabi, how are we?

- Chef, I have a shortcrust
pastry that I'm rolling out.

I'm going to
caramelize some peaches

And figs that's going to go in
between with a cardamom cream.

I'm going to brûlée
these figs as well.

- Love that.
Love that.

- So [bleep] salty, bro.

- What's salty?

- It's too salty.

- What's too salty?
- That's right here.

- Put it down.

Let's get a little
bit of stock in there.

Back up to boil.

Come on, I've seen
you better than this.

- I know, chef.

- I've seen you
better than this.

- I don't know
what's going on.

This is just hard.

In the last two days, I've
just been in my head so hard

Just thinking about
my brother.

He, unfortunately,
passed away a few years ago.

He's been watching over me
and cooking through me

Every single day
in this competition.

You know, loss isn't easy,
and it's tough to climb

Out of that dark hole.

I just got to get it together
for myself and my team

Right now.

- How are you looking
over there, jordan?

Are you good?
- Good.

Not giving up, bro.
- We need you right now.

Let's go.
- Let's go, guys.

- Yes, chef.

- Teamwork, guys.

Ok, teamwork.
- This is good?

Enough batter in the pan?
Do you think this looks good?

- [bleep] yeah.
I think it looks great.

Yeah, what do you think?

- Going in the oven.

- We need an appetizer, guys.

- Yes, chef.

- We're going to
do a citrus aioli,

Chef, with fried baby octopus.

- Right.
Our theme is?

- We're farm to table, chef.

That's what we're
going to shoot for.

- I know you kind of
work on a farm,

So these farm to table
dinners, you're kind of

Like cooking in the garden.

- Yeah, love it.

- We're not on a farm.

I mean, we barely
have a table, zach.

- [laughs]
yes, chef.

100% the odds are against us.

♪ where is my knife? ♪

♪ yeah, [bleep] ♪

But that is when
we're most creative

And we make something
out of nothing.

[whooshing]

- 20 minutes left guys, ok?

- Heard.

- We have the worst ingredients
that I've seen in a long time.

- Rabbit's going in.

- Rabbit and octopus,
those are our proteins.

The risk with the rabbit
is it can be really tough.

You usually have to
cook it in an hour.

We have less than 30 minutes.

Baby octopus and rabbit?

It's a surf and turf
of nightmares.

- You good, gabi?

- Yeah, I'm doing good, guys.

I'm toasting some pistachios.

- Izahya.
Right.

So you've got your
blistered tomatoes,

Your bacon, your beurre blanc.

- Yes.

- Get a plate for
the appetizer,

And show me where you're
going with this, ok?

18 minutes to go.

Jordan, pick it up, young man.

- Yes, chef.
Yes, chef.

- That's the only course I'm a
little bit nervous about now.

- We're almost halfway
through this cook.

I feel my eyes
just glazing over.

I can just kind of feel the
wheels starting to loosen up,

And I'm like, oh, I can't
let these things fall off.

- Down to 15 minutes.

We are halfway.

Please make sure
you talk to each other.

This is a team challenge.

- Let's go.
Let's go. Let's go.

- The three of you
should be working as one.

- I got lemon if you need some.

Come on, von, talk it up.

Let's go.
I want to hear that voice.

You guys good?
Need anything?

Somebody?
No?

[bleep] me.

It would be nice to get
somebody to talk back to me,

You know?

- If one of you fails,
we all fail.

- Not only are my
teammates quiet,

But I just realized
we have three fried elements--

Fried donuts,
fried chicken lollipops.

We also have a fried fish.

I thought he was
going to pan sear it,

To be honest with you.

We might be in trouble here.

- These chefs have all
grabbed ingredients,

But they're not sharing.

They're not talking
to each other.

What I need today is not
three individual chefs.

I need one team.

- 12 minutes left, team.

I'm going to say this
one more time--

I need you guys
talking to each other.

- Yes, chef.

- All right, chef.

- How are we feeling,
christina?

- Do you think that's
a good texture?

- Yes, I think--yes, I do.

100%.

- I am just in my zone.

I know that the three of us
are strong individually,

So I just have faith
that everyone's doing

What they're supposed
to be doing.

- Hey, jordan.
- Yeah?

- So you're cooking asparagus
before you cook what?

- The steak.
- Yeah.

And what do we need
to do with that steak?

- We need to get it
in a pan right now.

- So you know this.
Now, you ignoring it.

So focus.
- Yes, chef.

- There's a little bit
more pressure

When you're working as a team

Because you're only as strong
as your weakest teammate.

How are you guys doing?
- Good.

- Are you doing ok?
- We got a reduction going.

These guys are looking good.

- My big worry right now
is jordan, the entrée.

He's cooking asparagus
that literally

Takes seconds to cook
before the actual ribeye.

So we haven't even got anywhere
near a resting period yet.

Izahya is on it, gabi's on it.

The one weak link in
team ramsey is jordan.

- What you got?
What you got?

- Maybe a little bit
more sweetness,

But it's coming together.
What you think?

- I think that is
freaking delicious.

- Yes.
[bleep] yes!

- Go, baby.
- Eight minutes left, guys.

Let's go.

- I'm deep frying the halibut.

I take it out,
and I was like,

You should have
pan seared that.

I think I was
just overthinking.

I wasn't paying attention,
I don't know.

Just hopefully
it comes together.

I wasn't thinking.

[tense music]

- All right, listen.

The big stakes here are
getting that cake done,

Making sure that the
rabbit's not tough,

And then making this
octopus dish something

That looks like an appetizer,
ok?

- Yes, chef.

I'm going to check this rabbit.

I checked it, and it's
still a little under.

It needs more time.

- Do you think the cake
is going to be done?

- It looks good.
What do you think?

- Oh, it's a little loose.

- I definitely don't want
to plate uncooked cake.

And if this doesn't go well,
I'm going to elimination.

[energetic music]

- Yeah, this thing done, bro.

Is this accurate?

Can you give me
a poke right here?

- Yeah.
So we just want a medium rare.

It's a little bit over.
- It's a little over, yeah.

How is it over?

I just stuck the thermometer
in there two seconds ago,

And it said it was under.

And now, I mean,

The finger that knows
everything touches it.

Hey, this is a little over.

- That's right,
it's a little over.

- And I can't doubt
this man's finger.

It touches a fish, a shrimp,
a steak, a damn pork chop,

And it knows to the [bleep]
degree what it is.

And I'm just like, oh, my god.

- Six minutes to go.

Beautiful.

Let the pan do
the work, my man.

- Yes, chef.

- Hey, if you give up,
your team gives up.

- I'm not giving up.
- Let's go.

We need you right now.
Let's go.

- Let's go, guys.
We got this.

- Hey. Hey.
Breathe, ok?

Breathe.

- I've got 17 pots and pans,

The oven, the blender,
the puree, chef ramsay.

I'm just like,
oh, my god, dude.

[laughing] remove me from
this kitchen, please.

- What do you have
in your gnudi dough?

- Ricotta cheese
and micro basil.

- Micro basil, nice.

- Do you suggest cutting these
in half or leaving them whole?

- What would you do
in your restaurant?

- Make it taste good.

- Ok.
- That's what I'm going to do.

- Does that mean cutting it
in half for you

Or does that mean
presenting it whole?

- To me, that would be half.

Or whole.
- Believe in yourself.

- I definitely do that.

- Guys, we have
3 and a 1/2 minutes left.

- We got this, boys.
- Let's go.

- I got the big boys
on my team.

[laughs]
- let's go.

- Nicole and zach,
it's go time, right?

Almost two minutes.
- Heard.

- Shoot, it's not cooked.
It's not cooked.

- None of it's cooked?
- It's not cooked.

- You know what?

You could do a
rustic tear, yeah?

Take out sections
that is cooked.

Zach, you're going
to have to plate

Those other two dishes, ok?

- Yes, chef.
- Ok.

Anything that's cooked,
the bottom pieces,

Anything that's brown
and lovely right there.

More bread pudding.

It's not exactly
what we wanted,

But we got to make it happen.

Ok, it's time to plate.
Let's go.

Go, go, go.

Platform's on the way.
- Yes, chef.

- Platform's on the way.
Here, you got to plate it.

You got to plate it.

Ok, you got
everything on there?

- Yes, chef.
- All the herbs?

- Yep.

- Get a nice little
pile going on there.

The platform's on the way.
- Yep.

- Platform's here, nicole.
We got to go right now, guys.

Right now.
You got two plates, zach.

The platform is here.
- Yep, got it, chef.

- Five seconds.

I can't take it for you.
I can't take it for you.

Last looks. Last looks.

Lemon juice?

Ok.

- Dang it.
- Whoo!

- Whoo!

- Platform's on its way.

Create that vision.
Bring it to life.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

- I'm going to take
the far one, von.

You got the close one.
- Yes.

- I'm going far.
I'm already here.

- All right, I'm going middle.
Come on, mada.

- Yup.

- Good job, guys.
Look at that.

- Yeah!
- Let's go!

- Valet service.

- Whoo!

- Crushed.
Yeah, clean that up.

- Let's go!

- Let's go, baby.
- Ah!

- Go, go, go, go, go, go.

One last look, guys.

Last look.
- Come on, jordan.

Are you good, jordan?
What do you need?

- Talk to me.
Just talk to me.

- Platform's here.

- Platform's here.
We got to get it on.

Got to get it on, guys.
Got to get on.

- Get it on there.
Let's go.

Clean the plate.
Come on, clean the plate.

Come on, clean the plate.

- Look, look, look. Look.

- Let's go, bro.

Thank you for not
giving up, bro.

Thank you for
not giving up, bro!

That's what we're
talking about.

Let's go.

- I don't want to ever
weigh my team down.

Like, that's always
a horrible feeling.

- I'm proud of you.

- I hate feeling like
an anchor, you know?

But that's where
we're at right now.

Oh, that was so tough.

- Mada.
- Yes?

- Tell me what your dish is.

- Sweet and spicy
crispy lollipops

With a special aioli
dipping sauce.

- Love it. Von.

- I got a crispy fried halibut
over ricotta gnudi.

- We said crispy twice now.

So talk to each other.

- You seared it, right?

- No, it's deep fried.

It's like, why did you do that?

I feel like we stuck
to the theme

Of american gastro dishes.

I just didn't stick
to my theme

Of having great [bleep] dishes.

Hopefully they can maybe
save me a little bit today.

- You want me to say crispy
lollipops, crispy halibut?

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Ok.

Ohh la la.

That looks beautiful.

Oh, dear.

- Damn.

- For the very first time,
we asked all of you

To work in teams,
compose a beautiful

Three-course menu
cohesively with a theme.

Shall we start in
the middle floor?

- Yes, please.

- I've got my eye
on those wings.

- So the theme is gastropub
comfort american fare.

- I'm slightly nervous
about three courses

Back-to-back all deep fried.

- It seems like there is
a lack of communication.

- And I agree with you.

By the time I turned
around and the fish

Was in the fryer, that leaves
us with not a lot of options.

First up, we have the sweet
and spicy chicken lollipops.

The sauce is sort of
like an aioli,

Almost like a fry sauce.

- It definitely meets the theme
sweet and spicy.

Nice.

- They are
absolutely delicious.

The dredging, spot on, crispy.

Mine is cooked
to utter perfection.

They're really good sticky,
delicious, dirty wings.

- We move to the entrée course.

Deep fried halibut over
charred broccolini and gnudi.

- The actual halibut is dry.

I'd never deep fry halibut.

It needs to be basted, braised.

It needs vibrancy.

- The gnudi is dense, and
the fish is overcooked.

- Next up, this is
a play on a cronut.

This has a trio of sauces,
being a raspberry coulis,

A beautiful brûlée
of custard,

As well as a chocolate ganache.

- It's almost
too good to be true.

They are [bleep] delicious.

I mean, seriously, really good.

- Once again, it's on theme.

And the sauces really each
serve a specific purpose.

I like this a lot.
- Good job.

- I gave it my all,

And I put out an amazing dish
for my team.

But I'm not super confident
in von's dish,

And this might affect
our chance to win.

- So the theme of
the top kitchen today

Was all about fine dining.

- The one in the center
doesn't quite look like

A restaurant dish,
to be honest.

- Shall we?

Dig in, please.

Pan seared scallops
in a cast iron pan,

The miso beurre blanc.

- Miso beurre blanc
sounds incredible.

A fun, approachable,
but fine dining dish.

The scallops couldn't be
cooked more perfectly.

Delicious.

- Man, I'm thrilled.

I'm beyond, beyond happy.

- Ok, to the entrée.

First of all,
we were time poor.

Ribeye, sweet potato puree,
red wine reduction, asparagus,

And charred broccolini.

- Besides the visual,
the sweet potato is too sweet,

And the steak isn't
seasoned enough.

- The steak is unevenly cooked.

Half of it is well done, and
half of it seems to be rested.

The vegetables
are overseasoned,

And the steak is underseasoned.

- Yeah, I'm a little bit
lost for words.

Upset for this individual.

I'm underwhelmed.

They know that.

Our team knows that.

And you've just tasted it.

- I had a bad day today.

You know, I'm not
proud of that.

I just received a gift-wrapped,
autographed,

First class ticket
to elimination

For that performance.

[sighs]

- Dessert.

It's a pâte sucrée stack
dusted with a cardamom powder

And the caramelized fruits
with a fresh coulis.

- I almost don't
want to cut into this

Because it's so pretty.
- Wow.

- Yes.

- I feel every
nuance of this dish

Cared for from the
pâte sucrée tender.

Beautiful.

Pairs so nicely with the
fruit that's not overcooked.

It still has a
bit of bite to it.

- I had to go in
for three bites.

I can't stop eating it.
I want more.

- That cardamom.

- The pistachios.

- Oh, my god.

- Richard, shall we move
to the basement, please?

- Yeah.

The theme today is your
local farm to table.

- And what farm across the u.S.
Do you get octopus in?

- [laughs]
- it's a coastal farm.

- Oh, coastal farm.
Just asking.

- Yes, chef.
- Excellent.

But just visually, the portions
are beautifully done.

Shall we dig in?
- Yeah.

So start with the octopus here.

So this is buttermilk garlic,
dill, and lemon.

- This is a
beautiful showcasing

On how dairy and seafood
works well together.

The sauce is really bright
and brings a nice levity

To the crispy seafood.

Great job.

- What an amazing start to
a farm to table theme menu.

There's something really
refreshing about that sauce

At the bottom.

- To the entrée portion.

And this is a roasted rabbit
with butternut squash cherries,

Blue cheese, and hazelnut.

- It's a very bold move at
this stage of the competition

To start cooking rabbit.
So unforgiving.

There's no fat there.

Cherries, rabbit,
beautiful pairing.

- The rabbit is
cooked beautifully.

Most of the elements
work on this plate.

- All right,
heading to dessert.

This is a brown butter
and olive oil crumble

With a blueberry compote
and some lemon curd and mint.

- And we say crumbled,
it literally is crumbled.

Did something happen here?

- The oven's down there,
the timing.

We had a larger cake.
- Right.

- So we had to just
sort of turn it into

A crumble at the end just
so we could get, you know,

A tasting product on the plate.

- For me, the lemon curd,
it's a bit sharp.

And how are we elevating this
and saying,

This is "next level chef"
on a plate.

- Please give us a moment.

Thank you.

Shall we?

[tense music]

- Right.

- Yeah.

- Top floor.

- There were two dishes
that were really strong,

But the entrée left
a lot to be desired.

- Yeah.

- You went from a
fine dining restaurant

To a mediocre home meal
with that dish.

- Middle floor, the wings.

Top notch stuff.
- Yeah.

Listen, I'll be honest, nyesha.

Two of the dishes from
your floor, bullseye.

- Halibut, dry.

- Were they talking
to each other?

- No. I think that
they took the easy road.

Dropped the fish in the fryer.

I mean, panicked.

- Uh-oh.

Chef arrington looks a
little distraught over there.

- The donuts at the end.

- So good.
- Beautiful.

- And the trio of sauces
really, really worked.

- Yeah.
- I will say.

In the basement, there's only
two people and three dishes.

So the communication
was fast and furious.

- Seriously impressed,
honestly.

- I wanted more of
that olive oil cake,

And unfortunately, I got
most of what was sort of dry,

The crust.

I just wanted like a
whipped cream or something.

It just was missing an element
to bring it together.

- [sighs]

- All tasting good, though.

- All tasting good.
- Really good.

- I think if the issue
is I'd like more of it,

That's always a good problem.
- Let's go.

- Uh-oh.
All right, guys. Come on.

- Ok.

At this time,
we're trying to look

For the most cohesive menu.

And richard, nyesha,
and myself

Really do believe that
one menu stood out.

The winning menu today is...

♪ ♪

The farm to table menu
from the basement.

- Yes!
- Oh, my god.

- [whistles]

- Yeah!

- I went from thinking
"I'm going to elimination"

To "we are top of the day."

I mean, that is
quite a spectrum.

- That teamwork has
earned you safety--

- Yes!

- --From elimination today.

Nicole and zach,
head to the lounge.

Get ready for the
next challenge.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much.

- Well done.

- Ok, so unfortunately,
we know what

That means for the rest of you.

Gordon and nyesha,
I'm going to ask each of you

To choose one chef
from your team

To head into the elimination.

Gordon, I'm going
to start with you.

- Well, I'm going
to do something

I've never done before.

I'm not going to choose.

[suspenseful music]

- I'm not going to choose.

[suspenseful music]

Because that individual
knows who they are.

Step forward.

Thank you.
- Absolutely, chef. Yeah.

I'm going to own it.
Yeah, let's go.

- Ok.

Nyesha, who's going into the
elimination to face jordan?

- One dish was not up to par
on the cohesiveness.

I think you know that, von.

But you are a phenomenal chef.

- I know that.

- And I want you to
take jordan down.

- Yes, chef.

It happened.
Everybody has an off day.

I got this.

I got this.
I can redeem myself.

- Ok.

Jordan, von,
for this elimination,

We're going casual
with a comfort classic,

Chicken and waffles.

What started as an unusual
brunch combination

Has become a cult classic.

Both of you are going
to have 25 minutes

To give your take
on an elevated version

Of chicken and waffles.

- Yes, chef.

- Head to the top floor.

I'll meet you up there
in a little bit.

Good luck, gentlemen.
- Let's go, jordan.

- Let's go, von.
- Man.

- Calm too, bro.

Whenever you feel like
you're going off the rails--

- I'll call you.
- Calm, jordan.

- I'll call on you.

He's a pro.

He's probably got
15 or 20 years on me

As far as experience.

He literally owns
a breakfast joint

That I'm pretty sure has

Chicken and waffles
on the menu.

- Be confident.

- Breathe, [bleep], breathe.

Chicken and waffles
we do run as a special.

It's one of our
top selling dishes, actually,

At our restaurant,
at chef von & mom.

We make it with love,
and it's delicious.

- Let's go.
All right.

- Game time.

- Ok, how are we doing,
everyone?

We're doing good?
- Yes.

- All right, listen, one of
the toughest things to do

As a competitor is to, like,
shake it off, right?

And I'm looking
forward to witnessing

An epic battle tonight, ok?
- Absolutely.

Let's go.
- Let's put it on.

- All right, let's line it up.

- Let's go, bro.

- Here it comes, guys.

- When it's green,
it's go time.

When it's green, it's go.
- Let's go.

- David versus goliath,
that's--

That's it, you know.

- Go, go, go, go, go, go!

- It's like trying to
run around a box truck.

I'm like,
get out of the way, dude.

- Drumsticks, thighs.

- Oh, got it.

Got it.

- Chicken breast,
if anyone wanted to do that.

- Breasts dry out very fast.

I'm like,
let me do some thighs.

- You can always go back
to the platform.

[dramatic music]

Ok, so a bone-in thigh
over here

And drumsticks over there
for jordan.

- Is there bacon up there?

- All right, so we got the
bone-in thigh marinating.

What is it marinating in?

- It's marinating in a
little bit of pickle juice,

A little of butter--
- ooh.

- Buttermilk, and a
little bit of hot sauce.

- Pickle juice and buttermilk,
yeah, money.

- And what type of waffle
are we making?

- Simple buttermilk waffle.
- Ok. Got it.

- Let's go, jordan.
Let's go.

Let's go.
Let's go.

Jordan needs to keep his cool.

It's a david versus
goliath story.

But hey, david definitely
beat goliath, so come on.

You got this.

Stay strong,
and just get the job done.

- All right, jordan,

So you're deep into
the measurements over here.

- Getting our
waffle batter going.

We're going to do a waffle
with macerated berries

And some chipotle whiskey
maple syrup.

- Damn, jordan, you're fighting
for your life right now.

- Five minutes gone.

- Now we're doing the tricks of
the trade over here, chef von.

- He's frying the bacon.

Interesting.

- Elevated chicken and waffles.

How am I
differentiating myself?

Am I doing something unique
to the chicken or the waffle?

- What are you doing with that?
Going into the butter?

- No.
Whiskey maple syrup.

- Ok, let's go.
- All right.

- 10 minutes down.

15 minutes remaining.

- Put that one in this one
because it's going

To cool your oil down.
- Yep.

You guys are [bleep] legends.
Thank you.

- Drop them.
Let's go.

[clapping]
- all right.

- Let's go.

- Game time, baby.

Are you going blueberry?

- Yep.

- Are you going all sweet or
gonna add some heat to it?

- Yeah, all sweet.
- All sweet, y'all.

- You guys intentionally
using very similar flavors?

- They say the best form
of flattery is imitation.

[laughs]

- What do you need?
- Whiskey.

Is that bourbon?
Oh, he got it already?

- He got us.

- It looks like some champagne.

- Go buy the champagne.

- I got that.
- Oh!

- Let's go!

Pop it!

[cork pops]

Let's go.

Ah!
- [laughs] oh, no!

- I'm a chef.
That's what we do.

A little bit for the sauce
and some for me.

- You haven't won yet, chef.

You haven't won yet.

♪ ♪

- Halfway mark, 12 and 1/2.

- Good job, jordan.

Let's go!

- Don't go overboard
because it's tiny.

- Yeah.

- Stop. That's good.
- That's good.

- Right in the center.
- Good, good, good, good.

- You might need to put it
under the oven as well.

- Chicken is done.

- Come on, baby.
Let's go.

- Just cut it open
and check real quick.

Is it looking good?
- Done. Done.

- Von, how are we feeling
about your chicken?

It's getting pretty
golden brown.

- I run over to the fryer,
chicken looks good,

But I'm like, no,
that's way too early.

So I put it back in.

How much time do I have, chef?

- Four minutes left.

You're two minutes
from plating.

- You think it'll cook
in two minutes?

- Von, get your chicken
out of the fryer, maybe.

- [exhales]

- 3 and 1/2 minutes.

- Plate everything else
and put that last.

Cook it to the
very last second.

- Beautiful.
- Oh, my gosh.

Let's go, jordan.

- Two minutes left.
You can start plating.

- Get the sauce on there.

[dramatic music]

- Here we go.

- 1:30 left.

- Von, let's go!

- Wow, I can't believe
he's waiting

To the last minute, man.

- Make sure you got all
the elements on the plate--

Chicken, waffles,
sauce, garnish.

- That's got to be cooked.

Put them on here.

Yeah.

Yeah, that looks good.

- Be careful with that.

- 60 seconds left.

- There you go.

- Yes, yes, yes.

Garnish, sugar.

- I'm stressed.

- 15 seconds.

- Let's go!

- 9, 8, 7.

- Yeah, a little salt.

- 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Hands up.
[cheering]

- Let's go!

[tense music]

- Gordon, nyesha, both of these
chefs did themselves proud.

And I know this is
an individual battle,

But there was lots of
great team vibes and spirit

Up here for sure.
- Beautiful.

- Two classic takes on
chicken and waffles,

One using the chicken thigh and
one using chicken drumsticks.

And we will start off
with the drumsticks.

- Chicken drums.

It's just a bold move,
especially across elimination.

- This sauce is whiskey
and chili and maple.

♪ ♪

- Chicken is delicious,
whoever cooked that.

Waffle could have been a little
touch longer in the oven.

It's good.
It's a really good effort.

- This is that
quintessential flavor.

I have the waffle
and I get some texture

And crispiness coming
from the chicken.

For me, this blackberry sauce
around the outside

Is overpowering that beautiful,
delicate maple syrup.

I think it's really smart
to add the chili.

It adds another layer
and depth of flavor.

- All right, next up we have
our crispy chicken thigh

On a bacon-studded waffle

With a champagne
and berry sauce.

- When I hear champagne
and blackberry sauce,

I'm just wondering
if it's missing

That sort of traditional flavor
with the maple syrup.

♪ ♪

- There is part of
this chicken

That's a little bit overcooked.

I think this thing needs
some heat, hot sauce,

But it's beautifully seasoned.

That's the big plus here.

- The chicken,
it's almost like

The flour has
this burned flavor to it.

However, I am enjoying this
waffle more than this waffle.

I think the champagne sauce
is a little bit formidable

On the champagne flavor.

But we did ask for elevated,
so really smart play.

I see elements of brilliance

In both of these
chicken and waffles.

♪ ♪

- So, gordon, which dish are
you sending home tonight?

- It's a tough one.

Purely on taste,
the waffle dish

That I'm sending home
was made with the...

[suspenseful music]

--Thigh.

- Ok, nyesha, same question.

- [sighs]

Tough.

The chicken and waffle dish
that I will be sending home

Is going to be...

♪ ♪

--The chicken and waffle
with the thigh.

- That dish was cooked by von.

- Yep.

It's ok.

- It's not, though.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- Oh, my god!

Thank you, god.

That was for my brother.

My brother is working through--

I said, jake,
work through my hands.

[sniffles]

Then he did.

Before my brother died,
he had a mural

Of david and goliath
tattooed on his arm.

And, um,

I got the scripture
tatted on my wrist

Of david and goliath.

- Oh.

- That's crazy.

- Young man,
you were a standout.

One thing that's evident
is that you were born to cook.

- Yes, chef.

- And that pro experience
got your team,

On multiple occasions,
out of the weeds.

And so this is
not the last time

We're going to be
hearing of von.

- Oh, [bleep] no.
- No chance.

- All right, von, say goodbye
to your teammates.

- Absolutely.
See you guys.

- Come here.

- See you, von.
- My man, good job, buddy.

- You always do a great job.
- Great job.

- Thank you.
- Take care, von. Take care.

- See you later, bro.
- Bye bye.

- Thank you.
Thank you.

- Good luck.
[applause]

- Super proud of myself.

It's been an
awesome experience.

Zero regrets.

My mom, she would be
super proud of me right now.

Cooking, that's in my blood
and it's in my dna.

It's what I do.
It's what I know best.

So ready to get back
to the restaurant

And keep killing it.

This is not the last
america's going to see

This guy right here.

[laughs]

- You've seen first hand

What's just happened to
a very talented pro chef.

- Yeah.

- You cannot afford
any mistakes.

Because next time,
if you want to succeed,

You'll have to think
inside the box.

Goodnight.
- Goodnight.

- Good job.
- Goodnight, chef.

- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.

- Goodnight.

[chattering]

- You can't go yet.
- Not yet, baby.

Not yet.
- Good job.

- Let's go. Ah!

[chattering]

Let's go.

[laughter]

- Next time on
"next level chef"...

- From here on in, you are
all cooking as individuals.

- [whistles]

- Now is the time to push.

- Normally, I have
a sense of composure.

[bleep].

Today, that's not happening.

- Watch out. Watch out.
Watch out.

I don't have much
to go back to.

Is this the way I'm going
to go out? [sniffles]

- We've decided
there's one more chef

Joining that elimination.

- Who's the third person?

- [bleep].