All language subtitles for Next.Level.Chef.S02E09.720p.WEB.h264-BAE

- Previously on
"next level chef."

- Go, guys!
Let's go.

You're now individuals

Fighting to become
the "next level chef."

- This is what I came for.

- There were three dishes

That have earned
that top level kitchen--

Omi, michelle, and tucker.

[upbeat music]

- The dish that I'm
sending home tonight

Is the duck
with the fried potato.

- Preston.
- Oh, my gosh.

- Good job, preston.
- Good job, buddy.

[applause]

- Tonight...

- Richard, nyesha, and myself
would like to congratulate you

For making it to the top ten.

Come on.
[applause]

For today's challenge...
- Whoo!

- We're heading to a place

Where every chef makes
their first real impression,

Amazing appetizers.

- And a beautiful
craft cocktail.

- All right, guys,
40 minutes starts now.

Let's go.

- You mess this up, bro,
no excuses.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Welcome back.
How are we feeling?

- Great.
- Terrific.

- Richard, nyesha, and myself
would like to congratulate you

For making it to the top ten.
Come on.

Give yourselves
a round of applause.

[applause]
- whoo!

Top ten, baby.

This is a milestone
in this competition.

- Now, the competition
is only getting harder.

There is no room for any error.

So for today's challenge,
we're heading to a place

Where every chef makes
their first real impression,

Amazing appetizers.

- Yes!
- [laughs]

- Let's go.
- I'm a professional chef.

I make appetizers all the time.

Let's do it.

If you mess this up,
bro, no excuses.

You better be able to make
a next level appetizer, man.

- In my restaurants,
customers looking

To wind down after a busy day,

They'll come in
just to share appetizers.

If you're smart,
you get them to pair it

With a beautiful
craft cocktail.

You've all seen
an old-fashioned

In a restaurant,
but what we try to do

In all of my restaurants

Is take it to the next level.

- Whoo!

♪ ♪

- Hey!
[applause]

- Beautiful!
Come on.

- I'm a firefighter.

I see a lot of smoke
over there.

- I feel like I'm
in snoop dogg's kitchen.

[laughter]

So you've all got 40 minutes

To create
a next level appetizer

And one incredible cocktail.

Oh, one more thing,

The chef who creates
the best dish

Will not only move up to cook

In that amazing,
topflight kitchen,

But will earn one of these,

A time token.

The winner of the time token

Has a big choice.

They can add
an extra ten seconds

To the start
of their platform grab,

Or they can use it
to take ten seconds away

From one of
their fellow competitors.

- That's mean.

- I'm freaking, like,
salivating out the mouth.

I need that time token.

I want it so bad.

- Omi, michelle, and tucker,
because you cooked

The best dishes last time,
you've earned your spot

In that top-level kitchen.

Home cook,
social media cook,

And pro chef all battling out
in that kitchen today.

Head to the elevator.
I'll see you there shortly.

- Thank you, chef.
- Let's go, ladies.

Let's go.

♪ ♪

- Let's go.

♪ ♪

- Let's go!
- All the way up!

- Here we are, women power,

Walking out on this top floor
like bosses.

Yes!
- Oh!

- I'm absolutely feeling
so proud of myself

That I managed
to get myself up here.

I dig it.

- Shay, mehreen, nuri,
chris, and tini,

You're all cooking
on the middle level.

I'll join you there.

[energetic rock music]

- Here we go!

[applause]
- whoo!

- I'm in the elevator,

Focused
and complete tunnel vision.

My daughter started
playing in my mind.

She's almost making
her way into this world.

I'm like,
"nobody's gonna take food

Out of my baby girl's mouth."
- middle kitchen!

- All right.

- I am claiming this one.

- Nuri!

- Shay-lo, shay-z,
shay butter, baby.

- I did not approve
that nickname.

Love you.
- Back together!

- Vinny, pilar,
you may feel like

You're at rock bottom
in the basement,

But I know that both of you
can cook your way out.

- Yes, chef.

[quirky music]

- I don't mind the basement.
- I don't mind it, either.

- I do not mind the basement.

Hello.
- I've been here before.

- Did you miss me?

So I'm a creature of habit,

And I have always had
a certain spot in the basement.

But I take it
you're taking that spot?

- Yes.

I purposely picked
that station off to the side.

[laughs]

- I always cook here.

- Ok.
- All righty then.

You don't want
to make women your enemy.

That's how you're gonna
get further in life.

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

- Let's go.
- What's up, guys?

These chefs are cooking
as individuals now,

But teams or no teams,
I'm excited.

I got two really strong chefs.

Pilar is a gangster
in the kitchen.

And vinny,
you know, he's fallen,

He's picked himself back up
I don't know how many times.

Think about
what's gonna win you

That amazing time token, right?

[all cheering]

- All right, all right.
Let's go, chef.

How are you, chef?
Feeling good?

- Yeah.
- All right, let's line it up.

- Right.
[applause]

- Hi.
- Ladies, we good?

How are you doing?

- Good.
- I'm happy you're here.

Give it your all.

Line up against the wall,
please.

Let's go.
Come on, come on, come on.

Here it comes, guys.

When it goes green,
we're gonna go.

And go!
Go, go, go, go!

Look at those appetizers.
Oh, man.

- Michelle grabs two scallops.

I only grab one scallop.

- Oh, ladies, ladies, ladies,
only one of you can have it.

- There's no way that I'm
not taking these scallops.

I will fight for this one.

- Decide, decide, decide.
- You got two.

- You got two.
- Ok.

- Wow.
- Got two out of the three.

Luckily, I look back up,
and I see the salmon.

I'm like,
"salmon, you're mine."

I'm still getting seafood.
I'm getting fish.

It's perfect.
- Three, two, one, she's gone.

She's gone.
Good.

Well done.
Go on.

Omi, michelle,
the fight for the scallops,

Bloody hell's bells.

[hydraulics whirring]
- go time.

- I see chicken lollipops.
I'm like, "oh, I need that."

- 30 seconds.
Grab the ingredients you need.

- Don't take it personal.
Chef stretch is coming through.

- 20 seconds.

- Nuri just full-on
puts his hands

On the chicken
and just grabs them

From a plate.
I'm like, "great."

So I'm stressing.
I need a protein.

- What works?
Grab a protein.

- I grab some tuna,

Some blue cheese,
crème fraîche.

I'm like,
"ok, I've got a plan.

I know what I'm gonna do."

- If you can grab it,
you can grab it.

Nice grab.

[hydraulics whirring]
- let's go, guys.

- Being in the basement level,

You're gonna get
basement ingredients.

So I grab the ground pork.
I also grab sweet potato.

I grabbed fingerling potatoes,
purple potatoes.

I don't know,
I guess it's the irish in me.

[energetic folk music]

- Three, two, one.

- I managed to grab
a whole dover sole.

- Let's go, pilar.
- Oops, sorry, honey.

- Fish is my specialty,
so I'm thrilled.

[laughs]
- 40 minutes.

It starts now, yes?
Omi, tell me about this dish.

You got the salmon.

- The salmon,
a little bit of sugar,

A little bit of pepper,
garlic, onion, the paprika.

- I'm loving
those latin flavors

That you're putting into
those puerto rican dishes.

- Yes, chef.
- Love that.

- They would serve this up

In luquillo, fajardo,

Anywhere you go,
you would get this.

- Gotcha.

Michelle, so shallots,
a little bit of carrot,

Watercress, radish.
Man, is that all you grabbed?

- Yeah.
- Ah, [bleep].

That's not good.

[dramatic music]

We started
as a fight down here.

I had omi and michelle
grabbing the scallops.

It is the perfect protein,
but right now,

Michelle didn't get
anything else.

A shallot, a lemon,
and that is it.

So she may have
the most exciting

Appetizer protein,

But she got nothing else
alongside it.

- I do not want
to go down a level.

I just proved to chef ramsay
that I belong at the top.

But I don't have
enough ingredients.

I need a plan, or else
I'm going to elimination.

- Michelle, you didn't grab
many ingredients.

- No, I didn't.
- Why?

- I was very focused
on getting those scallops.

- What we thinking now?
Scallops one way, two way?

- Two ways.
- Two ways?

- Yes, crudo and then seared.

- And it needs to taste
of something unique.

I want you back
on your a-game, yes?

- Thank you, chef.

- All right,
stunning visual appetizers.

All right, chris,
what are you gonna do?

- I'm doing oysters two ways.

I'm gonna do fried oysters
and raw oysters.

- Ok, listen, usually,

I don't like duos
and stuff like that.

In this case, with the oyster,
I think it's smart, ok?

- I think so too.
[laughs]

- That's a good
diabolical laugh.

- [laughs]

[laughing maniacally]

- All right, mehreen,
you got lobster.

You got cheese.
- Yes.

I am thinking
rice paper rolled lobsters.

I've not cooked lobster before,

So I want to make sure
I poach it in here

For the correct amount of time.

It's super risky for me

To take on
the lobster right now.

- Here's how I like to do this.

And then you can come in,
and it's a lot easier to

Just pop it out of the shell.
- Ah.

But I really want

To get a winning dish,
especially now

That we're outside
of our teams.

Ok, never done this before.
This should be fun.

- The last dish
wasn't maybe your best dish.

I felt somewhat responsible.
I wasn't with you.

- I missed you.
- Oh, did you?

- I missed you.
Yeah, I missed.

- Ok, you said it.
Ok, good, because same here.

- Chef blais
is just the best,

And I'm so glad he missed me,
too,

Even if he has to say that.
[chuckles]

- I mean, I just love the way
that we collaborate, right?

- I know, absolutely.

- Which is what a great team
is all about, right?

- Because I still feel
like his child,

So he can't choose a favorite.

I'm gonna decide
that I'm the favorite.

It smells great.

- Chris, how you feeling, baby?
You good?

- Amazing, baby.
- Oh, yeah, baby.

- All right, nuri.
- Yes, chef.

I got some beautiful
chicken lollipops.

I'ma do, like, a sweet
and spicy sauce for 'em.

Chef blais is
probably thinking, like,

"make sure you don't
make those too hot.

I don't want to have to grab
a glass of water again."

- Yeah,
it's that bird's eye chili.

[energetic rock music]

- I'm a chicken wing
connoisseur, by the way.

- You just put added pressure
on me, chef.

- No, no, no, I just--
I'm just excited.

I've been eating your food.
It's been delicious.

Now, I get to know
how you cook.

- I can't let chef blais
down on that.

If I screw this up, not good.

- Ok, guys, 30 minutes left.

Let's go.
Talk to me.

- I'm gonna do a scotch egg
and a fondant potato.

- Have you made
a scotch egg before?

- Never in my life.

I'm a home chef.

I would never make
a scotch egg at my house,

But I got to start
taking risks.

I'm in the basement.

If you nail a scotch egg,

You're probably going
to the top.

That's a very tough,
difficult thing to do.

- Vinny, hey!
- Yeah?

- Vinny, you good?
What'd you get?

- I am doing a scotch egg
with a fondant potato.

- Scotch egg sounds appetizer.
Fondant sounds like entrée.

[dramatic music]

- This is chess, not checkers.
- Be smart.

- If I nail something
that he's been cooking

For 20 years,
I'm golden, baby.

Maybe it'll be
on his appetizer menu

From here on out.
I don't know.

- A scotch egg
and a fondant potato?

Why is he doing that to me?
The teams have evaporated.

We're now down
to one dynamic competition.

However, I want the winner
to come from team ramsay.

♪ ♪

Tucker, what'd you get?

- I've got some spanish prawns,
bacon, chili.

I rendered my bacon fat
and cooked my prawns

In the bacon fat.
- Smart.

Having spent so much time
in that competitive world

In san francisco,

You push things
to the edge every time.

- Yes, chef,
you have to beat out

All the competition every time.
There's no room for error.

San francisco is rough.

It's been quite the fight
to get up to the level

That I have gotten into.

I've fought through
many battles

That have prepared me
for this moment

And helped me become
the badass I am today.

- 25 minutes to go, guys, yes?
- Yes, chef.

- All right, shay.

- So my grandma made these

Sambousek meat pies
is what we call 'em.

- Did she hand down
a recipe to you?

- Oh, yeah, we have a recipe.

This is a little ode to her.

I'm trying to cook
with familiar flavors.

Cooking for my mom,
for my grandma,

For my whole lebanese side
of the family.

- Making your own dough
always helps.

If it works, that's a big plus.

All right, tini,
what are we doing?

- I was thinking maybe,
like, a tuna,

Like, taco appetizer side.
- Ok, I like that.

You're making
your own tortilla?

- Yeah.

- You ever made a tortilla
before on the fly like that?

- Um, once.
- Ok, ok, good.

Blue cheese and tuna
sounds absolutely insane,

But I know it works.
- Ok.

- I know it works.
- I hope it works.

Chef blais is trying
to help me 'cause,

You know, I have
some self-confidence issues

When it comes to cooking.

Ow.

I always second-guess myself,

And that's where
everything goes downhill.

It's not working.

I don't know at this point
what I'm doing.

♪ ♪

- Come on, guys.

This is gonna be
a first for me.

I've never seen
a fondant in an appetizer.

- Yes, chef.

- Do you have a timer going
in your mind for the egg?

- I do.

- Because you don't want it
to carry over,

'cause you still got to wrap it
with the ground pork.

- Yes, chef.
- You still got to fry it.

Level up, ok?

Pilar, this seems like
this is really

In your wheelhouse, right?

You used to work
for the legend wolfgang puck.

- I did appetizers
for two years straight, chef.

- Did you really?
- Yes, I did.

- Wow.

- I've been a professional
chef for 10 years.

Ah, these knives.

I chose to separate myself
from everything I know

For a culinary career.
It's been hard.

Head down, just working,

Can't really have
friendships sometimes.

I want my baby girl to know

When mom has to work,
this is why.

This is for her.

[tender music]

I have a lot on the line.
I got to fight.

- Cook your way out
of this basement, right?

- Yes, chef.
- Yes, chef.

- You can do it.
It is in your power.

- Yes, chef.
- Sure is.

[dramatic music]

- Ladies, it is time
for that mid-round mayhem,

A cocktail to garnish

And to absolutely finish
your appetizer.

Grab the ingredients
in the tray

And make sure
you've matched that cocktail

With your appetizer.

- I see piña colada.

Ave maría, the whole basket.

I cannot wait
to cut into this pineapple

And add it to my dish.

- Salmon piña colada?

Hey, you serve that to me
on a beach, girl,

We'll be married by sunset.
- [laughs]

♪ ♪

- It's time
for mid-round mayhem.

- All right.
- We've got mayhem.

- You're gonna have
to create a cocktail

And pair it
with your appetizer.

Your platform is here.

Grab the whole box,
the whole big, heavy box.

- Nuri once again,

His tall ass
is just right here.

- Ooh, wait.

Nuri has his hand on things.

- Watch out, watch out.

- Plus, my brain has no idea
what I need

Or want right now
because I'm muslim.

I don't drink.
[laughs]

- You guys got to choose.
I'm grabbing this one.

- But luckily, I have
chef blais to taste it.

- I love cocktails,
to be honest.

♪ ♪

- All right, guys, it's time
for the mid-round mayhem.

- [laughs]

Bourbon, that's my baby.

I'm gonna make the best
bourbon drink on earth.

I was, like,
laughing to myself.

I'm like,
"who didn't take this?"

- Go, guys, go.

Ok.
- Oh.

- Yes, yes, yes.

So you got a tom collins
mix here, huh?

Fish and citrus
makes sense, right?

- Yes, it does.

- Vinny, have you made
a whiskey sour before?

- I have.
- Excellent.

- I know how to drink them
really well.

I can tell you that, chef.
- [laughs]

- Listen, you can make
a cocktail or a mocktail.

Ok, mehreen, where's
our cocktail-mocktail?

- My basket is down here.
- Ok.

- I think I got something.

I got--
I think I got margarita.

- Oh, party time.

- I've never had
a cocktail before.

[laughs]
this is just not coming out.

I'm trying to show
the cohesiveness

Between the flavors.

Ooh, that does not look good.

Wow, mehreen, you used
the sauce from your dish

And put it into your cocktail?

That's so cool and not looking
like bloody water.

- Chris,
what cocktail did we get?

- I got negroni, chef.

- You're going raw oysters
and negroni?

- Fried oyster and raw oyster.
We're gonna do both.

- Dude, you are so talented.

Like, just think
about the process,

Getting things done, and what
to take away if you need to.

- Eight minutes.
You good, vin?

Checking on the fondant?

- Checking on the egg,
the fondant.

Grabbing my egg out, I'm like,
"wow, this looks beautiful."

It's golden brown.
It's gonna be delicious.

- Come on, vinny.
- Wait a second.

[bleep]

[tense music]

- What's going on, vin?
- I didn't do it correctly.

- What?
- My scotch egg.

♪ ♪

- You wrapped it
in your ground pork?

- Nope.

This is not going to plan.

Can we push a reset button?

[bleep].
- Don't do this to me.

♪ ♪

- I didn't do it correctly.

I'm 100%
going into elimination.

- Honestly, I'm so frustrated.

How can he not see
the pork in front of him?

Six minutes left, guys.
Vinny, keep your head up.

- There's not enough time
to fix the scotch egg,

So vinny needs
to concentrate on what else

He's gonna get on this plate.

He's just not leaving himself
with a lot of options.

Time is ticking away.
You have potatoes in the oven.

Let's go.
Hustle!

[tense music]

- Ok, michelle,
what did you get?

- Mojito.
- Oh my goodness, me.

- I think it'll go nice
with the scallop.

That's why I chose it.
- I love that. Love that.

Love that. Love that.
- I got a moscow mule, chef.

- A moscow mule?
- Ooh, girl.

- My favorite.
- Oh, my god, yeah.

That thing's got
a kick in there, right?

- Yes.
So do I, chef.

- Just make sure it absolutely
elevates that appetizer, yes?

- Oui, chef.
- Let's finish it up.

I'm here to mentor all of you,

And I don't want to see anyone
from this floor

In the elimination.
Let's go.

[dramatic music]

You don't need
to make three tortillas.

Make two and use
the most beautiful ones, right?

- Ok.

- Concentrate on getting ready
to slice this tuna

And getting that dish together.

Let's get organized,
though, ok, please, tini.

This is not supposed
to be easy, right?

- This is definitely, like,
the hardest challenge so far.

I'm taking risks,
and I'm trying so hard

To really stay
in this competition.

- Ok, mehreen,
you're still figuring out

Where we're at fusion-wise
with this dish.

Lobster spring roll,
we need to keep it simple,

Elegant, refined,
all the things

I think of with you.

- Yes.
- She's got a cocktail.

She's got a spring roll.
She's got lobster.

Lobster takes
a lot of great technique.

Mehreen has got it in her,
but she's never done it before.

Who knows what's gonna happen?

- There we go.

- Nuri, what is your--
- rum punch, chef.

- Rum punch?
- Oh, yeah.

- Wait, are you saying
we're gonna do

A fruity rum punch
with spicy wings?

- Yes, chef.

When I go on vacation,
I'll have a rum punch

And order some
chicken lollipops.

So let's go.

- Shay, what kind of cocktail
did you get?

- I got a cosmopolitan
plus a pomegranate.

So I think the pomegranate
will go nice

With the mediterranean.
- I love that.

You got your homemade
lebanese sambousek.

Your mom and your grandma,
right, you say make this?

- Yeah, my mom, my grandma,
my aunts, everybody.

- I am so impressed with you.

You're not just making
delicious food anymore.

You're telling
a story about yourself.

- I'm making this dish
because it means a lot to me,

But the story doesn't matter
if it's not delicious.

So most importantly,
I have to make sure

They taste
really freaking good.

- Three minutes to go!

Close your eyes
and visualize that plate, yes?

- Yes, chef.

- And just don't let
that cocktail

Mess up your plating, guys.
Yes?

How's the piña colada?

- It's more piña than colada.
- It's more piña than colada.

- Yes.

- Yeah, a bit like
richard blais' hair.

- [laughs]

I'm feeling so confident
about my dish today.

I'm gonna transport
the mentors

Into a beach setting somewhere.

- Omi, no more drinking,
please.

You're gonna be
dancing the salsa.

- [laughs]

This is
a really good piña colada.

- Only a couple
of minutes left, ok?

- Yes, chef.

- Your cocktails should be
either done or ready to pour.

- Even though I have never
made a cocktail,

I used some cherry chili sauce
that I made earlier,

And then I mixed it
with the alcohols,

As you should.
I'm happy.

That makes me feel
a bit more confident

In the components I have cooked
and put together today.

- Time's running out, ok?
Let's go.

Finish it up.
- Yes, chef.

- I made a homemade tortilla.

The cocktail and my tostada
looks good together.

I'm hoping for that time token.
I really want that.

Let's get
someone upstairs, huh?

Let's do that.

♪ ♪

- 45 seconds, ok?
- Breathe, vin, breathe.

- Let's get all your elements
together for your dish.

Perfect appetizer,
beautiful cocktail.

♪ ♪

- I'm looking at my cocktail.

Something isn't right.

- Platform is
on the move, guys.

It's coming.
- Now, I have no time left.

- Come on, guys.

- I have a fried egg,
not a scotch egg,

Just a battered egg.

Nothing has gone right.

- The platform is here.

Come on, guys,
get it on the platform.

Let's go, let's go,
let's go, let's go.

♪ ♪

Come on.

♪ ♪

Come on, vin.
Hold your head up.

- I didn't get my cocktail
that I wanted to make.

- Did you taste it?
- I didn't have a chance.

♪ ♪

- The platform is here.
It's here!

Let's go!

♪ ♪

Chris, the platform is here.
Five seconds, dude.

- Watch out behind.

♪ ♪

- It's moving!
It's moving!

- Yes.
[applause]

♪ ♪

I just totally forgot
I even had a cocktail.

Chef, I left my cocktail.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

[bleep]

♪ ♪

Today might be the first time
I'm going to elimination.

I'm scared.

♪ ♪

- The platform is there.
Got to go, guys.

Omi, we've got to go, girl.

Michelle, tucker.

- I don't know
if we've noticed,

But I am 5'2" on a good day...
- Three, two, one.

- So I have to literally
air jordan this plate

Onto the top level.

Whoo!

She on there.

- What are you doing?
Your plate's on the edge.

What happened?

Look at the plate
balancing on the end.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

We spoke earlier this morning

About making
a great first impression.

All of you have leveled up.
Well done.

Shall we start in the basement?
- Yes, please.

- Thank you.

- Ok, so first up,
we have a deep-fried egg

With a potato fondant.
- So sorry, a scotch egg.

- Unfortunately,
this chef didn't wrap

With the ground pork,

So it's basically
a deep-fried egg.

- But a scotch egg
needs the pork.

Right, so--
- absolutely, chef.

[tense music]

- Yeah, it doesn't quite
eat like an appetizer,

More like
a collection of ingredients.

And even if
it's just a fried egg,

The egg is overcooked.

- This is an attempt
at a whiskey sour.

- It smell like hugh hefner's
underpant juice.

[laughter]

- Bleh.

[laughs]
I don't want to try it, either.

- This stage
of the competition,

We need to lift things.

- Just put me
in elimination now.

- Ok, next up, we have

A pan-sear sole skewers

With a queso fresco
stuffed squash blossom.

For our cocktail,
we have a tom collins.

[upbeat music]

- And I actually think
the cocktail

Pairs really well
with the dish.

- Absolutely,
I really appreciate

The communication
between the dish

And the cocktail itself.
- Beautiful.

♪ ♪

- All right.

- Should we move
to the middle floor?

- This is oysters two ways,

And it's served with a negroni.

- Amazing to prepare
one ingredient

In two different formats.
Really showing some range.

- Delicious negroni.

♪ ♪

Just be careful
with the breading 'cause,

Sadly, inside, the oyster
is just a little bit rubbery.

- Damn it.

- Here we have
a lobster spring roll

With a chili and cherry sauce.

[dramatic music]

- Very sweet.

- What was
the cocktail with this?

- The cocktail unfortunately
did not make the platform.

A margarita that was made,

But just did not get
to the platform.

- Hmm, interesting.
- Damn.

- This lobster roll is gonna
send me somewhere not cute.

- Here we have
a tuna tataki tostada

With a corn,
blue cheese crema,

And it's served
with a daiquiri.

The chef made
this dough themselves.

♪ ♪

- I am struggling to understand
why blue cheese goes with tuna.

- I've seen it before.

- It's sort of elegant
to the eye,

But unfortunately,
this dough here is sort of raw.

[tense music]

What a shame.

- This is the first time
since this competition

Has started
that I have a feeling

I'm going to elimination.
I'm like, "ugh, it's terrible."

- So this is
a lebanese sambousek,

Which is similar
to an empanada.

- Ok.

- So this chef
made their own dough,

Filled with ground veal,
and then it's a tahini sauce.

- Flaky crust.
- That's a flaky crust.

- This is grandma's recipe
and mom's recipe.

- They are delicious.

[upbeat music]

- The use
of the pomegranate seeds

That were from the cosmopolitan

As part of the sauce
really works.

- Smart.
- Ah!

It's such a relief.

I really put
my heart on this dish,

And I'm just hoping I made
my grandmother proud today.

- Ok, here we have
a chicken lollipop

Glazed in
a sriracha yuzu sauce.

[dramatic music]

- I do not want them having
to grab a glass of water again.

♪ ♪

- Delicious.
I love the heat.

Beautiful.

- To me, the star here
really is the cocktail,

The rum punch, which is sweet
and got all this fruit flavor

That works with the spice.
- Right.

- It pairs
really well together.

- It really does, actually.

- I didn't blow their heads off
with the spice

Or with the heat, so it's good.

- Move to the dishes
on the top floor.

First of all,
there's spanish prawns

Paired with a moscow mule.

- This for me is the type
of appetizer I want, right?

This is getting me ready
for an entrée.

[soft dramatic music]

- Mm.
- I've worked in Spain.

This reminds me of Spain.
- Nailed.

Next up, the scallop dish
is done in two ways.

The cocktail is a mojito.

- Doing a duo
is always challenging.

It gives us something else
to not like,

But that's not the case here.

I like the ceviche
and the cooked scallop.

Ceviche and a mojito?
That makes perfect sense.

- Delicious.

So this is a salmon dish

That had been pan seared
and fresh salad

With a piña colada vinaigrette,
which matches

With the piña colada drink,
obviously.

- It takes me to, like,
a really, really nice

Resort hotel appetizer dish.

It's just classic.

- If there's a chance
to wow the dining room,

It's when dishes like that
are flying past you.

Great job.

- I am feeling so validated.

I'm really happy
with this dish today.

- Nyesha, richard,
we got a lot of talking to do.

Shall we?

- [exhales deeply]

[soft dramatic music]

- We've got
some great appetizers.

Let's talk about that
beautiful piña colada salad.

- The piña colada
is an odd pairing for it.

- Do you think so?
- Piña colada, salmon?

- The take on the empanadas?
How delicious were they?

- Sambousek.
- Sambousek.

- It's a sambousek.
- It's a sambousek.

You can truly taste
the soul of the...

- Absolutely.
- The cook who created it.

- Surprisingly delicious.

- The chicken lollipops,
for sure.

100% spicy, sweet,
but also the combination

Of the cocktail,
the rum punch,

The sweet working
against the chili.

And as many top dishes
as there are,

It did also just
really make it blatant

How bad that scotch egg was.

- There's nowhere
for these chefs to hide.

- Yeah, that was
an embarrassment

To the word scotch egg.

- And also really poor example
of a cocktail.

- We can't even
call it a cocktail.

- You know what I mean?

- No.
- No.

- The raw oysters tasted
better than the cooked ones.

- Totally.

- When you're cooking oysters,

You need to be so careful

Because mine
was somewhat rubbery.

- But the oyster, for me,

Was much better
than the tataki tuna.

That was a little hard to get--

That dough, it was
really tough to get through.

- It was raw.
It was raw.

- Listen, we can disagree about
the flavors, but great effort.

- I keep being,
like, good enough.

I want to be up there.

- The other weird one for me
was that lobster spring roll.

- And there is no cocktail.
- No.

- Right.

- So you forget a big part
of the challenge.

- Right.

- What are you talking about?

- I had the lobster.
- Let's go.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- The appetizers
that stood out tonight

And gets them
into the top-level kitchen

Next time are...

♪ ♪

The chicken lollipop.

[applause]

- Let's go, baby.

- Next, the lebanese empanadas.

- Thank you, chef.

- Next...

Was the salmon and
the piña colada vinaigrette.

[applause]

And the final dish is...

The spanish prawns.
Great job.

Absolutely sublime.

[applause]

So next time around,
you're cooking

In that topflight kitchen,
but one of you

Will have
a game changing advantage.

The winner
of the time token today is...

♪ ♪

The chicken lollipops.

- Let's go!
[applause]

I did it again, baby!
Whoo.

Thank you, chef.
- Great job.

Put that on your apron.
Keep it close to your heart.

- I just won this
next level time token

For the first time ever, baby.

- One of the youngest
in this competition at 22.

The way you're cooking,
young man,

It feels like
you've been in the industry

For 10 years, so kudos.
Well done.

- Thank you, chef.
- Great job.

- Ok, so there were some
real highlights, obviously.

There were also
a couple of lowlights.

The three people
that will be cooking

In the elimination
cook-off are...

[tense music]

- The three people
that will be cooking

In the elimination
cook off are...

[dramatic music]

Vinny.

♪ ♪

It just didn't
come together, vinny.

- And that--
back-to-back eliminations.

What's going on, you know?
Tired of it.

- The next person
heading to the elimination

Is the chef who cooked...

The tuna tataki.

- [bleep]
- tini.

- I think you know
when the dough was raw,

That meant you might be heading
to the elimination.

- Yes, chef.

- You haven't
been up there yet.

- No.

I'm a fighter.
Like, I'm telling you guys now.

I'm telling y'all now.
I'm not going home.

- And the third person heading
into the elimination cook-off

Is the chef who cooked...

♪ ♪

The lobster spring roll,
mehreen.

♪ ♪

The cocktail didn't make it,
and flavor combination's

A little bit imbalanced.

- It's the first time
I'm going to elimination,

And I am
a scared-ass puppy inside.

- Nuri, omi, tucker,
and shay, head back

To that amazing chef's lounge,
put your feet up, say goodbye.

Off you go.

[applause]

- Let's go, let's go,
let's go, let's go.

♪ ♪

- Pilar, michelle, and chris,
you're all safe,

And you'll be cooking
on the middle level

In the next challenge.

Please head to the elevator.

- Thank you, chefs.

♪ ♪

- [sighs]

- Vinny, mehreen, and tini,
for this elimination cook-off,

We're gonna give you
the absolute best to cook with,

Japanese wagyu filet.

- Wow.

- Never cooked wagyu.
I mean, who does?

Who goes out
and gets a $400 piece of beef

And goes, let's practice today?
Nobody.

- I'll be up
in the elimination with you.

You'll have 30 minutes
and one last chance

To save yourselves
in this competition.

♪ ♪

Make it count.

Head to the elevator.
I'll see you soon.

- Good luck, chefs.
- Come on, vinny.

- Good luck, chefs.

- Vinny, I don't want
to see potatoes four ways.

Just give me one
stunning potato, young man.

- Be smart, be smart.
- You got this.

- Please?
- Be smart.

- Please, vinny.

♪ ♪

- I don't like it.

- Listen, the platform
doesn't go anywhere.

- I know.

It's my first time
going into elimination.

You know, it doesn't feel good.

Being in this competition
means so much to me.

Vinny can go home
to his career.

This is my life.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- There's only three of us,

So it's gonna be nice
and quiet for all of you.

- There's no way
in hell I'm going home.

I'm going to eat
some wagyu steak today.

[upbeat music]

[applause]

- All right, how we doing?
- Good, chef.

- You're getting
to cook wagyu beef.

- Yeah.
- Come on, guys.

Vinny, reeny, and tini,
let's go.

[hydraulics whirring]

- Your platform is here.

Go get it.
- All right, let's go, guys.

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

Let's go!

- I'm very excited
for this cook.

I understand
I'm in elimination,

But this wagyu looks gorgeous.

Everything I need
is right here.

- Mehreen, you don't have to
get it all at once, all right?

- Yes, chef.
- Ok?

All right, tini,
what do we got going on?

- I was gonna make
fondant potatoes

With, like, a cheese sauce.
- Ok, ok.

- I'm getting inspiration

From this restaurant
that I went to.

They had gouda cheese
on top of their steak,

And it tasted good.

It sounds stupid, but I got it.

- All right, vinny,
what do we got going on?

- I'm gonna do
my famous mashed potatoes

With the skin.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Your famous mashed potatoes?
- My famous--

Now, they're famous.
- Ok.

- When I eat steak,
I want mashed potatoes.

That's what
I'm gonna do today.

I'm gonna spiralize cucumber.

I'm gonna pickle it,
give my dish some crunch.

- Just be careful
when you pickle it

That you don't make it
like it's soggy.

- Make it soggy.
- You know what I mean?

Ok, all right, mehreen.

- I'm thinking, like,
a turmeric-y spiced potato--

- Ok.

- And a tomato chutney glaze.

I've never cooked wagyu before,

So I just want make sure I get
the cook perfectly medium rare.

- All right, I see
what we're doing here,

A little flare.
- Vin is gonna smoke something?

- Ah.
- Yeah, buddy.

There we go, vinny.

- I'm gonna throw
a little twist in this.

This is smoked butter
mashed potatoes.

It's all coming out today.

This is it.
- Be careful.

You don't want
to break that sauce.

A little butter, ok.

- Vinny, if you need that
to reduce faster,

Split it into two pans.

- I hear michele helping vinny,

And I'm like, "mm,
we're not on teams anymore."

- Nice, beautiful.
I like that better.

- All right, halfway down.
Only 15 minutes left.

- Let's go, y'all.
Let's go.

Keep it going.
Keep it going.

Keep it going.
- Let's cook the steak, ok?

The meat has to rest,
right, guys?

- Yes, chef.
- Ok, it's still a big--

It's still a big 8-ounce
piece of meat, right?

- Get that steak in early
and let it rest, guys.

Come on.
- Yeah, you gotta plan.

- You got to do
that steak first.

- Looking beautiful.
- My sauce, it's grainy.

It tastes grainy.

- Is it because of the truffle?

- I don't want that to be
the reason why I go home.

- No, no, okay, it's not--
listen, that's--

It's the asiago.

You got to start over.

- Damn,
my cheese sauce is grainy.

No one wants to eat
a grainy cheese sauce.

I [bleep] up.

♪ ♪

[tense music]

- You got to start over.

- I do not want to go home

Because of
this damn cheese sauce,

So I have to do it again.

- Have you tasted
all of your ingredients?

- I'm like...
[exhales deeply]

And get back to work, girl.

Like, you don't deserve
to be in this elimination.

You got to make it through
and do good.

- It's the last four minutes

Of this competition
for someone.

Make it count, ok?
- Ah, ok.

- Come on, vinny.
You got this.

- I feel confident.

Everything's there,
but I probably

Should have picked mushrooms
instead of the cucumber.

Something isn't right.

I just hope they can eat it,
or I'm going home.

[laughs]

- Chef, I checked
the temperature.

I'm worried it's not done.

It's reading 100-something,
like 105-ish.

The steak is on later
than I expected.

Oops.

- Yeah, it's still cooking,
right?

- I'm frightened
that the steak

I have never cooked before
is going to be raw.

- Ooh, she's adding
a sauce to her steak.

- Well, you gotta sear it

And then you put
a sauce right on top?

- Ah.
- 90 seconds.

It's time to start plating.

- Let's go, guys.

Plate like
it's your last plate.

- 90 seconds.
Don't overthink it.

Don't overthink it.

How's the sauce now?
- Ok.

Honestly, I don't know.

I'm praying to cheesus today.
I'm praying to cheesus.

I hope you pull through,
cheesus.

- Ten seconds!

Nine, eight...
- Beautiful.

- Seven, six, five...

[together]
four, three, two, one.

Stop cooking.
[cheering]

Good job.
Good job.

- Amazing job.
[cheering]

Amazing.
- You left it all on the plate!

[applause]

- I felt like
I was gonna throw up

That whole elimination.

Girl, you better not throw up
on that damn $200 steak.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- Nyesha, gordon.
- Richard.

- Welcome.
- Thank you.

- Three chefs,
absolutely fantastic

Across the board, worthy of
a real amazing ingredient.

Ok, so our first dish,
the steak with chutney.

♪ ♪

- Wow, whoever's cooked that,

It's absolutely perfect,
literally.

♪ ♪

Not the kind of thing
I associate with a wagyu,

But whoever thought
of that smearing

Of that chutney, the spread,
it is absolutely delicious.

- What I see here
is the future of cooking,

Exciting.

- Ok, so next up is
the wagyu with mashed potatoes.

♪ ♪

- Mashed potato,
red wine sauce,

Steak, that's harmony.

♪ ♪

What's that underneath there?
- A little pickled cucumber.

- Pickled cucumber?

♪ ♪

There's some
really nice flavors here.

God, it's a tough one because,
in my cooking career,

I've never seen cucumber
pickled with mashed potatoes.

- The potatoes, however,
are giving so much flavor,

Really elevating the wagyu.

- Ok, our third and final dish
is the wagyu

With a cheese
and truffle sauce.

♪ ♪

- There's not many chefs
in the world tonight

That would be sticking
a cheese sauce on a wagyu beef,

Let me tell you.
So bold or stupid?

We'll find out.
Shall we?

- Yeah, let's taste, yeah.
- Cheese sauce?

♪ ♪

- Rare.

Nice and red.

- Barely need a knife.

Mmm.

♪ ♪

- I never thought I'd say this.

The actual cheese sauce
is delicious.

It's salty.
It's creamy.

And it's textured in a way

That it's just not
a average cream sauce.

- For me, the cheese
is a little bit strong

And overpowering,

But then I get
a piece of asparagus,

And it just dances
so beautifully.

- Gordon, I'm gonna ask you

Which dish
you would eliminate tonight.

♪ ♪

- The dish I'm eliminating...

♪ ♪

Is the wagyu and mash
with cucumber.

♪ ♪

- Vinny.
- Really?

- Ok, nyesha, which dish

Are you going
to eliminate tonight?

- For me, the dish
I least want to revisit...

♪ ♪

Is the cucumber,
mash, and wagyu beef.

[somber music]

- That dish
was cooked by vinny.

- [bleep]

♪ ♪

Oh, man.

- Oh, no, no.

♪ ♪

- I made everybody proud.

I never thought I'd make it
this far, and I did.

- There is no firefighter

Anywhere in america tonight
that cooks like you.

- Thank you, chef.

- He's gonna be missed because
he was like the father figure

Across all three floors.

- Father to father.
- Wow.

I can't wait
to meet madison one day.

♪ ♪

- Thank you, guys.
- Likewise.

- Lots of love.
- Take care, vinny.

- Thank you, vinny.

- I did it for my daughter.

Too bad I didn't win,
but they'll remember me.

I love all of you.

And chef gordon ramsay
better visit me.

[laughs]

- Good job.
We love you, vin.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

- Vinny nuggets.

♪ ♪

- All of you need
to understand,

At this point
of the competition,

If you're not climbing up,

Then you're falling down.

And watch out for chef stretch
because he has a lethal weapon.

[dramatic music]

- Strategy time.

- Good night, chefs.
- Thank you.

- Take care.
- Good night.

- Chef stretch is a nice guy,
but I don't know, baby.

- Man.

♪ ♪

- Better watch out.
Better watch out.

♪ ♪

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

- Go!

Today, you'll all be working
with an ingredient.

It can be found on a menu

Of a three
michelin star restaurant

Or the plate
of a three-year-old.

It's cheese.
- Oh!

- Nuri, you can take 10 seconds
away from any other chef.

- I'm not feeling good.
- I'm not asking you.

I'm telling you.

Get your salmon
in the pan now.

- I am 100%
going to elimination.

- You're the only one
who hasn't got

A protein cooked here.

- It's going in.
- Now.