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When you've got to have one, you've got to have one --
a burger.
We're celebrating one of America's most iconic foods
in this positively burgeriffic competition.
You don't want to miss it.
TED: Four chefs, three courses...
...only one chance to win.
Good enough.
The challenge -- create an unforgettable meal...
...from the mystery items hidden in these baskets...
Aw, come on!
TED: ...before time runs out.
Who will win the $10,000 prize...
Bring it on!
...and who will be chopped?
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
In a country where burgers
are beyond popular with the populace,
it is a noble goal to try to create
some of the best burgers ever made.
That's what these four chefs will be attempting.
Let's meet them.
First up, Chef Evelyn Garcia.
EVELYN: I'm the junior sous chef at Kin Shop in New York.
We do Thai food in an American, modern way.
It's very spicy, with very bright flavors.
I strongly believe that I was born to be a chef.
My parents opened a restaurant, and my grandma's a baker.
My own food is a fusion
of Asian ingredients and Latin flavors.
Apart from cooking,
we have a competitive streak in our family.
My mother was actually a boxer,
and my brother is following in her footsteps.
Competing on "Chopped," for me, is gonna be a knockout fight.
Next, we have Chef Eli Irland.
ELI: I'm 29 years old.
I'm a sous chef at the Flintridge Proper
here in La Cañada, California.
We serve American comfort food
with a twist of farm-fresh organic fare.
When I was younger, I thought
I was going to be joining the United States Marine Corps,
and I was disqualified from that
because of an extra vertebrae in my back.
I just had no direction, and it was a little bit scary.
I had to come up with a whole new plan,
a whole new passion, and I discovered cooking.
I think cooking did save me, and I've never looked back.
When I go on "Chopped,"
I'm gonna cook something awesome,
and then I'm gonna win.
And then there's Chef Megan Logan.
MEGAN: I'm the executive chef
of Nick & Stef's Steakhouse in downtown Los Angeles.
We sell a ton of burgers.
Burgers are the star.
I get a lot of compliments on my food,
but I don't love being the center of attention.
I have always been shy, my whole life.
So, competing on "Chopped"
is me overcoming my fear of being in the spotlight,
because one day,
I do hope to open my own restaurant.
I will have to be the face and the spokesperson.
I'm at the point in my career
where it's time to get my name out there.
Finally, we have Chef Afton Farnsworth.
AFTON: I'm one of the head chefs at Stout Burgers & Beers
in Studio City, California.
You can be very creative with burgers.
A lot of people mess up burgers
because they think it's so simple.
I put a lot of focus into fresh ingredients.
I've been cooking my whole life.
I spent my childhood in the Hollywood Hills
at my grandmother's house, picking fresh fruit, vegetables,
and herbs with her,
and we would make something amazing out of it.
The other three chefs better watch out,
because this burger guy knows what he's talking about.
TED: Welcome, chefs. Here are the rules.
There are three rounds -- appetizer, entrée, and dessert.
Each course has its own basket of mystery ingredients,
and you must use every ingredient in the basket.
Also available to you -- our pantry and fridge.
When the clock runs out,
our judges will critique your dishes
on presentation, taste, and creativity.
If your dish doesn't cut it, you will be chopped.
And, for each course, we're going to ask
that you make a burger in some shape or form.
AFTON: I'm feeling great.
I know how to make a fantastic burger.
TED: You ready to go?
Let's do this.
All right. Please open those baskets.
And you must use...
Okay.
Only 20 minutes for the first round...
...starting now.
EVELYN: Come on...
This is a burger competition.
It's definitely out of my comfort zone.
I don't remember the last time I did a burger.
My soul food is Mexican, so I'm staying true to my roots.
I am making a veal burger in a habanero-lime sauce,
but this meat grinder is absolutely ridiculous.
So I go for the old-fashioned way.
At least my knife works, right?
And I get eggs, I get panko, and I start assembling my patty.
ELI: I'm stuffing meat down the grinder,
and nothing's coming out.
[ Bleep ]
I just see a bunch of mush, and I'm getting frustrated.
I go straight for my trusty knife.
I'm making veal sliders with a bean-sprout slaw.
[ Sighs ]
I consider myself a food purist,
so to me, a good burger is no foo-foo.
It's a really gnarly piece of meat,
it's a bun, and no bull[bleep]
And our judges are...
Chef Amanda Freitag...
Chef Alex Guarnaschelli...
and special guest Chef Spike Mendelsohn.
So, Spike, you're joining us from Washington D.C.,
where your burgers are bigger than big.
Can you share with us some of your best burger secrets?
I think there's some technique involved in making a burger,
and one is grinding it,
and what really helps is some type of fat to emulsify it.
But there's nothing about this basket that's terribly forgiving.
Veal shoulder, veal tongue -- very lean.
MEGAN: I definitely feel the pressure with the burger thing,
being the chef of a steakhouse.
What if I don't get this?
I'm just gonna look stupid, and I get chopped.
I'm thinking I want to do
some sort of veal-and-Brie-cheese slider
with Marsala-braised onions,
but I've never actually seen a grinder like this.
I'm struggling.
I've done it a million times, but for some reason,
this particular grinder, I can't get it.
Having a little trouble with the grinder.
MEGAN: I'm so nervous.
I really need to get this.
I don't know how to do this.
AFTON: I am the burger guy.
I want to show the judges something amazing.
Different flavors I can meld together
and actually make a version of a Bánh Mi sandwich
with a Marsala-sriracha mayonnaise.
Bánh Mi is like a Vietnamese burger without ground meat.
I add chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder,
a lot of great flavors.
Existential question about our burger battle here
is what is a burger?
If it's not ground, I don't know if that's a burger.
I think some form of meat in between the bun,
you could get away with it being called a burger.
10 minutes on the clock, chefs.
EVELYN: I'm very familiar with tongue.
I was raised on it.
We use it in, like, tacos or empanadas
but it needs to braise for a very long time.
I don't have the time, so I'm gonna grill it
so I have that charred flavor.
Food and passion in my family, they go hand in hand.
ELI: The Irland side of the family
has served in every major war since the Civil War,
so it was a little bit of a blow to my budding manhood
that I was not fit to be a Marine.
When I decided I was gonna start cooking,
I wanted to be the best.
Sear my veal tongue, pull them out,
and I'm going to make
a veal-tongue-mushroom Marsala sauce.
There's no great affinity to Marsala
than mushrooms that are cooked down.
And, chefs, you've got five minutes left on the clock.
AFTON: I'm putting the tongue in the deep fryer
to fry it up like it'd be bacon,
and that way, I'm making a reference
to the classical American cheeseburger.
Burgers are so amazingly satisfying
because it reminds you of home.
I really want to win,
just because I really want to bring it home for my family
and friends, especially.
Behind.
Megan seems the most flustered to me.
MEGAN: It's coming out liquid, almost.
I'm shaking. I almost start to panic.
It's a little embarrassing.
I really need to do this.
[ Clock ticking ]
This grinder isn't working, and I need a new plan.
I decide to pull the veal out and chop it up by hand.
I get my patties on the grill immediately.
And I am braising onions and the veal tongue
with the Marsala wine.
I'm always trying to work on weaknesses,
and I feel that one thing that was holding me back
was my fear of being the center of attention.
Winning "Chopped" will help me when I have my own place
and I need to have that confidence
to represent myself and represent my brand.
Behind.
When you have a craving for a burger,
there's nothing else that can do it.
SPIKE: They offer everything -- lots of flavor, texture.
Actually, this is a really cool challenge.
AFTON: A well-flavored burger will achieve umami,
the saltiness, the sweetness, the savoriness,
all in one bite, so to top off my Bánh Mi burger,
I'm making a Marsala-sriracha mayonnaise,
and I do a quick pickle veg
of cucumber, carrots, and bean sprouts.
I put it into the Cryovac
because it will help quick-pickle very fast.
Come on. [ Whistles ]
And, chefs, it's our two-minute warning.
Only two minutes to go.
So, the Marsala, you know, a fortified wine --
dry, in this case, not sweet.
Here, I think that could add a really great flavor.
EVELYN: I'm making a quick-pickled mung-bean sprout with my Marsala
and a habanero-and-lime crème fraîche.
All the sauces my mom makes have habaneros in it.
[ Sighs deeply ]
When it came down to me deciding to go to culinary school,
my parents are like, "Okay, we got to bring in money.
We got to work harder."
[ Voice breaking ] And that makes me work harder
for what I want, 'cause I am, you know [sniffles]
I reflect them.
ALEX: When you eat a burger,
the first thing you really bite into is always the bread.
You don't want to have too much bun and little meat.
You kind of want it to be at the perfect ratio.
ELI: I elected to go with an English muffin
because the coarse crumb structure
is really nice when you have a nice, gooey sauce
to drip and get stuck in those little crannies.
And I've got Marsala and some sherry
to give it a little acid bump.
Raw bean sprouts and some julienned Granny Smith apple.
When the judges taste it, they're gonna rock out.
Not to sound arrogant,
but I know how to [bleep] cook, you know what i mean?
And, chefs, this is your final minute.
Megan's entire dish is sitting on her grill
right now with one minute left.
Please plate.
MEGAN: I'm putting Brie cheese on the sliders
because I don't have enough time to do a sauce.
TED: Megan's trying to get the cheese melted with 30 seconds left.
Just do it. Finish, finish, finish, finish.
Just a few seconds left.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time is up. Please step back.
Wow.
EVELYN: Looking over at Afton's dish, I didn't see a burger.
His meat isn't chopped.
A sandwich is definitely not a burger.
Chefs, it's burger time in the "Chopped" kitchen,
and for the appetizer round, your burger-building ingredients
were veal shoulder, bean sprouts,
Marsala wine, and veal tongue.
Chef Evelyn.
So, what I have prepared for you today
is a veal patty with a quick-pickled mung-bean sprout
and a crème fraîche sauce.
SPIKE: It's like Southeast Asia on a bun.
I definitely get the concept.
My favorite thing of all was the crunch of the bean sprout
and the herbs, and then the ridiculous bitter.
Judges, is this a burger?
It's a meatball-ger.
It has a hybrid feel, yeah.
I saw you putting the panko bread crumbs and stuff in.
I think that you suffer here, texturally, a little bit.
And this was a little dry.
I'd like a little bit more sauce on my burger.
I'll definitely show it to you in the next round.
Are you a born fighter?
Yeah. I definitely am.
My mother, when she was younger, she was a boxer,
and my brother, now, is boxing.
He's doing really good.
Now we know where you get it.
I don't know. [ Laughs ]
Next up, Chef Eli.
Today, I made veal-tongue Marsala sliders
with a bean-sprout and Granny Smith apple slaw
dressed with Marsala wine.
One of the imperatives in burgers
is that you have ground or chopped meat
that has nothing added to it.
There's a fine line between a burger
and meat loaf with eggs and bread crumbs
and things like that.
AMANDA: I love what you did with the mushrooms.
I was hoping somebody would kind of go
old-school, Marsala and mushrooms.
But my problem with the burger is it's undercooked.
And is it possible
that I might not have gotten tongue on this plate?
Alex got a lot of tongue.
Do you mind?
[ Chuckles ]
Thank you.
Sharing is caring.
Actually, the tongue is really good.
Next up, Chef Megan.
I made a veal-and-Brie slider
with Marsala-braised onions and veal tongue.
My veal is really...very raw.
So, you had a problem with the grinder, as well.
I had a really hard time.
SPIKE: A little bit of fat,
that would have emulsified it -- just for next time.
Yes. [ Chuckles ] Hopefully.
In the competition setting, I'm way out of my comfort zone.
It's something that I'm just not comfortable with,
and that's why I'm doing it --
'cause I do want to be better at it.
I applaud you for taking a risk.
ALEX: I love the presentation.
And I like the char on the bun.
I like the bite of the onions.
Thank you.
Finally, Chef Afton.
So, I made a veal Bánh Mi sandwich
with a sriracha-Marsala mayonnaise
with a crispy veal-tongue bacon.
I love the pickled vegetables.
The blunt acidity really brought the bean sprouts to life.
AMANDA: The shoulder is tender. It's cooked well.
But I think the tongue is the challenge here.
It wasn't crispy.
SPIKE: Yeah, it wasn't really crispy.
Eli, do you think this is a hamburger?
No, I don't think it is,
because it's not ground or chopped.
No pun intended.
Yeah.
It's a faux-burger.
Judges have some work to do.
Thank you, chefs.
I'm still caught on that frickin' grinder.
My gear was spinning, and I was jamming meat into it,
but it wasn't coming out of the die.
Yeah, then, like, the machine flipped over on my table.
But... [ Sighs ]
I got it. I'm gonna grind some meat.
So, we had the first round of our burger battle,
and no one was able to use the meat grinder.
This was a tough first round, I have to say.
ALEX: Evelyn made a veal meatball --
one of the best choices made in this round.
But she was suffering from a lack of sauce,
and the bread was dry.
Afton definitely did not make a burger.
That was a sandwich.
SPIKE: But there were some burger toppings
and some burger inspiration.
In the words of Afton, "It's a faux-burger."
I did like the spice, and I did like the pickled vegetables.
Eli's burgers were undercooked,
but I loved Eli's English muffin.
The green apple and the provolone cheese
was really imaginative.
He left some tongue off of my plate,
but the tongue that I did taste,
that you gave me, was actually quite tender.
I loved Megan's sort of onion-mushroom-Marsala medley,
and buttering and grilling the bun
and making a nice, concise little slider.
But Megan served me a raw product.
It's really hard to tell right now who will be chopped,
but of course I want to win.
Afton didn't make a burger, and he should go home on that basis.
AFTON: I did a form of a burger,
and I feel confident my burger will prevail.
[ Clock ticking ]
So...whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Megan, you've been chopped. Judges?
Megan, the meat that you gave us was really very raw,
and that's the reason why you're going home.
Okay.
Thank you.
MEGAN: I'm disappointed, of course.
I definitely wanted to go through
and prove something to myself and overcome a fear,
and it did become, "Okay, now I want to win."
TED: Chef Evelyn, Chef Eli, Chef Afton,
we're looking for delicious, deluxe, entrée-worthy burgers.
Please open your baskets.
And you must use...
The clock is set at 30 minutes.
Let's start it now.
In Round 1, the grinder gave everybody a run for their money.
Of course, I can do it, and I will do it.
I'm gonna make a brisket-pork-barbecue burger.
SPIKE: Well, he does bring ground meat this time.
I grabbed the pork sausages
because I need fat to make it juicy.
We're looking nice.
My grandmother would be smiling from ear to ear,
thinking "I taught him well.
"I taught him how to meld all these flavors together
and to really make them shine."
TED: What is it that you do to a burger
to make it a true main course?
AMANDA: You have to deluxe it --
the coleslaw, your potato salad, you have pickles.
Yeah. I'd have to say the size of the burger.
ALEX: And then there's a question
of who's gonna make the best mix of the two cuts of beef.
ELI: I'm gonna make a double patty --
one of the burgers as brisket
and one of the burgers as short rib.
It's a very lean brisket,
but I can get around that by using the fat cap.
One of the keys to a good burger is you got to have fat.
I've got to win this thing.
10,000 bucks is a big deal.
Right now, I'm working at a modern Thai restaurant,
so I'm giving the burger a Thai twist.
I'm making a Thai brisket-and-short-rib burger
with quail-egg-turmeric aioli.
Yeah!
I am so excited to see that beef come out.
Like, yes! [ Laughs ]
I grab fish sauce,
which is a staple in Thai cooking, instead of salt.
And using the coconut cream
is a very classic technique in Thai cooking.
It's gonna add more moisture to the meat.
They've proven that these grinders actually work.
They seem to be much more under control here, and I'm excited.
And, chefs, now down to 15 minutes.
Hm.
Oh, God. Have you tried the pickle juice?
I want to meld the frozen pickle popsicle
with some cornichon pickles.
A pickle is important for a burger because it's very iconic.
It's a very American staple.
Next, I thinly sliced the short ribs
and crisped it up,
and that way, it elevates it to a new level.
And, chefs, 10 minutes left on the clock.
These pickle-juice popsicles are salty balls.
Sour, huh?
Oh, that's disgusting.
Frankly, pretty gross.
But I'm macerating some cucumbers in popsicle liquid
and braise some haricot vert.
As far as quail eggs go, I am just frying them
so I can put them on top of the burger --
let the bun squish it all over the meat and --
ooh, get good.
EVELYN: I think the pickle-juice popsicle is very acidic...
[ Coughs ]
...so I add olive oil to it to make it into a vinaigrette,
and I know to be true to myself
I need those fresh herbs in there --
scallion, mint, cilantro, and chives.
I'm thinking of my parents.
My mother is super-competitive.
When she was a boxer, she had to be the best,
so we definitely have it in our blood.
AFTON: I have a great barbecue-sauce recipe
that starts with sriracha...
Behind.
...and I want the judges to have a side dish
and make a complete entrée,
so I decided to make sweet-potato chips
because the spiciness of the sauce will counterbalance
with the sweetness of the potatoes.
Behind. Behind.
I love that crispy, moist texture.
My plan of attack for using the quail egg
is to fry it on top of the burger,
and I'm gonna use challah
because it's gonna give me the right bun-to-meat ratio.
Chefs, five minutes left on the clock.
AFTON: The cheese is in the kitchen.
ALEX: I hate to break it to all of you,
but there's only one cheese on a true hamburger,
and that's American cheese.
SPIKE: I'm a cheddar man.
I'm a cheddar man.
You always have to cover your burger.
That's how you perfectly melt cheese on a burger.
ELI: The bun has been toasted nicely.
Oh, I go for the brioche because with a double burger,
you need something that can soak up
all of that glorious burger fat.
[ Groans ]
[ Sigh ]
I drop a burger bun on the ground.
I really want that bun top, so I run to the pantry.
Nothing jumps out.
I'm stressing out.
I have no time left on the clock.
I decide to go open-faced --
leave it as is and not serve it with a top bun.
Chefs, here's your two-minute warning.
I'm making my quail-egg aioli.
I grab the turmeric, just 'cause
this bright yellow will reflect like a egg yolk.
One minute left on the clock, chefs.
ELI: I like to serve food that is huge --
food that has a lot of visual impact --
so you're like, "Damn, look at that burger."
30 seconds.
SPIKE: 30 seconds. 30 seconds.
[ Sighs ]
Oh, no. I do not have my quail eggs in the pan.
What am I gonna do?
Do I finish plating up all the burgers,
or do I fry up these eggs?
TED: Got to wrap this up.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Oh, no.
AFTON: Oh, no.
I didn't put the quail egg on.
But I look over at Eli's plate and see,
"Wow, he doesn't have most of his quail eggs, as well."
I look at my dish and I know I've nailed it.
[ Clock ticking ]
Chefs, for the second round, you had to use
whole brisket, short ribs,
pickle-juice popsicles, and quail eggs.
Chef Eli.
I made a double beef burger.
On the bottom, ground short rib with some Swiss cheese.
On top, a ground-brisket burger patty.
Unfortunately, I've only got one quail egg on one of my plates.
I'm the one that got the egg.
It's great on there.
I like this burger
because it feels like a French bistro burger.
AMANDA: I feel the same way.
I feel like this is the hamburger
a Frenchman would make -- mustard and Swiss cheese,
haricot vert, and make it open-faced.
I like that you differentiated
between the two cuts of meat, and I like them both.
It's really tasty. Everything's seasoned very well.
But, unlike the other two judges,
I would have preferred one nice patty.
If you concentrated on one grind,
you maybe would have had time to finish your quail eggs.
Next up, Chef Afton.
I made for you brisket burger with a sriracha barbecue sauce,
blue cheese and shallots,
and cornichon pickles on the side.
SPIKE: I have no quail eggs.
No quail eggs.
No quail eggs.
ALEX: Well, I love this.
Thank you, Alex.
I think the choice of the sweet potatoes is smart.
It adds sweetness that goes with the bleu cheese.
I like that you added all the pork.
It's creative. It's outside the box.
But I have a couple little pieces of raw pork in my burger,
and I would have really liked more with the popsicle juice --
you know, like, blow our mind.
Do something super-creative.
Yeah, because these cornichon were already pickled.
There's no way to tell that this pickle juice
is any different than what was in the cornichon bottle.
Okay. Thank you, chef.
Next up, Chef Evelyn.
I made for you the 50-50 brisket-and-short-rib burger
with a scallion-and-cilantro salad
with a vinaigrette of the pickling juice
and a turmeric aioli with the quail eggs.
Listen, to me...this is delicious.
I love your 50-50 ratio.
You can really tell that that was ground nice,
with a nice portion of fat.
It's really juicy, and I love the idea
of using the quail eggs as a yolk aioli.
Very surprising with the coconut milk
and the turmeric and the herbs in there.
You were very successful.
But when you're using fish sauce,
be careful on how much salt you're adding,
because it's literally on the verge of being too salty.
Okay.
Okay. The judges have tasted all your burger entrées.
Now they have all the information they need
to make their decision.
Thank you, chefs.
I'm kicking myself.
I only got one quail egg on the plate.
So...that's...that's a choppable thing.
The quail egg will be the death of me.
I mean, I swear, it just, like --
I'm doing fine, the next thing I know,
"All right, chefs, 30 seconds."
I'm like, "What?!"
Well, we had some topless burgers,
double patties, some different grinds.
AMANDA: Eli did these two huge burger patties.
You know, this is brisket, this is short rib.
He did a really good job.
And I felt transported to another place.
I closed my eyes, and I was in a French bistro.
But he forgot the quail egg on two of our plates.
I think Afton wins on presentation.
And Chef Afton gave us sweet-potato chips.
He's the only chef that gave us somewhat of a side
to go with our burger, which we all know
is, like, one of the best parts,
and he made this amazing barbecue sauce.
But Afton essentially copped out on the pickle juice.
It kind of just was forgotten.
And he forgot the quail egg.
I loved Evelyn's quail-egg aioli
and her spices and the coconut milk.
I also think Evelyn made this burger round proud.
It was the most moist out of all of them,
which is really important.
But she used fish sauce,
and that took it to the edge, you know?
It was a little too salty.
Well, can you agree on who made the weakest entrée burger?
We can.
All right.
Damn quail eggs.
Damn quail eggs.
I'm trying not to get scared.
AFTON: I feel like I deserve to go on to the dessert round
because I can show some more creativity,
even with the burger dessert.
[ Clock ticking ]
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Afton, you've been chopped.
Judges.
Afton, where we felt that you fell a little short
was execution.
The pickle juice fell a little short in creativity,
and you completely left quail egg off of all the plates,
and that led your dish to be chopped.
I wish both of you great luck.
Thank you, judges.
AFTON: I'm feeling a little disappointed.
I was looked at as the burger guy,
but I really feel like I didn't perform to my top ability.
Chef Evelyn, Chef Eli, please open up your baskets.
And your dessert burgers must include...
Clock is wound to 30 minutes.
Time starts now.
AMANDA: Dessert is hard enough,
and then they have to transform it into a burger form.
That's ridonkulous.
I already know I've got to cook some sort of a dessert burger.
Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it?
You're just like, [Funny voice] "Can I have the dessert burger?"
But I feel like if I do this, I could be
the most all-knowing, high-skilled, badass chef alive.
So, I'm making
a chocolate-peanut cluster bread-pudding burger
on crispy sesame-coconut French toast.
I grab some cream, I grab some milk, some eggs,
sugar, crumbled up my buns into a bread-pudding dish.
If the chocolate-peanut clusters, melted a little bit,
it would kind of glisten the way a nice, juicy, fat burger does.
I want it. I want to win.
But Evelyn's not just a short 24-year-old girl
who you can write off.
She's got skills.
EVELYN: Eli's a very strong competitor,
but as long as I keep thinking of that moment
when I'm winning "Chopped,"
I definitely don't think there's someone that could take me down.
I'm making a coconut-ice-cream and French-toast burger.
I haven't made ice cream in a long time --
probably since culinary school --
but when we were kids,
I definitely remember having coconut milk paletas back home.
They're like coconut-ice-cream pops.
They're very refreshing, very clean,
and I think it would pair very well with other flavors.
All right, chefs. You're halfway out of time.
15 minutes.
You could cut up those hamburger buns
to make them look like French fries,
spice them, and toast them in the oven.
AMANDA: Can I take it one more?
Do it. Do it. Bring it home.
A little milkshake!
Raspberry sauce for ketchup.
ELI: So, I'm trimming the remaining burger buns
into little baby French toasts
with a sort of a coconut-milk custard,
sprinkle some sesame seeds, put them on top on the bun.
I'm also making a coconut whipped ricotta.
I'm feeling like I'm okay on time at this point.
Five minutes left.
Five minutes left on the clock, chefs.
TED: So, Spike, you own gourmet-burger restaurants.
Doesn't this make you want to have
a burger dessert on your menu?
We make ice-cream sandwiches
that look like burgers at the restaurant,
but we don't do it with buns and coconut shavings.
This one is a hard one to even talk about.
I want the buns to look like a miniature dessert burger,
so I use a cookie cutter.
I then soak them in an egg-and-cream mixture.
Then I crust in that sesame-seed-bun look,
which, you know, most burgers are known for having.
For my French toast, I run back for some vanilla bean.
My grandmother, she always used whole vanilla beans,
so I'm staying true to her.
And I decide to make
a peanut-chocolate custard gooey sauce,
'cause I know every burger, including a dessert burger,
needs a condiment.
Chefs, I've got to call the two-minute warning.
ELI: So, here's my burger -- French toast,
big hunk of the bread pudding, then it hit me --
shaved green coconut looks like shredded lettuce.
A slice of apple on there -- ooh, it's got that red skin,
kind of looks like a tomato.
This final round is definitely a good challenge
to make a dessert burger,
but it just means you have to get more creative.
TED: 30 seconds.
EVELYN: I don't think I could do anything
without a fresh herb in it,
so I'm making a blueberry-and-mint salad.
Your burger desserts must be ready to serve
in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up. Please step back.
[ Applause ]
All right.
My presentation is pretty good.
It's not perfect, but it's pretty good.
EVELYN: I look at Eli's dessert,
and I think I have it in the bag.
[ Clock ticking ]
Chef Evelyn, Chef Eli, you had to use hamburger buns,
chocolate-peanut clusters, shaved coconut,
and sesame seeds.
Chef Evelyn.
What I have prepared for you is a coconut-ice-cream
and French-toast burger
with a chocolate-cluster caramel sauce
and a blueberry-and-mint salad.
This is wildly creative, presentation-wise.
Very whimsical. And I like the composition.
I certainly like the creativity.
I really appreciate your effort on trying to make this look
like a burger for the burger challenge.
Love the sesame seeds that you added onto the bread,
and the ice cream tasted good.
But this doesn't have a big coconut flavor.
Did you use coconut milk at all?
No, just milk.
Did you toast the coconut before you infused it into the cream?
I didn't, no.
And, actually, I find myself wanting a little more sugar.
Sorry.
I think I gave it my all,
and I think I really did show you
what my cooking and my style of cooking is.
TED: All right.
Chef Evelyn, thank you.
And, finally, Chef Eli.
I made a chocolate-peanut-cluster
bread-pudding burger on a coconut-sesame French toast.
Around the plate, you'll see a coconut whipped ricotta.
I like the fact that you made the bread pudding for the center,
almost, like, mimicking a ground meat,
and the chocolate richness to it.
ALEX: And the raw piece of apple functions
as a thick wedge of tomato, but the fundamental problem here
is if you just take that French-toast mix
and you put it in the oven and bake it,
you have bread pudding,
so it's sort of like... two twins, you know?
Yeah.
Maybe I got a little carried away
trying to make it look like a burger.
Okay.
The judges will look back to all three courses
as they decide who is the "Chopped" champ.
Thank you, chefs.
That's all she wrote. That's all she wrote.
We're done.
Congratulations.
It was fun, wasn't it?
Burgers got a little annoying,
but being restrained can, you know,
heighten your creativity.
I'm not resenting the burger.
I think it was very fun, very out of my element.
I think it's one of those dishes that everybody loves.
Well, I got to say, I think
that asking someone to make a dessert burger,
if they had whatever ingredients they wanted,
would still be tricky.
I think to make coconut ice cream was very brave of Evelyn.
I just think, for me,
Evelyn's dessert fundamentally lacked sugar.
I liked, in Eli's dessert, the way he toasted the coconut.
That transformed the basket ingredient, to me.
But Chef Eli took more of that bun
and made a bread pudding in between the bun.
Just didn't have a variance in textures,
and to me, that's an important thing to consider.
And first round, Evelyn sort of skated by,
because hers felt like a burger,
but her flavors were a little lacking,
and her burger was pretty dry, not a lot of sauce.
Eli's burgers in the first round were undercooked.
And Evelyn's entrée
was the juiciest burger I've had all day.
But she had fish sauce. It was a little too salty.
But she was really resourceful with the quail eggs,
making a sauce with it,
where Eli completely forgot to put them on two of our dishes.
I loved Eli's main course.
I loved those green beans, the mustard,
the very cohesive French-bistro message.
It's kind of interesting that two people
who are just at different phases in their lives
seem to have really expressed their personal style
in these menus through the same means
and through the same ingredients.
Let it be known not to underestimate burger cookery.
EVELYN: It's important for me to win for my family,
just to thank them for helping me in every way possible.
I really want to win really bad.
10 grand is a big deal.
The notoriety is a big deal.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Chef Eli, you've been chopped. Judges.
Chef Eli, in the first round,
you had some undercooking of the meat.
You came back really strong in the entrée round.
You injected this little bit of a French style,
which was really nice,
but you were missing quail egg on two of the plates,
and in the dessert round, Evelyn just sort of nudged you out.
Congratulations, Evelyn. Great job.
Thank you so much.
Being seconds away from thinking I was gonna win 10 grand,
you know, that was a heartbreak,
but I don't have a lot of weapons in my arsenal
to bust out for hamburger desserts.
And that means, Chef Evelyn Garcia,
that you are the "Chopped" champion.
Just think of how many burgers 10 grand will buy.
[ Laughs ]
Thank you so much.
My mom, she's gonna freak out.
This is gonna be like a boxing match.
Everybody's gonna come to the house,
everybody's gonna watch it on TV.
EVELYN: My parents are gonna be so happy,
and I just want to tell them, "Thank you."