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BURRELL: When top restaurants need an executive chef,
they turn to me.
Tonight four candidates will fight
for a coveted executive chef position.
Do you want this job or not?!
MATT: I play to win. I don't play to lose.
Oh, man.
BURRELL: I'm going to test them to see what they're made of.
This is absolutely unacceptable.
JEFF: Whoo!
I am in really bad shape.
Let's go!
BURRELL: The chefs will face the toughest job interview
of their lives.
They're about to walk out right now.
Are you done with service?! You are not good!
This is "Chef Wanted."
Today I'm on the world-famous Sunset Strip
at Mirabelle, a Hollywood icon since 1971.
It's where Hollywood's biggest stars come to dine.
But after a relaunch last year,
they're having an identity crisis.
Owner George Germanides and his daughter, Justine,
have devoted their lives to Mirabelle
and need a new executive chef to refresh its concept
and reclaim its status as a Hollywood hot spot.
Good morning.
It's fantastic to have you here. It's unbelievable.
This place is a Hollywood institution.
Quentin Tarantino has written many of his movies here.
Well, it's a piece of history. We need to preserve it.
Absolutely.
I have four chefs for you.
How about we go meet them in person?
Let's do it.
BURRELL: The job interview starts now.
Okay, chefs. Gather around.
Welcome.
This is George and Justine.
Why don't you guys introduce yourselves to them?
I'm Drew Ison, executive chef from Newbury Park, California.
I've been through a lot of darkness in my life.
I've struggled with substance abuse most of my life,
but two years ago, fate intervened.
I was reunited with my high school sweetheart
that I lost touch with,
and she's turned my life completely around.
I told her that I'd drop everything
and be the absolute best I could possibly be for her.
I've been sober for a year now,
and I'm 100% dedicated to my career
and providing for my new wife and my stepson.
This job at Mirabelle will be a culmination
of my life turnaround.
It's the light I've been reaching for.
My name is Shelley Cooper,
and I'm an executive chef from Memphis, Tennessee.
I've dedicated my life to being a great chef.
I recently ran a popular restaurant in downtown L.A.
But after having a difference of opinions with the owners,
I left town and spent the last two years
cooking at an amazing expedition in Alaska.
I'm ready to reclaim my place in the L.A. market,
and it doesn't get much better than at Mirabelle.
This is a huge opportunity.
My name is Jeffrey Williams. I am currently unemployed.
And I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There is a label on me
that's really not fair in this industry.
I've run kitchens in the best hotels from D.C. to L.A.
So now people look at me and say, "That guy's a 'hotel' guy."
But I'm a chef, and I'm a damn good one.
Here at Mirabelle, I can shake that label off
and prove that I can run a restaurant.
And with my wedding to my dream girl, Jessica,
right around the corner, I need this job.
My name's Matt Smith,
and I'm an executive chef in Palm Desert, California.
I grew up in a broken family,
and food always gave me a sense of purpose.
Even when I was 8 years old,
when I started cooking Thanksgiving dinners,
I kind of figured out that I needed to be able to cook
because my parents weren't the best.
I studied at the Cordon Bleu in Paris
and then moved back to California to the desert
to raise my two children and to open up a restaurant.
It's a huge local success,
but I kind of feel like I've outgrown it.
The job at Mirabelle's would be the next step for me.
and would give my sons the stability I never had.
I love this restaurant more than anything in life
because she gave me everything.
If you can feel that feeling with me,
we're gonna be very successful again.
This is going to be a rough and tough job interview.
We really want to make sure that we give you two hard tests.
Two of you will not pass them.
The last two will each get to run this kitchen
for dinner service.
Justine, would you like to tell us about our first test?
Being on the Sunset Strip,
one of the keys to our business is a profitable bar menu.
We have a lot of foot traffic.
We have to advantage to survive in this area.
Your first test is to create a signature dish for our bar menu,
but it's not gonna be easy.
In front of you is what remains
after we've created three of our signature dishes --
chicken tendons, salmon belly, and tenderloin chain.
GERMANIDES: We want you to transform them.
Wasted food is a waste of money.
BURRELL: At the end of this test,
three of you will continue on.
One of you will not pass this test.
JEFF: The hard thing about this test is I got to utilize scraps
and make them into a beautiful dish
in this short amount of time.
You have 45 minutes, and your time starts right now.
SHELLEY: I immediately go for the chicken
because I know that I can get the most flavor
and the most money for the menu.
Excuse me.
JEFF: I thought about going for the salmon,
but I'm a steak guy, so I went with the tenderloin.
All down to business now.
I took the salmon belly -- nice fresh dish,
something that's not overcooked, that's really light.
I'm making a salmon paillard with pickled summer vegetables.
Basically, I'm gonna heat up the plate,
and the plate's gonna be how the fish is actually cooked,
so it's gonna be semi-raw, semi-cooked.
BURRELL: Does that make you nervous?
That would make me nervous,
because you want something that's foolproof every time.
Yeah. For sure.
The way I play is I play to win. I don't play to lose.
All right. Good.
Fantastic.
Seems like a very unreliable cooking technique.
You can't tell how hot that plate is by looking at it.
I mean, this is why we have pans.
There's a lot of things that could go wrong with this dish.
I need to get behind you.
The problem with this chicken is
it's pretty much just bone and a little bit of skin.
The best thing I can do is make a great chicken soup.
I'm going to make a duo
of oven-roasted chicken soup and salad.
This is a difficult dish to make
because it's two different ways of manipulating one product.
Half of it's in the oven,
and the other is in the soup, which is more of a poaching.
For bar bites, I'm making three little crostinis
with a little horseradish whipped potato.
Gonna have a lemon crème fraîche,
and it's gonna have a cumin-dusted salmon
that's poached in olive oil.
A good bar-menu item is something you could pick up
and share with friends and really flavorful
'cause you're getting small bites,
but we want those bites to be profound.
JEFF: My goal for this dish
is to make sure that the customers have no idea
that these are typically pieces that have been thrown away.
The chain of the tenderloin -- It's mostly sinew,
so you have to cut out each part of the steak
that you really want to use.
I'm making cast-iron-seared filet
with sweet corn pudding, oven-roasted mushrooms
and asparagus in a chimichurri sauce.
That sounds a lot more like a composed entrée
than a bar snack.
I'm gonna make it small enough and slice the filet.
I'm gonna try to make it work.
Yes.
For me, across the board,
none of these really super seem like bar snacks.
It seems like everyone's kind of taken appetizers
and doing small portions of them.
We'll see what actually winds up on the plate.
You're cooking that in a lot of fire.
It's gonna taste like crap.
Five minutes, you guys! Five minutes!
I'm hoping.
If you don't make it, you're going home, dude.
I'm not going home.
I do not like people yelling at me at all.
Anne's screaming at us, time's counting down,
I'm trying to get everything on the plate.
It's really nerve-racking.
I'm definitely almost out of --
[ Plate crashes ]
Oh! Sorry, Chef!
Nerves are...
You just have -- You're just filled with nerves.
That sucked.
Are you double-dipping?
I just saw you lick that spoon
and put it right back in your vinaigrette.
That's [bleep] gross.
Before I think about it, I put my spoon right back in,
and Anne catches me, and takes it and throws it in the trash.
And I'm like, "Holy [bleep]
"There's only a few minutes left,
and now I got to make a brand-new sauce."
I don't know if I'm gonna make it.
Let's go!
Aah!
BURRELL: The toughest dinner services these chefs have ever faced.
We've received nothing.
Five sea bass yesterday!
Did you taste it?!
BURRELL: Four chefs are interviewing for the executive chef position
at Mirabelle on the Sunset Strip.
They are in the middle of their first test...
Coming down hot.
...creating bar snacks by utilizing food scraps.
Are you double-dipping?
That's [bleep] gross.
Anne catches me and throws my sauce out.
Now I got to make a brand-new sauce.
One minute left! We are one minute.
JEFF: Holy [bleep]
I got to make this chimichurri sauce.
I don't know if I'm gonna make it.
MATT: Plate's not exactly as hot as I want, but it'll get there.
BURRELL: Come on, girl chef. Let's finish it up.
Ready for a bar snack. Let's go!
10, 9, 8,
7, 6,
5, 4, 3,
2, 1!
That's it. Hands up.
[ Exhales deeply ]
DREW: I want to make it through the next round,
'cause I'm gonna rock it.
BURRELL: All right, chefs. Time for the tasting.
JEFF: Since we had to use scraps,
I took a tenderloin chain
and turned it into a flatiron seared filet
sliced over corn pudding in a chimichurri sauce.
This has more of an entrée style.
We'd like to see something on a skewer
and maybe on a different plate.
That's definitely workable.
The chimichurri sauce doesn't really look like sauce.
It looks like oil.
You know the mistake that I made with the spoon incident,
and I had to do it on the fly.
The beef is very tasty. Properly cooked.
Thank you.
Thank you.
SHELLEY: So, I prepared a chicken two-way
with the carcasses that I had to use --
a lemon chicken noodle soup and a roasted chicken salad.
The soup is very unique, and I really like the taste.
I like the taste.
Thank you.
Quite honestly, I would serve this for lunch.
That's a bigger moneymaker because --
It's all profit.
It's all profit, and it's tasty.
SHELLEY: Thank you.
This is what I made today.
It's a salmon paillard with pickle on some vegetables
and then a crispy chicken skin on top.
This salmon is still a bit raw.
It might be a little bit of a hard one on a bar menu.
I mean, this would be --
An appetizer.
A little bit more sophisticated for the bar menu.
I'm trying to elevate bar food a little bit.
It doesn't have to be finger food and fried.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
DREW: What I'm presenting you with today
is an olive-oil poached salmon.
It's dusted with a little cumin powder.
It has a little horseradish whipped potatoes,
caramelized onions,
and on the plate, it has a little lemon crème fraîche
and watercress puree.
I think the salmon's delicious.
The only thing that I don't care for too much
is the mashed potatoes on top of the bread.
It seems a little bit redundant.
GERMANIDES: I agree.
You're very much on the right track.
Thanks.
Okay, chefs. Step into my office.
Test number one was all about utilization
and creating a great little bar snack.
For one of you, your job interview ends now.
Chef Matt... I'm sorry.
I didn't think that the dish was the right fit for Mirabelle.
Your job interview is over.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
MATT: I'm feeling a little bit shocked.
It would have been a great opportunity
to work on the Sunset Strip,
but I will move on and learn from this experience.
Hopefully, I will find the right fit somewhere else.
All right, guys. I told you this would be tough.
And I wasn't kidding.
So your second test is going to begin right now.
Chefs, our menu reflects a lot of different concepts
from many executive chefs that we've had
over the 42 years that we've been here.
And due to that, we lack a clear identity.
I think we're California cuisine.
My father thinks we're Mediterranean.
So your second test
is to create a brand-new identity for Mirabelle.
I would like each of you to prepare one entrée
highlighting your vision
and how it would fit into a menu for the restaurant.
This is the most important test we can give you.
It can make or break Mirabelle.
The two most successful chefs will then move on
to run a dinner service and write a menu
around the identity that you are doing right now.
And one of you will be going home.
You have 45 minutes, and your time starts now.
JEFF: Mirabelle's been open for 42 years,
and I have to create a new identity
and put it into one dish in 45 minutes.
This is one of the toughest dishes I've ever had to make.
I grabbed scallops, bacon,
lentils, celery, onions, carrots.
I go for it.
My vision is Mediterranean
infused with French and Southern cuisine.
I am making pan-seared scallops with braised lentils and bacon.
The way this dish represents
the identity I see for the restaurant is,
the scallops are something they already use,
lentils are kind of Mediterranean,
and the bacon will add a smoky Southernness to the dish.
Did you use all the corn?
No. There's more in the walk-in.
My vision for Mirabelle is big, bold, fresh seasonal flavors
with a rustic lodge feel.
I'm gonna do a roasted kabocha squash,
and I filled it with some rice.
Use some of these seeds from the inside, toast them,
and then top it with a butter-poached halibut.
Oh, man.
What's really difficult about this test
is I need to create a new identity for Mirabelle
right on the spot.
She wants California cuisine -- the daughter --
and the dad wants Mediterranean, so I'm gonna fuse them together,
and hopefully it works for the both of them.
Pan-roasted halibut with a heirloom tomato emulsion.
To me, that screams California cuisine.
I need something to give it a Mediterranean feel,
so that's where the beluga lentils come in.
I like to call it "Cali-terranean."
All right. What do you got going on?
I have some roasted kabocha squash.
Do you think that's the wisest thing you could do?
Um, I'm gonna try.
I'm gonna try.
Kabocha squash is a very hard winter squash,
and it's kind of like a little pumpkin.
It takes forever to roast.
It's gonna have some wild rice, some corn,
and I've got halibut.
All of that is gonna go into the kabocha.
I'm gonna blast these --
Yes.
What is this, 1985?
Maybe.
What? What?
I'm like, "What is this? The Halloween restaurant?
I don't get what's going on here."
I'm trying to steer her the right way,
but it's her dish, and hopefully she'll surprise us.
Aah!
[Bleep]
The squash goes rolling down the floor.
I just dropped the squash.
I don't know what I'm getting ready to do.
I'm just gonna throw some stuff together
and hope that it comes out.
I'm in trouble.
Aah!
[Bleep]
[Bleep]
I just dropped the squash.
I don't know what I'm getting ready to do.
I'm just gonna throw some stuff together
and hope that it comes out.
I want this job with all my heart.
I want the job for not only for myself,
but my family, and I am ready to plate.
[ Exhales deeply ] Okay.
At this point, I'm in an absolute state of panic.
This squash debacle could send me home.
I've got to change my entire dish now.
I realized that there is a small amount of kabocha
that I'd set to the side,
so I am going to take that, chop it up,
and fold it into my wild rice...
All right. Four minutes, you guys.
Four minutes.
...put it in the wood-fire oven with the hopes
that in minutes it's gonna be ready to be plated.
We're planning the wedding,
and she has this vision of what she wants the wedding to be,
like most women do,
and I want to make that happen for her.
Shelley, one minute. Go.
So this job means everything.
And I'm coming for it, baby.
10 seconds!
10, 9, 8,
7, 6,
5, 4, 3,
2, 1!
That's it. Hands up.
Wow, you guys.
Hands up!
That means don't touch your freakin' plate anymore.
Follow directions.
Hello, everyone.
I have prepared for you today pan-roasted halibut
in Mediterranean spices with smoked lentils,
heirloom tomato emulsion, and baby carrots.
My vision for the restaurant is a mixture
of California cuisine and Mediterranean.
The flavors marry perfect together.
It's what you were talking about earlier,
so I really picture the restaurant
going in that direction.
Your lentils are hard.
I kept them a little al dente. I thought they would --
Not a wise idea.
Yes, Chef.
Maybe you were a little nervous in the kitchen --
That's why, I guess. All the timing, huh?
I was definitely a little nervous.
Thank you.
I love the concept of this dish. I think it looks nice.
I love the tomato emulsion.
It's nice and fresh.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for your efforts.
SHELLEY: What I've made for you today is a wood-fired halibut
over a wild rice with wood-fired seasonal vegetables.
My vision for Mirabelle's is using locally sourced products,
seasonally available products, using big flavors.
It's a big dining room with a lot of personality.
I definitely -- I like the squash and the greens with it.
I'm having a little trouble with the seeds.
I love using seasonal products.
It might be a little rustic with the rice and the seeds, for me.
Thank you.
Thank you.
JEFF: Hi, guys.
I've made pan-seared scallops with tomato florets,
a bacon-braised lentil, and a tomato-seed vinaigrette.
My vision for Mirabelle is a Mediterranean
infused with French and Southern cuisine,
but I do want to bring in some new people with fresh flavors
and different things they haven't done here before.
What is this sauce again?
It's a tomato-seed vinaigrette.
It's a little strong.
It pulled my tongue back a little bit.
Sorry.
The taste is very unique.
I like the whole presentation. I like the way it's cooked.
I find your identity interesting.
Overall, I liked it.
Thank you again.
Chefs, test number two has concluded.
For one of you, the job interview is going to end now.
I'm sorry.
Shelley, the job interview is over.
Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
GIANNINI: Shelley's dish was a little bit all over the place.
I felt like it was a dish we could have had on our menu
15 years ago.
Thank you. Thanks, Anne.
Keep it up. You're a great cook.
SHELLEY: I am disappointed,
but I feel like I absolutely was true to myself.
Thanks, guys.
Good luck.
I cooked food that I believed in, and that feels great.
All right, guys. Two tests down.
But the biggest one is here -- the dinner service.
JEFF: So relieved that I'm moving on to dinner service.
If I get this job, it'll change my life.
You will each get a chance to write a menu
and run the kitchen for an evening.
You will work with the kitchen staff here
to execute your menu.
GERMANIDES: This restaurant's my pride and joy.
I'm on the fourth quarter of my life,
and I have two minutes to go,
and I want to finish it with a touchdown.
[ Laughs ]
Sounds good.
So, Jeffrey, you will have the keys to the kitchen
tomorrow night.
Drew, you'll have the keys to the kitchen the next night.
All right?
Good luck.
Thank you.
JEFF: This day couldn't be any bigger.
I've been given a chance to run a Hollywood institution tonight,
and it could become my restaurant.
Let's just do it and get this over with, because I'm ready.
Okay, guys.
We go to put our heads down and *** stuff out, okay?
Okay.
All right. Let's go, guys. Let's get it.
Okay. Perfect. Can you bring that up for me?
Whoo!
Do we have lemon juice anywhere?
What I want my menu to reflect is the Mediterranean feel
that Mirabelle already has established
and a French and Southern feel.
Oh.
I feel like we're getting there.
There's still a lot to do, so little time.
I need this job
because I feel like this would be a perfect opportunity
to close one chapter as a hotel chef
and open another as a restaurant chef.
Perfect. Perfecto.
I feel like I'm on track.
Good evening, Jeff.
Hello.
I'd like to introduce you to the staff.
Staff, this is Jeff Williams.
He's prepared this food, and he's here to explain it to us.
For my first appetizer, we have an oil-poached prawn
with a white bean salad, charred tomatoes, and crispy potatoes.
For my second appetizer, we have a roasted cauliflower
with feta cheese and croutons with tapenade.
For our third appetizer, we have a Maryland-style crab cake
with a red pepper rouille and a haricot vert and fennel salad.
For our first entrée, we have a crispy striped bass
over lentils and a spicy seafood broth.
The seafood broth --
Does that have any shellfish for allergies?
Yes. It is all shellfish.
Okay.
For our last entrée, an oven-roasted lamb
with goat-cheese brioche and a blackberry demi-glace.
For our dessert, we have a sour cream cake
with a pecan and bacon brittle.
If you have any problems, any questions, come see me.
I'll be the guy running around all frantic,
but we'll get through it.
And have a good service, guys.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Hi. Welcome to Mirabelle.
Those cherry tomatoes you got cut in half in there --
Add those in and add the Romas quartered.
MAN: If it's starting to stack up, start yelling for runners.
I think the roasted cauliflower sounds good
with the feta cheese.
Good choice.
How do you like your lamb cooked?
Medium-rare? Sure.
Get ready, guys. We're about to get hit.
We got out first order in.
We got one poached prawns, two crab cakes.
You got the prawns going?
You boys got it. That's what I'm talking about.
I got crab cakes, poached prawn, cauliflower.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
How did you like the appetizers?
Can I take these back
and see what we can do to fix that for you?
Jeff!
I have two people
that are extremely unhappy with their appetizers.
They say the shrimp is flavorless.
And this cauliflower salad --
I mean, it's got nothing holding it together.
It's just a roasted cauliflower. Where is the feta?
Where is the deliciousness?
A couple things come back, and I'm like, "What?"
I want two better versions of this right now.
Yes.
If you really want this job, show me it,
because right now, this is absolutely unacceptable.
Make sure you salt them before you send them out.
Why don't you taste one?
You're gonna leave your job interview in that guy's hands?
That's true. That's true.
I really didn't let it get to me.
I tried to keep my composure,
because when you lose it as a chef,
I feel like the whole kitchen loses it together.
We got a poached prawn and another crab cake.
Another prawn. Plate me one up, please.
Cauliflower in the window.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
All right. How's it going? What do we think?
MAN: We kind of all agree
that it's kind of overdosed on the salt.
The most flavorful thing in that was the crispy onion.
Jeff.
JEFF: Yes?
I have three more appetizers coming back --
two shrimp that are underseasoned
and a crab cake that is salty.
Get your seasoning together!
You got the prawns going?
Where's that lamb at?
Whoa!
Get it in line.
Are you oversalted? Are you underseasoned?
What's going on?
[Bleep] Let's get it together.
Can I please have some more plates, please?
Clearly, that guy over there isn't cutting it,
so you need to go and make sure
that you show him exactly what you want.
Lead your team.
BURRELL: I'm really nervous,
because if service starts going down now,
it's gonna go down big, and you're not gonna get it back.
[Bleep]
We got a big table.
Ten lamb!
JEFF: I'm already in the weeds,
and now I see the biggest ticket I've seen in my life.
I'm thinking to myself, like, "Holy crap.
"I'm here to show that I'm ready to run a restaurant,
and now I'm in big trouble."
BURRELL: Chef Jeff Williams has been given control
of Mirabelle restaurant to create his own menu
and run a dinner service for one night.
Before you plate that cauliflower, let me see it.
His performance will determine whether or not he gets the job
and becomes Mirabelle's new executive chef.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
I have a table of 12 that's been waiting on their entrées.
They are starting to get a little bit antsy.
You got a table 61 ticket? That's that big ticket, right?
I need five loins yesterday, five sea bass yesterday,
three cauliflower yesterday.
Let's go! Let's go!
BURRELL: Table 61 has already been waiting for forever.
Come on.
Really, just focus and finish this up.
I feel like if they don't get it together right now,
service is, like, done.
JEFF: Just trying to get in the groove here.
So I decided to listen to Anne
and just take a moment to simply teach my staff.
I'm gonna show you a faster way to do it.
Start putting them up like that.
We're just gonna start cranking them out.
In a new kitchen that you don't know
with a new staff that you don't know,
it can take some time to gel.
But once we did, the kitchen began to run like a machine.
All right. Let's go.
MAN: Three rack of lamb all day.
Three rack of lamb all day, all medium.
I need two striped bass now.
Three total.
Striped bass, one rack of lamb.
You got striped bass right here?
How long to prep? Done?
Okay.
I need bowls for that spicy sauce, please.
Two crab cakes coming up.
The fish that I ordered is really good.
I like the way it breaks apart very easily.
I'm having the lamb shanks, and it's amazing.
This is very moist, cooked very good.
I really love the taste.
These are the lambs we were waiting on.
We got to plate them all right now and put them up,
and we're getting it done.
What table is this for?
Okay.
You want to take this out?
MAN: Yeah. It's coming out right now.
I'm not even gonna risk it.
JEFF: This table's been waiting for a little while now,
and I personally want to go out
and to apologize for taking so long.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Sorry for the wait.
It's been a very hectic evening, but I wanted to make sure
you guys got this delivered to your table personally.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The food, even though it took a long time, is unbelievable.
It's excellent.
It's worth the wait.
JEFF: Once I delivered that table's food,
I felt like I was in the home stretch.
Desserts are flying out, and I'm finally able to catch my breath.
How did you do?
It's tough.
I told you it was intense, right?
Yes. Yes. It was very, very, very intense.
I just want to applaud you.
You kept your cool and your composure.
Good job.
Yay! You made it! [ Laughs ]
Oh, I did. [ Chuckles ]
Phew! Right?
I feel like if I could come into Mirabelle,
I could totally reinvent it.
Whoo!
And to have me as a part of it, potentially,
it could be amazing.
DREW: This is a very special opportunity for me
to get this job at Mirabelle.
You heat the cream and vanilla.
I meet my staff, and I'm gauging what everyone can do.
That way, I can get my prep done as fast as possible.
We know it's gonna be really busy,
but we're just gonna go with it, and we'll do our best.
Right now, the menu at Mirabelle --
Every dish has California cuisine influence
or Mediterranean influence.
My idea is to take the two together and fuse them
and make a California- Mediterranean fusion food.
56 eggs in a big bowl.
Where is the risotto?
Pepe, how you doing, man?
Look at that dice, man. That's nice.
Bam, bam, bam.
We have about 3 1/2 hours to prep six dishes,
and, for me, that's definitely not gonna be enough time.
The stress was unbelievable.
I'm really late for pre-shift,
and this is not how I wanted to start out.
What's going on?
We're 15 minutes late for pre-shift.
Chef, coming up, Chef.
This is not a good way to start off.
Give me the arugula. Give me the arugula.
Okay, marinated lamb -- It's in a port reduction.
The presentation looks horrible.
We're just trying to make it -- Okay. Wine.
My dessert's not even plated yet.
Aye-ai-ai.
This is not how it's supposed to come out.
It souffléd on me.
I know this dinner service is gonna be
the most important dinner service of my entire life,
and right now, I'm very, very nervous.
I am in really bad shape.
BURRELL: Chef Drew Ison is interviewing for the executive chef position
at the legendary Mirabelle on the Sunset Strip.
He's about to run a dinner service
to prove that he should be hired for the job.
GIANNINI: Welcome, Drew.
Thank you for preparing the menu.
I'd like to introduce you to our staff.
First off, I'd like to apologize to everyone for being late.
I promise your dinner service will not go like that.
For my first appetizer, I have a parmesan risotto.
It has grilled trumpet royale mushrooms.
It's in a parmesan-thyme broth.
The second appetizer is roasted beet salad
with candied pecans and feta cheese.
It's tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette.
For my third appetizer,
I have a curried salmon tartare with a little cucumber raita.
My first entrée is lamb loin,
and it has a red wine port reduction.
That seems a little rare to me.
It's gonna be cooked a little more than that.
The lamb is a little bit undercooked, for sure.
We can cook it a little more than here, Chef.
The second entrée is jumbo pan-roasted scallops,
but I took Mediterranean beluga lentils,
and I put a little spin on it, so I added liquid smoke to it.
GIANNINI: Make sure before the plates go out,
they're a little bit cleaner.
They will.
There's some smudges, sauce on the side.
I felt so bad going out
how everything was plated, how it wasn't properly cooked.
And then, to top it off, I didn't have a dessert.
Unfortunately, right now, we are missing the dessert.
It's a play on coffee, tea, and doughnuts.
I will have it ready for you in time of service.
Not very reassuring for us.
This is the first impression
the whole entire staff is getting of me,
and it's definitely not a good one.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
I need to show you something. This what I'm doing it for.
It's for my family,
and I told my wife when I came down here,
"I want to be the best I can be for you and Jackson."
Please help me with this, and let's just have a good time.
Let's have fun.
Does anybody have any questions about anything on the menu?
Have you had the lamb? Is it good?
I'll have the roasted beet salad.
The beet salad and the scallops.
First ticket, guys. Let's go!
Three risottos!
Three risotto. Let's plate it.
If I don't get this position,
my current job's gonna fire me for applying for this.
I'm gonna be out of a chef position,
and I'm gonna have to start all over.
I don't just want this position. I need this position.
Five salmons!
MAN: The curried salmon looks really good.
There's actually nothing on the menu that I don't want to eat.
30 and 55 on fire. Ready?
All the cooks, I want everything to look perfect tonight.
If it takes a little longer, I don't care.
When the food goes out to the guests,
I want it to look absolutely like
"I want to pay money for this dish."
WOMAN: It's good?
It's good.
GIANNINI: Buzz on the floor is good. It's really busy tonight.
I expect some delay in the food coming up.
There's a couple big tables I'm a little nervous about,
but he's cool under pressure.
I did not expect this.
What would you like? You want a beet salad?
No. I'll have something different.
We love to be spoiled.
I have four VIPs.
Thank you.
Let's get it out. I'm ready. I'm ready. Come on.
MAN: I need three beet salads and two risottos.
WOMAN: I like the flavor and everything.
I just think the rice was a little undercooked.
It was a little bland. I was expecting more flavor.
MAN: I have two risottos coming back.
Can we send them out another round?
DREW: The risotto is my first mistake of the night.
I'm not checking every dish that goes out,
and now they're starting to come back.
I thought the beet salad wasn't anything special.
I would have wanted it to have more of a punch.
Drew, did you guys taste this salad?
It looks really underdressed to me.
Can you dress it?
I asked you, did you taste it?
Chef, no, I -- Sorry, Chef. I can tell --
Well, taste it before you just hand it off
and start yelling at that kid.
Find out if it's how you like it.
Is that how you like it?
It's a little dry to me, Chef. You're right.
Lead your team and show this guy how you want it done.
Yes, Chef.
What's the story with these fish?
You don't have these started yet?
I'm coming right now.
I'll be right back, guys.
I'm getting lemon downstairs.
Chef, you're leaving your kitchen?
Why don't you send a dishwasher?
Get these fish on the fire!
Are you cutting that lemon
with the same knife you cut lamb with?
These people are here for fish, not a surf and turf.
Make them sexy.
Let's make a sexy trout dish. Chef wants a sexy trout dish.
We're gonna make a sexy trout dish.
GIANNINI: It does look good. Nice on the fly.
They're done!
We're good, guys! Whoo!
Are you kidding? Are you done with service?!
You are not good!
I have confidence in this team.
I love you, guys.
BURRELL: Really, dude?
Murphy's Law in a restaurant --
The minute you think that you're doing fine
is exactly when you're not.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
WOMAN: How do you like your lamb prepared?
Medium.
I'll have the lamb medium-rare, please.
Sure.
'Cause I can't have rare meat.
Yeah. Sure.
I need like seven lambs in the window right now.
Lambs are all coming up. I'm plating seven.
MAN: We have the lamb.
We'll take it to the kitchen. We'll get it fixed right away.
Chef?
I have three lambs.
They were a little on the rare side.
Those are on the rare side.
I'm gonna replate them right now for you, my man.
Drew.
Chef, I know.
I'm sorry. I wasn't aware.
I should be paying more attention to my line.
I'm replating the whole dish. I'm not gonna serve them this.
So you're throwing this food away?
You're putting this food in the garbage?
I don't want to serve it to anyone else.
Just cook it.
You can't afford to throw this food away.
That's money you're putting in the garbage.
Sorry, Chef. I'm not thinking.
Come on!
Do you want this job or not?
Who are you doing this for?
I want this to be my restaurant. I am taking this seriously.
I want this to be my restaurant.
All right! Then show us you want it!
Thank you. Yes, Chef.
BURRELL: He was ready to put all this lamb in the garbage.
I mean, that's absolutely unacceptable
because that's wasted money,
and a restaurant just can't afford to do that.
DREW: We're falling behind, guys.
Let's go. Let's do this.
Tickets are piling up,
and this dinner service is really going down fast.
Have you guys received your first course yet?
Nothing.
I'm gonna go back and check with the kitchen.
I don't think I can wait, honestly.
43 never got appetizers?
No.
Chef, I just need a little something
for the pregnant woman.
DREW: Okay. Scallops right there for the pregnant lady.
Thank you.
I brought you a little something to --
Is that -- I can't have scallops.
MAN: She can't have scallops. She's pregnant.
Chef, we can't send her scallops.
She's pregnant.
I need three lambs plated in two minutes, Drew!
I'm plating right now.
Drew, we're about to lose 43.
We have a pregnant lady,
and they're about to walk out right now.
Oh.
I've been eating bread just so that I won't, like --
'Cause I'm so hungry.
MAN: This is it.
You need to get these tables out.
That last tickets. That's it, man.
Cut them and go! Cut them and go!
Cut them and go! Let's go!
BURRELL: Despite long wait times
and despite a little chaos in the kitchen,
overall, the customers really enjoyed the food.
Very good. Really good.
What is your first impression?
The lamb sirloin -- very tasty, incredible sauce.
And I was so excited about dessert tonight --
I mean, flourless chocolate-coffee cake
and funnel-cake doughnut.
The chocolate flavor was really present.
It was so delicious.
DREW: So tired.
Can I get something to drink? I'm gonna pass out over here.
Dinner service is done.
There's just a big weight off my shoulders.
We did the best we could do, and we pulled through,
and now I can have my dream job.
MAN: Whoo!
Whoo! We did it. You're done, guys.
[ Applause ]
BURRELL: The final two candidates are about to find out
who will become Mirabelle's new executive chef.
So, folks, what do you think?
We had two candidates that I think were extremely qualified.
I think Jeff was a cool cucumber.
He stayed really relaxed in the kitchen.
GERMANIDES: I mean, his food was good,
but it wasn't as exciting as it's supposed to be.
In terms of Drew's dinner service,
what did you guys think?
I felt like his food was consistent
with what Mirabelle represents.
The salad, I feel, wasn't properly done.
And also -- what do you call? -- the risotto --
It was sometimes dry.
I think that we have two great chefs.
They both worked to the bone.
I fought my heart out tonight, man.
That was one of the toughest things I actually had to do
probably in my entire life.
All right, man.
Good luck.
Chefs, you guys have both been put through a lot.
You guys should be really proud of yourselves
no matter who walks away with this job.
GERMANIDES: I wish that I can hire both of you,
but unfortunately, there's only one spot.
Jeff, we thought you handled the pressure extremely well,
and we thought your food was delicious.
Thank you.
Drew, we really felt your passion
in everything that you did this evening,
and we felt the customers responded really well
to your food.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
Drew, you're the new executive chef of Mirabelle restaurant.
Thank you.
Jeff, God bless you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You did good.
You did a really good job.
Thank you.
Good luck in the future.
Thank you.
JEFF: It was a crazy experience.
I'm definitely happy I did it.
You know, it's working knowledge for the next one.
Thank you so much. I won't let you down.
I promise you.
I'll give it all I got.
I'll give all my heart into your restaurant.
I love you so much. Thank you.
Welcome aboard.
Thank you so much.
DREW: I feel like I'm dreaming.
I'm the new chef at Mirabelle.
I can't believe this is happening right now to me.
It's -- I'm speechless.
Maybe you don't understand this, but I told my wife
I was gonna be the best I can for her and my stepson,
and this just proves that I'm on my way.
I'm so excited
and just ready to start and get on with my new life.
Here we are.
No way!
No way!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Oh!
Yeah!
Oh, my God!
I'm, right here, right now, the new chef of Mirabelle.
I'm just stunned right now. I'm amazed.
[ Cheers and applause ]
BURRELL: To find out how Chef Drew is doing, go to...
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