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I have $100,000
of cold hard cash in this case.
4 chefs get $25,000 each.
Yeah, baby!
If they want to leave this kitchen
with any of the cash,
they have to survive three culinary challenges
and each other.
Women stick together.
No, they don't.
In a game where sabotage is not only encouraged...
You'll be able to force one of your opponents
to do all of their cooking on a camp stove.
...it's for sale.
$5,000.
10 grand.
Ooh.
It's a game we like to call...
[ Laughs ]
..."Cutthroat Kitchen."
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
I am Chef Frankie.
I like to think I'm like a lion in sheep's clothing.
Every time you count me out, you better count me in.
And just remember --
The lion doesn't lose sleep
over the feeling of sheep.
I'm Chef Lori.
You stay out of my business.
I'm the type of person
that would stab you quietly in the back.
But I'll totally give them a hug after.
Maybe even a kiss on the cheek. Who knows?
I'm Chef Ulka Mohanty. I'm little ninja chef.
Am I used to fighting dirty? Yeah.
To all those people out there who believe
that you have to have decades of professional training,
that you can't possibly even think to call yourself a chef
without any of that -- Well, I'd like to prove them wrong.
My name is Chef Stark.
Da-da-dum!
Most people judge the book by its cover.
They're gonna think, "Oh, look at this guy with the mohawk.
He's nothing."
I fully intend to ambush my competition.
You guys don't look like you're very mohawk friendly.
CHEF FRANKIE: I don't know who the other chefs are
or how they're gonna stack up to me,
but I can guarantee you one thing --
I will be a force to be reckoned with.
Don't even try. Don't even try.
Ah. Chefs, good to see you.
Welcome to Cutthroat Kitchen.
Now, you're here because you can cook,
but to win, well, that's why we call it cutthroat.
Rules -- There will be three cooking rounds,
each followed by an elimination.
In each case, I will announce the dish to be cooked,
and then you'll have 60 seconds to shop in our pantry
for everything you need.
Then, before we cook, we will have a little auction,
where you will have the opportunity to bid
on some devilish devices that you can use
to discombobulate your opponents.
Of course, if we're gonna have an auction,
you're gonna need some cash, and I happen to have $100,000 here.
Each of you will get $25,000.
But spend wisely, because the last chef standing
will only win the money they have remaining.
CHEF LORI: My strategy is
to buy my way out of any kind of trouble.
Take your money. Two bundles, if you will.
I've counted it and I've weighed it.
I will literally make it rain in these auctions.
ALTON: Let's get down to the cooking part.
Your take on a turkey dinner.
And you know what? Because I'm feeling generous,
I'm gonna give you half an hour to make it. 30 minutes.
And you'll still have the 60 seconds to shop.
And since I'm confident that you've already got
the grocery lists completely written out in your head,
your shopping time begins now.
Chefs, make sure you get everything you need.
Oh, I love it! Aah!
Honestly, the traditional turkey dinner bores me.
So I'm gonna make it interesting.
So, I want to make sure
I pick up the curry powder and the green cardamom.
I'm gonna make the turkey dinner I would love to have.
Ooh!
Sweet little ninja chef was on the floor,
and I was not gonna help her up.
Ooh, looks like we need a cleanup on Aisle 4.
Yeah, so, I wiped out. So what?
There's no time to feel pain. There's no time to whine.
It's "Cutthroat Kitchen." Come on!
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
As I looked into my competitors' baskets,
I noticed that a lot of them didn't even have chicken stock,
which is pretty crucial for when you have to make
some kind of a gravy for your traditional turkey dinner.
How about an auction?
The very first thing...
...an empty basket that gives you the right
to go to each one of your opponents
and take away one ingredient they have,
except for their turkey.
CHEF LORI: I'm looking through my basket.
I have no butter. I have no stock.
Those are the first things I should have grabbed.
It's an empty basket,
but you can fill it with the hopes and dreams of others.
[ Laughs ] Who will give me $500 for it?
Oh, here we go.
ALTON: $4,000?
$7,500. Let's do this.
$7,500. $7,500 for an empty basket.
Going once. Going twice.
Sold. Bring me my money, madam.
CHEF LORI: I didn't care how much I had to spend,
that basket was going to be mine, and I tell you what --
That was money well spent.
Let's do it.
I'm sorry, honey, but I'm gonna take your butter.
You're first on the list now.
I know. I done done it now.
I'm taking the peas.
Here. And then, oh, my love.
I know.
[ Laughing ] It's a ***.
So am I. I'll just go ahead
and take this chicken stock, love bug.
Oh, really?
CHEF ULKA: Chef Lori took my peas.
I didn't really, really need them, anyway.
But she hit those two boys
exactly where I wanted them to be hit, so I'm good to go.
ALTON: Our second auction item is...
...a nice, big, plump, injected, deli turkey breast.
[ Laughs ]
[ Groans ]
It's 100% already cooked, Americans.
CHEF FRANKIE: Processed turkey ***
are basically made up of sodium nitrate, tripolyphosphate --
all kinds of nice stuff.
The thought of this challenge made me sweat.
And here's what you can do if you win it.
You can go to any one of your opponents
and trade out their turkey for this.
Who will give me $500 to inflict this meat bomb
on one of their opponents?
$3,000.
$6,000.
$6,000 is now the bid from Chef Ulka.
$6,100 from Chef Stark.
Not that much more. Chef Ulka's gonna go $6,200.
Do I hear $6,300?
$6,300 is the current bid from Chef Lori.
Do I hear $6,400? $6,400. Chef Ulka's back in it.
"Cutthroat Kitchen" is all about mental games.
Going once, twice.
Sold to Chef Ulka for $6,400.
Bring me my money, madam.
Bring me my money.
CHEF ULKA: So, I thought,
"I'm gonna be aggressive, give sabotages,
and then sort of make this whole state of mass confusion."
CHEF LORI: Girl, you give that to me,
you are cruising for a serious bruising.
We're girls. Girl power.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Sorry, I'm gonna have to say...you.
It's for you.
You are the sweetest thing I've ever met in my life.
Aren't I, though?
No sweat.
Bring it on.
ALTON: Now, let's move on
to our third auction item.
This is a wonderful little multitool,
and if you win this lovely device,
you will be able to give it to one of your friends here
and make them use it exclusively as a hand tool and knife.
CHEF STARK: So, this means somebody's got to make
a traditional turkey dinner
with no peeler, no knives, no hand utensils at all.
This is gonna totally rain on someone's parade.
$1,100.
ALTON: $9,000?
$9,000, the current bid, Chef Ulka.
Anybody give me $9,100?
Going once. Going twice.
Sold to Chef Ulka for $9,000.
Wow, you're on a roll. Come on over, ma'am.
I have a feeling that some of these chefs are used to having
all their tools, all their fancy gear,
so this is a particularly evil thing to do to somebody.
I'm gonna have to do this.
It's all good.
[ Sighs ] Ninja, please.
I come from a long line of heavyset women
that kill chickens with their bare hands
and cook them for dinner.
I'm pretty sure
that I can make something happen with this knife.
I know what to do with a pocket knife.
Just in case you forgot in all this fun,
the dish is turkey dinner.
The time is half an hour.
The time begins...now.
30 minutes. Turkey dinner.
All right. Here we go.
CHEF STARK: As I watch Chef Ulka,
it looked almost like a wrestling match,
and I didn't know who was gonna win.
But it looked like the turkey was, and I was almost positive
that she wasn't cleaning it properly.
CHEF ULKA: Hey, Frank.
CHEF FRANKIE: Yes, dear?
How's your so-called meat going?
Ah. I started off the challenge
with the perfect picture in my mind
of what a plate was gonna look like.
Had to throw that all out the window
because Chef Lori steals my butter.
So I grab the udon noodles,
switched gears, went Asian fusion.
I wasn't going Asian to begin with, but I'm going Asian now.
ALTON: Chefs, you got about 23 minutes left.
23 minutes.
CHEF STARK: Next year for Thanksgiving,
mom's gonna expect me to knock out the meal in 30 minutes.
My dish is a traditional Texas turkey dinner.
Buttermilk whipped potatoes, sautéed turkey,
and a traditional white pan gravy.
I actually lost my chicken stock to Chef Lori.
We're gonna improvise, just like any good kitchen.
I am using buttermilk for the liquid in my pan gravy,
and I feel very confident
that I still got a leg up on these other three turkeys.
No pun intended.
CHEF LORI: Girl, you gave me a dull knife.
You should be okay.
You just wait, girl. [ Laughs ]
When Chef Ulka gives me the pocket knife,
everything else is taken away from me.
No tools, no utensils.
CHEF FRANKIE: Lori, you can use one of my knives.
Shut up, shut up, shut up.
What comes to mind was just to break down that turkey,
use the butter that I stole, and just sear up some cutlets.
So, with the potatoes, I decided
that I was just going to make some fingerling potato hash.
So I put them in a sauté pan and I cut them in half
so that they could cook a little bit faster.
I hope those cook. Geez.
The spoon in the mouth is a good look.
Mm-hmm.
CHEF ULKA: All I know is that time is ticking fast.
The name of my dish is spicy desi turkey.
Hash salad of the yam with curry element.
I already had the green cardamom in there,
and I just needed things to cook faster.
Oh, chefs.
I've decided to auction off another item.
I have here a butane burner.
CHEF STARK: Uh-oh.
It's quicker to take a boat to China
than get one of those burners hot.
Whoever wins this will be able
to hand it to one of their opponents and say, "Here.
Cook with this and this alone for the rest of the challenge."
CHEF FRANKIE: I looked over at Ulka,
and I knew that the pigeon was gonna fall.
No other cooktop, no other pot or pan, just this.
I bet you someone's gonna buy it and pin it on me.
What happens then? I don't even know.
Okay.
Yes, sir?
I've decided to auction off a butane burner.
CHEF ULKA: I hear in my peripheral hearing
that there's another auction going on,
and I think, "I bet you someone's gonna buy it
and pin it on me."
No other cooktop, no other pot or pan, just this.
$500.
$600.
CHEF FRANKIE: This is an opportunity for payback to Ulka
for the processed turkey.
This is an auction item I need to win.
CHEF STARK: 2 grand.
2 grand it is.
$2,100.
$2,100 to Chef Frankie.
$2,100 going once, twice, sold.
$2,100 to Chef Frankie. Here it is, sir.
You've got to dose it out right now.
Thank you.
Here you go, honey.
Gosh.
Boom, girlfriend. Karma.
Where would you like me to put it for you?
Oh, that's nice.
Why don't you take care of this for me?
Oh. [ Laughs ]
CHEF ULKA: Overall, the turkey curry flavors are great.
I just need to make sure the turkey is cooked enough.
I just need to keep going, keep going.
Get this dish done.
ALTON: 10 minutes. 10 minutes remaining.
Only 1/3 of the challenge time.
CHEF FRANKIE: Ulka, how you doing over there?
So, like, if you get past Round 1,
which I'm sure you will
because you're a culinary genius.
This coming from the man with no turkey.
[ Laughs ] Oh!
CHEF STARK: Boom!
CHEF FRANKIE: That just happened.
Twinkle Toes gave me processed turkey breast,
but I knew that mascarpone and cream
buries the flavor of everything.
So, my dish is a turkey roasted-yam stir-fried noodle.
At least you don't have to cook with a damn pocket knife.
Quit your ***.
ALTON: Three minutes.
CHEF LORI: Oh, Lord, that's hot.
Working with no hand tools kind of sucks,
but I'm not stressed at all.
Whoo! That's hot! [ Laughs ]
I have here turkey in brown-butter caper sauce
served on some fingerling potato hash.
I can say the only thing that I'm concerned with
is the fact that I'm done before everyone else.
How you doing over here, Mohawk?
Sweating like Richard Simmons in a fat camp.
Man, this is gonna be a grace of God
that I can get a fully cooked traditional turkey dinner
ready in time.
Handle's just a little hot.
Whew!
My dish is buttermilk whipped potatoes,
sugar snap peas, sautéed turkey, and a white pan gravy.
It's gonna be a traditional Texas-style gravy,
versus classical French, kind of.
I wanted to make sure that my food was sexy,
because we all know that people eat with their eyes.
CHEF ULKA: It's actually a pretty good little burner,
I have to say.
It's a turkey curry,
and I place that over a beautiful bed of yam,
garnished with Granny Smith apple slivers.
ALTON: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Put it down and step away. The challenge is over.
Everybody survived. How nice.
Everyone say hi. This is Antonia Lofaso.
Hey, girl!
She is an esteemed cookbook author and has no idea
what you have done to each other or what you've had to endure,
and I don't think she cares.
I don't care at all. I'm just excited
to taste what you guys have on your plate.
The dish -- Turkey dinner.
I love me some turkey dinner.
Let's go have some.
CHEF FRANKIE: Having used the processed turkey,
I am feeling about 50/50 on the confidence level.
But you put a prom dress on a pig, it's still a pig.
Chef Frankie, tell Chef Lofaso what she's gonna eat.
I've done a turkey and roasted yam,
Asian stir-fry pasta
with toasted almonds and a mascarpone sauce.
CHEF LOFASO: I really like the idea
of the play of Asian influences and Italian influences.
For me, it's a little underseasoned,
but the turkey is cooked perfectly.
The turkey for me is, like, a win-win,
because it's really nicely cooked.
Thank you very much.
CHEF FRANKIE: She had said my turkey was cooked perfectly.
I was feeling pretty good.
Chef Lori, tell Chef Lofaso what you have done here.
Well, this is a turkey cutlet
with a brown-butter caper sauce
served with some fingerling hash.
[ Gasps ]
...this is absolutely something
that I would love to eat every day.
It is a beautiful version of a turkey dinner.
The biggest flaw for me is just the turkey's just overdone.
Okay.
Thank you, Chef. Let's move on, shall we?
[ Sighs ]
Nice to meet you, Chef.
So, this is a turkey curry
made with Madras curry powder and green cardamom,
and it's resting on a bed of yam.
Oh!
I know.
A little bone there.
So...for me,
the -- the flavors of the curry and the cardamom
are really, really beautiful.
But I think with the bone, it just kind of threw me off.
Oh, Chef Ulka, girl, you are in trouble.
Chef Stark, please describe your dish.
This is a traditional Texas Thanksgiving dinner.
We have our buttermilk mashed potatoes,
some Southern sweet peas, with a white pan gravy.
I love the whole idea
of, like, Texas kind of meat and potatoes, so to speak.
It is a little dry.
But well-seasoned.
I like the amount of black pepper that's used.
I don't know if those got cleaned.
Sometimes we can eat the outside of the pea,
but they tend to be very fibrous.
So, I had a hard time kind of getting through that,
and then they weren't cleaned all the way.
Chef Stark made a couple of really prime rookie mistakes.
I mean... who doesn't clean their peas?
So, Chef, you have tasted.
Now you know what your job is.
One of these folks has got to go.
Who's it gonna be?
One of these folks has got to go.
Who's it gonna be?
So, for me, there was one dish that really stood out
that had fundamental problems in the execution.
Chef Ulka, it's your dish.
There never should have been cartilage
that I had to pull from my mouth.
It just -- It was flawed.
Chef Ulka, I'm afraid I'll need my money back.
Boo, girl! Bye!
You played well. I'll take your cash.
Good luck to you, Chef.
Was I the weakest chef there? Hells, no.
If it wasn't for that piece of bone,
I was sure I was gonna win,
and I was sure Chef Frankie was gonna go home.
They haven't seen the last of Little Ninja Chef.
I can tell you that.
ALTON: And then there were three.
Welcome to Round 2.
Chef Stark, you've got $25,000.
You spent nothing.
Chef Lori, you did do some shopping.
$17,500, I believe you still possess.
And, let's see, Chef Frankie,
you are currently in possession of $22,900.
So everybody's got plenty of money to spend,
and I think I've got something
you're gonna want to spend it on.
I'm thinking about French toast.
Yes! This is awesome.
Because my two passions are my mohawk and French toast.
ALTON: Of course, we know that's a pretty fast dish,
so I'm only gonna give you 20 minutes to do it,
'cause you don't really need more than that,
but you will still have the full 60 seconds with which to shop.
Let's go ahead and say that that time begins now.
CHEF STARK: Going into the pantry,
immediately I go and pick the best loaf of bread.
Right after that, I'm going for the sugar and some fresh fruit.
I'm gonna knock this sweet French toast out of the park.
CHEF FRANKIE: I grab prosciutto, goat cheese, and duck fat
in case I need to go savory.
I don't know what kind of curveballs
are gonna be thrown at me.
Ow!
Guess what? 10 seconds.
What do you have to have?
CHEF STARK: I noticed that Chef Lori was going after vegetables
and literally didn't even hit the dairy cabinet.
How are you gonna make French toast without any dairy?
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
I just love doing that.
CHEF LORI: When I get back to my station,
I'm looking through my basket
and I immediately notice I have no milk.
All right, then.
Going into the next auction,
I'm hoping there's, like,
a dairy cow to be milked or something.
Our first item up for bid today...
Oh, this is a good one.
[ Laughs ]
If you win this fantastic offering,
you'll be able to force one of your opponents
to replace all of their eggs with powdered eggs
and all of their dairy with powdered milk.
There is a god.
$7,000.
$7,000?
$7,800.
$7,900.
$8,000. Who gives me the 8 grand?
Chef Stark gives me the $8,000.
Going once. Going twice.
Sold to Chef Stark for $8,000. Bring me your money, sir.
CHEF STARK: The worst thing
about powdered eggs and powdered dairy
is the fact that it's grainy.
I love karma.
ALTON: Karma is a wonderful thing.
French toast is all about texture.
To accomplish the texture you need
with powdered eggs and powdered milk...it's pretty impossible.
I am going to give this to you, sir.
Thank you so much.
CHEF LORI: When Chef Frankie
gets the powdered milk and the powder eggs,
I figure I'll just have to make it work.
This is my death sentence.
We'll move on to our second auction item.
[ Laughs ]
What the hell is that?
Looky here. What do I have?
I got a bunch of, like, burnt --
looks like challah, and a bag of bread crusts.
If you win this wonderful basket,
you will be able to give one of these to one opponent
and one to the other opponent.
$5,000.
$6,000.
$10,000.
Okay, then.
Oh, $10,100 to Chef Stark.
$11,000?
Chef Frankie is gonna take this for $11,000.
Going once.
This is an opportunity for me
to pick off the strongest of my competition.
ALTON: Going twice.
Whoever gets the burnt bread, they're going home.
Chef Frankie's gonna take this for $11,000.
Going once. Going twice.
Sold for $11,000.
Chef Frankie, bring me my money.
When the bidding got up to $11,000, I was like, "I'm out.
I'm not gonna have any money left for the next round."
So, if he really wants to stick it to me, bring it on, bro.
[ Sighing ] Oh.
See, I can't think of anything better
to go with sweet than burnt.
Oh, there is a god. I will take the bread crusts.
Yeah.
Well, luckily, there is a third item in our auction.
A big bowl of ice.
CHEF STARK: I have no idea what this bowl of ice is,
but I do know one thing -- It's going to Frankie.
I'm going to bury him
so he cannot even get his head above water.
Whoever is gifted this wonderful bowl of ice will have to serve
a frozen component with their French toast.
CHEF FRANKIE: This is a huge hurdle.
I need to bid on it, but my cash is kind of low.
$3,500.
$3,800.
$3,800. Do I hear $3,900?
$3,900. I got $3,900.
$4,400.
$4,600.
$4,800.
$5,000.
Sold for $5,000 to Chef Stark. Bring me my money, sir.
I can't afford 5 grand. Perfect.
5 grand. Take it, Chef Stark. Go ahead.
Anything else you want to throw my way?
Come on. Bring it on.
If I'm going down, you're going with me, buddy.
[ Both laugh ]
ALTON: 20 minutes. French toast.
So, your cooking time begins now.
CHEF STARK: Yeah!
All right, dude.
You're not getting a Christmas card this year from me.
You know what?
I'll tell you something, Foghorn.
Thank you for taking my eggs.
When Chef Stark gave me the frozen component,
he didn't realize it was a gift.
I can use this powdered milk and the powdered eggs
to make ice cream.
I grab the food processor, get bananas, raspberries,
mascarpone cream, powdered eggs, powdered milk,
and a little bit of water for liquid
to reconstitute the powders,
and I put it right into the ice cream machine.
I just wanted to give you this real quick,
just as a memento.
That's awesome.
I'll keep it. I'll treasure it forever.
I promise.
CHEF STARK: I don't know if I can give CPR
to this burnt toast.
I am making a piece of French toast
with a sunny-side egg up over it, and a sauce of strawberries.
Toast is very bitter,
so I'm gonna try to cut out anything that's dark,
that's gonna give off a bitter taste.
I'm going to make a quick batter of milk and cream,
and I'm gonna try to mask the burntness
by adding in some fresh O.J.,
kind of give it a little crème brûlée kick on it.
I'm gonna try to rehydrate this toast, 'cause it's...toast.
No pun intended.
This wonderful bread here. Mmm!
I will take the bread crusts over that burnt toast.
It wasn't even toast. It was charcoal.
I start kind of making a savory French toast
and some warm tomato compote.
How you gonna do with no cream over there
on your French toast?
At least I have more than a pocket knife right now.
I'm just gonna dip my bread in egg,
then kind of mound it in the pan
to make kind of like a French-toasty patty.
And considering that it is a savory French toast,
maybe the dairy really won't be missed.
ALTON: Ladies and gentlemen, you have 15 minutes remaining.
15 minutes.
CHEF FRANKIE: What I decided to make was an inassi.
It's a traditional but very unknown Italian pastry.
Just like sweet French toast,
it's coated in sugar or almonds.
And I'm like, "I got this.
I'm gonna be a competitor this round."
Oh, chefs, I hate to distract you,
but I do have another fine item up for auction --
a nice French red wine and some bleu cheese.
You'll be able to force one of your opponents
to integrate these into their dish.
I need red wine and bleu cheese in my life right now
like I need brain surgery.
$1,200.
$1,400.
$1,500.
It's like a song, and the next verse is...
♪ $1,600 ♪
$1,600. That's right.
And are you bidding it or singing it?
2 grand.
$2,300. You're going down.
$4,000 and I'm out.
$4,100 is the current bid.
$4,200 -- I lied.
You boys have at it.
$4,400? You said $4,400?
$4,400 is the current bid.
Going once. Going twice.
Sold for $4,400 to Chef Stark.
Yay! I'm gonna give that to my boy Frankie over there.
[ Laughs ] Thank you, sir.
CHEF STARK: I spent $17,400 this round
to ensure that Frankie was not gonna go on to the next round.
So now I'm gonna have to do a duo,
which wasn't in my original plan, but it's okay.
I've already gone through the trouble of making an inassi.
I only have one.
But I have to do a sweet and a savory.
I cut my inassi in half. Take some bleu cheese.
I put it on half my inassi, put it in the convection oven,
let it melt over, I'll Cabernet-glaze it as my savory,
put the ice cream in the middle of the sweet,
and do a Foster sauce on the side.
It's gonna have to do.
CHEF STARK: For being burnt toast, it's not bad.
Whatever happens from here on out, I feel proud
because I took a pile of burnt crap and made it taste good.
I think I've risen to the expectations,
and I think I've conquered it.
CHEF LORI: When I go over to flip my first
savory French-toast chopped-up bread-patty thing,
I notice that it's nice and crispy on one side
and it's holding together.
That was my biggest concern.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Step away and let it go.
Challenge is over,
and everyone's got all their fingers and toes.
I'm impressed.
Chef Lofaso, welcome back.
Thanks again.
The challenge is French toast.
French toast.
CHEF LORI: When I see that big, ginormous hunk of bleu cheese,
I think maybe my boy Frankie
might be in a little bit of trouble,
'cause you can only add
so much funk from bleu cheese on one dish.
What I've done for you
is I've done a sweet and savory inassi.
This one has a bleu cheese and a Cabernet glaze.
The other one is a mascarpone banana raspberry gelato
with a Foster sauce.
I started off really enjoying this side of it,
between the banana and a little bit of caramel
and raspberry and the texture and the nuts.
It all worked so well together,
that when I moved over to the savory,
I have to be honest,
the bleu cheese was a little overpowering.
I just couldn't get the taste out of my mouth fast enough.
Chef Frankie, I got you this time.
[ Laughs triumphantly ]
I decided to go with a savory preparation
on the French toast on top of an arugula salad,
and I also added some warm tomato compote.
My mind first just went to this idea of a panzanella.
You know, this kind of warm bread salad.
It looks beautiful.
I think you have some really beautiful plating.
It's just kind of flat and one-note for me.
Thank you.
If I had had dairy, if I had had my bread,
I would have knocked her socks off.
Just keeping it real.
What I've done here is a sunny summer French toast.
I have some fresh summer peaches,
a fresh strawberry lemon sauce underneath French toast
with a sunny-side egg on top of it.
CHEF FRANKIE: When Chef Lofaso gets to Chef Stark,
she's cutting on the bread.
It looks like she needs, like, a chain saw to get through it,
and I'm like, "This is what I wanted.
"This is what I asked for.
This is why I gave him the bread."
So, what I really liked about the dish
is the color of the strawberry puree.
I think it gives a nice vibrance to the dish in general.
The egg is also cooked really well.
As a whole, I think the dish is just not working.
The bread seems very kind of dry.
And the raw fruit on the side I'm just kind of confused by.
Thank you.
Chef Lofaso, let's walk over here.
CHEF STARK: So, what's so confusing here, Chef Antonia?
French toast with an egg and some fruit
is about as basic as you can get.
All right, Chef.
Who won't be in the final round?
I think in the end,
I'm gonna have to go...
with Chef...
Who won't be in the final round?
This one's very hard.
I think in the end,
I'm gonna have to go with Chef Stark.
I just think that the elements together did not work.
Chef Stark, I'm afraid I'm going to need your money.
CHEF STARK: I feel like I got robbed.
Thank you.
I tasted it, and I thought my dish tasted delicious.
My two competitors, they didn't even make French toast.
But everybody's entitled to their own opinion.
ALTON: Chef Lori and Chef Frankie,
you've survived into the third round here in Cutthroat Kitchen.
CHEF LORI: This is it.
It's me and Frankie, and I've got to take him down.
You're going to shop for 60 seconds,
but then you're going to immediately begin
your cooking times.
That means that the auction will actually have to take place
during the cooking period.
CHEF FRANKIE: I got to be on my game for this,
'cause I cannot afford to keep up with her, money-wise.
I want you to make a lobster roll and a side.
I'm gonna give you 30 minutes to make lobster rolls.
All right, you're gonna have 60 seconds to shop,
just as you always do, and that time begins...now.
Lobster po' boy comes straight to mind.
I grab dried chilies. I grab bell peppers.
I was gonna roast them off.
ALTON: You've got 30 seconds remaining.
I open up the refrigerator, and I see things moving around.
I totally hate live lobster.
No time to be squeamish.
I knew I didn't want to deal with that little sea cockroach..
Oh, God! [ Laughs ]
That little sucker jumps out at me.
It came after me.
He's now out for blood.
I'm not picking it up.
I'm out of there. One lobster will have to do.
3, 2, 1.
And then your cooking time begins now.
I look through my basket, and I think to myself,
"Why in the hell did you grab radishes?"
And I had nothing for a side dish,
so I was gonna have to wing it,
and then there's the issue of having live lobster.
I darn sure wasn't gonna touch it,
so I opted for the boiling water.
Worked out pretty well,
because I didn't have to see anything moving around
while it was going up to heaven.
CHEF FRANKIE: My father was a fisherman.
I grew up around lobsters and fish all my life.
I'm in my comfort zone.
I decided my best option was to grill my lobster tails,
boil my claws.
I like the flavor of the grill.
I can infuse butter into the tail as it's grilling,
have it kind of sauté and seep in there,
and it tends to make the lobster more tender.
So, chefs, our first auction item today is a real doozy.
Take a look at this basket.
Whoever wins this can make their opponent
make their roll or bread from scratch.
$7,000.
[ Laughing ] $7,000.
There's no way I have enough time for bread dough to proof,
not in 30 minutes.
Proof and cook in 30 minutes -- it's an impossibility.
$7,000 is the current bid, Chef Frankie.
$7,500.
$8,000.
$8,000.
I kind of needed to give Chef Frankie
a whole lot of hell.
The one leg up I have on Chef Frankie is that this girl
has got way more money in her pocket than he's got.
$8,100. $8,100 is the current bid.
Chef Lori, will you give me $8,200?
$8,500.
You'll give me $8,500.
CHEF FRANKIE: I can't spend that kind of money.
I'll make bread.
ALTON: Going once. Going twice.
Sold to Chef Lori for $8,500. Tell you what.
Why don't you deliver this to him and I'll take your money?
CHEF FRANKIE: It's build your own bread,
which means take away the bread that you have,
which are my beautiful pretzel rolls.
My mind goes to making a flatbread.
I hope that's enough.
ALTON: Guess what?
I got an empty basket
with the word "utensils" on the front of it.
If you win it,
you can harvest all of your opponent's hand tools,
including their knife kit.
All of their utensils will go away if you have this basket.
My strategy is do what you got to do, spend the money,
and sabotage, sabotage, sabotage.
I don't care how much this one's gonna cost me.
Have fun, Chef Frankie. Have fun.
$1,000.
You'll give me $1,000.
I got $1,000 bid. You give me $1,100, Chef?
$1,100. Do I have $1,200?
I got a $1,200 bid.
$1,300.
I got $1,300. Do I get $1,400?
$2,000.
$2,000. Do I have $2,100? $2,100?
$2,100. Do I get $2,300?
$2,300 is the current bid.
Wait a minute.
I don't really need hand tools for this, do I?
Going once for $2,300. Going twice.
Sold to Chef Lori for $2,300.
I let her win. Not my brightest moment.
I've got to put a sandwich together.
I've got to get jicama turned into slaw.
I have boiling lobster claws and no tongs.
This is what you call a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
That is perfect.
I'm gonna have to really improvise all my tools here.
I grab the food-processor blade,
and I use that to peel my jicama.
I've got a rolling pin I'm breaking lobster with.
And the only way I can think
of getting lobster claws out of a boiling pot of water
was with a spaghetti strainer.
I get back to making bread dough.
I added one egg.
I should have added two, made my dough more pliable.
My dough is not as pliable as I needed it,
so I ended up doing a grilled panini bread.
I think I hit my fair share of curveballs the last challenge.
I don't know if I have it in me to hit 'em again.
ALTON: Chefs, you have 60 seconds remaining
to have your plates complete.
This little lobster roll --
Little, little, tiny lobster roll can go ahead
and taste like the bottom of the ocean.
From what I know, lobster rolls are supposed to be overflowing
with this huge abundance of lobster.
Yeah, I didn't have that.
CHEF FRANKIE: Panini bread made in 30 minutes.
It's a stretch.
Putting the finishing touches on my slaw,
I seasoned as best I could.
It's not gonna be your perfect lobster roll.
But you know what they say --
When life hands you lemons, buy more ***.
Lori, you okay?
You got a -- a little flustered, maybe?
CHEF LORI: I'm trying to get all this stuff on the plate,
and my bread looks good.
It's nice and toasted. It's buttery.
I just didn't have a side.
I have nothing.
There's nothing on shelves behind me.
What am I supposed to do?
Yeah. Cut up radishes.
That's what happens
when you forget to pull stuff for your side.
Is that airplane food?
Go on, talk it up, boo. Talk it up.
ALTON: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Put it down and back away. The challenge is over.
Congratulations. Everyone survived.
I'm beaten, I'm bloody, I'm tired, but it's judgment day.
Yes.
Thanks.
Okay.
With a side.
Chef Frankie, could you please tell Chef Lofaso
what she's got here?
CHEF FRANKIE: I have a Baja-style grilled lobster
and roasted bell pepper panini sandwich,
and a jicama lobster slaw.
CHEF LORI: When Chef Antonia takes a bite
and she makes that face,
I'm thinking, "I have this in the bag."
CHEF LOFASO: So, I do think the lobster is well cooked.
I think the texture on the lobster is great.
I don't think it's seasoned, unfortunately.
I'm not tasting that sense of ocean to the lobster.
I'm a little confused on the choice of this bread
rather than, like, the traditional roll.
Unfortunately, it seems very kind of dry.
So, Chef Antonia's comments are that my bread is dry.
Yeah. My bread's dry.
The texture wasn't there. The glutens didn't bind.
It wasn't a bread you would expect on a lobster roll.
Chef Lori, please tell Chef Lofaso
about your lobster roll and side.
Okay, what we have here is a petite lobster roll.
On the side, I have a radish and cilantro salad.
Not quite sure why we're going petite.
When I think of lobster roll,
I think of kind of a bounty of.
I definitely love the bread on this.
It's really well toasted.
It's got this kind of nice, buttery sense to it
that I kind of always love in a lobster roll.
It's just a lot of bread to lobster.
Beautiful colors, though. I love, like, the radish
and, you know, the green and the red.
I don't know if I would call this a side, though.
This seems like more of a garnish to me.
All in all, though, I think
it's too much bread to lobster.
CHEF FRANKIE: Where's the lobster?
Lobster roll is about lobster.
This will probably save my butt.
Thank you, Chef Lofaso.
So, now you've got a bit of a job.
You're going to now be determining
who walks out of here with their cash
and who will have to put their money back into this case.
Who's it gonna be?
[ Sighs ]
I think really in the end, it came down to feeling like
this is, you know, a lobster roll
that I want to sink my teeth into.
The one that did not do that for me...
...would have to be Chef Lori.
Okay.
Chef Lori, terribly sorry, ma'am,
but I'm going to need that $6,700.
Thank you very much, ma'am.
It was a pleasure having you on.
Thanks for being here.
CHEF LORI: I just let a huge chunk of money
slip through my fingers.
I don't know what else I could have done.
Oh, yeah. I could have picked up the stupid lobster.
So, to the victor go the spoils.
I've never seen anybody deserve it quite as much as you.
Why don't you grab that and give it a feel?
That is your money.
I just won "Cutthroat Kitchen"!
You know, sometimes you look back on life and you go,
you know, "I would have changed this, I would have changed that,
I would have changed something else."
But you know what? Nah. I partied like a rock star.
Yeah!
ALTON: Hungry for more "Cutthroat Kitchen"? Go to...