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Welcome to "Guy's Grocery Games."
Go!
On this show, the chefs are cooking and shopping
exactly the way you do -- with real foods
they're grabbing off the shelves of a real market.
MAN: Go, go, go.
This is getting out of control.
Four competitors will face off
Bring it!
Uh-huh.
Where are the cans?
What?!
Ohh!
Oh, no!
Three of them will be checking out with nothing.
You're killing me.
But the last chef standing
Yes!
We're talking up to 20,000 bucks!
Judges, I hope you're ready.
Fiesta or fiasco?
[ Groans ]
Aah!
Oh, my God.
Aah!
...and let the Grocery Games begin.
Strike!
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Four chefs are about to battle for supermarket supremacy.
Let's meet them.
First up, David Blonsky,
a restaurateur
and corporate chef in Chicago, Illinois.
I'm 33 years old.
I've opened three restaurants in the last five years.
Eventually, I'd love to kind of have a restaurant empire.
I really have a lot on my plate, no pun intended.
I'm enjoying more success
than most chefs twice my age have ever seen.
Food is life. That's my personality. That's who I am.
Then we have Lisa Vigil,
the owner of Estolia's Mexican Foods and mother of two.
I own a food-manufacturing company
in Aliso Viejo, California.
I manufacture healthy Mexican food.
I learned in the kitchen, old-fashioned,
the way before culinary school was even invented.
I cook down-home, good, comfort food
the only way I know how to do it,
which is the Lisa way.
Then we've got Jay Kean, the executive chef and owner
of Whisk, a pop-up restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts.
What's up, bro?
I'm Jay Kean.
I own my own successful joint in Boston called Whisk.
We take guys coming out of federal prison
who have become my students,
teaching them how to work in a restaurant.
To be in the kitchen all the time --
It's a better way to beat yourself up
than it is to go out and end up in prison.
I love when people underestimate me.
My style is small with big flavor
so I can really, really take people on a ride.
And to round things out, Justine Cowan,
a mom and line cook at Flores Restaurant
in Malibu, California.
Before I had my first son, I couldn't cook anything.
After cooking for my family, I realized that this was
something that I really loved,
and I've been professionally cooking
for about three years.
I realized that I had a passion for cooking,
and it fulfilled all of my wants and desires
out of a career.
Welcome, chefs.
Hey, you got to be thinking,
"It is strange to cook in a real-life supermarket."
Don't worry.
We have got some wild games in store for you,
chock full of surprises, unique little twists and turns.
Let's start with something simple and fun.
You buy that?
[ Chuckles ]
It's something my kids love at my house.
We're gonna talk about a taco-night feast.
Taco night. Yeah.
Now, I'm sure you have your own interpretation
of what a great taco night is.
Yeah.
You have 30-minutes to shop, prepare, and plate.
Let the taco-night feast begin! To your carts.
I come from a very big Mexican family.
Like, when we have parties, it's a fiesta for sure.
Big time.
I should be able to take this.
It's go big or go home. Taco-night feast.
And we're going in three...two...in one...go!
Whoo!
[ Chuckles ]
I head towards the tortillas. Searching, searching.
And I forgot to tell you guys.
This game's called "Out of Stock."
Tortilla. Why don't y'all have tortillas?
Buenos días, shoppers.
All of our taco shells and tortillas are out of stock.
Tricky, tricky, tricky.
Out of stock on tortillas?
I would never serve anything [chuckles] Mexican
without a tortilla.
Ohh!
DAVID: Tortillas are out of stock.
This is gonna be very tough.
Attention shoppers.
We're sorry to inform you
that all ground meat is out of stock.
Is this for real?
If something's out of stock, obviously, you have to adapt.
I headed to the shrimp because in two of my three restaurants,
we serve Asian shrimp tacos.
I happened to be running by
the little refrigerated Asian section.
Won tons -- what a perfect product to use
for my taco shell.
I headed off to grab some beer,
and I can make a killer beer-batter shrimp taco.
Boom.
JUSTINE: And then I hear lovely Guy tell us
that there are no tortillas.
Oh, okay. I can do it in a bowl.
My boys love taco night.
I always do some sort of a fish.
I grab the tilapia fish,
and I'm gonna do the salad style.
And I'm gonna put lots of veggies,
and I'm gonna serve it with tortilla chips,
chipotle beans, and bell peppers.
I don't like prepackaged salsa.
I'm elevating my dish with my own flavors.
I'm trying to stay true to who I am.
Out of stock? Eh.
When I run out of stuff at my restaurant, I change it.
I know I want to do a fish taco.
They're my favorite taco.
I grab tilapia because it's white fish.
It's got the texture I'm looking for.
Sometimes, I can get a little carried away
and put too much stuff together,
but I got watermelon,
the right vinegar 'cause I'm gonna pickle it.
I don't really do anything without shallots,
and make sure I got mayo and miso.
A taco with no tortilla is just something
that you can hold, folded, and eat.
Oh!
I saw the challah there. It was like a light bulb.
I don't like to think of tacos with rules.
Challah bread's just a really buttery, beautiful bread.
Back at the station, I just get going.
Oh, we're going!
Out of stock on tortillas? Oh! Okay.
New idea.
Let's do a bowl.
When I can't find something, I'll always find a substitute.
I decide I'm making Southern-fried-fish taco bowls.
Frying cod in cornmeal mixture.
Ah, yes!
I do Mexican food. That's what I do.
No matter when you come to my house,
one thing that I'm never out of stock on is Serranos.
That is like a staple.
I went and got my beans. I grab my cabbage for my slaw.
I grab my avi. It's time to get cooking.
[ Singsong voice ] Vamos a la playa!
I got so excited.
On taco night, your taste buds are gonna be
pushed to the limit,
but I don't have to do the judging.
It's left up to these cats.
Starting off, my brother from another mother,
give it up for "Iron Chef" winner
Guy.
The superstar, gorgeous, the wonderful host,
cookbook author, New York Times bestseller,
mother of four -- give it up --
[ Laughs ]
And then, finally, the man of numerous restaurants,
cookbooks, all-around classy guy --
give it up -- Chef Richard Blais.
And grocery-store enthusiast.
The out-of-stock element forces them to think on their feet.
We're seeing ingredients like watermelon.
I love that.
The first thing I need to prep is the watermelon,
and I need to start portioning it
for the pickling liquid.
All right. We're humming.
Watermelon juice goes in to get reducing,
and then I start cutting up shallots.
You know, I'm feeling anxious, and all of a sudden, boom!
Damn.
I hack right into my hand.
I run to the sink.
I'm like, "Wrap it up!"
Throw a glove on this. It's good.
Here we go, baby. Here we go. Shrimp taco.
In my three restaurants, we serve a lot of seafood.
I'm making this awesome, crispy, super-light beer batter
that's gonna coat my shrimp.
I incorporated the won ton skins as my taco shell.
Let's kind of stick with this Asian,
fiesta taco-night dish.
The first key aspect was to make sure
that the beer batter had time to sit in the refrigerator
and allow everything to kind of meld together.
I'm a talented chef, and I know what I'm doing.
Make it simple, and make it good.
Make it look pretty.
Here we go.
Fish taco bowl.
I'm just gonna give them a nice crunch
with the taco chips versus a taco shell.
I don't like to fry a lot of things,
so I'm putting tilapia in the pan.
I try to keep it healthy.
My roles at work --
I'm a line cook on the hot side, so I do proteins.
I love it when the restaurant's busy and packed.
It just makes me push myself harder and faster.
LISA: Oh, my God. I love fried-fish tacos.
They're like -- mmm. I love them.
I mean, this challenge has to be in her wheelhouse, right?
She's got to crush this.
I named my company Estolia's in homage of my grandmother,
who taught me how to cook when I was a little girl.
I started cooking when I was 7.
Cooking runs in our family.
My grandma was a wonderful cook.
Yeah.
I really don't love cooking healthy Mexican food.
Once in a while, you got to be naughty.
Whoo!
DAVID: I'm next to the this woman.
This is all she cooks is Mexican cuisine.
And I always kind of kept an eye on her
just to kind of see what she was doing.
Jay had just whacked his finger, and so I'm super focused
and really concentrating on not cutting
any of my fingertips off.
Did we lose Jay? He cut himself?
It ain't that bad. Come on! I got stuff on the burner.
Let's go!
I'm watching the clock go down. Boom, boom.
All I can think is, "I don't want to leave.
I got to get back there. I got to get this done."
I'm freaking out.
MELISSA: It's not looking good for Jay.
I'm concerned that he's not gonna be able to finish.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you want. That or you're out.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you want. That or you're out.
Yeah. Let's do it. Let's go!
Okay. He's gonna go Ronnie Lott on us, folks.
We're gonna tape him up.
Wrap that [bleep] in duct tape.
Let's do it.
The cut screwed me. I just get going.
My plans for this dish getting executed the way I had thought
are flying out the window.
Jay describes himself as being a tornado in the kitchen.
Tornados do damage. Yes.
I can cook fish quick.
Butter, baby!
I'm searing the bread.
It's nice and crispy, but you can still bend it.
GUY: What's up with the bread?
Well, I'm butter frying it.
A good Jewish boy.
And that's gonna be your taco-shell base?
Yeah.
I'm checking on the pickling liquid
and the watermelon.
It doesn't have the real pop that I'm looking for.
We just got to go with it.
Just go, go, go, go.
Jay, how you doing?
I'm partying.
Partying? Your hand's okay?
My hand's okay.
JUSTINE: They call me Mama Bear at my job
because I'm a mom at home.
I kind of bring that to work with me.
I got char, baby.
I really don't know these judges
as far as their level of heat is concerned.
I've got the chipotle in the beans,
so that will give a little bit of heat.
That $20,000 would really help me and my family.
DAVID: On the shrimp, the batter was perfect.
Here we go.
I'm super excited about it,
but how am I gonna make the won ton skins
in the shape of a tortilla?
Ah. Got to cut up the ring mold, and I forgot.
Won ton skins are square,
so I had to cut out round circles
to replicate a tortilla.
This is a perfect application in this challenge
to utilize that deep fryer.
Anything that comes out of there is usually gonna taste good.
I'm excited to see what David brings to us.
I have to allow the won ton to start frying up
before I actually make the shape of a taco shell.
I can't figure out how to make these shells work.
It's a complete disaster.
I'm screwed. I'm gonna go home.
I made guacamole 'cause I love guacamole.
I love it on anything and with everything.
I know I need starch.
I need arroz.
Normally, I make homemade rice.
I didn't have time, so I go and get packaged rice.
Brown rice.
My decision to go with packaged rice is
out of desperation.
I didn't know how to warm it up.
Ah, screw it. I have the water boiling.
Just throw the bag in there. Hope for the best.
Boil in bag, baby.
4 1/2 minutes. 4 1/2 minutes.
Clock's ticking -- tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
I don't want to give the judges cold packaged rice.
I'm trying to warm it up to no avail.
This is just not gonna work.
It's just gonna have to be what it's gonna be.
As I'm plating, I'm tasting again
just to verify everything is right where I want it to be.
This dish is the dish that I had in my head.
DAVID: Finally, I started getting these shells
to really come into shape.
There it is.
Incorporating some michelada cocktail
to be a great element to add to my taco-fiesta night.
Ah.
With less than a minute, I run to the freezer
and grab my michelada cocktail and form it into a drink.
RICHARD: David's busted out what looks like a martini glass.
Maybe we're gonna see some margaritas over there.
GUY: 30 seconds!
JAY: This is brutal.
My station is a tornado.
I know I can plate these in time,
but I don't think I'm gonna be happy with them.
[Bleep] cut, man.
I'm putting the miso mayo, swish, swish, swish, swish,
'cause the plate looked so awful to me.
That's it. You're done. You're going home.
GUY: Five...four...
three...two...one.
Stop working!
[ Cheers and applause ]
All right, chefs.
I'm done.
I was very happy with what I had done.
You know, I peak over,
and I see two people had made taco bowls.
I'm just personally not a big fan of that.
My dish is better.
We made that one, cuts and all.
Game 1, "Triple G," and we have a taco-fiesta night.
First up will be Chef Justine.
Justine, please describe to the judges
what they are to enjoy.
It's tilapia today.
I have three sons.
We don't do the tortillas.
We like to try to eat healthy.
I didn't use any of the Mexican seasoning.
It's kind of mixed-up zest, citruses,
cilantro, a little garlic.
This is something that I would cook for my kids.
The only problem I really have with the dish is
I don't feel like it's a taco. To me, taco --
Key thing is I got to pick it up with my hand.
Beautiful color.
I know there's gonna be some great textures going on.
This, unfortunately, is a dish that's under-seasoned.
Okay.
I'm a mom first, so I think about my boys' health
versus, "Oh, does it look like a taco?"
[ Chuckles ]
Next up, crash-and-burn himself, Chef Jay.
Like a good Jewish boy, I got a challah taco.
A pan-seared piece of fish.
I got miso aioli
and a little bit of pickled watermelon.
Get it with the watermelon.
Jay, there's something about you that I just adore.
To me, the buttery bread with that mellow miso
just has that undertone.
It worked beautifully.
Conceptually, I love this dish, man.
I'm struggling with the presentation of it.
You have the cube of watermelon,
little swoosh of the sauce over here,
which isn't really a perfect swoosh.
I'm feeling nervous, but someone once said to me,
"If you're nervous, it means you're living life."
I'm just hoping I don't get cut.
Next up, Chef Lisa. What do we have here?
We have Southern-fried-fish tacos.
When I make fish tacos, I don't like grilled fish.
I like fried fish.
It's a little spicy, so if spice is not your thing,
then we're gonna have an issue.
Wow. As someone who has restaurants in the South --
I don't have restaurants.
I have restaurants.
He's speaking for himself.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Someone had the tequila.
[ Chuckles ]
As someone who has restaurants in the South,
when you say, "deep-fried" and then you say "fish tacos,"
I get very excited.
I have a little problem with the rice.
The rice is undercooked.
I concur.
There is a good combination and balance of flavors,
but this being what you do, I want more from you.
Okay.
I think the judges were right on the money.
I would have said the same thing if I was judge.
Like, "What are you giving me?!"
And last but definitely not least, Chef David.
When I think of tacos, I think drinking, eating.
it gets messy.
You have a won-ton taco with some battered shrimp
served with a little michelada
with a little slice of ginger and a lime.
[ Crunching ]
Did you eat that whole thing in one bite?
I crushed it, bro. Awesome.
This is the power of possibilities.
It's colorful.
I definitely think your taco is better than your drink.
Thank you.
You served us a cocktail. That's a fiesta.
You can do that with every course, by the way.
[ Laughs ]
DAVID: This is what Guy had asked for,
and this is what I put on the plate.
Winning the $20,000 would be huge.
Chefs, thank you very much. Chef David, nice job.
Please retire to the kitchen.
Judges will deliberate. We'll call you back in.
JUSTINE: I'm extremely *** myself.
I strive to be the best at everything I can do.
I want that 20 grand pretty bad.
How you doing, Jay?
I'm in and out, Justine.
I wish it was longer time.
LISA: You have one chance and one chance only.
I want to win. I want to rock.
This was taco-night fiesta.
We were sold out of ground meat and of tortillas.
Unfortunately, one of you has to check out.
Judges have made their decision.
Chef Justine, you are checked out, unfortunately.
You're a proud mom.
I love the fact that what you delivered is
what you feed your family.
Thank you.
Even though I know my kids are gonna be like,
"Hey, yay! You did it!" and be supportive...
Thank you.
...I wish I had that 20 grand in my pocket.
I'm proud of what I put out there.
It's who I am, and that's the way we eat.
Well, congratulations, chefs.
You survived the first round of competition.
Here's a chance for one of you to really improve
your odds of winning the next challenge
Yeah.
Oh, God. I'm no good with trivia.
First chef to bring back the correct item
will earn a key advantage in the next game.
I love trivia.
In my family, they call me
a wealth of worthless information.
First clue -- It's name means "sweet root,"
since its flavored with a root said to be
50 times sweeter than sugar.
As soon as he says, "sweet root,"
I go straight to the agave section.
It's flavor is often confused with anise.
Everybody left.
JAY: Dave goes running off.
I run behind him.
I don't even know what I'm looking for.
I'm just hoping I can grab whatever he grabs
and make it back faster than he can.
It's only one item.
Oh.
I thought you were talking about, like,
what I need to make what you were talking about.
No.
JAY: What are we looking for?
I'm still walking around.
All of a sudden, clicks. Licorice.
Where's the licorice?
GUY: For the guy that didn't know anything,
sure rolls it out with the black licorice.
I'll just hold on to this for you.
Now, I would like you to make me something super all-American,
and that is a...sandwich.
And I don't care what kind of sandwich --
hot, cold, open-faced, vegetarian,
stacked, triple stacked, cold cuts, you name it.
I feel good about a sandwich.
Let's go to the carts.
But I know he's gonna come at us with some crazies.
Everybody, ready?
Three...two --
Oh, hell.
I'm actually concerned that you guys might just be
too good at making, like, a regular sandwich.
Yeah. I got an idea.
We'll have you guys
just get food from the frozen section.
Geez. Frozen foods -- ugh.
Oh, except didn't you win the, uh, culinary challenge?
Fantastic.
You get to shop for one item anywhere in the store.
"Frozen Food Feud" in three...two...one...go!
At my three restaurants, I serve lunch.
I have to have killer sandwiches on the menu.
I'm kind of assessing what's there.
I saw blueberry waffles I can use for my bun element.
And I'm trying to find a meat element
to add to my sandwich.
Let's see here.
All of a sudden, I see duck sitting right there.
It, like, shines in my face.
The meat has this wonderful texture.
I see this blueberry tart.
I can take the topping off and use the filling as a sauce.
After the first competition
where I really knocked it out of the park
and I incorporated a drink into the dish,
I really wanted to have another drink element.
Yeah. I'm always ballsy.
I have eight chefs underneath me and another 100 cooks.
That's just back of the house.
LISA: To utilize a whole meal with frozen foods only --
it's a little dificil. [ Chuckles ]
I run straight to waffles.
I want to make a chicken-and-waffle sandwich.
When I grabbed the chicken ***,
I had no option.
There was no chicken patties.
I had to bring that sweetness with the sandwich,
so I went straight for the berries.
JAY: I have a lot to prove.
I'm gonna show that I can execute an idea.
So, I'm thinking sliders.
All of a sudden,
I see those frozen breakfast sausage biscuits.
I can toss the sausage patty,
and then I got two little pieces of buttery biscuit.
Then I see duck.
I love doing duck with different kinds of fruit.
I want to use the peach as a sauce.
I see smoked salmon.
Does duck and smoked salmon go together?
I really don't know. I've never tried it.
I love working with no rules.
His shoes are untied, and his finger's glued on.
Interesting.
I'm curious to see.
I think warm, obviously, is the way to go.
Cheese, spice as opposed to, "Hey, I've got bread,
and this is what's in between it, and good luck."
DAVID: If I cut the waffles down and kind of gave it
more of a bun-like shape
and give it an element of sophisticated dish.
I wanted to have a sauce
that would go over the duck breast
and make it a sandwich.
I had to get the filling into a pan
and have that start reducing.
The natural tartness that they have --
that would really balance out richness from the duck breast.
Aaaaah!
I need to get my butt in gear.
Losing it.
I like fattening, greasy, grease-riddled food.
I'm gonna tell you right now.
I want to do something that I know how to do.
Chicken cooks all the way through in a fryer.
Fry it up.
Yep.
I am going to figure out a way to bread chicken
without egg, milk...
I'm concerned with flouring frozen chicken breast
and throwing it in the fryer.
I don't know how that's gonna turn out.
Trying to be resourceful.
JAY: [ Humming ]
As long as I'm not cutting myself,
I'm gonna have enough time to execute this.
It's all gonna be about the defrosting
and making the right textures.
This dish needs a pop.
What's my non-frozen ingredient?
Boom. Sriracha.
Sriracha it is.
A little dot goes a long way.
[ Ting! ]
[ Inhales sharply ]
MELISSA: I'm not all that thrilled
by Jay's choice of extra ingredients,
because he could have gotten heat in the frozen aisle.
It's an odd choice that you don't go
Right.
But is Jay not the poster boy
for what young cooks are all about?
14 minutes. 14 minutes to go.
Hey, Jay, buddy, how's that finger?
Yeah, bro.
LISA: Nobody cares how I'm doing with my finger?
I felt very unloved.
No, we love you big time.
I am the underdog.
I am up against these two monsters.
I want to win. I want to show everybody
that even though I'm not classically trained,
I can still kick some butt in the kitchen.
DAVID: You want more than just a sandwich on a plate.
I want a dish. I want a meal.
I really wanted to be able to offer
a very unique, out-of-the-box sandwich.
[ Sighs ] Make a little milkshake here.
What's not better than having, maybe a milkshake
with the sandwich?
The mochi was gonna be my dessert.
I can execute in the time allotted.
I'm not scatterbrained.
JAY: To be able to be in a kitchen
and have an entire grocery store behind you -- I loved it.
I need something else for these peaches.
I see grape concentrate, and I find strawberries.
I got in trouble when I was younger.
I got sent to jail for a little bit.
The program is the one thing that's gonna shift my energy
away from all the trouble I was so happy getting myself into.
If I get that 20 grand, it's for my students.
This is all for my students.
RICHARD: Is that the chicken right there?
A giant piece of fried chicken going on a plate?
LISA: If I serve my son a little piece of chicken,
I'm gonna be up four or five times
getting more chicken for him.
If I serve him a big portion at one time,
I can finish my meal before he's finished his.
Four minutes. Four minutes to go.
I do one last little swoosh for Richard Blais.
RICHARD: And we have Picasso over here.
I see one little disk of biscuit
and a little swoosh of sauce.
We just talked about this in the last round.
The smoked salmon is sitting on that cutting board.
I've never combined these two.
Smoke and salt mixed with sweet, and it's perfect.
I really want to win.
If I'm not gonna take the chance,
then why even show up?
Yeah, baby!
One minute.
DAVID: I was very happy with what I had done.
I want to pick up a sandwich. I want to eat my dessert.
I'm gonna wash it down with a cool caramel milkshake.
GUY: 15 seconds.
Oh, my God. No.
GUY: Five...four...three...
two...one.
Stop working.
[ Laughing ] What's up, man?
Aah! Nice.
You guys are waffling out.
Who wants to eat a duck sandwich with ice cream?
All right. Here we are -- Game 2, "Triple G."
It was a sandwich challenge.
They could go anywhere they wanted in the store
as long as it was in the frozen aisle.
[ Chuckles ]
So, let's start off with Chef David.
What do you have for the judges?
I made a seared-duck sandwich with blueberry compote.
I added a little bit of blueberry waffle
and a little bit of a dessert -- a little mochi ball.
And then I made a caramel milkshake
to wash it down.
The waffles are really tasty.
You played a smart choice, obviously, with the duck --
the richness.
I think it was a little safe for you,
seeing what you did earlier.
Yeah, the frozen section's interesting.
David, I think your cleverness kind of got the best of you.
You gave us three dishes. We only asked for one, though.
All right. I understood.
DAVID: I'm nervous.
I thought it was a clever manipulation
of a frozen-food section.
Next up, Chef Lisa.
I didn't know what I was doing,
so I just went along with whatever -- I floated.
When you floated, where did you land, butterfly?
I landed with a chicken-and-waffle sandwich,
some whipped cream.
I mixed some of the berries in the whipped cream
just in case you want to spread it like a sandwich.
I love the direction of chicken and waffles,
and I was excited to see you using the berries
in place of syrup.
I just feel like, visually,
Right.
When you do use a lobe of chicken this big,
half of my chicken on the right side is
a little bit too under, but the left side is cooked,
Okay.
My "A" game should have been there.
Oh, my God.
Thought I had it, and then, it's like, "Wrong."
It's like, "Ohh."
Last but not least, Chef Jay.
All right, so, I got mini biscuits,
little bit of duck breast.
I have a peach sauce on the bottom,
a little smoked salmon,
and there's the spread of that strawberry glaze
on the bottom.
Now, there is Sriracha hiding all over the place.
That was, like, something to make it pop a little.
Jay, you can't stop doing the swooshing
and the dripping of sauces on the plate, can you?
I can't help myself.
I think the smoked salmon and duck -- that's great.
We all thought you were crazy when you grabbed Sriracha,
but that kick really elevated this dish.
You get how to make a dish tasty and enjoyable
but also smart enough to be like,
"Wow. That's a pretty cool idea."
Now I'm getting goose bumps talking about it.
Thank you, Chef.
JAY: The judges keep saying to David, "Don't play it safe."
If I wanted to keep it safe, I wouldn't be in this industry.
Chefs, thank you very much.
Ask you to retire to the kitchen.
Call you back in a few minutes.
LISA: I'm just gonna have to hope for the best.
Mnh-mnh-mnh-mnh-mnh.
That was stressful.
That was tough.
Really stressful.
I thought I nailed it, you know, out of the park.
[ Laughs ]
GUY: Now here we are, Game 2,
sandwiches all out of the frozen-food aisle.
Unfortunately, one of you has to check out.
Thank you.
Lisa, what I really enjoyed --
I just love the fact that you just grabbed
a bunch of stuff, brought it back,
and started cooking and said, "I will put it together."
That's how I roll.
I got the boot. [ Chuckles ]
I have no ego.
I'm all about learning anything I can from anybody,
'cause it just improves me.
Trust me...
[ As Arnold Schwarzenegger ] I will be back.
If I've ever seen a battle royale, it's now.
Chef David versus Chef Jay.
I thought we would bust this wide open
with something everybody loves.
Yeah.
I want the best seafood dish that you can make.
Feel good about that?
I feel great about it, Guy.
Chefs, to your carts.
JAY: I love seafood.
I mean, I've used it one way or another in every round.
David's a little intimidating, but I'm really excited
to go head-to-head with this dude.
All right. This is for all the marbles, boys.
Best seafood dish you can deliver.
We're gonna go in three...two...on-- Oh.
You guys think I was gonna let you off that easy?
No chance.
I forgot to tell you this.
You must make your dish using "5 Items of Less."
DAVID: How am I gonna make a killer seafood dish
with only five items or less?
We're going in three...two...one...go!
Scallops. Scallops, scallops, scallops.
I've done seared scallops.
I've done scallops crudo.
Scallop crudo is just scallop served raw.
With such a limited amount of ingredients,
I need every ingredient to be strong.
I need lemon.
I need ginger.
I need shallots.
One, two, three, four.
I need a really nice sweet white vinegar.
I feel nervous. I think David's gonna kill it.
I'm not even paying attention to him.
I'm just hyper focused on what I'm doing.
"5 Items or Less" --
This is a perfect way to make a nice, clean seafood dish.
Let's make this killer udon with this kimchi beer broth
and some wonderful, fresh sautéed mussels.
Udon, udon, udon.
And I grab my udon noodles.
I see my kimchi.
I'm running off, and I grab my Asian beer.
I have one more ingredient left.
I race to the produce section.
Cilantro's gonna be the key ingredient
to really make this dish pop.
There's a special skill set how to cook seafood excellently.
MELISSA: Well, we've got sort of the classically-trained chef
against the tornado wildfire in the kitchen.
So, if I just sear the scallops, it's not gonna be enough.
If I just do a crudo, it's not gonna cut it, either,
so I'm gonna try to do scallop two ways --
scallop crudo, seared scallop.
Nobody's looking for easy street,
especially not me.
I want the crispy, caramelized sugar
on the seared scallop, and I'm making a vinaigrette,
and that's what the scallop crudo's
getting tossed in.
I"m using strong ingredients.
They're gonna make 5 seem like 10.
I'm feeling good about my knowledge
and my skills to execute.
Asian's a great, very simplistic style of cooking.
I want to make a really incredible broth
with my mussels.
Once the mussels open,
all that natural juice gets into the broth,
and that really makes the broth stand out.
This is supposed to be a super seafood challenge.
You make a bowl of mussels?
Yeah, it's a little pedestrian.
I'm gonna separate my stir-fried udon noodle
from my mussels in the beer-and-kimchi broth.
This is a smart move
for how my plate's gonna end up being the winning plate.
GUY: You know what?
The challenges are tough enough as it is,
so I like to come through with a little extra.
They've got their minds set on what they're going to do.
This could change everything.
Excuse me, chefs.
I'd like to offer you something special from me.
Two items.
Two items?
Guy's got a really nice rack.
I will say it's an eclectic one.
[ Laughs ]
DAVID: The only things that really popped out to me
were fresh garlic and ponzu sauce.
You know, the citrus, soy flavor is perfect.
JAY: I'm stoked. There was no thought process.
I saw pancetta. I saw saffron. Done.
Look at this with the saffron.
Gangster.
The second I see the saffron,
I know it's going right in my vinegar reduction.
All of a sudden, it's gonna be a beautiful color.
It's gonna add a really, really deep,
amazing flavor to it.
Yeah, man.
I just have to be really careful
not to overpower that vinegar with the saffron,
'cause if I do, I'm screwed.
MELISSA: Saffron really calls for restraint.
[ Chuckling ] I don't know that restraint is Jay's strong suit.
JAY: Davey, how you doing, baby?
Good, man. How you doing, buddy?
I'm a little lost in my own tornado here.
DAVID: Jay and I have two totally different looks at life.
I've matured.
Jay's at that age where he's rebel.
He's trying to find who he is.
Hooty-hoo!
It feels amazing to be competing against a chef
that I really respect, like David.
David is what I'm headed towards trying to be.
I don't know if I can beat him.
I'm sure as hell gonna try.
Chef David, Chef Jay, nine minutes.
Nine minutes!
DAVID: I'm playing for my father, who died four years ago.
The moment I went to culinary school,
my dad went and took some cooking classes
just so he understood what I was doing.
We'd go to nice dinners and have good wine.
That was our thing.
He'd be blown away at the amount of success that I've had
in such a short amount of time.
How long has Whisk been in business?
Two years, I've been doing pop-ups and training.
The $20,000 would be huge.
It's gonna let me pour
a little bit of money into the program,
taking guys out of federal prison,
teaching them how to work in a restaurant.
I'm 26.
Pretty experienced for that young.
4 1/2 minutes. 4 1/2 minutes.
JAY: The saffron reduction's a little too strong on the saffron.
[ Growls ]
I take my seared pancetta.
The pancetta isn't really working right
with the scallop crudo,
and I just dump a little bit of that saffron glaze,
rub it over the pancetta,
and go right onto the scallop crudo.
I'm just gonna throw a little saffron on the plate.
I'm really hoping the judges don't think
the saffron's overpowering.
Jay cannot resist the dripping and swooshing
and swirling of sauces.
GUY: One minute!
DAVID: When I make a final plate in my restaurant,
most of my dishes are composed final product.
And it's creamy, and it's succulent,
and it's sexy.
I sure hope that the judges like it this way.
GUY: 30 seconds.
[ Trills tongue ]
With the scallop two ways...
Bing!
...every bite, you have
that scallop melting in your mouth,
but this beautifully vinegary, bacon-y, saffron-y glaze is
kind of popping in your mouth with it, and it's awesome.
Four...three...two...one.
Chefs, stop working.
[ Cheers and applause ]
That was a show.
I'm feeling very good about my dish.
The mussels in the bowl with the broth,
and once the broth is left,
you can incorporate the noodles into the broth.
You know, it's a little playful,
and the judges are really gonna enjoy it.
[ Chuckles ]
All right. Here we are, Game 3, "Triple G."
Jay, please present to the judges.
This is Scallop Two Ways.
I got a pan-seared scallop, crispy ginger,
and the pickled saffron onions from my balsamic reduction.
On the other side, I got a scallop crudo.
I really think the cooked scallop going
with the raw are gonna dance.
First, I have to say I hate scallop crudo.
Just thought you should know.
I love this scallop crudo.
You're gonna get mad at me when I say this.
It probably could have used
a couple of more beautiful dots of the saffron.
[ Chuckles ]
This is extremely sophisticated.
I could have used a touch more citrus or a little acid,
but it was fantastic.
Thank you.
I've never done anything like this dish before.
I'm a little nervous.
David, as chef/competitor -- I look up to the guy.
Next up, Chef David.
You have kimchi-and-beer mussels,
and then you have some nice sautéed ponzu,
kind of stir-fry noodle dish.
I'm a big fan of mussels.
I love how you get to use the shell and pick the liquid.
I suggest slurping.
[ Slurps ]
I slurped. I slurped.
Is there a seafood element in the noodles?
No. There isn't.
The mussels themselves packs a ton of umami,
lots of flavor --
the type of dish that I'd like to eat every day.
I would have liked the mussels
to be in there with the noodles
and about four times the amount of broth.
But overall, an awesome dish.
It made me feel good.
Cool.
DAVID: When you create a dish,
it takes many trial and errors,
so what you may think works doesn't work or vice versa.
I think this is gonna be
a very difficult deliberation for the judges.
Please retire to the kitchen.
Thank you, guys.
Phew. What are we gonna do?
JAY: I want to win.
I want to show my students back home they're with the right guy.
Yeah, man.
You got to pick one over the other.
They're equal on the creativity. They both played the game.
"5 Items or Less" -- it didn't really leave me much
to work with, so...
Yeah. It was near impossible.
I want to win the competition.
I have a lot of great experience.
I should be able to beat a kid like Jay,
but I know he's got a ton of skill.
What a competition.
Both of you played the creativity to the "A" level,
and it really comes down to taste.
One of you is going to check out.
The other is going to have an opportunity
at a super shopping spree
with the chance to bag up to $20,000.
And the chef who will stay...
...will be Chef Jay.
I'm stoked that I won. It means the world to me.
Chef David, had the noodles been included in the dish
so the whole dish was about seafood,
there may not have been this outcome.
Thank you.
DAVID: I'm shocked. I can't believe I lost.
Chaotic won, and composed was a little too composed.
Next year, I'm opening another four restaurants,
so I got a lot going on.
Chef Jay, dude, you just won the competition!
Huh?
Yeah. I'm beside myself. I really am.
I love winning, and now I got a chance at winning 20 grand.
This is awesome.
In my hand, I have got a list of 10 items.
You have two minutes to find as many items as you can.
Each item you find, put in the basket,
will be worth $2,000.
Mm-hmm.
You grab all 10 items before your time is up,
you will win $20,000.
Go get that money.
That's a lot of coin.
I'm pretty confident that I cannot find
most of this stuff in two minutes.
Yeah, dude. All right.
Yep. I'm ready.
Okay.
We're going in three...two...one...go!
GUY: Okay. Vegetable oil.
We need a clear soda. A clear soda.
That's not a clear soda.
When I'm looking for something specific,
it's really hard for me.
It's hard for me to focus on finding something specific.
GUY: We had a little bit of a shaky start.
I run back across the store.
GUY: Two items.
JAY: Grab the thyme.
GUY: 4,000 bucks.
JAY: I move on. I know where the sour cream is.
GUY: 1:15!
So, I'm running back and forth like a ***.
GUY: Clear soda. There we go. 8,000 bucks.
Canned oysters. Whole-wheat flour.
42 seconds left. Come on.
He's back in the same area.
Dude, you better find this stuff.
Get the money and go home.
Come on. What are you doing?
GUY: Elbow pasta.
I got to do well so I can show the students,
who have become dear friends of mine,
that they're with the right guy, you know?
GUY: Elbow pasta right there. $10,000.
Canned oysters. Canned oysters.
Seven seconds.
Uh, oh, oh, uh.
Canned oysters?
In the cart, in the cart, in the cart!
Time!
The kid from Boston, he takes it for $12,000.
That's a good day's work.
The money goes to the students.
We'll see if we can get a better kitchen
to do some real training in.
You got a great energy and a great attitude,
and you do it for the right reasons.
Sharing this passion and connecting with people
and watching them grow into something that's amazing
is the only reason that I do this.