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BURRELL: In today's competitive culinary world,
top restaurants need the best of the best to run their kitchens,
so they turn to me.
I'm Anne Burrell...
and this is "Chef Wanted."
It's like an overwhelming salty flavor.
Put these in the garbage. [bleep]
You are miles away from being done.
I did a little bit too much than I should have.
ERROL: I am going to use liquid nitrogen.
Nice.
If your fish is not cooked, you will be hammered for it.
I don't think we need a long deliberation.
BURRELL: This week,
I'm at Café Sevilla in Long Beach, California.
For nearly 30 years,
this tapas restaurant has been providing
authentic Spanish cuisine
at its three Southern California locations.
With business expanding,
C.E.O. Eric Van den Haute and manager Miguel Baeza
are searching for an executive chef
who will continue the tradition of Spanish small plates
and oversee all three Café Sevilla kitchens.
VAN DEN HAUTE: An executive chef supervising three locations,
it's a new dimension for us.
There is a lot at stake here.
It's $18 million worth of revenue.
For the right candidate,
this small-plate restaurant can be a huge opportunity.
Hi, there. How are you?
Hello, Anne. Nice meeting you.
This place is beautiful.
I know that you guys started this restaurant 25 years ago.
We started late '80s, small place in San Diego,
just about six to eight tables.
Now we have three locations.
They all seat about 200.
These are big operations.
Big operation.
We really need someone that has a focus on this kitchen
but really overseeing all three.
I've brought you four extremely qualified chefs.
Are you guys ready to meet them?
We sure are.
Let's meet them.
First up, we have Chef Jesse from Las Vegas, Nevada.
I was born in New Mexico, grew up in El Paso, Texas.
I am not a world-traveled chef.
My name is Jesse Moreno. I'm an executive chef.
My wife, Carmen, she's my best friend,
and we have two beautiful boys, a 6-year-old and a 5-month-old.
They're my rock.
I want to be the best father in the world
and the best chef.
Running the Café Sevilla operation
would be the highlight of my career.
I'll do anything to get this job.
Hello.
Next, we have Chef Jaysen from Aspen, Colorado.
In my 20s, I had the opportunity to go to Spain
and open up a restaurant
and had this epiphany
that I wanted to become a professional chef.
My name's Jaysen Elrod.
I am currently not working.
I really have to focus on trying to get the job.
Given the opportunity to be executive chef at Café Sevilla
would be very helpful financially
and get me back to cooking Spanish cuisine.
We have Matt from Essex, England.
I currently work for Gordon Ramsay.
I run his kitchen,
so he expects me to run a tight ship.
My name is Mathew Woolf.
We didn't have a lot growing up.
It was hard, so I was always driven to succeed.
I was determined to have more
than what I had when I was growing up.
I have a girlfriend. Her name's Yasmine.
We've been together nearly two years.
Yasmine is one of the most important people in my life.
I want to give my girlfriend everything I can in life.
I'm ready to take on more than one restaurant.
I'm ready for more responsibility.
And finally, Chef Errol from Pasadena, California.
I never crack under pressure.
The harder it gets, the better I do.
My name is Errol Leblanc,
and I'm executive chef of a catering business.
In 2006, I opened my first restaurant.
Put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it.
And then the economy crashed and burned.
There was no way I could afford to stay open.
The first few weeks after we were closed, my son was born,
and I'm sitting there with no restaurant, no job.
It was traumatizing.
I had to fall back on my catering experience,
which isn't my true passion,
but I had to do what I had to do to survive.
If I got this job,
it would mean not just a better life for myself
but a better life for my son.
How are you doing?
Chefs, we have designed a pair of really tough tests.
After each one of these tests, one of you will be sent home,
and the remaining two chefs
will get to each run a dinner service
here at Café Sevilla.
The first test we have designed
is to come up with a tapa platter
of three different ingredients.
In the back, we have a pantry,
which is filled with delicious ingredients from Spain.
Feel free to use all of those and show us what you can do.
BURRELL: At the end of this test,
only three of you will continue on,
and for one of you, the job interview will be over.
You have 60 minutes, and your time starts now!
[Bleep]
My whole goal in life has been to take care of my son.
The "I.L.B." stands for "I love Brayden," my little boy,
and he's definitely my inspiration.
For our first test, the three tapas I'm making
are a kumamoto oyster on the half shell,
a deep-fried squid,
and a quick-cured ahi tuna
with sherry vinaigrette.
My strategy for my dish is elegant simplicity.
I'm here today because of my family,
and raising my two boys -- I want them to be happy.
So, what I'm making for the first test is a charred octopus
with potatoes and chorizo,
stuffed piquillos with crab and sofrito
and endives, oranges,
and shaved walnuts with goat cheese.
BURRELL: Jesse used to work for José Andrés,
so I really have high expectations for this guy.
This isn't something that's particularly Spanish,
and it's certainly not something that a chef should make.
Have you thought of maybe like a different Spanish goat cheese,
or maybe even Cabrales would be great or a Spanish blue?
Possibly.
Oh. Oh.
I stand by the dish.
Everyone has their own opinion
of what they perceive as good food or not.
My food is good.
It's tough sometimes, living away from my family,
but, you know, I want to give my girlfriend
everything I can in life.
That's why I'm working hard.
So, you have sardines going on.
Yeah, I've already cleaned my sardines.
The three tapas I'm doing is a sardines on toast,
a mussel escabeche, and halibut ceviche.
Is your halibut in the acid already?
No, it's gonna be a very light, quick marinade.
Ceviche is about curing fish in acid.
He is not super-versed in the Spanish kitchen,
so I'm hoping that he will really embrace
the Spanishness of what Café Sevilla is.
They're not looking for an English guy to come in
and put your English twist on the Spanish kitchen, okay?
So, show us that you can really branch out
to Spanish food, okay?
I will.
Coming into this job interview,
I don't have the most Spanish knowledge.
But I think I have enough to give it what it takes.
I promise if your fish is not cooked all the way
by that acid, you will be hammered for it.
JAYSEN: I had the opportunity to go to Spain
and help a friend open up a restaurant
and really fell in love
and had this epiphany that this is what I wanted to do.
When the opportunity came
for Café Sevilla as an executive chef,
it was really exciting
because I did feel like I could get back to my roots.
BURRELL: Hi, what do you got going on here?
Chef, I've got some quail.
I'm gonna do a little pan sear with the breast.
I've got some seared scallops I'm gonna use,
and I'm gonna do some grilled lamb.
You have a very ambitious menu.
I just want to see you get it all done.
I think that Jay is trying to do an overreaching trio of tapas,
so I really hope he knows what he's doing.
25 minutes, chefs!
This test is about your creativity.
Do you think fried calamari is it?
You know what? You're probably right.
ERROL: Chef Anne thinks I should start over from scratch.
It's a little nerve-wracking.
17 minutes left!
I did a little bit too much than I should have.
Not being a chef at Café Sevilla would be very disappointing.
BURRELL: Did you just bite that potato
and then let it drop out of your mouth into there?
You just did, didn't ya?
Throw those away.
I am very, very nervous for you.
Tasting the potato and just a piece falls down.
I feel frustrated, but I have to start over.
It's absolutely gonna set me back time-wise,
but I'm gonna do the best I can to make sure I get out of it.
Come on, you are, like, miles away from being done!
BURRELL: Four chefs are competing for an executive-chef position
at Café Sevilla.
They're in the middle of their first test,
creating a tapas platter.
Did you just bite that potato
and then let it drop out of your mouth?
Throw those away.
I am very, very nervous for you.
JESSE: Those potatoes were cooking
since the start of the test.
I had to put some potatoes on there,
so I had to start again.
What did you do to refire some potatoes?
I put some more chorizo on the stove.
I sliced some potatoes really thin.
Make them nice and crispy and delicious. You can do it.
You still don't have these guys in acid?
It's already been in acid.
I am telling you right now, if that is not ceviched enough,
you will be hearing it from me, I promise you, okay?
If the fish doesn't cure enough,
it might not be quite seen as a ceviche,
but hopefully this will be cooked enough
by the time it gets to them.
That could send you home.
I'm just giving you that heads-up.
His tapas are not real, true Spanish tapas.
That's not good enough.
That's not gonna get him this job.
All right, chefs, five minutes left.
ERROL: I took your advice.
I'm gonna do like a nice little Spanish chorizo,
and when I'm done with it,
it's gonna have a nice little toasted garlic in it.
One minute.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
That's it. Hands up.
MATT: Hopefully the flavor comes through
so we can show Anne that I do know a little bit of Spanish.
BURRELL: All right, Chef Errol, you're up.
What I did for you was a quick-cured smoked paprika tuna,
a trio of kumamoto oysters with a red onion mojo,
and a chorizo sauté with a squid and a touch of fresh herbs.
I like the presentation.
I would really love to see the flavors
coming together a lot more.
I think it's missing salt.
I believe this is a giant step up
from making a fried-calamari dish.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
Chef Jaysen, come on over, please.
The three tapas that I've made for you this afternoon --
grilled lamb chops, a saffron aioli,
I've got seared sea scallops, and crispy prosciutto,
and I've got some roasted quail
with a little bit of lavender honey.
The scallops are not seared enough,
but they're overcooked.
I would've loved to see a much better presentation.
I think that this could've been planned a little bit better,
and I have very high expectations from you...
Yes, Chef.
...because you have spent time in Spain.
Thank you.
All right, Jesse, come on in.
Hi, there.
Hello.
The three tapas I made for you
would be octopus with potatoes and chorizo,
endive goat cheese in oranges with shaved walnuts,
stuffed piquillo peppers with fresh crab
and shaved Manchego on top.
Where's the papas?
On top. The original papas I threw away.
Why?
I did a bite to make sure I taste my food,
and a little piece dropped.
Out of your mouth into the pan.
I got caught slipping.
In term of the goat cheese, sorry, guy.
Just no flavors there whatsoever.
I did recommend that you use, like, some Cabrales.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right, Chef Matt, come on in.
The three tapas I've made for you,
we start with the halibut ceviche with avocado puree,
mussels escabeche,
and then sardines on toast with a tomato sauce.
So, I want you guys to taste the ceviche
and tell me what you think about it.
It's very fishy -- small. Sushi-like.
I warned you about this during the cooking time.
Overall, I think your tapas looks nice.
It's just not very Spanish.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Matt.
Chefs, come on in, please.
MATT: I have worked so hard to get here.
There's a chance I might not move on
because of the Spanish flavors.
I don't want to go home.
Definitely good things and bad things about all of you.
But one of you has to go home.
And I'm sorry,
but the chef's interview that ends now is...
...Chef Jaysen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I think that Jay tried to do an overreaching trio of tapas,
and things just did not work out for him.
JAYSEN: I'm disappointed.
It would've been a life-changing opportunity for me.
At the end of the day, I think I just tried to execute too much,
and I just didn't have it today.
Test number one is finished, and our ranks are closing.
After test number two,
only two of you will continue on, and for one of you,
the job interview will be over.
JESSE: I really thought I was the one that could be home first.
I feel very relieved that I've made it to test two.
For test number two,
reinvent one of Café Sevilla's original menu dishes.
Choose one of our original menu dishes --
the gazpacho, the stuffed squid, and the patatas bravas,
the potatoes with the spicy tomato sauce.
And please show us a contemporary take
in one of those dishes.
BURRELL: You have 45 minutes,
and your time starts right now!
JESSE: I'm a poor kid from Mexico.
I have not been to Spain.
I am not a world-travelled chef,
but I can *** with the best of them.
Hi, what are you making?
A lot of potato products.
Patatas bravas.
Due to the challenge that I had
in the first test with potatoes,
I'm gonna go for it again.
Patatas bravas is a classic Spanish dish.
I want to modernize it by doing it two ways --
do a fried chip and do the classic.
Who are these guys?
Those are my boys, Gio and Vinnie.
All right. Is this why you're here?
It's the only reason I'm living for.
My wife and my boys, they're my rock.
They're...they're...
Hold on. I'm gonna choke up.
So, just keep in mind --
Look at these faces and realize why you're here
and put that in your food.
Yes, Chef.
MATT: Going into test two,
my strategy is to bring more Spanish into the dish.
It's important for me now to get to dinner service.
If I get the job, this means so much to me and my girlfriend.
One day we're gonna get married, so I have to win.
This is gonna be very more Spanish, very classical.
I'm making stuffed squid with chorizo and a pepper puree.
My contemporary twist on it is chorizo popcorn.
You had a problem with the last test
with Spanish ingredients, and you barely stayed here.
Chef Anne knows what she's talking about,
but I had a little trouble figuring what to prepare
to make it more Spanish.
I'm searching around the kitchen
for Manchego, bread, and some almonds.
But hopefully this will be a step in the right direction.
This is basically being handed my dream
over the past few years.
That's how bad I want these three restaurants right now.
Ever since my restaurant closed,
I've been diligently looking for my next opportunity
to work in a restaurant again, especially one that I love.
When my restaurant closed,
it was one of the worst days of my life.
There was nothing to be had after that,
so this right now would be amazing.
BURRELL: What are you making?
A messy, messy board routine, huh?
I'm doing a somewhat avant-garde version of gazpacho.
Instead of serving the gazpacho in standard liquid form,
I'm actually turning it into a sorbet.
I am going to use liquid nitrogen.
Nice.
That guarantees me a perfect sorbet in 30 seconds.
Now, remember, you did very well in the first test,
but you had some seasoning-tweaking issues.
So before you freeze anything, make sure you taste it,
and remember that when food is frozen and cold,
it tastes less.
Absolutely.
All right?
I really like what Errol's got going on here.
His board, though, leaves a lot to be desired.
He needs to work a lot cleaner than this.
20 minutes left!
Jesse, how's it going?
Going well, Chef. I got some tomato juice.
I'm blanching a little bit of the potatoes to get crispy.
And you just put potatoes on now for patatas bravas?
When there's 20 minutes remaining,
Jesse starts cooking his potatoes.
Not a good idea.
Why wouldn't you do that first?
Um...
It is a huge mistake.
You're making me very nervous right now.
Hello?
You just put potatoes on now for patatas bravas?
No, the potatoes are right here, Chef.
I know, but I just saw you
filling up a pot of water and put them on like a second ago.
When there's 20 minutes remaining,
Jesse starts cooking his potatoes.
Not a good idea.
Why wouldn't you do that first?
You're making me very nervous right now.
JESSE: This made me realize
that I'm not getting the potatoes on in time.
I'll just do chips as a backup plan.
Technically, for frying chips, Yukon would be the best choice,
but I chose red potatoes because they're small.
It'll be easier for me to slice them.
All right, two minutes!
Are you gonna cut your calamari? Think about eating it.
Can you eat this with a knife in that bowl?
MATT: Anne's a little concerned about my plating style,
but I can't change it, not now, so I'm kind of worried.
How are those potatoes? They're not done yet?
They're not out? You have 45 seconds, dude!
Man, you're killing me!
JESSE: She's doing the countdown.
They're still crisping up.
I'm gonna make sure these chips are perfect
because they better be a damn good chip.
BURRELL: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
That's it. Hands up. You're done.
MATT: I'm pleased with my dish,
but I hope I did enough to show the owners
I can definitely run a Spanish restaurant.
JESSE: When I was plating, I tasted a chip,
and it's a good chip.
But looking at Chef Matt
and Chef Errol made me question myself.
I just put chips up.
BURRELL: Come on in, please.
Errol, why don't you come up first?
What I've prepared for you today
is a modernized version of gazpacho.
Instead of serving your standard soup,
I actually used liquid nitrogen to solidify it.
Your gazpacho is really...
...flavorful.
You definitely tasted it
before you froze it.
I think this is a very modern version of that.
Thank you.
Very impressive on presentation.
I love the idea of a frozen gazpacho.
It's outstanding.
Your cutting board
was a disaster zone,
and that is unacceptable,
especially if you are going to be in charge
of three restaurants -- you lead by example.
I will, definitely. Thank you.
Chef Matt, you're up next.
So, for my dish, I did a stuffed squid
with chorizo and potato and a chorizo popcorn.
Oh, it's pretty good.
This dish seems like you embraced your Spanish side.
I did. I learned my lesson.
The presentation is pretty,
but cutting things in a bowl
always is sort of one of my pet peeves.
All right, Jesse, come on up.
What I prepared for you today was papas bravas
with some garlic aioli and spiced tomato sauce.
I love the idea of patatas bravas chips.
The thing is, these are not the correct potatoes
for potato chips.
Unfortunately, here,
I see nothing close to patatas bravas.
My potatoes weren't coming up in time, but --
Yes, 'cause you didn't get them on
until there was only 20 minutes left.
I don't think we need a long deliberation.
I think this is the end of your interview process.
Okay.
VAN DEN HAUTE: We were very disappointed
because, to us, he was one of the very strong contenders,
and we were about to cry when we'd seen chips and salsa.
BURRELL: I think that you're a very talented cook.
I think that you had a bad day.
The potato got you today.
So tomorrow you go get it.
Thank you. Thank you for the chance.
JESSE: I had a bad day.
I played it too simple, too safe,
and it wasn't good enough.
But I'm gonna keep pushing.
My boys, they're gonna be proud of me either way.
BURRELL: All right, chefs, congratulations.
You have made it to the toughest part
of this job interview process, the dinner service.
At the end of both of these dinner services,
one of you will be the new executive chef of Café Sevilla.
Matt, you will be cooking tomorrow night,
and, Errol, you'll be cooking the following night.
VAN DEN HAUTE: Matt, you might want to hit the library tonight
because what we want to see over the next couple of days
got to be Spanish.
You don't have to worry.
I wish you guys both
the very best of luck.
Go be Spanish and go write your menu.
Going into the service, I have a lot to prove
because this means so much to me and my girlfriend.
She believes in what I do,
and one day we're gonna get married,
so I really want to give her everything in life,
and getting this job at Café Sevilla
would be a step in the right direction.
That can go on the hot line there, please.
I'm feeling a little bit apprehensive
about my knowledge in Spanish cuisine,
so I'm relying on my personal experience eating the food
and having been to Spain
to help me get through this dinner service.
Salt cod's a little salty,
but just gonna try to balance it out.
Salt cod is a very risky dish.
If enough salt is not extracted from it,
it's gonna be a dish killer.
Hi, there, Matt.
Good evening, everyone.
Staff, this is Chef Mathew Woolf.
He is going to be explaining
what he's serving tonight for the dinner.
So, my first tapa is a green grape and almond gazpacho.
Creamy texture.
You might consider freezing the grape.
Next, we have braised pork cheek with chorizo and paprika.
Perfect. I love it.
We have a salt cod with piquillo pepper.
Salty.
Okay.
So salty that it really overpowers the whole piquillo.
Removing the salt from the cod, I just didn't have enough time.
But I don't want to change the dish,
so I'll try to make it happen.
Next, we have a paella negra.
So we have mussels, clams, and then bass seared on top.
You used saffron
and then you went and mixed the squid ink?
I made a stock of clam juice and squid ink.
We don't use saffron in our paella.
And then we have the saffron and olive oil ice cream
with a chocolate mousse.
It's interesting. I love your ice cream.
Thank you for the opportunity today.
Hopefully I can get this job and be a part of your team.
Thank you. Have a great service.
[ Spanish music plays ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
We do have a special menu today.
We have a few tapas prepared by Chef Mathew Woolf.
You order as you wish.
WOMAN: Really?
Absolutely.
The menu looks great.
Okay, guys, this job means a lot to me.
This is it. We're all in this together. Let's get it done.
Hopefully you guys can help me get the job.
All right, Chef.
All garnish over here, yeah?
Don't need to worry about that, okay?
I'm ready to make this big move,
and this is the next step for me.
Hopefully I can get it.
Let's do this. Let's have a good service.
I'll have the green grape gazpacho.
I've never had salt cod. Let's try that.
WOMAN: Very good.
And the braised pork cheek.
Be right back. Enjoy the dinner with us.
MATT: We need salt at this station.
[ Printer whirring ]
All right, first order in, guys.
One potato, one ham and egg, one pork cheek, one paella!
Yes, Chef!
You got three paella all day.
Three ham and egg all day, one papa!
Tickets start rolling in, and it's pretty intense.
Guys, we need papas.
Five gazpacho, two papas!
Thank you.
Tapas kitchen, you have a lot more dishes
going at a much faster pace, but I can do this.
Chef, I got eight short ribs right here ready to go.
Let's go. Put them up, put them up, put them up.
When the food starts going out,
I don't think anyone can take me down.
Are we going too fast? Do you need me to slow down?
[ Printer whirring ]
But then a lot more tickets start rolling in.
One more gazpacho!
One ham-egg, one pork cheek, one paella, one short ribs!
We're busy, but I have confidence
that it should be okay.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
And the vegetarian paella.
Modified veggie for you.
Chef Matt? I have a paella special request for a table --
vegetarian.
Not a problem.
Thank you.
When the special veggie paella order comes in,
things are really busy,
so I delegate the dish to one of the staff.
I think I've shown him my style a little bit,
so he should be able to put a nice veggie paella together.
That's the veggie, okay?
Veggie paella.
Thank you.
All right, peppers coming, please.
MAN: I got two right here, Chef.
All right, guys, keep going, keep going, yeah?
BURRELL: What's going on?
The peppers are a little salty.
The piquillo peppers are a little salty?
A little bit oversalted.
Just a little too salty.
BURRELL: So sorry about this.
Chef!
Yes, ma'am.
These are still salty.
We addressed this in pre-shift. Put these in the garbage.
It's embarrassing to have anything
come back to the kitchen.
I was hoping that we did enough
to the salt cod that it wouldn't happen.
But obviously it was a little bit too much for some people.
Hi, folks. How is everything?
It's like an overwhelming saffron-salty flavor.
All right, let's do take two, all right?
I'm sure it's gonna be much better.
I have a vegetarian paella coming back.
Across the board,
we have had complaints of oversalted food tonight,
and that's just not okay.
Piquillo peppers, everything.
You got to tone it down, all right?
But I need another one of these on the fly.
You can do a better version of veggie paella.
MATT: I'm really stressed.
This is not the best example of the way I do things.
Watch the salt, guys, everywhere.
I think this really stems back to Matt
just not having a really firm grip on Spanish cookery.
What's going on?
These guys work in a Spanish restaurant.
They know how to cook.
The only new thing here is you.
So, how is this happening so many times?
I'm working on it.
Aren't you the chef? Do you want to be the chef?
Of course I do.
Are you the chef?
Of course.
Then own it!
BURRELL: Chef Mathew is mid-dinner service at Café Sevilla.
A successful night could mean the job of a lifetime.
Are you the chef?
Of course.
Then own it!
I am owning it.
BURRELL: Piquillo peppers start coming back,
and then a vegetarian paella starts coming back.
They were inedibly salty.
Look at me. Let's focus on what we do.
Let's put the last plates out right, and we're good.
MATT: Guys, we need to turn this around.
Stick with me, stay together. Come on!
I've sacrificed too much for my career
and I've given up too much in my personal life
to go down on some salty dishes.
I can't lose this job opportunity.
To start putting things on the right track,
I remade the veggie paella myself.
Still seasoned but not salty.
Vegetarian redo.
Take two. Look at that.
It tastes a lot better.
Yay! All right.
Way less salt in it,
and the veggies are really fresh.
Chef, the vegetarian paella lady loved it.
Very good.
I start refrying the new dishes,
and I'm paying attention to every little detail.
Got to cook them all.
Tell me the table, please.
I need five [speaks indistinctly] right now.
Yeah, it's coming right now.
I added more sauce to the dish
to try to take away some of the saltiness from the salt cod.
How are your peppers?
Very good.
Peppers are great.
BURRELL: He reworked the piquillo peppers with tomato sauce,
and they were really delicious. Hurray!
All right, let's go. Keep going. Keep going.
Things are turning around now. It's looking better.
We're getting past the mistakes,
and right now we're starting
to dig ourselves out of the trenches.
Give me a paella and a short rib on the fly.
So I need three paella all day and two short rib, please.
A little parsley on top, a little salt,
just a touch of olive oil as well, please.
I need two more minutes
for seven short ribs right now, Chef.
No problem. No problem. Wrap it up.
I'm trying to hard to show the owners.
I want to put the best impression forward
so they believe I can take the job.
Almonds, chocolate, okay?
I moved to America
so I could have a successful career as a chef.
For this job opportunity, this is where I'm meant to be.
[ Laughs ]
The paella is delicious. It's very flavorful.
The short rib was absolutely excellent.
Mom and her friend are from Spain, so thumbs up, Chef.
This is it. Let's do it, guys. Last ticket!
It was tough, but I feel happy.
I hope I did enough to show the owners I deserve this.
Chef. Hoo-hoo!
You're done. You made it through.
And I would have to say, overall, pretty successful.
Congratulations. You did a good job.
Going into dinner service, I have a lot riding on this.
If I don't get this job,
it's gonna set me back on my goals for my son.
The chimichurri was well-seasoned?
Now we need to add more salt.
My strategy is to create authentic tapas dishes
that could be recognized
by somebody just off a plane from Spain.
We don't need to mound it up.
We're doing it almost carpaccio style.
It feels so good being back in a restaurant again.
Just the ability to start working with people
and delegating what needed to be done
just kind of like threw me back into the driver's seat
of being a restaurant chef.
He did a good job. Not gonna lie.
I want to prove to the owners
that I can run these restaurants without a hitch.
I want to do them proud.
Staff, I just want to introduce you to Chef Errol here.
He's interviewing for the position of executive chef
company-wide and here in Long Beach.
He's going to be introducing you
what he has thought through as far as the dinner tonight.
The first dish I brought for you guys
is a Valdeón and Marcona almond stuffed date.
What's next?
I did a boquerones, or a Spanish white anchovy,
broiled with a little bit of garlic olive oil.
For the next course, I did a pulpo asado,
a grilled and then chilled octopus.
For your next dish,
I did a head-on full jumbo Santa Barbara spotted prawn.
Why don't you take the heads off and deep-fry them?
That's a good idea. Okay. Fantastic.
The next dish is a Spanish albóndiga with onion,
a little bit of fennel.
The next dish I did for you is a three-bone roast lamb rack.
I did a patatas bravas variation
done with heirloom peewee potatoes.
Your understanding was six tapas.
You went with seven.
And I think that was just overreaching.
ERROL: My menu's a little ambitious,
but I want to prove to the owners that when I get the job,
they're gonna have somebody that knows what they're doing
with their ingredients and their menu.
I'm gonna make it happen for you.
I'm going to be watching that.
If your stuff can't get out
and can't get out to the table perfectly,
then you shouldn't have done extra.
Okay.
Okay?
Talk about your paellas.
What I did was a seafood paella
with Venus clams, head-on shrimp, and calamari.
What's this?
This is called my churro-mi-su.
It is a variation on a churro.
This is a dream of mine,
and I want to achieve it tonight.
I'm doing this for my son,
so this is a good way for me
to take care of him in his future.
Thank you very much, everybody.
You guys have no idea -- no idea --
how much this means to me.
Guys, you know, I came down here
and I left my son, and it's for him.
You know, no sacrifice, no victory, right?
Let's get her done.
What tapas can I get for you?
Can I please start with the stuffed dates?
So, I'm gonna get the pulpo asado.
Let's go with the lamb rack.
Patatas bravas and the steak.
What we're gonna do now is we're gonna leave the bacon
a little more tender instead of a crispy piece of bacon.
[ Printer whirring ]
Hey, guys, let's step up! We got our first ticket in!
We've got one date, please, down.
A pulpo, gambas, one paella verde, and albóndigas.
One patatas bravas walking in.
Another paella verde -- that's two paella verdes all day.
The tickets start coming in.
I just think to myself,
"I'm taking a pretty huge risk here,
loading myself up with seven tapas."
But I really want to impress Miguel and Eric.
We've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven dates.
Drop me seven dates on the fly, please!
My little boy's giving me all the motivation
that I need to keep moving.
How are the dates going?
Let's go, guys. Come on, keep pushing.
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
The pressure's really on.
I have a lot riding on this.
If I don't get this job,
it's gonna set me back on my goals
for my son and for my family.
I mean, I want to be able to take care of all them.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
The bacon on the dates, it was really limp.
It's supposed to be crispy.
WOMAN: Crispier bacon?
Sure, no problem.
We'll get you folks another order.
How is everything so far tonight?
Ooh, your bacon doesn't look done.
Can we take it back in and try take two on this?
Oh, sure. That would be great.
We're gonna bring you back some crispy bacon.
Okay, perfect. Thank you so much.
Chef!
Yes.
This is not okay. Like, really?
You got to make sure this is crispy bacon.
Guys, we have to redo this. Come on.
Chef!
Another order.
Another order!
This is not okay. Come on.
It was rough, just thinking about my little boy
and everything that I wanted to do
and knowing that I may have messed it up for myself.
Come on, guys, come on, guys!
Let's get this [bleep] done.
I need another set of dates, please! Oh [bleep]
I need these, like, on the [bleep] fly, dude.
BURRELL: Chef Errol has the reins of Café Sevilla's kitchen.
If he makes it through dinner service,
he just might become the restaurant's new executive chef.
Chef!
Another order.
Another order!
This is not okay. Come on.
During dinner service,
dishes start coming back left and right.
It just really hurts me to see when he's not doing this stuff
that he should be doing really well.
This is about the details, all right?
Just make sure that none of these details
fall through the cracks
because that's what's gonna lose it for you.
ERROL: My overambitiousness at this point,
I think, is messing me up here.
I'm terrified, knowing that I may have
messed it up for myself.
Guys, we're just gonna have to spend the extra few minutes,
okay, and let the dates go a little longer.
I have to fix this.
Less dates in a pan.
They won't flood themselves, okay?
Keep moving, guys, keep moving.
Errol, do we have any dates? I need dates right now.
How long do I have for an order of crispy dates, please?
Right there, right there.
Thank you very much.
Very good. Very good. Thank you.
We got it done.
I think we've got this problem solved.
But it's definitely a double-edged sword, you know?
You do it right, it takes time.
You do it wrong, you do it again,
and then it takes time.
Pulpo, gambas, lamb rack.
Lamb rack to sell -- I need one lamb rack,
one viejo to sell, please.
The tickets got backed up with seven tapas.
My menu's a little ambitious.
I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew.
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
VAN DEN HAUTE: On his own, he created more tapas than he should have,
and that backfired.
15, 16, 18 paellas all day.
I don't think I've ever seen 18 paellas on any board
in any restaurant I've ever been in.
It was terrifying.
Hey, folks. How's everything going?
Not so good.
My rice is a little bit undercooked.
Can I see if I can bring you back one that is correct?
Paella was very tasty but chilly.
Chef.
ERROL: Yes, Chef.
This is not paella. Come on.
That makes me really sad.
We had a lot of paella that just got wasted
because they were cold.
They tried to get ahead
by kind of starting paella ahead of time,
and all that they've done is made a bigger mess of things,
and a whole bunch of paellas just got put in the garbage.
All of those over there, they are not done.
The paellas were all over the board.
I mean, one paella would go out, another one would come back,
and it was like a paella mess.
What did I tell you earlier? This is about the details.
This is not correct.
ERROL: I got chewed out by Chef Anne
because I kept getting dishes back that were undercooked,
so she ripped me a new one for that.
Anne, here we are. We have -- they love the flavor.
Oh, my God. That's ice-cold.
This is like the fifth and sixth one that have come back.
Dude, come on!
Guys, all these paellas are ice-cold!
This is more than details.
This is not details. This is just big mistakes.
Come on!
I feel like my chances for getting this job
are slowly but surely becoming slimmer and slimmer.
I'm dying here.
This is not good.
BURRELL: All of those paellas over there,
I want you to ditch them and start over
and make me some hot paellas.
At this point, Anne says start over from scratch,
and that's when I thought I was really gonna be screwed.
This is one of the first times in my career
that I've felt like I might not finish.
Make sure the food's hot!
All I could think of is my little boy.
I mean, no dad wants to go home to tell their son,
"Yeah, I tried, but I didn't make it."
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
So we just had to push through it and start pumping out food.
Guys, stop and just relax --
one at a time, one at a time.
Don't rush it.
You guys are burying yourselves.
That's not the way to do it, okay?
Being an executive chef,
you're expected to have all the answers
to all the problems that happen in your restaurant.
Keep going. We're close. Come on, guys.
You're doing good. You're doing good.
That's a beautiful dish. Don't forget your parsley.
Let's go. Let's push, guys. We're almost there!
I'm trying to be as encouraging as I can to all the cooks.
You're doing good. You're doing good.
You guys have no idea how much I appreciate you guys.
That one little minute of encouragement
can mean the difference between success and failure.
You got me some potatoes in the oven?
You guys are freaking amazing.
I have to say, I kind of like how he's owning this.
Let's make them look nice.
Give them some height, some volume.
I don't want them getting cold again.
He's taking control of this and he's owning it.
It's a situation where everything is going crazy.
But you know what? He's keeping his head calm,
and he's being really nice with the guys.
VAN DEN HAUTE: During the service, he stayed composed,
and I think he tried to do what he could
to help the cooks in the line to deliver his menu.
Two very hot paellas, Chef.
Hello, ladies.
Hi.
Apologies. I heard that you got a cold paella.
Yes.
So we made this one special for you.
It's extra-hot.
Thank you so much.
Perfectly seasoned. I made it myself for you.
VAN DEN HAUTE: Chef Errol went back to the guests who got the cold paella,
apologized to them personally and without making any excuses.
I think that shows a sense of integrity.
I apologize for the cold.
Oh, that's okay.
Oh, my gosh, that looks beautiful!
Thank you.
This one is extremely hot.
I will be very careful.
Please enjoy.
Thank you so much. We appreciate you.
Thank you very much, ladies.
I had the prawns. They were amazing.
The anchovies were really good,
and I normally don't like anchovies.
I think I liked the octopus the best.
Isn't that good?
Mmm!
This is the last one!
Come on, let's go. Keep going. Let's get this.
Finish strong. Finish strong.
Thank you, guys.
I'm catching my breath.
I'm starting to feel a little better.
VAN DEN HAUTE: The service didn't go as well as we would've hoped,
but at the end of the day,
everyone very much liked his Spanish cuisine.
I just want to thank you guys again.
Like I said in the very beginning,
from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate you guys.
This means a whole lot to me.
I know it was a little bit rough.
We got through it.
We got it finished.
And most of all, we did it as a team,
so I appreciate you guys. Thanks so much.
I think both chefs have some pluses and some minuses.
But at the end of the day,
you guys have to do what's best for your business.
Absolutely.
What I feel about Matt is,
the guy knows how to put together flavors.
But I don't know if I necessarily believe
that Spanish cooking is his passion.
Errol, on the other side, embraces the cuisine
and wants to live it and breathe it.
He got overambitious with his menu for tonight.
I think, you know, he kind of shot himself
in the foot a little bit.
All right, well, we're going to need to pick one.
You guys think you know what you'd like to do?
Yes, we know where we're going.
Let's go tell them.
Let's go.
So, chefs, you guys have both made it to the end
of this job interview process,
and I'd like to congratulate you.
So, would you guys like to tell us what you've decided?
Chef Matt, we appreciate the way you came around
and became more Spanish as the experience went on.
There's only room for one executive chef
here at Café Sevilla.
The person whose job interview ends now is...
...Chef Matt.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
MATT: It was tough.
Some things could've been better,
but I'm walking away from this with my head held high.
I've worked really hard in my career to get where I am,
and I'm sure there's great things
on the horizon in the future.
Chef Errol, congratulations.
You're the new executive chef here at Café Sevilla.
Thank you so much.
You can smile.
Congratulations, Chef.
I'm just too happy.
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Laughs ]
ERROL: This is pretty cool.
It's an amazing feeling.
There's nothing that matches it.
I've never been in a real situation
where I could take care of not only myself but my son.
He doesn't know the impact that this will have on his life,
and it's gonna be awesome.
I'm really excited.
Now I can't stop smiling, see?
I was a little paralyzed out there.
[ Cheering continues ]
BURRELL: For updates and more, go to...
-- Captions by VITAC --
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