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TED: Born to cook?
These four teenagers are years ahead of their peers
in the kitchen.
Now, we watch in awe to see which one
of these culinary *** kids will win $10,000.
-- Captions by VITAC --
We kid you not.
Four talented teenagers think they have what it takes
to be the "Chopped" champion.
Let's meet them.
First up, 14-year-old Mikey Robins.
I'm a teen chef and a student from Philadelphia.
I've been cooking for probably 10 years.
I came out of the womb with a whisk and a spatula.
By day, I'm a freshman in high school, but by night,
I am the mini Martha Stewart.
It's classic Italian bruschetta with my own spin.
I transform into a cooking superstar.
Let's raise a glass.
My dream is to go to culinary school one day,
become a talk-show host, and open my own dinner theater.
Here's some more.
I'm coming to prove that teens can cook,
and I'm going to be the youngest teen "Chopped" champion.
[ Laughter ]
Next up, 17-year-old Molly Bhuiyan.
I'm a student and cook from New York City.
[ Laughs ]
My freshman year of high school,
my doctor told me that I was pre-diabetic
and I needed to start eating healthier.
This is a workout.
So I was like, "Let me learn how to cook."
ALL: Salud.
I've lost about 25 pounds.
My family sacrificed their lives in Bangladesh
to move to the U.S. when I was about two months old
just for me and my siblings' educations.
It's very important to win for my family
because I want to prove to my family
that all the sacrifices they made is worth it.
And then we have 14-year-old Tyler Bloch.
[ Cheering ]
I'm 14, and I am a freshman at Jericho Senior High School
in Jericho, New York.
I'm not the average 14-year-old.
My family, they actually call me the Renaissance Man.
My four passions are cooking,
playing tennis,
playing the piano...
[ Classical music plays ]
...and speaking foreign languages.
I have Tourette's syndrome.
Tourette's syndrome is a neurobiological disorder,
so your chemicals are kind of misfiring
and tell you to do certain things.
They're called tics.
When I'm cooking,
I don't feel like I have Tourette's syndrome at all.
I'm just focused and I'm in the zone.
I would win for everyone who has Tourette's syndrome.
The sky's the limit for me.
And finally, there's 17-year-old Emma Scher.
I'm a senior at Bergen County Academies,
and I'm from Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Are you guys going to the dance?
People will think, "When I grow up,
I want to be an astronaut," or "I want to be a doctor."
For my whole life,
I've always known that I wanted to be a chef.
Although I'm only 17, I've gotten the opportunity to intern
at some of the greatest restaurants in Manhattan,
including Centrico and Restaurant Daniel.
[ Cheering ]
Yes, I'm a teenager, but that's not the big thing about me.
The big thing about me is that I know how to cook,
and coming to "Chopped," I know that nothing can hold me back.
ALL: Good luck, Emma!
Welcome, teen chefs. Here are the rules.
There are three rounds -- appetizer, entrée, and dessert.
Each course has its own basket of mystery ingredients,
and you must use every ingredient in that basket
in some way.
Also available to you -- our pantry and fridge.
Each round is timed.
When the clock runs out, our judges will critique your dishes
on presentation, taste, and creativity.
If your dish doesn't cut it, you will be chopped.
All right, are you ready to show
what four amazing teenagers can do in the "Chopped" kitchen?
Yeah.
We are ready, Ted.
All right, rock and roll.
Please open your baskets for the appetizer round.
And you must use...
These mushrooms look like little creatures.
I don't know if they're gonna eat me.
You will have 30 minutes to make your first course.
Time starts now.
EMMA: I've seen "Chopped" a million times.
The judges, I immediately recognize them all --
Marcus Samuelsson, Amanda Freitag,
and I see Marc Murphy,
and I am ecstatic to even be in their presence.
I pick up this huge steak of tuna,
and my immediate reaction is I'm gonna make
an Asian grapefruit tuna tartare.
Although I'm only 17 years old,
with my education and my experience,
I'm gonna win that $10,000.
MOLLY: Being in the "Chopped" kitchen is so nerve-wracking.
I'm like, "Oh, my God, I'm here."
I'm taking the tuna and I'm dicing it into small cubes,
and curry pops into my head because,
being an American and being Bengali,
why not add a little bit of meat into the dish?
I'm making curry and mushroom bruschetta
with a grapefruit chutney.
My dad used to be a taxi driver.
He got sick last year, so he's not working anymore.
Winning that $10,000 will make a huge impact.
College is very expensive.
My parents have already sacrificed so much for me.
I don't want them to pay for my college.
TYLER: So, like, I see this pink blob.
It smells like I'm on the beach.
It's a very stinky smell, but I'll have to cope with that.
[ Chuckles ]
I know from watching previous episodes
that crusting something in like a cereal-y thing
is kind of smart.
So I plan to make a seared tuna steak
crusted with cereal crumbs.
I brush egg wash on top of the tuna
so that the graham-cracker cereal crumb mixture will stick.
And hopefully it'll work.
When I see the tuna, I'm happy.
It can be tasty.
I'm making pan-seared tuna
served with a nice spring mix salad
with a grapefruit citrus vinaigrette.
My inspiration for this dish is a rooftop-terrace soiree.
It's springy, wind blowing in your hair.
And I'm thinking horseradish tartar sauce
'cause it's gonna add a kick.
Ever since a very, very young age,
I've been incredibly driven and passionate.
I just want to show the world who Mikey is.
All right, judges, so, we have another teen invasion
here on the "Chopped" kitchen.
I'm so excited for them. I want to be young again. [ Laughs ]
MARC: Let's talk about these mushrooms.
I got to tell you, I think hen of the woods is
one of those best mushrooms for texture.
Being a teenager, I'm not sure if they've tasted
hen of the wood before, you know?
These are really sophisticated ingredients.
Sure.
All right, teen chefs, you are now down to 20 minutes.
So keep an eye on the clock.
Hen of the woods mushrooms, they're like gummy, icky, slimy.
I'm going to treat them just like any ordinary mushroom
and give them a quick sauté
in some garlic and Worcestershire sauce.
Worcestershire, Worcestershire.
Worcestershire sauce gives the mushrooms,
like, a really nice meaty flavor.
EMMA: Graham-cracker cereal is way out of my comfort zone.
It is super-sugary.
But maybe it will take some of the bitterness
out of the mushrooms, so I sautéed them together.
Time?
And, teen chefs, 10 minutes left on the clock.
MIKEY: Sometimes people say like,
"The older you get, the wiser you get,"
but I feel like the older you get,
like, a little less wise.
Teens have great imagination.
That can really help them create anything.
I decided to use graham-cracker cereal
as a crouton combined with bread.
With the mixed greens,
I make a vinaigrette with grapefruit juice.
I'm a little shaky. I'm nervous.
I'm just trying to keep it in the bowl, not on the floor.
I'm just trying to stay calm.
MOLLY: I take the grapefruit and I'm like, "I'm gonna make a chutney.
Of course I'm gonna make a chutney."
So I add salt, pepper, curry powder, lime,
and a little olive oil.
EMMA: I want to make a salad.
I grab arugula, and I quickly make this vinaigrette.
I just threw the arugula in with the dressing,
and I instantly regret it
'cause I know that there's too much dressing,
but there's nothing I can do.
I just feel like I'm going crazy.
I am just filled with too much adrenaline.
All right, teen chefs, five minutes left on the clock.
Oh, my God. I'm running out of time.
My graham cracker is just crumbling off the tuna
and into the pan.
It's not sticking.
I really need the graham-cracker flavor to be on that plate,
and I have no idea how I'm going to do that.
With Tourette's syndrome, the tics can get in the way.
I need to conquer these nerves.
Just calm down. [ Exhales sharply ]
You can do this.
[ Clock ticking ]
Oh, my God.
There's no graham cracker on the tuna.
I cannot believe this is happening.
This is a nightmare.
Okay, Tyler, just focus in, focus in.
But I see that there's bits of this graham-cracker pieces
kind of stuck to the bottom of the pan.
So I start squeezing grapefruits into the pan
to make the glaze for my fish.
I really need that graham-cracker flavor
to be on that plate.
Just relax, just relax.
MOLLY: My heart is beating really fast, and then I'm like, "Wait.
I didn't use the graham-cracker cereal yet."
Chutney needs sugar,
and graham-cracker cereal is sweet,
so I put it in the grapefruit chutney.
My tuna tartare doesn't really have a spicy aspect to it,
so I whipped together some wasabi paste and heavy cream.
Three minutes, Chefs.
MARCUS: I'm so impressed with Emma.
I've seen chefs three times her age
have no idea what to do with the foamer.
Oh, come on.
Wait. Wait.
Guys, Emma's having a little bit of trouble here.
She just let all the gas out.
All right, teen chefs, calling the two-minute warning.
EMMA: I run back to the pantry, grab a new nitrogen cartridge,
try and release the air as fast as possible.
Emma, go, go, go, go.
And one more last run.
I need some sort of fresh herb to lighten up the tuna.
So I'm planning on chiffonading the basil.
My workspace is just a disaster.
Is there more room?
How do I chop these?
So that's not happening.
I'm not gonna start chopping basil on the floor.
Oh, my God.
And so I start ripping the basil and throwing it on the fish.
Teen chefs, one minute left on the clock.
It is time to wrap it up.
I finally get the nitrogen in,
and I shake it with every bit of energy that I have left,
and I pipe as fast I possibly can.
The fish is falling apart.
You got this.
You got this. You got it.
MIKEY: I'm really trying to go the extra mile with presentation,
but I am battling the clock.
TED: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time is up.
[ Applause ]
AMANDA: Yeah!
Oh, my God.
Nice job.
You too.
I'm staring down at my dish.
I know that I could've done better.
When I look at Emma's dish, I'm, like, astounded.
Oh, my God, I am definitely not making it to the next round.
Teen chefs, you have arrived at the chopping block.
In the appetizer round, you used grapefruit, tuna loin,
hen of the woods mushrooms, and graham-cracker cereal.
Mikey, what do we have?
Well, hello, Chefs.
You're all at my rooftop-terrace party.
I see that you've all followed dress code, except for Marc.
[ Laughter ]
Please enjoy my pan-seared tuna,
accompanied by horseradish tartar sauce,
and also a spring mix salad with a citrus vinaigrette.
Fantastic.
Your seasonings are very, very good.
I taste the cream of horseradish there,
but it's a little bit wet -- the dressing.
I'm finding the tuna a little bit overcooked.
But having the salad overdressed like that
really helped moisten the tuna while I was eating it.
Thank you so much.
And you welcomed your guests to your rooftop terrace.
Well, my dream restaurant to run would be a restaurant
where you can have dinner and also enjoy a show,
like I can be cooking in the kitchen then come out
and perform a dance number.
Well, chefs have to be everything these days,
so that's a good plan.
Next up, Molly.
Hi. My name is Molly.
Thank you for having me on the show.
I'm really excited.
So, I had a bit of a curry/mushroom bruschetta
with grapefruit chutney on the side.
MARCUS: I love the presentation.
I liked sort of the idea
adding in the graham crackers into the chutney,
but they also get a little bit soggy,
and that's not necessarily a pleasant texture.
Yeah.
What's impressive here is the flavors of the grapefruit,
the sweetness with the graham-cracker cereal
pairs so well with the curry flavor and the mustard.
It really, really works.
Thank you.
MARC: I enjoyed the dish as well,
but I think that the tuna was a little bit overcooked.
My parents buy the canned tuna, and it's much easier to use,
so I wasn't sure how long it should be cooked,
so I was just going with my gut.
Next up we have Tyler.
Today what I've prepared for you
is a seared tuna steak crusted with the graham-cracker crumbs
served alongside a fresh salad with a grapefruit vinaigrette
and a grapefruit glaze.
Tyler, you're really celebrating the basket,
and the mushrooms are really forward.
You almost treated them like meat as well.
They're a very meaty vegetable.
But I think this dish would've been better off
with maybe a larger plate.
I think it's a little bit crowded when I try to slice it.
Tyler, I took a bite of that tuna
with the graham-cracker cereal on it,
and it was a really nice flavor on top of the tuna.
MARC: So, I was watching you tearing the basil,
and what happens with basil, it bruises very easily.
Well, I couldn't find a cutting board
that I could do a quick chiffonade of the basil,
and so I was kind of freaking out.
You described yourself as being nervous,
and you really looked focused.
Well, at like the age of seven,
I was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome.
AMANDA: Right.
It's really a blessing because [sniffles]
I wouldn't be who I was today if I didn't have it.
I'm here today 'cause I just want to show
that if you put your mind to do something,
really, anything's possible.
Tyler, thank you very much.
Thank you so much.
Last appetizer, Emma.
EMMA: Hi.
For you I have an Asian grapefruit tuna tartare
with a wasabi whipped cream
served with a sweet-and-sour arugula salad.
I have to tell you, this was a very, very nice dish.
It was so well-balanced. The tuna's great.
I do find the salad is a little bit overdressed.
Okay.
So, Emma, it seems like you've been cooking for decades.
How long have you been cooking for?
From the time that I was a baby, I just knew.
Instead of wanting to go out and play dress-up,
I would want to plan menus.
TED: Emma, thank you.
Thank you very much, and thank all of you.
Holy mushroom, holy mushroom.
[ Laughter ]
Holy mushrooms?
I feel like we worked really well together.
You guys are so cool.
Exactly, and we all have, like, a mutual respect for each other.
I think it's great.
One, two, three. Whoo-hoo!
I'm loving these teen chefs today.
They are talented.
Yes.
Let's talk about the cereal.
When you watch these young chefs,
they've responded to it the same way the pros do.
They're like, "Oh, I got to put this cereal in the dish."
I ate a lot of cereal when I was kid.
[ Laughs ]
The best uses of the graham cracker I think was Mikey --
really including it.
Toasting that cereal really brought it to a different dimension.
That horseradish cream that he put on top
was such a delicate touch.
Yeah, it helped compensate, for me, for the drier tuna.
A bite that I really enjoyed was actually Molly's crostini.
Yes, the cereal was a little bit soggy,
but that was a delicious bite.
I thought the person who used the mushroom the best was Tyler,
and I think he really did a nice job of coating them
with the vinaigrette afterwards.
The melted cereal on the tuna -- The flavor in there was great.
But the presentation --
It was sort of falling off the plate when we got it.
I think Emma really did an amazing job.
She gave us the tartare that worked.
But I think that she did put a lot of vinaigrette on the plate.
It was very, very wet.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
I stand by my dish. It's simple. It's honest.
It's like me.
I'm really nervous. My dish was a bit dry.
One teenager did not do quite as well as the others
in that first round.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[ Clock ticking ]
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Tyler, you've been chopped.
Judges.
Tyler, first of all, we want to say thank you so much.
You should be really proud.
But the plate made this dish very, very difficult to eat.
The fact that you also ripped the basil made it wilted
are some of the reasons why we had to chop you.
Thank you, guys, so much.
TYLER: It would've been amazing if I walked away with the victory,
but I think that today was a success.
What it all comes down to is I really tried my best,
and I absolutely had fun today.
Mikey, Molly, Emma, please open your baskets.
And your entrées must include...
What?!
Goat? Are you kidding me?
Goats are for the zoo, not for the plate.
Wow.
TED: 30 minutes to create magnificent entrées.
Time starts now.
MOLLY: Goat is actually very big in Bangladeshi cooking.
My mom makes the most amazing goat ever.
It's really important for me
to bring my heritage into the dishes
because I am Bengali and I'm also American,
and I want to fuse that together and show them Molly.
I grab paprika, allspice, some sriracha, and bell pepper.
I'm making sautéed goat
with frisée, rhubarb, and bell pepper.
EMMA: I grab the rhubarb, cut off a very small piece.
AMANDA: Uh-oh. She's eating the rhubarb.
Oh! [ Laughs ]
EMMA: I need to sweeten this up, so I add some sugar.
I see blueberries.
Throw them into the pot to make a sauce.
The amount of hours that I spend cooking, working, interning --
It's a huge commitment,
and I realize I am missing my childhood,
but it's worth it because when it comes down to it,
cooking is my life.
Emma and Molly are so intimidating.
They're older than me.
I feel like the underdog today, but I know I can do it.
I do not like goat.
But as I'm butchering the leg, I think poker night.
Poker night is like, in my opinion,
a really manly event,
and I thought of meat and potatoes.
Cooking is a party for me, definitely.
I love to entertain with my food and my personality.
[ Laughs ]
All right, so, judges, leg of goat.
It's not a protein that every 14-year-old in the country
is super-familiar with.
MARC: No, but I think that after that first round,
I have complete confidence in these three kids
that they're gonna do something really great.
EMMA: Being given something like a leg of goat,
it's just not a kid-friendly basket at all.
But I'm happy that the judges are treating us like adults.
It really makes you feel like a true chef.
I'm gonna make Southwestern grilled goat
with cumin and paprika, cayenne pepper, lime juice.
I grab some beef broth
because I'm gonna transfer the goat to the pan.
Okay.
I grab some carrot and some celery, throw it into the pan.
I am absolutely terrified that this isn't gonna cook.
These are big steaks, and I am basically winging it.
Please cook.
Oh, God.
The rhubarb -- Oh, my God, what is this?
I tasted it, and it's sour.
I'm thinking I can add it to my little sauté.
So I cut it into long pieces.
I add some soy sauce and some frisée into my sauté.
TED: All right, teen chefs, 10 minutes left on the clock.
MIKEY: I taste the rhubarb. It's so sour.
I know I need to counterbalance it somehow.
So I add all the basket ingredients into one bowl --
rhubarb, frisée, hummus, and the goat leg.
I'm making leg of goat stir-fry
with a hummus marinade and sautéed potatoes.
It is definitely a big gamble
to put all the ingredients in the same pan
because if something goes wrong, I'm done.
I love the creativity level of these teen chefs.
They clearly have a big imagination
about food and ideas.
Mikey just brought wine to his station.
I'm not drinking it.
[ Laughs ]
We got to watch that. We got to watch that.
I need to see your I.D.
EMMA: I'm trying to figure out where I can throw in this hummus.
I start making an apple slaw.
Decide I'm gonna make it a creamy slaw and mix some in.
I know it doesn't go well, but it's my best bet.
And the last thing I'm stuck with is the frisée.
I stick it in a pan with some spinach.
I strain the rhubarb mixture into the spinach.
I taste it, and it tastes disgusting -- way too bitter --
so I grab a lot of granulated sugar out of the bin,
and now it tastes okay.
It works. Okay.
MOLLY: My heart is beating really fast.
I still haven't touched my hummus.
I see goat cheese, and I'm like, hey, goat cheese and goat.
Why not? It makes sense.
I mix the goat cheese with the hummus and make a little paste.
Teen chefs, five minutes -- Five minutes left on the clock.
Oh, my God.
Time is ticking down.
Regardless of how well or badly the goat is cooked,
I need to get it onto the plate right now.
Okay.
MARC: What's smoking on Mikey's station?
What's smoking?
Your pan, your pan, your pan.
My pan?
Go look at the stove.
I turn back, saw the potatoes with smoke.
Literally every piece of potato is burnt.
Oh, my God.
My dish is ruined, and so is my time at "Chopped."
TED: And one minute left. Got to plate it.
MARCUS: Get it all on the plate. Come on, come on, come on.
Let's go, guys. Whoo-whee!
MOLLY: I didn't add a lot of spices into my dish,
so I'm making a little set of hot sauce and soy sauce.
MIKEY: I plate the potatoes.
TED: And with 30 seconds, Mikey's running into the pantry.
What is he gonna get?
MIKEY: I run to the kitchen, get some finishing salt.
I'm trying my best to salvage this dish.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up. Please step back.
Whoo!
EMMA: I look down at my plate.
I completely forgot about the salt aspect.
I'm basically hoping for a miracle.
MIKEY: I'm looking at my dish,
and I'm honestly not feeling too great.
Those potatoes are awful.
All right, let's get these entrées served.
[ Clock ticking ]
Three teenagers left in this special competition.
For the entrée round, you had to work
with leg of goat, hummus, rhubarb, and frisée.
Molly, what do we have here?
This is sautéed goat with bell peppers, frisée, and rhubarb
with a side of the hummus plus the goat cheese.
I'm truly impressed with how tender this goat is.
And I love the whimsical idea of having goat cheese with goat.
[ Laughs ]
When I went to the fridge and I saw goat cheese,
"Oh, my God, goat leg -- What?
Let's do something with it."
So, I think you've done a very nice main course here.
But I find myself missing rhubarb.
I don't see it.
And it's almost overpowering with bell peppers.
Oh, okay.
I understand you're interested in public health.
Yeah, I want to study
international development in public health in college,
and I've just finished my college applications --
thank God -- so I'll be hearing back from them soon.
Cross your fingers.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Next entrée, Emma.
Hello, Chefs.
So, today I've made for you
a piece of Southwestern grilled goat with an apple-hummus slaw
and rhubarb-infused sautéed spinach and frisée.
I got to congratulate you on this piece of meat.
It's tender.
I'm a little perplexed by this over here.
I wish the hummus was worked somewhere else
because this doesn't feel like it's part of the dish.
I have to agree with Marc, and it's lacking in salt.
Okay.
Emma, what I do love, though,
is adding the rhubarb into the spinach.
This is wonderful.
Wow. Thank you.
Last entrée from Mikey.
Well, I thank you for coming to my party.
It's poker night.
I think of poker night as like a very manly night
to get together with your closest guy friends
and just place your bets.
Can I go to poker night? I'm a female.
Yeah. "A-MAN-da."
Okay.
[ Laughter ]
For you I have the all-American meal,
in my eyes -- meat and potatoes.
I have stir-fried goat leg with hummus, rhubarb, frisée,
and sautéed potatoes.
Well, I have to say that this dish is seasoned,
and I like that.
I like potatoes myself.
Unfortunately, it looks like
some of them got a little too crispy.
A couple little burnt ones.
It's also a little bit dry, right?
So the dish ends up being a little bit burnt and dry.
MARC: Did you realize they were going on, those potatoes?
At one point, you were running around.
Yeah, I didn't know what was burning.
I smelled the burning -- sound. I'm really sorry about that.
All right. Mikey, thank you.
Thank you.
This is the most stressful thing ever.
This is actually more stressful than tests and finals.
It's like what not to do in "Chopped" 101
is not season correctly.
I just don't want to go home for burnt potatoes.
When you watch this, you can see, like --
The future of American cooking looks really, really bright.
Emma transformed that rhubarb like nobody here,
and that goat was the most tender piece of meat
we ate here today.
AMANDA: But the salt level was not there at all,
and then her hummus didn't work, either.
Hummus is such a great thing.
For her to mix in raw bell peppers,
it just doesn't fit on the plate.
I really liked the way Mikey seasoned the stew.
I thought it was really thoughtful cooking.
But the big mistake here came down to the potatoes.
MIKEY: Oh, my God.
I had about six or seven pieces of really burnt potatoes.
One thing that I really loved today
was Molly's hummus with the goat cheese.
It was fantastic.
I actually give her great credit for that.
But I do think that she put
way too many bell peppers on the dish.
Yeah. I liked her flavors.
It was just missing the rhubarb.
All right, let's call them back in.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
MIKEY: My burnt potatoes were a setback,
but I just hope I get through to dessert so I can redeem myself.
I am not feeling great.
The fact that I forgot to salt the meat
was a mistake that I can't forgive myself for.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
Don't miss our web series "Chopped After Hours."
We put our judges on the chopping block
to see how they handle the show's most challenging baskets.
Check it out at foodnetwork.com/chopped.
You've all done incredibly well here.
But unfortunately, we have to chop someone else now.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Chef Molly, you've been chopped.
Judges.
Molly, as you can imagine,
this is an incredibly difficult decision for us.
The lack of the rhubarb in your dish and also
the overabundance of peppers sort of took over
and, unfortunately, we had to chop you.
But we want to congratulate you
for impressing the heck out of us.
Thank you. Thank you.
I'm really bummed I'm not moving on,
but it's not the end of the world.
I still have so many things ahead of me.
I'm really excited. I'm only 17.
TED: Emma, Mikey, who's gonna own dessert?
I am.
I am.
I guess we'll see. Please open your baskets.
And we have...
Oh, my God.
What is Japanese mayonnaise?
You have only 30 minutes to get the job done.
Time starts now.
I am really stumped by this Japanese mayo,
but when I taste it, I realize the flavor is strong.
I can put it in mousse.
I am making a Japanese-mayo mousse
with a black currant compote.
I call my dish Angel and Devil
because the angel part of the dish
is the light airy mousse,
and the devil part of the dish
is the blackberry currant compote.
I feel like my unique personality
and passion for cooking and entertaining --
I was just born this way.
I know I'm a star.
EMMA: I'm against Mikey, and I am absolutely terrified.
I know that he has the skills down
as much as you could possibly have as a 14-year-old.
Japanese mayonnaise, it's insane, and it's weird.
But my mom has taught me, when in doubt, make a bread pudding.
I'm making a bread pudding with anjou pear, brown butter,
and Japanese mayonnaise,
served with a black currant ice cream.
So, I start to make a crème anglaise.
I take the black currant jam.
I whip it into half of the crème anglaise,
and I run over to the ice-cream maker as fast as I can.
I am obsessed with cooking.
That's just how I am. [ Laughs ]
Emma's 17.
She has had experience in high-, high-, high-end restaurants.
Mikey's 14 and has had no professional experience,
and right now they're head to head.
It doesn't matter how much experience you get,
how old you are, whatever it is.
The basket is the equalizer, baby.
I feel like the dish needs
something to take it to the next level,
so I want to make a brittle.
So, I crush some potato chips
with some butter and sugar and some almonds.
I'm weighing this brittle recipe.
I've seen it done before on TV and in magazines.
I'm just basically flying by the seat of my pants.
EMMA: So, the red anjou pear,
okay, I can add this into the bread pudding.
Oh, my God.
Fruitiness in a bread pudding
really breaks down the richness of it,
and I just hope that the flavors would go.
MIKEY: I taught myself how to make mousse.
I put my heavy cream, my sugar, my Japanese mayo
into the mixer,
and I'm thinking, "Oh, my gosh, what do I do?"
I could not get it in.
I don't know how to get this on.
The dreaded stand mixer.
Ugh.
I'm panicked.
I have no idea what to do, and it's just utter chaos.
Chefs, you're looking at 15 minutes left on the clock.
EMMA: Run over to the ice-cream maker.
And nothing comes out.
[ Metallic grinding ]
I don't know what's going on. I'm kind of just panicking.
That machine -- I can't listen.
TED: No, that doesn't sound right.
EMMA: What are you doing to me?
Aah!
I didn't put enough of the custard in
for the ice-cream maker to actually work.
Whew. This is making me nervous.
EMMA: I have to abandon that plan.
But I need to get this bread pudding in the oven.
I have 13 minutes left on the clock,
and I know they need 16 minutes to cook,
and there's just no way I can do this,
but I'm gonna try my best.
Go in! [ Grunts ]
MIKEY: Oh, thank God.
Finally, I get the stand mixer working.
Then I put the black currant jam into my fruit compote.
It melts right away.
I feel like I can't get out of the danger zone.
[ Whimpers ]
I'm scared the bread pudding's not gonna finish cooking.
Oh, my God.
And I think oh, my God, I have jam
and I have potato chips that I haven't dealt with.
Oh, seriously? Come on.
So, I start melting down white chocolate
and mix the jam into the chocolate.
Please melt and be purple.
I take the chips, dip them halfway in.
I run them over, stick them in the blast chiller.
And this is your final minute, folks.
Got to wrap it up.
MIKEY: Presentation is one of the most important aspects
because we eat with our eyes.
So I really wanted to make sure
everything looks good and fit for a queen.
TED: 30 seconds.
Oh, my God, you guys, this is it -- $10,000.
I have a sweet tooth. Let's do this, guys.
EMMA: I have to pull the bread pudding out of the oven.
I can't wait any longer.
I'm not gonna get them on the plate.
TED: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up. That's it.
[ Applause, cheers ]
I'm looking down at my dish,
and I feel like at least there's something on the plate
and all the ingredients are there.
Time is up. I'm looking at my dish.
I'm confident about the mousse.
I'm just very nervous about what the judges will say.
In the final round of this special teen competition,
you opened the basket to find kettle-cooked potato chips,
black currant jam, red anjou pears,
and Japanese mayonnaise.
So, what I have for you here is a bread pudding
made with sautéed anjou pear, brown butter,
and Japanese mayonnaise
with a black currant and white chocolate-covered potato chip.
The bread pudding, I love when I dig deep and find the pear.
It's just that I think it's a little bit undercooked,
but I love the chip.
It's fun, and it's colorful.
Thank you.
Emma, what I really liked about the bread pudding
was the lightness of it.
Thank you.
I do agree, but I think that there was a sugar element
that was missing here.
Okay.
Mikey?
MIKEY: Well, hello, judges.
In front of you you have the Angel and the Devil,
the angel being my chocolate mousse
accompanied by a potato-chip brittle,
and next to it you have the devil part,
which is raspberries, strawberries, blueberries,
and my favorite -- a little pear.
Mikey, this, my friend, is brilliant.
Thank you.
The mousse is fantastic.
Thank you.
But you should've peeled the pears a little bit.
Oh, I'm sorry.
This mousse, it's so light and angel-like,
and this brittle, it's very ingenious, I think,
but for me, a little too sweet.
I disagree with my judges.
I have a sweet tooth, so, to me, it satisfies that.
Thank you.
How many people, when they're older, get to say,
"Oh, when I was 17, when I was 14,
I was on a cooking show that millions of people that saw?"
I feel like this really reinforces, like,
how passionate I am, and I know you, too.
Like, we make every dish as if it's our last.
Definitely.
End of the day, if you take age away,
that was two brilliant competitors,
two brilliant cooks.
With such young minds, the boundaries are gone.
With Mikey, we saw a dual dessert.
It worked together, and that would be a dessert
that I would say could be in any of our restaurants' menu.
But, as much as I loved Mikey's dessert,
you know, he didn't peel the pears.
Emma still did some nice work on dessert as well.
Her potato chip was very brilliant.
Yes, but the bread pudding didn't really bind together.
There wasn't enough fruit in there, for sure.
On Mikey's dish, the goat, hummus, and rhubarb
was like a little symphony.
I thought those flavors, they were so well-seasoned.
You had a different dish than I had
because I had just a lot of burnt potatoes.
I was a huge fan of Emma's goat.
I thought that was really well-done,
but the fact that she didn't season it,
and that relish just didn't belong on the plate.
It would've went with it if that goat had heavy seasoning
and then you put this fruity
sort of tart, bitter sauce with it.
But using the rhubarb
with the spinach and the frisée, stupendous.
That appetizer round, Mikey did a nice salad,
and then he had that wonderful horseradish cream on top.
I got to tell you, creativity-wise,
Mikey bringing out the horseradish cream
in a basket like that right out of the gate, that wasn't bad.
But I thought the tuna was overcooked.
Emma's tartare, I think she did a wonderful job,
and the wasabi cream, I thought it was very creative.
I liked the heat that it brought, and, you know,
she wanted to come out there and show that, "I can cook,"
and she really established that with that first dish.
Emma did overdress her salad a bit, though.
Her plate was quite wet.
Well, we know that one of these high schoolers
is gonna have a lot to brag about back on campus.
I hope for the best. I really feel that I can win.
I want this winning so badly, you don't even know.
I've been cooking my butt off forever.
I desperately want to win.
So, whose dish is on the chopping block?
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Chef Emma, you've been chopped. Judges?
Emma, amazing, Emma.
What you did here today was incredibly impressive.
There were just minute-detail mistakes that happened.
In your first round, your salad was slightly overdressed.
In the entrée round,
the underseasoning of the goat was pretty obvious,
and then, in dessert,
the bread pudding seemed incomplete to us.
But you have this incredibly bright future.
Thank you very much.
It's been such an honor to cook for all of you. Thank you very much.
I'm disappointed. Nobody wants to be chopped.
But I've shown millions of people that teens can cook.
I hope to work with chefs like Mikey, like Molly,
like Tyler in the future
because these people have such a big heart for cooking.
And that means, Mikey Robins,
that you are the "Chopped" champion.
[ Applause ]
AMANDA: Whoo! Congratulations.
MARCUS: Well done.
I'm like -- I can't breathe.
At the age of 14,
you are the youngest "Chopped" champion in history.
Well done, bud.
$10,000 not a bad day's work.
Oh, gosh. It's, like, surreal.
It was so fun. I want to do it again.
So, why don't we bring back Emma, Tyler, and Molly
and celebrate a really wonderful competition?
[ Applause ]
AMANDA: Yeah. Whoo!
MOLLY: Oh, my God!
Yay.
TED: So, this was a great day for us.
You all have showed us
that America's culinary future is really, really bright.
ALL: Thank you.
We also didn't want Tyler, Emma, and Molly
to leave here empty-handed, so we've got a $1,000 gift card
that you can spend on anything you want.
EMMA: Thank you!
TYLER: Thank you so much.
Oh, my God.
Thank you so much.
Wow.
Winning feels awesome.
It's a dream come true
and hopefully inspires all people in the world
who have a dream and they can follow it.
Just be confident in who you are,
be confident in your own skin, and it'll take you far.
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.