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I have $100,000
of cold hard cash in this case.
Four chefs get $25,000 each.
If they want to leave this kitchen
with any of the cash,
they have to survive three culinary challenges
and each other.
See this ice pick in my hand?
Ooh!
In a game where sabotage is not only encouraged...
You'll force one chef to build their own fire.
...it's for sale.
$5,000.
10 grand.
ALTON: It's a game we like to call...
[ Laughs ]
..."Cutthroat Kitchen."
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
CHEF TERRY: I'm Chef Terry French.
My friends know me as the Rebel Chef.
I cook in the ocean, the mountains,
the forest, and the desert with the most extreme conditions
and the most crazy ingredients in the world.
If you're looking for the extreme in cuisine,
you call the Rebel Chef.
CHEF ATHENA: I'm Chef Athena Palombi.
I'm Greek and Italian, and I'm a private chef.
I'm here competing on behalf of my daughter.
I'm just showing her
that no matter what obstacles are in your way
that you can do it if you go for it and believe in yourself.
You got what it takes to come up against the Rebel Chef, girl?
Did you inherit those knives from Davy Crockett?
CHEF RINA: I'm chef Rina Younan. I'm 26 years old.
I'm an executive chef in Sacramento, California.
I am badass in the kitchen.
I want to prove that Chef Rina's a force to be reckoned with.
I didn't know I was going against
Oh, it's all right, baby.
I've heard some say that to me before.
Well, the last guy that called me baby,
I'll show you what I did to him.
CHEF ADAM: I'm Adam Henosa. I'm 34 years old.
I'm an executive chef in San Francisco.
I've been cooking professionally for 20 years.
I started washing dishes and then moved my way up to cook.
I've had a very tough road. Grew up poor.
Used cooking to overcome that.
Cooking's facilitated everything I have in life.
Without it, I'd be nothing.
Think you're ready for the big-times?
[ Laughs ]
Hi, chefs.
Hmm.
Shiny bunch.
Allow me to welcome you to "Cutthroat Kitchen."
Let me tell you how things are gonna work in here.
You're gonna cook your way through three culinary rounds.
At the end of each one of these rounds,
one of you will be eliminated.
At the beginning of each challenge, I will assign a dish,
and then you will have 60 full seconds
to shop for all of your ingredients
here in the "Cutthroat Kitchen" pantry.
Being a single mom, you're always under pressure.
60 seconds is easy.
After that time, we will then have some fun.
We're gonna have ourselves an auction,
where you will be able to bid on some devilish devices
that you can use
to cause your opponents considerable discomfort.
Of course, if we're gonna have an auction,
you're gonna need some money,
and I happen to have here $100,000 of cold hard cash.
Whoo!
Each of you will receive 25,000 of these dollars,
and that is yours to spend throughout the competition.
But spend wisely,
because at the end of the day, one of you will be victorious,
but you're only gonna walk out of here
with the money you have left.
Two bundles, if you would, sir. Two bundles of $25,000.
Damn, man! That's $25,000.
Oh, boy. You know I'm gonna try and keep as much of it as I can.
ALTON: Two bundles, if you would.
There you go, Chef. Two more bundles.
Nice.
Chef, the last two are for you.
Excellent.
Rest assured, most of it will be returning to this case
during the competition.
First round, you're gonna have 30 minutes...
to make an all-American breakfast.
This is one that is open to almost infinite possibilities.
CHEF TERRY: I love all-American breakfast.
Ain't nothing better than getting up in the morning
with some eggs, bacon, and fried potatoes.
Your 60-second shopping time begins now.
I definitely knew right off the bat
I needed to make steak and eggs.
I grab the greatest rib eyes in the fridge.
I grab some Russet potatoes, some buttermilk,
and then I made sure that I grabbed the eggs.
You need to be on the other side of the gate in 15 seconds.
CHEF TERRY: So, I plan on making
some good ol' country-boy breakfast.
I grab pancetta,
I grab leeks, some eggs, grab them beans,
and make a corn relish with something
that reminded me of my mama.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
So, now the fun part. We're gonna have our auction.
Let's see what our first item is.
I think you're gonna like this.
So, I see these contraptions coming out,
and I'm thinking, "This is trouble."
As you can see, we have three pieces of equipment
that are essential to at least one aspect
of a complete American breakfast --
coffeemaker, waffle maker, industrial toaster.
Win this auction, and you can assign one piece of equipment
to each one of your competitors as their only source of heat
for the entire challenge.
Who will give me $500 for this fabulous opportunity?
$500.
$3,500.
$6,000.
$6,000 to Chef Athena, who apparently is used to
spending money in some large amount.
I don't know how I could even keep up with her rich blood.
$9,000.
$9,000. Back to Chef Athena.
CHEF TERRY: Boy, these girls just love to spend.
I'm gonna let this one go.
ALTON: $11,000.
$11,500.
I've got an $11,500 bid from Chef Rina.
$11,500 going once.
CHEF ATHENA: After a while, I'm starting to think
I could probably make it past this challenge
even if I get one of these things.
Sold to Chef Rina for $11,500.
Madam, bring me my money.
All right.
I think the most intimidating one was the coffeemaker.
Who do I want out the most?
So, I passed it off to Chef Terry.
I knew that was coming for me.
Here you go, baby boy.
Hell, no. I'll remember you for this one.
Next, this fabulous waffle maker.
Chef Athena -- I saw she had steak and eggs,
and I was like, "How are you gonna cook steak and eggs
on a waffle iron?"
CHEF ATHENA: Oh, lovely.
It's been a pleasure knowing you.
It's not over yet.
That means this little baby
is definitely going to a good home right over there.
What are you gonna cook on a conveyor-belt toaster?
Toast?
Can't cook eggs in there. Can't cook meat.
Thanks, girl. Yeah.
Oh, girl, why'd you do me this dirty with the toaster?
Now, everyone, you've got a little chance
of a little payback towards Chef Rina.
Let's find out what the heck it is.
One perfectly good chef's knife.
The problem is there are four of you.
Win this auction, and you can force three of your opponents
to share this one knife for the whole challenge.
I'm pretty sure I wanted that.
Who will give me $500 for the one knife?
$5,000.
$5,000.
I'll go $5,500.
$8,000.
I have graters. I have other things that I can use.
I think I can work around this challenge.
ALTON: $9,000 current high bid.
$9,700.
$9,700 current high bid down here.
I stopped bidding because I got to have money
to get through the rest of the game.
$10,000.
$10,000 is a nice even number. I like it. Easy to count.
It's going to be a fun party. Go ahead, Adam.
Sold for $10,000.
Chef Adam, bring me up a big pile of cash.
Excellent.
Lay that down right there.
Pluck that bad boy off.
Oh, I'd love to.
And deliver it to that back table,
where the cutting board is there by the cooktop.
Excellent.
Chefs, just so you know, to keep things fair and square,
you will have to use it on that back station.
You will not be able to take it to your station.
You'll have to take whatever you want to cut to that station.
You've got half an hour
to make your interpretation of an all-American breakfast,
and that time begins now.
All right.
I got this whole kitchen to myself.
I don't know about that, little girl.
You're gonna be surprised what the Rebel got in store for you,
All right, Mr. Rebel.
CHEF TERRY: Now, the Rebel's got to cook on a coffee pot.
My mind goes immediately to making a breakfast sandwich.
I'm sharing this knife with Athena and Rina.
I know it's gonna be a dance.
First thing I want to do is get my bread cut
and all my vegetables that I'm putting together.
[ Chuckles ]
I know that I don't have time
to wait for Athena to get done prepping,
so I grab a spatula
and start utilizing it on my cutting board.
Never underestimate a country boy.
Generally, on a double-burner coffee pot,
the top burner is the hottest.
That's where I'm gonna go to try
and sear up this corn for my bean relish.
How you making out, Adam? You all right, brother?
I'm doing good. I'm having fun.
I'm gonna make some fancy-*** toast.
Growing up, my dad used to make me this avocado toast.
Super simple.
So, I thought I could graduate it a little bit
with a little avocado salsa,
so I chop jalapeƱos, heirloom tomato.
I'm thinking the perfect accompaniment
to my avocado salsa -- garlic.
I love raw garlic but only if I can smash it with some salt,
turn it into a paste, almost.
You ever cooked on one of these before?
Just toast.
I take some tinfoil. I wrap it around some bacon.
I start feeding it there.
It says, "Caution -- hot," but I don't think --
It does. It does.
But I wouldn't even call that "caution -- warm." Would you?
Stuff starts coming through the toaster. It's not hot.
This is like a chef's worst nightmare.
What do I do? So, I just keep feeding it back in.
I don't know how many times I'm gonna put this thing in there --
200, 300 times?
ALTON: 20 minutes.
You have any idea what you're gonna do over there,
sunshine girl?
I got it all under control.
Don't you worry over there, Chef Rina.
I know I'm gonna make steak and eggs.
I want to make sure I at least
get my seasoning right on my steak,
so I put some salt, some pepper, some rosemary
and put that on there with a little olive oil
to do a nice rub on the steak.
I'm using this waffle iron that Chef Rina gave me,
and I think my steak is doing pretty well.
I don't know if it's totally even,
but at least I have it partially cooked
so I can get my potatoes going,
so I get them on the waffle iron right away,
as soon as this steak is cooked.
My hope is to make crispy, nice, beautiful hash browns,
but I don't think that's gonna happen on this waffle iron
and be able to get my eggs done in time.
If I don't have the eggs done, there is no steak and eggs.
I'm not gonna win.
Anybody need this grill over here?
[ Laughs ] Never mind.
My strategy is to not worry so much about the knife
and get what I can get done right off the bat without it.
I pop off my can of chipotles, and I cut into my onion.
Look at that.
I'm thinking hash, so I get the potatoes in the water.
I want to get good char on all of my food.
I've got some hot Italian sausage,
zucchini, peppers, corn.
I want that nice, crisp skin on the outside.
You gonna ever finish with that cutting board, there, mister?
Oh, would you like it, princess?
Yeah, one day.
Finally, the knife's available,
so I start chopping up my vegetables.
I chop up my sausage. I get that in the pan.
So, I get the hash in the pot,
and here comes another auction item.
Chefs, in my hand, there's a crap ton of pancake batter,
and this is my measuring tape.
You win this auction, you can force one of your opponents
to stop everything they're doing
until they cook me a stack of pancakes one foot high.
CHEF ADAM: This looks like a complete time killer
and a complete waste of time, if you ask me.
Oh, my gosh. This could send somebody home.
The Rebel don't want no part of that.
Alton, you evil [bleep] you.
[ Laughs ]
You win this auction, you can force one of your opponents
to stop everything they're doing
until they cook me a stack of pancakes one foot high.
So, who's gonna give me $500?
I got a $500 bid from Chef Rina.
$1,000.
Chef Terry's gonna give me $1,000.
Chef Athena will give me $1,500.
The Rebel's idea is let me buy the right sabotage,
not spend my money wastefully.
ALTON: $2,000.
CHEF ADAM: I'm looking at Athena.
She's got the eye of the tiger.
I know this girl is not gonna stop bidding,
so I just back out.
Going once. Going twice.
Sold to Chef Athena for $4,000.
Have a nice day.
Beautiful. Thank you.
Have fun with this.
Oh, girl, you know I love pancakes, right?
Whoo!
I've got to hit him where it hurts and give him the pancakes.
Excellent.
What did I do to you to deserve this?
I pull out all the griddles.
I start flipping pancakes with the pancake batter.
It's like crepe batter.
All of these made on the plate's not even gonna be three inches.
I am.
You need height.
This might be the end of you, Adam.
So, I've got my hash in the pan.
I put some chipotle adobo in there and some seasoning.
I taste it, and I'm like, "That tastes delicious."
ALTON: Chefs, you have nine minutes remaining.
CHEF TERRY: I'm sort of under pressure now.
I've got both burners on this coffee pot working.
I got my eggs up on top,
and I got my bacon and my pancetta and my brioche
on the bottom.
Now for my bean and corn relish.
I'm reaching to get this thing to marinate together,
and I think it's gonna be a perfect accompaniment
to this breakfast sandwich.
Look at that steak.
Is it mooing in the center?
CHEF ATHENA: I don't know if the rib eye is totally even,
but at least I have it partially cooked.
I'm cooking my hash browns.
I'm trying to flip them as much as I can,
but they keep getting stuck inside the crevices of the waffle iron,
and then I'm like,
"What the hell am I gonna do with my eggs on this thing?"
I have to just scramble the eggs
and hope that they don't stick to the waffle iron
inside there while they're cooking.
Come on, kids. It's just breakfast.
CHEF ATHENA: Hey, Adam, can you make me the Mickey-Mouse-shaped ones?
I love those ones. They're my favorite.
CHEF ADAM: Snowman, Mickey Mouse. What do you want?
Every part of me wants to quit. [ Scoffs ]
How am I gonna get through this?
Yes.
A little bit.
What's this?
Baking powder.
I didn't say they had to be good.
I said they had to be a foot tall.
Nobody's actually gonna eat them.
Thank God for Alton Brown.
I have a leavening agent and flour leftover.
I whip those into my pancake batter as fast as possible,
trying to get the thickest, nastiest, leaven-y pancakes
possible.
You're there! 12 inches!
All right.
CHEF ATHENA: Yeah, pipe down over there.
[ Laughs ]
My eggs basically look about as fluffy as a piece of cardboard
at this point,
but I'm trying to just make it somehow come out okay.
Chef Adam, please tell me you have some toast to go with your breakfast.
So much toast over here, Mr. Brown.
So, now I've got toast, a little avocado salsa.
The only thing I can think of to make --
the braco -- the classic breakfast taco.
But I need to have at least two items on this one plate.
I can't have one piece of toast on there with some salsa.
I don't know what to do. I look over.
There's the bagel, berries, mascarpone.
I'm gonna make a schmear. Super easy, right?
ALTON: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up! Challenge over. Step away from your station.
How's it going, Alton?
Chefs, this is Jet Tila.
He is a chef. He is a restaurateur.
He has absolutely no idea what you've had to put up with,
he's got no idea what you've done to each other,
and he does not care.
He cares about one thing, and that's...
What's on your plate.
...what is on your plate.
So, Jet, the subject is an all-American breakfast.
Ooh.
It's a broad category, so, good, good, good.
Let's head off and have some breakfast.
You got it.
Chef, please tell Jet about your dish.
Oh, Jet, my inspiration for this today,
it's just a good ol' country, southern breakfast.
It's an egg and bacon sandwich
with some good old country beans and corn relish.
CHEF TILA: I'm getting country breakfast.
The fresh corn really allows the salad to be a cold salad,
which it is.
This issues are I don't really understand the bread, right?
If you were going to give me soft eggs and soft ham,
you need to give me contrast of textures.
You need to toast that bread on the exterior
so it all plays together.
I appreciate that. Thank you.
CHEF TERRY: Jet's got some things to say
about my toast not being toasted.
Well, I wish I could tell old Jet
that I cooked this on a coffee pot.
Chef Athena, go ahead and tell him
about your all-American breakfast, please.
CHEF ATHENA: So, we have a little bit of a California breakfast.
We have a grilled rib eye here with a rosemary rub.
We have some nice hash browns and some scrambled eggs.
Thank you for using seasoning,
because everything is seasoned well.
I can taste all your components.
I just wish each component
was a little more thoughtfully executed.
On the steak here, I like rare,
and I've got about an inch of rare,
and I've got a ton of well-done.
So, it's not a consistently cooked piece of meat.
Now, when you think about hash browns,
I think about crispy edges.
That's not a hash brown.
That's kind of like congealed potato.
It's a mush brown.
Thank you, chef.
I don't think I ever want to see a waffle iron
for as long as I live.
Chef Rina, why don't you tell Jet
about your all-American breakfast?
CHEF RINA: Well, for me, breakfast is all about hash,
so I have a spicy Italian hash
with some marbled potato, char-grilled vegetables,
and some scrambled eggs.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Every element here is pretty well-executed.
I took a bite of this potato, and it was well-cooked.
I really was scared that you were mixing whole potatoes
with minced vegetables,
Thank you, Chef. I appreciate it.
Got it.
Chef Adam, why don't you tell Jet
about your take on the great all-American breakfast?
CHEF ADAM: So, I've made a duo of toast --
heirloom tomato, portobello, and avocado salsa on top of toast,
and then I have a toasted bagel
with a fresh berry mascarpone schmear.
I would just pick that up like a...
I call it a breakfast taco -- the braco.
Excellent.
Go.
And then I've just got a little nice, fresh berry tart schmear
there.
You've given me two pieces of white bread,
two items that don't live on the plate really well together.
I like your vegetables here,
but you really like raw garlic, don't you?
There's nothing in my mouth right now except raw garlic,
okay?
And on this side,
all I really taste in the schmear is garlic
because you didn't allow anything to cleanse my palette
before I went this way, so I'm getting your braco.
I think I'm gonna steal that from you and put it on my menu.
Thank you, Chef.
Jet, step over here.
CHEF ADAM: Thanks, Chef Athena, for the pancakes
and Chef Rina for that toaster.
What would I do without you guys?
All right, Jet, you know the drill.
I can only take three of these fine individuals
into the next round.
One of them must walk out of here now empty-handed.
All of you chefs gave me a really wide interpretation
of what American breakfast could be,
so it comes down to which culinary crime I can't pardon.
So, the chef that is being cut is...
All of you chefs gave me a really wide interpretation
of what American breakfast could be,
so it comes down to which culinary crime I can't pardon.
So, the chef that is being cut is...
...Chef Adam.
Sorry, Chef. It was just too much garlic.
It's okay, Chef.
ALTON: Chef Adam, I'm sorry, sir.
I'm afraid I'm gonna need that $15,000 back in the case.
Sorry to see you go so soon.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Oh, Chef Athena, that little weasel.
I didn't think she was gonna do much,
but she just gave me that pancake challenge.
I'm never gonna eat another pancake as long as I live.
ALTON: Chefs, congratulations on making it through
the first round of "Cutthroat Kitchen."
We're gonna have another round.
The challenge -- half an hour to make a perfect calzone.
Calzone is nothing more than pizza,
only it's in a pocket,
but daggonit, it tastes good.
CHEF ATHENA: My Italian heart lights up like a light bulb.
This is my kind of food,
and I know I've got this one in the bag.
ALTON: What could be simpler?
So, let's have that 60-second shopping time begin now.
Think it through.
What do you have to have to make a calzone?
CHEF RINA: I can't even find my way through a grocery store,
much less this pantry, in 60 seconds,
and then everybody's bumping into each other,
and my list just went right out the window.
ALTON: 30 seconds remaining.
CHEF TERRY: The pizza dough's premade, which is a very big luxury
because it's a time factor.
It makes one less sweat bead roll off the Rebel's head.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
So, I get back to my table, and I'm looking at my basket
compared to the other chefs' baskets.
They don't even grab the right stuff.
Gouda to make a calzone?
My nonna is rolling over in her freaking grave right now
at this.
Well, now we have the fun. We have the auction.
Ready to blow it up, baby.
Let's go.
First item up for bid...
Nice!
Behold, a panini press.
Win this item, and you can force one opponent
to do without all other heat-emitting sources
except for this panini press.
It's time to kick the tires and light the fires and fire it up.
ALTON: Who will give me $500 for the panini press?
$500. All right.
All right, I'll go $600.
I got a $600 bid for the panini press.
Would you like to go for $700, sir?
CHEF ATHENA: I figure it's no sweat.
I make grilled pizzas all the time,
and trying to grill a calzone is the same thing.
$1,000 for a panini press.
I think that's a good deal. How about $1,100? $1,100?
He can give it to me.
I want to survive through the next round.
I have to have some money, so I stop bidding for it.
Fine. Sold for $1,000 to Chef Terry.
The best deal he's made all day.
Come on over, sir. Bring me my money.
Here you go, buddy.
Won't take me long to make change.
Off you go.
Thank you, Alton.
It's not even a very good panini press, if you ask me.
Let's see. Who are we gonna see here?
[ Chuckles ]
That's okay. Let's do it.
Go right ahead.
Fun.
Now I have to use this? Oh, I am in for it.
All righty. Let'*** it.
I know you are. I can tell, baby.
Come on.
All right, let's see what our second item up for the auction
in this round is.
A few days back, I ordered pizza for the whole crew
and just got way, way, way too much,
and I hate wasting, so I decided to save it for the three of you.
Buy this pizza delivery,
and you can force one of your competitors
to ditch their dough or dough ingredients for this.
They'll have to harvest their dough from here.
CHEF ATHENA: There is no way I want to get this dough from this pizza.
It looks pretty disgusting to me.
Who will give me $500 for my pizza?
CHEF TERRY: I want to throw the bids up
so that I can get those girls to spend the last of their money
so that I can take them out in the final round,
is what I'm after.
I think we'll just park it right to $5,000 and cut to the chase.
Hey, why don't just cut to the chase and go to 5 grand?
$6,000.
$6,300.
$6,700.
$7,500.
$8,000.
$8,300.
The bidding keeps going up, and I'm going, "Oh, my God,
I'm gonna lose all my money if I win this."
ALTON: Will you take it to an even 9 grand?
I got $9,000 large for the pizza.
10 grand.
10 grand. 10 grand for the pizza.
$10,500.
Will you pay $10,600?
You can have it.
Going once for $10,500.
Going twice for $10,500.
Sold to Chef Rina for $10,500.
Come on over, Chef. I got a special delivery for you.
I'm not even gonna make you pay me a tip.
Now, I want you to very carefully think this through.
This is a big investment.
All right.
I'm totally scared Chef Rina's gonna hand me this pizza.
We've been at each other's throats the whole time,
and I have a feeling this is coming my way.
CHEF TERRY: Rebel ain't trying to go there.
Are you ready to dance with the devil?
You go and take that to whoever you plan on giving it to,
and bring me back their pizza-dough ingredients.
All right.
Good old Terry with that stack of cash.
Smell the pizza.
CHEF TERRY: Chef Rina took my fresh dough.
Now, I'm all about fresh ingredients.
If it ain't fresh, it ain't quality.
All right, chefs, that was fun, but it's time to cook.
You've got half an hour to produce your take on a calzone.
Your time begins now.
[ Sings in Italian ]
How's that going? Better for you?
Don't quit your day job, Chef Terry.
Don't quit my day job.
I think my whole entire deceased family on the Italian side
just rolled over.
I have no sabotages against me.
I'm cooking what I was born and raised to cook.
I'm gonna do one big calzone,
but I'm gonna have a nice dipping sauce on the side.
We're having a nice Italian cooking class over here.
Hope you like it.
Could I have a slice?
Sure, if you want to.
I got a two-day-old pizza
that I've been luxuriously landed with by Rina.
[ Laughs ]
My biggest challenge is to artistically hide the fact
that it is a two-day-old crusty pizza.
A little fresh ingredients will revive anything.
I'm gonna make, like, a meat lover's calzone.
I have some delicious dry-aged pepperoni,
and then I have some pancetta,
and I threw them on the panini press.
Hey, this panini press works pretty good, man.
CHEF ATHENA: This basil's seen better days, but we can work with it.
I have the mozzarella. I have the grater.
I'm grating the cheese. I'm halving my cherry tomatoes.
I'm putting the Kalamata olives in whole.
I think they're great like that.
The danger of making a big calzone
is that it might not cook in the time that we're given,
so my strategy is to turn the oven really high
and make it just like a pizza oven.
I'm working on the sauce on the stove.
I'm throwing a little anchovy in there...
Me, too.
...some garlic, basil,
a little red wine, and some tomatoes.
Let the Italian girl cook. Let's get it done.
Of course.
ALTON: 12 minutes.
CHEF RINA: I've got to roll out my dough.
Rolled it as thin as possible,
and then I start building my calzone.
Put the tomatoes in there. I put the meat in there.
I folded it up nice and tight
to make sure that nothing dripped out.
I put a little bit of oil on my grill
to make sure that the crust became nice and crunchy.
Rina, I am so happy you gave me this pizza,
'cause I think I'm gonna make this thing work out, girl.
The filling on my calzone
is artichokes, sausage, black olives, tomatoes.
How are you gonna glue those together there, chef?
I'm gonna put a lot of cheese with them.
Adhesive. Yeah.
I can make magic happen as long as I got a lot of cheese.
I've got goat cheese, I've got sharp provolone,
and I have mozzarella,
and I figure if I put the cheese across the top of it
and then use a meat tenderizer
to try and put crimps along the sides
so that I can hide that it is actually a slice of pizza.
And to have the browning on it and make it look gorgeous
is what it's all about.
Come on. Get crispy for me.
CHEF RINA: I have the calzones in the panini press,
and I realize I should make a sauce.
I have the heirloom tomatoes, the oil, and the salt.
I can make a coulis.
It's just a basic sauce made with olive oil and pureed.
I have this pit in my stomach. I've got these calzones.
I don't know that they're gonna be cooked in time.
Come on, panini grill. Don't fail me now.
This might be the challenge that sends me home.
ALTON: Five minutes. Five minutes remaining, chefs.
CHEF ATHENA: As soon as I pull this calzone out of the oven,
I know this is gold.
Looks like a calzone to me.
The cheese is oozing, the outside is crispy,
and it smells delicious.
What do you think, Alton?
That's big.
Yes, ma'am.
When I go to finish my sauce,
I put a little bit of finishing olive oil
just to give it a little bit of extra flavor.
I'm feeling cool as a clam.
Can you feel me now, "R"?
How bad are you mad at me about that panini grill, honey?
Mad enough to kick your [bleep]
Out come my calzones.
The panini press, it, like, smashed my calzone.
That's not what I wanted for my calzone.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up. Challenge is over.
Step away from your work station.
How's it going?
Very, very well.
We've had a very interesting time down here.
The challenge -- calzone.
Ooh. Like a pizza popover.
The best of all possible worlds.
Exactly, in my hand, in my mouth.
I'm ready.
All right, here we go. Calzone time.
Chef Terry, you remember Chef Tila.
Tell him all about your calzone.
CHEF TERRY: Well, I've got Italian sausage, black olives,
artichokes, goat cheese, sharp provolone,
and mozzarella, with fresh tomato.
All right, I'm going in. I'm going in.
Mmm.
It's got to be done, sir.
You actually have some good flavors here,
but the problem is, when I eat a calzone,
I want, like, a nice, crispy exterior,
and by melting cheese in a big wedge of tomato,
you've sogged your crust.
CHEF RINA: He didn't really do a calzone.
He did just put two pieces of pizza on top of each other.
Chef Athena, why don't you tell Chef Tila
about your interpretation of calzone?
I call this the real-deal calzone.
We have two different kinds of mozzarella in there,
cherry tomatoes, basil,
and then we have a nice dipping sauce over here.
It's got a little teeny bit of anchovies, some red wine,
and there's a little bit of Kalamata olives snuck in there
in the calzone, as well.
I like what you've done. You've given me a calzone.
You've given me, like, a marinara-style sauce.
Flavors are tight.
I do have to deem the sauce a little bit.
It's got a pretty intense oil slick on it.
It's pretty much acid without any balance under it.
CHEF ATHENA: We always finish off Italian food
with a little bit of finishing olive oil.
That's all it was.
All you have to do is stir it around
when you dip the calzone in, and it's perfect.
Chef Rina, why don't you tell Jet
all about your take on the calzone.
CHEF RINA: I made a meat lover's calzone
with an heirloom-tomato coulis.
So, I get a lot of good flavor from the meat.
Your choices of making this a meatza calzone
really ups the ante.
Your crust is actually pretty crispy.
I think you could have cooked it a little better,
actually meaning further and making it more crispy,
and it's slightly doughy inside.
Your sauce is totally broken.
Usually, you either emulsify a sauce together,
or you cook a sauce and it comes together.
Just completely broke.
Thank you.
CHEF TERRY: She pulled something off,
but I'm looking at it, and it's a panini.
It's not a calzone.
All right, Jet, one of them must walk out of here now
empty-handed.
It's up to you to decide who that is.
The chef that's going to get cut is...
ALTON: All right, Jet, one of them must walk out of here now.
The chef that's going to get cut is...
...Chef Terry.
I'm sorry, Chef.
It was soggy, the cheese never melted,
and I didn't really understand your toppings.
Oh, sorry, Chef Terry.
I'm going to need that money back in my case, please.
Sorry.
CHEF RINA: Yeah.
Boy, and you had kept so much of it.
[ Groans ]
Thank you, Chef. You played well.
Thank you.
Take care, old man.
Bye, Chef.
I came here to play the game, but it didn't work out for me.
Luck of the draw, what came out, and how hungry they were --
Girls are pretty smart.
They kicked my butt on that one,
stacking me up with that old pizza.
So, chefs, you have survived
to the final third round of "Cutthroat Kitchen."
I made it. I made it to the final round.
I can't freakin' believe it.
I need to win this competition to prove to myself
that I'm really as good as I think I am.
Things are a little different in this round.
I am going to name a dish.
You will have half an hour to produce.
You will, as always, have 60 full seconds
to shop for all of your ingredients,
but then we're just gonna go directly into the cooking phase.
Then I will auction off items as I see fit
during the cooking time.
CHEF ATHENA: I'm ecstatic that I made it to the finals.
I'm definitely here
competing on behalf of my daughter, Helena.
I have a lot to prove so that I can come home a winner
and bring that cash to her.
You got half an hour to make your take on fajitas.
All right.
I don't know if the pretty little girl
can cook Mexican food like me.
I can build flavors,
and I'm really excited about this.
You've got 60 seconds to shop.
That time begins now.
When I think fajitas, I think steak,
so I grab the skirt steak.
I grabbed bell peppers, onions, two kinds of tortillas
because I want to make sure that I am prepared.
ALTON: Chefs, you have 30 seconds remaining.
CHEF RINA: I need to grab some steak, some shrimp, the cotija cheese.
I have to grab stuff to make guacamole.
Chefs, your cooking period begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Start cooking.
CHEF RINA: Since you're Italian,
do you know how to do any kind of Latin cooking?
This is not that far off what I am. I can hang.
Chefs, if could listen up just for a moment,
I do have one little item I'd like to auction off
right here at the start.
If you win this auction, your opponent will be required
to do all of their cooking
in the smallest cast-iron skillet I could find.
There is no way I am getting this to cook my skirt steak.
ALTON: I have $700.
I'll do $1,000.
I got $1,000 from that side. Chef Athena, will you go $1,100?
Do I get $1,600?
$1,700.
Do you want to go $1,800?
She can have it because there, staring at me on my station,
is the shrimp,
and I know those shrimp can fit in that pan.
I want to show her I can throw down.
Sold to Chef Athena for $1,700.
Oh, thank you so much.
Italian style.
CHEF RINA: I'm not kidding you. This thing is tiny.
It's like this big.
Oh, I'm so happy I have these big, wonderful pans to use.
Don't you agree, Rina?
I'm really excited for you.
CHEF RINA: I quickly devein my shrimp,
I peel off the tails,
and I decide I'm making a guacamole,
and I'm using my tomatoes and onions,
so this is coming together.
ALTON: Chefs, you've got 20 minutes remaining.
20 minutes.
Can you handle that big steak there, sweetheart?
Oh, I can handle it just fine.
So, my plan is to get my skirt steak marinated right away.
I put salt and pepper, and I have a little bit of paprika.
I'm gonna sear it a little bit on the outside
because I want it to marinate in those flavors in the pan,
and I have my onions in one pan, my peppers in another,
and I'm just trying to keep everything together
as best I can under the pressure.
Chefs, these are frozen enchiladas.
If you win this auction,
you can confiscate all of your opponent's tortillas
and force them to harvest the tortillas
from these frozen enchiladas.
No way.
I got a $1,000 bid.
$1,100.
I have $1,400.
Do I hear $1,500?
Better keep going, Athena.
Yes, $1,600.
I have a $1,600 bid. Would you like to go to $1,700?
CHEF ATHENA: After a while, I just thought,
"I'm just gonna let her have it."
Whatever happens, I can handle it.
Going twice for $1,600.
Sold to Chef Rina for $1,600.
Thank you.
I shall.
Oh, God. Who eats this crap?
I hate food in plastic,
and these things are just ugly, gross, frozen,
so my only option is to take it over to the microwave.
You're gonna, like, totally convenience-store it,
aren't you?
You are. You're going for the nuke.
I don't even know how these things are edible,
let alone how I'm going to somehow pass them off
to Chef Tila.
You can't overcook those, now, okay?
Keep an eye on that microwave.
How's your wittle-little skittle over there?
It's actually working pretty good.
Did you get that hot enough, you think?
I do, too.
I got to cook these fast.
You do.
I've never cooked in anything that small.
The really big thing about shrimp
is making sure that you don't overcook them,
'cause then they turn out to be like chewing on an eraser.
ALTON: Chefs, you got two minutes to get it on the plate.
[ Scoffs ] Smells disgusting.
What's your plan with the tortillas, Chef Athena?
To whip your butt.
I'm trying to clean all the sauce off the tortilla
as best I can.
I'm afraid if I try to do anything with it,
it's just gonna disintegrate,
so my only choice is to just put it on the bottom
and just try and pile as much of my fresh ingredients on the top
and hope that that does the trick.
CHEF RINA: I got to bust a move to get this done.
Fajitas are no good without some sort of salsa,
so I take bell peppers, cilantro, chives,
and I throw it all together.
I put the bell peppers and shrimp into my green salsa.
I throw some of my guacamole on the plate,
folded up my tortilla as small as I could,
and tried to just toast it.
I finish it off with a little bit of the cotija cheese,
and I've got nothing left.
ALTON: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up. Challenge over. Step away from your station.
Whoo.
CHEF RINA: I came all this way, and I've worked this hard.
I don't want to lose.
How's it going?
Good to see you.
You put these two chefs where they are here in the final round,
and what they have made for you -- fajitas.
Fajitas. Wow. From Italy to Tex-Mex.
Chefs, please bring your plates forward.
CHEF RINA: My dish tastes great. I tasted every component.
I know those shrimp are cooked perfectly,
and I'm really excited for Chef Tila to tell me what he thinks.
CHEF ATHENA: I look at my plate compared to Chef Rina,
and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna win this one.
Her shrimp look a little overcooked.
She's got this goopy guacamole piled on top.
I definitely think I have this one in the bag.
Why don't we begin here?
Sounds good. This is a green chili shrimp fajita
with a chunky guacamole, flour tortilla, and cotija cheese.
Really interesting that you went with shrimp.
A bold choice, but you executed it.
Shrimp's cooked well.
It has that nice kind of plump snappy quality.
I'm not really loving the cheese that you chose.
I really wanted something a little more melty.
And your guacamole, it's chunky, but it's seasoned really well.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
CHEF ATHENA: I'm in shock when I hear Chef Tila liked Chef Rina's dish.
I don't know how Rina's shrimp
are cooked properly in that tiny skillet.
Chef Athena, please tell Jet about your take on Fajitas.
So, Chef, I've made a skirt steak fajita
with an avocado-lime salsa,
bell peppers, onions, and black beans.
I like the composition of the dish.
Your vegetable blend is what I would expect in a fajita.
You've got the peppers and the onions.
You got a nice char on them.
With skirt steak, you really want a medium-rare,
but you gave me a medium-well.
CHEF ATHENA: I'm thinking maybe it's just a preference
because I tasted it, and it was wonderful.
CHEF TILA: The tortilla choice is interesting to me.
For a fajita, I'm thinking about rolling everything together
and eating it like a fajita,
and you presented it more like a rancheros, right?
It's kind of a wet tortilla.
It's underneath everything,
so there's no way I'm ever gonna get my hands around there.
That being said, it's a good fajita.
Thank you, Chef.
CHEF RINA: So, I think even though I had to cook with a tiny skillet,
buying those enchiladas was the right pick.
I think this is what's gonna send her home.
I know I proved myself in this challenge against Chef Rina.
I'm really nervous, but I'm pretty confident
that Chef Tila is gonna say my name as the winner.
So, Jet, you know how it works here.
You got to pay the bill for all this food you've eaten,
and you do that here by deciding which one of these chefs
is gonna walk out of here with a fistful of dollars.
Chefs, I got to tell you, today, I'm really lucky
'cause I get to pick the best out of two really good dishes.
So, the winning chef today is...
...Chef Rina. Congratulations.
Your protein was cooked perfectly.
Great flavors. Thanks for a really well-done tortilla.
Chef Athena, I'm sorry, ma'am,
but that means that the remainder of your cash,
I'm going to need it back in the case.
It's not my fault. I just keep the money.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you so much.
Good job there, supermodel.
Until next time.
Until next time.
I thought I would take a risk
and use the tortillas from the frozen enchiladas,
trying to conserve my money.
I was hoping to take some cash home to my daughter
and maybe take her to Disneyland or do something nice for her,
but I'm sure she's gonna be really proud of mommy.
Chef, that means you're gonna walk out of here with a big $1,400.
It's not a lot, but you sure as heck earned it.
That's the smell of victory.
It's not the biggest take we've seen here
on "Cutthroat Kitchen."
In fact, it's actually the lowest that we've ever had.
But you know what? It's yours.
Do me a favor and spend it all in one place.
All right. Thank you.
CHEF RINA: "Cutthroat Kitchen," the hardest show on Food Network.
Took the cake with that one.
World better watch out for Chef Rina.
Here. You know what? Whatever.
[ Laughing ] It's $1,400.
Yeah!
Okay, I kind of want that money.
ALTON: Hungry for more "Cutthroat Kitchen"? Go to...