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I have $100,000
of cold hard cash in this case.
4 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.
No way.
...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.
I am Chef Sadhu.
Everybody cooks food.
What I do is I put some fun into it.
I jazz it up, I implement my techniques into it
and create something very unique.
I am Chef Miranda.
Every culinary competition that I've been in I have won.
Do I think I'm the greatest chef in the world?
No.
Do I think there's anyone better than me?
No.
Dallas, Texas.
We'll see.
I am Chef Nickell. I am 26 years old.
I have two dads.
They are the owners of the restaurant that I work in.
That's okay. I didn't need that.
I am very used to people
writing me off because of how young I am, how I look,
and how my dad owns the restaurant and everything.
And so I wanted to do this
to shut everyone up who's ever doubted me.
Ready to go home, boys?
I've had meals bigger than her.
Exactly.
I'm Chef Maria Velez.
My dad is definitely the reason I came to "Cutthroat Kitchen."
He's my inspiration,
and he inspired me every day to push myself to the limit.
I just want to see you guys in action.
Let me see what you guys are made of.
You'll see that pretty soon.
Greetings, Chefs.
Welcome to "Cutthroat Kitchen."
You're gonna compete in three culinary challenges.
After each challenge, one of you will be eliminated.
Once I reveal your challenge,
you'll have 60 seconds to shop in our pantry.
At the end of that 60 seconds,
you'll then have an opportunity
to bid on some devices to be used
to, say, inflict discomfort upon your opponents.
My favorite part of the day.
Now, of course, if we're gonna have an auction,
you're gonna need some money.
And I have here $100,000 cold, hard cash.
Each of you will begin with $25,000 apiece.
And that's your money to spend throughout the competition.
But spend wisely
'cause the last chef standing will only walk away
with the money he or she has left.
Chefs, come get your 25K.
It's two bundles, and, yes, I've counted and weighed it.
I grabbed the money from his box,
and I was like, "Oh, God, it's so cool."
Two, please. And only two.
But I want not just $25,000.
I want to kick these people's ***
and kick them out of the kitchen!
Now let's get down to business. Round one --
you are going to have 30 minutes to prepare
a perfect plate of pot stickers.
I'm sure you've made pot stickers
a thousand times, a thousand different ways,
which is why I'm sure you are ready to begin
your 60-second shopping time right now.
CHEF SADHU: So, pot stickers -- what does it need?
It needs protein -- it's a sausage,
and then won ton wrap.
I had carrots, I had cabbage,
and I had these Asian condiments
like chili garlic sauce, white-wine vinegar, Sriracha.
30 seconds remaining.
CHEF VELEZ: At this point,
I'm just throwing things in my basket
just because I needed to have options.
I grab my won ton wrappers, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce --
anything that I can take
so at least I have to make it work,
and I have more choices.
ALTON: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
That was close.
So now the fun part.
We're gonna have our auction.
I'm excited and terrified all at the same time.
It was, like, the day before Christmas,
like, "Ooh, what's the present I'm gonna get?"
Except the present you're gonna get is really gonna suck.
ALTON: So let's see what's up first.
Oh, chefs, what the heck have I gone and done now?
[ Laughs ]
What is that?
We've got frozen won tons.
We've got some won ton wrappers in a jar of honey,
and leftover won ton soup.
The winner of this auction will be able to swap out
each of their competitors' won ton wrappers
in exchange for one of these.
Yeah, I'm serious.
CHEF VELEZ: Are you kidding me?
This is crazy. I have to get my hands on this.
$3,000.
$3,300.
$4,000.
$4,000 to Chef Velez.
Who wants to go $4,100? $4,100? $4,100?
$4,000 is the high bid.
CHEF SADHU: I don't want to bid on that because I know
I'm not gonna lose to those two young ladies.
Going once for $4,000, twice for $4,000.
CHEF NICKELL: I stopped bidding because I figured
that I could take whatever was given to me and run with it.
Sold for $4,000 to Chef Velez.
Bring me my money, ma'am.
Whoo-hoo! Let's have some fun.
I'm hoping that I get the won tons
that are soaked in honey
because those are actual wrappers
that haven't really been used yet.
Um...
This might work for you.
I love that.
There you go.
And there's --
I think it will work wonderful in your basket.
Thank you. Yes.
CHEF MIRANDA: I have to try and figure out how to use
this won ton skin that's already been par-cooked or something.
Just everything about them is terrible.
My love. For you.
What the hell am I gonna do with this?
Have another one, just in case.
I hate won ton soup.
It is soggy and gross, and it has no flavor.
And I'm just not looking forward to this.
ALTON: All right, let's see what our next item up for auction is.
[ Laughs ]
CHEF NICKELL: Oh!
Oh, my.
It is a fruit.
It just so happens to be illegal to consume
in public spaces in Singapore.
This is a durian.
Quite possibly [Sniffs]
the most pungent stink bomb on the planet.
[ Sighs ]
I used to eat that all the time
when I was a little kid back home in India.
You can eat the seed, too.
You can pan-sear or fry.
I can do it. I'm not at all scared.
Win this item, and one chef will be forced
to incorporate the durian into their dish.
Who will give me $500?
$4,000.
$4,100.
$5,000.
$5,000 for the durian.
CHEF MIRANDA: I give up because of greed.
I wanted to keep my money.
$6,000.
ALTON: Going once for $6,000.
Going twice for $6,000.
CHEF VELEZ: I've already spent some money,
and I need to be frugal and hold my money
because I have a long way to go.
Sold for $6,000 to Chef Nickell.
Bring me my money, and take the stinky thing off my desk.
CHEF NICKELL: Oh, I know who's getting it.
Off you go.
Oh, no.
Enjoy.
Oh, no. This is not gonna be pretty.
So the challenge -- pot stickers.
The time -- half an hour to cook.
And it begins now!
CHEF VELEZ: I get to my station,
and I need immediately to start working.
I'm making Italian-sausage pot stickers.
So the first thing that I do --
I take out all the Italian sausage out of the casings.
I start chopping my garlic, my ginger, my herbs --
everything that is going into my filling
and start mixing it as fast as I can.
How you doing, chef?
I worked in a Japanese restaurant for 2 1/2 years,
and I made
probably 500 to 600 won tons every single week.
So I think I can pull it off.
I take the frozen won tons that Chef Velez gave me,
and I get them into boiling water as quickly as I can.
I am going to take them off in pieces
and puree them into my soy, ginger, and mirin sauce.
What are you making?
You'll see. I'm not telling you nothing!
Come on.
My first initial plan
is to take my shrimp, chop them up,
and then I throw them into a bowl
with vegetables and soy sauce and cabbage,
and I just mix it all together, and this is gonna be my filling.
But these won ton wrappers
keep just dissolving in my hands.
So I have to go with another plan.
Sucks!
My plan is to stuff
my napa cabbage with my shrimp mixture.
I'm going to roll it up,
and then I'm going to put it in the pan
and sear it and try to get
a nice caramelization on the cabbage.
Thank you for giving me these won tons.
It's fun.
Oh, good. Have a good time.
Chef Velez, she gave me won ton wrappers soaked in honey.
It was weird.
So I want to wash my won ton wraps.
That's fine. I can play with that.
Then I did the stuffing,
so I pulled the sausage out of the case,
and then I mixed everything
with the vegetables, with the spices,
and I started pan-searing it.
And then I made a nice cabbage-carrot salad.
ALTON: Chef Sadhu, do you -- it's very --
what do you call that cut
where the carrot's real big and fat at one end,
but then real skinny at the other end?
CHEF SADHU: I like to put big carrots in that,
so I did it.
You got 15 minutes. Half of your time remaining.
CHEF NICKELL: How you doing over there, boss?
I'm doing great.
I'm sure you're not having as much fun as I am.
I hope your pot stickers burn.
I'm making shiitake-mushroom and scallop-stuffed cabbage.
So I throw all of my shiitake mushrooms into a pan,
sautéing those down so they can get soft.
I start dicing my scallops.
I want to mix that in with my shiitake mushrooms.
Everything is tasting great.
And I'm thinking, "I got this.
I won."
ALTON: And you have 11 minutes.
My pot sticker is not as pretty as I would like to,
but I know all the flavors are in there.
My pot stickers are almost ready.
So now I have to work with the durian.
I need to see what this is. [ Groans ]
What do you freaking do with this?
CHEF MIRANDA: Chef Velez looked at it
like a monkey looking at fire for the first time.
It smells like a dead body in here.
I hope you have fun with that fruit, sweetheart,
'cause it is not fun to work with.
Oh, somebody's gonna go home.
[ Retches ]
Oh, my God. It's so stinky!
Chef Nickell gave me the durian.
Let me taste it.
[ Retches ] Oh, my God. This is mucho disgusting!
I'm thinking, "What am I gonna do with this durian fruit?"
I have to hide the flavor.
So I want to make, like, a dipping sauce.
I start throwing everything that I have --
all my sauces, ginger, garlic.
Ohh. This is absolutely gross.
I'm in trouble.
CHEF NICKELL: That durian is probably,
like, the worst smell I've ever smelled.
I decide to do sort of an Asian slaw,
which consists of napa cabbage, red cabbage, leeks --
basically the same components that are inside,
just on the side.
You having fun over there?
Chef Velez gives me the frozen won tons.
And I just puree them in with my sauce.
But then I didn't have anything else to wrap with.
So I had to get my cabbage.
I throw the mixture inside it, and I look down --
I was like, "Wow, that looks like crap."
Damn.
I might actually be going home now.
ALTON: Good news, chefs. You got five minutes.
CHEF SADHU: Now I got to make the dressing.
I'm making the dip sauce now
with the rice-wine vinegar
and the chili garlic sauce and Sriracha.
The seasoning is great, and I have my dip ready
and I have my pot stickers ready and I have my salad ready.
So I'm confident that I'm gonna knock this out.
CHEF SADHU: How's it going, guys?
CHEF MIRANDA: Great.
I'm done.
ALTON: You got two minutes.
I'm making a salsa --
like, a thick dipping sauce for the durian.
It has a little bit of soy sauce.
A little water 'cause it's super-salty.
I'm trying to use the sweetness of the durian
and hide the stinkiness and the sliminess
and disgustingness from it.
I make my two sauces for my pot stickers.
One is durian sauce,
and I'll make a sweet sauce that compliments the pot stickers
and is opposite from the other sauce.
ALTON: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up.
Put it down. Walk away.
Challenge is over.
Whew. That was fun.
Hey, chefs, look. We have a judge here.
Let me present to you Antonia Lofaso.
She's a co-owner and executive chef
of Black Market Liquor Bar in Los Angeles, California.
She knows nothing about what you've had to endure,
and she doesn't care.
She cares about one thing,
and that is the food on the plate.
These subject of this challenge is pot stickers.
Oh, great.
I love pot stickers.
Let's see if you will continue to after this.
Come this way.
Chef Sadhu, please tell Chef Lofaso
about your pot stickers.
Certainly.
It's pot stickers with chili garlic dip
and a nice cabbage-carrot salad.
I really enjoyed
the crispness of the outside of the pot sticker.
Thank you.
But the inside is a little dry.
I'm not quite sure why you decided to cut it
because it's kind of losing that moistness.
The salad, I think, is unnecessary
and just a little bulky.
And it's a little underseasoned, to be honest.
Thank you so much.
Let's move on down the line, ma'am.
Chef Miranda, please tell Chef Lofaso
about your pot sticker.
CHEF MIRANDA: I have a scallop and shiitake stuffed cabbage
that I pan-seared,
and the sauce is ginger, shiitakes,
garlic, soy, and mirin.
I'm not into the plating.
It seems like a large piece for such a small plate.
But I'm not mad at it. [ Laughs ]
It's seasoned.
I'm enjoying the flavor of the inside of the pot sticker
without actually the outside
of either steamed or, you know, crisped won ton.
Thank you, chef. Let's move on down the line.
I am instantly relieved.
I might actually squeak by on this one.
Chef Nickell, please explain your dish, ma'am.
I have for you a shrimp- and Asian-slaw-stuffed
napa cabbage pot sticker.
And in the middle is an Asian slaw
with caramelized leeks on top.
CHEF LOFASO: Overall, I do like the flavors of the dish.
I love the way the cabbage is cooked.
The shrimp has a really nice flavor.
But I feel like there's just too much happening on the plate,
and I almost need instructions to kind of get through it.
CHEF VELEZ: I'm panicking at this point.
I'm just praying that this durian sauce
doesn't make Chef Antonia gag like it make me gag.
Chef, for you I have hot Italian sausage pot stickers
with a durian-sauce and a sweet-sauce duo.
The sauces seem very similar.
Usually, when there's two sauces on the plate,
having one taste drastically different than the other
is always nice.
So definitely a pot sticker.
Everything I know to be true about a pot sticker.
It's crisp on the outside, soft and moist on the inside.
I mean, all in all,
it just seems a little boring, to be honest.
Okay.
Thank you, chef.
Chef Antonia didn't notice the durian,
so I think I'm gonna get away with this one.
So, chef, which one of the pot stickers didn't stick?
My decision's coming down to which chef
had the most technical issues with their dish.
And that chef is...
Which one of the pot stickers didn't stick?
I have to go with the chef that had the most technical flaws.
And that is Chef Sadhu.
Sorry, Chef Sadhu,
but I'm gonna need all 25,000 of your dollars
back in the case.
Unfortunately, it's a game, and that's the way it happens.
Thank you very, very much.
Thanks for your time.
I disagree on that.
The whole theme is about pot stickers,
and I made the pot stickers there.
It is not something --
a salad or wrap with some leaves,
which I see on other plates.
My heart says I was not eliminated.
Chefs, congratulations on surviving
the first round here on "Cutthroat Kitchen."
Things are gonna be a little bit more conceptual this round.
I'm going to give you half an hour
to create your interpretation of peanut butter and jelly.
CHEF VELEZ: Peanut butter and jelly?
Seriously?
This is not a challenge.
Your 60 seconds begins now.
Think it through. Peanut butter and jelly.
CHEF NICKELL: I'm grabbing peanut butter,
Hawaiian bread because it's sweet,
all kinds of berries, heavy cream, eggs, and sugar.
ALTON: 15 seconds.
CHEF MIRANDA: At this point, I'm thinking out of the box,
so I decided to go savory.
I'm grabbed the pork tenderloin, peanut butter, chocolate spread.
And I think I can make a mole, but use that as my jelly.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
It is now time to go back to my fun part --
my happy spot -- the auction.
Let's have a look, shall we?
[ Laughs ]
Terribly wonderful.
Here's what we got.
Whole peanuts accompanied by
a little hand-crank grinder mill.
And then I've got an almost empty jar of peanut butter.
Win this auction, and you can force two chefs
to forfeit all peanut-butter ingredients
in exchange for one of these items.
Oh, and I should mention the celery --
that's what you have to use
to get the peanut butter out of the jar.
Oh, and don't worry.
Should you need more,
I actually have plenty of peanut butter here
to do the scraping out of.
And, oh, I realized that's kind of puny, too,
so I'm also gonna provide you
with all the peanuts you could possibly need.
[ Laughs ]
That item is mine. I'm gonna win it no matter what.
$3,000.
ALTON: $3,000 from Chef Nickell.
I got my $3,400.
Who's gonna go $3,500?
CHEF NICKELL: I stopped bidding
because I want to make sure that I have money
left over for the final round.
$3,800.
$3,900.
I got my $3,900. Who goes $4,000?
$4,000? $4,000?
CHEF MIRANDA: I give up on this auction because I realized
that it actually wasn't gonna affect me that much.
I didn't need that much peanut butter.
ALTON: Going once for $3,900.
Going twice for $3,900.
Yes!
The most expensive peanuts I've ever bought in my life.
Worth every single penny.
Okay.
Take your time.
This goodness...
is going to you, Miranda.
Have fun.
Thank you so much!
I would rather have the jars
than have to deal with those peanuts.
And this is for you, my love.
Have fun!
I hate Chef Velez.
ALTON: Let's move now to our second item.
Oh, no.
No, not the tin foil.
Win this foil and force one opponent
to give up all their pots, pans, hand tools, knives, equipment --
everything but heat and this foil,
which they can make everything they need out of.
It's ever so valuable,
and I'm willing to start the bidding at a mere $500.
$3,100.
$5,000.
$5,000 for Chef Nickell.
I'm determined to win this
and get somebody bad.
$6,300.
Who wants to go $6,400?
I can't pay $6,400 for foil.
It's too much money.
$6,300 going once.
$6,300 going twice.
Sold to Chef Nickell for $6,300.
Come on over, ma'am. I'll make change.
Thank you.
CHEF NICKELL: Chef Velez gave me the crappy peanuts,
so, sweetheart, it's your turn
to have some fun with some tin foil.
[ Sighs ]
It's a split basket.
This basket represents the right
to select one of your competitors' baskets
for both chefs to share.
CHEF VELEZ: Oh, Dios mío!
I don't know, if I get this, I don't know if I can handle it.
CHEF MIRANDA: It's two chefs, one basket.
I have to win this
'cause this basket is going to screw someone over.
It's a split basket.
This basket represents the right
to select one of your competitors' baskets
for both chefs to share.
At this point, I don't care about the money.
$2,000.
$3,200.
$3,200. Who wants to go $3,300?
$3,300.
$3,700.
I got my $3,700. Who's gonna say $3,800?
Are you gonna say $3,800?
Come on. $3,800.
CHEF NICKELL: As long as I don't have to share
Chef Miranda's awful man pork basket, I am fine.
$4,000!
$4,000 the current high bid by Chef Velez.
Who wants to go $4,100?
Chef Miranda, you want to go $4,100?
$4,100. $4,100.
$4,100 going once. $4,100 going twice.
Sold for $4,100 to Chef Miranda.
CHEF VELEZ: I just hope we can get to work with Chef Nickell's basket
because she has so many more choices than we have to share.
How crazy is that?
[ Gasps ]
CHEF NICKELL: Of course, he takes my basket away.
It was very smart 'cause I had more ingredients.
It's gonna be difficult and tight,
but I'm gonna make it work.
So, chefs, you've got 1/2 hour --
30 small minutes to produce your take
on peanut butter and jelly.
Your 30 minutes begins now.
Split everything in half?
Split it in half?
Let's split it in half.
CHEF NICKELL: So I have to share with Chef Velez.
I look in her basket,
and I realize that she has no cream, no eggs.
She just has powdered sugar,
so I'm getting really nervous at this point.
I want the butter really bad.
No, I need that. That was my original basket.
You can have this little piece of banana.
Okay.
Sharing is caring, ladies.
I care about more -- about winning and me than anything else.
I don't like to share the kitchen.
What I need is what I need, and what's mine is mine.
I don't like sharing.
And to have Chef Nickell take all of my knives,
all my utensils, all my pans -- everything --
and all I have to work with is this tin foil.
We can split. You know, I just want to have half of this.
Is that cool?
Okay, great.
Since I don't have a can opener --
nothing to open it with -- can you please open it for me?
Like, now?
I will open this can of coconut milk whenever I feel like it.
There's no way these girls work cohesively together.
They have small-dog Napoleon syndrome
where they just want to fight everything.
I will open this right now
if you give me half of that bread.
All right. It's a deal.
Awesome.
I like to negotiate.
I got the lid from the coconut milk.
So I can use that to cut with it.
Having fun, chef?
[ Grunts ]
[ Laughs ]
Thing weighs more than I do.
Chef Velez gave me a humongous bag of peanuts.
This is not very much fun.
I can't get it to stick.
Muscles. Use your muscles.
What muscles? I weigh like 2 pounds.
CHEF MIRANDA: I am making roasted pork loin
with a coconut-peanut butter sauce
and an ancho chili and hazelnut-chocolate mole.
I take the pork loin out.
I break that down as quickly as I can,
portion it, salt it, pepper it,
get those searing, get those going,
and then I'm taking the anchos
and mixing them with the hazelnut and chocolate spread.
Get that on the stove, and I start warming it up.
At this point, I'm thinking I can sell it as the jelly.
Whew!
ALTON: You've got 10 minutes
as of this very moment.
2/3 of the challenge time already gone.
But look at it this way --
if you're not having fun, it'll all be over in 10 minutes.
[ Laughs ]
So I'm making cinnamon-raisin bread
soaked and covered in milk,
peanut butter and jelly with berry sauce.
Oh, my goodness.
I have no pots, no pans -- nothing.
I have to work with my bare hands and tin foil.
Okay, please work.
Please work.
Oh, no!
It's, like, sticking to the grill.
The sweet sound of, "Ah, no!" It's the best sound.
Oh, my God!
No.
No, you're not.
It's not working out at all.
I pull one piece, and it sticks to the grill.
I'm like, "Oh, my God, what am I gonna do?"
No, you're going back to the oven.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me with this.
I'm grinding and grinding and grinding,
and nothing is coming out.
I just can't figure this out,
so I decided to make a bread pudding.
So I take my peanuts,
then I add some coconut milk, some sugar,
a little salt to it
to kind of turn it into a sweet coconut-peanut butter thing.
Then I pour that over the warm bread,
and I turn that into my bread-pudding base.
This is my jelly --
"my jelly component."
It's just a mixture
of different berries that I have with some sugar.
ALTON: Hey, celery boy.
Are you gonna be able to get enough out of that
Yes, I am.
I wasn't planning on using
that much peanut butter to begin with.
Just enough so I have
the essence of peanut butter.
So it's not really affecting me at all.
I'm suspecting you're gonna become overconfident soon.
No.
Everything is perfect.
The pork is exactly what I want it to be.
The jelly's coming across as jelly.
My peanut butter's cooking down with coconut sauce.
I really think it's working for me.
One minute.
Oh, God.
I take my bread,
spread with my peanut butter mixture.
I put a layer of my strawberries and my bananas
and another piece of the bread on top.
It's like a sandwich.
10 seconds.
9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's over. Challenge is over.
Walk away.
That was hard to watch.
Ah, look. A judge returns.
ALTON: The theme -- peanut butter and jelly.
Oh, so simple.
So simple.
And yet, well, let's just go find out.
So, Chef Miranda, please tell Chef Lofaso
what you have done with peanut butter and jelly.
I didn't want to go
just strictly peanut butter and jelly.
I wanted to take a lot of things that I grew up with.
So roasted celery, peanut butter-coconut sauce.
The jam is ancho chilies, hazelnut, and chocolate.
Your pork is cooked really, really well.
Thank you.
Using pork and peanut butter and celery,
I thought, was a really great idea.
Congratulations.
That being said,
I'm really just not getting
any jelly from the dish.
I'm not getting that sweetness
that I was kind of hoping from the jelly.
I'm getting a lot of peanut butter.
She actually liked the plate a lot.
She loved the dish,
except for my jelly not being sweet enough.
Chef Nickell,
please tell Antonia all about your dish.
So what I did for you
is I made the peanut butter from scratch
and I mixed it with some coconut milk,
and I turned it into a bread-pudding base.
The jelly aspect
is strawberry-blueberries with some sugar,
and I blended it up.
I think it's actually really nice.
There's, like, a nice amount of sweetness to it.
The bread is nice and soft.
I'm not getting a lot of peanut.
I wish that I would have made more peanut butter.
I just hope that I did enough.
Chef Velez, please tell Antonia
about your version of peanut butter and jelly.
For you, chef, I prepare a stuffed French toast
with creamy peanut butter and fresh fruit.
I'm definitely getting
a nice, strong peanut butter and jelly flavor.
[ Laughs ]
Just be careful when saying,
"This is a French toast,"
when clearly it's not a French toast.
It hasn't been battered in anything.
It kind of just looks like it's maybe just been,
you know, pan sautéed.
But I feel like it's just a very straightforward,
"I put some peanut butter and jelly on some bread
and handed it to you."
There's not a lot of inventiveness behind it.
Thank you.
Step this way, ma'am.
I'm super-nervous.
It's a very fine line between staying or going.
Well, chef, I'm curious
which one of these chefs will not be headed
into the final round.
The chef that I need to send home is...
So I'm curious.
Which one of these chefs
will not be headed into the final round?
CHEF LOFASO: It was a hard decision. I have to be honest.
The chef that I need to send home is...
Chef Miranda.
I'm sorry.
If there was just more flavor of jelly,
this decision could have been very different.
I'm sorry, Chef Miranda.
I'm going to need that money back in my case, please.
CHEF MIRANDA: The lesson to the kids at home
is do not underestimate
the two women with zebra-striped knives.
There you go, sir.
Thank you very much, though, for being here.
Appreciate it very much.
I knocked myself out of this game
because my jelly was not sweet enough.
So, chefs, welcome to the final round
here in "Cutthroat Kitchen."
CHEF NICKELL: It's me versus Chef Velez,
and I'm very confident that I can beat her
because I am the best,
and I'm proving everyone wrong who's ever doubted me.
Congratulations for making it this far.
Oh, my God. I'm so excited. I made it to the final round.
I know my dad is going to be so proud of me.
But I'm not over yet.
Things are gonna be a little different this round --
make things a little more exciting.
You are going to be given the standard 60 seconds to shop.
You will then go immediately into your cooking time,
and then we'll have an auction while you cook.
You're gonna have 30 minutes
to make a perfect plate of shrimp scampi.
Shrimp scampi is usually shrimps with garlic, wine,
a lemon on a bed of pasta or rice.
That's very easy. I can do it in my sleep.
And that 60-second shopping time begins now.
My style of cooking is Asian-influenced American.
I'm very strong in Asian food.
So the first thing I grab is my shrimp, obviously,
and I grab soba noodles and udon noodles.
I don't want to just stick with traditional.
I want to throw in, you know, my attitude, my flare in there.
15 seconds.
CHEF VELEZ: I want to get pasta, garlic, herbs.
ALTON: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
And your cooking begins now.
Are you ready?
I'm so ready.
I decide to get started on my broth,
so I take the garlic and I chop it up
and I add all the bean sprouts and the lemons,
and then I sauté that for a little bit with some wine.
It's gonna be delicious.
Oh, chefs, can I have your attention for just a second?
Here's the deal.
If you win this block of frozen shrimp,
you'll be able to force your opponent
to harvest all of their shrimp for this dish from this block.
And guess what?
They'll have to use that ice pick.
CHEF VELEZ: Oh, my God. This is a disaster.
You're not only, like, chisel out every single shrimp,
They're small shrimp, frozen shrimp.
That's crazy.
I really need to win this.
$2,000.
[ Laughing ] $2,000 for a block of frozen shrimp!
$3,000.
$3,000. $3,100?
$3,100!
I have my $3,400.
$3,500.
I got $3,500. How about $3,600?
$3,600? You're not gonna go there, are you?
CHEF NICKELL: I stopped bidding
because shrimp doesn't take that long to cook.
$3,500 going once, going twice,
sold to Chef Velez for $3,500.
Shall I deliver this to your --
Oh, yes, please. Deliver it to my opponent.
Here, let me be helpful.
Thank you for the frozen shrimp.
Appreciate it.
Anytime.
It's part of the game.
I want to see how she works with that.
Oh, it's easy, honey.
I got 30 minutes to get these shrimp out.
This is so much fun.
I get to take all my anger out on you with this.
I start chipping away like a monster
and trying to get this shrimp out as fast as I can.
And I realized that the ice pick was really tiny.
I thought it was just, like, a little bit wider
at the end than it was.
The only thing I'm really hitting is the shrimp,
and they keep breaking in half.
This is not gonna be good.
Oh, my God. Look at this beautiful shrimp.
Oh, yeah. Gorgeous.
See this ice pick in my hand?
I wouldn't mess with me too much.
My dish is going to be a grilled jumbo shrimp linguini.
So the first thing that I do --
I take my beautiful jumbo shrimps,
and I open them, butterfly them, de-vein them,
and wash them.
Just want to clean my shrimps, take out the vein.
I put some olive oil, chopped garlic, parsley,
a little bit of lime.
I want to make this to be delicious.
I hate you for this.
I'm just hitting, hitting, hitting.
And I finally get enough shrimp out that I need.
Attention, all "Cutthroat Kitchen" cooks.
We have here some lovely lemon candies
and some stinky garlic ice cream.
Win this auction, And you'll be able
to switch out either all of your opponent's garlic or lemons.
Your choice entirely.
$500 will be the opening bid.
We have a $500 bid.
$800. I have $800.
$1,000.
$1,100.
$2,000.
Chef Velez, you gonna give me $2,100?
No.
I'm bidding on these items
just because I want Chef Nickell to spend money.
If she gives it to me,
it's something that I can work with.
Fine, going once, going twice,
sold to Chef Nickell for $2,000.
Here you go, ma'am.
You can take that, and you have to decide
whether she's gonna replace her garlic with the ice cream
or her lemons with the lemon candy.
Destroy anything, baby. Whatever you like.
Sour lemon candies and fresh lemon juice
are nowhere near the same thing.
Here you go.
Oh, beautiful!
So I figured that that would
really throw her flavor of her dish off a lot.
You were merciful, actually.
Garlic ice cream's easier than candy.
Oh, yeah.
We'll find out, won't we?
CHEF VELEZ: I taste the candy,
and they were super-sour, super-hard.
They were just not good.
Yummy!
[ Chuckles ]
Enjoy it.
So I grind, in the blender, all the candies.
I made them into a powder, and I added into my marinade.
Praying that this works.
Hmm.
I can make this work.
Oh, beautiful.
Chefs, you got five minutes remaining.
So excited.
CHEF NICKELL: My only concern is whether or not
the shrimp is going to cook in time.
Don't want to overcook it,
or that's gonna be really, really bad.
I stick the noodles into the bottom of the bowl
and I add the shrimp and the vegetables on top of the noodles
and I pour the sauce right on top so it remains hot.
ALTON: Three minutes.
Are you ready to lose, baby?
CHEF VELEZ: I'm ready to win.
Everything's tasting delicious.
My sauce, my parsley -- It looks perfect.
I put my shrimps into the sauce and added my pasta.
Chefs, you have 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time is up. Challenge is over.
Back away from the bowls.
My heart is pumping so hard. I just want to win.
CHEF NICKELL: My dish is a lot of perfect.
Chef Velez, be prepared to lose.
Our final challenge -- Round 3 -- shrimp scampi.
Okay.
Chefs, please bring your dishes forward.
Present them here.
CHEF VELEZ: I'm feeling good.
I see Chef Nickell. Poor thing.
She has small shrimp -- frozen shrimp.
I think I got this one.
CHEF NICKELL: I look over at Chef Velez's huge shrimp,
and I'm very, very, very jealous,
but I did a twist on shrimp scampi.
It's unique. It's interesting.
I think I have a shot at this.
So, chef, it's completely up to you.
Where would you like to start?
Chef Velez, go ahead.
So for you,
I have grilled jumbo shrimp linguini scampi
with a traditional twist.
I just cooked the beautiful shrimp on the shell
to keep all the moistures and the juices inside.
Shall I order wine?
Um, yes, please. Thank you.
[ Chuckles ]
I love the simplicity of the dish.
I really do love the shrimp.
I'm so happy you decided to grill them in the shell.
They're cooked really well, seasoned well.
There's a really nice amount of acid to it, as well.
I wish there was more of a garlic flavor.
That's really what I'm missing here.
CHEF NICKELL: I'm sitting here thinking,
"Where the hell did that acid come from?
You had candy."
Let's move on over
and have a taste of Chef Nickell's offering.
Would you like to tell her about the dish, please?
What I have for you
is an Asian-inspired shrimp scampi.
I used udon and soba noodles
instead of traditional linguini or spaghetti.
A really great interpretation.
Well done.
The presentation's beautiful.
Your shrimp is well-cooked, well-seasoned,
and the noodles are really nice in it.
Thank you.
When Chef Antonia said
that she likes Chef Nickell's shrimp,
I'm like, "How can she like those frozen shrimp?"
I wish she knew where they're coming from."
So, Antonia, now that you have dined,
it's time for you to decide which one of these chefs
is gonna walk out of here with cash
and which chef is just gonna walk out of here.
Chefs, I need to go with the chef
that cooked the shrimp the best.
That chef is...
Chef Velez.
Sorry, Chef Nickell,
but I'm afraid I'm gonna need that stack of cash
back over here.
I'm terribly sorry. It was lovely to have you.
It's okay. It was wonderful to meet you.
Thank you.
I put my heart and soul into my final dish.
It's unfortunate that I got frozen shrimp
'cause that destroyed me.
Future chefs, go with your gut.
Spend the money, have fun, and be cutthroat.
That's the only way you'll win.
Congratulations.
You're walking out of here with $13,600.
I'm a winner!
I'm a "Cutthroat Kitchen" winner!
I want to tell my dad
that I love him with all my heart,
and this is for my dad.
I can't wait to tell him and let him know
and hug him and make him proud.
ALTON: Hungry for more "Cutthroat Kitchen"?
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