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00:00This game is evil.
00:05If you got the hustle, I've got the game.
00:07I'm all in.
00:08Each night, I invite the country's most elite chefs
00:10to put their money and reputations on the line.
00:12Shots fired.
00:13He's not going to roll in here and flex on me like that.
00:15In an after-hours game of culinary poker.
00:17Who never will never know we were here.
00:21We're talking big steaks.
00:22Come on now, work for daddy.
00:23It's all in.
00:25Wild twists.
00:26Oh, you really did do it.
00:28And mind-blowing dishes.
00:29I'm actually, like, sweating a little bit right now.
00:31No risk, no reward.
00:39Tonight, chefs who won big the last time around
00:41are back for more.
00:42They're bringing double the usual bankroll.
00:44Risking ten grand each.
00:45These three all want a repeat victory so bad,
00:47they can taste it.
00:51Hello.
00:54Manita's the only two-time champion
00:56to tournament a champion's history.
00:58And one of Wild Card Kitchen's biggest winners
01:00with $20,000.
01:01She's the one to beat.
01:02And you just continue to clean house.
01:04It's become such a habit.
01:07I have in mind to bring in some other big winners this evening.
01:11Some have won all $15,000.
01:13Some have cleaned house.
01:16Oh!
01:18Chris has four award-winning restaurants.
01:20He won $15,000 the last time he was here.
01:23He's looking for another clean sweep tonight.
01:25Dressed in all black, are you prepared for a funeral?
01:27Funeral? My friend, what's going on?
01:29Their funeral, yeah.
01:30Oh!
01:31He's ready to fork in all his money right over here.
01:33Chris is such a well-respected chef.
01:36But I am a two-time TOC champ.
01:39Beating him is going to feel so good.
01:42So, chefs, bigger payday, bigger bankroll.
01:44Do you have an idea who may be coming down the stairs?
01:47They gotta be a big hitter.
01:48Boston Magazine has named her Best Chef twice.
01:50She's got four James Beard nominations.
01:53Oh!
01:54Tiffany won Tournament of Champions
01:56and took her fellow Chopped judges for over $9,000
01:58the last time she played.
01:59Absolutely not. Absolutely not.
02:01Did not tell me it was these two.
02:03Miss Win Everything and Mr. Clean the Table last time.
02:06Hi. How are you?
02:07I'm actually watered right now.
02:09You've done some damage here in this kitchen?
02:11I've done okay, but you brought the night cleaner in
02:13and, like, the bank robber, so, yeah.
02:16Monique and I are dear friends.
02:17We go back forever, but we're playing for money.
02:20So it's, like, so nice to see you.
02:22Let me pick your pocket.
02:23Grab yourself a drink, and we'll get things started.
02:26Monique, Chris, Tiffany, chefs, you all know the game.
02:29We're playing culinary poker.
02:30I'll deal food cards, and you guys will bet cash
02:32based on how sure you are you're gonna win a winning hand.
02:35Then, obviously, all you have to do
02:36is back it up in the kitchen.
02:37Three hands, three cooks.
02:39Every hand, winner take all.
02:40If you win, of course.
02:41Let's go ahead and clarify.
02:43It's not if, it's when.
02:45When I win.
02:46Well, when I win,
02:47first what I would do is pay for their therapies.
02:51Because I crushed them so hard.
02:53It is very intimidating
02:54to go up against two TOC champions.
02:57But last time I was here,
02:58I was up against Mei Lin, another champion,
03:01and I showed him who's boss.
03:04All right, chefs, let's get started.
03:06First up, the speed hand.
03:0820 minutes on the clock.
03:10Oh, God.
03:11And because you guys are doubling the bankroll,
03:13the buy-in is $1,000.
03:15You know the deal.
03:16In order to see the cards, I gotta see the cash.
03:18This is not a cheap game tonight.
03:20It's real money.
03:21This could go to a place
03:22that I might feel a little uncomfortable.
03:25And just like that, $3,000.
03:28We started early. I like this.
03:30Here we go, the community cards.
03:32These cards will determine the dish
03:33and the ingredients you'll be using.
03:35First, the dish card.
03:37You'll be making a retro diner dish.
03:40Oh, yeah, yeah.
03:41Old-school, nostalgic.
03:43And you must include...
03:46Oh.
03:47It's an odd combo.
03:48Seriously.
03:49Eh?
03:50When have you had anything
03:51related to a walnut at a diner?
03:53No, never.
03:54Let's go ahead and dish out the wild cards.
03:56So, here are your wild cards.
03:58Take a peek.
03:59These cards could change everything.
04:02This is a great wild card.
04:04Citrus is that fresh foundational ingredient
04:08that you need in any dish.
04:10That's the worst card.
04:11I can't cook with no sauce on top.
04:13You know, it's decently important
04:14that as a chef, you can taste your food.
04:17It's kind of what we do.
04:18The action's yours, Chef Monique.
04:20You can check or bet.
04:22Both Chris and Tiffany know the game.
04:24So, right off the bat,
04:26I am going to up my betting.
04:29I am here to take people down.
04:31I am betting 1,000.
04:32She's betting.
04:33The pot's 4,000.
04:34You feeling strong?
04:35We'll find out.
04:36The option is to you, Chris.
04:39To my right, I got a champion.
04:41To my left, I got another champion.
04:43But to be the best, you gotta beat the best.
04:45I gotta play every round.
04:48We'll call that.
04:49Okay.
04:51$5,000 on the pot.
04:52Retro Diner and Walnuts, Tiffany.
04:55I'm just watching Chris and Monique.
04:57Chris, he might be in trouble,
04:58but I think that Monique,
04:59it looks like she has a good wild card.
05:01I'll call.
05:02Wow, okay.
05:03The pot is good at six grand.
05:05Chef Monique, see what the wild card says.
05:08Exclusive use of all of the citrus.
05:11It's actually pretty big.
05:13Monique did not need a leg up in this competition.
05:16Chris, what do you got?
05:19No stove top.
05:21So stupid.
05:22I'm so stupid.
05:23That was a confident bet for something
05:25that can clearly hurt you.
05:27Well, clearly, I'm really bad at peer pressure,
05:29so I feel like I'm pretty effed.
05:32Tiffany, what do you got?
05:33I'm not any happier than Chris is.
05:35I'll tell you that right now.
05:37Cannot taste your food.
05:39Do I feel sorry for Tiffany and Chris?
05:42Absolutely not.
05:43Eyes on the money.
05:45Six grand is in the pot right now.
05:46Retro Diner is the dish.
05:48Walnut is the ingredient.
05:5020 minutes on the clock,
05:51and your time starts now.
05:54Chris and Tiffany both have a handicap.
05:56They have to come up with some really creative ways
05:58to make their dish.
05:59Oh, my goodness.
06:01What can I use without a stove top?
06:03I don't know what to do right now.
06:04I'm dumbfounded.
06:05I am screwed.
06:07Chef Monique has a massive advantage.
06:09I'm feeling so good.
06:10I'm going to put lots of citrus
06:12in every component of my dish.
06:14I really want to get the retro aspect of a diner.
06:17The first thing that comes to my mind is meatloaf.
06:19I so want to take Chris's and Tiffany's money.
06:23Tiffany.
06:24Yeah?
06:25Can't taste anything.
06:26What's going on?
06:27What are you thinking about your dish?
06:28I'm making chicken tendies with ranch.
06:29Retro Diner vibes for sure.
06:31For sure.
06:32How are you incorporating the walnut?
06:33They're my crust for my chicken.
06:34Walnut is difficult.
06:35It's time consuming,
06:36especially in the speed round.
06:37It's a lot of work to get a lot of flavor
06:38out of the walnuts.
06:39What is the disadvantage of not tasting
06:41your food in the competition?
06:42I don't know what the hell I'm giving someone.
06:43Ultimately.
06:44Right.
06:45I mean, I do.
06:46You know, there's muscle memory here.
06:47I'm going to put a lot of curry in it
06:48so people think I'm a neat so I can win.
06:49Oh, come on!
06:51Fair enough.
06:52She does very well for herself,
06:54but I need all the money I can get.
06:55I'm here to crush my friend.
06:57Okay.
06:58Walnuts.
06:59I put all of the walnuts into my dredge
07:01so it's going to have like a nutty quality to it,
07:03but I can't taste my food.
07:04So it's a little bit of a gamble
07:06if the judge will taste my walnuts.
07:08No citrus, my friend.
07:09Is that going to affect your dish anyhow?
07:10Not the best.
07:11So I'm using pickle juice as a substitute for the citrus.
07:14Sure hope this tastes good.
07:16Chef, Manit.
07:17Yes.
07:18Exclusive use of all of the citrus in the kitchen.
07:20Massive advantage.
07:21Yes.
07:22You want to have as much freshness,
07:24especially when it comes from citrus.
07:26That's a completely different story.
07:27What are you thinking about doing for this dish?
07:29Meatloaf.
07:30Meatloaf.
07:31Retro diner, for sure.
07:32Meatloaf!
07:33Woo-hoo!
07:34Yeah.
07:35What is the secret to a delicious meatloaf?
07:36Manit.
07:37Woo-hoo.
07:38Okay.
07:40Straight to the point.
07:41Knowing that both Chris and Tiffany are high roller winners,
07:45I have to work extra hard to take all of their money.
07:48Both of them absolutely mad competitors.
07:52They are fearless,
07:53and that makes it really, really frightening
07:56to be competing against them.
07:58How are you incorporating walnuts, Chef?
08:00I'm going to be incorporating it in a couple of different ways.
08:03Okay.
08:04I'm boiling some.
08:05I'm going to kind of make a kind of a gravy-ish out of that,
08:07some sautéed green beans.
08:09Wow.
08:10That is a lot of size, the accoutrement.
08:12It is really risky to make all of these different components
08:15in only 20 minutes,
08:16but that's what poker is all about.
08:1814 minutes, 15 seconds.
08:20Chris, you all right?
08:21What are you doing?
08:22I got no stove, and I lost my main heat source.
08:24I'm kind of screwed.
08:25How are you going to cook?
08:26What pieces of equipment are you going to be using?
08:28I'm going to use a deep fryer and the deep fryer.
08:30I'm going to make a good chicken fried steak, baby.
08:32Okay.
08:33Tons of added pressure.
08:34I'm going against two titans in the kitchen.
08:36I've really got to step up my game today.
08:38It's fast, baby.
08:41How are you incorporating walnuts into this?
08:43I'm going to make a walnut chimichurri.
08:45Man, you know what this chimichurri really could need?
08:47Citrus.
08:48Oh, my God.
08:49Fresh lime, lemon.
08:51You guys are so funny.
08:53I have vinegar, which actually kind of helps out the acidity.
08:56Okay.
08:57That's really, really smart.
09:01Looks like Chef Maneet is working the walnuts in abundance.
09:04You've got to play to the cards.
09:06I want to use walnut in each and every component of my dish.
09:09So instead of making a traditional gravy,
09:11I make a walnut gravy puree and coat the potatoes.
09:16Jess, we are six minutes and 40 seconds.
09:18Chef Maneet, do you have any concerns right now?
09:20It seems like it's a lot of things to get done.
09:22All the concerns.
09:23There's no way that I'll be able to get this done
09:25if I put it in the oven where meatloaf is traditionally cooked.
09:29There is a lot of money on the line,
09:31and I start too much time with all of these different side dishes.
09:36I hope that that mistake doesn't cost me the win.
09:39Nothing is ready.
09:40Things need to heat.
09:41That's what needs to happen right now.
09:43Five and a half minutes to get the meatloaf cooked through.
09:45Not going to happen.
09:56$6,000 in the pot.
09:57Retro diner, walnuts.
09:59Chef Maneet is under the gun right now.
10:01Five and a half minutes to get the meatloaf cooked through.
10:04There's no way that I'll be able to get this done
10:06if I keep it on the stovetop.
10:08This is my reputation on the line.
10:10Let's do this.
10:11Right now she just switched it over.
10:12Quick pivot.
10:13I actually really, really like this idea.
10:15When it's not working on a stovetop, deep frying it,
10:17getting that done a lot faster.
10:18Cross my fingers that it gets cooked through and through.
10:21How's it going, Chef?
10:24I'm making my ranch.
10:26There are nuances to ranch.
10:27Obviously I need to season it properly
10:28and the herbs need to come out.
10:30Oh, my God, I can't taste it.
10:31I'm here for you, though.
10:32I can taste whatever you'd like me to.
10:33Okay, come on over, come on over.
10:34Let me know.
10:35Mm-hmm.
10:36Oh, wow.
10:37Say words, say words.
10:38You know what this tastes like?
10:39Ranch?
10:40I can't tell you. I'm sorry.
10:41Oh, Eric.
10:43Come on.
10:45Chrisso.
10:46Yes?
10:47Maneet has taken home $20,000 here in this kitchen.
10:50Wow.
10:51You've done 15.
10:52Keep that in the back of your mind.
10:53She's the ghost.
10:55I want to beat hers and beat, like, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan.
10:57That's why I want to clean sweep the entire night
11:00and beat the best of the best.
11:01Chrisso, do we have cracked eggs in the fryer?
11:03Ah, yes.
11:04That's just pretty cool.
11:05Yeah, right?
11:06Have you done this before?
11:07Nope.
11:08All right.
11:09Dropping an egg in scalding hot oil.
11:10There's a lot of things that can go wrong,
11:12but that's my wild card.
11:14R&D here at the wild card kitchen.
11:16I'm hoping it works.
11:17Super crispy on the outside,
11:18yet nice and soft and runny on the inside.
11:22I think it worked.
11:23Chrisso, tell me about how much you like winning money.
11:25Well, since I do it all the time,
11:26I don't really like it.
11:27I'm just used to it.
11:28Ah.
11:29This one.
11:30We have three minutes.
11:32Damn, that is just a sexy piece of chicken.
11:34Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
11:36Golden brown and delicious.
11:37GBD.
11:38GBD.
11:39So I just took some Greek yogurt, some mayonnaise,
11:41and some of my walnut chimichurri
11:43to give it a nice little creamy finish to my dish.
11:46Then I stack on the country fried steak,
11:48a nice dollop of the chimichurri.
11:50On top of that, that deep-frying egg.
11:52Voila.
11:53Minute and a half, chefs.
11:55So all I have on the plate is some green beans.
11:58I quickly place the potatoes,
12:00and then I am down to a few seconds.
12:0450 seconds left.
12:05I'm gonna work on a little salad
12:07to go with my chicken-fried steak and eggs.
12:10We are at 30 seconds left, chef.
12:12I'm hoping that it's cooked.
12:13Chicken tenders goes down,
12:14and I have ranch, carrots, and celery.
12:16Sure hope this tastes good.
12:17I have not seen Tiffany take a single taste.
12:20Chris hasn't tasted his either, but he's allowed.
12:225, 4, 3, 2, 1.
12:27That is about it, chefs. Well done.
12:30I do think that it was an ambitious dish.
12:32I'm hoping that it's cooked.
12:33I was a little torn off. That is so tough.
12:35I always love chicken-fried steak,
12:37so we got chicken-fried steak.
12:38Nothing says diner like chicken tenders and ranch.
12:41Do me a favor. Grab your plate.
12:43Let's head over to the table.
12:45You guys look very calm and collected
12:47after an intense 20 minutes.
12:49I'm gonna do a quick switcheroo
12:50just to keep our judge honest.
12:52Remember, they don't know who made what dish,
12:54and the dishes have to speak for themselves.
12:56So, poker faces.
12:57It's a little bit of a gamble about who the judge is
12:59because it's their interpretation of a diner.
13:01Your judge is also a wild-card winner.
13:03You might recognize her, Monique,
13:05as the chef you faced off against
13:06in the finale of Tournament of Champions 5.
13:09Please welcome...
13:11Oh!
13:12Chef Antonio, everyone.
13:14What's up? What's up?
13:16We have high rollers here tonight.
13:19Yeah, we do.
13:20They've all won at this table.
13:21We've all won before.
13:22But who's gonna win this one?
13:24Starting off with $6,000 in the pot.
13:26This is a lot of money.
13:28You guys brought a lot of money.
13:29We did.
13:30We have retro diner as the dish,
13:31walnuts as the ingredient.
13:33You know the deal, chef.
13:34I can't tell you anything else.
13:35I'm gonna just go from left to right, if that's okay.
13:38It looks like we have, like, a little chicken-fried steak.
13:41Beautiful presentation.
13:42Is that a little fried egg in there?
13:46Ooh.
13:48The steak is cooked beautifully.
13:49It's nice and moist in the center, seasoned amazingly.
13:53The best part for me is this fried puffed egg
13:56that's still nice and soft in the center.
13:58I mean, that's actually kind of a fun cooking technique,
14:01that puffed egg.
14:02It's hard to do.
14:03Dude, that egg could have gone way bad.
14:05Definitely fits retro diner.
14:07I get the whole steak and eggs.
14:09Really, really smart.
14:10There's, like, some kind of beautiful chimichurri-ish
14:13walnut pesto, if you will, on top of the steak
14:16that adds so much great acid.
14:18That's the red wine vinegar.
14:19Hell yeah!
14:20We'll move on to the next dish.
14:22Okay, this is 100% diner without question.
14:31The chicken's delicious.
14:32Very moist, really well-seasoned.
14:35Yeah, exactly.
14:36It's muscle memory.
14:37I don't visually see walnuts here.
14:41I'm assuming that the walnuts were kind of ground
14:44into the outside of this batter,
14:46but not really tasting them.
14:48Are you kidding?
14:49My chicken is covered in walnuts.
14:51It is literally dredged in walnuts.
14:52This is what happens when I can't taste my food.
14:55All right, let's go ahead and move on to the last dish.
14:57I'm gonna go with a meatloaf of some sort.
14:59I mean, classic diner right here.
15:07Mmm.
15:08The meatloaf is actually really nice.
15:09The center is nice and moist.
15:11Perfectly cooked.
15:12Oh, it is cooked.
15:13The string beans, there's a nice snap to them.
15:16I love eating the walnut through it.
15:18There's a good amount of acidity in there.
15:20I'm kind of wondering where it's coming from.
15:22New citrus.
15:23Yes.
15:24The walnut is used here as well
15:26in some kind of creamy nut puree.
15:28It's good.
15:29It's a little strange in texture,
15:31like it feels almost like a mealiness
15:33or like a graininess to it.
15:35All right, so no pressure.
15:37I see $6,000 on the table.
15:39It's very hard for me to play it cool
15:41because this is my money,
15:43and it is mine to lose.
15:47I'm sorry. I love you guys.
15:49Okay, for the first round,
15:51High Rollers, I'm giving it to...
15:55$6,000 in the pot.
15:57They've all won at this table.
16:01But who's going to win this one?
16:03I'm giving it to...
16:07Chicken Fried Steak.
16:08What's up?
16:10Here we go again, ladies.
16:12Chris, that's four wins in a row.
16:14I'm going to give it to...
16:16I'm going to give it to...
16:18I'm going to give it to...
16:20I'm going to give it to...
16:22Here we go again, ladies.
16:24Chris, that's four wins in a row in the kitchen.
16:26How do you feel?
16:28Not surprised, but surprised.
16:30He's a little peacocking.
16:32We got you. Ride that high.
16:34Let's see if you can keep riding that high.
16:36I'd be careful.
16:38Antonia, thank you so much.
16:40Let's set the table for the second hand.
16:42Chris O., you have $14,000.
16:44Tiffany and Monique, you both have $8,000.
16:46All of the smack-dog from Chris,
16:48I have to win this round.
16:50Break in.
16:52This time, you have 30 minutes to cook.
16:54Ooh!
16:56$2,000 is the buy-in.
16:58I got to see some cash.
17:00My strategy is watching Chris and Monique.
17:02If they're going to let me watch them look at their cards,
17:04I'm going to watch them.
17:06Once again, we have two community cards,
17:08your dish and ingredient.
17:10The dish you'll be making is...
17:12Cajun style.
17:14I lived in New Orleans,
17:16so, like, we good.
17:18And the ingredient...
17:20is canned cheese.
17:22Canned cheese. These things exist?
17:24Yeah. Why?
17:26And last but not least, Chefs, wild cards.
17:28This is where the game really, really begins.
17:30Take a peek.
17:32This card is going to change the game.
17:34It's handheld, and it's Cajun.
17:36Good wild card.
17:38I'm in trouble.
17:40No blender or food processor.
17:42That is the worst wild card.
17:44Monique, over and out for this round.
17:46I haven't prepped for anybody in 10 years.
17:48Chris, the action's yours.
17:50My wild card isn't great,
17:52but being a risk-taker won me all that money last time.
17:54I'm going to put $1,000 on it.
17:56Betting $1,000?
17:58Yes.
18:00The action's to you, Tiffany.
18:02You can call the bet at $1,000,
18:04and you can raise it up to $4,000.
18:06I only have $6,000 at this point.
18:08Looking at the peacock to my right, and he's a little tepid.
18:10My mom always says,
18:12don't write checks your butt can't cash,
18:14Chris.
18:16Raise to $4,000.
18:18Whoa, wow.
18:20What?
18:22And just to be clear, to play the last hand,
18:24you need at least $3,000.
18:26If they match and you lose this,
18:28you do not have enough money to make it into the third hand.
18:30Correct.
18:32This is make or break, so let's go, baby.
18:34Wow, okay. That was a bold move.
18:36$4,000 to Monique.
18:38Seems like these high rollers came to play.
18:40I really want to beat Chris,
18:42but I'm not confident with the cards
18:44which have been dealt.
18:48I'm going to sit it out.
18:50Ooh, we got a foldy.
18:52In the last round, I'll just sweep everything over here.
18:54Ooh!
18:56Chris.
18:58With or without the wild card, momentum is momentum.
19:00I'm calling.
19:02Oh!
19:04You're calling the $3,000 to make the pothole.
19:06It's daddy's money right here, okay?
19:08Ooh!
19:10Ladies and gentlemen,
19:12we have $14,000 in this pot.
19:14That's a lot of cash.
19:16Let's see the wild card, man. Let's see what you got.
19:18Ah!
19:20You must do three minutes of prep for another player.
19:22Ah!
19:24You're helping the enemy, essentially.
19:26Tiffany, what do you got?
19:28Make it handheld. Ooh, that's a good one.
19:30All right.
19:32I lived in New Orleans, guys. I'm good.
19:34I'm just curious. Monique, what did you fold on?
19:36No blender or food processor.
19:38That is tough.
19:40That's your work horse. I get it. I totally get that.
19:42Okay, so the table is set.
19:44We have Cajun style as our dish.
19:46Canned cheese is the ingredient.
19:48$14,000 in the pot.
19:50Chefs, your time starts now.
19:52It has to be handheld, and it's Cajun.
19:54Why wouldn't it be a po' boy?
19:56There's canned cheese
19:58that can help make a gravy.
20:00There's andouille in the kitchen, catfish.
20:02I'm gonna crush this round.
20:04To me, I'm not a big fan of the canned cheese.
20:06This is such a tough one. The artificial flavor.
20:08It tastes like tin.
20:10Chris O, you have a dish in mind?
20:12Yeah, I'm gonna do Cajun, Vietnamese
20:14kind of infusion.
20:16Seafood tostada.
20:18I'm gonna use rice paper and deep fry it.
20:20I got the inspiration from Jet, honestly.
20:22Hey, team, I'm gonna show you how to turn
20:24fried rice paper into a tuna tostada.
20:26Jet, I'm dedicating this dish to you.
20:28Is tostada going to read as a Cajun dish, though?
20:30It really boils down to the flavors.
20:32Tell me about the canned cheese.
20:34I'm gonna make this nice whipped cheese spread.
20:36Okay.
20:38Put it on tostada, torch it, like brulee it.
20:40Canned cheese is a styrofoam
20:42that came out of a can.
20:44So what I'm doing is making a nice
20:46Southeast Asian cheese spread.
20:48I'm just hoping that
20:50fish sauce will elevate
20:52the flavor of the canned cheese.
20:54It's gonna be dope.
20:56Chris O has not lost in the wild card kitchen yet.
20:58I don't plan on ever losing in this kitchen.
21:00Hey, Chris?
21:02Can you unpeel some shrimp for me?
21:04Yes, chef.
21:06Save all the shells and tails for me, please.
21:08Thank you!
21:10What's it feel like being so far away from your station?
21:12Uh, well...
21:14More work, less cocky.
21:16Tiffany, as Chris is working your prep,
21:18what do you think about it for your dish?
21:20I'm doing a fried catfish po'boy
21:22with, like, a shrimp head and andouille cheese gravy.
21:24Andouille cheese gravy. What a great idea.
21:26What's the secret to a good po'boy, chef?
21:28We're gonna down-season shrimp butter.
21:30Chris, work harder! Chris!
21:32Chef, can I take my mental five, please?
21:34No, no, no. Keep moving.
21:36Chris does not move with any urgency whatsoever.
21:38Talk to me about the technique that you're using.
21:40The old Korean lady method
21:42where we only use scissors.
21:44Have you ever seen Korean women
21:46with cuts on their hands? No, no, no.
21:48If I'm gonna do three minutes of prep for you,
21:50I'm gonna crush it for you.
21:52Chris is just, like, hosting a TV show.
21:54Three, two, one.
21:56Get back at it, chef.
21:58Tiffany, did he do a good job cleaning the shrimp?
22:00Three shrimp? You got three shrimp
22:02done in three minutes? Bro.
22:04You could've done better than that, man.
22:06I know. I tried!
22:08You did not try. Not even a little.
22:10Chris is not slow. This was him not being helpful.
22:12You're just gonna hate, okay?
22:14So you stopped for three minutes to do
22:16Tiffany's prep, but you also are
22:18stopping to do a lot of talking right now.
22:20There's not much action happening.
22:22It's like a dumpster fire going on in my head right now.
22:24When I get nervous, I just smile and talk. That's all.
22:26No, no, no, just smile and talk.
22:28Pan? Where are my pans?
22:30Right here.
22:32$2,000.
22:34I've been on a winning streak, but the pressure's starting to kick in.
22:36I haven't started cooking anything.
22:38Time is going by very quickly.
22:40I can see why you're nervous.
22:42I have to win this, because if I lose,
22:44I lose a big pot and my winning streak.
22:4614 minutes, 15 seconds.
22:48Whoo!
22:56Oh, my goodness, guys.
22:58Chris, I can see why you're nervous.
23:00We have Cajun-style canned cheese.
23:02$14,000 in the pot.
23:0413 and a half, chefs.
23:06I've been on a winning streak, but the pressure's starting to kick in.
23:08I haven't started cooking anything.
23:10Go, baby, let's go.
23:12Scallops and crab, yum.
23:14I get right onto the seafood, rub some butter,
23:16put some Cajun seasoning into it.
23:18Cajun blackened seasoning is gonna make the dish Cajun.
23:20I'm going all-in on this dish.
23:22I could be the only chef
23:24to clean-sweep the entire night twice.
23:26Chris, how you feeling?
23:28I think I'm back in the groove.
23:30What's that overcooked fish? What's that?
23:32Wow.
23:34Mr. I-don't-lose.
23:36For me, this is make or break, so at this point, I'm going all-in.
23:38I'm gonna thicken my gravy with canned cheese.
23:40Whoo-hoo!
23:42Wow.
23:44There goes in the cheese.
23:46The tricky thing is you don't want it really tasting like this cheese,
23:48so I'm mixing it with a little bit of red wine vinegar
23:50to cut through those flavors.
23:52When $14,000 is on the line,
23:54I want to make sure that Antonia can taste it in multiple ways.
23:56I made a mustard cheese.
23:58Okay, now you're showing off. Clearly showing off.
24:00Isn't that what foie gras is all about?
24:02Like, you've got to take the risk.
24:04Yeah, you have to go all-in.
24:06Tell yourself, let's go, baby. Might as well.
24:08Such a great idea, especially on a foie gras.
24:10The crunchiness right on top.
24:1290 seconds left.
24:14$14,000 on the line.
24:16I get the rice cracker down,
24:18and then I spread on the canned cheese.
24:20Top it with the seafood,
24:22my Southeast Asian salsa,
24:24and got some mint.
24:26A minute left.
24:28These chefs are battling the cards.
24:30They're also battling each other.
24:32My sandwich, it's got all the shrimp butter in there,
24:34and then put the gravy on top of it,
24:36a Creole cheese mustard, fold my catfish in,
24:38add my pickled celery, and a little gym lettuce.
24:4020 seconds left.
24:42Do not miss the cheese.
24:44For the love of all things holy.
24:465, 4, 3,
24:482, 1.
24:50That is about it, chefs. Well done.
24:52I feel good.
24:54It's very New Orleans. It's very Cajun.
24:56I have not lost in this kitchen ever.
24:58I don't plan on ever losing in this kitchen.
25:00Chefs, well done.
25:02Grab your plates.
25:04Chef Antonia's on her way down right now.
25:08Seeing that there's three chefs here
25:10and two plates here, I need your poker faces.
25:12One more time, everyone.
25:14Chef Antonia LaFosca.
25:16Wait a second. Why are there only two dishes?
25:18Someone abstained?
25:20I cannot disclose any of that information.
25:22$14,000 in the pot.
25:24Cajun style as our dish.
25:26Cajun style.
25:28Cajun cheese is the ingredients.
25:30Let's go sandwich first.
25:32Looks like a little catfish po' boy.
25:34Catfish and Cajun are so perfect together.
25:38Mmm.
25:40It's really good.
25:42This is a perfect construction of sandwich.
25:44The bread, to topping, to condiment
25:46all work so well.
25:48It's got that beautiful sort of like murky water flavor
25:50that I like about catfish.
25:52I think the celery is an incredible touch,
25:54but I'm going to dig for the cheese right now
25:56because I see flecks of it right here.
25:58Are you kidding me?
26:00Canned cheese is in my mustard. It's also in my gravy.
26:02Find the cheese, Antonia.
26:04And so I don't know.
26:06Mmm.
26:08I am not tasting canned cheese.
26:10There's a can of cheese in the sandwich.
26:12She's like, I can't give you more cheese.
26:14Let's move on to the next dish.
26:16Cajun canned cheese
26:18fish tostada.
26:20I just saw Jet Tila make this on
26:22social media.
26:24I am dying inside because I literally got the inspiration
26:26from Jet's social media post.
26:28Okay.
26:36Is it Cajun style? 100%
26:38that Cajun seasoning I'm actually really into.
26:40There's a lot of technique that went into this
26:42in 30 minutes. That's right, baby.
26:44Especially considering I was helping Tiffany
26:46prep for three minutes.
26:48The scallop is gently
26:50sauteed. I don't know if the canned
26:52cheese came into some kind of
26:54aioli. I'm tasting more of the fish sauce
26:56than I am canned cheese.
26:58And now
27:00I'm feeling good. $14,000
27:02in the pot, Chef Antonia.
27:04What say you?
27:06Cajun style canned cheese.
27:08These have all been big winners in the past
27:10but one of them is going to be a very big
27:12winner right now.
27:14This is like taking candy from a baby.
27:16If I don't win this round, I lose it all.
27:18This is going to hurt.
27:20I'm going
27:22po' boy.
27:24Come on!
27:26Wow.
27:28And back to life. Thank you, Papa.
27:30So our count
27:32now officially. Manit, you have
27:34$6,000. Chris O, you
27:36have eighths and with
27:38$16,000.
27:40Back in the game. That was a big win.
27:42Thank you. You also just handed Chris
27:44a first loss in Wild Card Kitchen.
27:46It's not really losing, it's just not winning.
27:48No, it's losing.
27:50We have
27:52one more hand. Nice. Thank you, Chef.
27:58It all comes down to the high
28:00stakes hand. For you high rollers, the
28:02buy-in is now $3,000.
28:04Let's see the money.
28:06$9,000 in the
28:08pot, just like that.
28:10Not only did I lose for the first time, I lost
28:12a big pot, so
28:14let's try to win as much back as possible.
28:16Just like the second hand, we have 30 minutes
28:18on the clock. We'll do the same ingredient
28:20dish in Wild Card. I will have
28:22a wrinkle coming up, though.
28:28And the dish is
28:30Tropical Jettaway.
28:32Ooh, that's a good one.
28:34And your ingredient is Brussels sprouts.
28:36Because you get
28:38Brussels sprouts in the tropics.
28:40Yeah, it's huge.
28:42It's like telling somebody they won a free
28:44vacation to Latvia.
28:46That's no tropical getaway.
28:48Here are the Wild Cards.
28:52Choose a dish for one of the
28:54other players. I love this card.
28:56I am going to give them the tiniest dish.
28:58I've only used a
29:00French press to make coffee. I think it's a
29:02disadvantage.
29:04Eric adds an ingredient. It would
29:06break my heart if I got some crappy ingredient from Eric.
29:08Since you guys are such high rollers,
29:10why not add a little bit of intrigue?
29:12Tonight is not only the high stakes round,
29:14it's also the high risk round.
29:16What? So,
29:18let me introduce you... I don't want this.
29:20...to the Diamond Deck.
29:22Like a community card, it's going to apply to everyone's
29:24dish, but they are a little bit
29:26more intense than your standard Wild Card.
29:28I'd say diabolical.
29:30So, here's your choice,
29:32chefs. You can either keep your Wild Cards
29:34and I'll deal you
29:36one of these Diamond Deck cards,
29:38and all three of you have to treat this as a
29:40community card, or you can choose
29:42to collectively change your Wild Cards.
29:44And if you exchange it,
29:46no Diamond Deck. The choice is yours.
29:48All three have to agree.
29:50Friends? How you feeling?
29:52I want to get rid of this
29:54card, and I do not want whatever is in
29:56the snake pit of this Diamond Card. So,
29:58I need them to switch their cards, but not to
30:00think that that's what I want.
30:02I'll go either way.
30:04I am fine with keeping my card.
30:06Then we get the Diamond Deck. I didn't hear
30:08good come out of there. I heard diabolical.
30:10Poker is a mind game.
30:12Somebody's going to have to pull the trigger.
30:14It's going to take all of our money.
30:16Or force one of us to fold.
30:18I don't want to give up my Wild Card, but the
30:20Diamond Deck, you don't know what's in store.
30:22The diabolical really makes me nervous.
30:24What if it's like, we don't even
30:26know it until we start playing?
30:28Look, I've been screwed every round so far.
30:30I haven't gotten zero advantages on anything.
30:32This Diamond Deck sounds a lot
30:34worse. Okay.
30:36We'll switch. Let's all switch.
30:38So, no Diamond Deck card,
30:40but I just want to make sure you're letting
30:42Tiffany talk you into what you want to do.
30:44It's either that or something that
30:46could mess with our money.
30:48Amanita, what was your card?
30:50Choose dishware for another player.
30:52That's a good one. That's why I wanted to keep it.
30:54Chris, what do you got?
30:56That's a good waffle.
30:58Tiffany.
31:00Eric will add an ingredient.
31:02So thank you all for turning them in.
31:04She has played me.
31:06Here are your new waffles.
31:08They're going to get worse. Of course they'll get worse.
31:10I'm scared.
31:14Duos always pose a
31:16problem because you always compare
31:18one dish to the other. Tiffany,
31:20I'm going to beat you up.
31:22I'm kind of colorblind, so I don't even know what
31:24purple looks like.
31:26Tropical getaway
31:28dish.
31:30My fruit cocktail is going to be just fine.
31:32Tiffany, the action is to you.
31:34I just want to see where they're at. Check.
31:36This is it. The final round.
31:38The stakes are really high.
31:40Last round, I did not play.
31:42If I don't play now, I don't win.
31:44It's a thousand.
31:46This is a $10,000 pot.
31:48I'm just coming off a loss, so I'm not going to fold,
31:50obviously, but I am not liking this card.
31:52I'm going in.
31:54You're calling? I'm calling.
31:56Neither of them are super in love with their cards,
31:58but I only have to bet a thousand to potentially
32:00win 12.
32:02Thousand.
32:04Everyone's cooking. $12,000 in the pot.
32:06Monique, let's see what you got.
32:10Make it a duo.
32:12A lot worse
32:14than shoes dishware for another player.
32:16Chris, what do you got?
32:18Must use a purple ingredient.
32:20There's like four things that are purple in this kitchen.
32:22Tiffany, what do you got?
32:24A whole canned fruit cocktail.
32:26Which is not bad.
32:28I know, I know, I know. I'm not upset.
32:30Who prefers their previous card over what they have now?
32:32Me, 100%. So I played this well.
32:34Yeah, you did. You played this really well.
32:36I only have $2,000
32:38of what I came with. I have to win
32:40this round. All right, Tropical Getaway
32:42is the dish. Brussels sprouts is the ingredient.
32:44$12,000 in the pot.
32:46Your time starts now. Purple.
32:48Easy. Ube.
32:50I'm going for the ube batter. I don't need the ube.
32:52But Chris, you so deserve this.
32:54Purple ube. She's gone, baby.
32:56Oh yeah. Mister all this money is mine.
32:58Tropical Getaway and Brussels sprouts
33:00two things that do not typically go well
33:02with each other. So it's going to be really interesting to see
33:04how these chefs are going to incorporate Brussels sprouts.
33:06They're just little cabbages and we
33:08use cabbage and slaw all the time.
33:10I'm going to do like a halibut with plantain curry
33:12with shaved Brussels sprout, like noctum salad.
33:14I'm doing a
33:16pineapple shrimp
33:18toast with a purple ube
33:20curry. But I desperately need
33:22the ube. Jeez.
33:24Chef Manit
33:26having to make a duo. Oh my goodness.
33:28What do you even have in mind right now?
33:30I'm going to do a ceviche, like a coconut ceviche
33:32because when I think of the tropics, that's
33:34basically what I think of. And secondly
33:36I am doing a crab cake along.
33:38Ceviche crab cake. Okay. Hot, cold. Smart.
33:40Typically the shrimp needs to
33:42sit in citrus
33:44for at least half an hour
33:46before I can mix it with the coconut base.
33:48But I am running against time.
33:50Very important for me to
33:52lay all my cards on the table.
33:54So I make a mango Brussels sprout
33:56slaw. A duo was not easy
33:58to get done in 30 minutes. You almost have to kind of
34:00work multiple components at one time.
34:02Is that star fruit? Yes. I so
34:04want to take Chris and Tiffany's money.
34:06But I am running against time.
34:08She's an absolute beast in the kitchen, but
34:10now we're really stretching the limits to what these chefs
34:12can really do. 25 minutes. Yes.
34:14Tiffany, what's your dish, chef?
34:16We're going to do roasted halibut with a
34:18plantain curry. That is
34:20tropical AF.
34:22The curry and the spice, you have the sweetness,
34:24a little bit of that texture from the plantain.
34:26You have a little bit of coconut milk in there just to kind of mellow
34:28things out. What's motivating you? Obviously
34:30the money, but anything else? No, just money.
34:32Just money. Fair enough.
34:34$12,000 in the pot. I have left a poker game at
34:364 o'clock in the morning with empty pockets and regrets.
34:38So that is not the
34:40goal here. There's a lot of money on the table.
34:42Stuff got real serious real quick.
34:54There's $12,000 in the pot.
34:56Tropical getaway is the dish.
34:58Everybody's gunning for this 12 grand.
35:00It's gotten quiet. We are right under
35:0212 minutes and 30 seconds. Chef Chris
35:04Oh, colorblind and you have to use
35:06a specific colored ingredient.
35:08It's got to be close to impossible. Just a little bit.
35:10What do you have in mind, though, for your dish? I'm making a nice little shrimp toast,
35:12a little tropical flavor,
35:14some pineapple. Did you find anything purple?
35:16I'm going to make a nice curry, like a
35:18purple curry base. A purple curry?
35:20Yep. But Tiffany still
35:22has my purple ingredient.
35:24Can I borrow some of that ube, please?
35:26Maybe.
35:28Maybe ube. Tiffany was just
35:30messing with me. This could actually
35:32make or break my dish.
35:34This is serious. Tiffany? No.
35:36Come on!
35:38Chris came in the kitchen a little hot, so Mr.
35:40I'm good. I got this whole thing.
35:42Don't worry about me. See you on the flip.
35:44I was like, okay.
35:46Usually Chef Chris is a cool,
35:48calm, and collected chef.
35:50Seeing a little frazzle right now.
35:52What's he doing?
35:54Whoa!
35:56My ube powder, though.
35:58Chris, did you grab it? Come on!
36:00I see purple ube powder.
36:02Check on that. Thank God!
36:04Alright, okay. Dude, like I gotta win
36:06now, because if I don't win this round, I'm
36:08walking out of here as a loser.
36:10I don't want to lose again!
36:12So I need to really step up that
36:14tropical aspect of the gameplay, so
36:16I'm using the pineapple like a
36:18nice tropical salsa.
36:20How are you using Brussels sprouts, Chris? We're going to do
36:22Brussels sprouts two ways. I'm going to pickle it,
36:24and Tonya is going to get
36:26Brussels sprouts in her face.
36:28I love it when Chris stops working and just starts talking.
36:30Seven and a half minutes!
36:32Tiffany and Chris have
36:34so much chatter going on.
36:36Let's go, ladies!
36:38I only have $2,000 of what I came with.
36:40I refuse to be distracted.
36:42What's in your crab cake, Chef? Coconut, curry,
36:44Brussels sprouts. I see Brussels
36:46in abundance. Monique,
36:48literally on fast forward, multiple
36:50components at one time. She's going after it.
36:52Monique, what's the secret to a good crab cake? There's more
36:54crab in it than the cake. None of that filler
36:56BS. Exactly. I am not
36:58using the fryer because I don't
37:00want it to be overcooked. It is
37:02a calculated risk, but
37:04I haven't won anything. That's
37:06why I have to win this round.
37:08Five minutes, Chefs. Five minutes
37:10left. How are you using Brussels sprouts, Tiffany?
37:12Doing a fried Brussels sprout salad.
37:14Oh, I forgot! I forgot! I forgot about it!
37:16Your girl forgot the wild card.
37:18Oh my God! Can you imagine?
37:20Right now, Chef Tiffany's working
37:22with the canned fruit cocktail. It's
37:24extremely sweet. Is there anything that you have
37:26to do to counteract that? Balance it, mostly.
37:28I have to treat it like sugar. That's it. I'm going to
37:30puree it, and I'm going to strain it, and essentially it becomes
37:32high-fructose corn syrup. It's going to be part of noctem.
37:34Okay, beautiful. So you're making this
37:36really delicious condiment that you'll see a lot
37:38in Southeast Asia. Fish sauce, lime
37:40juice. That fruit cocktail is going to go ahead and replace
37:42that sugar. Brussels sprouts are the card,
37:44and Miss Antonia can't find
37:46walnuts, can't find cheese, so I'm going to do
37:48a shaved Brussels sprout salad with that
37:50beautiful canned fruit cocktail noctem
37:52dressing. And then I fry some, like, quartered Brussels
37:54sprouts into the fryer. You are not going to
37:56go looking for Brussels sprouts, my friend.
37:58This is your two-minute warning. Curry goes
38:00down. I saved a couple pieces of plantain, so there's
38:02a little bit of, like, texture in there.
38:04The halibut goes on top of that, the Brussels sprout salad
38:06on the side. First thing I'm going to do is put that
38:08curry base down on the plate, deep-fried bread,
38:10and then I got my fried Brussels sprouts,
38:12the shrimp salad.
38:14We have one minute. First thing that
38:16I do is ceviche in a martini
38:18glass. Next, the crab cake.
38:20On top of that, I put the
38:22starfruit chutney, some
38:24pomegranate seeds on it. 30 seconds
38:26left. Then top it off with that beautiful
38:28mango Brussels sprout
38:30slaw.
38:325, 4, 3,
38:342, 1, and that's
38:36about it, chefs. Well done. If I don't
38:38win for this, then I can't cook.
38:40That loss in the last
38:42round, hopefully it's my last
38:44one. I mean, I definitely want
38:46to walk out being the biggest high-roller
38:48today.
38:50Let's go ahead and invite
38:52Antonia La Fassa one more time.
38:54So, chef, tropical
38:56getaway as the dish. Brussels sprouts
38:58as the ingredient. There's $12,000
39:00in the pot. Clearly, these
39:02three chefs have been working very, very hard
39:04for their money.
39:06I normally don't get this stressed.
39:08Like, my heart was, like, beating
39:10through my shirt. Okay.
39:12I love this game. Beautiful sear
39:14to the fish or some kind of plantain
39:16puree.
39:20The best part of this dish
39:22is that there's elements of sweetness.
39:24Yes! Thank you, fruit cocktail.
39:26There's so much beautiful spice,
39:28creaminess, texture. It brings
39:30in tropical getaway. And then getting into
39:32the Brussels sprouts. Fried and raw, I think,
39:34are two of the best ways to
39:36express the Brussels sprout. Oh!
39:38There's Brussels sprouts! Look at that!
39:40The fish, it's so
39:42stunning because it's so much great caramelization
39:44over the top, but then the
39:46meat of it is overcooked.
39:48No, no. No, no. How did I not know?
39:50Ugh! Next.
39:52This is some kind of shrimp
39:54ceviche and then crab cake.
39:56I feel like this is, like, someone who got
39:58the card that was, like, needs to make a
40:00side dish.
40:02This
40:04feels very tropical. The pomegranates are
40:06amazing and the use of the coconut is
40:08really, really delicious. I don't love
40:10the raw Brussels sprouts in here. I love the
40:12fried Brussels sprouts. Let's get into the other part.
40:18So I feel like the crab cake is really well
40:20constructed. Not a lot of filling. Great
40:22caramelization on the outside. I love
40:24the heat to it. But to
40:26me, together, I'm not really
40:28loving it as one dish. I don't
40:30know if it necessarily goes together. They're not supposed
40:32to go together. They're supposed to be
40:34standalone dishes. Duo.
40:36We'll move on to the last dish of the evening.
40:38So some kind of, like, seafood
40:40toast, right?
40:44So definitely looks tropical.
40:46Any kind of pink sauce. Like, I feel like only
40:48in the tropics can you get away with, like,
40:50a Pepto-Bismol-looking, like, pink sauce.
40:52I don't see Brussels sprouts. There's, like, a
40:54whisper of a Brussels sprout. So far,
40:56I'm not doing so well. I do love the toast.
40:58The brioche is nicely charred on
41:00the outside. I love the use of the
41:02pineapple in there. That I'm really into. But it's
41:04lacking the acidity and a little bit of
41:06seasoning. $12,000.
41:08You're going to be making one of these chefs very, very
41:10happy. I know. Very, very wealthy.
41:12The weight is all on you. Oh, my God.
41:14The choices.
41:16The decisions.
41:18I'm going to go
41:20with
41:22the crab cake.
41:26I'm shocked because
41:28duos always lose.
41:30Monique.
41:32Oh!
41:34The crab cake had so much flavor. Everything
41:36was seasoned really well. It cooked really well.
41:38Chris, you are going home with
41:40$4,000. Tiffany, you have
41:42$12,000,
41:44which means, Monique, you are the big winner for this
41:46evening with $14,000.
41:48Congratulations. I am
41:50the highest rolling high roller, right?
41:52Ragging rights mean a lot.
41:54To have won the high roller
41:56episode twice,
41:58that's what it's all about.
42:00I've always
42:02wanted to do this.