02x01 - Alex vs Italian

[bunniefuu]

Some competitors
prove themselves in
the sports arena.

Others, in a boardroom.

This is where I prove myself.

'Sup with that, America?

There isn't a chef more
competitive than I am.

In my heart,
I can't have you win.

It's just not in my DNA.

- She's like the shark!
- I know, she is!

She's like, circling
prey right now!

Chefs from
across the country

all want a shot
at Alex Guarnaschelli.

- I'm about to take
down the Iron Chef.
- Wow.

So each week, three
of America's best chefs

will battle Alex
at the same time.

These chefs
have been hand-selected

for their mastery in
a specific type of food.

And they're all
- to beat Alex.

- You are going down.
- I'm coming for you, Alex.

My name's up there
for a reason.

Pretending this is your head.

Oh...

I know they
all want a shot at me.

Bring...

it... on.

This is the ultimate
culinary battle.

This is Alex Vs. America.

So this is gonna be
a night to remember.

Three chefs from
across the country,

known for their
Italian cuisine,

are here tonight to beat
chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

Alex is American-Italian,
but I'm authentic Italian.

Guarnaschelli,
you are going down.

I am a
competition expert,

and I know how to deliver,

but at the end of the day,
why do I do this?

It becomes an obsession.
It becomes a profession.

It becomes something
you lie in bed and think
about at night.

You know, you go to
a c*ck party and
people are talking to you,

and you're replaying
an overcooked lobster

from five years ago
in your head.

With a last name
like Guarnaschelli,

you would assume that
she's an Italian master,

but it's really not
what she's known for.

She's actually trained
in French cuisine.

When I get in there,
I really just wanna know, hey,

how bad is it?
What am I dealing with?

That's a big advantage
for the chefs coming in here,

that makes it truly
Alex Vs. America.

So the three of you
have been hand-picked

for your world renowned
mastery of Italian cuisine.

So please welcome
one of America's most
celebrated chefs,

and feared
culinary competitors.

I can smell victory.

It's showtime.

Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

It's hard when I see
people come into the arena,

and they're just
looking at me,

you know, like I've got
a target on my back.

And so that increases
the pressure.

Hello.

We have chefs with
the last name Cozzolino,

Rescigno, and Covelli.

- Any idea now?
- Dim sum?

You're standing
in front of three
Italian masters.

I do not make Italian food,
I really make French food.

Let me introduce
you to the chefs

that are here
to take you down.

This is chef
Pasquale Cozzolino.

I guess you make Italian food.

He's won best pizza
at the pizza championship

that was in Naples, Italy.

How was that?
- All right, as if
New York wasn't enough,

- we're adding Naples. Okay.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah!

This is chef Britt Rescigno.

She's an executive
chef from New Jersey.

She's a third
generation Italian.

She has her own pasta company.

You guys have more
stuff than I do.

She's beat Bobby Flay
on his own turf, as well.

And this is chef
Christopher Covelli.

He is the executive chef
of an Italian restaurant

in Sarasota, Florida.

He's also served as
a culinary instructor

in Tuscany for
the past two decades.

These are three real
Italian masters here.

So first up,
the survival round.

You'll all be preparing
an original Italian dish.

A pair of culinary
heavy hitters

will then do a blind tasting.

They'll rank everyone's
dishes one through four.

If you finish in
the top three dishes,

you move on to
the money round.

And the chef that
comes in fourth place

will be out
of the competition,

even if that's you, chef.

Since the three of you
have a shared goal
in defeating Alex,

I'm not picking the challenge.
You guys are.

- Ready to see the options?
- Yeah.

Which Italian
carb are you gonna be using?

- Ooh.
- Okay.

So is it pasta,

rice,

or pizza dough?

The pasta does come handmade,

but you also have the
option to make your own

as well, keep that
in mind. All right.

- Definitely not pizza.
- Ah, I know.

Risotto
takes a long time.

- Um, I'm okay with
pasta if you want.
- I'm okay with...

- I'm okay with pasta as well.
- Pasta is great for me.

So, Alex, you okay with pasta?

Anything but rice.

We'll see what your
next big decision is.

It's which Italian protein
you have to use.

Bologna...

So, we have scungilli,

bologna, or canned
Italian beef.

Scungilli, for those
who do not know,

is conch in a can, okay?

Bologna, which is, uh,
mortadella, more or less--

That's not
mortadella, my friend.
- I know, it...

- I mean--
- Mortadella wannabe.

- I'm down for the canned beef.
- So...

- I know.
- I hate them all,
so it doesn't matter.

Although I love fried
bologna sandwiches.

I'm about
the bologna.
- I'm with that.

Let's keep the worst.

- You're doing the worst?
- Yeah.

What do you think
about the canned beef?

- No comment.
- No comment!

That might mean
she's happy with it.

That's a hard
no for me.

All right guys, last one.

What type of dish
are you making?

Hmm.

We have Sunday supper,

or we have
Michelin Star dinner.

I'm comfortable with
both, all right?

I definitely...
- But we
wanna think...

- how much we wanna...
- What feels more...

I mean, they picked
canned beef.

- They should pick
Sunday supper.
- Hundred percent.

Well, you got
Michelin Star here.

That, that's a big
deal with canned beef.

- Sunday supper?
- Yeah.

I like that thinking.

So the table is set.

There's only one
thing left to decide.

How much time are
we giving ourselves?

You have anywhere

from one minute to 60 minutes.

Please don't pick one minute.

- I'm with the more time,
- I trust you.

Because it's her kitchen,
she cooks here every day.

- But, today we need the
time more than she does.
- Willing to take the risk.

Forty to 45 sounds
like a nice...

- All right, 45 is good.
- All right, we're going 45.

Time is
the biggest asset.

She knows this kitchen.

I don't know if you guys
are playing into her hands.

All right chefs, there's only
one thing left to do.

- Time to start the cook.
- All right.

Let's go!

We're off and running,

and here's what
the chefs picked.

So, we have pasta,
and then Italian canned beef.

Sunday supper, last but
not least, 45 minutes.

Hopefully they can
do something amazing
within that time,

because I know she is.

These three
didn't come to play,

and we're making Italian food.

Can someone cue
the theme song to

The Sopranos,
and take a step back?

Because I'm feeling like
the hit is out on me.

Once I hear Sunday supper,
I go to a place in my head.

I see, uh, a rustic
toothy pasta,

like a fettucine
type of pasta,

you know, make,
like, a Sunday ragu,

with tomato
and just simmer it,

and really get
that rustic feeling.

So the first thing
I actually do is,

I pour a can of
tomatoes into hot oil,

and I get that simmering.

I want that cooking
the whole time,

just like you would
on a Sunday.

It's small, that can
of meat, but it's mighty.

And I'm thinking,

I could enrich it
with other meats

that are better,
like pancetta.

So I've got that going.

These chefs cook Italian food

where they work
every single day.

Yes, I know how to make
pasta from scratch,

but I don't very often.

Then I go and I mix
my pasta dough.

I make my pasta dough
by mixing double zero
and semolina,

which is a durum wheat flour,

with a lot off egg yolks.

I mean, I make
a pasta with nine yolks.

I think egg whites,
they make the dough
a little puffier.

I'm starting the sauce first
because it takes a little
longer than the pasta.

San Marzano tomato from
Naples, from my city.

- Chef, it smells amazing.
- Thank you.

I wanna prepare, uh,
this Neapolitan ragu,

with three different, uh,
tomato consistencies.

- Wow.
- So, there is cherry tomato,

San Marzano tomato
from my homeland,

Yeah.
- And passata, which is
a regular tomatoes.

Lastly, chef, are you
doing fresh pasta?

- Or dry?
- I'm doing fresh.

So you're focusing more
on the sauce, right?
- Yes.

So you're doing
three different parts
of that sauce,

and you really
wanna highlight that.

In the last, uh, 11 minutes,

-I cook the pasta,
and then I'm ready.
- Okay. Sounds good.

- Okay? Thank you.
- All right. Good luck, chef.

Making pasta
in a competition from
scratch is choice,

and once you're in,
what are you gonna do?

I know Alex
is making homemade pasta,

but don't tell her this.

I make it every day.

For Sunday supper,
me and my family,

every Sunday, we have pasta.

What this, uh,
gelatinous canned beef,
what are you doing with that?

Um, I'm gonna
make a Bolognese.

- Oh, you're
not playing around.
- I'm not playing around.

- Little bit of garlic...
- And what style,
or shape rather,

-are you going in
with your pasta then?
- Tag.

-Tagliatelle.
- Beautiful. All right, cool.

She's using
the double-O flour,

all that is, is really
just a fine ground
of the durum flour.

That's gonna give not only
a beautiful mouth feel,

and almost like a silkiness
to her pasta,

it's also gonna give
a beautiful structure as well.

Really smart move.

So right now,
I'm a little nervous.

Just need to get this
in the vacuum sealer,

and then I'll feel
a lot better.

And I can work on my sauce.

So chef Chris, you don't
think of Florida when you
think of pasta, and--

- Unless you come
to my restaurant. We do--
- I love it, yeah!

Our pasta
is always fresh.

So, does that mean
you're giving us fresh
pasta today?

- Yes.
- Are you making it by hand?

- No.
- So you're going
in the route

- of the already made pasta.
- Yes.

I like
to spend the time on
the sauce this time.

My advantage to beat chef Alex

is that I have a little
bit more knowledge
on Italian food

and how it's supposed
to be cooked.

I'm going to make
a tagliatelle with salsa di
pepperoni e salsiccia.

So, this is the
Italian canned beef.

Give it a try.

That's really seasoned,
really, really well.

Um, and that gelatinous
kinda mouth feel,

it's gonna be perfect,
especially for a Bolognese
or a ragu.

It's gonna need a little bit
of time to create some body,

but this is a really
good option.

To start
the base of my sauce,

I'm going to make a soffrito.

Very Italia.

Italian canned beef.
I have never used it.

I put three cans in,
so they can taste
that immediately,

but most importantly,

they get to see the main
ingredient that we chose.

First time using
canned beef!

Lovely.

I wanna grind
a bunch of vegetables,

to create, like,
a ground meat vibe,

but with light vegetables.

Fennel, garlic,

onions, carrots,
your greatest hits,

for the base
of a tomato sauce.

Here we go with
the meat grinder.

It's not working.

Yikes.

I just burned
my pancetta.

You're watching this,
and you're thinking,
excuse me?

You have your own show,

showing America how to cook,

and you burn your food?

I just literally
burned my pancetta.

Nevermind under
all these lights.

28 and a half
minutes left, chefs!

I mean, I see burnt
pancetta on her station,
and obviously,

chef Alex is an Iron Chef,
she's not gonna serve that,

so even her, even
the best of the best,

can sometimes lose focus.

Sometimes, you don't
have a good thought.

Sometimes you burn something,

sometimes the equipment
burns you.

How would you feel
if you were me? Good?

Okay.

And when
you burn something,

you just feel really off.

I put so much
pressure on myself.

Because my name is in lights,

and everybody came here
to beat me tonight.

So I cook the pancetta
and I don't burn it.

And I get another grinder,
and I grind vegetables,

to create, like,
a ground meat vibe.

I don't wanna shy
away from the beef,

but I'm adding other,
really Italian flavors,

to get that Sunday
supper feel.

So, because this
is a blind tasting,

we're keeping our
judges as far away from
the action as possible.

They're not even in
the same building.

Their knowledge for Italian
cuisine is unparalleled.

We have renowned
chef Antonia Lofaso,

who began her career as a chef

at Wolfgang Puck's
legendary Spago.

And she's gone on to establish
acclaimed restaurant after
acclaimed restaurant,

including her popular eatery,
Scopa Italian Roots.

Up next, we also have
chef Evan Funke.

He's a James Beard Award
nominee whose mastery
of handmade pasta

made him one of
the most revered Italian
chefs in the country.

- They chose pasta...
- Mm-hmm.

...canned Italian beef...

... What?

What are your thoughts?
What are your concerns?

Keep it simple,
watch the canned beef.

-Praise be.
- Strong technique,
watch the canned beef.

Watch the canned beef,
keep it simple.

Make sure things
are seasoned...

...and watch
the canned beef!

I'll be back,
I'll let you guys know
when they're done.

- Right on.
- All right, thanks, Eric!

So I got the base
to my sauce right now,

some onions, garlic,
carrots are gonna bring
out the sweetness,

it's going into my guanciale,
that I had rendering.

Some ground veal.

It's gonna go great
with the beef.

It's gonna let the beef
shine a little bit more,

'cause it's a little
more subtle.

Smells like canned beef.

It's adding a nice texture.

Tastes like Italy.

Definitely going there
when I beat Alex.

Sausage, pork, veal,

and then we finish
with the canned beef too.

The passata, tomato,
it is like mama.

It's important I don't
let this canned beef
taste like can.

We need to spice it up.

Let's open the Prosecco.

This guy's popping
bottles over here.

No, just, I wanna,

get away from
the canned flavor.

I'm the only one
using the dry pasta.

So, chef Pasquale is
making a very complex,

really, really deep
flavor ragu.

And he's going with dry pasta
because he wants that ragu

to soak up all that time
and attention that he needs,

but that sauce needs
to hit, I'm telling you.

If it's really anything
other than perfect,
he's going home.

When
the beef first went in,
it was very salty.

So I wanted to get
the peppers in there

because it's gonna add
a little bit of sweetness,

then the tomatoes
in another saute,

and get ready to pop.

Oh, there we go!

What's that cooking right now?

Just, uh, trying to
pop the tomatoes,

- add some acid to the sauce.
- Beautiful. Okay.

Good family dish,
three-quarters of a bottle
of wine in the dish.

Not often do you get
to see a master at work.
What's going on, chef?

Thin it out, creating
texture, with layers.
- Yep.

When I'm rolling out
pasta, I'm just in the zone.

Gonna get it cut
down in sheets,

so we can make some
nice tagliatelle.

The world could be,
like, coming down around me

and it doesn't matter,
'cause it's pasta time.

- Pasquale!
- Yeah?

These guys.

Talking Italian.

It's time.

Chris is using
the pre-made tagliatelle,

so it's based off of semolina,

which has a little
bit more toothsome,

a little bit more
bite to it, right?

You don't necessarily
know who made it.

So he's really, really
hoping for a perfect cook
on that handmade pasta,

and that sauce
to take him home.

Seven-ten, chefs!
Seven minutes left!

I go to roll my pasta,

and I go get
the pasta roller...

...and it doesn't fit,
and I can't get it in,

it keeps falling, and spinning
around with the machine.

I'm so pissed.

I don't need
equipment to fail me.

I can fail myself.

News flash,

it happens to people
on competition shows.

It makes me crazy.

Nothing's gonna make
me feel calm about this.

All right,
three minutes, chefs!
Three minutes!

I've got to just

cut this pasta
on the machine
that I've rolled,

I've gotta cook it,

I've gotta have the nerve
to throw it in the water.

Sometimes you don't
have the nerve!

So, chef Alex
just dropped the pasta.

It may seem late, but,
fresh pasta cooks in minutes.

The pasta
itself will absorb the sauce.

Mamma mia.

Sunday supper.
It's very simple.

Ninety seconds, chefs.
You should be plating.

The pasta is done,

and then I put it
in tomato sauce.

In Italy, even
in comfort food

be, please, well presented.

It's exactly what we would
be eating in Naples.

Butter in
the pasta, baby.

Yeah, I beat Bobby Flay.

Now it's time for
me to beat Alex.

Nothing says Sunday supper
like a sexy bowl of Bolognese.

Thirty seconds left!

If you came and
saw me in any restaurant
on any given Sunday,

you would have seen what
you just are seeing tonight.

It's the same trajectory.

Euphoria, adrenaline,
excitement, disappointment,

a break in the clouds.

Parmigiana Reggiano cheese.

And then a dish.

Five, four, three,

two, one.

That's it, guys.

Done.

That's amazing. Mangia!

It's definitely, uh,
Sunday in the dark.

All right, chefs.

It is time for you
guys to go ahead

and write down the
description of your dish,

as detailed as possible.

We will not know
anything else except
for what's on that card.

I'm gonna ask
you guys to leave,

as the judges come
through and deliberate.

Go hang outside,
and I'll call you back
in a second.

- Let's take a look around!
- Let's take a look around.

Oh, boy. That looks delicious.

-Not bad, huh?
- Yeah.

And you can
see the canned beef.

Chef Britt did go
the fresh pasta route,
everything is handmade.

The only chef other than you
that went completely handmade.

Beautiful.

Ooh, this looks...

-You know what?
- It's beautiful.

Out of all of them,
this is the most, like,

Abbondanza on a Sunday.

So, it's even your time, chef.

I'm gonna have
to ask you to, uh,
leave the premises

as I bring the judges over
here, and to, uh, deliberate.

So who do you guys
think the judges are?

They're gonna have, like,

- top-notch judges,
for Italian cuisine.
- Yes.

I mean, I almost
cried in there.

You know,
just out of frustration.

My father said, you always cry

when there's something
you can't do anything about.

But the bottom line is,
on any given day,

I would be like that anyway.

Why, hello!

- Why, hello there!
- Sup?

- Welcome, welcome.
Should I say ciao?
- What's up?

Wow!

You guys are in for a treat,
I will say that.

The chefs had to
prepare a Sunday supper.

They chose pasta,

they also chose
canned Italian beef,

forty-five minutes
was on the clock.

In front of you, you have
fresh tagliatelle pasta,

with pancetta, canned meat,

shallot, garlic,
red bell pepper, and basil.

Chris was smart

to use the fresh
store bought pasta,

cheat a little bit
on the test that way.

I was honestly tempted
to use it myself.

Well...

There's no way to get
over that canned
meat kind of...

scent, or nuance.

The canned beef
has a beautiful flavor,

- I'm actually not mad at it.
- Yeah.

I think there's just so much
of it being used in there.

I loved that they left
the tomatoes whole,

and they kind of
smashed and wilted...

- Yeah.
- ...throughout the pasta.

Especially with a fresh
pasta like this...
- Ah.

...I feel like I'm just
getting canned beef
all day long,

and I'm losing the texture
of the tagliatelle.

Fresh pasta's very hard to hit

- when you're trying to
get some textures out of it.
- Okay.

All right, chefs,
are you ready for
your next dish?

Yes!

So, in front of you,
we have a Sunday Bolognese

with handmade tagliatelle
and parmigiano Reggiano.

Hmm. A little salty.

The ratio of the ragu
to the pasta is lovely.

Britt's dish looks
technically perfect.

Looks restaurant-y.

I don't know that it looks
Sunday supper to me,

but it is beautiful.

Let's talk about
the canned beef.

Are you guys impressed with
the use of the canned beef,

how are you
feeling about that?

I think it's really
smart that they used

some other kind
of sausage in here,

- or some kind of ground.
- Sure.

'Cause it's adding
a really nice,

harder texture, uh, whereas
that beef from the can

- is so soft and so creamy...
- Mm-hmm.

...it adds a lusciousness
to the dish,

sort of mimicking
what, you know,

a longer braised Bolognese
would feel like.

This reads to me,
very much Sunday supper.

It's coated very well,
I think it's done very well,

and it's a little on
the saltier side,

I'm not hating
it at all, I'm...

- Into it.
- ...you know, I'm into it.

All right. Let's go ahead
and move on to the next dish.

You know
what I'm saying, like,

as if you made a pasta
at home, you just, like,
can't help but to plate nice.

You cook at home?

- Yes!
- God.

Hey, did you guys
see what Alex made?

- I'm pretty sure it
was a red Bolognese.
- Bolognese.

Could be.
- Good
luck with that.

All right.

I'm not wishing her luck.
She's here every day.

Up next...

The dish you have in front
of you is as follows.

Pasta with tomato,

sage and canned Italian beef.

And this is also the second

handmade pasta that
you guys are trying out.
- Yeah.

I can
see that. Hmm.
- It's, like, nutty.

Nice.

And good acid, well-rounded.

Let's talk about the pasta.
What are you guys thinking?

Heavy on the egg yolk use.

And you're tasting
that, immediately?

- Well, it, it's more
of a texture, the higher...
- Yep.

...percentage of egg yolk,
the chalkier it can get.

Would you say too much,
or not enough?

For this, I think, too much.

I think the ratio
of pasta to ragu is off,

but this is my
favorite ragu so far.

These chunks of
beef fat right here,

- do you see this?
- Yeah. That's nice.

- All this beef fat.
- I mushed it in.

Amazing.
- Ah, I see,
okay. Right.

All right, well,
you have one more to go.

Let's go ahead and bring
out the next dish, please.

- Also, like, portion
the sizing for this...
- Yeah.

...was way smaller
and way tighter.

- Oh!
- Mamma mia!

So, we have
ragu Neopolitana,

three tomatoes, consisting
of canned San Marzano,

passata, and fresh
cherry tomatoes.

There's also pork sausage,

ground veal, into this,
uh, ragu as well.

Of all the dishes,
including mine,

Pasquale's feels
the most Sunday to me.

- Right off the bat.
- Yes.

Hiding the...

the canned beef
at the bottom,

mistake.

- Because...
- Whoa...

Is it? Or is it?

- ...it's so centralized...
- Yeah.

...that you really have
to do a lot of work to
mix it back in,

so that it's not overpowering.

I was so hopeful,

- because the presentation
was beautiful.
- Spectacular.

It reads Sunday supper.

I get the intention
of the three tomatoes.
- Yeah.

I like the fact that
they used fusilli for this,

but...
So close.

Let's go ahead and clean
the dishes, please.

Now that you've
had all four dishes,

I do need you
guys to rank them,

- one through four.
- Happy.

- One through four?
- Yes.

All right, guys.

Let's go figure
out who beat Alex.

-Let's go. Let's go to check.
- Let's do it.

All right, let's bring
the chefs back in.

There's a
lot of smiles!
- We're in Italy!

You guys
fed some heavy,

heavy hitters, as far as
the judges are concerned.

So let's remember,
the judges ate your food,

without knowing
who'd made what.

Unfortunately, the two
chefs on the bottom...

were Pasquale and Christopher.

The chef who is not,
unfortunately, going into
the money round is...

Sorry, chef Pasquale.

Chef, I gotta tell you,
the judges,

visually impressed
by the dish.

But they did think
that your fusilli
was overcooked,

and they were thrown
off by the use of your
canned beef.

Because it's not good.

Which is what
I said originally,

if anybody had been listening.

My name's up
there for a reason.

It's a good point.

- Take care, chef.
- Thank you. Thank you.

New York for life.

All right, so the chef
that finished first

in the survival round is...

chef Alex.
She does it again.

- Well done.
- Damn. Congrats.

Thank you.

Congratulations to all
three of you, you survived
the survival round.

Which means you've
earned the chance to
do it all over again.

- Awesome.
- Lovely.

But with
the next round there's
more incentives.

There's money on the line.

It's pretty simple.

For you to earn money,

your dish has
to outrank Alex's.

But, if Alex comes in first,

you guys are
cooking for nothing,

going home with nada.

Zero. Zip.

- Zilch.
- We got it.

This is where
the game gets so good!

Because now, chef Alex
has a big advantage. Chef?

She has to exclusively
pick all these ingredients.

So the first thing you're
gonna be deciding on...

Mm.

Are you gonna
be using ingredients

popular on the coast,

or on the farm?

Seafood or farm animals?

Florida and the Jersey Shore.

Obviously talkin' about
seafood focused, right,
or land animals.

But I don't know
what's in there.

Can we come back to this?

Unfortunately, the rules
of the game

disqualify you
from doing that.

- So, what are you thinking?
- Any thoughts?

I'm good with either.

Yeah,
I'm good with either.

On the coast.

- On the coast? Okay.
- Yeah.

It's about the proteins,
where we're doing on
the coast, I like it.

Why are we going on the coast?

'Cause there's vegetables
on the coast, too.

We say coastal,
we want seafood.

Seems like you can
use a drink, Alex.

We have Italian liqueurs
to choose from.

-Oh, man.
- Yikes.

What's up with that?

Our first option is amaro.

The second option
is a limoncello.

And the last
option is a fernet.

I don't wanna
cook with fernet.

I love to drink it.

I think the limoncello
is really, really sweet,

like, I see that in
a dessert in Italy.

The fernet, it's got
these anise flavors.

But it's dark, like,
it's a brown liquor.

- And it's not exactly coastal.
- Mm-hmm.

But the amaro is,
like, sipped on ice,

the bitter is great,

and then it falls into
this sweetness.

Well, they're all weird.

Which is...
- Yeah.

- None of them helps the cause.
- Okay.

So what's the lesser
of the three evils there?

- I think the amaro
is the best choice.
- Okay.

All right. Chef Alex...

Oh, no, is this,
like, about time?

I feel that because
of the amaro, Eric...

Mm-hmm.
- ...and your attitude,
your general demeanor...

One hour, please.

- Well...
- 'Cause I just want an hour,

because of the
Amaro, I feel--
- It sure is, but,

actually, let's talk about
Italian dishes, right?

Simplicity is definitely
the hallmark for a lot
of Italian dishes.

Let's go ahead and find out
how simple this dish can be.

So Alex, you have two choices.

- Okay.
- I can give you eight
ingredients or more,

and you only have 25 minutes.

- Eight
ingredients or more?
- Or more.

-Or... Or less.
- Seven ingredients or more!

-Or more.
- Or less!

Or more.
- And you get a little
bit more time.

You get 35 minutes.

Seven ingredients...

Does that include the amaro?

Very good question.
It sure does.

- No kidding.
- So six ingredients,
for 35 minutes,

if we count the amaro.

What do you guys want?

You want the time,
or you want the...

I'm good with the time.

- You want the time?
- Yeah.

Especially with Italy.

Especially when you're
talking about coastal.

I think if we have
to deal with fish,

- we want that time.
- Yeah.

All of us,
not just me.
- Right.

Seven ingredients, 35 minutes.

35 minutes,
seven ingredients
or less. Okay!

Only thing
left to do is,

get that cook on. Go!

Let's talk about
how crazy this is.

We got on the coast,
we're celebrating the sea.

This is gonna
be super delicious,

especially paired up
with this amaro right here.

Seven ingredients
or less, but it's really
six ingredients

when you think about it,
'cause this amaro,
they have to use it.

Thirty-five minutes
are on the clock,
so not a lot of time.

Italian food is
definitely about simplicity,

and coastal food
in particular is simple,

so I don't think
it's gonna be that
much of a stretch

for us to limit what we use.

I can't even count.

It's the resourcefulness
of using ingredients
multiple ways,

that way I get more
out of fewer ingredients.

My plan is to make
roasted halibut

with a fennel amaro butter,

and a little pine nut relish.

Thirty-five minutes
is still challenging.

My thought is to
juice the fennel...

...and mix it with butter
and amaro to make, like,

a fennel amaro butter sauce.

And then I'm gonna
fry the fennel fronds,

and put those on top.

And I pan roast
some fennel as well.

And amaro is, like,
bitter grapefruit,

it's fennel-y,

but it's sweet and syrupy,
it's got a lot of sugar.

So I wanna, like,
marry the liqueur

with its raw ingredient cut.

I have one more I can take?

One, two, three,
four, five, six.

Oh! How exciting!

So I only choose six
ingredients, even though
I can pick seven.

Truth is, can't figure out
that seventh ingredient.

Let's talk about
the staple ingredients

that each and every chef
has at their disposal.

Obviously, there's a bunch
of salt, pepper,

you have your different types
of oils, canola, extra virgin,

there's butter here as well,

which is really to
the chef's advantage,

to use the stuff that's
here in abundance.

Let's get this going.

I am going
to make something

that I eat every
time I go to Italy.

So I'm doing
a pan roasted cod,

with a yellow pepper and red
pepper, zucchini medley,

and then an amaro
and lemon red onion.

Chris is working with
seven ingredients or less.

He's got his amaro,

so we have that beautiful
cod that chef is working with,

I see some bell
peppers, three and four,

lemon is five,

zucchini is six,
and the red onion
makes seven.

Alex
picked amaro,

and I immediately went
to lemons, amaro, and onion.

I wait until they cook down,

then I put a squeeze
of lemon in.

And then...

immediately become
our amaro onions.

Sherry, baby, just cook
down for me now.

We're going
to the coast,

and we have to use amaro.

I'd rather be sitting on
the coast, drinking amaro.

It looks like more
than seven ingredients!

Walk me through what
you got going on.

I got some striped
bass over there,

-I'm gonna do
a nice crispy skin.
- Okay.

Broken
olive vinaigrette.

with some, uh, anchovies.

with a nice fennel salad.

That vinaigrette's gonna
have at least three

- ingredients in there, right?
- Yep.

Might use, I have
tomatoes in the oven.

- Seven ingredients,
chef. Or less.
- Seven ingredients or less.

- Got it.
- All right, let's do it.

Seven ingredients.

Not as easy as it sounds.

No, sir.

Eleven minutes, chefs!
11 minutes all day!

I put some amaro
in with the juiced fennel,

to make my fennel
butter sauce.

Are you frying fennel as well?

Frying fennel fronds,

I'm roasting
fennel that I think

I'm gonna
pop on the grill...
- Ah.

- ...and I made juiced fennel
to make a butter fennel.
- Beautiful. I love it.

Let's talk about

how k*ller of a chef
Alex Guarnaschelli is.

The way she's composing
this dish is brilliant.

She's got seven
ingredients or less.

Why not just take one
of those ingredients

and use it three
different ways?

The reason being is
because you get to add

different complexities
of that fennel, right?

Secret to making
a perfect striped bass

is a nice, hot pan.
Beautiful, crispy skin.

I know I know how
to make fish proper.

It's gonna have
a sexy skin on there,

like a nice little
potato chip on top.

In the very beginning, I mean,

I was a fish out of water,
I'm not gonna lie.

So now, we're
back in the ocean.

We're swimming around.
It's all coming together.

The seven
ingredient assassin!

Chef, what's the deal?

Are you uncomfortable
with your seven now?

Now, I'm great.

Everything's
tasting fantastic.

Beating Alex is,
like, top tier.

I have all of her cookbooks.

I've watched her
on TV all the time.

You gotta learn from
the best to be the best,

so beating her
means everything.

Taste like the Italian coast,

made from a New Jersey-an.

I can only
use seven ingredients,

so I'm going to flavor the cod

with wonderful olive oil,
salt, and pepper,

that's all fish need.

- How you doing, buddy?
- All good.

You on the coast yet?

I'm living
on the coast right now.

- What's up?
- Did you ever find
your last ingredient?

I only have six, because
I can't make up my mind.

I mean, again, you don't
have to use all seven, too.

No, I just can't
decide what to use.
- Okay.

I don't know, I kinda
wanna use a fresh chili.

I just don't know
what to pick.

Well, I start making
some pickled red onions

with a little sugar
and amaro and water.

I boil them for a few minutes.

The pickled onions
did not taste good.

Disgusting.

Sometimes when
you're competing,

you make something
and you say, wow,

this really doesn't
taste good.

I can't use it.
That's a hard moment.

'Cause sometimes,
you're in a position where
you've gotta put it,

but if you absolutely
don't have to, you don't.

So I got rid of those onions,

and just sauteed some,
and just covered
them with amaro.

Alex, what did
you just throw out?

Uh, I just threw
out my onions.

Are you pivoting,
or you gonna just redo it?

No, I've got some onions here,

- that I'm cooking regular.
- Mm-hmm.

And I'm just gonna glaze them,

- because I didn't like
the pickle liquid with this.
- Okay.

I put so much
pressure on myself.

Anybody who wants
to try and compete,

really well,

I don't know how you do that
without giving yourself some
type of hard time.

'Cause peppers
take longer to cook,

I'm putting them in first,

and now I'm gonna
add zucchini,

which doesn't take
as long to cook.

And the cod's looking good.

We're going into the oven...

Maybe now, I'm seeing
if I can make a little,
uh, mild caramel.

I put
the amaro in the pan.

Hard to balance
all these flavors,

I mean, you got
a lot of bitter,

you gotta get some sweetness.

Hoping the fish
stays nice and sweet.

Might be something
new right here.

This is an incredibly
difficult challenge.

Not a fan of Alex's choices.

It's about being
simple, but...

is seven
ingredients enough?
I don't know.

I toast the pine nuts
and chop them up,

and mix them with lemon zest,

olive oil, the fennel fronds,

almost like
a little nut relish.

Halibut is very sticky,
and it's mild flavored,

but it's got a nice,
hearty texture.

The key to cooking halibut
is to put it in the oven
for a couple of minutes,

in addition to searing it
on all sides on the stove,

so it's cooked in the middle.

Four
minutes left, chefs!
- This is definitely Italy.

Drizzle some
olive oil in there,

a little squeeze of lemon,

and then I finished with lemon
zest on top of it as well.

I get those vegetables
right on top of that...

and then the onions go
directly on top of that.

I utilized every one
of those ingredients
to its fullest.

It's time to take
these judges to the coast.

I take my amaro caramel,
I put it around the plate.

I add my fennel salad,

cherry tomatoes
perched on top.

I also add my brown butter

broken olive vinaigrette
around the plate as well.

I'm about those
sexy plates. Oh, yeah.

By the time I'm finished
plating all this,

fish is perfectly done.

So I start on
the bottom of the plate,

with a little bit
of the roasted fennel
from the oven.

Then a little bit
of that amaro butter
sauce on the bottom,

then the fish,

and then just
the amaro red onions

and the pine nut
relish on top.

Chefs, ten, nine,

eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

That's it, guys. Nice job.

All right, chefs,
you know what to do.

It's time to write down
the description of your dish,

as detailed,

and exactly how
you want me to read
it off to the judges.

Dude, that amaro
caramel?

All right, chefs, you can
go ahead and take off,

we're gonna go ahead
and bring the judges in.

Wanna go ahead
and look around,

- see what the
other chefs made?
- Oh, yeah.

- Oh, this is beautiful.
- Isn't it?

Chef Britt went
with a sea bass.

Oh, wow.

It feels like seven or more

- ingredients, but, right?
- It does.

Really beautiful.
Very Italian.

I wish I could have
cooked my fish longer,

and I should have picked
a seventh ingredient,

but I just didn't get to it.

At this point,
there's no going back.

- I'm leaving!
- Yep!

It was a tough one,
I'm not gonna lie.

I know Italian
cooking is simple,

- but seven ingredients
was pretty tough.
- It is tough.

I feel like that
was really cool,

because there weren't
a lot of ingredients,

so there was only about
so much you could do.

- Pretty!
- So, simplicity
kinda plays a role

in the theme for this
right here, right?

In front of you,
you have a pan-seared
striped sea bass,

a fennel amaro salad,

brown butter olives
in a vinaigrette,

amaro caramel,
roasted tomatoes,

and amaro is one
of the seven ingredients.

I think Britt's
dish looks beautiful.

Very coastal, very Italian,

the tomatoes,
the fish, beautiful.

I think fennel and amaro
are a very good combination.

Mm. The bass is
cooked perfectly. Forget it.
- Perfectly!

Feels very
coastal, very fresh.
- Yeah.

For me, I think the amaro's
really off-putting

when it comes to that caramel,
I'm not into it at all.

Yeah.

It's, like, cloyingly sweet,

and then with a super
top end of bitterness.

Otherwise, very classic
approach to Italian food.

Let's go ahead and move
on to the next dish.

All right, chefs,
next up in front of you,

we have a pan seared cod,

with a red, yellow pepper,
zucchini medley,

with lemon and
amaro-cooked onions.

Chris' dish is very colorful,

and the amaro really
looks beautiful on his plate.

That's amaro
splashed in the pan.

You know,
this sort of brunoise

of the zucchini that
has a little bit of char
on the outside.

Mm.
- With the peppers,
it almost feels like

an Italian, like, ratatouille.

My fish is over.

- Is it?
- Way over.

I just got a little
bit too much fat,

and some sauteed vegetables
with the fish, that's over.

But way smarter use of the,
of the amaro in this one.

All right,
let's move on to
the next dish.

What is this?

Ooh... That's lovely.

I think my dish won,

but my fish
might be undercooked,

and so I might lose
because of that.

We have
halibut with fennel,
amaro and pine nuts,

-This chef only
used six ingredients.
- Whoa!

This chef was like,
you know what,

you can keep your
seventh ingredient.

Let's go the checklist.

Coastal. Are you
getting that vibe?

- All day long.
- 100, immediately.

Okay, how's the cook
on the fish?

Perfect.

The use of amaro
here was very smart.
- Mm.

I will say, though,
that it's possibly
a little too light.

A little too light.

The interesting part,
right, is, the fennel
in multiple ways.

When you only have
six ingredients,

but it reads and eats
as if there's a multitude
of ingredients.

- Mm-hmm.
- But for me,
a seventh ingredient,

- like acid.
- Agreed.

We have the chance
of beating Alex.

A really good chance.

- Let's do it.
- Let's go.

- All the best.
- Good luck, buddy.

With a name
like Guarnaschelli,

to win the Italian episode,
that's an honor for me.

I think if I have an edge,

it's just experience
doing this.

Here come the chefs,

whose dishes
you've been judging.

- Hi, chefs!
- How are you?

Good to see you guys.

I'm sure you guys
might recognize

- a face or two up here.
- Oh, definitely.

Well, these chefs
need no introduction.

We have
acclaimed restauranteur

and revered culinary
competitor, Antonia Lofaso.

Thank you for cooking
for us today.

- We really enjoyed it.
- Our pleasure.

Thank you for eating it.

And this gentleman
is a two-time James Beard
nominated chef,

he is a custodian
of Italian tradition,

it's the pasta maestro
himself, chef Evan Funke.

-But you all knew that.
- Chefs, how are you?

I'm gonna start crying.

Oh my god,
this is emotional for me,

'cause I don't make Italian
food and I love you guys.

When I see two
people that I admire,

and know, and respect,

it's a lot.

I've never seen you
react this way, chef.

Well, I feel emotional
when you, first of all,

I want you to win,

but in my heart,
I can't have you win.

49% of my heart goes
to the both of you.

But 51% of me,
in my cold, black heart,

I cannot let you win.

It's just not in my DNA.

So chef Britt,
from New Jersey,

she made the striped bass.

Yeah.

Chef Christopher
from Florida,

he's made the cod.

So that means chef Alex
made you guys the halibut.

So the judges ranked
the dishes one through three.

And unfortunately, the chef
that finished third is...

from Florida,
chef Chris. Sorry.

Chef, my cod was
cooked beautifully,

I loved the use of zucchini,

and it really felt
as if you used those
ingredients so, so well.

I actually
felt a little left out,

because her dish was, like,

you could see the love
in it, and it was, like,

zhoozhy and olive oil,

and mine was like,
dry, and overcooked,
and small.

- And I was like...
- But the onions that you--

- I ate some of hers!
- Yeah, he did. He did.

So I could
get a feel for both.

Chef Chris, thank you so much.

- Awesome job today.
Appreciate it.
- Thank you!

- Thank you, chef!
- Thank you.

So judges, guess what?

There were actually
the top two chefs
in both rounds.

In round one, you guys
actually had Alex's dish
winning out.

The question is,
did she win the second?

So the winner of
Alex Vs. America Italian,

is...

- Congratulations,
chef Alex. Well done.
- Oh, my God.

You've been nipping
at my heels all day!

Did it again, chef,
you've done it again!

No, both dishes
were bangers, like,

you should be very,
very proud of the effort

that you put out today, so...

Even second place,
next to hers,

first place anywhere
else, so...

- Absolutely
- You're good to go.

- Cheers.
- Nice to have you.

-Cheers. Thank you.
- Thank you!

-You don't cook
a lot of Italian food?

-Good stuff! You did it again!
- I don't. I can make anything!

-Congratulations, chef!
- Yeah!

You've done it again,
you've done it again!

Thank you.