01x04 - Better duck!

[bunniefuu]

(dramatic music)

♪

All of these bushes,
they're all pretty bare.

CHRIS: All right, here we go.

TUSHAR: Even one crab
would be enough.

CHRIS: Come on, baby.

PERRIN: I found something
if you're open to it.

I kind of came in with the
"anything goes" mindset, so...

TUSHAR: Oh, no, no, no, no.

LAURA: I don't love
how it turned out.

TUSHAR: I'm worried
it's not gonna cook enough.

Keep really pushing it.

Hopefully,
we won't, uh, screw it up.

(dramatic music)

KIRAN: Two world-class chefs,
dropped into the wilderness.

CHEF: Every second counts
in this competition.

We get one shot.

KIRAN: Their mission, to find
enough wild ingredients

- to make a five-star meal.
- CHEF: Found one.

It's not your ordinary day
at the grocery store.

KIRAN: And here on the coast
of British Columbia,

the chefs will use those
ingredients to battle it out

and see whose forage feast
reigns supreme.

CHEF: Wow, my menu changes
depending on what I find.

KIRAN: I'm Kiran Jethwa,

international chef
and restaurateur.

I've traveled the globe
to collect

and cook incredible wild foods.

And here in this competition,
only chefs with skills

in both the wilderness
and the kitchen will prevail.

CHEF: If I mess this up,
the whole dish will suffer.

KIRAN: This is "Chefs vs Wild."

♪

(dramatic music)

♪

With the birds flying south,
the local crabs beefing up

to their meatiest,

and the plants retaining
their sugars,

all signs point
to the wilderness

preparing
for the cold months ahead.

The two chefs heading
to meet their partners

will have to adapt
to what nature gives them.

Their three-course meal
will feature duck,

prized for its fatty,
flavorful meat.

Duck pairs well with anything

from berries
to herbaceous plants.

But at this time of year,
the dwindling ingredients

will test the chefs'
culinary instincts.

And over the next few days,

cold nights and unrelenting
rain will make it even harder

to uncover the culinary gems

needed to win this competition.

♪

TUSHAR: My name is Tushar,
and I run

a private dining company
named The Indian Pantry.

I am from Mumbai, India,
and I have been living

in Vancouver
for almost ten years now.

Cooking over a fire
is something I have been doing

since I was kid, and I grew up
cooking with my grandmother

in the village in India.

Since then, I have worked in
top restaurants

around the world.

I'm feeling pretty confident
about what I'm going to do,

and I think this competition
was made for me.

♪

LAURA: I am Laura Comer
from Kansas City, Missouri.

I'm the executive chef

for the Kauffman Center
for the Performing Arts.

I am a single mom,
and I have an 18-year-old

and 11-year-old.

I started my career as a cake
decorator at Dairy Queen,

and so I went to culinary school

and became a pastry chef,

and then I've been a savory chef

for the last ten years.

I may have a little bit
of an edge because I do have

that pastry and savory background.

Money, of course,
is extremely important,

but I wanna prove to myself
that I can do hard things.

I'm here to win.

♪

KIRAN: Chef Tushar has been
dropped off on Hardy Island

to meet his partner, Chris.

The island is surrounded
by crabs, clams, mussels,

and tons of coastal vegetation.

However, if their timing
is not precise,

the extreme tidal changes can
make foraging a challenge.

- TUSHAR: Hey, man.
- CHRIS: Hey!

- Welcome to the woods.
- TUSHAR: Thank you.

- Nice to meet you.
- I'm Chris.

- TUSHAR: I'm Tushar.
- CHRIS: Tushar?

Yes. Where are you from?

- CHRIS: Vancouver.
- TUSHAR: No, no way.

- CHRIS: Yeah.
- TUSHAR: I'm from Vancouver

- as well.
- CHRIS: No way!

- Yeah.
- I think we're gonna have

the hometown advantage, though...

- TUSHAR: I know.
- Being from around here, so...

- TUSHAR: Yeah.
- CHRIS: So what are some

of the flavors out here
that you might wanna find?

CHRIS:
It's one thing to want it.

It's another one to find it.

(tense music)

♪

KIRAN: Chef Laura
is on the coastal mainland

to meet her partner, Perrin.

The interior terrain
is a foraging paradise

known for its plentiful
wild berries.

Although, this late in the season,

some of the more
desirable varieties

may be hard to come by.

- Hey!
- PERRIN: Hey.

I'm assuming you're my partner.

PERRIN: I am your partner, indeed.

- My name is Perrin.
- LAURA: I'm Laura.

- Nice to meet you.
- PERRIN: Laura, wonderful

- to meet you as well.
- LAURA: I'm definitely

- leaning on you.
- Okay.

LAURA: I got the cooking part
if you keep us alive.

- (laughs)
- PERRIN: Lovely, sounds good.

LAURA: Let's go win.

I love pairing fruit and duck
together, so I'm really hoping

to find some
good berries out here.

♪

CHRIS: I think it's probably
easier up this way.

TUSHAR: Up here in this way?
Kay, better follow you.

I have a gameplan,
but I know the weather here

is changing every hour.

We're lucky to have
this weather,

and I'm gonna make
good use while it's nice out.

Oh, look, see right there?

We have some huckleberries.

♪

Mmm.

My weakness in the kitchen
is dessert.

I hate doing pastries.

I'm glad I found this early.

I can make
a great dessert with this.

I was thinking huckleberry pie.

Growing up, I used to cook

a lot with both
of my grandmother

and my mother.

And most of my cooking
inspiration come from them.

My mom passed away in 2012,

but I'm sure she's watching
from somewhere.

So my final meal will represent

what I have learned growing up.

I will win this
for the two of them.

CHRIS: Uh, do you want me
to carry any of that?

- TUSHAR: I'm good.
- CHRIS: Yeah?

Okay.

If you were struggling,
you'd tell me, though, right?

- TUSHAR: Yes, sir.
- CHRIS: Kay,

'cause communication
out here is key.

I'm Chris Madsen,
a local hometown boy.

Since I was a kid,
I've been foraging this land.

Probably the most anxious
about how my partner and I

will fare together.

I just got back from two years
of living on a boat,

and on the sailboat,
the captain's orders rule.

So in the wilderness,

I'm hoping
that I can be in charge,

and in the kitchen, I'm hoping
that my partner is not afraid

to take the lead
and tell me what to do.

We gotta keep moving.

TUSHAR: Let's go.

(suspenseful music)

♪

PERRIN: You can see
we have a nice view down here.

Oh, my God, look at this.

PERRIN: It's hard to find
oceanfront real estate

- like this these days.
- (Laura laughs)

While this tide's low,
we got about an hour or two.

- Wanna turn over some rocks?
- Sounds good.

First course, again,
I'm thinking seafood.

So first thing, I need to find

my main protein
for my first dish.

♪

We have a whole little
ocean pantry down here,

it seems like.

Oysters seem
to be an obvious choice,

but at this point,
I think it's too easy.

I wanna think outside the box
and be a little more creative

with our dishes.

I think, with my early career,
people did underestimate me,

because I am a little bit
of a girly girl.

But I work really hard,
and I do not give up.

That's important
to show my kids.

There's nothing they can't do.

I was in the top
of my culinary school

graduating class while being
pregnant with my oldest son.

And then, as soon as I was done,

I was working
two full-time jobs.

I definitely believe

that going through tough things
makes you stronger.

When you feel, sometimes,

things are the darkest
or things are the hardest,

that's how you grow
and become a better person.

I found a clam,
but it's kind of little.

PERRIN: Ah, a little small.

Most of them are
gonna be like this.

I mean, it's the question,
"Does size matter?"

- LAURA: In this case, it does.
- Okay.

LAURA: We have a couple clams.

They're not big enough
to serve, so I wanna

incorporate that
into the first course

by creating a seafood broth.

We're just gonna go down
and check this waterline.

♪

Look at this.

So this is bull kelp,

and it's pretty delicious
just right out of the water.

Look at that beautiful color.

LAURA: I think this
is gonna be amazing to add

to our first course
seafood dish.

Some sort of salad
would be really beautiful.

PERRIN:
My name is Perrin Hendrick.

I've been teaching
primitive survival skills

for about 20 years.

In general,
I feel good about foraging.

Hopefully, I can provide enough bounty

so that my partner
can really shine.

LAURA: Still need to find
my main protein

for my first dish.

Once we have that nailed down,
it'll be easier

to kind of put
the pieces together.

♪

(dramatic music)

♪

CHRIS: Oh, man, there's
definitely crabs here.

Check it out... dead crab shells.
That's a good sign.

TUSHAR: We see this bay,
and it was perfect time

to get hands on some oyster,
which we used as a bait

for our crab trap.

CHRIS: Nice work.

We should have a little oyster
shucking competition later.

♪

TUSHAR: While Chris set up
the crab trap,

I'm going to look around
for more ingredients.

♪

Mmm.
This is bladderwrack seaweed.

Pretty good, actually, just
even straight up like this...

crunchy, salty.

The way I'm thinking to use

this bladderwrack is to make
a gamey broth with this

and duck bones.

I want that salty umami taste

in the broth with the duck.

♪

I think that's gonna work
for us, man.

I hope so.

(tense music)

♪

LAURA: I'm hoping
to find berries.

Some Himalayan blackberries
would be great for a dessert.

PERRIN: Yeah, let's just keep
our eyes peeled as we walk.

LAURA: Well,
you're the boss here.

I'll do whatever you tell me to.

For camping,
I've actually gone out

quite a bit with my sons.

I think it's amazing
to be able to combine

the outdoors
with a culinary aspect,

but I haven't done
a lot of foraging.

So this is kind of new for me,

and I'm following
Perrin's lead on that.

PERRIN: See those
little ferns right there?

We can get up there.
That's what we're looking for.

This is a licorice fern,

growing right up
against the tree here.

♪

Here, check that out.

So you can actually nip it
with your teeth

to try a little bit.

Ooh, that's fantastic.
That's super sweet.

I can slice that down
and caramelize it

and put it with the duck.

But I have my heart really set

on having my duck dish
paired with fruit,

and I need something
to highlight my dessert as well.

PERRIN: All of these bushes,
they're all pretty bare.

- (rocks rustle)
- CHRIS: Ooh, careful.

Next up, we'll scavenge
the shoreline a little bit?

TUSHAR: Yeah.

Oh, it's right here... this moss.

CHRIS: There's some easier stuff
right here.

TUSHAR: No, I want, like,
a good, undisturbed cluster.

So this reindeer moss
is a type of lichen.

- You wanna take this?
- CHRIS: Sure.

TUSHAR: Whenever I see
any new ingredients,

my mind is always
working towards

what I'm gonna create with it.

- CHRIS: Is this edible raw?
- You can taste it,

but right now, it's not very...
it's like...

Not a lot of flavor.

Haven't yet seen enough
of Tushar's foraging skills

to know how much
of an asset he's gonna be.

I wanna win this competition,

so I am expecting a lot
from him.

TUSHAR: Then you can fry it,

you know, like
a crispy potato or something,

and then you put the seasoning

on any chips,
and it's like a good bite.

CHRIS: You're the chef.

♪

- PERRIN: Can you see?
- LAURA: What are you looking at?

- PERRIN: Right up there.
- LAURA: Over there?

PERRIN: Halfway up.

There were huckleberries
all along here.

LAURA: Yeah.
This thing is loaded.

These evergreen huckleberries
are perfect.

They're like a cross between
a blueberry and a blackberry.

I'm just gonna use them
in the dessert,

because I don't wanna use
evergreen huckleberries twice.

Now we have to find
a second kind of fruit

to incorporate with the duck.

- PERRIN: Sneakin' a few bites.
- LAURA: I don't blame you.

I'm glad we found these, though.

(tense music)

♪

CHRIS:
The storm is rolling in, so...

- Yeah.
- Kind of wanna move out

- pretty quick.
- TUSHAR: I'll be quick.

Chris can be a little bit bossy,

but I deal with a lot
of cooks in the kitchen

with, like, with different
personalities and stuff,

and sometimes
you have to just work around it.

Look what we got here...

some rose hips.

A lot of Indian sweets
are done with rose.

Gonna clean it, deseed it,

and then infuse the skin
in simple syrup.

CHRIS: We're gonna be getting very wet

unless we get back to camp.

We gotta move pretty quick.

♪

KIRAN: As the sun sets,
Laura and Tushar

have collected
some unique ingredients

for flavor and garnish.

But they are still both
lacking standout ingredients

to feature in their appetizers.

With a major storm
about to roll in,

the chefs will face
added challenges of foraging

in a cold, drenched landscape,

testing their fortitude
to find what they need

in the most extreme conditions.

(dramatic music)

♪

(rain pattering)

LAURA: It's a little bit cold
and a whole lot wet.

PERRIN: The rain is not
gonna be letting up.

Fire might not be
in the cards tonight.

LAURA: And it's so cold
and so damp out.

It's gonna be really hard
to forage enough

if we're exhausted.

So it's a little concerning
for tomorrow.

(thunder booms)

(dramatic music)

♪

CHRIS: We got
a pretty good haul so far.

Yeah.

I slept okay-ish last night.

But I still have a lot of energy

to go get the remaining
ingredients, what I need.

I really want to cook crab,

but we are going to head out
to forage for greens.

We will check out
the crab trap later

to give it
as much time possible.

CHRIS: We got a big ol' bag
of huckleberries in here.

I do make a damn good pie,
just throwin' it out there.

TUSHAR: Yeah.

CHRIS: I know my way
around the kitchen very well.

I don't go out to eat
in restaurants all that often,

'cause I think I can cook it
better than they can.

So if you did wanna make that
one of my jobs,

I could definitely promise you

that it would be
out of this world.

TUSHAR: Yeah.

You got it, man.

I am a very calm person.

When there's a time
to say something,

then I talk.

But right now,
we need to focus on foraging.

CHRIS: Comin' down like crazy...
oof.

(dramatic music)

♪

PERRIN: Just right through
the soaking suds car wash.

LAURA: (laughs)

Neither one of us slept
very well last night.

I think I probably slept
20, 30 minutes off and on,

but I'm not gonna let
something get me down.

♪

- My little berries here.
- PERRIN: Look at that.

So that has gotta be
a red huckleberry.

But there's only, like,
two on this whole bush.

LAURA: Okay.

We found red huckleberries,

but we only found two.

It's imperative that I have it
for the duck dish,

'cause I really want to pair it
with a fruit.

That was my main goal
from the start.

PERRIN:
We'll just keep an eye out.

That red kind of pops.

(tense music)

♪

CHRIS: So let's take a little time

and just poke around here slowly.

TUSHAR: I'm on a hunt
for some veggies.

A lot of Indian food
is vegetarian.

And vegetables,
it's a very key element

in Indian cooking.

So it's very important for me
to find greens.

[bleep] these fall leaves,
can't see anything.

You can't see any green stubs,
like, lying underneath.

CHRIS: Yeah.

Ooh, and there's skunk cabbage.

Some green in amongst the green.

TUSHAR: We did you get?

CHRIS: Some skunk cabbage.

I haven't used the shoots.
This you can eat raw?

CHRIS: Yeah.

TUSHAR: Let me taste it.

CHRIS: When they bloom,
they smell like...

TUSHAR: Oh, that is tasty.
Looks like corn.

- CHRIS: Mm-hmm.
- TUSHAR: Yeah, it's good.

It's spicy.

- Maybe I'll use it in the duck.
- CHRIS: Okay.

TUSHAR: (clears throat)

Do you have water on you?

CHRIS: I don't.

TUSHAR: Okay, let's go.

(clears throat)

My throat is becoming weird.

(tense music)

♪

PERRIN: So the trail
that we've been walking

is now a river.

LAURA: The rain has put
a major damper on everything.

It makes it very hard to
get around and find things,

and I'm running out of options
for my first dish.

My plan at this point
is just to be flexible

with what I get.

But I need that star ingredient

to build my dish around,

and we have a limited amount
of time

to find what we need.

PERRIN: All right,
head right down through here.

We tend to walk into the woods
with all these plans,

these intentions,
but the opportunity

to be able to take a pivot

opens up a whole new world.

All right.

I found something,
if you're open to it.

LAURA: Sounds good.

PERRIN: So this cedar tree
where it's dry on the bottom,

I found it this morning
while looking

for dry tinder for fire.

I took off this outer bark.

There we are.

A whole colony of pill bugs.

They actually taste really good.

Just like shrimp.

I kind of came in with
the "anything goes" mindset,

so let's go for it.

I've never used
anything like this,

but I'm definitely not opposed
to using bugs.

It's gonna add protein.
It's gonna add texture.

I'm here to win.

I'm finding bugs.
Look at that guy.

Broke four nails,
but completely worth it.

This is so out of my wheelhouse,

and I'm like, "What can I do
with this ingredient

"to make it taste good

and make it
into an elevated dish?"

Good find.

Next time we go camping,

I might have my boys try
some bugs.

We'll see if they'll go for it.

(tense music)

♪

(dramatic music)

♪

TUSHAR: (clears throat)

The skunk cabbage seems like
a toxic vegetable.

I'm not going to use this.

(clears throat)

I'm lucky I ate a little bit,

but this was a big mistake
from Chris.

It would have gone
really bad for me.

I think it's better
if Chris and I split up for now.

This is a beautiful area, huh?

(tense music)

♪

Oh, wow.

♪

Look at that.

Oh, I know what this is.

It's springbank clover.

♪

Mmm, tastes like pea sh**t,
green peas.

I mean, yeah, really tasty.

It will go really well
with duck.

I want to do a little bit
of Asian influence

with a dumpling.

I might be able to capture

some of the Indian flavors
that way.

(dramatic music)

♪

KIRAN: The window to forage
crucial items for their dishes

is closing on the chefs.

Tushar is still intent
on using crab

for his appetizer,
while Laura needs to find

a second fruit or she may not
have enough wild ingredients

to pair with her duck.

As of now,
Laura is taking more risk

in unfamiliar ingredients
than Tushar,

but he is putting
all of his culinary hopes

into that crab trap.

(tense music)

♪

TUSHAR: I'm super excited
to check our crab trap.

CHRIS: I know you want
these crabs.

TUSHAR: Crab is the one thing
I really want.

All right, here we go.

Hopefully we have some big
dunge in there.

Even one crab would be enough.

- CHRIS: Feels heavy.
- TUSHAR: Feels heavy?

CHRIS: Feels heavy.

Come on, baby.

No crab.

♪

That's really disappointing.

TUSHAR: I don't know
what I'm gonna do.

(tense music)

♪

PERRIN: How you doing
in terms of walking?

LAURA: Just a little sore.
(laughs)

PERRIN: All right.

LAURA: And we are combing
this forest.

We are going everywhere.

We have walked miles trying
to find a second kind of fruit.

And I'm getting tired.

I am missing my kids terribly
at this point.

I am missing them, and I'm
really far away from them,

and I haven't got to talk
to them in days, so...

it's starting to get to me.

We're getting to the endgame, though,

and I'm not giving up.

♪

PERRIN: So this is spruce.

- There you go.
- LAURA: Thank you.

It's gonna bring me
that little bit

of herbaceous element
for the dessert.

PERRIN: Yeah.

LAURA: It's gonna pair beautifully

with the huckleberries.

I'm so used to going
to my pantry,

and this is the spice I need,
and that's an herb

I can just get from my produce,

and seeing that you can
literally walk outside

and pick it, it's kind of cool.

Yeah, good to know
where that tree is.

It's the first spruce
I've actually seen here.

LAURA:
I don't have my berries yet.

I may have to pivot on that one.

So what do we need?

CHRIS: We could leave
most of our stuff here.

That'll make us move quicker.

I'll just take...

I'll take the shovel,
just in case.

CHRIS: Okay.

I wanted to get some crabs
just to show

my crab-trapping skills.

I can tell that Tushar
was disappointed.

But sometimes you miss.

It's just the way she goes.

The one thing I'm worried
about now is the cook-off.

I am expecting a lot from him
in the kitchen.

And it'll be interesting to see
if we get along there

as well as we do out here.

TUSHAR: Clams.

Maybe we'll just use clams
for our first course.

(tense music)

♪

CHRIS: There's one.

Little baby rock crabs all over.

♪

The kiss of death.

TUSHAR: Got a bunch.

CHRIS: Nice. Sweet.

TUSHAR:
Did you find something there?

I think they should be good
as a garnish.

I'm going to fry crispy
on top of the clams.

We have a backup plan now
for the first course.

We have some really good ingredients.

And I don't think
I need anything else.

♪

In order to follow my dream
and career,

the biggest sacrifice, I think,

was leaving my family behind
in India.

I'm doing this for myself
and my family

to make them proud,
and I'm so excited

to get back to the kitchen
and cook over a fire.

To me, winning means everything.

(tense music)

♪

PERRIN: We're losing daylight
pretty quick, so...

LAURA: Yeah.

PERRIN: Need a hand?

LAURA: Yeah, I've got it.

It's a little tough
to keep going right now.

My feet weigh 100 pounds apiece,
it feels like.

And I'm worried we're running
out of time.

♪

PERRIN: Oh, look. Look.
Look at this. Look at this.

Oh, my goodness.

This is red huckleberry.

Like, literally the whole bush.
This has 1, 2, 3...

- LAURA: Shut up.
- PERRIN: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,

- 9, 10, 11, 12...
- They're my second fruit.

PERRIN: 13, 14. Oh, my goodness.

Uh...

PERRIN: Just in time, too.

There are so many left.

LAURA: I can't even believe it.

This was kind of
a miracle find for me.

I have enough berries to make
a red huckleberry gastrique

for the duck.

That gives it a little
sweet-and-sour sauce,

and it will be lovely.

That makes me happier
than anything.

That's my favorite find so far.

(laughs)

(gentle music)

I'm really excited going into
the cook-off tomorrow,

because then I'm gonna feel
like I'm in my element.

I've been kind of a fish
out of water.

But I feel like I need
to always push myself in life

to keep growing.

If you never take yourself
out of your comfort zone,

you gain no character,
and you get bored.

Through this experience,
I think I realized

I can do really tough things.

And so now all I need to do
is cook.

And there's no possible way
to lose at this point.

♪

(dramatic music)

♪

LAURA: With Chris and Tushar,
when I'm looking over at them,

I just think we have kind of
almost opposite energies.

I'm not intimidated, though,
because I have what I need.

And we've made it through
the hardest part,

and I'm here to win.

TUSHAR: Chef Laura having
pastry in her background,

I am a little bit nervous.

But I've been cooking
my whole life on a fire.

But I'm worried a little bit
about if Chris

will be a good sous chef.

If we are going to win,

he needs to follow my guidance.

♪

CHRIS: Holy smoke.

LAURA: Look at this kitchen.

This is amazing.

Seeing this kitchen
for the first time,

this is not campfire cooking.

It's, like,
on a whole nother level.

PERRIN: Look at this.

TUSHAR: I'm very comfortable
cooking on fire,

so I'm super excited.

This is my happy place.

- KIRAN: Hey, guys.
- LAURA: Hi, there.

KIRAN: Welcome
to my wilderness kitchen.

This is a fire-cooking mecca.

- LAURA: It is. It's stunning.
- PERRIN: Incredible.

KIRAN: Let me introduce you
to Valerie Segrest.

She's our wild edibles expert.

Hi, so nice to meet you.

We consider this to be, like,
a living curriculum.

And so I'm excited to taste
what you've learned.

CHRIS: We're both from BC,
so this is our time to shine.

PERRIN:
This is their home court.

This is a little unfair.

Let me tell you this.

This kitchen
is the great equalizer.

PERRIN: Sure.

I revealed to your that your
gifted protein was duck.

Here it is.

And your duck must be used
in your entrée.

Perrin, Chris,
you are the sous chefs.

How you guys works together
is essential.

Yeah.

Chefs, you have four hours
to create

an appetizer, an entrée,
and a dessert.

We want to see the wilds
of British Columbia

on three plates of food.

Take your beautiful ducks,
and let's get to it.

- PERRIN: Come on, guys.
- VALERIE: Good luck. Good luck.

- PERRIN: Come on, guys.
- TUSHAR: Thank you.

- KIRAN: Good luck.
- What can I do for you, Chef?

LAURA: If you don't mind
starting to process

- the bull kelp...
- PERRIN: Yep.

LAURA: And getting
the pill bugs washed for me.

- PERRIN: Yes, Chef.
- LAURA: I'm gonna start

making batters and get
this duck cleaned real quick.

I had some nerves this morning,

but I knew when I got
in the kitchen

I'd be in my element.

But I'm used to electricity,
so we're gonna have to adapt.

TUSHAR: Is it hot?

- CHRIS: Not quite sizzling.
- TUSHAR: Not quite.

We've got to get
all our fire up.

CHRIS: Yes, Chef.

TUSHAR: In last days, my personality

has been a bit quiet,
but I know what I want.

And I'm the boss in the kitchen.

LAURA: I am making
my corn batter for my pill bugs.

It's gonna be
our land and sea course.

For first course,
we are doing a hush puppy

made with pill bugs.

We're gonna do seaweed salad

with bull kelp
and the nice broth

of all the little shellfish
we found on the beach.

The pill bugs have this
kind of shrimp finish,

so I think those things will
all pair really well together.

(tense music)

TUSHAR: Just making
a ginger garlic base

for our clam
and cook the clam in it.

The first course
is black pepper clam

on crispy reindeer moss.

Keep checking the wood, please.

Yes, Chef.

LAURA: Second course of the duck

is gonna be treated
on the smoker,

because I'm used to
smoking things.

From Kansas City,
it's something I know

fairly well.

We're smoking it over alderwood.

And then we're gonna finish
in the cast iron

with fried licorice fern root.

Finishing sauce is going to be
a gastrique,

which I'm gonna make with my
beautiful red huckleberries.

♪

Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Oh, that is so good.

Better than anything
they could make.

In your dreams, babe. (laughs)

Went from having dirt
under my nails to pie dough.

And we're gonna top it
with some more huckleberries.

Dessert is a brown butter
huckleberry tart

with a spruce crème anglaise
and spruce oil tuiles.

I feel super confident
in pastry.

It's my favorite thing
to work in.

♪

TUSHAR: I'm frying some baby crab

for the first course.

Okay, crab is done.

Tushar, what's going on
with your moss here?

I'm gonna fry this in duck fat.

- Yeah.
- TUSHAR: Yes, it will be nice

and crunchy base for my clam.

And have you ever made moss?

TUSHAR: No.

Hopefully we won't screw it up.

Yeah, hopefully
you won't screw it up.

Good luck with that.

TUSHAR: It's getting crispy.

CHRIS: I'm liking your lichen, bro.

TUSHAR: Whoo-hoo, you better.

For the first course,
I'm really excited

to use reindeer moss,

because I know,
as soon as they bite it,

it's gonna just melt
in their mouth.

KIRAN: You're starting to play
with your bugs?

- PERRIN: Yeah.
- LAURA: It's gonna be our

- little surf-and-turf dish.
- KIRAN: Love it.

That for me is...
is a really great ingredient.

Once you cook these, you lose
all the flavor from inside.

- So you've got to be careful
- Mm-hmm. Absolutely.

Okay, I look forward to seeing
what you do with them.

♪

Guys, you're halfway.

Two hours in, two hours left.

Halfway there.

Heard, Chef. Thank you.

CHRIS:
Oh, this duck looks beautiful.

I'm just making
my dumpling wrapper.

This is for the second course.

We're gonna do duck two ways.

It's gonna be a dumpling
with some springbank clover.

And the breast is gonna be
roasted on a fire on the bone

along with some broth made
from bladderwrack seaweed

and duck bones.

CHRIS: How much time is it
gonna take to cook the duck?

TUSHAR: I'm gonna do,
like, last hour.

Cooking on fire,
it feels exactly

the same as I would cook
with my grandmother

and my mother.

The flames are like music
for me.

It just feels perfect.

LAURA: They are looking great
right now.

They're bubbling up beautifully.

I'm gonna start my duck sauce.

PERRIN: Red huckleberry?

LAURA: Yeah,
a red huckleberry gastrique.

PERRIN: Are you mixing in
those evergreens?

Yeah, gonna use a little bit
to supplement the duck sauce,

'cause we've only got a handful
of the red one.

♪

CHRIS: Man, time just flies.

TUSHAR: Maybe you can go
on huckleberry.

CHRIS: Yes, Chef.

TUSHAR: I can take care
of things here.

For the dessert I'm going
to make a huckleberry pie.

CHRIS: Pie making is definitely

one of my favorite things.

So I'm looking forward to show
a little bit

of my culinary skills
in the kitchen.

♪

LAURA: So the gastrique
I'm making

is kind of
a sweet-and-sour sauce

when you pop the berries in

and let those kind of macerate
in that sugar.

And then you finish it
with vinegar.

♪

- PERRIN: I think that's great.
- LAURA: Is it?

That'll stand up great
with that fat.

♪

TUSHAR: Just gonna go on the
rose hip, simple syrup.

Gonna use that for our dessert
with some khoya.

It's an Indian term.

I literally just reduce the milk
into, like, a ricotta.

For the tart,
I'm gonna mix this up

with rose hip syrup.

This reminds me of India, actually.

KIRAN: Three hours gone,
one hour left.

Step it up.

- TUSHAR: Chris, you heard that?
- CHRIS: Yeah.

Are you comfortable doing
the tart shell?

Uh... honestly, no.

(dramatic music)

At home I'd be comfortable,

but for this competition,
I want to win,

and I think you'll do
a better job than me.

TUSHAR: (groans)

Okay, you know, we can switch.

Yep.

Sorry. Sorry, Chef.

TUSHAR: I'm pretty frustrated
right now.

I was counting on Chris
to make a pie,

and this is a major setback.

Time is running out.

Let's see how it turns out.

LAURA: I'm making
a crème anglaise with spruce

and finishing up
my spruce tuiles

to go with my tarts.

Get those chopped pretty fine.

I want to make a tuile,
because it's gonna give me

that kind of salty crunch.

It's real hard to control
this oil over a fire.

♪

I don't love how it turned out.

Not exactly where I want it,
so I'm gonna do it again.

PERRIN: Um...

LAURA:
Not real happy with that one.

I'm gonna go again.

PERRIN: Okay.

TUSHAR: No, no, no, no, no.

Don't take that risk.

Chris, your job is to just
keep checking this pie, yeah?

CHRIS: I think they're done.

TUSHAR: The berries
are not cooked inside.

- KIRAN: Tushar.
- Yes, Chef.

Is one of our courses
sun-dried duck?

Yeah, I'm gonna start
cooking it now.

He's really pushing it.

TUSHAR: Cooking on a bone
can be a bit tricky,

but you just have to control
your fire.

Chefs, you guys have
half an hour left,

30 minutes.

Oh, damn.

- We better turn it up.
- We might need...

Let's go.

(tense music)

LAURA:
My tuiles are almost done.

That worked.
That turned out beautifully.

Super big relief.

CHRIS: Oh, my God.

TUSHAR: Oh, [bleep].

CHRIS: I'm worried it's not
gonna cook enough.

How's it going over there, Tushar?

You about ready?

Looking good. Looking good.

All right, chefs, five minutes.

LAURA: Five minutes heard.

TUSHAR: Five minutes.

♪

LAURA: Pill bug fritters.

You can see pill bugs
right on top too.

TUSHAR: Fingers crossed.

Oh, my God. Look at that duck.

LAURA: My dessert
is totally on point.

PERRIN: Wow, so that's what
a pastry chef does.

I feel a little bad
for those guys.

♪

CHRIS: Do you want me to start
carving that duck,

or you got it?

- I'll carve it.
- Okay.

♪

Look at that duck. It's perfect.

LAURA: I'm very happy
with the way that's cooked.

KIRAN: Finishing touches, guys.

TUSHAR: Get that out.
Get this out.

KIRAN: Ten seconds.

♪

Five seconds.

Three, two, one.

And that is it.

Tushar, step away.

LAURA: Good job.

♪

(dramatic music)

Chefs, survivalists,
really well done.

Congratulations.

Now we let the food
do the talking.

Laura, your appetizer.

So this is a play
on land and sea,

a little pour for you.

So what we have here
is a pill bug hush puppy

on top of a seaweed salad
with bull kelp

and then a shellfish broth.

♪

The bull kelp is great.

It's a superfood.

And it has a really important
ecological relationship

with the environment.

I was excited to see that.

The texture of the fritter
is delicious.

Thank you.

- It's really tasty.
- Yeah.

KIRAN: The pill bugs,
I'm so impressed that you had

that thought process
to go and get those.

And I just wish they were given
more of a chance

to be front and center
in the dish.

I just think the flavor
of the fritter

overpowered them a little bit.

- Understood.
- KIRAN: Yeah.

Tushar, your appetizer.

I have a dish from the ocean.

We have black pepper clam
with crispy shore crab.

And the bottom
is fried reindeer moss.

KIRAN: The reindeer lichen is...
did you try it raw?

- I have.
- It's horrible.

- It tastes like aspirin.
- Yeah.

♪

KIRAN: Love that reindeer moss.

It's very, very good.

Thank you.

And I love that you transformed

a really bitter flavor
into something that's, like,

a good snap of texture.

The texture is outstanding.

But your clams,

they've gone a little bit chewy.

- Okay.
- KIRAN: I think

the reindeer lichen
is a big win on this dish.

- Yeah.
- It's fantastic.

Thank you.

Okay, guys, entrées. Tushar.

So here we have duck two ways,
the dark meat

in a dumpling
with springbank clover,

duck breast with crispy skin,

and a broth made
with bladderwrack seaweed.

Hmm, the duck, I thought
was gonna be a problem.

But it's perfectly cooked.

The broth is outstanding.

There is so much flavor
in there.

It's beautifully balanced
between the duck

and the bladderwrack.

They've both worked
very well together.

I love the use
of springbank clover,

because it's the source of food
that the duck eats.

You're getting
the double flavor.

- Thank you.
- It's superb cooking.

- Thank you.
- KIRAN: You've done very well.

Laura, your entrée.

We did an alder-smoked duck

with a little bit
of fried licorice fern root,

and it has very sacred
red huckleberry sauce.

We did add some evergreen
huckleberries to that too.

♪

Yeah, very tasty.

- Duck is cooked well.
- Thank you.

What a gift to be able
to find red huckleberry

this time of year.

We call them
the royalty of all berries.

And it's so good.

And the licorice fern,

I've never had it
like that before.

It's, like, candied
or something.

- Yeah, it's very clever.
- Thank you.

KIRAN: The berry sauce,
what I can get is delicious.

LAURA: Thank you.

- But the red huckleberries...
- LAURA: Yeah.

KIRAN: I probably would have
used all of them on the plate

but made the sauce
out of the other ones

to let these be the star.

'Cause you just want
a few more of them.

Okay, last course, dessert.

Laura.

This is a huckleberry
brown butter tart

with a spruce crème anglaise
and some spruce oil tuiles.

KIRAN: Okay, wow.

(tense music)

♪

The whole thing is delicious.

- Thank you.
- KIRAN: It's very, very nice.

The berry just powers through.

It's got a beautiful, dense,
gooey texture.

Thank you.

I think I'd like a little bit
more spruce in there.

Okay.

But that's looking for problems.

VALERIE: You took all the ingredients in

and made something
really beautiful and tasty.

KIRAN: Of all your plates
I think this is the one

where you've allowed the wild
to really sing through.

LAURA: Thank you.

Tushar, last but absolutely
not least, your dessert.

TUSHAR: Here we have
a huckleberry pie.

The white part is called khoya,
used a lot in Indian sweets,

so it's reduced milk,
condensed like ricotta,

with rose hip simple syrup
in it.

♪

I mean, it screams huckleberry
for sure.

♪

The huckleberries are delicious.

The pie crust,
it's very well-made,

especially in the conditions
that you have here.

I really like it.

My only thing is the rose hip.

It's just kind of gone,

and I don't think it's done
what you wanted it to do.

Yeah.

So it's probably not
the best use of that.

Pastry is not my thing.

So I'm pretty happy
with what I came up with.

Good job, guys.

Well, you've given us
an awful lot to think about

across all three
of your courses.

You've done extremely well
to bring anything back

and then transform that,
so well done.

So we have to go away
and think about this.

- Yep.
- And then we'll come back.

♪

TUSHAR: I captured the whole story,

what I wanted to put up,

combining all these
foraged ingredients

with my background and heritage.

Ending up with a win
would be amazing.

LAURA: I'm very confident
in my dessert dish.

But in looking back now,

there's things I should have
added on the duck.

No matter what happens today,
I'm proud

of the dishes we put out.

You can all be
extremely proud of yourselves.

What you did
in this kitchen today

from what you gathered out there

was really, really impressive.

You guys did pretty good job
as sous chefs as well.

Nature is such a great teacher.

And if you're accepting
what's happening around you,

then you're going to come out
with awesome magic

and stories to tell
on the plate.

Ultimately, it comes down
to those ingredients

across your dishes,
how you treated them.

It was very, very close.

♪

So the winner
of this competition...

♪

Is Tushar.

- CHRIS: We did it.
- TUSHAR: We did it, bud.

It's okay.
We still did a good job.

- Thank you.
- You did great.

LAURA: It's okay.

CHRIS: (laughs)

LAURA: Good job. Good job, guys.

I feel a little disappointed.

But this is the experience
of a lifetime.

I learned a lot about myself.

I learned a lot about
all kinds of wild ingredients.

And this is gonna
completely change me

and how I go forward.

The first thing I want to do
is call my kids

and talk to them,
'cause I miss them terribly.

I hope they'll be proud of me.

TUSHAR: This is one
of the best things I have done

in my life.

I always wanted to do
something like this.

But I didn't know that I had
this much confidence to do it.

I feel it comes
to a full circle.

And I dedicate this win
for my mom, who...

who is not in this world.

And I hope wherever she is

she's gonna be happy and proud.

♪

(upbeat music)

♪