01x03 - The Holidays!

[bunniefuu]

[upbeat music playing]

This is that leftovers show.

You know, the one that gives you
the courage to peak under the foil

in the back of a fridge.

"Oh, hi, buddy.
How long you've been in there?

You must be freezing."

Home chefs are finding delicious ways
to give old leftovers new life.

And we're gonna show you how.

I'm your host, Jackie Tohn.

Three skilled cooks
will compete over two rounds,

creating new dishes out of leftovers.

The cook with the best dishes
goes home with $10,000.

Let's make over some leftovers.

My name is Santhi.

I consider myself
the fairy godmother of the kitchen

because I'm good at transforming dishes
from one thing into another.

I'm Daryll. Food is like art to me.

That's why I don't believe
in wasting anything.

That's where my leftover love came from.

I'm Janice.

My children particularly love leftovers
in the sense that they love me to cook

in large quantities.

When I visit,
they freeze everything in mason jars

to eat at a later date.

[Jackie] I'm excited to see you guys.

It is my joy today
to introduce to you my fellow judges.

To my right,
restaurateur and culinary influencer,

David "You Gonna Eat That, Homie?" So!

Today, it's your job
to make something so good,

I'm gonna scream
in your face how good it is.

-Okay, we got that.
-You betcha.

We got that.

Fills my stomach up
and makes this happy.

[Janice] Yeah.

And mothers, lock up your sons,

it's world-renowned chef
and British heartthrob,

Rosemary "Fancy a Cuppa" Shrager!

-[contestants laugh]
-I love using leftovers.

It is so satisfying.

I'm so excited to see
what you can do today.

Yay.

Yay!

-Okay, yes!
-[all laugh]

-Pow!
-Yay.

You will all compete over two rounds
to determine who is the overall champ.

Round one will test
your everyday leftover chops.

We want to see how quickly and creatively

you take leftovers
from the fridge behind you

and turn them into
a delicious, original creation.

Okay!

[Jackie] Now, round two is gonna be
a little more difficult.

But we'll get to that later.

The three of us, more commonly known
by our tabloid name, Ro-Jack-So,

will taste your dishes,
and based on both rounds,

decide which of you wins the $10,000.

Whoo!

-Yes.
-[Jackie] Ooh! You can all taste it.

-You guys ready for round one?
-Yes!

-[Janice] We're ready.
-[Jackie] Whoo!

-The Pressure Cooker.
-[clock ticking]

-Imagine, if you will, it's the holidays.
-["Deck the Halls" playing]

Aww!

Think unwanted house guests,

awkward conversations
with Aunt Pam's roommate, "Deb,"

-and a food coma.
-Oh, God.

[Jackie] You'll have just 30 minutes

to take the holiday leftovers
from your deeply overstuffed fridge

and create a kitchen-sink sandwich.

Okay.

[Jackie] The leftovers
you'll be working with are…

baked-glazed ham,

green bean casserole,

apple pie,

and sausage stuffing.

The more leftovers you use, the better.

But how and what you use
is ultimately up to you.

To help out,
we've given you a limited dry pantry

and some staple fridge extras.

-Are you ready, cooks?
-Yes.

-[Janice] Ready!
-Bring it on.

-[Jackie] Go!
-[Rosemary] Good luck!

[David] Sandwiches, sandwiches.

[Daryll] All right.

Ham.

Ooh.

-[Santhi] This is sausage stuffing.
-[Daryll] Ooh!

I open up the tops and I'm like,
"Okay, now these are true leftovers.

They even smell like leftovers."

That ain't bad.

One thing about this challenge,
it's kinda hard to mess up a sandwich.

[Rosemary] You can mess up a sandwich,
believe me.

[Janice] Where is my cranberry sauce?

You can make it soggy.
And it can go all over the place.

Mm. And it needs to say, "Eat me."

Yes, you're learning.

-I'm learning.
-[Rosemary] Now you understand it.

[Jackie] Yeah. Sure.

What holiday dinner would not have
a little cranberry sauce?

Janice, what are you doing?

I am going to incorporate
some cranberry sauce

into a glaze for my ham.

Oh, that's quite good.

[Janice] I'm making
a day-old Thanksgiving sandwich.

It's going to be a triple-decker,
using the stuffing mixed together

with the apple filling
from the pie as a layer.

I found some cranberry sauce
that I can use to glaze the ham.

And I'm going to make
a little side dish of fried green beans.

I'm using all of the leftovers.

I'm taking the filling from the apple pie,

just to give it
a little bit of a different flavor

from the original stuffing.

Or as we call it
in New Orleans, "dressing."

[Rosemary]
I hope an apple stuffing tastes good.

We've talked about flavors in the past,
about hitting against each other.

Same goes with a sandwich.

The apple will give it a little sweetness.

Everything we do in New Orleans

revolves around
what you're going to eat and drink.

I am going to put this in the oven.

Put heat.

It's where I learned
my love of food and good cooking.

-Janice, you good over there, baby?
-Oh, I am just smokin' over here.

-[Daryll] You smokin'?
-You smokin'?

Well, hell, don't burn the place down now.

[Santhi and Janice laugh]

I'm trying to think outside the box,
and I'm thinking Cuba and Cuban food.

[Jackie] Santhi, what are you making?

I'm making my take on a Cuban sandwich.

Oh, a Cubano!

[laughs]

I'm gonna make
an open-faced Cuban sandwich.

I'm gonna dice up the ham and I'm gonna
incorporate the green bean casserole

to my stuffing, trying to form my hash.

I'm gonna add cumin,

coriander,
and some cayenne to spice it up,

and I'm gonna top it off
with a sunny-side-up egg.

And I'm making
a side salad from the pantry.

I'm not gonna use the pie.

If it doesn't remind me of the Cuban,
I'll be disappointed.

I'm gonna take you to Cuba, baby.

And you're gonna do the cha-cha-cha
by the time you're done with my sandwich.

If it ain't working, change the name.
Don't wanna be disappointed.

[Santhi] Growing up in Malaysia,

I was exposed to a lot of strong,
bold flavors.

I use that as my inspiration
when I'm in my own kitchen.

I hope you're ready
to do the cha-cha with me.

[Santhi and David laugh]

It doesn't sound like
a Cuban sandwich to me.

Because it typically has a slice of ham,
some roast pork, pickle, and mustard.

Just putting ham into a sandwich
doesn't make it a Cuban sandwich, right?

-[Jackie] Daryll?
-[Daryll] Yes?

How are you transforming
the leftovers in the sandwich?

Inspiration for my sandwich
is my Louisiana roots.

I am doing a traditional
Louisiana sandwich called a muffuletta.

-You're talking my language.
-[Daryll] Talking your language?

What leftovers are you using?

The green bean casserole,

the sausage stuffing
and I'm gonna use the ham.

In a traditional muffuletta, you have ham,
mortadella, and you have salami.

But I don't have mortadella or salami,

so I'm gonna use the leftover sausage
as a base in my sandwich

with the honey-baked ham.

And I'm gonna take the green beans
and add them to my olive tapenade

that goes on the spread on the sandwich.

Also, I have some cucumber in my fridge.

So, I'm making a cucumber salad.

I don't know
where this apple pie came from,

but I'd probably just have the apple pie
on the side and eat it myself.

Do I need any more of this cucumber?
Let me just cut it all up now.

I have a hot sandwich,

so I figured something nice, cool
and crisp would go well with this.

So, I'm gonna go ahead
and whip up a really great dressing

with sour cream, a little bit of yogurt,
basil, fresh herbs,

and then just
kind of whisk it all together.

And boom, have a salad.

[Daryll] That is way too much dressing
in that salad

[David] He's gotta make sure salad flavors
don't overshadow his sandwich.

[Daryll] That is so not pretty
but I'll plate it pretty.

I'll plate it pretty,
that's all that matters.

Cooks, that's 20 minutes.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my God.

[Janice] I'm going to take my stuffing.

Now that it's warm
and I can mold it a little better,

I'm going to flatten it for my sandwich.

Anybody doing what I used to do as a kid,

which was put
a slice of Kraft American cheese

in between two Pringles?

Not exactly.

All righty. Do what you're doing.

[Santhi whispers] Fifteen minutes!

Sriracha, mayo.

For my sandwich, I need some kind of spice

'cause it is Cuban,
so I'm making a cranberry-sriracha aioli

to go on the side.

That's got a kick!

[whispers] Olives. Olives. Olives.

[Daryll] The cucumber salad is done.
I'ma get started on my tapenade

that goes on the spread on the sandwich.

I'm adding olives.

I'm gonna add
a little olive oil in there, also,

some dried herbs, gonna add
a little horse radish in there for a kick,

then I'm gonna throw my green beans in
and pulse it all together

and let it come up to a really great sauce
that I can spread on my bread.

That is not cute.

Daryll, what's up with that face you made
when you tasted that sauce?

-[David laughs]
-Don't worry about that.

What you mean, don't worry?
I gotta eat that!

You'll be okay.

I'm scared.

I made the mistake
of not pouring some of the brine

from the olives off, which is salty.

So, I hope if I use
just a little bit, I'll be good.

[Daryll] Come on, Daryll, get this done.

[Jackie] Rosemary said
the cooks need to be careful

not to give us a soggy sandwich.

David, do you have a tip for us?

Oh, yes I do, Jackie.

If you are keeping
a sandwich for a leftover,

pull the high moisture things
like tomatoes and pickles out

and add them back in
when you are ready to eat.

Mm, sandwiches.

[Jackie] Ten minutes left.

How's it going, Janice?

What are you doing with the green beans?

I'm thinking of making
some green bean fries as a side.

[judges] Ooh!

-So, green bean--
-Green bean fries.

I want the green beans to be crisp.

So, I lightly flour them
and then deep fry,

so they're like green bean French fries.

[Janice]
Sort of an unhealthy-healthy option.

Doing that sort of thing,

you've gotta make sure
you really get to a certain temperature.

Right.

To be able to get them to stay crispy.

Five minutes, cooks.
Only five minutes left.

[Janice]
The green beans didn't get very crispy,

so I'm going to put them in the oven
to get crisp, and hopefully it'll work.

Santhi, time's a tickin'.

[Santhi] I hear it! [laughs]

That looks horrible.

I'm having a little…

just a little issue with my sauce.

[laughs nervously]

It must be a hilarious sauce issue.

[Santhi laughs]

Cranberry-glazed ham.

Whoo!

-[Daryll] You good over there, Janice?
-We're gonna try something right now.

My apple sausage stuffing layer.

[Daryll] Don't burn. Oh!
I'm getting nervous here.

I'm getting nervous.

Uh-oh. Daryll just burned something
and got upset.

[Daryll] I'm making mistakes, girl.

I smell, um, campfire.

I smell the movie Backdraft.

[Daryll] People of Louisiana,
do not judge me.

He's trying to play us right now
with that down-side-burnt-side.

[Daryll] Turn it on this side.

[judges] Five, four, three, two, one!

[David] Time's up!

-[alarm beeping]
[Jackie] Yay!

-Well done.
-All right, cooks.

We see two happy faces and a sad face.

[Janice sighs]

[Jackie] You were given holiday leftovers,
and we asked you to make us a sandwich.

So, tell us what you've made here
and what leftovers you used.

[Santhi]
I made an open-faced Cuban sandwich.

I cut up the ham
in little bite-sized pieces

and I sautéed it all together with
the stuffing and the green bean casserole

and sunny-side-up egg from the fridge.

[Jackie] So, the only leftover
you didn't use was the apple pie.

All right.

What is a great open-faced sandwich
without an egg?

Exactly.

What is she?

-Who is she?
-[Santhi laughs]

[Jackie] How and why is she?

A little cranberry-sriracha aioli.

Did you use some of the sauce
from the casserole?

I did use some of the sauce
from the casserole to give it moisture.

-So it's not dry when you bite into it.
-[Rosemary] Right. Okay.

-Right, let's dig in. Let's split it.
-[Jackie] Digging in, babies.

-[Jackie] Boop.
-Oh.

Yeah, the bread is tough.

[Rosemary] And it is going everywhere.

[David]
I'll take my David So bite over here.

Mm… That was a delicious bite.

[Rosemary]
That spicy sauce made the sandwich.

And the flavor was spot-on.

The seasoning was spot-on,
and it really worked.

Next round, I think you need
to think about your presentation.

'Cause we need to eat with our eyes.

I mean, right off the jump, great job
using as much leftovers as possible.

So you didn't steer away from that,
so I really do appreciate it.

I will say this, though.
This is not a Cuban sandwich.

[laughs] There's no pickles,
there's no… uh… mustard.

There's no roast pork, so…

So you're not gonna cha-cha-cha?

Well, we can cha-cha-cha
but it's not a Cuban sandwich.

It's separate thoughts.

-[David] You know what I'm saying?
-Yes.

My biggest tip for you for the next round,
be careful about what you call your dish

because you are setting me up
to taste something that I didn't taste.

Thank you.

-Hi, Daryll.
-[Daryll] Oh, yeah!

[Daryll] So, this is my take
on a traditional Louisiana muffuletta.

I didn't have mortadella or salami,
so what I did was I used the ham

and I took the sausage
from the sausage stuffings,

kinda sliced it a little bit
and put it on there.

And then I used the green beans
from the green bean casserole

in that olive tapenade
just to give it a little bit more green

and to brighten it up a little bit.

[Jackie] And the only leftover
you didn't use was the apple pie.

Let's dig in!

First of all, how you gonna hide this
on the bottom right here?

You trying to trick me right now? Huh?

Why didn't you put the burn on the inside?

Well-- [clicks tongue]

That's a good point, you know?

-[Jackie] If you're giving us--
-I don't normally burn food.

Oh, me neither. What?

[David]
Real smart with that olive tapenade.

What you did with the green beans
was a great way to incorporate it.

-It's a touch salty for me.
-Okay.

[Rosemary] Um…

-I don't like it.
-Okay.

-Harsh, Shrager!
-It's too salty.

-[Daryll] Gotcha.
-It's too soggy.

-Okay.
-I'm not tasting any of it, really.

It's just a mush
inside the whole blooming thing.

-Okay.
-[David] Exactly.

I like seasoning, but you dehydrated
my whole body with this salad. [laughs]

So, for me, the salad's better than that.

-It is delicious.
-[Daryll] Thank you.

[Rosemary] But, unfortunately,
this was a sandwich competition,

not a salad competition.

So, next round,
think about what you want us to taste.

-Got you.
-[Rosemary] It's really important here.

-Thank you so much.
-Thank y'all so much. Thank you.

Hi!

-Hello.
-Hi, Janice!

[Janice] I made what I'm calling
a day-old Thanksgiving sandwich.

There's nothing better to me
than enjoying something the second day

that you slaved over the stove to create.

So, I used the ham, I used the stuffing,

and I used all parts
of the green bean casserole.

Then what I actually did
was I incorporated the filling

from the apple pie
into the sausage stuffing.

Four of the leftovers, that's great.
That's amazing.

-It's a leftovers show. Such a good idea.
-[Jackie] Let's dig in!

I'm going straight
for one of these crispies.

-Oh. One of these "not-so-crispies."
-[Janice] "Not-so-crispies"?

[David] I bit into it.

It's that nice, solid crunch
that I like in a toasty piece of bread,

that bright tomato.
And when you glazed that ham,

such a good idea.

-Oh, thank you.
-[David] Love it.

-I'm gonna eat this whole thing.
-[Janice laughs]

I was just trying to figure out
what was so sweet in here.

-And it's that you put apple pie in there.
-[Janice] I did.

[Jackie] You're the only one who used it.
Nice job, friend.

The actual sandwich is…
it's a bit of a triumph.

-Ooh! [laughs]
-So, well done.

All those flavors of the stuffing,

the ham, your cranberry,
your apple, and your tomato.

It actually all comes through.

But, I think your green beans
have been a bit of a disaster.

On the next round,

if you think you're doing something
for the sake of doing it, don't do it.

You threw apple pie
onto a sandwich, and it worked.

[laughs]

That was great.
Thank you so much, Janice!

You're welcome!
I appreciate all the comments!

Okay, cooks.
Please step in front of your stations.

[Janice] Going into round two,

I'm going to take their advice
and not put odd things on the plate

just to add color
and not to put anything on the plate

that doesn't have a real purpose.

[Jackie] So, here we go.

On to round two.

Takeout Takedown.

Okay, how are you guys feeling?

-Shake out those nerves.
-Whoo!

[Jackie] Last round, you showed us skills
you probably use every day.

So, this round,
we're taking it up a notch.

You're gonna get fully composed
takeout leftovers from my fridge

and turn them
into a completely new fancy dinner.

Well, we should probably
get my fridge out here!

Fridge!

What do you think, cooks? Come on.

Fridge! Fridge! Fridge! Fridge!
Fridge! Fridge! Fridge! Fridge!

-Fridge!
-[Rosemary laughs]

[Jackie]
God, when I'm doing that alone, it's sad.

Anyway, in my fridge, you'll find…

-Oh! That's a lot of swans.
-[Jackie] Yeah.

I love to get all my takeout
into tin foil ducks.

Swans. Those are swans, not ducks, Jackie.

I know.

Well, you now know.

[both laugh]

[Jackie] All right, I love the holidays.

But I also like going on holiday.

So, last night I ordered takeout from one
of my most favorite countries to visit.

So, today, we're going Greek.

The takeout leftovers
you'll be working with are…

lamb gyro pita sandwich with Greek fries,

beef moussaka with Greek salad,

and chicken kabob
with a side of rice and pickled veggies.

You'll each randomly choose one
of my takeout leftover dishes,

and you should make us a fancy dinner
because that's what good friends do.

-Okay.
-[Jackie] Here, take one.

[Janice] I would not be
looking forward to moussaka.

-I don't want the moussaka.
-[Janice laughs]

Oh, God, I know what I don't want.

[Jackie] Don't open!

[Daryll] Who orders moussaka?

Like, what did you do with ground beef,
mashed potatoes, and eggplant,

besides throw it in the garbage?

These are not terribly strong flavors.

So, I think the most important thing here

is to get your base
that really creates some sort of flavor.

The challenge
is gonna be taking that comfort food

and elevating it.

This is really a place
for you guys to showcase what you got,

so I want us to see it,
and make it delicious.

[Jackie] As always, we take both rounds
completely into consideration,

so you are all still in this thing.

Okay.

Ready? Set…

-Go!
-[Rosemary] Go!

-Good luck! Go!
-[David] Good luck!

What does everybody have?

-Sh--
-Goodness me!

Moussaka!

[laughs]

-You got moussaka?
-I got moussaka, baby!

-She got the moussaka.
-The moussaka.

Mom and Dad, I'm so sorry.

[Santhi] As Hindus growing up,
we never eat beef.

The first time I had beef was a year ago.

But I've never…

dealt with ground beef before.

[sighs]

[gasps] Oh, I got the lamb gyro.

[Janice] I feel pretty comfortable
with the ingredients I have.

It's nothing too…

out of the box.

[laughs]

[Daryll] Oh!

Chicken kabob.

Chicken kabobs are
exactly what you think they are.

It's chicken on a stick, baby.

Thank you for ordering that.

There's not a lot to do with some chunks
of day-old chicken breast.

So, what can I do
to really elevate this thing

and do something completely different
from Mediterranean food?

♪ My goal this time around
Is not to mess it up ♪

David, who…

Who do you like
for front-runner right now?

It's definitely going to have
to be Janice. Even though the string beans

were a little weird
and she made a few mistakes.

Her sandwich was delicious,
so she's the front-runner for me.

If there was a winner after round one,
it would've been Janice.

I also think Janice because I think
she made a very good, solid sandwich.

And the flavoring was extremely good.

The one person I'm more
than worried about overall is Daryll.

And his sandwich was way too salty.

And it was a soggy mess.

But you see, in this competition,
you can never be sure.

Because people surprise us all the time.

Can you smell that roux cooking?
Whoo!

Hi, Janice.

Hi there.

-Are you dancing?
-I think I am.

Is your body moving
just from the stirring?

You dancing, girl?

-You know how to twerk?
-That's how I get my workout.

-Yeah, hey.
-You know how to twerk?

Hey, hey, hey!

Guys, are you gonna pull this together?

Guys, this is a competition.

Oh!

You've got one hour.

If you don't concentrate
on what you're doing,

you're not gonna finish it.

-Girl, I know. I'm sorry.
-[Santhi laughs]

I guess I need
to stop twerking and get to work.

Thank you.

[Santhi laughs]

Janice,
what are you turning your leftovers into?

I'm turning them into a grillade.

[Janice] I am going to go back
to my New Orleans Creole roots.

I have the lamb gyro and I'm making
a traditional Creole dish, grillades,

with a little twist.

A grillade is something
like a stew or a gravy.

I'm going to cut the lamb
into bite-sized pieces for the grillade.

And I'm going to use the Greek fries,

pulse them until they're
a grainy consistency in place of grits.

We have a saying in New Orleans.
"First, you make a roux."

And from there,
you can go in all kinds of directions.

[Santhi] Flour, flour, flour, flour.

-Mm-hmm.
-What are you gonna do?

Ooh! What am I gonna do?
[laughs]

I'm gonna make momo and then bibimbap.

-Make who?
-[laughs]

-Bibimbap?
-[Santhi] Bibimbap!

-David, for you!
-Really?

With the moussaka?

With the moussaka.

[Santhi] I have the moussaka,

and I'm making momo,
which is a Nepali dumpling, and bibimbap.

I'm going to divide all the components
in the moussaka for my fillings,

using the beef and tomatoes
with the onions from my salad.

Throw everything in a pan and sauté.

One's gonna be very Indian-based.

And the other one's
gonna be a very Asian-based.

It's about to smell really good, y'all.

[Santhi] I seasoned my bibimbap meat

with ponzu soy,
fish sauce, and oyster sauce,

to turn that into Asian flavors.

I've seen bibimbap done
with ground beef before.

It's a cheaper alternative to it.

When she says bibimbap,
I hope we're getting bibimbap.

Oh, my gosh.

So much going on.

I can't find my peelers,
so I'm having to scrape my carrots.

-Daryll.
-[Daryll] Yes?

[Jackie] Tell me what you're making.

I think I'm gonna
turn this into like a chicken cacciatore.

-Ooh!
-Thank you.

-[David] And it's not gonna be too salty?
-[Daryll] Not too salty.

My advice from round one
was watch my salt.

And I just need to be respectful
and mindful of the judges' taste palate.

I got the chicken kabob.

So, I'm gonna do
a really great chicken cacciatore

with the risotto-styled rice.

I'm gonna use the pickled vegetables
as an element in my chicken cacciatore.

I can drop the grilled chicken
from the kabob into tomato sauce

and let it kind of rehydrate,

and I'm gonna use
my rice to make a risotto.

Something a little elevated,
a little something-something.

[Santhi] Real risotto there.

So he's gonna do a risotto?

But that's actually quite tricky
doing a risotto, though,

because it's already-cooked rice.

There's not enough starch in that.

-There's no starch, it's all gone.
-It's already cooked.

Daryll?

Yes?

Do you think doing a risotto
with cooked rice, already-cooked rice

is a good idea?

I do, I'll make it work.

I think he's making a huge mistake.

[Daryll] I'm gonna make you proud.

Traditionally, grillade is served
over grits or cheese grits.

Well, I don't have any grits.

For the grillade, I'm going to use
the potatoes in place of grits.

I'm going to put them
in the food processor

because I'm trying to get them
to a consistency closest to grits.

[Janice] Cheese!

But I also want them to be creamy,
so I'm going to add

some Pepper Jack cheese
to give it a little kick.

[Janice] To plate this,

I'm gonna put it in
a little mold and give it a little shape,

so it's not just mush and mush.

[Daryll] I love grits and grillades.

God, I haven't had that in so long.

Add a little bit of white wine to that.

-[Daryll] Janice, did you try the wine?
-I haven't tried it.

[Santhi] Who's got time for wine?
[laughs]

[Jackie] Twenty minutes, cooks!

Twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes to 10G's!

Hoo!

[Santhi] Steamin' baby.

The judges did say
I needed to step up on my plating skills,

so I'm thinking,
"Okay, I will present my dumpling dough

as an edible flower."

[sighs] I hope this works.
I hope this works. I hope this works.

[Santhi] This is where I'm hoping
I don't tear my wraps,

'cause I don't have time to start over.

So, I'm slowly just rolling it
and trying to form a rose.

[Daryll] I'm feeling good.
I got my cacciatore started.

Now it's time to get this risotto started.

I'm just gonna go ahead
and just do the basic steps

with the risotto.

Little butter, get these onions soft,

throw the rice in,
and then just start adding stock

and hopefully
it will somehow bind together

and get you that good,
creamy texture of a risotto.

Mm-mm.

It's coming. It's still more rice-y,
I need it to bind a little bit more.

Their concerns were a little valid
but I'm gonna get it there.

The risotto is not binding together.

It is still very loose and very separate.

I did my best.

I don't know
what the hell to do with this.

It just needs a few peas out of here.

I'm gonna add a whole bunch
of grated Parmesan cheese,

hopefully it'll bind together.

[Rosemary]
He would get a more risotto consistency

if that cheese melts
and binds it together.

If it's mush, he's in trouble.

-It's good, baby.
-Five minutes, friends.

Five minutes.

Think about plating,
think about presentation.

[David] Remember, this is a fancy meal.

[Santhi] Turmeric. Where are you?

Right in front of my eyes.

The judges told me to work on my plating,

so I'm thinking I'm gonna make
a turmeric tuile for my bibimbap

to make it look pretty

and it's pretty much flour, turmeric, oil,

and once the pan is hot, I add my tuile.

[Santhi] Oh, come on.

One minute, cooks.

[Santhi] One minute!

[Janice] You would think I had
a method to my madness.

I think we got just enough time here.

Oh, my God. This hour has gone by so fast.

[whispering]
Please let them be done. Phew.

[Daryll] No time left.

-[Daryll] Yours looks amazing.
-[Santhi] I'm ready for that wine now.

[judges] Five, four, three, two, one!

-[alarm beeping]
-[Jackie] Hands up!

Come here, babies. Come here.

Okay, cooks. Let's eat!

Please grab your plates and bring them
to the judges' table.

-Oh! We see you.
-[Rosemary] Wow!

-Thank you, cooks.
-This looks good.

[Jackie] Okay, Daryll, starting with you.

Tell us what takeout leftovers you got
and how you've incorporated them.

So, I had the leftover chicken kabob,
rice, and the pickled vegetables.

So, what I did was
I did a chicken cacciatore.

So, in my tomato sauce,
I added the pickled vegetables,

and then I took my rice,
and I did risotto.

[Jackie]
So, you used all of your leftovers.

[Daryll] All of them.

-Oh, well, good job. Okay, diggin' in.
-Well done.

[David] Plating,
compared to the first run,

you definitely took a lot of our tips.

Round one, we warned you
about seasoning. Good job.

The salt level is right.

It was definitely not a risotto.

-A risotto…
-Never call it that again.

…is always best when it's raw rice.

Got you, yes.

I taste the wine, I taste the cheese.
The flavor was right.

Now, the cacciatore,

I think the way you used
the pickled veg, really good.

You created a completely different dish.

This is how something
can actually elevate a dish.

-Thank you.
-Well done.

-You've done it. You redeemed yourself.
-[Jackie] You did!

Santhi, it's your turn.

So, from my moussaka,

I made a very famous
Nepali street dish called momo.

And I made
a very popular Korean dish, bibimbap.

-Okay.
-Did you use the Greek salad anywhere?

I used the Greek salad in my dumplings.

I had tomatoes, I had onions,

and so all that chopped up
and infused it into the meat.

I think this looks so pretty.

It just makes you want to eat it.

[Jackie] Especially coming
from the crime scene of round one.

-[Santhi] Yes.
-Yes, proud of you.

I took into account. I took the advice.

Let's dig in, friends!

-Didn't wanna do it wrong.
-[David] Gonna mix in the sauce.

[Rosemary] So, I'm gonna take this.

So, you've told a story here,

which was really interesting,
and I really, really liked it.

The bibmbok.

[all laugh]

Love that you called it a bim-bok.

[Jackie] Even I know it's bibimbap.

All right, bibimbap-bok.

Even the bing-bok.

Bing-bok's my little brother's name, so.

Well, the bim-bok
was quite frankly delicious.

Thank you.

The meat mixture that you made
from the moussaka, really good.

But, on the opposite end,

you could've probably done
without the momo.

It was kind of hard to chew through,

but I gotta say, though, in terms
of transformation and creativity, wow.

Okay, well, thank you so much.

Janice, your turn.

I started with the lamb gyro.

I used small pieces of lamb
and created a grillade,

which is a Creole dish.

I used the Greek fries
to make a cheesy potato.

Kind of like a little cake.

We're digging in, baby.

[Rosemary] The presentation
doesn't do anything for it.

It was just plopped on the plate.

I don't like the potato,

because it does still taste
like the sort of chips, a bit oily.

But the outside, with your lamb in there,

I think it actually
is quite well seasoned.

I think you probably could've gone
just a little longer on the roux.

Because it really acted
as a thickening agent,

and it didn't add that depth of flavor
that a roux usually adds.

But, great job on the transformation.
Nobody would know that it was a gyro.

I'm super excited
that you leaned into cooking

-from where you're from.
-Thank you.

Sure, we'll clap for you.
I don't care. I'll start a clap.

I'll start a clap
anytime I want, you guys.

Well done.

Cooks, the three of you all put up
incredible dishes all day today.

And everybody should cross their fingers

'cause one of you
is going home with $10,000.

I'm crossing my own fingers
'cause I hope it's me.

[all laugh]

So, not to be rude, but beat it. Okay?

Into the Chinese food container with you.

Hope you two wanna hear
Santhi laugh for the next couple minutes.

[Santhi and Janice laugh]

Oh, you guys. This part is the worst.

I think Janice.

She was front-runner from the beginning.

She really did the best sandwich.

[Jackie] Yup. And she was the only one
to use the apple pie in that round.

But unfortunately, her second round,
totally let herself down.

Potato was horrible.
There's no other word for saying it.

It just didn't work.

It really had to not go well
for her to not even be in contention

for the win, and unfortunately, she's not.

I am going to make a case for Daryll
because I was such a stickler on him

about the seasoning,
because that first dish was salty.

And the second round, perfect seasoning.
That's a dish I'm gonna remember.

I've never had chicken cacciatore before
but he makes me want to get it.

As far as transformation,
the argument can be made

he took chunks of chicken
and put it in tomato sauce and plated it.

Whereas, Santhi made
two completely separate dishes.

That bibimbap, for me,
was the dish of the day.

[Rosemary] The bibimbap was delicious.
It was gorgeous, seriously gorgeous.

But so was Daryll's.

Y'all.

This is it.

That was our $10,000 meal. Or not.

So, we agree?

-Yep.
-And this is why we're Ro-Jack-So.

-Yup.
-Because we make our decisions together.

-Can't believe we're all three married.
-It's a great team.

Cooks!

Please join us.

You should know…

this was our toughest decision yet.

But in the end,

the winner delivered on technique,

presentation,

and creativity.

Quite simply,
they served the best dish of the day.

The winner is…

Santhi.

Oh, my--

[all applauding]

[Jackie] Congratulations!

-Oh, my gosh!
-[Daryll] You did such a good job.

Oh, sweetie. Here's a cash-erole!

[Santhi laughs]

[Rosemary] Well done.

[Santhi] Oh, my gosh.

I actually won this.

Oh, my gosh, David, that meant so much!

[Santhi]
Winning this competition is knowing

there's no limit to what I can do.

And it's about showing my kids

that you dream big
and don't stop dreaming.

Well, thank you, guys so much
for watching. We love you. You know…

♪ It felt just like the holidays ♪

♪ Our stomach sizes doubled ♪

♪ And best of all
We didn't have to talk to ♪

♪ Any weird uncles ♪

♪ About my love life ♪

Nope. [chuckles]

Still not married, no. Yeah.

[closing theme music playing]