02x05 - Alex vs French

[bunniefuu]

I can smell victory.

Some competitors prove
themselves in a sports arena,

others in a boardroom.

This is where I prove myself.

What's up with that, America?

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

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?

Oh!
- There's only one
thing I want to know.

Who's next?

This is about to be epic.

Chefs from across
the country, all want a shot
at Alex Guarnaschelli.

So each week,
three of America's best chefs

will battle Alex
at the same time.

Yeah!

These chefs
have been hand-selected

for their mastery
in a specific type of food.

And they're all here
for one goal.

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.

Ooh!

I know
they all want a shot at me.

Bring... it... on.

This is the ultimate
culinary battle.

This is Alex vs America.

This is the one
I've been waiting for.

We have three masters
of French cuisine,
and they've all traveled

here for one reason
and one reason only.

To take down culinary
icon, Alex Guarnaschelli.

I've honed my skills
in French.

I'm at the top of my game
and there's nobody
that can stop me.

Here's the interesting
thing about this episode.

Oftentimes,
Alex is completely
out of element,

but this time
it is her element.

The last name, Guarnaschelli,
you would assume
that she's an Italian master,

but it's not
what she's trained in.

She has spent years
in France learning
classic French cuisine.

And personally,
I know this is the one

that Alex is going to want
to win the most.

How am I feeling? Shredded.

There are three
experts in there.

I may cook better than
they do,
but I'm not honed in

on the topic of the day,
and that's what can make
all the difference.

Please welcome
one of the food world's most
renowned chefs...

Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

This arena,

it's built for me
to succeed or fail.

And I feel a lot of pressure
to deliver.

Chefs.

Your smile makes me nervous.

Yes!

These chefs
are all recognized
for a specific cuisine.

Hmm.
- Here's a hint
for you, chef.

Oh.

I hear La Marseillaise,
the French national anthem.

Most of my training
has been in France.

It's just my first love,
French food.

What are we doing
today, chef?

France. That's right.

That's right. That's right.

If you cut open my heart,
there is a little
croissant inside.

Oh.

So, Alex, we handpicked three

of America's best
French chefs.

Chef Guillaume Bienaime.

He was born in France.

He's the chef-owner
of a French bistro
in Northern California,

and that bistro received
the Michelin
Bib Gourmand Award,

five years in a row.

Welcome, I think.

Meet Chef Amina Ly.

She's an executive chef
of a French cafe
in Miami, Florida.

And her cafe was named
one of 11 essential

French restaurants
by Eater Miami.

She was born in Senegal,
learned to cook
in France and Italy.

- Yes.
- France wasn't enough?

- No.
- Welcome.

This is Chef
Jon Keeley.

Chef Jon is an executive
chef in Denver, Colorado.

He's cut his teeth working
at critically-acclaimed
French restaurants,

including Bonsoiree
in Chicago,

which was awarded
a Michelin star.

And he's beaten Bobby Flay,
thanks to his rabbit pot pie.

I got the competition bug.

Well, I hope you kick it.

Ooh!

Not tonight.

Chefs, you'll be competing
against Alex

in a two-round French
cuisine showdown.

First up is Survival Round.

Expert judges will rank
your dishes one through four.

The chefs with the top
three dishes will move
on to the Money Round,

but the chef who comes
in fourth will go...

au revoir.

Even if that's you, Chef Alex.

All right.

So to increase
your chances of beating
Alex in the first round,

I'm giving the three
of you total control
of this challenge.

Step up.
Check out your choices.

Let's do this, guys.

So the first thing
you're going to choose...

between three classic
French proteins.

- Oh!
- Wow.

Duck, squab, or quail.

This needs to be the main
protein in your dish.

Out of all the episodes
we've done,
this is the most, like,

important episode to you
at least.

Stop it.

I'd love for squab or duck.

I don't care as long
as it's not quail.

I vote duck.

- It's just the classic.
- I vote squab.

Duck or squab.

For me, duck because
it's more versatile.

Okay.

Sorry, Jon, but it looks
like it's duck, my friend.

- That's cool.
- All right.

The second detail involves
another strong element
in French cuisine.

- Ooh!
- Pastries.

Oh, come on.

Will you use
croissants?

Fruit tart, or madeleines?

Madeleines would be
the best for me.

A little bit of balance
of sweet and savory.

Why don't you eat one?

Yeah. Try them out.

Yes.

Also has almond
component to it,
like a nuttiness to it, too.

It's also completely
processed

and the flavor
is made for you.

That is a hard one.

I'll vote for madeleine.

- I'm in for madeleine.
Yeah?
- Three for three?

- Yeah.
- Is that all right?

Yes. Let's go with madeleine.

All right.

The madeleine,
it has a lot of complex

flavors that have
to be in our dish.

It's so strange to me.

You could've just picked
the fruit right off

the top of the tart
and moved on.

Okay, okay, okay.

For your third decision,

- you'll decide the main
cooking method for your dish.
- Ooh.

For your dish.

Will it be braised?

Will it be poached
or flambeed?

I love flambeed.

We just have to catch
a pan on fire.

It's super easy.

Yeah, I go flambeed.

- You're doing flambeed?
- Yeah.

Definitely flambeed. Yeah.

All right, flambeed.

- Okay.
- Flambeed.

Last but not least,
chefs, a very,
very important detail.

And that is the time.

You have zero to 60 minutes.

Choose anywhere between.

She knows this kitchen
like the back of her hand

- and we don't.
- We need the time
to get that stuff.

It's your first
cooking around here.

I always err on cautious
when it's your first time.

You want to go 45 or 40?

- Forty-five.
- Forty-five!

Let's do it.

The chef who finishes
first with the top-ranked
dish in this round

will have sole control
over choosing all the details
in the next round.

Even if that's you, Chef Alex.

Okay.

Fair enough?

- Your time starts now.
- Yep.

Table is set, chefs.

We have duck
madeleines, flambeed,
45 minutes.

I think French
food is smart use
of great techniques,

making an ingredient
taste like the best
version of itself.

And it's really my approach.

I love France.

I'm gonna do
a duck breast
with a green peppercorn sauce,

artichokes,
and duck fat potatoes.

I season the duck breast and

put it skin side
down in the pan,

and I let it come up
in duck fat, really nice
and slow and low.

To me, when I think
of France, I think
of artichokes and potatoes.

I moved to France
when I was about
21 years old

and lived there
for most of my 20s.

It was hard.

I mean, I didn't really
speak the language,

I didn't know how to cook,
but the experience left me
enormously sentimental.

Some of my days
in France involve
cleaning six cases of these.

I've been cooking nothing
but French food for decades.

This one, this topic, uh,
has a little bit more
meaning to me.

You know, this is important.

I flambe those
in dry vermouth

'cause it's like a dry
white wine, super crisp.

I don't want sweetness
here because I have
that madeleine to deal with.

I cooked shallots
and I flambeed cognac
over those to reinforce

deep flavors for the sauce
that's going to go
on the plate,

that's really going to be
the sauce for the meat.

So those are the two places
I'm using the flambeing
technique.

We got a flambe,
we got a flambe.

So flambe, is it really
easy technique
where you're taking

something
with a high alcohol content,

you're setting
a direct flame to it?
It's burning off the alcohol

but leaving you
with that really strong,
intense flavor.

Duck is very popular
in France.

You cannot see
a restaurant without that.

I will do magret de canard
with citrus port wine sauce.

The magret de canard
is duck breast.

I can put my citrus
in my cream.

Mmm, that's so good.

This my sauce,

my duck will beat Alex.

Oh,
this is the duck pieces,
the bones.

We can get a sauce made.

I'm gonna make
duck with mustard sauce,
roasted breast.

We're going to try to make
some crepes and stuffing
with some ground duck.

Let's start cooking
these bad boys.

The last thing we want
is to not have
this duck ready.

- Chef Guillaume.
- Yes, chef.

Tell me
what you've got going on.

I'm gonna
try to grind up
this duck meat here,

the light meat.
I'm gonna
stuff it into a crepe.

I think it's important
competition to,
you know, utilize

- the ingredients
as much as you can.
- For sure.

You know, I know
Alex is an Iron Chef,
but I was born in France.

I was lucky enough
to have a grandmother

who really
was the quintessential
French grandmother.

She cooked every day.

By the time
I was a young adult,
I had already been

influenced and exposed
to all of these things.

I can beat Alex
because I spent my whole life
studying this.

All right.

So, you know,
this is Thanksgiving stuffing,
Really.

- Chef Jon.
- What I'm doing
is a duck duo.

So the duck is going
to be a duck sausage

that I'm about
to start grinding, right here.

And then the breast
is going to be
slightly seared.

- I have it dry brining
currently right now.
- Nice.

I want to do that
kind of low and slow,

so I'm going
to put it on the grill.

Browning off some
of those bones there.
- Yep.

And then I'm going
to add some onion
and some thyme,

some marjoram to create
the base of the stock.

Beautiful, okay.

Sauces are a huge
thing in French cuisine.

One of my favorites
has been au poivre sauce,

which is built off
of the veal demi
with a little bit of cream,

butter, peppercorn,
and finished with some brandy.

We might as well
get after it now.

- Oh, that's flambe all right.
- Let's get it!

I decided at a very young age
that I was going to be a chef.

It's taken lots of sacrifices.

But today, I've been a chef
at multiple restaurants

in Chicago that received
many accolades,

including three-star reviews
from the Chicago Tribune.

I'm gonna
let caramelize those.

Part of this is going
to go into that sausage.

- What's it like cooking
French food against Alex?
- Nerve-wracking.

I feel like I'm coming
in here today
a little bit the underdog.

But trust me, after today,
everybody is going to know
my name.

Reduce! I am ready.

Twenty-six minutes
left, chefs.

Okay.

With chefs cooking
at this caliber,

we have to get
two exceptional
French experts for judges.

Let's go ahead and meet them.

Chef Ludo Lefebvre
began his culinary career

in his native France
at age 14.

Now he's a celebrated chef
at acclaimed restaurants
such as Petit Trois.

And he's a three-time
James Beard Award finalist.

He's joined by Victoire Loup,
a food critic,
prolific cookbook author,

Michelin guide writer,
and a culinary consultant

who splits her time
between Paris and Los Angeles.

I have to tell you,
all the butter in the kitchen
is just gone.

Good. Yeah!

That's a good sign.

What does French cuisine
mean to you?

There's a very profound
respect of heritage

that we don't like
to stray away from too much.

Sure.
- And yes, the sauce,
and the sauce, and the sauce.

Anybody know what
Alex is doing over there?

She's, like,
moving really fast.

I chop up
the duck liver,
I saute it quickly,

and I mix it
into my shallot sauce.

So I've got fresh
pink peppercorns,

almost spicy,
ever so slightly in that

beautiful, with things
like flambe cognac.

So I just see that in there.

And then the green peppercorn

are the ones
that I use in brine.

So I've got those in
with some mustard vinaigrette.

Duck begs for mustard.
It just does.

All of what I'm adding
is to offset the sweetness
of those madeleine cookies.

They're really meant to be
eaten the way they are

and not turned
into something else.

So madeleine powder it is.

Mix that
with processed hazelnuts

and lots of chopped chervil.
That's going to taste
really good.

You look at this.

My sauce is coming together.

My leftover onion
will be my caramelized.

Now I will make
a tomato confit.

I just think to do
something fast
because of timing.

And you just go in.

I want to just like...
like saute potatoes, you know.

My confit are amazing.

I'm super-fast
in the kitchen.

Is Chef Amina
plating already?

Forty-five minutes
was too much.

We have 16 minutes
left on the clock.

I don't know
if that is an exercise
in confidence

or one in just inexperience.

It is a very bold move,
and I hope she doesn't
regret it.

Yes. I want to be the first.

Once I get
my sauce infused and reduced,
I strain it.

I put it in my mustard
of both Dijon whole grain
to get the texture.

It's just a classic
mustard sauce.

Store-bought madeleines.
They're fine.
They're full of butter.

They got sugar in them.

We'll use it as the sweet
part of the dish.

I use it
in the sausage stuffing,

so I was gonna use that
as a binder anyway.

And I made a crumble.

I just sauteed it
in some duck fat.

Right now we are going
to make some crepe batter.

Traditionally, Normandy,
the crepe is made
with buckwheat.

Has that kind of nuttiness.

Crepe batter is something
that I've been making
since I was five years old.

It's something every
French mother knows
how to make,

something you come home to.

It's like, we eat dinner.
Done deal.

Once my crepes are cooled,
I filled it with
my duck forage meat

or duck sausage.

We're gonna saute them
in butter and duck fat.

To make my dish flambeed,
I'm using Calvados.

Calva!

Made from apple brandy.

I just love that real sweet
kind of smoky scent
that you get.

And then you get this thing
that's like bone dry.

- Chef Jon.
- Yo!

Is this the tester
sausage, right here?
- It is.

- You mind if I try a little...
- Yeah, of course.

Really good stuff
and that madeleine is used,
how again?

I'm going to make
a madeleine almost stuffing
or warm bread salad.

They're a little bit dry.

This is some
of the chicken stock,
duck stock braise.

That's how we're going
to hydrate the madeleines.

So this dish needs
one more component,
something fresh.

It's just raw,
shaved fennel salad.

Really going to bring
everything together
on my plate.

How's it going over
on the other stations?

- Well, Chef Amina is done.
- What?

Yeah,
she's completed her dish.
- Wow. All right.

What are your thoughts
about finishing early
in a competition?

- It's never happened to me.
- Yeah.

4:10, chefs. 4:10.

- Chef Amina.
- Yes.

- Are you done?
- I'm done.

- You finished?
- Finished.

- Wow!
- I just... yeah.

I have my tomato confit,

caramelized onion...
Mmm-hmm.

...with my citrus
port wine sauce,
and my blend crumble.

All right, chef.

I put
the crepe on the plate.

Then I put
my sliced duck breast.

I put the mustard sauce,
and I made sure the mustard

sauce was kind
of underneath everything.

I didn't want it going over
the duck breast,
ruining the crispy skin.

I really covered
the whole dish with madeleine.

When the judges get the dish,
I really want them to see it.

I put a spoonful
of the shallot sauce down,

and I put
the artichoke over it.

So when the judges
cut into it, there'll be
a little sauce inside.

I cover the artichoke
with mustard

and the madeleine
hazelnut crust,

and I put
a little extra on the side.

Sometimes, when something
means so much to you,

it's almost like
you overthink it.

And I'm hoping
not to do that tonight.

Sixty seconds left
on that clock, chefs.

So I grab these plates

and the first
thing that I put on
is the stuffing.

Then I put the sauces on top.

So any drippings
from the sausage

will go right
into that stuffing.

I sliced my duck.
Couldn't be happier,
and it's cooked perfectly.

Five, four,
three, two, one.

That's about it, chefs.

Well done.

I just missed
my fennel salad on the plate.

And that really worries me
'cause I know

that's what was going
to cut the richness.

It's okay. We'll see.

All right, chefs,
it's time to write down

the menu descriptions
for your dish.

Remember, you will not be here
to talk about your dish,

so write it down
in full detail.

Then I'm gonna have
to kick you guys on
out of here.

Please head on out.

And let's clear
the kitchen here.

Duck sausage. Duck breast.

That's beautiful.

I think he had some
slaw there
he was trying to get on it.

- He just ran out of time.
Yeah.
- It happens.

- Yeah. Chef Amina over here.
- Oh, wow!

- And Chef Guillaume,
went with crepes.
- Wow!

- Yeah?
- This is so classy.

Really nice.

See you later.

You sit here and it's like
you always think about

the should've,
could've, would'ves.

Did I season properly?

Too much acid,
not enough salt, pepper.

- Sure.
- 'Cause, you know,
you're going so fast.

Let's get into it.

Chefs decided on duck,
madeleine to cook with,

and they also needed to flambe
a portion of their dish.

They gave themselves
45 minutes to do so.

So what you have
in front of you is a
magret de canard,

seared citrus
and port wine sauce,

tomato confit with
flambe caramelized onions,

salty madeleine crumble
and sauteed potatoes.

Interesting.

I was surprised to see
Amina finish early.

Her dish is very dramatic.

- Overcooked.
- It's chewy.

Mmm-hmm.

But you see, I'm not sure

how to use
the madeleine in the dish,

and I don't know
where to put it
with the rest.

Okay, let's move on
to the next dish, please.

What do we have next?
A duck.

- What a surprise.
- What a surprise.

This chef is calling this dish
a "Duck forages in the woods."

Roasted duck breasts
with flambeed cognac
peppercorn sauce,

a vermouth flambeed artichoke
with chervil,

madeleine and hazelnut crust,

shallot, mustard,
and duck liver sauce.

Enjoy.

I don't think I'm ever going
to be satisfied with the dish

I make with French cooking
'cause it's such a big part
of my DNA.

It's almost like
such a loaded topic.
There's no way I can win.

Hmm! Wow!

Unless I win.

The duck
is really cooked perfectly.

- Yes.
- Wow.

I've tasted a lot
of ducks in my years of being
a food critic,

and this actually might
be the best one I've ever had.

No kidding.

Yes. Don't tell
my grandmother.
But yes.

It's very high praise.

Sure.

Yes.

I think the minus point
would be the use
of the madeleine again...

Sure, yes.
- ...which was a crumble
on the side.

But yeah.

But I want the recipe
of the sauce, chef.

- So I don't know
who's the chef, but...
- We'll talk after the show.

- We'll talk after.
- Oh, yeah.

Let's move
the plates, please.

Except for Ludo's,
I think he wants the sauce.

It's so good.

- The sauce is very good.
- Very nice.

Yeah.

Madeleine. Not...
not the crumble again.

Oh! Oh!

Our next dish
is a roasted duck breast

and madeleine duck crepe,
Suzette, flambeed in Calvados.

We have a mustard sauce,

a madeleine crunch. Enjoy.

I'm super impressed
that Guillaume made crepes.

The dish looks heavy,
but loaded with technique
and beautiful.

- I love the duck with crepe.
- Yes.

I think the duck
was cooked perfectly.
Well ex*cuted.

And the crispy skin,
I love the crepe.

- That feels very French.
- Mmm-hmm.

That is very good, crispy,
moist with the meat.

- Very creative.
- Yes.

And I feel like
crepes suzette,

there's no better
example of a flambe dish.

I'm missing a little sauce,
which is, like,
hidden over there.

And, you know,
the French, we love the sauce.

It's like the one thing
about the dish.

I mean, the madeleine
get lost a little bit.
It's a lot of flavor here.

Yeah, there's a lot happening.

So let's move on
to the final dish, please.

- So it seems like
you enjoyed that one as well.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

It's going to be...
It's not that easy, easy.
It's not gonna be that easy.

All right, judges,
here is your final dish.

A flambeed duck duo
with fennel duck sausage,

seared duck breast
and a madeleine stuffing.

All served with
a au poivre sauce. Enjoy.

I thought Jon's sausage dish
was beautiful

and a great display
of technique
and diverse use of the duck.

The duck
is cooked perfectly.

Ah.

Where's the flambe?

The sausage is a good flavor.

You said that there
was madeleine somewhere
in the stuffing.

I'm going to trust you.

It's true
that there was a lot
of empty space

on the plate with 45 minutes.

Perhaps add one piece
of vegetable or give us
something else.

And the sauce was too much
of a demi-glace
and not enough of a sauce.

I need some sauce, like I need
something else to balance it.

When you cook
for French people,
give some sauce.

Sauce, sauce, sauce!
- Give us
some sauce, guys.

Okay, let's clear the dishes,
and we can actually
start to rank.

All right, chefs, come on in.

- Bonjour.
- Bonjour.

Merci.

Two very French judges
were very impressed
with your food.

So unfortunately, there were
two chefs that they felt
could have gone home.

And that is Chef Jon
and Chef Amina.
- Hmm.

So the chef that's leaving
is the chef from...

Colorado, Chef Jon.

- Ah!
- They felt that your plate
was a little too empty.

They really wanted
more vegetable,
more sauce as well.

Got it.

Chef, thank you so much.

I think if that salad
was on there, chef,
we'd have a different story.

- I completely
agree with you.
- Good luck, chef. Thank you.

Thank you.

So now it's either
Chef Guillaume

or Chef Alex
that finishes first.

The chef that's earned
the right to pick

the entire options
for the next round

and the dish
that finishes first is...

...Iron Chef herself,
Chef Alex. Congratulations.

- Thank you.
- Congratulations.

One judge said that your plate
looked like a piece of art.

Wow! I'm crying.

Sorry, guys.

I mean, a highly,
highly respected French judge
back there

said that of all the duck
that they've tried
in their lives,

that might have been
the best duck.

Oh.

- Thank you.
- Why? Why are you so...

It's like my whole career
is this country.

- Wow.
- It's my life.

Of course. You really earned
the win on that one, chef.

- Truly.
- Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Beautiful plate.

Congratulations
to all three chefs.

You have all survived
and made it
to the Money Round.

In this round,
there's only one rule.

To win money, your dish
has to outrank Alex's.

First and second place chef
will win 10K and 5K,
respectively,

if you can beat Alex.

Now Alex gets to pick
exclusively what happens
in this challenge.

- All right, AG, shall we?
- Yes.

Let's do it.

- Ooh!
- Your first choice.

We're going even more French
with the proteins.

Oh, God.

You have escargot,
frog legs, or boudin noir.

Can we get a chicken?
Can I place an order?

I'm in between the frog legs
and the escargot.
Do you agree?

- Yeah.
- Yeah, I agree. 100%.

I mean, they're good,
the escargot
because they're like,

they're kind of like
shellfish adjacent.

They're fresh. They're light.

The frog legs curry,
you know, an elegant,
kind of more neutral flavor.

All right.
- We can carry it
in different directions.

If you want me to vote,
I would say frog leg.

- Okay, snails.
- Yes, I knew it.

I knew it. I knew it.
Well done, chef.

I love the gamesmanship.
That's how you do it.

All right,
so your next decision.

Which classic French...

French what?

...mother sauce
you'll all be making?

Ooh!

Is it hollandaise,
Espagnole

or the good old veloute?

This is trash.
I mean, I love them.

And could you make
a variation of the mother?

Yes, you can.

I can go with Espagnole,
you know, you can flavor

it so many
different directions.

But Espagnole with snails...

The hollandaise, I love.
And it's very versatile.

- Hollandaise.
- Mmm-hmm.

I love it, chef.

But I feel like you need
hours to make an
Espagnole or veloute.

- I'm picking it
for that reason only.
- I get it.

- Well, this is obviously
going to be about time.
- Time.

But it's also about
what kind of dish
you're making.

Oh.

You can make
a bistro meal in 30 minutes

or a haute cuisine,
which is a more fine dining,

more soigne, fancier meal.

- I'll give you 40 for that.
- Any thoughts?

- You want more time?
- Forty.

- I would rather
have more time.
- More time.

More time.

This is probably the fastest
decision-making I've seen.
Your time starts now.

Oops.

An escargot dish,
with the use of hollandaise

and 40 minutes
to make a haute cuisine.

Escargot,
these are petite gris

and they are very,
very neutral flavors.

So anything that you kind
of marinade or season it with,

you're gonna be able
to capture that flavor,

but that escargot needs
to be the star of the show.

Why did I pick these?
These are hard to deal with.

I don't love escargot,
but I had to pick them
'cause no one wanted them.

It just seems like sometimes
gameplay is the only way,
and I want to win.

Escargot
is one of my favorite foods.

I'm going to make
a escargot vol-au-vent.

We're going to braise
in the red wine
and porcini sauce,

brown butter bearnaise sauce.

I don't want to do that
classic chewy preparation,

and so I'm getting
these braised.

While my escargot is braising,
I'm going to work

on sauce component
that will get married
with escargot later.

And I'm going to do
a little bit of porcini.

I want to really be careful.

I want to accentuate
the earthiness.

I don't want to overpower it.

So I get our classic
mirepoix going.

We've got to get
these vegetables cooked
and make the ragout.

Leek, celery, carrot,
pancetta.

I got my porcinies that
I've soaked in the red wine.

Strained it into my mirepoix.

Put my porcini
mushrooms aside.

I chop those up,
throw it in there.

A lots of garlic,
and really add that kind
of background flavor.

I know a lot
of Americans are a little bit

"No, no, no escargot."

But a lot of people tried
for the first time escargot
with me,

and they just loved it.

I will make
a escargot bourgogne.
The classic.

Marinate in butter
and parsley and garlic.

Three ingredients
and you have amazing dish.

Oh, the garlic is so spicy.
I love it.

You put just

like, uh... one by one on the
escargot ramekin,

you know, and ready
to cook on the oven.

Like this, like here.

Okay, you stay there.

Chef Alex,
what's the direction that
you're going in for this dish?

I'm gonna do snails
on toast with parsley, butter

and hollandaise.

I might have another
woodland theme.
- Ooh.

And it was a very whimsical
experience, I felt like,
for the judges.

How was that for you?
Just to get that win?

- It's an important one.
- Oui, chef.

Haute cuisine toast,
we know that's fancy.

So I just cut the brioche
and flatten it out
into little toasts,

and I brown it
in a lot of butter
with salt and pepper.

Escargot tastes like earth,
really, like mushrooms
plus clams.

I just braise them
a little bit to kind
of soften them up

and give them some taste
with some shallots

and garlic
and salt and pepper.

And I cook them
in a little dry vermouth.

I have pine nuts in the oven.

I don't burn them,
but I overcook them,

and I'm feeling fussy.

So I redo them another time.

The second side
of the brioche toast I do

is a little dark
and it might taste
a little burned.

And I don't want
to ruin the whole dish,

so I do them again.

Do we have
any more bread?

I need a new loaf.

I'm just trying to make
everything perfect.

It's just the French way.

Having to redo the toast
and having to retoast
and pine nuts

and still make
the hollandaise sauce,

honestly,
I'm a little bit behind.

Oh, I gotta calm down.

Sixteen minutes, chefs.

So even though Alex won
round one, this is an intense,
intense Money Round.

Bragging rights are just
as valuable as money itself.

It's anybody's game right now.

I'm gonna be making
a little puff pastry cups.

That's going to be
for the escargot ragout.

I was born in France.
I've spent my whole life,
you know, eating this food.

And so it's super important
that I beat Alex
because it's in my blood.

And now, I'm going to do
a parsley puree

to cut through
all that richness.

Parsley,

the broth
from the escargot, um...

and that's it.

And let's see
the pearl onions.

They're easy. They're pretty.

They're tasty.

They're going in.

Chef Guillaume,
did we talk about
your hollandaise?

Are you going classic?

Is there any variation?
- Oh,
we're going bearnaise.

So Chef Guillaume
is working his hollandaise
into a bearnaise.

So it's another variation
of a hollandaise,

same process where
you're emulsifying butter

into the tempered egg yolk,

which you're adding
in a little bit of vinegar.

Cooking down that vinegar
with a little bit of shallot
and some tarragon,

and it's totally,
completely changes the sauce
into something

that's a little bit
more herbacious,
a lot more acidity.

It's a phenomenal sauce.
One of my favorites.

I will, um, melt my coconut

for my hollandaise sauce.

I have to do
a hollandaise sauce,

but I want to do it
differently.

Not that usual.

How many minutes?

Ooh!

The coconut oil will add
a different flavor
and texture,

and the judge
will taste something new.

I will infuse my lavender...

Lavender is very French.

...in my hollandaise sauce
after.

I am here to win.
So I have to try new things.

Chef Amina right now
is making a hollandaise
with coconut oil.

But French cuisine
is all about
classic technique

and making the hollandaise
with coconut oil
is not classic whatsoever.

I'm not sure how the oil
and the egg yolks are going
to react with each other.

We'll let the judges decide.

Love it. The pasta filo.

Have you ever
fried it before?
- Yes. Many times.

And what is that going to do
for the dish?

- For crunch?
- The crunchiness.

Got it. Crunch factor.
Okay.

I think from escargot,
they need a lot of earthiness.

They need enhancement,
they need a little fat.

So I'm making
my parsley butter.

Cooked shallots,
cooked garlic, um,

and cut up parsley, tarragon,
chervil, and chives,

all mixed together with butter
and some pine nuts
for a little more richness.

A hollandaise is just
whipped egg yolks
over a water bath,

usually with a splash of water
till they're frothy.

You then whisk in
bits and butter,

then you add lemon juice,
salt, pepper, and lemon zest.

And I've made it
millions of times,

but, you know,
tonight it's just under
a lot of pressure.

I'm so tired.

Honestly, I bit off
more than I can chew

and everything just requires
a lot of work,

and I am swimming in it.

Two minutes, chefs.

Bearnaise
goes on the bottom,
vol-au-vent next.

You stuff these guys
with sauce

and make sure there's escargot
going in there.

Then I've warmed up
my parsley puree.

I feel really good.

I think it's a winning dish.
Yeah, for sure.

Alex is in trouble.

Oh!

- Ninety seconds, chefs.
- Really?

This round like was so fast.

Fabulous. I love it.

The filo dough, I just put it
on the side
with my hollandaise sauce.

And now, my little rabbits.

Sixty seconds left,
chefs.

Okay.

Oh!

I have
the brioche toast
with the herbs

down on the bottom.

Roll the snails
in the remaining herbs

with the garlic and parsley,
butter and pine nuts.

I want to do like
a frisee salad

and kind of nod to the bistro
and then put the caviar
and hollandaise

and nods of cuisine.

Win or lose, you can't change
my love of French food.

I just don't want America
to see me not win

the topic I've spent
30 years studying.

Five, four, three, two, one.

That's about it, chefs.
Well done.

It's time to write down
your menu descriptions.

We're bringing in the judges
now.

Kindly leave the kitchen,
and I'll bring you back in
once they are done.

Thank you.

Little bit of rabbits,
a coconut oil hollandaise.

- Amazing.
- Yeah.

Did she use lavender?

She did. Yeah.
She added lavender
to hollandaise as well.

- Ooh, fancy.
- Very nice.

- Puff pastry.
- Oh, a vol-au-vent.

See you later.
- All right, chef.
Thank you.

This is it. French cuisine.

I better get this one right.

I really hope
one of our dishes
just takes her out,

you know, because
that's the whole point
of this, of this game

here, is Alex versus us.

I'm so nervous
I'm punchy.

It's a French episode.
It's what I do.

It's an expression
of the last 30 years
of my life. No biggie.

What do we have
for this second round?

All right.
Let's go ahead and tell you.

The winning chef,
decided to use escargot,

to use hollandaise in the dish
to make the dish haute
or upscale.

And they had 40 minutes
to do so.

Yes. Oh!

That's my thing. Escargot.

I'm very excited about that.

What do you have
in front of you
is a vol-au-vent de escargot,

red onion and porcini braise,

parsley glazed pearl onions,
a brown butter
and bearnaise sauce

and bearnaise
pickled shallots.

- Wow.
- Wow!

I thought Guillaume's
was a very smart play.

The vol-au-vent,
the puff pastry

and the butter
goes beautifully
with the hollandaise sauce.

Very classic.
I see he braised the snails.

He did a lot of smart things.

Vol-au-vent is a very,
very classic French dish.

But it's very old,
so it can be very, very heavy,
very old-school.

Sure.
- But this vol-au-vent
is very refreshing.

I think it's elevated
and soigne.

Like, if I had to write
about this dish
in a food review,

it's not too stuffy,

like, it has that
French generosity
but elevated.

I like that. Yeah.

- Bearnaise is great.
- Yeah.

There's a lot
of acidity, tarragon,
a good texture.

Maybe the vol-au-vent
can be cooked a bit more.

The dough is little raw
little bit here.

- And I would love
more escargot.
- Mmm-hmm.

Let's move on
to the next dish, please.

It was good. I mean,
the sauce was very.

Yeah.

Wow.

Our next dish
in front of you is snails
and parsley and shallot.

Pine nut butter

walking slowly
from the bistro

and herb salad to the luxury
of the hollandaise
and caviar.

I would have liked
to be able to pay
a little more attention

to how everything tastes.

And I would have liked
to spend a little more time
plating,

but I just didn't have it.

I'd give myself like a six
out of ten.

It's really buttery.
I like it.

For me, escargot need to be
very buttery.
- Yeah.

And the classic is escargot
with butter and parsley.
- Mmm-hmm.

But usually you see it
like in a round plate.

- Yes.
- And you scoop it out.

And this... that chef
took out all the elements

and elevated them
in a different way,

and I think
it's extremely smart.

- Almost deconstructed. Yeah.
- Exactly.

- This is a bistro staple.
- Sure.

So perhaps adding in here
as like in a position
to a different salad,

it might be a bit risky
if you want to make it
a very Michelin-starred dish.

- Sure.
- Well-ex*cuted.

But I just would love
the escargot more crispy.

Okay. Let's move on
to the last dish, please.

- Tough choices, huh?
- Yeah.

We have
a lot of good chefs here.

- Ah!
- All right, judges.

Our final dish
that you have in front of you

is an escargot de bourgogne.

There is a poulet
of Dijon rabbit

with a coconut
and lavender hollandaise
and filo.

What do we think of that,
Ludo?

- We'll try.
We'll try and taste it.
- Coconut in escargot?

- I don't want to judge
before I taste.
- No, we don't want to.

We have coconut in escargot.

Amina went
in a very different path
than I would have gone.

It's so interesting to see
what chefs think of.

You just don't know.
Like, maybe it's really good.

Garlic butter and escargot,
that is my jam. I love it.

But for me,
the garlic is too raw.

It is so powerful.
I don't have
that much resistance.

And
there's a lot of butter.

A lot of butter,
but I'm okay with that, chef.

Okay.

Sure.

There's not enough sauce,
I think, for a dish

where we're judging
on the sauce.

And this, I think...

ahh, the rabbit
and snails together and
too many flavors,

I feel like it's a bit
all over the place.

All right.
Let's clear the table, please.

- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.

So it sounds like
we have two dishes
that you enjoyed very much.

We need an answer, though.

What's the best?

Oh, easy. Victoire?

- Oh, no? You don't agree?
- I'm not sure.

All right, chefs, come on in.

Judges, you're about to see
whose been cooking for you
all day.

- No way.
- Oh, wow.

- Bonjour!
- Bonjour!

This is Amina Ly from Florida.

- Wow!
- Pretty sweet.

This is Guillaume Bienaime
from Northern California.

Hello, guys.

I believe
you're familiar
with Alex Guarnaschelli.

Yes.

Chefs, I'd like for you
to meet the experts

that have been tasting
and ranking your dishes
all night long.

We have world-renowned
French chef, Ludo Lefebvre.

And we have esteemed
food critic
and cookbook author

Victoire Loup.

So, judges, Chef Guillaume,

he made the vol-au-vent.

Chef Amina made
the third dish that you had.

Escargot de bourgogne.

Chef Alex made
the escargot toast.

It makes sense.

Judges, you should also know
that Chef Alex made
the winning dish in round one.

It was an amazing dish, chef.

I want the recipe
for your sauce.

Maybe.

So, chefs, remember,
they ranked their dishes
totally blindly.

The chef
that finished third...

- ...is Amina from Florida.
- Okay.

Chef, I'm so sorry,
but thank you.
Thank you so much.

Thank you all.
I am so happy
to be part of this.

For me, I already win.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, chef.

- Thank you. Well done.
- Bye. Thank you.

Okay.

These are actually the same
final two from round one.

- Oh, is it the same one?
- Yes.

- I'm not surprised.
- Yeah.

So the chef
that the judges ranked first

in this French showdown is...

...Chef Guillaume.
Congratulations.

Well done.

Congratulations.

Congrats.

Chef Guillaume,
well done.

Nice job, my man.
Congrats. Well done.

How do you feel?
What are you gonna do
with the money?

I'm donating it
to Jose Andres and the
World Central Kitchen.

- Wow!
- Wow.

- Bravo! Bravo!
- Congratulations.

This is so touching.

That's amazing.

I would have loved
to won this episode

'cause
it's so in my wheelhouse,

but when I heard,
just without hesitation,

he's donating what he won
tonight to the
World Central Kitchen,

that's just a member
of the chef community

that makes me proud
to be a chef.

Maybe that's what
inspired you today.

- Yeah.
- Yeah. That's it.

- I think so.
- Yeah, yeah. That's it.

- Well done.
- Thank you so much.