01x07 - Global Fusion

[bunniefuu]

Do luxury ingredients
always make the best dishes,

or can humble items be transformed
into a recipe for success?

This is Cook at all Costs.

I need something. I need something.

With $25,000 in their bank,

three home cooks will have to bid
on all their ingredients…

I'm ready.

…in a high-stakes,
auction-packed cook-off.

$5,000.

Sold!

The home cooks can spend big
for the best ingredients,

save their money for the basics,
or gamble on a surprise.

Chicken hearts.

In the end, the winner

will go home
with all the cash left in their bank.

Oh, man!

The back pantry is home

to the hottest names
in today's culinary world.

Surprise!

These celebrity chefs
will prepare the mystery boxes,

ingredient temptations,
and judge the dishes.

You gotta make Mama happy.

All right, Chef, send out those boxes.

It's the ultimate cooking competition
where skill meets strategy.

Let me get my buzzer fingers ready.

This is Cook at all Costs.

What's up, home cooks? Y'all ready?

-Yeah.
-You getting hype?

-Ow!

There you go.

Welcome to Cook at all Costs.

Minhthy, Lucas, Smita,
in this first round,

you'll be making a dish
in any way you like,

using ingredients that are being prepared
in the back pantry

by our guest chef and judge.

She made waves working in some
of the world's most renowned restaurants,

known for integrating
global flavors and techniques

with her bold and inventive style,

Chef Nyesha Arrington.

-Ooh!

Cooking for Chef Arrington
is really intimidating

since she's such a world-renowned chef.

So I'm a little bit nervous,

but I'm ready to have some fun.

All right, Chef Arrington,
send out those boxes.

"Surprise."

You'll start by blind bidding
on these three ingredient boxes

using your bank of $25,000.

Remember, whoever wins
the competition goes home

with all the cash left in their bank.

Please lock in your bids now.

I really want the Surprise Box.

I love to experiment, I love to create,

and I'm up for the challenge.

I want the Spend Box
because I want to work

with some more quality ingredients,

so it's a necessary sort of evil

to spend a lot of money
to get what I want.

All right. Minhthy,
let's take a look at your bid.

$3,000.

Lucas.

Five grand.

We're going big.

-Going big. Okay.
-Yeah.

Smita.

$3,800.

Lucas, you have the highest bid,
which means you get the Spend Box.

Minhthy, you have the lowest bid,

which means you get the Save Box.

And Smita, you get a Surprise.

Yay! Love surprises.

You have 45 minutes
to make the best dish

using the ingredients
from the box you just bought.

And watch out, because more upgrades
will be coming down the line

to help you improve your dishes.

Home cooks,
are you ready to cook at all costs?

-Ready!
-Yes!

We're ready.

All right, good,
'cause your time starts now.

Go!

Okay.

What do we have?
We got some sherry vinegar,

white beans, phyllo pastry,

some shallots,
and some venison tenderloin.

Okay, okay.

I wanted the Spend Box
with quality ingredients,

you know, a little more elevated
or bougie, but I've never cooked

with venison or juniper berries.

Let me think, let me think.
Put some of these over here.

What in the world am I gonna do
with all of these together?

I… I'm stumped.

Canned eggplants.

I open the Save Box.

I have pickled pearl onions,

shredded carrots,

canned eggplant, and pie shell.

Rabbit.

I see this rabbit,
and, man, my stomach just drops.

I don't know how to cook rabbit.
I'm not really happy with the Save Box.

Some baby carrots.

"Corn rings." That's interesting.

In the Surprise Box,

I have onion rings, carrots,

crescent rolls, celeriac,

canned chickpeas, and…

Oh, my gosh!

"Ostrich loin."

I've never cooked with ostrich before.
I've never tasted it before.

I'm very nervous.

Looks like we have a loin challenge.

The tender cut of meat from the lower back

and some pastry too.

Minhthy, you have the humble rabbit loin
and a pie shell in the Save Box.

Lucas, with the Spend Box,

you've got the high-end venison loin
with the phyllo pastry.

-And, Smita, surprise!

You have
the ostrich loin and, uh, crescent rolls.

You said you like surprises.

I do.

What am I going to do with this?

I'm kind of freaking out.

I just have no flipping idea
what I'm gonna do with all this.

Right now, I have absolutely no idea
what I'm doing,

and so I'm prepping all of my ingredients

making sure that, uh, everything's ready
for when I actually do have a plan.

I don't know.

I'm an academic, I'm a sessional lecturer
at University of Toronto.

I read a lot and I write a lot,

so I love cooking
'cause it gets me out of my head.

Cooking is my time for myself.

If I had my way, it'd be two
or three hours to cook any dish,

but time is running out.

I need to figure out
what exactly I'm going to do.

You know what?
I'm just going to go for it.

I have the phyllo pastry,

and so I'm thinking to myself
I can make a little venison pot pie.

So I'm blending white beans,

hot Italian spread, some sautéed shallots

to use as the sauce for this pot pie.

Blend, blend, blend.

And I'm going to start cooking my venison.

Lucas, have you cooked venison before?

Uh, it's like we're playing
a game of Never Have I Ever. No.

I've never cooked rabbit,
so don't worry about it.

This is gonna be interesting.

What I really love about cooking is
it reconnects me back to my culture.

My mom immigrated here from Vietnam.
I grew up watching her cook.

Later in life, when I learned how to cook,
I felt a lot closer to her

and closer to my family.

I think I'm going to make
some sort of pot pie variation.

As soon as I see the pie shell,
I know that I can work with this.

I'm going to try to create
some sort of filling here.

I guess I'm going to make rabbit pot pie.

I'm taking the canned eggplant,

and then I'm adding some carrot,

pickled pearl onions,
to make a really great filling.

I've never really cooked rabbit before,

but I'm having a melodrama in my head

looking at this rabbit.

I have no desire for it
to be in my dish.

Whoo! What's up, Chef?

-What's up?
-Ooh, what are you working on here?

I'm actually making
the most delicious cheese board.

-This is the loin challenge.
-Yes.

This cheese board makes sense
because loin doesn't have a lot of fat.

You're gonna give a fat upgrade here.

-Four different types.
-Exactly.

So you're known as a game expert?

I do love to cook game meats,
and I think it's really important,

especially when working with game meats,
and loin in particular…

I mean, there's only, you know,
two loins going down the back,

and they tend to be not so fatty and rich.

-Temperature control's really important.
-Of course.

So maybe you're using something
that is more fatty to go on the dish.

It's going to sort of balance out
that lean meat and then the richness.

-Yeah. Let's hope they can do that.
-Yes.

Send the upgrade out.
I'll go check on the home cooks.

-Excellent.
See you in a bit.

See ya!

For the ostrich, I think
I'm going to make a little… steak.

I was born and raised in India.

I learned cooking from my grandmother.

She taught me how to pick the vegetables,
how to clean them, cut them,

how to mill your own flour.

Everything was from scratch,
so that kind of transforms how I cook.

So I want to represent my country,
I want to win,

but I have never cooked
with ostrich before.

I don't know
what's the right way to cook it,

but I think just cook it like a steak
and hope it comes out nice.

Ooh, beautiful bread.

I want to create a nice flatbread
with the crescent rolls.

So I'm making ostrich flatbread
topped with celeriac,

but I would love something
to add a nice color to finish my dish.

What do we have here?

Flashing red lights. Auction time!

All right, home cooks,
first item up for auction is…

boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Wait till I give the price
before you buzz.

Very eager.

I have rabbit,
and I don't want to use it.

I will literally jump my station
to get that chicken.

Home cooks,
this classic protein is gonna cost you.

I'm starting the bidding at $2,000.

$2,000 going once, going twice…

Sold to Minhthy!
Go ahead and switch up your protein.

Yay.

Bye-bye, bunny.

All right, the next item
up for auction is…

some Tuscan kale.

It's so delicious.

Brightens, freshens up,
balances your dishes.

I love kale.
It gives a nice balance to the meats,

and I want that really bad.

Start the bidding at $600.

$600 going once, going twice…

Sold to Smita!

-Take it! Delicious kale.
-Oh, thank you.

Home cooks, final item up for auction is…

a beautiful cheese board.

Three cow's milk, one goat.

I see the cheese. I think to myself,
"This could add," you know,

"a little je ne sais quoi to the pot pie."

I don't care about the cheese.

I want the nuts to make a nice sauce
for my ostrich flatbread.

I'll start the bidding at $1,000.

-Do I have $1,200?

-$1,400?

-Do I have 1,600?

-We got a bidding w*r!

Smita, cut it out!

-$1,800. $2,000.

-Do I have 25?

-$3,000.

-$3,500.

Do I hear $4,000?

$3,500 going once, $3,500 going twice…

-Sold to Lucas for $3,500.
-Go, Lucas.

-Thanks a lot.

Look. You got all of that.

Man, he really wanted that bad.

How'd you know?

What are you gonna do
with all that cheese, huh?

Uh, the cheese is a game changer

because it actually makes
my recipe come together.

The cheese is going to add
an extra layer of flavor to my pot pie.

In my ramekin, I'm layering venison,
then the white bean and pepper sauce,

the cheese,

and then I put on top, my phyllo pastry.

This looks like a mess!

Whoo! Ticktock.
Twenty minutes left, home cooks!

I changed out
the rabbit to get chicken,

which I think
is a little bit easier to use.

I'm continuing to keep my pot pie strategy
that I already had,

and just replacing that protein,
adding the chicken instead.

So I'm going to sauté the kale.

I have a Tuscan kale,

so I'm putting
the celeriac and kale together.

-Has anybody ever cooked a ostrich before?
-No.

Ostrich,
I've never tasted or cooked with it,

and so I want to add
some red pepper sauce to it,

because that's how, usually, I cook meats.

But I don't know
how long the ostrich needs to get cooked,

so I could really use some extra help.

Oh! What do we got here?
A surprise auction?

It better be good for me.

It's a chef's knife
with my name on it.

The winner of this auction

will get three minutes
of my time with you,

tasting, prepping, helping,
whatever you need.

Oh, wow.

Chef Jordan would be a great help,
and I really want to get his advice.

To work with Chef Jordan
would be really awesome.

He's a really talented cook.

-We'll start the bidding at $800.

-$1,000.

-$1,200?

-$1,500.

-$1,800.

Lucas, I don't know
what I did to offend you,

but, all right, no problem.

Jordan, it's not personal.
I spent far too much money on my fromage.

-$2,000.

Do I have 25? Can I fetch 25?

-Do I have $3,000?

Do I have $4,000?

At this point,
it's a little bit too rich for my blood.

Inflation's high.

-Sold!
-Thank you.

-You ready?
-Yes.

I just paid $3,000
for three minutes with Chef Jordan,

so I'm putting him to work.

I am your sous-chef.
What do you need, Chef?

The ostrich.

-You can actually serve this rare.
-Oh, okay.

-Did you season it already?
-Yes.

Okay, good.

-Perfect, what else do you need?
-I have some celeriac and kale.

-Did you taste this yet? You seasoned it?
-I did. It's a little salty for me.

Okay, hold on.

-Need some pepper. Mm-hmm.
-Yeah.

Okay, there you go.
It actually needs a little bit more salt.

-It does? Oh.
-Mm-hmm.

As soon as Chef Jordan
starts to cook with me,

suddenly, I feel very calm.

-You want me to shred the carrots?
-Yep.

Yes, Chef, shredding carrots. You want 'em
in rounds? You want 'em long?

-Yeah. Like-- Like--
-Got it.

Chef Jordan is a great help
and incredible cook.

-Okay, you did it. Okay.
-Yes. Thank you.

-Keep an eye on the oven, okay?
-Oh, yes.

Home cooks,
you have five minutes left!

My pot pie, it's rustic, right?
So I feel okay with it aesthetically.

However, the taste itself,
I'm feeling entirely nervous.

What if these ingredients
don't go well together?

I think the Save Box really limited me.
I wish I had something

to kind of give it a little bit more oomph
in that presentation.

I don't think
I'll be going for the Save Box again.

Sixty seconds left!

Oh, wow.

I'm feeling more confident about my dish
after Chef Jordan helped me,

but I hope the ostrich, it's edible.

Ten, nine, eight,

-seven…

…six, five, four, three,

-two, one.

-Good job, home cooks! Good job.

I'm very nervous.
All I can think about right now is

that Chef Nyesha
is going to taste my food.

And what is she going to say?

-Whoo!
-How was it?

-Really fun.
-Amazing.

-Yeah, yeah, I loved it. How're you doing?
-Ready to get into these dishes.

Okay, this is an ostrich flatbread

topped with sautéed celeriac

and some Tuscan kale.

This is one
of the most vibrant dishes

I've come across.
The colors are singing to me.

It's so interesting to see
that they've used that crescent roll

and made almost this,
like, flatbread situation.

-Yeah.
-It's just lovely.

So this home cook
has never cooked or eaten ostrich ever.

This home cook purchased
my help, actually.

-Wow! Lucky them.

-How'd they do?
-The cook is nice.

I think the ostrich itself
could have used just a touch more salt.

This home cook purchased Tuscan kale.

$600. Do you think
it was a good investment?

I do. I really appreciate the vibrancy

and the green, earthy elements
that are coming in from the kale.

There's a lot of intention,
it feels like, that went into this,

and almost, like, some soul.

Here we have a white bean
and cheese venison pot pie.

Wow, I'm a fan of pot pies.

I really enjoy the texture
coming off of the phyllo.

-Mm-hmm.
-It's very lovely.

-It presents beautifully.
-There's like a rustic elegance to this.

So I'm getting quite lovely heat
coming from this, very nice.

But I'm having a tough time
with the texture of the venison.

Generally, venison should
kind of be enjoyed

a little bit more on the rare side,
so can kind of read a bit tough.

I think the creaminess of the white bean
is helping that out a little bit

by adding some moisture.

This home cook bought
your cheese board upgrade for $3,500.

Interesting choice
to use the cheese.

With the venison, it's not so successful.

There's these big, clunky chunks of cheese
that are overpowering my palate.

So, this dish,

you have a chicken pot pie

with carrots, eggplant,

and c*ck onions.

Wow.

So, in this box, I definitely put rabbit.

Yes. Here's what happened.
The upgrade of chicken came down the line.

They immediately switched.

They didn't like
the gaminess of the rabbit.

There's so much you can do
with rabbit loin.

It's a bummer not to see
that rabbit loin on this dish.

The c*ck onions,
makes sense to use those.

You're almost thinking mirepoix.

-Yeah, with the carrots too. Mm-hmm.
-And the carrots.

I really appreciate
the little squares of the pie dough.

-That's super cute.
-Mm-hmm.

And it's cooked perfectly,
but my eyes are searching

for freshness and greenery,

and I would've just loved
to see some more sauce.

Chef, final question.
Do we have a winning dish?

I have my winner.

Home cooks, it's result time.

The home cook
with the best out-of-the-box dish is…

-Smita.

I am so happy and, yeah, very shocked.

I feel confident now.

Home cooks, your final challenge
is inspired by Chef Arrington.

Whether it's her bulgogi cheeseburgers

or taco lasagna,

she's a master
of combining global cuisines

to create exciting and modern dishes.

So the chef's choice is global mash-up.

Working with ingredient boxes

curated by Chef Arrington,
you'll need to make a dish

inspired by two or more cuisines
from around the world.

Global mash-up really excites me.

I'm from Houston, which is one
of the most diverse cities in the world,

so this is where I'm going to shine.

All right, Chef Arrington,
roll out those boxes.

Home cooks, in this round,

the boxes have set prices.

The Spend Box is $8,000,

the Save Box is $4,000,

and the Surprise Box will cost you $6,000.

Smita, as the winner of round one,

you get to choose
which box you'd like to work with.

Okay.

You also get to assign the other boxes
to your fellow home cooks.

-Oh, no.

Price tags included.

-Which box would you like to buy?
-I would like to buy the Save Box.

I want the Save Box

because I want to save the money
for some upgrades at the auction.

In my mind, I have to take the risk.

So, who would you like
to assign the Spend Box to,

along with its $8,000 price tag?

Can I do eeny meeny miny moe?

Honestly,
you can do whatever you'd like.

-Okay.

I would like to give
the Spend Box to Minhthy.

Thank you. I guess.

I'm really glad I didn't have
to take that Save Box again.

Thank you, Smita,
for giving me that Spend Box.

I'm moving on up.

That means, Lucas,
you've been assigned the Surprise Box.

I didn't want the Save Box
based on last round.

So thank you, Smita.
That is precisely what I want.

Home cooks, keep an eye on the line
for more upgrades coming your way.

There's 45 minutes on the clock

for you to make
your best global mash-up dish.

The time has come again
to cook at all costs. Go!

I have a watermelon, radicchio…

I'm really excited about this Spend Box.

I see king crab,

I see some clams,

some mangoes, some peppers,

uh, and some roti.

Not bad.

All right. Nice.

Okay, we got a papaya,

steam buns,

oysters.

What is this?

I have this weird, little green thing,

and I have a white little root.

I have no idea what these are.

And surprise, surprise, I see alligator.

Uh, what am I gonna do with alligator?

I have a lot to thank you for,
including alligator meat, Smita.

-What do you have?

Oh, my goodness.

I have the fish sticks.

I chose the Save Box.
I have this frozen fish sticks.

Some pickled peppers,

pita…

and plantains.

Look at that.

How am I going to make sense of all this?

This could be the end of me.

All right, looks like we got
a global mash-up of proteins and breads.

Smita, with the Save Box,

you've got fish sticks and pita.

Minhthy, with the Spend Box,
you have some king crab and roti.

And Lucas, with the Surprise Box,
steam buns and alligator.

-Yeah.
-You got some alligator meat.

That alligator, it's gonna stay
where it is, I think.

I'm not even opening the alligator,

'cause I have zero desire
to figure out how to use it.

We're gonna get these oysters.

I'm relieved I have oysters
because I actually know what these are.

I see the buns, I see the oysters,
I think to myself, "Po' boy."

I'm going to do a quick little batter
and throw them in the deep fryer.

I'm going for the crispy,

I'm going for the crunchy,
and I'm going for the delicious.

When I see the roti,
I know exactly what to do.

I can turn them into tortilla chips.

And then I immediately think nachos.

Kind of bring
that Latin America vibe to it.

And I'm thinking of also giving it
a little bit of that Asian flair,

since, you know,
mangoes are a tropical fruit.

I have these peppers in my box, too.

So I'm making
a Vietnamese king crab nacho.

This is nacho average dish.

Spices would be great.

Could also use, like, a lemon
or something in that citrusy family.

Okay! What do you have here, Chef?

-Hey, hey! What's going on?
-What are you working on?

I'm actually working on
the most delicious yuzu vinaigrette.

Ooh! I mean, already just coming in,
the aromatics just hit you in the face.

Right?

It's obviously big in Japan,
and it'll add that tart, citrus flavor.

Yeah, hopefully, this will add
a little pop to their dishes.

So cool.
All right, Chef, I'm so curious.

-Yes?
-Because I know what you make.

You-- You got bulgogi cheeseburgers,
like, taco lasagna.

What's your strategy when you're fusing
different global cuisines on a plate?

Well, I like to draw from inspirations
from, like, one area of the world

and ingredients from another,

and, like, allow them
to speak to each other.

It's familiar, but it's like new flavors.

Amazing. Okay, well, send that out.
I'm gonna go check on the home cooks.

-See you in a bit.
-Okay. Thank you.

Pita. What do I do with these?

Pita has flour. Pasta is made with flour.

So I think to myself,
"Okay, I can make spaghetti."

So yeah, that's crazy.

Fish sticks.

I'm not a fan of fish sticks,
but it has the perfect breading.

It has the meat inside.
So I'm going to make meatballs.

It's just a creative take
on spaghetti and meatballs.

Okay.

But I really could use some spices
and level this up.

All right, home cooks, the line is moving.

The lights are flashing.

An auction's happening.

Three different spice kits
and a mystery upgrade.

Oh, my God.

An Indian spice kit,

a Caribbean spice kit,

and a Middle Eastern spice kit.

I see the Indian spice kit,
and I'm very happy.

With the right spices, I can even make
the frozen fish sticks taste delicious.

The Indian spice kit has coriander,

cardamom, turmeric, cloves,

Kashmiri pepper, black mustard seed,

and curry powder.

-Bidding start--

Can we all play nice here?

And then we can all just take
our respective spice kits, and go.

-All right, the Indian spice kit.

-Opening bid, $1,000.

Do I have $1,200?

$1,000 going once, $1,000 going twice…

-Sold!

That's going to give
a nice Indian touch

to my spaghetti and meatballs.

Next up,
the Caribbean spice blend,

paprika, nutmeg,

cinnamon, thyme, allspice,

and a lovely Scotch bonnet pepper.

I want the Caribbean spice kit
for my po' boy.

Spices are necessary
to make the entire dish come alive.

Do I have $1,000?

-Ooh. $1,000 going to Lucas.

-$1,200 going to Minhthy.

I want that Scotch bonnet
to give my dish an extra spicy kick.

Do I have $1,500?

-Do I have $2,000?

-$2,000 going to Minhthy.

Minhthy's bidding on my spice kit,
draining my bank account.

Minhthy, we had a deal!

-Stop it.

$2,500 going to Lucas.

-Do I have $3,000?

-Lucas. $3,500 going once…

-You can have it.
-$3,500 going twice…

Sold, sir, for $3,500.

Right now, I have
the least amount of money in the bank,

but if I don't spend, I don't win.

Last but not least,
we have the Middle Eastern spices,

cumin, sumac, saffron, Aleppo pepper.

I see
that there are some peppers in there.

They can add a bit
of a spicy kick to my nachos,

so this is just perfect for my dish.

-The bidding starts $1,000.

Do I have $1,200?

Sold to Minhthy for $1,000!

All right. The final upgrade is…

a yuzu vinaigrette
handmade by Chef Arrington.

I'm so intrigued by this yuzu,

and I'm just thinking of adding
Japanese cuisine into my spaghetti.

-Do I have $800?

I would love
to get this yuzu sauce.

This would bring a little bit of acid
into this dish.

I don't even care what it costs.

-Do I have $1,000?

-$1,000.

$1,200 going to Minhthy. Do I have $1,500?

-Do I have $1,800?

-$2,000.

-I feel a bidding w*r, baby.

$2,500 going to Minhthy.

-$3,000 going once.

Uh, $3,000 going twice…

And sold to Smita for $3,000.

The most expensive vinaigrette
in the history--

-Oh, perfect.
-…of cooking.

I'm super excited
I get the Caribbean spice kit.

I'm going to incorporate
some of the spices

in my batter for my oysters.

I don't even know
how to cut papaya, to be honest.

I'm also making my salad

using papaya, mystery green fruit,
and some cinnamon, vinegar, and oil.

-What's up, Lucas?
-Oh, not too much.

-What are you making?
-Well, I'm making an oyster po' boy.

It'll be some Thai
and Caribbean-inspired American fusion.

Okay. In terms of the Surprise Box,

is there anything, other than the gator,
you're unfamiliar with?

Uh, that root, this green fruit,
I have no idea what it is.

The root is, uh, eddoe.

-"Eddoe."
-Yeah. And this is called chayote.

-"Chayote."
-Yeah.

It's like a cross between, like, a daikon,

a Granny Smith, and a pear.
It's delicious.

I guess you learn
something new every day.

I'm thinking the eddoe
might be comparable to a potato.

So, I'm thinly slicing it
and throwing it in the deep fryer

to make some… …chips!

Just want a little color in there.

It's starting to taste
and smell like my cooking,

and I am so happy.

I'll have spaghetti out of these pita,
and then I have the meatballs going.

Wanna make a sauce with that.

But I need some sauce.

I do have the pears,
and peppers, and yuzu.

So my dish is going to be incorporating
Italian, Indian, and Japanese cuisine.

And all I'm thinking is
that I have to impress Chef Arrington

and win.

I'm making, like,
a soy Asian sauce for my nachos.

I'm borrowing from my Vietnamese culture

by creating a braising sauce
with the soy sauce, spices, and some sugar

to kind of caramelize
that crab a little bit.

But I'm kicking myself right now,

because I didn't realize
my soy sauce was a sweet soy sauce.

So my braising sauce
is a little bit too sweet,

and it's really hard
to come back from that now.

Home cooks, you have five minutes left!

I'm coating
my oysters in my batter.

-And then I throw them in the deep fryer.

I'm gonna grab the buns
and char them real quick.

I'm putting my steam buns on the grill.

It's absolutely imperative
that these buns come out properly,

because without the buns,
I have no po' boy.

I'm a little bit nervous
about my dish being a little too sweet,

but I think I've created
a really great global mash-up,

and I'm hoping I'm giving Chef Arrington
something that she's never tasted before.

I'm very nervous.
I wanted to create something different,

but all I can think about is

how Chef Arrington is going to say,

"Oh, my gosh. What is this?"

"Who made this?"

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five…

-…four, three,

-two, one.

-Good job, home cooks.

Look at this mess.

I hope Chef Arrington likes my dish

because I could potentially win $7,000.

I want to impress,
then bring home the bacon.

-What up, Chef?
-What up?

Things got spicy in there.

-It looks pretty spicy!

Okay, first up,

this is pita-bread spaghetti

and fish-stick meatballs

in a yuzu, pear, and pepper sauce.

-Wait a minute. Pita spaghetti?
-Pita spaghetti.

-Interesting. Hey, let's go.
-You wanted global mash-up, you got it!

This home cook
is going for Italian in concept,

and then Indian and Japanese in flavor.

Trying to wrap my mind
around pita spaghetti.

And in my mind,
I want it to not work, but it's working.

And what a bold move
to transform a fish stick into a meatball.

That really makes sense.

-And really tasty.
-Yeah.

The Indian spice is
the winning ingredient in this dish,

and it works very well
with the meatball and the pita "noodle."

But then it gets really blown out
by this yuzu vinaigrette.

-Less is more.
-Sometimes.

It's important to have
a cohesiveness in the dish,

even though it's a global mash-up.

All right, Chef,

here you have an oyster po' boy,

with eddoe fries

and a chayote-papaya salad.

So this home cook has taken
American, Caribbean, and hints of Thai.

These oysters are delicious.
The texture is fantastic…

-Right.
-…on the crust.

But I'm getting
a lot of bao-bun-to-oyster ratio.

And bao, it's a lean dough.
You don't wanna grill something like this.

It loves to be steamed
and soft and pillowy.

Pillowy.

The eddoe fries are lacking
a little bit of salt,

and a little bit spicy.

But the salad, I love the colors,

I love the vibrancy,
the freshness coming off of it.

This papaya salad is my favorite thing
to enjoy here on this plate.

Here you have
a Vietnamese Thai king crab nacho.

I mean, king crab nachos, wow,
that sounds super inventive and exciting.

Upon appearance, beautiful, right?

That mango pops, watermelon.

-The chilies look amazing.
-Mm-hmm.

But when I place
the first bite in my mouth,

overpowering with sweetness.

-Yes. I mean, there's no reprieve, right?

We're talking mango,
watermelon, sweet soy…

-Mm-hmm.
-…king crab, naturally sweet.

Flavors, regardless where
they're coming from,

all still need that balance.

If it's sweet from Thailand,

then it needs to be
potentially acidic from the…

-Mexico. Lime, whatever, yeah.
-…from Mexico.

-You still need to balance that.
-Absolutely.

I think the most successful,
beautiful, intriguing part of this dish

is the texture that I get from this roti.
That is phenomenal.

I mean, this is like elevated bar food,
which is, like, super cool.

Okay, Chef, do we have a winner?

We have a winner.

This is it. Time to pick a winner.

Home cooks, it's time
to find out who won the competition

and all the cash in their bank.

But first, I'd like to introduce you
to our guest chef and judge,

Chef Nyesha Arrington.

Whoo!

-'Sup, team?
-Hi.

-'Sup, Chef?
-What up?

I have to say,
I really enjoyed eating all of your food.

Great job.

All right, let's get to the results.

Who made the pita spaghetti
and fish-stick meatball?

Smita, very creative dish,

and the pita spaghetti
actually really worked.

Although, I do have to say
the dish lacked a little bit of cohesion.

Mm-hmm.

-So who made the oyster po' boy?
-Guilty.

I really loved
the idea of a po' boy,

but the ratio of that bun to oyster
left me wanting more of those oysters.

So that leaves, Minhthy,
you must have made those king crab nachos.

I sure did.

That crispy roti
was phenomenal, really inventive,

but a lot of sweet elements going on.

It really left my palate
wanting somewhere else to go.

Smita,
you have $9,600 in your bank.

Lucas, you have $7,000.

And, Minhthy, you have
the largest total, $11,000, in your bank.

Bringing people together
is what food is all about.

Bringing cuisines together
is what this challenge was all about,

and one of you did it best.

The home cook with the best dish is…

-Smita.

-Ha!

Thank you so much.

Oh, my God.

I cooked at all costs.

It's actually unbelievable.

It's--
It's really amazing.

Not just for myself,

but for India, for my country.

And… very proud of what I did.

Congratulations, Smita,

you won the remaining balance
in your bank, $9,600,

and proved you can cook at all costs.

-Good job.

It obviously didn't
turn out the way I was hoping,

but ultimately, I had a lot of fun,

and at the end of the day,

I feel quite happy
with-- with what I produced.

This experience means so much to me.
I pushed myself today,

and I think I still pulled off
a really great dish.

It's very precious
and priceless right now.

It's a moment
that I don't think I will forget ever.