01x02 - New Kids on the Chopping Block

[bunniefuu]

[Kevin Tien]
The next generations of chefs,
they cook like me.

[Natalia Santos] Modern food
and traditional food,

if you put them together,
you can do amazing things.

Innovators and game changers,

they are our future
and the future is here.

Chefs, chefs, chefs, let's go.

This looks crazy!

This is Chopped Next Gen.

I wake up in the morning
and I live for this.

Oh, spicy!

I'm looking for some culinary
innovation. That's correct.

We're just coming in and
we're breaking up the system.

Dishes to transport
our taste buds
into the future.

Run!

We're joined by four new chefs
all motivated to prove

that they're leaders
and not followers.

I am very, very competitive.

So I try to like play it cool,

but my mind's
like always competing.

I'm winning this for
all the Vietnamese Americans.

The next generation
of chefs look like me,
they cook like me,

food in America
is the food that I cook.

We're all next gen chefs,

but today I'll be
the only next gen chef.

I'm definitely bringing
the heat to the kitchen.

The wood-fired
grilling techniques,

chili-forward flavors that are
really going to blow you away.

I think the next generation
of chefs

don't always get the respect
we deserve.

I'm very fierce,
fast, focused,

but I am a little, you know,
pushy-shovey,

so don't get in my way.

Watch out because
I'm coming for the win.

[laughs]

[Natalia] I'm here
to represent
the next generation chefs.

So this is Mexican caviar.

I'm bringing everything
that I got.

I've been preparing
for this my entire life.

There's no point
of stressing out.

[panting, chuckles]

You should be so scared
because I am so winning this.

[Sergei Simonov]
When I walk into a kitchen,

I bring a high level
of execution.

I've got my eyes
on everything.

What I bring to the table
is classic fine dining

French cuisine
with molecular gastronomy.

I'm winning this
for my chef peers out there

who are creating a statement
and moving forward

and taking over
the new generation of chefs.

What up, chefs?

Welcome
to the Choppedkitchen.

Now you've got the chance
to show the entire world

that you are the next
generation of chefs.

Are you ready to show us
the future of culinary?

[all] Yes.

Yes. Let me hear
that one more time.

-Did you say yes?
-[all] Yes.

Yeah, you did. Okay.
All right, good.

All right, chefs,

go ahead and just take
a deep breath with me,

not too deep though
'cause you might sniff out
what's in those crates, okay?

Now, the key to your success
is right inside,

but we did not make it easy.

Sorry. No, I'm not.

Go ahead
and put your hot little hands
on top of those crates.

Open up your crates right now!

-Wow!
-Oh, my God! [chuckles]

This is an interesting
one here.

I don't know what this is.

-[Liza] You got...
-Cotton candy?

[Liza] ...cotton candy
covered pickles.

All right, all right.

It's very state fair
in the south.

[Liza] You've also got
pre-cooked

-beef tongue.
-Beef tongue.

Get a little smoked
beef tongue.

-[Liza] Mixed radishes.
-Radish.

Ooh, got a nice looking
focaccia here.

-[Liza] And some
fancy focaccia.
-This is great.

It's not like, "Oh, my God!
This is crazy for me."

Yeah,
I think I got some ideas.

You have 20 minutes
for our appetizer round

and your clock starts...
right now!

-And they're off.
-[Darnell] Let's go.

-Come on.
-Let's go, chefs.

[Nyesha] Come on,
appetizer round.

Isn't there usually
background music?

Kevin just asked
for background music.

[imperceptible]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Liza] Now, the judges today

are classically French trained
Chef Nyesha Arrington.

Bring it, chefs.

[Liza] Award-winning chef
and restaurateur Mei Lin.

You guys got this.

[Liza] And super chef and
owner of three restaurants,

Darnell Ferguson.

-All right, come on!
-Come on, now.

Judges,
what is the texture of tongue?

Can someone please tell me
what's up

'cause it's been a while
since I felt one.

Tongue is delicious.

It has a really soft
sort of density to it.

-It's very meaty.
-[Liza] Okay.

-But very succulent.
-Okay.

It's very similar
to the beef cheek.

[Darnell] These chefs
are moving

like this is not
their first time with it,

because when you think
of next gen chefs,

you're thinking of someone
who can make this whole
food nation go forward

with their type of cuisine
they're doing.

We definitely want to see
some innovation.

We have a smoking g*n
happening over here.

You have mesquite chips.

-[Nyesha] That's next gen.
-That's innovative.

-That's fun to eat.
-That's the definition

-we're looking for.
-Exactly.

To be successful
in the kitchen

we have to be a little bit of
adrenaline junkies.

When they say go,
when they say three, two, one,

it's off to the races and
we're ready to hit the track.

I'm going to just smoke
the beef tongue,

get a little smokiness to it.

I really want to do
smoked beef tongue

with pasta and pickled pesto.

What's the first thing that
comes to mind with pasta?

Cheesy bread, a garlic bread

and that's going to add
a crunch

and salinity factor
to this dish.

[Sergei groaning]

My heart is pounding

and my hands are sweaty
and I'm nervous.

Let's get a pan here.

But I have a dish thought up
in my head, instantly.

I'm going to do
a beef tongue pastrami

with some dijonnaise
focaccia toast

and quick pickled cucumber.

Usually you serve
like sauerkraut

with like pastrami, you know,

but I think I'm going to work
my pickle

into this
with some nice herbs.

Darnell, what are you
cooking up with this crate?

I'm doing like very small,
like, the tea tacos,

because you have a great
vessel with the beef tongue,

and then you have
the sweetness
from the cotton candy

-to help make a really
dope barbecue sauce.
-Mmm.

All right, let's cut this
focaccia to... into toasts.

Focaccia is going
to toast up real well.

What makes this focaccia
so focaccia fancy?

-Well, it is actually
on trend.
-Oh!

And you see them
all over social media.

They actually lay the focaccia
dough into the sheet pan

and people make these
very elaborate designs...

-Yeah.
-...on the focaccia.

-[Liza] Oh!
-[Nyesha] Yeah.

Oh, and that's like
perfectly toasted.

Chef Kevin's got
tons of croutons.

Boy, is this even on?

-I love a crispy crouton.
-Mmm-hmm.

[Kevin] My style of cooking
is using Vietnamese flavors

and presenting them
in contemporary ways.

I'm going to do a
beef tongue salad.

What's throwing me for a loop

is the cotton candy
covered pickle.

I'm from the south.
I've been to the state fair.

I've eaten one of these before

and I can't imagine
any of them

going with the other
ingredients.

We got cotton candy
covered pickles.

[Darnell]
This is a fun ingredient,

but it's hard because
I don't like my food to touch.

Oh, I'm already
not liking this.

But I would definitely
use the cotton candy

as my sweetener
inside of a sauce or a glaze.

-Absolutely.
-You can use the pickle
with the radish as well,

so you got a couple different
ways you can go with it.

[Kevin] I put the cotton candy
in my pickling liquid
for the radish.

A little bit of rice
wine vinegar,

a little bit of mirin
for additional sweetness.

I got to stay the course
of simple, delicious...

and I think I'll be all right.

[Natalia] When I see
the beef tongue,
my first impression

is that I'm going to use
my Latin roots

and the technique
that I have acquired

from working for the
best restaurants in Mexico.

I'm going to make a carpaccio

with freeze-dried strawberries
and a toasted focaccia.

This is actually
one of the ways

that it's eaten in
Mexico City, the beef tongue.

It's going to be good.

[Liza] So Chef Natalia
is making a carpaccio.

-Carpaccio.
-[indistinct] Tell me please.

[Nyesha] So carpaccio is
essentially very
paper-thin slices

of that cooked
beef fanned out.

-Ooh, so presentation
is key with that.
-Like a mosaic.

-[Nyesha] Yes.
-Okay.

[Natalia] The plating for me
is really important

because you eat first
with your eyes.

Also making it Instagramable.

That's Chopped
next generation,

making food Instagramable.

Working in kitchens
in Mexico City,

being a female,
very young cook,

it was extremely challenging
and hard.

I'm representing all
the young females out there.

There's a place for us and
we're going to make it happen

and we're going to grow
in this industry.

-Okay.
-[Liza] Chefs, you have less
than ten minutes on the clock,

less than ten minutes.

Time's flying.

[Nick] I've got my toast
in the oven.
I've got my pesto going.

Cumbersome.

I'm getting everything
going right now.

All right, good, good,
good, good, good.

And I realized
I didn't put my pasta in.

9.50 left, we have
orecchiette pasta going down.

-[Liza] Is that enough,
nine minutes?
-Come on, let's go.

It's a little tight
for a new chef,

-you're playing with seconds.
-Right.

This is going to be
a little bit of an issue
and I've got to push this.

[Sergei] Caraway, coriander...

I make a pastrami spice,

traditional pastrami
has caraway,
coriander, black pepper.

I'm going to kind of...
kind of keep it a little mild.

I'm here to really prove
that I have what it takes

to eventually be a
restaurateur in this industry.

I'm going to slice this up

and sear it with some
nice little pastrami spice.

I'm making
a chili oil right now.

Typically on a Vietnamese
beef tendon salad,

there's always chili oil.

I wouldn't be next gen
unless I made my own.

A next gen chef

wouldn't use chili oil
straight off the shelf,

so I decided to make
my own with red pepper flakes.

[Natalia] The radishes,
I'm just going
to keep it simple.

Slice it, keep it raw.

[Sergei] With mixed radishes,
I kind of go back to the roots

and the first time
I had roasted radishes,

and I just simply season them
with the beef tongue,

let them caramelize
a little bit.

[Nyesha]
We have some sauteed radishes

with diced beef tongue
roasting away.

All right, chefs,

you have exactly five minutes
on the clock.

-Come on, chefs.
-Five minutes left.

-Let's go.
-Ahh!

Don't let time
get the best of you.

I'm hoping Chef Nick's pasta
is cooked in time.

My pasta is still not cooked.

Nick's just checked his pasta
at least three times.

I've created everything based
off of it being a pasta dish,

so there's no turning back
at this point.

[Mei] Chef Nick looks like
he's struggling a little bit.

I'm really concerned.

[Nick] I'm getting down
to crunch time here.

My pasta is still a bit under.
I think I can pull it off.

Get it in the pan to finish
the cooking process here.

I think he does have
enough time,

especially if you're going
to add it to your saute pan

into cooking
in your sauce.

[Nick] I have my plates.
I have my pesto.

I have my toast points.

I'm trying to just set myself
up for that last final push,

but I'm in this weird
waiting game.

All right, chefs, you have
under three minutes left.

So Natalia's putting
the finishing touches on hers.

-She looks good.
-Beautiful place to be.

Traditionally, I would pair

this beef tongue carpaccio
with capers.

I'm going to use the pickle
instead of capers

to balance out that bitterness
in the dish.

I'm going to add
some sweetness and saltiness

with the Marcona almonds.

[Nyesha] We have some
croutons going into
the wood-burning oven.

That is exciting.

[Sergei] I take the focaccia
to the pizza oven

because I really am
trying to focus

on some nice wood-fired flavor

and I thought
it was a perfect opportunity

to lend some more smoke
to my dish.

One minute.

You have exactly one minute.
Say it, Nyesha!

-One minute.
-One minute.

-Come on. Let's go.
-[Darnell] Come on!

Let's go.
He's coming for my job.

[Nyesha]
Get across that finish line.

[Natalia] Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

[Nick] I feel like I've got
a little bit of time.

What do I need for garnishes?

I grab this micro basil,

it's going to add a fresh
aspect to my dish.

Chef's you're going to hate
me for this, but it's my job.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

-five, four, three, two, one.
-[Darnell] There you go.

[Liza] Hands up,
fingers off the food.

Fingers off the food.

Whoo!

Well, I made a righteous mess.

That was fun. That was fun.

[Sergei] Nice job.

Is that micro cilantro
over there?

It is.
Things always taste better
when they're small.

Yeah, you're right.

Ahh! [bleeped]

-What's going on, Chef Nick.
-Ah!

-I didn't get everything up.
-Oh.

I didn't get the toast.

-What about the pickle?
-The pickle, nope.

[bleeped]

I thought I had it
and I just spaced out.

I forgot not only my toast
points but my pesto.

We'll see how it goes.
Yeah, yeah.

Chefs, we've made it
to the chopping block.

In the appetizer crates
you got mixed radishes,

cotton candy covered pickles,

pre-cooked beef tongue
and some fancy focaccia.

Chef Natalia, can you please
tell us what you made?

So I made for you
a beef tongue carpaccio

with strawberries
and Marcona almonds

and toasted focaccia bread.

It's simple
but it's good food.

-Thank you for representing
the estrogen today.
-[Natalia] Yes. [chuckles]

All right, judges,
how are we feeling?

It's very visually stunning.

The beef tongue itself
is actually pretty bland.

You could have added a little
bit more flavor into it.

But, kudos,
it's a very delicious dish.

First glance at this

there's like a dope cosmic
arrangement on this plate.

I really appreciate you just
giving us the raw ingredients.

I loved the radish.

I wished personally it would
be sliced a little thicker

because I like the spiciness
that a radish can bring.

The pickle really brings
a lot of salinity,

some brininess
and brightness to this dish.

So I'm really enjoying
getting that sweetness.

The onion is a little bit
strong, but overall good.

-Thank you.
-Yes.

Chef Kevin, please,
tell us what you made.

Today, I made for you
a beef tongue salad

with pickled
cotton candy radish

and a little fried focaccia
on top.

My passion really started
in the kitchen with my mom,

but being a first generation
Asian American,

you did what your parents
wanted you to do.

But I actually returned
to cooking

and I was like very afraid
to tell my parents.

But honestly,
they're very supportive.

Great start.

Visually, it's everything
that I would look for

in a plating of someone
who's next gen.

You're saying like,
"Hey, this is who we are.

We've seen
what you've been doing

and let me show you
who I am now."

The radishes, you know
these radishes is fire.

[laughter]

It's the cotton candy.

Yeah, it's definitely
cotton candy.

Smart plate.
That's what we want to see.

I can just tell
with this plate

that you're very visceral
with your thinking

on how to compose a dish.

This is what a next gen chef
should bring.

It's very forward-thinking
and it's super delicious.

I really enjoyed
how you treated
the beef tongue itself,

it's laid out very concisely,

but I would have loved to see
a little bit more acid.

[Liza] Thank you, Chef Kevin.

Chef Sergei, please,
tell us what you made.

Chefs, today I prepared
for you a beef tongue pastrami

on a toasted focaccia bread.

Quick pickled cucumber
and dill as a garnish.

Chef Sergei, this dish...

this is exactly what you think
of when you think
of next gen.

You think of something
that's more in the future.

Everything about this
is just vibrant,

and if the culinary scene
looks like this,

you have my money.

-You know what I'm saying?
-Yeah.

[Mei] I think you nailed it.

Just transforming
those different ingredients.

However, the bread
is very heavy,

so you need
a lot more of that...
that pickled salad on top

to kind of balance
everything out.

The flavors are amazing,

but it's confusing
my palate a bit

because it just reads
very heavy.

Thank you, Chef Sergei.

Chef Nick, please,
tell us what you made.

So we've got a smoked
beef tongue orecchiette

with roasted radishes
and micro basil.

Unfortunately, I missed
a couple ingredients on this.

I had a pickle
and radish green pesto

and a crostini
with some toasted Manchego.

The smoked beef
that definitely came through.

I love all the flavors
that you have going on.

I didn't get any radish
in my dish though.

I did get those
very pleasant radishes,

that was the most
exciting part of this dish.

When I put that radish
in my mouth,

I thought,
"Wow, what an amazing chef

to... to think to braise
a radish,

like, that's forward
progressive cooking
right there."

But I wanted two more
mystery crate ingredients
on my plate, Chef.

I would have loved to taste
that pesto,
it sounds delicious.

Obviously, won't beat
the dead horse,

but we could tell the acid
was going to be coming

and that's what I'm desiring.

But the radishes,

it was one of the crate
ingredients and it is a star.

You definitely show
that the next gen of chefs
are on the rise

and that you'll be helping
to lead that pack.

Chefs,
you're the next generation.

Bring it, bring it out
from the depths of your soul

and your hearts
like you know you can.

Bring your a-game, right?
No room for error.

Cook your hearts out. Yes?

-Yes, Chef.
-Got it.

[Liza] So, whose dish
is on the chopping block?

Chef Nick,
you have been chopped.

The way you cooked
that beef tongue

was by far the best
we've had today,

but it was that clock
that got the best of you.

You're not getting that
cotton candy covered pickle,

you"renot getting
the focaccia on the plate

are big, big mistakes here.

And because of those reasons,
we had to chop you.

-[Liza] Thank you so much,
Chef Nick.
-Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm naturally
a little frustrated
that I didn't get them on,

but I can't beat myself
up too much.

I'm only going to grow
from here.

[Liza] Chef Natalia,
Chef Sergei and Chef Kevin,

you survived
the appetizer round,

but don't think
you can coast just yet.

Your journey
is really just beginning.

[exhales deeply]

Open them now!

-Wow!
-Oh, my God!

[Liza] You have
a giant bowl of ramen.

And I just want to eat that.

[Liza] We also got
some sour gummy candy.

This is tight.

Got some greens.

[Liza] Collard greens and,
of course, lamb belly.

It's going to be good.

There's 30 minutes
on the clock.

-Let's go.
-And that clock starts now!

-Come on, let's go, chefs.
-Yes.

Next round, entree.

I mean...

[Sergei whistling]

[Darnell] We want to see
everything elevated.

We want to see creativity.
We want to see innovation.

We want to see something
we have not seen.

Judges, they've got
a giant bowl of ramen.

-Is it enough to work with?
-I don't know.

-100%.
-100%.

Ugh. I mean,
it's not that bad.

It's super flavorful,
you know,

there's some wood
ear mushrooms in there,

some Chinese style
barbecue pork in there,

so there's a lot of
flavor going on

-in that bowl of ramen.
-Right.

Okay.

[Sergei] I'm up against
Chef Natalia
and Chef Kevin.

Both very talented chefs,

so to win this competition
and the $10,000
would mean the world to me.

These look like lamb ribs,
not belly.

I'm going to do
a grilled lamb belly

and then I'm working a sweet
potato brown butter pork puree

finished
with a pistachio salsa verde.

How ridiculous does
that bowl of ramen look?

I take the pork belly

and start rendering
some of that pork fat

and incorporate it
into my sweet potato puree.

The candies,
I get it into a small pot

with some raw red wine
to reduce down,

to get a really nice sweet
and tangy gastrique.

That's working real nice.
This is going.

Initially,
I wanted to grill my lamb,

but that takes a lot of time.

I'm going to make fried lamb
belly with fish sauce caramel

and sauteed collard greens.

So I take the lamb ribs
to the fryer.

It'll get a nice texture
on the outside.

[sizzling]

-Smart, he's going to fry it.
-Let's go, chef.

Yeah, that's actually
going to break down a lot of

-that connective tissue.
-[Nyesha] Absolutely.

[Kevin] Next, I want to tackle
the sour gummy candy.

So I decide that I want to do
a fish sauce caramel.

I love seeing
that he's bringing out
his Vietnamese heritage.

-Absolutely.
-I love that he's playing
into those flavors.

Absolutely.

That's a lot of
[bleeped] pork.

Natalia, everything going
good for you over there?

-Um, I think so.
-First part.

[Natalia]
I'm making collard
green-crusted lamb

with a ramen broth
and bean sprouts.

So I throw some of the collard
greens in the food processor,

do the crust on my lamb.

Pray to God
that this is going to work.

Oh, something
just went on the grill.

I'm just going to grill it.
We'll see how it goes.

What exactly does lamb belly
taste like, Darnell?

Well, it's really fatty.

It it's cooked right,
it's tender, moist,

it's very similar
in my opinion
to like pork belly.

Lamb loves and takes on
spices and flavor very well.

Cumin, mint, rosemary,
mustard.

[Liza] Yeah.

All right.

The wood fire will add
a nice smoky element
to the lamb belly.

What's up, Sergei? He's
got his belly in that oven.

It is cooking.

It's got the sound I like
to hear, that sizzle.

[Nyesha]
Great use of equipment.

You've got ten minutes
left on the clock.

Come on, now.

[Sergei]
Next, I take the pistachios

and start making
my salsa verde.

Next gen is not just
about great flavors,

it's about the technique,
improvising

and using different
ingredients to your advantage.

Okay, we're looking good.
I'm feeling good.

[Kevin] To get more flavor
into the bean sprouts

and the wood ear mushrooms,

I decided to use
the vacuum seal machine.

I'm from Louisiana and I eat
collard greens all the time.

I would normally braise them

and spend
a lot of time and love,

but now there's not
a lot of time left.

Chefs, you have five minutes
left on the clock,
five minutes.

All right, get those plates,
get those plates on.

So I see this gummy,
I'm just going to melt it down

to add some sweetness
to my sauce.

Eat one.

Let's use chemistry
and let's use the pectin

and the agar from it
to make a foam.

[Sergei]
I need to start my seared
collard greens.

Next, I get my lamb
out of the oven.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

So I cut off a chunk
of the belly.

Oh, that's a little raw dog,
back into a hot pan.

Chef Sergei just sliced
into his lamb.

It looks raw, he's going back
into the pan with the lamb.

[Kevin] So I start working on
some Brussel sprouts.

Because I fried the lamb,

I decided to get the char
flavor on the Brussels.

[Natalia]
I take the lamb out,
I put it to rest

and I decide in the same pan
I cook the bean sprouts.

So then I decided to slice
my lamb belly...

Oh, my God!

Chef Natalia seems to be
the one struggling the most.

Her lamb is almost raw
at this point.

I think
with three minutes left,

I'm not sure
that you can save it.

[Nyesha] I am not sure
that Chef Natalia has worked
with lamb belly before.

I'm concerned.
I'm definitely concerned.

[Nyesha] Let's go,
Chef Natalia. You got this.

-Come on.
-[Darnell] You got this.
Think about what you want.

[Sergei sighs]

Chefs, you've got one minute
on the clock,

make it count,
come on, last moment.

-[Darnell] All right, come on.
-Come on, now.

-So stressful.
-Come on.

Let's finish strong.

It's going to get around,
finish strong.

Ooh, you're going to hate me
but that countdown's coming.

Ah!

[Kevin] There's no time
to stop at all.

My hands are shaking.

[Liza] All right, chefs.

-[Darnell] Finish strong.
-You've got ten, nine...

-Pressure's on.
-...eight...

-Finish.
-...seven, six...

-[Natalia] Whoa!
-She dropped it.

-...five, four...
-[Darnell] Come on, Natalia.

-Come on.
-...three, two, one.

Hands up,
fingers off the food.

-Good job.
-Come on.

[bleeped]

[Natalia] When I was plating,

I dropped the spice grinder
in the fourth dish,

but I still feel confident
flavor-wise
and innovative-wise,

it's going to work out
properly.

[Kevin] I've worked
in a lot of different
like high-end kitchens,

but having the Vietnamese
and Asian community
be like really proud of you,

that's something
I can carry through
like the rest of my life.

All right, chefs,
your entree crate

included a giant bowl
of ramen, sour gummy candy,

collard greens and lamb belly.

Chef Sergei, please,
tell us what's on your plate.

Today, I prepared for you

a cumin-rubbed
grilled lamb belly

served alongside a sweet
potato brown butter puree

and then finished off with

the sour gummy
red wine gastrique.

So, Chef Sergei,
clearly you bring the heat

but who would you say
of the chefs next to you
is the one to beat?

I think Chef Natalia
and I are making it
to the final round.

Sorry, Chef Kevin.

All right, call it out.
Call it out.

I think we all really have a
great chance, but we'll see.

Chef Sergei, this plate
is really upbeat.

It's something I would imagine

I would get in Miami
on a Saturday night.

This is a really nice play
you did on this,

and I really see
where you were going

with that next gen
type of feel to it.

So great job on that.

Everything together
makes sense here,
when it's together.

When I eat it one thing
by itself,
it's lacking some flavor.

But when you get a scoop
with every single ingredient,

-it's delightful, man.
-Thank you, Chef.

I love all the things
that you did
with the mystery crate.

However,
the sour gummy gastrique,

it's very offensive,

and the collard greens
were slightly chewy.

Okay.

Chef, gorgeous dish.
It's beautiful, it's vibrant.

My eyes are like,

yeah, like you're feeding
my eyes with this.

Everything works really well,

and I think small tweaks
here and there.

Maybe a little bit more salt,

but everything individually
needs to be delicious, right,

to be a standout dish.

Thank you, judges.

-Thank you, Chef Sergei.
-Thank you.

-Chef Kevin.
-Today,
I have some fried lamb belly,

the Brussel sprouts
have been grilled,

and then some cooked
down greens.

Chef Kevin, I thought that
you did a great, great job

of frying that lamb belly.

Man, I think that
you really highlighted
that ingredient in this dish,

but at the same time I'm not
for sure this is an entree.

You know, I would like
to see some kind of starch.

I'd like to see more ribs.

I love your use of the
vegetables from the ramen,

love the bean sprouts
and infusing that flavor

with the use
of the vac sealer,

-really, really smart.
-Thank you, Chef.

I really thought
it was super smart for you

to drop your lamb
in the fryer.

This is the type of cooking

that we're actually
looking for, you know.

-This is definitely next gen.
-Thank you, Chef.

I love the fish sauce caramel.
Flavors are all there.

My lamb belly, however,
is just a little toothsome.

-Thank you, Chef Kevin.
-Thank you.

Chef Natalia, please tell us
what is on your plate.

So I made a collard green
crusted lamb,

and I did a ramen broth,
charred lemon

and then the bean sprouts.

Natalia, what happened here?

Yes, I dropped
the spice grinder on it.

So, yeah, I'm hoping
that my flavors

and being innovative
will help me with you guys.

I was a bit confused
when the plate came.

I said is this
a reinterpretation

of it a dish?
What are we going for here?

But, you know, I thought
it was really ingenious

to use the collard greens as
sort of a crust for your lamb.

I thought, wow, amazing,

but I would have loved to see
more of that retained,

because now
when I received my plate,

I see none of that gorgeous
color and inventive cooking.

When I was watching you cook,

I was like, "Oh, what kind
of foam is she making?"

And it's a beautiful texture,

however the flavors
are actually really confusing.

It's really sour,
but then also savory

and it actually fights
each other.

I love the way that you used
those collard greens.

That was so smart.

I mean, the taste of the crust
that you put on there

-is delicious.
-Thank you.

Thank you all so much, chefs.

In just a moment,

we'll let you know who will be
moving on to the final round.

[Natalia] Yes,
I'm extremely concerned

that I completely destroyed
one of the plates,

so I'm just hoping that this
really doesn't send me home.

I'm definitely feeling
a little nervous.

I wish I would have had
like more time

to cook the lamb
a different way,
but I have to win this.

Whose dish
is on the chopping block?

Oh, my God!

Chef Natalia,
you have been chopped.

Judges.

Chef Natalia,
for the entree round

you were the only one
who brought on innovation,

but your overall presentation
was just not consistent,

and for that reason
you've been chopped.

-Thank you, Chef Natalia.
-Thank you.

-Thank you.
-Bye guys, good luck.

Even though
I didn't win today,

I want other women,
girl out there

to still feel inspired
and still pursue this career.

All right, Chef Sergei,

this is a different opponent
than you predicted.

-It sure is a different
opponent.
-Uh-huh.

I also thought it was going
to be Natalia,
so boy, were we both wrong.

-Both wrong.
-You're representing

all the younger chefs at home
right now

who are saying,
"We're next up,
it's our turn."

This is the round
that everything must be
at his highest.

And don't forget
about that $10,000.

Sounding real good,
right about now.

[Liza] Good.
Sounds good, all right.

Chefs, let's see
what's in those crates.

-Crate.
-All right.

Open up your crates
in three, two, one.

-Oh! [laughs]
-Everyone loves a sweet treat,

but I'm not sure anyone
has ever ordered

-one made with duck confit.
-Duck confit.

[Kevin] What am I going to do
with this duck.

Duck confit, oh, Jesus!

-You've also got...
-Okara flour.

-[Liza] Okara flour.
-Whatevs.

Little baby plantains.

[Liza] Baby bananas
and ube condensed milk.

This is good though.
This is... this is tight.

Sweetened condensed milk,
but it's ube flavored.

I'd use like condensed milk
all the time

like Vietnamese coffee,

but like an ube version,
it's like super exciting.

One of you two are going
to have $10,000

by time you get done.

Like, this is the round
for you
to really shine through.

All right, chefs.
Final round, dessert round.

Thirty minutes on the clock
and it starts now!

[Nyesha] Whoo-hoo!
Damn! Awesome.

Let's go, dessert.

[laughing]

-[Darnell]
They're pushing it right now.
-They sure are.

-They're really pushing it
now.
-Yeah.

And what is...
what is Sergei doing?

[Mei] Chef Sergei is going
straight into
that okara flour.

[Nyesha] Sure is.

I'm feeling calm and confident
going into the dessert round

now that it's Chef Kevin
and myself,

but I have no idea
what okara flour is.

Tell me what okara flour is,
Mei.

Okara flour is actually
the pulp from making soy milk.

-I'm loving it already.
-It's actually
a superfood also.

-Oh, is it a superfood?
-Yeah.

[Sergei] I noticed that it has
a cup for cup ratio,

so I decide that I'm going
to make a fritter with it.

I'm making ube fritters,
coconut milk caramel.

Need it to melt real
low and slow.

And clarified butter powder.
Needs more tapioca.

I decide that my dish needs
some textural component,

so I grab the Marcona almonds
and sumac.

This round we really expect
to see execution
at its highest.

[Mei] We definitely
want to see something
that we haven't seen before.

-Teach me something.
-[Nyesha] Absolutely.

That's what's important
about next gen chefs.

Bring the good vibes,
bring all of that energy
to the kitchen,

but there has to be discipline
and focus.

[Kevin] Broken can opener,
huh?

Is there another one
in one drawer?

This is a fake drawer!

This is the final round.

I have to go all in
and take a big risk.

There you go.

I've decided to be
super ambitious this round.

I'm going to make
ube panna cotta
with okara crumble.

[upbeat music continues]

I know this panna cotta
is going to make
for a really beautiful dish.

So we really pushed them
in the last round
to take a lot of risk.

And so far, we're seeing that.

With the panna cotta,
that's risky.

[Mei] Chef Kevin is starting
to cool down

his panna cotta mixture
in an ice bath.

[Nyesha] You know that's...
that's really smart,

But is he going to
be able to get
that panna cotta set in time?

[Liza] How much time
do you typically need
to make a panna cotta?

[Nyesha] I mean, overnight.

-There's an art
to making a panna cotta.
-[Darnell] Absolutely.

Freezer.

[Liza] Chefs, we have under
20 minutes on the clock.

-Under 20 minutes.
Final round.
-Let's go!

Can I take flour off
your station, chef?

-Take it.
-Thank you.

-And I'll take sugar as well.
-Get it, my guy.

Oh, you're so sweet.

I need a lot more texture,

so I decide to make a crumble
with the okara flour.

Put sugar in there.

Chefs, we have exactly
15 minutes left.

That's like 14
and a half then or...

Exactly 15.
You've got 15, my man.

[Darnell] I'm really excited
to see what they do
with that duck confit.

-Absolutely.
-That's the star right now.

-Yeah.
-What would you do with it?

-Oh, great. I'll go first.
-[all laughing]

I would add it to, like, nuts
and, like, with some liquor,

a little brown sugar,
a little maple syrup,

then you can do some kind of
dough baklava from there.

Nice.
It looks like Chef Sergei

dropped his duck confit skin
in the fryer.

-You can just use the skin?
-Oh, wow!

-That's actually really
interesting.
-Smart.

[Sergei] Can I get
that sugar back,
my guy?

Oh, yeah, my guy.

I'm not your buddy, guy.
You're not my buddy, pal.

Thank you.

I tease in it with a little
sugar and a little salt

to bring out that really nice
umami duck skin flavor.

[Kevin]
I look at the duck confit,

I think,
"Hey, my favorite thing to eat

is crispy skin off
of any bird."

I'm going to make
a crunchy element
with the confit duck skin.

It shouldn't take too long

considering a lot of the fats
already been rendered out.

-Chef, may I share a basket
with you?
-Yes.

How am I going to elevate this

and tell my Vietnamese story
even more?

Chinese five spice.

Running all the way around,
getting my cardio in.

[Liza]
Chefs, you have ten minutes.

Ten minutes.

[Kevin]
At the ten-minute mark,

I see the panna cotta's still
loose but there's no plan B.

I got to keep moving forward.

I'll take more time
in the freezer.

Chef Kevin's panna cotta
is not set, guys.

Chef.

I like where you're going.

What do you think
about that ube?

What are you making
over there?

I got an ube fritter
that I just tested out.

Are you happy with it?

Um, let's see.

It needs to cook
a little longer,
maybe a little smaller.

It's instantly trash.

That's trash.

So I go back to the fryer

and really focus on making
perfect small fritters.

-Let's go, let's go, let's go.
-Yeah, let's go.

Hey, thanks for being
our cheer squad.

-You're fantastic.
-Oh, thank you, man.

You got the ube panna cotta,
right?

Yeah, it's pretty risky doing
it in a short amount of time.

But that's what we asked for,
right?

Yeah.
It'll either give me ten grand

or I'm going to go home
broke still.

Chef Kevin
is torching some sugar

-over his baby bananas.
-[Mei] Amazing.

Which is going to give it
great texture.

-Yes.
-Then it'll also be crunchy.

-I love a good brulee.
-Love a good brulee.

And Chef Sergei
is caramelizing some sugar
and bananas in a saute pan.

I don't like those bananas.

The bananas they end up
being a little mushy.

I'm instantly dumbfounded,
what am I going to do now?

I decide to totally scrap
the idea.

I'm just going to leave them
raw.

They're just like good.

Chefs, you have two minutes
on the clock.

-Two minutes.
-Yes.

I wonder where Kevin's head's
at right now.

He's essentially organizing
and cleaning a station.

-'Cause he's waiting
on that panna cotta.
-Yeah, he is. Yes, yeah.

He has everything ready
except for that panna cotta.

-Yeah.
-Thank you.

I decide I should plate
my panna cotta now

and keep it in the fridge
until time almost runs out.

Oh, it seems like he's taking
it back to the freezer.

-So stressful.
-Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.

-Final minute.
-Come on.

I'm going to call it.

I'm out of breath.
I'm out of breath.

-Come on. Come on, chefs.
-Looks like he's just gone
back to waiting.

-Just sitting and waiting.
-Right.

-Nothing else he can do.
-Wow!

-Here we go. Here we go. Wow!
-So Kevin's taking them out?

All right, I hope he gets them
on the plate.

-All right.
-On the table.

Come on, walk carefully.
Walk carefully.

Your last countdown.
Ten seconds, nine, eight,
seven, six...

-[Darnell] Finish.
-...five, four,

three, two, one.

-Chefs, fingers off the food.
-Good round.

Whoo!

I think the panna cotta made
it on the table. Good job.

[Kevin] Feeling all right.
I definitely took a risk
with the panna cotta.

Either it'll, like, make me
the next gen chef

or I'll be, uh,
a second best today.

-Very purple.
-It's ube.

Come see what... what I made.

Oh, that looks great, Chef.

-A little bit of a...
-Bitter coconut caramel.

Nice.

[Sergei] After doing
that final round
I feel really good.

I feel like the calmest I've
been the whole competition.

So I think maybe my nerves
have kind of gone away

and I'm kind of settling
into that 10k.

-Nice job, buddy.
-Thanks, man.

Chef Sergei and Chef Kevin,

in the third round you made
desserts with duck confit,

okara flour, baby bananas
and ube condensed milk.

Chef Kevin,
what's on your plate?

I made a ube condensed milk
panna cotta,

crispy duck confit
with okara crumble.

I'm looking at this sort of

astonishing cosmic galaxy
in a bowl, right?

And it's taking me
out of this world.
I... I love that.

I thought the flavors
were really spot on.

The crumble was amazing.
The duck confit skin, k*ller.

So ambitious for sure,

but where I thought that you
could have improved a bit

was the texture, definitely.

I didn't think this dish

should have been called
a panna cotta.

It eats more of a soup,

but I do love
all the different flavors

that you have going on.

I was really scared
of the duck confit.

I'm really glad
that you used the skin

and made it into a crackling.

Chef Kevin,
I won't beat the dead horse.

We know that
it didn't set right,

but this is what
I asked for from you, man.

This is bringing it up
to the next level

and doing something
that you knew

may not have been possible,
but you did it anyway.

You took the risk.

It didn't get you the total
reward you wanted,
but the flavor was there.

Thank you, Chef Kevin.

Right, Chef Sergei, please,
walk us through your dish.

What I've prepared for you
today is a ube fritter,

a coconut milk caramel,
a ghee powder,

and then I did a crispy
duck skin crackling.

[Darnell] Chef, great job

bringing a really aggressive
plate to the table.

I like the style of it.

I liked how you were thinking
over there.

Really great job as far as
like just making me
want to dive into it.

The caramel is very loud.

It seems like it may
have been burnt.

Smart play using
that okara flour, right.

You didn't try to hide that
and dust something.

You really used that.
Great, great gameplay.

Overall, the dish eats
very well,

and there's definitely
some elements

that could be subtracted.

I think with editing this dish
would have been a star.

The flavors of the banana
are great

except it kind of leaves
you with a tannic, weird,

fuzzy texture in your mouth.

-Thank you.
-Thank you, judges.

Chefs, clearly you have
given our judges plenty

to think about.

So let's give them a moment
to digest and deliberate.

Thank you, chefs.

All right, judges.

We have seen some incredibly
impressive dishes
from very talented chefs here.

Appetizer round, Chef Sergei.

Nyesha, how do we feel?

Chef Sergei's dish
brought a lot of flavor.

That dijonnaise was delicious.

I definitely thought his
flavors were on point,

but his bread was cut
really thick.

It was too big of a vessel
for me to enjoy it.

And Chef Kevin's
appetizer round,

how did that presentation
feel for you? Darnell?

Chef Kevin brought his A game.

The way that plate looked,
it was stunning,

but the one thing
I felt about his dish

was that the beef tongue
was an afterthought.

I really wanted
more of that pickle.

And moving on to
our entree round,

how did we see our chefs

transform our mystery
ingredients?

Starting with
Chef Sergei's entree.

While Chef Sergei's lamb

was a lot more toothsome
than Kevin's,

I really felt
like Chef Sergei,

his gastrique was just not
pleasant to eat.

Chef Sergei cooks
with his heart

and Chef Kevin cooks
with his mind.

You know, they're like
totally two opposites.

The thing that Chef Kevin is
good at is which he's refined,

he's really good
at the details.

[Nyesha] Chef Kevin's entree.

Smart to fry those
lamb belly bones.

I was super stoked
when I saw that.

I just cannot
get behind why...

why would a chef serve me
a fried piece of meat

and not glaze it?

All right, judges.
We have two very different

but very impressive chefs
here.

Have we made our decision?

I have my vote.

I think Kevin may get
chopped.

He kind of missed the mark
a few times,

so I think I still
have a chance.

I think Sergei really
pushed the envelope,

and I was always
very impressed
with all of his plating.

We're both neck and neck
in the competition,

you know, any one of us
could be the next gen chef.

[Liza] So chefs, unfortunately
this is the end of the line

for one of you.

So, whose dish is on
the chopping block?

Chef Sergei,
you have been chopped.

Judges.

Chef Sergei,
this was neck and neck.

At the end of the day,

it was difficult to piece
your dessert together.

It felt a bit
compartmentalized
on the plate.

And for these reasons,
you've been chopped.

Judges, thank you
for the opportunity.

-Thank you.
-Nice job.

-You're amazing.
-Good luck out there.

Taking the title ofNext Gen
Chopped champion

would have been
everything to me,

but this doesn't change
a thing.

I think I'm going to continue
putting out bold flavors.

No regrets.

And that means,
Chef Kevin Tien,

you are our Chopped
Next Genchampion!

[cheering, applauding]

-What's that now?
-I like those moves.

Nice, bring it on.

I... I cook better than
I dance, so...

OnChopped,

I represented my mom and
as long as she's proud of me,

I'm proud of
what I've done today.

[theme music playing]