Secret Chef (2023–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode #1.3 - full transcript
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- Previously on Secret Chef...
The chefs had to trust
their short-term memory...
- Gumbo's got a ton of ingredients.
We're gonna wing it here.
- Is this olive oil? Or is this olive oil?
...Chef Kumquat took the lead.
- I definitely knew I was gonna win.
- Let's eat.
- Shrimp cake's really good.
Oh God...
And a chef took a one-way ticket home.
- Bye, guys.
I made them think the day was over.
Please go back to your tasting room!
The game was really just beginning.
Uh-oh.
- Today, I'm testing the chefs' vision.
Their creative vision!
Ten chefs compete
through 10 levels of cooking challenges,
secretly judging each other
for a $100,000 prize.
This is Secret Chef.
- Okay.
Seven chefs remain
hidden by secret aliases.
What do we have here?
I've given them a gift
to see what they can uncover.
Because later in the game,
knowing who's who
could be the difference between going home
or winning $100,000.
I'ma lift it.
- Uh-oh.
- Alrighty. Intel.
Am I trippin' here?
- I don't know.
These are aliases.
We have intel.
Mugshots of everybody,
along with the reviews that we have,
and I really need to clarify
who was where and when.
- This is becoming a game.
- Oh...
- Ah...
I feel like I'm a criminal investigator
right now.
This competition
is not just about being a chef
and making really good food.
You have to be strategic.
There are secrets.
You have to read the room.
You have to play the game.
And you can use all of this information
to make dishes
that you know other people
will rate higher.
It's not just cooking.
- Let's see. "Fried rice should be fried.
Bland."
I think Poonam is Chef Radicchio.
If you know what "" stand for,
it's a curse word.
- Half of my talking through my dish
is me saying the F word.
- You spilled the beans on that one.
Man, I'm pretty sure
in the last challenge,
the best dish out of the round
was the shrimp cake dish by a mile.
- Chef Arugula.
The other chefs
rated your dish the highest.
- That shrimp cake dish, I believe,
could only have been executed by Josh.
Joshua is Chef Arugula.
A very skilled chef.
And the more I learn about him,
the more I can use it
when strategizing on my own dishes.
- I think Chef Radicchio is Chef Leon.
Chef Couscous is Chef Lanky.
Chef Donut, Chef Danielle.
Chef Kumquat is Chef Poonam.
Chef Macaron I think is Chef Stephenie.
I'm, like, confident in that.
Chefs! Please go to the lobby.
- Alright.
On Secret Chef,
we love a good dramatic entrance.
Hey, chefs, where you at?
- Ah...
- Home sweet home.
Okay, well, close enough.
- We are back.
I am so proud of myself
that I'm still here.
I am scared of what Cheffy
is going to throw at us today,
but I'm excited.
I'm feeling motivated.
I'm feeling confident.
- How are you doing with critiques?
Are you used to getting criticized
from strangers?
Because you don't know--
- I mean, there's always gonna be a hater.
- That's fair. That's a good point.
- You know what I'm saying?
But, I think, yeah,
you have to take everything
with a grain of salt.
Looking at the feedback
that I've received,
I'm seeing that I'm like moving
in the right direction,
pushing myself
and one step closer to $100,000.
- Hiya, Chefs!
- Good morning, Cheffy.
- Are you ready to have fun with cooking
that might win you $100,000?
Wow! That was loud.
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!
Come at me, Cheffy.
Hello, Chefs.
: Eh, that's not it,
but I got the laugh.
Chefs, for today's challenge,
you'll be making your own vision
of the classic macaroni and cheese.
Also known in some circles as...
mac and cheese.
Mac and cheese is a dish
I've made a million times.
I think I've joked about
how cheese is my religion.
So I'm very excited about this.
- For this challenge, I want you to make
your own vision of this classic dish.
Whosever dish scores the highest rating
will win this round
and get an advantage, which is...
...you will be safe from elimination.
Oh!
How do you like that?
- Immunity! Huge, huge advantage!
I have gotta win this challenge.
- You will have to make
your mac and cheese
from one of these seven cheeses.
- Oh, they're coming out.
- I know what that means.
- Oh, boy.
- Alright, let's go.
Hey! Look at those!
- Take a look at those cheeses.
Extra sharp cheddar, Gruyère,
pepper jack, goat cheese,
Gorgonzola, cottage cheese,
and nutritional yeast.
Oh! Damn!
I've got my fingers crossed.
I definitely don't want
the nutritional yeast
because I don't even know what that is.
- If you're having a hard time
deciding which to use, don't worry.
A cheese will be chosen for you.
Oh, you serious, dude?
Oh, come on, Cheffy!
- You'll find out which
when you get to your kitchen,
and guess who's going to be
picking that cheese?
You!
- No!
The winner of
the reconstructed mise en place,
which was Chef Arugula.
Hopefully,
you said nice things about their food.
I think that Chef Arugula
recognizes that there other two chefs
who excelled in day one's challenge.
Chef Donut. Chef Macaron.
Your dish had the highest rating!
- If I'm Chef Arugula,
I'm gonna assign the worst cheese
to any competitors
that could be a threat.
- I'm looking around,
and I'm trying to see
if anyone's poker face has moved.
It's so obvious.
Josh is Arugula.
- You have 45 minutes. Bye-byeee!
- Bye!
- Go!
- I get to choose
all my competitors' cheeses
for the mac and cheese.
Based on what I know,
I can really assign
these cheeses to mess up a player.
Aight, first one's extra sharp cheddar.
This is a good cheese.
I'm gonna pick Chef Gherkin,
who I think is Sydney.
You get a cheese that's expected
to be in mac and cheese,
you're expected to have
the best mac and cheese.
And Chef Gherkin was
kind of slacking on execution.
- Extra sharp cheddar.
I'm pretty stoked on this.
Thanks, Chef Arugula.
- Gruyère.
I gave that to Chef Couscous,
who I believe is Chef Lanky.
He's kind of like a show chef.
I don't think he really knows
how to use ingredients
to their maximum ability.
Gruyère.
- Gorgonzola. It's going to Chef Macron.
Gorgonzola is a strong cheese.
It's gonna be a real hurdle.
- Great. Making me think
outside the box a little bit.
- Chef Donut,
I wanna give you goat cheese.
I think Chef Donut is Chef Danielle.
I'm thinking Chef Danielle's
a professional,
so I wanted to see how a professional chef
manipulates this ingredient.
I just smile ear to ear.
I feel like goat cheese mac and cheese,
I could make a pretty decent one.
Nutritional yeast,
which is a great cheese replacer,
but if they never messed with it before,
little more of a challenge.
Chef Radicchio.
Chef Radicchio, I think is Chef Leon.
I think he's gonna be one of
my top competitors in this competition,
so I'm interested to see
what he comes up with.
Nutritional yeast?
I actually really love this ingredient
for my day-to-day cooking,
but I do not love it for mac and cheese
because it's not cheese.
I'm glad I didn't get cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese. Chef Kumquat.
Chef Kumquat won the last challenge.
I'm really interested
to see what they do with it.
Oh God.
Thanks, Chef Arugula.
I got the pepper jack cheese today.
Chose it for myself
because, looking at my competitors,
I noticed that they liked a little spice,
and the cheese is a little mild itself,
so I can kinda take it
any direction I want.
Chefs! Begin the challenge
in three... two...
one! Go!
- Alright. Let's make some mac and cheese.
- Remember, kids, always salt your water,
so it tastes like the sea.
I've made mac and cheese lots of times.
Never with Gorgonzola.
Thanks a lot, Chef Arugula.
I'm not happy with Gorgonzola
because it's really strong,
a little pungent.
But, I'm a cheesemonger.
I know my cheese.
So I come up with
a spinach basil mac and cheese.
Yeah! There we go.
- I'm feelin' pretty good.
I'm pretty positive this morning.
I'm going to stay having a plan
and trying to calm my chaos a little bit.
But, you know, that doesn't always happen.
Today, I am making
a kind of like a jalapeño popper-style
mac and cheese.
Hope they like it spicy.
- Quite the flex, if you win
the immunity challenge, you know?
Most of my reviews
described a lack of balance.
"Flavor lacking."
"Bland with no flavor." "Salt lacking."
"Could use more flavor and salt."
So, for this dish, I am making
a goat cheese mac and cheese
with lager in there
for deftness of flavor.
Cook all that beer out
for a couple of minutes.
I got a chance to really show these people
that I can cook delicious food.
- Let's go ahead
and get started on my sauce.
We've already had way too many instances
where people are making
just the same thing.
Shakshuka... shakshuka... shakshuka.
- I ate, like, four shakshukas.
- What am I going to do to stand out?
So, I'm going to make
mac and cheese egg rolls with Gruyère.
I'm pushing myself,
doing a little bit more.
This is a chance
to kind of just go for it.
- I feel like some people have found out
that I am a professional chef.
I think they wanna see me trip up a bit.
I would quite literally have liked
to get any other cheese
except cottage cheese.
It doesn't taste like much of anything.
I'm gonna try to get rid of some of
the obvious big curd chunks.
Gotta put a lot of flavor in this
because it doesn't taste like much.
I want to add a little more flavor.
Chicken and bacon
are classic flavors that go together.
I decide kind of like a fully loaded
mac and cheese.
Get this chicken going.
Maybe a good time for nutritional yeast.
Nutritional yeast is
a super easy ingredient to use.
You just kinda mix it in
to get a cheesier flavor.
This is gonna be cheesy.
I want to be the home cook
who makes it to the finale,
and to showcase you can be a home cook
and hang with professionals.
This is looking good.
- I'm gonna do a chipotle elote mac.
So my idea is to use that spice
from chipotles from the pepper jack,
and really kind of make something
really nice and flavorful.
For this dish, my inspiration
came from Mexican street corn,
which is usually just grilled corn
with a little bit of mayonnaise,
a little cotija cheese,
and some cilantro.
I feel like I've made like
two Asian dishes.
Kinda wanted to throw people off
so they don't know who's who.
Hey, chefs! Twenty minutes remain!
- They can't knock me
for not using the blue cheese.
And if they can't taste it, well then,
maybe that's a good thing, too.
You know, what is great about having
the Gorgonzola
is that I don't have to grate it.
It's a semi-soft cheese,
and it doesn't grate,
so... isn't that great?
- I should probably
get my cheese together.
I don't even know how this
even goes on, to be honest.
Hopefully, I can get this thing to work.
I'm using this food processor.
It's very fancy.
I haven't used one like this before,
and I can't find the top
to get the cheese in.
I don't know where the thing is.
And then, all of a sudden,
I have wood dust all in my cheese.
I don't know what to say.
Straight-up not having a great day.
Welcome back to
the wood-shaving cheese show
with your host, Sydney.
- Straight-up not having a great day.
All of a sudden,
I have wood dust all in my cheese,
so I have to throw that away
and start grating cheese by hand.
I'm like about to have a meltdown.
Okay...
Chefs, 10 minutes remain.
- Let's fry these.
My priority is making sure
that this is done on the inside.
I realize, as I'm frying the egg rolls,
they're requiring more time.
My dish is not gonna be a full egg roll.
It's gonna have to be in half
because if the dough
is really raw on the inside,
that's gonna take away
from the experimentation
and the fun that I've been trying to have.
I'm glad I got that nice brown color.
Five minutes remain!
I'm using basil,
so how about a little fried basil leaf?
- Let's get my sauce over here.
Nice little sweet and spicy
barbecue sauce on top.
- I would totally serve this
at a restaurant
or order it at a restaurant, more so.
Chefs, one minute remains.
- Oh, my gosh!
I have to nail it because
there's $100,000 at stake.
I think the presentation looks
pretty good for a mac and cheese dish.
I'm just throwing on,
hoping for the best.
- Uh-oh!
- Five... four...
three... two... one.
Time is up.
The challenge has ended.
I can put my hands down now.
Please head to your tasting rooms.
It's that time again.
You must review each dish,
assessing the taste, execution,
and presentation.
Bye-byeee!
- Alrighty. Here we go.
"Hot and spicy mac n cheese egg roll."
This cheese got some funk in it.
Packed with flavor.
I love this.
The sauce tastes really good.
I just wish I could dip it.
I'm eating the whole thing.
- That's well-executed.
"Spinach and basil mac n cheese."
This is the goat cheese.
I like it. It's good flavor.
- Very, very basil-y.
It's lacking salt, though.
I'm not sure what's happening with salt,
if people are afraid of it.
It's not bad but, to me,
it's not reading as mac and cheese.
"Chipotle elote mac"?
I love Mexican food, so this looks bomb.
- I thought I had a crazy one,
but this right here...
Look at this dish!
Every single component was just nailed!
Damn it.
This person is definitely gonna advance.
This is really good.
"Tikka mac." Mm!
This is cute. This is cute as hell.
- Whoa. Check this out.
It's very pretty.
- I'm guessing this is the cottage cheese.
Or nutritional yeast.
Because you don't taste
the cheese flavor at all.
- It's not creamy,
and very Indian flavors.
Bold Indian flavors,
so I'm thinking Poonam
because she showed me
those flavors before.
"Chicken and bacon cheesy pasta."
- The assignment was not pasta.
- I think they had the cottage cheese.
- Presentation was pretty.
It tastes really good,
but this is pasta, not mac and cheese.
"Jalapeño popper mac n cheese."
I'm into this.
I like that they used cavatelli.
- Very flavorful. Good consistency.
- The bacon's hella undercooked.
That's not my jam.
- The sharp cheddar.
I'm tasting the sharp cheddar,
so I'm thinking this is Chef Gherkin,
who I think is Chef Sydney.
I gave Chef Gherkin
the easiest cheese to use.
You get some big jalapeños,
and you got some really small ones.
Only thing is I don't taste the cheese.
- Okay, let's do this last one.
"Lager and goat cheese mac
with fried shallots."
- This is the goat cheese one!
Man, I been wrong this whole time.
I don't even know
what cheese I been eating.
- Crunchy, sweet, creamy.
This is one million percent Lanky.
There's a lager in here.
- The cheese itself is kinda bland.
There's so much more flavor
in that fried goat cheese ball
than there is in the actual
mac and cheese,
and I feel like the priority maybe
wasn't on actually making
the mac and cheese that great.
- There you have it.
Pretty solid mac and cheese dishes.
The mac goes back
as the reviews roll in.
- See you later.
Oh boy.
- Alright. What are they gonna say
about me this time?
- Reviews for Chef Gherkin.
Chef Couscous said,
"Excellent texture on noodles.
Bacon is undercooked."
Yeah. I was rushing.
Chef Radicchio said,
"Delicious!" Exclamation mark.
"Crunchy!" Exclamation mark.
"Sauce is hard to dip in." I hear that.
- Chef Macron said,
"Lovely presentation and cooked well,
but is it a mac and cheese
or a pasta dish?"
- Chef Radicchio said,
"Love the fried goat cheese and honey.
Well-balanced mac.
Could use more seasoning."
Chef Couscous said, "Delicious garnish.
Mac and cheese element
is understated and lost."
- Arugula said,
aka the person who assigned it to me,
"Solid dish, chef. Really cool."
This is feeling good
because they're calling me chef,
rather than home cook.
"Don't taste the cheese,
but still delicious."
Because I had nutritional yeast.
There is no cheese.
Chef Donut said, "Incredible.
"Loved all the components. Creative fun.
The cheese flavor hid, but I didn't mind."
So, they couldn't taste the cheese flavor,
which is crazy
because I literally
just had cheese and cream.
- Chef Kumquat said, "Pretty solid.
Just needs salt. Pretty plate, too."
Chef Couscous said,
"Solid spinach and basil flavor.
Could have pushed for more salt."
Multiple people said lacked salt,
so take that in consideration.
Chef Millie Peartree said--
Chef Millie?
- Oh.
- That is not an alias.
- Why is Chef Millie giving me a review?
- Chef Millie Peartree.
Chef Millie?
Is Chef Millie on the show?
- No... way...
For the first time ever,
we've called in an outside expert
to review the chefs' food.
But, this chef is no secret.
She's the renowned New York Times
cookbook contributor and author
Chef Millie Peartree.
- Chef Millie Peartree said,
"Creamy and pungent.
Noodles cooked perfectly. The sweetness
of the shallot saved the dish
and added much-needed texture."
I'm a huge fan of Chef Millie Peartree,
and she's sittin' here reviewing my food!
So, this is great!
- "I was pleasantly surprised
that the cottage cheese
"gave me a ricotta cheese
texture and flavor,
which made for a delightful creamy dish."
I'll take those.
- "Crispy wrapper.
The hot honey sauce is delicious."
Thanks, girl.
Appreciate it! I tried!
- "This was the best!"
"This dish can be eaten as a side dish
or a standalone entrée."
Yeah, that's huge coming from
Chef Millie Peartree, who's, like,
a chef who has made such an impact
on the community.
Chef Millie Peartree, thank you so much.
Hiya, chefs!
I have all the ratings,
and I have the results.
- Oh, boy.
- What we got?
- Let's see.
"I'm sorry, you did not win.
Try again soon."
Womp, womp.
- "I'm sorry, you did not win."
- Ah, damn it.
- It's okay.
- It's been a rough day.
- Can't win 'em all. I wonder who won.
- Chef Arugula! The winner, baby!
That's me!
"Hooray. You won.
You will not go home today.
In fact, you don't even
have to cook today."
I get an advantage.
I'm relieved, man. It's crazy.
Chefs, please exit your tasting rooms.
- I can't. I gotta calm down first.
- How can I hide this now?
How can you hide this excitement?
Aight. Look pissed off.
I'm excited but, again, I can't show it
because I don't want the other chefs
to know who I am.
Pull all the energy out.
I'm here to win. This is definitely
giving me that feel to do it.
Ready to go.
- How'd it go? Yes! Hello!
- Want a hug?
- Hello, my friend.
- I'm just, like, ugh.
- Take a load off.
- Yeah. Stay a while.
Well, hopefully stay a while.
- I know, right?
- So, what was your favorite dish?
- Um... there were a couple.
- Are you gonna tell me?
- No. No. No.
Lock and key.
I'm not giving away any secrets.
- I thought everyone was gonna
do well in that challenge,
and I think it happened.
I think everyone did pretty solid work.
- What were you surprised by?
- I-I guess the egg roll.
That threw me a little bit.
- Mm. Yeah.
- Have you had a mac and cheese egg roll?
- No, I've only seen it on, like,
TikTok and stuff like that.
- Okay, yeah.
- I made this dish,
but I'm pretending like, "I don't know!"
- I enjoyed the dipping sauce,
but it wouldn't dip.
I'm like, can you...
I'm trying to do the thing,
and it's not getting on the egg roll.
- Okay.
That's something
that Chef Radicchio said.
"Sauce is hard to dip in." I hear that.
Bam. Here we go.
We've got our second chef alias.
So now, when I see a review
from Chef Radicchio,
I know who it is and what she likes.
I have no idea
who's who at this point still.
- I think I know exactly who everyone is.
- Really?
- I-I almost wanna tell you
that I know yours.
I know yours for a fact.
- You know me for a fact?
- For 100% fact, I know yours.
- He keeps hinting to me
that he knows my alias.
And I'm like, good for you, bro.
- And the reason I say that is
because I don't think I'm the only one.
I know he's Chef Arugula,
so I'm trying to play the game
a little bit.
I'm trying to get in the head of him.
Everyone knows your chef alias.
I'll be ambiguous.
I'll let you know this.
Today, there was something that was said
with the challenge.
And then,
an individual turned around
and looked right at you.
Earlier in the day,
when Cheffy had announced
that the chef from last round
will assign the cheeses,
I saw Sydney kinda just turn around
and look at Josh.
Oh... Other people know you Chef Arugula!
The shrimp cake
and the fried garnish was clear as day.
You got a tell. You got a tell.
- Because, like,
even if you know the challenge,
why would you wanna look at me?
Chefs, please go back to the lobby.
- Shall we?
Chef Leon's been breathing down my back
and, honestly,
Arugula has been crushing it.
And if they know it's me,
I feel like they're gonna come after me.
I really don't want the target on my back.
I have to take home that cash prize
and take care of my family.
Oh, Cheffy! What's up? Hello!
- Hiya, chefs!
- What's up, buddy?
- Did you happen to notice
anything different in your reviews?
Yes!
- Which was...
- Chef Millie!
- That's right.
Chef Millie Peartree. Hey, Millie!
- Yes, round of applause,
standing ovation, okay!
How y'all feeling?
- I'm in awe. I love her recipes.
She puts her own twist on things.
- Chef Millie just loves
macaroni and cheese.
Her own recipe is
in the New York Times cookbook.
- I know I can't ask
which of you made which dish.
- That's right!
We got rules around here,
Chef Millie, even for you!
- We know, Cheffy. We know.
So, chefs, you all just got my thoughts.
I did not vote or score
any of your macaroni and cheeses.
- But, Millie is here
to introduce your next challenge.
I want each and every one of you to create
your own signature dish.
Okay...
Chef Millie will not rate
your dish, but she will taste it.
So, as you humans say, bring it.
And it could be
whatever you want it to be.
It's all your vision.
Any chef worth their salt...
has a signature dish.
So, today, I'm testing
if you can execute your vision.
I'm really excited
to have the opportunity
to do something that's in my wheelhouse.
I am ready to win a main challenge.
- The chef that gets the highest rating
on their signature dish
will be on their way
to winning my $50,000,
plus the other $50,000
from our grand prize sponsor,
HelloFresh.
That's $100,000.
- Woo!
Little change, little change. Alright.
The chef with the lowest rating
will not be winning anything.
I'm sorry.
Don't forget, one of you already knows
that you aren't going home at all.
I think I'm getting pretty good
at hiding my emotions.
It's hard at times, though, for real.
I will give you 60 minutes to start.
It is time to start. Any questions?
Too bad. So long.
My goodness!
Does he always disappear this quickly?
Thank you! Bye, friends!
Cheffy got an attitude today.
- I really wanna wow
my fellow contestants.
They are putting out
some really great food,
and I want to be able
to level the playing field as a home cook.
Chefs, begin the challenge.
In three, two, one, go!
- Couple of these...
- Sugar, sugar, sugar,
sugar, sugar, sugar...
- Alright, let's get these steaks out.
My signature dish is pan-seared ribeye
with a bourbon creamed corn
and roasted potatoes.
It kinda screams everything about me.
You got big steak flavor,
the bourbon cream corn
gives a nice sweetness,
and I'm a bartender, so I get to use
some bourbon. That's neat.
There we go!
That's what I wanted. Pretty neat, huh?
- So, this is one of my sort of secondary
signature dishes, if I'm being honest.
"I can cook what I cook"
is my signature dish all the time.
However, seemed a little too safe.
Duck Fried Rice is the official title
of my signature dish.
I'm frying the rice, but it's not
like a traditional fried rice.
I wanted to try something
a little more difficult.
Let's get this caramel on
because I think we got
a winner with this one.
- This is going bam, bam, bam,
thank you, ma'am.
I'm making some barbecue jackfruit tacos
with fried plantain
and a jalapeño crema.
I love munchies,
I love a really good bite,
everybody loves tacos,
and this was one of the variations
I kind of perfected over some time.
- Gotta get started on my salsa.
I'm so excited today
because there's no restraints,
and we can do whatever we want
because that's the way I am.
My signature dish is a fried green tomato
with a crab salad
and tomatillo salsa.
It's definitely a mix of Southern
and kinda what I love to eat.
So, I'm feeling not very chaotic,
and it's very odd.
Probably because I make this a lot.
What's next?
I think with the feedback
that I got from the last round,
I'm kinda equipped to cook
for these people now.
They like sweetness, balance, texture,
and so I'm gonna put all that.
I'm gonna shove it all into this dish.
I decided to go with a lamb rack
with cream mushrooms,
a Thai salsa verde, and date almond rice.
It's one of the first things
I learned how to make
in a professional kitchen.
I need to make sure
my seasoning is on point,
and the lamb is a perfect mid-rare
if I wanna win this.
I will be using every second
of every minute.
As a home cook, I feel a bit nervous,
but I feel like I have a bunch
of good recipes up my sleeve.
I'm gonna make
a Manchurian-style paneer bao bun
with a slaw and an herbie dahi drizzle.
It reminds me of street food.
I also like fusion,
so this is an Indo-Chinese dish.
Reflects who I am,
what I like.
All the things.
- Alright.
All about those presentation points.
My little melon baller here.
So, I'm scooping these potatoes
because they're gonna look
really pretty on the plate.
Huzzah! Pretty nifty tip.
So, I'll just boil those, and then
finish them off in the oven.
I'm gonna blow these chefs away.
Oh, yeah. Those look great.
With my potato balls.
That sounds so weird.
- Let's go with the verde next.
At this point, I've taken note
of what kind of flavors everybody likes.
Gotta have fish sauce here.
This one's for Josh.
I feel like I figured out
a chef alias already.
That Chef Josh is Chef Arugula.
The Thai salsa verde
actually is targeting Joshua,
who has such a Thai palate.
Awesome.
Chefs, 30 minutes remain.
- I'm feeling confident right now.
My sauce is coming together.
I need to try this.
Wow.
Okay, it is very spicy,
and I've gotten feedback.
Some folks don't like it too spicy.
So, we're gonna sprinkle in
some brown sugar
to sweeten this up.
- Okay, let's try that.
Woo! That is so good.
That's the best one I've ever made!
Woo! I'm feeling great.
Usually, I'm just throwing dishes,
there's stuff dropping on the floor.
It's just chaos all the time.
But, right now,
I'm so cool, calm, and collected.
And I'm really enjoying this
because I just feel confident
in this dish.
Chefs, 10 minutes remain.
- Alright, let's check on these potatoes
because they've been in there a bit.
What in the hell?
Oh, crap! My balls!
I've forgotten about them,
and I overcooked my potato balls.
I let the potatoes go a little bit
too long in my boiling water.
I said these were gonna be roast potatoes,
but there's no time,
so we're just gonna fry 'em up.
No one's ever gonna know
that I overcooked these balls.
Oh, yeah. Those look great.
Gorgeous.
I think it's either Leon or Lanky
not cooking in this challenge.
I think one of those guys came up
with the elote mac and cheese dish.
Both Leon and Lanky can cook,
and I think they're both professionals
in the kitchen,
so that wouldn't be to--
Oh, me.
Alright. Well, I just burned my caramel
that I was waiting forever to cook.
The sauce, it's burned. I can't use it.
I am stressed out.
I'm realizing I don't have enough time.
Hoo!
I may have bitten off
more than I can chew here.
It's a race against time
in the Secret Chef kitchens.
But after burning her caramel sauce,
Danielle is back to square one.
- I may have bitten off
more than I can chew here.
I'm gonna try to put it back on
because I definitely think that this is
a major component to the dish.
How are you looking over here?
I'm scared about these.
Oh, my God. Steaming?
I'm not getting a great sear
on these steaks.
There's just too much moisture in the pan.
So I've gotta get that moisture out.
I'm worried about that steak.
It doesn't look like a great sear.
That looks like a good sear.
So, I'm just praying for the best.
Chefs, 5 minutes remain.
This is good.
- I kinda wanna start plating.
- So, I'ma do my jackfruit.
This is definitely
not what I had planned.
I am shaking.
- Some of these pieces are better prepared
than some of the others.
Chefs, one minute remains.
- I really need to hurry. Tighten it up.
Tighten it up, baby.
- The crema on here.
- Happy with how the duck came out.
- Presentation... is everything.
Just a tad mid-rare.
- Doing it!
- Five, four, three,
two, one!
Time is up.
The challenge is ended.
- I did it!
- I'm really proud of this dish.
This is like literally me on a plate.
I'm pissed
that I chose to do this
instead of what I know
I can do in this time frame.
I know that my flavors are good,
but I regret how I plated the dish.
Chefs,
please return to your tasting rooms.
Chefs, don't forget,
even though the advantage winner
didn't make a dish,
they still taste and rate yours,
and it will count towards your score.
Alright.
Please begin the tasting.
- Alright, let's see what
my competitors have for me.
Hopefully, it's not good.
- Ooh!
"Manchurian paneer -style bao buns."
- Mmm!
- Whoa.
I love heat, but that is--
Wow. That's, like, too spicy.
I'm hurtin' over here.
- I don't wanna be a baby,
but think that's got too much spice to it.
Holy cow.
- That is excellent.
- That's good. Execution, 10.
- Delicious heat. Tastes good.
"Duck fried rice"?
I don't think it really is...
fried rice.
- So, it's fried rice that you put
in a pool of liquid,
and I'm not sure what this liquid is.
- It seems like it's probably
like some cherry sauce.
The pink and the purple
looks like Pepto-Bismol.
So, presentation is way down.
- Okay, this is one of those dishes
where looks are deceiving.
This is actually pretty good.
- The duck is super tender.
- Whatever the pink sauce is,
is delicious.
The duck fried rice.
It has Josh's touch on it.
I think Josh made this dish.
Barbecue jackfruit taco.
- They didn't wanna do chicken.
They're showing off their skills
by cooking jackfruit.
- That's a great bite.
That's how a taco should present.
I mean, just look at it!
It's damn good,
but I feel like all I really taste
is chili and adobo, and I wish
there was more depth to it.
"Lamb rack
with creamy mushroom." Presentation?
Eh, it's just middle of the road.
This is raw. This is all the way raw.
Need a Surgeon General warning
or something on this plate.
- Lamb, super tender.
Perfectly seasoned.
Beautiful presentation.
- "Ribeye with bourbon creamed corn
and roasted potatoes."
- The potatoes in the dish were beautiful.
Like, I don't know what happened to
the potatoes. I'd eat a million of them.
- Potatoes are oily, and those aren't
roasted. I think they flash-fried them.
- Just screams Lanky.
- The steak is tough. It's not...
nearly as tender as the other proteins.
"Fried green tomato with crab salad."
- It looks nasty as hell.
- I hate the fact that
she ruined this crab
with all of this mayo-based sauce on it.
- Pretty good though.
- Great texture on the fried green tomato.
- Taste is rather good, too.
- Cool signature dish.
- I love this.
- I don't like that.
For good or bad,
it can all come down to personal taste,
which leaves even the most confident chefs
on edge.
Monkey butt, think I get
one more day with you in here?
Sure hope so.
Attention. Leave the monkey alone.
Welcome back to Secret Chef.
Dishes have been shared.
I'm nervous.
Now, reviews will be served.
Oh boy, jeez...
- Reviews for Chef Donut.
"This dish hits a home run.
Mushrooms were delicious.
Lamb cooked to perfection and rice, too."
Duh! Of course you love it.
It's got fish sauce in it,
just like all the other dishes
you've made.
I got you!
And now, I know you're Josh!
Just reeled you in so easily!
- Chef Gherkin said,
"Duck is perfectly cooked,
but not seasoned.
Everything else was perfect."
Maybe this didn't go as bad as I thought.
- Chef Radicchio said, "OMG.
Incredible. Love this.
Great texture and flavor."
Well, thank you.
I'm very proud of it, too.
- Chef Millie Peartree said,
"I like the brightness
of the chimichurri sauce,
"and the steak was cooked perfectly.
On the other hand."
Ugh. That's not a good sign.
"The potatoes were greasy
and did not taste
like a creamy roasted potato.
You could tell they were flash-fried."
Because that's what I had time for.
- Chef Arugula says,
"Cabbage seemed not needed."
Okay.
Chef Couscous said,
"Wish cabbage slaw was edible."
I am frustrated with myself
about the cabbage.
My intent wasn't for them
to eat the cabbage.
It was more so
a quick, last-minute garnish.
- Chef Macron said, "Duck cooked well,
but the purple and white turned pink,
and it looked like Pepto-Bismol."
Sorry about that.
- Chef Couscous said, "Interesting idea.
Too many textures clash with flavor."
I tend to disagree, actually.
- And Chef Millie Peartree said,
"Even though the lamb was well-seasoned,
it was undercooked."
She had to have gotten the one
that was on the more rare side.
Oh, dang it!
Dang it! Dang it!
Chef Kumquat said,
"Way too much sauce.
Mushy. Cute presentation."
Felt personal.
I feel like "cute presentation"
is a dig,
but whatever.
Overall, I think...
I think I'm still here.
I would be shocked... shocked...
I would be shocked...
I would be shocked.
Chefs, please go to the lobby.
- Just being here,
I am filled with anxiety all the time.
I feel like I never know
what's gonna happen.
Oh, money. We're comin' for you.
- But, I think that Chef Arugula
had immunity this round.
I really think I know who Chef Arugula is,
and we were definitely missing
their kind of style of cooking
in these dishes.
Hello, chefs! What a day!
Let's please thank our guest,
Chef Millie, for coming over.
- Everybody's feeling alright?
- No.
- No? Okay!
Well, I'm happy to see you guys.
- Happy to see you!
- Likewise.
Today has been
such an amazing day,
and you all did such an amazing job.
Each and every one of you
put out a wonderful dish.
But, you know
somebody has to go home today.
I honestly don't wanna hear
my alias called at all
because it has been not my best day.
I was really proud of my dish,
but the others didn't like it so much.
I think some people liked my dish.
Some people don't love the spice level,
so I'm definitely not feeling
100% confident.
But I really need a win,
and I hope this is the dish
that makes me get my first win.
- Do not react if you hear
your chef alias name.
So, Chef Kumquat...
and Chef Donut...
One of you...
has the highest-rated dish.
And the other has the lowest-rated dish.
My dish was undercooked.
I wish I would have maybe
not even served three racks
just to make sure everyone got
two perfectly mid-rare racks.
- Chef Donut.
The other chefs rated your dish...
the highest!
This is a good thing.
- But, that means Chef Kumquat...
you did not win.
- I did too much.
I should have stuck to my guns
and cooked what I knew
would carry me through,
but I tried to do something different,
and I'm not happy at all.
- Please step forward.
Son of a gun.
My nerves got the best of me.
The gameplay got the best of me.
- Would you like to reveal whether or not
you're a professional chef? A home chef?
- I'm a professional chef.
I've been cooking for 15 years.
I own two cafés.
She's a professional chef.
She has a restaurant and a café and stuff.
I am just shocked.
But, as a home cook,
I kinda wanna do a happy dance.
Obviously, I can't be doing that
in front of all the other chefs,
but I'm feeling really confident
with the things
that I've been putting out there
because I'm still in the game,
and I'm seeing chefs go home.
- Danielle, what was your dish?
- The "duck fried rice."
No, you did not.
You were-- You did not.
You didn't-- There's no way.
I had just painted this picture
all from the brioche egg salad
with the caviar
that this person was just it.
In my head, I'm gonna be duking it out
with Danielle in the finals,
and, oh, my God, was I wrong.
- Thought the flavors were good,
but it was definitely not fried rice.
So, I can't be too mad.
It shouldn't have looked like
Pepto-Bismol, whoever told me that.
Because the pink,
the white and the purple...
- That's cold.
- ...didn't go well together.
- That's mean!
- I was happy with the feedback, though.
I thought
I was still gonna be here
after everyone tasted it
because Chef Millie said that it tasted
100% better than it looked,
and I was pretty confident.
But, you know, you win some,
you lose some.
- Chef Kumquat, thanks for playing.
- Thank you.
- Should we all bring it in?
- Yeah.
- I came here to prove that I was
more than just sandwiches,
and I think I did that.
- Alright. See you guys.
- We'll miss you!
- I know what I'm doing.
I know how to layer flavor.
I definitely think that my flavor profiles
were probably some of the best
of all the things that I tasted.
But, you know it happens.
You win some, you lose some.
Gonna keep fighting, gonna keep cooking,
and just have a good time.
- Who said Pepto-Bismol, though?
Who said that?
- That's kinda janky.
- The pink and the purple looks like
Pepto-Bismol. I did not like that.
- I didn't. I'll tell you that right now.
Leon did not.
- I didn't. No.
Thank goodness it's a blind review.
Otherwise, they would think I'm a meanie.
Time to get out of here
and get some rest.
Survived another day.
Personally,
I don't think it's that mean a review.
I mean, the food was pink.
So long.
Next time on Secret Chef...
- Anyone else talk to their food?
The clues start to fall into place.
- It's definitely this dude right here.
- Thank you, Leon,
because I know you're Chef Donut.
The chefs receive a special hello.
- Hello, Fresh!
- Green beans?
How am I gonna make this into a taco?
This dish is a hot mess.
- Mm-mmm.
I love rainbows.
Is there gold at the end of this rainbow?
Spicy hot onion rings.
- Jelly beans.
- Grape soda.
I'm going straight
for Chef Arugula today.
Josh and Leon enter the ring.
- It don't matter if you know who I am.
I'm still gonna beat you.
- Come on, man!
It's level four of ten
on the next Secret Chef.
Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!
---
- Previously on Secret Chef...
The chefs had to trust
their short-term memory...
- Gumbo's got a ton of ingredients.
We're gonna wing it here.
- Is this olive oil? Or is this olive oil?
...Chef Kumquat took the lead.
- I definitely knew I was gonna win.
- Let's eat.
- Shrimp cake's really good.
Oh God...
And a chef took a one-way ticket home.
- Bye, guys.
I made them think the day was over.
Please go back to your tasting room!
The game was really just beginning.
Uh-oh.
- Today, I'm testing the chefs' vision.
Their creative vision!
Ten chefs compete
through 10 levels of cooking challenges,
secretly judging each other
for a $100,000 prize.
This is Secret Chef.
- Okay.
Seven chefs remain
hidden by secret aliases.
What do we have here?
I've given them a gift
to see what they can uncover.
Because later in the game,
knowing who's who
could be the difference between going home
or winning $100,000.
I'ma lift it.
- Uh-oh.
- Alrighty. Intel.
Am I trippin' here?
- I don't know.
These are aliases.
We have intel.
Mugshots of everybody,
along with the reviews that we have,
and I really need to clarify
who was where and when.
- This is becoming a game.
- Oh...
- Ah...
I feel like I'm a criminal investigator
right now.
This competition
is not just about being a chef
and making really good food.
You have to be strategic.
There are secrets.
You have to read the room.
You have to play the game.
And you can use all of this information
to make dishes
that you know other people
will rate higher.
It's not just cooking.
- Let's see. "Fried rice should be fried.
Bland."
I think Poonam is Chef Radicchio.
If you know what "" stand for,
it's a curse word.
- Half of my talking through my dish
is me saying the F word.
- You spilled the beans on that one.
Man, I'm pretty sure
in the last challenge,
the best dish out of the round
was the shrimp cake dish by a mile.
- Chef Arugula.
The other chefs
rated your dish the highest.
- That shrimp cake dish, I believe,
could only have been executed by Josh.
Joshua is Chef Arugula.
A very skilled chef.
And the more I learn about him,
the more I can use it
when strategizing on my own dishes.
- I think Chef Radicchio is Chef Leon.
Chef Couscous is Chef Lanky.
Chef Donut, Chef Danielle.
Chef Kumquat is Chef Poonam.
Chef Macaron I think is Chef Stephenie.
I'm, like, confident in that.
Chefs! Please go to the lobby.
- Alright.
On Secret Chef,
we love a good dramatic entrance.
Hey, chefs, where you at?
- Ah...
- Home sweet home.
Okay, well, close enough.
- We are back.
I am so proud of myself
that I'm still here.
I am scared of what Cheffy
is going to throw at us today,
but I'm excited.
I'm feeling motivated.
I'm feeling confident.
- How are you doing with critiques?
Are you used to getting criticized
from strangers?
Because you don't know--
- I mean, there's always gonna be a hater.
- That's fair. That's a good point.
- You know what I'm saying?
But, I think, yeah,
you have to take everything
with a grain of salt.
Looking at the feedback
that I've received,
I'm seeing that I'm like moving
in the right direction,
pushing myself
and one step closer to $100,000.
- Hiya, Chefs!
- Good morning, Cheffy.
- Are you ready to have fun with cooking
that might win you $100,000?
Wow! That was loud.
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!
Come at me, Cheffy.
Hello, Chefs.
: Eh, that's not it,
but I got the laugh.
Chefs, for today's challenge,
you'll be making your own vision
of the classic macaroni and cheese.
Also known in some circles as...
mac and cheese.
Mac and cheese is a dish
I've made a million times.
I think I've joked about
how cheese is my religion.
So I'm very excited about this.
- For this challenge, I want you to make
your own vision of this classic dish.
Whosever dish scores the highest rating
will win this round
and get an advantage, which is...
...you will be safe from elimination.
Oh!
How do you like that?
- Immunity! Huge, huge advantage!
I have gotta win this challenge.
- You will have to make
your mac and cheese
from one of these seven cheeses.
- Oh, they're coming out.
- I know what that means.
- Oh, boy.
- Alright, let's go.
Hey! Look at those!
- Take a look at those cheeses.
Extra sharp cheddar, Gruyère,
pepper jack, goat cheese,
Gorgonzola, cottage cheese,
and nutritional yeast.
Oh! Damn!
I've got my fingers crossed.
I definitely don't want
the nutritional yeast
because I don't even know what that is.
- If you're having a hard time
deciding which to use, don't worry.
A cheese will be chosen for you.
Oh, you serious, dude?
Oh, come on, Cheffy!
- You'll find out which
when you get to your kitchen,
and guess who's going to be
picking that cheese?
You!
- No!
The winner of
the reconstructed mise en place,
which was Chef Arugula.
Hopefully,
you said nice things about their food.
I think that Chef Arugula
recognizes that there other two chefs
who excelled in day one's challenge.
Chef Donut. Chef Macaron.
Your dish had the highest rating!
- If I'm Chef Arugula,
I'm gonna assign the worst cheese
to any competitors
that could be a threat.
- I'm looking around,
and I'm trying to see
if anyone's poker face has moved.
It's so obvious.
Josh is Arugula.
- You have 45 minutes. Bye-byeee!
- Bye!
- Go!
- I get to choose
all my competitors' cheeses
for the mac and cheese.
Based on what I know,
I can really assign
these cheeses to mess up a player.
Aight, first one's extra sharp cheddar.
This is a good cheese.
I'm gonna pick Chef Gherkin,
who I think is Sydney.
You get a cheese that's expected
to be in mac and cheese,
you're expected to have
the best mac and cheese.
And Chef Gherkin was
kind of slacking on execution.
- Extra sharp cheddar.
I'm pretty stoked on this.
Thanks, Chef Arugula.
- Gruyère.
I gave that to Chef Couscous,
who I believe is Chef Lanky.
He's kind of like a show chef.
I don't think he really knows
how to use ingredients
to their maximum ability.
Gruyère.
- Gorgonzola. It's going to Chef Macron.
Gorgonzola is a strong cheese.
It's gonna be a real hurdle.
- Great. Making me think
outside the box a little bit.
- Chef Donut,
I wanna give you goat cheese.
I think Chef Donut is Chef Danielle.
I'm thinking Chef Danielle's
a professional,
so I wanted to see how a professional chef
manipulates this ingredient.
I just smile ear to ear.
I feel like goat cheese mac and cheese,
I could make a pretty decent one.
Nutritional yeast,
which is a great cheese replacer,
but if they never messed with it before,
little more of a challenge.
Chef Radicchio.
Chef Radicchio, I think is Chef Leon.
I think he's gonna be one of
my top competitors in this competition,
so I'm interested to see
what he comes up with.
Nutritional yeast?
I actually really love this ingredient
for my day-to-day cooking,
but I do not love it for mac and cheese
because it's not cheese.
I'm glad I didn't get cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese. Chef Kumquat.
Chef Kumquat won the last challenge.
I'm really interested
to see what they do with it.
Oh God.
Thanks, Chef Arugula.
I got the pepper jack cheese today.
Chose it for myself
because, looking at my competitors,
I noticed that they liked a little spice,
and the cheese is a little mild itself,
so I can kinda take it
any direction I want.
Chefs! Begin the challenge
in three... two...
one! Go!
- Alright. Let's make some mac and cheese.
- Remember, kids, always salt your water,
so it tastes like the sea.
I've made mac and cheese lots of times.
Never with Gorgonzola.
Thanks a lot, Chef Arugula.
I'm not happy with Gorgonzola
because it's really strong,
a little pungent.
But, I'm a cheesemonger.
I know my cheese.
So I come up with
a spinach basil mac and cheese.
Yeah! There we go.
- I'm feelin' pretty good.
I'm pretty positive this morning.
I'm going to stay having a plan
and trying to calm my chaos a little bit.
But, you know, that doesn't always happen.
Today, I am making
a kind of like a jalapeño popper-style
mac and cheese.
Hope they like it spicy.
- Quite the flex, if you win
the immunity challenge, you know?
Most of my reviews
described a lack of balance.
"Flavor lacking."
"Bland with no flavor." "Salt lacking."
"Could use more flavor and salt."
So, for this dish, I am making
a goat cheese mac and cheese
with lager in there
for deftness of flavor.
Cook all that beer out
for a couple of minutes.
I got a chance to really show these people
that I can cook delicious food.
- Let's go ahead
and get started on my sauce.
We've already had way too many instances
where people are making
just the same thing.
Shakshuka... shakshuka... shakshuka.
- I ate, like, four shakshukas.
- What am I going to do to stand out?
So, I'm going to make
mac and cheese egg rolls with Gruyère.
I'm pushing myself,
doing a little bit more.
This is a chance
to kind of just go for it.
- I feel like some people have found out
that I am a professional chef.
I think they wanna see me trip up a bit.
I would quite literally have liked
to get any other cheese
except cottage cheese.
It doesn't taste like much of anything.
I'm gonna try to get rid of some of
the obvious big curd chunks.
Gotta put a lot of flavor in this
because it doesn't taste like much.
I want to add a little more flavor.
Chicken and bacon
are classic flavors that go together.
I decide kind of like a fully loaded
mac and cheese.
Get this chicken going.
Maybe a good time for nutritional yeast.
Nutritional yeast is
a super easy ingredient to use.
You just kinda mix it in
to get a cheesier flavor.
This is gonna be cheesy.
I want to be the home cook
who makes it to the finale,
and to showcase you can be a home cook
and hang with professionals.
This is looking good.
- I'm gonna do a chipotle elote mac.
So my idea is to use that spice
from chipotles from the pepper jack,
and really kind of make something
really nice and flavorful.
For this dish, my inspiration
came from Mexican street corn,
which is usually just grilled corn
with a little bit of mayonnaise,
a little cotija cheese,
and some cilantro.
I feel like I've made like
two Asian dishes.
Kinda wanted to throw people off
so they don't know who's who.
Hey, chefs! Twenty minutes remain!
- They can't knock me
for not using the blue cheese.
And if they can't taste it, well then,
maybe that's a good thing, too.
You know, what is great about having
the Gorgonzola
is that I don't have to grate it.
It's a semi-soft cheese,
and it doesn't grate,
so... isn't that great?
- I should probably
get my cheese together.
I don't even know how this
even goes on, to be honest.
Hopefully, I can get this thing to work.
I'm using this food processor.
It's very fancy.
I haven't used one like this before,
and I can't find the top
to get the cheese in.
I don't know where the thing is.
And then, all of a sudden,
I have wood dust all in my cheese.
I don't know what to say.
Straight-up not having a great day.
Welcome back to
the wood-shaving cheese show
with your host, Sydney.
- Straight-up not having a great day.
All of a sudden,
I have wood dust all in my cheese,
so I have to throw that away
and start grating cheese by hand.
I'm like about to have a meltdown.
Okay...
Chefs, 10 minutes remain.
- Let's fry these.
My priority is making sure
that this is done on the inside.
I realize, as I'm frying the egg rolls,
they're requiring more time.
My dish is not gonna be a full egg roll.
It's gonna have to be in half
because if the dough
is really raw on the inside,
that's gonna take away
from the experimentation
and the fun that I've been trying to have.
I'm glad I got that nice brown color.
Five minutes remain!
I'm using basil,
so how about a little fried basil leaf?
- Let's get my sauce over here.
Nice little sweet and spicy
barbecue sauce on top.
- I would totally serve this
at a restaurant
or order it at a restaurant, more so.
Chefs, one minute remains.
- Oh, my gosh!
I have to nail it because
there's $100,000 at stake.
I think the presentation looks
pretty good for a mac and cheese dish.
I'm just throwing on,
hoping for the best.
- Uh-oh!
- Five... four...
three... two... one.
Time is up.
The challenge has ended.
I can put my hands down now.
Please head to your tasting rooms.
It's that time again.
You must review each dish,
assessing the taste, execution,
and presentation.
Bye-byeee!
- Alrighty. Here we go.
"Hot and spicy mac n cheese egg roll."
This cheese got some funk in it.
Packed with flavor.
I love this.
The sauce tastes really good.
I just wish I could dip it.
I'm eating the whole thing.
- That's well-executed.
"Spinach and basil mac n cheese."
This is the goat cheese.
I like it. It's good flavor.
- Very, very basil-y.
It's lacking salt, though.
I'm not sure what's happening with salt,
if people are afraid of it.
It's not bad but, to me,
it's not reading as mac and cheese.
"Chipotle elote mac"?
I love Mexican food, so this looks bomb.
- I thought I had a crazy one,
but this right here...
Look at this dish!
Every single component was just nailed!
Damn it.
This person is definitely gonna advance.
This is really good.
"Tikka mac." Mm!
This is cute. This is cute as hell.
- Whoa. Check this out.
It's very pretty.
- I'm guessing this is the cottage cheese.
Or nutritional yeast.
Because you don't taste
the cheese flavor at all.
- It's not creamy,
and very Indian flavors.
Bold Indian flavors,
so I'm thinking Poonam
because she showed me
those flavors before.
"Chicken and bacon cheesy pasta."
- The assignment was not pasta.
- I think they had the cottage cheese.
- Presentation was pretty.
It tastes really good,
but this is pasta, not mac and cheese.
"Jalapeño popper mac n cheese."
I'm into this.
I like that they used cavatelli.
- Very flavorful. Good consistency.
- The bacon's hella undercooked.
That's not my jam.
- The sharp cheddar.
I'm tasting the sharp cheddar,
so I'm thinking this is Chef Gherkin,
who I think is Chef Sydney.
I gave Chef Gherkin
the easiest cheese to use.
You get some big jalapeños,
and you got some really small ones.
Only thing is I don't taste the cheese.
- Okay, let's do this last one.
"Lager and goat cheese mac
with fried shallots."
- This is the goat cheese one!
Man, I been wrong this whole time.
I don't even know
what cheese I been eating.
- Crunchy, sweet, creamy.
This is one million percent Lanky.
There's a lager in here.
- The cheese itself is kinda bland.
There's so much more flavor
in that fried goat cheese ball
than there is in the actual
mac and cheese,
and I feel like the priority maybe
wasn't on actually making
the mac and cheese that great.
- There you have it.
Pretty solid mac and cheese dishes.
The mac goes back
as the reviews roll in.
- See you later.
Oh boy.
- Alright. What are they gonna say
about me this time?
- Reviews for Chef Gherkin.
Chef Couscous said,
"Excellent texture on noodles.
Bacon is undercooked."
Yeah. I was rushing.
Chef Radicchio said,
"Delicious!" Exclamation mark.
"Crunchy!" Exclamation mark.
"Sauce is hard to dip in." I hear that.
- Chef Macron said,
"Lovely presentation and cooked well,
but is it a mac and cheese
or a pasta dish?"
- Chef Radicchio said,
"Love the fried goat cheese and honey.
Well-balanced mac.
Could use more seasoning."
Chef Couscous said, "Delicious garnish.
Mac and cheese element
is understated and lost."
- Arugula said,
aka the person who assigned it to me,
"Solid dish, chef. Really cool."
This is feeling good
because they're calling me chef,
rather than home cook.
"Don't taste the cheese,
but still delicious."
Because I had nutritional yeast.
There is no cheese.
Chef Donut said, "Incredible.
"Loved all the components. Creative fun.
The cheese flavor hid, but I didn't mind."
So, they couldn't taste the cheese flavor,
which is crazy
because I literally
just had cheese and cream.
- Chef Kumquat said, "Pretty solid.
Just needs salt. Pretty plate, too."
Chef Couscous said,
"Solid spinach and basil flavor.
Could have pushed for more salt."
Multiple people said lacked salt,
so take that in consideration.
Chef Millie Peartree said--
Chef Millie?
- Oh.
- That is not an alias.
- Why is Chef Millie giving me a review?
- Chef Millie Peartree.
Chef Millie?
Is Chef Millie on the show?
- No... way...
For the first time ever,
we've called in an outside expert
to review the chefs' food.
But, this chef is no secret.
She's the renowned New York Times
cookbook contributor and author
Chef Millie Peartree.
- Chef Millie Peartree said,
"Creamy and pungent.
Noodles cooked perfectly. The sweetness
of the shallot saved the dish
and added much-needed texture."
I'm a huge fan of Chef Millie Peartree,
and she's sittin' here reviewing my food!
So, this is great!
- "I was pleasantly surprised
that the cottage cheese
"gave me a ricotta cheese
texture and flavor,
which made for a delightful creamy dish."
I'll take those.
- "Crispy wrapper.
The hot honey sauce is delicious."
Thanks, girl.
Appreciate it! I tried!
- "This was the best!"
"This dish can be eaten as a side dish
or a standalone entrée."
Yeah, that's huge coming from
Chef Millie Peartree, who's, like,
a chef who has made such an impact
on the community.
Chef Millie Peartree, thank you so much.
Hiya, chefs!
I have all the ratings,
and I have the results.
- Oh, boy.
- What we got?
- Let's see.
"I'm sorry, you did not win.
Try again soon."
Womp, womp.
- "I'm sorry, you did not win."
- Ah, damn it.
- It's okay.
- It's been a rough day.
- Can't win 'em all. I wonder who won.
- Chef Arugula! The winner, baby!
That's me!
"Hooray. You won.
You will not go home today.
In fact, you don't even
have to cook today."
I get an advantage.
I'm relieved, man. It's crazy.
Chefs, please exit your tasting rooms.
- I can't. I gotta calm down first.
- How can I hide this now?
How can you hide this excitement?
Aight. Look pissed off.
I'm excited but, again, I can't show it
because I don't want the other chefs
to know who I am.
Pull all the energy out.
I'm here to win. This is definitely
giving me that feel to do it.
Ready to go.
- How'd it go? Yes! Hello!
- Want a hug?
- Hello, my friend.
- I'm just, like, ugh.
- Take a load off.
- Yeah. Stay a while.
Well, hopefully stay a while.
- I know, right?
- So, what was your favorite dish?
- Um... there were a couple.
- Are you gonna tell me?
- No. No. No.
Lock and key.
I'm not giving away any secrets.
- I thought everyone was gonna
do well in that challenge,
and I think it happened.
I think everyone did pretty solid work.
- What were you surprised by?
- I-I guess the egg roll.
That threw me a little bit.
- Mm. Yeah.
- Have you had a mac and cheese egg roll?
- No, I've only seen it on, like,
TikTok and stuff like that.
- Okay, yeah.
- I made this dish,
but I'm pretending like, "I don't know!"
- I enjoyed the dipping sauce,
but it wouldn't dip.
I'm like, can you...
I'm trying to do the thing,
and it's not getting on the egg roll.
- Okay.
That's something
that Chef Radicchio said.
"Sauce is hard to dip in." I hear that.
Bam. Here we go.
We've got our second chef alias.
So now, when I see a review
from Chef Radicchio,
I know who it is and what she likes.
I have no idea
who's who at this point still.
- I think I know exactly who everyone is.
- Really?
- I-I almost wanna tell you
that I know yours.
I know yours for a fact.
- You know me for a fact?
- For 100% fact, I know yours.
- He keeps hinting to me
that he knows my alias.
And I'm like, good for you, bro.
- And the reason I say that is
because I don't think I'm the only one.
I know he's Chef Arugula,
so I'm trying to play the game
a little bit.
I'm trying to get in the head of him.
Everyone knows your chef alias.
I'll be ambiguous.
I'll let you know this.
Today, there was something that was said
with the challenge.
And then,
an individual turned around
and looked right at you.
Earlier in the day,
when Cheffy had announced
that the chef from last round
will assign the cheeses,
I saw Sydney kinda just turn around
and look at Josh.
Oh... Other people know you Chef Arugula!
The shrimp cake
and the fried garnish was clear as day.
You got a tell. You got a tell.
- Because, like,
even if you know the challenge,
why would you wanna look at me?
Chefs, please go back to the lobby.
- Shall we?
Chef Leon's been breathing down my back
and, honestly,
Arugula has been crushing it.
And if they know it's me,
I feel like they're gonna come after me.
I really don't want the target on my back.
I have to take home that cash prize
and take care of my family.
Oh, Cheffy! What's up? Hello!
- Hiya, chefs!
- What's up, buddy?
- Did you happen to notice
anything different in your reviews?
Yes!
- Which was...
- Chef Millie!
- That's right.
Chef Millie Peartree. Hey, Millie!
- Yes, round of applause,
standing ovation, okay!
How y'all feeling?
- I'm in awe. I love her recipes.
She puts her own twist on things.
- Chef Millie just loves
macaroni and cheese.
Her own recipe is
in the New York Times cookbook.
- I know I can't ask
which of you made which dish.
- That's right!
We got rules around here,
Chef Millie, even for you!
- We know, Cheffy. We know.
So, chefs, you all just got my thoughts.
I did not vote or score
any of your macaroni and cheeses.
- But, Millie is here
to introduce your next challenge.
I want each and every one of you to create
your own signature dish.
Okay...
Chef Millie will not rate
your dish, but she will taste it.
So, as you humans say, bring it.
And it could be
whatever you want it to be.
It's all your vision.
Any chef worth their salt...
has a signature dish.
So, today, I'm testing
if you can execute your vision.
I'm really excited
to have the opportunity
to do something that's in my wheelhouse.
I am ready to win a main challenge.
- The chef that gets the highest rating
on their signature dish
will be on their way
to winning my $50,000,
plus the other $50,000
from our grand prize sponsor,
HelloFresh.
That's $100,000.
- Woo!
Little change, little change. Alright.
The chef with the lowest rating
will not be winning anything.
I'm sorry.
Don't forget, one of you already knows
that you aren't going home at all.
I think I'm getting pretty good
at hiding my emotions.
It's hard at times, though, for real.
I will give you 60 minutes to start.
It is time to start. Any questions?
Too bad. So long.
My goodness!
Does he always disappear this quickly?
Thank you! Bye, friends!
Cheffy got an attitude today.
- I really wanna wow
my fellow contestants.
They are putting out
some really great food,
and I want to be able
to level the playing field as a home cook.
Chefs, begin the challenge.
In three, two, one, go!
- Couple of these...
- Sugar, sugar, sugar,
sugar, sugar, sugar...
- Alright, let's get these steaks out.
My signature dish is pan-seared ribeye
with a bourbon creamed corn
and roasted potatoes.
It kinda screams everything about me.
You got big steak flavor,
the bourbon cream corn
gives a nice sweetness,
and I'm a bartender, so I get to use
some bourbon. That's neat.
There we go!
That's what I wanted. Pretty neat, huh?
- So, this is one of my sort of secondary
signature dishes, if I'm being honest.
"I can cook what I cook"
is my signature dish all the time.
However, seemed a little too safe.
Duck Fried Rice is the official title
of my signature dish.
I'm frying the rice, but it's not
like a traditional fried rice.
I wanted to try something
a little more difficult.
Let's get this caramel on
because I think we got
a winner with this one.
- This is going bam, bam, bam,
thank you, ma'am.
I'm making some barbecue jackfruit tacos
with fried plantain
and a jalapeño crema.
I love munchies,
I love a really good bite,
everybody loves tacos,
and this was one of the variations
I kind of perfected over some time.
- Gotta get started on my salsa.
I'm so excited today
because there's no restraints,
and we can do whatever we want
because that's the way I am.
My signature dish is a fried green tomato
with a crab salad
and tomatillo salsa.
It's definitely a mix of Southern
and kinda what I love to eat.
So, I'm feeling not very chaotic,
and it's very odd.
Probably because I make this a lot.
What's next?
I think with the feedback
that I got from the last round,
I'm kinda equipped to cook
for these people now.
They like sweetness, balance, texture,
and so I'm gonna put all that.
I'm gonna shove it all into this dish.
I decided to go with a lamb rack
with cream mushrooms,
a Thai salsa verde, and date almond rice.
It's one of the first things
I learned how to make
in a professional kitchen.
I need to make sure
my seasoning is on point,
and the lamb is a perfect mid-rare
if I wanna win this.
I will be using every second
of every minute.
As a home cook, I feel a bit nervous,
but I feel like I have a bunch
of good recipes up my sleeve.
I'm gonna make
a Manchurian-style paneer bao bun
with a slaw and an herbie dahi drizzle.
It reminds me of street food.
I also like fusion,
so this is an Indo-Chinese dish.
Reflects who I am,
what I like.
All the things.
- Alright.
All about those presentation points.
My little melon baller here.
So, I'm scooping these potatoes
because they're gonna look
really pretty on the plate.
Huzzah! Pretty nifty tip.
So, I'll just boil those, and then
finish them off in the oven.
I'm gonna blow these chefs away.
Oh, yeah. Those look great.
With my potato balls.
That sounds so weird.
- Let's go with the verde next.
At this point, I've taken note
of what kind of flavors everybody likes.
Gotta have fish sauce here.
This one's for Josh.
I feel like I figured out
a chef alias already.
That Chef Josh is Chef Arugula.
The Thai salsa verde
actually is targeting Joshua,
who has such a Thai palate.
Awesome.
Chefs, 30 minutes remain.
- I'm feeling confident right now.
My sauce is coming together.
I need to try this.
Wow.
Okay, it is very spicy,
and I've gotten feedback.
Some folks don't like it too spicy.
So, we're gonna sprinkle in
some brown sugar
to sweeten this up.
- Okay, let's try that.
Woo! That is so good.
That's the best one I've ever made!
Woo! I'm feeling great.
Usually, I'm just throwing dishes,
there's stuff dropping on the floor.
It's just chaos all the time.
But, right now,
I'm so cool, calm, and collected.
And I'm really enjoying this
because I just feel confident
in this dish.
Chefs, 10 minutes remain.
- Alright, let's check on these potatoes
because they've been in there a bit.
What in the hell?
Oh, crap! My balls!
I've forgotten about them,
and I overcooked my potato balls.
I let the potatoes go a little bit
too long in my boiling water.
I said these were gonna be roast potatoes,
but there's no time,
so we're just gonna fry 'em up.
No one's ever gonna know
that I overcooked these balls.
Oh, yeah. Those look great.
Gorgeous.
I think it's either Leon or Lanky
not cooking in this challenge.
I think one of those guys came up
with the elote mac and cheese dish.
Both Leon and Lanky can cook,
and I think they're both professionals
in the kitchen,
so that wouldn't be to--
Oh, me.
Alright. Well, I just burned my caramel
that I was waiting forever to cook.
The sauce, it's burned. I can't use it.
I am stressed out.
I'm realizing I don't have enough time.
Hoo!
I may have bitten off
more than I can chew here.
It's a race against time
in the Secret Chef kitchens.
But after burning her caramel sauce,
Danielle is back to square one.
- I may have bitten off
more than I can chew here.
I'm gonna try to put it back on
because I definitely think that this is
a major component to the dish.
How are you looking over here?
I'm scared about these.
Oh, my God. Steaming?
I'm not getting a great sear
on these steaks.
There's just too much moisture in the pan.
So I've gotta get that moisture out.
I'm worried about that steak.
It doesn't look like a great sear.
That looks like a good sear.
So, I'm just praying for the best.
Chefs, 5 minutes remain.
This is good.
- I kinda wanna start plating.
- So, I'ma do my jackfruit.
This is definitely
not what I had planned.
I am shaking.
- Some of these pieces are better prepared
than some of the others.
Chefs, one minute remains.
- I really need to hurry. Tighten it up.
Tighten it up, baby.
- The crema on here.
- Happy with how the duck came out.
- Presentation... is everything.
Just a tad mid-rare.
- Doing it!
- Five, four, three,
two, one!
Time is up.
The challenge is ended.
- I did it!
- I'm really proud of this dish.
This is like literally me on a plate.
I'm pissed
that I chose to do this
instead of what I know
I can do in this time frame.
I know that my flavors are good,
but I regret how I plated the dish.
Chefs,
please return to your tasting rooms.
Chefs, don't forget,
even though the advantage winner
didn't make a dish,
they still taste and rate yours,
and it will count towards your score.
Alright.
Please begin the tasting.
- Alright, let's see what
my competitors have for me.
Hopefully, it's not good.
- Ooh!
"Manchurian paneer -style bao buns."
- Mmm!
- Whoa.
I love heat, but that is--
Wow. That's, like, too spicy.
I'm hurtin' over here.
- I don't wanna be a baby,
but think that's got too much spice to it.
Holy cow.
- That is excellent.
- That's good. Execution, 10.
- Delicious heat. Tastes good.
"Duck fried rice"?
I don't think it really is...
fried rice.
- So, it's fried rice that you put
in a pool of liquid,
and I'm not sure what this liquid is.
- It seems like it's probably
like some cherry sauce.
The pink and the purple
looks like Pepto-Bismol.
So, presentation is way down.
- Okay, this is one of those dishes
where looks are deceiving.
This is actually pretty good.
- The duck is super tender.
- Whatever the pink sauce is,
is delicious.
The duck fried rice.
It has Josh's touch on it.
I think Josh made this dish.
Barbecue jackfruit taco.
- They didn't wanna do chicken.
They're showing off their skills
by cooking jackfruit.
- That's a great bite.
That's how a taco should present.
I mean, just look at it!
It's damn good,
but I feel like all I really taste
is chili and adobo, and I wish
there was more depth to it.
"Lamb rack
with creamy mushroom." Presentation?
Eh, it's just middle of the road.
This is raw. This is all the way raw.
Need a Surgeon General warning
or something on this plate.
- Lamb, super tender.
Perfectly seasoned.
Beautiful presentation.
- "Ribeye with bourbon creamed corn
and roasted potatoes."
- The potatoes in the dish were beautiful.
Like, I don't know what happened to
the potatoes. I'd eat a million of them.
- Potatoes are oily, and those aren't
roasted. I think they flash-fried them.
- Just screams Lanky.
- The steak is tough. It's not...
nearly as tender as the other proteins.
"Fried green tomato with crab salad."
- It looks nasty as hell.
- I hate the fact that
she ruined this crab
with all of this mayo-based sauce on it.
- Pretty good though.
- Great texture on the fried green tomato.
- Taste is rather good, too.
- Cool signature dish.
- I love this.
- I don't like that.
For good or bad,
it can all come down to personal taste,
which leaves even the most confident chefs
on edge.
Monkey butt, think I get
one more day with you in here?
Sure hope so.
Attention. Leave the monkey alone.
Welcome back to Secret Chef.
Dishes have been shared.
I'm nervous.
Now, reviews will be served.
Oh boy, jeez...
- Reviews for Chef Donut.
"This dish hits a home run.
Mushrooms were delicious.
Lamb cooked to perfection and rice, too."
Duh! Of course you love it.
It's got fish sauce in it,
just like all the other dishes
you've made.
I got you!
And now, I know you're Josh!
Just reeled you in so easily!
- Chef Gherkin said,
"Duck is perfectly cooked,
but not seasoned.
Everything else was perfect."
Maybe this didn't go as bad as I thought.
- Chef Radicchio said, "OMG.
Incredible. Love this.
Great texture and flavor."
Well, thank you.
I'm very proud of it, too.
- Chef Millie Peartree said,
"I like the brightness
of the chimichurri sauce,
"and the steak was cooked perfectly.
On the other hand."
Ugh. That's not a good sign.
"The potatoes were greasy
and did not taste
like a creamy roasted potato.
You could tell they were flash-fried."
Because that's what I had time for.
- Chef Arugula says,
"Cabbage seemed not needed."
Okay.
Chef Couscous said,
"Wish cabbage slaw was edible."
I am frustrated with myself
about the cabbage.
My intent wasn't for them
to eat the cabbage.
It was more so
a quick, last-minute garnish.
- Chef Macron said, "Duck cooked well,
but the purple and white turned pink,
and it looked like Pepto-Bismol."
Sorry about that.
- Chef Couscous said, "Interesting idea.
Too many textures clash with flavor."
I tend to disagree, actually.
- And Chef Millie Peartree said,
"Even though the lamb was well-seasoned,
it was undercooked."
She had to have gotten the one
that was on the more rare side.
Oh, dang it!
Dang it! Dang it!
Chef Kumquat said,
"Way too much sauce.
Mushy. Cute presentation."
Felt personal.
I feel like "cute presentation"
is a dig,
but whatever.
Overall, I think...
I think I'm still here.
I would be shocked... shocked...
I would be shocked...
I would be shocked.
Chefs, please go to the lobby.
- Just being here,
I am filled with anxiety all the time.
I feel like I never know
what's gonna happen.
Oh, money. We're comin' for you.
- But, I think that Chef Arugula
had immunity this round.
I really think I know who Chef Arugula is,
and we were definitely missing
their kind of style of cooking
in these dishes.
Hello, chefs! What a day!
Let's please thank our guest,
Chef Millie, for coming over.
- Everybody's feeling alright?
- No.
- No? Okay!
Well, I'm happy to see you guys.
- Happy to see you!
- Likewise.
Today has been
such an amazing day,
and you all did such an amazing job.
Each and every one of you
put out a wonderful dish.
But, you know
somebody has to go home today.
I honestly don't wanna hear
my alias called at all
because it has been not my best day.
I was really proud of my dish,
but the others didn't like it so much.
I think some people liked my dish.
Some people don't love the spice level,
so I'm definitely not feeling
100% confident.
But I really need a win,
and I hope this is the dish
that makes me get my first win.
- Do not react if you hear
your chef alias name.
So, Chef Kumquat...
and Chef Donut...
One of you...
has the highest-rated dish.
And the other has the lowest-rated dish.
My dish was undercooked.
I wish I would have maybe
not even served three racks
just to make sure everyone got
two perfectly mid-rare racks.
- Chef Donut.
The other chefs rated your dish...
the highest!
This is a good thing.
- But, that means Chef Kumquat...
you did not win.
- I did too much.
I should have stuck to my guns
and cooked what I knew
would carry me through,
but I tried to do something different,
and I'm not happy at all.
- Please step forward.
Son of a gun.
My nerves got the best of me.
The gameplay got the best of me.
- Would you like to reveal whether or not
you're a professional chef? A home chef?
- I'm a professional chef.
I've been cooking for 15 years.
I own two cafés.
She's a professional chef.
She has a restaurant and a café and stuff.
I am just shocked.
But, as a home cook,
I kinda wanna do a happy dance.
Obviously, I can't be doing that
in front of all the other chefs,
but I'm feeling really confident
with the things
that I've been putting out there
because I'm still in the game,
and I'm seeing chefs go home.
- Danielle, what was your dish?
- The "duck fried rice."
No, you did not.
You were-- You did not.
You didn't-- There's no way.
I had just painted this picture
all from the brioche egg salad
with the caviar
that this person was just it.
In my head, I'm gonna be duking it out
with Danielle in the finals,
and, oh, my God, was I wrong.
- Thought the flavors were good,
but it was definitely not fried rice.
So, I can't be too mad.
It shouldn't have looked like
Pepto-Bismol, whoever told me that.
Because the pink,
the white and the purple...
- That's cold.
- ...didn't go well together.
- That's mean!
- I was happy with the feedback, though.
I thought
I was still gonna be here
after everyone tasted it
because Chef Millie said that it tasted
100% better than it looked,
and I was pretty confident.
But, you know, you win some,
you lose some.
- Chef Kumquat, thanks for playing.
- Thank you.
- Should we all bring it in?
- Yeah.
- I came here to prove that I was
more than just sandwiches,
and I think I did that.
- Alright. See you guys.
- We'll miss you!
- I know what I'm doing.
I know how to layer flavor.
I definitely think that my flavor profiles
were probably some of the best
of all the things that I tasted.
But, you know it happens.
You win some, you lose some.
Gonna keep fighting, gonna keep cooking,
and just have a good time.
- Who said Pepto-Bismol, though?
Who said that?
- That's kinda janky.
- The pink and the purple looks like
Pepto-Bismol. I did not like that.
- I didn't. I'll tell you that right now.
Leon did not.
- I didn't. No.
Thank goodness it's a blind review.
Otherwise, they would think I'm a meanie.
Time to get out of here
and get some rest.
Survived another day.
Personally,
I don't think it's that mean a review.
I mean, the food was pink.
So long.
Next time on Secret Chef...
- Anyone else talk to their food?
The clues start to fall into place.
- It's definitely this dude right here.
- Thank you, Leon,
because I know you're Chef Donut.
The chefs receive a special hello.
- Hello, Fresh!
- Green beans?
How am I gonna make this into a taco?
This dish is a hot mess.
- Mm-mmm.
I love rainbows.
Is there gold at the end of this rainbow?
Spicy hot onion rings.
- Jelly beans.
- Grape soda.
I'm going straight
for Chef Arugula today.
Josh and Leon enter the ring.
- It don't matter if you know who I am.
I'm still gonna beat you.
- Come on, man!
It's level four of ten
on the next Secret Chef.
Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!