Worst Cooks in America (2010–…): Season 23, Episode 8 - Worst Cooks in America - full transcript
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- Previously,
on Worst Cooks in America...
Ooh!
You are all known
for the disastrous things
you've done in the kitchen.
This always is very scary.
What these
people do to food...
Why is it smoking?
Always makes me shocked.
How do you stop a fire
when it's inside the pot?
Oh yeah, they're going to eat
this up, they're going to like this.
This journey for me in boot
camp has been a crazy one.
- Aah!
- Oh!
Whoa!
Let's go, let's go,
let's go, let's go, let's go!
- Oh honey.
- This is delicious.
My expectation
versus the reality...
We can't undo
what the devil's done.
Stop talking and plate!
Like, whoa.
- Whoo.
- Whoa.
- It just disintegrated.
- Oh boy!
Whoa!
That escalated quickly.
This is the last week.
You are the final four.
We have a nice little
horse race going on.
Chef Cliff, how's that
chicken, look good?
Oh thank you!
Emerald, Bobby Flay who?
Never hear of 'em,
never heard of 'em.
May the strongest
recruit win the finale.
I've got a fire under my...
Honestly, I would
love to eviscerate Anne.
Yippee ki-yay.
Cliff, watch out.
Good morning, and congratulations
to you guys, the final four.
You each have transformed from
bumbling amateurs, to confident cooks.
Over the past seven weeks,
we have seen some
considerable abuse
of the lovely ingredients
that we provide
for you here in boot camp.
So we are putting you
in charge of restocking it.
- Oh.
- Okay.
We are going to send you
guys to a local rooftop farm.
Oh, that's so fun!
We're going to give you
guys a list of produce,
that you guys will have
to identify and harvest.
- Oh goodness.
- Okay.
The team that gathers the most
correct ingredients, will win.
The winning
team will get to select
a curated box of
farm fresh ingredients,
to work with during
the Skill Drill Cook.
And, they will also assign
a box to the opposing team.
- Ha-ha!
- Y'all are in trouble.
- Come get your baskets.
- Get there!
Goodbye, red team.
Hurray!
- Today we're going to the farm!
- Oh, my goodness.
- Oh, my goodness!
- Look at all the vegetables!
This is a farm with
a view of an Eifel Tower,
maybe not the Eifel tower,
well I mean like,
it's close to it...
Isn't it?
What do we have,
what do we have?
- Thyme.
- Thyme, we need sage.
Back home in Kentucky, everyone
and their mother has a garden,
but I don't garden
because I don't like bugs.
All right, we're good,
we're good, we're good!
Which kind
of pepper is that?
I think that it's just a jalapeño,
so I don't think we need that.
- Okay.
- Is this a hot pepper here?
Every pepper
in the world is here.
There's squash in a bucket,
there's radishes
and beets that look the same.
No, this is a banana pepper.
- Yeah, is there a banana pepper on here?
- No.
It's hard,
it's harder than I thought.
We need
dandelion greens,
that should be
pretty easy to find.
- Yeah, they should look like dandelions, right?
- Right?
Roar, dandelion,
if you hear us, roar!
I'm going to say this
is dandelion greens, look.
Go with it, yes, yes, yes.
I got sage, I've got sage!
Beans, green, tomatoes,
potatoes, rams, lambs,
you name it, were
grabbing it in this garden.
These are gooseberries,
I know we need gooseberries.
Yup, grab those.
Oh, this is rainbow chard.
Where is the mint,
smell it, smell it!
I know, I've been
trying to find the mint.
- Smell it, smell it!
- Gotta find the mint.
We need thyme, hello
farmer, we're running out of time.
- Where the hell is the oregano?
- What is this?
- Where the hell is the oregano?
- Marti, what is this?
- Is that oregano?
- No, I don't know, is it?
That's not oregano.
I think this is oregano,
it smells like pizza.
Okay, get some.
Three, two, one.
No, no, come on!
I am having a heat stroke...
Come on!
Right now, my
wig is sweating off.
- Oh boy.
- Good job.
- We did good.
- We did well.
Wait, you're an English
teacher, is it "good," or "well?"
It's supposed to be well, but--
- It's well, we did well, we did well, yeah!
- Yeah, well.
I haven't ran in so long.
- All right, we got
out our hoe, and we went to work.
Okay.
Let's see which team gathered the
most correct produce from our list.
- Oh boy.
- Ooh.
- We have leeks, yellow squash,
radishes, that is correct.
- Yay!
Just a couple pieces of kale.
- Yay!
- It's a light kale salad.
Thyme, a single hot pepper,
and we have some gooseberries.
Yay!
You collected
10 correct ingredients.
Rainbow chard, leek, what
is with the one piece of kale?
It's a sustainable farm, we
didn't want to run them out.
Gooseberries, I too
have one hot pepper.
Squash, radish,
thyme, little gem.
You selected
12 correct ingredients,
which means blue team, you win.
And the blue team wins again!
Blue team, which box
would you like to work with?
We want to work with
the steak box, box three.
- Which box would you like to
assign to the red team?
- Uh, box one.
Honey, nobody wants to deal
with that lamb, they can have it.
You will now have 30 minutes
to make a composed dish,
using the ingredients
in your farm box.
The recruit on each team
that makes the best dish,
will be moving on to the finale.
- It's happening!
- I know.
Your time starts now.
Ready to do this,
ready to do this?
How the flip does this work?
Kara, you only need one portion,
- so like, two or three lambchops is fine.
- Yes, chef.
Boil, hurry up
and boil, girl, okay.
This rehearsal has to perfectly,
because the main
show is the final cook.
That's dramatic line reading!
- What's that, Marti?
- Uh, fennel seeds?
- You got to toast 'em and grind 'em...
- Oh, my God.
There's fennel pollen over
there, though, you could use that.
Oh, baby, baby,
baby, baby, baby,
- down, down, down mummy.
- I'm your baby.
I know, I love you, I'm proud
of you, see you at the finale.
- How're you doing, Peachez?
- I am doing fine.
- How are you doing, my love?
- I'm doing so good.
I'm making a rosemary
and thyme steak,
with an arugula apricot
salad, and fried potatoes.
Cheyenne,
just check your steak.
How are
you doing, my steak?
I'm doing
pretty good, thanks for asking, Chey.
I want that whole
pan to go in the oven.
- Okay.
- Any fun advice for me?
- You're going to do the exact same thing.
- Yeah, duh.
- Not without this.
- Yes, that's right.
I work at a shelter, and we get
a lot of women, men
and children who come in.
If I were go to the finale,
it would give me confidence
to teach them how to
cook in their own kitchens.
- Here we go.
- Can you hold it with one hand?
No, it's so heavy.
Starting boot camp, I didn't
even realize I only used one hand.
I'm making a cucumber
that I'm going to mix.
- What, chef, what?
- Oh, my--
- The knife cut?
- Yeah.
Yes, know.
And now, I have successfully
learned how to use two hands.
Oh, my God, I did it.
Ooh, another double shallot.
This is going to be a good cook.
I'm going to use
that kiss method,
"keep it simple, stupid,"
and do a straightforward
meat, potato and veggie side.
- Peachez, I want you to cut
up your broccoli rabe...
- Okay.
- So you could blanch it, and
you can-- - And then I can cook it?
- And then you're going to right into your pan.
- Okay.
Little more, come on.
Lamb is my favorite meat,
squash is my favorite vegetable,
I couldn't have made
myself a better box.
Kara, are you
using yellow squash?
You have to, right?
- Yes chef, of course.
- Of course you are.
- It's going in my couscous.
- Awesome.
The first dish I made, you might
have been able to feed to a dog.
Squash and zucchini with
a special garlic aioli sauce.
Whoa.
- So salty.
- Oh man.
But this dish, I would
actually feed it to Eddie.
I like it.
I've come so far, I am
determined to make it to the finale.
10 minutes, everyone!
What is this, I don't drink
dairy, how do you get this off?
I don't drink milk in the 1940s,
why isn't this just a carton?
- Pop it, pop it, pop it.
- Not with these nails, Cheyenne?
- Have you got a hand?
- You're kidding me right now.
I have beautiful nails.
You just used your
other hand, Chey!
- I sure did.
- This is growth, baby, growth.
I'm mixing my potatoes, but
the consistency is changing to...
Toothpaste?
- Why is it like this?
- 'Cause you have cold cream.
Oh, my goodness.
This isn't stressful at all.
If these potatoes cost me
a place in that grand finale,
I swear on my potato's life, I
will never eat a starch again.
This is actually my nightmare.
- Why is it like this?
- 'Cause you have cold cream.
I need to
fix this potato somehow,
so I'm going to add in
some parmesan cheese,
hopefully that will
fluff it out, smooth it out,
I don't know but anything
has to work at this point.
- Oh, my God.
- Blue team, pull your sticks.
Hey, how are you, friend?
Oh, my God,
my hands are shaking so bad.
Relax, relax,
deeper, deeper, deeper.
I can't go deeper, I'm going
to cut all my fingers off!
Marti, you're taking
way too long
with that eggplant,
just get it on the grill.
Pretty pretty plates, let's go,
we have three
and a half minutes.
Look at this dinner you're
making in 30 minutes,
Rachael Ray would
be so proud of you.
- Yes.
- I've already texted her.
10 seconds.
Oh, my God.
Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, hands
up, you're done,
and for me to
have a heart attack.
Oh, gosh.
Heading into the last
tasting in boot camp,
I am so nervous,
everything is riding on this.
- Ready to go try these, oh my gosh.
- Let's go.
You both have made
me beyond proud.
Peachez, you're up first.
It is a steak with garlic
potatoes and a broccoli rabe.
The steak is seasoned
well, I enjoy rare beef,
so personally, I'm good with it.
The potatoes are flavorful,
but could use a touch of salt.
- I'm glad it turned out this way.
- Thank you, chef.
Cheyenne.
I have made
a rosemary-thyme steak,
with arugula salad
and fried potatoes.
Steak is seasoned well,
temperature, that was an issue.
- The salad, the acid is definitely there...
- Okay.
- But it could use a touch of salt.
- Okay.
But the potatoes are good.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Marti, you're up first.
Oh, that's quite a dish.
The lamb chop, I did onion
powder, fennel powder and salt,
and then in my couscous,
eggplant, tomato, jalapeño and fennel.
- Lambchop's really good.
- Whoo!
Really nicely seasoned,
really nicely seared.
Your Israeli couscous is
a pinch heavy on the salt.
But if you had me over
to dinner at your house
and fed me this dish,
I would be very happy.
- Come on over.
- All right.
- Excellent work.
- Thanks so much.
Kara, come on up.
My lamb is seasoned
with coriander sauce,
that's made from Greek
yogurt and blackberries.
There's squash
and tomato in the couscous.
Of course
there is squash.
Your lamb, it's nicely
cooked, nicely seasoned.
- Your Israeli couscous is seasoned very nicely.
- Thank you.
But, the ratio of
couscous to stuff is a little off,
I'm having a hard time finding
all of that stuff that's in here.
- But what you've put together
here was very creative.
- Thank you.
- Nice job.
- Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I know, if chef Anne
picks me to go to the finale,
I will stop at nothing
to win this for her.
- Nice job.
- Good luck.
Recruits, this is going to be
the most painful decision yet.
The recruit that
will be moving forward
and representing
me in the finale, is...
- Peachez.
- Oh, yes!
Congratulations.
Cheyenne, never lose sight of
the fact that you did not give up.
- I am so proud of you, I am so proud of you.
- Thank you, thank you.
Unfortunately, I am going to
have to ask you for your apron.
Thank you so much for all
the opportunities you gave me.
I'm so happy for Peachez.
I'm sad for myself,
but this experience was so much
more than just winning $25,000.
Cooking has not only given me new
skills, but it's given me confidence.
- Peachez, congratulations, how are we feeling?
- Joyful.
I worked so hard,
and baby, it has paid off.
The recruit on the red team
who will be moving forward is...
Marti.
Congratulations.
Kara, I have loved
having you on my team.
To see your progress every week
has really just been fantastic,
- and you should be extremely proud.
- Yes, for sure.
Unfortunately, I'm going to
- have to ask you for your apron.
- Okay.
I feel so blessed
to have been here.
It's going to change
mine and Eddie's life,
because we're going to have
romantic nights cooking together,
and don't have to go
to my mom's house to eat.
Congratulations Marti,
how do you feel?
I am so grateful!
You are the winners
of your teams.
Two drag queens
going head to head?
Now the work begins.
Peachez, Marti,
today we will work with you
to develop your menus,
for a three-course,
restaurant-quality meal,
that will be critiqued
by a panel of experts.
- Marti, step into my sparkle box.
- All right.
- Peachez, let's go plan our winning menu.
- Let's do it.
For our first course, seared
sea scallops with watermelon,
- watermelon rind pickles,
and watermelon radish.
- Okay.
Here we go.
All right, but we want to get
them all nice and brown.
The hardest part of this
course is the scallops.
We want to be careful with them,
'cause we don't
want to break them.
Gorgeous, turn it over.
We have a peeled watermelon,
we're going to make slices
that are about
a half an inch thick.
It turns out, the hardest part
for Marti is cutting watermelon.
All the same size
of slices though.
Uh-uh, a little thicker.
A little--
I know.
- We're going to do a lightly cured Hamachi.
- Okay.
Cilantro, peanut,
lime and tamarind.
Hamachi's a fish, yeah?
I have no
idea what my appetizer is,
but it sounds fun.
So now a fish, when
we cut, I'm holding it,
I'm pinching it down,
and then press.
If you get it, and you're like,
"oh, I'm not going to cut it,"
you can go back,
- but you want fluid...
- Sort of like a saw or...
- Don't saw, because you
want nice, sliced pieces.
- Okay.
Really perfectly, beautiful
slices, texturally and visually.
I feel like I'm going cross-eyed,
is that what I'm doing?
- This is straight.
- That's straight?
This is straight,
that knife is straight.
Stand back and look
at it, stand back and look at it.
I see it, I see it.
I have to do this
tomorrow, all by myself.
I have got to get this together,
or I don't think I'm
winning this money.
Now this, I love you,
but this is garbage.
Oh, the poor fish.
Oh, the poor fish.
That was your straightest
piece today, so get that on there.
Now gently, let's just
toss all this together.
Everything nicely
coated, but not soggy.
Okay, now get 'em off that.
Peachez has
a good palate that has
only gotten better over
the course of boot camp,
so I'm confident that
with Peachez by my side,
we have the best shot
at taking down Anne.
- And with every piece, cut some radish.
- Right on top?
And then, take the scallops.
- Oh.
- All right, let's try her.
Cool.
We're going to win.
Honey, this dish tastes
like it came from heaven.
That's good.
Our second course, herb
and potato crusted halibut,
with some cucumber
noodles, and then
we'll top the whole thing
with a fried zucchini blossom.
We love flowers!
I didn't even know you could
eat the flower of the zucchini.
There, good.
Then we're going to
do seared duck breast,
- glazed endive, potato, and a sour cherry jus.
- Okay.
Hey knew that I enjoyed
making that duck breast,
one of my favorite challenges
in this whole competition.
So two duck,
two duck, right, two duck.
So duck duck, duck duck.
Add our endives to the pan.
We got some color here,
you see that color?
- Mm-hmm.
- That's what I want, okay?
Here you go,
now chop 'em up.
I learned
some things here.
I am so proud of
how far I've come.
Eight weeks ago,
I don't know anything.
Stop 'cause you're on fire,
stop 'cause you're on fire!
- Onion?
- Incorrect.
No!
Oh damn it, it's still on!
And now, I can season,
I can saute, I can flambe.
Hah.
We have a little
trick, potato flakes,
or like, instant
mashed potato flakes.
Good, great, here.
Who knew you could put potato flakes
on fish, did you know this, America?
And all these
super nice and crispy,
and it kind of
tastes like French fries.
- Look at those, beautiful.
- Oh!
- All right!
- Okay.
- Oh.
- It's gotten a bit crooked.
Damn.
Okay, the largest
hurdle right now,
is getting Peachez
to cut things straight.
Right on top
of that, leaning it on there.
Okay.
- Look at you, eating flowers.
- This is so fun!
Right?
Light, delicate,
flavorful, right?
So you just take the sauce...
- And put it right down the middle?
- Yup. Work.
Let's taste some duck.
Whoa.
I made this? Okay.
For dessert, cheesecakes.
- Oh work, okay.
- Yeah mm-hmm.
With a blueberry compote,
and a whipped lemonade.
- Boujie.
- Boujie, right?
So we're just going
to make the batter
- for our little tuiles, our little cookies.
- Okay.
A half cup of sugar.
Tuiles are little
almond-laced cookies.
- So this is going to grow...
- Leave some space?
Leave lots of
space in between there.
For dessert,
coconut and peach tart.
- All right?
- Yes.
Start breaking off pieces,
and let's get it in here.
Remember, nice and
even, nice and thin, right?
Now you can put the fire higher,
- because we want to what?
- Thicken this baby.
- Oh, my goodness, oh look what happened.
- Oh no.
They were way too big, so it
kind of bakes into, one giant tuile.
Let's use about half the amount,
it's not a problem when
things go sideways today.
Curd and curry...
Oh, there's
some shells in there.
So, hang on, if you've
got shells in your eggs,
the little shell wants to go
back to whence they came.
What is this magic?
Wingardium Leviosa,
what is happening over here?
I'm a witch!
That's what got 'em in Salem,
they were just cooking with eggs.
Oh, my God,
I'm making a cheesecake.
Cowabunga!
It has been eight weeks
of learning from this man,
and now, we're going
to walk arm in arm,
out of this kitchen
and into the sunset.
- Let's do it.
- Fantastic.
Get a spoonful, let it
fall off the tip of the spoon.
- Now these little guys go right there.
- Oh!
That is so good.
You are going to be a rock star.
Am I surprised that it winds
up Marti versus Peachez?
No way.
They are both very strong,
smart, confident ladies.
I just want Marti
to wind up victorious.
- I'm so pumped.
- So I will see you at the finale.
- Okay, thank you.
- Oh!
- Congratulations.
- I'm going to finish this cheesecake.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Okay, see you, chef.
Today's look is all red,
the lip is red,
the nails are red,
the outfit is red,
we are red, baby!
I am ready to get that $25,000!
Today,
I am feeling excited,
but I just need to stay calm
and stay focused in order to win.
We are ready to win,
no matter who takes
this crown, it is deserving,
and America, you need to know,
that you are under
a queen-dom now.
- You ready?
- I'm so ready.
- Feeling good, you look just like a cherry bomb.
- Look good?
- Boom!
- Yes.
So you'll have 90 minutes to
prepare and serve your first course.
- Best of luck.
- You too.
- You guys, good luck.
- Thanks a lot.
And your time starts now.
- Now, here we go.
- Whee!
All right,
tomatoes, go get tomatoes.
- Let's do lime first.
- Oh, lime vinaigrette.
I am more nervous
than Peachez is right now.
I can't touch,
I can't taste, I can't grab,
I can only stand there and look.
It's actual torture.
I love
you, baby whisk.
And then taste,
taste, taste, taste, taste.
Peachez, I'm gonna
trust that palate.
It's very acidy now.
- Acid forward?
- Yeah.
So more salt?
All right now, let's
cut some watermelon.
In order to win, I just
have to go in there
and focus, get these
knife cuts perfect,
and get that dish looking
as gorgeous as I do today.
Make these beautiful
dices of watermelon,
- don't, just like, don't worry about all that.
- Is this good?
- I need to get rid of the rind though, right?
- Just cut it off.
- Doll, listen to me, relax.
- What?
- Pop the rinds out here...
- Okay.
- Look, you have this nice middle piece so...
- Okay.
There you go.
Low tech solution always, right?
Watermelon does not like me.
No, hold it like this,
and hold the watermelon
up top, there you go.
- Like that?
- Yes, there you go.
You have to cut her,
you have to slice her,
you have to put her in that little
thing to chop your fingers off.
I'm nervous my whole hand
is going to get eaten up
by that manila,
what is that thing called?
A mandolin.
- There.
- Oh, that's better.
All right good, so just do
a whole bunch of 'em now.
Lion fingers, remember.
Welcome to
Lion Fingers Airways,
please keep your fingers
tucked and on a flat surface,
to avoid a crash, ding.
Beautiful.
Our judges are Matt Abdoo, chef and
owner of Pig Beach in New York city,
Millie Peartree,
chef and philanthropist,
and Kwame Onwuachi,
chef, author,
and executive producer
for Food wide magazine.
Welcome, judges,
thank you guys for joining us.
Pleasure to be here.
Eight weeks ago,
12 of the worst cooks
in America
entered our boot camp.
After weeks of intense training,
our final two recruits have
fought their way to the top.
- Okay.
- Nice.
This will be a blind tasting,
and you'll be served
dish X and dish Y,
so you won't know
which finalist is which.
You'll rate these meals
based on presentation,
taste, technical difficulty,
and overall execution.
There's a lot on the line today.
The winner will win a big,
fat check for $25,000.
But this is also a little competition
between myself and Cliff,
to see who's the better teacher.
We've got to get
back to the kitchen,
but please enjoy your meals,
and we'll see you soon.
- Thank you.
- Thank you guys so much.
It's done, can I see the salmon?
A little bit more,
right in front. Done.
- 45 minutes, recruits, 45 minutes!
- 45 minutes, thank you.
Now that my
Hamachi is all prepped
and just ready
to get cut and plated,
I can focus on
this dessert course.
We cannot have a warm dough,
we have to let that
butter set in the fridge.
Cut small,
small, small as possible.
Faster, faster, please.
- Salt.
- Oof, medic.
- I'm going to need a medic.
- Here, get a towel.
Here I am, about to
bleed all over the station,
no, no, no, no, no.
Jason, I love you baby,
but I need you to move.
Wrap me up and let me cook!
- All right, you just need a Band-Aid.
- Yeah, just a Band-Aid.
Thank you
very much, Jason.
It is fine, you're fine Peachez.
Oh...
I need Jason again.
This is comical at this point.
I cut my other finger, oh,
my God, are you kidding me?
It's just begun,
and I'm bleeding
out of both hands,
this is a nightmare.
I don't even know,
I don't even know.
Oh...
I need Jason again.
I have to slow down,
I have to focus,
or I am going to end up without
hands by the end of this cook.
All right, good.
Do you feel
enough of the vinegar?
Yeah, just needs
an extra little bit of salt.
This is just like
cutting straight,
the same way you
did the potatoes,
- so I'm not going to look at you.
- Great.
In order for Peachez to cut a
straight anything, I can't be looking.
I'll take it.
- When you slice your first slice, let me see it.
- Yes, chef.
I am going to become the knife.
- Let the knife do the work.
- Yup.
Perfect.
Whatever it takes.
- And then you're going to start plating.
- Okay.
So we want our
pan screaming hot.
Getting these scallops
ready is anxiety inducing.
They have to be
perfect golden-brown,
like little gold nuggets that
you would mine in the mouth.
Turn it
over, great, great.
Five minutes remain, like,
grab it, come on, just go.
You can get
really close with it,
yes, that's exactly what I want.
Great, go, go, go.
Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, hand up, you're
done, that's the first course.
Ah, beautiful.
Peachez, your
plate looks divine,
but mine's heavenly
and it's going to win.
- I feel good, I do feel good.
- So do I, so do I.
I'm super excited, I can't wait
to see what they put together.
- Wow, look at this.
- This looks amazing.
Are you
ready to try dish Y?
We have a Hamachi crudo with
cilantro, peanuts,
lime and tamarind.
There's a multitude
of textures over here.
I love the acid that's sort
of just jumps off the plate.
It's so delicious,
it's so refreshing.
You know what's missing
for me though, a little bit?
Some spice, spice would
have rounded this out.
Something for me that I'm
always a stickler with is knife cuts.
If you're not
using the knife correctly,
you can end up with
sort of bruised herbs.
- The mince is bruised, but the
Hamachi cuts are beautiful.
- They're beautiful.
Let's try dish X.
We have seared scallops here
with watermelon radicchio,
dandelion greens, and red onion.
- The scallops are absolutely delicious.
- Oh yeah.
It has good texture,
it has good flavor.
There are so many
different textures here.
I think the dish overall, could
use a little bit more oomph,
a little bit more seasoning,
a little bit more acid,
but I'm very surprised
at where we're starting off.
Actually, I can't
wait for the entree.
Game time.
So you'll have 60 minutes
to serve your entree.
- Yes.
- Okay.
I want you to slice your
potatoes, and do that,
- 'cause that's going to take us a little bit.
- Absolutely, chef.
Yesterday was
a living nightmare,
trying to cut those
sweet potatoes.
- I'm not going to watch you slice one.
- Okay.
But I am feeling
confident that if I focus in,
get nice and close on these Yukon
gold potatoes that we pivoted to,
I can get this right.
Hello, old friend.
We got to mandolin the cucumbers,
here comes the mandolin again.
Now just make slices.
No finger will be lost
on this mandolin flight.
Feeling like carpel tunnel.
Make noodles, just make strips.
- Okay.
- All right good, in your pickle.
Use your bench scraper--
Right, great.
Excellent.
I cut potatoes straight for you.
Now use the tongs,
that are in your hand.
Yes.
We have
30 minutes left, recruits.
Put it right there.
Now it's time to get this duck
scored, seasoned, and in the pan.
These stoves are basically
metal fire pits of doom.
It is like cooking
over the eye of Mordor.
I think the duck
is cooking too quick.
Pull that duck, now.
I've cooked my
fair share of duck,
and just based on
my own internal clock,
I'm concerned that the duck
is going to be overcooked.
Saying a prayer,
we got to go with it.
Oh, it smells amazing.
Come on, chop it
like you want $25,000.
To win the $25,000 would
be the perfect finishing touch,
but no matter
the outcome of this,
Peachez and I have busted butt.
We walked into this competition,
two drag queens who
couldn't even boil water...
Okay, it smells not great.
We got to duck walk,
duck walk, duck walk,
duck walk, duck walk,
duck walk, ka-kada-kak.
Careful of the fire.
And now, give me my frying pan
and spatula, we're cooking.
All right, let's
get your halibut.
Squish it
around a little bit, okay.
Good now, pack that on it.
The hardest part
of this dish is the fish.
It has to be crispy
on the outside,
and supple on the inside.
All right, get 'em out.
- Oh God.
- There you go.
- Whoo!
- Done.
These are burnt.
I am flipping
these potatoes over,
and whoa, whoa
whoa, they are dark.
Come forward here.
- Swing them all over so I can see them all, right.
- Okay.
This is not what I expected.
- Let's see the bottom, that's garbage.
- Oh, okay.
That one's garbage.
I'm very worried that these
are going to ruin this dish for me,
and I can't have that.
I don't like it.
Let's see these two.
Okay, that one's garbage.
A few of them are burnt,
listen, we'll cherry-pick.
I'll take what
I can get right now,
because look,
we have no more time.
It's funny how clocks work.
Now let's fry our
zucchini blossoms.
I'm going to have to really
pay attention to the fry in this.
Carefully dredge, you
know how to dredge it?
- Oh, my God.
- So just take it out,
don't worry, you have an extra.
I completely forgot, okay.
Ooh, oopsies.
Nice, all right, swim her in.
Good, good, let her go.
All right, we have 10 minutes.
Slide your endives to
the middle of the two suns.
With your
finger, poke it.
- Soft?
- Soft.
Okay.
Okay,
so let's drain these.
That's not ever
the look I want to see.
Can I put just a pinch of salt?
- It's up you, but let's drain those.
- Yeah.
Marti's seasoning, it's been
a little hit or miss this season,
but I trust her.
And then remember, use your fork
and we're going
to make like, a twirl.
- Yup.
- On top of each tomato, go, go, go.
- Slice duck.
- Slice.
- Keep sawing, Peachez.
- I'm sawing!
Notice I'm not looking at you,
because if I do,
I'm going to be sick.
- I know.
- Okay.
I got to hand
it to Anne, you know,
she's cool as
a cucumber over there.
I am just as, if not even more
nervous than I was when I started.
- Plus Peachez, I think this is
good for the both of us.
- I agree.
Go, go, go, good.
Let's get our fish.
Just drop it,
straight in the middle.
Oh, gorgeous.
- So proud of you right now.
- Thank you, chef.
Lovely.
- Five, four, three, two, one!
- Three, two, one!
That's it, hands
up, you're done.
- Okay.
- Whoo!
- There we go.
- All right mama?
That's
a beautiful plate.
- That's a beautiful plate.
- Honey!
- But this is the winning plate.
- All right, we'll see.
Get this out there,
let these people taste
this beautiful
restaurant-quality dish.
- Wow, look at that.
- Oh, my gosh, that looks gorgeous.
Let's try this Y.
We have
a duck breast with
endives and potatoes,
and sour cherry jus.
- Wow, let's get us a bite.
- And endive.
I'm going to endive right in.
- Perfect rendered duck skin on top.
- Mm-hmm.
Perfectly cylindrical
cut potatoes.
It show some technical prowess.
The sweetness of the cherry jus,
the char on the endive,
a well-balanced meal.
But for me, it's a little bit over
cooked, but I'm very impressed.
You ready to try dish X?
- Can't wait, look at that.
- Gorgeous.
- Stunning.
- Stunning.
So here we have a herb
and potato crusted halibut,
with cucumber noodles, zucchini
blossom and tomato water.
- Mm.
- Wow.
- Yeah, you here that?
- Mm-hmm.
That's what I'm talking about.
People don't know
how hard it is to make
a crispy-like tempura
batter squash blossom.
I love the balance of
these cucumber noodles,
against the fresh corn and
the fresh cucumber in there.
This was cooked
perfectly in the middle,
the outsides were a little
overcooked, a little dry,
and I feel like the fish was
missing a little something,
good for a little bit
more flavor in the fish.
Yeah, salt would
have went a long way.
If these two courses
are any indication
of what's to come,
I cannot wait for dessert.
Love it, love it.
So you'll have 30 minutes
to serve your dessert.
Whee!
Let's throw these right
in the oven, please.
If you want to use
a rolling pin, you can.
- I got it.
- We don't need no silly rolling pin.
I don't need a rolling pin!
Two courses down, one to go.
Bring out the cheesecake.
- Oh it looks good.
- All right.
Ah, hang on, stop,
spray these last two.
- Oh no, I forgot to spray it.
- Don't worry, it'll be all right.
There is no time to fix,
we're just going to spray the
two remaining ones and just...
Whoo, Lord,
I hope they don't stick.
All right, in the oven,
10 minutes please.
My family!
Come on,
give me 12 pieces, right.
- 12 beautiful pieces of peaches, Peachez.
- It me.
Peachez is doing
a phenomenal job.
She's back there,
working like a seasoned cook.
Yes, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, go.
Especially from
where she started.
Oh boy, okay, okay, okay, okay.
Ooh, yup, okay.
I've seen some things,
here, in boot camp.
We need to check these tarts,
get 'em out so they get cooling now.
All right, let's look
at this, stir it up.
It smells great.
The tuile in the practice
cook was cracked
more than my face after
being in drag for 15 hours.
There, plenty, plenty.
So the tuile today has to be...
All right, in the oven, and then
we're going to check the cheesecakes.
This is the moment of truth.
Pick it up.
- All right. Good, go.
- Okay.
Pretty, pretty pretty pretty.
The are ready for their compond,
compound, compost, compote.
They are ready for the compote.
- Uh, blueberries.
- All right, on the stove?
Yup.
You have 10 minutes left.
Thank you.
I don't think they're
cooked all the way through.
Put 'e m back in, put 'em
back in, turn 'em the other way.
They are soft, nobody wants
some weird, squishy tart.
- In further, in the back.
- It's really, really low.
I don't feel confident
about serving this,
especially when I'm putting a
layer of fresh fruit on the bottom.
That's going to
soak right through!
- Should I move to this one?
- Put 'em in here.
Honey, we in trouble.
- Now it's high.
- Put 'em in the oven though,
you got to put 'em in.
Put 'em back in, put 'em
back in, turn 'em the other way.
These need to be
crispy and golden,
so I throw 'em back in the oven,
and a minute later, they are
where we want them to be.
- These tarts are beautiful, okay?
- They are.
- Five minutes, recruits, five minutes.
- Okay.
- I think these are done.
- They're perfect.
Put them right here.
All right, oh my God, gorgeous.
Now let's get your mint,
and the condensed milk.
Time to make the most
stunning lemon and mint,
frozen beverage,
to bring it all together.
- One minute left, one minute.
- Oh, my goodness.
- One minute.
- Leaf's done, move on,
move on, move on, move on!
Thank you.
Ten seconds.
Three, two, one.
That's it,
hand up, we're done!
- All right, oh my God, they look beautiful.
- Look how pretty that is.
This is one of
the most beautiful dishes
I have seen a recruit
make in a finale for me.
The hard part's over
baby, the hard part's over.
- We're going to win.
- Let's go.
Oh come on, ooh.
Oh-ho.
- All right guys, you ready to try dish X?
- Hell yeah.
We have
a mascarpone cheesecake,
with blueberry compote
and a minty, whipped lemonade.
Cheers to the next winner.
- Cheers.
- Cheers indeed.
- Salute.
- I love it.
Just refreshing, it's bright,
it's perfectly balanced
between sweetness and acidity.
I would take down
a big gulp-size of that.
I've already taken
down a big gulp-size,
and if you don't drink yours,
I'm going to finish it for you.
And how light
is that cheesecake.
The tuile is a little bit soft,
- a little bendy, more so than super crispy.
- Right.
Overall, a delicious dish.
Let's try dish Y.
We have a peach tart
with a coconut cream,
and slightly salted caramel.
- I love the crust.
- I love the texture and the
flavor of these tart shells.
Like butter cookie kind of
thing that they're doing here.
- Butter shortbread, so good.
- Butter shortbread, absolutely.
It's just like pastry
cream, it's like the perfect glue,
for all of these
flavors to come together.
But I think I would
have like to see
the peaches maybe
sliced a little bit thinner.
I think it's time to
decide who's the winner.
Ooh, it's going
to be a hard one.
I'm just blown
away at the talent.
Both delivered and executed
on an incredible chef-worthy level.
I think it comes down to
like, small, minor mistakes.
- Such a great job.
- Do we have to choose somebody?
- I think we do.
- You ready?
Uh, I guess, as
ready as we can be.
All right.
- Hello.
- Hey.
- Hello hello.
- How are you?
Judges, thank you again
so much for joining us today.
Thanks for having us.
- This is Peachez.
- Hi.
Peachez prepared meal Y.
And this is Marti,
who prepared meal X.
Both of you ladies should be
extremely proud of yourselves.
Now let's talk about
that first course.
Those scallops
were perfectly cooked,
we appreciate
all of the textures
that were present on the plate,
but the dish
could have benefitted
- from a little bit of acid.
- Okay.
It's Hamachi time, it was
appetizing, it was bright,
the Hamachi, they were
cut really, really nicely,
but I think it could have
used a little bit of heat,
to balance it out a little bit
when that acid-forward.
Okay, let's get into
that second course.
That halibut, the fish
was perfectly cooked on the inside,
but a little bit
overcooked on the edges.
But honey, we loved
those cucumber noodles.
Let's get into that duck.
Those potatoes
were perfectly cut.
The duck was perfectly rendered,
but it was slightly
overcooked for us.
All right, let's
talk about dessert.
That cheesecake
was light and delicious.
We loved that lemonade, it was bright
and refreshing and everything good.
The tuile was incredibly
flavorful, but was a little bit soft.
Now let's talk about
that peach tart.
We love the flavor, and that
incredible texture of those tart shells.
But those peaches
on top could have
been sliced just
a little bit thinner,
to bring it all together
a little bit better.
Ladies, we loved everything
you presented today,
it's why it's so hard
to make this decision,
but the winner is...
The lovely Peachez.
Are you kidding me?
I did it!
I just won!
Oh, my God, I really won this.
I seriously, for real,
actually won this.
I'm actually on
cloud nine right now.
Peachez's performance
was 150%, I'm just proud.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you, chef.
Marti, I am so proud of you.
There was
absolutely nothing that
I would change
about today's dishes.
Thank you, thank you
so much for everything.
This has been such
a major experience.
I am 100% going
to continue to cook
with the knowledge that
I've learnt in boot camp.
Wait Peachez, not only
have you won this competition,
but you've also won $25,000!
Seriously, I love you mamma,
you're getting some money.
- Thank you!
- Congratulations.
Congratulations.
- Thank you so much!
- You're welcome.
---
- Previously,
on Worst Cooks in America...
Ooh!
You are all known
for the disastrous things
you've done in the kitchen.
This always is very scary.
What these
people do to food...
Why is it smoking?
Always makes me shocked.
How do you stop a fire
when it's inside the pot?
Oh yeah, they're going to eat
this up, they're going to like this.
This journey for me in boot
camp has been a crazy one.
- Aah!
- Oh!
Whoa!
Let's go, let's go,
let's go, let's go, let's go!
- Oh honey.
- This is delicious.
My expectation
versus the reality...
We can't undo
what the devil's done.
Stop talking and plate!
Like, whoa.
- Whoo.
- Whoa.
- It just disintegrated.
- Oh boy!
Whoa!
That escalated quickly.
This is the last week.
You are the final four.
We have a nice little
horse race going on.
Chef Cliff, how's that
chicken, look good?
Oh thank you!
Emerald, Bobby Flay who?
Never hear of 'em,
never heard of 'em.
May the strongest
recruit win the finale.
I've got a fire under my...
Honestly, I would
love to eviscerate Anne.
Yippee ki-yay.
Cliff, watch out.
Good morning, and congratulations
to you guys, the final four.
You each have transformed from
bumbling amateurs, to confident cooks.
Over the past seven weeks,
we have seen some
considerable abuse
of the lovely ingredients
that we provide
for you here in boot camp.
So we are putting you
in charge of restocking it.
- Oh.
- Okay.
We are going to send you
guys to a local rooftop farm.
Oh, that's so fun!
We're going to give you
guys a list of produce,
that you guys will have
to identify and harvest.
- Oh goodness.
- Okay.
The team that gathers the most
correct ingredients, will win.
The winning
team will get to select
a curated box of
farm fresh ingredients,
to work with during
the Skill Drill Cook.
And, they will also assign
a box to the opposing team.
- Ha-ha!
- Y'all are in trouble.
- Come get your baskets.
- Get there!
Goodbye, red team.
Hurray!
- Today we're going to the farm!
- Oh, my goodness.
- Oh, my goodness!
- Look at all the vegetables!
This is a farm with
a view of an Eifel Tower,
maybe not the Eifel tower,
well I mean like,
it's close to it...
Isn't it?
What do we have,
what do we have?
- Thyme.
- Thyme, we need sage.
Back home in Kentucky, everyone
and their mother has a garden,
but I don't garden
because I don't like bugs.
All right, we're good,
we're good, we're good!
Which kind
of pepper is that?
I think that it's just a jalapeño,
so I don't think we need that.
- Okay.
- Is this a hot pepper here?
Every pepper
in the world is here.
There's squash in a bucket,
there's radishes
and beets that look the same.
No, this is a banana pepper.
- Yeah, is there a banana pepper on here?
- No.
It's hard,
it's harder than I thought.
We need
dandelion greens,
that should be
pretty easy to find.
- Yeah, they should look like dandelions, right?
- Right?
Roar, dandelion,
if you hear us, roar!
I'm going to say this
is dandelion greens, look.
Go with it, yes, yes, yes.
I got sage, I've got sage!
Beans, green, tomatoes,
potatoes, rams, lambs,
you name it, were
grabbing it in this garden.
These are gooseberries,
I know we need gooseberries.
Yup, grab those.
Oh, this is rainbow chard.
Where is the mint,
smell it, smell it!
I know, I've been
trying to find the mint.
- Smell it, smell it!
- Gotta find the mint.
We need thyme, hello
farmer, we're running out of time.
- Where the hell is the oregano?
- What is this?
- Where the hell is the oregano?
- Marti, what is this?
- Is that oregano?
- No, I don't know, is it?
That's not oregano.
I think this is oregano,
it smells like pizza.
Okay, get some.
Three, two, one.
No, no, come on!
I am having a heat stroke...
Come on!
Right now, my
wig is sweating off.
- Oh boy.
- Good job.
- We did good.
- We did well.
Wait, you're an English
teacher, is it "good," or "well?"
It's supposed to be well, but--
- It's well, we did well, we did well, yeah!
- Yeah, well.
I haven't ran in so long.
- All right, we got
out our hoe, and we went to work.
Okay.
Let's see which team gathered the
most correct produce from our list.
- Oh boy.
- Ooh.
- We have leeks, yellow squash,
radishes, that is correct.
- Yay!
Just a couple pieces of kale.
- Yay!
- It's a light kale salad.
Thyme, a single hot pepper,
and we have some gooseberries.
Yay!
You collected
10 correct ingredients.
Rainbow chard, leek, what
is with the one piece of kale?
It's a sustainable farm, we
didn't want to run them out.
Gooseberries, I too
have one hot pepper.
Squash, radish,
thyme, little gem.
You selected
12 correct ingredients,
which means blue team, you win.
And the blue team wins again!
Blue team, which box
would you like to work with?
We want to work with
the steak box, box three.
- Which box would you like to
assign to the red team?
- Uh, box one.
Honey, nobody wants to deal
with that lamb, they can have it.
You will now have 30 minutes
to make a composed dish,
using the ingredients
in your farm box.
The recruit on each team
that makes the best dish,
will be moving on to the finale.
- It's happening!
- I know.
Your time starts now.
Ready to do this,
ready to do this?
How the flip does this work?
Kara, you only need one portion,
- so like, two or three lambchops is fine.
- Yes, chef.
Boil, hurry up
and boil, girl, okay.
This rehearsal has to perfectly,
because the main
show is the final cook.
That's dramatic line reading!
- What's that, Marti?
- Uh, fennel seeds?
- You got to toast 'em and grind 'em...
- Oh, my God.
There's fennel pollen over
there, though, you could use that.
Oh, baby, baby,
baby, baby, baby,
- down, down, down mummy.
- I'm your baby.
I know, I love you, I'm proud
of you, see you at the finale.
- How're you doing, Peachez?
- I am doing fine.
- How are you doing, my love?
- I'm doing so good.
I'm making a rosemary
and thyme steak,
with an arugula apricot
salad, and fried potatoes.
Cheyenne,
just check your steak.
How are
you doing, my steak?
I'm doing
pretty good, thanks for asking, Chey.
I want that whole
pan to go in the oven.
- Okay.
- Any fun advice for me?
- You're going to do the exact same thing.
- Yeah, duh.
- Not without this.
- Yes, that's right.
I work at a shelter, and we get
a lot of women, men
and children who come in.
If I were go to the finale,
it would give me confidence
to teach them how to
cook in their own kitchens.
- Here we go.
- Can you hold it with one hand?
No, it's so heavy.
Starting boot camp, I didn't
even realize I only used one hand.
I'm making a cucumber
that I'm going to mix.
- What, chef, what?
- Oh, my--
- The knife cut?
- Yeah.
Yes, know.
And now, I have successfully
learned how to use two hands.
Oh, my God, I did it.
Ooh, another double shallot.
This is going to be a good cook.
I'm going to use
that kiss method,
"keep it simple, stupid,"
and do a straightforward
meat, potato and veggie side.
- Peachez, I want you to cut
up your broccoli rabe...
- Okay.
- So you could blanch it, and
you can-- - And then I can cook it?
- And then you're going to right into your pan.
- Okay.
Little more, come on.
Lamb is my favorite meat,
squash is my favorite vegetable,
I couldn't have made
myself a better box.
Kara, are you
using yellow squash?
You have to, right?
- Yes chef, of course.
- Of course you are.
- It's going in my couscous.
- Awesome.
The first dish I made, you might
have been able to feed to a dog.
Squash and zucchini with
a special garlic aioli sauce.
Whoa.
- So salty.
- Oh man.
But this dish, I would
actually feed it to Eddie.
I like it.
I've come so far, I am
determined to make it to the finale.
10 minutes, everyone!
What is this, I don't drink
dairy, how do you get this off?
I don't drink milk in the 1940s,
why isn't this just a carton?
- Pop it, pop it, pop it.
- Not with these nails, Cheyenne?
- Have you got a hand?
- You're kidding me right now.
I have beautiful nails.
You just used your
other hand, Chey!
- I sure did.
- This is growth, baby, growth.
I'm mixing my potatoes, but
the consistency is changing to...
Toothpaste?
- Why is it like this?
- 'Cause you have cold cream.
Oh, my goodness.
This isn't stressful at all.
If these potatoes cost me
a place in that grand finale,
I swear on my potato's life, I
will never eat a starch again.
This is actually my nightmare.
- Why is it like this?
- 'Cause you have cold cream.
I need to
fix this potato somehow,
so I'm going to add in
some parmesan cheese,
hopefully that will
fluff it out, smooth it out,
I don't know but anything
has to work at this point.
- Oh, my God.
- Blue team, pull your sticks.
Hey, how are you, friend?
Oh, my God,
my hands are shaking so bad.
Relax, relax,
deeper, deeper, deeper.
I can't go deeper, I'm going
to cut all my fingers off!
Marti, you're taking
way too long
with that eggplant,
just get it on the grill.
Pretty pretty plates, let's go,
we have three
and a half minutes.
Look at this dinner you're
making in 30 minutes,
Rachael Ray would
be so proud of you.
- Yes.
- I've already texted her.
10 seconds.
Oh, my God.
Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, hands
up, you're done,
and for me to
have a heart attack.
Oh, gosh.
Heading into the last
tasting in boot camp,
I am so nervous,
everything is riding on this.
- Ready to go try these, oh my gosh.
- Let's go.
You both have made
me beyond proud.
Peachez, you're up first.
It is a steak with garlic
potatoes and a broccoli rabe.
The steak is seasoned
well, I enjoy rare beef,
so personally, I'm good with it.
The potatoes are flavorful,
but could use a touch of salt.
- I'm glad it turned out this way.
- Thank you, chef.
Cheyenne.
I have made
a rosemary-thyme steak,
with arugula salad
and fried potatoes.
Steak is seasoned well,
temperature, that was an issue.
- The salad, the acid is definitely there...
- Okay.
- But it could use a touch of salt.
- Okay.
But the potatoes are good.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Marti, you're up first.
Oh, that's quite a dish.
The lamb chop, I did onion
powder, fennel powder and salt,
and then in my couscous,
eggplant, tomato, jalapeño and fennel.
- Lambchop's really good.
- Whoo!
Really nicely seasoned,
really nicely seared.
Your Israeli couscous is
a pinch heavy on the salt.
But if you had me over
to dinner at your house
and fed me this dish,
I would be very happy.
- Come on over.
- All right.
- Excellent work.
- Thanks so much.
Kara, come on up.
My lamb is seasoned
with coriander sauce,
that's made from Greek
yogurt and blackberries.
There's squash
and tomato in the couscous.
Of course
there is squash.
Your lamb, it's nicely
cooked, nicely seasoned.
- Your Israeli couscous is seasoned very nicely.
- Thank you.
But, the ratio of
couscous to stuff is a little off,
I'm having a hard time finding
all of that stuff that's in here.
- But what you've put together
here was very creative.
- Thank you.
- Nice job.
- Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I know, if chef Anne
picks me to go to the finale,
I will stop at nothing
to win this for her.
- Nice job.
- Good luck.
Recruits, this is going to be
the most painful decision yet.
The recruit that
will be moving forward
and representing
me in the finale, is...
- Peachez.
- Oh, yes!
Congratulations.
Cheyenne, never lose sight of
the fact that you did not give up.
- I am so proud of you, I am so proud of you.
- Thank you, thank you.
Unfortunately, I am going to
have to ask you for your apron.
Thank you so much for all
the opportunities you gave me.
I'm so happy for Peachez.
I'm sad for myself,
but this experience was so much
more than just winning $25,000.
Cooking has not only given me new
skills, but it's given me confidence.
- Peachez, congratulations, how are we feeling?
- Joyful.
I worked so hard,
and baby, it has paid off.
The recruit on the red team
who will be moving forward is...
Marti.
Congratulations.
Kara, I have loved
having you on my team.
To see your progress every week
has really just been fantastic,
- and you should be extremely proud.
- Yes, for sure.
Unfortunately, I'm going to
- have to ask you for your apron.
- Okay.
I feel so blessed
to have been here.
It's going to change
mine and Eddie's life,
because we're going to have
romantic nights cooking together,
and don't have to go
to my mom's house to eat.
Congratulations Marti,
how do you feel?
I am so grateful!
You are the winners
of your teams.
Two drag queens
going head to head?
Now the work begins.
Peachez, Marti,
today we will work with you
to develop your menus,
for a three-course,
restaurant-quality meal,
that will be critiqued
by a panel of experts.
- Marti, step into my sparkle box.
- All right.
- Peachez, let's go plan our winning menu.
- Let's do it.
For our first course, seared
sea scallops with watermelon,
- watermelon rind pickles,
and watermelon radish.
- Okay.
Here we go.
All right, but we want to get
them all nice and brown.
The hardest part of this
course is the scallops.
We want to be careful with them,
'cause we don't
want to break them.
Gorgeous, turn it over.
We have a peeled watermelon,
we're going to make slices
that are about
a half an inch thick.
It turns out, the hardest part
for Marti is cutting watermelon.
All the same size
of slices though.
Uh-uh, a little thicker.
A little--
I know.
- We're going to do a lightly cured Hamachi.
- Okay.
Cilantro, peanut,
lime and tamarind.
Hamachi's a fish, yeah?
I have no
idea what my appetizer is,
but it sounds fun.
So now a fish, when
we cut, I'm holding it,
I'm pinching it down,
and then press.
If you get it, and you're like,
"oh, I'm not going to cut it,"
you can go back,
- but you want fluid...
- Sort of like a saw or...
- Don't saw, because you
want nice, sliced pieces.
- Okay.
Really perfectly, beautiful
slices, texturally and visually.
I feel like I'm going cross-eyed,
is that what I'm doing?
- This is straight.
- That's straight?
This is straight,
that knife is straight.
Stand back and look
at it, stand back and look at it.
I see it, I see it.
I have to do this
tomorrow, all by myself.
I have got to get this together,
or I don't think I'm
winning this money.
Now this, I love you,
but this is garbage.
Oh, the poor fish.
Oh, the poor fish.
That was your straightest
piece today, so get that on there.
Now gently, let's just
toss all this together.
Everything nicely
coated, but not soggy.
Okay, now get 'em off that.
Peachez has
a good palate that has
only gotten better over
the course of boot camp,
so I'm confident that
with Peachez by my side,
we have the best shot
at taking down Anne.
- And with every piece, cut some radish.
- Right on top?
And then, take the scallops.
- Oh.
- All right, let's try her.
Cool.
We're going to win.
Honey, this dish tastes
like it came from heaven.
That's good.
Our second course, herb
and potato crusted halibut,
with some cucumber
noodles, and then
we'll top the whole thing
with a fried zucchini blossom.
We love flowers!
I didn't even know you could
eat the flower of the zucchini.
There, good.
Then we're going to
do seared duck breast,
- glazed endive, potato, and a sour cherry jus.
- Okay.
Hey knew that I enjoyed
making that duck breast,
one of my favorite challenges
in this whole competition.
So two duck,
two duck, right, two duck.
So duck duck, duck duck.
Add our endives to the pan.
We got some color here,
you see that color?
- Mm-hmm.
- That's what I want, okay?
Here you go,
now chop 'em up.
I learned
some things here.
I am so proud of
how far I've come.
Eight weeks ago,
I don't know anything.
Stop 'cause you're on fire,
stop 'cause you're on fire!
- Onion?
- Incorrect.
No!
Oh damn it, it's still on!
And now, I can season,
I can saute, I can flambe.
Hah.
We have a little
trick, potato flakes,
or like, instant
mashed potato flakes.
Good, great, here.
Who knew you could put potato flakes
on fish, did you know this, America?
And all these
super nice and crispy,
and it kind of
tastes like French fries.
- Look at those, beautiful.
- Oh!
- All right!
- Okay.
- Oh.
- It's gotten a bit crooked.
Damn.
Okay, the largest
hurdle right now,
is getting Peachez
to cut things straight.
Right on top
of that, leaning it on there.
Okay.
- Look at you, eating flowers.
- This is so fun!
Right?
Light, delicate,
flavorful, right?
So you just take the sauce...
- And put it right down the middle?
- Yup. Work.
Let's taste some duck.
Whoa.
I made this? Okay.
For dessert, cheesecakes.
- Oh work, okay.
- Yeah mm-hmm.
With a blueberry compote,
and a whipped lemonade.
- Boujie.
- Boujie, right?
So we're just going
to make the batter
- for our little tuiles, our little cookies.
- Okay.
A half cup of sugar.
Tuiles are little
almond-laced cookies.
- So this is going to grow...
- Leave some space?
Leave lots of
space in between there.
For dessert,
coconut and peach tart.
- All right?
- Yes.
Start breaking off pieces,
and let's get it in here.
Remember, nice and
even, nice and thin, right?
Now you can put the fire higher,
- because we want to what?
- Thicken this baby.
- Oh, my goodness, oh look what happened.
- Oh no.
They were way too big, so it
kind of bakes into, one giant tuile.
Let's use about half the amount,
it's not a problem when
things go sideways today.
Curd and curry...
Oh, there's
some shells in there.
So, hang on, if you've
got shells in your eggs,
the little shell wants to go
back to whence they came.
What is this magic?
Wingardium Leviosa,
what is happening over here?
I'm a witch!
That's what got 'em in Salem,
they were just cooking with eggs.
Oh, my God,
I'm making a cheesecake.
Cowabunga!
It has been eight weeks
of learning from this man,
and now, we're going
to walk arm in arm,
out of this kitchen
and into the sunset.
- Let's do it.
- Fantastic.
Get a spoonful, let it
fall off the tip of the spoon.
- Now these little guys go right there.
- Oh!
That is so good.
You are going to be a rock star.
Am I surprised that it winds
up Marti versus Peachez?
No way.
They are both very strong,
smart, confident ladies.
I just want Marti
to wind up victorious.
- I'm so pumped.
- So I will see you at the finale.
- Okay, thank you.
- Oh!
- Congratulations.
- I'm going to finish this cheesecake.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Okay, see you, chef.
Today's look is all red,
the lip is red,
the nails are red,
the outfit is red,
we are red, baby!
I am ready to get that $25,000!
Today,
I am feeling excited,
but I just need to stay calm
and stay focused in order to win.
We are ready to win,
no matter who takes
this crown, it is deserving,
and America, you need to know,
that you are under
a queen-dom now.
- You ready?
- I'm so ready.
- Feeling good, you look just like a cherry bomb.
- Look good?
- Boom!
- Yes.
So you'll have 90 minutes to
prepare and serve your first course.
- Best of luck.
- You too.
- You guys, good luck.
- Thanks a lot.
And your time starts now.
- Now, here we go.
- Whee!
All right,
tomatoes, go get tomatoes.
- Let's do lime first.
- Oh, lime vinaigrette.
I am more nervous
than Peachez is right now.
I can't touch,
I can't taste, I can't grab,
I can only stand there and look.
It's actual torture.
I love
you, baby whisk.
And then taste,
taste, taste, taste, taste.
Peachez, I'm gonna
trust that palate.
It's very acidy now.
- Acid forward?
- Yeah.
So more salt?
All right now, let's
cut some watermelon.
In order to win, I just
have to go in there
and focus, get these
knife cuts perfect,
and get that dish looking
as gorgeous as I do today.
Make these beautiful
dices of watermelon,
- don't, just like, don't worry about all that.
- Is this good?
- I need to get rid of the rind though, right?
- Just cut it off.
- Doll, listen to me, relax.
- What?
- Pop the rinds out here...
- Okay.
- Look, you have this nice middle piece so...
- Okay.
There you go.
Low tech solution always, right?
Watermelon does not like me.
No, hold it like this,
and hold the watermelon
up top, there you go.
- Like that?
- Yes, there you go.
You have to cut her,
you have to slice her,
you have to put her in that little
thing to chop your fingers off.
I'm nervous my whole hand
is going to get eaten up
by that manila,
what is that thing called?
A mandolin.
- There.
- Oh, that's better.
All right good, so just do
a whole bunch of 'em now.
Lion fingers, remember.
Welcome to
Lion Fingers Airways,
please keep your fingers
tucked and on a flat surface,
to avoid a crash, ding.
Beautiful.
Our judges are Matt Abdoo, chef and
owner of Pig Beach in New York city,
Millie Peartree,
chef and philanthropist,
and Kwame Onwuachi,
chef, author,
and executive producer
for Food wide magazine.
Welcome, judges,
thank you guys for joining us.
Pleasure to be here.
Eight weeks ago,
12 of the worst cooks
in America
entered our boot camp.
After weeks of intense training,
our final two recruits have
fought their way to the top.
- Okay.
- Nice.
This will be a blind tasting,
and you'll be served
dish X and dish Y,
so you won't know
which finalist is which.
You'll rate these meals
based on presentation,
taste, technical difficulty,
and overall execution.
There's a lot on the line today.
The winner will win a big,
fat check for $25,000.
But this is also a little competition
between myself and Cliff,
to see who's the better teacher.
We've got to get
back to the kitchen,
but please enjoy your meals,
and we'll see you soon.
- Thank you.
- Thank you guys so much.
It's done, can I see the salmon?
A little bit more,
right in front. Done.
- 45 minutes, recruits, 45 minutes!
- 45 minutes, thank you.
Now that my
Hamachi is all prepped
and just ready
to get cut and plated,
I can focus on
this dessert course.
We cannot have a warm dough,
we have to let that
butter set in the fridge.
Cut small,
small, small as possible.
Faster, faster, please.
- Salt.
- Oof, medic.
- I'm going to need a medic.
- Here, get a towel.
Here I am, about to
bleed all over the station,
no, no, no, no, no.
Jason, I love you baby,
but I need you to move.
Wrap me up and let me cook!
- All right, you just need a Band-Aid.
- Yeah, just a Band-Aid.
Thank you
very much, Jason.
It is fine, you're fine Peachez.
Oh...
I need Jason again.
This is comical at this point.
I cut my other finger, oh,
my God, are you kidding me?
It's just begun,
and I'm bleeding
out of both hands,
this is a nightmare.
I don't even know,
I don't even know.
Oh...
I need Jason again.
I have to slow down,
I have to focus,
or I am going to end up without
hands by the end of this cook.
All right, good.
Do you feel
enough of the vinegar?
Yeah, just needs
an extra little bit of salt.
This is just like
cutting straight,
the same way you
did the potatoes,
- so I'm not going to look at you.
- Great.
In order for Peachez to cut a
straight anything, I can't be looking.
I'll take it.
- When you slice your first slice, let me see it.
- Yes, chef.
I am going to become the knife.
- Let the knife do the work.
- Yup.
Perfect.
Whatever it takes.
- And then you're going to start plating.
- Okay.
So we want our
pan screaming hot.
Getting these scallops
ready is anxiety inducing.
They have to be
perfect golden-brown,
like little gold nuggets that
you would mine in the mouth.
Turn it
over, great, great.
Five minutes remain, like,
grab it, come on, just go.
You can get
really close with it,
yes, that's exactly what I want.
Great, go, go, go.
Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, hand up, you're
done, that's the first course.
Ah, beautiful.
Peachez, your
plate looks divine,
but mine's heavenly
and it's going to win.
- I feel good, I do feel good.
- So do I, so do I.
I'm super excited, I can't wait
to see what they put together.
- Wow, look at this.
- This looks amazing.
Are you
ready to try dish Y?
We have a Hamachi crudo with
cilantro, peanuts,
lime and tamarind.
There's a multitude
of textures over here.
I love the acid that's sort
of just jumps off the plate.
It's so delicious,
it's so refreshing.
You know what's missing
for me though, a little bit?
Some spice, spice would
have rounded this out.
Something for me that I'm
always a stickler with is knife cuts.
If you're not
using the knife correctly,
you can end up with
sort of bruised herbs.
- The mince is bruised, but the
Hamachi cuts are beautiful.
- They're beautiful.
Let's try dish X.
We have seared scallops here
with watermelon radicchio,
dandelion greens, and red onion.
- The scallops are absolutely delicious.
- Oh yeah.
It has good texture,
it has good flavor.
There are so many
different textures here.
I think the dish overall, could
use a little bit more oomph,
a little bit more seasoning,
a little bit more acid,
but I'm very surprised
at where we're starting off.
Actually, I can't
wait for the entree.
Game time.
So you'll have 60 minutes
to serve your entree.
- Yes.
- Okay.
I want you to slice your
potatoes, and do that,
- 'cause that's going to take us a little bit.
- Absolutely, chef.
Yesterday was
a living nightmare,
trying to cut those
sweet potatoes.
- I'm not going to watch you slice one.
- Okay.
But I am feeling
confident that if I focus in,
get nice and close on these Yukon
gold potatoes that we pivoted to,
I can get this right.
Hello, old friend.
We got to mandolin the cucumbers,
here comes the mandolin again.
Now just make slices.
No finger will be lost
on this mandolin flight.
Feeling like carpel tunnel.
Make noodles, just make strips.
- Okay.
- All right good, in your pickle.
Use your bench scraper--
Right, great.
Excellent.
I cut potatoes straight for you.
Now use the tongs,
that are in your hand.
Yes.
We have
30 minutes left, recruits.
Put it right there.
Now it's time to get this duck
scored, seasoned, and in the pan.
These stoves are basically
metal fire pits of doom.
It is like cooking
over the eye of Mordor.
I think the duck
is cooking too quick.
Pull that duck, now.
I've cooked my
fair share of duck,
and just based on
my own internal clock,
I'm concerned that the duck
is going to be overcooked.
Saying a prayer,
we got to go with it.
Oh, it smells amazing.
Come on, chop it
like you want $25,000.
To win the $25,000 would
be the perfect finishing touch,
but no matter
the outcome of this,
Peachez and I have busted butt.
We walked into this competition,
two drag queens who
couldn't even boil water...
Okay, it smells not great.
We got to duck walk,
duck walk, duck walk,
duck walk, duck walk,
duck walk, ka-kada-kak.
Careful of the fire.
And now, give me my frying pan
and spatula, we're cooking.
All right, let's
get your halibut.
Squish it
around a little bit, okay.
Good now, pack that on it.
The hardest part
of this dish is the fish.
It has to be crispy
on the outside,
and supple on the inside.
All right, get 'em out.
- Oh God.
- There you go.
- Whoo!
- Done.
These are burnt.
I am flipping
these potatoes over,
and whoa, whoa
whoa, they are dark.
Come forward here.
- Swing them all over so I can see them all, right.
- Okay.
This is not what I expected.
- Let's see the bottom, that's garbage.
- Oh, okay.
That one's garbage.
I'm very worried that these
are going to ruin this dish for me,
and I can't have that.
I don't like it.
Let's see these two.
Okay, that one's garbage.
A few of them are burnt,
listen, we'll cherry-pick.
I'll take what
I can get right now,
because look,
we have no more time.
It's funny how clocks work.
Now let's fry our
zucchini blossoms.
I'm going to have to really
pay attention to the fry in this.
Carefully dredge, you
know how to dredge it?
- Oh, my God.
- So just take it out,
don't worry, you have an extra.
I completely forgot, okay.
Ooh, oopsies.
Nice, all right, swim her in.
Good, good, let her go.
All right, we have 10 minutes.
Slide your endives to
the middle of the two suns.
With your
finger, poke it.
- Soft?
- Soft.
Okay.
Okay,
so let's drain these.
That's not ever
the look I want to see.
Can I put just a pinch of salt?
- It's up you, but let's drain those.
- Yeah.
Marti's seasoning, it's been
a little hit or miss this season,
but I trust her.
And then remember, use your fork
and we're going
to make like, a twirl.
- Yup.
- On top of each tomato, go, go, go.
- Slice duck.
- Slice.
- Keep sawing, Peachez.
- I'm sawing!
Notice I'm not looking at you,
because if I do,
I'm going to be sick.
- I know.
- Okay.
I got to hand
it to Anne, you know,
she's cool as
a cucumber over there.
I am just as, if not even more
nervous than I was when I started.
- Plus Peachez, I think this is
good for the both of us.
- I agree.
Go, go, go, good.
Let's get our fish.
Just drop it,
straight in the middle.
Oh, gorgeous.
- So proud of you right now.
- Thank you, chef.
Lovely.
- Five, four, three, two, one!
- Three, two, one!
That's it, hands
up, you're done.
- Okay.
- Whoo!
- There we go.
- All right mama?
That's
a beautiful plate.
- That's a beautiful plate.
- Honey!
- But this is the winning plate.
- All right, we'll see.
Get this out there,
let these people taste
this beautiful
restaurant-quality dish.
- Wow, look at that.
- Oh, my gosh, that looks gorgeous.
Let's try this Y.
We have
a duck breast with
endives and potatoes,
and sour cherry jus.
- Wow, let's get us a bite.
- And endive.
I'm going to endive right in.
- Perfect rendered duck skin on top.
- Mm-hmm.
Perfectly cylindrical
cut potatoes.
It show some technical prowess.
The sweetness of the cherry jus,
the char on the endive,
a well-balanced meal.
But for me, it's a little bit over
cooked, but I'm very impressed.
You ready to try dish X?
- Can't wait, look at that.
- Gorgeous.
- Stunning.
- Stunning.
So here we have a herb
and potato crusted halibut,
with cucumber noodles, zucchini
blossom and tomato water.
- Mm.
- Wow.
- Yeah, you here that?
- Mm-hmm.
That's what I'm talking about.
People don't know
how hard it is to make
a crispy-like tempura
batter squash blossom.
I love the balance of
these cucumber noodles,
against the fresh corn and
the fresh cucumber in there.
This was cooked
perfectly in the middle,
the outsides were a little
overcooked, a little dry,
and I feel like the fish was
missing a little something,
good for a little bit
more flavor in the fish.
Yeah, salt would
have went a long way.
If these two courses
are any indication
of what's to come,
I cannot wait for dessert.
Love it, love it.
So you'll have 30 minutes
to serve your dessert.
Whee!
Let's throw these right
in the oven, please.
If you want to use
a rolling pin, you can.
- I got it.
- We don't need no silly rolling pin.
I don't need a rolling pin!
Two courses down, one to go.
Bring out the cheesecake.
- Oh it looks good.
- All right.
Ah, hang on, stop,
spray these last two.
- Oh no, I forgot to spray it.
- Don't worry, it'll be all right.
There is no time to fix,
we're just going to spray the
two remaining ones and just...
Whoo, Lord,
I hope they don't stick.
All right, in the oven,
10 minutes please.
My family!
Come on,
give me 12 pieces, right.
- 12 beautiful pieces of peaches, Peachez.
- It me.
Peachez is doing
a phenomenal job.
She's back there,
working like a seasoned cook.
Yes, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, go.
Especially from
where she started.
Oh boy, okay, okay, okay, okay.
Ooh, yup, okay.
I've seen some things,
here, in boot camp.
We need to check these tarts,
get 'em out so they get cooling now.
All right, let's look
at this, stir it up.
It smells great.
The tuile in the practice
cook was cracked
more than my face after
being in drag for 15 hours.
There, plenty, plenty.
So the tuile today has to be...
All right, in the oven, and then
we're going to check the cheesecakes.
This is the moment of truth.
Pick it up.
- All right. Good, go.
- Okay.
Pretty, pretty pretty pretty.
The are ready for their compond,
compound, compost, compote.
They are ready for the compote.
- Uh, blueberries.
- All right, on the stove?
Yup.
You have 10 minutes left.
Thank you.
I don't think they're
cooked all the way through.
Put 'e m back in, put 'em
back in, turn 'em the other way.
They are soft, nobody wants
some weird, squishy tart.
- In further, in the back.
- It's really, really low.
I don't feel confident
about serving this,
especially when I'm putting a
layer of fresh fruit on the bottom.
That's going to
soak right through!
- Should I move to this one?
- Put 'em in here.
Honey, we in trouble.
- Now it's high.
- Put 'em in the oven though,
you got to put 'em in.
Put 'em back in, put 'em
back in, turn 'em the other way.
These need to be
crispy and golden,
so I throw 'em back in the oven,
and a minute later, they are
where we want them to be.
- These tarts are beautiful, okay?
- They are.
- Five minutes, recruits, five minutes.
- Okay.
- I think these are done.
- They're perfect.
Put them right here.
All right, oh my God, gorgeous.
Now let's get your mint,
and the condensed milk.
Time to make the most
stunning lemon and mint,
frozen beverage,
to bring it all together.
- One minute left, one minute.
- Oh, my goodness.
- One minute.
- Leaf's done, move on,
move on, move on, move on!
Thank you.
Ten seconds.
Three, two, one.
That's it,
hand up, we're done!
- All right, oh my God, they look beautiful.
- Look how pretty that is.
This is one of
the most beautiful dishes
I have seen a recruit
make in a finale for me.
The hard part's over
baby, the hard part's over.
- We're going to win.
- Let's go.
Oh come on, ooh.
Oh-ho.
- All right guys, you ready to try dish X?
- Hell yeah.
We have
a mascarpone cheesecake,
with blueberry compote
and a minty, whipped lemonade.
Cheers to the next winner.
- Cheers.
- Cheers indeed.
- Salute.
- I love it.
Just refreshing, it's bright,
it's perfectly balanced
between sweetness and acidity.
I would take down
a big gulp-size of that.
I've already taken
down a big gulp-size,
and if you don't drink yours,
I'm going to finish it for you.
And how light
is that cheesecake.
The tuile is a little bit soft,
- a little bendy, more so than super crispy.
- Right.
Overall, a delicious dish.
Let's try dish Y.
We have a peach tart
with a coconut cream,
and slightly salted caramel.
- I love the crust.
- I love the texture and the
flavor of these tart shells.
Like butter cookie kind of
thing that they're doing here.
- Butter shortbread, so good.
- Butter shortbread, absolutely.
It's just like pastry
cream, it's like the perfect glue,
for all of these
flavors to come together.
But I think I would
have like to see
the peaches maybe
sliced a little bit thinner.
I think it's time to
decide who's the winner.
Ooh, it's going
to be a hard one.
I'm just blown
away at the talent.
Both delivered and executed
on an incredible chef-worthy level.
I think it comes down to
like, small, minor mistakes.
- Such a great job.
- Do we have to choose somebody?
- I think we do.
- You ready?
Uh, I guess, as
ready as we can be.
All right.
- Hello.
- Hey.
- Hello hello.
- How are you?
Judges, thank you again
so much for joining us today.
Thanks for having us.
- This is Peachez.
- Hi.
Peachez prepared meal Y.
And this is Marti,
who prepared meal X.
Both of you ladies should be
extremely proud of yourselves.
Now let's talk about
that first course.
Those scallops
were perfectly cooked,
we appreciate
all of the textures
that were present on the plate,
but the dish
could have benefitted
- from a little bit of acid.
- Okay.
It's Hamachi time, it was
appetizing, it was bright,
the Hamachi, they were
cut really, really nicely,
but I think it could have
used a little bit of heat,
to balance it out a little bit
when that acid-forward.
Okay, let's get into
that second course.
That halibut, the fish
was perfectly cooked on the inside,
but a little bit
overcooked on the edges.
But honey, we loved
those cucumber noodles.
Let's get into that duck.
Those potatoes
were perfectly cut.
The duck was perfectly rendered,
but it was slightly
overcooked for us.
All right, let's
talk about dessert.
That cheesecake
was light and delicious.
We loved that lemonade, it was bright
and refreshing and everything good.
The tuile was incredibly
flavorful, but was a little bit soft.
Now let's talk about
that peach tart.
We love the flavor, and that
incredible texture of those tart shells.
But those peaches
on top could have
been sliced just
a little bit thinner,
to bring it all together
a little bit better.
Ladies, we loved everything
you presented today,
it's why it's so hard
to make this decision,
but the winner is...
The lovely Peachez.
Are you kidding me?
I did it!
I just won!
Oh, my God, I really won this.
I seriously, for real,
actually won this.
I'm actually on
cloud nine right now.
Peachez's performance
was 150%, I'm just proud.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you, chef.
Marti, I am so proud of you.
There was
absolutely nothing that
I would change
about today's dishes.
Thank you, thank you
so much for everything.
This has been such
a major experience.
I am 100% going
to continue to cook
with the knowledge that
I've learnt in boot camp.
Wait Peachez, not only
have you won this competition,
but you've also won $25,000!
Seriously, I love you mamma,
you're getting some money.
- Thank you!
- Congratulations.
Congratulations.
- Thank you so much!
- You're welcome.