Beat Bobby Flay (2013–…): Season 11, Episode 5 - The Grid Iron Chef - full transcript

Chef Lee Chizmar and Todd Mark Miller compete to see who will take on Bobby Flay; mentors Josh Capon and Alex Guarnaschelli.

I'm Bobby Flay.

Each week, one brave chef will
try to take me down in my house.

I want to beat you,
Bobby.

I want to send you
into retirement.

- What?!
-Ooh.

This culinary battle is gonna
shake down in two rounds.

Round 1 -- To get to me,

two contenders
have to go through each other

using an ingredient
of my choice.

I got to go through
two old guys today.

Take it easy!



Two people that know me well

will decide
who's got the skills to beat me.

Yeah!

Round 2 --
I go head-to-head

with the winning contender.

It's their turn to surprise me
with their signature dish.

I want to take you down.

- Something's burning.
-Oh.

You should be nervous,
bro.

What is wrong with you?!

Don't call it a comeback.

Everyone's out to beat me.

Let's get it on.

All right, guys.



Who's got their
game face on tonight?

Here to hit me with
everything they've got,

fellow chefs Alex Guarnaschelli
and Josh Capon.

- That hurt.
-Gonna pull out my back.

Yeah!
Whoo!

Game day!

Game day!

You had such a good time
beating me the first time,

you brought Capon back?

We are undefeated
in this house -- undefeated.

Just gives me something
to strive for for game day.

Not today!

The Jackie Gleason
of the food world.

Game day's one of my
favorite days of the year.

Is it?
What kind of stuff do you do?

We do the traditional stuff,
like the wings

and all that kind of stuff.
-Mac and cheese?

Obviously, there's
some bacon involved.

I like a big,
old sloppy bowl of nachos.

I want to wear a smock
and just eat.

All right, who do
you guys got tonight?

Our first contender
is the culinary MVP

in Lehigh Valley.

Please welcome Lee Chizmar.

- Yeah!
-Oh, I like the Heisman.

A little Heisman.
Yeah, Lee.

Our next contender
is here for the ring.

Make some noise
for Chef Todd Mark Miller.

Throwing
touchdown passes already.

Josh and Alex
have placed their bets

on one of you
beating me tonight.

But as you know,

beating Bobby Flay
is not a team sport,

so you must first
go through each other.

You have 20 minutes
to make a single ingredient

the star of your dish.

I'm gonna give you guys
an ingredient

that I love to cook with --

jalapeños.

Nice.

I love jalapeños.
It's zingy, it's spicy.

When I think of game day,

jalapeños take
all of those dishes

and put them to the next level
with some spice and heat.

These need to be
the star of your plate.

Go.

Oh, it's on!

Let the games begin!

Jalapeño
is a green chili pepper.

It could be really spicy,
or they can be mild.

You just have to taste and see
what you're dealing with.

You can hollow it out,
take the seeds and the ribs out,

which are most of the spice,
and use that.

But then again,
you want to make sure

you can get
some heat off of it.

Make sure that jalapeño
has pop, huh?

Copy, copy.

I'm thinking about making
a warm maitake jalapeño salad

with a pickled roasted corn
and jalapeño relish

and a jalapeño-basil
vinaigrette.

It's interesting that Todd's
using so many vegetables

'cause he's got
a real steakhouse pedigree.

I first started cooking
in hotels

all the way from Maldives
to Singapore.

I returned home
because I was approached

to be the executive chef
for Barclay Prime Steakhouse.

It was a position
I just couldn't pass up.

After that, I became
the corporate chef of STK,

responsible for eight
different locations.

Currently, I am overseeing

the swank Dazzler hotel
in Brooklyn, New York.

You know, Bobby's a great chef,

but anyone can be
beat on any day.

So, get out of my way
or get ran over.

These guys
are shopping a lot.

Are we at the grocery store
here or what?

Clock's ticking, fellas!
Clock's ticking!

All right, all right,
all right, all right.

When I think of game day,
I think of chicken wings.

So I'm making jalapeño
sweet and sour chicken wings,

and do a jalapeño gastrique.

Hey, Lee, how you
feeling over there?

Whoo!

After graduating from

the Culinary Institute
of America,

I went out to work
at the Lark Creek Inn.

I was promoted to sous-chef

to chef de cuisine
to executive chef.

And then my dad called me,

let me know that a restaurant
in my hometown was for sale,

and so we just
decided to go for it.

I haven't missed
a day of service

in the nine years
we've been open.

That's the one thing
about being a chef --

You compete every single day
just to survive.

Bobby, I know what it is
to fight for a cause,

and all that matters today
is a big "W" against you.

- 15 minutes.
-Tick tock, people.

I start to shuck the corn
and then throw it on the flame.

I'm trying to get the spiciness
and smokiness from the char.

I'm gonna go in.

A.G.'s coming on the turf.

Hi.
Don't stop cooking.

What are we doling?
-I'm gonna do a warm salad.

I'm gonna make
my quick pickled corn.

So I put it into the bag
with jalapeños, vinegar, sugar,

and then I go
to the Cryovac machine.

It removes all the air

and forces the jalapeño flavor
into the corn.

This is good.

This guy's a real expert

on some techniques
you don't really use.

You know what I use?
A knife.

All right.
Oh, my God.

You're a case study
in jalapeños right now.

Anybody here for you
tonight?

- All right, all right.
-Yeah, Lee!

For my quick pickled jalapeños,

I add sugar, champagne vinegar,
and tomatoes.

So, you believe
in the sweet with the heat?
I love it.

Somebody else here
does that, too.

I think she's talking
about you.

11 minutes and 30 seconds left.

What did you learn
up there?

I'm a little bit concerned
about Todd --

That he brought the grocery
store to the table.

Over here we have
Team Chicken Wing,

but he hasn't started
cooking them at all yet.

Time is flying, and I have to
get these chickens in the fryer.

So I'm getting them
into rice flour

and corn starch
as a quick breading.

I need to throw
the maitake mushrooms

in with the bacon.

That's a natural pairing.

- Seven minutes now.
-Don't be nice, Capon.

Not my style, A.G.

This is your guy?
Come on!

What are you making
in the blender?

Jalapeño vinaigrette.

So, we're gonna
be jalapeño-rific.

This guy's writing
his own dictionary over here!

I start blending
my jalapeños

with champagne vinegar and honey
for sweetness.

Jalapeño all the way.
-How are we doing?

Cooking.

Make sure you're careful
with those hands, all right?

I know, I know.
I'm nervous.

Getting all those
jalapeño oils on your hands?

Don't do one of these.
Oh, no.

And don't go
to the bathroom, either.

I have to get
my gastrique started,

so I'm dicing up
my jalapeños and onions.

A gastrique is a caramelized
sugar and vinegar sauce.

Let's go!
Four minutes, guys!

Let's go now.

Todd just got a nice
vinaigrette going.

He's got some nice
maitake mushrooms
with slab bacon.

Lee's got
jalapeños everywhere.

Hey, Lee, those chicken wings
gonna be cooked?

I sure hope so.

'Cause I'm the one
that has to eat them!

I know, I know!
One minute, fellas!

Let's go!

Time's flying,
so I plate the mushrooms,

follow with the pickled corn...

Oh, my God.
He's not gonna finish.

On my dish, I have
my Bibb lettuce base.

I'm adding my chicken wings

garnished
with pickled jalapeños,

pickled tomatoes...

10...
...and I'm gonna pour

my jalapeño gastrique
over the top.

- ...6, 5...
- Finally,

the jalapeño and basil
vinaigrette.

...3, 2, 1...

I'm pretty confident
my chicken's cooked.

But there's still a chance
it might not be.

I'm pretty happy
'cause I think I have

all my bases covered
with jalapeños.

Alex and I are here on game day
for one reason --

to pick the chef
that will take down Mr. Flay.

It's all gonna come down

to what you did
with the jalapeño.

Chef Lee, tell us what you made.

I made a jalapeño
sweet and sour chicken wing.

They're cooked.

Got a little worried
about that.

Me, too.
Nice sweet-and-sour
balance going on,

the gastrique really adhere
to the chicken wing,

like a really,
really nice glaze.

Would have liked a little
more heat from the jalapeño.

I'm a real sucker
for a chicken wing.

I love that you used
the honey and the lime

to balance out
a jalapeño pepper.

But it feels a little bit
like the jalapeño's divorced

from the other ingredients
on the plate.

But I like that
you went game day on this.

Todd, tell us what you made.

A maitake and
jalapeño mushroom salad

with a jalapeño pickled
roasted corn

and a jalapeño-
basil vinaigrette.

You said "jalapeño"
a bunch of times.
That's a good start.

I was definitely
a little concerned that

there wasn't gonna be
enough jalapeño in the dish,

but my mouth's dancing,
if you will.

I think the slab bacon
brings it all home.

On the flip side, you've got
some pretty aggressive

cuts of jalapeño on there,

and it might blow my roof
off the joint.

I think the mushrooms
are really beautiful,

and the corn
is such great technique.

But I had to conduct
a witch hunt

to find
the jalapeño vinaigrette.

With half the ingredients,
you could have made the same,

if not a better, point.

Lee went with a game-day theme,

but Todd definitely showed
some good technique.

Not sure who
I'm gonna face here.

Alex and I have discussed,
and the winner is...

...Todd Mark Miller!

Back to the grind.
I'm gonna go back home, and...

Good job.
Good job.

...keep on cooking.

Listen, I would like
to leave here undefeated.

Less stuff cooked
in the same, great way,

and that's gonna be a wrap
on game day for him.

- Todd, congratulations.
-Thank you.

What's your signature
dish tonight?

My signature dish is...

cheesesteak.

I'm actually in the mood
for a Philly cheesesteak.

Me, too.

So, we've got
three industry experts

who are standing by
to do a blind taste test.

You are each gonna have
45 minutes.

The stakes are high.

The game starts now!

Come on, Todd!

Come on, Todd!
Let's go!

It's all about game day --

food that you can eat
with your hands.

I love cheesesteaks.

When I got to Philly,
it's my first move.

Well, classically, a cheesesteak
is a thin-sliced prime rib.

Because the meat
is often kind of steamed,

that caramelization
from the onions

kind of makes up
for the brown

that you don't get
from the meat.

Then it comes down
to a choice of cheese --

it could be provolone,
it could American --

on a hoagie roll.

Oh, my God.
You are making me so hungry!

So I'm using a New York Strip.

It's got good marbleization.

For the cheese,
I'm gonna use a combination

of White American and provolone.

When it comes to
the onions and mushrooms,

I'm going by the book,

so I start caramelizing onions

with a little bit of sugar,

then I thinly slice
some cremini mushrooms

and get those working
in a pan, as well.

You know,
he may like to eat it,

but it doesn't mean
he knows how to cook it.

I'm taking
the basic ingredients,

and I'm just elevating them.

I'm using a Japanese
Wagyu hanger steak.

It's got that deep,
meaty flavor.

I'm making
a taleggio cheese sauce.

For my caramelized onions,
I throw the onions

and butter into the pan
for that initial color.

In Philadelphia,
Todd was very well-known

for the $100 cheesesteak.

It was a Kobe beef
cheesesteak.
He's very fancy.

Todd's gonna put,
like, black truffles
on his or something.

Oh!
Bobby knows your secret!

He knows exactly
where you're coming from.

I'm waiting for him
at the corner.

Back when I first made
the $100 cheesesteak,

it started a big ruckus
in Philadelphia.

I had a guy that traveled
150 miles for one.

- Did he leave happy?
-That's the name of the game --

make sure people are happy.

That's why Bobby's
so successful.

- Oh, that was nice, Bobby.
-That was nice.

Todd, get in the game,
all right?

This is game day,
not Valentine's Day!

That's good.

I'm gonna leave the box of
the classic Philly cheesesteak,

and I'm gonna make
a jalapeño presto

and spread it on my bread.

I add Parmesan,
olive oil, and pine nuts.

The cheese is really rich,

so the jalapeño
will cut through it

and balance it out.

How can you go wrong
with Wagyu hanger steak?

The fat content
is much higher.

What that means
is more flavor.

That looks delicious!

You are taking it
to the next level.

You got plenty of onions,
steak looks good,

and you have cheese.

Bobby, you're still
working with jalapeños.

You want me to start
bringing some stuff over?

Bobby, battle jalapeño
is finished.

Alex and Josh are talking smack
about my jalapeños.

- Where was that the first round?
-I don't know.

But even Josh admits
it's pretty good.

Todd, you are so lucky

we are not still stuck
in battle jalapeño.

You're not supposed
to like his dish!

Oh, don't you fumble that!
Don't you fumble --

Oh!

This is not a day to fumble.
You know that, right?

You want the ball.
-Whoo!

Bobby, I just want
to gently remind you

the last time I was here,
you did forget

about that protein
till the last minute.

- I know.
-Why are you helping him?!

- Well, I mean, come on --
-Josh, you're out, man.

Come on.
-Whoo!

We are two opposite
ends of the spectrum.

By the way, our man Todd,
really throwing down over there.

I feel like here's a lot
more comfortable this round.

I think I'm walking out
of here 2-0, A.G.

Todd's just flying along.

He's already cooked his meat.
He's way ahead of me.

Right now, I'm just
playing catch up.

What is he thinking?

We're gonna win!

All right, who's on
Team Todd over there?

I don't know, Bobby.

We might be in your house,
but it sounds like

Todd's got
the home-court advantage.

Audience:
Todd, beat Bobby!

You guys are traitors!

19 minutes.

He is using a beautiful
New York Strip loin,

which is gonna result
in a very tender steak.

It's gonna take
a little more time,

but I'm gonna pound out
the slices of meat

and make them thinner
and even more tender.

So, then I cook it
with some salt and pepper

in a cast-iron pan.

I need to get that
taleggio cheese sauce going.

I put in one can of beer,
garlic,

and some fresh serrano chilies
for a punch.

And then I throw in some
white wine

to cut through in
the strong flavors
of that cheese.

A.G.

Oh!
Looking good, man!

I'm gonna stick to cooking.

How we doing?
We're doing.

I like doing
twists on things,

and so instead
of a yellow cheese sauce,

let's do a white cheese.

Oh, how you doing?

Good.

It tastes a little bit
like it has uncooked wine in it.

You gonna cook that
down a little?
Yeah.

What's that?
That's a little mustard.

A little Dijon sauce?

- Mm-hmm.
-Cool.

So, I'm gonna take
Dijon mustard, lemon juice,

and a touch of honey to balance
out all the flavors.

How's it looking up there, Alex?
How's our guy?

He looks great over here.
I'm super excited.

2-0, baby!
2-0!

You have to be very careful

when you go
in the lion's den

to figure out
what's going on

'cause you might get
your arm chewed off.

What's your master plan, Chef?
-It's really simple --

a jalapeño pesto,
sautéed mushrooms,

caramelized onions,

a cheese sauce with
white American cheese
and provolone.

I'm gonna add some scalded milk
into the butter and flour,

then I'm gonna add
white American and provolone.

You went fancy on me
at the last minute.

The guy's using, like,
Wagyu beef over there.

I think you're just
a little jealous.

Are you guys Team Bobby?

- Whoo!
-Wow.

One person.

- That's weak.
-Tough crowd tonight, man.

All right, good luck.
-Bye.

Chefs, you're under
seven minutes now.

Bobby is very, like, down-home
and dialed back, too.

But that's what
a cheesesteak is.

Like, the fairy princess
over here

and Cinderella over here.

Like a role reversal,
to be honest with you.

Yeah, what happened?

Bobby's cheese sauce
looks very good.

That may be true, but Todd has,
like, a Dijon mustard mix

that's, like, potent.

But his cheese sauce
has that uncooked wine taste,

and I'm really worried
about it.

It's now time to throw
the Amoroso roll in the toaster.

It has a natural
toast kind of texture.

Might end up a crouton.
Be a little careful.

No croutons here.

Next thing I grab --
This tomato's gonna help

cut through rich items
on this sandwich.

Tomato on a cheesesteak.

I thought we were making
cheesesteaks.

Just a little
something-something.

I don't know.
I think that tomatoes
on a cheesesteak

is like bringing
a bottle of vodka to church.

It's just wrong.

But he's a quarterback.
This is his game.

I'm adding jalapeño,
Todd's adding tomato.

These are certainly things

that you wouldn't find
on a classic cheesesteak.

We're both throwing
a Hail Mary pass.

We'll see who ends up
in the end zone.

So, I'm using the classic
Philly cheesesteak roll.

It's very soft
and pillowy.

He's definitely got
the bread right --

fresh,
soft hoagie rolls.

For the most part,
I want my bread to be soft

so that it soaks in all
the juices and the cheese,

and it sort of becomes
part of the bread.

I feel like I'm really
back on track,

and I think Todd
is actually starting

to feel the heat
a little bit now.

- Two minutes!
-Oh, yeah!

Oh, no!

Ohh!
I need to grab my bread.

Uh-oh. Did somebody
forget about those croutons?

Phew!
There are some edges

that I have to trim off,
but it's ready to go.

The cheesesteak is so much
about the bread.

That boy's making me nervous.
45 seconds, guys!

The clock's winding down.
No overtime in this arena.

So I plate by slathering
on a toasted bun

this jalapeño pesto

then add in caramelized onions
and cremini mushrooms.

I put the meat on to the bread,

and then I follow
with the lemony Dijon,

the taleggio cheese sauce,

and then the tomatoes.

Let's finish this!

All: 10, 9, 8...

Last, I'm gonna put
some cheese sauce on the side,

so they can dunk.
All: ...5, 4...

I'm gonna add my steak
and cheese sauce on top.

All: ...2, 1...

That's it!

Good job.
Thanks.

I glance over at Bobby,
and he has everything done.

You have to expect that.
He's a pro.

But I'm confident
in what I've done.

I hope my jalapeño pesto
doesn't deter the judges

from thinking
it's a classic cheesesteak.

But other than that, I like it.

Capon, if we lose,
you're sleeping on the couch.

Bobby, Todd, it's time
to meet the judges.

First up,
the head honcho

of Bear Creek Smokehouse --
Robbie Shoults.

The founder and host
of Cue Katie -- Katie Quinn.

And the chef and partner from
Porter House Bar and Grill --

Michael Lomonaco.

In honor of game day,

please start
with the cheesesteak
in front of you.

Katie Quinn going
for the dip.

There's a kick
in that cheese sauce.

I'm telling you,
it's coming now.

Really good.
The beef -- It's incredible --

great, big, powerful flavor.

But the bread --
It's a little soft for me.

This would not last long
at my game day.

That lemony Dijon added
such a nice citrusy balance.

All right, so the tomatoes --

Texturally, not super into it.

And I'm not a huge fan
of the bread,

which I think
is really important

when it comes to cheesesteaks.

It was a little hard
to eat for me,

but the flavor was spot on.

The caramelized onions
are awesome on there.

Overall, I thought
it was a great sandwich.

All right, judges,
please switch your plates.

The bread's holding
together nicely,

the beef is extremely tender,

I love the addition
of the sautéed mushrooms,

and then that jalapeño paste
really topped it off.

But I would like to see

a few more caramelized onions
on this sandwich.

It has all of the elements
that make my mouth really happy.

It's got the sweet,
the salty, the spicy.

I love that I could be
eating this with one hand,

have a beer in the other hand.

I mean, it's game day, right?

I love the cheese sauce.

Provolone gives you
that spicy edge,

but I wish there were more beef.

When you take
this great bread

and you don't put enough beef,

you're losing what should be
a great ratio in the sandwich.

Neither one of these
is a classic cheesesteak,

and that's what
makes them so special.

But there can only be one.

They raved about his steak,

but I think mine
worked better as a sandwich.

It's still anyone's game.

And the winner of
the cheesesteak battle is...

...Bobby Flay!

I was undefeated!

Bobby's cheesesteak
held together better.

You could one-hand that sandwich

and do whatever else you need
to be doing during the game.

- Thanks for coming.
-Thank you.

I might not have won,
but I came into his house,

gave him a serious run
for his money.

You had him!

This experience was amazing.

Love it.

Yippie. Whoo!
Yay!

Undefeated season
down the drain.

You're the best, Bobby.
We love ya.

Where's the steak?
It's a cheesesteak.

Pile that baby up!

It was like a diet version
of a cheesesteak.

You dropped the ball
in the end zone, Bobby,

but you got lucky.

I'm coming back for you.

Next time,
we're getting the "W."

Who knew?

When it comes to cheesesteak,
I guess I'm a wiz.