Beat Bobby Flay (2013–…): Season 6, Episode 10 - Roasting on an Open Fire - full transcript

I'm Bobby Flay.

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

-Bobby's going down today.
-Let's go, let's go!

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.

It tastes like a win!

Let the games begin!

Two people that know me well

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



-Boom.
-I think you're in trouble.

We chose the right guy.

FLAY: Round 2 --
I go head-to-head

with the winning contender.

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

You got to put your
big-boy pants on now.

We have let the lion
out of the cage!

Bring it on.

Bottom line --
everyone's out to beat me.

Whew.

[ Bell dings ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

Happy holidays, everybody.

Here to put the coal
in my stocking tonight,



please welcome
Chef Alex Guarnaschelli

and half of Penn & Teller,
magician Penn Jillette.

Ho, ho, ho.

You are going down.
[ Laughter ]

You know, Alex and I have known
each other for a long time,

but you wind up on
the Food Network all the time.

Free food.

He competed on "Chopped."
He was excellent.

-Did you judge him?
-I'm serious. Yes.

You chop him?

Um...
[ Laughter ]

All right, what are you
bringing on your sleigh tonight?

Bobby, as a sous-chef
on "Iron Chef America,"

our first contender
lost to you by one point.

Meet Chef Ariane Duarte.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Whoo!

Our next contender
owns three New York restaurants.

Meet Adil Fawzi.

[ Cheers and applause ]

So, Penn and Alex want nothing
more this holiday season

than for one of you
to beat me.

But first, you have
to go against each other.

You'll have 20 minutes
to make a single ingredient

the star of your dish.

And in the spirit
of the holidays,

that ingredient is...

...chestnuts.

I work with chestnuts
a lot as a garnish,

but to make them the star of
the dish, it's very, very hard.

Chestnuts --
The flavor is really mild,

so you don't want
to overpower them.

All right,
these guys behind me will taste,

and they'll decide
which one of you

goes up against me
in Round 2.

20 minutes goes by
faster than you think.

Ready?
[ Bell dings ]

Go.
[ Cheers and applause ]

-Oh, they're flying.
-Yeah.

My dad -- He would come home
with a bag of chestnuts

every Christmas
without fail.

She was born
in a Dickens novel.
[ Laughter ]

FLAY: Raw chestnuts
take awhile to roast,

so I gave them some precooked,
as well.

They have, like,
sort of a hazelnut taste.

It's a little bit softer
in texture.

If I were given this ingredient,
I would make stuffing.

I think that's smart.

I need to extract the most
flavor out of these chestnuts.

So I'm making chestnut soup

with pecans, mushrooms,
pomegranate, and apples.

I start off with some leeks,
some onions,

and then I add the precooked
chestnuts and chicken stock,

and I let that simmer
before pureeing it.

I'm a Jersey girl.

And I knew at a young age
that cooking was my destination.

I do good, old-fashioned
American-style food

that everybody relates to
and just kick it up a notch.

I competed against Bobby Flay
on "Iron Chef,"

and we lost by one point.

So I'm back
for some serious redemption.

It's payback time, Bobby.

Adil, I forgot
to say good luck.

-You too.
-Not!

[ Laughter ]

ADIL: My strategy
is to use complex techniques,

so I'm making
a chestnut spaghetti carbonara

with a quail egg.

Classic carbonara
is white wine, shallots,

garlic, heavy cream,
and bacon, of course.

But the chestnut
will replace the bacon.

Next, I roast some tomatoes
just for color.

Salt, pepper, olive oil.
In the oven.

My background is French cooking,
French attitude.

I went to Paris
to learn from the best.

And then I came to the U.S.
to pursue my American dream.

And today I own three successful
restaurants in New York City.

We have been rated by Michelin
Guide, Zagat, New York Times --

You name it.

But my next dream
is to beat you, Bobby.

Watch out.
I'm coming for you.

16 minutes
and 19 seconds.

I'm going in, guys.

Ariane, I feel like
you're already developing a lot

of kind of holiday energy here
with leeks and onions.
ARIANE: Ah.

Being Italian, chestnuts
is big on Christmas.

So, chestnut soup.

It's all about the chestnut.

What a great idea.

I'm on a mission
to get that man.

People from New Jersey
do not play.

Exactly.
[ Laughter ]

How are you, Chef?

I'm making a pasta
carbonara-style with chestnuts.

I sliced the cooked chestnuts,
put them in the sauce.

Okay.
And then put the quail egg
at the end on top.

Oh, wow.
You seem very focused.

Have you been eating
raw quail eggs at home,

thinking about beating Bobby?
Yes.

Okay.
And you're excited?

-Yes, very.
-Okay. Good chat.

[ Applause ]

How they doing?

He is making
a carbonara-style pasta.

Is that gonna have
enough chestnuts in it?
I'm worried about that.

He seems to be really excited
about quail eggs.

I'm doing my carbonara
with a quail egg

instead of an egg
from a chicken.

I'm gonna keep the yolk raw
in the shell.

It's a very French way
to make carbonara.

She is making
the chestnut soup.

It takes confidence
to go simple, make soup.

And it has to be really good.
-Absolutely.

I do get a little concerned
that soup is too simple,

so I'm thinking texture
and garnishes.

Apple for a little sweetness.

I love pomegranate.

And then I'm gonna sauté
oyster mushrooms with pecans

just for that earthiness.

-You guys doing okay?
-Good.

-Making magic.
-10 minutes!

There's not a lot of time,
so I put the pasta to cook,

and then a touch of cream
to the sauce.

I'm here to help.

What are you making?
Spaghetti? With a sauce?

Chestnut,
garlic, shallots.

-Enough chestnuts in there?
-Uh...

Don't sell
the chestnuts short.

They're the star of this.

I'm a bit worried there's
not enough chestnut flavor.

So I slice more
and put them in the sauce.

-What are you making?
-Soup!

Soup!
I do like soup.

Oh, that's good.
It's hearty.

He beat you on "Iron Chef"
by one point.

Oh, oh, oh,
you don't have to tell me.

Is there some hate
in your heart?
It's Christmas.

Penn, how does it taste?

There's a lot of hate
in this soup.

[ Laughter ]

Five minutes.

A lot of hostility
in that soup.

This is like "The Grinch
Who Stole Christmas."

[ Laughter ]

ARIANE:
There's three minutes left.

I need to puree the soup.

Who do you think has
the actual skills to beat Bobby?

I think either one of them
has the skill set.

I think he's got the focus,

and I think she has the handle
on the ingredient.

As I'm blending it down,

I realize
chestnuts are a dense nut.

I can't even blend it.

Her soup is very thick.

I'm freaking out.
I need more stock.

And hopefully,
that's gonna thin it out.

ADIL: My sauce is amazing,
but the pasta is not done.

Oh, my God.
-Pasta's not cooked.

-Is the pasta cooked?
-Two minutes.

-It's 1:44.
-That's a bad thing.

That has to be it.

The soup is still more
porridge-like than soup-like,

but I need to plate,
I need to garnish,

throw the nuts
and the mushrooms,

pomegranates and apples.

ADIL: I'm out of time,
so I toss it in the sauce.

10...
ADIL: I'm throwing things
on the plate.

I hope the pasta is done.

TOGETHER: 6, 5...

ADIL:
I finish with the quail eggs.

TOGETHER: 3, 2, 1.

[ Bell dings,
cheers and applause ]

ADIL: Time is up.
I see Ariane made a soup.

That's the easiest way to go.

And I know
I brought more techniques.

Bobby, I'm here to beat you.

Adil's dish
looks extremely creative.

And nobody wants
to have a thick soup.

So I am a little nervous.

[ Bell dings ]

Chefs, it's the holidays.

We need Bobby to end the year
with some humility.

It's all gonna come down
to what you did here

to make the chestnut
the star of the dish.

Ariane, tell us
what you made.

ARIANE: I made a chestnut soup
garnished with pecans,

oyster mushroom,
pomegranate, apple.

It's a little thick.

It's a little
peanut-butter-y.

She's using a knife on soup.

[ Laughter ]

But this soup
is super-balanced.

For me, the oyster mushroom
and the leeks

really bring the chestnut
to life.

I love pomegranates,

but there seems to be
too much of the garnish.

I wish that you trusted
the soup more.

It's really, really good.
-Thank you.

Adil, what's this?

That's a chestnut spaghetti
alla carbonara

with a quail egg on top.

I love the flavor
of the chestnuts

with the acidity
of the white wine.

The sauce is terrific.

Yeah, especially
with the quail egg yolk.

But I wish
I had a little bit more.

And for me, the pasta
was a little undercooked.

I feel very frustrated

because I just needed
two minutes to finish my dish.

[ Sighs ]

ARIANE: If I don't get
that chance to beat Bobby Flay,

then I probably will cry.

And the chef that is gonna go
on to beat Bobby Flay is...

...Chef Ariane.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Even though the pasta
was undercooked,

I brought
much more complexity today.

But I hope
that Ariane can beat Bobby.

Ariane, you made it impossible
to dodge the ingredient.

I would just say
edit yourself.

So, now
what I would like you to do

is beat him
with his own frying pan.

ARIANE: I plan on it.

♪♪

Ariane, how many times
did you dream about redemption

for that little "Iron Chef" loss
that you had?
Oh, oh.

Ooh, just one point.

That was painful.

All right,
what are we cooking?

So, my signature dish is...

...filet mignon.

[ Cheers and applause ]

A little holiday
filet mignon. Okay.

To be fair, Alex and I cannot be
the judges for this round.

Instead, three culinary experts
will do a blind taste test.

You'll have 45 minutes

to pull off the best
filet mignon you've ever made.

And your time starts now!

[ Cheers and applause ]

Cook that food.

Fillet -- What a great
ingredient for the holidays.

That's a fancy ingredient.

Who wants a ham
when you're having a steak?

Oh, tomatilloes.

-Sí.
-Interesting.

I know his flavors
always kill it

because I've already lost
to Bobby once before,

but that ain't
gonna happen again.

So I'm making fillet
with Béarnaise sauce,

but I'm gonna finish it
with this French blue cheese,

so it's just
absolutely decadent,

and that's what the holidays
are all about.

The best part about the fillet
is that it's really tender.

It's very little fat,
so it could use some flavor.

So that's really the chef's job.

I'm gonna do
a New-Mexico-style Christmas.

Filet mignon
with red and green chili sauces

and a sweet potato
goat cheese taco.

It's kind of fun
to take those ingredients,

put it into a holiday spirit.

How do you gussy it up,
though?

My favorite way
to make a fillet

is with peppercorn sauce
or, like, brown butter

because the holidays
is about going for broke.

Gluttony.
[ Laughs ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

First thing I do is,
I make the reduction

of tarragon, vinegar,
wine, shallots

for the Béarnaise sauce.

And then I clarify my butter,

which is when you separate the
milk solids from the actual fat.

She's got the foundation
of a classic Béarnaise sauce.

Béarnaise is
the cousin of hollandaise.

It's that same
egg and butter base

that you develop
for a hollandaise,

and then tarragon
is what makes hollandaise

turn into Béarnaise.

FLAY:
So, for my green sauce,

serrano chilies
will be for heat.

Poblano chilies
will be for flavor.

And the tomatilloes

are gonna add a nice viscosity
to the sauce.

For the red sauce, I'm gonna use
some ancho chilies,

which are a little bit fruity,
and then some Guajillos,

which are
a little bit more earthy,

and just let them soften.

Some chicken stock.

Cooking with chilies --
That's a summer thing.

What is this -- a barbecue?

-Absolutely.
-Ridiculous.

-[ Laughs ]
-Okay, I'm going in.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Ariane, you brought
Team Jersey with you.

[ Laughing ] Yeah.

And they're subtle,
as usual.

[ Laughs ]
[ Cheers and applause ]

Béarnaise?
I can only assume.

-Yeah.
-Oh, sorry.

Shh. Don't --
Go over there.

Roast your chilies.
-[ Laughs ]

I think Béarnaise and potatoes
actually go great together.

So I'm making roesti potato.

A roesti potato is
kind of like a big hash brown --

crispy on the outside,
tender on the inside.

Mama wants you to win.

I know. I know.
I know. I know.

[ Cheers and applause ]

The twist on my roesti is, I add
a little zucchini and onion

to give it more flavor.

Chilies and tomatilloes, eh?

[ Laughter ]

You back at the ranch?

[ Laughter ]

What is
the number-one question

asked in the state
of New Mexico?

"Does Bobby Flay make the best
Southwestern food ever,

except for now?"

[ Cheers and applause ]

Nope.

I don't know.
What's the answer?

"Would you like
red or green?"

And if you have both,
what is it called?

"I'll have it Christmas."

That's right.
-Oh, my God.

Red and green.

[ Cheers and applause ]

[ Laughter ]

Bobby's all excited
about his idea --

Christmas and green and red,
blah, blah.
[ Laughs ]

I'm feeling very Scrooge-y
right now.
[ Laughter ]

FLAY:
I portion out the fillets,

season it with salt and pepper
on both sides,

spice rub on one side,
anto the cast-iron pan.

So, I season
my steak generously.

I have extra portions.

Better safe than sorry.

They both seem to be dealing
with the filet mignon

in the same way -- searing
and finishing in the oven.

How do you like it cooked?

I like steak rare
on the way to medium-rare.

It's important that you don't
overcrowd the fillets in the pan

because if you don't give them
enough room,

it's gonna create steam.

And I want to create crust.

I'm getting ready to flip,

but they're not getting
that even sear.

She has an awful lot
of filet mignon in one pan.

It's sucking a lot of the heat
from there.

Do we want to tell her?

Yeah, you sure don't want
too much meat in the pan

when you're trying
to get a good sear.

It's not a Jersey buffet
up in here.

[ Laughs ]

ARIANE: The clock is ticking,

and now I'm, like,
babysitting these fillets.

I'm freaking out a little bit.

[ Bell dings ]

Coming up on 20 minutes,
people.

Oh, that fillet
looks so good.

Yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ]

I got a beautiful sear.

In searing the filet mignon,
I add a little roasted garlic,

and now I'm getting
that nice crunchy texture

that I was looking for.

Put them in the oven
so they cook to medium-rare.

FLAY: The steaks have a really
good crust on the outside,

and I'm gonna finish them
in the oven later.

The red chilies
have been cooking for a while

in some chicken stock,
honey, salt, and pepper.

Now I pour them
into the blender.

I'm gonna go.

I'm gonna go in there
and taste that sauce.

Hey, Bobby.
-What's up?

What are you making?

Filet mignon
New-Mexico-Christmas-style.

I'm gonna make two sauces --
a red sauce and a green sauce.

Anybody can do red and green
for Christmas.

It's so done.
-[ Laughs ]

JILLETTE: I want to try
a little bit of this.

That's the red chili sauce.

I believe
his salsa is, uh...

perfect.

Ariane, this is
a very Bobby Flay Christmas.

Is that his next show?

Yeah,
"Bobby Flay's Christmas."

This is a big lump
of blue cheese.

That is a French blue cheese
for my Béarnaise.

Ooh.
Now you're talking.

The egg yolks are the base
of the Béarnaise sauce.

So you have to beat them
over a double boiler

so they're really creamy.

You know what she's doing?

She is whisking the heck
out of that Béarnaise.

[ Laughter ]

The most dcuart
of making Béarnaise

is getting
that right consistency.

So I pour clarified butter
in the egg yolk mixture,

take it extremely slow
'cause it can break on you.

If it separates, it could
just be a gooey, oily mess.

Ariane, how does
your Béarnaise look?

We're doing great.
We're doing great.

The Béarnaise is a little thin.

But you know what?
It's not broke.

So I'm straining
the tarragon reduction,

add it to the Béarnaise,

and I'm gonna finish it
with this French blue cheese

to give it that pungent flavor.

And how's that backyard barbecue
coming, Bobby?
Pretty good.

FLAY: I like the idea
of sweet potatoes.

It's a very classic green
for the holidays.

I put them
in blue corn tortillas,

fill it with goat cheese,
for the flavor

and the Monterey Jack
so that it melts well.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Boo-yah!

I flip my roesti potato.

Then I wanted sautéed mushrooms

because I'm thinking meat,
potatoes, and mushrooms --

You can't go wrong with that.

10 minutes!
You're both so screwed!

Go, go! 10 minutes!

Ariane, here's my worry.

I'm not gonna lie to you.
-Yeah, tell me.

See how it's steaming?

When you say you're making
a roesti, it means crispy.

It means golden.
-I know!

I love how when I tell you
stuff, you go, "I know!"

You get all Jersey on me.
[ Laughter ]

I'm a little concerned
at this point.

So I get the roesti
into a cast-iron pan

so it holds more heat, and
hopefully it gets crispy enough.

Are you making, like,
a little sandwich taco?

FLAY: I'm making tacos
al carbon -- grilled tacos.

When was the last time
you made these?

-I don't know.
-Been a while?

-Yeah.
-Thought so.

And those are done --
the fillets?
Whoa.

I almost forgot
to put my fillets in the oven.

That could have been really bad.

I just hope that there's time
for them to cook through.

Time?
-5:01 left.

Bobby's steak
just got in the oven.

What am I doing?

I think
he's behind the eight ball.

So, the red sauce
is gonna bring some smokiness,

and then the green sauce

is really gonna pack
a little bit of spice.

So, I want them to really
balance each other out.

It's clever on paper
what Bobby's doing

with this red salsa
and this green salsa.

But is
it really gonna deliver?

-Whoo!
-Uh-oh.

That's hot.

The green chili sauce
is too spicy.

So I'm gonna chill it out
with some honey.

Is it really three minutes?

ARIANE: I pull the fillets out,
and I just do a little touch.

Any good chef will know --
They're perfect.

I'm gonna let them rest
a little bit

and check on the roesti potato.

Oh, no.

Is that cake
getting crispy over there?

It's all crispy.

Her potato roesti
might be a little bit burned.

Now I'm concerned
it's a little too dark.

But I have to start plating.

FLAY:
So, I'm checking on my fillets,

and they're not quite there.

Bobby's running around.
Look at him.

Running's a bad sign, Bobby.

I want to get them under the
broiler, try to get them cooked.

One minute!

Ariane, get the potato pancake
on the plate.

ARIANE: I put the roesti down,
the fillet with roasted garlic,

and now
just a little blue cheese.

Béarnaise goes on top.

Bobby, you gonna finish?
You gonna be able to do it?

Oh, he'll do it.

FLAY:
So, I taste my green sauce.
[ Coughs ]

A little spicy,
but I can't plate the red sauce

without the green.

It's Christmastime.

Let's get it done!

ARIANE: And then I'll finish it
with the maitake mushrooms.

TOGETHER: 10, 9...

FLAY: I put the sweet potato
tacos on the plate,

and as I put the fillets down,

I think
that they're perfectly cooked.

TOGETHER: 3, 2, 1.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Good job.

My dish is such a departure
from what Ariane did.

So it's gonna come down

to if they like chili peppers
or not, period.

ARIANE: Even though the roesti
is too crispy,

my dish is screaming,
"Happy holidays."

But if I lose, I'll never think
of Christmas the same.

[ Bell dings ]

Ariane and Bobby,

congratulations
on two beautiful holiday dishes.

But now it's time
to meet your judges.

First up, the chef and partner

at Porter House New York,
Michael Lomonaco.

Best-selling cookbook author
Candice Kumai.

And the chef-owner of Ilili,
Phillipe Massoud.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Judges, as you know,
this is a blind taste test,

so please dig into the plate
in front of you.

The fillet
was cooked perfectly.

The sear is nice,

and the inside
is great temperature.

Beautifully tender.

The seasoning was right on,

but the Béarnaise
could have been a bit thicker.

I'm not really getting
the blue cheese on this.

I would liked a little bit more,
especially for the holidays.

Go wild.
[ Laughter ]

KUMAI: The pancake was
undercooked on the inside

and overcooked on the outside.

That being said,
I think it's a bountiful dish.

Very nice.

If I can get you
just to switch your plates

and taste the second one.

The colors on the plate

are a representation
of the holidays,

which is really great.

I love the red chili sauce.

It has some great flavor
to it.

But the green was fiery,
definitely.
Yes. I agree.

They were
a little overpowering.

I thought the beef portion
was a little small.

You got to have enough.

The taco element to the dish
was very clever.

Sweet potatoes and goat cheese
are a marriage made in heaven.

Overall, a fun dish.

All right, judges,
it's that time

where you must take a vote
and pick a winner.

The judges do tell me that they
want more blue cheese in it,

but Bobby's sauces
overpowered a little bit.

So we're, like, neck and neck.

And the winner is...

...Chef Ariane!

[ Cheers and applause ]

Good job.
[ Laughs ]

This was
a tough, tough call

because they were
really both beautiful dishes.

And, Chef, you didn't skimp.

You gave me a beautiful piece
of beef well cooked.

You rocked it out.
That was a great dish.

That means a lot.
Thank you.

To actually beat Bobby Flay
in his own kitchen one-on-one --

I'm proud.

It means a lot.

[ Voice breaking ]
It means a lot.

And I don't like crying.

Happy holidays, Bobby.

Rot in hell.

[ Laughs ]
Oh, my God.

I'm Ariane Duarte,
and I just beat Bobby Flay!

Whoo!

[ Cheers and applause ]