Blown Away (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Potluck Party - full transcript

[Nick Uhas] We've built
North America's biggest hot shop

where ten exceptional glassblowers

push themselves to creative extremes,

because if they can survive
our fiery competition,

they'll win a life-changing prize package.

Now nine remain, battling the clock...

[glass splintering]

and the sweltering heat

of our furnaces.

I'm Nick Uhas and this is Blown Away.

Good morning, glassblowers.



Welcome back to the hot shop.

For your next challenge, we want to know
your favorite food dish.

Because we want to see that as glass art.

The challenge
is more about pushing the boundaries

of form and function,

and experimenting with the ways
that food can be served.

[Nick] So whether you're creating
a tasty sculpture

or a functional serving device,

it's your call,
as long as food is your inspiration.

[Nick]
We have all the equipment you need.

Furnaces to collect molten glass,

blow pipes for inflating the glass,

and punties to handle it.

Tools to shape, cut and twist,



personal glory holes
to keep the glass hot for sculpting,

and annealers to slowly cool the glass
to prevent cracking.

Four hours from now,
we'll have a potluck party

in the gallery,
joined by our guest evaluator

who's been named
one of the world's most Innovative

molecular gastronomy chefs.

He's coming from restaurant Atelier,
chef Marc Lepine.

[applause]

[Momo] So refreshing to get a perspective

from another serious creator
outside of glass.

We have a lot more in common
than you think.

Not only do we have to think
outside the box in terms of our craft,

But working with food ingredients

is similar in many ways
to working with glass.

[Edhgar] Blowing sugar
is like blowing glass,

it gets super-hot,
you have to turn it and blow into it,

sculpt it and mold it.

When I create a dish, I like to elicit
a sort of reaction from people,

or an emotion.

That's what I hope to see
from you today.

I want to feel something
when see your pieces.

[Deborah]
He really wants to feel something.

Okay, chef, get ready.

[Nick] You've got just four hours
to design, create

and present an original piece
of blown glass art.

You'll be evaluated on the level
of technical skill in your work,

how well you follow the creative brief,

and how much creative bravery
you take.

We need to be blown away.

If we're not, we'll ask you
to leave the hot shop. Get to cooking!

Okay, how are we going to do this here?

Let me think about this a while.

It's going to start off
with this egg shape. That's so bad!

[Deborah]
We're making a Venetian-style taco stand,

and elevate the street food of tacos,
one of my favorite foods,

to the level of fine wine.

This dish that I like,
it has these crispy fried noodles

and it gets soggy,
so I wanted to make something

that kind of slowly distributes sauce
over the noodles.

[Leah] Every time I think of food,

I just think, not everybody has food

and that food is such a luxury
in the first world.

[Janusz] My favorite meal is breakfast.

I'm gonna go for a way
to try and present that

in a non-traditional format.

The Jetsons come to mind,
the cityscape in the Jetsons,

where they have different platforms.

[Benjamin] I'm gonna try something
a bit magical today,

like a fairy forest.

Not being much of a food guy,

today's challenge kind of hits me
at a blind spot.

I really must think outside the box.

[Deborah] I am in love with my idea.

I can't wait to eat a taco
out of these things.

[Benjamin] People will have to bring
their own pixie dust.

[laughs]

[clock ticking]

[Edgar] Looking for which white
I should use for this eggshell,

then I'm also looking for a foot color.

Can everyone get out of my way, please?

Obviously there's nervous energy,
one of us has gone.

Where's the hammer? There it is.

We know now what other people
are capable of.

In some ways
it might be more nerve wracking now,

because we know what we're up against.

[clattering]

[Deborah] There we go.

And stop.

It's a roll of the dice
when we get in here.

We get assigned an assistant.

Aim for the point, gently.

-[tapping]
-Yes!

We get assigned a glory hole.

[Leah] Station? Open.

[Nick] What is a glory hole?

Once you take the glass
out of the furnace, it starts to cool.

As it cools, it hardens and gets stiffer,
you can't do much with it.

So the glory hole
is the reheating chamber.

[Nick] And they are quite warm.
They get up to what, 2100?

[Katherine] Yes.

[Nick] Four or five times more
than a household oven.

[Katherine] Yes.

-[Annette] Oh come on, Alex!
-What?

-Ha! You don't like that?
-[coughs]

-Sorry!
-[laughs]

[Alex] For today's challenge,
we're supposed to think about

a favourite food
and think about its presentation in glass.

that could probably be interpreted
as making it in glass

or making something glass for it.

I'm going with the latter.

[Edgar] It's good to grab more glass
than you need,

because you can always cut some off
rather than adding more on.

I'll do a sculpture again.

I'm into sculpting

rather than basic shape vessels
and bowls and stuff.

[Leah] So What I chose to design today,

it's basically just a very simple set
of dishware.

The twist part of it,

all of the dishware has small holes in it.

If you put water in the cup,
it filters through.

You're being served with these dishes
that are already in a deficit

just because of the way the world works.

[Momo]
I think this challenge is really perfect

for showcasing some of the things
that Japan's known for,

like bento boxes.

I'm going to make a bunch
of transparent orange balls

and they're gonna look like fish eggs.

I'm gonna make a lot of these.

[Patrick] I'm designing a thali dish.

Thali is an Indian dish

that is served in a platter
with different compartments.

I love Indian food.

[Janusz] Making the rings
that hold the whole piece together.

I'm going to make this central column

and each dish that I make
is going to have a ring on it.

All the dishes will slot
over the central column

and I'll be able to stagger
the heights of them.

I'm hoping I can pull this off.

Do or die on this.

If this idea doesn't work,
the whole thing won't work.

[tinkling]

[Annette] Push harder.

[Alex] Looking good.

I think this piece
is technically ambitious.

I don't really know how to describe
the part I'm working on.

It's got a bunch of little spouts
coming off it.

Those spouts are hard to do.

It's going to be challenging to make
this delivery device

that stands on all these spouts.

Once you start pulling little thin bits
off the core of the piece,

they're really vulnerable
to changes in temperature.

My design today is very much
for someone who has a sweet tooth.

It's actually based on the cake
that I had for my 14th birthday.

This one is tricky
for a variety of reasons.

Sculpture any time is very hard to do,

there's a lot of little thin parts
and pieces.

I definitely wasn't trying to be safe

because it's a difficult piece to make.

The thinner it is, the faster it cools,

the more likely you are to break it off
or melt it in.

Especially arms or something.

Typically, if you look at sculptures,
even really old sculptures from...

the Roman times, arms are gone.

They're first to break.

I need you to do two petals
with this style of glassblowing.

Ah! Oh!

These objects are hurting my eyes.

They are not going exactly
as I'm dreaming.

Argh!

[Alex] Uh-oh,

I accidentally touched it
with my cold tools,

made a crack.

I think I just ruined it.

-Ah yeah.
-[smash]

[Katherine] Three hours remaining!

Three hours!

-[tinkle]
-[Alex] Not my finest hour.

I touch it
with my cold calipers accidentally,

and it cracks.

So I end up throwing it on the floor.

I'm going to make it again. Yes.

[Patrick] I'm making that bowl

and I realized that the color
is not dark enough.

I first picked a color

that was way too citrusy, yellowish.

My assistant, I just told her
to throw that away.

-[smash]
-So I'm going to restart the whole thing.

Okay, deep breath.

[Janusz] I'm trying
to bring these things together

and it's a challenge
because there's so many little components

that are not necessarily individually
that hard to make.

I'm making them against the clock.

Fours hours isn't long.

Time flies by in the hot shop.

Benji, what are you making today?

I'm making a fairy meadow.

I'm really trying to work with the idea

of wandering through a magical meadow
with these surrealistic flowers.

-[Katherine] What's your food connection?
-I'll leave the food part to Marc.

I don't really like eating very much.

Food can be kind of annoying.

Takes all this time to prepare,

you have to think about what you will eat.

I really focus on presentation.

-Good luck.
-Thank you.

[Edgar] Every time I try to make an object
or animal or something like that,

I really try to make it
as realistic as possible.

Bird feet are really gnarly, ugly things

and it's really fun to just chop them up

and add all this skin texture to it.

It's really cool to just see the blob

turn into a more realistic form,

the more you add texture
and shape to it.

It can be hard to make things realistic.

because glass wants to be cartoony
and bubbly.

I'm giving it all these lines
and creases and knots.

This bird's got some ugly feet.

[Momo] Flip.

Making the oval-shaped container,

completely different from anything
that I've ever made.

I'm just using gravity
to let it fall into its place.

I really am pushing the limits
of what my skills are

and my knowledge of glass
to produce my idea.

[Annette] I have the torso

already built and in the pick-up box.

This will be the base of the cake.

Nice dome, the longest I've ever taken
to make a dome, ever.

The idea was kind of that old saying.

"Water, water everywhere
but not a drop to drink."

You're surrounded by it
but you can't have it.

She's so skinny and so perfect.

and her lower half is a cake
that she can probably never eat.

[Katherine] Leah,
tell me what you're working on.

Having a favorite dish
and being able to have...

this beautifully served food
is such a first world construct,

so I was thinking of the idea of,

how do things get served
to the 800 million people

who live in poverty
and who don't have those options?

What would that dishware look like?

People either enjoy conceptual-type art
or they don't.

For me to create something
that's really literal

in contemporary glass
is a little bit derivative.

So what I'm sticking on right now
is the garnish.

[Leah] If you're making art,
why not say something

with what you're making?

Right now I'm making an egg.

[Janusz] Edgar rocking it.

He just had a simple idea
and he's going for it,

executing it really well.
I'm impressed with him.

It's cool to see
how different artists work.

We're gonna have to taco this one
this way. Get the taco maker!

[Edgar] I'm watching Deborah,
she's working right behind me.

[Deborah] Okay, here we go!

[Edgar] She took this basic shape
called tacos or clams,

but she made them
really elegant and bougie.

It's really awesome.

[punty rattles]

-Behind you!
-[Momo] Go, Deborah!

[Deborah] All the way in the back.

I saw a couple of people's work.

I think some people didn't meet
some criteria of the assignment,

especially with a chef evaluator.

[Benjamin] It's a bit sideways,

but actually it's the fantastic
that we're looking for.

Wow, I actually love it.

[Alex] There is a primitive way
of glassblowing where you start

and then the glass turns into
what it turns into.

I like glass that looks intentional.

[Leah] The piece that I don't know
what it's gonna be,

but I kind of got a glimpse
of having interesting parts,

was Janusz's piece.

He's really good at glassblowing.

-How's it going, Janusz?
-Maybe a little behind.

My idea is breakfast.

Every ingredient is hopefully going
in a separate dish,

so they stack on each other.

I've a lot of things to make

and I haven't made the central column yet.

Essentially all the rings have to fit
on that central column.

-Good luck.
-Thanks. I need it.

[Edgar] I love my piece.

Honestly, the piece came out
exactly how I envisioned it.

[Momo] I look over
and his bench is already empty.

He's an hour and a half done
before anybody else.

-You're done already?
-I'm done.

-You're like that, you're that guy.
-I'm glad.

I know what I want to make
and I get it done.

I also didn't throw away
one of my pieces.

It's like, I finished it. I got it done.

[Alex[Instead of throwing stuff
in the annealer,

you can drop what you made into water

immediately when it's hot,
and it will fracture but stay together.

It's held together like puzzle pieces,

and also the glass contracts a little bit
as it sets up,

so it sucks these broken pieces together.
[laughs]

Science is magic.

I need this to be like a membrane
for liquid to go through slowly.

-[smash]
-[Annette] Ooh! No!

I tapped the side of the shield,

that little tiny tap
will break it for you.

So my plan right now is to remake it.

We don't have much time.

I have a quarter of the time
that I originally had.

There's an hour left,
I still want to win this challenge.

[Janusz] Take it.

Right behind you.

Coming through! I got you.

We had to run across the shop
to use the other annealer,

which hadn't been used much.

That was fun, running across the studio
with hot glass.

[Deborah] Close the annealer!

Please do not shout at me.

What's that about?

[Deborah]
I was starting to freak out a little bit.

I was worried about people
loading the annealer

and accidentally hitting my piece.

Deborah got a little snappy.

That wasn't necessary.
I don't like being yelled at.

Twenty minutes left!

[Janusz] I don't think
I'll get enough made.

I wanted six to eight pieces
to put on this.

I think I'll have four or five.

I totally just nicked my thumb.

Really push. Push!

[Janusz] If I make this in time, it'll be
the fastest platter I've ever made.

[Benjamin] I'll try to finish this off

so I can get a grouping of three.

I think it might be a real mistake.

[Deborah] There we go!

I'm going to do a chin

and a nose,

really super-quickly.

She looks like a serial killer.

Hold this pipe out!

Oh my God, Guy!

Now it's a cannoli holder!

I'm going to have to cut it apart.

-[Janusz] TIme?
-Three and a half minutes left!

[Deborah groans]

[tapping]

-[ting]
-Okay.

Coming through!

I feel something other than happiness.
I don't know what it is.

[Leah] Today's challenge

is about food

and how food is served

and pushing the boundaries

of what that even means.

[Momo] From afar I wanted it to look like
an exploding sushi.

and then up close,
reveal more of a bento box.

[Janusz] I hope the evaluators realize
that this time,

I tried to be a bit more
on the riskier side of things.

[Edgar] I finished first,
so I hope they don't think

I just rushed through it

or didn't care or think about it.

[Deborah]
I think my concept is off the wall.

I'm in love with it.

[Patrick]
I hope that they're going to enjoy

the simple but efficient way
of presenting the food.

[Annette] Winning this challenge
would be the icing on top.

[Alex] There's this level of uncertainty.

I'm working again with clear glass.

I hope that I don't get faulted for that.

[Benjamin] When you regard my piece,

you're going to get whimsy,
you're going to get fantastic.

Bon appetit.

-Bon appetit!
-Bon appetit!

[laughs]

[Katherine] Wow.

[Nick] It's so different
from the last challenge.

[Katherine] I'm surprised by the vibrancy
of some of the pieces.

This makes me smile right away.

[Katherine] "Venetian-style Taco Holder."

That's actually what it's called.

-Oh my gosh, I love this!
-Yes.

[Nick]
The name of this is "What Came First."

I love the legs.
The legs look very chickeny.

[Katherine]
I feel it lacks sophistication.

-That's what I like about it.
-[laughs]

[Nick] This is Benjamin's work,

"The First Blush of a Fairy Garden."

[Marc] I'm struggling to nail

what he's trying to accomplish.

[Katherine]
One thing he made very explicit,

he doesn't like food.

Who doesn't like food?

He hasn't had the right food yet.

[Katherine] I feel it's referencing
a flower in a vase.

It seems much more like a centerpiece

than a serving piece.

[Nick] This is Janusz's.

We're looking into the future, people.

[Marc] This would be amazing
at the start of the meal,

all these different bites of things.

Looks like a lot of work.

[Katherine]
It is a lot of work and a lot of planning.

He was pushing himself

in terms of technique and time.

[Nick] Shall we check out Patrick's?

[Katherine] It's still a bit anonymous,

but I feel it's also thoughtful.

[Nick] Let's move to Annette's.

The title of the work is
"Have Your Cake and Eat it Too."

I like it when I can recognize something
immediately.

There's also
this pointed feminist message.

There's this big apparatus
but really it serves

one little bonbon or chocolate.

I mean, there's a few things
that aren't exceptionally well done.

The face and the hair
are a little indistinct. Disappointing.

I'm curious to see
what everybody else has done.

Obviously, I want the judges to pick mine.

[Katherine] We were pleasantly surprised
and impressed

with the range and diversity
of approach that you all took.

I may want to commission some of you

to make some pieces for me,
for my restaurant.

[Nick] We're really interested
to learn more from you

about what went into your glass art.

Janusz.

I thought it'd be fun
to have this constructed stack of food

in front of you.
Things didn't quite go to plan,

so it's little bit busier
than I would have intended.

I liked that range

-and the addition of color too.
-Thank you very much.

-Leah.
-The piece is about food disparity.

Malnutrition,
people starting off with a deficit.

They're already starting off with a cup

that when you try to fill it with water,

everything just falls out.

We don't necessarily see that

until you look close enough.

We all thought it was very beautiful.

When I first saw them,
I said "I want these."

Patrick.

We all appreciated the clean aesthetic
of the design

and we're glad to see you
move out of the gift shop

from last time.

There is something
really quite elegant about it.

But still a little bit generic.

We're all still curious to see
more of your own sensibility.

Edgar.

[Katherine]
I've noticed in both challenges

-that you finished pretty early.
-Yes.

[Katherine]
You've lots of time to remake things

if you're not happy
with the way something turned out.

[Nick] Benjamin, tell us about your work.

I thought to take a flight of fancy

and try to come at this
from a fairy garden.

[Katherine] We were all confused
in both good and bad ways,

trying to figure out
what they could or should be.

They're not really defined
by one particular food or another.

I appreciate what a different angle
you took on this one.

It's very striking and beautiful.

I don't know if I'd actually serve food
in it. Just the wobbliness of it.

-Momo.
-Since it's a food challenge,

what better place to draw inspiration from
than Japanese food?

I want to be loud and proud about it.

Alexander.

I was trying to come up with something
that'd make the sauce drip slowly.

I wanted to make tableware
that's almost like an hourglass.

I absolutely love this place.

Any modernist-style chef
would be excited about this

because we love to make food
transform in front of our guests.

-I'll take 12 of those.
-[laughter]

Deborah.

I wanted to make a holder
elevated to a level

where it could sit on the table
with royalty.

It could sit next to caviar
on Beyoncé's table

because she's the modern queen.

-Yes, sir.
-I'd happily put it

on any table in my restaurant.

Thank you, chef.

Annette.

We all were intrigued

by the topicality of the message.

There's also this humor about your piece.

I thought the piping along
the bottom was quite exceptional.

You did a great job
of making it look like icing.

[Katherine]
There could have been some things

that could've been more refined
in your execution.

Give us a few minutes
to discuss our thoughts.

[Annette] We have a ton
of great glassblowers. We'll see.

[Edgar] I feel a little nervous.

[Benjamin]
I am not ready to leave this competition.

No way, Jose. I just got started.

[Katherine] The person that has won

has perfectly addressed
the creative brief,

has made something that's functional

and fun to use,

really captures the spirit of the food

that was the inspiration
behind the project.

[Nick] That person is...

Janusz.

-Phew!
-[applause]

Wow.

[applause]

That's a shocker.

Didn't expect that.

You moved one step closer
to the 60,000 dollar prize package

that includes an artist residency

at the world-renowned
Corning Museum of Glass.

You also move one step closer

to becoming our very first
Blown Away champion.

Thank you very much.

When they called my name,
I was just very surprised.

Like, completely blown away.
[laughs]

However, one of you did not blow us away.

And that person is...

Benjamin.

The piece you created

didn't have the connection
to the creative brief

that we were looking for.

-It's going to be very hard to see you go.
-Thanks, guys.

[Benjamin] I am extremely proud

to have even walked in the door.

I look forward to seeing what you do.

Thank you so much for your time.

Failure is a part of a creative practice

and the faster I can make that mistake,

the faster I learn from it.