01x03 - Battle Milk

[bunniefuu]

[suspenseful music plays]

What lurks in the shadows?

[hen clucks softly]

Something fresh from the farm!

[hen clucks]

Eggs-cellent.

[cheering and applause]

Hello, hungry friends. I'm Alton Brown

and welcome back to Kitchen Stadium.

And I'm Kristen Kish and as always

some of the best chefs in the world

will face the fire

of one of the most daunting

cooking competitions ever created.

Here at Iron Chef,we feature

only the freshest of ingredients

as well as fresh new challengers

bold enough to face off

against one of The Chairman's

epic culinary juggernauts.

Remember, the top challenger

from throughout the entire competition

will be going against

all of our Iron Chefs

in that final battle to claim

the ultimate title of Iron Legend.

Chairman, care to cultivate

some culinary competition?

When I choose a challenger, I ask myself,

"Is that a seed

from which I can grow a future Iron Chef?"

I think I have chosen wisely.

Please welcome our challenger,

Chef Curtis Duffy!

[cheering and applause]

[Alton]From Chicago,

this Midwestern trailblazer

is the multi-Michelin-starred chef

of Ever Restaurant,

where he's turned creative obsessions

into some of the best food in the world.

[Curtis] What makes me different

is my laser-beam focus

to what I do, my craft.

I wanna be the best.

I'm a heavy-metal guy,

so I love rock and roll.

The menu that we're currently doing,

it's an album of great hits.

I consider myself

front man of the kitchen.

The style of food,

it's seasonal, vegetable-driven,

so it is very light and herbaceous.

And within the first three months,

we were able to obtain two Michelin stars.

My first job in the kitchen

was washing dishes

and what I've learned over the years

and teach my young chefs

is if you can wash a pot

the same way you would fillet a fish,

with the same intensity and same passion,

then you'll be successful.

Am I competitive? Yeah, absolutely.

It's on.

-Chef Duffy, welcome.

-Hello.

You have risen to the top of one

of the world's most famous food cities,

but facing off

against one of my Iron Chefs

is a whole new level.

Are you feeling strong?

Absolutely.

They are the crème de la crème

of the culinary world.

[dramatic choral music plays]

In this case, the crème de la Crenn.

Please welcome French culinary poet,

Iron Chef Dominique Crenn!

[cheering and applause]

[electropop music plays]

[Alton]Originally from France,

now revolutionizing food

at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco,

Chef Dominique Crenn

is an unstoppable force

in the culinary world.

[Dominique] I'm extremely serious

about my food.

I'm French.

Food and cooking for me is a language.

[upbeat accordion music]

It's about emotion.

You know, I'm a storyteller.

I love to do what is unexpected

and rules are meant to be broken.

I was the first female

in the United States

that received three Michelin stars.

Still the only one.

The only way that the challenger

is gonna win today

is if I make an horrible mistake,

but that's not gonna happen.

-Iron Chef, bonjour.

-Bonjour.Vous allez bien?

How do you say, "I will be victorious"

in French?

C'est la victoire.

Je serai la victoire aujourd'hui.

[In French] That's music to my ears.

[Curtis chuckles]

Is there anything more delicious

than perfect plates of pastry?

The Chairman thinks not!

And I want a perfect pastry battle.

But to make these pastries,

we need the freshest ingredients.

So we must go

to the farm!

[rock music plays]

[Dominique] Amazing.

[audience whoops excitedly]

Yes!

Those farm-fresh pastries

must feature our secret ingredient

and that secret ingredient is

moo-ilk!

[Curtis] Oh yeah.

You ready?

Yeah. You?

Always!

You will have 75 minutes

to make five farm-fresh pastry dishes.

Your first dish will be due

within the first 45 minutes

and your last dish

must be accompanied

by a mmm-ilk-based c*ck.

-Okay.

-I have one thing to say to that.

-Cheers!

-Santé.

Cheers.

Alright, let's do this!

So now, with an open heart

and empty stomach,

I say unto you in the words of my uncle

Allez cuisine!

[Andrew] There they go.

[Alton] So the Battle of the Barnyard

is on here in Kitchen Stadium.

A multi-faceted battle at 75 minutes

featuring milk, pastry techniques

and a c*ck at the end of it.

[chef] Ah, so what we got here?

[Alton] We have multiple varieties today.

Cow's milk in both raw and pasteurized.

[chef] Let's get some goat milk.

Goat's milk, raw, unpasteurized,

one of my favorites.

-[Dominique] Let's do this.

-[Alton] We have sheep's milk.

[Dominique] Here, guys.

[Alton] We have buffalo milk,

water buffalo,

as in the mozzarella fame.

-[Curtis] Camel.

-Camel milk, alright.

[Alton] And camel milk.

Oh, someone's going camel.

[Andrew] Personally, I would like

to see them use some of each milk.

-I want a milk of each type to show up.

-You want them to milk it.

There's gonna be a wide array

of possible flavors here.

Sheep's milk is the creamiest

of the bunch,

while camel milk has a salty sweet flavor

that's actually great for desserts.

Buffalo milk, rich in fat,

so it'll be fascinating to see

how different milks are utilized.

-Which was this?

-That's camel.

[Curtis] Alright, let's taste, huh? Camel.

-[Curtis] I think dessert with this one.

-Okay.

[Curtis] Very sweet, nutty.

Pretty awesome actually.

-[chef] Yeah.

-We cooking from the heart, okay?

So I think for the first one,

the goat milk,

my grandmother, she used to make

her own goat cheese, you know?

Let's do a pomme soufflé with mousse.

[Dominique] Yeah. Mousse inside,

with the goat milk.

[Curtis] Let's try to utilize

every variety of milk.

Five milks, five courses?

Put them in order. Savory to sweet.

So the raw cow milk with the scallop.

[chef] Can sit in custards.

It's a good medium to carry

different flavors throughout the dish.

[Kristen] While our chefs

get familiar with these milks,

let's meet our very hungry

and very lucky judges.

Nilou Motamed, Andrew Zimmern

and our special guest judge,

world-renowned chef,

restaurateur and author, Nancy Silverton.

-Chawanmushi.

-Japanese?

Japanese, but cow milk with uni

and then let's do something

like yuzu and milk.

The buffalo milk

is almost breaking in the jar itself,

has so much fat in. Look.

-[chef 1] Cheese already.

-[Curtis] Pasta?

[chef 2] That'll break nice, make ricotta,

then sheep for

-Yes, for the beef. Yes, of course.

-[chef 2] Yeah.

Then we'll just hit 'em with

the camel-milk pastries at the very end.

[Dominique] Let's go.

[chef 3] Here we go.

[Kristen] Both of these chefs

grew up on farms.

Chef Crenn has a farm in Sonoma,

but what we're gonna see,

especially from Michelin-star chefs

like this,

I think they're gonna take it

a million times further

than just farm to literal table.

[Alton] Yes,

one of the most interesting aspects

that The Chairman has thrown into this

is that every dish

must include a pastry element.

[Kristen] 80% of people watching

are thinking

beautifully flaky crusts

and doughs and baked goods

-Cookies!

-Yeah.

Cookies, brownies,

whatever you wanna have,

but the concept of pastry

to chefs at this level is different.

[Alton] Exactly.

Pastry refers to the techniques

we associate with the pastry department,

which can be applied

to sweet or savory dishes,

but I think there's gonna be ice cream.

[Kristen] I think so.

[Alton] Puddings, custards,

mousses perhaps,

as opposed to just making "pastries".

[Curtis] I don't consider myself

a pastry chef,

but it helps being well-rounded

in the kitchen.

Trying to get the cream cheese

out of the package is always a challenge.

Master of technique over there.

So we have Chef Duffy.

In the blender, we have camel milk.

-So he's got heavy cream.

-[Alton] Heavy cream.

[Kristen] Camel's milk and cream cheese.

A very rich mixture.

[Alton] That could be for dessert.

Looking over on the Iron Chef's side,

we can see she's got goat milk

and some chilies.

[Dominique] Let's make it a bit spicy.

Why not, right?

[Alton] Quite spicy

might well mean savory,

so that could be for her first course.

Who knows?

I'm gonna go find out.

Go. Please.

-Chef Crenn.

-Oui.

-How are you?

-I'm good. What's happening?

I'm very curious to know, kind of,

general approach to the menu,

especially with that first dish.

My first dish is pomme soufflé.

It's very French.

Potato and the goat-milk mousse inside.

An homage to my grandmother,

because they used to have a potato farm.

Everything that I love about life,

it was about the farm

and milk also absorbs all the flavor

in the world,

so I'm telling you the story of the farm.

-And I'm taking you on the journey.

-[Kristen] Beautiful. Look forward to it.

[Dominique]Oui.How are you guys doing?

-[chef]Oui,Chef, great.

-[Dominique] Are we rocking?

[Kristen] The sous-chefs

on the Iron Chef's side

are both vital members

of her Atelier Crenn San Francisco

restaurant team, Juan and J.C.

[Alton] We can see sous-chef J.C,

it looks to me like he's frying

those little thinly sliced potatoes,

um, at a relatively low temperature.

So they're making, like, a potato crisp.

That's probably for the first course

Chef Crenn was talking about.

Alright, looking over on

the challenger's side right now,

oh, we've got some scallops.

Beautiful, beautiful meats on those.

I'm guessing, you know,

if we see proteins,

they will be served earlier in the meal.

Kristen's gonna find out.

[Kristen] In 45 minutes

you serve your first dish.

-Yeah.

-Do you have a plan?

[Curtis] We're gonna do pudding cups

made with scallops and cow-milk custard.

[Kristen] Fantastic.

[Curtis] I like the unctuousness

of the scallops

that I think are gonna pair well

with this cow-milk custard we're making.

It's soft, it's sensual, it's fatty.

[Kristen] Can you describe a bit

of what we're gonna see?

As a child, you peel that lid

and there's a beautiful custard

that's still stuck at the top,

and what is the first thing

that a kid does is usually lick it,

so something just very playful,

something to bring you back to childhood.

Beautiful, thank you.

[Curtis] Thank you.

[Kristen] Chef Duffy's sous-chefs

are his trusted lieutenants

at his restaurant Ever in Chicago,

Richie and Justin.

[Alton] Sous-chef Justin

working with that cow's milk there,

seasoning with salt.

Cow's milk is often used

to tenderize scallops,

so the pairing makes sense.

Now Justin's pouring

that cow's-milk custard mixture

into those little glass jars to set.

That will make a rich, creamy custard

to go alongside the scallops.

Chefs, we have 30 minutes remaining

to get that first course up to the judges.

[Justin] The jars are in the blast.

[Alton] That's a bottle of yuzu juice

being weighed out on the Iron Chef's side

by sous-chef Juan.

A very famous Japanese citrus,

like a combination

of lemon and grapefruit.

[Kristen] Sous-chef Juan,

brilliant pastry chef.

I am a huge fan.

Some would even say a fangirl.

[chortles]

Well, looks like we might have

at least two different ice creams in play

on that side of the kitchen.

One with the buffalo milk, I think,

and sugar,

and also blending up a mixture

of yuzu and cow milk.

Perhaps there's gonna be

a savory ice cream. That would make sense.

Okay, we can see sous-chef J.C's

pouring some of that goat-milk mixture,

which we saw the Iron Chef

make at the beginning of the battle.

The rest, he added some agar agar to it.

That's gonna set

to become a thin layer of milk gel

to accompany the pomme soufflé.

And I can't find my ingredients!

Seventeen minutes remaining

until that first dish

needs to arrive at the judge's table.

[Nancy] Oh, look at that!

It is a little bit

like a magical-cauldron situation

over on Chef Duffy's side.

[Andrew] Oh my gosh, look at that!

I think that's just still the cream cheese

and the camel milk also in there.

[Curtis] It's for the dessert course.

We're making ice-cream sandwich.

[Alton] So, looks like we're gonna have

a camel-milk ice cream.

I can also see right now sous-chef Richie

is juicing a Chef, what are you juicing?

I'm juicing some lemons

to break the buffalo milk

to make a ricotta,

uh, for the pasta course.

[Alton] Making fresh ricotta,

that's of course a whey-based cheese

coagulated with whole milk and acid.

In this case, some orange

and some lemon juice.

[Richie] Come on, get there. Let's go.

[Alton] In another pot

on the Iron Chef's side,

she's got ginger,

she's got lemongrass in there,

dried mushrooms,

dried chanterelles in fact,

some seaweed and nowkatsuobushi

or dried bonito flake,

looks almost like pencil shavings,

have gone in.

Those are some of the most

umami-heavy flavors you can get.

I think we're gonna see a lot of these

beautiful nuances of Japanese cooking.

[Alton] Yes, Iron Chef Crenn has brought

a lot of Japanese and other Asian flavors

to her traditional French cuisine

over the last few years.

Cow's milk and dashi suggests

some kind of custard,

although I haven't seen any eggs yet.

[Dominique] Jean-Christophe,

I need the cream right now.

[J.C]Oui.

[Alton] Sous-chef J.C has what's left

of that goat-milk mixture.

The Iron Chef made that earlier.

That is going into a gas canister,

which will transform it into a mousse

for her first course,

potatoes and goat-milk mousse.

Looking over at the challenger's side,

looks like those cow-milk custards

for Chef Duffy's first course

have come out of the blast chiller.

-[Curtis] Scallops?

-[Richie] I'm one minute out.

-[Curtis] I need purees.

-[Richie] Okay.

[Alton] He's adding the scallops.

[Richie] Let's go, Chef.

[Alton] Also some mushrooms

that he pickled going into those jars.

-Oh, come here.

-Show me.

See the foil lids?

They're piping a milk and orange pudding

of some kind

to lick off of that foil lid.

[Alton] Sous-chef Justin,

what else is in there?

Uh, cow-milk pudding,

some seared scallops,

a little charred scallion.

-[Curtis] Let's start smoking.

-[Alton] That is cool.

-[Justin] Ready?

-[Curtis] Yeah.

[Alton] That smoke flavor should pair

nicely with the caramelized scallops.

[Curtis] Soon as the lids go,

we need to go.

-[Richie] Okay.

-[Curtis] We're almost there.

[Kristen] What is he doing

with that saucepan?

[Curtis] Sealing the lid.

[Richie] The heat activates a bit of glue

that's on the top of the lid here.

Alright, let's do this.

[singsong] Let's ready to plate!

[Alton] Back over

on the Iron Chef's side of the world,

sous-chef J.C right now,

is cutting out some milk gelatin,

maybe to put it on top

of the little potato crisps.

Iron Chef Crenn plating that first course.

We can see she's placing that milk gel

on the pomme soufflé potato crisp.

-[Curtis] We can go.

-Here he comes.

The challenger is coming.

[Alton] The first course

from the challenger

has gone up to the judges' table.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

With, uh about three minutes to spare.

Kristen is up and will give us

the feedback from the judges.

On the Iron Chef's side,

she's finishing that first course

with some flowers.

-Two minutes, Chef.

-Oui.

Chef. What have you made?

[Curtis] So we have a milk custard

with caramelized scallops and mushrooms.

The idea, take the lid, peel it back,

lick the lid, enjoy what's inside.

-Fantastic. Thank you, Chef.

-[Nilou] Thank you. Okay.

[Kristen] I'm just a little bit jealous

'cause this looks absolutely fun.

[Andrew] Milk custard with scallop

actually play together so well.

-[Nancy] Yeah.

-The smoke coming out at you.

[Nancy] Oh, the temperature is

It's not a palate cleanser,

it's a palate increaser.

-[Nancy] Awakener!

-All you wanna do is eat.

[Nilou] You have all the acid

from the pickling of that mushroom.

That brightness that goes right to here.

And you kept on getting creamy

and then acid.

The thought behind taking off that lid

and licking it,

he wouldn't have to tell me to do that,

'cause I would have.

Instinctively, that's what we all do.

[Andrew] It explodes with flavor.

I am beyond delighted.

[Dominique] Alright, I'm good.

Should we go?

There's nothing to see here.

Get away from me. I'm snacking.

Let's do this.

So I believe Chef Crenn is ready.

[Alton] Twenty-five seconds remaining.

-Hello!

-[Nancy] Hello.

Bonjour!

Alright. I'm taking you

to my memories, childhood memories.

I spent a lot of time at the farm

of my grandmother.

It's a potato farm.

So, this is pomme soufflé,

with a goat milk inside,

little bit spicy.

We did a veil of milk on top.

So ode to my grandmother.

-[Kristen] Thank you, Chef.

-Merci.

Mm! Quite frankly, I've had feathers

that were heavier than this.

Astounding. I have had

air that has been heavier.

[Andrew] And yet the expl*si*n of potato

and goat milk just slightly turned cheesy

was just an exercise in brilliance.

That flavor just kind of

melts in your mouth

and all you end up with

is this creaminess, right?

Like creamy softness.

Technically, both of them

[chuckles]

Wow, to have to choose between the two?

I'll let you sit with those thoughts

and come up with however

you're gonna score that. Good luck.

Thank you, Kristen.

The judges now have 25 points possible

that could be awarded for that dish.

Okay, let's catch up.

Now on the challenger's side,

green and white asparagus being chopped.

Not sure where that's going yet.

Chef Duffy has a buffalo-milk ricotta

coming together, a filling for a pasta.

[Richie] There we go.

Pasta filling's done.

[Alton] He also has a camel-milk

ice-cream sandwich for dessert.

They've got a lot left to do though.

On the Iron Chef's side of the world,

they have not one but two ice creams,

a yuzu and cow's milk

savory ice cream course,

as well as a more traditional ice cream

with buffalo milk for their dessert.

We can see Iron Chef Crenn at this moment

pouring a milk mixture

into these rustic bowls.

Some of the dashi elements went into that,

um, and she's covering those

with plastic wrap.

-She's making chawanmushi there.

-Ah, beautiful.

She is making

a traditional Japanese steamed egg custard

only she's put cow's milk in it,

so that's got to steam and then set.

Looking back on the challenger's side,

that's gonna be a very flavorful dough,

because semolina flour

is gonna be hard, high protein,

and the farina is low protein,

which makes me think

it's gonna become a dough

that is going to be rolled and filled,

perhaps a ravioli.

[Kristen] Over on

sous-chef Justin's station,

he's brought out the !sis

and I believe he's

putting red grapes in them?

Um, why would you put those into a foamer?

It foams, but it also, um

-Carbonating.

-Carbonates, correct.

[Alton] Yeah. Fizzy grapes. That will

certainly be an interesting one to taste.

I'm fascinated to see where they end up.

-We have 30 minutes remaining.

-[Curtis] We gotta go.

[Richie] Yes, Chef.

[Alton] Looking on the challenger's side,

that looks like beef maybe.

Kristen's gonna find out.

Can I ask you what we're working on

with this beautiful tenderloin?

A beef tenderloin course,

raw and cooked.

Ah, beautiful. What is the pastry element

that you're bringing in?

We're doing a pudding of sheep's milk.

Beautiful. I'll get out of your way.

Thank you.

-[Richie] How are you lookin', Chef?

-[Curtis] It's comin' along.

[Alton] On the Iron Chef's side,

that's a bottle of gin,

I know because it's my favorite,

by sous-chef Juan.

A mixture of mint, some lime zest,

cow and coconut milk.

Looks like we have the beginnings

of a c*ck.

[Kristen] Wait. Chef Duffy

has charcoal powder and beeswax.

[Alton] Of course. We see that

all the time in Kitchen Stadium!

-[Kristen chuckles]

-[Nilou] What's happening there?

[Alton] I won't even talk about that,

that's so common!

[Kristen] Chef Duffy,

what's happening with the beeswax?

Yeah. Give me one moment?

Yes, Chef.

[Alton] He's very polite.

He shot you down,

but he did it very nicely.

[Nilou] I'm flummoxed.

What I'm gonna say is I'm flummoxed.

So we liquefied beeswax,

a little charcoal powder,

creating serving pieces

for the dessert course.

-[Nancy] Beeswax.

-Beeswax and charcoal.

[Nilou] Now he's just showing off.

[Andrew] I mean,

there's a Willy Wonka aspect

to what's going on here

that just astounds me.

[Alton] This is why you hang out

in Kitchen Stadium,

to see stuff you've never seen

and to taste things you never tasted.

Yeah, no words.

[Alton] Sous-chef Richie is cutting out

what looks like puff pastry.

Actually, it'sfeuille de brick.

We also call that brick dough.

Egg wash going on top.

What's that for, Chef?

[Richie] This is a puff pastry

that we're gonna compress

for our ice-cream sandwich,

which I believe Chef made

with a camel milk.

[Alton] Of course. Now this milk mixture

in the hands of our challenger Chef Duffy,

camel's-milk ice cream,

is being put into silicone molds.

They've only got 20 minutes

for it to set properly,

so they're gonna have to move.

-Looking over on the Iron Chef's side

-Look at that baby.

[Alton] There's her chawanmushi.

[Dominique] Who likes chawanmushi?

-[Alton] Do you like chawanmushi?

-I love. It's like silk.

-[Alton] Eating silk.

-And so velvety.

We're both going like this.

It feels rich, it feels luscious,

but it's still so light and ethereal.

-[Dominique] How are you guys doing?

-[J.C] Brown butter is in the ice.

[Dominique] Thank you.

[Alton] I also see a box,

like a 20-pound box, of uni.

[Kristen] Beautiful.

[Alton] Gorgeous!

I want to face-plant in that,

which is odd,

because those orange things are gonads.

That is the technical term

for the part of the sea urchin we eat.

-Gonad.

-[Kristen] Thank you for that knowledge.

-[Kristen chuckles]

-[Alton] Wait. Guess what I have.

-News.

-I've got the scores for the first dish.

Ah! Fantastic. Eager to find out.

-[Alton] So, chefs.

-[Dominique] Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Oh, oh, who is it?

You might wanna know your scores

for the first dishes.

I don't have to tell you.

-[Dominique] I'm ready.

-I didn't come here to lose.

Out of 25 possible points

for your first dish,

you're at a tie with 23 points apiece.

-Whoo!

-[Curtis] Phenomenal.

[Alton] Pat each other on the back.

[Curtis] We're going to hug.

How about that?

Clearly it is anyone's win at this point.

Guys, great start.

-[Richie] Aw, thanks, Chef.

-[Dominique] We got this.

I need you guys to focus,hein?

Under 12 minutes now,

11 minutes, 15 seconds.

Over on the challenger's side,

in that blender over there right now

is a combination of asparagus and spinach.

I saw water go into that blender.

Probably some thickening agent as well.

Perhaps to make a puree of some kind.

[Alton] Check out sous-chef Justin

blending up a goat-milk mixture.

Uh, Chef, what are you working with?

I've got a goat-milk thickened

with a little bit of Ultra-Tex here,

uh, seasoned with some lemon juice.

Uh, plopped it in some liquid nitrogen

and then blended it.

[Curtis] This is a goat-milk snow

with a green asparagus puree.

[Alton] So that goat-milk snow

is basically a frozen custard

blended to give it that snow-like texture.

[Kristen] Fantastic.

[Alton] Alright, also

on the challenger's side,

we can see those little molds,

that are in front of sous-chef Richie.

What's going in there, Chef?

This is a coconut caramel salted

caramelized coconut milk

we're using for one

of our dessert bites.

It's in a fun little skull mold.

-[Curtis] Water's on for pasta?

-[Richie] Yes, Chef.

[Alton] Skull-shaped molds.

That could be fun.

[Kristen] What's sous-chef J.C

working on Iron Chef's side?

[Alton] Well, they're actually

also using a mold

and he's scooping

it's a tuile batter across like a stencil

that actually says "milk" on it.

Iron Chef Crenn apparently

in a very literal mood today.

[Kristen] Chef Duffy has a beautiful

filet of beef on his grill right now.

He said he was gonna serve it

both raw and cooked.

And I asked him what his

pastry application was going to be

and he said something in the form

of milk pudding.

[Alton] I believe

that is the sheep's-milk mixture

in the hands of sous-chef Justin.

-[Curtis] Where are you at?

-[Justin] Got to blend the puddings.

[Alton] We see Chef Duffy right now

mixing up a milk-based c*ck.

[Curtis] I'm making

a camel-milk boozy milkshake.

[Alton] And now it looks like

some nasturtiums, I think,

which is just a long, edible flower.

That's going into that blender

with the sheep's milk

for Chef Duffy's fourth course,

the beef dish.

-[Curtis] Ready on pasta.

-[Richie] Ready to go!

[Alton] I think we know

that all the milks are in play right now.

Chef Duffy has this asparagus dish

with goat's milk,

buffalo-milk-ricotta pasta,

beef with

green-and-white sheep's-milk puddings,

and the camel-milk ice-cream sandwich

for dessert.

The Iron Chef has used largely cow's milk

in her dishes thus far.

She's got a cow's-milk chawanmushi,

a yuzu-and-cow-milk savory ice cream,

the buffalo-milk ice cream for dessert.

Uh, what are we missing?

Looking over on the Iron Chef's side,

sous-chef Juan working with cream,

more cow's milk,

and they infused some kind of tea,

and it's a dark tea.

Liquid nitrogen in play.

Sous-chef Juan is dumping that

into a polystyrene vessel.

We can see he's got the rosette iron.

What that might be for,

Kristen's down right now with that.

[Juan] We're gonna do

basically a cold iron

and stamp this liquid,

which has the hōjicha Japanese tea.

[Alton] Hōjicha tea, which is a green tea

that's roasted, so that makes sense.

[Kristen] Fantastic. Thank you.

[Alton] I'm excited

to see that rosette iron.

We'll try to keep an eye on that.

[Kristen] Have we figured out

what's going on

with this pasta that's happening

over on the challenger's side?

-He's curling them like a snail.

-[Alton] I don't know what you call that.

I don't either.

I think it's Pasta Duffy is what it is.

[Curtis] It's a nice little floret,

little flower of pasta.

[Alton] So we've got flowers there,

rosettes, essentially on both sides.

On the Iron Chef's side,

we can see sous-chef Juan

is actually using that rosette iron,

which would typically go

into a batter and then in to fry,

they deep chilled that in liquid nitrogen.

Be careful with that stuff at home, kids.

It's 300 degrees below zero.

Okay, okay, the pasta-roll thing

has gone into milk

over in the hands of sous-chef Richie.

That's actually Now, he took

some of the whey away

when he made the ricotta,

so the cheese that's on the inside

was made from the same stuff

as the sauce on the outside.

This is not for the lactose intolerant.

That's all I'll say.

[Kristen] Sous-chef J.C

crouched down at the oven,

hand rolling then blowing on batter

to form tiny ice-cream cones

for their dessert. Interesting technique.

[Alton] Meanwhile, the Iron Chef

has quite literally

brought the farm to the table

with the plating of her chawanmushi here

using dried sweet-potato stems.

Looks kinda like a bird's nest,

perfect for an egg custard.

[Kristen] Beautiful.

[Alton] On the challenger's side,

Chef Duffy right now

plating asparagus and spinach puree.

-[Curtis] Justin, where you at?

-[Justin] Got the snow.

[Curtis] Okay, we gotta go.

[Alton] Looks like some white asparagus

and some osetra caviar.

-We should give more, right? More caviar?

-[Kristen] Yes.

Whatever's left over, Chef.

[Curtis] I agree. More is better.

[Alton] Next to that, the goat-milk snow

in the liquid-nitrogen bowl

will be the milk and pastry elements.

[Curtis] I'm ready on pasta.

[Alton] Some ham coming out of the fryer.

[Kristen] Crispy prosciutto.

[Alton] That course is gonna be

buffalo-milk, uh, ricotta pasta

with crispy ham,

a sauce that's also

made out of the buffalo whey.

So there are actually two pastry elements

in this dish,

house-made buffalo ricotta

and the pasta itself.

The mixture in that blender over there

being manned by sous-chef J.C

on the Iron Chef's side,

it's caramelized milk solids.

You can actually take dry milk powder

and brown it.

-It's probably a sauce for something.

-[Kristen] What's happening

[Alton] Sous-chef Juan

brought together a mixture

of a white chocolate and matcha tea,

which is going into that sesame-seed

puffed-rice mixture

for the little flowers there,

the rosettes.

[Kristen] Crunchy rice

happening on both sides.

Sous-chef Justin on the challenger's side

has rice sheets he's deep frying.

[Alton] So we've got plating

fast and furious now on both sides.

-[J.C] How much time?

-[Alton] Two and a half minutes!

And it's all got to be done.

[Curtis sighing] Ay-ay-ay.

[Dominique] I need timing, guys!

-How many minutes?

-[Juan] Two minutes.

Now they're in it.

Things are getting hectic.

[Dominique] We have to go.

[Alton] Iron Chef Crenn

plating her chawanmushi right there.

The custard, the pastry element,

and now that beautiful

brown-butter-basted uni

going down on top of that.

Okay. Now it looks like Chef Duffy

is starting to plate that beef course.

[Curtis] You eat with your eyes.

[Alton] Ah, okay.

There are those fizzy grapes from earlier,

going with the beef course.

Those green and white dollops

are Chef Duffy's pastry element,

sheep's-milk puddings.

I'm curious to see if the judges

will find that a sufficient use

of pastry skills.

-[Justin] Rich?

-[Richie] Yes?

-Ooh! That was nice.

-[Kristen] Nice catch!

[Richie] Chef, I got ice-cream sandwich.

We still need c*ck.

On the Iron Chef's side

there is an ice-cream cone

being assembled in the log there.

Um, that's the buffalo-milk ice cream.

[Dominique] With just milk solids

that has been caramelized.

[Alton] Oh, that's what J.C was making

with the caramelized milk solids.

[Dominique] That's beautiful. That's it.

[Alton] Back on the challenger's side,

we have chewy milk skulls.

And you can see right there

that beautiful brandy milkshake going up.

-One minute, ten seconds.

-[Curtis] Come on, guys!

I see something

that looks like an ice-cream sandwich.

[Alton] That's that crazy

beeswax-and-charcoal-powder plate

we saw him making.

[Kristen] And also we have molds

that look like skulls.

-[Alton] That's the coconut-milk caramel.

-[Kristen] And then that beautiful drink.

[Dominique] Let's do this now, guys.

[Alton] On the Iron Chef's side,

the remaining dishes,

the milk and yuzu business,

ice cream, sweet or savory,

would be considered pastry.

Sous-chef Juan is there

pouring something

into a liquid-nitrogen bath.

-[Dominique] Let's do this.

-[Alton] Better make it quick.

[Kristen] Where's Chef Crenn's c*ck?

Am I missing it?

I think it's That's the c*ck.

-[Kristen] Ah, there.

-Ten seconds!

We're doing a frozen c*ck.

We mix gin and milk together.

[Alton] Freezing it like that,

the Iron Chef's c*ck

will stay cold longer,

but melt in the mouth.

-Genius.

-[Juan] Perfect.

Three, two, one.

And time is up!

Oh my God!

-[cheering and applause]

-[Curtis chuckles]

[Juan] Wow.

[Alton] What a battle.

[J.C] It was quick.

[Curtis] Oh my gosh!

[Dominique] We are crushing today.

Milk is a beautiful white canvas.

Anything you put inside,

it takes on the flavor,

so everything is about layering the flavor

and telling a story.

What do you think about that?

[Curtis] I think I nailed every single

variety of milk that was available.

I cook for myself,

I never cook for somebody's palate.

It's my palate only

and that's all that matters.

Hopefully the judges

are gonna enjoy my food.

It tastes good. I know that.

[dramatic drumbeat]

[heavenly choral music plays]

[dramatic drumbeats]

Judges, welcome to the tasting table.

At the end of the first course, you guys

gave 23 points to both of our chefs,

so we have a tie there.

It should lead to

an interesting time here.

-A difficult time.

-[Alton] A difficult time.

Judges, service is starting

with Chef Duffy.

Right there.

-[Nilou] Thank you, Chef.

-[Nancy] Thank you.

-[Alton] Chef Duffy.

-How are you?

-Welcome. Are you a milk drinker?

-No.

[all chuckle]

[Curtis] Milk for me is a fat medium.

It's a way to carry flavors

throughout the meal,

so this was a nice challenge for me

utilizing all the milks

and I think we accomplished that.

Tell us about the dish.

[Curtis] Asparagus two different ways,

we have green asparagus puree,

some white asparagus poached,

caviar, and tableside a goat-milk snow.

Oh, I've already started.

-That's alright.

-It looked so delicious.

[Curtis] Just straight goat milk.

A little bit of salt.

The flavors are honestly

so hard to describe,

because you have this iciness

from the snow

that then melts into a creaminess

from the fact that it's a milk.

You have crunchy elements.

There's the puree of the green asparagus,

then the perfectly cooked white asparagus,

which is one of my favorite things.

-The caviar

-[Curtis] Over the top.

[Nilou] I mean, why not? Be over the top!

This is Kitchen Stadium.

To me, this is the kind of cooking

that I came here expecting

and this just makes me so excited

for what's to come.

Beautiful.

The caviar for me works perfectly

to accent the vegetable choice.

I taste everything in balance,

from the milk

to that beautiful vegetal nuttiness

that the green asparagus

and then the poached white have.

I think this is a very successful dish.

-Thank you.

-It is everything that you've said.

It's exquisite to look at.

I'll throw out what I think is negative,

is that I feel that it was really hard

to enjoy everything

with the temperature of the snow.

-Sure.

-For me personally, it kind of interfered.

-Thank you, Chef. Next course, please.

-Thank you.

-Wow. I didn't wanna be the bad person.

-[Nilou] Right.

I think your point was very valid.

Our sensory apparatus changes

as the temperature goes down,

and of course aromas

don't work the same way either.

-[Nilou] Right.

-[Alton] It's a risky play.

[judges] Thank you.

Thank you.

[Kristen] So we had a great vantage point

watching these rosettes come to life.

What have you made for us?

[Kristen] So it's

a buffalo-milk-ricotta pasta,

the whey that we saved

turned into a froth you see on the top,

and a crispy prosciutto.

-[Kristen] It's ham and cheese.

-[Andrew] Well, exactly.

And in terms of the pastry technique?

[Curtis] In terms of pastry, the idea

of using the ricotta made in house,

buffalo milk that's been broken,

in this case, with orange juice.

-Orange, a wonderful, unexpected accent.

-Yeah.

So often when people

make their own ricotta,

I think the problem with it

is it has too much acid in it.

You taste the lemon.

I've never heard of making it with orange

and I love the orange.

It was subtle,

but you still taste the milkiness.

I love the pasta and I love that ricotta.

-Thank you.

-Andrew?

Do you work a lot with pasta?

Unfortunately, I don't.

You might want to think about changing.

Absolutely perfection.

To articulate milkiness so beautifully

I want one more.

-Thank you, guys.

-[judges] Thank you.

This is pastry, milk, farm.

This dish was spot-on representation

of the challenge.

-[Kristen] Thank you.

-[Nancy] Wow.

Oh, that's really, really beautiful.

Chef, tell us all about it.

[Curtis] So we have Wagyu beef

in two forms.

a la plancha.

Sheep-milk puree, like a custard pudding,

and a puree also made with sheep's milk

but also has nasturtium leaves,

and then crispy rice

and carbonated grapes.

Nilou, what do you think?

I'm really having a moment with your beef.

I mean, melt in your mouth, amazing.

The grape, that kind of pops out

and when you put in your mouth, it fizzes.

-Fizzy grapes.

-[Andrew] Yes.

You can see it on every menu

across the country.

Chef, can you tell us what's really

pastry technique in this dish?

Just the idea of it being

like a custard pudding.

That was my thought behind it.

I'm finding a looser connection here

to pastry than I would like.

The pastry technique,

I just don't think it was successful.

[Alton] Thank you.

We're ready for your next course.

We're talking about spectacular food

[Nancy] Yeah, we're nitpicking.

But when it's spectacular,

it invites that kind of conversation.

-Ooh.

-The red straw.

-Makes me smile.

-[Nilou] Love a striped straw.

-[Kristen] Oh my gosh.

-Oh!

[Nilou] Look at that drama, presentation!

Before it all melts, please tell us

what all of this is.

[Curtis] I made a variety of pastries.

I made a camel-milk ice-cream sandwich,

a caramelized chewy coconut skull

and a camel-milk boozy milkshake

with brandy.

Mm!

Nilou, I'm dying to know

what you're thinking.

I am also not a milk drinker,

but this kind of made me feel

like it was like a grown-up milkshake.

A milkshake"correctto".

It was corrected with brandy.

Which makes everything a little better.

So good!

[Nilou] And the coconut bite, so much fun!

[Andrew] A little too gelatin-ish.

-Micro-critique.

-Don't listen to him. I disagree.

[Kristen] Can you just walk us

through this process?

We liquefy beeswax, we add charcoal

to add some color to it,

push the wax through the ice

and let it organically take its own shape.

-It's amazing.

-[Kristen] Andrew?

This may have been the most direct way

to interpret pastry and milk.

And yes, I'm gonna throw down this card,

I've had camel-milk ice cream

several times in my life.

You're the only one.

This ice cream sandwich,

the density and texture

on the camel-milk ice cream

allows you to bite through the pastry

without it coming out the side, so

-It's still not melting.

-Brilliant.

No question that you rose to the challenge

of milkiness and pastriness,

'cause it's certainly all here

You're a camel-milk convert.

I am a camel-milk convert.

Such a delicious milkshake.

Chef, I think we can all agree

it was an absolutely stunning meal

and thank you very much.

-[Nancy] Yeah. Thank you.

-Thank you guys so much.

Thank you.

[Nilou] I believe

that Chef Duffy was very thoughtful

about how he used milk throughout,

and this is a good example of it as well.

So well done.

And now it is time

for Iron Chef Crenn's first dish.

-Hello.

-Bonjour!

-Hello.

-Thank you!

[judges] Oh!

[in French] What a beauty!

[Andrew]Oh là là!

Iron Chef Crenn, can you give us an idea

of your take on the entire challenge,

your approach in general?

The idea was

to showcase the beauty of milk,

within the setting of my family farm,

starting with my grandmother

at the beginning

with the potato and the goat milk.

Iron Chef Crenn, tell us about your dish.

[Dominique] So my second course

is chawanmushi, which is a light custard,

but we add milk to it

and I serve this with a beautiful uni

that has been poached,

and we do a milk foam, so it's very light.

So it's kind of a take on crème brûlée

and bring the land and the sea together.

[Nilou] I love how there's so many layers

to this dish.

Uh, the dashi flavor that you got

into your chawanmushi,

that part is amazing.

And then the uni just echoes

all of that sort of saline maritime flavor

that's so lovely.

And I absolutely love the presentation,

which is just beautiful.

I found it very successful

and I didn't have to think my way through.

I just got to purely enjoy it.

Was there pastry technique here?

For me there was pastry technique

with the savory custard,

which was delightful.

And that was the flavor carrier,

I mean, bedsides the uni, obviously.

Thank you.

We look forward to the next dish.

-Thank you.

-[judges] Thank you.

And in a dish, I want food

where I'm craving more.

I mean, I literally inhaled that thing.

[Alton] It's basically a big amuse,

a two-biter, and it worked.

[Andrew] Yeah.

Look at how cute that is!

-[Kristen] Aw.

-[Alton] Thank you.

[Kristen] Iron Chef Crenn,

what did you make?

[Dominique] So this is

an homage to California.

It's a yuzu ice cream

with a little bit of white-chocolate syrup

with a yuzu foam

with milk tuile on top of it.

-[Andrew] What kind of milk?

-[Dominique] That is cow milk.

This is Dominique in a bowl,

don't you think?

I mean, clean and pressed and stark.

The yuzu flavor comes straight through

all the way.

The creaminess of the ice cream,

not too sweet,

a bit of acid that keeps on

kind of making you come back

for more of the creaminess.

It's a palate cleanser. I don't know

if I need my palate cleansed yet.

It's clean now.

-[Nancy] I know.

-We have some surprises coming up.

I bet you do.

-We look forward to your next course.

-Thank you.

-[Nilou] Thank you.

-[Dominique] Thanks.

I thought this was very well ex*cuted.

I just feel like two foam preparations

back to back

would not have been my choice.

-[Nancy] There it is.

-Ooh!

-[Nancy] Look at that.

-[Andrew] Oh.

-[Nilou] That's really pretty.

-Oh! Oh!

Iron Chef Crenn,

what have you made for us?

[Dominique] We made a milk-tea flower

that is frozen cow milk

with a Japanese tea, hōjicha,

which is toasted tea leaves,

then we dip it in matcha

and a touch of white chocolate,

toasted cereal.

-Wow.

-Great food is all about contrast.

-And here you have contrast of flavor.

-[Nancy] Yep.

-Temperature.

-Texture.

Texture. It's almost impossible

to translate into words

the depth and the breadth

of what was incorporated.

Extremely successful.

That being said, cow milk again?

Goat's milk is very French as well.

You had different options.

I will agree that I wish

there was another milk used,

but it is amazingly still looking perfect.

-Is that from the white chocolate?

-[Dominique] Yes.

The chocolate's holding it together.

-God.

-[Andrew] Yeah.

It's really sophisticated.

-But it tastes like cereal and milk.

-[Alton] With matcha white chocolate.

-That's good?

-[Alton] Yes.

-[Kristen] Thank you, Chef.

-[Dominique] Thank you.

-[Nilou] Beautiful.

-[Alton] Engineering.

[Andrew] Yes.

[Nancy] Ah.

Ooh.

That's a little c*ck here,

we got to get going for this one.

Tell us about the dish.

[Dominique] So my fifth course

is an ice-cream cone

made with buffalo milk and caramel.

And then this is a c*ck with gin,

coconut milk and a touch of sheep milk.

Together,hop,one bite and just enjoy.

[Andrew] Style points are high.

[Nilou] I mean, look at this, very chic.

[Dominique] Thank you.

I don't drink alcohol. I drink wine.

[judges chuckle and exclaim]

He looked at me like, "I don't think so."

But I think this is a great end of a meal

and if we did a traditional c*ck,

I think it would be very heavy,

so we wanted to bring something else

with the ice-cream cone

and take you on a journey.

[Alton] Even though very, very cold,

the aromatic quality of the spirit

comes through.

Very cold c*ck,

which is how I like them.

Like someone had taken snow

and a gin and tonic

and mixed it together

and then popped it in my mouth.

It was really an expl*si*n of flavor.

The brightness of it,

what a fantastic way to finish.

And your ice cream cone, the salt.

-The best part.

-[Nancy] The salt was perfect.

[Nilou] Salted caramel, everyone loves it.

This may have been the best bite

of something I can recall in a long time.

Also thank you for including

those other milks in there,

because that was a box

that I did wanna see checked.

It's called leaving the best for last.

When I get up to leave,

this will be my memory,

and it'll be what will bring me

back to eat your food.

-Iron Chef, thank you for your offerings.

-Thank you. Thank you.

Alright, judges, you know what comes next.

You've got 75 possible points

still to be allotted

to both of these chefs.

Go do your math.

[Alton] Will it be Chef Duffy's

technical precision

with the secret ingredient,

or the emotional artistry

of Iron Chef Crenn's story-filled menu?

Chairman, the moment is yours.

All of the moments are yours,

but this one especially.

[Kristen chuckles]

Chef Duffy.

Iron Chef Crenn.

It is time to reap what you have sown.

In this battle,

you went from pasture to pastry.

A victory ripe for the plucking.

And the winner is

[intense music builds]

Iron Chef Crenn.

[cheering and applause]

-[Curtis] Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Well, there you have it.

The Chairman has declared Iron Chef Crenn

the winner of this farm-pastry battle.

The final score, 87 to 82.

That is a mighty tight victory.

Chef Duffy's technique was exquisite,

but in the end, the heart and soul

of Iron Chef Crenn's dishes

really came through,

and her approach to the different

pastry techniques gave her the edge.

Remember, Chef Esther Choi

is still our most successful challenger

Good job, guys.

[Alton] and the front-runner

to face all five Iron Chefs

to compete for a chance

to be crowned the Iron Legend.

Mr. Chairman, any last thoughts?

[triumphant music plays]

In the olden times,

a grand table was always set for battle.

It was an age of combat,

cooking in cauldrons,

unrefrigerated foods

and iron!

Perhaps it shall be again.

Huzzah!

[grunts] Mm!

[closing theme music playing]