01x08 - Friendly Fire

[bunniefuu]

(dramatic music)

♪

ADAM: Oh, that's slick.
Watch out.

EVAN: One false step,
and you're floating away.

CAM: It's no good anymore.

EVAN: There's a chance
I might lose.

CAM: I'm, like, so dehydrated.

My brain is not working.

MATT: That is freezing.

Suck it, Cam.

One of you is never
gonna live this down.

CAM: Come on.
Caramelize, [bleep].

My raviolis got wet.

I am now actually
gonna barf.

KIRAN: Two world-class chefs
dropped into the wilderness.

PERSON: Every second counts
in this competition.

We get one shot.

KIRAN: Their mission, to find
enough wild ingredients

- to make a five-star meal.
- PERSON: Found one.

It's not your ordinary day
at the grocery store.

KIRAN: And here, on the coast
of British Columbia,

the chefs will use
those ingredients

to battle it out and see

whose forage feast
reigns supreme.

PERSON: Wow, my menu changes
depending on what I find.

KIRAN: I'm Kiran Jethwa,

international chef
and restauranteur.

I've traveled the globe
to collect and cook

incredible wild foods.

And here, in this competition,
only chefs with skills in both

the wilderness
and the kitchen will prevail.

PERSON: If I mess this up,
the whole dish will suffer.

KIRAN:
This is Chefs vs. Wild.

♪

The days are short,
and the nights are long

during
the British Columbian winter.

For two chefs about to be
dropped into the frigid wild,

it will be a race against the
darkness to find ingredients.

The main protein of this
competition, Chinook salmon,

has, for centuries,
been a foundation species

of life in this region.

Our two chefs, Cam and Evan,

share a long history
with each other.

Almost 20 years ago, they
first met as young trainees

and have maintained
a close friendship since.

Now they are culinary rivals

in the ultimate
cooking battle.

Whoever comes out on top
will earn

indisputable bragging rights
over the other.

EVAN:
My name's Evan Robertson.

I live in Penticton,
British Columbia,

and I'm the executive chef
of Hillside Winery.

I met Cam at the very first
restaurant I trained at

when we were both
starting our careers.

And over the last 20 years,
we've stayed in touch.

I'm doing this
because I love adventure.

That's why I feel I gravitated
towards culinary was,

it opened a whole
Pandora's box of things

I had no idea were out there.

That's what drove me
to learn

how to survive
in the backcountry,

cooking gourmet food
along the way.

When it comes
to outdoor kitchens,

I have Cam beat.

CAM: My name's Cam Dobranski.

I'm from Calgary, Alberta,
Canada, and I'm a chef.

I own a few restaurants
in Calgary.

What I love about being a chef
is it gives me

the freedom to express
my creativity.

I love cooking,
but I feel like I'm

a little bit of a workaholic.

Going up against Evan,
I know he's gonna be

a tough competitor,
but I'm ready to bring it.

I'm just ready
to kick a*s and game on.

Let's do this.

♪

KIRAN: Chef Evan's survival
area is a lush, dense forest,

but edible plants will be
sparse at this time of winter.

The intermittent snow
will affect the quality

of the mushrooms
he can forage,

yet animals are now bulking up
for the winter,

meaning this is a prime time

to catch crabs
and other crustaceans.

EVAN: I hear chopping.

Hey, man.

Who's making all that noise
over there?

- Hey, how's it going?
- I'm Evan.

Evan, Adam.
Nice to meet you.

EVAN: Nice to meet you, Adam.

We've got a special protein
they've given us

for the cook-off.

- ADAM: Okay.
- It's wild Chinook salmon.

Awesome.

So the whole idea
now is to, like,

find some cool things
around here to highlight that.

So we got to go got oysters.
I want some seaweed.

- Hey, let's do this.
- Yeah.

I know we're coming close
to the end of the season

of... of almost everything,
so finding things, I think,

is number one priority.

I'm excited.

ADAM:
Yeah, it's gonna to be a blast.

♪

KIRAN: Chef Cam has been
dropped into a wooded area

near a rocky coastline,
which is a foraging sanctuary

of shellfish
and sea vegetables.

However, as it's near
the winter solstice,

the days are very short,
meaning foraging

during sunlight
will be very limited.

MATT: Hello, hello.

- Hey, man.
- MATT: How's it going?

- CAM: I'm Cam.
- Cam, Matt.

- And where are you from?
- MATT: So I'm from Calgary.

CAM:
Nice, I'm from Calgary too.

- Oh, there you go.
- CAM: Team Calgary.

- Team Calgary.
- CAM: Yeah.

My three main things
I'd love to get

is octopus, urchin,
or Dungeness crab.

Like, that'll put us
over the top culinary-wise.

MATT:
The nights are quite long here.

We've got 14 hours of darkness.

I'm... I'm ready
to go day, night.

- MATT: Yeah.
- 24/7.

♪

EVAN: It's kind of like
an adult Easter egg hunt.

ADAM: Hey, check this out.

I think I spotted
some licorice fern

hanging out
right above my head.

EVAN: Yes.

We have licorice fern,

which means I'm gonna
be able to make my brulée.

I've tried making creme brulée
six or seven times

in the backcountry,
and it's never turned out.

Why not try again
on national television?

It will make or break
the whole competition.

In 2019, I started
really exploring

the outdoor side of myself.

My goal was to show people
that you can get

in the backcountry
and cook gourmet food,

instead of, like,
eating garbage.

So I do make
these gourmet meals

in the backcountry,
but I pack it in.

But here, I got to find it.

That's the next-level challenge.

Let's go.

ADAM: Oh, Evan, I think we
have some forest gold here.

No way.

ADAM:
Look at this undercarriage.

I got golden chanterelles.

Holy.
It's popping off in there.

Chilling at the Chanterelle
Hotel lobby right now.

ADAM: I think we need to harvest it

in case it does freeze,

and mushrooms like
that could be lost.

My name's Adam Ramirez,
from Lewiston, Idaho.

I've worked
in the outfitting business.

Gotten people anywhere from,
like, high alpine

to 230-mile river trips.

I definitely have
a free spirit.

I think my biggest survival
strength is adaptation.

As seasons change,
you have to follow your food.

We're definitely gonna battle
with the other crew

and come out on top.

EVAN: I don't want to say it
out loud and jinx myself,

but I don't think Cam found
chanterelles on day one.

So I'm pretty excited.

ADAM: Yeah, that's a really
good find this time of year.

♪

CAM: I really want to see
what's in the ocean,

but it's high tide.

So we're gonna focus
on foraging

and just exploring the area.

I think a lot of my strengths
against Evan

would be,
I know a lot about foraging,

and I'm really looking
for the unique ingredient

that is gonna take us
over the top.

Cattails, dude.

- MATT: That's perfect.
- CAM: We got cattails.

MATT: Yeah, let's do it.

CAM: A cattail's very earthy,
a hint of sunflower seed.

It has a little bit
of sweetness.

I want to translate that
into the plate.

So we're gonna cook down
the starch in the cattail

and make a cattail spaetzle,
a little egg dumpling.

Can't feel this hand anymore.

One of my crazy experiences,
me and my wife

decided to get married
in a monastery in Nepal

in a remote village.

And we were caught
in a major earthquake.

We actually had
to survive five days.

It was, like, life-changing.

It made me realize I want
to have a balance in life.

I want to prove
something to myself,

that I could slow down,

and still cook
at a high level,

and compete
with some of the best.

Matt, you all good?

MATT: Got some spruce.

Get, like, double that amount
that's, like, in your hand.

Nice, satisfying snap to it.

CAM: I think it's gonna be
part of one of my desserts.

MATT: Okay.

CAM: I want to do a pine

custard donut.

We're around a ton
of pine and spruce,

so let's highlight that.

Cool.

MATT: My name is
Matthew Corbel,

and I am from Calgary, Alberta.

My whole life has been
living in the bush.

My dad was a trapper,
so we lived in the cabin,

learned how
to hunt, fish, trap.

For me, surviving
in the wild is not a hobby.

It's just life.

Foraging out here,
it is wintertime,

so we've got
to be a bit more creative.

We'll have to explore
and find what nature provides.

- CAM: Good morning.
- Good morning.

CAM: Still a lot
of work to do yet.

♪

EVAN: I think, appetizer-wise,
I want to go get oysters

because I want to make an
oyster ravioli to start with.

I want some seaweed,
just the flavor of the ocean.

- Sweet, man.
- ADAM: Wow.

EVAN: It's like the night sky
of stars and oysters right now.

ADAM: Yeah.

Well, the tide's coming up,
though, real quick.

I don't know
if my boots are tall enough

to get through this.

ADAM: I can give you
the piggyback.

- You're kidding.
- ADAM: (laughs)

- Let's go.
- All right.

- Let's get on this.
- Okay.

The difference
between Cam and myself,

I think Cam's
a little more business,

and I like to have fun.

It makes the stressful moments
a little less stressful.

ADAM: And that'll be $12, sir.

EVAN: $12 American or Canadian?

- ADAM: Yeah.
- Nice, man, thanks.

ADAM: Yeah.

I thought
we'd find oysters closer

to the shore on this side,
but so far, nothing.

EVAN:
Yeah, this is pretty wild.

♪

CAM:
Keep an eye out on the edges.

What do we got here?

That's witch's butter, I guess.

MATT: Do you want to take it?

CAM: So this stuff has gone clear,

so it's no good anymore.

MATT: Okay.

CAM: Given that it's December
and very cold and rainy,

it's gonna be slim picking.

I know Evan's out there.

I know he's gonna try
to k*ll it as much as we are.

Hopefully, we'll find
something out there.

♪

EVAN: Since we can't grab
oysters or anything

out of the water right now,

let's see what we can find
along the shore.

♪

ADAM: Look at that.
Huckleberry.

EVAN: Holy [bleep].
There's a pot-load.

I did not expect berries.

I thought, for sure,
that wasn't going to happen.

Maybe we can stain that salmon
before we cook it.

Give it some flair
and some color.

I mean, I got tattoos.
Let's tattoo the fish.

I have my entire culinary
history on one arm.

The salmons and oysters.

There's a chanterelle mushroom.

I feel like
my menu is literally

representing that right now.

It's pretty cool.

♪

CAM: Maybe have
another eye over there,

just in case I miss some.

♪

What do we got here, man?

Is that a chanterelle?

Look, more chanterelles
over there.

- MATT: Some here.
- CAM: Yeah, they're all over.

We actually found way more
than I expected.

- We're gonna need a bigger boat.
- MATT: Yeah.

CAM: But it's
really the seafood now.

I could see this
with the salmon.

MATT: Chanterelles and salmon?

That's, like, 100% West Coast.

- CAM: Yeah.
- MATT: This is so good.

♪

Look how cool
that tree looks,

like the roots, like a snake...

ADAM: Those look rosy-ish.

EVAN: The rose hips?

ADAM: It's a rose.

There's one rose bush,

so there's
gonna be another one.

There's a bunch
right above our head.

- ADAM: Is there really?
- Yeah.

I got a really juicy one
right here.

I really want
to put some of these...

I want to get them macerated,

put them in a biscotti

to go with my dessert.

So far, I'm feeling good
about the menu.

Cam knows where the bar is
in this competition,

so he's digging in deep.

He's gonna bring it.
I know that.

I'm gonna need
a-a crab trap.

♪

Try it.
Hope we get crab.

ADAM: We put rose hips
in that trap for bait.

I hope it really pays off.

♪

KIRAN: Daytime hours are
minimal this time of year.

And the sun is setting
early on the chefs.

Evan managed
to launch his crab trap,

but Cam is hoping
the shore will deliver

on his next visit.

Both chefs will need
to maximize their time wisely

if they want
to succeed in this kitchen.

The teams must decide how they
want to spend their nights.

Stay warm and rested or forage
for that winning edge?

♪

I'd be remiss
if we didn't get to, like,

shuck a couple of oysters back
while we're out here.

It's too dark
to get out there,

and it's so rocky
that one false step,

and you're floating away.

It's just not safe enough
to forage in the dark.

Currently, right now,
what's Cam doing?

Who knows?

♪

CAM: I need to get
the hip waders on.

MATT: Okay.

Let's go walk in some water.

Careful on these rocks.

If I know Evan, he's probably
packed it in for the night,

but I want to take advantage
of the tide at its lowest.

That will make the difference
in the contest.

♪

(dramatic music)

MATT: Low tide.

CAM: I'm really hoping
this night forage pays off,

since I'm sacrificing sleep
for it.

There should be some type
of urchin or something in here.

♪

MATT: It's like
little baby mussels here.

See all these little guys?

CAM: These little mussels,
they're a little tedious.

But if we could eat them,

let's showcase them.

♪

We've got a nice fire
going on here.

MATT: Here's dinner.

CAM: That really wasn't
as successful

as I was hoping it would be.

We really need to hustle
to find more seafood tomorrow,

but I think
we deserve these oysters.

Mmm.

That's [bleep] good.

♪

EVAN: We decided not
to forage last night.

But now I'm wondering if that
just might have been a mistake

because we haven't got much yet.

And only so much time left

out here.

There's a lot that we want.

So everything's riding
on heading down to the beach.

♪

I don't think I've ever eaten
that many oysters in my life.

It gives you a headache.

You almost feel hungover,
all that salt.

Yeah.

I'm, like, so dehydrated

from all the salt water,
so I'm exhausted.

And my brain is not working
and functioning well.

If we could catch something
like an octopus or a crab,

that would really
put us over the top.

We're gonna try.

♪

EVAN: This might be a good spot
for finding some clams, maybe.

- ADAM: Yeah.
- EVAN: We want oysters,

clams, seaweed.

So we want to pilfer hard.

I don't know where Cam is
or what Cam has.

There's a chance
I might lose, for sure.

The stress is real,
and I'm starting to feel it.

♪

CAM: I'm a little rundown.

My energy's not where
I want it to be,

but we need to get out
and forage the beach.

This is our only option if
you want to find ingredients

we need for the cook-off.

Our goal is to get
the crab trap out.

Come on, deep water.

♪

Some limpets here.

Really, not much meat on them,
but why not?

Limpet has a small,
little punch of flavor.

The only problem is,
you have to collect a ton

of them to get
any sustenance out of it.

But if we could eat them,
let's showcase them.

♪

Man, I'm really hoping
we get crabs.

I was pretty worried
when I saw how tired

he was getting today.

You could tell, like,
his energy was starting

to drop pretty quickly.

My goal is to make sure
the chef can thrive

because that's
how we win this thing.

♪

CAM: Sea spaghetti.

♪

This is from the deep sea.

It's lucky
when it comes on shore.

The sea spaghetti
isn't the best quality

for this time of year,
but it'll do.

I'm a chef by trade,
but I'm a little bit of more

of an entrepreneur these days.

I own a couple restaurants,
and I have a plateware company.

For the last few years,
I've just been head down,

very driven,
focusing on business.

I've lost sight of who I am
and who I want to be.

I need to learn
to not try to rule the world

with 20 different things
and focus on my mental health.

I'm tired.
I'm exhausted.

I need to go back to camp.

♪

EVAN: You see any large
oysters, holler at your boy.

ADAM: OK.

EVAN: I don't have anything
for my appetizer yet,

and my entrée
is still not finished.

There's a lot
on the line, you know?

To fail is not an option.

ADAM:
I feel bad Evan is stressing.

As his partner, I need to help
keep his head in the game.

Evan's my guy now, you know.

So I just want to help him
to kick this guy's butt.

♪

Oh, Evan.

I got some sea asparagus.

EVAN: Sweet.
Take the whole plant.

See asparagus is one
of my favorite things

to cook with, actually.

I'm gonna pickle it,
so it becomes this little pop

of flavor on my appetizer.

Yeah, let's get
out of here, Adam.

ADAM: Okay.

I grew up backpacking,
and hiking,

and lots of outdoors stuff.

But as I got
into the culinary world,

into the kitchens,
there was no time for it.

I was constantly
working long hours.

There came a point
where my wife and I

actually went on a hike,
and I quickly realized

what I was missing
in that connection.

And it drove me back.

Even though day-to-day life
is so busy,

I still make time to get out
and get in touch

with myself in the wilderness.

That sea asparagus' awesome, man.

I still need that shellfish
for my appetizer

and, hopefully,
crabs for this entrée.

♪

CAM: I always try
to push myself forward.

And when I think I've
gotten to a certain point,

I try to push it even more.

But the nonstop foraging
has wiped me out.

Let's conquer and divide today.

I'll work on stuff here,
some of the cooking things,

getting some
mise en place done.

And if you could work
on the crab trap?

- Let's do it.
- CAM: Yes.

I need to work smarter,
not harder,

or I'll burn out
before I reach the kitchen.

Matt's still good,
so he'll have to get the crab,

while I prepare
the ingredients in camp.

♪

I'm not counting on anything
slowing Evan down today.

But let's hope
he has a leaky tarp

or he can't start a fire.

♪

ADAM: Oh, that's slick.
Watch out.

EVAN: We got little things
at this point,

but I have
an ambitious menu in mind.

We need to forage
more wild things

to make this come together.

♪

Looks like there's
a bit of seaweed in here.

I finally got my seaweed.

I think it's gonna be
a part of the first dish.

Turn it into, like,
little caviar pellets

with seaweed flavor
elevating it.

♪

ADAM: Wow, this is awesome.

Oysters over here.

EVAN: Super awesome.

ADAM: Yeah.
Oh, yeah.

We got probably a good dozen.

EVAN: Teamwork makes
the dream work.

ADAM: That's right.

I have so many oysters.

We can make
our smoked oyster ravioli.

I'm pretty pumped on that.

As far as the entrée goes,

I'm still up in the air
with that.

It all depends on what happens
with that crab trap.

♪

KIRAN:
As one of the shortest days

of the year comes to a close,

time is running out
for these competitors.

Evan is steadily
gathering ingredients,

while the relentless foraging
has taken a toll on Cam.

Both chefs are still missing
that one last, key element

to their meals.

But will they have the stamina
and luck to pull it off?

♪

Let's get this crab trap
taken care of.

I'm definitely
feeling the pressure,

knowing how much
this means to Cam.

He really wants his crab
for the cook-off,

but he's too dehydrated
to forage anymore.

I hope I can deliver for him.

Come on, crabs.

♪

No dice.

A little disappointed.

I'll check around here
one last time

and see if I can find
something for Cam.

♪

EVAN: It's almost sundown,
and our last task

is to pull up the crab traps.

I'm feeling pretty good,
but my entrée

is missing
that key ingredient.

♪

ADAM: Yes!

Whoo!

- Hey, Evan!
- EVAN: Yeah?

We got four crabs.

No way.

Pretty impressive.

What do you think Cam's doing?

ADAM: I don't really care
right now.

EVAN: Adam found four crabs
in our crab trap.

That's unreal.

My entrée is set.

I did not expect to find all
of these ingredients.

We found so much stuff.

It's a bounty out there.
We're super lucky.

I'm pumped, man.
Let's go.

Suck it, Cam.

♪

MATT: The chef was low-energy today,

so I'm looking for something
that will bring up his spirit.

♪

That is freezing.

♪

Cam is gonna be
stoked with this.

♪

Cam!

I got good news and bad news.

This trap was empty.

OK, what's the good news?

MATT:
A little surprise for you.

CAM: Oh, my goodness.

This even ups
the game even more, man.

Beautiful sea urchin.

That's the first course.

I am, like, blown away
we got some uni.

Now, you could scoop
into the uni shell,

mix everything up, and get
all the flavors of the ocean.

This is, like, dope.

Coming here, I thought I could
handle a little bit more,

but I made a big gamble
that could have cost us.

If we didn't have
Matt push through

and find those urchins,
I don't know

what I would have done.

The teamwork is just,
like, reenergizing.

It's like I have
a man crush on this guy.

Nobody's gonna
beat us on this, Matt.

I love it.

CAM: Like, the crab's good,
but, like, uni's next-level.

MATT: I can't believe we got
these on, like, the last day.

Like, the last minute.

I'm super proud
of what we've accomplished,

and I'm so stoked
to get into the kitchen.

Going up against Evan,

I don't think
it's gonna be easy.

But I think the last
minute uni addition...

I think we have this
in the bag.

I came into this competition

wanting to learn about myself.

I've sacrificed a lot of
my life to focus on my craft,

and I don't want
to sacrifice anything

just for that anymore.

I want to prove
that it's not always work,

and you could still compete
with some of the best.

♪

(dramatic music)

CAM: Evan is a great chef,

and I think
he's gonna bring it.

20 years ago, we always wanted

to up each other,

and we both want to win.

And there's gonna be
only one winner.

So let's see what happens.

EVAN: Coming in, I definitely
think I'm the underdog.

Cam's really good
at what he does.

But I 100% know
I have a chance to beat him.

Now it's just time to get
in the kitchen and cook.

Wow.

CAM: Amazing.

EVAN:
That's a pretty sweet kitchen.

CAM: I'm pretty blown away
by the kitchen.

There's nothing better
than smoke.

It elevates it,
and it's kind of sexy.

Whoo!
Let's do it.

EVAN:
It feels like gladiators.

It's toe-to-toe.
Let's go.

KIRAN: Hey, guys, welcome.

- EVAN: Hey, Kiran.
- KIRAN: Come in, come in.

Nice to see you all
back in one piece.

Welcome
to the wilderness kitchen.

- How cool is this?
- It's pretty awesome.

- It's pretty epic.
- Yeah.

Before we get started,
let me introduce you

to Valerie Segrest.

She is our wild edibles expert.

Really nice to meet you all.

We've been looking
forward to today.

Your gifted protein
was salmon.

In our creation stories,
the salmon were the first food

to be gifted to our people.

They weave together the social
fabric of our community.

You know,
they're more than just food.

You have just four hours
to create an appetizer,

an entrée,
and a dessert that allow

your wild,
foraged ingredients to shine.

Matt and Adam, you guys are
now sous chefs to the chefs.

Teamwork out there
was essential.

Teamwork in here is essential.

Between the two of you,

one of you is never
gonna live this down.

(laughter)

Your time starts now.
Grab your salmons.

Let's go.
Good luck, guys.

Good luck, good luck.

Have fun.

I'm gonna work on the salmon.

You'll get the water on,
and then I'm gonna get you

on the dough.

We got a... got a lot
of history, man.

20 years in the making.

EVAN: Smoked oysters.

For the appetizer,
I'm gonna make

a smoked oyster
mousse tortellini

with sea lettuce caviar
and pickled sea asparagus.

These are technical things
that are not gonna be easy

to create out here
in this wild kitchen.

Cam is an amazing chef,
so I need to bring it.

I'm gonna get
going on this guy.

Taking the scales off,
so we have a nice skin

that we could candy.

Matt, I want you to clean up
these mussels for me, bud.

- Yes.
- CAM: We are gonna do a ceviche.

Ceviche is gonna be part
of our fruits de mer,

as we say in Canada, eh?

(in Canadian accent)
Eh, no doubt about it.

CAM: The appetizer
is a uni seafood salad

of all the bounty
that we found in the ocean.

Mussels, limpets,
sea spaghetti,

we're gonna really showcase
just the freshness.

Yo, Matt,
our limpets are crawling

up the dish
to hang out with the mussels.

My game plan is
to just keep it super simple

and let the ingredients shine.

- Hey, guys, how's it going?
- Great.

The appetizer
that we've decided to do

is a Douglas fir needle pasta.

So I'm gonna turn
sea lettuce into caviar,

and I'm gonna drop little
caviar pearls around that.

We've got some licorice fern
for our creme brulée.

Creme brulée with no oven?

With no oven.
This is a real Hail Mary.

Dessert is gonna be a smoked
coastal creme brulée,

infused with licorice fern roots

and a rose hip biscotti cookie.

I've tried this a bunch
of times in the backcountry,

and it's never
exactly what I want.

Look, if you're successful
with this, I'll be impressed.

- In this kitchen...
- Hey, man, I'm...

I'm going for the gusto.
Why not?

- Good luck.
- EVAN: Hey, thanks.

We got the yeast.

Do you have 1 cup of flour
measured out?

And you have 3 cups?
Okay, and start mixing it in.

For dessert, we're doing
a spruce custard donut

covered with pine sugar
and some candied fish skin.

We're gonna lacquer the skin
with a little honey,

candy it, and dehydrate it.

I love sweet and salty,

and I wanted to use
the entire fish in every dish.

Okay, we got the skin going.

Evan, Cam, you guys
only have two hours left.

You are two hours in.

ADAM: You want the fillets?

That's right there.

EVAN: My entrée is

a huckleberry-stained
salmon fillet,

wild golden chanterelle,
red rock crab legs,

and a smoked salmon belly
yogurt sauce.

Like my tattoos,
I'm just trying to give it

some color and some flair.

I think we're on track.
I think we're k*lling it.

For our main course, we're
doing a nice seared salmon,

pickled chanterelles, and then
we're doing cattail spaetzle.

Hail Mary, let's try this.

I eliminated the milk,

used the cattail
as the liquid.

A cattail is very earthy,

and I want to translate that
into the plate.

This is my first time
making a cattail spaetzle.

How you doing
over there, Cam?

Oh, good, man, awesome.

- You?
- I'm almost done.

Yeah, you gave me

a little minor heart attack
by saying that.

Me and Evan are quite
the opposite people.

He loves to talk
and hear himself.

I'll oblige, for sure.

But for the most part,
I try to stay focused.

Your salmon skin's
looking good, bud.

This is my smoked
oyster filling.

So the oyster mousse,
a lot of the times in pastas,

you get like a creamy cheese.

But here, we're getting
this expl*si*n of flavor

from the ocean.

I think we're on pace, homie.

CAM: Okay, Matt.
Out comes the uni.

I want to thank you, uni,

for being a part
of this journey.

It's a special treat.

It's not something
you just get every day.

What are you doing with uni?

I'm putting all
our found seafood...

- Yeah.
- Into that.

Yeah, your friend
over there is trying to make

caviar out of seaweed.

How do you think
that's gonna go?

I'll just tell you
my philosophy.

Keep it simple.

That's not
his philosophy over there.

I like it.
Good luck, guys.

CAM: Thank you, guys.

Outdoors, the most stressful
part of making a brulée

is we don't have an oven
that stays

at the same temperature
all the time.

But we're gonna try
and bake these in a smoker.

Having it in a water bath
inside the smoker

allows it not to curdle.

Because if you
overcook an egg,

it turns into a scrambled egg.

Whoo!

That feels good
to get the brulée in there.

CAM: Matt, salmon's on track.

I have to get to the spruce
custard and the other spruce

for the sugar.

I'm braising this
to get the oils out

and get the piney-ness.

MATT: I can smell it from here.

CAM: So that's what
I want in the custard.

I really wanted
to bring out the forest

because that's where we were.

It's actually very lemony
and very subtle.

Okay, there we go.

One hour left.

- ADAM: All right.
- EVAN: Thank you.

There's really nothing
more transformative

than taking sea lettuce
out of the ocean

and turning it
into caviar pearls.

I blanched this sea lettuce up.

And now I'm gonna
get it pureed in this.

Oh, here we go.

We don't have much of this,
but that's okay.

Then you take it.
You drop it in cold oil.

It looks like little,
tiny caviar

that I can plate in the dish.

Cam, this is for the win,
right here.

CAM: Oh, wow.

♪

- Yeah.
- ADAM: Dude.

- Yes, whoo!
- ADAM: (laughs)

EVAN: Did that actually happen?
Wow.

Chefs, teams,
you have 30 minutes remaining.

Yo that.

Okay, This is where it's kind
of getting crunch time.

This dough is actually
coming along really nice.

- MATT: Oh, good.
- CAM: So it's nicely proofed.

And then we're gonna
make donuts out of that.

EVAN: The biscotti
are coming along.

Adam, have we got
those claws done?

- ADAM: On it right now.
- EVAN: Okay.

Yeah, holy [bleep].
I'm getting nervous.

Come on, caramelize.
Caramelize, [bleep].

Running out of time.

Hey, Matt, you're gonna get
the seafood uni salad ready.

EVAN: Let's get them off
right away.

Making this brulée
is pretty stressful.

We're trying to keep
that smoker at 300,

and Adam did a fantastic job.

It cooked a bit far,
but I'm gonna go with it.

How's your heart rate?

Mine is, like,
through the roof.

CAM: So we're cooking donuts
in duck fat.

MATT: Need more fire?

CAM:
Yeah, let's get this raging.

MATT: Man, you turn
your back for a second,

and this fire
has gone down to nothing.

CAM: Matt is k*lling it
in the kitchen.

Once he has
a little direction,

he comes through
and gets it done,

just like in the wild.

Guys, you have
15 minutes remaining!

Exactly 15 minutes!

EVAN: Awesome.

I want to get our salmon
in that pan ASAP Rocky.

Here it comes.
This is really happening.

Yes!

CAM: Our donuts are
looking beautiful.

♪

Are you kidding me?
That's amazing.

Chefs, you have
five minutes left.

CAM: Okay, I'm redoing
the spaetzle because I

over-salted it, unfortunately.

I screwed that one up.

Always have a backup, Matt.

Always have a backup.
Okay.

MATT: Paying off.

Where are my plates?

EVAN: [bleep]

[bleep]

My raviolis got wet,
and now they're...

may or may not turn out.

Wet pasta is now stuck
to the cutting board,

and it's falling apart
as I'm trying to pull it off.

I'm now actually gonna barf.

I'm afraid
the pasta is ruined.

Let's get the raviolis
in there.

♪

MATT: Ooh, wow, those are epic.

One minute,
and then it's all done.

CAM: Little pine oil in there.

KIRAN: Five seconds.

Three, two, one,
and you're done!

Step away from your stations!

EVAN: How you feel, man?

- I feel good.
- EVAN: Good, yeah, me too.

This is baller.
That is baller.

That is baller.
It's kind of emotional.

MATT: It is.

♪

(dramatic music)

- Evan, Cam, here we are.
- Here we are.

Almost the end
of an extremely long journey.

Well, it's all
about eating your food,

so can we start
with your appetizers?

All right.
Here you guys go.

So what I have here
is a fruits de mer.

Sea spaghetti, limpet, mussels,
ceviche, the Chinook salmon,

and at the bottom,
you have fresh uni.

KIRAN:
The whole thing is balanced.

The challenge there is

to make sure
that all retain their identity,

and it absolutely does.

I also really like the fact
you kept the uni attached

and the fact
that it is totally as is.

I get just a really pleasant
aftertaste of the ocean.

Just a little bit more
of that seaweed

would have helped it along,
just to give it that bite.

You know, every ingredient has
its own unique flavor profile.

If you were to take the urchin

and just sort of scrape it
along the seashore,

that's exactly what
this dish tastes like.

- Thank you.
- KIRAN: Are you a bit worried,

- looking at that?
- No.

On that note,
can we see your appetizer?

So we have
a smoked oyster tortellini

with a sea lettuce caviar
and pickled sea asparagus.

I love the pasta.

You took a big risk
with trying to make caviar,

and I commend you.

What isn't there is that
any taste of sea lettuce.

I think the salt masks it
a little bit.

Okay.

I think the big winner here
is the pickled sea asparagus.

It's brought this pop
of acidity,

which really helps
the dish along.

Thank you.

The smoked oyster
was actually,

for me, the best part of this.

That smoke is, like, what's
still settled on my palate

right now,
and it's comforting.

Really strong start
from you both.

I think we should move on
to the entrée.

Awesome.

We will start
with your entrée, please.

EVAN: Okay.

- Here we go.
- Thank you.

EVAN: So we have

a huckleberry-stained
Chinook salmon fillet.

The sauce underneath is
a yogurt that we've pureed

with a smoked salmon belly.

We blanched
the red rock crab claws,

and then it's also got

some hard-to-forage
golden chanterelles.

What do you think, Cam?

He got tons of crab,
so I was jealous about that.

- I love the sauce.
- Thank you.

The sharpness
that yogurt brings

with the sweetness
and the smokiness

from the salmon belly
is really good.

Thank you.

The salmon itself,
perfectly cooked.

For me,
the huckleberry flavor

reminded me of how we prepare
salmon in our community.

And so it is
a great storyteller

of the Northwest plate.

Thank you.

You know, I mean,
the sweetness that comes

from the crab helps the dish.

I would have liked a little
bit more as an entrée, I think.

Could have been probably
double the size.

- Yeah.
- Cam, are you ready?

I hope my dish
stands up to his.

Let's eat it,
and we'll find out.

So what I have for you
is our gifted Chinook salmon.

We have cattail spaetzle,
and there's also

some pickled chanterelles
as well.

♪

It's just delicious.

The oyster cream with
the spaetzle are beautiful.

Brings a sumptuousness
to the salmon.

The mushrooms are so good.

You need that acid to come
through because it's fat, fat.

It's worked really well.

I was kind of looking
for a bit more mushroom.

A bit more of that in there,
and then... and then

it's just knocked
out of the park.

- I just loved it.
- Thank you, Chef.

The way you used cattail
is actually

the way it has always been used,

which is as an additive starch
to something.

It's high in protein,
so you put it into something

that amplified the flavor.

I wanted to eat that dish.
That looked good.

One more course to go.

Cam, can we see
your dessert, please?

Oh, my gosh.

So this is
pine custard donuts

with candied fish skin.

- That looks awesome.
- Thank you.

- Great donut.
- Thank you.

The fish skin, so good.

It brings the saltiness
I really like in desserts.

It's bold, and it's paid off.

Thank you.

It's like the salmon's version
of salted caramel.

You know? I love it.

- KIRAN: That's exactly it.
- VALERIE: It's great.

The custard,
I don't get the spruce.

You could have
pumped that up a bit

because it would have
brought that fragrance

that transports you
into the woods.

- Let's see what you've got.
- We have a wild creme brulée.

It's a licorice fern root
steeped cream

to make the creme brulée.

And then accompanying it is
a macerated rose hip biscotti.

♪

CAM: Bold.

- Very.
- Bold move.

Okay, first of all,
creme brulée, it's smooth.

It's not eggy.

It didn't curdle.

Ha!

You know how excited I am?

You didn't
make scrambled eggs.

Put it that way.
Well done.

- Yeah.
- Great success.

There's a smokiness to it,
which is my favorite thing.

The biscotti
is really well-made,

but I just don't get
enough rose hip in it.

That's my one gripe.

You know, they're not
in their best condition

at this time of year,
but a bit more rosehip

would have really brought more
of the wild onto the plate.

But other than that,
I'm impressed.

- Thank you, Chef.
- KIRAN: Well done.

The use of licorice fern
is perfect.

All the plants
are pulling all their vitality

and energy back to the root.

It's probably
at its peak flavor right now.

So I think you did
a really good job

honoring one of the most
coveted traditional foods

in our region.

I knew Evan was gonna
bring it, and I was too.

And just happy
to be here with... with one

of my old, old chef colleagues
and friends.

Totally.

So who did the better job

in bringing wild-foraged
ingredients forward here?

That's basically what this
is gonna come down to.

So we're gonna
take a few minutes.

- You guys can now breathe.
- EVAN: Cool.

I'm gonna have some more
of your creme brulée.

- Yeah.
- (laughs)

Well done, guys.

- EVAN: Thank you.
- Thank you.

♪

EVAN: I definitely went for
the gusto in my menu for sure.

It was ballsy.

However, it all came
together at the end.

And I still think
our food is a winner.

That's facts.

CAM: The food was pretty,
elegant, lots of finesse,

was ex*cuted perfectly.

Going up against Evan,
I knew he would bring it.

We always wanted to prove
something as young chefs,

and it translated
in the kitchen 20 years later.

♪

Okay, guys, you really cooked
your hearts out today.

You've done an incredible job
with the challenge

that was in front of you,

and it really came across
in your food.

But we do have
to have a winner.

It was extremely close,
but the winner

of this week's competition
by the thinnest of margins,

by a sliver, is...

Cam.

Nice going, Cam.

MATT: Oh, yeah, yeah.

- EVAN: Come here, man.
- CAM: Oh, come here, bud.

That was an epic journey,

and I couldn't have lost
to a better man.

It was such
a close competition.

And even though I didn't win,

it proves
I'm just as good as Cam.

No matter what,
we can look back

at this experience
and be proud.

This solidifies that.
This is a forever friendship.

(laughs)
What do I... suck it, Cam.

CAM: I wanted us both
to win in the end,

but it still feels good
to come out on top.

What it means for me to win,
it's like being reborn

as a chef again.

I proved myself
in my younger years,

I proved myself now,
and I just love cooking.

And I don't have to burn
myself out to do what I love.

Whoo!

(laughter)

(soft music)

(soft rock music)

♪