02x07 - Alex vs No Meat Allowed

[bunniefuu]

As an Iron Chef,

I've taken down some
of the world's finest.

There isn't a chef more
competitive than I am.

In my heart,
I can't have you win.

It's just not in my DNA.

Chefs from across
the country

all want a shot at Alex
on her show.

- I'm about to take down
an Iron Chef.
- Wow!

So, each week, three
of America's best chefs

will battle Alex
at the same time.

These chefs have
been hand-selected

for their mastery
in a specific type of food.

And they're all here
for one goal, to beat Alex.

- You are going down.
- I'm coming for you, Alex.

My name's up there
for a reason.

♪ Yeah, we're all ready ♪

I know they all
want a shot at me.

Bring it on.

This is the ultimate
culinary battle.

This is Alex vs. America.

♪ Yeah, we're gonna
get ready ♪

People used to think
that dishes without meat

had no flavor.

But all of that has changed.

Here we go.

Tonight,
three of America's
best plant-based chefs

are here to challenge
Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

This is about to be epic.

All right,
so here we are.

Am I ready?

They know what
the theme is, and I don't,

and that's not a position
that's terribly comfortable.

I'm gonna get
on my little boat,

and I'm gonna go out
to my little island,

and I'm gonna do my best
to cook like a savage.

I'm ready.

Obviously, Alex
is an accomplished chef,

but she does not
claim to be a master
in plant-based cuisine.

So in this one,
she might be an underdog.

She's racked up countless
culinary victories,

your chef, Alex Guarnaschelli.

- Whoo.
- Hi.

Good evening.

So, Alex, I'm not
gonna be telling you

what you will be
cooking tonight.

Okay.

I'm gonna be telling you
what you won't be cooking.

And these chefs right here,
are plant-based experts.

Okay, then.

Yes, so officially, tonight
is a no-meat competition.

- No meat?
- No meat.

Good luck, Chef.

Oh, boy. That's hard for me.

Well, just to be clear,

this does not have
to be vegan.

You can obviously use
animal-based products,

like butter, right,
but no meat is allowed.

Well, this is awful,
Eric, thanks.

Ah, I do what I can.

So, Alex,
this is Cyrus Ichiza.

He's a chef-owner of two
vegan concepts in Portland.

His place was named
one of Portland's
38 essential restaurants

three years in a row.

This is Chef Julia Chebotar.

She is the executive chef
of a plant-based restaurant
in New York City.

Her restaurant was named
best vegan restaurant
in New York,

but maybe
most importantly, Alex,

she won Chopped in 2020
with you judging her food.

Chef Julia Chebotar,

you are the Chopped
champion. Congratulations.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Oh, my God.

And this
is Chef Courtney Lindsay.

He's the chef of three
successful vegan concepts

in Houston, Texas.

His southern comfort
vegan food is so successful,

he's currently opening up
a fourth location.

From Texas?

Who's plant based in Texas?

Oh, my God.

I don't have any fish or meat.

So first up, we're starting
with the survival round.

All of you, including Alex,

must prepare a meatless dish

that our judges will rank
in a blind taste test.

The chefs that make
the top three dishes,
will survive,

and the fourth chef won't.
Even if that's you, Chef.

And the chef that
finishes first,

will have exclusive access

to pick all the ingredients
for the next round.

And to help you win,

I'm not picking
the first challenge.

You three are.

- I'll leave that up to you.
- Right. All right.

Let's go ahead
and get the game started.

Nerves kicked in yet?

I'm really excited
to see what this is.

That's what you say now.

So, since this is
a meatless challenge,

let's start
with the main ingredient

that you'll be using
in replacement for your meats.

Oh, God.

We have tempeh,
jackfruit and tofu.

Whatever you pick
needs to be the main
ingredient in your dish.

Well, I mean...

Let me put my thought
out there.

I so passionately hate
all these things.

And the tempeh
just straight up sucks.

It's so bad, I'm gonna
give in. I don't care.

That jackfruit, the canned
is awesome, though.

- So what you think?
- She said she hates tempeh.

Why does she hate tempeh?

Tempeh is definitely
not my favorite.

I could do jackfruit and tofu.

I could cook jackfruit.

- All right.
- Right, cool.

I think we're gonna go
with the jackfruit.
- Oh!

Pathetic.

Just for the record,

that's exactly what Alex
would have wanted as well.

- Why?
- 'Cause you can get some
textures out of jackfruit.

I would say, definitely
the lesser of three evils.

Alex hates tempeh, but you're
going with jackfruit,

so that actually might be
playing into her hand.

Since meatless meals
are popular

all throughout the world,

let's add the meatless
global ingredients.

We have taro chips
from Southeast Asia.

You have gigantes,
Greek giant beans.

Or teff, the ancient
Ethiopian grain.

You love all these, huh?

- You thought there'd be
vegetables, didn't you?
- Yep.

You did? Is that
what you thought?

We were hoping for vegetables.

Guess what? Me too.

I think taro chips.
- Yep, I think the chips
are great.

Okay, we'll go
with the taro chips.

We could do the most,
I think, with them.

Yeah, all right, cool.
We got taro chips.

All right, moving on
to the third.

Now we need
to decide what kind

of meatless dish
you'll be making.

Oh.

Smoked, smothered
or blackened?

I know which one
I want, but...

- I think smothered.
- Me too.

Yeah,
I want smothered too.

We're goin' smothered.

Why smothered? Why are
you going this route?

You can smoke is gonna
take everybody

it's just gonna taste
the same, like smoke.

In the smothered
we can all, you know,

bang out a banh sui dish.

I feel smothered.

Next up is the most
important ingredient
to this decision, the time.

I'm giving you up to a maximum
of 60 minutes.

You guys can decide
to choose anything
lower than that,

or take full advantage
of the 60 minutes.

It's your first time
cooking in this kitchen,

don't be dumb.

Ugh.

- Are we going with forty?
- Mmm-hmm.

I think forty.

All right, 40 minutes it is.

Right.

There's only one thing left
to do, chefs,

start cooking.
Your time starts now.

Smothered. Probably the option
I would have picked.

You can use a sauce.

You can make a salsa.

Check out the jackfruit.

The sweet part, right here,

is all the flesh
underneath the seeds.

Once you scoop them out,

what you're left with
is this meaty exterior.

I will say like
a very soft peach,

but then has a flavor
of a really mild mango.

I don't mind not
having the ingredients
that I normally cook with,

but being required
on top of that

to use the taro
and the jackfruit,

it's so gross.

The walls are closing in.

Yes?

No. No. I'm making
a jackfruit tostada.

And I'm making
a taro and bean puree

to put on the bottom
of the tostada.

So I'm boiling taro chips
with beans.

Um, definitely, Jesse,
and I'll go farther than that

and say I would never
make this.

But I'm gonna make this.

And I'm gonna win.

Big C, what are you doin'?
What's the direction?

I'm doing an oxtail.

I'm gonna do
a jackfruit oxtail.

Are you gonna call it oxtail?

I'm gonna call it mox-tails.

Okay, mox-tail, there you go,
my man, there you go.

I like it. Smart.

People don't always
think vegan when they
think Texas,

they always think big meat.

I do big, bold flavors.

My life
is a no-meat challenge.

I'm gonna use the jackfruit
for the actual mox-tail.

I decided to use
the canned jackfruit

because the fresh jackfruit,
it tastes like bubblegum.

I need a meaty, hearty flavor.

So, what makes
vegan food tastier

is the building
of the flavors.

So, the base of my stew,
starts with sweet onions,

carrots, rosemary, thyme,
coconut aminos, uh, soy sauce,

just to really give those
meaty, earthy flavors.

So, the layers actually
just kind of like

build right on up,
right into my hands.

My vegan food
has blown people away.

What does Alex know
about no meat?

Oregon is all about trying
the newest obscure thing.

Vegan food has always
fallen into that.

The fresh jackfruit
is so good.

The hardest part is just
fishing out some of this meat.

- Chef Cyrus.
- Hello.

I feel I'm gonna go
with something called turon,

which is a Filipino
fried spring roll,

- with jackfruit and banana.
- Wow! Beautiful.

And then I'm gonna smother it

with a soup we call ginataang.

- That sounds delicious.
- It's gonna be good.

I'm usually
not a sweet person,

but when I saw
jackfruit up there

I knew that I had to go sweet.

In Filipino food, this isn't
necessarily a dessert,

it's just another
class of food.

I'm combining two different
sweet dishes

to really let
the jackfruit shine.

Ginataang is a Filipino
coconut stew.

Usually there's a bunch
of coconut milk,

some coconut cream, sugar.

I know everyone's
gonna be familiar

and use the brined jackfruit
in a savory dish.

So, I think I'm gonna
stand out

by going the sweet route
with the fresh jackfruit.

I don't know who
the judges are,

but I definitely want them
to taste these flavors
that I grew up with.

Julia, talk to me.

What are you thinking?
What are you working on?

I'm gonna make
a jackfruit nachos.

- A jackfruit taco?
- Never done it
with taro chips.

- Sure, okay.
- But I think it goes together.

And you know that Chef Alex

is also doing a taco version?

Does that worry you?

- No, I got this.
- You got this?

It's gonna be
different flavors.

- You confident?
- I'm confident.

I'm gonna take down
the Iron Chef.

Canned jackfruit is
less of a pain to pull apart

and get the right
pieces going.

You can add any kind
of flavors to it

and it kind of mimics it,

so I do cook with it
quite often.

I'm gonna add some
chipotle peppers,

some chilis, some
jalapenos, tomatillos.

Get that all simmering
and going.

Alex is for sure
a culinary giant

but my entire
culinary history

is in vegan
and vegetarian cuisine.

She's actually
the underdog today.

Are you guys
using dairy?

No, we're not using dairy.

Are you using dairy?

No, I'm not using dairy.

I'm not using dairy.

No one's using dairy.

So everybody's vegan.

I have a lot
of concerns.

These three competitors,

they cook without
any meat, fish or dairy.

I don't.

I often immediately go
to those ingredients

to make a dish, so that's
a huge advantage for them.

So, chefs, you have
some heavy hitting
judges outside,

ready to taste your dishes.

I'm gonna go
to say hi to the judges,

I'll be back in a minute.

Our judges are
two accomplished chefs
in vegetable-forward cuisine.

We have Jet Tila,
a master of Asian cooking,

who has opened
acclaimed restaurants
from LA to Las Vegas,

and was named culinary
ambassador of Thai cuisine

by the Royal Thai
Consul-General.

And our other judge,
Chef Fariyal Abdullahi,

grew up in Ethiopia,

studied cooking
in over 18 countries

and worked in prestigious
restaurants such as Noma

and Mercer Kitchen
in New York City.

In 2021, she
was one of 10 chefs

selected by Marcus Samuelsson
to create a plant-based menu
for the Met Gala.

Fariyal, Jet, what's going on?

- Hey, man.
- Hello, hello.

We're going meatless today.

- I love it.
- We're going meatless.

I hope they really get
umami in these dishes.

I hope whatever they
cook today

is not trying to be,
like, tricking us

into thinking we're
eating meat. Yeah.

I just think it's gonna be
a tough cook.
- It is.

So I'm smothering
the jackfruit

just in a little bit of water

and starting
to stew it covered.

That's what smothered
is to me.

Then I pour boiled ketchup,
apple cider vinegar,

chili powder mix over
the jackfruit in the water,

and I'm just smothering
and smothering

and let that cook,
and cook, and cook.

Ugh!

Earlier, I boil beans
and the taro chips together
until mush,

and then I puree
it in the food processor.

I mix in a lot of chopped
cilantro, salt and pepper,

and a little bit
of red wine vinegar.

I grabbed kidney beans
and black beans

to add to my jackfruit chili.

I feel good. Feel good.

Next, I'm gonna start
on my cashew cheese.

So, I have soaked cashews,
miso paste.

I'm gonna put
a clove of garlic,

red pepper flakes,
nutritional yeast,

turmeric, and a little bit
of hot water,

and I'm going to blend it
into a creamy cheese.

Chef Julia, do you mind
if I try a little bit?

- Yes, please.
- Awesome.

Wow. I would never think
that this is vegan.

This is just delicious.

And then adding in the miso
is delicious

'cause it gives you
that umami.

You boost the umami up
with nutritional yeast?

Right, the nutritional yeast
gives it that cheesy flavor.

With the taro chip, because
it's more on the blander side
and less salty,

I want the salsa
to add acidity, brightness,

color, creaminess.

All right,
how's this jackfruit?

So, I steamed it a little,
just to open up those flavors.

I'm taking
this steamed jackfruit

and I'm gonna chop it up

and put it into the spring
roll itself.

It's very intimidating if you
don't know how
to work with it.

And that's why I feel like

I might have
another advantage.

I have rolled thousands.

I wanna hear the juices
from inside

really breaking out
of the spring roll itself.

Garnish. Taro garnish.

The taro chips are gonna
be that extra crunch,

but by the time I smother it

it's gonna soak up some
of that coconut milk

and be soft and pillowy.

And I think the taro chips
as a garnish on top

will give that extra crunch.

It seems as if these
three chefs

are kind of disregarding
the taro chips.

I'm actually
a little underwhelmed.

Chef Alex is the only one
that's actually

putting the taro chips
to work.

Everyone's just focused
on the smothered,

but no one's focused
on the jackfruit.

This sauce is coming
along perfectly.

The flavor is set
for the stew. Outstanding.

I need to just finish
those potatoes.

It should be good to go.

Oxtail is just
the tail of cow.

They braise it
for a really long time...

The meat is just tender
on the bone.

I'm taking my own
vegan rendition of that,

and make it
fall-off-the-bone delicious.

I decide to go
with the potato
to complement that stew

because who doesn't like
a hearty stew and potato?

Oh, that looks delicious, man.

Smell that.

I hear a lot of jackfruit,
but I don't hear a lot
of taro chips.

What's going on with that?

Taro chips? I'm gonna use
the taro chips as a garnish.

All right, man, good luck.

I still hadn't used
the, uh, taro chips.

What am I gonna do
with these taro chips?

It's a little salty, but it's
a thick, like, crusty chip.

I'll use it as a binder.

So, I use the taro chips
as a binder,

so that I can use
it as a filler on my mox-tail.

I do not like taro chips,

so this is my first time
really eatin' 'em.

Yeah.

Alex, you're really embracing
the challenge as well,

because I see
absolutely no dairy.

No dairy.

- No butter's being used
right now.
- No, no.

- So this is the smothered
jackfruit, yeah?
- Mmm-hmm.

- How is it?
- It tastes like barbecue.

That's really good.

So it's really just about
building flavor, right,

and getting the most
out of that jackfruit?

- Can you taste my salsa?
- Yes, of course.

Tell America how good it is.

What does it need?
It needs something.

No? I know... beef.
That's what it needs.

Chefs, you should be
focusing on your plate-up now.

Grabbing plates.

Putting finishing touches
on your dish.

Remember seasoning.
Remember smothered.

Pico's done. Guac is done.

Cheese is done.

I am worried that
the chips will get too soggy

by the time the judges try it,

so I'm trying to do more
of a layered feel.

So, I'm gonna smother
it with my jackfruit chili

and then I top it
with my cashew cheese,

pico de galllo, and guacamole.

I'm definitely happy
with my dish,

but nachos are a very safe
and simple dish,

so I'm a little worried.

To plate this, I just
smear the bean-taro puree
on the bottom.

I put barbecued jackfruit
right on top of it,

and then I put the salsa,
sliced Fresno chili avocado.

I'm not making a steak frites.

I'm making a tostado
that's vegan.

Would it be better
with crema and fried chicken?

Mmm-mmm.

But it is what it is.

- Where your plates?
- Uh, they're back there.

Oh, boy. You got
two minutes, man.

I go with the bowl,

because I know I want my sauce
to spread across that bowl,

and then I know that
I already have that potato.

It tastes really good.
Put it right on top.

And then go ahead

and plate that
jackfruit taro chip oxtail.

It's gonna taste like bits
of that oxtail.

Already broke off
into the stew,

and it's gonna be delicious
and jam-packed with flavor.

That is exactly
what I was looking for.

I cut my spring rolls,

just so you can see everything
that's inside of them.

I ladle over my ginataang stew

so there's parts
of the spring roll
that are crispy,

parts of the spring roll
that are little bit soggy.

Next I'm setting up
my taro chips,

and I'm just giving that
splash of stark white,

from the coconut chips,
all over the plate.

Focus on the textures.
Remember, smothered. Right?

Seven, six,

Five, four,

Three, two,

One. That's it chefs!

Hell yeah!

Well done!

Awesome!
- All right,
beautiful people,

Chefs, listen up.

I'm gonna need you guys
to go ahead and write down
the menu description

for your dish.
Exactly the way
you want me to read it.

And I'll bring you back in,
once the judges are done.

Congratulations guys!
You did really well.

Chef Courtney.

Okay,
he's calling it a mox-tail,

- jackfruit oxtail.
- Oh, that's brilliant.

- Yeah.
- Oh, my God!

She went, nachos!

That's really clever.
Oh, he made a dessert?

- Fascinating!
- Not bad. Pretty interesting.

Mmm, that tastes like
it has dairy in it.

- It's good.
- Bring the judges in.

Alex seemed a little...

...relaxed and calm and like,

not frazzled at all,
so that made me
a little worried.

Like I know
her game plan 'cause I watched
enough of her shows.

But, I still wasn't expecting,
like, what she had made.

Me too. I wasn't expecting it
to be like a tostada.
- Yeah, yeah.

But, it looks good.
- Yeah,
it looked good,

- but hopefully mine
tastes better.
- Right!

How are you guys?

- Good, brother, how are you?
- Great!

Doing well, doing well,
thank you.

So, just to remind you
what the chefs had to use.

Jackfruit.

Taro chips. They had to
smother their dish.

And they had 40 minutes
to do so.

In front of you,
you have Taro chip nachos.

With jackfruit chili,
cashew cheese,

pico de gallo
and fresh guacamole.

I think Julia made
a dish that's thematically
similar to mine.

- Wow!
- You look impressed.

- Yeah.
- When I think smothered,

- I think very comfort food.
- Mmm-hmm.

And what's more comforting
than nachos?

Like, I, yeah.

So use of the jackfruit
as a meat for nachos

is a very smart play.

Its ability to imitate meat
is like witchcraft.

And I think they did
a really great job,

not losing the integrity
of the taro chips.

Yeah.
- Like,
it's smothered, but,

honestly, every single one
of my taro chips
are nice and crispy.

I think it's
a smart play because,

jackfruit naturally
is shredable,

it's fibrous,

and it reminds me
of pulled pork,
or reminds me beef,

or reminds me
of a pulled chicken.

So, I think they used
the jackfruit really well.

- I just want more of it.
- Sure. Okay.

Judges, appreciate it.

Let's go ahead and move on
to the next dish.
- All right.

- Thank you, guys.
- That was a really
good first plate though.

It really was, it really was.

- Yeah!
- Oh, tostada.

- Help yourself.
- Okay, okay.

In front of you,
you have a smothered
barbecue-ish...

Jackfruit tostada.

- "Ish!"
- Yes.

- "Barbecue-ish."
- With fresh jackfruit

plus taro root chip
bean puree.

I would have loved to use
a crema here,

'cause I made a tostada,
and yeah,

I can make a crema
from coconut milk...

I'm a, I'm a hands person.

Like, it's just not
your instinct to put another
version of it on,

to make up for it.

Straight off the bat,
I gotta say,
it's a beautiful plate.

I do like the taro chip
bean puree.

- Jackfruit... It's in there.
- The cook
on the jackfruit... Yeah.

I would not call this
a smothered dish.

I gotta take it
to the positives, though, man.

The execution,
the technical ability here,

- is on point.
- Mmm-hmm.

I also really love
the treatment
of the jackfruit.

I know that there's jackfruit
in this, versus,

- not really understanding
that there was jackfruit...
- Yeah.

- ...in the nachos.
- Okay.

- I love this dish.
- Nice.

Let's go ahead and move on
to the next dish please?

- Thank you so much.
- Hmm, great.

A-ha!

This chef,
decided to take
a sweeter approach,

to the challenge,
and is serving you,

turon smothered in
ginataang jackfruit
and banana spring roll.

That is smothered
in a Fiipino coconut stew

and garnished with taro chips.

Cyrus made
a dessert! Bold!

I love that
they did not go savory.

Jackfruit, when it's ripe,
I call it
nature's juicy fruit.

- Mmm-hmm.
- I can just...

- Right?
- Hmm, yeah I like that.

I really love that,
this chef used
fresh jackfruit.

Round of applause
for the jackfruit use.

- Yeah.
- Taro chip!

It felt like
an after-thought to me.

- Let me just...
- Throw 'em up there.

- Throw a chip or two in there.
- Okay.

This is totally smothered...

Yeah.
- ...but it loses me
on the plating.

If egg rolls
are fried and crispy...
- Mmm-hmm.

...why smother them?
It takes away the crunch.

Last but not least,
judges...

In front of you,
we have a mox-tail stew...

...with herbed
new potatoes,

jackfruit is in the stew
as well.

As well as the taro chips
garnished with
Bull's Blood microgreens.

Courtney made the jackfruit
almost like meat...

...which is clever, visually.

But does it work,
when you eat it?

- This smells like home to me.
- Yeah?

Yeah.

I can't believe
there's no beef in here.

- 'Cause it's so beefy.
- Wow.

Ooh, did this person cheat?

- This is delicious!
- Mmm-hmm.

When I think smothered,
this is it for me.

This is the first dish
that gave me the umami
that I want in a meat dish,

that sometimes,
plant-based dishes
doesn't give you.

Yeah.
- I'm just not
getting enough...

- Yeah.
- ...taro chip here.

Because smothered worked
against taro chip here.
- Yeah.

Yeah, this is actually
a lot closer than
I thought it would be.

Wow, okay.

This is now the time
where we have to rank
the dishes one through four.

- Do we have to?
- You have to.

Let's go ahead
and bring in the chefs.

The chef that finishes fourth
is outta here.

And the chef
that finishes first

will have exclusive access
to pick all the ingredients
for the next round.

The chef
that finished fourth is...

Chef Cyrus.

The judges loved your use
of fresh jackfruit,

but your taro chips
felt like an after-thought.

Respect for the risks
you took, seriously.

- Thank you.
- It was great to have you.

That is an excellent
chef who's walking out here.

That's how close this was.
Really tight.

And the chef
that finished first
is from the great state of...

Texas.

My man, Courtney.
Congratulations!

Congratulations!

That mox-tail stew,
the flavor,

immediately they were like,
where's the beef?

- So they were
really impressed.
- Come on.

I just beat
Alex Guarnaschelli

after watching her
for so many years.

And for me to come
and beat her
in the first round,

I feel great.

So welcome to the money round.

Right, welcome.

This time you're cooking
to earn some serious cash.

And some bragging rights,
if you can beat Alex.

It's pretty simple.
For you to earn money,

your dish has to
outrank Alex's.

But, if Alex comes in first,

you guys are cooking
for nothing.

So, in this round,
you're not playing
to make nice.

All right. Chef Courtney,
you've earned yourself

a huge advantage.
Let's get to it.

So, let's get to
what you're choosing first.

- Hmm.
- Your main vegetable.
You get to decide from...

There they are.

- Eggplant...
- Mmm-hmm.

- ...cauliflower...
- Yeah.

...and mushrooms.

Uh, mushrooms, definitely.

I don't have to consult,
'cause I already know.

- Mushrooms!
- Wow.

Whatever you want.

- Not even half a second?
- Not even half a second.

Why?

There's so much potential
on this plate.

I can do seafood,
I can do a steak,

I can do some type,
any kind of rendition
of some type of protein,

you can take this right here,
and turn it into that.
- Okay.

I like the cauliflower.

It's so pretty
and you can grind it,
you can puree it,

then you can put mushrooms
on the cauliflower.

So, just to remember,
the mushroom has to be
the main star of the dish.

Mushrooms it is.

- So, the next thing
you're gonna decide,
- Uh-huh.

The use of a mandatory...

Equipment.

And these obviously,
are equipment known for meat.

- So, you have
a meat grinder...
- Uh-huh.

...a brick, or a meat mallet.

- Weird!
- It is very, very weird...

Very, very weird, yeah.

I mean, my instinct says,
either the grinder itself,

like either go for it,
or the brick. That's a lot
for a little mushroom.

I'mma go with
the mallet, yeah.
- Why?

With this right here,
you can give it
a good pounding

without k*lling it.
This one right here is gonna
be the perfect one.

Meat mallet is is.

So, obviously this is
the most important cloche.

It's gonna decide what type
of dish you're making.

Ah!

A drive-through
dinner style dish...
- Mmm-hmm.

...in 35 minutes, or,
a steak house dinner, in 45.

Uh...

I wanna go with
the steak house.

- Tell me why.
- Drive-through...

I mean, you get that
all the time, so I think,

to be able to manipulate
these ingredients,

- to be steak house worthy?
- Right...

I think that's a challenge
in its own.

45 minutes for Alex.

- I'm fine.
- You're okay?

- I'm fine.
- This right here, steak house,
is up my alley.

- All right, steak house it is.
- Yeah.

All right, chefs.

Your time starts now.

Good ol' steak house
mushroom dish.

Luckily, mushrooms play
really, really well
to a steak house.

Depending on which ones
you use, and how you use them,

you can get so many different
complexities of flavors.

I think char,
I think about burn,

a whole bunch
of umami flavors.

They kinda play
all really well
with the steak house vibe.

This is hard and I love it!

Sometimes I don't
have a plan,

and it's not good
when I don't.

And then, whoa!
We're underwater.

We're like scuba diving level
with a snorkel.

But somehow I manage
to produce great food.

Most of the time, not always.

Luckily, I love mushrooms.

You can do so much
with mushrooms.

They're so diverse.

So, I'm gonna wing it,
and make a stuffed
portobello steak.

I know that that's gonna be
the main component.

I'm gonna make a stuffing
and bake them in the oven.

I don't want
the portobellos to dry up.

I wanna steam and roast them
at the same time.

Portobellos taste terrible
when they're undercooked.

I just hate this dish.

Is that delicato?

It is.

- I love it!
- I'm gonna do a play
on a steak house dinner,

but I'm gonna do a play
on like the sides.

- All right.
- So, I'm trying to do like,
a layered steak house vibe.

I'm making a layered
beef steak tomato,

creamed peas, sauteed spinach,

roasted delicato squash ring
and a steamed mini artichoke.

And the mushroom is my steak,

- at the top if it.
- Wow!

- Am I wasting your time
right now?
- Yes.

Well, okay, let me get out
of your way.

To beat Alex,
I need to step it up a bit
from the nachos.

It's hard to make
a plant-based
steak house dish,

because the first thing
you think about a steak house
is meat.

So, you have to like,
eliminate that thought
out of your head,

in order to come up
with your dish.

So, that's kinda
where I'm going.

Big C!
How you feel, yeah?

I'm feeling pretty good,
feeling confident, uh,

I feel like um,
I've got this one
in the bag right here.

Oh! So tell me what you're
working on right now.

- Truffle and um, parmesan
potato puree.
- Okay.

Um, but I'm also gonna do
a surf n' turf.

So, I'mma do a fillet
of lion's mane,

then I'mma do some
lump crab on top of that.

- Interesting. Good luck chef.
- Thank you.

With the lion's mane mushroom,
I have to make a fillet.

And also I gotta use
my mallet, right?

I give it a couple whacks,
satisfy that part
of the challenge.

And then also I'm gonna use
the same type of lion's mane
for lump crab.

I think the lion's mane
is great because,
just like this,

it looks like a piece
of lump crab.
So, you can make a lump crab,

you can make a steak,
you can make it
whatever you need to make.

One of the reasons I chose
the steak house over
the drive-through is 'cause,

America also sees
this big vegan fad
or craze going on,

where everything is fried.

Let's do something different.

Think I got something
that's gonna wow the judges.

So, I'm making a marinade
for my steak, all right?

So, the fillet
is gonna have beetroot,

just to give it that extra
minerally, iron-y flavor.

Also, the strap molasses
also gives it a nice,
sweet, iron-y undertone.

Uh, then soy sauce,
and a little bit of amino.

I'm here to bring
the vegan pain!

This sucks!

What's the vibe now?
Where are we going with this?

This was supposed to be,
like a waffle lion's mane.

Yeah.

- But it's not working.
- Okay.

They're too wet
and they keep falling apart
and they're mushy.

You have some days
where you come up
with a really good concept

and you just execute it
and it's great.

And then you have days
where you don't.

I don't know yet,
you gotta come back, Eric.

- Will do.
- Sorry.

20 minutes left, Chefs.

Right away
we're dealing with a whole
different playing field.

Without meat or fish,

are you somewhat more free?

Are you just a free thinker
about food? And is that not
the way to always be?

Am I just handcuffed
to a piece of sea bass
and steak?

I wonder.

I try to pound
the lion's mane mushrooms,

to make like a play
on waffle fries.

But I'm not throwing away
all this work.
We're on the clock.

I'm gonna put them on top
of this portobello mushroom,

to give the a little bit
more texture.

The minute I saw steak house,
I immediately thought
onion rings.

I marinated the onion rings
in buttermilk and vinegar.

And then I built a batter
with vodka beer,

seltzer and flour,
and I get them in the batter

and then I fry the onion rings
and cover them
with nutritional yeast.

I love nutritional yeast.

I think it's like
a little umami trick,
like miso.

And I thought, why not.
I look more vegetarian
if I do use that.

So, what are you working on
right now, Chef?

I'm working on a breadcrumb
topping for my baked mushroom.

Is that like a duxelle,
of sorts, with the mushroom?

Yeah.

A duxelle's
a fancy word for when
you cook shallots

and white button mushrooms
into almost like a puree,
with cream.

The first round I went vegan,
I didn't win.

So, I thought, you know what,
I'll just add dairy.

It's not against the rules
and I'm here to win.

I figure,
if I'm gonna go down,

I'm gonna go down
in a bucket of dairy.

Beefsteak tomatoes...

- Yep.
- Very steak house.

I see some artichokes
in here as well.
- Yes.

So your sides
is just, like, building
and building up right now.

I'm gonna layer it all up.

So it's everything but
the steak at the house.

Yeah, and next I'm gonna
sear the mushrooms.

Just getting, like,
some really pretty color.

I'm gonna
score the mushrooms,

to give it that, like,
meat look to it.

It will look like a steak.

I'm gonna sear them until
nice and golden-brown,

and then I'm gonna smash them
with my required meat mallet.

I want these to kind
of reflect meat

like a classic
New York steak house,

with, like, garlic butter
all over your steak.

So good. You wanna try it?

So this is
gonna be, like, the base
of my potato puree,

so I'm doing a truffle
and parmesan puree.

So I'm just adding my freshly
boiled potatoes in there,

and I'm about to hit it
in this blender

and try to get
this puree going.

So for the base
of my potato flavoring,
I'm using soy milk

and vegan parmesan.

And then I blanch
the broccolini
in my potato water.

It's something fresh
to complete this
steak house dish.

I'm gonna make
a surf and turf, right?

Lion's mane mushroom,
when you peel it,

it looks like crab meat.

How is it gonna
taste like crab?

Nori flakes.
So I put the nori
flakes on there,

so it always brings out
a nice seafood flavor.

That lion's mane
mushroom is gonna act
as the crab meat,

especially with the nori
that he's adding in.

Adding a little bit of that
oceanic vibe that I love,

and that you always get
when you eat crab especially.

I really think that's
a really smart play.

I'm making a mushroom
vinaigrette with portobellos,

and then I mix them
with grainy mustard
and red wine vinegar.

I think these chefs
are high achievers.

I think the both
of them are oozing

with a philosophical approach,

and I just am not
finding that here.

I definitely could come
in third here, very easily.

How's it going?

I'm going pretty good,
how about you?
- Good!

You nervous? You got time?

Oh no, I got plenty of time.

Next, I'm making
a lemon butter caper sauce.

This is gonna be the sauce
that's gonna go on top
of the full dish.

Basically gonna be,
like, the cream sauce,

that would be topped
with your steak

but a little bit
of a lighter version.

To beat
Alex Guarnaschelli

in this no-meat challenge
would mean everything,

for me, for vegan food,

vegan chefs, across America.

The round
is almost over.

Who's going home saying
that they beat Alex?

I think it's gonna
be me again.
- All right!

We're coming down
to five minutes left,
chefs! Five minutes!

This is a good base
to hold everything together,
then I'm gonna layer.

I add the mashed peas,

followed by
the sauteed spinach,

followed by one mushroom,
the delicata squash,

and then the other mushroom.

Oh! No!

I add a steamed artichoke,

and a lemon butter
caper sauce.

Oh, Julia,
how you doing over there?

I'm good, I'm good,
I'm plating.

- Are you winning?
- I think so!

Steaks
look amazing.

Thankfully, like,
the lump crab cooked
super fast, super easy.

It tastes really good,
so I feel good about that.

And then, uh, I immediately
go to my puree,

dollop and smear,
that's all you need.

And then I go
plating my fillets,

slash that plate
with the broccoli.

If I lay my lump crab
down on the opposite
end of the plate,

this is surf and turf.

Two minutes,
18 seconds left, chefs!

I get
the portobello mushrooms
right out of the oven,

and I cover it with
some of the vinaigrette.

I get the lion's mane,
put them on top
of the stuffing.

Bread crumbs, and then
I put that on the plate,

and then I put
the onion rings.

- I don't know
where my sauce is.
- 15 seconds!

Ah, here's my sauce!

Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three,

two, one!

That's it!

I want you guys
to obviously write down

the description of your dish.

Nice, nice, nice, nice.

That is cool.
- Fillet of
lion's mane.

Damn!

I'm very impressed.
That steak looks amazing.

I just don't like it.
But it happens.

So he went
surf and turf.
- Smart.

Oh, that's supposed
to be crab! That's brilliant.

Get a load of this.
Does it say
"steak house" to you?

I don't know.

There's just something
so creative about it,

- I don't know that I care.
- I agree.

- It's really beautiful.
- I think both dishes
are brilliant and stunning.

If it's anything
like the first round,

it's going to be very tough.

Conceptually,
my dish is the least
complex of the three,

in terms of embracing
the steak house.

I don't think it's possible
that I've won. No.

If I do win, it's because
it tasted the best.

Not because
it was the cleverest.

- Respect. See you later!
- All right, chef!

All right everyone,
let's set for table.

Oi!

- So how do you think you did?
- I think I did pretty good.

I'm kinda
worried that, like,

maybe mine isn't
steak house-y enough,
that it's too, like, veg.

To be vegan and to,
like, you know,

beat an Iron Chef?

Obvious bragging
rights, if I could beat Alex.
- Yeah.

I just didn't like
what I made.

I wanted to make
something better.

I missed steak
and shrimp today.

I didn't know
how much I missed it
until I didn't have it.

- Oh, wow!
- Okay.

- Okay, okay!
- It's beautiful.

The winning chef
chose mushrooms
as the main vegetable.

They had to employ
a meat mallet,

and they had to make
a steak house dinner,

all in 45 minutes.

- Wow.
- The first chef

is serving a surf
and turf dish,

with fillet of lion's mane,

with a charred
broccolini, lump crab,

in a truffle and parm
potato puree.

That's pretty smart.
I love the surf and turf idea.
- Okay.

I thought Courtney's
dish looks amazing.

Using lion's mane as a crab,

and doing a surf
and turf is brilliant.

I immediately
walk up to this plate...
- Mmm-hmm?

- ...and feel like
I'm in a steak house.
- Mmm-hmm!

So in my mind,
this lion's mane
is a fillet mignon.

Aggressively seasoned
on the outside,

I feel like the mallet
was used to pound

- this lion's mane flat.
- Yeah!

Excellent use of mallet.

Yeah.
- I'm a little lost
on the lump crab.

- I love the idea of it...
- Yeah.

- ...more than...
- Execution?

- Yeah, yeah.
- Execution? Okay.

- Just, my lump crab
was a little overcooked.
- Yeah.

- This steak...
- Yep.

...mushroom makes me
think steak, the crab
makes me go,

- you know what,
you almost got there.
- Mmm-hmm.

Thank you guys.
Thanks, team.

Wow.

This chef is serving
you roasted and grilled
portobello mushrooms,

with mushroom stuffing
and onion rings with
nutritional yeast.

I worry it
doesn't fit the theme,

I'm not worried
it doesn't taste good.

I just would have liked
something that maybe

embraced the vegetarian
and the theme more.

This was very
intentionally made,

like, this was a very
well thought-out dish.
- Mmm.

This is
a full celebration

- of mushrooms for me.
- Mmm-hmm.

This really eats like such
a unique and thoughtful,

uh, mushroom steak house dish.

I'm literally looking
for negatives here.

With the mushroom,
it's not giving you a lot
of texture, right,

so it's, like,
on the softer side,

so the fact that they
added the breadcrumbs...
- Mmm-hmm.

- ...to give you
more of, like...
- That crunch.

- Yeah!
- Gotcha, okay.

Um, I don't see mallet here.

And I'm gonna split
hairs here a little.

It's so rich, I need
a place to go from there,

like cauliflower,
or, like, broccoli.
- Yeah.

Well, let's move on
to the final dish.
- Thank you.

- Oh, it's only one more!
- I know, I know!

In front of you,
we have a reconstructed
steak house side,

and oyster mushroom steak.

Layered steak tomato,
creamed peas, wilted spinach,

pan-seared and smashed
oyster mushrooms,

topped with a steamed
mini-artichoke

and a lemon caper sauce.

This is a beautiful dish,

and haven't even
tasted it yet, so...
- Wow.

I love what Julia made.
I thought it was so creative.

It's like a nod to every
classic steak house dish,

and then she put
artichokes on top.

Everything is cooked
really thoughtfully.

- Scoring the mushroom...
- Yeah.

...and then browning it
more on one side,

- the piece of squash.
- Yep.

Gorgeous, like, you need
a close-up of that.

That is really
nice, yeah.

Like, that's
perfect caramelization.
- It really is.

I love the concept
of giving us all the sides.

It tastes great, everything
is seasoned perfectly.

I'm missing the steak
in "steak house" here.

Give me more of the mushrooms,
like, I want more mushrooms.

What a day.
What an outstanding evening.
- Mmm! Yep.

That was pretty good.

All right guys, so now you
have the hardest job,

of ranking these dishes.

Oh, man!
- I'm glad I'm
not in your position.

And just to make it
a little cheekier,

unlike round one
where I sent you away,

you guys actually
get to see who you picked!

Are you guys
ready to see 'em?
- Yes, we are.

- All right, let's see 'em.
Follow me.
- Okay!

We got a chef
from New York,

we got a chef from Texas,

and, of course,
Alex Guarnaschelli.

Chefs, I know you've
been dying to know
who's been judging you today.

Master of Asian cuisine,
this is Jet Tila.

Nice to meet you, chefs.
Good to see you, Chef.

And, internationally acclaimed
plant-based chef,

- Fariyal Abdullahi
- Hey.

Judges, I'm sure you're
curious who cooked what.

Yes!

So, this is Chef Julia
from New York.

She made the steak house
sides for you guys.

Okay!

You nailed all the sides,

uh, it was probably one
of the most beautiful
plates today.

Thank you!

The problem was the mushroom
wasn't really the star
of the dish.

Chef Courtney made
the surf and turf
for you guys.

Okay.

Thought that
was genius,

using the lion's mane
mushroom

both as the steak
and the lump crab.

The crab was just
a little overcooked.

Overall, very delicious
and creative.

Chef Alex here made
the portobello mushrooms

with the onion rings.

The textures and flavors
were so umami,

we just needed a little more
freshness somewhere,

'cause the dish
was so beautifully rich.

Now chefs, remember,

these judges had no idea
who cooked what.

And the chef that
finished third is...

I'm sorry, Chef Julia.

Thank you.

You literally used every
cooking technique
in this round.

- Amazing.
- Thank you so much.

Bye, guys.

So, judges, I would
like you all to know this.

In the first round,
Chef Courtney made
the mox-tail.

- Man, that was great.
- That was a great dish.

So the chef that won
this no-meat showdown is...

She's done it again, I see AG!

Oh, no!
- Congratulations,
Chef Alex!

Oh, no!

Can we come over here
and give you a hug?

- No!
- She's still in shock!

She seems
so upset to win!

Courtney, man,
good job, brother!

Awesome work. Well done.

- Courtney, man,
thank you so much.
- You are unbelievable!

For real,
even in unfamiliar territory.
Congratulations, Chef.

No, I do, I love that guy.

- Wow.
- More than you love winning?

No, I love myself more.