The final two recruits get private cooking lessons from Alton Brown and Anne Burrell and learn to make a dish of their choosing. Then Alton and Anne teach their recruits how to make a three-course, restaurant-quality meal. For the main dish challenge, the two finalists put all their new culinary skills to the test in order to impress judges Kelly Choi, Brian Mazza and Jet Tila, who do a blind taste test and determine the winner of the $25,000 prize.
Kardea Bown's cousin Ashley is saving for a house and learning to spend less on eating out. So, Kardea is making Ashley her favorite restaurant meal, all for under $30! On the menu is a starter of Sea Island Beer Steamed Mussels and, for the main course, Kardea cooks up Penne with Sausage and Greens with a Grilled Romaine Caeser Salad on the side. For a sweet ending, it's a homemade version of Ashley's go-to restaurant dessert -- Molten Chocolate Cakes.
Four celebrities with different backgrounds, and a shared love of cooking, charge into the Chopped Kitchen. Plain vanilla is something that none of the competitors can relate to, but can they skillfully use vanilla cupcakes to create appetizers as one-of-a-kind as they are? Then something crispy and something jiggly make the main course a study in contrasts. And when two entertaining cooks proceed to the final round, they put on a performance with circus peanuts and curry powder.
Kardea Brown gets a personal tour of the International African American Museum in Charleston, and she cooks up traditional dishes for the staff. To start, she's serving sweet Charleston shrimp with her Low Country Pickled Shrimp Salad. Then, the main course is Braised Oxtails served over Rice and Sea Island Red Peas. For dessert, Kardea makes Puff Puff with Mango-Papaya Sauce. The food celebrates the flavors from across the African diaspora and how that heritage inspired Low Country cooking!