The 11 remaining chefs are starting to feel the effects of cooking for seven straight hours. In a shift that tests resourcefulness, Michael Symon and Esther Choi ask the chefs to create a three-course meal worthy of a black-tie event in 60 minutes. But the chefs will have to be resourceful with more than just their time -- ingredients like strawberry milk, pimento cheese, carrot tops, dried scallops, Carolina reaper peppers and shell-on pistachios must also be incorporated into their meal. How they use the ingredients is up to them, but then it's up to judge Jet Tila to decide which chef will be clocking out.
The Neelys are celebrating a "New Year's Eve for Two," and you can bet your bottom it's going to be romantically delicious! First, it's a Grilled Rib Eye for Two with Arugula and Tomato Salad. Then, Gina's fixing up her special Passion Pasta filled with juicy shrimp and sea scallops galore. For dessert, it's a Dreamy Chocolate Mousse that will glide off your spoon like silk. Finally, a concoction that will make even the most finicky of suitors fall madly in love, the Love Potion Cocktail. The ball is about to drop, and this "New Year's Eve for Two" is sure to be a tasty celebratory meal!
Inspired by the bounty produced in nearby Sonoma and Napa counties, Guy Fieri asks his chef friends to make a meal with local wine as the star. Alex Guarnaschelli uses both red and white in her pecan- and breadcrumb-stuffed mushrooms, and she makes a surprise dessert of lemony cake bursting with juicy grapes. Marc Murphy prepares a cucumber-tomato salad with basil vinaigrette and a delicate stuffed quail with crushed potatoes cooked in flavorful garlic confit. Jonathan Waxman uses his culinary wizardry to turn cheap red wine into a mouthwatering wild boar ragu, and he roasts a succulent whole duck with chanterelles and a Cabernet Sauvignon sauce. Finally, Michael Voltaggio makes the unlikely pairing of wine and cherry cola in a delicious Kalimotxo cocktail, and he serves up perfectly seared bacon-stuffed scallops in a delectable green grape and yeast sauce over cauliflower.
Chef Todd Richards enters Kitchen Stadium to challenge Iron Chef Cora. Will Chef Richards wow the judges with his culinary styling, or will Iron Chef Cora's cuisine reign supreme?
Judges
Karine Bakhoum
Cady Huffman
Jeffrey Steingarten
Challenger stats: Chef Richards
From: Chicago, Ill.
Restaurants: The Oakroom (AAA 5 Diamond, Louisville Ky.), Soleil (The Ritz Carlton Palm Beach), Atlanta Grill (Ritz Carlton, Atlanta), Spice Restaurant (Atlanta), Villa Christina (Atlanta), The Café now Park 75 (The Four Seasons, Atlanta)
Cuisine: Ethnic based dishes with futuristic presentations
Interests: Music (writing, performing, DJ), photography
Ideal secret ingredient: From the potential list that was given: bay scallops number one because they are in season, carrots number two as it presents more challenges, morel number three as they are out of season and very difficult to find
Culinary inspirations: My father, my line cooks, EL Bulli, menus that explain themselves, culinary photography
Ideal judge: One who understands where food is going and how it is rooted in where it came from
Culinary secret weapon: Chef Duane Nutter, Chef Blake Kollker
Favorite restaurant: Morimoto (New York), Alinea Restaurant (Chicago), Hakkasan (Soho London), Mr. J’s Burgers (Chicago)
Favorite food: Sushi, dishes that make culinary sense, my father's red beans and Rice
Food you won't go near: Spoiled, rotten
Weirdest thing you've ever eaten: After you eat it more than once it's not weird anymore; but maybe cow brains
Favorite food destination: Chicago, London, California, New York
Alternative dream job: Honestly, I don't feel I have worked a "job" a day in my life.