Alex Stupak Beats the 'Bobby's Triple Theat' Titans, Plans to Make It His 'Whole Identity'

Season 5 starts off with a bang as chef Alex Stupak walks into Bobby Flay’s secret kitchen. As Bobby introduces his first Triple Threat guest, it becomes increasingly clear that he needs no introduction. The “culinary rebel” holds five James Beard nominations to his name, specializes in modern Mexican cuisine and has a background working with Michelin-starred chefs.

The Titans are suspicious that Alex is walking through the door throughout Bobby’s monologue, and those suspicions are confirmed when Bobby looks at Michael Voltaggio and says, “You were both named Food & Wine Best New Chef the same year.”

As Alex makes his grand entrance, Michael turns to Brooke Williamson and Ayesha Nurdjaja, smiling ear-to-ear, and says, “This is brutal."

“Weren’t you just at his restaurant like a few days ago?” Bobby asks Michael.

“Two days ago,” he replies. “Hugging him and stuff, like having a meal!”

“I’m very shocked to see Alex here today,” Michael continues in his confessional. “He’s my good buddy, somebody I’ve admired for over 15 years. I just brought my entire family to his restaurant because I wanted to take my family out to a restaurant where they’d be impressed. Alex, in my opinion, is one of the best chefs in the world.”

As he gears up for Round 1, Alex reveals to Bobby he has “Titan fever” and says if he beats the Titans, he plans to make it his whole identity.

Round 1: Alex vs. Brooke

Bobby reveals the ingredients for Round 1 are sea urchin and cherry tomatoes and, suffice it to say, Alex feels confident. “Sea urchin and tomatoes are things I use in my own restaurants on a daily basis,” he shares. “So, I’m excited to cook food that represents me.”

As always, the visiting chef chooses which Titan they wish to compete against in the first two rounds. Alex chooses Brooke and gives viewers their first taste of his strategic gameplay.

“Brooke is the most peculiar to me,” he reveals in his confessional. “She pulls stuff out of nowhere. To me, she’s the most analytical. So, if I’m not going to know the judge, I don’t want her to know the judge.”

When Brooke asks him why he chose her, he says, “Because I think you’re awesome, and I’m scared of you.”

Without missing a beat, he hits her with a follow-up question, ”Are you scared of me at all?”

“Of course I am,” she replies. “I know how brilliant you are.”

The chefs dive in and begin crafting two dishes, each showcasing sea urchin and cherry tomatoes, in just 45 minutes.

Round 1: Plated

For his first dish, chef Alex prepares Tomatoes With Sea Urchin, Shrimp and Corn Masa Tempura and Sea Urchin Mayonnaise. His second dish is Ricotta Gnocchi With Sea Urchin Butter and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.

Chef Brooke prepares Cavatelli With Sea Urchin Corn Sauce and Marinated Golden Cherry Tomatoes for her first dish and Torched Uni Tomato Toast With Oven-Roasted Tomatoes for her second.

Buddha Lo Judges

Bobby welcomes chef Buddha Lo into his secret kitchen as his judge. The culinary powerhouse has worked worldwide in Michelin-starred kitchens and competed — and won — back-to-back seasons of Top Chef. Also noteworthy? His restaurant, Huso, secured a Michelin star the same year it opened.

Chef Buddha judges Alex’s dishes first, and let’s just say his feedback is less than encouraging. After tasting the Tomatoes With Sea Urchin, Shrimp and Corn Masa Tempura and Sea Urchin Mayonnaise, Buddha says the shrimp has a nice texture, but he doesn’t think it’s necessary. “I felt the texture should be more focused on the uni,” he starts. “I think as a tomato dish, without the uni, it would be great. But all I can taste is spices right now. I am just getting my mouth kind of blown out right now.”

Moving on to Dish 2, he is happier with the presentation but feels that the uni is out of proportion to the gnocchi. “I’m not getting enough uni, and I would have loved a ton more uni in the sauce.”

And, unfortunately for Alex, the hits keep coming. “All in all, I can see the intention, I can see where we’re going, but the gnocchi does feel a bit dense. It would be something I would send back.”

Chef Brooke leaves Round 1 with her confidence intact. Chef Buddha takes a bite of her pasta and immediately says, “It’s so good. It’s exactly what I want from the uni and tomatoes. Her second dish welcomes praise, too.

At the end of Round 1, Buddha ranks the chefs out of 10. Chef Alex earns four points, while Titan Brooke earns eight.

“I’ve watched this show,” Alex begins. “When people get fives, they feel gutted, and I just got a four.”

Round 2: Alex vs. Michael

Going into Round 2, Alex is feeling deflated. But his buddy Michael gives him a quick pep talk. “I’m the only other record holder in this kitchen, so we share that. I’ve gotten it too, chef.”

Alex blows Michael a kiss in appreciation. Bobby shares the ingredients for Round 2: whole chicken and lemongrass.

To everyone’s surprise, Alex selects Michael for his opponent. When asked why, he says, “Look, I'm in a bad mood, and I'm trying to add some levity back into this, so I summoned forth Michael the Magician.”

“I mean, Alex isn't somebody who's just my friend,” Michael begins. “He became my friend because I think I borderline stalked him.

“I mean, I was studying his food for a reason. If we're cut from the same cloth, he's cut from like the expensive version of that cloth. I need to win this round so that I can set Ayesha up for Round 3."

Alex Comes in Short

For his first dish, chef Alex prepares Chicken Meatball Soup in Lemongrass Coconut Cream. His second dish is Chicken and Späetzle in Lemongrass Butter.

Titan Michael prepares Lemongrass and Soy Glazed Chicken Thigh With Daikon Noodles in Lemongrass Broth for his first dish and a Fried Chicken Skewer With Lemongrass, Lemon and Green Olive Emulsion for his second.

Judge Buddha Lo is more impressed with Alex’s performance in Round 2 — but not by much. He gives him a score of six out of 10. Michael earns a score of seven out of 10, giving the Titans a five-point lead going into Round 3.

Round 3: Alex vs. Ayesha

As always, the competing chef is in charge of the ingredient selection for Round 3, and the dishes are judged on a scale of 20. Alex enters this round with a score of 0-2, hoping he can best Titan Ayesha and take home the $25,000. His ingredients of choice? Orange blossom water and Sicilian pistachios.

Ayesha maintains her composure but reveals in her confessional that she’s over the moon with Alex’s selection. “I’m in love with these ingredients,” she says. “My head is going to Morocco.”

When asked why he saved Ayesha for Round 3, Alex reveals a one-sided beef with her. “She’s the only Titan that doesn’t follow me on Instagram and that hurts my feelings.”

Ayesha, the ever-gracious opponent, laughed it off. “Chef, I sincerely apologize. I was going to take my hoops off, and I’m glad I didn’t. Consider it done once this is over."

Alex Making Strategic Moves

If you watched Alex on 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, you know how his mind works. And Bobby does, too. “Alex, obviously you have a strategy here,” he states.

And he does.

“I strategically chose those two ingredients to make it difficult,” he explains in his confessional. “The trickier of the two ingredients is the orange blossom water. It’s rarely used in savory cooking.”

Ayesha concurs. “Orange blossom is something you really want scant in a dish because it has a very floral note. You kind of want a whisper of it, like, ‘Who’s that girl?’ But you don’t want to know her name.”

Final Plates

For his final shot at $25,000, chef Alex calls back to his pastry chef roots, preparing an Orange Blossom Custard and Meringue With Sicilian Pistachio Coulis.

“It’s a banging dish,” Buddha says with a smile and a nod. “What I love about this dish is the balance between textures and flavors.”

Titan Ayesha prepares a Moroccan Pastilla, Pistachio With Lamb and Orange Blossom Pickled Cauliflower. Judge Buddha takes a bite and says, “It’s amazing. I love it.”

The only problem? “I’m getting the pistachio and the pickles were definitely needed for this dish, but I'm just not getting any orange blossom in this at all.

“We’re missing out on 50% of the ingredients, even though this is probably the tastiest dish I’ve had all day.”

Alex Wins!

Finally, Alex and Ayesha stand before Buddha and Bobby for the final scoring. He entered Round 3 with just 10 points, while the Titans entered with 15.

“Either one of you has a shot at winning this round,” Bobby reminds them. “Round 3 is worth double points.”

Judge Buddha scores Ayesha first. “Fantastic dish, just so much flavor that you packed in in 40 minutes. Definitely got the pistachios, but the orange blossom did not shine at all for me,” he says. “Ayesha, I have to give that a 13.”

He turns to Alex next.

“It could have been cooked a little bit longer, but overall, both ingredients shined,” he begins. “It looked beautiful, and it was super tasty. Alex, I gave your dish a 19.”

And, just like that, Alex wins $25,000 and a permanent locker with his name on it in Bobby’s secret kitchen.

“What I’ve proven is a really great dessert can fix a lot of problems,” Alex says.

As for Ayesha’s promise to follow Alex on Instagram?

“I mean, I was all in before we took the cook, but now? Unfollow, cancel!”