SNEAK PEEK - Tournament of Champions _ 1st Battle of Episode 4 _ Crista Luedtke vs. Michael Voltaggio

The Battle Begins: A Night to Remember in the Screening Room

As we entered the screening room, Chef Carlos Anthony and I were excited to witness our first battle of the night. The stakes were high, and we both knew that this was going to be a culinary showdown like no other. Our dish, a pan-seared lamb chop with a Harissa crust, was carefully crafted to showcase the rich flavors of North Africa. We spent hours perfecting every detail, from the spice blend to the breading, ensuring that each component would complement the others beautifully.

Chef Carlos's dish, on the other hand, was a creative take on the classic pastrami sandwich. He had taken the traditional deli staple and elevated it to new heights by adding a tangy Tempe bread, made with caraway seeds and Dijon mustard. The addition of pickled Fresnos added a welcome burst of flavor and color to the dish. We watched as Chef Carlos carefully assembled his sandwich, ensuring that every element was perfectly balanced.

The Judges' Table: A Panel of Culinary Icons

As we took our seats at the judges' table, we were greeted by a panel of culinary icons who had been waiting patiently in their trailers. The atmosphere was electric, and we could sense the excitement building as we waited for the first dish to be presented. Our judges, including Simon, Christa, and Voltagio, would be tasting each dish without knowing which chef created it. The pressure was on, and we knew that our dishes had to be flawless in order to impress.

The Cooking Process: A High-Risk, High-Reward Strategy

As the competition heated up, Chef Carlos began cooking his Tempe bread, carefully balancing the flavors of caraway seeds, Dijon mustard, and sugar. Meanwhile, I focused on perfecting my spaghetti squash puree, adding a touch of Italian fish sauce to give it a bold flavor profile. We both knew that our dishes had to be executed flawlessly in order to succeed.

The Presentation: A Matter of First Impressions

As we finished cooking our dishes, we began to think about presentation. I decided to plate my spaghetti squash puree with a beautiful Moroccan meatball on top, adding a dollop of cooling lbna and finishing it off with pickled Fresnos for added flavor. Chef Carlos, on the other hand, opted to present his pastrami sandwich in an open-faced format, glazing the Pastrami and katur mustard vinegret with a sweet and tangy sauce.

The Moment of Truth: Blind Tasting

As we presented our dishes to the judges, we knew that the moment of truth had arrived. The judges would be tasting each dish without knowing which chef created it, and only the highest scorer would move on to the next round. I took a deep breath as the judges began to taste my spaghetti squash puree with Moroccan meatball, waiting anxiously for their feedback.

The Verdict: A Close Call

As we waited for the verdict, our hearts were racing with anticipation. Would Christa's dish be enough to take us to the next round, or would Voltagio's bold flavors win over the judges? The tension was palpable as we watched Simon deliberate with his fellow judges, their expressions a mix of surprise and delight.

The Judges' Comments: A Lesson in Creativity

As the verdict was announced, our hearts sank. Christa had come close, but unfortunately, she didn't make it to the next round. We learned that sometimes taking risks can pay off, but not always. Our dish may have been delicious, but it lacked creativity and originality, making it vulnerable to criticism.

The Win: A Sweet Victory

In a surprise twist, Christa's dish took the top spot, beating us out by a hair's breadth. We were stunned, our eyes scanning the judges' table in search of any clue as to what had gone wrong. As we congratulated Christa on her win, we couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for her creativity and bravery.

The Battle Continues: On to the Next Round

As we left the screening room, we knew that this was far from over. The competition would continue, and we would have to regroup and recharge if we were to make it to the next round. We vowed to come back stronger, more determined than ever to impress the judges with our culinary skills.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: engo these two I mean I can see either one of them going the distance in this Lam shoulder more fat flavor takes a little bit more to cook it but if you could get the cook on it correct the flavor is going to be outrageous spaghetti squash is my favorite squash I use it in place of pasta all the time 30 minutes a little tough might need to go to microwave spice grinder anytime you can get the spice in its whole form and you can toast it and then grind it you're going to do great with that bredit we all know this game Pinko and then Tempe is a fermented soybean that's formed into blocks and commonly eaten as a meat substitute because they got a little bit of chew to it when lamb hits my brain it's all about Moroccan flavors like kesa and lamb is this marriage made in heaven and then it's like how am I going to work Tempe which is kind of like a protein as well so immediately I'm going meatball but not just any old meatball like if I had a Moroccan Mama it would be her meatball I'm back here for Tournament of Champions number five and I definitely think I'm more ready this year than any other season so far just because of the opportunity I've had to open the restaurants compete on Triple Threat mentally just where I need to be to win this competition looking at this dish lamb I don't want to hide it I want to show that I can take this beautiful piece of lamb that has little room for error and turn it into like pastaman I've never even touched temp pay before but I think I'm going to treat that as the bread for a pastrami sandwich and turn this into something special joining me tonight are my two roving culinary reporters Michelin recommended Chef whose brain is insured by The Culinary Institute of himself the one and only Chef Justin Warner and renowned food Rider who's Been Around the World in 80 plates sir s mundar now the two of them are studying the chef's every move so they can Faithfully present their dishes to the judges during the blind tasting the first thing I want to get start started on is getting the spaghetti squash into the microwave set it forget it don't think about it until it's done and then I immediately need to start working on my meatballs 30 minutes not a lot of time Tempe it's got like a nice texture to it to me it was like wow this is the perfect thing to put through the grinder to add into my meatballs Lam shoulder chops it's not a pretty bit of meat it's got bones throughout a lot of fat but the meat's delicious so I'm going to put that sucker in the grinder like recreate it I want the judges to know that I did something special for them which game plan uh I'm going to do a Moroccan breaded meatball got it pickled spaghetti squash underneath lebna on the bottom spice grinder for a bunch of herbs got it how's the salt there's a lot of salt in that aresa I'll get there Chef when you have a plan let me know I'm making a play on a pastrami sandwich when I use a spice grinder make like a pastrami rub for the lamb chop I'm going to make a quick sauerkraut out of the spaghetti squash I'm going to make Tempe Ry bread for it oh coolway seed Pinko breaded I gotcha the microwave is easily the fastest and best way to take care of steaming a squash he's going to make a strummy out of the Lamb he's going to make a sourkraut out of the squash and he's going to make a Ry bread out of the Tempe what where is Le spice grinder right here Chef love it I'm going to gry all the spices that you would expect that crusty like spice situation on the outside of pastrami God I love that smell I'm going to add in the powders like the garlic powder and the onion powder that would be in a traditional pastrami spice as well traditional pastrom brown sugar pastrami is grinded or cured in some capacity and so I heavily sought the lamb before I actually put the shami spice on it and then vacuum packing everything so it actually feels like it's been brined or cured are we going to see the vacuum sealer got to get that spice in there Chef you know yes I do know winning a Tournament of Champions is an incomplete part of my resume I've never left a job undone and I don't plan on leaving this one our first battle of the night is an outside the box culinary boxing match between two West Coast Warriors next up we have an East Coast face off between notable newcomer Chef Dale T day let's go and formal Toc opponent Karen auno itz and later returning toc3 champ Tiffany f on takes on her first opponent of the tournament the impressive winner of our EB qualifier Chef Chris Scott to be the champion you got to Beat the Champ that is a battle I promise you you don't want to miss welcome back ladies and gentlemen we are in the middle of a lamb shoulder showdown between chefs Michael bagio and Chef Christa linky we have 22 minutes chefs 22 back in the Wayfair screening room Chef shot Nakajima and Chef Carlos Anthony are watching our first battle of the night okay here we go dude we're back this is going to go into the into the farest as well as into the breading you know when you toast your spices it wakes up the flavor so coriander fennel seed kitum in a spice grinder now you've got the fresh dropping into not only the filling of my meatball but into my Dr my breading on the outside so what else is going in this dredge I got panco salt and all the Sea Mix bringing in eggs to the party and some breadcrumbs to soak things up and then that Harissa all of that together is going to hopefully make for a delicious juicy meatball while my lamp chops are in the VX sealer making pami I'm going to make my Tempe bread can't have pami sandwich without mustard cover up the taste of this delicious Tempe I want it to taste like rye bread one of the predominant flavors in Ry bread is caraway seed now I have another opportunity to use the spice grinder don't get carried away Chef pardon that was a Caraway joke Tempe is brushed in Dijon mustard then Standard breading procedure using flour egg wash and my carway bread clums let's go Michael V Michel 12 minutes Che I'm glad he wore his fire suit right you brother how doing see you guys see you man okay Michael's got a Inferno a lot of people see flames and they freak out right oh you're burning it but you know this is a professional getting gorgeous Char on it without it getting black I think that charred smokiness from the grill will help accentuate the flavor of pastrami after I pull the Tempe out of the fryer I realize it's pretty thick so what I'm thinking is I want to slice it in half just like you would some Ry bread for a sandwich make sure we say it's breaded so I breaded something and Made bread understood my meatballs have been nice crisp on the outside and then I'm going to finish them in the oven the spaghetti squash is fully done I really want to do spaghetti squash two ways because I want to transform the spaghetti squash if you haven't seen a spaghetti squash before you can see here it comes out almost like spaghetti and I really want to make sure that youd see the spaghetti squ on the plate is that going to be a pickle spaghetti squash that's the plan that's going to be the whole squashy salad put on the top is that Rice fer yes a little sugar coriander seed in the pickle the other one's going to be a beautiful creamy sort of puree underneath my meatballs lots of butter a little bit of onion for sweetness this is the perfect lovely canvas of spaghetti squash on the plate yeah that's real good let's bring the squash to the party how we doing my spaghetti squash is cooked I'm going to let it simmer in some vinegar a little bit of salt and sugar so that it takes on the flavor of sauerkraut chefel tajio is known for the kind of cooking that is big risk big reward sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesn't if Christa doesn't make any mistakes and voltagio makes one this could be an upset one of the Hallmarks of Toc is the blind tasting by a panel of culinary icons our judge have been waiting patiently in their trailers and have no idea what's going on in the arena right now the chef who receives the highest total score will move on to the next round and the other Chef he'll be 86 mustard yes chef call T mustard I'm going to start putting together my vinegret colur is basically Italian fish sauce he is cooking like a mad man what a great looking dish I mean Michael such a creative I know our dishes are going to be vastly different right behind Simon I just want to stay true to my flavors and hope that takes me to the next round I first go down with my spaghetti squash puree and then this beautiful gred Moroccan meatball on top of that I want this nice Cooling lbna and then finish with my beautiful pickle spaghetti squash and also some pickled Fresnos to just give it that kiss at the end just a little Fresno chili this dish hits all the marks so I hope it makes the judges happy I hope it takes the win I'm done my Open Face pami Sandwich I decide to Plate it so that the judges can go into it with a knife and fork I'm glazing that Pastrami and katur mustard vinegret and then on top of that is my spaghetti squash Kraut looking at this dish I took a risk if the judges don't taste the vision in this dish I could go home 3 2 1 that's it well done ago these two I mean I can see either one of them going the distance in this Lam shoulder more fat flavor takes a little bit more to cook it but if you could get the cook on it correct the flavor is going to be outrageous spaghetti squash is my favorite squash I use it in place of pasta all the time 30 minutes a little tough might need to go to microwave spice grinder anytime you can get the spice in its whole form and you can toast it and then grind it you're going to do great with that bredit we all know this game Pinko and then Tempe is a fermented soybean that's formed into blocks and commonly eaten as a meat substitute because they got a little bit of chew to it when lamb hits my brain it's all about Moroccan flavors like kesa and lamb is this marriage made in heaven and then it's like how am I going to work Tempe which is kind of like a protein as well so immediately I'm going meatball but not just any old meatball like if I had a Moroccan Mama it would be her meatball I'm back here for Tournament of Champions number five and I definitely think I'm more ready this year than any other season so far just because of the opportunity I've had to open the restaurants compete on Triple Threat mentally just where I need to be to win this competition looking at this dish lamb I don't want to hide it I want to show that I can take this beautiful piece of lamb that has little room for error and turn it into like pastaman I've never even touched temp pay before but I think I'm going to treat that as the bread for a pastrami sandwich and turn this into something special joining me tonight are my two roving culinary reporters Michelin recommended Chef whose brain is insured by The Culinary Institute of himself the one and only Chef Justin Warner and renowned food Rider who's Been Around the World in 80 plates sir s mundar now the two of them are studying the chef's every move so they can Faithfully present their dishes to the judges during the blind tasting the first thing I want to get start started on is getting the spaghetti squash into the microwave set it forget it don't think about it until it's done and then I immediately need to start working on my meatballs 30 minutes not a lot of time Tempe it's got like a nice texture to it to me it was like wow this is the perfect thing to put through the grinder to add into my meatballs Lam shoulder chops it's not a pretty bit of meat it's got bones throughout a lot of fat but the meat's delicious so I'm going to put that sucker in the grinder like recreate it I want the judges to know that I did something special for them which game plan uh I'm going to do a Moroccan breaded meatball got it pickled spaghetti squash underneath lebna on the bottom spice grinder for a bunch of herbs got it how's the salt there's a lot of salt in that aresa I'll get there Chef when you have a plan let me know I'm making a play on a pastrami sandwich when I use a spice grinder make like a pastrami rub for the lamb chop I'm going to make a quick sauerkraut out of the spaghetti squash I'm going to make Tempe Ry bread for it oh coolway seed Pinko breaded I gotcha the microwave is easily the fastest and best way to take care of steaming a squash he's going to make a strummy out of the Lamb he's going to make a sourkraut out of the squash and he's going to make a Ry bread out of the Tempe what where is Le spice grinder right here Chef love it I'm going to gry all the spices that you would expect that crusty like spice situation on the outside of pastrami God I love that smell I'm going to add in the powders like the garlic powder and the onion powder that would be in a traditional pastrami spice as well traditional pastrom brown sugar pastrami is grinded or cured in some capacity and so I heavily sought the lamb before I actually put the shami spice on it and then vacuum packing everything so it actually feels like it's been brined or cured are we going to see the vacuum sealer got to get that spice in there Chef you know yes I do know winning a Tournament of Champions is an incomplete part of my resume I've never left a job undone and I don't plan on leaving this one our first battle of the night is an outside the box culinary boxing match between two West Coast Warriors next up we have an East Coast face off between notable newcomer Chef Dale T day let's go and formal Toc opponent Karen auno itz and later returning toc3 champ Tiffany f on takes on her first opponent of the tournament the impressive winner of our EB qualifier Chef Chris Scott to be the champion you got to Beat the Champ that is a battle I promise you you don't want to miss welcome back ladies and gentlemen we are in the middle of a lamb shoulder showdown between chefs Michael bagio and Chef Christa linky we have 22 minutes chefs 22 back in the Wayfair screening room Chef shot Nakajima and Chef Carlos Anthony are watching our first battle of the night okay here we go dude we're back this is going to go into the into the farest as well as into the breading you know when you toast your spices it wakes up the flavor so coriander fennel seed kitum in a spice grinder now you've got the fresh dropping into not only the filling of my meatball but into my Dr my breading on the outside so what else is going in this dredge I got panco salt and all the Sea Mix bringing in eggs to the party and some breadcrumbs to soak things up and then that Harissa all of that together is going to hopefully make for a delicious juicy meatball while my lamp chops are in the VX sealer making pami I'm going to make my Tempe bread can't have pami sandwich without mustard cover up the taste of this delicious Tempe I want it to taste like rye bread one of the predominant flavors in Ry bread is caraway seed now I have another opportunity to use the spice grinder don't get carried away Chef pardon that was a Caraway joke Tempe is brushed in Dijon mustard then Standard breading procedure using flour egg wash and my carway bread clums let's go Michael V Michel 12 minutes Che I'm glad he wore his fire suit right you brother how doing see you guys see you man okay Michael's got a Inferno a lot of people see flames and they freak out right oh you're burning it but you know this is a professional getting gorgeous Char on it without it getting black I think that charred smokiness from the grill will help accentuate the flavor of pastrami after I pull the Tempe out of the fryer I realize it's pretty thick so what I'm thinking is I want to slice it in half just like you would some Ry bread for a sandwich make sure we say it's breaded so I breaded something and Made bread understood my meatballs have been nice crisp on the outside and then I'm going to finish them in the oven the spaghetti squash is fully done I really want to do spaghetti squash two ways because I want to transform the spaghetti squash if you haven't seen a spaghetti squash before you can see here it comes out almost like spaghetti and I really want to make sure that youd see the spaghetti squ on the plate is that going to be a pickle spaghetti squash that's the plan that's going to be the whole squashy salad put on the top is that Rice fer yes a little sugar coriander seed in the pickle the other one's going to be a beautiful creamy sort of puree underneath my meatballs lots of butter a little bit of onion for sweetness this is the perfect lovely canvas of spaghetti squash on the plate yeah that's real good let's bring the squash to the party how we doing my spaghetti squash is cooked I'm going to let it simmer in some vinegar a little bit of salt and sugar so that it takes on the flavor of sauerkraut chefel tajio is known for the kind of cooking that is big risk big reward sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesn't if Christa doesn't make any mistakes and voltagio makes one this could be an upset one of the Hallmarks of Toc is the blind tasting by a panel of culinary icons our judge have been waiting patiently in their trailers and have no idea what's going on in the arena right now the chef who receives the highest total score will move on to the next round and the other Chef he'll be 86 mustard yes chef call T mustard I'm going to start putting together my vinegret colur is basically Italian fish sauce he is cooking like a mad man what a great looking dish I mean Michael such a creative I know our dishes are going to be vastly different right behind Simon I just want to stay true to my flavors and hope that takes me to the next round I first go down with my spaghetti squash puree and then this beautiful gred Moroccan meatball on top of that I want this nice Cooling lbna and then finish with my beautiful pickle spaghetti squash and also some pickled Fresnos to just give it that kiss at the end just a little Fresno chili this dish hits all the marks so I hope it makes the judges happy I hope it takes the win I'm done my Open Face pami Sandwich I decide to Plate it so that the judges can go into it with a knife and fork I'm glazing that Pastrami and katur mustard vinegret and then on top of that is my spaghetti squash Kraut looking at this dish I took a risk if the judges don't taste the vision in this dish I could go home 3 2 1 that's it well done a\n"