The voting has concluded.
The score is one to one.
Contestants, please…
The score is one to one.
Contestants, please exit the room briefly.
I totally saw this coming. This is tricky.
I thought this might happen. I kept going back and forth.
Gosh, me too.
Contestants, please exit the room briefly.
They seemed to be torn.
I was a bit frustrated and nervous.
I wanted to hear what they were saying, but we couldn't really hear them.
Judges, please remove your blindfolds.
Chinese cuisine chefs. Oh, I get it now. I see what they did.
This is the suan cai one's, right?
I mean, using the dried radish greens to replace suan cai was just…
-And they nailed it. -It's very well-executed.
Right, well-executed.
The reason I voted for this one was because of its creativity.
I gave them more points for how they utilized their ingredient.
For the way they gave the dried radish greens a sour flavor
and turned them into suan cai.
That's why I gave this one just a few more points.
Well, I think I voted for my contestant along similar lines.
When I realized that they had made a basi,
I thought to myself, "What kind of madman makes a basi out of dried radish greens?"
So for me, it was all about the idea, the creativity involved.
Besides, creativity aside,
when I tried the dishes,
what I felt was
this one just tasted a little better, in my opinion.
-This one's neck and neck. -Yep.
They're really evenly matched, this pair.
You could probably win me over with the slightest nudge right now.
I feel exactly the same.
If you convince me just a little more, I might flip.
A little nudge is all it would take for both of us, to be honest.
Man, who are these chefs?
This here, it's a really tough call to make.
The judges have made their decision.
Contestants, please re-enter the room.
Oh!
Wow, I see.
First a round of applause.
Man, young chefs nowadays sure are a force to be reckoned with.
You two had some amazing ideas.
It was like watching a dragon and a tiger do battle.
-Right. -He's gonna announce the results.
One thing we'd like you two to know is that this was really close.
We're no longer on good terms. We turned on each other.
I've been cooking in Korea for a while now,
but Chef Jung Ji-sun's studied abroad,
so her cooking style's very different from mine.
That's why
I thought that my dish might be a little more to the judges' liking.
The fact that they needed to deliberate
and couldn't decide between the dishes means they were both delicious.
But my dish had better presentation,
so I thought I might get extra points for creativity.
What a showdown.
Please.
Come on.
If she manages to bring her down today,
this matchup would be one for the history books.
The winner of the dried radish greens duel.…
And the survivor of this matchup is….
…Chef Jung Ji-sun.
-Thank you. -Congratulations.
It was such a tight race.
How'd you come up with something like this?
Your ideas were brilliant.
The White Spoon Jung Ji-sun has survived.
She still fought really well.
The White Spoon Jung Ji-sun has survived.
Oh no, our goddess…
You're kidding me.
I'm gonna tell her that even though she lost,
she still fought well.
Ultimately, it came down to the smallest details with the dishes, truly.
We need to reach an agreement.
I will say this.
I still can't let go of the shock I felt when I tried the basi for the first time.
I had no idea she would make a basi using dried radish greens.
I could tell that she had put a lot of time
into coming up with a really unique dish.
But…
The basi it is.
-Let's go with the basi. -Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you for your hard work.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
It may have been a tight race, uh…
…but there's still a huge difference between a pass and elimination.
I know what matters though.
I came here and gave the dish my all.
So I have no regrets.
GODDESS OF CHINESE CUISINE
Hanwoo beef rump.
It has little fat, but the slightest mistake can ruin it,
which is why people usually use them for raw beef dishes. It's easier.
Rump is unremarkable. It's usually just for tartare.
That's true. It's a cut of meat that doesn't have much going for it,
both flavor, and texture-wise.
Chef Lee Young-suk and Genius Restaurateur.
Chef Lee Young-suk's hands
have MSG shakers attached to them.
Let's go.
I saw her on Korean Food War, and… she's amazing.
She makes really delicious food.
That's Chef Lee Young-suk for ya.
-The winner. -Incredible.
She probably had the most wins in every episode I saw.
She's a force to be reckoned with.
No wonder she won Korean Food War.
On the other side, we have a young person's Korean cuisine.
She brings some really refreshing modern takes on Korean dishes
to the table.
She's the youngest here, for sure, but as far as flavor is concerned…
She's a rising star in the world of Korean cuisine.
What else can I say? You survive!
Oh my goodness!
As someone who has been cooking Korean cuisine for most of my life,
I've always wanted to surpass a true master of the craft.
That's been my dream.
What is that? Is that a flipped hat?
-That's… -Yeah, what was that again?
It's on the tip of my tongue.
The dish I'll be making today is called jeonriptu,
dubbed "the soldier's hat."
It's a Joseon-era dish that's part hotpot and part grilled.
I'll be taking the rump, removing the fascia,
then mincing the portions without any fascia…
…and turning them into meatballs.
I'll then take the meatballs and place them inside the fish.
And finally, I'll grill them together for extra flavor.
Chef Cho is also no ordinary chef.
She's really…
…she's got a way with flavors.
I'll place the grilled veggies… and grilled meats.
Then I'll pour the beef broth in the middle of the pot.
Since it's a hotpot dish from the Joseon-era,
I'll be serving the grilled meats with the broth.
To be frank, beef rump isn't very exciting.
You can't get a flavorful broth from it,
and it's typically limited to dishes like meatballs or savory jeon.
I figured Ms. Lee would prepare something like meatballs or skewers,
so I decided to go with a more unconventional choice.
She must be making a broth.
She's making broth. That's definitely broth.
It looks like she's making soup. She's putting it in a big pot.
Judging by the size,
she's probably making an old-fashioned soup.
Maybe radish and beef soup?
She just chopped up a lot of radish.
Maybe yukgaejang?
She doesn't have enough ingredients for that.
I was thinking that I would
need to come up with a unique dish.
I figured that making something we've all seen before
would hold no merit, so I came up with something different.
So I came up with
a dish called mi-so gomtang.
It's a pretty name.
As we all know, you need to make a broth to make gomtang.
But since you can't actually get a broth from only the rump,
I'm using radish,
Pyogo mushrooms,
kelp,
and perilla oil,
roasting them all for a while…
…then adding some water to prepare some white stock,
which I got from roasting the vegetables.
I'll be preparing that first.
For the rump, I'll be removing the blood from the meat,
then lightly seasoning it.
After that, I'll chop up some minari to match the size of the meat.
Then I will roll it all up,
bread it with some powder and eggs, then lightly sauté it.
The rump is the main ingredient, so it needs to be seen.
That's why I decided to turn it into rolls.
-I guess she's steaming it. -I really just want a bite of that.
Oh! It looks so good.
There'll be some leftover oil from the sautéing I did earlier,
so I'll blanch it a little to get rid of the oil.
After that, I'll plate all the ingredients together with the gomtang soup.
Where are the nice-looking ones?
Maybe this one.
I wanna see how the Biz Whiz versus the Korean Food War lady pans out.
Me too.
One has this massive dish, and the other's bite-sized.
Beef rump duel contestants,
please proceed to the blind tasting evaluation area.
Wow.
-I'm so nervous. -I'll return a winner.
-Let's go, Biz Whiz! -Thank you!
Let's go!
-You've got this! -Thank you!
-You've got this, master. -Thanks. I've got this, you'll see.
-All right! -It's so pretty.
Even the bowls we were using were so different.
-I was intimidated. -I can see why.
The theme of this duel is beef rump.
The rump is difficult to prepare since it has no fat.
Most people would think of beef tartare.
Now then, let us proceed with the tasting of dish number one.
In the center, you'll see a jeon-style side dish,
which is actually dried yellow corvina
made with a minced Korean mint and meat filling.
That combination pairs well with the beef rump, since it's quite dry.
I focused on the flavor profile as a whole.
The dish smells amazing as well.
We're on beef rump, right?
Beef rump…
This tastes like mackerel…
Are these meatballs? It just melts in my mouth.
Well…
I know this taste.
This smells familiar.
Something leafy. I'm smelling some kind of leaf here, man.
It's… it's a very subtle scent,
but it's this subtle, lingering fragrance…
Well, um… all right, then.
Next, you will be tasting dish number two.
MI-SO GOMTANG
I'm very confident that our judges have never tried
a gomtang made with beef rump before.
Let's hope!
First, they need to taste the soup itself and…
savor the fragrance of the vegetables I used.
Then they should take a bite of the rump itself.
Then they should try it all with the soup.
I'm sure they'll see the mi-so gomtang's true worth
once they've tried it all three ways.
I think it will make them both say to themselves,
"I've never tasted this before."
It's fragrant and delicious.
Mmm! Mm.
This soup's great.
But the first one was great as well. I liked it.
The voting will commence now.
Of the two dishes presented,
please select the one that better utilized the main ingredient,
resulting in a better-tasting dish.
I tasted my own dish, and it turned out so well,
so I thought I might win this round.
I should win.
The voting has concluded.
Judges, please remove your blindfolds.
Who was it?
Oh!
Whoa.
That's a huge difference.
Maximum and minimum.
So this is one dish and this is the other?
-There's a dramatic difference. -There really is.
Announce the results.
We will now announce the outcome of the beef rump duel.
The survivor of this one-on-one duel is…
The White Spoon Lee Young-suk has survived.
-Thank you. -Congratulations.
Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your hard work.
Thank you.
You did such a great job, Genius, especially for your age.
Thank you.
-Great job. -Oh goodness.
It looks so delicious when you see it like this.
The presentation alone.
But when you taste them blindfolded without the visual spectacle…
I thought that all my hard work
and my ten years of cooking would be enough.
I learned a difficult but valuable lesson today.
Sometimes, less really is more.
The theme of this duel is maesaengi.
CHO EUN-JU VS KITCHEN BOSS
I've been a western cuisine chef for 25 years,
and I'm currently working at a western cuisine restaurant
named Touch the Sky.
This is a western-style maesaengi oyster rice soup.
I made a barley risotto using scallops and maesaengi.
The White Spoon Cho Eun-ju has survived.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
Your dish brought out a lot more of the maesaengi fragrance.
You expressed your ingredients well.
The White Spoon Cho Eun-ju has survived.
Yay!
That's experience for you.
Oh yeah!
Losing is starting to get old.
The theme of this duel is live octopus.
JANG HO-JOON VS YAKITORI KING
I've been a Japanese cuisine chef for about 19 years,
and I own and manage nine restaurants.
It's an oden katsu sandwich made using smoked octopus.
Deep-fried live octopus and rice.
I deep-fried the octopus with some vegetables
and put it on the rice.
The White Spoon Jang Ho-joon has survived.
Your color options were limited,
so smoking the dish instead was a great idea.
The White Spoon Jang Ho-joon has survived.
That's crazy.
The theme of this duel is pig trotters.
AHN YOU-SEONG VS YEONG CHICKEN
I'm the owner of Korea's 16th Master Hand title,
and my name is Ahn You-seong.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY PRESIDENTS OF KOREA
MOON JAE-IN
I've been a professional chef for 33 years now.
The dish I've prepared for this challenge is a namdo naengi jokjjim.
I came up with the name Hong Kong-style Roasted Pig Trotters.
The White Spoon Ahn You-seong has survived.
Despite all the aromas, the smell of naengi still had a punch.
Yeah, the greens you used all struck a very nice balance.
The White Spoon Ahn You-seong has survived.
Wow, no way!
-No way, no way, no way, no way. -White Spoons!
-Back-to-back-to-back-to-back! -Wow, this is insane. Unbelievable.
Is this actually happening?
-All right, now I'm pissed. -It's a massacre.
What can we do?
I'm gonna win no matter what. You'll see.
It's crazy that the White Spoons have won every match.
It's absolute carnage.
It's hard to beat the White Spoons.
-I'm seriously gonna crush them. -Me too.
TRIPLE STAR
This hurts my pride.
-Is your power level going up? -Yeah, it's gone up.
Start warming up. Come on.
I'll be honest,
I was annoyed.
I really wanted to get out there and get us a win.
I put a ton of work into the dish I prepared.
I think I can beat him.
I don't think I'm going to lose.
CHOI JI-HYUNG, NORTH KOREAN CUISINE EXPERT CHEF-OWNER OF LEE BUK BANG
I run the world's first-ever North Korean fine-dining restaurant.
I specialize in dishes that have their roots in North Korean cuisine
which are enjoyed nationwide in the South today.
I've dubbed my style of cooking "unified Korean cuisine"
as I make dishes that span all of Korea.
I'm quite confident that I can
handle any ingredient they throw at me,
and I kind of hope
they'll give us a rare ingredient that you don't normally see.
The two of you will be facing off using Korean ogyeopsal.
OGYEOPSAL = SKIN-ON PORK BELLY
Ogyeopsal may be hard to work with, and it's not exactly fun either.
They both have tons of options with this ingredient.
I haven't seen a knife like that in a while. A long time.
Beoseon knives.
They've got a curved blade like a Korean beoseon.
Aren't they really difficult to use?
They've got the curved tip. I heard they're ideal for Korean dishes.
-That's insane. -Wow.
Look how he's dicing that garlic.
Yeah, those knife skills! Some clean cuts.
The fine-dining folks just move different.
They don't go ape, ape the way we do.
I'll be separating the ogyeopsal into three components.
The skin, the meat, and the fat.
Then roughly dicing the meat,
and finely dicing the fat.
Since our theme is ogyeopsal and not samgyeopsal,
I knew the skin would have to play a central role,
so I blanched the skin in boiling water,
and then diced it into small cubes for a better texture.
Come on, guys. Let's cheer for him. Go Triple Star!
Let's go!
-Man's got style. -Look how confident he is.
What is this chef is doing?
-Maekjeok. -Pork skewers.
Ah.
He's skewering the meat after marinating it.
-Pork skewers? -Uh-huh.
It's a dish that dates back to Goguryeo.
You could say it reflects my identity as a chef very well.
All of my dishes have their roots in the North,
which means they're also Korean dishes which are part of our cultural heritage.
I believe that, in a sense,
it's part of our mission as North Korean cuisine chefs
to inform those out there that aren't aware of these facts.
It looks like they're both using charcoal.
But he seems to be making tteokgalbi.
Tteokgalbi.
I'll be turning the ogyeopsal into a tteokgalbi,
skewering it with the accompanying bones and grilling them together.
I'll first season the minced meat with some fish innards and chili peppers.
Then I'll position the bones in a way that makes the dish look like a cartoon.
A lot of thought went into this dish.
We're winning this round.
I'm gonna be bummed out if Triple Star doesn't win.
Triple Star's got this one for sure.
I used the bones that the ogyeopsal came with
and even used the skin after cooking it separately
in order to best utilize the assigned ingredient,
so I like my odds.
If I were mincing the meat,
I could've emulated a flavor that tasted like a different cut,
but I wanted a flavor that would only be possible with ogyeopsal.
Ogyeopsal duel contestants, please enter.
Let us proceed with the tasting of dish number one.
The grilled maekjeok is special
in that I've scored the ogyeopsal then seasoned the cuts
before getting a good char on the meat.
As for the Kaesong-style seasoned vegetables,
I prepared them using radish,
dried persimmon,
washed chives,
sunroot, and mung bean sprouts.
-Soybean paste. -Grilled maekjeok.
Yeah, these pork skewers are amazing.
It goes great with the seasoned vegetables too.
The meat has been cooked really well.
Next, you will be tasting dish number two.
My dish is ogyeopsal tteokgalbi with époisses sauce.
I used fish innards, which boasts a very punchy aroma,
and for the sauce I used époisses, which is a very pungent cheese.
They go very well together, so I hope I get points for that.
-I'll let you hold the bone. -I eat it off the bone?
Oh, the bone?
-This right here is the bone. -Oh, there it is.
-So this is a bone? It's a bone? -Yes.
It's got a very nutty smell.
Be careful of the bone.
Oh!
-The smell of cheese is strong. -Cheese.
The one that smells a lot.
-The pungent one. -Yep, that one.
But there's another strong smell too.
There's also some jeotgal.
-But it does go together well somehow. -You're right.
-It does work well. -That's fascinating.
This one's a grilled dish.
-The other was, too. Wow, they're so… -Both cooked well.
Yes, both done excellently, but very different.
I really like them both.
This one's gonna be another tough decision.
Both delicious. Prepared beautifully.
The voting has concluded.
The score is one to one.
PAIK JONG-WON: TRIPLE STAR ANH SUNG-JAE: CHOI JI-HYUNG
It's time. We gotta get one.
We're due for a win.
The Black Spoons need to win for once.
Then it wouldn't have been so complex..
-Yeah, I agree. -Okay.
Contestants, please reenter.
What do you normally do with the skin? Are we supposed to eat it?
Yes, in this case I grilled them together to create a chewier texture.
I separated the skin, blanched it,
then diced it into little pieces before adding it.
Why blanch it before adding it back?
I did it for better texture.
What sets it apart from samgyeopsal is the skin.
-That's right. The skin. -The skin is important.
That's something we can focus on.
Whether they managed to work the skin portion into the dish
without any hiccups or not is a huge deal.
Hmm.
And the winner of the ogyeopsal match is…
…Triple Star.
-Triple Star. -Thank you.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
The Black Spoon Triple Star has survived.
-The Black Spoon Triple Star has survived. -Yes!
Man, he totally deserved it. He really nailed that dish.
-Yes, this feels great. -Totally.
About time one of us advances.
That grilled maekjeok was delicious.
Thank you, sir.
It came down to the skin.
-Your different takes on the skin. -Right, I understand.
I still think I wouldn't have done anything differently.
Well, that's a bummer.
This has been a valuable learning experience.
I guess now I'll just return to my duties.
CHOI JI-HYUNG
I think Chef Choi Kang-rok is gonna win this.
He did win Master Chef Korea. I'm sure he's amazing.
Hello, yes, I'm Choi Kang-rok, yep.
I was on season two of Master Chef Korea.
I was one of the contestants.
And yes, I ended up winning the whole thing.
If there's one thing I learned from that experience,
is that this film set will eventually get torn down too.
Everyone that is here will end up leaving eventually,
so we shouldn't get into our heads too much.
This entire set is only an illusion,
so I won't become an NPC.
I wonder who's gonna win.
Both of them, both chefs have a lot of fans.
It would be great
if Seung-woo's Dad managed to bring him down somehow.
They're both amazing chefs, and their skills are evenly matched.
They got a tough ingredient.
And they have to use it as the main ingredient.
We will now reveal the ingredient for the match.
And the ingredient is…
perilla oil.
-[contestants gasp -Perilla oil?
What can you even make with this?
For a second, I thought they put that in by mistake.
Perilla oil as the main ingredient?
You normally just use a dash in a sauce
or sprinkle it to season vegetables.
This is going to be tough.
We're both in a bit of a bind right now.
It might be hard to win this without a really mind-blowing dish.
He's going to come up with something interesting,
which means I need to as well.
He's set up a nice lab… for that very purpose.
He's brought an entire science lab here to win this.
I knew I wouldn't be able to beat chef Choi Kang-rok
with an ordinary dish.
That's the thing, isn't it? Uh, liquid nitrogen?
You pour it onto a liquid, and it freezes it on the spot.
-What on earth's he making? -He brought liquid nitrogen.
-Liquid nitrogen. -What? Oh I see.
Is he making ice cream?
Ice cream using perilla oil?
I had an idea.
I thought, "Why not make a cold dish with Perilla oil?"
That's how I ended up making a dessert.
I'm sure they're going to say I'm making a risky move again…
-You're using a watermelon? -That's correct.
-In winter? -Yes, sir.
-That sounds a little risky. -Yes.
But I actually quite enjoy this offbeat style of cooking personally,
so I did think this would give me an edge over chef Choi Kang-rok
as far as creativity is concerned.
-It's a Pacojet. -He's going to micro-puree it.
He's even got a Pacojet.
It becomes really soft once you grind it up using a Pacojet.
It lets you micro-puree ingredients while they're frozen,
and eventually you end up with these ultrafine purees
with really smooth textures.
He's brought an entire kitchen.
I think his gear must've cost 20 million won.
-Really? -Yeah, just look!
That upright thing over there?
That thing alone costs around ten million won if you buy it new.
He's got a nicer setup here than we do back at our restaurant.
It's all about the gear nowadays. You really need good equipment.
All I had was a pot, along with a cutting board, and that's it.
I was just shaving radish by hand. I felt rather small.
I just hope that I don't end up with a dish that feels too forced.
I had to use the perilla oil strategically in controlled amounts,
but enough for the judges to say,
"Oh, that's perilla oil."
Radishes and perilla oil,
Those will pair well.
Perilla oil's the best when it comes to elevating the flavor of radishes.
I'm basically making a radish steak.
So the first thing with radishes is that
when you boil them for a really long time,
they make you feel as though you're tasting
a home-cooked meal by your mother,
although I'm a father.
So I'm trying to emulate those wholesome vibes
with a noticeable touch of the perilla oil.
First I'll cook the radishes, which have been seasoned very lightly
in the oil.
They may be grilled radishes,
but this'll make whoever's having them work up an appetite.
And as for the sauce,
I'm giving the perilla oil a gelatinous texture,
so that it's nice and gooey but also firm, kind of like a jelly.
I'll be covering the radish with the sauce I've created.
But since the vegetables alone in this dish just aren't going to cut it,
I'll be cooking the oysters in the perilla oil as well.
I'll be using the perilla oil like it's water, or rather, a broth.
But then I decided to work the oil's scent and flavor into the oysters
instead of a broth.
It worked well.
So I added a lot of oil and boiled the oysters in it.
Therefore, it would be ideal if they try the radish first, then the oysters.
Otherwise, it might change the experience.
If chef Choi Kang-rok ends up bringing the judges a warm dish
with an obvious or heavy-handed focus on perilla oil,
that would be a best-case scenario for me…
…since the dish I'm preparing today
would most likely be
a hard counter to that style.
The dish I've prepared for this challenge
is a dessert version of perilla oil makguksu.
Perilla oil makguksu
is the most well-known perilla oil dish out there,
so I decided to give it a twist.
I'll be making a buckwheat cake by steaming some buckwheat.
And as for the seaweed, I'll be making some bugak.
I'll be using some perilla oil in the ice cream as well
because I thought the perilla oil would add a very unique flavor
when mixed into ice cream.
FROZEN AGAIN IN LIQUID NITROGEN
I've topped it off with some soup ganjang caramel
to add a savory flavor
so that they can enjoy the best of both worlds.
I don't think many people would expect me
to make a dessert dish using perilla oil,
which is why I'm looking forward to this match.
Perilla oil duel contestants,
please proceed to the blind tasting evaluation area.
Perilla oil?
That's another tough one.
Perilla oil.
Let us proceed with the tasting of dish number one.
This is radish cooked in perilla oil.
The difference with this dish
is that it comes with a side companion piece,
oysters also cooked in perilla oil.
My main concern is that this might not be to their liking.
He had made some really smart decisions.
He had gone with the kind of ingredients that could really soak up the perilla oil,
so it looked like a really well-thought-out menu.
Let me smell the dish.
Yes, here you go.
I had to focus on the perilla oil scent first.
It's not like it has any mouth feel or anything, you know?
The fragrance is all it has going for it.
Must be radish.
Huh?
Never before have I chewed on radish so carefully.
The radish with the perilla is great.
The ocean…
and perilla oil.
Ah.
Hmm?
They decided to pair radish with oysters.
Hmm?
It goes great with radish.
It wasn't even the finals yet, and I was already a nervous wreck.
I felt as though I would just pass out.
Your take on perilla oil,
it's very interesting.
-Mm. -Hmm.
It's delicious.
Fresh and light.
It was the moment of truth.
I was excited and really nervous at the same time.
It want them to go, "huh? What the heck is this?" when they try it.
If the dish confuses them a little
but also manages to make them want to try it again,
that might work in my favor.
I smell perilla oil.
My first thought was
"what on earth did this chef make?"
Mm-hmm.
I feel like I've tried this before.
It's familiar.
Damn. Is there more?
Was that it?
-We have some more. -Can I try it again?
When I heard him ask… if he could try some more,
it was enough to drive a person mad.
Why didn't he ask to try mine again?
I've had this before.
Is it just the perilla?
It is familiar.
But the texture and other elements… Mm.
Perilla oil…
The scent of perilla oil…
I think we'd have to see it to know for sure.
Wonder what it is.
You know, honestly,
the appetizer felt like the main course
and so did the dessert.
Man…
Hmm.
The voting has concluded.
We will now announce the outcome of the perilla oil duel.
The score is one to one.
PAIK JONG-WON: SEUNG-WOO'S DAD ANH SUNG-JAE: CHOI KANG-ROK
Contestants, please exit the room briefly.
Fucking hell.
This is just…
Tastes like ganjang, right?
So that must be why.
It's because the ganjang mixed with perilla oil.
Ganjang caramel?
That's a brilliant idea.
But this radish was a really bold move if you think about it.
They had so many other choices, yet…
I'd like to know who that was as well.
Who would use a radish to win?
That's a lot of confidence.
It's either confidence, or just…
A Hail Mary?
I may get eliminated, sure.
But I'll be fine if that happens.
If I get eliminated, I simply need to stay off the Internet for about a year.
I wasn't that confident,
but once we were tied one to one, I did somewhat get my hopes up.
Oh!
We had a difference in opinion,
but we ultimately had to make a unified decision.
So we evaluated the dishes based on the level of execution.
Which is why…
…the contestant who survived…
The thing is… it was a great idea,
but the ice cream wasn't made properly.
The execution wasn't great.
-I agree. It was only acceptable. -Yeah.
That's it, then. The dish on the right was done flawlessly.
They stuck to the basics and nailed the flavor.
I even smiled eating the radish.
…Chef.
Congratulations.
The White Spoon Choi Kang-rok has survived.
This doesn't change anything.
I'll keep treating every day like it's my last.
The judges are ruthless.
The White Spoon Choi Kang-rok has survived.
White Spoons!
-I knew it. -Come on!
By the way, did you make the ice cream yourself?
-I did. -The ice cream's a little off.
Was it a time issue?
I had to make adjustments to the recipe
so as to prevent the ice cream from melting,
so it may have had a different texture from what you're used to, um…
Did you add a lot of eggs?
I did.
I'm sure it tasted a bit rough around the edges.
I thought it might melt, so I decided to go with a method
that would ensure it wouldn't melt too soon.
If you add a lot of protein to the mix,
it becomes very stable.
Protein preserves the shape and it melts slower.
But if you add too much protein,
you end up with scrambled eggs.
SEUNG-WOO'S DAD ELIMINATED
That's a shame.
SEUNG-WOO'S DAD
So I guess it's all related in the end, huh?
Experience wise?
You can't write off sheer experience and the level of skill that comes with it.
The White Spoons need to bring home another win.
My power level's increased again. I've got the urge to win.
-My power level's gone up. -Go crush them.
They're gonna go "Whoa, it's delicious" the moment they try my dish.
It's gonna be great.
I wonder what Chef Choi Hyun-seok is going to make.
Chef Choi Hyun-seok actually looks nervous.
I mean, he has to win this after all.
The people around me are worried.
I've been a fine-dining chef for a long time
and I've also served as a judge, so you know.
One of the reasons I gave you such a high score
is because you did such a good job with the meat.
KOREA'S # CHEF CHOI HYUN-SEOK, COOKING FOR 30 YEARS
They asked, "What if you lose?"
So I just told them, "You think I could lose?"
I hope we have a fun match.
Based on the judges' evaluation of him,
I could tell One Two Three was a formidable opponent.
He was a fine-dining chef just like me,
so this felt like a fair match.
Your cooking has improved a lot. One Two Three, you have survived.
-Thank you. -One Two Three has survived.
The chef who made the duck dish?
-Amazing. -He did well.
I wanna pick Chef Choi Hyun-seok.
I feel like I could beat him.
I've never tried his dishes.
I've only ever seen photos of them online,
but I still felt like I could win if it came down to flavor.
The two of you will be facing off using the jang trio,
gochujang,
doenjang,
and ganjang.
That's the worst.
How would you utilize all three? Gochujang stew?
Jangs are very difficult ingredients to work with.
A dish incorporating all three ingredients without downplaying one is hard,
so I thought for a long time about ways to use them all effectively.
I thought of a recipe the moment I saw them.
It just so happened
that I already had some experience
experimenting with doenjang, ganjang, and gochujang in dishes.
One thing's for certain.
I doubt anyone here has experimented with cooking as extensively as I have.
I once made the same dish 130 times.
SALMON SUSHI POPSICLE
Dishes that no one else has ever tried before.
They'll say, "This is entertaining."
"It feels familiar, but offers a refreshing take."
That's my kind of dish.
For any real chef,
whatever you choose to put on the plate is what represents you.
I wonder what Chef Choi Hyun-seok is going to make.
I'll be making a steak incorporating the jang trio
using my cooking techniques
to make Korea's traditional condiments more accessible.
I'll be making two garnishes for the steak.
First kkakdugi, which I'll make using the ganjang.
I will then be putting the radish inside a vacuum sealer
with a bit of the ganjang
so that the flavor gets sealed inside the radish.
I'll be cooking that lightly via sous vide.
SOUS VIDE: PUTTING VACUUM-SEALED FOOD INTO A CONSTANT-TEMPERATURE WATER
It's a technique to get a two-day aged texture for kkakdugi
in just 70 minutes.
The doenjang has an unexpected flavor.
I started by asking, "How would it taste if I burnt it?"
I glazed some steak with doenjang while it cooked,
which made the jang bubble up, giving it a nice sear.
You end up with a subtle taste of doenjang and a different umami flavor.
I'm curious about the beef with doenjang sauce.
The one that Chef Choi Hyun-seok is working on.
-He's using a charcoal grill as well. -What's he grilling?
I think it has bones inside the meat.
I don't know.
Looks like he's using pork and the jang trio.
He always keeps a cool head in the kitchen.
I bet he learned that from working at Mosu.
He's a great chef.
-He's even got the looks to boot. -Yeah.
If he wins this? It's game over for us.
Totally.
The dish I'm preparing today is a Jeju jang trio.
I've used ingredients that you can find in Jeju Island,
like Jeju tangerines and seasonal rapeseed greens.
Bone-in pork loins from a Jeju black pig
come with both a portion with fat and a portion without much fat.
I basted the fatty portion with ganjang before grilling it
As for the portion without any fat,
I'll be basting it with little bits of doenjang, green onions, ginger, and oil
before cooking it on a charcoal grill.
Hold on.
He has to use the gochujang as well, right?
It's got a strong gochujang scent.
I wanna highlight the flavor of gochujang.
I'll be making a new kind of gochujang.
Gochujang has a punchy flavor and can leave a gritty aftertaste.
Finding a way to use it delicately is gonna be the key to winning.
A dish that tastes of gochujang but is still refreshing.
In order to get rid of the gritty aftertaste,
I double-boiled the gochujang
with some Jeju tangerines and some juniper berries,
extracted the aroma,
and made a sauce using only the juices.
I accentuated the gochujang scent.
Gochujang leaves a long-lasting burn
and a grainy aftertaste,
so I'll be grinding it with some yuzu extract and apple juice.
I'm gonna extract the aroma and nothing else.
Then, once I add some nitrogen and cream to the mix…
…we'll turn it into a foam.
It will first taste like a refreshing chogochujang,
which will, of course, disappear once you swallow it.
My gochujang espuma leaves no gritty aftertaste,
or any residual spiciness once you swallow it,
and that's what will be going on my white asparagus.
ESPUMA: A SMOOTH FOAM MADE FROM A WHIPPING SIPHON USING NITROGEN
Someone's finished. They rang the bell.
Wow.
Chef Choi Hyun-seok's been backed into a corner.
Looks like he's going all in just in case he gets eliminated.
Tell me about it.
All right.
This concludes the jang trio duel.
-Let's go! -Seems confident.
Please let us win this. Let this be history in the making.
Jang trio duel contestants,
please proceed to the blind tasting evaluation area.
Lookin' good!
-Go, go, go, go, go! -Let's go!
-Go, One Two Three! -You both look badass!
Go team!
Jang trio duel contestants, please enter.
This show is really going all-out.
They made it clear this is serious.
Nothing else matters. Just make something delicious.
Now then, let us proceed with the tasting of dish number one.
Ganjang kkakdugi, which goes excellently on doenjang steak,
with some white asparagus topped with gochujang espuma.
This dish is rooted in Korean dining methods
rather than western cuisine.
We eat veggies dipped in chogochujang when we're having meat.
Add to that some kkakdugi with truffles and cilantro.
The techniques are important, but they take a backseat.
The extravagant display doesn't matter either.
I need to make them think,
"How'd he create aged kkakdugi in 70 minutes?"
"Gochujang shouldn't taste so refreshing, but he pulled it off."
"Nice palate cleanser."
It's a fun, experimental,
and familiar but unique take on the ingredients.
That's the kind of dish I was going for.
This is the first dish.
Hmm?
Whoa. Seems to be radish.
But how'd they get so much flavor in there?
It's a thick cut.
This one smells really nice.
The dish he came up with was nothing like what I had imagined.
It was a veteran's expertise on full display.
I want to keep smelling it.
Gimme a bite.
Wow.
Mm. Hmm.
At that point, my heart started pounding.
It's been a long time
since I felt my heart pound so much in my life as a chef.
I once was a judge for a show alongside Judge Paik.
And as for Chef Anh Sung-jae,
to be frank, he's a junior chef compared to me.
So I was baffled as to why I was so shaken.
This dish…
You know, I expected the flavors to be overpowering,
but it's a subtle hint of ganjang,
a subtle hint of doenjang, and a subtle hint of gochujang.
It's not quite the flavors I was expecting in my mind.
Hmm.
They seem to have gone with a completely different approach
for every part of the dish.
It looks like they both used a very unique method.
I wasn't sure as to whether these were good signs or bad signs.
Next, you will be tasting dish number two.
For this dish, I've utilized some notable ingredients
that are in season from Jeju Island and fused them with the jang trio.
I basted the fatty cuts with ganjang before grilling them
and I seasoned lean ones with doenjang, topping it with seasonal rapeseed greens.
Lastly, I used a sauce made with braised burdock roots.
And for the kick, every dish needs to have a kick,
so to speak, I used a gochujang essence.
The interplay between the delicate gochujang sauce
and the seasonal ingredients will be the main selling point of my dish.
This is doenjang.
-Okay. -All right.
Mm.
You can taste the doenjang.
I think they're gonna like it.
I used the gochujang very precisely,
so I'm sure the judges are both going to enjoy it.
Seems to be a mixture.
Okay.
The gochujang and ganjang
give off a very subtle aroma,
but with a good kick.
It's fragrant and quite lovely.
-Yes? -Can I get some tissue?
I'll be seeing this later.
I'm just curious
Did something go wrong? It was one of two options.
Something had gone wrong, or he really was just curious.
I thought something was wrong.
So naturally, one might think that was a bad sign,
but honestly, when I find something intriguing,
I do the same thing myself.
Whenever I come across an exciting new dish,
I go, "What the heck is this?" and take a closer look.
Assuming Judge Paik was like me, this could have actually been a good sign.
The voting will commence now.
Of the two dishes presented,
please select the one that better utilized the main ingredient,
resulting in a better-tasting dish.
Dish number one versus dish number two, please decide now.
The voting has concluded.
The score is one to one.
Contestants, please exit the room briefly.
PAIK JONG-WON: CHOI HYUN-SEOK ANH SUNG-JAE: ONE TWO THREE
The score is one to one.
What?
Contestants, please exit the room briefly.
Wow! Another tie?
It's like I said. I knew he would be really good.
-Tying is an amazing accomplishment. -Totally.
-Yup, he did great. -But he's gonna win. I'm sure he'll win.
Oh.
We tried three things. What is this?
So this one,
it was a bit baffling for me.
Really? The thing that surprised me about that dish was,
I figured that interpreting ganjang, gochujang, doenjang like this
would have a lot of widespread appeal anywhere you go.
When they were given the doenjang, gochujang, ganjang,
I thought their dishes would have a strong doenjang or gochujang flavor.
But instead, it just taps away at your palate,
and that's the part I find really amusing.
Especially the doenjang and gochujang here.
Hmm. But for me at least,
the gochujang tasted more like yuzu.
Mm.
And this was truffles and ganjang, but the truffle oil was overpowering.
I'd love to know the chef's intentions.
Why did they go with this combination?
I was completely stumped by what they were going for.
-I loved it while I was tasting it. Yeah. -Did you really?
How could they do this with ganjang?
-But you barely taste the ganjang. -That's actually what I loved about it.
-But if it doesn't taste of ganjang-- -You can taste it.
He just managed to prevent it from stealing the spotlight.
The theme was jang trio.
My main focus when judging the dish was,
"How do these dishes promote our jangs, Korea's pride?"
I considered how palatable the jang trio dish
of doenjang, gochujang, and ganjang might be
for tourists from abroad or foreigners living here.
Gochujang tastes sweet, but tends to leave a rather stale taste in your mouth,
so using gochujang in this way was just…
I thought that was a brilliant idea.
That's why I rated this dish so highly.
It's the kind of dish that would make Korean food more accessible
for foreigners who give it a shot.
I hated the other dish even more than I liked the pork dish.
Just being brutally honest.
As a fine-dining chef myself,
one thing I always take into account when I observe another chef's techniques
is execution.
Techniques that aren't executed flawlessly aren't techniques at all.
I've never had much love for dishes
that fail to deliver the chef's intent the moment I taste it.
By comparison, the other chef basted the meat with doenjang.
That technique was a concrete message,
and for me at least, it struck a nicer flavor balance.
They're having a really heated discussion.
I'm so nervous.
You could hear them arguing inside.
I thought to myself,
"Please let the person arguing in my favor have the louder voice."
Contestants, please reenter.
Oh.
Ah.
I see.
-It's been a while. -Hello.
I'm surprised you're here.
Chef, I'd like to know why you added truffles
to the radish kkakdooki.
Uh,
I found that ganjang went great with truffle oil, as well as cilantro.
I personally liked the balance.
It all boils down to personal preference,
but since chefs like to express themselves using dishes that suit their tastes,
I tried making it like this.
If I'm being frank, your dishes made me and Chef Anh
get into the most heated argument we've had all day.
We got this close to fighting.
I'm saying this because I want you to know
that our final decision boiled down to the smallest of details.
I understand.
All right, then.
Without further ado…
…the survivor
of the jang trio
duel is…
And the survivor of the jang trio duel is….
-A big deal. -How's this gonna end?
…the jang trio duel is…
You're tired of the truffles with ganjang cliché, aren't you?
Absolutely. It's too predictable.
Breaching the White Spoons' defenses will be tough.
It's about time the Black Spoons won.
I'll be taking that Michelin star from you today.
Oh no, Chef Do-yun…
I liked my odds.
"My knife and I still got it," I thought.
-I have to win this -No way!
That's a big one.
The theme of the third round is
Black Spoon Versus White Spoon Team Battle,
the Room of Ingredients.
-Fighting already? -Felt like he didn't trust me.
Anyone'd get frustrated.
I didn't like where things were headed.
Seriously? Why didn't you take this out?
The nerve to be that rude. You don't know me.