Symon/Burrell
vs. Cora/Irvine: Battle Deep Freeze
January 2
The Challenger:
Chef Anne Burrell, host of "Secrets of a Restaurant
Chef" is no stranger to Kitchen Stadium, having competed
as sous-chef under former Iron Chef Mario Batali. Her
new cohort on season 2 of "Worst Cooks in America",
"Kitchen Impossible" host Robert Irvine has also
competed here. But rather than a cross-show crossover
battle, both chefs will team with an Iron Chef, Chef
Burrell with Iron Chef Mike Symon, and Chef Irvine with
Iron Chef Cat Cora (who have fought against each other).
And once
again, Kitchen Stadium has frozen over. Why?
Prepare for battle.
The Crib Sheet:
CORA/IRVINE
Matthew Hudak, sous-chef |
VS |
SYMON/BURRELL
Derek Clayton, sous-chef |
Mediterranean |
COOKING STYLE |
New American |
Shintaro Okamoto |
ICE CARVER |
Ben Girasso |
The Theme Ingredient: "Deep
Freeze". Each of the five creations will be presented on vessels made of
ice created by two teams of ice carvers AND must include one frozen
element of... meat, seafood, aromatics, fruits/vegetables, and alcohol.
The Rules: Each chef must create a
five-course meal, with each course utilizing the theme ingredient,
within 60 minutes. The judges will score the dishes on a
20-point scale: 10 points taste, 5 points plating and
presentation, 5 points creativity and use of ingredient.
The chef that best articulates the theme ingredient
through their dishes wins.
The battle clock is set at 60 minutes, which will start
when the Chairman, with full heart and empty stomach,
utters the words of his dear uncle.... "Allez cuisine!"
And Battle Deep Freeze is ON! Five
minutes in, and everyone's on the page as to what will be served in
what. Chefs are cooking, and ice carvers are carving.
Symon's starting by roasting corn, while
Cora's working on chocolate. Irvine is finishing up some lobster, while
Matt is making... catfish sorbet with mayonnaise. We're not kidding.
Burrell, playing it safe with lemon flavor. Symon wanted to recreate
Morimoto's ice smoker for prawns, but he'll have to settle for the
letter D from the altar instead.
"Fifteen minutes have elapsed."
Symon & Burrell have aromatics, potatoes, and saffron. Cora & Irvine
have two ice cream bases on the heat.
Tonight's Judges
- Food writer Simon Majumdar ("The Next Iron Chef")
- Actress/TV host Debi Mazar ("Extra Virgin")
- TV host Gabriele Corcos ("Extra Virgin")
Cora & Irvine are making bacon. Fat. Ice
cream... in a bowl. They're using an ice cream ball that you would find
on "The Price Is Right". Both sides are working on a frozen custard
concoction. And as the female voice of god calls 30 minutes, Irvine is
working on a dough of some sort. Cora & Irvine have blended chocolate
and fried tortillas. Symon & Burrell are blending prosecco & lemon
verbena and granitas. And Matt is making cabbage juice sorbet. Cora is
freezing her chocolate with LNO, while Symon is cooling down some creme
anglaise.
Symon's lobster is being added to ice
cream. Lobster ice cream. And Burrell is stuck on the anti-griddle
freezing things.
"Fifteen minutes to go." Symon &
Burrell have lobster broth, while Cora & Irvine are calling for their
first icy vessel.
And with seven minutes to go, Chef
Irvine's chef whites are off. He obviously means business. He's making
pizza, while Symon is freezing tomatoes and melons, while Cora is
freezing pork pieces. Cora is also working on a grill... with ice.
So going into the last minutes of the
battle, Cora & Irvine have a barbecue sandwich, a pizza, lobster,
pistachio ice cream, and the frozen ganache. Symon & Burrell have a
chowder, oysters, bloody Mary, lobster ice cream, tartare, and macerated
fruit.
"Five seconds... three... two... one... "
And Battle Deep Freeze is... well, frozen.
TASTING & JUDGMENT
Cora/Irvine: "I
believe that we've succeeded in creating some really successful dishes."
- SEAFOOD: Scallop & Lobster Ceviche with Bacon
Ice Cream
- FRUIT/VEGETABLE: Grilled Pizzetta with Frozen Vegetables
- AROMATIC: Passion Fruit & Basil Slushy
- MEAT: Pulled Pork with Coleslaw Ice Cream
- ALCOHOL: Pistachio & Truffle Ice Cream
Symon/Burrell: "What
you give us every challenge is impeccable ingredients. At the end of the day, we
wanted to respect those ingredients within the confines of the battle, but still
be food that we'd be proud to serve in our restaurants."
- AROMATIC: Oysters Three Ways
- ALCOHOL: Tomato Water Bloody Mary
- SEAFOOD: Lobster Chowder with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream
- MEAT: Veal Tartare
- FRUIT/VEGETABLE: Macerated Fruit with Lemon Sorbet?
A lot of creative uses of ice and cold
things, but who'll be left out in the cold, and to whom did the judges
warm up? Whose cuisine reigns supreme? By a small margin....
|
CORA/IRVINE |
SYMON/BURRELL |
Taste |
21 |
25 |
Plating |
13 |
12 |
Originality |
12 |
13 |
... 50-46 in favor of
Iron Chef Michael Symon & Chef Anne Burrell. So not only
is she reigning champion on "Worst Cooks", now she can
add a Kitchen Stadium victory to her mantle. Obviously
all of that experience in battle has paid off.
Until next battle, we bid
you good eating.
To see this episode in its entirety, go to
www.foodnetwork.com/ica. |