A week after line cooking boot camp, the Red and Blue Team lined up in front of the pass, eager for the second challenge of the season.
Chef Ramsay jogged to the front and clapped his hands together, "Right, good morning everyone."
"Good morning, chef!"
"My, do I have a treat for you guys!" He grinned as Sous chef Jockey and Jean-Philippe wheeled in a large rectangular object covered in black cloth, "Now, who of you loves seafood?"
Most of the chefs' hands shot up, eager to prove that they have what it takes. Surprisingly enough, X's hand did not go up.
"Not a fan of seafood, miss X?" Gordon raised an eyebrow, a bit worried that he may have thrown a curveball towards her direction.
"Not really, no," she smiled as she shook her head. "But make no mistake, I can cook it." X added for the benefit of the other chefs who were glad to hear she was at a bit of a disadvantage.
Chef turned to the others to see them grinning. "Looks like you guys might have a shot at being chef-to-beat today!"
"We're looking forward to that, Chef." Samuel said determinedly.
"Now," Chef Ramsay made his way to the black cloth, gripping an edge. He pulls it fast and reveals a large tank filled with what can only be described as nightmare come to life.
Some of the women screamed, seeing the nightmarish Alaskan King crab, not one but at least twenty in one tank. Even the men stared at it disbelievingly.
"This is the Rolls Royce of the sea, the Alaskan King Crab. They grow for as long as 6 feet, but some fishermen have said they've seen bigger."
X stared at the alien-like crustacean, already thinking of ways to cook it. Classic-steamed, in a seafood hotpot, she can go in so many directions with the king crab.
"Your challenge for today is cooking up the best Alaskan King Crab dish. You all have 45 minutes to make one portion. Are you guys ready?"
"Yes, Chef!"
"Your 45 minutes...starts...now!"
The chefs went to their own kitchens, gathering their ingredients from the full-stock pantry, only to discover the one key ingredient missing. "Chef," Michelle ran to the pass. "Where's the crab?"
Gordon Ramsay laughed and leaned lightly on the tank. "Where do you think the crab is, Madam?"
"FUCK!" She turned to her teammates to deliver the horrifying news. "Girls, girls, huge problem. We have to get the crab from the tank."
Her team shared the sentiment and ran to the tank, the men following them.
"Okay, somebody has to get them crabs out, because I am in no way gonna get that, I mean, look at it!" Janice grimaced in disgust.
While they deliberated who was going to get the king crab, Ben from the Blue Team has already secured a pair of heavy-duty, arm-length gloves and dunked his hand into the tank, grabbing the crab on its body. He lifted one and they were shocked at the length of its legs. "Daaaaaaamn!" He ran back to the kitchen with his crab, not looking back at his teammates.
The men followed his suit and started donning on their gloves. Out of the women, only Angela, Sylvia, and Kimberly has secured their crabs. To the side, Michelle and Janice tried to think of a way to get the crab without actually touching them.
Heidi, however, went back to the kitchen with tears in her eyes, dejectedly trying to cook out a dish without her protein. The thing really terrified her, and with the added pressure of the challenge, she was on the verge of a full on breakdown.
X finished all the preparation for her dish and went to the tank, passing Janice and Michelle who each have their own crab thanks to the improvised nets, made out of pasta strainers. She put on the gloves and dunked in for the crab; she grabbed a large one and turned to the red kitchen. "Heidi!"
Heidi looked up from chopping her vegetables to the front and saw X. "What?"
"Get your fucking gloves on and get this goddamn heavy crab!"
"I can't, X!" she approached her. "I can't do it!"
"Yes you can, and yes you will! Now put the goddamn gloves on and take it!" Jean-Philippe handed Heidi a pair and she slid it on hesitantly. "Hold it by the back of its body like this, be careful of the spines. You can do it, Heidi. Come on!"
The chef took deep breaths as she took the crab from X. "T-thank you, so much..."
X smiles. "You owe me, Heidi, okay? Now go cook!"
She ran back to the Red kitchen just as Gordon shouted, "Twenty minutes to go!"
X climbed back up the tank to get another crab, the largest one at the very bottom. She lowered her entire arm up to her shoulder to get the elusive bugger, grabbed it and lifted it high, mostly for the camera to see the impressive catch. The crab must be at least 25 pounds, judging by the span of it alone.
Gordon took one of her hand and assisted her as she climbed down from the tank. "Fucking hell, what a great catch." Little did she know he was actually referring to her.
She ran back to her kitchen and immediately started preparing the crab.
"Just under 10 minutes remaining," Chef Ramsay said. "Start visualizing what you want on your plate."
The chefs hurried to finish cooking in time, tasting everything, making everything is seasoned correctly, and praying to all gods that their dish will be able to beat X's.
"5...4...3...2...1... and serve! Well done!" Gordon made his way over to the tasting table. "Our guest for today is the resident chef at the very exclusive Sheldon Chalet, which can only be visited, through a plane alone. Please welcome, Chef Dave Thorne!" They applauded the chef as he entered from the doors, waving at them. He shook hands with Gordon Ramsay. "I can't put into words how honoured we are to have you as our guest for this challenge."
He nods. "The pleasure is all mine. I'm excited to see what the chefs have for me today!"
"Right well, it's men versus women versus X. Chef Dave will be handing the point to the best dish between pairs of the Red Team and the Blue team. Believe me, the reward for today is something you don't want to miss out on.
The men huddled and looked around at their dishes, bringing out sauces to do some sampling. "I think we should drop Baron's. It's too spicy, it's clashing against the crab." Ben suggested as he tried the dish with the garlic butter sauce."
"Of course it's spicy, man. It was supposed to be spicy!" Baron countered, not wanting to back down and have his dish removed.
Damian on the other hand checked the dishes under the dome, then calling Ralph. "Man, your crab overdone, it's rubbery."
Ralph checked and true enough, it was disappointing. "Alright, mine's out guys." He took off his dome from the pass.
The chefs competed in pairs again, and first up was Kimberly against Calvin. She started and took the dome off her dish. "Chefs, I have for you today, a surf and turf dish, with grilled king crab legs and porterhouse steak, brushed with lemon and lime butter."
"Although I like the idea of the surf and turf, we are featuring the Alaskan King Crab. Right now, it's sharing the spotlight with the steak." Gordon critiqued as he tried the dish. "The flavour is good...on the steak that is."
"I'm sorry, Chef."
Calvin put up his own dish next after the table was cleared. "Chefs, in front of you is Alaskan King Crab spring rolls, served with ponzu sauce."
Chef Thorne smiled as he inspected the dish. "The dish looks incredible man. I mean, it's fresh and vibrant." He took a roll, dipped it in the sauce. "And you got that authentic fresh crab flavour intact."
"So who do you give the point to, Chef Thorne?"
"Definitely the Blue Team."
The men cheered as they garnered the first point.
"Way to bounce back, young man." Chef Ramsay said as he put away the dish to clear the table.
"Thank you, Chef!"
Up next was Samuel versus Heidi. It was a tough call since both dishes are incredible. So Chef Thorne awarded points to both of them, the men still in the lead. Heidi mouthed a thank you, towards X's direction who smiled.
Aside from Heidi, only Angela from the red Kitchen managed to score a point. Kaito also scored a point against Michelle's dish. Chef Thorne thoroughly enjoyed the king crab tempura with orange and shoyu mixed sauce.
With 3 to 2 with men on the lead, Sylvia must score to end the challenge with a tie. "Hi, Chef Thorne, I have for you baked Alaskan king crab legs, served with roasted poblano peppers stuffed with crab salad."
"I absolutely loved how you used all the possible crab meat for this dish." Thorne commented as he tried the crab, then the salad. "It's bright, it's got the right amount of acidity to elevate the dish. It's fantastic."
"Thank you, Chef."
Ben presented his dish next. "I have a crab casserole, with spiral pasta, sautéed vegetables, brown butter and sage sauce, topped with cheddar, parmesan and gruyere."
Chef Thorne and Ramsay both took spoonfuls and deliberated. "You were a little heavy on the seasoning there, everything is just so...dense. You forget that we were supposed to be elevating the crab itself, instead it got lost in all the cheeses you put in there." Thorne apologetically shook his head. "I'm sorry but the last point goes to the Red Team."
The Red team let out a sigh of relief that they have been holding onto for a while, but the challenge was far from over. It ended in a tie so it was up to the best dish to determine the winner.
"So, Chef Thorne. Whose dish, is the best execution of the Alaskan King Crab?"
He sighed, choosing between Kaito's and Sylvia's. Both had elevated the crab very well, but one of them has done a phenomenal job. "I choose Sylvia's."
The women jumped and cheered, congratulating Sylvia for her dish.
"Right! Well the women are in for a very fabulous reward!" Chef Ramsay smiles. "Today, Chef Thorne will take you all the way to Alaska to dine in Sheldon Chalet!" They squealed, already savouring the reward in their minds. "But first things first, Sylvia's dish, versus X's dish."
Chef Gordon put Sylvia's plate aside as X proceeded to the front with her dome. "Hello, Chef Thorne." X smiled as she opened the dome. Everyone leaned in to get a closer look. "I got a big crab for this challenge, and it would be a waste to only use part of it, so I made three dishes." She took the first plate and set it down in front of the chefs. "For the appetizers, we have crab bisque, topped with lightly seasoned crab legs, served with a lightly toasted, garlic bread. Followed by the main course, we have king crab cakes served with a creamy fennel and radish slaw."
"Don't tell me you have dessert, too." Chef Thorne laughed.
X grinned mischievously and served her last dish. "This is a buttery crab bread pudding."
"No fucking way!"
"Yes fucking way, Chef Thorne." She laughed and looked at Chef Ramsay who was looking very proud of her.
The Alaskan Chef began digging in, from appetizer to dessert he had no words. By the time he had his fill and drank water, he breathed out. "You must give me the recipe for that bread pudding."
"I'll be happy to, Chef."
"The best dish of the day, Miss X! Congratulations." Chef Thorne shook her hand and she went back in line.
"So far, X is proving to be quite the chef-to-beat isn't she?" Gordon laughed. "Still, the winning team is the Red Team! The men however, will be having quite an afternoon. We have a huge delivery for king Crabs coming and I want all of them cleaned and prepped to perfection. Am I understood."
"Yes, Chef."
"Alright, go get warmly dressed ladies, our private plane is waiting for us."
"Oh my fucking god, a private plane!" Michelle violently shook the girl next to her, Kimberly who barely noticed because she too was excited for the private plane reward.
"Off you go ladies!"
The men and women with vastly differing expressions left the kitchen to prepare for an afternoon of punishment for the former and luxury for the latter.