Tonight on NBC their new cooking show FOOD FIGHTERS airs with their fourth episode. On tonight’s episode called, “Nick Evans” the heat is on when an IT manager from Denver faces off in culinary showdowns with expert chefs. Appearing: Duff Goldman.
On the last episode it was the perfect recipe for the ultimate food battle when the best amateur cooks in America put their signature dishes to the test against five professional chefs in this high-stakes culinary game. Last week, a stay-at-home Mom tried to win $100,000 going up against culinary experts specializing in everything from barbeque to international cuisine before facing off against world-class chef G. Garvin. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it we have a full and detailed recap, right here for you.
On tonight’s episode It’s the perfect recipe for the ultimate food battle when the best amateur cooks in America put their treasured family recipes to the test against five professional chefs in this high-stakes culinary game. This week, an IT manager and husband from Denver tries to win $100,000 going up against culinary experts specializing in everything from Italian cuisine to seafood before facing off against acclaimed celebrity chef Duff Goldman.
Will FOOD FIGHTERS be another huge hit for NBC? Well we’ll have to tune in tonight at 10PM EST and let us know what you think. We’ll be recapping all of the action right here for you. In the meantime, hit up the comments and let us know your thoughts on this new show.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates
Host Adam Richman welcomes us to Food Fighters – home cook versus professional chef. Nick Evans, home kitchen hero, is a computer guy and food blogger is the amateur competitor. He wants to win to buy a house and help his sister with some finances. Tonight he’s up first against cowboy chef Kent Rollins who cooks cowboy food and does chuck wagon catering. Nick challenges him to chorizo sausage tacos. They each head to their kitchen with 15 minutes to complete the first challenge on #FoodFighters.
Nick is cooking away and he’s searing his sausage and has onions marinating and is browning sweet potatoes as a topping. Kent is doing an applesauce flair on his tacos. He’s got peppers, onion and adobo sauce to heat things up. He’s going for heat. They have seven minutes left. Nick thinks the sweet potatoes will be the big differentiator along with chipotle mayo. Kent is going for more traditional.
Kent’s doing soft tacos and Nick says it’s just wrong. They have two minutes left. They are down to 30 seconds. Now we have a blind taste test of the two dishes. One didn’t like Nick’s onions and said it was too overpowering. Another said the meat wasn’t crisp enough and was mushy. Now let’s find out who got the most votes.
In the chorizo taco showdown, worth $5,000, the 3 to 2 decision goes to Chef Rollins. The pro wins it. He and Nick hug it out then Kent says it’s always spicy in his kitchen. Nick says he picked the wrong dish but is ready for the nexy challenge against The Diva Chef Elise Wims. This challenge is worth $10,000. Elise comes out to a ton of applause.
She says she thinks home cooks will underestimate her because of her looks. Elise does Italian Creole fusion and tells Nick she can also cook whatever he cooks. Nick says he’s going bar food and picks chicken wings and dipping sauce. Elise says he made a mistake picking the easiest dish on his menu and that she will win. Nick hopes she doesn’t spend a lot of time in bars and won’t know the dish.
They have 15 minutes. Nick is off and running making a sweet and spicy sauce while getting his wings in the fryer. He uses habanero and Adam reminds him that’s super hot. Elise is making lemon herb chicken wings and is going something to shock the palate. She has cayenne, parmesan and some other herbs and tells Adam she’s going for something unexpected. She says it’s a piece of cake.
Adam is making blue cheese and buttermilk dipping sauce to cut the heat. Elise gets sassy with the crowd and says she’s just using her sauce as the dipping sauce and will have the plain wings. Nick is nervous and wants to redeem himself from his first round loss. They are down to the final 10 seconds and the audience counts it down. The dinner party is ready to taste.
Nick’s wings get good reviewsbut one says it’s a little too spicy. Elise’s wings get a little criticism for not providing a sauce. The results are in for the $10k challenge. The votes on the chicken wing showdown were 3 to 2 and the winner is Elise. Nick loses to the pro chef again. Elise says she admires his ambition but says he needs to leave the cooking to the professionals.
Adam reminds him the he still has a shot to win 70 grand. The next food fight is worth $15,000 and he’s facing Chef Vic Vegas, owner of a Vegas restaurant and a tough competitor. Vic says he applies Vegas glamor and glitz with the heart of home cooking. Nick says he wants to challenge him to mashed potato pizza. This may have been a good choice. Vic says his head is spinning because he’s never made it.
The food fight begins. Nick uses pizza dough, roasted mashed potatoes, bacon and other ingredients. Boiling the potatoes is step one. Nick thinks his topping will put him over the top. Adam wishes him luck. Vic is cooking away and tells Adam he’s making french fried tortilla pizza instead of a traditional crust. They have 12 minutes left. Nick has his pizza in the oven.
Vic has made french fries that he mashes up by hand. Nick is working on his bacon and brussels sprout potatoes. Vic and Nick talk good naturedly while they cook. Vic is adding portabella mushrooms to his. There are just two minutes left. Nick chops the pizza up and uses the crispy end pieces to serve. They’re down to the final 10 and the crowd counts them down.
[8:59:57 PM] Rachel Rowan: The dishes are headed off to the dinner party. Nick’s pizza gets good reviews but one says it tastes just bready. Vic’s is next and one likes the fresh veg on hers. Another asks whether there were any potatoes there at all. The votes are in for the $15k challenge. It’s a 5-0 vote that goes to Nick! OMG he won one. Vic hugs him and tells him he’s awesome and did great.
Vic says losing offers him an education and makes him better. Nick says the $15k will go toward family and help his sister pay off some bills. It’s time for his $20k showdown. Next, he’s up against Chef Casey Thompson who works at Napa Valley wineries and is opening a restaurant in San Francisco. She thinks she has a definite edge over Nick and says she’s there to win.
She has both a Texas and Frecnh grandmother and says she was a home cook first and now a chef so that’s double trouble for him. He challenges her to a veggie burger and chip challenge. Nick thinks her palate is fancy and will cause her trouble. They head to the pantry and start cooking. Nick calls it a better than beef pantry that’s 90% mushroom. He says the key is to let them cook down.
Nick tells Adam his burger tastes like meat and that’s a huge difference. He uses oat flour to give a nutty flour. Casey is making a Napa style veggie burger. She says she’s made on before but doesn’t have one on her menu. She says she’s doing lots of flavor and is using lettuce instead of bread with charred tomato. She has a lot of garlic, chickpeas and avocado. She thinks she’s got a winner on her hands.
Nick is worried about time. He’s making sweet potato chips as his side. He’s got his mushrooms cooked down and is making his patties. He’s cooking with grapeseed oil because it gets really hot. They’ve got just six minutes left. Casey is deep frying hers. Adam asks where her chips are and she hasn’t made them yet. She says 20 minutes isn’t long. They are down to just two minutes.
Casey is making plantain chips. Adam worries that’s outside of the palate of most diners. But Nick has burned his chips a little and has to go with them. They are down to the last 10 seconds and are feverishly plating. The dishes go to the dinner party to be judged. Nick’s reviews are mixed. Casey’s burger also gets mixed reviews.
The votes are in – it’s a 3-2 decision for the $20k challenge. The winner is Nick! Maybe if Casey had put a bun on hers she would have done better. She doesn’t like to her the news but says you can’t win over everyone. Nick is up to $35,000 and he’s thrilled. No matter what, this money will go with him. He says this is enough to put a down payment on a home and start a family.
The next challenge is a double your money challenge against pastry chef and cake king Chef Duff Goldman. He owns a famed bakery in Baltimore. Duff says no home cook can beat him at anything in the kitchen. Duff says he’s known for his crazy cakes but he learned to cooke everything else at culinary school and tells Nick it’s going to be embarassing when he beats him at his own dish.
Nick has one dish left – Eggs Benedict – and Duff starts laughing evilly and tells him he’s so screwed because that’s his jam and says he’s going to crush him and his dreams. Nick says if he wins, Duff owes him a cake. They head off to their kitchens. Nick says he has to stay focused and not let Duff get into his head. The food fight begins – they have 15 minutes.
Nick tells Adam he makes really good poached eggs, but he’s sure Duff does too. Nick puts his on puffed pastry instead of traditional English muffin. Duff is using brioche instead of English muffin and is using pancetta. He’s stirring like crazy and yells at Adam that he’s making a fancy, stupid mayonnaise. The crowd cracks up at his antics.
Nick is hard at work on his sauce and hopes it doesn’t break so he won’t have to start over. He’s stressing because it’s worth 70k. He asks if Duff is in trouble and the cake chef jokes and asks him to come down and help him. He then asks if he can borrow some of Nick’s hollandaise sauce since his broke (can’t tell if he’s joking or not but he guy is hilarious).
Duff chases Adam across his kitchen as he runs around hectic and burns his finger. They are at two minutes. Nick says it’s ham or canadian bacon usually but he is going with smoked salmon. The water is cloudy and Duff is worried they busted. He’s stressed. They are at one minute and are down to plating. Nick is adding his stuff and is going crazy worried about breaking his yolks.
Duff says he won’t be able to show his ace in the celebrity chef club if he loses. It’s a countdown from 10 and then the dishes are off to the dinner party. Nick gets one good review while another complains about rhe salmon. One says Duff’s was mushy but another raves about the cake guy’s dish. The scores are in and it was a 3-2 vote. The winner is Nick. Holy cow! Good for him.
Vic hugs him and congratulates him but wonders how he got beat with salmon and onions. Nick is leaving with $70,000! Adam tells him bravo. Nick says he can help his sister and get a house. He says Chef Duff owes him a cake. That’s it for Food Fighters tonight.
THE END!