Tonight on NBC their new cooking show FOOD FIGHTERS airs with their fifth episode. On tonight’s episode called, “Cortney Anderson-Sanford” a homemaker and married mother battles top chefs in culinary showdowns. Foodie Lorena Garcia makes an appearance.
On the last episode an IT manager and husband from Denver tried 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. 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 culinary battle when America’s best amateur cooks put their signature dishes to the test against five professional chefs. This week, a homemaker and married mother of two tries to win $100,000 going up against culinary experts specializing in everything from American comfort food to Latin-Asian fusion dishes to international cuisine before facing off against world-class chef Lorena Garcia. Adam Richman hosts this series that takes culinary sparring to an exciting new level.
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
Cortney Anderson-Sanford is a wife and mom from Seattle who’s bringing her best recipes to Food Fighters. Their oldest son has a type of autism that challengers her culinary skills – he only eats white foods. She says the $100k will make a huge difference in their lives and she’s ready to bring it. Adam Richman welcomes her to the show and also welcomes her parents in the audience.
Cortney says her mom inspired all her dishes – she says she learned to cook from her mom who learned from hers. The first opponent is Chef Hop Phan – a fusion food trucker. He owns one of Orange County’s top rated food trucks and calls himself a kitchen ninja. He says he feeds thousands of people and she just feeds her family. Adam says the knives are out.
Cortney selects French toast with fruit. Hop says he’s only made the dish two or three times before but is confident. Cortney is pleased and thinks Chef Phan won’t stand up to her signature dish. They have 15 minutes. She’s doing bacon, French toast with fruit and homemade ricotta cheese. Adam wishes her luck. Hop says he’s got this and he’s doing pork bellies, aka Vietnamese bacon.
He’s doing raspberries, blackberries and pomegranates. Hop is cooking his bacon in butter. OMG! Double fat. Cortney cooks up a batter with liqueur. Looks like Hop has oversoaked his bread. Cortney’s french toast is made with briche and is cooked in a deep fryer. Wow! I have never seen that before. Cortney wraps up her ricotta with just a minute left.
She forgot the bacon and doesn’t have time so her plate has to go without it. They plate the food and then they’re off to the dinner party guests. They try Cortney’s first. One guest says it’s unique but one guest says the ricotta looks a little curdled. One guest is excited about Hop’s bacon but another says his was soggy. The votes are in. Adam announces that it was 3 to 2 for Cortney!
She hops up and down. Hop says it’s hard to lose to a home cook but says she has her French toast down to a science. She’s ready for the next challenge and is facing Chef Sarah Simington, the breakfast rocker. Good thing she did her breakfast dish against Hop Phan. She’s owned her own cafe in Baltimore for 17 years and her specialty is breakfast.
Cortney says she can’t do the tart or biscuits with Sarah and chooses Asian Salmon. Sarah is known for bacon and eggs but says she cooks salmon at home all the time. They have just 15 minutes to prepare this yummy dish. Sarah asks what she puts in her salmon and Cortney just laughs. Cortney says she never liked salmon until she moved to Seattle where it’s a common dish.
She has four different varieties of mushrooms going into her dish – she says rainy Seattle has a lot of variety of mushrooms. Sarah calls up to her and Cortney says no talking while I cook. Adam comes to talk to Sarah who tells him no talking and he laughs. She’s marinating her salmon and is going to pan fry it and serve it on greens.
Sarah is searing her salmon while Cortney is finishing hers in the oven while she whips up her sauce. She has pickled ginger in it and Adam is impressed. Sarah is plating with arugula and Adam asks where her Asian inspiration is and she’s making a quick soy-based sauce. She also throws some raspberries on the plate for fun and calls it fusion. They count down from 10 and are done.
The plates go to the dinner party. Cortney’s salmon gets raves for the glaze but another didn’t like the mushrooms. Sarah’s is next and another likes the spice and another diner says her fish wasn’t done enough. The votes are in and it’s a 4 to 1 decision. Adam announces that Cortney wins again. Sarah bows down to her and goes gracefully.
Sarah thinks the dinner party made a bad choice, but it’s a done deal. Cortney wants to use the money to take her family to Hawaii for vacation. She says there is an aquatic camp that her autistic son can go to. She says he hate only white food for a long time so she had to adapt a lot of foods for him. Adam applauds her efforts as a mom for her family.
Next up, Cortney will be facing Celtic warrior Chef Stuart O’Keefe. He says he’s there to represent Ireland and all professional chefs. He tells Adam he can cook it all. Cortney decides to challenge him to the chocolate fudge tart. Stuart is confident and says he will wipe her under the table. Cortney is confident because she’s made this dish a hundred times. They have just 20 minutes.
She’s doing a graham cracker crust, fudge on it and marshmallow fluff on top. She’s cooking away. Stuart is not doing a traditional crust but a crumble that will go on top instead. He knows he can make that fast and get a nice crunch on top instead of the base. Stuart said he majored in pastry in college and Cortney is upset to hear this. They have 10 minutes left.
Cortney’s fudge isn’t reducing as fast as she would like and she’s stressing. Stuart is dishing his up and putting them into the blast chiller to cool it down fast. Cortney cuts little graham rounds but is shaking with nerves. They have just two minutes left. They are both plating. She puts the fluff on and then uses the torch to toast the marshmallow. Cool – it’s kind of like a s’mores tart.
[9:00:45 PM] Rachel Rowan: The dishes go to the dinner party. One loves it but another one complains that it’s bitter. Stuart’s get compliments on berries but another says it’s undercooked and gooey. Adam tells them the votes are in and it’s a 5 to 0 decision in favor of Cortney. That’s three in a row that she’s won. Stuart congratulates and hugs her but is bummed and wishes her the luck of the Irish. She’s up to $30k!
Next up is her fourth challenger – Chef Eric Greenspan – the king of comfort food. He owns two restaurants and a top rated French restaurant. He says he cooks to blow people’s mind and even won the grilled cheese invitational. He teases her. Cortney says she can’t do her biscuit dish since it’s a comfort food and challenges him to lobster with stuffing.
Eric says she would have been smarter to do the biscuits because he doesn’t have a damned clue how to make a biscuit. They have 25 minutes. Cortney’s lobster recipe has been in her family for generations. She starts her lobster water cooking and works on her stuffing. Eric is cutting up bacon because he says everything is better with bacon. He’s got leeks, kale and a bunch of other stuff.
He’s going to chop up the lobster and mix it in. Cortney has a seafood stuffing with Ritz crackers. Eric yells up and tells her she should have gone with biscuits. He dumps cheese in and says even though people say seafood and cheese don’t go together, he likes to break the rules. Cortney is freaking because her stuffing isn’t cooking like she needs because it was too wet.
Adam says Cortney has run into trouble – her oven was off. She accidentally turned it off and is very concerned. She has to stat over with a new stuffing. She tells Adam that it was gummy and she’s on batch two. She’s worried that she won’t have time for this to cook. There are just five minutes left. Eric is about to fry his in a pan to give it a crunchy exterior.
Cortney pulls hers out with two minutes left to plate. Eric is feeling good about his lobster cakes and plates his in little cast iron skillets. They taste Cortney’s first and the reviews are mixed. Eric’s gets a compliment then a comment that there is too much bread. The votes are in and it’s a 3 to 2 decision in favor of Cortney. That’s four in a row. He hugs and congratulates her on her $20k win. She has $50k!
The final challenge of the night to double her money is against Chef Lorena Garcia who has worked on four different continents. She tells Lorena that biscuits and gravy is the challenge. Lorena says they don’t have biscuits where she’s from so will have to put a different twist on it. Cortney is doing a buttermilk biscuit and sausage gravy. She says you can’t mix them too much or they come out tough.
Adam asks Cortney and she worries she’ll miss an ingredient. Lorena is making arepas – a little bread – not quite a biscuit. Cortney is stressing when her biscuits don’t cut out uniform. She is rushing to get them in the oven. Lorena is frying her cornmeal bread in a frying pan and she’s making it with cheese. Lorena calls up to her to chat and Cortney tells her she’s busy cooking.
Cortney brushes her with butter and throws them into the oven. They are down to seven minutes. Her gravy is bubbling and Lorena is making a little dipping sauce. Adam asks about the cheese sauce – she’s also throwing in beef stock. They are plating and Cortney is rushing out her avocado relish. There are just 20 seconds left and then the plating is done.
The dishes head off to the dinner party. Cortney’s dish is first and the reviews are mixed. Lorena’s is next and one says the biscuit was doughy but another likes it. The votes are in on the biscuit gravy showdown and the vote was 3 to 2 in favor of Cortney! Lorena tells her she loves it and says she’s a fantastic home cook and that she’s happy that Cortney won. She’s got her $100k. That’s it!
THE END!
