I can't do normal recon
'cause we don't have an operation yet.
But I wanna watch these students.
I wanna see where their strengths and weaknesses lie,
where their passions lie,
and figure out where we have to elevate their skills
and abilities to be prepared for this event.
Mark:
is that the students can meet the time
that I've allocated for them,
and then taste and presentation.
I'm gonna give you guys 20 minutes from start to plate,
then what I'm gonna do is right before you guys plate,
I'm gonna come over to the beverage side.
I'm gonna give you guys each three minutes
to produce your drinks, and then I'm gonna come back to culinary
and we'll try all the food. Let's go.
Here we go.
So, Kristina is that student.
Why did you choose this dish specifically?
Because snapper is like a fish
that's local in the Bahamas.
I am from Nassau, Bahamas.
I love to show the Bahamian culture flavors
and cuisine to the world.
I like it.
Getting some color in there.
Shivangi, how we doing?
I've cardamom, saffron, there's rose extract,
roasted pistachios and almonds.
So it's a lot of, like, Indian spices,
- and just waiting for it to, like, boil. - Beautiful.
So seviyan is a very traditional Indian dish
that actually comes from my family,
and my mom and my grandma used to make it for me.
I'm just as passionate about cooking
as my mom and my grandma, and I really wanna make them proud.
How we looking, Steven?
So we're doing bone marrow five ways.
So, what is that, a little lemon?
Tiffany:
Truffle oil. That'll give it some flavor.
- Yeah. -
This is my place to be creative.
It's up to me to decide how I wanna go about it.
So I say okay. You know, shine and dine not whine and dine.
I wanna shine and dine.
I'm a rebel at heart.
I was a rebel before I came to UNLV.
Tiffany:
because you really don't want people scooping their own--
their own marrow on it.
We've done bone marrow butter
- on the toast-- - It holds better.
- Oh, yes. - So there's Geo.
So this is the regular ahi poke.
- The next one I'm gonna be doing is the spicy poke. - Okay.
Growing up, going to my grandpa's house
just standing there watching him cook for me really inspired me.
So my goal out of UNLV is to own my own restaurant.
Mark: You guys have 11 minutes.
No, it's tart,
but I think that's just the champagne coming through.
I think it's perfect.
My passion, it goes beyond just the food and beverage.
What my true passion is,
is for me to create something
to give somebody else an experience.
And so I stand up on the table and shake those drinks,
and, you know, I give the whole show,
but my cocktail is the main focus of it.
- Still get in there, through. - And I'm guessing he's trying
to get some foam out of that cocktail.
Brian:
which isn't a common tool you find behind most bars.
Beverage, we're gonna come back to you guys.
Go ahead and start and we'll give 'em a try.
Good. Just-- Just make sure you guys have the right ratios,
that your pours are on.
- I just ( bleep ) up. - It's okay.
My grandma and grandpa had a small restaurant
and motel right on the Mississippi River.
So it always stuck with me, I always had a passion for it.
I love pleasing people. I love, like, customer service.
Jon:
-
If you were sitting at the bar and you saw that rainbow of colors,
you'd sit there and say, "I don't know
what's going on here, but I wanna sit down."
Jon:
Brian:
which is very popular in the pastry department.
I'm not in love with it. I don't like things floating in my cocktail.
Okay, it's ready for tasting.
Your acidity level dropped just a little bit,
so maybe just a little bit more lime.
- More lime. Thank you. - But-- yeah.
Yeah.
I think the balance is good.
The strawberry comes out.
If you got an order for ten of those, you'd be,
- you know, trying-- - That'd take me the longest to do.
- Right. - Beautiful cocktail,
- but you can't make ten of them when you're busy. - That's exactly right.
- And last but not least. - Whoo!
I wouldn't change anything.
- Whoo! - No, I think it's great.
Brian:
The number one concern for me right now is speed.
Culinary, we have about seven minutes to be on the plate.
Jon:
Slow.
So we have to go at these students a little bit.
We have to get them fast in a matter of days.
- They're not used to that. - I mean, you know, I don't how they'll respond
when their back is against the wall.
No longer am I smiling.
What we're gonna be doing is real-life situation.
All right, five minutes to be on the plate.
Jon:
with regard to coordination, speed, teamwork.
And those are the three big things
that we have to make happen four days from now.
One more minute.
I'd be less than honest if I didn't tell you I'm worried to hell, guys.