Chef's First Carbonara Stuns Judges on Cooking Show

Sergey Teplyuk, a 32-year-old chef from the village of Novobiryusinsky in Irkutsk Region, became a participant in the show «Battle of Chefs» with star chefs Renat Agzamov and Konstantin Ivlev. On the show, the native of Priangarye prepared his first carbonara ever and amazed the chefs with a fantasy roll. We tell you whether he managed to win.

For the casting, Sergey prepared an author«s kaiju roll with three types of fish: salmon, sea bass, and tuna. Both chefs were generally impressed with the dish and said »yes« to the participant. The chef chose Agzamov»s team.

In the first stage, the teams had to prepare a classic Italian dish — carbonara — in 35 minutes.

Many of Sergey«s teammates chose spaghetti, but he decided to cook fettuccine, explaining that it»s faster and more vibrant.

«Clearly, carbonara isn»t made with bacon,« Sergey noted and took jamon, diced it, and rendered the fat in a pan. He also prepared an emulsion from two egg yolks. At the same time, he helped the female participants of his team, advising which products to take and how long to cook.

In the end, he arranged the pasta in a snail shape and decorated it with a quail egg. He decided to serve the dish in a large deep plate.

«First time making carbonara. I»m completely satisfied with the dish,« said Sergey. He clarified that he didn»t use cream, as it should be in classic carbonara.

«And where»s the sauce?« Agzamov suddenly asked.

«The sauce is made from egg yolks and Parmesan,» Sergey replied.

«I saw you decorated the dish with a quail yolk.»

«To emphasize that there are yolks in it,» Sergey noted.

«There aren»t any!« Renat smirked.

«There are two yolks,» Sergey continued to insist.

«A bit little for this dish,» Agzamov noted.

He asked Ivlev for advice: «How many egg yolks should there be in one portion of pasta?» Ivlev calmly answered, one. «I think Konstantin has never made carbonara,» Renat commented in shock.

Fortunately, Sergey remained in the show.

In the second stage, the chefs gave assignments to each other«s teams. Ivlev »assigned« Agzamov»s participants paprikash — a traditional Hungarian dish consisting of stewed meat prepared with a lot of paprika, onions, and sour cream. It had to be presented for tasting within an hour.

For his dish, Sergey took thigh and breast fillets, fried them in a pan, then carefully added warmed cream, and after that — paprika.

«I have tears, it»s so delicious! All Hungarians will move to Moscow to try this dish,« Sergey confidently declared.

For a beautiful presentation, Sergey placed green onions on the side, candied cherry tomatoes to «brighten the fattiness,» and a couple of cilantro sprigs.

«I think Konstantin Vitalyevich will try my dish and invite me to his team,» the native of Priangarye continued to praise his creation.

In the end, the participant was the first to serve the dish, but then decided that he «acted too hastily» and decided to add two toasted pieces of bread to it.

When Sergey brought the paprikash to the chefs, Agzamov noted: «He»s really cool!« And Konstantin commented disappointedly: »Overdid the sour cream.«

«This is real paprikash deliciousness!» the participant presented his dish.

He clarified that for preparation he used chicken fillet, all kinds of peppers, and tightened it up with cream.

«This isn»t a sour cream mass, it«s a somewhat liquid affair. The dish isn»t bad, very red in color,« Konstantin assessed, and then added: »A bit overloaded.«

The resident of Priangarye agreed that he added too much cream.

Unfortunately, he was eliminated from the show. «But he got some practice! Next time he»ll come to the right team,« Ivlev commented.

And Sergey himself noted at the end that Konstantin specifically removed the strongest participants from Agzamov«s team to pull up his own chefs.