Can I Turn Mark Rober Into A Chef?

Nick: This is Mark Rober, one of the biggest YouTubers on the planet who's gotten billions of views on his science and engineering videos. But it turns out he has no idea how to cook. Today I'm gonna turn Mark into a master chef.

I'll start by putting him through an intense culinary bootcamp, and once he masters the three most important skills in the kitchen, he'll attempt to cook a gourmet meal all by himself, completely from scratch. Mark apron on. You'll get a chef's coat just like this one if and when you earn it.

And before we start our official training, I have a gift. Mark: Oh, whoa. Nick: That is your brand new chef's knife.

Take good care of it. This is what's going to teach you to do anything in the kitchen. Mark: How do I judge if it's sharp?

Nick: I'll give you a piece of paper. Mark: Okay? Yeah.

Oh. That's sharp. Nick: Not how it's done.

Mark: Oh. Whoa. Can we just cook with paper?

Nick: One more thing before we start. If you succeed in this whole challenge, you get this cool trophy right here. Mark: I do have a trophy case at Crunch Labs, and this would look very good.

Nick: If you fail, you have to wear this hamburger hat on your whole trip home. Mark: Come on. This is how I'd look.

Nick: The first skill I'm going to teach Mark is knife skills. Before you can cut anything, you need to know how to hold a knife. How would you hold this knife?

Mark: Uh. For sure. Like this.

Nick: Wrong. Mark: Really? I at least have the right end.

Give me that. Nick: The way that you actually hold a chef's knife is you pinch around the base of the blade with your thumb and pointer finger, and then wrap the rest of your fingers around the handle. That gives you full control, almost like an extension of your arm.

And then you can slice nice, even cuts because I don't trust you yet. You're gonna put this cut proof glove on? Mark: No way.

This is like chainmail. Nick: Mark can't cut his fingers. Now, with your other hand, you want to make a nice claw?

Mark: Claw. Nick: And you want to cut using the claw as a guide and go down the edge there, pick up this knife and just start showing me those slices on the cutting board. Try to get in the rhythm of it.

Watch the motion. Mark: Mhm I understand. Nick: He's a quick learner.

Mark: Can I do a no look or I always need to be looking. Nick: You can do a no look. Mark: You sometimes do that.

Nick: All right. Let's bring in some ingredients. First up tomatoes.

Mark: Tomatoes. Isn't that like the hardest thing to cut. Nick: With the first tomato I want you to make nice even slices.

Mark: Yes, chef. Nick: It should be going forward the whole time. That's how you slice.

Mark: Okay, okay, okay. Nick: Even slices. Mark: You said that like I'm not doing them evenly.

Nick: Well, are you? Mark: You know, this was the first one. We're not counting this.

This is the last one I know, chefs, you never count the first and last I've seen worse. Nick: Looking at these initial knife cuts, we're starting back at square one. Maybe square zero.

Mark: There's room for improvement. I'll give you that. Nick: If we get to the challenge later in the video.

I'm not going to be the one judging you. You're going to be the judges. So at the end of the video, comment down below if you think Mark did a good job and if you think he became a master chef.

Mark: My fate is in your capable hands. Nick: Next tomato. Get me the thinnest slice you can possibly get.

This is all about precision and knife control. Mark: Whoa. Okay.

Nick: You're not holding the knife correctly, are you? Mark: Yes. Ah ah ah.

Okay. Do this curl. Nick: Don't stand awkwardly.

Relax and just position yourself. However, you need to be able to cut properly. Good point.

Thin. Even slice. Thinner than that.

I need like thin. Thin. Mark: Okay.

First one doesn't count. Nick: This is nice. Oh.

Mark: I can see, like, the cells in that thing already. Nick: You've gone from about a one on a scale of 100 to maybe a seven or an eight. Mark: Dang.

Nick: Okay, so precision you've got. Mark: That's my thing in the kitchen. I'm more of a precise guy.

That's why I don't have, like, the feel in the art, but, like, give me the numbers. Nick: You crush this exercise. Mark: When do I graduate from the glove?

I feel like such a newbie. With this. Nick: You'll graduate when you're ready.

One time I saw you perfectly take all the rind off a watermelon. But you use sponges and you kind of cheated. Mark: Yeah.

Nick: Now I want you to do it like a real chef would with a knife. Clean it off in the fewest number of cuts that you can. Mark: Wow, that's a lot.

Don't stand awkwardly. Grab the knife appropriately. Nick: Relax, relax.

Mark: Relax. Here we go. Nick: This is where you need to be a little bit more forceful okay.

Mark: Yeah I'm getting that one. Nick: You're going at an angle right now. Be careful.

Look at the shape of the watermelon. Look at the base. Mark: If I do that, though, it's not gonna be parallel to the other side.

That's like 12 degrees right there. Now, I'm gonna put it like this. Nick: Follow the rind.

Mark: Okay, just follow the rind. Oh, boy. Nick: Holding the knife incorrectly.

Mark: Oh, you're such a stickler. Nick: Sometimes a smaller knife helps. Try that out.

That even says your name on it. I'm gonna speak to Mark in some science terms. Mark: Thank you.

Nick: Apply lots of torque and twist down the edge of the watermelon. Mark: Understood. Nick: You're not holding the knife, right?

Mark: Oh. Nick: This is safer and better. Mark: Whoa!

The Mark Rober knife. It's easier to apply that torque. Nick: You want me to show you one?

Mark: Yeah. Nick: Boom! See that?

See how curved it is? Mark: That was very different. Nick: Not bad.

Mark: A little bit more read here than here. Nick: That's all right. Mark: What do you think, Chad?

Nick: Stop calling them Chad. Mark: Chad. Got my back.

Nick: Much better. You're getting better throughout the watermelon. Mark: Yeah.

Nick: Now flip it upside down. Do some cleanup. Remember, we want as much watermelon there as possible.

When you take off the rind, it should just be green and white. Mark: Oh, that was a bad one. Sometimes I look to see if I'm.

Getting an approving glance. What do you think, chef? Nick: Why don't you grade yourself with this?

Mark: That's like a B-minus. Nick: You need to be at an A to get the knife skills badge. You must chop this whole onion in 60s or less before you try to do that.

I'm going to show you how it's done. Mark:Thank you. Nick: I'm only going to show you this once.

Mark: I actually have a picture of myself cutting an onion when I was six years old, because my mom asked me to help prepare for dinner, and I went upstairs and got the swim goggles. Nick: Goggles. Mark: Goggles.

I came up with this idea first. So. Nick.

All right. And this actually works, right? Nick: I don't need goggles for this.

Mark: So what? Wait. Why?

You're, like, immune. Nick: No. If you have a sharp enough knife and you use the right technique, you shouldn't cry.

Mark: So you're saying I'm gonna cry cause my technique will be so bad? Nick: Well, hopefully it's not. Mark: This would be a bummer of a video if it just ended here.

Nick: So first step, peel the onion. There's no real chef's trick. It's just kind of annoying for everybody.

First thing, chop off the top upside down. Chop it in half. Mark: What about this part?

Nick: That actually is what holds the whole onion together. So we need that. This is where the clock comes in.

Chop down the onion. Mark: We got going through the. Nick: Whole thing, not all the way through 90% of the way through.

Mark: If I'm being honest, you haven't done anything like it. Just looks like an onion. Nick: Sure.

Okay. That's where we do the claw again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Mark: That is so cool. Nick: And you're just going forward. And we're left with this stub.

And if you really want to chop the rest, you can just. And that's how you chop an onion. Mark: No way.

That's wild. Wait. The clock starts from the beginning.

I mean, like from this point. Nick: For the knife skills badge, you must chop this whole onion in 60s. You ready?

Mark: I'm ready. Nick: Three. Two.

One. Go! Mark: It's not my best start.

Nick: Moving quick? Oh, nice. Don't forget how you hold your knife.

Yeah, you got it. 30s left. Mark: Go on.

I need a sous chef. Oh, God. I'm falling apart, chef!

Nick: 10s left. Mark: What? There's no way that's true.

Nick: Quick, quick, quick! Five. Four.

Three. Two. One.

Hands up! Mark: I got a little bit of glove in there in the end. I'm not gonna lie.

Nick: To see if Mark gets the badge, I say we compare my pile of chopped onion to Mark's pile of chopped onion. There are a couple bigger chunks there where you didn't cut all the way through. Mark: The thing is, I like my onions a little chunkier, so this was definitely an intentional choice.

Nick: Mark. For somebody who never cooks. I think you just earned yourself.

Mark: Yes! Nick: The knife skills badge. Mark: There it is, baby.

One of three, right? Nick: One of three. Mark: I'm very motivated.

Nick: For the second badge. You must learn heat control. Mark: What does that even mean?

Nick: Cooking with a flame. It requires just as much focus and precision as knife skills. But now we're dealing with fire.

Mark: Which is cool. Nick: If we make it to the final challenge, this will be extremely important. The first thing I want you to do is toast this bagel perfectly, Mark: Perfectly.

Remember that one time in your video when you made me toast? I still dream about that. Nick: As you know, I don't put my bagels or my toast in a toaster.

I cook it on the pan. So I need you to cook it on the pan and get the inside perfect golden brown. Can you do it?

Mark: Yeah. I gotta remember what you did. It definitely had something to do with butter.

Okay, we'll just turn that on to 11 heat. Nick: Are you asking? Mark: No, I'm just saying.

And I'm looking at your face when I do it. Nick: Maybe a little lower. Mark: Like eight heat.

I mean, five heat. Nick: Perfect. Mark: I'm gonna take this butter and I'll put it right on the bagel in the pan.

Then I'm gonna do this like a pro, let it melt, and I just plop this in here, and I move it all around. Nick: This is exactly so far, how I would be doing it. This is good.

Mark: I'm not kidding. When you made me that toast, that's like the top five culinary experiences of my life. Nick: You're being totally serious.

Mark: I'm dead serious. I dream about that toast. I'm not kidding you.

Nick: I'm noticing two things already. First, your pan is off center on the flame. Mark: Oh.

This way. Nick: Right. Exactly.

Then constantly be adjusting that flame as you go. You should be picking up the bagel, checking it, it. Seeing if it gets brown anywhere and then shifting it around at all times.

You need to constantly be moving the pan, changing the heat like a DJ. You want to see a quick trick that I think you'd appreciate because of science? Mark: Yeah.

Nick: So, if my pan ever gets too hot, I will immediately bring it back to the sink. Turn on the water. It instantly cools the pan down.

Mark: That is so. Good. Nick: And then you're back to square one.

Mark: Okay, back up to five. Nick: There's so many variables to be thinking about when you're cooking something over heat. The other key that you have to think about that you haven't really thought enough about yet, is that surface area contact between the bagel and the pan when people are trying to cook a steak and they don't get a proper sear, it's usually because the steaks bubbling up and there's little pockets of it that aren't touching the pan, press down, make even contact on the whole bagel.

Treat it like a really fancy steak. Mark: Mhm. Nick: What I'm also noticing here, and what I'm proud of Mark for, is the fact that he's got chef hands already.

You aren't seeming to be fazed by the heat, by the hot oil that's splashing up on you by the butter. Mark: It's just calluses from engineering and weightlifting. Nick: You have chef hands.

Mark: Heck yeah. Nick: 99% of people I meet don't have chef hand. Mark: Yeah, I bet Trahan had soft little baby.

Nick: Pillow hands. Mark: Yeah. Probably smelled like lavender or something.

That looks golden brown. Nick: I can already tell you're really good around heat, and you just perfectly nailed a golden brown bagel, so I actually feel ready to jump you to the final test for this batch. Mark: Okay, do I get to taste this?

Oh, I like the crunch. That's pretty good. It's not as good as your toast.

Nick: But it's good. Mark: Your mouth. Nick: Wow, this is really good.

Mark: Did you hear the crunch? What is that from? Nick: Maillard reaction.

If you want the real science. Mark: I do want the real science. Nick: For the heat control badge.

Mark, you must make me the perfect pancake. Oh, it's gotta be fluffy. It's gotta be even golden brown across the whole thing.

And it's gotta be delicious. Do you make pancakes? Mark: Do Eggos count as pancakes?

Nick: They are waffles. Mark: So. No.

Are you ready? Nick: Are you gonna go without butter? Mark: Oh, no, I'm not gonna go without butter.

I'm gonna go with about this much butter. Make the perfect pancake. That's it.

Right. Nick: That's it. Mark: Already.

This is using more butter than I would typically. Is that like a trick to being a good chef? Nick: Yeah.

Chefs use a lot of butter. Do a very small amount, make sure it's perfect. Mark: No reaction at all.

Nick: On these final challenges. I can't tell you much. Choose your weapon.

Mark: I'm more of a flat, wide guy. Trick to a good pancake. I learned when I was a kid.

You wait for the bubbles. Nick: Cool. Mark: You said cool like that's not the trick.

Okay, we're not sticking. That's good. You kind of only want to flip once, too.

That's what I always say. Nick: I've never met anyone who flips their pancakes more than once. Mark: Okay, we're seeing the bubble action.

We're just waiting for that one last section to come through. Nick: You've gotta be very confident when you flip. It's got to be a clean.

Mark: The other thing is, a lot of times I don't even use a spatula. I flip, I do. Nick: No way.

Mark: Yeah. Do you want to see it? I'm gonna flip this without a spatula.

Can we agree? Regardless of how this looks, if I flip this without a spatula, I get the badge. Nick: No, let's just be clear.

If it's burnt, you don't get the badge. If it gets messy when it flips, you don't get the badge. Mark: Gosh.

Nick: Until you make me the perfect pancake. You don't get the batch. Mark: So much pressure.

Okay, here we go. I'm ready. Nick: Three.

Two. One. Mark: Hey, that doesn't look normal.

Nick: How did you even get those patterns on there? Mark: I don't know. Nick: It's burnt.

Mark: It kind of looks like an English muffin. That tasted disgusting. What was that?

Nick: Try again. Mark: Cannot move forward until I get this right. This time I'm gonna flip it earlier.

I don't want to wait for full bubbles throughout. Nick: I'm not gonna say anything. It's back to you.

Mark: Okay, here we go. Okay, we're off to a great start already. I'm already turning it down to, like, a four.

I feel like slow and low is how you want to rock a pancake already? We've got great bubble formation. The pancakes a little off center in the pan.

And what I'm optimizing for is pancake placement. So the pancake itself is right in the crosshair of the stove. Nick: Smart.

I like how you're using your engineering skills to create the perfect pancake. Mark: You gotta play to your strengths, right? Nick: Sure.

The thing about cooking is that it's actually all science. So theoretically, Mark should be a really good cook. Mark: That's true.

Nick: Theoretically. Mark: Theoretically, I should be able to do this now, sometimes. And this is an advanced move.

You can do a little bit of a peek. Nick: Smart I like that. Mark: I saw some brown.

I'm ready for the flip. Nick: You are. Mark: Yep.

Nick: All right let's see. Here it is. Boom.

Mark: We're good. Nick: You were a little heavy handed on the butter on this one. I still don't know that I'd call that the perfect pancake.

Third time's the charm. What are you doing different this time? Mark: I want a nice, thin layer of butter.

I've been a little heavy handed on the butter. What I'm gonna do now is wipe it around, and I'm just coating the whole entire pan. I've turned the heat down a single pour right in the middle.

Nick: That's your best pour so far. That is a perfectly circular pancake. And already those bubbles are starting to form.

Mark: I'm also rotating the pan a bit more in case like parts of the flame are hotter than the other. It's kind of like how on your microwave it spins around so you don't have like hot spots and cold spots. You cook with a microwave.

Nick. Nick: No. Mark: Me neither.

I mean, look at that. You could calibrate an instrument on the International Space Station with the circularity of this pancake. I don't even know what that means.

I think it's ready to flip. Nick: This is the big moment. Come on.

That's a nice clean pancake. Mark: I like the texture. Nick: Perfectly smooth across the whole thing.

Mark: You do have an attention to detail with the food, I've noticed. Nick, that really takes it to the next level. Nick: This is really, really, really good.

Mark: If that's not the definition of heat control, I'm not sure what is. Nick: It's a perfect circle. It's perfectly even in thickness.

And that crust on the top is even. And golden brown, which means. Mark: Two for three, baby.

We're getting there. Nick: Still one left. Mark: I've heard this is the hardest of the three.

Nick: I was actually about to say that. Mark: Okay. And I made that up, I assumed.

Nick: Well, it is. Mark: Okay. Which one is it?

Nick: In order to make it to the final challenge, you need to achieve your seasoning batch, which is one of the most important things in cooking in front of us. I've created a mad scientist flavor lab with all the different textures and flavors you find in food. Mark: There's a lot here.

Nick: To start out, I want you to look at all these categories. They're in groups of three. Each one of these groups represents some kind of taste or some kind of texture.

In order to move into the next stage of our seasoning lesson, I need you to properly identify each of these sections. Mark: I'm on it. This that's a potato chip.

This is a corn flake. And this breadcrumbs. So I feel like this represents the texture of crispy.

Nick: Nailed it. Mark: Get it out of here. Here we go.

This syrup. Ooh. I'm looking forward to this.

Bite the good stuff. Salt. Just kidding.

It's sugar. And this looks like honey. This represents sweet.

Nick: Correct. Mark: Get it out of here. Oh, these are getting harder.

Okay, I think I got this one. Lemon juice, vinegar and pickles. This is like vinegar, like acidity.

Nick: Acidic. Here we go. Mark: All right.

This goombah. What is this gonna be? Cream.

And this looks like mayonnaise. This feels like fat. Nick: Mark's getting good.

Mark: Mhm. Nick: You're already doing way better than Ryan Trahan with the seasoning section. He didn't know really what any of this stuff was.

He thought pesto grew on trees. Mark: Everyone knows it grows in a bush. Coming up next.

This is. Oh, Ginger. Nick: Yeah.

Mark: Okay. Hot sauce. Could've been ketchup, but it's hot sauce.

That's pepper. I don't need to taste that. This is high concentration of capsaicin, also known as spicy stuff.

Nick: Spice. Good job. Mark.

Now this is where it might start to get a little. Mark: I know you could tell I've gone from, like, what's easy. Nick: Remember some tastes, some textures.

Mark: Okay. This I'm hoping it is what I think it is. I thought that was coconut.

Nick: That was not coconut. Mark: Not coconut. Nick: What is it?

Mark: It's parmesan cheese. Nick: There you go. Mark: This is a mushroom.

I don't need to taste that. Well, I'm gonna do it anyways. This.

Nick: Any guesses? Mark: Soy sauce. Uh, what is that?

Nick: Worcestershire. Mark: Oh, Worcestershire. So this is umami.

Nick: Wow. I didn't think you'd get that. Mark: I made that up.

I don't know what umami is. I've heard people say it. That was a Hail Mary.

What does umami mean? Nick: Sort of like a taste that makes you want to keep eating. Mark: I thought that was sugar.

This. I know what it is because I grow it in my yard. As suspected, it smells like toothpaste.

This is mint. This. I have no idea what's about to happen.

Mhm. Sour cream? Nick: Nope.

Mark: What? Okay. Okay.

Yogurt. Nick: Yeah. Last one.

Mark: Cucumber. Nick: What do all those doing to you? Mark: It's like refreshing.

Nick: Close. Mark: Cooling. Nick: There you go.

Mark: Okay. Two more. This looks kind of delicious.

That's like coffee. Nick: Yep. Mark: Really hoping.

This is cocoa powder. I'm just going full send. Ah, it is cocoa powder.

Nick: Why would you eat that? Mark: I thought, like, quick Nestlé Quik tastes delicious. Nick: Choke on it.

Taste in small amounts. Mark: What the heck is this last one? It tastes like gross.

Sprite tonic water. Nick: Yeah. What do they do to your palate?

Mark: They make it, um. Bitter. Bitter?

I pulled that out. Nick: This last one should be pretty easy. Mark: This looks like it's kind of like feta or blue cheese, which I love.

That's feta salt, I'm guessing. Nick: Hard to mess this one up. Yeah.

Mark: This. The clean spoon is soy sauce I want to say salty. Nick: Salty.

It is ready for the challenge though. I have prepared a beautiful chicken stir fry. It's got chicken.

It's got all sorts of veggies. It's got sesame seeds, but it's missing something. It's got absolutely zero seasoning.

To get the seasoning badge, you need to use a combination of these ingredients to make a sauce. For this stir fry. Mark: It needs a one way ticket to Flavortown.

Nick: Bring it there. Mark: Okay. Generally for stir fry you want like a teriyaki.

To me that says like umami I like it kind of sweet. Maybe a little bit of a kick to it. It's starting with honey.

Like that much I know I want. Okay, that's probably enough. Honey.

We're moving. Nick: You want to put the heat on. Or are you just gonna let it cook without the heat?

Mark: Oh, that's what happens when you flood the room with gas and then light a spark. Kids. Now, this was the Worcestershire sauce.

I just want a little bit of that. Soy sauce is like a given. I did a lot of soy sauce.

Okay, I'm gonna mix this in. Next up, go with me on this little potato chip. You never saw that coming, did you?

I think a little peanut butter, to be honest. That's gonna give you a little bit of that fat. Get those lipids in there, mix that up a little bit of a hey, how are you?

That's actually not bad. A little bit sweet. I want to bring that down a little bit.

The little bit of ginger similar to like a bay leaf. It kind of goes in there for the flavor profile. You're not necessarily supposed to eat it.

And that, by the way, is serving the same function as my potato chip. I'm not loving the viscosity. What you want is somewhere in between honey and soy sauce.

And I feel like we're a little too close on the honey end of the spectrum. I might thin it out with a little bit of feta cheese juice. That juice is gonna have a little bit of salt.

You have something like a coconut milk that's gonna give it a little bit of that lipid, sort of in the flavor profile of East Asian cuisine. Do we have any like, seeds, sesame seeds? Nick: Seeds.

Mark: Thank you. Nick: I'm really impressed that Mark is asking for stuff that is not actually already here on the counter. That shows that he's thinking outside the box.

Mark: You know what it needs. I think it needs a little bit more sweetness, making sure that sugar not salt. True story.

I made a batch of cookies and I poured a cup of salt in. They were not good. Okay, let's see if that changed anything.

Nick, I am very proud to say we've arrived to Flavortown. Nick: Once you pour it onto the stir fry, there's no going back. You ready?

Mark: Yeah. He's like, pencils down moment. Nick: Nice.

Mark: Okay, chef, what I have prepared for you today is a chicken stir fry with a teriyaki sauce. That's umami. It's got some of that sweetness in there with a hint of oaky undertones.

Nick: Not just saying this for the camera. That sauce is better than what you get at most restaurants. Mark: What?

Mark: That actually is pretty good. Nick: It's really good. Mark: Wow.

I genuinely feel pride right now. I feel really happy. Nick: How ready do you feel on a scale of 1 to 10 to cook a gourmet meal fully by yourself?

Mark: I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm excited. Nick: With this final batch. It means that Mark has to move on to that final championship round, where we get to find out if he is a true master chef.

All three badges. How do you feel? Mark: I didn't honestly think I'd make it to this point, so I'm just stoked to be here.

Nick: Close your eyes. To move into the final round, you need to put on your very own chef's coat. Mark: Chef.

Mark. What? Nick: Mark?

Do you have any idea what we're making? Mark: Um, I have no idea. Nick: I picked a recipe that, whether most of you know it or not, is filled with lots and lots of science.

The perfect burger and fries. Mark: I love burgers and fries. Nick: Have you ever made one?

Mark: Not fries. A very simple burger. Nick: Today you're gonna attempt to make a gourmet burger and fries entirely from scratch.

Except for the buns, there's no way you'd make the buns from scratch in time. Mark: You have great buns, Nick. Nick: This won't be easy.

You'll have one hour. And if you don't finish, then we'll just judge you on whatever you make. Mark: I'm not just saying this, but the work I had to do to earn those three badges means I'm entering this with some level of confidence.

Probably overconfidence. Nick: Your one hour starts. Now.

Go. Mark: Let's go. Chad, I'm not gonna let you down, okay?

This is the French fry maker. Place this here. I'm just gonna try this.

Ooh. Smooth. Never cut potatoes like this for French fries.

I love this little machine. Nick: Get those in cold water right away. Mark: Okay.

Ice, ice, ice. The cold water is gonna pull the surface starch off these fries, and that will make them more crispy. Scientifically, we're making crunchier fries, baby.

What's next? I make my sauce. This is for the burger.

You know what I like is a good fry sauce. In Utah, they have this stuff called fry sauce, which is basically just mayo and ketchup. I'm just gonna mix this.

Mhm. That's good. My knife.

Nick: Be careful. Mark: This is a big moment. Nick: Not bad knife skills for someone who's never cooked before today.

Mark: So this is adding a little bit of texture a little bit of saltiness. This is my bench scraper. Get them in there.

Time for a little taste. Maybe a little more ketchup. I do feel like the sauce needs a little bit more sweetness.

Nick: 51 minutes left. I'm spending way too much time on this. Mark: Just a hint of lemon.

I came prepared today with a little bit of science. This is measuring the pH level of the sauce. Now the perfect pH level for a sauce like this is kind of like the high threes.

And it looks like we are at 3. 6. That's a little low.

I want to get it a little less acidic. If I could just get it to the high threes, I'd be happy. Nick: You brought a pH tester.

Mark: I'm nothing if not prepared. Nick three eight. I'm calling that a W.

Sauce is done. Okay. All right, next up, I'm gonna work on my toppings.

Got some butter, lettuce, red onion, and a juicy, red tomato. Here we go. I'm gonna slice this.

Nick: This is where our practice with that tomato from earlier comes in handy. Mark needs to make a perfect even slice down the center of the onion. Mark: Oh, man.

I'm losing time on the onion field. Nick: This is just a waste of time, Mark. You've spent over a minute trying to peel this onion.

Mark: Stay with me, Chad. Okay, here we go. I got the claw.

Claw that bad boy. Claw. Nick: You're taking way too long doing this part.

Mark: You want to salt the tomato right after you cut it? Now, something I learned from watching your videos. It's like an osmosis thing.

So the salt draws the water out. It kind of pulls the flavors to the top. Nick: He's exactly right.

Mark: Toppings done. I'm gonna put these in the fridge. Nick: 42 minutes remaining.

Mark: Next up, we got the burger. Okay. Nick: What are you doing right now?

Mark: Honestly, this just feels cool. Nick: Believe it or not, Mark's actually doing the right thing. You want to throw your burger meat back and forth between your hands to remove all the air bubbles.

Mark: Okay, Nick, it should come as no surprise. I like a precise burger right here. 166g, looking for about 151.

153. . .

148. There it is. 151.

Nick: No backups. Mark: I'm only making one. But you say that like I should have a backup.

I'm gonna make a backup. Nick: Mark, quick, quick, quick. Come on.

I feel like I shouldn't have to say this, but never pull out a ruler when you're making a hamburger. Just wasted a full 25 seconds doing that. Mark: When you see how perfectly these burgers fit on the buns, you're gonna regret that statement, Nick.

Now I'm seasoning high up cause that gives you more of an even distribution. I really like to go high, Nick. Burgers are ready.

Nick: 34. 5 minutes to go. You need to just.

Mark: Gotta clean my workstation. Nick: I was about to say that. Mark: You don't need to say it.

I'm a chef. I'm wearing the freaking white thing. Next up, fries.

They've been chilling in that cold water to really draw out the starch. Now I'm just gonna, like, pick the best ones. Get out of here.

Don't need. Nick: That. Pull up those fries.

Quick, quick quick, quick. Mark: Okay, I need oil. Nick: All right, I can help you with that.

Mark: Oh, this is cooler than I was anticipating. Nick: You're gonna double fry these French fries. It makes them much crispier.

Mark: Sounds delicious. Nick: And it's a little bit of a challenge I'm throwing in there for you because it's gonna take you longer and you only have 29 minutes left. Mark: Okay, here I go.

Nick: Watch your face. Mark: Ooh, that's starting to bubble up real nice. That is a nice, gentle boil.

There we go. Right on time. I realize there's an art to cooking.

There's a science to it, too. I mean, these are all physical properties that are happening that are affecting changes in the food. Admittedly, I don't have the art side as much, so that's why I brought all my instruments.

Nick: Normally when you double fry French fries, you want to go ahead and put them in the freezer for a while until you fry them for the second time. But since Mark's here, I wanted to bring him a treat. Oh, I got you some food grade.

Liquid nitrogen. Mark: Liquid nitrogen. Nick: This part is kind of dangerous.

Mark: That goes on for safety. Nick: I'm not stopping the time for you. By the way.

Mark: I don't need you to stop the time for me. We're just pouring the liquid nitrogen into this bowl here. Nick: So to be clear, we're doing this so you can freeze the fries faster and not run out of time for this challenge and then fry them again.

Mark: All right. Here we go. Liquid nitrogen.

This one's for you, Chad. Only the best. Here we go.

The most scientifically proven way. You can see where the leading frost effect. Nick: Nobody knows what the leading frost effect.

Mark: Leading frost does. It's named after him. Look at these little balls.

They're kind of evaporating and rolling along the surface. Let's go. This is how you freeze French fries.

See if they pass the sound test. Oh, that sounds frozen. Nick: Mark, that was really cool.

But guess what? What? You only have 21 minutes left.

Mark: Oh, no oil. Time to put them back in. Nick: Clean your workstation.

I won't let him proceed until he keeps his workstation clean. Mark: Ah, this is not part of the deal. Oil.

Our oil is up to 375. This is a little hotter the second time through. Fries in.

Let's go. Very frozen fries in. We just kind of let them cook for the second time.

All right, Nick, I brought another tool. This is a decibel meter. The thought here is I can measure the crunchiness of the fry.

We look up. What's the ideal crunch for fry. Chad: About 60 to 70dB.

Mark: There it is. I'm gonna take one out right now, and then we'll measure the crunchiness using the pressure waves of the sound. Okay, here we go.

Moment of truth. Six decibels short of the desired crunchiness. Nick: How is the fry?

Mark: Fry's pretty good. It needs a little bit more crunch. Here we go.

Got it. We're like low 60s. These look amazing.

Now we need salt. These from a high elevation. This is quite possibly the best French fry I've ever had.

The crunchiness of the outside, it's just, like, pillowy on the inside. Nick: Mark, you gotta go. You gotta move.

Mark: Okay, okay, okay, I hear you. Nick: We still have to toast your buns and make the patty and then melt the cheese. Mark: I know, all right, time to cook the burger.

Nick: Go go, go. Mark: Pull out my frying pan. Turn it on.

Oil. I'm looking for a maillard reaction here. Meaning you get that nice crust on the burger.

That means you want your pan to be around 450°F. Got my trusty laser thermometer here. We're rocking, like, 480.

So it needs to come down just a bit. I'm just gonna gently put this in here. Nick: Lay it away from him.

That's good. Mark: Making sure we have full surface contact so that Maillard reaction can take place. Come on, baby.

Chef hands. We got one more tool here. This is an infrared camera.

But it's not just thermometer like it visually gives you that indication. Oh yeah. That's an even cook.

Just the right temperature. Nick: 11. 5 minutes to go.

You're kind of gotta get closer. Mark: Like I gotta make up some time here. Go ahead and flip away from me.

Wow. That's a maillard reaction right there. All right, here we go.

Go. I got some cheese. I'm gonna give my lid.

Creates a nice little steam bath. Just gently melt the cheese. Nick: Better not take too long because you've got eight minutes.

45 seconds. Whew. Mark: Baby.

While my cheese is melting, go ahead and carefully cut my buns. That's a clean cut cheese. Check.

Oh, that's looking melty. Let's pull this off. Nick: Just under six minutes to go.

Mark: Here we go. Throw the buns on. I'm gonna start plating.

Nick: You're using the thermal camera again? Mark: Yeah, I'm liking that. Condiments coming through a little bit of sauce on the bottom bun.

Two layers of lettuce. My burger. Nick: Find the burger.

Find the burger. Mark: Where's the. .

. ? Nick: Find the burger!

Mark: I'm looking. Nick: It's right there. Mark: Oh, I missed that.

Nick: 30s remaining. Mark: Next up is the onion. Lightly salted tomato sauce on top.

Nick: Quick quick quick quick quick. You're forgetting. Mark: Fries.

Nick: You're forgetting one big thing. Ten. Nine.

Eight. Seven. Six.

Five. Four. Three.

Two. One. Done.

Round of applause for Mark. Come on, let's go. Mark: Thank you.

This. Truly. I'm not lying is like, the best thing I've ever made.

Nothing I made has ever looked this good.