The Food, the Feedback, and the Flops on This Week's Yes, Chef! (May 26, 2025)
Serving it up with a side of criticism: This week, the contestants had to impress the judges with their ability to take feedback from each other.
Yes, Chef! is only five episodes in, but hosts Martha Stewart and José Andrés are not holding back on the challenges. This week, the NBC cooking competition series skipped the team challenges and went straight for a juicy individual cookoff, the series' first solo competition. After Chef Katsuji Tanabe’s sudden exit (for unknown reasons), there are now just seven contestants left, and viewers are getting to know the chefs' personalities a little bit better. Some chefs are learning to set their big egos aside, while others continue to crack under pressure.
In Episode 5, Martha and José whipped up a challenge that any of us would wrestle with, especially a hot-tempered chef in the kitchen. The judges wanted to see how they handled criticism — not from customers, but from each other.
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“Sometimes it’s good to look at ourselves in the mirror, and then we become the best versions of ourselves,” José told the competitors, who have all struggled in their professional careers to work well with others. “Cooking for other people is one thing. Cooking for other chefs is a whole other level. Chefs are the toughest critics. We don’t let anything slide.”
“So we want to see how you take criticism,” Martha said.
“In our profession, criticism helps all of us grow,” José added.
The chefs had 90 minutes to create a family-style dish that would be shared with the group. Each chef would act as a food critic, doling out one gold star to their favorite dish (and they couldn't vote for themselves). The three chefs who received the most stars decided who would participate in the elimination cook-off at the end.
Here’s how it went!
The Kitchen Drama Heats Up
The stakes were high, considering the chefs would debut their food to their fellow contestants for the first time. With no captains, teams, or excuses to hide behind, the stress levels reached a fever pitch in the kitchen. The self-proclaimed “egomaniac” Chef Chris Morales fumbled his lamb chops when they almost caught fire on the grill.
“This meat is a disaster. The fat’s not rendered. Pieces are charred. My ego’s getting chiseled right now,” he admitted in his confessional.
The stress also got to Chef Peter Richardson, the youngest contestant on the show, who struggled to maintain composure when he couldn’t find semolina flour for his homemade pasta. The upset chef ducked into the walk-in freezer to let out a few expletive-laden screams, but even that didn’t cool down his hot temper. He ultimately pivoted to pre-made pasta instead.
The Tasting: Family-Style Dish
As all the chefs gathered around a large table to dig in, Martha encouraged them to offer up compliments and criticisms to each other before awarding their gold stars.
Chef Zain Ismail: Miso Braised Chicken Thighs With Carrot Puree & Kale Greens
Compliments: “She absolutely nails the flavors. She puts her soul… on the plate,” said Chef Chris Morales.
Gold stars: None
Chef Chris Morales: Roasted Lamb with Celery Root & Butternut Squash Puree
Criticisms: “The edges were well done, the center was a little raw,” noted Chef Lee Frank about the flame-grilled lamb. Chef Ronny Miranda agreed the char was “too much.” Both Chef Emily Brubaker and Chef Jake Lawer stated that it did not meet their standards.
Gold stars: None
Chef Peter Richardson: Duck Confit Pasta & Kohlrabi Asparagus
Criticisms: Chef Peter's previous hiccup with the pasta came back to haunt him. “Respectfully, at this level, homemade pasta,” quipped Chef Chris Morales. Chef Lee Frank agreed, noting the pasta was “dry” and the asparagus was overcooked. Chef Zain Ismail dragged the sauce, saying it “wasn’t incorporated enough” into the dish.
Gold Stars: None
Chef Jake Lawler Jake: Pan-Seared Duck Breast With Celery Root Puree & Cauliflower Salad
Compliments: “Beautifully cooked,” enthused Chef Emily Brubaker. “Perfect duck and I don’t even like duck like that,” admitted Chef Zain. Chefs Lee, Chris, and Peter all thought he nailed it.
Gold stars: Four
Chef Lee Frank: Grilled Hangar Steak with Spring Onion Polenta & Buttermilk Curd
Compliments: José set the tone when he deemed the polenta “nice and creamy.” Chef Ronny Miranda agreed, gushing over the “perfectly executed” dish.
Gold stars: One
Chef Emily Brubaker: Pan-Seared Salmon With Farro Salad, Labneh & Chermoula Vinaigrette
Compliments: Martha was impressed by the “perfect color” of the salmon. “I think it’s beautiful,” said Chef Jake Lawler, who gave her a Gold Star along with Chef Zain Ismail.
Gold stars: Two
Chef Ronny Miranda: Veal & Beef Picadillo with Pureed Sofritas & Gooseberries
Compliments: Though his fellow contestants were a bit stingy with the compliments, José found Chef Ronny’s take on picadillo “nice" and "tender.”
Criticisms: “Soggy” potatoes and a lack of texture made it a thumbs down for Chef Zain, while Chef Emily thought it was “oily.”
Gold stars: None
Winners: Chefs Jake Lawler (4 Gold Stars), Emily Brubaker (2 Gold Stars), Lee Frank (1 Gold Star)
The Cookoff: Eggcellent Dish
Each Gold Star equaled one vote that the three winners would cast for whomever they wanted to compete in the cookoff. Chef Jake Lawler was picked as the MVC, or Most Valuable Chef, and was awarded one extra vote, bringing his total to five. Though he admitted that Chef Peter Richardson made one of the worst dishes, he told his fellow winners he would not throw a single vote toward his “best friend in this competition.”
Here’s how the voting went:
Chef Jake Lawler (5 votes): Three votes for Chef Chris, two votes for Chef Ronny
Chef Emily Brubaker (2 votes): Two votes for Chef Peter
Chef Lee Frank: (1 vote): One vote for Chef Peter
With the most votes to their name, Chef Chris Morales and Chef Peter Richardson went head-to-head in the cookoff, tasked with creating the perfect egg dish in 30 minutes.
Chef Chris Morales: Egg Pasta Raviolo with Quail Egg, Brown Butter Sauce & Truffles
Martha praised the raviolo as “a very well-conceived dish,” and enjoyed the brown butter and sage sauce. But José criticized Chef Chris's last-minute decision to switch from duck eggs in the filling to quail eggs, which are much smaller.
“Big mistake,” he said, adding that they were overcooked and he had a “hard time finding the egg.”
Chef Peter Richardson: Deviled Eggs with Mayonnaise, Dijon Mustard, Paprika & Caviar
Martha noticed Chef Peter was “very rough with the eggs,” as they were cracked and broken while boiling. She also found the finished dish to be “messy and very salty,” with “too much lemon juice.” José disagreed, eating an extra deviled egg because he enjoyed the egg-forward taste and soft yolks so much.
But in the end, Martha could not accept runny deviled eggs, and the judges sent Chef Peter Richardson home.
New episodes of Yes, Chef! premiere on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Each episode will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
