Things are going to get saucy tonight on “America’s Culinary Cup,” as Padma Lakshmi is putting these chefs to the test. The 10 remaining chefs will continue working on the 10 Culinary Commandments. The third one: sauces! Watch with us tonight during our “America’s Culinary Cup” 2026 live recap and see who got eliminated on “America’s Culinary Cup” tonight with us.
Let’s Get Saucy on ‘America’s Culinary Cup’
We got to see these 11 chefs in action last week, as the chefs continued working on the 10 commandments of cooking. The second commandment was all about sustainability, as they had to transform farm‑fresh produce alongside hyper‑sustainable ingredients like ants and mussels into bold, elevated dishes. The bottom two chefs then faced off in a head-to-head challenge of using scraps to create an elevated dish. In the end, another chef was sent home on “America’s Culinary Cup” season 1.
Now, the remaining 10 chefs will be taking on the third commandment. The chefs will be taking on a full-scale Tournament of Sauces. This is all to show the importance of sauces in a dish. The fight to be named the winner of “America’s Culinary Cup” season 1 continues tonight, but who got eliminated on “America’s Culinary Cup” tonight? Find out with our Live Recap below!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD: THIS LIVE RECAP WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE, SO DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ SPOILERS.
March 25 Live Recap – Week 4
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The Next Commandment
We are down to ten chefs. For the third culinary commandment, they have to master the art of sauce. Padma said today will be the Tournament of Sauces. There will be three rounds of sauces. After the first round, the Top 3 chefs will be safe and get an advantage in the next commandment. For the second round, three more chefs will be safe. In the final round, it will be a four-way cookoff where the loser is eliminated.
For the first round, they have to create a dish using one of the five mother sauces. The board randomly assigned which chefs would be working with which sauce:
- Hollandaise – Katie and Malyna
- Bechamel – Cara and Keith
- Velouté – Buddha and Diana
- Espagnole – Chris and Matt
- Tomate – Beverly and Emily
This is not a head-to-head competition. They have one hour to create their dish. They will be judged on four things, with a total possible points of 20 points from each judge, so 60 points overall.
Cooking Time
The chefs get started on their dishes. Cara is taking a risk on her bechamel sauce, but she said she has to be true to herself. Chris seems to be pushing the limits on his espagnole sauce, but he’s hoping it still passes. Katie is struggling with her hollandaise sauce, as it’s looking more like warm mayonaise she said.
Tasting & Results
The time is stacked, so time to taste some of these dishes:
- Hollandaise – For Katie, they love how she cooked the prawn. Some bitterness in the hollandaise. The broth weighed down the hollandaise. For Malyna, they love all the different textures. The cooking liquid addition diluted the hollandaise.
- Bechamel – For Cara, they said she took the commandment and ran with it in a direction all on her own, which is commendable. It feels like a deconstructed soup rather than a bechamel sauce. For Keith, this is a delicious, homey plate of food. The sauce on the potatoes, Padma didn’t know where the sauce ended, and the potatoes started.
- Velouté – For Buddha, they said it’s a beautiful plate of food. Some oil separation. For Diana, adding masa to the sauce was super clever. It’s a beautiful job.
- Espagnole – For Chris, the sauce didn’t have a clarity of flavor. The sauce wasn’t the star. For Matt, he has good flavor in the sauce, but too acidic. Padma said she loved the acidity. Michael said it was delicious.
- Tomate – For Emily, they said this is a clever version of tomate. The egg was a little underdone. For Beverly, the tomate sauce is black, but you can taste it. Nothing about it is tomate sauce until you eat it. She surprised us.
Results – The Top 3 chefs for Round 1 are Diana (58 points), Beverly (57 points), and Matt (56 points). They are all safe, and done cooking for tonight. They will get an advantage in the next commandment challenge.
Round 2
For this round, they will be creating their own mother sauce inspired by a comfort food from their childhood. Their story will become their sauce. They have one hour to make their dish.
The chefs get started on their dishes. They want to redeem themselves, especially after not doing great on the first sauce challenge.
Tasting & Results – Round 2
The time is up, and the judges will taste these dishes on “America’s Culinary Cup” 2026:
- Emily – Padma said the sauce is so full of flavor. It’s really yummy.
- Keith – Wylie said the scallop is cooked perfectly. Michael said he wouldn’t tag this as a gumbo. Padma said the sauce is on point.
- Chris – Padma said this is beautiful, but the star of the plate is the sauce. Michael said he’s back, baby.
- Cara – This sauce packs a ton of flavor. It’s so comforting. It’s a warm hug in a bowl.
- Malyna – Wylie wanted more sauce. Padma said the steak is hard to chew. Should have made it about the sauce and vegetables.
- Buddha – Not a lot of shellfish. Padma wanted a touch more coconut milk.
- Katie – The fish is cooked well. It’s a light sauce. Padma said it’s borderline salty.
Results – The Top 3 chefs from this challenge are Chris (56 points), Cara (54 points), and Katie (50 points). The four chefs cooking in the final round are Emily, Buddha, Malyna, and Keith.
Final Round on ‘America’s Culinary Cup’
For this final round, the final four chefs will have to cook a “motherf***ing” sauce. They will create a whole new sauce, but using ingredients picked for them by the six safe chefs! Each chef will pick one ingredient, and the chefs have to use all six ingredients when making their sauce.
The ingredients they chose are: white miso, coriander, preserved lemon, grapes, vanilla bean, and chiles. They have 60 minutes to create their dish. The chefs are shocked that the ingredients aren’t as bad as they could be. Padma seems disappointed!
Tasting & Results – Round 3
The time runs out, so the judges will taste the dishes:
- Keith – Padma said this is delicious and has a lot of heat. Wylie said the complexity in the sauce is impressive.
- Emily – Michael said the sauce comes off sweet.
- Malyna – They said her sauce is a bit thick and spicy. Padma said the sauce is out of balance, and the pork is slightly dry.
- Buddha – Michael said this is the best plate of food he’s made for them. A fantastic plate of food.
Results – The three chefs moving on are Buddha, Keith, and Emily. That means Malyna has been eliminated tonight on “America’s Culinary Cup” season 1.
CBSWhat did you think of tonight’s episode and results?
