Vegetables are taking over tonight on “America’s Culinary Cup,” as Padma Lakshmi is putting these chefs to the test. The nine remaining chefs will continue working on the 10 Culinary Commandments. The fourth one: vegetables! 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.
The Roots of Success on ‘America’s Culinary Cup’
We got to see these 10 chefs in action last week, as the chefs continued working on the 10 culinary commandments. The third commandment was all about sauces. They participated in a Tournament of Sauces challenge, with each round having them create or work with a new sauce and dish. The winning chefs would be safe for each round before the final challenge, which had them creating a whole new sauce from ingredients picked by the six safe chefs, who were generous with them. In the end, Malyna was sent home.
Now, the remaining 9 chefs will be taking on the fourth commandment. The chefs will be working in teams to create a vegetarian three-course menu for a dinner party of elite guests from the culinary world. The menu includes an all-veggie dessert that one of the chefs must create. 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.
April 1 Live Recap – Week 5
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Week 5 Begins
The chefs are back in the kitchen and are excited to see vegetables! Padma, Michael, and Wylie arrive. For the fourth culinary commandment, it’s mastery of vegetables. For this challenge, they will have to create a cohesive, three-course menu featuring an appetizer, entree, and dessert. All of the dishes must be made from vegetables. They have three categories (Root, Cruciferous, and Nightshade) to choose from. Each course must be made using only one of those categories, so if they use Root for dessert, then they can’t use it for the entree.
They will be working in teams of three. Since Diana, Matt, and Beverly scored the highest last week, they get to pick their teams:
- Red Team – Diana, Buddha, and Chris
- Green Team – Beverly, Cara, and Keith
- Gray Team Matt, Katie, and Emily
They will have three hours to serve their three-course meal. The team with the lowest score will compete in an Elimination Cook-Off, with one of them going home. They will be cooking these dishes for a small dinner party for Padma and her friends.
Planning & Cooking
Each chef will have to make one course. They will be served throughout those three hours. There will be nine judges, so a possible 20 points available from each judge. While the chefs just got started, the guests have already arrived for the dinner party.
We have Diana, Keith, and Emily working on apps. With less than 10 minutes to go, Diana is way behind on apps and might not finish her dish. Her teammates help her get things in order, as they don’t want to go home based on her mistakes. She gets it done, but she feels it looked rushed.
App Tasting on ‘America’s Culinary Cup’
The guests are in place, and time to serve these dishes:
- Appetizers: For Diana, they said it was an overall good dish. They thought the tomatoes were lacking and needed acid. Padma said cutting the tomatoes differently would have made it more cohesive, but a good dish. For Emily, the tahini was great. They wanted more of a cook on the cabbage. The cabbage cut differently. For Keith, they said they don’t like okra, but this is good. The fry on the eggplant is good. Padma said they were all good and all different.
Padma surprises the teams and comes in to tell them the scores from the first dish:
- Green Team – 168 points
- Red Team – 113 points
- Gray Team – 103 points
Main Course Tasting
We have Chris, Matt, and Beverly working on their main course dishes. Matt is trying to make up some points after their app scores. They finish their dishes, and time for the judges (who Beverly seemed to know them all) to taste them:
- Main Course: For Chris, they wanted him to commit to just one vegetable. They said they could have done without the beet. The carrot is great. Wylie wanted more of the creamy sauce. For Matt, technique-wise, it’s the best dish they’ve seen so far. It was beautiful and delicious. It woke up my palette. They said it’s a chefy, fussy dish. For Beverly, they said well done. It was really bold to exemplify only one vegetable. Padma loved what she did with the puree.
Padma comes back with the scores from the main courses:
- Green Team – 158 points, so a total of 326 points
- Gray Team – 151 points, so a total of 254 points
- Red Team – 122 points, so a total of 235 points
Dessert Tasting & Results
We are now moving on to the dessert, and the pressure is on. This is a blowout for the Green Team, so basically, the dessert comes down to who makes it better: the Gray Team or the Red Team. These chefs are putting the final touches on the desserts, as Katie is struggling to get part of her dessert plated. Time for the tasting:
- Desserts: For Katie, they expected it to be more savory, so they were surprised. It was really good. For Buddha, one wanted a little bit of salt. They were shocked it was cauliflower ice cream. For Cara, they said they know the flavors, but never had them in this form. They think it’s so interesting and they love it. Padma wanted it to be sweeter, since a dessert.
Final Results: The judges come back and the final scores:
- Green Team – 133 points, so a total of 459 points
- Red Team – 151 points, so a total of 386 points
- Gray Team – 117 points, so a total of 371 points
The Green and Red Teams are safe tonight, which means the Gray Team is headed to the Elimination Cook-Off.
Head-to-Head-to-Head Competition
The Gray Team now becomes enemies. They will face off in a head-to-head-to-head challenge, where they will take on another group of vegetables. This one features beans, squash, and corn. They are referred to as the “three sisters.” For this challenge, they will have one hour to cook a dish that includes all three sisters. The chef with the lowest score will be eliminated tonight!
Matt, Katie, and Emily get started on their dishes. Emily has a lot of cutting to do, but she wants to show her daughter she can do it. Matt is trying not to be so “chefy.” Katie is making rice in her dish, so she is worried about it being the kiss of death, as rice needs to be perfectly cooked. Emily is second-guessing her dish and thinks it’s too simple.
Tasting & Final Results
The chefs complete their dishes and time for tasting by the judges:
- Katie: Michael said it was a bold choice to serve a dish that looked so simple. The rice is good. Wylie wanted more seasoning for the rice. Padma wanted the corn to be highlighted more.
- Matt: Padma said the dish is beautiful. Michael likes dark-roasted squash, but wanted it cooked more.
- Emily: Wylie wanted less of the dressing. Michael said the dressing was too heavy on the sesame oil.
Padma said all three dishes were good tonight. The judges vote and Padma voted for Katie, but Michael and Wylie voted for Emily. That means Emily has been eliminated tonight.
CBSWhat do you think of the results on “America’s Culinary Cuo” season 1 tonight?
