Recreating Emeril Lagasse's Chicken Cordon Bleu From Taste | Reverse Engineering | Bon Appétit

We challenged resident Bon Appétit supertaster Chris Morocco to recreate Emeril Lagasse's Chicken Cordon Bleu in the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen. The catch? He'll have to identify what he's making with a blindfold over his eyes, letting each of his other senses guide the way. Does Chris have what it takes to recognize and reproduce this French comfort food classic without seeing what it is?
Director: Cory Cavin
Director: Matt Hunziker
Director of Photography: Eric Brouse
Editor: Michael Imhoff
Host: Chris Morocco
Sr. Culinary Director: Kelly Janke
Producer: Halie Aaron
Culinary Producer: Stevie Stewart
Culinary Associate Producer: Rebecca Lucarelli
Line Producer: Jen McGinity
Associate Producer: Yoshivel Chirinos
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Camera Operator: Jeremy Harris
Audio: Lily Van Leewuen
Production Assistant: Alaina Chou
Post Production Supervisor: Steph Cardone
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araújo
Assistant Editor: Diego Rentsch
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ABOUT BON APPÉTIT
Bon Appétit is a highly opinionated food brand that wants everyone to love cooking and eating as much as we do. We believe in seasonal produce, properly salted pasta water, and developing recipes that anyone can make at home.

[@bonappetit]

Want even more Chris Morocco? Listen to the Dinner SOS podcast where Chris & the BA staff answer your kitchen conundrums listen.bonappetit.com/dinnersosyoutube

[@joshwilliams8863]

The most hilarious thing is that he guessed all the dredge ingredients, and then decided *not* to go with them! It must feel so frustrating for poor Chris.

[@nanoflower1]

Yeah, he knew they could be in there but without those ingredients showing up as he tasted the dish I can see why he left them out. It's impressive enough with what he did pick up on.

[@bluetextonwhitebg]

especially after gushing over how much he loved the barilla italian version lol.

[@shawnamericanrebel5676]

😃

[@jjkim5878]

Because it was a relatively simple recipe, Chris actually got the opportunity to really showcase his deep knowledge and experience with each step. I really appreciate hearing the details and his reasoning for using a technique or an ingredient. Feels like an entertaining cooking class. Learned some stuff with this one.

[@ginnyweatherbee7941]

I miss the cheese struggle, hopefully someday Chris will shop again

[@AlamoCityFishing]

That Red Leicester

[@aprilingannamorte4207]

@@AlamoCityFishing His arch enemy

[@PuddiBear]

Does anyone know why he stopped shopping? I assume it was pandemic related, but never caught a spoken reason on a video

[@AlamoCityFishing]

@@PuddiBear pretty sure it was because of the pandemic. People in the background are still wearing mask so that says a lot lol

[@MrMeapProductions]

@@AlamoCityFishing kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkikkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[@YourPalNik]

Chris should be the one going shopping, it would be more fun to see him roam around a grocery store

[@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061]

The secret camera pans were the best.

[@kathulemerald8000]

The show used to be like that pre-covid

[@Ysumguy]

It used to be like that. It was great lol.

[@zoomin131]

@@Ysumguy sometimes he put his feet on the rail of the shopping cart and glide in it like a kid lol

[@Ysumguy]

@@zoomin131 I don’t blame him. I do it too. Lololol

[@MadelineAva]

He left out herbs and a splash of milk and was docked 15%. They refuse to give Chris the A that he clearly deserves!

[@SteveS86]

I'm very unclear where he lost his Technique points.

[@rc1181]

@@SteveS86 I think the technique points were lost because he didn’t chill the chicken prior to cooking and the weird double butter and oil technique. Also, the layering of the ham and cheese.

[@jessicahunter2976]

Agreed! This one was an A grade, for sure.

[@the2tum]

@@rc1181 Also wasn't his chicken torn during the flattening process?

[@deprofundis3293]

Hmm sorry but not an A

[@dio52]

20:57 "seasoning is like... the salt is right there" is a nice way of saying that the salt in the proprietary salt blend overwhelms the scant thyme and oregano. or that the jar of Emeril's blend had been sitting on the shelf at the store long enough for those herbs to disappear beneath everything else.

[@kaileebrub2944]

Imagine the judge being the chef of the dish Chris is recreating. I’d literally live for an episode like that!! Also, send Chris back to doing store runs!

[@sabrinamd96]

That's happened before

[@sshishegar]

It happened when he did chicken tikka! Great episode

[@ginger_nosoul]

@@sabrinamd96 *back to doing* aka happend before

[@Alex-zi1nb]

chris deserves 100% for naming every ingredient. even if he decided against putting them in because they werent on the palate!

[@FueledByMagic]

This is by far BA's best series.

[@spacecase8791]

Agreed!

[@fugithegreat]

I can never get over how people can describe cheese as funky gym socks then taste it and say, "Pretty nice!"

[@itheuserfirst3186]

Same with sea food.

[@pbbdmedia]

Gotta get Chris back to riding the shopping cart-!

[@rems51]

Literally got my phone (I usually watch KZbin on TV) just to comment this, it used to be very fun to see Chris shopping

[@glitter2431]

This! Very sad I didn’t get to see that :(

[@danijelaolds2216]

Reverse engineering is my favourite series in Bon Appetit! Chris is the best! This channel brightens my day x

[@seriesofmyunfortunateevents]

Same!! I need morrrrrreee. But I can imagine it’s emotional for him and also has other things to do lmao but I’m always here for it and rooting for Chris 😊 truly impressive and also educational ❤

[@bstucki6487]

Seems like dry spices like thyme and oregano would lose all their subtle herbal aromatic qualities in a pan fry, especially next to cayenne, salt, pepper, garlic and onion which are far stronger flavors. Also Italian bread crumbs also would be moot as they probably only offer a small addition of dry basil and parsley which again are scorched by hot oil. Dry herbs release their flavor more noticeably into wet applications like sauce. My take-a-way, Chris nailed it.

[@TheSongwritingCat]

This series helps prove that you can't taste all the ingredients in recipes with a ton of ingredients

[@Lanch15]

Do you remember the one where he made tacos and was missing half the ingredients? But it came out extremely well

[@AFriendlyWeirdo]

"Maybe just cranked up a little bit." Would you maybe even say... Kick it up a notch?

[@TheFlix333]

Pretty sure Chris and Brad are carrying the entire BA KZbin channel on their backs…

[@catofthecastle1681]

I love to cook and I make a lot of their recipes….but this show is more fun than cooking! Chris and Brad are gems of entertainment!

[@peytonlbeyer]

What's funny is in a previous episode Chris BOUGHT Emerills Essence and never used it. 😂

[@jaekimchi]

How is appearance not a 98% and technique not a 94%? He forgot to chill the chicken and gets docked 13%?

[@johnyesjustjohn]

13:30 They should have popped up an Eggshell checkbox with a red plus. 😆

[@another1gone]

'It's Alive' would've done it

[@Withered416]

One recipe I’d love to see him tackle is Gulf Seafood Couvillion by Isaac Toups (it’s in his cookbook Chasing the Gator). I think it’s a great balance of simplicity and complexity that might be a fun recipe to see Chris delve into!

[@lavenderamethyst6050]

The “super secret conversation” thing is really annoying at this point.

[@rainysunflower384]

Definitely one of the easiest of the Reverse Engineering challenges; there wasn't much he could mess up on. But that makes Morocco really focus on the exact details, which is neat!

[@Kevin-ql1hb]

The dish was straight forward but the seasoning was very regional like he said. He even pointed out that it could be a Creole style seasoning.

[@thegamingpigeon3216]

It's not a BA video referencing Emeril if they don't include the old clips of Emeril wandering around the test kitchen

[@ubxs113]

This is your best video series, I can’t get enough. Would love to see some of the other chefs give it a whirl, especially Brad.

[@twrob82]

I found it interesting that Chris couldn't seem to taste the olive oil and butter that Emeril's cutlet was fried in. This confirms my suspicion that pan frying in olive oil and/or butter rather than in plain ol' vegetable oil is a waste of relatively expensive ingredients.

[@kristya4739]

This is the kind of video I watch when I get anxious and I need something relaxing and enjoyable! I love this series of videos!

[@itszafti]

agreed i recommend watching Sam The Cooking Guy too if you’re looking for another channel. I switch between both before bed

[@Syveril]

I think it's interesting to learn which ingredients are important to taste and which might only be adding to the visual appeal.

[@SteveS86]

Great episode/I liked the judge by why did he get an 87 on technique? Strictly the cheese and ham wrap? Sometimes the scores feel so arbitrary.

[@phunkydroid]

Saw the title, thought "Oh, giving him a free win today eh?"

[@Keladinus]

Cool ad for Emeril's essence blend, guys

[@jamesdooling4139]

You know what? I was an everything-BA fanboy before doomsday. Then, I only watched thumbnails with old schoolers in them. But I must admit, I like Hana. Use her more...

[@groofray73]

I'm a broken record, but I will continue to beat this drum. BA just needs to abandon their other shows and sink the farm into this. Best content produced on this channel...by a country ham mile.

[@cliquemate6453]

I'd love to see an episode where Chris gets a recipe/dish that he developed for BA!

[@noal5345]

I want to see a version of this where Chris is allowed to touch, smell and SEE the dish but is NOT allowed to taste it! That would be so interesting to watch! Please make it happen! :D

[@kristya4739]

Please please please do more of these. This is the content i need more of in my life❤

[@SamP0rterBridges]

I'm glad some of the old crew is still around. I miss Gabby.

[@arlenesolis024]

“The Lobe of Situation”. He had me at that - “ the lobe of situation “ ❤❤❤

[@familytrieserichiltz940]

Easily could have given him a 92 or 93 there.

[@silentj624]

I like butterflying mine and then rolling it up in plastic wrap. I prep it the night before and it holds its shape much better while searing and then baking. This method might be better for beginners.

[@Dominica1234]

“Funky, gym sock town” …love it!

[@dobiebloke9311]

Chris - Fine job, and good entertainment as well. I understand that the egg is doing the heavy lifting, but that's why it is usually cut with a splash of milk (to lighten it a bit). Regardless, that omission should have cost you 2 percentage points at most, to my mind. I was surprised that you missed the thyme, tho. Twice, you remarked that it smelt like Thanksgiving, and the fact that it's chicken, either would clearly indicate thyme (to me). Missing the oregano is more understandable, being as you are NYork-centric and oregano is more or less, just about as common to the tongue, as salt and pepper are. Regardless, I enjoyed it, you did very well, but I think you definitely deserved to be in the 90s percentile. That's an A in my book.

[@zsandmann]

This might be the easiest one yet. I feel like I could have recreated this. Emeril's essence is really the only hurdle.

[@Kevin-ql1hb]

That hurdle contained like 6+ different ingredients and I know I would have missed a bunch of them.

[@jordesign]

I love seeing the coworkers in the background still wearing masks... 100% still need to be protecting each other... They are quite virtuous.

[@pats9414]

I think people who don’t wear masks are mean

[@jonathanwright8802]

Virtue signaling, that is.

[@alejandramenendez438]

"A lobe of situation" needs to be a tote

[@miacoss9809]

Praying for april fools they do an opposite on where he can see the dish at the start but then has to make it blindfolded

[@michaeltschuertz]

6:01 rather funny that in Austria we called that farmers ham. lol

[@viperlt86]

I’m digging the white Gshock. Chris is a man of class and taste.

[@sammiehunt9330]

We should give Chris the exact number of ingredients at the beginning after tasting.

[@LegOfAhab]

I think Chris should've received a slightly higher score on this challenge.

[@OneShowPerDay]

this skill is nothing short of amazing

[@seriliaykilel]

SOOOOOO close to the Ace!! Just give it to the guy!

[@diresalope]

I love this series but I gotta say, the American grading system seems harsh. Up in Canada the A-range starts at 80%!

[@jonathanapple6367]

Definitely my favorite series on this channel. Bread is a close second though.

[@glitter2431]

Bring back shopping Chris pleaseeeee!

[@saralynfosnight5139]

There are two elements of these presentations that I've come to love: Chris's entrances and his masks.

[@michael22414]

Judging is so arbitrary. How can appearance always cap out at 90. Its practically dead on. Can it go to 95? 98? 99?

[@mturallo]

Love Chris and enjoy the series, but what a snoozer of a dish. Too harsh on the judging too. Seasoning in the breadcrumbs is worth 15 points? Not buyin' it.

[@TravelingStacker]

You realize its all for fun, right?

[@mturallo]

@@TravelingStacker Why not have more fun by doing a better job? This is a $2 billion/year company. Maybe the marketing team decided to pander to dumb dumbs.

[@Charlie8888]

I was absolutely the kid with breadcrumbs and a spoon. I am still that adult as it is a nice light hangover snack. 🤣

[@michaeltschuertz]

so as an Austrian, Cordon Bleu with either pork or chicken... a whole lot of restaurants, like even the most basic ones all over the country have them. that isnt the case for the USA?

[@marimencarini]

I loveeeee this series and I’m always waiting for the next ep. And I love Chris. But I feel like this show needs something new, maybe a new or harder step so it can renovate itself. Been watching since the first one I love when something changes ✨💕

[@pickle_spears]

my idea is to make it a competition against another chef like Christina

[@noal5345]

I want to see a version where he can touch, smell and SEE but NOT taste! That would be soooo interesting!

[@lem9999]

@@pickle_spears boy, do I have some bad news for you...

[@boonjabby]

I always come for the slow mo introduction of chris with the bu dump dump dum music.

[@BCrall]

Just a rock solid episode, love it.

[@McBenson]

very diverse background. helped the video.

[@brianeisenhauer]

I want to know about the pen Chris is using in his notebook. It looks like an Ohto with a felt fineliner like a Rotring Tikky Graphic or a Micron, but it appears to be a colored pen. All I am finding is rollerballs in the style.

[@Rodviet]

Chris, once again here to make me scream at the screen "your first guess was right Chris, PLEASE!!". This is my fave series on youtube, honestly Edit: right on the money right out the bat with the bread crumbs lol!

[@BadNemo8487]

This dude is a computer of food, I love these clips. Brads still my Homie!

[@br0dy32]

Never fails to annoy me when Americans spell it Cordon Bleu, but pronounce it as 'blue'.

[@deprofundis3293]

Yeah, I'm American and I agree

[@lydia4455]

I had a lot of Cordon Bleu chicken as a child and I despised it (it was a common school lunch option in France) but this actually sounds good.

[@ohwowoh7281]

Chris is missing the most important technique of all. The BAM!

[@Kapelannew]

This feels like a softball.

[@brianc620]

Cooking rice with a colander haiyaah

[@michaeltschuertz]

14:34 @Chris you are making the same mistake again and again. it is always more!

[@jml4774]

I'm glad she's not my mom (or my teacher.) Chris got robbed. That was an "A" all day long. The spice mix should have been counted as one thing and not using flavored bread crumbs? Puhleeze...Chris, I give you an A+.

[@UnknownGamer4]

Second time around, that chicken was not cooked

[@a77ack69]

This guys palate is amazing

[@KATZFEY]

i would love for an instance where Chris makes a completely different dish and is just so confident that it’s correct

[@kayla6689]

I need more context about this breadcrumb movie theater situation lol

[@ItsJC-gu3jz]

i don’t get it 💀

[@michaeltschuertz]

14:47 also i guess chris proves with less you can do just as much?

[@moursundjames]

Chris, this one was really excellent. Color me impressed!

[@Ysumguy]

Chris is amazing. Holy moly....

[@andrewehyang]

Bam

[@ndn686]

I would love to see chris have to recreate one of his own recipes!

[@creativemindplay]

Holy Florence Henderson! Wesson Oil still exists!

[@petermaag9622]

lol that pea rice is sad AF

[@rizdalegend]

Once Brad and Chris leave this show, it'll be dead...

[@Nokenify]

Chris you rock.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

I give him 95.

[@Witnessdomaining]

The whole Bon Appétit situation is such a situation situation. I love it!

[@GuardedDragon]

My absolute favourite! Chris you’re amazing. I feel sick and this video made me feel so much better.

[@sammvegaable]

“A certain style of cooking where you see these elements come together” gestures to SEASONING 😅

[@mariannechevrier7908]

« Low key thanksgiving and gravy » is my favorite kind of gravy.

[@simplytiff16]

please make a behind the scenes video!!

[@totalyrindim7971]

they look absolutely the same

[@Taric25]

Oh, thank goodness, no cheating in this episode! I really hated the last episode where she told him the cream was green. It defeated the whole purpose of the blindfold. This episode was much, much better.

[@harrislondon]

Supertaster is a bit if an overstatement. You'd have to be missing at most 1 subtle ingredient to have that title

[@ryanneuerer]

Is it ever going to go back to Chris going to the store to get the ingredients himself?

[@MtnLife-sv9fu]

We need more episodes with Brad...

[@samw2299]

Hana is lovely! And she was a great host