Using smoked pork tails, cilantro, natto and clams, the chefs are challenged to create an appetizer in 20 minutes. "My secret strategy is to put a little Southern in every dish," says Art. "They eat everything except the squeal," he explains about the region, so he's not afraid to cook with the pork tails.

"That natto — I can't get it out of my mouth," says Brian, who tasted the fermented soybeans for the first time. "Get me a toothbrush, please!" He decides to "stomp [it] out of existence" by pureeing it with canned chipotle. "I would have never gone there," says Amanda. The other chefs find the natto just as difficult.

"It's such an explosion of flavors," says Maneet upon tasting Madison's pho. The only chef familiar with natto, Madison was able to "tamp down the funkiness," as Amanda says. Conversely, the judges find it noticable in the dishes from Eric and Brian, whose chipotle puree was "overpowering," which led to his being chopped.

Art butchers the basket ingredient hamachi, making sure to remove the bloodline, and crusts the fillets in shrimp skin and green garlic, two other required items. He segments a pomelo, the final basket ingredient, for a quinoa salad. "I'm from the South," he says. "We dress the salad ... we don't call it vinaigrette."