Do you think you can make the best burgers in the game? Has that smash burger style influenced you? Do you have a good bacon-to-sauce-to-cheese ratio? How are those buns looking? Buttered? Steamed? Toasted?
UPROXX’s new series, Cooking Battles, based on our viral editorial series, pits two cooks against each other to see if they have the chops to wow with their food. People’s Party’s Jasmin Leigh is on hand to judge the first showdown.
Episode one opens with food writer, influencer, and home-cook Caitlin Sakdalan (@befatbehappy) facing off against L.A. pop-up chef Ralph Degala (@ralphdegala) in the ultimate burger battle. Each chef’s burger was inspired by a drawing from a younger member of their families, meaning creative interpretation levels were running high. From there, each chef went their own way in how they put together their burger. Chef Degala focused on making a bomb-looking Filippino-inspired burger sauce with HEINZ products. Chef Sakdalan brought the heat with HEINZ mayo-toasted buns and funky blue cheese.
There was, thankfully, a lot of bacon going around in both burger kitchens.
After the chefs cooked their burgers, Jasmin Leigh stepped in to cook each burger at home — per the chef’s instructions — to see who made the best rendition. Though the taste was a core component of Leigh’s adjudication, she also judged each burger on “Presentation, Build of the Burger, Use of Sauce, Closest to the Drawing, and Creativity.” We all know a messy burger might taste great but only until it falls apart or covers you in buckets of sauce.
Watch the whole video above to see who took home the win on the very first episode of Cooking Battles on UPROXX!
