Name: Victor Albisu's Winning steak and eggs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 ribeye steaks, 1.25 inches thick, room temperature 30 minutes; 4 large eggs, room temperature; 3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided; 2 cloves garlic, smashed; 3 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 tbsp fleur de sel, plus more for finishing; 2 tsp cracked black pepper; 1 tbsp neutral oil; 2 tbsp crispy rendered bacon fat; 1 tsp Maldon sea salt for eggs; 0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper for eggs; 1 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped

Sixteen Taco Bamba locations across Virginia, Maryland, DC, North Carolina, and Nashville. Victor Albisu built that empire after Beat Bobby Flay, not before. The win was a runway.

The dish he chose in 2015 was steak and eggs, which sounds like a diner order but is — when a chef from a fine-dining background like Albisu's old Del Campo and Poca Madre cooks it — a Maillard exam. A hard skillet sear on the steak so the crust comes off the pan in one piece. Eggs basted in the rendered fat, whites set, yolks running. Salt at three intervals, not one.

Bobby cooks steak and he cooks eggs. He does not, apparently, cook them in the same pan.