Soul food is a spiritual experience.
It's just not only about the food.
It's a collective of stories.
It's a collective of emotion.
These plates that are coming out, they're who we are.
Soul food, for me, is everything.
This is my land.
Can the church say yeah?
I'm one of the best soul food chefs in the country.
Y'all know what time it is.
I go in fourth quarter.
I'm from that old school, and I can just straight throw down.
Woo!
So we do.
Eight of America's finest chefs will showcase their skills in the ultimate soul food showdown.
This is my wheelhouse.
This is tater salad, girl.
Make you want to smack your mama.
This is elevated soul.
It's so much more than just a show.
It's an experience, and it's a journey.
And if that doesn't excite you, I don't know what will.
Let's go!
Woo!
Let's go!
Let's get it.
Please, give me some fire.
Hot just like you know it, baby.
Bring it on home.
No!
Oh, my God.
I'm going to have a heart attack.
Go ahead.
Let me hear the crunch.
Bam!
I heard it.
You better keep up.
This is the Great Soul Food Cook-Off.
Oh, goodness.
My name is Razia Sabor.
I am just excited to showcase soul food in a way that has been deserving for hundreds of years.
That is so nice.
We just saw the world is about to see some beautiful soul food.
Oh, he getting ready to get down.
I'm Chris.
I'm Chef Chris Scott from New York City.
To me, soul food is way beyond fried chicken and mac and cheese, you know?
I'm here to tell the whole story, and I can't wait to get started.
Look at that pantry.
Nice big fridge.
I might have to move in.
Hello, I'm Chef Shaq.
Fred Fluke.
Pleasure to meet you.
Finally, Soul Food gets its own show.
Hey, this is beautiful.
This food is from within.
It's all about love.
We're going to add a little bit of elbow grease.
We're going to put some foot in there.
And I'm excited to be a part of it.
I've been in smaller kitchens before.
Yeah, listen.
Yeah, you ain't lying, man.
Woo!
Hi!
Welcome.
Chef Dorian.
Hey, come on down.
I'm Chef Jermaine Smith, 48 years in the game.
I'm from that old school.
Soul food, I eat, breathe, and sleep it.
I know they looking out for me.
Oh, y'all say the best for last.
It's a competition up in here.
Came a long way.
Our ancestors would be so proud of us.
Believe me, they in this room, too.
I have a beautiful husband and two beautiful kids at home.
By no means did I leave my family, you know, to lose.
I'm going to fight all the way.
This is it.
We all doing it together.
Yes.
Hello, chefs.
You guys look amazing.
I'm Cartier Brown, and welcome to the Great Soul Food Cook-Off.
We have searched the nation for the very best soul food chefs, and the eight of you are the cream of the crop.
We made it, mama.
I made it.
Over the next six weeks, you'll be tasked with taking culinary history of our beloved ancestors and infusing it with your personal style.
Only one of you will walk away with a grand prize.
of $50,000.
$50,000.
I can do a whole lot with that.
All right, to kick off this competition, we got to start it off with some Nashville-born meat and three.
Back in the early 1900s, this meal was a local tradition where laborers would fix themselves a plate with the meat and three sides.
To honor this classic, your first Soul Starter Challenge will be facing off in a meat and three knockout.
I want to be dividing you into two teams of four.
The task is to create smothered pork chops, mac and cheese, collard greens, and potato salad.
You're already deciding.
I like that.
Team one, Tirza, Chris, Shaq, Jamarius.
Fred, Dorian, Jermaine, and Roz, you're on team two.
Team to do it.
We got it.
Nobody will be eliminated after this challenge, but the judges will pick their favorite of the dishes, and the team with the most knockouts will score an advantage leading into our first cook-off challenge.
Speaking of judges, y'all want to meet them?
Yes.
Welcome Chef Eric Adjabong.
Chef Eric mastered his craft in several Michelin-starred restaurants.
He's passionate about West African cuisine.
I'm hungry.
I'm ready to eat.
I'm actually ready to eat.
We're excited to feed you.
All right, next, we have Harlem's queen of soul food, Miss Melba Wilson.
Y'all know I'm hungry, right?
Chef Melba began her career at the legendary Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem.
When she opened Melba's in 2005, it quickly became a soul food institution.
And this week's guest judge is Tonya Holland.
Hey!
All right, let's do this.
Famous for her innovative spin on modern soul food, Chef Tonya is the executive chef and owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, California.
You ready to go?
Yes.
You got 45 minutes.
And your time starts now.
All right, check this out.
All right, mac and cheese, collard greens, potato salad.
Chris is already delegating, moving the chefs around.
I'm going to make the mac and cheese, because I think mine's the best.
Mama made it best.
I got the greens.
You have the pork chops.
I got the potato salad.
And you're doing the mac.
I'm going to do the mac and fritter.
OK.
All right, ready?
All right, Steve.
OK.
Let's rock and roll.
So you're going to knock out potato salad, right?
That's right.
That's what I'm talking about.
No raisins, please.
Who said something about raisins?
We ain't got no raisins over here.
That's the main ingredient.
All right, judges, this is the first challenge of the Great Soul Food Cook-Off.
As you all know, there's so much rich history in African-American cuisine, and soul food is the root of Southern cooking and American cooking.
Absolutely, yeah.
One of my favorite things about going to the South is having a real decent meat and three.
Before 1964, the counters, the cafes were segregated.
Yeah.
So this was really where people would go to get their full meal.
These are foods that had to carry you while you were working in the field, while you were picking cotton, picking tobacco.
It had to be a meal that was substantial.
And nutrient dense as well.
Jermaine, you doing pork?
Yes, sir.
Who's doing pork chops over there?
Come on, man.
Old heads, baby.
Old heads on a pork chop.
We grew up eating a lot of pork chops.
It's a lot less expensive, a.k.a.
cheaper.
How do you make them taste more flavorful?
Brown gravy with some onions, and it would taste like a whole other meal.
At my restaurant, we serve thousands of pork chops every day.
I'm always going to stay true to the tradition, period.
I'm going traditional classic.
Soul food means to me,
My life, I was born into this.
My dad started the Soul Food Restaurant in Washington, D.C.
in 1968.
Henry's Soul Cafe, still standing to this day.
You're doing a recipe from 1928, you gotta go classic.
My dad's not here no more.
But for me to carry the torch, it's a tremendous honor.
Yo, we doing good over here.
Getting ready to caramelize these onions.
Jermaine might be my biggest competition.
He comes from soul food royalty.
But I think what's really going to set me apart is my experience and my 30 plus years in the kitchen.
Cooked at the James Beard house nine times.
Traveled all over the world, staging in different kitchens.
I do soul food at the highest level.
I want to get that gravy very flavorful.
I got a little bit of a secret ingredient to deglaze the pan in.
Put a little bit of magic up in there.
Chefs, 30 minutes left on the clock.
30, 30.
I hear you, 30, 30.
Who's up on mac and cheese for team one?
Hey, you know it's Chef Jamarius in the building from Atlanta.
Let's go.
I got four different types of cheeses that I'm infusing inside the sauce.
I'm going old school.
I'm doing like mama used to do.
I call my food bespoke soul food, and I'll tell you why.
I take a more elevated approach with the old school techniques.
I'm definitely known for my style and bringing that Big Chef energy.
Group two, who doing Mac?
We not talking right now.
We enemies right now.
I came here to win $50,000.
How are you doing over here, Chef Fred?
Doing something different for the people.
I typically make mac and cheese.
It's a staple of mine, but I'm going to do it a little different this time.
So I decided to create a mac and cheese fritter.
Don't even need to measure.
I'm just going to go freehand with it.
My name is Fred Flewellen.
A lot of my friends call me Fred Flew.
I would describe my food as personal, something creative, innovative, different.
I just want you to see soul food is something that you dig deep for.
It's spiritual.
Fred, how you feeling, baby?
Like the champ.
I'm ready to see them fritters, boy.
It's always the loudest man in the room.
You too, little shaky baby.
I think I hear them trash talking.
It would not be a real soul food cook-off if it wasn't some trash talking.
Come on now.
Woo!
Yes!
Cooking collard greens in 45 minutes is a task.
It's definitely difficult.
You want to be able to have the greens tender enough to actually be able to eat.
When I was a baby, they used to give me collard green pot liquor.
I don't trust anyone else with the collard greens.
I got it.
I'm Shekafrica Simmons from Tallahassee, Florida.
But you can call me Chef Shaq.
This is going to be delicious.
I've been cooking for over 42 years.
I know I look really young.
But I've been cooking a long time.
Grandma would probably braise it.
But listen, we don't have the time for that tonight.
I'm sauteing my greens with bacon fat, veggie stock, and a little bit of honey.
And then I'm going to blister these tomatoes.
It's going to add an extra burst of flavor.
My bacon is almost done.
My name is Chef Dorian Hunter.
I am a personal chef from Atlanta, Georgia.
The other chefs may underestimate my ability, because I can be very quiet, very stoic at times.
But I listen, I execute, and I deliver.
And anyone that doesn't see me as a threat, they will.
10 minutes left.
I'm going to take the pork chops out the searing pan, deep fry them real quick.
We watched Chef Jermaine sear his pork chop, and we watched him fry his pork chop, and right now his pork chop is in the oven.
I'm concerned that it might be overdone.
Pork can definitely be overcooked.
It really could be a big, big problem.
I'm putting this gravy on top of the pork chop.
I'm putting them in the oven just so they can be murrayed.
Your pork better be cooked, and it better be cooked all the way through.
The sear, the fry, the oven, it might be overdried.
Who's doing potato salad?
Tearza, that must mean you're doing it too, because I got potato salad over here.
You know I got it.
All right, girl.
I'm doing a little new take on it.
It's a classic potato salad dish, but I'm going to put a soft-boiled egg in the middle.
I'm Chef Tears of Love from Oakland, California.
My love of cooking was inspired by my gran, but my food is not my gran's soul food.
I love using fresh vegetables, anything that comes from the ground, to really elevate and punch in that flavor.
Egg's about ready to come out.
I make potato salad all the time.
I add mayonnaise, mustard, apple cider vinegar to it, paprika, garlic powder, carrots, celery, and onions.
I get the potatoes into the freezer, hopefully to cool down a bit so we don't have hot potato salad.
What makes me different from any other soul food chef?
is that I'm not trying to reinvent it.
I'm trying to maintain its integrity.
I am what your grandmother made, and what her grandmother made, and what her grandmother made.
I am the definition of soul food.
I'm working on my greens.
At the last minute, I decide to do chow chow.
Looks like Dorian might be a little bit behind.
A chow chow is like a pickled relish.
I'm using cabbage, a little bit of tomato, some chili peppers, vinegar, and a touch of sugar.
All I can do is hope.
Come on, baby.
It's hard cooking in somebody else's kitchen, but you got to get it done.
I see Dorian over there, and it seems like she's paying more attention to the side than she is to the star, those collard greens.
Five minutes left, guys.
It's going to be the last minute.
Sometimes you have to keep your eye on the prize, and don't do too much.
I'm feeling very anxious.
I'm just telling myself, Dorian, don't be the first one to go home.
I don't think I blessed no food as much as I'm blessing these greens right now.
Mike, can you please hurry up, Jesus?
Chefs, one minute left on the clock.
One minute, guys.
One minute.
Come on, keep it going.
Keep it going.
Don't give up now.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Looking at Jamarius' mac and cheese dish, I mean, it looks very typical.
It doesn't look innovative.
Chef Razia made a very traditional potato salad, and I feel like it's been done a million times.
Razia kept it classic, but I took a risk.
So we'll see what the judges think.
Chefs, we challenged you all to work in teams to create a meat and three platter.
Now, what would a meat and three be without the meat?
Chef Chris, Chef Jermaine, step on up.
Chef Chris, tell us about your smothered pork chop.
It's prepared with the onions and mushrooms, deglazed with cognac, and then enriched with beef stock and a little heavy cream.
Chris, you're speaking my language with the French touch.
You know that, right?
Cream, the butter.
And I love the shot of cognac.
It totally heightened the dish.
The pork is cooked really well.
There's a little bit of gristle on mine.
Other than that, man, this is solid.
Thank you.
Chef Jermaine.
We have the sole slother potato.
This is a recipe that I've done so many times growing up in a soul food restaurant.
Dad opened a restaurant in 1968.
My job was to sear the pork chops.
This smothered pork chop takes me back to my grandmother's kitchen in Hemingway, South Carolina.
I'm in love.
This gravy is just outstanding.
But it does bite a little dry.
Were you worried about Tim, like, maybe perhaps overcooking or... No, it was an actual generous portion of pork.
I totally agree with you, Eric.
I think it's overcooked a little bit.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you, guys, both.
You may return to your teams.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
Good job, guys.
It's so sad because it's a really good chop, but it's overcooked.
I was so scared.
I'm a rinder.
I'm a pork chop.
Next up, Chef Jamarius, Chef Fred, step on up.
You both dared to take on what is arguably America's most favorite side, macaroni and cheese.
Chef Jamarius?
It's a four cheese mac and cheese.
So you're going to have mild cheddar, Gruyere, Parmesan, and smoked Gouda.
I love the immediate funk I got.
I think it was from the gouda that you mentioned.
Wasn't anticipating that, wasn't expecting that, but it was pleasant.
I also love the fact that you're able to get a nice crust on the top.
So compliments to you.
Thank you.
My issue is the mac itself.
The noodles aren't seasoned.
Chef Fred.
I knew Jamarius was going to go straight for the skillet.
So I was like, I got to be different.
And I said fritters is something different.
I was really dubious when I saw what you were doing.
But I want this recipe.
I really like it.
As far as innovation, man, this is pretty smart cooking.
The seasoning in this, top notch.
Unfortunately, though, at least for my fritter, it eats dry.
That cheese is not hitting the way it should.
Next up, Chef Shaq, Chef Dorian, Mean Greens.
What you have before you is some braised southern collard greens.
And I added a quick chow chow.
I didn't want you to focus so much on the chow chow and kind of put the greens to the side.
But the chow chow actually adds to the dish.
The sweet, the heat, this is my favorite thing thus far that I've tasted.
I would say sweet, heat, and meat.
Yes, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think that one of the ways that you can really tell a good cook is whether or not they can make some greens.
Divine.
Thank you so much.
Chef Jack?
I have sautéed collard green with blistered tomatoes.
The flavors are just incredible.
I love that you blistered the tomatoes.
That's really good with the onions and the peppers and the bacon.
Really bold flavors.
And by looking at you, I think bold might be part of your vocabulary.
I try.
This is my favorite round by far.
It's so good.
You notice it's the ladies now.
It's the ladies.
Absolutely.
Represent it.
Can the church say amen?
Amen.
Come on.
Next up, Chef Tirza, Chef Roz, step on up.
Tell us how y'all did your potato salad.
Chef Roz, you're first.
Say it's your traditional down south type of potato salad.
I'm going to tell you, this is not potato salad.
This is tater salad, girl.
What?
I couldn't stop eating it.
The right amount of salt, the right amount of celery, the right amount of carrots.
This hits the mark for me.
This could easily be served at Melba's.
Wow.
My only stick would be, did you salt the water?
I didn't.
I taste that immediately.
Make sure everything is seasoned, even the water that you boiled the potato in.
Absolutely.
Thank you, Chef Roz.
Chef Teresa?
Sure.
What you have before you is potato salad surprise.
What you have underneath is your surprise, which is a soft-boiled egg.
Wow, Chef.
I mean, that is a wow factor.
Who doesn't love a good egg yolk?
I really enjoyed that part of it, that surprise.
The potatoes, for me, were a little bit overdone.
And I thought the dill added a little bit too much contrast.
All right, chefs, give us a moment to determine who won this knockout.
So we really have a tough decision here to make.
Yeah, definitely.
That was crazy.
This couch is needed.
OK.
One thing that I like is the fact that we're all totally different in our styles of cooking, but we're all cooking soul food.
I feel like win or lose, I think just collectively we are all just honored to be here, to see soul food receive the showcase that it deserves.
Judges, I mean, I can already tell that this competition is going to be fierce.
Yes.
I appreciate the confidence that both teams brought out.
They want to win.
You can tell it.
You can taste it.
Yes.
Now, for the first knockout, we have Pork Chops.
I really, really enjoyed Chef Chris's pork chop.
I just love that Chef Chris's has a touch of refinement with that subtle cognac flavor, the caramelized onions.
Chef Jermaine's pork chop, deliciously divine.
You know, it's traditional.
It's Southern.
It's what I know.
But it was definitely overcooked.
For the next knockout round, the mac and cheese,
Who really brought it?
Chef Jamarius really did knock this one out the park.
The cast iron skillet, it exudes soulfulness.
And then when I dug in, it was ooey, gooey, and it was delicious.
I think Fred took the biggest risk doing this non-traditional presentation.
I'm really impressed with him.
But I think it was a little dry.
The next knockout, we have the collard greens.
You guys really liked both.
I think out of all of the offerings that we got, Chef Dorian's collard greens were spot on for me.
I love the texture.
I love the heat.
Chef Shaq really did an amazing job.
I'm looking at the bacon in there.
I'm looking at the tomatoes.
And I also got a little pot liquor, which I'm in love with.
That's all I wanted was a little pot liquor.
Last knockout, the potato salad.
Chef Roz presented.
a traditional tater salad.
Took me home, took me back, made me feel comfortable.
I just wanted a little bit more seasoning on the potato.
This potato salad from Chef Tirza, definitely a surprise.
I would have never expected a perfectly cooked poached egg under my potato salad.
I just wish she had the right balance of dill.
Yes.
Yeah.
But, you know, interesting presentation.
All right, let's bring them back to the ring.
Chefs?
You all really brought it in the first Soul Starter Challenge.
You guys came out with a bang.
In the pork chop knockout between Chris and Jermaine, the win goes to Chef Chris.
In the potato salad knockout, the win goes to
Chef Razia.
Yes.
We have a tie on our hands as of right now.
In the mac and cheese knockout, the chef that delivered the biggest punch was Chef Jamarius.
The score is 2 to 1.
So you know what that means.
It all comes down to those greens.
In the collard green knockout between Chef Shaq and Chef Dorian, the winner is Chef Shaq.
All right, team one, so you all have successfully knocked out your opponent, and you'll receive a time advantage in the next challenge.
Thank you.
And remember, unlike the Soul Starter Challenge, one of you will be sent home.
All right, head back to your stations.
Losing is not how anybody wants to start off the competition.
Nobody wants to lose, but somebody has to.
You know, it is what it is.
You shake it off, and you get ready for the next challenge.
Chefs, your next challenge is what we call your cook-off challenge.
And we're taking it back to the roots of soul food.
Yes.
Come on.
Look under your stations.
OK.
All right, all right, all right, all right.
Seed corn.
I got rice.
Turnips.
Black-eyed peas.
OK.
Ooh.
Sweet potatoes.
I'm like, oh, they done messed up now.
I can do a sweet potato.
I see a giant sack of peanuts.
I don't even like peanuts.
All right, chefs, your challenge is to create an innovative dish with your ingredient at the forefront.
Oh, yes.
Remember, one of you will be sent home.
I definitely don't want to be the one to go home first.
All right, team two.
You guys, unfortunately, came up short in the knockout challenge.
So we're giving you 45 minutes on the clock.
Team one, your advantage is an extra five minutes on the clock.
Yes!
45 minutes in the kitchen is basically two seconds.
You know, so having that extra five minutes is so lovely.
I love it.
Your time starts now.
Come on, chefs.
Let's get this done.
This is an elimination challenge, guys.
Who's going home today?
In this challenge, I want to see execution.
Yeah.
If peanuts, if turnips, if that's the start, let it shine.
I'm hoping to see a use of, you know, the ingredient that's not traditional, maybe taking some risks.
Yes.
And think about the entirety of the ingredient as well.
Like, can I use the shell?
Can I use the tops?
Yes.
Yeah.
Having a great time.
Just crazy focused.
I'm using every single part of the turnip.
I love turnips.
I want to make a dumpling with pureed turnip greens.
So I'm making turnip dumplings with a turnip and peanut potluck.
Yo, what you doing?
Doing a little classic jambalaya.
Oh, that's one of my favorites.
You know, got all this rice, I got you.
Save me a plate.
Rice, jambalaya, it's a no-brainer.
But I've never made a jambalaya in 50 minutes, so I have my work cut out for me.
Bring it, y'all.
I love jambalaya, right?
You get to be really creative, add in your flavor profiles.
But it's a really, really delicate balance in making sure that that rice is cooked right, al dente.
That's a big commitment, that dish.
It is, it is.
A little bit more seasoning.
All right, ancestors say I'm done.
Looking around the room, I'm excited to have rice because some other chefs got some really challenging ingredients, like peanuts.
Oh, my God.
This is gonna be tricky.
Tricky, tricky, tricky.
Playing the waiting game.
The waiting game.
How long do we wait?
Five minutes.
Oh, yeah.
Gotta be time by now.
Team two, your time starts now.
Let's go, guys.
Come on out.
Come on.
Come on, chefs.
Come on, bring your A game.
Doreen has her game face on.
Like she might be going sweet rather than savory.
I wish she is going sweet.
Yeah.
I am a very strong baker.
I'm going to stick to what I know.
Let's see if the oven, guys, is on my side.
So I'm making a peanut butter and jelly tart with the peanut butter being in the forefront.
There it is.
With the peanuts, I'm making a peanut butter mousse using cream cheese, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and a touch of vanilla.
I have faith that it'll all come together one way or the other.
Right behind you.
I'm a speedy cook.
Looking around at the other chefs, I think it takes them a little too long to do everything.
I was assigned black-eyed peas.
I love black-eyed peas.
I actually eat black-eyed peas and cornbread.
So that's how I grew up eating them.
It's going to be my real baby right here.
But I wanted to create something more innovative that showcased those beautiful black-eyed peas at the forefront of the dish.
Chef Jamarius is making black-eyed pea hummus.
Hummus is something that we can whip up, all of us.
Fairly simple, right?
Yeah.
I don't see the technique there and the creativity.
I'm questioning Jamarius' skills.
He's a little cocky.
I feel amazing.
In a competition like this, the judges need to know that you're serious about giving them the best plate you can.
Look, we working it.
And when I see okra, I see gumbo.
And I'm putting my own spin on it by adding cream and making it a white gumbo.
Come on, baby.
I want to make sure that the judges know that okra is the star.
I'm using okra in my gumbo, but I'm also going to grill okra and put it on top.
Two minutes left on the clock.
Two minutes.
Two minutes?
That's the last.
That's the whole last.
No, it is.
No way.
Just kidding.
How much time?
30 minutes left on the clock.
That was good.
Fred just messed his pants.
Come on, I need that skin to be crispy.
Hey, judges, I'm going to go take a look around.
OK.
See what our chefs are doing.
I'll report back.
Let us know what you see.
All right, chef, what's going on?
OK, what I'm going to do, pan sear salmon with some fried potatoes.
But my star is going to be the cabbage.
We're going to do curry cabbage right on top.
OK, now you've got salmon and potatoes in there, but you're going to make sure that that cabbage is the star.
Most definitely.
OK.
I need more curry.
Chef Roz.
Hey.
Hey, girl.
Now, what are you making?
So I'm going to make whole cakes, but I'm going to make them jalapeno cheddar.
And then I'm going to make black-eyed pea corn relish.
We call that the cowboy caviar.
OK, yes, that's it.
That's it.
Southern caviar, OK.
There we go.
So I'm going to do that.
Good luck.
Chefs, you have 15 minutes left on the clock.
All right, 15 minutes.
It's a lifetime.
Sweet potatoes are already sweet, so I'm going to stay with the sweet route and go sweet potato soul toast.
Not French toast, sweet potato soul toast.
I wanted to make sweet potato pie because my dad developed the best sweet potato pie in the world.
Our pies are so good, they've been deemed the presidential pie, because that's President Obama's favorite pie.
Not boiling fast enough.
But I couldn't get you a sweet potato pie in 45 minutes.
Not the sweet potato pie that I'm known for.
I think I can make it.
So I just went with soul toast.
And I think this is going to wow the judges.
I think this is going to be it.
It looks like Jamarius is adding sausage on top of his hummus.
Break a 1-9.
What did you just say?
Sausage, girl.
Sausage.
Girl.
And it also looks like he started his plate up already.
Wow.
No.
He might be a little ahead of himself.
Let's go, baby.
I got my corn, corn cakes all prepped out.
So the clock is running down.
I want to get the corn cake started.
But I used a half a cup of sugar in my batter.
And each corn cake is burning because of the sugar.
Whoa, really?
I just saw her put something in the garbage.
No.
I don't think they're working out.
If I can't fix this problem, I won't have anything to serve the judges.
No one wants to go home after really not finishing all your plates.
This is a disaster.
Time is running out.
I pull my crust out of the oven, and the crust is totally and completely raw.
So I have to go with a plan B. I'm going to have to go with a deconstructed tart.
What's the time?
Chefs, one minute left.
Like, dang, for real?
Someone is going home today.
Finish strong, guys.
Come on.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up.
Step away from your station.
Give me the 50.
It's done, but I feel pretty horrible.
Hopefully the whole cake's cooked through and through, and they're able to actually get the flavor profile that I was trying to convey.
I'm wishing that I had the additional five minutes.
I'm looking around the room, and Jermaine's dish doesn't really have that refined touch to it.
It's not a dish that I would expect from a 30-year veteran.
I feel like Dorian's a great cook, but she didn't rise to the challenge.
So I'm hoping it's her that goes home.
Chefs, we challenged you all to create an innovative dish using ingredients at the root of soul food.
Chef Dorian, step on up.
What you have before you is a deconstructed peanut butter and jelly pie topped with dry roasted peanuts.
I wanted this to be a full tart, but plan A did not work out.
Well, the fact that this was not plan A is really surprising to me.
When I look at your dish, it's whimsical.
It's fun.
Great save, Chef.
Thank you.
I think that this was
classic for highlighting the peanuts and the little touch of raspberry just to complement it.
Yes.
To pivot the way you did was really smart.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef Dorian.
Chef Jermaine, can you tell us what you prepared today?
I made a sweet potato soul toast.
The sweetness is where it needs to be.
The Chantilly cream, the maple syrup with a little bit of the whiskey, everything is very, very, like, balanced.
Thank you.
I would have loved if you were a lot more creative.
The sweet potatoes aren't really highlighted.
I would roast them, maybe, to intensify the flavor and the sugar.
Yeah, I don't know how innovative this really is.
Seftramay, why are you competing?
What's your why?
Um, big question.
Take your time, man.
Soul food is me.
I grew up with my dad.
I'm just competing for him, really, you know?
It's what I do every day.
Like, it's my, it's all I do.
Yes, I'm cooking for him, cooking for my dad.
I've been in DC just about three years now.
And one of the first spots I went to was your space.
And you should be extremely proud to carry that legacy for your father.
Thank you so much.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Chef Jermaine, Chef Roz.
Let's see what you got.
You have a sweet corn cake with a black-eyed pea corn relish.
I'm just used to, even in my home, cooking with my daughters, I'm used to kind of just taking my time.
And for here, that's just, it's just not.
Different arena, different ballgame.
Absolutely.
I am in love with the black-eyed pea and corn caviar.
I like the fact that it has a lot of heat, a lot of spice in it.
And the whole cake's texture.
You have the whole corn.
You have the actual milled corn.
Like, if we didn't see you, I would have never thought this was a struggle.
Well done.
All right, Chef Roz, you mentioned your daughters.
Yeah.
So I have two daughters.
10 and 13.
I was a therapist, and I just saw myself in a chef coat wanting to spend more time with my daughters.
They're my reasons for everything.
Thank you, Chef Roz.
Thank you.
She might be, like, one of those, I don't believe in my confidence and ability so much, but, like, still be one of the best cooks here.
You know what I mean?
Chef Fred, the floor is all yours.
This dish is pan-seared salmon with the curry cabbage.
Fred, this is you on a plate, because it's colorful.
Don't know if cabbage is a star here, though.
Chef Sheck.
I made a white gumbo with charred okra.
The flavors are spot on.
I'm so happy about the two different uses of okra.
I really think that you adhered to the challenge as best as possible.
Chef Tearza.
I made a classic jambalaya.
This definitely is a dish that you can stand there, hold your head up, and be proud of.
Only thing, chef, think about your portion size.
This is a lot of rice.
And you gave us a little bit amount of shrimp.
So just try to keep this in the back of your mind for every dish.
Chef Jamarius, can you tell us what you've plated today?
So my dish is smoked black-eyed pea hummus with a tomato relish.
I think that creating this hummus and the black eyed peas, it's all good.
It's well executed.
I think it'd be great to eat as a bar snack with a glass of wine.
But overall, man, I don't know how challenging or innovative this dish is.
You had a lot of time.
I just wish that you kind of pushed yourself.
Of course.
I think that this dish is OK.
But I think you personally could have done a lot better.
Awesome.
Thank you, Chef Jamarius.
Come on down, Chef Chris.
Chefs.
Last but not least.
So in front of you is a turnip dumpling with a turnip and a boiled peanut pot liquor.
Chef Chris, you turned up for turn up.
How innovative and creative of you to take the turnip and make it into the filling of a dumpling.
I really love how fun this dish is to eat.
Every bite has something new.
Right on, sir.
I don't like the texture of the dumplings.
OK.
They're just too dense.
Sure.
But really, it's a lovely concept.
Chef Chris, who are you competing for?
Well, I have four children, so, I mean, I'm always gonna be broke.
They're so supportive, allowing me to be here while they're doing their thing.
Well, your life sounds very rich to me.
Wealthy man, for sure.
But $50,000 wouldn't hurt.
You ain't lying.
You are not lying on that.
You ain't lying, girl.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you, Chef Chris.
All right, chefs, the judges have a very tough decision.
One of you will be going home today.
Thank you, chefs.
Day one in the books.
How you feeling emotionally about your experience, your food?
45 minutes?
I mean, it was rough.
Yeah.
I second-guessed myself a little bit,
You know, did what I could do.
I felt I was putting the cabbage as a star, but I'm thinking that I did too much, you know?
I definitely feel a little uneasy, I guess.
Nobody beat themselves up.
Let's just try to get better.
Clearly there were a few hits and a few misses.
Let's talk about the hits.
I loved Chef Dorian's peanut butter and jelly deconstructed tart.
She pivoted so well when her crust didn't come out right.
I thought she did a phenomenal job.
She made the peanuts the star, which was the goal.
Definitely very simple, but also delicious.
Who else scored high with you all?
Chef Chris.
Yes.
I love the fact that he took that turnip and turned it every which way.
But the dumplings were a bit dense.
Yes, yeah.
Chef Roz, we were sweating up here, worried for Chef Roz.
I thought for sure I'm going to get a hoe cake that's raw in the middle.
But it was done, and it was crispy on the outside.
All right, let's talk about Chef Jamarius.
When he said he was going to make a black-eyed pea hummus, I was a bit concerned.
Yeah.
Because hummus?
$50,000?
Hummus?
And I don't know if he necessarily utilized that time as well as he could have.
You know, with Chef Jermaine, I was sorely disappointed.
Yep.
It was very one note.
And I don't necessarily think he challenged himself as much as he could have.
Yeah.
He played it safe.
It just didn't deliver.
So I think it's clear who your top two and your bottom two chefs are.
Yeah, I'd say.
Think we're ready to deliver the news?
Yeah.
It's always tough doing the first one.
But yeah, no worries.
Someone's got to go home.
you never really know where their head is.
So as far as, like, fear of being on the bottom, you never know.
You never know, man.
You never know.
Chefs.
Hey.
The judges would like to see Jamarius, Dorian, Jermaine, and Chris.
Everyone else, congratulations.
You are safe.
This is how it's going to feel every time?
Chefs, two of you made the judges' favorite dishes.
And two of you made their least favorite dishes.
Chef Dorian, Chef Chris, the two of you had the judges' favorite dishes.
And the chef that really showed us their understanding of the roots of soul food is Chef Dorian.
You are the winner of the first challenge.
Congratulations.
Your dish was creative, innovative, and delicious.
Thank you.
Getting peanuts, pretty sure that threw you for a ringer, but you delivered.
I'm happy that the judges love the dessert, even with my mishaps.
It feels good, but you can't get comfortable.
It's a competition.
And when you do good, somebody is trying to do better.
All right, Chef Dorian, Chef Chris, you both are safe from elimination.
You may leave the kitchen.
Thank you, chefs.
All right.
Thank you so much.
That's how you kick it off.
Yes.
Here come the champ.
I knew you were silent but deadly.
It's anybody's game.
This is the beginning.
So Jermaine and Jamarius are left.
I hate to lose either one of them.
Chef Jamarius, Chef Jermaine, one of you has just cooked your final meal with us.
Chef Jermaine, we were so, so excited after your first round.
We were really wanting to see what you had to offer, but unfortunately, after Black-Eyed Peas, you fell a little flat.
Chef Jermaine, you underutilized the sweet potato.
We just expect so much more from you.
Chef Jermaine?
I'm sorry, but your dish didn't bring the soul we were looking for.
Chef Jamarius, that means you're safe.
You may leave the kitchen.
Chef Jermaine, it's not easy being the first to go home.
But might I say, you should be very proud of how far you've come.
It was absolutely a pleasure to be here.
And man, look, I'm going to go back and tell these guys, what I tell my guys at work, keep cooking.
Absolutely.
Keep cooking.
Not the last of us seeing you.
Not at all.
I showed up.
I just didn't show out.
But I mean, you know, just being here was, like, amazing.
I wish my dad was still alive to see me.
I'll see him again at some point.
And when I do, I know I'm going to get a big high five and a big hug from him.
I thought I would be here for a little while longer, but I gave it my best shot.
And soul food is going to be what I do every day for the rest of my life.