And we're back.
Yay!
What's going on?
Yeah.
It's week two.
I'm feeling good.
But I know I need to step it up another notch so that I can win this week.
We live to fight another day.
Hey, chefs.
Hey.
Congratulations on making it past the first challenge in the great soul food cook-off.
Yes.
Let's go.
And remember, at the end of the competition, one of you will be walking away with $50,000.
Let's go.
Chefs, you remember our judges.
Master in West African cuisine, Chef Eric Adjepong.
Harlem's queen of soul food, Miss Melba Wilson.
And this week's guest judge, James Beard award-winning chef, and some may even call him the godfather of soul food.
Absolutely.
All right.
Alexander Smalls.
Good to see all of you.
Chef Alexander is the visionary co-owner of two renowned New York City restaurants, Minton's and The Cecil.
He's also a proud recipient of the James Beard Award for his cookbook, Between Harlem and Heaven.
All right, chefs.
Who's ready for the Soul Starter Challenge?
You no doubt noticed this table of interesting cuts of pork.
I see all the parts of the pig that, to some, would be unpleasurable.
But that's what we, as a culture, had to eat.
We had to eat the leftovers.
From pig's feet to ears and intestines.
Lord, it's your son.
If you know anything about soul food, you know some of these items carry with them a poignant history about our past.
Though enslaved people were responsible for feeding the families of slaveholders, they were rarely given the same quality of food.
Despite this, our ancestors used their cooking skills and knowledge of seasonings to turn these ingredients into robust, flavorful meals.
We had to make do, and we created amazing dishes from these parts.
This week's Soul Starter Challenge, you'll be assigned one of the cuts that is considered low on the hog.
You'll have 45 minutes to create a soulful and innovative dish with your cut at the forefront.
It's going to be tough.
That's going to be hard.
Being a Southern-style chef, seeing those parts of the pig, I'm familiar with it all.
While there will be no elimination after the Soul Starter, the chef that makes the biggest impression on our judges will once again receive an advantage in the cook-off challenge.
There you go, Cardi.
To determine your ingredient assignments, I'll be drawing spoons.
Come on, give me something good.
The chef that will be cooking with intestines is... Jamarius.
Pig's feet.
Dorian.
Pig snout.
Fred.
The spleen.
Chef Shaq.
I didn't even know a pig had a spleen.
Let's see who's going to be working with the liver.
Chef Ross.
I got you.
Don't fall.
The pigtails.
Chef Chris.
So that means, Chef Tearsa.
You'll be working with pig ears.
Tearsa.
She's been wincing every spoon you've been pulling.
What in the world do you do with a pig ear?
Definitely feeling out of my comfort zone.
I don't know what y'all waiting for because the time starts now.
45 minutes is not a lot of time.
Make sure you're utilizing it right.
Make it happen.
I didn't know it was a pig.
So low in the hog is really defined as cuts that are not as desirable, versus high in the hog, you're using more premium cuts, right?
The things that everybody kind of goes for.
This is a tough one.
Well, it's tough because all the parts of the meat are tough.
Of course.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, you're also talking about a direct connection to Africa, where whole animals are roasted and braised and cooked in the ground.
Right.
And you're talking about nose-to-tail cooking, right?
Yes.
Wait.
No, no, no.
We're going to rework that.
I grew up here.
From the Ruda to the Tudor, baby.
Come on, Alice.
Let's talk our language here.
Chef Dorian won the challenge last week.
She served us two amazing dishes last week.
She definitely has a target on her back.
And rightfully so.
She's an awesome cook.
So pig feet is something that we eat on New Year's Day.
You know, when you think about moving forward and where we want to go in the new year, it's all about the feet.
Yes.
I grew up eating pig's feet.
My son loves it.
But for me personally, I do not work with them very often at all.
But I know that I want to keep the foot whole.
So I'm making pig feet stew with Carolina gold rice grains.
I really am not mad at Chef Dorian's approach right now.
It looks like she's got a stew going on.
So not only is she adding in and fortifying that stew, but she's braising at the same time, which is smart.
She's kind of doing two things at the same time.
With that preparation, you're doing one of the oldest traditions of African food, which is smothering.
Yes.
Ancestors, be with me.
I ain't never touched a pig here in my life.
I'm looking at Chef Tearza.
What do you guys think she should do with those pig ears?
Fry them.
Fry them for sure.
Yeah, no, fry them.
When in doubt, fry.
Who doesn't like fried food?
I'm making beer-battered pig ears with a sweet potato coconut bisque.
Mm-hmm.
That soup gonna be fire.
When I create a dish, I really like to layer different elements.
I had a restaurant for a short stint.
It was a soul food restaurant, and I got rave reviews.
But it was too much of a sacrifice to be away from my children.
As a single mom, I had to make a choice.
My kids are the most important thing.
Oh, dear Lord, help me.
Let me come and see what you're doing with them pig ears, girl.
Can I bite into one real quick?
Yeah.
Help.
Oh, you're going to eat it raw?
I'm going to.
Well, I'm going for the texture.
Oh, Chef, come on.
Just be careful with the cartilage.
You want to feel the texture.
All right.
Thanks, Chef.
Appreciate it.
I feel really good.
I'm making fried pork liver for the judges.
I'm going to make a gravy with some cannellini beans.
And that's that.
I've never worked with pig liver before, but I have worked with chicken liver.
Growing up, we loved fried chicken livers.
It's like a quick snack.
So my plan is to treat this liver just as I would fried chicken livers.
Time, please.
Time, time, time.
Time right here?
No, no, no.
Time as in the clock.
Chefs, 30 minutes left.
Jeez.
Looks like Chef Shaq has yet to actually start any cooking.
That's giving me a little bit of worry, I'll be honest.
It's taking me a long time to clean the spleen.
And that spleen is not going to cook itself, right?
She's going to have to do something with it.
I'm tapping into my Caribbean roots, and I think I'm going to go brown stewed spleen with coconut rice.
I've never worked with a spleen before, and this is making me nervous.
Chef Shaq.
Yes?
You cooking anything?
It's going.
Are you worried?
Uh, no.
No.
Girl, I'm worried.
We're worried for you.
I'm worried.
Get it going, guys.
You have to respect the time, especially with these really tough parts.
Should have been the first thing in the pot.
First thing in the pot.
Exactly.
Because she could have tenderized as it came.
Without a doubt.
Let's see how these baby crisped up for me.
We're going to have something good.
What I'm doing is raised chitlins, frisee coleslaw with fried okra.
I want it to go for flavors.
I want it to get that vinegar.
I want it to get that hot.
So I'm going to chop them down just a little bit.
How you looking over there?
I'm decent.
So I'm assigned the pigtails.
Back home, we eat this for breakfast all the time.
Back in the day, when pigs were slaughtered, the white folks would take the good parts of the pig.
Being the innovative folks that we are, we made something delicious from these parts of the pig.
Oh, yeah.
Right away, I'm thinking scrapple.
So what I'm preparing is a pigtail scrapple with an okra chow chow.
Chef Chris screams this cuisine because he has, obviously, a strong soul food background.
He has a really, really strong European and French kind of techniques as well.
So I'm looking to him to kind of bridge that gap.
Scrapple, traditionally, is all of this.
The ears, the spleen, the feet.
And you really turn it into something beautiful.
It's almost like a low country pate.
Why do the French get to have all the fun when it comes to charcuterie?
I'm feeling good so far.
What's Fred doing over there?
Chef Fred, what are you working on over there?
What are you doing over there?
I'm working on a black-eyed pea snout soup.
Oh.
Talk to me, talk to me.
What do you got going on inside?
So we got some of that pig snout in there, chopped it up real nice.
For my thickener, I use the black-eyed peas.
OK.
You hungry?
I'm hungry for some of it.
Come on, get nice and crispy for me, baby.
The snout, not so much.
But I'm looking forward to giving them the benefit of the doubt and seeing what they bring.
Chefs, 15 minutes left on the clock.
Wait up already, man, you quick.
Jamari is already plating.
Girl, no, no, he's not.
You just called a 15-minute time clock, right?
And here he is again.
Plating early.
Plating time, and he's plating early.
I'm going to go see why he's plating so early.
Please do.
Let me go see.
All right.
OMG.
Chef.
Yes.
Now I know.
I'm sweating profusely now.
Yes.
You're already plating.
Chef, I, I, this was.
We got 15 minutes left.
It's what my brain told me, Chef.
You were on the bottom last week.
The judges were concerned that you'd finish pretty fast.
That's true.
Do you feel like you've done that same thing today?
I do feel like I'm done pretty quick.
All right, Chef.
Just think about it.
For sure.
All right.
Thank you.
10 minutes left on the clock.
I'm going to start building the flavors for my curry.
But I'm running out of time, and I know I've got to get a move on it.
Chef Shaq looks like she's got her curry on with 10 minutes left.
Can you make a curry in 10 minutes?
Do you want to?
Yeah, yeah.
I wouldn't feel comfortable serving a curry made in 10 minutes.
No.
Yeah, not at all.
Time is not my friend with this challenge.
But I got to stay focused and try to get this done.
Oh, God.
I don't often get nervous, but maybe my nerves are getting to me a little bit.
I'm running out of time, but I know that the flavors are there, and I hope the judges see that.
Sweating heavy, cooking crazy.
Light for the chef.
Chef, one minute left.
Guys, we need a sense of urgency, guys.
Focus on what you have on the plate right now.
Season it.
Garnish it.
Make sure it's clean.
This is tough.
Shouldn't be cooking right now.
We got to go, guys.
Push, push, push.
Come on, guys.
Come on.
Chefs, 10 seconds left.
That's 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Step away from your station.
Oh, my god.
I'm going to have a heart attack.
It's over.
Woo!
Not a deal.
You did it.
I'm a little bit concerned.
I'm not sure my rice cooked enough.
The clock definitely got to me this round.
You did it, Chef.
Got something in the bowl.
Yep.
It's in there.
Yeah, I see it.
The heat got turned up in the kitchen today.
I may have finished early, but I tasted my dish, and I'm super confident about it.
Good, homie?
Looks nice.
I noticed Jamarius's dish, wondering how come he played it again so early.
Chitlins usually take a long time, so to be done 15 minutes before your time expires makes you scratch your head a little bit.
All right, chefs, it will be up to the judges to see how well you succeeded.
Let's go dig in.
OK.
Looking around at everyone else's dishes, I think that my dish is beautiful and elegant, and I think I might win this thing.
Chef.
Hey.
How are you?
Hello, Chef Tirza.
Hi.
Can you tell the judges what you made?
Today, I made a beer-battered pig ear in a ginger, coconut, sweet potato bisque.
I have never had a pig ear, pig foot, pig spleen, a pig ear.
I've had bacon.
Girl, you don't know what you were missing.
I know.
All right, judges, what do you think?
These potatoes are so exciting.
Thank you.
I mean, the texture, the balance, the coconut, so delicious.
Sometimes pig ears, if you don't season them correctly, they will lack flavor.
Yeah.
The fact that you used beer truly enhanced the flavor.
And I think that with the bisque was a great contrast.
Thank you, Chef Pearson.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you all so much.
Chef Chris, good to see you.
Good to see you.
Chef Chris, what have you plated today?
Right here is a pigtail scrapple with an okra chow chow.
I love when a chef can focus on three or four ingredients.
The chow chow, okra, straight to the point.
The scrapple itself, absolutely delicious.
I would need a little bit more salt.
Other than that, awesome job.
Chef Chris, I beg to differ.
I think that this scrapple has just the right amount of salt.
The only thing I think something bright would have made it popped a bit more.
Thank you, Chef.
Good to see you.
Chef Shaq, how are you?
How are you, queen?
Good to see you.
Hello, Chef.
Hello, hello.
What was your ingredient, and what did you plate today?
I actually had the spleen, and so I made a brown stew with the coconut rice.
No, it shouldn't have this much pink in it.
Oh, yeah, OK.
Oh, Chef.
No, you can't do that.
Yeah, unfortunately, Chef, I'm going to either have to eat off of someone else's plate, but this one, a little bit more than underdone.
Yeah, these are all cooked.
These are cooked, yeah.
Oh, yours are cooked?
Yeah.
OK.
Let's do that.
Thank you.
Try that piece.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Well, Chef, there's obviously two pieces, Chef Melba's and mine, that are underdone.
But from the piece that I had from Chef Alexander, there's actually a little bit of intelligence in that cook.
I hate to tell you this, the rice was way undercooked.
Yeah.
You know, even though the spleen wasn't where you wanted it to be, I would have loved for you to have a killer slamming rice.
It feels hurried, and it tastes hurried.
Thank you, Chef Shaq.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef.
Chef Jamarius, what did you plate today?
So what you have here, braised chitlins, fried okra, a frisee salad, and a spicy aioli.
Chef.
Yes.
I saw you plating.
We have 15 minutes left in the cook.
Uh-huh.
Why didn't you use all your time?
My approach to cooking in general is I like really small plates.
You know, Southern food can be very heavy.
I want to do something light, something classy, something elegant, but still a Southern approach.
I'm listening to you talk about not wanting to do a really heavy plate, but this actually eats really, really heavy, especially for a salad.
I just think that you can utilize the time a little bit better.
OK.
You can make more of a cohesive dish rather than things that just kind of feel like they're all disjointed and you just put them on a plate.
OK.
Chef Demarius.
Yes.
I expected so much more from you.
OK.
The chitlins are not cooked through.
Should you be here next week, take your time.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef.
I'm disappointed.
This plate was not what I wanted it to be.
Chef, hi.
Hey, surprise.
What's up?
How are you?
That's a big smile over there.
I'm just so happy to see you.
So my dish for you all today is a fried pork liver with garlic smashed cannellini beans and gravy.
Chef, tell me this.
You nervous?
For this person to show up here today is mind-blowing.
Yeah, I'm nervous.
I'm crazy.
I'm out of my mind.
He's royalty.
Yeah.
You know, I value these are our guides.
You know, I value you all.
I value you, beautiful.
OK, OK, OK.
OK.
Beautiful plate.
I love the textures, the flavors.
Now let me say this to you.
The liver is overcooked.
Take that away.
This is some good eating.
My favorite are these beans.
You smash them.
We have texture.
We have crispy.
We have creamy.
This is a home run.
Great job.
Great.
Thank you so much.
Chef Dorian, how are you?
How's it going, Chef?
How are you?
Can you please tell us what you prepared?
So what I made for you is a pig foot stew with Carolina rice grits.
All right.
Chef, I think you brought it.
This looks like a beautiful dish.
I can taste low country all up in it.
Thank you so much.
I'm going to have to disagree with Chef Alex.
I want to like this dish a lot more, but I get a little bit of underdone in my rice.
Altogether, it's an OK dish for me.
Thank you, Chef Dorian, for transporting us to the low country.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Chef Brad.
What's going on?
What I've cooked for you all is a pig snout soup with a chicharron and hot sauce garnish.
I love the presentation, man.
Good stuff.
I really enjoyed the soup, man, and the pig snout.
I think it was a really intelligent decision to add it as a crunch factor.
Beautiful job, man.
Really good stuff.
Thank you.
Chef Fred, that's a good nose.
That's a good snout.
The soup is velvety.
It's delicious.
However, it's light.
Yes.
And then with the fried snout dancing there for all of us to eat, it's a nice waltz.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Yes, sir.
Who takes a pig snout and turn it into a four-star soup?
I feel like I'm in the top three.
Time was not my friend.
I know the spleen was undercooked.
So after this soul starter, I really need to prove to the judges that I can cook.
You all had 45 minutes to create a soulful and innovative dish featuring unconventional pig cuts at the forefront.
Some of you handled this task with grace.
while others struggled a bit.
Let's start with the chefs that came up short.
Chef Jack, your spleen was uncooked, and your rice was undercooked.
Chef Jamarius, this is not a game.
This is a competition.
Your chitlings pretty much darn near raw.
All right, chefs, some of you did wow the judges.
Chef Chris, really good stuff.
The scrapple was delicious.
This is the type of food that we want to see.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
Chef Fred loved your dish.
The salad was, for me, the most dreaded dish.
And yet, it became something special.
Thank you.
Chef Fred, Chef Chris, you both made beautiful dishes.
You were given really difficult ingredients.
But one of you got a pigtail up.
on the other chef.
The winner of the Soul Starter Challenge is... Chef Chris, congratulations.
I feel great.
Super excited.
I'm continuing my streak, and I'm clearly the front-runner at this point.
Chef Chris, you really impressed the judges with your dish.
That means you've won an advantage in the Cook-Off Challenge.
It feels awesome to have won.
I'm the one to beat.
Chefs, your next challenge is called the Tribute to Trailblazers.
Nice.
OK.
The African-American experience has been an ongoing story of hope and determination in the face of adversity.
These accounts of perseverance are embodied by modern Black heroes who, against all odds, have become exceptional in their craft and are paving the way for future generations.
For your cook-off challenge, you'll be paying tribute to black trailblazers by creating a meal inspired by their iconic accomplishments.
I have some cards in front of me.
The seven cards with seven iconic trailblazers.
Chef Chris, since you won the solo starter challenge, you get to draw the first card.
Okay.
Ooh.
Wow.
Stacey Abrams.
Wow, Stacey Abrams.
She is like a modern day Dr. King.
It's awesome to have chosen her.
All right, Chef Shaq.
Spike Lee.
All right, Spike Lee.
Chef Doreen.
Queen Beyonce.
She's elevated herself to the highest peak of entertainment.
I'm honored to have Beyonce as my icon.
Ooh, wow.
Michelle Obama.
I am overwhelmingly excited.
She is my mentor from afar.
Chef Tirza.
Ooh, RuPaul.
So Chef Fred, I'm going to come back here to you.
Poetic.
So Chef Jamarius, that is yours.
LeBron James.
The king, baby.
Let's go.
LeBron James.
Guys, have fun.
This is one of the first challenges where your creativity comes first.
We're not necessarily giving you too much of what you can and cannot cook, but we're leaving it up to you to really honor these icons.
Well, you guys got a big challenge on your hand.
60 minutes on the clock for the culture.
Time starts now.
Let's go.
Come on.
One hour, guys.
Judges, how do you think the chefs should approach this challenge?
They have these iconic people that they're inspired by.
I would treat it as, what would I serve them?
But most importantly, bring your best.
Yeah.
I think this is one of those challenges where emotion is kind of the forefront.
You're leading in with your emotion, but you're finishing with your skill and what you know about food.
Cinnamon.
So really, they have full reign to go savory, go sweet.
So I really, really am excited to see their personality come out.
We need some music up in here.
If you ever wanted to bring it, this is the time to bring it.
And if Chef Jamarius leaves any time on that clock.
I don't even want to see what you do.
You see I'm talking through my teeth, right?
First challenge, I know I bombed it.
But I'll tell you, this round, I'm bringing that King James LeBron energy.
You know what I'm saying?
Looks like Chef Jamarius is breaking down a full red snapper.
How could you not show up well for LeBron?
So I'm making a jerk red snapper.
I'm making mac and cheese.
I'm making braised cabbage.
LeBron's energy just inspires me.
When he goes out to that court, he gives it everything that he has.
And I'm going to do the same thing.
2020 was probably the worst year of my life.
I lost both of my parents in the same week.
It means so much to me to be here competing.
Not only am I going to compete, I'm going to win.
I have my mother and father watching over me.
It's for you.
The trailblazers our chefs are honoring, the impact that they've had in our community, do you think our chefs are going to be able to honor them in the right way?
Whip it.
They all seemed really excited about the challenge, and that's a great start.
You want people to really feel that emotion about their icon and really want to go and represent them as well as they can.
You know, Stacey Abrams inspires me because, for the longest time, black people didn't have the access to vote.
And even now, in some areas, there's a lot of walls that are being built to still prevent us from voting.
Stacey is breaking down those walls.
So right away, I know that she's from the South, and I want to make a Southern dessert.
Chef Chris, what are we working with over there?
Well, you know what?
I'm going to try to make something a little sweet, because Stacy has definitely made our lives a little sweeter.
All right.
So it's going to be like a plantain cream pie.
If she were here, I would like to sit down with her, maybe a cup of coffee, talk about life, politics, perhaps.
Beyonce, the ruler of the beehive.
Yes, yes, yes.
OK, when you look at this queen and how she has risen to the top, that's what I'm expecting from our chefs here today.
Yeah, for sure.
I definitely need to make a good dish or the beehive is coming after me.
I have one chance to cook for Beyonce and impress her.
So I'm going to go with lamb chops, candied yams, and macaroni and cheese.
That's a luxury.
That's not something that you get all the time.
I want to be like all of these icons in the culinary world.
I want people to think about me and say, you know, Dorian paved the way for Southern cooking to be looked at differently.
Who has the grits?
Chef Shaq, once again, is moving like molasses.
Molasses.
Yes.
OK, Spike loves fried chicken, mac and cheese, and he just loves Southern food all together.
So I'm going to go with my smoked gouda bread cakes, and I'm going to pan fry my chicken breasts.
He's so creative and eclectic, so I want to honor him in that way.
As a single mom, winning this competition for my children would mean everything to me.
They are the ones who keep me going.
Chef Tirza.
Yes, Chef.
What's the inspiration you have going on with RuPaul?
First of all, his name's Roo, so I'm making a Roo.
I love this.
He loves real food.
He's colorful, flamboyant.
So I'm going to have some fun.
OK.
For RuPaul, I'm going to make a dish that has lots of textures, tons of flavors, and is beautiful.
I got time today.
So I'm going to make a seafood etouffee with red snapper and mussels.
I do have a personal connection to RuPaul because my son is transgender.
So not only does it represent Ru, it's also for my son.
I have a lot riding on this.
Hey, whipping in the kitchen.
Chef Roz, how you doing over there, Chef Roz?
I'm doing good.
All right.
Michelle Obama said, we're always becoming.
And it resonated with me so much because I am kind of transitioning into not really wanting to be in the background as a chef anymore.
So her saying that kind of gave me permission to come out of that shell.
When I think about making a dish for her, I just know that I have to make something on the healthier side.
When she was the first lady, she started the Let's Move campaign, which was to change childhood obesity.
But I also think about what her mom made as a staple in their home, which was macaroni and cheese.
I'm making a macaroni and cheese for Michelle Obama.
Also, I want to give her a healthy component, which is the seared chicken breast with a salad.
I'm going to make a nice light vinaigrette to go with it.
Chefs, 30 minutes left on the clock.
Are you serious?
Half of your time has left.
So I get Amanda Gorman, and immediately I'm thinking coffee shop vibes, jazz vibes.
Chef Fred.
Yes, sir.
What's the vision?
How are you feeling about it?
Poetic.
She's influenced by raisin in the sun, so I'm going raisin bread pudding with a fresh berry compote.
I think I can switch up the look of bread pudding.
I'm going to make some spheres with this thing.
I think spheres kind of give it the modern look.
We're taking it back to day one.
I'm plating up these fritters.
Boom.
Shakalaka.
He's going to make some bread pudding balls.
All right.
I mean, this is exactly what we asked for.
It's playful.
This is what we want to see.
And it looks like he's having a lot of fun with the challenge.
Chefs, less than 20 minutes left on the clock.
Behind, chefs.
Behind.
I realize I'm running out of time.
I have to get started on this red snapper.
It's a whole fish, so I have to break it down.
This fish is giving me the hardest time, and I am getting so frazzled.
Come on, you just need one beautiful piece.
I have to get this fish cooking.
I can't spend any more time trying to fillet it.
Struggling.
So I just take two pieces and make them four.
Some fish is better than none.
Chefs, 15 minutes left on the clock.
I'm ready to fry my grit cakes.
I go to the freezer, and my grit cakes aren't solid.
If I try to fry the grit cakes before they're solid, they're just going to fall apart.
Alexander, do you think Chef Shaq is going to be able to get those grit cakes done in time?
No.
Yeah.
Oh, my god.
Could you imagine having one of those trailblazers come to your house at a dinner party, and you have nothing to serve?
And you have nothing to serve.
She's going to uncook herself out the door.
Chef, there's 10 minutes left to get one step closer to that $50,000 grand prize.
Don't be the chef packing your bags tonight.
I got to figure out something to do.
I do not want to go home.
I have to go to plan B. So I'm taking them back to the pot.
Unacceptable.
Because it's a competition.
Yes.
And you can't bring a doctor's excuse or a note from your mama.
It's like you're performing, but you're not.
Chef Shaq.
Yes, ma'am.
How are you doing over there?
Good.
I had to change up a little bit, but we're moving.
Change up.
Will you be able to plate something?
I will be able to plate everything I want to plate.
You heard it.
She had to change her plan.
You have to take what you have and make it into something.
And make it work.
I mean, that's what we've done all of our lives.
We've taken what we have, and we've had to make it work.
Which is why we are here.
Amen.
Come on, baby.
Come on, team.
What's going on?
Two minutes.
Got you on the two minutes.
I got you.
Come on, Chef Dorian.
Oh, looking good over there, Chef.
Oh, my God.
All right, chefs.
You have one minute left on the clock.
One minute.
Come on, you guys.
This is for $50,000.
Make this happen.
If that doesn't excite you, I don't know what will.
Bring it on home.
10 seconds left.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Time's up.
Step away from your stations.
Chefs.
Let's go.
King James, what's up?
I'm tired.
Another one in the books.
I'm tired on this one, OK?
Wow.
Oh, God.
It is hot.
This kitchen is intense.
It didn't go as I planned, but I'm definitely happy with it.
I want to be poetic with this dish.
A creative mind was going, but I see Chef Jamarius' dish.
A King James spirit.
And he has snapper, a beautiful jerk sauce.
I'm a little bit worried about my dish.
Even this is my last plate that I make in here.
I gave it my all.
And that's all that matters.
I feel amazing.
I'm confident that this red snapper is going to be the best dish this round.
All right, chefs, we each gave you a black trailblazer, and we challenged you all to create a meal to honor them.
Did you live up to that challenge?
All right, Chef Chris, you are in the hot seat first.
How did you pay tribute to your trailblazer?
Well, I believe that Miss Abrams has made our world a sweeter place, so dessert immediately came to mind.
So in front of you is a deconstructed plantain cream pie with salted caramel.
Chef Chris, Stacey Abrams has definitely made our lives a lot sweeter, so I appreciate the dessert.
I think Stacey Abrams would find it well-balanced, but the caramel is a little salty for me.
But I have to force myself to stop eating it, so.
Yeah.
That chantilly, man, that's just, that's a home run.
Chantilly's amazing.
That's just so good.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chef Chris.
Thank you, Chef.
Chef Tirza, come on down.
Love the pose.
Today I made for you seafood etouffee with creamy grits, but make it fashion.
This was not only for RuPaul, but it was also for my youngest son, who is transgender.
A lot of times we think about how we can inspire our kids, but that boy inspires me so much.
He lives out loud.
He is his true self.
And I just can't wait to see him grow into his full maturity of who he is as a person.
And I want to live that way.
Wow.
Thank you, chef.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
That was really beautiful.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
I think your dish today is courageous.
I want to applaud you for authentically being you.
Thank you.
I feel like this is a plate of celebration.
I like the way the mussels are cooked.
But your seasonings didn't develop.
Also, the balance of starch and protein is a little challenging.
I'm going to have to agree.
This is an issue that we had with last week as well with your jambalaya.
Also, the etouffee tastes a little bit under-seasoned.
There's not a lot of chefs here, and every week,
One person's leaving, so you got to make sure that it makes sense.
Thank you, Chef Tirza.
Thank you.
Chef Fred, you're next up.
Come on down.
Who was your trailblazer, and how did you honor them?
I had the opportunity to honor Amanda Gorman.
So we're going to bring you all in the poetic vibes.
So as I say some of her accolades, can you please just snap for me?
Oh, OK.
Do that.
OK.
Amanda Gorman, she's poetic.
Harvard graduate.
I call this dish bread pudding dancing over berry pool compote.
Chef Fred, she ain't the cutest girl in the room.
OK, let's keep it 100.
But damn, this is some great bread pudding.
Thank you.
The bread pudding is delicate.
It's sweet, but not too sweet.
It's really elevated.
There's not much to gripe on this, man.
Good job today.
Thank you, Chef Fred.
Chef Dorian, come on down.
Hey, Chef.
Hello, hello, hello.
So my icon was Beyonce.
And in front of you, you have a butter-based herbed lamb chop with macaroni and cheese with a sweet potato puree.
Chef Dorian, the lamb is cooked really, really well.
Beautifully seasoned.
My issue is the mac and cheese itself.
The noodles aren't seasoned.
And I don't get too much cheese.
The Canton Yams, for this dish, they're a little sweet for me.
And the macaroni and cheese, I could have used more sauce.
But I can tell that you really put yourself in this dish.
This dish is you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Chef Dorian.
Thank you.
Next up.
Chef Roz.
Hi, everyone.
So my trailblazer is Michelle Obama.
I wanted to honor her healthy approach.
So what I've made for you today is a pan-seared chicken breast, baked macaroni and cheese, and a salad with heirloom tomato.
The flavors are so good.
But where I'm having a little bit of hiccup is the salad.
Leaving your lettuce on the bottom gathers all the liquid that you put on it, so it becomes soggy.
This dish is simply delicious.
The mac and cheese is by far the best that we've had.
This is so good.
It's just very clean and unfussy like Michelle Obama.
Thank you, Chef Ross.
Thank you.
Thank you all.
Appreciate it.
Come on down, Chef Shaq.
Spike Lee was my trailblazer.
And so I made a cognac cream smothered chicken breast with smoked gouda grits and fried collard greens.
Girl, mama love her some grits.
And you did the right thing.
Thank you.
There was a pivot.
How did you decide to come up with this plate here?
I wanted to make gouda grit cake.
The freezer just was not cold enough.
Well, let me tell you, that freezer did you a favor, OK?
Because there's no way a grits cake would have tasted as good as these.
The gravy, the cognac, it's so decadent.
I almost wish that I had a fresh elephant.
Now, I know Spike Lee very well.
And if he were here, this dish would be so empty.
Thank you, Chef Shaq.
Good job, Shaq.
Thank you.
Chef Jamarius, come on down.
My trailblazer today was LeBron James.
So I just kept pulling on LeBron James spirit.
What you have in front of you is jerk bread snapper, braised cabbage, and you have mac and cheese.
Chef Jamarius, man, this jerk sauce is the star of the show, bro.
I think when you strive for greatness like LeBron, then you can get some serious good results out of that.
Not the best presentation, but this is where we want to see from you.
Man, you got to put this in a bottle.
Yeah, you got to bottle that, man.
You got to bottle that.
That's legit.
This is sick.
I want to commend you for taking meaningful criticism, digesting that, and put it in motion.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
You know, with me having two hiccups from the last two rounds, I wanted to come back with a vengeance because, uh,
I actually lost both of my parents last year, exact same week.
I lost my mother to COVID.
And grieving with my mother's situation, I get a call that my dad, he had a massive heart attack.
So I'm competing for my parents.
Thank you, sir.
Appreciate you.
This show is allowing us to dig deep
You have to remember that as African-Americans, our emotions didn't matter.
Chefs, I think y'all should hear this.
I know we're making a television show, but this is bigger than that.
Chefs, we've had some real human experiences and communion.
You're putting your heart on the plate, and we taste it.
Yeah, and it's so much more than just food.
It's storytelling.
And remember, our stories weren't always welcomed.
People didn't want to hear.
People didn't care.
As black folks, we have to work.
10 times it's harder.
You know the deal.
And it makes you appreciate it 10 times better when it happens, because it wasn't given to you.
This is so much more than just a show.
It's an experience, and it's a journey.
And I'm so glad that we're all on this journey together.
Every one of you are worthy.
Every one of you belong here.
Every one of you have earned the right to be here.
Amen?
Amen.
All right.
It's OK.
Just got to keep my lashes on for a little bit longer, y'all.
OK, makeup.
Thank you, guys.
All right, chefs.
I mean, we definitely had a heart-to-heart moment, and I think it was needed.
But unfortunately, one of you will have to go home today.
Give the judges a minute as they deliberate.
Thank you, chefs.
That's a moment that really had to happen to us.
Yeah, for sure.
Sooner or later.
Soul food is not just about food.
It's about coming from the soul.
Yeah.
All right, judges, who impressed you the most?
Chef Jamarius really showed up today.
That jerk sauce was delicious.
Even though the presentation was a little off for me, he did a phenomenal job, especially through everything he went through.
So who else impressed you all?
Fred took a licking and kept on cooking.
I like that.
He was able to create a product that was so indulgent.
I thought it was outstanding.
Now, judges, who do you think is in the bottom?
Chef Chris's dessert was so complex to me.
I tasted a lot of good parts, but then also that caramel.
But it's about balance.
It's about balance.
Yes.
And I thought Chef Dorian could have done a little bit better.
That mac and cheese wasn't as inspired as I really wanted it to be.
Not much sauce.
It was just kind of dry.
And the candied yams was just too sweet.
Is there another chef that kind of missed the mark?
Chef Tirza's dish had a lot of promise, but apparently a repeated problem, protein to starch ratio.
Where Chef Tirza missed was totally in execution.
Yeah.
It wasn't seasoned well.
All right, so do you all feel like you have a top two and a bottom two?
I think we do.
Chefs, wow, had us all out there in tears.
But with that being said, the judges would like to see Chef Fred, Chef Jamarius, Chef Tirza, and Chef Dorian.
Come with me.
I'm feeling nervous after the tasting.
They loved the lamb.
They did not like the macaroni and cheese.
I don't think that the judges understood my vision.
The judges said my plating wasn't the prettiest girl in the room.
What does that mean?
Chefs, the four of you made the judges' favorite and least favorite dishes this week.
Chef Jamarius and Chef Fred,
Congratulations.
The two of you made a big impression on the judges.
Not only did you cook their favorite dishes of the cook-off, you both beautifully captured the essence of your trailblazers in your food.
Fred, that was a mighty fine bread pudding.
It was delicious.
Hats off to you.
Thank you.
Thank you, brother.
Chef Jamarius, that jerk sauce was probably one of the best jerk sauces that we have ever tasted.
You showed up today.
Thank you.
And you showed out.
Chef Jamarius, congratulations.
You are the winner of this challenge.
Jamarius, sometimes you've got to go through something to get to something.
And that is what you've done today.
Congratulations, Chef.
Thank you, Chef.
I won a challenge.
I'm going to the next week.
I'm coming with that LeBron James energy.
And we coming for $50,000, y'all.
He won the round.
I told you.
He said you won.
I didn't say that.
He had to come back story, man.
Chef Tirza, Chef Dorian, I'm sorry, but one of you has just cooked your last meal with us.
Chef Tirza, unfortunately, we wanted more flavor out of the dish.
It really has to be a lot smarter cooking.
Chef Dorian, the yams were way too sweet, and the macaroni and cheese wasn't creamy.
It was dry.
Chef Tirza?
I'm sorry, but your dish just didn't bring the soul that the judges were looking for.
Chef Dorian, that means you're safe.
You may leave the kitchen.
Oh, god.
Yes, ma'am.
Chef Tirza, let this be a teachable moment for you.
You've had an amazing opportunity.
You've shined, and you've also represented your family and your community.
This is not a moment to cry.
This is a moment to celebrate.
I wanted this so bad, like, just to be amongst other Black chefs, just to show my kids that just because you have adversity doesn't mean you can't step out.
So I'm very grateful for the opportunity.
We know this is not the last of you.
Thank you.
Thank you, guys.
Evening, little.
Keeping her meant everything to me.
I just wanted to represent my family.
You did, though.
You did.
Look how far you came, though.
I really was honored to be judged by legends.
I'm going to continue fighting for my place in this industry, and I'm not going to stop.
I get knocked down, and I get back up and keep going.