[Lisa] African American cuisine is American cuisine.
[Michael] I'm celebrating Black history
every time I'm in my kitchen.
[Brian] We're here and we've been here.
[Michael] Cornbread, collard greens, black-eyed peas.
[Jas] It comes with love when we cook.
It comes from healing.
And it looks good.
[Ted] We're celebrating Black History Month.
Ooh. Oh! Oh, yes!
Boy was doing a catfish dance.
[Ted] Four African American chefs bring
deep culinary roots to the Chopped kitchen.
[Brian] We doing doing over here. We doing.
Let go and letting God, honey.
Come on with it.
[Michael] I'm the best at what I do.
Come on, come on.
[Brian] I don't believe in second place.
Get out of here.
Who does that?
Oh, my God.
The time is not on my side.
Don't look at the clock, the clock's looking at you.
Let's go!
The African diet's where food is very spice-forward.
With pan-African food, what we're trying to do is
create and elevate
a new dining experience for everyone.
I constantly try to create
the feeling of love while I'm making a dish.
There's no ceiling to my creativity.
The magic of not knowing what's in the box,
that's nerve-racking.
Tell me what's in the box!
Oh, hi!
Wine time. Yes.
We love the vino, baby.
I grew up eating classic French food
but I really love Louisiana French Creole.
[chuckles] Creole spices.
I want to be like, the Oprah of cooking.
My goal is to give young Black girls
an opportunity in the kitchen to level up and step up.
So, I don't have time to lose.
I'm always a winner. Always.
[Brian] My name is Brian Jupiter.
I cook you know, and I've been cooking for a long time.
[Brian] Oh, that's good.
My cooking, it's an ode to my hometown, New Orleans
so, a lot of Cajun favorites.
When I was growing up in kitchens,
we didn't have a lot of representation.
And that's what I still fight for every day now.
I'm ready. I can saute with the best of them.
There she goes singing again.
You get my silliness.
I have been cooking for 46 years.
This is my life. It is, literally.
I grew up in North Carolina.
I am proud to represent the South.
Don't judge me. This ain't a diet dish.
This is where I live. This is what I do.
It's my obligation to perpetuate the legacy
of my matriarchs in my family.
That's it.
Heaven on a plate. [laughs]
- [Lisa cheers] - [Michael] Wow.
Yes. It's real.
Hello, chefs.
- Hello. - Hey.
In celebration of Black History Month,
this competition will honor the contributions
of Black cooks and cooking traditions
in American cuisine.
[both] Thanks for having us.
- [Ted] You psyched to be here? - Oh yeah, I'm ready.
Definitely.
Black History Month is every month for me, you know.
It's a constant celebration of what our people have
contributed to this country.
As a Black woman and as a Black chef,
this is very meaningful.
[Ted] In the baskets for each round,
you'll find staple ingredients that Black cooks and chefs
have worked with for generations.
That's awesome.
- [chuckles nervously] - [exhales]
Open them up.
Whoo.
- All right. - [Brian] All right!
- All right. - [Michael] Okay!
Oh! Oh! Oh, yes!
Oh, yes!
- [Ted] And you've got. - Catfish.
[Ted] Catfish fillets.
I'm feeling that.
[Ted] Turnips.
Yes, turnips. Hallelujah.
[Ted] Gullah red rice.
- Yes. - Yes!
[Michael] The Gullah people are from the Carolina islands.
They brought over heirloom grains to the States.
[Ted] And fresh fish peppers.
Fish peppers?
All right.
I'm okay with these ingredients.
Let's see what we can do with them.
20 minutes.
Clock starts now.
- All right, let's go guys! - Let's do it.
Let's go. Let's go.
Coming down.
What an awesome panel.
We have restaurateur and brand consultant, Tiffany Derry,
James Beard Award winner, Kwame Onwuachi,
and Iron Chef winner, Justin Sutherland.
Judges, it's so great to have you here
to celebrate Black history through food.
You know, you can't really talk about American cuisine
without talking about West African cuisine, right
and the influence that has been brought over here.
And you see that with peppers, you see that with peanuts,
you see that with watermelon, you see that with rice.
Beans, you know? So, like, I think that
this basket is kind of like a basket of America.
[Lisa] All right.
Black Americans really define American cuisine.
My great-grandmother, my grandmother and my mother
were my first culinary instructors.
We had these huge Sunday dinners and that's where
my love for food began.
The catfish, I just want to get it cooking
because I'm gonna cool it down I'm gonna use it in a beignet.
I'm making catfish and red rice beignet
with a creamed turnip sauce.
So, I put all my eggs in one basket with this beignet.
The filling for the beignet,
it's got flaked catfish, the fish pepper, the red rice.
Some green to go in the whole thing.
[Justin] Michael, I've never seen anybody more excited
for catfish in my entire life.
Boy was doing a catfish dance.
Oh, yeah, a little catfish dance. Did y'all like it?
- The Catfish Shuffle, Justin. - [Justin] Oh, that's great.
[all laughing]
[Michael] Blackened catfish,
it's a real traditional staple dish
in the South and in New Orleans.
I'm making a blackened catfish
with herb-spiced turnips and a red rice puree.
The fish peppers, I decided to pickle them.
It'll add some brightness and acidity to the dish.
So, the fresh fish peppers used
to kind of be a secret ingredient
in some of the crab and fishing houses
up in, like, Maryland, Baltimore.
That's where the name came from, at least.
All right, that's hot.
It's sort of like a mutation between
the serrano and a cayenne.
That sounds delicious.
That is spicy.
[Jas] The fish peppers are spicy.
I want to make a dressing,
give it some heat and some sweet.
I'm making a cornmeal-dusted catfish
with a citrus fish pepper dressing.
Chef, I'm here for your flour.
[Lisa] Heard.
Catfish is a big staple in the African American community.
When people didn't have much, it was a cheaper fish.
But it's full of flavor.
Cooking for Black History Month is a great experience.
We built the table and now we get to have
a seat at the table.
I want to show women of color
all over the world that we are fierce,
we are fearless and we can do it all.
[Justin] I'm hoping to see some fish fry.
If you can put a perfect breading on there,
some cornmeal, some spices, mix this up.
[Kwame] Look at it, right there.
- Look, she's got it. - She's got it.
[Brian] All right.
If I just took this catfish and fried it
and served it with a side of Gullah rice,
I would feel like I was walking into a cafeteria.
I'm making sure to transform
each and every basket ingredient.
So, I'm making a catfish and Gullah rice fritter
with a fish pepper aioli, and a turnip slaw.
[Tiffany] I see Brian taking the red rice
and using it to bind the cake which I think is very smart.
[Kwame] That's very smart.
That's a little red rice boudin.
That's a boudin!
Oh, I love boudin. Yes.
[Brian] So, this fritter's going to be
a little bit of boudin, a little bit of arancini.
Really incorporating that rice as well as the catfish.
[Kwame] So, Gullah red rice is a rice from the low country.
Sometimes it has like, a pork product in it,
whether it's ham hocks or bacon.
Some sort of tomato product and a slew of aromatics.
Chefs, ten minutes to go.
[all exclaiming]
[Brian] Going in the fryer.
- [Tiffany] Oh, God. - [Justin] Ten minutes?
That time goes fast.
[Justin] All these chefs take a lot of pride in this food.
This is all food that means something to them.
That comes from their histories, their families.
[Kwame] I'm expecting them to bring flavor, culture
and a little bit of themselves.
[Lisa] I love turnips.
I love working with turnips, I love the flavor of turnips.
Just come to a boil.
I add heavy cream.
Also want to add some sugar because that's gonna
balance out the bitterness of the turnips.
[Michael] The turnips, I am searing in a pan.
It would mean a ton for me to win this competition.
With his $10,000, I would re-invest into my children.
Start investment funds for them so that when they turn
of age, they have something to grab onto.
Jasmin!
- Hey! What's up, chef? - You all right over there?
I'm all right. I'm making it do what it do.
Let go and letting God, honey.
[Jas] I'm pulling out my catfish.
The color is not even the way I want it to be.
I thought I was crusting my catfish with cornmeal.
I crusted it with stone grits.
Who does that?
Those are the grits that take, like, hours
to cook to even soften.
Man, oh, man. What am I gonna do?
[Brian] Behind.
[Justin] I'm a little concerned on the breading
on that, I'm not gonna lie.
[Tiffany] Yeah, it looks like a stone ground cornmeal.
- Right. - Which is obviously what you don't want to use.
[Kwame] Yeah, I get it.
[Jas] I decided to stick it in the oven.
We gotta get quick on our feet with the turnips.
I wanna make a salad.
So, I decided to chop up really fine turnips
to give the salad a little bit of texture.
Coming down behind.
- [Tiffany] Brian! - Yo!
You all right?
What does all right mean?
I don't know. You're running.
- Yes, I'm gonna be great. - All right, good.
My fritter's in the fryer and now
I gotta get my turnip slaw mixed.
I add some very fine, shaved fish peppers
and some herbs.
Just about four minutes to go.
[Kwame] Let's go, chefs. You got this.
The time is not on my side.
Am I gonna be able to get this done?
Oh. Oh. You got my boat?
- [Brian] No. I just had one. - Used a boat?
Lisa is using three
of the basket ingredients in her fritter.
Four minutes left and she's just now frying them.
Lisa! Are you in the weeds?
Maybe some tall grass.
Maybe some tall grass, she said.
[Ted] Lisa has put a lot of her eggs into one basket.
Behind, behind, behind.
Oh, plates.
- [Lisa] Three minutes. - Okay.
[Tiffany] Right now, everyone is in deep hustle.
[Jas] Behind you.
[Brian] I'm making aioli to work as a sauce
with the fish peppers.
I just want to have a very rich
and flavorful sauce with this fried fritter.
[Ted] Two minute warning, chefs.
[Jas] Heard.
Yes, works.
I don't have a lot of time.
I need to do something with this rice.
I'm gonna make a puree out of this.
Oh, crap. What am I gonna do with this rice?
Just gonna... garnish with this rice at the bottom
and pray for the best.
Less than one minute left, chefs.
Final push, chefs. You got this. You got this.
[Lisa] I pull my beignets out of the fryer.
They're gorgeous, they're beautiful.
Golden-brown, they're perfect. They're exactly what I wanted.
Come on, Michael.
I see you cutting. Let's make it on the plate.
- [Ted] Chef, you gotta get this done! - [Jas] Heard.
-Get it done, chefs. Quickly, quickly. -[Brian] All right.
- Time's running out. Ten. - Final touches, final touches.
- [Tiffany] Oh, my God. - [Ted] Nine.
Eight.
- Seven, six. - [Michael] Whoo.
- [Jas] Come on, Jas. - [Ted] Five.
Four.
- Three. - [Kwame] Done, Lisa?
- [Ted] Two, one. - [Brian] There she is.
[Ted] Time's up!
That time goes fast.
[Brian] We made it. Lightning fast.
- Bam! - Whoo.
Child.
Honey is tired.
[Michael] You look good, baby. You look good.
[Jas] I'm exhausted.
You have so much in your mind that you want to do
but the time is like [snaps fingers].
[Lisa] I am exhilarated and excited
and full of adrenaline right now.
Hope for the best, right?
Chefs, you've arrived at the Chopping Block.
As we celebrate Black History Month,
we began with a basket of Gullah red rice,
catfish fillets,
turnips and fresh fish peppers.
Chef Lisa, please tell us about your starter.
My starter is a catfish and red rice beignet
with a creamed turnip sauce.
Lisa, um.
I didn't really like this dish.
- I loved it. - Oh.
I loved it.
- It was... - You scared me, Kwame.
So good.
[Kwame] When turnips are born, right?
They hope one day to become this puree.
- All right? - That's awesome.
The beignet is deliciously crispy.
The turnips is nice and creamy and smooth.
But if you didn't tell me that there was catfish
inside the beignet, I would not really know it.
I agree on that turnip puree.
I think that was smart, it was silky.
- Had a great texture. - Thank you so much.
[Ted] Next up, Chef Brian.
So, yes, I did for you
Gullah rice and catfish fritter
with a aioli and turnip slaw.
Your name is Jupiter, this dish is out of this world.
- Perfectly named. - I appreciate you.
It's got a lot of flavor.
I taste the fish peppers throughout the dish
because you sliced them so thin in that slaw.
So, you're able to enjoy them.
- But all in, good dish. - Thank you.
Chef, this was
- a very, very well balanced dish. - Thank you.
I just think if you'd have plated it bigger,
it would have had some room to breathe,
- it maybe would have stayed a little crispier. - You got it.
I think that you did a very good job
of creating flavor.
I still tasted everything individually
- and they still worked together. - Thank you.
The issue here is the plating presentation.
Right now, I am trying hard
to like, you know, to get this in there.
Next up, Chef Michael, please tell us what you made.
I've prepared for you a blackened catfish,
over a Cajun red rice puree.
[Ted] What does this competition mean to you?
[Michael] I have a big family. I have three children.
I definitely have use for $10,000
because I would put a good amount of finances away.
I want to break generational curses so that
we can, you know, build as a people.
[Justin] You really brought some bold flavors.
But your rice puree,
the texture got a little bit weird.
There was definitely some chunks of undercooked rice.
[Kwame] You know, I have to agree. The rice puree was,
was a little bit underwhelming.
Now the pepper,
it woke me up a little bit.
- Okay. - You know, biting into that.
It let me know that it was in there.
You know, you were really
embracing the basket ingredients.
I love anything blackened.
And I like the turnip.
I think that you did yourself a little bit of a disservice
by not cutting them properly
because you do have some pieces that are more crunchy.
That crunch is a little bit aggressive.
Thank you very much, you guys. Thank you so much.
Finally, it's Chef Jasmin.
I made a dusted cornmeal catfish with an arugula salad.
Why did you use stone-ground grits?
I did not mean to. I picked up the wrong thing.
-Oh. -We gotta keep going. The show must go on.
[Justin] There definitely isn't time for
- a lot of edits once you start to do in 20 minutes. - Yeah. No.
I love the vinaigrette.
It had a lot of flavor
and it really brightened up the dish.
The cook on the catfish
is beautiful. It's juicy.
It's everything you want catfish to be.
But the use of stone ground grits,
it was hard to eat.
[Tiffany] And you really didn't do much
- to the rice. - Right.
Honestly, we just wanted to see, like,
you do a little bit more to the rice so we can enjoy it.
Understandable. Thank you, chef.
I think the vinaigrette you made
was probably the star of the plate.
It was fresh, it was light.
So, I think, conceptually, you know, to give us a salad
was a very smart direction to go.
Catfish ate really well
until I bit into that coarse-ground grits.
What does Black History Month mean to you?
Black History Month is all year round.
- We built this country. - Tell them.
We were the share croppers, the field croppers.
We should talk about the true history of this country
and what we've done.
It is a time for our people to celebrate each other
with the culture and the cuisine
that we all know and love together.
[Lisa] I feel it's my destiny. I feel like,
you know, God put me here for a reason.
[Brian] It's important to me
to continue to push this legacy on.
Thank you, chefs.
[Jas] My catfish,
it tasted good and I know I cooked it well
but it's that stone grit.
Those things are hard, man.
[Michael] I want to stay very badly.
This is a unique opportunity.
It truly means the world to me to be here
and I do not want to go home.
[Ted] With the second round coming up,
it's time for the first farewell.
So,
whose dish
is on the Chopping Block?
Chef Jasmin, you've been Chopped. Judges?
Chef Jasmin,
you know, we really, really enjoyed your vinaigrette.
We just didn't feel that you did enough to the red rice.
And we couldn't get past coarse-ground cornmeal
on the outside of the fish.
And for those reasons, we had to Chop you.
Thank you for the opportunity
and it was a pleasure meeting you,
and working with all of these beautiful people.
This is amazing, so thank you.
[all] Thank you.
[Jas] I mean, I'm disappointed but I have no regrets.
Everything in life is a learning experience.
Take it, learn from it and grow from it.
Chef Michael, Chef Lisa, Chef Brian,
entree baskets are in front of you.
Check them out.
Okay.
- Okay. - Oh, y'all did it.
[Ted] And you see potlikker soup.
Y'all did it.
[Michael] Potlikker's the juices
from the stewed greens.
It creates a unctuous broth.
[Ted] Pork chops.
Okay. All right, all right.
[Brian] Oh, okay.
- [Ted] Okra. - [Brian] Fresh okra, I love.
[Lisa] Yes, honey.
Let's go.
And here we have.
[Ted] And millet.
Okay.
Different but it's good.
We'll see what happens.
Not too scared, yeah.
You know, if you want us to bring in
some pickled pig lips--
I ate pickled pig lips as a child.
Like, you would make my day
if you brought me pickled pig lips.
- Oh, would I really? Okay. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
30 minutes on the clock.
- Time starts now. - Let's do it.
[judges cheering]
[Kwame] This should be a good round.
I am excited about these ingredients.
- Potlikker? - Yes.
- Okra? - Right?
Oh, pork chops!
[Brian] Oh, those are beautiful.
[Ted] Judges, what ingredient in this basket
presents the greatest challenge?
I would say the millet for most chefs in general.
I think a lot of chefs aren't familiar with cooking millet.
It's indigenous to Africa and Northern China.
And you can cook it like rice.
I'm just worried that they may not cook it all the way.
[Lisa] I wanna get the millet going really quickly.
I know they have to cook for a long time, I know that.
The best way for me to get flavor into it
is to make risotto.
I'm making creamy collard green-topped pork chop
with a millet risotto and whole fried okra.
Soul food fills your soul. It makes you feel hugged.
It makes you feel like family and togetherness.
Honor, respect, abundance.
And that's the feeling I've tried to create.
[Lisa] Behind.
[Michael] With my cooking, I'm definitely trying to show that
pan-African cuisine can be an elevated cuisine.
It can be a refined and fine dining cuisine.
So, my plan is to execute it at a higher level.
I'm making grilled pork chops served over a curried millet
with a collard green and apple slaw
and charred okra.
I've never worked with millet before
but I'm adding a little bit of potlikker broth to it.
Then I'm teasing it with a little bit of curry powder.
Curry powder is an African ingredient.
It's big in Eritrea. It's big in East Africa.
[Tiffany] Everyone here is very familiar
with majority of the ingredients.
And so, when you know the ingredients so well,
you cook with a confidence,
that you really see on the plate.
[Brian] I work with pork chops pretty often.
My grandmother would make smothered pork chops.
My restaurant, Ina Mae,
is named after my great-grandmother
and I definitely try to carry on the legacy
of my ancestors through my food.
I'm gonna do a seared pork chop
with a charred okra salad and creamy millet.
I'm gonna fold potlikker into my millet.
Potlikker is the epitome of soul food.
The nutrients in that potlikker
was known to be healing.
[Justin] The potlikker just has such significance.
It was a way of stretching food.
It was a way of providing nutrients
for the whole family.
When there wasn't enough to feed the entire family,
the adults would get to eat the greens
and then the potlikker was given a lot of times to the children
because it absorbed a lot of the nutrients
that came from those greens.
I can tell you one thing I love most of this basket.
- I know what you're gonna say. - And it is...
- [all] Okra. - Oh, my God.
- Okra queen. - Okra queen.
- You know I am. - Okra queen, I know.
[Tiffany] I don't do the gelatinous, mucous, slime
that you get from okra when not cooked properly.
Unless you're using it more as a thickening agent.
In West Africa, we don't call it slime, we call it draw.
- No! - It's the draw.
So, we have drawn in soup, we have ground soup.
It's a desirable texture for us.
[Lisa] Okra is literally my favorite vegetable.
Fried okra is just about as Southern as you get.
[Ted] Chefs, less than 20 minutes to go here.
Heard.
Yes. Nice char.
I just want to make a little salad out of the okra
with some bell peppers, some Tabasco,
a touch of honey.
[Michael] I love to pan sear okra in a dry pan
to quickly crisp the outside.
By doing that, you avoid the slimy texture.
- Less than 10 minutes to go, chefs. - [all] Heard.
[Tiffany] Y'all, Lisa right now is charring her pork chop,
and it looks good.
Chef Lisa, those grilled pork chops look amazing.
Yes, honey, yes!
- All right! - Yes, honey, yes!
[Justin] Michael, just now breaking into his
- Behind. - [Justin] pork chops.
The pork chop, I am seasoning
with a little bit of mustard powder.
Mustard goes really well with pork.
[Ted] Less than five minutes on that clock.
[Kwame] Brian is laser focused.
[Justin] I think we're smelling the rub that
-he put on his pork chop. -[Tiffany] Yes! I like those spices.
[Justin] Smells good.
[Lisa] Took the collard greens from the potlikker,
added mascarpone cheese and parmesan cheese,
and then melted over that pork chop in the oven.
[Ted] Less than two minutes to go, chefs.
You're looking at one minute, 40 seconds.
[Michael] My pork chops are a little under-done.
And I'm hoping that after I kiss them on the grill, they'll come up to temp.
- [Kwame] Come on, guys. Closing in. - Come on! 45 seconds!
[Justin] We believe in you!
I'm smelling some good food too.
Just make sure it all gets on the plate.
Come on, Lisa.
Lisa is moving very, very meticulously over there.
[Ted] Focus in these final seconds, chef.
Ten, nine, eight,
seven,
- six, five. - [Justin] Final touches!
- [Ted] Four. Hurry. - [Tiffany] Come on!
- [Ted] Three. - [judges exclaiming]
[Ted] Two, one.
[Kwame] Get it on the plate! Get it on the plate!
[Ted] Time's up. Please step back.
[Michael grunts]
[Brian] Alright, that was pretty intense.
It came out the way I wanted it to.
But ultimately, what I think is right,
the judges may not agree with.
That was crazy.
[Lisa] Man, it felt quicker than the first round.
Those two guys are a beast. Like, they're a beast.
And just methodical. I mean, creative.
So, it's stiff competition.
Chefs, your second basket contained potlikker soup,
pork chops, okra, and millet.
Okay, Chef Lisa, starting with you in this round.
What I have for you today is a creamy collard green
topped pork chop,
with a millet risotto and whole fried okra.
I like the millet that you've creamed.
It has a bit of a al dente texture,
but I didn't mind that at all
because the flavor was really good.
And I love the creaminess of the collard greens on the top.
But I have a problem.
Because my pork chop is still raw.
It just kind of hurts to not be able to try it.
Pork for me
was perfect.
I like this creamy collard green topping.
I think it's very, very innovative.
Yeah, I think we're all in agreeance that
the greens on top are phenomenal.
It was a very smart way to deconstruct that potlikker
- and show the versatility of that ingredient. - Thank you.
But I wish we all had Kwame's pork chop.
This was a little too rare.
[sighs]
Next up, Chef Brian.
I have a seared pork chop on top of creamy millet
with an okra salad.
[Justin] What would you do if you won this 10k?
[Brian] My wife and I have a pastry business
and so all the money would not last in my pocket very long.
[laughing]
It's kind of like that thing goes straight to the business
and, you know, we're just gonna keep on grinding.
Brian, Brian, Brian.
I would not have thought that you made this in 30 minutes
based on the amount of seasoning
that permeates throughout this piece of protein.
As I got closer to the bone,
it was cooked more than I would like it to.
And it ate a little heavy.
I would have probably just loved
to see some herbs on here,
- something to brighten it up. - Thank you, chef.
[Tiffany] The millet, Chef Brian is delicious.
Honestly, there is so many complex flavors in there.
I really enjoyed the pork chop as well.
It's a beautiful cook here.
The okra salad part, you have so much flavor.
You really get that smokiness with the peppers
and everything else that you added in.
I'm with Tiffany on the okra salad.
That was probably one of my favorite things on the plate.
I think I agree with Kwame, it's a very, very rich dish.
I think maybe in that okra salad,
hitting that with a little bit of lemon juice or something.
That would just kind of, waken everything up.
Thank you very much.
Finally, Chef Michael.
Chefs, I have prepared for you a grilled pork chop,
served over a curried millet with charred okra.
I love the way that this dish looked when it came to me.
The use of curry here was smart.
You know, that turmeric tinge millet.
My pork though, is a little undercooked.
I can't eat it.
But the okra, like, I can eat this all day.
- It's seasoned beautifully. - Oui, chef. Thank you.
[Justin] So, for me, chef,
I was very happy with the cook on my pork chop.
It was seasoned properly.
It was the millet that was
more than a little bit undercooked.
Oui.
The okra is clearly the star here.
I mean, it is seasoned and crunchy.
It's just the flavor that you want, right?
Like you, absolutely know how to cook okra.
My pork is
delicious.
There's a ton of flavor packed into this pork chop.
Thank you, chef.
I feel like, there are things
that I could have done a lot better.
I feel as though I made a mistake
that I really want to make up for.
And given another chance, I will showcase what I can do.
[Lisa] I'm a little concerned at this point.
Tiffany had the undercooked pork chop.
She didn't feel comfortable eating it,
which I was horrified.
That could be enough to chop me alone, right there.
So, whose dish is on the Chopping Block?
Chef Michael, you've been Chopped.
Judges?
[Kwame] Chef Michael, you know, collectively,
we thought you did a really good job on the charred okra.
But unfortunately, there were inconsistencies
with the cook on the pork.
And the millet was also severely undercooked.
And for that reason, we had to Chop you.
Thank you. Can I shake your hand?
[Tiffany] Of course. You better come on up here.
- Keep doing what you're doing. - Thank you.
[Michael] Very bittersweet.
I cooked to the best of my abilities
with the time that I had.
This experience was very special.
And I will never forget it.
Well... on to the next, right?
[Ted] Chef Lisa, Chef Brian.
Anybody think victory is a sure thing?
- Absolutely, and it's gonna be sweet. - [Brian] No.
Oh, wow!
Wow.
Yeah, I think she bumped her head.
[both laugh]
Please open it up.
Oh, what is that?
And here are your last four ingredients.
Is that a ham hock?
[Ted] Smoked ham hocks.
Any other round, I'm happy to see you.
But not right now.
[Ted] Sorghum molasses.
Really?
[Ted] Frozen peaches.
[Brian] Peaches, not too bad.
[gasps]
[Ted] And canned black-eyed peas.
Come on, guys! Black-eyed peas?
Don't get discouraged now, Lisa.
Yeah, somebody here is evil.
[Lisa] Wow.
Let's do it, then.
Counting down 30 minutes.
What do you say we start... now.
All right. Let's do it.
[judges cheering]
[Kwame] I think this is exciting.
I think a lot of people would be like, "Oh, my God,
how am I gonna make a dessert with
ham hocks, black-eyed peas?"
There's a lot of ways to go wrong,
but a lot of ways to go right. What do you think?
- I think we have to see the ingredients for what they are. - Right.
[Tiffany] Black-eyed peas really don't have
you know, a crazy amount of flavor
when they're in the can like that.
[Justin] The structure they're gonna bring,
I mean, if you were to puree them,
and having a very neutral flavor,
they're gonna take on any flavor that you mix with them.
And they're gonna give body and structure
to whatever you mix them with.
[Brian] I love black-eyed peas.
My wife does a lot of vegan cakes and pastries.
She'd use the juice of the canned beans,
the way you use egg whites.
So, I'm making a...
black-eyed pea aquafaba
with candied peach and a ham hock and pecan praline.
Brian is making a aquafaba.
He's whipping that pea liquid.
He added the sorghum into that as well, to sweeten it.
I think that's genius.
Sorghum in itself is actually a grain.
I mean, you're driving down the highways in the South,
I mean, what looks like wheat is generally sorghum.
The syrup that's extracted
is very, very sweet, it's delicious.
- [Justin] Hey, Chef Brian! - Yo!
How you feeling dessert round?
I feel great, you know.
I have a little bit of pecan and ham hock praline.
Growing up in New Orleans, pralines were,
you know, everywhere.
I'm trying to get some of that saltiness
into the sweet praline.
So, I'm gonna add the ham hocks to the praline.
[Tiffany] So, ham hocks are often used
to really bring about flavor,
whether it's beans or greens or something else in a liquid.
[Justin] And traditionally, smoked.
- Yes! - You're gonna bring out a lot of that flavor.
[Lisa] The ham hock, I'm gonna treat it like bacon.
My idea is to candy them.
Like, I would candy bacon.
It feels unbelievable,
going up against Chef Brian in this dessert round.
- [Brian] Coming on behind. Behind. - Heard.
[Lisa] And he's amazing.
He's tough but I'm going in with a lot of confidence.
I see frozen peaches in the basket,
and I'm excited about that.
Like, peach cobbler is totally, like,
something I can make in my sleep.
The black-eyed peas, I put in a blender
with heavy cream, a little bit of sorghum
and I blend it up to get a nice, smooth,
batter-like consistency.
[Ted] 15 minutes left on the clock, chefs.
[Brian] 15, heard.
[Lisa] We've been making cobblers
in my family for generations.
The recipes that I learnt from my great-grandmother
were from her mother.
You know, who worked on a plantation.
All the things that my ancestors went through,
we honor that today.
And we say their names,
I say my grandmother's name, Tossie,
my grandmother's name, Mattie, my mother's name, Mable.
That's how I keep them alive.
[Brian] I actually like frozen peaches.
So, with the peaches, I'm making a peach compote,
with a little bit of vanilla extract,
cinnamon, some nutmeg.
- [Ted] Less than two minutes to go, chefs. - [Brian] Heard.
Almost down to nine.
[both] Heard.
[Kwame] What do you think she's doing over there now?
She has some milk mixture going on.
[Lisa] I'm known for my homemade ice creams.
And I've dreamt of using this ice cream machine.
I am going to attempt to make my browned butter ice cream.
[Justin] So, she's kicking it up a notch, I mean,
peach cobbler without ice cream, I mean,
I think you gotta have it.
I'm feeling great about this ice cream.
And then, right when I turn around,
I hear one of the judges say.
- Oh, there's a burn. - Something's burning.
Oh! Oh! Oh!
- Somebody check on that thing. - Something's burning!
[Lisa] What? Me? Me? Me?
Me? Me? Me? Is it me? Oh.
Oh, am I on fire? Is my station on fire?
That's me. Dang it.
Lisa has just burnt her ham hock.
I saw her toss that entire pan
- and she's gonna have to start over. - [Kwame] No.
[Ted] That's it. Five minutes left, chefs.
Oh, something's burning.
[Lisa] What? Me? Me? Me?
Me? Me? Me?
That's me. Dang it.
Lisa has just burnt her ham hock.
That's a wrap.
[Lisa] It's burnt. I mean, it's black.
So, I immediately just scrap the rest of those ham hocks.
Start cutting some new pieces off.
[Kwame] Lisa's starting over on these ham hocks.
You think she has enough time?
[Lisa] I'm gonna make a salted caramel.
So, I'm just gonna put the ham hock
in the salted caramel.
[Brian] I have some wontons that I just cut into circles,
and I'm gonna fry those.
Chefs, two minute warning.
[Lisa] I pull the cobbler out of the oven,
and they're perfect.
I got to get the ice cream out.
I'm not mad.
[Justin] Hold on, look at this ice cream though.
- Looks good. - Beautiful.
Beautiful. Perfect texture.
[Lisa] Let's go browned butter ice cream.
One minute to go, chefs. Final touches.
Get it done. You got this.
[Kwame] I think Brian is frying his black-eyed peas.
Little crispy element, right?
He's giving some duality of texture.
And the black-eyed peas fried,
to the smooth, creamy aquafaba.
[Kwame] Final touches. Final touches.
Ten racks!
Who's getting these ten racks?
- Let's go! - [Justin] Racks on racks.
On racks on racks!
[Ted] Final seconds of the final round, chefs.
- [Kwame] Ten! - [Ted] In ten.
[both] Nine!
Eight.
Seven, six!
[all] Five! Four!
Three! Two! One!
- Time is up! - [Lisa] Oh, Lord.
[Brian] All right.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Baby boy.
[Brian] Good job, baby.
[Brian] Desserts always present the biggest challenge.
I think it's an interesting play
with those flavors, so I'm excited.
[Lisa] I feel most confident about this round
than any round.
My great, great grandmother made peach cobblers so,
I got it in my blood.
I am very proud of it.
[Ted] Chef Brian, Chef Lisa.
In that final Black History Month celebration basket,
you got smoked ham hocks, sorghum molasses,
frozen peaches and canned black-eyed peas.
- Chef Brian? - I did a
black-eyed pea mascarpone fab,
ham hock and pecan praline with candied peaches.
Brian, I think this was
spectacular.
You let each ingredient sing.
- It just worked together like a symphony. - Thank you so much.
[Tiffany] Yeah, Chef Brian, this feels like a plate
you've made over and over again.
- Like, this is delicious. - I appreciate that.
You get bites of that ham and you get pecans,
and that creamy element but then it finishes on
the sorghum and I think that's so smart
because you really utilize
every piece of the basket here.
[Justin] Yeah, chef. I think doing the aquafaba was just so smart.
On the fly, to think of how to manipulate
those black-eyed peas
and get it into a dessert component.
- It was a very, very well executed dish. - Thank you so much.
- Thank you, Chef. - Chef Brian. Finally, Chef Lisa.
Well, this is channeling,
like, 200 years of my ancestry into this dish.
This is a old fashioned peach cobbler
with a browned butter ice cream.
It's delicious.
There's so much love in this peach cobbler.
And then to put black-eyed peas,
and incorporate that in there, it's so smart.
Yeah, do a little dance. Do your little dance.
And then you hit us with a browned butter ice cream.
That was soft and smooth.
- Don't you feel hugged? - And I feel it.
I feel it. I wanna hug this.
I want you to feel hugged by that thing.
The black-eyed peas may be something that you want to do
- Look it. - From now on because
it added a depth of flavor.
Thank you.
Yeah, this was perfection in peach cobbler.
Well, now I'm worried about how difficult it's gonna be.
First I was worried,
I was like, "Oh, Lisa better bring it,"
- and then she fricking brought it. - You brought it.
-[Justin] Let's go, Lisa. This is delicious. -Let's go.
Thank you, chefs.
- Oh, rocking it, baby. - Let's go, baby. Let's go.
Yeah, that was good.
- Now that's the look of competition right there. - That was good.
Judges, those two chefs rose to the occasion
and made some terrific food.
Yes, they did.
Let's talk about Lisa's appetizer.
That crispy beignet.
I mean, it had the perfect crust all the way around it.
That silky, silky smooth turnip puree on the bottom.
[Tiffany] It just didn't scream catfish.
But it was still a good dish.
Alright, let's roll in those boudin balls from Brian.
- Those were good. - [Tiffany] Those were real good.
- [Justin] Really good and he let all the ingredients sing. - [Kwame] Yup.
[Justin] I mean, aside from that little ramekin he served it in,
just because I couldn't make my own perfect bite.
I mean, the flavors that he developed in that
were phenomenal.
Where it really came down to
was the battle of the pork chop
-because we had two different experiences -Battle of the pork chop.
When it came down to the entree round.
[Kwame] So, fortunately for me,
Lisa's pork chop was cooked perfectly.
I looked over at your pork chop
and I was slightly jealous.
The pork chop on my plate was very raw.
[Justin] I loved the creamed greens on top.
I mean, that saved the dish for me.
But you know what's crazy though?
Lisa's plate
- was still so good. - So good.
- Even served with a raw pork chop. - Absolutely.
Let's talk about Brian's pork chop then.
I mean, if we're in you know, the pork chop battle here.
I got a perfectly cooked pork chop from Brian.
[Kwame] I was looking at yours,
it was glistening in the light. Mine was not.
[Tiffany] The millet on Brian's dish to me
was the best part.
That millet had so much flavor.
It was a very well put-together dish.
And then that dessert round.
Those were two near-perfect desserts.
This is extremely difficult.
[Lisa] I really thought I would go home
after the second round.
But I was praying.
I was like, "Please, just get me to dessert,
and I'm gonna kill it," and that's what happened.
[Brian] I want it bad.
It's something that would be important for my wife's baking business.
And although I have a lot of confidence
in myself as a chef, you never know the outcome.
So, whose dish is on the Chopping Block?
Chef Lisa, you've been Chopped.
Judges?
Chef Lisa, I don't think there was a bad thing
that could have been said
about that cobbler that you made.
But unfortunately, with your first dish,
we just wanted a little bit more of that catfish
to come through.
And unfortunately, a few of us had
some under done pork chops.
And so, we had to Chop you.
I understand. Thank you so much.
I just want to say, Lisa, you said you want your food
to hug people and I literally felt that
- with every plate you put in front of us. - Good.
- Thank you. - [Ted] Thank you for a great performance today, chef.
[Lisa] I feel like I did
accomplish what I came here to do.
I made my family and especially my ancestors proud today.
And that means, Chef Brian Jupiter,
you are the Chopped champion.
Congratulations, chef.
Yes, thank you.
[judges cheering]
- Thank you. Thank you. - Congratulations.
You cook with your heart
and you leave it all out on the plate.
Thank you so much.
You are Black history.
I appreciate that.
You know, to win a Black History Month
competition, you know, is quite an honor.
To compete alongside other Black chefs,
for me is, really, everything.
It feels unbelievable.
-Nice job. -Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
[all cheering]