And, oh, oh, here he is.
Here's a four foot barracuda right here.
That's a massive barracuda.
Come on.
And once he eat it just let him...
...swim off with it, like, eight, nine, ten seconds.
Come on. Come on, baby.
Drop it, drop it, drop it, drop it,
drop it, drop it, drop it. Let him eat it.
Take it.
Now he's on. He's got it.
Come on.
Reel! Reel! Reel!
[bleep] Come on.
Oh!
Right now, I'm between
mainland Florida and Cuba.
And trust me, the waters here are so shallow,
and they're filled with coral reefs.
Now, over the past few centuries,
they've claimed over 1,000 boats.
I just hope I don't add to that list today.
I'm in the Florida Keys,
a series of 1,700 islands that extend over
100 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico.
This area is so removed from the mainland that locals have
their own name for it, the Conch Republic.
I'm here to meet Chef Paul Menta.
Now, according to my GPS,
he wanted to meet me right here.
But honestly, it seems like we're in the middle of nowhere.
Where is this guy?
Seriously?
no.
That's not him. No, surely not.
. What the?
hell. You're crazy!
Standing in the middle of the Florida Keys and all of a
sudden this bird flies over me.
What in the heck is going on?
This guy means business, let me tell you.
He is not messing around.
Trust me, he's the real deal.
I mean, if he can show off like that to meet me, that man,
he's got some balls, let me tell you.
Paul!
Hey, hey.
What was that flying over me?
Can I bring it in?
Yeah, just let it glide in, man.
It's really shallow in here.
Man. Geez. Good to see you, bud.
Good to see you.
- That was crazy. - Yeah.
Paul Menta is a true Keys culinary connoisseur.
In his 30 years living in the Keys,
he has served as a chef at several of the finest
establishments in the Conch Republic.
Co-founded three local eateries and opened up
a sustainable fish market and a rum distillery.
The only thing Paul hasn't done is learn how to execute
the subtle arrival.
What a place.
Crazy, right?
The tides are crazy like the people here.
That bloody jump was crazy.
What the hell's going on here with the barrels?
Doing a little bit of work, too.
Salt curing some barrels.
Bring them back to the distillery later and
fill them up with some rum.
You're actually salting rum.
Yeah. Think about it like we do as a chef, right?
Sure.
Put salt water in here, let that cure,
bring out all that flavor.
I love that.
We got to get them up on the beach.
We can roll these up.
- Just roll them. - Let's get, yeah.
Let's get these smaller ones up here.
Once I got that brine in there, I know the wood's all opened up.
All that vanilla and all those things are exposed
inside the wood.
And then we get the high proof in there.
Wow.
What a great technique, by the way.
Paul tells me that when he started salt-curing
his rum barrels, people thought he was crazy.
You're not bad, man, you're not bad.
You're getting it right up there.
I'll tell you, these are not light, are they?
Bloody hell.
Luckily, he stuck to his guns.
Because it's now rated one of the top 10 craft distilleries
in the United States.
The salt lowers the pH in there.
- Right. - Makes it smoother.
Mm-hmm. It is good.
I'm so happy to go back down to the Keys because
these things are sparse, aren't they?
They're spread out for hundreds of miles.
Well, and it's little islands everywhere,
but there's more ocean than there is land.
Yeah.
So that's what makes it great.
That's why you have to go around the Keys in a boat.
That's how we get around,
because we farm, you know, stone crab, lobster, fish,
the ocean is our farm.
We're so close to the Bahamas.
The Bahamians, they came here.
They brought their food culture with them.
You have all these generations down here and everything.
You know what?
If you want to put in the hat, man.
I know you're not used to the heat down here and stuff.
I am struggling like there's no tomorrow.
This plethora of ocean specialties,
it must be a dream come true.
I've done fine dining and done the thing
with the stars.
And I’ve also done things down here where I do $5, okay?
$5 is a lot harder to do because that's what everybody wants.
They want a sandwich or something,
but they expect it to be incredible.
Right.
That's the tough thing about people that live
down here in the Keys.
You give them something to eat,
and it could be piled up on the plate and
looking all sorts of fancy and everything.
The, mm, sorry, sorry, Bubba.
I'm not eating that.
It's the simplicity.
They want quality.
And who's Bubba?
Bubba is everybody around.
Bubba and Cuz.
When somebody's calling you Bubba,
you hope it's with a smile.
You know, our locals are colorful.
At the end of the week,
we're gonna be cooking off for the locals that you
go out and meet.
And those Bubbas are gonna be particular.
But we have, like, a real special guest.
He's been here.
His family has been here for generations.
Pastor Kerry.
Pastor Kerry, yeah.
He's the real deal.
And his family, his lineage goes far and wide.
And, like, he's gonna tell you if you're,
you're cooking with soul or you're cooking with coal, man.
Impress the pastor.
That's gonna be a tough audience to please,
let me tell you.
And Bubba.
I mean, I don't know what Bubbas are,
but I think I’m about to find out.
Phenomenal chef, great reputation but, come on,
how competitive are you?
Well, I kite surfed from here to Cuba
for a world record.
And then, I made the world's largest key lime pie.
So super competitive. I like that, though.
Yeah. You know, I mean, it's got to be.
That man is on it, let me tell you.
I mean, he's fit as a fiddle.
He holds records for kitesurfing.
I don't get jealous much in life but, man,
that guy is oozing talent.
Mate, I'll see you in a week.
Yeah.
Hey, do you want a lift back?
- No, I’m taking this. - You sure?
So, it's time to start building my menu,
which Paul says should taste five-star but feel like $5.
Bring it on.
Now, if I've got any chance of keeping the pastor happy,
I've got to get my hands on some of the best ingredients
the Keys have to offer, and that is stone crab.
Now, come on, let's be honest.
My food's got to be twice as good as Paul's if I stand a
chance of beating him.
But I've got not one but two secret weapons up my sleeve.
Where in the hell are they?
What the hell?
It seems that meetups in the Keys come with a time
but not necessarily an address.
There he is.
Ladies! Seriously?
Good morning. Go to the bottom.
Oh my God. You guys are crazy.
You're mad.
We got to be quick.
Quick. Yeah, quick.
- Come. - My secret weapons.
Twins Emily and Amanda Gale are
accomplished local boat captains.
These ladies have an endless knowledge of Florida fishing,
and they're gonna lead me to the most iconic ingredients
of the Keys seas, stone crab.
There you go.
- Good to see you. - Good job.
Good. Stone crab. We ready?
Yeah, we're ready.
What a beautiful boat, by the way.
Thank you. Let's do it.
How far out are we going?
We're gonna run a twenty minute ride
towards the Gulf.
And then there's, like, a nice little flat area
that's a combination of...
...rocky bottom and grass and sand...
...where we prefer to crab.
Got you.
Powerful things, right?
So, one stone crab can crush down
19,000 pounds of force per square inch.
So got to be really careful.
Okay, rule number one.
No fingers near the crab claws.
So we empty the trap. Crabs go in...
Well, you can't keep the whole crab.
You have to harvest the claw.
What?
And then, keep the claw and put the crab back.
Hold on a minute.
So you can't, you take one of the claws off?
That's correct.
Yes. We can only harvest the claws.
We just take one to leave them with another.
Even in the wild,
and if the crab gets in a fight or in a messy situation,
they will voluntarily release their claw.
And they'll regrow.
Gotcha.
I mean, in terms of sustainability, that's great.
Yeah, it's great for sustainability.
- Wow. Okay. - Yeah. All right.
Well, we're right here, so let's grab this trap.
Right.
Reach out and grab under that buoy.
Grab the line. Good.
Okay, and then walk your hands up the gaff.
Now, you can grab the line. I'll grab the gaff from you.
Thank you.
You got to keep pulling.
And we put it on top of the mat.
Gotcha.
There we go. And, okay, what do you see?
- There are lots of crabs. - Oh my gosh.
- Wow. - We're doing good.
- We're loaded. - We're loaded.
- Wow. - So we've got seven crabs.
Oh my god, those trotters stink.
- Oh, yeah. - Holy [bleep].
You got a sensitive stomach...
Oh my good God, they stink.
The rotting bait had my eyes watering.
Oh my God.
But one look at the beautiful stone crab and
I forgot all about the smell.
Ah, [bleep].
And about my promise to keep my fingers away from the crab.
Do you want to use the tongs?
Wow, they're fast, man.
I would... Oh my God, you're making me nervous.
That's...
Give him the tongs.
Here we go. No, here we go.
Oh, he's doing it. Or, oh, perfect. Okay. Yes.
- Oh, no. - So, you can grab...
They're a lot stronger than you think.
There you go. So hold him out.
- Bloody hell. - Yeah, see how strong they are?
They are so strong. Yes.
Eh, no.
- Oh, seriously? - That's a no.
You lucky little bastard.
Damn. That's a great claw there. Look, look at that.
That is a, that, I would call that a colossal size.
That is beautiful.
All right. So that's a keeper.
Got you.
All right. So this is how we're gonna do it.
Basically, rotate his elbow joint towards his body.
Yes, that was perfect.
- Wow. - Good job.
You did a great job.
Hold it down, twist it around in a
"C" shape formation,
and get that back in the water to start growing again.
Throw it back in?
Yep. Throw it in.
Bloody hell.
Snapping off the claw, to the average Joe,
it would like it's, it's doing it harm,
but it's actually a really smart way of not killing the crab.
Oh. We had a crab fight.
Oh, [bleep].
There's been a massive crab fight.
You're, you're wild. I would... use these.
I'm telling you.
And these ones are keepers?
There's tools for this, you know.
Seeing those crabs fight like mad,
it just reminds me so much of Paul and I.
Trust me, I'm getting the ingredients,
and the battle hasn't even started yet.
He is a beauty.
Another great keeper.
Boom.
Just the size of those claws,
the sweetness of that meat underneath that shell.
Honestly, I can't wait to start cooking with those things.
Okay.
Fantastic for the final cook.
Well, we have one more species that we think
you need to bring.
And we like to call them the cockroaches of the sea.
The cockroaches of the sea.
And they taste as good as those crab?
They're just as good.
You might have to work a little bit harder
to catch them, though.
Let's go, girl.
Let's do it.
So the cockroaches of the sea are
a more appealing menu item than they sound.
They're spiny lobster.
But the twins caution me that while the diving is shallow,
it's not without its risks.
Big Mo is said to be a
14-foot hammerhead shark that divers have seen,
fishermen have seen.
We have friends that have seen Big Mo.
So it's not a myth.
It is not a myth. Big Mo is a legend down here.
Big Mo is in the vicinity.
Wow.
So that's the spot there.
Yes.
So, let's say that this lobster is inside the coral head.
Yes.
You won't see its body,
but you will see its antennas sticking out.
What you want to do is go down with your net and tickle stick.
I put the tickle stick in...
- Net, hold on. - Net. Your net.
- Net and what? - And your tickle stick.
Hold on a minute.
And it's called the tickle stick because you,
quite literally, want to tickle the lobster so he walks forward.
So that once he walks far enough out,
that's when you want to take the net and you put
it behind him.
And they will swim back right into the net.
- Great. - All right?
- Okay, are you leading? - Yep.
Okay, let's go.
Grab a net.
Net. Tickle stick.
Grab a tickle stick.
So remember we talked about Big Mo.
The big hammerhead.
We're not too far from his home.
So if we see, we just stay calm.
Just leave him be, yeah.
Okay. Good luck, girl.
I'm not sure how wise this is,
but into the belly of the beast we go.
Hopefully, not literally.
Because of the wind and the waves,
the visibility underwater is less than ideal.
And if Big Mo shows up,
I suppose the only thing I can do with the gear
Emily's given me is try to tickle him to death.
It's not that far down to the coral reef,
but your breath doesn't last as long when your heart is racing.
Damn.
I'm gonna look again.
Then, I finally spotted what I came for.
The antenna of a spiny lobster.
But of course, my breath ran out again.
And while I was up gasping for air...
Emily swiped my find, literally, right out from underneath me.
That's a beauty!
It's totally a keeper.
We got a keeper.
You did it!
That's a beautiful one.
We got ourselves...
That's a beauty.
Wait, wait. I need to know.
Who caught the lobster?
Well, hold on. She stole it.
- You stole it? - Because I tickled it.
He went down.
He used his tickle stick. Had to come back up.
And then, whilst I was catching a breath,
she nipped it.
Yeah, we got it. That's the most important.
Good job.
That's a good lobster.
Yeah, it's a nice one.
That's a beauty.
Come on. That is going to the big cook.
There we go. All right.
Yes.
Now that I've got some seafood sorted,
it's time to get back on dry land.
Because I'm in the tropics,
I'd love to get my hands on some exotic ingredients.
Now, I've heard about a spot that grows fruit like no other.
So I'm heading to meet a guy who has what they call
the Garden of Eden.
And hopefully, I can find more than an apple.
Patrick.
Hey, Gordon. What's going on, brother?
Yeah, what a place.
Welcome to the Grove, man.
This definitely isn't the image I had of what a
Garden of Eden would look like.
Did somebody forget to water it?
What a contraption that is.
That's our soil maker right there.
Did you say you were making soil?
Yeah. We're making mulch and then
we also make soil.
Incredible.
Now, they say this is the only farm anywhere in the Keys that
you've got some of the most exotic fruit.
It's a legendary farm, man.
Started back in the '50s.
I want to show you the place.
And how bigs this farm?
Two acres.
Back in the 1950s, this inventor named Adolf Grimal
built up these waterways and, basically,
went around the tropical world collecting rare fruit trees.
He brought it back,
and by the '80s people were coming around
from all over to see his Garden of Eden,
as they called it.
This garden is teeming with fruit trees.
But Patrick wants to show me the rare goodies I won't be
finding in any store here.
We have stuff that doesn't exist
in continental United States.
That's how rare it is.
That's incredible.
We have the star apple right here.
It's also called caimito.
I've never heard of that. Caimito.
Yeah, caimito.
Here I am, thinking I know my fruit.
But right out of the gate, I’m proven wrong.
There you go.
Man. Now, what are these? These are?
- There are sapodilla. - Sapodilla.
So, it's a, it's like a brown sugar cinnamon flavor.
Delicious.
Bloody hell. Sapodilla is a new one for me.
I've gone to every corner of the world,
but I’ve never come across that.
Just get it under there, and then flick it.
Flick it.
Nice job.
Man, that is incredible.
I have the only breadfruit grove in
continental United States.
Seriously.
250 fruits per year about.
Wow.
Breadfruit I've worked with before, and that's unique.
All these little jewels help to fill up my trinket box
that I don't think Paul's expecting this.
Now, honestly, it's an absolute dream.
I'd love to buy a box of ingredients.
Hold your wallet. Hold your wallet. No, no.
Here at Grimal Grove,
we have a thing called a barter system.
Barter. You want my hat?
No, you're gonna make some mulch.
You know the big machine and that mulch?
Yes.
You're gonna make some.
He wants to put me to work.
Another part of becoming a Bubba.
I can't wait to get behind the wheel of that beast.
Until I realize I have no idea if it even has a wheel.
Old trees and palm fronds are fed into the machine that
grinds them into a mulch.
Dirt sifts to the bottom of the mulch pile,
leaving behind the soil that makes this grove thrive.
Go ahead, Gordon!
[bleep].
Getting behind those controls on that machine.
I grew up, as a six-year-old, with one of those little,
dinky toys.
As an adult, I realize this is no toy.
Once I got the hang of the controls,
operating this machine was much more fun than I expected.
In fact, I'm starting to consider a career change.
The processing of that soil, that's rarely found on the Keys.
This place is laden with sand.
If it's not sand, it's coral.
So to produce soil like that in the middle of the Keys is
a big find for me.
Kill it, Gordon.
All done?
Mulch, precision, and fingers crossed, some amazing fruit.
Great job, Gordon.
Oh my goodness me.
How was that?
That was amazing. Honestly.
So this is the first time you've mulched, huh?
Oh my God. And this is it.
This is it.
This is what eventually it turns into.
Look at that.
We don't have a lot of soil in the Keys,
so this is important for us.
What an amazing process, honestly.
And guess what we get from it?
Look at that. Oh my God. What a bounty.
So is that for me?
That's for you, man.
Oh my goodness.
Paul bangs on about the sea, and that's their farm.
Well, I've got news for Paul, let me tell you.
I found a farm. Honestly, thank you, bud.
Hey, thank you, bro.
And continued success.
Thank you.
Patrick, what he's done, the resourcefulness.
But more importantly, just what it produces.
Exotic fruit like no other.
And that is the key to winning this challenge
at the end of the week.
I've only got two days left before the final cook and,
honestly, I definitely need to get a proper local fish
on my menu.
Now, I'm fairly certain I've caught nearly
every fish in the sea,
but there is one fish in these waters called a grunt,
which, come on, doesn't sound very appetizing.
But they say it tastes phenomenal.
Bear! Good morning.
Morning! You made it!
Finally! Are we ready?
Yes, sir.
It's good to see you, man.
You, too, man. What's happening?
Absolute pleasure.
Good to see you.
His name is Bear and he looks the part.
A giant man with thick facial fur blowing in the wind.
I hope the grunt don't have a fear of Sasquatch.
Shall we?
Grunt. What's so special about the food?
What do they taste like?
Grunt is a pretty mild white fish. Yeah...
And they grunt because they grind their teeth?
Yeah, you'll hear sometimes.
Like, ruhr, ruhr. You know, they'll grunt.
- Oh, really? - Yeah, yeah.
That's hilarious.
Actually, kind of liking it right here.
Yeah? Excellent.
Okay, what's first, Captain?
We're gonna use this squid right here for the grunts.
Stick them on the hook.
Just like that.
Right, excellent.
See if you can't catch two at a time. You know?
You never know. Man, I need some grunt.
Come on, baby. Take it.
There you go. Got a bite already.
Oop, ope.
Come on, baby.
Could be a grunt.
Is that a grunt?
- Nope. - Damn.
Oh, yeah. Don't touch that one.
- Is that true? - Pufferfish, puffer.
- Oh, it's a puffer. - Yeah.
[bleep] I got off to a cracking start.
Bite on the very first cast.
Wrong fricking fish.
Man, not what we wanted.
- Nope. Nope. - Yep.
Oo, there he goes. Come on.
Now, this is a grunt.
There you go.
Oh, that's a, that's a lane snapper there.
A land what?
Lane snapper. We got to send him back.
Man.
Is that a grunt?
And that's how you catch a grunt.
Seriously? I mean, really?
Honestly?
Three different fish, and you get the grunt.
Double grunt.
- Can we keep those? - Yep.
How is that possible?
You get one cast and bring in two grunts.
Big Bear is hooking in two grunt at a time.
What a grunt.
Come on, man. Share the love, Bear.
It's amazing the noise they make.
You can hear them grinding their teeth.
Yep, yep.
Okay, Bear. Can we swap sides?
Let me go to that side for a bit?
Yep, yeah, yeah you get wherever you're comfortable.
Yeah, please. This is, this is crazy.
I'll come right over there where you're at.
People say fishermen are superstitious.
But it is a fact that only one side of this boat
is catching grunts.
And sure enough...
Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Now he might be in the game.
Yeah. Yes.
Perfect. Yeah.
- That's a keeper, yes? - That's a keeper. Yes, sir.
That's great.
Come on.
Is that a grunt?
That is a grunt.
That's a keeper.
Whoo. Double grunt.
Oh, that's a whopper.
Beautiful.
Oh, porkchop.
That's a lovely grunt.
Grunts were coming in fast and furious.
And in no time, I had enough for the big cook.
Woo-hoo.
Nice.
Uh, oh, here he is.
Here, here's a four-foot barracuda right here.
Oh, wow. Look at that.
That's a massive barracuda.
Bear has spotted a barracuda.
And there's only one thing to do.
Catch it.
Using dinner for bait.
Luckily, I have a boatful of its
favorite food, grunts.
Come on.
And once he eats it just let him...
...swim off with it, like, eight, nine, ten seconds.
Come on.
Where is that beautiful barracuda?
He's got it.
Drop it, drop it, drop it, drop it, drop it, drop it!
Let him eat it.
He came back.
- He's got it. - Come on.
Reel! Reel! Reel!
Hoo, there he goes.
[bleep] Man.
Come on.
What, what happened?
Oh, [bleep].
You lose it?
[bleep]. Damn. That was a big barracuda.
I got too excited.
Bear said, let it run.
Let it take it. Let it run.
And I didn't.
So that was definitely the one that got away.
Well, we got our grunts and let's get you back.
And got the perfect person to teach you how to cook them.
You.
- Nope. - Who?
The pastor's wife.
- Seriously? - Yeah.
- The pastor's wife? - Yeah.
She's supposed to be the, the best at it,
so we'll see what happens.
So apparently, the grunt fish is gonna be
critical for my final cook.
And I'm about to meet someone who has real inside knowledge
on how to prepare it.
And trust me, right now,
I'll take anything to get a leg up on that Bubba system.
Now, where is she?
Sheena! Such a pleasure to meet you.
Oh.
How are you?
I'm great. I've been waiting for you.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Bear took his time.
Oh my goodness me.
Oh, my goodness.
First of all, it's a pleasure to meet you.
I now understand that you are the pastor's wife.
We've been married going on 43 years.
I love that.
What's the best way to the pastor's heart?
Through the grunts and grits.
Got you. Should I, should I prep these? Ready?
Oh, yes.
Grunts and grits is a traditional dish with
strong roots in the Bahamian culture.
And the recipe flows through Sheena's blood.
Time to learn from a master.
These filets are beautiful, by the way.
Oh, my. Look at that.
Oh! Ah, what are you doing?
Filleting the fish.
No, that's not the way we do it.
You said filet the fish.
No.
Well, how do?
You have to cut it in here.
Oh, you take the guts out first.
You do.
- So take the guts out. - Yes.
But you don't, you don't want the filets?
No.
Got my first big telling off for
filleting that fish.
She wants it kept whole.
You do not mess with the pastor's wife, let me tell you.
Okay.
You know what's good? The eyeballs.
Oh, you want the eyeballs kept in?
Yes. We gonna eat that too.
Wow.
These are called bird peppers.
Bird.
Because they're so tiny.
Put some salt in. Got to put the salt.
Okay, now you gonna mash it. There you go.
Until it gets all together. You just take a little sniff.
Oof. Wow.
That's good. Huh?
- That is sharp. - Smells good.
Bird peppers range from 50 to 100,000
heat units on the Scoville scale,
which makes them 10 times hotter than a jalapeño.
Push it all the way up to the head.
Make sure the head gets it because you have
to eat the head.
We may actually hear this fish grunt again.
Okay, that's enough in there.
You sure?
You know how long I’ve been doing this?
For a very long time.
And this is what we're gonna do.
Lime juice.
That's lime juice.
Inside first?
Yes. There you go.
Oo, that's gonna be so good.
Normally, we finish the fish with citrus and
lemon at the end, not at the...
Oh, no. This is Sheena's way.
Sheena's way.
Sheena's way is the best way.
- Ready? - Ready.
Straight in.
Yes.
Okay. Just leave him in and let him fry.
That's it?
Yes, sir.
As the fish gets nice and crispy,
it's onto the grits.
Wow.
Look at that.
- Wow. I love that. - Mmm.
With the addition of some pigeon peas and
pork fat, these are the darkest,
richest grits I've ever seen in my life.
Oh, wow. That's lovely.
They're really starchy as well.
The fat, the pork rind, and, of course, those pigeon peas,
it doesn't look the best but it does taste good.
Wow. And no cheese?
No cheese, no cheese. No.
Okay, just.
You don't put cheese in pigeon peas and grits.
Honestly, I thought she was gonna kick
my ass when I told her I put cheese in grits.
No, sir.
And do a little spread like we do
in the restaurant?
You...
Okay. Now, I’ll get the fish out.
Then you get the fish.
Ahh.
We got to squeeze some more lemon.
Lemon. Just in there.
That looks beautiful.
That should have enough flavor now.
Oh my goodness me.
- Oh, look at that. - Beautiful.
Guess what?
You get to eat the eyes.
You want, you want to give me the eyeball?
Oh, yeah. Come on.
Can't leave without eating the grunt's eyeball.
Okay. Grunt's eyeball.
It's gonna be good.
Yeah, it looks like my granddad's cataracts.
Oh.
Mm.
How is it?
The thing wouldn't melt.
It's just, like, this hard ball.
Okay, this is the bit I’ve been dying for.
Seriously.
Right. Got to have it. Mm.
Now you tell me that's not good.
Wow.
Do you taste the pepper?
I do taste the pepper.
It's very hot, though, isn't it?
Yes. That's what Bahamians are known for.
I love that Bahamian influence coming
across the Keys.
And that spice, lifting the flavor of the grunt fish.
It's very sweet, that fish.
And so that chili just lifted it beautifully.
Delicious. Delicious grits. Honestly.
Wonderful fish. You've been amazing. Thank you.
l, I'll see you at the cook.
You did it. Yes.
Yes? And a nice, little insight.
I'm feeling like I'm getting underneath a Bubba skin.
Now, I'm not a pastry chef,
but there is one final iconic treat from the Keys
that I've got to check out.
Key lime pie.
Now, I'm about to meet a guy who, literally,
wrote the book on it.
David!
- Hey. - You good?
Gordon. How are you?
Very well. Thank you. Good to see you, man.
Welcome to the trap yard.
Thank you so much, what an amazing place.
I got a big cook coming up at the end of the week,
and I’m up against it.
Especially with someone like Paul. So!
Mm-hmm.
I’m not too sure if I’m gonna do dessert yet,
but I’m dying to know.
This is, this is where it was created, right?
Yeah. I mean, this is the birthplace of Key lime pie.
And everybody thinks about the meringues and,
you know, making them real fancy.
Sure.
But to really understand it,
you have to know that it started out as a
working-class dessert.
The first pie was actually made by hookers.
Hookers fishermen or hookers hookers?
Hookers the fishermen.
They used the long hooks to get the sea sponges.
Got you.
They'd spend several days out on the water.
So they took certain supplies with them.
Right.
And just out of necessity,
the blending of these ingredients became the
delicious dessert we have today.
You'd have your coffee cup, and you'd say, ah, you know,
we've got our Cuban bread that we had
our sandwiches with.
But what happens to it after a couple of days?
Yeah. Rock hard.
Rock hard. Well, they don't want to waste it.
No.
So they'd crumble it up. So go ahead and crumble it up.
Crumble it up into the cups.
Just literally.
Just, break it up. Break it up.
So you start off with a, a cup full of crumbs.
So then, once you have that in there,
they had sweetened condensed milk.
Seriously?
Because they loved the sweetened condensed milk
in their coffee.
And this was nutrition.
Take that whole can and split it between the two cups.
Wow.
Then, for the magic.
The magic.
So we have the Key limes that grew naturally here.
Right. So, literally, just, just in.
Yeah.
This is insane.
One of the things about Key limes, they're juicier,
they're more flavorful, they're more tart than the
traditional Persian lime.
- And then... - Great. And then stir it up.
It looks disgusting.
The acids from the lime are mixing with milk.
But it, it looks grim.
It doesn't look good, does it?
If you really want to amp it up,
if you want to do it like the sponge fishermen would have,
some wild bird eggs.
- What? - Wild bird eggs.
- Quail's eggs. - Oh, yeah.
Quail's eggs on top of that.
Yeah. So what they'd do is they'd crack the egg.
They'd mix it in.
Damn. Seriously?
Yeah, yeah.
And then, stir again? This is insane.
Honestly, I'm beginning to think Paul's pranking me
with this one.
Once we have it stirred up good,
the sponge fishermen would just sit it in the sun.
God, now it looks worse.
David. So in the sun to sort of curdle.
15 minutes.
Yeah, that way the lime juice will cook the egg.
That's it?
That's it. Simple. So simple.
You ready to lick the spoon?
I'm not too sure about that one.
I've licked a lot of spoons, but not quite like this.
Everything in that recipe just looked weird.
The egg, that's the bit that got me.
That's the bit that made me gag.
But if it's good enough for a sponge fisherman,
it's good enough for me.
Cheers.
Cheers, bud.
It's actually good.
It is, isn't it?
It is good. Damn. It is really good.
Honestly.
That bread acts like a bit of a crust.
It is good. Wow.
The secret here is the key limes.
They are bursting with flavor.
Packed with acidity.
Thank you.
I mean, really, seriously, thank you.
me, that was good.
I'm not too sure if I'm gonna use a
dessert across the final cook,
but I want to think of how I can use those limes
in that cookoff.
You've got me thinking.
What I would love is some key limes, please.
Mm-hmm.
Ahh. Magic.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
From Sheena to David, keep it simple.
Don't fancify it.
Otherwise, it's gonna come back to bite you on the ass.
$5 menu, but it tastes five-star.
That's the secret.
I'm really understanding that now.
One final hurdle.
Me versus the Bubba system.
I've got all the ingredients I could ever imagine.
I'm ready. Bring it on.
But I know Paul is not taking me lightly.
He means business.
Now, I've got to step up and fight back.
Paul!
Gordon.
Paul's trying to psych me out by having his
cook at the edge of the water.
But this joke's on him.
I've barely seen dry land all week.
Good to see you, bud.
Good to see you. How was your week?
Oh my goodness me. Crazy week.
A lot of it spent on the water.
A lot of it underwater.
Those lobsters, just the technique of tickling them.
They pretty big?
Man, but they move fast.
- Yeah, I... - I mean...
I found a, like, a little baby one, you know,
and everything.
So I’ve, I’ve, you know, brought my own date.
It's not the size, Paul.
It's what you do with it, right?
True.
Man.
The time has come for me to pull out all the stops
to beat the board shorts off Paul.
And hopefully, break my way into the Bubba system.
The breadfruit.
Do you use much of the breadfruit?
Yeah. Yeah, I got a piece for myself that
I’m probably gonna grill off.
Hold on. Hold on. I'm grilling off as well.
Well, but I’m doing it my way.
Okay.
Man, these lobsters are so beautiful.
So I’ve got Key limes and butter.
Uh-huh.
I'm gonna just start glazing these lobsters.
Beautiful.
That's different.
Never seen that, because we do our lobsters down here,
these warm water lobsters...
- Yes. - Split the middle...
Yes.
But I don't touch that meat.
I don't want to make it tough.
I stuff it and leave it in like that.
You said $5 menu. $5 menu.
- $5 menu. - Elevated to five stars.
Now, you're stuffing your lobster. Come on, man.
But, I mean, come on, it's, it's,
this is just a technique.
You said don't get fancy.
You've gone fancy.
That's not fancy. That's Key West.
What, stuffing a lobster tail?
You said keep it simple, so I listened to you and
keep it simple.
I'm just grilling mine.
That's simple.
Paul calls his lobster traditional.
I think what it's really called is cheating.
Have a quick look.
It's nice. It's good.
Getting some bounce.
Look at those babies.
Come on, man.
What I understood yesterday, from the pastor's wife, Sheena,
keep it hot, man.
- Yeah. - Don't be scared of that.
Those little bird chilis and the heat, the peppers.
Yep.
I think I'm gonna put my
grunt fish in whole.
Those whole filets into that sort of stew.
I've decided not to try and replicate
Sheena's grunts and grits recipe.
It may be the pastor's favorite,
but it's hard to outcook a spouse.
So I'm putting my own twist on this dish.
What's that technique you're doing there?
What is that?
You're rolling with a bottle of rum.
When I’m done, you can peel the skin back.
There's only all the bones in there.
The meat comes out clean.
Paul's got a arsenal of tricks up his sleeve.
I'm, I'm telling you, this guy, he wants to beat me big time.
And what do you do with it?
A grunt burger.
A grunt burger?
Grunt burger.
What, like a little, mini slider?
I can't wait to see Sheena's face on that one.
Trust me.
Yeah, I’m gonna stand behind you.
How you doing?
Well, I got part of the fire hot,
part of the fire cold.
You know, it's trying to find that perfect spot on here
because we've got the wind blowing behind us off the ocean.
If there's one chef anywhere in the country can
handle the wind, it's you, young man.
For the first time, possibly in his life,
the strong wind is not Paul's friend.
So I'm gonna make a sort of chili crab.
Paul, can you show me the best technique to get these claws?
Sure, yep.
Please.
- So... - What's that?
In the restaurant, we use this.
You get this shell in your teeth,
Yeah.
No good, man. It'll break your teeth.
So one crack there. One crack there.
Got you.
Pull it off. Oh, man.
I mean, it, ooghh.
Look at that.
That, dude, that's lollipop, man.
They're so full of meat.
Thank you.
Paul, you good?
Yeah, man. I got grunt burgers.
I'm gonna crack a little bit of crab.
Maybe go sip on a little bit of rum and just, you know,
kind of wait for you to get done.
I'm a little bit behind.
And the ocean has come up.
You're looking a little wet over there.
Seaweed [bleep]. Look at you.
Cool as a cucumber.
Right, I'm so in the it's extraordinary.
Outdoor with this humidity and insane heat,
knee deep in water, dredging through seaweed.
He's laughing his head off.
Oh! We have a few guests coming through.
Hey, Paul.
The people who helped me sort ingredients
throughout the week have arrived.
But leading the pack, the man of the hour.
Sheena's husband, the pastor.
How are you, sir? Good to see you. You good?
Oh, good to see you.
What's up boss?
- Are you good, bud? - Yeah, man. Doing great.
Good to see you, pleasure,
Sheena, he's, he's turned the grunt into a burger.
A grunt burger.
Hey, don't believe what he tells you, Sheena.
No, that's not the way we did it.
- A grunt burger. - No.
What's happened to the guy?
Okay, let's go.
Okay, I'm ready to plate up. You good?
I'm ready to plate.
My God, that tide's coming in.
Okay, my man. It's not how you start.
It's how you finish.
Look at that.
I mean, that looks like a banquet fit for a pastor.
Right, ready?
Let's do it.
Let's go my man. Fingers crossed.
Oh, my God, this seaweed.
You say you like the water now.
I love the water. Trust me.
This is gonna tell if you're really gonna be
a Bubba, my friend.
Wha-, ha-ha.
Whoo, snap.
Some lobster.
Got to have some fun cooking in high tide with
my good friend here.
So what I have here is a lobster chilau,
which is real traditional.
Baked down, cooked tomatoes, onions, peppers.
The grunt cakes, and please don't kill me,
because I didn't want to filet them,
so I rolled them out.
No bones.
The meat comes out and it's delicious.
I hope you enjoy.
And then, right there, I got some stone crab,
little Key lime mustard.
Got the knuckles in the juice.
Enjoy.
Um, I'm gonna start off with those
bountiful lobsters.
They've been grilled with lemongrass butter.
Finished with an amazing salsa.
And underneath, local papaya, which I never thought I’d find.
And then, the sort of Bahamian influence grunt fish curry.
And the starch inside that is that beautiful breadfruit.
And then, finally, at the end,
I went sort of a little bit off-piece.
I sort of caramelized the chili on the grill and made
that amazing chili crab.
Please enjoy. Yes.
- Thank you. - Let's go, guys.
- Thank you. - I can't wait.
Man. Now, that is a feast and a half.
Huh?
Man, a lot of pepper.
It's gonna take some, uh,
some flavor to get a smile on that pastor's face, huh?
I'm telling you, man.
He's, he's gonna be a tough nut to crack.
So between the grunt cake and the curry dish.
I'm a grunt cake man right now.
Nah, I, I, I, I think the curry made it something
completely different.
Do you like that or didn't like that?
- Oh, I love it. I love it. - Okay.
Yeah, I love the curry, I love the curry, yeah.
- The curry. - Oh my gosh.
Which lobster dish do you like better?
I really like the traditional lobster.
I feel like...
You know what I mean?
Yeah, it kind of reminded me of home.
You know, how we have it down here.
I like the traditional lobster, for sure.
Yeah, it's just a great meal.
Yeah, amazing, all the way around.
They look ready? Shall we?
Think so. Good luck, man.
- Who caught the lobster? - It was spiny lobster, yeah.
She stole my lobster.
Oh, still sticking with that one.
Oh, man.
I hope you had a great lunch.
What a, what, what a great meal.
Thank you. Pastor, over to you, sir.
Well, we had a lot of debate when it came
to the grunts.
But in the end, the curry won out.
So Gordon, this grunt and curry,
Excellent. Nice job.
Yeah, it, it won out.
Thank you, Sheena.
And, and then we had a lot of debate going on
with the crabs.
And uh...
Paul's crab won out.
Yeah, it, it was like a real, it was like a real Bubba crab.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Real Bubba crab.
Okay. So that make it a one, one.
I mean, this is unbelievable.
But there is a, you know, somebody beat somebody to the
finish line just by a, a fraction.
And that came down to the lobster.
Oh my goodness.
We had to go around and, and, and vote.
And it's seven of us, so somebody out of the
seven broke the tie.
And it wasn't me.
It's just unbelievable that, that our Bubba was so good.
Paul, we, we gave you the tiebreaker.
Holy [bleep]. I thought you had it.
They were talking crying and food.
I was like, I'm bah.
Listen this, this, this week for me
wasn't about winning.
This man's been amazing.
The whole table has been amazing, but...
You've all been great.
it was about becoming a Bubba.
That was the most important mark.
Well, well, well, well, we got some news for you.
Oh.
Your food was so good.
Chef Gordon Ramsay, welcome to the Bubba system.
Yes.
Yes. There you go.
That's the most important thing for me.
That's what it's about.
I have my Bubba chef license.
Trust me, that's as good as winning a Michelin star
in the Florida Keys.
You guys have been amazing.
And it's opened my eyes to what really is the Florida Keys.
Honestly, congrats, man.
Hey, man. It was a pleasure.
Take care.
Man, what an amazing week I've had.
Getting to dive deep into the culinary world of
the Florida Keys.
This week was such a learning experience.
These locals use every ingredient found in the Keys
to make dishes that feel like home,
with the taste of a five-star restaurant.
It's as if every dish is flavored with the love and
the pride they have for the Conch Republic.
As for now, onto the boat and on to my next adventure.