That doesn't sound like a car,
that sounds like, oh my goodness.
What a car, man.
Is that him?
That's him.
Are we good? Yeah.
Derek, tell my wife I love her.
Alright.
Holy shit! Woo!
bananas, man.
Oh my God!
GORDON I'm in the legendary Smoky Mountains,
a bio diverse wilderness steeped in history.
From the native Cherokee people to moonshiners,
to NASCAR, this land has a past as diverse as its cuisine.
And I can't wait to explore it all.
Although they call these the Smoky Mountains,
rivers are a plenty and I start my incredible journey
fly fishing with a legendary local chef,
William Dissen.
Now, he said meet me somewhere on the river.
Hey. Hey, good morning.
Hi, how are you?
You're not Chef William, that's for sure.
I am not, no, no, no. My name is Sam.
Nice to meet you.
Uh, you're dressed up as if you're about to climb or?
Do you wanna meet Chef William?
Yes please.
Okay, yeah, right down this way.
He's down here? Uh-huh.
I'm gonna follow you. Alright, come on down.
So you wanna come this way?
Are we there yet?
Uh, nearly. It's right over here.
What the hell is that?
Holy shit. Oh my lord!
He's down there?
He's down there.
William! Hey, Gordon!
I'm coming!
Welcome to Smoky Mountains.
Bloody hell. Let's do this, girl.
Woo!
Man.
This first section's pretty slick,
so lean back a bit, take smaller steps.
this is slippy as
GORDON My journey has just begun and
already the mountains are showing me who's in charge.
Yeah, yeah. shit!
You're fine.
Repelling down anything,
you need to get that firm grip and then relax.
Shit.
It's very hard to start that off
when you can't even stand up straight.
I've got no grip
And I was literally gliding across those rocks
like Bambi on ice.
Halfway down, my rope got stuck.
You're going under that water and it's chilly,
so you're holding your breath.
There's a powerful amount of water coming full frontal.
GORDON It's like taking a cold wet punch
to the face over and over.
This is not the southern hospitality I've heard so much about.
GORDON When I finally reach the first plateau,
I look down and see the sheer rock face and
realize I still have a long way to go.
Welcome to the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina.
That was insane.
You said meet me for some fly fishing!
Well, you were like Daniel Day Lewis coming down
the waterfall, man.
Good to see you, bud.
Yes.
GORDON William Dissen is a Smoky Mountain's legend,
a multi award winning chef,
with a focus on fresh, healthy and sustainable food.
He works with a network of local farmers, fisherman,
and artisan producers to create some of
the best dishes this region has to offer.
What an amazing spot.
This is one of my favorite places to get out of
the kitchen, to come and relax.
I've got your gear here, we can head on downstream.
Bingo.
GORDON After that repel,
I'm wetter than a Scottish summer and I'm excited to
dry off and get out the rod and reel.
And they're gonna be what Brook Trout?
Brook and Brown Trout.
And brownies, love that.
My first time in the Smoky Mountains.
I really love this region because it's such a beautiful place.
You have fertile land and, as you'll find out,
lots of wild food everywhere.
And if you look back to the Native Americans and
the Cherokee, in particular, who lived in this region,
you know, no wonder they decided to make this their home.
It's kind of like a little food-topia.
Got ya. What lies beneath?
Oh Was that me or you?
I think it was both of us.
There's a big sense in community and local in
this region and so that's really important because
at the end of the week,
we've gotta cook for all these locals.
And when we cook at the end of the week,
I've got a little bet for you.
Go on.
So when you're in the Smoky Mountains,
you're gonna need a truck to get around,
there's a lot of rugged off road.
I've got a really sweet truck that you can borrow.
Oh that'll be nice, thank you.
Yeah, you're welcome.
I'll let you borrow it though, under one condition.
Go on.
If they like my food better,
you fly my family and I to London...
And you treat us to dinner at your restaurant.
Right. And if I win?
If you win, I'll let you keep the keys.
You are...
Oh, you'll let me keep the truck?
I'll let you keep the truck.
Are you sure?
So game on. I'm competitive.
He's incredibly competitive and
I've never competed for a truck.
So extra motivation.
I'm gonna give William a run for his money.
Game on, big boy.
Let's do it. And quick favor.
What's that?
The fact that we didn't catch any,
or I didn't catch any trout this morning,
any chance you could pull me a couple for the final cook, please.
I'm sure, I'm sure I could get a few,
but that's the last favor I'm doing for you this week.
You are competitive.
Uh, listen, tight lines.
Good luck, I'll see you at the end of the week.
GORDON I want this truck,
so I need to get my hands on some of the most unique ingredients found here.
Luckily, I've already got trout on the menu.
But here, we have over 2,000 miles of amazing rivers
and streams in the Smoky Mountains,
so I want more.
Now, William's hooked me up with an amazing craw fisherman
and fingers crossed,
today I'm gonna get my hands on those beauties.
Keith. Ah, Chef Ramsay!
How are you, sir. Good to see you.
Nice, good to see you.
Now, Chef William said that we've got a
strong possibility of getting more protein ahead of the big cook.
Yeah, so I brought a means of transportation for you.
Yes. Did you forget them?
Chef William explained to me you're a man that
enjoys a challenge, so, um, I brought these.
Ha-ha, yeah.
So these are hand paddles.
For, for your...
This is, no, they go on your hands, see,
just like this, um.
Hand paddles? Yeah.
It's very intuitive.
Oh my lord.
You've got long arms, I think you're gonna rock this.
Let's get suited up.
Let's go captain. I'm in your hands, my man.
This is so beautiful.
Yeah.
It's one of the most wonderful things about paddling white water,
is you see places few people see.
Man.
GORDON Keith makes using these hand paddles
look easy, but it isn't for me.
The only thing harder than paddling with them would be
cooking with them.
And it should seem rather intuitive,
but you wanna just keep your boat in line with the water,
you're exposing the side of the boat to catch a rock and tip you out.
Kayaks are amazing fun,
but when you've got a paddle, you know,
you've got so much more control.
Go around this. Shit!
When you're paddling with your hands,
then 15, 20 minutes in, you're gonna get tired.
Ah,
Stay away from that rock!
Oh no!
GORDON This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid.
Now you see why I don't want you to touch the rock.
GORDON Keith, this stays between you,
me and the river.
With my ego in check and
my frozen nether regions tucked in my stomach,
you bet your ass that won't happen again.
Alright. Right this way.
Woo-hoo! Nice.
It's fine until you get into that fast water.
When you hit that fast water, then you've gotta be a rudder
as well, very quickly, and then you've gotta turn left,
lean left, turn right.
Lean right.
Alright.
You see this little wave,
we're gonna clip the left side of it.
Shit my boots.
And then brace yourself.
Nicely done, sir!
Yeah! That's first class three.
GORDON After sticking the landing on
my first class three rapids,
I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.
Come hard, this way.
Get in the glacier bango, point this way, quickly!
GORDON But then, out of nowhere,
Keith's soothing southern drawl takes on an urgency
I haven't heard before.
As soon as I realize why, I almost lose my lunch.
Keith come back, don't leave me here.
Oh
GORDON The river is pulling me towards raging rapids
that drop into a series of vertical waterfalls.
And the last thing I wanna do is die
wearing these hand paddles.
Shit.
GORDON I'm on a river in the Great Smoky Mountains
and it appears my day of carefree fun is over.
Holy
GORDON Along with possibly my life.
Oh!
What a moment that was.
That was a big blur for 30 seconds,
descending down those rapids because I thought I'd lost it.
And then all of a sudden, boop,
you pop up, take a breath and then stay calm.
So what a ride.
GORDON Smoky Mountain sleigh ride completed,
it's finally time to focus on finding
the crawfish I came for.
This is where our traps are set and hopefully,
uh, when we get there,
we'll have some protein in 'em!
Good job, my man.
Alright. Good job, high-five.
So you see what I've got here,
I recessed it into the river bottom.
And then inside, um, bacon.
Bacon, stop it.
Yeah, uh, that's what I had, um.
So hopefully this worked.
I'm gonna just move away the ramps.
As you can see, it's very high tech.
Man.
Woo, look in there, yeah.
May I? Oh my God.
So we have 28 different species of crayfish in North Carolina.
We don't have the giant ones they have in Louisiana,
but they taste about the same.
That is incredible, all because of those little bits of bacon.
Yeah.
Did you design this trap?
I did. If you wanna break down the cost of it, um.
The jug was cheese balls and this is a Gatorade, um.
So it was $5 for the cheese balls and at the Dollar Store,
that Gatorade was only $1.
So it's a $6 trap, unless you like cheese balls and Gatorade
and then you can say it's a free trap.
You'd make a lot of money as a chef,
you know that?
Making sure there's no waste.
They look amazing.
Oh my God, good job.
Keith is the perfect nut bag,
you know to be in a forest with,
because he utilizes everything.
So what a trap.
Good news is, tiny bit of bacon and
we got a dozen crawfish.
Big cook, in a couple of days.
I don't know if that's gonna be enough.
Oh we have more traps.
I went all out.
There's $24 worth of traps out here, so.
I'll take care of that.
Amazing.
Now the Smoky Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges anywhere
in the world and also one of the most biologically diverse.
Amongst these trees are some of the best ingredients a chef
could ever ask for, mushrooms.
Alan. Hey.
How are you, sir, are you well?
Yeah, great. How are you doing?
Good to see you. Uh, congratulations.
They say that you are the best forager and
I would love some mushrooms for the final cook.
Well there's some right here, watch your step.
Oh shit. No stop it.
Uh-huh. So it is.
Uh-huh. And what is that?
That is a Boletes, like a Porcini.
These are beauties.
Obviously, I'm gonna need more than three mushrooms.
Well let's get in the woods.
Let's get in the woods.
This is a beautiful trail, my goodness me.
This is super bio diverse area.
Wow.
We have more here than probably anywhere outside of
the tropics in the whole hemisphere.
Serious. Keep your eyes open.
Yes.
GORDON My eyes are open and I'm ready to spot
some fantastic ingredients.
Oh look at that one there.
Yeah. How bright is that?
Oh. Oh!
GORDON Just as I reach down to grab what
looks like a perfect mushroom.
That is so beautiful. Uh-huh.
GORDON Alan stops me in my tracks.
Yeah, it's gorgeous but, you know,
that could be deadly.
Really? Seriously?
Uh-huh. My God.
They're called Destroying Angel,
the deadly one.
Wow. Is that poisonous?
Yeah, one will work.
Bloody hell, so no eating those.
GORDON Unfortunately, our first find
could have killed my guests before the second course.
After that, you'll never get a decent Yelp review.
Oh great, check it out. See this?
What is that?
This is basically a puff ball on a stick.
They call it hot lips because of the mouth right there.
And if I'm lucky, when I squeeze this.
See what came out.
Wow.
It's edible, it's just like rubber bands.
Gotcha. But, you know.
But not very flavorsome.
No, just chewy.
GORDON Our second find wasn't gonna kill
the guests, but something that spits in their face isn't
going on my menu.
Alright, we're off roading it now.
Off roading.
Oh.
Keep your... Oh. Come on.
You did it. Bloody hell.
Look at that. Now that, that right there.
That's the prize. Is the money.
Oh my God.
You hit it.
So is that the head? Yeah, this is it.
Bloody hell.
GORDON Hen of the woods is not only
unique and beautiful,
it's one of the best tasting mushrooms on earth.
I would just come under and try to,
don't even slice.
Just lift it up?
Yeah, yeah, it should come out whole.
Wow. Yeah.
That is beautiful. Thank you.
Oh my God.
It's almost like a beautiful piece of coral, isn't it?
Like a sculpture, yeah.
Look at that.
I think you got what you needed.
That's, that's gonna be a feast.
That is beautiful.
Almost looks like a piece of art.
It's like a bloody flower arrangement,
look at that.
Uh-huh.
But this is the money, let me tell you.
This is gonna give me a little edge.
I know William's busy.
I know this is his home town,
he's got a very successful restaurant,
but he's not out foraging the way I am.
So one nil to Ramsay.
I hope that gives, uh, William a run for his money.
Thank you.
That's gonna kick his ass, man.
That I wanna see.
I've already got some incredible ingredients that,
fingers crossed, I'm gonna impress my guests.
But I know another way to try and win them over, alcohol.
And, as you can see, I'm in the absolute perfect spot because,
right here, is called the moonshine capital of the world.
GORDON I'm meeting with a family that
operates a legal distillery in town.
But today, they're showing me how this corn whiskey was made
the old fashioned way, deep in the woods hidden away from
prying eyes and a Sheriff's shot gun.
Derek, how are you, captain?
Great, nice meeting you.
It's an absolute pleasure.
What an amazing drive up and I'm excited to,
fingers crossed, get my hands on some moonshine.
We can make that happen.
Amazing.
What's so special about your moonshine?
We've got an old family recipe that
goes back about 200 years.
Wow.
How long have you been making moonshine for?
Oh, I started when I was 14 year old.
You're not allowed to drink till you're 21.
I, I know.
My mom got me on whiskey at the age of 12.
She put it on my tooth to numb a toothache.
Right. It'll do it.
Mom gave me whiskey at the age of 12 for a toothache.
This guy's been drinking moonshine,
you know, since the age of 14.
Listen, we're brothers, we're joined at the hip.
We're joined by moonshine.
Let's start shelling right here.
It takes a lot of corn.
GORDON Derek is gonna show me how moonshine
was made back in the day.
No shortcuts, just good old 100 year old technology and
some dried corn kernels.
Man, it's like going for a workout at the gym, this thing.
How old is this thing?
That's a 1906. 1906?
I think it is. Man.
GORDON It takes a little bit of elbow grease,
but this rusty machine does the trick,
sheering the kernels clean off the cob.
I think that'll do.
Straight in? Yep, put that in.
GORDON The second step is to get the
kernels ground down with some more state of the art machinery.
So this is 1906, how old is this thing?
This is 1918 to 1921.
Now, how do we start this baby,
where's the on button?
We gotta crank the tractor.
Hold on a minute, we have to start the tractor to
get this machine on?
Right.
GORDON Speaking of age,
the quickest way to turn me into a nine year old boy is to
put me on a tractor.
I had no idea we were making moonshine with a tractor, trust me.
And in the bloody rain.
We're in rain, man. We're in the rain!
Oh shit my foot.
That's good, right there.
Moonshine! That's it. We're go.
It's too, uh...
That's incredible.
GORDON As the corn grinds,
I remember that making moonshine is illegal and
I'm not sure where the line is, where I go from
internationally renowned chef to guy in a
Smoky Mountain jail cell.
Into the bag?
Are we gonna get busted by the cops?
I've got a wife and five kids?
I ain't got no criminal record.
Okay, alright.
They might let you by the first time.
What we doing with this now?
We're gonna load it up in Cody, my son's, car...
And y'all are gonna take it to the still.
Is that him? That's him.
That doesn't sound like a car,
that sounds like, oh my goodness.
Cody.
How's it going? How are you, captain?
Good to meet you.
Good to see you, my man, we good?
Yeah.
We're going up to the still, right?
Oh yeah, come on in.
What a car, man.
Derek, tell my wife I love her.
Alright. Let's go.
GORDON I was worried about getting arrested.
Now I'm worried about staying alive.
Shit! Holy shit!
Oh my God!
Holy shit! Woo!
GORDON I'm here in the Smoky Mountains getting
a crash course on moonshine and fast cars.
In fact, NASCAR's roots stem from moonshiners racing their
illegal hooch through the snaking back roads,
trying to avoid the Feds.
And the way Cody drives, the Feds don't stand a chance.
Woo! Holy shit!
That's how you drive a Hot Rod.
We've gotta walk from here?
Yeah, all the way up to the top of the mountain here.
Okay.
GORDON Normally, moonshine is made at night,
under the cloak of darkness.
Lite only by the light of, you guessed it, the moon.
Bloody hell. This is it?
Yes sir.
How long has this set up been like this?
The still is over 100 year old family still.
Wow.
In general, you'd wanna move 'em from time to time, you know.
So as we're not found out?
Yeah, yeah.
It's all gotta be put up right before you use it and then hidden.
But this is serious stuff, this stuff, right?
Yeah. Is this bit legal?
Well, depends how you look at it.
Why?
This is legal to make the beer.
If you distill it, then it's illegal.
Got ya.
First thing we're gonna do is, um, go ahead and
put your corn in.
And then we'll do what's called cooking it.
Take this hot water we got over here and we dump it in
and we'll stir it up.
Go back decades and what moonshiners put up with,
you know, how much graft went into making this stuff.
We take it for granted now and
we see it in the shiny bottles,
but this is where it all started.
The water start going in.
Oh shit.
Oh you'll spill some, don't worry about that.
It happens, it's a messy process.
That's right up to the top now.
Alright. Yeah.
So the next step would be to light it.
Now if you do that, it's illegal,
you're, um, breaking, you know, federal law.
A pretty serious one.
I need to find a way of getting one over William,
so we have no moonshine ready?
I got some. Okay.
Same recipe, same everything.
This is brewed in my distillery in Nashville.
Got ya.
GORDON The only difference between the
outlawed hooch made in the back woods and the legal stuff
Cody makes now is taxation and permits.
100 proof.
50% alcohol. Yeah.
GORDON But Cody assures me my taste buds won't
know the difference.
Cheers, man. You gonna take a swig?
Hell yeah, I'll drink out of the jar.
Shit.
I feel like a flame thrower.
Is that not strong for you?
No, no. I'm used to it. Oh my God!
I do have a toned down version,
if you want the apple pie.
So this is the apple one?
Yeah. So, may I?
Yeah, go for it.
Oh, sweet as well. Yeah.
And a nice, sort of almost like a
caramel flavored apple at the end.
That's the winner.
I'm hoping things like that moonshine,
especially the apple caramel moonshine can help
elevate this thing.
Good man.
North Carolina is the second largest producer of hogs
across the whole of the USA, so there's no way I'm going
into the final cook without pork.
GORDON With only two days before I go head to head with William,
I'm on my way to meet a super talented butcher
who prepares something the locals rave about.
It's called livermush and with a name like that,
it has to be good.
Matt.
Hey, how're you doing? How are you, bud?
Good. Good to see you, glad you made it.
You good? Yeah, absolutely.
Oh my lord, absolute pleasure.
Now, William said that the livermush is a delicacy.
Absolutely.
From a Chef's point of view, I'm dying to get my hands on it.
What's so special about it?
It's a staple of western North Carolina.
It doesn't sound appetizing.
It's got a weird name.
Livermush. Yes sir.
Is it like eating pressed pork? Is it...
It's kind of like pate, but in a different way because
instead of having a panade in it,
it's got corn meal as a bonder.
And did you say pate?
Cause you've gone all posh on me, a little bit of French in that.
Yeah, a little bit, a little bit.
And kinda like a southern cousin of pate, if you will.
Gotcha.
Go ahead and dice up some pork shoulder,
dice up a little pork liver and we'll add it to our pot of simmering stock over here.
Gotcha. Gotcha.
Now, is it something that you would eat Thanksgiving, Christmas?
It's more of a breakfast food around here.
Absolutely. I'm dead serious.
Stop. Stop. Shit you got the guns on there.
Okay, gotcha.
GORDON Every layer you peel away from
the Smoky Mountain onion is fascinating.
Who would have thought of pork liver as a breakfast staple.
I can't wait to cook this for my kids.
So all the pork? Uh-huh.
And what's that just boiling water?
It's pork stock. Pork stock.
Yes sir.
Fortified it with a few trotters,
to give it more gelatin.
GORDON Trotters are pig's feet.
Between those and the liver, this is shaping up to be one
of those sausages most people don't want to see made, but I do.
So that cooks for how long?
About an hour.
Shall we take a coffee,
a little beer, what shall we do?
Let's go see the pigs. Go see the pigs.
Yes sir, they're not far.
You're gonna need these.
Is it like wallowing deep mud?
Oh yeah, yeah, we're gonna go to the wallow for sure.
Matt, seriously.
GORDON I've actually raised a few pigs
in my time and, if they taught me anything,
it's that I never want to raise pigs again.
This won't end well.
My God.
My God, they are gorgeous.
Beautiful.
Hey guys. Hi, good morning.
Hey, welcome.
You good? Good to see you, bud.
I think I'll drop him off with you, man.
Awesome. Dude see you later.
Let's do it. Um...
These are gorgeous.
These are. These are our Mamas here, we call 'em sows.
GORDON Asher has been raising hogs for over
15 years and he tells me what makes these ones special is
that they're kept outside year round,
which encourages natural behaviors,
like rooting and foraging.
And the age, how old are they?
Uh, these girls are about two and a half.
Really.
And then Owen, Owen's kind of our senior boar on
the scene here, he's about five.
Look at him.
Owen, come on, sat there wallowing in mud with
four gorgeous pigs around him.
What is he, 400 pound?
No these guys pushing, he's probably 600 to 650.
Man.
GORDON Owen is my new hero.
I want him to become my best friend and tell me the secret
to keeping my wife happy while I just blissfully lie around
in my boxer shorts.
We're gonna give him some apples first,
just to butter 'em up.
And just like feeding a horse,
just kind of stick it out to him.
Gotcha Hey man, hey.
Hey, big man. Come on.
Come on, bud.
Hey. Man.
GORDON Owen wants nothing to do with me,
I think he knows I'll never be the player he is.
Why don't you get one of these girls,
they'll take it from you?
Man, hey, man.
Hey, come here.
Oh they're getting pumped.
They are beautiful.
Well, shall we feed 'em some grain too?
Yeah.
Oh. Hey.
Here, pig, pig.
He is amazing, Owen, my God.
Come on.
Take a look on the back, you see the goods.
Uh, oh my lord!
Jesus, like two footballs down there.
That is insane.
GORDON I wonder what size shoe Owen wears?
Spread that bucket over about half of these pales.
Gotcha
Here pig, pig, pig.
Jeez. Hey, hey. Hey.
Shit. Jesus.
Yeah, you gotta move quick.
You've gotta move very quick.
Other things they eat besides the feed here is stuff
that's out in the pasture.
Gotcha.
So they're eating roots and bugs and mushrooms and
they forage and that adding parts of flavor in the meat
that you don't get from being inside.
No.
The pigs, the way they feed.
The Granny Smith treats.
They're moving pens every two or three weeks for
a much greater feed.
They're wallowing in the mud 24/7,
it's an amazing find, that quality of pig.
I'm gonna head back down and get tucking into this liver, livermush?
Livermush, you got it.
Good to see you, bud. Thank you so much.
Beautiful pigs.
They were incredible.
Has that boiled?
Yes sir.
So it has to be very, oh wow.
That's gonna be very gelatinous.
Yes. We're gonna strain it with this spider over here,
we're gonna take the solids out and
then we're gonna grind 'em.
And that's fully cooked.
I love those little aromats in there as well.
There you go.
Beautiful. Perfect.
Alright, we'll kill that.
Give that a little stir and we'll see what it looks like.
And so now it's getting to the mushy part, so.
Mhm. Now you're seeing why it's named that.
That's why it's called livermush.
We're gonna add one of those containers of corn meal.
That's enough? That's it.
That's ready to go. Yes sir.
And we would pour that into a pan and we would let it set in
the fridge and then we would come out and it would look
something like this guy right here.
Wow, so that's it there.
That's it there.
And you feel how dense it is now.
Yeah, it's very dense.
Absolutely. That's amazing.
So in we go, hot pan.
GORDON After a quick sear on the grill,
we put this on a traditional southern biscuit and tuck in.
It's got a beautiful color on there, right?
It does, it does. Here you go, sir.
Thank you.
Oh my God.
That is delicious.
What's better than that?
Shit.
Livermush, doesn't sound the most appetizing on a menu,
but let me tell you, honestly, delicious.
It takes me back to my commis chef days in Paris,
just getting down to the basic ingredients and
transform it into something magical.
Oh my God, wow.
That has got me going, honestly.
Good, I like it.
Uh, wow.
At the beginning of the journey,
William's going on about livermush.
I'm like, mush?
Are you kidding me? Liver, mush, really?
I get it now.
So hats off to Smoky Mountain's heritage
because it is delicious.
Take care. Yes sir.
See you at the end of the week.
Thank you.
And I have to take that and present it in a really cool way,
otherwise I'm gonna get kicked out of those mountains.
It's the day before the big cook,
and I've got one last very important stop on the border
of the Great Smoky Mountains is the national park that is
inhabited by the Cherokee Indians.
GORDON I've heard that there's a
Cherokee dish that I need to taste to believe.
We are right in the thick of the woods.
Maliya, there you are.
What does that mean?
It means hello Gordon and how are you?
I'm so happy to be here.
Now Hom, Homalee?
Hominy. Hominy, excuse me.
Hominy. Hominy.
GORDON Hominy is very unique traditional native American food.
It's basically corn on steroids.
And I'm finally about to see how it's made.
The process of turning the corn to Hominy just relies
on this ash, this hickory ash and the corn
and water and heat.
Oh really? Yeah.
First off, if you can finish getting the rest of these kernels off.
And once you get a few of 'em, see you're looking like a pro.
Gotcha.
And then we're gonna come over with our ash and
go over to the fire.
That ash will turn it black, won't it?
It's the lye that's in the ash that we need to remove
the coat off of the kernels, it makes it easier to digest.
GORDON Now, I know why there's such a
buzz around this dish.
There is lye in hickory ash, which is extremely corrosive.
I'm excited to be shown what this unique ingredient will do
to humble corn kernels.
And it also makes some more amino acids available to you.
Okay.
And you have less vitamin deficiencies.
GORDON It makes sense that the Cherokee
developed a recipe that would maximize nutrients,
but I'm not sold on this dish just yet.
So does the ash turn it bitter?
It doesn't turn it bitter,
but it does give it a different taste.
Yeah, see it doesn't look appetizing.
Well, I'm sure sometimes when you make a dish,
it doesn't look that appetizing until you're all the way done, right?
GORDON Maliya has obviously never seen me cook.
While we wait for this caustic mixture to work its magic,
I learn about the traditional way of grinding corn.
Straight in? Yes. Alright.
Does that go in there?
Which?
Is that right, round, pound?
What do you think?
Well, it looks like the sort of,
that end's too big for the hole,
but then that doesn't.
No, let's try this way.
So how may kids to you have?
Well, no. Maliya, please.
Christ girl, honestly.
Alright, so I'll give you a little help,
I'll give you a little help.
It won't go down the hole.
Turn it around.
Oh you do turn it around?
You do turn it around.
So the secret's not to go too hard, right?
Right.
I'll have to teach you how to say help me in Cherokee, it's...
Yes please.
It means help.
And right now, I need a shit ton of it.
So you are using a lot.
Am I?
Look how slow you're going.
Work smarter, not harder, right?
Yes. Yes ma'am.
Indigenous science, right.
Gotcha, slow and steady, here we go.
Doesn't feel right.
GORDON I'm sure you'd like to keep watching me
awkwardly poke around, but thankfully it's time to try
our Hominy which has been thoroughly rinsed and
mixed with beans.
That looks, I mean, it's almost like a sort of
French Cassoulet, you know, like a bean stew.
Yeah.
Mmm. Lovely.
Mm. Been waiting for that all day.
That is delicious, oh my God.
The corn and the beans, on a different level.
She elevated that dish into something quite luxurious.
That Cherokee history is so prevalent today and
I need to tap into that.
If I don't tap into that, I'm, I'm dead meat.
See ya. Good to see ya girl.
Thank you.
I've got a great arsenal of ingredients for
the big cook.
But come on, I know William has been cooking from
this land for the locals for decades.
This is a competition and, honestly,
I do not like to lose.
William!
Gordon, what's up, man?
What do you think? Did you enjoy the Smokies?
I'm moving here.
It's amazing, man, look at this view.
I mean, honestly, good to see you, my man.
Good to see you. Oh boy, what a week.
I hope you enjoyed everything.
It was incredible.
You nervous?
Not at all. Oh come on, man.
Oh man.
I know the ingredients like the back of my hand.
You are competitive.
We did have a little wager that we, uh, lined up, right?
You still wanna go down that line?
I can't wait, first class over to London.
Ten course meal at your restaurant.
That's a beautiful jeep by the way.
Got me around beautifully.
GORDON Seems like William hasn't forgotten
about our bet, so it's time for the games to begin.
What you got going on over here?
So I'm gonna start off with my Hominy.
So I'm gonna do the, uh, corn,
strip that back with the beans.
Maliya gave me this knowledge for this Hominy and
I'm just gonna lift it up a little bit,
put some of that delicious smoked ham.
Speaking of beans,
I'm starting to get my leather britches going.
You're getting your what going?
Leather britches.
There's a type of bean we grow here in region called a greasy bean.
But after you dry them out,
they call them leather britches because,
well, they look like leather britches.
That's incredible, I've never seen those.
GORDON Right out of the gate,
William has an ingredient I've never heard of and I know his
local expertise is gonna make winning this bet a challenge.
But I've still got a few tricks he won't see coming.
Time to break out the hen of the woods.
Beautiful. Look at this thing.
GORDON Damn.
He definitely saw that coming.
And what you gonna do with it?
So I'm gonna make this into kind of a classic mushroom gratin,
uh, since we're in the Smokies and Appalachia,
we'll add a little Bourbon.
You're doing a gratin in the mountains?
In the mountains.
Man, you're getting posh, you know that?
Oh yeah.
GORDON Okay, now I'm getting a bit nervous
because it's clear William's showed up to win.
But, as always, so did I.
Look at those, look at that there.
Oh my God. So beautiful.
And that ham is doing its job.
So you got to try some moonshine, right?
I did. It knocked me on my ass.
Back in my college days,
I learned a fun trick.
You ever tried an ice luge in college?
You know, when you take vodka down the ice block.
I was working hard, William.
We're doing a little country ham and Bourbon luge.
On this ham? Yeah.
So we've, I've cut a little V channel in this ham,
this is a 25 month aged country ham.
So if you grab your glass and just put it right at
the bottom there.
Just hold it right there.
And then we're gonna pour down the bottom there.
And then you're gonna take a drink of that.
Are you trying to get me drunk?
Cheers.
I got work to do.
Oh my lord.
Alright, now chase it with some of this.
What's the ham for?
Chases the, chases the Bourbon away.
Chases the Bourbon away,
just close my ass hole up.
This is 25 month aged ham,
it's like prosciutto, right?
Chef William threw the gauntlet down,
threw his car in the mix.
And then came in with the Bourbon.
Really? That's the bit I shouldn't be touching.
Bloody hell.
Gordon, what are you doing over there?
So I'm gonna fry off these incredible Andouille.
And that's gonna be my sort of finishing touch with the Hominy.
I'm starting my griddle cakes up.
Fry these up nice and crispy,
will be a great base to put my crawfish on.
Right, livermush, here we go.
I'm gonna get my biscuits a little bit crispier.
I don't know, man, that's not really how we cook
those here in the south.
No? No.
Well I'm taking a gamble,
cause it's a beautiful car.
Mm.
Gonna be finishing up my griddle cakes,
then we're gonna cook some trout and some crawfish and
be ready to plate up.
Can you slow down, please,
or give me some more of that Bourbon, please?
You want another shot?
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Alright, so I'm gonna stuff these beautiful rainbow trout
with a little bit of thyme and some lemon.
Wow, they look beautiful.
Do you serve them whole?
We are gonna serve 'em the whole.
Nice.
Oh there you go, nice sizzle.
Crawfish, oh my God.
Quick, in and out.
I'm gonna blanch them very, very quickly.
Get them out of the shell.
Your restaurants though they do this table side, right?
Yeah, that's right.
You know, maybe Flambé a sauce, table side.
Exactly that.
You think they'll do that for me when I come?
I'm gonna use just a touch of my apple moonshine
in the crawfish.
You're not gonna share?
Not yet, no, no.
Oh my God.
Come on, just have a little smell of that.
Oh yeah, that's great.
Someone's about to lose his Jeep.
Mm. Mm. Mm. Um.
Look at that, Chef, come on.
Okay, I've got ya.
When I took a little sneak peek at William's trouts,
it was just, it was like this oasis of colors.
It was just the perfect rainbow trout.
Welcome. Ladies.
Hey, welcome folks.
Everybody, nice to see you all.
Eggs on.
Chef, do you see this?
Look at this, this is beautiful.
GORDON The moment of truth has arrived.
My beautiful dishes will be going head to head with
William's stunning creations.
Man, that has lit up, you ready?
Let's do it. Let's do it, my man.
GORDON It's time to find out if I'll be leaving
the Smoky Mountains with the key to my new favorite truck.
Nice job.
Man, that looks stunning.
So good to see you all.
Good to see you.
GORDON It's time to serve the guests who
helped me this week and find out
who will walk away a winner.
I'll give you an insight to what I've prepared.
I gotta go to the best pork anywhere in the country, livermush,
I know it doesn't sound the most appetizing,
but my God, were they incredible.
So we got a toasted scone with pickled onions and then a
fried quail's egg and then those mushrooms that we went
and grasped in the rain.
And then this Hominy.
Um, I used the Andouille, the mirepoix,
cooked the smoked ham knuckle in the middle.
And finally, the most dangerous crawfish anywhere in
the country when I went ass over tip down,
down a ravine that someone didn't tell me about,
but we managed.
My pants were as brown as that water, sir.
So there we have our beautiful grit and crawfish,
uh, it's finished with apple moonshine,
that's the sweetness across the crawfish.
Chef.
Alright guys, we have some beautiful food here,
sunburst rainbow trout, uh.
We also have made some kind of traditional griddle cake,
so kind of a cornmeal rice cake.
And then we've taken the, uh, crawfish and I made a little
relish with sour corn and country ham on top.
Back there, we took the beautiful wild hen of the wood mushrooms
and kind of turned that into traditional gratin.
That is a feast beyond belief.
So we had a little gentleman's bet going earlier this week, right?
Gordon's been driving my four wheel drive truck around all week.
And so if he wins the bet, he gets the keys to the truck.
If I win the bet, he's flying me first class over to London
and feeding me a what?
A 20 course meal you said at your name sake restaurant.
So no pressure, guys, no pressure.
Guys, enjoy, please. Cheers, guys.
Thank you.
Oh boy.
Where shall we start?
I'm excited.
Oh my gosh, this looks beautiful.
Mm.
Pickled onions. Pickled onions.
I told you it's all about the culture and
the heritage here.
Yeah.
So I think you did a great job though learning
about all the different techniques and
the ingredients of the region.
Livermush, it's so rich.
Man, they're digging in.
Yeah, it looks like they like that livermush.
What's your favorite?
I love livermush.
It's one of my favorites.
Think they're ready for the verdict.
Think so, looks like they're finishing up.
Where's your keys?
Oh man, where's the airline ticket?
Did I just hear silence in the mountains? Good?
Very much so. The mushrooms?
Both fantastic.
I'd have to go with William.
That gratin though, right?
Yeah. Crunchy top on there.
I did like that top.
How was those beautiful trout?
That was very good.
Delicious.
Candy roasters.
That puree underneath was delicious.
GORDON So far William's dishes are knocking
it out of the park.
Time to find out if this Scot can measure up and
if my dark horse, the livermush, will win the guests over.
Dare I ask, how was the livermush?
The livermush was great. Amazing. So good.
I really liked the pickled onions with it.
Amazing.
It tastes like home.
That's right.
How were the crawfish?
I loved 'em.
Could you get any of that apple moonshine?
Yeah.
Hominy? It was really good.
I would just cook it just a little bit more.
That's you rushing me.
Right, put one of us out of our misery.
Who's gonna call it?
What you think, guys?
Oh boy.
Close.
The anxiety, nerve racking here.
I liked these two better.
Right. Yeah.
Sorry Gordon, I think we've gotta go with the home town, boy.
Oh man, that first class flight.
What kind of champagne do they serve on British Airways?
The local edge won, um, rightly so.
But the exciting thing for me is how much I've learned.
Today wasn't about winning,
today was about getting up to speed,
and I still think it's one of the best kept culinary secrets
on the planet because what they do is incredible.
Thank you for making me feel incredibly special.
And you, a big congratulations.
Amazing, incredible. I've had so much fun.
Amazing, amazing, mate.
And God bless, take care, see you soon.
Hey, I'll see you soon in London.
Yeah. Yes! First class.
My time here in the Great Smoky Mountains has been incredible.
I got to play in a river and
catch those delicious crawfish.
Trample through the forest to get my hands on those prized mushrooms.
And I learned some secrets of generations past.
Whilst I only scratched the surface of the incredible history here.
Honestly, I'm humbled and honored for the experience.
But now, on to my next adventure.
Captioned by Cotter Media Group.