- 5 months ago
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00:00Reese, you want to help us get started?
00:01Yeah.
00:03What do I do?
00:04We're going to all do this together.
00:05Surprise!
00:08I'm Octavia Spencer.
00:10I may work in Hollywood, but when I'm looking for good food,
00:13I just head home to the South.
00:17Oh, Lord.
00:18So I've created a real down-home competition.
00:22You come at the right time, we're buttering the biscuits.
00:24Where I surprise pairs of loved ones
00:26by inviting them to cook their secret family recipes for me.
00:30Is that Octavia?
00:31It is indeed.
00:33And a bunch of my friends.
00:34Oh, I'm ready to eat.
00:37If I'm being honest, I don't like the look of it,
00:38but I'm sure the taste of it is going to be great.
00:42We're going to have a party.
00:47It's not a kick, it's a punch.
00:48It's like whoop, whoop, whoop.
00:51Helping me judge is Chef Duke Chase,
00:54the grandson of Leah Chase, the queen of Creole cuisine,
00:58and executive chef of the world-famous restaurant,
01:01Dookie Chase's.
01:02Grandma would be proud.
01:03Andy, have a pick up.
01:05So y'all ready?
01:06Then let's get cooking!
01:18Let's go.
01:19Good night.
01:20Here they come.
01:21Oh!
01:22Hey!
01:23Hey!
01:24Hey!
01:24Hey!
01:25Hey!
01:25Hey!
01:26Hey!
01:26Hey!
01:27Hey!
01:28Hey!
01:28Hey!
01:29Hey!
01:29Hey!
01:30Hey!
01:30Hey!
01:31Hey!
01:31Hey!
01:32There is not a day in the world you could have woke me up
01:36and said, today you're going to be cooking for Octavia Spencer.
01:39Award winning.
01:40Award winning.
01:41Octavia Spencer.
01:41So I don't care what anyone says.
01:43I'm a celebrity chef now.
01:45Yeah, me too.
01:47Now, I love Southern food, but Lord knows I can't cook it.
01:50So I asked a chef who knows everything about it to join me.
01:55Taking time off from his legendary restaurant
01:58is the pride of New Orleans, Chef Dook Chase.
02:01Woo!
02:03Wow.
02:04I heard there was going to be some great cooking,
02:06so I came as soon as I could.
02:07You were right.
02:08You were right.
02:09And instead of that, we're able to give one team $10,000.
02:12Woo!
02:13Woo!
02:14Woo!
02:15That's right.
02:16Did you bring the cash?
02:19Uh, let's go ahead and move on to the challenge.
02:21Oh, that's fine.
02:24We Southerners have perfected the art of fried food.
02:28Yes.
02:29So I know you've got a signature deep fried dish in your back pocket.
02:33And my fronts, too.
02:34Well, now is the time to take it out because you got 60 minutes
02:40to make a classic fried main dish plus two sides.
02:44Oh, man.
02:45You know, a good Southern cook knows how to fry.
02:47They save that grease and cook on it again another day.
02:50The good news is the team that wins this challenge
02:53gets advantage to use in the final round.
02:55Oh, OK.
02:56But the bad news is only two teams are going to be in that round.
03:02So good luck and get cooking!
03:05Hey, you don't got to tell me twice.
03:06What am I doing?
03:07I love them already.
03:09Which bell pepper?
03:10Can you grab the bell?
03:11Cabbage.
03:12This is my mom, and she is my whole world.
03:17She my daughter, but my best friend, too.
03:20Yeah.
03:20I love her a lot.
03:22I am from Mississippi.
03:24Me from South Vietnam.
03:27I come over here because we need freedom.
03:30My parents worked really hard.
03:33So they can give me and my brother a future
03:35and live the American dream.
03:37We want to show that Vietnamese cuisine
03:40has so much flavors and colors.
03:43And I'm excited to show off my mom,
03:45because she's just so cute and adorable,
03:47and I just have to show the world who my mom is.
03:50I'm thinking that we should do the Caribbean cabbage,
03:52the confetti cabbage.
03:53OK.
03:54This is my mom.
03:55I know that you think you're a grown man,
03:58but you're always going to be my baby boy.
04:00I ain't going to debate you on that.
04:02We cook together pretty much every day.
04:04Pretty much every day.
04:05We have some of the most amazing flavors.
04:08Let's bring in roots from the South, from the Caribbean.
04:11And we are here to show everybody what we can do.
04:14Chicken fried steak?
04:15Let's do chicken fried steak.
04:17OK.
04:17And here, let's get.
04:18OK, do you want some of these?
04:19No, let's just get these right here.
04:21We're sisters.
04:22And we are a sixth generation Texan.
04:25I'm the oldest sister.
04:26She's four years younger than me.
04:28Dawn was always the boss.
04:30I was daddy's girl.
04:32When Dawn mentioned doing this show,
04:35I said, well, I can cook with you.
04:37And it's, it was, and she's.
04:40I said, no.
04:41I'm pretty anal in the kitchen.
04:43I'm pretty?
04:47I will grab the other stuff if you want to wash vegetables.
04:51You found them?
04:52Double macaroni.
04:52Perfect.
04:53OK, we got to get this started.
04:54I'm wrestling this tater.
04:56This tater might win.
04:59Can you believe that we're cooking for stars?
05:02Not like farm people?
05:05Yes.
05:05Country people?
05:06Yes, I am thrilled.
05:08You want me to do the bacon?
05:09Fry it first, and then we'll cut it.
05:11OK.
05:13Hey, Dawn and Darla.
05:15Dawn and Darla.
05:16What are we making?
05:17We are making chicken fried steak, homemade biscuits,
05:20mashed potatoes, and maple glazed green beans.
05:23Maple glazed green beans.
05:24With bacon and onions, a standard in Texas.
05:28And then how are we going to coat that chicken fried steak?
05:31I season the flour.
05:33I season the egg mixture.
05:35And I season the meat.
05:36OK.
05:36To me, that's the most important thing.
05:37You got it.
05:38Who taught you how to cook?
05:40Nobody.
05:41What?
05:41Nobody?
05:42My mother did not like to cook.
05:44I started cooking when I was about 10 or 12.
05:47Mother liked to eat, but she didn't like to cook.
05:49She liked burned sacrifices.
05:51Yeah, she always burned all of her food.
05:53You see the difference in our height?
05:55OK, my mother's cooking.
05:56Dawn's got me starting.
05:58So I got better nutrients than when my mama was cooking on her.
06:01OK.
06:03I don't believe our mother even had a cookbook.
06:07Now, in modern times, you have all these wonderful things on Food Network to learn from.
06:12But we didn't have that back then.
06:13We had the Gallopin' Gourmet and Julia Charles in black and white on the television.
06:21So I have always, always loved to cook.
06:24My grandson and his friends helped me on the weekends because I live on a farm.
06:29These boys worked hard.
06:30They picked up four trees, right, kids?
06:34You're on a farm.
06:35Yes.
06:36Chickens, cows, horses, everything.
06:39Everybody says, oh, your food always tastes so good.
06:41Well, it's fresh.
06:42What does it mean for you two to be cooking together?
06:45It's really something because we don't get to see each other very often anymore like we used to.
06:50You know, my parents are gone.
06:53My husband's gone.
06:54I do Christmas.
06:55I have about 25 people at Christmas, and I do all the cooking.
06:59Now, the baby seems to be spoiled if you do all the cooking on Christmas.
07:02Well, I don't want anybody else's food.
07:04I'm a snob.
07:05Oh, that's right.
07:07I hope I don't mess this up after I said that.
07:10Right now, we are making the egg roll mix, which is?
07:14Ground pork, cabbage, carrot.
07:16Put the garlic.
07:17A little bit of garlic out there.
07:19Okay.
07:20Now, we start rolling.
07:22Mom, remember when you made egg rolls for me and taught me how to do it?
07:26I was really bad at rolling egg rolls.
07:29Oh, yeah.
07:30I'm a true Mississippi girl when it comes to fried food.
07:35My mama always made fried food for everyone.
07:38Yeah.
07:39When she young, she didn't like to learn how to cook.
07:41I was very lazy when I was little.
07:43But now, she know how to cook now.
07:46Hey, how y'all doing?
07:47Hello.
07:48Hey.
07:49Tell me what we got going on.
07:50So, we'll be making fried chicken with...
07:52Oh, good.
07:53I was wondering what we were doing here.
07:54Somebody got to be...
07:55Homemade egg rolls.
07:56Okay.
07:57And our famous egg roll spring roll.
07:58Awesome.
07:59I can't wait.
08:00She is the queen of fry.
08:01I love it.
08:02I love it.
08:03Miss Lee.
08:04Miss Lee is coming back.
08:05Hi.
08:06How are you today?
08:07You're making fried chicken?
08:08I will make the chicken wings.
08:10I love a chicken wing.
08:11Big, big wing.
08:12Asia and America.
08:14Oh.
08:15Okay.
08:16All right.
08:17So, a little taste of home coming out.
08:18Yeah.
08:19I love it.
08:20Jaylee, where are you all from?
08:22We're from Mississippi, the Gulf Coast.
08:24Okay.
08:25My parents are from Vietnam.
08:26My mom and dad owned a convenience store.
08:28And it was just those two.
08:29And my mom was the one cooking food.
08:31I learned because I have a lot of customers.
08:34Yes.
08:35They love fried chicken.
08:36Yes.
08:37That's why I try to learn and make them, you know.
08:39It's good.
08:40I like hearing that.
08:41But I didn't know how to cook before.
08:43Me?
08:44I don't know how to cook now.
08:46Jaylee, your mom has clearly adapted a lot.
08:49What was it like for them coming over here and settling in Mississippi?
08:53My parents, they came here after the Vietnam War.
08:56They went 26 days without food.
08:59Me and my husband, we don't know which way we go.
09:03Because we in the ocean and we don't know what country we will be in.
09:08They had no English, no money, no nothing.
09:11So they literally had to start from the bottom.
09:14I love my mom.
09:15She is my everything.
09:16She is the strongest woman I know.
09:19She is the woman I aspire to be when I grow up.
09:22I'm just so, so proud to be Vietnamese.
09:25And through all the things that they went through, the fact that my mom can still be happy and be such a positive light in my life.
09:34So, yeah, I'm really proud of my mom.
09:38Thank you, girl.
09:41Yeah.
09:42I'm gonna start on my roux.
09:44Okay, there we go.
09:46We need some ketchup.
09:48It adds color and it also adds flavor.
09:51Hi!
09:52How are you doing?
09:53Steven and Sandra, clearly a mother and son.
09:56Yes.
09:57Did he inherit this passion for cooking from you?
10:00I first inherited the passion for eating.
10:02And then everything trickled in after that.
10:05What's your fried dish?
10:06We're doing a fried butter.
10:08Southern fried catfish.
10:09Butter milk catfish.
10:10Oh, what are we doing over here?
10:12This is macaroni and cheese.
10:13What's giving that cheese sauce that hit of color, that redness?
10:17Ketchup.
10:18Oh, okay.
10:19Ketchup, because it's really part of the Caribbean tradition of using macaroni pie.
10:24And the macaroni pie always has it in there.
10:27Now, what do we have over here?
10:28It's very beautiful.
10:30This is our Caribbean style called confetti cabbage.
10:33Let me guess.
10:34Are y'all Caribbean?
10:35Yes.
10:36I'm first generation from Barbados.
10:38My parents are from Barbados and St. Lucia.
10:40But his daddy, because I married out of the South, is from Texas.
10:43So we are the perfect fusion, because look at that beautiful face.
10:46I love St. Lucia.
10:47That's good, girl.
10:48I love St. Lucia.
10:49This is beautiful.
10:50It's got cabbage.
10:51It's got sweet potatoes.
10:53Caribbean cabbage has a little bit of flavor to it.
10:55Yep.
10:56The key of why we call it confetti is because instead of those big old chunks of cabbage,
11:00you take time, you cut them up like you're having a party.
11:03Tell me what winning this competition with her would mean to you.
11:07It would mean everything to us for my mom.
11:10Her seeing me get older, I know sometimes it scares her.
11:12Winning this would be a perfect way to always look back on something and say, well, we won as a team.
11:17We came together.
11:18I have three beautiful boys, but this will always be my baby boy.
11:21He's my firstborn.
11:22This is my little ride or die.
11:24Mom, you can start on the chicken wings.
11:29The rice season.
11:30I love her fried chicken.
11:32It is my mom's specialty.
11:34Gallet powder.
11:35The sugar in our batter is definitely more of the Vietnamese flavor that we put into it.
11:40So you'll have a hint of savory and sweet.
11:43You can put the flour in the chicken.
11:46All right, all right.
11:48What's the hardest part of this recipe, Mom?
11:51What's the hardest part?
11:52That's too much?
11:53That's good?
11:54Okay.
11:55Yeah.
11:56It's probably me being in the kitchen with her.
11:5830 minutes.
12:00Fry, baby, fry.
12:02I don't cook in a deep fryer.
12:04I cook in the skillet that I got when I got married in 1970.
12:08This is not hot enough.
12:10The only thing I can say about fried chicken fried steak and trying to get it right is do it.
12:17I mean, I've done it so many times.
12:19Like anything.
12:20Practice makes perfect.
12:21Practice makes perfect.
12:23Mmm, I'm smelling a little burn, burn.
12:25Somebody's burning something somewhere.
12:27That's this pot over here.
12:28Oh, my meat.
12:30Man, this is not cooking right.
12:32I'm a little worried about this meat getting too dark, Darla.
12:35Wow.
12:36Don't cook it so far.
12:38Oh, my gosh.
12:40I'm burning this.
12:41Sometimes when you're cooking on those stoves and you got the oil too hot, it browns too fast before that meat gets to cook on the inside.
12:49Oh, it's burned.
12:52Nope.
12:56It's ruined, Darla.
12:57Later.
12:58I invited a friend of mine who knows everything about making stuff look gorgeous.
13:02What?
13:03The one and only Tim Gunn.
13:06Woo!
13:07That's amazing.
13:08This is amazing.
13:12I've ruined this.
13:13It's ruined the meat.
13:14No good.
13:15I'm a little worried about Dawn and Darla.
13:16The last couple of ones I saw they had some real color.
13:17It's not going to be done inside.
13:18It's just going to be fried.
13:19And now you're starting to smell it.
13:20But that burn starts to go through that oil.
13:21And then you start to taste it.
13:22Hopefully they like burned steak.
13:23Yeah, maybe they do.
13:24I'm just going to stick with that.
13:2520 minutes.
13:26I'm just going to stick with that.
13:2720 minutes, guys.
13:2820 minutes, Mom.
13:29Now we've got April now.
13:30Ooh, that April smells so good.
13:3120 minutes?
13:32Okay.
13:33I'm going to start working on the fish.
13:34So, what is the secret of a good fry?
13:36Not only is the secret of a good fry.
13:38It's going to be done inside.
13:39It's going to be done inside.
13:40It's just going to be fried.
13:41And now you're starting to smell it.
13:42But that burn starts to go through that oil.
13:43And then you start to taste it.
13:44Hopefully they like burned steak.
13:45Yeah, maybe they do.
13:46I'm just going to stick with that.
13:4720 minutes, guys.
13:4820 minutes, guys.
13:4920 minutes, mom.
13:50Now we got April now.
13:51Ooh, that April smells so good.
13:5220 minutes, okay.
13:53What is the secret of a good fry?
13:56Not only do you season and marinate the proteins,
13:59but the flour, the batter, all that has to be seasoned.
14:02So when you taste that crunch, that crispiness,
14:04you want to taste a little seasoning with that as well.
14:06You definitely do.
14:07Then certainly going in and frying.
14:09Yeah, watch that fish.
14:10When I think about growing up, that southern fried catfish
14:14was a staple.
14:15Yes.
14:16Going back to grandma, going to you.
14:17We eat catfish every Friday.
14:18Yes.
14:19Friday is fish day at our house.
14:21It's fish fry on Friday.
14:22Please don't cake up and flake up on me.
14:26Oh.
14:27What's wrong?
14:28It's a little crispy right there.
14:30Let me watch this other side really closely.
14:33It'll look pretty on one side.
14:35I'm going to make the spring roll.
14:37We are making our famous egg roll spring rolls.
14:40We are just boiling our rice noodles.
14:43We put that in the water, make the meal.
14:45We just put the egg roll into the spring roll
14:48with lettuce, cucumber, mint, roll it up.
14:51That way you can have a big spring roll egg roll.
14:54You used all the green onions?
14:55No, we don't need it.
14:56No.
14:57Why do we need it?
14:58For the sauce.
14:59No.
15:00No?
15:01The sauce, we don't need it.
15:02Okay.
15:03I love spring rolls so much, and I love egg rolls.
15:06And one day she, like, just put them together, and I was like,
15:09this is such a great idea.
15:11Ten minutes.
15:13Oh, we're screwed, Darla.
15:15Uh-oh.
15:16The heat is on.
15:18It's time to put the biscuits in, though,
15:20because the time has gotten away from us.
15:22Okay.
15:23Darla, Dawn, how y'all doing over there?
15:30Uh, we're struggling.
15:31We're dragging.
15:32Well, I'll tell you what, we cooking with oil over here.
15:36Things are getting hot.
15:38Now I gotta do these potatoes.
15:40This is really neat, salt and pepper.
15:43It's good.
15:44Uh, I hate the, they've got lumps in them.
15:47See, this would be great for me,
15:49because I like lumps in my potatoes.
15:52My sister's not all there.
15:54She likes lumps in her potatoes.
15:57I think it's done.
15:59Yeah, they're done.
16:02I would put the chicken on.
16:05Sugar and salt in here.
16:08Okay.
16:09So now, let me taste this one.
16:12Jay!
16:14I'm hungry.
16:15I'm hungry.
16:16Hey, you hungry now?
16:17Mm.
16:18Mm-hmm.
16:19Does this not look like a Caribbean party?
16:22Look at that.
16:23One minute.
16:24Woo-hoo!
16:25Hurry up, darling.
16:26Just put them on one side.
16:28Stack them up pretty.
16:30Oh.
16:31Stack them up pretty.
16:33Uh.
16:34Yeah.
16:35Sorry.
16:36We're almost there.
16:37Almost there.
16:38The thing I cooked the best, I screwed up the most.
16:42Gosh.
16:4330 seconds.
16:44Okay.
16:45Last thing is our mac and cheese.
16:47Hurry, Darla.
16:49Woo-hoo!
16:51Five, four, three, two, one.
16:56Woo!
16:57Wow!
16:59Great job, everybody.
17:01It looks delectable.
17:02I love you, man.
17:03I love you.
17:04Well, we did not reach perfection.
17:07Could we have just a little bit of a do-over?
17:10Yeah.
17:11You know, not quite as cooked.
17:12Can I start over?
17:13Somebody is a perfectionist on cooking.
17:16Yeah.
17:17Yeah.
17:18Yeah.
17:19Yeah.
17:20Yeah.
17:21Wh-
17:22...
17:30Jaylee, Mrs. Lee.
17:31Yeah.
17:32This looks delicious.
17:33I hope you like it.
17:34I'm excited.
17:35Fried chicken, we added our Vietnamese flavor to it,
17:39so you'll have a hint of savory and sweet.
17:41Our homemade egg rolls,
17:44and a Vietnamese egg roll spring roll.
17:46Well, it looks very delicious.
17:50And I love that you're giving us a bit of your culture.
17:53For me, the colors are looking well,
17:55balanced on this plate.
17:57The egg rolls look like they're very crispy.
17:59I see the crispiness of this fried chicken wings.
18:02They're just ready to dive in.
18:04Me, too.
18:05Me, too.
18:06You, too.
18:07Yes.
18:09Oh!
18:10I like the spices on the chicken.
18:12It's a nice surprise.
18:14It's not just regular southern fried.
18:17It has the Vietnamese spin on it.
18:20Very delicious.
18:21On a chicken, I get the crunch through the batter,
18:23all the way through.
18:25I love the texture of that batter, that crispiness
18:27that you have.
18:29For me, a little more salt and pepper on my side
18:31for the chicken.
18:32OK.
18:34And I heard the crunch, aren't you?
18:35The crunch.
18:36You heard the crunch.
18:37Mm.
18:38Mm.
18:39That egg roll.
18:40I'm getting the carrots.
18:41I'm getting the cabbage.
18:42I'm getting the texture on this egg roll wrap.
18:43So I love that recipe.
18:45I'm going in.
18:46And that's fine.
18:47So it does have the rice noodles, the cucumber,
18:49the lettuce, all the freshness in a spring roll.
18:51We just put the egg roll and rolled it into a spring roll.
18:53So it's this egg roll, it's the same egg roll wrap that's
18:54wrapped in.
18:55Correct.
18:56And that's what I'm, I knew I got that taste.
18:57So you can get that crunch, too.
18:58The texture of it.
18:59Yes.
19:00I like the flavor.
19:01Mm-hmm.
19:02But kind of the same side is working here that we just added
19:03some rice noodles, too.
19:04Very delicious.
19:05But we wanted two sides.
19:06We should have made a different side dish besides our spring roll.
19:07It was too close to the egg roll.
19:08They at least made really good comments about our egg rolls and our chicken.
19:13Sandra and Steven.
19:14Hi.
19:15Welcome to our table.
19:16You have to have a nice breakfast, and I knew I got that taste.
19:17I knew I got that taste.
19:18So you can get that crunch, too.
19:19The texture of it.
19:20Yes.
19:21I like the flavor.
19:22Mm-hmm.
19:23But kind of the same side as working here that we just added some rice noodles to.
19:25Very delicious, but we wanted two sides.
19:26We should have made a different side dish besides our spring roll.
19:28It was too close to the egg roll.
19:31They at least made really good comments about our egg rolls and our chicken.
19:34Sandra and Steven.
19:35Hi.
19:36We have fried catfish, macaroni and cheese, and confetti cabbage.
19:41For me, it speaks of a Caribbean celebration right here.
19:44Yes.
19:45The colors, the crispiness that I hope to get on this catfish.
19:48I love that you chose this color plate because it makes all of these vegetables sing.
19:54I'm excited to dive in.
19:55It speaks of a celebration.
19:56Okay.
19:57We blessed the food for you.
19:58Yeah.
20:03I love the texture that I'm getting on that fish.
20:05I can taste that marinade that it was soaking in.
20:08I like the crunch on it.
20:10I taste the marinade.
20:11The fish is a little too big for me.
20:14Um, I like the flavor on it.
20:17And what is this just call again that I'm tasting?
20:20We call it confetti cabbage.
20:21You want to taste a little sweet in there?
20:23Mmm!
20:24Mmm!
20:25Mmm!
20:26Wow!
20:27I love the freshness.
20:28I love the sweet potato coming through.
20:31But then you get that smoky fattiness of that bacon.
20:34Yes!
20:35That is how my mama used to cook vegetables.
20:37And I used to eat them all the time.
20:38Delicious.
20:39I have no notes.
20:41Mac and cheese.
20:42I'm getting that creaminess of it.
20:44I would not have known that there was ketchup in it.
20:46And I know that there's a different flavor that I actually, actually enjoy.
20:51Now I want some ketchup in my mac and cheese.
20:54Don't tell everybody.
20:55All right.
20:56Hey, how are y'all?
20:57What do we have here?
20:58Well, we have chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade biscuits.
21:08Well, this plate is really beautiful.
21:11This is an invitation to chow down.
21:13Right.
21:14For me, it speaks exactly to that.
21:16Down home southern Texas cooking.
21:19We chicken fry everything.
21:22Let's dig in.
21:29It's a good seasoning.
21:31I love the tenderness of the beef.
21:33But the fry on it, that pot could have been a little too hot.
21:36It was.
21:37It was too hot.
21:38So you get that burnt flavor from it.
21:40I appreciate the crisp.
21:42I like a little dark.
21:43I think it's tender.
21:44The flavor is exactly what you want.
21:47It's delicious.
21:48I'm going to eat her and I'm not going to lie to you.
21:50You listen to her.
21:51Yes, ma'am.
21:53Yes, ma'am.
21:54This mashed potato is soft.
21:57The flavors are there.
21:58It's just like a cloud.
21:59And the biscuits?
22:01Biscuits.
22:02I'm getting the texture, the crunch, the soft, and the inside.
22:05It is really good.
22:09Mmm.
22:10Mmm.
22:11Mmm.
22:12The green beans.
22:13I get the onions, that caramelization that happened, the bacon, the glaze.
22:17Those are delicious.
22:18But I would want a less sweet vegetable.
22:22Maybe not maple.
22:23Yeah.
22:24I think on those beans, I still like to have a little bite to my beans.
22:28They're a little too soggy.
22:29The other teams made some awesome food.
22:31It looked beautiful by both teams.
22:34It was awesome.
22:35We're going home.
22:36Y'all gave us three totally unique versions of Southern Fried food, inspired by Texas, Barbados,
22:51and Vietnam.
22:52But the team that made our favorite Southern Fried dish is...
23:02Steven and Sandra.
23:08I love you.
23:09You nailed the crust on the catfish.
23:10Your confetti cabbage was a big hit.
23:13And that touch of ketchup in your mac and cheese gave it a nice subtle boost of flavor.
23:18Great job, y'all.
23:19We won round one.
23:21It was a Southern Caribbean party going on on that plane.
23:24Yes.
23:25You made me proud, son.
23:26Oh, thank you.
23:27Thank you very much.
23:28Here's the tough part.
23:30Don and Darla, Jaylee, and Mrs. Lee, we only have room for one in the final round.
23:37Don and Darla, your chicken fried steak was, you know, extra crispy.
23:42But the meat was well seasoned.
23:45Mrs. Lee and Jaylee, we loved the little hints of Asian flavors.
23:50And your perfectly crispy fried chicken.
23:52But your spring roll was almost exactly like that egg roll.
23:57The team that will be saying goodbye is...
24:05Jaylee and Mrs. Lee.
24:06All right.
24:07We accepted.
24:08Okay.
24:09We're Southerners.
24:10We hug it out.
24:11Yes.
24:12Thank you so much.
24:14We did win.
24:15But to be able to represent Southern Vietnamese people,
24:19we're just really happy that we get to share my mom's food.
24:24Look, in the restaurant business, you have a saying that I love.
24:27It's about making a pretty plate.
24:28Yes.
24:29You eat with your eyes first.
24:31And drink.
24:32So I invited a friend of mine who knows everything about making stuff look gorgeous.
24:37You know him best for his work on Project Runway and making the cut.
24:42The one and only...
24:44Tim Gunn.
24:45Oh!
24:53Thank you for coming to the kitchen.
24:54Thank you for having me.
24:55This is very exciting.
24:56And I'm so thrilled to be able to be with all of you.
25:00Wow.
25:01This is amazing.
25:02You grew up in the part of the South that we call the DMV.
25:04Yes.
25:05D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
25:07Yes.
25:08Yes!
25:09Virginia in the house!
25:11So what were your favorite foods growing up there?
25:14Well, I loved shellfish.
25:16It was a special occasion treat for me.
25:19And my very favorite shellfish dish?
25:22Crab cakes.
25:23Oh!
25:24Yes!
25:25And what's a crab cake without coleslaw?
25:27Yes, of course.
25:28Exactly.
25:29So, Duke, what about your childhood favorites?
25:32Yeah, for me, it was a pecan-crusted redfish with some summer squash.
25:37My mouth's watering.
25:38Teams, these guys aren't just taking a walk down memory lane.
25:42They're talking about your final challenge.
25:44Oh!
25:46One team will cook their own version of Tim's favorite, crab cakes and coleslaw.
25:51And the other team will put their spin on Duke's redfish with summer squash.
25:56So, who's doing what?
25:58Well, that's up to Sandra and Steven.
26:00Oh.
26:01Wow.
26:02For winning the first round, you're in the driver's seat.
26:05Oh.
26:06Well, I think this doesn't require much thinking.
26:07No, it doesn't.
26:08We're gonna do the DMV proud.
26:09We're gonna make those crab cakes.
26:10Yes.
26:11Fantastic.
26:12That are gonna blow your socks off.
26:14Can't wait.
26:15Yeah, he's got socks on.
26:16And they can come off.
26:19Yes.
26:20That means, Dawn and Darla, you've gotta come up with your own take on my dish.
26:25Redfish.
26:26You've got 60 minutes for your final challenge.
26:29Shoo-wee.
26:30Tim, can you kick it off for us?
26:33All right, teams.
26:34We all know you're going to make it work.
26:37Yes, we are.
26:38So, get cooking.
26:39Get cooking.
26:40Round two, let's go.
26:41Let's go.
26:42Round two.
26:43Round two.
26:44Round two.
26:45Round two.
26:46I'm sweetened coconut.
26:47Okay.
26:48Grab this cast iron right here.
26:49Here we go.
26:50Steven, mayonnaise is the only thing I didn't see over there.
26:52Here we have the expert crab cake makers over there.
26:55Yeah.
26:56And we're just regular old country girls living in the country.
26:59Aren't you glad we got the redfish?
27:01Absolutely.
27:02I don't like crab.
27:04I'm behind you.
27:05Okay.
27:06We gotta show in round two that this is the Hardiman family.
27:10We're gonna bring it home.
27:11Bring it home.
27:12Sandra and Steven, you're busy.
27:13Yes.
27:14Yes.
27:15So, what's happening with the crab cakes?
27:17We're gonna take it full Caribbean.
27:19Wow.
27:20We're gonna have that pimento in there.
27:22Gonna have a little bit of onion, a little bit of spice.
27:25We're gonna be light on all of the breading so that you get that true crab flavor.
27:31These crab cakes are gonna be some of the best crab cakes you've ever had in your life.
27:34Uh-oh.
27:35You put my name on that one.
27:36I know.
27:37I'm doing it.
27:38All right.
27:39Are you baking the crab or frying?
27:40No, we're gonna fry it.
27:41Okay.
27:42So, we're taking mangoes which grow on every tree in Barbados,
27:46and we're putting it with that traditional Virginia-style crab cake.
27:50So, that's the twist.
27:51I'm making a mango puree that's gonna complement the crab cakes right here.
27:55Looks like we're gonna get a little mango throughout, right?
27:58I see some mango in the slaw as well.
27:59Yeah.
28:00Because we're using mayonnaise in the crab cake,
28:03we don't want to have everything so heavily mayonnaise.
28:05Oh, interesting.
28:06So, you're gonna see that your coleslaw's a little bit lighter
28:08and have more of a citrusy backdrop.
28:11Do you make crab cake often?
28:13Because you picked that one really, really quickly.
28:15A lot of it just goes back to that DMV heritage.
28:18Whenever we sit back and make the crab cakes, it was a really big deal.
28:21Usually for, like, Christmas.
28:22Yeah.
28:23That would be the time you break it out or Easter.
28:25What would you do with $10,000?
28:28Being here with my mom today, I've already won.
28:31Oh.
28:32Oh, wait, we're on a time schedule.
28:34I wish I had the means to pay back everything my mom's done for me.
28:41Oh, my gosh.
28:42No tears.
28:43No tears.
28:44No tears.
28:45I'm not.
28:46I'm sorry.
28:47Unless you want it salty.
28:48Yeah.
28:49Okay.
28:50I'm gonna coat the fish with mayonnaise and then put the pecans on it to cook it.
28:56Okay, fish, cooperate.
28:58Hey, how are y'all?
28:59How are you doing, Miss Dawn and Darla?
29:02What do we have here?
29:03We have red fish and I coated it with pecans and panko breadcrumbs.
29:09And then Darla's fixing...
29:10Yellow velvet.
29:11Yellow velvet.
29:12Okay.
29:13You will love it.
29:14It is so simple.
29:15It's nothing but squash, corn, cream, salt, pepper, and butter.
29:18Oh.
29:19But it goes together so wonderful.
29:21How are you feeling about the competition?
29:23We're just thrilled to be here.
29:24We are.
29:25Because we are just...
29:26Two old...
29:27Two old bones.
29:28Two old bones.
29:29I am a home cook who lives in the country, so what we cook is fresh.
29:35And as you're going with getting the color on those pecans and the fish, you know, how
29:40you feeling about that?
29:41Right now, that might be a little dark, but I'm gonna flip them one more time and put
29:45them in the oven and let them finish.
29:48And I think I'll put a little butter in there, maybe a little lemon.
29:50Smart move.
29:51Dawn, what would you do with $10,000?
29:54I would just be blessed to have it and probably give quite a bit to my daughter.
29:59She and my grandson help me a whole lot, and I do TikTok and Facebook videos.
30:05You do?
30:06Yes.
30:07I told you that I was gonna cook on the fireplace all week, and I did.
30:10This is a ribeye steak.
30:12I don't even know how to do TikTok and Facebook videos.
30:14Well, you think I do?
30:16Kaden comes and videos me anytime we ask him to.
30:19I didn't make any veggies because why?
30:22We don't like those.
30:23You don't like them and you're what, allergic to them?
30:25They're bad for you.
30:26Kaden, you eat them, don't you?
30:27Sometimes.
30:28Sometimes.
30:29Depends what it is.
30:30You're crazy right.
30:31So I just noticed something.
30:33She just poured until she...
30:34I just pour.
30:35We call it eyeballing.
30:36Eyeballing.
30:37Eyeballing.
30:38Eyeballing.
30:39They know how much they want.
30:40She's been doing this for quite some time, so you can eyeball that.
30:42So for a person who has two big eyeballs...
30:45Well...
30:46How much would you say you poured in there?
30:48What?
30:49Half a cup?
30:50This is Southern cooking.
30:51It's from the heart.
30:52It's not from a measuring cup.
30:54Yes.
30:55Well, we're excited to try it.
30:57I appreciate y'all.
30:58Thank y'all.
30:59Stay on there.
31:0130 minutes.
31:03Feeling a little nervous.
31:04Yeah.
31:05I'm feeling a lot.
31:06I think the steaks are super high right now.
31:07Yeah, they are.
31:08I guess I can put that in the oven.
31:09We gotta watch our time, when it can't burn anything.
31:11All right.
31:12Time's good.
31:13You wanna keep it on medium?
31:14Yeah, keep it there.
31:15That's fine.
31:16Ooh, that's too high.
31:17Look how...
31:18Yeah, that's what I said.
31:19Yeah, we're gonna bring it down some.
31:20Yeah.
31:21What happened here?
31:22That heat is too high.
31:24Mellow it out with a little vegetable oil,
31:26because it's gonna...
31:27I don't want it to high burn.
31:28Is that vegetable?
31:29Ooh, that's too high.
31:30Yeah, I see it's burning right there.
31:31Oh!
31:32These will be burnt in two seconds.
31:34Yeah.
31:35I'm nervous.
31:36Not trying to make the same mistake twice.
31:38Oh, this oil's going.
31:41Actually, are the other fryers on?
31:44We're looking at the oil on the stovetop,
31:46and it is heating up fast.
31:47Way too hot.
31:48Too much smoke.
31:49We need to make a quick decision and use the deep fryer.
31:53All right, let's try this deep fryer.
31:55It probably needs to be a little bit higher.
31:58Do it to 350.
31:59Yeah.
32:00What do you think about Sander and Steven
32:02deep frying their crab cakes?
32:04Certainly the deep fryer is risky.
32:06And when you deep fry something, it can get darker quicker.
32:09And when it gets darker quicker,
32:11will it be cooked on the inside?
32:13Can it get too greasy?
32:14Oh, certainly.
32:15Can it get too chewy?
32:16Certainly.
32:17Pray, just pray for success.
32:19How do you normally cook a crab cake?
32:21Is it just...
32:22I'm gonna pan sear it in that cast iron
32:23that I thought they had on the stove.
32:24I did too.
32:25I would have did a little light oil.
32:26I did too.
32:27And did it that way.
32:28I would have used the, um, cast iron pan,
32:31or I would have baked it.
32:32You know, it's gonna be an interesting take.
32:34Oops, I knocked one over.
32:37Ah!
32:38All right, everyone.
32:3915 minutes.
32:40Hurry up, Darla.
32:41Steven, just start making your sauce.
32:43All right.
32:45I have to say, I'm very intrigued.
32:47We knew what the ingredients were,
32:48but what they've done with them is,
32:50for me at least, really quite unexpected.
32:52Really neat.
32:53All right, so we got our chili mango sauce,
32:55a little bit of cayenne, some red pepper flake.
32:58All right.
32:59The beautiful thing is,
33:00you have one team bringing the Barbados,
33:02their culture to the table.
33:03Yeah, I love that.
33:04It's really good.
33:05And then the other team is bringing their farm,
33:07what they know.
33:08That's the thing I love about our show, though,
33:10is the heart that they're bringing to the plate.
33:13And you can really feel the passion.
33:15Yes, it does.
33:16Other food touches the soul,
33:17it touches the heart.
33:18Yes, it does.
33:19You know I'm supposed to be the sous chef,
33:22so give me a job at this point.
33:24Well, I tell you what,
33:26we could slice these and put them on a plate.
33:28They're too pretty to leave over there
33:30and nobody eat them.
33:33You can come on through.
33:34Darla, come on in.
33:35You can come on in.
33:36Come on through.
33:37This is your competition.
33:38I'll come behind y'all.
33:39Come through, come through.
33:40We're just watching you guys.
33:41Yeah.
33:43I am about the least fashionable person in the world,
33:47but I can sew.
33:48I think you look fabulous.
33:50Where's my fish turf?
33:51My fish turf.
33:52You have just been a complete gentleman
33:54every time you're seen on Project Runway.
33:57Oh, you're lovely to see that.
33:59Darla.
34:02I think it's something.
34:04Darla.
34:06Darla, thank you.
34:09Where's my fish turner?
34:11What?
34:12The fish turner.
34:13The fish turner.
34:15We're going to get Darla in trouble here.
34:17Dawn is in charge.
34:19Perfect on the bottom.
34:22Five minutes.
34:23The most important five minutes of my life.
34:26I'm trying to get a little char on this corn,
34:28and the broil is on.
34:30Hey, run, go get the flaky sea salt.
34:32You ladies ready for the final judge?
34:34Oh, yeah.
34:35Steven, we got Tim in the house.
34:37We got to make this whole plate look glamorous.
34:39Tim, what do you think about plating?
34:41It's like a first impression.
34:42Mm-hmm.
34:43There's something about a plate just welcoming you
34:45and saying, eat me.
34:47Yeah, I agree.
34:49Let me, I can put the tomatoes on there.
34:51It's just going to be plainly served
34:53with a little flaky salt on it and a little pepper,
34:56and I hope the judges really appreciate
34:58the wonderful fresh from the farm feel.
35:02I'll tell you what, this is crab cake perfection.
35:04You can pick it up with a tongue and it doesn't fall apart.
35:07You did all right.
35:08Okay, it's flaky.
35:13That's good.
35:14Ah, Steven, we nailed this.
35:16I think we did.
35:17Virginia's going to be proud of us.
35:18We put every single thing that we know
35:22from Southern cooking to our Caribbean style into this plate.
35:26There is nothing that we could have done on that plate
35:29to make it more beautiful than what it is.
35:31Yeah, I believe it.
35:32One minute left.
35:33One minute left, everyone.
35:34One minute right.
35:36One minute.
35:37This is my favorite moment
35:39because this is when it becomes real, real for them
35:42and everybody's in panic.
35:44This is also the point of no return.
35:46That's it.
35:47What we have is what we have.
35:48Yeah.
35:49Hurry up.
35:50Let's get them right, Darla.
35:51Ten seconds.
35:53There you go.
35:54You got to have butter with crab.
35:55You got to have butter with crab.
35:56That's Southern cooking right there.
35:59Five, four, three, two, one.
36:03Woo!
36:04Woo!
36:05Yeah!
36:08Do a little Caribbean.
36:09Do a little salsa.
36:10Yeah, a little salsa for the pepper right there.
36:12Yes.
36:13You want to taste it?
36:14No.
36:15All right.
36:16Now I'm nervous.
36:17Yeah, yeah.
36:26Hey!
36:27Good to see y'all.
36:28Good to see you.
36:29Good to see you.
36:30Here you go.
36:32Love it.
36:34Thank you so much.
36:36Dawn and Darla, what do we have here?
36:39Well, we have pecan-crusted redfish, yellow velvet, and then heirloom tomatoes.
36:46Simple, no fuss, but beautifully appointed.
36:50That's us.
36:51Really well done.
36:52That's us.
36:53For me, I love the color of the heirloom tomato.
36:56The yellow velvet is popping, speaking to me, and then the beautiful color on the fish.
37:01And not only do I see it, I can start to smell that nutty flavor, so thank you.
37:04Thank you very much.
37:05It's beautiful.
37:06Beautiful.
37:07All right, let's dig in.
37:08It's delicious to me.
37:12It's very, very flavorful.
37:15Very, very light.
37:17Full disclosure, I'm not a fish person.
37:19Me neither.
37:20And one of the things I love about this is it doesn't taste fishy.
37:23Not at all.
37:24Good.
37:26I get a beautiful crunch on that fish.
37:28Oh, great.
37:29Certainly taste the pecans coming through.
37:30Mm.
37:31The flavors are there.
37:33And that tomato?
37:34Isn't that good?
37:35Mm.
37:36Just salt and pepper is all you need.
37:37Sometimes simple is better.
37:39Mm-hmm.
37:40I like the yellow velvet.
37:42It's delicious.
37:43But it's a little rich for me.
37:46I have to say, though, my tasting went from the fish to the tomato to the yellow velvet.
37:53Mm-hmm.
37:54And I actually liked the richness after the tomato.
37:57Beautiful dish.
37:58Thank you all so much.
38:01Thank you all so much.
38:05Hope y'all hungry.
38:06Yes.
38:07We are.
38:08All right.
38:11Tell us about your crab cakes.
38:12The crab cakes are laying on top of a mango puree.
38:16We wanted to put our Caribbean heritage into the dish.
38:19This coleslaw is, I really think, our family specialty.
38:22You all's plates always look festive.
38:24I get a bunch of colors.
38:26Can I just say, this presentation is completely unexpected, at least for me.
38:32It's beautiful.
38:33What I would have loved is if you had used one of the smaller sauce bowls,
38:38to put the sauce in because it would have given it a little more elegance.
38:43It's hard to make fried food look pretty sometimes.
38:45No, it's not.
38:46Oh, yeah.
38:47Let's dig in.
38:48Let's dig in.
38:49Let's dig in.
38:50We will.
38:51Enjoy.
38:55Mmm.
38:56Mmm.
38:57Let's talk about this sauce.
39:00Is this a mango sweet chili play or something?
39:02Yes.
39:03Yes.
39:04Because it is fantastic.
39:05It's fantastic.
39:07And so is the slaw.
39:08Mmm.
39:09The slaw has a nice, rich flavor, but I think the mango is a nice, a little extra.
39:17I like slaw.
39:18It's the party.
39:19Yeah.
39:20The mango is the party.
39:21Mango is the party.
39:22It's the sweetness of the crab, but then in between there's a texture.
39:26Did we deep fry it?
39:27We deep fry it?
39:28Yes.
39:29Yeah.
39:30I think the crab cake, because you deep fried, that texture that you're looking for,
39:33it's got that grease soaked into it a little bit.
39:36Okay.
39:37Can I ask you, did either of you or both of you taste the crab cake?
39:42I took one little bite, yes.
39:44And what did you think?
39:45I thought it was really good.
39:47You know, I've had a lot of crab cakes.
39:50I've never had a crab cake that tasted fishy until today.
39:55I would, I would agree.
39:57Oh.
39:58I know that we put our all into it.
40:00We've never disappointed anybody with our cooking.
40:02So, of course, we have some butterflies in there.
40:09Teams, y'all really turned it up today.
40:11You showed everybody just how diverse Southern cooking is.
40:15It is.
40:16I just want to say what an honor it's been to be here with you.
40:19And to experience your exquisitely delicious cooking.
40:23And you really showed us who your families are.
40:26Yes.
40:27That was the goal.
40:28Yes.
40:29And you succeeded.
40:30You certainly did.
40:31Yeah.
40:32Dawn and Darla, you did a great job of giving those toasty pecan notes
40:36without overpowering the flavor of the fish.
40:38Delicious Yellow Velvet was a very Texas way of giving us the yellow squash.
40:43That it is.
40:44But it was so decadent that it outshed the star of the dish, the red fish.
40:49Mm-hmm.
40:50And Steven and Sandra, the elevated crab cake had all the flavors of the Caribbean.
40:55And we loved the mango and that sweet chili sauce.
40:58But unfortunately, the crab cakes had kind of a fishy taste to it.
41:05All right.
41:06It's time to crown a winner.
41:08That's whole handsome.
41:09Oh, yeah.
41:10That's whole handsome.
41:11Good.
41:12Good.
41:13The team that's going home with $10,000 is...
41:22Dawn and Darla.
41:23Oh!
41:24Congratulations.
41:25Congratulations.
41:26Oh, my gosh.
41:27Yeah.
41:28Congratulations.
41:33What?
41:34This can't be.
41:35This is very exciting.
41:36Very exciting.
41:37It really is.
41:38And it's an honor, a privilege.
41:40Unbelievable.
41:41Y'all know how to cook.
41:42Unbelievable.
41:43We did the best job we could possibly do.
41:45I'm so happy that we had this moment together.
41:48Oh, of course.
41:49I love you.
41:50I love you, too.
41:51Y'all know what we do in the South.
41:52We hug it out.
41:54Thank you, dear.
41:55You know, we may never experience anything like that again.
41:58Thank you very much.
41:59What you gonna do with all your money?
42:01I'm giving it to you.
42:02Oh, no.
42:03You're gonna keep your part.
42:04Congratulations.
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