- 46 minutes ago
Caribbean chefs showcase okra. Afro-Caribbean theme tying NOLA to the diaspora. A staple of New Orleans kitchens and a beloved ingredient throughout the African diaspora, okra takes center stage in this spirited culinary competition curated by Chef Nina Compton. Three talented chefs with roots in the Caribbean and New Orleans will go head-to-head, each creating an original dish that showcases the versatility, flavor, and cultural significance of this iconic ingredient.
Drawing inspiration from Creole, Caribbean, and Southern traditions, competitors will put their own spin on okra while a panel of three esteemed judges evaluates each dish on taste, creativity, technique, and presentation. Who will rise to the occasion and earn the title of ESSENCE Cook-Off Champion?
Filled with bold flavors, friendly rivalry, and plenty of culinary surprises, this high-energy showdown celebrates the rich food traditions that connect New Orleans to the wider African diaspora.
Drawing inspiration from Creole, Caribbean, and Southern traditions, competitors will put their own spin on okra while a panel of three esteemed judges evaluates each dish on taste, creativity, technique, and presentation. Who will rise to the occasion and earn the title of ESSENCE Cook-Off Champion?
Filled with bold flavors, friendly rivalry, and plenty of culinary surprises, this high-energy showdown celebrates the rich food traditions that connect New Orleans to the wider African diaspora.
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FunTranscript
00:00Oh, hey, y'all.
00:03Howdy, how y'all doing?
00:06Oh, okay, are we in New Orleans or are we in Montana?
00:08Howdy, how y'all doing?
00:12Okay, period.
00:13Y'all know how to do it.
00:14Y'all know what's up.
00:15Thank y'all for being here.
00:16Okay, this is another beautiful Essence Cook-Off that we got going today.
00:20The New Orleans-style okra showdown.
00:23Are y'all excited about okra?
00:25See, now, when I was growing up, I didn't really like okra because I thought,
00:28ooh, slimy, but these chefs know how to make okra taste like something delicious, okay?
00:33And they're going to show us today.
00:35Y'all excited?
00:36You're looking at me like, girl.
00:38All right, this is curated by Chef Nina Compton.
00:42Throughout the African diaspora, few ingredients carry as much history and versatility as okra.
00:48From West Africa to the Caribbean and throughout the American South,
00:52it has remained a staple in kitchens for generations.
00:55Finding its way into family recipes, holiday tables, and some of our most beloved regional dishes.
01:02In today's competition, three talented chefs will each showcase their own creative interpretation
01:08of this iconic ingredient, drawing inspiration from Caribbean, Creole, and Southern traditions.
01:15Guided by the lovely Chef Nina Compton, this cook-off celebrates both innovation and heritage
01:20while highlighting the ingredient that continues to connect cultures across continents.
01:27Returning to lead today's challenge is James Beard, award-winning chef and restaurateur Nina Compton,
01:34whose commitment, yeah, give her a round of applause, yes!
01:38Her commitment to honoring Caribbean heritage through contemporary cuisine has made her one
01:43of New Orleans' most respected culinary voices.
01:45Under her guidance today, today's chefs will transform that humble ingredient into dishes
01:51that reflect creativity, culture, and personal expression.
01:56Are you ready?
01:57Okay, period.
01:58Let me give you this microphone so you can get to talking to our chefs
02:01and introduce our beautiful chefs.
02:04Good afternoon, everybody.
02:05So I called our three panelists up, and the idea was to showcase okra, and that was it.
02:15Just let's showcase okra.
02:17We live in New Orleans.
02:18All of these chefs are from different Caribbean islands.
02:23We have Chef Derica from the Bahamas.
02:27She has Chef Cafe Juncanu.
02:32Well, I had Juncanu Cafe.
02:34It's now Luxe Stacks.
02:37I do catering and private events.
02:39So she's a very busy lady.
02:41She's doing some cooking, some off-site cooking this weekend,
02:45so you can check her out, follow her on Instagram.
02:48So what are you making for us today?
02:51I am making an okra surf and turf.
02:55It's going to be an okra stew on the bottom with okra spicy rice
02:58and a Cajun shrimp and some filet mignon on top.
03:03And what is this?
03:05That is the stew.
03:07Ah, the okra stew.
03:08Okay.
03:09I'm not going to, don't give it all away.
03:11Let's just roll with this.
03:12Okay.
03:13Next, we're going to move to Chef Laura from the beautiful island of Martinique.
03:17She is basically my neighbor.
03:19I could see Martinique from my mom's house.
03:22So Chef Laura is in the process of opening her very own restaurant.
03:27So can you tell us about that?
03:29It's a French Caribbean restaurant.
03:31So I'm French.
03:32You can hear it at an accent.
03:33So we are doing a blend of like Southern cuisine, French cuisine and Caribbean cuisine.
03:39It's coming very soon on Rampart.
03:42You want to give them the address and the name?
03:44Yes.
03:44The name is Maison Révant.
03:46It means House of Dreaming.
03:50And it's on 1014 North Rampart next to the TV station.
03:55So make sure you check it out and make sure you follow Chef Laura on Instagram to see any updates
04:01with her restaurant.
04:02And today we are making, I see a lot of stuff over here.
04:07I try to do a kailaloo like we do in Martinique, but we find, so it's like a small pieces
04:12of the lump crab and the kailaloo cream with some okra fried and okra pickles.
04:18Peacons.
04:19Okay.
04:20Yes.
04:20A lot of okra.
04:21A lot of okra.
04:22Okay.
04:23Next we move to Chef Charlie Pierre of Free Thai.
04:28Hello, hello.
04:29He is our celebrity chef, essence veteran.
04:36Yes.
04:37James Beard nominated.
04:39Whatever you need.
04:40All the things.
04:40He's also been on Top Chef.
04:42So we have a lot of things in common.
04:44A lot of things in common.
04:45So tell us about your dish today.
04:46Yeah.
04:47So today I'm making a shrimp and okra in a kailal sauce.
04:51We're doing it with coconut rice and a lightly pickled fried okra right on top.
04:57All right.
04:58Let's start cooking.
04:59Yeah.
05:00And I'm going to head to our judges and see, we have Miss Eve Haydell of Dookie Chase, who runs
05:11the beverage program.
05:12And we have Miss Erica Flowers, world famous, world traveled, who ran the bar program at Compella Pen and has
05:23spread her wings and flown off and doing all the things.
05:27So I wanted to just ask you, ladies, about do you love okra?
05:31Do you hate okra?
05:32How do you like your okra cooked?
05:34Because some people love it or hate it.
05:37I love it.
05:39Absolutely love it.
05:40Any way, any form.
05:42I bought some trade beads here so maybe I can trade for some dishes.
05:46Some okra.
05:49I love okra.
05:51I mostly have had it in like stews growing up.
05:55My family's Belizean, so they'll include it in different stews.
06:00Coming here, obviously, having it in gumbo.
06:03I had it dehydrated once before, and that's a nice snack.
06:07Now that I like.
06:08Yeah.
06:09The dehydrated okra is really delicious.
06:12So I'm excited to see what they do with it.
06:14Yeah, I think everybody in New Orleans has okra in some form and really showcasing this with, of course, I'm
06:24a little biased having my Caribbean chefs showcase okra in a very different way.
06:29So it's going to be fun to see what they, they come up with and what they, you know, who's
06:35going to take the cake or the okra.
06:38Who's going to take the okra?
06:40Who's going to take the okra?
06:43So ladies, what are you looking forward to most for this weekend?
06:47Oh, well, being in the restaurant industry, I love serving our essence visitors, you know, to give them an endearing
06:56home feel of coming home to New Orleans and experience what we have to offer our flavors.
07:02And I'm also excited about experiencing the chefs' expressions of their take and how, really, how they've influenced New Orleans'
07:10culinary scene.
07:12You know, this okra journey comes that way.
07:15So we have a lot of similarities.
07:19I'm excited that there's so much black excellence in the city.
07:22This is one of my favorite times.
07:25Give it up for yourselves because it's you, it's you.
07:28Um, yeah, the summer can be slow here and we always look forward to Essence and everyone that's coming in
07:35town.
07:35So to just see everyone so joyful and excited to be here, checking out places that we know and love
07:41throughout the year for the first time is always awesome.
07:45And yeah, I'm excited to just party with people too, from out of town.
07:49Everyone's coming from everywhere.
07:52I was just going to ask, who here is from out of town?
07:55Okay, welcome to New Orleans.
07:57Quite a few.
07:59Where are you guys from in the front?
08:02Austin?
08:05North Carolina.
08:06North Carolina, okay.
08:08North Carolina.
08:10Hey.
08:11Where are you from?
08:13Washington, D.C.
08:14I see you with the American flag on her head.
08:16Okay, USA.
08:17She's Essence ready.
08:19She's Essence ready.
08:19Any first-time Essence people here?
08:22All right.
08:24Welcome.
08:24Welcome, welcome, welcome.
08:27It's definitely a lot to see in the convention center.
08:31Lots of clothes, lots of beauty, lots of everything.
08:35Lots of food.
08:40Oh, yeah.
08:41All right, so what are we doing right now?
08:44Cooking the shrimp.
08:45Cooking the shrimp.
08:46I see a lot of delicious butter in that pan.
08:49Y'all know you can't do a dish without a little good butter, huh?
08:51A lot of good butter.
08:53Praise be.
09:00What do we got going down over here?
09:02I'm cutting the pickles, and then I'm going to cook my promesky in the fryer.
09:08And you got these cucumbers rolled up really nicely.
09:11That's very beautiful.
09:13Okay, see, when I'm a chef, I just chop it up.
09:16She's over here rolling them up nice, slicing nice.
09:20It's going to be a beautiful presentation.
09:21You don't want to eat at my house.
09:23You want to eat at her restaurant, okay?
09:25And what you got going?
09:26So, I just fried my okra that was lightly pickled.
09:29I tasted it.
09:30It tastes amazing.
09:30Oh, you got to taste it already?
09:32Yeah, I did.
09:32Oh, you didn't ask me to come down here and taste it with you?
09:34Yeah, I got you, baby.
09:35Oh, okay, period.
09:36Asking, you shall receive.
09:37There you go.
09:38Just drop it in my hand, praise God.
09:40Oh, yeah, that's good.
09:42Good?
09:42It's really good, actually.
09:44And I don't even like okra.
09:47No, that's good.
09:48You got that little acid from that pickle, huh?
09:50Oh.
09:51Come on, judges.
09:52Y'all going to be happy.
09:53I like that.
09:55Okay, praise be.
09:57That was good.
09:59Can I be a judge?
10:00You can be a judge.
10:02Do we have a time check?
10:04I'll find out.
10:05Hold on.
10:05Let me go get the time.
10:07I need time.
10:09How much time?
10:10We're finding out.
10:11I'm going to tell you one second.
10:37All right, Chef Derica, what do you, I see you browning your shrimp.
10:42What did you coat the beef in?
10:46I'm not, you know, I don't know the fancy words.
10:49You have ten minutes.
10:51I put the seasoning in the butter, and then I marinated it overnight.
10:56Smells.
10:57So, frito seasoning.
10:59Smells great.
11:00So, we have ten minutes.
11:02That's forever.
11:03That's forever?
11:04Yeah.
11:05Oh, you can cook a whole meal in less than ten minutes?
11:08Uh, I mean, that's kind of my job.
11:10Oh, well, you know, I need to be a culinary chef.
11:13Somebody's got to take me to school, okay, because it takes me a little longer than ten minutes at the
11:17house.
11:18Yeah.
11:19And, Chef Laura, what are we frying over here?
11:21Uh, crab lamb, a chromatic crab lamb.
11:23So, instead of using milk, I use coconut milk.
11:26Ah, okay.
11:26I make the bechamel, and I put some crab lamb meat inside, and a lot of spices.
11:32So, with your new restaurant coming, what dishes are you excited for people to try?
11:38Uh, the Colombo, um, from Pano.
11:42So, it's basically made with a banana leaf, and we cook it inside, and the two fillets, and we put
11:48the parts of Colombo in the middle, and then put it in the oven, and then grill it.
11:52Okay.
11:53With a jambalaya, but instead of using pork, we use tuna only.
11:58So, we make a tuna, um, sausage.
12:00We only do 20 minutes.
12:02All right.
12:03We have to make sure we look out for that.
12:05Yes.
12:08And, what is the green sauce?
12:10So, the green sauce is okra with some mustard green.
12:14I was trying to do callaloo, but I didn't find callaloo leaves.
12:18So, I make an okra cream.
12:20So, for most people, um, that don't know what callaloo is, it is the amaranth, uh, leaf that we traditionally
12:29braise in the Caribbean.
12:30Most people use spinach or mustard greens, like Chef Laura did, uh, to get the same, the same feel with
12:37that.
12:39And, Chef Charlie, you seem like you're chilling over here.
12:42Yeah, I don't want to seem like I'm chilling.
12:44I got stuff to do, y'all.
12:46Oh, I'm looking.
12:46And, uh, I got some micro cream.
12:48Atul.
12:49Tell me about this Pickley's powder.
12:51Yeah, that's that good, see, you gotta get a little handful of this stuff.
12:54So, we make this in-house.
12:55So, if y'all know, Pickley's is a spicy Haitian relish.
12:58It's like our, kind of our ketchup.
13:00We put it on everything.
13:01And then we take it and dehydrate it.
13:03So, you get all that acid.
13:04But just none of that, uh, you know, the water really just kind of tones it down.
13:08But this is a punch.
13:09Yeah, you can have it.
13:10I really want that.
13:11You want that?
13:11Isn't it so good?
13:12I know.
13:12And I pulverized this one to a fine powder.
13:14So, it's really good.
13:15Okay, well, I want to taste.
13:16I can see that in a drink.
13:20Oh, yeah.
13:21On a drink?
13:21Let me taste.
13:22No long.
13:23I don't know.
13:23Something.
13:25But that's really good.
13:30You get the acid, the pop, spice, pepper.
13:33It's really good.
13:34It is.
13:34Oh, yeah.
13:36He knows what he's doing, y'all.
13:37He knows what he's doing.
13:40So, what's in your sauce here, Chef?
13:42So, this is a kind of traditional creole sauce.
13:45And the funny thing about creole sauce, it's both New Orleans and Haitian.
13:48So, it's like tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, really just cooked all the way down.
13:53And I just took it and pulverized it.
13:55I roasted the peppers a little bit, pulverized it.
13:57And that's it.
13:58And then I just added okra and shrimp.
13:59It's a really simple pickup, but there's a lot of flavor.
14:01A lot of flavor in there.
14:02So, this is the traditional Haitian dish?
14:04Yeah.
14:05Shrimp creole is a very traditional Haitian.
14:06And it's also traditional in New Orleans.
14:08So, it's a cool kind of bridge between the two cultures.
14:11Yeah.
14:11I think a lot of people don't know how impactful Haitian cuisine is throughout the Caribbean,
14:20but also throughout the world as well.
14:22Yeah.
14:22And I think I love to showcase it.
14:24That's why I choose dishes like this, just to help showcase what we do and what it means
14:28to be Haitian for us.
14:35I see you have some fried okra.
14:37That looks really good.
14:38Oh, yeah.
14:39It's really good.
14:41Are you able?
14:41You're going to taste too?
14:42Are you going to be one of those?
14:44Chef Prince took my seat.
14:46Wow.
14:46Prince.
14:46Prince, you better give Nina a bite.
14:52Chef Prince is always looking around.
14:54Yeah.
14:55So, if you're ready, Chef Charlie, you can go ahead and plate and we can present whenever
15:04you want one at a time.
15:07Okay.
15:10And Chef Laura, what is this?
15:12It's coconut.
15:13So, I did my coconut milk and you have some residue.
15:16So, instead of dump it, I keep it and I dry it yesterday night.
15:19Ah, okay.
15:20So, from the fresh coconut.
15:21Yes.
15:22And then you have fried okra.
15:23And that's it.
15:26This is very exciting.
15:28Nothing is left.
15:32Chef Derica, don't look so stressed out, please.
15:35Please don't look so stressed out.
15:37Have some fun.
15:41No, I'm good.
15:44She looks a little stressed out.
15:47I told her to have some fun.
15:50Right?
15:51It's just first time jitters.
15:53It's okay.
15:54Nobody in the crowd bites.
15:56Okay?
16:01How's everybody feeling?
16:03Good?
16:09Yeah, if you want to start plating, go for it.
16:11Take your time.
16:21The moment of truth.
16:24It's the green sauce for me.
16:26I think that's beautiful.
16:27It looks pistachio.
16:31All of that looks beautiful.
16:34Does anybody in the crowd have any questions for our chefs as the time is winding down?
16:39Any okra questions?
16:40Any chef questions?
16:42Any tricks of the trade that you want to know?
16:44No?
16:45No, buddy?
16:48No, I'm fine.
16:53It's not a question for the chefs, but I was curious.
16:57It's not a question for the chefs, but I was curious.
17:00Does the audience get to taste?
17:05Unfortunately, the audience does not get to taste.
17:09Because then the chefs would have to make a hundred portions.
17:13But there will be a dish that you can see how the plate up finally comes together.
17:18But it's just for the judges, unfortunately.
17:21That is a tough job for the judges.
17:22I don't envy them.
17:25But it's also fun to see how each chef interprets okra.
17:31So it's a very exciting time to see as they're doing their final touches.
17:46Okay.
18:01Hi.
18:02Good afternoon.
18:02How are you guys doing today?
18:04And anyone can answer the question.
18:06I am Shemaraya Paradia.
18:08I'm the senior editor of Boss XL magazine, and I'm also a fellow chef.
18:12And so I want to know from anyone, what made you guys decide that culinary was your expertise?
18:25And what is your favorite or your specialized dish?
18:33That's a complex question.
18:35I mean, I know I wanted to be a chef because I have ADD, so I can't sit still.
18:41So the kitchen is always the best place for me since, you know, it allows me to run around and
18:46look sane, even though I'm just doing a million things at once.
18:50So I really like that.
18:51That's one of my favorite things about being a chef.
18:53One thing I do hate was when people ask me the question, what's your favorite thing to cook?
18:57Because I literally cook everything.
18:59But I kind of do have an answer.
19:01It's whole animals.
19:02Like, I love roasting whole pigs, like utilizing all the parts.
19:06So doing things like boucheries or like going to a family's place in Haiti and like roasting a whole goat.
19:11I like stuff like that.
19:12Oh, okay.
19:13I like that.
19:14Good answer.
19:14What about you?
19:15What about me?
19:16Yeah.
19:16So you're an island guy, huh?
19:18All three of them.
19:20Oh.
19:20Oh, yeah.
19:21So I'm Caribbean as well.
19:22I'm from the Virgin Islands.
19:24Okay, period.
19:25So I'm loving it.
19:26Yes.
19:26We have Chef Derica to the left from Bahamas, Chef Laura in the middle from Martinique, and we have Chef
19:35Charlie from Haiti.
19:39Go ahead and answer her question.
19:41I answer, yes.
19:42Yeah, yeah.
19:43What made you want to do color?
19:44So I'm from a big family.
19:45My father used to have 12 siblings.
19:47So we used to hang out and have a big dinner and big table.
19:52So that's why I love cooking.
19:55And a favorite dish?
19:56And I don't have favorite dish, but I love doing pastry.
19:59Everybody around me knows I love to do a good fecund pie with some vanilla creme patisseur and salted banana.
20:09Wow.
20:09Look how beautiful.
20:11Later.
20:12All right, Chef Charlie.
20:19I'll take a bite with us.
20:20The first question was, when did you decide you were going to get into your culinary expertise, I think?
20:29What made you get into it?
20:31I've been cooking all my life.
20:33I was forced into it by my mother and my grandmother because they would not let me sleep on Saturday
20:37nights.
20:38Can I do your fryers?
20:39Oh, yeah, please, so it's hot and ready.
20:40And it just became something I love.
20:42They look great.
20:43It's actually my love language because it's the one thing that I can do where I'm fulfilled because I love
20:49to serve.
20:49Oh, I forgot my peppers.
20:50So I get enjoyment from people enjoying my food.
20:54I'm coming back.
20:54That's the easiest way I can say.
20:56My love language is to eat the food that you serve.
20:59Oh, I love you already.
21:01Amen.
21:01Oh, shit.
21:02Mm-hmm.
21:03Shit, look.
21:05Do what you do, babe.
21:06I forgot to turn it down.
21:08And a favorite dish that you like to make?
21:11Pea soup.
21:12It's a Bahamian dish.
21:14Pea soup and dough.
21:15Pea soup and dough.
21:16Okay, I love that.
21:18Almost, okay.
21:20There's, there's, we, we, we cross paths, if you will, yeah.
21:25Okay, so the chefs are trying.
21:27I look so beautiful.
21:28How y'all liking it?
21:29Oh, I see the, I see a happy dance.
21:31Oh, yeah.
21:32You know, we love a happy dance when we eat it.
21:34Yeah, yeah.
21:36Oh, you can't see them eating it.
21:37Okay.
21:38Well, they're putting the fork in the plate and they taste it.
21:41And it looks like they're happy about it.
21:44Amen.
21:45I don't think we have a camera shot of that.
21:47I'm so sorry.
21:48But she's going to tell you how she feels about it here in just a second.
21:55So this is Shrimp Creole from Chef Charlie.
21:57Free Thai, Haitian restaurant, right off of Basin Street.
22:01I like to call him Top Chef Charlie because he was on Top Chef and he did fantastic.
22:08How do you feel about this dish?
22:09What's your, what's your most fond memory of Haiti?
22:12Can you share that with us, brother?
22:14Well, you just asked me two questions.
22:15So which one do you want me to answer first?
22:17Well, all right.
22:19How I feel about this dish?
22:21I love this dish.
22:22I think it's a, it's a great history.
22:24There's a lot of story behind Shrimp Creole.
22:26And like I said, it's a bridge between New Orleans and Haiti.
22:28Both islands or both places, actually, yeah, both islands, I'm right.
22:31Both islands have done Shrimp Creole in their own way, but really overlap each other in very similar ways.
22:36And then we add a little bit of the coconut to the rice for the island.
22:39And everybody down here loves fried okra.
22:41So we just took the fried okra, we pickled it in a little bit of peak leaves vinegar and then
22:46took it out and then tossed it in peak leaves powder.
22:48So it has a little bit of acid, a little bit of spice.
22:51And now a fond memory of Haiti.
22:53A fond memory of Haiti.
22:56Like I said, I love cooking.
22:57So I was there in 2021 and I was there for Gay Day Fest, which is their kind of voodoo
23:05festival at this really historic hotel.
23:07And we roasted two pigs, two goats, and did a whole lot of other things.
23:11And that was just fun.
23:13Like it was really a good time, especially be with my cousins, my people, and watching them process everything through.
23:18And it's just not, you know, we're not just killing animals, but we're treating them right.
23:23We know we're cleaning the meats, we're talking, we're, you know, we're making sure we're doing it in a loving
23:27way.
23:27So I just love that.
23:29Last question for you.
23:30Yeah.
23:30You speak of Creole?
23:32Of course.
23:32You speak of Creole.
23:33You speak of CME?
23:34Oh.
23:35Yes, I'm a fluent speaker of Creole.
23:38That was actually the first language I knew.
23:39I was born in the U.S., but my parents came here in 88, and I was born four months
23:44later.
23:44So I didn't know any English for my first three years of my life until I started to go to
23:49public school.
23:50So, yes, I'm very fluent in Creole, and I love Haiti.
23:53And even if I didn't know, I still go back every year, and I try to try to, you know,
23:57engulf myself more and more in the culture.
23:59Because it's really easy to lose your culture, so I try my best to, you know, feed that.
24:04And last question.
24:06I got a question for y'all.
24:07Who's not eating my third plate?
24:10Oh, it's presentation.
24:12Okay, I'm sorry.
24:12Okay, yeah, she's about to get up.
24:14I'm sorry.
24:14I would bust it up.
24:15I would be spooning it.
24:19That's my plate for later, so just everybody back off.
24:21All right, what was the last question?
24:22Oh.
24:23And we're going to give the other chef the spotlight in a second.
24:26If somebody wants to book a flight to Haiti, where should they go whenever they visit?
24:30Right now, the best place to go is Okap, which is a northern island.
24:35It's really beautiful.
24:37I love Jacmel, which is a southern coastal town, but it's a little less accessible.
24:40But Okap's another northern coastal town.
24:43It's kind of like Haiti light.
24:46It's a little easier to kind of roam around, and I think that would be a great start.
24:49Thank you so much, Chef Charlie.
24:50Round of applause for Chef Charlie, everybody.
24:52Thank you, y'all.
24:53And now we have Chef Derica, who's brought her food up to the table.
24:57How you feeling?
24:58They say you was a little heat in the kitchen, huh?
25:02Are you feeling happy now?
25:03Let's hear about you.
25:04Let's talk about this dish, if you haven't already.
25:06Let's hear a fond memory of your home, and then where do we go if we visit?
25:11I'm going to ask those questions later.
25:14All right, so I guess we're going to call it, like I said, Okra Surf and Turf.
25:21It's a shrimp stew.
25:25The stew that we do it is the Bahamian way with bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, thyme, pepper.
25:32Got some okra in there.
25:35And then my special spicy junk new rice that I am well known for, I substituted the okra, the jalapenos
25:45for the okra.
25:46So I added the okra to that, and then we just have some lightly blackened shrimp and a few chunks
25:53of filet mignon.
25:56That's it.
25:57It looks beautiful, Chef.
26:00How do you feel?
26:00I feel okay.
26:01I mean, they're eating it.
26:04Did you have fun, though?
26:06We halfway there.
26:06We halfway there.
26:09I just was like, I hope I don't overcook the steak.
26:11I think I did okay.
26:13I did okay?
26:14All right.
26:14Cool.
26:27Chef Nina eating, so it's back to me.
26:31Let's hear about your Bahamian culture, please, Chef Derricka.
26:36Give us a fond memory of back home.
26:39John Canoe.
26:42Oh, I don't know.
26:44I have a lot of memories being able to pick fruit from off the side of the street because the
26:49tree just hanging.
26:51Waking up Sunday morning, grating cabbage and cheese for my Grammy for Sunday dinner.
26:59Um, the beach.
27:02I really miss the beach.
27:03You know, we have the best waters.
27:05That's not up for debate.
27:09Um, and I don't know.
27:11I miss, I just miss, I don't know.
27:13I miss a lot about the Bahamas.
27:15I, we're very good people.
27:18We love people.
27:18We love serving and sharing and hospitality.
27:21So, so if we're going to visit, what beach should we go to?
27:25What's the best beach to go to?
27:27Avoid the nonsense.
27:29Honestly, Cabbage Beach.
27:31Cabbage Beach have the best waves.
27:33Cabbage?
27:33Yeah, yeah, it's the one on Paradise Island by the Atlantis Hotel.
27:37Yeah.
27:37Wonderful.
27:41And last but not least, Chef Laura to bring her plates forward from the Isle of Martinique.
27:55That's pretty.
28:04I'm going to talk about your dish and the inspiration of it.
28:08So when you live in Martinique, you have two sides of the island, the South and the North.
28:13In the North, we eat crab.
28:15In the South, we eat everything like seafood, shrimp, lobster, all this kind of thing.
28:21I'm from the North.
28:22So I use crab.
28:24I use lump crab.
28:26So I did the okra cream, a bisque.
28:29So you have all the crab from this, I mean, the teeth of the crab and the promesky.
28:36And I put some pickles so the dish is balanced.
28:39It's not too fat.
28:40I'm French, so I love butter.
28:43So you have butter, but you also have coconut cream.
28:46Just to balance is less fat.
28:49That's it.
28:52Thank you, Chef.
28:57Oh.
29:01Sorry.
29:02So my judges, what are we thinking so far?
29:05Very different dishes across the board.
29:09Nobody's dishes look...
29:12I feel really bad that you guys can't taste this.
29:15Because my mouth is...
29:16It's a party happening up here.
29:18They're very, very different.
29:20But incredible.
29:22Like, levels of flavor.
29:23The textures are coming in different from each of the plates.
29:29Yeah.
29:30I'm going to finish eating.
29:32From what I can see, a lot of color throughout each plate.
29:38It smells amazing from what I've tasted.
29:42Very, very strong flavors.
29:44Lots of...
29:45A lot of thought in all of these dishes.
29:48Yes.
29:49Erica?
29:50You seem like you're in heaven.
29:53She's quiet.
29:54We talked about that in the panel early.
29:57Chef Kenneth Temple and I were talking about when people are eating and they're silent.
30:02That is the biggest compliment to a chef.
30:05It's not talking while you're eating.
30:06You're quiet.
30:08You're processing the flavors.
30:10You're enjoying the moment.
30:11And so Erica definitely seems to be having a beautiful moment.
30:18Y'all definitely didn't make it easy for us.
30:20I'll say that.
30:22The flavors are amazing.
30:24All the dishes are complex or nostalgic or a great nod to the city of New Orleans as well.
30:33So I love how y'all have been able to kind of hone in on your own culture and what
30:37you bring to it,
30:38but still show the influence that the city has had on you.
30:42As y'all wrap that up, it's time for y'all to figure out who is the winner.
30:47So y'all got a big decision to make.
30:49I think this is going to be a very, very tough one.
30:52And I just want to say thank you to all the chefs for putting your best foot forward and really
30:57showcasing each island.
31:01It was not meant to be a battle of islands, but it's meant to showcase how different Caribbean countries can
31:09showcase okra in New Orleans,
31:11which is a viewed staple here.
31:13So thank you, chefs.
31:16And we look forward to seeing what the judges come up with as the winner.
31:22In the meanwhile, as we wait for them to deliberate.
31:26We have one minute.
31:27One minute.
31:28Thank you for that, Whitney.
31:30That's my new best friend, by the way, y'all.
31:32Me and Whitney have been working together for years.
31:34Not at all.
31:36Just one minute.
31:38For years.
31:39And so we're building.
31:41We're continuing to build.
31:43So as we move forward, again, as the judges are deliberating, how do we support you guys?
31:47How do we find y'all?
31:49How do we follow y'all?
31:50Because we can't taste the food.
31:52The judges are deciding who has the best dish.
31:55But we still want to support y'all.
31:56Can y'all give us your names, your ats, your Instagrams?
32:00How do we follow y'all?
32:04I'll start.
32:05My name is Charlie Pierre.
32:07I have Free Tie, which is in New Orleans here.
32:10I'm on 1535 Basin Street, so Intrame.
32:13We do modern and traditional Haitian cuisine.
32:15We're open every day but Tuesday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
32:21And then on Sundays, we do brunch from 11 to 5 p.m.
32:24So please check us out.
32:25On Instagram, we are at Free Tie Nola.
32:28So F-R-I-T-A-I Nola.
32:30And then my personal Instagram is Charlie J.
32:33C-H-A-R-L-Y, the letter J, and then Pierre, P-I-E-R-R-E.
32:39If you freak...
32:41Yeah, you're no problem.
32:42So Free Tie is F-R-I-T-A-I.
32:46and then nola and then my personal one is charlie but with a ly the letter j and then pierre
32:53p-i-e-r-r-e
32:54follow us keep in touch we always doing events there's always new things coming up so please
33:00and support not just me but support everybody like new orleans needs all y'all support so i
33:05appreciate y'all coming through and giving us that support chef laura my name is laura ines
33:13i have a whole sentence so laura ines renee corail and then the name of the restaurant is maison
33:21like house and revant r-e-v-a-n-t and we are not open yet but we should be
33:32open on the 1st of august
33:36and the address is 1014 north rampart thank you chef laura
33:45my brand is lux tax nola that's l-u-x-e s-t-a-c-k-s-n-o-l
33:53-a i currently don't have a physical
33:55space but i do private events i do catering so you can feel free to hit me up on social
33:59media
33:59just send me a dm i'm chill nothing too formal just you know reach out she's really fun on the
34:06internet so follow her that's how i found her yes all right so the time has come we have a
34:14winner
34:15for the announcement can we get a drum roll from the audience
34:23very hard oh my god i didn't want to stop eating but thank you all for putting i mean this
34:30is a very
34:30hard decision but thank you all for putting your love and you know what the people that raised you
34:36and the lessons that you've learned and the stories into these dishes because we all know that is what
34:41matters um again really hard but i'm it's my everyone did amazing flavors presentation beautiful
34:51but one person really stood out that shined through in all the categories of presentation
34:57complexity flavor and just thoughtfulness and that is chef laura
35:07congratulations my dear the way you layer these textures with the crispy okra bits and
35:13the crunch of the i don't want to say it's the pickled cucumber like just every bite was a new
35:21surprise
35:22in this dish so beautiful congratulations to everybody everyone did their thing and you'll see
35:29me soon wherever you at charlie you know you always be seeing me okay i'm gonna find you
35:35not i'm gonna find you okay period i'm a final i like it and i want it amen well thank
35:41you chefs
35:42thank you judges thank you audience yes let's give the chefs one more round of applause and give
35:47yourself a round of applause i hope that while you're here in new orleans you try out all of the
35:52delicious dishes we have to offer thank y'all for taking some time to watch this cook-off y'all
35:58have a
35:58great day we'll be back in just a little bit with the next panel in the front
36:07i think so
36:08like you're here in the front
36:096
36:100
36:10or
36:11All right.
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