01x03 - Southern Comfort

[bunniefuu]

[theme music playing]

[Jordan Andino] Do luxury ingredients
always make the best dishes,

or can humble items be transformed
into a recipe for success?

This is Cook at all Costs.

I need something. I need something.

[Jordan] With $25,000 in their bank,

three home cooks will have
to bid on all their ingredients...

I'm ready.

...in a high-stakes auction-packed cook-off.

-Five thousand dollars.
-Sold!

The home cooks can spend big
for the best ingredients,

save their money for the basics,
or gamble on a surprise.

Chicken hearts. [laughs]

[Jordan] In the end, the winner

will go home
with all the cash left in their bank.

[laughs] Oh, man!

[Jordan] The back pantry is home

to the hottest names
in today's culinary world.

Surprise!

[Jordan] These celebrity chefs
will prepare the mystery boxes,

ingredient temptations,
and judge their dishes.

You gotta make Mama happy.

All right, Chef. Send out those boxes.

[music continues]

It's the ultimate cooking competition
where skill meets strategy.

Let me get my buzzer fingers ready.

[Jordan] This is Cook at all Costs.

[laughs] What's up, home cooks? You ready?

Yeah! I'm ready.

[Jordan] Justin, Tiff, Leanna,

welcome to Cook At All Costs.

-Yeah!
-Whoo!

-[Leanna] Whoo-whoo!
-[Jordan giggles]

[laughs]

Home cooks, the good news is

we have ingredient boxes
for you to cook with.

Okay.

Now, the bad news is

you just have to outbid
your fellow home cooks to buy them,

using your bank of $25,000.

-All right!
-Oh! [chuckles]

All of your cooking needs
will be coming to you down the line.

And it leads to our guest chef and judge.

She's the owner of Melba's in Harlem

and the soon-to-open
Melba's 550 in Newark,

specializing in Southern classics
and comfort food,

Chef Melba Wilson.

[all cheer]

I am so honored to cook for Chef Wilson,

but I'm also incredibly terrified.

Like, she is the queen
of Southern cooking.

[Jordan] Chef Wilson is preparing
three ingredient boxes just for you.

All right, Chef, fire it up!

[upbeat drum line music plays]

Oh my gosh.

Okay.

[Jordan] You'll start by secretly bidding
on these three ingredient boxes

using your bank of $25,000.

The highest bidder gets a Spend Box,

which has premium ingredients

to help you plate a premium dish.

Okay.

Lowest bidder gets the Save Box,
which is made up of simple ingredients

that require your skills
to transform them into winning dishes.

And the remaining cook
will get the Surprise Box,

which is made up of unique ingredients
that'll really keep you on your toes.

I don't know about that.

Remember, only one of you
will win the competition

and walk away
with whatever is left in your bank.

Home cooks, we'll start
with a minimum bid of $2,500

and you can lock in your bids now.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Justin] I work in corporate finance,
what that means is I work

looking at investments all day long.

I want that Spend Box.
Anything in there has to be amazing.

I came to play and playing small
never gets you to the finish line.

I want the Spend Box,

because that's gotta be
where the premium ingredients are.

You want the best stuff if you wanna win.

[device chimes]

Tiff, let's take a look at your bid.

$3,002.

Justin, you put in a bid of $4,251.

Man's got some money to spend.

And Leanna, let's take a look
at your bid. $3,700.

That means Justin, you had the highest bid

and you get the Spend Box.

-Did Justin just make it rain?
-He did. I saw that too.

[Jordan] Wow.

[laughs]

Tiff, you made the lowest bid,
so it means you get the Save Box.

-Good luck.
-[laughs]

I'm okay. I can think on my feet.
Let's see what's in that box.

Which leaves Leanna
with a $3,700 surprise.

All right, let's do it.

You have 60 minutes

to make an out-of-the-box dish

in any style you want,

and watch out for more ingredients
coming down the line

that Chef Melba is preparing for you
to have the opportunity to bid on.

Justin, Tiff, Leanna,
are you ready to cook at all costs?

[all] Yes!

Good, 'cause your time starts now!

[lively music plays]

[exclaims and laughs]

Of course, mine is at the end.

Butternut squash,

endive,

smoked pork hock. Okay.

This isn't so bad.

I've got butternut squash
and some smoked pork.

Because it's smoked, I now
that it's going to have a lot of flavor.

Certainly, we can do something with that.

Alfredo.

But powdered Alfredo sauce?

"Sauce mix"?

Like, I don't even have milk,

I don't have butter.

You're asking me to make
Alfredo sauce with no dairy. How?

What you got over there, Tiff?

I got pork cutlet, people.

-[Leanna] Oh!
-I can do something with that.

[Tiff] In the Save Box,
I see pork cutlets.

I got some lettuce, butternut squash.

What?! Spaghetti in a can.

Nonna would k*ll me.

Canned spaghetti! If my Nonna was here,

she'd say... [in Italian accent]
"What's the matter for you?"

[in normal voice] Chef Melba,
what is this?

[laughs] These are going away.
My canned spaghetti are going away.

What is this?

This Spend Box means I am going
to have the premium ingredients

and make an incredible dish.

Oh, some goat cheese.

I think this is pear.

Pumpkins,

whatever this thing is.

A whole rack of lamb.

All right, all the boxes
have been revealed,

and for our proteins,

Leanna has smoked pork hock
in the Surprise Box,

Tiff has pork cutlets with her Save Box,

and Justin has crown pork roast
in his Spend Box.

It's pork?
I thought this was lamb. It's pork.

[all laughing]

You know what?
I don't want to hear nothing out of you.

You got the premium box. I don't want
to hear no complaints out of you, sir.

Now that I know that it's pork,
I'm thinking apple sauce goes with pork

and pear's kind of like an apple,
so I'm making a pan-seared pork

with a goat-cheese-and-squash purée,

along with a pear and pumpkin spice sauce.

This Spend Box, crazy expensive.

But this is so worth every penny.

So at my job in corporate finance,

most of what I do
is very methodical and precise.

In the kitchen, I can really break
all the rules that I want to.

[upbeat music plays]

It's interesting.
I've got some good ingredients.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly
how I'm going to use them together.

So I've got butternut squash spirals,
so the first thing I think is

we're going to use this
as a pasta substitute.

And we've got
this weird Alfredo sauce packet,

so I want to do something carbonara-style.

You've got the smoked meat
that's kind of like pancetta,

so I can get that salt, get that fat,
get that different texture.

So I am making a creamy, smoky
butternut squash pasta

and a frisée salad.

I'm going to get some of this fat
from here to build flavor profile

since I don't really have much
in way of the spice.

Primarily, I cook for my son
and my husband.

You know, grilling out in the backyard.

I like to get their reactions,
get their critiques.

Whoo-whoo!

So I am super excited
to cook for Chef Melba.

She is culinary royalty.
There's no other way to say it.

[funky music plays]

Ah!

-Chef, how are you?
-Yes, I'm amazing.

-Those boxes are intense.
-They're amazing, right?

I love them. What do you think
is the most challenging

of those three boxes?

I actually think the Surprise Box
is really challenging.

-Really?
-You know...

There are ham hocks in there,
as we call them, right?

Being that space
between the foot and the leg,

that connecting kind of knuckle,
so to speak...

-Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm.
-Packs a lot of flavor.

So are they going to know
what to do with it?

What I would do...

Mm-hmm?

-Nobody's listening, right?
-No, no. You're good.

I'd grab that pressure cooker.

-Come on, now. Come on, now!
-That's what I'm talking about!

Extract that flavor, that smokiness
and that yumminess that's in there.

Going now to the Spend Box,
you put a crown pork roast in there.

You're dealing with the best of the best.

I am expecting
an extremely high-quality dish.

You've really to got to deliver on that.

At the end of the day,
you gotta make Mama happy.

[laughs] Yeah. All right, Chef, send out
those upgrades whenever you're ready.

-All right, you got it.
-See you in a bit.

All right. I'm gonna taste
some of these pecans here. Mmm!

[upbeat music plays]

[Tiff] Let's get this going.

-[whirring]
-Whoa!

I'm putting this canned spaghetti
behind me

because today it's about elevation,

so I'm using eggs and flour
from the basic pantry

because I'm 100%
going to make my own pasta.

Oh, my gosh.
You broke out the pasta maker!

-Oh, she's doing it, she's doing it!
-[Tiff laughs]

Butternut squash is in the oven.

I'm going to do a ravioli.

I'm making a butternut squash ravioli
with a pork cutlet.

Being Italian, I love food.

I love learning from my family
on how to cook traditional dishes.

-There we go, there we go.
-Oh, you going for it, girl.

[laughs]

It takes some serious gumption
to go and make homemade pasta.

[Tiff] Perfect!

If she pulls that off,
she deserves to win.

I'd love some basil right now, you know?

Basil would be good.

I don't have any herbs.
I need some sort of flavor for this dish.

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

[pulsing electronic music plays]

[Leanna] Y'all, we got something coming!

-Something's coming!
-Something's coming!

-Auction time! Let's spend some money!
-[Leanna] Whoo-whoo!

What do we got? What do we got? Show us!

The first item up for bid is...

Ooh, some fresh sage.

The umami of the herb world
works so well with pork.

[Leanna] I want the sage
for my Alfredo butternut squash pasta.

I have no herbs.

I'll start the bidding here at $600.

-Do I have $600? Do I have 700?
-[chimes]

-700, 700.
-$700 to Tiff.

-Do I have 800? $800?
-800.

-Do I have $900?
-900.

900 to Tiff. Do I have 1,000?

-$1,000?
-[chimes]

Do I have $1,200?

-[chimes]
-1,200.

1,200. 1,200 going once,


-Sold to Tiff.
-Whoo!

This sage might be the key to my dish.

I think it's going to be beautiful inside
the ravioli with that butternut squash.

The next item up for auction is...

panko breadcrumbs.

Ooh, I could do some kind of, like,

toasted panko crumb
for additional texture.

I'm gonna start this bidding at $1,000.

-[chimes]
-$1,000.

$1,000 going once,

$1,000 going twice.

-Sold for some bread crumbs, AKA panko.
-[laughs]

-[Tiff] Well done, well done.
-Thank you.

And the last item up for auction is...

Ooh, lovely, crispy shallots.

Imagine what you can do
with that flavor, that texture.

Great for a garnish.

Crispy shallots would really help.
I really want to use that

as a nice textural element
on top of my pork.

I'm gonna start this off at $700.

-[chimes]
-Do I have $800?

-[chimes]
-800.

-Do I have $900?
-[chimes]

-[Jordan] Do I have 1,000?
-What you making over there?

Don't worry about what I'm making, Justin.

-[Tiff laughs]
-Focus. Worry about yourself.

-[chimes]
-1,100.

-Okay, do I have 1,200? 1,200 to Leanna.
-[chimes]

-Justin, why are you playing...
-Do I have 1,300?

-$1,300? Nope. 1,200 going once.
-That's just stupid money.

Going twice.

And sold to Leanna!

-All right. Thank you, thank you.
-Crispy shallots for $1,200.

-Thank you, thank you, thank you.
-Leanna went shopping today.

You know I love to spend some money.

-[Jordan] Apparently!
-[laughs]

[Leanna] Can't believe
that I just spent $2,200

on some crispy shallots and panko crumbs,

but it's going down, I'm using them,
and it's going to be great.

So we're going to do
a little bit of the bread crumbs in here.

So I get the panko,
it's going in the salad, that's it.

Then with the shallots,

I'm thinking this is something else
to add to the flavor profile of the pasta,

but it'll also give me
a nice additional crunch.

[driving electronic music plays]

[Tiff] Okay. Sage, butternut squash.

Now that I have the sage,
I want to mix that

with the butternut squash
and I'm going to stuff that ravioli.

You're all different sizes,
but we're going to fix that.

Making ravioli's a huge risk.

I am really investing
a lot of time to this pasta.

You're gonna be a little smaller. Okay.

But I gotta live with it.
I've started, I have to finish it.

Please stay closed.

-[Jordan] Five minutes left, home cooks.
-Mamma Mia!

-[Leanna] Moving to plating.
-What?

[Leanna] Nobody cooks faster
than a working mama

that got to get dinner
on the table by Jeopardy.

[Tiff laughs]

[bombastic music plays]

[Justin] In my squash purée,
I'm adding goat cheese,

and that's going to add
this nice tangy, creamy element to it.

And my pear sauce is going
to add some acidity and sweetness.

Winning this competition
for me is not only about the money.

It's to prove to myself
that I actually am a good cook.

[Jordan] 30 seconds left.

[sizzles]

Who?! Who's cooking with fire?

Me, I guess.

My dish cost me $4,202 dollars.

This better be the best ravioli
Chef Melba has ever tasted.

[Jordan] You got ten seconds. Ten...

-[chimes]
-[Jordan] ...nine, eight, seven...

-[chimes]
-[Jordan] ...six, five, four, three...

-[rings]
-[Jordan] ...two, one. Time's up!

-Time's up. Good job, good job.
-[applauds]

Oh!

[bold music plays]

[Jordan] Home cooks,

we're going to send these plates back
for Chef Wilson to sample and judge.

[Tiff] I think the flavors
of my dish are pretty good.

This dish could win,

but it really depends on what...
[laughs] ...my competitors have made.

[lively music plays]

What up, Chef?

-Oh, my God.
-[laughs]

Right on time because I'm hungry.

[Jordan] Okay, Chef, for the first one,

here you have a creamy,

smoky butternut squash pasta

with ham hocks

and a side of frisée salad
topped with panko breadcrumbs.

Mmm! Mmm.

I love the playfulness of using
the butternut squash as a pasta!

And can I tell you, those ham hocks?
I'm getting smoky.

I'm getting delectable.
I'm getting delicious.

I love the way that the home cook
really took the ingredients

in the Surprise Box and incorporated them.

So this home cook purchased
panko bread crumbs

and the crispy shallots.

I am getting the shallots,
however, I'm not getting the panko.

I would not have purchased both.

However, my grandmother
would be right here

sopping this up with a biscuit.

[Jordan] Love that.

-Right, Chef, you're all set. Move on?
-Let's move.

Okay. For this next dish,

this is a butternut squash
and sage ravioli

with a pork cutlet.

[poppy music playing]

Being able to make homemade pasta,
and to make it this beautiful...

-Uh, yeah, that's...
-...it's a feat. Especially for 60 minutes.

-[Jordan] Yeah.
-The ravioli.

-The squash on the inside, lovely.
-[Jordan] Mm-hmm.

However, the ratio was a bit off.

I had to travel to get
to the butternut squash.

-Okay.
-And the pork cutlet lacked seasoning.

This home cook purchased sage for $1,200.

It would have been a good purchase.

However, the sage is not present.

I just wish it had a little more flavor.

[Jordan] All right, Chef. In front of you,
you have a pan-seared pork chop

with a kabocha squash
and goat cheese purée.

And then a pumpkin-spice
pear sauce on the side.

Ooh! The presentation is beautiful.

[driving music plays]

Looks a little bit overcooked, though.

-Mmm.
-Mmm?

-Mm-hmm.
-[quizzically] Mm-hmm.

Overcooked, definitely.

[laughs]

But well-seasoned.

Okay.

Oh my God, the pear.

Mmm!

Pear always pairs well with a chop, right?

It do... It really does.

[Melba] The squash,
cooked really, really well.

Kabocha squash is sort of like a mix
between a potato and a sweet potato,

which is nice, it's almost like having
mashed potatoes and a pork chop, right?

But I'm stuck
with the pork being overcooked.

-On a Spend Box, you got to get it right.
-Yeah.

So, have you come to a decision?

There are so many amazing elements
in each one of these dishes.

However, there is one
that really, really stood out to me.

[suspenseful music playing]

Home cooks, it's result time.

[exhales heavily] Okay.

The home cook
with the best out-of-the-box dish is...

-Leanna.
-Oh my gosh!

-[all applaud]
-[Justin] All right!

Chef Wilson thought
your use of butternut squash spirals

to be clever and delicious.

Thank you so much!

I won the round! And I am floored.

Holy crap, okay.

I'm the one who's most surprised
by my Surprise Box win.

Now, it's time for your final challenge,
and since we're lucky enough

to have the author
of Melba's American Comfort with us,

the choice was obvious.

-Southern comfort.
-All right.

You'll be working with ingredient boxes
curated by Chef Wilson

to create
your best Southern-inspired dish.

Oh, Chef Wilson,
please send out those ingredient boxes.

[bold music playing]

[Jordan] Home cooks,
in this round the boxes have set prices.

The Save Box will cost $4,000,

the Spend Box is $8,000,

and the price
of the Surprise Box is $6,000.

Leanna, because you won the first round,
you've earned the power to pick your box.

[Leanna and Tiff laugh]

And assign a box to each
of your fellow home cooks.

-[Tiff] Whoa!
-[all laugh]

Price tag included.

Oh, man, this is awesome.

We'll make it easy. Let's start with you.
What box do you want to buy?

I'm going for broke. I'm taking the Spend.

Oh, wow! All right, I like that.

I'm picking the Spend Box for myself
because I want to make sure I have

all of the advantages that I can.

Leanna, who would you like
to assign the Save Box to?

To Tiff.

No problemo.

[Leanna] That pasta in round one
showed me that she's coming for it.

I want to make sure
that I kind of tamp that down.

That means, Justin,
you got the Surprise Box,

setting you back $6,000.

In the end, the cook
with the best Southern comfort dish

will win all the cash
remaining in their bank.

There is 45 minutes on the clock

and the time has come

to cook at all costs!

[lively dramatic music plays]

Oh, my goodness.

I have a very methodical approach
to my cooking,

so I do not love surprises.

Condensed milk, cheese.

Condensed milk and fruit?

Leanna, you really did it to me.

[laughing]

Soft-shell crabs. This is...

-[Tiff laughs]
-This is a surprise.

I have no idea how I'm going
to use these ingredients.

Man, oh, man, oh man.

[soulful music plays]

Okay, pinto beans, evaporated milk.

Oh! [laughs] Crawfish!

I got the Save Box and I got crawfish?

Hello.

I've never even seen a crawfish.

I think this is collard greens.

I'm Italian, so Southern comfort
is totally out of my element.

Okay, um...

I don't know what I'm doing.

What do you got over there, Leanna?

[Leanna] I got buttermilk, catfish.

I got fried green tomatoes and peaches.

[sighs] Oh my God!

I've spent $8,000 on the Spend Box,
and it was worth every penny.

[claps] Let's do this.

[Jordan] Okay, we have
all our proteins on the table.

Tiff with crawfish from her Save Box,

Justin with his soft-shell crab
from his Surprise Box,

and Leanna with catfish
from her Spend Box.

Get it going.

[laughs]

I have a cornucopia of Southern items,

so I am making fried catfish
with fried green tomatoes.

It is an absolute honor to be cooking
a Southern dish for Chef Melba,

but it's also incredibly intimidating.
This is the queen of Southern food!

Like, you have to come correct.

What up, Chef?

-Now...
-[Melba] Yes?

Tell me about the origin
of Southern comfort food.

When you're talking
about Southern comfort food,

you're talking about food
with a rich, rich history.

-Back in the days, during sl*very...
-Yeah.

-Let's keep it real, okay?
-Yeah.

On the plantation,

the food that the sl*ves
were given was the worst.

It was the garbage food.
And we had to take that food

and prepare it in a way
so that it was nutritious and delicious.

When I was out there
with the home cooks, I saw catfish,

but in the Spend Box.

Well, because when you're talking
about Southern comfort food...

-Mm-hmm.
-...catfish is our steak.

I noticed, and actually,
I think I smelled,

that you're working
on something delicious.

So there wasn't a time
that my mother had dinner

that she did not enjoy sweet potatoes.

And she would finish them off
with some cinnamon, brown sugar.

[laughs]

-Bye! See you.
-See you soon.

[bouncy electronic music plays]

-Leanna, do you have butter?
-No, I... I don't have butter.

When I hear Southern comfort,
I think biscuits, I think cornbread.

So my dish needs butter.

We're gonna have to make this work.

I don't know how you make
a Southern box with no butter.

With the Surprise Box,
I'm not really sure what to do here.

So I start cutting open these okra

and I'm thinking,
"Oh, these are kind of gummy inside."

"Gummy, gummy..." Gumbo!
That's where I'm heading.

I'm actually going to use some
of these beans as a substitute for rice.

For crunch, I was thinking
of doing tempura on the soft-shell.

Soft-shell crabs,
I know you can eat the shells,

so I'm going to deep-fry them.

It's exotic, it's exciting,

but I need something to flavor my gumbo.

If I don't get anything
in this auction like last time,

my gumbo's just going to taste
like salty soft-shell crab water.

[driving music plays]

Got to prep these while I'm thinking
about what I'm going to make.

That is step one, I believe.

So the honest truth is
I don't know what I'm gonna make.

[tense rock music plays]

I haven't even touched
these ingredients before,

but I got the Save Box,

so I am ready to spend, spend, spend
when those auction ingredients come out.

Go big or go home.

[pulsing electronic music plays]

[Leanna] Something's coming, y'all.

Give it to me!

[bold music plays]

And I'm hoping something under there
is gonna give me some direction.

[Leanna] I see these cloches
coming down the conveyor belt

and all I'm thinking is butter!

-Home cooks, who's up for another auction?
-Yes!

[Jordan] First item is the Holy Trinity.

Celery, onion, and green bell peppers.

The classic Creole combo.

[Justin] For this gumbo to work,
I need aromatics.

So the Holy Trinity,
this is perfect for my dish.

-Do I have $1,000?
-[Justin] 1,000.

Do I have $1,200?

-$1,200 to Tiff.
-1,200.

-1,400.
-1,400 going to Justin.

-1,600.
-1,600!

-$2,000.
-$2,000.

-Do I have $2,400?
-$2,400!

$2,400!

-2,800.
-[Jordan] $2,800!

-[chimes]
-$3,000.

-[Jordan] $3,000.
-Whoo!

-That's 35.
-$3,500 going to Justin!

-Let's go, Justin!
-Justin! Wow!

[Jordan] Do I have $4,000?

-No!
-Going once, $3,500 going twice.

Sold for $3,500 to Justin.

Big money, big money.

I am always on the lookout
for the best investment and this was it.

The next item up for auction is...

buttermilk buns.

-Oh, man.
-Do I have $1,000?

-[chimes]
-I'll give you $1,000.

Okay. $1,000 going once,

$1,000 going twice.

-Sold to Tiff.
-[Tiff] Whoo!

Okay, that changes things.

Okay, for this next item up for auction,

this was made personally
by Chef Melba Wilson.

What?!

Roasted sweet potatoes,

and they're here for you at $1,000.

-[chimes]
-$1,000, do I have $1,200?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah!
-[chimes]

Oh, my goodness!

Do I have $1,500?

-[chimes]
-$1,500 from Leanna.

-Do I have $1,800? $1,800.
-$1,800.

-All right, I'm out, I'm out.
-$1,800 going once.

Going twice.

-Sold to Tiff.
-Whoo!

[Tiff] Leanna, you thought
you were hurting me with that Save Box,

but I am making it rain
and I'm buying every item I can.

Okay, home cooks,

the next item up for bid,
I'm actually not going to reveal.

What?

It's something that everyone knows
is truly Southern comfort,

and believe me, I'm a chef.
I know what I'm talking about.

I'm gonna start the bid $1,000.

-[Tiff] $1,000.
-[chimes]

-Do I have $1,200?
-1,200.

-[Jordan] $1,200 from Justin.
-$1,400.

$1,400 from Tiff. Do I have 16?

-Yeah.
-Oh, 1,600 from Justin.

Do I have $1,800?

-[laughs] $1,800.
-$1,800 Tiff.

Do I have 2,000?

-You do. 2,000.
-$2,000 going to Justin. Do I have 2,400?

-You do have 2,400.
-2,400 going to Tiff.

-2,800?
-[chimes]

-2,800, Leanna! What?
-[all exclaim]

Last minute, I decided to throw my hat
in the ring, because what if it is butter?

-$3,500?
-Yeah.

-$3,500! Let's go, Tiff!
-[Leanna exclaims]

[Tiff] At this point,
I am on a shopping spree.

I am taking, I am picking,
I'm going to use it.

$3,500 going once,

$3,500 going twice, sold!

Tiff, here's what you bought for $3,500.

Butter and grits, baby.

-Oh!
-[Tiff] Baby, baby!

-I told you! I told you it was worth it!
-[Leanna yells]

God dang it, it's butter!

I'm so pissed.

She got the butter!

[Tiff] Oh! First time cooking grits.

I'm gonna make this happen.

I just spent $7,800 at this auction.

I need to figure out what I'm going to do.

You got any ideas yet?

[Tiff] And I got these buns.

I see these buttermilk buns
and I think, "I can do crawfish sandwich."

And the beans, I think,
can go with any kind of vegetable.

And the collard greens are pretty soft.

I want to add some substance to it.

So, my sides are beans
and collard greens and grits.

And then with Chef Melba's
beautiful sweet potatoes,

I'm making some chips in the deep fryer.

They're going to add
a whole other texture to this plate.

Picnic in the South
with Tiff this weekend.

[Leanna and Tiff laugh]

[Leanna] I'm pretty comfortable
with Southern flavors.

I've been in the South for 17 years,

and, you know,
I've learned a thing or two.

The secret to perfect fried green tomatoes
is starting with great tomatoes,

well seasoned flour, oil that's to temp.

[groovy rock music plays]

[upbeat music plays]

[Jordan] What is this?

-Oh-h*-h*-h*!
-[Justin] More stuff?

[Jordan] A bonus auction?

All right, home cooks.
For this bonus auction item,

I have an ingredient for you
that could elevate all of your dishes,

Melba's Cajun Spice Blend.

-Oh!
-[Tiff] Whew!

This is going to be a buy-in,

so each of you can have one of these

for $1,500 if you want to buy.

Go ahead and buzz in if you would like to.

[all chiming]

And take it. It's yours.

[percussive music plays]

Ooh, that's spicy. I like it.

I am using Chef Melba's Cajun seasoning
on everything.

I'm putting it in the collard greens,
in the crawfish.

It's good and I need
to season everything up.

[Justin] Gonna use Melba's spices here
to give it a bit of that Cajun vibe.

This spice blend has some
amazing Cajun flavors.

Chef Melba, this is perfect.

[suspenseful music plays]

Home cooks, you have five minutes left.

I need to be a little bit more delicate
with this fish before I break it.

The catfish comes out exactly how I want.

When it comes to sticking to the theme,

I know I've nailed that.

Everything about catfish
and fried green tomatoes is Southern.

Come on, now.

Okay, yeah.
You're burning, you're burning.

[gasps]

Yeah, you did that.

Well, my top buns are burning.

Oh, my goodness.

I've spent a lot of money on these buns

and I'm going back and forth.
Should I use them? Should I not?

It's an open-faced sandwich.

I have no regrets on the money
I've spent on these ingredients

and I hope it's elevated enough
for Chef Melba.

[Jordan] Sixty seconds left.
Remember, get your plates on the line

and hit the red button
before time runs out.

[Justin] This is not your everyday gumbo.
This has soft-shell crab, beans,

but I'm worried Chef Melba's going
to think it's not authentic enough.

[Jordan] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...

-[chimes]
-[Jordan] ...five, four...

-[chiming]
-[Jordan] ...three, two,

one. All done! Good job, home cooks.

-Well done.
-[Justin] Good job.

[Leanna] We survived, y'all. We survived.

[buzzer chimes]

[tense music plays]

[sighs heavily]

It looks delicious. I am so excited.

-[Jordan] You want to dig in?
-I sure do.

Here we have a fried catfish

and fried green tomatoes
with a peach sauce.

[intriguing instrumental
hip-hop music plays]

So we have a saying, "So good
makes you want to smack your mama."

-[laughs]
-Okay?

Damn!

The catfish and the fried green tomatoes
exudes Southern comfort.

And the catfish, well-seasoned and tender.

But we have fried here, fried there.

Would've been nice
to add a little freshness.

-Mm-hmm.
-I would have loved

something a little citrusy.

You need some vibrancy,
something to lighten up the dish.

And the sauce could have been
a little more presentable.

I think it's just laid on the plate.

-Yes.
-This is a Spend Box.

It's about presentation and flavor.

-Okay. Ready for the next one, Chef?
-I sure am.

[Jordan] In front of you, you have
an open-faced crawfish sandwich,

grits, beans, and collard greens.

And your mother's sweet potatoes
that have been transformed into chips.

Being a Southern girl,
I grew up eating grits all the time.

Darn.

I think the grits, definitely a hit.

And, oh my God!
My mom's roasted sweet potatoes!

Oh, my God. Do you see that crunch?

-A little caramelization on the outside.
-Oh, my God. Beautiful.

It was a good buy.

It was a great buy.

And upgrade on the bun!

-A lot of upgrades was spent on this, huh?
-Yes.

This home cook was a big spender
at the auction.

You think everything
was utilized properly?

I think that the crawfish
should've been the star of this dish.

-Crawfish, there's not a lot of meat.
-[Jordan] Yeah.

So to have a big bun
with a small amount of crawfish?

[Jordan] Mmm.

So I think it's a lot of money spent
and underutilized.

-Are you ready for the next one?
-I am.

[Jordan] This is Southern-style gumbo
with pinto beans

topped with tempura-fried soft-shell crab.

Mmm!

You know what?
These navy beans are hitting home.

I would not have thought
of using the beans instead of rice.

-Mm-hmm.
-Genius.

Also this tempura-style soft-shell crab
was really divine.

The texture is driving me insane,

and the fact that the okra
was stewed into the gumbo.

It's making me real happy,
but everything is heavy.

We have the gumbo, then crab on top.

It would have been really nice
to have some contrast in this dish.

Mm-hmm.

But this dish is delivering
in flavor and creativity.

Great job.

Lot of tough decisions here.
So do you have a winner?

I know which one hit home for me.

[bold suspenseful music plays]

Y'all ready?

-Yeah! I think so.
-Ready.

One of you is about to go home
with all the cash left in your bank.

But first, I'd like to introduce you
to our guest chef and judge,

queen of American Southern comfort food,

Chef Melba Wilson.

-[all cheer]
-[Leanna] Oh, my God!

[Jordan] Ow! Yes! Yes!

-Yes.
-Whoo!

Okay, let's get to the results.

[suspenseful music playing]

Now, which home cook made the catfish?

That would be me.

[Melba] The catfish
was cooked to perfection!

But I would have liked
to have seen a better presentation.

And who made
the open face crawfish sandwich?

That was me.

Your plate really had a lot of color
and some great flavor,

but the crawfish should have been
the star of the dish,

and it wasn't.

Justin, that leaves you.

So you must have made the Southern gumbo
with the soft-shell crab.

Your take on gumbo
was really, really creative,

but your plate,
it really needed a bit more contrast.

So now it's time
to find out who's going home

with all the money left in their bank.

Leanna, you have $9,600 left in your bank.

Tiff, you have $8,998.

And Justin, you have the largest amount
remaining with $9,749.

The home cook with the best dish is...

[music intensifies]

Justin.

-No way!
-[cheering]

Let's go!

[laughing]

Thank you for that surprise.

[all laugh]

Congratulations, Justin.
You have now won $9,749.

[Tiff] Whoo!

Thank you, thank you.

Justin, your use of the ingredients
were really, really superb.

-The flavors brought me home.
-Thank you.

I don't think there's a better compliment

than somebody telling you
your dish is amazing.

From a professional chef,
that's just next level.

Justin, you took all of the surprises
that came your way today

and proved that you could
cook at all costs.

-Good job, man.
-Thank you.

-Thank you.
-[applauding]

[Tiff] I'm really happy for Justin

and I will never go on a real life
shopping spree like I did today,

but it was sure fun to play.

I may not have won today,

but knowing that I cooked
a great meal for Chef Melba Wilson,

that sealed the deal for me.

[Justin] This whole experience
has helped me realize

that I'm a great cook,
I can develop flavors

and it gave me a lot more confidence
in the kitchen.

[upbeat soulful music plays]