- This some, this some real artisanal,
(speaker laughs)
real bougie,
it's like gentrification.
(speaker laughs)
- My name is Bethany and I'm representing Jamaica.
- My name is Jeremiah Dominguez.
I'm from the Bronx, New York,
representing Dominican Republic.
(speaking Spanish)
- My name is Camisha.
I'm representing Trinidad and Tobago
and I made fried plantains today.
(acoustic guitar music)
- It's pronounced "plan-tin."
- It's plantain.
Like captain.
Not "plan-tain." Like, (crickets chirping)
I don't know, what's a word that ends in "-ain"?
- It's pronounced "plantano",
but if you're speaking English, it's "plan-tain".
Because it's
plantain.
It's just, that's what it is.
- I like to have fun with my plantains.
I actually like to make them into cups.
Sometimes I will use ackee, like I did today,
or callaloo which is Jamaican spinach.
- Mine's just got the sauce.
Mine's got the seasoning, just the flavor.
Mine's gonna stand out 'cause they hitting.
- I think I'm going to win
because my fried plantains are very simple and traditional.
Just a very ripe plantain
sliced very nicely and fried in some canola oil.
(upbeat Latin music)
- I've been making plantains for a few years now,
but I watched my grandmother making them
for years growing up.
(plate scrapes table)
- Oh, heard you.
- This is super fancy.
This is super fancy.
- Real bougie.
This is like gentrification.
(Speaker laughs)
- It looks like there's meat.
There's a lot going on.
Like, Looks like something that I would see at
like a restaurant.
- Cheese, peppers, onions, chives, mushrooms.
It's all vegan?
- [Producer] Believe it or not, yes.
- Oh, word? Shout out to her.
- It's making me a little weary
'cause then I don't know
what's this on top of here?
- [Producer] Those are oyster mushrooms.
- Okay.
- Oh, this is an island ting.
Definitely an island ting.
I like how it's salted on the bottom.
- All right, let's give it a try.
- Hmm.
Wow.
(fork scratches the plate)
This one is just like
a blast of different flavors and textures.
The plantain is a bit more crunchy, but it's fitting
because it's a bowl so it's holding everything together.
- Okay. So definitely a lot going on.
It kind of looks like
usually like Dominicans will make plantains and they'll like
mush it up and then fry it like,
that's what it looks like.
Like, the cup itself is the plantain.
And then the inside,
I think this is ackee (bell dings)
and I'm not the biggest fan of ackee.
- And then it has the ackee and the jerk mushrooms.
You went crazy.
I love it.
It reminds me of a,
it's a South American dish called 'Patacon'
which is like, it's a plantain
but it's not the sweet plantain.
It's a regular plantain, green, and you cut it up
and fry into like a big patty
and you make it into a sandwich.
So this is kind of like that same concept
just like in a bowl.
So I love it.
- I'm not a fan.
Only because I like my plantains super sweet.
And this plantain kind of tastes like bread.
I feel like I'm eating a whole meal right now.
- It's a 10. She got it.
(Speaker chuckles)
- I'm going to give it a five.
It's just a little bland and it tastes like bread.
Maybe I'm just, that's just what I'm used to.
I'm used to a very nice, sweet plantain.
So yeah.
(music intensifies)
(leaderboard chimes)
- So I've been making fried plantains
for about 10 years now and I just learned
from watching all the women in my family cook.
So it's always been a staple dish in my family.
(plate scraping the table)
(speaker chuckles)
- Okay.
- So I already see like there's some like thyme
and garlic situation
going on here
which is different cause I've never put garlic on plantain.
- I wouldn't be able to tell that this person's vegan.
But, what I will say about vegans is
we like to do a little extra things.
I think I smell some garlic actually.
(Camisha chewing)
Two of them look kind of
like how I wouldn't want to eat plantains.
Because this is the type of plantains
that my mom would force on me
that I didn't like.
This I love. Like the firmness.
Like it has to have that firmness.
- It tastes good.
Like the plantain itself is really sweet,
but it's a lot of garlic.
- If you really love garlic, you probably will like this.
I feel like maybe this person is probably Puerto Rican
or Dominican of some sort.
Because the first time I had plantains
with garlic on it was in Puerto Rico.
- The garlic tastes is kind of slapping me.
I'm not gonna lie.
Definitely tasting the thyme.
See some thyme leaves in there and rosemary.
This is fancy.
- I love garlic, but I feel like
it could have been a little bit less garlic on it.
- It doesn't need all this.
This is a little,
a little extra.
- On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate this a
5.5
- A seven.
I think a little bit less garlic.
Like the garlic is not terrible.
It's giving it a nice
spice.
Just a little too much garlic.
- I would just do less garlic.
There was some pieces that were a little bit overpowering.
(music intensifies)
(leaderboard chimes)
- I've been cooking plantain
for as long as I've been cooking.
Well, I grew up watching my mom make it.
I love plantain.
We eat it for breakfast. We eat it for dinner.
(plate scraping the table)
- Oh, nice.
So, yeah. It's the thin cut.
It's very important.
- It looks good.
Looks like your typical sweet plantains.
- Thin cut, rectangular, traditional maduro.
So these are called, in Spanish,
'Plantano Maduro' because they're more ripe.
So they're sweeter.
- I think it was fried evenly.
I don't really know how people mess up plantains
but, I feel like sweet plantains aren't pretty.
(Speaker laughs)
They all look the same.
- Oh yeah.
Real classic.
Real traditional.
Very good.
Tastes like my childhood.
- It's cold.
I don't know, it's really cold.
I don't think plantains should be eaten cold.
- I could tell this one's a bit more ripe
and it's more sweeter.
So it has that sweeter taste, which is very good
'cause you know, it balances out the dish.
This is usually as a side dish.
So you usually have some rice, some beans.
You know, more salty, fatty foods.
So this is a good balance to that.
- Because I don't like sweet plantains,
I would add salt to this.
Most people probably aren't gonna put salt
on sweet plantains.
I would.
- It's not too mushy, but it's not crispy.
It's like how a plantain's supposed to be.
A perfect balance between soft and crunch,
if that makes sense.
- I would give these like maybe a six and a half.
I don't think they could've done anything differently
because like I said, it's a preference thing.
I'm just not a sweet plantain person.
- These I'd rate a nine.
Like I said, it's just nostalgic.
I'm gonna have another bite.
(fork clangs on plate)
Yeah, definitely a nine.
(music intensifies)
(leaderboard chimes)
(crowd cheering)
- I knew I was gonna win because
look at my plantains.
This is just, listen,
The color? Perfect.
Texture? Perfect.
I just wanna give a big shout out to Trinidad and Tobago.
Shout out to the man that used to come down the street
and bring us all the ripe plantains when I was a kid.
And now I know how to pick a good plantain for everyone.
(upbeat Latin music)