♪ Saltfish is sweeter than anything ♪
♪ Saltfish, my saltfish sweet ♪
(rhythmic Caribbean music)
- My name is Eustacia MacDougal
and I am reppin' Trinidad and Tobago.
- My name is Donna Weeks
and I am from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
- My name is Bernice
and I am from the sweet country of Guyana.
- Saltfish is a Caribbean dish.
- It's made from different types of fish.
It is popular
because it is a dish that could be easily done.
- You could eat saltfish whenever you want
'cause it's also something light on the stomach too, now.
Don't forget that part.
(rhythmic Caribbean music)
- There are keys to making saltfish.
You have to be sure that it is boiled
and it is soaked to make sure of the salt content.
Guyanese saltfish is the best
because there is a key ingredient to it.
You have the wiri wiri pepper, shallot, and your tomatoes.
I am going to win today
because,
as the greatest calypsonian said,
his name is Sparrow,
♪ Saltfish is sweeter than anything ♪
♪ Saltfish, my saltfish sweet ♪
- Well.
Whoa.
- This is too much food to pair with saltfish.
We have spinach.
We have saltfish.
We have avocado.
We have provision.
We have bake.
That is too much.
- Oh the smell is not too bad.
Smells sour.
It smells like, oh, I know what it smell like.
I get it.
The food was going old.
So this is probably, maybe.
(record scratches)
I don't know. Sorry.
Do I have to really eat this?
It's no way.
I mean, I guess it was a nice gesture, but hell to the no.
- Okay.
(inhales deeply)
- Woo sah.
And they buy the wrong blasted fish with bones.
(laughs) Oh my God!
- It's dry. There's no flavor to me.
I'm tasting dry saltfish.
- Oh, the saltfish was boiled too much.
So it don't even have the little salt in it.
And it very dry.
Like I said, you have to use a little bit of Goya oil.
You understand?
Because the oil in the saltfish is supposed to make
the rest of the food moist.
Everything just dry.
It definitely look like something from purged the dog food.
(dogs bark)
- The saltfish have no flavor, no oil.
I like should always have onions in your saltfish.
And I'm not seen onions at all.
I'll give it a five.
- Definitely a four.
This food is bland, no taste at all.
And then they have the nerve to give you a rotten tomatoes.
These people are too much.
'Cause of that right there,
it definitely dropped to a two and a half.
- I've been cooking saltfish for my family
for a very, very long time.
Starting from with my mom,
moving on to getting married, with my children.
They love my saltfish.
And now I own a cafe, Lips Cafe,
in the heart of the Caribbean culture.
Everyone come to the cafe, love my saltfish.
And when they leave,
they said it's the best saltfish they ever had.
I'm gonna win because my saltfish is the best.
I create my own recipe for my saltfish.
The way I cook my saltfish, the way I sorted my vegetables,
is different from anyone else saltfish,
so I know I am going to win.
- Okay. I like this presentation.
Nice gesture.
- It smells appetizing.
It looks appetizing.
- Okay. The smell is good.
I definitely like the smell.
I love how they make they fry bake.
Definitely nice and soft.
Oh Lord Jesus, help.
(Windows error sound plays)
Damn it.
I know when stuff look good.
It's a frigging setup.
Like I said, so first of all, I'm gonna win.
Bottom line is I'm gonna win.
I don't care what these people say.
- A whole lot of ingredients here
that's overpowering the actual saltfish.
It need a little more spiciness, a little hot pepper.
- This is very bland, right?
They boiled out all the damn salt, like I said.
They look like they add peppers in it.
They didn't even cut up the peppers properly.
Well, I am done with tasting. (laughs)
This wasn't good.
I have no doubt in my mind I'm going to win.
I'm sorry. I had to.
- A little bit oily,
and moist.
The saltfish is okay.
I would've left out most of this,
the peppers that she put in it.
There's so much peppers.
- So I have a dog named Sparky
(dog barks)
and he will definitely enjoy this.
Probably not.
Not even pigs will eat this.
This food is not good. I am sorry.
- Rating the saltfish from one to ten,
I would give it a six and a half.
- I want you to taste my saltfish
and give me your honest opinion.
You don't even have to tell me, email it to me.
(hosts laugh)
Cause this is garbage.
And so is the other one.
I might give it a four or a five.
Okay. So let's talk about saltfish.
First of all,
saltfish is a meal that is supposed to only be prepared
by my country, Trinidad.
(air horn blows)
Let's just clearly get that out the way.
What makes Trini saltfish the best?
Let me see.
For so many reason, our food, our music,
and of course our sweet T&T women.
What you want me say?
That is how it is. We could cook good.
- This saltfish seems pretty.
It looks the way it's supposed to look.
- First of all, having a plate of saltfish
with
some, this look like bananas.
This doesn't look like plantains.
It's not appetizing.
The salt, too salt.
- I don't like the dumpling.
No, I'm gonna try to swallow it.
Hmm.
Hmm. It's gone. Thank God.
To me, the dumpling have no salt.
And then the saltfish is too salty.
So I'm not sure if that's why the dumpling have no salt,
so that when you bring it together, it kind of, you know.
- If I had to make the saltfish,
I make sure that I flavor.
Flavor the banana and the dumpling.
Put a little more kick into it.
- I don't like the dumpling. I like the banana.
And the saltfish, again, to me, it's too salty.
But,
I'll give this a six.
- On a scale of one to ten, I'll give this a four,
because of the salt content of the saltfish.
It's very oily
and the bananas and the dumpling,
it's flavorless.
You eat a large amount of this,
definitely send your pressure up.
(drum roll plays)
You win some, you lose some.
Everybody cannot win.
But at the same time
they did not get the right taste of my saltfish.
- I figured that
it was a lot of bitter people was doing the judging.
So hey,
it is what it is.
I know those people can't cook better than me
because guess what?
I work for a catering company.
And I'm well known all over the world.
So whoever won, good riddance to you,
but I know your food wasn't good at all.
- I know I was going to win the best saltfish,
'cause I know my saltfish is the best.
I did it.
I won.
My saltfish is the best.
(outro guitar music)