(electronic music)
- [Ben] This is Amethyst Ganaway,
award-winning chef, (camera clicks)
food writer, and Charleston native.
And in 48 hours, we were going to be cooking our version
of a southern dish for her to judge.
We were already 24 hours in,
learning everything we could
about Charleston's history and food scene.
However, there was still so much more for us to explore,
taste, and discover
in order for us to impress the chef.
- You have to get this right. (electronic music stops)
(classical music)
- On the tour, we learned about Philip Simmons,
a blacksmith from the Gullah community.
He gained global respect for his decorative iron works.
And in the city of Charleston,
there are 500 of his masterpieces, at least,
including this one, with the heart in the gate.
Welcome to gate hunters. (rock music)
Wrought iron gates.
Beautiful example of gate within a gate.
This bird gate is art.
Curious lattice gate with things, and spikes, and things.
Some more intricate than others.
There must be more in the area. I can feel it!
Found one! It's an Irish heart.
Another one.
Izzy, stay there! There might be something in here.
Oh, look!
Such a fruity example.
Another fine example of a gate.
Everywhere you look,
more gates! (rock music stops)
(upbeat music) After all that excitement,
it was time to refuel.
Ebbers headed over to Sorghum and Salt
for some twist on classic Charleston dishes.
(upbeat music continues)
Here we go again. (glasses clink)
There's one thing I would say about the local breweries.
Damn delicious.
First up, nectarine, cashew, and pickled peppers.
I'm kind of excited for this one.
Beautiful, juicy, seasonal fruit.
And then, clever spicing with a pickled pepper as well.
This is kind of exciting.
Southern local ingredients
turned into something you've never seen before.
Peanut marshmallow, collard green, kimchi.
And then, a crumb made from sesame seeds and ancho pepper.
(upbeat music continues)
No words. Izzy, try that.
Another example of fruit that's perfectly seasonal,
wonderfully Southern, but with a different and fusion twist.
A masala vinegarette, feta cheese, shiso leaf,
and sea bean, albeit we would call that sand fire,
over beautifully white watermelon.
That is a taste sensation.
So this is unicorn grits.
It's a combination
of Jimmy red corn and blue corn, combined,
with 20-hour cooked pork shoulder
that's been cooked in Carolina spices.
And it is sensational.
Such a great recommendation of a place.
Sorghum and Salt pays such respect to the ingredients.
The flavours are incredible.
The plating is beautiful.
But my biggest takeout
is a phrase that they have coined, "locavore".
That is someone who eats a diet predominantly
of locally produced ingredients.
And the great thing about Charleston
is you've got the farms,
you've got the local breweries,
you've got access to the creeks and the ocean.
It is just abundant with local ingredients.
What a meal.
Problem is, a whole day or two of inspiration.
And whilst we've got ideas of how to make good food,
can we make excellent food?
Let's find the boys to find out.
(upbeat music fades out) (air whooshes)
(funk music)
- We all met up at Bitty and Beau's coffee shop
to speak with Dee Dee
to find out about the incredible work that they do.
(funk music continues)
- Bitty and Beaus are siblings with Down Syndrome.
And their mom, Amy,
made it possible to make a coffee shop
run by people with disabilities.
I'm a barista. Make both hot drink and cold drink.
- [Ben] And what about the food?
- Ooh, the food is the bomb. (group laughs)
I mean, trust me. Believe me.
We started doing cake pops this year,
and
it is so good.
It's like fireworks put into your mouth.
(Ben laughs)
- [Ben] We definitely wanted one of those.
But first, coffee and planning our dish.
- Why don't we just take everything we've learned
and do a...
- Homage? - A homage.
- I think, actually,
green fried tomatoes have been on every menu.
- Fried tomato, plus a jammy thing.
- Like pickled watermelon. We had quite a bit watermelon.
- Could we put the watermelon in the jam?
Instead of fruit.
- He's doing the thing that he does,
where he just says... - It'll taste red.
(Ben and Mike laugh) - Yeah.
- Who's taking responsibility
for each section? - Shall I write
a smart shopping list? (group laughs)
Yeah, we should actually write some shopping list.
- [Ben] Before we left,
there was one last thing we needed to see.
- Okay. So the red dots and the papers are people are from.
And then, the yellow dots are the franchise locations.
- We've gotta add a London to that, surely.
Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
(hands clap) (Dee Dee giggles)
(funk music continues)
(funk music stops) (upbeat music)
- [Ben] It was time to head to Charleston City Market
to pick up some local ingredients.
Opening in the 1790s,
the market occupies over four blocks
of single-story buildings
and is known as one of the South's
most vibrant and historic locations.
(upbeat music continues)
After getting lost in the enormous labyrinth
of local memorabilia and delicious ingredients,
we paid-up and headed to our B&B,
where we would put everything
we'd bought and learnt to use.
- Boys. (laughs)
This is gonna be okay. - Oh nice!
- This is lovely. - Look at that!
- Something like this, for sure.
- [Ben] How sweaty are your hands?
- I wanna leave.
- Right. We've got all of our ingredients.
The house that we've rented,
we've turned up,
and it actually looks like the photos online,
which is brilliant!
And it's got a fully stocked kitchen,
so we can actually get on
with everything that we need to do.
So the one thing that we are missing for our dish is sherry.
And I've been sent on a mission to find it.
They didn't have it in the supermarket
where we got the ingredients from.
They didn't have it in the off-license across the road.
They don't have it in the Tippling Bar,
which looks like an amazing wine bar.
But, Matthew, the owner of Tippling Bar,
has given me a recommendation for a restaurant just up here.
I've gotta see if they've got it.
Ugh, this... This is gonna be the finishing piece.
Hello. I've got a really random request.
- [Speaker] Okay.
- [Jamie] I was wondering if I could get a glass of sherry
to take away.
Success!
(air whooshes) Boys,
I have sherry!
- It looks like you're off to the doctors with a sample.
- Ah, I can't believe this is actually happening.
- Mike, you can tell Ebbers is cooking for another chef
'cause all I can smell is butter.
- (laughs) Yep.
Nice. - Look...
Look, I think she-crab soup,
French quarter is gonna be butter.
Then, it's gonna be mirepoix,
onion, garlic, celery,
carrot, bay leaves, very important.
And then, once that's sweated down,
stock, cream, crab, or finish with sherry.
- I'm setting up the panné station.
Woo woo! We've got seasoned flour,
eggs cracked into a bowl, breadcrumbs.
And into the breadcrumbs,
we're putting this.
Gullah seasoning from the market in downtown.
And when we asked Edna
what her very special blend of seasonings were,
she said this is a bit of every spice
that is on the table that is left over
after everything's been bagged up.
This is Gullah seasoning,
making the most of what is there.
Love that!
(upbeat music continues)
- I am on tomato duty.
So I have sliced our green tomatoes to a finger thickness
because we're gonna panné those and then fry them.
So many of the menus in Charleston had fried green tomatoes.
We loved the combo we had in 82 Queen
with the bacon and the tomato jam.
And we're gonna serve those
with an amazing tangy watermelon and tomato relish.
- You're showing your normal-ness
by sitting down as you cook. - [Mike] Yeah, it's true.
- (laughs) You ever seen a chef sit down and cook?
- Lazy.
- I'm really hoping (knife chopping)
that the watermelon is super sweet. And we might have-
- [Mike] 'Cause you forgot to buy sugar?
- [Ben] I forgot to buy sugar.
We might have to go back out and get some sugar.
(Mike laughs)
- I wonder who's gonna have to do that?
- [Ben] Boys, we're gonna be right.
Our watermelon's brilliant.
- [Mike] Is it sweet?
- [Ben] Mm. - [Mike] Good.
- Relish is an all-in-one method
(watermelon thuds) with our local watermelon,
red tomatoes, shallot, garlic,
apple cider vinegar, and mustard seed.
Homage to the tomato and bacon sauce, or jam,
that we had at 82 Queen.
The smoked tomato caramel we had at Crew Cafe
and so many of the inspired ideas from Sorghum and Salt.
Boil it all down
for about an hour.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Mike] Tomato testing time.
(spoon thuds)
- We're testing for tomato panné and seasoning.
- Cheers. - Panné seems good mate.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Mike] Yeah. Single panné. - Single panné.
No salt on top.
More seasoning in the breadcrumbs.
- Sounds like a plan.
They are amazing, aren't they? Wow!
This is gonna be good!
Heavy cream, plus some water, plus our crab,
all going into the softened veg.
The bedrock of so many dishes in Charleston and our dish
is gonna be grits.
But we've chosen this.
It's a blend of different corn,
including the Jimmy Red corn,
which we know is an ancient grain
that's kind of had its revival.
So, that, we're gonna make pretty simply,
just with water base and cook out.
But then, we're gonna run through it
a really creamy she-crab soup.
So without thickening that with roux,
combine the two, we should end up something delicious.
Has anyone ever made this before?
- No. It's opposite to risotto.
Add the liquid first, and then slowly add the grits.
- [Ben] Oh!
- I've never taught a chef how to cook a recipe before.
- [Ben] (laughs) You're not teaching him.
You're reading from a book! (Mike laughs)
I'm teaching him the recipe. He doesn't know the recipe.
- I think, we want about a four to one ratio
of grits to liquid.
- [Jamie] Okay. - But no scale.
Just good luck.
(upbeat music stops) (Mike laughs)
- Worked out a solution to Ebber's challenge.
We don't have any measuring cups,
but we need to measure a very exact ratio
of our grits to our liquid.
Enter the blender, which has measurements on it.
I've added the grits bit by bit,
and now, I'm stirring continuously until I thicken.
But seeing this is the first time I've done it,
I've got absolutely no idea if it's right.
- The Jimmy Red corn that we learned about
gives off a really nutty, toasty flavour.
So when combined with the white and yellow grits,
we're hoping it really comes through
and really pays tribute to the revived Jimmy Red Corn
that we learned everything about.
- [Ben] How we do for time, boys?
- [Jamie] Ah, always good. (laughs)
- He just picked up my tomato.
He goes, "These look really good, actually."
Actually? (group laughs)
- I didn't emphasise the "actually".
I said, "These actually just look really good."
- He may also set down his breast,
so he really meant it. (Jamie laughs)
- Look, as I say,
I've just never seen anyone cook sat down.
(Mike laughs)
I've had an idea, boys, for garnish.
These carrots come with amazing carrot tops,
so we should dress it with some iced carrot tops
as well as our pickled sea bean.
- [Mike] Love that.
That is a great idea. - [Ben] Excellent.
- Grits have been resting.
Whoa, they're so thick.
- That looks better.
- Yeah? - They're not cooked yet.
But... - No.
- You have to get this right.
- I'm most nervous about the grits
because none of us - [Ben] Me too.
'Cause that's your bit. - have ever cooked it.
- What? What'd you mean?
What? - Well,
I've done the she-crab soup and the tomato chutney.
Mike's done the fried green tomatoes.
The grits is your bit. (laughs)
- I'm really nervous about the grits.
(Jamie laughs)
- So Amethyst has just arrived.
Mike's asking her a load of questions now.
She's lovely.
But I also saw her switch a little bit
when she told us not to screw this up.
And I'm quite worried now.
(electronic music)
(air whooshes)
- Should we talk you through it?
- Yes, please.
- So what we have here is Brits make grits.
- Okay!
- We've got she-crab (air whooshes)
soup grits. - [Amethyst] All right, now.
- [Ben] With fried green tomato
coated in Gullah seasoning,
and then, a tomato and watermelon relish.
- [Amethyst] Okay. - [Ben] Sea bean, carrot tops,
and a nice sweet tea. (air whooshes)
- Now, also, we got some bowl of peanuts.
Am I allowed to talk about those?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- [Jamie] Mhm. - [Amethyst] Yeah.
Off the top,
I'm wondering why there ain't no chilli flakes on there.
(tape rewinds) (Mike laughs)
That's one thing I'm looking for.
But, not everybody likes them spicy, you know?
- Well, you gotta play to the crowd. We don't know.
Like you... - That's true.
- I can't make excuses.
(group laughs) - No, no, I don't know.
- [Ben] Dig in.
- All right. I gotta go for the grits first.
The grits slap! (Mike gasps and claps)
- That's what we wanted to hit.
- Did you wash these grits first?
So, it's not a major step, right?
But with most stone ground grits,
especially if you're using very local Charleston grits,
you wanna rinse 'em first.
The same way that you would rinse rice.
They're extremely starchy.
- [Ben] Mhm. - [Jamie] Right.
- Right? But also, more importantly,
a lot of the little flakes
are the hull in the husk of the corn.
And it'll rise to the top
and you can skim them - [Ben] You can scoop
those off. - off the top.
- Oh, yeah.
- Not a bad thing. Not a bad thing.
I think it adds some nice texture to it.
I am a firm believer in water,
butter, salt, and pepper in my grits.
But I think the addition of the she-crab soup
really plays well, actually,
with the natural flavour of the grits in here.
So I think you guys did really good that one.
- Ooh.
I'm gonna try this separate. - [Ben] Oh.
- Okay.
- Cross between a ketchup and a relish.
We couldn't decide on the word.
- Don't use ketchup! (group laughs)
It's nice and sweet.
Tomatoes are cooked perfectly.
I like the seasoning on the tomatoes.
Did you put cornmeal on them?
- No. - No.
- Ah, no. Good. - Breadcrumbs.
- So I mean, that would be the one thing.
That I like that y'all did this a little different.
Cause usually, traditionally, you won't just...
You'll see fried green tomatoes have a little flour,
you dredge 'em, flour, you know?
And then you deep fry 'em.
I like the breadcrumbs even better
than I would like corn meal.
It's fantastic.
Y'all make me happy! - (laughs) Yes!
(group cheers and claps)
- You kept us tenterhooks for so long. (laughs)
- This is good!
- Ben, if this comes crashing down
because of your iced tea... (Ben giggles)
- You need some more sugar here.
- More sugar?
Hell, yeah!
You need some more sugar. (group laughs)
- I'm worried for your blood sugar levels. (laughs)
- Final judgement . Brits or grits?
- You're getting two thumbs up.
- Two thumbs up. (Mike claps)
(group claps)
- Well done, boys.
And thank you.
- You've heard it here first. - Well done.
Thank you so much.
- I also wanted to put the plate
on top of of something wrought iron
in celebration of Phillip Simmons
and all of the gates around the city,
which I have loved hunting down.
- [Amethyst] Yeah. (group chuckles)
- But he did just take that from the stove top.
Just so know. (group laughs)
- I'm like,
"It's a nice little stand.
I might need me one of these." - It's the thought
that counts!
And I think you really were able to grasp
so many aspects of what Charleston
and Lowcountry cuisine really mean.
More importantly,
you guys shed light
and really did justice to the ingredients.
What I think is the most important part
of what our cuisine is really about
is just letting the food shine on its own.
That was good. - Excellent.
(group claps) - Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you guys!
- You're a hero. - I'm a hero?
I'm a she-ro.
- She-ro. - She-ro.
- Yeah.
- [Ben] We loved our time in Charleston
and we're so happy to have met such incredible
and welcoming people.
Over the past 48 hours,
we learned so much about a city
with such rich culture and history.
Charleston really had delivered.
(electronic music)
And to get positive feedback from Amethyst,
well in our eyes at least,
it was mission complete.
(electronic music continues)
(electronic music fades out)