(claps) ♪ Hallelujah ♪
- That's what we talking about.
Aye.
Okay. (bell dings)
♪ Hallelujah ♪
- Hello, I'm Tori.
I'm Baptist and I go to Mt. Hebron in Connecticut.
- Hi, my name is Natacha Supplice Henry.
I'm a Christian baptized.
- Hi, my name is Katrina.
I am Baptist and I go to the Abyssinian Baptist Church.
(whooshing)
- I am a bedside Baptist. (record scratching)
- I skipped some Sunday.
I have to be honest.
- I'm not one of the by the book Christians.
So I would say a bedside Christian.
- I like to brunch on Sunday.
So sometimes I miss service,
but I love the Lord.
(laughing)
(whooshing) - Fish fry for me.
Since my background is from Haiti.
We love fish.
- Started back in the slavery days,
where they would have their day off from the field.
Working on the fields and they would go fishing.
(happy melody)
(whooshing)
- People call me chef Tasha.
If you know any Caribbean friends,
first thing we do when we get the fish,
we clean the fish.
And after when the fish it's clean,
now you start to put some flavor to it.
I use red snapper fish.
I did not use peanut oil.
I really use vegetable oil.
I didn't bring a side today
because I want you to focus on the fish.
♪ My fish fry taste like heaven ♪
♪ I'm in heaven ♪
(clap sounding) (laughing)
Everyone at my church love it.
It's perfect.
(whooshing) (speaking in foreign language)
Amen.
(whooshing)
- Okay!
- Hmm.
(slow rhythmic music)
- Okay, I smelled the lemon.
Let me take the lemon away.
- So I see a lemon,
a broccoli.
- Okay it looks a little wilted.
Like it done been through some thangs.
(chuckles) All right.
- Isn't an overcooked piece of fish.
- It's not thick enough to be cod.
Maybe like snapper.
- I wanna believe that all people are godly.
So yeah, a godly woman made this plate.
(bell dings)
- It does have texture. It does.
So you could tell like she coated it well.
You can see the different seasonings
and spices that are here.
Interested to try it.
Oh Lord. (music abruptly stops)
(laughing)
- It's okay.
- So the taste is good.
It's just the inside is Dry.
- But it's actually better
than I thought it was gonna be.
- Y'all got some water?
(laughing)
- I'm tasting like paprika I think.
Maybe Old Bay.
I think for the coating,
I think she probably used breadcrumbs.
Doesn't feel flour-ish.
It's a little heavy.
- You could taste like maybe the paprika, some salt.
- There's more fish than breading.
Could have been fried a little less.
- I'm not touching the broccoli.
(laughing)
- I would give this fish a six.
It's good but um,
it's just a little stiff.
- Taste wise I would give it a seven.
It does taste really good.
It is a little peppery.
You can definitely tell
that she is a godly and a virtuous woman.
You can tell that she put love in some soul into this.
(dings)
- So today I prepared boneless fried whiting
and I used peanut oil.
The way I prepared my fish fry is,
I rinsed off the fish
with tap water. (record scratching)
Then I dried it with a paper towel.
Then I put it in my special seasoning.
(mellow classical music)
And then I fried the fish on both sides.
And then put them in the oven for another 10 minutes.
I didn't get the side memo.
But... (chuckles)
it's crunchy,
it's savory,
a little salty.
I'm going to win today because my fish is good.
And I don't need any sides,
by the way.
God is great.
God is good.
Let us thank him for our food.
Amen.
(whooshing)
- Oh.
Okay.
- This fish is swimming solo on this plate.
- This look like a tilapia.
- [Tori] This to me automatically looks like whiting.
Like the shape of it.
- Mm.
Smell good though.
Smell good.
- I see the seasoning.
But I can't really like, smell it.
- [Natacha] Mhm I love this.
It's flaky.
- Look at that flakiness.
Okay, I'll give her that. Okay.
- Mm.
Mm.
- All right,
I'm definitely not rushing for water for this one.
- Something's missing.
- Definitely needs seasoning.
- Where's the flavor?
Come on now.
What's the flavor?
- We need to call on the ancestors. Okay?
We need to call to the ancestors for this one.
- Bringing this to church.
People want to enjoy this.
Where's the flavor?
- So I would've expected like some garnish,
some color, some contrast.
- I need more.
I need more in my plate.
Come on. (laughing)
This is no.
No. Thank you.
Next.
(slow rhythmic music)
- It has a very, very mild flavor.
It really does.
But I feel like if she added a little more,
it could definitely be elevated.
- Like when I just first look at it,
yes, it looked like wow.
I give it a five.
A Five.
- Ima give her a good hardcore six.
(speaking in foreign language)
- No spice. Mm-mm.
(raindrop sounding) (upbeat rhythmic music)
- Traditional southern style fish would be catfish,
your porgy, your whiting.
And today I have porgies. Okay?
It's large and flaky.
It has a sweet flavor to it and it fries really well.
It does have the bones in it,
so you have to be careful.
I have cabbage here mixed with some red peppers,
some turkey bacon cause I don't eat pork.
And then I also have some potato salad.
Now, if your potato salad isn't yellow,
it's not right. Okay?
And then I also have honey cornbread here
with my homemade whipped strawberry butter.
My fish fry is unique, honey.
It is seasoned to perfection
and to the ancestor's liking. Okay?
I mixed mine the traditional old school southern style way.
With yellow cornmeal mixed with a little bit of flour.
And with the seasonings, the herbs, and the spices.
And I'm telling you it is so delicious.
Most high I ask that you please bless this food
and give it the nourishment that we need to survive.
In your son's Christ name.
Amon.
(upbeat music)
(whooshing)
- Oo.
Yes!
Mm-hm.
Mm.
- Oh wow.
- What I see right now I see joy.
(laughing)
Because I love what I see right now on my plate.
- This is a Thanksgiving plate.
And my plate is like a side.
- Smell amazing.
Thank you for the God.
Yes.
- I think that this type of fish is a catfish.
- This really look like a red snapper.
- But I could be getting catfish too.
Like maybe this is not a Christian woman that made this.
- Oh I could smell the lemon juice.
Okay!
- I see cornbread and I see cabbage.
- And a potato salad.
Who don't love a potato salad?
- But I can tell that there's definitely a lot of um,
seasoning on this fish.
And sometimes less is more.
- Okay. Okay.
Nope, come on.
Okay.
What's going on?
- For this one,
there's definitely more crust than fish.
- Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
God just saved my life.
What is? That's a bone!
- I do see bones.
I do.
- Like 1, 2, 3, 4, bone.
Come on!
- Mm mm.
No, it's a no.
Definitely liked the other fish better than this one.
- What's happening here?
No.
- Mm.
I, I, mm.
- No, no, no.
Another bone!
What's going on?!
- This would not go over a well at my house.
- Ay ya yay.
It's good though.
Mm.
Mm! This is yummy!
- No.
No.
- When you bring that to church,
make sure young kids don't eat it.
This is very serious and very dangerous.
- I taste some spices.
I can't put my finger on exactly what it is.
But I don't like it very much.
- The crunchiness, it's there.
Oh yeah.
- I do wanna try this cabbage. (upbeat music)
The cabbage is good.
- This person know how to cook.
- I do wanna try the cornbread.
I like this cornbread.
- This is good.
(laughing)
(clapping)
Thank you God, this is good!
- You see right here?
It's a little burnt.
I don't eat potato salad that much.
No.
♪ I am in heaven ♪
There's the flavor.
- So it's a yes for the cabbage.
It's a yes for the cornbread.
It's a no for the potato salad.
And it's a big no for the fish.
- On a scale of one to ten.
Five for the fish.
But overall,
with the side of beautiful seven, yes.
- The fish alone,
I say like a two,
maybe a three.
I'm a Christian, (bell rings)
so I say a three.
Including the sides,
I would have to give it like a six.
It's like over season.
You don't need that much seasoning for a fish.
♪ Hallelujah ♪
- First thing first,
Thank you God for the gift,
for the blessing!
- I would just like to thank the hands
and the teachings of my late grandmother.
- Is this a joke?
I don't really think I lost.
- All praises to the most high as well
for giving me this talent.
- What next? What next? A book?
Yes, maybe a book.
(giggles)
(classical music continues)
♪ Hallelujah ♪