- My time of laying around and doing nothing is over.
(bowl clatters)
I think when it comes to this meal,
it's definitely something that I've always had growing up.
It's the staple.
Like when my dad was too lazy to cook,
he'd always have like the chicken on the stove,
the rice already ready to go.
Like, it was his go-to
feed the kids before it's too late meal.
It's basically, chicken, so spar and rice,
but I know there's a special word for that
and he'll correct me later.
(speaks Haitian)
you know what?
You guys (indistinct) all hard!
Around this time I would actually be on a family trip,
hanging out with them,
feeling my Haitian culture and because of quarantine,
you know, I can't.
So I have been feeling like I miss my family.
I'm going to be very biased when I say
that my dad's recipe,
it's better than a lot of other people's recipes.
He is my top chef, your top chef may be somebody else.
But my dad is my top chef.
- Part of my culture, mixed with the United State ways.
- Improvise.
- Improvise and alter anything you want.
That's why I call my restaurant Fusion.
- Before we cook anything,
the first thing you have to do is make our marinade
per se, I wanna say that's how American people call it.
My family calls it epis,
It's basically our go to seasoning for everything.
It's like celery, green peppers, a crap ton of garlic,
some shallots and scallions, lemon juice,
and a little bit of chicken bouillon, and that's it.
So we got our mason jar here.
And it has our seasonings,
so we're just gonna put this top,
reduce, reuse, and recycle on these hoes.
So we put that in the fridge
and we have to use that later for the chicken.
While we start the chicken,
we're going to soak the red beans.
So now I'm going to wash this bowl
and then we're going to clean the chicken
with lemon and vinegar.
- In Haiti, majority of the population,
we don't have full time electricity.
So when the people go buy the meat at the market,
it's usually sitting in a table full of flies.
So when you get home, you got to boil the water
and hope you could take all the bacteria off the meat.
Over here, so when you buy the meat,
all you gotta do is put it in vinegar water
and rinse it.
That will eliminate majority of the germs.
- I saw something on Tik Tok.
That's talking about people don't clean their chicken.
Can't relate.
Course wash your hands before and after
dealing with chicken.
Now I'm going to season the chicken.
So this was my favorite part as a kid.
I have the gift.
That's why I had seasoning duties.
And my little sister had the cutting duties.
And then my oldest sister had the cooking duties.
We were sous chefs for our dad.
We don't like no pale chicken in this Louis-Jean household.
Our chicken gotta be a brown as us.
Smells very earthy, very delicious.
I'm putting some of the seasonings,
base that we made earlier onto this chicken,
giving that earthly taste, you know what I'm saying?
Gonna make sure it's doused in salt.
(speaks French)
You know what?
I'm feeling more confident.
Probably 'cause everything smells good.
I think my house smells a little bit more of raw meat.
My time of laying around and doing nothing is over.
I'm tired of cutting.
I'm so tangy, okay.
Tired!
I will properly learn how to cook stuff.
(bowl clatters)
So I finally cook the chicken.
I'm going to check it every 10 minutes,
flip it around and make sure it gets brown.
And then I'm going to boil it.
So the red beams, a little bit Louis-Jean flair,
we add a coconut and smoke turkey neck.
Now we're just going to let it cook.
Then I'll strain it.
And then I'll just have it on a little boil.
It's a little bit nerve wracking because like,
you know when you cook the things
and it's like you can do it perfectly,
but now you're by yourself, like.
Is this even right?
All right, so the beans are finally ready.
So we're going to blend about half of the beans
and then we are going to put it back in the sauce,
give it some seasoning, and then another 20 minutes.
And then it's done baby.
I'm definitely channeling my mom
because she is a rice queen.
She makes the best rice in the freaking world.
Mom, was I supposed to,
was I supposed to let the water boil,
and then I put the rice in?
- [Mom] You can do it either way.
- Can I use the olive oil?
- [Mom] Oh yeah.
We're making sure that the meat is cooked.
This is good, y'all.
Goodbye chicken.
I'm broiling you.
Wifey mode.
Hey babe, how was your day?
I made Haitian food.
Every time I cook something Haitian,
it reminds me of my parents,
and it reminds me of the love that they've instilled in me
for my culture, for who I am,
how I was raised as a Haitian person in this country.
- When the main thing is Haitian food taste good,
- Phenomenal.
- And we doing a great job trying to explore it
and showing it to the world.
And I'll be proud of you putting it out there.
- This meal is just making me feel like I'm back home.
Let's try it.
This definitely tastes very similar to my dad's chicken.
For sure.
It feels orgasmic after spending four hours
in the kitchen cooking.
Tasting your food and eating with your bestie.
I think now I feel inspired to more Haitian food.
And annoy my parents more for recipes.
(calm music)