My heart is racing. My palms are sweaty. My mind is racing. I can't believe I made it. I am on guys grocery games, and he's doing an episode specifically for disabled chefs and home cooks. All I heard was I was going to be paired with my favorite judge. I really hope I get paired up with Carl. Carl the Cuban Ruiz. Our energies will totally mingle, and we will make some bomb food. My legs start to shake. I see a bench close by so I sit down. My name hasn't been called yet, so I can rest for now. They put us in this room by the entrance to get us ready with a microphone. Luckily, they were able to put my microphone on my Derek Carr jersey. I told myself I would wear something raider to my first time meeting Guy. He and my wife share the same birthday.
Suddenly, the producer is urging all four chefs forward, closer to the door. My knees are shaking as I lean on my crunch to get up. I made sure to loosen my legs up last night so I could be the chef I have to be while I'm here. I really need this money so I can open up my first restaurant. I can see the name written on The sign above the front door, dragon fire barbecue. The motivation to get that cash pushes me forward, even though my legs are super sore.
After I stand up, I noticed a few familiar faces as my competitors. Of course, my wife is competing as well. She told me if she wins the money, she's giving it to me for the restaurant. Next up is my friend Noralys. I don't know why she needs the money, but she's going down. I don't care if she is a Scorpio. My Sagittarius fire will win. Next step is our friend, Jot. She is completely blind.
When guy calls my name out, I ran as fast as my shaky legs could carry me, yelling out " raider nation, baby!" Turns out, Noralys and Atrice followed suit. Atrice and I wore matching Derek Carr jerseys, and Noralys came in wearing a raiders printed shirt and beanie. Guy was overwhelmed by all the Raiders love. He didn't expect to have three Raiders fans competing who are also visually impaired. When Atrice met him, she told him about the birthday coincidence. His mind was blown. " so you were the girl who's been tweeting me happy birthday along with some guy named Fousey." She nodded, with a big smile on her face. It was time to meet our Partners. Of course, I get paired up with Carl. Jot gets Aarti Sequeira. Atrice gets Damaris Phillips. Noralys ended up with iron chef Alex Guarnaschelli. I guess since she's such a tough woman she needs a tough chef. We are greeted our new partners, and went to our carts. Coral and I clicked right away. When he heard about my cerebral palsy, he told me not to worry about the running. " you head to the station. If I need help with an ingredient I will come to you." Thank you Carl!
For the first round, guy wants us to make our best chicken dish. A lightbulb goes off in my head because I have the perfect idea. I think Carl sees that lightbulb, because he gives my shoulder a squeeze. Then, guy throws his usual curveball at us. We can only use 6 pounds of ingredients. I really have to be careful about what we get. We really have to watch our weight, because that's the name of this game. Guy lets us turn to our partners to brainstorm for a second before sending us off. I told Carl to grab boneless skinless chicken, a couple cans of Dr Pepper, a bottle of barbecue sauce, rice, and some other ingredients to make my famous Dr Pepper barbecue chicken. I can see Carl's mouth watering. When guy sends us off, I hurry up to the station to wait for him. Guy tries to make me run with coral, but Carl put him in his place reminding him it's hard for me to run. A few minutes later, coral comes running in with the ingredients. He grabbed some extra Cuban spices to put his twist on the rice. Then, we got to work. We only had then, we got to work. We only had 25 minutes left. I got the sauce going in a sauce pan, and it started searing the chicken. I wanted to get a good seat on the chicken before smothering it in the sauce and putting it in the oven. In the sauce pan, I put the bottle of barbecue sauce, a can of Dr Pepper, a splash of red wine vinegar from my station, salt and pepper. After I get the sauce producing, guy comes up to our station because it smells so good.
" what's going on guys? It smells amazing over here." He asked if he could try the sauce, and of course I agreed. When he tasted the sauce, he did his little happy dance. Then, he passed some around to the judges and other competitors. They all loved it.
Speaking of judges, the three judges on the judging panel are Troy Johnson, Robert Irvine, and Mark Murphy. Oh shit. I have to cook for Mr. Impossible. Coral sees my hesitation and reassures me that we will be fine. I hear a Trece squealing over the challenge as well. Luckily, she has a very bubbly partner to help balance her out. Noralys is ready for the challenge. " Bring it! I'm ready for this!" How many cups of coffee did she have this morning? I only had two.
I had coral check on the chicken. It's time to smother it and put it in the oven. We pour some of our freshly made sauce into the pan and stuck the pan in the oven so the chicken would cook all the way through. We were then going to put the rice on the plate first, followed by a piece of chicken smothered in sauce, and top it with more sauce. Of course, I wanted to add a touch of green and a bit of freshness, so I had him grab some cilantro and parsley. For freshness, we also made an arugula salad with a green apple vinaigrette. To make the vinaigrette, I took apple cider vinegar, A green apple, Salt and pepper, and olive oil and used the blender to make that vinaigrette. Of course, we made sure to remove the seeds of the apple. When we tried it, it was nice and tart. It's just what we needed to dress the salad and make it nice and bright. Luckily, most of the stuff we needed for the vinaigrette was already at my station.
Five minutes left. Carl checks the chicken, and it's perfect. We pull the pan out of the oven. Chicken is done. Race is done. Salad is done. We are ready. We start pleading. I wanted to make sure that the arugula was nicely dressed, so I washed my hands, poured some of the dressing onto the arugula, and tossed it with my hands. After giving it a taste, I added more salt and pepper. Everything needed more salt and pepper. I don't want to get dinged for not enough salt. After everything was plated, time was up. We raise our hands and stepped back from our stations. No more cooking for now. Carl and I high-fived and headed towards the front.
I was first to present my dish. " chefs, I made you my famous Dr. pepper barbecue chicken with spiced rice and an arugula salad. The salad has been tossed with a Green apple vinaigrette. I really hope you enjoy it." While they were eating, I heard nothing but the scraping of the forks on plates. When I looked at each of the judges faces, I saw nothing but pure bliss. The chicken and rice were nice and rich, and the salad added much needed freshness. I was only dinged on one thing, the sauce was a little sweet. We should have added more Worchester sure sauce. Noralys was next. She and Alex made chicken tacos with a spicy pepper salsa and slaw. I wish I was one of the judges. That sounds delicious. She got dinged on a couple things. The chicken was a little tough and liked salt, the tortillas were not grilled, and the salsa was a little overpowering. Poor Noralys. Atrice made a classic soup and sandwich duo. She and Damaris made a chicken noodle soup with a Fried chicken sandwich. Oh boy. That sounds hearty. She got dinged for not enough salt in the soup, the batter didn't stick to the chicken, and too much bread. These guys are tough. Jot made chicken curry over basmati rice. The only thing she was doing done was the sauce was a little grainy. Time to see who's going home.
While the judges decide, we all regroup. Everyone goes in for a big group hug. Of course, Atrice is about to have a panic attack because of how harshly they judged her food. I gave her a hug and reassured her that she will be fine. Even Damaris where is stressed about the breading and the salt level. Noralys was pretty stressed out as well. Everything that could have went wrong with her dish went wrong. She felt like she was definitely going home. Jot and I were very happy with our dishes. In fact, everyone else complimented me on the Dr Pepper barbecue sauce. It made me blush a little bit.
Next thing we know, we are being called back to the judging table. Atrice and I are getting a little fidgety from the nerves. Everything that happened kept circling in my head. Sauce was too sweet. That's not a good thing. I do not want to go home. I can't go home. If I go home, it's up to Atrice to bring home the win. I need this money.
" and, the person who is going home is, chef Noralys." She looks surprised, but yells out " I knew it! Good luck you guys! Raider nation!" She hugs Alex and walks out the front doors. Everyone else breeds a collective sigh of relief. Atrice looks like she's about to faint, but Damaris gives her a hug and reassured her that she will make it all the way through. I can even see us battling it out in the third round.
It's time for round two. Everyone is still in shock about who had to go. Now, Guy is telling us that round two is going to be a fun one. We have to make and over the top pork dish. I am a Porkaholic, so this is going to be easy. I already have something in my head. I am going to make bacon wrapped pork chops with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and gravy. Guy doesn't reveal a twist for this round, but I know somethings up. It could be either closing time, red light special, isle down, station swap, or something crazy. Coral asks me what we are going to do, and I tell him my idea. He runs off to grab everything we need. Soon, I hear a very familiar siren. The red light special. The red light special of today is beer! Coral runs up to me and asks what beer I want to use, and I tell him to grab Guinness or Sierra Nevada. He finds Guinness right away. Time to get cooking. We rub the pork and brown sugar and spices, wrap it in bacon, do the sides a good Seiter, and put it straight in the oven. The red light special goes perfectly with my dish. I'm going to add the beer into the gravy. This is going to be one rich dish. Then, I realized something. We need something green and fresh on the side. Carl runs off to grab more bacon and some asparagus. We are going to grill bacon wrapped asparagus. Let's just say pork three ways. It's starting to smell great at our station.
As we start working on the potatoes and gravy, I hear something happened over at Atrice's station. Of course, I get a little worried, but it's no big deal. Turns out she nicked one of her nails with a knife. She's very proud of those nails, so that upset her a little bit. Luckily, she gathers her self and keeps on cooking. I asked Carl what they are making, and he says bacon wrapped fried mac cheese balls. Good God! She always tries to do something cheesy, and she's like does intolerant! She will have to rely on Damaris's taste buds. Turns out, she is very happy to do the tasting. Nobody wants to run to the bathroom mid cooking.
At five minutes left, we pull the pork out of the oven. It's perfectly cooked. The bacon is nice and crispy, and shrink around the pork chop perfectly. Sorry, Atrice, but you're going down! Next thing I know, a wave of Indian spice smell hits my nose, and I have to turn away to sneeze. What the heck is Jot making over there? It smells good, but it could be overspiced. It smells like an Indian spice market excluded.
One minute left. I dollop on the Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and pour on the ridge Guinness gravy. Then, we put down the bacon wrapped asparagus. At the last second, I see some cooked bacon left over. I chopped it up and drizzle some bacon bits on all of the mashed potatoes. Pork four ways. Time is up.
As we walk to the front, I noticed everyone's dishes look very very good. Even Atrice's bacon wrapped death balls look good. She's definitely going to the third round. This time, it's Atrice who goes first. She made bacon wrapped fried Mack and cheese balls with a bacon beer cheese dipping sauce. Guy wanted pork, and she brought home the bacon. She even made pickled jalapeños to help cut the richness. They loved it. She redeemed herself for the bad Friday job in the last round. They were even surprised at how well she was able to get the bacon to fit. Turns out, the balls were fried it twice. Once with the Panko, once with the bacon. The only thing they knocked her on this time was that they could barely taste the beer. The cheese was too strong. Next, was Jot. She made a Teaka masala pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and beer battered onion rings. The onion rings for crispy, the slaw was a little on the wet side, and the sandwich was very messy and had a lot of raw spice in it. She didn't cook the sauce for the pork long enough. That's going to cost her.
As we go to the Kitchen's while they talk it out, we congratulated each other on their work. We all played the game pretty well. A few minutes later, it was illumination time.
" and, the chef who is going home is, Jot." I was right. The raw space was too much. And, my prediction was right. My wife and I are going head to head. It's time for round three. Atrice and I are standing right next to each other, with Carl and Damaris behind us. Next thing we know, the guy is wheeling a fridge with magnets in front of us. The game is called menu magnet madness. We get to choose our opponents dish. I am going to challenge her a little bit. She is a little bit afraid of open fire. I choose for her to make a spicy grilled dinner. I can see the fear in her eyes. Time for her to choose mine. I'm scared. She chooses to have me make a cheesy pasta dinner. I absolutely fucking hate cheese! Disgusting! Yuck! I'm going to need Carl's help on this one. He decides that we should make lobster Mac and cheese. This is going to be a challenge.
As Carly runs off to grab what we need, I have to stay back at the station and contemplate what I'm about to do. Atrice is making me touch my nemesis, cheese. I may need a barf bag or two. The judges can see my discomfort, and they wonder what's going on. They're going to see what's going on very soon. Soon, Carl is running back with the dreaded cart. He picked up quite a few varieties of cheese. Crap. When I tell him why I don't like cheese, he looks at me as if I'm crazy. I can tell he's going to test my limits and have me open the cheese for him to put it in with the Bechamel. As I face my fears, I can hear Atrice facing hers. Because of her vision, she is afraid to get burned by the grill. I do you smell some pretty magical stuff happening over there. Next thing I know, guy is stopping the clock for second. He says he has a special delivery, potato chips. We can use those as a crunchy factor on the top of our mac cheese. On the other hand, Atrice may have to use it as a crust or something. I can already hear them going into the food processor.
Time for me to open the cheeses. There are four packets in front of me, all with solid blocks of cheese. We have Tangy goat cheese, Taleggio cheese, cheddar cheese, and brie. These cheeses are going to make for a stretchy, tangy pot of mac cheese. These cheeses are also going to make me very uncomfortable in a minute. As I open the breed, the smell wafts right into my nose, making me stumble back. I take a deep breath in, step back up, and quickly open the other three before rushing for fresh air. I did it. Then, I feel my stomach start to churn. I ask Carl if he can grab me something to drink. Of course, he said yes. He runs and grabs me a coffee beverage. I guess it's a reward after facing my fears like that. Then, he dropped a bomb. I have to cut the cheese into cubes! I take a sip of my coffee and get to work. I need to find my happy place. I feel my knees start to buckle. Carl sees what's happening, and quickly pushes a chair behind me so I could six. Damn you cerebral palsy. You might make me lose this round. While I sit there recovering, Carl finds a way for me to keep working. There is a lowered surface for me to cut the cheese on. There's no getting away from this. Then, I have an Apiphany. I could just throw the cheese into the food processor and let it do the work. Thank God. Coral gladly handover the food processor, saying that I am pretty smart for figuring this problem out. After I pulverize the cheese, Caro mixes them into the sauce. The smell coming from the stove is atrocious and sickening. Coral pulls the lobster out of the water and put it in an ice bath. It's time for me to crack them out of their shell. Now this, I can handle. After some prying and twisting, the lobster is flying from their shells. That was easy. I then chop them up into bite-size pieces to add to the top of the mac cheese. We are then going to top the lobster mac cheese with sour cream and cheddar flavored potato chips before putting it in the oven. Five minutes left. Now, we have to think of one more component to tie everything together. Coral decides to take some of the lobster chunks and fry them to put on top. Perfect. At one minute left, we pull the ramekins of mac cheese out of the oven. We top each ramekin with a nice pile of potato chip Crusted fried lobster. By the time we get everything layered and ready, times up.
As we walk up to the front, I send a Trece the death stare. She nearly made me lose my stomach. Well, I guess I almost made her lose her hair. I guess it's an eye for an eye. Now it's up to the judges to decide how we did. Turns out, Atrice did a little something for me. She made a dragon fire barbecue chicken sandwich complete with a sweet and spicy slaw and fried pickle chips. She used dill pickle flavored kettle potato chips to crest the pickles before frying them. I must have a bite of this dish. When the judges took a bite of the sandwich, they noted that it is almost perfect. The only things that are wrong with it is that the chicken is a little dry, and the slaw was overdressed. That's two mistakes. Let's hope I get either one or none. Now, I show them my dish. When Atrice sees my dish, I can see her mouth watering.She would probably kill to eat this dish. Well, it could kill her. Lactose intolerance really hurts her. When they tasted my dish, they literally had nothing bad to say about it. The only critique they had was that there was not enough potato chip crumble on the top. I was hoping the fried lobster on top would work for that, but OK. Then, they try the dish with a bite of the fried lobster, and immediately take back what they said. It's perfect. Oh my God!
When we went back to the kitchens, I could see how distraught Atrice was. She made that dish inspired by me and my journey. Either way, whoever wins this, the money is still going to me anyways.
As we go back to the front, I squeeze Atrice's hand to reassure her that she's going to be OK. "And, The winner of guys disabled games is, chef Jeremie!" I nearly dropped to my knees. I won. I fucking won! Atrice runs up to me and gives me a big hug. She knew I could do it. She believed in me. Now, it's time for me to get some money. Guy decided to only have me answer five food trivia questions. If I answer all five right, that means I get $20,000. Let's do this. Then, coral whispers in his ear, and guy nods his head. I wonder what he's going to say. "Chef Jeremie, we have a change of plans. We are just going to straight up give you the $20,000. You have been one of the best contestants we've had in triple G history." Carl and I fist bump with Guy I then tell them about my plans on opening a barbecue restaurant. Guy can't wait to try it out. I might even end up on diners, drive-ins, and dives. Time to start building my restaurant.
The end