moved away to culinary school and left my old life behind me. this is my chefs table moment. but i wanted to come back to d.c. so this is like a very d.c. thing. that s what makes it delicious. to reconnect with my family. how many more eggs do you need? topaz mccoy, annoying me for 39 years. and seek out a side of the city just below its surface. that smell, huh? nothing like it in the world. i haven t been on this street in over ten years. this is nuts. am i the only person here from d.c., born and raised? it s a journey, man. i m excited how excited you are. i love eating great food. it s like a good old time. i m ready. i m carlton mccoy, raised in inner city d.c., educated in kitchens around the globe. these days i make a living as a master sommelier. i m a nomad, driven to move in and out of different cultures, different worlds, to celebrate diversity by embracing what makes us both unique and the same. after all, we carry our travels with us to our ne
when i came to this school, the ultimate goal was get carlton through high school. get him to graduate from high school. so i sat down with this lady and she said well, you need to take some elective classes. and i looked at her, man, the only thing i can do is cook. and there is a home expo class. i signed up for that. there was maybe two guys, three guys in it. it was here that i met chef ian barthley. he was one of the first black pastry chefs in america. at the time he was volunteering for a program in d.c. that gave inner city kids an opportunity to develop a year in the culinary arts. it all started here. stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. stop! dude, you re jacking up. come on. come over here, come on. this is chef ian barthley. he is the man who taught me about kitchen culture. today i m cooking him dinner. even it up. he has requested the same
the world in his food. very traditional techniques. that okra, this is succotash, right? this is okra. it s okra, limas, corn. and everything is perfect. it s exceptional. the texture is super complex. the guy knows how to cook. most commonly seen as a technique for fish, our next dish is a whole chicken encased in salt that s been infused with north african spices. it s then baked and carved table side. this is a little something we started doing last year. when i was in tunisia, they roast the chickens with this spice which is a blend of dried rosemary, oregano, cumin and tumeric. everybody is hungry? very much. it smells insane. the spice crusted chicken with smoked ratatouille, and then we have a little redfish for you as well. thank you. thank you, chef. it s stupid simple, but stupid simple has to be a high-wire act, right? every vegetable is cooked perfectly. i m excited how excited you are.
changing it, but sometimes you have to just sit down and let a truly great once-in-a-lifetime meal wash over you. that s why we re here. and this guy is cooking for us. eric ziebold was a chef at the french laundry. for the about eight years. he s spent his career refining his techniques and integrated with regional ingredients. i worked with him at restaurant for four years. in new york city for about four years. eric may be potentially the most underrated chef in america. i also feel like the people who know him would go yeah, probably. yeah. our first course exemplifies what i love most about eric s cooking. he takes a humble american dish, succotash, and he elevates it with basil pesto, perfectly grilled okra, local peas and corn and a spicy ahi sorbet. he pulls stuff from all over
oh, yeah, she is tough. that s my baby. that s my 16-year-old. i m young. for me, the best part about doing anything is being able to share it with her. yes, she has a disability, but i don t treat her like it. for me it s not a disability. it s a different ability. she has such a sweet soul. yes. that i think it s her presence teaches people how to be kind. and she is genuinely honest. reinforce it. what s this? everything has to overlap. i know. so here is the first part that you failed. okay, you had too much salad dressing. i know. it s loose. da da da! my first chef s table moment. don t fall in love with it. we have to do a little. oh, exactly. the push.