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His years in the American South show up, too, in the flaky biscuits standing in for pancakes in his Peking duck.

In my eight years of guest judging on., I’ve tasted many exceptional dishes, including Melissa King’s plum sauce-lacquered quail and Buddha Lo’s blue lobster with squash and curry bisque.

However, I can’t remember another dish that combined such skillful mastery of technique as Epps’, which layered flavor, texture, and storytelling.With the cameras and lights trained on him, he transformed humble oxtail and rice, symbolic foods of struggle and uplift, into a regal dish.. Tristen Epps..Courtesy of Marcus Nilsson / BRAVO.

I got goosebumps while eating it.And sitting to my right at the judges table was chef Gregory Gourdet, giggling with delight at Epps’ skill, acknowledging a peer whose time in the spotlight had finally come — much like Gourdet’s had years before while competing on.

.. Epps started collecting flavor memories at a young age by traveling the world with his military mom.

After graduating from culinary school, he gained experience at The Greenbrier in West Virginia and worked closely with chef Marcus Samuelsson, his mentor, on Samuelsson’s projects in London, Sweden, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Miami, where he gained a following before opening his own restaurant.. A 'Top Chef' Wants You to Know There's Something Much More Important Than the Pursuit of Perfection.Chicken Livers with Bacon, Watercress, and Dirty Rice.

“In a non-pandemic year, I like to get to New Orleans as frequently as my liver and bank account will allow.That has a lot to do with having many loved ones who are blessed enough to live there, and thanks to modern technology, I've been able to keep in touch for the last while.

But last I checked, dirty rice can't Zoom, and that's a tragedy.I'm not going to fool myself into thinking I could ever make this dish as well as folks like Isaac Toups, Alzina Toups, Poppy Tooker, Emeril Lagasse, Susan Spicer, Donald Link, Rebecca Wilcomb, or any of the stewards of Cajun cuisine, but until I can get back bayou-ward, this version hits the spot.