In the fourth episode of Jon Favreau and Roy Choi’s The Chef Show, the hosts enjoy culinary delights with Robert Rodriguez and extol the virtues of food trucks.
The fourth episode of Jon Favreau and Roy Choi’s The Chef Show heads to Hollywood, with Robert Rodriguez, director of Alita: The Battle Angel, sharing his love of all things food. Rodriguez is a bonafide polymath—alongside being a renowned director, he is an editor, cinematographer, musician, artist, and cook. He clearly loves learning, and sharing his knowledge with others.
Rodriguez’s love of cooking is well-known amongst his fans. He used to make cooking videos to share on his DVDs, and even found that people were replicating his recipes, no matter how difficult they were. So, he began sharing easier recipes because he didn’t want people to cook something only once—he wanted them to find something that they loved so they could cook it again.
The food we’re about to see in this episode will definitely make you want to head straight into the kitchen.
Cauliflower Pizza
As Rodriguez does not eat flour, he decides to make a cauliflower pizza, which he says tastes absolutely wonderful. And it has Benicio Del Toro’s stamp of approval—he once ate five of Rodriguez’s pizzas in one sitting. Choi doesn’t look as convinced, but he’s obviously willing to try it.
The cauliflower takes the place of the flour for the crust, but needs to be riced and cooked first before being added to the cheese for the crust. Rodriguez is obviously a pro at this—he tosses the pizza expertly and teaches Favreau how to do it, as well. Choi may have been skeptical before, but after his first bite, he’s hooked. The cauliflower pizza is almost indistinguishable from the real thing, comment Favreau and Choi.
Peanut Butter Chocolates
To end the meal, Rodriguez offers his guests homemade chocolates. More than a decade ago, Rodriguez took an online course on chocolate making and became obsessed with the art, making every part of the chocolate himself, even the butter. But he found that he was eating the chocolates as quickly as he was making them, and nobody else would get any, so he eventually stopped.
For Alita, however, there is a crucial scene where a character is given chocolates so, Rodriguez decided to make the chocolates himself. He ended up eating them all again for a period of six months until he forced himself to stop. But he has made an exception for his guests, creating large, delicious-looking, skull-shaped peanut butter chocolates that Favreau and Choi are immediately in love with. Now we want these chocolates too.
Dessert Pizza
The sweets aren’t over yet on this episode of The Chef Show. Rodriguez decides to make a dessert pizza for Favreau and Choi, using honey and sugar. The taste is similar to a sopapilla, says Rodriguez. The honey is sourced from the bees around Rodriguez’s studio, as he is a beekeeper as well. Is there anything this man can’t do?
The dessert pizza is a hit with Favreau and Choi with Favreau comparing it to a deep-fried donut. Rodriguez may not have been able to eat most of his food, but his guests certainly had an excellent time.
First Friday
At the First Friday food festival, Favreau joins the chefs of the Locol food truck and gets a very quick crash course on how to make the burgers and foldies. It still takes him some time to get used to it, unfortunately. His first three foldies are either too dark or underdone and need to be remade. The customers are very understanding, though. But perseverance pays off and Favreau eventually earns Choi’s praise.
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They stop by at the Kogi truck, which is now run by other chefs, who are very territorial. Even Choi isn’t allowed in the kitchen now. But they enjoy some pork tacos and Favreau talks about how his introduction to Korean food was through Choi. He can’t get enough of it now, as we have seen throughout this season of The Chef Show.
They then visit a few more trucks, most of them regulars that Choi has known for years. Choi treats Favreau to a host of burgers, pizzas, lobster rolls, and finally an ice-cream sandwich. The duo essentially eat a seven-course meal from the food trucks. Favreau and Choi are stuffed by the end of it and we are incredibly hungry!
Tips for home cooks:
- To get a browner look to your pizza, add olive to the crust before baking.
- When making a bun-based dish, make sure that the bun remains warm, not burnt, at the time of serving, for added flavour and texture.
- Want to judge an ice cream joint? Try their caramel flavoured ice-cream.
- To make a good ice-cream cookie sandwich, don’t put hard ice-cream between the cookies, as that will be difficult to eat. Let the ice-cream soften a little first before serving.
Final Thoughts
Unlike the previous episode, there wasn’t nearly enough cooking in this fourth episode of The Chef Show, but there was a lot of eating. It was fascinating to see Rodriguez’s skills in the kitchen—that a director of such renown can be passionate about a craft so separate from the one he is known for is wonderful.
The discipline and abilities of the Locol food truck chefs was another highlight of this episode. Their dedication to their craft and their ability to churn out high quality food every time, without mistake, is awe-inspiring. More than anything else, this episode of The Chef Show is testament to how fulfilling the culinary arts can be, whether you are cooking at home, or working in a food truck.
The Chef Show is streaming on Netflix internationally.