- 4 months ago
In this episode of Biscuits and Jam, hosted by Sid Evans, Top Chef Season 22 winner Chef Tristen Epps shares his journey from a childhood spent moving between Guam, the Philippines, and the U.S. to becoming a champion of Afro-Caribbean cuisine. He talks about the inspiration behind his upcoming Houston fine dining restaurant, Buboy, and his goal of bringing Caribbean flavors to the Michelin-star level. Tristen also reflects on his time at The Greenbrier, losing his stepfather mid-season, and embracing his Southern and Houstonian identity.
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00:00Well, Tristan Epps, welcome to Biscuits and Jam.
00:03Hi, thank you for having me, Sid.
00:04I'm excited to be on here.
00:06Where am I reaching you right now?
00:07I'm in Houston.
00:08So you're home.
00:09That's good.
00:09I know you've been on the road a good bit.
00:11Yeah, I've been home for a day.
00:15Okay.
00:16Getting back, getting settled back into some sort of normal routine, maybe?
00:20I mean, I guess what would be called normal.
00:23Well, Tristan, congrats on winning Top Chef Season 22.
00:32I know that's a big, big moment for you.
00:36I mean, you've just won the biggest reality show in the food world, really.
00:42Tell me, what was something that you didn't expect from this experience?
00:47You know, I didn't expect for all of us to get along so well.
00:51I mean, honestly, it was great.
00:52One of my favorite things to do is cook with friends, and that's what it felt like every day.
00:57And I love competing.
00:59The fact that you lost a friend every week was a little different, but it still felt really surreal.
01:05I didn't expect that at all.
01:07Yeah.
01:07You're the first Black chef to win that competition in, I think, 15 years.
01:13And I think only the second ever to win in the history of Top Chef.
01:23What does that mean to you?
01:24Honestly, it's great.
01:25I did the whole experience for visibility.
01:28I did the whole experience to bring value to the type of food that I do.
01:33And that recognition is great.
01:37And I think, I mean, I definitely won't be the last one.
01:40I'm hoping this inspires more to come out and more to keep trying and keep the circle kind of going.
01:48So that stat isn't something to always celebrate.
01:51Have you heard from young chefs, young cooks, or had a chance to interact with fans of the show at this point?
02:04Yeah.
02:04I mean, when the whole winning and everything got announced, I immediately went to the James Beard Awards.
02:11And I was completely overwhelmed by people that I had looked up to, have looked up, still idolize.
02:19And it was insane.
02:24But one thing that made it really extremely cool is there was a program where a gentleman brought some kids that he had working in the restaurant.
02:34And they were, you know, youth that were trying to find a different way instead of getting in trouble, instead of, like, you know, going through a system.
02:42And they were cooking in a restaurant.
02:45And the coolest thing for me that really, like, settled me into the experience and reminded me of why I was doing what I was doing is, like, four boys came up to me.
02:54They were 19 years old.
02:55And they said, we saw what you did.
02:56This is amazing.
02:57Like, what do I need to do to go on this path?
03:03And not even the TV path.
03:06Just to do what you are doing.
03:10And wherever it leads me, it leads me.
03:12And that was the most rewarding thing.
03:14I've had a lot of interactions with people.
03:15People that are, I'm fans of the show.
03:17I'm this.
03:18I'm that.
03:18That's amazing.
03:20And I love that support.
03:21But these kids don't necessarily watch the show.
03:23They just heard about it, then looked it up and was like, oh, my God.
03:28So that has been the most rewarding part of this entire thing because it's the reason why I did it.
03:33You're going to be inspiring people for a long time to come.
03:36And now that you've won this, you've kind of got, I don't know, a mantle that you're wearing.
03:44And you're going to be seen as an example of, you know, someone who has succeeded and, you know, in a big way.
03:54And so I think you better get used to that, you know, having those kids coming up to you on a regular basis.
04:01I mean, I hope.
04:03I mean, I don't ever want to say I'd rather them than other people.
04:07But once again, it's like the reason why I did it.
04:09And I mean, I love that.
04:11I love that I can pass that on and hopefully inspire people.
04:16So, Tristan, you know, I know that you've got Trinidadian roots.
04:20Am I saying that right?
04:22Correct.
04:22And I know that you've spent a lot of time living abroad.
04:26But talk to me a little bit about your connection to Trinidad.
04:29It's the way I grew up.
04:31You know, I mean, my mom brought me up as a military kid.
04:35But the thing that always was grounding was the food that we had.
04:40And it was always pilau.
04:43It was always curry.
04:45It was always roti.
04:46It was that food that I knew was my norm and my homecoming, as well as being able to be exposed to other cuisines across the United States and across the world.
05:03And as a youth, it's not something you're so proud of, right?
05:08And then definitely as coming into a chef, you're definitely not necessarily proud of it because it doesn't look like what Emerald Lagasse is doing and what Wolfgang Puck is doing.
05:19And then you get bigger and you're like, oh, what Thomas Keller is making.
05:23And none of the books that you were seeing when I was in culinary school or trying to find inspiration had anything to do with Caribbean cooking, African cooking, any of that.
05:34Not in the same format or not the way it was being portrayed.
05:37You know, when you wanted to learn how to plate, you got the Eleven Madison Park cookbook.
05:42When you wanted to learn how to sous vide, you got the Thomas Keller Under Pressure cookbook.
05:47And these were the things you were looking at in success.
05:50But as I grew older and I was like, man, this food is fine.
05:54It's good.
05:55It looks pretty.
05:56I was looking for more flavor.
05:57And the most flavorful thing that I was having was cuisines from other parts of the world.
06:03And I saw how people were really starting to embrace that.
06:06And I was like, you know what?
06:07I need to embrace where I'm from and what I grew up with because it's delicious.
06:13And I really wanted to bring more value to that.
06:15Why now I have the skill set.
06:17Why can't I bring that to make it look like this?
06:21And, you know, I started diving deep into family.
06:24Family started getting older and I really wanted to connect back more with the island and the culture.
06:33And I learned so much and found that it connects me to even all the cuisines that I have been learning.
06:39Right.
06:40Trinidad is obviously has African roots, Latin American, Danish, French, British, Indian, Chinese.
06:50And all of that is part of my family.
06:52So, you know, this is all stuff I knew.
06:54And I feel like Trinidad has connected me to the world.
06:57Are both your parents from there?
06:59My mom.
07:00Your mom.
07:01But I primarily just grew up with my mom and my mom's side of the family.
07:03Right.
07:04And this is, I mean, this is pretty close to like Venezuela.
07:08Eight miles.
07:09Yeah, it's way down there.
07:10Yeah.
07:11What are some of the kind of sights and smells and sounds that come to mind when you think about Trinidad?
07:20Yeah, I mean, obviously the smell of curry, it's called bujiao, like when it's cooking in a pan, like onions, garlic, scotch bonnet, thyme, scallions, is just a very like nostalgic smell to me.
07:34Uh, the smell of burning sugar.
07:37It's, it's how they traditionally sear meats.
07:41Like it has just this super distinctive flavor that makes my mouth water.
07:45And like, it's very specific.
07:47And to most people, when they smell the smell in a normal kitchen, they're like someone scorched the oil or someone burned something.
07:55But it just has this different smell to me.
07:58Like, and that's a really big one.
08:01It's called browning.
08:03Uh, I love that smell.
08:05It's nostalgic.
08:06It's how I know Sunday dinners being cooked is when you smell that.
08:10The smell of like nutmeg and allspice and, and those kinds of smells, uh, especially coming off of like mac and cheese.
08:19So like caramelized cheese with like nutmeg, which is very specific once again, because, uh, they grate like nutmeg or cinnamon over the top of macaroni pie.
08:29And when it comes out the oven, it just has this like buttery, savory, but like warming smell to it just because of like the, the cinnamon or the, the nutmeg on top.
08:41Uh, I mean, those are just really those smells that really hit me really hard.
08:45Wow.
08:46And all, and very distinctive and, um, to, to Trinidad and that part of the world.
08:52For sure.
08:53When you think about the kitchen that you kind of grew up in, um, and I know you traveled a lot, but you know, the, the kitchen that you kind of, um, think of as, as your kind of first kitchen, um, that you really experienced, what does it kind of look like?
09:13Um, I mean, kind of paint a picture for me of what that kitchen looks like.
09:16The kitchen changed every two years, but the one kitchen that changed that, that stayed the same was my grandmother's kitchen and my aunt's kitchens.
09:25Um, I mean, they were always very, very cluttered, uh, stuff all over the counter.
09:32Um, there was always a pot on the stove, whether.
09:36And this is in Trinidad.
09:37No, this is here.
09:38Like in the States.
09:39Yeah.
09:39Yeah.
09:40No, this is like Virginia.
09:41This is, uh, I'm not from Houston.
09:43This is, uh, when my family immigrated over, they were in New York and long Island and then came down to Virginia.
09:50So between those two places and Queens and stuff, like I spent a lot of summers in long Island and New York and Virginia beach.
09:57And then my regular day, my regular school years were wherever we were moved in at the same time.
10:04Um, and then the one or two times, a couple of times that we went to Trinidad, you know, but there were very different looking kitchens.
10:11Uh, but it was all the same smells, which was amazing.
10:16But yeah, I mean, always, always a rice pot of rice on the stove, like, or on the counter, like 24 seven, um, always, you know, avocados that were quartered.
10:28Uh, and these are the big ones, like the really big West Indian avocados that are always on the counter, always seasonings, always hot sauce.
10:36That was like fermenting in the window.
10:39Um, I mean, these were the things there's always open cans of carnation, evaporated milk and condensed milk.
10:45Uh, I mean, these were just like staples in every, every kitchen that I've always been in growing up, whether it was my aunts, my grandmothers, uh, even my mom's at some point, she started to change that, that aspect a little bit more.
10:59She was a, you know, she was a lawyer, she was always out.
11:03So that stuff started to not like, we started doing a little bit more convenience at that point.
11:08But, uh, yeah, I mean, my summers were the time when I connected to my culture the most.
11:14What was your grandmother's name?
11:15Her name is Carol.
11:16Carol.
11:17Yeah.
11:17Your mom's, you know, she, you grew up kind of with your mom in the, in the military, right?
11:23Correct.
11:24And so tell me about like, what kind of, what kind of jobs, uh, she had in the military.
11:30My mom was a lawyer, so she was a JAG.
11:33Uh, she was a JAG.
11:34Okay.
11:35Correct.
11:35Yeah.
11:36And, uh, there were quite a few moves to different, different parts of the world.
11:44Uh, yeah.
11:44I mean, I think all in all, by the time I was out of high school, there was about 16.
11:49I mean, that's kind of incredible.
11:51Tristan.
11:51Three elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, and then just moves within
11:57that.
11:57You've got this kind of grounding in your, in your own culture and, and the food that you
12:04grew up with and those smells that you described so beautifully.
12:07But then, you know, you're also getting exposed to so many different, uh, kinds of, of food
12:15along the way.
12:16Um, you know, that's a pretty extraordinary thing for, for someone who loves food and who
12:22loves cooking.
12:24Um, you know, what's a place that really, you know, made a particularly big impact on
12:30you when it, when it came to food?
12:32I mean, I would say as a, as a kid, it was probably Guam.
12:36Um, you know, for everyone listening, I would love someone to tell me two Guamanian dishes.
12:42I know I can't.
12:43And, and that was really cool.
12:45Um, it was my first really big exposure to, even though it's like a U S territory, like
12:51it was my first exposure to different culture.
12:52My mom took me, it was like a tradition when I was younger and I was still, uh, an only
12:57child.
12:58Uh, we went out to eat every Friday night, like full dressed, full, like we're going
13:04out to a restaurant and to what I thought was most likely super fancy.
13:08And you can't order anything off a kid's menu.
13:11You have to order something that comes from here.
13:13Um, and that was my tradition, right?
13:16Like it was the thing that I had to do.
13:19And, you know, I discovered mahi mahi.
13:22I discovered, uh, Kiligwin, like Guamanian ceviche.
13:26I, you know, there's a huge Filipino population there.
13:30So, you know, uh, like a normal, like bring food to class day, right.
13:35Or something was like lumpia and pansit, you know, like it was, these were things that
13:40were really, really cool to me because at the same time I was having my own like West
13:46Indian food and we were discovering more American food.
13:51And now I was having this and these were my three realities at that time.
13:54Uh, going back and forth between Guam and, and Virginia where my grandmother was living
14:00at the time.
14:01Uh, you know, we had layovers in Japan and Hong Kong and we'd eat and like, I'm having
14:07sushi and I'm having, you know, balut and I'm having all of these things.
14:12And it's so funny because they're really picky now, but they were just so into me trying things.
14:19And so in my head, they're like, they eat everything.
14:22And as I became a chef, they're like, we don't need that.
14:24I was like, really?
14:24What happened?
14:25Like, was it just me eating it?
14:26Like, I don't remember.
14:27Was it just you forcing me to eat it?
14:29But, uh, I mean, they basically said like, you should try everything.
14:33Um, by trying food, you will learn how to connect with the world and learn how to make
14:38friends.
14:38And, and that was a big part of like assimilating the cultures was making friends.
14:42And it, that really led to, I think my, my skillset and like my exposure to, to everything.
14:49You talk about making friends and, you know, um, and you, you mentioned this even talking
14:55about, you know, being on top chef and kind of the, the camaraderie there.
15:00Um, you know, you're in the hospitality business and, you know, you're a, you're a really talented
15:07chef.
15:08Um, but you're also someone who takes care of people and who makes them feel welcome
15:12and treats them with respect.
15:14And that's kind of part of, you have to love that part of it too.
15:18And, and I'm wondering, you know, where did you kind of learn that, um, on your journey,
15:24that, that kind of hospitality, um, gene?
15:28I mean, I think naturally for myself, it's, you know, treat everyone how you want to be treated
15:33if, if we go in that direction.
15:36But because I've moved so many times and because I've had to be the new guy so many times,
15:45you learn to figure out other people and their cultures and their, their customs.
15:53And I've been a guest a lot.
15:57Uh, yeah.
15:58And because I've been a guest a lot and have been treated well as being a guest, I want to
16:04be able to do that for other people, you know, coming in the hospitality, uh, I was blessed
16:09to always work places where they had, um, students from other countries, uh, come over.
16:15And I know that feeling, like, I know that feeling it's, it's like being the new kid at
16:19the lunch table, your first day of school, but on a higher scale.
16:23And I know that anxiety, I know that feeling, I know all of it.
16:29And so when other people come over and other people come to your space, I want to make them
16:34feel it as good as possible, you know, because it is a nerve wracking thing to come into a new
16:40space, a new place with new things.
16:43And I think hospitality is just the things that you, you know, to quote, like Danny Meyer is like
16:47when something is done for you and not to you.
16:51And, uh, I think that's just really important.
16:54Uh, you know, being comfortable is, is an amazing, is it's not a privilege.
17:00It's something that people should like, they deserve.
17:03Well, and you know, when someone walks into your restaurant or if they, uh, walk into a pop-up
17:09that you're creating, you know, they're, they're not immediately comfortable.
17:13They're a little bit out of sorts and they're in a new space, a new environment, and you
17:18have to really make them feel welcome immediately and, and feel comfortable.
17:24And that's a, you know, that's a skill.
17:26It is, but I, I don't know.
17:28I feel like it comes somewhat natural, just, or I feel like it's, it's a natural thing to,
17:32I feel like I'm repaying them.
17:34Like, even though, yes, they're coming in and they're paying for an experience and, and it,
17:38you know, it is a business transaction, I guess.
17:40But like in the end, you're supporting me, you are taking a chance on me, you are investing
17:47in me.
17:48And I owe that for you to have a great experience, for you to feel welcomed, for you to feel all
17:54of the things that hopefully you were expecting.
17:57And then some, and I love doing that.
18:00You know, hospitality doesn't also mean just the, the, the, the guest, right?
18:05Hospitality also can mean that for the internal guest, which is your fellow coworkers, your,
18:10other industry people.
18:12And, you know, that's why I believe in like making sure people have opportunities and people
18:17have visibility and they're taking care of just as much as you're taking care of the
18:21guests.
18:21Cause, cause both of us are looking for that experience and both of us want to succeed.
18:26So Tristan, talk to me about Houston, your connection to Houston and, and, um, you know,
18:31when did you kind of show up there and, and, you know, embrace that as your, as your hometown?
18:39So I was on this like culinary search of skill for myself.
18:45Uh, I was in North Carolina, enjoyed it.
18:48Uh, but I felt like I ran out of places to, to be and to grow at the time.
18:53At Johnson and Wales?
18:55At Johnson and Wales.
18:55Yeah.
18:56So my, my four years there.
18:58Yeah.
18:58And I had felt like that place was the first place I became like an adult.
19:01Right.
19:02And then on my search, I went to West Virginia and did an apprenticeship program there and
19:12it was cool.
19:13It was fine.
19:14Uh, but I was just craving a large city after that, right.
19:17After just two stoplights in a city, like I was just, I wanted something with lots of
19:23culture, lots of really great food.
19:27Um, I wanted traffic.
19:29I needed like, I wanted all of it.
19:31I wanted it all back.
19:32Like I really wanted it.
19:33I needed something bigger than Charlotte, smaller than New York, not as expensive as LA.
19:38And I was starting to read magazines and how Houston was this up and coming city and two
19:46restaurants on there had just made like top, uh, new restaurants opening.
19:52And they were just so far away from what I had been learning how to cook like French,
19:58Italian, French, Italian, French, Italian.
20:01Um, lo and behold, I ended up in an Italian restaurant when I moved there, but I came down
20:05and the smells were amazing and I just heard different languages and I heard all of it.
20:10And the weather was just super hot, how I like it.
20:14And I don't know.
20:16I like fell in love with it.
20:17And that was like 2013, uh, when I finally made it here and I moved here.
20:24I didn't know anybody, uh, which was fine.
20:27I was kind of used to that at this point.
20:28Charlotte was the first place I felt like an adult, but that was just cause I wasn't living
20:32with my parents.
20:32Uh, Houston was the first time I felt like I had the start to a real career, a start to
20:39a real life, a start to real adulthood.
20:41I made enough money to pay my rent and go out to eat.
20:45Um, I made enough money to like go out on a date and pay for both of us at a nice place.
20:52Um, and I could eat somewhere different every single time and just be blown away and have
20:57a different culture and in formats that I wasn't used to.
21:00Right.
21:01Like everything ethnic didn't have to come into a to-go box.
21:05And that was really, really amazing to me.
21:08So, uh, I left when I met Marcus Samuelson.
21:11Uh, he offered me a job in New York, still ended up in New York somehow.
21:15And at that point it was just chasing diversity and chasing myself to find the food that I
21:21wanted a space that I can do the food that I really wanted to.
21:24Um, and it just brought me back to Houston 10 years later.
21:27Well, I mean, Houston is one of the most diverse food cities in the world.
21:32And, you know, it's kind of like you've traveled all over the world.
21:38You've been to all these places and now in Houston, you know, you can pick a country.
21:43I mean, you know, you can go and, and try something different.
21:47Right.
21:48I mean, there's just, there's so many options there.
21:51And have multiple options, which is, which is great.
21:54You know, like it, it's, it's great.
21:57I mean, I can't tell how many places I've, I don't remember living anywhere where I could
22:02go find Burmese cooking.
22:03Right.
22:04It, you know, Laotian, uh, Dominica, like it's, it's just so specific in, in places.
22:13And, and I, I love that part of it.
22:15I really do.
22:16What about Guam?
22:17Is there, is there a Guam, Guamian place in Houston?
22:20I have not found a Guamanian place yet.
22:22Not necessarily, but, um, but, uh, you know what?
22:27I should go look.
22:28You just maybe haven't looked hard enough.
22:30I just, yeah, I probably just haven't looked.
22:31You know, you mentioned being in West Virginia and, um, I know you were at the Greenbrier,
22:36which is, you know, one of the great hotels in the South and, and, uh, you know, incredible
22:42place.
22:43And, and you were, you had the chance to work, um, with some incredible chefs there, but it
22:49had to be, um, a challenge for you being, I mean, it is not close to a lot, right?
22:58I mean, it is about as far away from the city as you can get, but tell me about like, you
23:03know, did you connect with West Virginia in, in a way, like, was there, um, I don't know,
23:10you know, did you enjoy the mountains at all or the, the fall or, you know, what were, what
23:17were some highlights of that?
23:19I enjoyed like the education that I got there.
23:23Um, it reminds me of, I'm a big, like weird, like movie ninja-y kind of guy, right?
23:29Where they take someone and they go high into the mountains to train and there's nothing
23:34around and it's all they can focus on.
23:35I remember my like first interview there and the chef asked me, what do you like to do for
23:41fun?
23:41And I said, well, I really like cooking.
23:42He's like, good.
23:43Cause if that is not your answer, you're going to be miserable.
23:47Like, do you, do you like hunting?
23:49Do you like, you know, fishing?
23:51Do you like mountain climbing?
23:53And I said, not really.
23:54He's like, but you like cooking.
23:56Cause that's all you got.
23:57Like, that's what you're going to get.
23:59I was like, okay, cool.
24:01Um, how true that was.
24:04Um, but so no, I wasn't the largest outdoor person.
24:07I tried fishing.
24:08I suck at it.
24:10Um, what I did like was, you know, I love that.
24:14I learned how to break down deer.
24:16I learned that, you know, my dishwashers brought me morel mushrooms.
24:20Cause they were like, I don't know what to do with these.
24:22Like you take them.
24:23They're in my, you know, on my property and I want them gone.
24:26Uh, ramps, you know, certain products bring me trout.
24:29Like that was always really cool.
24:31Uh, the thing I think I took away from it the most was weirdly it's where I worked with
24:37people who had the most amount of culture and it was, and not people that worked there.
24:44They were students and they were people on visas.
24:48And, you know, I learned so much about like much more about Filipino cuisine and I lived
24:54in the Philippines, so it helped me connect to them.
24:57But like, you know, I learned so much more about Filipino cuisine, so much more about Thai
25:01cuisine, deeper Mexican cuisine.
25:04At that point, I started going to Mexico once a year, um, Peruvian, Bulgarian, South African,
25:11Russian at the time, uh, just Korean.
25:16I mean, things I didn't think, and that became my education, right?
25:21It became the reason why, uh, I just loved embracing other cuisines even more.
25:27And because I had this interest in them, they had an interest in me.
25:31And now we were sharing food and coming together and, and it was, it was really amazing.
25:36And then trying to find that those ingredients in West Virginia products was very hard.
25:42So Amazon was used quite a bit, but it was just an amazing situation in that, in that,
25:50in that sense and making a situation that I was kind of uncomfortable with in the beginning
25:54and then learned how to adapt.
25:56And that's what made me adapt there.
25:58Cause you were there for a while, right?
26:01Yeah.
26:01About, about three years is like the program.
26:03Yeah.
26:03That's, that's a long, that's a pretty long run, but I can't imagine that, that, um,
26:08a lot of those dishes that you mentioned were on the menu at the Greenbrier.
26:12No, no, no.
26:13Yeah.
26:14Right.
26:15So this was all the cooking that was happening kind of outside of the gig.
26:20Absolutely.
26:21Yeah.
26:21It was a family meal, uh, parties at the end of the day.
26:25Once again, there wasn't much to do.
26:26So like, you know, you know, let's cook something, let's do something.
26:32Um, so, so yeah, I mean, it was, it was just a bunch of us in a room and them feeling homesick
26:37and like, we're going to make this today.
26:39And we're homesick for the things that you don't necessarily know of that's mainstream.
26:44So, yeah.
26:45Have you stayed in touch with those folks?
26:47Yeah.
26:48I mean, they're all, a lot of them are in Australia.
26:50It's cool to see all of them are like executive chefs and, and chefs on cruises.
26:55Now it is, it's really cool.
26:57That's great.
26:58That's great.
26:58All right.
26:58Well, Tristan, uh, I want to do a little thing that we call the jam session.
27:03Okay.
27:03So this is just a, you know, some short questions, quick answers.
27:07Um, you know, don't think about it too much.
27:10Biscuits or cornbread?
27:14Damn.
27:14I'm going to say biscuits because I've eaten a lot of cornbread.
27:21I hate to stump you right out of the gate.
27:23Yeah.
27:23That's what, that one was already hard.
27:25Uh, wine or whiskey?
27:28Whiskey.
27:28This one might be easier.
27:30Brisket or pulled pork?
27:32Brisket.
27:32Mountains or beach?
27:34Beach.
27:34Okay.
27:34My idea of the perfect summer sandwich is blank.
27:38My idea of a perfect summer sandwich is shark and bake from Trinidad.
27:43Oh, okay, cool.
27:44But a fried bologna sandwich is also pretty damn amazing.
27:47The one thing that you'll always find in my fridge at home is blank.
27:50Uh, the one thing you'll always find in my fridge at home, um, is like seven different
27:57types of hot sauce.
27:59Do you have a favorite hot sauce?
28:00Uh, the one that like my family makes, uh, yes, but I really like Melinda's.
28:06All right.
28:06Other than Top Chef, my favorite TV show about food and cooking is blank.
28:11Other than Top Chef, my favorite food about cooking is actually great British menu.
28:17If I have a cooking Achilles heel, it's blank.
28:20If I had a cooking Achilles heel, it would be dough.
28:27The best barbecue joint in my hometown is blank.
28:30Oh, you can't do this to me.
28:33Oh, or a top two.
28:36How about that?
28:37Top two.
28:38I would say it would be truth barbecue and Gatlin's.
28:42The most Southern thing about me is blank.
28:45Uh, the most Southern thing about me is I always have like Duke's mayo in my refrigerator too.
28:52Okay, pretty good.
28:56Pretty good.
28:57Tristan, I want to go back to Top Chef for a second.
29:00And, you know, it's such a journey that you were on.
29:04I mean, there's so many competitions, um, and it's such a process and, you know, you
29:11obviously have to keep it secret and all that for a long time.
29:14But I'm wondering if you had a goal when you embarked on this whole journey and, and if
29:24maybe that goal changed as you got deeper and deeper into the season.
29:27Yeah.
29:28I mean, I always had a goal.
29:28The goal was visibility and value for Afro-Caribbean cuisine and become kind of a, an inspiration
29:37for other, uh, you know, minority chefs that have a cuisine that they haven't necessarily
29:44been able to celebrate in all the formats that they want to or dream of.
29:49Uh, my goal never really, never really wavered, but just the intensity of doing it, uh, changed
30:00midway through the season.
30:03Um, obviously my father passed away in, in mid season and it went from this being like
30:10a fun thing to do, uh, with that goal to a thing that I felt like I had to do.
30:17And it then felt more like I had a bigger job to do because, you know, he put a lot of pride
30:26and a lot of belief into me and I wasn't doing this for my family.
30:31I was doing this for a lot of people, a lot of other people.
30:35And at that point I felt like I had to do it also for my family.
30:39And I know, I don't know if that sounds bad the first part, but like that, my, my, my
30:44family had me like they, they, they were like, you know, the ubiquitous, like you're a winner
30:49no matter what, uh, except for my mom.
30:52She's like, don't waste your time.
30:53Don't go right away.
30:54Right.
30:54But you know, like from day one, the military, the military coming through.
30:59Yeah.
31:00But my, you know, my dad, Russell, he was just like, you're already winning, man.
31:05Like it's, I don't understand why you're nervous or like that.
31:08And I was like, no, I'm going to go have some fun.
31:10I'm going to do the best I can.
31:12And that, and then, yeah, when he passed, it was just like, nope, nope, nope.
31:16You said, I'm going to win.
31:17Now I'm going to win.
31:18Now I got to do it.
31:18I got to do it.
31:19Like simply for that, like I need to do it.
31:22Cause my mom said I didn't need to do it.
31:24My grandmother, you know, is getting older.
31:26My grandfather is getting older.
31:28Like I, you know, my dad has put all this faith in, like I have to do it.
31:34Absolutely.
31:35Was he able to, um, enjoy, I don't know how the timing works, but I'm wondering if he was
31:43able to appreciate some of your, your wins, um, that you had along the way.
31:50Yes, because everything to him was a win, but you know, it was mid season and I had already
31:55kind of started winning.
31:57So he knew I was on a winning streak, you know, and that's probably why he was like, no matter
32:04what, don't you leave.
32:05So, but to him, like it, once again, it wasn't a surprise.
32:08Like, he's just like, duh, dude, like, like, just keep going.
32:15That's simple, whatever.
32:17Stay hydrated.
32:18Like, just keep going.
32:19And I was like, all right, cool.
32:20You know, no problem.
32:21Like, like, you know, it's getting harder.
32:23And he's like, and so what, yeah, what's the point?
32:27You're, you're, you're fine.
32:28You're, you're winning.
32:30So did you guys have a connection over, over cooking?
32:33No, not at all.
32:35Like, no, not, not at all.
32:37I mean, he loved to barbecue because he's from Texas and.
32:40You know, that was fun.
32:43And, you know, he always called me when he wanted to make something special for my mom
32:46or, uh, he's like, I just want to make sure I'm doing this correct.
32:49All right.
32:49Like, how do you make lobster bisque or shrimp bisque?
32:52And, and that was fun.
32:53But like our, our connection was more sports and, and that like sports and just regular
32:58life.
32:59He was always supportive, right?
33:03Like he grew up in Texas.
33:04So it was like basketball and football track.
33:07That's it.
33:08Right.
33:08But I played, you know, soccer and lacrosse and, you know, he's just like, I don't know
33:14what these are.
33:15I don't know what kind of food you're eating.
33:17And I also don't know what these are.
33:18So it's like, but like, he didn't even waver.
33:21He was just like, all right, let's go.
33:23You know, he's over there saying touchdown and a lacrosse game and, and just like, it's,
33:28it was good.
33:28I mean, but he then just learned, right.
33:30He just, he learned, you know, he went from all I eat is well done steak.
33:34And pot roast and like brisket to like, all right, I'll try the mid rare steaks to the
33:38point where he became a snob.
33:39So a little education, a little reverse education.
33:42You were teaching him some things.
33:44It's weird.
33:44Cause I don't even know if it was the education.
33:46Like I, I have no clue what he did in his by himself, but around other people, when he
33:53was bragging about his family, like he, that's, that's the air he put on.
33:57And, you know, I don't know if he liked lacrosse, but he was sure there to like root me on
34:02and like be the loudest person.
34:04Like, I don't know if he ever loved, I don't know if he ever watched a soccer game outside
34:07of me watching a game with him, but, uh, I mean, you'd never know that.
34:12So what town was he from?
34:13Waco.
34:14Oh, Waco.
34:15Okay.
34:16Yeah.
34:16Well, I'm sorry for your loss, Tristan, but I'm, I'm, you know, um, I love that he was
34:21able to see you, um, you know, doing so well and see you on that, that winning streak.
34:29Yeah.
34:29So am I.
34:30Tristan, I want to ask you about the future for a second.
34:33And, um, I know that you're, uh, you're working on a fine dining concept, um, in Houston that
34:42that's called Boo Boy, if I'm saying that right.
34:45Buboy.
34:45Yeah.
34:46Buboy.
34:46Okay.
34:47Yeah.
34:47So it's so, and this was, uh, this was a nickname for your grandfather.
34:52Is that right?
34:53Correct.
34:53Yeah.
34:53Yeah.
34:54Still is.
34:54He's still around.
34:55Well, I love that.
34:56That's so cool.
34:56And what a great tribute to him.
34:58Um, tell me a little bit about that concept and what you envision.
35:02I think right now we're on such a great trajectory on black food ways and celebrating Afro-Caribbean
35:07cuisine.
35:08You know, there has been a lot of chefs that have been championing that for a long time.
35:13Uh, some that are a lot of them that are top chef alums, cause they've really gotten that
35:17exposure through there, but really like I haven't seen a Michelin star version of it yet.
35:23And for a long time, I didn't really, in the beginning of your career, you want a Michelin
35:29star, you know, you think I want a fine dining restaurant.
35:33I went to school.
35:34I spent a ton of money.
35:35I am learning to be a fine dining chef and I need to do it in a French way.
35:42That's what you, what's, what your, your mindset is.
35:44And that's what I thought my mindset was.
35:46And then I saw that I wanted to create the new flavors and the new things that I really
35:52wanted to do.
35:53And I saw that there was an absence of it.
35:55We fast forward another couple of 10 years and success is starting to happen with it.
35:59You know, Kwame Anwachi's opening stuff, uh, and having a lot of success on it.
36:03Nina Compton, uh, Eric Gagepong, uh, I mean, we, we, the list started to go on, but still
36:11to the point, not at a Michelin level.
36:15Um, then we start seeing a couple of Michelin black chefs, but they're not making Afro-Caribbean
36:20cuisine, right?
36:20The first person was making Asian cuisine, Japanese.
36:24Another person was doing American fare, another person doing French and Asian kind of, um,
36:32together.
36:33And so it hasn't been taken there.
36:36Um, except for in Europe, there's three like West African restaurants, uh, or inspired
36:43restaurants that have won Michelin stars.
36:45And so now I want to bring that to the United States because I think we're ready.
36:52I think that it is something that can be celebrated for sure.
36:56Mexican restaurants have Michelin stars now, Thai, uh, Indian, all things that have been
37:04at some point valued as cheaper cuisine or cheaper ethnic cuisine food.
37:10That's only fit for takeout.
37:12Um, I want to take it to that level and Michelin wasn't necessarily the world's biggest goal,
37:18but if that will give it the credibility and the accolade and the value and visibility,
37:24then I'm all about it.
37:26And that's what I want.
37:28You know, every black kid and almost every kid has stood on a basketball court and said,
37:34three, two, one, and shot a ball, hoping to drain it and say like, we win the championship,
37:40right?
37:40That they saw Michael Jordan do, or they've seen a basketball player do.
37:44Like he was good.
37:46He was great.
37:47He succeeded.
37:48He was rich.
37:49Right.
37:49But like, we all saw that and we're like, I want to win an NBA championship.
37:53Right.
37:54So like, I want to do that for other kids.
37:56And I want to see, I want to show them that it is a possible thing that their cuisine that
38:01they grew up with.
38:02And whether you're from Myanmar to Botswana, like my cuisine can have this sort of accolade.
38:11I can win this championship.
38:13I love that.
38:13That's a great way of looking at it.
38:14And yeah, thinking about it as a, obviously you're a sports fan because the sports metaphors
38:19are coming through strong.
38:20It's just so close.
38:22It's just so, it's so close.
38:23It's teamwork.
38:24It's camaraderie.
38:26It's hard work.
38:27It's practice.
38:28It's, it's, it's goals.
38:30Yeah.
38:30And winning.
38:31And winning.
38:33Um, so, you know, you've done this concept as a, as a pop-up around Houston.
38:38Talk to me about like, what's the experience that you want people to have when they, when
38:42they come to, you know, to try this food.
38:47My favorite experience that I want people to have is the aha moment.
38:53That's the experience.
38:54Just, I can't tell you how many people that I've cooked for and they're like, man, this
39:00is Afro-Caribbean cuisine.
39:01This tastes so much like Southern cuisine or like something I've had, you know, growing
39:07up in Louisiana and South Carolina, North Carolina, you know, in the low country, uh,
39:13in Latin America.
39:15And, and I was like, yeah, well, you know, this came from here and that came from here
39:19and this is how it's got here and that, and it's just that like, oh, like, okay, that makes
39:27so much sense now.
39:28I've never thought about it like that.
39:29And that aha moment is the most satisfying moment to me.
39:34Obviously I want them to have a delicious, like hospitable experience, but it's just really
39:38that thing where like, you see the light in their eyes, just like brighten.
39:42And it's, it's the coolest part, like the absolute coolest part.
39:47I think there's going to be a lot of light bulbs going off, uh, in your future.
39:51And I know that's exciting to be working on this and, um, you know, bringing it to life
39:57in the not too distant future.
39:58Um, well, Tristan, I just have one more question for you.
40:02Um, you know, you've, you've traveled all over the world.
40:07Um, you've been so many places and clearly had lots of adventures, um, particularly in
40:13food.
40:14Um, but you know, you've really, you've put roots down in Houston.
40:19Um, and you know, this is, this is your home and, um, you clearly love it there.
40:25What does it mean to you to be a Texan?
40:29I, I, I don't, I don't know if I'm calling myself a Texan.
40:34I am, I think the beauty of it is I, I am where I am.
40:41I, I, I am who I'm, who I am is where I am at the moment.
40:45And right now I am proud to be a Texan.
40:48I am proud to have been a Virginian.
40:50I am proud to have been a North Carolinian, a Floridian, a Trinidadian, a Swede, Portuguese.
40:57All of those are me.
41:00And so, yes, I've put down some more permanent roots in Houston.
41:04It's the only place I've ever moved back to in my life.
41:07Uh, but the world's just too big.
41:09So, you know, there, who knows what I'll be next.
41:12But right now I am a Houstonian and a Southerner and a Southerner for sure.
41:19Well, Tristan Epps, uh, congrats on the big win and all the success and all the exciting
41:24things you have going on.
41:26And, and, uh, thanks so much for being on biscuits and jam said, thank you so much for
41:30having me as an amazing conversation.
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