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When Bobby Flay Cooked on the Chuck Wagon | Behind the Scenes of Reality Cooking TV (podcast)
Mar 29, 2026
I never wanted to be on TV. I just wanted to cook for cowboys. But one phone call, while on a ranch, changed all of that. This is how I went from a cowboy ranch cook, to cooking on national TV. I was standing in a pasture in North Texas when a car pulled up mid-shot and Bobby Flay walks right into my scene. I didn't know who he was. Didn't know he was coming. All I knew was my wood stove was loaded, it was 95 degrees, and we were about to find out how tough Bobby Flay really was.
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Kent Rollins
Cowboy Cooking, Cast Iron, Outdoor Cooking, Grilling, Dutch Oven Cooking
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0:00
You know, as I was out on the middle of
0:01
the ranch, didn't even think I had
0:03
service and got a phone call. And it
0:06
wasn't for a catering job. It was the
0:08
Food [music] Network. And they said,
0:09
"Hey, we'd love to do a special on you
0:12
called Chuck Wagon Cuisine." But that's
0:15
not actually what it turned out to be.
0:17
So, in this episode, we're going to go
0:19
through and talk about how an Oklahoma
0:21
cowboy became a TV cooking competition
0:25
>> [music]
0:25
>> phenomenon? I don't know if it was a
0:27
phenomenon, but it was something.
0:30
>> [music]
0:34
>> Howdy. My name is Kent Rollins. I've
0:36
been a cowboy [music] and a chuck wagon
0:38
cook for over 30 years, cooking for
0:40
ranches all across America. You might
0:42
have seen me on the Food Network or
0:44
alongside my beautiful wife Shannon on
0:46
our YouTube show where we share cowboy
0:48
cooking from [music] the trail. But now
0:50
we're going to take you behind the
0:51
scenes to real campfire conversations.
0:54
Join us as we share humor, cowboy
0:56
wisdom, and stories full of history,
0:58
[music] heart, faith, and of course, a
1:01
little fire. So, grab you a cup of
1:03
coffee, pull up a chair, and welcome to
1:06
the podcast.
1:08
>> [music]
1:12
>> First off, before we start this episode,
1:14
I just want to thank everyone so much
1:16
for all the amazing comments that you
1:19
have left us about our new podcast. I
1:22
mean, it's been unreal the amount of
1:25
love and support and stories that you've
1:27
been sharing with us about your family,
1:29
what you've been going through, and so
1:31
Yeah, we are we are so honored and
1:33
blessed to call y'all family because
1:36
y'all mean the world to us. And uh we're
1:38
having a good time. We hope y'all are
1:40
having a good time. And you've gotten
1:42
throughout the the years a lot of
1:44
questions about, "Well, how did you go
1:46
from this cowboy cook out on ranches in
1:49
the middle of nowhere to then now you're
1:51
showing up on our TV all the time, um
1:54
cooking competitions, of course we've
1:56
got our YouTube channel." And so, let's
1:59
go through that, shall we? I think part
2:01
of it was, you know, a lot of people was
2:03
like it was in my country, they didn't
2:04
have but two stations and they were
2:05
tired of seeing uh what was coming on
2:07
the news and and the weather, and that's
2:09
about it. But uh you know, it was really
2:12
uh something that sort of shocked me at
2:14
first. When I got in this business,
2:16
there was nothing about I wanted to be
2:18
in TV. You know, I just wanted to be a
2:20
ranch cook. And that's what you were
2:22
doing, right? You were just cooking for
2:24
for ranches in the spring and the fall.
2:26
Um you were doing catering at the time.
2:29
And so, you're just loving that you had
2:32
quit a job that you didn't have a
2:34
passion for. And now you were doing
2:37
full-time
2:39
chuck wagon cooking, right? And uh
2:41
I remember I was coming home from a
2:43
ranch with my good flip phone. I mean, I
2:45
was
2:47
I was on top of it.
2:48
>> a flip phone back then.
2:49
>> ma'am. I mean, had the antenna you
2:51
pulled out.
2:51
>> Those were good ones.
2:52
>> They were good. And I got a call from
2:54
the Oklahoma Tourism Department. Okay.
2:57
And uh I'd met this lady before,
3:00
Barbara. Sweetest she could be, her and
3:02
Sandy. And they said, "Hey Kent,
3:04
we couldn't think of anybody better that
3:06
we'd like to represent Oklahoma for. And
3:10
we have you something special. I think
3:12
you'll like."
3:14
And I said, "I don't I don't know what
3:15
you're talking about, Barbara." And she
3:17
said,
3:18
"QVC."
3:20
And I said, "Ho- hold on a minute." I
3:21
said, "Is that a disease?" And she said,
3:24
"No, ma'am. QVC
3:26
is wanting to do a series, 50 states in
3:30
50 weeks, where they would do a live
3:32
broadcast from each state." Which is
3:35
interesting because QVC's like the
3:37
shopping
3:37
>> Yeah, I didn't know what it was. So,
3:39
this was kind of a different angle that
3:41
And what was their purpose? Just to
3:43
showcase
3:43
>> To showcase products made in Oklahoma,
3:46
but also have what they thought was a
3:48
spokesman for what Oklahoma was about.
3:51
So, she said, "These people will contact
3:53
you. They're from Rochester.
3:55
And they'll send a film crew down. And
3:58
uh then you will be at the live show
4:00
that they do, which will be in Muskogee,
4:02
Oklahoma."
4:04
Well, I didn't give it a whole lot of
4:05
thought. I just said, "Yeah." You know,
4:07
and
4:08
about 3 days after that, I get a phone
4:10
call from this guy named Paul Kelly. Uh
4:12
he was a he's a great person. Worked for
4:14
QVC for a long time. And he told me, he
4:17
said, "Hey, we're going to show up down
4:18
there day after tomorrow, and we just
4:20
want to spend a day in the life of
4:21
cowboy Kent Rollins." I said, "Well, I'm
4:24
uh pretty busy right now. But I said uh
4:27
y'all just show up when you want to."
4:29
Fixing to get on this horse, and I look
4:30
back here and there's a white van coming
4:32
down through there.
4:34
And this guy gets out, it's Paul Kelly.
4:36
And uh he's got a cameraman, and then
4:39
he's got a technician with him.
4:41
And I remember the cameraman, they
4:42
called him Z man.
4:44
And uh
4:46
something that I'd never seen before in
4:47
my life was body piercings on people,
4:50
you know. Had you seen them on other
4:52
things? I've seen them on cattle.
4:54
>> Oh, okay.
4:55
>> and I've been
4:55
>> Your tags? Yeah, I've been pierced by
4:57
prickly pears and mesquite thorns, but
4:59
they were so nice and so generous. And
5:01
he said, "Here, we'd like to mic you up
5:03
where you're going. Where are you
5:04
going?" I said, "About a mile and a half
5:06
across the river." Can I stop you and
5:08
say that miking up a cowboy is a very
5:11
dangerous thing.
5:14
>> if there was some goofy wild cattle
5:16
involved, you know what I mean? So, they
5:18
put this on me and they said, "We'll
5:19
follow you."
5:21
And I said, "You cannot go where I'm
5:23
going." I said, "I've got to go across
5:25
the Red River." And Red River down there
5:27
in our country, a lot of times it's dry.
5:29
Maybe have a little stream running
5:31
through. But there's a lot of really
5:32
quicksand. You know, it's not going to
5:34
suck you under, but I'd I'd crossed that
5:36
river so many times in my life, I knew
5:38
where to go. And they said, "Yeah, we're
5:40
going to follow you." I said, "You can't
5:42
drive across the river. It's a rental.
5:44
It's okay." I said, "No,
5:46
you ain't going to make it." Well, I was
5:47
gone about 3 hours, you know, finally
5:49
got the bull back, and they're just
5:51
sitting there waiting patiently. I had
5:53
set the wagon up the day before on what
5:55
I called the scenic overlook down there.
5:57
It overlooked the river. You could see
5:59
forever.
6:00
And they just wanted to film really a
6:03
typical meal that I would cook on a
6:05
ranch.
6:06
And uh
6:08
I couldn't get over how genuine and
6:11
polite they were. You know, they were
6:12
just really good people. We cooked
6:14
chicken fried steak that night, gravy,
6:16
mashed potatoes, the whole works, you
6:18
know, and and I remember uh
6:21
Z Billy Z asking me, he said, cuz all we
6:23
had was a fire and a lantern, you know.
6:26
And it was cloudy.
6:28
And he said, "If we turn that lantern
6:30
off, how dark is it?"
6:33
I said, "It's dark, my friend."
6:35
I said,
6:36
"Dark enough that you can't see very
6:38
far." And I turned the light off,
6:41
and they stepped out in front of the
6:42
fire away from the fire.
6:44
And it's just total pitch black.
6:47
And he set his camera down. Paul just
6:50
sat down on a chair. And that little
6:52
girl that was with him, she just stood
6:53
there, and they were just in awe.
6:55
They'd never seen darkness that dark.
6:58
And I told them, I said, "If you can get
7:00
out of town away from the
7:02
the reflection of street lights and
7:03
everything else, these places like this
7:05
all over the United States, you know."
7:07
And I said, "In the dark,
7:10
in the silence,
7:12
there's so much volume in really what
7:14
you need to hear in life. There's peace.
7:16
There's tranquility. But it soothes your
7:19
soul and sort of recharges your
7:21
battery."
7:22
And um
7:23
when we finished all that, uh they told
7:26
me, they said, "We'll get back with you.
7:28
Probably be about a month and a half,
7:29
and we'll do the live show." You know,
7:31
and I remember not long after that,
7:33
Barbara and them called back. And they
7:35
said,
7:36
"The Ad Council and the Tourism
7:38
Department is so proud of the way that
7:40
you represented Oklahoma. We have you
7:41
another deal."
7:43
I said, "What do you mean another deal?"
7:45
And she said,
7:46
"We'd like to send you to California, uh
7:49
to LA, to be on the Home and Family
7:51
show."
7:53
And she said,
7:54
"Would that work for you?" And I said,
7:56
"I reckon so." And of course, you're not
7:58
phased. You're like, "Okay, great. This
8:00
is just another trip." So, you I mean,
8:02
you were going to have to fly out to
8:03
there. They were not coming to you this
8:05
time. Yeah, and I I've never been to LA.
8:08
I'm shocking. You know, never been to
8:10
California.
8:11
So, you're packing up, you're heading
8:14
out to LA.
8:15
>> Yes, ma'am. And So, what happens? How do
8:17
you get ready for that? It was a weird
8:19
deal to me way it started cuz this lady
8:21
called, she was the chef at this show.
8:24
Uh-huh. And of course, like at this
8:26
time, chef was kind of a con-
8:28
unknown concept to you, right? Like I
8:30
was just a cook. Only chef I knew was
8:32
Chef Boyardee on a can. You know, that's
8:35
the only chef I'd ever seen in my life.
8:37
And uh but
8:39
I talked to this
8:41
person that worked for this chef, and
8:43
they said, "Okay, here's here's what
8:45
we'd like for you to cook." And they was
8:47
naming off stuff I'd never heard in my
8:49
life. And I said, "No, ma'am.
8:51
I said, "If I'm going to represent my
8:53
state in the way that I think things
8:55
need to be done, we're going to cook
8:56
things that I know people in my part of
8:59
the country would love to see."
9:01
And I said, "That's sparkling potatoes
9:03
and a peach cobbler."
9:04
And for those of you who don't know,
9:06
we've published this a lot on our
9:07
YouTube, and we've got the recipe in our
9:09
cookbooks and everything. So, sparkling
9:10
potatoes is one of the recipes that you
9:13
are known for, probably alongside
9:14
chicken fried steak. And it's
9:17
russet potatoes
9:19
sliced up, and you cook them with bacon,
9:22
onion, and jalapeno in lemon lime soda.
9:26
Yeah. And it's really good. If you
9:27
haven't done it, try it because it it
9:29
turns out really good. Get me a little
9:31
motel room. Really nice, you know.
9:34
Next morning, they send this what they
9:35
call a runner
9:37
over there cuz they called me and said,
9:38
"There'll be a runner to come and get
9:40
you." And I'm thinking, "We ain't
9:41
running out there wherever we're going
9:42
dragging that box. I know that."
9:44
Had my first limousine ride ever. I
9:47
mean, I wanted me some them dark glasses
9:49
and sit back here in the back seat, have
9:51
me one them mimosas or something, you
9:52
know. I was doing good.
9:55
Get over there and unload. We're like an
9:57
hour and a half early.
9:59
And uh So, you're at the studio at this
10:01
point.
10:02
>> Universal City. Okay. Uh and have you
10:04
ever been there? It was just one place
10:07
after another. Little trailer houses,
10:09
you know, everywhere in the world. So,
10:11
you get on set and this is your first
10:15
time cooking on set. And so, I can
10:17
imagine this has to be a little weird.
10:18
You've got all the bright lights, you've
10:20
got the kitchen studio. Like, of course,
10:24
I would be nervous wreck.
10:26
You, I'm guessing, were not. No, I I was
10:29
just standing back over in the corner.
10:30
My episode part was going to be outside.
10:33
Oh, okay. And uh I told them that we
10:36
need to have a hole 2 ft wide by 3 ft
10:39
long and a foot deep.
10:41
>> To cook coals to burn down coals to cook
10:43
with the Dutch oven, yeah. And I told
10:44
them I needed some firewood. They want
10:46
to know what kind.
10:47
I said, "Hey, these people are obliging
10:49
us." And I said, "I'll take some
10:50
mesquite." Oh, gosh. So, here comes this
10:52
runner with a wheelbarrow. And he got 50
10:55
lbs of mesquite shavings, like sawdust
10:58
sort of. Oh, no. And I said, "Brother, I
11:00
don't know where you come from, but that
11:01
stuff ain't going to make no fire."
11:03
He said, "We'll go over to 7-Eleven.
11:05
We'll get you some."
11:06
You know them broke bundle bags? Yeah.
11:08
>> They brought them. Eucalyptus.
11:11
Eucalyptus? Yeah.
11:13
I didn't know what it was cuz I'd never
11:14
seen one, but when we tried to catch it
11:16
on fire, it just smelled like you're
11:18
burning a Vicks bottle all the time, you
11:20
know. And I said,
11:20
>> Clean out the sinuses.
11:22
>> I said, "How about some charcoal?" Yeah,
11:23
got it. That, you know, and we did, but
11:25
after we got all that set, we went back
11:27
in there because it was part of the
11:28
intro. Okay. And it's 2-hour show. You
11:32
had their little part, then they had a
11:33
main guest on there, which was Al
11:37
played the trumpet.
11:38
I can't remember his last name. Al Hirt,
11:40
maybe?
11:41
Uh then there's a a fitness segment, a
11:44
garden segment, and a cooking segment.
11:46
>> Okay.
11:47
And I was standing back over in the
11:48
corner minding my own business, you
11:49
know, watching all this stuff take
11:51
place.
11:52
And there was two of these guys and some
11:54
of these uh really stretchy tight
11:57
uniforms that I didn't know who they
11:59
was. Maybe might have seen them on
12:01
championship wrestling once in my life,
12:03
you know. And uh one of them comes over
12:05
and he introduces himself. I got to
12:06
shake his hand. And you know me, when I
12:08
shake somebody's hand, what it is.
12:11
You wait it. Yeah.
12:14
And he just sort of looked at me and he
12:15
said, "Oh my god, do you work out?"
12:18
I said, "Every day, sir."
12:20
"How do you go to the gym or the Do you
12:23
go to the YMCA or where where do you
12:25
work out?" I said, "Usually at the
12:27
river."
12:28
Is that a new gym? So, what do you Did
12:30
he?
12:31
He said, "What kind of equipment you
12:32
got?" I said, "Post hole digger, tamp
12:35
bar, you know."
12:36
Then he want to know the membership. How
12:38
much is it a month? Oh. I said, "It's
12:40
free." Oh. I said, "And if you do a good
12:42
job, they'll even pay you to do it."
12:44
They both want to sign up come out next
12:46
week. See, that's a whole new another
12:49
business adventure you could have done.
12:50
Got it in, but when we actually started
12:53
the filming,
12:54
I think, in a way, I wasn't nervous, but
12:58
they had these big cue cards that hold
13:01
up, you know.
13:02
And I'd look at them words and I'd
13:04
think, "I would never say that."
13:06
>> Is this the stuff you're supposed to be
13:07
saying? I know, yeah.
13:09
>> I thought, "I ain't going to say that."
13:10
And this lady comes over there that is
13:12
one of the production managers. She
13:13
said, "This is live TV."
13:16
It's good, ma'am. She said, "There'll be
13:18
nearly 4 million people watch this." She
13:21
said, "Does that bother you?" I said,
13:23
"No, ma'am, bother you?" I said, "I
13:24
can't see them. It don't make me no
13:25
difference." I know.
13:27
How That's what I would like to know.
13:29
Like, how do you have that kind of like
13:32
inner calm when things when you're in
13:34
very stressful situations? Because
13:36
you're like that all the time.
13:38
It stress does not impact you like I
13:41
think like other people, especially me.
13:44
So, what How do you
13:46
I think a lot of it goes back to faith.
13:49
What got me here.
13:50
Um
13:52
And especially even more so now.
13:55
I've always told you this, when I was in
13:57
a stressful situation at a cooking
13:59
competition or something,
14:01
I always thought of you.
14:04
I always carried a picture of you and
14:05
the beagle in my pocket, you know.
14:08
Things that I know that I could count
14:10
on. God was always first. So,
14:13
stress don't do nothing for you. Make
14:14
your blood pressure go up.
14:15
>> You know, I think too, it's um you are
14:18
very I don't know if confidence is the
14:21
right word,
14:22
but you're very confident in who you are
14:26
and what you stand for. And maybe that's
14:27
it. You're more confident in what you
14:29
stand for because
14:31
as we've gone on through the years in
14:33
different situations, particularly in TV
14:35
production,
14:36
TV wants to tell its own story a lot of
14:39
times.
14:40
>> Ooh, yeah. And you have always kicked
14:42
back. And in situations where I think it
14:45
would be really easy to crumble and just
14:47
say like, "Oh, okay. Like, I'm in a big
14:49
situation or this is really important
14:51
and I should just do what they say." You
14:53
have never done that. You've always
14:54
stuck to who you are and what you
14:56
believe in. And I've always found that
14:58
really powerful and I think that's
15:01
ultimately what has created success in
15:04
your life.
15:05
Well, don't We've always told people,
15:08
"Be who you are. Don't be something
15:09
you're not."
15:11
Now, if that camera man come in front of
15:12
me and women in there say, "You know,
15:14
you you never change when the camera's
15:16
on." I said, "Hell, ma'am, I ain't
15:17
changed socks in a week. I ain't going
15:19
to change personalities, you know." But
15:22
you see so many people and I've seen it
15:23
through the years,
15:25
when that camera's there, they're a
15:27
different person. Yes.
15:28
>> It shows up so much.
15:30
>> Yes. You know, and it's
15:32
I
15:33
I don't want I'm not meaning this to be
15:35
bad, but don't be counterfeit. People
15:38
will see through it eventually. It's
15:39
like a thin strip of bacon. It just
15:41
ain't going to hold up, you know. Uh
15:43
so,
15:45
have the passion in your heart to do
15:47
good, but remember who you are.
15:49
>> But remember your raising, remember
15:51
where you came from, and don't take it
15:53
for granted that if I can do this, I'm
15:55
going to be an overnight success
15:56
because, folks,
15:58
you may not see the whole staircase,
16:00
but you're going to have to climb it one
16:02
step at a time.
16:03
And a lot of them times, you might fall
16:05
off. So, you finish your big LA debut.
16:08
>> Yes, ma'am. I mean, I thanks. And you're
16:11
just about to get your Hollywood star,
16:13
I'm sure.
16:13
>> Yes, ma'am. And then you go back home.
16:16
What's interesting
16:18
also is you get yet another phone call.
16:21
And this is probably one of the biggest
16:24
at the time.
16:25
Yeah, it's another one of them deals
16:26
where I didn't really know what was
16:27
going on. The phone rang and they said,
16:29
"Hey, this is Food Network."
16:31
What's going on now, you know? And uh
16:34
every time I've ever talked to Food
16:35
Network, it was always a different
16:36
person. They were like you had a contact
16:38
you could hang.
16:39
And she said, um
16:41
"We are
16:43
really interested in showcasing your
16:45
lifestyle
16:47
as a cowboy, but also more about the way
16:49
you cook. And we're doing this special
16:51
called Chuck Wagon Cuisine to where we
16:54
will feature your life and your
16:56
lifestyle as how you are a cowboy cook
16:58
and cook for cowboys."
17:00
I'm on a ranch down here in North Texas.
17:02
Y'all want to show up, we'll see what'll
17:03
happen. But it turns out that wasn't the
17:06
case at all. And the the concept of the
17:09
show was it was actually Throw Down with
17:12
Bobby Flay. Now, for those of you don't
17:15
don't know,
17:16
Throw Down with Bobby Flay was a Food
17:18
Network show where Bobby would travel
17:20
all across the country and he would
17:22
challenge people in their specialty. If
17:25
it was a dish or if it was a certain
17:27
type of cuisine, and he would surprise
17:29
them and that is true. We honestly did
17:32
not know that Bobby Flay was coming
17:33
until he actually got on set. And so,
17:37
what we didn't know is he was coming to
17:39
challenge you on chicken fried steak
17:41
because you were somewhat of the expert
17:44
on chicken fried steak. I don't know if
17:46
I was an expert, but I sure had a lot of
17:48
practice, you know. But
17:50
there was no clue anywhere through the
17:52
days of filming that somebody else was
17:54
showing up. I didn't even I just
17:56
thought, "We're just going to cook. Have
17:57
a good time." Uh or they set up the time
17:59
to come. They were coming out to the
18:01
ranch.
18:03
And unfortunately, my grandfather
18:06
>> Yeah. passed away in between the time
18:08
when we got the call and when they were
18:09
going to come film. So, I had to leave
18:12
and I was gone for the first two days of
18:14
filming, but I came back for that third
18:16
one. So, um it was kind of crazy those
18:19
first two days. What all What all
18:20
happened?
18:21
>> For one day, we was horseback forever,
18:23
seemed like, just riding through this
18:25
gate back and forth so they could get it
18:27
to where they wanted it.
18:28
>> So, they could just get like a a extra
18:30
shot for you. And um me and the horses
18:32
were out long for we ever got that shot.
18:34
Walking down a set of pins in the alley,
18:37
you know. You'd have your leggings on,
18:38
your spurs. You'd You'd You'd been
18:40
working cattle and you'd
18:42
All right, let's do that again.
18:44
Over and over and over.
18:45
And uh they said the next day we're
18:47
going to cook. So, we spent 6 and 1/2
18:49
hours that day Just walking around?
18:51
>> Riding a horse
18:52
100 yards and back and walking up down
18:55
that alley.
18:56
I thought cooking was going to be a
18:57
whole lot easier. We went over to the
18:59
wagon. Had it all set up. Beautiful
19:01
place down there on this ranch. And
19:03
this, again, is the wrong time of year.
19:06
It's September and it's hot and it's
19:09
humid in North Texas.
19:12
And uh we go through how I'm going to
19:13
cook this chicken fried steak, you know,
19:15
and we tell them really what chicken
19:16
fried steak is. And this producer said,
19:19
"I need you to tell people that you make
19:20
the best chicken fried steak in the
19:22
world."
19:23
I said, "I don't know that, ma'am. I
19:25
haven't ate them all, but I've had a lot
19:27
of practice making them, you know. And
19:29
I've never had cowboys just eat one.
19:30
They usually eat three."
19:32
And
19:34
going through that day was just a lot of
19:35
building fire and re-cooking something
19:38
over and over and over, like I needed to
19:40
practice, you know. Getting different
19:42
shots. So, you just kept making chicken
19:44
fried steak.
19:45
>> Yeah, I'm good.
19:45
>> Just like over and over again? Yeah.
19:48
And uh hot, miserable.
19:51
And the only thing that kept going
19:53
through that day was knowing that I was
19:55
going to drive to the airport and pick
19:56
you up that night.
19:58
>> Yeah.
19:58
>> And bring bring home.
19:59
>> That was that was tough because, you
20:01
know,
20:02
going through a hard time with my
20:03
family, but then also feeling like I was
20:06
gone and I couldn't support you and this
20:07
was like a big thing and
20:10
so so yeah, that was tough. And I'm sure
20:12
you were thinking like we've already
20:13
done 2 days of this and they tell you,
20:15
okay, we're we're going to film a third
20:17
day and are you thinking like why? Yeah,
20:20
I'm thinking
20:21
and we've fed no people. You know, we're
20:23
just they didn't even been nobody around
20:25
the wagon just me and I'm thinking
20:27
this don't really make a lot of sense
20:29
and that evening late before we finished
20:32
here come more lighting crews here come
20:35
more sound crews in the camp. And I
20:37
remember you telling me you're like
20:39
something is weird because they brought
20:42
in all this extra equipment. They've got
20:45
another kind of more team members.
20:48
I don't know what's happening, but I'm
20:49
like, well, they must just be wanting to
20:51
get more shots. You know, this is kind
20:53
of the the finale day where you're going
20:54
to make best chicken fried steak. Yay,
20:57
we all go home. Yeah, and then when we
20:58
got there that morning they had told us,
21:00
you know, hey, this is the day that
21:02
you're going to feed some of your
21:03
friend. Yeah, so I remember we had
21:05
called around the community and our
21:08
friends and we're like, hey, can you all
21:10
come out because we're supposed to do
21:12
this final shot where Kent finishes the
21:14
chicken fried steak and everybody sits
21:15
around the wagon and oh yum, it's it's
21:17
great and and the end scene. And they
21:20
told me they said, you know, we won't
21:21
have these interruptions like we did
21:23
yesterday.
21:24
That's what I remember was really
21:26
strange. So we're in this pasture and I
21:29
remember they sent a crew out to stand
21:33
by the road to make sure that nobody
21:35
came in. I was like, oh, okay, so this
21:38
is really closed set.
21:40
And then you started cooking. So we've
21:43
got the cameras and you're at the chuck
21:46
box and you're like, hey, I'm Kent
21:48
Rollins and I'm making the best chicken
21:50
fried steak.
21:51
And I'm in the background and I remember
21:54
looking over this car pulls in and I'm
21:57
thinking
21:59
who let somebody in to ruin the shot?
22:02
And I'm looking at the producer and I'm
22:04
like, are you going to like cut the
22:05
scene because some somebody's come
22:07
through and ruining this whole thing?
22:09
And
22:10
I I think four people jumped out
22:13
>> Yep. and they came around the wagon
22:16
right in your shot and I was like, what
22:18
is happening? He the guy jumps into your
22:21
scene and says, hey Kent, I hear you
22:24
make the best chicken fried steak. Do
22:26
you want to have a throw down?
22:28
And it was right at that moment I
22:30
realized it was Bobby Flay because Bobby
22:32
Flay looked a lot different on TV than
22:35
he did does in real life to me. Um he's
22:38
he's more slender looking because I
22:39
think on TV, you know, and especially in
22:41
his promos, he's you know, big and
22:42
tough.
22:43
And I remember you looking at him and
22:46
your face just kind of dropped and I
22:48
know you were thinking like who is this
22:50
guy? What's he doing on set? What does
22:54
he have to do with anything because you
22:56
honestly didn't know who Bobby Flay was.
22:58
>> Didn't know he was coming and didn't
22:59
know who he was.
23:00
>> Yeah. And then And so then they break.
23:04
So production stops and then I remember
23:07
running up to you and I'm like, oh my
23:09
gosh, it's Bobby Flay and you're like,
23:11
who?
23:13
>> [laughter]
23:13
>> And then you kind of then you kind of
23:15
got it and realized what's happening. I
23:17
said he's going to challenge you to a
23:20
chicken fried steak.
23:21
Are you freaking out? And you're like,
23:23
whatever, I don't care, you know, it's
23:25
it's just another guy cooking in camp.
23:27
So You know, I'd made friends with the
23:29
cameraman that had been there for 3
23:31
days. You know, and and they were they
23:33
was
23:34
genuinely good people. They were.
23:38
And uh
23:39
when I figured out when he said I'd like
23:41
to challenge you to a throw down
23:43
my first instinct was
23:45
we're going to see how tough you are. I
23:48
I felt a little bad for Bobby at this
23:51
point because when I saw your face, I
23:53
knew ooh
23:55
it's about to get really hot in the
23:57
kitchen for Bobby. And uh you know,
24:00
Bertha that old wood stove and bless
24:03
their hearts up there in New York City,
24:04
they probably never seen a Bertha in
24:05
their life or a chuck wagon.
24:07
>> No, they were yeah. And uh I mean, they
24:10
done they do research for the show and
24:12
find out what you cook, how you cook it,
24:14
your method and everything. So
24:15
>> And I do have to give it to him like
24:16
they let you cook the way you cook,
24:19
which was great. And uh
24:21
so I remember telling Shannon, I said,
24:23
we're going to find out how tough this
24:24
guy is because I'm going to throw every
24:27
stick of firewood I got in there. Old
24:28
Bertha's going to be jumping off the
24:30
ground today.
24:31
>> She was unnecessarily
24:33
loaded with wood.
24:35
>> Yeah, it's hot. You're hot.
24:37
I can remember when cuz he brought in
24:39
all this stuff. He had his own cast iron
24:41
skillets had Bobby Flay engraved on
24:44
them, you know.
24:45
And they set up another table and they
24:47
were taking over 3/4 of the kitchen, you
24:49
know.
24:50
And he went I seen them little old cast
24:52
iron pans he had and I said, Bobby, I
24:54
don't think you better to use them.
24:55
Bertha melt them. I said, I got a 20-in
24:57
skillet that you can use, you know. And
25:00
I put it up there on the stove for him
25:01
and I'm thinking
25:03
I'll put him on this end. I'll cook on
25:04
this end. But here it wasn't just like,
25:06
oh, I'm going to put him on this end.
25:08
Kent put Bobby on the end of the stove
25:11
where he had put all of the firewood up.
25:15
So
25:15
>> even have have have enough heat to cook.
25:17
>> You didn't want him to get cold.
25:18
>> Huh? So Bobby is melting on the side of
25:23
Bertha the wood stove as he's trying to
25:25
cook and
25:26
he was being a really good sport about
25:27
it. You know, when Bertha wood stove has
25:29
got a door on one end and when you got a
25:32
stove full of wood and you give it
25:34
oxygen, what happens? It's going to
25:36
flame licks out.
25:37
>> Yeah. So I'm thinking Bobby needs to
25:39
have an encounter with Bertha so she can
25:41
give him a little kiss.
25:43
So I move him down there at that end. I
25:45
crank it up.
25:46
>> what you said to him was, hey Bobby,
25:48
you're looking a little hot. Why don't
25:50
you come to the cooler side of the
25:52
stove? And then you open the door and
25:54
the flames are like licking up. And he
25:57
told me said, and this was off camera,
25:59
he said, nobody in their right mind
26:01
would cook like this.
26:03
I said, it's job security.
26:05
And uh
26:07
I I just remember the how he put a
26:09
chicken fried together and how we put it
26:11
together two totally different things.
26:13
>> Right.
26:13
I think what was interesting is what you
26:15
taught him and he was really gracious
26:16
about learning something from you. Um
26:19
that you he was under the impression it
26:22
was all about the breading that made a
26:24
good chicken fried steak and you taught
26:26
him, we have that's important, but the
26:28
cut of meat
26:29
>> Oh, yeah.
26:30
>> is really important. So what cut do you
26:31
use?
26:32
>> We usually use top sirloin, you know,
26:35
uh but also not to pan fry. Deep fry.
26:38
>> Yes. You're not in the grease as long.
26:40
You can get a better crust out of it.
26:42
Uh you have a faster cook time and uh
26:45
and you always got to have gravy. You
26:47
know, and I make gravy the same way I've
26:49
always made it.
26:49
>> Now, during that time did you at all
26:51
feel any more stressed? I just felt hot,
26:54
you know.
26:55
>> And I was stressed. And
26:57
I I
26:57
remember there was a cameraman sitting
26:59
down on this end of the stove filming I
27:01
said he was standing there where he just
27:03
get that shot directly over the skillet,
27:05
you know.
27:06
And I looked over and I mean, sweat was
27:08
running off there at 100 miles an hour.
27:10
I said, hot, ain't it, brother? He said,
27:13
I'm on fire. I said, yeah, I'll make you
27:14
feel like that. He said, no, I think I'm
27:16
literally on fire. He wearing them old
27:18
big loose khaki breeches and Bertha was
27:21
had burned the Oh, you're kidding. Had
27:23
melted a little bit?
27:24
>> Melted a little bit. I said, yeah, but
27:25
this time back up just a tad, but they
27:27
were very dedicated, too. I mean, I
27:29
don't know if them folks get enough
27:31
credit for what they do and some of the
27:33
conditions because what's them cameras
27:34
weighing? Oh, crazy.
27:36
>> It's heavy, you know, I'm standing over
27:37
old Bertha just looking down at that
27:39
heat the whole time.
27:40
Uh I tip my hat to them. I do, but um
27:44
you know,
27:46
when you get it all made
27:48
and they've going to bring these judges
27:50
in.
27:50
>> Mhm. You know, cuz they
27:52
had no idea who judges is going to be. I
27:54
never clue.
27:56
Well, I see these two people come around
27:58
there
27:59
and I know them both. They were they're
28:01
chuck wagon cooks.
28:02
>> Yeah, and one of them
28:04
a lady, she is a fierce competitor. I'd
28:07
beat her some, she'd beat me some and I
28:09
don't think she really admired me that
28:11
much. I remember you like whispering to
28:14
me like, I don't know if this judging is
28:16
going to go in our favor.
28:18
I'm like, uh And Homer, you know, I've
28:21
cooked with Homer a lot.
28:23
And when they sit down there, Bobby had
28:25
made great
28:27
gravy and put bacon in it and then
28:29
finished it with thyme.
28:30
>> I remember he placed a little sprig of
28:33
thyme on top and I'm thinking, boy, you
28:36
haven't served a chicken fried steak
28:37
down south because it's it's you and
28:41
your food as you've always said that
28:42
it's less about presentation and it's
28:44
more about is it good and are they going
28:46
to eat it?
28:47
So he was kind of doing this really
28:49
sheffy presentation, which I mean, he's
28:51
sticking to his roots.
28:53
And I remember we we served it with the
28:57
chicken fried steak and gravy on top.
28:59
Now, typically in any chuck wagon
29:02
cooking competitions, you do not do
29:04
that.
29:04
>> Yeah. Gravy is not even a is not even a
29:07
it's separate, but it's not judged.
29:09
>> Yeah, so it's just the chicken fried
29:10
steak. So that was a little different
29:12
and I remember you told me you pour the
29:15
gravy on top right before serving.
29:19
I was so nervous and I remember I had
29:21
the skillet and I'm shaking and I'm
29:23
putting the gravy and I get so nervous I
29:26
dump like half of the skillet on the
29:29
chicken fried and I'm thinking, we've
29:31
lost the competition right here because
29:34
I've just drowned this chicken or this
29:36
chicken fried steak in gravy.
29:38
Whatever. Okay, so we we present them
29:40
and I remember the judges are eating and
29:42
they're like, this is really good, but
29:45
there's a lot of gravy on this. I'm
29:47
thinking, oh no. You can't go wrong with
29:49
gravy.
29:50
>> Well, you can a little bit. Well, all I
29:52
know is
29:54
when they took a bite
29:56
mine and Bobby's and plates are
29:58
numbered. You don't know which one is
29:59
which, you know.
30:00
>> I think the time gave it away.
30:02
>> I hadn't mine. Uh and we won. Mhm. You
30:06
know? Um
30:08
I think to me at that moment
30:11
wasn't about, hey I beat this guy.
30:14
It to me it was about I showed this guy
30:17
what it's like
30:18
to be one day in
30:21
in chuck wagon cooking in some miserable
30:23
weather. Mhm. It's not in a studio, in a
30:26
set environment. It's outside in mother
30:29
nature.
30:30
You hung your shingle out there that
30:32
says, I'm a chuck wagon cook and you're
30:33
going to show up every day no matter
30:34
what, you know? I just remember the two
30:37
gals that was with him and Bobby.
30:40
They didn't hardly even say bye. The
30:42
lady did tell me, I will be so glad to
30:44
leave this place.
30:45
>> They were hot, they were tired, and they
30:47
were ready to get out of there and back
30:49
into a climate controlled kitchen, I'm I
30:51
mean, they were out of their element.
30:53
Very much so.
30:54
>> But everybody I think was was a pretty
30:56
good sport about it.
30:57
>> Oh, yeah. Um and even even Bobby, like
30:59
he he didn't stick around too long after
31:01
that. But um I think I think he did
31:06
enjoy
31:07
the experience and doing something
31:09
completely
31:10
>> Yeah.
31:10
>> different and a different style of
31:11
cooking.
31:12
>> he enjoyed it a whole lot more if it'd
31:13
been like 65 instead of 95.
31:15
>> Absolutely. Uh but I I remember telling
31:18
one of them sound crew guys after he
31:20
drove off, I said, he ain't going to
31:22
stay in here washing dishes. I said, no,
31:24
I don't think that's going to happen.
31:26
>> That was definitely how it all works,
31:28
you know? You get this all these people
31:30
roll in and all this excitement and
31:32
they're out just as fast as they came.
31:34
And I remember sitting everybody had
31:37
left.
31:38
>> Yeah. And it was just the two of us
31:39
sitting in that pasture and it was
31:40
quiet. And I just looked at him and
31:42
said,
31:43
what just happened? That night when we
31:45
went to bed, we were the same people we
31:47
were before that day started. And the
31:49
next morning we were the same people
31:51
again.
31:53
Um
31:54
I I never thought in my mind
31:56
well, I'll ain't going to have to do as
31:58
much ranch cooking no more. I'm just
31:59
going to be TV star from now on, you
32:02
know? But I don't think that was ever my
32:05
intention to do that. Um
32:09
you you always want to be a success in
32:12
life.
32:12
>> Mhm. And you always want to have some
32:15
recognition. I've always go back to what
32:18
old Tom said up there on that ranch one
32:19
time. He said,
32:21
out here we don't tell people what we
32:23
can do, we show them what we can do.
32:26
And you get a chance every time you
32:30
whether it's a competition or it's just
32:31
can trying to compete in life every day.
32:34
Get a chance to
32:37
I don't I don't mean that I don't know
32:38
if I really know how to say don't brag
32:39
about yourself. Mhm. Show people
32:42
yourself.
32:43
>> You know, there's a lot of behind the
32:45
scenes that goes into the final episode,
32:48
whether it's on TV or whether it's in
32:50
life. And you don't always see the hard
32:53
work. No. And then all of a sudden you
32:54
see somebody making it big or doing
32:57
something and you think, wow, they just
32:59
just happened.
33:00
>> Yeah. And there's years of hard work
33:03
that goes into it and even if you're
33:05
someone that's that's in the thick of it
33:07
going through something where you feel
33:09
like, man, I'm putting in all this hard
33:10
work and nobody's noticing and good
33:12
things are not happening, they do. Yeah.
33:15
It's just not on your timeline all the
33:17
always. Yeah, I
33:18
I've never seen anything that happened
33:20
overnight. Uh
33:22
that didn't take a lot more effort than
33:23
one night. Yeah. You know? You put your
33:26
best foot forward.
33:28
Pray about what you're going to do.
33:30
Believe in yourself.
33:32
And good things will come from it.
33:35
You'll get the glory and the recognition
33:37
you deserve.
33:39
And that may be 25 years down the road.
33:42
But it's there, it's waiting. God's
33:44
going to give you that recognition every
33:46
time. If you go by his ways, his words,
33:49
be the kind kind of person you need to
33:50
be and be good to people everywhere.
33:53
Would you ever do a Bobby Flay or
33:56
competition again?
33:59
Well,
34:00
I might and I did.
34:03
And
34:04
you know, I I wonder if folks would like
34:06
to hear about it cuz there there've been
34:08
a lot of competitions. You have, you
34:10
know, Bobby Flay I think was just maybe
34:12
the tip of the iceberg.
34:14
>> Yeah. Because you then went on to do a
34:18
lot of competitions and different styles
34:20
of competitions. And really kind of
34:22
opened your eyes even more to the whole
34:25
TV production world and cooking out of
34:28
your element.
34:29
>> Yes. And I think
34:31
and I'm I think you believe this, too.
34:33
Sometimes if you don't ever get out of
34:36
your element, you don't know what you
34:37
can do.
34:38
>> Mhm. You know, you
34:39
>> You you've been tested a lot and and I
34:41
think have really probably you've you've
34:43
shown yourself things that you didn't
34:45
even know you could do. There's been a
34:46
time or two it has. I always believed
34:48
that you always used to tell me,
34:50
you'll be okay when you feel fire. Yep.
34:52
You know?
34:53
And and I go back to what it I heard an
34:55
old blacksmith say a long time ago. He
34:58
said,
34:59
fire is not always a bad thing.
35:02
Cuz we all have to be melted down at
35:04
some point and molded into something we
35:06
need to be. So, is your fire burning?
35:10
You know, do you have that passion in
35:12
life that you think
35:14
I'm going to do this, but I don't think
35:15
nobody's noticing.
35:17
I don't don't always look for the pat on
35:20
the back the first day or an attaboy.
35:22
Because uh there's been more times in
35:25
life that I didn't reach where I thought
35:27
I was going, that I failed to get there.
35:29
But always in them times it taught me
35:31
something through that lesson. There was
35:33
a lesson there that said, well, if you'd
35:35
have done this or you'd have tried a
35:36
little harder if you'd prayed longer
35:38
about this, you might have got there.
35:40
Everything's a test. You know, and I
35:43
think the results
35:45
Hey, if you work hard at them, you'll
35:47
make a passing grade. Took me a long
35:49
time in grade school to find that out.
35:50
Well, I think it would be interesting to
35:52
maybe talk more about your cooking
35:54
competitions. Y'all let us know or maybe
35:57
do you have any specific questions about
35:59
what happens behind the scenes or in
36:01
these cooking competitions? Kent you did
36:04
a couple different chops and NBC. So, um
36:07
I think it would be fun to maybe explore
36:08
those more in [music] a future episode.
36:11
Please let us know. And also, we would
36:14
love just to hear from you. Give us a
36:16
like, um rate the podcast. That would
36:18
really help this channel grow. And we're
36:22
just so thankful to have y'all on this
36:24
journey with us. We are, like [music] I
36:25
said, y'all are family to us. And
36:27
remember what you're going through,
36:28
you're not going through it alone. Uh
36:30
we're there for you and so is God. So,
36:32
let us know what's happening in your
36:33
life. We'll sure try to lift you up in
36:35
prayer. But it is with pride, honor, and
36:38
privilege that I tip my hat to all the
36:40
servicemen and women and all the
36:41
veterans that have kept that old flag a
36:43
flying no matter where we be. We commend
36:45
you all. Rest of you, hey, Shannon,
36:48
thank you so much, sugar. Love you. We
36:50
love y'all. We'll see you down the next
36:52
podcast trail.
36:57
>> [music]
37:03
>> Pioneer.
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