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Cowboy Coffee Hour Podcast Episode 10 -
In this episode we recount a memorable food competition on the Food Network's Chopped tv show. He may have been cast as the underdog, but Kent showed up with his outdoor cooking experience, knowledge of live fire and was ready to show them what a cowboy can really do when he puts his mind to it!
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Kent Rollins
Cowboy Cooking, Cast Iron, Outdoor Cooking, Grilling, Dutch Oven Cooking
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0:00
And this guy told me that morning when I
0:01
went in there, he said, "You're the
0:03
cowboy guy that's on the show."
0:04
>> Now, this is one of the competitors.
0:06
>> Yeah. I said, "Yeah, I reckon unless
0:07
they got nothing." He said, "Well,
0:09
competition's real today. Don't be
0:10
surprised if you go home first." And I
0:12
just looked at him and said, "It's
0:13
apparent to me you're a legend in your
0:15
own mind. Just stay out of the way and
0:16
we'll see what happens."
0:22
Howdy. My name is Kent Rollins. I've
0:25
been a cowboy and a chuck wagon cook for
0:27
over 30 years cooking for ranches all
0:29
across America. You might have seen me
0:31
on the Food Network or alongside my
0:33
beautiful wife Shannon on our YouTube
0:35
show where we share cowboy cooking from
0:37
the trail. But now we're going to take
0:39
you behind the scenes to real campfire
0:42
conversations. Join us as we share
0:44
humor, cowboy wisdom, and stories full
0:46
of history, heart, faith, and of course,
0:49
a little fire. So, grab you a cup of
0:51
coffee, pull up a chair, and welcome to
0:54
the podcast.
1:00
>> Now, Kent, we had a really good episode
1:04
previously. It was It was a few episodes
1:06
ago, and we walked everybody through
1:09
Bobby Fle, you and the throwdown with
1:12
Bobby Fle, and kind of introduced you to
1:14
the competition cooking world, right, on
1:17
TV?
1:17
>> Yep. We had a lot of great feedback and
1:19
so we thought, hey, let's continue the
1:21
conversation because that for sure was
1:23
not the first
1:25
>> or the last or that was the first of
1:28
your competition cooking, but definitely
1:30
not the last. That's
1:30
>> right.
1:31
>> And I think everyone would really enjoy
1:34
getting to hear about your experience on
1:38
Food Network's Chopped
1:40
>> and explore the Chopped universe.
1:43
>> I'd never even heard of that show,
1:45
Chopped.
1:46
>> Mhm. And I remember we had a casting
1:48
director, a friend of ours, reach out
1:51
and said, 'Hey camp, we're know we're
1:53
fixing to do one of the Food Network's
1:55
largest outdoor productions, uh, Chop
1:58
Grill Masters. You'll be cooking over
1:59
open fire. It' be just what you love to
2:01
do. And I said, "Well, I don't know what
2:03
this show is." She said, "Well, you have
2:05
Shan pull up an episode and you watch
2:07
it." And if you are not familiar with
2:09
Chopped, it's where they give you this
2:11
basket that's full of stuff that people
2:13
like me can't spell the names of the
2:15
food, but also have never seen most of
2:17
them, you know, but they take a a lot of
2:21
chefs across the world for this
2:22
competition. Uh there was going to be
2:25
16. And
2:27
>> and as you say, I really want to
2:28
highlight this was the Food Network's
2:31
first and largest outdoor
2:34
>> competition cooking specifically on
2:37
grilling. And what I did is if
2:39
everybody's interested, I found the
2:42
episodes on Discovery Plus
2:44
>> and I watch them to kind of recap. So
2:47
let's start with Chopped Grill Masters.
2:49
This is season 12, episode 11.
2:54
And as you mentioned, you get the call.
2:57
You had been on the radar probably from
2:58
Bobby Fle for the Food Network.
3:00
>> And you have no clue what this is?
3:03
>> No, ma'am.
3:04
>> Lead us into
3:06
what you were feeling. Like, did you do
3:08
any practicing? Did you do anything to
3:10
prep for this?
3:11
>> Well, I don't know if there's a way you
3:12
could practice for this. I mean, I don't
3:15
think they have grocery stores in most
3:16
civilized places that sell the stuff
3:18
that they got in there. You know, to me
3:20
it looked like a deal to where um you
3:24
were going to have to really get out of
3:26
your element.
3:27
>> Mhm.
3:27
>> To cook. Not so much the environment,
3:29
but foodwise, you know. But the other
3:32
thing was the time. That's what was sort
3:35
of bothered me the most, I think,
3:37
because you're going to do three rounds.
3:39
You have a an appetizer, a main, and a
3:42
dessert. Appetizers
3:44
15, 20 minutes, something like that. And
3:47
then dessert is 30. And I mean main
3:49
course is 30 and dessert is 30.
3:52
>> Now is is chopped legit in that
3:57
breakdown?
3:58
>> Yes, ma'am. And when they start that
3:59
clock when said when Ted says and open
4:03
your baskets.
4:05
>> So there is no like kind of behind the
4:07
scenes editing or flipping or like even
4:10
some lifeline help that. No, it is all
4:12
what you see. Yeah. describe this set
4:14
because this is totally different from
4:17
the normal chopped. The normal chopped
4:19
is in New York City. It's in a kitchen,
4:22
commercial style kitchen. This is
4:24
nothing like that. And they tell you
4:25
it's live fire.
4:26
>> Yeah.
4:27
>> So, walk us through what you were
4:29
feeling and how the set was designed.
4:32
>> Well, first of all, you leave motel room
4:34
4:30 that morning in the dark and you
4:37
get out there and then but we were in
4:38
this little adobe room. all all of the
4:42
foreign c contestants that day. You
4:44
know, they had done had three rounds
4:46
>> that before I ever got there. You don't
4:48
get to practice, but you cook something
4:50
that you're going to show as maybe an
4:52
intro the day before, you know.
4:54
>> So, we're in there in the dark and uh I
4:57
can't see even what I'm signing. Most of
4:59
the time I just sign it, you know.
5:02
>> Uh sound comes in, they go to micing you
5:04
up and they say, "We're gonna give you a
5:05
tour of the kitchen outside." It's dark
5:08
as it can be, you know, and when we walk
5:12
out, I can smell charcoal burning.
5:15
>> So, that was sort of the first thing
5:16
that got to me. This is not live fire.
5:19
This is charcoal. I remember you also
5:21
when you were having having calls with
5:24
the producers before you even were
5:27
involved in this and you kept asking
5:30
them and you've done this on pretty much
5:32
every competition you've hired on for
5:35
after that is it live fire when what do
5:39
you mean by live fire and every time
5:41
they've always said oh yeah it's live
5:42
fire it's great it's gonna be crazy um
5:45
no it and when you mean live fire what
5:47
do you what do you
5:48
>> I mean firewood wood
5:49
>> like wood, not charcoal, not gas grill,
5:52
not brickheads. Yeah. Okay. They had gas
5:54
grills and they had little Weber grills
5:57
and then they had this section where
5:58
there's produce and then they have a
6:00
selection over there where there's
6:02
spices and then there's dairy products
6:05
and uh then they lead you back in there
6:08
and I rode bulls for a long time
6:10
competition and rodeos and the
6:12
adrenaline that you got from that the
6:15
push the the there's anxious there's
6:18
nervous anticipation and then there's
6:20
dedication and I would think to myself,
6:24
I can get this done. But out there,
6:26
there was so many unknown factors that I
6:29
didn't even know what was taking place.
6:31
>> I don't think that we can even describe
6:36
the level of pressure that happens on
6:39
set. Now, I did go down with you in
6:41
Tucson and I just stayed in the hotel
6:43
the entire time. Yeah. It was a
6:45
completely closed set. I have never
6:47
experienced anything more stressful in
6:49
my life and I was just sitting in a
6:51
hotel room so I can't even imagine the
6:54
pressure there. Um, you know, on camera
6:59
it doesn't translate. Like you feel
7:01
pressure and you know there's a time
7:02
crunch and oh there's crazy ingredients
7:04
but that doesn't translate right.
7:06
>> No I don't think they get to see that.
7:08
There's there's the pressure really of
7:11
just all the unknowns. you when we got
7:14
back out there in the light, the judges,
7:16
you can see them out there and you're
7:17
standing at your station, you know, and
7:19
I'm looking around trying to figure out
7:21
what's happening. Uh, they have water
7:23
boiling for you that's hot.
7:24
>> Okay. The
7:25
>> the grills are already going.
7:26
>> Grills are hot.
7:27
>> Talk to me about the basket pressure.
7:32
The basket is the great equalizer.
7:35
>> Game changer,
7:36
>> right? And for those of you that haven't
7:38
watched Chopped,
7:39
>> there's a mystery basket that all
7:41
contestants have and it's full of
7:42
mystery ingredients. Each person has the
7:44
same ingredient and you have to come up
7:46
with whatever. So,
7:48
what is it like looking that basket
7:50
before you've even opened it and then
7:52
when you open it?
7:53
>> You know, we had these three trial runs
7:55
sitting up there. The basket was there
7:58
and they Ted Allen who's become a dear
8:01
friend. They would he would say now,
8:03
"Okay, contestants, open your baskets."
8:05
But they tell you, "Don't open them.
8:07
We're going to do this three times." You
8:08
know, to get everything, I guess, in the
8:10
flow. But when it gets to that time,
8:13
they would say, "Okay, this one's live.
8:15
This
8:16
>> So, you do it three times before as like
8:17
a fake." And then,
8:19
>> yeah, so when Ted said it that last
8:22
time, and you open that basket and they
8:24
call out the ingredients that's in the
8:27
basket.
8:27
>> Okay.
8:29
Some of them ingredients I'm glad they
8:31
had a label on them because I wouldn't
8:33
have knowed what they was, you know. I I
8:35
remember picking out pork ribs that
8:38
morning, you know, or beef ribs. I mean,
8:40
and uh but they always threw something
8:43
in there funky, something crazy. Oh,
8:45
sure. You know, that you
8:46
>> your first round, I think you had
8:47
speculus, which is ground up
8:49
>> shortbread cookie.
8:50
>> No. Uh gingerbread.
8:52
Oh. And then it's made into a paste and
8:54
then
8:54
>> Why would anybody buy it? Do you see it
8:56
at the grocery store? No.
8:58
>> Did the basket reveal get easier each
9:02
round you progressed or you still had
9:05
that like
9:06
>> No, I don't think it's any easier. As
9:08
you go through this the sequences, if
9:12
you make it from one round to the next,
9:14
like the appetizer round, there's going
9:16
to be some type of protein in there, you
9:18
know? you know, but appetizer was it was
9:22
weird, you know, and you get to thinking
9:26
in my mind, there's there's some some
9:28
things you can't cook in 15 minutes.
9:30
>> Mhm. It really limits you.
9:32
>> And uh so my my brain just goes back to
9:35
thinking, how can I get this done as
9:38
quick as possible and make it edible and
9:41
use some all or a little bit of all in
9:44
their all of their ingredients had to be
9:46
in there. You know, there's no time to
9:48
second guessess
9:50
>> in 15 minutes. And I remember you
9:52
telling me this,
9:53
>> get it on the plate.
9:56
>> Yes. Cuz so many people, if you've ever
9:58
watched it, didn't get it all on the
10:00
plate and left out an ingredient, you
10:01
know, and I'm going back through this as
10:03
I'm trying to get it on the plate and
10:04
Ted's over saying, "You got two
10:06
minutes." And I'm thinking, "What
10:07
happened to the other 13?" You know,
10:10
>> uh, and I get it on the plate and I look
10:12
at it and I think
10:14
it's edible. So, I want to talk about
10:18
what I think was the hardest part for
10:20
you was the plating because
10:25
presentation and plating is one of the
10:27
judging factors for Chopped and you have
10:30
the three judges and of course they're
10:32
looking at creativity,
10:34
um taste, and I think uh plating are the
10:37
three main
10:38
>> um and yours was
10:43
interesting. Well,
10:45
>> it was a little thrown together.
10:47
>> It was in a hurry is what it was.
10:49
>> Well, and I I've It's funny. So, I've
10:52
got some notes here where you said, you
10:54
know, the judge you printed present it
10:56
to the judges and they're like, "Okay,
10:57
this is really good. We love it. The
10:59
flavor is great." Um, plating is a
11:02
little lacking. And you said, um, the
11:05
the food should be hearty. And you
11:09
haven't you don't cook really appetizers
11:11
on the wagon. And so you said they're
11:13
not asking for an appetizer, they're
11:15
asking for a recliner.
11:16
>> Yeah. And I, one of them kept telling
11:18
me, Aron Sanchez, he kept telling me, he
11:20
said, you know, if you're going to go
11:21
through this competition any further,
11:23
you're going to have to dress up your
11:24
presentation. And I said to him,
11:27
>> we you give us your line because this is
11:29
a great one.
11:30
>> Where I come from, if your food is good,
11:32
they'll eat it out of a hubcap or off a
11:34
shingle.
11:34
>> Yep. You never had to decorate a plate
11:36
to get someone to eat it.
11:37
>> Um, so that was probably your biggest
11:40
criticism. Yeah.
11:42
>> And I think you did work on it.
11:43
>> Oh yeah.
11:44
>> Afterwards as as much as you can because
11:46
again like when we're on the wagon it
11:47
isn't about presentation. So this was a
11:49
totally different aspect to you. I do
11:52
want to ask you
11:54
>> so Arone Sanchez was one of the judges.
11:56
>> Yeah.
11:57
>> And after that first round he when he
12:00
had criticized they had all criticized
12:02
your plating
12:03
>> and Arone said, "Hey cowboy, just work
12:07
on your plating. you need to dress it up
12:10
and make it look like a nice gal. Yeah.
12:12
And he said it, tell me if I'm wrong, to
12:15
me it felt a little condescending.
12:18
>> Yeah. Like
12:19
>> it did to me. And I told him I And they
12:21
didn't put this part on there.
12:23
>> Okay.
12:23
>> But I told him, I said,
12:25
>> I think what you're trying to say is
12:27
gussy it up. That's what we, you know,
12:29
term in old cowboy sort of dress
12:31
something up.
12:32
>> And I told him, I said, you can put a
12:34
blanket on any horse in the world, but
12:36
when you pull it off, it's still the
12:37
same. what he looks like. And I said,
12:40
"Cowboys will eat my food every day."
12:42
But that part wasn't on there. There's I
12:44
mean, I'm not the editor. I don't know
12:46
what they're going to put in there. I
12:47
know they're going to change your f
12:48
facial expressions at time, but no,
12:51
>> I think with um
12:54
when they brought you on, and you had
12:56
told me this, they cast you as the
12:59
cowboy cook because it was an outdoor
13:01
grilling competition in an old west
13:03
town. They needed a quintessential
13:05
cowboy. They did not expect you to
13:09
really do much.
13:10
>> They wanted the character, right?
13:13
>> After the first round, friend of mine
13:16
who became a friend, Chad got chopped,
13:18
went home.
13:18
>> Yeah.
13:19
>> And as we're taking, they take you back
13:22
to this room every time after it's over.
13:26
Interviews. Interviews were the longest
13:28
thing ever,
13:29
>> you know.
13:30
And uh as I was going out of there, one
13:33
of them sound guys says, "Our money's on
13:35
you, cowboy." And I said, "Don't bet on
13:38
a horse tiller. You know what he can
13:40
do." And he said, "We know what you can
13:41
do."
13:42
>> I made friends with the sound people
13:44
always first because
13:46
>> uh they just good folks. All of them
13:48
were. And then the camera people. But
13:50
when you get back there in a room, this
13:52
was the thing that really got me. You
13:54
know, we sat down there and you're going
13:56
to go back through this ep your first
13:59
appetizer round and this gal asked. She
14:01
said, "So, can't tell us what you cooked
14:04
and all this?" And I did. And she said,
14:06
"And uh tell us when you looked around
14:08
at all the other contestants food, who
14:10
you think needs to go home?"
14:12
>> Mhm.
14:12
>> I said, "I'm not a judge. I don't make
14:15
that decision." "Well, whose food do you
14:17
think looked the worst?" And I just
14:19
looked a straight eye and I said,
14:20
"Ma'am, if you're going to ask these
14:22
questions, these interviews are going to
14:24
be real short. I'm here to cook. I'm not
14:27
here to judge and I'm not going to
14:28
criticize people. That's all I got to
14:30
say. So if you want to go another route,
14:32
we'll sure do that." And things totally
14:34
changed after that. I think she learned
14:36
I'm not cuz you see it so many times on
14:39
them shows. Oh, that guy, he couldn't
14:40
cook or he dropped this or he shouldn't
14:42
be here. It's not my place to judge
14:44
people in life. That's God's job, not
14:46
mine. But I'm not allowed. I'm not going
14:48
to let someone on national TV tell me
14:51
this is what you got to say. Oh, that's
14:53
it. This episode is sponsored by Better
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14:57
>> Okay. You know, with the changing of
14:58
seasons, um I don't know if this is for
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17:01
What were the things happening behind or
17:05
on set behind the scenes from
17:08
production? Like were they telling you
17:10
to do certain things or say certain
17:11
things?
17:12
>> Well,
17:14
they didn't so much tell you what you
17:16
could say on that, but they told you
17:19
where to stand, where to be.
17:20
>> Sure. you when it got time for judging
17:23
and they've got all these plates
17:26
covered up, you know, and then they take
17:28
the covers off of them. The judges
17:30
explain your dish, but they say, "Walk
17:31
up here." And they got these ropes laid
17:33
out there on the ground about this long
17:36
and a tea about like this. That's where
17:38
you stand.
17:40
Every time you stand at the same spot,
17:42
you go to your same station. This old
17:44
road that was in there was a gravel,
17:46
dirt, and it's got big old rocks in it.
17:49
>> Mhm. And I'd kicked rocks all day moving
17:53
stuff around to where where I had to
17:55
step or where I was working, I wasn't
17:56
stepping on a rock
17:57
>> because I didn't want my feet to hurt.
17:59
>> But uh there never was I mean they can't
18:03
at any time during the competition say,
18:06
"Oh, hold up. We want to ask you this."
18:08
They're not going to change the time.
18:10
They're not going to stop the time.
18:12
They're not going to say, "Oh, wait a
18:13
minute. You know, arm off. We got to
18:15
stop this." Yeah. So happen fast and
18:18
real. Okay. Um, you had told me an
18:21
interesting story and I think you were
18:22
going into it about when they're judging
18:24
they hold up cards.
18:28
>> Yeah. Uh, I didn't realize this when
18:32
we're first going on and the set out
18:33
there. I mean, it's outside.
18:34
>> Yeah.
18:35
>> And I noticed after the first round when
18:37
we come back, I mean, it's chilly out
18:38
there early in the morning. This was in
18:40
March, but in the desert it's warming up
18:43
pretty quick, you know. And we get out
18:45
there for the next round and they're
18:47
still working on setting things up for
18:49
this appetiz. I mean, for the main
18:51
course round and here comes this guy in
18:54
and he's got this I thought it was like
18:56
air mattress, you know, they get it on
18:58
the ground, blow it up. It's an
18:59
inflatable cloud.
19:01
>> Oh, you know, just to block the sun.
19:03
>> Oh, that would be nice.
19:04
>> And I'm thinking to myself, Shan love to
19:06
have one of them. It'd be good in
19:08
filming, you know. So they they get it
19:11
all up there and the judging all these
19:13
things and uh they would stand back
19:17
behind and after that judges had went
19:20
back through that you would look back
19:22
there and there would be somebody
19:23
holding up a card I couldn't see.
19:25
>> So you you're standing in front of the
19:27
judges
19:28
>> and behind you is standing somebody with
19:31
a big card.
19:33
>> Yeah.
19:34
raising it up behind your head.
19:36
>> Yeah.
19:36
>> So the judges can read it, but you
19:38
can't.
19:39
>> All it says is two words each card.
19:42
>> What?
19:42
>> Positive or negative comment. Like, oh
19:45
yeah, his food was good, but he didn't
19:47
play it good.
19:48
>> So, it's signaling the judges to make
19:51
more comments a certain way, either
19:52
positive or negative about your dish.
19:54
>> Okay.
19:55
>> I met a lot of good people out there. A
19:57
lot of lot of the crew, a lot of the
19:59
camera folks, the judges. Uh, but as I
20:03
get to the third round, I'm thinking to
20:04
myself, cuz you told me, you will feel
20:07
comfortable when you feel fire.
20:09
>> Mhm.
20:10
>> You know, I'm still thinking it's about
20:11
half fake fire, you know, but it it's
20:14
fire. Um, so I did feel a little better,
20:18
but this that started at 4:30 in the
20:20
morning is now like 4:00 in the
20:24
afternoon.
20:25
>> You know, this it's a long day.
20:26
>> And interviews and interviews and
20:28
interviews. Uh, and it begins to take a
20:32
little stress on your body
20:34
>> and you get to thinking,
20:36
>> "We've made it this far. Ain't going to
20:39
quit now."
20:39
>> Yeah.
20:40
>> You know, I was a little shocked to be
20:42
in the dessert round, you know, cuz
20:44
these people are chefs. I'm just an old
20:46
wagon cook, right? You know,
20:48
>> and when it got to dessert round, I'm
20:50
thinking just go for it.
20:52
>> And here's the funny thing. Before Kent
20:55
even started this journey, when we were
20:58
just talking about it and talking about
21:00
all the different ingredients, I I asked
21:02
him, "What would be the most terrifying
21:05
ingredient that you could have in your
21:06
basket?" And you said tofu.
21:08
>> Tofu.
21:09
>> And what shows up in the third basket?
21:12
>> Tofu.
21:13
>> Yep. So, what are your initial thoughts
21:15
there? First of all, I'm thinking I
21:17
would love to know the lady who made the
21:18
grocery list. And I'd love
21:20
>> hunt her down.
21:22
>> I'd love to take her to town and show
21:23
her what you're supposed to buy. Yeah.
21:25
You know,
21:26
>> but uh these people work on these
21:28
baskets. I found that out for a long
21:30
time.
21:30
>> Yeah.
21:31
>> Can this work? Can this work? You know,
21:33
they're
21:33
>> genius smart people, but they're also
21:35
food smart. Yes. You know,
21:37
>> uh but when I seen it in there and you
21:39
had told me, you said tofu is like a
21:41
sponge. It'll absorb the taste. Anything
21:42
else? Everything's supposed to be cooked
21:44
on the grill.
21:45
I mean,
21:46
>> Mhm.
21:47
>> I put a piece of tofu on there.
21:49
>> Go right through when it got hot.
21:51
>> I figured you can't grill it, but you
21:53
just I'm going have to put it in cast
21:54
iron skillet, you know, and they had a
21:56
lot of cast iron. Uh, a lot of it wasn't
21:58
seasoned well, but there was a lot of it
22:00
out there.
22:00
>> So, you ended up making a cowboy banana
22:03
split.
22:03
>> Uhhuh.
22:04
>> Um, are you in your groove at this
22:07
point?
22:07
>> I'm thinking I was, but you know, they
22:09
give me plantains.
22:11
>> Yes. And I remember telling them
22:15
cuz when I put this all together, it had
22:17
a mango. Then it had some weird
22:19
ingredient. I can't even remember. Some
22:21
kind of strawberry, tequila, something.
22:23
Yes. You know,
22:24
>> I put all this on the plate.
22:27
>> I made it sort of like hot damn fried
22:29
bananas in a way, you know.
22:32
>> And they look at me and they say, "This
22:35
cowboy, you may not ever seen this, but
22:36
this is not a banana." I said, "Looks
22:39
like a nanner. I'm going to call it
22:40
banner. That's what it was, you know.
22:42
And I tasted it, I couldn't
22:45
>> It's They keep saying it's it's like
22:47
starchy. It's almost like a root
22:48
vegetable more than a
22:49
>> When you cook it right and you got
22:51
enough sweet with it, I didn't find no
22:53
trouble. But I know when it come down to
22:57
it at the end and they said I was the
23:01
winner of that round, I looked across
23:04
there and I'm thinking, first of all,
23:06
thank you, Jesus. And I'm thinking, I
23:08
made it. What was your feeling at that
23:11
point when they cut Rick and now you
23:14
have won your round and you are going to
23:18
the finals?
23:18
>> Yeah, I'm thinking you sort of have a
23:21
little better idea of what's going on
23:23
now.
23:23
>> Yeah,
23:24
>> it's been a really really long day.
23:25
There's not a day off before tomorrow. I
23:28
don't know who I'm cooking against.
23:29
Don't know what's in any of the baskets.
23:31
Uh but I remember telling him uh at the
23:37
end there that first day he said uh do
23:40
you need anything? I said I need my cell
23:43
phone. I need to call my wife. I said I
23:47
just need to tell her, you know, and it
23:49
was 9:00 before we get back to room that
23:52
night.
23:52
>> Well, it was tough because Okay, so yay,
23:54
you win and you're on all this high and
23:56
then you have to go back and do more
23:58
interviews, right? So how long were you
23:59
in interviews after that? takes forever,
24:02
you know. Um, and I'd sort of learned by
24:06
going through a half a day of them
24:08
already, you know, sort of what they
24:09
were wanting. But they had learned too
24:12
at what I'm not going to give them. And
24:14
that was uh I'm not going to begrudge
24:17
anybody. I'm not going to look down on
24:18
anybody. But Rachel was very sweet about
24:21
it. She learned real quick.
24:23
>> Rachel was your interviewer.
24:24
>> Yeah. And uh the cameraman in there,
24:26
George, they were they were all good.
24:28
But you go back through the whole day
24:32
even after you get through, not just
24:34
that round, you know. So I figure you
24:38
was in there an hour and a half, two
24:39
hours,
24:40
>> you know.
24:40
>> And that's another thing about the
24:42
reality cooking world is they want
24:46
drama.
24:46
>> Yeah.
24:47
>> And they want to poke you to get to say
24:51
mean things maybe. Um and we've talked
24:55
about this like that's one thing you
24:57
always do. you always stand up for what
25:00
you believe and who you are,
25:02
which is really hard in these
25:04
situations, especially at that time
25:06
because this was a big deal.
25:08
>> Yeah.
25:08
>> And this could have had a lot of
25:10
implications for our business, for
25:13
opportunities. And so, it's very easy to
25:16
respond to these people in power and
25:19
say, "Okay, yeah, whatever you you want,
25:21
whatever I need to do, and you didn't.
25:23
Why didn't you do it?"
25:24
>> Because that's not who I am. It's not
25:26
what I stand for. Um, I grew up knowing
25:31
that you have to not only be what you
25:35
are, but portray it every day. Show it.
25:39
And if you change at one instance when
25:41
whether there's a camera on or you're in
25:43
an interview, you're not that person
25:45
anymore.
25:46
>> You know, uh, there was a cameraman by
25:49
the end of the day that come by there
25:50
and he said, you know, Kent, you're the
25:52
only guy that I've put a camera on here.
25:54
That don't never change. sometime you
25:56
don't even look up. And I said, I ain't
25:58
changed socks in a week. I ain't going
25:59
to change personalities. If you're out
26:01
there, whether it's a competition of
26:04
life or a competition of food and you've
26:08
started this and you're working and
26:09
you're working hard, put your heart into
26:12
it first of all.
26:13
>> Pray about it,
26:15
>> but don't change and be something you're
26:17
not.
26:18
>> Just be who you are every day and let
26:21
people see that they appreciate real.
26:24
And I think you definitely took that
26:27
spirit and mentality in to the final
26:30
round. So here we go. And this is where
26:32
it gets real.
26:33
>> Yeah.
26:34
>> Because I think in a lot So there were
26:36
were there there were four competitions
26:39
rounds where one person made it through
26:42
>> to then go to the finale. And I think a
26:44
lot of those first rounds they are are
26:47
you are getting maybe more novice cooks
26:50
uh different personalities. But you get
26:52
to this final round and you have some
26:55
allstars. You have Sam Choy, Ray Lampy,
26:59
Ernest Cervantes.
27:00
>> Yep.
27:01
>> Um, are you feeling a heightened
27:04
competition at this point? Or are you
27:06
just like, "Hey, I'm just me. I'm just
27:10
fire and let's roll with it."
27:11
>> I didn't know who none of them was,
27:13
right? Never heard of him. I remember
27:14
getting on the bus and I I knew it would
27:17
be different today because the
27:19
competition would be more fierce.
27:22
$50,000 on the line.
27:24
>> Yeah.
27:24
>> You know, but I wasn't just cooking for
27:26
$50,000.
27:28
I was cooking to show people across
27:31
America and whoever was watching that
27:33
there's a breed of people out there
27:34
called a cowboy that can survive in
27:37
anything that you put them in, can cook
27:39
anything you throw at them. might not
27:41
know how to spell it, but I guarantee
27:43
you we know how to cut it up and put it
27:44
on fire, you know. And this guy told me
27:46
that morning when I went in there, he
27:49
said, "You're the cowboy guy that's on
27:50
show."
27:51
>> Now, this is one of the competitors.
27:52
>> Yeah.
27:52
>> Okay.
27:53
>> I said, "Yeah, I reckon unless I got
27:55
nothing." He said, "Well, competition's
27:57
real today. Don't be surprised if you go
28:00
home first, you know." And I just looked
28:02
at him and said, "Well,
28:05
I don't know you and I'm not trying to
28:07
be rude to you, but it's apparent to me
28:09
you're a legend in your own mind. Just
28:11
stay out of the way and we'll see what
28:12
happens."
28:12
>> Is that when you kind of realize like,
28:14
"Oh, okay. This isn't friendly fire
28:16
anymore."
28:17
>> No, I mean, I I think the man out there
28:19
that impressed me the most out of the
28:21
whole series
28:24
>> was Sam Choy.
28:25
>> Mhm. And why?
28:26
>> He's gracious. He was kind. He's a great
28:30
cook. He used to design all the meals
28:32
for American Airlines, first class, you
28:34
know, in World Foods.
28:35
>> And he was just a very caring man, you
28:38
know, and you could see his heart.
28:40
>> Uh I didn't know the other two. Um but
28:43
it was it was a competition to where I
28:46
knew if I'm going to get through this
28:48
deal, I've got to cook better today than
28:51
I cooked yesterday. It's like you go to
28:53
a rodeo and you you draw a bull to ride.
28:55
You ain't never seen him before, but at
28:56
least you can look at him, you know,
28:58
before you get on him. and baskets.
29:01
You don't know what's in there.
29:03
>> So, you make it through appetizer.
29:06
>> Yep.
29:07
>> You make it through the main course.
29:09
>> Yep.
29:10
>> Have you surprised yourself at this
29:12
point now? You've made it to the final
29:13
dessert round.
29:15
>> Yeah. I mean, appetizer round was nearly
29:18
went home. You know, I don't like
29:21
sardines except eat them in a can.
29:22
>> That was Yeah. So, sardines was Was that
29:25
appetizer round?
29:26
>> Yeah. Um, you sauteed the sardines but
29:29
didn't remove the bones.
29:31
>> No, but when you pressure cook them in a
29:33
Dutch oven, it's just like buying them
29:34
in a can with bones.
29:35
>> But that Yeah. So, that was kind of the
29:37
one criticism there.
29:38
>> And uh but when it got down to where
29:41
there's just two of us, you know, I I
29:44
remember taking my hat off and just
29:46
looking up and said, "Thank you, God,
29:48
for getting me this far. As you could be
29:50
with Shan and just give me the strength
29:52
to do one more." And uh by that time
29:55
you've done been through the interviews
29:56
again, but it's come down to it to where
29:59
there's two people, one of them going to
30:01
win $50,000,
30:03
>> one of them going home. You know, Shen
30:04
cooking all these years with a wagon. I
30:06
ain't telling how many grocery lists
30:07
I've made. I think I get tired of
30:10
probably going to the dentist in the
30:11
grocery stores as much as anything. You
30:13
know what I mean? But when you can have
30:15
the convenience to have it be on your
30:18
front porch and not have to go to the
30:21
grocery store, Shan,
30:22
>> it's a big deal to me.
30:24
>> It's super nice. And with Omaha Stakes,
30:26
what's really great, too, is they have a
30:27
variety of different cuts that a lot of
30:29
times you can't find in the smaller
30:31
markets. So, it's fun to see what you
30:33
can purchase and get delivered.
30:34
>> Yeah. I mean, it's grass-fed, grainfish
30:37
USDA beef, but it's not just beef.
30:39
There's salmon, there's pork, there's
30:42
chicken. I mean, it ain't like you're
30:43
just one market. You went to the whole
30:46
grocery store and it come right to you.
30:48
And I'm all about not having to go
30:50
nowhere if I don't have to. And if it
30:51
can get delivered to me and it is
30:53
quality and saves time, I'm all in.
30:56
>> You know what the other thing that I've
30:57
done is when I have to do gift giving
30:59
and I'm run out of ideas, I've actually
31:01
purchased and sent Omaha steaks to
31:04
people. Um, and what's nice is they have
31:06
little curated packages of different
31:08
varieties. So you can just pick one of
31:10
those and send over and then you're the
31:12
hit of the party. Omaha steaks are
31:14
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31:17
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31:20
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31:22
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31:25
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31:27
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31:33
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31:35
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31:38
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31:41
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31:43
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31:45
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31:48
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31:49
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31:52
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31:55
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31:58
cowboy Kent at checkout.
32:00
>> That's omahastak.com.
32:03
Code cowboyk. Terms apply. Seas site for
32:06
details.
32:11
>> That last round after they had judged
32:13
desserts, then they send you back to the
32:15
little jail house, the sequestered room,
32:18
you know, and then you come back out
32:20
there and those two plates that they've
32:22
judged, he is and mine are both covered.
32:24
And whoever they uncover is the one that
32:28
is chopped. That means
32:31
Sarinara,
32:32
>> you're eliminated.
32:33
>> You're finished. Now, spoiler alert,
32:35
folks. They pull off the dish and your
32:39
plate is there and you have been
32:41
chopped.
32:42
>> Yep.
32:43
>> What is your immediate gut reaction?
32:45
>> It broke my heart in a way. You know, at
32:47
the time me and you were were taking
32:50
every job we had, trying to survive
32:53
uh living in a tepee more than we lived
32:55
in a house. I remember we were trying to
32:57
figure out how we were going to buy gas
33:00
because we had to drive from North Texas
33:03
all the way to Tucson and there was no
33:07
there was no funding from Food Network,
33:09
right? Like at
33:09
>> No, we got
33:10
>> I think they they covered the hotel, but
33:12
everything else was on us. I remember
33:14
just trying to hold tears back, you
33:17
know, and there was a lady judge there,
33:20
Amanda Fry.
33:21
>> Mhm.
33:22
>> And
33:24
I remember
33:27
her crying when they had, you know, she
33:30
went through this deal.
33:31
>> She was the one that chopped you. And I
33:33
don't ever remember a judge, I haven't
33:35
watched a ton of chop, but her crying
33:38
because they had to chop somebody. And I
33:40
knew she had I mean they all have big
33:43
hearts, but I knew she had that heart.
33:45
Yeah.
33:45
>> Uh to see
33:47
something not just to cook. This guy was
33:50
heart, soul, and dedication into what he
33:53
did in life. I I remember Mark Murphy
33:56
said, "You know, I've really been amazed
33:58
by the way you cook. Whatever we put in
34:01
these baskets, you don't know what it
34:04
is, but you just keep cooking it and
34:06
it's simple." And I have stopped him
34:08
right there and I said, "Sir, life is
34:11
simple. Cooking ain't. Y'all trying to
34:14
complicated food. We're not."
34:17
And when they said, "You got anything to
34:19
say?" And I said, "It's been a long way
34:24
from the Texas panhandle and all them
34:26
ranches in an old tepee around a wagon
34:29
for 20some years at the time to get to
34:32
here. I hope y'all learned something
34:34
from cowboy.
34:37
And
34:37
>> I think um I I hope it was felt to the
34:42
viewer as well. It was an extremely
34:44
emotional chop. Even you told me even
34:47
the camera crew was tearing up because
34:49
it was
34:50
>> everybody had followed you on this
34:52
journey as this underdog and now you've
34:55
come to the finale and you just keep
34:58
surprising people and I think everyone
35:00
was shocked. I I think they were
35:03
surprised they got through the first
35:04
day, you know, but to end up there and
35:07
they was the camera and the crew. There
35:10
were so many of them that were giving me
35:13
an attitude
35:21
and whatever somebody throws at you in
35:24
life.
35:26
You can get through it if you put your
35:28
heart and soul in it. You prayed about
35:30
it. Because there was so many times that
35:32
I'd be so tired of standing out there
35:34
just waiting for everything to happen
35:35
that I'd just squat down on them. I'd
35:38
say, "God, give me strength to get
35:39
through another hour."
35:41
>> There's a great story about what had
35:43
happened after the the final after the
35:46
cameras are off. Tell me about that.
35:48
>> Mentally and physically exhausted. You
35:51
know, we could have done a lot with that
35:53
money. it would have helped us a lot
35:56
>> and it was this close to being in my
35:58
hand, you know, and then it took away.
36:01
And after we got through with that and
36:04
we walked over there fixed to do them
36:05
interviews, they said, "We're going to
36:06
give you about 30 minutes." I said,
36:08
"Rachel, I need my phone. I need to call
36:10
my wife. I need to tell her how much I
36:12
love her." And I was sitting there and
36:14
there was one of the sound guys come by
36:17
and he said, "Kent, do you need
36:18
anything?" And I looked at him and I
36:20
said, "I'd like a cold beer and three
36:22
friends to drink it with." And he looked
36:24
at me and he said, "We got you covered."
36:28
>> And I know they were busy.
36:30
>> Mhm.
36:30
>> But there was three guys come up there
36:32
and sat down with me and we just
36:34
visited. Wasn't about chopped. It was
36:37
about just having a good time.
36:39
>> Yeah. you know, um I remember when the
36:42
interviews were over and I went in this
36:46
big room, the production room to gather
36:48
up all my stuff, you know, to go back to
36:50
the motel. I walked in there and they
36:52
all clapped.
36:53
>> Oh, you know
36:54
>> Jeez.
36:55
>> And uh I looked at him and I said, "I
36:58
gave y'all everything I had for three
36:59
days."
37:01
I said, "Now y'all are going to give me
37:02
something." And they just looked around.
37:05
Everybody got really quiet, you know,
37:06
like I was asking for $100. And I said,
37:09
"That's your friendship?"
37:10
>> Oh.
37:11
>> And uh they all said, "Yeah."
37:14
But I can remember that long ride back
37:18
to the motel, which is just four miles.
37:21
And the first thing, it's sort of hard
37:24
for me.
37:26
The first thing that was in my mind was,
37:29
did I let Shen down?
37:32
>> I was this close,
37:34
but now it's gone.
37:35
>> Mhm.
37:37
And I remember just falling in your arms
37:39
when I got in there
37:41
and you held me so tight and you said,
37:44
"I'm so proud of you."
37:46
>> And
37:48
but when you go through something like
37:49
that and there's a lot of times in life
37:51
when something happens to you and you
37:52
get to replay it in your mind.
37:54
>> Oh, of course.
37:54
>> And this took forever to get out of my
37:56
mind.
37:57
>> Should have, could have, would have.
37:58
>> Yep.
37:59
>> You know, but that was filmed in March,
38:04
aired in August. It opened the door
38:08
>> for so many things.
38:10
And a guy told me one time many, many
38:13
years ago, people can win first, but you
38:17
got to be really gracious to win second.
38:20
>> And people remember who you are. And for
38:22
a long time, everywhere we went, people
38:24
say, "Hey, you're that guy's on
38:26
chopped."
38:26
>> Yep.
38:26
>> You know, uh, so I was I'm grateful that
38:30
we got that opportunity.
38:32
>> Oh, absolutely. I mean, it was our first
38:34
really big It was bigger than Bobby Fle
38:36
still
38:36
>> for sure,
38:37
>> you know, and it we met a lot of great
38:40
people, but I'm glad that the Food
38:42
Network reached out to us to give us
38:44
that chance and I think they learned
38:46
something right then after we got
38:47
through. That cowboy can cook and he's
38:50
pretty good people, you know, we might
38:52
keep him on the radar.
38:54
>> So, Kent, what do you think was your
38:57
biggest takeaway or lesson learned from
39:00
these two chopped episodes?
39:03
I think more than anything else it I've
39:06
said this before and I'm going to say it
39:07
again. If it don't challenge you, it
39:09
won't change you.
39:10
>> And there was a great challenge here. Uh
39:13
every 20 or 30 minutes, you know, there
39:16
was a different challenge. But people
39:18
face challenges in life. And there's a
39:20
lot of y'all out there today that may be
39:22
listening that are feeling challenged or
39:24
feeling left out or you have health
39:26
issues or something's wrong. You know,
39:30
the one that got me through it first of
39:33
all was God. Second one was this
39:35
beautiful woman right here that's
39:36
standing beside me. Uh
39:40
>> you're not alone in any of these things.
39:42
I may have at times when I was in that
39:44
competition. I felt like I was standing
39:45
on an island all by myself,
39:47
>> you know.
39:47
>> Yeah.
39:48
>> But I had a picture in my bill fold
39:51
>> that you had took from me. One of them
39:54
little ones. People don't even carry
39:55
pictures in their bill folds anymore.
39:56
And it was of you and the beagle. Mhm.
39:59
>> And when I would get in for them one of
40:01
them interviews or before I'd start
40:03
around, I couldn't have my bill foe, but
40:05
I could have that picture.
40:06
>> Mhm.
40:06
>> And I'd pull it out and I'd say, "Thank
40:09
you, God, for these two. I love them so
40:11
much."
40:12
>> Like, do you have any advice for maybe
40:14
people who have are looking into getting
40:17
in the food competition or really even
40:19
any kind of competition within their
40:20
field?
40:22
>> Be true to yourself. First of all,
40:24
>> don't change your method or your I mean,
40:26
you may have to change your method of
40:28
ways of cooking, but
40:29
>> maybe adjust, adapt
40:30
>> who you are to do it
40:32
>> and put your heart in it,
40:33
>> you know, and have a good time. Did I
40:35
have fun doing this?
40:37
>> Not through some of it till it was over,
40:39
till I'd realize what I'd done. But I
40:42
was always, you got to focus on
40:45
not just the start of the story, but how
40:47
the story might end. I'm going to leave
40:49
everyone with a little bit of a
40:51
cliffhanger, too,
40:52
>> because this wasn't your only chopped.
40:55
>> No, ma'am.
40:56
>> You got another call to do a chopped
40:59
redemption, and this was going to be
41:02
filmed in New York City in the
41:07
commercial kitchen, which obviously is
41:09
not your cup of tea.
41:11
>> Sure not.
41:11
>> And it was wild. So, I think let's save
41:14
that for a future episode. So, uh,
41:16
everyone stay tuned for that one cuz I
41:19
that one
41:20
>> is pretty juicy, too. And I've got some
41:22
some interesting questions for that.
41:24
But, um, again, everyone, thank you so
41:26
much for joining us every week. Um,
41:30
these are fun. We get to hear Kent's
41:32
stories. Um, such great feedback from
41:34
you guys. It's wonderful. Every And I
41:36
have to say, I curled my hair if you're
41:38
watching on YouTube because I got so
41:40
many comments about how people liked my
41:42
curled hair. So do that.
41:44
>> Thank you for the fashion advice.
41:45
>> And remember, you're not fans. You're
41:47
family to us. But it is with pride,
41:50
honor, and privilege that I tip my hat
41:52
to all our servicemen and women and all
41:54
the veterans that have kept that old
41:55
flag of flying. We lift you up in prayer
41:58
daily. We thank you so much for your
42:00
service. Rest of you, hey, we just glad
42:03
to have you. Don't feel like you're
42:05
alone cuz you're not. Invite us over for
42:07
supper. I ain't doing the dishes. God
42:08
bless you and we'll see you down the
42:10
podcast trail.
42:21
Pioneer.
#People & Society