Chef Dorian Hunter, MasterChef Season 10 Winner and the first African American female to claim victory in the show's global history, joins the Mix to discuss her debut cookbook, "Not Your Average Southern Sides Chick," a captivating blend of delectable recipes and the inspiring narrative of my journey to MasterChef glory. For more information visit https://www.chefdorian.com/shop
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00:00 Southern food is synonymous with comfort, but what happens when you take that comfort
00:05 food and you put a little twist on it?
00:07 Well, that's what our next guest, Chef Dorian Hunter, did.
00:10 And we are so excited to have her here to talk about her new book.
00:13 Chef, welcome.
00:14 Thank you for being here.
00:15 Thank you for having me.
00:16 Thank you.
00:17 Okay, so I have been so excited about your book because this is such a unique title and
00:22 a very eye-catching cover.
00:25 So tell me a little bit about your book and how you came up with this.
00:27 Well, we've been writing it for about four years.
00:30 It took a long time for us to kind of settle into what we wanted the book to be.
00:36 And the cover was very intentional.
00:38 We wanted it to be something that stood out and kind of grabbed the eye so people would
00:42 want to pick it up and see what's going on with Chef Dorian, right?
00:45 Well, absolutely.
00:46 And let me just say, you look incredible on this cover.
00:50 This cover definitely catches your eye.
00:51 It stands out.
00:52 And the title is not only catchy, but it is hilarious.
00:55 It was called Not Your Average Southern Sides Chick.
00:58 Right, right.
00:59 I love side dishes.
01:00 Yes.
01:01 So I wanted to just give people a little bit, a little more information about me.
01:07 The book is titled that way because number one, I love side dishes and the book is totally
01:13 not average, right?
01:14 Like you don't see very many cookbooks like that, right?
01:17 Yeah, no it is.
01:18 And there is a story to tell about the cover and there is a story to tell throughout the
01:21 book as you cook throughout the book.
01:23 So we wanted people to want to know more and I think we nailed it.
01:28 I think you did too.
01:29 Well, tell me a little bit about you because I know that you give us a little bit of your
01:32 history in the book, but you have such a fantastic story, especially being a winner.
01:37 And just tell me a little bit about that story, about your journey.
01:40 Right.
01:41 So I'm season 10 winner of MasterChef and that was my, I call it my new birth, right?
01:48 I've always cooked.
01:49 I've always, I'm classically trained, but a lot of people didn't realize that I was
01:54 actually a chef.
01:56 So being on the show really catapulted me out there for people to really know that this
02:02 was a skill set that I had and that this was actually a passion of mine.
02:06 So it was what I call my rebirth and I'm living a dream right now.
02:12 That's really beautiful.
02:13 And if I am correct, you were the first African American female to win.
02:17 Is that correct?
02:18 Yes.
02:19 And I'm in the history of the show worldwide.
02:21 Okay.
02:22 I mean, congratulations, cause that's really beautiful.
02:25 It gives me chills to hear that.
02:27 And so we're just really honored to have you here to kind of talk about that.
02:30 So tell me a little bit about what we have on the table here because you guys, I keep
02:33 getting distracted because this food smells so good.
02:36 So tell me about these two dishes.
02:37 Right.
02:38 So these two dishes are in the cookbook, minus the short rib, the Jamaican style short rib.
02:42 These are my cheesy Dutch baby potatoes and they are one of my favorites.
02:48 Like I absolutely love them.
02:49 My mom used to make scallop potatoes and slice them and I'm like, no, I'm not doing that.
02:55 We use a smaller potato.
02:56 The yellow potato is more buttery.
02:59 So it was very rich.
03:00 Right.
03:01 And then here we have our grits and greens and I paired it with the Jamaican short rib
03:09 grits and greens really remind me of greens and cornbread.
03:13 So you have a little bite to the grits and a creaminess and then you have that nice bitterness
03:18 to the greens and it pairs well with short ribs or oxtail.
03:22 Oh, OK, great.
03:23 Yeah, I love this because in the book there's side dishes, right?
03:26 So this is something that you could pair with another main dish that's maybe one of your
03:29 favorites or something like that.
03:30 But something a little heartier, I think.
03:32 Exactly.
03:33 So something that I just learned that I'm so excited about is that you have now relocated
03:36 here to Phoenix.
03:37 Is that right?
03:38 I am here in Phoenix ready for business.
03:40 Oh, OK, so tell me some of your plans real quick because I can't wait to hear it.
03:43 We are accepting bookings here in the Phoenix area.
03:48 I also do online classes from time to time.
03:51 I go live on YouTube every Thursday.
03:54 We are currently uploading videos for people to take part in the cooking experience that
03:59 I give.
04:01 So yeah, we're very excited about being here and looking forward to doing business here
04:05 in Phoenix.
04:06 Well, we are so glad to have you here in the Valley.
04:09 You guys, this food smells incredible.
04:11 So tell everybody where they can find your book because I know they're going to want
04:14 to make these dishes.
04:15 Right.
04:16 You can find me on all social media platforms under Chef Dorian, Chef Dorian Hunter.
04:20 And you can go to chefdorianhunter.com to purchase a copy of the book.
04:25 Nice and easy.
04:26 I love it.
04:27 And you guys, you want this book because this is an eye-catching book.
04:29 She looks gorgeous on the cover.
04:31 Come on.
04:32 And these dishes look gorgeous and they look gorgeous in your kitchen too.
04:33 All right, Chef, thank you so much for being here.
04:35 Thank you for having me.
04:36 Stick around, guys.
04:37 We got more of the mix coming up after this.
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