Tournament of Champions ™

Island Style Fried Whole Branzino with Ackee Waffle, Island Spice Sauce, and a Celebration of Bok Choy 

Randomizer: Protein: Whole Branzino | Produce: Bok Choy | Equipment: Handheld Waffle Iron | Style: Fresh and Fried | Wild Card: Canned Ackee

{Jonathon Sawyer}: "The first thought that comes into my mind, that is what I need to do. I am going a whole fried branzino with an ackee island sauce and crispy bok choy." 

{Jonathon Sawyer}: "I want to get these fish marinated as soon as possible, giving this aggressive marinade the highest opportunity to penetrate the flesh. I use shio koji {note: likely shio koji, a fermented rice condiment, though transcript garbled}, jerk seasoning, sake, tamarind, clam juice, and lime juice." 

{Jonathon Sawyer}: "When the randomizer gives you a waffle maker, you make waffles. I am going to put ackee right in the batter. I actually think it is going to go nice in there. This waffle is going to be the vehicle for the judges to put together all of the fresh herbs and the fried fish and enjoy it all together, like a crepe alongside a piece of fried fish." 

{Jonathon Sawyer}: "I really want to maximize this bok choy and use it three different ways. First, I want to pickle the bulbs along with pickled onions. Then I am going to grill the leaves in the waffle maker. The raw leaves and the griddled leaves can act like a lettuce cup for each individual bite." 

{Jonathon Sawyer}: "I want to start a tamarind sauce with this ackee. So I use jerk paste, garlic, ginger, tamarind, and fresh lime. That is going to be awesome. I am really happy with how complex this island sauce is. It all gets blended with a little bit of clam juice. I think the ackee fruit waffles turned out awesome. I am really happy with how golden brown delicious they are on the outside." 

{Jonathon Sawyer}: "I am going to plate all of the fresh components of the fried fish plate. First, pickled bok choy and that ackee fruit waffle. Going to put the waffle iron griddled bok choy right next to the waffle. And over top of my fried fish goes the island sauce, that jerk and ackee and tamarind seasoning. I like the plate of food I made. I trust my flavors. I really hope it is enough to win." 

Voiceover: "We have island style fried whole branzino with an ackee waffle and island spice sauce, a celebration of bok choy and fresh garnishes. The branzino remained entirely intact and seasoned with a blend of shio koji jerk marinade. The waffles were constructed with ackee and brown butter. The bulbs of the bok choy were pickled. Fresh leaves are on the side of the plate, allowing you to eat it lettuce cup style if you wish. They were also griddled in the handheld waffle iron in brown butter."