Chef Edgar ‘Dook’ Chase Dishes on His New Food Network Show With Octavia Spencer

Octavia Spencer is cooking up a new competition series for Food Network called Family Recipe Showdown. The show premiering July 17 sees the Academy Award-winning actress welcome duos composed of relatives to serve their most cherished recipes. Spencer will be joined by resident expert chef Edgar “Dook” Chase with the two sampling these dishes rooted in tradition during the challenges. Chase has been a popular fixture in the Bourbon Street food scene, making the restaurateur a perfect accompaniment to the New Orleans set project. 

Three teams of home cooks look to impress the pair in a culinary clash from Sunday brunch to a biscuit bake off. From there, two pairs go on to the final round. From there, some of Spencer’s famous friends stop by as guest judges in each of the eight episodes to decide the $10,000 winner. 

Among them include Jessica Chastain, Danielle Brooks, Eric Stonestreet, Tina Knowles, Kandi Burruss, Tim Gunn, and Al Roker with his daughter Leila. The premiere on July 17 sees the finalists put their own spin on the childhood favorites of Reese Witherspoon, who is also an executive producer.

Here Chase opens up about what it means to work on a show alongside Spencer. 

Octavia Spencer and Dook Chase in Family Recipe Showdown (Food Network)

How did this opportunity come about for you? 

Edgar “Dook” Chase: Someone reached out through email at first and set up a Zoom call for me to get on with the team and Octavia. Right when we get on that Zoom call, we start sharing food stories. We start connecting and having those food memories and growing up in each of our own individual families. You start to learn about our similarities, even though I’m a chef and Octavia is a celebrity or actor. Those food memories being in the kitchen with family was so connecting and brought us together because that is what food does. Little did I know that was a quasi-interview to see how we would connect and if I would pass the test. 

With that, in terms of them reaching out, telling me about what this show was about and what they were aiming to do. Bringing families together, celebrating cultures, tradition and those recipes and what food does. That was fascinating to me because that was my family’s story. That’s all we celebrate. We celebrate our culture, but more importantly, we love people to come in and reset the table. We want to have celebrations, dialogue and connections and food and culture and traditions. It was a perfect fit for me. That is why I was hoping so much I would make the cut, and I did. Here we are. 

What was it like getting to know Octavia in this environment? 

It was an amazing time for me. Octavia is a great person with an amazing personality. You see these stars on TV and wonder what type of person they are. She is just down-to-earth full of fun, full of energy. She kept us going on the show. When you are sharing those stories and childhoods and food and connectivity, you start to see the similarities whether you are an A-list celebrity or just a chef coming on and hosting. There are those food memories. Everyone has those growing up, so it’s important to keep those traditions alive. Getting to know her backstage and having the chance to meet many of her celebrity friends and just discuss food and memories and really have a bunch of fun backstage. There were times they would break out into songs and memories. That whole set was a whole lot of fun. We had a really great time. I hope that shows on camera because not only did we have a great time but the contestants had a great time. It was a great show to be on. 

Tell me about some of the duos we’re going to meet and stories we’re going to hear. 

You had mother and daughter, family friends, siblings, fraternity brothers. One of them that was fascinating is you had a mother and a son-in-law. I thought, “Wow, you are cooking a family recipe in 60 minutes with pressure, and you got stars in front of you making you nervous. Then you have a son-in-law with his mother-in-law. You better get this right man or you’ll have some problems.” It was such a joy to see those dynamics play out. Not only are they telling their story and sharing it with us, but they are doing it within a timeframe. That adds pressure. That can add nerves and all of the above. Just seeing them work together. I hope people get that from the show because it was fabulous being there. 

What was the criteria in your eyes to pick the winners? That must have been a hard decision. 

Picking a winner, to be honest, was the toughest job I had all season. For me, everybody came celebrating culture and tradition and family recipes. I was proud to see those continue. Then you start to dive into technique, flavors. You have to put your chef hat on because there has to be a winner. Not everyone can leave a winner as much as you want them to. We looked at the dynamics of did you put on the plate what you said you were going to do, did you meet the requirements, what technique was involved, does it tell a story,. We were looking at all sorts of things sitting at our perch table, what we call the judge’s table. We really observed overall and when we get to that tasting, it speaks for itself. How does the color look? How is the taste? How does the texture feel when you bite into it? I hope this show goes on for many seasons because I think everyone who comes on it with the hosts, judges and participants enjoys it. 

This is a pretty star-studded lineup in terms of guest judges. Who were you excited to see? 

Al Roker is a foodie. He has a cookbook with his daughter. You talk about Tina Knowles, who grew up cooking for her family. Really discussing backstage what you wouldn’t do or would do while you were cooking. One of the great things for me was not only getting to share time with Reese Witherspoon, but her mother was backstage. I learned about their connection to New Orleans. We were sharing some of those stories growing up. Her mother talked about being in New Orleans and working at a time when Reese was at a young age and sharing those memories. Everybody who came on that show had a food memory. You have a food memory. That is what we were able to get when we were talking with those celebrities. You have Eric Stonestreet, who has an amazing grill at his home showing me pictures of what he does cooking with his family. Everybody has that connection with food. I think we showcase that in a beautiful way. 

Any dishes that maybe you hadn’t tasted before? 

There were a few, but I’m not going to spoil it too much. They celebrated tradition with not only what they meant, but all the colors they had displayed. We highlighted those traditions. They spoke to you in terms of …every time food doesn’t have to be over-the-top, but some of the simplest ingredients can create the most flavorful dishes. You had some of those stories. The technique, passion and love in the recipe really stands out. You’re going to see some very beautiful and layered dishes.  You’re also going to see some you’ve been cooking for a while, but the recipe on the show and technique hit it to perfection. I think they cover it all. 

Related

Duff Goldman Opens Up About Fitness Journey & New Series 'Super Mega Cakes'

What does it mean to have the show’s set in New Orleans? 

It means everything. Any time we can highlight New Orleans, I’m about it. New Orleans is so unique to this country. You can’t think of another city that has so many different cultural influences. Whether you are talking about the Native Americans, French, West Africa, Italian, Spanish, you can go on and on. The reason why I tell people you find a little bit of home when you come to New Orleans is because there are so many different influences and cultures here. We celebrate everyone’s culture here and everyone’s tradition because we know how important it is. Each recipe passed down tells a story and family history. It’s not the flavors you’re tasting. That came from somewhere. I think being in New Orleans and showcasing that is just a highlight. That’s who we are as a city. 

Did you get to cook at all for Octavia? 

Yes. The first dish I learned how to cook in my grandmother’s kitchen was stewed chicken. I don’t know if it’s on the show or not, but I will show Octavia how to make stewed chicken. We had some fun cooking back there. It was pretty cool.  

Family Recipe Showdown, Series Premiere, July 17, 9/8c, Food Network (Next Day on Max)