♪ ♪ >> From the editors of Relish.com, we bring you Moveable Feast with host Alex Thomopoulos.

♪ ♪ >> ALEX: Today we're in Tampa, Florida, a city known for its gorgeous gulf beaches and vibrant communities.

Caribbean, Central American, and Latin flavors dominate this waterfront city, and today we will be joining two local chefs who go big on their Florida flavors, Chef Melly Gardner and Chef Felicia LaCalle.

First stop, Chef Melly takes us to Hookin' Ain't Easy to source some of Tampa's famous fresh seafood.

>> The rawness and the freshness of the seafood, you know, that's something to brag on, you know.

I like to say, like, "I live where you vacation," you know?

>> ALEX: Next, Chef Felicia will take us to Wonderfield Farm, where exotic tropical fruit and vegetables are taking root amongst the region's world-famous citrus groves.

>> Growing up in Tampa and having that heritage is just, every Saturday, you get up, you go to the market, my mom would make oxtail or something that was, like, long and extravagant that day.

There's a lot of joy in it.

>> ALEX: And once we've gathered all of our ingredients, we'll sit down to a feast that celebrates all of the diversity that Tampa has to offer.

That's all happening right now on Moveable Feast with Relish.

>> Major funding provided by: >> Oh, hey, it's the Donovans.

You know, legend has it the Donovans had a barbecue that fed half a town.

>> You know what I heard.

They drove cross country just to walk their dog.

>> Welcome to the National Kennel Show!

>> Apparently, they climbed a mountain to save some wild horses.

(thunder claps) (whinnies loudly) That's what they say.

>> That's what they say.

♪ ♪ >> Florida farmers and Fresh From Florida.

Our name is on it because we stand behind it.

Local farms, local produce, local flavor.

Fresh from Florida, a proud sponsor of Moveable Feast.

>> There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach The Beach.

There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.

This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.

♪ ♪ (rock band playing) >> ALEX: What's going on, Chef?

>> Hey, Alex.

How you doing?

Nice to meet you.

>> ALEX: Good.

Nice to meet you, too.

This place... >> Is awesome.

>> ALEX: ...is sick.

>> Yeah, man, I love it.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

Hookin' Ain't Easy is a restaurant, seafood market.

>> It's a fish market, a bar, and a food truck all in one.

Every day Matt is typically, like, outside with his sign.

So once you get off the boat, he's outside, live blue, blue crab, snapper, shrimp, oysters... Whatever you have fresh for today, he's pretty much promoting it.

Everything is always fresh.

You can go in and buy something from the market, you can have an ice-cold beer, or you can just go to the food truck and eat some food.

>> ALEX: Sounds like the dream.

>> It is the dream-- the Florida dream, for sure.

I was born in Miami, Florida.

I'm actually a software engineer at heart.

>> ALEX: What?!

>> Yeah, man.

I started, I started as a software engineer, but instead of going out to a job, I went right into my food truck.

Once I got the food truck, I became a instant sensation.

>> ALEX: Yeah, there was really that demand for the flavors, the food.

>> It was really that demand.

Yes, yes, ma'am, yeah.

How about we go in and see Matt?

>> ALEX: All right, let's go see Matt.

>> Let's do it.

>> ALEX: All right.

♪ ♪ >> Hi, Alex.

How are you doing today?

>> ALEX: Very nice to meet you.

Thank you for having us here.

>> Nice to meet you, absolutely.

>> ALEX: Tell me a little bit about Hookin' Ain't Easy.

>> So, I'm born and raised right here in St. Petersburg, Florida.

I've been selling wholesale and retail for just about 30 years.

I crab, I run charters, I have the retail store now, we have a cafe and a bar outside.

I live a day off every day of my life.

It's a fun place.

>> ALEX: Yeah, it really feels like there's such intense passion that goes behind this operation.

And you catch all this fish yourself?

>> So either I do or somebody that I know does.

This is a red grouper here.

I like to do them whole.

There's a lot of meat in this fish.

Now, if you were to filet this out and debone it, you wouldn't end up with very much fish.

Because the throat in here, the head, has a lot of meat, but when you bake the whole thing or cook the whole thing, it's amazing how much we throw away as consumers.

>> ALEX: Chef Mel, what do you think you're going to grab for tonight's feast?

>> So I think I'm going to do the two snappers in the back.

Can you tell me what kind of snappers those are, Matt?

>> Yeah, these are mutton snappers right here.

They were caught right here in the gulf, so they're local.

Will there be anything else that you need today?

>> ALEX: This grouper looks amazing.

>> We'll take a few groupers, as well.

>> Okay, and you want those cleaned out the same way?

>> ALEX: We'll see what we can do with them.

>> Yeah, you sold us, you sold us on it.

>> ALEX: We're going to have a feast of fish.

>> Thank you so much, and thank you for coming in.

>> Thank you.

>> ALEX: Of course.

>> And we'll get this done for you.

Take care.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ALEX: Hi, Felicia.

>> Hi.

>> ALEX: So nice to meet you.

>> Nice to meet you, Alex.

>> ALEX: Oh, thank you so much for... Where... First of all, where have you taken us today?

>> I have taken us to Wonderfield Farms.

Lev is amazing-- Wonderfield Farms actually produces some of our citrus fruits for our restaurant that I have in St. Pete Beach.

>> ALEX: What is it called?

>> Kuba.

>> ALEX: Kuba.

>> Kuba-- so it's a little spin on the classics that you can find in Tampa, especially our Cuban sandwiches, which we're famous for, we do Cuban fried rice.

>> ALEX: Ooh.

>> Everything fresh.

And we get our sour oranges from here, we get our citruses that we use for our juices and our limeades, desserts in-house.

>> ALEX: Oh, it sounds unreal.

>> Oh, it's so good, so yum.

>> ALEX: Oh, well, I would love to know a little bit more about Wonderfield Farm, get to meet Lev, see where you source your citrus for the restaurant.

So, should we go in?

>> Yeah.

Let's go check it out.

>> ALEX: Okay.

>> Yes.

>> ALEX: Hello, hello.

>> Hi.

>> Hi, guys.

>> Hi.

>> ALEX: How's it going?

>> Good.

>> ALEX: Alex.

>> Lev-- nice to meet you.

>> ALEX: Nice to meet you.

>> Hi.

>> What's up, Felicia?

>> How are you?

>> Hello, welcome to Wonderfield Farm.

>> ALEX: Thank you.

I'd love to know a little bit more about Wonderfield Farm and kind of what you're growing here.

>> So we used to be a citrus grove, and in 2017, it got sold to the new owner, and his vision was to start a retreat center and a regenerative experimental farm.

So, seeing what kind of stuff we can grow here that's really low-input, and instead of extracting from the soil, puts nutrients back into the soil.

So we decided to create this food forest, and yeah, I'd love to show you guys around, you can follow me.

>> ALEX: Love to go check it out.

Let's do this.

>> All right.

This is where the chickens and our... >> ALEX: Hi, chicks, hey, y'all.

>> We have the chicken coop.

And here's our kumquat tree.

The skin is sweet, and the fruit is sour, so you get a nice hit of both sweet and sour.

They just are starting to ripen up this week, so it's still a little sour, but you can taste, the skin's sweet.

Another one of my favorite heritage Florida fruits is the pink lemon, which, you could see, it's a variegated lemon, totally pink on the inside.

Most people have never even realized that pink lemon's a real thing-- you know, you hear pink lemonade, but most people don't know about pink lemons.

And most of the pink lemons grown in Florida are sent up north to specialty stores.

>> ALEX: Yum.

>> It's good, right?

>> ALEX: Really good.

>> It's a little sweeter than regular lemons.

>> ALEX: It is a little sweeter than a normal lemon.

♪ ♪ >> So as you can see, we have, like, trees interplanted with different bushes and ground covers, and really trying to, like, cover the soil, create a nice environment.

This is a lovely spinach here, native to Okinawa, that is really hardy in Florida, can grow all year round, through the summer.

It's really tender, really fragrant, and I love it way more than regular spinach.

>> ALEX: Mm.

>> It's so good.

It grows prolifically here in this environment.

Regular spinach really likes it colder.

>> ALEX: I'd love to know a little bit more about regenerating the soil.

What do you mean by that?

And is the soil, by nature, really hard to grow in?

>> In some places in the world, like Michigan, China, like France, you know, up north, you have glacial till and you have really beautiful, deep topsoil.

But down here in Florida, we used to be covered by water a lot more recently.

We have, most of the earth here is sand and shell deposits.

There's not a lot of topsoil.

So our goal, what we say here is, we grow the soil instead of grow food, and then the soil takes care of the food that we want to grow.

So we try to make sure that the ground is always covered.

The layer right underneath the topsoil is where all the microbic activity happens, so we want to keep all those little microbes alive and adding beneficial nutrients to the soil.

>> ALEX: And then what else do you have?

Like, let's make a big experimental edible forest salad.

>> That's what we do out here.

This is the cranberry hibiscus, so this has a really nice tart flavor and adds just a little bit, similar to, like, sorrel or something like this.

>> ALEX: Uh-huh, it tastes just like sorrel.

>> Exactly.

So we got the Cuban oregano right there.

There you are.

>> Thank you.

>> ALEX: Whoa!

>> Yeah.

It's way, way more fragrant.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

>> And, again, it's hardy.

The Cuban oregano will spread on its own and create this beautiful ground cover, and it never needs to be watered, nothing.

>> You taste it and it reminds you of, like, the Cuban pork, because it's got the citrus and it's got...

This is why, why they use it.

>> ALEX: This is crazy-good.

Well, I'd love to get maybe some citrus for a cocktail tonight.

I know, Chef, you need... >> I'm going to need some sour oranges for tonight, for sure.

>> ALEX: Perfect.

>> You got it.

>> ALEX: So can we walk to the citrus groves?

>> We're going to ride.

>> Yes!

He said ride.

>> ALEX: Ride what?

>> (laughing) ♪ ♪ (all laughing, whooping) >> ALEX (breathlessly): Okay, okay!

Oh, my God.

Got to climb this tree.

I'm very tall.

>> You see there's a sour orange right there.

Yeah, there you go.

She's giving it right up.

>> ALEX: So let's grab the last of these and then head back to the kitchen.

>> All right.

>> ALEX: Okay.

>> Hold onto your hats.

>> ALEX: I don't have a hat.

>> (laughing) ♪ ♪ >> ALEX: Chef Felicia, we are here getting ready to prepare your dish for the feast.

What are you making today?

>> So today I'm going to be making a mojo-marinated grilled grouper wrapped in plantain, a fufu de platano, which is a Cuban-style mofongo, and then we're going to be making a kumquat relish to go on top, that we get off the farm.

>> ALEX: Oh, that sounds delicious.

>> So, I'm going to do the mojo.

Mojo is just a very traditional Cuban-style marinade, especially for pork, but we're going to use it for the fish.

So it's going to be sour orange, the ones that we picked off the tree, the fresh oregano that we use, that we picked-- perfect for this.

>> ALEX: My new favorite ingredient.

>> Yes.

Some raw garlic.

And then a little bit of salt.

A little pepper.

Whisk it up.

What I'm going to do is pour this over the fish.

>> ALEX: And because there's acid in here, how long do you marinate this fish for?

>> A couple of minutes, because we're going to take it out, because we don't want it to cook.

>> ALEX: So we've got the marinade going.

>> We've got that sitting.

>> ALEX: And then a bunch of platanos.

>> A bunch of platanos.

So in Cuba, we use these, which are the plantains maduros.

So they're sweet and you get a little bit of the starch still.

>> ALEX: Uh-huh, the sweetness of these plantains, I can foresee it just being really a beautiful balance to the acidity of the fish.

>> Of the fish, correct.

>> ALEX: So this looks like lard.

>> Yes, pork lard.

>> ALEX: Okay.

>> There we go.

So we're going to have to throw in those onions really quick so it stops popping.

I'm going to go ahead and start mashing these, these plantains.

(pan sizzling) So you got your onions rendering.

I would go ahead and add your garlic.

>> ALEX: This is what I love so much about Cuban food is the amount of garlic.

>> All that garlic goes in there.

>> ALEX: What makes being a chef in Florida so special?

Especially a Cuban chef?

>> Every Saturday, you get up, you go to the market.

My mom would make oxtail or something that was, like, long and extravagant that day.

The music, the salsa playing, is going... >> ALEX: Oh, my God.

>> (laughs) So there's tons of music in the background.

Mommy's happy, I'm happy.

And it's just, it just...

There's a lot of joy in it.

So, that's going to go in here, that's ready.

I'm going to go ahead and squeeze the limes that go in here, because you want a little bit of acidity.

Salt.

(Alex exhales) >> ALEX: You get that citrusy note from the lime and the sweetness of the platanos, and the onions, and the garlic.

>> Garlic.

All right, so then that's good to go.

Now we're going to start on our kumquat chutney.

So a couple of tablespoons of oil in your pan.

And then this is homemade sofrito.

Sofrito is equivalent to a mirepoix, but Spanish-style.

So onions, garlic, and then peppers.

And so you want to dab a couple of tablespoons in there.

Just let it cook.

>> ALEX: All the pineapple?

>> All of it.

>> ALEX: All of it.

>> Yes, all that pineapple.

And then we're going to hit it with the brown sugar.

So a couple of tablespoons of that.

Then we're going to add the rum.

Then we're going to add some sour orange, as well.

You're going to add all of that.

Then we're going to let that cook.

And then, towards the end, our kumquats here.

I blanched these three times to get out the bitterness.

Took out the fruit from the middle, sliced them up, and we're just going to let that reduce just a little bit, and then that's done.

And that'll go on top of the fish.

>> ALEX: So we wrap the fish first.

>> Yes.

So banana leaves.

>> ALEX: And if you can't go and harvest these straight from your backyard, like we just did, in the edible forest... >> Definitely at a Latin market.

In the freezer section, for sure.

>> ALEX: Shout-out to Matt at Hookin' Ain't Easy for this incredible fish.

>> Yeah, it was super-fresh.

All right, and then we're just going to wrap it up.

So I put mine towards the end.

Wrap it.

>> ALEX: Perfect.

So how do we cook these?

>> So I'm going to grill them, five to six minutes on each side, and then we open it up, and the aroma... >> ALEX: I love that cooking technique, because you're getting the smokiness from the grill, but you're also steaming the fish because it's in the banana leaf.

>> Steam, yes.

>> ALEX: I'm going to let you cook those up on the grill.

I'm going to see what Chef Melly has in store.

And then I think we are ready to feast.

>> Awesome.

♪ ♪ >> ALEX: So we're here cooking with Chef Mel.

Brought back this beautiful snapper from Hookin' Ain't Easy.

And Chef, what are you making today?

>> Today what we're going to do is, we're going to put it on a grill, stuff it with citrus and lots of herbs.

And then we're going to top it off with a truffle chimichurri.

>> ALEX: Yum.

>> Yeah, we have parsley and cilantro here for our truffle chimichurri.

So we'll start chopping it right now.

We get this all minced down.

>> ALEX: And you said earlier that you have a couple of food trucks.

What kind of food are you cooking on those?

>> I'm from Miami, Florida, so, you know, I'm banging out, like, fried lobster tail.

I have truffle butter lamb chops on the truck.

We do a red velvet chicken and waffle, churro chicken and waffle... >> ALEX: Wait, what?

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: Out of a food truck?

>> Yes, out of the food truck-- shrimp and grits.

But on top of the grits, you'll get a crawfish Cajun roux.

>> ALEX: That menu sounds incredibly complex.

Inventive.

Like, where did you learn to cook?

>> My grandmother, she was born and raised in Miami, Florida.

And she just taught me, like, Bahamian, Haitian, Hispanic, African American-- just so many different kind of dishes.

So with that, I took the food truck and I said, "If I'm going to do a food truck, I want it to be different."

>> ALEX: All right, so while you're doing that... >> Take some of those Florida lemons and limes and oranges, and you'll line that fish basket.

And then we're going to lay the fish right on it.

I'm finishing the cilantro and parsley for the truffle chimichurri.

>> ALEX: Now that I think of it, I don't think I've had truffle chimichurri before.

I'm very, very excited to try it.

>> Next, we'll add olive oil.

We're just going to add a little bit of truffle in there, just so you can taste it.

We have minced garlic here.

>> ALEX: What would you say is unique to the experience of being a chef in Florida?

>> The rawness and the freshness of the seafood.

You know, having the beaches there.

And I like to say, like, "I live where you vacation," you know, so that's... >> ALEX: Thanks for rubbing it in, Melly.

>> Yeah, yeah.

That's been, like, you know, that touch for me.

>> ALEX: Yeah, no, it's so true.

>> Here we are, we're going to add fresh lime.

So what I like to do is, I like to rub this skin in fresh lime.

Get it real good in there.

Here's your olive oil, right on top.

So here we're going to stuff the cavity.

We're here at Wonderfield Farm.

So we're going to stuff this with some citrus, cilantro, parsley-- just lots of herbs.

So when we put this on the grill, all that flavor will come out.

>> ALEX: Mm.

>> And we'll do salt on one side.

We'll do salt on the other side.

Right after that, we'll go right into the oregano, garlic powder, our Cajun seasoning.

>> ALEX: Oh, yum.

>> This is, this is my... >> ALEX: See, now I see, I see what you're doing here.

Like, layering all the different flavors that you grew up with.

>> Those seasonings on there.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

>> It's, like, my special seasoning.

I love Cajun seasoning.

We have some fresh garlic.

Gonna pop it in the cavity, as well.

>> ALEX: This fish is going to be so flavorful.

>> Then you got the flavors on that, as well.

And then now we're just going to put a few slits in it.

>> ALEX: So that seasoning really gets deep in the meat.

>> Mm-hmm, and the fish basket, once you put it in there, it should grill up perfect for you.

>> ALEX: So I'm going to let you get this on the grill.

I'm going to make up a salad to go with this feast and maybe even a cocktail.

>> Ooh, that sounds good.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

♪ ♪ I've been so inspired by my time here at Wonderfield Farm, foraging for the citrus and all of these unique greens.

We have the Okinawa spinach and the cranberry hibiscus.

And we also got some of this Thai basil.

Now, this isn't traditional Thai basil in the sense it's very pungent.

This variety of Thai basil is really floral, but it's delicate, as well.

And so I grabbed a bunch of that to toss into my greens.

I wanted to create a vinaigrette that complemented the unique qualities of all of these greens.

So I'm going to make a traditional shallot vinaigrette, but I'm going to add something a little special in there.

You'll see.

Shallot, diced up.

Dijon mustard.

Red wine vinegar.

I'm going to squeeze some fresh citrus.

So we've got a little bit of sour orange.

We'll throw a little bit of lime in there.

Why not?

Maybe some lemon, as well.

Just get three notes of three very different citruses.

Add a little bit of agave just to balance out all of that acidity.

And then here's my secret ingredient.

This is liquid aminos.

You've probably seen it at your grocery store, and passed it a hundred times, and go, like, "What is that?"

It's an alternative to soy sauce.

It is a liquid protein derived from soybeans, and it's got the most interesting and unique flavor profile.

You don't need much, but I promise you, people are going to eat this dressing and they're going to go, "What am I tasting?"

It is addictive, and it just keeps you coming back, bite after bite.

All right, so we mix that up, and then just emulsify it with some olive oil so that all comes together.

And then I always like to season my dressings with some salt and pepper.

And right before I serve a salad, I will salt and pepper my greens, as well.

It's really important to season your greens, as well as season your dressing.

And of course, because we are surrounded by wild Florida citrus trees, we had to do a cocktail.

What goes better with citrus than tequila?

We have some sour orange juice.

This is half sour orange juice, half regular orange juice.

And we got some pink lemon juice from the Florida fruit co-op that Lev and his business partner Rebecca own.

And then I made a simple syrup.

This is just one cup of sugar, one cup of water.

We cooked it down with some of the pink lemon peel.

It's got a really beautiful citrusy undertone that's going to help balance out all of the acidity, and then... (cork pops) ...some tequila.

And just like the liquid aminos that I put in this salad dressing to add that kind of umami backbone, I like to throw a little bit of bitters into any sort of citrus cocktail that I make.

I find that it just kind of gives it a little bit of roundness on the back of your tongue.

You're, like, "Huh, what is that?"

And you can tell your friends, "It's bitters, baby."

Stir that up.

Throw some pink lemons in there.

Get a pour.

It's about three-quarters of the way up.

And then I like to top all of my cocktails with a little bit of seltzer.

And there you have it.

I call this cocktail the Wonderfield.

Cheers.

♪ ♪ Hey, everybody, what's going on?

Welcome to our Tampa feast.

We have spent all day foraging and going to the fish markets to gather ingredients for tonight's feast.

Chef Felicia, Chef Melly worked really, really hard-- also me-- creating their dishes for tonight's feast.

And chefs, will you tell us what you made for everybody tonight?

>> So this is a mojo grilled grouper wrapped in banana leaf, fufu de platano, it's like a sweet plantain mash.

Sautéed spinach, very lightly, with the Okinawan spinach with a orange and garlic essence.

And then I made a kumquat gastrique on top.

>> All right, so I did a citrus grilled snapper.

We topped it off with a little truffle chimichurri.

And then we did a brûléed plantain on top.

>> Wow.

>> Yum.

>> ALEX: And we foraged for some beautiful Okinawan spinach, the cranberry hibiscus, and some Thai basil here at Wonderfield Farm.

I paired that with a shallot-amino dressing.

And then on the table, we made a Wonderfield cocktail using all of the wild citrus that we found here on this beautiful property.

>> And also we have some tequila on the table by my friend the owner of 7th and Grove, Dobel Tequila-- thank you, guys.

(guests applauding) All right.

>> ALEX: All right.

Pour yourself a cocktail and let's eat.

>> Let's eat.

(laughing, talking in background) >> ALEX: There you go, sir.

If you don't mind passing that back...

Thank you.

♪ ♪ >> Oh, my goodness.

>> Oh, my gosh.

>> Yes.

>> It's so good.

>> ALEX: Mm-mm.

>> It's truffle chimichurri.

>> Yes.

>> ALEX: All of these flavors are so fresh and bright.

>> Wow.

I've never had a kumquat quite like that before.

That's amazing.

>> My plate's a piled-up mess and it's still beautiful.

(laughing) >> ALEX: It's a perfect blend of the ingredients that you can source here, the culture that make up the people here, from the fresh fish to all of the beautiful produce.

And chefs, you guys knocked it out of the park.

Thank you so much for sharing part of your story and your talents.

Thank you to everybody at Wonderfield Farm for hosting this incredible feast and giving us so much of the beautiful produce that we've used for tonight's meal.

To Matt, who could not be here, at Hookin' Ain't Easy, and the whole family, thank you guys so much for the beautiful seafood.

And if you want any of these recipes from today's episode, make sure to go to moveablefeast.relish.com.

And who knows, maybe next time, we'll be feasting in your city.

Cheers, everybody.

>> Cheers!

(chuckling) ♪ ♪ >> For more information about this episode, recipes, and behind-the-scenes fun, make sure you go to relish.com, follow us, @moveablefeast_tv, on Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

See you next time on a Moveable Feast with Relish.

Major funding provided by: >> Oh, hey, it's the Donovans.

You know, legend has it the Donovans had a barbecue that fed half a town.

>> You know what I heard.

They drove cross country just to walk their dog.

>> Welcome to the National Kennel Show!

>> Apparently, they climbed a mountain to save some wild horses.

(thunder claps) (whinnies loudly) That's what they say.

>> That's what they say.

♪ ♪ >> Florida farmers and Fresh From Florida.

Our name is on it because we stand behind it.

Local farms, local produce, local flavor.

Fresh from Florida, a proud sponsor of Moveable Feast.

>> There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach The Beach.

There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.

This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.

>> Closed captioning made possible by: >> Handmade in small batches with hints of fruits, nuts, and seeds.

Lesley Stowe Raincoast Crisps.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪