Meet two chefs from “The Great American Recipe”

May 20, 2022 | 6:30 AM

Irma Cádiz specializes in Latin-inspired cocktails; Bambi Daniels Makes Southern “Heart & Soul” Food

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  Christina Zeiders
  
  

  Christina Zeiders is a Communications Specialist at WITF. She helps spread awareness of all WITF programs, events and community conversations.

The Great American Recipe arrives on WITF TV Friday, June 24 at 9 p.m. and will be available to stream the same evening via the PBS Video app and online. This challenging new eight-part competition series celebrates the multiculturalism that makes American cuisine so vibrant and unique.

With a range of culinary styles steeped in their origins – from Syrian to Hungarian, Vietnamese to Mexican, Italian to Puerto Rican, and southern soul food to Filipino – our ten nominees represent the delicious diversity of American home cooking.

Each episode gives cooks the opportunity to showcase two of their beloved signature dishes as they compete to win the national search for “The Great American Recipe.”

Hosted by Alejandra Ramos and judged by Leah Cohen, Tiffany Derry and Graham Elliot, each brings their professional insight and in-depth culinary knowledge to cheer and support our contestants along the way.

Discover our first two candidates:

Irma Cadiz

Irma Cadiz grew up eating Dominican and Puerto Rican food and loves making her mother’s recipes as a tribute to her family’s Caribbean heritage. Raised in a multicultural environment in Rochester, New York, she experimented with a wide range of cuisines but wasn’t always a fan of cooking. Her mother encouraged her to join her in the kitchen, but it wasn’t until Irma had children of her own that she learned to love her.

For the past decade, she has lived in Harlem, New York with her diverse food scene. Irma recently graduated from college and started her own business, where she specializes in Latin-inspired cocktails. Irma is an actress and current member of the Chelsea Repertoire Theatre, where she continues to hone her craft. His signature dish is mofongo con camarones, a popular Caribbean comfort food made with mashed plantains and prawns.

Bambi Daniels

Bambi Daniels describes her cooking as “Heart & Soul” southern cuisine – everything has a hint of her South Carolina roots and lots of love. She grew up on her family’s farms in South Carolina – her maternal grandparents in Chester and her farm, Davis Farm, in Blair, where meals were prepared from what they grew and raised. She always incorporates fresh ingredients into her recipes, and when she visits her Blair farm, her family and neighbors come to share the fruits and vegetables from their gardens.

Bambi loves cooking for her family, children and their friends and believes that authentic bonds are forged and walls come down when people sit together at the table. Her mother, Mary Emma, ​​is her inspiration, but recent health issues have prevented the matriarch from cooking. Bambi’s goal is to keep family recipes alive, which carry the voice of his ancestors. His signature dish is passed down from generation to generation: smoked bacon macaroni and cheese.