Blind Kitchen is a quirky food competition series, local chefs recreate each other’s signature dish, but they can only determine what the dish is using their senses of taste, touch and smell. Each chef is blindfolded during a down-and-dirty guessing phase and when the masks come off, the heat is on, with both chefs cooking what they believe is their opponent’s creation. The chefs are competing for bragging rights and a donation to their favorite charity.
In this episode, Hish Hassan, chef at Chickadee Restaurant in Boston, and Hunt Chase, chef/owner of The Rabbit Hole in Worthington, face off to see who can recreate each other’s signature dish.
Each recreated meal will be judged on:
- Percentage of correct ingredients
- Similarities in flavor and plating
- Re-creation as a standalone dish
Chef Hish Hassan: Seared Scallop Salad
Hish Hassan decided to leave his unfulfilling Sales job behind to follow his passion for cooking. With support from his wife and family, Hish took a risk and went to culinary school. Today, he is not just the chef at Chickadee Restaurant in Boston’s Seaport District, he’s also a culinary instructor at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.
Mystery Dish: Seared Scallop Salad
Scallops, celery root, apple, shallots, capers, anchovies, lemon, chives, tarragon, parsley
Chef’s Choice Charity: The Greater Boston Food Bank
The Greater Boston Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England, distributing over 60 million pounds of food annually directly to those in need across 190 cities and towns.
Chef Hunt Chase: Seitan Grain Bowl
Hunt Chase is the chef/owner of hyper-local restaurant The Rabbit Hole in Worthington. Hunt primarily eats plant-based food, and 95% of the vegetables served at The Rabbit Hole come from Worthington. Passionate about food justice, Hunt strives to serve food that is produced locally–not just seasonally, but on a year-round basis–and also strives to give back to the community. During the pandemic, The Rabbit Hole developed a free meal program for anyone in need, no questions asked.
Mystery Dish: Seitan Grain Bowl
Seitan, napa cabbage, rye berries, dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu dashi, spicy pickled vegetables
Chef’s Choice Charity: It Takes A Village
Since 2009, It Takes A Village has provided free postpartum and early parenting support to families in western Massachusetts.
Meet The Judge: Jodi Bradbury
Jodi is the food-obsessed sous chef of Rifrullo Cafe in Brookline. She previously taught America’s Test Kitchen cooking classes aboard the Holland America cruise line and owned a vegan and gluten free cafe in Salem.
Want to see who wins?
You can watch this episode, “Blind Kitchen: Flavor,” on the Very Local channel. You can stream all of the episodes of Blind Kitchen for free.
Looking for more Boston eats…
Check out our guide to the best international food stores in Boston and learn more about the history of America’s first chocolate mill in Lower Mills.
Stay Tuned
Our new show “Boston Rob Does Beantown” is coming in April. Follow @verylocalboston on Instagram and Facebook for updates.