Savannah: "I wanted to reference locations and certain dishes that brought back food memories for me, but also inspired me throughout my career. I am starting with North Carolina, which is where I'm born and raised. I grew up eating a lot of sweet potatoes and hush puppies. This is a salt fish fritter. It has a sweet potato puree, pickled mussels, and then a habanero honey glaze."

Judges, behind the scenes

"Savannah's first course was a great way to start the meal with something crunchy and sweet, savory." 

"The honey habanero I loved. I thought there was some harmony there. There was a little bit of spice in there as well." 

"I thought it was nicely balanced. The fritter, I thought she just did a really great job."

Judges Table

Savannah: "My first course kind of being centered around growing up in North Carolina. I didn't want it to be a salt cod dish." 

"For me, the dish was about hush puppies and sweet potatoes. To be honest, growing up with salt cod, it was well done." 

"It was perfectly fried. The honey on the fritter with the mussels was a great combination." 

"It was really delicious. It was a good way to start. It sets us up for the following courses pretty nicely."