Ora King is a sustainably raised salmon from New Zealand with a delicious history. On this week’s show, we travel to three cities to meet three chefs—all finalists in an international competition to create the most inventive Ora King salmon dish. 

To begin the judging process, we visit Austin, Texas to meet Chef Mia Li of Lenoir Restaurant and learn about her theory of cooking, which has been shaped by her personal experiences at home and abroad.

From there, we head to Brooklyn to find Chef Yael Peet at her elusive Japanese speakeasy, Karasu. Yael’s mastery of accessible Japanese cuisine and her training as an animation artist made her Ora King dish stand out.

Then, we meet finalist number three in Los Angeles. Chef Jonathan Granada worked his way up from commis to line cook at the legendary French Laundry in Napa Valley. He now serves as chef de cuisine at Otium. 

After becoming acquainted with all three finalists, we reveal the big winner. We also learn a bit more about the fish of the hour, Ora King. David Smith tells us a fish tale that takes us from the shores of California to the rivers of New Zealand. 

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