top of page
Beignet and chicory coffee

Season 12, Episode 4

"Pride of New Orleans"

Chopped Champion Linda Green

Episode theme: New Orleans

Original air date June 26, 2012

Image of beignet and chicory coffee; dessert round ingredients.

Image by Gabe Raggio from Pixabay.

Meet the Chefs

Richard Bond

Chef Richard Bond’s first career was in banking, until he followed his passion for food to New Orleans, LA. After reinventing himself in the culinary arts, he owned several restaurants. Later in life, he founded and operated a Cajun & Creole cooking school, The Mardi Gras School of Cooking, out of his 140-year-old home in Algiers Point. Sadly, Chef Bond died in 2017. But the school he founded lives on under the ownership of a former student and friend, Teresa Vernon, at a new location in the French Quarter.

Justin Kennedy

Although he had no formal culinary training, Justin Kennedy began working for his uncle at a family-owned business while attending college in New Orleans. The Parkway Bakery & Tavern is an almost 100-year-old Mid-City neighborhood institution known for its poor boy sandwiches. Chef Kennedy found his true calling in helping to revitalize the bakery, and today he is both general manager and head chef. Parkway and Kennedy are both well-known locally for supporting charitable causes. In March 2022, they created a 300-foot poor boy to raise money for kids with brain cancer.

Cody Monfra

At the time of filming Chopped, Chef Monfra was working as a sous chef at Dickie Brennan's Palace Cafe in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Linda Green

Chef Linda Green, better known as “Ms. Linda” or “The Ya-Ka-Mein Lady” spent over twenty-five years using her family recipe for ya-ka-mein broth and building her brand part-time. She also worked in school food service in the New Orleans Parish for over twenty years. After being laid off following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Ms. Linda became a culinary entrepreneur full-time. As a street food vendor at parades and food festivals, she raised the popularity of ya-ka-mein, a unique New Orleans meal of noodles and meat in a spicy broth. Eventually, she opened a catering company, Ms. Linda’s Soul Food Catering Co., and became internationally known for her signature dish. In addition to appearing on Chopped, she’s been featured on Cooking Channel’s United Tastes of America and Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. If you’re going to be in the Crescent City and want to taste these famous noodles for yourself, follow Chef Linda on Instagram (link above) to find out her next pop-up location.

Hungry for more?

Try making "Ms. Linda’s Original New Orleans Ya-Ka-Mein" recipe at home!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. boneless chuck roast

  • 1 (5 oz.) pkg. Ms. Linda Green’s Ya-Ka-Mein Seasoning*

  • 1 lb. spaghetti, cooked to package directions

  • 2 bunches green onions, chopped

  • 4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered

  • soy sauce

  • garnish, as desired: boiled shrimp, hot sauce, ketchup, boiled cauliflower, boiled broccoli, boiled carrots

​Directions

  1. Place chuck roast in a large saucepot, cover with water and place over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a low boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until roast is cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove roast from cooking liquid and set aside. Reserve 8 cups of cooking liquid.

  2. In a large saucepot, stir together reserved cooking liquid and Ya-Ka-Mein Seasoning*. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Once seasoning mixture has dissolved, remove from heat but keep warm.

  3. Once beef is cool enough to handle, carefully chop into bite-size pieces, then set aside and keep warm.

  4. Divide cooked spaghetti among 8 large bowls, then top with beef, green onion and 2 egg quarters. Ladle 1 cup of broth mixture over each bowl and top with a dash of soy sauce. Garnish with boiled shrimp, hot sauce, ketchup or boiled vegetables, if desired.

*Ms. Linda Green’s Ya-Ka-Mein Seasoning is available for purchase at NewOrleansSoulFood.com. If unavailable, season cooking liquid with 1 tsp. Creole seasoning and 3 Tbsp. beef base. Taste and adjust the flavor as needed.

Recipe excerpted from LouisianaTravel.com

bottom of page