Palm Bay chef tries his luck as a contestant on Very Local's cooking show 'Blind Kitchen'

Look at the food on your plate, and you'll most likely recognize many of the ingredients: tomatoes, onions, chicken, peppers, potatoes, rice.

Put on a blindfold, though, and what do you taste?

Could you recreate that dish just using your senses of taste, touch and smell?

That's what Palm Bay chef Brandon Basista was asked to do while filming an episode of "Blind Kitchen," a cooking competition on the Very Local app. Basista's episode, part of the show's third season, drops today.

Very Local is a free streaming app that offers access to local news from Hearst-owned outlets, including WESH 2 in Orlando, as well as original programing. The third season of "Blind Kitchen" was filmed in Orlando. New episodes debut every Wednesday, with the season finale streaming on Dec. 6.

Basista, who is executive chef at Station 49 in Palm Bay, goes plate to plate with Alex Diaz, chef and owner of Alex's Fresh Kitchen in Casselberry.

More about Station 49: Palm Bay restaurant is more than your average pizza joint | Restaurant Review

"It's extremely crazy," Basista said about trying to figure out ingredients in Diaz's dish solely from the smell, taste and feel of it.

Aromas change as the temperature of the food changes. So do textures.

"Your sight affects everything you eat," he said.

Basista made a dish he calls K.F.Q., Korean Fried Quail, with prik nam pla, budae-jjigae inspired mac and cheese made with ramen noodles, and gochugaru buttered corn. He took his cue from KFC and gave it an Asian twist.

"What are the most iconic things from KFC? Chicken, mac and cheese and corn," he said. "I worked it in my way."

Meanwhile, Diaz created Boricua Bleu, a Puerto Rican-flavored take on Chicken Cordon Bleu.

This was Basista's first time on a cooking competition show. He interviewed for "Guy's Grocery Games" in 2019, but the 2020 season was canceled.

While the competition was hectic, Basista said he would 100% recommend it to other chefs.

"It was cool to see the like-mindedness of all the chefs," he said.

He especially enjoyed getting to know Diaz. Both are known for their burgers, though neither made burgers for the show.

"We both approach food the same," Basista said. "It should be nourishing, but you should still have fun with it."

Basista couldn't divulge the winner of the competition. You'll have to download the Very Local app and watch the show to find out. But it did open the door to future opportunities for the chef, who became known in Brevard a few years ago with his Bearded Chef food truck.

In early 2024, he has been invited to prepare a multi-course dinner and teach a class at Edible Education Experience in Orlando.

While he probably won't be adding his K.F.Q. to the Station 49 menu, there's a chance it will be on the menu for that dinner.

"I would love to see some friendly faces there," he said.

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard. 

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Palm Bay's Bearded Chef takes on Casselberry chef in 'Blind Kitchen'