Table for All with Buki Elegbede

- Let's go!

[marching band music] - [Buki] Today we're tackling the culture of football.

We head to a Giant's tailgate, live the suite life with the Jets, and sit down with Rutgers hometown hero, Eric LeGrand.

[people cheering] That's next on the season two premier of Table for All.

[fanfare music] MetLife Stadium, the iconic venue located in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

This stadium is home to both the New York Jets and the New York Giants.

The excitement of game day on football Sunday is unmatched.

Started in the 1860s as a spinoff from rugby and soccer, football is the number one sport in America, worth over $100 billion.

And the culture that this sport creates, is like none other.

Rain or shine, home game or away, every football fan knows it doesn't matter what race, shape, or creed you come from.

If you're rooting for the same team, you are family.

And on this day, it was no different, as the New York Giants took on the Washington Commanders, There were tons of passionate fans, and of course we can't forget about the food!

That's right, tailgating.

That energetic, elaborate pre-game party where families, friends, and strangers come together.

It's not only classic American culture.

The first recorded tailgate wasn't even over a sporting event.

It was over a war.

The Civil War.

Washingtonians traveled, with picnic baskets in tow to watch the Battle of Bull Run.

What we now know as tailgating took off during the automobile age.

As fans traveled farther for games, stadiums became much larger, and with the advent of the station wagon, fans used their rear fold-down tailgates for seating or tables to display food, which is where the term "tailgating" originated.

Today, tailgating has become its very own unique culture with the community it creates.

I met up with James Beard award-winning chef, Bradford Thompson, whose legendary tailgates have been featured in the "New York Times," that's kind of a big deal, to take us through this game day ritual.

Bradford Thompson.

- Yes sir.

- James Beard award-winning chef.

And what we call you is the Godfather, and I'll say it this way forever, the Godfather of tailgating.

- I'll take it.

- Now, you've never had any formal training whatsoever.

You know, you didn't go to culinary school.

- Right.

- And yet we've got awards just lining the shelves.

- Well, I always say I didn't have formal training in the sense that I didn't go to culinary school, but I worked for really great chefs and really great teachers.

So to me, it's a constant process.

I did some catering at one point and tailgating was kind of an extension of the learning process.

You know, you're out here, there's no sink, there's no walk-in, there's no dry storage.

You're out here in a parking lot, you gotta be pretty creative.

And then you got the elements.

You know, so you're building fire and trying to figure how to keep it going.

I'm sitting here today and I smell the same smell.

The charcoal, the pretzels, people burning steaks.

There's this smell that's so distinct to a parking lot.

You know, it takes me back to being a kid.

It starts, you know, two, three guys sitting in the back of a truck, couple beers, a sandwich.

Like, "Ah, bring a grill next week, we'll cook something."

And you just start attracting people or you find out a friend already comes to the game so, "Oh, join us in this parking lot."

And it kind of grows and it just becomes a community.

- [Buki] What does it take to put on the massive tailgates that you put on?

- Really, it takes planning.

Making a menu that makes sense and figure out how you're gonna execute it.

We've gone a little crazy with some of them.

- How crazy?

- You know, like New Orleans, we did a whole barbecued alligator.

- How does alligator taste?

- Like a fatty chicken.

- A fatty chicken!

Are you going to grace us with the Godfather of tailgating again?

- No, we are, The group is kind of reassembled after COVID, and the pieces are coming back together.

- I also hear of a very unique tailgate happening.

You wanna check it out with me?

- I do!

Listen, I'm starving.

- [Buki] And we were off!

Elliot Chrem runs a successful catering company and is also the master chef behind the only kosher tailgate at MetLife Stadium.

Bradford and I needed to know more and maybe snack a knish.

- Hey guys.

- How are you doing?

Good, how are you?

Nice to see you.

- How are you?

- Bradford, nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

- I've heard good things, man.

- I'm so happy.

- This looks awesome.

- Thank you.

- So tell me about this tailgate.

- All right, so we run the world's only regular weekly kosher tailgate.

- Okay.

- We've be doing this for about 12 seasons.

- [Bradford] What have we got cooking?

What have we got?

- Basically, it's your typical football barbecue menu.

We got burgers and dogs.

We got hot wings, we gotta have that.

We got potato knish.

Very Jewish.

- I was gonna say, that's not on the tailgate.

That's not a tailgate menu.

- You're right.

We've got sausages with peppers and onions.

That is a beef sausage, because you know, pork is a no-no.

We've got ropa vieja, which is pulled beef with a barbecue sauce.

- All right, we got some, okay.

- We've got out flat iron steak, which we're gonna slice and serve.

And I have a 12-hour woodsmoked whole brisket.

- Okay.

- And a whole brisket, not a lean brisket.

- No whole.

- Right.

- With the fat cap and everything.

We smoke it.

- Fat cap and everything.

Good Lord!

- We smoke it over a period of 12 to 14 hours until it's falling apart.

- [Buki] How did you come up with kosher tailgating?

- [Elliot] Didn't exist.

Year after year, the word spread and it kind of, - If you build it, right?

- [Elliot] We just built it, yeah.

If you build it, they will come.

- They will come.

- [Elliot] And they came!

- [Bradford] So brisket's probably one of the toughest cuts to cook anyway.

- [Elliot] Very tough.

- How do you approach the process of when you smoke it, how you heat it up, and then when you serve it?

'Cause like you said, - - Bradford's got the question.

- once you cut it, it's time to eat.

- [Elliot] We cook it earlier in the week.

We keep it wrapped up in the fridge.

- [Bradford] Okay.

- [Elliot] And then, you know, you just keep it slow, just keep it moving, keep it turning, and it comes right back up to temperature.

- So I will not be disappointed?

- No, you will not be disappointed.

- He's doing a lot of talking.

[Buki laughing] - Elliot, now I see why people come.

Wow!

- Mm.

- Wow!

- Wow!

Okay.

- That's like a mix of - - What?

- just enough smoke from the barbecue.

- Great spice.

- The slow cooking.

- Mm, yeah.

- Almost like a braised beef with smoke.

- Smoke is... - It's such a balance, wow!

- It's gotta be, it's like a perfume.

- Uh hm.

- If you use too much.

- Yeah.

- No good.

- Wow!

Beautiful.

- You're not feeding any other people, are you?

- I know, this is literally for me.

And you know I was not leaving without a taste of that ropa vieja!

Now that I brought my own bun - - You're ready to go.

- I'm ready to go.

- All right.

- I sure did.

- Good?

- He has no words.

I think he likes it.

- And you know, I like to talk too.

How do you know if your tailgate is a success?

Well, just ask the people!

- He's the best.

He's the only game in town.

You gotta come here because he's a specialist.

Look out, he's coming to me.

Like, he's going to heaven.

Everybody enjoys it.

It's a beautiful gig.

Thank you Chef Chrem.

- Well, that's the best endorsement I've ever heard.

Elliot had to get back to slinging his kosher staples, but Bradford and I did some exploring.

The pre-game football festivities were in full force, everywhere we turned.

Happy faces, full stomachs, perfect timing for kickoff.

MetLife Stadium has a crowd capacity of over 82,000 seats.

That's a whole lot of energetic fans.

While I had a blast at the Giants tailgate, you know I couldn't leave without giving the Jets their flowers.

So a few days later, MetLife and the New York Jets invited me to be a part of their very ultra exclusive culinary experience.

I was headed from the tailgate to the suite life.

[bright, cheery music] One look at this suite and you know we are no longer at your grandfather's tailgate.

This is truly the "suite life."

MetLife Executive chef and proud Colombian, Camilo Baquero, welcomed me to the luxury suite to give me the inside scoop on what it takes to set up this incredible spread on game day.

We're talking filet mignon, custom chicken sandwiches, meatballs and desserts galore.

Camilo Baquero, how are ya?

- Pleasure to meet you.

- Nice to meet you too.

Now, this is a spread that makes me believe that I was born for the suite life.

- Okay.

- Are you gonna take me through this?

- Well, welcome!

- I am welcomed.

I feel welcomed by this.

You're gonna take me through this?

- [Camilo] Absolutely, we have this spread for you guys here today, and we're gonna get you started with the carving station.

- [Buki] I am starving.

Let's get to it.

- [Camilo] We are featuring a New York strip today, and we are accompanying with some wild mushrooms and a demi-glace.

And I would love for you to enjoy it.

So what did you think?

- I think the demi-glace made it.

Top notch.

- Awesome.

Thank you.

- Top notch.

So what I'm gonna give you now is the Fat Rooster's chicken sandwich.

- I'm a spice assassin, so awesome.

- Like I said, you tell me what you think of that sandwich?

Have at it!

- Mm.

- What do you think of that?

- I'm getting the spice.

- Okay.

- I'm getting that kick.

- Okay.

- I love these pickles.

- Awesome.

- Delicious.

- Tender.

- Great.

- I could eat more, but... - We got a lot more other things to try.

- We got a lot more other things and I don't wanna be improper right now, - - Okay.

- people are watching.

- All right, so we gonna move you's over to the bougie stuff, all right?

- Move me over to the bougie.

- Well the bougie, we have our branco against the grain here.

And what you have here is a filet mignon sandwich.

It's got a horseradish spread.

It comes with caramelized onions.

It comes with a little bit of baby arugula.

And again, a demi-glace.

- While I devour it, tell me about the inspiration of how you became a chef.

- When I was a young boy, just watching my mother cook in the kitchen, and she would just whip up meals with whatever ingredients were in the refrigerator.

and I kind of started picking it up from there.

- Well, this is phenomenal.

- Awesome.

I'm glad that you liked it.

- The horseradish is... - Good?

- Top notch.

- All right.

- And before I could take one more bite.

- Yeah, I'm gonna keep showing you some of the other things that we got here.

- Hold on.

Hold on.

Hold on.

What we got going on here?

- Wow!

- What we got going on?

I smell some good food from the parking lot.

- Jets' defensive lineman, Tanzel Smart, is not only known for his moves on the football field, but his food reviews on TikTok have garnered him nearly 400,000 likes.

Now Tanzel, do it like you would on your TikTok.

Like, I need a a full on TJ TikTok moment here.

- Okay.

TJ be eating food reviews in New Orleans, but today we're in New Jersey and East Rutherford and we're at MetLife Stadium.

All right, here we got the Philly cheesesteak.

- [Camilo] We put some hot peppers in there.

Just make it a little bit of spicy but not going overboard.

- Okay, it is.

- What do you think?

- I'd knock all of them down right there.

- You'd knock 'em all down?

- I'd knock 'em down.

- [Camilo] So, you will be able to just knock a whole box.

- [Tanzel] Easy.

- You just try the dumplings for sure, absolutely, that come with a sweet Thai chili sauce, so, I mean, let's give those guys a try, absolutely.

And then we've just got some Nonna's meatballs right over here, as you could tell.

You know.

- Nonna?

- Yeah.

- Who's Nonna?

- Nonna?

- I'm Nigerian, you're Columbian, and he is not.

[all laughing] - But the concept is called Nonna's Kitchen so.

- I'm like, where's Nonna?

Chef Camilo had to set up for some MetLife VIPs, so he left me and Tanzel to enjoy the desserts.

Cheers.

- Cheers.

- To football.

- To food.

- And food.

- And football.

Of course.

- Little dark chocolate action.

- Okay.

Like myself, dark chocolate, you know?

[both laughing] - I'm finished.

Tanzel and I took some time to talk about all things football and family.

- You know, it's just a blessing on taking this look from the stands.

Like, I'm really out there every Sunday.

- And you've never been in the stands?

- Never been in the stands.

- Ever?

- Ever.

- Unbelievable.

- Ever.

- Well, the last time I was at a Jets game.

I was literally at the itty bitty top with binoculars.

[both laughing] And the love he has for his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A city where distinctive Cajun and Creole flavors authentically come together.

And for Tanzel, it doesn't get more authentic than his grandmother, Eva's, crawfish etouffee.

And it all starts with the roux.

So Tanzel, the award-winning grandma's etouffee.

Take me through it.

- You know, all over Louisiana you can find crawfish.

But this particular recipe is my favorite and I think it's the best in the world.

- All right, so where do we start?

- All right, so we gonna start with some oil, right, olive oil, butter, whatever you wanna do.

You know, we gonna make some roux.

So, you know, I gave y'all the recipe, but I kind of eyeball everything.

And then after that we going to add the flour.

So that's the roux.

You know, we wanna bring the roux to like a peanut butter color or whatever, so to say.

- [Buki] All right.

So was grandma your biggest inspiration when it came to cooking?

- [Tanzel] She is my biggest inspiration.

- Tell me how the TikTok came about, because I don't know a lot of professional football players that are giving me food reviews.

- So the TikTok came about because, you know, I was just lying back one day and I was telling my wife, you know, "We eat at all these restaurants and I see all these people doing food reviews, so I should do some."

And I went to this place called Parkway Poboys and I got like 100k in like, two or three nights.

I kept going.

And I think my biggest hit is at about 600k, something like that.

If you wanna get those peppers, like, just a little bit.

- [Buki] Bam.

Just like that.

Onion.

- All right, all right.

So we want the color about this consistency right here, like a peanut butter color.

So add all of it.

[pan sizzling] - [Buki] Ooh, Creole seasoning.

- [Tanzel] Yes sir.

- Now I've read somewhere that your grandma was famous for her cookouts.

- Yes sir.

Yes sir.

- And now, I mean, I can't speak for everyone but for the black people in the house, it's church and the cookout.

- Definitely.

Definitely.

- Because I don't know whether there's something about that cookout, and then there's always that auntie that wants to know where the potato salad was made.

- Definitely.

Definitely.

So now we're gonna add the garlic powder and onion powder and the cayenne pepper.

- How much?

- My grandma always told me you could never be too heavy handed with that.

- [Buki] True.

- [Tanzel] So that's about good right there.

- Garlic powder.

- Now the cayenne pepper, you gotta kind of be, you gotta be a little safe with that.

- I thought you could hang.

I thought you could hang.

- I can hang.

Let's go.

I can hang.

'Cause this is the star of the show.

- Okay, the star.

- Let's put the crawfish in.

Let's get it.

- All right, let's get it.

- We're gonna do all that right there.

- [Buki] Woo!

- Okay, cool.

Okay.

- Smells like home cooking!

- Okay.

- [Buki] The time had finally come.

Was Tanzel's grandmother's dish a winner?

- This is my serving right here.

This is how I eat.

- You ready?

- Drum roll please.

- Should I put this review on TikTok?

- Got to.

Got to.

- All right.

- Eat it with the rice now.

- Your grandma would be proud.

- Trying to tell you.

- This literally feels like it's morphing my soul.

This is so good.

This is real good eats.

- Not at all.

- And it's spicy!

- From the man himself.

- Okay.

Well, Tanzel.

You didn't want anything, right?

You didn't want anything?

- Oh you, you got it.

You got it.

- Delicious.

I'll tell you one thing, after a day like today, Tanzel's gonna have to drag me out of here, because I, Buki Elegbede, was born for the suite life.

[crowds chanting] [crowds cheering] Football is so much more than just a game.

It's a way of life.

The heart, the drive, and the determination from both players and fans alike, runs deep, both on and off the field.

And today was no different, as I arrived at Shi Stadium in the heart of Piscataway, New Jersey, for one of the biggest college games of the year, Rutgers vs. Penn State.

Just in case you missed it, college football is a big deal.

The very first college football game was played right here in New Jersey on November 6th, 1869, Rutgers vs. Princeton, with Rutgers taking the win, six to four.

[cheerleaders cheering] Today, the energy of this rivalry was palpable.

- Are you number one?

- Woo!

- But that wasn't the only reason the crowd was going wild.

Rutgers legend and former football star, Eric LeGrand, who in 2010 suffered a severe spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, made his way through the stadium.

Eric.

It's a pleasure.

- How are you doing?

- It's a pleasure to meet you.

- I have been waiting to meet you.

And I was there to greet him as he headed up to his post in the announcers booth.

- [Commentator] Fourth is three, Eric, and I think also a part of it too is they want to get to the line and do it quick.

- Exactly, you see how fast they were coming to the line.

And I was looking towards the sideline... - To provide commentary as a sports analyst for today's game, something he's done for the last 12 years.

I was, and still am, in awe of Eric's passion for life and his resolve to always believe.

I wanted to hear more of his story and what it is that drives him to constantly persevere.

We all know where we were, October 16th, 2010.

I remember it was a Saturday, I was studying for a midterm and I got a text message on my BlackBerry.

They're like, "Did you hear about Eric LeGrand?"

And it literally reverberated across every campus in Rutgers, nationally.

You know, everyone talks about thoughts and prayers, but I really do believe that day, a wave of thoughts and prayers landed on you that day.

So can you take us back October 16th, 2010, Army versus Rutgers?

- Yes.

I had run down on kickoff so many times before in this, and I just wanted to make a big play for my team and try to get the ball back to our offense to have enough time to score again.

And saying to myself, use my shoulder, don't use your head on this play.

But unfortunately, I put my head down thinking it wasn't going to be in a tackle at all.

After Malcolm Brown got tripped up on by teammate, Wayne Warren, his body twirled in the air and the crown on my head went right into the back of his shoulder blade.

I thought my life was over.

I remember, you know, closing my eyes at one point and saying, you know, "God take me at ease."

You know, not being able to move, not being able to breathe.

Easily the scariest moment of my life.

- How'd you keep your spirits up during that time?

- There's been that support.

The overwhelming support of the people that just were reaching out from, not just this country, around the world.

My sister would read letters to me from China, Australia, just people that just saw this story nationally, that just wanted to reach out and they felt for me.

- Tell me about the culture of football.

I mean, I've never seen anything like it.

- This is sports, man.

Like you said, no matter what you look like, what race you are, if you're rooting for that team, everyone gets a part of it.

- You've always said that football made you the man you are today, but football took so much away from you.

But yet you are still in love with the game.

Where does that love come from?

- It comes from, honestly, all the hard work that goes into it, because you only get a certain amount of opportunities to actually play the game, like a actual game.

All that hard work that goes into all the practices, it is a grind that you prepare for just 60 minutes to go out there and actually play the games, 10, 12, 16 times a year.

- Eric took that grind he learned on the football field and channeled it into entrepreneurship.

In May of 2022, he opened LeGrand Coffee in his hometown, Woodbridge, New Jersey.

I was just there for my chai latte, that's my drink of choice.

And I will say chef's kiss, it's good.

And I'm a chai assassin.

And I love that you did not have a cup of coffee, 'cause I don't drink coffee either, you didn't have a cup of coffee until 2020.

- Yeah, I wanted to be able to bring people together.

And I know people love coffee.

As in, you're not a coffee drinker, I wasn't a coffee drinker.

I knew that people liked that type of product so I said, "Let me learn about it.

Let me try it, of course.

And then let me be able to see if I can build something with that, positive radiant vibes, that just make you feel good."

In the beginning, I was zipping around in my chair.

[hums like a racing car] And then now I feel like it doesn't do anything to me, the caffeine anymore then.

- What lessons did you bring from football into your entrepreneurship?

- Well, the mental toughness, the drive, the work ethic that I put into this every single day.

- [Buki] We just launched LeGrand Whiskey.

- Whiskey!

- [Buki] How did that come about?

- You know, people always think that someone in a wheelchair just automatically can't enjoy the finer things in life.

Or they just see, you know, I get a lot of times, "Oh wow, you can drink," if I'm having a beer or if I'm having a shot of tequila or some whiskey, a glass of whiskey.

Automatically people, like, it's like a shock to them.

I'm just like, "Yes, people have different medical conditions and some may not be able to drink, but that's not the case for everybody."

You can't make whiskey overnight.

But also it's tough, it's gritty.

It kind of fits who I am, and I'm like, you know what?

I enjoy whiskey.

Let's go, let's run with it.

And let's be able to put, you know, an end to that stigma, but also have a purpose behind it.

And that's the Christopher and Dana Reeve charity that we wanna have $5.20 from every case sold, will go back to the charity.

So we can still be able to fund that and be able to bring awareness around spinal cord injuries, and be able to find that cure one day.

- Your story is so inspirational, but at the same time there are some people that are gonna use your story as a cautionary tale, as to why we shouldn't play football.

What would you say to them?

- I always tell people, football is a violent game, there is no sugarcoating that.

Injuries happen.

You know, my injury is one in a million.

It doesn't happen every single day.

Yes, it's possible.

Obviously, we know that.

It doesn't happen all the time.

Concussions?

Yes, they happen more often.

We see that in Damar Hamlin, 'cause an injury that we've never seen before like that on the field.

But you gotta look at what the game of football brings to you as a person, as an individual, and helps you grow as a person.

- You said the book is still being written.

What else is in the book?

Marriage, kids?

- Yeah, one day I would love to be married, the kids, have my own little family, little Eric's running around, things of that nature.

- I know the ladies are slipping into your DMs.

- I've noticed that, yeah.

- I can't get anybody to call me even cute.

and they're slipping into your DMs.

- They're there.

They're there.

Obviously, yes they're there, being a public figure, people always are more interested in you.

But like I said, it's gonna take that special someone for me to actually fully commit to knowing my whole situation and being perfectly fine with that.

- You on the apps?

- I am not on the apps.

- Ooh!

- [Eric] Instagram is good though.

[both laughing] - See you, you head out, you know, you're eating steaks and whatever.

What's your favorite tailgate food?

What are you chomping on?

- I'm a burger.

Give me my cheeseburger with ketchup on.

I still have a five year old palate taste from when I was young.

I'm cheeseburgers.

I love things like that.

Like, sometimes we try to sneak a little bit up to the press box for halftime, but man, I love tailgate food.

That's like, right up my alley.

- Eric LeGrand, world-known motivational speaker.

Coffee house, we got the liquor, memorabilia and stuff all over the place.

You had your own show.

People know you.

I saw you in Penn Station and New Jersey Hall of Fame.

And I'm like, I'm literally, I'm walking through Penn saying like, "Is that Eric LeGrand?"

[Eric laughing] If you had to do it all over again, knowing what you know now, would you do it?

- Do I like being paralyzed?

Hell no.

No, I do not like this.

But all these opportunities that have presented themselves, the people that have come in my life, the things I've gotten to do, how can I take back these 12 years?

You know, this injury is who I am and it's opened up a world of people that never watched a down of football before.

And draw some love and admiration for me because of who I am as a person.

- [Buki] Eric's inspiring story is a true testament to all, that anything can be accomplished when you set your heart and mind to it, and just believe.

You know what they say.

It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game.

And when it comes to football, that means both on and off the field.

Hearing from Bradford, Elliot, Camilo, Tanzel, and Eric taught me that the culture behind football is way more than just fandom.

It's about camaraderie, lifelong bonds, incredible tailgating, and special moments with family and friends.

Now that's a touchdown!

[cheerleaders chanting] [chanting continues] [chanting continues]