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Capoeira is a combination of music, dance, and martial arts, originally used by African slaves for secret intercommunication. Mestre Chuvisquinho, a master capoeirista, talks to Marcus about growing up practicing capoiera in his community in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and how it helped him focus his energies. Marcus touches on the inextricable influence of the slave trade on Brazilian culture.

Host Marcus Samuelsson goes to the greater Boston area to learn more about Portuguese, Brazilian, and Cape Verdean food traditions. Marcus eats Portuguese chowder with halibut on a fishing boat, visits a Portuguese marketplace where he tries plenty of bacalhau, and later, in a home kitchen, he makes a bacalhau gratin with cheese and potatoes.

Father and son Fernando and Michael Benevides give Marcus a tour of their storeroom for bacalhau, an ageless Portuguese take on salt cod that involves air drying, freezing, and finally thawing, which can then be used in myriad Portuguese dishes, from broth stock to savory pastry filling.

On a cold day in New Bedford, Massachusetts, singer Candida Rosa talks with Marcus about her roots. She is from Cape Verde: a group of islands 400 miles off the western coast of Africa, a crossroads of early exploration of the Atlantic, and supposedly home to the first slave trading post.

Mestre Chuvisquinho, a master capoeirista from Sao Paulo, Brazil, teaches one of his capoeira classes. Capoeira is a combination of music, dance, and martial arts, originally used by African slaves for secret intercommunication. Later, Mestre and Marcus eat at Pastelaria, a cafe specializing mostly in Brazilian street food.

Executive chef Alan Ji, of Las Vegas casino Palazzo's upscale Chinese restaurant Mott 32, demonstrates precision as he prepares lobster ma pa tofu.

Author and UNLV Professor Emeritus in History Sue Fawn Chung discusses the incentives that brought thousands of Chinese immigrants to the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the gold rush and the building of the railroads. Marcus explains the strange American expectation for monolithic Chinese food experiences despite the many differences between many types of Chinese cuisines.

Chef Yong Liu of Chengdu tastes remarks on the unique and comprehensive flavors of Sichuan cuisine: numbing, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and more. He discusses his desire to appeal to a wide audience, beyond just the Chinese community, while preparing kou shui ji (steamed chicken with chili oil and peanuts), as well as toothpick lamb.

Host Marcus Samuelsson visits Las Vegas to learn more about the city’s long-standing Chinese community and their food traditions. He makes hand-pulled noodles and Peking duck, eats regional favorites from xiao long bar and beef noodle soup to cumin lamb and fish braised in clay pots.

Termini Bakery owner Vincent Termini and his sons, general managers Joseph Termini and Vincent Termini Jr., guide us through the century-old process of baking their famous family recipe for ricotta cheese cannoli with chocolate chips.

Francis Cratil-Cretarola, owner of upscale Italian restaurant Le Virtù in Philadelphia, speaks with Marcus about the causes that led to Abruzzian immigration to the U.S., including his own grandfather, who came to the conclusion that the best way to help his family was to leave his home in Italy, in 1909.

Chef Damon Menapace explains the sourcing of some of his ingredients, opting to go local more often than importing, as is custom in Abruzzo. This is part of an overall effort at Le Virtù to respect the origins of the food on their menu. After tasting the taccozzelle that chef Damon prepares, Marcus likens it to a symphony orchestra playing metallica: delicate and rustic.