Cooking with Chef Braun: Episode 1 "The Hill"

After a flashy television introduction, the beautiful Stacy Keibler walks into the scene. Not much of the wrestling type these days, she has opted to be involved with the launch of WLCW Network’s newest content, as the cohost and sidekick on Cooking with Chef Strowman… a cooking show featuring Michelin Star Chef and WCLW heavyweight, Braun Strowman.

STACY KEIBLER: Folks, thank you so much for joining us the premier of WLCW Networks newest show, Cooking with Strowman! I am your co-host, Stacy Keibler. I am here along side the namesake himself, Chef Braun.

The camera pans around to Chef Braun Strowman, donning street clothes, who gives a wave, a big smile and saunters across a quiet street towards Keibler.

STACY KEIBLER: Chef and I are here in St. Louis Missouri, the site of this WLCW Vengeance. Specifically, we are in the historic neighborhood affectionately referred to as The Hill.

CHEF BRAUN: Yes, Stacy, The Hill is a staple for the young and old of St Louis. It is the mecca of Italian-American cuisine in this country. Everything about this area screams Italian too. You see the green, white and red flags and not help but to salivate thinking about the cannoli, spaghetti and meat balls, and of course, the world famous toasted raviolis… which was invented right here at Mama Campisi’s in the 1950’s.

The camera pans over to a beige building on the corner with a green awning and a flickering neon sign reading, “Mama Campisi’s Restaurant”. Both Braun Strowman and Stacy Keibler both start heading toward the building with the camera man in tow.

STACY KEIBLER: We have a real treat for you all. The staff at Mama Campisi’s has given us free reign of the kitchen so that Chef Braun can show you exactly what goes into making the world famous toasted raviolis.

CHEF BRAUN: Yes, it seems as simple as taking a ravioli and dunking it into a deep fryer… but it’s the quality, time and love that these cooks here at Mama Campisi’s Restaurant put into each ingredient that really make this dish a flavor explosion.

Keibler and Strowman walk into the dimly lit restaurant and into the back kitchen where some of the staff is standing around watching as the two celebrities and a gaggle of crewmen fill into the kitchen. Chef Braun hasn’t been in a commercial kitchen since the pandemic forced him to close his restaurant in North Carolina. The hustle and bustle of a fully-operational restaurant kitchen brought a ton of excitement and joy to Braun… much more than wrestling.

STACY KEIBLER: So, we are in the kitchen of Mama Campisis, Chef. First tell us the most important thing to know when making toasted ravioli.

CHEF BRAUN: Much like any delicious pasta dish, it is all about the dough. If your dough is not well prepared, its going to be difficult to get a consistent deep fry.

Keibler and Strowman begin making the dough. They are making a frantic mix of flours, eggs, olive oil, water and salt. They both dunk their hands into the mixture and begin working the dough. There is something therapeutic and relaxing this particular preparation. But Keibler snaps Strowman out of his slight euphoric trance with banter out of left field.

STACY KEIBLER: Chef, not only are you debuting your cooking show this weekend… but you’re also making your debut in the ring this Saturday night at Vengeance?

It would take a keen eye to notice only the slightest of winces from Chef Braun at the mention of his debut match. Strowman realizes that he would not have been afforded the opportunities in the kitchen without wrestling in the first place. Yet, after he opened his award winning restaurant and left the sport, he never thought he would end up coming back full circle… but here he is.

CHEF BRAUN: Ohhh yes. Joining the WLCW not only allowed me to share some amazing cooking adventures with you all, but also gave me a chance to step back into the ring and show off these muscles.

Chef Braun comically flexes his muscles as he runs the rolling pin over a big section of dough. Braun was less than enthused about stepping back into the ring, truth be told. While the contract he signed with the organization is going to allow him to travel and cook local cuisine for his foodie fans, he has an obligation to step back into the ring once again, as well. Strowman knew it would not be fair to WLCW or his fans to be dismissive of it. He wants to be a company man. He certainly wants Mick Foley keep signing those checks too.

CHEF BRAUN: So, now our dough has been mixed, endured the proving process and been rolled out and ready to go. The next step of a delicious, toasted ravioli is the filling. You can get pretty creative with this…whether you like something with a nice ricotta cheese, seafood, beef, spinach and cream cheese…the possibilities are almost limitless.

Braun begins making his filling for the raviolis. He throws beef, black pepper, chili powder, minced garlic and several other ingredients into a food processor. He is just about to flip on the switch...

STACY KEIBLER: So, who are you making your debut against at Vengeance on Wednesday night?

Strowman tilts his head back and lightly sighs. Yet another subtle display of emotion from the big man. He knows Keibler does not mean anything about the line of questioning. In fact, it is probably what the producers told her to say. Strowman really just wants to focus on the cooking. Wrestling over there. Cooking over here.

CHEF BRAUN: I’ll be part of a triple threat match against Eddie Kingston and Bron Breakker.

STACY KEIBLER: That is what I thought I heard. I was reading all this information on Twitter. I mean, the fans on Twitter think that’s going to be a rough one for a guy who has been rolling dough instead of rolling opponents.

CHEF BRAUN: Oh, I do not know where these so called fans get off telling me that I have lost it. Just because I have been crushing it in the culinary world, does not mean I have lost a single step. I will be real honest with you, Stacy. I do not know much about Eddie Kingston or Bron Breakker…but I am going to turn these jokers into minced meat… just like we have here.

Strowman flips on the food processor and begins making his ravioli filling. He knows he showed a sliver of the personality that comes out when he is in that ring. He tried to up with some lighthearted cooking puns aimed at his opponents. Strowman takes a breath and composes himself. Pure, unadulterated rage. He is not sure where it comes from, but he knows that he does not like it and it only shows up when he gets to locked in around match time. Keibler start to pick up on that her co-host is not too found of the line of questioning and starts to steer the conversation back to the cooking at hand.

STACY KEIBLER: So we are almost there, right? I can feel my stomach gurgling with all the smells of rich, Italian aromas!

CHEF BRAUN: For sure, know we have our pasta dough and beef filling. Now we just need to cut up the dough, fold in the filling and drop it into the deep fryer.

Strowman dunks the freshly made raviolis into a nearby deep fryer that lets out a nice sizzling and bubbling sounds. After a few moments, he pulls the basket out to reveal gold brown raviolis. Strowman and Keibler pick up a hot, toasted ravioli each. They simultaneously dunk it into a near by ramekin of marinara sauce and take a bite.

STACY KEIBLER: This is delicious, Chef Braun!

CHEF BRAUN: Yes, they are.