Los Angeles is synonymous with glitz and glamour. But Jamie experiences a very different version of the American Dream a few miles east of the Hollywood sign among America's largest concentration of Mexican immigrants.

East LA is notorious for gangs, drugs and violence, but Jamie also discovers a community proud of its food, committed to family and striving to achieve a better life.

Jamie samples Mexican delicacies with great-great-grandmother Maria at a fiesta-style birthday party. But on the following day he meets Rigo, an ex-gang member turned successful chef who is hosting a special meal to commemorate his uncle Emmanuel, the victim of a gangland shooting.

Jamie is inspired to discover the fresh flavours of Mexican food at a charity helping ex-gang members, and agrees to cook his version of a Mexican feast for a baptism meal.