In Episode 2, “Superfan Steph,” Porowski brings makeover subject Steph to the kitchen of San Lorenzo, the elegant Italian restaurant in the two-year-old Hotel Saint Vincent. This one-on-one is all about making vegetables tasty, which the hesitant Steph isn’t so sure is possible (it takes a great deal of coaxing for Steph to try raw cucumber). Porowski makes a watermelon, tomato, corn, avocado, and pepitas salad with creamy dressing that wins Steph over.

It’s wild to see an empty Napoleon’s Itch in Episode 2, when Brown speaks with Steph at the normally-lively French Quarter gay bar. The pair sit at the glowing bar for an emotional conversation about internalized homophobia, finding welcoming spaces as a queer woman, and her relationship with her brother, with whom Steph then gets to meet with. As a lead-in to the moving segment, viewers also get a shot of a few blocks of Bourbon Street, showing Fat Catz and 24-hour burger and breakfast institution Clover Grill.

After the conversation between Steph and her brother in Episode 2, Brown takes them to Good Friends, known as the Cheers of the New Orleans gay bar scene. “Stephanie needs to realize that there is a community and people that want to support her, right here in NOLA,” Brown says. Waiting inside is Steph’s partner, friends, and several of the show’s stars' husbands. The group has a great time playing pool and cheers-ing to Southern lesbians at the beloved 24-hour watering hole. “We feel at home, we are at peace, we are finding our queer joy,” says Van Ness.

In Episode 4, “Jenni Seckel’s Diary,” Porowski learns about educator Jenni’s love of good cheese, born from her travels in France as a student. Porowksi stops by St. James Cheese Company (we think it’s the Prytania Street location rather than the Warehouse District shop) to pick up some cheeses, appearing to settle on some hard cheese and letting his dog sample a piece of salami. The cheese is on display for Jenni’s end-of-week reveal party, where Jenni also serves the trout meunière Porowski taught her to make.

It’s no surprise Porowski takes Jenni to Parisian hotspot N7 in Episode 4 for a French cooking lesson inspired by Julia Childs. Porowksi hopes to show Jenni how to “see the joy in cooking” with trout meunière. Viewers get a glimpse of the pretty backyard space and covered patio seating tucked away behind a high fence on Montegut Street before getting a full view of the kitchen. After cooking, the pair sits at the bar to enjoy their fish and a “ lentil salad following a conversation about Jenni’s career, hopes for motherhood, and how to “embrace the things that are working for us.”

Shortly after getting deli owner Dan Stein to twerk on his home kitchen countertop in Episode 5, Porowski sets up shop in the kitchen of Le Chat Noir, the downtown oyster hotspot where chef Seth Temple has won acclaim for vegetable and seafood plates. Porowski learns from Stein’s girlfriend Cara that pasta alla norma is one of her all-time favorite meals, so using mostly products from Stein’s, Porowski and Stein get to work at the restaurant. Clad in a NOLA Brewing Co. hat, Stein welcomes instruction on cutting eggplant rounds while Porowksi imparts the importance of gestures of love like cooking and achieving a well-rounded life.

In Episode 6, “Ms. Mary Quite Contrary,” the group meets Mary, who is struggling to “find value in herself and especially as a mom” after spending 12 years in prison. Mary founded New Orleans’s SisterHearts, a thrift store in Arabi and decarceration program, and is so focused on her work she often skips cooking in favor of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Porowski brings Mary to Saint John, acclaimed Gris-Gris chef Eric Cook’s second restaurant in the French Quarter. “They really pride themselves on Creole cuisine,” Porowski says of the restaurant, and explains that Cajun is country food and Creole is city food. Since Mary has made Louisiana her home and is also a one-pot queen, Porowski says, he chose shrimp etouffee for the lesson.

Ok, so this Central City community farm is not a restaurant, but it does work to improve New Orleanians’ access to fresh, locally grown food. The seventh and final episode of the season, “Sowing the Seeds,” centers on Michael, a director at Recirculating Farms, a farming and food justice nonprofit. The episode doesn’t feature a full cooking lesson from Porowski, probably because Michael is well-versed at preparing the vegetables Recirculating Farms grows, but culminates with Michael hosting a fundraiser at the Queer Eye headquarters and moving forward with pursuing a Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy.