Hoppin' John — black-eyed peas and rice — is a dish that carries a specific weight in Southern food history, and Stephen Jones brought that weight to Phoenix, Arizona, where he runs the larder + the delta. The 'delta' in the name is not incidental. Jones cooks food with a point of origin and a reason for the journey, and Hoppin' John gave him a platform to show why.
His peas soaked overnight, which reduced their cook time and allowed the broth to build slowly from a ham hock and aromatics without the peas going to mush. He cooked the rice in the pot liquor after the peas were done rather than separately, so the rice absorbed all the smoked pork and pea-starch depth the long braise had built. Final seasoning came off the stove, not in the pot, to keep the salt level calibrated to the finished dish.
Bobby built his separately and combined them. You taste the difference between a dish cooked together and a dish assembled.