Trinidadian stew chicken is brown sugar caramelized in oil until it almost burns, then chicken thrown in to coat. The technique is called "browning" in Trinidad, and if you have not done it before, your first attempt will smoke up the kitchen and you will think you have ruined dinner. You have not. That is what it is supposed to do.
Tristen Epps grew up with it. He now runs Buboy in Houston, where his Caribbean-meets-Filipino menu is one of the more interesting things happening in the city right now. Bobby, per the room, did not caramelize his sugar far enough. Stew chicken without the bitter-sweet edge of nearly-burnt sugar is just chicken in sauce. The judges noticed in one bite.