Chopped Competitors (Keep on Cook'n On)

Age: 35
Executive Chef, Savor NY
NYC

I have a varied cultural and culinary background that has allowed me to develop a truly unique understanding of food. Having trained under Master Chef Walter Liebel, both of my parents, as well as numerous lesser-known chefs, I am extremely proud of my authentic old-school style of cooking. Throughout my career as a chef, I have lived on the premise that you need to master the old ways of doing things before you can break the mold and create something new. I have been praised for my Thai and Cuban cuisine as the executive chef of Spice and Royal Barge Thai in Scottsdale, Ariz. I came to upstate New York's The Wellington House and developed a critically acclaimed traditional American menu. I then revamped the kitchen at Mannahatta Restaurant on the Bowery in Manhattan, and now I am the executive chef at Savor NY. I have also worked as a sculptor, jewelry maker, knife maker and woodcarver — and I often bring these skills to the table. My interest in food really began at the very beginning of my life. My earliest memories are of my father fishing and hunting to feed the family when we lived in Oregon. While my father hunted, we kids would harvest wild blackberries and raspberries. When I was a kid, my parents took out the front and back lawns and planted vegetable gardens and about 30 fruit trees of all different types. We raised chickens and rabbits, and my parents fed the neighborhood families. Our gardens were all organic and carefully tended. Both of my parents are amazing cooks; my mother is a self-taught Vietnamese cook and my father is more of that type of hardy, pioneer/farmer cook with a touch of worldly sophistication. I think I'll be a good competitor on Chopped because I'll be doing it for fun. I bring a unique perspective to food. I've been classically trained but I'm not limited to that training so you may see something a little different and yet still familiar. I'm not a whiner or a prima donna. I know my limitations and use them to my advantage.

Age: 31
Sous Chef, Morimoto
NYC

I'm from Long Island and have worked in some of the best, most ethnically diverse restaurants in the city: An American Place, Tabla, Eleven Madison Park and Morimoto. I was raised by an Italian grandmother who cooked at home every day. I'd come in after school and the house would smell of food. She had a fresh garden in the backyard. I was so fortunate because people just don't get raised that way in America anymore. As a sous chef my role is basic production; I make the important sauces and stocks. I supervise the staff, too, and get them set up. I make the prep lists and determine what the staff needs to do each day and what they need to get set up for service. The kitchen can get tough when you have 450 people come in for dinner in four hours — and you've got only 15 people making the food. There's constant movement in the kitchen, and you barely have a moment to drink water. But it's all worth it because within the next 10 years I'd love to run a couple of restaurants, with more of a manager's role where my coworkers and peers respect me. And hopefully on my two days off I'll be hanging out in the wine country on Long Island or doing something enjoyable. I like to take it easy on my days off. I meander around the city, I take care of some shopping or maybe take a bike ride. When I'm at work I'm rigid and need to have things done at specific times. When it comes to competing on Chopped, losing is not an option for me. I think what makes me distinct as a chef is my broad background. I've worked with Italian, Indian, French, Japanese and American cuisines, and I think there are few chefs out there who have such an expansive background.

Age: 51
Consultant/Cooking Instructor
Wyckoff, N.J.

I grew up in Miami where I learned to appreciate Jewish and Cuban food. I lived in the south of France where I became hooked on the cuisine of Provence. I traveled all over Europe and every year I try to go to France to hang with different chefs. I lived in New York City and got married and currently live in northern New Jersey with my husband and two children. I attended the University of Montpellier in France and also lived in London and Ireland. I had a wonderful experience last year meeting and interviewing one of the youngest Michelin three-star chefs in Provence, France. I was inspired to become a chef because my mother and I watched Julia Child's show on television, and when we moved to France for a few years and I first tasted French cuisine, there was no turning back. I am a self taught chef and foodie. Friends dared me to teach French cooking — and I did. After getting written up in a local magazine and being on the cover of another Bergen County publication in New Jersey, I started getting all kinds of exciting projects. I am currently working as a consultant creating new recipes for a hot new diet that will be in the news soon. I've also been a guest chef at Mediterraneo in Ridgewood, N.J., featuring my "Evening in Provence" menu. I've done private parties and enjoy donating my time and services to charity events. I've always loved cooking. I grew up in a house where people cooked. My grandparents lived next door, and whenever I'd come home from school, there'd always be something cooking. When I'm cooking I'm in Zen mode, with lots of concentration and creativity. I think if people cook with love, the food will taste better. I'm a character, not conventional and out there. My cooking is the same way. I've been watching Chopped since it first aired. I always say, "I can do that." So here I am, and I think I can win. One of my favorite things to do is just open my refrigerator and cook what's there. I'm up to this challenge.

Age: 37
Chef/Owner, Poppy's Burgers
Beacon, N.Y.

I grew up in Beacon, N.Y., lived in New Paltz for college and then lived in New York City from 1997 to 2007. For the past five years I've owned a home in Beacon. I'm a former financial advisor but retired from banking in 2005. I went to culinary school in 2006 and worked two years in New York City restaurants: Applewood in Park Slope and Bonita in Fort Greene. I grew up in a house where hunting was big. My father and brother both were hunters, and they took me right under their wing and out in the woods at an early age. We consider ourselves great hunters, and we eat what we kill. It's part of all cultures to go and hunt and provide. But cooking always came first. When I dreamed as a little kid, I thought about being a chef all the time. I used to look at our house and be like, "Where would we put the tables if this was a restaurant?" I've always loved to cook. I would sleep over at my grandmother's every Friday night, and we would make Steak-umms, omelets and macaroni and cheese. There's something about the fire, sizzle, flames, burning and smells when it comes to cooking that make it all worthwhile. I love the craft of putting it all together. I don't know why I love fire, but maybe it has to do with the campfire. You put the marshmallow over the heat and something happens. It bubbles. It turns brown. It's a whole new thing. Fire and food seems to create my favorite taste. I opened my restaurant in January 2009. I serve 100-percent, grass-fed beef burgers, fresh produce and as many local ingredients as possible. I chose burgers because I wanted to do something really close to home. I didn't want to get into upscale, fancy food because that's not me. I'm a really mellow, low-key classic American dude, and burgers are definitely a great, classic American dish. I don't like competition too much, but I'm pretty sure I can cook better than most people. On Chopped, give me meat, heat and salt, and we're going to make something tasty.