Chopped Competitors (Mussels Mastery and Cotton Candy Can-do)

Age: 30
Chef/Owner, The Kitchen Sink
NYC

I was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Inwood. My parents set out to raise Nigerian-Italian mixed children in a Hispanic neighborhood so we wouldn’t stand out like sore thumbs, like we did in most other parts of New York at that time. My love affair with cooking began with a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich — and a toaster oven. As an 8-year-old, I traded dusting and dishwashing chores to prepare breakfast. My mom always said, “This is not a restaurant. If you want something different, you’re welcome to venture into the kitchen and prepare it.” And she let me. I love introducing people to the bounty of the land and sea. We get in a rut, eating the same things all the time. Not only is that terrible for the environment (saturation of fishing, single cropping) and your health, but it’s boring. Life is short; we should eat wonderful, healthful foods as often as possible. My style of cooking is grounded in fresh, local, wholesome food. Most of my clients ask for my “spa cuisine” — style remakes of comfort food. I love working with anything the oceans, rivers or lakes can give us. One of my greatest accomplishments was being in Nigeria as team chef for the U.S. soccer under-17 team in the World Cup. It was the culmination of my work on food-safety training, my culinary abilities and nutrition training gained in grad school at NYU and my cultural ties to the region. I was honored to be considered and very excited to join the team and help America bring home a win. As a chef I work better when people like and respect me. My coworkers would be the last to feel my wrath because I need them to be successful. And if someone hates coming into your kitchen every day and only does it for a check, not only is it a miserable environment, but he or she will leave at the first opportunity.

Age: 33
Personal Chef/Owner, My Fresh Chef
NYC

I’m a personal chef to clients all over the world. I create dishes that I know they’ll like based on our conversations and discussions. I know a lot of personal and private chefs out there who are cooking the same things over and over, so I’m very particular when I get into a client relationship. In Florida I’ve started a meal delivery service that I’m trying to get going in Manhattan as well. Obviously, I can’t be everywhere, so I’ve put together a team, and we market via e-mail, online and with lateral companies. When a client signs up there is a full-service meal package. He or she gets breakfast, lunch and dinner delivered for $35 a day. I wanted to create more of a modest-price item. It’s not like a super high-end price point for people who don’t have their own personal chef. Before I became a chef, I went to college in Connecticut for finance and information systems. My whole family is in the Wall Street deal, so when I was externing at Merrill Lynch with my brothers, I was in charge of cooking dinner since I couldn’t afford to pay them rent. I started watching cooking shows and looking up recipes and I really enjoyed it. And for bar money I started working in a restaurant part-time. When I got a full-time Wall Street job, I realized cubicle life wasn’t for me. I left and went to culinary school, and I’ve been cooking ever since. It’s one of the times in my life where I chose enjoyment over money. I worked with Daniel Boulud and externed at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and, following my years with Daniel, he sent me to Europe to travel and learn in France, Spain and Italy. I worked for him for about a year and a half before I went out on my own to do personal chef services. As a cook, I’m extremely focused. Whenever I’m at home or we’re having people over, my girlfriend tells people to stay out of the kitchen because she sees the look on my face that I’m really concentrating. With my “fresh chef” moniker, I love anything in season, but also Mediterranean. I love the flavors learned from the north of Spain and Italy — so inspirational. I think I can win Chopped because I’m incredibly fast with my ideas, as well as my techniques. I come up with creative dishes on the spot every day. Whatever is hiding in the mystery basket, I’m confident I can come up with some pretty impressive dishes.

Age: 25
Omakase Chef, Nobu
Tribeca, NYC

First, you may want to know what is an Omakase? It’s pretty much the chef tasting, which means you are given the opportunity to work on a menu and float through the restaurant and help other people prep and get caught up. It there are any issues in the kitchen, I have to take the lead and produce the food. I’ve helped open restaurants and created menus, but they were not the caliber of Nobu. Everything I had done was classical French or modern American, and a little bit of Middle Eastern-style food. Nobu is kind of a celebrity hot spot, and the food is very good. The sushi is high quality, so the standard is excellent. I got into cooking first by washing dishes at 14, and then worked the grill at a New Jersey cafe after someone was injured on the job. I didn’t know what the [heck] I was doing, but in high school I took career-based training classes for two years in the culinary arts, for which I received college credit. I became more and more interested and developed a passion for it. I love the idea of being able to create moments for people. I take pride in everything I do and will never send out a dish that I’m not comfortable or happy with. I’ve worked with some pretty good cooks, and I feel passion and pride alone should be enough to make people want to try my food. I’m very energized and intense when cooking. I have to get vocal so everyone across the kitchen can hear me. I’m outspoken when it comes to what I’m seeing around me. I check other people’s work and my own. I’m always watching everything. My style of cooking leans more toward comfort food, but I like taking comfort dishes and applying the French or modern American twist — or adding Asian flavors. I like transporting my clients to childhood through a bite of food, something that touches the heart and soul and puts them in a happy moment. I’m extremely competitive and think I can win this competition because I bring something new to the table. I can work with any ingredient to create a comfort food. And I’m good at thinking on my feet, especially as an Omakase, where I have to change a menu to accommodate someone with an allergy, plate the dish and make it perfect in 15 minutes.

Age: 26
Executive Chef/Partner, Barcelona Wine Bar
Greenwich, Conn.

As an executive chef, not only do I handle the kitchen as far as creativity output and input, but I’m also involved in the front of the house and the office. I pretty much run the whole place. I expedite for the most part in the kitchen, four days of the week probably, but when I’m in the front of the house in a suit, I’m still in the kitchen, if you know what I mean. I’ve technically opened three restaurants, but Barcelona Wine Bar was more of a revamp from just being a bar to more of a restaurant. It’s hard to believe, but ever since kindergarten the only thing I’ve wanted to do is be in the kitchen. I have no idea why, but my parents thought there was something wrong with me when I was five because I was watching cooking shows instead of Sesame Street. I have memories of spending every summer in Italy, and I loved eating there. I was exposed to a lot of non-American food, but I didn’t actually start cooking until I went to culinary school. True. Now cooking comes first. I don’t have much of a life outside of this world. I’m so busy with the restaurant. It doesn’t leave you with much of anything else to think or worry about. I love everything about cooking. I think I’m a pretty good boss. A lot of chefs can be a bit much in the kitchen, and while I like to joke with my guys, no one takes advantage of me. I’m pretty easy going and try not to micromanage. My cooking style is rustic, simple and peasant-like. I bought a smoker and made bacon from scratch recently. I do travel a lot, and I’m on this kick of going to the best restaurants in the United States. I was at the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland recently, and it was a great restaurant. I’m competitive, but I like to keep to myself and do my own thing and not really worry about what anyone else is doing. I can win because I’m awesome, haha. I auditioned because my boss wanted me to, and he wouldn’t hire anyone he didn’t think could win a competition like Chopped.