The Chopped: Desperately Seeking Sous Chef tournament identified its final four. It’s time to share facts about the innovative chefs who competed.
The classic Food Network show Chopped identified the four accomplished chefs who competed in the finale of its Desperately Seeking Sous Chef season, and they had impressive careers. The season of Chopped followed the traditional format of four chefs competing over three rounds (appetizer, entrée, and dessert), using ingredients from the mystery baskets. However, it had one distinction: whoever won the competition became a Chopped champion, and earned a job as a sous chef for one of the judges: legendary chef Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, or Chris Santos.
Hosted by Ted Allen, Chopped debuted in 2009, and has been a staple on Food Network ever since. Chopped episodes air individually, or as parts of tournaments. The 16 elite chefs on the Chopped Desperately Seeking Sous Chef season participated in a five-part tournament. One winner emerged in each of the first four episodes, and those four chefs competed to be crowned the Chopped champion. That winner began their work as a sous chef for one of the judges in 2022.
Chopped Finalists Had Their Work Cut Out For Them
Chopped Desperately Seeking Sous Chef was particularly challenging. In regular seasons, the contestants are judged solely on their food. However, on Desperately Seeking Sous Chef, the judges also assessed their personalities and kitchen abilities, in order to determine if they wanted to offer them a job. The four Chopped winners who competed in the finale on Food Network were Reuben Dhanawade, Mat Espiritu, Francisco “Paco” Moran, and Lauren Windham.
Lauren Windham
Lauren was a lead line cook at King + Duke in Atlanta, Georgia. She went to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. Her first kitchen was Ad Hoc, one of Thomas Keller’s kitchens. Lauren said she was ready to move up in her career. She remarked that she would have loved to work with Maneet, because she thinks what she has done with her career is inspiring. Lauren was the first contestant eliminated in the finale after the appetizer round.
Reuben Dhanawade
Reuben was a sous chef who managed a dining hall with a staff of over 30 people, which fed over 2,000 people a day. According to his LinkedIn profile, Reuben was the sous chef at the University of Delaware at Aramark. Reuben was born in India, and came to the United States in 1996. He earned associate’s degrees in culinary arts and food service management from Delaware Technical Community College. On Chopped, Reuben shared that he was on a journey to rediscover his Indian roots, and he would have most loved to work with Food Network chef Maneet. He was eliminated after the entrée round in the finale.
Mat Espiritu
Mat was the sous chef at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, California. His parents were born in the Philippines, so his favorite type of food was Filipino cuisine. Mat shared that he had worked with, “countless Michelin-starred chefs,” and cooked with his heart. He said he would have loved to work with any of the Chopped chefs, but working for Chris would have been, “awesome” because he admired him for achieving so much success at such a young age. Mat also shared that working with Chris would have allowed him to open a new restaurant. Unfortunately, Mat was eliminated after the dessert round.
Francisco “Paco” Moran
The winner of Chopped Desperately Seeking Sous Chef was Paco, the former chef de cuisine at LA Cha Cha Chá. Originally from El Salvador, he studied at Le Cordon Bleu, and then worked for Patina Group for 13 years. Paco revealed that he was competing for himself on Chopped, but also wanted to win the competition to set a good example for his children. In the dessert round, Paco wanted to make a light and creamy Italian dessert that, “would probably resonate with Scott.” He decided to make a panna cotta with the basket ingredients, which he turned into a mousse.
Chopped: Desperately Seeking Sous Chef was one of the most exciting editions of the Food Network show because the stakes were so high. Receiving a job from one of the Chopped judges was one of the greatest prizes the show has ever offered. Since Paco won the show, he went on to serve as the sous chef for Scott at his restaurant in Scottdale, Arizona, where he still works. Hopefully, the Food Network will offer another exciting season like Chopped Desperately Seeking Sous Chef for future contestants.
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