Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000
I love entertaining and teaching people to cook. Being featured in your magazine would help me bring my love of food to a wider audience.
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My signature dish is Fried Chicken & Waffles Bread Pudding, a recipe I created for Cowboys and Cowgirls That Cook competition, where it won the competition. I transform Belgian waffles into bread pudding, top it with crispy panko chicken tenders, and finish it with a butter-maple-flaky salt sauce. It’s the perfect balance of sweet & savory. I use clean ingredients which makes it unforgettable.
Who is your culinary inspiration?Anthony Bourdain and Martha Stewart. Anthony Bourdain inspired my sense of adventure; Martha Stewart inspired my appreciation for presentation.
What would you do with the $25,000?For me, cooking has always been about bringing people together. I teach cooking classes for adults, children, and young adults supported by the Dash Gordon Foundation, including those with Down syndrome, autism, and other disabilities. Winning would help me create a restaurant centered around cooking classes where everyone feels welcome, gains confidence, and discovers the joy of cooking. My goal is to show that food is fun and doesn’t have to be complicated: If you can taste, you can cook
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