Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000
After 22 years of military service and a lifetime of travel, I create food that shares the cultures, stories, and connections I cherish.
You decide who will appear in Taste of Home magazine, and win $25,000!
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My signature dish is Carolina Coastal Paella. During my travels through Spain and Portugal, I fell in love with the way food brings people together around a shared table. Built with Carolina Gold rice, North Carolina shrimp, blue crab, saffron, and smoky chorizo. This dish celebrates the culinary dialogue between Spain and the American South, where African, European, and coastal traditions intertwine to create food rooted in history, community, and connection.
Who is your culinary inspiration?Chef Kwame Onwuachi inspires me because he cooks with a sense of place and purpose. His food reflects where he's been, who shaped him, and the cultures that influenced him. That resonates deeply with me. My own cooking is rooted in the people I've met, the countries I've explored, and the belief that a meal can be both a history lesson and a welcome home.
What would you do with the $25,000?If I won $25,000, I would begin building a veteran-operated homestead and bed-and-breakfast where veterans and their families can find purpose, community, and opportunity. Through farming, hospitality, employment readiness, skills training, and wellness programs, it would be a place to heal, grow, and reconnect. Around a table, in a garden, or working side by side, veterans can rebuild confidence, develop new skills, and find renewed purpose through community, service, and shared experiences.
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