Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000
Descended from a line of great cooks. Show everyone that you don’t have to be a chef to cook great food. It will help write my first book.
You decide who will appear in Taste of Home magazine, and win $25,000!
Want to learn more about our competition?
Learn MoreWant to be notified if their position changes?
Receive Text UpdatesI have quite a few. It depends on what you are hungry for. I make a pretty mean gumbo (learned to make roux from ex girlfriends grandmother). My chili is awesome and my stuffed Italian shells are pretty good too. I have learned to cook from many great cooks from across the country. On top of that, I am really good at BBQ, not just Texas BBQ. I love every region style.
Who is your culinary inspiration?First to inspire me were my mother and grandmother, two terrific mid west farm cooks. Next was my friend and restauranteur Charlie Nickolson. He started me on the path to BBQ when I was 18 years old. Next were friends and home cooks in SW Louisiana and Justin Wilson and Frank Brightson. Also, a dear friend in New York that introduced me to real Italian cooking (also Romeo Salta!) Robert DelGrande in Houston taught me more about presentation than I could ever imagine.
What would you do with the $25,000?Take my wife and eat our way across Italy and Greece. Then, come home and take the time to write a book about how cooking and food influences our everyday lives and how it brings family and friends together. I really wish people of all races, religions and political views could sit down at a table and learn about each other, just talk!
Vote for John Hudec to be the next Favorite Chef while supporting a great cause! Cast your free daily vote below, or make an even bigger impact when you vote by donation, supporting the James Beard Foundation and their mission to lead chefs and the broader culinary industry toward a new standard of excellence.
