Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000
Cooking is a passion, addiction, hobby, and career for me. I live for serving people through food.
Want to learn more about our competition?
Learn MoreWant to be notified if their position changes?
Receive Text Updates
I don’t really believe I have a signature dish. I love to cook what’s inspiring me lately. If I had to pick 1 dish in this moment, I would say crispy skin sea bass with chorizo “essence of corn” butter with a finger line garnish.
Who is your culinary inspiration?My grandmother. She always had a pot of tomato sauce or chicken soup simmering away on the stove, even in 90 degree heat in the summer in a house with no AC. I would sit there sweating and sticking to the plastic table cover, but was mesmerized by her cooking. I loved watching her hands. She never used a cutting board. She cut everything in her hands, blade moving towards her.
What would you do with the $25,000?I plan to open a restaurant that mostly employs people in early recovery from addiction. I want to provide an environment that helps people learn a marketable skill and helps them gain confidence and gives them some purpose. I will not require a resume or experience.
Vote for Stephen Novak 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.
