Journey of a Chopped! Champion

I am often asked how the Food Network found me. I have no idea, but I am glad they did!

I was working for the esteemed law firm, Marquis Aurbach Coffing, cooking lunch for all of the attorneys and staff, when the phone rang. Needless to say, I was shocked to hear that it was a representative of the Food Network asking me if I would be interested in competing on Chopped. It took me all of half a second to respond with a resounding, “YES!”

After running about like a little kid and jumping around in excitement, I managed to compose myself and finish out the day, barely. That evening, I filled out the application as requested. Right off the following morning, I received a call from the casting team in New York requesting that I make a trip to Los Angeles for an on camera interview the following weekend. After talking to my wife, Leah, we decided we would do anything they asked. I was not about to miss out on this! We packed a couple of bags and made the four-hour drive to Los Angeles. We arrived about an hour early to allow time for me to calm down from all the excitement and compose myself for the interview.

My appointment was set in a building full of the offices of famous producers and production companies. It was an awesome feeling to walk through the halls and see the posters of well-known shows and all of the names on the doors and know that I was possibly starting down a path that might one day put my face on one of those posters. When I finally arrived at my assigned room, I was greeted by one of the producers and given some paperwork to fill out.

I had about a fifteen minute wait for my turn, as there were other chefs being interviewed the same day. I could hear some of the interviews happening beyond the doors behind me. As you can imagine, that got my nerves going. While I sat and filled out the paperwork, I prayed. I prayed a lot! Soon the door opened, and the previous chef walked out. I wished him luck as he headed off down the hall. Then, I heard the sweet words I had been waiting for, “Phillip! Come on in; you’re next.”

Game time, I thought to myself. I walked into the room where I saw the camera and audio equipment, a small stool for me to sit on, and two people one was the producer and the other was controlling the audio.

The interview started, and I was asked a series of questions about everything from my personal life to a request for me to describe a couple of food dishes. I remember the producer saying to me, “Wow, you are glowing and are so animated when you talk about food.” What she didn’t know is that I could feel the “Holy Ghost goose bumps” the whole time I was in there. This feeling assured me that God was guiding the interview and that I shouldn’t worry. When the interview was over, the producer explained to me that, unfortunately, she would not be the one making the decision, but a team of producers back in New York would decide on the final lineup. And, it would take more than three months before I would hear anything.

What?! I have to wait that long?! Oh man, this is going to drive me nuts, I thought.

I walked out of that room feeling as though I had done a good job, but that didn’t stop me from analyzing my comments and thinking to myself, I should have said this…I should have said that. But, in the end, I knew it was all in God’s hands.

Weeks and months went by, and I still hadn’t heard a word. Many times I would say to myself and Leah how I wished they would call. What if they don’t choose me? Will I even know? So, I waited…and waited. Then one day, I was once again cooking for clients when I received the coveted email telling me I had been selected.

“Woohoo!”

I ran down the hallway to my wife’s desk and showed her the email. The two of us shared a brief delirium of excitement before I managed to calm myself down and read the rest of the email again, I would have to wait for the next contact. Thankfully, this wait was shorter, only a couple of days, and then another producer called to schedule my video bio. I would once again have to travel to Los Angeles. The video was to consist of cooking action shots, something creative about me doing something I like to do, and an interview. All of this would take place at a client’s home and would take 4-6 hours to complete. It was scheduled two weeks after I received the email.

Leah wasn’t going to be able to make this trip, so I asked my father-in-law to go with me. We arrived a day in advance so that I could scope out the local food stores and find all of the items needed for the photo shoot. The following day we awoke to rain and overcast skies, which was disconcerting because much of the planned video shoot was planned for outdoors. After an enjoyable breakfast, prefaced by prayer, we went from store to store gathering all the different items that I would need.By the way, the producers told me that I would not be in any ordinary “Chopped” episode. My episode would be all about my successful weight loss transformation in which I lost 92 lbs, going from a 44 inch waist to a 28 inch waist. Other chefs on this episode would have similar success stories. I was particularly excited about this because I am so passionate about showing people that change real, lasting change can be accomplished at any age and no matter where your starting point is.

Since I specialize in recipe transformation, I thought I should demonstrate that ability on camera. My menu consisted of grilled, herb-roasted pork tenderloin with parmesan cream sauce (I used yellow squash to thicken the sauce instead of flour), and sautéed patty pan squash. The producers were aware that I am a natural bodybuilder, so I was asked to “workout” with weights and to do various other things to demonstrate my athleticism on camera.

Remember the rain? Well, earlier that morning my father-in-law and I had prayed for a clear day and a blessing over the filming and, just as we started to film, the rain stopped and the skies cleared! When the video bio was complete, we packed our things and headed back to Vegas in a monsoon, no less the rain had returned almost immediately after we completed filming. What a good God I serve! The drive home that normally would have taken four hours took six with all the water pouring down out of the skies. I don’t know how we could have shot the video with all of that rain, but I thank God I didn’t have to find out.

That blessing made for great conversation as we tried to stay calm driving in that nerve-frazzling storm. We agreed that it had been a very successful trip. Did I mention that two days prior to the filming, I received a call from the producers in New York telling me that my tape date had been set for December 17? The filming of my bio took place in the middle of July. At least this time, though still a long time away, I had an actual date, time, and location of where to be next.

The infamous Chopped basket, whose contents were mastered by Chef Phillip on a special weight loss episode of Chopped!

Now, I had always been a fan of Chopped, but as soon as the initial call had come in, I started watching every episode in order to gain knowledge and test my thinking abilities as each contestant opened their basket. Leah would make me tell her what I would fix as each basket was opened. It was a game, but it was also training. Every time we were driving down the road or simply relaxing with each other, Leah would call out a course (appetizer, for instance) and a list of ingredients some of them very off the wall and I had ten seconds to create a dish and call it out. It became second nature to think up a dish on the fly no matter what was in the imaginary basket. This preparation would be very beneficial when it came time to face the real baskets on the show.

Let’s jump to December now. Our trip was only three days away when I started having serious pain below my right shoulder, around my scapula, and up into the base of my neck. Knowing I was about to get on a plane, I scheduled an appointment to see my chiropractor who had always been able to help me before. This appointment would be different. I left his office feeling worse, but I knew that happens sometimes and then, a few hours later, you feel better as your muscles relax. Unfortunately, that was not the case this time. The following day, I was in so much pain I could hardly bear it. I had numbness in my right thumb and hand, shooting pain in my neck and shoulder and wrapping down my arm to my elbow; I couldn’t grip anything. So, I called my church and asked to be placed on the prayer chain. Within minutes, I had at least twenty prayer warriors sending up fervent prayers to the Lord. Nothing was going to stop me from getting on that plane!

The day finally arrived for me and Leah to fly to New York. I was still in pain, a lot of pain, but all I could do was put my faith in God, knowing He would get me through. We were concerned for my physical state, but we were also very excited to be off on our first trip to New York, all the more so because it was December, and I had always wanted to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

We took the red-eye flight and arrived in New York on a brisk, wintery morning. After gathering our bags and hailing a cab, we set off for our hotel. What a place! I thought. The buildings all around us were monstrous, and the traffic was chaos. It was everything I had ever seen on television and then some. Our hotel was great, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. We made ourselves at home and then took care of the first order of business we checked out the neighboring restaurants and found a great little diner around the corner.

We had planned to have a couple of days in New York before my taping to enjoy all that the city had to offer. We were going to get cheap, last minute tickets to a Broadway show; we were going to walk around and take in all of the holiday-dressed windows; we were going to take a cruise around Manhattan; and on and on. That had been the plan; however, so much of it got derailed by the pain I was experiencing. We managed to have some fun, and we did get to see The Tree. But the next day, the pain was so intense that we had the concierge at our hotel locate a walk-in clinic so that I could get medication to help with the pain, at the very least. The doctor determined that I likely had a pinched nerve, and all that could be done for it was ice, two different anti-inflammatory meds, and muscle relaxers. Time would see me through it. Unfortunately, time is exactly what I didn’t have just then. But, just having a diagnosis helped a little. For the next 36 hours, I took all of the various meds as prescribed and tried my best to make the trip as enjoyable as possible.

I felt so bad for Leah. We went early to enjoy the city together, but it ended up becoming more of a trip with her taking care of me. We walked around the city in the chilly rain, going in and out of stores for as long as I could keep going, doing everything we could to keep our minds off the pain I was in and what was might happen in the taping the following day.

Finally, it was taping day! You would think I would have been so excited for this, wouldn’t you? Instead of not being able to sleep from the excitement, I was awake with excruciating pain! At 4 am that morning as I was pounding on the floor and crying out in pain, Leah asked me if I wanted to go to the E.R.

“No!” I said. “The devil is trying to stop me, and I’m not going to let him!”

Working through shoulder pain, fish bones and whatever else the devil throws at me.

We prayed, again. I took more meds and continued as planned. Pain would not keep me down. We had been given the address of an offsite location where everyone was to gather before going to the studio. When we arrived, one of the chefs was already there. Little did I know, he would later become a great friend. I love to hear other’s stories, and as we waited, the other chefs arrived, and we all talked and told short versions of our transformations. Once the representative of the production company arrived and gave us a few instructions, Leah and I prayed again for a successful day and God’s strength for me. I said an additional prayer of protection for Leah while she was in the city alone, and after a kiss goodbye, I went with the others to the studio.

How are your nerves right now? I can’t even begin to tell you how mine were at that point. I remember thinking just how surreal all of it was. I mean, all I could think of was how the little boy watching cooking shows as a kid, wishing he could be doing that, was, in fact, doing it. I was there. I had arrived at the Food Network studios!

I don’t want to risk getting in trouble for giving you too much detail, but I will say this- the sets are amazing, and the process of capturing every detail you see during the show is a long one. The introduction to our episode took over two hours to film. We were told that it usually only lasts about 45 minutes.

Our show was entitled “Cook Your Butt Off!” and featured four chefs with incredible weight-loss stories. We were each filmed charging through a giant poster portraying our former selves and into the Chopped kitchen to compete. The big questions was whether we would get “healthy” ingredients or the fatty, sometimes grotesque, ingredients that Chopped has become known for?

They called us out one by one: first out was Chef Chris; next, Chef Elizabeth; followed by me; and finally Chef Joel. As we stood in front of the baskets, I had no feeling in my right hand and absolutely no strength. I prayed for God to give me the ability to do the task at hand.

“Chefs, open your baskets,” called Ted Allen.

Southwestern spiced duck breast featuring the secret ingredients kumquats, goji berries and bitter melon. This was the first dish prepared for Food Network’s Chopped.

I had no fear of what was in that basket. I just let God lead me. Within twenty minutes, we had to cook and plate an appetizer consisting of duck breast, kumquats, goji berries, and bitter melon. (By the way, just in case you missed my on-air declaration, bitter melon is NASTY!) I knew immediately that I wanted to make a southwestern spiced duck and serve it atop a ratatouille or “warm salsa” made with the remaining ingredients. I added jalapenos, garlic, onion, sweet peppers, and cilantro from the pantry to round it out.

You will recall that I said I had no strength or feeling in my right hand as I stood in front of that first basket, and at one point, that nearly cost me my chance in the appetizer round. As I began to plate my dish, I attempted to pick up the pan that was full of the cooked ratatouille. My grip was only enough to get the pan off the stove before it gave out, and the pan fell. With what I can only call divinely assisted reflexes, I managed to catch it mid fall with a cross-body snatch of my left hand. I was shaken, but relieved and quietly praising God for the save as I got that ratatouille on the plates and completed my appetizer with less than half a minute to spare.

As Ted called time, I was exhausted but confident that I had done a good job. Despite how it appears on the show, the actual judging is a lengthy process, and both the contestants and the judges were quite touched as Chef Elizabeth had the opportunity to share the compelling story of her transformation. All of the chefs were then led to the sequester room where we had the opportunity to decompress, albeit on camera, while the judges made their determination. In the end, Chef Elizabeth was the first one of us one to be chopped.

Chef Phillip quickly fillets a whole fish during Round 2 on Food Network’s Chopped.

With all the nerves of the first round out of the way, my confidence level was high. I continued to pray every moment I could, asking for knowledge and strength.

The remaining chefs, Chris, Joel and I, were again called one by one to stand behind our baskets, waiting for those famous words, “Chefs, open your baskets.” In the months leading up to the competition, I had a strong feeling we would be getting a whole fish to filet in the entrée round. I found out that my feeling was correct! We opened the baskets to find a whole black cod, dinosaur kale, coconut oil and pork rinds.

“Time starts now!” exclaimed Ted Allen.

Without hesitation, I ran to the pantry and formulated a plan. I grabbed asparagus, oranges, sesame seeds, soy sauce and sesame oil. I thought to myself that the judges would probably want a starch, so I grabbed lentils and stock before running back to my station.

What would you do with cod, kale, coconut oil and pork rinds?

I wanted the final dish to consist of sesame crusted black cod, topped with a pork rind gremolata. It would be served with sautéed dinosaur kale, asparagus and lentils. It would be finished with a sesame shoyu (soy) sauce and grated orange zest. However, things don’t always work as planned. The lentils did not have time to get done, so I decided to leave them off the plate entirely. I was not about to serve the judges hard lentils. Instead, I plated what I like to call “my food.” Simple, clean and elegant.

Standing in front of the judges, I was not confident in my dish because I thought for sure they were going to nail me to a wall for not having a starch with the fish. I couldn’t have been more wrong. All three judges spoke highly of the dish, saying it was cooked perfectly! Chef Marcus Samuelsan suggested I make this dish a signature! The amazing feeling of being told my food was spectacular by these three esteemed judges quickly came to an end when Scott Conant found bones in his fish. I was deflated.

Each of us was given an opportunity to share more details of our transformation story during the judging of this round, and it was a bonding moment between us “former fat kids,” as Chef Joel dubbed us.

As we proceeded to the sequester room, I felt pretty confident, but I was afraid the bones would come back to bite me. We spent the downtime getting to know one another better, telling stories and sharing our dreams of becoming the next Chopped Champion. It was amazing the camaraderie that formed between all of us right from the start. It was also a relief to discover that none of us was out to slander or verbally bully the others. Our mutual struggles with weight had bound us together, and we spent our time speaking encouragement into one another instead of gloating over any mistakes that were pointed out in our respective dishes.

Unfortunately, one of us had to go, and Chef Chris was the next chef to find his dish on the chopping block.

Now, it was just me and Chef Joel. Joel wanted to win, and badly. That was his goal. Of course, I wanted to win too, but I was there to let everyone know that, at any age, anyone can change the way they eat and their way of life. I wanted to show the audience that nothing can stop you if you don’t let it. And, I wanted to show the devil that despite all of his efforts, I was going to reign as champion through Jesus Christ! I focused on what I knew to be true greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.

Joel walked in the kitchen from one side, and I from the other. We met in the middle and gave each other a long challenging stare.

“Chefs, open your baskets,” Ted commanded for the final time.

The exact second that I opened the basket, I knew what to do with: angel food cake, clotted cream, spirulina, and passion fruit puree. I was going to make a fresh fruit dessert by macerating the fruit with a powder made with spirulina, mint and sugar. The dish would be topped with a “dressing” consisting of sweetened mascarpone cheese, clotted cream and passion fruit puree. I wanted to add a crunch component to the dessert, so I toasted cubes of angel food cake to make “croutons.” I was on cruise control. I plated the dessert and thought to myself, I’ve got this! That was until Ted called out 30 seconds remaining, and I noticed I hadn’t put the dressing on the dish! So, I quickly grabbed the pitcher it was in and drizzled some over the fruit.

Of all the rounds, dessert was the most nerve-wracking. As I stood before the judges, I listened to each one completely destroy my dish. For the first time all day, I thought I was going to be chopped. At one point, I was even told that it was far from being a dessert, but was, rather, a garnish! Wow, that was rough. I wasn’t the only one being deflated though. Joel’s dish, while a great effort, wasn’t up to par either. This round was not a good one for either of us. The judges were going to have to decide the winner based on our other courses. There was not a clear winner.

The walk out of the sequester room to the line up in front of the judges was the longest thirty feet of my life. Thoughts and doubts assailed me, what will the judges decide…had I done all I could? It didn’t matter at this point; I could do no more than what had already been done. It was up to the judges to decide. So, I put my faith in God and gave it to Him.

Ted grabbed the handle on top of the cloche and said, “Whose dish is on the chopping block?” With a dramatic sweep of his arm, Ted lifted the cloche high, and there, on the dreaded chopping block, sat the dish of my opponent. I immediately put my hands together, closed my eyes, and began thanking God as I heard Ted tell Joel that he had been chopped.

Moments after offering up a final prayer, Chef Phillip Dell is declared Chopped Champion.

Even as I congratulated Joel on a job well-done, I knew that if his dessert had turned out as intended, the outcome might have been different. Within moments, I would hear the most sought after words on Chopped.

“And that means, Chef Phillip Dell, you are the Chopped Champion!”

My arms went up in the air, and I praised God for all He had done for me. My eyes teared up as I thanked the judges and expressed the desire in my heart letting people know they could do anything. They could change their life at any point of their life.

Shew! Talk about an awesome day. It was exhilarating to say the least. It had been over seventeen hours since I had kissed Leah goodbye, and I couldn’t wait to kiss her again. It was late and cold with a pouring rain, but I just had to have my VICTORY NEW YORK PIZZA!