When Zach Laidlaw's brother made a prime rib at an Illinois inn, the then-13-year-old thought, "Food is the perfect outlet for Zach to express his art," his mother tells the Chicago Tribune.
Now a trained chef, Laidlaw is competing on Fox's Next Level Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay and two other chefs.
The 34-year-old from Elgin, Ill., graduated from community college in 2012 with associate degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management, and he's worked in the Chicago area and elsewhere before moving to Maui to work at Hua Momona Farms, where he's currently the executive chef.
The Next Level Kitchen, which airs on Fox and Hulu, features top chefs, home chefs, and social media-famous chefs competing in three categories: professional chefs, home chefs, and social media-famous chefs.
The professional chefs, including Laidlaw, face off Feb.
1.
The winning chef will receive $250,000 and a 12-month internship with the three chef hosts.
In addition to working at Hua Momona Farms, Laidlaw also runs the farm's greenhouse and runs its microgreen program, says Tina Carranza, president of the operation as well as Laidlaw's girlfriend.
The couple lost their condo
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