(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago’s Javauneeka Jacobs, sous chef at Frontera Grill, was named grand champion on the Food Network’s “Chopped” cooking competition earlier this week.
Her winning dish — a cassoulet with a Mexican spin — capped a Julie Child-themed tournament.
“This is my time to shine,” Jacobs said at the start of the finale. “I’m more confident than ever before and I’m ready to win it all.”
The competition started with 16 chefs, each of whom put their own spin on Julie Child’s recipes.
Jacobs made an escargot appetizer and her own take on beef wellington.
Rick Bayless, Jacobs’ boss at Frontera, wrote on Instagram that she “is not only a careful, thoughtful, fast, talented cook, but she has amazing poise under pressure.”
“We couldn’t be prouder,” he wrote.
The restaurant will be featuring Jacobs’ winning dish throughout the month of December.
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