UPDATE -- On Tuesday night, Dysart's held a viewing party for the Food Network show "Chopped" at their Bangor Restaurant, to watch their Executive Chef Shaun Yazbek compete on the episode. About 40 people were on hand to watch the show, along with many, who were there supporting the Chef.
Chef Yaz was "Chopped" in the second round of the competition.
NEWS CENTER spoke with Chef Yaz on Tuesday night. He said, "It was an experience being on "Chopped", the Food Network Channel, it was fantastic, I would do it again in a heartbeat. The adrenaline you get from doing a show like that, it's intense...I couldn't do it without the support of Dysart's Restaurant also" said Chef Yaz.
He also said the big reason he was "Chopped" was because "You're working in a kitchen where you have no, any idea where nothing is, and I couldn't find a cheese grater...I'm trying to slice the cheese for a quesadilla...and I ended up using my pairing knife, and I'm slicing the cheese as thin as I could and it would not melt on the quesadilla and when the judges got to it they said, it's not melted..." said Chef Yaz.
HERMON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A Chef from Maine will be on the television show "Chopped" in March. Chef Yaz of Dysart's competed for $10,000 on the Food Network Show.
Shaun Yazbek, the Executive Chef at Dysart's Coldbrook Road and Broadway restaurants absolutely loves cooking.
Chef Yaz, as he's known, started cooking when he was just 14 years old at a coffee stand. Food, he said, has always been in his family.
"My father was a pastry chef,my mother was an awesome cook... Sundays was always a big family meal day no matter what. Suppers we'd sit down and always eat suppers and food was always there" said Chef Yaz.
It's safe to say, then, Chef Yaz has always felt at home in the kitchen.
The heat's really on, though, when you're competing for $10,000 on a Food Network show.
Chef Yaz found that out when he appeared on "Chopped."
"I mean like you're trying to move, and work around cameramen, while you're trying to prepare, something in 20 minutes, the clock is ticking, and you have no idea what you're preparing, and you're working around a crowd of people... It's not just me I'm representing, it's like the state of Maine, its Dysart's, And I was like I'm getting nervous" said Chef Yaz.
The show airs March 1st and he has to keep the ingredients he used a secret until then.
But on Monday he did make Turkey Gravy, Beef Gravy and Kielbasa Mac and Cheese in less than 20 minutes, and all while flashing a big smile.
"Coming out into the dining room, and watching people smiling, eating talking...while they're eating what I've cooked for them, that's a good feeling right there. You ask a musician why he plays a guitar his whole life, you love you just love it, it's really not even working. You love it, you're having a good time in the kitchen, you know, it's not work, its love" said Chef Yaz.
According to Food Network's website, meatloaf mix and fennel, along with a purple veggie and a sweet drink and apple pie are some of the ingredients on that episode.
Chef Yaz said Dysart's will be having a viewing party at the Broadway location. For more information, you can checkout Dysart's Facebook page.