Chef Brooke Baevsky grew up in Longmeadow, creating a love for cooking and a ardour for wholesome consuming in a family with a number of allergy symptoms.
Baevsky’s mom eats gluten-free and dairy-free, her brother has a peanut allergy and she or he is allergic to soy. As an alternative of getting caught on what they couldn’t eat, she acquired enthusiastic about getting artistic to make meals that everybody can get pleasure from.
So whereas macaroni and cheese is a dish she and her household couldn’t eat collectively, Baevsky may change the elements to make an much more wholesome model that’s accessible to all.
“It doesn’t matter what your dietary want is or your dietary restrictions or your non secular desire or Kosher, I can tweak and create progressive and wholesome recipes which might be scrumptious that anybody can eat,” she mentioned. “In order that’s actually my mantra with meals. Meals for all.”
Her Western Massachusetts roots additionally taught her the privilege of at all times having meals in your desk.
In accordance with Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the meals insecurity price in Hampden County is 14.3% with a toddler meals insecurity price of 24.3%. Meals insecurity in her native communities impressed her to make meals accessible.
In center college, Baevsky bought baked items exterior of the grocery retailer and used the cash to create cooking courses for low-income youngsters to discover ways to afford wholesome, nutritious meals on a really restricted funds.
“You possibly can actually see how a ton of communities adjoining to Longmeadow, Massachusetts dwell and what number of households go meals insecure — they don’t know when their subsequent meal is coming,” she mentioned. “The concept of with the ability to train and share this concept of residing a wholesome life-style and the significance of consuming a nutritious diet is what impressed me to proceed and make my whole profession as a chef.”
After graduating from Longmeadow Excessive College, she went on to Syracuse College the place she studied product improvement within the world market and retail with a minor in meals research.
She accepted a job with Macy’s after commencement, working in non-public label product improvement. She discovered her ardour, nonetheless, when movies of meals began to blow up on social media and extra firms began creating meal kits and meal supply companies to ship house to prospects.
“Whereas I used to be so fascinated about meals and product improvement, I didn’t wish to go to the standard culinary college route and have a restaurant. I actually beloved at all times making one thing new and actually being artistic with meals. And this new budding business that was simply starting actually sparked my curiosity,” she mentioned.
Baevsky even labored with Scott Loitsch at Buzzfeed on some recipe movies.
Now, she works with the ready meal supply firm Freshly as a supervisor of product improvement, that means she creates the meals that finally get despatched to properties.
Now, Baevsky with the ready meal supply firm Freshly as a supervisor of product improvement, that means she creates the meals that finally get despatched to properties.
“I’ve been so lucky to work with a number of the most unimaginable folks on this business which have come from eating places and corporations like Campbell’s and Wendy’s and dealing with suppliers that offer meals for Starbucks and Panera Bread and Dealer Joe’s,” Baevsky mentioned, including that she’s partnered on particular tasks with Meals Community stars up to now.
Whereas working at Freshly, she returned to high school on the Institute of Culinary Training and targeted on health-supportive culinary arts, the place she discovered extra about create wholesome meals that style scrumptious. With these abilities, she now additionally cooks as a personal chef.
These experiences made her an important contender for “Chopped.” She mentioned she labored very onerous to ascertain herself within the culinary TV world, networking and going by means of a number of rounds of interviews, to get on the present.
Chef’s Brooke Baevsky and Matthew Wasson put together R1 dish, as seen on Chopped Summer season of Love, Season 50
“You must have the proper persona, the proper talent set, you should know meals type, you should know prepare dinner in entrance of an viewers and be an extrovert and current your self in a sure method,” she mentioned.
On the present, time will not be staged. It’s essential to have robust information of elements and be very artistic to prepare dinner on the present. Earlier than the competitors begins, cooks do stroll across the kitchen to study the place to seek out completely different objects although, Baevsky mentioned.
“Having expertise and deep information of various elements and preparation strategies was one thing that they actually wished to make sure that we knew do. That was an enormous a part of the vetting course of,” she mentioned.
The day of taking pictures for the cooking competitors was 16 hours lengthy. After she completed 13 hours of cooking, Baevsky had a three-hour interview narrating the episode and describing her emotions.
“It’s actually enjoyable being on set,” she mentioned. “I acquired to satisfy so many different cooks and the judges and everybody was so good.”
The episode, known as “Cooking for Love,” had some twists in theme for Valentine’s Day.
The “Chopped” competitors has three rounds the place contestants are requested to make an appetizer, entree and dessert with shock objects every time. For Valentine’s Day, the basket takes the meal “up a notch.”
“An aquatic aphrodisiac is a enjoyable discover within the appetizer basket, and steak within the entree basket takes the date up a notch. Lastly, the final two pairs work passionately to create passionfruit and matcha desserts that earn them the $10,000 prize,” the Meals Community mentioned.
Ted Allen hosted the episode that was judged by Cooks Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant and Marc Murphy.
Baevsky teamed up with one other single chef for the competitors, who she met solely minutes earlier than they started cooking as a type of blind date.
“Not solely was it the strain of, ‘I do not know what these elements are in my basket,’ but in addition I do not know who I’m even cooking with,” she mentioned. “So as an alternative of claiming ‘Oh, Hello, what’s your title? The place you from?’ I used to be like ‘Okay, are you able to make a béchamel? Are you able to chop?’”
However after they acquired began, Baevsky mentioned she labored nice collectively together with her companion. The challenges have been a bit more durable as a result of there have been two cooks working collectively, however her companion agreed with Baevsky’s visions and so they have been in a position to divide and conquer.
Although they don’t know who the judges are till the competitors, a part of her technique was utilizing her information about what she knew judges get pleasure from and don’t like consuming to tailor the meals to their preferences.
“On the finish of the day it’s a present and it’s a contest. So there’s going to be some loopy issues which might be thrown at you and also you simply must know have enjoyable with it and do your finest and make one thing nice out of loopy elements you usually would by no means see or use.”
Baevsky will quickly transfer to Los Angeles to reap the benefits of intensive non-public chef alternatives and to develop her community in meals leisure.
“Being within the meals TV world is tremendous thrilling to me. Actually it’s like performing. It’s presenting in entrance of hundreds of thousands of individuals and sharing what you like to do,” she mentioned. “It makes me smile ear to ear doing it.”
The episode will premiere on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 9 p.m.
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