Cinnaminson Chef Gets 'Cutthroat' in New Food Network Show

SweetWater co-owner George Kyrtatas' reputation both as a TV personality and a chef precede him, but it was the latter that led to his latest starring role on the Food Network's newest competitive cooking show, Cutthroat Kitchen. 

Kyrtatas, a published author and multiple award-winning executive chef, has already appeared as a guest chef on The Cooking Odyssey on PBS and Fox & Friends. However, Cutthroat Kitchen—in which four chefs go head-to-head in a competition that encourages scheming and sabotage—was his first competitive reality show experience.

"It was a fantastic experience," Kyrtatas said. "The show is wild. It's got a lot of twists and turns. It's not a normal competitive culinary show."

In a promo for the program (premiering Aug. 11), Food Network star and celebrity chef Alton Brown describes Cutthroat Kitchen as a show where culinary skill "will get you here, but it's not enough to keep you here. You need to be crafty ... clever ... and creative."

Kyrtatas, a second-generation restaurateur whose family owns and operates Hathaway's and SweetWater, said Food Network representatives reached out to him about three months ago and asked him to appear on the show. 

"They knew my name, not necessarily because of the TV I've done, but because of the quality (of my cooking)," he said. 

Kyrtatas, a Cinnaminson High School graduate, is set to appear in episode seven of the show's first season, which is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. To mark the occasion, he'll be hosting a viewing party at SweetWater that night. There'll be drink and food specials, including dishes he made for the show—though he can't reveal what those are just yet.

"So we'll get to see it all together," he said. 

And did he win the competition? You'll have to wait till Sept. 22 to find out.

Kyrtatas also filmed an episode of a new competitive cooking show for Spike TV, but still can't reveal any details about that program yet. Stay tuned to Cinnaminson Patch. 

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