Business & Tech

'Laid-Back' Chef Gets 'Cutthroat' in Food Network Show

SweetWater chef George Kyrtatas hosted a viewing party for the premiere of his episode of the Food Network's "Cutthroat Kitchen."

SweetWater chef George Kyrtatas is, by nature, a really nice guy.

Which is great for his family, friends and customers. But as a contestant on the Food Network's newest competitive cooking show Cutthroat Kitchen, Kyrtatas had to ditch the friendly chef routine.

The oft-intense show pits four chefs against each other in the kitchen, where each one is given $25,000 and the opportunity to spend that money on helping themselves or sabotaging their competitors.

"Normally I'm laid-back, I love everybody, life is good," said Kyrtatas. "In that first round, I kind of took a backseat about (sabotaging the other chefs), and then I realized that’s not the best way to play the game ... My attitude changed real quick."

The chef hosted a viewing party at SweetWater Sunday night for the premiere of his Cutthroat Kitchen episode, sharing behind-the-scenes tidbits with guests and giving away prizes during the commercial breaks. The partisan crowd cheered on their favorite chef while heckling his competitors.

Kyrtatas suffered early on in the competition as a result of his frugality, being forced to cook a grilled cheese sandwich using a butane blowtorch and prepare a shepherd's pie without any potatoes. 

Still, the celebrity chef—who's had guest appearances on a number of other shows and will soon take over hosting duties on PBS' The Cooking Odyssey—managed to survive till the final round, when he was ousted by chef Rene Marquis, who used his cash to make Kyrtatas prepare the final dish while wearing large rubber gloves.

Ironically, the final dish was an egg roll—an item Kyrtatas admitted he'd never made before.

"It was a wild experience," he said of the show. 

Kyrtatas will appear on the "Dawn" show on WMCN at 10:30 Monday morning to talk about his appearance on Cutthroat Kitchen, among other topics.


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