CHICAGO — After hours spent laboring at his restaurant business, chef Brian Riggenbach would often find himself eating dinner and watching reality cooking shows, mostly Food Network's "Chopped."
It's one of his favorite "scream at the TV" shows, according to Riggenbach, chef and co-owner of Yo Soy Underground Supper.
On Sept. 3, Riggenbach will have the unique opportunity to scream at himself, as the Lakeview-based chef will be appearing on the hit reality show.
Riggenbach said the stress of owning and cooking for his own business was not enough, and he wanted another avenue to challenge his culinary talent. So, when auditions for the show came to Chicago, Riggenbach signed up.
Chopped is a reality cooking contest where chefs have to prepare an appetizer, entree and dessert using specific ingredients in each round. A contestant is eliminated after each course until there is one winner, who is awarded $10,000.
Riggenbach, along with his husband, Mikey Corona, own Yo Soy Underground Supper, a business that crafts unique dinners in usual places. Riggenbach said he likes his multi-course meals to have out-of-left-field ingredients and unique presentations, so auditioning for the show made sense. Much like the show, Yo Soy's dinners usually revolve around a central theme.
Still, the duo had to prepare, and did so by essentially recreating the show in their kitchen.
“[Mikey] went to every ethnic market in Chicago and got the most nonsensical ingredients you can think of to challenge me," Riggenbach said in a news release.
Still, practice rounds couldn't possibly prepare him for when it came time to film in New York, Riggenbach said.
“It was the most challenging position I have ever been in my entire life," he said. “You have no clue as to what is inside the ‘mystery’ basket until you open it. Then the timer starts and immediately menu ideas run a million miles a second in your head, all while 10 cameras and film crew circle around you and film your every move."
Riggenbach's episode has a "fun at the carnival" theme, which included a lot of deep-fried ingredients, according to a news release. The news release says judges on the show face an "unprecedented dilemma" after the final course.
To find out how Riggenbach fared, turn in to Food Network on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8 p.m.
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