In the high-intensity world of culinary competition, Woodstock Inn & Resort’s Executive Chef Matthew McClure recently showcased his talents on Food Network’s hit show “Chopped.” The episode, which aired on May 13, gave viewers a glimpse of McClure’s culinary prowess under pressure.
The journey to “Chopped” began months ago when McClure was approached by a casting recruiting firm specializing in finding candidates for cooking shows. After an initial interview via Zoom, which was recorded and condensed to a 30-second snippet for producers, McClure was selected for a follow-up interview.
Despite his experience with on-camera cooking throughout his career, he admitted this particular challenge brought “significant anxiety” due to the competition element and tight time constraints. “They would stop and they would have you stand still so they could reposition the cameras, and you really see your ingredients moments before it’s time,” he recalled.
The competition presented McClure with unusual ingredients in his mystery basket for the first round, including snail caviar and kale candy — items he had never worked with before — along with volage (which he was familiar with) and Asian pears, which he loves. Rising to the challenge, he created a dish featuring an Asian pear slaw with snail caviar, fish in an egg batter, and a sesame kale candy dukkah, a Moroccan-inspired spice mixture.
Despite finishing his preparation two to three minutes early while other competitors were barely keeping up, McClure was the first contestant eliminated. Although disappointed, McClure maintains a positive perspective on the experience. “Sometimes there are winners, sometimes there are losers. Sometimes you lose with a big audience — that’s just kind of how life is,” McClure reflected. “I stayed away from reality shows for a long time. This was my first time doing something like this, but I think it was really cool and totally worth doing.”
For more on this, please see our May 22 edition of the Vermont Standard.
