Stephan Bogardus of The Halyard in Greenport wins 'Kitchen Crash,' new on Food Network
Executive Chef Stephan Bogardus of The Halyard, at the Sound View in Greenport. Credit: Daniel Brennan
Long Island chefs are on a roll. Hot on the heels of Allison Fasano’s win on "Supermarket Stakeout," another LI chef has won a Food Network show: On Wednesday night, Stephan Bogardus of The Halyard in Greenport triumphed on the debut episode of "Kitchen Crash," hosted by Jeff Mauro.
Bogardus has competed on "Chopped" and "Beat Bobby Flay," and was "hoping that the third time's the charm." He got his wish. "The challengers were super-talented," he said, "and it was really quite a fight."
One of the challengers, it turned out, was Jill Dobias of Floral Park, a New York restaurant veteran who is now food and beverage director for a national hospitality company. Dobias was eliminated in the second round after the judges dinged her steak sandwich made with gluten-free bread. Bogardus, who won the first round, had to force each of his competitors to use an ingredient and Dobias drew the short, gluten-free straw.
Kitchen Crash is a mashup of "Chopped" and the old "Door Knock Dinners" (if anyone remembers that chestnut that ran for two seasons starting in 1999). In each episode, three chefs find themselves on a suburban block, and each must "shop" for three courses by convincing a local homeowner to hand over ingredients from his or her kitchen. The chefs have no idea what they will be asked to cook, and everything they request must fit into one bin. Except for water, all ingredients — including salt and pepper — must be provided by the household.
The prize is $10,000 in cash, split between chef and household.
The kitchen is set up in the middle of the street and the chefs compete in three elimination rounds, "Chopped"-style, until one is declared the winner. Unlike "Chopped," the three dishes are not appetizer, entree and dessert, but, rather, have themes such as Tex-Mex, festival fare or breakfast. And to add drama, the families are on the sidelines, cheering on their chefs and trash-talking their neighbors.
Bogardus, who was executive chef at North Fork Table & Inn before taking over the kitchen at The Halyard in 2019, said that the episode was filmed in New Jersey in September and that COVID-19 protocols were strictly enforced. "First, we never got past the door at any of the houses," he said. "And except for when the camera was on you, we were wearing N95 masks and they made us change them every hour."
"Kitchen Crash" Episode 1 will be rebroadcast on Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. and Jan. 12 at 11 p.m. See details at foodnetwork.com/kitchen-crash.
