South End Chef Wins 'Chopped' Competition

Teranga Chef Marie-Claude Mendy is the newest “Chopped” champion, outlasting the competition to win $10,000 on the hit Food Network program, which aired Tuesday night.

Mendy served up a three-course meal of marinated ribs, lamb stew and gingerbread crepes.

The same courses were featured at Mendy’s South End restaurant during a viewing party at the Washington Street eatery. With the Food Network on in the background, Mendy shouted orders in the kitchen she’s run for two years.

“My style of cooking is the core of the Senegalese cuisine,” a televised Mendy said during her introduction on the show, wearing a bright orange bandana. She dedicated her performance to her father, who introduced her to her first love – baking.

“He definitely was the person that helped me believe in myself,” she said. “He’s overlooking me from wherever he is. I know winning 'Chopped' would make him very proud.”

“Chopped,” now in its seventh season, features four chefs competing head-to-head over three courses using a basket of mystery ingredients for each. A contestant is “chopped” after each timed course. 

Mendy outshown the competition in the appetizer round, incorporating her “secret sauce” of garlic, bell peppers and scallions into a dish of Senegalese marinated ribs.

“I love this dish, I ate it all,” said judge Alex Guarnaschelli. “It’s sweet, it’s got a nice heat, it’s got freshness.”

During the entrée round, Mendy ran into trouble when she failed to plate her final dish of lamb stew. Her white anchovy sauce didn’t make it onto any of the dishes.

“I underestimated the time that I had,” she told the judges. “I’m kicking myself right now.”

But after chef James Lee cut himself during the round, continuing to cook with a bloody hand, the judges refused to taste his food and sent him home instead.

In the dessert round, tasked with incorporating dried apricots, gingerbread cookie dough, elderflower liquor and halva into a dish, Mendel’s gingerbread crepes with elderflower crème won her the competition.

“I think you managed in a sea of sweetness to create some really distinctive flavors,” Guarnaschelli said.

Mendy teared up after the win, which netted her a $10,000 prize.

“I showed more creativity, I was not afraid to go above and beyond," she said. "If my father was here today he would be very proud of me because I did not give up."

"It feels amazing, it feels great. I just won 'Chopped.'”