Milwaukee chef Adam Pawlak not only competed on the July 1 episode of Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen: Knives Out.” he walked away as the champion and won $14,500.
Pawlak is the owner of Bay View restaurant Egg & Flour Pasta Bar, 2273 S. Howell Ave. He has appeared on several cooking-competition shows — Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” as well as Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Superchef Grudge Match.”
“Cutthroat Kitchen: Knives Out” is a “sabotage” cooking show. Throughout the show, chefs can spend their money to sabotage their competitors or to gain advantages. That’s a different format than Pawlak’s previous shows.
“Doing a show like ‘Cutthroat Kitchen’ is different because it’s more of an entertainment show,” he said. “Your cooking skills don’t matter at all on that kind of show.”
The show’s current season premiered May 13, and Pawlak appeared in the eighth episode, titled “Doomsday Kitchen.” It’s available for streaming on Max.
Adam Pawlak’s soup advances him in ‘Cutthroat Kitchen’ first round
Each of the chefs started with $25,000, but there were multiple chances to spend money.
During the first round, the challenge was to create a “Last Meal on Earth” and the chefs could only use a microwave to cook, though they’d have a chance to bid on another heat source to cook with. The ingredients included canned goods and freeze-dried meats.
Pawlak, who made a mushroom and dried-shrimp soup infused with Asian flavors, initially wanted the two-in-one camp stove for cooking. But he ended up with the second pick and chose the blowtorch.
While his soup didn’t win the round — and the $1,000 bonus that came with it — Pawlak did advance to the second and final round.
Adam Pawlak’s dessert takes the prize in ‘Cutthroat Kitchen’ second round
The second-round challenge was making a dessert — and there were multiple chances for sabotage.
First, Pawlak outbid opponent Tracey Shepos and was able to keep his fresh fruit, while another opponent, Demetrius Brown, had to forfeit all of his fresh fruit for faux fruit.
He was sabotaged later in the round, though, by Shepos, who bid $7,000 to have Pawlak work in the exile kitchen, with no stove or oven. However, Pawlak engaged in a bidding war with Shepos, which bought him enough time to finish cooking his dessert before he was sent to the exile kitchen.
“I was stretching that auction out really long, so that I could get all the rest of my stuff cooked,” he said, “because once you get sent over there, you’re allowed to bring whatever you already had left with you.”
Pawlak was able to take his finished crepes, berries and nuts with him. He was also allowed to grab three additional ingredients, including sugar, which he forgot during the initial one-minute shopping period. He had used honey as a sweetener instead.
Both of the dishes Pawlak cooked were foods he was familiar with, which was part of his strategy. And it paid off, as he had the best dessert and won the episode. He plans to use the prize money to take his mom on a vacation.
He said that winning the show was the best feeling, especially after all the work he did to get on the show.
“I’m happy that I can represent the city I was born and raised in …,” he said, “and show people that there are good chefs in Milwaukee.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here’s how Milwaukee chef Adam Pawlak did on Food Network’s ‘Cutthroat Kitchen’
Reporting by Rose Androwich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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