Chef Suchanan Aksornnan, also known as Chef Bao Bao, competed on the most recent episode of the popular Food Network competition show, Chopped — and won big. $10,000 big, to be exact.
For those unfamiliar with the show, the concept is relatively simple. Four chefs compete to make it through three rounds of competition (an appetizer, entree, and dessert round). Each round presents a new box of four mystery basket ingredients that must be incorporated into each dish. A chef gets eliminated after each round. Well, not eliminated exactly. They get CHOPPED (get it?)
It really is top-notch television, and if you’ve never watched it before, now’s a great time to start.
Chef Bao Bao of Baoburg (614 Manhattan Avenue) dominated the competition in an episode that demanded one more twist from its chefs; as a noodle-themed episode, the chefs must include a type of noodle in every round. As the self-described “queen of noodles,” Chef Bao Bao wowed the judges with her creative takes on the basket ingredients.
Baoburg first opened in Williamsburg in 2013, before moving to Greenpoint in 2016. Locals have enjoyed dishes like short rib ramen and Hanoi noodles for nearly a decade in the small but homey space.