Season 12, Episode 14
"Cake Walk?"
Chopped Champion Zeb Stevenson
Episode theme: none
Original air date August 7, 2012
Image of chanterelle mushrooms; entree round ingredient.
Image by Herbert Aust from Pixabay.
Meet the Chefs
Monique Barrow
Chef Monique Barrow came to the U.S. from St. Joseph, Barbados to attend the culinary program at Le Cordon Bleu. She worked in the Atlanta area for much of the 2010’s rising from sous chef positions to an executive chef role. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
Beni Velazquez
Chef Beni Velazquez originally planned to be an architect, working in restaurants while studying. But he found his true calling in food and finished a culinary degree instead. For the past decade, he’s lived in Las Vegas, owning and operating several restaurants. His current venture ChinaLatina by Chef Beni opened in 2019 east of the strip.
Carla Contreras
Chef Carla Contreras has had a long culinary career and has worn many hats as a chef, caterer, personal chef, cooking school owner & instructor, food stylist, and recipe developer/tester. She’s a proponent of healthy foods and holistic wellness and is also a certified health coach and master reiki practitioner. Chef Carla has worked with top brands and food & lifestyle publications creating culinary content and coaching others on content creation strategy. While you can’t drop into a restaurant to experience her food, you can check out her blog for deliciously pretty, plant-forward recipes to try at home.
Zeb Stevenson
Without any formal culinary training, Chef Stevenson built a career studying food and working his way up through Atlanta kitchens since 2001. He spent time as the executive chef of several well-known restaurants, including the Livingston Restaurant in The Georgian Terrace Hotel and Watershed on Peachtree. After leaving that role in 2018, Chef Zeb partnered with former Watershed co-owner Ross Jones on a fresh venture. The duo opened Redbird in the Westside Provisions District in 2019, gaining immediate popularity and recognition. Sadly, four years of pandemic and then recovery headwinds proved too much, and Redbird closed permanently in February 2023. After a short break from the kitchen, Chef Stevenson took a new role as the culinary director for local multi-concept Oliva Restaurant Group to focus on mentoring chefs and enhancing operations.