Season 12, Episode 16
"Drawing a Flank"
Chopped Champion Quentin Donnaud
Episode theme: none
Original air date August 21, 2012
Meet the Chefs
Jude Huval
Chef Jude Huval is part of a long standing tradition of cajun cuisine. His parents opened Pat’s Fisherman’s Wharf (named after Jude’s father) in Henderson, LA in 1948. Although he didn’t go to culinary school until his 30s, he appeared on Chopped only a year after finishing his degree. The restaurant, still a family owned and operated affair, has a second location in Lake Charles, LA. Chef Huval heads the kitchen at both locations.
Frances Tariga
Chef Frances Tariga was born, raised, and studied the culinary arts in the Philippines. In her early career, she worked in the United Arab Emirates, eventually moving to New York City, NY as a private chef to UAE’s UN Ambassador. After arriving in the states, Chef Frances served in chef de cuisine and executive chef roles for several prominent NYC restaurant groups. She also became known to foodies everywhere through multiple appearances on reality television shows, beginning with Chopped in 2012. Chef Tariga also competed twice on Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen in 2014 and 2015, participated in Bravo’s Top Chef season 13 in 2016, and battled in 2018 on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay. Currently, she is a culinary director for PLANTA, a fast-expanding hospitality collective bringing plant-based, environmentally and socially conscious fine dining to multiple locations in the US and Canada.
Rick Giffen
Chef Rick Giffen has lived and worked in Las Vegas, NV for over twenty-five years. He’s opened restaurants up and down the strip, and at the T-Mobile Arena, serving successfully in executive chef and director of food and beverage roles. His latest offering is a Midwestern-inspired menu at McCall’s Heartland Grill at the Strat.
Quentin Donnaud
Chef Quentin Donnaud has worked for celebrity chefs in kitchens in New Orleans and Atlanta. At the time he competed on Chopped, he was the executive chef for a multi-location seafood restaurant, which has since closed. Now, he appears to have left the demands of working in acclaimed restaurants behind for the steadier pace of meat and seafood provisioning.