Season 16, Episode 1
"Fry, Fry, Again"
Chopped Champion Erica Beneke
Episode theme: fried foods
Original air date June 2, 2013
Image of halloumi cheese; entree round ingredient.
Image by nastasyaday from Pixabay
Meet the Chefs
Vincent “Vinny” Williams
Best known for his fried chicken, Chef Vinny has been serving it up for many years before and after competing on Chopped. The Los Angeles native took a job working night shifts at a chicken restaurant while attending college in the 1970s and fell in love with the business. He rose through the restaurant, eventually owning a franchise location. Chef Williams also continued to work on perfecting his own fried chicken recipe, and in 2000, he opened Honey’s Kettle Fried Chicken in Compton. The restaurant moved to Culver City in 2005 and has been a local favorite going strong for over 20 years.
Vanessa Ayala
At the time of filming Chopped, Chef Ayala was working catering at the Skybox Sports Bar and Lounge in Roselle, NJ. That restaurant has since closed, and her current whereabouts are unknown.
Erik Cho
Chef Erik Cho filmed Chopped as the food truck phenomenon was taking off. At the time, he co-owned a french fry-focused truck with his wife Chef Brooke Howell. Frysmith quickly became popular in the LA food truck scene for their globally inspired fry toppings that turned the humble side dish into a meal. Sadly, the truck stopped operating around 2014. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Erica Beneke
Chef Erica Beneke’s first job was in a bakery, wrapping cookies and washing dishes. After vocational culinary training during high school, she got a college culinary degree, and gained experience in various restaurant positions in central New York State and Vermont. In 2009, she moved to Austin, TX intending to be part of the flourishing food scene there. Over five years, Chef Beneke progressed from line cook to executive chef at Max’s Wine Dive. But in 2017 she picked up stakes again and moved to another up-and-coming foodie town – Asheville, NC. These days you may find her behind the counter at Red Fiddle Vittles, a kitchen and gourmet grocery venture she co-launched as a catering business in 2018 with her husband Chef Matt Farr. Their 2020 expansion into a retail space allowed them a permanent location to sell prepared foods and groceries while still offering catering and private chef services.