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Aggieland now has its own cooking competition! “Aggie Chef Showdown” is now available to stream anytime on KAMU’s YouTube channel.
“Aggie Chef Showdown” brings together KAMU and Aggie Dining for a mouthwatering exploration of cooking at Texas A&M University. In this 30-minute special, watch as four of Aggie Dining’s best chefs compete to decide who has the best recipe. Will the winning dish be an elevated play on shrimp and grits? How about deconstructed enchiladas? Maybe Indonesian fried rice and pork skewers? Or will it be Maryland-style crab cakes?
Plus, after watching “Aggie Chef Showdown,” you can make the recipes yourself! Keep reading to learn more about trying your hand in the kitchen.
We put this competition together as a companion to “The Great American Recipe,” a PBS cooking show now in its third season. Watch Mondays at 8 p.m. on KAMU beginning June 17 and read on to learn more about the show.
- Watch “Aggie Chef Showdown”
- Meet the Chefs
- Make the Featured Recipes
- Learn More About Aggie Dining
- What is “The Great American Recipe”?
- Photo Gallery
Watch Aggie Chef Showdown
With a focus on family and the emotions of gathering to share a meal, the chefs bring the flavors of their childhood and share recipes that remind them of home. With an hour on the clock and three hungry judges waiting, which dish will win?
Stream the competition now!
The competition is free to stream on our YouTube channel at any time. Or watch on June 17 at 9 p.m. on KAMU-TV.
Meet the Chefs
Aggie Dining put four of its best chefs to the test in this competition. Get to know them here!
Demetrius Williams
Executive Sous Chef, Aggie Dining Catering
Chef Demetrius cooks because it’s a way for him to serve others and make them happy. Cooking wasn’t always his passion, but after going to vocational culinary school, he never looked back. “We didn’t always have a lot of food growing up,” Chef Demetrius said, “so I know what a good meal means to people.” On campus, Chef Demetrius works in catering, making food for hundreds of events a year.
Leo Lozano
Executive Chef, Aggie Dining Catering
Chef Leo has been cooking for 20 years and loves how culture can be shown through food. “Cooking says a lot about your personality,” Chef Leo said. “It’s very expressive.” He got into cooking by watching his mom do a lot with simple staples like rice and beans. Today, he’s the head chef of campus catering operations, serving thousands of people a year.
Ray Soendjaya
Executive Chef, Commons Dining Hall
Chef Ray represents residential dining in this competition. His cooking journey started as a seven-year-old in Indonesia, experimenting with meals for he and his brother. As a teen, he loved Wendy’s curly fries, but didn’t have enough money to buy them. “So I got a job there and got free fries every night – I loved it!” Chef Ray said. He hasn’t worked in any other industry since and loves to bring the diverse flavors of his home country to his food.
Will Weaver
Executive Sous Chef, Texas A&M Athletics Performance Nutrition
Chef Will brings a taste of Maryland to College Station. As a child, he learned how to cook by watching his mom. “Our family always came together over food,” Chef Will said. “It meant a lot.” Lessons from his mom made him fall in love with cooking and he decided to go to culinary school. After he graduated, he found himself at A&M, where today he feeds athletes as part of the performance nutrition team.
Make the Featured Recipes
Each chef brought their love for cooking to the competition — and some nostalgic flavors. The recipe each chef chose reminded them of home and family.
Download a blank version of this recipe card to fill out yourself!
After watching “Aggie Chef Showdown,” make the recipes for yourself! Chefs Demetrius, Leo, Ray and Will shared their flavors with the judges and now they’re sharing them with you.
Scallops and Polenta
Shrimp and grits… but elevated. Chef Demetrius brought familial flavors to his dish, including topping things off with a nod to his Grandmother’s Sweet Potato Casserole.
Make Chef Demetrius' Scallops and Polenta
Deconstructed Chicken Enchiladas
Rice and beans were staples for Chef Leo growing up and he elevates those ingredients in his deconstructed dish. There are a TON of flavors here to enjoy.
Make Chef Leo's Deconstructed Chicken Enchiladas
Indonesian Fried Rice and Pork Skewers
Traditional Indonesian components are at play for Chef Ray. Pork skewers were his favorite as a child and he reproduces them here. A runny-yolk fried egg takes this dish over the top.
Make Chef Ray's Indonesian Fried Rice and Pork Skewers
Crab Cakes and Succotash
If you want these these crab cakes to truly be Maryland-style, get ready to buy a lot of crab! But feel free to adjust the ratio of crab to cracker to fit your budget: you’ll get a great crab cake regardless.
Make Chef Will's Maryland-Style Crab Cakes and Succotash
Let us know how your cooking adventures go! Please send us your photos on social media: find us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Learn More About Aggie Dining
Aggie Dining serves thousands of meals to hungry students, faculty and staff every day, across three dining halls and more than 50 restaurants, food trucks and express stops. If you eat on campus, you’re eating the work of Aggie Dining.
Great care is put into each ingredient, component and dish, all made by dedicated chefs. Options to accommodate all allergies and special diets are always available. And sustainability is constantly considered.
Flexible meal plans are available to meet your needs and all NEW plans are coming for the fall semester. Tasty new meals are served daily — so try something new! For more information about meal plans, dining hours and more, visit Aggie Dining’s webpage.
What is “The Great American Recipe”?
PBS celebrates what makes American food unique and iconic, as Season 3 of “The Great American Recipe” debuts this summer on KAMU. Eight talented home cooks from across the country bring their love for food, their unique regional flavors and lots of heart and soul. It’s a show about treasured recipes and signature dishes — but the most important ingredient is the people who share them. Watch on Mondays at 8 p.m. beginning June 17.
Host Alejandra Ramos is joined by returning judge Tiffany Derry and new judges Tim Hollingsworth and Francis Lam. They bring professional insights and deep culinary knowledge to encourage and support the contestants.
Watch this preview to learn what’s cooking on Season 3:
Want to catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 before the new season airs? Stream both seasons for free on PBS.org until June 17. After that, join KAMU Passport to keep watching or explore recipes from previous seasons and bring unique regional flavors into your kitchen.
Aggie Chef Showdown Photo Gallery
Finally, we took lots of great pictures of the kitchen action. Scroll through our photo gallery to see what our crew saw during filming.
– The chefs pose for a group photo before the competition.
– Chefs Demetrius and Leo begin cooking.
– Chef Demetrius puts the finishing touches on his plates.
– Chef Demetrius wipes his finished plates.
– Chefs Demetrius and Leo pose with their finished plates.
– Judges Chelsea, Wade and Megan pose at the tasting table.
– Chefs Will and Ray begin cooking.
– Chef Will mixes his sauce.
– Chef Ray places fried eggs on top of his dish.
– Chefs Will and Ray pose with their finished dishes.
– The chefs pose for a group photo after cooking.
– All four chefs pose with their finished dishes.
Thank you for watching “Aggie Chef Showdown!” If you want to be among the first to hear about new content from KAMU TV and FM, subscribe to our free monthly email newsletter today. And if you’d like to support our mission of providing fun, educational programming like this to the Brazos Valley, click here to donate.
