Self-Taught Chefs Win Top Prizes In The Create Cooking Challenge

Leading television chefs select winners to host web series. Are they public television's newest food celebrities?

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Apr 19, 2016, 09:30 ET

BOSTON, April 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Public Television (APT), the original home to television's culinary experts, and sponsor of the Create Cooking Challenge, announced today that two new "stars" have joined its ranks. Selected from hundreds of entries by judges who are some of public television's best-known chefs, Jaime Isobe of Brooklyn, NY, is the Grand Prize Winner, receiving $1,000 to finance the completion of a 10-episode web series for CreateTV.com.

Jaime Isobe of Brooklyn, NY is the Create Cooking Challenge Grand Prize Winner! Watch for his web series ISOBE FOOD, coming to CreateTV.com this summer.

Second Prize Winner, Erin French of Freedom, Maine, was awarded $250 to fund a three-part web series for Create's website. The contest focused on two-minute video submissions by professional and home chefs. Distributed and produced by APT, WNET New York and WGBH Boston, Create is a national channel carried by 227 local public television stations and features lifestyle content: cooking, travel, home improvement, gardening and arts & crafts.

Final judges included five of Create TV's nearly 60 top chefs, Chris Kimball (America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country); Pati Jinich (Pati's Mexican Table); Jacques Pépin (Jacques Pépin Heart & Soul); Sara Moulton (Sara's Weeknight Meals); Chef Irie (Taste the Islands With Chef Irie); and, Cynthia Fenneman, APT president and CEO. Entrants were judged on criteria including culinary knowledge, the ability to present the idea clearly, telegenic appeal and a unique presentation. "We were impressed by the caliber of the Create Cooking Challenge entrants, many of whom said their passion for cooking was inspired by the leading chefs featured on Create TV," said Fenneman.

Isobe, a fifth-generation Japanese American fascinated by the influences of his family's traditional recipes and the foods of his native Alabama, was lauded for his ability to fit "so much information into two minutes," said Sara Moulton. His entry presenting braised beef shanks and multiple serving ideas was a favorite of the judges. Jacques Pépin lauded his opening "recap" and thought Isobe provided "excellent variations" using the same recipe. Chef Irie said he thought that Isobe "was a great addition to the chefs seen on Create TV."

A marketing executive at New York's concert and performance center Stage 48, Isobe sees this as a chance to unite his two passions: music and cooking. Chris Kimball applauded Isobe's work and his "high energy. His variations made the recipe that much more useful." Isobe plans to showcase more unusual combinations in his web series.

Erin French, owner and chef at The Lost Kitchen, her 40-seat restaurant in a grist mill in Freedom, Maine, sees her second place win as a chance to make comfort foods "exciting." Pati Jinich said she "liked the way Erin incorporated the outdoors into her cooking" with her simple recipe of maple-syrup enhanced baked beans. Chris Kimball said he "loved French's kitchen and found her personable and charming."

Sixteen additional winners were selected from across the country. Isobe's and French's web series will premiere on CreateTV.com this summer, with segments featured on Create TV.

Forty-six million U.S. viewers watch Create TV annually.

Photos, bios and judges' comments, visit APTonline.org/aptweb.nsf/vPress/Press-Meet+The+Winners.

For interviews, contact:
Deb Broide, 973-493-3940
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Jamie Haines, 617-338-4455 ext 129
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SOURCE American Public Television