Recipe for Success: Local Chef Auditions for Food Network

It wasn't your typical hot, mid-July day for Nyack chef Cris Spezial as he waited on a park bench in the lower East Side of Manhattan for his audition time with the Food Network.

A resident of Nyack for close to 20 years with his wife and two daughters, Spezial has been the owner of Nyack Gourmet for 11 years, and relocated to his new location on Broadway in March. It was around that same time one of his brothers encouraged him to go on the Food Network Web site and apply to be a contestant for Chopped, or a new show in development, Killer Dinner Party.

"It was kind of on a whim that I filled out the application," Spezial said in a recent interview with Patch. "And then a few months later, I received a letter requesting my resume and a photo."

Soon after, Spezial was called in for an interview with three members of the talent staff. The staff gave him some brief advice: the only thing he could do wrong was to not be himself. It wasn't a problem for Spezial: an admitted ham by nature, Spezial said he felt very comfortable on camera. He also wore shorts and a shirt that revealed a few of his tattoos, just in case they were going for an edgy look.

For Spezial, a love of food and cooking began at an early age. The second youngest of four boys, Special's mother worked full time—when he and his brothers came home from school they would find notes asking them to make meatloaf, meatballs and sauce.

"What turned out to be a chore for my brothers became a passion for me," Spezial said. "By age eight I loved to cook and by age ten my family and I realized that I was actually very good. I walked into a restaurant's kitchen at age 14 and began as a dishwasher; I was the head line cook by 16."

With a resume that includes collaboration with Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud, Nyack Gourmet also has an unassuming wall of fame including Spezial's certificate from the Culinary Institute of America and an assortment of articles written about him. Another wall includes thank you letters from a variety of his patrons.

The next step in the Food Network process? The 30-minute interview will be pared down to three minutes and sent to the producers for review.

"No cooking was required for this interview," Spezial said. "They really just wanted to get a sense of how you are on camera, if you are passionate about cooking, and what type of competitor you are."

With questions like, "Would you share any of your precious eggs with another contestant who really needed one?" (you'll have to stay tuned for the answer) and, "What would you prepare with one of the shows signature mystery baskets?" Spezial said that he had a great time and hopes to get a call back for any of the shows.

The crew at The Food Network told Spezial that it will be a few months before he hears anything. Filming will not begin until next year, so it's a slow simmer for this even-tempered vegetarian chef who may just be on his way to dazzling us all.