While some chefs dream of being top in their field, the competitors in NBC’s Yes, Chef blends personal evolution with culinary achievement. For private chef Julia Chebotar, the food television competition was more than just earning praise from judges Jose Andres and Martha Stewart. She found one key element has helped her to grow in her profession.
Choosing to participate in a food television competition comes with risks. It is more than being able to execute in under pressure. As Yes, Chef has shown, the managing the personalities in the kitchen is just as vital as a perfectly cooked protein.
Julia Chebotar has had experience on Food Network competitions. From being a Chopped Champion to competing in Alex vs. America, she understands the rigors of being on food television shows. But, Yes, Chef is a different beast.
During a leadership challenge, Julia made a few missteps at an unfortunate time. While challenge began with a leadership role, her decisions in the final cook led to her being voted off by the judges.
After her elimination, Julia graciously spoke to me about her experience on the NBC show, balancing personalities in the kitchen, and what is next for her culinary career. While she might have been one of the younger competitors on the show, she was able to hold her own in the kitchen. But, Yes, Chef was not just about wins and praise from the judges.
Julia said, “I liked the idea of mentorship, improving my skill set, and growing as a chef. It intrigued me. Yes, it is a food competition, but I was more excited to learn something about myself as a chef.”
Specifically, she mentioned that she “totally embraced” every minute of the experience and had the best time. Even though she admitted that there were “definitely some characters” in the kitchen, it was a unique experience that she could not turn down.
One of her dishes, the celery salad, received high praise from Jose and Martha. While she believed in her dish, her fellow chefs were more skeptical.
Julia said, “no one really believed in my salad until they got to try it. After Jose and Martha really liked it, they realized that I actually know what I was doing. In the beginning, I was a bit more timid because I was not sure what to expect. Once I got more comfortable, I was able to open up and shine.”
With her celery salad, it was a celebration of balance, simplicity, and letting the produce shine. When asked how she composes a great salad, Julia explained, “I like to have a really good crunch with a blend of vegetables that offer different textures. Also, I add something crispy like a nut, seed, or something toasted.”
For salad dressing, Julia recommends that people “need to use a really good olive oil and a really good vinegar. Quality ingredients show up in the taste.”
While Julia proved that she can make an impressive salad, her final episode on Yes, Chef posed a different challenge, leadership. Placed into that role by Jose and Martha, Julia could not touch anything in the kitchen as her team cooked.
She said that the challenge was quite hard to not put her hands on anything. While she tried to be fair with her choices, it was more than just letting chefs’ culinary point of view shine.
Julia explained, “I really didn’t know the vision inside their heads. At that point, we did not really know each other well or understand each other's point of view. It was hard to make an elevated hot dog and elevated nachos in that challenge.”
Since Julia did not get to cook in that challenge, I asked what she would have made if given the opportunity. She said, “I would serve veggie dogs with mixed vegetables, mushrooms, and lentils. I would smother it with all the toppings, like a Chicago style dog. For the nachos, I would have used a Japanese sweet potato and make take on a loaded fries.”
Julia mentioned that Katsuji had a carrot dog on his vegetarian forward restaurant, but he chose not to go in that direction. The former Top Chef cheftestant’s personality has been a highly controversial part of Yes, Chef.
In her opinion, Julia understood that dealing with her fellow competitors was part of the game. She said, “you are playing to the personalities, not just the challenge. My strategy was to be nice to everyone, to be friendly. I did not have any animosity towards anyone. I still find Katsuji funny and endearing, when he wants to be. I never wanted to pick side in this competition.”
Although her time on Yes, Chef has come to an end, Julia Chebotar is working as a private chef in New York City. She can be hired for all types of events and classes. More information can be found on her Health Chef Julia website.
Yes, Chef airs new episodes Monday nights on NBC at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes can be streamed the next day on Peacock.