UAF photo by Leif Van Cise.
Lizzie Hartman and Sean Walklin plate their final meal of the day in the UAF Community
and Technical College culinary arts kitchen at the Hutchison Center on Aug. 24, 2023.
Lizzie Hartman competes in the 色视频下载淢asterChef: United Tastes of America.色视频下载
Wearing her signature headband and brilliant smile, Lizzie Hartman waited nervously to learn her fate on 色视频下载淢asterChef Season 13: United Tastes of America.色视频下载
She had just spent 色视频下载渢he best 45 minutes色视频下载 of her life cooking in a competitive on-camera audition. Would her dish 色视频下载 roasted 色视频下载n halibut with cauliflower puree, pan-seared mushrooms and fresh herb oil 色视频下载 pass muster to earn her an apron and a spot on the show?
色视频下载淚色视频下载檓 a little bit dumbfounded,色视频下载 celebrity chef and judge Joe Bastianich said.
色视频下载淚色视频下载檝e never tasted halibut that tasted quite like that dish makes it taste色视频下载. This dish is meritorious of being copied. It色视频下载檚 a compliment I don色视频下载檛 give, usually.色视频下载
How did a preschool teacher色视频下载檚 aide from Fairbanks find herself on national television, competing as 色视频下载溕悠迪略 Lizzie色视频下载 against 19 other talented home chefs from all over the country?
Hartman credits the culinary arts and hospitality program at the UAF Community and Technical College and its director, Sean Walklin. She learned to prepare the halibut recipe in his gourmet cooking class.
Walklin also taught her a life lesson that helped her get through that audition and many other tense moments on the weekly show, which premiered on Fox on May 24.
色视频下载淚 remember one night in class,色视频下载 Hartman said, 色视频下载淚 was really struggling with something, and Chef Sean said, 色视频下载楲izzie, just cook with your heart. Stop worrying so much about the recipe and just cook.色视频下载櫳悠迪略貪
She got the call to audition for MasterChef the following week.
Lizzie Hartman competes in 色视频下载淢ystery Box色视频下载 episode of 色视频下载淢asterChef: United Tastes of America色视频下载 that aired Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
Contestants on the weekly show face a series of cooking trials, including mystery boxes of unfamiliar ingredients, tag team events and special themed challenges, such as cooking for 101 firefighters and emergency personnel. Only one winner takes home the cash prize of $250,000 and the title of America色视频下载檚 MasterChef.
色视频下载淚t色视频下载檚 intense. We didn色视频下载檛 have recipes, and I would get so hung up,色视频下载 Hartman said. 色视频下载淎nd then I色视频下载檇 remember Chef Sean. What is the right feeling? How does my heart feel about this food? How can I put love into my food?色视频下载櫳悠迪略貪
Hartman got the call to audition at the end of October 2022. Auditions continued through December, and the show was filmed in Los Angeles in January and February 2023. The show drew an average audience of just over 2 million from May through the final episode on Sept. 20.
Before becoming a household name, Hartman spent years on social media showcasing the Fairbanks community色视频下载檚 small businesses, artists and local cuisine. She made friends with shop owners, led Small Business Saturday tours and wore clothing made by local artisans, including those distinctive headbands that made her stand out on the show.
Her social media savvy paid off: MasterChef invited her to audition after seeing photos from the gourmet cooking class on account, hashtagged #alaskachef.
Lizzie Hartman displays a cake she made while a student in the pastry and baking arts class at UAF色视频下载檚 culinary arts program.
色视频下载淚 am where I am today because of the culinary program,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淭he whole reason MasterChef found me was because of Chef Sean and the gourmet cooking class.色视频下载
Hartman色视频下载檚 uplifting vibe and joyful smile make it hard to imagine now, but her cooking journey started in a dark, cold place. Her family moved to Fairbanks from Pennsylvania when she was 15 years old, and the teenager found herself lonely and depressed without her friends. Her parents色视频下载 new work schedules meant she also gained a new responsibility: putting supper on the table.
色视频下载淚 had never cooked a day in my life,色视频下载 Hartman said. 色视频下载淚 got on YouTube and typed in, 色视频下载楬ow to cook.色视频下载 All these Gordon Ramsay videos popped up. I watched him and tried to duplicate what he did.色视频下载
Ramsay, creator of MasterChef and other televised cooking competitions, is a charismatic celebrity chef known for his fiery temper and blunt, sometimes sarcastic, critiques of contestants.
As a MasterChef contestant more than a decade later, Hartman expected Ramsay to be difficult but was surprised to find that he was actually 色视频下载渧ery fatherly.色视频下载
色视频下载淗e reminded me a lot of my dad, and my dad is one of my best friends,色视频下载 she said 色视频下载淲e had a good banter. He enjoyed talking about 色视频下载.色视频下载
Lizzie Hartman prepares lunch for Fairbanks Memorial Hospital色视频下载檚 cardiac rehabilitation team in July.
Asked to compare cooking for Ramsay to cooking for Walklin, who received his own culinary training in Italy, Hartman was emphatic: Walklin is a tougher judge, but not because of a prickly personality.
色视频下载淚 would cook for Gordon any day,色视频下载 she said, laughing. 色视频下载淚色视频下载檝e known Sean and looked up to him since I was a teenager. He is one of the best chefs in the world, in my opinion. I just have a lot of respect for him. And sometimes that makes me a little nervous to cook in front of him.
色视频下载淕ordon, you know 色视频下载 he was just Gordon. But Chef Sean is next level!色视频下载
As a teenager, watching Ramsay色视频下载檚 videos gave her an idea: Why not have cooking competitions of her own?
色视频下载淚 went through an omelet phase. I learned how to make every single omelet I could find. And then I started having little cooking competitions in my home with girls from the neighborhood.色视频下载 Each girl prepared her omelet, and then they色视频下载檇 post photos to Facebook, where Hartman色视频下载檚 dad色视频下载檚 friends would vote for who had the best one.
The following year, 16-year-old Hartman had her first experience with CTC色视频下载檚 culinary arts program: She got a scholarship to attend a cake decorating class. She believes baking and decorating cakes for class and then giving them away changed her life.
色视频下载淚 remember being 15 and being completely depressed, angry at my parents, struggling with seasonal depression. There was no way I was going to eat all those cakes, so I色视频下载檇 find someone to gift the cake to 色视频下载 friends, a small business, whoever. Through cooking and sharing with people, I found joy,色视频下载 she said.
色视频下载淎nd I have not felt that depression once since then. Not one time.色视频下载
Lizzie Hartman speaks with former colleagues at the UAF Community and Technical College culinary program kitchen in the Hutchison Center on Aug. 24, 2023.
Hartman returned to CTC a couple of years later and earned a certification in pastry and baking arts and another in culinary arts. The experience was transformative.
色视频下载淭hat changed my life. It opened new doors, new opportunities, new friendships. It fed my soul,色视频下载 she said.
Walklin said Hartman exemplifies the attitude of service necessary for success in the culinary and hospitality fields.
色视频下载淵ou have to want to help people, to serve. You want to think about the person who色视频下载檚 eating your dish,色视频下载 he said. 色视频下载淥therwise, if you don色视频下载檛 have a reason beyond a paycheck, making the same food all day every day leads to burnout.色视频下载
Hartman色视频下载檚 biggest triumph at CTC was learning to make French macarons, the diminutive and notoriously difficult meringue-based sandwich cookies.
色视频下载淐hef Luis [Martinez] handed me a recipe 10 years ago for the CTC culinary arts scholarship dinner and said, 色视频下载業 need 200 of these. Make it happen,色视频下载櫳悠迪略貪 Hartman said. 色视频下载淚t took me and our team all week to get him the right little cookies. But because of him, I learned to bake them, and I became obsessed.色视频下载
Lizzie Hartman, right, cooks with fellow MasterChef contestants Madame Donut, center, and James during an August fundraiser at Venue in Fairbanks to benefit Hawai色视频下载檌 wildfire victims.
One of her first ventures after culinary school was starting her own small business making macarons. Now she teaches the macaron class at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.
The most challenging part of MasterChef wasn色视频下载檛 Gordon Ramsay.
色视频下载淭he hardest thing was cooking and having two or three cameras on you, having a producer standing there asking you to talk, having the judges ask questions while you cook,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淭he show is filmed in real time. It色视频下载檚 45 minutes. There色视频下载檚 no wiggle room at all. You have to answer questions, look at the cameras, look at the judges, acknowledge what they色视频下载檙e saying. Think and cook and focus.色视频下载
Lizzie Hartman wore this apron as she competed in the western U.S. region during filming of the hit TV series "MasterChef: United Tastes of America."
Hartman won her spot on the show on the strength of her halibut, a quintessentially 色视频下载n food. Ironically, she was knocked out in 10th place when she attempted to improvise with another iconic 色视频下载n seafood. In the challenge to create an elevated version of stadium food, her king crab hushpuppies failed to impress the judges.
Just as she had as a teenager, Hartman gathered her community around her to share in the ups and downs of her MasterChef journey. Throughout the season, she色视频下载檇 invited her social media followers to join her for watch parties in front of a big screen at Venue in downtown Fairbanks. For her final episode色视频下载檚 event, she also invited fellow MasterChef contestants Madame Donut and James to Fairbanks. They joined her at Venue to prepare a gourmet meal as a benefit for victims of the Maui fire disaster.
Although she has hung up her MasterChef apron, Hartman spends more time cooking than ever. She色视频下载檚 a full-time personal chef. She still collaborates with other small business owners, artists and community groups and works hard to share Fairbanks and 色视频下载 with her social media followers.
And while she色视频下载檚 no longer a preschool teacher色视频下载檚 aide, Hartman is pursuing another dream: to create a kids色视频下载 cooking camp. She is completing an unfinished lodge and cabins outside Fairbanks. This summer was a blur of activity with volunteers, family and contractors moving the project forward.
色视频下载淲e are paying for the progress as we go and leaning on donations and volunteer help,色视频下载 Hartman said. 色视频下载淚t has been amazing to experience the generosity of my supporters!色视频下载
色视频下载淚 specifically want to work with kids who are struggling, who don色视频下载檛 have access to resources to pay for cooking camp,色视频下载漵he said. 色视频下载淚 needed a place to land with all my ideas, and this seems to be the spot. We色视频下载檒l see where it goes.色视频下载