We are so incredibly proud and excited for our very own Hudson Campbell for competing on Chopped Canada: Teen!
Hudson’s episode will air tonight at 6 pm!
Hudson will be facing off against four chefs between the ages of 14-17 transforming baskets of mystery ingredients into a 3 course meal!
Here’s a little more about our local Maple Ridge Celebrity Chef Hudson!
Name & Age: Hudson Campbell, 15
Nickname: Huds or Hud
Tell us a bit about yourself: I’ve grown up in Maple Ridge most of my life (besides a few years living in Vancouver), I have two younger brothers, go to Thomas Haney Secondary School, and have been working at the Maple Ridge Farm Market since May.
Tell us about how you began cooking: I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember. I learned a lot from my Grandma who is from Croatia. She taught me a lot about cooking like how to make sausages (from scratch), stew and pastries. My dad has taught me a lot about comfort food, and my mom is also a great cook.
Wow! You sound like you have quite a “Foodie” Family, who’s the best cook? My mom, my dad and my aunt are all great cooks?
Who’s the very best? They’re different…I can’t choose!
What’s your Favourite Restaurant: For comfort food I love White Spot and local restaurant Big Feast! But, last year I was in Las Vegas for a Taekwondo Tournament and we went to Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant and I loved it, I can’t wait to go back!
Taekwondo? Haha, yes! I’m a second degree Black Belt.
That’s impressive Hudson, I guess “chopped” was the right cooking competition for you. I guess so! When you watch chopped on saturday you’ll see that they came to visit and film at my taekwondo school.
Wow, that’s really cool. While we’re on it, why don’t you tell us how the whole chopped experience worked? Well, I filled out an application last time but didn’t get a call back. This time I filled out the application, and then they called me for a phone interview. Since the show is based out of Toronto, they are a couple of hours ahead. I had to take the phone call during school (which was a big challenging). I guess that went well, because then they called my mom and said they wanted to fly a producer out to meet me. Then I was told I made it! They flew me out to Toronto, where we got to explore the city, go to a great restaurant and visit a museum. It was a whirlwind. The next day we were driven to the studio, went through boot camp and shown where everything was in the kitchen… and the rest… you’ll see on Saturday.
Can you give us any more details: Sorry, I wish I could, but I can’t. I cannot tell any of the details about the show.
Keeping us in suspense Hudson, that is great. Has it been hard to keep the details secret? It has been, but I’ve had quite a bit of practice now since I had to keep the fact that I was a contestant on the show until recently.
How did you prepare for the show? Lots of practice!
Practice, how to you practice for a competition like chopped? Well, my mom and brothers would go out to the store, buy random ingredients and then I would practice making meals with these items. My Aunt was a huge help. She taught me how to make things like fritters and European Recipes. Our Chef at Thomas Haney was also really helpful. He would help me practice during my free blocks with leftover ingredients from cooking classes. Oh, and I did a lot of work on my knife skills.
Knife skills? How did you practice that? At Meridian. I work in the produce department and a lot of my job is cutting fruit. So I would practice chopping and work on my speed lots, so that definitely helped a lot!
What’s your favourite meal to make Hudson? Sloppy Joes, breakfast foods like omelettes, pancakes and bacon, oh and I love making homemade pasta.
Homemade Pasta? Yes! Linguine from scratch and meat sauce is one of my favourite things to make. I make it a lot.
If you could eat only one meal for the rest of your life…what would it be? Pasta… Mac and Cheese with bacon and EVERY cheese. All different types.
Who would play you in a movie about your life? Myself… or Bobby Flay!
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? At the PNE they had a sliders booth and I had snake, alligator and kangaroo. The alligator was great, I can’t wait to try it again.
Who are your favourite Chefs? Rachel Ray, Gordon Ramsey, and myself, ha!
Any foods you don’t like? Cooked carrots.
What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself? Creative, competitive, and outgoing.
3 things you always have in your fridge? Well besides butter, milk, and eggs, I would say garlic, cheese and BACON!
Top Bucket List Item? Travel all around Europe and taste all different foods.
Hidden Talents: Taekwondo and cooking. Well… I guess cooking isn’t really hidden anymore.
Aside from the necessities, what’s one thing you couldn’t go a day without? The internet!
If you could cook a meal and eat it with any 4 individuals, who would they be? Rachel Ray, Gordon Ramsey, My Grandma and the Queen of England.
What’s next for you Hudson? I want to go to University and take business classes. And then I want to open my own restaurants. First restaurant with elevated comfort food and then a steakhouse.
It’s been a pleasure Hudson, good luck on Saturday. Thanks!
All of us at Meridian are cheering on Hudson tonight (Saturday January 21st at 6pm). No matter the outcome, he’s a Chef Champion to us!
Congratulations Hudson, you did great, you are going to go far in your life with the goals that you have set for yourself. Well done young man.