Diamond Valley man hopes to be named Favourite Chef

A Diamond Valley, Alta., man who was born with spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair needs every Albertan vote he can wrangle, but it's not to become a politician.

It's to become a chef – and two weeks after CTV News first posted this story, Brown is moving closer to reaching his goal.

Brown is competing to be named Favourite Chef in a competition run by the James Beard Foundation in the U.S.

One chef wins US$25,000 and gets featured in an advertorial in Taste of Home Magazine.

It's all judged by Carla Hall, an alumnus of Top Chef.

In an interview posted on favchef.com, Brown explained what inspires him to cook.

"I like the act and challenge of creating, as I'm naturally a creative person," he said. "Another thing, I come from a mostly meat-and-potatoes family, in steak-and-potatoes rural Alberta.

"Food has opened my horizons," he added. "Both the tasting and making of it, and through a certain cultural exchange that I otherwise wouldn't have a lot of exposure to, personally.

"Beyond that, it's just plain fun," he said, "and uses the best of the talents that I've been given!"

Diamond Valley, Alberta resident Thomas Brown is vying to be named Favourite Chef in a competition held by the James Beard Foundation in the U.S.

Brown's favourite dishes tend toward "Latin and Spanish flavours."

If he wins, he hopes to invest his winnings into furthering his culinary education – he actually studied communications at Lethbridge College – including a trip to Spain and France, and using some of the funds to create a start-up chef/catering company.

Brown was able to advance back in early July and.reached out to CTV News Friday with an update: "I've made it past the group stage," he wrote, "and am now in the 'wildcard' stage, just before the actual finals.

"I've been cooking up a storm, and I'm hoping it ain't over yet!"

Brown also shared a photo of his most recent winning meal: pepper steak and Hasselbeck potatoes.

Diamond Valley's Thomas Brown prepared this cracked pepper ribeye and cheesy onion Hasselbeck-style potatoes as part of his competition in the Favourite Chef competition sponsored by the James Beard Foundation

What's his secret? "Persistent effort," he said. "Also, I've always found that being open to trying new flavours has made me more diverse in the dishes (and flavours) that I create at home have really hit a note with the people who taste what I make.

"It's familiar ingredients with twists that I embrace that makes my food delicious!"

Brown still needs votes to make it to the finals, which you can cast here.