Dustin Anderson

Fillmore native Dustin Anderson took the $1,000 prize, competing on the holiday baking edition of “Food Rush”. He received a $1,000 gift card from Cost Plus World Market. “It’s marked down as one of the milestones of my life,” stated Anderson.

Executive chef at Rabalais Bistro and Bakery of Santa Paula, he competed on the holiday baking edition. The show aired on November 26th on the Disney-ABC Television Group’s Live Well Network hosted by “Top Chef” alumni, Ryan Scott.

Anderson was invited to compete on the show after an interview.

He flew to San Francisco for a week of filming. While in San Francisco, Anderson had the chance to meet with some renowned chefs including celebrity chef Tyler Florence, owner of the Wayfair Tavern.

New to being in front of the cameras, Anderson said he eased his nerves with his sense of humor. "I was able to joke around on camera and with the people so it loosened me up quite a bit but the hardest part was not looking at the camera. It’s hard to ignore when it’s right in your face."

Anderson felt the best part of the process was meeting the other competitors who were from Philadelphia and New York City. He was especially honored to work with the show’s host, Scott, and some of the best known pastry chefs in the world including Johnny Iuzzini and Emily Luchetti.

Dustin and the two other contestants competed in a pair of cookie-baking challenges. The first competition required the contestants to bake one of their favorite family recipes. For the second competition, the chefs were required to think on their feet. They were only allowed to bring one item into the kitchen for the contest, not knowing what they would be making. Dustin chose bourbon.

The competitors were told a month in advance how the show’s competition would work. According to Dustin "it meant I put it off until the last week! I had an outline of some recipes in my head so I practiced a lot at home." Dustin currently resides in Camarillo with his very supportive wife, Stefanie. He is a 2002 graduate of Fillmore High and an alumnus of the Oxnard Culinary College.

http://livewellnetwork.com/Food-Rush/episodes/Holiday-Cookie-Challenge/9...