Dustin Anderson

Dustin Anderson, a 29 year old Fillmore native and executive chef at Rabalais Bistro and Bakery of Santa Paula, will be competing on the holiday baking edition of "Food Rush." The show will air on 8:30pm 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. "It was exciting to find out they were interested in me, but I’m not one to get my hopes up right away," said Anderson. "After I found out about the show, it felt like I was taking the first step to what I want to do later in life and I was happy to tell my family and friends."

Dustin flew to San Francisco for a week of filming. Although the shooting schedule started early and often went late, the long days never bothered him. "I felt rejuvenated because I was living the dream that I had made up in my head, and by the end of the week, I didn’t want it to end." While in San Francisco, Anderson had the chance to meet with some renown 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."

Anderson’s mother, Michele, said the joy of cooking runs in their family. "We really like food around here so it makes sense that we would cook! Dustin’s grandmother was a wonderful cook and would very proud of her grandson. It is perfect that Dustin participated in the holiday cookie competition because he loves the holidays with the special dishes and cookies that make the holidays memorable. Cooking for someone is like giving gift."

"Dustin is very happy to please people with his cooking and is the kind of chef that will come out of the kitchen to say hello and to see if you enjoyed your meal. We are looking forward to watching the show with some friends and family to see how he did."

"The holidays are my favorite time of year," Anderson says, "being with my family and friends, decorating, eating and having fun is something I love to share with my wife, parents and family. This was the perfect competition for me." Anderson’s wife Stefanie said “Holidays and Dustin go hand in hand. You can see how happy is he being surrounded by everything he loves.”

Dustin currently resides in Camarillo with his very supportive wife, Stefanie. He is a 2002 graduate of Fillmore High and an alumni of the Oxnard Culinary college. If you would like to see the show, it will air on the Live Well channel (channel 228 on Time Warner) and ABC3 for DirectTV at 8:30pm on 26 November 2013.