Alpharetta's Olivia Hurst Wins Food Network's 'Chopped'

ALPHARETTA, GA — With tiny bites and a large amount of confidence, Chef Olivia "Liv" Hurst decoded the secret baskets on Food Network's "Chopped."

Hurst, chef of Cattle Shed Wine and Steak Bar, won the "Tiny But Mighty" episode of the timed food competition show. It premiered Oct. 25.

"This has been extraordinary," she said after learning she was the first-place winner and recipient of $10,000.

In her opening intro, Hurst said she wanted to win for her parents and display to them that she can succeed as a chef.

"I want to show them that this is paying off for me, and I'm talented at it," Hurst said.

The specialized episode focused on small plates with big flavor. Hurst said during the show that "packing a punch in a very small package" was her expertise.

The Atlanta native took on three opponents in three rounds of solving the riddle of the show's mystery ingredients.

The other contestants were notable executive chefs Jose Pena of Iberian Pig in Atlanta, Jonathan Shuler of Dilworth Tasting Room in Charlotte and Alex Gregoire of MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas.

The judges were Amanda Freitag, Marc Murphy and Justin Sutherland.

In the first round, she had to make an appetizer with littleneck clams, pineapple tomatillos, cocktail franks and a mini pancake stack.

Her dish was littleneck clams with pancetta, cocktail franks and a roasted tomatillo cream sauce. She added shallots, lemon and chipotle peppers to the meal.

Sutherland said he loved the dish though he thought the franks were lost in the other ingredients. Freitag said she loved the tomatillo sauce.

In the second round, she created an entree with mini fried pickles, cornish hens, baby eggplant and tiny ketchup bottles.

She chose to prepare a green curry and barbecue-rubbed cornish hen with feta and pickle baba ghanoush. She used cashews, bourbon and paprika.

She expressed nervousness about the cook on her hen, which was slightly undercooked. However, the judges complimented Hurst on her baba ghanoush.

Hurst found herself nervous once more during the dessert round. She had to utilize burger cookies, baby zucchini, tiny spiked horchatas and chokeberries.

She made a chokeberry and chocolate turnover with sugar-dusted zucchini coins. She added dark chocolate, molasses and club soda to the meal.

She was on edge about how her puff pastry would turn out due to the short amount of time.

The judges said her dessert plate was too much for a tiny meal, and the pastry was indeed not thoroughly cooked.

But, ultimately, Hurst defeated all of her opponents as she knocked them out of the rounds one by one.

“This was an exciting opportunity to compete against some amazing chefs, represent Cattle Shed and give Food Network viewers a glimpse of some of the interesting dishes that inspire me,” Hurst said in a news release.

Hurst has worked at several Atlanta restaurants including Buckhead Life Restaurant Group’s Atlanta Fish Market and Kyma. In addition to her "Chopped" win, she has been featured on Atlanta Eats and in "Food & Wine," according to the release.