Havre de Grace Chef Appears on 'Chopped'

Friends, family and customers alike are celebrating local chef Kristina Sciarra, who made it just one round shy of winning the latest episode of the cooking competition show "Chopped."

The popular Food Network show challenges a group of chefs to see who can best use a basket of ingredients to cook a meal in a timed competition. They must use everything they are given.

Sciarra, who is the executive chef at the Havre de Grace restaurant Laurrapin Grille, made it all the way to the dessert round, falling just short of winning the $10,000 prize.

Sciarra told The Baltimore Sun that regardless of the outcome, she is proud of her performance on the show.

The three courses Sciarra made for the episode, entitled "Smorgastarta Your Engines," were an appetizer that included squid rings, a swordfish entree with vinaigrette, and what she felt was her best dish, her dessert--a "Saturn beach and preserved eggplant napoleon with fresh whipped cream."

Sciarra told The Aegis she filmed the episode over a period of four hours in New York a few months ago.

Sciarra's episode aired on Thursday, when friends, family and supporters gathered at Laurrapin Grille to watch the episode with her and cheer her on. The night's menu featured items all made with the same ingredients she was challenged to use on the show.