Somerset County Chef, Pitmaster Competes On Food Network's 'BBQ Brawl' With Bobby Flay

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough local and barbeque pitmaster, Alexandra Donnadio, is turning up the heat again as she competes on another cooking television show.

Donnadio is competing this time on season 6 of Food Network's TV show BBQ Brawl: Flay V. Chauhan V. Lofaso, which premiered on June 1.

The 10-episode series features Bobby Flay, Maneet Chauhan and Antonia Lofaso, who mentor teams of the country’s most respected barbecue pitmasters as they go head-to-head in a series of expert grilling challenges.

Donnadio along with the other Brawlers will battle it out to impress returning judges Carson Kressley, Rodney Scott and Brooke Williamson, who determine which pitmaster will be crowned the "Master of 'Cue" and have their BBQ skills featured on Food Network social platforms.

"This season has something for everyone, whether you are a professional grill master, a weekend warrior or simply love the smokey char of barbecue done right," said Flay. "Summertime heralds outdoor cooking, and BBQ Brawl celebrates all that entails with a healthy dose of competition to keep it exciting."

Brawlers this season include Tyler Anderson, Kyle Bryner, Jason Dady, Alexandra Donnadio, Greg Gatlin, Brad Leighninger, Thyron Mathews, Rosalie Bradford Pareja, Orchid Paulmeier, Tim Van Doren, Arturo Ramon and Aarthi Sampath.

Donnadio previously competed on the FOX television series "Next Level Chef" in 2024.

Patch interviewd Donnadio at the time to learn about her cooking background: Read More - Police Detective, Hillsborough Local Competes On FOX’s Next Level Chef

Donnadio grew up in Hillsborough with four younger brothers.

"My mom always cooked but it wasn't until recently that I took it more seriously," said Donnadio to Patch.

During the day, Donnadio serves as a Detective with the Essex County Sheriff's Department and at night finds that cooking is therapeutic.

"It is definitely a nice stress relief," said Donnadio. "Some people go to the gym to get their minds off of work and I will make homemade pasta."

It began as a hobby outside of work where she would cook for friends. Her passion and niche was the "primal cooking of meat over open fire."

And then with the encouragement of her boyfriend, she began posting on social media.

"Then I started getting all these opportunities such as being invited to cook a whole cow in Texas over an open fire," said Donnadio. "I realized then I was good at it, I was good at controlling open fire and cooking animals over an open flame."

She kept getting invited back to do more BBQ competitions before, eventually, a casting director for "Next Level Chef" reached out to her to be on the show.

BBQ Brawl: Flay v. Chauhan v. Lofaso episodes air on Food Network on Sundays at 9 p.m. and will be available to stream on Max the next day.

For more information on Donnadio's business Iron and Oak Catering, visit ironandoakcatering.com or Donnadio and her career at instagram.com/cookingwithzandge_s.

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