Chef Cooks Up Viewing Party at West End Restaurant

Cara Thompson, a former executive chef at Bayou Restaurant in Bellmore, will compete on a Food Network reality show, and she’ll hold a viewing party at the Bahia Social Club, a Brazilian restaurant that opened in the West End last summer, when it airs Thursday.

Thompson competes against Dan Marquis to be the next executive chef of a new restaurant located in prime Chicago real estate in Thursday's episode of "Chef Hunters.”

“My friend Jonathan Retzkin has done events for Bahia owner Michael Christopher Orza,” Thompson said about her choice restaurant. “Mr. Orza was excited to have my viewing party.”

Thursday will mark her second Food Network appearance. The Alabama native, who moved to Wantagh six years ago, has previously appeared on the show "Chopped" and became a finalist.

Thompson left her role as executive chef at Bayou in July. She began working at the Bellmore Cajun-style restaurant soon after graduating from the Florida Culinary Institute in 2005.

"I figured it was time for me to really push myself," said Thompson, who applied to be on "Chef Hunters" in September and filmed for the show a month later. "I wanted to really try and spread my wings."

Thompson's appearance on Food Network's "Chef Hunters" is scheduled to air on at 10 p.m. Thursday. For information on "Chef Hunters, click on the show's website.