Tu Le, owner of Jack's Burger Shack with locations in St. Albert and Edmonton, has advanced through the first two rounds of the Big Burger Battle, a new Canadian cooking competition series.
The show premiered on April 21 and has two episodes available to stream on the Flavour Network and Stack TV. Le was one of seven competitors, and after this week's episode, only five chefs remain.
They are competing for $25,000 and ultimate bragging rights.
Le made it through the last two rounds but found himself close to the chopping block after the first round. He said it felt surreal when he first walked into the kitchen.
"Surreal. It felt surreal," Le said. "No matter how much you want to try to prep for it, you're never really ready for it."
He explained that he was hesitant about joining the show at first.
"They reached out to me, and I was kind of on the fence," said Le. "I spoke to some people, I filled out a little form, had a FaceTime with them and then we decided to move forward with it [the show]."
Le added that a big part of being on the show wasn't just to cook but to represent the community.
"We're totally underrepresented, especially in St. Albert and Edmonton," he said. "Everyone else on the show is from out east, whether it's New York or Montreal or a much bigger city. I wanted to show that our little corner of Alberta can cook too."
So far, the competition has had its ups and downs for Le, especially after almost being sent home after the first round.
"I started off on a high and kind of ended on a bit of a low," he said. "I was trying to keep an even keel in my head, just try to keep my emotions in check. Try not to hit too high or too low."
As the competition continues, Le plans to let his years of experience in the kitchen guide him.
"I cook for a living, I cook every day, and I'm trying to tap into that muscle memory and not overthink it."
