Having emerged victorious when she appeared on the Food Network’s Chopped, chef Laura Henry-Zoubir, of both Church and The Regal Beagle, is getting ready to head back to New York for a repeat performance. She’s currently prepping for Chopped Champions, the first round of which begins filming in May. How’s she preparing? She’s invited a few folks to bring their own mystery boxes to the restaurant so that she could practice turning whatever motley assortment of ingredients they put together into an app, entrée or dessert (in thirty minutes, mind you). BostonChefs.com stopped by last night armed with a can of chickpeas, baby bok choy, linguica and a Granny Smith apple. As it turns out, it might not have been the most challenging of mystery boxes since it only took her twenty minutes to whip up a tasty chickpea pancake topped with linguica and an apple-bok choy slaw. Undoubtedly, the producers at the Food Network will come up with something tougher – they’re trying to stump chefs who’ve already proven they’re quick-thinking, creative and talented. Whatever they pick, Henry-Zoubir will be well-prepared – she’s practicing like crazy (the winner gets $50,000, after all) and she’s done it once before. Check back for more information as the airing of Chopped Champions approaches – in the meantime, tune in to see which other Boston-based chefs (like Jamie Bissonnette and Steven Brand) make the cut.
