By Kathy L. Collins
On Sunday, September 22, you can see Riverview resident, Rene Marquis, compete in a new Food Network Show, Cutthroat Kitchen. The show airs at 10 p.m.
Marquis is a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army and a classically-trained chef. Marquis attended the prestigious CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Hyde Park, NY. Following graduation, Marquis worked at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs and then was recruited to be a personal chef in the U.S. Army. That was 20 years ago.
Marquis has long wanted to be a competitor on a television cooking show. Marquis said, “I wanted to be on show like this to show America that the U.S. military has some of the best cooks (chefs) in the world. All branches of the services now have executive chefs.” Marquis has been an Executive Chef for thousands of troops and countless officers.
Cutthroat Kitchen is hosted by Alton Brown. The show asks “Just how far is a chef willing to go to win a cooking competition?” Cutthroat Kitchen hands $25,000 to each of four chefs. They then have the opportunity to spend the money on helping themselves or sabotaging their opponents. In the show, ingredients are stolen, time is lost when chefs compete to cook delicious dishes while also having to out-plot their competitors.
Marquis said, “Cutthroat Kitchen is like Chopped on steroids. You can only go to the pantry one time, and some of the challenges are mind boggling.” The episode that Marquis will appear on is titled, “Tiny Tools, Big Problems.”
Marquis is no stranger to competition. He has competed several times in both the Culinary World Cup where he placed second two times, and in the Culinary Olympics where he has won 17 gold and 16 silver medals. Marquis is a member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the premiere professional organization for chefs in North America. He has also offered demonstration dinners and events locally at Rolling Pin Kitchen Emporium.
Marquis said, “The opportunity to represent the military cooks/chefs on a platform such as Cutthroat Kitchen was a great experience. No other active-duty chef has appeared on a cooking show.”
For more on Cutthroat Kitchen, please visit www.foodnetwork.com.
