Local Chef Competes on TV Show

Will he get “Chopped?”

To find out if Murrieta resident Jason Rivas—chef de cuisine at South Coast Winery Resort & Spa in Temecula Wine Country—will outlast three other chefs for a $10,000 prize, tune in to Food Network’s “Chopped” at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26.

For those not familiar with the show, four contestants are given a basket filled with obscure ingredients. Within a time limit, they must create a dish using the ingredients. One by one, the chefs get “chopped” from competition if their dish does not impress a panel of culinary judges.

“It is an extreme challenge, because there is no time out, there is no pause,” Rivas said. “It is ‘open up that basket and go!’ What you see on TV is what it is. They take extreme lengths to ensure you have no idea what you are getting until you get it.”

One of the mystery ingredients he got while on the show was a jawbreaker, he said.

“I just kind of looked at it and went from there,” Rivas said. “That was a lot of fun.”

He can’t divulge whether he wins the prize money, but said if he did, he and his wife, Jakota, had talked about setting it aside for some home improvements. The 34-year-old and his wife have four young children between the ages of 1 and 9.

Rivas, who has worked at South Coast for five years now, said being selected for the show was a challenge in itself—one that he is proud of and that he hopes will serve as an example for his children. He’d been trying to get on the show for five years, he said.

“It boosted my confidence and my capability,” Rivas said. “It also gave me some internal validation of what I am able to accomplish; to prove that ‘can’t’ is an action that does not exist.”

That tenacity is something that he learned about himself as a teenager when he took on a part-time job washing dishes at a steakhouse.

“I wanted to be in the Marines when I was younger,” Rivas said. “My aspirations of being of chef started from just being in that kitchen and cooking food that tasted good, so it worked out.”

By the time he was 17, he was promoted to work behind the stove.

Rivas, who grew up in Fontana before graduating from Rancho Cucamonga High School, went on to attend Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona.

He said he enjoys his current position at South Coast because it allows him to use his creativity.

“I like being able to change things up and integrate the wine with the seasons; we try to use as many wines as we can,” Rivas said. “And the menu is rotated around, so there is a lot of creativity and a lot of passion among the people who work here.”

They are glad to have him, according to Crystal Magon, director of sales and marketing for South Coast Winery & Spa.

“Jason has a passion that is unmatched by anyone,” Magon said. “He has that competitive spirit that instantly makes him a winner. We are very pleased about him going on the show and to have him as an employee.”