Local Yakima Chef Earns Top Honors In World Food Championships
Shawn Niles aka "Fat Pastor" is crushing the game. This redheaded gem of the Yakima Valley competed for a spot on Gordon Ramesys Master Chef a few years back and hasn't stopped creating amazing dishes. He might not have made it past the qualifications but I say it's a double win because the person who beat him, went on to win the entire thing AND they are still friends that cook together sometimes!
Shawn owns The Lab in Yakima an incredibly delicious spot to grab unique menu items or you can head out to one of his other spots, run by one of his chef's Ill Grasso.
On top of all this he runs FREE classes for the kids through Urban Kitchen, the children basically learn every part of running a restaurant from food costs, to cooking, serving, front and back of the house and they wrap it all up with a pop-up for the public to enjoy and the kids receive their own set of knives!
He's entered a number of times in The World Food Competition and he's going back for another chance after just receiving his entry with a superb dish you can grab today! According to the press release via World Food Championships
Local chef and entrepreneur Shawn Niles of Yakima, Washington, punched a “golden ticket” and was crowned a Grand Champion of the World Food Championships’ (WFC) online qualifier –– the Taste of America Challenge (TOA). With a 3rd place TOA victory, Niles is now registered to compete in WFC’s Sandwich Category for a chance to win industry accolades and major cash.
His next step? To join more than 1,500 chefs that will be competing Nov. 5-9 in Dallas, Texas, in WFC’s epic culinary battle that has major bragging rights and a $350,000 prize-purse –– the biggest in Food Sport history.
Let's cheer him on and grab some delicious bite to eat, you won't regret it!
Food Lover Shawn Niles