Hillsborough resident falls short in TV try for $50,000
By Peter Sclafani, Staff Writer
When the smoke cleared, Hillsborough resident Doug Keiles saw his best dish fall on the culinary chopping block on national television.
The New Jersey native had to brave the cold, wind and sand on the Tucson, Arizona, stage as he battled to make it through each round of the competition on Sunday’s “Chopped: Grill Masters” on the Food Network.
He held his own throughout the competition against Chef Robyn Lindars, 33, founder of the food blog, “Grill Grrrl;” Ernest Servantes, 33, executive chef of Sodexo at Texas Lutheran University; and Timothy Grandinetti, 45, executive chef and partner at the Spring House Restaurant, Kitchen & Bar in North Carolina.
At the end of the day, Mr. Keiles’ chances at $50,000 went up in flames after a few mistakes throughout the competition allowed Mr. Servantes to squeak by and claim victory.
The show challenges chefs to serve the most imagiýPage=001 Column=001 OK,0000.00þ
native, appetizing dish from ingredients they don’t see until the competition begins.
In the first round, the contestants found oysters and creamed spinach in their appetizer baskets.
Mr. Keiles said he had never touched oysters before, but managed to impress the judges with his take on Oysters Rockefeller.
In the second round, Mr. Keiles used his expertise in blending ingredients to create a mouth-watering rub and glaze for rabbit leg and tenderloin, which advanced him to the last round.
The baskets contained marshmallow, zucchini and charcoal-chip biscuits. It led Mr. Keiles to make zucchini-filled s’mores, but he struggled to use the charcoal biscuits in a caramel brittle, which, ultimately, led to his defeat by Mr. Servantes.
Mr. Keiles had no hard feelings as he left the show, knowing he gave it his all on the “Chopped” stage.
“I didn’t embarrass myself,” he said. “If there is ever a grilling redemption, I would be very interested in doing it again.”

