‘Yes Chef!’ Winner Speaks Out After Dramatic Finale & Reveals What’s Next

The finale of NBC’s Yes Chef! on June 30 came down to Emily Brubaker, Lee Frank and Zain Ismail. The three bonded over the last few weeks, but those warm and fuzzy feelings only go so far when $250,000 was on the line.  For the last challenge “Cook from the Heart,” Martha Stewart and José Andrés challenged the Top 3 to prepare a three-course menu that represented who they were as a chef for 25 guests. They had three hours to prep and 90 minutes the day before service began.

Those who nominated the finalists in the first place were brought in as their respective sous chefs. Ismail had executive Chef Cole Lawson. Sous-chef Jonathan Vazquez lent a hand to Frank while Brubaker’s husband Jake used his own chef skills to help his wife. This was an opportunity for each cheftestant to show their growth over the last 10 weeks. Stewart and Andrés also gave the trio another boost by allowing one of the eliminated participants each to get them to the finish line. Brubaker was assisted by Jake Lawler, Frank had Ronny Miranda and Ismail had Chris Morales. Adding to the pressure was the fact they’d also be cooking for VIPs  Andrew Zimmern, Marcus Samuelsson and Gail Simmons fresh off the Top Chef Season 22 finale. 

After some difficult decision-making, it was Brubaker who won over the judges. They raved about the mom of two’s scallop crudo and American wagyu, particularly the potato pave with tarragon demi. Andrés loved her foie gras. The Omni La Costa Resort & Spa executive chef’s patience, leadership and self-confidence was tested including an initial issue with the bread pudding. However, she overcame all the obstacles to be named the first Yes, Chef! Champion.

We caught up with Brubaker to reflect on her experience and talk about what’s next. 

YES, CHEF — “And The Winner Is…” Episode 110 — Pictured: Emily Brubaker — (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

There can be only one first. What does it mean to you to have won Yes, Chef!? 

Emily Brubaker: It’s just crazy. The whole thing. It didn’t really hit me until last night that it was the first win. It’s an incredible honor. I definitely worked really hard to get where I am today. It was great to watch it all unravel like that. 

You mentioned in the show what winning would do for you and your family as you made a big move. Now that you have this money, how does life change? 

It’s life-changing in the fact that we definitely put ourselves in debt. We put ourselves in an uncomfortable situation. We were living a very good quality of life in Las Vegas. Coming to California, just the expenses. It’s a brutal shock when you do that move. This will level us out and put us back on pace to where we were before we left. My family is so happy to be here in San Diego that we wouldn’t change this for the world. This will put us in the right direction. 

I feel like this was culinary therapy for you all. There is growth as a chef, but also as a person. What do you feel you’ve taken from this experience? 

It’s a lot of growth. I’ve been doing this for so long and feel like you’ve had as much growth as you can have. But when you’re sitting in a room with all these individuals and you know your shortcomings and downfalls. Then being told you’re here to work on it and focus on it and knowing the only thing you have is yourself and your abilities. You recognize your own issues and try to make it better. That was really huge for me because I’ve never really sat with my own problems. You tell yourself, “Nobody is going to fix this for you. You have to do it yourself.” 

I think the ultimate test was having to work with your husband in the finale, who knows you so well. You’re in the kitchen. There is a lot on the line. There is pressure I’m sure you and him felt. I know there was a hiccup with the bread pudding. How do you look back on how you weathered all this? 

My husband is an amazing chef. We have done everything and done all our growth together. I admire his abilities. He is the calmer of the two of us. I definitely am almost jealous of that. With the bread pudding, we both knew it. We know better. We talked about it while watching last night. We know better. I always trust his opinion, but this was really hard because this was my menu. I’m showing off myself. So, it was a little strange to see us bickering with each other on national TV. They managed to find every single one of those quirks. He is so proud. To know we did this together, it’s the best experience. We worked really together, so it was awesome to have him there. 

YES, CHEF — “And The Winner Is…” Episode 110 — Pictured: (l-r) Emily Brubaker, Lee Frank, Zain Ismail — (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

There was such a bond with the final group. How was it competing in the finale along with Lee and Zain? 

It meant the world. Chef Lee and I really bonded. We joked that we were long lost brother and sister. We literally were finishing each other’s sentences weeks into the competition. He and I knew we wanted to be side-by-side. Then between Chef Jake and Chef Zain. They are both incredible. They are both young, rising stars. Either one of them is great competition. The fact I had Chef Jake as one of my sous-chefs was a huge win for me. Chef Zain, I just love watching her process too. She really did grow on the show. She really had been a lone wolf. Seeing her rely on other people and ask opinions, it’s one of those warm feelings. I’m a mom, so having taken her under my wing a little bit was great. 

For the finale challenge, it seemed you won a lot of them over with your potato pave and José with the foie gras. What do you think put you over the top? 

I think Gail Simmons said it best. On paper it sounded awful, but as soon as she ate it she felt the [foie gras] was delectable. That was where I was going. I wanted to put something that wasn’t sweet. I love sweets, but there has to be balance for me. I do think the dessert solidified it for me. I am a crunchy queen. They did call me the queen of chips. The pave I’ve done before and proud of it. I’m a little disappointed with the crudo. I wish there was more of a wow. Just knowing those dishes did speak to my career path and what I’ve done and to be able to showcase that the way we did, it’s still unreal. 

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What was it like learning under Martha and José? 

José is a passionate and tender person. He listened and really got to know all of us. I told him and Martha about my stubbornness, and both told me that sometimes you have to be stubborn. You have to stand your ground sometimes to be a good leader, a good chef, to learn and to grow. That struck with me because I’ve always heard how my stubbornness was such a weakness I have. It was nice you can use it in levels.

The other thing that really struck me is in episode 9 during the judging where Martha talked about how good I was to the other competitors and what a good person I was. It hit me really hard and to my heart because I try as a leader in , now a hotel, or any restaurant I’ve been in to nurture the growth of the people around me. I want them to be better than I ever could be because that’s how we show success. It’s not about me. It’s about us and our team. Every restaurant, it’s your team. I was constantly guiding and helping in any way I could, as well as staying true to myself. Not getting into the drama. Staying true to who I was, that will stick with me forever. 

What’s next for you? 

For me, Omni La Costa, I wanted to be home. This is why they say it’s my dream job. I’m home. This is my dream job. I love the company I work for and want to see us an entire group continue to grow and succeed. I’m tied true to my company. However, on the other side, with the show I’d love to be an mentor, judge or even on a show where I can help guide people the same way I’ve been able to do it on my own personal level. I want to do it on a bigger level. If you want to really look at yourself through a microscope and become a better chef, then this is for you.  It’s no longer being angry and slamming your fist down. This experience is amazing.