On the show, competitors are tasked with creating a dish with a secret ingredient for a chance to go head-to-head with chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento chef is getting national attention after appearing on the Food Network show “Beat Bobby Flay.”
“Just to even meet Bobby Flay and just go on the show was an honor, but to compete and experience what it was like was surreal. It was intense to say the least, but totally surreal,” said Dane Blom, Executive Chef of Grange Restaurant and Bar.
On the show, competitors are tasked with creating a dish with a secret ingredient for a chance to go head-to-head with chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay.
“The secret ingredient is really secret and they surprise you and you’re having to pivot last minute,” Blom said. “You’re really just trying to figure out what you’re making right then and there.”
While his time on the show ended after the first round, Blom showcased his talents on a stage few get to compete on.
“The chefs that were judging me are some of the best in the country and for them to say that I’m creative and say that I was thinking out of the box was high praise,” he said.
Blom’s culinary journey started at a young age. The Sacramento native fell in love with cooking in high school. He went on to attend culinary school in New York and work for a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Napa Valley before coming back to Sacramento.
Now, he’s worked at Grange for nearly a decade.
“Grange has really opened up the doors for me and it’s really just been a fantastic journey,” he said.
The farm-to-fork restaurant is located in The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento.
“We don’t have boundaries in terms of the type of cuisine we’re cooking, we’re not just Italian, we’re not just French. We’re cooking whatever our heart feels like cooking and that’s what makes us special,” Blom said.
Blom tells ABC10 what he hopes guests experience when they try his culinary creations.
“I want them to laugh and have a good time and that’s what food’s about. Just enjoying it and being able to relax, take their mind off of whatever else is happening outside of this,” he said.
Grange just launched a new spring menu, which includes salmon with English pea risotto, salsa verde and Meyer lemon crème fraiche. You can find it on their lunch menu.
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