Buff State graduate Lazarus Lynch has won $50,000 for 4-H after winning Chopped Star Power on the Food Network. The competition puts four chefs against each other trying to make a complete dish while incorporating unusual combinations of ingredients that come from their mystery basket. In normal episode the winning contestant receives $10,000 but in this series these "stars" were competing for $50,000 that would go to the charity of their choice.

The "Star Power" series started with sixteen chefs that would compete over four episodes with the winner from each moving to the finale. The stars were separated into four categories including web, sports, comedy and Hollywood. Lazarus Lynch, who hosts the web series cooking show "Son of a Southern Chef"  competed and won the Web Series episode.  In the finale he was up against Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Jonathan Sadowski and Paige VanZant. He managed to top these three chefs and impress the judges with his dishes.

Here were the mystery basket ingredients for each round:

Appetizer: lobster tails, leaf lettuce iceberg, star fruit, cinnamon toaster pastries
Entree: yucca chips, bitter melon, brandy, swineapple
Dessert: macarons, soursop, drinkable yogurt, pistachios

Lazarus was able to navigate the baskets to successfully transform and elevate the mystery ingredients into a successful dish to wow the judges into awarding him $50,000 for 4-H.

In an interview with Food Network, Lynch said

"I remember first applying to Chopped when I was in high school and didn’t get called back. I applied again and I didn’t get called back. Finally, I got called back to come, and not only did I win once, but I won the grand championship. That’s huge."

Look for Lynch on Food Network in the future and for his cookbook which he is currently working on.

To learn more about 4-H and how to get involved visit 4-h.org.

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