How old is Jada Vidal from Beachside Brawl? Tampa native started baking pastries at the age of 12

Food Network turns up the heat this summer by bringing its new series Beachside Brawl featuring a classic East Coast versus West Coast battle. Jada Vidal, 20, will be competing on the former team along with fellow contestants Jared Brown, Edward Lordman, and Ben Porter, under the mentorship and guidance of renowned East Coast chef Tiffani Faison.

The reality series will feature the battle on June 19, 2022, at 10.00 pm ET on the television network. Along with Tiffani Faison, Brooke Williamson from the West Coast will be mentoring four members from each team throughout the competition in an effort to make theirs the best food coast. The winning team will be crowned Best of the Beach and win a dream beach getaway worth up to $25,000.

The official synopsis of the show reads:

"From fresh West Coast fish tacos to buttery East Coast lobster rolls, coast to coast beach dishes are undeniably delicious. Antonia Lofaso challenges the foremost cooks from both coasts in the ultimate battle to determine which coast does summer food best on Beachside Brawl on Food Network and discovery+.

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Beachside Brawl contestant Jada Vidal previously competed on Guy's Grocery Games

Tampa native Jada Vidal started baking at the age of 12 and fell in love with the culinary arts while still in elementary school. A graduate of Riverview High School, she sold French pastries at her middle school before shifting her culinary gear and switching to full-time cooking.

In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, the contestant revealed that she didn't have the patience that was required for baking, explaining the shift.

Jada confessed that she began watching a lot of cooking shows and was inspired by some of the genre’s biggest names including Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, and Anthony Bourdain. Although she came to idolize these chefs, she found it difficult to relate to their culinary styles.

The Beachside Brawl contestant worked several jobs while in high school, including catering events and dining gigs, before landing a job as a line cook at the Epicurean Hotel in Tampa at just 17 years of age, becoming the youngest cook in the kitchen.

A year later, she began working for a nearby restaurant named Haven, which is where she received a call from the casting director of Guy's Grocery Games, asking if she'd be interested in competing. Jada battled three other contestants on the show and impressed the judges with her dishes to eventually win the title as well as the grand prize of $20K, which helped to launch her cooking career further.

After the show aired in September last year, she left her restaurant gig to launch her own pop-up series around Tampa, showcasing her signature style of elevated Southern American cooking. She said:

“It came about with just the longing to cook my own food and kind of do something on my own. I know it’s not going to last forever — I’m still going through the motions of figuring it out.”

The pop-up features multicourse tasting menus and wine pairings that sell out quickly, a testament to how successful Jada's efforts have been. She keeps the event at around 40 people, so she can manage the scale and produce great dishes.

Her menu draws a lot of inspiration from Southern and African American culinary traditions, which, she revealed, stems from her mother's side of the family. Her grandmother's Cuban heritage also inspired her cooking.

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The host of Beachside Brawl, Antonia Lofaso, brings a lot of culinary experience as well as learnings from both the East and West Coasts. Food Network is known to bring interesting culinary shows to American television, and the show would certainly try to live up to the network's name.

Contestants from the West Coast include Kaleena Bliss, Brian Madayag, Joshua Mouzakes, and Jessica Roy, under the leadership of Top Chef alumni Brooke Williamson.