'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Kaleena Bliss, who is the Executive Chef of Thompson Seattle and “oversees all culinary operations at the property," is all set to appear on Beachside Brawl.
Winner of Chopped: Casino Royale season 51, Chef Kaleena Bliss will showcase her knife skills once again on Beachside Brawl, which airs on June 19, 2022, on Food Network at 10 PM ET. She will cook alongside the other three chefs for the West Coast team on the show.
All about Beachside Brawl’s Kaleena Bliss
Pacific Northwest native Kaleena Bliss has a passion for “locally foraged ingredients including wild mushrooms and seafood.” Her Instagram profile is filled with her delicious creations.
The “Eater. Drinker. Adventurer” faced a lot of suffering due to her “success in the kitchen.” Like every chef, she too has endured “various forms of physical and mental pain” at work. Writing about her tough life as a chef in Starchefs, she mentioned:
“Like so many others, I’ve missed countless holidays and disappointed family members without even a thought. I’ve left work to get stitches to then come right back and work dinner service. I powered through third degree burns and the passing of both of my parents.”
All of this adversity helped her win the Casino Royale cooking tournament on Food Network’s Chopped. She won $40,000 in the season finale that aired on February 1. Speaking about her win to The Seattle Times, she said:
“No regrets in anything I’ve ever done in my career to get me to this point, because crazy, stressful situations are what gave me the ability to be a good critical thinker.”
Kaleena Bliss's culinary journey
Kaleena Bliss has more than 16 years of experience in the culinary industry. She graduated from The Culinary Institute of America with a Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts Management in 2009.
She started her career as a full-time Kitchen Supervisor for a year at Hilton in the United States before working as a sous chef at Four Swallows on Bainbridge Island.
After two years of gaining expertise, she started working as a Chef De Cuisine for almost three years at Mistral Kitchen in the South Lake Union neighborhood.
After being a pro at her work, Bliss moved up the hierarchy and worked as Executive Sous Chef at The Edgewater Hotel for more than three years. She then worked part-time as Area Executive Chef at Motif Seattle. There, she had “Complexed role overseeing the culinary department simultaneous with Thompson Seattle,” as per her LinkedIn profile.
In November 2019, Bliss was appointed as Executive Chef at Thompson Seattle.
About Food Network’s Beachside Brawl
Kaleena Bliss is one of the 4 chefs of the West Coast team. She will work alongside Brian Madayag, Joshua Mouzakes, and Jessica Roy under the guidance of renowned chef Brooke Williamson. The team will go head-to-head with the East Coast team in Beachside Brawl to prove that their coastal food is the best.
New guest judges including Tim Hollingsworth, Jeremy McBryde, Ben Robinson, Stephanie Boswell, Rashida Holmes, Noah Cappe, and Sabin Lomac will join host Antonia Lofaso in every episode in taste testing and picking up the winner of the episode.
At the end of the cooking competition, the remaining chef will receive the title of Best of the Beach and a beach getaway worth $25,000.
