Wicksburg chef to feature southern cooking on Food Network’s ‘OutChef’d’

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A dish from the Wiregrass chef known on social media as southrngritskitchen. (Chelsea Gieselmann)

Chelsea Gieselmann thought she was just going up to the Food Network studios to audition for a brand new show. But she was not prepared for the surprise in store.

Once she hit the floor, Gieselmann was told there was no audition but she was already chosen to compete against one of Food Network’s celebrity chefs.

Keep reading to find out all we know about her episode of “OutChef’d” + where you can keep up with her cooking across social media.

OutChef’d

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Chelsea at the Food Network taping with her best friend and her mom. (Chelsea Gieselmann)

The show pits chefs from around the country against some of the culinary greats you see every day on television. Chelsea got her chance against Alex Guarnaschelli in an episode called “Seafood Smackdown.”

Here’s everything you need to know:

  • What: OutChef’d Season 3, Episode 12
  • When: Thursday, June 6, 8:30PM
  • Watch: Food Network

Rock + Roll Sushi in Dothan will be hosting a watch party when the episode airs June 6. Gieselmann said she does different things with her cooking throughout the Wiregrass and it’s great to represent the region on a national stage.

“I am so focused on spotlighting other people that it’s weird to have the spotlight on me. I love being able to represent our area. We’re forgotten about most of the time. Whenever you see shows and stuff, you see all of these big areas but I’m coming from an area that has a Dollar General and a K-12 school… It’s really cool to be able to represent the Wiregrass area in general because I’ve been doing that for so long, but now it’s on a bigger platform.”

~ Chelsea Gieselmann

While Gieselmann could not tell us much about what happens on the show, she admitted she was very surprised to learn her “audition” was actually a chance to compete against a world class chef.

“I’m just like… is this a prank? You have some backwoods Wicksburg girl come in here and go against someone who is like Food Network royalty. She’s on Iron Chef. She is one of the most competitive chefs I’ve ever known.”

~ Chelsea Gieselmann

She said she could not say exactly what she made but she let us know to expect a dish that honed in on her southern roots.

Southrngritskitchen

There’s a good chance you may already know Gieselmann for her cooking. Last year, she made the top 45 in the 13th season of MasterChef, a season that started with 50,000 people auditioning.

She has also made a name for herself in the region through different publications and her own social media pages. You can follow her cooking on Instagram or Facebook.

Will you be watching Chelsea compete on the Food Network? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on InstagramFacebook or LinkedIn!

Caleb Turrentine
Caleb Turrentine
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