Watch this Phoenix chef compete on Food Network’s ‘Chopped’

Phoenix chef Derek Christensen will compete for the second time on a Food Network competition cooking show, trying his hand at creating dishes from desert mystery basket ingredients on "Chopped." Food Network

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A local James Beard Award-nominated chef is making his return to the Food Network, aiming to go two-for-two in his appearances on the network's cooking competitions.

Chef Derek Christensen competed in and won “Cutthroat Kitchen” in 2015. He will appear on the mystery-ingredient-driven show “Chopped” on Tuesday. The episode will air at 8 p.m.

A former chef at the lauded Sonoran restaurant Bacanora and its sibling Huarachis Taqueria, Christensen is currently cooking a Scandinavian-inspired menu for his pop-up at Sauvage Wine Bar and Shop.

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The James Beard Award-nominated chef has worked with Bacanora, Huarachis, Wren House and Sauvage.

Brookklyn Huberty

In August 2023, the chef partnered with the team at Wren House Brewing Co. to curate the food menu for its new European beer hall in Ahwatukee, Wren Südhalle.

On Tuesday night, the team at Wren House Brewing Co., will be cheering on their collaborator and friend with a watch party at Phoenix brewhouse at 7 p.m. Local pop-up Mas Amable will be on hand serving its wood-fired fare.

The episode is titled "Southwestern Strength," and Christensen will be among four chefs from the region tasked with cooking dishes composed from a mystery basket of ingredients from the desert. Each dish will be judged by Kelsey Barnard Clark, Eddie Jackson and Chris Santos.

In an Instagram post announcing his participation, Christensen shared that while progress, dedication and love can be all one needs to stoke the “little fire inside the soul that lends itself to some unwavering passion for craft,” he counters that “we have games to play, spotlights to stand in and status to bargain for – they don’t keep the fire lit, maybe even extinguish it – but they are fun to play every now and again.”

Phoenix will be watching as the chef and artist plays his latest game.

Wren House Brewing Co.

2125 N. 24th St.