Garrett Schlichte \u201915 MA,\u00a0an upbeat copywriter from San Francisco, has never backed down from a new adventure. So when he saw a casting call on Instagram for a new television cooking competition, he thought \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
He was not only cast in \u201cAmerica\u2019s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation,\u201d but made it to the finale, beating competitors with such dishes as lemon ricotta dumplings and pavlova with key lime lemon curd.<\/p>\n
Each episode challenged the home cooks to make and present meals for the chance to win $100,000 and become the next on-air chef on the PBS series \u201cAmerica\u2019s Test Kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since this was the first time \u201cAmerican\u2019s Test Kitchen\u201d had produced a cooking show, the cast had no idea what to expect. They weren\u2019t sure whether it would be a cutthroat competition like \u201cTop Chef\u201d or a more wholesome, collaborative show like \u201cThe Great British Baking Show.\u201d It ended up being more wholesome and educational.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of the challenges were like, \u2018Here\u2019s gummy worms and tree bark. Now make a meal out of it.\u2019 There were never really any big we\u2019re-trying-to-make-you-look-ridiculous moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the finale, Schlichte and two other finalists prepared two dishes, produced a photo shoot of the food, then demonstrated how they made one of the dishes on camera. Schlichte \u2014 spoiler alert \u2014 ultimately lost to Antoinette Johnson, but loved the experience.<\/p>\n