Local Chef on FOX Cooking Series

The 16th season of MasterChef premiered on FOX television on April 15, and one of the show’s competitors this season is Camilo Chavez of Bastrop.

The series debuted in 2010 and is now in its 16th season. This season of MasterChef, dubbed “Global Gauntlet,” features a World Cup theme with contestants placed into four regional teams – the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Africa. They compete in a team-based culinary battle. All of the contestants are not professionals but amateur chefs. They contend to become culinary masters and earn the title MasterChef.

Chavez is no stranger to the kitchen, though. Professionally, he works as an executive in the wine and spirits industry.

“I got involved in the restaurant business in high school and college, just like a lot of us do, waiting tables and doing whatever we can to make a little extra money,” Chavez said in an interview with the Record. “I just gravitated to it. I just enjoyed the food, I enjoyed learning, and then I got into the wine business.”

Chavez said Latin-American cuisine is his culinary specialty.

“I was born and raised in San Antonio,” he said. “I grew up in a Mexican-American household, so that cuisine is just kind of tied to you. Look, we live in the U.S., so everyone has some sort of a heritage or culture background, and we all carry that with us.”` Chavez said his career in the wine and spirits industry has expanded his culinary experiences.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have traveled all over the world and experience different cuisines,” he said. “And I’ve always been drawn to that. Every time I go to different countries, different areas, the food and the culture just has always — I just gravitate to it. And then having a passion for food, I always try to bring that home. So that’s how I honed my skills.”

Living in Bastrop, Chavez said the culinary scene there has really exploded in the past few years.

“We’ve seen an influx of extremely really good talent that has come in here. From New York-based Italian to a popular farm-to-table chef at Store House, great steaks at a local place called Piney Creek, and then we have for the first time a sommelier who opened up a wine bar in town. So over the last two years, we’ve seen an influx of really great cuisine. The wine and spirits are getting a little more robust, and there’s no reason to go to Austin anymore, which is great.” He plugged a few of his favorite Tex-Mex and Mexican eateries in Bastrop.

“Downtown there’s a place called Anita’s that makes homemade corn tortillas,” he said. “I’m a sucker for a good corn tortilla. There’s a place off the highway called El Nuevo and they have really good margaritas. Then the place called Casa Chapala – great patio, great scene, great vibe. You walk in, and no doubt, you’re kind of in Latin Mexican. A good Mexican feel to it.”

Chavez couldn’t talk about the outcome of his appearance on this season of MasterChef. He makes his debut on the episode scheduled to air on FOX stations May 6 at 7 p.m. Central Time.

Episodes are available to stream on-demand on Hulu the Thursday after their premier on FOX.