Pittsburgh chef says Food Network's 'Cutthroat Kitchen' tactics 'evil'

The Food Network's reality show “Cutthroat Kitchen” is exactly what it sounds like.

The tactics contestants use to sabotage their competitors are just mean, says a participating Pittsburgh chef.

“There's stuff that you wouldn't even think of. It's unbelievable,” says Jacqueline Wardle, executive chef at Isabela on Grandview. “I was so appalled when I was on this show. It didn't even seem real. ... It's evil.”

However, Wardle — who will appear on the previously filmed June 21 episode, along with three other chefs seeking to out-sabotage each other and win — says it's the kind of evil that's all in good fun. And with Alton Brown, celebrity chef and television personality, as the devilish host, the show gets pretty entertaining, she says.

Still, contestants on the show have a kill or be killed mission, Wardle says.

“If you don't do it to them, they're going to do it to you,” says Wardle, 24, of Mt. Washington. “Somebody always gets the sabotage. It always has to go to someone.

“Being mean is out of my character,” she says. “I'm not a mean person, but I stepped out of character for that.”

“Cutthroat Kitchen,” which premiered on the Food Network in 2013 and is in its eighth season, pits four chefs against each other in each episode, with a new crop and competition every episode.

The contestants each start with $25,000, but only the winner gets to take home any money, and he or she must not already have spent it all. The chefs use the money to buy, via auction, opportunities to sabotage each other and get ahead themselves. They may purchase an opportunity to do something simple to deal a blow to competitors, like stealing all of someone's eggs.

Or, they may do something more elaborate, like this bizarre scene Wardle recalls that you'll see in this week's episode: A chef has to cook scallops while wearing a snorkel suit; there also is a fish tank involved.

“They're very physical challenges,” says Wardle, a 2012 graduate of the Culinary Arts program at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. “Nobody even thought it was possible.”

The judges can critique only the final food dishes, prepared despite the sabotages that can't be undone. And the judges have no idea what sabotage and struggles each chef endured, she says.

When Wardle — who especially enjoys cooking pastas — was competing in the episode called “Sax, Lies and Artichoke Dip,” she kept a positive attitude to endure the mayhem.

“The only way to get through that show is to have a sense of humor about it,” she says. “The minute that you ... think it's too mean-spirited ... you're going to go down.

“It was definitely fun and stressful, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat.”

Kellie B. Gormly is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at kgormly@tribweb.com or 412-320-7824.