Memphis' Chef Tam to battle on Food Network's 'Alex vs America'
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Tamra Patterson is headed back to the Food Network.
She will compete on "Alex vs America" in the “Southern Comfort” episode on May 7.
This marks the fifth time the chef and owner of Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe in Memphis has appeared on Food Network. She won "Chopped" in April 2022 and competed on three different episodes of "Guy's Grocery Games," even winning once. She has also competed on OWN's "Great American Cookout."
Patterson said she is honored to be asked to be in the competition. “Being on Alex vs America shows me my level of talent because not everyone can say they have competed against an Iron Chef.”
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In its third season, "Alex vs America" invites chefs to attempt to take down Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, the most feared and accomplished competition cook in America. Guarnaschelli faces three chefs in two rounds of cooking, and anyone — even Guarnaschelli — can be sent home after a blind tasting by the judges.
In the "Southern Comfort" episode, Guarnaschelli battles three Southern comfort food experts — in addition to Patterson, the other two chefs hail from Mississippi and North Carolina. These chefs have to strategize what ingredients to use in round one in hopes of knocking Guarnaschelli out of the competition. In round two, the comfort food celebration continues as the remaining chefs use their cooking skills to impress judges Kelsey Barnard Clarke and Adrienne Cheatham.
Patterson is the chef and owner of Chef Tam's Underground Cafe in Downtown Memphis. Since opening in March 2017, Chef Tam has made a name for herself for her creative Southern soul food dishes. In addition to her flagship restaurant, she has a line of cookware, a collection of juices and a second Chef Tam's restaurant in Arlington, Texas.
The show will air at 7 p.m. CST May 7 on Food Network.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.
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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Food Network's 'Alex vs America' to feature Memphis' Chef Tam
