Maine Chef Cara Just Took on the Nation’s Best Chefs

To all Maine foodies, this is for you. Our very own, Chef Cara Stadler shined bright last night on national tv as she made her debut on America’s Culinary Cup, the newest culinary competition show.

Chef Cara is celebrated here in Maine and was former co-owner of restaurants like Bao Bao, Dumpling House and Tao Yuan, and ZaoZe Cafe, according to Portland Press Herald. 

The stakes are pretty high on this show. Get this, it's the largest cash prize that has ever been awarded on a culinary competition series history!

Someone will be taking home a whopping $1 million dollars. The show features 16 elite chefs from all over the country, the competition is fierce!  

But what makes her story even more incredible is that while this amazing woman was filming, she was also pregnant.

Maine’s Own Chef Cara Stadler Takes the National Stage on America’s Culinary Cup

And she didn’t just compete, she impressed us all. Moms can do anything. 

She told us that during production she was in her second trimester with her daughter, Lina, who was born in February. She said that the timing did indeed end outworking out since the second trimester is when most people feel their best during pregnancy.  

We asked her how the pressure was competing on the show and she told us that she mostly focused on staying calm because she wanted to stay healthy for her baby.  

Take a peek at the trailer of America’s Culinary Cup, below via CBS YouTube.
 

The filming for the show took about a month long in Canada and through it all Stadler stayed steadfast and focused, as per the article. 

In fact, she says her pregnancy helped keep things in perspective.

 After the show, Cara says she is now going to take a bit of break to take time with her beautiful family, but this show gave her a chance to connect with incredibly talented chefs and return to the kitchen in a new way.  

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The show airs every Wednesday on CBS.

And if last night’s premiere is any sign, Mainers will have plenty to cheer for this season! Go Chef Cara!