Shore Chef Meg LaManna to take on Food Network’s ‘Chopped’

Shore diners know Chef Meg LaManna as the face of Mugsy’s Mercantile, a Point Pleasant Beach restaurant and market selling soups, sandwiches, prepared meals, sauces and salad dressings.

But on Tuesday, March 25, the Bay Head resident will be the next Shore chef on TV when she appears on Food Network’s “Chopped.”

“It’s (the result of) a lot of hard work paying off, and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” said LaManna, who caught the network’s eye on Instagram.

Her episode, “Out for Pork Blood,” filmed in the fall in Brooklyn, New York. LaManna had three weeks to prepare for the competition, which pits four chefs against each other in timed cooking challenges featuring baskets of mystery ingredients.

One contestant is eliminated after the appetizer round, another after the entrée round, then the final two compete by making dessert. The winner receives $10,000.

“I trained for it like an athlete,” LaManna said. “I wasn’t worried about cooking, I was worried about having seven cameras on me at once. I know I can cook, but having cameras on you and a time clock ticking …”

According to a Food Network description of the episode, she and her fellow chefs had to cook with peaches and pancetta in the appetizer round and “an unusual pork product” in the entrée round. Their dishes were judged by chefs Maneet Chauhan, Alex Guarnaschelli and Ayesha Nurdjaja.

“It literally was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” LaManna said. “It was so challenging, just the pressure of not knowing what you’re getting in those baskets. You’re under the gun, you’ve got to figure it out.”

“Chopped” is hosted by Ted Allen. The episode will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 25.

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com, follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to her weekly newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Chopped: Meg LaManna to appear on Food Network