I am constantly impressed with our unbelievably talented members here at CCC!  We are home to $1,00,000 Pillsbury Bake-Off winners, a Chopped champion, and now a winner of the devilishly difficult Cutthroat Kitchen.

Join me in congratulating Nancy Manlove!  She recently won this notoriously difficult television competition show.  She was kind enough to share a bit about the experience as well as some tips for those of you curious about culinary competition shows.

Let’s start at the beginning. Tell us about the casting process for the show!

I applied for a different show- Restaurant Startup but my POV had just been done and then the casting director shared that they were also casting for Cutthroat Kitchen! Interviews, Skype sessions, paperwork, more paperwork, release forms, travel information, more paperwork… and then off to LA to film.

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to compete on television? How did you impress the casting directors?

Be natural, have a natural sense of humor. Listen and talk about everything you can that makes them want you for a foodie show!

After getting cast, how did you prepare for the competition before going on the show?

I watched every episode I could, made notes, made a list of do’s and don’ts, watched all the available tips on how to have a strategy and plan, make more notes! On the plane and in the hotel room before going over to the studio, I read them and read again!

How long was the filming process? What was it like “behind the scenes?”

We started around 5:30 AM and it ran through 9:00 PM one day and then we returned for individual take out and photos the following business day! BOS were very well coordinated with a flexible schedule for everything we would do. They feed us on the set 3 times that day, lots of pauses for various reason. The Food Network liaisons and production crew was terrific to work with, polite, caring, bent over backwards to accommodate our personal needs. There were a lot of rules but all were understandable and doable. The studio was full of past sabotage that had been used and in a staging area. Many new sabotages were under development in their think tank. For as loud and crazy as things get during the filming there was a lot of quite on the set request! I had been in many news rooms and press room in my former careers, so though this was a new experience I understood the needs and the whys.

Tell us what it was like during the course of the competition. Were you nervous? Confident? Stressed?

I have to admit that this was one of those day when you know you are in the zone with you’re A game. I really did not get nervous until the first round kick-off and then about 10 minutes into it, my heart stopped beating so fast and I was okay!

What was it like when they announced your name?

HAPPY and excited, overwhelmed and delighted all while fighting back tears and choking up!

What are your plans for the prize money?

Kick start my plans to roll-out Manlove Foods, The money will be put to great use for many items such as insurance, state licensing, etc. But I am in the talking phase for other ventures. Maybe a B&B, maybe a café … so stay tuned!

Would you go on television again? Any tips for other CCC members who are interested in competing on the show?

I could leave tomorrow! Absolutely YES, I would go on television again! My advice is to get your application in and keep trying to been seen in the foodie world as possible contender for this or any show that you know in your heart that your talents would be a good match. Obviously there are shows that would work and others that would not!