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34
April – June 2014
www.deltalivingmagazine.com
Stockton Chef
Michael Midgley
talks about
cooking on TV
By Charleen Earley
charleenbearley@gmail.com
D
on’t be fooled by Mi-
chael Midgley’s charm-
ing dimples and flipped back, plaid
newsboy cap … when he’s in the
kitchen, the challenge-ready chef
is ready to take his opponents
down, one dish at a time.
Like he did on the Food Net-
work’s Cutthroat Kitchen, hosted
by Alton Brown, which aired on
Jan. 12, 2014. Pitted against three
chefs, Midgley says his opponents
were out to sabotage him begin-
ning with the first round.
“I got 20 minutes taken away
from me and had to cook chicken
parmesan in 10 minutes instead of
30,” laughs Midgley now. “They
took all my tomato products too,
and I had to use tomato Jell-O in-
stead.”
His lactose-free chicken par-
mesan made the cut – obstacles
and all – only proving his prowess
in the kitchen and desire to win.
Born and raised in Stockton,
Winning Cutthroat Kitchen
Never Tasted So Good
Midgley, 35, says his wife Laci is
the one who first encouraged him
to take his culinary smarts to re-
ality television, where he went to
a casting call for Bravo’s TV show,
Top Chef, Season 2 in 2006.
“She told me ‘if you’re so bad-
ass, you should do it!’” recalls
Midgley, father of three kids ages
five and under, with Laci.
After personality screenings, in-
terviews, flying to LA and back, he
made the cut along with 14 other
chefs, and was the tenth contestant
to finally be eliminated. Meeting
Anthony Bourdain was a high-
point for him.
“He’s straight up. He’s a cool
guy,” said Midgley, whose love for
cooking began well before he got
a driver’s license.
“I started working in a restau-
rant at 14 with a worker’s permit,”
he says. “My first job was at the
Elkhorn Country Club in Stock-
ton. I started as a dish washer, then
prep and cooking.”
Even before prep work, Midg-
ley says he came from a family of
cooks. “My family is really into
food. We’d do the big dinner on
Sundays; grandma always baked
pies and my dad would cook up a
bunch of red sauce.”
Midgley earned his AOS De-
gree at the California Culinary
Academy in San Francisco and
Tenderloin
Medallions
Photo by Leena Wheeler
Winner of the Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen, Chef Michael Midgley works his culi-
nary magic at Ernie’s Food & Spirits located in Manteca. He loves coming out to greet
his fans and diners at the upscale restaurant during the course of the evening.
Photo by Charleen Earley