Rewind back in to summer 2014, specifically to July 29th.  For some Staples students, it was just another chill day of relaxing and having fun with friends.  But instead of chillaxing,  Hannah Bukzin ’17 was sweating it out, trying not to get chopped on Food Network’s Chopped Teen Tournament.

After they watched in awe as Bukzin competed, most of the Staples population only has one question besides, Can I be Hannah?:  How did she get this amazing opportunity?

Four words: hard work and dedication.

“I started cooking for real around the age of seven,” Bukzin said.  “I even remember my first dish: pan-seared tilapia with sauteed carrots.”

A bunch of more dishes and a few years later, Bukzin has won the Marcia Selden Chopped Style Competition, was a participant in the Maple Sugar Festival Cook Off, and won a spot for an internship at the Marcia Selden Catering Company.  Bukzin certainly spent an insane amount of time developing serious cooking chops.

So when the Chopped Teen Tournament was announced, it surprised no one that within two weeks of submitting her application, she got a call.

“Hannah is the most goal driven person I know, so it’s no surprise that she was able to have this kind of success,” friend Danny Jersey ’17 said.

“I was impressed [but not surprised] that she got accepted even though there were literally thousands of other applicants,” Ethan Lindenbaum ’17, another friend of Bukzin’s, said.

But Bukzin had no such kind of confidence.  “[The audition process] was nerve-wracking,” Bukzin said, “but I am very grateful to have had this opportunity– Chopped was such a great experience.”

Bukzin has obviously found a recipe for success.

Who knows?  Maybe we will one day see Bukzin back on Chopped in the future.