“Next Level Chef” finalist Zach Laidlaw, now a visiting chef at his alma mater Elgin Community College, presented a cooking demonstration Thursday and later worked alongside the school’s culinary arts students.

Laidlaw, who grew up in Burlington, garnered the national spotlight last year as a finalist on the TV cooking competition and worked with celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais.

On Thursday, he showed off his skills by demonstrating how to prepare and plate dishes four dishes — beetroot with microgreens grown in his greenhouse in Hawaii, butternut squash agnolotti with oyster mushrooms and truffle espuma, red snapper with a fennel and radish salad, and roasted corn crème — all of which were served during an evening dinner at the college’s Spartan Terrace restaurant.

Laidlaw peppered the demonstration with details about his career and his experience on “Next Level Chef,” where he was a top three finalist.

“Gordon Ramsay is not a (jerk). He’s actually a nice guy,” Laidlaw said.

Laidlaw’s mentor on the show was Blais, who drafted him to be on his team. The two chefs use some of the same techniques so working with Blais was right up his alley, he said.

“I learned my technique here (at ECC). I learned the basics,” and it gave him everything he needed to grow and expand his skills, he told students.

As a culinary student, he worked in local restaurants and held every position available, including washing dishes as a 13-year-old, he said. It’s important to learn all aspects of the industry, because “you get a better understanding, a better appreciation for everything,” he said.

He became the sous chef at age 23 at Bowes Creek Country Club in Elgin. He later worked in Chicago restaurants and eventually ended up in Hawaii after an investor he met in Burlington offered him a position.

“It’s been one nonstop culinary wild journey for me. It all started here,” Laidlaw said. “I’m super excited for this whole opportunity that came my way.”

A chance to be on the reality show came at a time when Laidlaw’s life was chaotic. A farmer and co-founder of Hua Momona Farms in Kapalua, Hawaii, his home and farm were damaged by wildfires in Maui in August 2023.

“I lost everything overnight,” Laidlaw said.

Following the fires, his farm and foundation started feeding people who were displaced. They served 75,000 hot meals to fire victims, he said.

As he was dealing with the aftermath of that, he received a call to be on “Next Level Chef.” A month later he was flying to Ireland to film the show.

“I have literally felt every emotion a human can feel in one year,” he said. “All you can do is keep pushing forward.”

He got into farming because he was starting to burn out as a chef. While it seems like a natural fit, it’s also like merging two high-pressure jobs. “It’s insane. They are really 100-hour-a-week jobs,” he said.

“Farming, that’s where it all starts,” Laidlaw said. He gets fresh produce year-round in Hawaii, and creates dishes with lot of vegetables and other foods sourced from local farmers and fishermen, he said.

There’s a sense of fulfillment in growing your own food and then using it in your cooking, Laidlaw said.

Both professions require hard work, creativity and dedication, he said.

“But that’s just the nature of our industry. If you love what you do, you will shine,” he said.

In addition to the demonstration, he shared practical tips with students, like don’t use salted butter to sauté proteins because it’s easier to add salt than subtract it. Steaks should always be cooked medium rare, he said, and let proteins sit for a few minutes before cutting and plating.

Plating is an art form, Laidlaw said. A tasting menu requires finesse.

Jose Villagomez, a second-year culinary arts student, said he watched Laidlaw on the reality show and is thinking about entering a food competition himself.

He got a few tips from the program, he said. He also found Laidlaw’s career inspirational.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.