USD Chef de Cuisine Competes in Food Network’s “Chopped” Show

When John Miller, USD’s Chef de Cuisine, was approached by producers from the Food Network to be on their cooking competition show, “Chopped”, Miller knew he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“It came out of nowhere. If I was going to do any cooking show, I would do ‘Chopped’,” said John Miller, Chef de Cuisine at the University of San Diego.

Miller was approached by producers in October 2018 but didn’t compete in season 46 until the following year in March of 2019. The episode that Miller competed in aired at the end of August.

During the show, Miller cooked up three dishes including a starter, main course and a dessert over a 16-hour day. He also said he was paired up with a producer the entire day to maintain the competition’s credibility and avoid “judge contamination.”

“In a way, working at USD prepared me for ‘Chopped’. We get a variety of customer requests which allows for us to make modifications to our menu which we, as chefs, enjoy – it gives us variety to our day and provides new challenges. That surprise element prepared me for ‘Chopped’,” said Miller.

Miller is no stranger to cooking competitions. He has competed in the American Culinary Federation for several years and competed in Germany for the International Culinary Olympics in 2012.

Miller has been Chef de Cuisine at USD for the past three years. USD Dining has been ranked as one of the top 20 “Best Campus Food” programs in the country by the Princeton Review.

-- Elena Gomez