From timing to games, OKC's Zach Hutton talks about being on 'Chopped' ahead of April 9 show

Four chefs taking on four random mystery ingredients is how every episode of Food Network's "Chopped" begins. On April 9, Oklahoma City chef Zach Hutton will step up to the mystery basket for his shot at winning in a zero-waste themed episode of the show.

Hutton, currently the executive chef of GHST, 805 N Hudson Ave, is not stranger to Food Network competitions. He competed on Guy's Grocery Games back in 2021 for a fruit-themed episode.

"Chopped is entirely different," Hutton said of the two experiences when we spoke Wednesday. "I've been watching this show since I was a kid, and you never realize how quick it goes and how hard it's going to be until you're actually there. It was a 19-hour day, and I did not stop running the entire time. It's vastly different, exactly the same because of how hectic it was, but the competition level was entirely different."

Hutton said that when he filmed and appeared on "Guy's Grocery Games," there were still a lot of COVID-19 protocols in place. So while he said the games themselves were more laid back, the logistics of filming and travel were more intense and complicated.

Filming an episode of "Chopped" that focused on zero-waste and sustainability in cooking was a great test, Hutton said.

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"It was so much harder, and the people that were there had way more intense credentials, especially too, lots of people that did a lot of what I've been doing for so long, focusing specifically on zero-waste sustainability," he said. "Compared to 'Grocery Games,' this was an entirely different animal. It was much more complicated, much more intense, much more specific to your culinary talent, and not just playing to the game itself, which I think honestly, made it more of a competition."

Hutton, who took the helm at GHST in November shortly after closing his Paseo restaurant Scratch, viewed "Chopped" and every competition he takes on as a way to challenge himself. He spent years watching the show alongside his wife Kayla, and said that in the times when they didn't have money, she'd pull random items from their pantry and tell him to figure something out.

"I've been practicing 'Chopped' on and off for my whole career. That's the gold standard for what you should be able to do as a chef anyway. It's just mastery of your craft," he said.

"Even if it is just a kitschy TV show, it's still a representation of what I'm capable of in the real world, and it's under a massive amount of stress when you're being recorded by 90 people chasing you in circles around a tiny kitchen you've never worked in before. So it made me realize that I am at least half as good as I think I am. I think that's probably one thing I learned. And then I learned that it's all right to get out of your comfort zone, even if you don't want to."

Hutton is definitely at least half as good as he thinks he is, at least in the eyes of the owners of GHST, who are already at work with the Huttons on ways to expand their operations. The group just signed a lease on the former Ludivine space at 320 NW 10 Street, with plans for the concept forthcoming.

Hutton's Chopped episode is set to air at 7 p.m. April 9, and Hutton will be in attendance at a watch party hosted by Ponyboy, 423 NW 23 Street, and sponsored by Premium Brands Wine & Spirits. Doors will open at 6 p.m. ahead of the episode airing.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC chef to appear on Food Network's 'Chopped': Meet Zach Hutton