Tallahassee is cooking up stars. One Tallahassee Chef is about to be in the national spotlight with a new cooking show.
Chef Leon Brunson is bringing his unique flavors and personality out of his little kitchen here in Lake Ella to your television screen at home.
Brunson got his degree in neuroscience from Forida State University, but had his eyes on something else.
"When it came down to graduating everyone's like 'Oh, i want to be a doctor. I want to be an engineer.' I was like well, I think I kind of like this feeling of cooking," said Brunson.
After attending culinary school, he decided to plant roots here in Tallahassee because of the community.
"The community has been incredibly supportive," said Brunson. "I feel like I've been able to do a lot of things that I can also accomplish in a bigger city while also connecting with everybody I know in the neighborhood."
Before he started out as a private chef, he worked with Pastry Chef Sylvia Gould at Kool Beanz Cafe.
"It was just wonderful he was a lot of fun to be around and he's just a joy," said Gould.
Brunson soon branched out on his own as a private chef doing catering and cooking classes, but now he's taking his skills out his kitchen and bringing it into people's homes.
Brunson is one of ten chef's competing in a new food series that's airing on Hulu.
Brunson said the show, called Secret Chef, is unlike any other cooking competition show you'd normally watch.
"This felt like a culinary olympics over a three-week period that tested every single thing about food for me so it was a wonderful experience," said Brunson.
Brunson and other chefs on the show are tasked with cooking challenges. Each chef's identity is concealed, so they can blindly rate each other's dishes.
Gould and other staff at Kool Beanz are excited to see Brunson continue to grow.
"All of us have been kind of watching, seeing him grow and seeing him take on all these new challenges has been very exciting," said Brunson.
Brunson believes the show will help with his newest adventure; opening his own restaurant called Leon's at Lake Ella.
"When people watch that they're going to be like 'I gotta meet this dude, I really like his style' and they're finally going to come and get a chance to be like let's try his food," said Brunson.
You'll even be able to try some food he makes from the show at his new place. Brunson is excited for what's to come next.
"It feels like another level in my career that will help me open doors to the levels I've always dreamed about," said Brunson.
And Gould is just happy she and the rest of the community can be a part of it.
"He's bringing everyone, customers and family and friends along with the ride which I think is very important so it makes us all feel connected," said Gould.
If you want to If you want to watch Brunson in action, all ten episodes of the show air on Thursday. As for his new restaurant Leon's, Brunson said it'll be open later this summer.
