“Thank you, nurses!” is the theme of Tuesday night’s “Chopped” episode.
Memphis nurse Krissie Scott is one of four nurses invited to bring some TLC to the “Chopped” kitchen.
Scott jumped at the chance when she saw the casting call for the Food Network show. Being on a cooking show was a lifelong dream.
“‘I most definitely fit that category,’ I said to myself. I am a nurse, and I am a professional chef,” Scott said.
Scott, who goes by the nickname “The Cooking Nurse” on social media, splits her time between her two passions of nursing and cooking. She works part time as a nursing supervisor in a long-term care facility. The rest of her time is spent cooking.
“Cooking is a universal language. In nursing, you are helping get someone healthy with nutritious meals so then they can enjoy and celebrate food once they are well,” Scott said, adding she is a nurturer by nature.
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Early last year, she launched a personal chef business called Elite Dinner Parties. “COVID put me in demand,” she said, explaining she only caters small dinner parties
Scott has loved to cook since she was a small child. About five years ago, she decided to make her dream of becoming a professional chef a reality, graduating from L’Ecole Culinaire in 2016.
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Cooking has also been a key to surviving a pandemic as a frontline worker.
It’s been a tough year for Scott working in geriatric nursing and watching many of her patients have to die alone with their family on the phone, not by their side.
“I come home at night and start cooking to wind down after the day,” she said. “It’s been a blessing.”
The episode was filmed last November at Food Network’s Knoxville studio. Preparation involved several COVID-19 tests before being allowed on set.
She said it’s been tough to keep the show a secret all these months. Not even her family knows the outcome.
“It was one of the happiest moments of my life,” she said. “It’s an experience I will never forget.”
The episode airs at 8 p.m. CST Tuesday, March 9.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jenn[email protected] and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.
