Chef Robertson Rocks Reality TV

Local Chef Makes TV Good: Local caterer, once-upon-a-time long-time chef at the Sojourner, and 2010 winner of the Indy’s Sizzling Summer BBQ Contest Edie Robertson stars on Food Network’s latest, Extreme Chef, on Thursday, July 21 at 10 p.m. And we mean truly extreme, as the episode’s titled “Bringing Down the Ice House” makes clear, and as Chef Edie says, “Imagine trying to cook a five-star meal outside in the Arctic while pranksters are throwing ice and snow at you, having to use power tools and such to create things to complement the meal…oh, and time is ticking away to get it all done and at the end of the day your weaknesses are magnified by the extreme challenges.”

Of course we can’t know if our fellow Santa Barbaran can beat the cold – doing things like preparing a garnish completely frozen using liquid nitrogen – until the show airs, but the good news is we can watch the episode with her. Everyone’s invited to a viewing party at Jill’s Place (632 Santa Barbara Street, 805-963-0378, shalhoobs.com) on the 21st. “The show starts at 10 p.m. so we are asking people to get there early to order drinks and food,” Robertson relates. “I will be chatting throughout the show, explaining what really was going on!”