Haslebacher set to appear on The Food Network

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Published: 01:10PM January 5th, 2010
During the holiday season, a package could be just about anything.
Craig Haslebacher of Gig Harbor got a call from the United Parcel Service which informed him he had a package that was undeliverable. Haslebacher was a bit puzzled.
It turned out to be a major award.
Haslebacher was given a plaque from the Food Network’s “Iron Chef,” an honor for beating chef Bobby Flay for the judge’s favors during a recent appearance on the show.
“It was a total surprise,” Haslebacher said. “I guess they couldn’t deliver it because it had a knife sticking out of it.”
Haslebacher has been cooking professionally for 35 years. He attended the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Ore., and he said that opened up doors for him, including a job at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Confident with his culinary skills, Haslebacher wrote a letter to the “Iron Chef” TV show, stating he was tired of seeing celebrity chefs and that Local chefs could give them a run for their money, he said.
“They took me up on it,” Haslebacher said. “Next thing I knew, I was flying to New York. It was the thrill of a lifetime.”
Haslebacher was allowed to choose his competitor from the show’s group of legendary Iron Chefs and was rewarded with the satisfaction of going up against Bobby Flay, whom he worked with at the Bellagio.



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