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Maui chef wins $100,000 national cooking competition

Maui chef Lee Anne Wong (center) won $100,000 in a cooking competition involving 24 chefs in more than 24 hours of nonstop action, including these competitors. Courtesy photo

A Maui chef has won a major national cooking competition involving 24 chefs in a televised program on the Food Network. Lee Anne Wong secured first place in season three of "24 in 24: Last Chef Standing" by creating a Michelin-worthy meal after competing in eight three-hour shifts to meet 24 cooking challenges. As the winner of the final challenge, Wong received $100,000 and bragging rights as the Last Chef Standing, along with the Golden Knife. "This was far and away the most difficult competition I have ever participated in," Wong said. "Most competitions take place over days and weeks. This was 24 challenges compressed into 24 hours. It's a true test of endurance and skill." Wong, whose victory aired May 31, cooked her way into the last shift in the competition by preparing asparagus and parmesan risotto and a honey creme brulee. Her winning dish in the final round was nori and feuille de brick wrapped ahi tuna with yuzu caviar beurre blanc, braised endive and radishes. Her competitor, Alex Stupak, prepared an Iberico pork steak with carrot argan oil coulis. The competition was demanding, requiring competitors to stay up for 24-plus hours with no stopping of the clock or cameras. Wong said that as a mother and owner-chef of restaurants, she feels she has been in training for years for this moment. She described sleepless nights tending to family and sometimes working 24-hour stretches for big events. Wong said she stuck to what she knew and focused on simplicity, execution and having big flavors like her Fried Fish with Makhni and Tamarind Sauces. After the 2023 Lahaina wildfire destroyed her restaurant Papaʻaina at the Pioneer Inn, Wong has thrived by learning to adjust to the ups and downs of change. After graduating from the French Culinary Institute in New York, Wong made it her business to travel and cook all over the world, including Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Korea, Japan, Denmark, France, Mexico, Spain and Italy. She has worked for New York culinary icon Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Ethiopian-born Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson. Wong rose to prominence as a semifinalist in Guy Fieri's nationally televised "Tournament of Champions" cooking show in April 2025. A season one competitor on Bravo's hit series "Top Chef," she became the supervising culinary producer for the next six seasons, from 2006 to 2009, helping the show win its first Emmy for its sixth season filmed in Las Vegas and the Napa Valley. Wong and her family moved to Maui in 2019 to take over the restaurant at the Pioneer Inn, building a business with locally sourced produce from more than a dozen farms. Post-pandemic, Wong focused on showcasing the best of Maui's ingredients. She was nominated as a semifinalist for a 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Wong, who returned to Maui this week, said she loves living on the Valley Isle with her son and husband, who specializes in custom carpentry work. Though she has no plans to rebuild Papaʻaina, she stays focused on her Oahu establishment Koko Head Cafe, currently open for brunch seven days a week and dinner service Friday through Monday. Koko Head Cafe continues to be a hit with customers, so much so that she has licensed outposts in Japan. She said at home she cooks for her family all the time, using as much farm-to-table produce as possible and enjoying the view from their Upcountry home on Haleakala. "Even though work continues to take me all over the world, I always love coming home to Maui and my family," she said.

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