Joel Gonzalez

Joel has wanted to become a chef since he was first exposed to the original Iron Chefs, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, and Morimoto, at the age of nine. Another significant influence was his aunt who cooked vegetarian dishes with him for the holidays. An international cooking class during Joel's sophomore year in high school was the final spark. From then on he was unstoppable, taking every cooking class offered and paying close attention to his classmates from Twin Valley Union High School who were participating in Jr Iron Chef VT. Following graduation Joel attended culinary school at the New England Center for Arts and Technology and then landed a job cooking at The Hermitage Club in southern Vermont. Joel is looking forward to judging at the competition and hopes to be on the floor competing with his own team some day.