Fiery Gordon Ramsay is back in the kitchen as the new season of Masterchef kicks off tonight here on KHON2.
An Oahu resident almost made it on to the show and has since found a new career because of it.
31 year-old Marisa Boyd is dedicated, talented and quick in the kitchen...surprisingly for the past 10 years this wasn't her trade of choice, it all began 6 months ago.
"It started in December I moved from Maui I used to be a biologist with the San Diego zoo and I bred endangered Hawaiian birds," says Marisa Boyd, prep cook.
Born and raised in California, Marisa relocated to Maui in 1999 then last year decided to move to Honolulu.
"I am always looking for a new challenge and because I was in it for so long I found it getting a little mundane because it wasn't challenging my mind anymore," says Boyd.
She wanted to ditch her job in the lab for the kitchen.
"No job, just straight up you know I am just going to try my luck and see what happens and it just so happens there was a competition for masterchef," says Boyd.
With no culinary experience or education Marisa won our KHON2 Masterchef contest and we sent her to Oregon for a chance to audition for the show.
"And I made it all the way through all the stages at the audition actually," says Boyd.
She came up just short of making the top 100 but her cooking success didn't end there.
She applied for a prep cook position at the pineapple room by Alan Wong.
"I tried and applied and I didn't think I would get it," says Boyd.
"I couldn't have dreamt to even be in a kitchen like this this is a great kitchen I mean chef Alan Wong is amazing chef Lance here is such a mentor to all of us," says Boyd.
Marisa says she is happily challenged everyday and hopes to become a line cook someday.
"I think I just got really lucky that it all worked out for me," says Boyd.
Masterchef season 2 starts tonight at 7p.m.
