TV show stirs up a Dutch treat
By Tim Gallaghertgallagher@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Sunday, November 23, 2008
Madison Mayberry, 21, of Orange City, Iowa, has enjoyed her time with TV host Rachael Ray while competing in Ray's reality cooking competition. The champion of the event will be crowned Monday morning on the show. (Photo submitted)
ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- As tough as cooking before a national audience might be, it doesn't compare to Steve Connell's early-morning marching band practices.
So says Madison Mayberry, an Orange City native who on Monday competes for a title in a cooking contest shown on the "Rachael Ray" show. The program airs on CBS at 9 a.m.
Mayberry, a junior at Iowa State University, is one of two finalists in the "Hey, Can You Cook?! 3" reality competition that has taken contestants to Walt Disney World and New York City.
Mayberry traces her success to her patient mother Marilyn Mayberry, three hungry pets and Connell, director of the popular Pride of the Dutchmen Marching Band at MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City.
"I'd say Mr. Connell is tougher," said Mayberry when asked to compare Ray, the cooking taskmaster with Connell, the band leader.
The band and Orange City are talking points for Mayberry.
"We always talk about the Dutch heritage of Orange City," she said. "People get a kick out of the fact that I have a pair of wooden shoes. I was a member of the Dutch Dozen (dancing unit) and I played trumpet and did the color guard in our marching band."
The band, which has marched in parades across the U.S., is famous for its wooden shows.
Ray, the Emmy-winning talk show host, is famous for her culinary prowess. She created this popular cooking reality contest and watched as thousands auditioned for a spot on the show. Mayberry sent a tape in from Iowa State and was shocked to learn she was one of five finalists invited to participate.
She's now one of only two left standing. The winner will receive a kitchen face-lift plus the chance to take part in a culinary training program at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. If Mayberry wins Monday, she'll also get the opportunity to demonstrate her original recipe on the "Rachael Ray" show with Ray serving as her assistant. the recipe will also be published in Ray's magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray.
Mayberry's start in food prep was...well...pretty humble.
"I put strawberries and chicken in a food processor and gave it to my pets and they ate it," she said.
Good sports were Sam, Tabby (both cats) and Maggie the dog.
Her mother, Marilyn Mayberry, was also a good sport and an excellent guide. "My mom is a wonderful cook," said Madison Mayberry. "She really knows how to set a beautiful table and how to make entertaining fun."
Like mother, like daughter, who now wows guests with items like her favorite Black Tie Chicken Cordon Bleu in which the chicken is seared, not breaded, and set in the oven to bake.
That kind of dish and her Northwest Iowa spark have helped carry this Cyclone on a whirlwind to the finals. She plans to watch the show this morning at The Hub on the campus of Northwestern College in Orange City.
"We're on Thanksgiving break, so I'm going home. I'll be there Monday for a viewing party," she said.
Win or lose, the experience has probably moved her career plans up from the back burner. Her plans? "To have my own show on the Food Network," she said.
As they say in the TV business, stay tuned ...
Don't miss it
What: "Hey, Can You Cook?!3" finals
Where: On Rachael Ray show, KMEG TV/CBS
When: 9 a.m. Monday
Who: Features Madison Mayberry of Orange City, one of two finalists
So says Madison Mayberry, an Orange City native who on Monday competes for a title in a cooking contest shown on the "Rachael Ray" show. The program airs on CBS at 9 a.m.
Mayberry, a junior at Iowa State University, is one of two finalists in the "Hey, Can You Cook?! 3" reality competition that has taken contestants to Walt Disney World and New York City.
Mayberry traces her success to her patient mother Marilyn Mayberry, three hungry pets and Connell, director of the popular Pride of the Dutchmen Marching Band at MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City.
"I'd say Mr. Connell is tougher," said Mayberry when asked to compare Ray, the cooking taskmaster with Connell, the band leader.
The band and Orange City are talking points for Mayberry.
"We always talk about the Dutch heritage of Orange City," she said. "People get a kick out of the fact that I have a pair of wooden shoes. I was a member of the Dutch Dozen (dancing unit) and I played trumpet and did the color guard in our marching band."
The band, which has marched in parades across the U.S., is famous for its wooden shows.
Ray, the Emmy-winning talk show host, is famous for her culinary prowess. She created this popular cooking reality contest and watched as thousands auditioned for a spot on the show. Mayberry sent a tape in from Iowa State and was shocked to learn she was one of five finalists invited to participate.
She's now one of only two left standing. The winner will receive a kitchen face-lift plus the chance to take part in a culinary training program at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. If Mayberry wins Monday, she'll also get the opportunity to demonstrate her original recipe on the "Rachael Ray" show with Ray serving as her assistant. the recipe will also be published in Ray's magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray.
Mayberry's start in food prep was...well...pretty humble.
"I put strawberries and chicken in a food processor and gave it to my pets and they ate it," she said.
Good sports were Sam, Tabby (both cats) and Maggie the dog.
Her mother, Marilyn Mayberry, was also a good sport and an excellent guide. "My mom is a wonderful cook," said Madison Mayberry. "She really knows how to set a beautiful table and how to make entertaining fun."
Like mother, like daughter, who now wows guests with items like her favorite Black Tie Chicken Cordon Bleu in which the chicken is seared, not breaded, and set in the oven to bake.
That kind of dish and her Northwest Iowa spark have helped carry this Cyclone on a whirlwind to the finals. She plans to watch the show this morning at The Hub on the campus of Northwestern College in Orange City.
"We're on Thanksgiving break, so I'm going home. I'll be there Monday for a viewing party," she said.
Win or lose, the experience has probably moved her career plans up from the back burner. Her plans? "To have my own show on the Food Network," she said.
As they say in the TV business, stay tuned ...
Don't miss it
What: "Hey, Can You Cook?!3" finals
Where: On Rachael Ray show, KMEG TV/CBS
When: 9 a.m. Monday
Who: Features Madison Mayberry of Orange City, one of two finalists
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