'BURGER ARTIST': Local Red Robin chef Joe Ross wins national competition

CHUBBUCK — A local chef at Chubbuck's Red Robin restaurant recently won the title of best Red Robin chef in the nation at a national competition.

Joe Ross, the newly crowned Red Robin champion chef, said this was the first year he was able to compete in the competition that featured Red Robin chefs from all over the country.

"I had heard rumors about this competition since I've been here," said Ross, who lives in Pocatello. "This was the first year we heard we could compete."

In addition to bragging rights, the 33-year-old Ross won $10,000 for being named best Red Robin chef.

Ross has been working at the Chubbuck Red Robin for about three years. He originally applied to work as a server but soon started working as a cook.

"I've been cooking since I was 14 and I've been with Red Robin since 2021." he said.

The first part of the competition was between Ross and other cooks at the Chubbuck Red Robin restaurant. The second part was with all the Red Robin locations in the region. The third part was the final competition in Denver.

"There were six contestants," Ross said about the final competition. "Four were from each region and two were franchise owners."

The final competition consisted of three rounds. For the first round, contestants made barbeque burgers. They made barbeque cheese burgers for round two and smashed avocado burgers for round 3.

"We made two burgers in each round," Ross said.

After the second round, Ross was in the lead by only one and a half points. He was able to pull further ahead during the third round.

"That's what got me to 51 points," he said. "Second place got 44."

Ross said he felt super excited when he found out he won the competition. He said there were people in the audience from every region, and everyone from his region was cheering for him.

"Every region is cheering their person on," he said. "There are 1,000 workers going nuts for you. All my people were so excited."

The best part of the experience was learning more about the things Red Robin does outside of the restaurant world. Ross said he got to learn about the work the restaurant chain does with organizations such as Make-A-Wish.

"We packed bags for kids," he said. "That was really awesome. The experience was phenomenal."

Ross said he also enjoyed being around the other competitors. He said each of them did a great job in the competition.

"We were six in the nation that are the best at what we do," he said. "I'm very grateful for that."

Ross describes himself as "a burger artist" and said the secret to his success is "lots of practice" and making the food he makes look appealing on the plate.

"I love making food look good," he said.