Simi Valley chef to appear on Food Network's 'BBQ Brawl'

The heat was on as Simi Valley chef Logan Sandoval recently went from his usual 12-hour hometown barbecues to nationally televised competitions lasting 45 to 90 minutes.

Sandoval got some help, though, from celebrity chef Bobby Flay, who coached Sandoval’s team during the fifth season premiere of “BBQ Brawl.” The 90-minute episode, filmed in March in Austin, Texas, airs at 9 p.m. Monday on Food Network.

A dozen contestants were filmed going through an elimination process over 10 episodes until the “Master of the ’Cue” was left standing. Other team coaches include Food Network host Sunny Anderson and chef Michael Voltaggio.

Sandoval, who grew up in Simi Valley and graduated from Royal High School in 2008, can't reveal whether he moved on to the season's second episode.

Regardless, he said he learned a lot from Flay about everything from preparing fish for the grill to managing his career.

Sandoval founded the Zef BBQ catering business in Simi Valley in 2020. The chef has worked for hotels and restaurants everywhere from Louisville to San Diego and Monterey.

The show's challenges featured twists with ingredients and equipment, Sandoval said.

He'll probably watch Monday’s episode with his staff in a bar.

“They’ll probably make fun of me,” Sandoval said, laughing.

Sandoval has won challenges on two previous Food Network shows in recent years. One was “Supermarket Stakeout,” during which he bought bags of groceries from random customers leaving a Phoenix supermarket and prepared dishes based on the contents.

The other was “Raid the Fridge,” in which he prepared a dish from ingredients found in a refrigerator supposedly stocked by a not-so-culinary-minded college student. Sandoval won with wonton nachos.

He placed second in 2023 on Netflix’s “Barbecue Showdown,” which had more of a backyard barbecue feel than “BBQ Brawl," he said.

A good barbecue involves time, temperature and technique and can succeed without a sauce, Sandoval said. He added he was careful even as he speeded up his process under Flay’s guidance.

Another mentor, the network host Anderson, taught Sandoval not to take himself too seriously.

“I have a very long history of beating myself up, striving for perfection," he said. "She always had a joke or a comment to pull me out of my funk."

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached atdave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.