Here's how this Appleton chef earned himself a spot on the new season of 'Hell's Kitchen'

APPLETON — When Corbin Emilio first began cooking at a young age, he never imagined his love for culinary arts would land him a spot on one of the most popular cooking television shows in America .

Emilio said his mother introduced him to the kitchen, and his passion for it blossomed from there.

"I was probably about eight years old when it all began and ever since then I've always been fascinated with it," Emilio said. "I think my curiosity just kind of took over and I wanted to see how I could be a better cook."

As he got older, Emilio would land himself in almost all positions in the restaurant and food industry, refining his skills as a self-taught chef with every opportunity he could find.

"I've worked in the bar and restaurant industry for about 22 years now and I've taken a little bit of knowledge and skill from every job that I've ever had," Emilio said. "I didn't go to any culinary schools, but I continue to learn every day, I'm constantly trying to improve and create new recipes."

Emilio is a three-time business owner in Appleton after acquiring Ambassador , a cocktail lounge, in 2020, and opening his other two businesses, Ukiyo Private Kitchen and Vegan Nightmare , not long after.

His experiences, both with these businesses and with past jobs, earned him a spot on the newest season of "Hell's Kitchen: Head Chef's Only," where he will compete against 17 other chefs from across the country.

A triple threat: Ambassador, Ukiyo Private Kitchen and Vegan Nightmare

You might be wondering how the owner of Ambassador, a cocktail lounge and bar at 117 S. Appleton St., landed himself a spot on "Hell's Kitchen", a food cooking competition.

While Emilio does curate and create cocktails at the lounge, he's able to showcase his cooking talents through his other businesses.

In May 2021, Emilio started up Vegan Nightmare, a seasonal southern style barbecue catering company which offers customers a chance to experience meats of all kinds. The traveling business caters to events across the state, providing smoked brisket, sausages, pork, turkey and more.

Emilio demonstrates his more refined cooking skills at Ukiyo Private Kitchen, 207 W. College Ave., which opened in April 2023.

Ukiyo Private Kitchen is a private restaurant that caters specifically to its individual clients. Customers are able to reserve the space and enjoy dinner with attendees of their choice and that's it — no outside guests or parties to interrupt the intimate space.

"When I opened the private restaurant, it was to essentially give people that same experience of having a private chef make you a meal at your home, but instead of having a lot of people in your home you could just come to me," Emilio said.

Emilio said when he curates the menu for any event booked at Ukiyo, he always consults the guests.

"I always ask if there's certain things that they really want to see or things they absolutely don't want on their menu," Emilio said. Additionally, the chef also makes house appearances for those who prefer it.

While the menu is always changing, Emilio has showcased dishes made at Ukiyo, including a braised pork belly with blackberry ancho glaze, avocado verde, toasted sesame, crushed peanut and cilantro and a fried brioche bun topped with tuna belly, quail egg, winter truffle, cotija cheese and chive.

Reservations for both Vegan Nightmare and Ukiyo Private Kitchen can be made by messaging Emilio on Instagram @corbonzobeanz .

Even though there's no food menu at the Ambassador, Emilio still shows his creativity through the creation of many signature cocktails. Drinks like the Matcha Libre, made with tequila, mezcal, Montenegro, pistachio orgeat, matcha and lime and the Bootstrap Novel, made with bacon fat washed bourbon, cinnamon bitters, Averna amaro and earl grey have been featured at the lounge.

Between the three businesses, Emilio said he rarely bartends at Ambassador as often as he did when he first acquired the business.

"Food has been my main focus for the last two years," Emilio said.

His ability to focus on his passion made it that much easier for him to apply to "Hell's Kitchen" when the opportunity arose.

From Appleton to Hell's Kitchen? 'Why not give it a shot?'

Emilio said it had always been a dream of his to be on "Hell's Kitchen" ever since he was a child, but he never took the thought as seriously until he received a message from a friend.

"I was sent a link from one of my friends who had been on a previous cooking show urging me to apply to 'Hell's Kitchen'," Emilio said. "I figured, 'Why not give it a shot?'"

Emilio said he was contacted by the show the next day after submitting his application and he thinks his experience as a chef played a large role in why he was chosen.

This season is titled "Hell's Kitchen: Head Chef's Only", highlighting the talents of head chefs all across the nation. Previous seasons have casted home chefs, private chefs, restaurant owners and everything in between.

"I felt pretty honored to be welcomed on to that specific season because it made me feel a little bit more accomplished that I would be competing against other head chefs," Emilio said.

The application and interview process were pretty lengthy, according to Emilio, but it was all worth it when he was officially cast for the season.

"I had a great experience and it was challenging," Emilio said. "Definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done, but overall, it was a great experience."

Watch Corbin Emilio on the season premiere of "Hell's Kitchen: Head Chef's Only" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26 on Fox.

Reach Jelissa Burns at 920-453-5107 or jburns1@gannett.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @burns_jelissa or on Instagram at burns_jelissa.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Here's how this Appleton chef earned himself a spot on the new season of 'Hell's Kitchen'