Ellington Chef Competes on Food Network Program Airing May 30

Ellington resident Christopher J. Avtges recently competed on a special edition of Food Network’s popular cooking challenge show Chopped. 

The episode “Cook Your Butt Off” highlights four chefs from around the country who adjusted their cooking styles and achieved significant weight loss. Avtges has lost over 140 pounds. 

The taped episode featuring Avtges will first air on Thursday, May 30 at 9 p.m.  Under contract, he is unable to reveal to anyone, including his wife, how he placed in the competition. 

“It was an experience of a lifetime," Avtges said in a news release, “and I have not been able to share it yet with my wife. I can’t wait for my family and friends to watch.” 

Avtges attributes his weight loss to adjusting his diet and exercising regularly at Ellington’s Indian Valley YMCA. 

“My YMCA trainers, Jesse Flaherty and Laura Kratochvil, were monumental in helping me establish an intense workout schedule," he said. "That, in turn, motivated me to work on my caloric intake, leading me to examine my approach to cooking.”  

By using a calorie counting app on his iPhone, Avtges kept track of his caloric intake as well as his exercise. In addition to his regular YMCA workouts, he now fits in additional activities several times per week, such as kayaking with his family. He participates several times a year in local fitness challenges, and plans to participate in his second Sprint Triathlon later this year. 

Avtges was raised in Watertown, MA and is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI with an AOS in Culinary Arts and BS in Food Service Management. His career has included positions in the kitchens of restaurants, country clubs, colleges, and K-12 food service. He is currently exploring ways to use his life changing experience to help others do the same. 

He plans to watch the episode with his friends and family at Casey’s Café, 127 West Road, in Ellington.