Telford chef Shelby Fahrni is one of the contestants on the latest season of the popular Food Network game show Chopped, writes Michele Haddon for the Bucks County Courier Times.

Fahrni tried making her first dish when she was only four.

“I saw Julia Childs dress a chicken on TV,” she said. “And I was like this is what I want to do with my entire life.”

From that point on, she spent most of her childhood taking notes and recreating various dishes like those she watched celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse making on television.

In 2015, she graduated from culinary school, after which she learned under Chef Lidia Bastianich of the Batali & Bastianich brands. She specialized in Italian cuisine before traveling to Italy to further hone her skills. After returning, Fahrni worked for Eddie V’s, reaching the position of executive chef at the King of Prussia location.

Today, she teaches cooking classes at The Cooking Studio in Telford.

“I wanted to give back, I wanted to make sure the next generation knows how to cook,” she said.

Fahrni’s episode of Chopped premiered on April 30.

Read more about Shelby Fahrni going on Chopped in the Bucks County Courier Times.

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