GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. -- A Greensboro firefighter and High Point native showed off his culinary skills on a national cooking competition show.
Daniel Gray, also known as Chef MonkonJay, was a contestant on the first responders episode of 'Chopped!' He battled with three other firefighter cooks.
The episode aired Tuesday night on the Food Network. Unfortunately, Chef MonkonJay was chopped from the competition, but his community was rooting for him all the way at a watch party at the High Point Theatre.
Chef Monkonjay got chopped in the dessert round. He made Cherries jubilee with sriracha mayonnaise, mango and smoked chocolate chips, which still sounds delicious to us!
Before the episode, Gray talked to WFMY News 2's Tracey McCain about the Chopped experience.
"It was actually much harder in person, about 10 times harder," said Gray. "All that stuff is real. None of that is Hollywood. We are really in there competing."
Gray specializes in Cheesecakes; it's his signature dish. That's why he named his business Uncle Cheesecake.
"We are a custom cheesecake company," he said. "We make anything from Fruity Pebbles to peanut butter an jelly, just anything you can really think of."
Gray demonstrated one of his most popular dishes, Tuesday on the Good Morning Show.
"Our most popular one is called the 'Uncle Cheese stick,'" said Gray. "It's a frozen piece of cheesecake on a stick, dipped in white chocolate and then we're going to roll it in some strawberry shortcake crumbs."
Gray sells his cheesecakes at the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market. He says out of the 20 toppings to choose from, the strawberry shortcake always comes out on top.
The firefighter for Greensboro Station 2, grew up in High Point attended High Point Central but his love for cooking really took off at the firehouse.
"At work, I'm the full time cook," Gray laughed. "I've been the full time cook for the last 2 to 3 years of my firefighting career; so people kind of caught word that I can cook so they're making me do it."
You can find Daniel Gray, Uncle Cheesecake and Chef MonkonJay on Facebook or visit these locations to enjoy his desserts:
Spiros Family High Point