BUZZ: Chef Lisa Brooks appears on Food Network's 'Chopped'

Count Lisa Brooks as the latest to join the ranks of local culinary stars to appear on television. Brooks, who's behind Heart & Soul Personal Chef Service, served as a judge on an episode of Food Network's "Chopped" that aired this week.

“‘Chopped’ is something that has been on my vision board,” Brooks told CharlotteFive, according to its recent write-up on her.

The episode features an all-Black cast and judging panel — a nod to Black History Month. Contestants created dishes that showcased Black culinary contributions to American cuisine, using ingredients such as fish and Southern vegetables, per the network's website.

This wasn't her first time on the network — she was in an episode of "Guy's Grocery Games" back in 2015, according to the media kit on her website — and she's made several appearances on local TV.

But it was special because it offered a chance to represent her own matriarchal legacy, she told C5. Brooks grew up cooking with her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Brooks talked with CBJ back in 2020 about her path to starting a business, how it's grown over the years and how she adapted to stay afloat in the early months of the pandemic.

She joins other prominent local chefs who've made TV appearances over the years. That includes Chris Coleman of The Goodyear House and Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails, who's been on "Chopped" as well as "Beat Bobby Flay" on Food Network, Greg Williams and Jamie Barnes, who were recently on Cooking Channel's "Food Paradise," and Haymaker's William Dissen, who joined celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay on National Geographic's "Uncharted."

In other local news:

With the exception of a few months last spring and summer, Mecklenburg County has been under a mask mandate for nearly two years. That's now set to end on Feb. 26 following a vote yesterday by county commissioners — although The Charlotte Observer notes there's been no enforcement since August.

The decision comes as a large share of Americans have some level of immunity — at least for now — after the Omicron variant of Covid-19 swept through the nation, according to the Associated Press.

Gov. Roy Cooper is set to give an update this afternoon on guidance for schools on masks.

Other local signs in recent days that the pandemic may be waning include Novant Health's decision to relax visitation restrictions, Harris Teeter adjusting its store hours and announcements heralding the return of big events. Those range from the U.S. National Whitewater Center's St. Patrick's Day party next month and Salisbury's Cheerwine Festival in the spring to a full-scale Charlotte Pride celebration over the summer and Taste of Charlotte this fall.

Construction on the much-anticipated Golf House Pinehurst project is inching closer to a start, the Triangle Business Journal reports, and it should be wrapped up in time for the U.S. Open Championship slated to be played there in 2024. The U.S. Golf Association, which is behind the $36 million project, expects to open bids for vendors soon. It will include office space, a visitor center/museum and a test center, according to TBJ.

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