Local Chef Advances on Hell's Kitchen [VIDEO]

Longtime Southeast resident Tommy Stevens has always done things his own way, usually by researching a subject and teaching himself a new skill.

That’s how he learned to play the guitar and it’s also how he learned to cook — a skill that has landed him on this season’s Hell’s Kitchen, a reality show on FOX. The contest features intense competition and verbal spats as the participants aim to fulfill Chef Gordon Ramsay’s challenges.

Stevens, 32, is one of nine contestants who are competing — the next episode airs at 8 p.m. Monday — for the grand prize: a head chef position at BLT Steakhouse in Manhattan. Nine hopefuls have been eliminated since the season kicked off July 18.

That was the first time Stevens ever tuned in to Hell’s Kitchen. Before he auditioned and was chosen — from thousands of applicants — for the show, he knew little about it, mostly because of the fact that his 60-hour work schedule left little time for television each week.

But when a coworker at his last job, Bistro 19 in Somers, told him about the upcoming try-outs, he decided to give it a shot. Stevens named two factors behind his audition: the opportunity to donate half of the winning salary to the American Cancer Society, and the chance to work side-by-side with Ramsay.

“I really like the guy,” he said. “I followed him around, I learned as much as I could.”

In fact, Stevens is constantly learning, through experiments in the kitchen and his own dining experiences. When he is out to dinner, he is often figuring out a way to create his own version of whatever he’s eating, just like he figured out how to skip culinary school and still learn to cook.

“Culinary school is for cheaters,” he told Patch with a grin, explaining that he would shop around at local markets, pick up all sorts of books and more to learn how to cook. His mother, Diana Stevens, attests to the fact that her son often goes about things in an untraditional manner.

“He’s always been inclined toward the creative side of his personality,” Diana Stevens said, referencing her son’s love of music and art. “I give him a lot of credit for that.”

That creativity is not hard to spot in his cooking. Stevens often focuses on fusions, and says that his signature dish is “everything.” He is currently revamping the menu at in Ridgefield, Conn., where he is head chef. Some of the most exciting dishes he will be preparing include fresh pastas, an Italian spin on lobster tails, Japanese fusion meals and more.

Regardless of the show's outcome, Stevens' long-term goals include owning a handful of restaurants — most likely in this region — and purchasing a new car.

"I will own three restaurants ... right now my goal is to own a Camaro by the end of next year."