Manayunk Restaurant Wins Gold On Food Network Show

MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA — Manayunk's The Spicy Belly recently crushed it on Food Network’s new show, "Family Food Showdown."

After many nerve-wracking interviews, local business owner, Jason Mills, along with brother and chef Jimmy Mills, and his fiancée Anastascia got the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles and compete in a cook-off against another family.

When all was said and done, The Spicy Belly took home the gold prize on the program.

“We were very excited to be able to fly out to LA and compete on the show,” said Jason Mills. “It was definitely an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to compete on the Food Network. Being able to compete as a family made it even more special.”

The Food Network found interest in the fact that The Spicy Bell is a small minority-owned restaurant with a combination of Korean and Jamaican food.

The competition consisted of three rounds all together. In the first round, the family served up coconut shrimp over japchae noodles with cucumber kimchi. The second round consisted of a Korean-inspired lamb burger with cucumber relish and jerk spiced chips, and the third round brought a sweet plantain wrapped in puff pastry with a pancetta chocolate sauce and pecan brittle to the show’s judges.

“After losing the first round, we really needed to absorb the feedback from the judges and come back strong in the second round,” Jason Mills said. “Winning the second round and having the advantage really gave us great momentum into the third and final round. Victory was great! For a new small business to win on the big scale was amazing and very self-gratifying. Strong teamwork definitely helped us prevail and represent Philadelphia and our Korean Jamaican roots."

After the fast-paced cook-off, the Manayunk locals took home the gold prize and a ton of memories from the amazing experience. The Mills family was on the ninth episode of “Family Food Showdown,” which originally aired on April 27.