Do you know who Ryan Rose is? If you have eaten at Zocalo’s you have had one of his delicious dishes. Ryan Rose is the head chef at the popular Sacramento restaurant Zocalo’s. Ryan is also one of 14 finalists on the Food Network TV show “Next Food Network Star.”

Rose started working at Zocalo right out of college and then three years ago, Ryan worked his way from the dining room to the kitchen. He has dreamed of becoming a head chef since his time living and studying in Spain.

Ryan and a co-worker heard about the youtube contest to become the “Next Food Network Star” and submitted a video. “Food is culture to me and that’s what’s awesome about working in a Mexican restaurant is that the food I cook is people’s heritage,” Ryan said. In the video Ryan cooks an authentic Spanish paella for soccer fans watching the World Cup soccer playoffs.

Click here to see Ryan’s video

The Food Network liked his video and now Ryan is a finalist in the Food Network competition. Ryan and 13 other contestants have a chance at winning their own cooking TV show. If he wins, Rose said, “My idea would be to travel to Mexico. You try a dish or maybe you go to a senora’s home or maybe you’re in a marketplace and you’re looking at a dish and how they’re doing it and you bring it back home to your kitchen.”