Luchador's Zuri Resendiz Competes in 24-Hour Food Network Contest Tonight

Starting today, April 27, you can watch chef Zuri Resendiz compete for $75,000 on the Food Network's 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing. The challenge pitted 24 chefs against each other for 24 hours straight — with no sleeping during the filming and, for some competitors, no breaks at all — and then divided the footage into the second season of the show.

Resendiz can't reveal how long he lasts on Last Chef Standing, which was filmed last fall. During the first season, the number of competitors was immediately chopped in half in the first episode, with an elimination challenge that sent a dozen chefs home.

This is Resendiz's fifth Food Network show; he'd previously appeared on Chopped, Guy's Grocery Games and Supermarket Stakeout. Although he can't talk about specifics of Last Chef Standing, he says that typically before a show, he spends a few weeks doing trial runs. Since he has no idea what the challenges will be and they often include surprise ingredients, in the past he's trained by visiting farmers' markets, choosing items at random and going home to concoct dishes with a timer.

This time, he didn't have time to practice. The show was filmed in September – just a month after he opened his Mexican restaurant Luchador at 2030 East 28th Avenue and right before his wife was due to deliver a baby.

"I just said, let me enjoy this one," Resendiz recalls. "I'm here for a reason. I'm a chef and restaurant owner, and I get to cook what I want to." Besides, no matter how much you practice, once the competition starts, he jokes that "all those ideas are gone."

For Resendiz, participating in 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing was more about the exposure and learning experience than the money. Just being on the show, he felt more than tested, cooking against previous Food Network competition winners and James Beard winners and semifinalists. "I thought it was a great opportunity to cook with some of the best chefs in America," he says. "I wanted to show them why I am here."
Being on these shows also gives him the opportunity to learn new things and stretch his talents. Running a restaurant with a focused menu, even one with rotating dishes and specials, can leave little time for playing with trends. For Resendiz, the competitions offer an opportunity to break the mold. "Sometimes, it's hard to keep learning," he says. "But when you compete on that level, you get to see what's new, what's trendy." Resendiz hints that one item on his current menu might have been inspired by a dish he made on the show.

Each challenge tests a certain skill, like speed in the kitchen or adaptability with ingredients. Resendiz's own background is varied: He moved to Denver from Mexico City in 2002 and worked at the now-closed German restaurant Chinook Tavern and Italian restaurants Panzano and Cattivella; he also served as executive chef at Shanahan's Steakhouse. He started Luchador as a food truck in 2022, then created a brick-and-mortar on the concept that earned Luchador a Best of Denver award last month.

Leaving Luchador just weeks after the restaurant had opened to film in Colorado was a challenge, but he'd prepped his staff — although the reason for his absence was shrouded in secrecy — and says he had total confidence in them. "And they did great," he notes.

This is the Food Network's second season of 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, which the hosts repeatedly tout as "the wildest day of your lives" to the chefs, who all start out peppy, then can begin to sag. Resendiz wasn't worried about how his body would handle the challenge. Being a chef and a restaurant owner, he's used to long hours on his feet, like most people in the industry. "Every chef knows their body," he says, adding that he felt confident he could handle the 24 hours: After opening a restaurant, "I thought, 24 hours is going to be nothing."

But did he make it through the full 24-hour competition to become the last chef standing? Tune in over the next few weeks to find out.

The first episode of 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing season two airs at 6 p.m. MDT on Sunday, April 27, on the Food Network and streams the next day on MAX.