MAKfam Chef Kenneth Wan Competes on Chopped June 10

MAKfam got its start as in 2019 as Meta Asian Kitchen in the Avanti food hall. But in November 2023, its owners, chef Kenneth Wan and wife Doris Yuen, made the big leap to open up MAKfam (Meta Asian Kitchen + family), combining their contemporary, family Chinese recipes with a cool, modern setting in the Baker neighborhood.

The eatery already feels like an iconic spot at an intersection that boasts Snooze next door, Punch Bowl Social across the street, The Hornet catty-corner across Broadway and, now next door to that, the relocated Lucky Noodles. Wan, who was trained at the French Culinary Institute, has earned some national attention for his skills in the kitchen, including a 2024 nod as a semifinalist in the James Beard Foundation's emerging chef category, and a Michelin Bib Gourmand award for his restaurant. "It helps that, you know, that Michelin recognized the work that we're doing here and put us in a little spotlight. We were nominated for Michelin in 2024, and James Beard has been very kind to me as well, putting me on some of their lists," Wan says.
"And so we're super grateful," he continues. "We didn't anticipate any of that when we first opened. We were just like, let's just open. We've been in Denver for a while. We have an idea of the scene. Let's just do what we do, you know? And in the first year, we got the Michelin and the James Beard."

That kind of attention gets you noticed, not just by local foodie reporters and influencers but national producers of television shows like Chopped, which reached out to Wan to gauge his interest in the on-camera cooking competition.

On June 10, the episode of Chopped on which Wan competed will air on the Food Network. He's sworn to secrecy about the show and how it went, but says that while he was nervous about the opportunity, he enjoyed the experience.

"There are a lot of casting producers who basically, from what I've learned, just kind of go on Instagram and notice a lot of chefs who really focus their social media content, doing reels and films and whatever," he says. "So it's an easy platform for a casting producer being like, 'Hey, you're a chef. I can see the history of your work right on your Instagram page. Would you be interested in XYZ?'"
For the record, Wan's Instagram page for MAKfam isn't exactly popping with reels and gimmicky content. He's acknowledged his awards from last year and earlier this year, but it's not full of daily, weekly or even monthly posts. And yet, MAKfam has caught the attention of power brokers as well as Denver diners.

He's been contacted with other pitches, Wan says: "And not just Food Network, but other food shows have also reached out to me just through Instagram, being a chef, like, 'If I have an opportunity, would you be interested?' You know, it says a lot about the modern-day age that we live in now. I mean, twenty years ago, I think chefs really had to seek those opportunities, versus a producer sliding into my DMs."

He practically grew up a fan of Chopped. "Oh, yeah. Chopped, to me, is like the OG cooking competition show, that and Iron Chef, are the two that I grew up watching," he says. Chopped has been on television since 2009. Following its huge success in Japan, Iron Chef American launched in 2001, then re-launched in 2005.

"I'm a big fan of Chopped," Wan says. He even challenges himself in Chopped style, when he's short on ingredients in his restaurant's kitchen. "When the kitchen guys say, 'Oh, we only have these ingredients,' I'm thinking, like, Chopped, right? I didn't choose these ingredients, but this is what I have. And I gotta be creative, right? I gotta figure it out. Just figure it out. You know, make it happen. So it's kind of how it goes."

That attitude may have prepared him for cooking on camera, but not necessarily being on camera. "There's some nerves involved when you're cooking in front of a camera to a wide national audience," he admits. "You can't think about the audience, though, right? Don't psyche yourself out. You just have to trust your gut and believe it, believe in yourself."
Wan, family and friends will be at home tomorrow night watching the show. There will be no public watch party like those another restaurant might throw — MAKfam is closed today and tomorrow.

"We don't want to make too big of a deal over it," Wan says. "We're just telling people to go check it out."

But it's definitely a big deal, and Wan admits it's a career highlight. "It was a great experience," he says. "That's my first time doing anything like that, so I had a blast, and it was a good time. I met some really cool chefs, so I'm super grateful for the experience. And would I do it again? Yeah, probably."

Chopped airs at 6 p.m. MDT Tuesday on the Food Network. For more information, visit foodnetwork.com/shows/chopped.