Lake Forest Park mom competes to win $100,000 on NBC cooking show Food Fighters

Alice Currah in Lake Forest Park
Photo copyright Marc Weinberg

 By Marc Weinberg

Alice Currah of Lake Forest Park is a contestant on NBC’s show, Food Fighters. The segment with Alice competing against a celebrity chef will air on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8pm. Check your listings.

Food Fighters pits the best amateur cooks against celebrity chefs. This soccer mom puts her signature dishes on the line with this ultimate challenge which could win her $100,000. Her challengers are chefs from around the world and the competition is filled with drama and excitement. The judges are selected from a diverse group of everyday people and anything could happen.

Alice’s interest in food began many years ago. In the 1960’s her parents emigrated from Korea and settled here where they created a travel business. They worked so hard at it they never had time to travel, but devoted themselves to their children. They didn’t have much, but a one pot meal provided for all, consisting of rice, veggies from her dad’s garden and a little meat. This was their diet every day. In grade school Alice started to experiment with food in order to create some variation in the family meals. She remembers getting items under a government assistance program where the containers had a basic black and white label, nothing fancy. 

Alice on the set of Food Fighters
Photo by Greg Gayne/NBC

Her commitment to her parents and her immediate and extended family has always been her highest priority. She and her husband Rob have three children and providing for them is a natural extension of how she was raised. Today she says she doesn’t think Rob understands all the things she’s doing or how they have occurred, but his only request is that “family comes first” and there is no doubt about that. Alice’s father passed away four years ago and today her Mom is part of her family. 

Alice started blogging about cooking in 2009. Before that she didn’t know what a blog was. And today she is rated by Forbes.com as one of the very best food bloggers in the country. In 2010 she won Saveur.com’s first ever Photo Cover Contest.

She also judges food competitions like the Pillsbury One Million Dollar Bake Off. She writes a weekly food column for PBS Parents and hosts a cooking series on PBS Digital Studios. You’ll also find her in “Martha’s Circle” (Martha Stewart). She wrote a book called Savory Sweet Life (100 simple delicious recipes for every family occasion). And you’ll find her online under the same name. 

From the time we spent together in the interview for this article, my sense is that if her recipes are as technically perfect, sweet and savory, and as well balanced as she manages her life, her family and her accelerating career … she’s a winner and could go all the way to win the grand prize. Tune in and let’s find out.