Midland foodie frontrunner in national Favorite Chef competition

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - Midland foodie Linda Louise Lyle is a front runner in the national James Beard Foundation Favorite Chef competition.

Lyle started competing against 100,000 people across the country five weeks ago. The competition is now down to 1,000 and she’s still going strong.

“I never dreamt I would get this far,” said Lyle.

Lyle was anonymously entered, she has three weeks left till the finals.

“I made it through the last five rounds in first place and I’m now in the quarter finals and I’m hoping for the big win,” said Lyle.

You can vote for Lyle here.

Check out some of her culinary creations below:

Upon moving to Midland three years ago, Lyle turned to the online Midland foodie groups to become involved in the community.

“Pretty much everyone that I know in Midland is because of food,” said Lyle.

Her online engagement has opened up a network of fellow Midland foodies.

The grand prize is $25,000.

“I want to start a scholarship for culinary students in this area. So I want to do at least two of those and then the rest will be for an outdoor kitchen,” said Lyle.

Lyles hour upon hours she dedicates to cooking in the kitchen is much more than just a hobby.

“It’s also therapy for me. I actually like cooking and creating and just coming up with different ideas and recipes, I really enjoy it,” said Lyle.

She cooks with a focus on local ingredients.

“It’s fun to use local and I think it’s important to support local and we don’t eat out much because I love to cook so much so this is my way of supporting the community also,” said Lyle.

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