Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon · Page D2

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Lees Carpet now thru September 21, 2014 18 0 % INTEREST MONTH it’s a i i i savings event savingsevent savingsevent its a a a a a its a a a a a a i i t t ts a a a its a a a a a a a a i savingsevent savingsevent spilla bration Save up to 50% on Stain-resistant Lees ® Carpet ® g g school scholarship, she knows she has much to be proud of. “Truly, I didn’t even expect to make it as far as I did,” Sequoia said this past week, kicking back on the couch in the living room of her mom’s house. “The fact that I was there and already on the show meant I had accomplished something and affirmed myself as a chef.” She is relieved to have the secrecy behind her. At one point she shut down her Facebook account because of all the questions she was getting and out of fear that she might reveal something. She looks the same as she does on TV, but her hair is now spiky on top. That warm and confident smile she flashed to viewers, not t he least bit self-conscious of her braces, is genuine. So is that spunky personality, which made such an impression o n one viewer in South Carolina t hat he started an online fundrais- i ng campaign for her culinary education. “She brought life and joy and fun and friendship to the competition,” proud mom Angee S chmittsaid. “When she got c hopped, the whole atmosphere c hanged.” What they don’t show Sequoia and her mom were f lown to New York City for the taping of the show in April. Pare nts were sent to the green room, where they watched their kids on multiple TV screens from every camera angle. Only contestants were allowed i n the kitchen, and it really does t ake approximately 12 hours to tape an episode. Sequoia was at the studio from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for both of hers. “What they show on TV is so m iniscule,” she said. D eliberations by the judges a fter each round take around 90 minutes. On TV, you might see 30 seconds’ worth of comments. “I thought that a lot of it would b e staged, but actually none of it is,” Sequoia said. “There’s just a l ot of editing.” There is a bit of acting involved, because it is reality TV. The contestants were filmed opening their baskets several times, for example, with the ingredients hidden under a black cloth. They were filmed staring a t their completed dishes for what Sequoia felt like was 10 minutes. S he said it was torture standing in front of the judges for so l ong after each round, anxiously w aiting to see who gets chopped, while host Ted Allen is filmed r epeating his line at least four t imes before he lifts the dish cover. “ At one point I could see my shadow shaking,” Sequoia said. Aluxury experience The judges, all successful c hefs and restaurant owners, were an intimidating bunch, at l east in the beginning. “ It’s so funny how you look at p eople on TV,” Sequoia said. “ Chris Santos seems like a hard, tough guy. But he was the nicest, most caring guy who took us under his wings.” While in New York, she and one of the other teens and their parents dined at Santos’ restaurant, Beauty & Essex. He personally sent every appetizer and dessert on the menu to their table, had his head chef give them a tour of the kitchen, and then offered each of them an opportunity to do a two-week internship at the restaurant. Sequoia has funny stories to tell about the filming, including the time when producers asked her to squirt ketchup and mustard on Plexiglass placed in front of the camera and instead squirted it all over the cameraman’s shoes, and the time when they h ad her squeeze a tomato in one hand and it exploded all over her face. She was surprised by how the s upport staff for the show waited o n them hand and foot, for food, d rink or anything else they might need. Her most frequent requests were for ginger ale and fruit cups. One time her lips were dry a nd she needed her ChapStick, so s omeone fetched it from her m om. “It was a luxury experience,” Sequoia said. The helpfulness extended to t he kitchen, even during the allot- t ed 30 minutes of cooking time in e ach round, which is something you don’t see on TV. “You could just yell, ‘Where’s the paprika?’ and they would say, ‘ To your left chef,’” Sequoia said. “It’s not a show about looking for i ngredients.” OMG, a signature move Chopped contestants are given abasket of unlikely food combi- n ations and challenged to create a n appetizer, main course and d essert that are judged on creativity, presentation and taste. The pressure builds as the clock ticks away the minutes. S equoia’s favorite basket was the one in the finale with octopus, p urple cauliflower, kumquats and coconut caramel cookies, even though it ultimately was the one that got her chopped. She forgot to put the kumquats on her plates. By the way, there was no exaggeration on the show of her reaction to handling the octopus. She r eally was repulsed. “It felt like grabbing a firm booger. It was sick,” she said. S equoia watched the episodes at her mom’s house with family a nd friends, and naturally there w ere some embarrassing moments. “ Oh, my word, like the whole t hing!” she told me. She has been teased for saying “ Oh, my God, Oh, my God, Oh, my God,” more times that you can count and for her signature move o f covering her mouth with both hands whenever someone was chopped. Lights, camera, action She was surprised by how little o f the footage shot for her bio w as actually used. A crew from F ood Network came to Salem in late March and spent about six hours with her. They filmed segments at South Salem High in the culinary kitchen and library. It was during spring break, so only the handful of school officials and her culinary teacher and classmates knew about it. They had to sign confidentiality agreements, too. The crew also filmed her dad, Rich Pranger, dropping her off at h er mom’s house, and her cooking in her mom’s kitchen. She was disappointed that footage of her longboarding was left on the editing room floor. She and her mom also were disappointed with how personal i nformation about the family was p ortrayed. Sequoia’s parents d ivorced when she was 3, but she wants to set the record straight. “I don’t pity my life at all. I don’t feel like I’ve had it rough n ecessarily,” she said. “It was p retty hyper-glamorized.” T here’s one thing she wishes she wouldn’t have said on camera: that she will be the first in her family to attend college. Her o lder sister is currently studying to become a medical assistant. Kumquats in the future Sequoia has her heart set on a culinary career. Her love of cooking was discovered at a very y oung age and by the time she w as 7, she was setting up a video c amera in the kitchen and pretending to be Rachael Ray. “I’d sit in front of the TV and watch Food Network and get i nspired, then wake everyone up banging pots and pans,” she said. S equoia hasn’t decided what to spend her $1,000 gift certificate to the Food Network Store. That was the consolation prize for the three finalists who didn’t win. “I want to spend it on things I c an have forever, like a food processor,” she said. “I’m not going t o order spoons.” She will continue to sharpen her skills through the culinary program at South Salem and is l ooking forward to an opportunity to work at DaVinci Ristorante. “ The moment we have an opening she’s going to have a chance,” said Mo Afshar, owner and general manager of the downtown Salem restaurant. “She has talent, and obviously she can learn. I would like to help her if I can.” And now back to those kumquats, the small citrus fruit that was prepped and waiting just to t he left of her cutting board. “ I am now going to dedicate the rest of my life to kumquats,” S equoia said. “My restaurant will be called Kumquats. Every dish will have them in it.” “Forward This” appears Wednesdays and Sundays and highlights the people, p laces and organizations of the M id-Willamette Valley. Contact Capi Lynn at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com o r (503) 399-6710, or follow her the rest o f the week at Facebook.com/CapiLynnSJ. Sequoia P ranger (right), 17, demonstrates h er usual reaction to a competitor being cut on “Chopped,” which became known as “Doing the Sequoia.” Her mother, Angee Schmitt, looks as she recounts her experience on the Food Network show. TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ / S TATESMAN JOURNAL Chopped Continued from Page 1D LOCAL FIRST The following are DUII convictions received on Wednesday. For more, go to StatesmanJournal.com/Records. UNDER THE INFLUENCE The following residents of Marion and Polk counties have been convicted of driving under the influence, according to records provided by the state Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division. Included are the defendant’s name, age, address, date of conviction and the court. AraizaJr., Juan Manuel: 27, 3925 Brooks Ave. NE, Keizer, July 7, Salem. Bocci, Chirstopher Charles: 63, 4533 Century Drive S, June 12, Marion. Delfino, John Michael: 52, 1715 Capitol St. SE, July 7, Marion. H arvey, Loyd Henry : 65, 8372 Enchanted Way SE, Spc. 41, Turner, July 3, Marion. Kasachev, VitalyTyler: 22, 4755 S Timber Trail Drive, Woodburn, June 17, Marion. Kirk, Cody James: 25, 20158 5th St., St. Paul, May 28, Marion. Taylor, Casey Lee: 22, 1620 Oak Grove Road NW, July 3, Salem. Tompkins, Tammy Diane: 53, 7696 Heckart Lane SE, July 7, Salem. Vandeneynde, Kellie Ann: 39, 235 E High St., Stayton, July 2, Marion. DUI The following are new complaints, foreclosures criminal convictions received between Monday and Friday. For more, go to StatesmanJournal.com/Records. MARION COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT New complaints Valley Credit Service. Inc. v. Jennifer Ann Arnett: Charges breach of contract, seeks $14,437 allegedly owed. Cascade Collections, Inc. v. Regina May Dankenbringaka Gina May Dankenbring and Larry Alan Dankenbring Sr., fdba Golden Grill and Golden Grill Concessions: Charges breach of contract, seeks $19,241allegedly owed. Barbara Dinsmoorv. Dennis Maas: Charges negligence in traffic collision on Ehlen Road NE, Aurora, Aug. 10, 2012, seeks $13,750 economic and $30,000 noneconomic damages for alleged injuries. Patricia Schierlingv. David Snook: Charges negligence in traffic collision on Commercial Street and Baxter Road SE, Salem, Aug. 11, 2012, seeks $100,000 noneconomic and $29,650 economic d amages for alleged injuries. Converging Capital v. DarrinE. Ledoux: Charges breach of contract, seeks $52,180 allegedly owed. Deanna Dixsonv. Renew Consulting, Inc.: Charges violation of ORS 659A.040 (injured worker discrimination) and battery, seeks $315,000 damages. Portfolio Recovery Associates v. Alfonso Lopez: Charges breach of contract, seeks $10,849 allegedly owed. Portfolio Recovery Associates v. Lisa M. Meling: Charges breach of contract, seeks $20,601allegedly owed. Portfolio Recovery Associates v. Colin B. Smith: Charges breach of contract, seeks $13,817 allegedly owed. Autovest v. Nicole Davis: Charges breach of contract, seeks $11,106 allegedly owed. Converging Capital v. Alfredo Hernandez: Charges breach of contract, seeks $11,385 allegedly owed. MaliaGrannov. Chip Boys, Inc.: Charges violation of ORS 659A.199 (whistleblower retaliation/discrimination), seeks $257,500 damages. Erica Charbonneauand Carl Hathcockv. Willamette University and Dennis Bergvall: Charges breach of express contract, implied contract, breach of implied duty of good faith and fair d ealing, promissory estoppels, fraudulent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, seeks $1,439,584 damages. Maria AuxilioAlcantarEstrada v. A & R SpadaFarms: Charges violation of ORS 659A.040, seeks $49,000 damages. Foreclosures filed Homestreet Bank v. Tamra F. Taylor and others, $164,657; U.S. Bank v. Karen Snyder and others, $168,317; Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. v. Kimberley A. Benson, personal representative for Rodney B. Clayton and Eileen M. Burton, deceased, and others, $158,046; Federal National Mortgage Association v. Jerry E. Haley and others, $111,686; U.S. Bank v. the estate of Edna Earl Seadore, deceased, and others, $277,349; The Bank of New York Mellon v. V irginia G. Leos and others, $219,544. RECORDS