Kalispell’s Stephen Kina was born and raised in Hawaii, so he’s not unfamiliar with the island terrain and weather. But he admits that when he originally applied to be on “Chopped Castaways,” he thought it was going to be more of a barbecue competition.
Advertised as “live fire cooking on an island,” the owner of 406 BBQ thought it was up his alley as someone who considers himself a pitmaster. When he got the final casting call and it was clear that it was part of the “Chopped” franchise, he had doubts he’d be able to stand against the other chefs in the competition.
“I think the biggest thing for me was going into the show and hopefully inspiring my two sons, Ronin* and Ryu, that it doesn’t matter if there’s a challenge in front of you or if you’re faced with obstacles out of your comfort zone. If you have a chance to do it, you should make the best out of it,” Kina said.
“Chopped Castaways” combines reality TV-style games with classic Food Network cooking competitions. Battling the elements across two grueling cooking rounds each week, competitors must build a working kitchen from basic supplies, earn their signature “Chopped” ingredient baskets through intense physical challenges and cook entirely over open fire, according to a release from the Food Network.
The premiere airs on May 12 at 10 p.m. Mountain Time, or 9 p.m. ET/PT. Times may vary depending on the television carrier.
The eight-episode series pits 12 chefs against each other on a remote island, where they compete for the $100,000 grand prize. They will start out in teams before dissolving into an individual battle.
There were a few things Kina felt confident in before heading to the island, like his skills cooking over fire. His dishes at 406 BBQ use those techniques, where guests are able to see his cooking process in real-time, using no electricity over hot coals.
Kina’s talent has won him recognition at barbecue events and competitions across the U.S., but he’s still somewhat of a newcomer.
“I only started to barbecue four years ago, and I only started to kind of really dabble into the culinary world about a year ago,” Kina said. “So that was my biggest concern going in, just the lack of experience compared to these other world-class chefs that I’m competing against.”
There were also the physical challenges to prepare for, as each episode opens with survival-driven physical challenges, like archery, spearfishing or diving. He said he was super comfortable in the gym, running and working out a lot.
But there was no way to fully prepare for what the island had in store.
“I know I can’t go into too much detail, but everything that I did to prepare for the show went out the window as soon as the first challenge started. And I know all my other competitors are the same. Everything we expected was completely different. And I think that’s what made this feel so fun,” he said.
He was able to use his strength to his benefit in many of the challenges, but there were some where endurance was key.
Battling against the island’s elements made each challenge more difficult. And because there hasn’t been a Food Network show like this before, Kina said he and his competitors didn’t have much to go off to prepare.
“We’re not doing it on a set, where you know the waves and the current are contained or fixed. It was crazy. We still are at a loss for words for everything we experienced there because everything we’ve seen on cooking shows is just so controlled. It’s a controlled environment,” Kina said.
But it wasn’t something he was totally unfamiliar with as someone who grew up on an island. His background in the military proved useful, as he could mentally withstand being in an uncomfortable environment.
“So I was comfortable being stuck on the island,” he said.
Kina’s love of barbecue was fostered during his time in the military and from living on the East Coast. When he moved to Montana in 2020, there weren’t many barbecue options, and he’d always wanted to open his own food truck.
He went full-time with the venture in 2022 after being open for about five months. He said he faced challenges as an Asian American man cooking southern-style barbecue in Montana. Though many glossed over the operation at first, he said he eventually won people over with the food and became one of the top barbecue joints in the Flathead Valley.
406 BBQ was invited to cook food for the Kentucky Derby, the only restaurant from Montana to be invited to do so in the race’s history, Kina said. He’s also found success at nationwide barbecue competitions. At a recent event in Texas where he was a featured pitmaster, attendees told him that they “didn’t know they did barbecue like that in Montana.”
“I love winning people over with flavors because it just breaks those stereotypes. That’s kind of the mindset that I took into the show, like I’ve already faced a lot and I’ve always tackled each challenge as it comes. I don’t give up, I just work harder. I found success because of that, and I wanted to take that same mindset to the island,” Kina said.
Though he’s found success outside the Flathead Valley, he’s always giving credit to the place where his dreams started. He feels honored to represent Montana at nationwide barbecuing events, and even more proud to represent both the Treasure State and his home state of Hawaii in the “Chopped” competition.
“Hawaii is kind of underrepresented in a lot of things that you see on TV or even in culture and business, but Montana is too, in a way. So, it’s cool to represent both these states that have been super influential in the success that I found,” Kina said.
Learn more about 406 BBQ at 406-bbq.com.
For more information about the premiere episode of “Chopped Castaways,” visit www.foodnetwork.com/shows/chopped-castaways/.
*This story has been corrected.
Stephen Kina and his fellow competitors on “Chopped Castaways.” (photo courtesy of the Food Network.)
