Oct 26

Oct 26 Chevy and Food Network Superstar Kyle Schutte

It’s not everyday that you can go to a restaurant and have your food cooked by the undisputed winner of a top food reality competition show. Foodie TV fans will remember Kyle Schutte from when he made Food Network history on Cutthroat Kitchen when he became the first contestant in the show to make it through the competition without placing a single bid, successfully winning the full $25,000 prize. He now owns his own restaurant in Beverly Hills The FLATS: a dining experience with a focus on artisanal flat breads, unique house-cured meats, and inventive craft cocktails fit for your Instagram feed. Froze in pineapple copper cups, anyone? Best of all, as fans will know from the show, his food is delicious. He believes in farm-to-table ingredients and using local purveyors. That enthusiasm for good quality translates to his food at The FLATS. Since I’m a food writer that can’t cook, Chevrolet decided to have some fun and pair me up with Chef Kyle Schutte for a day to learn how to make a simple meal. Schutte, who visits his local farmers market every week started a “52 Weeks at the Market” blog on his website, KyleSchutte.com and took the opportunity take me to the Hollywood Farmers Market and teach me how to pick out fresh produce for his personal roasted chicken and glazed root vegetables and seasonal salad recipe. We hopped in our Chevy Malibu for the adventure and then returned to his restaurant The FLATS where he gave me a one-on-one cooking lesson and two simple recipes that you can follow and recreate on your own!

Onto the Malibu though! I had the car for a little over a week and it was a dream! Seriously! The Malibu Hybrid comes with a 1.8L hybrid engine offering 49 MPG city, and hybrid-exclusive features like the Driver Efficiency Gauge — which helps to provide feedback on how your driving habits affect fuel economy so you get the most out of every gallon. The big touch screen console was also much more responsive and easier to use than my Acura’s. And they use BOSE speakers! My XM radio sounded so clear. If you’re in the market for a new car, I’d definitely go and at the very least take a test drive. My weeklong test drive has totally changed how I felt about Chevy cars. My main concern was that it wouldn’t have enough power, which did not end up being the case. Chef Kyle and I spent half a day driving the car around rounding up groceries before I jetted off to a staycation in Irvine using the car. It performed better than expected both days and for the subsequent week. To learn more about the Malibu, check out their website. This car would also make a great ride sharing car. You save so much on gas!