Little Rock chef to be contender on Food Network's food truck competition show

Donnie Ferneau Jr. was the winner of the 2016 Arkansas Diamond Chef competition at the UA-Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute.
Donnie Ferneau Jr. was the winner of the 2016 Arkansas Diamond Chef competition at the UA-Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute.

Little Rock chef Donnie Ferneau will attempt to broil the competition and bag $50,000 on a Southern-themed season of a Food Network show.

Seven teams of food truck novices will bake and batter Southern staples on the new season of The Great Food Truck Race. The series, hosted by celebrity chef Tyler Florence, is in its eighth cycle.

Ferneu's food truck is dubbed The Southern Frenchie, according to the show's website. Ferneau owned his successful namesake restaurant for almost a decade but "had a rocky tenure with a health food spot that put him in debt," the show's website states. Good Food by Ferneau on Main Street in North Little Rock closed after just a year.

The chef came to the capital city more than 15 years ago and has since won the Diamond Chef Arkansas competition multiple times, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. He proposed to his wife, Meaghan, who will join him on the show, over burgers at the late-night Little Rock bar Midtown Billiards.

Ferneau will also be aided in the competition by sous chef Amanda Ivy. The trio will compete against six other teams on challenges such as creating a signature beignet and selling it in the French Market in New Orleans and crafting a dish inspired by the ever-popular Hurricane drink, the website said.

The show premieres Aug. 20 at 8 p.m.

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