With the thrilling finale to cooking competition series The Big Brunch concluded, chef and series competitor Catie Randazzo is sitting down with Tracy E. Gilchrist of Advocate Today to discuss their vulnerability this season, and what it means to be openly nonbinary on television.

Hosted by LGBTQ+ actor Dan Levy, HBO describes The Big Brunch as show that "celebrates inspiring, undiscovered culinary voices from every corner of the country." Throughout eight episodes, the series "gives ten talented chefs the opportunity to share their stories and business dreams while vying for a life-altering $300,000 cash prize."

As for Randazzo, they felt right at home among their competition, as the restaurant industry is a place they found "belonging" in. Throughout their career, Randazzo has sought to make food inclusive and appealing to all.

"With my food, what I try to do is make sure that there's always something for everyone. There's always something vegan; there's always something gluten free; there's always something vegetarian," they explain. "So, when you come into an establishment where I am preparing the food, and I have put something out, you can see that I've thought about you already, before you even walked in the door."

Randazzo adds: "I tend, for my food, to always be thoughtful and considerate, because I think that's the way that we should treat each other, so that's the way I like to look at food and present food to people that come to eat my food."

While filming The Big Brunch, Randazzo was recovering from the loss of their business due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To an international audience, they opened up about the devastating effects of losing their restaurant, and how it affected their mental health, something they believe was important to share.

"I was suicidal, I was incredibly depressed, I was self medicating because I didn't want to deal with what was going on. And to be able to come out the other side and share that, I think is valuable," Randazzo says.

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Randazzo also made LGBTQ+ history as an out nonbinary contestant on a cooking competition show. They share that they came out as nonbinary to their friends and family just three months before filming. Randazzo shares they also began chest-binding while on the show.

"I think it's really important to put yourself out there so that other people who are like you can see you, and know that other people like you exist, and that you aren't the only one. Because sometimes it feels like you are," they say. "It was hard enough to come out as gay in 1999, but I always knew that I was more-than, or it was different. I didn't see anybody, and the words weren't out there, so it took a long time to come to this part of my gender."

Now the executive chef at Huckleberry Bakery & Café in Santa Monica, California, Randazzo spends their time outside the kitchen at local nonprofits such as Star House, a drop-in center for displaced youth where Randazzo teaches cooking classes and LGBTQ+ workshops.

On their work, Randazzo says: "I want to have a little deli attached to the establishment as well where these kids and young adults can come in and work and learn a trade, and learn how to feel good about themselves, and learn how to feel secure in who they are, and be able to express themselves as individuals without anybody judging them or making them feel like they aren't good enough."

To see Randazzo in action, catch them on The Big Brunch streaming on HBO Max and Amazon Prime, and watch their full interview with The Advocate Channel below.