Emily ellyn cutthroat kitchen

Four chefs entered Cutthroat Kitchen Sunday night, but only one — UCF grad Emily Ellyn — walked out with a few thousand dollars in her pocket.

After surviving four rounds of culinary sabotage and proving her cooking prowess to chef judge Anne Burrell, Ellyn added Cutthroat Kitchen to her list of Food Network conquests — as well as $17,800 to her bank account. She has previously competed on The Next Food Network Star and Cupcake Wars, the latter of which was alongside Hollis Wilder of Sweet by Holly.

Donning red lipstick, gem stone-studded glasses and a polka dot scarf, Ellyn entered the first round. Ellyn and her competitors — Chef Jack, Chef Rob and Chef Ventura — were challenged to construct a classic deli sandwich. After being forced to harvest her ingredients from a vending machine and sit out for five minutes, the UCF alumna produced a sandwich whose ingredients, Burrell said, "could have been combined more cohesively."

And although Burrell thought the bread was too small to keep the ingredients from falling out, it was Chef Rob who was let go and Ellyn squeezed through to the next round, during which the competitors were tasked with churning out the perfect taco.

With all of her $25,000 remaining, Ellyn bid $3,6

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