Apple Chicken Salad (Finale Dish on Food Network 100 Cooks)

After making it through the breakfast challenge with my Bananas Foster French Toast, I was honestly just relieved. I was proud of how it turned out, but I was also incredibly nervous about making it through the lunch challenge. If I'm being completely honest, lunch just isn't something I spend a lot of time making at home. Dinner? Absolutely. Breakfast? I love it. Lunch? Not so much.

So when I started thinking about what to cook, my mind immediately went to chicken salad. It's one of my favorite lunches and something I've made countless times. It felt familiar, comforting, and like a little piece of home.

Then Terry pulled out the challenge ball.

Our lunch dish had to feature either jalapeños or apples.

I had already used jalapeños earlier in the competition for my Smoked Gouda Jalapeño Mac and Cheese, so I knew I wanted to show the judges something different. Apples felt like the obvious choice because they pair so well with chicken salad. It's a Southern classic, and I knew I could make something delicious with them. I just wasn't sure if it would be enough in a competition like this.

Since apples had to be the star of the challenge, I wanted to use them in more than one way. Before filming, I had seen someone make apple chips by slicing apples thin and cooking them in the air fryer. I thought they'd be the perfect crunchy side to go with my sandwich.

That was the plan...until the air fryer wouldn't turn on.

I stood there trying everything I could think of before finally calling Culinary over for help. We couldn't get it working, and every minute I spent standing there felt like an hour. Eventually we got it running, but by then I had already lost valuable time. I knew I had to move on and focus on the chicken salad because if anything was going to save me, it was going to be that.

At home, I almost always make chicken salad with rotisserie chicken. There was no way I was going to do that in the finale - even if they had one available. I had recently seen a method for cooking chicken that sounded almost too simple to work: bring the chicken to a boil, flip it, cover the pot, turn off the heat, remove it from the burner, and let it sit for ten minutes.

I figured I'd give it a shot.

Somehow, when I checked it, the chicken was exactly 165°F. Perfectly cooked. It felt like a huge win, and it's still the method I use today whenever I make chicken salad.

The apple selection in the pantry was unbelievable. There were varieties I'd never even heard of. I knew I wanted a balance of sweet and tart, so I reached for a Honeycrisp and a Granny Smith. But there was also another apple, one that was even sweeter than a Honeycrisp and that completely surprised me.

To this day, I still have no idea what it was.

I've searched online, looked through grocery stores around home, and even wondered if maybe it was a SweeTango, but I still don't think that's right. For some reason, I feel like the word "Wild" was in the name, but I could absolutely be remembering that wrong.

Whatever it was, it was delicious.

As time ticked away, I kept checking my apple chips every five minutes.

They weren't crisping.

They just kept getting...rubbery.

When I pulled them one last time, I knew they weren't worth putting on the plate. They simply weren't good enough.

When I recreated this recipe at home after filming, I realized exactly what had happened. My slices had been just a little too thick. Had I sliced them thinner, they would have crisped much faster. It was one of those tiny details you only learn through experience.

Unfortunately, I was learning that lesson with $215,000 on the line.

But honestly?

I don't have regrets.

I made exactly what I wanted to make.

I stayed true to myself.

And I walked away knowing I had given everything I had.

Going into that lunch challenge, I honestly believed Doug and Bryce were my biggest competition for making the finale. Bryce had won multiple challenges throughout the season and is an incredibly talented cook. Doug's precision in the kitchen amazed me every single day. Everything he did had purpose, and it felt like watching a professional chef at work.

They're both incredible cooks, humble people, and I'm so thankful to have went through this experience with them and the other cooks left in the competition.

Finally it was time for judging and me to receive my fate. Of course Alex pointed out initially that she saw me cooking Apple Chips.... and that it would have been better with another apple component/crunch on the plate and also that she didn't think my dish had enough Apples. I will disagree to this day on that one - the chicken salad was absolutely loaded with apples, you could see all of them on the screen (I've replayed it back many times since) but.... you can never disagree with ICAG. Thankfully however, Nick loved the flavors of the chicken salad and the balance of sweetness I had it in.

But honestly, I knew my plate just wasn't enough.

And strangely...I was okay with that.

When the three of us were standing there waiting to hear who would go home, I knew it was going to be me. What you didn't hear me say on TV when I left was "If I was to go home to anyone, I knew it would be one of these two" (referring to Bryce/Doug) right before I hugged them and wished them both good luck.

Of course I wanted to cook in the finale. I would have loved one more opportunity to fight for that title. But I was proud of myself. I had taken a risk on something I'd never made before, under pressure, on one of the biggest stages of my life.

That's something no one can take away from me.

As I stood there, I couldn't help but think about how far I'd come.

About seven years ago, I started casually sharing recipes on my personal Instagram page. I'd post pictures of dinners I made and little cooking tips here and there. Eventually, life changed. I had to make some difficult decisions, completely start over, and rebuild.

Then I met my fiancé.

He changed my life in more ways than he'll probably ever realize.

After working through a lot of fear and self-doubt, he encouraged me to start over and create a page dedicated entirely to sharing recipes. In January 2025, Holley in the Kitchen was born.

Since then, I've had the privilege of helping families all over the country and even around the world, put easy, homemade meals on their tables.

That means more to me than I can ever explain.

Yes, I happened to be the oldest of the final five cooks standing in that kitchen. But age never once made me feel behind. If anything, it reminded me that it's never too late to chase something that matters to you.

Sometimes starting over isn't the end of your story.

Sometimes it's the beginning of the best chapter.

If there's one thing I hope people take away from watching my journey, it's this:

Don't let someone else decide what's possible for your life.

If there's something you believe in, something you're passionate about, don't stop pursuing it. Don't let fear, your age, your circumstances, or someone else's opinion convince you that it's too late.

Start over if you have to.

Take the chance.

You never know where it might lead.

For me, it led to the experience of a lifetime inside the 100 Cooks kitchen and one I'll never forget.

And while I didn't make it to cook in the finale, I couldn't be happier for Doug and Bryce. They absolutely earned their spots, and watching Bryce take home the 100 Cooks crown was incredibly special. He deserved every bit of it, and I can't wait to watch what comes next for him.

As for me...

I'm just getting started.

Here's to whatever comes next for Holley in the Kitchen and of course I can't do it without all of your support.... so thank you for being here.