Local Denver chef Oscar Padilla reached national attention through his time on Food Network’s popular “Chopped” cooking competition show, which airs Tuesday night with his win.

Padilla’s path to success, and becoming a recognized chef, took more than 20 years, he said. Born in Los Angeles, Padilla was first introduced to cooking by his grandmother, Gloria Hernandez. Growing up, she would make massive amounts of food for her family from Latin and Spanish influences.

In his professional care, Padilla learned from chefs including Enrico Olvera and Bento Molina in Mexico City before he went to New York City to work for Richard Sandoval Restaurants as a sous chef.

“I love New York because I lived in Mexico City for a long time,” Padilla said. “For me, Mexico City and New York is the same city, the difference is the big buildings.”

When the opportunity arose to move to Denver about nine years ago, Padilla and his family made the decision to leave the big city for the mountainous landscape. His wife, Norma, and children 16-year-old Emello and 12-year-old Miranda, are a big part of Oscar’s life.

“Food for me is everything,” Padilla said.

In his mind, it is his job to bring the culture behind his creations to customers, not just a plate of food. It’s important for him to connect people to the heritage of his work and share that Latin American food goes beyond the Americanized nacho, he said.

“Traditional food from Latin America is amazing, but you have amazing products like the local meats from the Rocky Mountains, you have these amazing cheese[s] from the local farms,” Padilla said. “You work with the locals using your talent [with] their amazing products, you create something insane and I love it. People love it.”

His goal is to serve as an inspiration to others to do the same. Padilla hopes to do that through his work at his new Argentinean influenced wood fire restaurant, Gaucho Parrilla, and his catering company, E.S.W FUEGO. He hopes to open more concepts across the country, potentially in Houston or Chicago.

As for “Chopped,” Padilla said the experience was “amazing.” It required filming in New York City in addition to competing in a high-stress environment under the clock, according to Padilla. Food Network had reached out to him multiple times before, but he finally had the time to do the show this time around.

“This last year, the timing was perfect,” Padilla said. “So it’s too much stress, but so fun, so amazing. This opportunity is something I had on my mind for a long, long time, like a dream.”