Article: He's hot! ; Ritz Grill's executive chef lives the way he cooks: in extremes

Jason Gust is a study in extremes: Extreme hours. Extreme heat. Extreme talent.

That may explain why the 30-something executive chef of the Ritz Grill consistently does well at the Chef de Cuisine, an annual "Iron Chef"-like contest that's coming up again Sunday.

Four years ago, the second year of the contest, he won second place. The next year, it was third place. In 2005 and 2006, he won back-to-back firsts and got the gargantuan trophy to display at the restaurant.

"Yes, it's an impressive trophy and honor to have it at the Ritz," says Gust, who will defend his title Sunday. "It's about the size of a small child."

Not bad for a guy who basically stumbled into a culinary career. Some ...

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