Spoiler alert for those who haven't watched Tuesday’s Chopped competition show on the Food Network. A Detroit chef and restaurant were in the spotlight, taking center stage on an episode of Food Network’s "Chopped" cooking competition show. And the chef, Hamissi Mamba, ultimately prevailed. More: Downtown Detroit's Orchid Thai restaurant closing suddenly after 18 years Mamba is the chef and co-owner of Baobab Fare — No. 1 on the 2022 Detroit Free Press 10 Best New Restaurants list — along with his wife, Nadia Nijimbere, in the New Center area. He was declared the episode winner, taking home the top $10,000 prize on Tuesday’s episode. They are refugees from Burundi, Africa, who came to the U. S. nearly a decade ago. More: Avalon reopens in new spot Wednesday with bargain on its signature cookies More: Otus Supply in Ferndale suddenly closes “I didn’t expect to win,” Mamba said. “On the first course, I was still doubting myself. ” But Mamba said he got a boost when the judges tasted that dish and deemed the dish “amazing. ” During a Detroit watch party held at Durfee Innovation Society, a large audience of friends, family, and fellow metro Detroit food industry workers cheered loudly as the praise for Mamba's dish of East African-spiced scallop tacos made with unusual ingredients from the show's mystery basket, such as fried gluten and peanuts and sweet chai tea. “It was not something I was expecting, “ he said. “My motivation (for competing) was taking the opportunity to talk about Detroit – my home, my country Burundi and the mission of Freedom House. ” More: Detroit chef wins $10K on Food Network's 'Chopped,' donates winnings to asylum seekers The cooking competition features four chefs creating dishes in three categories: appetizer, entrée, and dessert. In each round, the chefs are given a market basket of goods with preselected items and create a meal to present to the judges. Each dish is judged and determined whether it’s worthy or deemed the competitor "chopped," or eliminated, from the competition. Cooking from what was in the market basket was the easy part for Mamba. It’s how he grew up, heading to the markets in Burundi, and cooking with ingredients you find that day. “For me opening the basket, this is my life, my childhood, how I grew up. You make a dish from what you have,” Mamba said. Following his impressive scallop tacos appetizer, Mamba wowed judges with an ostrich stew with coconut rice, prepared similarly to the slow-cooked signature dishes at Baobab Fare, and a dessert that transformed a blueberry pancake pie into a fluffy chapati, a sweet flatbread similar to a crepe or roti and popular in East African and Indian cuisines. It was a big win not only for Mamba but for two organizations and two local charities: Freedom House and Burundi Kids. Mamba is donating his $10,000 winnings to Freedom House, a place for asylum seekers in Michigan. “The goal is to raise more money to build a kitchen,” Mamba said. “Without the kitchen, without Freedom House we wouldn’t be here right now. ” Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress. com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press . .