'Yes, Chef!' Winner Reveals the Martha Stewart Advice She Still Cherishes 1 Year Later

Emy LaCroixSat, April 25, 2026 at 4:31 AM UTC

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Emily Brubaker was the winner of the first season of the NBC cooking competition Yes, Chef! in March 2025, and one year later the executive chef at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California is still using the advice she learned from judges Martha Stewart and José Andrés.

"I've always just had this mentality where it was like, 'It's not about me, it's about everyone else... Maybe I'm not good enough. Maybe I'm better as the supporting role,'" the champ tells Parade exclusively in April 2026. "So when I was on the show, it was like, okay, now I have to really step forward and be the main character of my own life. And once I won, it really made me more confident in what I'm doing."

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There was also an unaired moment with Stewart that made a huge impact on Brubaker. While she was struggling with a dessert dish in the finale, Stewart took some time to level with her.

"The whole episode, I'm just trying to fix my brownie that shouldn't have been fixed instead of pivoting," she recalls. "Martha and José pulled me aside, and Martha focused on the idea that it's okay not to be confident. She's like, 'I walk into so many situations all the time and I wear confidence on my face, but most of the time I'm not ready and I'm not feeling great about it.' And José said the same thing."

Martha Stewart, Chef Emily Brubaker, and Jose Andres on 'Yes, Chef!'Getty

"It was a great realization that even these super talented mega stars are human, and they feel our struggle just as much as they did when they had it too—or they still do," the former Chopped competitor explains. "And that it's okay to have questions and to lean on other people. That's my motto now: The weakest thing to do is not ask for help."

Stewart helped walk her through the process of getting the brownie done, and Brubaker says she still uses Stewart's recipe to this day. "And every time I make it, I think about the lessons she taught me about it," she adds.

Martha Stewart, Chef Emily Brubaker, and Jose Andres on 'Yes, Chef!'Getty

Ultimately, though, the chef's lack of ego might have been what snagged her the win. "A lot of them came in with the ego of 'I'm gonna win this and I'm amazing,'" she remembers of her fellow Yes, Chef! contestants. "It's better to be more open to criticism, because the criticism leads to, 'How can I do better? What can I do next?'"

Where is Yes, Chef! Winner Emily Brubaker Now?

Today, Brubaker is thriving in her first executive chef role as the culinary director at the dazzling Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, outside of San Diego, where she oversees eight eateries on the property including Bar Traza, VUE, and Bob's Steak & Chop House. She's carried some of the lessons she's learned on the show, combined with her history teaching and her role as a mom, into her executive leadership and culinary persona.

"I look at all my chefs the same way: I want them to have the autonomy and the support to know that they can be creative and they can grow without having to worry so much about, 'Am I good enough?' or 'What if this isn't right?'" she says. Instead, she chooses to keep her team super collaborative and supportive. "We do a lot of tastings and R&D together, so I can offer my expertise but let them grow on their own."

Chef Emily Brubaker at Omni La Costa Resort and SpaOmni La Costa

Brubaker's also made some bold choices for the resort, like shaking up the existing menu and eliminating the pastry chef role to allow her three pastry sous chefs to showcase their strengths and innovate their offerings.

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"I empower each one of [my pastry sous chefs] to focus on what they're really talented at," she explains. "I want them to excel in what they love and see where we can go. Now, our pastry team has come up with some of the best menus this hotel's ever seen."

In addition to those new creations, Yes, Chef! fans might notice some familiar dishes on her menus. "We do a lot of [dishes inspired by my Yes, Chef! plates]," she explains, adding that a bright and complex carrot salad served at a recent La Costa In Bloom dinner event was a play on one of her winning dishes from the show. "I had won NVC, which was Most Valuable Chef, for that dish, and I'm very proud of it," she says. "It's something I love to eat."

How Emily Brubaker Is Helping Lead a New Culinary Era in Carlsbad

Chef Emily Brubaker's Carrot Salad at Omni La CostaEmy LaCroix

Born and raised in Carlsbad, Brubaker says it "was not a foodie city" when she was younger, but after moving to Las Vegas for two decades to hone her skills, she was pleasantly surprised to see a new culinary community begin blossoming in her hometown.

"Right now, we're looking at these restaurants that are coming in and are growing—like the entire group with Campfire, Lilo, Jeune et Jolie, Wildland—they're changing the game for Carlsbad, and they're really starting to bring in the talent, which is one of the reasons I came back," she explains of the burgeoning culinary scene. "Every time we've come home—with the kids to go to the beach—we noticed that the food scene really started getting better and better and better."

In fact, Brubaker is noticing some interesting parallels between Las Vegas and Carlsbad. "When I first moved to Vegas, it was just really starting to hit where it is now," she says. "Bobby Flay opened his first restaurant in Vegas when I was there. The three-star Michelin that I ended up working in opened within the first couple of years I lived in Vegas. Now, I see the same thing happening here."

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This location, however, is unique in the locality of the ingredients and inspiration. "Vegas, you get food from anywhere, anytime, and it all has to be shipped in because it's a desert," she says. "What I love about Carlsbad is all the produce—the seasonality here is true seasonality. I can walk to a farm and see what's growing and at its peak, and we can feature it. I think that's so cool."

Brubaker has been taking advantage of Carlsbad's temperate climate and the sprawling layout of Omni La Costa to bring hyper-local ingredients to their menus. "We have [bee hives] at the resort for honey, I've got vertical herb gardens, I've got tomatoes and peppers growing in the spa," she explains. "When you pick something yourself, and you know how it grows, your flavors just get better on their own. So, I love it. It's so special."

What's Next for Chef Emily Brubaker?

Brubaker is set to be featured at Omni PGA Frisco's SAVOR event in Texas from April 30 to May 3, and she's thrilled to bring her SoCal flavors to the Lone Star State.

"It’s a really fun event—lots of open-fire cooking, Texas-style food, a lot of barbecue, those kinds of flavors," she explains.

So, would she do another cooking competition? "I don’t know if I’ll do another long competition like Yes, Chef!, like a 10-week series—but I do like to compete, so I can’t say I’m never doing it again," she says. She did, however, tease a shorter reality show that will likely air in 2026. Fans will just have to stay tuned!

This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”