Between his classes and filming for the reality television show “Chopped,” Drew Friedman ‘16 had a lot on his plate.

Friedman, who is the former managing editor of The Lafayette, will be a contestant on the Tuesday broadcast of the popular cooking show, which pits four chefs against each other in a three round head-to-head competition. Contestants cook off in an appetizer round, an entrée round and a dessert round. Each round is timed and judged on presentation, taste and creativity.

“The judges on ‘Chopped’ say it how it is…if it’s a good dish they’ll compliment the hell out of you, if it’s a bad dish they’re going to tell you how it is,” Friedman said.

Contestants are provided a basket at the beginning of each round that contains four ingredients that they must use in some form on their dish, usually ingredients that are either bizarre or incompatible. Each round a contestant is eliminated – or “chopped.” At the end of the episode, a single winner is crowned who gets to take home the ten thousand dollar grand prize.

Although the show is usually for professional chefs, Drew will be competing in an episode exclusively featuring college cooks.

“It’s honestly challenging, being that it was only college kids…it’s a different situation from professional chefs,” Friedman said. “We’re held to the same standards, we’re held to the same rules [as the professional chefs].”

Friedman chose to try out for the show at a friend’s urging, as there was a spot available for the college chef episode. After a series of interviews and a five minute video demonstration of his cooking skills, he was accepted for competition.

“I’ve watched ‘Chopped’ for years, but I never thought I’d be on it,” he said.

Friedman has been cooking for a long time, as his mother often was not home in time to cook him meals and his father had limited range in the kitchen.

“I was tired of eating the same thing again and again,” he said.

His young culinary expeditions culminated in a cancer fundraising event called “Cuisine for a Cure,” in which he raised $10,000 for cancer research.

He is capable of cooking a wide variety of dishes, and Friedman does have his favorites.

“Thai food is far and away my favorite food,” he said. “Asian food has always caught my eye because it is very flavorful….but the ingredients are all natural. You can have a burger and fries and say it tastes amazing, but that’s because there’s pounds and pounds of salt in it. The food you’re eating isn’t necessarily healthy isn’t necessarily the highest quality ingredients.”

The episode airs on Tuesday on the Food Network at 10 p.m.