KENNETT, Mo. -- As a child we all tend to have dreams of being on television or living our lives doing something we are passionate about and being able to make a living doing it.
Chad Stone, who has been cooking all of his life, said he first got a taste for cooking as he grew up watching his grandmother whip up some amazing pastries and dishes.
"I started cooking in my grandmother's kitchen when I was 8-years-old," Stone said. "As I got a bit older, I realized I had a talent for art as well. I had considered art school at one point but my urge to cook led me to follow a career as a pastry chef, so I began researching schools that would be more appropriate for what I wanted and needed," he added.
Stone said he chose Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, which was still close enough for his parents to come and rescue him should he need rescuing.
"I began my journey there immediately after high school, beginning my career in Pastry Arts and Business Management," Stone said.
After graduation, Stone found himself at The Cutting Board Cafe, as their pastry chef, vowing this is where he truly fell in love with cooking.
"That place and the people there became my family," Stone said. "That's where I got to see the true colors of being a chef and the lifestyle within the industry," he added.
After nearly four years, Stone decided it was time to move on to new adventures. That's when he landed a job at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, widely known for being a high-end historic hotel that often hosted the Kentucky Derby winners.
"This is where I learned the fine dining atmosphere of a restaurant," Stone said. "A few years later I decided to take a break and I moved to Orlando. When I decided to come back home to Kennett, my hometown, it was the best decision I ever made."
Stone said there truly isn't any place like home. "This community has always been behind me 100 percent and when I announced I was opening my own business, the way the community backed me, proved I was where I was meant to be. This is when Sweet Mayhem's was born."
Stone said prior to putting anything into stone, he had to have a conversation with someone he has admired since he was a young child.
"Everyone knows about Causbie's Bakery. When I decided to open Sweet Mayhem's I knew I didn't want to be in competition with Mrs. Causbie," Stone said. "Causbie's is Causbie's and what I was wanting to do was totally different," Stone continued. "But I had to go talk with Mrs. Causbie and tell her that I was wanting to open my own pastry shop and asked if that would be okay with her. She told me she would be my first customer, and believe it when I tell you, she was."
Fast forward to nearly three years later, Stone and Sweet Mayhem's has being going strong.
Stone said one of his life-long dreams was to be fortunate enough to appear on the Food Network. "I always wanted to be a contestant on the show but just never thought I was ready."
But all of that changed when Stone decided to go online and fill out the very lengthy application. "Within eight-hours I received a call back," Stone said. "After months of Skype videos and tons of emails, I thought that I hadn't been chosen when everything was quite for a while," he added.
But to his surprise, while vacationing in New York City, while getting onto the subway, Stone looked down at his phone, which had battery power at one-percent, to see what read Congr....... prior to the phone dying.
"You should have seen me. I was like one of those crazy people on the subways that you read about," Stone said, as he laughed about the experience. "After what seemed like a two-hour train ride I was finally able to get to a phone charger and see, that I had been accepted and would be appearing on the upcoming holiday season show, which will air at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 25," he added.
Stone said he is extremely grateful to be able to be a part of something so challenging, yet rewarding.
"It's one of those bucket list things that you never expect to get to cross off, so yeah, I'm excited," he said. But Stone said it was definitely no walk in the park.
In fact, a few months ago when speculation of Stone closing Sweet Mayhem's was going around, was actually when the film crew secretively came to Kennett to film Stone, Sweet Mayhem's and a few other places, just to get a feel for Stone and where he comes from.
"The film crew came down and filmed here at Sweet Mayhem's and they also filmed from the Square down to the movie theater," Stone said. "I know they also filmed a cotton field that was blooming at the time out near John Deere and they filmed some of the Mississippi and the Casino in Caruthersville," he added.
Stone said the crew goes above and beyond to learn who their contestants are. Although there are very strict rules for contestants as to what they can or cannot say about the filming, competition and experience, Stone did say that, the show he gets to appear on is a Gingerbread competition that is focused around Christmas themes.
Stone said the filming process is what he was most nervous about, considering he's never been on live television, working with his hands, while talking to several people all at once about what he is doing, while also having several large cameras within inches of his face.
"It's been hard keeping this under wraps, but about a week after the film crew left from filming here in Kennett, we flew to Los Angeles, which was a dream come true for me," Stone said. "The filming took place over a two-day period, although the editing doesn't show that. But you are on a time limit, which makes anyone more stressed than what they would normally be."
Another thing Stone had to deal with during the filming was his assistant falling ill.
"We don't want to ruin anything or break any rules so all I can say is tune in to see the drama unfold," Stone said. "This was definitely the most difficult, yet fun thing I have ever done."
Stone said the overall experience was amazing.
"From the production company to the crew, all the way down to the catering was out of this world amazing. "They were literally there to make us succeed by any means necessary," Stone said. "I just can't wait to see when this airs, which is also when I will learn whether I won or not.
"This is not your traditional gingerbread show pieces," he added. "This is with moving pieces, which I themed 'Naughty and Nice.' The Naughty and Nice was focused around Santa's Naughty and Nice list. That's about all I can really share at this point."
Tune in to the Food Network at 8 p.m. tonight, to see Stone fulfill a life-long dream and give his very best in the gingerbread holiday show on the Food Network.