Cooking is all about being given a chance. That's all the head honcho of Ivan Ramen—a white guy blasting the Dead and slinging noodles in a foreign land he loved—ever wanted. Both Tokyo and New York went ahead and gave him one. It went pretty well. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Chef Jamie Bissonnette (Toro NYC/Boston, Coppa) came of age in the hardcore music scene, then found his soul in Spanish food. Here’s how he proved everyone wrong by not going to jail. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Seattle chef Lisa Nakamura struggled to balance her personal life with the demands of her profession: long hours, working weekends, nights, and holidays, and never calling in sick. Hint: she does it. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Chef Hooni Kim (Hanjan/Danji) yearned for the pride that comes from cooking food from your heritage, so he and his wife took their savings, spent it on a restaurant instead of a house, and found it. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Charlie Hallowell (Pizzaiolo, Boot & Shoe Service, Penrose) discusses the most important decision of his life, and how having children at a young age ultimately made him a better chef. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Chefs Evan and Sarah Rich made the move out of Manhattan to San Francisco, struggling all the while to open their own restaurant and balance it with their growing family. Now they’re a fine dining kingpin. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Chef Matthew Jennings (Townsman, Boston) is not one to rest on his laurels—even if those laurels are woven from the idyllic bounty of Rhode Island. When Boston calls you back home, you answer. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

San Francisco chef Robin Song hung out with the wrong crowd at a young age—which eventually led to a stint in jail. Before he knew it, cooking had turned his life around. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

After decades of work that led to international acclaim—the title of Top Chef Master, appearances on countless TV shows, the opening of his dream restaurant centered around whole animal cookery—Cockscomb chef Chris Cosentino found himself caught between two sparring halves of his own mind. In this episode of Elevated, Chris speaks out about the greatest taboo in the culinary world: mental health, and its pervasive reach in this industry. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Everyone knows the restaurant world is fully capable of dragging you into the bowels of hell. After a chilling flameout that made national news, Austin chef Philip Speer is finding out it can also be the thing that pulls you back up. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.

Toronto chef Matty Matheson (Parts & Labour, The P&L Burger, Dog & Bear) opens up about how the industry lifestyle led to a heart attack at 29, and the focus it took to become one of Toronto's best chefs in the aftermath. Elevated is a series where chefs talk challenges faced, and challenges overcome.