Chef who led Butler County team on Food Network show starting own food truck

Credit: Brent Harrewyn

Credit: Brent Harrewyn

Three Butler County residents vying for a chance to win $50,000 on a Food Network competition did not advance following Wednesday night’s episode.

Magical Mystery Heroes, a team made up of Matt Williams, cousin Chris Schulz and his wife, Hannah Schulz — all Fairfield High School graduates — was one of five teams selected to appear on the Great Food Truck Race: Holiday Hustle. During the show, which has 10 seasons under its belt, teams prep, cook and sell more than other teams for a chance to win $50,000 to start the food truck business of their dreams.

Following the second episode, Magical Mystery Heroes posted a Facebook "thank you" to all who were watching and supporting them.

"If you like what you saw be sure to follow Chef Matt's truck Rock N Rolls Food Truck coming soon!" reads the post. According to that Facebook page, the truck specializes in "funky egg rolls with an edgy twist."

The Butler County team, all of whom work at Fairfield's Swine City Brewing Co., scored third place in the first episode of the Great Food Truck Race: Holiday Hustle, filmed in snowy Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

FIRST REPORT: Butler County residents vie for $50K in Food Network food truck contest

Magical Mystery Heroes didn't fare as well on the second episode, which aired Wednesday. Shot in the coastal town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, it saw teams joining forces to create a holiday-inspired lunch for 70 VIP judges, who turn out to be elementary school students and what Food Network described as the teams' "toughest critics yet."

Allied with the Big Stuff team, Magical Mystery Heroes lost the show's first challenge and a chance to earn $200 toward their overall earnings. The money they earned during a "Peppermint Challenge," which required teams to add a peppermint candy cane-inspired dish to their menus, fell $137 short of third-place team Creole Queens.

The team provided an emotional moment during the debut episode. Chris Schulz said a sandwich the team created was the favorite of their late grandfather, Ernest Williams, and posted a photo of him inside the food truck. Schulz, who called him “the rock of our whole family,” said he would dress up like Santa every year.

"He definitely brings the holiday spirit to us and our family," Schulz said, choking up as a 2001 photo of his grandfather dressed as Santa at Great Miami Valley YMCA appeared on the screen. "He just loved everything about Christmas."

“He would absolutely love what we’re doing right now,” Hannah Schulz said.

MORE: Butler County trio advances to second episode of Food Network contest

After being knocked out of the competition at the end of the second episode, Matt Williams said it was “bittersweet to be going home” but he looked forward to seeing his family. Despite being ousted from the show, he seemed resolute to continue the journey on his own.

“We’ve been eliminated from this competition, (but) it’s not the end,” said Williams, who lives in Monroe. “It’s just the beginning of my dream. It’s the starting point where we’re going to start moving forward.”

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