Virginia Willis of Atlanta, who has taught cooking classes in Columbus, will be a "chef-testant" on "Chopped" tonight at 10 p.m. on the Food Network.

"Chopped" pits four chefs against each other as they each cook an appetizer, entree and dessert using every ingredient in a basket given to them before each course. After each course is judged by a panel, one chef is eliminated.

The chefs compete for $10,000 and the opportunity to go to the next round of "Chopped."

Willis is a trained chef and has written cookbooks, including "Bon Appetit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking," "Basic to Brilliant, Y'all: 150 Refined Southern Recipes" and "Ways to Dress Them up for Company."

The Chicago Tribune called her "Seven Food Writers You Need to Know." She is also a contributing editor for Southern Living magazine.