Rum Room's Samantha Cruz Chats About Her Beachside Brawl Battles on Food Network

The second season of Beachside Brawl is now underway on Food Network, and regulars of Rum Room Miami Beach may notice a familiar face.

The Latin hotspot's executive chef, Samantha Cruz, is among the ten chefs battling in the East Coast versus West Coast-formatted show. The latest season kicked off this Sunday and airs weekly on Sundays at 10 p.m. If you missed the first episode (SPOILER ALERT), Cruz is definitely sticking around for another week.

"Honestly, to be a part of this show, I think the whole universe and God made me the luckiest woman on Earth," she tells New Times. "I applied for a show many years ago and was never called in. And then I got some random phone call from a producer... I really thought it was one of those scams. But I entertained it, they pushed me through, and here I am."

Allapattah born and now a resident of Coral Gables, Cruz is the executive chef at Rum Room, which opened in April. She was brought in to create a menu that complements the circa-1916 building, boasting a cozy, speakeasy-esque vibe with a tapas-style, Caribbean-flared menu. In addition to her experience at Rum Room, she has been an executive sous chef for 50 Eggs Hospitality Group and Grove Bay Hospitality Group, as well as a chef de cuisine at Planta.

On Beachside Brawl, Cruz considers her Miami roots a plus saying, "The diversity of our city and our food gave me an advantage in the game. I had so many influences growing up, gastronomically, that I didn't realize until we really got going."

Hosted by Antonia Lofaso, the competition pits five East Coast chefs versus five West Coast chefs in a team format to determine which coast does summer food best. The show was filmed on the Redondo Beach Pier in Southern California, with star-studded guests like Guy Fieri, Alex Guarnaschelli, Nate Appleman, and Stephanie Izard popping in as judges throughout the season. At the end of the season and after weeks of competitions, one team member will be named the "Best of the Beach" and win a tropical getaway valued at up to $25,000.

As an example of the challenges the contestants participate in, during week one, the teams were asked to create "pier favorites." As a twist, they played boardwalk games like softball toss and balloon pop to reveal ingredients they could or couldn't use in their dishes.

"It was a bit of a shell shock being in that dynamic," says Cruz. "But, once you get over the hair, make-up, having twenty cameras in your face and being microphoned up, it feels natural, and you think, this is cooking and what I've always done."

Reflecting on the entire season and unable to spoil any of the episodes ahead, Cruz is ready for whatever is next. She says, "It felt incredible to represent such a booming city, especially with little old me from 17th Avenue in Allapattah. I felt the pressure, but I did it. And now I'm completely hooked... I'm up for competing on any show available, and I'd love my own show one day, too."