‘Ippy’ Aiona knocked out of ‘Food Network Star’

Hawaii island chef Philip "Ippy" Aiona, a contestant on "Food Network Star," was eliminated from the competition Sunday night, just one episode before the season finale.

Aiona, 23, was among six finalists vying for the title Food Network Star. He was coached by chef Giada De Laurentiis.

The episode had contestants creating promos for their own Food Network shows, which were judged by network stars Anne Burrell, Sunny Andersen, Robert Irvine, Aaron Sanchez and previous winners Melissa d’Arabian and Jeff Mauro. Series judges Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson also took part in the selections.

Aiona, who said he aspired to becoming a television chef when he was a child, is executive chef of Soli­mene, his mother’s Wai­mea restaurant. He worked in his father’s eatery, the now-closed Kamu­ela Deli, as a child and trained at Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco.

"When he was 10, he said he was going to be on a food show, and I’ve never known anyone who could manifest their dream so closely. I think this opens doors for many other things to happen," said his father, Max Aiona. "I think he represented the Big Island and the state of Hawaii very well."

The season began with 15 contestants and three teams headed by De Laurentiis and chefs Bobby Flay and Alton Brown.