Tucson native wins grilling competition, competes for national title

For the folks who think men make the best grillers, Tucsonan Elaine Bray would like to beg to differ.

And she can back it up.

She recently beat out her fellow grill masters from throughout the Southwest to become the regional champion of LongHorn Steakhouse’s Steak Master Series, an epic culinary competition that pits the national chain's top-performing grilling experts in a quest for the national champion

She is now one of just 60 LongHorn grillers — they started with 5,000 — to compete for the national title.

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Bray is the grill master at LongHorn's Tucson Mall area location, 4421 N. Oracle Road. Grill masters are trained and certified in the art of grilling.

Bray, a Tucson native, will now have a shot to compete in semifinal rounds that will produce seven top contenders to battle in the finals at LongHorn’s headquarters in Orlando, Florida, later this month.

LongHorn Steakhouse has 510 restaurants in 41 states. In addition to the Oracle Road location, LongHorn has a second location at 5725 E. Broadway.