Mock Trial 2025

Can you please introduce yourself to the court

• My name is Haley Fromholz, I’m 37, and I’m a classically trained chef with experience in Spain and at the Culinary Foundation in New York. I’ve worked in multiple restaurants and as a freelance chef consultant. Most recently, I was a contestant on Recipe for Success?

Why were you on recipe for success

• Well, it’s ALWAYS been my dream to open up my own restaurant that features Mexican and Tanterran cuisine. I thought that going on the show would expose me and my food to viewers and hopefully get me some money to launch my restaurant, but it didn’t go nearly how I expected. 

In what way?

I found out that one of the judges, Chef Sears, had died on April 10th, it was horrible.

Did you know Sears?

• Yes, Sears was my best friend during my first year of culinary school about 10 years ago. Ever since then, I have seen him at multiple cooking conferences and  events. 

Were your interactions friendly?

• Yes, for the most part. I mean, I would consider him a good friend. Whenever we saw each other, we would say hi and talk about each other’s lives. I will admit, however, that our relationship has been a bit of an up and down. 

What do you mean by that?

• He once used my grandma’s recipes as his own, which upset me at the time, but seeing his success now, I’m proud to call him a friend. On the show we were always polite off camera but he did have an intense persona while filming the quickfire challenge that draws viewers in.

How so?

• During filming, Sears got mad  that I served wilted parsley and slapped me in the face with it, but I knew it was part of his dramatized persona. I took it as constructive criticism, knowing he was just pushing me to do better. That’s why my next dish featured fresh, foraged mushrooms, key vegetables in Mexican cuisine.

Did you know how to get fresh mushrooms around Oakview?

Not a thing. So I decided to do some online research and found a well-known state park, Artemis Grove. But, I still didn’t know enough so I asked Alden Mitchell, one of the other contestants, to go with me.

Why did you ask Alden? 

• He knew a lot about foraging, so I thought if he came with me, he could tell me what ingredients were edible and which weren’t. 

And when did you ask Alden? 

• On April 8th we and went foraging the next morning. 

What ingredients did you forage for?

I wanted to be sure I only picked mushrooms I could identify, so I stuck to oyster and hedgehog mushrooms, the ones Alden had pointed out. I don’t think I picked any butter mushrooms, and from what I know didn't even see a heartstopper mushroom

How long did it take?

I stayed longer than expected. With my stomach issues, nerves about the challenge, and too much coffee that morning, I needed to go to the bathroom. Since none were nearby, I found a secluded spot in “Old Oak Loop” and went behind a bush.

Were you able to get back right away?

• No, not right away. I get stress-induced headaches and stomach aches, and with the competition coming up, I was nervous. I rested a bit and took an aspirin I had packed in a green plastic bag, then retraced my steps and found Alden.

Did you go back to the studio?

• Yes, Alden was mad because my resting made us late. So we got all of our mushrooms together in our baskets, gave it to the kitchen staff to check, and then I got myself ready for the competition, putting my jacket in my cubby. 

And did you feel ready?

• For the most part, I thought our ingredients looked great, but I got a horrible migraine from the stress of the competition, which was about to start.

Did you do anything in response?

• Yes, Imari, the first AD for the show, and I rushed to my cubby to get another aspirin from the green plastic baggy, which I took immediately, and put the baggie in my pants and quickly went back to my station and the competition started. 

What did you cook?

• Well, I made tlayudas with the mushrooms I picked. I was REALLY proud of them, and I gave them to the judges.

Did the judges react to your dish?

I was really disappointed to find out that Sears hated my dish. I mean, he threw it across the room after tasting it, which seemed a little dramatic, but, again, he had an intense tv persona.

Now, I’d like to turn your attention to the morning of April 10, what, if anything, happened?

• I received a text from Imari saying that Chef Sears…had died. It was just terrible. 

Did you do anything else that day?

• Yes, Detective Sacks interviewed me later, asking about my phone and laptop. I told him about my search history on foraging and that I had deleted my searches and files pretty often because my laptop was old.

Did you discuss anything else?

• No, not at the moment, but apparently he came back to our hotel later in the day when I wasn’t there and he looked at my computer. He saw a file that I had that I admit, I am ashamed of. 

What file was that?

• It was a file of notes about some of my experiences with Chef Sears while filming. After I learned that he died, I deleted it because it just didn’t feel right. 

Did Sears have a relationship with any of the other contestants?

• Yes, actually. Sears and Alden knew each other, but Alden really disliked Sears. 

Why?

• Because Sears once left a bad review of Alden’s food truck online and it really hurt the business. Alden was still harboring a massive grudge. Whenever Alden told me about it, they would physically shake.