Brayden began showing an interest in cooking at a very young age. Growing up on the Central Coast of California, he comes from a family who enjoys cooking together and trying new recipes. Brayden grew up in the kitchen around his Nana, Irene Menchaca, who has always been an amazing teacher. She taught him how to make homemade tortillas, tamales and her famous tacos! Some of Brayden’s favorite things to make are "bacon buddies" [learned from his dad], french toast [learned from his Poppy] and making desserts with his mom. As he got older he began asking about all the trophies at Nana's house, which led him to learn of his great-grandfather, Santos Menchaca. The more stories he was told, the more interested he became in cooking. While attending one of his first chili cook-offs at the age of 3, Brayden told his Nana, "I want to be a chili cooker like you when I grow up!" Brayden was so excited to learn of the ICS Youth Division and couldn’t wait to give it a try!