One-Armed Chef Overcomes Odds With Bionics And Determination

You've never seen a master chef prepare a meal like this, using a prosthetic instead of a hand.

Eduardo Garcia has mastered the use of a hook to chop and sauté, earning him the nickname "The Bionic Chef."

Garcia told INSIDE EDITION, "It takes patience, but that's not a bad thing."

The chef lost his hand in a freak accident two years ago. He was hunting for elk to cook when he accidentally touched a downed power line. Garcia was airlifted to a Salt Lake City hospital where his prognosis was grim.

"Four of my ribs were fourth-degree burns that had to be removed," explained Garcia.

But the worst news of all was that his left hand could not be saved.

"Being alive with a few handicaps is much better than being dead," noted Garcia.

The young chef who had traveled the world as a personal chef to the rich and famous was faced with the possibility of never cooking again. Before the accident he had a love of life and was an avid outdoorsman who lived to cook.

"I do remember worrying a little bit about how we are going to do this, but clearly if you set your mind to it you'll be able to do it," he admits.

Now, thanks to some remarkable technology, he is back in the kitchen.

Showing his bionic arm, Garcia explained, "The muscles along my arm, I'm flexing right now, and those muscles are speaking to sensors that then communicate to the hand to close all five fingers because Eduardo's flexing."

It comes in handy (pardon the pun) for peeling carrots and stirring pots. He uses a hook for holding hot saute pans and chopping vegetables.

It's an inspiring example of how one man refused to let a life changing accident take away his dreams.

Garcia concluded, "If I'm able to showcase what it's like to believe in yourself, that's going to wake me up every day to me doing what I'm doing."

To see more recipes from Eduardo Garcia the Bionic Chef, go to montanamex.com/creative-kitchen/