A chef in Harrison is hoping to rise to the top of the “Favorite Chef” cooking competition.

Catherine Diquinzio is in fifth place in the competition, and the more donations she gets, the higher she places. One dollar equals one vote.

Diquinzio, 29, is a Southern Westchester BOCES Vocational alum and got her start as a snack bar cook at the Apawamis Country Club in Rye. Her love for cooking has taken her through Westchester Community College and New York Institute of Technology, with the goal of paving the way for more women in the culinary industry.

“They have this saying,” she said. “A canvass is to an artist what a plate is to a chef, and I take that very seriously. It really allows me to be creative in my own way.”

Proceeds donated by 7 p.m. Thursday will go to the James Beard Foundation. The first-place winner also gets $25,000 and a feature on “Taste of Home’ magazine with celebrity top chef Carla Hall.