Luke Olejniczak is getting out of the frying pan and into the fire.
While he’s usually private cheffing it up in a kitchen, cheering on the Green Bay Packers or in the great outdoors with his dogs, the proud lifelong Eagle River resident embarked on a new kind of adventure last year.
He flew to the Banker’s private island — a location he couldn’t disclose — to compete on “Deal or No Deal Island” Season 2.
Had he ever done anything like this before?
“Goodness, no,” he laughed when he spoke with the Journal Sentinel over the phone Monday. “Maybe just a fishing tournament back home. But, that’s about it. Nothing even close to anything like this.”
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While the show began filming over the summer, it premieres at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday on NBC.
According to the network, “Deal or No Deal Island,” hosted by Joe Manganiello, blends “high-stakes decision-making” with “‘Survivor’-style gameplay.”
Olejniczak, 29, is up against 13 other contestants, including “Australian Survivor” legend David Genat, “Big Brother” veteran Will Kirby, “Survivor” winner and “The Traitors” star Parvati Shallow.
While this season’s format is pretty similar to last year’s, Olejniczak said, the inaugural season “doesn’t hold a candle” to Season 2.
“Buckle in. It’s going to be a wild ride,” he said. “The drama, the twists and turns — it’s going to be incredible.”
According to the show’s description, there are bigger twists, a new Banker and bigger money, with over $200 million at stake.
Here’s what to know about Olejniczak, how he ended up on “Deal or No Deal Island” — it may or may not have a little something to do with another TV show — and how the game works:
What is ‘Deal or No Deal Island’? How will Season 2 work?
According to NBC:
“Contestants must navigate grueling physical challenges, form alliances, and outsmart their rivals — all while facing the iconic briefcase dilemma made famous by the original series.”
Essentially, briefcases containing over $200 million in prize money are hidden throughout the island. On each episode, contestants compete in challenges to secure briefcases. The briefcases they snag are used in that night’s classic game of “Deal or No Deal,” during which a contestant plays the Banker, according to the network.
The player who retrieves the highest-value case during the challenge earns temporary immunity, plus they get to select who’ll face the Banker in “Deal or No Deal.”
If the “Deal or No Deal” player makes an “unfavorable deal”? They’re eliminated. If they make an “enticing negotiation”? They get to choose who gets eliminated next.
The earnings from each “Deal or No Deal” game go into a collective pot.
“The final player remaining will confront the illusive Banker for a chance to win the grand prize,” NBC said.
Who is Wisconsin private chef Luke Olejniczak from ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ Season 2?
Growing up up-north, Olejniczak spent much of his childhood in fishing boats or deer stands with his father, he said.
“Dad had me out in the deer stand with him before I even knew what was going on,” Olejniczak said. “My whole life, I remember deer hunting. And, there’s pictures of me as a baby with a duck call in my mouth.”
Olejniczak’s dad, Dan, is also the one who got him into cooking.
“Cooking was always something that was a pretty big thing in my family,” said Olejniczak, who has two siblings. “We always, always came together for a meal.”
Something that struck Luke was how his dad would take time during his busy work weeks to plan out a meal days ahead of time to make for his wife, Marilyn, and kids that upcoming weekend.
As Dan was digging through the freezer one summer day, a then 7- or 8-year-old Luke — who described himself as “kind of a cocky kid” — told his dad:
“I ain’t ever gonna learn how to cook. I’m going to get me a woman who knows how to cook.”
That did not fly — not one bit. Dan stood up slowly, turned around and pointed at his son and said: “‘No. You’re going to learn how to cook so you can get a good woman,'” Olejniczak recalled.
“That moment always stuck with me,” Olejniczak said. “From there on, I was in the kitchen with Dad, learning how to cook, learning techniques. And he kind of got me started on it. Mom also was a part of that.”
Olejniczak’s favorite things to make with his dad were bluegills the two caught or anything with venison.
“That was just a way of the experience or camaraderie from the woods being extended right to the table,” Olejniczak said. “We got to join the companionship even further.”
As a teenager, Olejniczak — who attended Northland Pines High School — began working at a local butcher shop. But, cooking was always in his “peripheral.”
“It was a part of my life, just not something that I practiced necessarily every day. But, it was a passion,” he said.
While continuing to work at the butcher shop, Olejniczak began preparing meals at a local hunt club for hunters coming in from the cold at the end of the day, according to the chef’s website. That turned into Olejniczak starting his own private-chef service as a side hustle.
The “self-trained” chef said he doesn’t have a “fancy, elaborate background or pedigree.” In addition what he learned from his dad, his other resources included chefs, “YouTube university” and the web.
Trial and error in his own personal kitchen — and finding out how not to cook — has been “a huge asset” to Olejniczak and “just as important as learning the proper way,” he said in an email.
“Those lessons tend to stick a little bit better,” he continued.
Around 2021 or 2022, Olejniczak said, he “jumped off the cliff and took that leap of faith,” taking his private-chef business full time.
“That parachute inflated for me, luckily,” he said.
He typically puts on one or two private dinners a week, along with providing dinner service for three or four micro weddings a year. While Olejniczak has traveled out of state for events, he likes to keep them in Wisconsin as much as possible.
His private dinners are geared toward two to 16 guests and are done at the client’s home or space.
From his years at the butcher shop, Olejniczak learned he’s “only as good” as his ingredients. It also gave him an “intimate knowledge” of cuts and where they come from, as well as “a great level of comfort” working with meats.
“Your dinner doesn’t start in the kitchen,” Olejniczak said. “It starts with getting your provisions. And, you can’t start with junk ingredients … You can’t take shortcuts ’cause it’ll show up in the food, just like you can’t take shortcuts in trimming of beef or just the whole butchering process. It shows up.”
Wild game, especially venison, and steakhouse fare is “where I hang my hat,” Olejniczak said.
“I pretty much just want my platings to almost give you a hug,” he said.
After a potential client reaches out to Olejniczak, he sets up a preliminary meeting at their house/space to go over what they’re looking for — from a beautiful tablescape to a wine expert to a “dog and pony show” of Olejniczak cooking table-side.
On the dinner party date, Olejniczak and his crew come over and execute the plan.
“The idea of leaving people with food memories or experiences is absolutely what encouraged me to start this special business,” he said in an email. “Everybody has food memories they remember their best meals, who they were with, and sometimes can even remember certain smells or sights that take them back in time. That idea of creating food memories was a true passion and full-time obsession for me to create. I desire to be a part or at the very least the ‘vehicle’ to give you that special dinner you remember 10, 20, or 40 years from now!”
When he’s not cooking up a storm, Olejniczak is hunting; fishing, especially for walleye; and tracking with his scent hounds who are his “life.”
When area hunters can’t locate a deer they shot, they call up Olejniczak and his dogs — an eight-year-old Plott hound/black lab mix, and Beau, a one-year-old Bluetick — who track off scent, Olejniczak explained.
“When I can harness these dogs and put a hunter’s hands on a buck that he thought he lost — taking them from outhouse to penthouse — is one of the best feelings in the world,” he said.
In the winter, his pooches have a different pastime: Dogsledding with him through the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
And Sundays, Olejniczak said, are for church and the Green Bay Packers.
“I feel like I’m retired at the age of 29,” he said. “Every day, I wake up, the day is mine. I can plan it as I wish. Life is great. It really is.”
And, in true Midwestern fashion, Olejniczak wanted to give his family a shout-out, including his Milwaukee loved ones: uncle David and sister Ericka.
How did Wisconsin private chef Luke Olejniczak end up on ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ Season 2?
A year ago, Olejniczak said a casting agent for Fox’s “Next Level Chef” came across his private-chef profile, liked his story and thought he could be a good fit for the show.
“Made it through the process. They said: ‘Luke, you’re on,'” Olejniczak told the Journal Sentinel.
But, having to travel to Ireland for filming, he said, he would’ve had to cancel dinner parties he had already committed to.
“I wanted to be a guy of my word. So, I ended up passing on that opportunity, unfortunately,” he said. “But, my casting agent said: ‘You know what, Luke? We’re going to keep your profile and we’re going to get you on TV.'”
Olejniczak thought she was “just being nice.” But, in early spring, he got a call from an unlisted California number regarding “Deal or No Deal Island” Season 2.
He underwent a months-long interview process that started off with the basics, then dove into into his background, profession and hobbies.
One of the questions Olejniczak was asked, he said, was why he thought he would be good for the show.
When the Journal Sentinel asked him that same question, he said he’d bring “a different flavor” and his “competitive nature” to the table.
“I just know that challenge is not something I’d back away from. If anything, I would spearhead it,” he said. “I know that that kind of mentality would be a little different than most people’s. Most people are going to want to play it safe. And, most people are going to really be hesitant. But, every action I usually do in life is pretty decided and I don’t think twice about it.”
He “knew he was getting into the final leg of the journey” when he was given show-specific situations and had to explain how he would handle them.
When Olejniczak found out he’d be on the show, he felt it was “a big blessing.”
“I thought I kind of missed the bus the first time — and that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I passed on,” he said. “And, to have this come back my way, I just thought, my goodness, I’m embracing this opportunity and I’m not looking back. I am going totally excited, embracing it and there for the experience.”
While he tuned in to the first season of “Deal or No Deal Island” last year, after being cast on the second season, he re-watched it much more closely — and with a notebook in hand — trying to come up with strategies. He said he also considered how he’d want to be perceived on TV.
“At the end of the day, it is a show,” he said. “You’re responsible for your actions, so you want to conduct yourself properly. You gotta go back home, right, at some point. You have to answer for those actions.”
Also in preparation, Olejniczak upped his running routine and took it more seriously. There were weeks when he ran 70 miles, he said.
Over the summer, it was time for Olejniczak to travel to the Banker’s island for filming, which he described as a “phenomenal” experience.
“You only live once,” he said. “Life is all about opportunities and experiences, right? You can lose everything in life, be it money, your house, you’re going to lose loved ones. But, you know, nobody can ever take away experiences. And, this is something I can carry with me the rest of my life, no matter what happens.”
Without giving away any spoilers, Olejniczak said he thinks working with an array of folks as a private chef benefited his social game on the show.
Being an avid outdoorsman who frequently goes on camping excursions, he thought he’d have an upper hand with island living.
“But, unfortunately and fortunately, our accommodations were absolutely luxurious,” he said. “So, it really kind of made the playing field kind of level for everybody.”
Has Wisconsin ever had a contestant on ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ before?
Yes! Last year, our state was well repped by Dawson Addis, a Muskego Realtor and bar manager. In the eighth episode of the season, Addis was picked to play theBanker in a game of Deal or No Deal.
He got the Banker “scared” and was offered a personal offer of $100,000. But, if Addis took it, he’d be eliminated.
“Golly, this is a tough decision,” Addis said on the show. Nonetheless, he took the offer.
The $1.399 million from Addis’ deal went into the growing final case, in which the last player standing at the end of the season faced the Banker for.
Addis opened the case he had initially selected to see if he made a good or bad deal with the Banker. With $2.75 million in that case, accepting the $1.399 million was a bad deal.
A recap of that episode can be found here.
How to watch ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ Season 2
Season 2 premieres at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday on NBC. It streams the next day on Peacock.
