ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- The former executive chef at Duner's is heading back to Guy's Grocery Games on the Food Network.

Laura Fonner will compete on the show for an opportunity to win $45,000 in the Summer Grilling Tournament. 

She previously won $20,000 in her last appearance in December.

"I'm really trying to get as far as I can in the tournament to show the whole world that Charlottesville is full of a lot of talent in the culinary world," said Fonner. 

She was planning on buying Duner's in Ivy with the $20,000 she won, but she changed course because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When COVID struck, a lot of things changes for a lot of people especially in the restaurant business," said Fonner. "It was kind of heart-wrenching to watch it unfold as it did. After COVID struck, I had to do a lot of thinking and evaluating what I really wanted to do and buying Duner's did not seem like the best option for me, so I stepped away recently."

After leaving the restaurant, Champion Hospitality Group offered her the chance to run her own food truck, called Dumplin'.

"I was ready for a new adventure to try and see what I can do not being under the shadow of the Duner's name and the Duner's chef and now I'm just Chef Laura Fonner instead chef Laura Fonner from Duner's," she said.

She said she is looking forward to both the challenge of being on the show and running Dumplin'.

"It's really neat, I'm really ready to challenge myself, see what happens on this truck, I think it's really going to be a great thing for my family," said Fonner.

The episode of Guy's Grocery Games that she will be on is scheduled to air on July 8. 

She hopes to have the food truck on the road by the Fourth of July.