Celebrity Chefs
Visit our Celebrity Chefs' Lounge for an ongoing series of demonstrations and pop-ups from these exciting names of the TV food world!
Chef Kevin des Chenes ("Chef Kev D")
“Executive Chef to the Stars" and author of Beyond My Chef Coat, Kevin Des Chenes has 25+ years of experience in the hospitality industry. He was named "Top Chef" by Las Vegas Food & Wine, has been a Chef Expert for Gordon Ramsey and appeared as a Featured Chef on Food Network's Chef Wanted, Great Food Truck Race and Beat Bobby Flay. He has also appeared on the Today show, the nationally syndicated Better Show, CT Style, Pickler & Ben, the Fox Morning Show and The Rhode Show, among others. He was also the winner of Top Celebrity Chef Showdown.
Chef Kev’s creativity in the kitchen and on the screen has not gone unnoticed. After having served as Executive Chef at such New England landmarks as 156 Bistro, Centro Martini and Washington Square Tavern, he has since Launched a successful event production, consulting and private chef company and become one of the most sought after chefs and event producers in the in the industry. He has cooked for the likes of John Legend, Tim McGraw, Tommy Lee Jones, Giuliana Rancic, Kathie Lee & Hoda, Isiah Thomas, Jim Courier, Little Big Town, various New England Patriots &. Red Sox players and coaches and more. Chef Kev is also an advocate for such charities as Boston Children's Hospital & The Light Foundation.
Chef Nick Liberato
Cutting his teeth on culinary shows Bravo’s Top Chef Masters and Paramount Network’s Bar Rescue, Nick Liberato is a world-renowned and restauranteur, business mastermind and chef to the stars with over 30 years culinary experience. Chef Nick takes on his next adventure as the Executive Producer and host of Netflix’s Restaurants on the Edge, when the six-episode premiere season takes viewers to some of the world’s most spectacular locations including Malta, Hong Kong, Tobermory, Costa Rica, Austria, and St. Lucia, where Chef Nick will work with a team to not only transform the restaurants, but the owners’ outlooks as well.
Rising from humble culinary beginnings, working at local food stands in South Philadelphia while growing up with his family in the Italian Market, Nick followed his other love – surfing and snowboarding – to travel to the West Coast. There, he started his own catering company, Calidelphia, and was led to preparing meals for top celebrities including Will Smith, Tom Hanks, The Beastie Boys, Barbra Streisand, Anthony Kiedis, Cher, Hank Azaria, and more. In just a few years, he acquired the long-time Venice restaurant fixture, the Venice Whaler, Leading the charge as Executive Chef, Nick made a similar move with The Pier House, and continues to acquire, consult, and invigorate other businesses throughout Los Angeles and internationally. In 2020, Nick and his wife Jennifer made the move back home to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and has since launched 618 Hospitality Group and opened the premiere signature concept the Borscht Belt Delicatessen, a New York-Style restaurant, in Stockton, New Jersey. He plans for the second Borscht Belt to open in Newtown, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2022.
Chef Brian Duffy
Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Chef Brian Duffy had his first experiences in the kitchen as a young child with his big Irish-Italian family. He was soon working under James Beard Award winning Chef Jean Marie LaCroix at The Four Seasons in Philadelphia and has partnered in opening over 100 restaurants and venues. He formed the "Duffified Experience Group,” a consulting firm to work with restaurants across the country updating their concept, menus and coaching.
Duffy is perhaps most recognized from his abundant television appearances on the wildly popular Spike TV series Bar Rescue, where he tours the country reforming failing bars and restaurants with his “tell it
like it is”style. His most recent show, Opening Night, follows Chef Duffy through HIS 7-day process of opening a restaurant, and he is currently collaborating to launch the highly anticipated “World Chef” interactive “Ultimate Foodie” platform. He is also the creator and dost of Duffified Live, a talking and travel show with an over-the-top approach to eating, drinking, and experiences.