Darnell Ferguson (born 1987) is an American chef, television personality, and restaurateur. He is the co-host alongside chef

Anne Burrell Anne W. Burrell (born September 21, 1969) is an American chef, television personality, and former instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. She is the host of the Food Network show '' Secrets of a Restaurant Chef'' and co-host of ''Worst ...

of Food Network’s ''

Worst Cooks in America ''Worst Cooks in America'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January3, 2010, on Food Network. The show takes 12 to 16 contestants (referred to as "recruits") with very poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp, t ...

'' (season 25). He has also appeared on HGTV’s ''Home Town Takeover'', ''The Big Holiday Food Fight'', as well as the Food Network’s ''

Chopped Chopped can have the following meanings: * Chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It ...

'', '' Supermarket Stakeout'', ''Tiny Food Fight'', '' Guy’s Grocery Games'', and '' Tournament of Champions''. Ferguson is the former owner of restaurants, Super Chefs, and Tha Drippin Crab in Louisville, Kentucky.

Biography

Darnell Ferguson was born in 1987, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio. In high school, Ferguson was inspired by

Emeril Lagasse Emeril John Lagassé III ( ; born October 15, 1959) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regio ...

's television cooking series, ''

Emeril Live ''Emeril Live'' is a television program that aired on Food Network from October 6, 1997, to December 11, 2007, and then on Fine Living (now The Cooking Channel) from July 7, 2008, to December 14, 2010. Hosted by Emeril Lagasse, ''Emeril Live'' fe ...

'', and spent a year of high school enrolled in vocational cooking school. He attended

Sullivan University Sullivan University is a private for-profit university based in Louisville, Kentucky. It is licensed to offer certificates and diplomas, associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and ...

in Louisville, Kentucky. Ferguson was selected with a group of 20 student chefs who cooked for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, China. When he returned to the United States, he started getting arrested for selling drugs and went to jail six times. During his last visit to jail prior to 2024, Ferguson vowed to never return again and joined a church. He was evicted and lived in his car for sometime, before starting a

pop-up restaurant A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory, existing restaurants or similar space, and during festivals. Various other names have been used to describe the concept of settin ...

in Louisville in 2012. His television career began in 2015, after an appearance first on the local news and later on ''

The Rachel Ray Show ''The Rachael Ray Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006 and also airs in other countries. It is taped at Chelsea Television Studios in New ...

'' where he talked about his journey from selling drugs to owning restaurants. During ''The Rachel Ray Show'' television appearance Ferguson met his hero, Emeril Lagasse. The 25th season of

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

's reality television series, the ''

'' premiered on January 1, 2023 with Ferguson as one of the hosts alongside chef Anne Burrell. On January 9, 2024, Ferguson was arrested by Louisville Metropolitan Police in the Louisville suburb of St. Matthews on seven criminal charges, including burglary, strangulation, and other charges. He then appeared in court on January 10, where he pled not guilty and had his bond set at $10,000. His preliminary court hearing was also scheduled for January 18, 2024.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Darnell 1987 births Living people African-American businesspeople African-American people American restaurateurs Chefs from Ohio Chefs from Kentucky People from Philadelphia People from Columbus, Ohio

Biography

See also

References

External links