George Duran (born January 13, 1975) is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers * Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Athlete * Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Circus performer * Clown * Club Hostess/Host * Comed ...

who is currently a spokesman in commercials for

Hunt's Hunt's is the name of a brand of preserved tomato products owned by Conagra Brands. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby San ...

tomatoes. He also became host of

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

's ''

Ultimate Cake Off ''Ultimate Cake Off'' is an American television series that aired on TLC. The show is based on professional cake artists that go "head-to-head" in constructing cakes over five feet tall with the assistance of a team of chefs, designers etc. for ...

'' in its second season.

Biography

Duran was born George Kevork Guldalian in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, to parents of

descent originating from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. They later immigrated to the United States where they became naturalized Americans. Duran attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, majoring in Communications Studies. It was there where he began to pursue his interests of television and radio production. Hosting the ''HYE Time'' radio show on

WNYU WNYU-FM (89.1 FM) is a college radio station owned and operated by New York University. Its offices and studios are located at NYU's campus in lower Manhattan. WNYU's main transmitter is located at University Heights in the Bronx, the former loc ...

, he won an award for Best Radio Talk Show at the National Association of College Broadcasters in 1996. Duran continued in radio, working as an on-air personality for comedy segments at

WPLJ WPLJ (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial Christian adult contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and broadcasts EMF's flagship programming service, K-Love. WPLJ's transmitte ...

in New York. He moved on to WABC radio in 1999 where he produced and performed more comedy sketches. In 2000, Duran moved into television, working in production on the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

show ''

House of Style ''House of Style'' is an MTV show that premiered in May 1989, focusing on America's growing fascination with the "supermodel" craze. The show focused on fashion, lives of models, the modeling industry, and topics such as eating disorders. Ove ...

''. From there he moved to the Latin music television station HTV in Miami. In 2002 he moved to

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and pursue his other interest – food. Duran attended culinary school at the '' École Supérieure de Cuisine Française (ESCF) - Ferrandi'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Higher School of French Cuisine, Ferrandi Group''). While there, he hosted the television show ''Pop Cuisine'' on French culinary network ''Cuisine TV'', which was nominated for a 7 d’Or (French Emmy) award for Best Cable Show, and the winner of a 2003 Silver Grape Gastronomic Award. He also wrote culinary pieces for the French edition of ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'' magazine. In 2006, Duran hosted the cooking show ''Ham on the Street'' on the

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 ...

. He also took over hosting duties from Jim O'Connor for the Food Network show '' The Secret Life Of...''. Duran published his first cookbook, ''Take This Dish and Twist It'', in the fall of 2008. In 2010, Duran was the host of television show '' Chocolate Wars'' featured on the '' TLC Channel''. Duran’s culinary interests lie in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

cuisines. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Armenian. He currently resides in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Promotions

Duran is part of cookware company IMUSA's Chef Program, participating with the brand by creating exclusive recipes, webisodes, instructional videos and demos. His

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

roots are expressed with featured recipes such as "Pumpkin Pie Tamales" and

Chorizo Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

Lentil Stew. In August 2011, Duran was employed by the

Ketchum Ketchum may refer to: Towns, cities, and, geographic features * Ketchum, Idaho, United States * Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States * Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States * Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica * Ketchum Ridge, a large ridge i ...

public relations firm in order to promote processed food products from

ConAgra Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

, hosting guests which included food bloggers at fictitious West Village Restaurant Sotto Terra, without informing them of the nature of the meal until after the fact.

References

External links

Official websiteIMUSA Chef Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, George 1975 births Living people American television chefs American male chefs Radio personalities from New York City Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Venezuelan emigrants to the United States Venezuelan people of American descent American people of Armenian descent Venezuelan people of Armenian descent People from Caracas