Nathan Lyon is an American chef and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

. He hosted the Discovery Health television series ''A Lyon in the Kitchen''. A native of

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

, Lyon earned an undergraduate degree at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

. He began working in the food industry at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington as a soldier, and then as a cafe manager. He attended the California School of Culinary Arts and then worked in several restaurants in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Lyon launched a

personal chef A personal chef is a chef who is hired by different clients and prepares meals in the clients' home kitchens, based on their needs and preferences. Description A personal chef often will meet with a client and customize a multi-meal plan by determ ...

business and worked four days a week at a

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

. He became a finalist 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 ( ...

television reality series ''

The Next Food Network Star ''Food Network Star'' is a reality television series that premiered June 5, 2005. It was produced by CBS EYEtoo Productions for seasons 1–8 and by Triage Entertainment for subsequent seasons. It airs on the Food Network in the United States. ...

'' in 2005. Lyon lost to

Guy Fieri Guy Ramsay Fieri (, ; ''né'' Ferry; born January 22, 1968) is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owns three restaurants in California, licenses his name to restaurants in New York City, Las ...

(with whom he became close friends during the competition), but began hosting a series by Discovery Health called ''A Lyon in the Kitchen''. The show emphasizes fresh ingredients and fresh food, with the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...

"Great food starts fresh." Lyon began shooting a show on PBS called ''Growing a Greener World'' and was filming season 3. He is also in the process of filming a new travel/food TV show for the Veria network. Lyon published his first cookbook, ''Great Food Starts Fresh'', in December 2011.

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* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Arlington County, Virginia American television chefs American male chefs James Madison University alumni {{chef-bio-stub