Rahman "Rock" Harper (born December 17, 1976) is an American

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 ...

, television personality and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

who won in the third season of the

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...

-presented reality television show '' Hell's Kitchen.''

Biography

Harper discovered his love of cooking in his early teens and earned a culinary degree at Johnson & Wales University (JWU). Harper has held positions at Café Calliope, Burke Station Restaurant, Planet Hollywood, and BET on Jazz Restaurant, and was executive chef at B. Smith's Restaurant prior to joining in the third season of the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

reality-television show '' Hell's Kitchen'' in 2007. After his win on ''Hell's Kitchen'' where he accepted the prize of a high-salaried stint as head chef at the Terre Verde Restaurant at Green Valley Ranch Resort, he became the National Celebrity Chef for the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...

. After his year at Terra Verde he then worked as the executive chef of Ben's Next Door and The Carlyle Club. Harper later became an instructor at Stratford University. In 2010, he published the book ''44 Things Parents Should Know about Healthy Cooking for Kids''. In 2013, Harper appeared on ''Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell'' and won the executive chef position at The Precinct, a steakhouse in Cincinnati, Ohio; however, he did not ultimately accept the job. In 2020, Harper opened Queen Mother’s Fried Chicken inside Ghostline in Washington, DC as a tribute to his mother, Carole Harper. One year later, the restaurant was relocated to The Kitchen of Purpose in Arlington, Virginia. The restaurant is known for duck-fat brined fried chicken that was featured on TV shows such as ''Hell’s Kitchen'' and ''Sherri''. In the early fall of 2023, Queen Mother's will open a new location at the National Landing Water Park] in Arlington, Virginia. In 2023, Harper became the owner o
Hill Prince Bar
a neighborhood bar and event venue located in the H Street Corridor in Northeast, Washington, D.C.

Awards

In 2020 and 2021, Queen Mother’s was nominated as a RAMMY Award finalist presented by Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) in the category of “Hottest New Sandwich Shop.” The Annual RAMMY Awards honors the hard-working individuals and organizations and restaurants in Washington, D.C., Washington DC's foodservice community. In 2023, Harper was a

semifinalist A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

for a James Beard Award in the category of “Best Chef – Mid Atlantic.” The James Beard Awards honors talent in the culinary and food media industries.

Charity work

- National Celebrity Chef * DC Central Kitchen - Board Member
DC Greens
- Board of Directors *Global Food and Drink Initiative: Board of Directors

Filmography

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Rock 1976 births Living people American chefs American male chefs Reality cooking competition winners Participants in American reality television series Johnson & Wales University alumni Reality cooking competition contestants