MEET OUR 2022 CELEBRITY CHEFS

Visit the Culinary Pavilion where our celebrity chefs will demonstrate easy to make recipes and complete for bragging rights and the Dutch Pot Trophy. Sample tasty treats and win prizes.

Chef ron

Chef Ron Duprat is best known as one of the top competitors on Bravo TV’s “Top Chef.” Iron Chef America, Bar Rescue, Beat Bobby Flay on Food network. Duprat was featured on Many other TV shows. Huffington Post recognized him as one of 10 Black Chefs That Are Changing the Food World. The Root recognized him as “How 12 Black Chefs Cooked Their Way to the Top of the World” Oprah magazine named Chef Duprat Recipe Her Favorite Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Bisque. Chef Ron joins the U.S. State Department Chef’s Corp. Chef Ron has prepared amazing meals for President and First Lady Obama, Jay Z and Beyoncé, Usher, and many more. Chef Ron has used his cooking skills also to become actively involved in fighting childhood obesity and healthy kids eating. He is the author of  ‘My Journey of cooking.’

Chef Andre

Chef Andre Fowles is a Jamaican born chef based in New York City. He’s a three-time Food Network “Chopped” champion, and has been recognized by Star Chef New York. Over the years, Chef Fowles’ contemporary approach to Caribbean cuisine has been featured in the New York Times, Thrillist, Bon Appetit, Vice Media, Good Morning America, and The Today Show. Andre has hosted multiple dinners at the prestigious James Beard House, and has contributed to some major food events in America and Jamaica – Food & Wine Festival, SOBE Wine & Food Festival, and the Observer Food Awards. He’s currently working on publishing his first cookbook; opening his first restaurant; and launching his hot sauce line – “Mama Cherry” – which pays homage to his Jamaican grandmother who inspired him to become a chef.


IG: @cheffowles
Website: https://chefandrefowles.com

Chef Darian

Chef Darian is a Jamaican chef bringing the heat to Buffalo, NY. He arrived in the states in 2012 and has quickly risen to the spotlight through his pop-up fine dining dinners in surprising and unusual locations, private dinners and meal prep for Buffalo’s favorite NFL players, and his block long lines at his Jamaican pop-up events titled “Jerk Hut.” He has been featured on Food Network, CBS News, ESPN, The Jamaican Observer, The Gleaner, TVJ, and more. Chef Darian specializes in everything extra, from his signature fedora hats and chef jacket styles, to his jewelry, to his colossal surf and turf. Recently he opened a brand new dining concept, a boutique for chef services. The boutique allows Chef to focus on his mission, redefining the Chef, bringing them from the back of the house to the front, with each dining party centered around his cooking. Chef Darian believes that chefs are rockstars and should be celebrated because their food makes people happy, and they should feel and see that love while enjoying their food. He represents Jamaica to the fullest through all his success and loves to merge his Caribbean cuisine with all his fine-dining dishes, hence the nickname, “The Fancy Jerk.”

Chef Troy

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1982, Troy Levy recognized his love for cooking at the tender age of eight years old. He cooked his first meal when his mother fell ill and couldn’t prepare their traditional Sunday dinner. In that same year, his step-father started his own ‘cook shop. ‘Troy was allowed to cook for the restaurant. His cooking surprised a lot of the restaurant regulars. That experience influenced and encouraged Troy’s vision of becoming a chef. 

Troy became a renowned force in the Caribbean International Modern Cuisine culinary field – becoming a Sou Chef at Suede Caribbean Restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. He has also appeared as a finalist on The Food Network’s hit show CooksVsCons (Season 4,  Episode 10). Troy was also a celebrity judge for The Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival cook-off between New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio and Jamaica’s former Miss World and Member of Parliament, Lisa Hanna. He also held the position of kitchen manager at the renowned BB King’s in Times Square and the position of Chef at the Highline Ballroom in Chelsea, New York City. Chef Troy has opened a few restaurants in New York City, including Caribbean Starr Restaurant in the heart of Harlem, New York. 

Chef Troy’s roots of growing up in the countryside of St.Catherine in Jamaica among his Rastafari uncles and other family members, Ital cooking had a strong influence on his style of cooking. After years of cooking styles of different cuisines, he decided to return to his Rastafari roots and is now introducing Ital cooking in a modern style.

Chef Irie

Hugh Sinclair, the Global Culinary Architect, is the executive chef of Chef Irie Spice Inc. – Personal Chef and Catering Services, providing services to the tri-county area of South Florida. He is a graduate of the University of Florida, earning a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Before relocating to the sunshine state, Hugh migrated to New York.
Hugh always had a passion for cooking and felt right at home in the kitchen. After working several years as an architect, the yearning to create culinary masterpieces vs. architectural aesthetics overtook his desires. It was then that Hugh enrolled in Johnson & Wales University’s Culinary Arts program, embarking on his culinary journey. Graduating with an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts, Hugh has taken on the South Florida culinary landscape by storm. Being a personal chef has allowed him to work with entertainers, athletes, and many South Florida elite.
The critically acclaimed TV cooking mini-series, “Taste the Islands with Chef Irie,” was launched nationwide on April 4th in 135 PBS markets. A made-for-television series produced by Blondie Ras Productions, Inc., “Taste the Islands” is the only original Caribbean-produced television series featuring a Caribbean chef on a television network or otherwise. Chef Irie competed and made it to the second round of Food Network’s ever-popular series, Cutthroat Kitchen.

Chef Eddie G

A magical blend between the roughness and strength of steel and bricks in New York City and the wonderful scent of spices and flavors from around the world describes Chef Eddie G, lead chef and partner at Locavore Ventures, a culinary experience agency based in LA, NY, Dallas, and Philly. New York’s unparalleled melting pot and veracity, coupled with flavors from 18 different countries, proved to be the perfect ingredients for Chef Eddie G’s signature delights. Born and bred in the city that never sleeps among a rich immigrant community to Irish and German parents afforded a young Eddie access to herbs, spices, and sauces that lit up his taste buds, opening an entirely new culinary world.

Every dish Chef Eddie G creates provides an unforgettable experience for his guests; his passion for cooking and traveling, his home background in NY, and all of his years of cooking experience in more than 100 kitchens around the world make him an exceptional and daring chef. His appearances on TV shows and magazines have granted him the title of American celebrity, and have recently added author to his repertoire as well with his first cookbook, “Cooking Coast2Coast Cuisine”. Be on the lookout for his second cookbook, “Locavore,” coming soon. In the meantime, be sure to catch Chef Eddie G in Season 9 of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race and Season 1 of Chef Eddie G. Locavore on Amazon Prime. 

Chef Max Hardy

Chef Max Hardy is a Bahamian-American, professional chef, and owner of Coop Detroit and JEDs Detroit. In January 2014, Chef Max competed and finished as a runner-up for The Food Network’s Chopped and has been featured in Bon, Appétit, Essence Magazine, Fox 5 Good Day New York, NBC’s thegrio.com, and New York Post. As a professional/celebrity personal chef, Chef Max’s clientele included award-winning music artists, actors, professional athletes, and dignitaries, including TI, Will Smith, Matt Kemp, Rohan Marley, John Legend, and the Prince of Dubai. Chef Max is also a philanthropist and founder of the One Chef Can 86 Hunger foundation.  One Chef Can 86 Hunger is a not-for-profit organization that works toward raising awareness and fighting the hunger epidemic in America. For additional information on Chef Max Hardy please visit www.chefhardy.com

Chef Gomez

Passionate about tourism and gastronomy, Natacha became a government representative appointed to promote tourism in Haiti. She’s also an ambassador for the Food Travel Tourism Association in New York, USA.
Natacha Gomez is letting the world discover her style of cooking as the Co-owner of Classy Pairings and Chef Natacha Gomez. Classy Pairings is a catering and event company started by Natacha and her daughter Keisha Barrella. She also offers her services as a wine specialist. Her cuisine ranges from the Taino’s to The New Caribbean Gastronomy, which revisits traditional dishes with a modern twist and promotes local, fresh, and organic products. Though Chef Natacha loves breathing new life into classics, she sought to preserve traditional Haitian recipes with her book “Bak Fritay.” Bak Fritay highlights Haitian street food for all to enjoy. Her company, INVESTA HAITI, created the label 100% Lokal, a movement to help promote buying locally sourced products to boost the region’s economy.
Chef instructor and Certified Trainer of trainer for disaster Relief, she oversees operations and kitchen services for more than 25,000 a day; she also has her line of products that range from hot sauces, jams, spices, and traditional desserts. Food is not her only passion; she is deeply involved in her community by working with two women NGOs to help reduce the gender gap and empower women. Chef Natacha combined her love of food and advocacy and joined the U.N Chef’s Manifesto to promote sustainable eating. She is also featured in “The Cookbook In Support Of The United Nations: For People and Planet.”