James Beard winners to TV stars: Do you know all the celeb chefs that studied at JWU?

Yahoo

26-05-2025

Johnson & Wales University has long been acknowledged for contributing to the local culinary scene by educating many chefs who lead Providence's best restaurants.
You need look no further than the James Beard Foundation list of semifinalists and finalists for 2025. They include Ben Sukle
(Oberlin and Gift Horse), Derek Wagner (Nicks on Broadway), Nikhil Naiker (Nimki) and Champe Speidel (Persimmon), all have JWU degrees, as does Cassie Piuma, for her Sarma in Somerville, Massachusetts.
But do you know how many celebrity chefs began their careers after their JWU education?
There's Sean Brock (2000), most recently the featured chef in the sixth season of Netflix's "Chef's Table." He's a James Beard Award-winning chef for McCrady's and Husk in Charleston, South Carolina. He was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Culinary Host category for PBS's "The Mind of a Chef," produced by Anthony Bourdain.
You can book a culinary travel tour to Ghana with chef Eric Adjepong (2010). But you might also remember seeing him as a finalist on "Top Chef" season 16 and multiple other shows on the Food Network. He hosted the 2023 James Beard Awards and just opened Elmina restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Michelle Bernstein (1994) also studied at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. But she chose food and was named a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: South for Michy's. She was on the Food Network series "Melting Pot."
There's Graham Elliot (1997), who many recognize as a contestant on "Iron Chef" and "Top Chef Masters" and as a judge with Gordon Ramsay on the American "Master Chef" and "MasterChef Junior." He's also a three-time James Beard nominee as a chef.
Other celebrity chefs with JWU roots include: Mark Ladner (1990), Tyler Florence (1994), David Kinch (1981), Adrianne Calvo (1904), Scott Liebfried (1993), Beau MacMillan (1991), Chris Santos (1993), Eric Haugen (2007), Houston Striggow (1979), Jordan Pilarski (2016), Chris Viaud (2012), Charlie Ayers (1990), Andy Husbands (1992) and Aaron Sanchez (attended 1996).
Here are the most notable celeb chefs with special ties to Rhode Island and JWU.
Not only a native son, the pride of Fall River, Massachusetts, Emeril Lagasse (1978) is among the deans of celebrity chefs. He's recognized with one name, just like Beyoncé and Gaga.
He was the talent that launched the TV Food Network in 1993. Shows like "How to Boil Water," "Essence of Emeril" and "Emeril Live" transformed the way people looked at food and cooking. Bam! became his signature.
He's also a restaurateur, opening and running many restaurants across the country as part of his Emeril Group. Most recently, he opened 34 Restaurant and Bar, his first Portuguese concept in New Orleans.
He won a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 1991. He's written many cookbooks. He even had a short-lived NBC sitcom, "Emeril," in 2001.
Little-known fact: He was a musician and turned down a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music to attend JWU.
Rhode Island's own Chris Cosentino (1994) has made his name on the West Coast as a restaurateur and as a celebrity chef. He had James Beard noms for his food at Incanto in San Francisco, known as a nose-to-tail restaurant (utilizing all edible parts of the animal instead of just the high-value cuts). He's opened other restaurants, including Cockscomb and Boccalone in San Francisco. He's working on a new project with flavors of Maui.
His television credits include winning "Top Chef Masters" in 2012 and competing on "Iron Chef America." He has hosted, judged and competed in other shows, including "Next Iron Chef," "Guy's Grocery Games," "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," "Tournament of Champions" and "Chefs vs. City."
The Portsmouth native collaborated on AfterShift, a limited-release nonalcoholic IPA from Athletic Brewing. The can features images taken from the chef's tattoos, which include spatulas, forks and knives.
You might not know that Cosentino is a philanthropist, having earned more than $140,000 for The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Lorena Garcia (2000) is a Venezuelan chef and restaurateur based in Miami. Her Chica, billed as a celebration of culture and flavor, has locations in Las Vegas and Miami. Her Lorena Garcia Tapas y Cocina serves hungry travelers at the Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta airports. Garcia opened her first restaurant, Food Café, in 2002, two years after graduating from JWU.
She is also a celebrity chef who has appeared on multiple television shows, including "Top Chef" and "Top Chef Masters." She's also appeared on a number of shows on Telemundo and Univision.
Garcia is an activist on behalf of children. In April, she signed a letter with other chefs asking Congress to protect funding for food assistance. She has her own nonprofit organization aimed at combating childhood obesity, 'Big Chef, Little Chef.'
Little-known fact: She is on JWU's board of trustees.
Esquire wrote that Michelin-starred chef Jamal 'James' Kent (2002) was on the verge of building a culinary empire when he died suddenly of a heart attack on June 15, 2024. The national magazine wrote "what the restaurant world really lost was one of its greatest mentors and champions."
He was 45. He had won the prestigious competition Bocuse d'Or USA in 2010, and opened restaurants under his Saga Hospitality Group, now the Kent Hospitality Group, including Saga, Crown Shy and Overstory.
JWU profiled the chef in 2019, noting his mentorship of Danny Garcia (2014). Garcia is making a name of his own, having won Season 21 of "Top Chef" in 2024 and taking over the role as executive chef of the Kent Hospitality Group.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: JWU grads include Emeril, Lorena, Cosentino, celeb chef is long