Darnell Ferguson (born March 5 1987) is an American chef, television personality, and restaurateur.

Early life and education

Darnell Ferguson was born in 1987 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio. In high school, Ferguson was inspired by

Emeril Lagasse Emeril John Lagasse III ( ; born October 15, 1959) is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regional James ...

's television cooking series, ''

Emeril Live ''Emeril Live'' is a television cooking program that aired first on Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a divis ...

'', and spent a year of high school enrolled in vocational cooking school. He attended

Sullivan University Sullivan University is a private for-profit university based in Louisville, Kentucky. It is licensed to offer certificates and diplomas, associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education ...

in Louisville, Kentucky. Ferguson was selected with a group of 20 student chefs who cooked for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing, China.

Career

Ferguson is the former owner of restaurants Super Chefs and Tha Drippin Crab in Louisville, Kentucky. Ferguson's television career began in 2015, after an appearance first on the local news and later on '' The Rachel Ray Show'' where he talked about his journey from selling drugs to owning restaurants. During ''The Rachel Ray Show'' television appearance Ferguson met his hero, Emeril Lagasse. He is the co-host alongside chef

Anne Burrell Anne W. Burrell (September 21, 1969 – June 17, 2025) was an American chef, television personality, and instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. She was the host of the Food Network show '' Secrets of a Restaurant Chef'' and co-host ...

of Food Network's ''

Worst Cooks in America ''Worst Cooks in America'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January3, 2010, on Food Network. The show takes 12 to 16 contestants (referred to as "recruits") with very poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp, t ...

'' (season 25). He has also appeared on HGTV's ''Home Town Takeover'', ''The Big Holiday Food Fight'', as well as the Food Network's '' Chopped'', '' Supermarket Stakeout'', ''Tiny Food Fight'', ''

Guy's Grocery Games '' Guy's Grocery Games'' (often nicknamed ''Triple G'') is an American reality competition television series hosted by Guy Fieri and his son Hunter on Food Network. Each episode features four chefs competing in a three-round elimination contest ...

'', and ''

Tournament of Champions A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

''.

Personal life

Ferguson was jailed for selling drugs six times. During his last visit to jail prior to 2024, Ferguson vowed to never return again and joined a church. He was evicted and lived in his car for sometime, before starting a

pop-up restaurant A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory, existing restaurants or similar space, and during festivals. Various other names have been used to describe the concept of settin ...

in Louisville in 2012. Ferguson is married to Tatahda Ferguson, with whom he has children. On January 9, 2024, Ferguson was arrested by Louisville Metropolitan Police in the Louisville suburb of St. Matthews on seven criminal charges, including burglary, strangulation, and other charges in an incident involving his then-estranged wife. He appeared in court on January 10, where he pled not guilty and had his bond set at $10,000. His preliminary court hearing was also scheduled for January 18, 2024, and a jury trial was set for February 25, 2025 but was continued to May 13, 2025. Ferguson agreed to a plea deal that he would serve no jail time if he stayed out of trouble for two years and paid a $250 fine. His wife stated, "I reacted in the heat of the moment after we had an intense argument, and called the police for a matter that really didn't warrant their involvement."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Darnell 1987 births Living people 21st-century African-American businesspeople African-American television personalities American restaurateurs American television chefs Chefs from Ohio Chefs from Kentucky Businesspeople from Philadelphia People from Columbus, Ohio

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links