Esther Choi (born November 20, 1985) is an American chef and television personality. She is best known for her appearances 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 division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

shows and her contributions to the culinary scene in New York City.

Early life

Choi was born in New Jersey and raised in Egg Harbor Township; she attended

Egg Harbor Township High School Egg Harbor Township High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Egg Harbor Township in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone seconda ...

, where she enjoyed classes in

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

. Her Korean grandmother would often cook Korean dishes, and taught Choi to make kimchi. Choi and her parents lived in South Korea for three years during her childhood. Back in the United States, Choi began working in restaurants at age 14. Choi graduated from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and the

Institute of Culinary Education The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) is a private for-profit culinary school with locations in New York City and Los Angeles, accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). It offers career training, dip ...

in New York.

Career

Choi has made a name for herself through television appearances on shows like Bobby's Triple Threat, Throwdown with

Michael Symon Michael D. Symon (born September 19, 1969) is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is seen regularly on Food Network on shows such as ''Iron Chef America'', ''Burgers, Brew and 'Que, Food Feuds'', and ''The Bes ...

, Chopped, Battle of the Brothers, and Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. Choi served as the host of the

Hot Ones ''Hot Ones'' is an American YouTube talk show, created by Sean Evans and Chris Schonberger, hosted by Evans and produced by First We Feast and formerly Complex Media. Its basic premise involves celebrities being interviewed by Evans over a pl ...

spinoff Heat Eaters. In April 2024, she began co-hosting Food Network series '' 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing'' Choi opened her first restaurant, mŏkbar, of which she is a chef and owner, in 2014. The restaurant serves dumplings made from her grandmother's recipe. She later opened a second location in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. She is a chef and a partner at Ms. Yoo in Manhattan, which is named after her grandmother.

Personal life

In February 2024, she announced her pregnancy on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Esther 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen American people of Korean descent American television hosts Chefs from New Jersey Food Network chefs People from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey American women chefs Year of birth missing (living people) Living people