Foodgod (born Jonathan Cheban; 21 February 1974) is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

personality, entrepreneur and former

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists w ...

. He has made appearances on the show ''

Keeping Up with the Kardashians ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (often abbreviated ''KUWTK'') is an American reality television series which focused on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian–Jenner blended family, airing between 2007 and 2021. Its prem ...

'' and its spinoffs.

Early life

Cheban was born in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in 1974, the only child of a real-estate agent mother, Galina, and a diamond-dealer father, Mikhail who died in 2011. He grew up in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, ...

and attended

Fort Lee High School Fort Lee High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade, located in Fort Lee, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Fort Lee ...

before graduating from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of N ...

with a communications degree in 1995. Cheban is of

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

background. Cheban was in a serious forklift accident at the age of 8, which resulted in him losing his front teeth and part of his tongue.

Career

Publicist

After graduation, Cheban began working for publicist

Peggy Siegal Peggy Siegal (born July 17, 1947) is an American entertainment publicist who advertises new film releases to an audience of media providers and critics. She owns the Peggy Siegal Company, based in Manhattan, which was described as one of the top ...

at her firm in New York. At one point, music manager

Benny Medina Benny Medina (born January 24, 1958) is an American record executive, talent manager, and television producer. Early life and education Medina was born in East Los Angeles, California, of Dominican parents into a poor family. The death of hi ...

called Siegal to work on

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

' 29th birthday party. When Siegal rejected the offer despite Cheban's urging, Cheban accepted the job himself. Cheban left Siegal and formed his own public-relations firm with two other publicists. He left that company in 2001, and went on to found his own firm, CommandPR.

Reality television

Cheban first gained public attention with his appearance on the reality show ''

'', appearing as a friend of the Kardashian sisters. He subsequently appeared in several episodes of the show's spin-offs, ''

Kourtney and Kim Take New York ''Kourtney and Kim Take New York'' is an American reality television series that premiered January 23, 2011, on E! and ran for two seasons. The series followed sisters Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian as they opened a Dash boutique in New ...

'', ''

Kourtney and Kim Take Miami ''Kourtney and Kim Take Miami'' (previously titled ''Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami'') is an American reality television series. It premiered on E! on August 16, 2009, as the first '' Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' spin-off. The series origin ...

'' and '' Kourtney and Khloé Take The Hamptons''. In 2010, Cheban starred in his own reality show, ''

The Spin Crowd ''The Spin Crowd'' is an American reality television series on E! that debuted August 22, 2010. The series chronicles the lives of six employees who all work for a Hollywood public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing ...

'', chronicling the lives of Cheban, Simon Huck and their employees at his firm. The series' executive producer was reality-TV star

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

. It was canceled after one season due to poor ratings. Cheban's relationship with Kardashian has remained in the public spotlight. In 2012, Cheban made a short video spoofing himself as someone living in the shadow of Kardashian's fame. In January 2016, Cheban entered the '' Celebrity Big Brother 17'' house in the U.K., to compete as a housemate on its 17th season. He voluntarily left the show within days, which he finished 15th place. In 2017, Cheban appeared on the second season of U.K.'s "

Celebs Go Dating ''Celebs Go Dating'' is a British dating reality series. It began broadcasting on 29 August 2016 on E4, with the first series having 15 episodes. Paul Carrick Brunson and Anna Williamson currently appear as the dating agents, with Tom Read Wi ...

Other ventures

In 2008, Cheban launched his own clothing line, Kritik. Cheban also has designed jewelry for RichRocks. In late 2012, Cheban opened Sushi MiKasa, a restaurant in Miami. On November 24, 2013, Cheban also co-hosted ''Coca-Cola Red Carpet Live!'', a pre-show to the 2013 American Music Awards. In January 2014, Cheban launched a product called Glam Screen, which is both a protective cover for a smart phone, as well as a mirror. In 2014, Cheban launched TheDishh, an entertainment and life-style website that features what Cheban and his team consider to be the highest-quality foods, gadgets and entertainment. In February 2015, Cheban opened the

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typical ...

Burger Bandit in

Lynbrook, New York Lynbrook is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,427 at the 2010 census. History The area currently known as Lynbrook has had other names, in ...

, on Long Island. In late 2019 Cheban launched the podcast ''Foodgod: OMFG!''

Personal life

In late 2012, Cheban began dating stylist Anat Popovsky after meeting her while filming ''Kourtney and Kim Take Miami''. Cheban signed on as a single man on the second episode of the seventh season of ''Millionaire Matchmaker'', which aired on December 12, 2013 on

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compan ...

. In October 2019, various media outlets announced he had changed his legal name to his social media handle, ''Foodgod'', after starting the process in January.

Filmography

References

External links

Founder of website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheban, Jonathan 1974 births American chief executives Hofstra University alumni Living people American public relations people 20th-century American Jews American people of Russian-Jewish descent Russian Jews People from Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee High School alumni 21st-century American Jews