Who is Brian Malarkey? Meet Superchef Grudge Match 2023 contestant
Chef Brian Malarkey will appear as a contestant in Superchef Grudge Match 2023, a brand-new reality show on the Food Network.
Celebrity chef and restaurateur Darnell Ferguson will host the program, which will include dramatic, protracted arguments between opposing cooks that are resolved in a single round. The winner will have a last laugh at their rival counterpart.
Brian Malarkey will be against his own student cum protégé, Chef Carlos Anthony, who is fed up of being his mentor's shadow. He wants to put an end to this cumbersome weight of being second to his mentor and will confront him in the arena to forge his limelight in the competitive series.
The official synopsis released by Warner Bros. Discovery reads:
"It’s mentor vs. protégé as restaurateur Brian Malarkey takes on Chef Carlos Anthony. Brian and Carlos have opened ten restaurants together and Carlos is tired of pulling all the culinary weight while Brian gets the recognition – but does he have what it takes to step out of the shadows and win the spotlight."
It continues:
"Upcoming episodes include a culinary commentator clash between Justin Warner and Simon Majumdar, an ‘Iron Chef Gauntlet’ rivalry reunion with Stephanie Izard and Shota Nakajima and a dispute over social media is settled between SanDiego’s Drew Bent and Claudia Sandoval.”
Chef Brian Malarkey, of Top Chef fame, has laid the foundations of many restaurant line-ups
Chef Brian Malarkey, the finalist for Top Chef season three, has an illustrious stronghold in the hospitality industry.
He is the winning mentor on ABC’s The Taste, which he hosted with Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, and Ludo Lefebvre. The 50-year-old is Southern California's most successful and sought-after chef/restaurateur.
Oregon-born Brian Malarkey is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu (formerly Western Culinary Institute in Portland). He has held posts at a number of renowned Los Angeles eateries, including Chef Michel Richard's Citrus, before opening his first restaurant.
Over the years, Brian has contributed to a large number of nonprofits and organizations and has developed more than 15 popular restaurant ideas.
In addition to hosting food and wine festivals across the nation, Malarkey has judged a number of televised cooking competitions. These include Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off, Chopped All-Stars, and Cutthroat Kitchen. He has also authored a cookbook titled Come Early, Stay Late.
He sold the bulk of his first restaurant group, Searsucker and Herringbone, which he expanded both domestically and abroad, to the multinational Hakkasan Group for $25 million in 2012. Soon after, he quit the organization and founded the Puffer Malarkey Collective with his longstanding business partner, Christopher Puffer.
Among the restaurants owned by Puffer Malarkey are Herb & Wood, Herb & Eatery, Green Acre, Farmer & The Seahorse, and four others: Herb & Sea, Animae, NIMA Cafe, and Herb & Ranch.
Together, the duo established 10 distinct concepts in the last five years, including Herb & Wood, which received national praise, and his most recent, the lavish Pan Asian experience, Animae.
Herb & Wood in San Diego was recognized as one of the "10 Best Restaurants" in America by USA Today. It was also deemed one of the "Biggest Restaurant Openings" in the nation by Zagat and "Restaurant of the Year" by Eater San Diego.
Brian Malarkey has joint ventures with the Irvine Company and Alexandria Real Estate Equities. He also reinvented the workweek lunch while developing and running original restaurant ideas for their business parks.
Brian Malarkey has also created a brand of cooking oils specifically formulated for home cooks called Chefs Life. Each oil is intended for a certain stage of cooking, such as high-heat sautéing or frying, preparing salad dressings or sauces, dipping or pouring over food that has been prepared.
In his spare time, he enjoys staying active by surfing, paddle boarding, fishing, and spending time with his three adorable children and Chantelle, his wife of 17 years. He is an avid racehorse owner and a past racetrack photographer as well.
What to expect in Food Network's Superchef Grudge Match 2023
With heavyweight chefs battling in a one-round, one-dish, the winner-takes-it all format of the show decides the ultimate culinary royale between opposing cooks.
Celebrity chef Darnell Fergusson will steer the show to two distinct contests between rival chefs in each episode, hoping to put an end to their animosity and come out on top.
The winner of the battle royale will take home $10,000 in cash prize, a priceless knife from the defeated chef, and everlasting top spot rights over their culinary rival.
Superchef Grudge Match 2023 premieres on Tuesday, February 7th at 9 pm ET/PT only on Food Network and can be streamed on Discovery+
Quick Links
Madhur Dave