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Hagerstown native Justin Warner is competing on "The Next Food Network Star." His mentor on the show is celebrity chef Alton Brown. (Courtesy of Food Network / May 8, 2012) |
Sure, Justin Warner hasn't had any professional culinary experience.
But so far it doesn't look like that's hurt the Hagerstown native, who will appear on this season's "The Next Food Network Star."
The 28-year-old Brooklyn-based chef recently was named on both Forbes' and Zagat's 30 Under 30 Lists. His restaurant, Do or Dine, has received culinary praise and was even recognized last year in the Michelin Guide.
And in 2010, Warner walked away the winner of another Food Network show, "24-Hour Restaurant Battle."
Not bad for a young chef who is self-taught.
"It's a very humbling experience," Warner said during a telephone interview while walking down the busy New York streets. "I used to live off Prospect Street (in Hagerstown). I did not at any time ever think I would climb to New York City. I was at E. Russell Hicks and got the home ec award and I was the only boy to get A's in sewing and food preparation. I did not think that would take me to the Forbes list. That's crazy. That's not even normal."
But not normal is exactly the way Warner operates. He said he doesn't approach food in the traditional way that other classically trained chefs would. And that's exactly how he likes it.
"I don't necessarily have a signature dish," he said. "I do have a signature style of cooking: Decidedly different. I don't like doing anything normally. I just can't stand it."
When it comes to cooking, Warner said, "I don't like to be told why, I like to say ‘Why not?'"
In "The Next Food Network Star," which premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday, May 13, the 15 contestants were separated into three teams with celebrity Food Network chefs as their mentors — Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown.
Warner was paired with Brown, who the young chef said was the perfect mentor for him.
Warner said of all of the mentors, Brown was the one chef from Food Network who he identified with the most.
"I love just the way, he's kind of like a home ec teacher for adults," Warner said. "(He's) kind of like Bill Nye the Science Guy for food. I love that. I love that approach. And I think he's got a little bit of that wacky and that zaniness that clicks really well with me. That being said, I had some of his cookbooks and I definitely tried to catch as many episodes of 'Good Eats' as I could."
Warner admits he never really watched "The Next Food Network Star," mostly because he doesn't have a TV, but said, "I liked the idea and I liked the process."
The process includes putting the future stars through a series of tests. During the first episode, contestants had to put together a restaurant in 24 hours, paces Warner had been successfully been through before.
"However, this wasn't with a partner. It was with a team of people I never met or worked with before," he said.
As for the results, Warner said to "tune in and see exactly had this went."
Because the winner of "The Next Food Network Star" will get the chance to have his or her own Food Network show, the judges constantly ask each contestant what is his or her culinary point of view.
Going into the show, Warner said he envisioned his own Food Network show to be "Conan O'Brien with food; a little more late-night, more adult-oriented, more irreverent."
But so far it doesn't look like that's hurt the Hagerstown native, who will appear on this season's "The Next Food Network Star."
The 28-year-old Brooklyn-based chef recently was named on both Forbes' and Zagat's 30 Under 30 Lists. His restaurant, Do or Dine, has received culinary praise and was even recognized last year in the Michelin Guide.
And in 2010, Warner walked away the winner of another Food Network show, "24-Hour Restaurant Battle."
Not bad for a young chef who is self-taught.
"It's a very humbling experience," Warner said during a telephone interview while walking down the busy New York streets. "I used to live off Prospect Street (in Hagerstown). I did not at any time ever think I would climb to New York City. I was at E. Russell Hicks and got the home ec award and I was the only boy to get A's in sewing and food preparation. I did not think that would take me to the Forbes list. That's crazy. That's not even normal."
But not normal is exactly the way Warner operates. He said he doesn't approach food in the traditional way that other classically trained chefs would. And that's exactly how he likes it.
"I don't necessarily have a signature dish," he said. "I do have a signature style of cooking: Decidedly different. I don't like doing anything normally. I just can't stand it."
When it comes to cooking, Warner said, "I don't like to be told why, I like to say ‘Why not?'"
In "The Next Food Network Star," which premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday, May 13, the 15 contestants were separated into three teams with celebrity Food Network chefs as their mentors — Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown.
Warner was paired with Brown, who the young chef said was the perfect mentor for him.
Warner said of all of the mentors, Brown was the one chef from Food Network who he identified with the most.
"I love just the way, he's kind of like a home ec teacher for adults," Warner said. "(He's) kind of like Bill Nye the Science Guy for food. I love that. I love that approach. And I think he's got a little bit of that wacky and that zaniness that clicks really well with me. That being said, I had some of his cookbooks and I definitely tried to catch as many episodes of 'Good Eats' as I could."
Warner admits he never really watched "The Next Food Network Star," mostly because he doesn't have a TV, but said, "I liked the idea and I liked the process."
The process includes putting the future stars through a series of tests. During the first episode, contestants had to put together a restaurant in 24 hours, paces Warner had been successfully been through before.
"However, this wasn't with a partner. It was with a team of people I never met or worked with before," he said.
As for the results, Warner said to "tune in and see exactly had this went."
Because the winner of "The Next Food Network Star" will get the chance to have his or her own Food Network show, the judges constantly ask each contestant what is his or her culinary point of view.
Going into the show, Warner said he envisioned his own Food Network show to be "Conan O'Brien with food; a little more late-night, more adult-oriented, more irreverent."
