Deborah Fewell
Growing up in Washington D.C., being influenced by her father’s herb gardening while storytelling, and her mother’s kitchen narratives, Deborah has for a lifetime honed her craft toward the ultimate goal of becoming one of “America’s Cooking Sweetheart.” Trained in the theater, Deborah earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Howard University. To sharpen her culinary technique, Deborah received an associate degree from the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu School (Pasadena Campus). She was later chosen for the highly competitive internship program at the Food Network in New York; Deborah went on to become personal chef to NBA great Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway of the New York Knicks, and has been the personal chef to A-list celebrities Will and Jada Smith for the last four years. As fate (and faith) would have it, Deborah returned to the Food Network, but this time as one of the eight competitors (chosen out of a pool of 10,000) for the televised prime time program The Next Food Network Star (Season 1). In this highly touted chefs competition, Deborah “fewelled” herself to becoming first runner-up. She was later featured as a host for the one-hour special Surf and Turf on the Food Network.