Jeff Mauro

{{Short description|American chef}} {{BLP sources|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox chef  | image = Food Network Star Jeff Mauro Brings Flavor to COD Presents (54852935545).jpg | name = Jeff Mauro | caption = Mauro in 2025 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|7|24|mf=y}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois | style = | education = Bradley University |spouse=Sarah| restaurants = | television = {{plainlist| *''$24 in 24'' * ''Sandwich King'' * ''The Kitchen'' * ''Kitchen Sink'' }} }}

'''Jeff Mauro''' (born July 24, 1978) is the co-host of the Food Network series ''The Kitchen'' and host of ''Sandwich King'' and ''$24 in 24''. Prior to this, he was the winner of the seventh season of the ''Food Network Star'' competition.<ref name=sun-times>{{cite news|last=Cheung|first=Ariel|url=http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/7124265-421/elmwood-parks-sandwich-king-lands-food-network-show.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126165820/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/7124265-421/elmwood-parks-sandwich-king-lands-food-network-show.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2012|title=Oak Park's 'Sandwich King' lands Food Network show|publisher=Chicago Sun Times|access-date=2011-09-01}}</ref> Mauro, who is originally from Oak Park, Illinois, incorporates local Chicago restaurants into the context of his show.<ref name=sun-times/>

== Early life and education == Mauro was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 24, 1978.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Jeff Mauro Bio |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/profiles/talent/jeff-mauro/bio |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=Food Network |language=en}}</ref>

Mauro graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, in 2000, where he studied radio and television.<ref name="bradley">{{Cite web |last=Rhodes |first=Abby |date=August 15, 2011 |title=A king is crowned |url=http://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/story/?id=160891 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224154755/http://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/story/?id=160891 |archive-date=2013-02-24 |access-date=2012-04-29 |publisher=Bradley University}}</ref> After graduating, he opened up Prime Time Deli & Catering in Westmont, Illinois, with his cousin and fell in love with cooking. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue his love for cooking and comedy.<ref name=":0" />

A few years later he enrolled in the Le Cordon Bleu culinary program to refine his cooking skills. He graduated valedictorian and then returned to Chicago where he taught cooking lessons, was a private chef, was a sandwich artist, and performed on stage during weekends.<ref name=":0" />

== Career == In 2011, he won winner the seventh season of the ''Food Network Star'' competition.<ref name="sun-times" /> During ''Food Network Star'', where fifteen contestants competed for an opportunity to have their own cooking show, Mauro concentrated on sandwiches throughout the competition. The judges on the show noted Mauro's humor and likable persona, which are focal points of his personality on ''Sandwich King''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jeff Mauro, 2011 Food Network Star Finalist |url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/jeff-mauro-overview-page/package/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902014919/http://www.foodnetwork.com/jeff-mauro-overview-page/package/index.html |archive-date=2011-09-02 |access-date=2011-09-01}}</ref>

Mauro rejected criticisms that there wasn't enough to say about sandwiches to fill out a season, noting that any hand-held "meal" could be classified as a sandwich.<ref>{{cite news |last=Passy |first=Charles |date=August 20, 2011 |title='Next Food Network Star' Winner Launches Sandwich Show |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/08/20/next-food-network-star-winner-launches-sandwich-show/ |access-date=2011-09-01 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> In 2012, Mauro was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award for his show ''Sandwich King'' on the Food Network Channel. The award eventually went to Bobby Flay for his show ''Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction''.

In January 2014, Mauro became a co-host on the Food Network series ''The Kitchen'' along with Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Marcela Valladolid and Geoffrey Zakarian.<ref>{{cite web |title=Food Network's 'The Kitchen' - More Information About The Show |url=http://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/2013/12/food-networks-kitchen-more-information.html |website=www.foodnetworkgossip.com}}</ref>

In January 2021 he began hosting Kitchen Crash on Food Network, an update of Gordon Elliott's Door Knock Dinners.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

In 2022, Mauro co-hosted season 24 of Worst Cooks in America, coaching a team of 1990s celebrities against a team led by fellow co-host Anne Burrell, who won the contest with her "recruit" Tracey Gold.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palinkas |first=Lorianne |date=2022-05-31 |title=Worst Cooks Celebrity Edition: Why Tracey Gold’s Win Was So Inspiring |url=https://screenrant.com/worst-cooks-celebrity-edition-tracey-gold-win-inspiring/ |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref> He came back for season 26 where his contestant, Jessica, won the season. Mauro will return for season 30 with Tiffany Derry as his co-host.

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb name|4434648}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauro, Jeff}} Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:American television chefs Category:Bradley University alumni Category:Food Network chefs Category:Food Network Star winners Category:Chefs from Chicago Category:People from Elmwood Park, Illinois