Darnell is the host of Food Network’s Superchef Grudge Match where some long-standing personal and professional feuds are settled in one-round, one-dish winner-takes-all heavyweight battles. In each episode, Darnell stages two different battles between chefs who have beefs with each other to finally bury the hatchet and win $10,000 cash, a prized knife from the losing chef and lifelong bragging rights over their food foe.
He also co-hosted Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America (Season 25) alongside chef Anne Burrell. SuperChef also appeared on HGTV’s Hometown Takeover, OWN’s The Big Holiday Food Fight, as well as the Food Network’s Chopped, Supermarket Stakeout, Tiny Food Fight, Guy’s Grocery Games, and much more.
Darnell is also a three-time contestant on Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions” and upon Darnell’s victory over a legendary chef, Fieri told Darnell, “You just pulled off the biggest upset in culinary history.”
He has been featured on TODAY’s “Starting From Scratch” with Savannah Guthrie and LIVE with Kelly and Ryan, and many other national television programs. Darnell also hosted a six-episode TV cooking competition during 2021, titled “Cook That ‘Ish,” which aimed to help and inspire other aspiring chefs in partnership with WAVE 3 News and he cooked for Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
While his accolades speak volumes, success hasn’t always come easy to Darnell. Originally from Ohio, Darnell’s love for cooking started from adolescence and continued as he graduated from Sullivan University in Kentucky with a degree in Culinary Arts. However, after taking a wrong turn along his journey, Darnell found himself on a self-destructive path, leaving him homeless, in and out of jail, and unemployed for nearly a year. Guided by faith, Darnell used the time to reflect on his past and to reassess his purpose and experienced a pivotal moment of clarity. Darnell recalled someone speaking about being a statistic and never recovering once you enter the system and did not want to be another statistic. Darnell knew the only way to get out of the system was to realign his focus and become serious about his talent and passion, which for him had always been cooking.
To Darnell, food can represent and change your life. With relentless drive and newfound spirit, Darnell’s best and brightest decision was to bring high-end fine dining to short-order cooking in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 2012, Darnell began a series of pop-up restaurants serving breakfast within existing restaurants that only served lunch and dinner. This innovative approach along with his unique style of “Urban Eclectic” cooking that creatively blends traditional flavors in untraditional ways led Darnell to open his first ‘SuperChefs’ restaurant in 2015.
Unfortunately, just a few months into business, Darnell faced yet another life altering challenge when a fire broke out at SuperChefs that could not be controlled in time. The original SuperChefs was lost, but as Darnell explains, “The difference between where I was at and where God wanted me to be was based on my ability to patiently suffer. I went through it knowing I could come out the other side.”
The experience did not just open doors, it would ‘open gateways,’ as Darnell explains. Soon after the restaurant burnt down, Darnell received an outpour of interest from celebrity chefs and television producers requesting he share his story with the world. The opportunities allowed Darnell to reopen SuperChefs and to share his gratitude by continuously giving back to the community. Darnell teaches kids, communities, and those in need how cooking can be a positive and creative outlet by employing teens, young adults, and those in need.