Dining with the stars: Meet the Iowa restaurants and chefs who appeared on reality TV
Restaurants and chefs across Iowa have found their time in the spotlight, appearing on reality television shows. Chefs found a degree of fame on “Chopped,” “MasterChef” and “Top Chef,” while restaurants get a moment of recognition on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Meet some of the famous faces running the kitchens across the state, and find out what shows they appeared on.
Is your favorite restaurant's reality show appearance missing? Drop us a line at [email protected] with details.
Andy Schumacher
The chef and co-owner of Cobble Hill in Cedar Rapids opened his restaurant with his wife, Carrie, in 2013 after working at Mount Vernon’s Lincoln Café for five years after moving from Brooklyn. The restaurant changes its menu based on seasonal and local availability. Andy Schumacher starred on the second season of “The Next Food Network Star” and on “Chopped: All-American Showdown” on the Food Network this summer.
Cobble Hill Restaurant
Location: 219 Second St. SE, Cedar Rapids
Contact: cobblehillrestaurant.com
James Richards
The executive chef at Proudfoot & Bird at the Hotel Fort Des Moines competed on “Chopped” in 2018 while he was the chef at Provisions Lot F in Ames. He also rubbed shoulders with the original culinary superstar Emeril Lagasse, working at his restaurant Table 10 at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Palazzo in Las Vegas. The Des Moines Area Community College culinary arts grad has been at Proudfoot & Bird since last year in August.
Proudfoot & Bird
Location: Hotel Fort Des Moines, 1000 Walnut St., Des Moines
Contact: hotelfortdesmoines.com/dining/proudfoot-bird-menu
More: A comprehensive guide to finding James Beard Foundation-nominated chefs, restaurants in Iowa
Jake Harbeck
The former chef at the Iowa 80 Kitchen, the full-service restaurant inside the World’s Largest Truckstop in Walcott, competed on the Food Network’s show “Chopped: Truck Stop Stars” in 2016. Harbeck left the food and beverage industry.
Iowa 80 Kitchen
Location: 755 W. Iowa 80 Road, Walcott
Contact: iowa80truckstop.com
Jessica Baldus
Northeast Iowa-based chef Jessica Baldus owns Taste, Piggyback Smokeshack and the Bakery in Osage. Taste offers sandwiches and soups for lunch and grab-and-go. The Bakery brings cheesecakes, cakes, baked goods, breads and more. And Piggyback Smokeshack offers barbecue dishes such as brisket, ribs, and pulled pork on sandwiches and pizzas for lunch and dinner. Baldus appeared on the May 23 episode of “Supermarket Stakeout” on the Food Network.
Taste and Piggyback Smokeshack
Location: 715 Main St., Osage
Contact: tasteosage.com/piggyback-smokeshack
Alex Carter
Black Cat’s owner and ice cream creator Alex Carter appeared on Season 3 of “Chopped Sweets.” The ice cream creator also works as a comedian and hires fellow funny people to work in his Drake neighborhood shop.
Black Cat Ice Cream
Location: 2511 Cottage Grove Ave., Des Moines
Contact: blackcaticecream.com
Kevin Scharpf
Kevin Sharpf earned one of the top reality TV gigs when he appeared on Season 16 of “Top Chef.” The Dubuque chef behind Brazen Open Kitchen came to the show “hoping to put Iowa on the culinary map.” Scharpf worked at Hotel Sofitel’s fine dining restaurant, La Fougasse; chef Daniel Boulud’s Restaurant Daniel in New York City, and as the executive sous chef of Diamond Jo in Dubuque before opening Brazen in 2015.
Brazen Open Kitchen
Location: 955 Washington St., Suite 101, Dubuque
Contact: brazenopenkitchen.com
Carrie Mashaney
Carrie Mashaney grew up in Carpenter, Iowa, and now works as the culinary program coordinator at Meta in Seattle. She appeared on Season 11 of “Top Chef” and worked at places such as modern Middle Eastern restaurant Mamnoon, high-end Northern Italian restaurant Spinasse, craft cocktail and amari bar serving northern Italian dishes Artusi, and former Spanish restaurant Vespolina, all in Seattle.
Grant Gillon
The Altoona native works as the director of sales at Kinship Brewing Co. He just won the current season of “MasterChef,” taking home the title as well as the $250,000 grand prize. Gillon was part of the “MasterChef: United Tastes of America” series. His goal after winning the show is to open his own restaurant in Altoona.
More: How did Iowa's own Grant Gillon do in the 'MasterChef' finale?
Samantha Daily
The amateur chef who now bakes appeared on Seasons 9 and 12 of “MasterChef.” She tried out when she was a senior at the University of Kentucky. At the time, the 20-year-old was the second youngest to appear on the show. That season, she came in fourth place.
She returned to the show in 2022 to compete on “MasterChef: Back to Win” to compete against other former contestants on the show. While she didn’t win on either season, she did take Gordon Ramsay up on his offer to pay for her culinary school. She attended International Culinary Center in Manhattan. Daily lives in West Des Moines.
More: West Des Moines chef Samantha Daily returns to 'MasterChef' to compete in an all star-edition
Cassie Peterson
The Clear Lake home cook appeared on Season 7 of “MasterChef.” Peterson went on to open Nameless Gourmet, a catering and meal delivery company, and later Bread & Buttercrème in Clear Lake, but that closed in July 2019.
Matthew 'Matt' Houck
The optometrist from Iowa City was a contestant on Season 9 of “MasterChef.”
Nash Roe
Clive-based Nash Roe competed against 12 talented young bakers on Season 11 of “Kids Baking Championship” for a chance to win a grand prize of $25,000. He continues to bake his treats, including his Cinna-Roe cinnamon roll, through his bakery, Nash’s Confections.
Nash’s Confections
Contact: nashsconfections.com
Andrew Fuller
The Des Moines-based baker behind Sugar Freakshow won it all on Netflix’s first season of “Is It Cake?” The show pitted pastry chefs and bakers against each other in a bid to create lifelike cakes that represented everything from bowling pins and handbags to luggage and sewing machines. Andrew Fuller ended up winning $50,000 on the show hosted by "Saturday Night Live" comedian Mikey Day.
Sugar Freakshow
Contact: facebook.com/sugarfreakshowdsm/
Christina Moffatt
The former owner of Crème Cupcake appeared on “Cupcake Wars,” the Food Network show that brought bakers to compete in three challenges to win $10,000. Moffatt sold her Ingersoll Avenue bakery to Sammy Mila in 2022.
Crème Cupcake
Location: 543 28th St., Des Moines
Contact: cremecupcake.com
Tawnya Zerr
Tawnya Zerr of the Ames-based Cupcake Emporium also appeared on the same episode of “Cupcake Wars” as Moffatt. She closed her store in 2015.
Eileen Gannon
The winner of more than 600 state and national culinary awards appeared on three culinary shows over the years. Eileen Gannon competed on “Bake It Like Buddy” with “Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro on the Discovery Family Channel. Gannon and her daughter, Helen Hutchison, won $1,000 and bakeware in a Season 1, Episode 3 show.
Gannon also competed on the Food Network’s “Bakers vs. Fakers” (Season 2, Episode 9 that aired on Feb. 18, 2018) and was the Round 1 winner.
Gannon also won “Seattle’s Best Red Cup Showdown,” a competition to find the best new coffee drink hosted by TV chef Jeff Mauro. She won $10,000 for her How to Win a Guy with One Sip, a hot drink that combines Level 5 Seattle’s Best Coffee with caramelized bacon and subtle hints of pumpkin pie spice.
Gannon owns Sunday Night Foods, a chocolate dessert topping company based in the Des Moines metro.
Sunday Night Foods
Contact: sundaynightfoods.com
More: Des Moines baker and 10-year-old daughter competing in new 'Cake Boss' series
David Baruthio
The French chef appeared on "Beating Bobby Flay" in Season 14, Episode 9 called "Cracking a Win." The 2017 episode saw chef David Baruthio making a Scotch egg. Baruthio owned many Des Moines-area restaurants, including Baru 66, Blue Tomato Kitchen, Prime Land & Sea, and others. Now he holds special dinners at BeerStyles in West Des Moines and works as a restaurant consultant.
Flying Mango
The Beaverdale barbecue restaurant from Mike Wedeking appeared on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” during Season 22, Episode 1 “Fish, Fries and Feet.” Host Guy Fieri tried the baby back ribs, smoked on cherry wood, and served with sweet potato pancakes and red beans and rice, as well as the smoked catfish cakes with collard greens.
Location: 4345 Hickman Road, Des Moines
Contact: flyingmango.com
Mi Patria
The Ecuadorian restaurant in West Des Moines appeared on Episode 12 of Season 21, dubbed “Fresh Fish and Funky Chicken.” Caesar Miranda opened the restaurant in 2011 in an unassuming strip mall in West Des Moines. Fieri tried empanadas, arroz con pollo, and more.
Location: 1410 22nd St., West Des Moines
Contact: mipatriadsm.com
Smokey D’s BBQ
This barbecue restaurant on the north side of Des Moines appears in the same episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” as Mi Patria. Fieri called the restaurant from owners Darren and Sherry Warth with smokers going 24/7 the “swine coliseum.” The TV host ate the Asian smoked wings and apple dumpling.
Locations: 5055 NW Second St., Des Moines
601 Locust St., Skywalk Level, Des Moines
Contact: smokeydsbbq.com
Other restaurants in Iowa that appeared on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” that are closed:
Fieri ate Texas chili pepper steak at Dixie Quick’s in Council Bluffs, calling it one of the best he ever ate. The restaurant appeared in Season 4, Episode 5 “Where the Locals Eat” and closed in 2018 after 20 years in business.
George the Chili King, the classic drive-in on Hickman Road near Merle Hay in Des Moines, appeared on “Oldies but Goodies” from Season 21, Episode 13. Fieri ate the namesake chili and the breaded pork tenderloin made from tenderized fried pork shoulder. Owner George Karaidos Jr. died in 2019 and the restaurant closed.
More: Iconic owner of landmark Des Moines restaurant, George the Chili King, has died
Patton’s Restaurant & Catering appeared on “Chicken Chowfest” from Season 21, Episode 11. Fieri ate owner Pam Patton’s fried chicken and red velvet waffles at her former restaurant on the east side of Des Moines. Patton’s closed in 2017.
More: Southern-inspired Des Moines restaurant is closing
Tacopocalypse, the East Village fusion restaurant that closed in 2018, appeared on the Season 22, Episode 1 dubbed “Fish, Fries and Feet.” Fieri ate burritos and bulgogi masa fries.
More: Tacopocalypse closes after five years of serving Asian-inspired tacos in Des Moines' East Village
Lincoln Café
Owner Matt Steigerwald closed the Lincoln Cafe in 2013, sold it and then sold the Lincoln Wine Bar the following year to new owners, but the restaurant in Mount Vernon got a visit from host Andrew Zimmern when "Bizarre Foods" came to Iowa.
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. You can reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Look at the Iowa chefs and restaurants who appeared on reality TV shows
