DJ CHEF IN A WORLD OF FOOD, BEATS & TV
I had the opportunity to interview DJ CHEF and speak about his experience with Supermarket Stakeout and how he got where he is today.
Marc Weiss aka “DJ CHEF” who recently won Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen hosted by Alton Brown, is heading back to TV to compete in another challenging Food Network cooking competition show Supermarket Stakeout, which will air on Tuesday, March 9 at 10:00pm (EST).
DJ CHEF is the only entertainer who simultaneously cooks and DJ’s for private parties and events worldwide. He’s been dubbed “The King of the Hamptons” for his wildly popular, interactive cooking class parties for bachelorette and birthday parties that fuse food, music and fun. DJ CHEF received his training under world-renowned chefs Bobby Flay, Matthew Kenney and John Tesar in Manhattan’s fine dining scene. After defining his culinary skills, he took a job as corporate chef for Sodexho Marriott which gave him weekends free to host private dinner parties. Prior to becoming a chef, he was a DJ so he developed a niche to “spin the beats while cooking treats” and DJ CHEF was born. Shortly after spinning and cooking, the Food Network called and featured him on their show, What’s Hot! What’s Cool! which revealed the hottest trends in food. DJ CHEF has traveled the globe to DJ and cook at major events as far as Dubai to Toronto to Beverly Hills.
OR: What were you doing to keep relevant during the pandemic?
DJ CHEF: During the pandemic, I lead daily birthday car parades for children that were missing out on celebrations with family and friends. Armed with my stylized DJ CHEF truck pumping music, a microphone and a six-foot teddy bear, I appeared at over 500 birthday parades and a dozen school reunions. Post pandemic with restrictions on restaurants, clubs and wineries, I have been bringing the party to clients including hundreds of brides who have been changing destination Bachelorette weekends from Nashville and Miami to the Hamptons and Jersey Shore. I’m hosting many in-home safe parties where I cook, DJ, and give culinary lessons while the guests eat, drink, dance, and have fun.
OR: Tell us about your experience filming Supermarket Stakeout.
DJ CHEF: Supermarket Stakeout was a fun experience. It’s basically a potluck dinner competition. You get a grab bag of ingredients and you have to make the best of it while cooking in a parking lot. It’s really the luck of the draw. I always try to go with the flow and make it entertaining under subpar cooking conditions. Alex called me out for being great on Cutthroat Kitchen just before the shoot so I was thinking the judges were going to hold me to a higher standard, which gave me a little extra motivation.
OR: It sounds like Supermarket Stakeout was different from Cutthroat Kitchen in which you were the champion.
DJ CHEF: Yes! For Cutthroat Kitchen, we had to prepare a dish that you had to make like a “taco”. You had two minutes to shop for your ingredients and then there were three sabotages that you either spent your prize money on or risk getting sabotaged and cook with that handicap. With Supermarket Stakeout, you had $500 to negotiate your potluck ingredients with a random shopper. But for both, it really came down to 1/3 strategy, 1/3 luck and 1/3 cooking skills. Needless to say, it was a great experience.
OR: What are some of your favorite beats and eats to make and spin to?
DJ CHEF: I personally love old school hip hop and freestyle music and as far as food, I love rib eye steak, short ribs and anything BBQ.
OR: You help so many different organizations such as the John Starks Foundation, Marty Lyons Foundation and enCourage Kids Foundation, to name a few. What does giving back mean to you?
DJ CHEF: It’s a great feeling to be able to do what you love to do while helping the mission of different organizations. We have a bigger purpose and that is to lift each other up and lend a hand to those less fortunate.
OR: What chef do you see today as an industry game changer?
DJ CHEF: I love what Guy Fieri is doing during the pandemic and restaurant closings. He raised 20million for out of work restaurant workers, which is nothing short of amazing!
OR: What do you see in DJ CHEF’s future?
DJ CHEF: I definitely see my own food and travel show for sure. #Goals
OR: Congratulations for being recognized with a number of awards for your high energy mobile soirees including The Knot Best of Weddings, Brides of Long Island Diamond Award, LI Weddings Best of 2021, and Model Citizens Magazine honoree for December 2020.
DJ CHEF: Thank you. I feel blessed to be recognized for my work and to do what I love each and every day.
OR: Thank you so much for taking the time to interview with us. I look forward to seeing you on Supermarket Stakeout.
DJ CHEF: Thank you, it is my pleasure.
To learn more about DJ CHEF, please visit his website: https://djchef.com. You can follow and engage with DJ CHEF on his socials.
https://www.instagram.com/djchefrocks/
https://twitter.com/djchefrocks