Eddie Gilbert has already had his 15 minutes of fame. However, competing on a Food Network reality show likely won鈥檛 be the last 15 minutes of fame for this high-octane personality with two degrees from Peabody.
Gilbert, whose degrees are in human and organizational development (HOD), has packed a lot of living into his 30 years. Active in all sorts of student organizations at Vanderbilt, he began watching the Food Network and working for the alternative rock band Llama while at Peabody. After graduation, he became tour manager for the band. He then joined the prestigious William Morris Agency in Hollywood as a recruiter. Accustomed to interviewing dozens of people a month for jobs at William Morris, he breezed through a series of interviews and two on-camera cooking demonstrations to make the final field of 10 for the fifth season of The Next Food Network Star.
His star was on the ascent when he won a challenge competition in which the contestants were all required to create a tasty 鈥渕an food.鈥� Esquire men鈥檚 magazine has since printed Gilbert鈥檚 winning recipe. He grilled a New York strip steak and served it with his special Tennessee Drunken Braised Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Hash, topped with spicy Caribbean chutney. Despite his winning recipe, he was eliminated at the end of the third episode.
鈥淭o this day I still don鈥檛 feel that I deserved to go home, but I have no regrets about the decisions I made and I stand behind every dish I put on a plate,鈥� he says. 鈥淗OD gave me the courage to trust in myself, trust my instincts and recognize and execute when there was an opportunity to really shine.鈥�
HOD gave me the courage to trust in myself, trust my instincts and recognize and execute when there was an opportunity to really shine.
He was first inspired to cook while camping in Moab, Utah. Fellow campers loved his Croque Madame, a sandwich made of cheese, ham and mustard, fried in a skillet and topped with an egg cooked 鈥渙ver easy.鈥� When he returned to Los Angeles, Gilbert attended a culinary school for a while and then decided the best way to learn was on the job in a restaurant kitchen.
The filming of The Next Food Network Star ended in February, and all 10 contestants were sworn to secrecy until April. The season finale aired August 2 and drew 4.7 million viewers. Gilbert has since done a couple of celebrity chef stints, some catering, judged a cooking contest and is designing a menu for a Los Angeles restaurant. He also maintains his Web site: www.foods4dudes.com.
He鈥檚 considering a move to New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, or somewhere in the South鈥攑ossibly Nashville鈥攖o resume his restaurant work.
Stay tuned for Eddie Gilbert鈥檚 next 15 minutes of fame.