Aria Kagan never imagined herself cooking for a living, even though she worked in her parents’ Wisconsin café and loved the family atmosphere.
But now, the 30-year-old Hollywood resident could have her own cooking show on the Food Network.
Kagan, a single working mother, auditioned for the network’s “The Next Food Network Star” last summer after friends encouraged her to follow her dreams. After two auditions in Atlanta and one in New York, hours of interviews to showcase her personality, and cooking demonstrations on how to make tortellini from wonton wrappers, she made the cut. Kagan and 11 other “chef-testants” will battle it out on the reality cooking show in which the last chef standing wins his or her own cooking show on the Food Network.
“I’ve always wanted my own cooking show,” Kagan said. “If you want something really badly, then you just have to go for it and chase your dreams.”
Kagan’s interest in cooking began at 17 when her mother brought her to a farmer’s market for the first time. The freshness of the ingredients inspired her to start her culinary career. She received her associate degree from the Culinary Institute of America in New York and started working in restaurants right after.
“I loved working in restaurants, but I wanted something more,” she said. “My passion is to teach.”
So Kagan moved to Hollywood and began teaching at Le Cordon Bleu in Miami and later began her own private cooking business called D’lish. She also enrolled at Florida International University to receive her bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, saying she wanted to learn about the business aspect of her profession.
While searching for the next step of her culinary career, Kagan stumbled across auditions for “The Next Food Network Star.” With the encouragement of her friends and family – her mother even bought her the plane ticket to Atlanta for her first audition as a 30th birthday gift to ensure she didn’t pass up the opportunity – Kagan began her Food Network journey.
“It’s a little bit surreal,” she said, “but the whole experience was a lot of fun. I think food is a wonderful tool to get to know people, and the show was such a great example of that. It’s nice to get to know people through food.”
Show challenges – filmed in Hollywood, Calif. – include a crash-course in red-carpet glamour while catering a star-studded MGD 64 after-party with Grammy-winner Colbie Caillat, serving up dishes inspired by classic carnival sweets at the Santa Monica Pier, creating and operating lunch trucks on Venice Beach, and using Kellogg’s breakfast cereals to cook dinner with breakfast. The contestants must also impress guest stars like Eva Longoria Parker and Todd English.
The Hollywood chef, who loves to bake bread more than anything, hopes to inspire people to cook amazing food and encourages people to watch the show. The first episode of sixth season premieres Sunday, June 6 at 9 p.m. on the Food Network.
“Food is a true inspiration for me,” she said. “I just love being able to cook for people. Everyone should watch every week.”
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