James Tahhan (born October 26, 1988) is a Venezuelan chef, television personality, restaurateur, and author who uses the stage name of Chef James.^[1] He is best recognized for being the official chef of Telemundo, and being a co-presenter of its morning show Un Nuevo Dia. In 2014, together with his friend, television personality Raúl González, Chef James opened his first restaurant, Sabores – by Chef James. It has subsequently been named one of the best restaurants in Miami. In 2016, Chef James released a cookbook, The Homemade Chef: Ordinary Ingredients for Extraordinary Food.

Tahhan has been a judge on several competitive cooking show including, MasterChef Latino,^[2] Chopped,^[3] Top Chef Middle East,^[4] and the 19th season finale of Worst Cooks in America on the Food Network.^[3]

Early life and education

Tahhan was born in Los Teques, Venezuela, the son of Bachir Wahbi Tahhan, of Syrian descent, and Mimi Masri, of Syrian-Venezuelan descent. He was later joined by one brother, Wahbi Tahhan. During his formative years, Tahhan learned home cooking from his parents. During this period, Tahhan was also influenced by David Abal, a neighbor and professional chef of Galician descent, who taught Tahhan the basics of at-home cooking.^[5][6]

At the age of 13, Tahhan emigrated to the United States with his mother, ultimately settling in Miami, Florida. Tahhan began to work to help his mother pay the household bills.^[7]

Tahhan suffered from childhood obesity, yet this did not impede him from pursuing sports. Tahhan particularly excelled in martial arts, where he was twice ranked number one in his division, and won the US Open Martial Arts Championship.^[8]

At the age of 16, Tahhan decided to go to college and study chemistry to become a dentist. At the same time, he started working on radio, as a spokesperson for different brands and products, where his advertisements played on radio stations including WAMR-FM, WAQI, and WMGE.^[9]

After two years, Tahhan attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami, where he specialized in international cuisine as well as in Patisserie and Baking.^[10] While attending school, he also started his own catering business, called Avokado.^[11]

Television career

Early career

His first job after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu was as a line-cook at "Arabian Nights", a Mediterranean restaurant in Miami.^[12]

After almost six years working with different brands and products on radio, Tahhan auditioned for a position in Telemundo.^[13] He responded to an open-call audition for Telemundo's morning show Levantate (now known as Un Nuevo Día). He was named the official chef co-host of the show and the network.^[14]

Telemundo

Tahhan was a co-host of the morning show, Un Nuevo Día, which has earned him three national Emmy Awards.^[15]

Tahhan has crossed-over to the English market. During an initiative named "Healthy Week" by the network NBC Universal, he spoke to American viewers, promoting healthy meals that could be made at home.^[16]

Tahhan has been featured on the Today Show, where he shared his take on Latin American Cuisine.^[17]

Utilísima

In March 2012, Tahhan was selected by Utilísima to be one of their newest faces on their hit T.V. show, "Puro Chef".^[18] He has subsequently participated on the 4th and 5th season of the show, and has conducted the special Thanksgiving edition.^[19]

BELatina

Tahhan is the host of BeLatina, a show dedicated to women's empowerment and cultural diversity. The show airs on the Lifetime network and features inspiring stories and interviews with influential women from all walks of life.^[20][21]

Author

In 2016, Tahhan released a cookbook, The Homemade Chef: Ordinary Ingredients for Extraordinary Food. The cookbook become a best-seller both regionally and internationally on Amazon.com.^[22] Tahhan is also a food columnist and has written for "Venue Magazine", where he gives readers recipes, cooking advice, and his thoughts on healthy living.

Restaurateur

In 2014, Tahhan opened his first restaurant, Sabores, together with his friend and television personality, Raúl González. "People think it's rice and beans and shredded meat, and really it's this hidden treasure that nobody has pushed. We wanted to change that," he said.^[23] He first traveled to Latin America to better understand Latin American cuisine.^[24]

In 2016, he partnered up in Perfecto Gastrobar, a Spanish inspired restaurant based in Miami, Florida, showcased modern Spanish cuisine. Perfecto Gastrobar was then sold to a Mexican investment group that switched its name to Valentia.^[25][26]

Public image

Tahhan has been named one of the leading Latin chefs in the U.S,^[27] and "Miami's Hottest Chef". Once source commented, "Not many chefs have their own restaurant, host an Emmy-award winning television morning show…but James Tahhan isn’t like many chefs."^[28] In 2013 and 2014, Chef James was recognized by Latin Gourmet as the Chef of the Year.^[29]

Tahhan has been awarded the "Social Media Chef" of the year.^[30] He was selected for the "50 Most Beautiful People" edition of People en Español magazine.^[31]

The Power of Food

Tahhan is the founder of the initiative, The Power of Food (in Spanish: El Poder De La Comida), a program where he and his team come together to prepare meals and distribute people.^[32]