George Duran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| George Duran | |
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 Duran in a promotional photo for Ham on the Street |
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| Born | January 13, 1975 Caracas, Venezuela |
| Education | New York University Ecole Supérieure de Cuisine Française, Groupe Ferrandi |
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George Duran (born January 13, 1975) is an American chef and entertainer who currently presents the cooking show Ham on the Street on the Food Network, which started its second season in the summer of 2007. He took over hosting duties from Jim O'Connor for the Food Network show The Secret Life Of... on April 2, 2007.
[edit] Biography
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, to parents of Armenian descent, George attended New York University, majoring in Communications Studies. It was there where he began to pursue his interests of television and radio production. Hosting the HYE Time radio show on WNYU, he won an award for Best Radio Talk Show at the National Association of College Broadcasters in 1996.
George continued in radio, working as an on-air personality for comedy segments at WPLJ in New York. There, he interacted with everyday people on the street, asking questions, doing stunts and cracking jokes. He moved on to WABC radio in 1999 where he produced and performed more comedy sketches.
In 2000, George moved into the TV world, working in production on the popular MTV show House of Style. From there he moved to the Latin music television station HTV where he hosted shows such as the Top 21 Videos of 2001 and Pachanga! in Miami.
2002 proved to be an important year for George. He decided to move to Paris and pursue his other interest – food. George attended culinary school at the Ecole Supérieure de Cuisine Française, Groupe Ferrandi (English: "Higher School of French Cuisine, Ferrandi Group"). While there, he hosted a successful TV show, Pop Cuisine, on France’s culinary network Cuisine TV which was nominated for a 7 d’Or (French Emmy)-–Best Cable Show award and won a 2003 Silver Grape Gastronomic Award. He also wrote culinary pieces for the French edition of FHM magazine.
George’s culinary interests lie in French, Armenian, and South American cuisines. He is fluent in Spanish and often speaks to people in Spanish on his show. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
