What You Need To Know About Chef Boot Camp's Cliff Crooks

While this time Chef Cliff Crooks is hosting "Chef Boot Camp," the culinary expert has competed and judged on cooking shows before. According to his IMDB, Crooks first appeared on Bravo in 2006 when he appeared as a contestant on "Top Chef." He then returned to TV in 2011 for a guest judge role in "Hell's Kitchen," followed by one on "Chopped Junior" in 2017, and another on "Worst Cooks in America" in 2019. Most recently, Crooks appeared as a contestant on Guy Fieri's "Tournament of Champions."

Crooks is clearly a familiar face in the culinary world but there was a time when a TV appearance didn't end well. In fact, Crooks is the only chef who has ever been disqualified from "Top Chef." Today reports that after a night of drinking during the competition, Crooks dragged fellow contestant Marcel Vigneron out of bed, before pinning him to the floor and yelling at others to shave his head. While his hair remained following the incident, producers decided to step in and disqualified Crooks. Head judge Tom Colicchio explained, "harming or threatening to harm other contestants was potential grounds for disqualification... it was clear that Cliff needed to go."

While it may have been difficult at the time, Crooks clearly went on to have a successful chef career. But he did learn from his experience, telling Moves, "You always have room to grow." He added, "I think hurdles are opportunities in life to make yourself better."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7XCpKCsr5mbwW%2BvzqZmbWhjaIB3e9ahmK1lqaTCbrrEnptmrJ9iuK%2B71maYm6elqXqktMSfZJunn6l6pK3Mqapmm5yes6d5wqumqKOjZA%3D%3D