The Celebrity Chef behind Cellaio

Scott Conant | Biography

Known for Judging cooking shows 'Top Chef' and 'Chopped'

• By Chetana
• Original : November 26, 2021

---

Scott Conant is a celebrity chef known for his acclaimed restaurants and judge positions on cooking show Top Chef and Chopped.

Short Biography 

Conant is a professional chef who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

He was born on 19 February 1971 in Waterbury, Connecticut. He started cooking at the age of 11 in his local community. And he was only 15 years old when he made the decision of enrolling in the culinary arts department of W.F. Kaynor Technical High School.

In his initial chef career, Conant interned for the San Domenico restaurant in New York City before graduating from CIA. And after graduating, he spent a year after college in Munich, Germany learning the pastry art at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. Thereafter, he returned to San Domenico as a sous chef, and in 1995, he was hired by the Cesare Casella as the chef de cuisine at Il Toscanaccio, Upper East New York.

In 2002, he opened his first restaurant L'Impero in Tudor City followed by Alto in midtown Manhattan. Then in 2008, he opened the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Florida, and another one, Scarpetta at the Montage in Beverly Hills in October 2010. In addition to that, in December of 2010, he also opened a casual wine bar D.O.C.G. Enoteca at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas which got closed in 2017.

Similarly in 2017, he established another restaurant Mora Italian in Phoenix, Arizona followed by a steakhouse at the Resorts World Catskills named Cellaio in Monticello, New York. Later a year, he has to close down his New York-based restaurant Fusco after a year of operation. 

According to an article published on Worth on 10 August 2021, Conant moved to Scottsdale, California from New York City "five years ago" to get life back on track from an unhealthy lifestyle that also involved overworking. "And I was making bad business decisions because of all those things. So, I really just kind of took a step back and said, ‘I’m going to move to a place where I feel like I’m on vacation when I go there when I’m going home,” he shared. In Scottsdale, he had good friends who could aid to his new motivation.

Besides his restaurant enterprises, Conant also launched his cookware line, Scott Conant’s Signature Creations in 2007. And his first television appearance was the promotion of his line on The Today Show and Home Shopping Network. Then in 2010, he was the host and chief judge of the Food Network's reality cooking competition show 24 Hour Restaurant Battle.

In addition to that, he was a guest judge at seasons 2, 4, and 5 of Top Chef. Alongside, he has been one of the judges in almost all the seasons (50 seasons till now) of the famous cooking series Chopped. And in 2020 he began judging the spin-off bakery version Chopped Sweets. Other than that, he was also the host of seasons 2 and 3 of Best Baker in America.

And in his 2021's book 'Peace, Love, and Pasta,' he presents his audience with easy-to-make recipes that he learned in his early cooking days at the Sea Loft in Waterbury, Connecticut. 

Who is Scott Conant married to?

Conant's spouse is a Turkish entrepreneur Meltem Bozkurt. They got married in 2007.

Bozkurt runs the Manhattan-based dog accessories and apparel company, New York Dog. They have two daughters, Alya Sophia Reina born in 2010, and Karya Eva Maria born in 2012.

Prior to her, Conant was married to his business partner Chris Cannon. They co-invested in two restaurants, L’Impero and Alto, during their marriage but after their divorce, Conant dropped the ownership.

What is Scott Conant's Net Worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Conant holds around $5 million of net worth from his tv appearances, restaurant business, and chef status, as of 26 November 2021.

How tall is Scott Conant?

According to Hollywoodmask, Scoot Conant is 5 feet and 10 inches (1.78m) tall.