Damaris Phillips: What The Winner Of Food Network Star Season 9 Is Doing Now
Winning Food Network Star is a huge deal, and can catapult a chef into the realm of celebrity. The most prominent example of this is Food Network megastar Guy Fieri, who won the competition back in 2006. Not every winner of Food Network Star actually becomes a Food Network star, though. While many of the competition winners continue on in the culinary world, they're just not in front of the camera as often as Fieri.
Season 9 winner Damaris Phillips may not have the household name recognition of Fieri just yet, but she's definitely a bonafide Food Network celeb. Since winning the competition, she's racked up a lengthy list of TV appearances and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon (via IMDb).
She's been a TV host, judge, and competitor
Phillips was teaching at a Kentucky community college when she won Food Network Star in 2013, and immediately after claiming the title, she began appearing on the network's shows — and hasn't stopped since. In 2014 she volunteered herself for Alton Brown's kitchen torture on Cutthroat Kitchen — she was cut btw — and from 2013 to 2015, she hosted 54 episodes of the cooking show Southern at Heart (via Food Network).
The chef has since done everything from judge other chefs on shows like Christmas Cookie Challenge and Kids BBQ Championship to make the talk show rounds with cooking demonstrations on The Today Show and The Wendy Williams Show. She even schooled Bobby Flay in Beat Bobby Flay, and with a tuna casserole no less (via The Travel Addict).
She's been busy outside of television as well
As busy as Phillips has been in front of the camera, she's been working on things outside of the television world too. In 2017, she released her cookbook Southern Girl Meets Vegetarian Boy. As for the unusual title, it's all about Phillips' relationship as a meat eater and modifying the recipes she grew up with while cooking for her vegetarian husband. "When you go to culinary school they don't teach you to make these recipes," Phillips said.
The chef is also pretty open with fans about her life outside of the kitchen, and regularly posts photos of family gatherings via her Instagram. As for what we can expect of Phillips in 2020, she announced on Facebook in December 2019 that Louisville-area fans can join her for a live event dubbed the Bluegrass Supper Club in January.
It doesn't look like any TV appearances are on her schedule just yet, but considering that she appeared on three different TV shows in 2019, fans probably won't have to wait too long though to see the Food Network star again.