Tyler Florence

Tyler Florence (born March 3, 1971) is a chef and television host of several Food Network shows. He failed the first time, but later graduated from the College of Culinary Arts at the Charleston, South Carolina, campus of Johnson & Wales University in 1991. He was later given an honorary doctorate from the university for his culinary success.

Florence was a presenter on Globe Trekker, hosted Food 911 and How to Boil Water, and currently hosts Tyler's Ultimate and The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network. He was featured on the ABC TV show Shaq's Big Challenge, which aired on July 17, 2007 and Momma's Boys, a reality show produced by Ryan Seacrest. He has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in a nationwide Sandwich Showdown. He has appeared a number of times on The Today Show, and was featured on The View in 2008. Florence serves on the board of the national nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, an organization that works to promote and to support quality after-school programs. In 2007, Florence and fellow chef Joey Altman co-hosted a celebrity chef cook-off to benefit Afterschool Alliance. In 2008, Florence was named the Dean of Culinary Education at Copia, a museum in Napa, California.

In 1997 Tyler worked as a chef at Restaurant 147 on W. 15th street, New York. In 2008, he developed a plan to open Bar Florence, in the Hotel Vertigo in San Francisco, California. In 2009 he opened a small chain of luxury kitchen supply stores in Northern California and developed three new restaurant concepts for the area: Wayfare Tavern in downtown San Francisco (formerly, Rubicon restaurant); Rotisserie & Wine, a fast food restaurant in downtown Napa; and with Sammy Hagar, El Paseo in downtown Mill Valley, California, an American tavern featuring ingredients only from Marin County. Tyler is currently a board member of Sun Basket, a monthly subscription service for fresh ingredients.