Nikki Martin

Last updated

Nikki Martin (legal name Nicole Heaps) [1] [2] [3] is an American lifestyle TV personality, author and celebrity chef, currently based in Los Angeles, California. She is perhaps best known as a chef on the eighth season of the Food Network series Food Network Star .

Contents

Early life

Martin was born in Long Beach, CA. At the young age of 17, she moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in entertainment. After a few television shows, movie appearances and a short stint at Harvard University, she decided her path was in lifestyle TV and the culinary arts. She has no formal culinary training and actually had attended Harvard to study and pursue medicine. But after realizing her path was set for the big screen and a life of creative endeavors, she merged her two passions of food and entertainment. In 2010, Martin auditioned for a Food Network show to begin her new career as a celebrity chef and lifestyle TV personality. [4] Martin graduated from Aliso Niguel High School in 1998. [4] Today Martin resides in Los Angeles, as a private chef for various A-list celebrities. She has founded one of the Top Underground Dinner Clubs in the US known as The Roulette Society. She has a pop culture cookbook titled The Burn CookBook based on the cult classic flick Mean Girls . The book is being published by Grand Central Publishing and is set to be released Fall of 2018 with her authoring partner and actor, Jonathan Bennett. [5]

Early media roles and Food Network

Martin has appeared on numerous television shows, including Titus , Scrubs and Birds of Prey ; as well as films like Sorority Boys and Looney Tunes: Back in Action . [6] She appeared on the Food Network series 24 Hour Restaurant Battle in July 2011, [7] competing with her best friend, Dana Chaney. [8] Since her first Food Network appearance she has been featured as a celebrity chef on several food and lifestyle programming including Chopped Grill Masters, Bravo's hit show Going Off the Menu and is most remembered for her participation in the series Food Network Star; where Martin made a name for herself in the grilling world as "The Grill Next Door".

Food Network Star

In May 2012, Martin was chosen as a contestant on Food Network Star , season 8; she was mentored by Bobby Flay. She originally used the tagline “girl-on-grill”, [9] [note 1] but because Food Network president Bob Tuschman found the double entendre to be too risqué, [10] she subsequently started calling herself “the grill next door”. [11] Martin was eliminated from the show on July 15, placing in the top six. [12]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002 Sorority Boys Tri Pi
2003 Cradle 2 the Grave Ring Girl
Looney Tunes: Back in Action Wooden Nickel Waitress
2006Diamondz n da RuffMercedez
2012DisOrientationJenny

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 Scrubs Nurse1 episode
Titus Cheerleader1 episode
2003 Birds of Prey Marryann Travis1 episode
2011 24 Hour Restaurant Battle Herself
2012 Food Network Star Herself10 episodes [12]
2013 Food Saver InfomercialHerself1 episode
2016 MasterChef Junior Herself1 episode
2017 Chopped Grill Masters: Battle 4 Herself1 episode

Notes

  1. The term is a play on the phrase “girl-on-girl”.

Related Research Articles

Sara Moulton is an American cookbook author and television personality. In an article for The New York Times, Kim Severson described Moulton as "one of the nation’s most enduring recipe writers and cooking teachers...and a dean of food television and magazines".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocco DiSpirito</span> American chef

Rocco DiSpirito is an American chef and reality television personality based in New York City, known for starring in the series The Restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Flay</span> American celebrity chef, restaurateur and reality television personality (born 1964)

Robert William Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, food writer, and reality television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's Burgers, and Amalfi. He has worked with Food Network since 1995, which won him four Daytime Emmy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Bayless</span> American chef and restaurateur

Rick Bayless is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time. Among his various accolades are a Michelin star, the title of Top Chef Masters, and seven James Beard Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Burrell</span> American chef

Anne W. Burrell is an American chef, television personality, and former instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. She is the host of the Food Network show Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and co-host of Worst Cooks in America. She was also one of the Iron Chefs, Mario Batali's sous chefs in the Iron Chef America series and appears on other programs on the network such as The Best Thing I Ever Ate. She was a contestant on the fourth season of The Food Network competition show, The Next Iron Chef Super Chefs being eliminated in episode 6. She was also a contestant on the first season of Chopped All-Stars Tournament, winning the "Food Network Personalities" preliminary round to advance to the final round, where she placed second runner up to Nate Appleman (winner) and Aarón Sanchez. In 2015, Burrell won the fourth installment of the Chopped All-Stars tournament winning $75,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She also hosted the series Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell in 2012–2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Lee (chef)</span> American chef (born 1981)

Katherine Lee is an American cookbook author, television food critic, and novelist born in West Virginia. She has worked in several restaurants and published two cookbooks. She served as a contributor to several magazines and TV shows, including Iron Chef America, an American cooking show competition, where she was a judge in 2007. She is a co-host of Food Network's talk show The Kitchen, and the host of Cooking Channel's Beach Bites with Katie Lee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Irvine</span> English celebrity chef

Robert Paul Irvine is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on and hosted a variety of Food Network programs including Dinner: Impossible, Worst Cooks in America, Restaurant: Impossible, A Hero's Welcome, Operation Restaurant, All-Star Academy, Guy's Grocery Games, Chopped: Impossible, and Restaurant Express. Irvine currently operates two restaurants, Robert Irvine's Public House at the Tropicana resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine located within The Pentagon. Irvine launched The Robert Irvine Show, a daytime talk show which aired weekdays on The CW between 12 September 2016 and 25 May 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Blais</span> American chef

Richard Blais is an American chef, television personality, restaurateur, and author. He appeared on the reality show cooking show Top Chef, and is known for his take on classic American cuisine. Blais was the runner-up for the fourth season of Top Chef and returned several seasons later to win Top Chef: All-Stars.

Alexandra Maria Guarnaschelli is an American chef, cookbook author, and television personality. She currently serves as an executive chef at New York City's Butter restaurant and was executive chef at The Darby restaurant before its closing. Guarnaschelli studied cooking extensively in France.

<i>Chopped</i> (TV series) American reality cooking television show

Chopped is an American reality-based cooking television game show series created by Michael Krupat, Dave Noll and Linda Lea. It is hosted by Ted Allen. The series pits four chefs against each other as they compete for a chance to win $10,000. The series debuted in 2009, and episodes air every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on Food Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Feniger</span> American chef

Susan Feniger is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and radio and TV personality. She is known for starring in the cooking show Too Hot Tamales on the Food Network and opening several influential restaurants in Los Angeles. She has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the California Restaurant Association.

<i>The Best Thing I Ever Ate</i> American TV series or program

The Best Thing I Ever Ate is a television series that originally aired on Food Network, debuting on June 22, 2009.

Amanda Freitag is an American celebrity chef and cookbook author. She is known for her frequent appearances on Food Network television programs and her work as a judge on television cooking competitions. She is based in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Sue Milliken</span>

Mary Sue Milliken is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and radio and TV personality with a focus on Latin cuisine in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanya Holland</span> American chef

Tanya Holland is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, podcast host, writer, and cookbook author. She is known as an expert of soul food. Holland is an alumna of Bravo TV's Top Chef, where she competed on the 15th season. She was the owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, California, which received national recognition and multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards.

Maneet Chauhan is an Indian American chef and television personality. Previously the executive chef of several notable restaurants in Chicago, Nashville, and New York, she is featured as a judge on Chopped on the Food Network. She has appeared on The Next Iron Chef, on The View on ABC, Iron Chef America, the Today show on NBC, and as a judge on the finale of Worst Cooks in America on Food Network. She has also won the 2021 Food Network competition Tournament of Champions.

Lorena Garcia is a Venezuelan chef who has opened multiple restaurants and became famous through appearances on multiple television shows. She is known for the restaurants she currently owns in airports across the United States, and for competing on the show Top Chef Masters. Garcia has put out her own cookbook and a line of kitchenware, while also making strides in her life to help end obesity.

Nicolette "Nikki" Dinki is an American cook, cookbook author and blogger. She came to prominence as a contestant on the ninth season of the Food Network series Food Network Star, and she served as co-host of the Cooking Channel series Junk Food Flip, which aired from 2014 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Howard</span> American chef, restaurateur, author and television host

Vivian Howard is an American chef, restaurateur, author and television host. From 2013 to 2018, Howard hosted the PBS television series A Chef's Life focusing on the ingredients and cooking traditions of eastern North Carolina — using the backdrop of the Chef & the Farmer restaurant in Kinston, North Carolina, which Howard co-owned with her then-husband and business partner, artist Ben Knight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Berg (chef)</span> Canadian television host, author and cook

Mary Berg is a Canadian television host, author and cook, who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of MasterChef Canada. She has been the host of two television cooking shows, Mary's Kitchen Crush and Mary Makes It Easy, and the daytime talk show, The Good Stuff with Mary Berg. She has released three cookbooks, Kitchen Party,Well Seasoned and In Mary's Kitchen.

References

  1. Twitter / BrendaHeaps: @bflay @foodnetwork What a .... Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  2. Star-a-Day: Nikki Martin | Star Blog. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  3. Food Network Star Nikki Martin - About | Facebook. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  4. 1 2 O.C. native competing in ‘Food Network Star’ show - Fast Food Maven : The Orange County Register. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  5. Fecteau, Jessica (3 October 2018). "Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett Wants to 'Make Fetch-uccine Alfredo Happen' with the Burn Cookbook". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  6. Nikki Martin – IMDb. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  7. "24 Hour Restaurant Battle" Episode #2.10 (TV episode 2011) – IMDb. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  8. City vs. Country : 24 Hour Restaurant Battle : Food Network. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  9. 'The Next Food Network Star': Who's Going to Win Season 8 - Yahoo! News. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  10. The Next Food Network Star - Show Tracker - latimes.com. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  11. The Grill Next Door | FoodiePleasure. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  12. 1 2 Birmingham's Martie Duncan is a 'Food Network Star' finalist (updated) | al.com. Retrieved November 7, 2012.