Aarón Sánchez

Johnny Sánchez - New Orleans, LA

Aarón Sánchez is an award-winning chef, TV personality, author, and philanthropist. He is a judge on FOX’s culinary competition series MasterChef and MasterChef Junior and the founder of the Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, a nonprofit program whose mission is to uplift the lives of Latino youth through food.  Sánchez grew up in the restaurant business and is passionate about preserving his family’s legacy through food and encouraging diversity in the kitchen.

Sánchez has starred in multiple Food Network shows, most notably as a judge on Chopped and Chopped Junior. He was the host of Cooking Channel’s Emmy-nominated series, Taco Trip, and has appeared on numerous other shows including Iron Chef and Best Thing I Ever Ate. Sánchez has hosted multiple Spanish-language shows including 3 Minutos con Aarón, MOTOCHEFS and most recently, El Sabor de Aarón on Discovery, where he also served as the executive producer.

A third-generation cookbook author, Sánchez has written two cookbooks – La Comida del Barrio and Simple Food, Big Flavor as well as a memoir, Where I Come From: Life Lessons from A Latino Chef.  He also co-hosts a podcast, Cooking in Mexican from A to Z, on Heritage Radio Network with his mom, Zarela Martinez.

Sánchez is the chef/partner of restaurants Johnny Sánchez New Orleans and Adobo Cantina at West Virginia University.  He is slated to open two more restaurants this summer, Johnny Sánchez at L’Auberge Casino in Lake Charles, LA and Showbird in New Orleans, LA.

Sánchez’s love for the arts extends beyond the kitchen. He is a partner in world-renowned tattoo shop and museum, Daredevil Tattoo in New York City.  An avid music lover, Sánchez enjoys cooking to the sounds of Portugal the Man, Shakey Graves, Café Tacvba, Alabama Shakes, Tank & The Bangas, Amos Lee, Lianne La Havas, and Lenny Kravitz. He has a son, Yuma, and lives in New Orleans, LA.