Aarón Sánchez

Aarón Sánchez is an award-winning chef, TV personality, author, and philanthropist. He is the chef/owner of Johnny Sánchez in New Orleans, and a judge on FOX’s hit culinary competition series "MasterChef" and "MasterChef Junior." He is the partner/creative director of Cocina, the first online content platform dedicated to celebrating Latin lifestyle through its vibrant culinary culture. 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," "Best Thing I Ever Ate," and "Guilty Pleasures." Sánchez has hosted multiple Spanish-language shows including "3 Minutos con Aarón," "MOTOCHEFS," and most recently, "El Toque de Aarón" on Discovery, where he also served as the executive producer. His latest venture includes hosting the new cooking show "El Sabor De Aarón" on Hogar de HGTV, celebrating Latino cuisine.

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." In 2016, he founded the Aarón Sánchez Scholarship Fund (ASSF), which provides full culinary scholarships and mentorship to aspiring chefs from the Latin community.

Sánchez is the founder of the Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, a nonprofit program whose mission is to uplift the lives of Latino youth through food. The Impact Fund’s grant programs focus on culinary arts education, mentoring, and human services for Latino youth such as food access and nutrition education. Since 2016, the Impact Fund has awarded eleven scholarships for young Latinos to attend culinary arts school in New York City.

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