‘Church Singer’ of Maryland Lives Out His Culinary Dreams

Joseph Harris of Glen Burnie, Maryland, had a dream to be a professional chef. He even moved to Missouri to attend culinary school, but then life took an unexpected turn when his mother had a stroke. Mr. Harris returned from the Midwest to help his family care for his mother.

“Of course, I was a little bit disappointed, as I had the hopes of going forward in what I would consider a big step into my culinary passion,” Mr. Harris told The Washington Times.

While assisting with his mother’s care, Mr. Harris, 25, kept his ambition alive. An avid viewer of the Food Network, he kept up with auditions for its programs and applied for one himself.

“For that TV show, you had to be a professional chef, so I knew I wasn’t going to get on that,” Mr. Harris said.

But the network never forgot the chef known as the “Church Singer” because of his penchant for singing gospel music while cooking. When the Food Network sent Mr. Harris an email in August about participating in a new show called “All-Star Academy,” he jumped at the chance.

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