How Michael Symon Got Noticed By Food Network

Michael Symon is one of the Food Network's most recognizable faces, bringing his engaging demeanor and no-frills, Midwestern-centric recipes to hit shows like "Iron Chef America" and "BBQ Brawl." But he was not fished out of nowhere: By the time the cooking channel came calling, he had already established a name for himself as a rising Cleveland restaurateur with some serious chops.

In a speech at Youngstown State, he revealed how he'd already gotten his "big break" prior to appearing on screen. Indeed, he had opened a locale, Lola, in Cleveland the year before his Food Network debut in 1998. His hearty, meat-forward menu focused heavily on comfort food staples, namely beef cheek pierogi — which he renamed "pot roast pierogi" to be more palatable to diners — and immediately enamored critics, who crowned him Food & Wine Best New Chef. He went on to win a James Beard award, causing Food Network (and the world) to take notice. "From a culinary standpoint, that's really what launched me," he recounted. And we are grateful it did because now we can get his excellent advice — like his tips for growing tomatoes year round — at the drop of a hat.

A through-and-through Ohio native, Symon had all the ingredients to becoming a Food Network star: a stellar resume — he had graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America; a clear regional niche; a witty, TV-friendly persona; and above all, an off-screen template of restaurant success. It didn't take long for the channel's executives to take notice: By the late 1990s, they put him on early shows like "Sara's Secrets," "Food Nation" with Bobby Flay, and "Ready, Set, Cook."

If restaurant buzz opened the door to the TV screen, talent and perseverance made him one of its fixtures. By the 2000s, Symon was everywhere on the Food Network, going on to host over 100 episodes of "The Melting Pot" and becoming a season three judge of "The Next Iron Chef." Over the decades, the Cleveland chef carved a name for himself, sharing his tips for tangy potato salad and different ways to make classic household recipes and ingredients, even the cuts of steak he always avoids.

Like others in the notoriously cutthroat food business, Symon's career hasn't all been plain sailing. As a result of the COVID pandemic, he was eventually forced to shut down the flagship that gave him his start: Lola, which closed its doors in November 2020. But in the spirit of making lemons into lemonade, Symon used lockdown to film himself cooking outdoors, racking up so much attention that the Food Network took notice of him yet again: This time, it picked him up for cozy home series "Symon's Dinners Cooking Out".