Tiffany Derry (born December 26, 1982) is an American chef based in Dallas, Texas. She is well known for her appearances on Top Chef and will be appearing regularly on Spike TV’s “Hungry Investors” in 2014.
Derry competed in Top Chef Season 7 in Washington, D.C. and won fan favorite after placing fifth. She also competed among the All-Star chefs in Season 8 and finished fourth as a finalist.
Her bubbly personality and Southern hospitality captured the hearts of “Top Chef” fans during season seven and again on “Top Chef All-Stars,” where she landed in the final four. These days, Chef Tiffany Derry is at the top of her game following a successful culinary career that extends over 10 years.
Determined to follow her passion for food since high school, Derry’s current road to success can be traced back to cooking at family gatherings in Beaumont, Texas, her first job at IHOP; where she became the youngest person to rise to a management position in the establishment’s history and teaching culinary classes at The Art Institute of Houston and invaluable contributions to the success of Go Fish Ocean Club as executive chef
An athlete throughout high school, Derry actually turned down a golf scholarship to attend culinary school. She enrolled in The Art Institute of Houston, which opened her eyes to food from other countries that was different from what she grew up eating. “While I was in school I did a lot of traveling. I went to Paris, China, and Napa Valley. Every time we take a trip we would go to a school or some area of learning in those areas. That is when I started to really realized I wanted to do this and I wanted to see more.”
Her first internship was with a chef named Mark Holley at a seafood restaurant named Pesce in Houston. When remembering the experience, she says, “I grew up in his restaurant.” She eventually moved to Dallas to work for an Italian restaurant called Grotto Ristorante before taking a position at Go Fish. Although she was in the same city as fellow All-Star contestant Tre Wilcox, the two didn’t officially meet until they appeared on the show together and now both will have their own restaurants in full operation by the end of the year.
Private Social was a highly anticipated new venture by Derry whose news has been buzzing around the city for over a year. The restaurant was located in the attractive downtown area known as Uptown and offered an experience for the casual to more formal diner. The menu will be composed of dishes that Derry calls New American. The menu features her Top Chef elimination-round-winning pork buns, braised oxtails and smoked venison. Derry was the chef and owner of “Private|Social” from 2011 to 2013.
In 2012, Derry founded her professional website promoting her culinary career and her restaurant, “Private|Social.” She is in the process of opening her own restaurant in her hometown of Beaumont. Derry appeared on an episode of Spike buy viagra malaga TV’s Bar Rescue in June 2013, and has appeared in a commercial promoting her alma mater, “The Art Institute of Houston”.
In November 2013, she was the winner of Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen and will be a regular on Spike TV’s “Hungry Investors” in 2014. She also appears on the Spike series Bar Rescue as a food consultant, helping to improve the menus and kitchen operations of struggling bars.
Derry is also working with the Dallas Independent School District to improve their school lunch program in order to provide healthier options.
While a very social person, privately Derry is enjoying her success with her family and husband, who she said is far from a foodie and steps out of his comfort zone every once and a while. She now calls Dallas her home, but still enjoys going to back to Beaumont for family gatherings where she gets a free ticket to just eat, which she says is quite nice.
In 2013, Derry was awarded the Hall of Fame by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities.
