Maryland: Former NFL player Tobias Dorzon makes history as Chef of The Year

Chef Tobias Dorzon, an ex-NFL player turned chef and restaurateur, has been selected Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Maryland, a first for a chef from Prince George’s County.

Dorzon was also acknowledged by Prince George’s County, which praised his “passion for food and commitment to elevating the dining experience in the county.”

A proclamation was given to the 39-year-old Riverdale resident at a recent council meeting, and the members also commended him for maintaining his skills in the county, according to WUSA9.

Born and raised in Riverdale, Maryland, Dorzon went on to play in the NFL and operate his own restaurant in Texas before returning home to Hyattsville in 2022 to launch Huncho House with the money he had saved.

He said during a speech, “We usually don’t get recognized because I mean, growing up in P.G. County, we really didn’t have anything to go home to, or go out to eat. You had to go into D.C., go to Virginia, or go to Montgomery County.”

“And it’s important that we have so many amazing chefs in our county and so many amazing opportunities to do things,” he said, per WTOP. 

Dorzon also expressed his commitment to advocating the need for small business support in the county saying, “I’m always going to continue to advocate, because I want to stay in the county and I want to continue to grow the county. I was one of the rare few that took the risk in coming back to the county to be able to give something to our county that I know we never had, because I grew up here.”

The renowned chef has been on numerous Food Network shows and currently hosts Time Out with Tobias on ESPN and Hulu.

Dorzon went to the Art Institute of Washington and the Italian Culinary Institute to study fine dining, per Level. He built up his famous clientele after graduating, thanks to his extensive knowledge of the right diet sportsmen require to feel and perform well.

He cooked for high-profile celebrities such as Santana Moss, Rajon Rondo, Lil Baby, Chris Brown, and James Harden, who hired Tobias as his personal chef during the 2020 NBA bubble and then became the executive chef of Harden’s restaurant Thirteen in Houston.