Meet Chef Duriel Barnes, native to the DC area. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Bowie State University and also earned his Associate of Arts in Hospitality and Culinary Arts from Prince Georges Community College. In 2006, Duriel joined the Metropolitan Police Department and has been career driven since.

In 2016, Duriel launched his catering business “The Chosen Chef, LLC”. The Chosen Chef is a full service private company, specializing in the fine dining experience. We are a family owned and operated business, licensed and bonded in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Our business offers catering for large and small events ranging anywhere from 2 to 800 guests!

Not only is Duriel a business owner, he has participated in many notable cooking challenges and won awards from competitions such as The Washington City Paper “Best of 2020” awards. After taste test and many votes, The Chosen Chef won “Best Local Caterer” and “Best Personal Chef”. He was also awarded 3rd place for having the “Best Pie” in the city.

In other words, Duriel is a local hot commodity. He has cooked for local and national celebrities including DJ Quick Silva, Donnie Simpson, Lil Moe, and Jamie Foster Brown to name a few. He has also been a guest on local news stations such as Good Morning Washington, WTTG Fox 5 DC , WJLA ABC 7 Evening News, and the WBGR Network. Don’t forget to mention his work with Spotlight Over the City Media Company. His resume speaks for itself.

Most recently, The Chosen Chef served as the head chef on multiple MegaMind Media Productions shoots, a production company working for networks such as BET, BET Her and TV One.  On set, Duriel cooked for The likes of Vanessa Bell Callaway, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Michael Colyar, and so many more!