Best known as "The Sandwich King," Jeff Mauro has garnered quite the following over the
10 years since he won Season 7 of Food Network Star in 2011 and walked away with his own Food Network show.
On his self-titled series, the Chicago chef is famous for recreating some of the most
mouth-watering sandwiches across the country, from Philly cheesesteaks to crab cake sliders.
But Mauro wasn't always the successful chef and TV personality that you know him as.
His path to Food Network stardom took a lot of twists and turns, from originally pursuing
acting in college to opening a chain of fast-casual sandwich restaurants a few years ago.
Yes, believe it or not, Jeff Mauro didn't always know he wanted to go into the food world.
In fact, acting was his first love.
Prior to competing on Food Network Star, Mauro graduated from Bradley University in Peoria,
Illinois, where he studied radio and TV.
In an interview with Spoon University, Mauro confessed,
"I also loved performing, I was doing plays and comedies since second grade.
I went out to LA and when I had no success getting into the business, I went to culinary school."
According to his Food Network bio, Mauro opened up a deli right after college, which he ran by day.
And by night?
He satisfied his craving to be in the spotlight by performing as Tony in the immersive Chicago-based
dinner theater play "Tony and Tina's Wedding."
He then moved to Hollywood, where he tried for a few years to make his mark as an actor.
When that didn't work, he enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu to become a chef.
In addition to being known for his delicious food, Mauro recently made headlines for something
else: his 50-pound weight loss.
In a Facebook post, Mauro showed off his slimmer body, saying,
"Normally, I'm not this showy of my dadbod, but I am proud of my fitness journey and cannot
thank my coaches ... enough for giving me a fitness home."
How did he do it?
The 43-year-old has been very transparent about the process, stressing that it wasn't
a quick fix or crash diet, but rather hard work and dedication.
According to the same Facebook post, which was originally shared by Mauro's Crossfit
gym, O'Hare Crossfit in Chicago, the chef can credit his new physique to a combination
of Crossfit workouts and a, quote, "sensible, monitored diet."
The caption adds that this "healthy, sustainable" method of losing weight is also what allowed
Mauro to keep the weight off as well.
While Mauro didn't share his exact diet, the Sandwich King has started posting pictures
of salads alongside his sandwiches on social media.
Unfortunately, though, those sandwiches aren't widely available for you to eat — though
Mauro certainly tried.
Back in 2016, Jeff Mauro opened Pork & Mindy's, a chain of fast-casual restaurants named after
the popular sitcom Mork & Mindy.
"Til next week, nanu nanu."
The menu included protein-packed dishes like smoked meat sandwiches and even "Meat Flights."
Along with four locations in Chicago, Pork & Mindy's also had a line of barbecue sauces
sold in grocery stores and even paired up with the Chicago Bears to sell candied bacon
at the team's stadium in 2017.
Mauro had plans to open about 30 locations by 2020, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Pork & Mindy's declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in November 2019, shuttering all current locations,
according to Chicago Eater.
The site reports that Mauro said the restaurant's expansion plans were too ambitious, saying
they, quote, "got out of control too quickly."
Still, Jeff Mauro found a different way to bring his culinary genius to the masses by
publishing his first cookbook in 2021.
Titled Come On Over, the book includes 111 mouth-watering recipes, from sausage, egg,
and cheese brunch sandwiches to cookie butter pie.
"She's like why 111?
I go because nobody else does it."
That's right - there's more than just sandwiches to be had.
Mauro said he was influenced by both his Italian-American family and his mother-in-law's Southern roots.
Mauro told Southern Living,
"This book will help you [with] everything from just having your wife and son and daughter
at the dinner table and creating great recipes to have and finally having your extended family,
to your friends, to your neighbors over."
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