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Nick DiGiovanni

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Nick DiGiovanni
DiGiovanni in 2024
Born
Nicholas Channing DiGiovanni

(1996-05-19) May 19, 1996 (age 28)
Barrington, Rhode Island, U.S.
Occupations
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2019–present
Subscribers20.9 million
Total views11.4 billion
100,000 subscribers2020
1,000,000 subscribers2021
10,000,000 subscribers2023
Last updated: October 5, 2024
Websitenickdigiovanni.com

Nicholas Channing DiGiovanni (born May 19, 1996) is an American celebrity chef, YouTuber, and internet personality.[1][2] DiGiovanni has over 40 million followers across his social media accounts.

Early life

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DiGiovanni was born on May 19, 1996, in Barrington, Rhode Island, to Chris and Sudie DiGiovanni (née Naimi).[3] He is of Italian, Persian, German, and British descent.[4][5] He is the oldest of four brothers. He developed a passion for food at a young age by watching his grandmother and great-grandmother cook meals for the family.[6]

DiGiovanni went to high school at Milton Academy, where he graduated in 2014 at the age of 18, with cum laude. He served as co-head of the Milton Academy Community Service program.[7] After graduating from high school, DiGiovanni went to Harvard University, where he created his own concentration called "Food and Climate".[8] As part of his coursework, he attended lectures taught by Massimo Bottura, Grant Achatz and José Andrés.[9] For his senior year, DiGiovanni analyzed data on carbon emissions in 36 international restaurants from Singapore to San Francisco. His thesis was advised by American author and journalist Michael Pollan.[8]

DiGiovanni got accepted to attend Harvard Business School through the 2+2 deferral program. In January 2023, he let Harvard know he was not planning to matriculate.[10][11]

Career

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2019–2020: MasterChef and internet beginnings

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During his senior year of college, DiGiovanni attended a casting call for season 10 of MasterChef.[8] He was selected to compete on the show and finished in third place.[8] To film the show, DiGiovanni reportedly left in the middle of the semester at Harvard without informing his professors. He returned the next season as a mentor for finalists.[12] After completing MasterChef and graduating from Harvard, DiGiovanni began to post cooking videos on YouTube.[13] In his first-ever YouTube video, DiGiovanni cooked the dessert he would have made in the MasterChef finale, which has over 3.7 million views as of October 2024.[14] He then began to regularly post videos of himself cooking different foods.

DiGiovanni's YouTube channel has over 20 million subscribers as of October 2024. He has partnered with brands including Nutella, Amazon, Walmart, and Kinder Bueno.[15] He frequently collaborates with other influencers, notably Lynja until her death in January 2024.[16] He has been featured in several publications, including Today,[17] Good Morning America,[18] and Harper's Bazaar.[19]

2021–present: Advocacy and world records

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In 2021, DiGiovanni was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Food and Drink.[20] The same year, DiGiovanni won YouTube's Streamy Award for Food, an award recognizing the world's top food creator of the year.[21] In November 2021, DiGiovanni, with Lynja, broke the Guinness World Record for the largest ever cake pop, which weighed 97 pounds 8.52 ounces (44.240 kg).[22][23][24][25] DiGiovanni is the lead ambassador of the Farmlink Project.[26] Additionally, in 2021, DiGiovanni participated in the #TeamSeas campaign founded by YouTuber MrBeast, which raised $30 million to clean up 30 million pounds (14 million kilograms) of trash in the ocean.[27]

In 2022, he partnered with Chipotle to donate 20,000,000 pounds (9,100,000 kg) of food.[28] He was a Webby Award recipient in 2022.[29] In June 2022, he broke another Guinness World Record for the largest ever chicken nugget, which weighed 20.96 kg (46.2 lb).[30] In August, he visited the most fast food restaurants in 24 hours (69 restaurants).[31] In October, he beat Gordon Ramsay's record for the fastest time to fillet a 10 lb (4.5 kg) fish by five seconds; completing it in 1 minute exactly. On the same day he constructed the world's largest sushi roll, which measured at 2.15 metres (7 ft 1 in) in diameter.[32] In November, he and Nigel Ng created the largest fortune cookie at 1.47 kg (3.2 lb)[33] and made the largest donation of turkey in 24 hours (64,463.44 kg (142,117.6 lb) - roughly 7,620 turkeys).[34]

On May 11, 2023,[35] DiGiovanni, alongside Ramsay, broke the Guinness World Record for the largest Beef Wellington, which weighed 25.76 kg (56.8 lb). This was his ninth Guinness World Record and was broken in partnership with celebrity chefs Ramsay, Max the Meat Guy, Guga Foods and The Golden Balance.[36] On June 13, 2023, DiGiovanni released his debut cookbook, Knife Drop. It debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list and remained on the list for five consecutive weeks.[37]

In April 2024, it was reported by Variety that DiGiovanni signed with WME.[38] That same year, he returned as a guest judge and mentor on the 14th season of MasterChef.[39]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref.
2021 11th Streamy Awards Food Won [40]
2022 12th Streamy Awards Nominated [41]
2023 13th Streamy Awards Won [42]

Filmography

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List of television appearances
Year Title Role
2019 MasterChef Contestant
2021 MasterChef Mentor
2021 The Drew Barrymore Show Self
2022 Live with Kelly and Ryan
2022 Selena + Chef
2024 MasterChef Guest Judge

Bibliography

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Year Title Publisher
2023 Knife Drop: Creative Recipes Anyone Can Cook ISBN 978-0744076776 DK/PRH (New York)

References

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  1. ^ "Meet the Local "MasterChef" Contestant Who Might Make Food TV History". Boston Magazine. August 6, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Barganier, Erich (November 10, 2021). "Fans Are Loving This Exchange Between Guy Fieri And Nick DiGiovanni - Mashed". Mashed.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "SHAPUR NAIMI Obituary (1928 - 2020) - Brookline, MA - Boston Globe". Legacy.com.
  4. ^ "Nick DiGiovanni Answers TikTok Comments". YouTube.
  5. ^ "Tik Tok Star Nick DiGiovanni Shows Drew How to Make Scalloped Scallops | Drew's Cookbook Club". www.thedrewbarrymoreshow.com. August 12, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  6. ^ "Nick DiGiovanni has taken his talents to TikTok and beyond". In The Know. May 25, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  7. ^ "Nick DiGiovanni Harvard Crimson Athletics Profile". Harvard Athletics. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Aggarwal-Schifellite, Manisha (June 18, 2019). "Recent grad Nick DiGiovanni competes on 'MasterChef'". The Harvard Gazette. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  9. ^ Kuschner, Erin (September 20, 2018). "Harvard is offering free lectures with all-star chefs that focus on science in the kitchen". Boston.com. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  10. ^ Flanagan, Chris (June 2, 2021). "Harvard grad to appear, again, on MasterChef". Boston 25 News. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  11. ^ Raz, Guy (January 26, 2023). "HIBT Lab! Osmo Salt: Nick DiGiovanni How I Built This with Guy Raz". Apple Podcasts. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  12. ^ Jensen, Edyn (June 2, 2021). "Harvard Alumni Nick DiGiovanni To Mentor Season 11 Of "MasterChef"". WBZ NewsRadio. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  13. ^ Iwegbue, Annabel (September 27, 2021). "Pro Chef Nick DiGiovanni Tested Cheap vs. Expensive Gourmet Food!". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Nick DiGiovanni MasterChef Finale Dessert, October 21, 2019, retrieved March 20, 2022
  15. ^ "That TikTok food video making you hungry? Order the ingredients on Instacart". Tubefilter. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  16. ^ America, Good Morning. "Creators pay tribute to TikTok chef Lynn Yamada Davis, host of 'Cooking With Lynja' who died at 67". Good Morning America. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  17. ^ "TikTok star Nick DiGiovanni share recipe for homemade artichoke dip". TODAY.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  18. ^ "Hype behind air fryer pasta chips, how to make them and shape that's selling fast". Good Morning America. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  19. ^ Everything MasterChef Finalist Nick DiGiovanni Eats in a Day | Food Diaries: Bite Size | BAZAAR, July 29, 2021, retrieved April 13, 2022
  20. ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 2021: Food & Drink". Forbes. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  21. ^ Spangler, Todd (October 20, 2021). "YouTube Streamy Awards 2021 Nominations Announced, MrBeast Leads With Seven Nods". Variety. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  22. ^ "TikTok stars Nick DiGiovanni and Lynja create world's largest cake pop". Guinness World Records. January 28, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  23. ^ "TikTokers team up to make world's largest cake pop". UPI. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  24. ^ "Wait, What? Chefs Make Giant 44 KG Cake Pop; Set Guinness World Record". NDTV Food. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  25. ^ "TikTokers bake world's largest-ever cake pop at nearly 100 pounds". pennlive. January 31, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  26. ^ "Meet the Team | The Farmlink Project". www.farmlinkproject.org. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  27. ^ Hirsh, Sophie (November 9, 2021). "MrBeast's #TeamSeas Aims to Clean 30 Million Pounds of Ocean Trash". Green Matters. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  28. ^ "CHIPOTLE TAPS THE FARMLINK PROJECT AND TIKTOK CHEF NICK DIGIOVANNI TO FIGHT FOOD INSECURITY THIS WINTER". Yahoo Finance. December 14, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  29. ^ Chan, J. Clara (April 5, 2022). "Webby Awards: Stephen Colbert, Drew Barrymore and Jon Stewart Among Podcast Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  30. ^ "TikTok stars Nick DiGiovanni and Lynja create world's largest chicken nugget". Guinness World Records. June 11, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  31. ^ "Most fast food restaurants visited in 24 hours". Guinness World Records. August 10, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  32. ^ "Fastest time to fillet a 10 lb fish". Guinness World Records. October 7, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  33. ^ "Largest fortune cookie". Guinness World Records. November 12, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  34. ^ "Largest donation of turkey in 24 hours". Guinness World Records. November 14, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  35. ^ I Broke A World Record With Gordon Ramsay, June 10, 2023, retrieved June 12, 2023
  36. ^ "Gordon Ramsay helps Nick DiGiovanni create world's largest beef wellington". Guinness World Records. June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  37. ^ "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Books - Best Sellers - Books - July 2, 2023 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  38. ^ Otterson, Joe (April 17, 2024). "Nick DiGiovanni Signs With WME (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  39. ^ "'MasterChef' season 14 episode 3 recap: 'Gen Z Auditions' [LIVE BLOG]". GoldDerby. June 13, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  40. ^ "11th Annual Winners". Streamy Awards. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  41. ^ "12th Annual Winners". Streamy Awards. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  42. ^ "13th Annual Winners". Streamy Awards. Retrieved August 28, 2023.,
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