Cliff Crook entered into the entertainment scene when he appeared as a contestant in Top Chef in 2006. He became famous for assaulting a fellow contestant, Marcel Vigneron.
Everyone thought that was it for our chef but life has given him a second chance. He is back on TV and in a major one!! He hosted Chef Boot Camp in Discovery’s Food Network. The show has already been renewed for a second season with production set to begin in the summer.
Cliff Crooks Age, Birthday
Cliff was born on 7th December 1977 which makes him 43 years old as of now. He was born and raised in Livingston, New York, and still resides in New York with his beautiful wife and a daughter.
Being born on 7th December, Cliff’s zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Sagittarians are optimistic, lovers of freedom, hilarious, fair-minded, honest, and intellectual.
They are spontaneous and fun, usually with a lot of friends, and are perhaps the best conversationalists. Well, if that doesn’t define Cliff then what does, right?
Cliff Crooks Wife
Cliff has a beautiful wife by the name of Karina Veiga who celebrates her birthday on June 28 each year. She is originally from Uruguay. Karina is now a Spanish teacher and has been teaching Spanish in middle schools and community colleges for the past 25 years.
Karina has also served as the advisor for the International Culture Club and Parents conference which is mentioned on Lyndhurst School’s website where she teaches Spanish.
Cliff Crooks Relationship
Cliff has been in a relationship with Karina for a while now. Karina had a daughter from her former relationship who is 18 years old now and named Charlie. Charlie celebrates her birthday in April.
Cliff and Karina first declared their relationship public in March of 2018. Chris posted a post on Instagram with Karina and captioned the post:
#miamor #mivida #loveher
The photo he shared was of Paris where the two went on a vacation.
The couple got engaged on 10th July 2018 as revealed by yet another social media post. This time Karina posted a picture of them together and captioned it – “with the Fiancé”
The couple finally got married in September 2019.
Cliff Crook Career
Cliff was passionate about cooking from a young age.
“I grew up cooking with my nana — she’s a fantastic cook — and that was the beginning of my child-like curiosity about food in general,” he has told in an interview.
At the young age of 15, Chris Crook started his journey as a busboy and slowly worked his way up from being a line cook to sous chef to eventually becoming an executive chef.
Cliff worked as an Executive Chef at BLT Restaurant Group from August 2010 to early 2012. Prior to that, he worked in other restaurants like Union Square Hospitality Group, BR Guest Hospitality, Salute Restaurant to name a few.
He also worked as a Corporate Executive Chef at ESquared Hospitality.
Cliff Crooks has been serving for BLT RESTAURANT GROUP LLC since December 2013.
When Cliff was younger, he lived in Taiwan for several years and he credits that experience with making him a better chef.
Why was Cliff Crooks kicked out of Top Chef?
Cliff Crooks dragged fellow contestant Marcel Vigneron out of bed, before pinning him to the floor and yelling at others to shave his head after a night of drinking. The producers of the show decided to step in and disqualified Crooks.
Cliff Crooks Net Worth
Cliff has had a long and successful career and appeared in many TV shows. We estimate his net worth to be 2.9 million dollars as of now.
Now that Chef Boot Camp has been renewed for another season that is surely going to make a positive impact on his net worth.
Quick Wiki Bio Facts on Cliff Crooks
| Full Name / Real Name | Cliff Crooks |
| Birthday / Date of Birth | 7-December-1977 |
| Age | 43 years |
| Birth Sign | Sagittarius |
| Born Country | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | African American |
| Hometown | Livingston, New York |
| Profession | Chef |
| Education (High School / College / University) | Livingston High School |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Karina Veiga |
| Children | A daughter |
| Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) | Facebook, Instagram |
| Net Worth | $2.9 million |
