Like the original version hosted by Alton Brown that aired from August 2013 to July 2017, Food Network's nine-episode revival of the Cutthroat Kitchen brand, streaming next day on Max, pits four chefs against each other with $25,000 on the line. Malarkey will dish out the show's signature diabolical challenges - think cooking on a hot dog roller or scavenging plane snack carts - while auctioning off advantages and sabotages.
With just one minute to grab ingredients and a rotating cast of judges like Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, and Jet Tila tasting blind, the last chef standing keeps their remaining cash. Malarkey will also test sabotages on Food Network’s social channels, giving fans a taste of the madness with #CutthroatKitchen.
This gig adds to Malarkey's already stacked resume. A finalist on Top Chef Season 3 and a returnee for All-Stars Season 17, he's judged Guy’s Grocery Games, Chopped, and 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, while once mentoring on ABC’s The Taste with Anthony Bourdain. His TV chops extend to Today, Good Morning America, Beachside Brawl, and a Superchef Grudge Match face-off against his longtime chef mentee Carlos Anthony San Martano.
This gig adds to Malarkey's already stacked resume. A finalist on Top Chef Season 3 and a returnee for All-Stars Season 17, he's judged Guy’s Grocery Games, Chopped, and 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, while once mentoring on ABC’s The Taste with Anthony Bourdain. His TV chops extend to Today, Good Morning America, Beachside Brawl, and a Superchef Grudge Match face-off against his longtime chef mentee Carlos Anthony San Martano.
Beyond the screen, Malarkey's culinary empire spans several San Diego dining concepts. He sold his first group - including now-defunct Searsucker and Herringbone - to Hakkasan Group for $25 million in 2012, then launched the Puffer Malarkey Collective with partner Christopher Puffer. The San Diego-based outfit includes Herb & Wood in Little Italy, Herb & Sea in Encinitas, the lavish Animae downtown, and Le Coq, a French steakhouse that reclaimed La Jolla’s Herringbone space in 2024. With the Irvine Company, they run Herb & Ranch in Orange County, while his latest, Hawkeye & Huckleberry Lounge, brings cowboy vibes to Bend, Oregon, under The Brothers Malarkey Portfolio.
Malarkey’s not just cooking up dishes - he's stirring the pot elsewhere too. In 2024, he debuted the Harley and Malarkey Podcast with girlfriend Danielle Harley. The R-rated show dives into age-gap relationships, sobriety, and money with irreverent humor, drawing both laughs and cringes. It’s classic Malarkey: brash, unfiltered, and always in the conversation - much like his eyebrow-raising restaurant name, Le Coq, or his retracted April Fools’ "coming out" prank with Puffer last year.
Meanwhile, his longtime executive chef Tara Monsod, who helms Animae and Le Coq, is a 2025 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California - her second nod after 2024 - adding luster to Malarkey’s mentorship legacy. But the main course here is Malarkey’s return to Food Network. Mark May 13 on your calendar for Cutthroat Kitchen: Knives Out, where San Diego’s culinary kingpin unleashes chaos - and proves he's still got the chops to command the screen.
Malarkey’s not just cooking up dishes - he's stirring the pot elsewhere too. In 2024, he debuted the Harley and Malarkey Podcast with girlfriend Danielle Harley. The R-rated show dives into age-gap relationships, sobriety, and money with irreverent humor, drawing both laughs and cringes. It’s classic Malarkey: brash, unfiltered, and always in the conversation - much like his eyebrow-raising restaurant name, Le Coq, or his retracted April Fools’ "coming out" prank with Puffer last year.
Meanwhile, his longtime executive chef Tara Monsod, who helms Animae and Le Coq, is a 2025 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California - her second nod after 2024 - adding luster to Malarkey’s mentorship legacy. But the main course here is Malarkey’s return to Food Network. Mark May 13 on your calendar for Cutthroat Kitchen: Knives Out, where San Diego’s culinary kingpin unleashes chaos - and proves he's still got the chops to command the screen.
