All About Jozef Youssef

Jozef Youssef is a judge on the Food Network series Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, a celebrity chef, a published author, a dietary researcher, a keynote speaker and an internationally known figure in the world of culinary science. He is a co-founder of Kitchen Theory, a London-based gastronomic research project that brings together chefs, scientists, foodies, artists and scholars in an effort to create "immersive food and drink experiences" — as well as exploring the connections between human health, psychology, cooking and cuisine.

History and Career

Jozef is of Lebanese origin and is also a British national. He currently lives in North London. He received his Bachelor of Science at The Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in business and information technology.

He's worked in some of London's most reputable high-end restaurants — including Michelin-starred The Connaught, where he was employed as both sous chef and the specialized role of chef de partie, and at The Fat Duck — also Michelin rated — where he served as estagiere (training chef). Other restaurant experience includes London's exclusive Hyatt-Andaz Hotel on Liverpool Street and The Dorchester.

About 'Kitchen Theory'

Jozef was fascinated by science from an early age — a fascination that did not diminish once he became an adult and entered his career as a chef and restaurateur. After working in some of London's top restaurants, he became highly interested in exploring, not just sophisticated cooking techniques and expertise, but also humans' sensory and psychological relationships with food. It's a concept that grew, in part, out of the nascent culinary subgenre of molecular gastronomy, a discipline which approaches food, nutrition and cuisine from the perspectives of chemistry and physics.

In 2010, that exploration gave rise to the establishment of Kitchen Theory, which Jozef describes — not as a restaurant or a lab — as a culinary design studio. According to the Kitchen Theory website, its objective is to "blend gastronomy, science and design to push the boundaries of how we experience food." The impetus behind that mission has led Jozef to collaborate with experts from Oxford University and Imperial College London. The endgame is the creation of experimental, groundbreaking dining experiences unlike any that have existed before. Participants and collaborators have included scientists, chefs and artists — along with a host of adventuresome and highly engaged foodies. Jozef helms the organization as founder, chef-patron and creative director.

A profile in The New Yorker titled "A Feast for the Senses" describes the approach of Jozef, and a number of like-minded chefs, as "multisensory gastronomy" — the notion that our experience of food often involves more than just the sense of taste. It can, in fact, be impacted by sight, smell, tactile touch and even sound. (Think of the sound of a steak sizzling on a grill. Hungry yet?) The underlying concept is the notion that the five senses do not work in isolation but in concert.

Jozef on Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking

With his advanced and visionary approach to cooking and cuisine — which sometimes seems to border on the magical — Jozef is an ideal candidate for judge on Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking. The series, which first premiered in November of 2024, is a celebration of the fantastical world of Harry Potter. It stars James and Oliver Phelps — who portrayed the Weasley twins in the film franchise — as they challenge professional chefs and pastry artists to create culinary masterworks based on specific themes, moments and events from the Harry Potter stories. The sweet and delicious cooking creations are judged on their deliciousness, as well as their success in incorporating surprising or enchanting elements. Jozef is joined in his judging duties by Food Network host Carla Hall.

Jozef's Books and Publications

Jozef is the author of the 2013 book Molecular Gastronomy at Home: Taking Culinary Physics Out of the Lab and Into Your Kitchen. A review in Publishers Weekly offered this summary: "By marrying the test tube with the spatula, this book embodies the ultimate crash course for the amateur chef and home cook in preparing food using modern scientific principles. Fifteen techniques of molecular gastronomy are precisely explained, often with an illustrative recipe to accompany them."

Jozef has also authored several peer-reviewed scholarly papers on gastronomy, and he is currently an associate editor with The International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. He's a contributor to Great British Chefs, a UK-based cooking and cuisine website. In addition, Jozef's work has been featured across numerous media outlets, including BBC World News, The Guardian, The Independent, The New Yorker, Forbes, Port magazine and the journal Nature, among others. In addition to Food Network's Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, he has appeared in the British TV series MasterChef UK (BBC) and Top Chef Middle East (MBC).

Fun Facts About Jozef

• If Jozef were granted one superpower, what would it be?
  As he told Afroditi.com, that would be … "Teleportation, without a doubt! This has always been the one superpower that I have wanted. And as an adult, I believe this is mostly because it would save an incredible amount of time in traveling!"
• What advice would Jozef give to novice chefs just starting out?
  His advice is simple and direct: "Don't stop when you're tired," he says. "Stop when you're done."

Keep Up With Jozef

Interested in keeping track of Jozef and all of his Food Network shows, recipes and activities? Check out the Kitchen Theory website and Jozef's Instagram account, as well as Food Network's Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking show page.