Food Network celebrity chef Darnell Ferguson, or SuperChef as he is popularly known, was taken into custody for brutally attacking his estranged in Louisville, Kentucky.
The 36-year-old star is facing several serious charges, including two felony offenses and five misdemeanors.
Chef Darnell Ferguson attacks estranged wife
According to TMZ, Ferguson, who currently hosts SuperChef Grudge Match on the Food Network, was apprehended on Tuesday afternoon and subsequently booked at the Louisville Metro Jail.
The charges against Ferguson include felonies for burglary and strangulation, along with misdemeanors for assault, menacing, criminal mischief, terroristic threatening, and theft receipt of stolen credit and debit card.
According to his arrest warrant, Ferguson broke into the home of his estranged wife Tatahda Ferguson, who he has been married to since 2016.
During the January 2nd incident, the celebrity chef, who has competed on Guy Fieri’s culinary competition, Tournament of Champions, went after his wife in a violent attack.
Celebrity chef Darnell Ferguson’s Wife terrorized at home
During the altercation, he punched walls in the home, before threatening to kill her and strangling her unconscious.
Tatahda told police that she woke up to Darnell ripping off the shorts she was wearing as he ordered her to reveal her genitals.
The battered woman claimed that she feared Darnell would sexually assault her, when he told her that she “was his and nobody else’s.”
He eventually fled the scene, but stole her identification, credit, and debit cards.
When police arrived, Tatahda had “visible injuries” that were enough evidence to file the charges and for his wife to get an order of protection against him, according to WDRB.
Food Network chef Darnell Ferguson’s rise to fame
Ferguson’s star has been on the rise at the Food Network over the last several years.
He served as a co-host on the 25th season of Worst Cooks In America with Anne Burrell, the same year the show he headlines, Superchef Grudge Match, premiered on the network.
Ferguson has made appearances on the networks other well-known programs including Chopped, Supermarket Stakeout, Tiny Food Fight, and guest-starred eleven times on Guy’s Grocery Games.
His career has also extended beyond The Food Network with features on HGTV’s Home Town Takeover and OWN’s The Big Holiday Food Fight.
Prior to his rise to fame, Ferguson owned two restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky, named Super Chefs and That Drippin Crab.
Cooking has been a lifelong passion for Ferguson, with his enthusiasm for the culinary arts being ignited during his high school years while watching Emeril Lagasse’s Emeril Live series.
His skills in the kitchen ultimately led him to be selected as one of the 20 student chefs who cooked for Team USA during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Despite his meteoric rise as a celebrity chef, this incident is not the first encounter Ferguson has had with the law.
He has previously faced legal troubles related to drug charges, resulting in multiple incarcerations.
Though he was able to break the cycle with his knife skills and delicious dishes, leading him to forge a successful television career.
Ferguson’s bond was set at $10,000 and he pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
