Kardea Brown

Kardea Brown (born November 16, 1987) is an American chef and caterer who is the host of the television show Delicious Miss Brown on the Food Network. In 2025, Brown received the Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Culinary Instructional Series and Outstanding Culinary Host, she is the first African American woman to win a Daytime Emmy in both of those categories. Her television show has reached 3.5 million viewers since its 2019 premiere, averaging over 1 million viewers per episode, and its 10th season began in 2024. Brown has also released 2 cookbooks, open a restaurant in the Charleston Airport, and released her own frozen food line.

Personal life Brown was born in Charleston, South Carolina on November 16, 1987. She is of Gullah descent; her grandmother is from Wadmalaw Island. Raised by a single mother, she grew up in Charleston before moving to Atlanta. She was raised as a Southern Baptist and attended church regularly with her mother and grandmother, from whom she learned her cooking skills. She is a contemporary Southern cook. Brown married Bryon Smith on March 8, 2025.

Career After graduating from college, Brown worked at a child placement agency before moving to Newark, New Jersey to work for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Her then boyfriend submitted an audition tape of Brown to Food Network. Brown has also appeared on Cooks vs Cons, Farmhouse Rules, Family Food Showdown, Spring Baking Championship, Kids Baking Championship Thanksgiving, Chopped Junior, and Kids BBQ Championship. In 2025, Brown joined Duff Goldman as a co-host on season 13 of Kids Baking Championship, and replaced the former co-host Valerie Bertinelli.

Delicious Miss Brown aims to bring people together through food and give people a better understanding of Gullah culture. The show is set at Brown's home on Edisto Island and focuses on "fresh, seasonal, and very seafood heavy" cooking. The show premiered on July 28, 2019. Each episode gets around 1 million viewers, whom Brown colloquially refers to as “cousins” on her show. Brown's great-great-great grandmother was the last person to own Hutchinson House, the oldest African American household on Edisto Island. During that show she discussed the history of slavery and the formerly enslaved people who built Hutchinson House, despite the network's past concerns about discussing similar topics on the network, according to food historian Dan Kohler. This cookbook draws on Brown’s experiences growing up in a single-parent household, and contains tips to save money while making delicious meals. Dishes include chicken fettuccine alfredo, chicken pot pie, country kitchen friend chicken, and sausage and grits. All of the food is inspired by her passion for Gullah cuisine. Brown is the first African American woman to win a Daytime Emmy in both of those categories.