EntrepreneurCelebrity chef Pat Neely has enjoyed two amazingly successful careers, one as a renowned restaurateur and another as a nationally known television host, author, endorser, speaker and entrepreneur. A restaurateur for over 25 years, Pat owned and operated the award-winning Neely’s BBQ chain in Tennessee, which at its peak, had five locations across Memphis and Nashville, including the FedEx Forum (6 concessions) and the Nashville International Airport. Pat later expanded his restaurant enterprises to New York City with the Neely’s Barbecue Parlor. He won best BBQ in Memphis in 1997; the prestigious 2005 Business of the Year Award from the Memphis Business Journal, and in 2007, Pat was named Restaurateur of the Year by the Memphis Restaurant Association. He has served on the boards of the Memphis Restaurant Association, the Memphis Chamber of Commerce, the Memphis Food Bank and the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In 2008, Pat exploded onto the national television scene as the star of Food Network’s Down Home with the Neely’s, where he shared the secrets behind his favorite dishes and his passion for food, family and fun. Down Home with the Neely’s was the highest-rated series debut in the history of Food Network’s “In the Kitchen” block. The show enjoyed thirteen successful seasons on that network and its sister channel,
Great American Country. In this era, Pat also appeared in programming for Cooking Channel, TBS and ABC.
After nearly a decade of experience as a television personality, Pat took his media career to a new level for the 2016-2017 seasons by hosting and executive producing SAVE TO WIN, a game show broadcast nationally every Saturday on the CW Television Network as part of its “One Magnificent Morning” programming block.
Building on his tremendous success in television, Pat became a respected cookbook author with the New York Times best-seller Down Home with the Neely’s (Knopf, 2009), and its follow-ups, The Neely’s Celebration Cookbook (Knopf 2011) and Back Home with the Neely’s (Knopf 2014). In 2013, he partnered with QVC to offer a line of branded cookware. Additionally, Pat regularly appears on stage offering inspirational speeches and cooking demonstrations to audiences across the United States, Mexico and Asia. Pat has served as a national brand ambassador for companies including Family Dollar Stores, Kraft Foods, McDonald’s and Boston Market.
Promotionally, Pat has appeared on various national television and radio shows including Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Chew, The View, The Talk, The Rachael Ray Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Queen Latifah Show, In the Kitchen with David, The Wendy Williams Show, The Monique Show, The Steve Harvey Show, Sister Circle, Home & Family, Anderson Live, Bethany, Martha Stewart Radio, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, BET’s Lift Every Voice, Sirius XM’s NBA Radio and Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns. In print, Pat has been featured in a variety of national magazines and papers including The Wall Street Journal, People, USA Today, Food Network Magazine and Sam’s Club Magazine.
Pat currently enjoys a combined and growing, following of over 240,000 fans on Facebook and Twitter.
