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Rock Harper
Rock Harper at Hell's Kitchen DC Restaurant
Born Rahman Harper
(1976-12-17) December 17, 1976 (age 47)
San Diego, California
Cooking style Soul Food
Education Johnson & Wales University
Official website
www.queenmothercooks.com


Rahman "Rock" Harper (born December 17, 1976) is an American chef, television personality and restaurateur who won in the third season of the Gordon Ramsay-presented reality television show Hell's Kitchen.

Biography

Harper discovered his love of cooking in his early teens and earned a culinary degree at Johnson & Wales University (JWU).

Harper has held positions at Café Calliope, Burke Station Restaurant, Planet Hollywood, and BET on Jazz Restaurant, and was executive chef at B. Smith's Restaurant prior to joining in the third season of the Fox reality-television show Hell's Kitchen in 2007. After his win on Hell's Kitchen where he accepted the prize of a high-salaried stint as head chef at the Terre Verde Restaurant at Green Valley Ranch Resort, he became the National Celebrity Chef for the March of Dimes. After his year at Terra Verde he then worked as the executive chef of Ben's Next Door and The Carlyle Club.

Harper later became an instructor at Stratford University. In 2010, he published the book 44 Things Parents Should Know about Healthy Cooking for Kids.

In 2013, Harper appeared on Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell and won the executive chef position at The Precinct, a steakhouse in Cincinnati, Ohio; however, he did not ultimately accept the job.

In 2020, Harper opened Queen Mother’s Fried Chicken inside Ghostline in Washington, DC as a tribute to his mother, Carole Harper. One year later, the restaurant was relocated to The Kitchen of Purpose in Arlington, Virginia. The restaurant is known for duck-fat brined fried chicken that was featured on TV shows such as Hell’s Kitchen and Sherri. In the early fall of 2023, Queen Mother's opened a new location at the National Landing Water Park in Arlington, Virginia.

In 2023, Harper became the owner of Hill Prince Bar, a neighborhood bar and event venue located in the H Street Corridor in Northeast, Washington, D.C.

Awards

In 2020 and 2021, Queen Mother’s was nominated as a RAMMY Award finalist presented by Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) in the category of “Hottest New Sandwich Shop.” The Annual RAMMY Awards honors the hard-working individuals and organizations and restaurants in Washington DC's foodservice community.

In 2023, Harper was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award in the category of “Best Chef – Mid Atlantic.” The James Beard Awards honors talent in the culinary and food media industries.

Charity work

  • March of Dimes - National Celebrity Chef
  • DC Central Kitchen - Board Member
  • DC Greens - Board of Directors
  • Global Food and Drink Initiative: Board of Directors

Filmography

Television

Year Title Network Notes Ref
2007 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Entire season 3
2008 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 4 Episode 10 Hell's Kitchen (American season 4)
2009 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 5 Episode 15 Hell's Kitchen (American season 5)
2010 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 6 - Episode 15 Hell's Kitchen (American season 6)
2012 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 8 - Episode 8 Hell's Kitchen (American season 8)
2013 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 10 - Episode 1 Hell's Kitchen (American season 10)
2014 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 11 - Episodes 17 & 18 Hell's Kitchen (American season 11)
2015 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 12 - Episodes 15 & 16 Hell's Kitchen (American season 12)
2016 Hell’s Kitchen Fox Season 13 - Episode 15 Hell's Kitchen (American season 13)
2013 Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell Food Network Entire season
2020 Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back Fox Season 3, Episode 5
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