Jack Scalfani
Jack Scalfani | |
|---|---|
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Genre | Cooking |
| Subscribers | 549 thousand (Cooking With Jack Show) |
| Views | 138 million (Cooking With Jack Show) |
| Last updated: 20 August 2026 | |
Jack Russell Scalfani (born 12 December 1967) is an American YouTube personality, food critic, producer and food entrepreneur. Scalfani is the host of multiple channels on YouTube,[1] with the biggest one, Cooking With Jack Show, focusing on easy recipes that cater to "average Joes".[2]
YouTube career
The idea for the Cooking With Jack Show came during the early 2000s, when Scalfani created a barbecue sauce using spices left behind by a former chef client of his, distributing samples of it at a local butcher shop. After good feedback from costumers, he founded the "GiveMe Foods" company and began selling the product at the Orange County Market Place in California, under the brand of "The Best BBQ Sauce You’ll Ever Taste".[3][4] Following this, in 2007 Scalfani began to upload food tutorials to YouTube with the initial intent of promoting the product, cultivating an audience of his own with a "no-nonsense style" described by ABC 7 as "infectious".[2]
The videos became internet hits, with the channel attracting advertisers and fans around the world.[3][2] Despite the simplicity of the content, the Orange County Register compared Scalfani to celebrity chef Julia Child, noting that "his mishaps are part of his charm".[3] In May 2012, Scalfani was chosen as that month's "On The Rise YouTube partner", with the platform noting the expansion of his content to "easy-to-make recipes, cooking tips, and honest product reviews".[5]
His simplistic content was criticized by Splice Today however, with a 2026 article describing it as an example of "unreliable culinary content", with his "Lazy Man" recipes in particular being the focus of criticism.[6]
Public presence
In 2014, Scalfani was invited to the "FoodFightWrite!" event in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a speaker in the panel "YouTube - Your Digital Cookbook and Resume".[7]
In 2015, Scalfani starred on the CNBC reality TV series West Texas Investors Club. He appeared on the second episode of the first season of the show, "A Time to Grill", where Scalfani was described as a "internet star put to the test".[8] His offer to the investors was $300 thousand for 20 percent of his sauce company, in case the BBQ sauce won a taste competition. Despite the sauce ultimately being defeated, the investors showed interest in investing on the Cooking With Jack channel. Scalfani declined the counteroffer, claiming in an emotional answer that selling a portion of his channel would be comparable to "selling a portion of himself".[9]
Following and other YouTube channels
Scalfani's main YouTube channel, Cooking With Jack Show, has over 549 thousand subscribers and 138 million views as of August 2026.[10]
He also hosts the channels Jack on the Go, where he visits and reviews restaurants,[11] as well as the tech channel TechTime and the F as in Frank podcast.[1]
Other ventures
Prior to his YouTube career, Scalfani worked on the entertainment business, working as a DJ at KIKV-FM[3] and a talent manager at the managing firm Sterling Winters Company during the 1990s. In the early 2000s, he served as CEO of FightCloud, a service that distributed CDs by indie musicians for free with a small shipping fee.[12][13] During the 2000s he also launched the management and production company "GiveMe Entertainment".[14]
Personal life
Scalfani was born on 12 December 1967,[15] being raised by his mother Connie Scalfani and his stepfather Otis Blair. As a teenager he studied at the John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, California.[14]
He is married to Tammy, with whom he has a son, Jack Jr. He also has a son named Garrett from a previous marriage.[14]
References
- 1 2 Jack Scalfani's official site
- 1 2 3 "'Cooking With Jack' caters to average Joes". ABC 7. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Basheda, Lori (10 March 2012). "Lazy food dude scores huge on YouTube". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ "The Best Sauces You'll Ever Taste!". The Best Sauces. 31 July 2022. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ Wang, Christine; Storbeck, Devon (29 May 2012). "Jakatak69 is May's On The Rise YouTube partner". Youtube Official Blog. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ Beck, Chris (26 February 2026). "Sorting Out The Signal From the Noise In YouTube Cooking Videos". Splice Today. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ ""YouTube - Your Digital Cookbook and Resume" with Youtube experts Gary House, Babsi Schafer, Jack Scalfani, Jerry James Stone and Krayl Funch". FoodFightWrite!. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ "West Texas Investors Club: Season 1 Episodes". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
- ↑ Hamilton, Brentney (12 August 2026). "On 'West Texas Investors Club,' a little kindness doesn't mean you're a sissy". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ "Cooking With Jack Show's YouTube Statistics - Social Blade". Social Blade. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ Steinquest, Ethan (28 August 2017). "City recognizes Dunn's BBQ". Franklin Favorite. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
Their decision was reached in part because Dunn's BBQ received a perfect score on "Jack on the Go Show," a YouTube restaurant review series hosted by Internet personality Jack Scalfani.
- ↑ Claburn, Thomas (23 May 2002). "Give it away now". Salon. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ Vontz, Andrew (7 October 2001). "The Magic's In the Music and the Music Is Free". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Speaker - Jack Scalfani". FoodFightWrite!. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ "Jack Scalfani Bio (American YouTuber)". TheFamousPeople. Retrieved 8 August 2026.