Bronx attorney competes on Jeopardy
BY JASON COHEN
Bronx resident Chris Hammer
grew up watching “Jeopardy”
with his parents and
grandparents and hoped one
day to be a contestant on the
show.
In February his dream
came true and on April 6, the
episode aired on TV. While
Hammer came in second
place, it was a once in a lifetime
experience he will never
forget.
“I thought I could do well
on it and that it would be a
real fun thing to do,” Hammer
said.
Hammer, 37, of Spuyten
Duyvil, was part of the quiz
bowl team in high school, but
never imagined would one
day be on his favorite show.
A friend of his participated
in the “Jeopardy” college
tournament, which helped
give him the push to apply.
“I thought maybe I could do
this sometime,” he recalled.
So, he registered for the
online test and took it about a
dozen times.
In 2019 Hammer auditioned
in person for “Jeopardy”
and in March 2020 got
a call back to appear on the
show right before COVID-19
arrived.
Due to the pandemic he
had to wait a year to fi lm. Although
the show’s legendary
host, Alex Trebek, had passed
away, it was everything he
had imagined.
Former NFL athlete Chef Derrell Smith on
his new Tastemade series ‘Mad Good Food’
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 30 PR. 16-22, 2021 BTR
Green Bay Packers quarterback
Aaron Rodgers was a
guest host that night.
“It was weird being on
“Jeopardy” and not seeing
Trebek,” he said. “I was really
grateful to have the opportunity
to meet Aaron Rodgers.”
Hammer told the Bronx
Times that he was quite nervous
before the show. With
the bright lights and being on
TV, it was much more stress
than watching the show at
home.
While he stumbled on questions
in the fi rst few rounds,
especially ones pertaining to
pop culture, he excelled toward
the end of the show in
20th century American history
questions.
In fact, he nailed the Daily
Double and was hoping Brandon
Deutsch; the eventual
winner would get it wrong.
“One of the fi rst things
for many people on the show
and myself included, was that
many times I knew the answer
and other contestants
were able to ring in faster,”
Hammer remarked.
According to Hammer, he
had no expectations heading
into Jeopardy, but wanted to
soak in the experience and if
he came in fi rst that would
have been icing on the cake.
Besides telling his partner
Justin List the results of the
show, he had to keep it a secret
until last week.
Since appearing on the
show Hammer has been
fl ooded with calls and texts
from family and friends congratulating
him.
“I tried to prepare myself
as best as I could,” he said.
“It was really cool and such a
great experience.”
Chris Hammer on Jeopardy Courtesy of Jeopardy
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Derrell Smith is exactly
where he needs to be – and he
knows it.
The former NFL athlete
and current chef stars in the
new Tastemade series Mad
Good Food, where he entertains
and informs his audience
while creating incredible
meals full of culture and fl avor.
Each week, Smith creates
a meal that could feed a number
of people. He then shows
his audience how to make two
distinct meals for one using
the remains of the original
dish. Single viewers will be
able to enjoy quality dinners
for one, rather than eating the
same leftovers over and over
again.
“Mad Good Food is cool because
it’s relevant,” Smith said.
“Hopefully we get out of this
pandemic and people will be
able to cook for groups. They’ll
be able to cook for loved ones,
and they’ll be able to cook for
friends coming over. So we
take a large meal for families
and then we take the particles
from that recipe and make
two solo meals based on those
same ingredients.”
Smith’s passion for food is
palpable through the screen,
and he openly discusses the
comfort and healing he has
found, and continues to fi nd,
in the kitchen.
In 2012, the former linebacker
suffered a serious neck
injury that ended his career in
the NFL. Smith saw the major
life change as an opportunity
to chase his longtime dream
of being a chef, inspired by his
family and his love for food.
“Growing up, food was a
healer,” Smith said. “I was infused
with that love and that
intention throughout time
spent with my grandma and
with my family. This show is
important because now I get to
spread that on a larger scale.”
After retiring from the
NFL, Smith experimented
with many recipes – one of
which being his now iconic
meatball – while working an
advertising job in New York. In
2016, he entered the Brooklyn
Meatball Takedown, a meatball
cooking competition, and
won. Later that year, he went
on to create 99EATS, LLC, a
virtual culinary brand. He
ran a pop-up stand for the company
on the weekends at Smorgasburg,
America’s largest
weekly open-air food market,
located in Brooklyn.
In January of 2019, Smith
created Amazeballs as a vessel
of 99EATS. The brand pays
homage to his grandmothers
through its logo and through
its “OG Sauce” (Original
Grandma Sauce.)
“At the end of the day, I get
to teach people something that
they can lead with and apply in
their own kitchens and their
own lifestyles,” Smith said.
“I’m glad that Tastemade recognized
this opportunity and
I’m glad that we were able to
make something that is dope
and different…I’m very proud
of this show.”
Mad Good Food premiered
on Thursday, April 8, at 8:30
p.m. EST on Tastemade. It will
then move to its regular time
slot on Thursday, April 15, at 8
p.m. New episodes will air on
Tastemade’s streaming network
and will be available on
demand on the Tastemade+
app. Episodes will be available
across platforms like YouTube
TV, Samsung TV Plus, VIZIO
SmartCast TVs, The Roku
Channel, Comcast Xfi nity X1,
and more.
This story fi rst appeared on
our sister publication amny.
com.
Photo courtesy of Tastemade