TV chef spiced up credentials

A Havelock chef who is a contestant on a Food Network reality show said he couldn’t respond to reports that he’d embellished details about his military service and culinary training.

Joshua Adam Garcia, who appears on “The Next Food Network Star,” declined to respond to a June 15 story in the Marine Corps Times that reported he had not been deployed to Afghanistan and did not attain the rank of corporal when enlisted in the Marines.

The story also said Garcia attended the New York Restaurant School, but is not a graduate of the school as he claimed.

“I have no comment on that,” he said Tuesday, referring questions about his background to a Food Network spokeswoman.

The Marine Corps Times said Garcia claimed he had been deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment from Camp Lejeune. The newspaper reported in its June 15 story that the unit did not deploy to Afghanistan.

Garcia was the subject of a May 16 feature story in the Havelock News headlined “From the Stove to the Screen.” He had not told reporter Sarah Maynard that he was deployed to Afghanistan.

Garcia, 25, became chef du cuisine at Stacia’s Lieu Secret in New Bern after working as a chef at Costello’s in Havelock.

Donald Reid, who owns Lieu Secret and gourmet catering service A Catered Affair with his wife Stacia, confirmed Tuesday that Garcia was still working at the Trent Road restaurant.

“He’s been a faithful employee for us,” Reid said, adding that he had no response to questions about Garcia’s background.

Garcia is one of six finalists on “The Next Food Network Star,” which pits aspiring TV cooks against each other in weekly competitions. The show airs on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on the Food Network.