Dave Lieberman strolls into Amy's Bread, a bakery in Manhattan's Chelsea Market, around ten o'clock on a Wednesday morning. True to form, he rocks what has become his signature look--a polo and jeans--along with a charming and unassuming nature that lends heavily to his appeal. He is definitely as real as they come, despite being the youngest chef to host his own television show on the well-known Food Network.

While Dave has accomplished much early on in his life, he isn't inclined to boast about his recipe for culinary success. As he tears at the soda bread in front of him, the 25-year-old personal chef casually engages in conversation about brass. He is eventually induced to talk about how his longtime passion for cooking grew into a fulfilling career, and how a trip to Fort Lauderdale during a college spring break made it all possible. Dave started experimenting in the kitchen at age seven, and he credits his father, who he argues still makes the best ribs, with his earliest culinary pursuits. Growing up in Philadelphia, his mother worked as a doctor while his father, a lawyer, stayed at home with Dave and his brother. Always eager to try new things and never discouraged by the outcome of his concoctions, Dave gradually found his place in the kitchen through experimentation and by watching his father.

As a teenager, Dave's experience with food broadened through jobs at several dining establishments in Philadelphia. He also spent a year abroad before attending college, apprenticing with a cook in Italy and studying the culinary specialties of Germany, Spain and France. Despite his continued passion for cooking, Dave did not immediately pursue a culinary career after high school. Rather, he attended Yale University to study political science. At Yale, Dave's cooking skills were not wasted, nor did they go unnoticed. Hosting parties, experimenting with recipes, and preparing food for tailgaters kept his culinary senses sharp. As the demand for his food increased, so did his ability in the kitchen.

It was during spring break of his junior year when Dave's future as a professional chef was nudged into motion. Staying with a couple of friends in a hostel in Fort Lauderdale, Dave agreed to do the cooking during the week, as long as his friends helped pay for groceries. One night after dinner, Dave's friends, so impressed by his cooking, jokingly commented that Dave should be on the Food Network. While it seemed a simple compliment, Dave was compelled by the thought and upon returning to school, looked into what it would take to get his own show on the local public access channel. Raising money and enlisting the help of friends, Dave's cooking show, Campus Cuisine, aired on New Haven's public access channel. On the show, Dave organized each episode around college themes, like spicing up dining hall food. One dating episode was aptly titled Cooking for the Hook-Up.

While the concept was a simple one--a cooking show for college students--Dave's appeal and approach made the show a hit. The public access station informed him that the show was getting upwards of 3,000 people tuning in at any one time. The show was an instant success and not just on Yale's campus. Dave was approached more and more in the grocery store parking lot by people asking him for specific recipes and tips. Prior to the last episode of his cable access cooking show, Dave received a call from Amanda Hesser, a food writer for The New York Times. She had seen the show and was interested in meeting with Dave for an interview. A few weeks following that call, she and a photographer showed up for the filming of Campus Cuisine's last episode and roughly a month later, she contacted Dave to let him know that the piece would be featured in an upcoming issue.

When the article came out, Dave was surprised to see how prominently he and the show were featured. Running late for history class, he had grabbed the Wednesday edition and it wasn't until after class that he was able to read the entire article. For the first time that day, Dave turned on his cell phone and was surprised to see that he had four new voicemails--two from major publishing houses and two more from network television. They had all read the piece in The Times and they all wanted a piece of Dave.

Today, just two years since the start of his public access show, Dave has already carved out a considerable presence in notable food circles. As the Food Network's youngest chef, Dave signifies a recent trend in young adult cooking. He emphasizes that more and more young people are looking to entertain at home and enjoy good food. His Food Network show, Good Deal with Dave Lieberman, focuses on simple cooking that is both fresh and affordable--without sacrificing taste. Good Deal premiered in April of 2005, the same month that Dave's first cookbook, Young & Hungry, was released. Reflecting the same principles in his television series, his cookbook targets the interests of young adults, providing valuable tips and recipes for the beginning- to intermediate-level cook.

Starting his own television show and releasing his first cookbook over the past year wasn't enough to satisfy the young chef's appetite. Dave also provided Song Airlines with new menu options to serve on its flights, and hosted the Food Network's first web-only series, Eat This with Dave Lieberman. In the web series, which premiered in November of 2005, Dave traveled to restaurants in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami, checking out the latest trends in food, from the science-influenced to spicy sweets.

For now, Dave remains busy with both his web and television series for Food Network and his second cookbook due out in the fall of 2007. This next cookbook, he says, will feature dinner ideas and be "a little more expressive than the first cookbook." He is always trying new recipes at home or cooking for the roommates he shares a Manhattan apartment with--an apartment that Dave off-handedly reveals is a penthouse. He is quick to clarify that it is only called a penthouse because it is on the thirteenth floor and superstitious New Yorkers shy away from the unlucky label.

Penthouse or not, luck may have played a small part in Dave's success, but it is his undeniable passion for cooking that deserves the starring role. When he's not working, he is perpetually immersed in food pursuits: enjoying food and wine festivals, contributing to community service projects and planning trips to Budapest and Puerto Rico.

Despite the crazy year he's had, Dave remains focused on his career. Unlike many chefs, he is not inclined to open his own restaurant, instead preferring home cooking and his work as a personal chef. When he looks back at his crazy ride to success and fame, his modesty is refreshing. While he admits that there was some initial anxiety surrounding all of the challenges and demands, he asserts there is only so much control we have in life. "You just have to do your best," he says.

Dave's best is more than impressive. Without professional culinary training, he channeled his passion for cooking, identified his audience and found ways to reach them. While he readily acknowledges that this ride may or may not last long, he isn't too consumed with uncertainties. He is enjoying every moment while charging into the future. And it's exactly for that reason we firmly expect even more incredible things from Dave Lieberman.