Desmond Scott has spent years making restaurant-level cooking feel possible at home, and now he is taking that approach to original programming. The chef and digital creator is partnering with BET and Paramount on Let’s Get It Started, a 12-episode digital cooking series premiering November 3, across BET’s digital platforms.
Each 20-minute episode puts viewers in the role of Scott’s sous chefs. He walks them through sophisticated cooking methods one practical step at a time, so the dishes can be recreated in their own kitchens. Scott also serves as an executive producer on the series, which is produced by Orchard Operations.
Most people know Scott from their social feeds. The Houston native has built a combined following of roughly 3.5 million people with pasta folded into glossy sauces, carefully plated seafood and elevated takes on comfort food.
What surprises many of his followers is that he never went to culinary school. Scott is self-taught. His love of cooking started in his mother’s kitchen, where family meals and full tables were part of everyday life. He later sharpened his skills through experimentation and curiosity, especially once he had a family of his own to feed.
That story was at the center of his first magazine cover earlier this year. In 26 Magazine’s August cover story, Scott talked about hospitality, peace and the dinner table as the heart of his home, and he said being a father to his sons is what he is proudest of.
He also shared an idea that was still taking shape at the time: an organization that would teach young people, especially young Black men, to cook and care for themselves. He pictured mentoring small groups and running hands-on workshops where they would learn simple meals and fresh pasta, giving them skills that “once they have them, no one can ever take away.”
That idea is now real. Through the newly launched Desmond Scott Foundation, he is using culinary education, mentorship and community programming to build confidence, creativity and opportunity for the next generation.
His platform has grown well beyond recipes. Scott has partnered with KitchenAid, Cash App, General Motors, LVMH, Coca-Cola, Ninja Kitchen, Heinz and A.1. Sauce. He recently moved into experiential hospitality by curating a custom Texas-inspired menu with The EDITION Hotel. His audience also follows him for fashion, travel, grooming and fatherhood, and he often gets credit for serving looks as well as meals.
Let’s Get It Started brings all of that together: the approachable teaching, the polished presentation and the belief that food is about the people at the table. In Scott’s words, “cooking allows us to connect as humans,” and his new series invites millions more to pull up a chair.
