Antoni Porowski

Antoni Janusz Porowski was born on March 14, 1984, in Montreal, Quebec, to Polish immigrant parents. He grew up speaking Polish, English, and French, and spent his high school years between Montreal and Glade Springs, West Virginia. He pursued higher education at Marianopolis College and later graduated from Concordia University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. His interest in acting led him to New York City, where he trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, graduating in 2011. During his early years in New York, Porowski worked in the food service industry, starting as a busboy and progressing to a waiter, sommelier, and eventually managing the sushi restaurant BondSt. He also gained experience as a personal assistant to Ted Allen, the original food and wine expert from ‘Queer Eye’, which provided a foundational understanding of the food media landscape.

Porowski’s career trajectory shifted significantly in 2017 when he was cast as the food and wine expert for the Netflix revival of ‘Queer Eye’, which premiered in February 2018. This role brought him widespread recognition and established his public persona. In April 2018, he secured a cookbook deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, resulting in his debut cookbook, ‘Antoni in the Kitchen’, published in 2019, followed by ‘Antoni: Let’s Do Dinner’ in 2021. Further expanding his entrepreneurial efforts, Porowski announced the opening of The Village Den, a fast-casual restaurant in New York City’s West Village, in June 2018. He is also known for dealing vintage furniture, showcasing an interest beyond the culinary and entertainment fields. In September 2018, along with his ‘Queer Eye’ co-hosts, he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program, an accolade he has been consistently nominated for and won in subsequent years.

His visibility extended into the music industry, appearing in Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video in 2019. That same year, People magazine recognized him as Sexiest Reality Star. Building on his platform, Porowski co-founded Yummers Pets with ‘Queer Eye’ co-star Jonathan Van Ness, a pet food brand launched in 2022. In June 2021, he became involved with the Equaversity Foundation, an organization dedicated to fundraising for the LGBT+ community in Poland, reflecting his commitment to social causes. He is slated to host a new show, ‘No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski’, on National Geographic and Disney+, premiering in 2025, which explores ancestral roots through food experiences, signaling his expansion into travel and cultural exploration through a culinary lens.