Alex Guarnaschelli, the no-nonsense chef and Food Network star who rose to fame as a judge on cooking competition Chopped, is newly engaged to partner Michael Castellon.
Castellon, who is also a chef, prosed on Guarnaschelli’s 48th birthday. They were having a socially distanced get-together with some friends to celebrate, and the pair drove to the store for more supplies. On their way back, Castellon suddenly pulled the car over.
“So we were right by my house and he just pulled over on the side of the road anxiously. And he said, ‘I see a dog running around’,” Guarnaschelli tells People. “There’s this little park with a windmill. He like, ‘I see a dog running around in there without a leash.’ ”
He got out the car to inspect, then came back to tell Guarnaschelli it’s a baby deer and she needs to see it.
“So he’s like, ‘Shh. Come see it. It’s so cute.’ And I’m like, ‘We’re going to have to do something. We’re going to have to call the animal welfare.’ I’m already rolodexing the situation,” Guarnaschelli explains to People. “We tiptoe out, full-on tiptoe, and he goes, ‘It’s right around the windmill.’ So I look and he’s like, ‘Do you see it?’ And I’m like, ‘No, where’s the baby? You promised me a baby deer’.”
“And he goes, ‘There’s no deer.’ I turn, and I look and he’s on one knee. He’s like, ‘This is why I have to marry you because you just believe me every time.’ He said, ‘Will you marry me?’ and he gave me the ring.”
The ring, featuring a stunning emerald rock, is a family heirloom.
The pair have been together for four years. The professional chef and TV personality took to Instagram on Saturday, June 20, to announce the big news.
The bride-to-be told People Magazine that they are in no rush to marry, but she plans to go big.
“We’re not in any hurry, but I want to have a blowout,” she said. “I want a tri-state rager.”
Feature image: Instagram / Chef Mike
