Juan Gutierrez—corporate pastry chef for Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants and executive pastry chef for the St. Regis Chicago—is one of two Chicago competitors on the new Food Network show Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, which will premiere Thursday, Nov. 14. (The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group Director of Food & Beverage Chris Teixeira is the other local entrant.) Gutierrez is quite the reality-show veteran, as he has won the Netflix competition series School of Chocolate and the second season of Food Network’s Chopped Sweets. (As if that isn’t enough, he also took the title in the 2022 iteration of Dancing with Chicago Celebrities.
In a recent talk with Windy City Times, Gutierrez discussed his competitive nature, the allure of the baking show and his response about why a queer chef would be on Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, given Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans stance.
NOTE: This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
Windy City Times: Hi, Juan. I haven’t talked with you since you were at the [Four Seasons restaurant] Adorn.
Juan Gutierrez: Yes! I remember.
WCT: You seem to have a competitive nature, having won a couple other reality shows as well as Dancing with Chicago Celebrities. Why do you think you’re so competitive?
JG: Well, first of all, I’m Latino [laughs], so that comes with the territory! But I’ve actually always pushed myself to be better. It’s not that I want to win—I just want to show the best of me. I always try to push myself to those limits and outside of the box.
WCT: Yeah, when I heard a couple years ago that you were competing on Dancing, I said, “Oh, I didn’t know that!” So a belated congratulations on that…
JG: Thank you! I was really important for me because of my mom. I remember practicing every week because—listen—I am literally the worst Latino, in terms of dancing. I know how to shake just like a maraca—that’s it. So it was really fun getting into the groove of the dancing. They asked me what I wanted to do; I wanted to showcase voguing, to represent my gay community, but I also wanted to something that represented the Latino community. Everybody does salsa and bachata so I asked, “Why don’t we step it up a notch and do a tango?” It’s so sexy. So we combined tango with voguing—it was so fun!
WCT: You mentioned your mom. You started being a pastry chef by baking with her, correct?
JG: Yes. Some days, my mom and grandmom used to make things at home. My mom used to make the most delicious brownies—I’ll never forget them. They were just brownies from a box, but they were the best boxed brownies you’ll ever have.
WCT: And then you came to Chicago to go to school?
JG: Correct. So I left Colombia at a really young age and I went to Chicago’s French Pastry School to study. After that, I just stayed here and started that journey.
WCT: For our readers, can you describe what being on Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking was like?
JG: I was asked so many times on that show, “How do you guys feel?” And my answer all the time was “I don’t have words.” This show is so special; I didn’t feel like it was a competition. I was so into knowing that I was part of the Harry Potter world and that fantasy. That was more than enough. Every day, I was constantly in awe of being there.
It was the best experience just being there and meeting the cast [chefs/judges Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef as well as hosts/Harry Potter actors James and Oliver Phelps]. I don’t know if you’ve seen the trailer, you hear a person say, “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” That’s me. [Laughs] I was surprised and excited, and I felt like I had magic. I almost lost it the day that Luna [guest judge Evanna Lynch] came out. I was shaking.
WCT: And how did Elizabeth Rowe come to be your partner? [Note: The show is a competition involving two-person teams.]
JG: That was the magic of the Harry Potter world; they put us together. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Nobody knew each other, although I knew who she was. I was so intimidated by her because she’s so talented. I knew I had to step up my game even more because I didn’t want to let her down.
WCT: Of course, you have to believe in your own talent, too.
JG: Oh, yes—I know. I know myself but seeing her talent was so fun and exciting, but I was also, like, “She’s so good!”
WCT: Did you have any hesitation about being on the show because of J.K. Rowling’s beliefs?
JG: To be honest, of course. I want to support the community in any way.
Being in the kitchen or pastry is a really traditional career. But we are the new chefs who are rising up and taking over the world. We need to change; I tell my team, “My past struggles should never be your struggles.” When I found out about the show, I thought, “This goes against everything I believe—something that affects some of my friends.” But I wanted to be there because I wanted to show that nobody else is going to take our shine because of how they think. I really want to showcase the true love of ourselves. We have the opportunity to use our voice—and it’s about how we use it.
WCT: And these other chefs…
JG: The amount of talent in that room—there are no words to express how talented they are.
They’re from all over the world, not just the country. We have me, from Colombia. We have someone from France. We have people from London. We have Hemu [Basumatary], who’s from India; she’s just the most beautiful human being, ever. Mitzi [Reyes] is my fellow Latina and she’s from Mexico; the way she puts her heart into everything is amazing and she makes her country proud. That’s why we do this and why we want to showcase everything.
WCT: Is there anything else you want to say about this show?
JG: Besides that I can’t wait for people to watch it? It was just such a cool show to do. It just brings you back to how you were as a kid.
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking will premiere on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. CT on Food Network and globally on Max. In addition, Gutierrez will be hosting a viewing party at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted St., at the same time.