Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering after he was shot during an apparent robbery.
The shooting occurred during the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 5, in Hyattsville, Md., as multiple suspects tried to rob a man and woman who had just returned from dinner, according to a statement from the Hyattsville Police Department.
Police said the victims were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. While authorities did not initially identify the victims, local council member Wanika Fisher revealed Dorzon was among those attacked.
“I am disheartened and saddened by the news that Prince George’s County restaurant owner Tobias Dorzon was one of two people shot during an attempted robbery Tuesday night in my district,” Fisher began in a press release.
She added that Dorzon, a native of Riverdale, owns two “amazing” restaurants in Hyattsville and is considered a “dear” friend of hers.
“Such a horrible act couldn’t have happened to a better person,” Fisher’s statement continued. “I am sending my deepest sympathies to him and the second victim, as well as their families and friends, and I wish them both a speedy recovery. We have no place for this kind of senseless violence in our district or our county.”
According to Fisher, Dorzon is an “extremely talented” chef who has represented Prince George’s County on the national stage and has appeared on several Food Network programs. Most recently, the 39-year-old chef was a contestant on the Food Network’s “Last Bite Hotel,” where he made it to the final four. He is also the host of ESPN’s “Time Out with Tobias.”
Offscreen, Dorzon presently owns and runs Huncho House and the upscale 1123 By Chef Tobias. In the spring, he was named Maryland’s Chef of the Year, a first for someone from Prince George’s County. In 2021, he helped James Harden open his restaurant Thirteen in Houston.
Before becoming a master chef, the Maryland native played in the NFL for both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans. He also had a stint playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
A week after the shooting, Dorzon updated followers on Instagram on his progress.
“I’m still here thank you to everyone for the prayers see y’all soon…. Huncho,” he wrote in the caption of a post that included a screenshot of a tweet acknowledging that, with all things considered, he must be “God’s favorite.”