Nathan Lyon is an American chef and television personality. He hosted the Discovery Health television series A Lyon in the Kitchen. A native of Arlington, Virginia, Lyon earned an undergraduate degree at James Madison University. He began working in the food industry at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington as a soldier, and then as a cafe manager. He attended the California School of Culinary Arts and then worked in several restaurants in Los Angeles. Lyon launched a personal chef business and worked four days a week at a farmers' market. He became a finalist on the Food Network television reality series The Next Food Network Star in 2005. Lyon lost to Guy Fieri, but began hosting a series by Discovery Health called A Lyon in the Kitchen. The show emphasizes fresh ingredients and fresh food, with the tagline "Great food starts fresh." Lyon began shooting a show on PBS called "Growing a Greener World" and was filming season 3. He is also in the process of filming a new travel/food TV show for the Veria network. Lyon came out with his first cookbook, Great Food Starts Fresh, in December 2011.