Fort Pierce-based chef loses deal for new TV cooking show after arrest

Treasure Coast Newspapers

In 2016, local chef Scott Calhoun was selected to appear in his own cooking show, and many of the scenes for the pilot were filmed on the Treasure Coast.

A Fort Pierce-based private chef who hoped to star in a new TV cooking series lost his deal with the production company after a recent arrest.

Five Star Option LLC and its parent company, Dawn’s Light LLC, terminated their agreements with Scott Calhoun effective May 18, according to respective news releases. Calhoun no longer will provide services to the companies.

Calhoun, 48, of the 4900 block of Paleo Pines Circle, was arrested Wednesday on child pornography and drug charges, according to St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports.

He was served with a warrant charging him with 13 counts of child pornography, according to reports. A charge of introduction of a controlled substance into a detention facility was added later. He was released Thursday from the jail after on a $185,000 bail.

MORE:Fort Pierce man faces child porn, drug charges

Calhoun, an Operation Desert Storm Army veteran, hoped to star in a series that would be different than other food shows on TV and would spotlight the Treasure Coast.

The series, which had a working title of “A Five-Star Option,” was planned to follow Calhoun as he foraged for the freshest, local ingredients from Florida’s land and sea and transformed them into delicious “five-star” meals viewers can make at home. Filming of pilot episodes had taken place at various spots in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach.

MORE:Fort Pierce chef Scott Calhoun cooks up reality TV pilot

Calhoun, who said in 2016 he had a wife and six children, didn’t own a physical restaurant, but he became known for his gourmet pop-up dinners in various Treasure Coast kitchens through his business, Café de la Calhoun.

He previously was featured on an episode of “Lucky Dog,” a CBS documentary series about people paired with service dogs, many who were rescue dogs. Calhoun’s episode was the final one in the series, and one of its most popular. Calhoun said he caught the eye of various producers and executives interested in creating a television show with him.

Born in Chicago and raised in Plant City, Florida, Calhoun moved to Fort Pierce in 1999.