Juan "JJ" King was basically raised in the kitchen with all of the women in his life in his hometown of Columbus, OH. His great grandmother was Italian and she passed down partially written-down recipes for some of her favorite dishes so he is still trying to perfect her pasta sauce.

As a motion graphics designer, JJ feels that his love of designing and cooking go hand in hand. During the week he is focused and regimented but on the weekend JJ lets loose in the kitchen and uses as much butter as he sees fit.

JJ and his boyfriend were recently asked to join a cookbook club. Each month the members of the club cook for each other by making new recipes from the same cookbook. JJ uses this opportunity to put his own spin on the recipe but on a budget.

After starting to cook on a budget in college, JJ really doubled down on saving money at the grocery store when he started working out every day. He quickly realized that it was taking more food and money to continue to keep him full throughout the day so he changed his cooking habits.

One of JJ's favorite things to do is go to nice restaurants on the weekend and then come home and try to recreate it with healthier and money-saving ingredients. He tends to make all of his sauces and marinades from scratch and uses inexpensive cuts of meat.